Season 11
Gentle Stories for Sleep Inspired by Opera, Abalone Shells, and Roxy Music
airdate: Feb 25, 2026
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation. That's Meant to help you drift on off and hopefully find your way to sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. And if you're listening in bed, it's safe to close your eyes now.
>> Marco Timpano: Awesome. Amanda, we have a few things we're going to talk about today, but I recently went to the opera.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. So the opera is something that I. I really don't know much about the opera. I could use an education about the opera, but I'd like to say I have a curiosity about the opera, so I. I have so many questions.
>> Marco Timpano: So I've made it sort of my goal to go see the classic operas that everyone sort of refers to.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a new goal that I've made because I realized we have a lovely opera here. The coc, The Canadian Opera Company, not far from, you know, where we live. And I was like, we have this space. I want to go see it. I want to go use it. So they had a student show, was a matinee on Friday, the first they ever did for the Barber of Seville by Giocchino Rossini.
>> Amanda Barker: So the only thing I know of the Barber of Seville, that's Figaro, Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know what Figaro is, but I just know when you're a kid, you see cartoons, I think Looney Tunes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And they would reference it a lot. So can you tell me, what is the Barber of Seville about?
>> Marco Timpano: It's actually, I. I knew nothing about it other than. What, you're referring to the Bugs Bunny. He's massaging Elmer Fudd's head.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's a deeper cut.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a deeper cut.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. But no, I really. I didn't like Looney Tunes as a kid, so I saw it in passing.
>> Marco Timpano: So. Okay. So anyways, that's the famous sort of cartoon image of. Of Bugs Bunny as a barber working on Ellie.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I see. Because he's a barber. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: The barber is name.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's a comedy. Amanda. I didn't realize. I didn't really know what it was about, to be honest.
>> Amanda Barker: Looney Tunes was making fun of it. So you just assume it itself is not a comedy.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. I thought it was like a tragic opera or. I. I really didn't have any thoughts on it. But it is a comedy, and they staged it really well at the Canadian Opera Company. I have to say. They made it. It had some Cirque qualities to it. Yeah. There was a moment where one of the servants is hanging off the chandelier. It has nothing to do with the story itself, but it was just a comed comedic moment. And there was just comedic moments that they, that they executed very well in this particular opera.
>> Amanda Barker: So wait, they were hanging off the chandelier like over the audience?
>> Marco Timpano: No, there was a chandelier above the, the, the main house where they, where they were doing the opera.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And, and it was a. Like it's the rich man's. The doctor's house.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And so they were setting it up and I don't know, he was lighting the chandelier and then slipped and was holding on.
>> Amanda Barker: How many people would be in for an opera? I feel like it's a big undertaking.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, yeah, I mean, this one here has about five to six main characters or let's say three main characters and, or four main characters and then maybe another three or four supporting characters. Then the rest are just filling in the ambiance of it. You had this woman who had a black dress. I guess she's a widow in the back with, you know, the head things that are very Spanish looking that go higher.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they go high and then there's like lace over them.
>> Marco Timpano: She was dressed in what? That, I don't, I don't know either. But she was dressed in that. In black.
>> Amanda Barker: Head lace thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Head lace thing. So she had the head lace thing and she was a background character and they're interested in like the servant who was the clown who. There was like three of them and one was swinging off the chandelier. Things like that. They don't have, you know, arias or anything, but they're, they're.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, what's an aria?
>> Marco Timpano: Like they don't have any song. Big song that they're singing.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is that what an aria?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. Once learning opera as I go. So regardless, it was, it was great fun. We went to the student performance. So they cut it down, Amanda, from three hours to two.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, okay, so here's my question. Did they cut. Are they normally doing a three hour night? But then for the student one, they did the. What we would call in my world, the casino version.
>> Marco Timpano: They did the casino version.
>> Amanda Barker: So to explain, we're. Listen, if this is the very first insomnia project you're listening to, then you should probably know that Marco and I are both actors and podcasters and many other. We have. We wear many hats on any given day, but we're both actors. And so we have both done shows and tours. And when you do, I've done some long form tours and so it would be a two hour Show. But at a casino, they never really want you to have an intermission. Usually they want it to be maybe a free event for people who have played so much or whatever. So it's a different type of audience. And it's generally speaking, an audience that doesn't have the same level of attention span as, you know, a sit down traditional theater. So you saw the. So they had two versions. They had the sit down traditional opera, three hours.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And then the casino version for you and a bunch of 11 seventh grade students. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: They have a student version that myself and my friend, friend of the show, Trevor Martin went to. We really, really enjoyed it.
>> Amanda Barker: I love it. Boys. Boys day out.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I was like. And we caught like the penultimate showing of the opera.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the second to last.
>> Marco Timpano: Second to last. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm learning a lot today.
>> Marco Timpano: So let me give you some bite size points about the opera itself. This one. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Of the Barber of Seville.
>> Marco Timpano: So it premiered in 1816 in Rome and was composed by Jokino Rossini. And it was not well received on the first. The opening.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: People were booing. People didn't enjoy it. He went to bed. He's like. He just wanted to sleep through the next performances. But the second performance.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, the composer did.
>> Marco Timpano: The composer? The composer Rossini. Because he. He was there at the opening. It got booed. It was not enjoyed. The next night, thunderous applause. People were enjoying it. They raced out on the streets and started cheering for him under his balcony.
>> Amanda Barker: W. Yeah. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it was based.
>> Amanda Barker: Imagine, like, it's so amazing to imagine a world that was not that long ago in the history of humankind.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Like really not that long.
>> Marco Timpano: 120 years ago, 110 years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: Like recently, actually, in the history of things where people, you know, there were no phones and people would be that engaged in an opera's opening, in an opera's demise, in an opera's continuation, that they would go and they would know where Buddy lived.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Rossini.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Giocchino, if you knew him by first name.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Joe.
>> Marco Timpano: Joe where? Joe.
>> Amanda Barker: Joe's house. And cheer on his balcony.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was based on a play by Pierre Beauches Marches.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. French dude.
>> Marco Timpano: French dude. And it's part of a trilogy that includes the Marriage of Figaro, which was also made into an opera, but I think that was done by Mozart.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, important question.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Tell me about Figaro.
>> Marco Timpano: So Figaro is the barber.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. And you know Figaro?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Figaro. Yeah. In Italian, it's Figaro. Right. And he is One of the main characters and what I didn't know, which was a grand surprise to me, is that song, Figaro, Figaro cui Figueroa la. You know, that song is the first thing that they sing. So it was like, what a way to open it up with that song that has a lot of impact and that you've heard all your life. At least I have as a kid.
>> Amanda Barker: And I wonder how it ended up in Looney Tunes. Like, someone had a record, probably. And that's the first. That's the first hit on the record.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's also because it's public domain, you can use the song. So Looney Tunes is like, okay, free song. And everybody knows you know that part. And so they use that part. Or not everybody knows. But it was probably very dramatic enough
>> Amanda Barker: for them to use.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's a comic opera or an opera buff, as they say in Italian. And it has schemes, disguises, rapid fire humor. And Figaro's the barber, and he's the helper. He's the know it all in the community. Everybody likes him, and he helps people.
>> Amanda Barker: He's like Tevy on Fiddler on the Roof. Kind of like the all seer, all knower, all helper person.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So the Count is in love with Rosina.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And Rosina lives with the Doctor, who is his. Her caretaker. And the Doctor wants to marry her for the inheritance.
>> Amanda Barker: Weird. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's. It's. It's weird.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a long time ago, and
>> Marco Timpano: the Count, even though I just said
>> Amanda Barker: it was recently, it was also a long time ago.
>> Marco Timpano: The Count doesn't want Racina to know he's a Count. Oh, so why? Because he doesn't want her to fall in love with him for his money and his title. Okay, so Figaro says you're gonna sing under her balcony as Lorindo, I think is the name that he went by. Oh, I can't think of it.
>> Amanda Barker: And she's gonna fall in love with Lorindo.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And then we're like, psych, it's me.
>> Marco Timpano: He sings under her balcony. She falls in love with him. It's a lovely moment, and it's a funny moment, too. And then.
>> Amanda Barker: Why is it funny?
>> Marco Timpano: Just the way they staged it for her to come out or whatever. They just. It was just. They did a really lovely job. It had more humor than I thought.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It would have. And this was after you and I had seen a very dramatic opera, which was Nabucco, which isn't, let's say, a family friendly first opera. Experience. This one here is definitely.
>> Amanda Barker: It was heavy and there was a lot of opera in that opera.
>> Marco Timpano: This one, I could actually understand a lot of the words because I find it hard to understand operas like the Italian in it, because it's either old style or they're singing it. And I don't catch all the words. In fact, this one here, I would understand much of it.
>> Amanda Barker: I have to say, the amount of enthusiasm you have post Barber of Seville, Canadian Opera Company.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Is very exciting to me because it feels like this is a new hobby, maybe you being an opera. But you've always liked opera, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if I've always liked opera, but you know, because to me,
>> Amanda Barker: opera's a hard sell. And I used to. I mean, I even sang. I don't know that I really sang opera, but I certainly trained in some opera adjacent styles when I was younger and I had teachers that sang opera. So that's me. And I was like, it's actually what turned me off voice because I was like, if I even have a career in voice, I don't really think I want to be an opera star. Like, I was really like, that's not for me.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I don't love musicals. That's not my thing. And we saw a bunch of musicals not that long ago and I enjoy them, but musicals aren't my thing. And I feel like operas are the precursor to the musicals we know today.
>> Amanda Barker: That's very fair, right? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's, that's where. That's where I'm like, kind of like, I guess I'm going back to basics or back to the original. And I'm enjoying the og right. And I don't know, I just wanted to make it a thing to do. I know it was just kind of like a. Something fun to do. I mean, a project, let's say.
>> Amanda Barker: And you got. They had very affordable tickets.
>> Marco Timpano: It was great. So Lorindo, right.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is.
>> Marco Timpano: So Don Bartolo is. Or Bartolo is the doctor who's holding Rosina in his home and he doesn't want her to meet anyone because he's going to marry her.
>> Amanda Barker: Side question.
>> Marco Timpano: He's old, she's young.
>> Amanda Barker: Don anything. Did that mean you're Italian and you had money? You were a dude with money.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like saying sir, like it's giving you a.
>> Amanda Barker: So everybody like Mr. Mr. Bracolo.
>> Marco Timpano: It's almost like a higher.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what I mean, it's higher.
>> Marco Timpano: So a lot of priests were caught. Like you would say don to a Priest.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I read the brilliant Friends series and that took place in the 50s, in the beginning, and they were all Don this and Don that. And then as the story ages in Italy, it ages sort of in real time from 1950 up till today. You know, no one's calling anyone. Like, you're not Don Timpano.
>> Marco Timpano: I should be. You can call me that if you want, anytime you want. I'm happy to receive that title.
>> Amanda Barker: But, like, Even in the 50s, people were saying Don this and Don that, and now you don't really hear it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not Lorindo, it's Lindor.
>> Amanda Barker: Lindor. Come on. I was thinking it was Lorindo.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's Lindor.
>> Amanda Barker: Who's Larindo?
>> Marco Timpano: Like the chocolate. I don't. Lorindo's just. I've got Lindor. Lindor, like the chocolate.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Or like your friend Lindor. Lindora, I think. You know someone named Lindora.
>> Amanda Barker: I. Yes, I know some. I know of somebody. Lindor.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways, the funny thing is, Amanda, when we were there at the opera, I rented opera classes.
>> Amanda Barker: How much were they?
>> Marco Timpano: They were six bucks.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, well, that's. That's also very economical.
>> Marco Timpano: We sat in the fourth ring, so we sat pretty high up.
>> Amanda Barker: Opera nosebleeds, pretty much.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a fifth ring.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Trevor and I sat in the fourth ring. You and I sat in the fifth ring.
>> Amanda Barker: It was high.
>> Marco Timpano: So high. So high. So I got opera glasses and we have opera glasses and we do. I was like, oh, why didn't I bring my opera glasses? And funny enough, Trevor's like, I have opera glasses too now. How many people have opera glasses?
>> Amanda Barker: Probably a lot, because we are people that have inherited things. Because we are a generation that has inherited a lot of stuff from those post war parents and grandparents, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Why did everybody have opera glasses?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that is the bigger question, because, like, we got opera glasses from people that lived in both New Brunswick, which I'm going to guarantee you there were no opera in New Brunswick. And they lived in Ontario, but not anywhere near the opera. Like, they lived out in the country, in Ontario. So I don't know how often, if ever, those opera glasses got used. And also, opera's so specific. Like, it's. It's not like. But maybe people go to concerts and use them.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I mean, why aren't we bringing them when we go see musicals? Like, to really see what's on stage. I don't. It's just to see the stage.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never been in a musical where there's a Fifth tier.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but we've been to musicals where we've sat towards the back.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but they also. Okay, concerts, have screens. So, like, when we went and saw Cyndi Lauper, you find yourself looking at the screen a lot because the screen shows what she's doing close up.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, but we were at a smaller concert venue, too, when we saw her. Like, it wasn't like we were seeing U2 at the sky Dome or something.
>> Amanda Barker: So if you saw U2 at the sky Dome, would you bring your opera glasses?
>> Marco Timpano: No, because they. They televised it. They have screens. You're right. Yeah, but.
>> Amanda Barker: So the opera does not have screens, right?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, they don't have screens. They actually. I'm wrong. They have screens where they translate what's being sung in French and in English. In this case here.
>> Amanda Barker: I gotcha. And then musicals are traditionally done more like a vaudeville style in smaller houses. So a musical is never really done for the fifth tier. It was done for a couple hundred people, maybe a thousand at most.
>> Marco Timpano: I still want to bring opera glasses when we go see a musical.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. No one's stopping you.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like I'm being stopped.
>> Amanda Barker: They take up space in my house, so if they get used, all the better.
>> Marco Timpano: Where are our oppo glasses?
>> Amanda Barker: In the office. I can tell you exactly where they are. They're by the window.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're white, right?
>> Amanda Barker: They are. They're like shell.
>> Marco Timpano: Do they have that, like, mother of pearl?
>> Amanda Barker: Mother of pearl, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Do they have a stick, A shell,
>> Amanda Barker: as I call it.
>> Marco Timpano: A good old abalone. You know, conch, Shell.
>> Amanda Barker: Shell. You say abalone. Abalone.
>> Marco Timpano: You say abalone.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: No, abalone.
>> Amanda Barker: And you're Italian with the vowel. It's spelled abalone.
>> Marco Timpano: That's not. That's not necessarily an Italian word. Abalone. Like, I don't think that creature. It was named an Italian.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never heard anyone say abalone.
>> Marco Timpano: I say abalone.
>> Amanda Barker: I've only heard people say abalone.
>> Marco Timpano: I've only heard people say abalone.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you're full of abalone.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. Remember this? The. Who was it who had the album Avalon?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: He had that, like. Cool. He would be great on the podcast. Wasn't it that guy that is a little bit quirky. No, the quirky guy. Your sister would like him. He does quirky.
>> Amanda Barker: We'll go.
>> Marco Timpano: He has white. White hair now, Beck.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I'm just shouting out things that hipsters used to like back in the 90s.
>> Marco Timpano: No, before that. I could just look. It Up. Anyways, what's Wilco?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, they were a band that middle aged white guys like.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, I hope people are fast asleep at this point because I'm gonna get a lot of heat on my Wilco. Dismissive comments.
>> Marco Timpano: The guy from Roxy Music. What's his name?
>> Amanda Barker: That does not help me. The guy from Roxy Music.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the guy's name from Roxy Music? He was in Roxy Music.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know Roxy Music. Marco, who was the guy?
>> Marco Timpano: Brian Ferry. Brian.
>> Amanda Barker: The Colgate Comedy Hour. There's a great sketch. This is a tangent. There's a great sketch. Oh, what's the name of the show? His name is Tim Robinson and I find him. He's. Listen, you either love him or you don't. But I find him so unbelievably absurdist. Funny.
>> Marco Timpano: I did that this weekend with my nephew.
>> Amanda Barker: What? Colgate comedy.
>> Marco Timpano: Kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: And so he has a great sketch where people are playing the celebrity game. What you and I call this the. He has it on his first show and it's called I think you should leave.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: It's on Netflix. If you're still awake and you want to check it out. I think you should leave and you just want some fun sketches. It's the second to last episode, I think, or the last episode in that series. But he has a sketch where they're doing the celebrity game and they're all like in their 20s and this girl brings her aged, middle aged man boyfriend who's not very kind to her and very much a know it all. And so his celebrities are.
>> Marco Timpano: We all know those people.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, and his celebrities are all. He's like into jazz. Are all people from the Colgate Comedy Hour. He's like, you know, you know him, you know him. He was on the Colgate Comedy Hour. And they're all like, I don't know, you know, and they're, they're shout. They're. They're like Madonna, you know, Sabrina Carpenter. And he's like, no, the Cool Gate comedy Hour.
>> Marco Timpano: We were in the car or I was in the car with my.
>> Amanda Barker: I reference that whenever Marco wants to remember people like, you know, he was in Roxy Music. Which does not help me.
>> Marco Timpano: Brian Ferry is pretty well known.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, Brian Ferry is known, right? Yeah. What else? What did he sing?
>> Marco Timpano: Avalon. He sang a couple other songs. Anyways, I was in the car with my sister and my 1111 year old nephew was in the back.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And so we were talking about certain celebrities and. And I was talking about who's married to Kurt Russell again.
>> Amanda Barker: Goldie Han.
>> Marco Timpano: Goldie. Goldie. Goldie Hawn. And he's like, who's Goldie Hawn? I go, you know, she was in Laughing.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, he's alive.
>> Marco Timpano: He's like, we don't.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't you. Laughing wasn't even on TV when we were kids.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I said that. He goes, what? I go, she was in Shampoo with Warren beatty in the 60s.
>> Amanda Barker: You were just doing this to make yourself laugh.
>> Marco Timpano: And I was making myself laugh because I was reference. In my mind, I was referencing that thing. And so then I was. We were doing it with a bunch of celebrities like Steven Spielberg, and I'm like, you know, he directed. And I wasn't using, like, Jurassic park or E.T. things that he might be familiar with. I was doing his, like, older. Older films, but I was doing it with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. I was just giving, like, really old and obscure references. Like, you've never seen Big Trouble in Little China? And he's like, no. And he was getting very upset.
>> Amanda Barker: He gets upset.
>> Marco Timpano: He gets upset.
>> Amanda Barker: But I say things like that to him. And actually, he is probably. He watches so many deconstruction YouTube videos that's, like, all he watches. So he would probably know about some of those things because he's very into history and the history of pop culture.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm glad you mentioned U2, because I'm working on our YouTube.
>> Amanda Barker: You mentioned U2.
>> Marco Timpano: Did I mention it off the top?
>> Amanda Barker: You were talking about wearing opera glasses to see U2 at the. I think you said SkyDome.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but I'm talking about none of these things.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not called the Sky Dome anymore. Colgate Comedy Hour.
>> Marco Timpano: I still call it the Hummingbird Center. It hasn't been. Or the O' Keeffe Center. It hasn't been the O' Keeffe Center, 1983. So you mentioned YouTube.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, YouTube. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm trying to. And I'm working on getting our podcast on YouTube because there's a lot of listeners who listen at work or who listen on their computer or have friends who want to listen on the computer. And we only have a few episodes up there, so I'm going to put our catalog on there. So if you know somebody at work who might benefit from just hearing us chat and blather on about opera.
>> Amanda Barker: Because YouTube would be more accessible for some people. For some people than other podcasting platforms. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so I'm working on that.
>> Amanda Barker: Wonderful. So there you go, folks. Just more ways to do this.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So anyways, the opera was great.
>> Amanda Barker: Amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: I got the opera glasses. I went to the. I. I did a coat check too, because I didn't want my coat around me because I find. Do you find this, Amanda, that a lot of places where you sit to watch performances, the seats are very tight and narrow. And so if you have.
>> Amanda Barker: Or are we getting bigger, Marco?
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like they're tighter and narrower. I feel like when you go to an old theater, you got space and you can hang a jacket off, whatever.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like they're tight and narrow. And also old theaters are tight and narrow because like Broadway theaters that were all built in like 1908, they're pretty tight. Those seats are tiny. Like there's not a lot of room.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And I say this because you and I went to six Broadway shows a few months ago, so that's all fresh in my mind. But newer theaters, Well, I don't know because I would argue that some of the ones near my parents in Florida when they go to seashows are probably bigger and they're newer. But you're right, the Four Seasons where the Canadian Opera Company performs, they're not the biggest seats.
>> Marco Timpano: No, they're not. So I didn't want my bulky winter jacket with me.
>> Amanda Barker: I always feel like the seats are tight. I do. I always feel like we're way too close to other humans right now. Just in general.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways. There was no one sitting behind us, so Trevor and I in the second act moved to the robot.
>> Amanda Barker: Spread out. You man spreaded.
>> Marco Timpano: We student show man spread in the, in. In the fourth ring, section C. We were in section B. So there we go.
>> Amanda Barker: So now do you and Trevor have a plan as friends to go see other student matinees?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, actually we do.
>> Amanda Barker: You're going to be those old guys that are like, oh yeah, there's. It's like all of our height school and then these two dudes with their abalone opera classes, I believe they're shell.
>> Marco Timpano: We were both disappointed that we didn't bring. I didn't bring my niece and he didn't bring his daughter because we thought they would have really enjoyed this opera. So we're.
>> Amanda Barker: What about our 11 year old nephew? Or how about our 3 year old nephew?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think. I think you have to be in your teens to enjoy it.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, what about our 15 year old nephew?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I think he might.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, we have a lot of nephews.
>> Marco Timpano: We have nephews. And I feel like opera is the kind of thing you either like or you don't. But you you should see it once just to feel the experience of seeing an opera.
>> Amanda Barker: But I'm going to counter that and say you should see it more than once. Okay. Because I have now seen that I can know that I can readily remember. It might be more if my memory's jog, but that I can remember. I've seen two operas. It's not a lot. Two opera, sure. Two operas. Anyway, I've seen two with a lot of time in between. So you. We went to Nambuco.
>> Marco Timpano: Nabuco.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Nabuco. And years and years ago, there was an opera version of the Handmaid's Tale.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: Way before the series. I mean, we're talking. This would have been done in, like, 2002.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: 2003. And a friend of mine. He's just a friend that gets interesting opportunities all the time and so on. And he. We were all actors, and he was offered to be. Basically, they wanted 10 or 15 actors to move set pieces, and they wanted them all to be big, strong men wearing all black. So if you know Handmaid's Tale at all, that makes sense. Right. So they would move the set pieces, but also be this sort of, like, male presence with the women in the red coats and all that. So he was excited because that was his first Equity acting job. So he got his Equity card, which, for an actor, when you go union, either union, it's a big deal. So we were all very excited for him at the time because none of us were union at that time. So I went and saw him in it. I mean, it was. It's like when you have a friend who does background work in a movie or a tv, and you're like, I think there he is. Like, it was like that. Like, which. Which large man is he? You know, So I saw that one which was, let's be honest, not an uplifting, heartwarming romp. And then I saw Nabuko. So I think it's too bad I didn't see Barbara Seville, because I probably. That would have been more of one for me, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. I think so. I saw Pavarotti perform his. Do you remember he would do these Pavarotti and Friends concerts?
>> Amanda Barker: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: He would raise money for War Child was the. Was the charity.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And I got press tickets because I had a radio show at my university, and I was able to get press accreditation because they didn't know it was a radio show at a university. They just thought it was Canadian press.
>> Amanda Barker: I love it.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I got to hang out backstage with all the performers. And I got a picture with Pavarotti and I got to ask him questions, and that's great. Eric Clapton and. And a whole bunch of people. Sheryl Crow, John Sakata, if you remember him.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, back then, too, there were so many. Less like now everybody has a website that they're reviewing or whatever. There were blogs for a long time or whatever. I mean, there still are. So now they probably are more stringent with that. But back in the day. Back in the day, you worked in radio. You worked in radio exactly like that was. It did. They didn't need to know. It was York University radio.
>> Marco Timpano: Why are you shouting out my university?
>> Amanda Barker: Why not be proud? York University. I worked in radio. I worked for Mount. Else. I worked for CHMA. You were CKDu. Is that you?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's my sister.
>> Marco Timpano: Chry.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. 105.5 CKDu. Must be Dell.
>> Marco Timpano: What was your call numbers, CHMA?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I don't remember. 90 something. I don't know. Wow, CHMA. I'll look it up.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it doesn't. It doesn't really matter.
>> Amanda Barker: I was a newsreader. I'd be like, good afternoon. Welcome to the news.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: That was my voice.
>> Marco Timpano: I wonder if you put people to sleep with your newscast.
>> Amanda Barker: I only had one person listen to me. That was my friend Michelle. And she'd be like, I love her news voice.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great. Well, listen, I love your news voice, too, and I hope you enjoyed this episode. And if you get a chance to see opera, by all means, give it a shot.
>> Amanda Barker: Give it a couple of shots, because I still a few shots away from deciding if it's my thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Bring your abalone opera specs.
>> Amanda Barker: Bring your abalone sandwich.
>> Marco Timpano: Bring your Bryan Fairey cd.
>> Amanda Barker: Bring your niece and nephew so they can roll their eyes at you.
>> Marco Timpano: And enjoy your night at the opera. Until next time, we hope you were able to listen and slee.
airdate: Feb 25, 2026
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation. That's Meant to help you drift on off and hopefully find your way to sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. And if you're listening in bed, it's safe to close your eyes now.
>> Marco Timpano: Awesome. Amanda, we have a few things we're going to talk about today, but I recently went to the opera.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. So the opera is something that I. I really don't know much about the opera. I could use an education about the opera, but I'd like to say I have a curiosity about the opera, so I. I have so many questions.
>> Marco Timpano: So I've made it sort of my goal to go see the classic operas that everyone sort of refers to.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a new goal that I've made because I realized we have a lovely opera here. The coc, The Canadian Opera Company, not far from, you know, where we live. And I was like, we have this space. I want to go see it. I want to go use it. So they had a student show, was a matinee on Friday, the first they ever did for the Barber of Seville by Giocchino Rossini.
>> Amanda Barker: So the only thing I know of the Barber of Seville, that's Figaro, Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know what Figaro is, but I just know when you're a kid, you see cartoons, I think Looney Tunes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And they would reference it a lot. So can you tell me, what is the Barber of Seville about?
>> Marco Timpano: It's actually, I. I knew nothing about it other than. What, you're referring to the Bugs Bunny. He's massaging Elmer Fudd's head.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's a deeper cut.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a deeper cut.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. But no, I really. I didn't like Looney Tunes as a kid, so I saw it in passing.
>> Marco Timpano: So. Okay. So anyways, that's the famous sort of cartoon image of. Of Bugs Bunny as a barber working on Ellie.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I see. Because he's a barber. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: The barber is name.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's a comedy. Amanda. I didn't realize. I didn't really know what it was about, to be honest.
>> Amanda Barker: Looney Tunes was making fun of it. So you just assume it itself is not a comedy.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. I thought it was like a tragic opera or. I. I really didn't have any thoughts on it. But it is a comedy, and they staged it really well at the Canadian Opera Company. I have to say. They made it. It had some Cirque qualities to it. Yeah. There was a moment where one of the servants is hanging off the chandelier. It has nothing to do with the story itself, but it was just a comed comedic moment. And there was just comedic moments that they, that they executed very well in this particular opera.
>> Amanda Barker: So wait, they were hanging off the chandelier like over the audience?
>> Marco Timpano: No, there was a chandelier above the, the, the main house where they, where they were doing the opera.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And, and it was a. Like it's the rich man's. The doctor's house.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And so they were setting it up and I don't know, he was lighting the chandelier and then slipped and was holding on.
>> Amanda Barker: How many people would be in for an opera? I feel like it's a big undertaking.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, yeah, I mean, this one here has about five to six main characters or let's say three main characters and, or four main characters and then maybe another three or four supporting characters. Then the rest are just filling in the ambiance of it. You had this woman who had a black dress. I guess she's a widow in the back with, you know, the head things that are very Spanish looking that go higher.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they go high and then there's like lace over them.
>> Marco Timpano: She was dressed in what? That, I don't, I don't know either. But she was dressed in that. In black.
>> Amanda Barker: Head lace thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Head lace thing. So she had the head lace thing and she was a background character and they're interested in like the servant who was the clown who. There was like three of them and one was swinging off the chandelier. Things like that. They don't have, you know, arias or anything, but they're, they're.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, what's an aria?
>> Marco Timpano: Like they don't have any song. Big song that they're singing.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is that what an aria?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. Once learning opera as I go. So regardless, it was, it was great fun. We went to the student performance. So they cut it down, Amanda, from three hours to two.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, okay, so here's my question. Did they cut. Are they normally doing a three hour night? But then for the student one, they did the. What we would call in my world, the casino version.
>> Marco Timpano: They did the casino version.
>> Amanda Barker: So to explain, we're. Listen, if this is the very first insomnia project you're listening to, then you should probably know that Marco and I are both actors and podcasters and many other. We have. We wear many hats on any given day, but we're both actors. And so we have both done shows and tours. And when you do, I've done some long form tours and so it would be a two hour Show. But at a casino, they never really want you to have an intermission. Usually they want it to be maybe a free event for people who have played so much or whatever. So it's a different type of audience. And it's generally speaking, an audience that doesn't have the same level of attention span as, you know, a sit down traditional theater. So you saw the. So they had two versions. They had the sit down traditional opera, three hours.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And then the casino version for you and a bunch of 11 seventh grade students. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: They have a student version that myself and my friend, friend of the show, Trevor Martin went to. We really, really enjoyed it.
>> Amanda Barker: I love it. Boys. Boys day out.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I was like. And we caught like the penultimate showing of the opera.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the second to last.
>> Marco Timpano: Second to last. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm learning a lot today.
>> Marco Timpano: So let me give you some bite size points about the opera itself. This one. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Of the Barber of Seville.
>> Marco Timpano: So it premiered in 1816 in Rome and was composed by Jokino Rossini. And it was not well received on the first. The opening.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: People were booing. People didn't enjoy it. He went to bed. He's like. He just wanted to sleep through the next performances. But the second performance.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, the composer did.
>> Marco Timpano: The composer? The composer Rossini. Because he. He was there at the opening. It got booed. It was not enjoyed. The next night, thunderous applause. People were enjoying it. They raced out on the streets and started cheering for him under his balcony.
>> Amanda Barker: W. Yeah. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it was based.
>> Amanda Barker: Imagine, like, it's so amazing to imagine a world that was not that long ago in the history of humankind.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Like really not that long.
>> Marco Timpano: 120 years ago, 110 years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: Like recently, actually, in the history of things where people, you know, there were no phones and people would be that engaged in an opera's opening, in an opera's demise, in an opera's continuation, that they would go and they would know where Buddy lived.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Rossini.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Giocchino, if you knew him by first name.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Joe.
>> Marco Timpano: Joe where? Joe.
>> Amanda Barker: Joe's house. And cheer on his balcony.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was based on a play by Pierre Beauches Marches.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. French dude.
>> Marco Timpano: French dude. And it's part of a trilogy that includes the Marriage of Figaro, which was also made into an opera, but I think that was done by Mozart.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, important question.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Tell me about Figaro.
>> Marco Timpano: So Figaro is the barber.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. And you know Figaro?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Figaro. Yeah. In Italian, it's Figaro. Right. And he is One of the main characters and what I didn't know, which was a grand surprise to me, is that song, Figaro, Figaro cui Figueroa la. You know, that song is the first thing that they sing. So it was like, what a way to open it up with that song that has a lot of impact and that you've heard all your life. At least I have as a kid.
>> Amanda Barker: And I wonder how it ended up in Looney Tunes. Like, someone had a record, probably. And that's the first. That's the first hit on the record.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's also because it's public domain, you can use the song. So Looney Tunes is like, okay, free song. And everybody knows you know that part. And so they use that part. Or not everybody knows. But it was probably very dramatic enough
>> Amanda Barker: for them to use.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's a comic opera or an opera buff, as they say in Italian. And it has schemes, disguises, rapid fire humor. And Figaro's the barber, and he's the helper. He's the know it all in the community. Everybody likes him, and he helps people.
>> Amanda Barker: He's like Tevy on Fiddler on the Roof. Kind of like the all seer, all knower, all helper person.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So the Count is in love with Rosina.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And Rosina lives with the Doctor, who is his. Her caretaker. And the Doctor wants to marry her for the inheritance.
>> Amanda Barker: Weird. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's. It's. It's weird.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a long time ago, and
>> Marco Timpano: the Count, even though I just said
>> Amanda Barker: it was recently, it was also a long time ago.
>> Marco Timpano: The Count doesn't want Racina to know he's a Count. Oh, so why? Because he doesn't want her to fall in love with him for his money and his title. Okay, so Figaro says you're gonna sing under her balcony as Lorindo, I think is the name that he went by. Oh, I can't think of it.
>> Amanda Barker: And she's gonna fall in love with Lorindo.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And then we're like, psych, it's me.
>> Marco Timpano: He sings under her balcony. She falls in love with him. It's a lovely moment, and it's a funny moment, too. And then.
>> Amanda Barker: Why is it funny?
>> Marco Timpano: Just the way they staged it for her to come out or whatever. They just. It was just. They did a really lovely job. It had more humor than I thought.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It would have. And this was after you and I had seen a very dramatic opera, which was Nabucco, which isn't, let's say, a family friendly first opera. Experience. This one here is definitely.
>> Amanda Barker: It was heavy and there was a lot of opera in that opera.
>> Marco Timpano: This one, I could actually understand a lot of the words because I find it hard to understand operas like the Italian in it, because it's either old style or they're singing it. And I don't catch all the words. In fact, this one here, I would understand much of it.
>> Amanda Barker: I have to say, the amount of enthusiasm you have post Barber of Seville, Canadian Opera Company.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Is very exciting to me because it feels like this is a new hobby, maybe you being an opera. But you've always liked opera, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if I've always liked opera, but you know, because to me,
>> Amanda Barker: opera's a hard sell. And I used to. I mean, I even sang. I don't know that I really sang opera, but I certainly trained in some opera adjacent styles when I was younger and I had teachers that sang opera. So that's me. And I was like, it's actually what turned me off voice because I was like, if I even have a career in voice, I don't really think I want to be an opera star. Like, I was really like, that's not for me.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I don't love musicals. That's not my thing. And we saw a bunch of musicals not that long ago and I enjoy them, but musicals aren't my thing. And I feel like operas are the precursor to the musicals we know today.
>> Amanda Barker: That's very fair, right? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's, that's where. That's where I'm like, kind of like, I guess I'm going back to basics or back to the original. And I'm enjoying the og right. And I don't know, I just wanted to make it a thing to do. I know it was just kind of like a. Something fun to do. I mean, a project, let's say.
>> Amanda Barker: And you got. They had very affordable tickets.
>> Marco Timpano: It was great. So Lorindo, right.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is.
>> Marco Timpano: So Don Bartolo is. Or Bartolo is the doctor who's holding Rosina in his home and he doesn't want her to meet anyone because he's going to marry her.
>> Amanda Barker: Side question.
>> Marco Timpano: He's old, she's young.
>> Amanda Barker: Don anything. Did that mean you're Italian and you had money? You were a dude with money.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like saying sir, like it's giving you a.
>> Amanda Barker: So everybody like Mr. Mr. Bracolo.
>> Marco Timpano: It's almost like a higher.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what I mean, it's higher.
>> Marco Timpano: So a lot of priests were caught. Like you would say don to a Priest.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I read the brilliant Friends series and that took place in the 50s, in the beginning, and they were all Don this and Don that. And then as the story ages in Italy, it ages sort of in real time from 1950 up till today. You know, no one's calling anyone. Like, you're not Don Timpano.
>> Marco Timpano: I should be. You can call me that if you want, anytime you want. I'm happy to receive that title.
>> Amanda Barker: But, like, Even in the 50s, people were saying Don this and Don that, and now you don't really hear it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not Lorindo, it's Lindor.
>> Amanda Barker: Lindor. Come on. I was thinking it was Lorindo.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's Lindor.
>> Amanda Barker: Who's Larindo?
>> Marco Timpano: Like the chocolate. I don't. Lorindo's just. I've got Lindor. Lindor, like the chocolate.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Or like your friend Lindor. Lindora, I think. You know someone named Lindora.
>> Amanda Barker: I. Yes, I know some. I know of somebody. Lindor.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways, the funny thing is, Amanda, when we were there at the opera, I rented opera classes.
>> Amanda Barker: How much were they?
>> Marco Timpano: They were six bucks.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, well, that's. That's also very economical.
>> Marco Timpano: We sat in the fourth ring, so we sat pretty high up.
>> Amanda Barker: Opera nosebleeds, pretty much.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a fifth ring.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Trevor and I sat in the fourth ring. You and I sat in the fifth ring.
>> Amanda Barker: It was high.
>> Marco Timpano: So high. So high. So I got opera glasses and we have opera glasses and we do. I was like, oh, why didn't I bring my opera glasses? And funny enough, Trevor's like, I have opera glasses too now. How many people have opera glasses?
>> Amanda Barker: Probably a lot, because we are people that have inherited things. Because we are a generation that has inherited a lot of stuff from those post war parents and grandparents, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Why did everybody have opera glasses?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that is the bigger question, because, like, we got opera glasses from people that lived in both New Brunswick, which I'm going to guarantee you there were no opera in New Brunswick. And they lived in Ontario, but not anywhere near the opera. Like, they lived out in the country, in Ontario. So I don't know how often, if ever, those opera glasses got used. And also, opera's so specific. Like, it's. It's not like. But maybe people go to concerts and use them.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I mean, why aren't we bringing them when we go see musicals? Like, to really see what's on stage. I don't. It's just to see the stage.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never been in a musical where there's a Fifth tier.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but we've been to musicals where we've sat towards the back.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but they also. Okay, concerts, have screens. So, like, when we went and saw Cyndi Lauper, you find yourself looking at the screen a lot because the screen shows what she's doing close up.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, but we were at a smaller concert venue, too, when we saw her. Like, it wasn't like we were seeing U2 at the sky Dome or something.
>> Amanda Barker: So if you saw U2 at the sky Dome, would you bring your opera glasses?
>> Marco Timpano: No, because they. They televised it. They have screens. You're right. Yeah, but.
>> Amanda Barker: So the opera does not have screens, right?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, they don't have screens. They actually. I'm wrong. They have screens where they translate what's being sung in French and in English. In this case here.
>> Amanda Barker: I gotcha. And then musicals are traditionally done more like a vaudeville style in smaller houses. So a musical is never really done for the fifth tier. It was done for a couple hundred people, maybe a thousand at most.
>> Marco Timpano: I still want to bring opera glasses when we go see a musical.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. No one's stopping you.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like I'm being stopped.
>> Amanda Barker: They take up space in my house, so if they get used, all the better.
>> Marco Timpano: Where are our oppo glasses?
>> Amanda Barker: In the office. I can tell you exactly where they are. They're by the window.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're white, right?
>> Amanda Barker: They are. They're like shell.
>> Marco Timpano: Do they have that, like, mother of pearl?
>> Amanda Barker: Mother of pearl, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Do they have a stick, A shell,
>> Amanda Barker: as I call it.
>> Marco Timpano: A good old abalone. You know, conch, Shell.
>> Amanda Barker: Shell. You say abalone. Abalone.
>> Marco Timpano: You say abalone.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: No, abalone.
>> Amanda Barker: And you're Italian with the vowel. It's spelled abalone.
>> Marco Timpano: That's not. That's not necessarily an Italian word. Abalone. Like, I don't think that creature. It was named an Italian.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never heard anyone say abalone.
>> Marco Timpano: I say abalone.
>> Amanda Barker: I've only heard people say abalone.
>> Marco Timpano: I've only heard people say abalone.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you're full of abalone.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. Remember this? The. Who was it who had the album Avalon?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: He had that, like. Cool. He would be great on the podcast. Wasn't it that guy that is a little bit quirky. No, the quirky guy. Your sister would like him. He does quirky.
>> Amanda Barker: We'll go.
>> Marco Timpano: He has white. White hair now, Beck.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I'm just shouting out things that hipsters used to like back in the 90s.
>> Marco Timpano: No, before that. I could just look. It Up. Anyways, what's Wilco?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, they were a band that middle aged white guys like.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, I hope people are fast asleep at this point because I'm gonna get a lot of heat on my Wilco. Dismissive comments.
>> Marco Timpano: The guy from Roxy Music. What's his name?
>> Amanda Barker: That does not help me. The guy from Roxy Music.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the guy's name from Roxy Music? He was in Roxy Music.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know Roxy Music. Marco, who was the guy?
>> Marco Timpano: Brian Ferry. Brian.
>> Amanda Barker: The Colgate Comedy Hour. There's a great sketch. This is a tangent. There's a great sketch. Oh, what's the name of the show? His name is Tim Robinson and I find him. He's. Listen, you either love him or you don't. But I find him so unbelievably absurdist. Funny.
>> Marco Timpano: I did that this weekend with my nephew.
>> Amanda Barker: What? Colgate comedy.
>> Marco Timpano: Kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: And so he has a great sketch where people are playing the celebrity game. What you and I call this the. He has it on his first show and it's called I think you should leave.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: It's on Netflix. If you're still awake and you want to check it out. I think you should leave and you just want some fun sketches. It's the second to last episode, I think, or the last episode in that series. But he has a sketch where they're doing the celebrity game and they're all like in their 20s and this girl brings her aged, middle aged man boyfriend who's not very kind to her and very much a know it all. And so his celebrities are.
>> Marco Timpano: We all know those people.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, and his celebrities are all. He's like into jazz. Are all people from the Colgate Comedy Hour. He's like, you know, you know him, you know him. He was on the Colgate Comedy Hour. And they're all like, I don't know, you know, and they're, they're shout. They're. They're like Madonna, you know, Sabrina Carpenter. And he's like, no, the Cool Gate comedy Hour.
>> Marco Timpano: We were in the car or I was in the car with my.
>> Amanda Barker: I reference that whenever Marco wants to remember people like, you know, he was in Roxy Music. Which does not help me.
>> Marco Timpano: Brian Ferry is pretty well known.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, Brian Ferry is known, right? Yeah. What else? What did he sing?
>> Marco Timpano: Avalon. He sang a couple other songs. Anyways, I was in the car with my sister and my 1111 year old nephew was in the back.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And so we were talking about certain celebrities and. And I was talking about who's married to Kurt Russell again.
>> Amanda Barker: Goldie Han.
>> Marco Timpano: Goldie. Goldie. Goldie Hawn. And he's like, who's Goldie Hawn? I go, you know, she was in Laughing.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, he's alive.
>> Marco Timpano: He's like, we don't.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't you. Laughing wasn't even on TV when we were kids.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I said that. He goes, what? I go, she was in Shampoo with Warren beatty in the 60s.
>> Amanda Barker: You were just doing this to make yourself laugh.
>> Marco Timpano: And I was making myself laugh because I was reference. In my mind, I was referencing that thing. And so then I was. We were doing it with a bunch of celebrities like Steven Spielberg, and I'm like, you know, he directed. And I wasn't using, like, Jurassic park or E.T. things that he might be familiar with. I was doing his, like, older. Older films, but I was doing it with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. I was just giving, like, really old and obscure references. Like, you've never seen Big Trouble in Little China? And he's like, no. And he was getting very upset.
>> Amanda Barker: He gets upset.
>> Marco Timpano: He gets upset.
>> Amanda Barker: But I say things like that to him. And actually, he is probably. He watches so many deconstruction YouTube videos that's, like, all he watches. So he would probably know about some of those things because he's very into history and the history of pop culture.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm glad you mentioned U2, because I'm working on our YouTube.
>> Amanda Barker: You mentioned U2.
>> Marco Timpano: Did I mention it off the top?
>> Amanda Barker: You were talking about wearing opera glasses to see U2 at the. I think you said SkyDome.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but I'm talking about none of these things.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not called the Sky Dome anymore. Colgate Comedy Hour.
>> Marco Timpano: I still call it the Hummingbird Center. It hasn't been. Or the O' Keeffe Center. It hasn't been the O' Keeffe Center, 1983. So you mentioned YouTube.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, YouTube. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm trying to. And I'm working on getting our podcast on YouTube because there's a lot of listeners who listen at work or who listen on their computer or have friends who want to listen on the computer. And we only have a few episodes up there, so I'm going to put our catalog on there. So if you know somebody at work who might benefit from just hearing us chat and blather on about opera.
>> Amanda Barker: Because YouTube would be more accessible for some people. For some people than other podcasting platforms. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so I'm working on that.
>> Amanda Barker: Wonderful. So there you go, folks. Just more ways to do this.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So anyways, the opera was great.
>> Amanda Barker: Amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: I got the opera glasses. I went to the. I. I did a coat check too, because I didn't want my coat around me because I find. Do you find this, Amanda, that a lot of places where you sit to watch performances, the seats are very tight and narrow. And so if you have.
>> Amanda Barker: Or are we getting bigger, Marco?
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like they're tighter and narrower. I feel like when you go to an old theater, you got space and you can hang a jacket off, whatever.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like they're tight and narrow. And also old theaters are tight and narrow because like Broadway theaters that were all built in like 1908, they're pretty tight. Those seats are tiny. Like there's not a lot of room.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And I say this because you and I went to six Broadway shows a few months ago, so that's all fresh in my mind. But newer theaters, Well, I don't know because I would argue that some of the ones near my parents in Florida when they go to seashows are probably bigger and they're newer. But you're right, the Four Seasons where the Canadian Opera Company performs, they're not the biggest seats.
>> Marco Timpano: No, they're not. So I didn't want my bulky winter jacket with me.
>> Amanda Barker: I always feel like the seats are tight. I do. I always feel like we're way too close to other humans right now. Just in general.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways. There was no one sitting behind us, so Trevor and I in the second act moved to the robot.
>> Amanda Barker: Spread out. You man spreaded.
>> Marco Timpano: We student show man spread in the, in. In the fourth ring, section C. We were in section B. So there we go.
>> Amanda Barker: So now do you and Trevor have a plan as friends to go see other student matinees?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, actually we do.
>> Amanda Barker: You're going to be those old guys that are like, oh yeah, there's. It's like all of our height school and then these two dudes with their abalone opera classes, I believe they're shell.
>> Marco Timpano: We were both disappointed that we didn't bring. I didn't bring my niece and he didn't bring his daughter because we thought they would have really enjoyed this opera. So we're.
>> Amanda Barker: What about our 11 year old nephew? Or how about our 3 year old nephew?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think. I think you have to be in your teens to enjoy it.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, what about our 15 year old nephew?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I think he might.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, we have a lot of nephews.
>> Marco Timpano: We have nephews. And I feel like opera is the kind of thing you either like or you don't. But you you should see it once just to feel the experience of seeing an opera.
>> Amanda Barker: But I'm going to counter that and say you should see it more than once. Okay. Because I have now seen that I can know that I can readily remember. It might be more if my memory's jog, but that I can remember. I've seen two operas. It's not a lot. Two opera, sure. Two operas. Anyway, I've seen two with a lot of time in between. So you. We went to Nambuco.
>> Marco Timpano: Nabuco.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Nabuco. And years and years ago, there was an opera version of the Handmaid's Tale.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: Way before the series. I mean, we're talking. This would have been done in, like, 2002.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: 2003. And a friend of mine. He's just a friend that gets interesting opportunities all the time and so on. And he. We were all actors, and he was offered to be. Basically, they wanted 10 or 15 actors to move set pieces, and they wanted them all to be big, strong men wearing all black. So if you know Handmaid's Tale at all, that makes sense. Right. So they would move the set pieces, but also be this sort of, like, male presence with the women in the red coats and all that. So he was excited because that was his first Equity acting job. So he got his Equity card, which, for an actor, when you go union, either union, it's a big deal. So we were all very excited for him at the time because none of us were union at that time. So I went and saw him in it. I mean, it was. It's like when you have a friend who does background work in a movie or a tv, and you're like, I think there he is. Like, it was like that. Like, which. Which large man is he? You know, So I saw that one which was, let's be honest, not an uplifting, heartwarming romp. And then I saw Nabuko. So I think it's too bad I didn't see Barbara Seville, because I probably. That would have been more of one for me, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. I think so. I saw Pavarotti perform his. Do you remember he would do these Pavarotti and Friends concerts?
>> Amanda Barker: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: He would raise money for War Child was the. Was the charity.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And I got press tickets because I had a radio show at my university, and I was able to get press accreditation because they didn't know it was a radio show at a university. They just thought it was Canadian press.
>> Amanda Barker: I love it.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I got to hang out backstage with all the performers. And I got a picture with Pavarotti and I got to ask him questions, and that's great. Eric Clapton and. And a whole bunch of people. Sheryl Crow, John Sakata, if you remember him.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, back then, too, there were so many. Less like now everybody has a website that they're reviewing or whatever. There were blogs for a long time or whatever. I mean, there still are. So now they probably are more stringent with that. But back in the day. Back in the day, you worked in radio. You worked in radio exactly like that was. It did. They didn't need to know. It was York University radio.
>> Marco Timpano: Why are you shouting out my university?
>> Amanda Barker: Why not be proud? York University. I worked in radio. I worked for Mount. Else. I worked for CHMA. You were CKDu. Is that you?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's my sister.
>> Marco Timpano: Chry.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. 105.5 CKDu. Must be Dell.
>> Marco Timpano: What was your call numbers, CHMA?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I don't remember. 90 something. I don't know. Wow, CHMA. I'll look it up.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it doesn't. It doesn't really matter.
>> Amanda Barker: I was a newsreader. I'd be like, good afternoon. Welcome to the news.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: That was my voice.
>> Marco Timpano: I wonder if you put people to sleep with your newscast.
>> Amanda Barker: I only had one person listen to me. That was my friend Michelle. And she'd be like, I love her news voice.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great. Well, listen, I love your news voice, too, and I hope you enjoyed this episode. And if you get a chance to see opera, by all means, give it a shot.
>> Amanda Barker: Give it a couple of shots, because I still a few shots away from deciding if it's my thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Bring your abalone opera specs.
>> Amanda Barker: Bring your abalone sandwich.
>> Marco Timpano: Bring your Bryan Fairey cd.
>> Amanda Barker: Bring your niece and nephew so they can roll their eyes at you.
>> Marco Timpano: And enjoy your night at the opera. Until next time, we hope you were able to listen and slee.
A Gentle Island Chat to Help You Fall Asleep
Recorded on February 11 2026
Welcome to the insomnia project, season 11. I'm Amanda Barker
Welcome to the insomnia project, season 11. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: Welcome back.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm Amanda Barker and as always, we provide a podcast. If you're new to the podcast where we talk about topics that aren't so Interesting that you have to stay awake for the whole podcast. But if you are awake for them, great.
>> Amanda Barker: You can relax with us. You can chat with us along with us. Some people do so actually talk along with us, and that's what we aim for. Or you can simply drift off, let your mind wander, attached to whatever point in the conversation, and disattached whenever you fall into sleep. Does that make sense?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it makes sense. We have a lot of lovely listeners that listen in the morning.
>> Amanda Barker: Is disattached a word?
>> Marco Timpano: It is to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, great.
>> Marco Timpano: Or we have listeners who, listen when they're feeling a little bit of anxiety to get them out of that. So if you're one of those listeners, you're welcome, too, of course.
Amanda and I recently went to St. Kitts and Nevis
Amanda, we're starting our new season.
>> Amanda Barker: We are.
>> Marco Timpano: We just got back from a little trip.
>> Amanda Barker: We went to St. Kitts and Nevis. I thought it was pronounced Nevis, but it is Nevis. Pronounced Nevis. It is always pronounced Nevis.
>> Marco Timpano: And I thought it was pronounced St. Kitts, but it's pronounced St. Kitts.
>> Amanda Barker: That's correct. Funny man. yeah, we went to St. Kitts and Nevis. we spent a week there. We.
>> Marco Timpano: Six days, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Six days, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, not quite a week. yeah, we have both never been there. And I tried to go to as many countries as I am old, so.
>> Marco Timpano: So, so that's, quite a
>> Amanda Barker: few countries, because I'm a lot of old.
>> Marco Timpano: But you also like to explore new places.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, for every year that I have been on this earth, I would like to see a new country. So that's in case that needed clarification. So I just wanted to go to somewhere new. St. Kitts and Nevis is its own country. It's actually, I've learned the smallest country in this hemisphere.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds right to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Something like that. 48,000 people live there, but it is its own country. the Caribbean can be really confusing for that. you and I talked about that a lot because there are a lot of, islands that are their own countries, and then there's others that are considered part of another country in a way.
>> Marco Timpano: And what Amanda did, which was pretty brilliant, I must say, is that you looked into travel and in the Caribbean early in the or in the summer,
>> Amanda Barker: I just look at flight deals. If you know me, you know that I'm into frugality.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: We might talk a little bit more about that, as we continue on with this season, because we might be cooking up some other ideas as we go.
>> Marco Timpano: And you looked in the summer and said, let's plan something for February when it's cold where we are.
>> Amanda Barker: You're making it sound like it was a big grandmaster to me.
>> Marco Timpano: It was. Because it wasn't on my radar at all.
>> Amanda Barker: no, I just. When I'm in the bath, I just troll flight deals. And I just happened to see that there was this deal of flights very cheaply going to St. Kitts and Nevis from Toronto, where we are. and it was for kind of January through to March, something like that. So I said, hey, why don't we just book it now?
>> Marco Timpano: And that was in July.
>> Amanda Barker: It was in July. End of July. So we did. And you went, go for it. And then we found a hotel and we got a hotel that we could get refunded up until, I think, a week before or something, just because plans change. And, we had meant to kind of go back and look at other places, and we just never did. And then we went, okay, well, we're gonna stay there. which I think in the end was the right decision.
>> Marco Timpano: And one of the things you said when we were booking the trip, which was very wise, was it'll be something we can look forward to when the weather gets cold.
>> Amanda Barker: And something to look forward to, I have realized, is really important, not just for excitement reasons. although that is a thing. Like when you're a kid and an adult, you want to look forward forward to something. You know, you get the same dopamine hit. In fact, scientifically, I have read from the looking forward to the thing as you do doing the thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And so there's that great excitement. You know, I'm thinking holidays, I'm thinking birthdays. You look forward to them, you know, as an adult, but as a kid. But I also think, and this is something I've only learned, quite well into my adulthood, that having something like that planned also grounds you so that when life is getting a little bit tricky or crazy or confusing, you can just go back, click on the name of the hotel that you're staying at, maybe find a YouTube video that somebody has inevitably filmed of the. Or the promo video of the hotel, or a promo video for the place you're going, or just, you know, look up information on it just to educate yourself. I find that now very grounding as well. Do you. Do you know what I mean?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I. I hear what you're saying. For me, what I liked, what I, took. Took away from this experience as well, was when you book that early, by the time Your trip comes, you've had the time to sort of pay it off. So it's not a last minute sort of, oh, I've got to dish out this money to go next week kind of thing, which that could be fine.
>> Amanda Barker: The financials is a whole other conversation. I mean, I. We paid for it in July.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So it was paid. It wasn't paid off. It was. I mean, it was, but it wasn't like I was like, contributing to it. I had some money set aside. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: But if one doesn't, then you can, then you can do that. Right. But I agree with you. The anticipation of that goal or that item. So it doesn't even have to be a. A trip. It could be planning, going to a restaurant or to a certain thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, if you know me like, I'm. I'm much more of. I don't book and then pay. I'm a sinking fund person. Meaning, or whatever. There's different terms for it. But sinking funds is just this idea of setting money aside to every month for a goal.
Another reason why to book ahead makes. Sure. So I'm. Pay it ahead. So that when I actually buy it, I have it
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So like a hundred bucks every month, and then at the end of the year you have money for your trip or whatever it is. So. So I'm. I'm more of a. That type of person. Pay it ahead. So that when I actually buy it, I have it versus paying it off. I just take umbrage with that because that's just a different way of thinking about it.
>> Marco Timpano: But some people work that way. So I was just saying that's another, alternative reason why to book ahead makes. Makes a lot of sense to me.
When planning a wedding, when things get stressful, look at cupcakes
>> Amanda Barker: But the grounding thing, I want to get back to that. I call the cupcake theory. Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I. I need. And here's the thing. I like muffins. I don't like cupcakes. I'm sure there's a past episode where I talk about that, so I need to hear. Maybe this will change my mind on cupcakes.
>> Amanda Barker: Probably not. I don't think it will. when we got married. Married. Weddings are stressful. At least ours was not. Everybody's is. I knew ours would be. And it was, But I'm proud of how we orchestrated and the party that we created. But as I was planning all of it now, 16 years ago, I realized that when things were getting confusing or stressful, I would just go back and look at the cupcakes. And so we got. When we booked the hall I had. I don't know. We went to, like, when we got engaged, we went to wedding event shows. You know, and everybody there is trying to get your business, and so you end up with a big bag full of cards, free samples and cards and things.
>> Marco Timpano: Samples and.
>> Amanda Barker: And so we had booked this haul after 17 other ones that we had gone and toured. We had a list of 50. Oh. Oh, it was a thing, was it?
>> Marco Timpano: 17. We. We went to go see.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow. yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Yeah, I don't recommend that, folks, anyhow.
>> Amanda Barker: But what I do recommend is if you have an event like that that you're working through, that, you know you will work through, but an event that you're working through, have a touchstone that you can just go back to. And so what happened was, at one of those wedding event shows, I was handed a card that said, if you book at this hall, they're called halls here. I don't know. It was a. It's a movie theater that we got married at. But anyway, if you book at this place, we will give you free cupcakes for all of your guests with
>> Marco Timpano: this cupcake company at the reception hall that we booked.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And so, I. Well, and I should clarify, we didn't get. We got married in a church, but that was. The reception was at the movie theater anyhow. And actually, I have to say it. It was at the movie theater that Margot's parents had their first date at. so, anyhow, I knew that we were getting these free cupcakes. It wasn't a huge thing, but it was an exciting thing that I realized after we booked the haul. I said, oh, by the way, I have this free cupcake thing. I forgot to mention it. I didn't realize it until after. And she said, oh, no problem. We'll add that to your thing, and this company will provide your free cupcakes. We had a wedding cake. We had other things, but knowing that I could choose the cupcakes, knowing that I had the cupcakes locked down, as silly as it was, when things got stressful, I would go back to the cupcakes website and just look at the cupcakes and go, well, I've got that. I've got that locked down. And I would just go back and look at it over and over, and I found it really grounded me. I know that's really random.
St. Kitts was our cupcake theory this year
So for you and I, you know, dealing with things, the last few months, we had highs and lows and ups and downs, and I would just look at St. Kitts.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And so St. Kitts would become that cupcake. So that's my cupcake theory.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
>> Amanda Barker: Where I would just go back and look at the thing that I knew was going to happen. I knew I had it already locked down. I knew I had booked it, I knew it was going to be a nice week. And yeah, St. Kitts was our cupcake theory this year.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it. I love it. And so we went and I should say about Saint Kitts, it's a beautiful island with beautiful beaches, but above and beyond that, the people on that island are some of the most wonderful, kindest, loveliest people I've ever.
>> Amanda Barker: A reserved people, a ah, proud population, so generous, so warm, courteous.
>> Marco Timpano: Warm.
>> Marco Timpano: Just helpful, lovely, wonderful folks.
>> Amanda Barker: Kidians and different from other islands I've been on in the Caribbean of which have been on a few at this point. because I used to work in the. You and I used to work on cruise ships, so. But we had never, St. Kitts just was never a port that we had gone to.
>> Marco Timpano: And they have monkeys on that island as well.
>> Amanda Barker: They have, I believe they're called Green Beret monkeys. Now I had been told that years ago and I, I questioned it because I had never seen that I could remember anyhow a monkey anywhere in the Caribbean. Various populations that have come and gone from a few, just a very small handful of islands, but really I think three or four, the most notably being St. Kitts and Nevis, brought with them on their ships.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Monkeys.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And so the green verret monkey, which is a smaller monkey, cute monkey, thank goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: Because, I, I wouldn't want any bigger of a monkey on the beach.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco's afraid of monkeys. I should just tell everybody now he has a, true fear of them.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know why. I feel like something may have happened when I was a kid at the zoo or something that may have.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's just fear of the unknown. I think you probably didn't have a lot of monkey time.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't, I didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean who does really?
>> Marco Timpano: But anyways, there is a beach on
>> Amanda Barker: St. Kitts called Shipwreck beach and it's Friars Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: On Friars.
>> Amanda Barker: On Friars Bay. Friars Club Bay. No, not Friars Club is something else. What's the Friars Club?
>> Marco Timpano: The Friars Club is where they would do, roasts and stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It's, it's not the, it's not the, the monkeys might roast you.
>> Amanda Barker: Frank Sinatra was not doing a tight 10 on Friar's Bay ship.
>> Marco Timpano: Shipwreck Beach.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But you'll see them there.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know if there's a shipwreck on that beach?
>> Marco Timpano: There isn't, but we did snorkel a shipwreck.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. On a different beach.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the name of that?
>> Amanda Barker: Majors Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: On Majors Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: You're good.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. That's what I'm saying. It's on. It's. I think it's called South Friars Bay, where we were. I don't. I think they call it Shipwreck beach because the bar is called Shipwreck and it has a beach.
>> Marco Timpano: Or the bar named itself after the beach. And maybe there was a shipwreck or there is one we just can't see.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I'm not. I'm not really. I'm not going to contest you too hard.
>> Marco Timpano: We could look this up, but we're not going to.
>> Amanda Barker: I have looked it up. That's why I know that it's. The bar is called Shipwreck, and the beach is actually called South Friars Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But anyhow, whatever. Shipwreck is the bar. And, on the bar, there's a beach and there's monkeys.
>> Marco Timpano: And the bar makes wonderful drinks and food.
>> Amanda Barker: They have something called acidian. Acidian Snafu. That's what you drank. I brought you one.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but I like the other one. The coconut. The beach Aada. Coconut.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. But Acadian, Snafu, I thought was a really cool. Unique to. Only St. Kitts drink.
St. Kitts has a birthmark that looks remarkably like Korea
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the other one you brought me. Yeah, I like that one, too.
>> Amanda Barker: The lime one. The kitty and Snafu. Yeah, the other one. But the bicelada we did really like. And I don't know if that's unique to St. Kitts, but my goodness, it was good. It was like coconut and nutmeg and. I don't know. And love. And rum. They all had rum.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, one of the fun things about St. Kitts is that it is in the shape of a chicken drumstick.
>> Amanda Barker: It is.
>> Marco Timpano: So you know how certain countries, like Italy is the shape of a boot?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: you know, Michigan, they say is in the shape of a hand or a glove.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really? Yeah. I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: other places are in the shape of things. I can't think of another country.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't think of anything.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, St. Kitts, if you take a
>> Amanda Barker: look at it, you have a birthmark that's in the shape of north and South Korea.
>> Marco Timpano: yes. On the back of my head.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that tmi? That's the only thing I can think of.
>> Marco Timpano: I have a birthmark on the back of my head. Kind of a reverse Gorbachev. You know how Gorbachev had it in the front of his head? Yes, I have one behind my head.
>> Amanda Barker: But anyway, it looks remarkably to me like Korea.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So there. There you go.
Amanda and Margot went to St. Kitts and Nevis this month
Well, we rented a car and we drove the island La Loop.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. Yeah. So we had a car the whole time we were there, which was another reason originally we booked that particular hotel. The, hotel was on Frigate.
>> Marco Timpano: Frigates.
>> Amanda Barker: Frigates Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a hard to. There's a lot of names, hard to remember. But, But that's where we were. I mean, I was there yesterday, so I really shouldn't have forgotten it already. but we did have a car for the six days that we were there, which I personally recommend. I like having a car and really getting to know and getting out there and driving versus having to rely on taxis.
>> Marco Timpano: I love driving an island. Amanda knows that about myself.
>> Amanda Barker: We just love driving. We love exploring. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And in Saint Kitts, they drive on the opposite side of the road to what we drive in North America. And so, you know, that's a challenge. But on an island, they tend to go slower than when we rented one in Heathrow Airport and got on the highway.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And we both ran. We both drove on the other side of the road. For us, in Turks and Caicos two years ago as well. Very similar kind of trip. In fact, we kept calling this trip Turks and Caicos by accident, because St. Kitts and Nevis. Turks and Caicos. It's the. And thing. although, to be fair, we never actually went to Turks Turks. We only went to the Caicos. anyway, this time we went to St. Kitts and Nevis.
>> Marco Timpano: We took a ferry to Nevis.
>> Amanda Barker: We did a car ferry.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you go to Nevis. Don't go on a Sunday if you're just going for one day, because it
>> Amanda Barker: tends to, I would say, plan your trip better than we did because the ferries are tricky.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it was a short stay on Nevis, but I'm glad we went.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And. And, we had a lovely time. It's a lovely island.
>> Amanda Barker: We went to the bar Sunshines on Nevis.
>> Marco Timpano: Rock Lobster was a restaurant we enjoyed.
>> Amanda Barker: Not on Nevis. On Saint Kitts. On Saint Kitts, but back to Nevis. there is a. This bar, Sunshines, has a signature drink, since we're talking about drinks, called the Killer Bee. And it's like a punch. And I think it has pepper on top of it. Like black ground pepper.
>> Marco Timpano: Secret recipe.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. That apparently there's one Ingredient we know because Margot was allergic to it so that he couldn't have one.
>> Marco Timpano: So Amanda had just described the drink as she was having it. As you may know if you listen to this podcast, I'm m allergic.
>> Amanda Barker: That's delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm allergic to passion fruit, which is never a problem here in Canada because we don't have much passion fruit. But anytime I travel to somewhere tropical, I always have to be mindful.
>> Amanda Barker: You do have to be mindful. And you never know when passion fruit is going to. Or as they say in Hawaii, lilikoi.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: You never know when lilikoi is going to show up in cuisine. but you were.
Rock Lobster was probably our favorite restaurant because you got to love the name
We were talking about the food, so Rock Lobster was probably our favorite restaurant because you got to love the name. But also it has lobster in the name, so I'm going to love it regardless. and it did not disappoint. It rocked me with its lobster one. Like a B52.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: but the other thing that the islands. Islands are known for, in fact, are chicken wings. And I don't know if that's because it's shaped like a chicken drumstick. I. I really don't know. But where. Why chicken wings are such a big.
>> Marco Timpano: Because of the shape of the. Of the island.
>> Amanda Barker: But wouldn't that be great if it was?
>> Marco Timpano: Although Italy is known for its fine leather boots.
>> Amanda Barker: So there you go. Maybe There you go, there you go. So, yeah, so we had chicken wings a lot, and they were all delicious and they're all very different, but everywhere you went, there was really amazing wings. So I don't know if I would say go to sink. It's just for the wings, but that's a nice bonus if you're there. If you like wings, you may not like.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you don't eat, if you're a vegetarian, they have some great plant plantain dishes as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Some wonderful curries.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, curries and whatnot.
>> Amanda Barker: So you can never go wrong with the beans and rice. Yeah, it's like there's something magic about Caribbean beans and rice, man. Oh, so good. So, so good.
My Albuquerque, New Mexico, Post office theory applies to postcards
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you talked about your cupcake theory.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm going to talk about my. A lesson that I've learned that I
>> Amanda Barker: applied your Albuquerque theory.
>> Marco Timpano: My Albuquerque, New Mexico, Post office theory. So I may have talked about this on the podcast, but I'm just going to be brief and concise about it. When I was. I like to send postcards to a few friends when I travel, and postcards now are a little bit more of a challenge. To buy and mail because it's not as. They're not as convenient as they once were. Where you could m. Get a postcard, anywhere you could find stamps. Post offices were everywhere. So it's more of an effort.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So when we were in New Mexico, we went to, we went to Albuquerque. I had some postcards I wanted to mail and about five of them. And I like to put pretty stamps, nice looking stamps, different kinds of stamps on my postcards because I like them and I think the people I will send them to will like them too. Or at least I hope they will.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: Now there's a stamp in the US which is a circular stamp with a flower on it, which is the stamp that you use for mail to Canada. But I've used that stamp a lot. So when we went to Albuquerque, we went to the old post office.
>> Amanda Barker: And I went there, which was beautiful, by the way. It was in a nice historic part of Albuquerque. If you're ever in that neighborhood, the sort of historic square, really lovely area.
>> Marco Timpano: New Mexico is just wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So many art galleries there. My goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: So I go in and I say to the postal worker, I say, I would like some stamps. Can I see your stamps for Canada? And they say, circle stamp. And I said, I don't want the circle stamp. I want pretty stamps.
>> Amanda Barker: Who doesn't?
>> Marco Timpano: Who doesn't? Before I had a chance to state why, the postal worker put the circle stamps on the postcard, saying, these are the ones you need.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, she did.
>> Marco Timpano: And I wasn't happy about it.
>> Amanda Barker: I walked in at that moment, which I think I was a distraction. Like I was working in tandem with Albuquerque post office lady. But I was not. For the record.
>> Marco Timpano: For the record, she wasn't. And when we got in the car, I was not happy. And I realized I wasn't happy because I wanted my pretty stamps.
>> Marco Timpano: So then I said, I will never let someone tell me how things should be if I don't want them that
>> Amanda Barker: way and make that decision. She. She kind of, for her, for you, the postcards were kind of a boundary too. And she just, she just, she put those stamps on there before you even had a chance to discuss it.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're and their stamps on a postcard. So it's not the, you know, be all and end all. So like it's, it's. It's certainly first world problems here that we're talking about.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But champagne problems.
>> Marco Timpano: Champagne problems. Sorry, is that how we say it now? Okay, sorry. Champagne problems.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I mean, yeah.
Amanda says St. Kitts and Nevis have beautiful stamps
>> Marco Timpano: And so now I'm very, concise and direct with my words when I want stamps. And so we went to the post office in St. Kitts and Nevis, and I said, do you have lovely stamps?
>> Amanda Barker: And they said, you said, I want beautiful, colorful stamps. And she sort of said, well, it's these ones. And she said, you said, I want the most beautiful and the most colorful. And she said, but they might take a lot of stamps. And you said, I don't care if I put eight stamps on each postcard. It covers the whole back. That's what I want.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I don't mind if I cover all the words that I write on the postcard, as long as I have nice stamps. And she laughed.
>> Amanda Barker: And the addresses and the address. Yeah, she was laughing.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was able to get pineapple ones. I was able to get.
>> Amanda Barker: The funny thing is I think all of her stamps were nice. I think you could have just had the one stamp.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Because they weren't American. Like, I know the stamp, the, the flower stamp. That is the one. The US to Canada stamp. Because any mail from my cousins or whatever, that's what it is. But I actually think all the St.
>> Marco Timpano: Kitt stamps were beautiful.
>> Amanda Barker: Were beautiful, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And what was nice was she gave me a variety of different ones so that each postcard pretty much had a different stamp on it. So I was really happy and I kind of danced in the, in the post office when I mailed them. And Amanda was, was laughing, as was the postal worker, but I had a great time. And so that's my cupcake theory is get the stamps you want, not the
>> Amanda Barker: stamps that someone else decides for you.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly. I was going to say deserves, but that's not true.
>> Amanda Barker: No. they're the stamps you want and deserve. You deserve to have the stamps you want.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And now I travel with US Stamps when I'm in the US because I bought a whole bunch of Keith Haring stamps and spongebob. Spongebob stamps.
>> Amanda Barker: Are those the beautiful stamps you create?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, they're fun, right?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, Keith Haring, yes, but the spongebob ones.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Imagine a Keith Haring stamp next to a spongebob stamp.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a fun. Those are some fun stamps.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. You just have to know how many stamps you need to put on, so.
>> Amanda Barker: And leave room for that too.
>> Marco Timpano: I know it's always best to put the stamps on before you write the postcard if you can, but that's hard
>> Amanda Barker: because then you don't really get to. Well, you can, I suppose, but we got a coffee. I drank coconut lattes throughout those two islands, and they were the most delicious things I had ever put in my mouth. They're so delicious. Coconut lattes.
>> Marco Timpano: Iced.
>> Amanda Barker: Iced, yeah. Because it was hot. It was hot, but it wasn't crazy. Like, it was perfect, actually. The wind was beautiful through the palms. It would rain gently, but you kind of didn't mind. It's a very sleepy. It's a quiet island. St. Kitts and Nevis is quiet, too, Certainly even more so. They're quiet islands. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: and even though it's not no longer warm here where we are, it's cold.
>> Amanda Barker: No longer warm. It hasn't been warm in a long time.
>> Marco Timpano: I shouldn't say that. I'm trying to say, at least now, even though we are in a cold place, there's still warmth to be had. And I want to wish all our listeners all the warmth that they can find around them, even if they're not in a warm climate. Does that make sense? I feel like I, did a real.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know what roundup saying. Be warm, people.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Be warm. Enjoy your warmth wherever you find it.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, always enjoy your warmth. And listen, I hope for you this year, you know, Saint Kitts was my cupcakes. But find that thing that can inspire you, that you can look forward to, but also the thing that you can land on that can ground you a good little, little jewel that you've set aside just for you. That's what I wish for everybody.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you, Amanda. and thank you for listening season 11. And as always, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Recorded on February 11 2026
Welcome to the insomnia project, season 11. I'm Amanda Barker
Welcome to the insomnia project, season 11. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: Welcome back.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm Amanda Barker and as always, we provide a podcast. If you're new to the podcast where we talk about topics that aren't so Interesting that you have to stay awake for the whole podcast. But if you are awake for them, great.
>> Amanda Barker: You can relax with us. You can chat with us along with us. Some people do so actually talk along with us, and that's what we aim for. Or you can simply drift off, let your mind wander, attached to whatever point in the conversation, and disattached whenever you fall into sleep. Does that make sense?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it makes sense. We have a lot of lovely listeners that listen in the morning.
>> Amanda Barker: Is disattached a word?
>> Marco Timpano: It is to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, great.
>> Marco Timpano: Or we have listeners who, listen when they're feeling a little bit of anxiety to get them out of that. So if you're one of those listeners, you're welcome, too, of course.
Amanda and I recently went to St. Kitts and Nevis
Amanda, we're starting our new season.
>> Amanda Barker: We are.
>> Marco Timpano: We just got back from a little trip.
>> Amanda Barker: We went to St. Kitts and Nevis. I thought it was pronounced Nevis, but it is Nevis. Pronounced Nevis. It is always pronounced Nevis.
>> Marco Timpano: And I thought it was pronounced St. Kitts, but it's pronounced St. Kitts.
>> Amanda Barker: That's correct. Funny man. yeah, we went to St. Kitts and Nevis. we spent a week there. We.
>> Marco Timpano: Six days, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Six days, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, not quite a week. yeah, we have both never been there. And I tried to go to as many countries as I am old, so.
>> Marco Timpano: So, so that's, quite a
>> Amanda Barker: few countries, because I'm a lot of old.
>> Marco Timpano: But you also like to explore new places.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, for every year that I have been on this earth, I would like to see a new country. So that's in case that needed clarification. So I just wanted to go to somewhere new. St. Kitts and Nevis is its own country. It's actually, I've learned the smallest country in this hemisphere.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds right to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Something like that. 48,000 people live there, but it is its own country. the Caribbean can be really confusing for that. you and I talked about that a lot because there are a lot of, islands that are their own countries, and then there's others that are considered part of another country in a way.
>> Marco Timpano: And what Amanda did, which was pretty brilliant, I must say, is that you looked into travel and in the Caribbean early in the or in the summer,
>> Amanda Barker: I just look at flight deals. If you know me, you know that I'm into frugality.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: We might talk a little bit more about that, as we continue on with this season, because we might be cooking up some other ideas as we go.
>> Marco Timpano: And you looked in the summer and said, let's plan something for February when it's cold where we are.
>> Amanda Barker: You're making it sound like it was a big grandmaster to me.
>> Marco Timpano: It was. Because it wasn't on my radar at all.
>> Amanda Barker: no, I just. When I'm in the bath, I just troll flight deals. And I just happened to see that there was this deal of flights very cheaply going to St. Kitts and Nevis from Toronto, where we are. and it was for kind of January through to March, something like that. So I said, hey, why don't we just book it now?
>> Marco Timpano: And that was in July.
>> Amanda Barker: It was in July. End of July. So we did. And you went, go for it. And then we found a hotel and we got a hotel that we could get refunded up until, I think, a week before or something, just because plans change. And, we had meant to kind of go back and look at other places, and we just never did. And then we went, okay, well, we're gonna stay there. which I think in the end was the right decision.
>> Marco Timpano: And one of the things you said when we were booking the trip, which was very wise, was it'll be something we can look forward to when the weather gets cold.
>> Amanda Barker: And something to look forward to, I have realized, is really important, not just for excitement reasons. although that is a thing. Like when you're a kid and an adult, you want to look forward forward to something. You know, you get the same dopamine hit. In fact, scientifically, I have read from the looking forward to the thing as you do doing the thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And so there's that great excitement. You know, I'm thinking holidays, I'm thinking birthdays. You look forward to them, you know, as an adult, but as a kid. But I also think, and this is something I've only learned, quite well into my adulthood, that having something like that planned also grounds you so that when life is getting a little bit tricky or crazy or confusing, you can just go back, click on the name of the hotel that you're staying at, maybe find a YouTube video that somebody has inevitably filmed of the. Or the promo video of the hotel, or a promo video for the place you're going, or just, you know, look up information on it just to educate yourself. I find that now very grounding as well. Do you. Do you know what I mean?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I. I hear what you're saying. For me, what I liked, what I, took. Took away from this experience as well, was when you book that early, by the time Your trip comes, you've had the time to sort of pay it off. So it's not a last minute sort of, oh, I've got to dish out this money to go next week kind of thing, which that could be fine.
>> Amanda Barker: The financials is a whole other conversation. I mean, I. We paid for it in July.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So it was paid. It wasn't paid off. It was. I mean, it was, but it wasn't like I was like, contributing to it. I had some money set aside. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: But if one doesn't, then you can, then you can do that. Right. But I agree with you. The anticipation of that goal or that item. So it doesn't even have to be a. A trip. It could be planning, going to a restaurant or to a certain thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, if you know me like, I'm. I'm much more of. I don't book and then pay. I'm a sinking fund person. Meaning, or whatever. There's different terms for it. But sinking funds is just this idea of setting money aside to every month for a goal.
Another reason why to book ahead makes. Sure. So I'm. Pay it ahead. So that when I actually buy it, I have it
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So like a hundred bucks every month, and then at the end of the year you have money for your trip or whatever it is. So. So I'm. I'm more of a. That type of person. Pay it ahead. So that when I actually buy it, I have it versus paying it off. I just take umbrage with that because that's just a different way of thinking about it.
>> Marco Timpano: But some people work that way. So I was just saying that's another, alternative reason why to book ahead makes. Makes a lot of sense to me.
When planning a wedding, when things get stressful, look at cupcakes
>> Amanda Barker: But the grounding thing, I want to get back to that. I call the cupcake theory. Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I. I need. And here's the thing. I like muffins. I don't like cupcakes. I'm sure there's a past episode where I talk about that, so I need to hear. Maybe this will change my mind on cupcakes.
>> Amanda Barker: Probably not. I don't think it will. when we got married. Married. Weddings are stressful. At least ours was not. Everybody's is. I knew ours would be. And it was, But I'm proud of how we orchestrated and the party that we created. But as I was planning all of it now, 16 years ago, I realized that when things were getting confusing or stressful, I would just go back and look at the cupcakes. And so we got. When we booked the hall I had. I don't know. We went to, like, when we got engaged, we went to wedding event shows. You know, and everybody there is trying to get your business, and so you end up with a big bag full of cards, free samples and cards and things.
>> Marco Timpano: Samples and.
>> Amanda Barker: And so we had booked this haul after 17 other ones that we had gone and toured. We had a list of 50. Oh. Oh, it was a thing, was it?
>> Marco Timpano: 17. We. We went to go see.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow. yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Yeah, I don't recommend that, folks, anyhow.
>> Amanda Barker: But what I do recommend is if you have an event like that that you're working through, that, you know you will work through, but an event that you're working through, have a touchstone that you can just go back to. And so what happened was, at one of those wedding event shows, I was handed a card that said, if you book at this hall, they're called halls here. I don't know. It was a. It's a movie theater that we got married at. But anyway, if you book at this place, we will give you free cupcakes for all of your guests with
>> Marco Timpano: this cupcake company at the reception hall that we booked.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And so, I. Well, and I should clarify, we didn't get. We got married in a church, but that was. The reception was at the movie theater anyhow. And actually, I have to say it. It was at the movie theater that Margot's parents had their first date at. so, anyhow, I knew that we were getting these free cupcakes. It wasn't a huge thing, but it was an exciting thing that I realized after we booked the haul. I said, oh, by the way, I have this free cupcake thing. I forgot to mention it. I didn't realize it until after. And she said, oh, no problem. We'll add that to your thing, and this company will provide your free cupcakes. We had a wedding cake. We had other things, but knowing that I could choose the cupcakes, knowing that I had the cupcakes locked down, as silly as it was, when things got stressful, I would go back to the cupcakes website and just look at the cupcakes and go, well, I've got that. I've got that locked down. And I would just go back and look at it over and over, and I found it really grounded me. I know that's really random.
St. Kitts was our cupcake theory this year
So for you and I, you know, dealing with things, the last few months, we had highs and lows and ups and downs, and I would just look at St. Kitts.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And so St. Kitts would become that cupcake. So that's my cupcake theory.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
>> Amanda Barker: Where I would just go back and look at the thing that I knew was going to happen. I knew I had it already locked down. I knew I had booked it, I knew it was going to be a nice week. And yeah, St. Kitts was our cupcake theory this year.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it. I love it. And so we went and I should say about Saint Kitts, it's a beautiful island with beautiful beaches, but above and beyond that, the people on that island are some of the most wonderful, kindest, loveliest people I've ever.
>> Amanda Barker: A reserved people, a ah, proud population, so generous, so warm, courteous.
>> Marco Timpano: Warm.
>> Marco Timpano: Just helpful, lovely, wonderful folks.
>> Amanda Barker: Kidians and different from other islands I've been on in the Caribbean of which have been on a few at this point. because I used to work in the. You and I used to work on cruise ships, so. But we had never, St. Kitts just was never a port that we had gone to.
>> Marco Timpano: And they have monkeys on that island as well.
>> Amanda Barker: They have, I believe they're called Green Beret monkeys. Now I had been told that years ago and I, I questioned it because I had never seen that I could remember anyhow a monkey anywhere in the Caribbean. Various populations that have come and gone from a few, just a very small handful of islands, but really I think three or four, the most notably being St. Kitts and Nevis, brought with them on their ships.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Monkeys.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And so the green verret monkey, which is a smaller monkey, cute monkey, thank goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: Because, I, I wouldn't want any bigger of a monkey on the beach.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco's afraid of monkeys. I should just tell everybody now he has a, true fear of them.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know why. I feel like something may have happened when I was a kid at the zoo or something that may have.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's just fear of the unknown. I think you probably didn't have a lot of monkey time.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't, I didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean who does really?
>> Marco Timpano: But anyways, there is a beach on
>> Amanda Barker: St. Kitts called Shipwreck beach and it's Friars Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: On Friars.
>> Amanda Barker: On Friars Bay. Friars Club Bay. No, not Friars Club is something else. What's the Friars Club?
>> Marco Timpano: The Friars Club is where they would do, roasts and stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It's, it's not the, it's not the, the monkeys might roast you.
>> Amanda Barker: Frank Sinatra was not doing a tight 10 on Friar's Bay ship.
>> Marco Timpano: Shipwreck Beach.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But you'll see them there.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know if there's a shipwreck on that beach?
>> Marco Timpano: There isn't, but we did snorkel a shipwreck.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. On a different beach.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the name of that?
>> Amanda Barker: Majors Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: On Majors Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: You're good.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. That's what I'm saying. It's on. It's. I think it's called South Friars Bay, where we were. I don't. I think they call it Shipwreck beach because the bar is called Shipwreck and it has a beach.
>> Marco Timpano: Or the bar named itself after the beach. And maybe there was a shipwreck or there is one we just can't see.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I'm not. I'm not really. I'm not going to contest you too hard.
>> Marco Timpano: We could look this up, but we're not going to.
>> Amanda Barker: I have looked it up. That's why I know that it's. The bar is called Shipwreck, and the beach is actually called South Friars Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But anyhow, whatever. Shipwreck is the bar. And, on the bar, there's a beach and there's monkeys.
>> Marco Timpano: And the bar makes wonderful drinks and food.
>> Amanda Barker: They have something called acidian. Acidian Snafu. That's what you drank. I brought you one.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but I like the other one. The coconut. The beach Aada. Coconut.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. But Acadian, Snafu, I thought was a really cool. Unique to. Only St. Kitts drink.
St. Kitts has a birthmark that looks remarkably like Korea
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the other one you brought me. Yeah, I like that one, too.
>> Amanda Barker: The lime one. The kitty and Snafu. Yeah, the other one. But the bicelada we did really like. And I don't know if that's unique to St. Kitts, but my goodness, it was good. It was like coconut and nutmeg and. I don't know. And love. And rum. They all had rum.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, one of the fun things about St. Kitts is that it is in the shape of a chicken drumstick.
>> Amanda Barker: It is.
>> Marco Timpano: So you know how certain countries, like Italy is the shape of a boot?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: you know, Michigan, they say is in the shape of a hand or a glove.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really? Yeah. I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: other places are in the shape of things. I can't think of another country.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't think of anything.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, St. Kitts, if you take a
>> Amanda Barker: look at it, you have a birthmark that's in the shape of north and South Korea.
>> Marco Timpano: yes. On the back of my head.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that tmi? That's the only thing I can think of.
>> Marco Timpano: I have a birthmark on the back of my head. Kind of a reverse Gorbachev. You know how Gorbachev had it in the front of his head? Yes, I have one behind my head.
>> Amanda Barker: But anyway, it looks remarkably to me like Korea.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So there. There you go.
Amanda and Margot went to St. Kitts and Nevis this month
Well, we rented a car and we drove the island La Loop.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. Yeah. So we had a car the whole time we were there, which was another reason originally we booked that particular hotel. The, hotel was on Frigate.
>> Marco Timpano: Frigates.
>> Amanda Barker: Frigates Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a hard to. There's a lot of names, hard to remember. But, But that's where we were. I mean, I was there yesterday, so I really shouldn't have forgotten it already. but we did have a car for the six days that we were there, which I personally recommend. I like having a car and really getting to know and getting out there and driving versus having to rely on taxis.
>> Marco Timpano: I love driving an island. Amanda knows that about myself.
>> Amanda Barker: We just love driving. We love exploring. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And in Saint Kitts, they drive on the opposite side of the road to what we drive in North America. And so, you know, that's a challenge. But on an island, they tend to go slower than when we rented one in Heathrow Airport and got on the highway.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And we both ran. We both drove on the other side of the road. For us, in Turks and Caicos two years ago as well. Very similar kind of trip. In fact, we kept calling this trip Turks and Caicos by accident, because St. Kitts and Nevis. Turks and Caicos. It's the. And thing. although, to be fair, we never actually went to Turks Turks. We only went to the Caicos. anyway, this time we went to St. Kitts and Nevis.
>> Marco Timpano: We took a ferry to Nevis.
>> Amanda Barker: We did a car ferry.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you go to Nevis. Don't go on a Sunday if you're just going for one day, because it
>> Amanda Barker: tends to, I would say, plan your trip better than we did because the ferries are tricky.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it was a short stay on Nevis, but I'm glad we went.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And. And, we had a lovely time. It's a lovely island.
>> Amanda Barker: We went to the bar Sunshines on Nevis.
>> Marco Timpano: Rock Lobster was a restaurant we enjoyed.
>> Amanda Barker: Not on Nevis. On Saint Kitts. On Saint Kitts, but back to Nevis. there is a. This bar, Sunshines, has a signature drink, since we're talking about drinks, called the Killer Bee. And it's like a punch. And I think it has pepper on top of it. Like black ground pepper.
>> Marco Timpano: Secret recipe.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. That apparently there's one Ingredient we know because Margot was allergic to it so that he couldn't have one.
>> Marco Timpano: So Amanda had just described the drink as she was having it. As you may know if you listen to this podcast, I'm m allergic.
>> Amanda Barker: That's delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm allergic to passion fruit, which is never a problem here in Canada because we don't have much passion fruit. But anytime I travel to somewhere tropical, I always have to be mindful.
>> Amanda Barker: You do have to be mindful. And you never know when passion fruit is going to. Or as they say in Hawaii, lilikoi.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: You never know when lilikoi is going to show up in cuisine. but you were.
Rock Lobster was probably our favorite restaurant because you got to love the name
We were talking about the food, so Rock Lobster was probably our favorite restaurant because you got to love the name. But also it has lobster in the name, so I'm going to love it regardless. and it did not disappoint. It rocked me with its lobster one. Like a B52.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: but the other thing that the islands. Islands are known for, in fact, are chicken wings. And I don't know if that's because it's shaped like a chicken drumstick. I. I really don't know. But where. Why chicken wings are such a big.
>> Marco Timpano: Because of the shape of the. Of the island.
>> Amanda Barker: But wouldn't that be great if it was?
>> Marco Timpano: Although Italy is known for its fine leather boots.
>> Amanda Barker: So there you go. Maybe There you go, there you go. So, yeah, so we had chicken wings a lot, and they were all delicious and they're all very different, but everywhere you went, there was really amazing wings. So I don't know if I would say go to sink. It's just for the wings, but that's a nice bonus if you're there. If you like wings, you may not like.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you don't eat, if you're a vegetarian, they have some great plant plantain dishes as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Some wonderful curries.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, curries and whatnot.
>> Amanda Barker: So you can never go wrong with the beans and rice. Yeah, it's like there's something magic about Caribbean beans and rice, man. Oh, so good. So, so good.
My Albuquerque, New Mexico, Post office theory applies to postcards
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you talked about your cupcake theory.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm going to talk about my. A lesson that I've learned that I
>> Amanda Barker: applied your Albuquerque theory.
>> Marco Timpano: My Albuquerque, New Mexico, Post office theory. So I may have talked about this on the podcast, but I'm just going to be brief and concise about it. When I was. I like to send postcards to a few friends when I travel, and postcards now are a little bit more of a challenge. To buy and mail because it's not as. They're not as convenient as they once were. Where you could m. Get a postcard, anywhere you could find stamps. Post offices were everywhere. So it's more of an effort.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So when we were in New Mexico, we went to, we went to Albuquerque. I had some postcards I wanted to mail and about five of them. And I like to put pretty stamps, nice looking stamps, different kinds of stamps on my postcards because I like them and I think the people I will send them to will like them too. Or at least I hope they will.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: Now there's a stamp in the US which is a circular stamp with a flower on it, which is the stamp that you use for mail to Canada. But I've used that stamp a lot. So when we went to Albuquerque, we went to the old post office.
>> Amanda Barker: And I went there, which was beautiful, by the way. It was in a nice historic part of Albuquerque. If you're ever in that neighborhood, the sort of historic square, really lovely area.
>> Marco Timpano: New Mexico is just wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So many art galleries there. My goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: So I go in and I say to the postal worker, I say, I would like some stamps. Can I see your stamps for Canada? And they say, circle stamp. And I said, I don't want the circle stamp. I want pretty stamps.
>> Amanda Barker: Who doesn't?
>> Marco Timpano: Who doesn't? Before I had a chance to state why, the postal worker put the circle stamps on the postcard, saying, these are the ones you need.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, she did.
>> Marco Timpano: And I wasn't happy about it.
>> Amanda Barker: I walked in at that moment, which I think I was a distraction. Like I was working in tandem with Albuquerque post office lady. But I was not. For the record.
>> Marco Timpano: For the record, she wasn't. And when we got in the car, I was not happy. And I realized I wasn't happy because I wanted my pretty stamps.
>> Marco Timpano: So then I said, I will never let someone tell me how things should be if I don't want them that
>> Amanda Barker: way and make that decision. She. She kind of, for her, for you, the postcards were kind of a boundary too. And she just, she just, she put those stamps on there before you even had a chance to discuss it.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're and their stamps on a postcard. So it's not the, you know, be all and end all. So like it's, it's. It's certainly first world problems here that we're talking about.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But champagne problems.
>> Marco Timpano: Champagne problems. Sorry, is that how we say it now? Okay, sorry. Champagne problems.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I mean, yeah.
Amanda says St. Kitts and Nevis have beautiful stamps
>> Marco Timpano: And so now I'm very, concise and direct with my words when I want stamps. And so we went to the post office in St. Kitts and Nevis, and I said, do you have lovely stamps?
>> Amanda Barker: And they said, you said, I want beautiful, colorful stamps. And she sort of said, well, it's these ones. And she said, you said, I want the most beautiful and the most colorful. And she said, but they might take a lot of stamps. And you said, I don't care if I put eight stamps on each postcard. It covers the whole back. That's what I want.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I don't mind if I cover all the words that I write on the postcard, as long as I have nice stamps. And she laughed.
>> Amanda Barker: And the addresses and the address. Yeah, she was laughing.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was able to get pineapple ones. I was able to get.
>> Amanda Barker: The funny thing is I think all of her stamps were nice. I think you could have just had the one stamp.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Because they weren't American. Like, I know the stamp, the, the flower stamp. That is the one. The US to Canada stamp. Because any mail from my cousins or whatever, that's what it is. But I actually think all the St.
>> Marco Timpano: Kitt stamps were beautiful.
>> Amanda Barker: Were beautiful, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And what was nice was she gave me a variety of different ones so that each postcard pretty much had a different stamp on it. So I was really happy and I kind of danced in the, in the post office when I mailed them. And Amanda was, was laughing, as was the postal worker, but I had a great time. And so that's my cupcake theory is get the stamps you want, not the
>> Amanda Barker: stamps that someone else decides for you.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly. I was going to say deserves, but that's not true.
>> Amanda Barker: No. they're the stamps you want and deserve. You deserve to have the stamps you want.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And now I travel with US Stamps when I'm in the US because I bought a whole bunch of Keith Haring stamps and spongebob. Spongebob stamps.
>> Amanda Barker: Are those the beautiful stamps you create?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, they're fun, right?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, Keith Haring, yes, but the spongebob ones.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Imagine a Keith Haring stamp next to a spongebob stamp.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a fun. Those are some fun stamps.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. You just have to know how many stamps you need to put on, so.
>> Amanda Barker: And leave room for that too.
>> Marco Timpano: I know it's always best to put the stamps on before you write the postcard if you can, but that's hard
>> Amanda Barker: because then you don't really get to. Well, you can, I suppose, but we got a coffee. I drank coconut lattes throughout those two islands, and they were the most delicious things I had ever put in my mouth. They're so delicious. Coconut lattes.
>> Marco Timpano: Iced.
>> Amanda Barker: Iced, yeah. Because it was hot. It was hot, but it wasn't crazy. Like, it was perfect, actually. The wind was beautiful through the palms. It would rain gently, but you kind of didn't mind. It's a very sleepy. It's a quiet island. St. Kitts and Nevis is quiet, too, Certainly even more so. They're quiet islands. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: and even though it's not no longer warm here where we are, it's cold.
>> Amanda Barker: No longer warm. It hasn't been warm in a long time.
>> Marco Timpano: I shouldn't say that. I'm trying to say, at least now, even though we are in a cold place, there's still warmth to be had. And I want to wish all our listeners all the warmth that they can find around them, even if they're not in a warm climate. Does that make sense? I feel like I, did a real.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know what roundup saying. Be warm, people.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Be warm. Enjoy your warmth wherever you find it.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, always enjoy your warmth. And listen, I hope for you this year, you know, Saint Kitts was my cupcakes. But find that thing that can inspire you, that you can look forward to, but also the thing that you can land on that can ground you a good little, little jewel that you've set aside just for you. That's what I wish for everybody.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you, Amanda. and thank you for listening season 11. And as always, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
That 70s Episode: Organizing, Masterpiece, and Gentle TV Memories
recorded: Feb 18, 2026
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation. Season 11 if you want ad free episodes Amanda, you could go to the insomnia project Supercast cat and they will be available for you there I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
Amanda Barker: He was talking. Yes, I was talking to you
Amanda Barker: Hey, I'm Amanda Barker. The lady. He was talking.
Marco Timpano: Yes, I was talking to you. I kind of, What do they call it when you tip your hat?
Amanda Barker: Throw to.
Marco Timpano: Throw to. Sure.
Amanda Barker: I don't know.
Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Folks, we've been organizing. We all have too much stuff
Amanda Barker: Folks, we've been organizing.
Marco Timpano: We've been organizing, and that's never fun, but it's good.
Amanda Barker: And it's what should happen this time of year. You know, the new year, new beginning. Clean out your space. I think a lot of people do that.
Marco Timpano: Clean out your desk. I always find I collect all these pens and things I don't need. And then it's like, oh, I've got all this stuff on my desk.
Amanda Barker: We all have too much stuff. And by we all, I mean you and I.
Marco Timpano: It's true.
Amanda Barker: Too much stuff. It's amazing how things accumulate, really, honestly. And I'm so bad. I so believe. Like, I love watching a minimalist video. I love. I'm right now listening to a book called Tidy up youp Life. Like, I'm a big fan of all the things that tell me to get rid of things and to organize things and to clean out things and to minimalize and capsule wardrobe. I don't actually do any of it. I, just like the thought that I will do it. And I try to do. I mean, I listen to all that stuff so that I do more than I would otherwise.
Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. I have to refrain from collecting things because, remember, I had a salt and pepper collection at one point.
Amanda Barker: I mean, you still technically do. We just. You downsized it quite a bit.
Marco Timpano: Well, I just have the oranges that look like shelter.
Amanda Barker: Is that the only things you have?
Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's. That's it. Everything else.
Amanda Barker: Collected salt and pepper shakers. When we got into this marriage, this relationship, before we were married even, he collected salt and pepper shakers. I collected, masks, of which I had masks from every country. In some countries, multiple masks. like, if they had a strong tradition of performing masks, then I got, like, all of them.
Marco Timpano: And one time we put all of them on a wall.
Amanda Barker: I had all. Before you and I were a thing. Way back in the day. I had an apartment where I had a big, long, white wall sort of hallway as you walked into it. And that entire hallway was covered in masks. It was quite a. Quite a thing.
Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Amanda Barker: But, you need a big white wall, and you need to want to do that. And I've had neither the want nor the wall. I mean, we probably technically have walls where we could do it, but I Don't know. Then it's a mask wall. And then you're the mask. Then you're the. So anyways, we had. The point being, we both had collections coming into the partnership. I don't think we had a huge love for each other's collections, and we both minimized our collections.
Marco Timpano: It's true. I have a tendency to look at tchotchkas in stores and bring them home. And then now I just look at them and I put them down. Amanda will see me every once in a while. She'll be like, you can get that and I'll get it.
Amanda Barker: Oh, don't make it like that.
Marco Timpano: No, no. Like, I'll look at you.
Amanda Barker: Ball and chain.
Marco Timpano: No, you're not the old.
Amanda Barker: You can get. I hate.
Marco Timpano: What I mean is, like, sometimes I'll
Amanda Barker: look at that concept. Just for the record, I just need to say, because we talked about planning our wedding for whatever reason last episode. One of my main goals in life was to never marry a person that was like, I don't know. I just show up and she does all the work. I always said, if that's the person that I'm marrying, then we not going to have a wedding. And that would be fine by me.
Marco Timpano: Okay.
What's the last tchotchka I bought
Amanda Barker: You are not that person.
Marco Timpano: No, I'm not that person. I have a lot of opinions.
Amanda Barker: Yeah. Which is great. Which is we have dialogue and discourse
Marco Timpano: and what's the last tchotchka I bought?
Amanda Barker: Oh, gosh, what a question. So it serves no purpose other than to be cute.
Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Amanda Barker: Oh, it's a very good question. I think it's. Why do I keep thinking of, like, a little owl? Did you buy a little owl?
Marco Timpano: No, but now I want to.
Amanda Barker: I feel like you bought a little owl.
Marco Timpano: I should buy a little owl. I don't think we have a little owl. Owl in the house.
Amanda Barker: I think you bought one at one point.
Marco Timpano: No, I never bought a little owl. I bought a little owl necklace that has amber eyes for my aunt.
Amanda Barker: Yeah.
Marco Timpano: On her 80th birthday.
Amanda Barker: I don't know what the last tchotchka. But here's the other thing. We inherited a lifetime of tchotchkas and dishware and all the other things. So, yeah, we just. We've always had more stuff than we wanted to have, I think. But then clearly we want. We want it on some level, or we wouldn't have it.
Marco Timpano: Yeah. Fair enough.
Amanda Barker: You know, so we're always. It's always that, that little tightrope. But I don't know. Do you know the last chocolate I don't.
Marco Timpano: The one that I can think of is we were in California and I. And I think we bought a, like jadeite or like, like a little jade looking thing for sugar packets.
Amanda Barker: What?
Marco Timpano: You know, we were in that place in California. I don't know. It's the color of jade. The. It's a little rectangle and you put sugar packets in it.
Amanda Barker: Oh, you bought that? I didn't.
Marco Timpano: I think that's.
Amanda Barker: I don't. You. I wasn't even part of that purchase or that discussion. Where is that thing? Do we have it?
Marco Timpano: It's somewhere.
Amanda Barker: Exactly. Are sugar packets in it?
Marco Timpano: I think so.
Amanda Barker: in the kitchen, I'm guessing. Wait, was that a fruit fly?
Marco Timpano: No.
Amanda Barker: People are going to think we're hoarders.
Marco Timpano: We're not. We're not hoarders. Not yet. Not yet.
Amanda Barker: I mean, it's a fine line, but I. Listen, I. It'll. It's my life's work to try and dehoardify myself. And yes, I'm making that a verb.
Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
Amanda Barker: Dehortify myself.
Marco Timpano: You have pretty nails happening right now. Turquoise. Turquoise.
Amanda Barker: What is this?
Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I had to get out of the hoarding situation.
Amanda Barker: Okay, fair enough. I have turquoise nails. And you know, I got a compliment. I'm taking a writing class. A writer's boot camp. Did I say that? Very Canadian Y. I hope so. Boot boot camp. Writer's boot camp. And, one of the lovely attendants, private messaged me and said, I love how your males match your chair.
Marco Timpano: How your nails match your chair.
Amanda Barker: Yeah. Did I say males match your chair? I did.
Marco Timpano: I think so.
Amanda Barker: How your nails match your chair? Because I have a wing back chair that has like a cover that's so they're like Tiffany blue.
Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's a good way to describe them.
In writer's boot camp, we get prompts about childhood games
Amanda Barker: Yeah, that sort of turquoisey bluey green and like that aqua. And I do have a wing back chair that I usually zoom from. And it's actually a white chair, but it has a cover on it that's turquoise that I see got somewhere on a buy nothing group, I think. and yeah, they do match that chair. So I love it. Thank you. Oh, and the same person, she's a big. We started talking about childhood games. So in this writer's boot camp, we get prompts and what happens is, our teacher, our professor, our teacher, he'll give us a prompt and say, make a list of this. Make a list of what the color green means to you. Make a list of. So it just kind of Gets your creative brain going in different directions and, you know, you start to realize there's no right answers and you just let your stream of consciousness start to flow. Inform. Yeah, sure. And so one was childhood games. And so it ended up, we had a nice lively discussion after about childhood games that we all remembered. And of course, we're all, some of us are different ages, so we have different points of reference for that. But this same woman said, does anyone remember the game Masterpiece?
Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
Amanda Barker: And I said, not only do I, I actually don't remember it from childhood, but we play it on the regular. And not only that, we had a birth. My husband had a Masterpiece birthday a few years back. it was a very small celebration because it was, had to be because it was, the time when we couldn't have a lot of people in one room. So anyhow, and so I sent her a picture of the cake I had made.
Marco Timpano: Oh, you didn't tell me this.
Amanda Barker: Yeah, I know. I'm telling you.
Marco Timpano: What did she say?
Amanda Barker: She was like, this is amazing. This is like my dream. This is so incredible. And then she thought I made the cake, so I had to tell her, no, no, no, no. The very talented Arlene Lott, the cake maven, made it.
Marco Timpano: Follow her on Instagram because her cakes are amazing.
Amanda Barker: L O T T Arlene Lott. She's just amazing. Shall I go to her for all my cake and pie needs?
Masterpiece is a board game that involves bidding on famous paintings
Marco Timpano: So for our listeners who listen to our podcast often, you know that I'm really into board games. And for any new listeners or people who aren't familiar with Masterpiece, let me explain the game for you.
Amanda Barker: It's so good.
Marco Timpano: So it was a game, I think, in the 60s that came out and they, they published the game only until the early 80s and they stopped making it, if I'm not mistaken. And what it is, it's a board. And on the original game, it has, I believe, Vincent Van Gogh's face on it.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: With a big hat with plumage on it.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: And you've got all these little cards, I would say about three by three by five cards, not that the size matter. And on the face of these cards are famous works of art. So you've got the Mona Lisa, you've got, Cezanne, you have Monet, and you have a bunch of art that would be in the Louvre that you would, you would not necessarily know the artist or I don't know the artist's name, but it's like, oh, a lady with a thing on her head. From the 1700s.
Amanda Barker: Lady with a pearl earring. Although I don't think that's one of them.
Marco Timpano: No, but there's a woman who has, you know, that look with the thing anyways.
Amanda Barker: Yes, the look with the thing.
Marco Timpano: Yeah, it looks like she's got a mop kind of thing on her head, but it's like it's Dutch. I'm assuming it's a Dutch.
Amanda Barker: Dutch Masters.
Marco Timpano: No, one of the Dutch Masters.
Amanda Barker: Any Vermeer?
Marco Timpano: It's not important. But you've got these images, right? And what you do is you get a card of the same size and you don't look at it and you put them together and they have little clips. So every painting has a price on the back of it, but you don't know how much they're worth. And there's two forgeries in the game and you don't know which paintings are forgeries.
Amanda Barker: And then it becomes how much they're worth. And that for the record, just if he's not being clear, because I'm not great with game explanations, by the way, it's a real weakness of mine, as Marco knows. That because you're clipping them on every game, the forgeries and the value of each painting changes.
Marco Timpano: Right. So you could have the Mona Lisa, but It's only worth $100,000, which is the lowest amount.
Amanda Barker: Or it's a forgery.
Marco Timpano: Or it's worth 2 mil.
Amanda Barker: By the way, the Louvre going through a lot right now.
Marco Timpano: It's going through so much. But maybe they should play Masterpiece because that would kind of set things straight and there's certain. And so you move these little tokens on the board and every once in a while there's an auction and so everyone sort of bids on a painting that's up for sale. Or, or you move your token and you can choose to sell your painting to the crowd or to the bank. And so the person with the most value at the end of the game in either cash money or in paintings, wins the game.
Marco Timpano: So you could bid $2 million on a painting that's a forgery. So you've got to be careful in the high price world of art collecting, it's quite the fun game.
Amanda Barker: And you're all characters.
Marco Timpano: Oh that's.
Amanda Barker: Yes, I forgot. So that's a fun one. One of them is. I was bitsy. but they're, they're all fun characters and they're the type of people. Here's how I would describe them. The, the type of characters that that celebrities would play on the Love Boat.
Marco Timpano: Yes.
Amanda Barker: Like they're all like. You know how in the Love Boat people would come in and they'd be seeking their. Or Fantasy island, actually.
Marco Timpano: Sure.
Amanda Barker: Maybe even more. Because Fantasy Island. Weren't they all rich? Maybe, maybe to afford the.
Marco Timpano: You have like an oil tycoon.
Amanda Barker: Yeah. You, Bitsy something or other. And she's been through many marriages.
Marco Timpano: You've got the. The librarian who never married, who has
Amanda Barker: a lot of money, who inherited. You have the guy that's mysteriously German in the 70s, but living in Brazil. I'll just leave that there.
Marco Timpano: Right. You've got, the.
Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of who else.
Marco Timpano: Anyway, there's the busty woman. Is that bitsy?
Amanda Barker: That's bitsy. I know there's three women, three men, I can't remember.
Marco Timpano: But anyway, anyway, so that's the game.
We should write a show called Undercover Nuns. I think it's a great idea
So we also play the characters and we act like the characters when we play Master.
Amanda Barker: What would your name be? What character would you like to play on either the Love Boat or Fantasy Island?
Marco Timpano: Okay. So our listeners might know that I'm reading a lot of Agatha Christie books.
Amanda Barker: Right.
Marco Timpano: And I'm reading the 1920s. And what's funny about that, these books is that there's this character, this archetype of a character that appears often in the books.
Amanda Barker: Hm.
Marco Timpano: That you used to see on a lot of television shows in the 70s like Love Boat or the 80s, like Fantasy Fantasy island. And it was a big game hunter. You don't see that much anymore, right?
Amanda Barker: Well, because they're shamed.
Marco Timpano: Yes. And. And we probably don't need to see them. Right.
Amanda Barker: But there's somebody's. There's somebody's weird dentist that they're like, oh, I didn't realize. That's what he does in his spare time.
Marco Timpano: Right. So this character, I think they were celebr.
Amanda Barker: A bit.
Marco Timpano: It appears a lot in her books, at least the early books. Right. So it's always like. Yeah, we don't see a lot of those characters on Game Hunter people or remember when you would watch television and there would always be a nun walking by or there'd be a lot of nuns.
Amanda Barker: There were a lot of nuns in the 70s and I think to myself, in the 80s. More in the 80s.
Marco Timpano: How often do I actually run into a nun? on a yearly basis that you know of. That I know of. True. Fair enough.
Amanda Barker: Plain clothes nuns.
Marco Timpano: But on these shows they're always in their habit. I'm not talking about the undercover nuns.
Amanda Barker: Undercover nuns.
Marco Timpano: Undercover nun is A great TV show. We should write a show called Undercover Nuns.
Amanda Barker: Undercover Nuns. But what are they undercovering? Are they nuns? And in their spare time, they're cops.
Marco Timpano: Oh, that's even better.
Amanda Barker: That's a better show.
Marco Timpano: How about they're cop nuns? Cop nuns who are undercover for both. So they can. They can for God and for justice. I love that. Okay, folks, stay tuned for Undercover Nuns.
Amanda Barker: Undercovered nuns is a great idea.
Marco Timpano: Oh, we might have to write this down. Okay.
Amanda Barker: And we have this episode for trademarking purposes. Yes.
Marco Timpano: Get ready for the latest podcast called Undercover Nuns.
Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh, that's such a funny idea.
Marco Timpano: Oh, I think we'll have to develop this.
Amanda Barker: Yeah, I think it's a good idea.
Marco Timpano: I think it's a great idea.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: Okay.
How many times in a year do you run into an undercover nun
So anyways, back to my original question. How many times in a year do you run into a non undercover nun? A nun in full habit, A nun
Amanda Barker: who's not afraid to show her nunnery.
Marco Timpano: Right.
Amanda Barker: okay. Now, I mean, we did go to Rome.
Marco Timpano: We did see, for the jubilee. So there was a lot of nuns there.
Amanda Barker: A lot of nuns.
Marco Timpano: On a non jubilee year. Let me ask you this. On a non jubilee year, how many times do you run into a nun? And this is no offense to nuns or people who are related to nuns.
Amanda Barker: No, not at all. Just like somebody that you're like, oh, she's a nun.
Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Amanda Barker: I'm gonna go with at best, two a year.
Marco Timpano: I'm gonna say one a year.
Amanda Barker: Yeah, one or two a year.
Marco Timpano: And I'm Catholic, so. But I'm more likely to run into a nun than you.
Amanda Barker: But think about it. Any airport scene from the 80s, any movie in the 80s.
Marco Timpano: Oh, in the 70s, if you're chasing scene. If you were on a plane in the 70s, in a movie.
Amanda Barker: Yeah.
Marco Timpano: You were likely sitting next to a nun.
Amanda Barker: You were smoking next to a nun.
Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Yes, it's true. And probably an oil baron was on the plane.
Amanda Barker: And I was gonna say Bitsy Collins, but I think I'm saying that because Bootsy Collins. Maybe Bootsy Collins was on your plane
Marco Timpano: too, in the 70s for sure. Bootsy Collins and Bitsy. Oh, now that's.
Amanda Barker: Ah, that would be our names.
Marco Timpano: I love it. That's the name of the lead characters on Undercover Nun.
Amanda Barker: Bootsy and Bitsy.
Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Amanda Barker: Oh, my God, this is great.
Marco Timpano: This writes itself. I mean, oh, my goodness.
Mel: We had a snow day today and it was an ice storm
We had. I think we're a little bit, punchy because we had a snow day today and it was an ice storm day.
Amanda Barker: I have not Gone outside. And I've actually had quite a few. So as we established, I was outside like I was in Florida and then I was in St. Kitts. And so I've had a lot of summer in my winter so far. But since I've been home, which has been for a week now.
Marco Timpano: You've had a lot of winter in your winter?
Amanda Barker: I've had a lot of winter in my winter and I haven't really been outside barely at all. And I think I'm starting to be the worse for it. And I spent a lot of today organizing and I don't know if we say the T word, but that's what I was doing. Taxes, My taxes.
Marco Timpano: Okay, let me just say this. So I got a electric snow. An electric shovel a couple years ago.
Amanda Barker: Explain what that means because not a lot of people might know what that means. We have, I know we have strong listeners in Los Angeles.
Marco Timpano: We have listeners in warm places too. Not just Los Angeles, but.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: All right. So for people who Los Angeles is
Amanda Barker: warm, is it not?
Marco Timpano: Oh, it's very warm.
Amanda Barker: Sure. We made it sound like other. And in warm places.
Marco Timpano: No, but we have listeners in India, in Bahrain. We have listeners all over in, in places that don't require an electric shovel is what I'm trying to say. So an electric shovel is this great invention which is. It looks more like a, like a big push broom.
Marco Timpano: It's, it's. But it's, it's. It has the rotation of a snowblower so it rotates like a gear inside and that gear crushes snow and then it blows it in the air so that you don't have to actually shovel. You just have to push this electric shovel and it will do the rest. It's kind of part shovel, part snowblower. Tinier.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: And so I have this device, especially when there's a lot of snow. It's great. The only lament I have with this particular thing is it shoots snow four feet straight in the air. So I have no way to direct the snow because if you shovel you can put it wherever you want. So I've been blowing snow.
Amanda Barker: He blew snow down my back. I don't know how it managed to get past the hood of my coat
Marco Timpano: because it shot straight up and landed.
Amanda Barker: Suddenly all the snow was slithering down my bare back.
Marco Timpano: Yeah. So that's the only deal.
Amanda Barker: Even though I had a coat and a sweater on, somehow it did that.
Marco Timpano: So I was doing the sidewalk, but I was blowing snow straight onto the sidewalk further down oh, no. and then people came out of their house where I was blowing snow, but I was trying to direct it not on the street, but rather on the pile of snow between the street and the sidewalk.
Amanda Barker: Our city is having an issue where there's just more and more snow and it's not melting and it's high. It's so high, it's taking up a lot of parking. that's a real issue in the city. Like, there's so much less parking right now.
Marco Timpano: So what I did, Amanda, was I blew snow straight in the air, and then I shoveled our sidewalk, our neighbor's sidewalk, which I always do, and then her neighbor's sidewalk, because that's where I blew the snow as they were coming out.
Amanda Barker: Work for the city now.
Marco Timpano: I. I practically did the whole neighborhood. And, it was not light snow.
Amanda Barker: Do we tip you?
Marco Timpano: I hope it was not light snow. This was not a light snow.
Amanda Barker: No, it's not a light. Today's snow was a icy situation. Like, icy, watery, heavy. You know, the kind. This is the kind of snow that, like, breaks tree branches.
Marco Timpano: Yeah, this is. This was not a fun snow. Sometimes you get a fun snow. This was not a fun snow.
Amanda Barker: Some people might find it fun because it's good packing snow, I think.
Marco Timpano: No, it wasn't even.
Amanda Barker: No, it wasn't. It's so icy.
Marco Timpano: It was too wet and icy.
Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. Ah.
Marco Timpano: Anyways, if you're in a warm country, be grateful. And if you're in a cold country, spring is around the corner.
Amanda Barker: I'm feeling. Maybe you want to feel a little cold. Maybe you're hot right now and you want to feel the chill. That's why, Mel. Whoever. Whatever his name was, wrote Mel Torme the Christmas song.
Marco Timpano: Did he write the Christmas chestnuts roasting on Melbourne? Yeah.
Amanda Barker: Mel Torme. Yeah.
Marco Timpano: The man your father bumped into and gently laid onto the ground.
Amanda Barker: My dad. My dad ran around him and Mel Torme. It's like a Benny Hill farce.
Marco Timpano: It's like a 70s.
Your dad bumped into Mel Torme on a sitcom
Amanda Barker: Yeah.
Marco Timpano: Moment in a sitcom.
Amanda Barker: Mel Torme. They were both rounding a corner, and they bumped square into each other right at the corner, and Mel Torme fell over, and my dad was, like, over him and was trying to help him and, like, laid him gently on the ground. And then he looked at him right as he's on top of him, looked at him in his face and said, you're Mel Torme. Right. And what did Mel Torme say?
Marco Timpano: I believe it happened like this. Your dad was running Mel Torminet. Was just walking. Your dad turned the corner.
Amanda Barker: Oops.
Marco Timpano: Turned the corner. And that was the sound of me bumping my hand on the table. But your dad bumped into Mel Torme. And because he shot at him so fast with such force, Mel Torme was falling back. Your father, who's a. Who's a large man.
Amanda Barker: I know he was a young dude
Marco Timpano: when this happened, but he's a tall man. Your father. What is he, six three, six four?
Amanda Barker: No, no, no. My dad's not that tall.
Marco Timpano: Your dad is tall.
Amanda Barker: I don't think he's as tall as you think he is.
Marco Timpano: He's tall. He's at least six one.
Amanda Barker: Really? Yes.
Marco Timpano: I think he's six three.
Amanda Barker: My dad is not six three.
Marco Timpano: Okay, let's say six two. Okay, so your dad's six two.
Amanda Barker: I don't even think he's six.
Marco Timpano: But anyway, Mel Torme wasn't very tall. Look up how tall Mel Torme was, because he was probably.
Amanda Barker: Look up how tall my dad is. My dad is not six feet. I don't.
Marco Timpano: He's six two, your dad. He's got to be. He's Trevor's height. Your dad is Trevor's height?
Amanda Barker: No, I think he has a bigger presence than you realize. I don't think he's as tall as you think. Okay, well, anyway, how tall is Mel to.
Marco Timpano: Next week, we're going to tell you how tall Dan Barker fan favorite is. So Dan bumps into Mel Torme with such force that Mel Torme is falling back. So your dad scoops him in his arms and gently lays him to the ground. And then he says, hi, I'm Dan. And he said the other. And Mel says, hi, I'm Mel Torme. And they shake hands while Mel is on his back on the floor. And that's how that story goes.
Amanda Barker: I have no information from the Internet on, how tall Mel Torme is because it's not a question people normally ask.
Marco Timpano: He wasn't a tall man.
Amanda Barker: Well, my dad was probably taller than Mel Torme, but I don't think my dad is a particularly tall man.
Marco Timpano: Tune in next week when we'll have the answer to how tall was Mel Torme? And how tall is Dan Barker? So that's that story.
Amanda Barker: Yeah. Riveting. what were we talking about? I don't even remember Mel Torme. Oh, I was talking about chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose. he wrote those lines to feel cold in Los Angeles during the summer.
Marco Timpano: I see.
Amanda Barker: That's like he just thought if I think of cold things. I'll be feeling like I'm cold. He was trying to psych himself out to feel cold.
Marco Timpano: I love that.
Amanda Barker: That's what they did before air conditioning, I guess.
Marco Timpano: Listen, I'll say this. Yes, it's cold, but it's also the time of year where you get great mandarins and citrus fruit.
Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's true.
Marco Timpano: And there are a couple of mandarins in our fridge, which I'm going to eat.
Amanda Barker: They're so juicy.
Marco Timpano: They're so great.
Amanda Barker: Yeah, we have grapes, too. Don't forget.
Marco Timpano: Oh, I want some grapes. And I don't love grapes, but those grapes are great.
Amanda Barker: We had a discussion tonight about the fridge and Marco, because I fear when I'm like, you're home all day and I'm not, and I'm like, remember that these things exist in the fridge.
Marco Timpano: That's the last chachka I bought.
Amanda Barker: What?
Marco Timpano: Tupperware.
Amanda Barker: Colorful. No, Tupperware has a use, though.
Marco Timpano: True.
Amanda Barker: He bought, like, 1970s retro Tupperware that's brand new with no, like, harmful things in it. But Costco was selling Tupperware that looks like your Tupperware that you remember from the 70s Tupperware.
Marco Timpano: And so I bought it while Amanda was away.
Amanda Barker: I came home to lots m of Tupperware, which is fine. I'm happy to have it. I just.
There's no clear lids on this Tupperware. I worry that Marco will dismiss it
My thing is, because it's not. There's no clear lids. I worry that Marco will just dismiss it in his brain of, I don't know what that is. I'm not going to open it up. Where's the cheese?
Marco Timpano: I know what's in every Tupperware ever since it was made. I'm going to.
Amanda Barker: So not true. That's so not true.
Marco Timpano: Oh, this was a 70s show, wasn't it? Because even Tupperware was big in the 70s.
Amanda Barker: It was that 70s show. That'll be the name of the episode.
Marco Timpano: And people are gonna think we're gonna talk about Mila Kunis and stuff, but
Amanda Barker: we're not Ashton Kutchner.
Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Amanda Barker: So amazing. They were, like little kid actors together, and then they got married eventually.
Marco Timpano: Well, I guess we're talking about them. Yeah, I guess so. There you go.
What do you remember from the 70s? I don't remember the 80s
Well, what do you remember from the 70s?
Amanda Barker: Anything from that 70s show or the actual 70s?
Marco Timpano: From the actual 70s.
Amanda Barker: I remember one of my strongest memories. And yes, I was born in the 70s. Just let that cat out of the bag there. sorry. No, it's all right. I, remember being in my den and the light streaming onto the orange carpet of my den. And I remember just thinking, Helen Reddy was the best singer that ever lived. And nobody would ever be a better singer than Helen Reddy.
Marco Timpano: I don't think anyone ever has been, to be honest.
Amanda Barker: To be honest, I think I was, like, three. But I just remember being, like, listening to Helen Reddy and being like, I don't know what Helen Reddy album I was jamming to, but she did do the soundtrack to Pete's Dragon. So it was probably Pete's Dragon. But anyway. Which, by the way, I feel like Pete's Dragon, like, that movie needs to come back. I feel like they need to remake that.
Marco Timpano: They did.
Amanda Barker: Oh, did they?
Marco Timpano: They did make a remake.
Amanda Barker: I, don't know. I wasn't around for that.
Marco Timpano: With, like.
Amanda Barker: I don't know.
Marco Timpano: I forget who played the lady. I want to say Jennifer Aniston type or something.
Amanda Barker: Jennifer Aniston.
Marco Timpano: I don't know. Bill Antonio is going to be rolling his eyes.
Amanda Barker: Candle on the Water. Such a good song. Anyway, I remember. So that's. That's a. That's a memory from the 70s. I have a lot of memories from. Cool. Yeah. Oh, yeah. what else? I remember Squam Lake in New Hampshire and, having an accident in my bathing suit. What do you remember from the 70s?
Marco Timpano: I don't remember the 70s. I remember the 80s because that's when
Amanda Barker: I. Oh, well, I wasn't asked about the 80s. Yes.
Marco Timpano: I wasn't born in the 70s, so how can I. Just give me.
Amanda Barker: What is this? What are you spinning?
Marco Timpano: Okay, what I remember from the seventies, I'll tell you.
Amanda Barker: Masterpiece.
Marco Timpano: Masterpiece. Yeah. I used to play with Marco V. So my best friend grade school was Marco V, because I'm Marco T. And we had the same name. So that's how you became friends in the 70s.
Amanda Barker: Does he call you Marco T. He
Marco Timpano: did for the longest time.
Amanda Barker: Because you always refer to him these days as me and Marco V. Yeah. Will he talk about you to his friends and go, me and Marco T. 100%. That's so. funny. It never occurred to me that the mirror has two faces.
Marco Timpano: Now, Marco V. Wouldn't refer to me as Marco T. When he's talking to me.
Amanda Barker: You always just call each other Marco. Yeah, okay.
Marco Timpano: But in the 70s, you became friends because you had the same name. But what I remember is that we had shag carpet. Okay. Ah, but the cool thing M. People remember shag carpet, and now people have shag carpet. But back then, we had a shag comb broom.
Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
Marco Timpano: It was like a broom, but it didn't have bristles instead, it had big spikes in it.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: And you would use it to fluff up your.
Amanda Barker: Your shag.
Marco Timpano: And it was the thing I love to do the most because you could make it go all in one direction.
Amanda Barker: Oh,
Marco Timpano: And look cool.
Amanda Barker: I never heard of this. Yeah, that's cool. We didn't have shag.
Marco Timpano: I don't think he missed, out.
Amanda Barker: We had an orange carpet, but it wasn't shag.
Marco Timpano: Well, listen, if. Whether you had shag, whether you sat next to a nun on a plane, or whether you played masterpiece. Masterpiece. I just want to say thank you for listening to our podcast today. Thank you, Amanda, for showing up tonight. We had nothing planned.
Amanda Barker: No, we really didn't. We just started talking and we just
Marco Timpano: started jamming like Helen ready?
Amanda Barker: Some people have outlines for their podcasts.
Marco Timpano: It's true.
Amanda Barker: That's not us.
We hope this episode you were able to listen and sleep
Marco Timpano: That's not us. And no matter what, whether you're warm or whether you're cool, we wish you a, most lovely sleep. Until next time. We hope this episode you were able to listen and sleep.
Amanda Barker: Groovily, Sam.
recorded: Feb 18, 2026
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation. Season 11 if you want ad free episodes Amanda, you could go to the insomnia project Supercast cat and they will be available for you there I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
Amanda Barker: He was talking. Yes, I was talking to you
Amanda Barker: Hey, I'm Amanda Barker. The lady. He was talking.
Marco Timpano: Yes, I was talking to you. I kind of, What do they call it when you tip your hat?
Amanda Barker: Throw to.
Marco Timpano: Throw to. Sure.
Amanda Barker: I don't know.
Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Folks, we've been organizing. We all have too much stuff
Amanda Barker: Folks, we've been organizing.
Marco Timpano: We've been organizing, and that's never fun, but it's good.
Amanda Barker: And it's what should happen this time of year. You know, the new year, new beginning. Clean out your space. I think a lot of people do that.
Marco Timpano: Clean out your desk. I always find I collect all these pens and things I don't need. And then it's like, oh, I've got all this stuff on my desk.
Amanda Barker: We all have too much stuff. And by we all, I mean you and I.
Marco Timpano: It's true.
Amanda Barker: Too much stuff. It's amazing how things accumulate, really, honestly. And I'm so bad. I so believe. Like, I love watching a minimalist video. I love. I'm right now listening to a book called Tidy up youp Life. Like, I'm a big fan of all the things that tell me to get rid of things and to organize things and to clean out things and to minimalize and capsule wardrobe. I don't actually do any of it. I, just like the thought that I will do it. And I try to do. I mean, I listen to all that stuff so that I do more than I would otherwise.
Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. I have to refrain from collecting things because, remember, I had a salt and pepper collection at one point.
Amanda Barker: I mean, you still technically do. We just. You downsized it quite a bit.
Marco Timpano: Well, I just have the oranges that look like shelter.
Amanda Barker: Is that the only things you have?
Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's. That's it. Everything else.
Amanda Barker: Collected salt and pepper shakers. When we got into this marriage, this relationship, before we were married even, he collected salt and pepper shakers. I collected, masks, of which I had masks from every country. In some countries, multiple masks. like, if they had a strong tradition of performing masks, then I got, like, all of them.
Marco Timpano: And one time we put all of them on a wall.
Amanda Barker: I had all. Before you and I were a thing. Way back in the day. I had an apartment where I had a big, long, white wall sort of hallway as you walked into it. And that entire hallway was covered in masks. It was quite a. Quite a thing.
Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Amanda Barker: But, you need a big white wall, and you need to want to do that. And I've had neither the want nor the wall. I mean, we probably technically have walls where we could do it, but I Don't know. Then it's a mask wall. And then you're the mask. Then you're the. So anyways, we had. The point being, we both had collections coming into the partnership. I don't think we had a huge love for each other's collections, and we both minimized our collections.
Marco Timpano: It's true. I have a tendency to look at tchotchkas in stores and bring them home. And then now I just look at them and I put them down. Amanda will see me every once in a while. She'll be like, you can get that and I'll get it.
Amanda Barker: Oh, don't make it like that.
Marco Timpano: No, no. Like, I'll look at you.
Amanda Barker: Ball and chain.
Marco Timpano: No, you're not the old.
Amanda Barker: You can get. I hate.
Marco Timpano: What I mean is, like, sometimes I'll
Amanda Barker: look at that concept. Just for the record, I just need to say, because we talked about planning our wedding for whatever reason last episode. One of my main goals in life was to never marry a person that was like, I don't know. I just show up and she does all the work. I always said, if that's the person that I'm marrying, then we not going to have a wedding. And that would be fine by me.
Marco Timpano: Okay.
What's the last tchotchka I bought
Amanda Barker: You are not that person.
Marco Timpano: No, I'm not that person. I have a lot of opinions.
Amanda Barker: Yeah. Which is great. Which is we have dialogue and discourse
Marco Timpano: and what's the last tchotchka I bought?
Amanda Barker: Oh, gosh, what a question. So it serves no purpose other than to be cute.
Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Amanda Barker: Oh, it's a very good question. I think it's. Why do I keep thinking of, like, a little owl? Did you buy a little owl?
Marco Timpano: No, but now I want to.
Amanda Barker: I feel like you bought a little owl.
Marco Timpano: I should buy a little owl. I don't think we have a little owl. Owl in the house.
Amanda Barker: I think you bought one at one point.
Marco Timpano: No, I never bought a little owl. I bought a little owl necklace that has amber eyes for my aunt.
Amanda Barker: Yeah.
Marco Timpano: On her 80th birthday.
Amanda Barker: I don't know what the last tchotchka. But here's the other thing. We inherited a lifetime of tchotchkas and dishware and all the other things. So, yeah, we just. We've always had more stuff than we wanted to have, I think. But then clearly we want. We want it on some level, or we wouldn't have it.
Marco Timpano: Yeah. Fair enough.
Amanda Barker: You know, so we're always. It's always that, that little tightrope. But I don't know. Do you know the last chocolate I don't.
Marco Timpano: The one that I can think of is we were in California and I. And I think we bought a, like jadeite or like, like a little jade looking thing for sugar packets.
Amanda Barker: What?
Marco Timpano: You know, we were in that place in California. I don't know. It's the color of jade. The. It's a little rectangle and you put sugar packets in it.
Amanda Barker: Oh, you bought that? I didn't.
Marco Timpano: I think that's.
Amanda Barker: I don't. You. I wasn't even part of that purchase or that discussion. Where is that thing? Do we have it?
Marco Timpano: It's somewhere.
Amanda Barker: Exactly. Are sugar packets in it?
Marco Timpano: I think so.
Amanda Barker: in the kitchen, I'm guessing. Wait, was that a fruit fly?
Marco Timpano: No.
Amanda Barker: People are going to think we're hoarders.
Marco Timpano: We're not. We're not hoarders. Not yet. Not yet.
Amanda Barker: I mean, it's a fine line, but I. Listen, I. It'll. It's my life's work to try and dehoardify myself. And yes, I'm making that a verb.
Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
Amanda Barker: Dehortify myself.
Marco Timpano: You have pretty nails happening right now. Turquoise. Turquoise.
Amanda Barker: What is this?
Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I had to get out of the hoarding situation.
Amanda Barker: Okay, fair enough. I have turquoise nails. And you know, I got a compliment. I'm taking a writing class. A writer's boot camp. Did I say that? Very Canadian Y. I hope so. Boot boot camp. Writer's boot camp. And, one of the lovely attendants, private messaged me and said, I love how your males match your chair.
Marco Timpano: How your nails match your chair.
Amanda Barker: Yeah. Did I say males match your chair? I did.
Marco Timpano: I think so.
Amanda Barker: How your nails match your chair? Because I have a wing back chair that has like a cover that's so they're like Tiffany blue.
Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's a good way to describe them.
In writer's boot camp, we get prompts about childhood games
Amanda Barker: Yeah, that sort of turquoisey bluey green and like that aqua. And I do have a wing back chair that I usually zoom from. And it's actually a white chair, but it has a cover on it that's turquoise that I see got somewhere on a buy nothing group, I think. and yeah, they do match that chair. So I love it. Thank you. Oh, and the same person, she's a big. We started talking about childhood games. So in this writer's boot camp, we get prompts and what happens is, our teacher, our professor, our teacher, he'll give us a prompt and say, make a list of this. Make a list of what the color green means to you. Make a list of. So it just kind of Gets your creative brain going in different directions and, you know, you start to realize there's no right answers and you just let your stream of consciousness start to flow. Inform. Yeah, sure. And so one was childhood games. And so it ended up, we had a nice lively discussion after about childhood games that we all remembered. And of course, we're all, some of us are different ages, so we have different points of reference for that. But this same woman said, does anyone remember the game Masterpiece?
Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
Amanda Barker: And I said, not only do I, I actually don't remember it from childhood, but we play it on the regular. And not only that, we had a birth. My husband had a Masterpiece birthday a few years back. it was a very small celebration because it was, had to be because it was, the time when we couldn't have a lot of people in one room. So anyhow, and so I sent her a picture of the cake I had made.
Marco Timpano: Oh, you didn't tell me this.
Amanda Barker: Yeah, I know. I'm telling you.
Marco Timpano: What did she say?
Amanda Barker: She was like, this is amazing. This is like my dream. This is so incredible. And then she thought I made the cake, so I had to tell her, no, no, no, no. The very talented Arlene Lott, the cake maven, made it.
Marco Timpano: Follow her on Instagram because her cakes are amazing.
Amanda Barker: L O T T Arlene Lott. She's just amazing. Shall I go to her for all my cake and pie needs?
Masterpiece is a board game that involves bidding on famous paintings
Marco Timpano: So for our listeners who listen to our podcast often, you know that I'm really into board games. And for any new listeners or people who aren't familiar with Masterpiece, let me explain the game for you.
Amanda Barker: It's so good.
Marco Timpano: So it was a game, I think, in the 60s that came out and they, they published the game only until the early 80s and they stopped making it, if I'm not mistaken. And what it is, it's a board. And on the original game, it has, I believe, Vincent Van Gogh's face on it.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: With a big hat with plumage on it.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: And you've got all these little cards, I would say about three by three by five cards, not that the size matter. And on the face of these cards are famous works of art. So you've got the Mona Lisa, you've got, Cezanne, you have Monet, and you have a bunch of art that would be in the Louvre that you would, you would not necessarily know the artist or I don't know the artist's name, but it's like, oh, a lady with a thing on her head. From the 1700s.
Amanda Barker: Lady with a pearl earring. Although I don't think that's one of them.
Marco Timpano: No, but there's a woman who has, you know, that look with the thing anyways.
Amanda Barker: Yes, the look with the thing.
Marco Timpano: Yeah, it looks like she's got a mop kind of thing on her head, but it's like it's Dutch. I'm assuming it's a Dutch.
Amanda Barker: Dutch Masters.
Marco Timpano: No, one of the Dutch Masters.
Amanda Barker: Any Vermeer?
Marco Timpano: It's not important. But you've got these images, right? And what you do is you get a card of the same size and you don't look at it and you put them together and they have little clips. So every painting has a price on the back of it, but you don't know how much they're worth. And there's two forgeries in the game and you don't know which paintings are forgeries.
Amanda Barker: And then it becomes how much they're worth. And that for the record, just if he's not being clear, because I'm not great with game explanations, by the way, it's a real weakness of mine, as Marco knows. That because you're clipping them on every game, the forgeries and the value of each painting changes.
Marco Timpano: Right. So you could have the Mona Lisa, but It's only worth $100,000, which is the lowest amount.
Amanda Barker: Or it's a forgery.
Marco Timpano: Or it's worth 2 mil.
Amanda Barker: By the way, the Louvre going through a lot right now.
Marco Timpano: It's going through so much. But maybe they should play Masterpiece because that would kind of set things straight and there's certain. And so you move these little tokens on the board and every once in a while there's an auction and so everyone sort of bids on a painting that's up for sale. Or, or you move your token and you can choose to sell your painting to the crowd or to the bank. And so the person with the most value at the end of the game in either cash money or in paintings, wins the game.
Marco Timpano: So you could bid $2 million on a painting that's a forgery. So you've got to be careful in the high price world of art collecting, it's quite the fun game.
Amanda Barker: And you're all characters.
Marco Timpano: Oh that's.
Amanda Barker: Yes, I forgot. So that's a fun one. One of them is. I was bitsy. but they're, they're all fun characters and they're the type of people. Here's how I would describe them. The, the type of characters that that celebrities would play on the Love Boat.
Marco Timpano: Yes.
Amanda Barker: Like they're all like. You know how in the Love Boat people would come in and they'd be seeking their. Or Fantasy island, actually.
Marco Timpano: Sure.
Amanda Barker: Maybe even more. Because Fantasy Island. Weren't they all rich? Maybe, maybe to afford the.
Marco Timpano: You have like an oil tycoon.
Amanda Barker: Yeah. You, Bitsy something or other. And she's been through many marriages.
Marco Timpano: You've got the. The librarian who never married, who has
Amanda Barker: a lot of money, who inherited. You have the guy that's mysteriously German in the 70s, but living in Brazil. I'll just leave that there.
Marco Timpano: Right. You've got, the.
Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of who else.
Marco Timpano: Anyway, there's the busty woman. Is that bitsy?
Amanda Barker: That's bitsy. I know there's three women, three men, I can't remember.
Marco Timpano: But anyway, anyway, so that's the game.
We should write a show called Undercover Nuns. I think it's a great idea
So we also play the characters and we act like the characters when we play Master.
Amanda Barker: What would your name be? What character would you like to play on either the Love Boat or Fantasy Island?
Marco Timpano: Okay. So our listeners might know that I'm reading a lot of Agatha Christie books.
Amanda Barker: Right.
Marco Timpano: And I'm reading the 1920s. And what's funny about that, these books is that there's this character, this archetype of a character that appears often in the books.
Amanda Barker: Hm.
Marco Timpano: That you used to see on a lot of television shows in the 70s like Love Boat or the 80s, like Fantasy Fantasy island. And it was a big game hunter. You don't see that much anymore, right?
Amanda Barker: Well, because they're shamed.
Marco Timpano: Yes. And. And we probably don't need to see them. Right.
Amanda Barker: But there's somebody's. There's somebody's weird dentist that they're like, oh, I didn't realize. That's what he does in his spare time.
Marco Timpano: Right. So this character, I think they were celebr.
Amanda Barker: A bit.
Marco Timpano: It appears a lot in her books, at least the early books. Right. So it's always like. Yeah, we don't see a lot of those characters on Game Hunter people or remember when you would watch television and there would always be a nun walking by or there'd be a lot of nuns.
Amanda Barker: There were a lot of nuns in the 70s and I think to myself, in the 80s. More in the 80s.
Marco Timpano: How often do I actually run into a nun? on a yearly basis that you know of. That I know of. True. Fair enough.
Amanda Barker: Plain clothes nuns.
Marco Timpano: But on these shows they're always in their habit. I'm not talking about the undercover nuns.
Amanda Barker: Undercover nuns.
Marco Timpano: Undercover nun is A great TV show. We should write a show called Undercover Nuns.
Amanda Barker: Undercover Nuns. But what are they undercovering? Are they nuns? And in their spare time, they're cops.
Marco Timpano: Oh, that's even better.
Amanda Barker: That's a better show.
Marco Timpano: How about they're cop nuns? Cop nuns who are undercover for both. So they can. They can for God and for justice. I love that. Okay, folks, stay tuned for Undercover Nuns.
Amanda Barker: Undercovered nuns is a great idea.
Marco Timpano: Oh, we might have to write this down. Okay.
Amanda Barker: And we have this episode for trademarking purposes. Yes.
Marco Timpano: Get ready for the latest podcast called Undercover Nuns.
Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh, that's such a funny idea.
Marco Timpano: Oh, I think we'll have to develop this.
Amanda Barker: Yeah, I think it's a good idea.
Marco Timpano: I think it's a great idea.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: Okay.
How many times in a year do you run into an undercover nun
So anyways, back to my original question. How many times in a year do you run into a non undercover nun? A nun in full habit, A nun
Amanda Barker: who's not afraid to show her nunnery.
Marco Timpano: Right.
Amanda Barker: okay. Now, I mean, we did go to Rome.
Marco Timpano: We did see, for the jubilee. So there was a lot of nuns there.
Amanda Barker: A lot of nuns.
Marco Timpano: On a non jubilee year. Let me ask you this. On a non jubilee year, how many times do you run into a nun? And this is no offense to nuns or people who are related to nuns.
Amanda Barker: No, not at all. Just like somebody that you're like, oh, she's a nun.
Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Amanda Barker: I'm gonna go with at best, two a year.
Marco Timpano: I'm gonna say one a year.
Amanda Barker: Yeah, one or two a year.
Marco Timpano: And I'm Catholic, so. But I'm more likely to run into a nun than you.
Amanda Barker: But think about it. Any airport scene from the 80s, any movie in the 80s.
Marco Timpano: Oh, in the 70s, if you're chasing scene. If you were on a plane in the 70s, in a movie.
Amanda Barker: Yeah.
Marco Timpano: You were likely sitting next to a nun.
Amanda Barker: You were smoking next to a nun.
Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Yes, it's true. And probably an oil baron was on the plane.
Amanda Barker: And I was gonna say Bitsy Collins, but I think I'm saying that because Bootsy Collins. Maybe Bootsy Collins was on your plane
Marco Timpano: too, in the 70s for sure. Bootsy Collins and Bitsy. Oh, now that's.
Amanda Barker: Ah, that would be our names.
Marco Timpano: I love it. That's the name of the lead characters on Undercover Nun.
Amanda Barker: Bootsy and Bitsy.
Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Amanda Barker: Oh, my God, this is great.
Marco Timpano: This writes itself. I mean, oh, my goodness.
Mel: We had a snow day today and it was an ice storm
We had. I think we're a little bit, punchy because we had a snow day today and it was an ice storm day.
Amanda Barker: I have not Gone outside. And I've actually had quite a few. So as we established, I was outside like I was in Florida and then I was in St. Kitts. And so I've had a lot of summer in my winter so far. But since I've been home, which has been for a week now.
Marco Timpano: You've had a lot of winter in your winter?
Amanda Barker: I've had a lot of winter in my winter and I haven't really been outside barely at all. And I think I'm starting to be the worse for it. And I spent a lot of today organizing and I don't know if we say the T word, but that's what I was doing. Taxes, My taxes.
Marco Timpano: Okay, let me just say this. So I got a electric snow. An electric shovel a couple years ago.
Amanda Barker: Explain what that means because not a lot of people might know what that means. We have, I know we have strong listeners in Los Angeles.
Marco Timpano: We have listeners in warm places too. Not just Los Angeles, but.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: All right. So for people who Los Angeles is
Amanda Barker: warm, is it not?
Marco Timpano: Oh, it's very warm.
Amanda Barker: Sure. We made it sound like other. And in warm places.
Marco Timpano: No, but we have listeners in India, in Bahrain. We have listeners all over in, in places that don't require an electric shovel is what I'm trying to say. So an electric shovel is this great invention which is. It looks more like a, like a big push broom.
Marco Timpano: It's, it's. But it's, it's. It has the rotation of a snowblower so it rotates like a gear inside and that gear crushes snow and then it blows it in the air so that you don't have to actually shovel. You just have to push this electric shovel and it will do the rest. It's kind of part shovel, part snowblower. Tinier.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: And so I have this device, especially when there's a lot of snow. It's great. The only lament I have with this particular thing is it shoots snow four feet straight in the air. So I have no way to direct the snow because if you shovel you can put it wherever you want. So I've been blowing snow.
Amanda Barker: He blew snow down my back. I don't know how it managed to get past the hood of my coat
Marco Timpano: because it shot straight up and landed.
Amanda Barker: Suddenly all the snow was slithering down my bare back.
Marco Timpano: Yeah. So that's the only deal.
Amanda Barker: Even though I had a coat and a sweater on, somehow it did that.
Marco Timpano: So I was doing the sidewalk, but I was blowing snow straight onto the sidewalk further down oh, no. and then people came out of their house where I was blowing snow, but I was trying to direct it not on the street, but rather on the pile of snow between the street and the sidewalk.
Amanda Barker: Our city is having an issue where there's just more and more snow and it's not melting and it's high. It's so high, it's taking up a lot of parking. that's a real issue in the city. Like, there's so much less parking right now.
Marco Timpano: So what I did, Amanda, was I blew snow straight in the air, and then I shoveled our sidewalk, our neighbor's sidewalk, which I always do, and then her neighbor's sidewalk, because that's where I blew the snow as they were coming out.
Amanda Barker: Work for the city now.
Marco Timpano: I. I practically did the whole neighborhood. And, it was not light snow.
Amanda Barker: Do we tip you?
Marco Timpano: I hope it was not light snow. This was not a light snow.
Amanda Barker: No, it's not a light. Today's snow was a icy situation. Like, icy, watery, heavy. You know, the kind. This is the kind of snow that, like, breaks tree branches.
Marco Timpano: Yeah, this is. This was not a fun snow. Sometimes you get a fun snow. This was not a fun snow.
Amanda Barker: Some people might find it fun because it's good packing snow, I think.
Marco Timpano: No, it wasn't even.
Amanda Barker: No, it wasn't. It's so icy.
Marco Timpano: It was too wet and icy.
Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. Ah.
Marco Timpano: Anyways, if you're in a warm country, be grateful. And if you're in a cold country, spring is around the corner.
Amanda Barker: I'm feeling. Maybe you want to feel a little cold. Maybe you're hot right now and you want to feel the chill. That's why, Mel. Whoever. Whatever his name was, wrote Mel Torme the Christmas song.
Marco Timpano: Did he write the Christmas chestnuts roasting on Melbourne? Yeah.
Amanda Barker: Mel Torme. Yeah.
Marco Timpano: The man your father bumped into and gently laid onto the ground.
Amanda Barker: My dad. My dad ran around him and Mel Torme. It's like a Benny Hill farce.
Marco Timpano: It's like a 70s.
Your dad bumped into Mel Torme on a sitcom
Amanda Barker: Yeah.
Marco Timpano: Moment in a sitcom.
Amanda Barker: Mel Torme. They were both rounding a corner, and they bumped square into each other right at the corner, and Mel Torme fell over, and my dad was, like, over him and was trying to help him and, like, laid him gently on the ground. And then he looked at him right as he's on top of him, looked at him in his face and said, you're Mel Torme. Right. And what did Mel Torme say?
Marco Timpano: I believe it happened like this. Your dad was running Mel Torminet. Was just walking. Your dad turned the corner.
Amanda Barker: Oops.
Marco Timpano: Turned the corner. And that was the sound of me bumping my hand on the table. But your dad bumped into Mel Torme. And because he shot at him so fast with such force, Mel Torme was falling back. Your father, who's a. Who's a large man.
Amanda Barker: I know he was a young dude
Marco Timpano: when this happened, but he's a tall man. Your father. What is he, six three, six four?
Amanda Barker: No, no, no. My dad's not that tall.
Marco Timpano: Your dad is tall.
Amanda Barker: I don't think he's as tall as you think he is.
Marco Timpano: He's tall. He's at least six one.
Amanda Barker: Really? Yes.
Marco Timpano: I think he's six three.
Amanda Barker: My dad is not six three.
Marco Timpano: Okay, let's say six two. Okay, so your dad's six two.
Amanda Barker: I don't even think he's six.
Marco Timpano: But anyway, Mel Torme wasn't very tall. Look up how tall Mel Torme was, because he was probably.
Amanda Barker: Look up how tall my dad is. My dad is not six feet. I don't.
Marco Timpano: He's six two, your dad. He's got to be. He's Trevor's height. Your dad is Trevor's height?
Amanda Barker: No, I think he has a bigger presence than you realize. I don't think he's as tall as you think. Okay, well, anyway, how tall is Mel to.
Marco Timpano: Next week, we're going to tell you how tall Dan Barker fan favorite is. So Dan bumps into Mel Torme with such force that Mel Torme is falling back. So your dad scoops him in his arms and gently lays him to the ground. And then he says, hi, I'm Dan. And he said the other. And Mel says, hi, I'm Mel Torme. And they shake hands while Mel is on his back on the floor. And that's how that story goes.
Amanda Barker: I have no information from the Internet on, how tall Mel Torme is because it's not a question people normally ask.
Marco Timpano: He wasn't a tall man.
Amanda Barker: Well, my dad was probably taller than Mel Torme, but I don't think my dad is a particularly tall man.
Marco Timpano: Tune in next week when we'll have the answer to how tall was Mel Torme? And how tall is Dan Barker? So that's that story.
Amanda Barker: Yeah. Riveting. what were we talking about? I don't even remember Mel Torme. Oh, I was talking about chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose. he wrote those lines to feel cold in Los Angeles during the summer.
Marco Timpano: I see.
Amanda Barker: That's like he just thought if I think of cold things. I'll be feeling like I'm cold. He was trying to psych himself out to feel cold.
Marco Timpano: I love that.
Amanda Barker: That's what they did before air conditioning, I guess.
Marco Timpano: Listen, I'll say this. Yes, it's cold, but it's also the time of year where you get great mandarins and citrus fruit.
Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's true.
Marco Timpano: And there are a couple of mandarins in our fridge, which I'm going to eat.
Amanda Barker: They're so juicy.
Marco Timpano: They're so great.
Amanda Barker: Yeah, we have grapes, too. Don't forget.
Marco Timpano: Oh, I want some grapes. And I don't love grapes, but those grapes are great.
Amanda Barker: We had a discussion tonight about the fridge and Marco, because I fear when I'm like, you're home all day and I'm not, and I'm like, remember that these things exist in the fridge.
Marco Timpano: That's the last chachka I bought.
Amanda Barker: What?
Marco Timpano: Tupperware.
Amanda Barker: Colorful. No, Tupperware has a use, though.
Marco Timpano: True.
Amanda Barker: He bought, like, 1970s retro Tupperware that's brand new with no, like, harmful things in it. But Costco was selling Tupperware that looks like your Tupperware that you remember from the 70s Tupperware.
Marco Timpano: And so I bought it while Amanda was away.
Amanda Barker: I came home to lots m of Tupperware, which is fine. I'm happy to have it. I just.
There's no clear lids on this Tupperware. I worry that Marco will dismiss it
My thing is, because it's not. There's no clear lids. I worry that Marco will just dismiss it in his brain of, I don't know what that is. I'm not going to open it up. Where's the cheese?
Marco Timpano: I know what's in every Tupperware ever since it was made. I'm going to.
Amanda Barker: So not true. That's so not true.
Marco Timpano: Oh, this was a 70s show, wasn't it? Because even Tupperware was big in the 70s.
Amanda Barker: It was that 70s show. That'll be the name of the episode.
Marco Timpano: And people are gonna think we're gonna talk about Mila Kunis and stuff, but
Amanda Barker: we're not Ashton Kutchner.
Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Amanda Barker: So amazing. They were, like little kid actors together, and then they got married eventually.
Marco Timpano: Well, I guess we're talking about them. Yeah, I guess so. There you go.
What do you remember from the 70s? I don't remember the 80s
Well, what do you remember from the 70s?
Amanda Barker: Anything from that 70s show or the actual 70s?
Marco Timpano: From the actual 70s.
Amanda Barker: I remember one of my strongest memories. And yes, I was born in the 70s. Just let that cat out of the bag there. sorry. No, it's all right. I, remember being in my den and the light streaming onto the orange carpet of my den. And I remember just thinking, Helen Reddy was the best singer that ever lived. And nobody would ever be a better singer than Helen Reddy.
Marco Timpano: I don't think anyone ever has been, to be honest.
Amanda Barker: To be honest, I think I was, like, three. But I just remember being, like, listening to Helen Reddy and being like, I don't know what Helen Reddy album I was jamming to, but she did do the soundtrack to Pete's Dragon. So it was probably Pete's Dragon. But anyway. Which, by the way, I feel like Pete's Dragon, like, that movie needs to come back. I feel like they need to remake that.
Marco Timpano: They did.
Amanda Barker: Oh, did they?
Marco Timpano: They did make a remake.
Amanda Barker: I, don't know. I wasn't around for that.
Marco Timpano: With, like.
Amanda Barker: I don't know.
Marco Timpano: I forget who played the lady. I want to say Jennifer Aniston type or something.
Amanda Barker: Jennifer Aniston.
Marco Timpano: I don't know. Bill Antonio is going to be rolling his eyes.
Amanda Barker: Candle on the Water. Such a good song. Anyway, I remember. So that's. That's a. That's a memory from the 70s. I have a lot of memories from. Cool. Yeah. Oh, yeah. what else? I remember Squam Lake in New Hampshire and, having an accident in my bathing suit. What do you remember from the 70s?
Marco Timpano: I don't remember the 70s. I remember the 80s because that's when
Amanda Barker: I. Oh, well, I wasn't asked about the 80s. Yes.
Marco Timpano: I wasn't born in the 70s, so how can I. Just give me.
Amanda Barker: What is this? What are you spinning?
Marco Timpano: Okay, what I remember from the seventies, I'll tell you.
Amanda Barker: Masterpiece.
Marco Timpano: Masterpiece. Yeah. I used to play with Marco V. So my best friend grade school was Marco V, because I'm Marco T. And we had the same name. So that's how you became friends in the 70s.
Amanda Barker: Does he call you Marco T. He
Marco Timpano: did for the longest time.
Amanda Barker: Because you always refer to him these days as me and Marco V. Yeah. Will he talk about you to his friends and go, me and Marco T. 100%. That's so. funny. It never occurred to me that the mirror has two faces.
Marco Timpano: Now, Marco V. Wouldn't refer to me as Marco T. When he's talking to me.
Amanda Barker: You always just call each other Marco. Yeah, okay.
Marco Timpano: But in the 70s, you became friends because you had the same name. But what I remember is that we had shag carpet. Okay. Ah, but the cool thing M. People remember shag carpet, and now people have shag carpet. But back then, we had a shag comb broom.
Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
Marco Timpano: It was like a broom, but it didn't have bristles instead, it had big spikes in it.
Amanda Barker: Okay.
Marco Timpano: And you would use it to fluff up your.
Amanda Barker: Your shag.
Marco Timpano: And it was the thing I love to do the most because you could make it go all in one direction.
Amanda Barker: Oh,
Marco Timpano: And look cool.
Amanda Barker: I never heard of this. Yeah, that's cool. We didn't have shag.
Marco Timpano: I don't think he missed, out.
Amanda Barker: We had an orange carpet, but it wasn't shag.
Marco Timpano: Well, listen, if. Whether you had shag, whether you sat next to a nun on a plane, or whether you played masterpiece. Masterpiece. I just want to say thank you for listening to our podcast today. Thank you, Amanda, for showing up tonight. We had nothing planned.
Amanda Barker: No, we really didn't. We just started talking and we just
Marco Timpano: started jamming like Helen ready?
Amanda Barker: Some people have outlines for their podcasts.
Marco Timpano: It's true.
Amanda Barker: That's not us.
We hope this episode you were able to listen and sleep
Marco Timpano: That's not us. And no matter what, whether you're warm or whether you're cool, we wish you a, most lovely sleep. Until next time. We hope this episode you were able to listen and sleep.
Amanda Barker: Groovily, Sam.
Season 10
Bell Peppers, Butterflies & Book Challenges
(Original airdate: August 13, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to sort of help you drift off and find your way to sleep. I'm pretty excited today, so I'm trying to measure that or monitor my excitement because I have A wonderful guest, a good friend of mine who's joining us here on the podcast. Also another podcaster, great creative, awesome storyteller, fantastic drummer, inspirational speaker. It's my delight to invite my great friend Nima Kharrazi to the podcast today.
>> Nima Kharrazi: Oh, thank you, Marco. It's always such a pleasure to be on this lovely podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Nima, I'm so happy you're here because for our listeners who never made the association, Nima is the person who tells me if the ads are too loud in California, so he'll always message me. Unfortunately, he doesn't have access to the podcast around the world or he'd probably let me know. Hey, in Bristol right now your podcast is really loud. They have an ad that's really loud and it's specific to each, to each city, country. I don't know how they work it. Having said that, Nima, I am closer and closer to being able to offer listen or ad free episodes. I've even got a new icon for it, whatever your podcast artwork for. Yeah, so I'm really excited about that. That's going to be happening hopefully by next week. I'm just doing all the little, making sure the episodes get migrated to that website, et cetera, et cetera. So we'll see.
>> Nima Kharazi: Especially for a podcast as tranquil as this one, I know that most people use it to fall asleep too, right? And I actually have a friend of mine who was telling me he was having trouble sleeping and he said that he was trying to exhaust himself at the end of the night so that he would just be so tired that. That he could just shut his brain off and fall asleep. And I said, do yourself a favor and listen to the Insomnia project. It is boring on purpose and low dulcet tones. When I want to take a nap. It doesn't take much, but I've taken to recently listening to like a spa music.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nima Kharazi: Kind of thing. My wife, the lovely Michelle, or as miracle as a lot of her friends refer to her as, she listens to white noise.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nima Kharazi: So those kinds of things have been around for a while, but I told my friend about it. I haven't heard back from him yet, but he hasn't complained about it. So it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
>> Nima Kharazi: Might be a. You have another listener.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope so. That's always nice. Listen, if you find value in this podcast, please share it with your friends. Let your friends know because we always love to have new listeners joining us the podcast and then get to know you. Lima, you're looking fantastic. These days I Must say.
>> Nima Kharazi: Oh, thank you. I actually just changed my workout regimen this week and I did something I don't normally do, okay. Where I have a really bad habit of feeling like I want to start something either at the beginning of the month or the beginning of the week. And so last week I said to myself, I'm going to start doing a full body workout three days a week. So instead of having a day where I do pulling exercises and a day where I do pushing exercises and a third day where I just focus on legs, I'm going to do all three each time, three days a week. And it means I have to start over with lower weights because I'm doing like 13 different exercises. But still, it'll be worth it. And anyway, so I was gonna start it last week, but then I said to myself, I'll start on Monday. It's okay. So started on Monday, not the beginning of the month. I did not want to wait until the next month to start. And then I went into Chat GPT. Okay, not a sponsor of the podcast, but they and ChatGPT. And I said, I walk for 30 minutes and then I go do my workout. Then I hit the sauna for 30 minutes and it's 180 degrees Fahrenheit. And ChatGPT responded with, if you're doing that three days a week, you should really only do 20 minutes because that's the peak level. After 10 minutes, you're not getting any more benefits and you have to super hydrate afterwards. And it's a whole thing. So I. I did my workout on Monday and I did 30 minutes of sauna Tuesday. I spoke with chat GPT, okay. And I got this feedback. Then I did a bunch more research. Then today is Wednesday. I went to the gym again, and today I started my 20 minutes and I never had. It was the right amount of time. You know what it made me think of?
>> Marco Timpano: What?
>> Nima Kharazi: And I know, I know it's going to sound like I'm making this up, but your podcast is exactly how many minutes?
>> Marco Timpano: 26.
>> Nima Kharazi: 26, 26 minutes. Because that is the perfect amount of time for a nap.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, NASA said that 26 minutes is the perfect amount of time for a nap to get the full benefits of that nap. Anything less, your body doesn't get the benefits of it. Anything more. Let's say 30, 35 minutes. And then you wake up groggy.
>> Nima Kharazi: And. And it's.
>> Marco Timpano: And it. And it's not ideal. So the ideal amount of time, according to NASA. NASA, if I'm not mistaken, is 26 minutes. And so when we started the podcast, we were really particular about making sure it got right to 26 minutes. So I would be editing, you know, within an inch of the podcast, right. And then it just became too, too hard. So about when it gets to about 25 minutes, I start to wrap it up. You might hear me trying to corral Amanda, who starts another story as. And I'll even give her a signal, like, as if I have my index finger in the air and I'm doing, like a lasso with it, right? Do this. Like, I gotta wrap up. And that's what I meant. It's like, I just want to say. And she goes on to another story, and I'm like, now we're 28 minutes, and it's just going to be a longer podcast. But generally speaking, we try to hit the sweet spot is 26 minutes and 26 seconds.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah. And I think for me, I'm a real stickler on time. Like, if I think I walk for 30 minutes, it's not a. I walk this many miles. It's I. I go for a walk for 30 minutes and then get my heart rate up to X amount, and then I go into the gym. So I made that conscious effort, but I started recognizing in myself when I was at the gym, when I would sit in the sauna, if I was at 20 minutes, I felt like that was the right amount of time. And in the last 10 minutes, I was really suffering. And I spoke to someone about this, and they said, yeah, but there's like a euphoric, kind of like a runner's high that happens in the sauna after 25 minutes. And I said, I never feel that. It always feels like work.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you just describing exercise feels so uniform for me. I am not. I. Even the thought of going into a gym, I just. It's not. It's not for me. That's not me.
>> Nima Kharazi: That's.
>> Marco Timpano: I haven't found what's perfect for me yet. But it's not that. And I've tried. You know, I always say I feel like I'm lighter when I subscribe to a gym membership, but then I never go in. Right. But it's like, no, I know for a fact. And Nima and I have this discussion fairly often where at a certain point in your life, you know what you don't like, no matter how many times people want to insist on, you're gonna like this. And for me, it's bell peppers. Every color of bell pepper, but in particular, green and red. I don't like them. I can't digest them. If you like them, more power to you. I don't resent you. I'm happy for you. Eat all the bell peppers. I don't want them. Now, both my mother and my mother in law, when I say that to them, I cannot eat them. I don't like them. They disagree with me. They don't hear that. They're just like, we've got to find that bell pepper that works for you. And it's like, no, no. And I feel that way about gyms and other things where it's like, that's just not for me. And it's okay to say no when you know it's not for you.
>> Nima Kharazi: I actually have the same negative reaction to bell peppers. And it's amazing to me how many people say, yeah, but have you tried it in this? Have you tried it with that? We have a stuffed bell. And I'm like, listen to me. Just be happy I'm not standing in front of you in the bell pepper line, right? There's all these bell peppers at the grocery store that you get to enjoy and all the different colors they come in. And I will be on the other side getting fennel. Like an adult.
>> Marco Timpano: Love it. Your bell peppers, my mom's favorite thing is like, the orange ones aren't so bad. They're lighter. They're not. And I'm like, look, at this point, even the thought of eating it, I don't want it. I just do not want it. Thank you. And the interesting thing is I love all peppers, all other peppers, with the smile on my face. But it's the bell pepper. And so every once in a while we forget to put that in. When we order, especially Thai food, we always have these. No bell peppers, right? We forget and then we get a plethora.
>> Nima Kharazi: It infiltrates any sauce that it's in. Even if you pick it out, you can still taste the bell pepper and everything. And no, listen, no hate to people who love bell peppers.
>> Marco Timpano: They're good for you.
>> Nima Kharazi: I love that for you.
>> Marco Timpano: They're colorful. They. They add a schward de viv to any salad you put them in.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah, sure.
>> Marco Timpano: I have a challenge for you. I have a challenge for you, Nima, that I just thought of while you were talking. Actually, I was like, nima is such a great person to confide in or talk to. If you're going through great things or if you're going through not so great things and you have a bit of time on your hand these days. I would Challenge you to write a book. I think you would be great. A great author of a book, an inspirational book. How, you know, certain things in your life have inspired you or what lessons learned. You know, things I learned from being Iranian. Whatever it is, you pick it. If you wrote a book and pub and self published it.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I would be the first to buy it and to promote it because I think you would be a great author if you spent like even an hour a day writing your book. I think that would be great. So I'm gonna toss that your way as a challenge. Whether you do it or not is entirely up to you. But that's just a thought that came to my mind.
>> Nima Kharazi: I love that idea. I have a few children's books in my mind. I have a friend of mine who's a composer, and I spoke to him about it one time and I said, I have three children's books that I have written in my head and I just have not put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard to get it down somewhere visually that I can see it and then I can manipulate it into an actual book. Sure. And I feel bad about that. And he looked at me with this such a smile. And he said, I have so many symphonies up here. And he pointed to his head and I was like, okay, good. So we're in good company.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Nima Kharazi: I do like the idea of writing a book also. I. Can I. Let me just say this. I know that we actually had a topic, but this is so much more fun. And we can get to it if we get to it. One of the things that drives me bonkers.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nima Kharazi: Is when you ask someone, what do you want? Like, you should write a book. And then they go, there's so many books out there. Right. And you go, I'm sorry, is there only one burger joint in your country? Is there only one pizza place place? Is there only one Italian spot?
>> Marco Timpano: Like, sure.
>> Nima Kharazi: There's so much. There's all the way from fast food. And I mean, literally the only drive through I have never seen is Italian because that would just not make sense. But every other type of food that is like what we know as fast food centric has that. And then there's all the way from that to like elevated Michelin stuff star restaurants. There's space for everybody from franchises and corporations to mom and pop shops, holes in the wall that have been around for 20, 30 years. And you get to enjoy all of that. And there's people opening a new fill in the blank spot every month.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nima Kharazi: And you're like, I. Everyone's written a book about, so whatever. Who care? You're. I'm a photographer. People have taken all the photos that I've taken in the past, I promise. Yeah, so I just saw a butterfly yesterday and it was so pretty and I've been trying to. I've been trying to find it. I've seen it around my neighborhood. This butterfly, beautiful yellow butterfly.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know what the butterfly is called?
>> Nima Kharazi: It's, I think it's called a leopard tail butterfly or maybe a tiger tail butterfly. I actually ended up getting a picture of it and.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you did? Can you send that picture and I'll put it on our Instagram?
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah, I will.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's beautiful. If it's the, if it's this, it's not the. The swallowtail came up.
>> Nima Kharazi: It is. Yeah, the western tiger swallow tail.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh wow. Yeah, the tiger swallow. It's gorgeous. Okay, great. If you don't mind.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah. So I was. So I was walking like a last week and I saw it and I had this idea of like I'd love to take a photo of that thing, but it just wouldn't land. Sure. Then I went back to my walk and then finally yesterday I was walking and I saw it. It was in this little area with these like garlic flowers and I just waited. I stopped walking and I waited and I watched it and it finally landed to get some nectar out of these flowers and then I finally caught its photo and then I looked it up on my phone and it's this beautiful western tiger swallowtail. And it just even something like that that makes me think if you look up a western tiger's world, there are thousands of just user created, user generated content. Right. Just like tons of people that have seen this butterfly and thought, that's so pretty, I should take a photo. Who am I to take a decent photo of this thing, put it in a frame, try to sell it at a, at a show. And yet that's what I've done my whole life is take photos of things that everyone else has taken photos of, put it in a frame and then offer it for sale or show it to friends and share it online and say, hey everyone, I did, did this thing that everyone else has done. And everyone goes, hey, good job. So in the same vein, writing a book or writing a movie or writing or you know, whatever, I think it's, it's very. We need to be nicer to ourselves overall. And so you.
>> Marco Timpano: All it takes is picking up the pen and starting with the first word or clacking the first keys and starting with the first words and just go from there. And, you know, that's with writing a book. It goes to. It goes. Stands to reason. With any endeavor you've always wanted to do, but maybe told yourself that you can't or that there's already enough of those things out there, I would say just go give it a try. Doesn't hurt to try. And I should mention that Nima's coming to us from Santa Clarita, California. I'm here in Toronto. I didn't mention that off the top. And so, yeah, I would love to see you as an author in some shape or form. So I'm just going to throw that challenge out to you. Nima.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah. You've only written one book so far, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I've only written one. I'd like to write more, but I'm not as prolific in the summer. I find the summer is when my creative juices kind of dry up, if you will. Or, like, they're just. It's just too hot for me to do anything. But in the fall and in the winter, I'm much more, you know, active. So who knows? I've always wanted to write, like, you know, these books where it's like, what I've learned as a podcaster, let's say how, you know, it's like not saying it right, but, you know, those, like, the things that I learned as a podcaster that apply to your life. I'm not saying podcasts are fill in the blank there. Right. But I've. I've always wanted to write one of those kind of. Kind of books, and I think there's a market for that kind of stuff because those are the kind of books I like to read. I love to read books where it's like, here's some tips I learned I share with you.
>> Nima Kharazi: But I think, Marco, you particularly as a person who has hosted multiple podcasts, had so many guests on, and has produced so many podcasts that when people ask me, what is the one thing that. That you noticed that has changed in you since you've started podcasting? There's two things that have changed in me. The first thing is I. The way that I speak has changed, okay? In that I try really hard not to use ums and us as. And you can tell if I've been recording a lot lately because I will use fewer of them. And the reason is because I'm training myself to not use them when I'm recording, so I have fewer things to have to edit out of that conversation. In the podcast. But the second thing is, especially if you're doing a co hosting podcast or an interview type episode, you learn to be very patient and you learn to ask a question and then hold space. And I think oftentimes when you talk, even when you talk to friends, if someone is sharing, and I'm guilty of this so much, so often that when someone is sharing a story and they say, we went to Mexico and I've never ridden a horse before, but we got on these horses and we rode them into the ocean and then afterwards we got to brush the horses and we got to do all this stuff and it was so great and it was really just a great experience and we had so much fun. I want to share with them in that moment that, oh, when I was a kid, I also used to ride horses and we did. That's not the point. You don't need to connect every dot to every dot so you can just go, oh, that was about, how did you feel? What was that like? Was it scary at first and then exciting and then. And then enjoyable? Did you appreciate it after the fact more was you do it again. Those are the kinds of questions that you do in as a podcaster that if we also did in real life, like miracle says something often to me and it has really changed my life. Before we go into a party or any sort of event where there's people there, she'll remind me sweetly and gently, try to be interested, not interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Nima Kharazi: Oh, I mean, what a great life lesson.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, people always make. Remember how you made them feel then, you know, I mean, so if you. And when someone feels listened to, they'll always feel like you are an awesome person. Like, oh, it's so great. You know, Nima so asks great questions or really is so attentive or whatnot. You make them feel like they're important by listening to them and following up on what they've said with other inquiries or curiosity or whatnot. It's a great, it's a great life lesson, actually. Yeah, the other life lesson, when you were talking about, you know, doing, doing the project or doing the, the event or thing you always wanted to do. I've mentioned this before on the podcast. One of my favorite expressions in Italian is tradire e fare CE mezzo mare, which means between doing, between saying and doing, there's half the c. So, you know, you could say it's like, yeah, yeah, everyone always talks about, actually, you know, I should write a book. I should have write a book. But those who actually sit and do it. They cross half the sea and they get it done right. So it's pretty awesome. So I challenge you. I would love to read your book, Nemo.
>> Nima Kharazi: Oh, yeah, I'd love that. I'd love to. To get into. I think you might. I think I will learn something just from the process of starting to write a book and where. Where all of that lives for me.
>> Marco Timpano: No doubt. And you said that you have a. A love for photography, too.
>> Nima Kharazi: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that. I knew you were a very skilled photographer, but I didn't know you've been doing that for quite some time.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah, I was in. I. I was in Hawaii, and I saw these guys skim boarding, which is like a very thin. Almost like a very thin boogie board. It's a wooden board.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nima Kharazi: And you use it just when the waves come up to the shore, when it's just about an inch or 2 inches deep after the wave crashes, when it comes up, that's where they skim along the water. And it's a very difficult skill. And you have to be very light and very young and very agile. So it's usually like kids that do it. And. And it's also not very dangerous. And these three kids were doing it, and at one point, one of them just got flipped up into the air like a seal being tossed by an orca. And I just happened to snap that photo. And then another time, the waves, there were these. It's very interesting. In Hawaii, depending on the island that you go to and the time of the year, there are. The waves kind of come in sets, so they'll come in, like, three waves, and then you wait a beat, and then it's two waves and then three waves. And then you'll have, like, a three to five minutes of no waves at all. And if you happen to, like, look up from your picnic and you look, oh, my God, there's no waves at this beach. That's amazing. And then if you look within, like, five minutes of that, there's a ton of waves happening.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nima Kharazi: So there was this, like, a lull that was happening longer than another one. And the. The one of the kids just had his. His skim board in front of him, and he was just on his knees on the beach looking, like. Looking a little forlorn and a little bit with yearning at the ocean to kind of turn on again. And it was so beautiful. So I took a couple of those shots and I took a couple of really lousy pictures while we were there, too, and then came back And I saw some cool stuff. And then I started going to beaches and beaches kind of became like a real big deal for me. And most places that I go, I try to look at, like, kind of the, the sandy beach or the rocky beaches of the, of the Upper west coast out here, like Seattle, Oregon have really rocky beaches. But then I love, like white powder sand, like in cool Boracay in the Philippines, black sand beaches, red sand beaches in Hawaii. So that kind of became a thing and then wildlife became a thing. And yeah, it all just kind of meshed together into this, like, passion and love. And I'll be honest, as, as much as I love doing photography, Miracle has a better eye than I do. She's. I mean, she's not called Eagle Eye Miracle for no reason.
>> Marco Timpano: We used to call her Whale Eye. Whale Eye Miracle. And not because she had a large eye or anything like that, but because she could spot whales when we were on the boat, she could spot whales miles and miles away.
>> Nima Kharazi: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: She's like, there's a whale. And we're like, where? And then you'd see just a plume, a little burst of, of, you know, spray of, of water coming from its blowhole. And it was like, oh, my goodness, Miracle, you've got a whale eye. We kept saying, she's like, I really don't like the way that sounds. But that was our nickname for her. Well, listen, Nima, it's been a pleasure. Maybe, maybe you'll stay on for a bit more and we'll record a continuation for our Patreons on this episode. Okay, great. So we hear more from Nima for all the Patreons patrons out there who subscribe to Patreon. Until then, until next time. You know, thank you so much for being on the podcast today. I want to mention and give a shout out to your podcast, My gastric sleeve. I believe you've sunset it.
>> Nima Kharazi: I have, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's a great podcast.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah, it. And it has just a few. There's a few bonus episodes of some interviews that are going to be happening in the next year or two, but it's real slow and steady and it, but it is, it's up there. There's a ton of. There's like 90 plus episodes. And it goes all the way from my gastric sleeve surgery to a revision and then a secondary revision. So it has all the ups and downs and good and bad. So wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: Thanks so much, Nima. Until next time, listeners. And until next time, Nima, I hope you were able to listen and slee.
(Original airdate: August 13, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to sort of help you drift off and find your way to sleep. I'm pretty excited today, so I'm trying to measure that or monitor my excitement because I have A wonderful guest, a good friend of mine who's joining us here on the podcast. Also another podcaster, great creative, awesome storyteller, fantastic drummer, inspirational speaker. It's my delight to invite my great friend Nima Kharrazi to the podcast today.
>> Nima Kharrazi: Oh, thank you, Marco. It's always such a pleasure to be on this lovely podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Nima, I'm so happy you're here because for our listeners who never made the association, Nima is the person who tells me if the ads are too loud in California, so he'll always message me. Unfortunately, he doesn't have access to the podcast around the world or he'd probably let me know. Hey, in Bristol right now your podcast is really loud. They have an ad that's really loud and it's specific to each, to each city, country. I don't know how they work it. Having said that, Nima, I am closer and closer to being able to offer listen or ad free episodes. I've even got a new icon for it, whatever your podcast artwork for. Yeah, so I'm really excited about that. That's going to be happening hopefully by next week. I'm just doing all the little, making sure the episodes get migrated to that website, et cetera, et cetera. So we'll see.
>> Nima Kharazi: Especially for a podcast as tranquil as this one, I know that most people use it to fall asleep too, right? And I actually have a friend of mine who was telling me he was having trouble sleeping and he said that he was trying to exhaust himself at the end of the night so that he would just be so tired that. That he could just shut his brain off and fall asleep. And I said, do yourself a favor and listen to the Insomnia project. It is boring on purpose and low dulcet tones. When I want to take a nap. It doesn't take much, but I've taken to recently listening to like a spa music.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nima Kharazi: Kind of thing. My wife, the lovely Michelle, or as miracle as a lot of her friends refer to her as, she listens to white noise.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nima Kharazi: So those kinds of things have been around for a while, but I told my friend about it. I haven't heard back from him yet, but he hasn't complained about it. So it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
>> Nima Kharazi: Might be a. You have another listener.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope so. That's always nice. Listen, if you find value in this podcast, please share it with your friends. Let your friends know because we always love to have new listeners joining us the podcast and then get to know you. Lima, you're looking fantastic. These days I Must say.
>> Nima Kharazi: Oh, thank you. I actually just changed my workout regimen this week and I did something I don't normally do, okay. Where I have a really bad habit of feeling like I want to start something either at the beginning of the month or the beginning of the week. And so last week I said to myself, I'm going to start doing a full body workout three days a week. So instead of having a day where I do pulling exercises and a day where I do pushing exercises and a third day where I just focus on legs, I'm going to do all three each time, three days a week. And it means I have to start over with lower weights because I'm doing like 13 different exercises. But still, it'll be worth it. And anyway, so I was gonna start it last week, but then I said to myself, I'll start on Monday. It's okay. So started on Monday, not the beginning of the month. I did not want to wait until the next month to start. And then I went into Chat GPT. Okay, not a sponsor of the podcast, but they and ChatGPT. And I said, I walk for 30 minutes and then I go do my workout. Then I hit the sauna for 30 minutes and it's 180 degrees Fahrenheit. And ChatGPT responded with, if you're doing that three days a week, you should really only do 20 minutes because that's the peak level. After 10 minutes, you're not getting any more benefits and you have to super hydrate afterwards. And it's a whole thing. So I. I did my workout on Monday and I did 30 minutes of sauna Tuesday. I spoke with chat GPT, okay. And I got this feedback. Then I did a bunch more research. Then today is Wednesday. I went to the gym again, and today I started my 20 minutes and I never had. It was the right amount of time. You know what it made me think of?
>> Marco Timpano: What?
>> Nima Kharazi: And I know, I know it's going to sound like I'm making this up, but your podcast is exactly how many minutes?
>> Marco Timpano: 26.
>> Nima Kharazi: 26, 26 minutes. Because that is the perfect amount of time for a nap.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, NASA said that 26 minutes is the perfect amount of time for a nap to get the full benefits of that nap. Anything less, your body doesn't get the benefits of it. Anything more. Let's say 30, 35 minutes. And then you wake up groggy.
>> Nima Kharazi: And. And it's.
>> Marco Timpano: And it. And it's not ideal. So the ideal amount of time, according to NASA. NASA, if I'm not mistaken, is 26 minutes. And so when we started the podcast, we were really particular about making sure it got right to 26 minutes. So I would be editing, you know, within an inch of the podcast, right. And then it just became too, too hard. So about when it gets to about 25 minutes, I start to wrap it up. You might hear me trying to corral Amanda, who starts another story as. And I'll even give her a signal, like, as if I have my index finger in the air and I'm doing, like a lasso with it, right? Do this. Like, I gotta wrap up. And that's what I meant. It's like, I just want to say. And she goes on to another story, and I'm like, now we're 28 minutes, and it's just going to be a longer podcast. But generally speaking, we try to hit the sweet spot is 26 minutes and 26 seconds.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah. And I think for me, I'm a real stickler on time. Like, if I think I walk for 30 minutes, it's not a. I walk this many miles. It's I. I go for a walk for 30 minutes and then get my heart rate up to X amount, and then I go into the gym. So I made that conscious effort, but I started recognizing in myself when I was at the gym, when I would sit in the sauna, if I was at 20 minutes, I felt like that was the right amount of time. And in the last 10 minutes, I was really suffering. And I spoke to someone about this, and they said, yeah, but there's like a euphoric, kind of like a runner's high that happens in the sauna after 25 minutes. And I said, I never feel that. It always feels like work.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you just describing exercise feels so uniform for me. I am not. I. Even the thought of going into a gym, I just. It's not. It's not for me. That's not me.
>> Nima Kharazi: That's.
>> Marco Timpano: I haven't found what's perfect for me yet. But it's not that. And I've tried. You know, I always say I feel like I'm lighter when I subscribe to a gym membership, but then I never go in. Right. But it's like, no, I know for a fact. And Nima and I have this discussion fairly often where at a certain point in your life, you know what you don't like, no matter how many times people want to insist on, you're gonna like this. And for me, it's bell peppers. Every color of bell pepper, but in particular, green and red. I don't like them. I can't digest them. If you like them, more power to you. I don't resent you. I'm happy for you. Eat all the bell peppers. I don't want them. Now, both my mother and my mother in law, when I say that to them, I cannot eat them. I don't like them. They disagree with me. They don't hear that. They're just like, we've got to find that bell pepper that works for you. And it's like, no, no. And I feel that way about gyms and other things where it's like, that's just not for me. And it's okay to say no when you know it's not for you.
>> Nima Kharazi: I actually have the same negative reaction to bell peppers. And it's amazing to me how many people say, yeah, but have you tried it in this? Have you tried it with that? We have a stuffed bell. And I'm like, listen to me. Just be happy I'm not standing in front of you in the bell pepper line, right? There's all these bell peppers at the grocery store that you get to enjoy and all the different colors they come in. And I will be on the other side getting fennel. Like an adult.
>> Marco Timpano: Love it. Your bell peppers, my mom's favorite thing is like, the orange ones aren't so bad. They're lighter. They're not. And I'm like, look, at this point, even the thought of eating it, I don't want it. I just do not want it. Thank you. And the interesting thing is I love all peppers, all other peppers, with the smile on my face. But it's the bell pepper. And so every once in a while we forget to put that in. When we order, especially Thai food, we always have these. No bell peppers, right? We forget and then we get a plethora.
>> Nima Kharazi: It infiltrates any sauce that it's in. Even if you pick it out, you can still taste the bell pepper and everything. And no, listen, no hate to people who love bell peppers.
>> Marco Timpano: They're good for you.
>> Nima Kharazi: I love that for you.
>> Marco Timpano: They're colorful. They. They add a schward de viv to any salad you put them in.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah, sure.
>> Marco Timpano: I have a challenge for you. I have a challenge for you, Nima, that I just thought of while you were talking. Actually, I was like, nima is such a great person to confide in or talk to. If you're going through great things or if you're going through not so great things and you have a bit of time on your hand these days. I would Challenge you to write a book. I think you would be great. A great author of a book, an inspirational book. How, you know, certain things in your life have inspired you or what lessons learned. You know, things I learned from being Iranian. Whatever it is, you pick it. If you wrote a book and pub and self published it.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I would be the first to buy it and to promote it because I think you would be a great author if you spent like even an hour a day writing your book. I think that would be great. So I'm gonna toss that your way as a challenge. Whether you do it or not is entirely up to you. But that's just a thought that came to my mind.
>> Nima Kharazi: I love that idea. I have a few children's books in my mind. I have a friend of mine who's a composer, and I spoke to him about it one time and I said, I have three children's books that I have written in my head and I just have not put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard to get it down somewhere visually that I can see it and then I can manipulate it into an actual book. Sure. And I feel bad about that. And he looked at me with this such a smile. And he said, I have so many symphonies up here. And he pointed to his head and I was like, okay, good. So we're in good company.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Nima Kharazi: I do like the idea of writing a book also. I. Can I. Let me just say this. I know that we actually had a topic, but this is so much more fun. And we can get to it if we get to it. One of the things that drives me bonkers.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nima Kharazi: Is when you ask someone, what do you want? Like, you should write a book. And then they go, there's so many books out there. Right. And you go, I'm sorry, is there only one burger joint in your country? Is there only one pizza place place? Is there only one Italian spot?
>> Marco Timpano: Like, sure.
>> Nima Kharazi: There's so much. There's all the way from fast food. And I mean, literally the only drive through I have never seen is Italian because that would just not make sense. But every other type of food that is like what we know as fast food centric has that. And then there's all the way from that to like elevated Michelin stuff star restaurants. There's space for everybody from franchises and corporations to mom and pop shops, holes in the wall that have been around for 20, 30 years. And you get to enjoy all of that. And there's people opening a new fill in the blank spot every month.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nima Kharazi: And you're like, I. Everyone's written a book about, so whatever. Who care? You're. I'm a photographer. People have taken all the photos that I've taken in the past, I promise. Yeah, so I just saw a butterfly yesterday and it was so pretty and I've been trying to. I've been trying to find it. I've seen it around my neighborhood. This butterfly, beautiful yellow butterfly.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know what the butterfly is called?
>> Nima Kharazi: It's, I think it's called a leopard tail butterfly or maybe a tiger tail butterfly. I actually ended up getting a picture of it and.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you did? Can you send that picture and I'll put it on our Instagram?
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah, I will.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's beautiful. If it's the, if it's this, it's not the. The swallowtail came up.
>> Nima Kharazi: It is. Yeah, the western tiger swallow tail.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh wow. Yeah, the tiger swallow. It's gorgeous. Okay, great. If you don't mind.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah. So I was. So I was walking like a last week and I saw it and I had this idea of like I'd love to take a photo of that thing, but it just wouldn't land. Sure. Then I went back to my walk and then finally yesterday I was walking and I saw it. It was in this little area with these like garlic flowers and I just waited. I stopped walking and I waited and I watched it and it finally landed to get some nectar out of these flowers and then I finally caught its photo and then I looked it up on my phone and it's this beautiful western tiger swallowtail. And it just even something like that that makes me think if you look up a western tiger's world, there are thousands of just user created, user generated content. Right. Just like tons of people that have seen this butterfly and thought, that's so pretty, I should take a photo. Who am I to take a decent photo of this thing, put it in a frame, try to sell it at a, at a show. And yet that's what I've done my whole life is take photos of things that everyone else has taken photos of, put it in a frame and then offer it for sale or show it to friends and share it online and say, hey everyone, I did, did this thing that everyone else has done. And everyone goes, hey, good job. So in the same vein, writing a book or writing a movie or writing or you know, whatever, I think it's, it's very. We need to be nicer to ourselves overall. And so you.
>> Marco Timpano: All it takes is picking up the pen and starting with the first word or clacking the first keys and starting with the first words and just go from there. And, you know, that's with writing a book. It goes to. It goes. Stands to reason. With any endeavor you've always wanted to do, but maybe told yourself that you can't or that there's already enough of those things out there, I would say just go give it a try. Doesn't hurt to try. And I should mention that Nima's coming to us from Santa Clarita, California. I'm here in Toronto. I didn't mention that off the top. And so, yeah, I would love to see you as an author in some shape or form. So I'm just going to throw that challenge out to you. Nima.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah. You've only written one book so far, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I've only written one. I'd like to write more, but I'm not as prolific in the summer. I find the summer is when my creative juices kind of dry up, if you will. Or, like, they're just. It's just too hot for me to do anything. But in the fall and in the winter, I'm much more, you know, active. So who knows? I've always wanted to write, like, you know, these books where it's like, what I've learned as a podcaster, let's say how, you know, it's like not saying it right, but, you know, those, like, the things that I learned as a podcaster that apply to your life. I'm not saying podcasts are fill in the blank there. Right. But I've. I've always wanted to write one of those kind of. Kind of books, and I think there's a market for that kind of stuff because those are the kind of books I like to read. I love to read books where it's like, here's some tips I learned I share with you.
>> Nima Kharazi: But I think, Marco, you particularly as a person who has hosted multiple podcasts, had so many guests on, and has produced so many podcasts that when people ask me, what is the one thing that. That you noticed that has changed in you since you've started podcasting? There's two things that have changed in me. The first thing is I. The way that I speak has changed, okay? In that I try really hard not to use ums and us as. And you can tell if I've been recording a lot lately because I will use fewer of them. And the reason is because I'm training myself to not use them when I'm recording, so I have fewer things to have to edit out of that conversation. In the podcast. But the second thing is, especially if you're doing a co hosting podcast or an interview type episode, you learn to be very patient and you learn to ask a question and then hold space. And I think oftentimes when you talk, even when you talk to friends, if someone is sharing, and I'm guilty of this so much, so often that when someone is sharing a story and they say, we went to Mexico and I've never ridden a horse before, but we got on these horses and we rode them into the ocean and then afterwards we got to brush the horses and we got to do all this stuff and it was so great and it was really just a great experience and we had so much fun. I want to share with them in that moment that, oh, when I was a kid, I also used to ride horses and we did. That's not the point. You don't need to connect every dot to every dot so you can just go, oh, that was about, how did you feel? What was that like? Was it scary at first and then exciting and then. And then enjoyable? Did you appreciate it after the fact more was you do it again. Those are the kinds of questions that you do in as a podcaster that if we also did in real life, like miracle says something often to me and it has really changed my life. Before we go into a party or any sort of event where there's people there, she'll remind me sweetly and gently, try to be interested, not interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Nima Kharazi: Oh, I mean, what a great life lesson.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, people always make. Remember how you made them feel then, you know, I mean, so if you. And when someone feels listened to, they'll always feel like you are an awesome person. Like, oh, it's so great. You know, Nima so asks great questions or really is so attentive or whatnot. You make them feel like they're important by listening to them and following up on what they've said with other inquiries or curiosity or whatnot. It's a great, it's a great life lesson, actually. Yeah, the other life lesson, when you were talking about, you know, doing, doing the project or doing the, the event or thing you always wanted to do. I've mentioned this before on the podcast. One of my favorite expressions in Italian is tradire e fare CE mezzo mare, which means between doing, between saying and doing, there's half the c. So, you know, you could say it's like, yeah, yeah, everyone always talks about, actually, you know, I should write a book. I should have write a book. But those who actually sit and do it. They cross half the sea and they get it done right. So it's pretty awesome. So I challenge you. I would love to read your book, Nemo.
>> Nima Kharazi: Oh, yeah, I'd love that. I'd love to. To get into. I think you might. I think I will learn something just from the process of starting to write a book and where. Where all of that lives for me.
>> Marco Timpano: No doubt. And you said that you have a. A love for photography, too.
>> Nima Kharazi: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that. I knew you were a very skilled photographer, but I didn't know you've been doing that for quite some time.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah, I was in. I. I was in Hawaii, and I saw these guys skim boarding, which is like a very thin. Almost like a very thin boogie board. It's a wooden board.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nima Kharazi: And you use it just when the waves come up to the shore, when it's just about an inch or 2 inches deep after the wave crashes, when it comes up, that's where they skim along the water. And it's a very difficult skill. And you have to be very light and very young and very agile. So it's usually like kids that do it. And. And it's also not very dangerous. And these three kids were doing it, and at one point, one of them just got flipped up into the air like a seal being tossed by an orca. And I just happened to snap that photo. And then another time, the waves, there were these. It's very interesting. In Hawaii, depending on the island that you go to and the time of the year, there are. The waves kind of come in sets, so they'll come in, like, three waves, and then you wait a beat, and then it's two waves and then three waves. And then you'll have, like, a three to five minutes of no waves at all. And if you happen to, like, look up from your picnic and you look, oh, my God, there's no waves at this beach. That's amazing. And then if you look within, like, five minutes of that, there's a ton of waves happening.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nima Kharazi: So there was this, like, a lull that was happening longer than another one. And the. The one of the kids just had his. His skim board in front of him, and he was just on his knees on the beach looking, like. Looking a little forlorn and a little bit with yearning at the ocean to kind of turn on again. And it was so beautiful. So I took a couple of those shots and I took a couple of really lousy pictures while we were there, too, and then came back And I saw some cool stuff. And then I started going to beaches and beaches kind of became like a real big deal for me. And most places that I go, I try to look at, like, kind of the, the sandy beach or the rocky beaches of the, of the Upper west coast out here, like Seattle, Oregon have really rocky beaches. But then I love, like white powder sand, like in cool Boracay in the Philippines, black sand beaches, red sand beaches in Hawaii. So that kind of became a thing and then wildlife became a thing. And yeah, it all just kind of meshed together into this, like, passion and love. And I'll be honest, as, as much as I love doing photography, Miracle has a better eye than I do. She's. I mean, she's not called Eagle Eye Miracle for no reason.
>> Marco Timpano: We used to call her Whale Eye. Whale Eye Miracle. And not because she had a large eye or anything like that, but because she could spot whales when we were on the boat, she could spot whales miles and miles away.
>> Nima Kharazi: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: She's like, there's a whale. And we're like, where? And then you'd see just a plume, a little burst of, of, you know, spray of, of water coming from its blowhole. And it was like, oh, my goodness, Miracle, you've got a whale eye. We kept saying, she's like, I really don't like the way that sounds. But that was our nickname for her. Well, listen, Nima, it's been a pleasure. Maybe, maybe you'll stay on for a bit more and we'll record a continuation for our Patreons on this episode. Okay, great. So we hear more from Nima for all the Patreons patrons out there who subscribe to Patreon. Until then, until next time. You know, thank you so much for being on the podcast today. I want to mention and give a shout out to your podcast, My gastric sleeve. I believe you've sunset it.
>> Nima Kharazi: I have, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's a great podcast.
>> Nima Kharazi: Yeah, it. And it has just a few. There's a few bonus episodes of some interviews that are going to be happening in the next year or two, but it's real slow and steady and it, but it is, it's up there. There's a ton of. There's like 90 plus episodes. And it goes all the way from my gastric sleeve surgery to a revision and then a secondary revision. So it has all the ups and downs and good and bad. So wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: Thanks so much, Nima. Until next time, listeners. And until next time, Nima, I hope you were able to listen and slee.
Roadtrips and Comic strips
(Original airdate Oct 2m 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help guide you or bring you to a place of relaxation, calm, chill, or hopefully even sleep.
Amanda and I drove to London, Ontario and back today
I'm your host, Marco Timpano I'm sitting
>> Amanda Barker: here with my eyes closed. I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, you and I drove to London, Ontario and back.
>> Amanda Barker: yes, we did. And I'm tired. It's a.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a bit of a drive. I will say that it is. It's a beautiful place.
>> Amanda Barker: And a beautiful drive.
>> Marco Timpano: And a beautiful drive. And it was a beautiful day today, so I'm not complaining about any of those things.
>> Amanda Barker: And we got to do beautiful work.
>> Marco Timpano: We did.
>> Amanda Barker: Which we're always happy to have Universe here. Hear me?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: But, I am tired, sure. As are you, I think. And I just closed my eyes for a half beat, and it almost felt like, you know in the morning when your alarm goes and you're like, I'm just gonna rest my eyes for 10 minutes. Yes, I'm in those 10 more minutes right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't think I'm getting out of them. And I'm wondering, I think I might do this whole podcast with my eyes closed.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that'll be fascinating.
AD Free episodes are now on Supercast
Well, I want to acknowledge anyone who's listening who worked really hard today, too, and just let them know, listen, you worked hard today. You deserve to rest and ch. And, we're grateful that you were able to do that work. And now you're in a place where you're listening to our podcast and if
>> Amanda Barker: you kind of are feeling well, I didn't really work that hard today. I'm going to tell you something. You did.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And so you also deserve to have that feeling of a day well spent. Even if you did, quote, unquote, nothing, you, believe me, did lots of things. And it's a day well spent. And I want you to have that completely. Like you left, as we say as actors, you left it all in the room feeling like there's nothing else left to give.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah.
>> Amanda Barker: Except surrendering into peace and calmness.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that. And I want to say a special thank you to everyone who's reached out and helped me really figure out the super cast of, with our podcast. So if you want to hear AD Free episodes, they are now on Supercast. You go to the Insomnia Project, Supercast ca and you can get AD Free listens there. I will be putting more and more episodes up there. So right now there's three seasons and I'm going to be putting up more. So thank you for your patience with that as well, and thank you for being our listeners. It's always so, so nice.
Marco says aging makes him acutely aware of his bones
I was telling people about this podcast today, and they were all really fascinated about it.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco, something's going on with me. I pulled the thing in my bum cheek.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, we don't usually use that kind of language on this podcast. Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Right buttock.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I think those are lower back. Lower back.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, but it's not your back.
>> Marco Timpano: Upper thigh.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not your thigh. and the result of it. One of the results of it is that I'm acutely aware of my bones and I can feel them in the chair. Is that weird in a way I never have before?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I don't know. I. I would just say that's part of aging.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. I think it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, does. Does your.
>> Amanda Barker: Your pointy bum bones? I don't know what those are called. This is not a science podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Your coccyx.
>> Amanda Barker: No, that's your spine. That's your spine. I'm talking about the ones that make contact with the chair. And you hope to have some flesh to. Between them and the chair. Well, there's less flesh for some reason. And now that's all I feel.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Are they telling you it's gonna rain or not? Because if it's gonna rain, I want to bring our, pillows from outside in. Are you getting those premonition bone feelings? No.
>> Amanda Barker: Premonition bones, no. but you remind me of my. It's so stupid. My favorite Far side comic.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which was three guys sitting on a porch, and one guy is like, oh, I think something's happening with the weather because my thumb is really big and his thumb is hurting. Then the other guy's like, oh, I think there's definitely a storm coming because I can feel it in my knee. And then the third guy has, like, this ginormous head and he's like, there's definitely a change in the weather because I think my head is really big and his head is, like, ginormous. I was probably 10 when I saw it or something, and it seemed very funny to me. It doesn't seem so funny now that I'm sitting telling you about farsight.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, when you have to describe a comic, it doesn't always.
>> Amanda Barker: Comics don't always hold up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but farsight is funny.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember reading them in the back of the paper, like, growing up, and you were like, ha, ha. Like, they were never funny. Like Family Circus.
>> Marco Timpano: I had Family Circus books.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, so you were a big fan? A Family Circus fan?
>> Marco Timpano: I guess I was little. I think when I was little, it was a comic that you could read that was kind of funny, but not.
>> Amanda Barker: Not really, though. I Have you ever looked at a Family Circus comic and actually laughed out loud?
>> Marco Timpano: I, mean, I don't know if I blurted out loud, like, you know,
>> Amanda Barker: I'd say lulled, as the kids say. But the people who say LOL are not kids anymore. LOL is the middle aged. Used to be the millennial. Young millennials. Now they're middle aged. Millennials say people who sell lull have
>> Marco Timpano: bursitis like you do. It sounds like.
>> Amanda Barker: And Reed Family Circus.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I used to read Family Circus when I was young, and now as an adult, I don't think Family Circus speaks to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Family Spurkus, Family Spurcus.
>> Marco Timpano: but I do like Calvin and Hobbes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Always a favorite. I do like Far side.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Never got into Marmaduke. You seem like someone who would read Marmaduke.
>> Amanda Barker: What does that mean?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: A Marmaduke reader. What was Marmaduke a dog?
>> Marco Timpano: It was a Great Dane.
>> Amanda Barker: No. How do I seem like someone who is a Marmaduke reader?
>> Marco Timpano: You don't seem like the type of person who would read Kathy comics. You're not a cat. I don't think, you know, Blarg is not something that, you know, you would.
>> Amanda Barker: I am a Kathy comic, so I don't need to read my life. You know what I mean?
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm not into Kathy.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to work with someone who would say smooches all the time.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, people do say that. Is that what that's from?
Matt Groening comics gave lasagna a boost in late 80s
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Smooches.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: and I'm not into Marmaduke. And I don't even know what to do with that accusation.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, Christmas is not that far away. You might get, Marmaduke's greatest comics.
>> Amanda Barker: my sister went through a real Garfield phase.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Coincidentally, not coincidentally, she hates lasagna. No, she loves lasagna. And I think because of that comic, I think lasagna got a real big boost. Boost. I think nonnas around the world were, like, asked to make extra lasagna in the late 80s because of. And mid-80s, I guess because of, the rise in popularity from Garfield.
>> Marco Timpano: I think if you had a nonna, you didn't have to ask for lasagnas. They were just made.
>> Amanda Barker: I, ah, guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Does your sister hate.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, if you had a Valerie, which was what we had, we had to ask for lasagna.
>> Marco Timpano: Does your sister hate Mondays, is the question.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. You're gonna have to ask her. so I would read her Garfield comics. and they were well read. And then we got into. Yeah, far side a little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Loved far side.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, far side was great. That was more late 80s. That was like the edgy one. But we actually got really into very early. I'm gonna say the last name wrong. Probably Matt Groening.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: The Simpsons before pre Simpsons. So he had. He had characters. Well, two were called Akbar and fez.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't claim anything on them or remember too much, but we were really, really into Matt Groening or whatever his groaning.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't it?
>> Amanda Barker: It looks like groening, but I think it's pronounced groening or greening or. It's not a word that's pronounced as it's as you think it is. But anyway, whatever it is. So we got really into those and those felt very subversive. And I think they were considered as such again in the late 80s. And then as a 12 year old child. So think of the 12 year olds. We know a couple 11 year olds right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Amanda has her eyes wide open right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Friends, in case you're wondering. I didn't commit to that bit. but while I woke up, all this exciting, comic Marmaduke talk. Marmaduke talk always brings me back to the table. but the Matt Groening comics were seen as like this new, interesting, fun, exciting.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Little fringe piece of comedy. And I, on the Branley new channel, started watching fox tv.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Back in the day. Back in the day, like 21 Jump street was their first show, I think. And they hosted the Tracy Ullman show. So I would watch that every Sunday night without fail on my little tv. Staying up, you know, telling my parents I went to bed and then watching the Tracey Ullman show in my room. And as we all know, the Simpsons. The Simpsons were the interstitials. And it was just a little like get that cool Matt Groening guy to do characters. And he didn't do Akbar and fez. He did this family. And we all know what they became, but they were just an offshoot of bigger plans he had. That's obviously what took off.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever read the Dilbert comics?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm not a Dilbert fan.
>> Marco Timpano: Neither am I. How about peanuts? Chuck?
>> Amanda Barker: I like peanuts. Peanuts. Of all the ones that were in the back of the newspaper, Peanuts was the one. Was the one I liked the most because I really liked snoopy and Woodstock.
>> Marco Timpano: I see those were your two favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. There was something really like dry witted about them that I enjoyed. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I liked. I liked Charlie Brown and all those things. Peppermint Patty and, you know, the gang.
>> Amanda Barker: Was she your favorite?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't think peppermint Patty was my favorite. I have, funny enough, I have a T shirt I bought. So I like soft, very soft T shirts. And oftentimes the softest T shirts are not the T shirts you think I would buy.
Bob Evans is a family-style restaurant originally from Pennsylvania or Ohio
So I have a whole collection from. What's that restaurant.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Bob Evans.
>> Marco Timpano: Bob Evans had this super sale of T shirts when we were there once.
>> Amanda Barker: We should explain Bob Evans because we don't even have them in our neck of the woods.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Should I explain?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Bob Evans is a, family style restaurant that I think is originally from Pennsylvania or Ohio.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it kind of lives in those areas. Although, it's probably most states have Bob Evans now, but some more than others, for sure. And they have this thing where they serve. So it's like your typical diner food. Really.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Things with gravy and a couple really good big salads. But they serve their salads and most of their things with like banana bread or cornbread or like a sweet, like sweet cranberry bread. Like almost like a desserty kind of bread.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is genius.
>> Marco Timpano: And Amanda's all over it.
>> Amanda Barker: I am.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I shop the front area where they sell little cups and little salt and pepper shakers because you know that I love the knickknacky things while we were there. And they had a whole bunch of T shirts that were super soft and on sale. And so I have, an abundance of T shirts that say, I love biscuits and gravy. Flap my jack, will you? Things like that. Like sayings that you wouldn't expect me to wear. And I have a T shirt that I bought at the theme park not too far from our home called Canada's Wonderland that has peppermint patty on it. And it's blue and it's super soft and it says roller coaster hair and her hair is all messed up. And so these are the T shirts that I will wear. Not every day when I.
>> Amanda Barker: And a special person was very excited about that shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: My nephew could not wait to see my pajamas. And that's one of these.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm so excited to see Xiomarco's pajamas, and rightly so.
>> Marco Timpano: And I did not disappoint with my Peppermint Patty T. shirt. So I'm. I don't know why I got into this. Oh, we got into it because of comics.
>> Amanda Barker: Wanted people to know that you every night faithfully sleep in a peppermint Patty. T shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's fantastic. My favorite T shirt. So. So, yeah, those are the comics. I'm trying to think of other comics. Did you ever read calvin and hobbes?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I didn't ever get out. Got into that, really.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I think the Matt groening comics were my favorite, But I seem to pick those up over and over and think they were just so funny and cool.
>> Marco Timpano: do you remember there was this comic? I think it's an old comic that they would run in the paper. I don't even think they have comics in papers anymore.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. It's.
>> Marco Timpano: When was the last time I read a newspaper? I picked up an actual newspaper, you
>> Amanda Barker: know, when we were at the cottage last week. We've been doing a lot of cottage times.
>> Marco Timpano: A lot of renos.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of renos. Yeah. And, so anyways, I like being up in the neck of the woods, and we try to support all the local businesses as we do here.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So there's a convenience store basically across the street almost, and we try to support them. So when we were up there, it just struck me there was a guy there buying the paper. Such a simple act. But it occurred to me, I don't know, the last time there's been somebody behind me or in front of me in a line just in a place just to buy a paper.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But they must, because people read the paper, I guess. Still, I wish. I want to read the paper more. You should read the paper, because you know what? I don't want to read it on my phone. I want to read it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you want to hold the physical paper.
>> Amanda Barker: I do, actually, but then I don't. That's. I already have enough magazine. Like, I have a lot of papers.
>> Marco Timpano: Will you read the comics to me if you buy. If I buy you a paper?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Will you buy me a newspaper subscription?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: I might ask for that for Christmas.
>> Marco Timpano: That's quite expensive.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is it?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. You get the paper every day.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't want a paper every day. I want the Sunday version, the big, thick one that has, like, artists and musicians in it. I don't want to read headlines every day.
Amanda got so many magazines. Can you just subscribe to lifestyle section of a page
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I do want to read the like. Can you just subscribe to the lifestyle section of a page?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it doesn't. Then get a magazine.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we do that. I do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, you do. There was a point where Amanda got so many magazines.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That I was like, I just can't. There's too many magazines in the home
>> Amanda Barker: that Was called the best year of my life.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, there you go.
Is there a cartoon that you enjoyed watching as a child
So, bridging the gap between comics and cartoons, Is there a cartoon that you enjoyed watching? Like, I. I don't think you. You watched the Flintstones, did you?
>> Amanda Barker: As a child, I watched a ton Flintstones, but I didn't particularly enjoy them.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Did you watch the Jetsons?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I felt about the same.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What about Jabber Jaw?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. Excuse me.
>> Marco Timpano: Jabberjaw was the shark that. That played in a band. I think you, didn't see too many of those cartoons. That was one of my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Jabberjaw.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Scooby Doo.
>> Amanda Barker: I really did not like Scooby.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Okay, so what cartoons did you like?
>> Amanda Barker: The thing is, the real irony of my life is I didn't like animation.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I still, to this day, don't really. And the reason this is an irony is that my sister is a professional animator.
>> Marco Timpano: This is the sister who hates Mondays but loves lasagna.
>> Amanda Barker: These things are probably still true. She's such an artist. The fact that we're calling her a walking Kathy comic is kind of awesome.
>> Marco Timpano: no, I'm not calling her. I'm calling her a Garfield comic.
>> Amanda Barker: Garfield meets Kathy and they had a baby.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I never said she was Kathy. I don't want.
>> Amanda Barker: She hates Mondays. Oh, that's. Oh, I thought Kathy hated Mondays. I bet Kathy does hate Mondays.
>> Marco Timpano: Kathy likes to smooch.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't get that. So she says smooches to.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but I thought Kathy was like, ugh, my boss in work. I'm going to cross my eyes and go, ugh. blarg. Isn't that Kathy?
>> Marco Timpano: Does your sister say blarg? Is she the type of person to say blarg?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't live in the same city as her, so I. I don't have a. I don't keep. Keep eyes and ears on our blarg status. So I don't know, but, you know, we should say blarg more. No, you should say when you're driving and you're feeling a little ragey instead of yelling out Italian profanities, as you might. Blarg is what I want you to start yelling out. Just a good old blarg.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay?
>> Amanda Barker: And I want. I want it to feel like you exhaled and number signs and dollar signs and asterixes came out of your mouth.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll do that. If you say smooches every time you kiss a friend or foe, I'll say
>> Amanda Barker: it when I Kiss a friend or foe. But I will not sign an email off with smooches. You imagine smooches?
>> Marco Timpano: Can you do that? Your next email to your boss signed it off with smooches.
>> Amanda Barker: She probably wouldn't mind. Okay. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So funny.
>> Amanda Barker: I still. It doesn't feel in character. I'd like to think it's not in character with me.
Amanda says there's something about cartoons that makes her nauseous
what were you gonna ask me? What cartoons did I watch as a kid?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you watched.
>> Amanda Barker: I watched a ton, but I didn't like any of them. I watched Tom and Jerry. All kinds.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Tom and Jerry. I didn't like Tom and Jerry.
>> Amanda Barker: No, they're awful. But I watched them, but I didn't like them. That's what was on. We couldn't dial things up.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: We had to watch what was on, and I didn't like any of it.
>> Marco Timpano: what about, like, the Bugs Bunny?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I hated all of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I really, like. There's something about it that makes me, like, sick to my stomach.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, I really. It might be because I was being. Eating, like, breakfasts that were making me feel nauseous while I watched it. That's what I actually think might have happened there. But the end result is that the whole thought of it makes me nauseous. I'm sure there's any cartoon I liked. Like, something experimental, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. well, I liked a lot of cartoons, folks. In case you're like, what's wrong with Amanda? I liked a ton of cartoons.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what I loved, though?
>> Marco Timpano: What?
>> Amanda Barker: Anything for kids that wasn't a cartoon. So puppets like Fraggle Rock?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'm. If you're like, oh, she's younger than I thought. No, I was pretty old to, like Fraggle Rock, but I super loved Fraggle Rock.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, of all of them, that was probably my favorite.
>> Marco Timpano: I like the Muppets.
>> Amanda Barker: I love the Muppets.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the Muppets.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, any Jim Henson I was in. I like puppets. I like things that I can. There's something about cartoons that I can't connect to. Okay. Still to this day, like, all that bad CGI we had in, like, the early aughts. Every movie that was, like, cgi.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. It's not for you?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I. My brain just turns off.
>> Marco Timpano: I had. So while you had a Cabbage Patch
>> Amanda Barker: doll, I had four.
>> Marco Timpano: Or.
>> Amanda Barker: I like how you said it. Or cabbage branch doll. Or a,
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a glow worm. Used to squeeze it and it would.
>> Amanda Barker: I never had a glow worm.
>> Marco Timpano: My sister had a glow worm.
>> Amanda Barker: Glow Worms were expensive.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, she had one. I'm trying to think.
>> Amanda Barker: You guys were rich.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think so. I think she just got a glow worm for Christmas one year, and. And it was probably years after when. When it wasn't popular anymore or. I bet you had raggedy ends.
>> Amanda Barker: And I did. Yeah, we did.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a Kermit doll I used to sleep with.
>> Amanda Barker: My brother had a Kermit, and I. Well, guess what I used to sleep with.
>> Marco Timpano: a corn with two, like, eyes on it. Corn doll, you know?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I slept with a Miss Piggy.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, did you really?
>> Amanda Barker: I had a Miss Piggy doll, and I loved her. And I would do the voice, and I'd do the hiya. And I'd, like, kick people with her little hooves.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And I really was, like, channeling Miss Piggy, and I thought she was. And I would get, like, laughs when I, like, would make her talk.
>> Marco Timpano: And it all started there.
>> Amanda Barker: It really did. I loved Miss Piggy. She was a woman who knew what she needed out of life.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah, she had a lot of anger, but who doesn't, right?
I loved my Kermit doll. I still have it. And I, like, really loved my Miss Piggy
What woman in the 70s didn't have some anger?
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how I felt with Miss Piggy. I was like, this woman knows what she wants.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Kind of don't love that she had to be a pig. But she. She. She brought it back, and she owned her pig space, and. And, that's just what she was. I. I liked Miss Piggy.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't that funny? You had that doll, and I had the doll.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. That's what I'm saying. And I, like, really loved my Miss Piggy.
>> Marco Timpano: I loved my Kermit doll.
>> Amanda Barker: I can think of the dress that I used to put her in and. And the clothes I had for her. And I did sleep with her. Yeah. And she was, like, this big.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's big.
>> Amanda Barker: It was pretty big. How big was your ke?
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe this big. Oh, the legs. But the legs were longer.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the legs were long.
>> Marco Timpano: I still have it. I'll show it to you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't have Miss Piggy anymore. I wish I did. I think her eyes closed, like. I think her. She had, like, eyeshadowy eyes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: She had, like, a plastic face, but, like, plush body.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And her eyes would open and close, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So I guess she would be able to close her eyes through the whole podcast episode without a problem.
>> Amanda Barker: She probably would be able to commit to that bit. She committed to a bit.
>> Marco Timpano: She certainly did, Miss Piggy.
You had four Cabbage Patch dolls when you were young
Oh, my goodness. And you had four Cabbage Patch dolls.
>> Amanda Barker: I did. I did. I had. The first one had a weird name. I don't remember what it was, but I didn't like the name.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I immediately changed it to, Molly Jill.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Good old. She was Irish.
>> Amanda Barker: You're.
>> Marco Timpano: You're.
>> Amanda Barker: I liked the name Molly. I mean, at that time, I was known as Mandy Jill. So I don't think I was thinking too outside the box with that one. Then I got a second cabbage patch, and I kept the name that she came with, which was Spring Colleen.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought that was a pretty name. Spring Colleen. she had. So Molly Jill looked like me. She had, like, brown hair and, like, ponytails. Dimples. They all had dimples. I guess. Some, had one dimple, some had two. Spring Colleen had short yellow hair.
>> Marco Timpano: Mm.
>> Amanda Barker: Then I had a baby cabbage patch. You know the baby ones?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. With the hard, plastic bald heads.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I can still smell it. Like, they smell like baby powder.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I can still, like, take myself back to that, like, olfactory memory of, like, the baby powder and the little cabbage patch bomb that you'd put the diaper on.
>> Marco Timpano: and his didn't have a little tattoo there, too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Xavier Roberts. Name was on the bums.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: What happened to him?
>> Marco Timpano: Eh, never even heard of this person.
>> Amanda Barker: Xavier Roberts was the.
>> Marco Timpano: The creator.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And it was a whole thing of, like, they're born in the hospital of cabbage patches or whatever. I don't know. but then the baby was like, Sean something, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I also babysit a kid named Sean, so maybe I'm conflating that. And then I thought I had another one, but maybe I only had the three. My brother had one. My sister, I think, had one, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, we were into the cabbage patches big time. I was like, the cabbage patch generation, for sure. Are you looking up Xavier Roberts?
>> Marco Timpano: I am.
>> Amanda Barker: Any. Any hot findings?
>> Marco Timpano: not really.
>> Amanda Barker: Weird look on your face.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, because it said net worth, but I didn't want that. I wanted to know a little bit of. There's a. There's a lot of Xavier Roberts. That's why I was trying to figure out which one.
>> Amanda Barker: I wish I had a Cabbage Patch bum right now, because then I wouldn't feel the bones in my bum on this chair.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you're certainly saying that a lot here on the podcast, where we don't say that. sorry. Yeah. I think he also created the first skins bear. Have you heard of that?
>> Amanda Barker: Nope.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So anyways. Oh, he. He created this when he Was young. Like, he was 26, I think.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Millionaire doing this. Okay, well, good for them. yeah, good idea. $.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess it just had a little bit of enough of a gimmick, and then the frenzy started.
Everyone loves a Slinky, including you, probably, dear listener
Remember, that was one. That was one of the first frenzied toys.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I had Stretch Armstrong, I think I talked about on the podcast once, before you could stretch his arms and legs. I was so excited to get it at Man Died. That's all I wanted, was Stretch Armstrong. And then you stretched him, and he stretched back, and that's all they did. But the commercial made it seem like there was so much more.
>> Amanda Barker: Stretch Armstrong did commercials knew what they were doing.
>> Marco Timpano: let's just say I got it for Christmas. And what? By. By New Year's, I was all over it. Wow, man.
>> Amanda Barker: What a Lesson learned.
>> Marco Timpano: Lesson learned, Right? Lesson learned.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, where is he now, Mr. Armstrong?
>> Marco Timpano: No, he's nowhere to be found. I think I overstretched him.
>> Amanda Barker: I have a feeling you weren't the only kid. Remember Slinkies?
>> Marco Timpano: Loved Slinkies.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but how long would that one last before it was, like, caught in your hair and then twisted all around, and then you'd put it back, and you get your dad to put it back. But then it was like that one, like, coil that got kinked. Ye. I didn't fully go back, and it was like, here's my Slinky now. But it had, like, the one, like, the big gap in it, and you're, like, trying to do it down the stairs.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to, like, rotate it over my head like a. Like a helicopter blade, and it would just stretch and stretch and stretch.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sure your parents love that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Yeah, it's a. It's. It's an interesting toy because it's just a coil of springs of metal.
>> Amanda Barker: Clearly somebody did a metal coil at their factory or something. And some kid was like, this is amazing. And somebody was like, great, I got an idea, but let's make it so that it doesn't, you know, and it
>> Marco Timpano: has the best name. Slinky. Like, you know, it's a great name for what it is.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone loves a Slinky.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't we all? Well, I'm going to end the podcast by saying Blarg. Oh, thank you for listening.
>> Amanda Barker: Today, I'm going to remind you that everyone loves a Slinky, including you, probably, dear listener. And if you don't, may you go to sleep. I mean, that would be a great way to drift off just. Just thinking about each one of your toys and the love you had for them as a child. Then just like, imagine that you're taking them, giving them a little love, putting them on your bed the way you might have. That's what I used to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And, I hope you have a lovely rest of your night. And we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate Oct 2m 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help guide you or bring you to a place of relaxation, calm, chill, or hopefully even sleep.
Amanda and I drove to London, Ontario and back today
I'm your host, Marco Timpano I'm sitting
>> Amanda Barker: here with my eyes closed. I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, you and I drove to London, Ontario and back.
>> Amanda Barker: yes, we did. And I'm tired. It's a.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a bit of a drive. I will say that it is. It's a beautiful place.
>> Amanda Barker: And a beautiful drive.
>> Marco Timpano: And a beautiful drive. And it was a beautiful day today, so I'm not complaining about any of those things.
>> Amanda Barker: And we got to do beautiful work.
>> Marco Timpano: We did.
>> Amanda Barker: Which we're always happy to have Universe here. Hear me?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: But, I am tired, sure. As are you, I think. And I just closed my eyes for a half beat, and it almost felt like, you know in the morning when your alarm goes and you're like, I'm just gonna rest my eyes for 10 minutes. Yes, I'm in those 10 more minutes right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't think I'm getting out of them. And I'm wondering, I think I might do this whole podcast with my eyes closed.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that'll be fascinating.
AD Free episodes are now on Supercast
Well, I want to acknowledge anyone who's listening who worked really hard today, too, and just let them know, listen, you worked hard today. You deserve to rest and ch. And, we're grateful that you were able to do that work. And now you're in a place where you're listening to our podcast and if
>> Amanda Barker: you kind of are feeling well, I didn't really work that hard today. I'm going to tell you something. You did.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And so you also deserve to have that feeling of a day well spent. Even if you did, quote, unquote, nothing, you, believe me, did lots of things. And it's a day well spent. And I want you to have that completely. Like you left, as we say as actors, you left it all in the room feeling like there's nothing else left to give.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah.
>> Amanda Barker: Except surrendering into peace and calmness.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that. And I want to say a special thank you to everyone who's reached out and helped me really figure out the super cast of, with our podcast. So if you want to hear AD Free episodes, they are now on Supercast. You go to the Insomnia Project, Supercast ca and you can get AD Free listens there. I will be putting more and more episodes up there. So right now there's three seasons and I'm going to be putting up more. So thank you for your patience with that as well, and thank you for being our listeners. It's always so, so nice.
Marco says aging makes him acutely aware of his bones
I was telling people about this podcast today, and they were all really fascinated about it.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco, something's going on with me. I pulled the thing in my bum cheek.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, we don't usually use that kind of language on this podcast. Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Right buttock.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I think those are lower back. Lower back.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, but it's not your back.
>> Marco Timpano: Upper thigh.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not your thigh. and the result of it. One of the results of it is that I'm acutely aware of my bones and I can feel them in the chair. Is that weird in a way I never have before?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I don't know. I. I would just say that's part of aging.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. I think it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, does. Does your.
>> Amanda Barker: Your pointy bum bones? I don't know what those are called. This is not a science podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Your coccyx.
>> Amanda Barker: No, that's your spine. That's your spine. I'm talking about the ones that make contact with the chair. And you hope to have some flesh to. Between them and the chair. Well, there's less flesh for some reason. And now that's all I feel.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Are they telling you it's gonna rain or not? Because if it's gonna rain, I want to bring our, pillows from outside in. Are you getting those premonition bone feelings? No.
>> Amanda Barker: Premonition bones, no. but you remind me of my. It's so stupid. My favorite Far side comic.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which was three guys sitting on a porch, and one guy is like, oh, I think something's happening with the weather because my thumb is really big and his thumb is hurting. Then the other guy's like, oh, I think there's definitely a storm coming because I can feel it in my knee. And then the third guy has, like, this ginormous head and he's like, there's definitely a change in the weather because I think my head is really big and his head is, like, ginormous. I was probably 10 when I saw it or something, and it seemed very funny to me. It doesn't seem so funny now that I'm sitting telling you about farsight.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, when you have to describe a comic, it doesn't always.
>> Amanda Barker: Comics don't always hold up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but farsight is funny.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember reading them in the back of the paper, like, growing up, and you were like, ha, ha. Like, they were never funny. Like Family Circus.
>> Marco Timpano: I had Family Circus books.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, so you were a big fan? A Family Circus fan?
>> Marco Timpano: I guess I was little. I think when I was little, it was a comic that you could read that was kind of funny, but not.
>> Amanda Barker: Not really, though. I Have you ever looked at a Family Circus comic and actually laughed out loud?
>> Marco Timpano: I, mean, I don't know if I blurted out loud, like, you know,
>> Amanda Barker: I'd say lulled, as the kids say. But the people who say LOL are not kids anymore. LOL is the middle aged. Used to be the millennial. Young millennials. Now they're middle aged. Millennials say people who sell lull have
>> Marco Timpano: bursitis like you do. It sounds like.
>> Amanda Barker: And Reed Family Circus.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I used to read Family Circus when I was young, and now as an adult, I don't think Family Circus speaks to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Family Spurkus, Family Spurcus.
>> Marco Timpano: but I do like Calvin and Hobbes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Always a favorite. I do like Far side.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Never got into Marmaduke. You seem like someone who would read Marmaduke.
>> Amanda Barker: What does that mean?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: A Marmaduke reader. What was Marmaduke a dog?
>> Marco Timpano: It was a Great Dane.
>> Amanda Barker: No. How do I seem like someone who is a Marmaduke reader?
>> Marco Timpano: You don't seem like the type of person who would read Kathy comics. You're not a cat. I don't think, you know, Blarg is not something that, you know, you would.
>> Amanda Barker: I am a Kathy comic, so I don't need to read my life. You know what I mean?
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm not into Kathy.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to work with someone who would say smooches all the time.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, people do say that. Is that what that's from?
Matt Groening comics gave lasagna a boost in late 80s
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Smooches.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: and I'm not into Marmaduke. And I don't even know what to do with that accusation.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, Christmas is not that far away. You might get, Marmaduke's greatest comics.
>> Amanda Barker: my sister went through a real Garfield phase.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Coincidentally, not coincidentally, she hates lasagna. No, she loves lasagna. And I think because of that comic, I think lasagna got a real big boost. Boost. I think nonnas around the world were, like, asked to make extra lasagna in the late 80s because of. And mid-80s, I guess because of, the rise in popularity from Garfield.
>> Marco Timpano: I think if you had a nonna, you didn't have to ask for lasagnas. They were just made.
>> Amanda Barker: I, ah, guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Does your sister hate.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, if you had a Valerie, which was what we had, we had to ask for lasagna.
>> Marco Timpano: Does your sister hate Mondays, is the question.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. You're gonna have to ask her. so I would read her Garfield comics. and they were well read. And then we got into. Yeah, far side a little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Loved far side.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, far side was great. That was more late 80s. That was like the edgy one. But we actually got really into very early. I'm gonna say the last name wrong. Probably Matt Groening.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: The Simpsons before pre Simpsons. So he had. He had characters. Well, two were called Akbar and fez.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't claim anything on them or remember too much, but we were really, really into Matt Groening or whatever his groaning.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't it?
>> Amanda Barker: It looks like groening, but I think it's pronounced groening or greening or. It's not a word that's pronounced as it's as you think it is. But anyway, whatever it is. So we got really into those and those felt very subversive. And I think they were considered as such again in the late 80s. And then as a 12 year old child. So think of the 12 year olds. We know a couple 11 year olds right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Amanda has her eyes wide open right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Friends, in case you're wondering. I didn't commit to that bit. but while I woke up, all this exciting, comic Marmaduke talk. Marmaduke talk always brings me back to the table. but the Matt Groening comics were seen as like this new, interesting, fun, exciting.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Little fringe piece of comedy. And I, on the Branley new channel, started watching fox tv.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Back in the day. Back in the day, like 21 Jump street was their first show, I think. And they hosted the Tracy Ullman show. So I would watch that every Sunday night without fail on my little tv. Staying up, you know, telling my parents I went to bed and then watching the Tracey Ullman show in my room. And as we all know, the Simpsons. The Simpsons were the interstitials. And it was just a little like get that cool Matt Groening guy to do characters. And he didn't do Akbar and fez. He did this family. And we all know what they became, but they were just an offshoot of bigger plans he had. That's obviously what took off.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever read the Dilbert comics?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm not a Dilbert fan.
>> Marco Timpano: Neither am I. How about peanuts? Chuck?
>> Amanda Barker: I like peanuts. Peanuts. Of all the ones that were in the back of the newspaper, Peanuts was the one. Was the one I liked the most because I really liked snoopy and Woodstock.
>> Marco Timpano: I see those were your two favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. There was something really like dry witted about them that I enjoyed. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I liked. I liked Charlie Brown and all those things. Peppermint Patty and, you know, the gang.
>> Amanda Barker: Was she your favorite?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't think peppermint Patty was my favorite. I have, funny enough, I have a T shirt I bought. So I like soft, very soft T shirts. And oftentimes the softest T shirts are not the T shirts you think I would buy.
Bob Evans is a family-style restaurant originally from Pennsylvania or Ohio
So I have a whole collection from. What's that restaurant.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Bob Evans.
>> Marco Timpano: Bob Evans had this super sale of T shirts when we were there once.
>> Amanda Barker: We should explain Bob Evans because we don't even have them in our neck of the woods.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Should I explain?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Bob Evans is a, family style restaurant that I think is originally from Pennsylvania or Ohio.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it kind of lives in those areas. Although, it's probably most states have Bob Evans now, but some more than others, for sure. And they have this thing where they serve. So it's like your typical diner food. Really.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Things with gravy and a couple really good big salads. But they serve their salads and most of their things with like banana bread or cornbread or like a sweet, like sweet cranberry bread. Like almost like a desserty kind of bread.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is genius.
>> Marco Timpano: And Amanda's all over it.
>> Amanda Barker: I am.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I shop the front area where they sell little cups and little salt and pepper shakers because you know that I love the knickknacky things while we were there. And they had a whole bunch of T shirts that were super soft and on sale. And so I have, an abundance of T shirts that say, I love biscuits and gravy. Flap my jack, will you? Things like that. Like sayings that you wouldn't expect me to wear. And I have a T shirt that I bought at the theme park not too far from our home called Canada's Wonderland that has peppermint patty on it. And it's blue and it's super soft and it says roller coaster hair and her hair is all messed up. And so these are the T shirts that I will wear. Not every day when I.
>> Amanda Barker: And a special person was very excited about that shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: My nephew could not wait to see my pajamas. And that's one of these.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm so excited to see Xiomarco's pajamas, and rightly so.
>> Marco Timpano: And I did not disappoint with my Peppermint Patty T. shirt. So I'm. I don't know why I got into this. Oh, we got into it because of comics.
>> Amanda Barker: Wanted people to know that you every night faithfully sleep in a peppermint Patty. T shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's fantastic. My favorite T shirt. So. So, yeah, those are the comics. I'm trying to think of other comics. Did you ever read calvin and hobbes?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I didn't ever get out. Got into that, really.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I think the Matt groening comics were my favorite, But I seem to pick those up over and over and think they were just so funny and cool.
>> Marco Timpano: do you remember there was this comic? I think it's an old comic that they would run in the paper. I don't even think they have comics in papers anymore.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. It's.
>> Marco Timpano: When was the last time I read a newspaper? I picked up an actual newspaper, you
>> Amanda Barker: know, when we were at the cottage last week. We've been doing a lot of cottage times.
>> Marco Timpano: A lot of renos.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of renos. Yeah. And, so anyways, I like being up in the neck of the woods, and we try to support all the local businesses as we do here.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So there's a convenience store basically across the street almost, and we try to support them. So when we were up there, it just struck me there was a guy there buying the paper. Such a simple act. But it occurred to me, I don't know, the last time there's been somebody behind me or in front of me in a line just in a place just to buy a paper.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But they must, because people read the paper, I guess. Still, I wish. I want to read the paper more. You should read the paper, because you know what? I don't want to read it on my phone. I want to read it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you want to hold the physical paper.
>> Amanda Barker: I do, actually, but then I don't. That's. I already have enough magazine. Like, I have a lot of papers.
>> Marco Timpano: Will you read the comics to me if you buy. If I buy you a paper?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Will you buy me a newspaper subscription?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: I might ask for that for Christmas.
>> Marco Timpano: That's quite expensive.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is it?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. You get the paper every day.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't want a paper every day. I want the Sunday version, the big, thick one that has, like, artists and musicians in it. I don't want to read headlines every day.
Amanda got so many magazines. Can you just subscribe to lifestyle section of a page
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I do want to read the like. Can you just subscribe to the lifestyle section of a page?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it doesn't. Then get a magazine.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we do that. I do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, you do. There was a point where Amanda got so many magazines.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That I was like, I just can't. There's too many magazines in the home
>> Amanda Barker: that Was called the best year of my life.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, there you go.
Is there a cartoon that you enjoyed watching as a child
So, bridging the gap between comics and cartoons, Is there a cartoon that you enjoyed watching? Like, I. I don't think you. You watched the Flintstones, did you?
>> Amanda Barker: As a child, I watched a ton Flintstones, but I didn't particularly enjoy them.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Did you watch the Jetsons?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I felt about the same.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What about Jabber Jaw?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. Excuse me.
>> Marco Timpano: Jabberjaw was the shark that. That played in a band. I think you, didn't see too many of those cartoons. That was one of my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Jabberjaw.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Scooby Doo.
>> Amanda Barker: I really did not like Scooby.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Okay, so what cartoons did you like?
>> Amanda Barker: The thing is, the real irony of my life is I didn't like animation.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I still, to this day, don't really. And the reason this is an irony is that my sister is a professional animator.
>> Marco Timpano: This is the sister who hates Mondays but loves lasagna.
>> Amanda Barker: These things are probably still true. She's such an artist. The fact that we're calling her a walking Kathy comic is kind of awesome.
>> Marco Timpano: no, I'm not calling her. I'm calling her a Garfield comic.
>> Amanda Barker: Garfield meets Kathy and they had a baby.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I never said she was Kathy. I don't want.
>> Amanda Barker: She hates Mondays. Oh, that's. Oh, I thought Kathy hated Mondays. I bet Kathy does hate Mondays.
>> Marco Timpano: Kathy likes to smooch.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't get that. So she says smooches to.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but I thought Kathy was like, ugh, my boss in work. I'm going to cross my eyes and go, ugh. blarg. Isn't that Kathy?
>> Marco Timpano: Does your sister say blarg? Is she the type of person to say blarg?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't live in the same city as her, so I. I don't have a. I don't keep. Keep eyes and ears on our blarg status. So I don't know, but, you know, we should say blarg more. No, you should say when you're driving and you're feeling a little ragey instead of yelling out Italian profanities, as you might. Blarg is what I want you to start yelling out. Just a good old blarg.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay?
>> Amanda Barker: And I want. I want it to feel like you exhaled and number signs and dollar signs and asterixes came out of your mouth.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll do that. If you say smooches every time you kiss a friend or foe, I'll say
>> Amanda Barker: it when I Kiss a friend or foe. But I will not sign an email off with smooches. You imagine smooches?
>> Marco Timpano: Can you do that? Your next email to your boss signed it off with smooches.
>> Amanda Barker: She probably wouldn't mind. Okay. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So funny.
>> Amanda Barker: I still. It doesn't feel in character. I'd like to think it's not in character with me.
Amanda says there's something about cartoons that makes her nauseous
what were you gonna ask me? What cartoons did I watch as a kid?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you watched.
>> Amanda Barker: I watched a ton, but I didn't like any of them. I watched Tom and Jerry. All kinds.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Tom and Jerry. I didn't like Tom and Jerry.
>> Amanda Barker: No, they're awful. But I watched them, but I didn't like them. That's what was on. We couldn't dial things up.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: We had to watch what was on, and I didn't like any of it.
>> Marco Timpano: what about, like, the Bugs Bunny?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I hated all of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I really, like. There's something about it that makes me, like, sick to my stomach.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, I really. It might be because I was being. Eating, like, breakfasts that were making me feel nauseous while I watched it. That's what I actually think might have happened there. But the end result is that the whole thought of it makes me nauseous. I'm sure there's any cartoon I liked. Like, something experimental, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. well, I liked a lot of cartoons, folks. In case you're like, what's wrong with Amanda? I liked a ton of cartoons.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what I loved, though?
>> Marco Timpano: What?
>> Amanda Barker: Anything for kids that wasn't a cartoon. So puppets like Fraggle Rock?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'm. If you're like, oh, she's younger than I thought. No, I was pretty old to, like Fraggle Rock, but I super loved Fraggle Rock.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, of all of them, that was probably my favorite.
>> Marco Timpano: I like the Muppets.
>> Amanda Barker: I love the Muppets.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the Muppets.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, any Jim Henson I was in. I like puppets. I like things that I can. There's something about cartoons that I can't connect to. Okay. Still to this day, like, all that bad CGI we had in, like, the early aughts. Every movie that was, like, cgi.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. It's not for you?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I. My brain just turns off.
>> Marco Timpano: I had. So while you had a Cabbage Patch
>> Amanda Barker: doll, I had four.
>> Marco Timpano: Or.
>> Amanda Barker: I like how you said it. Or cabbage branch doll. Or a,
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a glow worm. Used to squeeze it and it would.
>> Amanda Barker: I never had a glow worm.
>> Marco Timpano: My sister had a glow worm.
>> Amanda Barker: Glow Worms were expensive.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, she had one. I'm trying to think.
>> Amanda Barker: You guys were rich.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think so. I think she just got a glow worm for Christmas one year, and. And it was probably years after when. When it wasn't popular anymore or. I bet you had raggedy ends.
>> Amanda Barker: And I did. Yeah, we did.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a Kermit doll I used to sleep with.
>> Amanda Barker: My brother had a Kermit, and I. Well, guess what I used to sleep with.
>> Marco Timpano: a corn with two, like, eyes on it. Corn doll, you know?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I slept with a Miss Piggy.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, did you really?
>> Amanda Barker: I had a Miss Piggy doll, and I loved her. And I would do the voice, and I'd do the hiya. And I'd, like, kick people with her little hooves.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And I really was, like, channeling Miss Piggy, and I thought she was. And I would get, like, laughs when I, like, would make her talk.
>> Marco Timpano: And it all started there.
>> Amanda Barker: It really did. I loved Miss Piggy. She was a woman who knew what she needed out of life.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah, she had a lot of anger, but who doesn't, right?
I loved my Kermit doll. I still have it. And I, like, really loved my Miss Piggy
What woman in the 70s didn't have some anger?
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how I felt with Miss Piggy. I was like, this woman knows what she wants.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Kind of don't love that she had to be a pig. But she. She. She brought it back, and she owned her pig space, and. And, that's just what she was. I. I liked Miss Piggy.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't that funny? You had that doll, and I had the doll.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. That's what I'm saying. And I, like, really loved my Miss Piggy.
>> Marco Timpano: I loved my Kermit doll.
>> Amanda Barker: I can think of the dress that I used to put her in and. And the clothes I had for her. And I did sleep with her. Yeah. And she was, like, this big.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's big.
>> Amanda Barker: It was pretty big. How big was your ke?
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe this big. Oh, the legs. But the legs were longer.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the legs were long.
>> Marco Timpano: I still have it. I'll show it to you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't have Miss Piggy anymore. I wish I did. I think her eyes closed, like. I think her. She had, like, eyeshadowy eyes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: She had, like, a plastic face, but, like, plush body.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And her eyes would open and close, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So I guess she would be able to close her eyes through the whole podcast episode without a problem.
>> Amanda Barker: She probably would be able to commit to that bit. She committed to a bit.
>> Marco Timpano: She certainly did, Miss Piggy.
You had four Cabbage Patch dolls when you were young
Oh, my goodness. And you had four Cabbage Patch dolls.
>> Amanda Barker: I did. I did. I had. The first one had a weird name. I don't remember what it was, but I didn't like the name.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I immediately changed it to, Molly Jill.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Good old. She was Irish.
>> Amanda Barker: You're.
>> Marco Timpano: You're.
>> Amanda Barker: I liked the name Molly. I mean, at that time, I was known as Mandy Jill. So I don't think I was thinking too outside the box with that one. Then I got a second cabbage patch, and I kept the name that she came with, which was Spring Colleen.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought that was a pretty name. Spring Colleen. she had. So Molly Jill looked like me. She had, like, brown hair and, like, ponytails. Dimples. They all had dimples. I guess. Some, had one dimple, some had two. Spring Colleen had short yellow hair.
>> Marco Timpano: Mm.
>> Amanda Barker: Then I had a baby cabbage patch. You know the baby ones?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. With the hard, plastic bald heads.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I can still smell it. Like, they smell like baby powder.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I can still, like, take myself back to that, like, olfactory memory of, like, the baby powder and the little cabbage patch bomb that you'd put the diaper on.
>> Marco Timpano: and his didn't have a little tattoo there, too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Xavier Roberts. Name was on the bums.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: What happened to him?
>> Marco Timpano: Eh, never even heard of this person.
>> Amanda Barker: Xavier Roberts was the.
>> Marco Timpano: The creator.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And it was a whole thing of, like, they're born in the hospital of cabbage patches or whatever. I don't know. but then the baby was like, Sean something, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I also babysit a kid named Sean, so maybe I'm conflating that. And then I thought I had another one, but maybe I only had the three. My brother had one. My sister, I think, had one, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, we were into the cabbage patches big time. I was like, the cabbage patch generation, for sure. Are you looking up Xavier Roberts?
>> Marco Timpano: I am.
>> Amanda Barker: Any. Any hot findings?
>> Marco Timpano: not really.
>> Amanda Barker: Weird look on your face.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, because it said net worth, but I didn't want that. I wanted to know a little bit of. There's a. There's a lot of Xavier Roberts. That's why I was trying to figure out which one.
>> Amanda Barker: I wish I had a Cabbage Patch bum right now, because then I wouldn't feel the bones in my bum on this chair.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you're certainly saying that a lot here on the podcast, where we don't say that. sorry. Yeah. I think he also created the first skins bear. Have you heard of that?
>> Amanda Barker: Nope.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So anyways. Oh, he. He created this when he Was young. Like, he was 26, I think.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Millionaire doing this. Okay, well, good for them. yeah, good idea. $.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess it just had a little bit of enough of a gimmick, and then the frenzy started.
Everyone loves a Slinky, including you, probably, dear listener
Remember, that was one. That was one of the first frenzied toys.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I had Stretch Armstrong, I think I talked about on the podcast once, before you could stretch his arms and legs. I was so excited to get it at Man Died. That's all I wanted, was Stretch Armstrong. And then you stretched him, and he stretched back, and that's all they did. But the commercial made it seem like there was so much more.
>> Amanda Barker: Stretch Armstrong did commercials knew what they were doing.
>> Marco Timpano: let's just say I got it for Christmas. And what? By. By New Year's, I was all over it. Wow, man.
>> Amanda Barker: What a Lesson learned.
>> Marco Timpano: Lesson learned, Right? Lesson learned.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, where is he now, Mr. Armstrong?
>> Marco Timpano: No, he's nowhere to be found. I think I overstretched him.
>> Amanda Barker: I have a feeling you weren't the only kid. Remember Slinkies?
>> Marco Timpano: Loved Slinkies.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but how long would that one last before it was, like, caught in your hair and then twisted all around, and then you'd put it back, and you get your dad to put it back. But then it was like that one, like, coil that got kinked. Ye. I didn't fully go back, and it was like, here's my Slinky now. But it had, like, the one, like, the big gap in it, and you're, like, trying to do it down the stairs.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to, like, rotate it over my head like a. Like a helicopter blade, and it would just stretch and stretch and stretch.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sure your parents love that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Yeah, it's a. It's. It's an interesting toy because it's just a coil of springs of metal.
>> Amanda Barker: Clearly somebody did a metal coil at their factory or something. And some kid was like, this is amazing. And somebody was like, great, I got an idea, but let's make it so that it doesn't, you know, and it
>> Marco Timpano: has the best name. Slinky. Like, you know, it's a great name for what it is.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone loves a Slinky.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't we all? Well, I'm going to end the podcast by saying Blarg. Oh, thank you for listening.
>> Amanda Barker: Today, I'm going to remind you that everyone loves a Slinky, including you, probably, dear listener. And if you don't, may you go to sleep. I mean, that would be a great way to drift off just. Just thinking about each one of your toys and the love you had for them as a child. Then just like, imagine that you're taking them, giving them a little love, putting them on your bed the way you might have. That's what I used to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And, I hope you have a lovely rest of your night. And we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
A Good Hair Day
(Original airdate: Aug 29, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you find your way to sleep or at least relaxation.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi, I'm here.
>> Marco Timpano: That's Amanda and I'm Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker and some good news.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, what's up? So for our listeners who've been asking about AD free, listens for our podcast. I've been able to get the Insomnia Project onto a service that will provide that. So if you go to insomnia project.supercast.com you can get yourself a subscription so that you don't hear the ads that will sometimes appear at the start of this podcast. Now, I do have a 10 day free sort of offer going on so that you can test it out. It's new to me too, Amanda. I've never used this service before, so I'm hoping it will work out for everyone. And don't worry if you didn't write that down. I will have it in the show notes. It's the Insomnia Project.Super Cast.com A lot of our listeners were asking for this sort of service, if you will, and we'll see how that goes. Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah? Did you hear that little crinkle?
>> Marco Timpano: I heard the crinkle, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay, folks, true story. I dyed my hair, dyed my roots.
>> Marco Timpano: You've got Amanda with a dyed bag on her head right now.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm at an age where I'm dying my roots and so they're sitting patiently for me to wash them out.
>> Marco Timpano: How long do you have to wait for that dye to take hold?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I usually say about 20 minutes. For me, it's like I want to get the hair, but if I've dyed any of my scalp, I don't want that super glued on. So a little column A, a little column B. Maybe it should be 30, but I do 20.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, here's a tip for our listeners because my mother is a hairdresser, was a hairdresser all my life. And so I was around her, a
>> Amanda Barker: very good hairdresser, I will say.
>> Marco Timpano: I was around her doing hair forever.
>> Amanda Barker: Hair stylist. I think hairdresser is one of those antiquated terms. Maybe like sunbathing. We don't really say that anymore, do we? I. I think suntan lotion. Remember we used to call all sunscreen suntan lotion?
>> Marco Timpano: I still call it suntan lotion. Okay, so here's a hot tip for any listener that might dye their hair and get splashes on their skin and they want to get those splotches of dye off their skin.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like splanche is a word you created.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you call it? Mark a little.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, dye.
>> Marco Timpano: Dye marks.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I mean, I think we know what you mean by splanche.
>> Marco Timpano: I think splanche is the better word.
>> Amanda Barker: It is the better word.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you have ash, cigarette ash, or Other ash. And you put that ash with a little bit of water and make almost, for lack of a better term, ash paste. And you take that ash paste and you rub it on your splanch. Your dye splotch will come out.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it will not dye your skin.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So that's a little. That's a little hot tip for any.
>> Amanda Barker: Will it work for my sunspots?
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's not recommended.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: By any dermatologist or the Insomnia Project podcast to use that for those purposes,
>> Amanda Barker: because I have those, too. They came along with the. With the need for dye. Yeah, the need for dyeing my roots. I don't need a ton, but just a little bit in the front of
>> Marco Timpano: sunspot cream or of dye cream.
>> Amanda Barker: Dye cream.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay. Yeah. Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't usually dab. I just do it when I go on to set when I'm shooting something, because I. I often. I'm actually, I'll just say quite addicted to spray hair root dye, if you know what that is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it. It's basically hairspray, but color comes out of it, Is that correct?
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. And I love it because it fills in. My hair is always. I've always had very thin hair, so it kind of fills in a bit of the thinness. Listen, I'm not going to say it looks amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: I've noticed that we have a few out here.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I started buying them in bulk.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda likes to spray.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, because I do it for auditions.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Because the way the light hits my head on auditions, it can look
>> Marco Timpano: sparse.
>> Amanda Barker: Sparse and shiny, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Shiny and sparse.
>> Amanda Barker: It dulls the shine of my hair, which I know is not something you normally would seek, but for camera, you don't want glare on your hair.
>> Marco Timpano: For new listeners, we are both actors, and so Amanda has to do auditions. And when she's on set, she means when she's filming.
>> Amanda Barker: The secrets behind the audition. Spray dye and a whole lot of love. And ash paste.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, what's the difference between that dye spray and dry shampoo, which you also like to use?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they have two very different things.
>> Marco Timpano: They seem very similar to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, dry shampoo can come out as a certain color, and actually I prefer it when it does come out as not a white spray. But dry shampoo basically came from. There was an old. A lot of people would put baby powder or talcum powder in their hair to sop up grease. If you have, again, thin hair like I do, you know, you. You could only go a day or two at Most without washing it. And I remember, I think I was camping once and someone said, oh, the. Just bring some baby powder and put it in your roots and it'll you, your hair won't look like it had any grease in it. It won't look like it's dirty. So I started that. But you know, people don't want to use talcum powder, so I get that. So they've started dry shampoo and that sort of came from that, I think. And now it's a spray that doesn't have baby powder in it. But it does much the same thing. It takes the grease. It's a powder that absorbs the grease from your roots.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Sometimes it gives it a little bit extra body and then sometimes it is the color of your roots. But it's not meant to dye your roots. It's just meant to not create white splashes in your hair. Which sometimes as women especially we have. Like I'll, I run auditions too, so sometimes I'll have actresses that come in and they clearly just put a bit of dry shampoo in the back and didn't really look at it. So I'll see like a white spray there in the back.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see. Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: But the camera doesn't notice, so it's fine.
>> Marco Timpano: What are your hair secret tips or what are some essentials you have with regards to your hair?
>> Amanda Barker: I've had the same cut since I was about 10 years old. I've grown it out a few times. I've cut it a few, a very few times. But I've pretty much had shoulder length brown hair forever. Because my hair is thin, it doesn't really grow out super strong, so it doesn't last. It just starts to look kind of. I can tell when it needs a cut. It just doesn't. It's not strong, thick hair that can grow long. It just isn't that kind of hair.
>> Marco Timpano: But I'm talking about like, do you have anything that like is an essential? Like I know my niece, for example, she likes to sleep with a silk bonnet. Do you have any, like, things that you do with your hair? Any, any things that you're like, I always want to have.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, other than the dry shampoo and the root spray. And I really do live by the root spray now because I just feel like it makes me look like I have a little bit more hair than I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: That's why I put it in.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not even really usually to touch up my roots, although obviously that's its own Little journey. Well, that's. That's its main purpose, sure, in life, but it just fills in the gaps, the thinness on the sides. It kind of fills it in. And I prefer that. But beyond that, I. Well, it really depends. You have to get to know your hair. I think. I think people go through fads especially, but women do anyway, when we're young. Sure. And so we want certain kinds of hair. And, you know, now there's a lot more things you can attach to your hair. But at the end of the day, your hair is going to want to do certain things and it's not going to want to do other things. Like, I don't know where the term cowlick came from. It always is a weird term. But those who have it know what I mean. It's that thing where you try to cut bangs and they just don't sit in a straight line on your forehead. They sort of curl up and have their own little part.
>> Marco Timpano: As if a cow licked your head.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that what it is?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Can't be.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, if a cow licks you your hair, it's going to force it up.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, there's a lot of things that would force hair up that I would think of before a cow's tongue.
>> Marco Timpano: I think everything should be measured by cows, by bovine and farm animals. Remember during COVID there was a sign that said you have to be three Canada goose or geese away from.
>> Amanda Barker: Away from someone.
>> Marco Timpano: What a great way to measure one
>> Amanda Barker: canoe or something like that. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I was on a bender of like, you should measure everything by foul. How tall are you? Oh, I'm about five chickens and a goose.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm three pheasants high this year. Yeah. Anyway, I don't remember what we were talking about.
>> Marco Timpano: A cowlick.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, cowlicks. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So you couldn't do that.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess my overall advice is, and this happens sort of in your 20s, 30s, you just get to know your hair. If your hair curls up, then lean into that. My hair is the kind that a little bit of humidity or no blow drying and it will kind of wave, it'll become wavy. But so I have to kind of lean into that if that's what I'm going for on that particular day.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a good point. Because not everybody can get the same hairstyle of, say, a celebrity or someone on television they like because their hair just doesn't. Won't do that. And so you could learn the hard way, if you go somewhere and say, I want to get this cut, and they're like that your hair won't. Won't do that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Alternately, if you have really thick hair, like I don't have thick hair. But if you have.
>> Marco Timpano: Sister does.
>> Amanda Barker: She does. My niece does. Good friends of mine do you know, you really have to lean into what that hair is and what looks good with that hair. There's going to be things that just don't really work out. I think so. I think that's, for me, the main thing. Now, if you do have sort of thinnish, wavy, ish hair, then one of the things that I live by. Okay, here we go, folks, since you've asked. Is hot rollers. And I read a few years ago, Reese Witherspoon had a book. It was a pretty frivolous book. It was sort of like tips from a Southern girl or something like that. I don't remember what it was called, but one of the things she said is the only way I know how to do my hair is hot rollers. And I have to say that is one of my tips. Beyond tips, because it is the quickest way to make your hair. I'm going to say this to make your hair look intentional, might not be the intention that you always want, but it makes it look intentional. So if you've got hot rollers or if you have an aunt or a grandmother or something that had them, you know you can get them. And they're not very big. Like the hot rollers of yesteryear were big, huge cases of rollers. They took up a lot of space. I'm not really a fan of those. I have sort of two sets. They're both really small, about the size
>> Marco Timpano: of a pencil case, maybe a bit taller. Is the size that Amanda has it. They're very compact.
>> Amanda Barker: I would say a pretty big pencil case.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay. Like smaller than the size of a loon.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the size of a loon. Not a Canada goose, but a loon. Loons are quite small. So, yeah, a bigger or medium. A small to medium sized bird or a goose.
>> Marco Timpano: A gosling. A gosling. That's.
>> Amanda Barker: But not Orion. Anyway, so hot rollers. And then in that little roller pack, you'll have some sometimes that are different sizes. Some are smaller for like tighter curls and then some are bigger for a more rounded kind of flip kind of curl or just to give it some body. Those work really great in my hair because I plug them in. They're kind of cooking for 10 minutes while I take a shower, do my makeup, whatever. Usually what I do is I plug them in first thing, make a Coffee, come back upstairs. If I'm showering, great. If I'm not, then dry shampoo it is. Do my makeup or put them on, put them in my hair, spend 10 minutes doing my makeup, and then by the time my makeup is done, the rollers have done what they're gonna do, probably. And then I take them out, brush it out, and then my day's ready. So 20 minute hair. You know, 10 minutes for hair, 10 minutes for makeup. That's about it for me. So that's one thing I really, really live by, actually. Are those hot rollers. Straighteners never really worked for me. There's a trend in the world. It's been. I shouldn't say it's a trend because it's been for the last 10 years, where people curl their hair with straighteners and they go for that look, or they use a curling iron that doesn't have. How do I say this? A self clipping thing. They wrap the hair around the barrel.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just the tube, it's just the cylinder without the.
>> Amanda Barker: You can also do that same thing with a straightening iron. Like slowly move the straightening iron in circles. That is what they do on set. That is what hair and makeup artists usually use. It's too much work for me. I've never had a lot of luck with it. I do it sometimes, but I don't do it a whole lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the crimping iron to crimp your hair?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I sure do.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever crimp your hair?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I sure did. Did you ever crimp your.
>> Marco Timpano: I wish I had hair to crimp.
>> Amanda Barker: But I mean, back in the day even. No, no.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, why would I crimp my hair like that?
>> Amanda Barker: For fun? Because eventually everybody, if you see a crimping iron, you like, just gotta know, is it gonna work?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't. My thing was too. Because my mother was a hairstylist, I was always around hair things, so that stuff never intrigued me.
>> Amanda Barker: I see.
>> Marco Timpano: It's always amazing because. Because I. As ever since I was a child, like, since since birth, I've been around my mother doing women's hair. And so I have a keen eye on women's hair just by being around it. And I'll often say to Amanda, like, oh, our friend got a really good haircut. And she's like, how can you tell? I'm like, oh, I can just tell. It'll grow out nicely. And you got a haircut recently and you were iffy about it, and I said, oh, no. I said, Amanda, this cut is really good. Is she did a good cut on you. Just give it a day or two. Because sometimes you can tell how good a haircut is by how it grows out. So if it's because a hairstylist can make your hair look great on the day.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But once that day is gone and you wash your hair and whatnot, the haircut will reveal itself. And if it's a good cut, you'll be able to do things with your hair. If it's a bad cut, in a few days or a week after it goes out, it's just going to be a splonch of mange.
>> Amanda Barker: A splanche of mange.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So one of the things that was a little different, that cut, she really wanted to put more layers in my hair. Hairdressers like to. Hairstylists like to put layers in hair. I'm going to say this. I do find my friends that have thick hair. They go to the hair stylist salon, sure person. They get haircuts. They inevitably say, he or she decided, we decided to do some layers. Sometimes it's we like having a baby. We decided this time we were going to do some layers. Maybe it looks good on the day, but then they just especially like thick, kind of coarser hair just looks like frizzy mullet, choppy chop. I just don't like it. Just not for me. I mean, listen, some people want frizzy mullet, choppy chop.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you feel about your hair cut now that you've had it for a couple of weeks now?
>> Amanda Barker: It's okay. She left a little bit too much length and cut a little bit too much layer for me. But I don't mind it. I mean, it's been okay. It's a bit too layered for me.
>> Marco Timpano: It looks good. It does look good.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this, Amanda. You had mentioned some trade secrets from the set that hair stylist will do. Are there any other trade secrets that our listeners might not be aware of because they're not on set that a makeup person or a hair. Hair and makeup people do to actors that you're like, oh, that's a really interesting or great little tip that you've noticed? Certainly makeup people do things that are really fascinating.
>> Amanda Barker: I, when I was on the set of Handmaid's Tale, they used a product on me that I fell in love with and I've used. I went and sought out and I've used it a bunch of sets. It's called, I think, Osis. It's a little red bottle of powder. And I think that's the name of it. Osis. I think it's, like, 20 bucks. And it stiffens the roots. It's a little bit of powder that you shake into your roots. So I guess it's a teeny bit like a dry shampoo that way, but it stiffens your roots. So when you. If you just sort of rub your roots after putting it in, your hair suddenly, instantly has so much body, it's crazy. Okay, now you can't. It's not a product to be recommended if you're, you know, going on a date and you want that person to. To stroke their fingers through your hair. No, it.
>> Marco Timpano: It'll concrete up.
>> Amanda Barker: It. Yeah, it turns your roots into concrete. But. But it's amazing. And. And it's concrete that can, like, activate every time you kind of rub it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So you can have a lot of body in your hair. I mean, arguably, I've done it, and people have been like, oh, wow, that's really high. You know, now you've overdone it. When I'm trying to, like, show off. I see.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so that was one that I used. You know, something happened when makeup artists had to wear. Well, when talent had to wear masks and so on. Makeup artists changed the way they made up faces. And I noticed now that that change has continued. Okay, so sometimes now they'll make up eyes first. It used to always be you start with the skin. You. You do foundation. You get the skin to a place where you want it, then you do the sort of like, you're doing your base level, like building a house. Like you.
>> Marco Timpano: The foundation of your face. Like I do, you put the walls
>> Amanda Barker: in, and then you get into the windows and the cabinets. So that would be the eyes, the brows, the.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the cabinet, the nose, the windows and the cabinets.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay. I don't know. Whatever. You get what I'm saying? And that's how I always approach makeup. I always do something. Skin cream, foundation, and then whatever I feel like doing with my eyes, my cheeks, my lips, which is usually the eyes are the only thing that takes any kind of time in that, because the rest is just smear color on and hope for the best. But I've noticed more and more people changed it because the person you're working on might have a mask on. So they would just do eyes first.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So they would do the eyes and really concentrate on the eyes, and then they would sort of lightly work around the skin. Of course, Things have changed a lot in the last 10 years because filming has changed.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So it used to be if you were filming, you'd come home with a very thick mask of makeup on. If anything, the reverse is true. Now you can wear so little makeup because any powder, anything will show up.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because the quality of the film or video, 6K or whatever it is now picks up everything.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to be honest, and you can say what you want about me. I, on the regular, wear more makeup, certainly to auditions, certainly in day to day life, probably. Well, maybe not day to day life, but at two auditions and filming, I wear more makeup myself than usually what they put on me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Generally speaking, sometimes they'll do my eyes a little bit more dramatic or something and that'll be neat. But generally speaking, I'll be like, I don't even look like I have anything on. But that's intentional that it can't look like you're wearing makeup. So I get it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a hard medium.
>> Marco Timpano: I always love how makeup artists on set will have a way of giving you the products you might need. So for example for me would be like a lip balm and making sure that it doesn't get contaminated. So it's like they'll give you a little. Yeah, like a little scooper of individual lip balm. So you're not using the same one that someone else is using.
>> Amanda Barker: You're not.
>> Marco Timpano: And. Or things like that. Just the way they do that. I always love. I always love that.
>> Amanda Barker: Right now realizing the mascara that I've been wearing this week, which is a new one I've tried, there's a trend in mascara where they have what they call tubes, like little extra fibers or extra pieces.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: To kind of give your eyelashes a little more, I don't know, extra love volume. I guess what happens is it's really hard to get off. And then you. You've washed off your makeup, but you still have these sort of like chunks of mascara and you don't want to go to set.
>> Marco Timpano: You probably need to just put some warm water on it.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the thing, they don't really respond to water. You need oil. You need an oil based product.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, do you have an oil based product?
>> Amanda Barker: I used to. I don't right now, but I think they're gone. How did. Yeah, I've been peeling them off, but then I don't want to rip my eyelashes off either, so. Yeah. Tips from set.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's so great. I'm sure listeners Will appreciate some of those tips. And, you know, it's always great to share with people things like that.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of other things that they've done in the past, like everyone has their own way of doing. I had to wear a halo once. Do you know what that is?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: That is extra hair. And it's like a headband that they sort of hide in your hair. They kind of brush over it so you don't see the headband.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's a headband that has hair
>> Amanda Barker: attached to it on the bottom part. Yeah. So that you put it on and then it's underneath your existing hair. So it just looks like your existing hair is one layer of hair. And if you match it. Right. That the bottom hair looks. You might not even notice that there's sort of layering in there and it just looks like extra hair. I wore that once for a Christmas movie. Now, I loved it when I had it on. I felt like a glamazon. But when I look back at some of the footage, my mother voiced her opinion on that. She did not think it looked good, so. But I loved it on the day. So I felt really glamorous wearing a halo. But they're heavy.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I remember the act. One of the actors in that film, they wanted her. They were talking about wearing one, and she said that she had shot a series, and they. That the hair and makeup person said, let's try Halo. Really? Let's put a halo for the series. That she did. And she didn't. It wasn't. She didn't think it was necessary for a character, but she wanted to go with it. And she said, I had headaches all year because the hair was so heavy and thick that they would put on me. So, yeah, wigs are a thing. Right. That happens a lot on sets. I did a 1920s piece once, which was super fun to shoot, and that was all wigged. Everything was wigs, which was amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: And I imagine that saves times time too. Right. Because they can just put the wig on, you set it and then.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, what's interesting is a lot of times wigs are not the full hair, so they incorporate your real hair into the wig. So in that one, the wig was just sort of the back part of my hair, but the front part of my hair was still my hair. So they just made the front part match the back part so that the back part had sort of a more of a 1920s style. Did I just kick the table?
>> Marco Timpano: You kicked the table, yeah, I'M sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you move. You never stop moving.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't move, but I never kicked the table.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't kick it. I just brought my foot down.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, when you do that, it shouldn't be on the table because it makes all this metal reverberate.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, no one's perfect. And you also drank a big drink with lots of glugs. And I didn't say anything about that, did I?
>> Marco Timpano: I did it when you were talking so they wouldn't hear the glugs. These are the behind the scenes secrets of recording in a. In a booth that you have to also monitor, too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I'm trying to think if there's any other little tips and tricks.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, when you go to set, what do you do with your hair and your makeup? You wear no makeup so that the makeup artist can do it.
>> Amanda Barker: You have to come with clean, washed, dried hair. Sometimes the dried part is hard because you're like, oh, I got to wash my hair and I got to run. So then you're like, if you're like me and you have thin hair, you kind of hope it'll dry in the car, which it will. But clean, wash, dried hair. Sometimes when people have hair that has its own mind, they'll kind of style it just a little bit to help it start in that direction.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
>> Amanda Barker: And then the hair person can decide what they want to do about that. But. Or with that. And always. Except for twice. Twice I've been told to come with makeup on, but that's very, very rare. Usually it's a clean, moisturized face. I did not moisturize my face last night. I just didn't feel like it. So. So I need to wash my hair
>> Marco Timpano: now and moisturize your face.
>> Amanda Barker: Moisturize my face.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. And just said I go on that note, we hope your hair is washed and your face is moisturized as you listen to this podcast. Or if it's not, that's fine too. We won't tell. But we hope you enjoyed the show. Once again. I'll just remind our listeners that we now have a way that you can listen to the podcast episodes without ads. And that's the insomnia project.supercast.com I'll have it in the show notes. Until next time. I hope you were able to listen to this podcast and find your way to sleep.
(Original airdate: Aug 29, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you find your way to sleep or at least relaxation.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi, I'm here.
>> Marco Timpano: That's Amanda and I'm Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker and some good news.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, what's up? So for our listeners who've been asking about AD free, listens for our podcast. I've been able to get the Insomnia Project onto a service that will provide that. So if you go to insomnia project.supercast.com you can get yourself a subscription so that you don't hear the ads that will sometimes appear at the start of this podcast. Now, I do have a 10 day free sort of offer going on so that you can test it out. It's new to me too, Amanda. I've never used this service before, so I'm hoping it will work out for everyone. And don't worry if you didn't write that down. I will have it in the show notes. It's the Insomnia Project.Super Cast.com A lot of our listeners were asking for this sort of service, if you will, and we'll see how that goes. Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah? Did you hear that little crinkle?
>> Marco Timpano: I heard the crinkle, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay, folks, true story. I dyed my hair, dyed my roots.
>> Marco Timpano: You've got Amanda with a dyed bag on her head right now.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm at an age where I'm dying my roots and so they're sitting patiently for me to wash them out.
>> Marco Timpano: How long do you have to wait for that dye to take hold?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I usually say about 20 minutes. For me, it's like I want to get the hair, but if I've dyed any of my scalp, I don't want that super glued on. So a little column A, a little column B. Maybe it should be 30, but I do 20.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, here's a tip for our listeners because my mother is a hairdresser, was a hairdresser all my life. And so I was around her, a
>> Amanda Barker: very good hairdresser, I will say.
>> Marco Timpano: I was around her doing hair forever.
>> Amanda Barker: Hair stylist. I think hairdresser is one of those antiquated terms. Maybe like sunbathing. We don't really say that anymore, do we? I. I think suntan lotion. Remember we used to call all sunscreen suntan lotion?
>> Marco Timpano: I still call it suntan lotion. Okay, so here's a hot tip for any listener that might dye their hair and get splashes on their skin and they want to get those splotches of dye off their skin.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like splanche is a word you created.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you call it? Mark a little.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, dye.
>> Marco Timpano: Dye marks.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I mean, I think we know what you mean by splanche.
>> Marco Timpano: I think splanche is the better word.
>> Amanda Barker: It is the better word.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you have ash, cigarette ash, or Other ash. And you put that ash with a little bit of water and make almost, for lack of a better term, ash paste. And you take that ash paste and you rub it on your splanch. Your dye splotch will come out.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it will not dye your skin.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So that's a little. That's a little hot tip for any.
>> Amanda Barker: Will it work for my sunspots?
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's not recommended.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: By any dermatologist or the Insomnia Project podcast to use that for those purposes,
>> Amanda Barker: because I have those, too. They came along with the. With the need for dye. Yeah, the need for dyeing my roots. I don't need a ton, but just a little bit in the front of
>> Marco Timpano: sunspot cream or of dye cream.
>> Amanda Barker: Dye cream.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay. Yeah. Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't usually dab. I just do it when I go on to set when I'm shooting something, because I. I often. I'm actually, I'll just say quite addicted to spray hair root dye, if you know what that is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it. It's basically hairspray, but color comes out of it, Is that correct?
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. And I love it because it fills in. My hair is always. I've always had very thin hair, so it kind of fills in a bit of the thinness. Listen, I'm not going to say it looks amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: I've noticed that we have a few out here.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I started buying them in bulk.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda likes to spray.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, because I do it for auditions.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Because the way the light hits my head on auditions, it can look
>> Marco Timpano: sparse.
>> Amanda Barker: Sparse and shiny, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Shiny and sparse.
>> Amanda Barker: It dulls the shine of my hair, which I know is not something you normally would seek, but for camera, you don't want glare on your hair.
>> Marco Timpano: For new listeners, we are both actors, and so Amanda has to do auditions. And when she's on set, she means when she's filming.
>> Amanda Barker: The secrets behind the audition. Spray dye and a whole lot of love. And ash paste.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, what's the difference between that dye spray and dry shampoo, which you also like to use?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they have two very different things.
>> Marco Timpano: They seem very similar to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, dry shampoo can come out as a certain color, and actually I prefer it when it does come out as not a white spray. But dry shampoo basically came from. There was an old. A lot of people would put baby powder or talcum powder in their hair to sop up grease. If you have, again, thin hair like I do, you know, you. You could only go a day or two at Most without washing it. And I remember, I think I was camping once and someone said, oh, the. Just bring some baby powder and put it in your roots and it'll you, your hair won't look like it had any grease in it. It won't look like it's dirty. So I started that. But you know, people don't want to use talcum powder, so I get that. So they've started dry shampoo and that sort of came from that, I think. And now it's a spray that doesn't have baby powder in it. But it does much the same thing. It takes the grease. It's a powder that absorbs the grease from your roots.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Sometimes it gives it a little bit extra body and then sometimes it is the color of your roots. But it's not meant to dye your roots. It's just meant to not create white splashes in your hair. Which sometimes as women especially we have. Like I'll, I run auditions too, so sometimes I'll have actresses that come in and they clearly just put a bit of dry shampoo in the back and didn't really look at it. So I'll see like a white spray there in the back.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see. Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: But the camera doesn't notice, so it's fine.
>> Marco Timpano: What are your hair secret tips or what are some essentials you have with regards to your hair?
>> Amanda Barker: I've had the same cut since I was about 10 years old. I've grown it out a few times. I've cut it a few, a very few times. But I've pretty much had shoulder length brown hair forever. Because my hair is thin, it doesn't really grow out super strong, so it doesn't last. It just starts to look kind of. I can tell when it needs a cut. It just doesn't. It's not strong, thick hair that can grow long. It just isn't that kind of hair.
>> Marco Timpano: But I'm talking about like, do you have anything that like is an essential? Like I know my niece, for example, she likes to sleep with a silk bonnet. Do you have any, like, things that you do with your hair? Any, any things that you're like, I always want to have.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, other than the dry shampoo and the root spray. And I really do live by the root spray now because I just feel like it makes me look like I have a little bit more hair than I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: That's why I put it in.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not even really usually to touch up my roots, although obviously that's its own Little journey. Well, that's. That's its main purpose, sure, in life, but it just fills in the gaps, the thinness on the sides. It kind of fills it in. And I prefer that. But beyond that, I. Well, it really depends. You have to get to know your hair. I think. I think people go through fads especially, but women do anyway, when we're young. Sure. And so we want certain kinds of hair. And, you know, now there's a lot more things you can attach to your hair. But at the end of the day, your hair is going to want to do certain things and it's not going to want to do other things. Like, I don't know where the term cowlick came from. It always is a weird term. But those who have it know what I mean. It's that thing where you try to cut bangs and they just don't sit in a straight line on your forehead. They sort of curl up and have their own little part.
>> Marco Timpano: As if a cow licked your head.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that what it is?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Can't be.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, if a cow licks you your hair, it's going to force it up.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, there's a lot of things that would force hair up that I would think of before a cow's tongue.
>> Marco Timpano: I think everything should be measured by cows, by bovine and farm animals. Remember during COVID there was a sign that said you have to be three Canada goose or geese away from.
>> Amanda Barker: Away from someone.
>> Marco Timpano: What a great way to measure one
>> Amanda Barker: canoe or something like that. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I was on a bender of like, you should measure everything by foul. How tall are you? Oh, I'm about five chickens and a goose.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm three pheasants high this year. Yeah. Anyway, I don't remember what we were talking about.
>> Marco Timpano: A cowlick.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, cowlicks. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So you couldn't do that.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess my overall advice is, and this happens sort of in your 20s, 30s, you just get to know your hair. If your hair curls up, then lean into that. My hair is the kind that a little bit of humidity or no blow drying and it will kind of wave, it'll become wavy. But so I have to kind of lean into that if that's what I'm going for on that particular day.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a good point. Because not everybody can get the same hairstyle of, say, a celebrity or someone on television they like because their hair just doesn't. Won't do that. And so you could learn the hard way, if you go somewhere and say, I want to get this cut, and they're like that your hair won't. Won't do that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Alternately, if you have really thick hair, like I don't have thick hair. But if you have.
>> Marco Timpano: Sister does.
>> Amanda Barker: She does. My niece does. Good friends of mine do you know, you really have to lean into what that hair is and what looks good with that hair. There's going to be things that just don't really work out. I think so. I think that's, for me, the main thing. Now, if you do have sort of thinnish, wavy, ish hair, then one of the things that I live by. Okay, here we go, folks, since you've asked. Is hot rollers. And I read a few years ago, Reese Witherspoon had a book. It was a pretty frivolous book. It was sort of like tips from a Southern girl or something like that. I don't remember what it was called, but one of the things she said is the only way I know how to do my hair is hot rollers. And I have to say that is one of my tips. Beyond tips, because it is the quickest way to make your hair. I'm going to say this to make your hair look intentional, might not be the intention that you always want, but it makes it look intentional. So if you've got hot rollers or if you have an aunt or a grandmother or something that had them, you know you can get them. And they're not very big. Like the hot rollers of yesteryear were big, huge cases of rollers. They took up a lot of space. I'm not really a fan of those. I have sort of two sets. They're both really small, about the size
>> Marco Timpano: of a pencil case, maybe a bit taller. Is the size that Amanda has it. They're very compact.
>> Amanda Barker: I would say a pretty big pencil case.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay. Like smaller than the size of a loon.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the size of a loon. Not a Canada goose, but a loon. Loons are quite small. So, yeah, a bigger or medium. A small to medium sized bird or a goose.
>> Marco Timpano: A gosling. A gosling. That's.
>> Amanda Barker: But not Orion. Anyway, so hot rollers. And then in that little roller pack, you'll have some sometimes that are different sizes. Some are smaller for like tighter curls and then some are bigger for a more rounded kind of flip kind of curl or just to give it some body. Those work really great in my hair because I plug them in. They're kind of cooking for 10 minutes while I take a shower, do my makeup, whatever. Usually what I do is I plug them in first thing, make a Coffee, come back upstairs. If I'm showering, great. If I'm not, then dry shampoo it is. Do my makeup or put them on, put them in my hair, spend 10 minutes doing my makeup, and then by the time my makeup is done, the rollers have done what they're gonna do, probably. And then I take them out, brush it out, and then my day's ready. So 20 minute hair. You know, 10 minutes for hair, 10 minutes for makeup. That's about it for me. So that's one thing I really, really live by, actually. Are those hot rollers. Straighteners never really worked for me. There's a trend in the world. It's been. I shouldn't say it's a trend because it's been for the last 10 years, where people curl their hair with straighteners and they go for that look, or they use a curling iron that doesn't have. How do I say this? A self clipping thing. They wrap the hair around the barrel.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just the tube, it's just the cylinder without the.
>> Amanda Barker: You can also do that same thing with a straightening iron. Like slowly move the straightening iron in circles. That is what they do on set. That is what hair and makeup artists usually use. It's too much work for me. I've never had a lot of luck with it. I do it sometimes, but I don't do it a whole lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the crimping iron to crimp your hair?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I sure do.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever crimp your hair?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I sure did. Did you ever crimp your.
>> Marco Timpano: I wish I had hair to crimp.
>> Amanda Barker: But I mean, back in the day even. No, no.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, why would I crimp my hair like that?
>> Amanda Barker: For fun? Because eventually everybody, if you see a crimping iron, you like, just gotta know, is it gonna work?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't. My thing was too. Because my mother was a hairstylist, I was always around hair things, so that stuff never intrigued me.
>> Amanda Barker: I see.
>> Marco Timpano: It's always amazing because. Because I. As ever since I was a child, like, since since birth, I've been around my mother doing women's hair. And so I have a keen eye on women's hair just by being around it. And I'll often say to Amanda, like, oh, our friend got a really good haircut. And she's like, how can you tell? I'm like, oh, I can just tell. It'll grow out nicely. And you got a haircut recently and you were iffy about it, and I said, oh, no. I said, Amanda, this cut is really good. Is she did a good cut on you. Just give it a day or two. Because sometimes you can tell how good a haircut is by how it grows out. So if it's because a hairstylist can make your hair look great on the day.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But once that day is gone and you wash your hair and whatnot, the haircut will reveal itself. And if it's a good cut, you'll be able to do things with your hair. If it's a bad cut, in a few days or a week after it goes out, it's just going to be a splonch of mange.
>> Amanda Barker: A splanche of mange.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So one of the things that was a little different, that cut, she really wanted to put more layers in my hair. Hairdressers like to. Hairstylists like to put layers in hair. I'm going to say this. I do find my friends that have thick hair. They go to the hair stylist salon, sure person. They get haircuts. They inevitably say, he or she decided, we decided to do some layers. Sometimes it's we like having a baby. We decided this time we were going to do some layers. Maybe it looks good on the day, but then they just especially like thick, kind of coarser hair just looks like frizzy mullet, choppy chop. I just don't like it. Just not for me. I mean, listen, some people want frizzy mullet, choppy chop.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you feel about your hair cut now that you've had it for a couple of weeks now?
>> Amanda Barker: It's okay. She left a little bit too much length and cut a little bit too much layer for me. But I don't mind it. I mean, it's been okay. It's a bit too layered for me.
>> Marco Timpano: It looks good. It does look good.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this, Amanda. You had mentioned some trade secrets from the set that hair stylist will do. Are there any other trade secrets that our listeners might not be aware of because they're not on set that a makeup person or a hair. Hair and makeup people do to actors that you're like, oh, that's a really interesting or great little tip that you've noticed? Certainly makeup people do things that are really fascinating.
>> Amanda Barker: I, when I was on the set of Handmaid's Tale, they used a product on me that I fell in love with and I've used. I went and sought out and I've used it a bunch of sets. It's called, I think, Osis. It's a little red bottle of powder. And I think that's the name of it. Osis. I think it's, like, 20 bucks. And it stiffens the roots. It's a little bit of powder that you shake into your roots. So I guess it's a teeny bit like a dry shampoo that way, but it stiffens your roots. So when you. If you just sort of rub your roots after putting it in, your hair suddenly, instantly has so much body, it's crazy. Okay, now you can't. It's not a product to be recommended if you're, you know, going on a date and you want that person to. To stroke their fingers through your hair. No, it.
>> Marco Timpano: It'll concrete up.
>> Amanda Barker: It. Yeah, it turns your roots into concrete. But. But it's amazing. And. And it's concrete that can, like, activate every time you kind of rub it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So you can have a lot of body in your hair. I mean, arguably, I've done it, and people have been like, oh, wow, that's really high. You know, now you've overdone it. When I'm trying to, like, show off. I see.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so that was one that I used. You know, something happened when makeup artists had to wear. Well, when talent had to wear masks and so on. Makeup artists changed the way they made up faces. And I noticed now that that change has continued. Okay, so sometimes now they'll make up eyes first. It used to always be you start with the skin. You. You do foundation. You get the skin to a place where you want it, then you do the sort of like, you're doing your base level, like building a house. Like you.
>> Marco Timpano: The foundation of your face. Like I do, you put the walls
>> Amanda Barker: in, and then you get into the windows and the cabinets. So that would be the eyes, the brows, the.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the cabinet, the nose, the windows and the cabinets.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay. I don't know. Whatever. You get what I'm saying? And that's how I always approach makeup. I always do something. Skin cream, foundation, and then whatever I feel like doing with my eyes, my cheeks, my lips, which is usually the eyes are the only thing that takes any kind of time in that, because the rest is just smear color on and hope for the best. But I've noticed more and more people changed it because the person you're working on might have a mask on. So they would just do eyes first.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So they would do the eyes and really concentrate on the eyes, and then they would sort of lightly work around the skin. Of course, Things have changed a lot in the last 10 years because filming has changed.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So it used to be if you were filming, you'd come home with a very thick mask of makeup on. If anything, the reverse is true. Now you can wear so little makeup because any powder, anything will show up.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because the quality of the film or video, 6K or whatever it is now picks up everything.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to be honest, and you can say what you want about me. I, on the regular, wear more makeup, certainly to auditions, certainly in day to day life, probably. Well, maybe not day to day life, but at two auditions and filming, I wear more makeup myself than usually what they put on me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Generally speaking, sometimes they'll do my eyes a little bit more dramatic or something and that'll be neat. But generally speaking, I'll be like, I don't even look like I have anything on. But that's intentional that it can't look like you're wearing makeup. So I get it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a hard medium.
>> Marco Timpano: I always love how makeup artists on set will have a way of giving you the products you might need. So for example for me would be like a lip balm and making sure that it doesn't get contaminated. So it's like they'll give you a little. Yeah, like a little scooper of individual lip balm. So you're not using the same one that someone else is using.
>> Amanda Barker: You're not.
>> Marco Timpano: And. Or things like that. Just the way they do that. I always love. I always love that.
>> Amanda Barker: Right now realizing the mascara that I've been wearing this week, which is a new one I've tried, there's a trend in mascara where they have what they call tubes, like little extra fibers or extra pieces.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: To kind of give your eyelashes a little more, I don't know, extra love volume. I guess what happens is it's really hard to get off. And then you. You've washed off your makeup, but you still have these sort of like chunks of mascara and you don't want to go to set.
>> Marco Timpano: You probably need to just put some warm water on it.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the thing, they don't really respond to water. You need oil. You need an oil based product.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, do you have an oil based product?
>> Amanda Barker: I used to. I don't right now, but I think they're gone. How did. Yeah, I've been peeling them off, but then I don't want to rip my eyelashes off either, so. Yeah. Tips from set.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's so great. I'm sure listeners Will appreciate some of those tips. And, you know, it's always great to share with people things like that.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of other things that they've done in the past, like everyone has their own way of doing. I had to wear a halo once. Do you know what that is?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: That is extra hair. And it's like a headband that they sort of hide in your hair. They kind of brush over it so you don't see the headband.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's a headband that has hair
>> Amanda Barker: attached to it on the bottom part. Yeah. So that you put it on and then it's underneath your existing hair. So it just looks like your existing hair is one layer of hair. And if you match it. Right. That the bottom hair looks. You might not even notice that there's sort of layering in there and it just looks like extra hair. I wore that once for a Christmas movie. Now, I loved it when I had it on. I felt like a glamazon. But when I look back at some of the footage, my mother voiced her opinion on that. She did not think it looked good, so. But I loved it on the day. So I felt really glamorous wearing a halo. But they're heavy.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I remember the act. One of the actors in that film, they wanted her. They were talking about wearing one, and she said that she had shot a series, and they. That the hair and makeup person said, let's try Halo. Really? Let's put a halo for the series. That she did. And she didn't. It wasn't. She didn't think it was necessary for a character, but she wanted to go with it. And she said, I had headaches all year because the hair was so heavy and thick that they would put on me. So, yeah, wigs are a thing. Right. That happens a lot on sets. I did a 1920s piece once, which was super fun to shoot, and that was all wigged. Everything was wigs, which was amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: And I imagine that saves times time too. Right. Because they can just put the wig on, you set it and then.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, what's interesting is a lot of times wigs are not the full hair, so they incorporate your real hair into the wig. So in that one, the wig was just sort of the back part of my hair, but the front part of my hair was still my hair. So they just made the front part match the back part so that the back part had sort of a more of a 1920s style. Did I just kick the table?
>> Marco Timpano: You kicked the table, yeah, I'M sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you move. You never stop moving.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't move, but I never kicked the table.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't kick it. I just brought my foot down.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, when you do that, it shouldn't be on the table because it makes all this metal reverberate.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, no one's perfect. And you also drank a big drink with lots of glugs. And I didn't say anything about that, did I?
>> Marco Timpano: I did it when you were talking so they wouldn't hear the glugs. These are the behind the scenes secrets of recording in a. In a booth that you have to also monitor, too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I'm trying to think if there's any other little tips and tricks.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, when you go to set, what do you do with your hair and your makeup? You wear no makeup so that the makeup artist can do it.
>> Amanda Barker: You have to come with clean, washed, dried hair. Sometimes the dried part is hard because you're like, oh, I got to wash my hair and I got to run. So then you're like, if you're like me and you have thin hair, you kind of hope it'll dry in the car, which it will. But clean, wash, dried hair. Sometimes when people have hair that has its own mind, they'll kind of style it just a little bit to help it start in that direction.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
>> Amanda Barker: And then the hair person can decide what they want to do about that. But. Or with that. And always. Except for twice. Twice I've been told to come with makeup on, but that's very, very rare. Usually it's a clean, moisturized face. I did not moisturize my face last night. I just didn't feel like it. So. So I need to wash my hair
>> Marco Timpano: now and moisturize your face.
>> Amanda Barker: Moisturize my face.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. And just said I go on that note, we hope your hair is washed and your face is moisturized as you listen to this podcast. Or if it's not, that's fine too. We won't tell. But we hope you enjoyed the show. Once again. I'll just remind our listeners that we now have a way that you can listen to the podcast episodes without ads. And that's the insomnia project.supercast.com I'll have it in the show notes. Until next time. I hope you were able to listen to this podcast and find your way to sleep.
Not a Sponsor of our Show
(Original airdate: Sept 3, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help guide you or drift you off or maybe even bore you to sleep or relaxation or just chill time. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. I just had an exceptional cup of
>> Marco Timpano: cappuccino which Amanda made for me as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Sip of cappuccino, my very first sip. So every now and then you make a coffee or some whatever tea and you go, d***, that was good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So there you go. Amanda's on point today.
>> Amanda Barker: It went into my mouth and I was like, oh. And of course that's because I'm sure I put a lot of sugar, of course. And a lot of milk, a lot of non coffee additives. Do you, you have you ever drank
>> Marco Timpano: black coffee oh, without sugar? No.
>> Amanda Barker: Like black coffee? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Not that I can think of. No. Like if there's like no sugar around and someone's giving me a coffee like
>> Amanda Barker: an even espresso instead here.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I always put sugar. You know, I like things sweet.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I don't know, I'm very jealous. I don't know if jealous is the word. Jealous is actually always a word I've struggled with because I don't know if I've always figured out what it means, but I'll use it in this context. I'm very jealous of people who can drink black coffee. I wish I had that skill. I wish I was like, you know what I'd love just a strong black coffee.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know, do you always need milk in it or do you always need sugar?
>> Amanda Barker: I need something. Okay, listen, I mean, milk and sugar for me is the way to go.
>> Marco Timpano: Milk over cream or cream over milk.
>> Amanda Barker: If we're talking regular drip coffee, cream.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: But I mean, lattes were my gateway into coffee. I didn't drink coffee until I was in my 20s.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And which is probably more common than I realize. And then I didn't drink. So the first caffeinated non soda drink, like coffee related drink I had when I was in university. This is a long time ago. The popular Canadian chain known as Tim Hortons, they introduced.
>> Marco Timpano: Not a sponsor of the show.
>> Amanda Barker: No, no. They introduced what they called a French vanilla cappuccino. Now it was none of those things, actually. It was neither French nor vanilla nor cappuccino, but it was delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And I was, I think, well, I might have been nine. No, I think I was 20. Yeah, third year. So 20. And I was like, oh, okay, this is like a hot chocolate, but apparently has coffee in it. I can drink this. So that was the only thing I drank in the coffee world for quite a while. And then other places, gas stations, whatever followed suit. So then I would drink those. And then when I was in my mid-20s, sure, I had traveled, I'd moved back to Canada and that was the summer they introduced the ice cap iced cappuccino again, arguably. I mean, it does have ice in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I wouldn't say it's a cappuccino, it's just a coffee related beverage. But it's delicious and it's still one of my favorite things, as you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know, is that an exciting journey to take people on?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you got cappuccino splained this weekend by a waiter and it was like,
>> Amanda Barker: my goodness, that waiter just needed to be right about all the things he was not right about. And I was like, are we really having this. Can I say p****** contest?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you did. We shouldn't.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you want to go back and do it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's fine.
>> Amanda Barker: Just that offensive word. So I like how he just grumbles. Yeah. So that's my coffee journey. And then when I was in. When I moved to Ontario, we're talking
>> Marco Timpano: about the waiter that was.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, I know. But I wasn't done my journey.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sorry. It's a long coffee journey.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we'd love to hear yours.
>> Marco Timpano: After, I think I was about four and my mother would give me milk, warm milk with a little tinge of coffee in it and some cookies. And that was my breakfast gateway.
>> Amanda Barker: No wonder you're addicted.
>> Marco Timpano: That was my journey.
>> Amanda Barker: You basically had it in your bottle.
>> Marco Timpano: Not quite. Not quite. But soon, soon thereafter. I think it's because my parents would drink coffee in the morning and so I would have milk and I think they would just pour a teensy bit in to make me feel included.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. First being first child, you probably wanted to be part of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm sure, I'm sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sure you did.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And then when I finally moved to Ontario, this was finishing my journey. I. There was a Starbucks next to my office where I worked for seven years. And so about halfway through that, I. I started going and getting a latte in the afternoon. A lot of people I worked with smoked back then.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: So they would get to go outside and have little breaks. And I wanted that, but I didn't really want to smoke. So I would go and buy a, you know, at that time, $5 latte more now, obviously. And I remember somebody joking that I had a latte mortgage because of all the money I spent at Starbucks, which is probably.
>> Marco Timpano: Was that person, the smoker? Because that was.
>> Amanda Barker: She was. She was one of the smokers. Yes, that's a good point.
>> Marco Timpano: I have two smokers that are at my workplace and they get breaks all the time. They're always going on a smoke break. I'm like, when was the last time I took a random break?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to go for a little promenade.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to go for a little, you know, prance walk.
>> Amanda Barker: And that. That's what we should all be doing is taking a prance walk break. A prance walk.
>> Marco Timpano: Imagine you're walking by.
>> Amanda Barker: We start a trend of prance walkers
>> Marco Timpano: who walk by office buildings. And there's people prancing around.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: That would be the best. Oh, there must. They must be on a prance walk.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely. So then the question. Oh, the, the waiter. We're going to talk about this waiter.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So we had a beautiful weekend. And part of that weekend was a beautiful brunch to honor a friend. And so we, we sat down. We were a little late. We were just late going. It had been the late night the night before. So when we got to the brunch place and they told us they were going to get there but early, and they all did. So when we got there, they were all.
>> Marco Timpano: They had just got made to eating.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they just gotten their food and. Which of course is fine. So we sit down at the end and this waiter comes over and he's like, have you been here before? We've been there a lot. We go to that place a lot. But that's fine. He didn't know that. And so I ordered a cappuccino.
>> Marco Timpano: As did I.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, the cappuccino was good, decent. It came in a gigantic cup.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a vat of milk.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It was a big bowl. So you look at it and you go, okay, not actually a cappuccino, but delicious and serves the scene. And I should mention, it's a French restaurant that does a really great brunch.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, it does. Not cheap, but it does do a good brunch.
>> Amanda Barker: And they always take reservations and they have lots of space and they're a nice area of town. So all of that is going for them. And that's why we go there a lot. But the reason I'm not naming it.
>> Marco Timpano: One, not a sponsor of the show.
>> Amanda Barker: No. And two, this waiter. So then I'm looking and they had a soft shell crab Benedict. And I think he said, are there any allergies that I should know about? And I said. And I was actually like, oh, the soft shell crab Benedict goes. And he. Before I even stopped, he kind of snapped at me and said, we're completely out. We're completely out. I said, oh, that's okay. I can't eat it anyway. He goes, oh, do you have a seafood allergy? Well, no, I don't. I have an exoskeleton allergy, which is a bit different.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a fun allergy, folks, to have the old exoskeleton allergy.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like you're complaining about it. I'm allergic to the actual shells. I can't eat the actual shells. I can eat what was Inside the shells, but not these shells themselves. And he said, well, you wouldn't eat the actual. We wouldn't. I said, so with soft shell crab, you eat the shell. He goes, no, you don't eat the shell.
>> Marco Timpano: And.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, oh, well, typically you do. That's how I found out about my allergy, actually. And he wanted to debate me. He goes, we wouldn't serve you the shell. And he goes, well, it's not really the shell you're eating.
>> Marco Timpano: The crab has been molted. But it's the molted shell. It's the developing shell that you're eating.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. The developing shell. It still has a crunch to it. Indeed, it's still a shell. And I'm still allergic to it. And here we are back and forth, and it's like, well, they don't have it anyway, so why.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm just like, I just want my coffee. I just want to drink my coffee in peace.
>> Amanda Barker: So he had a little of my vat of milk. In your vat of milk. He crab splained me, but fine. And I. And then Marco said, I'm going to order. That looks tasty. I'm gonna order that.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a galette with an egg on it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And he said, it doesn't have any goat cheese. I don't like. I don't eat goat cheese. He's not allergic, but he doesn't like it. It'll ruin his meal.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I don't love the taste. I love cheese. I do love cheese.
>> Amanda Barker: And he said, no, no, it doesn't have any goat cheese. I'm looking at the menu, and I'm like, hang on. I thought I saw that. It did. So I look. Well, it did. So I said, no. So I order. And I said, actually, babe, you can't order that.
>> Marco Timpano: He calls me babe in the restaurant.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't know if I did, but I said. He's like, no, it doesn't. And then he takes his order. And then I said, except it does have goat cheese in it. It's right here. I don't know how I said it. So then Marco was like, oh, well, no, I'm not gonna order that. Then I just said, so. Then he looks at the menu, and
>> Marco Timpano: he's like, we can do it without. I'm like, no, I want cheese on my galet.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The whole reason you get a galette is because it comes with cheese.
>> Amanda Barker: So then we both order whatever it is we order. And. Which was good. The food was good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's good.
>> Amanda Barker: And so then he comes by. Now, I've had this big cappuccino, but it's a French place, and I've many times in the past ordered a cafe au lait. So I said, can I get a cafe au lait? He's like, so do you want just milk and coffee? And I was like, excuse me? He's like, do you want. Like, See, every time. Now I'm telling the story. I said, I sound like the jerk, because I didn't really say, excuse me, do you want milk and coffee? And I said, well, yeah, cafe au lait. Like a steamed milk and coffee. I goes, because we. That's just a steam milk and coffee. And I said, okay, yeah, that's what I want. And he's like, because we do. We could do espresso with steamed milk for cafe au lait. And I said, and then he points to my drink, goes, that's a cappuccino. Now he's explaining to me what it is. And at this point, I went, well, no, actually, that's not a cappuccino. And he said, yes, it is. And I said, it's kind of a latte with foam. This is far too big to actually be a cappuccino, like, if we're really going to get into it. And he said, well, we're very generous with our cappuccinos. And I said, absolutely. In Italy, this wouldn't be a cappuccino. Maybe it's a French cappuccino.
>> Marco Timpano: It would be a latte, is what it would actually be. Yeah, actually it would be a latte with foam. Coffee soup is what it would be based on the size zuppa du cafe.
>> Amanda Barker: So now he's explaining.
>> Marco Timpano: He's coffee splaining.
>> Amanda Barker: And I was like, you don't get to tell us what a. What a cappuccino is.
>> Marco Timpano: We've only had.
>> Amanda Barker: I haven't complained about the one you served me, but now that you're. Now that you want to explain it
>> Marco Timpano: to me, We've only had about 15 episodes where we specifically talk about coffee on this podcast. Certainly not. Someone needs to tell the waiter at
>> Amanda Barker: that restaurant he just was snippy.
>> Marco Timpano: He was in a mood, man.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And he just wanted to make me wrong, but he was always wrong on the end of the conversation. And I said, well, no, in Italy, it wouldn't be. Is what I said. Call it whatever you want here. And so then he's like, well, yeah, we're generous. And I said, okay. So anyways, I want a cafe au lait. And he's like, so, espresso with steamed milk. And I said, no, I want coffee with steamed milk. Like, I don't understand. They have it on the menu. Just give me the one that you have on the menu.
>> Marco Timpano: He probably was confused because you had a cappuccino, the espresso. So he wanted to make sure that you were getting what you. Okay, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: That's terrible.
>> Marco Timpano: He probably assumed you wanted what you just had. And then you got into your little cappuccino debate of 2025.
>> Amanda Barker: And, well, since he was gonna crab splain me, I couldn't.
>> Marco Timpano: One thing you don't do, and that's crustacean splain my wife. Because that happened once with lobster. And you may remember that Amanda's from Boston and from New Brunswick, two arguably lobster capitals of the world. And we had a waiter try to explain tail versus claw and what meat
>> Amanda Barker: was better, because he was like, for this, for more money, you can get two claws. And I was like, but for less money, you can get a tail and a claw. So why wouldn't I do the less money Tail in a claw.
>> Marco Timpano: This was the special lobster fest.
>> Amanda Barker: And he's like, well, the claw meat is very good, actually. It's very succulent. Claw meat is actually. And I went, no, no, I know what a lobster claw tastes like, and that's fine, but I'm not gonna pay more money for a claw when I can get a tail. In the hierarchy of lobsterdom, that's not how it's gonna work.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, that's the tales of crustaceans at restaurants.
>> Marco Timpano: On a brighter note, sure, Amanda had picked so many grapes recently. And for the record, in the hierarchy of fruits that Markle enjoys and doesn't, grapes is on the bottom. I think it's just under passion fruit, which I'm allergic to is grapes. And Amanda picked 10 pounds of grapes she brought home, and I was like, what? And not like, beautiful or. No, I shouldn't say beautiful.
>> Amanda Barker: They were actually beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: They were. They were exceptionally beautiful, but they weren't eating grapes. They weren't, like, seedless.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. They're not your red seedless or your white seedless grapes.
>> Marco Timpano: No. They were Concord grapes or Merlot grapes that you make wine from.
>> Amanda Barker: Now is Merlot from the Concord grape. I didn't think it was.
>> Marco Timpano: No, Merlot grapes are Merlot grapes, and Concord grapes are Concord grapes.
>> Amanda Barker: These are Concord grapes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because they're a bit sweeter, but the skin is very thick, and it has a lot of seeds, and it is a bit of a chew versus, versus some of the grapes you might.
>> Amanda Barker: It's one of those grapes that you can pop into your mouth and put the skin aside, which I would think of as like a wine grape, but it also has a fair seed in it. So it's not an easy grape to eat.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's meant to do other things. So Amanda brings ten pounds of these grapes home and I just look at her and I'm like, what are we going to do with them? And ten pounds of beautiful looking, like perfect pick.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean really, like at its. When you draw grapes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's at its peak. Like that was the day to pick them. Most certainly.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, for sure. Now here's my question to you because you know a little bit more about winemaking than I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you, can you make a wine? I mean, I suppose you can, but do you make a wine from Concord grapes?
>> Marco Timpano: You could. It's not going to be. It's not going to be. It's going to be a bit sweeter. It's going to be. I, I think if I'm not mistaken, and you can look this up, I think Menischewitz wine is made with Concord grapes.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: I could be wrong though. I don't want to offend anyone, but I know that there's probably some wine that's made with Concord grapes. I would imagine it would be a filler grape. So you would blend it with other grapes to create volume or to create sweetness.
>> Amanda Barker: I see.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I have never worked with Concord grapes when making wine and I should say when I made wine, once again, I was maybe 13 year old. 13 years old and my dad was making wine and I was just commanded to do certain wine making things like grab the, grab the crate of grapes and throw them in here, turn this to crush the grapes. I make my father sound like a cartoon character, but he's. He wasn't that pleasant when he was telling us to do stuff. But he wasn't a man on a wine mission. So. Yeah. My experience with wine making is as a young child or as a child with my dad. And then I did wine tours in Italy on a bicycle. So I didn't actually do anything. I just kind of explained what the process was when our, our guests asked about it.
>> Amanda Barker: So a few things. First off, Manischewitz is from Concord.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, great. I'm glad I got that right.
>> Amanda Barker: Concord grapes. And I double check something too. I always feel affinity for Concord grapes because I really grew up with Concord grape everything. Concord grape jelly, Concord grape Jam.
>> Marco Timpano: Notice how Amanda says Concord. Oh, you say it, like, with the
>> Amanda Barker: Massachusetts accent, because that's where Concord grapes are from.
>> Marco Timpano: Concord, Massachusetts.
>> Amanda Barker: They are.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And that's a big cranberries for us, obviously, Massachusetts and cranberries. There's a big connection there. But also Concord grapes.
>> Marco Timpano: We had wonderful cranberry wine, if you remember, years back. Anyway, sorry, back to the Concord grape. So I was right. Menischewitz has made.
>> Amanda Barker: You were right. And so. But here's the thing. We don't make wine friends. I don't have a winemaking facility in this. We have a studio, not a winery, downstairs.
>> Marco Timpano: And also, you need the right equipment to make wine. It's quite a process, or process, depending on what.
>> Amanda Barker: And if you've ever gone to someone's house and they're like, here's the wine I made, and it's been nasty. Or beer. Have you ever done that? Like, people are like, here's our wine. And you're like, oh, my, that's awful.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, to be quite honest with you, my dad and all his friends who made wine, made quality wine.
>> Amanda Barker: They made good wine. I drank your dad's wine. It was great.
>> Marco Timpano: I can't think of.
>> Amanda Barker: But. But, you know, even I have a
>> Marco Timpano: friend, Stephen, who used to make beer, and it was really good.
>> Amanda Barker: I think the Italians figured out wine and beer probably, too. And fermentation.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I would say that a great number of people, not just Europeans, make great wine. You know, it really depends on knowing how to do it. Like, how to having the equipment and fermenting it, etc. Etc.
>> Amanda Barker: I just know I've been to people's houses in my past, and they're like, we made this beer, or we made this wine and it has not been good. Or, here's a bottle of our wine for Christmas. And you're like, oh, my, that's not good. So that would. Anyway, you and I both know enough about good and bad that we know we wouldn't make anything good, Right?
>> Marco Timpano: So we've had. We have all these Concord grapes in our kitchen.
>> Amanda Barker: A ton. I was like, so we've talked about this organization a few times this summer. So I'm part of an organization called Not Far from the Tree. And we go around, you pay $10. That's it. To be part of this. And you get asked to go to picks, and you pick fruit, and you divide that haul of fruit between the homeowner yourselves and a food bank. Food bank gets half always. Or food bank or food organization or organization that can do Something with it. In this case, the grapes went to, I think, a woman's ymca where I assume they're going to go ahead and make a jam or jelly or something for them.
>> Marco Timpano: Or wine.
>> Amanda Barker: Or wine, I guess. But I'm going to go ahead and assume a jam or jelly or they just eat them. Because people do eat them. Our nephew, we were, you know, he's 10, and we were like, he's like, ooh, grapes. And we were like, yeah, but you're not gonna like these grapes. Well, seed skin. He was made to eat grapes, that kid. His Mediterranean blood was like, here we go. And he just inhaled tons of those grapes.
>> Marco Timpano: He just ate them, skin and all, seeds and all.
>> Amanda Barker: And he was like, I couldn't believe it. But, you know, they don't keep forever. So I had them only a few days and I was like, I've gotta do something with these. So we made 23 jars of jam. Jelly, but I actually think it was jam.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's. That's jam.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it came out more like jam.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the difference between jam and jelly?
>> Amanda Barker: That's technically jelly, but reads more like a jam.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't get what that even means.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so a jam, my understanding is a jam is sort of macerated fruit that has been sort of mashed into maybe a bit of a. I don't want to use this word, but gelatinous spread. But mashed into a fruit spread, like you can, you can taste the strawberries, there's chunks of the cherries in it. Whatever it is you're having. That's typically a jam, a jelly, which is what I was doing with these and is you boil, boil, boil it all together and you take all the seeds and skins and stems and everything else out of it so that you've made basically a juice. You boil that juice down, you create a syrup with it, and then from that syrup you add natural fruit pectin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Which makes it into the jelly.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, this is what.
>> Amanda Barker: And sugar.
>> Marco Timpano: This is what foodnetwork.com, not a sponsor of the show says the difference between a jam called the show, not a sponsor, versus jelly. Jams and jellies are both soft. Is your soft sweet spreads made from fruit? Is it a sweet spread made from fruit?
>> Amanda Barker: It is.
>> Marco Timpano: Sugar or pectin.
>> Amanda Barker: I used both.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. The main difference between jam and jelly is that jam is made with fruit, whereas jelly is made with fruit juice. As a result, jam and jelly have different characteristics. Texture. Jam has a semi firm consistency and the cooked down fruit lends it a chunkier texture. Whereas jelly has a firmer consistency than jam and is uniform in texture. Jelly is more translucent than jam. But both jams and jellies are used as spreads. So that helps define. And I think you're right, it is kind of more of a jam than a jelly.
>> Amanda Barker: It is. Even though I cooked it like a jelly and I used a jelly process, possibly because I put so much pectin right in it, it really kind of reads more like a jam, which I prefer. So I'm happy about that. But I did remove all, or at least most anyways of this. I mean, I tried to remove all of the skins and certainly all of the seeds. So none of that exists in it. It's just. But I think it's because I put so much pectin in.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So that it really almost started and I really boiled it down so I really kind of touched. Started to chunk up in a way.
>> Marco Timpano: It took a long time.
>> Amanda Barker: It took forever.
>> Marco Timpano: And the house actually smelled like what it smells like when you make wine.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's, that's really, you know, it brought memories of that back to me. Amanda, to be honest with you, in
>> Amanda Barker: the cottage, we did it. It did take all day, though. It was an all day affair.
>> Marco Timpano: Pleasant, pleasant memories, I will say.
>> Amanda Barker: I've already gifted three jars of jelly
>> Marco Timpano: jam and we got to some to
>> Amanda Barker: call it jelly jam.
>> Marco Timpano: We got to sample it and it was actually quite good.
>> Amanda Barker: So we gave it to our friends and they're like, oh, let's try it now. And then I was like, actually we should it because before I give it anymore, I need to try. Because you spend the day making this thing. The last thing you want to do is sit down to a little jar of it. Like you don't want to eat it.
>> Marco Timpano: Now. My, my thing was, did it seal? Like did. Was there a vacuum seal? And I know there's several ways to do that. I know when we would make tomato sauce, we would put them in a drum, big barrel, I should say, and heat it for hours and hours and hours. I know that when I've seen my mother make jams, as long as you tighten it while it's still warm, but really tighten it. So.
>> Amanda Barker: And it has to be pretty hot.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it has to be. It has to be hot. Like basically, Amanda poured the, the liquid jam jelly into the jar. I, I sealed it, then I sat it on the, on a cheesecloth, on a, A dishcloth. What do they call dish towels?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, tea towels In Canada. They call Them tea towels.
>> Marco Timpano: Tea towel. And then I waited a few minutes and then silicone glove. Silicone, you know, don't burn your hands in the oven glove. What do you call those? Oven mitt.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I like don't burn your hands in the oven glove.
>> Marco Timpano: I have to describe it. And then I took that and I and I gave it one more crank and it really close and I could see that it was concave the top right. And so I was kind of satisfied that this probably means that it was sealed.
>> Amanda Barker: It was sealed. Yeah, we would have known. They would have popped back up.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I sealed it with a kiss on the top of the jam jar.
>> Amanda Barker: No, he did not.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, that's 23. 23 kisses to 23 people. All right, folks, that is the end of our podcast. Before we go, I just want to remind our listeners who want to take advantage of the ad free system that we have going on right now. A lot of listeners want this podcast to be ad free. So if you go to insomniaproject.supercastca you can subscribe and for 10 days you'll get it free to see if it's for you or not. And then there will be a monthly charge of I think $5 Canadian if that's for you, if it's not. And you just enjoy listening to the podcast as is. Of course, we always welcome any listeners. And if you have friends or family who you think might enjoy or colleagues or people who are seem stressed on the street, let them know about our podcast because the more listeners, the better. Of course we welcome you into the Insomnia project family, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely, absolutely. But yeah, so many people have been asking for it. So we, Marco did a lot of work to make sure that that could happen.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was like really making trying to get the best system for our listeners. And please let me know how Supercast works for you folks, because once again, they're not a sponsor of the show and I want to make sure that it, it does work for our listeners. And on that note, we hope you have a lovely rest of your day, afternoon or evening depending when you listen and we hope you're able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: Sept 3, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help guide you or drift you off or maybe even bore you to sleep or relaxation or just chill time. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. I just had an exceptional cup of
>> Marco Timpano: cappuccino which Amanda made for me as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Sip of cappuccino, my very first sip. So every now and then you make a coffee or some whatever tea and you go, d***, that was good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So there you go. Amanda's on point today.
>> Amanda Barker: It went into my mouth and I was like, oh. And of course that's because I'm sure I put a lot of sugar, of course. And a lot of milk, a lot of non coffee additives. Do you, you have you ever drank
>> Marco Timpano: black coffee oh, without sugar? No.
>> Amanda Barker: Like black coffee? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Not that I can think of. No. Like if there's like no sugar around and someone's giving me a coffee like
>> Amanda Barker: an even espresso instead here.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I always put sugar. You know, I like things sweet.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I don't know, I'm very jealous. I don't know if jealous is the word. Jealous is actually always a word I've struggled with because I don't know if I've always figured out what it means, but I'll use it in this context. I'm very jealous of people who can drink black coffee. I wish I had that skill. I wish I was like, you know what I'd love just a strong black coffee.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know, do you always need milk in it or do you always need sugar?
>> Amanda Barker: I need something. Okay, listen, I mean, milk and sugar for me is the way to go.
>> Marco Timpano: Milk over cream or cream over milk.
>> Amanda Barker: If we're talking regular drip coffee, cream.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: But I mean, lattes were my gateway into coffee. I didn't drink coffee until I was in my 20s.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And which is probably more common than I realize. And then I didn't drink. So the first caffeinated non soda drink, like coffee related drink I had when I was in university. This is a long time ago. The popular Canadian chain known as Tim Hortons, they introduced.
>> Marco Timpano: Not a sponsor of the show.
>> Amanda Barker: No, no. They introduced what they called a French vanilla cappuccino. Now it was none of those things, actually. It was neither French nor vanilla nor cappuccino, but it was delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And I was, I think, well, I might have been nine. No, I think I was 20. Yeah, third year. So 20. And I was like, oh, okay, this is like a hot chocolate, but apparently has coffee in it. I can drink this. So that was the only thing I drank in the coffee world for quite a while. And then other places, gas stations, whatever followed suit. So then I would drink those. And then when I was in my mid-20s, sure, I had traveled, I'd moved back to Canada and that was the summer they introduced the ice cap iced cappuccino again, arguably. I mean, it does have ice in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I wouldn't say it's a cappuccino, it's just a coffee related beverage. But it's delicious and it's still one of my favorite things, as you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know, is that an exciting journey to take people on?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you got cappuccino splained this weekend by a waiter and it was like,
>> Amanda Barker: my goodness, that waiter just needed to be right about all the things he was not right about. And I was like, are we really having this. Can I say p****** contest?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you did. We shouldn't.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you want to go back and do it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's fine.
>> Amanda Barker: Just that offensive word. So I like how he just grumbles. Yeah. So that's my coffee journey. And then when I was in. When I moved to Ontario, we're talking
>> Marco Timpano: about the waiter that was.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, I know. But I wasn't done my journey.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sorry. It's a long coffee journey.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we'd love to hear yours.
>> Marco Timpano: After, I think I was about four and my mother would give me milk, warm milk with a little tinge of coffee in it and some cookies. And that was my breakfast gateway.
>> Amanda Barker: No wonder you're addicted.
>> Marco Timpano: That was my journey.
>> Amanda Barker: You basically had it in your bottle.
>> Marco Timpano: Not quite. Not quite. But soon, soon thereafter. I think it's because my parents would drink coffee in the morning and so I would have milk and I think they would just pour a teensy bit in to make me feel included.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. First being first child, you probably wanted to be part of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm sure, I'm sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sure you did.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And then when I finally moved to Ontario, this was finishing my journey. I. There was a Starbucks next to my office where I worked for seven years. And so about halfway through that, I. I started going and getting a latte in the afternoon. A lot of people I worked with smoked back then.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: So they would get to go outside and have little breaks. And I wanted that, but I didn't really want to smoke. So I would go and buy a, you know, at that time, $5 latte more now, obviously. And I remember somebody joking that I had a latte mortgage because of all the money I spent at Starbucks, which is probably.
>> Marco Timpano: Was that person, the smoker? Because that was.
>> Amanda Barker: She was. She was one of the smokers. Yes, that's a good point.
>> Marco Timpano: I have two smokers that are at my workplace and they get breaks all the time. They're always going on a smoke break. I'm like, when was the last time I took a random break?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to go for a little promenade.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to go for a little, you know, prance walk.
>> Amanda Barker: And that. That's what we should all be doing is taking a prance walk break. A prance walk.
>> Marco Timpano: Imagine you're walking by.
>> Amanda Barker: We start a trend of prance walkers
>> Marco Timpano: who walk by office buildings. And there's people prancing around.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: That would be the best. Oh, there must. They must be on a prance walk.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely. So then the question. Oh, the, the waiter. We're going to talk about this waiter.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So we had a beautiful weekend. And part of that weekend was a beautiful brunch to honor a friend. And so we, we sat down. We were a little late. We were just late going. It had been the late night the night before. So when we got to the brunch place and they told us they were going to get there but early, and they all did. So when we got there, they were all.
>> Marco Timpano: They had just got made to eating.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they just gotten their food and. Which of course is fine. So we sit down at the end and this waiter comes over and he's like, have you been here before? We've been there a lot. We go to that place a lot. But that's fine. He didn't know that. And so I ordered a cappuccino.
>> Marco Timpano: As did I.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, the cappuccino was good, decent. It came in a gigantic cup.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a vat of milk.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It was a big bowl. So you look at it and you go, okay, not actually a cappuccino, but delicious and serves the scene. And I should mention, it's a French restaurant that does a really great brunch.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, it does. Not cheap, but it does do a good brunch.
>> Amanda Barker: And they always take reservations and they have lots of space and they're a nice area of town. So all of that is going for them. And that's why we go there a lot. But the reason I'm not naming it.
>> Marco Timpano: One, not a sponsor of the show.
>> Amanda Barker: No. And two, this waiter. So then I'm looking and they had a soft shell crab Benedict. And I think he said, are there any allergies that I should know about? And I said. And I was actually like, oh, the soft shell crab Benedict goes. And he. Before I even stopped, he kind of snapped at me and said, we're completely out. We're completely out. I said, oh, that's okay. I can't eat it anyway. He goes, oh, do you have a seafood allergy? Well, no, I don't. I have an exoskeleton allergy, which is a bit different.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a fun allergy, folks, to have the old exoskeleton allergy.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like you're complaining about it. I'm allergic to the actual shells. I can't eat the actual shells. I can eat what was Inside the shells, but not these shells themselves. And he said, well, you wouldn't eat the actual. We wouldn't. I said, so with soft shell crab, you eat the shell. He goes, no, you don't eat the shell.
>> Marco Timpano: And.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, oh, well, typically you do. That's how I found out about my allergy, actually. And he wanted to debate me. He goes, we wouldn't serve you the shell. And he goes, well, it's not really the shell you're eating.
>> Marco Timpano: The crab has been molted. But it's the molted shell. It's the developing shell that you're eating.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. The developing shell. It still has a crunch to it. Indeed, it's still a shell. And I'm still allergic to it. And here we are back and forth, and it's like, well, they don't have it anyway, so why.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm just like, I just want my coffee. I just want to drink my coffee in peace.
>> Amanda Barker: So he had a little of my vat of milk. In your vat of milk. He crab splained me, but fine. And I. And then Marco said, I'm going to order. That looks tasty. I'm gonna order that.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a galette with an egg on it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And he said, it doesn't have any goat cheese. I don't like. I don't eat goat cheese. He's not allergic, but he doesn't like it. It'll ruin his meal.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I don't love the taste. I love cheese. I do love cheese.
>> Amanda Barker: And he said, no, no, it doesn't have any goat cheese. I'm looking at the menu, and I'm like, hang on. I thought I saw that. It did. So I look. Well, it did. So I said, no. So I order. And I said, actually, babe, you can't order that.
>> Marco Timpano: He calls me babe in the restaurant.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't know if I did, but I said. He's like, no, it doesn't. And then he takes his order. And then I said, except it does have goat cheese in it. It's right here. I don't know how I said it. So then Marco was like, oh, well, no, I'm not gonna order that. Then I just said, so. Then he looks at the menu, and
>> Marco Timpano: he's like, we can do it without. I'm like, no, I want cheese on my galet.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The whole reason you get a galette is because it comes with cheese.
>> Amanda Barker: So then we both order whatever it is we order. And. Which was good. The food was good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's good.
>> Amanda Barker: And so then he comes by. Now, I've had this big cappuccino, but it's a French place, and I've many times in the past ordered a cafe au lait. So I said, can I get a cafe au lait? He's like, so do you want just milk and coffee? And I was like, excuse me? He's like, do you want. Like, See, every time. Now I'm telling the story. I said, I sound like the jerk, because I didn't really say, excuse me, do you want milk and coffee? And I said, well, yeah, cafe au lait. Like a steamed milk and coffee. I goes, because we. That's just a steam milk and coffee. And I said, okay, yeah, that's what I want. And he's like, because we do. We could do espresso with steamed milk for cafe au lait. And I said, and then he points to my drink, goes, that's a cappuccino. Now he's explaining to me what it is. And at this point, I went, well, no, actually, that's not a cappuccino. And he said, yes, it is. And I said, it's kind of a latte with foam. This is far too big to actually be a cappuccino, like, if we're really going to get into it. And he said, well, we're very generous with our cappuccinos. And I said, absolutely. In Italy, this wouldn't be a cappuccino. Maybe it's a French cappuccino.
>> Marco Timpano: It would be a latte, is what it would actually be. Yeah, actually it would be a latte with foam. Coffee soup is what it would be based on the size zuppa du cafe.
>> Amanda Barker: So now he's explaining.
>> Marco Timpano: He's coffee splaining.
>> Amanda Barker: And I was like, you don't get to tell us what a. What a cappuccino is.
>> Marco Timpano: We've only had.
>> Amanda Barker: I haven't complained about the one you served me, but now that you're. Now that you want to explain it
>> Marco Timpano: to me, We've only had about 15 episodes where we specifically talk about coffee on this podcast. Certainly not. Someone needs to tell the waiter at
>> Amanda Barker: that restaurant he just was snippy.
>> Marco Timpano: He was in a mood, man.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And he just wanted to make me wrong, but he was always wrong on the end of the conversation. And I said, well, no, in Italy, it wouldn't be. Is what I said. Call it whatever you want here. And so then he's like, well, yeah, we're generous. And I said, okay. So anyways, I want a cafe au lait. And he's like, so, espresso with steamed milk. And I said, no, I want coffee with steamed milk. Like, I don't understand. They have it on the menu. Just give me the one that you have on the menu.
>> Marco Timpano: He probably was confused because you had a cappuccino, the espresso. So he wanted to make sure that you were getting what you. Okay, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: That's terrible.
>> Marco Timpano: He probably assumed you wanted what you just had. And then you got into your little cappuccino debate of 2025.
>> Amanda Barker: And, well, since he was gonna crab splain me, I couldn't.
>> Marco Timpano: One thing you don't do, and that's crustacean splain my wife. Because that happened once with lobster. And you may remember that Amanda's from Boston and from New Brunswick, two arguably lobster capitals of the world. And we had a waiter try to explain tail versus claw and what meat
>> Amanda Barker: was better, because he was like, for this, for more money, you can get two claws. And I was like, but for less money, you can get a tail and a claw. So why wouldn't I do the less money Tail in a claw.
>> Marco Timpano: This was the special lobster fest.
>> Amanda Barker: And he's like, well, the claw meat is very good, actually. It's very succulent. Claw meat is actually. And I went, no, no, I know what a lobster claw tastes like, and that's fine, but I'm not gonna pay more money for a claw when I can get a tail. In the hierarchy of lobsterdom, that's not how it's gonna work.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, that's the tales of crustaceans at restaurants.
>> Marco Timpano: On a brighter note, sure, Amanda had picked so many grapes recently. And for the record, in the hierarchy of fruits that Markle enjoys and doesn't, grapes is on the bottom. I think it's just under passion fruit, which I'm allergic to is grapes. And Amanda picked 10 pounds of grapes she brought home, and I was like, what? And not like, beautiful or. No, I shouldn't say beautiful.
>> Amanda Barker: They were actually beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: They were. They were exceptionally beautiful, but they weren't eating grapes. They weren't, like, seedless.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. They're not your red seedless or your white seedless grapes.
>> Marco Timpano: No. They were Concord grapes or Merlot grapes that you make wine from.
>> Amanda Barker: Now is Merlot from the Concord grape. I didn't think it was.
>> Marco Timpano: No, Merlot grapes are Merlot grapes, and Concord grapes are Concord grapes.
>> Amanda Barker: These are Concord grapes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because they're a bit sweeter, but the skin is very thick, and it has a lot of seeds, and it is a bit of a chew versus, versus some of the grapes you might.
>> Amanda Barker: It's one of those grapes that you can pop into your mouth and put the skin aside, which I would think of as like a wine grape, but it also has a fair seed in it. So it's not an easy grape to eat.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's meant to do other things. So Amanda brings ten pounds of these grapes home and I just look at her and I'm like, what are we going to do with them? And ten pounds of beautiful looking, like perfect pick.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean really, like at its. When you draw grapes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's at its peak. Like that was the day to pick them. Most certainly.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, for sure. Now here's my question to you because you know a little bit more about winemaking than I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you, can you make a wine? I mean, I suppose you can, but do you make a wine from Concord grapes?
>> Marco Timpano: You could. It's not going to be. It's not going to be. It's going to be a bit sweeter. It's going to be. I, I think if I'm not mistaken, and you can look this up, I think Menischewitz wine is made with Concord grapes.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: I could be wrong though. I don't want to offend anyone, but I know that there's probably some wine that's made with Concord grapes. I would imagine it would be a filler grape. So you would blend it with other grapes to create volume or to create sweetness.
>> Amanda Barker: I see.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I have never worked with Concord grapes when making wine and I should say when I made wine, once again, I was maybe 13 year old. 13 years old and my dad was making wine and I was just commanded to do certain wine making things like grab the, grab the crate of grapes and throw them in here, turn this to crush the grapes. I make my father sound like a cartoon character, but he's. He wasn't that pleasant when he was telling us to do stuff. But he wasn't a man on a wine mission. So. Yeah. My experience with wine making is as a young child or as a child with my dad. And then I did wine tours in Italy on a bicycle. So I didn't actually do anything. I just kind of explained what the process was when our, our guests asked about it.
>> Amanda Barker: So a few things. First off, Manischewitz is from Concord.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, great. I'm glad I got that right.
>> Amanda Barker: Concord grapes. And I double check something too. I always feel affinity for Concord grapes because I really grew up with Concord grape everything. Concord grape jelly, Concord grape Jam.
>> Marco Timpano: Notice how Amanda says Concord. Oh, you say it, like, with the
>> Amanda Barker: Massachusetts accent, because that's where Concord grapes are from.
>> Marco Timpano: Concord, Massachusetts.
>> Amanda Barker: They are.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And that's a big cranberries for us, obviously, Massachusetts and cranberries. There's a big connection there. But also Concord grapes.
>> Marco Timpano: We had wonderful cranberry wine, if you remember, years back. Anyway, sorry, back to the Concord grape. So I was right. Menischewitz has made.
>> Amanda Barker: You were right. And so. But here's the thing. We don't make wine friends. I don't have a winemaking facility in this. We have a studio, not a winery, downstairs.
>> Marco Timpano: And also, you need the right equipment to make wine. It's quite a process, or process, depending on what.
>> Amanda Barker: And if you've ever gone to someone's house and they're like, here's the wine I made, and it's been nasty. Or beer. Have you ever done that? Like, people are like, here's our wine. And you're like, oh, my, that's awful.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, to be quite honest with you, my dad and all his friends who made wine, made quality wine.
>> Amanda Barker: They made good wine. I drank your dad's wine. It was great.
>> Marco Timpano: I can't think of.
>> Amanda Barker: But. But, you know, even I have a
>> Marco Timpano: friend, Stephen, who used to make beer, and it was really good.
>> Amanda Barker: I think the Italians figured out wine and beer probably, too. And fermentation.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I would say that a great number of people, not just Europeans, make great wine. You know, it really depends on knowing how to do it. Like, how to having the equipment and fermenting it, etc. Etc.
>> Amanda Barker: I just know I've been to people's houses in my past, and they're like, we made this beer, or we made this wine and it has not been good. Or, here's a bottle of our wine for Christmas. And you're like, oh, my, that's not good. So that would. Anyway, you and I both know enough about good and bad that we know we wouldn't make anything good, Right?
>> Marco Timpano: So we've had. We have all these Concord grapes in our kitchen.
>> Amanda Barker: A ton. I was like, so we've talked about this organization a few times this summer. So I'm part of an organization called Not Far from the Tree. And we go around, you pay $10. That's it. To be part of this. And you get asked to go to picks, and you pick fruit, and you divide that haul of fruit between the homeowner yourselves and a food bank. Food bank gets half always. Or food bank or food organization or organization that can do Something with it. In this case, the grapes went to, I think, a woman's ymca where I assume they're going to go ahead and make a jam or jelly or something for them.
>> Marco Timpano: Or wine.
>> Amanda Barker: Or wine, I guess. But I'm going to go ahead and assume a jam or jelly or they just eat them. Because people do eat them. Our nephew, we were, you know, he's 10, and we were like, he's like, ooh, grapes. And we were like, yeah, but you're not gonna like these grapes. Well, seed skin. He was made to eat grapes, that kid. His Mediterranean blood was like, here we go. And he just inhaled tons of those grapes.
>> Marco Timpano: He just ate them, skin and all, seeds and all.
>> Amanda Barker: And he was like, I couldn't believe it. But, you know, they don't keep forever. So I had them only a few days and I was like, I've gotta do something with these. So we made 23 jars of jam. Jelly, but I actually think it was jam.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's. That's jam.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it came out more like jam.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the difference between jam and jelly?
>> Amanda Barker: That's technically jelly, but reads more like a jam.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't get what that even means.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so a jam, my understanding is a jam is sort of macerated fruit that has been sort of mashed into maybe a bit of a. I don't want to use this word, but gelatinous spread. But mashed into a fruit spread, like you can, you can taste the strawberries, there's chunks of the cherries in it. Whatever it is you're having. That's typically a jam, a jelly, which is what I was doing with these and is you boil, boil, boil it all together and you take all the seeds and skins and stems and everything else out of it so that you've made basically a juice. You boil that juice down, you create a syrup with it, and then from that syrup you add natural fruit pectin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Which makes it into the jelly.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, this is what.
>> Amanda Barker: And sugar.
>> Marco Timpano: This is what foodnetwork.com, not a sponsor of the show says the difference between a jam called the show, not a sponsor, versus jelly. Jams and jellies are both soft. Is your soft sweet spreads made from fruit? Is it a sweet spread made from fruit?
>> Amanda Barker: It is.
>> Marco Timpano: Sugar or pectin.
>> Amanda Barker: I used both.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. The main difference between jam and jelly is that jam is made with fruit, whereas jelly is made with fruit juice. As a result, jam and jelly have different characteristics. Texture. Jam has a semi firm consistency and the cooked down fruit lends it a chunkier texture. Whereas jelly has a firmer consistency than jam and is uniform in texture. Jelly is more translucent than jam. But both jams and jellies are used as spreads. So that helps define. And I think you're right, it is kind of more of a jam than a jelly.
>> Amanda Barker: It is. Even though I cooked it like a jelly and I used a jelly process, possibly because I put so much pectin right in it, it really kind of reads more like a jam, which I prefer. So I'm happy about that. But I did remove all, or at least most anyways of this. I mean, I tried to remove all of the skins and certainly all of the seeds. So none of that exists in it. It's just. But I think it's because I put so much pectin in.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So that it really almost started and I really boiled it down so I really kind of touched. Started to chunk up in a way.
>> Marco Timpano: It took a long time.
>> Amanda Barker: It took forever.
>> Marco Timpano: And the house actually smelled like what it smells like when you make wine.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's, that's really, you know, it brought memories of that back to me. Amanda, to be honest with you, in
>> Amanda Barker: the cottage, we did it. It did take all day, though. It was an all day affair.
>> Marco Timpano: Pleasant, pleasant memories, I will say.
>> Amanda Barker: I've already gifted three jars of jelly
>> Marco Timpano: jam and we got to some to
>> Amanda Barker: call it jelly jam.
>> Marco Timpano: We got to sample it and it was actually quite good.
>> Amanda Barker: So we gave it to our friends and they're like, oh, let's try it now. And then I was like, actually we should it because before I give it anymore, I need to try. Because you spend the day making this thing. The last thing you want to do is sit down to a little jar of it. Like you don't want to eat it.
>> Marco Timpano: Now. My, my thing was, did it seal? Like did. Was there a vacuum seal? And I know there's several ways to do that. I know when we would make tomato sauce, we would put them in a drum, big barrel, I should say, and heat it for hours and hours and hours. I know that when I've seen my mother make jams, as long as you tighten it while it's still warm, but really tighten it. So.
>> Amanda Barker: And it has to be pretty hot.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it has to be. It has to be hot. Like basically, Amanda poured the, the liquid jam jelly into the jar. I, I sealed it, then I sat it on the, on a cheesecloth, on a, A dishcloth. What do they call dish towels?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, tea towels In Canada. They call Them tea towels.
>> Marco Timpano: Tea towel. And then I waited a few minutes and then silicone glove. Silicone, you know, don't burn your hands in the oven glove. What do you call those? Oven mitt.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I like don't burn your hands in the oven glove.
>> Marco Timpano: I have to describe it. And then I took that and I and I gave it one more crank and it really close and I could see that it was concave the top right. And so I was kind of satisfied that this probably means that it was sealed.
>> Amanda Barker: It was sealed. Yeah, we would have known. They would have popped back up.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I sealed it with a kiss on the top of the jam jar.
>> Amanda Barker: No, he did not.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, that's 23. 23 kisses to 23 people. All right, folks, that is the end of our podcast. Before we go, I just want to remind our listeners who want to take advantage of the ad free system that we have going on right now. A lot of listeners want this podcast to be ad free. So if you go to insomniaproject.supercastca you can subscribe and for 10 days you'll get it free to see if it's for you or not. And then there will be a monthly charge of I think $5 Canadian if that's for you, if it's not. And you just enjoy listening to the podcast as is. Of course, we always welcome any listeners. And if you have friends or family who you think might enjoy or colleagues or people who are seem stressed on the street, let them know about our podcast because the more listeners, the better. Of course we welcome you into the Insomnia project family, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely, absolutely. But yeah, so many people have been asking for it. So we, Marco did a lot of work to make sure that that could happen.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was like really making trying to get the best system for our listeners. And please let me know how Supercast works for you folks, because once again, they're not a sponsor of the show and I want to make sure that it, it does work for our listeners. And on that note, we hope you have a lovely rest of your day, afternoon or evening depending when you listen and we hope you're able to listen and sleep.
Trailers, Top Hats, and Taking a Bow
(Original airdate: October 29, 2025)
This is the last episode of the Insomnia Project for this season
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help escort your way to sleep or to chill vibes. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. I'm Amanda Barker and this is the last Episode for This season, our 10th season of the Insomnia Project. Thank you all for coming on this journey with us. There's been some ups and downs at all around Samantha.
>> Amanda Barker: oh, yeah, More ups and downs,
>> Marco Timpano: I think I would say so. I want to mention that we do have ad free episodes now on supercast.com if you go to the insomnia project.supercast.com you. You can subscribe for ad free. Of course, we have our Patreon as well. All that will be in the show notes. I'm just happy to be here with you today.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm happy to be here too. And just a reminder, this is the final episode of this season, but in
>> Marco Timpano: December, as of starting December 1st, all the way to December 31st, we have our holiday episode. So every day for the month of December, you're going to get some past holiday episodes, you're going to get some new holiday episodes. They tend to be a little bit more festive, shall we say. Amanda Peppier. but they're there for you for the holidays. And whether you have a large family around you for the holidays or just a small little unit, we are here with you in the month of
>> Amanda Barker: December and use November as a time to regroup, which I usually like to anyway, just in my own personal life. Whether it's for your financial health or for your mental health or for your health, your health, November is a good time to take stock, right? December is usually full of a lot of hustle and bustle.
>> Marco Timpano: Indeed.
>> Amanda Barker: People know that there's a break at the end, usually with work or whatever. So people are gearing up. and it's a shorter month ultimately, with some rest built in, I hope, for you anyway. but November's a good moment to just tie the bows, wrap the loose ends, dot the I's, cross the T's and go to sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love that. I think it's a great month as well to pick a day or two where there are immovable days where you've booked time for yourself. So if people are saying to you, are you available November 18th? You can say, oh, I'm sorry, I have appointments booked that day.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm gonna do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Just make appointments for yourself so that they say, oh, we have an appointment, because no one needs to know. I think when you say, I have an appointment that day, no one says, oh, what's it for? Or they inquire further because you can always say, oh, it's something I'm doing. I'm actually not allowed. Not Able to talk about. But, I'll.
>> Amanda Barker: People don't usually. I have an appointment. They're not like, what's wrong with you? You just go, oh, sorry, I have an appointment, I can't move.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, maybe, maybe close friends would be like that. I doubt your boss would be, I
>> Amanda Barker: think your spouse, your family. But that would be it. I mean. Yeah, I think that's a great idea for those listeners who are bummed that we won't have an episode for. Until December 1st. We got 10 years of back catalogs.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: So go ahead, take the time. Revisit your faves. Everyone loves the backpack episode. Just saying.
>> Marco Timpano: Everybody likes the backpack episode. I don't know what it is about that episode.
>> Amanda Barker: I know exactly what it is.
>> Marco Timpano: What does that mean?
>> Amanda Barker: It would put me to sleep. There's a method, and when you go through methods, it's relaxing, it's comforting. I always say, you know, I love an envelope. Give me parameters, give me the safe space. I might go beyond the envelope if it's talking about thinking ideology or creative, input. But I like structure. I realize that as a child, I liked it. I needed it. Anytime that I was given unstructured, time or unstructured, like, they'd say, choose whatever you want. It was overwhelming for me. I enjoy choices, I enjoy structure. So I crave that and I give it to myself. And structure for me is relaxing and it puts me to sleep. So when I go through each part of what I like to pack methodically in a backpack, I think there's a gentle structure to that that's soothing for me there.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but are you like that?
>> Marco Timpano: I. I'm not quite like that. I like, might choose my own direction.
Actors need a safe space wherever they are, so they know
>> Amanda Barker: This is where we go into Virgo versus Sagittarius land. me being obviously the Virgo. If anybody, pays attention to that, which you can. Or not, whatever. But you know, it's funny, I was just thinking this. We're actors. That's what we do. And I always say that actors need a safe space wherever they are, so they know where to go. Because sometimes a set or theater rehearsal hall or whatever can be big cavernous spaces and you don't know where you're supposed to be.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Where you should hang out when it's a bit of downtime. So people know where to fetch you as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Right, Exactly. And so this is why trailers are so important for actors. And we don't need them to be big, we just need a little tiny slip of a trailer with our character name on it or whatever. Sometimes we just have a number and a character name. That's fine. And we go into it and we make her. I feel so cozy. I have the best naps on set. My friend Trevor thinks I'm crazy when I say this, but there's nothing better than a, day on set for me where I have, like, one line or no lines, like my character sleeping or my character's part of the gang or whatever. But I don't have, like, any big scenes. And then they're behind shooting, so they're like, you're not gonna be on for another four hours. I'm like, good. night.
When you get cast in a film or TV series, you are brought
>> Marco Timpano: We should explain what a trailer is. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: Because people who. They might have a vague idea, but they might not know. Speaking of structures. So when you arrive, if you get cast in a film or TV series, let's say a film, in this case, you are brought. You. You arrive on set at your time, and then usually a, AD or PA will direct you to where you sign in. And then they'll bring you to your
>> Amanda Barker: ad, which stands for assistant director. But there's tiers of directors. There's the first assistant director, who's right there with the director, making sure things get done.
>> Marco Timpano: Called the first ad.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And then there's a second ad, which there can be a few second ads that are making sure things happen in different areas of the set. I don't know if there's a third 80.
>> Marco Timpano: There should be a third 80. Just to, scoop up all the mess that gets dropped by the first
>> Amanda Barker: and second, which is sometimes a second AD is who's dealing with the background talent too. So there's that.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a big job. So they will take you, escort you to where your trailer is. And it could be, like Amanda said, it could be like, on the other end of this, on the lot. It could be in many different directions. You don't know. I know when I did Murdoch, it was like. And we'll just turn the corner. And there were the trailers.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: And so they bring you to a trailer, and it's basically the trailer, like at the end of a truck. Right. Like, it's kind of like a. I'm trying to describe it.
>> Amanda Barker: Versions. I mean, if you're like. Well, using Murdoch, actually. So this is Murdoch Mysteries, which Marco and I have both been in.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a great series. If you aren't aware of it and you're looking for something that is nostalgic in an old timey kind of way.
>> Amanda Barker: And soothing.
>> Marco Timpano: And soothing, but with a bit of mystery. Look it up.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's on PBS in the States, I think here in Canada. It's on ctv.
>> Marco Timpano: I know it's really big in the UK as well. It's really, really big. And I have to say, just on
>> Amanda Barker: a little detour, Murdoch, we didn't see this coming.
>> Marco Timpano: Yannick, who plays Murdoch, is so lovely. Ah, he's a wonderful individual. And he didn't have to be as nice as he has been to me on several occasions when I've met him. And on set as well. And everyone on that set was particularly wonderful. So I just want to put that on the ground right now. From the first ad to the second ad, to all the ads to anyone on that set was just wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, Murdoch is exactly an example of what I'm talking about. It's been around. I mean, I think I did the 18th season. I mean that you kind of get into a groove, I think after like three seasons with a, series. So imagine being on your 20th season, you know, sure. 21st, wherever they are. And the thing about Murdoch is it's so structured. They know what they're doing, they know what they're putting out. They have a beautiful costume warehouse. They have a studio. To your point, you go there and it's all very well laid out.
>> Marco Timpano: It's perfection. It's really.
Did you have a trailer on Murdoch though? I did. They had a structure erected for performers
>> Amanda Barker: Did you have a trailer on Murdoch though?
>> Marco Timpano: I did.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's interesting. See, I didn't have a trailer on Murdoch. They had a structure erected for performers. And so I was in that. There were rooms, dressing rooms in there, like, you know, which is the same difference. I mean, basically what you want as an actor is just like, this is your place and we'll come and get you when you need it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I definitely had a trailer, so they brought me to my trailer.
>> Marco Timpano: And basically a trailer is like the trailer at the end of a hauling kind of truck. Right. A big steel container, let's say. And, and depending on how many trailers are in one container, could be several, could be one, could be, you know, multiple.
>> Amanda Barker: There's three. A lot of times you'll see them in threes. And those are the bigger ones.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah. So you have a little door, you open the door and there's it's, it's literally you can kind of stretch your arms.
>> Amanda Barker: So this is what we call. So we call them bangers, but I don't know if that's.
>> Marco Timpano: Where did the term come up from?
>> Amanda Barker: You know, who it Came from, I
>> Marco Timpano: think Andrea Martin call them bangers. I love Andrea Martin.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I think in her book she called them bangers. But anyway, because the ones when they have a lot of people working that day, and listen, some have their own bathroom, some have their own shower, some have a fireplace.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a fireplace once in one of my bangers.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they're. They're nice. Those are the bigger ones where you're like. It's. You have your own or you're splitting it in two or three. But if you're what we call a day player, and let's be honest, you and I often are, no shame in it. we go in, we do a character for a day and that's it. Then you could have a eight banger, a 12 banger.
>> Marco Timpano: It just means your trailer is going to be smaller. But if you're the star or the lead, you'll probably have a trailer. Just a large trailer all to yourself.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, Yannick actually has a really cool,
>> Marco Timpano: like Winnebago, as is. Right. And as he should, because he's doing it for how many seasons?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, 20. Something. Yeah. So anyway, the point being, I don't care as an actor or as a human, if you give me the tiniest little slip of a trailer, it can be, you know, a little tiny. Like, they're just like a little closet, almost hallway with a bench.
>> Marco Timpano: Whereas I require a Jacuzzi, a fireplace, a, sauna. No, like Amanda said. So when you open the trailer door. So I'll just explain it so that we kind of methodically go through it. So it'll. It'll say on the window of the door. Usually it's. It'll say your character name. Sometimes it'll say a number. On a rare occasion, it'll say your actual name. But I. I know it is my character name. So it said the character name. I was the baker on Murder Dark. I'm just going to use that one as my example.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's a baker and I was judge. I don't remember my last. My last name. It's like Judge Fenchurch or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so, yeah, so it said that. So that. So then once you see where your trailer is, you're like, okay, that's my trailer. Great. So you go into your trailer, you open the door, you'll see how big it is. And usually your wardrobe that you're going to be wearing that day is hung on a hanger because you're going to change in your trailer as well.
>> Amanda Barker: I think these had a fitting. Usually but prior to this, so you've talked about options with the wardrobe people. So they know. So you know it's going to be one of like eight options. And then you see what the director and the team chose hanging there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And it's usually really nicely pressed. It looks, it's just laid out so lovely. And you're like, oh, that's what I'm gonna be wearing today.
>> Amanda Barker: And for us ladies, like your earrings, your watch, any of that stuff that they have chosen for the character is in like a little dish, like a little box next to it.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's usually like a little table.
>> Marco Timpano: Or a place where you can put your books or whatnot.
>> Marco Timpano: Usually there's also a television set kind of fastened, to the top corner of the trailer somewhere.
>> Amanda Barker: But it never works with like a vcr. I mean it depends on what generation trailer you have. Some of them are old. Sometimes there's a bathroom in the back.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Like at the end of your trailer that everyone uses. Or sometimes there's a bathroom and shower in your trailer.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's what I meant. Like the back of your trailer will have a bathroom. Sometimes you open the door and then there's tape over and it's like do not use.
Downton Abbey lives on PBS on a loop in the States
So fine. So it hasn't been hooked up. But yeah, if you're in one of those like long ones, then yeah. There's usually a bathroom trailer that's nearby that you figure out pretty quickly where it is and you go to it. But you know what I love when you're in the trailer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I love that people are coming in and out of it and there's a gentle rocking. Like you can hear people going up the steps. Because you have to go up steps to your little door.
>> Marco Timpano: And those steps are usually like, you know, grates, like metal. Metal sort of weaving.
>> Marco Timpano: It's kind of like that, like almost like fire escape stairs is what they're like.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Those metal stairs. So there's like a gentle rocking. So like when I did Frankie Drake, which is Murdoch adjacent.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a spin off, isn't it? Or no, it's adjacent, I don't think.
>> Amanda Barker: No, because it was a different time frame.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't think it was ever. I don't think they ever tried to do a real. But it was the closest thing to a spin off the same production company, there were same vibes. and it was a great show. and it lives on on PBS on like a loop in the States. Every time I Go to Florida. There it is. There's my episode. So I'm in a baseball episode.
>> Marco Timpano: I do love pbs. I have to say.
>> Amanda Barker: I know PBS is soothing, especially when we go to my parents house in Florida.
>> Marco Timpano: We need the pbs.
>> Amanda Barker: We need the pbs. It's like Antiques Roadshow. All the Murdochs. It's great. Anyhow, Bernadette Peters lives near there, so she's always doing like, please to like, please donate and you'll get the entire season of Downton Abbey.
>> Marco Timpano: Bernadette Peters is amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: They played Downton Abbey on pbs.
>> Marco Timpano: That's pretty impressive. Yeah. Anyhow, Downton Abbey is awesome, too. If you haven't seen that series, watch it.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you know in the States, I keep saying in the States, PBS has like its own app, and my parents, like, pay for it and stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, like it's its own. I guess every channel has that now. But anyway, it's called Passport. I believe my mom's like, I have Passport. Like, I don't know what that.
>> Marco Timpano: What does that do?
>> Amanda Barker: She gets all over Downton Abbey.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
>> Amanda Barker: And her Frankie Drakes, I guess. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: We went to go see the Downton Abbey M movie and we dressed up as characters.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. We were those people in like a
>> Marco Timpano: suburb, in a real suburb.
>> Amanda Barker: Like in a place where there's no chance that anyone else is dressing up for that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Our dear friends.
>> Amanda Barker: There were some old people with cane, so that was like, as adjacent as it got, but.
>> Marco Timpano: So our dear friends Matt and Mel are our Downton Abbey watching buddies.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we. Yeah, we watched. We binged it with them, remember?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And they're lovely, wonderful, fantastic friends.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's nice.
>> Marco Timpano: And so they, Amanda's folks, dressed up from, Downton Abbey something or other.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. In Florida. They dressed up. Specifically. My dad dressed up as Bates with the hat and the cane. And my mom dressed up as, Mrs. Crawley. Lady Crawley. She loves Lady Crawley.
>> Marco Timpano: I think that was the inspiration for our friends to say, let's dress up for Downton Abbey.
Amanda is much more reserved when it comes to dressing up
Now, here's an interesting fact.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember showing them the picture and they're like, this is amazing. No, there was like a huge watching party where my parents lived for the final episode. And they went to, like, an auditorium where everybody dressed up.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda. So our friends knew this. And then this film that recently came out, they're like, let's dress up. And one thing listeners, you should know is that Amanda's much more likely to be the one who wants to dress up. And make a bit of a spectacle. Whereas I'm much more. And it's weird because I know I'm an actor, I'm much more reserved when it comes to stuff like that. I don't like to be the center of attention if I'm not on stage.
>> Amanda Barker: It depends. Last night I had an opportunity to dress up and I did not do it. It really depends. Sometimes I really do want to fade into the background.
>> Marco Timpano: So.
>> Amanda Barker: However, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: But if I'm on stage, I enjoy being the center of attention and making sure that I make a spectacle, but in real life I'm less likely to do it.
>> Amanda Barker: I think actually a lot of actors are like that. I just want to say, like, when it's your job to do that, which, like I was a mascot. So it was definitely my job to be the center of attention just in that world. But there's a comfort to not doing that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Because you've.
>> Amanda Barker: You've got that sort of need, that itch scratched, if you will. So in your job. So you don't have to do that in the rest of your life. Sometimes I think. Sorry. Sometimes I think people who are so dramatic and wanting to be the center of attention, it's like you just pick the wrong profession. You need a place to channel that so that your personal life doesn't have to look and feel like that. But anyway, sure.
Amanda and I dressed up for anniversary and went to a Titanic dinner
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, Amanda really got dressed up and she was. You were fretting about something. You didn't have the right bloomers or something. I don't remember.
>> Amanda Barker: I was for sure not wearing bloomers.
>> Marco Timpano: Whatever it was, you were like fretting.
>> Amanda Barker: I think you're conflating to dress up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you were.
>> Amanda Barker: I think you're thinking about the Titanic.
>> Marco Timpano: No. Oh, yeah, you were, you were. But you were fretting in particular, for
>> Amanda Barker: which, by the way, we, I think we talked about it, but that's what we did for anniversary. We dressed up. Same period, more or less. And dressed up and had a Titanic dinner. And that was fun.
>> Marco Timpano: And folks, I was assured everybody would be dressed up. And Amanda really made a large commotion about getting dressed up.
>> Amanda Barker: the ticket said you must be dressed up.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I show up with my cane, my, my top hat, my monocle, all these things.
>> Amanda Barker: I had a gigantic hat that I
>> Marco Timpano: didn't necessarily want to wear.
>> Amanda Barker: And our friends were all in their slacks and T shirts, button down shirts.
>> Marco Timpano: And then we're stuck at the table with my cane that has rum in it and all this stuff given to
>> Amanda Barker: you by Matt and Mel.
>> Marco Timpano: Given to me by Matt and Mel. And I've used that cane. So then I also use that cane and my hat. It's not. It's a bowler hat. for the. No idea. I forgot the bowler hat at home. But I had. I had a.
>> Amanda Barker: By the way, I found a top hat at work, so I brought it home.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, great.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I feel like there's been a few auditions where you've needed one.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, you know, now that I'm older, I'm always playing Scrooge in auditions. So he's like, oh, we need a Scrooge. Let's get this old guy. So, a top hat is really great for that. So anyways, we went to the suburb of all suburbs is where we went.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, truly Ajax. I think it was Whitby.
>> Marco Timpano: Whitby, Same thing.
>> Amanda Barker: And sorry, sorry for people from there. It is not the same.
>> Marco Timpano: People from there are not going to
>> Amanda Barker: be happy and people from Ajax are not going to be happy.
>> Marco Timpano: People from Whitby or Ajax in the UK will not be happy either because
>> Amanda Barker: it's not the same. Is there an ajax in the UK?
>> Marco Timpano: 100%. There's gotta be.
>> Amanda Barker: Really. I mean, there's definitely a Whitby.
>> Marco Timpano: People who use Ajax instead of Comet will not be happy.
>> Amanda Barker: That's in the States. I mean, everywhere that exists in Canada. Like, they were not creative with their names. Like, there's 19 Halifaxes. Boston's like, sure, Boltons, you name it.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah. So, okay, so anyways, we went to that dressed up and it was fun. But me walking around in a movie theater getting popcorn with a cane and vest was a little bit odd because people were going to see action films and like, what's going on here? I know four random people dressed in the movie.
>> Amanda Barker: I had a leopard print hat, if you remember, on that day. Anyway, yeah, but I think the key is find pieces that give you the thing. But then also when you actually watch the movie, like, make sure you're still comfortable because really it was just for our friends that we dressed up. We took some photos. It was fun.
>> Marco Timpano: It was fun.
>> Amanda Barker: And then we took it all off and sat down and enjoyed our movie.
So back to the trailer before we end this episode. But one of the other things I wanted to say
>> Marco Timpano: So back to the trailer before we end this episode. So I wanted to mention there's also a long sort of bench with. With padding.
>> Amanda Barker: yeah, I tried to say that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sorry. No, we didn't. But we.
>> Amanda Barker: I said it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. and that's where you can sit, nap, or lie. And that's where Amanda likes to lie.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, and I try not to think about the fact of how many actors heads have hit this pillow that's sitting here in this trailer. But one of the other things I wanted to say, since we are back to that, I didn't think we were going back.
>> Marco Timpano: Always coming back to that.
>> Amanda Barker: Circling back, as they say, is that it's the same in theater, in fact. And when I toured for three years, the first thing I would do when I came into a theater, when, you know, they would drop us off at the hotel because we were pampered actors while the tech crew had to go and deck the whole thing. We would have our lunch or breakfast or whatever. But once we got into the theater later in the afternoon, the very first thing that you do is, where is our green room?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Where is our space? Our. And again, it's that safe space idea. It doesn't have to be big, doesn't have to be nice. Just show me where you want me to be so that when you come and get me, here I am.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: and it's funny because I liken this too. And this is probably going to be a weird analogy, but I mean it in the most loving way. Remember when our good friends Dale and Trevor, they had a greyhound that they rescued. Do you remember?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course I do. All their animals love me.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true. They don't care about me. But they. Marco has a way with all of their different pets over the years. Anyway, this was including a hedgehog that
>> Marco Timpano: they had liked me too.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: The hedgehog was before my time.
>> Marco Timpano: You never met the hedgehog?
>> Amanda Barker: No. Oh, no. The rabbit.
>> Marco Timpano: The rabbit loves.
>> Amanda Barker: That was a big part of our lives. But, the hedgehog, I didn't know. Anyhow, and now you can't have hedgehogs in Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: They had the last hedgehog.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's a great movie title.
>> Amanda Barker: Last tango and hedgehog. Anyhow, sorry for my little throat clearing there. so I forgot what I was gonna say.
>> Marco Timpano: They had a greyhound.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, they had a greyhound.
>> Marco Timpano: And not the drink, which is vodka and grapefruit. juice.
>> Amanda Barker: Grapefruit juice. Delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: this greyhound was named. They didn't name her. Greyhounds are already named. But there's a greyhound sanctuary, that rescues greyhounds and you can adopt them. So they had a beautiful greyhound named Rose. They always laughed that her career was not very long. She came in fourth for one race in Tampa and that was it. Anyhow, but she lived a wonderful life with them. And one of the things they realized in learning about her is that she would get very anxious if they left the house. But what they did, and this is true for a lot of dogs, they
>> Marco Timpano: got her a trailer.
>> Amanda Barker: They got her a trailer called a crate. And that was her safe space. And so she knew that that was her place. No one else would come in. If they needed her, she'd be there. And there was such comfort for that dog to have that safe space. Right. And I often thought actors are like dogs in the best way because we just need that little tiny safe space to feel comforted. So I hope if you're still awake and listening, that you have your comforting little corner of, wherever that you are. That little corner, that's your safe space. That's all yours. Where people know where to find you.
>> Marco Timpano: Your own trailer.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, your own trailer, your own crate, your own green room, whatever you want
>> Marco Timpano: to call it, decorated, how you wish. Make it your own personalized little trailer in your home.
>> Amanda Barker: And take a nap.
>> Marco Timpano: And take a nap there.
>> Amanda Barker: Because that's like, this is why I find a nap in a trailer the most comforting thing. I'm doing what I love. I'm getting paid, so there's always that. But I'm doing what I love. If they need me, they know where to find me. I want for nothing. I need for nothing. I'm happiest on a set, frankly.
The Insomnia Project thanks its listeners for listening for 10 seasons
And there's that gentle rocking of the trailer as people kind of come in and out going about their day, going to set, coming back from set, and maybe I'm not needed for a few hours. And that is the most comforting thing.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. And we're doing what we love here on the Insomnia Project. Thank you for listening for 10 seasons. If you've listened from the beginning or wherever you joined us once again. If you want an ad free episode, go to the insomniaproject supercast CA and you can subscribe there or patreon.com the Insomnia Project. I want to thank all the listeners who have reached out this season over the years with messages on Instagram or Facebook or wherever, especially those who have given us great feedback. Those, who have, who've given us feedback where we need to pay more attention to certain things. We appreciate it all. So thank you for reaching out. We love our listeners. We think we have great, the best listeners actually. And please let your friends and family know about our podcast because that seems to be the best way to get the word out. And we get a lot of listeners that way.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely. Yeah. If it works for you, it might work for a friend. And, and, you know, we're all just trying to find ways to get to a, comfortable, easy sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: And we're thinking we're thankful that you chose our podcast, of all the podcasts, to find your way to sleep until next season. We hope that you're able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: October 29, 2025)
This is the last episode of the Insomnia Project for this season
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help escort your way to sleep or to chill vibes. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. I'm Amanda Barker and this is the last Episode for This season, our 10th season of the Insomnia Project. Thank you all for coming on this journey with us. There's been some ups and downs at all around Samantha.
>> Amanda Barker: oh, yeah, More ups and downs,
>> Marco Timpano: I think I would say so. I want to mention that we do have ad free episodes now on supercast.com if you go to the insomnia project.supercast.com you. You can subscribe for ad free. Of course, we have our Patreon as well. All that will be in the show notes. I'm just happy to be here with you today.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm happy to be here too. And just a reminder, this is the final episode of this season, but in
>> Marco Timpano: December, as of starting December 1st, all the way to December 31st, we have our holiday episode. So every day for the month of December, you're going to get some past holiday episodes, you're going to get some new holiday episodes. They tend to be a little bit more festive, shall we say. Amanda Peppier. but they're there for you for the holidays. And whether you have a large family around you for the holidays or just a small little unit, we are here with you in the month of
>> Amanda Barker: December and use November as a time to regroup, which I usually like to anyway, just in my own personal life. Whether it's for your financial health or for your mental health or for your health, your health, November is a good time to take stock, right? December is usually full of a lot of hustle and bustle.
>> Marco Timpano: Indeed.
>> Amanda Barker: People know that there's a break at the end, usually with work or whatever. So people are gearing up. and it's a shorter month ultimately, with some rest built in, I hope, for you anyway. but November's a good moment to just tie the bows, wrap the loose ends, dot the I's, cross the T's and go to sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love that. I think it's a great month as well to pick a day or two where there are immovable days where you've booked time for yourself. So if people are saying to you, are you available November 18th? You can say, oh, I'm sorry, I have appointments booked that day.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm gonna do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Just make appointments for yourself so that they say, oh, we have an appointment, because no one needs to know. I think when you say, I have an appointment that day, no one says, oh, what's it for? Or they inquire further because you can always say, oh, it's something I'm doing. I'm actually not allowed. Not Able to talk about. But, I'll.
>> Amanda Barker: People don't usually. I have an appointment. They're not like, what's wrong with you? You just go, oh, sorry, I have an appointment, I can't move.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, maybe, maybe close friends would be like that. I doubt your boss would be, I
>> Amanda Barker: think your spouse, your family. But that would be it. I mean. Yeah, I think that's a great idea for those listeners who are bummed that we won't have an episode for. Until December 1st. We got 10 years of back catalogs.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: So go ahead, take the time. Revisit your faves. Everyone loves the backpack episode. Just saying.
>> Marco Timpano: Everybody likes the backpack episode. I don't know what it is about that episode.
>> Amanda Barker: I know exactly what it is.
>> Marco Timpano: What does that mean?
>> Amanda Barker: It would put me to sleep. There's a method, and when you go through methods, it's relaxing, it's comforting. I always say, you know, I love an envelope. Give me parameters, give me the safe space. I might go beyond the envelope if it's talking about thinking ideology or creative, input. But I like structure. I realize that as a child, I liked it. I needed it. Anytime that I was given unstructured, time or unstructured, like, they'd say, choose whatever you want. It was overwhelming for me. I enjoy choices, I enjoy structure. So I crave that and I give it to myself. And structure for me is relaxing and it puts me to sleep. So when I go through each part of what I like to pack methodically in a backpack, I think there's a gentle structure to that that's soothing for me there.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but are you like that?
>> Marco Timpano: I. I'm not quite like that. I like, might choose my own direction.
Actors need a safe space wherever they are, so they know
>> Amanda Barker: This is where we go into Virgo versus Sagittarius land. me being obviously the Virgo. If anybody, pays attention to that, which you can. Or not, whatever. But you know, it's funny, I was just thinking this. We're actors. That's what we do. And I always say that actors need a safe space wherever they are, so they know where to go. Because sometimes a set or theater rehearsal hall or whatever can be big cavernous spaces and you don't know where you're supposed to be.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Where you should hang out when it's a bit of downtime. So people know where to fetch you as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Right, Exactly. And so this is why trailers are so important for actors. And we don't need them to be big, we just need a little tiny slip of a trailer with our character name on it or whatever. Sometimes we just have a number and a character name. That's fine. And we go into it and we make her. I feel so cozy. I have the best naps on set. My friend Trevor thinks I'm crazy when I say this, but there's nothing better than a, day on set for me where I have, like, one line or no lines, like my character sleeping or my character's part of the gang or whatever. But I don't have, like, any big scenes. And then they're behind shooting, so they're like, you're not gonna be on for another four hours. I'm like, good. night.
When you get cast in a film or TV series, you are brought
>> Marco Timpano: We should explain what a trailer is. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: Because people who. They might have a vague idea, but they might not know. Speaking of structures. So when you arrive, if you get cast in a film or TV series, let's say a film, in this case, you are brought. You. You arrive on set at your time, and then usually a, AD or PA will direct you to where you sign in. And then they'll bring you to your
>> Amanda Barker: ad, which stands for assistant director. But there's tiers of directors. There's the first assistant director, who's right there with the director, making sure things get done.
>> Marco Timpano: Called the first ad.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And then there's a second ad, which there can be a few second ads that are making sure things happen in different areas of the set. I don't know if there's a third 80.
>> Marco Timpano: There should be a third 80. Just to, scoop up all the mess that gets dropped by the first
>> Amanda Barker: and second, which is sometimes a second AD is who's dealing with the background talent too. So there's that.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a big job. So they will take you, escort you to where your trailer is. And it could be, like Amanda said, it could be like, on the other end of this, on the lot. It could be in many different directions. You don't know. I know when I did Murdoch, it was like. And we'll just turn the corner. And there were the trailers.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: And so they bring you to a trailer, and it's basically the trailer, like at the end of a truck. Right. Like, it's kind of like a. I'm trying to describe it.
>> Amanda Barker: Versions. I mean, if you're like. Well, using Murdoch, actually. So this is Murdoch Mysteries, which Marco and I have both been in.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a great series. If you aren't aware of it and you're looking for something that is nostalgic in an old timey kind of way.
>> Amanda Barker: And soothing.
>> Marco Timpano: And soothing, but with a bit of mystery. Look it up.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's on PBS in the States, I think here in Canada. It's on ctv.
>> Marco Timpano: I know it's really big in the UK as well. It's really, really big. And I have to say, just on
>> Amanda Barker: a little detour, Murdoch, we didn't see this coming.
>> Marco Timpano: Yannick, who plays Murdoch, is so lovely. Ah, he's a wonderful individual. And he didn't have to be as nice as he has been to me on several occasions when I've met him. And on set as well. And everyone on that set was particularly wonderful. So I just want to put that on the ground right now. From the first ad to the second ad, to all the ads to anyone on that set was just wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, Murdoch is exactly an example of what I'm talking about. It's been around. I mean, I think I did the 18th season. I mean that you kind of get into a groove, I think after like three seasons with a, series. So imagine being on your 20th season, you know, sure. 21st, wherever they are. And the thing about Murdoch is it's so structured. They know what they're doing, they know what they're putting out. They have a beautiful costume warehouse. They have a studio. To your point, you go there and it's all very well laid out.
>> Marco Timpano: It's perfection. It's really.
Did you have a trailer on Murdoch though? I did. They had a structure erected for performers
>> Amanda Barker: Did you have a trailer on Murdoch though?
>> Marco Timpano: I did.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's interesting. See, I didn't have a trailer on Murdoch. They had a structure erected for performers. And so I was in that. There were rooms, dressing rooms in there, like, you know, which is the same difference. I mean, basically what you want as an actor is just like, this is your place and we'll come and get you when you need it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I definitely had a trailer, so they brought me to my trailer.
>> Marco Timpano: And basically a trailer is like the trailer at the end of a hauling kind of truck. Right. A big steel container, let's say. And, and depending on how many trailers are in one container, could be several, could be one, could be, you know, multiple.
>> Amanda Barker: There's three. A lot of times you'll see them in threes. And those are the bigger ones.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah. So you have a little door, you open the door and there's it's, it's literally you can kind of stretch your arms.
>> Amanda Barker: So this is what we call. So we call them bangers, but I don't know if that's.
>> Marco Timpano: Where did the term come up from?
>> Amanda Barker: You know, who it Came from, I
>> Marco Timpano: think Andrea Martin call them bangers. I love Andrea Martin.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I think in her book she called them bangers. But anyway, because the ones when they have a lot of people working that day, and listen, some have their own bathroom, some have their own shower, some have a fireplace.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a fireplace once in one of my bangers.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they're. They're nice. Those are the bigger ones where you're like. It's. You have your own or you're splitting it in two or three. But if you're what we call a day player, and let's be honest, you and I often are, no shame in it. we go in, we do a character for a day and that's it. Then you could have a eight banger, a 12 banger.
>> Marco Timpano: It just means your trailer is going to be smaller. But if you're the star or the lead, you'll probably have a trailer. Just a large trailer all to yourself.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, Yannick actually has a really cool,
>> Marco Timpano: like Winnebago, as is. Right. And as he should, because he's doing it for how many seasons?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, 20. Something. Yeah. So anyway, the point being, I don't care as an actor or as a human, if you give me the tiniest little slip of a trailer, it can be, you know, a little tiny. Like, they're just like a little closet, almost hallway with a bench.
>> Marco Timpano: Whereas I require a Jacuzzi, a fireplace, a, sauna. No, like Amanda said. So when you open the trailer door. So I'll just explain it so that we kind of methodically go through it. So it'll. It'll say on the window of the door. Usually it's. It'll say your character name. Sometimes it'll say a number. On a rare occasion, it'll say your actual name. But I. I know it is my character name. So it said the character name. I was the baker on Murder Dark. I'm just going to use that one as my example.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's a baker and I was judge. I don't remember my last. My last name. It's like Judge Fenchurch or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so, yeah, so it said that. So that. So then once you see where your trailer is, you're like, okay, that's my trailer. Great. So you go into your trailer, you open the door, you'll see how big it is. And usually your wardrobe that you're going to be wearing that day is hung on a hanger because you're going to change in your trailer as well.
>> Amanda Barker: I think these had a fitting. Usually but prior to this, so you've talked about options with the wardrobe people. So they know. So you know it's going to be one of like eight options. And then you see what the director and the team chose hanging there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And it's usually really nicely pressed. It looks, it's just laid out so lovely. And you're like, oh, that's what I'm gonna be wearing today.
>> Amanda Barker: And for us ladies, like your earrings, your watch, any of that stuff that they have chosen for the character is in like a little dish, like a little box next to it.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's usually like a little table.
>> Marco Timpano: Or a place where you can put your books or whatnot.
>> Marco Timpano: Usually there's also a television set kind of fastened, to the top corner of the trailer somewhere.
>> Amanda Barker: But it never works with like a vcr. I mean it depends on what generation trailer you have. Some of them are old. Sometimes there's a bathroom in the back.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Like at the end of your trailer that everyone uses. Or sometimes there's a bathroom and shower in your trailer.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's what I meant. Like the back of your trailer will have a bathroom. Sometimes you open the door and then there's tape over and it's like do not use.
Downton Abbey lives on PBS on a loop in the States
So fine. So it hasn't been hooked up. But yeah, if you're in one of those like long ones, then yeah. There's usually a bathroom trailer that's nearby that you figure out pretty quickly where it is and you go to it. But you know what I love when you're in the trailer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I love that people are coming in and out of it and there's a gentle rocking. Like you can hear people going up the steps. Because you have to go up steps to your little door.
>> Marco Timpano: And those steps are usually like, you know, grates, like metal. Metal sort of weaving.
>> Marco Timpano: It's kind of like that, like almost like fire escape stairs is what they're like.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Those metal stairs. So there's like a gentle rocking. So like when I did Frankie Drake, which is Murdoch adjacent.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a spin off, isn't it? Or no, it's adjacent, I don't think.
>> Amanda Barker: No, because it was a different time frame.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't think it was ever. I don't think they ever tried to do a real. But it was the closest thing to a spin off the same production company, there were same vibes. and it was a great show. and it lives on on PBS on like a loop in the States. Every time I Go to Florida. There it is. There's my episode. So I'm in a baseball episode.
>> Marco Timpano: I do love pbs. I have to say.
>> Amanda Barker: I know PBS is soothing, especially when we go to my parents house in Florida.
>> Marco Timpano: We need the pbs.
>> Amanda Barker: We need the pbs. It's like Antiques Roadshow. All the Murdochs. It's great. Anyhow, Bernadette Peters lives near there, so she's always doing like, please to like, please donate and you'll get the entire season of Downton Abbey.
>> Marco Timpano: Bernadette Peters is amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: They played Downton Abbey on pbs.
>> Marco Timpano: That's pretty impressive. Yeah. Anyhow, Downton Abbey is awesome, too. If you haven't seen that series, watch it.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you know in the States, I keep saying in the States, PBS has like its own app, and my parents, like, pay for it and stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, like it's its own. I guess every channel has that now. But anyway, it's called Passport. I believe my mom's like, I have Passport. Like, I don't know what that.
>> Marco Timpano: What does that do?
>> Amanda Barker: She gets all over Downton Abbey.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
>> Amanda Barker: And her Frankie Drakes, I guess. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: We went to go see the Downton Abbey M movie and we dressed up as characters.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. We were those people in like a
>> Marco Timpano: suburb, in a real suburb.
>> Amanda Barker: Like in a place where there's no chance that anyone else is dressing up for that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Our dear friends.
>> Amanda Barker: There were some old people with cane, so that was like, as adjacent as it got, but.
>> Marco Timpano: So our dear friends Matt and Mel are our Downton Abbey watching buddies.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we. Yeah, we watched. We binged it with them, remember?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And they're lovely, wonderful, fantastic friends.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's nice.
>> Marco Timpano: And so they, Amanda's folks, dressed up from, Downton Abbey something or other.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. In Florida. They dressed up. Specifically. My dad dressed up as Bates with the hat and the cane. And my mom dressed up as, Mrs. Crawley. Lady Crawley. She loves Lady Crawley.
>> Marco Timpano: I think that was the inspiration for our friends to say, let's dress up for Downton Abbey.
Amanda is much more reserved when it comes to dressing up
Now, here's an interesting fact.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember showing them the picture and they're like, this is amazing. No, there was like a huge watching party where my parents lived for the final episode. And they went to, like, an auditorium where everybody dressed up.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda. So our friends knew this. And then this film that recently came out, they're like, let's dress up. And one thing listeners, you should know is that Amanda's much more likely to be the one who wants to dress up. And make a bit of a spectacle. Whereas I'm much more. And it's weird because I know I'm an actor, I'm much more reserved when it comes to stuff like that. I don't like to be the center of attention if I'm not on stage.
>> Amanda Barker: It depends. Last night I had an opportunity to dress up and I did not do it. It really depends. Sometimes I really do want to fade into the background.
>> Marco Timpano: So.
>> Amanda Barker: However, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: But if I'm on stage, I enjoy being the center of attention and making sure that I make a spectacle, but in real life I'm less likely to do it.
>> Amanda Barker: I think actually a lot of actors are like that. I just want to say, like, when it's your job to do that, which, like I was a mascot. So it was definitely my job to be the center of attention just in that world. But there's a comfort to not doing that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Because you've.
>> Amanda Barker: You've got that sort of need, that itch scratched, if you will. So in your job. So you don't have to do that in the rest of your life. Sometimes I think. Sorry. Sometimes I think people who are so dramatic and wanting to be the center of attention, it's like you just pick the wrong profession. You need a place to channel that so that your personal life doesn't have to look and feel like that. But anyway, sure.
Amanda and I dressed up for anniversary and went to a Titanic dinner
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, Amanda really got dressed up and she was. You were fretting about something. You didn't have the right bloomers or something. I don't remember.
>> Amanda Barker: I was for sure not wearing bloomers.
>> Marco Timpano: Whatever it was, you were like fretting.
>> Amanda Barker: I think you're conflating to dress up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you were.
>> Amanda Barker: I think you're thinking about the Titanic.
>> Marco Timpano: No. Oh, yeah, you were, you were. But you were fretting in particular, for
>> Amanda Barker: which, by the way, we, I think we talked about it, but that's what we did for anniversary. We dressed up. Same period, more or less. And dressed up and had a Titanic dinner. And that was fun.
>> Marco Timpano: And folks, I was assured everybody would be dressed up. And Amanda really made a large commotion about getting dressed up.
>> Amanda Barker: the ticket said you must be dressed up.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I show up with my cane, my, my top hat, my monocle, all these things.
>> Amanda Barker: I had a gigantic hat that I
>> Marco Timpano: didn't necessarily want to wear.
>> Amanda Barker: And our friends were all in their slacks and T shirts, button down shirts.
>> Marco Timpano: And then we're stuck at the table with my cane that has rum in it and all this stuff given to
>> Amanda Barker: you by Matt and Mel.
>> Marco Timpano: Given to me by Matt and Mel. And I've used that cane. So then I also use that cane and my hat. It's not. It's a bowler hat. for the. No idea. I forgot the bowler hat at home. But I had. I had a.
>> Amanda Barker: By the way, I found a top hat at work, so I brought it home.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, great.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I feel like there's been a few auditions where you've needed one.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, you know, now that I'm older, I'm always playing Scrooge in auditions. So he's like, oh, we need a Scrooge. Let's get this old guy. So, a top hat is really great for that. So anyways, we went to the suburb of all suburbs is where we went.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, truly Ajax. I think it was Whitby.
>> Marco Timpano: Whitby, Same thing.
>> Amanda Barker: And sorry, sorry for people from there. It is not the same.
>> Marco Timpano: People from there are not going to
>> Amanda Barker: be happy and people from Ajax are not going to be happy.
>> Marco Timpano: People from Whitby or Ajax in the UK will not be happy either because
>> Amanda Barker: it's not the same. Is there an ajax in the UK?
>> Marco Timpano: 100%. There's gotta be.
>> Amanda Barker: Really. I mean, there's definitely a Whitby.
>> Marco Timpano: People who use Ajax instead of Comet will not be happy.
>> Amanda Barker: That's in the States. I mean, everywhere that exists in Canada. Like, they were not creative with their names. Like, there's 19 Halifaxes. Boston's like, sure, Boltons, you name it.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah. So, okay, so anyways, we went to that dressed up and it was fun. But me walking around in a movie theater getting popcorn with a cane and vest was a little bit odd because people were going to see action films and like, what's going on here? I know four random people dressed in the movie.
>> Amanda Barker: I had a leopard print hat, if you remember, on that day. Anyway, yeah, but I think the key is find pieces that give you the thing. But then also when you actually watch the movie, like, make sure you're still comfortable because really it was just for our friends that we dressed up. We took some photos. It was fun.
>> Marco Timpano: It was fun.
>> Amanda Barker: And then we took it all off and sat down and enjoyed our movie.
So back to the trailer before we end this episode. But one of the other things I wanted to say
>> Marco Timpano: So back to the trailer before we end this episode. So I wanted to mention there's also a long sort of bench with. With padding.
>> Amanda Barker: yeah, I tried to say that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sorry. No, we didn't. But we.
>> Amanda Barker: I said it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. and that's where you can sit, nap, or lie. And that's where Amanda likes to lie.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, and I try not to think about the fact of how many actors heads have hit this pillow that's sitting here in this trailer. But one of the other things I wanted to say, since we are back to that, I didn't think we were going back.
>> Marco Timpano: Always coming back to that.
>> Amanda Barker: Circling back, as they say, is that it's the same in theater, in fact. And when I toured for three years, the first thing I would do when I came into a theater, when, you know, they would drop us off at the hotel because we were pampered actors while the tech crew had to go and deck the whole thing. We would have our lunch or breakfast or whatever. But once we got into the theater later in the afternoon, the very first thing that you do is, where is our green room?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Where is our space? Our. And again, it's that safe space idea. It doesn't have to be big, doesn't have to be nice. Just show me where you want me to be so that when you come and get me, here I am.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: and it's funny because I liken this too. And this is probably going to be a weird analogy, but I mean it in the most loving way. Remember when our good friends Dale and Trevor, they had a greyhound that they rescued. Do you remember?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course I do. All their animals love me.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true. They don't care about me. But they. Marco has a way with all of their different pets over the years. Anyway, this was including a hedgehog that
>> Marco Timpano: they had liked me too.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: The hedgehog was before my time.
>> Marco Timpano: You never met the hedgehog?
>> Amanda Barker: No. Oh, no. The rabbit.
>> Marco Timpano: The rabbit loves.
>> Amanda Barker: That was a big part of our lives. But, the hedgehog, I didn't know. Anyhow, and now you can't have hedgehogs in Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: They had the last hedgehog.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's a great movie title.
>> Amanda Barker: Last tango and hedgehog. Anyhow, sorry for my little throat clearing there. so I forgot what I was gonna say.
>> Marco Timpano: They had a greyhound.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, they had a greyhound.
>> Marco Timpano: And not the drink, which is vodka and grapefruit. juice.
>> Amanda Barker: Grapefruit juice. Delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: this greyhound was named. They didn't name her. Greyhounds are already named. But there's a greyhound sanctuary, that rescues greyhounds and you can adopt them. So they had a beautiful greyhound named Rose. They always laughed that her career was not very long. She came in fourth for one race in Tampa and that was it. Anyhow, but she lived a wonderful life with them. And one of the things they realized in learning about her is that she would get very anxious if they left the house. But what they did, and this is true for a lot of dogs, they
>> Marco Timpano: got her a trailer.
>> Amanda Barker: They got her a trailer called a crate. And that was her safe space. And so she knew that that was her place. No one else would come in. If they needed her, she'd be there. And there was such comfort for that dog to have that safe space. Right. And I often thought actors are like dogs in the best way because we just need that little tiny safe space to feel comforted. So I hope if you're still awake and listening, that you have your comforting little corner of, wherever that you are. That little corner, that's your safe space. That's all yours. Where people know where to find you.
>> Marco Timpano: Your own trailer.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, your own trailer, your own crate, your own green room, whatever you want
>> Marco Timpano: to call it, decorated, how you wish. Make it your own personalized little trailer in your home.
>> Amanda Barker: And take a nap.
>> Marco Timpano: And take a nap there.
>> Amanda Barker: Because that's like, this is why I find a nap in a trailer the most comforting thing. I'm doing what I love. I'm getting paid, so there's always that. But I'm doing what I love. If they need me, they know where to find me. I want for nothing. I need for nothing. I'm happiest on a set, frankly.
The Insomnia Project thanks its listeners for listening for 10 seasons
And there's that gentle rocking of the trailer as people kind of come in and out going about their day, going to set, coming back from set, and maybe I'm not needed for a few hours. And that is the most comforting thing.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. And we're doing what we love here on the Insomnia Project. Thank you for listening for 10 seasons. If you've listened from the beginning or wherever you joined us once again. If you want an ad free episode, go to the insomniaproject supercast CA and you can subscribe there or patreon.com the Insomnia Project. I want to thank all the listeners who have reached out this season over the years with messages on Instagram or Facebook or wherever, especially those who have given us great feedback. Those, who have, who've given us feedback where we need to pay more attention to certain things. We appreciate it all. So thank you for reaching out. We love our listeners. We think we have great, the best listeners actually. And please let your friends and family know about our podcast because that seems to be the best way to get the word out. And we get a lot of listeners that way.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely. Yeah. If it works for you, it might work for a friend. And, and, you know, we're all just trying to find ways to get to a, comfortable, easy sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: And we're thinking we're thankful that you chose our podcast, of all the podcasts, to find your way to sleep until next season. We hope that you're able to listen and sleep.
A Calm Conversation to Help You Sleep _ Flip Flops & Spa Reflections
(Original airdate: October 22, 2025)
Insomnia Project ranked sixth on list of top insomnia podcasts for 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you find your way to sleep. I say that every episode, or almost every episode, and I hope it does help you find Your way to sleep. Or at the very least, at the very least, it just kind of calms and chills you out. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. Hi.
>> Marco Timpano: Hey, Amanda. So we, got in the top 10 of the top 70 insomnia podcasts for this year of 2025.
>> Amanda Barker: That's incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: We are sixth.
>> Amanda Barker: That's amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And thank you, everybody. That also includes international sleep podcasts, too. So if you take that, if you those away, we are even higher up on the list. But not to discount anyone's podcast, of course, we celebrate all, podcasts, including sleep podcasts. And I want to thank our listeners who reached out and congratulated us and have been supporting us and telling their friends about us as a sleep podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, are we the number one in Canada?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, are we the number one sleep podcast in Canada? On this list? On this list.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what?
>> Marco Timpano: I'll look as we do the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: That's incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's pretty great, right? I'm really. I'm really excited. And it's one of those things which I just found out.
>> Amanda Barker: I need to post about it. You know, I am trying to reignite a healthy relationship with social media.
>> Marco Timpano: Good.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not there yet, but I'm. But the effort is there, and I'm going to keep trying to move in that direction because I want to be connected to people, and I find it very tricky. And for me, the easiest, best feeling thing is to not do anything. But then there are times when I want to post, and it's a tricky thing for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, sometimes you just have to do what's right for you in the moment and not worry or let social media sort of, be a albatross around your neck.
>> Amanda Barker: I am a Virgo.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, you are.
>> Amanda Barker: Established this. And so I am, by definition, a frustrated perfectionist. So there's probably new definitions. That's an old one. But you know, somebody who wants to do it perfectly, and if they can't, then they don't do it at all.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what I tell a lot of my students?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I teach.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I don't. So tell me.
>> Marco Timpano: This is one of the first things I tell my students, and I share this with all of you, and my students are students, at a college here in Toronto. I teach a podcasting course, if you can believe it.
>> Amanda Barker: But I think it's. To be honest, and we didn't mean. I'm, not. I know you weren't intending to plug this, but can I name the college.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, of course you can. I'm very proud of it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's George Brown College. And I actually think that's open to anybody in Canada because it is an online class.
>> Marco Timpano: It's open up to anyone in the world, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: So anybody that wants to learn podcasting, that's the class to take. I mean, you've had. Unbelievable. Mark, let me. Let me tell you this. And he did not ask me to say any of this. And as always, we planned none of this. But he is a phenomen phenomenal, caring teacher that goes the extra mile. He really, truly is. And he's really gifted in just wanting to help people and help them be the best they can be. I hear you when you teach in this studio, and I hear how much work you're doing for them and how you're helping them every step of the way. So if podcasting is something. But you are like me, a frustrated perfectionist, and you're like, I want to do it, but I don't know. And I don't know if it'd be good, that is absolutely the class to take. I think the next one is in January.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So anyways, podcasting at George Brown College here in downtown Toronto. But again, it's online and open to anyone in the world, so there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: From what I can tell, it's the only Canadian podcast in the top 10. But I haven't done a deep dive, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we're going to go with that until someone tells us otherwise.
>> Marco Timpano: But we have listeners from all over the world who I really appreciate. This is our penultimate episode for this season, so it's the second last.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, that said, we've had a few unexpected little divots, pivots, and breaks.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, we have.
>> Amanda Barker: Every now and then, there's been a week where we haven't been able to deliver. So I think what I'd like to do is make a commitment here that we can do more. If we do have a season end, and, we do have a bit of a more scheduled break, let's really dive deep into our Patreon in that time. I think that's what we can offer.
In December, we do one episode to celebrate winter and the holidays
>> Marco Timpano: Right, so what's coming ahead, folks, is this is the second last episode for this season. Next week will be our last episode. Then we will have a month break of November. And if you're a new listener, what happens is in December, we do one episode for every day in December to celebrate the winter and the holidays for that month.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: So you'll get Every day you'll get an episode. November you won't, but December you will. And there'll be some past episodes, there'll be some new episodes. They'll have a holiday theme, so they might be a bit brighter and more exciting, let's say.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know if exciting is the right word because I do find actually, though, for me, me, I actually personally find those episodes more relaxing.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I do find something that has a bit of jolliness, a bit of mirth, a bit of joy, a relaxing thing, because it makes me feel that all is well in the world and I need that for my sleep. So, some people might even be like me and find them more relaxing, those holiday episodes. But yeah, we deliver one every single day of the month in December. Yeah, that's our gift to ourselves and to you. And like you said, some are fan favorite episodes that come back and then some are new, and it's a really fun little mixture of everything.
>> Marco Timpano: For our listeners who enjoy those episodes, please let me know what you would like me to record in December as a theme for the holidays so that I can. The new episodes that I do, I can incorporate your suggestion or if there's
>> Amanda Barker: any you want to hear again, or re air if they're not accessible to you because there's a couple. Like, Christmas at the Farm is one of my ultimate favorite episodes you've ever recorded.
>> Marco Timpano: Natasha Boomer.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that one's a great one.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a challenge of an episode because she likes to swear in it and she. She's very,
>> Amanda Barker: That woman, man, she's. She's a force.
>> Marco Timpano: So, yeah, if you have a theme or a topic that you want me, want us to cover for that seasonal 31 days of podcast, let us know.
I always say that podcasting is the perfect imperfect medium
I will get back to what I was saying with regards to what I tell all my students, please. So at the start of my class, I always say that podcasting is the perfect imperfect medium. In other words, one of the things that people, myself included, or especially myself, enjoy about podcasts is that they're not perfect like a radio show, and that not every podcaster is a celebrity who has a full studio with audio engineers. Most podcasts are done independently. And so you hear the little blips and blops and snips and snobs in the episodes, and I kind of love that because not the snobs. The snobs are the hardest things to edit out. And there's a joy in hearing real people talk about real things.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a Good point. So I should approach my social media not as a thing that I have to be perfect at, but as a thing I can be rough and real for.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Just enjoy, the sips and sops.
My flip flops that are Canadian made blew out in Palm Springs
>> Amanda Barker: All right.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Sips and sops. I have something I want to talk about. I just read.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this is great.
>> Amanda Barker: I look down at my feet, and it made me think of something, and it made me think of something else. And so here we are. So I'm wearing my new. My newest addition to my shoe collection, which is a pair of Birkenstocks. now I'm gonna go ahead and tell you the real reason I have them.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We were in Palm Springs.
>> Marco Timpano: Ooh, fancy.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. We were being fancy, and we were in Palm Springs last month, and I had a pair of shoes. I don't want to. I want to bring the mirth, but I have to say they were shoes that are Canadian made. And they're. They're flip flops with arches. They're called Archies. And one of their big claims was they'll. You'll never have a flip flop blowout. They're made and they're well made shoes. I thought so. I was like, yeah, well, they blew out, folks.
>> Marco Timpano: So they were flip flops that blew out, even though the company says they're flip flops that will never blow out.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And they were not helpful at all when I went on there, when I tried to tell them or I, didn't want money back. I just. They're like, we can give you like, 10% on a new purchase, which is not as good as the sale they had on. So I didn't go that route. But I hate that.
>> Marco Timpano: I hate when. When they have a claim and they don't stick by it. But that's. That's me.
>> Amanda Barker: I was sad about it. Okay, sure. but I don't want to bring any anger.
>> Marco Timpano: But the joy came.
>> Amanda Barker: The joy came in that the funny thing, the serendipitous thing that happened is that they blew out. And do you know what I mean when I say blew out?
>> Marco Timpano: I would imagine if they're flip flops, the thong piece that goes between your toes broke apart.
>> Amanda Barker: That's exactly what happened. There's different ways that can happen. In my case with those Archies, it just snapped. And I think it was because it was hot and they just weren't used to it. So it's too bad when you lose your love of a product or company, especially. I was trying to support Canadian, but. Oh, well. Anyway, they blew out in front of a Birkenstock store.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: So I had to go into the Birkenstock store and I found a pair that were on sale and they were similar to those flip flops that went into the garbage. which I wasn't happy about because they're not cheap at all, those flip flops. Nor are Birkenstocks, but these happen to be on sale. And they're. Are they plastic or what?
>> Marco Timpano: They're molded plastic, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: But they don't even. They're Birkenstock plastic. So they feel richer and more supportive somehow, I guess now that I need to plug a company.
>> Marco Timpano: But they're doing just fine.
>> Amanda Barker: I, I think they are.
>> Marco Timpano: But I'll say this, they're very comfortable, these shoes. As someone who is flat footed.
>> Marco Timpano: So insomnia is one of the things I, I suffer from and flat footedness.
>> Amanda Barker: So folks, get ready for the Flat Footed podcast coming soon. Can you imagine?
>> Marco Timpano: Imagine I just do a podcast where
>> Amanda Barker: I talk about flat feet. Like so specific.
>> Marco Timpano: You probably could if you have someone who's flat footed in your life.
>> Amanda Barker: My grandfather is flat footed.
>> Marco Timpano: Or you're flat footed yourself.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah, I am not flat footed. I am, I have all kinds of arch.
Amanda Blade says flat footed people should always wear Birkenstocks
>> Marco Timpano: Let's assume you've meet someone who's flat footed.
>> Amanda Barker: I have. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So what you need to let them know is that they should never ever have their barefoot on the ground. They should always put it. Yeah, they should always put it into a Birkenstock.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you kidding?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, flat footed.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know this. I thought having your feet on the ground was like a healthy thing we should all be doing.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're doing it to like connect with the earth, that's one thing. But if you're walking in your home.
>> Marco Timpano: As people do in their socks or barefoot. If you're flat footed. My. My chiropodist says you should.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just gonna say we do not disperse medical advice. No, we don't on this program. So just. You should never, never say never. But what you have been told by
>> Marco Timpano: your chiropodist and what I have discovered for myself. Putting my foot in a Birkenstock slipper or sandal. Sandal has made quite a difference and I wish, I wish I knew this years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh wow.
>> Marco Timpano: I will say this though, and once again, we do not dispense medical advice nor are we receiving any sort of funds from Birkenstock or any other shoe company.
>> Amanda Barker: But our cheese can suck it.
>> Marco Timpano: There you Go. I'll say this. Birkenstocks, if you're going to wear them for the first time. So if you've never worn a Birkenstock before and your salesperson doesn't tell you this, you heard it from Marco. It's the type of sandal you need to ease into. So the first day you wear it, you wear it for an hour and then you remove it. The next day you wear it for two hours. You slowly, gradually wear your Birkenstock. What you do not want to do is having never worn a Birkenstock and wear them for the day because they're built in a way that will actually make you feel quite a bit of, soreness if you've never worn them and you don't break them in.
>> Amanda Barker: I think even as a high arched person.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you're high arched?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you know, I grew up dancing. So arches were like. You wanted the, you wanted the most developed arch you could find.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So anything you could do to do it, you're constantly pointing your toe. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't have the world's best arches. I would have wanted a more pronounced arched arch if, if I could choose what my feet look like. But, anyway, but, but certainly more than you and probably more than the average person. anyhow, I would say the same actually for any super Archie. arched shoes like Birkenstocks. again, not Archies, because they have broken my heart. But, yeah, I think you can't just. I don't think you can just wear them like I can't think. I don't think you go from zero to full Burk. Full Birkenstock.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, I think you do have to kind of let your feet get to know and your body get to know. This is what we're doing now. So I think that's fair for anyone.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you don't have a plastic Birkenstock and you have the cork based
>> Amanda Barker: one which I had years ago. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: There is a product that you can use a sealer to seal the cork because after a while of wearing it, the sealant around the cork will start to wear away.
>> Marco Timpano: And you want to protect that sealant. So there's also that available.
>> Amanda Barker: I actually have. I forgot. I forget. At their Birkenstocks, I have Birkenstock leather boots.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, and how do those work for you?
>> Amanda Barker: They're great for standing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: but that said, they're not my favorite to walk in.
>> Marco Timpano: those boots were Made for standing.
>> Amanda Barker: They were so for work. They're great. They're also, you know, if you can imagine, a Birkenshock shoe tends to have a big profile. And so in boot form, they're a little bit, like, chunkified. I little bit feel like I'm in, like, Blade Runner or something. Like, they're big. but the wonderful man at the wonderful Toronto Birkenstock store, when I bought them, however many years ago, that was like, five, seven years ago maybe. because I do have one leg longer than the other. He built up my only shoes that are actually built up for my legs. He built up one side of them.
>> Marco Timpano: That's why Amanda. It's so fun to slow dance with Amanda because she has one foot.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's getting worse as I get older, as all of us are.
>> Marco Timpano: We just go around in circles.
Virgo talking about two very different spa experiences
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, all right. Sorry I interrupted your bit there. but being the Virgo that I am, the reason I was staring and pondering my own Birkenstocks that are on my feet right now is because I'm debating, do I wear those or do I wear my cheap flip flops to a spa that I'm going to in two days? Oh, I am going to a spa. And not only that, I was at a spa yesterday, so there's a lot of spa.
>> Marco Timpano: What did you wear to the spa you were at yesterday?
>> Amanda Barker: I wore their flip flops that they give you, although they don't really give them to you. It's just like a rack of all different, weird, random styles of flip flops.
>> Marco Timpano: And, choose your own adventure.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, so I'll talk about. They're two very different spa experiences. yeah, I guess I'll dive into that.
Nidhi is the creator of the Insomnia Project podcast
So I went to the Russian baths
>> Marco Timpano: yesterday, and for longtime listeners, you'll know that Nidhi had mentioned this bath many years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, if you haven't listened to that episode and you're still awake. The Niddy Russian Bath episode.
>> Marco Timpano: And some of our listeners went to
>> Amanda Barker: that bath after listening to the episode.
>> Marco Timpano: After listening. And they weren't expecting what they initially got when they arrived. So.
>> Amanda Barker: So I guess I should walk us through what happened. so Nidhi, the original creator. Co. Creator of the Insomnia Project. and our dear, dear friend of both of ours and of the show, of course.
>> Marco Timpano: She's so awesome.
>> Amanda Barker: And you'll have her on soon. I think. I will have her on for our Christmas episodes.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll have her for Christmas episodes. I always find it a great treat when she comes into the studio. Because I don't have to tell her. She has an ease.
>> Marco Timpano: With the mic and with me. That is so delightful.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, she's been an ease for us our whole life. I mean I, Nidhi came into her life. we'll just do a little dive on Nidhi here. she came into her life because I was teaching yoga a long time ago and I would teach the only classes I could. I would teach whatever class any studio would give me. And the only classes they would give me at this one particularly popular studio where everybody wanted to both take and teach. The only ones I could get were the 6:30am classes. So I would get up and I'd have to be at that studio for like 5:45 and have it all ready to go. And you know there are people that, that's part of their routine every day is going to yoga or a few times a week or whatever. And so she was doing a one month unlimited pass trying out all these different classes. And so she and I just began talking after she, after the class and we realized we had a lot in common. And it actually came from a place of me wanting to help her out. She was sort of telling me, oh, this is what's going on with my job and da da da. And so I was like, oh, you should connect with my friend or my, someone I've done some work with. I think you guys, there might be a connection there for you if you're looking, you know, just those types of connections. So I gave her my name and number, I gave her names and number of two or three different people for her to connect with for various opportunities or whatever. And I think what happened was we kept in touch. I think we were on each other's social media back then, Facebook. And we kept in contact and I might have invited her to a few things. I don't remember exactly but the next sort of stage or level of our friendship was. And I'm m not sure how you two connected, but she became the stage manager for me for a show I was doing that ended up being a really interesting show. Should I tell more about that?
>> Marco Timpano: You don't have all the time in the world so you'd have to briefly dip in that and dip out.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well if any listener wants to hear more about it and they're still awake, you can let us know. But I'll just tell you this. It was a show about Randy Quaid and his wife, Evie Quaid. So Randy Quaid the actor. And it was about at that time, they were seeking, refugee status in Canada from the United States.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe just say the title and people can look at it. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: It was called Release the Stars, the Ballad of Randy and Evie Quaid. Anyhow, and she was the stage manager for that show. And one of the remarkable things about that show is that Randy and Evie Quaid, on our final closing night, showed up, and it was a small fringe show, an audience of 50 people, max, each night. So it was quite an extraordinary memory and experience for all of us. So she was on that journey with me, and so we kept in touch, and then I went on tour. And you guys continued to hang out.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: And you met for coffee, and then you came up with the podcast idea, and we sit here today.
Musk went to the Russian Baths for his birthday last month
So there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: There you have it. so you went to the Russian bath.
>> Amanda Barker: So I went to the Russian Baths with her. So for my birthday, which was last month, she gave me a card and said, for your birthday present, we will book a time. It's a surprise, so let's book a time. It's an experience I want to give you. So I went, okay, so that date that we settled on was yesterday.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: That we booked, you know, six weeks ago or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: And.
>> Amanda Barker: And so she just. She texted me, I'm going to pick you up at 11:30. I was like, okay, great. And she said, bring a bathing suit. And so I was like, do I need flip flops? And she's like, not unless you get, you know, skeeved out by wearing communal flip flops. And I was like, girl, we met in a hot, sweaty yoga studio. So I'm good. So anyway, And off we went to the Russian Path. And I didn't know that that's where we're going, but I knew it was a place that involved me wearing a bathing suit, so that narrowed down at least my options on some level. And then we went out west, the west end of the city, into Mississauga. So. Okay, that now narrows down things. And then I was like, okay, wait, I think I know what's happening. But I wasn't prepared for the experience. But it was a really cool and unique experience.
>> Marco Timpano: the interesting thing is it's in a strip mall. Right? So you pull up to a strip mall.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, like, almost barely a strip mall, but, yeah, it's a strip mall, but it's not even. Like, when you pull into the strip mall, it's not like, okay, there's a, you know, a pharmacy and a, shawarma place and a Russian bath. It's like, there's a restaurant and a bunch of things, and then there's no signage for it, so you really have to know it's there. And then you pull into the side door of the strip mall. So not a door. You don't walk through a front door.
>> Marco Timpano: Like a speakeasy spot.
>> Amanda Barker: Honestly, it is. There's no. There's a tiny little sign on the side door, but you would have to. The only way to find it is to know it's already there.
>> Marco Timpano: If you know, you know.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. And so anyway, we did. We went in. the woman immediately was like, have you been here before? And she was like, it's her first time. Ah, but it's not mine. And so she went, great. And then we went into the change room. Niddy's locker didn't work, so we just. She could have got another locker, but she just went, you know what? She went back out. I think they were dealing with something else. And she's like, let's just share a locker. So we did. And, in we went. So it's very, You know, everyone has different experiences of what they imagine a spa to be. and I was reminded a lot in that experience that Russia is very close to Finland. So I have been into some Finnish spas because of my time in Thunder Bay, which has a strong Finnish population and has, like, three different pancake. Finnish pancake houses, one of which has spas. Like, spas are big. Like saunas, I should say. Saunas are a big part of Finnish culture.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting because in modern Russia, Yeah. A sauna is often called a finished. A Finnish banya.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So they refer to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So, and the decor there is very unique. I don't know. I mean, that's part of the real fun and charm, I think, of it, really. So we went and changed and put on our bathing suits. And so then you go from there. There is what, Nidhi described aptly as, like, if somebody from Soviet Russia. So that specific time in history. So I'm going to say, like late 70s, early 80s Soviet era, had a cottage in Muskoka. It's like Soviet propaganda posters, but also like, you know, Muskoka chairs and like. Anyway, there's like a lounge.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And so the lounge has, like, dimly lit someone's old den, from the 70s with Russian stuff everywhere. We didn't spend much time in there, but it was an interesting thing to look at. And then you open the door and you're into all the heated, different things. So there's a wet sauna, and that's the biggest sauna. Then a smaller dry sauna, a Turkish hammam, steam room. Yeah. some muskoka chairs in there for just rest in between. And a bench as well. And, a cold plunge, wooden tank. And then, like, shower where you pull the. You pull the pulley thing and then you get a good dunk of cold water.
The Russian guy does a treatment where he slaps you with branches
So that's. And you do whatever circuit you want with those four or five elements.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's not huge. It's like the size of, like, honestly, like a big living room or something. So it's. If you're somebody from this area or not, and you've been to, say, therma. Or if you're from, like, Los Angeles, you've been to Glen Ivy, which I haven't been to, but I've seen my friends go there a lot, so I've seen pics, you know, that kind of like, outdoor sprawling spa. This is not that place. It's, small, and hidden in the bowels of this. Behind the stores of the strip mall. But what's truly remarkable is that you can do the circuit. You can do it however you want. There is this guy, there who sort of really tries to engage you. The Russian guy. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: he's an employee.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, these women were joking. What if he's not an employee? What if he's just, like, a super fan? But no, I think it's his. I don't know if it's his spa. I asked him if it was his spa. He said yes, but I don't know. But, you know, he's volunteering his services to do the treatment where he, like, slaps you with branches.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Those branches are either white birch or oak, or they can be eucalyptus. They're called banevenek.
>> Amanda Barker: They were not eucalyptus, because I know a eucalyptus sleeve and that was not them.
>> Marco Timpano: Banya bissau is also how they're often called.
>> Amanda Barker: So, I guess oak. I don't know. The leaves were interesting looking and I,
>> Marco Timpano: you know birch, what birch leaves look like, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It wasn't birch, Uncle Sammy.
>> Marco Timpano: It was oak.
>> Amanda Barker: It was oak, I guess. Yeah. They had a distinct interesting look to them. Sure. and he does that in the wet sauna, and you're all kind of sitting there, and he just comes in with his person that he's going to do it to, and he tells everybody to move and lets the guy lay down while we all Kind of huddle in one corner.
>> Marco Timpano: And you just watch the guy.
>> Amanda Barker: And you just watch the guy. Everyone's just watching the gu. Have getting slapped. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: With the branches. Okay. I don't think. I don't think they call it getting slapped.
>> Amanda Barker: What do they call it? A treatment?
>> Marco Timpano: Getting branched.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think they call it getting branched.
>> Marco Timpano: They totally call it getting branched. I got branched at the sauna.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm gonna get branched.
We try to make the podcast 26 minutes, because 26 minutes is ideal
If I go over our time. What's our time right now?
>> Marco Timpano: We've gone over.
>> Amanda Barker: Have we?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we're 27 minutes.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I'm sorry. It's all right. Well, I'll. I'll continue on just for a bit more.
>> Marco Timpano: We try to make the podcast 26 minutes, because 26 minutes is the ideal number. a time for a short nap. And we do 26 episodes. Today's the 25th episode, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I will tell you this. The thing I loved the most was the restaurant that, as you go in through the sauna, on the other end, there's another door, and there's this entire restaurant in there. And the decor of it is like that. What is that style called? Looks like a Polish hunting lodge. Like the. I know it's Russian, so Russian finish, but, like, the wood with the white kind of stuccoy.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's. No, it is, though. Scandi meets.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Ottoman Empire.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Anyway, And there's tons of, like, Russian vases and tchotchkes and, like. Do you say chachka or Chachki?
>> Marco Timpano: I think you asked me this last episode.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really? Yeah, it's really burning on my brain. In any event, I say Chachi from Happy Days. Amazing. everybody loves. Isn't.
>> Marco Timpano: No, Everybody loves Raymond. Joni loves Chachi.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Joanie loves Chachi, but she doesn't love Raymond. Curious.
>> Marco Timpano: No, she doesn't.
>> Amanda Barker: We had pierogies. We had the most delectable fried dough sort of pancakes that were different than finished pancakes, surprisingly, but definitely delicious. Like, they were very puffy. And we had cabbage rolls that were amazing. And. And two incredibly delicious vodka cocktails, which, after all that sweat, hit you pretty hard.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: and then we went shopping for couches. So there you go. That was my day.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that sounds like a great Saturday afternoon.
>> Amanda Barker: It was. It was an amazing day with Nidhi, and she's great. And then we came back here, watched some Dateline, and ate Korean food, and it was just the best time.
>> Marco Timpano: And Amanda. So are you going to the Question Bears? Will you Bring your burks to your next spa.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not sure. And this is what I'm really hung up on because I'm worried that they're too generic because they're just black and that someone else is going to walk off with them because that's happened to you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: So do I. A, wear them and just hope for the best. B, wear my flip flops that say relax on them. No one else is going to have those, but they're not as comfortable as these, admittedly. Or C, plan to wear these but borrow, those little button things that are from, Crocs that my niece would have. And I could, like, fasten one on here so that, like, they stand out. Yeah. So there's like a little ladybug or something on them.
>> Marco Timpano: If you could vote on which A, B or C, Amanda should do.
>> Amanda Barker: I hope you're not awake. I hope nobody votes, but if you
>> Marco Timpano: want to go for it until then,
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I hope you vote if you're awake, but not if you're. I hope you're sleeping.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic.
Million Podcast put us in top 10 of their top 70 podcast of 2025
Well, until next time, I want to thank Million Podcast. That's who put us in the top 10 of their top 70 podcast of 2025. Thank you, million Podcasts. I want to thank our listeners, especially those ones who reached out, you know who you are, to say, you know, they were proud of us and they thought we should be higher. And I want to thank Nidhi, of course, and all our listeners. We hope you were able to listen and sleep. And Amanda, good luck with your shoe or your flip flop decision. We'll have that answer for you next week on our last episode for this season, season 10, the month of November, you'll have to listen to some back issues. And if you do listen to some of our back episodes, let us know what your favorites are and maybe we'll do a redo of that topic, in season 11. Until then, we hope you're able to listen, enjoy your flip flop or sandal and sleep.
(Original airdate: October 22, 2025)
Insomnia Project ranked sixth on list of top insomnia podcasts for 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you find your way to sleep. I say that every episode, or almost every episode, and I hope it does help you find Your way to sleep. Or at the very least, at the very least, it just kind of calms and chills you out. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. Hi.
>> Marco Timpano: Hey, Amanda. So we, got in the top 10 of the top 70 insomnia podcasts for this year of 2025.
>> Amanda Barker: That's incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: We are sixth.
>> Amanda Barker: That's amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And thank you, everybody. That also includes international sleep podcasts, too. So if you take that, if you those away, we are even higher up on the list. But not to discount anyone's podcast, of course, we celebrate all, podcasts, including sleep podcasts. And I want to thank our listeners who reached out and congratulated us and have been supporting us and telling their friends about us as a sleep podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, are we the number one in Canada?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, are we the number one sleep podcast in Canada? On this list? On this list.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what?
>> Marco Timpano: I'll look as we do the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: That's incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's pretty great, right? I'm really. I'm really excited. And it's one of those things which I just found out.
>> Amanda Barker: I need to post about it. You know, I am trying to reignite a healthy relationship with social media.
>> Marco Timpano: Good.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not there yet, but I'm. But the effort is there, and I'm going to keep trying to move in that direction because I want to be connected to people, and I find it very tricky. And for me, the easiest, best feeling thing is to not do anything. But then there are times when I want to post, and it's a tricky thing for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, sometimes you just have to do what's right for you in the moment and not worry or let social media sort of, be a albatross around your neck.
>> Amanda Barker: I am a Virgo.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, you are.
>> Amanda Barker: Established this. And so I am, by definition, a frustrated perfectionist. So there's probably new definitions. That's an old one. But you know, somebody who wants to do it perfectly, and if they can't, then they don't do it at all.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what I tell a lot of my students?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I teach.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I don't. So tell me.
>> Marco Timpano: This is one of the first things I tell my students, and I share this with all of you, and my students are students, at a college here in Toronto. I teach a podcasting course, if you can believe it.
>> Amanda Barker: But I think it's. To be honest, and we didn't mean. I'm, not. I know you weren't intending to plug this, but can I name the college.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, of course you can. I'm very proud of it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's George Brown College. And I actually think that's open to anybody in Canada because it is an online class.
>> Marco Timpano: It's open up to anyone in the world, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: So anybody that wants to learn podcasting, that's the class to take. I mean, you've had. Unbelievable. Mark, let me. Let me tell you this. And he did not ask me to say any of this. And as always, we planned none of this. But he is a phenomen phenomenal, caring teacher that goes the extra mile. He really, truly is. And he's really gifted in just wanting to help people and help them be the best they can be. I hear you when you teach in this studio, and I hear how much work you're doing for them and how you're helping them every step of the way. So if podcasting is something. But you are like me, a frustrated perfectionist, and you're like, I want to do it, but I don't know. And I don't know if it'd be good, that is absolutely the class to take. I think the next one is in January.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So anyways, podcasting at George Brown College here in downtown Toronto. But again, it's online and open to anyone in the world, so there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: From what I can tell, it's the only Canadian podcast in the top 10. But I haven't done a deep dive, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we're going to go with that until someone tells us otherwise.
>> Marco Timpano: But we have listeners from all over the world who I really appreciate. This is our penultimate episode for this season, so it's the second last.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, that said, we've had a few unexpected little divots, pivots, and breaks.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, we have.
>> Amanda Barker: Every now and then, there's been a week where we haven't been able to deliver. So I think what I'd like to do is make a commitment here that we can do more. If we do have a season end, and, we do have a bit of a more scheduled break, let's really dive deep into our Patreon in that time. I think that's what we can offer.
In December, we do one episode to celebrate winter and the holidays
>> Marco Timpano: Right, so what's coming ahead, folks, is this is the second last episode for this season. Next week will be our last episode. Then we will have a month break of November. And if you're a new listener, what happens is in December, we do one episode for every day in December to celebrate the winter and the holidays for that month.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: So you'll get Every day you'll get an episode. November you won't, but December you will. And there'll be some past episodes, there'll be some new episodes. They'll have a holiday theme, so they might be a bit brighter and more exciting, let's say.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know if exciting is the right word because I do find actually, though, for me, me, I actually personally find those episodes more relaxing.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I do find something that has a bit of jolliness, a bit of mirth, a bit of joy, a relaxing thing, because it makes me feel that all is well in the world and I need that for my sleep. So, some people might even be like me and find them more relaxing, those holiday episodes. But yeah, we deliver one every single day of the month in December. Yeah, that's our gift to ourselves and to you. And like you said, some are fan favorite episodes that come back and then some are new, and it's a really fun little mixture of everything.
>> Marco Timpano: For our listeners who enjoy those episodes, please let me know what you would like me to record in December as a theme for the holidays so that I can. The new episodes that I do, I can incorporate your suggestion or if there's
>> Amanda Barker: any you want to hear again, or re air if they're not accessible to you because there's a couple. Like, Christmas at the Farm is one of my ultimate favorite episodes you've ever recorded.
>> Marco Timpano: Natasha Boomer.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that one's a great one.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a challenge of an episode because she likes to swear in it and she. She's very,
>> Amanda Barker: That woman, man, she's. She's a force.
>> Marco Timpano: So, yeah, if you have a theme or a topic that you want me, want us to cover for that seasonal 31 days of podcast, let us know.
I always say that podcasting is the perfect imperfect medium
I will get back to what I was saying with regards to what I tell all my students, please. So at the start of my class, I always say that podcasting is the perfect imperfect medium. In other words, one of the things that people, myself included, or especially myself, enjoy about podcasts is that they're not perfect like a radio show, and that not every podcaster is a celebrity who has a full studio with audio engineers. Most podcasts are done independently. And so you hear the little blips and blops and snips and snobs in the episodes, and I kind of love that because not the snobs. The snobs are the hardest things to edit out. And there's a joy in hearing real people talk about real things.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a Good point. So I should approach my social media not as a thing that I have to be perfect at, but as a thing I can be rough and real for.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Just enjoy, the sips and sops.
My flip flops that are Canadian made blew out in Palm Springs
>> Amanda Barker: All right.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Sips and sops. I have something I want to talk about. I just read.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this is great.
>> Amanda Barker: I look down at my feet, and it made me think of something, and it made me think of something else. And so here we are. So I'm wearing my new. My newest addition to my shoe collection, which is a pair of Birkenstocks. now I'm gonna go ahead and tell you the real reason I have them.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We were in Palm Springs.
>> Marco Timpano: Ooh, fancy.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. We were being fancy, and we were in Palm Springs last month, and I had a pair of shoes. I don't want to. I want to bring the mirth, but I have to say they were shoes that are Canadian made. And they're. They're flip flops with arches. They're called Archies. And one of their big claims was they'll. You'll never have a flip flop blowout. They're made and they're well made shoes. I thought so. I was like, yeah, well, they blew out, folks.
>> Marco Timpano: So they were flip flops that blew out, even though the company says they're flip flops that will never blow out.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And they were not helpful at all when I went on there, when I tried to tell them or I, didn't want money back. I just. They're like, we can give you like, 10% on a new purchase, which is not as good as the sale they had on. So I didn't go that route. But I hate that.
>> Marco Timpano: I hate when. When they have a claim and they don't stick by it. But that's. That's me.
>> Amanda Barker: I was sad about it. Okay, sure. but I don't want to bring any anger.
>> Marco Timpano: But the joy came.
>> Amanda Barker: The joy came in that the funny thing, the serendipitous thing that happened is that they blew out. And do you know what I mean when I say blew out?
>> Marco Timpano: I would imagine if they're flip flops, the thong piece that goes between your toes broke apart.
>> Amanda Barker: That's exactly what happened. There's different ways that can happen. In my case with those Archies, it just snapped. And I think it was because it was hot and they just weren't used to it. So it's too bad when you lose your love of a product or company, especially. I was trying to support Canadian, but. Oh, well. Anyway, they blew out in front of a Birkenstock store.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: So I had to go into the Birkenstock store and I found a pair that were on sale and they were similar to those flip flops that went into the garbage. which I wasn't happy about because they're not cheap at all, those flip flops. Nor are Birkenstocks, but these happen to be on sale. And they're. Are they plastic or what?
>> Marco Timpano: They're molded plastic, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: But they don't even. They're Birkenstock plastic. So they feel richer and more supportive somehow, I guess now that I need to plug a company.
>> Marco Timpano: But they're doing just fine.
>> Amanda Barker: I, I think they are.
>> Marco Timpano: But I'll say this, they're very comfortable, these shoes. As someone who is flat footed.
>> Marco Timpano: So insomnia is one of the things I, I suffer from and flat footedness.
>> Amanda Barker: So folks, get ready for the Flat Footed podcast coming soon. Can you imagine?
>> Marco Timpano: Imagine I just do a podcast where
>> Amanda Barker: I talk about flat feet. Like so specific.
>> Marco Timpano: You probably could if you have someone who's flat footed in your life.
>> Amanda Barker: My grandfather is flat footed.
>> Marco Timpano: Or you're flat footed yourself.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah, I am not flat footed. I am, I have all kinds of arch.
Amanda Blade says flat footed people should always wear Birkenstocks
>> Marco Timpano: Let's assume you've meet someone who's flat footed.
>> Amanda Barker: I have. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So what you need to let them know is that they should never ever have their barefoot on the ground. They should always put it. Yeah, they should always put it into a Birkenstock.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you kidding?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, flat footed.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know this. I thought having your feet on the ground was like a healthy thing we should all be doing.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're doing it to like connect with the earth, that's one thing. But if you're walking in your home.
>> Marco Timpano: As people do in their socks or barefoot. If you're flat footed. My. My chiropodist says you should.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just gonna say we do not disperse medical advice. No, we don't on this program. So just. You should never, never say never. But what you have been told by
>> Marco Timpano: your chiropodist and what I have discovered for myself. Putting my foot in a Birkenstock slipper or sandal. Sandal has made quite a difference and I wish, I wish I knew this years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh wow.
>> Marco Timpano: I will say this though, and once again, we do not dispense medical advice nor are we receiving any sort of funds from Birkenstock or any other shoe company.
>> Amanda Barker: But our cheese can suck it.
>> Marco Timpano: There you Go. I'll say this. Birkenstocks, if you're going to wear them for the first time. So if you've never worn a Birkenstock before and your salesperson doesn't tell you this, you heard it from Marco. It's the type of sandal you need to ease into. So the first day you wear it, you wear it for an hour and then you remove it. The next day you wear it for two hours. You slowly, gradually wear your Birkenstock. What you do not want to do is having never worn a Birkenstock and wear them for the day because they're built in a way that will actually make you feel quite a bit of, soreness if you've never worn them and you don't break them in.
>> Amanda Barker: I think even as a high arched person.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you're high arched?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you know, I grew up dancing. So arches were like. You wanted the, you wanted the most developed arch you could find.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So anything you could do to do it, you're constantly pointing your toe. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't have the world's best arches. I would have wanted a more pronounced arched arch if, if I could choose what my feet look like. But, anyway, but, but certainly more than you and probably more than the average person. anyhow, I would say the same actually for any super Archie. arched shoes like Birkenstocks. again, not Archies, because they have broken my heart. But, yeah, I think you can't just. I don't think you can just wear them like I can't think. I don't think you go from zero to full Burk. Full Birkenstock.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, I think you do have to kind of let your feet get to know and your body get to know. This is what we're doing now. So I think that's fair for anyone.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you don't have a plastic Birkenstock and you have the cork based
>> Amanda Barker: one which I had years ago. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: There is a product that you can use a sealer to seal the cork because after a while of wearing it, the sealant around the cork will start to wear away.
>> Marco Timpano: And you want to protect that sealant. So there's also that available.
>> Amanda Barker: I actually have. I forgot. I forget. At their Birkenstocks, I have Birkenstock leather boots.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, and how do those work for you?
>> Amanda Barker: They're great for standing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: but that said, they're not my favorite to walk in.
>> Marco Timpano: those boots were Made for standing.
>> Amanda Barker: They were so for work. They're great. They're also, you know, if you can imagine, a Birkenshock shoe tends to have a big profile. And so in boot form, they're a little bit, like, chunkified. I little bit feel like I'm in, like, Blade Runner or something. Like, they're big. but the wonderful man at the wonderful Toronto Birkenstock store, when I bought them, however many years ago, that was like, five, seven years ago maybe. because I do have one leg longer than the other. He built up my only shoes that are actually built up for my legs. He built up one side of them.
>> Marco Timpano: That's why Amanda. It's so fun to slow dance with Amanda because she has one foot.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's getting worse as I get older, as all of us are.
>> Marco Timpano: We just go around in circles.
Virgo talking about two very different spa experiences
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, all right. Sorry I interrupted your bit there. but being the Virgo that I am, the reason I was staring and pondering my own Birkenstocks that are on my feet right now is because I'm debating, do I wear those or do I wear my cheap flip flops to a spa that I'm going to in two days? Oh, I am going to a spa. And not only that, I was at a spa yesterday, so there's a lot of spa.
>> Marco Timpano: What did you wear to the spa you were at yesterday?
>> Amanda Barker: I wore their flip flops that they give you, although they don't really give them to you. It's just like a rack of all different, weird, random styles of flip flops.
>> Marco Timpano: And, choose your own adventure.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, so I'll talk about. They're two very different spa experiences. yeah, I guess I'll dive into that.
Nidhi is the creator of the Insomnia Project podcast
So I went to the Russian baths
>> Marco Timpano: yesterday, and for longtime listeners, you'll know that Nidhi had mentioned this bath many years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, if you haven't listened to that episode and you're still awake. The Niddy Russian Bath episode.
>> Marco Timpano: And some of our listeners went to
>> Amanda Barker: that bath after listening to the episode.
>> Marco Timpano: After listening. And they weren't expecting what they initially got when they arrived. So.
>> Amanda Barker: So I guess I should walk us through what happened. so Nidhi, the original creator. Co. Creator of the Insomnia Project. and our dear, dear friend of both of ours and of the show, of course.
>> Marco Timpano: She's so awesome.
>> Amanda Barker: And you'll have her on soon. I think. I will have her on for our Christmas episodes.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll have her for Christmas episodes. I always find it a great treat when she comes into the studio. Because I don't have to tell her. She has an ease.
>> Marco Timpano: With the mic and with me. That is so delightful.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, she's been an ease for us our whole life. I mean I, Nidhi came into her life. we'll just do a little dive on Nidhi here. she came into her life because I was teaching yoga a long time ago and I would teach the only classes I could. I would teach whatever class any studio would give me. And the only classes they would give me at this one particularly popular studio where everybody wanted to both take and teach. The only ones I could get were the 6:30am classes. So I would get up and I'd have to be at that studio for like 5:45 and have it all ready to go. And you know there are people that, that's part of their routine every day is going to yoga or a few times a week or whatever. And so she was doing a one month unlimited pass trying out all these different classes. And so she and I just began talking after she, after the class and we realized we had a lot in common. And it actually came from a place of me wanting to help her out. She was sort of telling me, oh, this is what's going on with my job and da da da. And so I was like, oh, you should connect with my friend or my, someone I've done some work with. I think you guys, there might be a connection there for you if you're looking, you know, just those types of connections. So I gave her my name and number, I gave her names and number of two or three different people for her to connect with for various opportunities or whatever. And I think what happened was we kept in touch. I think we were on each other's social media back then, Facebook. And we kept in contact and I might have invited her to a few things. I don't remember exactly but the next sort of stage or level of our friendship was. And I'm m not sure how you two connected, but she became the stage manager for me for a show I was doing that ended up being a really interesting show. Should I tell more about that?
>> Marco Timpano: You don't have all the time in the world so you'd have to briefly dip in that and dip out.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well if any listener wants to hear more about it and they're still awake, you can let us know. But I'll just tell you this. It was a show about Randy Quaid and his wife, Evie Quaid. So Randy Quaid the actor. And it was about at that time, they were seeking, refugee status in Canada from the United States.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe just say the title and people can look at it. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: It was called Release the Stars, the Ballad of Randy and Evie Quaid. Anyhow, and she was the stage manager for that show. And one of the remarkable things about that show is that Randy and Evie Quaid, on our final closing night, showed up, and it was a small fringe show, an audience of 50 people, max, each night. So it was quite an extraordinary memory and experience for all of us. So she was on that journey with me, and so we kept in touch, and then I went on tour. And you guys continued to hang out.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: And you met for coffee, and then you came up with the podcast idea, and we sit here today.
Musk went to the Russian Baths for his birthday last month
So there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: There you have it. so you went to the Russian bath.
>> Amanda Barker: So I went to the Russian Baths with her. So for my birthday, which was last month, she gave me a card and said, for your birthday present, we will book a time. It's a surprise, so let's book a time. It's an experience I want to give you. So I went, okay, so that date that we settled on was yesterday.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: That we booked, you know, six weeks ago or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: And.
>> Amanda Barker: And so she just. She texted me, I'm going to pick you up at 11:30. I was like, okay, great. And she said, bring a bathing suit. And so I was like, do I need flip flops? And she's like, not unless you get, you know, skeeved out by wearing communal flip flops. And I was like, girl, we met in a hot, sweaty yoga studio. So I'm good. So anyway, And off we went to the Russian Path. And I didn't know that that's where we're going, but I knew it was a place that involved me wearing a bathing suit, so that narrowed down at least my options on some level. And then we went out west, the west end of the city, into Mississauga. So. Okay, that now narrows down things. And then I was like, okay, wait, I think I know what's happening. But I wasn't prepared for the experience. But it was a really cool and unique experience.
>> Marco Timpano: the interesting thing is it's in a strip mall. Right? So you pull up to a strip mall.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, like, almost barely a strip mall, but, yeah, it's a strip mall, but it's not even. Like, when you pull into the strip mall, it's not like, okay, there's a, you know, a pharmacy and a, shawarma place and a Russian bath. It's like, there's a restaurant and a bunch of things, and then there's no signage for it, so you really have to know it's there. And then you pull into the side door of the strip mall. So not a door. You don't walk through a front door.
>> Marco Timpano: Like a speakeasy spot.
>> Amanda Barker: Honestly, it is. There's no. There's a tiny little sign on the side door, but you would have to. The only way to find it is to know it's already there.
>> Marco Timpano: If you know, you know.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. And so anyway, we did. We went in. the woman immediately was like, have you been here before? And she was like, it's her first time. Ah, but it's not mine. And so she went, great. And then we went into the change room. Niddy's locker didn't work, so we just. She could have got another locker, but she just went, you know what? She went back out. I think they were dealing with something else. And she's like, let's just share a locker. So we did. And, in we went. So it's very, You know, everyone has different experiences of what they imagine a spa to be. and I was reminded a lot in that experience that Russia is very close to Finland. So I have been into some Finnish spas because of my time in Thunder Bay, which has a strong Finnish population and has, like, three different pancake. Finnish pancake houses, one of which has spas. Like, spas are big. Like saunas, I should say. Saunas are a big part of Finnish culture.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting because in modern Russia, Yeah. A sauna is often called a finished. A Finnish banya.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So they refer to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So, and the decor there is very unique. I don't know. I mean, that's part of the real fun and charm, I think, of it, really. So we went and changed and put on our bathing suits. And so then you go from there. There is what, Nidhi described aptly as, like, if somebody from Soviet Russia. So that specific time in history. So I'm going to say, like late 70s, early 80s Soviet era, had a cottage in Muskoka. It's like Soviet propaganda posters, but also like, you know, Muskoka chairs and like. Anyway, there's like a lounge.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And so the lounge has, like, dimly lit someone's old den, from the 70s with Russian stuff everywhere. We didn't spend much time in there, but it was an interesting thing to look at. And then you open the door and you're into all the heated, different things. So there's a wet sauna, and that's the biggest sauna. Then a smaller dry sauna, a Turkish hammam, steam room. Yeah. some muskoka chairs in there for just rest in between. And a bench as well. And, a cold plunge, wooden tank. And then, like, shower where you pull the. You pull the pulley thing and then you get a good dunk of cold water.
The Russian guy does a treatment where he slaps you with branches
So that's. And you do whatever circuit you want with those four or five elements.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's not huge. It's like the size of, like, honestly, like a big living room or something. So it's. If you're somebody from this area or not, and you've been to, say, therma. Or if you're from, like, Los Angeles, you've been to Glen Ivy, which I haven't been to, but I've seen my friends go there a lot, so I've seen pics, you know, that kind of like, outdoor sprawling spa. This is not that place. It's, small, and hidden in the bowels of this. Behind the stores of the strip mall. But what's truly remarkable is that you can do the circuit. You can do it however you want. There is this guy, there who sort of really tries to engage you. The Russian guy. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: he's an employee.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, these women were joking. What if he's not an employee? What if he's just, like, a super fan? But no, I think it's his. I don't know if it's his spa. I asked him if it was his spa. He said yes, but I don't know. But, you know, he's volunteering his services to do the treatment where he, like, slaps you with branches.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Those branches are either white birch or oak, or they can be eucalyptus. They're called banevenek.
>> Amanda Barker: They were not eucalyptus, because I know a eucalyptus sleeve and that was not them.
>> Marco Timpano: Banya bissau is also how they're often called.
>> Amanda Barker: So, I guess oak. I don't know. The leaves were interesting looking and I,
>> Marco Timpano: you know birch, what birch leaves look like, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It wasn't birch, Uncle Sammy.
>> Marco Timpano: It was oak.
>> Amanda Barker: It was oak, I guess. Yeah. They had a distinct interesting look to them. Sure. and he does that in the wet sauna, and you're all kind of sitting there, and he just comes in with his person that he's going to do it to, and he tells everybody to move and lets the guy lay down while we all Kind of huddle in one corner.
>> Marco Timpano: And you just watch the guy.
>> Amanda Barker: And you just watch the guy. Everyone's just watching the gu. Have getting slapped. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: With the branches. Okay. I don't think. I don't think they call it getting slapped.
>> Amanda Barker: What do they call it? A treatment?
>> Marco Timpano: Getting branched.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think they call it getting branched.
>> Marco Timpano: They totally call it getting branched. I got branched at the sauna.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm gonna get branched.
We try to make the podcast 26 minutes, because 26 minutes is ideal
If I go over our time. What's our time right now?
>> Marco Timpano: We've gone over.
>> Amanda Barker: Have we?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we're 27 minutes.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I'm sorry. It's all right. Well, I'll. I'll continue on just for a bit more.
>> Marco Timpano: We try to make the podcast 26 minutes, because 26 minutes is the ideal number. a time for a short nap. And we do 26 episodes. Today's the 25th episode, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I will tell you this. The thing I loved the most was the restaurant that, as you go in through the sauna, on the other end, there's another door, and there's this entire restaurant in there. And the decor of it is like that. What is that style called? Looks like a Polish hunting lodge. Like the. I know it's Russian, so Russian finish, but, like, the wood with the white kind of stuccoy.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's. No, it is, though. Scandi meets.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Ottoman Empire.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Anyway, And there's tons of, like, Russian vases and tchotchkes and, like. Do you say chachka or Chachki?
>> Marco Timpano: I think you asked me this last episode.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really? Yeah, it's really burning on my brain. In any event, I say Chachi from Happy Days. Amazing. everybody loves. Isn't.
>> Marco Timpano: No, Everybody loves Raymond. Joni loves Chachi.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Joanie loves Chachi, but she doesn't love Raymond. Curious.
>> Marco Timpano: No, she doesn't.
>> Amanda Barker: We had pierogies. We had the most delectable fried dough sort of pancakes that were different than finished pancakes, surprisingly, but definitely delicious. Like, they were very puffy. And we had cabbage rolls that were amazing. And. And two incredibly delicious vodka cocktails, which, after all that sweat, hit you pretty hard.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: and then we went shopping for couches. So there you go. That was my day.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that sounds like a great Saturday afternoon.
>> Amanda Barker: It was. It was an amazing day with Nidhi, and she's great. And then we came back here, watched some Dateline, and ate Korean food, and it was just the best time.
>> Marco Timpano: And Amanda. So are you going to the Question Bears? Will you Bring your burks to your next spa.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not sure. And this is what I'm really hung up on because I'm worried that they're too generic because they're just black and that someone else is going to walk off with them because that's happened to you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: So do I. A, wear them and just hope for the best. B, wear my flip flops that say relax on them. No one else is going to have those, but they're not as comfortable as these, admittedly. Or C, plan to wear these but borrow, those little button things that are from, Crocs that my niece would have. And I could, like, fasten one on here so that, like, they stand out. Yeah. So there's like a little ladybug or something on them.
>> Marco Timpano: If you could vote on which A, B or C, Amanda should do.
>> Amanda Barker: I hope you're not awake. I hope nobody votes, but if you
>> Marco Timpano: want to go for it until then,
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I hope you vote if you're awake, but not if you're. I hope you're sleeping.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic.
Million Podcast put us in top 10 of their top 70 podcast of 2025
Well, until next time, I want to thank Million Podcast. That's who put us in the top 10 of their top 70 podcast of 2025. Thank you, million Podcasts. I want to thank our listeners, especially those ones who reached out, you know who you are, to say, you know, they were proud of us and they thought we should be higher. And I want to thank Nidhi, of course, and all our listeners. We hope you were able to listen and sleep. And Amanda, good luck with your shoe or your flip flop decision. We'll have that answer for you next week on our last episode for this season, season 10, the month of November, you'll have to listen to some back issues. And if you do listen to some of our back episodes, let us know what your favorites are and maybe we'll do a redo of that topic, in season 11. Until then, we hope you're able to listen, enjoy your flip flop or sandal and sleep.
🎃 Candy Regrets & Frugal Secrets
(Original airdate: October 16, 2025)
Insomnia Project is meant to help you drift right off to sleep
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you drift right on off to sleep or to a chill state. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'M Amanda Barker. Hi.
>> Marco Timpano: How you doing, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm, well, I'm really excited I get to see our, our, fan favorite friend Nidhi Kana this weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: She has a surprise for me and I don't know what it is.
>> Marco Timpano: And then you're going to a concert.
>> Amanda Barker: Net. Well, in two days after that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you have quite.
>> Amanda Barker: Not on the same day. No, the same day I'm going to see Le Bay and it looks like Lafay, but the kids. Literally the kids. Because I'm taking my niece tell me it's pronounced Le Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's kind of a bossa nova y. Kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: she does bossa nova and jazz and, she's huge with 14 year olds. Who knew?
>> Marco Timpano: Who knew indeed.
We bought Halloween candy too early, so don't shop for chocolate craving
Speaking of 14 year olds and under, we did the error that we do sometimes where we buy Halloween candy too early.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we did. I was thinking about it this morning. See. I think I should go put it in the car.
>> Marco Timpano: It's gonna melt in the car.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think you realize that it's mid fall.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: The car is cold.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. Put it in the car.
>> Amanda Barker: At least. I'm gonna try. Try.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Hide it in the car.
>> Amanda Barker: Even if it melts a little bit, they're little chocolate bars. They'll be fine.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, who wants a melted chocolate?
>> Amanda Barker: It won't be melted when it. When a kid opens. listen, I'm also going to give out chips because chips give bulk to any Halloween candy bag. But I don't want to just do plain chips. I want to do like fancy chips. Just something a little bit different or like little bags of popcorn or something. So we can do both of those. But you're right, I can't. This can't continue. This cannot continue because we bought the kind we like. We didn't even buy the. I'm gonna just. In Canada, there's the one that's nut free and that one I can leave for a while. I don't know if you can, but I can. There's only really one, one, possibly two candies in there that I like. really only one that I like. So the rest I can leave. I eat all of those. I eat all the KitKats out of the box. I'm being honest. And then I the rest. But this one, the one we got is not the nut free. So it has all my favorites, my Canadian favorites, like Crispy Crunch, Wonder Bar.
>> Marco Timpano: And so Amanda's been going through a tear of Wonder Bar.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And, it's not good.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not good.
>> Amanda Barker: So don't shop for Halloween candy when you're have a chocolate craving. It's not the right choice.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not the right choice. And the funny thing is we don't get that many kids on our street, so we will.
>> Amanda Barker: You and I have this debate every year. Yes, we do.
>> Marco Timpano: We don't.
>> Amanda Barker: We do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: We get like 50.
>> Marco Timpano: Do we?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Even 40 is a lot. I think it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Because they, they always come when we're making dinner.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. You know, and there's always that thing of, how long am I going to leave everything outside before. Before I close up shop?
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, like after 9 o' clock, you might get one or two of sort of the teens coming by.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which I'm very much for. I don't. I wish adults could.
>> Marco Timpano: How great would that be?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, if I put on a mask, I'm short enough, I think I might get away with it. And I think I've told this story before where I. I did once get away with it, but I was like in my 20s, you got to do
>> Marco Timpano: what you got to do.
>> Amanda Barker: I put on a. I dressed up as. No, the monkey from Aladdin. So I had a mask.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: My mom had the costume.
>> Marco Timpano: I wasn't expecting that.
>> Amanda Barker: The monkey from Aladdin. No, I wasn't expecting that. Apu. No. Anyway, it was a mask, so. And then I was with my brother and his friend who were boys still.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: They were like boy childs. They were like, I don't know, 12 or 13. And so I. They had boy faces, but. But big bodies. So my body was the same size as them. And my face, my adult face was hidden by a mask.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
We have cousins visiting from Italy. They're Swiss. I just straight up said they're Swiss
I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And I cleaned up and I was very happy.
>> Marco Timpano: We went in high school one time just to trick or treat. We didn't care about the candy. We just went around ringing doorbells and saying, trick or treat.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't care about the candy?
>> Marco Timpano: We didn't really care about the candy. I don't even think we had bags and people would just give us candies anyways. We just wanted to, like, experience it.
>> Amanda Barker: I love this tradition. And, you know, they have M. Mummers apparently in Newfoundland. And, the Calathompians, whom I've talked about in the past, were a similar thing where they go door to door, usually during the holidays and ring the bells. But, But we learned about a new one in Italy this week.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I don't know what we learned.
>> Amanda Barker: So you have cousins visiting from Italy.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Who are in their 20s.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And one of them told us about, it was a Santa Lucia Day, December 16th.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, I think it was the. Wasn't it the 11th.
>> Amanda Barker: 16th.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I remember thinking it's the day before someone's birthday.
>> Marco Timpano: Mine. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And, And that they ring a cowbell. They're from very northern Italy, folks.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. I think it's probably more regional.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I've never heard of this tradition.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. They're Swiss. Ish. They're not. They're Italian.
>> Marco Timpano: They're Swiss. You can't call somebody something that they're not.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, they're. I mean, I didn't. That came out wrong.
>> Marco Timpano: They're Swiss.
>> Amanda Barker: I just straight up said they're Swiss. They're not Swiss. They're Italian, but they're from Trento, which
>> Marco Timpano: is the region that borders Switzer. Borders Switzerland.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So there is as close to Swiss as Italians are going to get. They're both over six feet, for starters, anyway. And apparently on December 16, you ring a cowbell to people's doors and they give you candy and treats, which I think is lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. But then you hear a lot of cowbells happening. More cowbell, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: I say.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess that's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So that's a fun trip. Maybe we should do that and see how that works out for us.
We have two more episodes after this one, and then we're on pause
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of Santa Lucia, this is like our. We have, like, two more episodes after this one, and then we're going to be on pause until.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, the Holiday Palace.
>> Marco Timpano: Until the holiday episode is December 1st. So.
>> Amanda Barker: But we should do some Patreon content and focus on that.
>> Marco Timpano: We definitely have to do that because we haven't done that in a while.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sorry. To our Patreons. I have no excuses, but, we're developing some. Some fun content for you as I speak. So it's coming.
>> Marco Timpano: So get ready for Amanda's fun content. It's going to be. Demand is fun content.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It's like my craft corner, I think. I. Honestly, I. Years ago, when I was, like, in my 20s, I wanted to do, like, a frugal blog. I kind of wish I had.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to darn a sock. I have a little hole in this sock. And I remember as a child, my mom would take a light bulb, A, light bulb that didn't work, put it in the sock to darn the hole. Have you ever heard of that?
>> Amanda Barker: No. I mean, I've heard of darning socks, but I know the light bulb.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: It Was smart practice.
>> Marco Timpano: There was always a light bulb with the sewing box. I don't know what you'd call it. My mom had, like, a little. A little. It almost looked like a basket. Like a. Like a meager basket you would take on a picnic. I don't know how to describe it. Like a. Like a, poor man's basket. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but everybody. Yeah, everyone's mom, I think, had a sewing box. Like a sewing kit.
>> Marco Timpano: This one was a basket.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Well, I mean, it's the same difference, but with their needles and their push
>> Marco Timpano: pins, and there was always a light bulb in it for such an occasion.
>> Amanda Barker: That's where you and my mom were different. My mom's little thing that you put the pins in was a tomato.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. We had a tomato, too. And it would have a little baby, Pepper.
>> Amanda Barker: We didn't have that at Kuchramot on that.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but it was, like, hanging off.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. We didn't have that part. Just the straight tomato. I think we had a strawberry, too.
>> Marco Timpano: What was the purpose of the little hanging? Tomato or pepper?
>> Amanda Barker: There wasn't, Margot. That's why my New England parents didn't need a hanging tomato. Piece off the tomato.
>> Marco Timpano: There must have been a purpose. They wouldn't just have that.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe they had it for bellezza.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. For beauty. I don't know. Yeah, there was that. My grandmother was quite a sower.
>> Amanda Barker: I bet. Yeah, she was. And so was my. I mean, I think most people's grandmothers are now great grandmothers. Were. They had to be.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's a lost art. We've talked about that before. You know, I saw something, and I am not on the TikToks. I'm not on TikTok.
>> Marco Timpano: Neither are we. Don't look for the insomnia project on TikTok.
>> Amanda Barker: You will not find us. but.
>> Marco Timpano: But Amanda will start one because she's starting new projects.
There's a glue you can use to cover holes in your sweater
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. All right. I should. And, it's. But, you know, we all get these videos regardless on whatever social media you might be on those videos reels and things. Instagram videos.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, I saw one that intrigued me. If you have a. Like a hole, like a little moth hole in your sweater.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Amanda Barker: In your wool sweater.
>> Marco Timpano: I do my cashmere sweater.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. So you take, You take a, closed shaver.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And you shave it. Get all the little nubbers off.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Then you use those shavings. And there's a special type of glue, bonding glue that you can use. You just dab A little tiny bit of it onto the sweater. And then you use the shave number
>> Marco Timpano: to cover the hole. Yeah, the former hole.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And it looked like new. Like, you would not know it. Your eyeliner.
>> Marco Timpano: What glue are we using?
>> Amanda Barker: It's a good question. That's the.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a fabric glue of some sort.
>> Amanda Barker: A fabric glue, I think. Yeah. And just honestly, like, a little dab, I should look it up.
>> Marco Timpano: but this doesn't sound right to me.
>> Amanda Barker: It looked amazing on the thing I saw. So that's how you know it's true.
>> Marco Timpano: They make things look amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. That's their job as content creators, I guess. We're content. We're creating content right now.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. Audio content.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. They should call us content influencers.
>> Marco Timpano: We should be influencers. Influencers of sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I like that. Yeah. We influence people, but only in their dreams.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what it'll say on our website.
>> Marco Timpano: I was just watching, one of these tik toky kind of videos of a young man who was ordering, like, a surprise bag of tropical fish.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And unpacking them, and that was fun.
>> Amanda Barker: So you watch fish videos? Relax.
>> Marco Timpano: I do watch a lot of fish.
>> Amanda Barker: I watch Frugal Hacks to relax. And, Yeah.
You were doing something this morning. Yeah, it was a Frugal Tips and Tricks
>> Marco Timpano: You were doing something this morning.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was a Frugal Tips and Tricks. And I. Everyone says the same thing. Like, you know, somebody inevitably asks, usually the AI bot, but today was a real person. Like, what Frugal Tips have changed your. Like, do you do. And it's just part of your lifestyle.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And pretty much everyone was like, meal prep, meal planning, and so I, I don't know if we want to talk about this, so I'll give you a moment.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: You can edit it out.
>> Marco Timpano: No, this works fine.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I talked about, reusable pads and. And period underwear. And people were incensed, though.
>> Marco Timpano: They were upset.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. They were like, that is disgusting, lady. How could you do that? And I said, you know, people also have reusable diapers. It might horrify you. but they just couldn't believe it. Now, I tried to explain, like, these are pads you can buy. They're actually very clean, and it's actually less gross than the disposable ones. But, you know, people hear what they want. So I didn't really get into it with them. I just said the. And I calculated that I saved eighteen hundred dollars using them. And a few years ago, use that. And said, that's our trip to Cuba.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. Frugal Hacks, whether you like them or not.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. I don't know if I. I just didn't know if you wanted me to
>> Marco Timpano: talk about that, that kind of stuff. I didn't know where that was going,
>> Amanda Barker: where that content was going.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, sure. But hopefully a lot of people who would be incensed are asleep at this point. I, I have put out some of the decor for outside our Laloween, our Halloween and fall stuff. Because of course Thanksgiving happens early in Canada compared to the U.S. we just had our Thanksgiving and that was lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: And we'll be going away for American, ah, Thanksgiving. So that'll be fun as well.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the plan.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the plan, indeed. So hopefully that'll be executed.
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is sponsored by the department store Macy's
And and I have a coffee here that Amanda made me. I'm very happy about.
>> Amanda Barker: I did, I did, I did. and I think I was saying last time we were talking about Thanksgivings and I was talking about the Macy's Parade.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Did we talk about that last time? I've talked about it a lot lately, but I don't think here, I can't remember now. I don't think I did. So, you and I have plans to go see. Once again, I think I can say it. The makeup. Excuse me. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And it's a really sweet memory for me. It's a very American thing. Of course, it's sort of the pinnacle of American Thanksgiving on tv.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm not one other than football, I'm not one for parades. That's not my thing. I've never been standing around watching. After a while I get bored and cold. But I'm excited about going to see this one because as a child, even here in Canada, you would often see it on television and they have these really big inflatable floats. If you're not familiar with the, Macy's Day Parade.
>> Amanda Barker: It's true. Because we in North America, it's so part of our discussion. But it's probably not played around the world.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: And we have listeners around the world. But the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, is obviously sponsored by the department store Macy's. What? Advertising, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, there's so many department stores that don't even exist anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: M. Most of them, it's become iconic.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. I, I think it's actually kept Macy's, you might say, afloat.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair, fair. I would say that. Like, what's that, store that was in It's a Wonderful Life that Doesn't exist anymore. Or is it It's a Wonderful Life
>> Amanda Barker: or it was Macy's and It's a Wonderful Life.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the other one?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, there was, the bad guys. It had been a store and it had already closed, so they could use it in the movie, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I'll have to think.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say Kresge's, but it wasn't Kresge's.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like Kresge's. Kresge's was apparently a store here, though.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Kresge's was a store, but I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: And I was writing a play with my friend and she wrote that in and I was like, I don't know what that is.
>> Marco Timpano: We used to go to this discount store and we'll get back to the parade in a second. But we used to go to this discount store Amanda called Byway.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, you said the store that's in It's a Wonderful Life.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I didn't mean.
>> Amanda Barker: You mean a miracle in 34.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what I meant.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Which was a play. Which is a play. Which is a movie and a play. And Amanda was in the play. I was, and that's why I referenced it. so we used to have a store called Byway. And at Byway you could get things. I want to say for like, less, let's say.
>> Marco Timpano: And I just remember we would always be like, I'm going to Byway. We're going to Byway. We should go to Byway. Byway was the thing you would say a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: And now they're gone. Byways are gone.
>> Amanda Barker: The giant tiger for a lot of communities has replaced the Byway in Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So I have the name of that store. Gimbals.
>> Marco Timpano: Gimbels. That's right. Gimbals. For sure.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of people were already like, Gimbels was upset. And it was like Macy's versus Gimbels. I mean, these were the big things in the 40s when this movie was made. and then obviously the play is based on that, but it's a sweet. So it's a. It's about a mall Santa. The Macy Santa. Right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: So we'll be at the Macy's parade.
>> Amanda Barker: We will. That's the plan, with my folks. so that's a whole thing that we're still organizing, but I'm looking forward to it. And when I was 12, I started to say that I got to see the Macy's Parade in person the first Time. And I remember what I was wearing.
You remember your first croissant when you were 12 years old
I remember the whole day. But the thing I remember the most, actually, was that I got a hot chocolate and a croissant. And it was the first croissant. Ah. At 12 years old that I had ever had. Just wasn't part of. You know, we went to. We were from Massachusetts. We went to Dunkin Donuts. Croissants just weren't a thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: That you could get. And, you know, even a bakery like that. I mean, I'm sure they're around. I just wasn't part of my family to go pick up croissants.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. And, you know, they're not as ubiquitous as they are today.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: When you were a child. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And it changed my, my palette forever. I will say this. I'm listening right now to a very relaxing book.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: So if anyone's awake and they want a relaxing book recommendation, I've got one. But it's very food based, which made me. The croissant made me think of it.
Ina Garten talks about traveling to Europe with her husband
I'm listening to Ina Garten's when the Luck Happens. Be ready when the Luck Happens. And so she talks about a really lovely trip that she's had with her beloved husband that she always talks about Jeffrey. And they were. Were pretty broke and young newlyweds. And they had this pocket of time. They had like, three months. And they did the math and realized it would be cheaper to backpack, basically, and using a tent. So they camped throughout Europe with a car. They had a car and a tent. They rented a car and they had a little orange tent. And every now and then they'd splurge for a hotel. But for the most part, they just toured around. Yeah. Toured around. And they would go wherever they felt like on any given day. I know you're not into the tent part, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. sorry, I'm not a camper. Our tents. No. Thank you. Anyway, a thin barrier between me and the world just doesn't cut it.
>> Amanda Barker: They said at one point they were. They were camping in Scotland and they woke up and they were surrounded by sheep. They had no idea.
>> Marco Timpano: That's hilarious.
>> Amanda Barker: That, there were sheep in the field. Like, they just pitched the 10 in the field and then woke up to sheep outside their tent. but she talks about how it revolutionized her relationship with food. Coming from 1960s New York. Long Island, I think she. But anyway, New New York and, and then going to Europe and just eating whatever was fresh in the market. Fresh cheeses and the fresh croissants of Course, yeah. Jams, all of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Marmalades.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And just it really ignited for her a whole. A love of whole food, whole ingredients. Also canning and preserving, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: and she actually talks about. Because she has this relationship with France, because that's where they mostly were. This, how Napoleon changed the eating habits of France to this day. And I thought that was interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Strong proponent of crumpets and croissants.
>> Amanda Barker: They don't do crumpets. England. he made them form bread into the baguette shape so that soldiers could put them in their pants so that they could. Well, so that they'd have, like, bread to eat.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, it made it more portable, I guess, for soldiers is one thing that they.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if that's true. There's so many little. All right, A, soldier's gonna put
>> Amanda Barker: a, baguette against Napoleon?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, first of all, a lot of things, but before that, let me just say, like putting a baguette down your pants. Try it as a soldier, first of all, you know, can you bend your knee?
>> Amanda Barker: Have you ever boiled a hot egg and then had a nice, warm, hard boiled egg in your pocket to keep your hands warm and then you had lunch later?
>> Marco Timpano: No, No, I haven't.
>> Amanda Barker: These are tips and tricks from the frugal hacks that I know about. So there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: How long does the hard boiled egg stay warm?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, like a good hour.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I would do that.
>> Amanda Barker: Smart, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. is the baguette warm? Because what I would like to do is have a baguette.
>> Amanda Barker: A warm baguette on each side.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Like a French soldier food for
>> Amanda Barker: warming that you then get to eat later. I think is a. Is the. Maybe one of my favorite frugal hacks. Warm yourself in the winter with food on your body that you can then later eat.
>> Marco Timpano: You could do that in the summertime, too. Like get a bag of peas that are frozen, put them on the back of your neck, and then.
>> Amanda Barker: And then eat defrosted peas for your delicious lunch.
>> Marco Timpano: Why not? Why not? You can mash them up and do mushy peas and squeeze them out of the bag.
>> Amanda Barker: This is why I do most of the cooking in the house, folks.
Some Canadian stores that have closed include Simpsons and Towers
>> Marco Timpano: before we end the podcast, I want to talk about some other stores that have closed you may have gone to when you were a child. I was talking about byway, there was another one called, and this might just be local Bargained Heralds. Did you ever go to hear about Bargain heralds?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Bargain Heralds. I Think they used to call it like the B. The BH Emporium to make it sound fancy. But Bargain Heralds was one of them. I never really went to Bargain Heralds. I was. I went to Byway and I went to, Do you remember, Towers? Towers.
>> Amanda Barker: No, this. See, so these types of discussions are where you see the Canadian versus the American. And also we're from different cities. Even if I, you know, grew up in Canada, I would have been in a different part.
>> Marco Timpano: But I love Towers because I got my first Slinky at Towers.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, we had Filene's.
>> Marco Timpano: Filene's basement.
>> Amanda Barker: And Filene's basement, which was like the discount. So Filene's basement is where you did all your back to school shopping.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, what was Filene's then?
>> Amanda Barker: A department store.
>> Marco Timpano: Just a regular Macy's. Like a gimbals.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like Kimballs, JCPenney, which I think is still around.
>> Marco Timpano: Sears is gone.
>> Amanda Barker: no. I did their last ad campaign and it never aired because they closed it.
>> Marco Timpano: was it Simpsons Simpsons in Sears again?
>> Amanda Barker: That's. No, but I have things that say Simpsons on it because clearly it was a thing back in Canada. but no, we didn't have the Simpsons. Toronto had Eaton's for the longest time.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's still the Eaton Center. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: But there is no Eaton's. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's gone under in receivership and now.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is there Eaton's? I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there's some Hudson's Bay stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: You're talking about the Bay?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm talking about the Bay. Right. Eaton's is gone. Eaton's was like the fancy department store where you would go and get fancy stuff. China.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: Like they had everything. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So.
>> Marco Timpano: But Eaton's, like. Like, it was. It. It was, I don't want to say it was high end, but it had pretty much everything.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. I'm trying to think of what other, stores that we would go to that are no longer around the Eaton.
>> Marco Timpano: Eaton's. And then there was, There was another one. I can't think. Simpsons. I remember going to Simpsons all the time. Zellers.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. Simpsons. I don't. Yeah. No, that wasn't part of my world.
>> Marco Timpano: Sellers. Sellers. Where the lowest price was the law.
>> Amanda Barker: now I moved to Canada and that was still very much a thing. Zeller. Zeller's was like Kmart.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: In fact, I think it was owned by Kmart at one point. Well, I don't know. But they had the same sort of deals. You know how like there's certain brands, like Walmart has its own brands or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: for anyone who was from Toronto, this is very specific. Honest Ed's.
>> Amanda Barker: I was thinking about honest ads. Yeah. So Honest Ed's, when I moved to Toronto was this crazy maze of a bargain store where you could find. It was hard to know what you were gonna find there. But you, if you were setting up a kitchen, you could find like Tupperware and pots and pans and anything for a kitchen. I remember they had all that stuff there.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the thing that made Honest Ed's what it was, it was like Amanda said it was like just a huge, huge place.
>> Amanda Barker: And it was so iconic.
Honest Ed's store was iconic because it had stuff new Canadians would need
It had huge lights, orange and like a red and yellow. Red with yellow lights. And it was huge on the corner of Bathurst and Bloor.
>> Marco Timpano: If you know that that store, we don't live too far from it. So if you're like, oh, Marco and Amanda live near what was Honest Ed's. But Honest Ed's made. Made its sort of, name. I don't say made its name, but was iconic because it had a lot of stuff that new Canadians would need. So if you came to this country, you could go there and get everything for your kitchen, like you were saying.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: All the plates you might need, all the glassware you might need, toilet paper,
>> Amanda Barker: paper to pots and pans. Yeah. But also like knickknacks, chachkas. Like say chachki or chachka.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't say either.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, Knickknacks just.
>> Marco Timpano: Cuz I don't know what to say.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I never know what the right or people say chachkes and stuff. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: So yeah, so that's what made that what it is. And yeah, it closed, a few years back and they had these iconic painted, signs that would say like, you know, mops 194 each or whatever. And they had a real.
>> Amanda Barker: I wonder who did those signs. I met Honest Ed one once.
>> Marco Timpano: no, Honest Ed was the impresario who has all the theaters now in Toronto.
>> Amanda Barker: And his last name was Mervish. Honest Ed Mirvish.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So you'll see Ed Mirvish Theater or whatnot. So their, their name.
>> Amanda Barker: He was a real entrepreneur. He was kind of like Mr. Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And he used to give out turkeys around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yeah. What was he like when you met him?
>> Amanda Barker: Old.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I was dressed as a giant mascot. So, you know, he was kind and small. He was a very small Man.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: and he kind of smiled and he waved, and he was, you know, he's one of those guys. I think this about lots of people. Joe Biden, you know, like, anybody who's. They might be one way behind the scenes, but then as soon as they get on stage, that's how they know themselves.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Like, that's their life. And I think once we put him on a stage where he was on a stage with me, it was his part birthday. he used to have a huge birthday celebration in the summer.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I think his birthday was in August. And so he would have this huge birthday celebration. And so we were. The company I worked for, Pizza Pizza was one of the sponsors. So we made a, I think he was turning 99, something like that. So we made. We made a pizza that had the Pepperoni spelled out 99. Great. Anyway, and he thought that was pretty great.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic.
For anyone celebrating their birthdays, we wish you a happy birthday
Well, for anyone who's celebrating their birthdays or have recently celebrated their birthdays, we want to wish you a happy birthday.
>> Amanda Barker: And if you're still with us and awake, let us know what stores you have in your neck of the woods that are no longer there. I'd love to hear some of these great names like. Like Gimbals or the Byway or Bargain
>> Marco Timpano: Heralds or Filings or Zellers. yeah, because they're funny names. until next time, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: October 16, 2025)
Insomnia Project is meant to help you drift right off to sleep
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you drift right on off to sleep or to a chill state. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'M Amanda Barker. Hi.
>> Marco Timpano: How you doing, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm, well, I'm really excited I get to see our, our, fan favorite friend Nidhi Kana this weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: She has a surprise for me and I don't know what it is.
>> Marco Timpano: And then you're going to a concert.
>> Amanda Barker: Net. Well, in two days after that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you have quite.
>> Amanda Barker: Not on the same day. No, the same day I'm going to see Le Bay and it looks like Lafay, but the kids. Literally the kids. Because I'm taking my niece tell me it's pronounced Le Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's kind of a bossa nova y. Kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: she does bossa nova and jazz and, she's huge with 14 year olds. Who knew?
>> Marco Timpano: Who knew indeed.
We bought Halloween candy too early, so don't shop for chocolate craving
Speaking of 14 year olds and under, we did the error that we do sometimes where we buy Halloween candy too early.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we did. I was thinking about it this morning. See. I think I should go put it in the car.
>> Marco Timpano: It's gonna melt in the car.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think you realize that it's mid fall.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: The car is cold.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. Put it in the car.
>> Amanda Barker: At least. I'm gonna try. Try.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Hide it in the car.
>> Amanda Barker: Even if it melts a little bit, they're little chocolate bars. They'll be fine.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, who wants a melted chocolate?
>> Amanda Barker: It won't be melted when it. When a kid opens. listen, I'm also going to give out chips because chips give bulk to any Halloween candy bag. But I don't want to just do plain chips. I want to do like fancy chips. Just something a little bit different or like little bags of popcorn or something. So we can do both of those. But you're right, I can't. This can't continue. This cannot continue because we bought the kind we like. We didn't even buy the. I'm gonna just. In Canada, there's the one that's nut free and that one I can leave for a while. I don't know if you can, but I can. There's only really one, one, possibly two candies in there that I like. really only one that I like. So the rest I can leave. I eat all of those. I eat all the KitKats out of the box. I'm being honest. And then I the rest. But this one, the one we got is not the nut free. So it has all my favorites, my Canadian favorites, like Crispy Crunch, Wonder Bar.
>> Marco Timpano: And so Amanda's been going through a tear of Wonder Bar.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And, it's not good.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not good.
>> Amanda Barker: So don't shop for Halloween candy when you're have a chocolate craving. It's not the right choice.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not the right choice. And the funny thing is we don't get that many kids on our street, so we will.
>> Amanda Barker: You and I have this debate every year. Yes, we do.
>> Marco Timpano: We don't.
>> Amanda Barker: We do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: We get like 50.
>> Marco Timpano: Do we?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Even 40 is a lot. I think it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Because they, they always come when we're making dinner.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. You know, and there's always that thing of, how long am I going to leave everything outside before. Before I close up shop?
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, like after 9 o' clock, you might get one or two of sort of the teens coming by.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which I'm very much for. I don't. I wish adults could.
>> Marco Timpano: How great would that be?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, if I put on a mask, I'm short enough, I think I might get away with it. And I think I've told this story before where I. I did once get away with it, but I was like in my 20s, you got to do
>> Marco Timpano: what you got to do.
>> Amanda Barker: I put on a. I dressed up as. No, the monkey from Aladdin. So I had a mask.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: My mom had the costume.
>> Marco Timpano: I wasn't expecting that.
>> Amanda Barker: The monkey from Aladdin. No, I wasn't expecting that. Apu. No. Anyway, it was a mask, so. And then I was with my brother and his friend who were boys still.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: They were like boy childs. They were like, I don't know, 12 or 13. And so I. They had boy faces, but. But big bodies. So my body was the same size as them. And my face, my adult face was hidden by a mask.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
We have cousins visiting from Italy. They're Swiss. I just straight up said they're Swiss
I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And I cleaned up and I was very happy.
>> Marco Timpano: We went in high school one time just to trick or treat. We didn't care about the candy. We just went around ringing doorbells and saying, trick or treat.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't care about the candy?
>> Marco Timpano: We didn't really care about the candy. I don't even think we had bags and people would just give us candies anyways. We just wanted to, like, experience it.
>> Amanda Barker: I love this tradition. And, you know, they have M. Mummers apparently in Newfoundland. And, the Calathompians, whom I've talked about in the past, were a similar thing where they go door to door, usually during the holidays and ring the bells. But, But we learned about a new one in Italy this week.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I don't know what we learned.
>> Amanda Barker: So you have cousins visiting from Italy.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Who are in their 20s.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And one of them told us about, it was a Santa Lucia Day, December 16th.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, I think it was the. Wasn't it the 11th.
>> Amanda Barker: 16th.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I remember thinking it's the day before someone's birthday.
>> Marco Timpano: Mine. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And, And that they ring a cowbell. They're from very northern Italy, folks.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. I think it's probably more regional.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I've never heard of this tradition.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. They're Swiss. Ish. They're not. They're Italian.
>> Marco Timpano: They're Swiss. You can't call somebody something that they're not.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, they're. I mean, I didn't. That came out wrong.
>> Marco Timpano: They're Swiss.
>> Amanda Barker: I just straight up said they're Swiss. They're not Swiss. They're Italian, but they're from Trento, which
>> Marco Timpano: is the region that borders Switzer. Borders Switzerland.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So there is as close to Swiss as Italians are going to get. They're both over six feet, for starters, anyway. And apparently on December 16, you ring a cowbell to people's doors and they give you candy and treats, which I think is lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. But then you hear a lot of cowbells happening. More cowbell, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: I say.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess that's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So that's a fun trip. Maybe we should do that and see how that works out for us.
We have two more episodes after this one, and then we're on pause
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of Santa Lucia, this is like our. We have, like, two more episodes after this one, and then we're going to be on pause until.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, the Holiday Palace.
>> Marco Timpano: Until the holiday episode is December 1st. So.
>> Amanda Barker: But we should do some Patreon content and focus on that.
>> Marco Timpano: We definitely have to do that because we haven't done that in a while.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sorry. To our Patreons. I have no excuses, but, we're developing some. Some fun content for you as I speak. So it's coming.
>> Marco Timpano: So get ready for Amanda's fun content. It's going to be. Demand is fun content.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It's like my craft corner, I think. I. Honestly, I. Years ago, when I was, like, in my 20s, I wanted to do, like, a frugal blog. I kind of wish I had.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to darn a sock. I have a little hole in this sock. And I remember as a child, my mom would take a light bulb, A, light bulb that didn't work, put it in the sock to darn the hole. Have you ever heard of that?
>> Amanda Barker: No. I mean, I've heard of darning socks, but I know the light bulb.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: It Was smart practice.
>> Marco Timpano: There was always a light bulb with the sewing box. I don't know what you'd call it. My mom had, like, a little. A little. It almost looked like a basket. Like a. Like a meager basket you would take on a picnic. I don't know how to describe it. Like a. Like a, poor man's basket. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but everybody. Yeah, everyone's mom, I think, had a sewing box. Like a sewing kit.
>> Marco Timpano: This one was a basket.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Well, I mean, it's the same difference, but with their needles and their push
>> Marco Timpano: pins, and there was always a light bulb in it for such an occasion.
>> Amanda Barker: That's where you and my mom were different. My mom's little thing that you put the pins in was a tomato.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. We had a tomato, too. And it would have a little baby, Pepper.
>> Amanda Barker: We didn't have that at Kuchramot on that.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but it was, like, hanging off.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. We didn't have that part. Just the straight tomato. I think we had a strawberry, too.
>> Marco Timpano: What was the purpose of the little hanging? Tomato or pepper?
>> Amanda Barker: There wasn't, Margot. That's why my New England parents didn't need a hanging tomato. Piece off the tomato.
>> Marco Timpano: There must have been a purpose. They wouldn't just have that.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe they had it for bellezza.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. For beauty. I don't know. Yeah, there was that. My grandmother was quite a sower.
>> Amanda Barker: I bet. Yeah, she was. And so was my. I mean, I think most people's grandmothers are now great grandmothers. Were. They had to be.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's a lost art. We've talked about that before. You know, I saw something, and I am not on the TikToks. I'm not on TikTok.
>> Marco Timpano: Neither are we. Don't look for the insomnia project on TikTok.
>> Amanda Barker: You will not find us. but.
>> Marco Timpano: But Amanda will start one because she's starting new projects.
There's a glue you can use to cover holes in your sweater
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. All right. I should. And, it's. But, you know, we all get these videos regardless on whatever social media you might be on those videos reels and things. Instagram videos.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, I saw one that intrigued me. If you have a. Like a hole, like a little moth hole in your sweater.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Amanda Barker: In your wool sweater.
>> Marco Timpano: I do my cashmere sweater.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. So you take, You take a, closed shaver.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And you shave it. Get all the little nubbers off.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Then you use those shavings. And there's a special type of glue, bonding glue that you can use. You just dab A little tiny bit of it onto the sweater. And then you use the shave number
>> Marco Timpano: to cover the hole. Yeah, the former hole.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And it looked like new. Like, you would not know it. Your eyeliner.
>> Marco Timpano: What glue are we using?
>> Amanda Barker: It's a good question. That's the.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a fabric glue of some sort.
>> Amanda Barker: A fabric glue, I think. Yeah. And just honestly, like, a little dab, I should look it up.
>> Marco Timpano: but this doesn't sound right to me.
>> Amanda Barker: It looked amazing on the thing I saw. So that's how you know it's true.
>> Marco Timpano: They make things look amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. That's their job as content creators, I guess. We're content. We're creating content right now.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. Audio content.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. They should call us content influencers.
>> Marco Timpano: We should be influencers. Influencers of sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I like that. Yeah. We influence people, but only in their dreams.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what it'll say on our website.
>> Marco Timpano: I was just watching, one of these tik toky kind of videos of a young man who was ordering, like, a surprise bag of tropical fish.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And unpacking them, and that was fun.
>> Amanda Barker: So you watch fish videos? Relax.
>> Marco Timpano: I do watch a lot of fish.
>> Amanda Barker: I watch Frugal Hacks to relax. And, Yeah.
You were doing something this morning. Yeah, it was a Frugal Tips and Tricks
>> Marco Timpano: You were doing something this morning.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was a Frugal Tips and Tricks. And I. Everyone says the same thing. Like, you know, somebody inevitably asks, usually the AI bot, but today was a real person. Like, what Frugal Tips have changed your. Like, do you do. And it's just part of your lifestyle.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And pretty much everyone was like, meal prep, meal planning, and so I, I don't know if we want to talk about this, so I'll give you a moment.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: You can edit it out.
>> Marco Timpano: No, this works fine.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I talked about, reusable pads and. And period underwear. And people were incensed, though.
>> Marco Timpano: They were upset.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. They were like, that is disgusting, lady. How could you do that? And I said, you know, people also have reusable diapers. It might horrify you. but they just couldn't believe it. Now, I tried to explain, like, these are pads you can buy. They're actually very clean, and it's actually less gross than the disposable ones. But, you know, people hear what they want. So I didn't really get into it with them. I just said the. And I calculated that I saved eighteen hundred dollars using them. And a few years ago, use that. And said, that's our trip to Cuba.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. Frugal Hacks, whether you like them or not.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. I don't know if I. I just didn't know if you wanted me to
>> Marco Timpano: talk about that, that kind of stuff. I didn't know where that was going,
>> Amanda Barker: where that content was going.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, sure. But hopefully a lot of people who would be incensed are asleep at this point. I, I have put out some of the decor for outside our Laloween, our Halloween and fall stuff. Because of course Thanksgiving happens early in Canada compared to the U.S. we just had our Thanksgiving and that was lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: And we'll be going away for American, ah, Thanksgiving. So that'll be fun as well.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the plan.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the plan, indeed. So hopefully that'll be executed.
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is sponsored by the department store Macy's
And and I have a coffee here that Amanda made me. I'm very happy about.
>> Amanda Barker: I did, I did, I did. and I think I was saying last time we were talking about Thanksgivings and I was talking about the Macy's Parade.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Did we talk about that last time? I've talked about it a lot lately, but I don't think here, I can't remember now. I don't think I did. So, you and I have plans to go see. Once again, I think I can say it. The makeup. Excuse me. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And it's a really sweet memory for me. It's a very American thing. Of course, it's sort of the pinnacle of American Thanksgiving on tv.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm not one other than football, I'm not one for parades. That's not my thing. I've never been standing around watching. After a while I get bored and cold. But I'm excited about going to see this one because as a child, even here in Canada, you would often see it on television and they have these really big inflatable floats. If you're not familiar with the, Macy's Day Parade.
>> Amanda Barker: It's true. Because we in North America, it's so part of our discussion. But it's probably not played around the world.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: And we have listeners around the world. But the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, is obviously sponsored by the department store Macy's. What? Advertising, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, there's so many department stores that don't even exist anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: M. Most of them, it's become iconic.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. I, I think it's actually kept Macy's, you might say, afloat.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair, fair. I would say that. Like, what's that, store that was in It's a Wonderful Life that Doesn't exist anymore. Or is it It's a Wonderful Life
>> Amanda Barker: or it was Macy's and It's a Wonderful Life.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the other one?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, there was, the bad guys. It had been a store and it had already closed, so they could use it in the movie, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I'll have to think.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say Kresge's, but it wasn't Kresge's.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like Kresge's. Kresge's was apparently a store here, though.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Kresge's was a store, but I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: And I was writing a play with my friend and she wrote that in and I was like, I don't know what that is.
>> Marco Timpano: We used to go to this discount store and we'll get back to the parade in a second. But we used to go to this discount store Amanda called Byway.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, you said the store that's in It's a Wonderful Life.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I didn't mean.
>> Amanda Barker: You mean a miracle in 34.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what I meant.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Which was a play. Which is a play. Which is a movie and a play. And Amanda was in the play. I was, and that's why I referenced it. so we used to have a store called Byway. And at Byway you could get things. I want to say for like, less, let's say.
>> Marco Timpano: And I just remember we would always be like, I'm going to Byway. We're going to Byway. We should go to Byway. Byway was the thing you would say a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: And now they're gone. Byways are gone.
>> Amanda Barker: The giant tiger for a lot of communities has replaced the Byway in Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So I have the name of that store. Gimbals.
>> Marco Timpano: Gimbels. That's right. Gimbals. For sure.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of people were already like, Gimbels was upset. And it was like Macy's versus Gimbels. I mean, these were the big things in the 40s when this movie was made. and then obviously the play is based on that, but it's a sweet. So it's a. It's about a mall Santa. The Macy Santa. Right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: So we'll be at the Macy's parade.
>> Amanda Barker: We will. That's the plan, with my folks. so that's a whole thing that we're still organizing, but I'm looking forward to it. And when I was 12, I started to say that I got to see the Macy's Parade in person the first Time. And I remember what I was wearing.
You remember your first croissant when you were 12 years old
I remember the whole day. But the thing I remember the most, actually, was that I got a hot chocolate and a croissant. And it was the first croissant. Ah. At 12 years old that I had ever had. Just wasn't part of. You know, we went to. We were from Massachusetts. We went to Dunkin Donuts. Croissants just weren't a thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: That you could get. And, you know, even a bakery like that. I mean, I'm sure they're around. I just wasn't part of my family to go pick up croissants.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. And, you know, they're not as ubiquitous as they are today.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: When you were a child. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And it changed my, my palette forever. I will say this. I'm listening right now to a very relaxing book.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: So if anyone's awake and they want a relaxing book recommendation, I've got one. But it's very food based, which made me. The croissant made me think of it.
Ina Garten talks about traveling to Europe with her husband
I'm listening to Ina Garten's when the Luck Happens. Be ready when the Luck Happens. And so she talks about a really lovely trip that she's had with her beloved husband that she always talks about Jeffrey. And they were. Were pretty broke and young newlyweds. And they had this pocket of time. They had like, three months. And they did the math and realized it would be cheaper to backpack, basically, and using a tent. So they camped throughout Europe with a car. They had a car and a tent. They rented a car and they had a little orange tent. And every now and then they'd splurge for a hotel. But for the most part, they just toured around. Yeah. Toured around. And they would go wherever they felt like on any given day. I know you're not into the tent part, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. sorry, I'm not a camper. Our tents. No. Thank you. Anyway, a thin barrier between me and the world just doesn't cut it.
>> Amanda Barker: They said at one point they were. They were camping in Scotland and they woke up and they were surrounded by sheep. They had no idea.
>> Marco Timpano: That's hilarious.
>> Amanda Barker: That, there were sheep in the field. Like, they just pitched the 10 in the field and then woke up to sheep outside their tent. but she talks about how it revolutionized her relationship with food. Coming from 1960s New York. Long Island, I think she. But anyway, New New York and, and then going to Europe and just eating whatever was fresh in the market. Fresh cheeses and the fresh croissants of Course, yeah. Jams, all of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Marmalades.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And just it really ignited for her a whole. A love of whole food, whole ingredients. Also canning and preserving, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: and she actually talks about. Because she has this relationship with France, because that's where they mostly were. This, how Napoleon changed the eating habits of France to this day. And I thought that was interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Strong proponent of crumpets and croissants.
>> Amanda Barker: They don't do crumpets. England. he made them form bread into the baguette shape so that soldiers could put them in their pants so that they could. Well, so that they'd have, like, bread to eat.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, it made it more portable, I guess, for soldiers is one thing that they.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if that's true. There's so many little. All right, A, soldier's gonna put
>> Amanda Barker: a, baguette against Napoleon?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, first of all, a lot of things, but before that, let me just say, like putting a baguette down your pants. Try it as a soldier, first of all, you know, can you bend your knee?
>> Amanda Barker: Have you ever boiled a hot egg and then had a nice, warm, hard boiled egg in your pocket to keep your hands warm and then you had lunch later?
>> Marco Timpano: No, No, I haven't.
>> Amanda Barker: These are tips and tricks from the frugal hacks that I know about. So there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: How long does the hard boiled egg stay warm?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, like a good hour.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I would do that.
>> Amanda Barker: Smart, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. is the baguette warm? Because what I would like to do is have a baguette.
>> Amanda Barker: A warm baguette on each side.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Like a French soldier food for
>> Amanda Barker: warming that you then get to eat later. I think is a. Is the. Maybe one of my favorite frugal hacks. Warm yourself in the winter with food on your body that you can then later eat.
>> Marco Timpano: You could do that in the summertime, too. Like get a bag of peas that are frozen, put them on the back of your neck, and then.
>> Amanda Barker: And then eat defrosted peas for your delicious lunch.
>> Marco Timpano: Why not? Why not? You can mash them up and do mushy peas and squeeze them out of the bag.
>> Amanda Barker: This is why I do most of the cooking in the house, folks.
Some Canadian stores that have closed include Simpsons and Towers
>> Marco Timpano: before we end the podcast, I want to talk about some other stores that have closed you may have gone to when you were a child. I was talking about byway, there was another one called, and this might just be local Bargained Heralds. Did you ever go to hear about Bargain heralds?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Bargain Heralds. I Think they used to call it like the B. The BH Emporium to make it sound fancy. But Bargain Heralds was one of them. I never really went to Bargain Heralds. I was. I went to Byway and I went to, Do you remember, Towers? Towers.
>> Amanda Barker: No, this. See, so these types of discussions are where you see the Canadian versus the American. And also we're from different cities. Even if I, you know, grew up in Canada, I would have been in a different part.
>> Marco Timpano: But I love Towers because I got my first Slinky at Towers.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, we had Filene's.
>> Marco Timpano: Filene's basement.
>> Amanda Barker: And Filene's basement, which was like the discount. So Filene's basement is where you did all your back to school shopping.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, what was Filene's then?
>> Amanda Barker: A department store.
>> Marco Timpano: Just a regular Macy's. Like a gimbals.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like Kimballs, JCPenney, which I think is still around.
>> Marco Timpano: Sears is gone.
>> Amanda Barker: no. I did their last ad campaign and it never aired because they closed it.
>> Marco Timpano: was it Simpsons Simpsons in Sears again?
>> Amanda Barker: That's. No, but I have things that say Simpsons on it because clearly it was a thing back in Canada. but no, we didn't have the Simpsons. Toronto had Eaton's for the longest time.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's still the Eaton Center. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: But there is no Eaton's. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's gone under in receivership and now.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is there Eaton's? I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there's some Hudson's Bay stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: You're talking about the Bay?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm talking about the Bay. Right. Eaton's is gone. Eaton's was like the fancy department store where you would go and get fancy stuff. China.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: Like they had everything. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So.
>> Marco Timpano: But Eaton's, like. Like, it was. It. It was, I don't want to say it was high end, but it had pretty much everything.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. I'm trying to think of what other, stores that we would go to that are no longer around the Eaton.
>> Marco Timpano: Eaton's. And then there was, There was another one. I can't think. Simpsons. I remember going to Simpsons all the time. Zellers.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. Simpsons. I don't. Yeah. No, that wasn't part of my world.
>> Marco Timpano: Sellers. Sellers. Where the lowest price was the law.
>> Amanda Barker: now I moved to Canada and that was still very much a thing. Zeller. Zeller's was like Kmart.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: In fact, I think it was owned by Kmart at one point. Well, I don't know. But they had the same sort of deals. You know how like there's certain brands, like Walmart has its own brands or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: for anyone who was from Toronto, this is very specific. Honest Ed's.
>> Amanda Barker: I was thinking about honest ads. Yeah. So Honest Ed's, when I moved to Toronto was this crazy maze of a bargain store where you could find. It was hard to know what you were gonna find there. But you, if you were setting up a kitchen, you could find like Tupperware and pots and pans and anything for a kitchen. I remember they had all that stuff there.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the thing that made Honest Ed's what it was, it was like Amanda said it was like just a huge, huge place.
>> Amanda Barker: And it was so iconic.
Honest Ed's store was iconic because it had stuff new Canadians would need
It had huge lights, orange and like a red and yellow. Red with yellow lights. And it was huge on the corner of Bathurst and Bloor.
>> Marco Timpano: If you know that that store, we don't live too far from it. So if you're like, oh, Marco and Amanda live near what was Honest Ed's. But Honest Ed's made. Made its sort of, name. I don't say made its name, but was iconic because it had a lot of stuff that new Canadians would need. So if you came to this country, you could go there and get everything for your kitchen, like you were saying.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: All the plates you might need, all the glassware you might need, toilet paper,
>> Amanda Barker: paper to pots and pans. Yeah. But also like knickknacks, chachkas. Like say chachki or chachka.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't say either.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, Knickknacks just.
>> Marco Timpano: Cuz I don't know what to say.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I never know what the right or people say chachkes and stuff. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: So yeah, so that's what made that what it is. And yeah, it closed, a few years back and they had these iconic painted, signs that would say like, you know, mops 194 each or whatever. And they had a real.
>> Amanda Barker: I wonder who did those signs. I met Honest Ed one once.
>> Marco Timpano: no, Honest Ed was the impresario who has all the theaters now in Toronto.
>> Amanda Barker: And his last name was Mervish. Honest Ed Mirvish.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So you'll see Ed Mirvish Theater or whatnot. So their, their name.
>> Amanda Barker: He was a real entrepreneur. He was kind of like Mr. Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And he used to give out turkeys around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yeah. What was he like when you met him?
>> Amanda Barker: Old.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I was dressed as a giant mascot. So, you know, he was kind and small. He was a very small Man.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: and he kind of smiled and he waved, and he was, you know, he's one of those guys. I think this about lots of people. Joe Biden, you know, like, anybody who's. They might be one way behind the scenes, but then as soon as they get on stage, that's how they know themselves.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Like, that's their life. And I think once we put him on a stage where he was on a stage with me, it was his part birthday. he used to have a huge birthday celebration in the summer.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I think his birthday was in August. And so he would have this huge birthday celebration. And so we were. The company I worked for, Pizza Pizza was one of the sponsors. So we made a, I think he was turning 99, something like that. So we made. We made a pizza that had the Pepperoni spelled out 99. Great. Anyway, and he thought that was pretty great.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic.
For anyone celebrating their birthdays, we wish you a happy birthday
Well, for anyone who's celebrating their birthdays or have recently celebrated their birthdays, we want to wish you a happy birthday.
>> Amanda Barker: And if you're still with us and awake, let us know what stores you have in your neck of the woods that are no longer there. I'd love to hear some of these great names like. Like Gimbals or the Byway or Bargain
>> Marco Timpano: Heralds or Filings or Zellers. yeah, because they're funny names. until next time, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Road Trip & Comic Strips
(Original airdate: October 2, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help guide you or bring you to a place of relaxation, calm, chill, or hopefully even sleep.
Amanda and I drove to London, Ontario and back today
I'm your host, Marco Timpano I'm sitting
>> Amanda Barker: here with my eyes closed. I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, you and I drove to London, Ontario and back.
>> Amanda Barker: yes, we did. And I'm tired. It's a.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a bit of a drive. I will say that it is. It's a beautiful place.
>> Amanda Barker: And a beautiful drive.
>> Marco Timpano: And a beautiful drive. And it was a beautiful day today, so I'm not complaining about any of those things.
>> Amanda Barker: And we got to do beautiful work.
>> Marco Timpano: We did.
>> Amanda Barker: Which we're always happy to have Universe here. Hear me?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: But, I am tired, sure. As are you, I think. And I just closed my eyes for a half beat, and it almost felt like, you know in the morning when your alarm goes and you're like, I'm just gonna rest my eyes for 10 minutes. Yes, I'm in those 10 more minutes right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't think I'm getting out of them. And I'm wondering, I think I might do this whole podcast with my eyes closed.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that'll be fascinating.
AD Free episodes are now on Supercast
Well, I want to acknowledge anyone who's listening who worked really hard today, too, and just let them know, listen, you worked hard today. You deserve to rest and ch. And, we're grateful that you were able to do that work. And now you're in a place where you're listening to our podcast and if
>> Amanda Barker: you kind of are feeling well, I didn't really work that hard today. I'm going to tell you something. You did.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And so you also deserve to have that feeling of a day well spent. Even if you did, quote, unquote, nothing, you, believe me, did lots of things. And it's a day well spent. And I want you to have that completely. Like you left, as we say as actors, you left it all in the room feeling like there's nothing else left to give.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah.
>> Amanda Barker: Except surrendering into peace and calmness.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that. And I want to say a special thank you to everyone who's reached out and helped me really figure out the super cast of, with our podcast. So if you want to hear AD Free episodes, they are now on Supercast. You go to the Insomnia Project, Supercast ca and you can get AD Free listens there. I will be putting more and more episodes up there. So right now there's three seasons and I'm going to be putting up more. So thank you for your patience with that as well, and thank you for being our listeners. It's always so, so nice.
Marco says aging makes him acutely aware of his bones
I was telling people about this podcast today, and they were all really fascinated about it.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco, something's going on with me. I pulled the thing in my bum cheek.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, we don't usually use that kind of language on this podcast. Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Right buttock.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I think those are lower back. Lower back.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, but it's not your back.
>> Marco Timpano: Upper thigh.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not your thigh. and the result of it. One of the results of it is that I'm acutely aware of my bones and I can feel them in the chair. Is that weird in a way I never have before?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I don't know. I. I would just say that's part of aging.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. I think it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, does. Does your.
>> Amanda Barker: Your pointy bum bones? I don't know what those are called. This is not a science podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Your coccyx.
>> Amanda Barker: No, that's your spine. That's your spine. I'm talking about the ones that make contact with the chair. And you hope to have some flesh to. Between them and the chair. Well, there's less flesh for some reason. And now that's all I feel.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Are they telling you it's gonna rain or not? Because if it's gonna rain, I want to bring our, pillows from outside in. Are you getting those premonition bone feelings? No.
>> Amanda Barker: Premonition bones, no. but you remind me of my. It's so stupid. My favorite Far side comic.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which was three guys sitting on a porch, and one guy is like, oh, I think something's happening with the weather because my thumb is really big and his thumb is hurting. Then the other guy's like, oh, I think there's definitely a storm coming because I can feel it in my knee. And then the third guy has, like, this ginormous head and he's like, there's definitely a change in the weather because I think my head is really big and his head is, like, ginormous. I was probably 10 when I saw it or something, and it seemed very funny to me. It doesn't seem so funny now that I'm sitting telling you about farsight.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, when you have to describe a comic, it doesn't always.
>> Amanda Barker: Comics don't always hold up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but farsight is funny.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember reading them in the back of the paper, like, growing up, and you were like, ha, ha. Like, they were never funny. Like Family Circus.
>> Marco Timpano: I had Family Circus books.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, so you were a big fan? A Family Circus fan?
>> Marco Timpano: I guess I was little. I think when I was little, it was a comic that you could read that was kind of funny, but not.
>> Amanda Barker: Not really, though. I Have you ever looked at a Family Circus comic and actually laughed out loud?
>> Marco Timpano: I, mean, I don't know if I blurted out loud, like, you know,
>> Amanda Barker: I'd say lulled, as the kids say. But the people who say LOL are not kids anymore. LOL is the middle aged. Used to be the millennial. Young millennials. Now they're middle aged. Millennials say people who sell lull have
>> Marco Timpano: bursitis like you do. It sounds like.
>> Amanda Barker: And Reed Family Circus.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I used to read Family Circus when I was young, and now as an adult, I don't think Family Circus speaks to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Family Spurkus, Family Spurcus.
>> Marco Timpano: but I do like Calvin and Hobbes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Always a favorite. I do like Far side.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Never got into Marmaduke. You seem like someone who would read Marmaduke.
>> Amanda Barker: What does that mean?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: A Marmaduke reader. What was Marmaduke a dog?
>> Marco Timpano: It was a Great Dane.
>> Amanda Barker: No. How do I seem like someone who is a Marmaduke reader?
>> Marco Timpano: You don't seem like the type of person who would read Kathy comics. You're not a cat. I don't think, you know, Blarg is not something that, you know, you would.
>> Amanda Barker: I am a Kathy comic, so I don't need to read my life. You know what I mean?
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm not into Kathy.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to work with someone who would say smooches all the time.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, people do say that. Is that what that's from?
Matt Groening comics gave lasagna a boost in late 80s
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Smooches.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: and I'm not into Marmaduke. And I don't even know what to do with that accusation.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, Christmas is not that far away. You might get, Marmaduke's greatest comics.
>> Amanda Barker: my sister went through a real Garfield phase.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Coincidentally, not coincidentally, she hates lasagna. No, she loves lasagna. And I think because of that comic, I think lasagna got a real big boost. Boost. I think nonnas around the world were, like, asked to make extra lasagna in the late 80s because of. And mid-80s, I guess because of, the rise in popularity from Garfield.
>> Marco Timpano: I think if you had a nonna, you didn't have to ask for lasagnas. They were just made.
>> Amanda Barker: I, ah, guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Does your sister hate.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, if you had a Valerie, which was what we had, we had to ask for lasagna.
>> Marco Timpano: Does your sister hate Mondays, is the question.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. You're gonna have to ask her. so I would read her Garfield comics. and they were well read. And then we got into. Yeah, far side a little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Loved far side.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, far side was great. That was more late 80s. That was like the edgy one. But we actually got really into very early. I'm gonna say the last name wrong. Probably Matt Groening.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: The Simpsons before pre Simpsons. So he had. He had characters. Well, two were called Akbar and fez.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't claim anything on them or remember too much, but we were really, really into Matt Groening or whatever his groaning.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't it?
>> Amanda Barker: It looks like groening, but I think it's pronounced groening or greening or. It's not a word that's pronounced as it's as you think it is. But anyway, whatever it is. So we got really into those and those felt very subversive. And I think they were considered as such again in the late 80s. And then as a 12 year old child. So think of the 12 year olds. We know a couple 11 year olds right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Amanda has her eyes wide open right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Friends, in case you're wondering. I didn't commit to that bit. but while I woke up, all this exciting, comic Marmaduke talk. Marmaduke talk always brings me back to the table. but the Matt Groening comics were seen as like this new, interesting, fun, exciting.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Little fringe piece of comedy. And I, on the Branley new channel, started watching fox tv.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Back in the day. Back in the day, like 21 Jump street was their first show, I think. And they hosted the Tracy Ullman show. So I would watch that every Sunday night without fail on my little tv. Staying up, you know, telling my parents I went to bed and then watching the Tracey Ullman show in my room. And as we all know, the Simpsons. The Simpsons were the interstitials. And it was just a little like get that cool Matt Groening guy to do characters. And he didn't do Akbar and fez. He did this family. And we all know what they became, but they were just an offshoot of bigger plans he had. That's obviously what took off.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever read the Dilbert comics?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm not a Dilbert fan.
>> Marco Timpano: Neither am I. How about peanuts? Chuck?
>> Amanda Barker: I like peanuts. Peanuts. Of all the ones that were in the back of the newspaper, Peanuts was the one. Was the one I liked the most because I really liked snoopy and Woodstock.
>> Marco Timpano: I see those were your two favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. There was something really like dry witted about them that I enjoyed. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I liked. I liked Charlie Brown and all those things. Peppermint Patty and, you know, the gang.
>> Amanda Barker: Was she your favorite?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't think peppermint Patty was my favorite. I have, funny enough, I have a T shirt I bought. So I like soft, very soft T shirts. And oftentimes the softest T shirts are not the T shirts you think I would buy.
Bob Evans is a family-style restaurant originally from Pennsylvania or Ohio
So I have a whole collection from. What's that restaurant.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Bob Evans.
>> Marco Timpano: Bob Evans had this super sale of T shirts when we were there once.
>> Amanda Barker: We should explain Bob Evans because we don't even have them in our neck of the woods.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Should I explain?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Bob Evans is a, family style restaurant that I think is originally from Pennsylvania or Ohio.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it kind of lives in those areas. Although, it's probably most states have Bob Evans now, but some more than others, for sure. And they have this thing where they serve. So it's like your typical diner food. Really.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Things with gravy and a couple really good big salads. But they serve their salads and most of their things with like banana bread or cornbread or like a sweet, like sweet cranberry bread. Like almost like a desserty kind of bread.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is genius.
>> Marco Timpano: And Amanda's all over it.
>> Amanda Barker: I am.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I shop the front area where they sell little cups and little salt and pepper shakers because you know that I love the knickknacky things while we were there. And they had a whole bunch of T shirts that were super soft and on sale. And so I have, an abundance of T shirts that say, I love biscuits and gravy. Flap my jack, will you? Things like that. Like sayings that you wouldn't expect me to wear. And I have a T shirt that I bought at the theme park not too far from our home called Canada's Wonderland that has peppermint patty on it. And it's blue and it's super soft and it says roller coaster hair and her hair is all messed up. And so these are the T shirts that I will wear. Not every day when I.
>> Amanda Barker: And a special person was very excited about that shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: My nephew could not wait to see my pajamas. And that's one of these.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm so excited to see Xiomarco's pajamas, and rightly so.
>> Marco Timpano: And I did not disappoint with my Peppermint Patty T. shirt. So I'm. I don't know why I got into this. Oh, we got into it because of comics.
>> Amanda Barker: Wanted people to know that you every night faithfully sleep in a peppermint Patty. T shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's fantastic. My favorite T shirt. So. So, yeah, those are the comics. I'm trying to think of other comics. Did you ever read calvin and hobbes?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I didn't ever get out. Got into that, really.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I think the Matt groening comics were my favorite, But I seem to pick those up over and over and think they were just so funny and cool.
>> Marco Timpano: do you remember there was this comic? I think it's an old comic that they would run in the paper. I don't even think they have comics in papers anymore.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. It's.
>> Marco Timpano: When was the last time I read a newspaper? I picked up an actual newspaper, you
>> Amanda Barker: know, when we were at the cottage last week. We've been doing a lot of cottage times.
>> Marco Timpano: A lot of renos.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of renos. Yeah. And, so anyways, I like being up in the neck of the woods, and we try to support all the local businesses as we do here.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So there's a convenience store basically across the street almost, and we try to support them. So when we were up there, it just struck me there was a guy there buying the paper. Such a simple act. But it occurred to me, I don't know, the last time there's been somebody behind me or in front of me in a line just in a place just to buy a paper.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But they must, because people read the paper, I guess. Still, I wish. I want to read the paper more. You should read the paper, because you know what? I don't want to read it on my phone. I want to read it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you want to hold the physical paper.
>> Amanda Barker: I do, actually, but then I don't. That's. I already have enough magazine. Like, I have a lot of papers.
>> Marco Timpano: Will you read the comics to me if you buy. If I buy you a paper?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Will you buy me a newspaper subscription?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: I might ask for that for Christmas.
>> Marco Timpano: That's quite expensive.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is it?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. You get the paper every day.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't want a paper every day. I want the Sunday version, the big, thick one that has, like, artists and musicians in it. I don't want to read headlines every day.
Amanda got so many magazines. Can you just subscribe to lifestyle section of a page
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I do want to read the like. Can you just subscribe to the lifestyle section of a page?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it doesn't. Then get a magazine.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we do that. I do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, you do. There was a point where Amanda got so many magazines.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That I was like, I just can't. There's too many magazines in the home
>> Amanda Barker: that Was called the best year of my life.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, there you go.
Is there a cartoon that you enjoyed watching as a child
So, bridging the gap between comics and cartoons, Is there a cartoon that you enjoyed watching? Like, I. I don't think you. You watched the Flintstones, did you?
>> Amanda Barker: As a child, I watched a ton Flintstones, but I didn't particularly enjoy them.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Did you watch the Jetsons?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I felt about the same.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What about Jabber Jaw?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. Excuse me.
>> Marco Timpano: Jabberjaw was the shark that. That played in a band. I think you, didn't see too many of those cartoons. That was one of my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Jabberjaw.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Scooby Doo.
>> Amanda Barker: I really did not like Scooby.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Okay, so what cartoons did you like?
>> Amanda Barker: The thing is, the real irony of my life is I didn't like animation.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I still, to this day, don't really. And the reason this is an irony is that my sister is a professional animator.
>> Marco Timpano: This is the sister who hates Mondays but loves lasagna.
>> Amanda Barker: These things are probably still true. She's such an artist. The fact that we're calling her a walking Kathy comic is kind of awesome.
>> Marco Timpano: no, I'm not calling her. I'm calling her a Garfield comic.
>> Amanda Barker: Garfield meets Kathy and they had a baby.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I never said she was Kathy. I don't want.
>> Amanda Barker: She hates Mondays. Oh, that's. Oh, I thought Kathy hated Mondays. I bet Kathy does hate Mondays.
>> Marco Timpano: Kathy likes to smooch.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't get that. So she says smooches to.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but I thought Kathy was like, ugh, my boss in work. I'm going to cross my eyes and go, ugh. blarg. Isn't that Kathy?
>> Marco Timpano: Does your sister say blarg? Is she the type of person to say blarg?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't live in the same city as her, so I. I don't have a. I don't keep. Keep eyes and ears on our blarg status. So I don't know, but, you know, we should say blarg more. No, you should say when you're driving and you're feeling a little ragey instead of yelling out Italian profanities, as you might. Blarg is what I want you to start yelling out. Just a good old blarg.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay?
>> Amanda Barker: And I want. I want it to feel like you exhaled and number signs and dollar signs and asterixes came out of your mouth.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll do that. If you say smooches every time you kiss a friend or foe, I'll say
>> Amanda Barker: it when I Kiss a friend or foe. But I will not sign an email off with smooches. You imagine smooches?
>> Marco Timpano: Can you do that? Your next email to your boss signed it off with smooches.
>> Amanda Barker: She probably wouldn't mind. Okay. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So funny.
>> Amanda Barker: I still. It doesn't feel in character. I'd like to think it's not in character with me.
Amanda says there's something about cartoons that makes her nauseous
what were you gonna ask me? What cartoons did I watch as a kid?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you watched.
>> Amanda Barker: I watched a ton, but I didn't like any of them. I watched Tom and Jerry. All kinds.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Tom and Jerry. I didn't like Tom and Jerry.
>> Amanda Barker: No, they're awful. But I watched them, but I didn't like them. That's what was on. We couldn't dial things up.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: We had to watch what was on, and I didn't like any of it.
>> Marco Timpano: what about, like, the Bugs Bunny?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I hated all of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I really, like. There's something about it that makes me, like, sick to my stomach.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, I really. It might be because I was being. Eating, like, breakfasts that were making me feel nauseous while I watched it. That's what I actually think might have happened there. But the end result is that the whole thought of it makes me nauseous. I'm sure there's any cartoon I liked. Like, something experimental, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. well, I liked a lot of cartoons, folks. In case you're like, what's wrong with Amanda? I liked a ton of cartoons.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what I loved, though?
>> Marco Timpano: What?
>> Amanda Barker: Anything for kids that wasn't a cartoon. So puppets like Fraggle Rock?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'm. If you're like, oh, she's younger than I thought. No, I was pretty old to, like Fraggle Rock, but I super loved Fraggle Rock.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, of all of them, that was probably my favorite.
>> Marco Timpano: I like the Muppets.
>> Amanda Barker: I love the Muppets.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the Muppets.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, any Jim Henson I was in. I like puppets. I like things that I can. There's something about cartoons that I can't connect to. Okay. Still to this day, like, all that bad CGI we had in, like, the early aughts. Every movie that was, like, cgi.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. It's not for you?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I. My brain just turns off.
>> Marco Timpano: I had. So while you had a Cabbage Patch
>> Amanda Barker: doll, I had four.
>> Marco Timpano: Or.
>> Amanda Barker: I like how you said it. Or cabbage branch doll. Or a,
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a glow worm. Used to squeeze it and it would.
>> Amanda Barker: I never had a glow worm.
>> Marco Timpano: My sister had a glow worm.
>> Amanda Barker: Glow Worms were expensive.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, she had one. I'm trying to think.
>> Amanda Barker: You guys were rich.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think so. I think she just got a glow worm for Christmas one year, and. And it was probably years after when. When it wasn't popular anymore or. I bet you had raggedy ends.
>> Amanda Barker: And I did. Yeah, we did.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a Kermit doll I used to sleep with.
>> Amanda Barker: My brother had a Kermit, and I. Well, guess what I used to sleep with.
>> Marco Timpano: a corn with two, like, eyes on it. Corn doll, you know?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I slept with a Miss Piggy.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, did you really?
>> Amanda Barker: I had a Miss Piggy doll, and I loved her. And I would do the voice, and I'd do the hiya. And I'd, like, kick people with her little hooves.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And I really was, like, channeling Miss Piggy, and I thought she was. And I would get, like, laughs when I, like, would make her talk.
>> Marco Timpano: And it all started there.
>> Amanda Barker: It really did. I loved Miss Piggy. She was a woman who knew what she needed out of life.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah, she had a lot of anger, but who doesn't, right?
I loved my Kermit doll. I still have it. And I, like, really loved my Miss Piggy
What woman in the 70s didn't have some anger?
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how I felt with Miss Piggy. I was like, this woman knows what she wants.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Kind of don't love that she had to be a pig. But she. She. She brought it back, and she owned her pig space, and. And, that's just what she was. I. I liked Miss Piggy.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't that funny? You had that doll, and I had the doll.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. That's what I'm saying. And I, like, really loved my Miss Piggy.
>> Marco Timpano: I loved my Kermit doll.
>> Amanda Barker: I can think of the dress that I used to put her in and. And the clothes I had for her. And I did sleep with her. Yeah. And she was, like, this big.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's big.
>> Amanda Barker: It was pretty big. How big was your ke?
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe this big. Oh, the legs. But the legs were longer.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the legs were long.
>> Marco Timpano: I still have it. I'll show it to you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't have Miss Piggy anymore. I wish I did. I think her eyes closed, like. I think her. She had, like, eyeshadowy eyes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: She had, like, a plastic face, but, like, plush body.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And her eyes would open and close, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So I guess she would be able to close her eyes through the whole podcast episode without a problem.
>> Amanda Barker: She probably would be able to commit to that bit. She committed to a bit.
>> Marco Timpano: She certainly did, Miss Piggy.
You had four Cabbage Patch dolls when you were young
Oh, my goodness. And you had four Cabbage Patch dolls.
>> Amanda Barker: I did. I did. I had. The first one had a weird name. I don't remember what it was, but I didn't like the name.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I immediately changed it to, Molly Jill.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Good old. She was Irish.
>> Amanda Barker: You're.
>> Marco Timpano: You're.
>> Amanda Barker: I liked the name Molly. I mean, at that time, I was known as Mandy Jill. So I don't think I was thinking too outside the box with that one. Then I got a second cabbage patch, and I kept the name that she came with, which was Spring Colleen.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought that was a pretty name. Spring Colleen. she had. So Molly Jill looked like me. She had, like, brown hair and, like, ponytails. Dimples. They all had dimples. I guess. Some, had one dimple, some had two. Spring Colleen had short yellow hair.
>> Marco Timpano: Mm.
>> Amanda Barker: Then I had a baby cabbage patch. You know the baby ones?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. With the hard, plastic bald heads.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I can still smell it. Like, they smell like baby powder.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I can still, like, take myself back to that, like, olfactory memory of, like, the baby powder and the little cabbage patch bomb that you'd put the diaper on.
>> Marco Timpano: and his didn't have a little tattoo there, too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Xavier Roberts. Name was on the bums.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: What happened to him?
>> Marco Timpano: Eh, never even heard of this person.
>> Amanda Barker: Xavier Roberts was the.
>> Marco Timpano: The creator.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And it was a whole thing of, like, they're born in the hospital of cabbage patches or whatever. I don't know. but then the baby was like, Sean something, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I also babysit a kid named Sean, so maybe I'm conflating that. And then I thought I had another one, but maybe I only had the three. My brother had one. My sister, I think, had one, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, we were into the cabbage patches big time. I was like, the cabbage patch generation, for sure. Are you looking up Xavier Roberts?
>> Marco Timpano: I am.
>> Amanda Barker: Any. Any hot findings?
>> Marco Timpano: not really.
>> Amanda Barker: Weird look on your face.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, because it said net worth, but I didn't want that. I wanted to know a little bit of. There's a. There's a lot of Xavier Roberts. That's why I was trying to figure out which one.
>> Amanda Barker: I wish I had a Cabbage Patch bum right now, because then I wouldn't feel the bones in my bum on this chair.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you're certainly saying that a lot here on the podcast, where we don't say that. sorry. Yeah. I think he also created the first skins bear. Have you heard of that?
>> Amanda Barker: Nope.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So anyways. Oh, he. He created this when he Was young. Like, he was 26, I think.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Millionaire doing this. Okay, well, good for them. yeah, good idea. $.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess it just had a little bit of enough of a gimmick, and then the frenzy started.
Everyone loves a Slinky, including you, probably, dear listener
Remember, that was one. That was one of the first frenzied toys.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I had Stretch Armstrong, I think I talked about on the podcast once, before you could stretch his arms and legs. I was so excited to get it at Man Died. That's all I wanted, was Stretch Armstrong. And then you stretched him, and he stretched back, and that's all they did. But the commercial made it seem like there was so much more.
>> Amanda Barker: Stretch Armstrong did commercials knew what they were doing.
>> Marco Timpano: let's just say I got it for Christmas. And what? By. By New Year's, I was all over it. Wow, man.
>> Amanda Barker: What a Lesson learned.
>> Marco Timpano: Lesson learned, Right? Lesson learned.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, where is he now, Mr. Armstrong?
>> Marco Timpano: No, he's nowhere to be found. I think I overstretched him.
>> Amanda Barker: I have a feeling you weren't the only kid. Remember Slinkies?
>> Marco Timpano: Loved Slinkies.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but how long would that one last before it was, like, caught in your hair and then twisted all around, and then you'd put it back, and you get your dad to put it back. But then it was like that one, like, coil that got kinked. Ye. I didn't fully go back, and it was like, here's my Slinky now. But it had, like, the one, like, the big gap in it, and you're, like, trying to do it down the stairs.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to, like, rotate it over my head like a. Like a helicopter blade, and it would just stretch and stretch and stretch.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sure your parents love that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Yeah, it's a. It's. It's an interesting toy because it's just a coil of springs of metal.
>> Amanda Barker: Clearly somebody did a metal coil at their factory or something. And some kid was like, this is amazing. And somebody was like, great, I got an idea, but let's make it so that it doesn't, you know, and it
>> Marco Timpano: has the best name. Slinky. Like, you know, it's a great name for what it is.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone loves a Slinky.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't we all? Well, I'm going to end the podcast by saying Blarg. Oh, thank you for listening.
>> Amanda Barker: Today, I'm going to remind you that everyone loves a Slinky, including you, probably, dear listener. And if you don't, may you go to sleep. I mean, that would be a great way to drift off just. Just thinking about each one of your toys and the love you had for them as a child. Then just like, imagine that you're taking them, giving them a little love, putting them on your bed the way you might have. That's what I used to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And, I hope you have a lovely rest of your night. And we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: October 2, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help guide you or bring you to a place of relaxation, calm, chill, or hopefully even sleep.
Amanda and I drove to London, Ontario and back today
I'm your host, Marco Timpano I'm sitting
>> Amanda Barker: here with my eyes closed. I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, you and I drove to London, Ontario and back.
>> Amanda Barker: yes, we did. And I'm tired. It's a.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a bit of a drive. I will say that it is. It's a beautiful place.
>> Amanda Barker: And a beautiful drive.
>> Marco Timpano: And a beautiful drive. And it was a beautiful day today, so I'm not complaining about any of those things.
>> Amanda Barker: And we got to do beautiful work.
>> Marco Timpano: We did.
>> Amanda Barker: Which we're always happy to have Universe here. Hear me?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: But, I am tired, sure. As are you, I think. And I just closed my eyes for a half beat, and it almost felt like, you know in the morning when your alarm goes and you're like, I'm just gonna rest my eyes for 10 minutes. Yes, I'm in those 10 more minutes right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't think I'm getting out of them. And I'm wondering, I think I might do this whole podcast with my eyes closed.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that'll be fascinating.
AD Free episodes are now on Supercast
Well, I want to acknowledge anyone who's listening who worked really hard today, too, and just let them know, listen, you worked hard today. You deserve to rest and ch. And, we're grateful that you were able to do that work. And now you're in a place where you're listening to our podcast and if
>> Amanda Barker: you kind of are feeling well, I didn't really work that hard today. I'm going to tell you something. You did.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And so you also deserve to have that feeling of a day well spent. Even if you did, quote, unquote, nothing, you, believe me, did lots of things. And it's a day well spent. And I want you to have that completely. Like you left, as we say as actors, you left it all in the room feeling like there's nothing else left to give.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah.
>> Amanda Barker: Except surrendering into peace and calmness.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that. And I want to say a special thank you to everyone who's reached out and helped me really figure out the super cast of, with our podcast. So if you want to hear AD Free episodes, they are now on Supercast. You go to the Insomnia Project, Supercast ca and you can get AD Free listens there. I will be putting more and more episodes up there. So right now there's three seasons and I'm going to be putting up more. So thank you for your patience with that as well, and thank you for being our listeners. It's always so, so nice.
Marco says aging makes him acutely aware of his bones
I was telling people about this podcast today, and they were all really fascinated about it.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco, something's going on with me. I pulled the thing in my bum cheek.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, we don't usually use that kind of language on this podcast. Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Right buttock.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I think those are lower back. Lower back.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, but it's not your back.
>> Marco Timpano: Upper thigh.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not your thigh. and the result of it. One of the results of it is that I'm acutely aware of my bones and I can feel them in the chair. Is that weird in a way I never have before?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I don't know. I. I would just say that's part of aging.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. I think it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, does. Does your.
>> Amanda Barker: Your pointy bum bones? I don't know what those are called. This is not a science podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Your coccyx.
>> Amanda Barker: No, that's your spine. That's your spine. I'm talking about the ones that make contact with the chair. And you hope to have some flesh to. Between them and the chair. Well, there's less flesh for some reason. And now that's all I feel.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Are they telling you it's gonna rain or not? Because if it's gonna rain, I want to bring our, pillows from outside in. Are you getting those premonition bone feelings? No.
>> Amanda Barker: Premonition bones, no. but you remind me of my. It's so stupid. My favorite Far side comic.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which was three guys sitting on a porch, and one guy is like, oh, I think something's happening with the weather because my thumb is really big and his thumb is hurting. Then the other guy's like, oh, I think there's definitely a storm coming because I can feel it in my knee. And then the third guy has, like, this ginormous head and he's like, there's definitely a change in the weather because I think my head is really big and his head is, like, ginormous. I was probably 10 when I saw it or something, and it seemed very funny to me. It doesn't seem so funny now that I'm sitting telling you about farsight.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, when you have to describe a comic, it doesn't always.
>> Amanda Barker: Comics don't always hold up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but farsight is funny.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember reading them in the back of the paper, like, growing up, and you were like, ha, ha. Like, they were never funny. Like Family Circus.
>> Marco Timpano: I had Family Circus books.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, so you were a big fan? A Family Circus fan?
>> Marco Timpano: I guess I was little. I think when I was little, it was a comic that you could read that was kind of funny, but not.
>> Amanda Barker: Not really, though. I Have you ever looked at a Family Circus comic and actually laughed out loud?
>> Marco Timpano: I, mean, I don't know if I blurted out loud, like, you know,
>> Amanda Barker: I'd say lulled, as the kids say. But the people who say LOL are not kids anymore. LOL is the middle aged. Used to be the millennial. Young millennials. Now they're middle aged. Millennials say people who sell lull have
>> Marco Timpano: bursitis like you do. It sounds like.
>> Amanda Barker: And Reed Family Circus.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I used to read Family Circus when I was young, and now as an adult, I don't think Family Circus speaks to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Family Spurkus, Family Spurcus.
>> Marco Timpano: but I do like Calvin and Hobbes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Always a favorite. I do like Far side.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Never got into Marmaduke. You seem like someone who would read Marmaduke.
>> Amanda Barker: What does that mean?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: A Marmaduke reader. What was Marmaduke a dog?
>> Marco Timpano: It was a Great Dane.
>> Amanda Barker: No. How do I seem like someone who is a Marmaduke reader?
>> Marco Timpano: You don't seem like the type of person who would read Kathy comics. You're not a cat. I don't think, you know, Blarg is not something that, you know, you would.
>> Amanda Barker: I am a Kathy comic, so I don't need to read my life. You know what I mean?
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm not into Kathy.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to work with someone who would say smooches all the time.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, people do say that. Is that what that's from?
Matt Groening comics gave lasagna a boost in late 80s
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Smooches.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: and I'm not into Marmaduke. And I don't even know what to do with that accusation.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, Christmas is not that far away. You might get, Marmaduke's greatest comics.
>> Amanda Barker: my sister went through a real Garfield phase.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Coincidentally, not coincidentally, she hates lasagna. No, she loves lasagna. And I think because of that comic, I think lasagna got a real big boost. Boost. I think nonnas around the world were, like, asked to make extra lasagna in the late 80s because of. And mid-80s, I guess because of, the rise in popularity from Garfield.
>> Marco Timpano: I think if you had a nonna, you didn't have to ask for lasagnas. They were just made.
>> Amanda Barker: I, ah, guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Does your sister hate.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, if you had a Valerie, which was what we had, we had to ask for lasagna.
>> Marco Timpano: Does your sister hate Mondays, is the question.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. You're gonna have to ask her. so I would read her Garfield comics. and they were well read. And then we got into. Yeah, far side a little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Loved far side.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, far side was great. That was more late 80s. That was like the edgy one. But we actually got really into very early. I'm gonna say the last name wrong. Probably Matt Groening.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: The Simpsons before pre Simpsons. So he had. He had characters. Well, two were called Akbar and fez.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't claim anything on them or remember too much, but we were really, really into Matt Groening or whatever his groaning.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't it?
>> Amanda Barker: It looks like groening, but I think it's pronounced groening or greening or. It's not a word that's pronounced as it's as you think it is. But anyway, whatever it is. So we got really into those and those felt very subversive. And I think they were considered as such again in the late 80s. And then as a 12 year old child. So think of the 12 year olds. We know a couple 11 year olds right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Amanda has her eyes wide open right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Friends, in case you're wondering. I didn't commit to that bit. but while I woke up, all this exciting, comic Marmaduke talk. Marmaduke talk always brings me back to the table. but the Matt Groening comics were seen as like this new, interesting, fun, exciting.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Little fringe piece of comedy. And I, on the Branley new channel, started watching fox tv.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Back in the day. Back in the day, like 21 Jump street was their first show, I think. And they hosted the Tracy Ullman show. So I would watch that every Sunday night without fail on my little tv. Staying up, you know, telling my parents I went to bed and then watching the Tracey Ullman show in my room. And as we all know, the Simpsons. The Simpsons were the interstitials. And it was just a little like get that cool Matt Groening guy to do characters. And he didn't do Akbar and fez. He did this family. And we all know what they became, but they were just an offshoot of bigger plans he had. That's obviously what took off.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever read the Dilbert comics?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm not a Dilbert fan.
>> Marco Timpano: Neither am I. How about peanuts? Chuck?
>> Amanda Barker: I like peanuts. Peanuts. Of all the ones that were in the back of the newspaper, Peanuts was the one. Was the one I liked the most because I really liked snoopy and Woodstock.
>> Marco Timpano: I see those were your two favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. There was something really like dry witted about them that I enjoyed. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I liked. I liked Charlie Brown and all those things. Peppermint Patty and, you know, the gang.
>> Amanda Barker: Was she your favorite?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't think peppermint Patty was my favorite. I have, funny enough, I have a T shirt I bought. So I like soft, very soft T shirts. And oftentimes the softest T shirts are not the T shirts you think I would buy.
Bob Evans is a family-style restaurant originally from Pennsylvania or Ohio
So I have a whole collection from. What's that restaurant.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Bob Evans.
>> Marco Timpano: Bob Evans had this super sale of T shirts when we were there once.
>> Amanda Barker: We should explain Bob Evans because we don't even have them in our neck of the woods.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Should I explain?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Bob Evans is a, family style restaurant that I think is originally from Pennsylvania or Ohio.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it kind of lives in those areas. Although, it's probably most states have Bob Evans now, but some more than others, for sure. And they have this thing where they serve. So it's like your typical diner food. Really.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Things with gravy and a couple really good big salads. But they serve their salads and most of their things with like banana bread or cornbread or like a sweet, like sweet cranberry bread. Like almost like a desserty kind of bread.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is genius.
>> Marco Timpano: And Amanda's all over it.
>> Amanda Barker: I am.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I shop the front area where they sell little cups and little salt and pepper shakers because you know that I love the knickknacky things while we were there. And they had a whole bunch of T shirts that were super soft and on sale. And so I have, an abundance of T shirts that say, I love biscuits and gravy. Flap my jack, will you? Things like that. Like sayings that you wouldn't expect me to wear. And I have a T shirt that I bought at the theme park not too far from our home called Canada's Wonderland that has peppermint patty on it. And it's blue and it's super soft and it says roller coaster hair and her hair is all messed up. And so these are the T shirts that I will wear. Not every day when I.
>> Amanda Barker: And a special person was very excited about that shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: My nephew could not wait to see my pajamas. And that's one of these.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm so excited to see Xiomarco's pajamas, and rightly so.
>> Marco Timpano: And I did not disappoint with my Peppermint Patty T. shirt. So I'm. I don't know why I got into this. Oh, we got into it because of comics.
>> Amanda Barker: Wanted people to know that you every night faithfully sleep in a peppermint Patty. T shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's fantastic. My favorite T shirt. So. So, yeah, those are the comics. I'm trying to think of other comics. Did you ever read calvin and hobbes?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I didn't ever get out. Got into that, really.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I think the Matt groening comics were my favorite, But I seem to pick those up over and over and think they were just so funny and cool.
>> Marco Timpano: do you remember there was this comic? I think it's an old comic that they would run in the paper. I don't even think they have comics in papers anymore.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. It's.
>> Marco Timpano: When was the last time I read a newspaper? I picked up an actual newspaper, you
>> Amanda Barker: know, when we were at the cottage last week. We've been doing a lot of cottage times.
>> Marco Timpano: A lot of renos.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of renos. Yeah. And, so anyways, I like being up in the neck of the woods, and we try to support all the local businesses as we do here.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So there's a convenience store basically across the street almost, and we try to support them. So when we were up there, it just struck me there was a guy there buying the paper. Such a simple act. But it occurred to me, I don't know, the last time there's been somebody behind me or in front of me in a line just in a place just to buy a paper.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But they must, because people read the paper, I guess. Still, I wish. I want to read the paper more. You should read the paper, because you know what? I don't want to read it on my phone. I want to read it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you want to hold the physical paper.
>> Amanda Barker: I do, actually, but then I don't. That's. I already have enough magazine. Like, I have a lot of papers.
>> Marco Timpano: Will you read the comics to me if you buy. If I buy you a paper?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Will you buy me a newspaper subscription?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: I might ask for that for Christmas.
>> Marco Timpano: That's quite expensive.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is it?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. You get the paper every day.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't want a paper every day. I want the Sunday version, the big, thick one that has, like, artists and musicians in it. I don't want to read headlines every day.
Amanda got so many magazines. Can you just subscribe to lifestyle section of a page
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I do want to read the like. Can you just subscribe to the lifestyle section of a page?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it doesn't. Then get a magazine.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we do that. I do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, you do. There was a point where Amanda got so many magazines.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That I was like, I just can't. There's too many magazines in the home
>> Amanda Barker: that Was called the best year of my life.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, there you go.
Is there a cartoon that you enjoyed watching as a child
So, bridging the gap between comics and cartoons, Is there a cartoon that you enjoyed watching? Like, I. I don't think you. You watched the Flintstones, did you?
>> Amanda Barker: As a child, I watched a ton Flintstones, but I didn't particularly enjoy them.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Did you watch the Jetsons?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I felt about the same.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What about Jabber Jaw?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. Excuse me.
>> Marco Timpano: Jabberjaw was the shark that. That played in a band. I think you, didn't see too many of those cartoons. That was one of my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Jabberjaw.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Scooby Doo.
>> Amanda Barker: I really did not like Scooby.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Okay, so what cartoons did you like?
>> Amanda Barker: The thing is, the real irony of my life is I didn't like animation.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I still, to this day, don't really. And the reason this is an irony is that my sister is a professional animator.
>> Marco Timpano: This is the sister who hates Mondays but loves lasagna.
>> Amanda Barker: These things are probably still true. She's such an artist. The fact that we're calling her a walking Kathy comic is kind of awesome.
>> Marco Timpano: no, I'm not calling her. I'm calling her a Garfield comic.
>> Amanda Barker: Garfield meets Kathy and they had a baby.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I never said she was Kathy. I don't want.
>> Amanda Barker: She hates Mondays. Oh, that's. Oh, I thought Kathy hated Mondays. I bet Kathy does hate Mondays.
>> Marco Timpano: Kathy likes to smooch.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't get that. So she says smooches to.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but I thought Kathy was like, ugh, my boss in work. I'm going to cross my eyes and go, ugh. blarg. Isn't that Kathy?
>> Marco Timpano: Does your sister say blarg? Is she the type of person to say blarg?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't live in the same city as her, so I. I don't have a. I don't keep. Keep eyes and ears on our blarg status. So I don't know, but, you know, we should say blarg more. No, you should say when you're driving and you're feeling a little ragey instead of yelling out Italian profanities, as you might. Blarg is what I want you to start yelling out. Just a good old blarg.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay?
>> Amanda Barker: And I want. I want it to feel like you exhaled and number signs and dollar signs and asterixes came out of your mouth.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll do that. If you say smooches every time you kiss a friend or foe, I'll say
>> Amanda Barker: it when I Kiss a friend or foe. But I will not sign an email off with smooches. You imagine smooches?
>> Marco Timpano: Can you do that? Your next email to your boss signed it off with smooches.
>> Amanda Barker: She probably wouldn't mind. Okay. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So funny.
>> Amanda Barker: I still. It doesn't feel in character. I'd like to think it's not in character with me.
Amanda says there's something about cartoons that makes her nauseous
what were you gonna ask me? What cartoons did I watch as a kid?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you watched.
>> Amanda Barker: I watched a ton, but I didn't like any of them. I watched Tom and Jerry. All kinds.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Tom and Jerry. I didn't like Tom and Jerry.
>> Amanda Barker: No, they're awful. But I watched them, but I didn't like them. That's what was on. We couldn't dial things up.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: We had to watch what was on, and I didn't like any of it.
>> Marco Timpano: what about, like, the Bugs Bunny?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I hated all of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I really, like. There's something about it that makes me, like, sick to my stomach.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, I really. It might be because I was being. Eating, like, breakfasts that were making me feel nauseous while I watched it. That's what I actually think might have happened there. But the end result is that the whole thought of it makes me nauseous. I'm sure there's any cartoon I liked. Like, something experimental, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. well, I liked a lot of cartoons, folks. In case you're like, what's wrong with Amanda? I liked a ton of cartoons.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what I loved, though?
>> Marco Timpano: What?
>> Amanda Barker: Anything for kids that wasn't a cartoon. So puppets like Fraggle Rock?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'm. If you're like, oh, she's younger than I thought. No, I was pretty old to, like Fraggle Rock, but I super loved Fraggle Rock.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, of all of them, that was probably my favorite.
>> Marco Timpano: I like the Muppets.
>> Amanda Barker: I love the Muppets.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the Muppets.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, any Jim Henson I was in. I like puppets. I like things that I can. There's something about cartoons that I can't connect to. Okay. Still to this day, like, all that bad CGI we had in, like, the early aughts. Every movie that was, like, cgi.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. It's not for you?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I. My brain just turns off.
>> Marco Timpano: I had. So while you had a Cabbage Patch
>> Amanda Barker: doll, I had four.
>> Marco Timpano: Or.
>> Amanda Barker: I like how you said it. Or cabbage branch doll. Or a,
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a glow worm. Used to squeeze it and it would.
>> Amanda Barker: I never had a glow worm.
>> Marco Timpano: My sister had a glow worm.
>> Amanda Barker: Glow Worms were expensive.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, she had one. I'm trying to think.
>> Amanda Barker: You guys were rich.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think so. I think she just got a glow worm for Christmas one year, and. And it was probably years after when. When it wasn't popular anymore or. I bet you had raggedy ends.
>> Amanda Barker: And I did. Yeah, we did.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a Kermit doll I used to sleep with.
>> Amanda Barker: My brother had a Kermit, and I. Well, guess what I used to sleep with.
>> Marco Timpano: a corn with two, like, eyes on it. Corn doll, you know?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I slept with a Miss Piggy.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, did you really?
>> Amanda Barker: I had a Miss Piggy doll, and I loved her. And I would do the voice, and I'd do the hiya. And I'd, like, kick people with her little hooves.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And I really was, like, channeling Miss Piggy, and I thought she was. And I would get, like, laughs when I, like, would make her talk.
>> Marco Timpano: And it all started there.
>> Amanda Barker: It really did. I loved Miss Piggy. She was a woman who knew what she needed out of life.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah, she had a lot of anger, but who doesn't, right?
I loved my Kermit doll. I still have it. And I, like, really loved my Miss Piggy
What woman in the 70s didn't have some anger?
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how I felt with Miss Piggy. I was like, this woman knows what she wants.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Kind of don't love that she had to be a pig. But she. She. She brought it back, and she owned her pig space, and. And, that's just what she was. I. I liked Miss Piggy.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't that funny? You had that doll, and I had the doll.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. That's what I'm saying. And I, like, really loved my Miss Piggy.
>> Marco Timpano: I loved my Kermit doll.
>> Amanda Barker: I can think of the dress that I used to put her in and. And the clothes I had for her. And I did sleep with her. Yeah. And she was, like, this big.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's big.
>> Amanda Barker: It was pretty big. How big was your ke?
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe this big. Oh, the legs. But the legs were longer.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the legs were long.
>> Marco Timpano: I still have it. I'll show it to you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't have Miss Piggy anymore. I wish I did. I think her eyes closed, like. I think her. She had, like, eyeshadowy eyes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: She had, like, a plastic face, but, like, plush body.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And her eyes would open and close, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So I guess she would be able to close her eyes through the whole podcast episode without a problem.
>> Amanda Barker: She probably would be able to commit to that bit. She committed to a bit.
>> Marco Timpano: She certainly did, Miss Piggy.
You had four Cabbage Patch dolls when you were young
Oh, my goodness. And you had four Cabbage Patch dolls.
>> Amanda Barker: I did. I did. I had. The first one had a weird name. I don't remember what it was, but I didn't like the name.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I immediately changed it to, Molly Jill.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Good old. She was Irish.
>> Amanda Barker: You're.
>> Marco Timpano: You're.
>> Amanda Barker: I liked the name Molly. I mean, at that time, I was known as Mandy Jill. So I don't think I was thinking too outside the box with that one. Then I got a second cabbage patch, and I kept the name that she came with, which was Spring Colleen.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought that was a pretty name. Spring Colleen. she had. So Molly Jill looked like me. She had, like, brown hair and, like, ponytails. Dimples. They all had dimples. I guess. Some, had one dimple, some had two. Spring Colleen had short yellow hair.
>> Marco Timpano: Mm.
>> Amanda Barker: Then I had a baby cabbage patch. You know the baby ones?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. With the hard, plastic bald heads.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I can still smell it. Like, they smell like baby powder.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I can still, like, take myself back to that, like, olfactory memory of, like, the baby powder and the little cabbage patch bomb that you'd put the diaper on.
>> Marco Timpano: and his didn't have a little tattoo there, too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Xavier Roberts. Name was on the bums.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: What happened to him?
>> Marco Timpano: Eh, never even heard of this person.
>> Amanda Barker: Xavier Roberts was the.
>> Marco Timpano: The creator.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And it was a whole thing of, like, they're born in the hospital of cabbage patches or whatever. I don't know. but then the baby was like, Sean something, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I also babysit a kid named Sean, so maybe I'm conflating that. And then I thought I had another one, but maybe I only had the three. My brother had one. My sister, I think, had one, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, we were into the cabbage patches big time. I was like, the cabbage patch generation, for sure. Are you looking up Xavier Roberts?
>> Marco Timpano: I am.
>> Amanda Barker: Any. Any hot findings?
>> Marco Timpano: not really.
>> Amanda Barker: Weird look on your face.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, because it said net worth, but I didn't want that. I wanted to know a little bit of. There's a. There's a lot of Xavier Roberts. That's why I was trying to figure out which one.
>> Amanda Barker: I wish I had a Cabbage Patch bum right now, because then I wouldn't feel the bones in my bum on this chair.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you're certainly saying that a lot here on the podcast, where we don't say that. sorry. Yeah. I think he also created the first skins bear. Have you heard of that?
>> Amanda Barker: Nope.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So anyways. Oh, he. He created this when he Was young. Like, he was 26, I think.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Millionaire doing this. Okay, well, good for them. yeah, good idea. $.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess it just had a little bit of enough of a gimmick, and then the frenzy started.
Everyone loves a Slinky, including you, probably, dear listener
Remember, that was one. That was one of the first frenzied toys.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I had Stretch Armstrong, I think I talked about on the podcast once, before you could stretch his arms and legs. I was so excited to get it at Man Died. That's all I wanted, was Stretch Armstrong. And then you stretched him, and he stretched back, and that's all they did. But the commercial made it seem like there was so much more.
>> Amanda Barker: Stretch Armstrong did commercials knew what they were doing.
>> Marco Timpano: let's just say I got it for Christmas. And what? By. By New Year's, I was all over it. Wow, man.
>> Amanda Barker: What a Lesson learned.
>> Marco Timpano: Lesson learned, Right? Lesson learned.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, where is he now, Mr. Armstrong?
>> Marco Timpano: No, he's nowhere to be found. I think I overstretched him.
>> Amanda Barker: I have a feeling you weren't the only kid. Remember Slinkies?
>> Marco Timpano: Loved Slinkies.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but how long would that one last before it was, like, caught in your hair and then twisted all around, and then you'd put it back, and you get your dad to put it back. But then it was like that one, like, coil that got kinked. Ye. I didn't fully go back, and it was like, here's my Slinky now. But it had, like, the one, like, the big gap in it, and you're, like, trying to do it down the stairs.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to, like, rotate it over my head like a. Like a helicopter blade, and it would just stretch and stretch and stretch.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sure your parents love that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Yeah, it's a. It's. It's an interesting toy because it's just a coil of springs of metal.
>> Amanda Barker: Clearly somebody did a metal coil at their factory or something. And some kid was like, this is amazing. And somebody was like, great, I got an idea, but let's make it so that it doesn't, you know, and it
>> Marco Timpano: has the best name. Slinky. Like, you know, it's a great name for what it is.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone loves a Slinky.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't we all? Well, I'm going to end the podcast by saying Blarg. Oh, thank you for listening.
>> Amanda Barker: Today, I'm going to remind you that everyone loves a Slinky, including you, probably, dear listener. And if you don't, may you go to sleep. I mean, that would be a great way to drift off just. Just thinking about each one of your toys and the love you had for them as a child. Then just like, imagine that you're taking them, giving them a little love, putting them on your bed the way you might have. That's what I used to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And, I hope you have a lovely rest of your night. And we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Guest Rooms, Palm Springs, and a Chicken
(Original airdate: Sept 24, 2025)
This podcast is meant to help you drift away and fall asleep if you can
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you drift away and fall asleep if you can. Otherwise, just listen and hopefully this podcast will calm you in some way Shape or form? I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: You said hopefully funny. You're like, hopefully the buggers will calm you.
>> Marco Timpano: I felt like a weird whistle in the fully part of hopefully come out of my mouth, so it made me pause for a second.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'm Amanda Barker, Marco Timpano's weird whistle.
Our podcast episodes are on supercast now for anyone who wants ad free listens
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, I want to mention this right off the top of this, episode. Our podcast episodes are on supercast now for anyone who wants to have ad free listens.
>> Amanda Barker: You've been working so hard to make that happen.
>> Marco Timpano: And what happened, Amanda, was I put them all up with just an RSS feed, but it included.
>> Amanda Barker: What does that mean, an RSS feed? RSS feed for those of us who don't understand.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll get to that in a minute.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: When I use that feed, it put the, it put the ads on with those episodes. so some of the people who subscribed to it had said the ads are there. And so I had to contact them and see what was going. Going off there. And now I have to upload each episode going off, what was. What was happening. And so I have to upload each episode individually. So I have this season and last season. I'm uploading all the seasons.
>> Amanda Barker: He's been working hard, folks. I didn't even know this until this moment, what exactly was happening, but now I understand.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so, so you want ad free listens, you can go to the insomniaproject Supercast CA where you can subscribe and get ad free episodes. So there you have it.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's obviously by demand. So you've been working hard to make that happen.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, some people.
>> Amanda Barker: Because we did have it before and then they were no longer available.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly. And some people are perfectly fine just listening to the podcast on their favorite podcast player. And the ads don't bother them, so that's great too.
>> Amanda Barker: And we work hard to make sure that the ads that are there are ones that hopefully are. Are in tune with the cadence of the podcast. We do our best.
>> Marco Timpano: Sadly, I don't have as much say in that. Yeah, based on ACAST sort of puts them up. And I've, I've had many conversations with them asking them to put calmer ads in those spots.
>> Amanda Barker: But we love to hear your feedback. if the ads aren't working for you, or anything.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, there's an alternative. If there's an episode you would like to hear, let us know.
Amanda, we had some wonderful guests stay at our house last week
So, Amanda, I wanted to talk about this. We had some wonderful guests stay at our house last week.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you like to prepare a guest room and. Or what do you like in a guest room?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting. Well, you and I were also guests at our friend's house, the week prior.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes, we were.
>> Amanda Barker: He looked at me like I was crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: I was like, we were. And I was like, yes, we were, we were.
>> Amanda Barker: And one thing that I noticed that our host did was she put photos of us and them in that room, which I thought was so sweet. So I like to do the same for my guests. And so I did the same and I always have photos of my family in that room Anyhow, so I featured the photos of the wedding photos and so on of our two wonderful. Are we going to say who our wonderful guests were?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we certainly can.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It was our nephew and our sister in law, Carrie, and they were beyond delightful guests and they're some of our favorite people in all the world. M. And I have to say I
>> Amanda Barker: got to go to two museums in two days, which is super fun for me. Well, an aquarium is an aquarium. A museum.
>> Marco Timpano: This aquarium, which is the Ripley's aquarium in Toronto, feels like it has a lot of information. So there's a lot of knowledge based information one can gain from that aquarium. So I would say it certainly museum esque.
>> Amanda Barker: A living museum.
>> Marco Timpano: A living museum. And where was the other museum you went to?
>> Amanda Barker: It was the Royal Ontario Museum, affectionately referred to as the rom. And I haven't been there in a while, so it was nice to go back.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's a fun fact. if you live in Toronto and you have a library card, you can go to the website and they will have certain museums where you can get a pass to those museums. As long as you bring the pass that you get or on, on your phone and your library card and show them, they will let you and three other people in.
>> Amanda Barker: I have to say, a library card is a magical, magical thing. We've said it many times on this podcast and since we both have our TPL cards, our Toronto Public Library cards, I was able to use that and the night before, get a pass for a family of four to the Royal Ontario Museum. That's quite a gift.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a gift. And libraries are a gift.
>> Amanda Barker: They are.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you are thinking I want to donate to a, ah, charity or something, look in into your library, your local library, and see what they may need. M. Money always goes, far for them, but they might need volunteers and just investigate your library before I go
>> Amanda Barker: back to the guest room and attend your library because they need to show that they are needed. And so, you know, check out a book, read a magazine, go get an audiobook.
>> Marco Timpano: They have lecturers that come. They have guest speakers.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes they'll have, like, workshops. Wonderful. If you're like, oh, the winter keeps me inside. I don't have a lot to do in the winter. Look at your library.
>> Amanda Barker: And there are over. I mean, we're just so passionate about this. But there are wonderful apps. The overdrive app here in Toronto, I use also the Libby app, which I think you can use, I think, anywhere in the world. And it connects to your local library, and you have access to all of their ebooks, audiobooks, and more.
>> Marco Timpano: Honestly, I have to say a, special shout out to the Waterloo Public Library that had me as a guest speaker one time, because of this podcast and how much we love libraries
>> Amanda Barker: and full circle, I won a bunch of things at that event, including passes to the aquarium that we went to.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
So back to the RSS feed before we get to the guest room
So back to the RSS feed before we get to the guest room.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So an RRS feed stands for Real Simple Syndication, and it is the feed that contains all the information in this case of our podcast. And so what that feed does is it sends a signal to our podcast directory, which in this case is acast, and that feed gets sent to them with all the information. So the show notes, the recorded episode, the picture of our artwork, all that is the RSS feed.
>> Amanda Barker: Tell me more, because I'm finding this is putting me to sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: So the RSS feed that I used, I just uploaded it to Supercast, thinking, oh, Supercast will remove the ads. But that RSS feed had the ads embedded into it. And so when I sent the RSS feed to Supercast, the ads were embedded into that RSS feed. And so I have to send each episod episode individually to Supercast.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. I'm glad we got that.
Amanda: I like towels for guests. I like to give guests towels, okay
>> Marco Timpano: So back to the guest room. Amanda. I like to give guests towels, okay. So that they have their own lovely towels. And I always try to get our nicest, softest towels for our guests.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't know if any of our towels are particularly soft these days. I think we're in need of some new towels.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to get towels just for guests. So like a, two body towels, or what do you call the big towel?
>> Amanda Barker: What about those ones we took from Turks and Caicos? Those are nice. I know I stole them from a resort, but still, they don't.
>> Marco Timpano: They look like resort or beach towels to me.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: They're pretty nice, but they just look like beach towels.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, fair.
>> Marco Timpano: I want nice guest towels.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I like towels that go around me. I don't like it when towels don't go fully around me when. When I kind of put them together and there's a little split down the middle.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny because Carrie got you a g. Enormous.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you know what we didn't get? We didn't put the towels out. Oh, I feel so dumb.
>> Marco Timpano: Why?
>> Amanda Barker: Because I said, what towels should we put out? And you said, these ones we didn't put out. The towel she gave us the big.
>> Marco Timpano: The big giant one that goes around our bodies three times. Yeah, I guess we could have.
>> Amanda Barker: Why didn't she gave us those?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Carrie, if you're listening, you'll have to come back.
>> Amanda Barker: You'll have to come back.
>> Marco Timpano: If you come back, we'll make sure you get them. And the simple solution is we have them back as guests.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Which my nephew said. We'll be back. It's one of the last things he said very, very sweetly.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I like towels. I like, I don't know what else I like in a guest room, but. But yeah, I would say towels are important.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. There's nothing else you need as a guest.
>> Marco Timpano: Nice pillow, comfortable bed. If I can.
>> Amanda Barker: I like making sure there's a phone charger in there.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's smart.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But then it's hard because some people have different kinds of phones and.
>> Marco Timpano: True.
>> Amanda Barker: So what do you have? One of each, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you could have the little. The little nubbin that the phone charger goes in.
>> Amanda Barker: Definitely the technical term.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you call that little piece? The piece that. The.
>> Amanda Barker: The nubbin.
>> Marco Timpano: The nubbin. The little nubbin that. Your phone charger.
>> Amanda Barker: You call it all. A charger. You call the charger.
>> Marco Timpano: The cord.
>> Amanda Barker: You call the wall thing. The charger.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you call. Each one has a different.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know, the core. I don't know, the cord. The charging cord, and then the charging port.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, that makes sense.
>> Amanda Barker: Or the nubbin.
>> Marco Timpano: The nubbin port. One of them, anyways. You choose your own adventure there. Your little nubbin of a charger, I was remembering.
It feels like Palm Springs is like the distant cousin of Miami
So we recently went to Palm Springs with our friends that we were at their place. We were guests at their place. And the hotel that they took us to in Palm Springs was so delightful. It had this beautiful, color to it that was almost pink, almost beige inside.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that's the official tone of
>> Marco Timpano: palm Springs almost pink, almost beige.
>> Amanda Barker: I think there's a lot of pinky sort of Miami. It feels like Palm Springs is like the distant cousin of Miami.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's art deco, it's pastels mid century. It has all that. If you haven't been to Palm Springs, it's a lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: Drag queens and show tunes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's Miami too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I think they're cousins.
>> Marco Timpano: They are?
>> Marco Timpano: They are.
>> Amanda Barker: One's in the desert, one's on the ocean.
>> Marco Timpano: But still, I would say that, Palm Springs is the calmer cousin.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I think you're right about that.
>> Marco Timpano: The smaller, older, calmer cousin.
>> Amanda Barker: Chiller.
>> Marco Timpano: Chiller, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: More. More retired cousin.
Did you enjoy Palm Springs? I did. Did you? I was surprised at how A, hot it was
>> Marco Timpano: Did you enjoy Palm Springs?
>> Amanda Barker: I did. Did you?
>> Marco Timpano: I was surprised at how A, hot it was. I knew we were in the desert,
>> Amanda Barker: but B. Yeah, you know, it's gonna be hot. But it was hot. It was hot. And smaller than I thought.
>> Marco Timpano: It was smaller than I thought.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But really quite delightful.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know me, I like to go on a knickknack store. Oh, I should tell. I should tell the story of going into that one store.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Oh, sure.
>> Marco Timpano: So I went to Starbucks to get a cool drink and I decided to
>> Amanda Barker: get the, by the way, the Starbucks downtown Palm Springs. I am sorry to interrupt you, but they give like unlimited venti ice waters to everybody and I have to just shout them out because all day, every day, people come in just needing water and they just go for it. They don't.
>> Marco Timpano: They don't roll their eyes.
>> Amanda Barker: Nope.
>> Marco Timpano: They don't question it.
>> Amanda Barker: Here's the water. Use the bathroom. Do what you gotta do. We get it.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm in this wonderful Starbucks in Palm Springs and I wanted to get a cold drink and I know that Amanda doesn't like strawberry, so I didn't get the strawberry lemonade in case Amanda wanted to have some of that drink.
>> Amanda Barker: Although, to be honest, I don't mind a strawberry drink, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really? Okay, that's good to know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I mean, it depends.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, so I decided to get the, Dragon fruit drink. And they said, do you want it with coconut water? And I'm like, sure, like milk or water. I feel like it was milk.
>> Amanda Barker: It looked milky. Yeah, it looked like a thick. I mean it really. Now listen, I just shot up Starbucks, but it looked like a Pepto Bismo kind of situation.
>> Marco Timpano: It was that color pink. It was a bright, thick, thick pink.
>> Amanda Barker: And you got a Venti, like a large one.
>> Marco Timpano: I got a Venti because I thought you were going to drink some and Amanda did not want any.
>> Amanda Barker: I took one sip and went, I'm good.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm, walking around with this ginormous pink drink and I'm loving life. It's warm. And we go into this fancy store that sells greeting cards and Christmas ornaments.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a lot of those stores, I have to say, in Palm Springs. There's like a rack of sequin tops. And then the rest of it is like funny, irreverent cards and coffee table books. Yeah, like the, you know, there's like kitschy versions of that and then nicer versions that are campy kitschy, but like also nice. This was more of the latter. Like the campy kitschy nice versus just gag gifts.
>> Marco Timpano: Now a lot of these stores that we went into had a little table to put your drink. This one did not. I need to mention that.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I'm like, you walked in
>> Amanda Barker: and it said, put your drink here. Which I think is a lovely courtesy because you need a drink to be walking around Palm Springs. It is that hot.
>> Marco Timpano: And once again, this place did not have it.
Amanda spilled a pink drink in a store that was white
>> Marco Timpano: So I think you know where this is going. And everything in this store is white. White tiles, white walls, white, white, white. Even the. Even the man who owned it were white.
>> Amanda Barker: How could this story end?
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm having a great time and I'm talking to my good friend Nima. And Nima and I are just like, you know, looking at stuff and I'm like, oh, Nima. Or I said, amanda, look at this. Because I saw a really, chunky necklace that was 50% off that I thought you might like, didn't like it. As I turn to kind of gesture to where it was, the drink falls out of my hand. And you know, when you go to grab the drink and you just make it worse, it splonches on the floor and there's just pink everywhere.
>> Amanda Barker: It's just a sea of, pink ooze.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm mortified.
>> Amanda Barker: On white tile and white furniture and white everything.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I'm mortified. The person who's behind the counter, who I'm assuming is the owner, because it seemed like he was. The owner was non plussed in the
>> Amanda Barker: largest way, was not having it.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was like, oh my.
>> Amanda Barker: And by the way, the word nonplussed you. And I might use it wrong just for the rest of the.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well he was.
>> Amanda Barker: If that's triggering for anyone.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So he wasn't having it.
>> Marco Timpano: He was not happy. So I'm of course, apologetic and wanting to clean it up. And he just throws me a paper towel roll.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I know. He was like, usually there's a. Like, oh, it's okay. Yeah. No, there was none of that.
>> Marco Timpano: And he kicks a. He kicks a garbage to me. He kicks his little garbage can. Waste basket to me. And I. Sopping it up. And I've done a decent job cleaning up. Shout out to Nima, who was also helping me. M. I'm on the floor in this store, and then the owner throws me a Windex bottle to continue cleaning his floor. And I did. And then I was a little bit annoyed, but I was like, okay, I should. I was the one who spilled it. So I cleaned the floor where I spilt the pink drink was spotless. And then I quickly exited the store. And as I'm leaving, I'm telling Amanda, I want this. This ornament. Buy this. But I was too embarrassed to stay
>> Amanda Barker: in the store, so I bought the ornament. Just. So we bought something too, because we. I mean, I think you handle it as well as anyone. And you work next to a Starbucks. People are going to come in with their big drinks.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
Nonplussed has two very different meanings, neither of which is ours
So that was the incident in Palm Springs. But you had a lovely little photo shoot in Palm Springs.
>> Amanda Barker: I did. I was actually just looking up the word nonplus.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah. So what does it mean?
>> Amanda Barker: It's such a confusing word. So why don't you define it as you use it and I'll define it as I use it because it has a lot of meaning for me.
>> Marco Timpano: It's someone who's really not impressed. So beyond not impressed. Eye rolly. doesn't want to give you the time.
>> Amanda Barker: So the opposite would be to be plussed. Like, I'm non plussed. I'm not into it. Yeah, I'm very plussed about that.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think you can say plus.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't. You can say whatever you want.
>> Marco Timpano: You're right.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. We used to say overwhelmed. We never used to say underwhelmed. People, probably don't remember that, but there was a song called underwhelmed, and it was a. It was like that. It was like saying plussed. Because. And. And then the lyric of the song, it's by Sloan, for those in Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know that song.
>> Amanda Barker: She was underwhelmed, if that's a word. I think it's not, because I looked it up. So it. Underwhelmed. We all say underwhelmed.
>> Marco Timpano: Was that a lyric from the Song.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's a lyric from the song, but it was not a lyric. Like, it was not a word back then.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: But we started saying it. Oh, that was very underwhelming.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But we. We'd always say overwhelming. We wouldn't say whelming.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyhow, I use it the same way, but I've always known that I probably use it wrong. So I'm going to read you. There's two very different definitions, neither of which is ours. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So the first one is of a person, a person being surprised and confused so much that they are unsure of how to act. I wish. So here's the example. He would be completely nonplussed and embarrassed at that idea.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, then I wasn't home plused by dropping my drink in that store.
>> Amanda Barker: And then the second version is not, disconcerted. Or rather, unperturbed would be a synonym. I remember students being nonplussed about the flooding in the city as they become accustomed to it over the years.
>> Marco Timpano: So this person was the opposite of nonplussed because he was not happy.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And then there's a. Why does nonplussed have two meanings? In the 1580s, the word was used as a noun to mean a state where nothing more can be done or said.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: In the next decade, it transitioned to a verb that meant to perplex in the 1650s.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that what we're talking about? The next decade?
>> Amanda Barker: In the 1590s?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I don't know how anyone knows that. Wow. So I don't know. It has a lot of meanings, and I think we're all using it a little right and a little wrong.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go. Okay, well, that's good to know.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe we'll just start saying plussed.
We have guests coming to our home this month, I'm telling you
>> Marco Timpano: So you had this photo shoot?
>> Amanda Barker: I did, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And I think everyone was plussed with
>> Amanda Barker: was silly and fun. Our very dear friends, wanted to do it because we were in Palm Springs, so she wanted me to wear muumus or feathers or sequins. And, And we just wanted to celebrate our sort of mutual milestone birthdays together.
>> Marco Timpano: It was awesome.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was really fun because she had had hers, in Palm Springs, and it was very close to my birthday. So. Yeah, it was really fun.
>> Marco Timpano: We had a great time. And we had a great time with our guests who visited last week.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we did. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And we have guests coming. Not to our home, but a,
>> Amanda Barker: lot of friends and family this month, I'm telling you.
>> Marco Timpano: In October.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a good gift, isn't it?
>> Marco Timpano: We have my aunt coming from Italy.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh my goodness. No one knows the dates though. Ask every member of the family. They're all like, sometime in October.
>> Marco Timpano: I asked my sister and she said, I think October 7th. And then I thought, my mother will know because it's her sister.
>> Amanda Barker: I've heard October 4th.
>> Marco Timpano: And my mother's like, isn't it October 7th? I'm like, I'm asking so that I can make plans.
>> Amanda Barker: No one knows.
>> Marco Timpano: No one knows. So sometime I know they'll be here for Canadian Thanksgiving and explain who is coming. My mother's sister, my aunt Loretta, and
>> Amanda Barker: her two granddaughters, all of whom who live in Italy.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So they'll be here and, it should be a lot of fun.
>> Amanda Barker: What's interesting, if I may, is that your mother's younger sister who lives in Italy, who actually did a lot of her growing up in Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: and moved back to Italy, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: She was born in Italy.
>> Marco Timpano: She was born in Italy. Came when she was younger than my mother.
>> Amanda Barker: Very young. Like six, I want to say.
>> Marco Timpano: I think a bit older, but, I could be wrong.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And. But maybe you're right. She was young and had three kids here.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then moved back to Italy and had three more kids.
>> Amanda Barker: Kids. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And so there's six cousins I have in Italy. And,
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, so she had three kids. Oh, I didn't realize that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, she had three kids here.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought she had four kids here.
>> Marco Timpano: No, three and then three there.
>> Amanda Barker: I see.
>> Marco Timpano: So, okay, there you go. And so, and they're coming.
>> Amanda Barker: And we're very plussed about it.
>> Marco Timpano: We are plussed about it. So my aunt and two of her granddaughters are coming, one of whom I've met when she was very young. Now she's 22.
>> Amanda Barker: I met her as well. She's very cute. When we met her 20, well, I don't know, like 18 years ago, we
>> Marco Timpano: met her and the other granddaughter, who I don't know, she's got more granddaughters, more grandkids, but those two are coming.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you have six kids, you're gonna have a lot of grandkids, right? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: and do the granddaughters speak English?
>> Marco Timpano: Most likely not.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's going to be an interesting time.
>> Marco Timpano: So my niece is studying Italian and she's excited.
>> Marco Timpano: Because they'll be staying with them.
>> Amanda Barker: Most likely her cool Italian cousins are coming.
>> Marco Timpano: And, you've been studying Italian very well. And so we'll see how it all goes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't know. It's going to be interesting. What should we do with them in the city? Your aunt is going to visit with your mom.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: But these two Italian girls, what are we doing with them?
>> Marco Timpano: I would like to go on the library website and get some passes to various museums and things to do.
>> Amanda Barker: So which ones do you want to go to?
>> Marco Timpano: If we can. This is the most difficult one to get at the library is the aquarium once.
>> Amanda Barker: It's gonna be a lot of aquarium
>> Marco Timpano: for us this year. Funny. Funny thing is, I've always been fascinated by the undersea world, and I wanted to be a fisherman and a marine biologist and all those things as a child. So for me, going. Going to that aquarium, I'm always having a good time.
Amanda spent the day yesterday with a cow and a chicken
Okay, so Amanda gets hungry when she goes to the aquarium.
>> Amanda Barker: I just love fish so much. But, you know, it's funny, I don't know about. I spent the day yesterday with a cow and a chicken, and I don't know, I might have to be off
>> Marco Timpano: milk as one does, and maybe chicken, too. Really?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. We'll see.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting because we had chicken for dinner.
>> Amanda Barker: I know I had already defrosted it in the fridge, so I'm too frugal to. To just throw it away, but I don't know. We'll see how we move forward with this.
>> Marco Timpano: Now it begs the question, why were you hanging out with the chicken?
>> Amanda Barker: And, I was shooting something I was filming, so I can't really go into. Go into what I was filming, but I was filming something that required me to be standing next to a cow for 12 hours and holding a chicken for most of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, and did you build up a friendship with the chicken that you were holding?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I feel like the chicken and I were kind of operating as one.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I felt the chicken makes kind of like a noise, almost like it's purring.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: When it's happy, I think so. When it's content, it kind of has like a. Like a purr. I don't know what it is. And I was like, oh, my gosh. It's like the chicken's purring.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I think that's when it was just, like, really, really happy. When it was really, like, kind of hot next to my body. But it was kind of like, okay, I'm safe, I'm good. And I felt pretty good with that chicken.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, who knew. Who knew that a chicken could be Amanda's best friend.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, maybe. One thing I do know is that a cow cannot.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: We have another nephew who's obsessed with. Well, I don't know if he still is. I think he secretly loves them, but when he was quite young, obsessed with cows. And, listen, it's. I have a great respect for farmers, as do I, and all that they do. And I am glad that I am not one of them because I thought the feed smelled real gross. The chewing and the drooling and all of that. I can't talk about it much or I'll start to gag.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, everyone has different things.
>> Marco Timpano: Cows will be cows, is all I can say. Cows gotta be cows, I'm telling you.
>> Amanda Barker: Funny.
>> Marco Timpano: I. You know, I. Working with animals on set is never easy because I had to. I had to work with a goat many years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: You did?
>> Marco Timpano: Many, many, many years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: You know Jameson Kramer. Yeah, Jameson Kramer, who's a great actor here in Toronto. Friend not of the podcast, but I
>> Amanda Barker: know it sounds like he's famous the way we're talking about him.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, he and I were in this short film with Phil Luzzi, who's a friend of ours who's born on the same day as you.
>> Amanda Barker: Toronto famous.
>> Marco Timpano: So the three of us are in this mystery and the.
>> Amanda Barker: What is the story?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a. I've told you about this before. and I'm a crooked cop, if I remember correctly.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And Jameson has a goat, and the goat solves the crime. And as I have.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sorry, what?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, the goat realizes I'm a bad cop.
>> Amanda Barker: Phil Lutzi's from sniffing you.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even remember. Let's just say it wasn't the best script in the world.
Amanda: The climax of the film was all staged, obviously
Okay, so in the. What do you call the climax, I guess, of the. Of, the film. It's a short film. Couldn't even tell you the name of it. Couldn't tell you anything about it. Don't remember the director. Nothing.
>> Amanda Barker: I have a feeling it's not on IMDb.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think so. So. So I have a gun pointed at Jameson Kramer.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I'm a bad guy, Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It was not a real gun. It was like, you know, totally, totally safe. And the goat, with its. With its paw. What would you call a goat's hoof, I believe? Hoof. Knocks it out of my hand and. Oh, my gosh.
>> Amanda Barker: And saves the day.
>> Marco Timpano: And saves the day. I think the goat pushes me downstairs I'm fine. But that's what happened in the scene, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's what was written to happen.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but it was all staged, obviously. Right, but they had a. A. They couldn't use the actual goats hoof, so they had a, fake deer hoof or a deer hoof.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: A taxidermy deer hoof. That actually. So if you know your goat, you'll see the difference between the goat and the goat's hoof.
>> Amanda Barker: I have a feeling the film had bigger problems than. Than the type of hoof.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, so, yeah, we had to work with this goat, and this goat was a diva, like, doing. Doing its thing and could only be on set for so long.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they're not made. I mean, animals are not made to be actors, you know, they're. They're animals. Goats got a goat, man. Cow's got a cow. And that chicken had to. Chicken.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it sounded like the chicken was having a grand old time.
>> Amanda Barker: I think she was. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. So anyways, that was our adventures for the last couple weeks. And. And hence, you haven't heard an episode because we've been all over.
>> Amanda Barker: Hence, hence, she was a hen. And a beautiful hen.
>> Marco Timpano: And on that note, we'll say, we hope you had a lovely episode. You enjoyed this one, and until next time, we hope both of us and the chicken and even the cow and the French hen wants you to listen, or hopes you listened and fell asleep.
>> Amanda Barker: Slept.
>> Marco Timpano: Slept. I couldn't think. All right, until next time, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: We're both very. Bless.
(Original airdate: Sept 24, 2025)
This podcast is meant to help you drift away and fall asleep if you can
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you drift away and fall asleep if you can. Otherwise, just listen and hopefully this podcast will calm you in some way Shape or form? I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: You said hopefully funny. You're like, hopefully the buggers will calm you.
>> Marco Timpano: I felt like a weird whistle in the fully part of hopefully come out of my mouth, so it made me pause for a second.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'm Amanda Barker, Marco Timpano's weird whistle.
Our podcast episodes are on supercast now for anyone who wants ad free listens
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, I want to mention this right off the top of this, episode. Our podcast episodes are on supercast now for anyone who wants to have ad free listens.
>> Amanda Barker: You've been working so hard to make that happen.
>> Marco Timpano: And what happened, Amanda, was I put them all up with just an RSS feed, but it included.
>> Amanda Barker: What does that mean, an RSS feed? RSS feed for those of us who don't understand.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll get to that in a minute.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: When I use that feed, it put the, it put the ads on with those episodes. so some of the people who subscribed to it had said the ads are there. And so I had to contact them and see what was going. Going off there. And now I have to upload each episode going off, what was. What was happening. And so I have to upload each episode individually. So I have this season and last season. I'm uploading all the seasons.
>> Amanda Barker: He's been working hard, folks. I didn't even know this until this moment, what exactly was happening, but now I understand.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so, so you want ad free listens, you can go to the insomniaproject Supercast CA where you can subscribe and get ad free episodes. So there you have it.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's obviously by demand. So you've been working hard to make that happen.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, some people.
>> Amanda Barker: Because we did have it before and then they were no longer available.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly. And some people are perfectly fine just listening to the podcast on their favorite podcast player. And the ads don't bother them, so that's great too.
>> Amanda Barker: And we work hard to make sure that the ads that are there are ones that hopefully are. Are in tune with the cadence of the podcast. We do our best.
>> Marco Timpano: Sadly, I don't have as much say in that. Yeah, based on ACAST sort of puts them up. And I've, I've had many conversations with them asking them to put calmer ads in those spots.
>> Amanda Barker: But we love to hear your feedback. if the ads aren't working for you, or anything.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, there's an alternative. If there's an episode you would like to hear, let us know.
Amanda, we had some wonderful guests stay at our house last week
So, Amanda, I wanted to talk about this. We had some wonderful guests stay at our house last week.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you like to prepare a guest room and. Or what do you like in a guest room?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting. Well, you and I were also guests at our friend's house, the week prior.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes, we were.
>> Amanda Barker: He looked at me like I was crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: I was like, we were. And I was like, yes, we were, we were.
>> Amanda Barker: And one thing that I noticed that our host did was she put photos of us and them in that room, which I thought was so sweet. So I like to do the same for my guests. And so I did the same and I always have photos of my family in that room Anyhow, so I featured the photos of the wedding photos and so on of our two wonderful. Are we going to say who our wonderful guests were?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we certainly can.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It was our nephew and our sister in law, Carrie, and they were beyond delightful guests and they're some of our favorite people in all the world. M. And I have to say I
>> Amanda Barker: got to go to two museums in two days, which is super fun for me. Well, an aquarium is an aquarium. A museum.
>> Marco Timpano: This aquarium, which is the Ripley's aquarium in Toronto, feels like it has a lot of information. So there's a lot of knowledge based information one can gain from that aquarium. So I would say it certainly museum esque.
>> Amanda Barker: A living museum.
>> Marco Timpano: A living museum. And where was the other museum you went to?
>> Amanda Barker: It was the Royal Ontario Museum, affectionately referred to as the rom. And I haven't been there in a while, so it was nice to go back.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's a fun fact. if you live in Toronto and you have a library card, you can go to the website and they will have certain museums where you can get a pass to those museums. As long as you bring the pass that you get or on, on your phone and your library card and show them, they will let you and three other people in.
>> Amanda Barker: I have to say, a library card is a magical, magical thing. We've said it many times on this podcast and since we both have our TPL cards, our Toronto Public Library cards, I was able to use that and the night before, get a pass for a family of four to the Royal Ontario Museum. That's quite a gift.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a gift. And libraries are a gift.
>> Amanda Barker: They are.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you are thinking I want to donate to a, ah, charity or something, look in into your library, your local library, and see what they may need. M. Money always goes, far for them, but they might need volunteers and just investigate your library before I go
>> Amanda Barker: back to the guest room and attend your library because they need to show that they are needed. And so, you know, check out a book, read a magazine, go get an audiobook.
>> Marco Timpano: They have lecturers that come. They have guest speakers.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes they'll have, like, workshops. Wonderful. If you're like, oh, the winter keeps me inside. I don't have a lot to do in the winter. Look at your library.
>> Amanda Barker: And there are over. I mean, we're just so passionate about this. But there are wonderful apps. The overdrive app here in Toronto, I use also the Libby app, which I think you can use, I think, anywhere in the world. And it connects to your local library, and you have access to all of their ebooks, audiobooks, and more.
>> Marco Timpano: Honestly, I have to say a, special shout out to the Waterloo Public Library that had me as a guest speaker one time, because of this podcast and how much we love libraries
>> Amanda Barker: and full circle, I won a bunch of things at that event, including passes to the aquarium that we went to.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
So back to the RSS feed before we get to the guest room
So back to the RSS feed before we get to the guest room.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So an RRS feed stands for Real Simple Syndication, and it is the feed that contains all the information in this case of our podcast. And so what that feed does is it sends a signal to our podcast directory, which in this case is acast, and that feed gets sent to them with all the information. So the show notes, the recorded episode, the picture of our artwork, all that is the RSS feed.
>> Amanda Barker: Tell me more, because I'm finding this is putting me to sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: So the RSS feed that I used, I just uploaded it to Supercast, thinking, oh, Supercast will remove the ads. But that RSS feed had the ads embedded into it. And so when I sent the RSS feed to Supercast, the ads were embedded into that RSS feed. And so I have to send each episod episode individually to Supercast.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. I'm glad we got that.
Amanda: I like towels for guests. I like to give guests towels, okay
>> Marco Timpano: So back to the guest room. Amanda. I like to give guests towels, okay. So that they have their own lovely towels. And I always try to get our nicest, softest towels for our guests.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't know if any of our towels are particularly soft these days. I think we're in need of some new towels.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to get towels just for guests. So like a, two body towels, or what do you call the big towel?
>> Amanda Barker: What about those ones we took from Turks and Caicos? Those are nice. I know I stole them from a resort, but still, they don't.
>> Marco Timpano: They look like resort or beach towels to me.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: They're pretty nice, but they just look like beach towels.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, fair.
>> Marco Timpano: I want nice guest towels.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I like towels that go around me. I don't like it when towels don't go fully around me when. When I kind of put them together and there's a little split down the middle.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny because Carrie got you a g. Enormous.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you know what we didn't get? We didn't put the towels out. Oh, I feel so dumb.
>> Marco Timpano: Why?
>> Amanda Barker: Because I said, what towels should we put out? And you said, these ones we didn't put out. The towel she gave us the big.
>> Marco Timpano: The big giant one that goes around our bodies three times. Yeah, I guess we could have.
>> Amanda Barker: Why didn't she gave us those?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Carrie, if you're listening, you'll have to come back.
>> Amanda Barker: You'll have to come back.
>> Marco Timpano: If you come back, we'll make sure you get them. And the simple solution is we have them back as guests.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Which my nephew said. We'll be back. It's one of the last things he said very, very sweetly.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I like towels. I like, I don't know what else I like in a guest room, but. But yeah, I would say towels are important.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. There's nothing else you need as a guest.
>> Marco Timpano: Nice pillow, comfortable bed. If I can.
>> Amanda Barker: I like making sure there's a phone charger in there.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's smart.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But then it's hard because some people have different kinds of phones and.
>> Marco Timpano: True.
>> Amanda Barker: So what do you have? One of each, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you could have the little. The little nubbin that the phone charger goes in.
>> Amanda Barker: Definitely the technical term.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you call that little piece? The piece that. The.
>> Amanda Barker: The nubbin.
>> Marco Timpano: The nubbin. The little nubbin that. Your phone charger.
>> Amanda Barker: You call it all. A charger. You call the charger.
>> Marco Timpano: The cord.
>> Amanda Barker: You call the wall thing. The charger.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you call. Each one has a different.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know, the core. I don't know, the cord. The charging cord, and then the charging port.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, that makes sense.
>> Amanda Barker: Or the nubbin.
>> Marco Timpano: The nubbin port. One of them, anyways. You choose your own adventure there. Your little nubbin of a charger, I was remembering.
It feels like Palm Springs is like the distant cousin of Miami
So we recently went to Palm Springs with our friends that we were at their place. We were guests at their place. And the hotel that they took us to in Palm Springs was so delightful. It had this beautiful, color to it that was almost pink, almost beige inside.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that's the official tone of
>> Marco Timpano: palm Springs almost pink, almost beige.
>> Amanda Barker: I think there's a lot of pinky sort of Miami. It feels like Palm Springs is like the distant cousin of Miami.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's art deco, it's pastels mid century. It has all that. If you haven't been to Palm Springs, it's a lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: Drag queens and show tunes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's Miami too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I think they're cousins.
>> Marco Timpano: They are?
>> Marco Timpano: They are.
>> Amanda Barker: One's in the desert, one's on the ocean.
>> Marco Timpano: But still, I would say that, Palm Springs is the calmer cousin.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I think you're right about that.
>> Marco Timpano: The smaller, older, calmer cousin.
>> Amanda Barker: Chiller.
>> Marco Timpano: Chiller, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: More. More retired cousin.
Did you enjoy Palm Springs? I did. Did you? I was surprised at how A, hot it was
>> Marco Timpano: Did you enjoy Palm Springs?
>> Amanda Barker: I did. Did you?
>> Marco Timpano: I was surprised at how A, hot it was. I knew we were in the desert,
>> Amanda Barker: but B. Yeah, you know, it's gonna be hot. But it was hot. It was hot. And smaller than I thought.
>> Marco Timpano: It was smaller than I thought.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But really quite delightful.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know me, I like to go on a knickknack store. Oh, I should tell. I should tell the story of going into that one store.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Oh, sure.
>> Marco Timpano: So I went to Starbucks to get a cool drink and I decided to
>> Amanda Barker: get the, by the way, the Starbucks downtown Palm Springs. I am sorry to interrupt you, but they give like unlimited venti ice waters to everybody and I have to just shout them out because all day, every day, people come in just needing water and they just go for it. They don't.
>> Marco Timpano: They don't roll their eyes.
>> Amanda Barker: Nope.
>> Marco Timpano: They don't question it.
>> Amanda Barker: Here's the water. Use the bathroom. Do what you gotta do. We get it.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm in this wonderful Starbucks in Palm Springs and I wanted to get a cold drink and I know that Amanda doesn't like strawberry, so I didn't get the strawberry lemonade in case Amanda wanted to have some of that drink.
>> Amanda Barker: Although, to be honest, I don't mind a strawberry drink, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really? Okay, that's good to know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I mean, it depends.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, so I decided to get the, Dragon fruit drink. And they said, do you want it with coconut water? And I'm like, sure, like milk or water. I feel like it was milk.
>> Amanda Barker: It looked milky. Yeah, it looked like a thick. I mean it really. Now listen, I just shot up Starbucks, but it looked like a Pepto Bismo kind of situation.
>> Marco Timpano: It was that color pink. It was a bright, thick, thick pink.
>> Amanda Barker: And you got a Venti, like a large one.
>> Marco Timpano: I got a Venti because I thought you were going to drink some and Amanda did not want any.
>> Amanda Barker: I took one sip and went, I'm good.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm, walking around with this ginormous pink drink and I'm loving life. It's warm. And we go into this fancy store that sells greeting cards and Christmas ornaments.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a lot of those stores, I have to say, in Palm Springs. There's like a rack of sequin tops. And then the rest of it is like funny, irreverent cards and coffee table books. Yeah, like the, you know, there's like kitschy versions of that and then nicer versions that are campy kitschy, but like also nice. This was more of the latter. Like the campy kitschy nice versus just gag gifts.
>> Marco Timpano: Now a lot of these stores that we went into had a little table to put your drink. This one did not. I need to mention that.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I'm like, you walked in
>> Amanda Barker: and it said, put your drink here. Which I think is a lovely courtesy because you need a drink to be walking around Palm Springs. It is that hot.
>> Marco Timpano: And once again, this place did not have it.
Amanda spilled a pink drink in a store that was white
>> Marco Timpano: So I think you know where this is going. And everything in this store is white. White tiles, white walls, white, white, white. Even the. Even the man who owned it were white.
>> Amanda Barker: How could this story end?
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm having a great time and I'm talking to my good friend Nima. And Nima and I are just like, you know, looking at stuff and I'm like, oh, Nima. Or I said, amanda, look at this. Because I saw a really, chunky necklace that was 50% off that I thought you might like, didn't like it. As I turn to kind of gesture to where it was, the drink falls out of my hand. And you know, when you go to grab the drink and you just make it worse, it splonches on the floor and there's just pink everywhere.
>> Amanda Barker: It's just a sea of, pink ooze.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm mortified.
>> Amanda Barker: On white tile and white furniture and white everything.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I'm mortified. The person who's behind the counter, who I'm assuming is the owner, because it seemed like he was. The owner was non plussed in the
>> Amanda Barker: largest way, was not having it.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was like, oh my.
>> Amanda Barker: And by the way, the word nonplussed you. And I might use it wrong just for the rest of the.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well he was.
>> Amanda Barker: If that's triggering for anyone.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So he wasn't having it.
>> Marco Timpano: He was not happy. So I'm of course, apologetic and wanting to clean it up. And he just throws me a paper towel roll.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I know. He was like, usually there's a. Like, oh, it's okay. Yeah. No, there was none of that.
>> Marco Timpano: And he kicks a. He kicks a garbage to me. He kicks his little garbage can. Waste basket to me. And I. Sopping it up. And I've done a decent job cleaning up. Shout out to Nima, who was also helping me. M. I'm on the floor in this store, and then the owner throws me a Windex bottle to continue cleaning his floor. And I did. And then I was a little bit annoyed, but I was like, okay, I should. I was the one who spilled it. So I cleaned the floor where I spilt the pink drink was spotless. And then I quickly exited the store. And as I'm leaving, I'm telling Amanda, I want this. This ornament. Buy this. But I was too embarrassed to stay
>> Amanda Barker: in the store, so I bought the ornament. Just. So we bought something too, because we. I mean, I think you handle it as well as anyone. And you work next to a Starbucks. People are going to come in with their big drinks.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
Nonplussed has two very different meanings, neither of which is ours
So that was the incident in Palm Springs. But you had a lovely little photo shoot in Palm Springs.
>> Amanda Barker: I did. I was actually just looking up the word nonplus.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah. So what does it mean?
>> Amanda Barker: It's such a confusing word. So why don't you define it as you use it and I'll define it as I use it because it has a lot of meaning for me.
>> Marco Timpano: It's someone who's really not impressed. So beyond not impressed. Eye rolly. doesn't want to give you the time.
>> Amanda Barker: So the opposite would be to be plussed. Like, I'm non plussed. I'm not into it. Yeah, I'm very plussed about that.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think you can say plus.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't. You can say whatever you want.
>> Marco Timpano: You're right.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. We used to say overwhelmed. We never used to say underwhelmed. People, probably don't remember that, but there was a song called underwhelmed, and it was a. It was like that. It was like saying plussed. Because. And. And then the lyric of the song, it's by Sloan, for those in Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know that song.
>> Amanda Barker: She was underwhelmed, if that's a word. I think it's not, because I looked it up. So it. Underwhelmed. We all say underwhelmed.
>> Marco Timpano: Was that a lyric from the Song.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's a lyric from the song, but it was not a lyric. Like, it was not a word back then.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: But we started saying it. Oh, that was very underwhelming.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But we. We'd always say overwhelming. We wouldn't say whelming.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyhow, I use it the same way, but I've always known that I probably use it wrong. So I'm going to read you. There's two very different definitions, neither of which is ours. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So the first one is of a person, a person being surprised and confused so much that they are unsure of how to act. I wish. So here's the example. He would be completely nonplussed and embarrassed at that idea.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, then I wasn't home plused by dropping my drink in that store.
>> Amanda Barker: And then the second version is not, disconcerted. Or rather, unperturbed would be a synonym. I remember students being nonplussed about the flooding in the city as they become accustomed to it over the years.
>> Marco Timpano: So this person was the opposite of nonplussed because he was not happy.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And then there's a. Why does nonplussed have two meanings? In the 1580s, the word was used as a noun to mean a state where nothing more can be done or said.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: In the next decade, it transitioned to a verb that meant to perplex in the 1650s.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that what we're talking about? The next decade?
>> Amanda Barker: In the 1590s?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I don't know how anyone knows that. Wow. So I don't know. It has a lot of meanings, and I think we're all using it a little right and a little wrong.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go. Okay, well, that's good to know.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe we'll just start saying plussed.
We have guests coming to our home this month, I'm telling you
>> Marco Timpano: So you had this photo shoot?
>> Amanda Barker: I did, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And I think everyone was plussed with
>> Amanda Barker: was silly and fun. Our very dear friends, wanted to do it because we were in Palm Springs, so she wanted me to wear muumus or feathers or sequins. And, And we just wanted to celebrate our sort of mutual milestone birthdays together.
>> Marco Timpano: It was awesome.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was really fun because she had had hers, in Palm Springs, and it was very close to my birthday. So. Yeah, it was really fun.
>> Marco Timpano: We had a great time. And we had a great time with our guests who visited last week.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we did. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And we have guests coming. Not to our home, but a,
>> Amanda Barker: lot of friends and family this month, I'm telling you.
>> Marco Timpano: In October.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a good gift, isn't it?
>> Marco Timpano: We have my aunt coming from Italy.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh my goodness. No one knows the dates though. Ask every member of the family. They're all like, sometime in October.
>> Marco Timpano: I asked my sister and she said, I think October 7th. And then I thought, my mother will know because it's her sister.
>> Amanda Barker: I've heard October 4th.
>> Marco Timpano: And my mother's like, isn't it October 7th? I'm like, I'm asking so that I can make plans.
>> Amanda Barker: No one knows.
>> Marco Timpano: No one knows. So sometime I know they'll be here for Canadian Thanksgiving and explain who is coming. My mother's sister, my aunt Loretta, and
>> Amanda Barker: her two granddaughters, all of whom who live in Italy.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So they'll be here and, it should be a lot of fun.
>> Amanda Barker: What's interesting, if I may, is that your mother's younger sister who lives in Italy, who actually did a lot of her growing up in Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: and moved back to Italy, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: She was born in Italy.
>> Marco Timpano: She was born in Italy. Came when she was younger than my mother.
>> Amanda Barker: Very young. Like six, I want to say.
>> Marco Timpano: I think a bit older, but, I could be wrong.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And. But maybe you're right. She was young and had three kids here.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then moved back to Italy and had three more kids.
>> Amanda Barker: Kids. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And so there's six cousins I have in Italy. And,
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, so she had three kids. Oh, I didn't realize that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, she had three kids here.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought she had four kids here.
>> Marco Timpano: No, three and then three there.
>> Amanda Barker: I see.
>> Marco Timpano: So, okay, there you go. And so, and they're coming.
>> Amanda Barker: And we're very plussed about it.
>> Marco Timpano: We are plussed about it. So my aunt and two of her granddaughters are coming, one of whom I've met when she was very young. Now she's 22.
>> Amanda Barker: I met her as well. She's very cute. When we met her 20, well, I don't know, like 18 years ago, we
>> Marco Timpano: met her and the other granddaughter, who I don't know, she's got more granddaughters, more grandkids, but those two are coming.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you have six kids, you're gonna have a lot of grandkids, right? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: and do the granddaughters speak English?
>> Marco Timpano: Most likely not.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's going to be an interesting time.
>> Marco Timpano: So my niece is studying Italian and she's excited.
>> Marco Timpano: Because they'll be staying with them.
>> Amanda Barker: Most likely her cool Italian cousins are coming.
>> Marco Timpano: And, you've been studying Italian very well. And so we'll see how it all goes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't know. It's going to be interesting. What should we do with them in the city? Your aunt is going to visit with your mom.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: But these two Italian girls, what are we doing with them?
>> Marco Timpano: I would like to go on the library website and get some passes to various museums and things to do.
>> Amanda Barker: So which ones do you want to go to?
>> Marco Timpano: If we can. This is the most difficult one to get at the library is the aquarium once.
>> Amanda Barker: It's gonna be a lot of aquarium
>> Marco Timpano: for us this year. Funny. Funny thing is, I've always been fascinated by the undersea world, and I wanted to be a fisherman and a marine biologist and all those things as a child. So for me, going. Going to that aquarium, I'm always having a good time.
Amanda spent the day yesterday with a cow and a chicken
Okay, so Amanda gets hungry when she goes to the aquarium.
>> Amanda Barker: I just love fish so much. But, you know, it's funny, I don't know about. I spent the day yesterday with a cow and a chicken, and I don't know, I might have to be off
>> Marco Timpano: milk as one does, and maybe chicken, too. Really?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. We'll see.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting because we had chicken for dinner.
>> Amanda Barker: I know I had already defrosted it in the fridge, so I'm too frugal to. To just throw it away, but I don't know. We'll see how we move forward with this.
>> Marco Timpano: Now it begs the question, why were you hanging out with the chicken?
>> Amanda Barker: And, I was shooting something I was filming, so I can't really go into. Go into what I was filming, but I was filming something that required me to be standing next to a cow for 12 hours and holding a chicken for most of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, and did you build up a friendship with the chicken that you were holding?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I feel like the chicken and I were kind of operating as one.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I felt the chicken makes kind of like a noise, almost like it's purring.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: When it's happy, I think so. When it's content, it kind of has like a. Like a purr. I don't know what it is. And I was like, oh, my gosh. It's like the chicken's purring.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I think that's when it was just, like, really, really happy. When it was really, like, kind of hot next to my body. But it was kind of like, okay, I'm safe, I'm good. And I felt pretty good with that chicken.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, who knew. Who knew that a chicken could be Amanda's best friend.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, maybe. One thing I do know is that a cow cannot.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: We have another nephew who's obsessed with. Well, I don't know if he still is. I think he secretly loves them, but when he was quite young, obsessed with cows. And, listen, it's. I have a great respect for farmers, as do I, and all that they do. And I am glad that I am not one of them because I thought the feed smelled real gross. The chewing and the drooling and all of that. I can't talk about it much or I'll start to gag.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, everyone has different things.
>> Marco Timpano: Cows will be cows, is all I can say. Cows gotta be cows, I'm telling you.
>> Amanda Barker: Funny.
>> Marco Timpano: I. You know, I. Working with animals on set is never easy because I had to. I had to work with a goat many years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: You did?
>> Marco Timpano: Many, many, many years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: You know Jameson Kramer. Yeah, Jameson Kramer, who's a great actor here in Toronto. Friend not of the podcast, but I
>> Amanda Barker: know it sounds like he's famous the way we're talking about him.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, he and I were in this short film with Phil Luzzi, who's a friend of ours who's born on the same day as you.
>> Amanda Barker: Toronto famous.
>> Marco Timpano: So the three of us are in this mystery and the.
>> Amanda Barker: What is the story?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a. I've told you about this before. and I'm a crooked cop, if I remember correctly.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And Jameson has a goat, and the goat solves the crime. And as I have.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sorry, what?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, the goat realizes I'm a bad cop.
>> Amanda Barker: Phil Lutzi's from sniffing you.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even remember. Let's just say it wasn't the best script in the world.
Amanda: The climax of the film was all staged, obviously
Okay, so in the. What do you call the climax, I guess, of the. Of, the film. It's a short film. Couldn't even tell you the name of it. Couldn't tell you anything about it. Don't remember the director. Nothing.
>> Amanda Barker: I have a feeling it's not on IMDb.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think so. So. So I have a gun pointed at Jameson Kramer.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I'm a bad guy, Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It was not a real gun. It was like, you know, totally, totally safe. And the goat, with its. With its paw. What would you call a goat's hoof, I believe? Hoof. Knocks it out of my hand and. Oh, my gosh.
>> Amanda Barker: And saves the day.
>> Marco Timpano: And saves the day. I think the goat pushes me downstairs I'm fine. But that's what happened in the scene, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's what was written to happen.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but it was all staged, obviously. Right, but they had a. A. They couldn't use the actual goats hoof, so they had a, fake deer hoof or a deer hoof.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: A taxidermy deer hoof. That actually. So if you know your goat, you'll see the difference between the goat and the goat's hoof.
>> Amanda Barker: I have a feeling the film had bigger problems than. Than the type of hoof.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, so, yeah, we had to work with this goat, and this goat was a diva, like, doing. Doing its thing and could only be on set for so long.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they're not made. I mean, animals are not made to be actors, you know, they're. They're animals. Goats got a goat, man. Cow's got a cow. And that chicken had to. Chicken.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it sounded like the chicken was having a grand old time.
>> Amanda Barker: I think she was. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. So anyways, that was our adventures for the last couple weeks. And. And hence, you haven't heard an episode because we've been all over.
>> Amanda Barker: Hence, hence, she was a hen. And a beautiful hen.
>> Marco Timpano: And on that note, we'll say, we hope you had a lovely episode. You enjoyed this one, and until next time, we hope both of us and the chicken and even the cow and the French hen wants you to listen, or hopes you listened and fell asleep.
>> Amanda Barker: Slept.
>> Marco Timpano: Slept. I couldn't think. All right, until next time, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: We're both very. Bless.
Back to Basics: Season 10 Kickoff
original airdate: March 5, 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Thank you for joining us. This is the podcast we hope you never get to the end of. And we are so grateful to have you here on our first episode. Back for season 10. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: Season 10 what's the.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi. What's the. Isn't there a way to call a season 10 your decennial?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: What's.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the. What do you give somebody on the 10th anniversary? What? Do you remember what that is?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I know 15 is crystal. Okay, you better get me some crystal.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but what should I be getting you for 10 years of.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to take a guess. I don't know. Going to say tin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, look it up.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And tin sounds like 10 I just want to say thank you all. Our first official episode went up on January 24, 2016, with my co host, then Nidhi Khana, who is a friend of the show, a great friend of ours. I need to reach out to her.
>> Amanda Barker: I know we haven't talked to her. I know it's been too long.
>> Marco Timpano: Too long.
>> Amanda Barker: We wanted to.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'm gonna. I'm gonna text her tomorrow.
>> Amanda Barker: As Martin Short always says.
>> Marco Timpano: I meant to, but I need to reach out to her and. But we had started the podcast before it even launched, so I'm going to say it's 10 years, even though officially, if you look at the number, it's nine. But we started way before this. We started in September of 2015.
>> Amanda Barker: You two were in the planning phase for a long time. I would get texts from both of you, and you were like, we're cooking up something big.
>> Marco Timpano: Remember we also did the Nuit Blanche Art Institute.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember. I worked the whole thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you were part of it. And so that was.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't get paid for my work. It is tin.
>> Marco Timpano: It is tin.
>> Amanda Barker: For anyone who wanted to know.
>> Marco Timpano: So what I should get you is a tin can you can put by your ear, like, almost like headphones.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, weird. I found this. This list, and it. And it gives you the 1st to the 10th, and then it just jumps
>> Marco Timpano: to the 15th, the 20th, and what's the 15th again?
>> Amanda Barker: Crystal. Crystal.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So anyways, thank you, Amanda, for looking that up. Thank you for stepping in and being my current co host and my wonderful and lovely wife. Oftentimes, we bicker in that order.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God, Marco. I can't find any list that has an 11th anniversary. No, that can't be, because we had gifts on the 11th.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. 11th is steel.
>> Marco Timpano: Steel. Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: 12th was silk linen. And I remember that because you gave me Silk and Lahman's autobiography.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And she was a rower.
>> Amanda Barker: Lace. Ivory. But then ivory is questionable. Yeah, but we. I think I got you a tie with elephants on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so I'm cooking up something for 15.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Crystal. I don't know what to get you for Crystal. But anyways, it's. We're not talking about our anniversaries. We're talking about the anniversary.
>> Amanda Barker: What?
>> Marco Timpano: We're talking about this podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: This is the aluminum anniversary of the Insomnia project.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to thank everyone who reached out to say. What is that episode you posted? I was putting together a submission for the podcast. For an awards. And so I put together a whole bunch of clips of you, Manda, speaking on a podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, God.
>> Marco Timpano: Back to back to back for 10 minutes.
>> Amanda Barker: No one needs that.
>> Marco Timpano: And somehow I uploaded it onto the. It went live March 1st. It wasn't supposed to, but that's.
>> Amanda Barker: You just realized it now.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I teach a podcasting class as well. So I was demonstrating to the podcasting class how to upload an audio clip.
>> Amanda Barker: Here are things not to do, Standby class.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's. And so our listeners got to hear this edited version of just you talking for 10 minutes.
>> Amanda Barker: They must have been like, what is happening?
>> Marco Timpano: And I got. I'm grateful because our listeners are so lovely. If they don't fall asleep or the next day, they will reach out and tell me, marco, this happened on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: We have a. An attentive, attentive, restful, sweet army of listeners.
>> Marco Timpano: Not only that, Amanda. One time I posted something and I didn't ed out edit. I did not edit out a swear that I had. I guess there was something that happened and I. And I cursed quite a bit, and I didn't realize I hadn't edited that out. And so Nima Karazi, our friend in California, reached out and said, I don't think you want to be saying so many f bombs in your show. And I was like, what did I do? And I listened back and it was like I had spilled water or something.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: So, yeah, so we.
>> Amanda Barker: We need to find a name for our fans. Oh, my. My. My sweet friend Milo Manheim. I just saw on Instagram that he calls his fans Fanheim's.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I mean, he has legions of fans from his work because he's like, you know, famous, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: But for our sweet fans, what could we call them? We welcome your suggestions.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, please.
>> Amanda Barker: Insomniacs.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I mean, that's an actual word. It would have to be something like.
>> Amanda Barker: It has to be a made up word, doesn't it? What does Lady Gaga call her? Her little monsters?
>> Marco Timpano: Her monsters? I think perhaps Swifties.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, See, that's not that original. A Swifty. Like, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Should we call our fans Swifties part two and just Swifties?
>> Amanda Barker: We'll just call all the people that listen to the Insomnia Project Swifties. Swifties. Am I not being loud enough? No.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'm trying to crank up your thing. Get closer to the mic.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, there you go. I knew you were gonna ask me to be. Folks, just so you know, before that, he was like, right where you are. Is perfect. I'm like, it's. And please don't do this and that. I'm like, you're gonna ask me to go closer to the mic because that's what you always do. And now I'm just gonna out you. He said to me, try not to. Try not to breathe into the mic. Like, come on.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, sometimes I have to breathe. I know. But sometimes I catch your breath, and so I have to edit it out sometimes, and sometimes I don't, and people will hear the sweet sounds.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, sometimes I have to catch my breath with you because I love you.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Sometimes, just like in a steamy novel, my breath hitches. Have you ever heard a human being say, my breath hitched?
>> Marco Timpano: Only in Danielle Steele novels.
>> Amanda Barker: That's when. That's when they say it. Like, suddenly people in those worlds, they'll. They'll say, my breath hitched. It's like, what is that? That's not. No one says that. No one says my breath hitched.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what I was doing the other day? I was making something, and then I cut myself and my breath hitched.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: It doesn't. No one says that.
>> Marco Timpano: No one says that. So, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes?
>> Marco Timpano: I thought for today's episode, I would look at what the episode. What the first episode was that we talked about, and we can re. Talk about that if that works for you.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, we're gonna revisit for. Are we doing this for the next 10 years? No, that'd be amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe I'll. I'll look into some.
>> Amanda Barker: I want. I. I have dibs on the marshmallow show.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so the first episode, was it tea socks and. And the moment before. And it says here. I'll read the description. So we have a totality of what we could speak about on today's episode. On our first episode, Marco and Nidhi discuss the world of tea and tea around the world. The moment before here and abroad. Travel rituals in places that are distinctly their own. Socks, compression socks. How to fold them and give them their due. The hosts close the podcast with milk bags and their tags. Listen and sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not going back to milk bags after the milk bag controversy of 20, 23 and 4. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: We're not talking about milk bags, but let's pick. Let's start with compression socks. You bought me compression socks this year, and I love compression socks.
>> Amanda Barker: I think I got you compression socks that have copper threads in them. Speaking of precious metals and not precious metals, how are those ones working out for you?
>> Marco Timpano: They were great. I Wore them on a flight that we had. They worked out really nicely for. For me.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the copper supposed to do? There's a thing with wearing copper. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's supposed to be good for aches and pains, and I think stink. I'm not exactly sure.
>> Amanda Barker: How does that work? Oh, stink. I could see because it doesn't. You can't stink it up or something.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, did you stink, did you ache or pain?
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't ache. I didn't pain. I usually don't stink, so they worked out really nicely for me.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, how do you fold your socks, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I used to, growing up. We always folded one over the other like a microphone and then used them as microphones. So you. You'd have, like, the top part of the sock, kind of like a jelly. Like a long jellyfish, and then the little toe y part kind of dangling like the end of the microphone.
>> Marco Timpano: And you would sing into them always.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Any particular song Maniac from Flashdance? Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: My brother was very partial to singing Maniac from Flashdance when he was about two or three. So he would. He would stand on our fireplace and give a performance to all his stuffed animals, including a gigantic unicorn that he married when he was about the same age. We were all invited to his bedroom for a very special wedding where he married his unicorn, Elizabeth.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's great.
>> Amanda Barker: By the way, he named her Elizabeth.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great name for a unicorn. You know, they're always something, like, really colorful, and I just like names.
>> Amanda Barker: Elizabeth.
>> Marco Timpano: Good old Elizabeth.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know where he came up with that name, but that was. He named her someone, I think our babysitter, maybe, or my dad, but I think it was our babysitter won it at a fair. It was one of those big stuffed fair wins that, you know, you. You throw the balls in the thing and you win the stuffed prize. And then, like, what are you gonna do with this gigantic thing? Well, you're gonna give it to a child.
>> Marco Timpano: The problem is, it's so big and lumbrous, these things that you win if you win the big prize at a fair, right? And then you've got to give it to a child because what are you going to do with it? It takes up so much space, and
>> Amanda Barker: this child has this gargantuan thing that the parents are like, really.
>> Marco Timpano: The parents are never happy with it because they're big dust collectors.
>> Amanda Barker: So we had one, and it was a multicolored unicorn, gigantic. And he named it Elizabeth. And he was so Enamored with it, that he decided he needed to marry it, and that we all had to come and witness them exchanging their vows.
>> Marco Timpano: Excellent.
>> Amanda Barker: Yep, yep. But anyway, he loves singing Maniac from the seminal movie Flashdance with our socks. So that's how I always did it. But I find you don't do that. I think you. You do something else. You. You pair them together and then roll them in a little ball. But they're never, like, conjoined.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So you remember Maria Kondo or Marie Kondo had a book, and 10 years
>> Amanda Barker: ago, you would have been really into that if you and Niti were talking about it. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was folding them the Marie kondo way.
>> Amanda Barker: And P.S. you made me fold everything the Marie Kondo way. Because you're like, this is what we do now. And this happens a lot for us. You'll be like, 100%. I'm on this thing. You got to get with me on this journey. I begrudgingly get on whatever journey because I am adverse to all trends and I need a tough sell for a long time. So finally, I get on the journey, and then I stay on the journey and you go on to other things. And this has happened a lot for us.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. I'm a bandwagon jumper or I'm a bandwagon joiner, and then I jump off that band.
>> Amanda Barker: You have no problem leaving the wagon, whereas I'm, like, always in it for the long haul.
>> Marco Timpano: What are you still folding the Marie Kondo way?
>> Amanda Barker: Everything.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Shirts, jeans, especially. It changed the way I fold jeans, sweatpants.
>> Marco Timpano: And aren't you richer for it?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not poor.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, I rest my case then.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know now. It's what I do. And I don't think you do that anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: I still fold some things the Marie Kondo way. Oh, and sometimes.
>> Amanda Barker: How did you stop?
>> Marco Timpano: Forgetfulness, ease of transportation of laundry.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Many reasons.
>> Amanda Barker: All right.
>> Marco Timpano: But then I found out that she was not. She was a bit of a messy person herself.
>> Amanda Barker: So how did you find that?
>> Marco Timpano: It came out that she wasn't as Marie Kondo as she made herself believe.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, what is this Marie Kondo controversy? What did she self. Admit it. Like, she.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, she out at her. I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: Someone go to her house and, like, she left this out.
>> Marco Timpano: It was some controversy.
>> Amanda Barker: Books. That was a big thing for a while. Marie Condo says, throw out your books. But I love my books. There was, I remember a meme that was like, all.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you love your books or do
>> Amanda Barker: you I love books, but I do not hold on to them. I try really hard. I'm so sentimental with so many things that anything I can make myself not be sentimental about, I really try to embrace it.
>> Marco Timpano: And I can confirm that. You gave away a book to a good friend of ours today.
>> Amanda Barker: I did, and then I got a book in return. Yeah. I've become really enamored with Emily St. John Mandel, the writer. And no one ever told me that her books all have characters that, like, you see the same people, but different. Same people. Like the character. The book I just finished was called the Lola Quartet. There's a character in it that's in a much later book called Sea of Tranquility. And he plays a minor role in that, but he's a main character in this other one. So it's amazing because it's like running into an old friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Even just for a page as they kind of flip by.
>> Marco Timpano: What's interesting is this author. What's her name? Jill St. John.
>> Amanda Barker: Emily St. John Mandel.
>> Marco Timpano: I knew there was a St. John in there. So Emily St. John Mandel is really well known for her Book Station 11.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I haven't read it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what I've read all the other
>> Amanda Barker: books, except there's one I haven't read. So I've read most of the other books.
>> Marco Timpano: So you still have Station 11 to read?
>> Amanda Barker: I read them completely out of order. I read the book that she wrote after Station 11 called the Glass Hotel. So that was the first one I read, read of hers. I really liked it. Then I picked up Sea of Tranquility, which I loved. Which is my favorite book of hers to date. But as I started reading it, I was like, there's a girl named Vincent in it. That's a very memorable thing. A girl named Vincent. And as I was reading it, I kind of got started going, I have a faint memory. Because it had been two or three years between books. And I kind of thought to myself, I have a memory of a girl named Vincent. Wait, Wait a minute. Was this from another book? And then I went. But I had given the Glass Hotel away. So I couldn't. I had to do a bit of Googling. I couldn't just pick it up and look at it and realize, yes, it was the same character. So I went, oh, I had no idea. It's a continuation. But what I didn't know at the time is that they're all kind of different continuations of each other in a way. They're all interconnected. I Guess. Yeah, there's somewhat loosely, but yes, there's
>> Marco Timpano: something lovely about characters that reappear in other books because you get to know them a bit better. You get to sort of. You know. I'm reading a lot of Agatha Christie books, and Bundle just appeared in another book where she.
>> Amanda Barker: Bundle.
>> Marco Timpano: That's her nickname. Oh, she gives a lot of nicknames to two female characters.
>> Amanda Barker: That's fun.
>> Marco Timpano: So very British.
>> Amanda Barker: I think.
>> Marco Timpano: So Bundle comes in another book that I read and I was like, oh, this is great. And, you know, minor. I shouldn't say minor, but less than major characters. So, like, you've got the characters like Poirot, and everyone knows Poirot.
>> Amanda Barker: Why is that?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that detective appears in more of her books than any other one. Then you've got Miss Marple, and there's my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: She got a whole series. Miss Marple.
>> Marco Timpano: She certainly does. And did. And will. There's more coming out with Miss Marple very soon. Yeah. And Tommy and Tuppence. I'm a big fan of Tommy and Tuppence.
>> Amanda Barker: We need to make that show, the Tommy and Tuppence Show.
>> Marco Timpano: There are series and movies made based on them. Yeah. One of the guys from. What's that sketch? What's that British sketch troupe that. One of the. The bald.
>> Amanda Barker: The bald who was in baking show.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. What was the.
>> Amanda Barker: Little Britain.
>> Marco Timpano: Little Britain. So his partner in that plays Tommy. I can't remember his partner's name.
>> Amanda Barker: His name is Matt. The bald one is Matt.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Well, the other one.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, great conversation. People are like, they. We never know their names.
>> Amanda Barker: No, we never.
>> Marco Timpano: And Marco always gets it wrong.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's why we love you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so that's why I love you.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't speak for everyone else. Fair.
>> Marco Timpano: That's. I love that. I love it when. When these characters come back.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I do. It's. It's like. It's like seeing an old friend, if only for a quick coffee. So I just finished the Lola quartet by Emily St. John Mandel, which is one of her earlier books. So, anyway, did you enjoy it? I did. People don't seem to like that one as much on reviews and stuff, but I thought it was quite an engaging read. No, I really liked it.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, if our listeners are considering reading this author's books, what type of person would you say would enjoy them? Like, are they mysteries? Are they romances?
>> Amanda Barker: That's a really tricky one. The first one I read, the Glass Hotel, was one of those books that has perspectives of three different people sort of around a Time frame and incident.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But Sea of Tranquility goes into a really a world of, like, a black mirror kind of sci fi. I see angle. And that is. I love Black Mirror, as you know. But I would never tell my. I would never say I'm a big lover of sci fi.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's not.
>> Amanda Barker: That's not my brand. But that said, I think any story told well, I love. Right. So who cares if it's sci fi? And I mean, I love Black Mirror, so Sea of Tranquility for me was just a stunning book. And I've heard the same about Station 11, so I'm looking forward to getting into that. I think Station 11, because it got so much hype and because. It became a series. I don't want to get into it because I don't want to.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Don't spoil. No spoilers.
>> Amanda Barker: No, exactly. And people are trying to sleep, and I get that. But it had a lot of. A lot around it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: For a book. I mean, I don't think it's the most famous book in the world, but for book lovers, it had a lot of hype. And then a series was made. So you. And I tried to watch, like, the first episode of that. And I think the book. The book is always better, let's be honest. Sure, the series was fine, but it wasn't base. We were in at that time. So, anyway, yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so we have a few more moments left, and I wanna know.
>> Amanda Barker: We're supposed to talk about tea.
>> Marco Timpano: We're gonna talk about tea. We talked about compression socks, but let's talk about tea and tea from around the world.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I had a glass of iced tea right before coming down.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: And.
>> Marco Timpano: And last night you said, can you put on a black tea? And I used your almond creamer milk creamer thing, and it was quite tasty.
>> Amanda Barker: That almond creamer is tasty. I gotta say, we are not sponsored by Silk, but they make a fine product.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Okay, so let me ask you, when it comes to tea, how do you like yours?
>> Amanda Barker: Depends on the type of tea.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I love an iced tea always. And I love the land of the unsweetened iced tea. At every restaurant, that land is known as America.
>> Marco Timpano: What about hot tea?
>> Amanda Barker: If it's a black tea or an Earl Gray, then with milk and sugar. And if I don't have milk, cream is fine. And then, I don't know. I love a chai. I don't know what I feel like you're wanting me to say. Something else?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no. I'm just curious.
>> Amanda Barker: What about you?
>> Marco Timpano: I like a milky tea and a sweet hot tea. So if you're going to make me a tea, I don't like it steeped long. I used to when I was younger, like a very steeped tea.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh really?
>> Marco Timpano: Not anymore. I find it's too tenic for me. And you know me, I don't like tennic wines. So. So for me, if you steep the tea too long, it becomes a bit. A bit too abrupt for my mouth. You can quote me on that. And. And so I like a. A Russian style tea which is very milky and very sweet. A Russian style black tea. I should say.
>> Amanda Barker: Interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I think I talk about this in the first episode too, which is interesting if I recall. So I like. I love. I love a black tea, a breakfast tea, an earl gray, an orange peo. What other black teas are there? But I just love an Irish tea. I love.
>> Amanda Barker: You love a chai.
>> Marco Timpano: I do like chai too. Yeah. And I do like iced teas.
>> Amanda Barker: And Nidhi used to make amazing chai. So I have a feeling that's what you guys used to talk about because remember she gave us all that cardamom. She made a really beautiful chai.
>> Marco Timpano: She makes a good coffee too, I have to say.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Nitty is the bomb, man. We could like talk to. You got to do another. You got to do a. What's it called? Like a. You know when like the Friends cast got together and read the script. Oh yeah, you need to do that. A reunion show with, with Nitty.
>> Marco Timpano: I will, I will. She's wonderful. And I'm just trying to think, do you prefer your tea in a bag or in a. In a thing like.
>> Amanda Barker: Doesn't matter. I don't mind a bag.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I will say I don't love this trend. I like a. I like a. A bag that's made out of all natural fibers.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So if it's a plastic bag, which some tea can be in these days, I'm not a fan.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that's fair.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that's fair.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that is fair. We have a tea that has roses in it. Actual little roses in it. And it was a Valentine's Earl Grey tea. And you know, I love the taste of rose for some reason and I might make some tonight.
>> Amanda Barker: Sounds good. Let's make a cup of tea.
>> Marco Timpano: Cup of tea. What vessel do you like to drink your tea out of?
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like this is a trick question.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, do you like my own Hands.
>> Marco Timpano: No, like, do you like a mug?
>> Amanda Barker: A mug? What else is there?
>> Marco Timpano: Teacup. Like a fine china teacup.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I think that's. No, I don't like teacups. Why do I have so many then?
>> Marco Timpano: I know you have a lot.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. I inherited them.
>> Marco Timpano: I like drinking of a teacup. Why am I not drinking other teacups? I'm drinking out of a bottle.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't get anything. It's like three sips, you're done.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's why you have it in a teapot next to your teacup.
>> Amanda Barker: Who has time for that?
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you? I've never seen you brew up a pot of tea, like, ever.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, maybe I'll start. Maybe in season 10, I'll start brewing up a lot of tea.
>> Amanda Barker: It's the tea year.
>> Marco Timpano: The year.
>> Amanda Barker: The tea anniversary.
>> Marco Timpano: The tea anniversary. We still have to think of our. Of a name for our. Our listeners and, And. And that'll make. That'll make my year. Nice.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of a funny word with insomnia that you could use with the word fan.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you ever. Did you. Have you ever had tea with lemon and sugar and not. No. No milk or cream?
>> Amanda Barker: Probably. Yeah. I discovered tea in high school.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. My mom. I went to a cafe in Halifax, which felt very urban, very cultured at the time. I was living in a very small and very isolated town. So I went to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and we went to this little cafe. And I'll never forget, I ordered a lemon tea. Oh, like an herbal lemon tea.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it was the most magical tasting thing on that rainy day. And I just loved it so much. And then I started asking my mom for tea. So my mom went out to the local grocery store and got me that big, like, celestial seasoning sampler, like the Sleepy Time, the lemon, the herbal, the. The berry or whatever. And what I started doing was I would bring a bag to school every day, a different bag of tea to school every day. And then, because hot water was free, so I would not spend my money on it, I'd get the hot water. I'd usually get fries or cookies, and I would. That would be my lunch. Fries, cookies, and a cup of. A cup of verbal tea.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So funny. And that was like my ritual when I was, like, 15, 16. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's awesome. Have you ever seen me take the tea bag out of the.
>> Amanda Barker: And I would read, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you would read?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. My friends were all doing nefarious things, and I didn't. I kind of didn't want to go down that path with them. So I was. They would bounce and I would sit by myself. So I started. I was like, well, what am I going to do? We didn't have phones back then. So I would bring a book and have my tea with a book. And it was like a great way to deal with high school and peer pressure and all that. Because I was like, if you sit and read a book, then you're fine. You're in a little universe onto yourself. People can come and talk to you or not.
>> Marco Timpano: They say, if you don't want to be disturbed on a bus, subway, or at work, pretend you're reading or read from a book and people are less likely to disturb you.
>> Amanda Barker: I just. If I felt almost like a security blanket. And I genuinely enjoyed what I was reading. I was very into Douglas Adams back then, so I was reading all the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I loved comedy. I loved British comedy.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So that was the right fit for me back then. T and Douglas Adams. So funny. We should move to England. Really? The amount of English things we love.
>> Marco Timpano: And I've got a very British soul.
>> Amanda Barker: You do. We should just go to the uk.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe we will.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe this is the year. We just pack up, we rent the house out, and we just go to the uk. We have a couple friends there. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I'd love to do the podcast from the uk. Have you ever seen me take a tea bag out of the mug, put it on a spoon and. And squeeze it with the string?
>> Amanda Barker: I have. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It's fun.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, good.
>> Marco Timpano: A friend taught me that many years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: And now do you wrap the bag. Do you wrap the string around the handle of the mug to keep it there so the bag doesn't. The bag doesn't like the. So that. The little tab, if your tea has that doesn't, like, float into the water?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't love that. Because then it gets stuck on the handle.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And for the person who has to wash the mug or the cup or put it in the dishwasher, you then have to wrestle with the tea bag.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but then you're not drinking wet paper.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I don't let my tea bag steep very long in the tea, so I don't have that problem.
>> Amanda Barker: All right. But you seem to love to squeeze every last juice out of it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. And, you know, there was a time, do you remember this, Amanda, where I would save the teabag and use it a second time? Because I heard that the beneficial properties are amplified. When you have the teabag the second time.
>> Amanda Barker: That's insanity.
>> Marco Timpano: It was wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: We are frugal people. But I draw the line at reusing tea bags. I'm sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's great. I think I might go back to it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, for iced te. I could almost get behind it. Throw it in the. Because I make iced tea all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you make your iced tea?
>> Amanda Barker: Here's how I do it. I have my jug. I take a tea bag, I throw it in the jug. I make the tap water as hot as I can. I fill it up, I let it figure itself out in the fridge. The end.
>> Marco Timpano: It's great. It's a wonderful way to make tea.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. So I guess it's really. That's technically, I don't. It's not a completely cold brew, but it's not a hot brewed tea either. It's just a medium, figure it out for yourself kind of brew.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I do enjoy it. I will say this Amanda, we've got to the end of this episode but I want to invite our listeners to reach out and tell us in these 10 season what was your favorite episode that you've heard? Give us the title. We'll either mention it or do a replay of those episodes topics this season. So please reach out on Instagram, Facebook, wherever you can or just bits that you remember.
>> Amanda Barker: They may not remember the episodes at all because hopefully they were asleep. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And you let us know what your favorite episode or moment was. Until next time. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for being a part of season 10. We hope you were able to listen and as always, sleep, sleep sa.
original airdate: March 5, 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Thank you for joining us. This is the podcast we hope you never get to the end of. And we are so grateful to have you here on our first episode. Back for season 10. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: Season 10 what's the.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi. What's the. Isn't there a way to call a season 10 your decennial?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: What's.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the. What do you give somebody on the 10th anniversary? What? Do you remember what that is?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I know 15 is crystal. Okay, you better get me some crystal.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but what should I be getting you for 10 years of.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to take a guess. I don't know. Going to say tin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, look it up.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And tin sounds like 10 I just want to say thank you all. Our first official episode went up on January 24, 2016, with my co host, then Nidhi Khana, who is a friend of the show, a great friend of ours. I need to reach out to her.
>> Amanda Barker: I know we haven't talked to her. I know it's been too long.
>> Marco Timpano: Too long.
>> Amanda Barker: We wanted to.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'm gonna. I'm gonna text her tomorrow.
>> Amanda Barker: As Martin Short always says.
>> Marco Timpano: I meant to, but I need to reach out to her and. But we had started the podcast before it even launched, so I'm going to say it's 10 years, even though officially, if you look at the number, it's nine. But we started way before this. We started in September of 2015.
>> Amanda Barker: You two were in the planning phase for a long time. I would get texts from both of you, and you were like, we're cooking up something big.
>> Marco Timpano: Remember we also did the Nuit Blanche Art Institute.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember. I worked the whole thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you were part of it. And so that was.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't get paid for my work. It is tin.
>> Marco Timpano: It is tin.
>> Amanda Barker: For anyone who wanted to know.
>> Marco Timpano: So what I should get you is a tin can you can put by your ear, like, almost like headphones.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, weird. I found this. This list, and it. And it gives you the 1st to the 10th, and then it just jumps
>> Marco Timpano: to the 15th, the 20th, and what's the 15th again?
>> Amanda Barker: Crystal. Crystal.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So anyways, thank you, Amanda, for looking that up. Thank you for stepping in and being my current co host and my wonderful and lovely wife. Oftentimes, we bicker in that order.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God, Marco. I can't find any list that has an 11th anniversary. No, that can't be, because we had gifts on the 11th.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. 11th is steel.
>> Marco Timpano: Steel. Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: 12th was silk linen. And I remember that because you gave me Silk and Lahman's autobiography.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And she was a rower.
>> Amanda Barker: Lace. Ivory. But then ivory is questionable. Yeah, but we. I think I got you a tie with elephants on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so I'm cooking up something for 15.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Crystal. I don't know what to get you for Crystal. But anyways, it's. We're not talking about our anniversaries. We're talking about the anniversary.
>> Amanda Barker: What?
>> Marco Timpano: We're talking about this podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: This is the aluminum anniversary of the Insomnia project.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to thank everyone who reached out to say. What is that episode you posted? I was putting together a submission for the podcast. For an awards. And so I put together a whole bunch of clips of you, Manda, speaking on a podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, God.
>> Marco Timpano: Back to back to back for 10 minutes.
>> Amanda Barker: No one needs that.
>> Marco Timpano: And somehow I uploaded it onto the. It went live March 1st. It wasn't supposed to, but that's.
>> Amanda Barker: You just realized it now.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I teach a podcasting class as well. So I was demonstrating to the podcasting class how to upload an audio clip.
>> Amanda Barker: Here are things not to do, Standby class.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's. And so our listeners got to hear this edited version of just you talking for 10 minutes.
>> Amanda Barker: They must have been like, what is happening?
>> Marco Timpano: And I got. I'm grateful because our listeners are so lovely. If they don't fall asleep or the next day, they will reach out and tell me, marco, this happened on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: We have a. An attentive, attentive, restful, sweet army of listeners.
>> Marco Timpano: Not only that, Amanda. One time I posted something and I didn't ed out edit. I did not edit out a swear that I had. I guess there was something that happened and I. And I cursed quite a bit, and I didn't realize I hadn't edited that out. And so Nima Karazi, our friend in California, reached out and said, I don't think you want to be saying so many f bombs in your show. And I was like, what did I do? And I listened back and it was like I had spilled water or something.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: So, yeah, so we.
>> Amanda Barker: We need to find a name for our fans. Oh, my. My. My sweet friend Milo Manheim. I just saw on Instagram that he calls his fans Fanheim's.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I mean, he has legions of fans from his work because he's like, you know, famous, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: But for our sweet fans, what could we call them? We welcome your suggestions.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, please.
>> Amanda Barker: Insomniacs.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I mean, that's an actual word. It would have to be something like.
>> Amanda Barker: It has to be a made up word, doesn't it? What does Lady Gaga call her? Her little monsters?
>> Marco Timpano: Her monsters? I think perhaps Swifties.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, See, that's not that original. A Swifty. Like, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Should we call our fans Swifties part two and just Swifties?
>> Amanda Barker: We'll just call all the people that listen to the Insomnia Project Swifties. Swifties. Am I not being loud enough? No.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'm trying to crank up your thing. Get closer to the mic.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, there you go. I knew you were gonna ask me to be. Folks, just so you know, before that, he was like, right where you are. Is perfect. I'm like, it's. And please don't do this and that. I'm like, you're gonna ask me to go closer to the mic because that's what you always do. And now I'm just gonna out you. He said to me, try not to. Try not to breathe into the mic. Like, come on.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, sometimes I have to breathe. I know. But sometimes I catch your breath, and so I have to edit it out sometimes, and sometimes I don't, and people will hear the sweet sounds.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, sometimes I have to catch my breath with you because I love you.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Sometimes, just like in a steamy novel, my breath hitches. Have you ever heard a human being say, my breath hitched?
>> Marco Timpano: Only in Danielle Steele novels.
>> Amanda Barker: That's when. That's when they say it. Like, suddenly people in those worlds, they'll. They'll say, my breath hitched. It's like, what is that? That's not. No one says that. No one says my breath hitched.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what I was doing the other day? I was making something, and then I cut myself and my breath hitched.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: It doesn't. No one says that.
>> Marco Timpano: No one says that. So, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes?
>> Marco Timpano: I thought for today's episode, I would look at what the episode. What the first episode was that we talked about, and we can re. Talk about that if that works for you.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, we're gonna revisit for. Are we doing this for the next 10 years? No, that'd be amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe I'll. I'll look into some.
>> Amanda Barker: I want. I. I have dibs on the marshmallow show.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so the first episode, was it tea socks and. And the moment before. And it says here. I'll read the description. So we have a totality of what we could speak about on today's episode. On our first episode, Marco and Nidhi discuss the world of tea and tea around the world. The moment before here and abroad. Travel rituals in places that are distinctly their own. Socks, compression socks. How to fold them and give them their due. The hosts close the podcast with milk bags and their tags. Listen and sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not going back to milk bags after the milk bag controversy of 20, 23 and 4. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: We're not talking about milk bags, but let's pick. Let's start with compression socks. You bought me compression socks this year, and I love compression socks.
>> Amanda Barker: I think I got you compression socks that have copper threads in them. Speaking of precious metals and not precious metals, how are those ones working out for you?
>> Marco Timpano: They were great. I Wore them on a flight that we had. They worked out really nicely for. For me.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the copper supposed to do? There's a thing with wearing copper. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's supposed to be good for aches and pains, and I think stink. I'm not exactly sure.
>> Amanda Barker: How does that work? Oh, stink. I could see because it doesn't. You can't stink it up or something.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, did you stink, did you ache or pain?
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't ache. I didn't pain. I usually don't stink, so they worked out really nicely for me.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, how do you fold your socks, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I used to, growing up. We always folded one over the other like a microphone and then used them as microphones. So you. You'd have, like, the top part of the sock, kind of like a jelly. Like a long jellyfish, and then the little toe y part kind of dangling like the end of the microphone.
>> Marco Timpano: And you would sing into them always.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Any particular song Maniac from Flashdance? Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: My brother was very partial to singing Maniac from Flashdance when he was about two or three. So he would. He would stand on our fireplace and give a performance to all his stuffed animals, including a gigantic unicorn that he married when he was about the same age. We were all invited to his bedroom for a very special wedding where he married his unicorn, Elizabeth.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's great.
>> Amanda Barker: By the way, he named her Elizabeth.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great name for a unicorn. You know, they're always something, like, really colorful, and I just like names.
>> Amanda Barker: Elizabeth.
>> Marco Timpano: Good old Elizabeth.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know where he came up with that name, but that was. He named her someone, I think our babysitter, maybe, or my dad, but I think it was our babysitter won it at a fair. It was one of those big stuffed fair wins that, you know, you. You throw the balls in the thing and you win the stuffed prize. And then, like, what are you gonna do with this gigantic thing? Well, you're gonna give it to a child.
>> Marco Timpano: The problem is, it's so big and lumbrous, these things that you win if you win the big prize at a fair, right? And then you've got to give it to a child because what are you going to do with it? It takes up so much space, and
>> Amanda Barker: this child has this gargantuan thing that the parents are like, really.
>> Marco Timpano: The parents are never happy with it because they're big dust collectors.
>> Amanda Barker: So we had one, and it was a multicolored unicorn, gigantic. And he named it Elizabeth. And he was so Enamored with it, that he decided he needed to marry it, and that we all had to come and witness them exchanging their vows.
>> Marco Timpano: Excellent.
>> Amanda Barker: Yep, yep. But anyway, he loves singing Maniac from the seminal movie Flashdance with our socks. So that's how I always did it. But I find you don't do that. I think you. You do something else. You. You pair them together and then roll them in a little ball. But they're never, like, conjoined.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So you remember Maria Kondo or Marie Kondo had a book, and 10 years
>> Amanda Barker: ago, you would have been really into that if you and Niti were talking about it. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was folding them the Marie kondo way.
>> Amanda Barker: And P.S. you made me fold everything the Marie Kondo way. Because you're like, this is what we do now. And this happens a lot for us. You'll be like, 100%. I'm on this thing. You got to get with me on this journey. I begrudgingly get on whatever journey because I am adverse to all trends and I need a tough sell for a long time. So finally, I get on the journey, and then I stay on the journey and you go on to other things. And this has happened a lot for us.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. I'm a bandwagon jumper or I'm a bandwagon joiner, and then I jump off that band.
>> Amanda Barker: You have no problem leaving the wagon, whereas I'm, like, always in it for the long haul.
>> Marco Timpano: What are you still folding the Marie Kondo way?
>> Amanda Barker: Everything.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Shirts, jeans, especially. It changed the way I fold jeans, sweatpants.
>> Marco Timpano: And aren't you richer for it?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not poor.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, I rest my case then.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know now. It's what I do. And I don't think you do that anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: I still fold some things the Marie Kondo way. Oh, and sometimes.
>> Amanda Barker: How did you stop?
>> Marco Timpano: Forgetfulness, ease of transportation of laundry.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Many reasons.
>> Amanda Barker: All right.
>> Marco Timpano: But then I found out that she was not. She was a bit of a messy person herself.
>> Amanda Barker: So how did you find that?
>> Marco Timpano: It came out that she wasn't as Marie Kondo as she made herself believe.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, what is this Marie Kondo controversy? What did she self. Admit it. Like, she.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, she out at her. I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: Someone go to her house and, like, she left this out.
>> Marco Timpano: It was some controversy.
>> Amanda Barker: Books. That was a big thing for a while. Marie Condo says, throw out your books. But I love my books. There was, I remember a meme that was like, all.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you love your books or do
>> Amanda Barker: you I love books, but I do not hold on to them. I try really hard. I'm so sentimental with so many things that anything I can make myself not be sentimental about, I really try to embrace it.
>> Marco Timpano: And I can confirm that. You gave away a book to a good friend of ours today.
>> Amanda Barker: I did, and then I got a book in return. Yeah. I've become really enamored with Emily St. John Mandel, the writer. And no one ever told me that her books all have characters that, like, you see the same people, but different. Same people. Like the character. The book I just finished was called the Lola Quartet. There's a character in it that's in a much later book called Sea of Tranquility. And he plays a minor role in that, but he's a main character in this other one. So it's amazing because it's like running into an old friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Even just for a page as they kind of flip by.
>> Marco Timpano: What's interesting is this author. What's her name? Jill St. John.
>> Amanda Barker: Emily St. John Mandel.
>> Marco Timpano: I knew there was a St. John in there. So Emily St. John Mandel is really well known for her Book Station 11.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I haven't read it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what I've read all the other
>> Amanda Barker: books, except there's one I haven't read. So I've read most of the other books.
>> Marco Timpano: So you still have Station 11 to read?
>> Amanda Barker: I read them completely out of order. I read the book that she wrote after Station 11 called the Glass Hotel. So that was the first one I read, read of hers. I really liked it. Then I picked up Sea of Tranquility, which I loved. Which is my favorite book of hers to date. But as I started reading it, I was like, there's a girl named Vincent in it. That's a very memorable thing. A girl named Vincent. And as I was reading it, I kind of got started going, I have a faint memory. Because it had been two or three years between books. And I kind of thought to myself, I have a memory of a girl named Vincent. Wait, Wait a minute. Was this from another book? And then I went. But I had given the Glass Hotel away. So I couldn't. I had to do a bit of Googling. I couldn't just pick it up and look at it and realize, yes, it was the same character. So I went, oh, I had no idea. It's a continuation. But what I didn't know at the time is that they're all kind of different continuations of each other in a way. They're all interconnected. I Guess. Yeah, there's somewhat loosely, but yes, there's
>> Marco Timpano: something lovely about characters that reappear in other books because you get to know them a bit better. You get to sort of. You know. I'm reading a lot of Agatha Christie books, and Bundle just appeared in another book where she.
>> Amanda Barker: Bundle.
>> Marco Timpano: That's her nickname. Oh, she gives a lot of nicknames to two female characters.
>> Amanda Barker: That's fun.
>> Marco Timpano: So very British.
>> Amanda Barker: I think.
>> Marco Timpano: So Bundle comes in another book that I read and I was like, oh, this is great. And, you know, minor. I shouldn't say minor, but less than major characters. So, like, you've got the characters like Poirot, and everyone knows Poirot.
>> Amanda Barker: Why is that?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that detective appears in more of her books than any other one. Then you've got Miss Marple, and there's my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: She got a whole series. Miss Marple.
>> Marco Timpano: She certainly does. And did. And will. There's more coming out with Miss Marple very soon. Yeah. And Tommy and Tuppence. I'm a big fan of Tommy and Tuppence.
>> Amanda Barker: We need to make that show, the Tommy and Tuppence Show.
>> Marco Timpano: There are series and movies made based on them. Yeah. One of the guys from. What's that sketch? What's that British sketch troupe that. One of the. The bald.
>> Amanda Barker: The bald who was in baking show.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. What was the.
>> Amanda Barker: Little Britain.
>> Marco Timpano: Little Britain. So his partner in that plays Tommy. I can't remember his partner's name.
>> Amanda Barker: His name is Matt. The bald one is Matt.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Well, the other one.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, great conversation. People are like, they. We never know their names.
>> Amanda Barker: No, we never.
>> Marco Timpano: And Marco always gets it wrong.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's why we love you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so that's why I love you.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't speak for everyone else. Fair.
>> Marco Timpano: That's. I love that. I love it when. When these characters come back.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I do. It's. It's like. It's like seeing an old friend, if only for a quick coffee. So I just finished the Lola quartet by Emily St. John Mandel, which is one of her earlier books. So, anyway, did you enjoy it? I did. People don't seem to like that one as much on reviews and stuff, but I thought it was quite an engaging read. No, I really liked it.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, if our listeners are considering reading this author's books, what type of person would you say would enjoy them? Like, are they mysteries? Are they romances?
>> Amanda Barker: That's a really tricky one. The first one I read, the Glass Hotel, was one of those books that has perspectives of three different people sort of around a Time frame and incident.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But Sea of Tranquility goes into a really a world of, like, a black mirror kind of sci fi. I see angle. And that is. I love Black Mirror, as you know. But I would never tell my. I would never say I'm a big lover of sci fi.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's not.
>> Amanda Barker: That's not my brand. But that said, I think any story told well, I love. Right. So who cares if it's sci fi? And I mean, I love Black Mirror, so Sea of Tranquility for me was just a stunning book. And I've heard the same about Station 11, so I'm looking forward to getting into that. I think Station 11, because it got so much hype and because. It became a series. I don't want to get into it because I don't want to.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Don't spoil. No spoilers.
>> Amanda Barker: No, exactly. And people are trying to sleep, and I get that. But it had a lot of. A lot around it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: For a book. I mean, I don't think it's the most famous book in the world, but for book lovers, it had a lot of hype. And then a series was made. So you. And I tried to watch, like, the first episode of that. And I think the book. The book is always better, let's be honest. Sure, the series was fine, but it wasn't base. We were in at that time. So, anyway, yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so we have a few more moments left, and I wanna know.
>> Amanda Barker: We're supposed to talk about tea.
>> Marco Timpano: We're gonna talk about tea. We talked about compression socks, but let's talk about tea and tea from around the world.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I had a glass of iced tea right before coming down.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: And.
>> Marco Timpano: And last night you said, can you put on a black tea? And I used your almond creamer milk creamer thing, and it was quite tasty.
>> Amanda Barker: That almond creamer is tasty. I gotta say, we are not sponsored by Silk, but they make a fine product.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Okay, so let me ask you, when it comes to tea, how do you like yours?
>> Amanda Barker: Depends on the type of tea.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I love an iced tea always. And I love the land of the unsweetened iced tea. At every restaurant, that land is known as America.
>> Marco Timpano: What about hot tea?
>> Amanda Barker: If it's a black tea or an Earl Gray, then with milk and sugar. And if I don't have milk, cream is fine. And then, I don't know. I love a chai. I don't know what I feel like you're wanting me to say. Something else?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no. I'm just curious.
>> Amanda Barker: What about you?
>> Marco Timpano: I like a milky tea and a sweet hot tea. So if you're going to make me a tea, I don't like it steeped long. I used to when I was younger, like a very steeped tea.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh really?
>> Marco Timpano: Not anymore. I find it's too tenic for me. And you know me, I don't like tennic wines. So. So for me, if you steep the tea too long, it becomes a bit. A bit too abrupt for my mouth. You can quote me on that. And. And so I like a. A Russian style tea which is very milky and very sweet. A Russian style black tea. I should say.
>> Amanda Barker: Interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I think I talk about this in the first episode too, which is interesting if I recall. So I like. I love. I love a black tea, a breakfast tea, an earl gray, an orange peo. What other black teas are there? But I just love an Irish tea. I love.
>> Amanda Barker: You love a chai.
>> Marco Timpano: I do like chai too. Yeah. And I do like iced teas.
>> Amanda Barker: And Nidhi used to make amazing chai. So I have a feeling that's what you guys used to talk about because remember she gave us all that cardamom. She made a really beautiful chai.
>> Marco Timpano: She makes a good coffee too, I have to say.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Nitty is the bomb, man. We could like talk to. You got to do another. You got to do a. What's it called? Like a. You know when like the Friends cast got together and read the script. Oh yeah, you need to do that. A reunion show with, with Nitty.
>> Marco Timpano: I will, I will. She's wonderful. And I'm just trying to think, do you prefer your tea in a bag or in a. In a thing like.
>> Amanda Barker: Doesn't matter. I don't mind a bag.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I will say I don't love this trend. I like a. I like a. A bag that's made out of all natural fibers.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So if it's a plastic bag, which some tea can be in these days, I'm not a fan.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that's fair.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that's fair.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that is fair. We have a tea that has roses in it. Actual little roses in it. And it was a Valentine's Earl Grey tea. And you know, I love the taste of rose for some reason and I might make some tonight.
>> Amanda Barker: Sounds good. Let's make a cup of tea.
>> Marco Timpano: Cup of tea. What vessel do you like to drink your tea out of?
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like this is a trick question.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, do you like my own Hands.
>> Marco Timpano: No, like, do you like a mug?
>> Amanda Barker: A mug? What else is there?
>> Marco Timpano: Teacup. Like a fine china teacup.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I think that's. No, I don't like teacups. Why do I have so many then?
>> Marco Timpano: I know you have a lot.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. I inherited them.
>> Marco Timpano: I like drinking of a teacup. Why am I not drinking other teacups? I'm drinking out of a bottle.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't get anything. It's like three sips, you're done.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's why you have it in a teapot next to your teacup.
>> Amanda Barker: Who has time for that?
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you? I've never seen you brew up a pot of tea, like, ever.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, maybe I'll start. Maybe in season 10, I'll start brewing up a lot of tea.
>> Amanda Barker: It's the tea year.
>> Marco Timpano: The year.
>> Amanda Barker: The tea anniversary.
>> Marco Timpano: The tea anniversary. We still have to think of our. Of a name for our. Our listeners and, And. And that'll make. That'll make my year. Nice.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of a funny word with insomnia that you could use with the word fan.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you ever. Did you. Have you ever had tea with lemon and sugar and not. No. No milk or cream?
>> Amanda Barker: Probably. Yeah. I discovered tea in high school.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. My mom. I went to a cafe in Halifax, which felt very urban, very cultured at the time. I was living in a very small and very isolated town. So I went to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and we went to this little cafe. And I'll never forget, I ordered a lemon tea. Oh, like an herbal lemon tea.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it was the most magical tasting thing on that rainy day. And I just loved it so much. And then I started asking my mom for tea. So my mom went out to the local grocery store and got me that big, like, celestial seasoning sampler, like the Sleepy Time, the lemon, the herbal, the. The berry or whatever. And what I started doing was I would bring a bag to school every day, a different bag of tea to school every day. And then, because hot water was free, so I would not spend my money on it, I'd get the hot water. I'd usually get fries or cookies, and I would. That would be my lunch. Fries, cookies, and a cup of. A cup of verbal tea.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So funny. And that was like my ritual when I was, like, 15, 16. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's awesome. Have you ever seen me take the tea bag out of the.
>> Amanda Barker: And I would read, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you would read?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. My friends were all doing nefarious things, and I didn't. I kind of didn't want to go down that path with them. So I was. They would bounce and I would sit by myself. So I started. I was like, well, what am I going to do? We didn't have phones back then. So I would bring a book and have my tea with a book. And it was like a great way to deal with high school and peer pressure and all that. Because I was like, if you sit and read a book, then you're fine. You're in a little universe onto yourself. People can come and talk to you or not.
>> Marco Timpano: They say, if you don't want to be disturbed on a bus, subway, or at work, pretend you're reading or read from a book and people are less likely to disturb you.
>> Amanda Barker: I just. If I felt almost like a security blanket. And I genuinely enjoyed what I was reading. I was very into Douglas Adams back then, so I was reading all the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I loved comedy. I loved British comedy.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So that was the right fit for me back then. T and Douglas Adams. So funny. We should move to England. Really? The amount of English things we love.
>> Marco Timpano: And I've got a very British soul.
>> Amanda Barker: You do. We should just go to the uk.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe we will.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe this is the year. We just pack up, we rent the house out, and we just go to the uk. We have a couple friends there. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I'd love to do the podcast from the uk. Have you ever seen me take a tea bag out of the mug, put it on a spoon and. And squeeze it with the string?
>> Amanda Barker: I have. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It's fun.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, good.
>> Marco Timpano: A friend taught me that many years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: And now do you wrap the bag. Do you wrap the string around the handle of the mug to keep it there so the bag doesn't. The bag doesn't like the. So that. The little tab, if your tea has that doesn't, like, float into the water?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't love that. Because then it gets stuck on the handle.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And for the person who has to wash the mug or the cup or put it in the dishwasher, you then have to wrestle with the tea bag.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but then you're not drinking wet paper.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I don't let my tea bag steep very long in the tea, so I don't have that problem.
>> Amanda Barker: All right. But you seem to love to squeeze every last juice out of it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. And, you know, there was a time, do you remember this, Amanda, where I would save the teabag and use it a second time? Because I heard that the beneficial properties are amplified. When you have the teabag the second time.
>> Amanda Barker: That's insanity.
>> Marco Timpano: It was wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: We are frugal people. But I draw the line at reusing tea bags. I'm sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's great. I think I might go back to it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, for iced te. I could almost get behind it. Throw it in the. Because I make iced tea all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you make your iced tea?
>> Amanda Barker: Here's how I do it. I have my jug. I take a tea bag, I throw it in the jug. I make the tap water as hot as I can. I fill it up, I let it figure itself out in the fridge. The end.
>> Marco Timpano: It's great. It's a wonderful way to make tea.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. So I guess it's really. That's technically, I don't. It's not a completely cold brew, but it's not a hot brewed tea either. It's just a medium, figure it out for yourself kind of brew.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I do enjoy it. I will say this Amanda, we've got to the end of this episode but I want to invite our listeners to reach out and tell us in these 10 season what was your favorite episode that you've heard? Give us the title. We'll either mention it or do a replay of those episodes topics this season. So please reach out on Instagram, Facebook, wherever you can or just bits that you remember.
>> Amanda Barker: They may not remember the episodes at all because hopefully they were asleep. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And you let us know what your favorite episode or moment was. Until next time. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for being a part of season 10. We hope you were able to listen and as always, sleep, sleep sa.
Summer Blockbuster and Tom Hanks
(Original airdate: August 13, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm, relaxing, hopefully drifting conversation for you. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, I have some encouraging news. I've been looking into services that we can provide our listeners with ad free listens.
>> Amanda Barker: Tell me.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm getting very close. So I've been, I've been really diligent with following up on things.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I've had a week where I wasn't able to follow up. And so as a result, because it was a long weekend for us, I did not follow up. But I'm going to work on it tomorrow and the next day.
>> Amanda Barker: But you have been reaching out.
>> Marco Timpano: I have been reaching out.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like you're contradicting yourself just a little bit because you're like. But I haven't been following up. You have been.
>> Marco Timpano: I have been. I just, I have to reach. I have to send another email and see where it takes us.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. We don't need to stress our listeners out, but it is in process.
>> Marco Timpano: It is in process.
>> Amanda Barker: Or as we say in Canada, it is in process.
>> Marco Timpano: Process. I heard someone say against the other day and I was like, I say against. I don't say against.
>> Amanda Barker: Against is a real Canadianism.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess so.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess from the British. But do even the British say against?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not sure how they say it. Think of how you would say it with a British accent.
>> Amanda Barker: Would you please? Would you mind holding your body against me? Yeah. They would say against and I don't know why I said that.
>> Marco Timpano: Pick up line. It's always nice to have a.
>> Amanda Barker: That was my first use.
>> Marco Timpano: Pickup line. It's funny.
>> Amanda Barker: And Bean is the other one.
>> Marco Timpano: Bean for Ben.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I've been around the world and I,
>> Amanda Barker: I, I, I can't find my baby.
>> Marco Timpano: In case anyone knows that one hit Lisa Stansfield. Yeah. I like that song. When it came out.
>> Amanda Barker: Stanfield or Stansfield.
>> Marco Timpano: I know there's an underwear brand based in Halifax called Stansfield.
>> Amanda Barker: This is a real. I think it's called Stanfield.
>> Marco Timpano: Stanfield. That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: So this is a real stream of consciousness.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't the airport named Stanfield? Stanfield International Airport.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it named after the underwear.
>> Amanda Barker: The underwear guy? I didn't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: In Halifax is what he's saying, guys. Because he didn't finish that thought.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, I don't know. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Imagine your airport's named after an underwear person.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sure there's airports named after worse.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess so.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't think of any. But I'm sure there are.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure there are a lot.
>> Amanda Barker: Let's think of famous people who got airports named after them.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Lester B. Pearson is our airport but nobody calls it that anymore. When I was younger, we used to call it Pearson.
>> Amanda Barker: People say Pearson.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Were you flying out of Pearson?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Fair. They do. Charles de Gaulle.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't really remember what he did, but I know he led France, question mark.
>> Marco Timpano: He was the. Yeah. The president of France.
>> Amanda Barker: President, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Leonardo da Vinci in Rome, which I've
>> Amanda Barker: never heard it called that. I've only ever heard it called Fiumicino.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: But I guess that is what it's called.
>> Marco Timpano: Heathrow. Was Heathrow named after someone?
>> Amanda Barker: Gotta be, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Who was Heathrow?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: He sounds cool or something. Gatwick and Heathrow, I've been to both.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe those are places, maybe those aren't people. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I think we're already offending the Brits with our. With your.
>> Amanda Barker: I know I didn't start off on the right foot. Dulles.
>> Marco Timpano: Who's that named after?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. I think it was a general of some kind. That's in D.C. and of course, the other one in D.C. would be Reagan, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, after Ronald Reagan.
>> Amanda Barker: Ronald Reagan. So that airport. And then there's John F. Kennedy. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: JFK, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is in New York.
>> Marco Timpano: LaGuardia. Named after a mayor.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is that who he was? LaGuardia was a mayor.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, he was a mayor.
>> Amanda Barker: So those are some of those. I don't know where. Boss. Who was named after. Like who? Logan. Of Boston's Logan Airport.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Was.
>> Marco Timpano: I can tell you that Heathrow. What? I've been able to ascertain, and I don't use that word lightly, Heathrow Airport holdings is a company that is operated and managed by Heathrow Airport, based in London. But it doesn't tell me.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, maybe it's just the name of the area.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, perhaps.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of some other ones. Can you think of some other ones? Maybe that. Maybe I've run dry.
>> Marco Timpano: Pierre Trudeau in Montreal.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't there one?
>> Amanda Barker: And there was Doraval, wasn't there?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Who's Dorval?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know, but that was a. And Mirabel. Wait, it was Dorval and Mirabel in. In Montreal. And now it's just Trudeau, right? Airport.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, it's. Trudeau is an airport that's not used as much anymore.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, maybe that was Mirabel and they renamed it.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. We don't usually fly into Montreal is the problem. We usually just drive there.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's true. That's true. Trying to think of some other ones.
>> Marco Timpano: What are some of your favorite airports?
>> Amanda Barker: I love the one in Incheon. I love the Korean airport, but I don't think it's named after any person that I can think of.
>> Marco Timpano: I love going to an airport in a place that you wouldn't go necessarily. Like you're going on a vacation or something. You're like, oh, we're going to, you know, St. Kitts and Nevis, and you find out the airport's named after somebody who was important in that place.
>> Amanda Barker: And then you're like, I don't know, maybe I thought there were so many, but now I feel like I've. I've run dry.
>> Marco Timpano: Mirabel Airport is actually takes its name from not a person, but rather a former hamlet in the area.
>> Amanda Barker: But I don't. That airport doesn't exist anymore, does it?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think it does.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I think they used it for like film shoots and things. I know there was a, a Tom Hanks movie where he's like stuck in an airport.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: And that was all filmed there.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not even, I'm not even.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember the movie.
>> Marco Timpano: All that can wait. Something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: What? I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't know. We can't get. Go down that road because we already received messages from Bill Singh.
>> Amanda Barker: We did, we got, we got some hate mail from a good friend saying how, how dare you mix up Murphy Brown and Designing Women.
>> Marco Timpano: For the record, that was you, not me.
>> Amanda Barker: That was me and I'll own it. I'll own the hatred.
>> Marco Timpano: Bill did say, if you're gonna do 80s television series, have him on the show. I should just have you and him on the show. The problem is it would be a four hour episode because you guys like,
>> Amanda Barker: of him correcting me, of me saying crazy things and him saying, no, no.
>> Marco Timpano: It would be an hour of them just talking, catching up, which I'd have to edit out. And then.
>> Amanda Barker: So we used to have a podcast and we invite you. I think it would, I think it would do a great job at maybe putting you to sleep any day. But we had a podcast called Born this Way. Right? Born this Day. What?
>> Marco Timpano: I love that you don't remember the
>> Amanda Barker: name of the podcast, Born this Day.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not a Lady Gaga podcast. It was Born this Day. It was famous people born on that particular day.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember. I was there. Anyhow. And so we talk about all the famous people that are born and every day and we went through every. We did 365 of them. It's all a blur now, but that was our. Our pandemic project, and it still exists, and it's me and Bill and Marco. Although some. Some were Marco and Bill, some were me and Marco, some were me and Bill. So any permutation of that. Very rarely was it the three of us.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a lot of work.
>> Amanda Barker: It was.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a test of our contrition and it was a lot of work. It was a lot of work.
>> Amanda Barker: You said it. You. You pitched it to me and I said, great, let's do it.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't realize how much.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of writing that I did not do. Bill did all the. I mean, Bill did all of the writing.
>> Marco Timpano: You would just show up. Much like.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I was the worst. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so I'm looking up the title of the Tom Hanks film.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, we're there again.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Just because I don't want to leave people hanging. Catch me if you can.
>> Amanda Barker: And what did you say? Wait around for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Catch me if you can.
>> Marco Timpano: Catch me if you can. Yeah. DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.
>> Amanda Barker: No, that's not that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: It was in the airport. Yeah, it was an.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no, no. Catch Me if youf can is Tom hanks chasing Leonardo DiCaprio. That's not the movie I'm talking about. I'm talking about a movie where Tom Hanks is a foreigner of some sort. I don't know. But not from the area that he's stuck in. He's like Polish or something, and he's stuck in an airport, and the whole movie takes place in an airport, and it's just him stuck in an airport.
>> Marco Timpano: I've never heard this film.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you in his IMDb right now?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not. I mean, I can. I can be if you'd like me to be. No, no, it's not the Da Vinci Code. Right?
>> Amanda Barker: It's not the Da Vinci Code.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not Bosom Buddies, the musical, is it?
>> Amanda Barker: I wish it was. That takes place somehow, inexplicably, at an airport.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, let's see here.
>> Amanda Barker: Are we just gonna do a Tom Hanks deep dive?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, let's just do it. Know what? We're now here.
>> Amanda Barker: See how many people we can put to sleep by reciting an IMDb.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'll just mention the films and you tell me anything you know about the films.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well. And we'll find that one.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. Castaway.
>> Amanda Barker: He has that volleyball named Wilson, and he lost a lot of weight for it. And. And I always think about it whenever I see a FedEx man, big. I saw it when I was a kid and I. He. He basically introduced FAO Schwarz to the entire nation because he has that scene where he's playing the piano in FAO Schwartz, and then everybody had to go to New York and play that piano with his feet. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Forrest Gump.
>> Amanda Barker: We all know that movie. I'm not actually the biggest fan of that movie because I just felt like you could just throw anything into that movie. I remember watching it going, well, you could just. Just grab anything from history and put them into it. But I did cry at the end.
>> Marco Timpano: I really like that film.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, great.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I think I might have found it. Could it be a Man Called Otto? Is that it?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. Is it?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know that one.
>> Marco Timpano: This film. Okay, so Otto is a grump who's given up on life.
>> Amanda Barker: That's more recent film.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I think he was nominated for that film.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, let's see here.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, this film was like 15 years ago, easily. Okay. Do you want me to do it? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, I'm. I can't seem to find the list anymore because I. I went to figure out what a man named Otto is.
>> Amanda Barker: Man called.
>> Marco Timpano: A man called Otto. I don't know. An auto. Auto is one of those names where it's forwards and backwards. It's the same thing is that I called it Palindrome. I think.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it is. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Like mom or wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Or
>> Marco Timpano: Knife fight.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. What is all this? He's not in. Oh, he's a producer. This is showing me all his producer credits. But we want his actor credits.
>> Marco Timpano: Joe versus the Volcano. Do you remember that film?
>> Amanda Barker: Tell me about that film.
>> Marco Timpano: It's. He's got to deal with the volcano that's about to erupt, and I think he's gonna throw someone in it. If I'm not mistaken, the love of his life. I think that's part of what's going on.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. You know, the problem is with Tom Hanks and IMDb is that he has
>> Marco Timpano: a lot of work.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, he's produced. He's such a produce that it's showing me all the things he's produced, which, no offense, I'm not really. I don't really care about.
>> Marco Timpano: Was he in Saving Private Ryan?
>> Amanda Barker: Was he.
>> Marco Timpano: He wasn't that right? Oh, man. If Tom Hanks listens to this episode. If you happen to be talking with Tom Hanks friend and he listens, I
>> Amanda Barker: know we're in danger of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, but here's the thing. You never know who's friends with Tom Hanks. And then all of a sudden they're like, you gotta listen to this podcast where they have no idea anything you've ever done. And I. I'm a big fan of Tom Hanks. I really am. I do like his work. I think he's great on camera. Sully. He did that movie, Sully, where he. He lands a plane in the water.
>> Amanda Barker: Elvis. He was in Elvis.
>> Marco Timpano: He plays the colonel.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah, expertly. Okay, I'm. I'm in his IMDb so.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you name them and I'll tell you what the film's about. That'll check.
>> Amanda Barker: The David S. Pumpkins Halloween short.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that was a character he did on snl, so it's not a movie.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Do you remember the Circle?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. I hated that.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I really like Emma.
>> Marco Timpano: Emma. Emma Hermanji. Granger.
>> Amanda Barker: Whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Hermione Granger. Emma Wilson. What's her name?
>> Amanda Barker: Watson.
>> Marco Timpano: Emma Watson. And him, he's like. He's like a tech guy and he's figuring things out.
>> Amanda Barker: Saving Mr. Banks. We never saw that one.
>> Marco Timpano: I think I saw a bit of it. He's like. He's like Walt Disney and he's trying to get people to put on Mary Poppins. I think he's trying to get Mary Poppins made or something.
>> Amanda Barker: The Simpsons movie. He was also in something called Elvis Has Left the Building. Oh, I found the. I found the movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, here we go.
>> Amanda Barker: It's called the Terminal.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the terminal. As in the terminal. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Victor Navarroski.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's based on a true story. Yeah, yeah, I remember seeing that. Where the person. Yeah, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't really remember the premise. Let's read the premise.
>> Marco Timpano: Where did you see this film?
>> Amanda Barker: In the theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Back when I used to do that.
>> Marco Timpano: We were talking about films we saw.
>> Amanda Barker: Here we go. Okay. Victor Nevrosky reaches JFK airport from a politically unstable country. Okay? So I said he's Russian.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But we don't know what he is. But prior to that, I said Polish.
>> Marco Timpano: So they used to, like. They used to, like, you use Moldovia as a country.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Because everybody knows it's a country, but nobody knows politically what's going on. I shouldn't say nobody, but a lot
>> Amanda Barker: of it is not a country. Babe.
>> Marco Timpano: Moldova is a country.
>> Amanda Barker: Moldova is a country.
>> Marco Timpano: Moldova. Moldova.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, due to collapse of his government, his papers are no longer valid in the airport, and hence he is forced to stay in the airport. Until the war cools down, he makes the airport his home, and he develops a friendship with the people who work there until he can leave. There you go.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds very Forrest Gumpish. Does he sit on a bench?
>> Amanda Barker: Tom Hanks is really great at doing fish out of water stories.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that's what you're getting out there. Because he has a real likability to him. And, like, I look at him and I. I see my dad for some reason, you know? Like, I think people see the people they love in him or themselves in him.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Band of Brothers. He was in. I don't know if he was. Oh, yeah, no, he was the captain in Saving Private Ryan.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I thought so.
>> Amanda Barker: He did a lot of Toy Story.
>> Marco Timpano: He's the reason that they wanted to save Captain Private Ryan.
>> Amanda Barker: What do you mean?
>> Marco Timpano: He's the captain who says we gotta save this guy?
>> Amanda Barker: League of Their Own.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. No Crying in baseball. Everybody knows that.
>> Amanda Barker: He was in the Bonfire of the Vanities.
>> Marco Timpano: That was a huge book at the time. And they made it into a movie with Bruce Willis and I want to say Sigourney Weaver. I could be wrong, and it flopped.
>> Amanda Barker: This movie gets referenced a lot when you know someone who's buying an old house.
>> Marco Timpano: The Money Pit with Shelley Long, if I'm not mistaken.
>> Amanda Barker: What's that?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm pretty sure you've Got Mail with what's her face. They're the blonde Ryan who had a big career and then.
>> Amanda Barker: And they had two movies together, did they not?
>> Marco Timpano: Sleepless in Seattle.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe Mail is actually based on a French Christmas story.
>> Marco Timpano: I did not know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that the one where it once.
>> Amanda Barker: Perfumery.
>> Marco Timpano: Was that the one where she sells her comb?
>> Amanda Barker: No, no, no, no. It's. We saw the play. Or. I saw it. I thought you saw it with me at soulpepper. Called Perfumery. And it was like a woman who's getting letters from a secret admirer and she doesn't know who it is, but it takes place at, like, I don't know, the 40s or something. So it was. Anyway, this Nora Ephron, I think, updated it with email and so on. So it's called you've got Mail, but it's based on a French. The play is called Perfumery, but I think the. The French story is even called something else.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Anyway, what came first? Sleepless in Seattle or you've got Mail?
>> Amanda Barker: Sleepless in Seattle.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: You've got Mail was the big follow up.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I'm trying to find what his first movie was. But this is movies in tv. Oh, he had a. He did a episode of the Love Boat, as.
>> Marco Timpano: As is his. Right? Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, he did an episode of Taxi. Yeah. I'm just looking at stuff he did. He did an episode of Happy Days.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: Three episodes of Family Ties. Was he the drunk uncle in Family Ties?
>> Marco Timpano: He was.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember that he had, like, an alcohol problem.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, he was Michael. Michael Keaton. His. His, like, hero kind of thing was. It was his uncle.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And then it was like he was drinking. Splat. Well, his brother. I think they would have been the same age.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it was his uncle.
>> Amanda Barker: Who's Michael Keaton?
>> Marco Timpano: Michael Keaton's uncle.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you talking about Alex P. Keaton?
>> Marco Timpano: Alex P. Keaton's uncle.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so Michael was the dad.
>> Marco Timpano: Right? Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Splash, which love that film named. Used the unconventional joke name Madison for the. Because she. He says, oh, we're at fifth in Madison or whatever. And she goes, madison. I like that name. He's like, you can't be named Madison. That's not a. And thus began every Madison. You know, a bunch of little girls who are now in their 20s.
>> Marco Timpano: If you haven't seen Splash, I really recommend it.
>> Amanda Barker: So. Good.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, Amanda, we were talking just to get off the Tom Hanks.
>> Amanda Barker: Who knew we were gonna do a deep dive on Tom Hanks?
>> Marco Timpano: We were talking about the drive in movies recently, you and I, and we were talking about the first films we remember seeing at the drive in on that.
>> Amanda Barker: We were driving the other day and we were talking about, yeah, I guess, drive in movies.
>> Marco Timpano: We were talking about maybe going to see a drive in. Like, we should go see a drive in film.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, when I was young, you know, you didn't just have the opportunity to call any movie theater and find out what was playing. Now, very soon after this, you did, like, you could actually call the movie theater and there'd be a recording of the movies.
>> Marco Timpano: Movie phone, I think it was called.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that was a different thing. That was any movie. But yeah, you could call the movie theater and they'd be like, this week playing at cinema, whatever. So I don't think the drive ins had that. So my parents said to us, and I think it was a Sunday. I don't know why I remember it was a Sunday, but it was a Sunday and it was gonna be so exciting. We're gonna go to the drive in, wherever there was a drive in.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, when you were a kid, any opportunity to go to drive in just sounded like so much fun.
>> Amanda Barker: So much fun. Movie from your car. Like, you get to eat popcorn in your car maybe. Like, it just sounded so much fun. So my parents were like, we're going to the drive in. So myself, I think my baby brother, I don't know, maybe somebody was babysitting him. My sister, who was 9, I was 7. And my parents pile in the station wagon. And it was one of those station wagon that had, like, the wood paneling on the side.
>> Marco Timpano: The best. Those are the best station wagons. Let me guess. You went to go see a fun frolic film. Summer blockbuster.
>> Amanda Barker: Nope.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. You went to go see something a little artsy, but still fun for kids.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how it was pitched to us.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But also. Nope.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so tell us.
>> Amanda Barker: It was not a Disney movie. It was not a kids movie. So we show up at the drive in and they are playing a movie called Firefox. Not. Not Foxfire, because I thought it was called Foxfire. And I looked it up, and that is a movie where Jessica Tandy owns a farm. Okay, so it wasn't that. Although that might have arguably been more interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, Firefox, which I never saw, but I remember when there was, you know, those cable channels we had, like the C channel, right? Or First Choice or the other one, I can't remember, they would do ads for Firefox.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, this was a lesser known Clint Eastwood movie that involved battle planes. So my dad was quite excited and he was like, we're gonna see Firefox.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember the planes kind of looked like the Tesla truck. They had this, like, weird look to them.
>> Amanda Barker: If I'm not mistaken, they were very, like, mold that molded World War II molded metal look or whatever. Like aluminum that's been nailed down.
>> Marco Timpano: And you're seven, right?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm seven. And so we're like, great, Firefox. We don't know what it is. And of course, my dad, in retrospect, was probably, like, great. I get to actually see a Clint Eastwood movie. I don't have to watch, you know, Dumbo or something. So we very quickly realized this was not a fun movie, nor was it a kids movie. I don't know if we were allowed to get snacks. I feel like we weren't.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's even worse.
>> Amanda Barker: I just remember being in the backseat of the station wagon where we couldn't really see. So great. And I think there were mosquitoes and thinking, this is the most miserable, boring night of my life. And when is this movie going to end? I just want this movie to end and, like, trying to, like, sleep because you Know, kids today would have. They'd be like, give me my tablet or something. But we didn't have any of those things. So it was just us and Firefox.
>> Marco Timpano: Firefox. A retired Air Force pilot is sent into the Soviet Union on a mission to steal a prototype jet fighter that can be partially controlled by a neural link.
>> Amanda Barker: I was seven. That's all I'm gonna say.
>> Marco Timpano: So the. The first film I remember seeing at a drive in, and maybe you want to look this up while I say it was called Bustin Loose.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, see, that sounds more fun.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was fun. I remember really enjoying it because it starred Jimmy Walker, who you might remember from Good Times, who played Dino My.
>> Amanda Barker: Dino My.
>> Marco Timpano: But that wasn't his name.
>> Amanda Barker: Jj.
>> Marco Timpano: Jj. Thank you. And I remember being a kid and thinking, this. This actor is hilarious.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, it's Richard Pryor, though. Oh, Richard Pryor was the star. Not J.J. no.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw the one with J.J. on a bus. Then I'm getting the.
>> Amanda Barker: The Bustin Loose is starring Richard Pryor, Cicely Tyson, Robert Christian, and George Coe. And the music by Roberta Flack.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't see that film.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so what film did you see?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, what's the name of it? So it starred Jimmy Walker.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, I have to look up his IMDb.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure he didn't have a lot of films.
>> Amanda Barker: How many podcasts can you listen to where someone's looking up both Jimmy Walker and Tom Hanks in the same.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm conflating these films because I'm sure I saw this Richard Pryor, Cicely Tyson film, which I couldn't tell you about, but I also saw one with. I remember being so excited to see Jimmy Walker in a film because he was known as a. As a television star.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, Jimmy JJ Walker? Yeah, trying to. There's a lot of Jimmy Walkers. Okay, we're going to look up his IMDb and see what. What, 63 actor credits? Hang on.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to love Good Times.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, he was in Good Times. The Bold and the Beautiful. He did stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I never watched that. I wasn't into soap operas.
>> Amanda Barker: The comedian?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Sweet Lorraine, maybe Mr. Box Office?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the premise of this super shark?
>> Marco Timpano: I look for something around.
>> Amanda Barker: What goes around comes around.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe what was around? 1983. 1983. 84.
>> Amanda Barker: I was young, big money rustlers.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Son of the Beach.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe he was that. That sounds like a. I know.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, hang on. I'm gonna go back more.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's the experience I had my first Memory of going to the Drive In.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. What, yeah. What year would this have been?
>> Marco Timpano: 83. 84.
>> Amanda Barker: He was in an airplane, right?
>> Marco Timpano: No. 82, perhaps.
>> Amanda Barker: At ease. He was a sergeant. Oh, no, that's a show.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. No.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, anyways, he was in The Jerk Part 2.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe. Doing time. That sounds right.
>> Marco Timpano: Doing time.
>> Amanda Barker: Doing time.
>> Marco Timpano: Doing time. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Let's look at the premise of doing Time.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, this sounds familiar.
>> Amanda Barker: Duke Jarrett is sent to jail at the John Dillinger Prison. However, the prison looks more like a zoo, more or less ruled by the prisoners themselves. That sounds like Boston Loose.
>> Marco Timpano: This sounds like something I would. Yeah. Oh, yes. This is the movie poster for sure. This is it. Okay. So this is the movie that I saw. I don't think it was appropriate for kids at the time. I think there may have been times. I think there may have been a lot of swear words and nudity and all that kind of stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, arguably, Bustin Loose probably wasn't as appropriate either.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm sure with Richard Pryor, but why would I have conflated the two?
>> Amanda Barker: It makes total sense that due in time, people in a prison, that you would conflate that with Bustin Loose. People busting out of a prison.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: They're both kind of. I don't know if Bustin Loose is busting out of a prison, but he's busting out of something, so that makes sense. They're very similar premises.
>> Marco Timpano: And I did see both those films at the Drive in, and they're both
>> Amanda Barker: kind of wacky, antic movies where he's busting out, you know, and, and, and going crazy. So I, I, I can kind of see that.
>> Marco Timpano: And I also saw Richard Pryor, didn't I? For some reason, I saw a lot of Richard Pryor at the Drive in movie. See no Evil, Hear no Evil. With Wilder. Gene Wilder.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think they would make that movie today because one of them couldn't hear, one of them couldn't see.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And they were. Yeah. And anyways, it was an 80s premise. Yeah. These are the movies I saw. I saw a lot of Richard Pryor, I guess I saw another Richard Pryor.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't get to go back to Drive in for many years after Firefox. And yes, I know Firefox is also a web browser.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And you and I sometimes go to movies, Drive in movies, and we kind of see. We see some good films.
>> Amanda Barker: What's your favorite film we've seen at the Drive In?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, definitely not Sonic the Hedgehog, which we saw with my niece and my nephew.
>> Amanda Barker: We did.
>> Marco Timpano: We went to go see Sonic the Hedgehog.
>> Amanda Barker: The Hedgehog. We did.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even remember not that long ago either. And Lynn was there and Roger were there and. Yeah, so we saw that. I think.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. I'm trying to think. We saw that Jungle Cruise Disney movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I didn't like that either. Did we see We Bought a Zoo at the Drive In Movie Theater too? Which is another movie I don't like. I guess I don't see movies I like at the Drive in theater. The more I think of it, we
>> Amanda Barker: saw the Hulk at the Drive in movie. And I only remember that because I remember I fell asleep and I woke up at the very end and it was like a little dangling carrot Easter egg Iron man thing. And I woke up and that's all I saw the entire movie. You know what movie we saw? The Drive in that you would not think of as a Drive in movie, but actually it was really great. At the drive in was Straight out of Compton. We saw that at the drive in, you know, however many years ago. The one in Barry.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the last good movie I think I've seen at the drive in, if
>> Marco Timpano: I think about it.
>> Amanda Barker: Because the problem is we're taking kids, so we see kids movers.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think Straight out of Compton.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that was. Maybe that's why I remember it. No, but we, We. We took the kids to that. Yeah, that jungle one. And then we took them to last year. What? It wasn't Sonic the Hedgehog last year. We took them to. It was a sequel and it was the one. And it has the. The. The. The Minions.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right, the Minion movies.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I went to go see. What was that film?
>> Amanda Barker: Despicable Me 2 or 3. I think it was Despicable Me 3. We saw.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw Trolls 2 in the proper theater. And let me tell you, you do need to see Trolls one to know who all the characters are.
>> Amanda Barker: Which you had not seen.
>> Marco Timpano: Which I had not seen. I just knew that Justin Timberlake voiced one of the characters.
>> Amanda Barker: So I should explain. He went to see trolls 2 with our friend's daughter because they wanted to see the horror movie that I was in and they could not take their. At the time, 8 year old, so took Marco to trolls 2 and apparently you fell asleep three times.
>> Marco Timpano: I was nodding off because I felt bad because every time I would turn to her and say, who's that? What's going on. She would try to explain it to me, but she was watching the film as well, so it wasn't fair. So my recommendation, if you're gonna see Trolls two, go see Trolls one first.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a great learning.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. Well, that's the end of our podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: What a weird one. It's a Jimmie Walker and Tom X.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a. It's a summer blockbuster podcast episode.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. What's your favorite drive in movie, folks?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. What is your favorite drive in movie?
>> Amanda Barker: If you're still with us.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're still with us. And if you're not, well, tune in next week.
>> Amanda Barker: Dream about drive ins, and we hope
>> Marco Timpano: you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: August 13, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm, relaxing, hopefully drifting conversation for you. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, I have some encouraging news. I've been looking into services that we can provide our listeners with ad free listens.
>> Amanda Barker: Tell me.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm getting very close. So I've been, I've been really diligent with following up on things.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I've had a week where I wasn't able to follow up. And so as a result, because it was a long weekend for us, I did not follow up. But I'm going to work on it tomorrow and the next day.
>> Amanda Barker: But you have been reaching out.
>> Marco Timpano: I have been reaching out.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like you're contradicting yourself just a little bit because you're like. But I haven't been following up. You have been.
>> Marco Timpano: I have been. I just, I have to reach. I have to send another email and see where it takes us.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. We don't need to stress our listeners out, but it is in process.
>> Marco Timpano: It is in process.
>> Amanda Barker: Or as we say in Canada, it is in process.
>> Marco Timpano: Process. I heard someone say against the other day and I was like, I say against. I don't say against.
>> Amanda Barker: Against is a real Canadianism.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess so.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess from the British. But do even the British say against?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not sure how they say it. Think of how you would say it with a British accent.
>> Amanda Barker: Would you please? Would you mind holding your body against me? Yeah. They would say against and I don't know why I said that.
>> Marco Timpano: Pick up line. It's always nice to have a.
>> Amanda Barker: That was my first use.
>> Marco Timpano: Pickup line. It's funny.
>> Amanda Barker: And Bean is the other one.
>> Marco Timpano: Bean for Ben.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I've been around the world and I,
>> Amanda Barker: I, I, I can't find my baby.
>> Marco Timpano: In case anyone knows that one hit Lisa Stansfield. Yeah. I like that song. When it came out.
>> Amanda Barker: Stanfield or Stansfield.
>> Marco Timpano: I know there's an underwear brand based in Halifax called Stansfield.
>> Amanda Barker: This is a real. I think it's called Stanfield.
>> Marco Timpano: Stanfield. That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: So this is a real stream of consciousness.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't the airport named Stanfield? Stanfield International Airport.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it named after the underwear.
>> Amanda Barker: The underwear guy? I didn't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: In Halifax is what he's saying, guys. Because he didn't finish that thought.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, I don't know. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Imagine your airport's named after an underwear person.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sure there's airports named after worse.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess so.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't think of any. But I'm sure there are.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure there are a lot.
>> Amanda Barker: Let's think of famous people who got airports named after them.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Lester B. Pearson is our airport but nobody calls it that anymore. When I was younger, we used to call it Pearson.
>> Amanda Barker: People say Pearson.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Were you flying out of Pearson?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Fair. They do. Charles de Gaulle.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't really remember what he did, but I know he led France, question mark.
>> Marco Timpano: He was the. Yeah. The president of France.
>> Amanda Barker: President, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Leonardo da Vinci in Rome, which I've
>> Amanda Barker: never heard it called that. I've only ever heard it called Fiumicino.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: But I guess that is what it's called.
>> Marco Timpano: Heathrow. Was Heathrow named after someone?
>> Amanda Barker: Gotta be, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Who was Heathrow?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: He sounds cool or something. Gatwick and Heathrow, I've been to both.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe those are places, maybe those aren't people. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I think we're already offending the Brits with our. With your.
>> Amanda Barker: I know I didn't start off on the right foot. Dulles.
>> Marco Timpano: Who's that named after?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. I think it was a general of some kind. That's in D.C. and of course, the other one in D.C. would be Reagan, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, after Ronald Reagan.
>> Amanda Barker: Ronald Reagan. So that airport. And then there's John F. Kennedy. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: JFK, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is in New York.
>> Marco Timpano: LaGuardia. Named after a mayor.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is that who he was? LaGuardia was a mayor.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, he was a mayor.
>> Amanda Barker: So those are some of those. I don't know where. Boss. Who was named after. Like who? Logan. Of Boston's Logan Airport.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Was.
>> Marco Timpano: I can tell you that Heathrow. What? I've been able to ascertain, and I don't use that word lightly, Heathrow Airport holdings is a company that is operated and managed by Heathrow Airport, based in London. But it doesn't tell me.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, maybe it's just the name of the area.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, perhaps.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of some other ones. Can you think of some other ones? Maybe that. Maybe I've run dry.
>> Marco Timpano: Pierre Trudeau in Montreal.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't there one?
>> Amanda Barker: And there was Doraval, wasn't there?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Who's Dorval?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know, but that was a. And Mirabel. Wait, it was Dorval and Mirabel in. In Montreal. And now it's just Trudeau, right? Airport.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, it's. Trudeau is an airport that's not used as much anymore.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, maybe that was Mirabel and they renamed it.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. We don't usually fly into Montreal is the problem. We usually just drive there.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's true. That's true. Trying to think of some other ones.
>> Marco Timpano: What are some of your favorite airports?
>> Amanda Barker: I love the one in Incheon. I love the Korean airport, but I don't think it's named after any person that I can think of.
>> Marco Timpano: I love going to an airport in a place that you wouldn't go necessarily. Like you're going on a vacation or something. You're like, oh, we're going to, you know, St. Kitts and Nevis, and you find out the airport's named after somebody who was important in that place.
>> Amanda Barker: And then you're like, I don't know, maybe I thought there were so many, but now I feel like I've. I've run dry.
>> Marco Timpano: Mirabel Airport is actually takes its name from not a person, but rather a former hamlet in the area.
>> Amanda Barker: But I don't. That airport doesn't exist anymore, does it?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think it does.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I think they used it for like film shoots and things. I know there was a, a Tom Hanks movie where he's like stuck in an airport.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: And that was all filmed there.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not even, I'm not even.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember the movie.
>> Marco Timpano: All that can wait. Something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: What? I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't know. We can't get. Go down that road because we already received messages from Bill Singh.
>> Amanda Barker: We did, we got, we got some hate mail from a good friend saying how, how dare you mix up Murphy Brown and Designing Women.
>> Marco Timpano: For the record, that was you, not me.
>> Amanda Barker: That was me and I'll own it. I'll own the hatred.
>> Marco Timpano: Bill did say, if you're gonna do 80s television series, have him on the show. I should just have you and him on the show. The problem is it would be a four hour episode because you guys like,
>> Amanda Barker: of him correcting me, of me saying crazy things and him saying, no, no.
>> Marco Timpano: It would be an hour of them just talking, catching up, which I'd have to edit out. And then.
>> Amanda Barker: So we used to have a podcast and we invite you. I think it would, I think it would do a great job at maybe putting you to sleep any day. But we had a podcast called Born this Way. Right? Born this Day. What?
>> Marco Timpano: I love that you don't remember the
>> Amanda Barker: name of the podcast, Born this Day.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not a Lady Gaga podcast. It was Born this Day. It was famous people born on that particular day.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember. I was there. Anyhow. And so we talk about all the famous people that are born and every day and we went through every. We did 365 of them. It's all a blur now, but that was our. Our pandemic project, and it still exists, and it's me and Bill and Marco. Although some. Some were Marco and Bill, some were me and Marco, some were me and Bill. So any permutation of that. Very rarely was it the three of us.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a lot of work.
>> Amanda Barker: It was.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a test of our contrition and it was a lot of work. It was a lot of work.
>> Amanda Barker: You said it. You. You pitched it to me and I said, great, let's do it.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't realize how much.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of writing that I did not do. Bill did all the. I mean, Bill did all of the writing.
>> Marco Timpano: You would just show up. Much like.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I was the worst. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so I'm looking up the title of the Tom Hanks film.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, we're there again.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Just because I don't want to leave people hanging. Catch me if you can.
>> Amanda Barker: And what did you say? Wait around for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Catch me if you can.
>> Marco Timpano: Catch me if you can. Yeah. DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.
>> Amanda Barker: No, that's not that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: It was in the airport. Yeah, it was an.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no, no. Catch Me if youf can is Tom hanks chasing Leonardo DiCaprio. That's not the movie I'm talking about. I'm talking about a movie where Tom Hanks is a foreigner of some sort. I don't know. But not from the area that he's stuck in. He's like Polish or something, and he's stuck in an airport, and the whole movie takes place in an airport, and it's just him stuck in an airport.
>> Marco Timpano: I've never heard this film.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you in his IMDb right now?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not. I mean, I can. I can be if you'd like me to be. No, no, it's not the Da Vinci Code. Right?
>> Amanda Barker: It's not the Da Vinci Code.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not Bosom Buddies, the musical, is it?
>> Amanda Barker: I wish it was. That takes place somehow, inexplicably, at an airport.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, let's see here.
>> Amanda Barker: Are we just gonna do a Tom Hanks deep dive?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, let's just do it. Know what? We're now here.
>> Amanda Barker: See how many people we can put to sleep by reciting an IMDb.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'll just mention the films and you tell me anything you know about the films.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well. And we'll find that one.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. Castaway.
>> Amanda Barker: He has that volleyball named Wilson, and he lost a lot of weight for it. And. And I always think about it whenever I see a FedEx man, big. I saw it when I was a kid and I. He. He basically introduced FAO Schwarz to the entire nation because he has that scene where he's playing the piano in FAO Schwartz, and then everybody had to go to New York and play that piano with his feet. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Forrest Gump.
>> Amanda Barker: We all know that movie. I'm not actually the biggest fan of that movie because I just felt like you could just throw anything into that movie. I remember watching it going, well, you could just. Just grab anything from history and put them into it. But I did cry at the end.
>> Marco Timpano: I really like that film.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, great.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I think I might have found it. Could it be a Man Called Otto? Is that it?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. Is it?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know that one.
>> Marco Timpano: This film. Okay, so Otto is a grump who's given up on life.
>> Amanda Barker: That's more recent film.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I think he was nominated for that film.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, let's see here.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, this film was like 15 years ago, easily. Okay. Do you want me to do it? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, I'm. I can't seem to find the list anymore because I. I went to figure out what a man named Otto is.
>> Amanda Barker: Man called.
>> Marco Timpano: A man called Otto. I don't know. An auto. Auto is one of those names where it's forwards and backwards. It's the same thing is that I called it Palindrome. I think.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it is. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Like mom or wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Or
>> Marco Timpano: Knife fight.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. What is all this? He's not in. Oh, he's a producer. This is showing me all his producer credits. But we want his actor credits.
>> Marco Timpano: Joe versus the Volcano. Do you remember that film?
>> Amanda Barker: Tell me about that film.
>> Marco Timpano: It's. He's got to deal with the volcano that's about to erupt, and I think he's gonna throw someone in it. If I'm not mistaken, the love of his life. I think that's part of what's going on.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. You know, the problem is with Tom Hanks and IMDb is that he has
>> Marco Timpano: a lot of work.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, he's produced. He's such a produce that it's showing me all the things he's produced, which, no offense, I'm not really. I don't really care about.
>> Marco Timpano: Was he in Saving Private Ryan?
>> Amanda Barker: Was he.
>> Marco Timpano: He wasn't that right? Oh, man. If Tom Hanks listens to this episode. If you happen to be talking with Tom Hanks friend and he listens, I
>> Amanda Barker: know we're in danger of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, but here's the thing. You never know who's friends with Tom Hanks. And then all of a sudden they're like, you gotta listen to this podcast where they have no idea anything you've ever done. And I. I'm a big fan of Tom Hanks. I really am. I do like his work. I think he's great on camera. Sully. He did that movie, Sully, where he. He lands a plane in the water.
>> Amanda Barker: Elvis. He was in Elvis.
>> Marco Timpano: He plays the colonel.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah, expertly. Okay, I'm. I'm in his IMDb so.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you name them and I'll tell you what the film's about. That'll check.
>> Amanda Barker: The David S. Pumpkins Halloween short.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that was a character he did on snl, so it's not a movie.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Do you remember the Circle?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. I hated that.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I really like Emma.
>> Marco Timpano: Emma. Emma Hermanji. Granger.
>> Amanda Barker: Whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Hermione Granger. Emma Wilson. What's her name?
>> Amanda Barker: Watson.
>> Marco Timpano: Emma Watson. And him, he's like. He's like a tech guy and he's figuring things out.
>> Amanda Barker: Saving Mr. Banks. We never saw that one.
>> Marco Timpano: I think I saw a bit of it. He's like. He's like Walt Disney and he's trying to get people to put on Mary Poppins. I think he's trying to get Mary Poppins made or something.
>> Amanda Barker: The Simpsons movie. He was also in something called Elvis Has Left the Building. Oh, I found the. I found the movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, here we go.
>> Amanda Barker: It's called the Terminal.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the terminal. As in the terminal. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Victor Navarroski.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's based on a true story. Yeah, yeah, I remember seeing that. Where the person. Yeah, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't really remember the premise. Let's read the premise.
>> Marco Timpano: Where did you see this film?
>> Amanda Barker: In the theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Back when I used to do that.
>> Marco Timpano: We were talking about films we saw.
>> Amanda Barker: Here we go. Okay. Victor Nevrosky reaches JFK airport from a politically unstable country. Okay? So I said he's Russian.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But we don't know what he is. But prior to that, I said Polish.
>> Marco Timpano: So they used to, like. They used to, like, you use Moldovia as a country.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Because everybody knows it's a country, but nobody knows politically what's going on. I shouldn't say nobody, but a lot
>> Amanda Barker: of it is not a country. Babe.
>> Marco Timpano: Moldova is a country.
>> Amanda Barker: Moldova is a country.
>> Marco Timpano: Moldova. Moldova.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, due to collapse of his government, his papers are no longer valid in the airport, and hence he is forced to stay in the airport. Until the war cools down, he makes the airport his home, and he develops a friendship with the people who work there until he can leave. There you go.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds very Forrest Gumpish. Does he sit on a bench?
>> Amanda Barker: Tom Hanks is really great at doing fish out of water stories.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that's what you're getting out there. Because he has a real likability to him. And, like, I look at him and I. I see my dad for some reason, you know? Like, I think people see the people they love in him or themselves in him.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Band of Brothers. He was in. I don't know if he was. Oh, yeah, no, he was the captain in Saving Private Ryan.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I thought so.
>> Amanda Barker: He did a lot of Toy Story.
>> Marco Timpano: He's the reason that they wanted to save Captain Private Ryan.
>> Amanda Barker: What do you mean?
>> Marco Timpano: He's the captain who says we gotta save this guy?
>> Amanda Barker: League of Their Own.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. No Crying in baseball. Everybody knows that.
>> Amanda Barker: He was in the Bonfire of the Vanities.
>> Marco Timpano: That was a huge book at the time. And they made it into a movie with Bruce Willis and I want to say Sigourney Weaver. I could be wrong, and it flopped.
>> Amanda Barker: This movie gets referenced a lot when you know someone who's buying an old house.
>> Marco Timpano: The Money Pit with Shelley Long, if I'm not mistaken.
>> Amanda Barker: What's that?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm pretty sure you've Got Mail with what's her face. They're the blonde Ryan who had a big career and then.
>> Amanda Barker: And they had two movies together, did they not?
>> Marco Timpano: Sleepless in Seattle.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe Mail is actually based on a French Christmas story.
>> Marco Timpano: I did not know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that the one where it once.
>> Amanda Barker: Perfumery.
>> Marco Timpano: Was that the one where she sells her comb?
>> Amanda Barker: No, no, no, no. It's. We saw the play. Or. I saw it. I thought you saw it with me at soulpepper. Called Perfumery. And it was like a woman who's getting letters from a secret admirer and she doesn't know who it is, but it takes place at, like, I don't know, the 40s or something. So it was. Anyway, this Nora Ephron, I think, updated it with email and so on. So it's called you've got Mail, but it's based on a French. The play is called Perfumery, but I think the. The French story is even called something else.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Anyway, what came first? Sleepless in Seattle or you've got Mail?
>> Amanda Barker: Sleepless in Seattle.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: You've got Mail was the big follow up.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I'm trying to find what his first movie was. But this is movies in tv. Oh, he had a. He did a episode of the Love Boat, as.
>> Marco Timpano: As is his. Right? Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, he did an episode of Taxi. Yeah. I'm just looking at stuff he did. He did an episode of Happy Days.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: Three episodes of Family Ties. Was he the drunk uncle in Family Ties?
>> Marco Timpano: He was.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember that he had, like, an alcohol problem.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, he was Michael. Michael Keaton. His. His, like, hero kind of thing was. It was his uncle.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And then it was like he was drinking. Splat. Well, his brother. I think they would have been the same age.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it was his uncle.
>> Amanda Barker: Who's Michael Keaton?
>> Marco Timpano: Michael Keaton's uncle.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you talking about Alex P. Keaton?
>> Marco Timpano: Alex P. Keaton's uncle.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so Michael was the dad.
>> Marco Timpano: Right? Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Splash, which love that film named. Used the unconventional joke name Madison for the. Because she. He says, oh, we're at fifth in Madison or whatever. And she goes, madison. I like that name. He's like, you can't be named Madison. That's not a. And thus began every Madison. You know, a bunch of little girls who are now in their 20s.
>> Marco Timpano: If you haven't seen Splash, I really recommend it.
>> Amanda Barker: So. Good.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, Amanda, we were talking just to get off the Tom Hanks.
>> Amanda Barker: Who knew we were gonna do a deep dive on Tom Hanks?
>> Marco Timpano: We were talking about the drive in movies recently, you and I, and we were talking about the first films we remember seeing at the drive in on that.
>> Amanda Barker: We were driving the other day and we were talking about, yeah, I guess, drive in movies.
>> Marco Timpano: We were talking about maybe going to see a drive in. Like, we should go see a drive in film.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, when I was young, you know, you didn't just have the opportunity to call any movie theater and find out what was playing. Now, very soon after this, you did, like, you could actually call the movie theater and there'd be a recording of the movies.
>> Marco Timpano: Movie phone, I think it was called.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that was a different thing. That was any movie. But yeah, you could call the movie theater and they'd be like, this week playing at cinema, whatever. So I don't think the drive ins had that. So my parents said to us, and I think it was a Sunday. I don't know why I remember it was a Sunday, but it was a Sunday and it was gonna be so exciting. We're gonna go to the drive in, wherever there was a drive in.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, when you were a kid, any opportunity to go to drive in just sounded like so much fun.
>> Amanda Barker: So much fun. Movie from your car. Like, you get to eat popcorn in your car maybe. Like, it just sounded so much fun. So my parents were like, we're going to the drive in. So myself, I think my baby brother, I don't know, maybe somebody was babysitting him. My sister, who was 9, I was 7. And my parents pile in the station wagon. And it was one of those station wagon that had, like, the wood paneling on the side.
>> Marco Timpano: The best. Those are the best station wagons. Let me guess. You went to go see a fun frolic film. Summer blockbuster.
>> Amanda Barker: Nope.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. You went to go see something a little artsy, but still fun for kids.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how it was pitched to us.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But also. Nope.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so tell us.
>> Amanda Barker: It was not a Disney movie. It was not a kids movie. So we show up at the drive in and they are playing a movie called Firefox. Not. Not Foxfire, because I thought it was called Foxfire. And I looked it up, and that is a movie where Jessica Tandy owns a farm. Okay, so it wasn't that. Although that might have arguably been more interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, Firefox, which I never saw, but I remember when there was, you know, those cable channels we had, like the C channel, right? Or First Choice or the other one, I can't remember, they would do ads for Firefox.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, this was a lesser known Clint Eastwood movie that involved battle planes. So my dad was quite excited and he was like, we're gonna see Firefox.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember the planes kind of looked like the Tesla truck. They had this, like, weird look to them.
>> Amanda Barker: If I'm not mistaken, they were very, like, mold that molded World War II molded metal look or whatever. Like aluminum that's been nailed down.
>> Marco Timpano: And you're seven, right?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm seven. And so we're like, great, Firefox. We don't know what it is. And of course, my dad, in retrospect, was probably, like, great. I get to actually see a Clint Eastwood movie. I don't have to watch, you know, Dumbo or something. So we very quickly realized this was not a fun movie, nor was it a kids movie. I don't know if we were allowed to get snacks. I feel like we weren't.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's even worse.
>> Amanda Barker: I just remember being in the backseat of the station wagon where we couldn't really see. So great. And I think there were mosquitoes and thinking, this is the most miserable, boring night of my life. And when is this movie going to end? I just want this movie to end and, like, trying to, like, sleep because you Know, kids today would have. They'd be like, give me my tablet or something. But we didn't have any of those things. So it was just us and Firefox.
>> Marco Timpano: Firefox. A retired Air Force pilot is sent into the Soviet Union on a mission to steal a prototype jet fighter that can be partially controlled by a neural link.
>> Amanda Barker: I was seven. That's all I'm gonna say.
>> Marco Timpano: So the. The first film I remember seeing at a drive in, and maybe you want to look this up while I say it was called Bustin Loose.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, see, that sounds more fun.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was fun. I remember really enjoying it because it starred Jimmy Walker, who you might remember from Good Times, who played Dino My.
>> Amanda Barker: Dino My.
>> Marco Timpano: But that wasn't his name.
>> Amanda Barker: Jj.
>> Marco Timpano: Jj. Thank you. And I remember being a kid and thinking, this. This actor is hilarious.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, it's Richard Pryor, though. Oh, Richard Pryor was the star. Not J.J. no.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw the one with J.J. on a bus. Then I'm getting the.
>> Amanda Barker: The Bustin Loose is starring Richard Pryor, Cicely Tyson, Robert Christian, and George Coe. And the music by Roberta Flack.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't see that film.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so what film did you see?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, what's the name of it? So it starred Jimmy Walker.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, I have to look up his IMDb.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure he didn't have a lot of films.
>> Amanda Barker: How many podcasts can you listen to where someone's looking up both Jimmy Walker and Tom Hanks in the same.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm conflating these films because I'm sure I saw this Richard Pryor, Cicely Tyson film, which I couldn't tell you about, but I also saw one with. I remember being so excited to see Jimmy Walker in a film because he was known as a. As a television star.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, Jimmy JJ Walker? Yeah, trying to. There's a lot of Jimmy Walkers. Okay, we're going to look up his IMDb and see what. What, 63 actor credits? Hang on.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to love Good Times.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, he was in Good Times. The Bold and the Beautiful. He did stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I never watched that. I wasn't into soap operas.
>> Amanda Barker: The comedian?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Sweet Lorraine, maybe Mr. Box Office?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the premise of this super shark?
>> Marco Timpano: I look for something around.
>> Amanda Barker: What goes around comes around.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe what was around? 1983. 1983. 84.
>> Amanda Barker: I was young, big money rustlers.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Son of the Beach.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe he was that. That sounds like a. I know.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, hang on. I'm gonna go back more.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's the experience I had my first Memory of going to the Drive In.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. What, yeah. What year would this have been?
>> Marco Timpano: 83. 84.
>> Amanda Barker: He was in an airplane, right?
>> Marco Timpano: No. 82, perhaps.
>> Amanda Barker: At ease. He was a sergeant. Oh, no, that's a show.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. No.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, anyways, he was in The Jerk Part 2.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe. Doing time. That sounds right.
>> Marco Timpano: Doing time.
>> Amanda Barker: Doing time.
>> Marco Timpano: Doing time. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Let's look at the premise of doing Time.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, this sounds familiar.
>> Amanda Barker: Duke Jarrett is sent to jail at the John Dillinger Prison. However, the prison looks more like a zoo, more or less ruled by the prisoners themselves. That sounds like Boston Loose.
>> Marco Timpano: This sounds like something I would. Yeah. Oh, yes. This is the movie poster for sure. This is it. Okay. So this is the movie that I saw. I don't think it was appropriate for kids at the time. I think there may have been times. I think there may have been a lot of swear words and nudity and all that kind of stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, arguably, Bustin Loose probably wasn't as appropriate either.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm sure with Richard Pryor, but why would I have conflated the two?
>> Amanda Barker: It makes total sense that due in time, people in a prison, that you would conflate that with Bustin Loose. People busting out of a prison.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: They're both kind of. I don't know if Bustin Loose is busting out of a prison, but he's busting out of something, so that makes sense. They're very similar premises.
>> Marco Timpano: And I did see both those films at the Drive in, and they're both
>> Amanda Barker: kind of wacky, antic movies where he's busting out, you know, and, and, and going crazy. So I, I, I can kind of see that.
>> Marco Timpano: And I also saw Richard Pryor, didn't I? For some reason, I saw a lot of Richard Pryor at the Drive in movie. See no Evil, Hear no Evil. With Wilder. Gene Wilder.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think they would make that movie today because one of them couldn't hear, one of them couldn't see.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And they were. Yeah. And anyways, it was an 80s premise. Yeah. These are the movies I saw. I saw a lot of Richard Pryor, I guess I saw another Richard Pryor.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't get to go back to Drive in for many years after Firefox. And yes, I know Firefox is also a web browser.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And you and I sometimes go to movies, Drive in movies, and we kind of see. We see some good films.
>> Amanda Barker: What's your favorite film we've seen at the Drive In?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, definitely not Sonic the Hedgehog, which we saw with my niece and my nephew.
>> Amanda Barker: We did.
>> Marco Timpano: We went to go see Sonic the Hedgehog.
>> Amanda Barker: The Hedgehog. We did.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even remember not that long ago either. And Lynn was there and Roger were there and. Yeah, so we saw that. I think.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. I'm trying to think. We saw that Jungle Cruise Disney movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I didn't like that either. Did we see We Bought a Zoo at the Drive In Movie Theater too? Which is another movie I don't like. I guess I don't see movies I like at the Drive in theater. The more I think of it, we
>> Amanda Barker: saw the Hulk at the Drive in movie. And I only remember that because I remember I fell asleep and I woke up at the very end and it was like a little dangling carrot Easter egg Iron man thing. And I woke up and that's all I saw the entire movie. You know what movie we saw? The Drive in that you would not think of as a Drive in movie, but actually it was really great. At the drive in was Straight out of Compton. We saw that at the drive in, you know, however many years ago. The one in Barry.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the last good movie I think I've seen at the drive in, if
>> Marco Timpano: I think about it.
>> Amanda Barker: Because the problem is we're taking kids, so we see kids movers.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think Straight out of Compton.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that was. Maybe that's why I remember it. No, but we, We. We took the kids to that. Yeah, that jungle one. And then we took them to last year. What? It wasn't Sonic the Hedgehog last year. We took them to. It was a sequel and it was the one. And it has the. The. The. The Minions.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right, the Minion movies.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I went to go see. What was that film?
>> Amanda Barker: Despicable Me 2 or 3. I think it was Despicable Me 3. We saw.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw Trolls 2 in the proper theater. And let me tell you, you do need to see Trolls one to know who all the characters are.
>> Amanda Barker: Which you had not seen.
>> Marco Timpano: Which I had not seen. I just knew that Justin Timberlake voiced one of the characters.
>> Amanda Barker: So I should explain. He went to see trolls 2 with our friend's daughter because they wanted to see the horror movie that I was in and they could not take their. At the time, 8 year old, so took Marco to trolls 2 and apparently you fell asleep three times.
>> Marco Timpano: I was nodding off because I felt bad because every time I would turn to her and say, who's that? What's going on. She would try to explain it to me, but she was watching the film as well, so it wasn't fair. So my recommendation, if you're gonna see Trolls two, go see Trolls one first.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a great learning.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. Well, that's the end of our podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: What a weird one. It's a Jimmie Walker and Tom X.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a. It's a summer blockbuster podcast episode.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. What's your favorite drive in movie, folks?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. What is your favorite drive in movie?
>> Amanda Barker: If you're still with us.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're still with us. And if you're not, well, tune in next week.
>> Amanda Barker: Dream about drive ins, and we hope
>> Marco Timpano: you were able to listen and sleep.
Four Holy Pastas and more...
(Original airdate: July 16, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. You sit back, relax, lie back, whatever you need to do. Listen, and hopefully we can bring you to a place where you feel comfortable enough to drift off or just chill. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm back. I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Both Amanda and I got some weird summer cold that really kind of took us down. So we're back.
>> Amanda Barker: We are.
>> Marco Timpano: And we're back from our trip. Amanda, we were going to talk about our trip.
>> Amanda Barker: No. And we didn't. And I Think we had our niece.
>> Marco Timpano: We had our niece in last time. Last week. We didn't have a show because both of us were recovering.
>> Amanda Barker: We were very sick. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But now we're back.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. We didn't have voices.
>> Marco Timpano: We didn't. But we're back from our trip as well. We went to both Rome and Budapest in Hungary.
>> Amanda Barker: Where do we be? Begin with that?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I wanted to go to Rome because it's the jubilee, and I had been there 25 years ago, and I had promised myself I would go back. And Amanda's like, let's make it happen. We had some friends who were going to be there for a day. So we're like, let's go and see if we can meet up with them as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. They were on a trip to Sicily. They were organizing something through their work. And so it was almost like a. Locations scouting for them. And because they'll be back there. And so they were in Sicily, but all roads lead to Rome when you're in Italy. And so they were going to come and do a night or two in Rome. So we met up with them.
>> Marco Timpano: And I had two objectives. One was to go through the holy doors, as I did 25 years ago. Not that I'm a religious person, but it was quite a cool experience. And to do the four pastas of Rome.
>> Amanda Barker: The holy pastas.
>> Marco Timpano: The holy pastas, if you will, which. If you're wondering what are the four pastas of Rome? So Rome has four pastas that are, you know, associated with them, that are part of Rome.
>> Amanda Barker: Obviously, there's more than four pastas in the country we know as Italy. And when we say pastas, Marco, maybe we should be more specific.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So these pastas are usually identified by, would you say the sauce, but also the type of pasta, or noodle, if you will. I know. You won't.
>> Marco Timpano: I won't.
>> Amanda Barker: That is used for them. But sometimes you can change that up a little bit, I've noticed.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: A little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: There's certain ones you don't have with it. Please don't ask me what those pastas are. But you can always look it up. With the noodle is.
>> Amanda Barker: But we could. We could answer that a little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. So I'll just. I'll list the pastas.
>> Amanda Barker: Why don't we go one at a time and talk about our feelings and where we had it and our experience in eating it?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. So pasta alla carbonara, or the carbonara, as a lot of people know it.
>> Amanda Barker: So you had that the first night we were there. Now Whenever I've had a. I can't say it. Carbonata. Whenever I've had it, I've had it mostly with like a thick sort of spaghetti linguine kind of style of noodle. A long, thin, flat noodle. Right. Would you say that that's correct?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I've had it mainly like that as well here.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. However, it can also be served with, as we had it there, a short plump noodle. A short plump noodle that. Like a circular tube. Tube noodle with some ridges.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'll call that pasta. I won't call it noodles, because that's not.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I know, but I'm just trying to. Because we're talking about pasta the dish.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And then we're talking about pasta, the noodles. So that is confusing. I know you don't love the word noodle, but just to be specific.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: So the cabanata you had the first night had those sort of almost like. Almost like rigatoni kind of noodles.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Bigger than rigatoni, though.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And then we had it again, did we not?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, we did. We did. We had it near the Parthenon. We had it. And that was a longer noodle, if I'm not mistaken.
>> Amanda Barker: That was more of a spaghetti cabanata. So there you go. What makes a cabanata, Marco, and what doesn't make a cabanata?
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, you do not put cream in a carbonara, first of all, you
>> Amanda Barker: do not put cheese, I believe, in a carbonara. Do you?
>> Marco Timpano: No, you can't.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you do.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, but it is.
>> Amanda Barker: But what? Cheese.
>> Marco Timpano: Romano cheese. Because that's the cheese of Rome, which tends to be pecorino, which is a sheep's cheese. And it has guanciale, which is pork cheek and egg, and it is quite a rich dish.
>> Amanda Barker: And not butter. There were some Americans near us who were saying how to make it and they said butter.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. No, I don't believe there's any butter in a carbonara.
>> Amanda Barker: Not normally. I don't think so. I think the egg yolk does a lot of that work.
>> Marco Timpano: The heavy lifting.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So, yeah. So the carbonara we had then after the carbonara, I would say there is the matriciana.
>> Amanda Barker: So that is the only tomato based
>> Marco Timpano: sauce of the four that we have.
>> Amanda Barker: Of the four. And what else makes up alla matriciana? I know, I'm not saying it right.
>> Marco Timpano: So matriciana is often served with bucatini noodles. That's the traditional way you have it. And it's a tomato sauce based pasta that has pork Cheek. Once again, guanciale, pecorino cheese, grated and onions. I think some people put capers in it, but I don't know if that's traditional or not.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. So moving on with the pork cheek theme. The guanciale theme.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: The next one we had was one neither one of us had ever experienced before.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I was quite excited to try this one because I had never had it before. It's pasta alla gricia. That's G R I C I A. And that one, of course, pecorino cheese, black pepper. Once again, the pork cheek, or the guanciale, as they say.
>> Amanda Barker: Seems to be a theme.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I think that's all they put in it right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Pepper as well, I believe.
>> Marco Timpano: Pardon me? Pepper as well. Yeah. Did I not see a black pepper?
>> Amanda Barker: You might have black pepper again, A creamy white base pasta with pork cheek. So it looks kind of like a cabanara, but it doesn't have the egg. It's more about the pecorino. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And once again, no cream in that pasta. And the last one is the cacio
>> Amanda Barker: e pepe, which is very similar to alla gricia. It does not have the pork cheek,
>> Marco Timpano: so it's pepper and cheese. That pizza there. So we had all four, and I was really happy.
>> Amanda Barker: The pasta.
>> Marco Timpano: You mean the pasta. Sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. You can have a cacio e pepe pizza as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry, did I say pizza?
>> Amanda Barker: You did, yeah. Anyhow, so those are the four. So once again, the carbonara alla machicana, alla gricia. Gricia. Griche. Gricia. And then cacio e pepe, which usually
>> Marco Timpano: has a longer noodle. And that one there we had actually made. It was finished off in a wheel of pecorino cheese.
>> Amanda Barker: Can never go wrong when your pasta's made in a wheel of cheese. That one was fantastic. Oh, and we had actually, our quechu e pepe we had wasn't finished off in a wheel of cheels. It was actually presented to us in a bowl made of cheese.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. I'm sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: So we really. So he wanted to go for the holy doors, and he was like, well, what do you want to do in Rome? And I was like, I just want to eat well, that's kind of it. What I didn't anticipate about Rome. I knew it would be warm.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I knew it would be hot.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think I was prepared for how hot and humid it would be in early June.
>> Marco Timpano: It was unseasonably hot. It made the news when we were in Budapest. And so it was an incredibly hot time in June when we were there.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was really, really hot, folks.
>> Marco Timpano: It doesn't help that the pavement is all cobblestone.
>> Amanda Barker: And we walked everywhere and it was a sweat fest. But one of the great things about Rome is that there's water fountains everywhere. So if you have a nice reusable bottle, which we did. I tossed the one that I traveled with, which was like, I got for a dollar, which is why I was traveling with it and found one that was an upgrade from the Bialetti store, which we know makes mochas and things, to espresso. All your espresso needs. And it has a loop on the top, and so I could loop it through my tiny little purse hook and then have it as sort of part of my being. So I had. We had. Because it's so important to have a water bottle at all times. You know what a friend of mine at work said? He said, and isn't that the best tasting water? And I didn't.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't think about it. But he's not wrong.
>> Marco Timpano: No, he's not wrong at all.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. For. For fountain water. It really was.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Or tap water, really.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say this. One of the tips I always give people, especially when they go to Rome, but when they travel, when you're in Rome, there's so much one can see, as in other cities like Paris, London, London, New York City, Los Angeles, there's so much one can see. Buenos Aires, like, you name it, different parts of Japan.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, Tokyo, there's so much to see.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I always say this. Do one or two things that you really want to do and do them well. So that you can go and say, I did these two or three things and I did them well. I couldn't see everything.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Rather than try to do everything in little small bits, bits and run from here to there, here to there. I always find that you have the best memories when you do that, because you're not racing from one spot to the other. You're enjoying the moment that you're there. And you can just, you know, even sit and have a coffee or a sweet and just sit and just enjoy where you are.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I always, you know, when I started traveling, because I lived in a small town, then went to university in a small town. By the time all that was done, that's Marco drinking. Hydrating.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: That's all right. You're allowed to hydrate. We were just talking about how important it was. I. So I Started traveling a lot because I had been in very small, confined spaces for a while. Confined, but, you know, like isolated towns. Anyhow, I really just thought, oh, this is. I don't know when I'll be back in Europe. I better do as much as I can. I don't know when I'll be back in Paris. And then it became, I don't know when I'll be back in China. I don't know when I'll be back in Indonesia. And so I really was trying to get all of the things. And sometimes you go there and you didn't know about a certain museum or park or experience landmark. And then everyone starts talking about it and then you go, oh, well, I better do that thing. And it becomes this furious. For me anyway, checklist thing of like, oh, but we gotta do that. Are we gonna do that? When are we gonna do that? Could we do it tomorrow morning? And I fight that within myself every time I travel. But one of the things that I tell myself these days as a, you know, as not a 22 year old, but as somebody many, many years, you know, more than twice that age now,
>> Marco Timpano: is how lucky you are to be with me traveling.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, yes. That's what I say to myself every different. Because I have Marco and I don't. I have all the sights I need
>> Marco Timpano: every morning just looking at him.
>> Amanda Barker: You are the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I gotta get that fixed.
>> Amanda Barker: No, what I was gonna say is leave something for next time. You may go back. You may go, you may surprise. And you may not go back, and that's okay too. But life is long and you might go back to that city, that country, and experience what you're going to experience as you're saying. And it's okay to leave something for next time. For example, in Rome, I have not done the Coliseum tour. I haven't gone inside the Coliseum, but I imagine we'll be back in Rome at some point.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope so.
>> Amanda Barker: And if not, maybe sooner than later. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I've been. I've been inside it. So I.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't get to see it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, you do, but just not with me. No, we'll do it next time. It'll be something that we put on our list to do.
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't what this trip was. This trip was the Holy doors. And then you asked me and I said, I want to eat. Well, and so we ate the holy
>> Marco Timpano: pastas and we did. And they're for the record, they're not called holy pastas. That's just what we were calling them.
>> Amanda Barker: We also went to Rome's. Funny, actually. Like, here's the thing. In Toronto, we have amazing restaurants, and that's just the truth, you know. Indeed, the more I travel, the more I realize how much that is the truth. And so Rome has some great restaurants. And so we went to one that had long ago been featured in the show Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain. And then we went to another one that had been featured in Stanley Tucci's Italy. So we went to, you know, some of these recommends that are been made famous by famous people or they're in the Michelin guide or whatever. But none of them were crazy expensive.
>> Marco Timpano: No, they weren't. I have to say, it's one of the lovely things about Rome is that the food is very reasonable.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: At least where we went. And the people who work in the restaurant, even if you don't have a reservation, just speak to them and see what can be accommodated is my recommendation there. And they were very agreeable with regards to that, too.
>> Amanda Barker: I have to go to Florida this week, and I'm thinking about it. Those meals are going to be more expensive indeed. At the, you know, whatever, bucket shuck place. Yeah. The fish. The fish shacks that I go to with my parents, which are wonderful. But I guarantee you those meals will probably be more expensive just due to the fluctuating currencies and all other things than probably anything we had in Rome. Think about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I do want to say Amanda had a great idea and she's a great travel companion, if I do say so myself. And she's like, let's go somewhere we haven't been since we're in Rome. We should be able to find inexpensive flights outside of Rome as long as we're within Europe.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that was also a little bit my compromise. I. I have been to Rome. So have you. And the holy doors were not something I would have sought out. That said, I loved doing them. I got a lot out of that experience and I quite enjoyed it. But I always want to go to. As I always want to have gone to as many countries as years I'm alive, so I'll say that again. So at 42, I made sure I had been to 42 countries and so on.
>> Marco Timpano: So Amanda decides.
>> Amanda Barker: So I have to go to a new country every year.
>> Marco Timpano: In other words, Amanda's like, there's a few options, and Budapest was one of them. Now, Budapest was never on my radar. Budapest, as they say, it's been on mine.
>> Amanda Barker: My peripheral Radar for quite a while, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Not for any reason. It wasn't on my radar. It just, you know, wasn't. I think I had a. I think I had a feeling that I would end up in Warsaw before Budapest. I don't know why. I couldn't tell you why. That's not one I've ever considered Poland anyways before. Hungry. I don't know why, but that was something I always just thought interesting. So when you're like, let's go to Budapest, I was like, sure, why not?
>> Amanda Barker: We had a few options. I kind of narrowed it down for you. I was looking at Croatia as well. Sorry, a bit of mouth noises. I'm drinking my. My bubbly. So.
>> Marco Timpano: So Budapest went out and I. I couldn't have enjoyed a place more for the short time we were there.
>> Amanda Barker: Agreed.
>> Marco Timpano: And I couldn't be surprised more because I knew nothing about Budapest. I generally consider myself someone who knows because I've always find it. I've always found countries and places fascinating. Even as a child I would do research. I would like know capitals and things. It was just. It was just my thing. But I didn't realize that Budapest has many, many spas, thermal baths.
>> Amanda Barker: It is a city of thermal baths.
>> Marco Timpano: And when someone tells you that, you think, oh great, they'll have a spa. Budapest has spas everywhere you look.
>> Amanda Barker: And these spas, like the one we went to is not the biggest one. And it had 13 pools, just to give you an idea.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was quite a decision. We narrowed it down to two.
>> Amanda Barker: And let's see if we can remember the two. So it was between. I'm not going to say it right. Schlengzy. I don't think that's how you say it. Okay, well, it's S, Z, L, E, I, there's a G involved. And is that another Z or Zed involved? Anyhow, and that one is a little bit further out, but apparently massive.
>> Marco Timpano: Big and highly.
>> Amanda Barker: It's the biggest spa in Europe.
>> Marco Timpano: And then the other one was the Gellert.
>> Amanda Barker: Gellert, which is part of a very famous art nouveau hotel.
>> Marco Timpano: Hotel Gellert, which is under the. Which is currently under construction and it's
>> Amanda Barker: known for its beautiful art nouveau architecture. And so with much debate, we ended up Gellert because we do love art nouveau architecture.
>> Marco Timpano: There was no debate. You said, I think we should go to Gellert. And I was like, okay, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I mean, I think originally I wanted to go to both, but I don't think we had both in us. No, we didn't have enough time. So that's why you say you leave one for the next time. Next time I'm in Budapest, I would
>> Marco Timpano: go back in a heartbeat. And the spa that you chose was absolutely wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it was exceptional. It was so beautiful. I feel like I'm there now just thinking about it. We started in the outdoor pool, which is I think the world's oldest wave pool, although that was not an operation. I don't remember any real waves. But then we went inside. I had. I brought a swimming cap. So if you're in Budapest, bring a swimming cap if you want to go to any of these. Because for whatever reason there was one pool where you had to wear it. I don't why that pool, I wonder. It was beautiful pool. Anyhow, for whatever reason, that was the one that you had to wear. Swimming cap. Now there were people. There was a woman with a shower cap. So swimming cap is a little bit of. And there was another one that I don't know, had made a swimming cap, I think. But anyhow, I had brought the one that I had. I just have one that's hot pink. I got it. It was the cheapest one I could find when I needed one. So anyway.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's what we used or that's what you used?
>> Amanda Barker: That's what I used, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And we had a lovely time. We spent the whole day at that spot.
>> Amanda Barker: It's amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: What's great about it is that the art nouveau, art deco design of the building is original from the 1920s, 30s, gorgeous. And it just felt like you were in another time. Yeah, in that place.
>> Amanda Barker: A couple years ago I read a book called A Gentleman in Moscow and I was really, really thinking of that book as I swam in this gorgeous turn of the century hotel in Budapest. Clearly not Moscow, obviously, but anyhow, it just. All those that time, you know, that turn of the century time of that area in the world and swimming in these gorgeous pools and it was. It was beautiful, you know, and hot tubs and cold plunges and you name it.
>> Marco Timpano: So that was our trip. It was wonderful. I recommend the Ghost was so good in Budapest.
>> Amanda Barker: Budapest, I was told it wasn't, but by someone who hadn't been there recently. So now there was a couple things that you can get that are the signature Budapest things. So maybe we should talk about those since we did Rama.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: So one is goulash, which is that well known hearty stew that usually has beef and is the tomato broth with lots of vegetables, carrots and celery and Just a really hearty tomato based beef stew. And we had it once. It was exceptional, wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: I like a goulash on any day of the week. Like, goulash is something that I would have any day of the week.
>> Amanda Barker: The meal that I really wanted to have in Budapest, and we did have, and it was phenomenal, is chicken pepper kash. I had a friend who was Hungarian and he would always talk about it.
>> Marco Timpano: And.
>> Amanda Barker: And so I. It was the only thing I knew about Hungarian cuisine. I'd forgotten that goulash is theirs. And so we sought that out at an amazing restaurant called Tati Farm to table. It was amazing. And it was a restaurant that owns a farm and the chicken.
>> Marco Timpano: And we ate at a table.
>> Amanda Barker: And we ate at a table. And then I'm trying to remember the name of the last thing and it's going to drive me crazy. Yonash.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know what the last thing is.
>> Amanda Barker: So it is a fried dough and typically it is covered with a sour cream, like a garlic sour cream and cheese. You're looking at me like you don't remember eating it.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't remember eating this at all.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I have a picture of you eating it that says, are you hungry? Then eat Hungarian. Get it?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I need this photo. We'll put it on our Facebook.
>> Amanda Barker: And you're eating one of these things. But I'm trying to remember what this thing is called.
>> Marco Timpano: Where was I eating this?
>> Amanda Barker: Hang on, let me just look at these pictures.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds great. I would definitely eat that again. The food. And then we bought paprika to bring home.
>> Amanda Barker: So much paprika.
>> Marco Timpano: So much. And I said to Amanda, I said, will you cook with all this paprika that you've brought home?
>> Amanda Barker: And.
>> Marco Timpano: And you said, I will. And.
>> Amanda Barker: And I have. And I made shrimp. And it wasn't. It was too strong. I put too much paprika in.
>> Marco Timpano: So sometimes with spices, the less you use, the better. Like, the more flavor comes out. You don't have to.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't put my. Believe me when I say I put a tiny little sprinkle in. It's just very overpowering.
>> Marco Timpano: I think Amanda just has a heavy sprinkle can.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sure I do in many ways. Can. Can people hear that sound?
>> Marco Timpano: It's the.
>> Amanda Barker: Our.
>> Marco Timpano: I think we should just name it it's our Dryer. And something just fell off the dryer because it's spinning right now. Our washing machine and dryer. Oftentimes when we record, I have that going.
>> Amanda Barker: So we just rectified that Sound, if you happen to hear it, it can be kind of a melodic sound. But anyhow, so that thing that I'm talking about, this fried dough, it had garlic, sour cream. Do you remember it? Cheese on top. Mine had bacon because I just. It was a. As my friend called it, a ham cation. Anyways, it's called a langosh.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. And it was delightful.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh. It's, I think, the thing I crave the most when I'm thinking of Budapest
>> Marco Timpano: after a day of walking and spying,
>> Amanda Barker: having that a beer and a langos sets everything right. Yeah. Which is exactly what we did. Yeah. I mean, I. Would people have asked us, would you go back to Budapest? In a heartbeat. It's an amazing city and like all cities, a very interesting history and. Yeah, I just. I think it's an incredible city and there's lots of art and so much culture and lots to political
>> Marco Timpano: importance.
>> Amanda Barker: Importance events.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure. Have taken place there.
>> Amanda Barker: Lots of, you know, marches and demonstrations and all sorts of things and. And wonderful, outspoken people who have a lot to contribute. It was just a really incredible city in every way. I really, really loved it.
>> Marco Timpano: Indeed, indeed. So that was our little trip that we took. I'm glad we went. I'm happy to be home. And Amanda's gone cherry picking since then. We think we mentioned that we did
>> Amanda Barker: go back to Rome after Budapest, I should say, because we went to a part of Rome not a lot of people, I think, venture out to. So I kind of want to just talk about that. Sure, of course.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we on our way back, because we had a short stint back on the way home in Rome, rather than go right into the city, we stayed in the town that the airport is in, Fumicino, which. The airport is called Leonardo da Vinci. Rome Airport, International Airport. Fumicino. So sometimes you'll hear called Da Vinci Airport. Sometimes you'll hear it called Leonardo. Sometimes you'll hear it called Fumicino. I think Fumicino is what it's most often referred to now.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's named after the town of Fumicino. So we decided to just stay in
>> Amanda Barker: Fumicino, which is a lovely little beachside seaside town. Yeah, it's.
>> Marco Timpano: It's more of a fishing village type.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Than. At least we didn't see the beach.
>> Amanda Barker: There is a beach there. Apparently Osteria, which is nearby, is the more beachy town, which we didn't go to. We stayed. Ostia.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Ostia. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: It's okay. I'm saying everything wrong today.
>> Marco Timpano: Osteria Is a. Like a. Like a restaurant.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, that also sounds delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: So we stayed in Fumicino, which I was kind of excited because I had been to Rome many, many times but never stayed in. In by the airport.
>> Amanda Barker: And I need to say that I had a risotto, since we're talking about food and I know we don't talk about food a lot on this podcast. That's intentional, but it was a big part of the trip. Well, I had a risotto that I'll never forget. It was so good.
>> Marco Timpano: Before the risotto, we were walking the seaside town, the fishing village, and so we got a paper cone filled with fried calamati.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God, it was so good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so we had that as well. And what was it?
>> Amanda Barker: They just give you a fry, a cone, a paper cone top it so it's overflowing with calamari and a wedge of lemon and say, here you go.
>> Marco Timpano: You could get shrimp or calamati or mixed seafood. But for some reason we went with the calamari on that little chan. And what was it about the risotto that. That you found?
>> Amanda Barker: So it had life changing crudo on top of it. I don't even. Was it a tuna crudo?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think it was a shrimp shrimp.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, shrimp crudo.
>> Marco Timpano: So raw shrimp or. Or raw gumbo.
>> Amanda Barker: No, you're right. It was raw shrimp. Oh, my God. I can't. My mouth is watering.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so Amanda had that.
>> Amanda Barker: It was amazing. We all the restaurants there, as we were walking along, we were looking things up and everything was highly rated. Everybody had wonderful things to say about all of them. And there's a lot of sort of like tourists, but a lot of local tourists as well.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it felt like you couldn't go wrong with any restaurant you picked there.
>> Amanda Barker: So we picked the one that had pride flags all over it.
>> Marco Timpano: And we went to that, and we
>> Amanda Barker: went to that and there was. We didn't know this as we're eating. Suddenly a drag show started.
>> Marco Timpano: And so that was fun too. So, you know, so good. And I had pasta with clams, but they took the clams out of the shell to make the pasta fancy. I know, And I wanted the pasta, the clams in the shell. That's just me. But anyways, it was delicious nonetheless.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a really, truly wonderful night. I'm trying to remember the name. Follous was the name of the restaurant.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Follous.
>> Amanda Barker: F O L L. Just looking through my photos now as we talk about it all.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, so that was our trip, right, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: That was our trip. That was a week. We did a week between Rome and Budapest and it was awesome. I would highly recommend both. Although my feet by the end of Rome were on another planet. They needed some major like, they're just recovering now and it's been a minute
>> Marco Timpano: since we've been back, so there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But anyhow, well worth it.
>> Marco Timpano: Wherever you are, however you celebrate your self and the food you enjoy, we hope you do. You don't have to travel to enjoy yourself. So we hope you enjoyed this podcast. Podcast. And we hope you're able to listen and sleep. Thanks, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. And thank you. Italy and Hungary.
(Original airdate: July 16, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. You sit back, relax, lie back, whatever you need to do. Listen, and hopefully we can bring you to a place where you feel comfortable enough to drift off or just chill. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm back. I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Both Amanda and I got some weird summer cold that really kind of took us down. So we're back.
>> Amanda Barker: We are.
>> Marco Timpano: And we're back from our trip. Amanda, we were going to talk about our trip.
>> Amanda Barker: No. And we didn't. And I Think we had our niece.
>> Marco Timpano: We had our niece in last time. Last week. We didn't have a show because both of us were recovering.
>> Amanda Barker: We were very sick. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But now we're back.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. We didn't have voices.
>> Marco Timpano: We didn't. But we're back from our trip as well. We went to both Rome and Budapest in Hungary.
>> Amanda Barker: Where do we be? Begin with that?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I wanted to go to Rome because it's the jubilee, and I had been there 25 years ago, and I had promised myself I would go back. And Amanda's like, let's make it happen. We had some friends who were going to be there for a day. So we're like, let's go and see if we can meet up with them as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. They were on a trip to Sicily. They were organizing something through their work. And so it was almost like a. Locations scouting for them. And because they'll be back there. And so they were in Sicily, but all roads lead to Rome when you're in Italy. And so they were going to come and do a night or two in Rome. So we met up with them.
>> Marco Timpano: And I had two objectives. One was to go through the holy doors, as I did 25 years ago. Not that I'm a religious person, but it was quite a cool experience. And to do the four pastas of Rome.
>> Amanda Barker: The holy pastas.
>> Marco Timpano: The holy pastas, if you will, which. If you're wondering what are the four pastas of Rome? So Rome has four pastas that are, you know, associated with them, that are part of Rome.
>> Amanda Barker: Obviously, there's more than four pastas in the country we know as Italy. And when we say pastas, Marco, maybe we should be more specific.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So these pastas are usually identified by, would you say the sauce, but also the type of pasta, or noodle, if you will. I know. You won't.
>> Marco Timpano: I won't.
>> Amanda Barker: That is used for them. But sometimes you can change that up a little bit, I've noticed.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: A little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: There's certain ones you don't have with it. Please don't ask me what those pastas are. But you can always look it up. With the noodle is.
>> Amanda Barker: But we could. We could answer that a little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. So I'll just. I'll list the pastas.
>> Amanda Barker: Why don't we go one at a time and talk about our feelings and where we had it and our experience in eating it?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. So pasta alla carbonara, or the carbonara, as a lot of people know it.
>> Amanda Barker: So you had that the first night we were there. Now Whenever I've had a. I can't say it. Carbonata. Whenever I've had it, I've had it mostly with like a thick sort of spaghetti linguine kind of style of noodle. A long, thin, flat noodle. Right. Would you say that that's correct?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I've had it mainly like that as well here.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. However, it can also be served with, as we had it there, a short plump noodle. A short plump noodle that. Like a circular tube. Tube noodle with some ridges.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'll call that pasta. I won't call it noodles, because that's not.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I know, but I'm just trying to. Because we're talking about pasta the dish.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And then we're talking about pasta, the noodles. So that is confusing. I know you don't love the word noodle, but just to be specific.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: So the cabanata you had the first night had those sort of almost like. Almost like rigatoni kind of noodles.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Bigger than rigatoni, though.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And then we had it again, did we not?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, we did. We did. We had it near the Parthenon. We had it. And that was a longer noodle, if I'm not mistaken.
>> Amanda Barker: That was more of a spaghetti cabanata. So there you go. What makes a cabanata, Marco, and what doesn't make a cabanata?
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, you do not put cream in a carbonara, first of all, you
>> Amanda Barker: do not put cheese, I believe, in a carbonara. Do you?
>> Marco Timpano: No, you can't.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you do.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, but it is.
>> Amanda Barker: But what? Cheese.
>> Marco Timpano: Romano cheese. Because that's the cheese of Rome, which tends to be pecorino, which is a sheep's cheese. And it has guanciale, which is pork cheek and egg, and it is quite a rich dish.
>> Amanda Barker: And not butter. There were some Americans near us who were saying how to make it and they said butter.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. No, I don't believe there's any butter in a carbonara.
>> Amanda Barker: Not normally. I don't think so. I think the egg yolk does a lot of that work.
>> Marco Timpano: The heavy lifting.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So, yeah. So the carbonara we had then after the carbonara, I would say there is the matriciana.
>> Amanda Barker: So that is the only tomato based
>> Marco Timpano: sauce of the four that we have.
>> Amanda Barker: Of the four. And what else makes up alla matriciana? I know, I'm not saying it right.
>> Marco Timpano: So matriciana is often served with bucatini noodles. That's the traditional way you have it. And it's a tomato sauce based pasta that has pork Cheek. Once again, guanciale, pecorino cheese, grated and onions. I think some people put capers in it, but I don't know if that's traditional or not.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. So moving on with the pork cheek theme. The guanciale theme.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: The next one we had was one neither one of us had ever experienced before.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I was quite excited to try this one because I had never had it before. It's pasta alla gricia. That's G R I C I A. And that one, of course, pecorino cheese, black pepper. Once again, the pork cheek, or the guanciale, as they say.
>> Amanda Barker: Seems to be a theme.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I think that's all they put in it right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Pepper as well, I believe.
>> Marco Timpano: Pardon me? Pepper as well. Yeah. Did I not see a black pepper?
>> Amanda Barker: You might have black pepper again, A creamy white base pasta with pork cheek. So it looks kind of like a cabanara, but it doesn't have the egg. It's more about the pecorino. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And once again, no cream in that pasta. And the last one is the cacio
>> Amanda Barker: e pepe, which is very similar to alla gricia. It does not have the pork cheek,
>> Marco Timpano: so it's pepper and cheese. That pizza there. So we had all four, and I was really happy.
>> Amanda Barker: The pasta.
>> Marco Timpano: You mean the pasta. Sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. You can have a cacio e pepe pizza as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry, did I say pizza?
>> Amanda Barker: You did, yeah. Anyhow, so those are the four. So once again, the carbonara alla machicana, alla gricia. Gricia. Griche. Gricia. And then cacio e pepe, which usually
>> Marco Timpano: has a longer noodle. And that one there we had actually made. It was finished off in a wheel of pecorino cheese.
>> Amanda Barker: Can never go wrong when your pasta's made in a wheel of cheese. That one was fantastic. Oh, and we had actually, our quechu e pepe we had wasn't finished off in a wheel of cheels. It was actually presented to us in a bowl made of cheese.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. I'm sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: So we really. So he wanted to go for the holy doors, and he was like, well, what do you want to do in Rome? And I was like, I just want to eat well, that's kind of it. What I didn't anticipate about Rome. I knew it would be warm.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I knew it would be hot.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think I was prepared for how hot and humid it would be in early June.
>> Marco Timpano: It was unseasonably hot. It made the news when we were in Budapest. And so it was an incredibly hot time in June when we were there.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was really, really hot, folks.
>> Marco Timpano: It doesn't help that the pavement is all cobblestone.
>> Amanda Barker: And we walked everywhere and it was a sweat fest. But one of the great things about Rome is that there's water fountains everywhere. So if you have a nice reusable bottle, which we did. I tossed the one that I traveled with, which was like, I got for a dollar, which is why I was traveling with it and found one that was an upgrade from the Bialetti store, which we know makes mochas and things, to espresso. All your espresso needs. And it has a loop on the top, and so I could loop it through my tiny little purse hook and then have it as sort of part of my being. So I had. We had. Because it's so important to have a water bottle at all times. You know what a friend of mine at work said? He said, and isn't that the best tasting water? And I didn't.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't think about it. But he's not wrong.
>> Marco Timpano: No, he's not wrong at all.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. For. For fountain water. It really was.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Or tap water, really.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say this. One of the tips I always give people, especially when they go to Rome, but when they travel, when you're in Rome, there's so much one can see, as in other cities like Paris, London, London, New York City, Los Angeles, there's so much one can see. Buenos Aires, like, you name it, different parts of Japan.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, Tokyo, there's so much to see.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I always say this. Do one or two things that you really want to do and do them well. So that you can go and say, I did these two or three things and I did them well. I couldn't see everything.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Rather than try to do everything in little small bits, bits and run from here to there, here to there. I always find that you have the best memories when you do that, because you're not racing from one spot to the other. You're enjoying the moment that you're there. And you can just, you know, even sit and have a coffee or a sweet and just sit and just enjoy where you are.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I always, you know, when I started traveling, because I lived in a small town, then went to university in a small town. By the time all that was done, that's Marco drinking. Hydrating.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: That's all right. You're allowed to hydrate. We were just talking about how important it was. I. So I Started traveling a lot because I had been in very small, confined spaces for a while. Confined, but, you know, like isolated towns. Anyhow, I really just thought, oh, this is. I don't know when I'll be back in Europe. I better do as much as I can. I don't know when I'll be back in Paris. And then it became, I don't know when I'll be back in China. I don't know when I'll be back in Indonesia. And so I really was trying to get all of the things. And sometimes you go there and you didn't know about a certain museum or park or experience landmark. And then everyone starts talking about it and then you go, oh, well, I better do that thing. And it becomes this furious. For me anyway, checklist thing of like, oh, but we gotta do that. Are we gonna do that? When are we gonna do that? Could we do it tomorrow morning? And I fight that within myself every time I travel. But one of the things that I tell myself these days as a, you know, as not a 22 year old, but as somebody many, many years, you know, more than twice that age now,
>> Marco Timpano: is how lucky you are to be with me traveling.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, yes. That's what I say to myself every different. Because I have Marco and I don't. I have all the sights I need
>> Marco Timpano: every morning just looking at him.
>> Amanda Barker: You are the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I gotta get that fixed.
>> Amanda Barker: No, what I was gonna say is leave something for next time. You may go back. You may go, you may surprise. And you may not go back, and that's okay too. But life is long and you might go back to that city, that country, and experience what you're going to experience as you're saying. And it's okay to leave something for next time. For example, in Rome, I have not done the Coliseum tour. I haven't gone inside the Coliseum, but I imagine we'll be back in Rome at some point.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope so.
>> Amanda Barker: And if not, maybe sooner than later. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I've been. I've been inside it. So I.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't get to see it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, you do, but just not with me. No, we'll do it next time. It'll be something that we put on our list to do.
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't what this trip was. This trip was the Holy doors. And then you asked me and I said, I want to eat. Well, and so we ate the holy
>> Marco Timpano: pastas and we did. And they're for the record, they're not called holy pastas. That's just what we were calling them.
>> Amanda Barker: We also went to Rome's. Funny, actually. Like, here's the thing. In Toronto, we have amazing restaurants, and that's just the truth, you know. Indeed, the more I travel, the more I realize how much that is the truth. And so Rome has some great restaurants. And so we went to one that had long ago been featured in the show Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain. And then we went to another one that had been featured in Stanley Tucci's Italy. So we went to, you know, some of these recommends that are been made famous by famous people or they're in the Michelin guide or whatever. But none of them were crazy expensive.
>> Marco Timpano: No, they weren't. I have to say, it's one of the lovely things about Rome is that the food is very reasonable.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: At least where we went. And the people who work in the restaurant, even if you don't have a reservation, just speak to them and see what can be accommodated is my recommendation there. And they were very agreeable with regards to that, too.
>> Amanda Barker: I have to go to Florida this week, and I'm thinking about it. Those meals are going to be more expensive indeed. At the, you know, whatever, bucket shuck place. Yeah. The fish. The fish shacks that I go to with my parents, which are wonderful. But I guarantee you those meals will probably be more expensive just due to the fluctuating currencies and all other things than probably anything we had in Rome. Think about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I do want to say Amanda had a great idea and she's a great travel companion, if I do say so myself. And she's like, let's go somewhere we haven't been since we're in Rome. We should be able to find inexpensive flights outside of Rome as long as we're within Europe.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that was also a little bit my compromise. I. I have been to Rome. So have you. And the holy doors were not something I would have sought out. That said, I loved doing them. I got a lot out of that experience and I quite enjoyed it. But I always want to go to. As I always want to have gone to as many countries as years I'm alive, so I'll say that again. So at 42, I made sure I had been to 42 countries and so on.
>> Marco Timpano: So Amanda decides.
>> Amanda Barker: So I have to go to a new country every year.
>> Marco Timpano: In other words, Amanda's like, there's a few options, and Budapest was one of them. Now, Budapest was never on my radar. Budapest, as they say, it's been on mine.
>> Amanda Barker: My peripheral Radar for quite a while, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Not for any reason. It wasn't on my radar. It just, you know, wasn't. I think I had a. I think I had a feeling that I would end up in Warsaw before Budapest. I don't know why. I couldn't tell you why. That's not one I've ever considered Poland anyways before. Hungry. I don't know why, but that was something I always just thought interesting. So when you're like, let's go to Budapest, I was like, sure, why not?
>> Amanda Barker: We had a few options. I kind of narrowed it down for you. I was looking at Croatia as well. Sorry, a bit of mouth noises. I'm drinking my. My bubbly. So.
>> Marco Timpano: So Budapest went out and I. I couldn't have enjoyed a place more for the short time we were there.
>> Amanda Barker: Agreed.
>> Marco Timpano: And I couldn't be surprised more because I knew nothing about Budapest. I generally consider myself someone who knows because I've always find it. I've always found countries and places fascinating. Even as a child I would do research. I would like know capitals and things. It was just. It was just my thing. But I didn't realize that Budapest has many, many spas, thermal baths.
>> Amanda Barker: It is a city of thermal baths.
>> Marco Timpano: And when someone tells you that, you think, oh great, they'll have a spa. Budapest has spas everywhere you look.
>> Amanda Barker: And these spas, like the one we went to is not the biggest one. And it had 13 pools, just to give you an idea.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was quite a decision. We narrowed it down to two.
>> Amanda Barker: And let's see if we can remember the two. So it was between. I'm not going to say it right. Schlengzy. I don't think that's how you say it. Okay, well, it's S, Z, L, E, I, there's a G involved. And is that another Z or Zed involved? Anyhow, and that one is a little bit further out, but apparently massive.
>> Marco Timpano: Big and highly.
>> Amanda Barker: It's the biggest spa in Europe.
>> Marco Timpano: And then the other one was the Gellert.
>> Amanda Barker: Gellert, which is part of a very famous art nouveau hotel.
>> Marco Timpano: Hotel Gellert, which is under the. Which is currently under construction and it's
>> Amanda Barker: known for its beautiful art nouveau architecture. And so with much debate, we ended up Gellert because we do love art nouveau architecture.
>> Marco Timpano: There was no debate. You said, I think we should go to Gellert. And I was like, okay, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I mean, I think originally I wanted to go to both, but I don't think we had both in us. No, we didn't have enough time. So that's why you say you leave one for the next time. Next time I'm in Budapest, I would
>> Marco Timpano: go back in a heartbeat. And the spa that you chose was absolutely wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it was exceptional. It was so beautiful. I feel like I'm there now just thinking about it. We started in the outdoor pool, which is I think the world's oldest wave pool, although that was not an operation. I don't remember any real waves. But then we went inside. I had. I brought a swimming cap. So if you're in Budapest, bring a swimming cap if you want to go to any of these. Because for whatever reason there was one pool where you had to wear it. I don't why that pool, I wonder. It was beautiful pool. Anyhow, for whatever reason, that was the one that you had to wear. Swimming cap. Now there were people. There was a woman with a shower cap. So swimming cap is a little bit of. And there was another one that I don't know, had made a swimming cap, I think. But anyhow, I had brought the one that I had. I just have one that's hot pink. I got it. It was the cheapest one I could find when I needed one. So anyway.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's what we used or that's what you used?
>> Amanda Barker: That's what I used, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And we had a lovely time. We spent the whole day at that spot.
>> Amanda Barker: It's amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: What's great about it is that the art nouveau, art deco design of the building is original from the 1920s, 30s, gorgeous. And it just felt like you were in another time. Yeah, in that place.
>> Amanda Barker: A couple years ago I read a book called A Gentleman in Moscow and I was really, really thinking of that book as I swam in this gorgeous turn of the century hotel in Budapest. Clearly not Moscow, obviously, but anyhow, it just. All those that time, you know, that turn of the century time of that area in the world and swimming in these gorgeous pools and it was. It was beautiful, you know, and hot tubs and cold plunges and you name it.
>> Marco Timpano: So that was our trip. It was wonderful. I recommend the Ghost was so good in Budapest.
>> Amanda Barker: Budapest, I was told it wasn't, but by someone who hadn't been there recently. So now there was a couple things that you can get that are the signature Budapest things. So maybe we should talk about those since we did Rama.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: So one is goulash, which is that well known hearty stew that usually has beef and is the tomato broth with lots of vegetables, carrots and celery and Just a really hearty tomato based beef stew. And we had it once. It was exceptional, wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: I like a goulash on any day of the week. Like, goulash is something that I would have any day of the week.
>> Amanda Barker: The meal that I really wanted to have in Budapest, and we did have, and it was phenomenal, is chicken pepper kash. I had a friend who was Hungarian and he would always talk about it.
>> Marco Timpano: And.
>> Amanda Barker: And so I. It was the only thing I knew about Hungarian cuisine. I'd forgotten that goulash is theirs. And so we sought that out at an amazing restaurant called Tati Farm to table. It was amazing. And it was a restaurant that owns a farm and the chicken.
>> Marco Timpano: And we ate at a table.
>> Amanda Barker: And we ate at a table. And then I'm trying to remember the name of the last thing and it's going to drive me crazy. Yonash.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know what the last thing is.
>> Amanda Barker: So it is a fried dough and typically it is covered with a sour cream, like a garlic sour cream and cheese. You're looking at me like you don't remember eating it.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't remember eating this at all.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I have a picture of you eating it that says, are you hungry? Then eat Hungarian. Get it?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I need this photo. We'll put it on our Facebook.
>> Amanda Barker: And you're eating one of these things. But I'm trying to remember what this thing is called.
>> Marco Timpano: Where was I eating this?
>> Amanda Barker: Hang on, let me just look at these pictures.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds great. I would definitely eat that again. The food. And then we bought paprika to bring home.
>> Amanda Barker: So much paprika.
>> Marco Timpano: So much. And I said to Amanda, I said, will you cook with all this paprika that you've brought home?
>> Amanda Barker: And.
>> Marco Timpano: And you said, I will. And.
>> Amanda Barker: And I have. And I made shrimp. And it wasn't. It was too strong. I put too much paprika in.
>> Marco Timpano: So sometimes with spices, the less you use, the better. Like, the more flavor comes out. You don't have to.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't put my. Believe me when I say I put a tiny little sprinkle in. It's just very overpowering.
>> Marco Timpano: I think Amanda just has a heavy sprinkle can.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sure I do in many ways. Can. Can people hear that sound?
>> Marco Timpano: It's the.
>> Amanda Barker: Our.
>> Marco Timpano: I think we should just name it it's our Dryer. And something just fell off the dryer because it's spinning right now. Our washing machine and dryer. Oftentimes when we record, I have that going.
>> Amanda Barker: So we just rectified that Sound, if you happen to hear it, it can be kind of a melodic sound. But anyhow, so that thing that I'm talking about, this fried dough, it had garlic, sour cream. Do you remember it? Cheese on top. Mine had bacon because I just. It was a. As my friend called it, a ham cation. Anyways, it's called a langosh.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. And it was delightful.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh. It's, I think, the thing I crave the most when I'm thinking of Budapest
>> Marco Timpano: after a day of walking and spying,
>> Amanda Barker: having that a beer and a langos sets everything right. Yeah. Which is exactly what we did. Yeah. I mean, I. Would people have asked us, would you go back to Budapest? In a heartbeat. It's an amazing city and like all cities, a very interesting history and. Yeah, I just. I think it's an incredible city and there's lots of art and so much culture and lots to political
>> Marco Timpano: importance.
>> Amanda Barker: Importance events.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure. Have taken place there.
>> Amanda Barker: Lots of, you know, marches and demonstrations and all sorts of things and. And wonderful, outspoken people who have a lot to contribute. It was just a really incredible city in every way. I really, really loved it.
>> Marco Timpano: Indeed, indeed. So that was our little trip that we took. I'm glad we went. I'm happy to be home. And Amanda's gone cherry picking since then. We think we mentioned that we did
>> Amanda Barker: go back to Rome after Budapest, I should say, because we went to a part of Rome not a lot of people, I think, venture out to. So I kind of want to just talk about that. Sure, of course.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we on our way back, because we had a short stint back on the way home in Rome, rather than go right into the city, we stayed in the town that the airport is in, Fumicino, which. The airport is called Leonardo da Vinci. Rome Airport, International Airport. Fumicino. So sometimes you'll hear called Da Vinci Airport. Sometimes you'll hear it called Leonardo. Sometimes you'll hear it called Fumicino. I think Fumicino is what it's most often referred to now.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's named after the town of Fumicino. So we decided to just stay in
>> Amanda Barker: Fumicino, which is a lovely little beachside seaside town. Yeah, it's.
>> Marco Timpano: It's more of a fishing village type.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Than. At least we didn't see the beach.
>> Amanda Barker: There is a beach there. Apparently Osteria, which is nearby, is the more beachy town, which we didn't go to. We stayed. Ostia.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Ostia. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: It's okay. I'm saying everything wrong today.
>> Marco Timpano: Osteria Is a. Like a. Like a restaurant.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, that also sounds delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: So we stayed in Fumicino, which I was kind of excited because I had been to Rome many, many times but never stayed in. In by the airport.
>> Amanda Barker: And I need to say that I had a risotto, since we're talking about food and I know we don't talk about food a lot on this podcast. That's intentional, but it was a big part of the trip. Well, I had a risotto that I'll never forget. It was so good.
>> Marco Timpano: Before the risotto, we were walking the seaside town, the fishing village, and so we got a paper cone filled with fried calamati.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God, it was so good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so we had that as well. And what was it?
>> Amanda Barker: They just give you a fry, a cone, a paper cone top it so it's overflowing with calamari and a wedge of lemon and say, here you go.
>> Marco Timpano: You could get shrimp or calamati or mixed seafood. But for some reason we went with the calamari on that little chan. And what was it about the risotto that. That you found?
>> Amanda Barker: So it had life changing crudo on top of it. I don't even. Was it a tuna crudo?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think it was a shrimp shrimp.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, shrimp crudo.
>> Marco Timpano: So raw shrimp or. Or raw gumbo.
>> Amanda Barker: No, you're right. It was raw shrimp. Oh, my God. I can't. My mouth is watering.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so Amanda had that.
>> Amanda Barker: It was amazing. We all the restaurants there, as we were walking along, we were looking things up and everything was highly rated. Everybody had wonderful things to say about all of them. And there's a lot of sort of like tourists, but a lot of local tourists as well.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it felt like you couldn't go wrong with any restaurant you picked there.
>> Amanda Barker: So we picked the one that had pride flags all over it.
>> Marco Timpano: And we went to that, and we
>> Amanda Barker: went to that and there was. We didn't know this as we're eating. Suddenly a drag show started.
>> Marco Timpano: And so that was fun too. So, you know, so good. And I had pasta with clams, but they took the clams out of the shell to make the pasta fancy. I know, And I wanted the pasta, the clams in the shell. That's just me. But anyways, it was delicious nonetheless.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a really, truly wonderful night. I'm trying to remember the name. Follous was the name of the restaurant.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Follous.
>> Amanda Barker: F O L L. Just looking through my photos now as we talk about it all.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, so that was our trip, right, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: That was our trip. That was a week. We did a week between Rome and Budapest and it was awesome. I would highly recommend both. Although my feet by the end of Rome were on another planet. They needed some major like, they're just recovering now and it's been a minute
>> Marco Timpano: since we've been back, so there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But anyhow, well worth it.
>> Marco Timpano: Wherever you are, however you celebrate your self and the food you enjoy, we hope you do. You don't have to travel to enjoy yourself. So we hope you enjoyed this podcast. Podcast. And we hope you're able to listen and sleep. Thanks, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. And thank you. Italy and Hungary.
A fish in the pond
(original airdate: June 7, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you sort of follow your thoughts and fall asleep.
>> Amanda Barker: Perhaps let your thoughts be the fish in the pond, each one of them floating by, and you're not any of those fish, you are the pond.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I like that. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. Listen, it might surprise everybody, but we don't do any prep for this.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That's right. None whatsoever.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know you were going to start the podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, he does. I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of which, I want to just say this. I am looking into ad free abilities for people who want that with the podcast because Acast no longer offers it. So just give me some time. I'm gonna figure that out for you all. So just hang tight if you want,
>> Amanda Barker: in the coming weeks. Yeah, just give us a few weeks here and we'll get it sorted.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, everything takes longer.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry about that, everybody.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'm a little disappointed, but what are you gonna do? I got the backyard set up.
>> Amanda Barker: You did.
>> Marco Timpano: And I.
>> Amanda Barker: Back deck. Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Back deck?
>> Amanda Barker: No, really? Yard. There.
>> Marco Timpano: There's no yard.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, back wood, wooden thing set up.
>> Marco Timpano: I put our inside plants outside.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a big moment.
>> Marco Timpano: That is a big moment.
>> Amanda Barker: The traveling of the plants.
>> Marco Timpano: I still have one plant I gotta bring from all the way upstairs out.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm. And that plant has done pretty well, actually.
>> Marco Timpano: Money tree. Right?
>> Amanda Barker: The money trees. And they're guys. They're big. They're like, big. They're tall. They're proper trees.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I was told you should never buy a money tree for yourself. Someone's supposed to buy you the money tree.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I bought you yours, you bought
>> Marco Timpano: me mine, so that's fine.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Do we have another one? I don't know that we did.
>> Marco Timpano: No, those are. Those are the ones we have.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are the ones.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: That's all we need.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. But I have that floofy plant outside.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: That floofy plant that I got, It's.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's called the. Is that the genus?
>> Marco Timpano: It's called chenille, I believe.
>> Amanda Barker: What?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a chenille plant. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: Never seen it before. And we were at a.
>> Amanda Barker: It's got red floofers on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's got like these really fluffy. I'll take a photo of it and I'll put it up. I don't know how else to describe it, but they look like. Almost like a cat's tail. But it's not a cat's tail, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's like that. You're in.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. That one's neat. So we'll see how that one survives the summer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe, like, even today it Felt like, oh, is it going to be warm enough? And we're mid June. I know What a cold spring this has been.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: That's all right. That's fine. I just have decided it means we'll have a nice, beautiful fall.
>> Marco Timpano: I like that. I like when you make decisions like
>> Amanda Barker: that for the planet.
>> Marco Timpano: There was something I wanted to talk about that we talked about last week that got executed, and I can't remember what it was executed.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I know something that just came into my head.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Like a fish in a pond.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But now I don't remember. What's the name? Okay. Do you remember on Shark Tank, there was a woman, and she was from Japan, and she said, in Japan, there's a. There's a name for old person smell.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, old man smell.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't. I do remember this, but I don't remember what the name of it is, but what a thing to bring up on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is it. Is that triggering?
>> Marco Timpano: People don't want to talk about old man smell.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I only say it because I made this big pot of lentils, which, by the way, is something that I do when I'm low on groceries or the budget's tight or whatever. I like incorporating, doing a big pot of lentils. It's something I've done forever. Years and years and years ago, I bought a UNICEF cookbook, and there was a recipe in there from a Canadian Olympian swimmer. And what was that? Like, recipes from Canadian Olympians. So pretty specific cookbook. And all the proceeds went to unicef. Anyway, and there was one called Spanish lentils. And I was like, my mom never really cooked with lentils, so I didn't really know what to do with them. And so I have followed versions of this recipe forever now. I mean, like, 25 years at least.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: And this wasn't really that. It was kind of a version of that. But anyway, I made a big pot of lentils, also known as pulses. Pulses, yes. And incorporated sweet potato. I had a sweet potato to use. Anyway, when I first made it, it was good, and I had it in the crock pot. So sometimes what I do is I take the crock pot, sort of bowl and top out, put that in the fridge, and. And then I can just reheat it, like, plunk it back in and reheat it. So when I made it, we actually were going out to dinner, and so we didn't end up eating it that night. I forget. I thought we were going to have it for lunch, and it wasn't Ready yet? So, anyway, I didn't time it right. That was on Sunday. Well, it's been in the fridge. Today's Wednesday, so I was like, okay, time to eat these things once and for all. And I put. I heated them back up today, and it made the house have that sort of old person smell. I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm glad it wasn't me.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, kind of like that nursing home smell. And I think that's just. Okay. He's not happy with me saying these things, but. Okay, let me be more specific then. A smell of sort of soup.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And I also. Soup and then, like, laundered sheets.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I associate with that smell and like, so, like the scents of cleaning products and. Or the laundry mixed with this soupy smell.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's what your pulses smell like.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's what this one. This is what the house smells like right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, I don't love that.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I didn't say you were gonna love it, but I didn't think you'd be extremely triggered by it.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm a little bit like. I mean, this is a bodyguard.
>> Amanda Barker: So we put a trigger warning.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I can't now. We've already sort of.
>> Amanda Barker: You can do it at the beginning. You can backtrack. I mean, I like the man that
>> Marco Timpano: just tells me to do stuff. And she. She has no. She does no work in the editing room. But she just.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't. But I do work in other ways in our relationship, and it all works out in the end, I think. Question mark. Oh, my gosh. Okay, listen, I don't. Do we want to do a deep dive on the amount of work I do not do for this podcast?
>> Marco Timpano: No. No.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sure that can be fun for you and all our listeners. Okay. He's mad at me. I just kicked the table.
>> Marco Timpano: She always puts her foot on the table, and then it makes it grumble
>> Amanda Barker: because I have short legs, Marco, and it's uncomfortable if I don't put them on the insides of the table thingies. I know.
>> Marco Timpano: Put them on the table at the start before I hit record.
>> Amanda Barker: But then I had to itch my leg. Okay, fine. Well, I brought some. Some great lentil content to the table.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. So the other day, I was washing out my water bottle. So, you know, you have a water bottle. Water bottle you take out to work. So I put some Palmolive in it, and I filled it up with water halfway up with water, and I was going to shake it and really clean it out, and I left it on the counter. Well, unbeknownst to me, an hour or so later, when the. When the foam or the bubbles were
>> Amanda Barker: no longer there, you came home and your water bottle is often sitting around, laying around. It's often in various states, and often it's clear ish, so you can see how much water is in there. And it was more than half full. And so I thought, oh, I'll be kind and I'll put it in the fridge.
>> Marco Timpano: So we ended put it in the fridge. And as you might remember from last week, I wasn't feeling well, so I was taking some, you know, medication for colds and flus and whatnot. And I grabbed my water bottle and downed it so that the medication, the pill would go down. And it tasted like soapy water that I drank.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it wasn't a good sight. I was falling asleep in bed. Marco was like, I think I'm going to take one of those nyquils or nighttime.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like a Tylenol for colds.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, good idea. And then he took a swig of this water and started violently spitting it out. And I felt so bad because he was like, it tastes like palm olive. And I was like, oh, I wonder why. Maybe because you washed it. And then he was like. We realized what had happened, right? I was trying to be kind. Now, here's my version of that story.
>> Marco Timpano: Here we go.
>> Amanda Barker: So I feel like that was unintentional revenge. Last January, we were in Florida visiting my folks, and we often, very often, spray our mouths and throats with propolis.
>> Marco Timpano: And we've talked about propolis on the podcast before.
>> Amanda Barker: So I always have. I always have one on me, really. One in my purse, one in my pocket of a jacket, backpack, etc. We always have one in the car as well. So we had one in our rental car. And, you know, we were. If we were in a crowded area, shopping mall, that kind of thing. You know, what if we didn't have it on us? And when we got to the car, we'd just do a couple quick sprays in our mouth just to try to keep things as antibacterial and antifungal and antiviral as possible, just to make ourselves at the very. And listen, I don't mind the taste of it, so.
>> Marco Timpano: But if you are allergic to bee stings, do not use propolis.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So anyways, and so we had been spraying in her mouth every time we came in the car. So we came in from the mall or the movie theater.
>> Marco Timpano: It was like a Target or something.
>> Amanda Barker: We had gone to.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And I reached down to where we had put it in the rental car, grabbed it, did two generous squirts in my mouth and immediately had to open the door and violently try to spit it out and wash it it out with water. Because instead of the propolis in that exact space and the exact same shape and size of bottle was a container of off bug spray. And I had sprayed that directly into my mouth, generously.
>> Marco Timpano: It was like all natural off. Oh great bug spray that I had
>> Amanda Barker: actually held out to my tongue. Anyhow, so I spat it out, spat it out. And I was, you know, it was a moment of like immediately opening the door, immediately trying to get it out of my mouth. And all I can see is Marco's shoulders silently heaving because he finds it hilarious and yet is trying so hard not to openly laugh at me because he knows that'll just aggravate me more. But he couldn't stop. He was laughing so hard. And he didn't mean to do it. But to be fair, he put it exactly where we had put the propolis that whole week in the car. So anyway, I wasn't mad. I was just, you know, it left a bad taste in my mouth, that's for sure. And so I didn't mean to do that. I didn't mean to give you a palm olive soaked water bottle full of a mouthful of soap, but that is exactly what happened a few nights ago.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, it happens to the best of us, doesn't it?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I. I guess, I guess it does. Yeah. Anyway, us and our water bottles, we seem to have so many. They travel around sometimes.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if this happens to our listeners, but we'll find water bottles under the driver's seat or, or the seat of the passenger side car under the bed.
>> Amanda Barker: I found one under my nightstand this morning. I really got to clean out that area.
>> Marco Timpano: They just, they just like to hide.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they just, they fall and they roll and. Water bottles, man. Speaking of which, I need to pack a water bottle.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right, that's right. We're going on a little vacation. You'll hear about it when we get back. Very exciting. I started to pack and I thought you were finished. I did, I did. I just need to locate a couple things and I want to iron a shirt that I want to bring.
>> Amanda Barker: Or two, we're in pre pre trip mode. So there are two things I always have to do. I'm a woman of a certain age and so I always have to try and get my nails done before we go, okay. And try to dye my hair before we go so that I don't have roots coming out and that my nails aren't grown out either. Sort of the same idea. But this one is going to be a polish change more than a mani because I think these nails still look pretty.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the difference between a polished change and a mani?
>> Amanda Barker: It's a good question. I usually always do a mani pedi and I, and I usually do one, I'm going to say once every six weeks.
>> Marco Timpano: That's hands and feet.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. And it. Listen, it's been a long time thing for me because I have a hard time, I don't know, being one of those people that actually goes and does that every single time for my nails and feet. But what I've realized is I'm an obsessive picker at my nails. So if there's something rough, I will try to pick at it. And what I've realized over a lifetime of doing this is that it's always me trying to perfect it. So if there's something to be dug at or picked at, I will do it. And it's, it's, it's a well researched, you know, it's like nail biting or anything.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: You're trying to get it down so that it's perfect. Right, right. And of course it never is and you just make it worse. So anyways, I know that when I get my nails done, I don't do that. And my fingers are not all ripped up. And Mark was a lot happier because they can get really bad.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's like a mangle hand, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, mangle hand. Used to call them zombie fingers. Yeah, so. So that's an act of self care that I indulge in. And listen, I'm a grown up and I make money and nobody else is judging me other than myself. And I'm not, I'm just. It's always one of those things where I'm like, oh my goodness, am I really going to spend that much a year on my nails and my feet? But I enjoy it. I do it. So it's my little act. And you know, and I don't, I don't buy coffee out very much anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. That's true. And Amanda will often text me and say, what color should I get?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I let him choose. Often if I don't care or if I have, if I'm shooting a film or commercial or whatever, then I'll usually go fairly neutral. I'll usually still get them done. I used to not get them done, but I think it's better if I get them done and I'll just go very neutral, like a cloudy clear or just a beige or something. So anyway, these ones are pretty good, but I'd like to. But they're gonna be grown out by the time we're at the end of our vacation. So if I have time, I will get them changed. And then I gotta dye my hair tonight. So I'm on it now. And the other thing I do is I always. I always fill up my cheap little tablet with movies and TV shows.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, because I've noticed it's actually, you can't really do that on your computer. It's a whole thing. You have to do it on a device. So I like the device more than having it on my phone.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, there you go. Some tips from Amanda. Her little nail routine.
>> Amanda Barker: Don't. Don't diminish my nail routine.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not. I'm really.
>> Amanda Barker: My little nail routine.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's great. Your wonderful nail routine and my hair
>> Amanda Barker: routine and you bought me hair dye. Marco bought me three dollar hair dye in a bargain bin. So we're gonna. We're gonna try it out tonight.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you gonna use that one?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Are you okay with that?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, for sure. I don't. I mean, I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: What if my hair comes out crazy?
>> Marco Timpano: It was so. One of my favorite areas in our local grocery store is the sail rack or whatever you want to call. They do this, like, they have this little bin where it's like things are 94 cents or really, really discounted and you don't know what it's going to be. It could be, like blue icing. It could be, you know, thermometers. It could be anything. And so I happened to be there and it was all the natural hair dye.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's all natural.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. And it was like they're.
>> Amanda Barker: They're. I will say this, they're companies I've never seen before with hair dye, which makes me a little nervous. But I don't have anything filming coming up. I just have, you know, you're gonna be the one looking at my hair, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you would think that would be even more important.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, here's the thing. This is why I want to do it tonight. So that if it's a total disaster, I can fix it before we, you know, hop on a plane.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so wish me luck. He got me the color chocolate, which I'm wondering if that's Gonna be too light, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, are you not a chocolate?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm more like a dark chocolate. I think hair like a.
>> Marco Timpano: Like a chestnut.
>> Amanda Barker: A chestnut would be even lighter.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, chestnut is lighter. Yeah, like a walnut.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, listen, everyone's chocolate is a little different, so we're just to see what it looks like.
>> Marco Timpano: My hair is like white chocolate.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: Alpine, my favorite. Yum. Yeah. So the deck. I just. I gotta deal with the deck again because all the little things from the tree fell on it and I tried to plug in the light on the tree and I'm not tall enough. And so.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. So it's just been pulled out.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I need to deal with that.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But we don't have a ladder is the problem.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's when we have neighbors, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So do you want to buy a ladder? But where will we put. Then we have a ladder.
>> Marco Timpano: Then we have a ladder.
>> Amanda Barker: Where do our neighbors put their gigantic ladder?
>> Marco Timpano: They have a shed in their backyard. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, isn't there a such thing as a ladder that becomes short?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Retractable ladder.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Well, can't we just get one of those?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we can. I'd like to get one. Trevor has one. Our good friend Trevor has one that like it. So basically retracts and it can be.
>> Amanda Barker: We need a ladder like twice a year.
>> Marco Timpano: But when you need that ladder, you need the ladder. I know. The only thing with a retractable ladder is you need to lean the retractable ladder versus an A frame ladder. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I will say our city does have a thing called the tools library.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: And so you can take things out tools out just the same as you can take out books from a normal library.
>> Marco Timpano: Where is the tool library?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know, but I've heard about it a few times.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: So do you think maybe they'd have a ladder and we can just.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, I would hope so.
>> Amanda Barker: We can just check out a ladder for a week. That would be helpful. Are you going to look it up? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The tool library. Where is it? Toronto Tool library. Oh, yeah, there's a tool library. Oh, but there's a membership for the two. I don't think it's part of the library system, Amanda. Oh, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, there's a membership.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, how much is the membership?
>> Marco Timpano: Looks like it's. Your membership is 85 bucks. Oh, for the year.
>> Amanda Barker: Just buy a ladder then.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, letters are more expensive than that. But I guess if you use it. If you use it often enough or if you like, I don't know. You, you only need a lawnmower every once in a while. It might be worth it. But I'll figure it out. I'll figure out the latter situation and get that. And get that worked out.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay? Well, Rome wasn't built in a day.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it wasn't. No, it wasn't.
>> Amanda Barker: That we know of.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't think it was.
>> Amanda Barker: All right.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco, we went to Stratford this weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: And I think we've talked about Stratford on the podcast before. But Stratford is a really interesting town. It's a town devoted to theater, I would say. Wouldn't you?
>> Marco Timpano: And the Pork Council of Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: The Pork Council of Pork, Isn't it the Pork Congress.
>> Marco Timpano: Congress, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is an even funnier name. Like, the idea of a congress of pork is so weird and funny. Yeah, I mean, it's a very. It's farm country and theater country and theater country. Well, here's the thing. In the 50s, you know, the town, all these towns, listen, people just name things the same thing over and over and over. I think we've established that. So yes, it was not the original Stratford, but anyway, it's a Stratford. And right next to it is the town of Shakespeare as well, which is so small.
>> Marco Timpano: Like you just drive, right, you drive
>> Amanda Barker: through Shakespeare to get to Stratford, basically. Anyhow. And then I think it was the late 40s or early 50s, maybe, I think the 50s, they were trying to like drum up tourism for the town. And because nobody was going, it was, you know, aging farmlands and things like that. And so they decided to develop this little theater festival and they put it in a tent every summer. And from that this world class theater festival grew and it's well beloved by Canadians and all sorts of people abroad that, that go to it. And we happen to be there on one of the opening weekends. Now, what's funny is when you say Stratford and you're seeing theatre in Stratford, everyone of course, assumes it's part of the Stratford Festival, of which I think there are five stages, at least two main ones, and then some other smaller ones. However, we have some friends involved with the creation of a more of a more recent festival called the Here for Now Festival. And they, much like Stratford, they were doing things in a tent outside, which was actually quite magical and beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: It was nice.
>> Amanda Barker: It was beautiful. I wonder if they're going to do more plays outside. But anyhow, they got a space. So we went and saw their new space and we had a friend who was doing a beautiful performance in that space. And so we went and visited with her and had delicious meals all weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: And as luck would have it, we had another mutual friend who was going to see one of the shows at the Stratford Festival. Anne of Green Gables.
>> Amanda Barker: Anne of Green Gables. Not the musical, a new version of the play of Anne of Green Gables, which actually I'm pretty intrigued about. I'd like to see it as well.
>> Marco Timpano: So we had, we had lunch with our friend who was performing and another friend who lives in Stratford. And then we had like an early dinner with our friend who happened to be seeing Ann or what's it called? Anne of Green Gables. Anne of Green Gables. And so it was a lovely, it was a lovely day in Stratford, Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: It really was really lovely. Just visiting with friends. And that was the whole weekend for us. I spent Friday night. Oh my goodness. At a meal that I will never forget. It was so good. A restaurant called Maven here in Toronto that's just opened. So my friend Daniel and I checked that place out because it's really close to his house. And then we ended up having a friend who was having her 43rd birthday on Sunday night. So then we went out to dinner with all of them.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And we just had a lovely weekend
>> Amanda Barker: of food and friends. We ate our way through the weekend and enjoyed the company of dear friends too. What's. What's more to life than that? Nothing. Right. That's true. Is that how you say that? Is there more to life than that?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And the answer is not really. I mean, or maybe there is.
>> Marco Timpano: Up to you. I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a great weekend anyway, was what I was trying to say, very inarticulately.
>> Marco Timpano: And now I'm racing to get the house in order before we go, which is always. Yeah, that's my plan.
>> Amanda Barker: Here's the things. Like I would be ready, but then inevitably things. Curveballs get thrown.
>> Marco Timpano: Curveballs get thrown.
>> Amanda Barker: Here's an eight page audition full of monologues you have to get done by Friday.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of which, our niece needs us to coach her through a voice audition that she has and tomorrow her day is pretty full.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh right, because she has her violin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we've got to figure out if we can do it tonight or she said maybe we can squeeze it in tomorrow is what she said.
>> Amanda Barker: So, okay. Am I involved in this or is it more you and her?
>> Marco Timpano: You can be. Or I can be.
>> Amanda Barker: The only thing reason I say that is because I'm going to be working till about seven tomorrow.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So then I'll. I'LL get involved with it.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just letting you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure, sure, I'll work on it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's one of the reasons I want to get more work done tonight.
>> Marco Timpano: Great. So our night is not going to be over until we get all this work done.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it's a long race to the finish line, but then the finish line is always the plane.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So much fun. Well, listen. Thank you for listening to the podcast. Of course. We always look forward to your. Your feedback, your thoughts, your. Your. What do you call it when people.
>> Amanda Barker: Your engagement.
>> Marco Timpano: Your engagement.
>> Amanda Barker: Honestly, that's what it's about. We're here for you. The number of people that, you know, we. I record this and then I skip off and do other things and Marco sits and edits it, and. And then I'll get a text from somebody saying that they listen to this one or they listen to that one and. And. And hopefully helping them on their journey to sleep. Sometimes it's just our friends checking in with us.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, thank you for listening, no matter what. And some people listen for sleep, and some people just listen for their day. However you listen, we appreciate having you as our listeners. I can't. I can't say listen anymore. But, Amita, I'm looking forward to next week with you. We will have a podcast episode that we'll record either tonight or tomorrow, and we'll have that ready as well. So until next time or until the
>> Amanda Barker: time after that, just know that each one of those thoughts is just a fish in the pond, and you're watching them. And ultimately you are the pond.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. All right, Amanda, I will see you in a moment, but for the rest of you, we'll see you next week. Or you'll hear us next week.
>> Amanda Barker: You're gonna say, listen and sleep. That's the most important.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. And don't forget, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(original airdate: June 7, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you sort of follow your thoughts and fall asleep.
>> Amanda Barker: Perhaps let your thoughts be the fish in the pond, each one of them floating by, and you're not any of those fish, you are the pond.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I like that. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. Listen, it might surprise everybody, but we don't do any prep for this.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That's right. None whatsoever.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know you were going to start the podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, he does. I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of which, I want to just say this. I am looking into ad free abilities for people who want that with the podcast because Acast no longer offers it. So just give me some time. I'm gonna figure that out for you all. So just hang tight if you want,
>> Amanda Barker: in the coming weeks. Yeah, just give us a few weeks here and we'll get it sorted.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, everything takes longer.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry about that, everybody.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'm a little disappointed, but what are you gonna do? I got the backyard set up.
>> Amanda Barker: You did.
>> Marco Timpano: And I.
>> Amanda Barker: Back deck. Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Back deck?
>> Amanda Barker: No, really? Yard. There.
>> Marco Timpano: There's no yard.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, back wood, wooden thing set up.
>> Marco Timpano: I put our inside plants outside.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a big moment.
>> Marco Timpano: That is a big moment.
>> Amanda Barker: The traveling of the plants.
>> Marco Timpano: I still have one plant I gotta bring from all the way upstairs out.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm. And that plant has done pretty well, actually.
>> Marco Timpano: Money tree. Right?
>> Amanda Barker: The money trees. And they're guys. They're big. They're like, big. They're tall. They're proper trees.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I was told you should never buy a money tree for yourself. Someone's supposed to buy you the money tree.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I bought you yours, you bought
>> Marco Timpano: me mine, so that's fine.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Do we have another one? I don't know that we did.
>> Marco Timpano: No, those are. Those are the ones we have.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are the ones.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: That's all we need.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. But I have that floofy plant outside.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: That floofy plant that I got, It's.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's called the. Is that the genus?
>> Marco Timpano: It's called chenille, I believe.
>> Amanda Barker: What?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a chenille plant. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: Never seen it before. And we were at a.
>> Amanda Barker: It's got red floofers on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's got like these really fluffy. I'll take a photo of it and I'll put it up. I don't know how else to describe it, but they look like. Almost like a cat's tail. But it's not a cat's tail, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's like that. You're in.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. That one's neat. So we'll see how that one survives the summer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe, like, even today it Felt like, oh, is it going to be warm enough? And we're mid June. I know What a cold spring this has been.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: That's all right. That's fine. I just have decided it means we'll have a nice, beautiful fall.
>> Marco Timpano: I like that. I like when you make decisions like
>> Amanda Barker: that for the planet.
>> Marco Timpano: There was something I wanted to talk about that we talked about last week that got executed, and I can't remember what it was executed.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I know something that just came into my head.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Like a fish in a pond.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But now I don't remember. What's the name? Okay. Do you remember on Shark Tank, there was a woman, and she was from Japan, and she said, in Japan, there's a. There's a name for old person smell.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, old man smell.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't. I do remember this, but I don't remember what the name of it is, but what a thing to bring up on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is it. Is that triggering?
>> Marco Timpano: People don't want to talk about old man smell.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I only say it because I made this big pot of lentils, which, by the way, is something that I do when I'm low on groceries or the budget's tight or whatever. I like incorporating, doing a big pot of lentils. It's something I've done forever. Years and years and years ago, I bought a UNICEF cookbook, and there was a recipe in there from a Canadian Olympian swimmer. And what was that? Like, recipes from Canadian Olympians. So pretty specific cookbook. And all the proceeds went to unicef. Anyway, and there was one called Spanish lentils. And I was like, my mom never really cooked with lentils, so I didn't really know what to do with them. And so I have followed versions of this recipe forever now. I mean, like, 25 years at least.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: And this wasn't really that. It was kind of a version of that. But anyway, I made a big pot of lentils, also known as pulses. Pulses, yes. And incorporated sweet potato. I had a sweet potato to use. Anyway, when I first made it, it was good, and I had it in the crock pot. So sometimes what I do is I take the crock pot, sort of bowl and top out, put that in the fridge, and. And then I can just reheat it, like, plunk it back in and reheat it. So when I made it, we actually were going out to dinner, and so we didn't end up eating it that night. I forget. I thought we were going to have it for lunch, and it wasn't Ready yet? So, anyway, I didn't time it right. That was on Sunday. Well, it's been in the fridge. Today's Wednesday, so I was like, okay, time to eat these things once and for all. And I put. I heated them back up today, and it made the house have that sort of old person smell. I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm glad it wasn't me.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, kind of like that nursing home smell. And I think that's just. Okay. He's not happy with me saying these things, but. Okay, let me be more specific then. A smell of sort of soup.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And I also. Soup and then, like, laundered sheets.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I associate with that smell and like, so, like the scents of cleaning products and. Or the laundry mixed with this soupy smell.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's what your pulses smell like.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's what this one. This is what the house smells like right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, I don't love that.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I didn't say you were gonna love it, but I didn't think you'd be extremely triggered by it.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm a little bit like. I mean, this is a bodyguard.
>> Amanda Barker: So we put a trigger warning.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I can't now. We've already sort of.
>> Amanda Barker: You can do it at the beginning. You can backtrack. I mean, I like the man that
>> Marco Timpano: just tells me to do stuff. And she. She has no. She does no work in the editing room. But she just.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't. But I do work in other ways in our relationship, and it all works out in the end, I think. Question mark. Oh, my gosh. Okay, listen, I don't. Do we want to do a deep dive on the amount of work I do not do for this podcast?
>> Marco Timpano: No. No.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sure that can be fun for you and all our listeners. Okay. He's mad at me. I just kicked the table.
>> Marco Timpano: She always puts her foot on the table, and then it makes it grumble
>> Amanda Barker: because I have short legs, Marco, and it's uncomfortable if I don't put them on the insides of the table thingies. I know.
>> Marco Timpano: Put them on the table at the start before I hit record.
>> Amanda Barker: But then I had to itch my leg. Okay, fine. Well, I brought some. Some great lentil content to the table.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. So the other day, I was washing out my water bottle. So, you know, you have a water bottle. Water bottle you take out to work. So I put some Palmolive in it, and I filled it up with water halfway up with water, and I was going to shake it and really clean it out, and I left it on the counter. Well, unbeknownst to me, an hour or so later, when the. When the foam or the bubbles were
>> Amanda Barker: no longer there, you came home and your water bottle is often sitting around, laying around. It's often in various states, and often it's clear ish, so you can see how much water is in there. And it was more than half full. And so I thought, oh, I'll be kind and I'll put it in the fridge.
>> Marco Timpano: So we ended put it in the fridge. And as you might remember from last week, I wasn't feeling well, so I was taking some, you know, medication for colds and flus and whatnot. And I grabbed my water bottle and downed it so that the medication, the pill would go down. And it tasted like soapy water that I drank.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it wasn't a good sight. I was falling asleep in bed. Marco was like, I think I'm going to take one of those nyquils or nighttime.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like a Tylenol for colds.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, good idea. And then he took a swig of this water and started violently spitting it out. And I felt so bad because he was like, it tastes like palm olive. And I was like, oh, I wonder why. Maybe because you washed it. And then he was like. We realized what had happened, right? I was trying to be kind. Now, here's my version of that story.
>> Marco Timpano: Here we go.
>> Amanda Barker: So I feel like that was unintentional revenge. Last January, we were in Florida visiting my folks, and we often, very often, spray our mouths and throats with propolis.
>> Marco Timpano: And we've talked about propolis on the podcast before.
>> Amanda Barker: So I always have. I always have one on me, really. One in my purse, one in my pocket of a jacket, backpack, etc. We always have one in the car as well. So we had one in our rental car. And, you know, we were. If we were in a crowded area, shopping mall, that kind of thing. You know, what if we didn't have it on us? And when we got to the car, we'd just do a couple quick sprays in our mouth just to try to keep things as antibacterial and antifungal and antiviral as possible, just to make ourselves at the very. And listen, I don't mind the taste of it, so.
>> Marco Timpano: But if you are allergic to bee stings, do not use propolis.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So anyways, and so we had been spraying in her mouth every time we came in the car. So we came in from the mall or the movie theater.
>> Marco Timpano: It was like a Target or something.
>> Amanda Barker: We had gone to.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And I reached down to where we had put it in the rental car, grabbed it, did two generous squirts in my mouth and immediately had to open the door and violently try to spit it out and wash it it out with water. Because instead of the propolis in that exact space and the exact same shape and size of bottle was a container of off bug spray. And I had sprayed that directly into my mouth, generously.
>> Marco Timpano: It was like all natural off. Oh great bug spray that I had
>> Amanda Barker: actually held out to my tongue. Anyhow, so I spat it out, spat it out. And I was, you know, it was a moment of like immediately opening the door, immediately trying to get it out of my mouth. And all I can see is Marco's shoulders silently heaving because he finds it hilarious and yet is trying so hard not to openly laugh at me because he knows that'll just aggravate me more. But he couldn't stop. He was laughing so hard. And he didn't mean to do it. But to be fair, he put it exactly where we had put the propolis that whole week in the car. So anyway, I wasn't mad. I was just, you know, it left a bad taste in my mouth, that's for sure. And so I didn't mean to do that. I didn't mean to give you a palm olive soaked water bottle full of a mouthful of soap, but that is exactly what happened a few nights ago.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, it happens to the best of us, doesn't it?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I. I guess, I guess it does. Yeah. Anyway, us and our water bottles, we seem to have so many. They travel around sometimes.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if this happens to our listeners, but we'll find water bottles under the driver's seat or, or the seat of the passenger side car under the bed.
>> Amanda Barker: I found one under my nightstand this morning. I really got to clean out that area.
>> Marco Timpano: They just, they just like to hide.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they just, they fall and they roll and. Water bottles, man. Speaking of which, I need to pack a water bottle.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right, that's right. We're going on a little vacation. You'll hear about it when we get back. Very exciting. I started to pack and I thought you were finished. I did, I did. I just need to locate a couple things and I want to iron a shirt that I want to bring.
>> Amanda Barker: Or two, we're in pre pre trip mode. So there are two things I always have to do. I'm a woman of a certain age and so I always have to try and get my nails done before we go, okay. And try to dye my hair before we go so that I don't have roots coming out and that my nails aren't grown out either. Sort of the same idea. But this one is going to be a polish change more than a mani because I think these nails still look pretty.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the difference between a polished change and a mani?
>> Amanda Barker: It's a good question. I usually always do a mani pedi and I, and I usually do one, I'm going to say once every six weeks.
>> Marco Timpano: That's hands and feet.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. And it. Listen, it's been a long time thing for me because I have a hard time, I don't know, being one of those people that actually goes and does that every single time for my nails and feet. But what I've realized is I'm an obsessive picker at my nails. So if there's something rough, I will try to pick at it. And what I've realized over a lifetime of doing this is that it's always me trying to perfect it. So if there's something to be dug at or picked at, I will do it. And it's, it's, it's a well researched, you know, it's like nail biting or anything.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: You're trying to get it down so that it's perfect. Right, right. And of course it never is and you just make it worse. So anyways, I know that when I get my nails done, I don't do that. And my fingers are not all ripped up. And Mark was a lot happier because they can get really bad.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's like a mangle hand, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, mangle hand. Used to call them zombie fingers. Yeah, so. So that's an act of self care that I indulge in. And listen, I'm a grown up and I make money and nobody else is judging me other than myself. And I'm not, I'm just. It's always one of those things where I'm like, oh my goodness, am I really going to spend that much a year on my nails and my feet? But I enjoy it. I do it. So it's my little act. And you know, and I don't, I don't buy coffee out very much anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. That's true. And Amanda will often text me and say, what color should I get?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I let him choose. Often if I don't care or if I have, if I'm shooting a film or commercial or whatever, then I'll usually go fairly neutral. I'll usually still get them done. I used to not get them done, but I think it's better if I get them done and I'll just go very neutral, like a cloudy clear or just a beige or something. So anyway, these ones are pretty good, but I'd like to. But they're gonna be grown out by the time we're at the end of our vacation. So if I have time, I will get them changed. And then I gotta dye my hair tonight. So I'm on it now. And the other thing I do is I always. I always fill up my cheap little tablet with movies and TV shows.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, because I've noticed it's actually, you can't really do that on your computer. It's a whole thing. You have to do it on a device. So I like the device more than having it on my phone.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, there you go. Some tips from Amanda. Her little nail routine.
>> Amanda Barker: Don't. Don't diminish my nail routine.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not. I'm really.
>> Amanda Barker: My little nail routine.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's great. Your wonderful nail routine and my hair
>> Amanda Barker: routine and you bought me hair dye. Marco bought me three dollar hair dye in a bargain bin. So we're gonna. We're gonna try it out tonight.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you gonna use that one?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Are you okay with that?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, for sure. I don't. I mean, I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: What if my hair comes out crazy?
>> Marco Timpano: It was so. One of my favorite areas in our local grocery store is the sail rack or whatever you want to call. They do this, like, they have this little bin where it's like things are 94 cents or really, really discounted and you don't know what it's going to be. It could be, like blue icing. It could be, you know, thermometers. It could be anything. And so I happened to be there and it was all the natural hair dye.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's all natural.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. And it was like they're.
>> Amanda Barker: They're. I will say this, they're companies I've never seen before with hair dye, which makes me a little nervous. But I don't have anything filming coming up. I just have, you know, you're gonna be the one looking at my hair, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you would think that would be even more important.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, here's the thing. This is why I want to do it tonight. So that if it's a total disaster, I can fix it before we, you know, hop on a plane.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so wish me luck. He got me the color chocolate, which I'm wondering if that's Gonna be too light, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, are you not a chocolate?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm more like a dark chocolate. I think hair like a.
>> Marco Timpano: Like a chestnut.
>> Amanda Barker: A chestnut would be even lighter.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, chestnut is lighter. Yeah, like a walnut.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, listen, everyone's chocolate is a little different, so we're just to see what it looks like.
>> Marco Timpano: My hair is like white chocolate.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: Alpine, my favorite. Yum. Yeah. So the deck. I just. I gotta deal with the deck again because all the little things from the tree fell on it and I tried to plug in the light on the tree and I'm not tall enough. And so.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. So it's just been pulled out.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I need to deal with that.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But we don't have a ladder is the problem.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's when we have neighbors, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So do you want to buy a ladder? But where will we put. Then we have a ladder.
>> Marco Timpano: Then we have a ladder.
>> Amanda Barker: Where do our neighbors put their gigantic ladder?
>> Marco Timpano: They have a shed in their backyard. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, isn't there a such thing as a ladder that becomes short?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Retractable ladder.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Well, can't we just get one of those?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we can. I'd like to get one. Trevor has one. Our good friend Trevor has one that like it. So basically retracts and it can be.
>> Amanda Barker: We need a ladder like twice a year.
>> Marco Timpano: But when you need that ladder, you need the ladder. I know. The only thing with a retractable ladder is you need to lean the retractable ladder versus an A frame ladder. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I will say our city does have a thing called the tools library.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: And so you can take things out tools out just the same as you can take out books from a normal library.
>> Marco Timpano: Where is the tool library?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know, but I've heard about it a few times.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: So do you think maybe they'd have a ladder and we can just.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, I would hope so.
>> Amanda Barker: We can just check out a ladder for a week. That would be helpful. Are you going to look it up? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The tool library. Where is it? Toronto Tool library. Oh, yeah, there's a tool library. Oh, but there's a membership for the two. I don't think it's part of the library system, Amanda. Oh, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, there's a membership.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, how much is the membership?
>> Marco Timpano: Looks like it's. Your membership is 85 bucks. Oh, for the year.
>> Amanda Barker: Just buy a ladder then.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, letters are more expensive than that. But I guess if you use it. If you use it often enough or if you like, I don't know. You, you only need a lawnmower every once in a while. It might be worth it. But I'll figure it out. I'll figure out the latter situation and get that. And get that worked out.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay? Well, Rome wasn't built in a day.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it wasn't. No, it wasn't.
>> Amanda Barker: That we know of.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't think it was.
>> Amanda Barker: All right.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco, we went to Stratford this weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: And I think we've talked about Stratford on the podcast before. But Stratford is a really interesting town. It's a town devoted to theater, I would say. Wouldn't you?
>> Marco Timpano: And the Pork Council of Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: The Pork Council of Pork, Isn't it the Pork Congress.
>> Marco Timpano: Congress, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is an even funnier name. Like, the idea of a congress of pork is so weird and funny. Yeah, I mean, it's a very. It's farm country and theater country and theater country. Well, here's the thing. In the 50s, you know, the town, all these towns, listen, people just name things the same thing over and over and over. I think we've established that. So yes, it was not the original Stratford, but anyway, it's a Stratford. And right next to it is the town of Shakespeare as well, which is so small.
>> Marco Timpano: Like you just drive, right, you drive
>> Amanda Barker: through Shakespeare to get to Stratford, basically. Anyhow. And then I think it was the late 40s or early 50s, maybe, I think the 50s, they were trying to like drum up tourism for the town. And because nobody was going, it was, you know, aging farmlands and things like that. And so they decided to develop this little theater festival and they put it in a tent every summer. And from that this world class theater festival grew and it's well beloved by Canadians and all sorts of people abroad that, that go to it. And we happen to be there on one of the opening weekends. Now, what's funny is when you say Stratford and you're seeing theatre in Stratford, everyone of course, assumes it's part of the Stratford Festival, of which I think there are five stages, at least two main ones, and then some other smaller ones. However, we have some friends involved with the creation of a more of a more recent festival called the Here for Now Festival. And they, much like Stratford, they were doing things in a tent outside, which was actually quite magical and beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: It was nice.
>> Amanda Barker: It was beautiful. I wonder if they're going to do more plays outside. But anyhow, they got a space. So we went and saw their new space and we had a friend who was doing a beautiful performance in that space. And so we went and visited with her and had delicious meals all weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: And as luck would have it, we had another mutual friend who was going to see one of the shows at the Stratford Festival. Anne of Green Gables.
>> Amanda Barker: Anne of Green Gables. Not the musical, a new version of the play of Anne of Green Gables, which actually I'm pretty intrigued about. I'd like to see it as well.
>> Marco Timpano: So we had, we had lunch with our friend who was performing and another friend who lives in Stratford. And then we had like an early dinner with our friend who happened to be seeing Ann or what's it called? Anne of Green Gables. Anne of Green Gables. And so it was a lovely, it was a lovely day in Stratford, Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: It really was really lovely. Just visiting with friends. And that was the whole weekend for us. I spent Friday night. Oh my goodness. At a meal that I will never forget. It was so good. A restaurant called Maven here in Toronto that's just opened. So my friend Daniel and I checked that place out because it's really close to his house. And then we ended up having a friend who was having her 43rd birthday on Sunday night. So then we went out to dinner with all of them.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And we just had a lovely weekend
>> Amanda Barker: of food and friends. We ate our way through the weekend and enjoyed the company of dear friends too. What's. What's more to life than that? Nothing. Right. That's true. Is that how you say that? Is there more to life than that?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And the answer is not really. I mean, or maybe there is.
>> Marco Timpano: Up to you. I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a great weekend anyway, was what I was trying to say, very inarticulately.
>> Marco Timpano: And now I'm racing to get the house in order before we go, which is always. Yeah, that's my plan.
>> Amanda Barker: Here's the things. Like I would be ready, but then inevitably things. Curveballs get thrown.
>> Marco Timpano: Curveballs get thrown.
>> Amanda Barker: Here's an eight page audition full of monologues you have to get done by Friday.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of which, our niece needs us to coach her through a voice audition that she has and tomorrow her day is pretty full.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh right, because she has her violin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we've got to figure out if we can do it tonight or she said maybe we can squeeze it in tomorrow is what she said.
>> Amanda Barker: So, okay. Am I involved in this or is it more you and her?
>> Marco Timpano: You can be. Or I can be.
>> Amanda Barker: The only thing reason I say that is because I'm going to be working till about seven tomorrow.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So then I'll. I'LL get involved with it.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just letting you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure, sure, I'll work on it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's one of the reasons I want to get more work done tonight.
>> Marco Timpano: Great. So our night is not going to be over until we get all this work done.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it's a long race to the finish line, but then the finish line is always the plane.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So much fun. Well, listen. Thank you for listening to the podcast. Of course. We always look forward to your. Your feedback, your thoughts, your. Your. What do you call it when people.
>> Amanda Barker: Your engagement.
>> Marco Timpano: Your engagement.
>> Amanda Barker: Honestly, that's what it's about. We're here for you. The number of people that, you know, we. I record this and then I skip off and do other things and Marco sits and edits it, and. And then I'll get a text from somebody saying that they listen to this one or they listen to that one and. And. And hopefully helping them on their journey to sleep. Sometimes it's just our friends checking in with us.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, thank you for listening, no matter what. And some people listen for sleep, and some people just listen for their day. However you listen, we appreciate having you as our listeners. I can't. I can't say listen anymore. But, Amita, I'm looking forward to next week with you. We will have a podcast episode that we'll record either tonight or tomorrow, and we'll have that ready as well. So until next time or until the
>> Amanda Barker: time after that, just know that each one of those thoughts is just a fish in the pond, and you're watching them. And ultimately you are the pond.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. All right, Amanda, I will see you in a moment, but for the rest of you, we'll see you next week. Or you'll hear us next week.
>> Amanda Barker: You're gonna say, listen and sleep. That's the most important.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. And don't forget, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Hair Dye, Pet Rocks & Other Oddities
(Original airdate: June 11, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you drift off to sleep. Hi, I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. Are you holding your breath? A little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: A little bit.
>> Amanda Barker: Aw, I feel bad. Why Well, I want you to breathe.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm trying to breathe, but I realize that I don't have water, so I'm just trying to regulate my breath. Thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm giving you water. It's going to make a jiggly sound. It has your sister's thing that she gave us in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Her gin.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it's called instant iv.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, and what's, what's that good for?
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's electrolytes. I think it's supposed to hydrate you, but she said, you know, if you're thirsty all the time, which I have been, and if you have headaches and stuff and you're feeling dehydrated, that, that's, take one of those and it will hydrate you better.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Well.
>> Amanda Barker: And I have a headache. I've had a headache for most of today and I think I've been dehydrated.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see that I would
>> Amanda Barker: boost my water intake somehow.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, if you have a headache, you're not alone, folks. Thanks for joining us. We, we sympathize with you.
>> Amanda Barker: I hope we are not your headache.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, no doubt. Amanda, you colored your hair from last week. We mentioned that you were going to color your hair with that three dollar box of on sale color.
>> Amanda Barker: So here's the thing about the three dollar box. I realized when I opened it up it's a really high, high end British product.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's both of the, all the. It's actually quite great because it's a very environmental box of hair dye. They don't. They print all of the instructions on the inside of the box so that there's no paper wastage.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
>> Amanda Barker: And the two plastic containers that you have to mix the dye right with, both of them are recycled. And they say, one says, I used to be a yogurt container.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: And then the other is like I used to be a lip gloss pot or something like that. I can't remember. But anyway, yeah, they're, they're both like fully recycled plastic, post consumer recycled. And there's no ammonia in it, so I don't know. How does it look? I mean, it's still a little wet.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it looks good.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I hope it works out. It makes me sad because I could have bought more. I think I only bought a couple,
>> Amanda Barker: but you never know and then you're ending up with a bunch of them. So. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And if they didn't work out, then you'd be like, now I have this stuff to Deal with. So hopefully it works.
>> Amanda Barker: We'll.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll see how it goes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. See what happens. Color my hair once the sun hits it maybe turns a weird ready color, but I think it's okay, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I think it looks good. Yeah, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Just doing the roots and.
>> Marco Timpano: What. Do you have any, like, prep that you do before you color your hair?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, here's the thing. We're going to get deep into it. I'm really. I don't know if I would use the word addicted, but I'm very reliant these days and quite love and enjoy using and maybe obsessed with that spray root dye stuff, like the instant stuff. There's a bunch of companies that make them. There's like three or four on the market.
>> Marco Timpano: Batiste, I think, is the one you use.
>> Amanda Barker: No, no, no, no, no, no. You're talking about dry shampoo.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. Sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: That's dry shampoo. That's another end of the spectrum. No, no, what I'm talking about is it's instant root touch up.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I like it as well for a few reasons.
>> Marco Timpano: One, it's instant.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, yeah, but even if I don't have roots showing, I tend to use it because I fill in where my hair is a bit thinner on the edges here.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Sort of at the, you know, that thinning sort of part. I've always had it. I had it when I was a little kid. It's just a part where the hair is thinner and my hair usually curls up there.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're spray painting your head is
>> Amanda Barker: what you're doing 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Filling in the gaps. And I also like it because when we do auditions, which are all, you know, mostly, not all, but the auditions that we do at home, which is a big bulk of our auditioning life, just the way the lights are that we have, sometimes they shine on the top of my head and I. Anyways, it doesn't look great or it looks like gray. Even when it's not gray, it's just a bit of reflection. So when I spray that stuff, it dulls it so there's no shine.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So my hair looks thicker and fuller and there's more color just from spraying the color in. Yeah, I know it's. Listen, I'm not saying it's glamorous or even advisable. I'm just saying that's what I use.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But in terms of your question to prep my hair for dyeing, the thing is, I always have a bit of that spray stuff in my hair, so I really have to. And I don't always succeed, but I really have to try and get it out so that it. Because I can't dye the roots if it's covered. If it's covered with this spray stuff, I'm sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: So I gotta. So it's a two wash process. That's why when I was dyeing my hair, I had to wash my hair, dry it, and then dye it, and then wash the dye out and then dry it again. So that's. So it takes longer. Now I have just, you know. And again, any people who are in the hair industry would not recommend any of the things I do. I'm sure. But whatever I have just put dye over the spray dye. It doesn't work great, but sometimes it's like in a pinch and I have to be quick. It's fine.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: How much is residual left in there? But anyway. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: And this box also had a charcoal shampoo that you were supposed to wash your hair with before you dyed it to get rid of all the toxins. I didn't know that. And I had already washed my hair at that point.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: And dried it.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that sounds like. What's the name of this product?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember. Okay, well, British Harmony, I think it was called Harmony.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like Harmony Dye or something like that. It had like illustrations of women hugging each other in the front. Yeah. It's very. Usually it's like a woman in her hair and you're like, that's the color I want. But this was like women dancing.
>> Marco Timpano: That's how I want to feel after I dye my hair.
>> Amanda Barker: Like watercolory women.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Speaking of watercolors, our friend has a big art show.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Our friend in la, Michelle Miracle, has an art show. She does a really unique and interesting art that I really love. It has a nostalgic feel to me. It kind of feels like mid century modern, like something that would be in a home during that period. And it's watercolors. And it involves, I want to say tracing, but I know I'm not doing it justice. She does a really great job of outlining the watercolor effect and it gives it this sort of impression of sometimes underwater, sometimes visions of nature through color. It really is so unique and pretty and you could just stare at. It's just so lovely. And what's funny is, Amanda, I had asked Michelle if I could put some on mugs and on T shirts and stuff for our Patreons people. Our High donors, let's say. And she. She so graciously said yes. And so I did do that. And so some people have actually seen her artwork.
>> Amanda Barker: She's at the Montrose Arts and Craft Festival now. I think that may have passed by the time we air this. But anyway, that was on June 7th and 8th. And, yeah, she does all these festivals, and it's really exciting. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You can follow her at Mishmash Art Stash, and I'll put that in our. In our notes. And she's been on the podcast, and we talked about her artwork as well, so you can really.
>> Amanda Barker: She really seems to approach art as a way of dealing with the frustrated perfectionist inside herself. Oh, my goodness. Yeah. Like, you know, it doesn't have to be perfect and maybe things are never done, but don't judge yourself. Just go for it and see what ends up on the canvas, which is really nice. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And she's not a Virgo like you.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. She is a. What is she? Pisces? No, she's a Tour.
>> Marco Timpano: No, March. Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, March 1st.
>> Marco Timpano: That's. That's Pisces.
>> Amanda Barker: Pisces.
>> Marco Timpano: March. March.
>> Amanda Barker: Pisces is. Oh, yeah, she is a Pisces.
>> Marco Timpano: That's not Taurus. Taurus is me.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, she's a Pisces. That's. That's our second Pisces friend. No, I don't know a lot about Pisces, do you?
>> Marco Timpano: I can't remember Pisces so.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, last night there were three. We were watching the Tonight show, which is not something we normally watch, but anyway, and all. Both Jimmy Fallon and the two people on the couch realized that they were all Virgos.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Which I am. Anyway. Tyler Perry was one of them.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. That's right. I used to watch the Tonight show when I was a kid and Johnny Carson was the host.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, of course you did.
>> Marco Timpano: And I wanted to stay up so, so much to watch it. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I thought he was funny. I don't know. As a kid, I think. I think even if you didn't understand
>> Amanda Barker: him, but your parents would be laughing. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And every once while, you'd understand joke. It would be like a very, you know, dad like joke. So as a child, you could. You could understand it. And I would often be able to stay up, but then I would fall asleep after the monologue kind of thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It would, you know.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, poor little Marco trying to stay up to watch the Tonight Show.
>> Marco Timpano: But I think a lot of, you know, staying up to watch comedies when I was a Kid really influenced me into comedies. I used to watch Benny Hill and D***. D*** Allen at large, which was.
>> Amanda Barker: What was that?
>> Marco Timpano: So it was. Those shows were already old by the time I watched him as a kid. Right. But you don't know that. And they were British shows back in the day where their style was very different to what we were used to watching with North American shows that we had access to.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So you know, Benny Hill, his style of humor and whatnot. But D*** Allen at large was this comedian whose name was D*** Allen who would sit in a chair and smoke a cigarette and just tell stories. And I can't remember if he was Irish or. But he had just a way of tell funny stories really. And he would just sit in a chair and tell a funny story.
>> Amanda Barker: Full show, I'm going to smoke and. And talk.
>> Marco Timpano: And they would be intercut with some sketches where he was.
>> Amanda Barker: How do I get this?
>> Marco Timpano: Where he was a vicar. And it would be a short vicar. It would be a short little vicar sketch.
>> Amanda Barker: Or why don't we say vicar over here? Like why didn't that. Why didn't that word cross the pond?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. A vicar, A vicar. He'd be a vicar and he would tell a story. But it was never. It wasn't as like body as Benny Hill. It was more cerebral, let's say. Okay, once again, this is through nine year olds.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Remembering of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Though.
>> Marco Timpano: But yeah, I'll show you some D*** Allen at large. That sounds dirty but I'll show you, I'll show you some later on to see what you think of it. It just gets worse. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, the Virgo that I am, I make like a mental list, like tallies of words that mean that we don't use in North America or words that mean different things. And one that I hear a lot, that always makes me laugh in British tv. British. And of course I watch a lot of home shows and renovation shows and things like that in England. But anyway, what is the word homely? Because over here to call somebody, you would call someone or something homely and
>> Marco Timpano: it would mean ugly or plain.
>> Amanda Barker: Very plain. Yeah, yeah, either ugly or very. Like dowdy would be a synonym maybe. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think ugly, I just think plain.
>> Amanda Barker: Plain? Yeah. Like if I said she's pretty homely.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I wouldn't.
>> Amanda Barker: You wouldn't think she's good looking?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but I wouldn't think she was. Or they, whoever, male or female. I wouldn't think that they were ugly. I just think they look very Plain looking, Very. You know, you pass them, you'd walk right by them. You wouldn't even.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, see, I don't think that I think of homely as straight up not good looking.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I wonder what the dictionary would say. But anyway, in the uk they always say it. They say homely, where we would say homey.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, this is very homey, we would say. But they say that's very homely, which kind of makes more sense for the word really, Like, Like a homely. But for whatever reason we say, oh, it's homey. But then homely has a totally different meaning. So it just always makes me laugh. That's one. Another one is to table something.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, table something.
>> Amanda Barker: But Americans, because as Canadians, we go both ways in terms of British, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We have a lot of British words we use and we have a lot of North American words we use.
>> Amanda Barker: So we say we'll table that bill. So what does that mean to you?
>> Marco Timpano: We'll put it aside and we'll work on it or whatever. We'll put a pin in it kind of thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. So that's the American version of it. To table it. Let's table that. Like it's become part of parlance in, you know, working vernacular. Sure. You know.
>> Marco Timpano: So what does, what does it mean to table a bill?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it means, is to put it on the table and work through it in British Parliament. Right. And Canadian government. I think they've got that. Right. Yeah. Okay, so you're tabling it, you're working through it. You're. You're putting it in front of everybody on the table and saying, hey, look at this. Whereas to table it in for American speak is, let's just table that for now. Let's just put it on the table and leave it there and work on something else.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: It's different, right? So like the opposite meaning, in fact. Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: No, let's put a pin in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's. That's how I would.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's the American version of that. Isn't that funny?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Although I do say Chesterfield, so I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is a brand, apparently. A British brand of couch.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Or sofa.
>> Marco Timpano: Chesterfield.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's a. Remember we were in a workshop with an American person and this guy kept talking about his Chesterfield and she finally stopped and said, I'm sorry, I just don't know what you're talking about. What the heck is a Chesterfield? We all started laughing because he kept talking about his Chesterfield over and over and she was like, I don't know what that is.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. I love it when that happens where you talk about. Because I remember one time we were with our American friends, actually with Michelle Miracle, the artist we just spoke of, and we were playing with you, who
>> Amanda Barker: is very homey, but not homely.
>> Marco Timpano: No, the opposite in the American sense.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway.
>> Marco Timpano: She's a very attractive woman, Michelle Miracle. Okay, so like you said that she's
>> Amanda Barker: a very attractive woman.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I didn't want people to think she's homey or homely, so.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but she can make a beautiful home. But she is not, in your words, plain or in mine, ugly.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So we're playing this game with Michelle Miracle, and you had to like each letter of the Alphabet you had to come up with with a word in that category. So I think it was clothing. And we had to go, like, in order or something. And Amanda landed on the letter C. And so Amanda says chemise. And then it comes to me to D, and I said something like denim. And we were going around, and then Michelle's like, hang on a second, hang on. What is chemise? And how are we letting that in? And so there was this really large chemise debate. And for people who don't know, to
>> Amanda Barker: be honest, it wasn't just her, it was you. You were the one who kept saying shamise. Because I remember you going, shamise, shamise. I remember you saying it. I think she was convinced you were the one who were challenging me on this Scattergories game.
>> Marco Timpano: But it was a French word. You can't use foreign French words for English.
>> Amanda Barker: My argument to this day is it is a French word that we use in English parlance. I'm just gonna keep using the word parlance.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, for example, we don't say. We say croissant, you know, which is a French word. I don't say, you know, half moon pastry or whatever. Like, I call it a croissant.
>> Marco Timpano: When are you saying chemise? I don't hear people saying chemise. I hear blouse.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, continue on with your story then. Cut to a. Cut to a few weeks ago.
>> Marco Timpano: So. And let's be honest, I was probably over playing it just like overplaying the chemise debate.
>> Amanda Barker: You. You went through a phase where you really thought it was funny to, like, make fun of me or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Did I?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That doesn't sound very nice.
>> Amanda Barker: Call it bullying.
>> Marco Timpano: That doesn't sound shamish. That doesn't sound very nice.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you like to roast.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. So the chemise debate and so after
>> Amanda Barker: that, the great chemise debate of 2007, let's be honest, of July 2007 in
>> Marco Timpano: Miracle to this day will say chemise. Right. Like she'll say it as a joke or whatnot.
>> Amanda Barker: My shamise. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So we're watching television and of course, Amanda and I watch a lot of
>> Amanda Barker: the Shopping Channel and British shows. All we do is watch tv. That seems like all we do.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny because now we know a lot of British celebs that are not celebs here.
>> Amanda Barker: Alan Carr, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: Alan Carr with that show with Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Amanda and Alan's Italian Adventure.
>> Marco Timpano: Really enjoy that. Amanda Holden is her name.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: She's a singer, something. She's on the. Not the Voice, but the British.
>> Amanda Barker: Britain's Got Talent.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, something like that. And so we're watching the Shopping Channel and of course there's someone who's talking about sleepwear. Was it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they had blouses and they were like, now, let's show you the chemise. And they must have said it a million times, this chemise and that chemise. And this is not a robe, this is a chemise, over and over and over. And I taped it and sent it to Michelle.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a lot of chemise talk, a
>> Amanda Barker: lot of chemise happening. I looked up homely.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: The first definition is North American, a person unattractive in appearance.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I think I was more Right. And then second, British of a place or surroundings, simple but cozy and comfortable, as in one's home. Okay. Yeah, yeah. We should look up table of Bill.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Look at. Look at what you're learning today.
>> Marco Timpano: A lot of lexicon, a lot of Britishism versus Americanism. While Amanda is looking that up, I'm just going to say thank you to all our listeners in the uk. We have listeners in the uk. I love hearing from them. Of course, we have listeners in Canada, in the United States. I want to say hi to all of you. Australia, Bahrain, India, we have listeners all over the world. Feel free to give us a shout out on Instagram and we'll be sure to mention the country that you listen from, because I know there's a lot of listeners from all over the world.
>> Amanda Barker: This is interesting. I see what happened with the. With the expression to table something. So it does mean to formally present a bill for consideration, but it can also mean to postpone discussion for a later time, because this is often done when there's not enough time or consensus to debate a bill fully at the current moment. So we Think of it as table A bill. Bring the bill forward.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: But as in most bills, things do get postponed and delayed. So that's where the American version, I think, comes in.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Interesting, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, very interesting.
>> Amanda Barker: Fascinating.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of other words that have two different meanings. Crikey.
>> Marco Timpano: Crikey. One guy says crikey a lot. Yeah. We should say crikey. I feel like that's associated with Australians.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what word comes up in weird places is reckon, because you could say it in the southern us. I reckon you do this and I reckon that. I mean, they don't say it a lot, but they used to. But then the Brits say that one a lot. I reckon this and I reckon that
>> Marco Timpano: And I never say it. I would never say reckon.
>> Amanda Barker: We would never say the word reckon.
>> Marco Timpano: There's certain words that would never come to mind in my mind. Same in Italian. There's a. There's a. An. Not an expression, but an article that you could use in cui. But I never use. Yeah, yeah. No, there's inkui or K. And I always. I always revert to ke. I don't know why. I just think it's easier. It just comes out of my mouth quicker. Or easier. I'm trying to think of words like that in English. Do I say anything that strikes you as British or whatnot? More British.
>> Amanda Barker: Serviette. You always say serviette.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: Give me a. Which I would say napkin. Canadians always say cutlery.
>> Marco Timpano: Cutlery. I say cutlery.
>> Amanda Barker: Whereas Americans, for whatever reason, we say silverware. Like I would growing up, I would even say the plastic silverware.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. Which doesn't make any sense when you actually stop and think about it. But we would call. I would call what you and I call cutlery. Growing up, I would always call it the silverware. One thing that came up not too long ago, and we might have talked about it on the show, but I had a friend who was trying to figure out what cocoa was.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cocoa.
>> Amanda Barker: And it made me think about it because we were just helping our niece with an audition and I knew it was American because she was saying cocoa or everybody grab some cocoa.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So. But here we would call it hot chocolate.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but it's the same thing. And sometimes Americans would call it hot chocolate, but much more often we would call it cocoa. Like cotton candy. Candy floss.
>> Marco Timpano: See, to me, cocoa is more like chocolate, like, but it's not.
>> Amanda Barker: It's honestly the exact same thing as hot chocolate.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. But I See, cocoa is something you use to cook with versus, well, cocoa
>> Amanda Barker: powder is what you're thinking, right? But cocoa, a cup of warm cocoa is what you would think of as a cup of hot chocolate.
>> Marco Timpano: One of my favorite wrestlers was Coco Beware.
>> Amanda Barker: One of mine was Hot Chocolate. Stay back.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Although that would be a great wrestling name.
>> Marco Timpano: So funny. Did you watch wrestling as a kid?
>> Amanda Barker: Nope. I stayed as far away as I could from. And I didn't understand why anybody would watch it. And my dad, every now and then on a Saturday would have it on and I'd be like, why?
>> Marco Timpano: Why I would watch it because the characters were so fascinating and interesting. Like, one guy had a snake. His name was Jake the Snake Roberts.
>> Amanda Barker: But I don't. It's lost on me. As a kid, it was lost on me. I'd be like, watch a movie. Then there's great characters in TV shows. Why are you watching people fight? I don't know. Wrestling is. I don't think I was the demo.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it never yielded to you? Not even close. Like, it. It repelled me.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that's fair.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the only part I liked about it was that it was. Used to be wwf, which was also the World Wildlife Federation, but finally they became wwe. That. Which is interesting too, right? That.
>> Marco Timpano: That happened. Well, the whole story behind all that is just.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we. Well, I think there's a. There's a podcast that. If you're looking for an interesting podcast called. What's it called? A minute. It's the one from CBC where it's like the power of persuasion or like the. Where they talk about ads and stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh. You hadn't asked me.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the. Under the influence.
>> Amanda Barker: Under the influence.
>> Marco Timpano: Under the influence with. I can't remember the guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Terry O'Reilly.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. And I think he.
>> Amanda Barker: By the way, great podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a great.
>> Amanda Barker: If you're still awake and listening, Terry O'Reilly, is that. That's a great podcast. All about marketing. And I read his book, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: It won't make you fall asleep, but it's interesting. How was his book?
>> Amanda Barker: It was great. It was like one long. I listened to it. So it was like one long version of the podcast or radio show.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, on one of the episodes, he was talking about WWF and how they retained that acronym over the Wrestling Federation.
>> Amanda Barker: So interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so fascinating.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Because they were both big organizations with the same acronym, as it turns out. Yeah, that's so interesting. Remember Greenpeace?
>> Marco Timpano: I loved Greenpeace. As a kid.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, these boats, like, 1989, saving whales.
>> Amanda Barker: That was my whole, like, I just want to be on a Greenpeace boat.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no, I didn't want to do that. But I was like, no, I wanted to save the whales. I remember grade two. I wanted to. I talked to the librarian about, like, making signs, save the whales, and doing a little march.
>> Amanda Barker: And did you do it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, because. And I had an idea on how to make the signs, but then I guess I didn't think about, like, where am I gonna march? I was gonna march around the school with a sign and try to get people to march with me.
>> Amanda Barker: I love these ideas, these schemes you have as kids. I remember my sister and I. I think it was my sister and I, or my friend maybe, we decided we were going to paint all these rocks and then sell them.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: So we were probably about that age, about seven. So we painted these rocks, and we were like, okay, rocks for sale. But it didn't really occur to us that in our backyard, we didn't really have foot traffic going through, like, in our mind. I didn't quite understand. You know, I lived on a pretty major road that didn't have sidewalks, Right? It was. And very kind of wooden, but yet it was. Route 98 was the name of the route anyway. Like a pretty major thorough route off of the i95. And so we didn't really, like. Because I wasn't in a sort of more shelter development, I didn't go out on that road very much.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So. But we had a backyard, and we played in that. And. And so. Or here's another one. We would say backyard. You know what the Brits would call it? A garden.
>> Marco Timpano: A garden.
>> Amanda Barker: They'll call. All of it is a garden. Whether it's. Whereas you and I would have, like, a flower garden or a vegetable garden that's a garden. But a bunch of grass we would never call a garden. But at least if I'm to believe all these shows that I've watched for years, they always say, oh, look at the size of the garden. And you're like, there's no garden. It's just some grass. But they'll call it a garden. So anyway, so we had our garden or back. You know, we had a garden and we had a backyard. And so on the porch, on our back porch, we, like, laid all this out. We're like, rocks for sale.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: And just sitting, like, waiting for people to come by. Like, I think in our head, we thought that there'd be like a traveling sales listen through the backyards.
>> Marco Timpano: Just.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, you hope. Not that there's not random strangers walking through, but we didn't quite figure out that that's not how that works. We just thought if you put something for sale, like people would people come.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. Well, listen, you could have been the precursor to the pet rock that that person who invented that or did that made a ton of money.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I always hear about the pet rock, but I don't ever really remember pet rock.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't either. Really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's more of an under the influence thing. I'm sure Terry O'Reilly does a deep dive on the pet rock.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Well, listen, thank you for joining us and we hope you enjoy this podcast and we actually hope you're asleep at this point, but if you're not, thank you for listening and we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: June 11, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you drift off to sleep. Hi, I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. Are you holding your breath? A little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: A little bit.
>> Amanda Barker: Aw, I feel bad. Why Well, I want you to breathe.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm trying to breathe, but I realize that I don't have water, so I'm just trying to regulate my breath. Thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm giving you water. It's going to make a jiggly sound. It has your sister's thing that she gave us in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Her gin.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it's called instant iv.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, and what's, what's that good for?
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's electrolytes. I think it's supposed to hydrate you, but she said, you know, if you're thirsty all the time, which I have been, and if you have headaches and stuff and you're feeling dehydrated, that, that's, take one of those and it will hydrate you better.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Well.
>> Amanda Barker: And I have a headache. I've had a headache for most of today and I think I've been dehydrated.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see that I would
>> Amanda Barker: boost my water intake somehow.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, if you have a headache, you're not alone, folks. Thanks for joining us. We, we sympathize with you.
>> Amanda Barker: I hope we are not your headache.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, no doubt. Amanda, you colored your hair from last week. We mentioned that you were going to color your hair with that three dollar box of on sale color.
>> Amanda Barker: So here's the thing about the three dollar box. I realized when I opened it up it's a really high, high end British product.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's both of the, all the. It's actually quite great because it's a very environmental box of hair dye. They don't. They print all of the instructions on the inside of the box so that there's no paper wastage.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
>> Amanda Barker: And the two plastic containers that you have to mix the dye right with, both of them are recycled. And they say, one says, I used to be a yogurt container.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: And then the other is like I used to be a lip gloss pot or something like that. I can't remember. But anyway, yeah, they're, they're both like fully recycled plastic, post consumer recycled. And there's no ammonia in it, so I don't know. How does it look? I mean, it's still a little wet.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it looks good.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I hope it works out. It makes me sad because I could have bought more. I think I only bought a couple,
>> Amanda Barker: but you never know and then you're ending up with a bunch of them. So. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And if they didn't work out, then you'd be like, now I have this stuff to Deal with. So hopefully it works.
>> Amanda Barker: We'll.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll see how it goes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. See what happens. Color my hair once the sun hits it maybe turns a weird ready color, but I think it's okay, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I think it looks good. Yeah, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Just doing the roots and.
>> Marco Timpano: What. Do you have any, like, prep that you do before you color your hair?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, here's the thing. We're going to get deep into it. I'm really. I don't know if I would use the word addicted, but I'm very reliant these days and quite love and enjoy using and maybe obsessed with that spray root dye stuff, like the instant stuff. There's a bunch of companies that make them. There's like three or four on the market.
>> Marco Timpano: Batiste, I think, is the one you use.
>> Amanda Barker: No, no, no, no, no, no. You're talking about dry shampoo.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. Sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: That's dry shampoo. That's another end of the spectrum. No, no, what I'm talking about is it's instant root touch up.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I like it as well for a few reasons.
>> Marco Timpano: One, it's instant.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, yeah, but even if I don't have roots showing, I tend to use it because I fill in where my hair is a bit thinner on the edges here.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Sort of at the, you know, that thinning sort of part. I've always had it. I had it when I was a little kid. It's just a part where the hair is thinner and my hair usually curls up there.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're spray painting your head is
>> Amanda Barker: what you're doing 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Filling in the gaps. And I also like it because when we do auditions, which are all, you know, mostly, not all, but the auditions that we do at home, which is a big bulk of our auditioning life, just the way the lights are that we have, sometimes they shine on the top of my head and I. Anyways, it doesn't look great or it looks like gray. Even when it's not gray, it's just a bit of reflection. So when I spray that stuff, it dulls it so there's no shine.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So my hair looks thicker and fuller and there's more color just from spraying the color in. Yeah, I know it's. Listen, I'm not saying it's glamorous or even advisable. I'm just saying that's what I use.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But in terms of your question to prep my hair for dyeing, the thing is, I always have a bit of that spray stuff in my hair, so I really have to. And I don't always succeed, but I really have to try and get it out so that it. Because I can't dye the roots if it's covered. If it's covered with this spray stuff, I'm sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: So I gotta. So it's a two wash process. That's why when I was dyeing my hair, I had to wash my hair, dry it, and then dye it, and then wash the dye out and then dry it again. So that's. So it takes longer. Now I have just, you know. And again, any people who are in the hair industry would not recommend any of the things I do. I'm sure. But whatever I have just put dye over the spray dye. It doesn't work great, but sometimes it's like in a pinch and I have to be quick. It's fine.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: How much is residual left in there? But anyway. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: And this box also had a charcoal shampoo that you were supposed to wash your hair with before you dyed it to get rid of all the toxins. I didn't know that. And I had already washed my hair at that point.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: And dried it.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that sounds like. What's the name of this product?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember. Okay, well, British Harmony, I think it was called Harmony.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like Harmony Dye or something like that. It had like illustrations of women hugging each other in the front. Yeah. It's very. Usually it's like a woman in her hair and you're like, that's the color I want. But this was like women dancing.
>> Marco Timpano: That's how I want to feel after I dye my hair.
>> Amanda Barker: Like watercolory women.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Speaking of watercolors, our friend has a big art show.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Our friend in la, Michelle Miracle, has an art show. She does a really unique and interesting art that I really love. It has a nostalgic feel to me. It kind of feels like mid century modern, like something that would be in a home during that period. And it's watercolors. And it involves, I want to say tracing, but I know I'm not doing it justice. She does a really great job of outlining the watercolor effect and it gives it this sort of impression of sometimes underwater, sometimes visions of nature through color. It really is so unique and pretty and you could just stare at. It's just so lovely. And what's funny is, Amanda, I had asked Michelle if I could put some on mugs and on T shirts and stuff for our Patreons people. Our High donors, let's say. And she. She so graciously said yes. And so I did do that. And so some people have actually seen her artwork.
>> Amanda Barker: She's at the Montrose Arts and Craft Festival now. I think that may have passed by the time we air this. But anyway, that was on June 7th and 8th. And, yeah, she does all these festivals, and it's really exciting. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You can follow her at Mishmash Art Stash, and I'll put that in our. In our notes. And she's been on the podcast, and we talked about her artwork as well, so you can really.
>> Amanda Barker: She really seems to approach art as a way of dealing with the frustrated perfectionist inside herself. Oh, my goodness. Yeah. Like, you know, it doesn't have to be perfect and maybe things are never done, but don't judge yourself. Just go for it and see what ends up on the canvas, which is really nice. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And she's not a Virgo like you.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. She is a. What is she? Pisces? No, she's a Tour.
>> Marco Timpano: No, March. Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, March 1st.
>> Marco Timpano: That's. That's Pisces.
>> Amanda Barker: Pisces.
>> Marco Timpano: March. March.
>> Amanda Barker: Pisces is. Oh, yeah, she is a Pisces.
>> Marco Timpano: That's not Taurus. Taurus is me.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, she's a Pisces. That's. That's our second Pisces friend. No, I don't know a lot about Pisces, do you?
>> Marco Timpano: I can't remember Pisces so.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, last night there were three. We were watching the Tonight show, which is not something we normally watch, but anyway, and all. Both Jimmy Fallon and the two people on the couch realized that they were all Virgos.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Which I am. Anyway. Tyler Perry was one of them.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. That's right. I used to watch the Tonight show when I was a kid and Johnny Carson was the host.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, of course you did.
>> Marco Timpano: And I wanted to stay up so, so much to watch it. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I thought he was funny. I don't know. As a kid, I think. I think even if you didn't understand
>> Amanda Barker: him, but your parents would be laughing. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And every once while, you'd understand joke. It would be like a very, you know, dad like joke. So as a child, you could. You could understand it. And I would often be able to stay up, but then I would fall asleep after the monologue kind of thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It would, you know.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, poor little Marco trying to stay up to watch the Tonight Show.
>> Marco Timpano: But I think a lot of, you know, staying up to watch comedies when I was a Kid really influenced me into comedies. I used to watch Benny Hill and D***. D*** Allen at large, which was.
>> Amanda Barker: What was that?
>> Marco Timpano: So it was. Those shows were already old by the time I watched him as a kid. Right. But you don't know that. And they were British shows back in the day where their style was very different to what we were used to watching with North American shows that we had access to.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So you know, Benny Hill, his style of humor and whatnot. But D*** Allen at large was this comedian whose name was D*** Allen who would sit in a chair and smoke a cigarette and just tell stories. And I can't remember if he was Irish or. But he had just a way of tell funny stories really. And he would just sit in a chair and tell a funny story.
>> Amanda Barker: Full show, I'm going to smoke and. And talk.
>> Marco Timpano: And they would be intercut with some sketches where he was.
>> Amanda Barker: How do I get this?
>> Marco Timpano: Where he was a vicar. And it would be a short vicar. It would be a short little vicar sketch.
>> Amanda Barker: Or why don't we say vicar over here? Like why didn't that. Why didn't that word cross the pond?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. A vicar, A vicar. He'd be a vicar and he would tell a story. But it was never. It wasn't as like body as Benny Hill. It was more cerebral, let's say. Okay, once again, this is through nine year olds.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Remembering of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Though.
>> Marco Timpano: But yeah, I'll show you some D*** Allen at large. That sounds dirty but I'll show you, I'll show you some later on to see what you think of it. It just gets worse. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, the Virgo that I am, I make like a mental list, like tallies of words that mean that we don't use in North America or words that mean different things. And one that I hear a lot, that always makes me laugh in British tv. British. And of course I watch a lot of home shows and renovation shows and things like that in England. But anyway, what is the word homely? Because over here to call somebody, you would call someone or something homely and
>> Marco Timpano: it would mean ugly or plain.
>> Amanda Barker: Very plain. Yeah, yeah, either ugly or very. Like dowdy would be a synonym maybe. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think ugly, I just think plain.
>> Amanda Barker: Plain? Yeah. Like if I said she's pretty homely.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I wouldn't.
>> Amanda Barker: You wouldn't think she's good looking?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but I wouldn't think she was. Or they, whoever, male or female. I wouldn't think that they were ugly. I just think they look very Plain looking, Very. You know, you pass them, you'd walk right by them. You wouldn't even.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, see, I don't think that I think of homely as straight up not good looking.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I wonder what the dictionary would say. But anyway, in the uk they always say it. They say homely, where we would say homey.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, this is very homey, we would say. But they say that's very homely, which kind of makes more sense for the word really, Like, Like a homely. But for whatever reason we say, oh, it's homey. But then homely has a totally different meaning. So it just always makes me laugh. That's one. Another one is to table something.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, table something.
>> Amanda Barker: But Americans, because as Canadians, we go both ways in terms of British, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We have a lot of British words we use and we have a lot of North American words we use.
>> Amanda Barker: So we say we'll table that bill. So what does that mean to you?
>> Marco Timpano: We'll put it aside and we'll work on it or whatever. We'll put a pin in it kind of thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. So that's the American version of it. To table it. Let's table that. Like it's become part of parlance in, you know, working vernacular. Sure. You know.
>> Marco Timpano: So what does, what does it mean to table a bill?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it means, is to put it on the table and work through it in British Parliament. Right. And Canadian government. I think they've got that. Right. Yeah. Okay, so you're tabling it, you're working through it. You're. You're putting it in front of everybody on the table and saying, hey, look at this. Whereas to table it in for American speak is, let's just table that for now. Let's just put it on the table and leave it there and work on something else.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: It's different, right? So like the opposite meaning, in fact. Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: No, let's put a pin in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's. That's how I would.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's the American version of that. Isn't that funny?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Although I do say Chesterfield, so I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is a brand, apparently. A British brand of couch.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Or sofa.
>> Marco Timpano: Chesterfield.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's a. Remember we were in a workshop with an American person and this guy kept talking about his Chesterfield and she finally stopped and said, I'm sorry, I just don't know what you're talking about. What the heck is a Chesterfield? We all started laughing because he kept talking about his Chesterfield over and over and she was like, I don't know what that is.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. I love it when that happens where you talk about. Because I remember one time we were with our American friends, actually with Michelle Miracle, the artist we just spoke of, and we were playing with you, who
>> Amanda Barker: is very homey, but not homely.
>> Marco Timpano: No, the opposite in the American sense.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway.
>> Marco Timpano: She's a very attractive woman, Michelle Miracle. Okay, so like you said that she's
>> Amanda Barker: a very attractive woman.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I didn't want people to think she's homey or homely, so.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but she can make a beautiful home. But she is not, in your words, plain or in mine, ugly.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So we're playing this game with Michelle Miracle, and you had to like each letter of the Alphabet you had to come up with with a word in that category. So I think it was clothing. And we had to go, like, in order or something. And Amanda landed on the letter C. And so Amanda says chemise. And then it comes to me to D, and I said something like denim. And we were going around, and then Michelle's like, hang on a second, hang on. What is chemise? And how are we letting that in? And so there was this really large chemise debate. And for people who don't know, to
>> Amanda Barker: be honest, it wasn't just her, it was you. You were the one who kept saying shamise. Because I remember you going, shamise, shamise. I remember you saying it. I think she was convinced you were the one who were challenging me on this Scattergories game.
>> Marco Timpano: But it was a French word. You can't use foreign French words for English.
>> Amanda Barker: My argument to this day is it is a French word that we use in English parlance. I'm just gonna keep using the word parlance.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, for example, we don't say. We say croissant, you know, which is a French word. I don't say, you know, half moon pastry or whatever. Like, I call it a croissant.
>> Marco Timpano: When are you saying chemise? I don't hear people saying chemise. I hear blouse.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, continue on with your story then. Cut to a. Cut to a few weeks ago.
>> Marco Timpano: So. And let's be honest, I was probably over playing it just like overplaying the chemise debate.
>> Amanda Barker: You. You went through a phase where you really thought it was funny to, like, make fun of me or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Did I?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That doesn't sound very nice.
>> Amanda Barker: Call it bullying.
>> Marco Timpano: That doesn't sound shamish. That doesn't sound very nice.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you like to roast.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. So the chemise debate and so after
>> Amanda Barker: that, the great chemise debate of 2007, let's be honest, of July 2007 in
>> Marco Timpano: Miracle to this day will say chemise. Right. Like she'll say it as a joke or whatnot.
>> Amanda Barker: My shamise. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So we're watching television and of course, Amanda and I watch a lot of
>> Amanda Barker: the Shopping Channel and British shows. All we do is watch tv. That seems like all we do.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny because now we know a lot of British celebs that are not celebs here.
>> Amanda Barker: Alan Carr, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: Alan Carr with that show with Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Amanda and Alan's Italian Adventure.
>> Marco Timpano: Really enjoy that. Amanda Holden is her name.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: She's a singer, something. She's on the. Not the Voice, but the British.
>> Amanda Barker: Britain's Got Talent.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, something like that. And so we're watching the Shopping Channel and of course there's someone who's talking about sleepwear. Was it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they had blouses and they were like, now, let's show you the chemise. And they must have said it a million times, this chemise and that chemise. And this is not a robe, this is a chemise, over and over and over. And I taped it and sent it to Michelle.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a lot of chemise talk, a
>> Amanda Barker: lot of chemise happening. I looked up homely.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: The first definition is North American, a person unattractive in appearance.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I think I was more Right. And then second, British of a place or surroundings, simple but cozy and comfortable, as in one's home. Okay. Yeah, yeah. We should look up table of Bill.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Look at. Look at what you're learning today.
>> Marco Timpano: A lot of lexicon, a lot of Britishism versus Americanism. While Amanda is looking that up, I'm just going to say thank you to all our listeners in the uk. We have listeners in the uk. I love hearing from them. Of course, we have listeners in Canada, in the United States. I want to say hi to all of you. Australia, Bahrain, India, we have listeners all over the world. Feel free to give us a shout out on Instagram and we'll be sure to mention the country that you listen from, because I know there's a lot of listeners from all over the world.
>> Amanda Barker: This is interesting. I see what happened with the. With the expression to table something. So it does mean to formally present a bill for consideration, but it can also mean to postpone discussion for a later time, because this is often done when there's not enough time or consensus to debate a bill fully at the current moment. So we Think of it as table A bill. Bring the bill forward.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: But as in most bills, things do get postponed and delayed. So that's where the American version, I think, comes in.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Interesting, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, very interesting.
>> Amanda Barker: Fascinating.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of other words that have two different meanings. Crikey.
>> Marco Timpano: Crikey. One guy says crikey a lot. Yeah. We should say crikey. I feel like that's associated with Australians.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what word comes up in weird places is reckon, because you could say it in the southern us. I reckon you do this and I reckon that. I mean, they don't say it a lot, but they used to. But then the Brits say that one a lot. I reckon this and I reckon that
>> Marco Timpano: And I never say it. I would never say reckon.
>> Amanda Barker: We would never say the word reckon.
>> Marco Timpano: There's certain words that would never come to mind in my mind. Same in Italian. There's a. There's a. An. Not an expression, but an article that you could use in cui. But I never use. Yeah, yeah. No, there's inkui or K. And I always. I always revert to ke. I don't know why. I just think it's easier. It just comes out of my mouth quicker. Or easier. I'm trying to think of words like that in English. Do I say anything that strikes you as British or whatnot? More British.
>> Amanda Barker: Serviette. You always say serviette.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: Give me a. Which I would say napkin. Canadians always say cutlery.
>> Marco Timpano: Cutlery. I say cutlery.
>> Amanda Barker: Whereas Americans, for whatever reason, we say silverware. Like I would growing up, I would even say the plastic silverware.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. Which doesn't make any sense when you actually stop and think about it. But we would call. I would call what you and I call cutlery. Growing up, I would always call it the silverware. One thing that came up not too long ago, and we might have talked about it on the show, but I had a friend who was trying to figure out what cocoa was.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cocoa.
>> Amanda Barker: And it made me think about it because we were just helping our niece with an audition and I knew it was American because she was saying cocoa or everybody grab some cocoa.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So. But here we would call it hot chocolate.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but it's the same thing. And sometimes Americans would call it hot chocolate, but much more often we would call it cocoa. Like cotton candy. Candy floss.
>> Marco Timpano: See, to me, cocoa is more like chocolate, like, but it's not.
>> Amanda Barker: It's honestly the exact same thing as hot chocolate.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. But I See, cocoa is something you use to cook with versus, well, cocoa
>> Amanda Barker: powder is what you're thinking, right? But cocoa, a cup of warm cocoa is what you would think of as a cup of hot chocolate.
>> Marco Timpano: One of my favorite wrestlers was Coco Beware.
>> Amanda Barker: One of mine was Hot Chocolate. Stay back.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Although that would be a great wrestling name.
>> Marco Timpano: So funny. Did you watch wrestling as a kid?
>> Amanda Barker: Nope. I stayed as far away as I could from. And I didn't understand why anybody would watch it. And my dad, every now and then on a Saturday would have it on and I'd be like, why?
>> Marco Timpano: Why I would watch it because the characters were so fascinating and interesting. Like, one guy had a snake. His name was Jake the Snake Roberts.
>> Amanda Barker: But I don't. It's lost on me. As a kid, it was lost on me. I'd be like, watch a movie. Then there's great characters in TV shows. Why are you watching people fight? I don't know. Wrestling is. I don't think I was the demo.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it never yielded to you? Not even close. Like, it. It repelled me.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that's fair.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the only part I liked about it was that it was. Used to be wwf, which was also the World Wildlife Federation, but finally they became wwe. That. Which is interesting too, right? That.
>> Marco Timpano: That happened. Well, the whole story behind all that is just.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we. Well, I think there's a. There's a podcast that. If you're looking for an interesting podcast called. What's it called? A minute. It's the one from CBC where it's like the power of persuasion or like the. Where they talk about ads and stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh. You hadn't asked me.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the. Under the influence.
>> Amanda Barker: Under the influence.
>> Marco Timpano: Under the influence with. I can't remember the guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Terry O'Reilly.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. And I think he.
>> Amanda Barker: By the way, great podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a great.
>> Amanda Barker: If you're still awake and listening, Terry O'Reilly, is that. That's a great podcast. All about marketing. And I read his book, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: It won't make you fall asleep, but it's interesting. How was his book?
>> Amanda Barker: It was great. It was like one long. I listened to it. So it was like one long version of the podcast or radio show.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, on one of the episodes, he was talking about WWF and how they retained that acronym over the Wrestling Federation.
>> Amanda Barker: So interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so fascinating.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Because they were both big organizations with the same acronym, as it turns out. Yeah, that's so interesting. Remember Greenpeace?
>> Marco Timpano: I loved Greenpeace. As a kid.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, these boats, like, 1989, saving whales.
>> Amanda Barker: That was my whole, like, I just want to be on a Greenpeace boat.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no, I didn't want to do that. But I was like, no, I wanted to save the whales. I remember grade two. I wanted to. I talked to the librarian about, like, making signs, save the whales, and doing a little march.
>> Amanda Barker: And did you do it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, because. And I had an idea on how to make the signs, but then I guess I didn't think about, like, where am I gonna march? I was gonna march around the school with a sign and try to get people to march with me.
>> Amanda Barker: I love these ideas, these schemes you have as kids. I remember my sister and I. I think it was my sister and I, or my friend maybe, we decided we were going to paint all these rocks and then sell them.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: So we were probably about that age, about seven. So we painted these rocks, and we were like, okay, rocks for sale. But it didn't really occur to us that in our backyard, we didn't really have foot traffic going through, like, in our mind. I didn't quite understand. You know, I lived on a pretty major road that didn't have sidewalks, Right? It was. And very kind of wooden, but yet it was. Route 98 was the name of the route anyway. Like a pretty major thorough route off of the i95. And so we didn't really, like. Because I wasn't in a sort of more shelter development, I didn't go out on that road very much.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So. But we had a backyard, and we played in that. And. And so. Or here's another one. We would say backyard. You know what the Brits would call it? A garden.
>> Marco Timpano: A garden.
>> Amanda Barker: They'll call. All of it is a garden. Whether it's. Whereas you and I would have, like, a flower garden or a vegetable garden that's a garden. But a bunch of grass we would never call a garden. But at least if I'm to believe all these shows that I've watched for years, they always say, oh, look at the size of the garden. And you're like, there's no garden. It's just some grass. But they'll call it a garden. So anyway, so we had our garden or back. You know, we had a garden and we had a backyard. And so on the porch, on our back porch, we, like, laid all this out. We're like, rocks for sale.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: And just sitting, like, waiting for people to come by. Like, I think in our head, we thought that there'd be like a traveling sales listen through the backyards.
>> Marco Timpano: Just.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, you hope. Not that there's not random strangers walking through, but we didn't quite figure out that that's not how that works. We just thought if you put something for sale, like people would people come.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. Well, listen, you could have been the precursor to the pet rock that that person who invented that or did that made a ton of money.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I always hear about the pet rock, but I don't ever really remember pet rock.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't either. Really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's more of an under the influence thing. I'm sure Terry O'Reilly does a deep dive on the pet rock.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Well, listen, thank you for joining us and we hope you enjoy this podcast and we actually hope you're asleep at this point, but if you're not, thank you for listening and we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Sniffles, Faucets and Brown Eyes Susans
(Original airdate: May 28, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you drip, drift. Not drip, drift off.
>> Amanda Barker: You can drip to sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: You can drip. You can feel like you're dripping into your bed from a nice tea kettle.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you often imagine things when you fall asleep? Like dripping into a bed?
>> Marco Timpano: No, not dripping into a bed, but I. I imagine myself as some sort of snug sea creature.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, like a clam. Like I get the. I get all the blanket around me. A clam or a.
>> Amanda Barker: You imagine that you're a clam?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. What's that expression? Snug as a clam or something like that?
>> Amanda Barker: Definitely not.
>> Marco Timpano: What is it?
>> Amanda Barker: Bug in a row?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but what's the clam one? Cute as a clam. Clam up. Clam.
>> Amanda Barker: I clammed up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, there's something about a clam.
>> Amanda Barker: Pork and clams. Pork and clams is a delicious Portuguese dish. I envision that I'm on a raft, that I'm lying on a raft. Floating. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, you know, on the water. Not like a deep ocean, but like a calm, kind of gently waving lake.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I imagine that I'm just like floating on a raft.
>> Marco Timpano: That's Great.
>> Amanda Barker: Not every night, but.
>> Marco Timpano: And sometimes I picture myself as like a. An eel in a cave, just laying there.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Then again, I love sea creatures, so you know me. That's a relaxing thing for some people. An eel isn't the most relaxing thing, I think.
>> Amanda Barker: I think if you were anything, if you believe that you were an animal in a past life, I think you were definitely in the ocean.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: What, you think you're an eel or clam?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm probably neither of the two, but. But yeah, something in the ocean.
>> Amanda Barker: What do you most identify with?
>> Marco Timpano: That's a good one.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, is that too deep a question?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. I think so. Both Amanda and I are a little bit under the weather.
>> Amanda Barker: More you than me.
>> Marco Timpano: True, true.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I don't know. It's the weirdest thing. I worked with somebody yesterday, and at the beginning of the day, he was sniffling a little bit, but that's not unusual for him. He has allergies.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So. And it didn't seem to be too much.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So we're getting. We're Nancy Drewing this. We're figuring out.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't know. But anyway, he was sniffling a bit, and I said, do you have allergies? And he's like, oh, yeah, bad allergies. And I was like, oh, that's usual for him. But then by the end of the day, he didn't look great. And I was like, he's like, I'm going to go. And I was like. And he wasn't leaving particularly early, but he's often the last one to leave when we do the work that we do together. And I was like, are you all right? And he was like, I'm not all right. I'm not. I'm super sick. And I was like, oh. And, you know, it's that. That mix of concern for this person. And then also, I just spent, you know, eight hours in a room with you, so I'm not thrilled about that. So I did what I do, which is spray a ton of propolis into
>> Marco Timpano: my mouth, which I want to just re. Mention this. We've mentioned the podcast before. We really think propolis helps. So look into it. If it's right for you, get the spray kind. That's the kind that I like.
>> Amanda Barker: And especially I should have probably sprayed it, like, earlier in the day if you had known. Yeah. But it's a good reminder. I mean, it's just the world we live in, you know, and we. We. Lots of people come through our Doors. And I also think, like, viral load is a thing, right? Like, so if you're with somebody eight hours, that's going to be different than saying hello to somebody quickly, maybe. Anyway, sure. All this to say today. I had sort of one thing I had to do, but it was a bigger thing. And that was at 3:30. And then at around 11:00 clock, I started getting like fevery. And then I thought, okay, is this just psychosomatic? Am I in my head? You know the thing. So I started feeling fevery. Then I started feeling like, really, like lethargic. Not sniffly, but that's usually the last thing for me is sniffly. And then I felt like, oh, I am fighting something off. At first I thought it was just nerves maybe, but then I started getting the chills. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: And they weren't electrifying.
>> Amanda Barker: They were multiplying, but not electrifying.
>> Marco Timpano: Little grease reference there, in case anybody's wondering.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. And I had a sweater on and a vest over that in the house. And the house was.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of which, the 75 degrees. The vest is a heated vest, although
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't have the heater sort of plugged in on it, but which we
>> Marco Timpano: love, by the way, those heated vests.
>> Amanda Barker: Vest gift. Your sister like scored with those.
>> Marco Timpano: My sister gave us vests that have a pocket where you plug in a. What do you would call them, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: A power bank.
>> Marco Timpano: A power bank. And then at the collar. Not at the collar, at the. Where you'd put a lapel.
>> Amanda Barker: Like a breast pocket area.
>> Marco Timpano: You press a button and you can change the heat designation.
>> Amanda Barker: You can. You can like rev it up. Super duper. And usually what it will do is mine. Anyway. Ours are different, but. But maybe they're not. Mine will rev up and then it'll be like, okay, this is the temperature we're going to chill at. And then it'll like, kind of go into like, this is our mode. But if you want to keep revving it, you can, but you'll use the battery faster.
>> Marco Timpano: It heats you up, but your arms stay nice. Arms stay nice and cool.
>> Amanda Barker: But I mean, it heats the core of your body up. And that's sort of the point. Anyway, I did not have it plugged in, but. And I did get sweaty and then I got kind of like nervous for my thing. And then. So once that was done, I felt a lot better. But. I don't know about you, but. But I have throughout my adult life realized that I can sweat out if I got a cold coming on. I can sometimes cure Myself by sweating it out. Have you ever had that?
>> Marco Timpano: Nope.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember, particularly in university, we had this. I'll try not to make this story too long, but I was the social chair of my residence.
>> Marco Timpano: You can make it as long as you want. That's what this podcast is about. Just don't make it too exciting, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it really is not so social. So the school I went to was very residence focused. Right. I went to a small school, liberal arts school. It was all about, you know, it had a sort of. It's not an Ivy League school, but it definitely wanted to be and had that kind of vibe. The school is called Mount Allison University in New Brunswick.
>> Marco Timpano: For the record, I had never heard of it when I met Amanda. I still don't believe it's a place.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you for that. In my school's defense, because I must. I'm sorry. It was ranked the number one undergraduate school in all of Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: How many years ago?
>> Amanda Barker: Many years in a row.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: In the last 20 years. Many years in a row. Actually, 30 years.
>> Marco Timpano: Still doesn't make me know it any better.
>> Amanda Barker: Fair enough. Anyway,
>> Marco Timpano: this is often a debate we have in the house, by the way.
>> Amanda Barker: Here's the thing. I mean, it's very true and very humbling because I, being from the east coast, obviously knew about it. And also being a kid that, you know, when you live in a rural area, you actually sometimes know about your country more because you know, it's not where you live, so you educate yourself on everywhere else. So all that to say. I was very educated at what the universities were, and so that's part of why I picked that one and so on.
>> Marco Timpano: But I went to York University, where they really tried hard to make you feel like a number, and they succeeded.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, that said, we have family members that are right now attending York. A family member, it's true. Who's doing her PhD at York. And she does feel. She feels anything but a number.
>> Marco Timpano: Actually, I will say this. York had a joint program with Seneca College, and I really valued that.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, you got. You got two degrees in once. Why don't you tell everybody what you got? I have a frag up our university degrees.
>> Marco Timpano: I have a BA in linguistics, and then I have a college diploma in Radio and Television Arts.
>> Amanda Barker: You can just say certification.
>> Marco Timpano: Broadcast journalism.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Broadcast nernalism. You need some water here.
>> Marco Timpano: I need water. I'm like a clam that doesn't have water.
>> Amanda Barker: He never brings water. And I'll always be like, do you need water? And he'll be like, no, I'm fine. And then his voice inevitably does this and he starts coughing and then he's like, do you have any water? Anyhow, it was humbling because when I moved to Toronto, everybody was like, where's that? I've never heard of it. Because there you go. Because people in Toronto knew what they knew and they didn't have to go through the McLean's rankings and all that because. So that clank is Marco drinking my water.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyhow, so all this to say it was a very, you know, there were ivy on the buildings and that kind of thing, and beautiful sandstone buildings home. We had a homecoming weekend, which was a big deal and all that stuff. So. And our football team, we, you know, cheered. We all would go out and cheer for versus like York has a football team. Would you even know what they're called?
>> Marco Timpano: I do, actually. The Yeoman.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it York Yeomans? Yeah, I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Really? Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Pretty sure. And we didn't have ivy on our concrete walls. We had concrete on the concrete walls at my university.
>> Amanda Barker: If there were ivy, then somebody would surely rip them down, chop that.
>> Marco Timpano: Chop that growth down.
>> Amanda Barker: A Italians in that area. And they. They would not let a building get covered in. In ivy because it would degrade.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think that's true. I don't think that's true. No.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. There was a lot of tree chopping.
>> Marco Timpano: My family chops a lot of trees.
>> Amanda Barker: So Amanda's complaining defense. When the trees are going dead, then it's good to chop them because they could wreak havoc. So I.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's. Let's be true and honest. My mom likes to chop down a tree.
>> Amanda Barker: She loves to chop down a tree and burn it.
>> Marco Timpano: She chops it and then she burns it as if.
>> Amanda Barker: And it just makes me laugh because it's at the cottage where, you know, there's beautiful forests and things, and it's like, oh, there's too much. I can't see out the window. Chop, chop, chop.
>> Marco Timpano: She likes to chop down a tree. That's all I can say.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so I was the social chair, so that was a big deal because we were very residency. Like you lived in residence for the first two years, usually at my school. And so in my second year, I was the social chair of Palmer hall, which doesn't exist anymore because they chopped it down. They chopped it down. So too much ivy on that one. I think it was an old building. When we showered, we had to the rooms that had the baths and showers in them. Also had like three toilet stalls in them. So if you can imagine, it would be like three toilet stalls and then a shower in the room.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like a prison is what you're describing.
>> Amanda Barker: So when you flush the toilet and someone was in the shower, you had to yell flushing so that they could stand out of the shower because it would get really hot.
>> Marco Timpano: Stories like this make me like York more and more and more.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyhow, I mean, they tore Palmer down, but this was before that. And so we had a. Like a rally, like a pep rally for the houses, which I don't even understand. But the only reason I remember it is because my co social chair and best friend at the time and. And still Michelle lehay, who I've never
>> Marco Timpano: had on the podcast. I need to have her on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: She'd love it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I need to have her on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: She could tell you a lot about a lot of things. But rugby was something she was very into back then. A big rugby player. And because of that, she had a rugby game that night. And so she couldn't lead the house in their spirit. Cheers. So I had to do it. And I had no voice because I was so sick. And I went and I spent like three hours running around and doing these chants and doing all these things and there were games and stuff. And at the end of the night, as though. Even though I went in sick as a dog, I was just. I couldn't believe it. I was cured. I had like the cold that I had had and I was really quite sick going into it. I was like, how am I going to get through it? And I was fine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: And so I learned that you can sweat your way. For me, anyways, I could sweat my way out of a cold. It was like a real finding. And I think I did that today because I had this meeting, audition, whatever you want to call it, and I was really nervous about it because it was important. Yeah. And I sweat a lot in nerve also because I was having the chills and stuff. But then once it was all done, you felt better. Felt a lot better. So maybe I got rid of it, but we'll have to see. I think we need a nice long sleep tonight.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope so. I like to be miserable and complainy when I'm sick and that classic sort
>> Amanda Barker: of lucky me
>> Marco Timpano: feel sorry for me,
>> Amanda Barker: the man cold or whatever they call it. Yeah, you're like.
>> Marco Timpano: I fall into it.
>> Amanda Barker: You are the stereotype.
>> Marco Timpano: I am, totally. And I. Well, I do want to say this. If you're Listening and you're feeling under the weather. I just want to say we're here for you. We all go through it, and we want you to know that you can listen to episodes and not think in your not feeling great. And just let us talk your way. You don't just think.
>> Amanda Barker: Be the chicken soup or for your ears. Chicken soup or in hot soup into your ears.
>> Marco Timpano: We should. We should.
>> Amanda Barker: We usually do Korean soup in this house, which is chicken soup.
>> Marco Timpano: We should trademark that. Chicken Soup for the ears is our podcast. I like that a lot, actually. Maybe I'll get a T shirt made like that. And our listeners can use soup for your ears.
>> Amanda Barker: Because the truth is, a lot of people that listen to the podcast. Yes. The primary reason is so they can have some light conversation to fall asleep to.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But others use it simply to relax to.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. In fact, we have a new listener who is. Or a recent listener, I should say, who's a good friend of my sister's.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Who listens to the podcast and then reports back to my sister who doesn't listen to the podcast. It's amazing about the goings on in our home. So she knows, or my sister's friend knows more about what's going on in the home than my sister. Julia is, I believe, is her name Julia?
>> Amanda Barker: I thought it was Lena.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's Julia. Lena's also my sister's friend.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Well, hi, Julia. And hey, hi, Lena, too, if you're listening.
>> Marco Timpano: Lena should be listening, but she doesn't. Julia listens for everyone.
>> Amanda Barker: Hey, should we talk about the weird birthday present that we gave our friend this week? Because you and I haven't actually talked about this.
>> Marco Timpano: We haven't. And I just want to say this before I forget, a little hot tip for you. Oh, it's going to come out of nowhere. I'm just going to give it because otherwise I'll forget. If you have a faucet in your home and it's one of the.
>> Amanda Barker: This is really out of nowhere.
>> Marco Timpano: It's out of nowhere. So I apologize. I just don't want to forget. If you have a faucet in your home and it's one of the major brands like the Moen, the, I don't know, faucet brands. Roy Bell in Canada is a name. We happen to have a Roy Bell Rio Bell.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Never heard of it. But I was like, oh, that's the one we have. But if you have one of those brand names or if you don't and something goes wrong with your faucet. So for Us it had the spouty part that you can yank like an old toilet that you could yank the chain and would flush. What would you call that?
>> Amanda Barker: I would call it a flexible movable spout. So it's one of those. Picture the faucet that looks like a big gooseneck hook. Yeah, gooseneck is a better way probably. But just that sort of long curvature that dips back down and so you can pull the end to, you know, pull it and it. Because we don't have the ones that have like what my mom used to have the little spray one on the side. We just have this. It's sort of an all in one and you could twist the tip of it so that it either does like a full stream or spray stream.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So when you yank on the thing we always yell flushing in our house.
>> Amanda Barker: We do not.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways, that yankable hose around it was starting to get sharp.
>> Amanda Barker: So yeah, the, the, the.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry, I start to laugh because.
>> Amanda Barker: Why are you laughing?
>> Marco Timpano: The yankable hose doesn't sound like a technical term.
>> Amanda Barker: But also the sharpness of it is a weird thing. But it was like the metal was so sharp that was painted on or plated on I suppose started to peel for whatever reason. And the peeling because it was a metal plate I guess was jagged. And I two or three times got cut on it. And then I kind of tried to warn you about it. And then you got cut.
>> Marco Timpano: I got cut. And so then I call them up and if you call these companies, they will send you replacements. So we're getting, we're getting a whole
>> Amanda Barker: new gooseneck and we got it like 10 years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so don't tell them that because I think I told them last year is when I got it.
>> Amanda Barker: But for sure we did not get it last year.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you have a faucet, to
>> Amanda Barker: be honest, it was nine years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: They had to look up our model cuz they no longer carry it.
>> Amanda Barker: But hey, you don't know until you
>> Marco Timpano: call and we're getting it. So that's just a hot tip for our listeners. But you wanted to talk about.
>> Amanda Barker: Well since you're talking about taking things back, I will say this. If you shop at Costco, one of the great benefits is. And this is also for my sister in law who doesn't want to have anything to do with. She's not a Costco fan. But I will just say this. They will take anything back.
>> Marco Timpano: They will take it back.
>> Amanda Barker: They will take it back.
>> Marco Timpano: They will also if you have like food that goes bad, like let's Say you bought something. You can take a photo of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And they'll take it so you don't
>> Amanda Barker: have to bring back the old milk or whatever if it went off. But they don't need the receipt. They'll give you. You know, they'll deal with it one way or the other. But they're really, really good at, like, you know, if you're like, I wore this twice, and then something happened to it which shows that it was faulty on some level, the button popped off or it shrunk or whatever, they'll take it back. They're really, really good with that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, thank you for listening to that hot tip section of our podcast. Amanda, you wanted to talk about the birthday gift we recently gave.
>> Amanda Barker: I like how the hot tip session was just plunked right in the middle. So we have a friend, and I don't know if you really this realize this, but we often theme his birthday presents. One year we had like a pirate theme for him. I'm trying to think of other themes. Anyhow, this year was a very specific theme. The theme was marshmallows.
>> Marco Timpano: I was gonna say something totally different. Oh, you'll know why I won't say it. Okay, explain the gift and you'll.
>> Amanda Barker: So we got him. He likes to play games, as do we. And we, when we get together with them, we play games. And so we got him this card game called Arshmellows, which is marshmallows with large buttocks. Large buttocks.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a German card game, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: They're very well developed looking bums and legs.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what I thought. That's what I thought the theme was. That's why I didn't say it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well developed bums.
>> Marco Timpano: Bums or whatever. Harshes, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: So we also got him a s' mores kit and sort of some fun retractable marshmallow. What are they called? Like tongs.
>> Marco Timpano: Tongs, sure. Whatever you can put in the fire.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, those actually. Those look nice.
>> Marco Timpano: They do look nice. And listen. So the theme was marshmallow, which is an odd theme. Not that our friend is a marshmallow, you know, fanatic or whatever. We just found the theme and we went with it.
>> Amanda Barker: Enjoys a good marshmallow, though.
>> Marco Timpano: He also enjoys a good laugh.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he does.
>> Marco Timpano: So when you can't think of a gift for someone, lean into something fun and themed.
>> Amanda Barker: Do a theme, find a few things. Because we liked the card game, but I was kind of like, I don't want to just give him this and so then we rounded it out with other marshmallow themed items, which actually, I think is great. I mean, the other thing we try to do with our friends is, you know, games are a thing, but we do enjoy them, and we'll play them.
>> Marco Timpano: Or games. That is.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah, yeah. But other than that. Or card games. Sure, Case. Same. Same difference, I guess. But we are all very conscious that we have too much stuff, so we try to do, like, consumables, whether it's, you know, something to drink or eat. We don't do too many gift cards, but every now and then we do. I know you went through a phase where you did not like gift cards, but I think you're better with them now. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: I still don't love them.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't love the fact that I then have to go and deal with the card.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not my thing. That's just not for me. Hey, listen, do I dislike a gift card? No.
>> Amanda Barker: I like a good gift card.
>> Marco Timpano: And because you're good with that. And Amanda will often be like, okay, today we're gonna use gift cards, and we have a fun day of going around and using.
>> Amanda Barker: And we did that.
>> Marco Timpano: We did that a couple weeks ago.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe if I take myself out of my curmudgeonous. That is a lot of fun. When we do do well, you're extra
>> Amanda Barker: curmudgeonly because you're a little bit under the weather. I'm really hoping a good night's gonna sleep. And lots of vitamin C, which I've made you take in in the last hour or two. Will. Will help curb this thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Another gift I gave recently, which I'm very. I have a. I don't know what you'd call it. An odd sense of humor. I got a puzzle from.
>> Amanda Barker: You have a Machiavellian streak in you. You have a. I wouldn't say odd sense of humor. You have a different devilish sort of sense of humor. One of the things. And I knew this about you very early on in knowing you before I knew you very well. But one of the things I could tell. You love to set a sort of wheel in motion, Whether it's a little prank or even a little fun rumor. You love to sort of drop that in the water and then watch people try to deal with it. You just love it. So when we work together in theater, you know, it was improv and very interactive. So I would watch him maybe pass something around and see, you know, like, a little rumor. And I used to say to him, you're like Iago in Othello. You love to just drop a little suggestion and then watch and see what happens among the cast. Always in a very playful and I would say, harmless way.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: In a way that you would get such glee out of it. And so you also love to give gifts like this.
>> Marco Timpano: So our friend, it was her birthday, and so I went to a second hand shop, I guess you'd call them in England.
>> Amanda Barker: I've learned they call them charity shops.
>> Marco Timpano: Charity shops. Second ham shop, a donation center shop. Places where you can get things at a discounted rate and where, you know, you can find a lot of variety stuff. So I went and I got a puzzle.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was a particular puzzle. I'm watching my P's as I say that. On the mic. On the mic. And I took the puzzle out of the box and I put it in a brown box.
>> Amanda Barker: But you should explain the puzzle.
>> Marco Timpano: I will. And so I gave the puzzle in the brown paper box to a friend and said, here's your birthday puzzle. Figure it out.
>> Amanda Barker: So she did not have a picture to base it on.
>> Marco Timpano: And the puzzle was rectangular. It wasn't a square puzzle. It was a rectangular puzzle of rays gliding themselves like a manta ray or stingray gliding themselves through the water. So it was very, very blue.
>> Amanda Barker: It was mostly blue with dark blue. And so just tones of blue, really, in the water, maybe a little bit of a gray, but mostly just blue on blue on blue.
>> Marco Timpano: And so she looked and she's like, it's all blue. And I said, have fun. Happy birthday. And so that's like your favorite thing
>> Amanda Barker: when she had to do that, that she had to work through that.
>> Marco Timpano: So her parents came over and she said, you know, it happened to be a day where my parents came over, and it was not actually Mother's Day, to be honest. It was Mother's Day. And we've had a cold snap here, so the weather hasn't been so lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: It's been a cold May friends, Very cold May.
>> Marco Timpano: And so they were kind of stuck in the house. And Dale, our friend Dale, friend of the show, said, do you guys want to do a puzzle? And her parents are like, yeah. She's like, I've got this puzzle. And she showed the picture on the puzzle, or I have this mystery puzzle that Marco gave me. And her parents are. And she goes, you decide. And they're like, mystery puzzle. And so they were building it. And you know how you oftentimes when you're making a puzzle, you do the edges.
>> Amanda Barker: I hate puzzles. So not really, but I guess you
>> Marco Timpano: do the edge pieces because they're. They're. They're flat.
>> Amanda Barker: You figure out your border, right?
>> Marco Timpano: And they couldn't figure out the border because it wasn't turning out to be square. And then Dale said, I bet it's not square. And they figured out that it was not square. And they figured out the rectangle.
>> Amanda Barker: A long, skinny, rectangular puzzle. Evil, Evil. Evil. Machiavelli lives in you.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. It was so good. And then they told me how they. Dale's daughter was able to figure out what the puzzle was based on the name that was, I guess, on a puzzle piece. And so I was really deep search. I was really proud. I was really proud.
>> Amanda Barker: They got pretty far. They got far as far as Dale's gonna get. She's like, we did the border. We figured out the thing. The rest of it is blue. And I think we're good.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm happy. I'm happy. I didn't feel like they had to do the puzzle, but I just wanted them to challenge of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Just knowing that they were trying was what your true joy came from, of
>> Marco Timpano: course, and that it was frustrating and a challenge and all those things.
>> Amanda Barker: When I first met Marco, the very, very, very first moment I met him, he sat down at a table with a bunch of people who are now my friends, but I didn't know any of them because I was new to the cast, and he had been there at that point, you know, five plus years, so he knew everybody really well. Anyway, he sat down at this table, and he said, guess what? I just did. So I listened like the rest of the table, and he said, I got a bag of those. What are those flowers that are yellow with the brown. And I was like, brown Eyed Susans. And he was like, yeah, that's the
>> Marco Timpano: first thing Amanda ever said to me. Brown Eyed Susan.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you remember it?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think I can remember it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I was excited that I knew the name of the flower so I could add something to this conversation. And I was like, brown Eyed Susan. And you went, yeah, yeah, that's it. Brown Eyed Susans. Anyway, I got this huge bag of brown Eyed Susan seeds, and I planted it in my mother's backyard. And I kind of was like, I mean, I didn't know what your mother's backyard looked like at the time, so none of this really made sense. But the glee that you had, you're like, in the spring, she's gonna be like, not know what these are. And all These Brown Eyed Susans are gonna come up. And I remember thinking, if that was my mom, she'd probably just pull them because she'd think they were weeds. But what happened in that? I never got the end of that story.
>> Marco Timpano: So my mother had a long, beautiful garden at the time. It was long and rectangular, much like the puzzle that we gave. That had rocks in it.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was like kind of irises and colorful flowers. And all the flowers. Yeah. They all kind of work together in color and theme. So Brown Eyed Susans did not work in this scheme.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And my mother has a really gifted green thumb.
>> Amanda Barker: She does, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I planted all these.
>> Amanda Barker: As does mine, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. And I planted all these brown Night Susan seeds and was happy to just see what would happen.
>> Amanda Barker: And what happened?
>> Marco Timpano: They grew in the most wonderful spots. And my mother was really impressed.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: What she did. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that actually the truth?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. They grew like.
>> Amanda Barker: It was like, I never knew the end of this story.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought they would pop up randomly.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But they only sort of popped up in certain areas of the garden.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And they looked really pretty because they gave a different dimension. And my mother just thought she had planted them in front of them.
>> Amanda Barker: She thought she had planted them because
>> Marco Timpano: it looked so nice. And I was like, well, that didn't turn out the way I thought it would.
>> Amanda Barker: But I will never forget, forget this man. And I just kept thinking, this grown man. Well, one, I was confused because I was like, why are you at your mother's house? I didn't. Not, why are you at the mother's house? But I think you were living with your mom. And I was a little bit like, who lives with their parents?
>> Marco Timpano: No, because I had the house before I moved there.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't have the house at that point, though.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I guess you did live with your mom at the time, which confused me a little bit because I was like, do you live with your mom? And then truthfully.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I had lived.
>> Amanda Barker: You had lived away. I had lived in an Oregon moment in your life. You were living with your mom. It's not like you had only lived with your parents. But I didn't know that. And so I was just trying to process that. And again, that's not weird. It just was weird for me in that moment, truthfully. I also was just trying to figure it all out. So I was, okay, this guy lives with his mom, but also his idea of a good time is planting flowers that his mother doesn't know about. Like, it just. The whole concept of this story was, like, so foreign to me. Now it makes complete sense now that I know you and love you.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. And that's what you do if you love somebody. You plant flowers they don't expect in their garden.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, when you live with somebody and you, I mean, it's a gift. Those. Those Brown Eyed Susans might still be there to this day.
>> Marco Timpano: They might. They might very well be. All right, I'm going to call Flushing before I end this podcast episode. Thank you for listening.
>> Amanda Barker: We have to do it like we did in PA Palmer Hall, Flushing.
>> Marco Timpano: Flushing. I. I would recommend when you have your day tomorrow or later on today, anytime you have to flush, just sing that out to the family, see how they take it.
>> Amanda Barker: Or maybe do a little research on Flushing, New York.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Why not?
>> Amanda Barker: Why not? Why not just figure out Flushing in your life and how that applies. It's the word of the day for tomorrow.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're not feeling well or you have family members or friends who aren't, tell them that this is chicken soap, chicken soup for their ears. And they can.
>> Amanda Barker: And it'll flush out all the bad, all the toxins, as they say in yoga class.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Until next time. We hope you were able to listen and of course, sleep.
(Original airdate: May 28, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you drip, drift. Not drip, drift off.
>> Amanda Barker: You can drip to sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: You can drip. You can feel like you're dripping into your bed from a nice tea kettle.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you often imagine things when you fall asleep? Like dripping into a bed?
>> Marco Timpano: No, not dripping into a bed, but I. I imagine myself as some sort of snug sea creature.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, like a clam. Like I get the. I get all the blanket around me. A clam or a.
>> Amanda Barker: You imagine that you're a clam?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. What's that expression? Snug as a clam or something like that?
>> Amanda Barker: Definitely not.
>> Marco Timpano: What is it?
>> Amanda Barker: Bug in a row?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but what's the clam one? Cute as a clam. Clam up. Clam.
>> Amanda Barker: I clammed up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, there's something about a clam.
>> Amanda Barker: Pork and clams. Pork and clams is a delicious Portuguese dish. I envision that I'm on a raft, that I'm lying on a raft. Floating. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, you know, on the water. Not like a deep ocean, but like a calm, kind of gently waving lake.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I imagine that I'm just like floating on a raft.
>> Marco Timpano: That's Great.
>> Amanda Barker: Not every night, but.
>> Marco Timpano: And sometimes I picture myself as like a. An eel in a cave, just laying there.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Then again, I love sea creatures, so you know me. That's a relaxing thing for some people. An eel isn't the most relaxing thing, I think.
>> Amanda Barker: I think if you were anything, if you believe that you were an animal in a past life, I think you were definitely in the ocean.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: What, you think you're an eel or clam?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm probably neither of the two, but. But yeah, something in the ocean.
>> Amanda Barker: What do you most identify with?
>> Marco Timpano: That's a good one.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, is that too deep a question?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. I think so. Both Amanda and I are a little bit under the weather.
>> Amanda Barker: More you than me.
>> Marco Timpano: True, true.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I don't know. It's the weirdest thing. I worked with somebody yesterday, and at the beginning of the day, he was sniffling a little bit, but that's not unusual for him. He has allergies.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So. And it didn't seem to be too much.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So we're getting. We're Nancy Drewing this. We're figuring out.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't know. But anyway, he was sniffling a bit, and I said, do you have allergies? And he's like, oh, yeah, bad allergies. And I was like, oh, that's usual for him. But then by the end of the day, he didn't look great. And I was like, he's like, I'm going to go. And I was like. And he wasn't leaving particularly early, but he's often the last one to leave when we do the work that we do together. And I was like, are you all right? And he was like, I'm not all right. I'm not. I'm super sick. And I was like, oh. And, you know, it's that. That mix of concern for this person. And then also, I just spent, you know, eight hours in a room with you, so I'm not thrilled about that. So I did what I do, which is spray a ton of propolis into
>> Marco Timpano: my mouth, which I want to just re. Mention this. We've mentioned the podcast before. We really think propolis helps. So look into it. If it's right for you, get the spray kind. That's the kind that I like.
>> Amanda Barker: And especially I should have probably sprayed it, like, earlier in the day if you had known. Yeah. But it's a good reminder. I mean, it's just the world we live in, you know, and we. We. Lots of people come through our Doors. And I also think, like, viral load is a thing, right? Like, so if you're with somebody eight hours, that's going to be different than saying hello to somebody quickly, maybe. Anyway, sure. All this to say today. I had sort of one thing I had to do, but it was a bigger thing. And that was at 3:30. And then at around 11:00 clock, I started getting like fevery. And then I thought, okay, is this just psychosomatic? Am I in my head? You know the thing. So I started feeling fevery. Then I started feeling like, really, like lethargic. Not sniffly, but that's usually the last thing for me is sniffly. And then I felt like, oh, I am fighting something off. At first I thought it was just nerves maybe, but then I started getting the chills. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: And they weren't electrifying.
>> Amanda Barker: They were multiplying, but not electrifying.
>> Marco Timpano: Little grease reference there, in case anybody's wondering.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. And I had a sweater on and a vest over that in the house. And the house was.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of which, the 75 degrees. The vest is a heated vest, although
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't have the heater sort of plugged in on it, but which we
>> Marco Timpano: love, by the way, those heated vests.
>> Amanda Barker: Vest gift. Your sister like scored with those.
>> Marco Timpano: My sister gave us vests that have a pocket where you plug in a. What do you would call them, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: A power bank.
>> Marco Timpano: A power bank. And then at the collar. Not at the collar, at the. Where you'd put a lapel.
>> Amanda Barker: Like a breast pocket area.
>> Marco Timpano: You press a button and you can change the heat designation.
>> Amanda Barker: You can. You can like rev it up. Super duper. And usually what it will do is mine. Anyway. Ours are different, but. But maybe they're not. Mine will rev up and then it'll be like, okay, this is the temperature we're going to chill at. And then it'll like, kind of go into like, this is our mode. But if you want to keep revving it, you can, but you'll use the battery faster.
>> Marco Timpano: It heats you up, but your arms stay nice. Arms stay nice and cool.
>> Amanda Barker: But I mean, it heats the core of your body up. And that's sort of the point. Anyway, I did not have it plugged in, but. And I did get sweaty and then I got kind of like nervous for my thing. And then. So once that was done, I felt a lot better. But. I don't know about you, but. But I have throughout my adult life realized that I can sweat out if I got a cold coming on. I can sometimes cure Myself by sweating it out. Have you ever had that?
>> Marco Timpano: Nope.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember, particularly in university, we had this. I'll try not to make this story too long, but I was the social chair of my residence.
>> Marco Timpano: You can make it as long as you want. That's what this podcast is about. Just don't make it too exciting, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it really is not so social. So the school I went to was very residence focused. Right. I went to a small school, liberal arts school. It was all about, you know, it had a sort of. It's not an Ivy League school, but it definitely wanted to be and had that kind of vibe. The school is called Mount Allison University in New Brunswick.
>> Marco Timpano: For the record, I had never heard of it when I met Amanda. I still don't believe it's a place.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you for that. In my school's defense, because I must. I'm sorry. It was ranked the number one undergraduate school in all of Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: How many years ago?
>> Amanda Barker: Many years in a row.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: In the last 20 years. Many years in a row. Actually, 30 years.
>> Marco Timpano: Still doesn't make me know it any better.
>> Amanda Barker: Fair enough. Anyway,
>> Marco Timpano: this is often a debate we have in the house, by the way.
>> Amanda Barker: Here's the thing. I mean, it's very true and very humbling because I, being from the east coast, obviously knew about it. And also being a kid that, you know, when you live in a rural area, you actually sometimes know about your country more because you know, it's not where you live, so you educate yourself on everywhere else. So all that to say. I was very educated at what the universities were, and so that's part of why I picked that one and so on.
>> Marco Timpano: But I went to York University, where they really tried hard to make you feel like a number, and they succeeded.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, that said, we have family members that are right now attending York. A family member, it's true. Who's doing her PhD at York. And she does feel. She feels anything but a number.
>> Marco Timpano: Actually, I will say this. York had a joint program with Seneca College, and I really valued that.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, you got. You got two degrees in once. Why don't you tell everybody what you got? I have a frag up our university degrees.
>> Marco Timpano: I have a BA in linguistics, and then I have a college diploma in Radio and Television Arts.
>> Amanda Barker: You can just say certification.
>> Marco Timpano: Broadcast journalism.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Broadcast nernalism. You need some water here.
>> Marco Timpano: I need water. I'm like a clam that doesn't have water.
>> Amanda Barker: He never brings water. And I'll always be like, do you need water? And he'll be like, no, I'm fine. And then his voice inevitably does this and he starts coughing and then he's like, do you have any water? Anyhow, it was humbling because when I moved to Toronto, everybody was like, where's that? I've never heard of it. Because there you go. Because people in Toronto knew what they knew and they didn't have to go through the McLean's rankings and all that because. So that clank is Marco drinking my water.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyhow, so all this to say it was a very, you know, there were ivy on the buildings and that kind of thing, and beautiful sandstone buildings home. We had a homecoming weekend, which was a big deal and all that stuff. So. And our football team, we, you know, cheered. We all would go out and cheer for versus like York has a football team. Would you even know what they're called?
>> Marco Timpano: I do, actually. The Yeoman.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it York Yeomans? Yeah, I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Really? Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Pretty sure. And we didn't have ivy on our concrete walls. We had concrete on the concrete walls at my university.
>> Amanda Barker: If there were ivy, then somebody would surely rip them down, chop that.
>> Marco Timpano: Chop that growth down.
>> Amanda Barker: A Italians in that area. And they. They would not let a building get covered in. In ivy because it would degrade.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think that's true. I don't think that's true. No.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. There was a lot of tree chopping.
>> Marco Timpano: My family chops a lot of trees.
>> Amanda Barker: So Amanda's complaining defense. When the trees are going dead, then it's good to chop them because they could wreak havoc. So I.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's. Let's be true and honest. My mom likes to chop down a tree.
>> Amanda Barker: She loves to chop down a tree and burn it.
>> Marco Timpano: She chops it and then she burns it as if.
>> Amanda Barker: And it just makes me laugh because it's at the cottage where, you know, there's beautiful forests and things, and it's like, oh, there's too much. I can't see out the window. Chop, chop, chop.
>> Marco Timpano: She likes to chop down a tree. That's all I can say.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so I was the social chair, so that was a big deal because we were very residency. Like you lived in residence for the first two years, usually at my school. And so in my second year, I was the social chair of Palmer hall, which doesn't exist anymore because they chopped it down. They chopped it down. So too much ivy on that one. I think it was an old building. When we showered, we had to the rooms that had the baths and showers in them. Also had like three toilet stalls in them. So if you can imagine, it would be like three toilet stalls and then a shower in the room.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like a prison is what you're describing.
>> Amanda Barker: So when you flush the toilet and someone was in the shower, you had to yell flushing so that they could stand out of the shower because it would get really hot.
>> Marco Timpano: Stories like this make me like York more and more and more.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyhow, I mean, they tore Palmer down, but this was before that. And so we had a. Like a rally, like a pep rally for the houses, which I don't even understand. But the only reason I remember it is because my co social chair and best friend at the time and. And still Michelle lehay, who I've never
>> Marco Timpano: had on the podcast. I need to have her on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: She'd love it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I need to have her on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: She could tell you a lot about a lot of things. But rugby was something she was very into back then. A big rugby player. And because of that, she had a rugby game that night. And so she couldn't lead the house in their spirit. Cheers. So I had to do it. And I had no voice because I was so sick. And I went and I spent like three hours running around and doing these chants and doing all these things and there were games and stuff. And at the end of the night, as though. Even though I went in sick as a dog, I was just. I couldn't believe it. I was cured. I had like the cold that I had had and I was really quite sick going into it. I was like, how am I going to get through it? And I was fine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: And so I learned that you can sweat your way. For me, anyways, I could sweat my way out of a cold. It was like a real finding. And I think I did that today because I had this meeting, audition, whatever you want to call it, and I was really nervous about it because it was important. Yeah. And I sweat a lot in nerve also because I was having the chills and stuff. But then once it was all done, you felt better. Felt a lot better. So maybe I got rid of it, but we'll have to see. I think we need a nice long sleep tonight.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope so. I like to be miserable and complainy when I'm sick and that classic sort
>> Amanda Barker: of lucky me
>> Marco Timpano: feel sorry for me,
>> Amanda Barker: the man cold or whatever they call it. Yeah, you're like.
>> Marco Timpano: I fall into it.
>> Amanda Barker: You are the stereotype.
>> Marco Timpano: I am, totally. And I. Well, I do want to say this. If you're Listening and you're feeling under the weather. I just want to say we're here for you. We all go through it, and we want you to know that you can listen to episodes and not think in your not feeling great. And just let us talk your way. You don't just think.
>> Amanda Barker: Be the chicken soup or for your ears. Chicken soup or in hot soup into your ears.
>> Marco Timpano: We should. We should.
>> Amanda Barker: We usually do Korean soup in this house, which is chicken soup.
>> Marco Timpano: We should trademark that. Chicken Soup for the ears is our podcast. I like that a lot, actually. Maybe I'll get a T shirt made like that. And our listeners can use soup for your ears.
>> Amanda Barker: Because the truth is, a lot of people that listen to the podcast. Yes. The primary reason is so they can have some light conversation to fall asleep to.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But others use it simply to relax to.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. In fact, we have a new listener who is. Or a recent listener, I should say, who's a good friend of my sister's.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Who listens to the podcast and then reports back to my sister who doesn't listen to the podcast. It's amazing about the goings on in our home. So she knows, or my sister's friend knows more about what's going on in the home than my sister. Julia is, I believe, is her name Julia?
>> Amanda Barker: I thought it was Lena.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's Julia. Lena's also my sister's friend.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Well, hi, Julia. And hey, hi, Lena, too, if you're listening.
>> Marco Timpano: Lena should be listening, but she doesn't. Julia listens for everyone.
>> Amanda Barker: Hey, should we talk about the weird birthday present that we gave our friend this week? Because you and I haven't actually talked about this.
>> Marco Timpano: We haven't. And I just want to say this before I forget, a little hot tip for you. Oh, it's going to come out of nowhere. I'm just going to give it because otherwise I'll forget. If you have a faucet in your home and it's one of the.
>> Amanda Barker: This is really out of nowhere.
>> Marco Timpano: It's out of nowhere. So I apologize. I just don't want to forget. If you have a faucet in your home and it's one of the major brands like the Moen, the, I don't know, faucet brands. Roy Bell in Canada is a name. We happen to have a Roy Bell Rio Bell.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Never heard of it. But I was like, oh, that's the one we have. But if you have one of those brand names or if you don't and something goes wrong with your faucet. So for Us it had the spouty part that you can yank like an old toilet that you could yank the chain and would flush. What would you call that?
>> Amanda Barker: I would call it a flexible movable spout. So it's one of those. Picture the faucet that looks like a big gooseneck hook. Yeah, gooseneck is a better way probably. But just that sort of long curvature that dips back down and so you can pull the end to, you know, pull it and it. Because we don't have the ones that have like what my mom used to have the little spray one on the side. We just have this. It's sort of an all in one and you could twist the tip of it so that it either does like a full stream or spray stream.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So when you yank on the thing we always yell flushing in our house.
>> Amanda Barker: We do not.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways, that yankable hose around it was starting to get sharp.
>> Amanda Barker: So yeah, the, the, the.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry, I start to laugh because.
>> Amanda Barker: Why are you laughing?
>> Marco Timpano: The yankable hose doesn't sound like a technical term.
>> Amanda Barker: But also the sharpness of it is a weird thing. But it was like the metal was so sharp that was painted on or plated on I suppose started to peel for whatever reason. And the peeling because it was a metal plate I guess was jagged. And I two or three times got cut on it. And then I kind of tried to warn you about it. And then you got cut.
>> Marco Timpano: I got cut. And so then I call them up and if you call these companies, they will send you replacements. So we're getting, we're getting a whole
>> Amanda Barker: new gooseneck and we got it like 10 years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so don't tell them that because I think I told them last year is when I got it.
>> Amanda Barker: But for sure we did not get it last year.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you have a faucet, to
>> Amanda Barker: be honest, it was nine years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: They had to look up our model cuz they no longer carry it.
>> Amanda Barker: But hey, you don't know until you
>> Marco Timpano: call and we're getting it. So that's just a hot tip for our listeners. But you wanted to talk about.
>> Amanda Barker: Well since you're talking about taking things back, I will say this. If you shop at Costco, one of the great benefits is. And this is also for my sister in law who doesn't want to have anything to do with. She's not a Costco fan. But I will just say this. They will take anything back.
>> Marco Timpano: They will take it back.
>> Amanda Barker: They will take it back.
>> Marco Timpano: They will also if you have like food that goes bad, like let's Say you bought something. You can take a photo of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And they'll take it so you don't
>> Amanda Barker: have to bring back the old milk or whatever if it went off. But they don't need the receipt. They'll give you. You know, they'll deal with it one way or the other. But they're really, really good at, like, you know, if you're like, I wore this twice, and then something happened to it which shows that it was faulty on some level, the button popped off or it shrunk or whatever, they'll take it back. They're really, really good with that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, thank you for listening to that hot tip section of our podcast. Amanda, you wanted to talk about the birthday gift we recently gave.
>> Amanda Barker: I like how the hot tip session was just plunked right in the middle. So we have a friend, and I don't know if you really this realize this, but we often theme his birthday presents. One year we had like a pirate theme for him. I'm trying to think of other themes. Anyhow, this year was a very specific theme. The theme was marshmallows.
>> Marco Timpano: I was gonna say something totally different. Oh, you'll know why I won't say it. Okay, explain the gift and you'll.
>> Amanda Barker: So we got him. He likes to play games, as do we. And we, when we get together with them, we play games. And so we got him this card game called Arshmellows, which is marshmallows with large buttocks. Large buttocks.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a German card game, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: They're very well developed looking bums and legs.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what I thought. That's what I thought the theme was. That's why I didn't say it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well developed bums.
>> Marco Timpano: Bums or whatever. Harshes, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: So we also got him a s' mores kit and sort of some fun retractable marshmallow. What are they called? Like tongs.
>> Marco Timpano: Tongs, sure. Whatever you can put in the fire.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, those actually. Those look nice.
>> Marco Timpano: They do look nice. And listen. So the theme was marshmallow, which is an odd theme. Not that our friend is a marshmallow, you know, fanatic or whatever. We just found the theme and we went with it.
>> Amanda Barker: Enjoys a good marshmallow, though.
>> Marco Timpano: He also enjoys a good laugh.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he does.
>> Marco Timpano: So when you can't think of a gift for someone, lean into something fun and themed.
>> Amanda Barker: Do a theme, find a few things. Because we liked the card game, but I was kind of like, I don't want to just give him this and so then we rounded it out with other marshmallow themed items, which actually, I think is great. I mean, the other thing we try to do with our friends is, you know, games are a thing, but we do enjoy them, and we'll play them.
>> Marco Timpano: Or games. That is.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah, yeah. But other than that. Or card games. Sure, Case. Same. Same difference, I guess. But we are all very conscious that we have too much stuff, so we try to do, like, consumables, whether it's, you know, something to drink or eat. We don't do too many gift cards, but every now and then we do. I know you went through a phase where you did not like gift cards, but I think you're better with them now. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: I still don't love them.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't love the fact that I then have to go and deal with the card.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not my thing. That's just not for me. Hey, listen, do I dislike a gift card? No.
>> Amanda Barker: I like a good gift card.
>> Marco Timpano: And because you're good with that. And Amanda will often be like, okay, today we're gonna use gift cards, and we have a fun day of going around and using.
>> Amanda Barker: And we did that.
>> Marco Timpano: We did that a couple weeks ago.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe if I take myself out of my curmudgeonous. That is a lot of fun. When we do do well, you're extra
>> Amanda Barker: curmudgeonly because you're a little bit under the weather. I'm really hoping a good night's gonna sleep. And lots of vitamin C, which I've made you take in in the last hour or two. Will. Will help curb this thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Another gift I gave recently, which I'm very. I have a. I don't know what you'd call it. An odd sense of humor. I got a puzzle from.
>> Amanda Barker: You have a Machiavellian streak in you. You have a. I wouldn't say odd sense of humor. You have a different devilish sort of sense of humor. One of the things. And I knew this about you very early on in knowing you before I knew you very well. But one of the things I could tell. You love to set a sort of wheel in motion, Whether it's a little prank or even a little fun rumor. You love to sort of drop that in the water and then watch people try to deal with it. You just love it. So when we work together in theater, you know, it was improv and very interactive. So I would watch him maybe pass something around and see, you know, like, a little rumor. And I used to say to him, you're like Iago in Othello. You love to just drop a little suggestion and then watch and see what happens among the cast. Always in a very playful and I would say, harmless way.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: In a way that you would get such glee out of it. And so you also love to give gifts like this.
>> Marco Timpano: So our friend, it was her birthday, and so I went to a second hand shop, I guess you'd call them in England.
>> Amanda Barker: I've learned they call them charity shops.
>> Marco Timpano: Charity shops. Second ham shop, a donation center shop. Places where you can get things at a discounted rate and where, you know, you can find a lot of variety stuff. So I went and I got a puzzle.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was a particular puzzle. I'm watching my P's as I say that. On the mic. On the mic. And I took the puzzle out of the box and I put it in a brown box.
>> Amanda Barker: But you should explain the puzzle.
>> Marco Timpano: I will. And so I gave the puzzle in the brown paper box to a friend and said, here's your birthday puzzle. Figure it out.
>> Amanda Barker: So she did not have a picture to base it on.
>> Marco Timpano: And the puzzle was rectangular. It wasn't a square puzzle. It was a rectangular puzzle of rays gliding themselves like a manta ray or stingray gliding themselves through the water. So it was very, very blue.
>> Amanda Barker: It was mostly blue with dark blue. And so just tones of blue, really, in the water, maybe a little bit of a gray, but mostly just blue on blue on blue.
>> Marco Timpano: And so she looked and she's like, it's all blue. And I said, have fun. Happy birthday. And so that's like your favorite thing
>> Amanda Barker: when she had to do that, that she had to work through that.
>> Marco Timpano: So her parents came over and she said, you know, it happened to be a day where my parents came over, and it was not actually Mother's Day, to be honest. It was Mother's Day. And we've had a cold snap here, so the weather hasn't been so lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: It's been a cold May friends, Very cold May.
>> Marco Timpano: And so they were kind of stuck in the house. And Dale, our friend Dale, friend of the show, said, do you guys want to do a puzzle? And her parents are like, yeah. She's like, I've got this puzzle. And she showed the picture on the puzzle, or I have this mystery puzzle that Marco gave me. And her parents are. And she goes, you decide. And they're like, mystery puzzle. And so they were building it. And you know how you oftentimes when you're making a puzzle, you do the edges.
>> Amanda Barker: I hate puzzles. So not really, but I guess you
>> Marco Timpano: do the edge pieces because they're. They're. They're flat.
>> Amanda Barker: You figure out your border, right?
>> Marco Timpano: And they couldn't figure out the border because it wasn't turning out to be square. And then Dale said, I bet it's not square. And they figured out that it was not square. And they figured out the rectangle.
>> Amanda Barker: A long, skinny, rectangular puzzle. Evil, Evil. Evil. Machiavelli lives in you.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. It was so good. And then they told me how they. Dale's daughter was able to figure out what the puzzle was based on the name that was, I guess, on a puzzle piece. And so I was really deep search. I was really proud. I was really proud.
>> Amanda Barker: They got pretty far. They got far as far as Dale's gonna get. She's like, we did the border. We figured out the thing. The rest of it is blue. And I think we're good.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm happy. I'm happy. I didn't feel like they had to do the puzzle, but I just wanted them to challenge of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Just knowing that they were trying was what your true joy came from, of
>> Marco Timpano: course, and that it was frustrating and a challenge and all those things.
>> Amanda Barker: When I first met Marco, the very, very, very first moment I met him, he sat down at a table with a bunch of people who are now my friends, but I didn't know any of them because I was new to the cast, and he had been there at that point, you know, five plus years, so he knew everybody really well. Anyway, he sat down at this table, and he said, guess what? I just did. So I listened like the rest of the table, and he said, I got a bag of those. What are those flowers that are yellow with the brown. And I was like, brown Eyed Susans. And he was like, yeah, that's the
>> Marco Timpano: first thing Amanda ever said to me. Brown Eyed Susan.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you remember it?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think I can remember it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I was excited that I knew the name of the flower so I could add something to this conversation. And I was like, brown Eyed Susan. And you went, yeah, yeah, that's it. Brown Eyed Susans. Anyway, I got this huge bag of brown Eyed Susan seeds, and I planted it in my mother's backyard. And I kind of was like, I mean, I didn't know what your mother's backyard looked like at the time, so none of this really made sense. But the glee that you had, you're like, in the spring, she's gonna be like, not know what these are. And all These Brown Eyed Susans are gonna come up. And I remember thinking, if that was my mom, she'd probably just pull them because she'd think they were weeds. But what happened in that? I never got the end of that story.
>> Marco Timpano: So my mother had a long, beautiful garden at the time. It was long and rectangular, much like the puzzle that we gave. That had rocks in it.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was like kind of irises and colorful flowers. And all the flowers. Yeah. They all kind of work together in color and theme. So Brown Eyed Susans did not work in this scheme.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And my mother has a really gifted green thumb.
>> Amanda Barker: She does, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I planted all these.
>> Amanda Barker: As does mine, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. And I planted all these brown Night Susan seeds and was happy to just see what would happen.
>> Amanda Barker: And what happened?
>> Marco Timpano: They grew in the most wonderful spots. And my mother was really impressed.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: What she did. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that actually the truth?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. They grew like.
>> Amanda Barker: It was like, I never knew the end of this story.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought they would pop up randomly.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But they only sort of popped up in certain areas of the garden.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And they looked really pretty because they gave a different dimension. And my mother just thought she had planted them in front of them.
>> Amanda Barker: She thought she had planted them because
>> Marco Timpano: it looked so nice. And I was like, well, that didn't turn out the way I thought it would.
>> Amanda Barker: But I will never forget, forget this man. And I just kept thinking, this grown man. Well, one, I was confused because I was like, why are you at your mother's house? I didn't. Not, why are you at the mother's house? But I think you were living with your mom. And I was a little bit like, who lives with their parents?
>> Marco Timpano: No, because I had the house before I moved there.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't have the house at that point, though.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I guess you did live with your mom at the time, which confused me a little bit because I was like, do you live with your mom? And then truthfully.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I had lived.
>> Amanda Barker: You had lived away. I had lived in an Oregon moment in your life. You were living with your mom. It's not like you had only lived with your parents. But I didn't know that. And so I was just trying to process that. And again, that's not weird. It just was weird for me in that moment, truthfully. I also was just trying to figure it all out. So I was, okay, this guy lives with his mom, but also his idea of a good time is planting flowers that his mother doesn't know about. Like, it just. The whole concept of this story was, like, so foreign to me. Now it makes complete sense now that I know you and love you.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. And that's what you do if you love somebody. You plant flowers they don't expect in their garden.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, when you live with somebody and you, I mean, it's a gift. Those. Those Brown Eyed Susans might still be there to this day.
>> Marco Timpano: They might. They might very well be. All right, I'm going to call Flushing before I end this podcast episode. Thank you for listening.
>> Amanda Barker: We have to do it like we did in PA Palmer Hall, Flushing.
>> Marco Timpano: Flushing. I. I would recommend when you have your day tomorrow or later on today, anytime you have to flush, just sing that out to the family, see how they take it.
>> Amanda Barker: Or maybe do a little research on Flushing, New York.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Why not?
>> Amanda Barker: Why not? Why not just figure out Flushing in your life and how that applies. It's the word of the day for tomorrow.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're not feeling well or you have family members or friends who aren't, tell them that this is chicken soap, chicken soup for their ears. And they can.
>> Amanda Barker: And it'll flush out all the bad, all the toxins, as they say in yoga class.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Until next time. We hope you were able to listen and of course, sleep.
Loonies, Blooms & Ancestry
Original airdate: May 1, 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, lay back, stand up, whatever makes you feel comfortable in this moment. I'm your host, Marco Tympano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for joining us. Of course, if you're a new listener, this is the podcast that's meant to help you learn, calm your way to possible sleep. Just divert your attention so that you can think of other things and lull yourself. Our conversations are not going to be anything too raucous. They're going to be hopefully calm in nature. Right, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: Most definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, this is going to be a longer episode because we didn't have an episode last week and we're late this week. So we just are going to do a longer episode for our listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: I hope that's okay. I feel badly that we missed one. My pitch was we do double. I guess this is a double.
>> Marco Timpano: This will be a double. It'll just save me time.
>> Amanda Barker: A double double.
>> Marco Timpano: A double double. Which in Canada means two sugars, two
>> Amanda Barker: creams and a triple. Triple is three sugars, three creams.
>> Marco Timpano: But we're only going to do a double double.
>> Amanda Barker: And your sister does a 1/2 and
>> Marco Timpano: 1/2, which there's no name for that. Canadians have a very interesting way of looking, labeling things that seem very natural to us. And then when you tell people outside of Canada, they say, What? Like our $1 coin is called a loonie because on one side of it there was a loon, which is a bird, a water bird. It's actually Ontario's bird, if I'm not provincial bird. And our $2 coin is called a toonie. So we have a loonie and a toonie.
>> Amanda Barker: Why wouldn't it be? It had to be called a toonie and we got a dollar. What else are we going to call it? Do you remember your first loony?
>> Marco Timpano: I remember thinking it was the most amazing coin ever.
>> Amanda Barker: It looked amazing. Like you went from paper money to this gold coin. It just felt. I was 13, I was new to Canada, and I remember I was waiting in line for the canteen, which is what we called our middle school. Our junior high didn't have a cafeteria. So I guess some people would bring their bag lunch and just eat them at their desk. But we had nowhere that we would actually eat, which was really a new and weird experience for me, although I actually think it's pretty common. I'd love to hear about your cafeteria experience. But anyways, I remember. So we didn't have a cafeteria, but we had what we called the canteen, which was just a little roll top kind of window, and students would work in it with like maybe one teacher and they would sell chocolate bars and chips and that might have been it, actually. Chocolate bars, Maybe pop as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, that was your cafeteria? Chocolate bar and chips?
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't a cafeteria. We didn't have one. We had a canteen. That was it. It was a little like right by the opening of the school, a little window, and you'd roll it up. I'm sure it's still there. And that's where they would sell chocolate bars and chips.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought it was the best thing in the world because I went from, you know, having to eat school lunch or whatever, and then they were like, oh, we don't have a lunchroom. You bring your lunch, or you just. We're downtown, so you go and eat out. Which I was like, excuse me, is this have. I walked into Utopia because I was 13? And so this idea of, like, hanging out with my friends and going to lunch, having lunch dates was this phenomenal thing. We didn't have many places to eat because it was, you know, a small town in New Brunswick, Canada. But it felt to me, actually, hilariously enough, very urban because we were just going downtown and eating out.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you have an auditorium?
>> Amanda Barker: We did. We had one of those Gym Atoriums.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: What are they called? I would assume Cafetorium is what I've heard them called. But again, we didn't use it as a cafeteria. We used it just as a. It was a gym with a stage. I think that's pretty common, though. I think the old gym with a stage.
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's very common.
>> Amanda Barker: It's kind of probably the norm.
>> Marco Timpano: I think Gymnatorium is the perfect name for it. We had a proper cafeteria in my high school.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: In my grade school. I remember just eating at our desk, and we would have. You know, we'd have certain days where it was like pizza day, where you could buy a slice of pizza for a dollar and chocolate milk for 50 cents. That's how old I am. That something cost 50 cents. So if had a loonie and a half right back in the day, that would be fine. Do you remember, Amanda, the powdered chocolate milk? And it used to come in, like, a rectangular tin, and it had, like, a metal.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Sewer grate on top. And you take the spoon.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait. And what a sewer.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know how to describe it,
>> Amanda Barker: but it looked like you had me then. You very much lost me with that.
>> Marco Timpano: It was like a circular metal topper.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. Okay. And then you.
>> Marco Timpano: You need to use the spoon to pry it off.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: To get to.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I do remember the powder inside this
>> Amanda Barker: delicious metal tin of. Of deliciousness after school that you would mix with milk to make chocolate milk.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sad they don't have that anymore. That they.
>> Amanda Barker: Is there chocolate milk powder? Is that still a thing?
>> Marco Timpano: We have some upstairs. Oh, do we do. But it's like now it's just a plastic cylindrical tube that you unscrew the top.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not the old metal contraption of our childhoods. You know, it's interesting that you say, Sorry, I'm still on the cafeteria thing. Oh, sorry. It's interesting that you say that you grew up with pizza days and that kind of thing. I actually think maybe it's a Canadian phenomenon that schools don't have cafeterias in them. Because it's true. My school didn't know my high school had a cafeteria.
>> Marco Timpano: My high school did, too, but this
>> Amanda Barker: was not a high school. And it was just. You just didn't have. Kids just either brought their lunch or ate at the, you know, ate chips or whatever. Which is why I have this toonie memory, or, sorry, rather loony memory. Because the first loony was this girl, Adrian Dawson.
>> Marco Timpano: Shout out to Adrian.
>> Amanda Barker: Shout out to Adrian Dawson, who moved to Alberta. And I actually googled her the other day.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: And she's like a real estate agent. Yeah, in Alberta, I think. I'm pretty sure it's her. You know, when you look at someone, you're like, yeah, I think that's, you know, because all you have is your childhood memory of their face or whatever. But anyway, I remember her being in line. She's like, I have a loony. And I, you know, kids say stuff. And also, I was new to Canada, so I didn't know. I just kind of took everything at face value of this is a thing. But it had just been introduced. I think I had been there like six months and it had just been introduced this concept of the loony. And so I looked at it and there's just shiny gold coin in her hand. And I was like, what is that? And then you started seeing them more and they were so special. But, yeah, when I worked for a pizza company years ago, when my first job here in. In Ontario, I. I was dealing with the school lunch programs. And I couldn't understand it for a long time why they were bringing in pizza from our company, why we had these catering programs in schools. It made no sense to me because I was like. They were like. And people kept saying, well, they're for the pizza days. And I was like, but I don't understand, like, they don't want to eat the pizza from the cafeteria. Like, it just. I had no concept, sure, that, you know, any of that was a thing. So I don't know. I don't. I don't know if it's a law in certain States that you have to have a cafeteria. I think it is.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, we also, when in grade school, we had hot dog day. So it wasn't. It wasn't pizza day. It was hot dog. And you could buy milk or chocolate milk.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. I think we had hot dog day, too. And I think it was out of the. Like I said, the canteen, the good old canteen had hot dog day. But I mean, I never was like, you know what? I need a hot dog. Like, I never wanted that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: What I wanted was to go downtown and eat, you know, fried chicken with my friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Which I did. Which for my parents were like, well, whatever $2 can get you. So there was like a deal that they had for us kids at lunch where it was like, you know, you get a drumstick and a pop or something for two bucks or whatever it was.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, I'm gonna just switch topics now.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. I'm really hung up on the cafetoriums. Yeah. Of the world.
>> Marco Timpano: Our tulips. Oh, our tulips are out, folks. And they're the white ones.
>> Amanda Barker: They've come to play.
>> Marco Timpano: They have come to play. And we have a little bit of a cold snap right now. Like, it's been a bit cold. A day of warmth and cold. And the last few days it's been very cold. And the tulips love that burst of cold. And they last longer.
>> Amanda Barker: They do. They love it. Should we mention what day it is today for us?
>> Marco Timpano: You can, but, like, well, for sure do it. It's not a problem at all.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, today is our anniversary, folks. And not only that, it's our 15 year anniversary. And of course, we both tried to take the day off and it's just ended up filling up with, oh, I have time on Thursday. But not to worry, we'll go out to dinner tonight and maybe in a little bit we'll tell everyone the weird, weird and wonderful things we're doing this weekend to celebrate.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes, but tell us about those tulips, because they.
>> Amanda Barker: So I planted them. I think I planted them actually before we got married. I think I planted them like when I first moved into the house. It was right around. It was either right before or right after, but I would say they're on year 15, those bulbs.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're a cream color, like a creamy white color.
>> Amanda Barker: I wanted white tulips. I love white tulips. They were all over. Our wedding was white tulips.
>> Marco Timpano: They were. They're beautiful. Where did you get them?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. Probably from the grocery store. That is no longer there. That is now condos. Sorry to bring up a sore spot for you. Well, it's not anything yet. It's a building site, but probably from there, because that was close by. Or the other grocery store that's still there.
>> Marco Timpano: Now Amanda has this particular store she likes to buy flowers at. When we're heading north and we head north on Oakwood is the. Is the name of the street.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I thought you meant north north, like up by the cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, and there is that store that
>> Amanda Barker: we go to, big green greenhouse situation up there.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll talk about that too. But on the way, heading out of the city, there's a little grocery store. Sorry, not a grocery. A convenient. What we call a convenience store.
>> Amanda Barker: And what some states, like in New York state, they would call it a bodega, probably.
>> Marco Timpano: And what would they call it in the uk?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Shop.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never lived. Corner shop.
>> Marco Timpano: A corner shop?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I've never lived in the uk, so I don't know. But probably corner shop.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll have to ask our UK listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But anyway, what we would call a convenience store. I love getting flowers from those places. I like supporting them. And I'll take it back even further. When you and I first met, and we're working together way back, like 20 years ago now, every week, because we had this gigantic cast that we were performing with. It was a cast of 34 plus understudies, etc. So every week there was something to celebrate with that many people. Someone was having a birthday, someone was leaving the show or whatever. So I found myself inevitably wanting to give them something. So what I started doing was there was one by my house at the time, more west in the city than I am now. And I would just go and see what they had in season. And for $10, 20 years ago, but for $10, I could always get a little bouquet of daisies or mums or, you know, like a little thing of mums or hydrangeas or tulips, if it was this time of year, whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you had five tunies, you could buy that. Or if you had 10 loonies, you could buy those flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Math teacher. Yes. So I started. I realized that, you know, it was nice to support them. They have these fresh flowers. It was convenient, obviously. So there is a place. Yeah. That really has. They always have beautiful fresh flowers. And, you know, it's not a huge selection, but it doesn't matter if you just want to get a little burst of color. Like, listen, I think We've established I love flowers. I've always loved flowers. I will continue to love flowers. You know, when. When my day on this earth is done, please write, in lieu of donations, please send flowers.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll say this. I've come to really love flowers. And I think I've mentioned this on the podcast before, that a lot of men are conditioned not to have feelings on flowers. Rather, it's something you give women.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a good point. And I don't know, I just got
>> Marco Timpano: these roses, and I was listening to an CBC radio show, and they were talking to men and saying, like, you know, we've been conditioned not to love flowers. But when you actually talk to men and say, what flowers do you love? Or you talk to little boys who haven't been conditioned yet, they'll talk about how much they love flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And so then I started to reflect and, like, I do like flowers. Like, when we have our garden, I love looking at the flowers in our garden or planting.
>> Amanda Barker: You have so much joy. You take so much joy in flowers.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And those peonies that come up that we.
>> Amanda Barker: One year, you would just post, like, every week a plant photo or a flower photo every week. Do you remember that? A couple of years ago? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I know that for me, there was a time where I was trying not to post anything that was going to be controversial, triggering or whatnot. And I was like, what can I post that is friendly and fun and I can still connect, stay connected with friends? And flowers were one of the things. Food, of course, and hotel carpets. But I have to give Michelle Miracle credit because she's the one who first started posting hotel carpets. And every hotel has different carpeting.
>> Amanda Barker: It does. Some brands, like chains, have their own sort of carpet.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know, when you go to conference centers in a hotel, they have particular carpets. So I started to post that, and I have to give a shout out to Michelle Miracle, one of our dearest friends, who we also like to buy flowers for. We just bought flowers for Nima, her husband.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: And I bought him a prayer plant, and he really loves it. It makes me so happy because we had prayer plants. And so I said, this is okay if you have cats. Like, it's not one of the plants that you have to be careful of if you have plants. And he just showed me a little video of it, of his prayer plant opening. And he's like, when did we get
>> Amanda Barker: him a prayer plan?
>> Marco Timpano: He helped me with the class I'm teaching, so I sent it to him and it was his birthday recently, so a shout out to him.
>> Amanda Barker: We sent him sunflowers.
>> Marco Timpano: Happy birthday, Nima. I haven't spoken to you since birthday, but I will. And we need to have Nima back on the podcast. So, Nima, if you're listening, let's make a date to have you on the podcast. Because he's a fan favorite, people say, when's Nima coming back?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he's awesome. They're both awesome. They're good friends. And. Yeah, and I do tend to send them flowers. They live in California, so there's no flowers. Hey, I don't know what flowers are. Yeah, there's no. What I was going to say is there's no shortage of flowers near them. So it's. It's a beautiful, easy gift to send. But I send them. I sent them to my parents. It was their anniversary a few weeks back.
>> Marco Timpano: They have a tree right outside their balcony which hummingbirds nest in. And so Nemo will send us pictures of the hummingbirds and the flowers that the hummingbirds go to. It's really quite beautiful. But anyways, this bodega or this convenience store, this corner shop is now where we buy flowers. And they have a plenitude of beautiful flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, and that place was always on the way up to go see your aunt, your mom, et cetera. So if it was a holiday and I just wanted to bring a little arrangement or, you know, bulbs in a pot kind of thing, like a hydrangea or something, then it was a great place to stop and grab two. So I'd always get one for your mom and one for your aunt or one for your sister or whatever. So, yeah, it just has been a convenient place to go.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just tricky to park. Amanda will do what she calls live park in front of the.
>> Amanda Barker: Which I don't know, maybe is a maybe. It's a term my mom invented. You know, when you move countries when you're 13, you don't know what was just something your parents or your family said or if it was like a regional country thing. And I will forever be trying to decode it all. But it's what my parents always called when you're not, you know, when you're. I think we call it idling here when you just park the car, but it's still running.
>> Marco Timpano: You might have your four way blinkers on.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So what is it then? Define for our listeners what rockstar parking is. What we refer to as rock star parking.
>> Amanda Barker: When you pull right up to a place and you've Got the perfect spot. You can get right out.
>> Marco Timpano: That's our rock star parking. All right, so that's the convenience store flowers. What about this one in the north of where we are that you were referring to? That's.
>> Amanda Barker: And I think technically it's in Bradford, Ontario, which you might not have known.
>> Marco Timpano: Look it up, folks, because it's an exciting town.
>> Amanda Barker: I forget what. What the name of the actual place is. It's one of those gigantic greenhouses.
>> Marco Timpano: It's Bradford, not Brantford.
>> Amanda Barker: There's Brantford and there's Bradford.
>> Marco Timpano: Brantford is where Alexander Graham Bell.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Lived.
>> Amanda Barker: That's west and Bradford is north, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought it was Innisfil.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it's springwater.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it not spring water?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. You know what I mean? It's a place that is part of a municipality that has a name, but then again, it's like a highway and a big field and then this massive greenhouse.
>> Marco Timpano: We're talking Simcoe north, for those who
>> Amanda Barker: know, which barely we would even know. Simcoe North. Simcoe, by the way, is a lake
>> Marco Timpano: named after Lord Simcoe.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, what would we find in this greenhouse place? We found some pretty great things. We got my mother this really cool hibiscus tree.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's true. I can't believe they've had it going all year.
>> Marco Timpano: They brought it in, and then my mother wanted to bring it out in April, and I was like, it's not going to survive. You've kept it all winter long inside and have been very judicious with watering it, making sure that it. It survives.
>> Amanda Barker: I think we got it for her for Mother's Day maybe, or her birthday, both of which are coming up, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, we got her this massive hibiscus tree and again, thinking, that'll be nice. And then whatever, you know, like, it's a tropical flower.
>> Marco Timpano: We can only withstand so much in Canada.
>> Amanda Barker: But your mom being your mom was like, oh, we'll bring it in. And it's flourished. They had Christmas ornaments all over it. I mean, it's this ma. It's a massive tree, truthfully. So now it's, I guess, time to bring it back out.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And it had, like, peachy. Peachy pink. What do you call that color? Peachy pink?
>> Amanda Barker: Salmon.
>> Marco Timpano: Salmony colored hibiscus flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Coral. In that world.
>> Marco Timpano: In that world, indeed.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah. What, sorry, what were we talking about? The greenhouse.
>> Marco Timpano: That greenhouse in spring water slash Bradford.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's one of those, like, you get a cart and it's massive. And there's an indoor section and an outdoor section. I love going to those places because they remind me of my mom.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: She loved. Loves gardening. And all through my life, sort of fostered this idea of, like, going to those places and picking out things and what are we gonna get? And you and I don't do a ton of it, but once a year, we do go there. I tend to end up buying as many indoor as outdoor plants, but we sort of do our back deck and have things hanging and have it all ready. And every year, I kind of make this thing both here and up north of, like, we live in a climate that will always support this. And my brain gets tricked into thinking this is our life now, and it's wonderful. And then the fall comes.
>> Marco Timpano: The fall takes it all away. Are there any flowers you want to see in our garden this year?
>> Amanda Barker: Out. Out here?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Here?
>> Amanda Barker: No. I mean, I like the bulbs that we have going. Did we get dahlias in last year? No, I don't think every year I'm like, dahlias. We got to get into the dahlias because those are the last of the year. I thought we planted some.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the problem is the city has dug up our front. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So many times.
>> Marco Timpano: And I don't think our pink tulips are coming. Which reminds me, I'm gonna.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you plant pink tulips?
>> Marco Timpano: I planted those, like, 50 bulbs of pink tulips that came up so beautifully last year from, you know, we went to that big bulk store that I love.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And they had 50 tulips.
>> Amanda Barker: It's amazing that these white tulips after 15 years are still going strong.
>> Marco Timpano: And, you know, tulips deep in the ground, tulips, after a while get a bit wonky or they don't blossom like they used to. Not these.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Amanda Barker: I think they get stronger.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I think if the pink tulips aren't coming up, they just, like, after a few years, like, one thing I noticed with tulips is when they first come up, they're pretty short. And you're like, but I want the long tulips that everybody has. But now, those white ones were really short when they first came up.
>> Marco Timpano: Were they?
>> Amanda Barker: Okay? And now they're much longer. They're long, beautiful stems. Just takes time.
>> Marco Timpano: We had these fascinating tulips that a friend brought us from Holland or the Netherlands, and they were really interesting looking. They weren't the prettiest tulips. They weren't the you know, they were definitely eye catching.
>> Amanda Barker: They were very bulbous.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So they were very full and they were so red that they were black.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And the city, I don't know what they did, dug them up, got rid of them.
>> Amanda Barker: To be very honest, I'm surprised the white tulips have. Have remained because that was a massive dig. Like, how anything survived in that dirt, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a fire hydrant on our front property, in case anybody's wondering, why is the city taking up our front? And another shout out to Michelle Miracle, who collects pictures of fire hydrants. So if you have a fire hydrant in front of your property, send a picture on our Instagram and I will tag Michelle Miracle in it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so they've dug it up because they've been doing fire hydrant work as a city does. And of course, when they come to dig, they don't pay much attention to the beautiful flowers that we curated in our front. And so now we have. It's funny because the white tulips, there's four in a. In a cluster and then one off, way off by itself.
>> Amanda Barker: That got moved.
>> Marco Timpano: That got moved.
>> Amanda Barker: But they're more or less where I originally put them. So that means that they were as deep as it could possibly get. But the peonies have come up, which is like, talk about resilience. My goodness. The fact that they're even still happening at all.
>> Marco Timpano: They're coming up so grateful. I think they were my mother's or my grandmothers.
>> Amanda Barker: They're grandmothers. I know there's always a confusion of my mother's.
>> Marco Timpano: My sister has my grandmother's, and we have your mother's and I have my mother's.
>> Amanda Barker: So inherited plants. And we did have Dale's grandmother's sedum, because when everything got. When she. When her grandmother sold her house, Dale was like, she took a bunch of
>> Marco Timpano: sedum and she's like, I don't have a front yard. Can I temporarily plant it in your yard?
>> Amanda Barker: We've been housing that. But then, of course, the city had other plants. I think one survived.
>> Marco Timpano: I think there's a sedum. I do like sedums. I have to say.
>> Amanda Barker: They're okay. They're. They're pretty hearty, and they're fine.
>> Marco Timpano: My favorite flower, as you know, is the anthurium, which is a tropical flower that's very waxy looking. And I've always liked it when I was a kid and I used to watch this program called Fantasy island because they would show them I like how
>> Amanda Barker: you say this program. I, like most people would know a fantasy island. No. Of a certain age.
>> Marco Timpano: Of a certain age. Of a certain age. So, yeah, as a kid, I was like, oh, look at that flower. And I had never seen one because they weren't bringing them. I don't think they could bring them to Canada or they were very expensive or whatnot. And then, you know, as years go by, they start appearing, and I was like, oh, that's what it looks like. And so I've always had a fascination.
>> Amanda Barker: It's so funny, right? Like, I imagine there are a whole bunch of people, elderly people, that still have that feeling about oranges, because I know, like, at Christmas time, it was especially in British tradition to get an orange in your stocking because it was this very tropical splurge of a fruit that would blossom during Christmas time.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So to get an orange was like, wow. You know, but now we live in this world where you can just go to the. The bodega. Yeah. Corner shop, convenience store and get, you know, whatever, you know, whatever veg or fruit or whatever is there, so.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, Amanda. So as we mentioned at the top of the program or the podcast episode, we're gonna go longer because we didn't have one last week, but the week before, we did some poetry readings and we got a lot of shout outs or people reaching out saying they enjoyed it. So people just really enjoyed it. They love the way you read poetry.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: They were a little bit shocked of the poem I chose.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I didn't realize that's what proofreading will do. Do people know the poem and know the words? You were. You were deleting.
>> Marco Timpano: I have a feeling people looked it up and then really saw what I was. So. But. But we got a really lovely message from one of our longtime listeners, Charlotte.
>> Amanda Barker: Charlotte. And Charlotte has a child named Alex. And Alex created a beautiful. Looks like a painting and collage, collaged words on top of a painting of Mary Oliver's wild geese.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so nice. Beautiful. And it just happened to coincide with the fact that you read that one on the. On the program two weeks ago.
>> Amanda Barker: And I want to just describe the. The gorgeous painting here that's here. And again, I think Alex created it for Charlotte. But in any event, it's got. It has. You can imagine, it's a field of beautiful flowers. In fact, it looks like. Let me look at what these flowers are. Kind of looks like. And has a very impressionist style, which is just beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Love.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, I'm Just trying to think of what these flowers would be. Lupins.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, lupines are gorgeous.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It looks like purple lupines, I think, which in New Brunswick are everywhere at this time of year.
>> Marco Timpano: I've tried to grow lupines here in Ontario. I've never had luck.
>> Amanda Barker: No lupins. Lupins, like the east Coast. Those are the pink and purple flowers. If you've ever driven out east at this time, you will see them everywhere. They're those cone shaped pink and purple flowers all over the sides of the roads of the Maritimes. So I think there's lupins. There's definitely looks like almost like pink daisies. Gorgeous. A lot of white flowers. So it could be any kind of white ground cover type of flowers. Looks like daffodils in the distance. I mean, just beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: They did an amazing job on that.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely. Some violets, maybe those like little bluebells. And then there's sort of mountains in the distance. A gorgeous cloud, little sprinkling of clouds. And then of course, for the poem, Wild geese. Some wild geese.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's so great.
>> Amanda Barker: And I think in this one they're flying back home. They're flying north to us here.
>> Marco Timpano: And Charlotte says she'd like to hear us read Wordsworth or I can't remember, Emily Dickinson or something.
>> Amanda Barker: Emily Dickinson can go pretty dark. I did a whole thing on I'm, by the way, related to Emily Dickinson.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda's related to a lot of people.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Especially if they're from Massachusetts and lived in the 1800s. Solid chance I have some of their DNA in me. And Emily Dickinson, for sure I'm related to. I forget what cousin. I can look that up if you want.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I'm going to read a Wordsworth poem for you, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, you read. Wait, which one are you reading?
>> Marco Timpano: I picked one that I thought was appropriate to the podcast and one that did not have any inappropriate content. Shall we say? This one's called a slumber. Did my spirit seal.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's a very famous poem, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: It is.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Yeah. Do you know anything about Wordsworth?
>> Marco Timpano: Not really.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so Wordsworth was one of the Romantic poets In Wordsworth, Keats,
>> Marco Timpano: not Irving Layton.
>> Amanda Barker: There's. There's four of them. And now I can't think. But anyway. But anyways, we'll give the credit to Wordsworth and Keats. They are kind of considered the fathers of Romantic poetry. Right. And they really found they wrote in the 1800s. And so you have to think that was a time where there was great industrialization happening.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And so for them, they found the beauty in nature. And it was that return to nature, you know, to get out of the city, to get out of. For them, London and to go back and find solace and peace and beauty in nature. And so this was considered a very romantic notion, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So because of that. Sorry, I'm trying to sign into this thing to find out about Emily Dickinson. Because of that, you know, there they were. It was a movement and it was kind of a new idea at that time.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that. Okay, so I'll read this poem and it's called A Slumber. Well, I should try to say it properly.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, yeah. Are you okay to do? Yeah, I'm okay with Read of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'm gonna do. It's not. It's. It's a semi cold read, what we
>> Amanda Barker: call in the business a cold read. Someone hands you something and you just have to read it.
>> Marco Timpano: A slumber did my spirit seal. A slumber did my spirit seal. I had no human fears. She seemed a thing that could not feel the touch of earthly years. No motion has she now no force she neither hears nor sees. Rolled round in earth's journal course with rocks and stones entries William Wordsworth. That's a good poem to exercise your mouth, I have to say.
>> Amanda Barker: Just give me one more second here.
>> Marco Timpano: Figure out how Amanda knows more about poetry and authors, especially Canadian authors. Amanda knows quite. Quite a great deal. So I. I always defer to her with regards to that.
>> Amanda Barker: So I. Yeah, Canada was all uncharted new, exciting territory for me when I was young. And so it. It's kind of always been that.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting that you talk about the Romantic poets. Kind of reminded me of what the Group of Seven did with paintings at the time. So if you are not familiar with the Group of Seven group of painters in Canada from the 1920s and 30s and 40s, they painted beyond that too. But I've always loved their work. So if you get a chance, I'll post some on our Instagram.
>> Amanda Barker: And since it is our anniversary today, I should mention that you proposed to me in front of one of the Group of Seven's paintings. Lauren Harris is painting who's My Favorite. And there's a story behind that. I don't know if we want to share that of why, but he did propose to me there at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinberg, which is considered the home gallery, I believe, of the Group of Seven. And we continued that another member of the Group of Seven painted the cross at the church that we got married in.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. Yeah, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: I actually forget which one, though. Do you remember who?
>> Marco Timpano: Which church or which.
>> Amanda Barker: Which group of seven person.
>> Marco Timpano: It'll come to me. I just can't think at this moment. He's also one of my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Should I just list all the people that I'm related to? Because I'm scrolling through them.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda's.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you want to hear? This is going to put everybody to sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: All the really boring old people I'm related to. When I get to Emily Dickinson, I will stop. I will stop.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And by the way, if you're still awake and listening, and if this is hopefully will soothe you, but if it has piqued your curiosity, you can always go to familysearch.org which is what I did on a whim when I was in Salt Lake City in Utah. And there's a huge genealogy institute there. And, well, we didn't know that, but our friend Michelle, Miracle shout out to Michelle and she said, that's one of the things you kind of do here. And so we went and plugged our names into the computers there and the elders there helped us out and it was a fun journey. And so you start to build your family tree. And it's a way to do all that.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's free, right, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: It's all free.
>> Marco Timpano: That's where you mentioned it.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the site again? Yeah, FamilySearch. So the one that's better known as Ancestry.com. you didn't hear from me. They might all be on with the same person, say people, you know, like it's all the same thing. So, I mean, your history is your history.
>> Marco Timpano: Rumor has it.
>> Amanda Barker: Rumor has it. Yeah, it's true. I don't actually know that for sure. So anyway, so on familysearch.org I've found now it's a little bit of a trickier website.
>> Marco Timpano: I will say this. If you do go on that website and you type in your name and nothing comes up, you're in good company because that was that. While Amanda had just a roll of people come up, I had no one. So fret not, you're in good company.
>> Amanda Barker: This is what happens when you're from one state that has a lot of history and nobody ever moved until you did. Anyway, here are the people I'm related to. We're going to start with leaders. John Adams. So these are all presidents I'm going to mention. John Adams, also known. John Quincy Adams. Oh, the Q. Benjamin Harrison. Lesser known President Franklin Pierce.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I thought it was gonna be Roosevelt.
>> Amanda Barker: Also President James Madison.
>> Marco Timpano: Good stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, sorry. I keep clicking on it and then
>> Marco Timpano: it shows me how James Madison is the street in New York. Madison, which the movie Splash then named the mermaid painting Daryl Hannah. And there wasn't a person's name Madison.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we watched Splash recently. And I. And I. The one thing I remember from the movie that I explained to my niece and nephew who were going to watch it with us, we watched it at Easter, was. I said, no. There's a moment where she says she wants her name to be Madison because he's looking at the street names and he says, madison, Madison. That's not a name. You can't be named Madison. But she liked the name, so he's like, fine, your name is Madison. And as we all now know, Madison is an extremely popular name. In fact, it's so popular, it's not as popular anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: But maybe 10 years ago, there were a lot of baby girls named Madison
>> Marco Timpano: because of the movie Splash. And if you haven't seen that movie, I think it was Ron Howard's first movie. It holds up. It's quite lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's a lovely little film. And I watched it a ton as a kid, so I remember that moment. Anyways, back to Presidents. I'm related to Herbert Hoover.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Which if you're into musicals, you might remember the song. We'd like to thank you. Herbert Hoover. HH from Annie. Anyway, Franklin Roosevelt.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, finally. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: William Howard Taft. Calvin Coolidge. Rutherford B. Hayes.
>> Marco Timpano: My favorite. Rutherford.
>> Amanda Barker: Millard Fillmore.
>> Marco Timpano: I think I stayed at the Fillmore Hotel in New York.
>> Amanda Barker: Let's see how I'm related to him. Oh, through my mother.
>> Marco Timpano: What would he be?
>> Amanda Barker: He's my sixth cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: George Washington.
>> Marco Timpano: You might have heard of him across the Delaware.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Thomas Jefferson.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, he was pretty.
>> Amanda Barker: He's still on Presidents. James Garfield, Abraham Lincoln.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I need to know how you're related to Abraham Lincoln, because I don't believe that.
>> Amanda Barker: Through my mother. He's my seventh cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Once removed through a lot of the same people, actually. Yeah. It goes back to John Howard and DOROTHY in the 1500s, I dare say, in England.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. John Tyler. Good old Ulysses S. Grant. Martin Van Buren. There's still presidents. Zachary Taylor. Wow, I should really learn my presence. James Buchanan. William Henry Harrison. Unfortunate looking mug there back in the day.
>> Marco Timpano: That was the. Look, man.
>> Amanda Barker: It was someone's. It was William's look. Richard Nixon, you might have heard of him.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Also related to him.
>> Marco Timpano: How many cousins away are you from Him.
>> Amanda Barker: I am Richard Nixon's ninth cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you're closer related to Abraham Lincoln than you are to Richard Nixon?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Richard Nixon is through my dad, Theodore Roosevelt, William McKinley. I mean, this is just all the presidents.
>> Marco Timpano: My goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Everybody but Obama, basically.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: James K. Polk, Warren Harding.
>> Marco Timpano: Yet we don't know. Obama might appear in your tree because they. They come up.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, no, it reboots. The more they find through Obama's mom, who I think was originally from Kansas. They lived in Hawaii, but I think was from Kansas, so it's possible. Diana.
>> Marco Timpano: What's Diana?
>> Amanda Barker: Princess Diana. It just says Diana.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a funny thing is you're
>> Amanda Barker: talking about all these presidents and then it's Diana.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, wait, how are you related to the Princess of Wales? And I don't believe that this.
>> Amanda Barker: I am related to her through my dad and she is my 10th cousin once removed.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. At that point.
>> Amanda Barker: At that point, I don't think John Forbes and Constant Mitchell. Oh, good old constant from the 1600s, are out related. That's what I mean. I mean, I think a lot of people can do this on family, church. I don't think this is particularly unique to me. Winston Churchill.
>> Marco Timpano: I could see that. I could see that.
>> Amanda Barker: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your relation to. Let's see if you're more related to Winston Churchill than Nixon. That's what I want to know.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm more related to Nixon. Winston Churchill is my tenth cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: So was Nixon. Wasn't he? He was ten.
>> Amanda Barker: He wasn't. No, I think Nixon. Nixon was. Hang on, I'll go back. I'm not at Emily Dickinson yet. He's my ninth cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so Nixon by one degree more.
>> Amanda Barker: I think I did all these already. Winston Churchill, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy. I want to look at that one.
>> Marco Timpano: You would think he's from Massachusetts.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, through my mom.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you are? Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But I actually haven't. But the thing is, I'm related to Kennedy again through Baron Henry Stewart, First Lord Methuen or something in the 15. So he's my 11th cousin. So through, like Britishy stuff. Not through Irish stuff. I bet I'm more related to Kennedy than that, though, because I haven't dealt with my mom's father's side yet.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, when you go in there, Dwight Eisenhower.
>> Amanda Barker: I have more. And Harry Truman. Those are all the. That's pretty much all the presidents except for Clinton and Obama.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm telling you, Trump. So, Amanda, when you go into that, you just type in your last name and some Information of who you're related to. And then it'll start.
>> Amanda Barker: You do all the information you have. You do your birth dates, you do your parents birth dates, any information you have on your grandparents, birth dates. And that'll start really, when you get into your parents and your grandparents. That's what's. Then it's going to start digging things. It's going to find marriage certificates, it's going to find death records and birth records and all that stuff. And it really depends on who kept the records. I think in New England, truthfully, they kept good books.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that's what it comes down to. So it's not like I'm particularly special. I think it's. They had really good record keeping. You know, it wasn't, oh, Bob had a kid, it was like, you know, come in, write it in a book. Put that dusty book in the year, you know, in the library or wherever the office was for the town.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's so funny. Like, mine, on the other hand is like, I have some information of my, like, not distant relatives, so my grandparents and maybe their parents. And then it goes from there to Roman times. So my last name is a Roman Times.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a big gap. There's a huge gap there, like a thousand years.
>> Marco Timpano: And my. My ancestors would make drums, and that's the name Timpano. So they make drums that would either. They'd either fix drums or make drums that were used in wartime in Rome. So that's. That's how my lineage goes.
>> Amanda Barker: My sister asked me once at the time, I had asked her what, you know, the person she was with, how they were special to her in a weird and unique way. That kind of felt almost like, you know, I don't know how to describe it. And for her, it was that this person had seen a certain band that she loved in a certain time of when they were playing and that she was obsessed with very random little thing. And so that this person had gone and seen this band at that time, right? And so she said, do you have something like that with Marco? And I said, thought about it for a second. And I said, his last name means drum. In my family, we grew up around drums. Drums were part of our lives always in every way. And so I always felt that was a. I love that your last name means drum. It feels like very special to me.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: But I'm related to the Wright brothers. I'm not gonna go through all of these people.
>> Marco Timpano: That's why you left the fly.
>> Amanda Barker: Should I go through all these.
>> Marco Timpano: We don't have that much time for you to go through all your.
>> Amanda Barker: Henry David Thoreau. Speaking of poets, I was. Here we go. Emily Dickinson. Emily Dickinson is my. Oh. And then it just rebooted. Hang on.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a suspenseful moment here on the inside.
>> Amanda Barker: Emily Dickinson is one. I am not. Some of these I'm surprised I'm related to. She is one. I am not surprised.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because you write great poems.
>> Amanda Barker: Depressed woman in Massachusetts. Yeah, I can see it. You know. You know, who sat and wrote poems and. Okay. She's my sixth cousin through my dad.
>> Marco Timpano: That's impressive.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, she's. We're actually pretty close. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So how did that work? Just give us the lineage of that so we can follow, and then we'll end with that.
>> Amanda Barker: So my dad's mother, Dorothy Haydock. Her mother, Hazel Belcher. Hazel Belcher's father, Franklin Belcher. His mother, Sarah Fitchlock. And I'm gonna say this. That. That little line of what I just said.
>> Marco Timpano: The Fitzlock line.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the Sarah Fitchlock. That's a lot of the Mayflowery people. Yeah, go back that way.
>> Marco Timpano: Sarah Fitchlock. What's her name?
>> Amanda Barker: Sarah Fitchlock. She was born in 1815.
>> Marco Timpano: She's the key to your relations.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of them. Not all of them, but a lot of the Mayflower y. New Englandy people.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Her dad was Frederick Locke. His mom was Abigail Maynard. Her dad was James Maynard. His mom was Lydia Ward. Lydia Ward's dad was Richard Ward. And Richard Ward's parents were Eleanor and William Ward. And William Ward had a sister named Elizabeth who gave birth to Increase. This woman's name was Increase Ward.
>> Marco Timpano: We don't hear that. Lovely name.
>> Amanda Barker: Increase.
>> Marco Timpano: This is my cousin, Increase. Tim Panel.
>> Amanda Barker: Increase Ward.
>> Marco Timpano: Great name.
>> Amanda Barker: Increase Ward gave birth to Tabitha Ward, who gave birth to Ebenezer Fay, who with his wife gave birth to Jude Fay, who with his wife, gave birth to Elizabeth Fay. And with her husband, they had Emily. Elizabeth Norcross, who was Emily Dickinson's mother. So there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: My sixth cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for that journey.
>> Amanda Barker: Me and Emily.
>> Marco Timpano: My goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: And. Yeah, I did a. Me and Julie Stiles and Natalie Buckingham. Did a presentation on Emily Dickinson in grade 11. And we each read one of her poems and blew out a candle.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. That's dramatic.
>> Amanda Barker: It was very dramatic. We get a good mark on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the poem you. You read?
>> Amanda Barker: It was all, like, death. Something about death's door.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Death. Death down the road. Or, you know, something like that. Something. But I can probably find an Emily Dickinson. That's not as dark.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Because she did write other things. Let me just look.
>> Marco Timpano: And we'll end with that because we're getting to our double episode time.
>> Amanda Barker: Standby Stan.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I will say this, that years ago, I was a. I was. I had a radio show at the university and I would cover a lot of art stuff. So I would go to the Toronto International Film Festival. Stanley Tucci at the time, had a film called Big Night, and if you haven't seen it, it's a really great film. And it was sort of the hit of the festival. And Stanley Tucci, I know, is from the area of Italy, Calabria, where my father was from. So I was desperate to get an interview with him, and it was really challenging because he was really sought after. So everybody wanted to interview him graciously. I was interviewing Tony Shalhoub, who was in the movie, and Stanley came in and when I saw him, he's like. I said, I'm Marco. He goes, oh, you're Marco Tinpano? Everybody's been telling me that I should get an interview with you. And that's because in the film there's a dish he makes called timpano. And so we were talking and I said, and what's funny is I've always said this. Stanley Tucci looks a lot like my relatives. So he looks like someone who could be related to me, my uncles. He has a face that's very familiar to me. There's certain aspects to his face that even reminds me of my father. And so I was talking to him and I said, oh, you know, I said I wanted to know what town you're from, where this dish comes from, because my name is Tim Pano. Where's your. Where's your family in Colabia from? And he said, Cosenza. And I said, oh. I said, I'm from Catanzaro. And I thought that maybe there was a connection there. He goes, wearing Catanzaro. And I said, my father's hometown, which is a beautiful town called Serra San Bruno. And he's like, that's where my maternal grandmother's from, and that's where this recipe is from.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And so immediately I thought there must be. Be some relation there, though I haven't been able to look it up, because as I said, it goes from my immediate family to Roman times. So hopefully this family org will. Will make the connection. But, yeah, you know, the town is not a big town. And I know that there's a lot of, you know, when you go to monuments and they list names of soldiers or people in the town. There's a lot of Timpanos and there's a lot of Tuccis. So either at some point they mingled or they were sworn enemies. But that is the closest I can come to a connection that I made. Not through that site, you said, but just by happenstance.
>> Amanda Barker: I am having the hardest time finding an Emily Dickinson poem that doesn't end up not so great.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. So why don't we.
>> Amanda Barker: Why don't I do a Wordsworth?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, let's do a Wordsworth in its place. Are you related to Wordsworth?
>> Amanda Barker: Probably. Okay, I like Keats, too, so maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: So then do a Keats.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not reading Kubla Khan, though. Hang on.
>> Marco Timpano: I gave her all that time. I gave Amanda all this went through.
>> Amanda Barker: You have no idea how many Emily Dickinson poems I just scanned through. And I was like, oh, two girls talking. Oh, no, no.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny. That's what I should have done with the Irving Layton poem.
>> Amanda Barker: You know,
>> Marco Timpano: I'll tell you who wouldn't have had problems finding a poem is your cousin Increase.
>> Amanda Barker: Good old Increase Ward.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to know what happens to Increase Ward. She sounds like the most interesting person in your tree.
>> Amanda Barker: We're going to do Ode to a Nightingale because I do remember loving this poem.
>> Marco Timpano: And we'll end the episode there. Thank you for your patience with regards to episodes and our delay, and we hope this double episode has made you smile at the very least.
>> Amanda Barker: So this will be excerpts of Ode to a Nightingale because I do remember loving this poem back in the day, and I think it's fitting for our podcast. So here we go. My heart aches and a drowsy numbness pains my sense as though of hemlock I had drunk or emptied some dull opiate to the drains. One minute passed, and lethwards had sunk. Tis not through envy of thy happy lot, but being too happy in thine happiness that thou light winged dryad of the trees in some melodious plot of beechen green and shadows numberless singest of summer in full throated ease Fade far away, dissolve and quite forget what thou among the leaves hast never known the weariness, the fever and the fret here where men sit and hear each other groan, where palsy shakes a few sad last gray hairs, where youth grows pale and spectre thin and dies, where but to think. Tis to be full of sorrow at leadenized despair, where beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes, or new love pine at them beyond to marrow I cannot see what flowers are at my feet. Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs. But in embalmed darkness guess each sweet wherein the seasonable moth endows the grass, the thicket and the fruit tree. Wild white hawthorn and the pastoral elegantine. Fast fading violets covered up in leaves. And mid May's eldest child, the coming must grows full of dewy wine, the murmurous haunt flies on summer eve Forlorn. The very word is like a bell to toll me back from thee to my soul self. Adieu. The fancy cannot clear so well as she is famed to do, deceiving elf. Adieu, adieu. Thy plaintive anthem fades Past the near meadows, over the still stream, up the hillside and now tis buried deep in the next valley glades. Was it a vision or a waking dream? Fled. Is that music? Do I wake or sleep?
>> Marco Timpano: And we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Original airdate: May 1, 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, lay back, stand up, whatever makes you feel comfortable in this moment. I'm your host, Marco Tympano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for joining us. Of course, if you're a new listener, this is the podcast that's meant to help you learn, calm your way to possible sleep. Just divert your attention so that you can think of other things and lull yourself. Our conversations are not going to be anything too raucous. They're going to be hopefully calm in nature. Right, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: Most definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, this is going to be a longer episode because we didn't have an episode last week and we're late this week. So we just are going to do a longer episode for our listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: I hope that's okay. I feel badly that we missed one. My pitch was we do double. I guess this is a double.
>> Marco Timpano: This will be a double. It'll just save me time.
>> Amanda Barker: A double double.
>> Marco Timpano: A double double. Which in Canada means two sugars, two
>> Amanda Barker: creams and a triple. Triple is three sugars, three creams.
>> Marco Timpano: But we're only going to do a double double.
>> Amanda Barker: And your sister does a 1/2 and
>> Marco Timpano: 1/2, which there's no name for that. Canadians have a very interesting way of looking, labeling things that seem very natural to us. And then when you tell people outside of Canada, they say, What? Like our $1 coin is called a loonie because on one side of it there was a loon, which is a bird, a water bird. It's actually Ontario's bird, if I'm not provincial bird. And our $2 coin is called a toonie. So we have a loonie and a toonie.
>> Amanda Barker: Why wouldn't it be? It had to be called a toonie and we got a dollar. What else are we going to call it? Do you remember your first loony?
>> Marco Timpano: I remember thinking it was the most amazing coin ever.
>> Amanda Barker: It looked amazing. Like you went from paper money to this gold coin. It just felt. I was 13, I was new to Canada, and I remember I was waiting in line for the canteen, which is what we called our middle school. Our junior high didn't have a cafeteria. So I guess some people would bring their bag lunch and just eat them at their desk. But we had nowhere that we would actually eat, which was really a new and weird experience for me, although I actually think it's pretty common. I'd love to hear about your cafeteria experience. But anyways, I remember. So we didn't have a cafeteria, but we had what we called the canteen, which was just a little roll top kind of window, and students would work in it with like maybe one teacher and they would sell chocolate bars and chips and that might have been it, actually. Chocolate bars, Maybe pop as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, that was your cafeteria? Chocolate bar and chips?
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't a cafeteria. We didn't have one. We had a canteen. That was it. It was a little like right by the opening of the school, a little window, and you'd roll it up. I'm sure it's still there. And that's where they would sell chocolate bars and chips.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought it was the best thing in the world because I went from, you know, having to eat school lunch or whatever, and then they were like, oh, we don't have a lunchroom. You bring your lunch, or you just. We're downtown, so you go and eat out. Which I was like, excuse me, is this have. I walked into Utopia because I was 13? And so this idea of, like, hanging out with my friends and going to lunch, having lunch dates was this phenomenal thing. We didn't have many places to eat because it was, you know, a small town in New Brunswick, Canada. But it felt to me, actually, hilariously enough, very urban because we were just going downtown and eating out.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you have an auditorium?
>> Amanda Barker: We did. We had one of those Gym Atoriums.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: What are they called? I would assume Cafetorium is what I've heard them called. But again, we didn't use it as a cafeteria. We used it just as a. It was a gym with a stage. I think that's pretty common, though. I think the old gym with a stage.
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's very common.
>> Amanda Barker: It's kind of probably the norm.
>> Marco Timpano: I think Gymnatorium is the perfect name for it. We had a proper cafeteria in my high school.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: In my grade school. I remember just eating at our desk, and we would have. You know, we'd have certain days where it was like pizza day, where you could buy a slice of pizza for a dollar and chocolate milk for 50 cents. That's how old I am. That something cost 50 cents. So if had a loonie and a half right back in the day, that would be fine. Do you remember, Amanda, the powdered chocolate milk? And it used to come in, like, a rectangular tin, and it had, like, a metal.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Sewer grate on top. And you take the spoon.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait. And what a sewer.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know how to describe it,
>> Amanda Barker: but it looked like you had me then. You very much lost me with that.
>> Marco Timpano: It was like a circular metal topper.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. Okay. And then you.
>> Marco Timpano: You need to use the spoon to pry it off.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: To get to.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I do remember the powder inside this
>> Amanda Barker: delicious metal tin of. Of deliciousness after school that you would mix with milk to make chocolate milk.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sad they don't have that anymore. That they.
>> Amanda Barker: Is there chocolate milk powder? Is that still a thing?
>> Marco Timpano: We have some upstairs. Oh, do we do. But it's like now it's just a plastic cylindrical tube that you unscrew the top.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not the old metal contraption of our childhoods. You know, it's interesting that you say, Sorry, I'm still on the cafeteria thing. Oh, sorry. It's interesting that you say that you grew up with pizza days and that kind of thing. I actually think maybe it's a Canadian phenomenon that schools don't have cafeterias in them. Because it's true. My school didn't know my high school had a cafeteria.
>> Marco Timpano: My high school did, too, but this
>> Amanda Barker: was not a high school. And it was just. You just didn't have. Kids just either brought their lunch or ate at the, you know, ate chips or whatever. Which is why I have this toonie memory, or, sorry, rather loony memory. Because the first loony was this girl, Adrian Dawson.
>> Marco Timpano: Shout out to Adrian.
>> Amanda Barker: Shout out to Adrian Dawson, who moved to Alberta. And I actually googled her the other day.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: And she's like a real estate agent. Yeah, in Alberta, I think. I'm pretty sure it's her. You know, when you look at someone, you're like, yeah, I think that's, you know, because all you have is your childhood memory of their face or whatever. But anyway, I remember her being in line. She's like, I have a loony. And I, you know, kids say stuff. And also, I was new to Canada, so I didn't know. I just kind of took everything at face value of this is a thing. But it had just been introduced. I think I had been there like six months and it had just been introduced this concept of the loony. And so I looked at it and there's just shiny gold coin in her hand. And I was like, what is that? And then you started seeing them more and they were so special. But, yeah, when I worked for a pizza company years ago, when my first job here in. In Ontario, I. I was dealing with the school lunch programs. And I couldn't understand it for a long time why they were bringing in pizza from our company, why we had these catering programs in schools. It made no sense to me because I was like. They were like. And people kept saying, well, they're for the pizza days. And I was like, but I don't understand, like, they don't want to eat the pizza from the cafeteria. Like, it just. I had no concept, sure, that, you know, any of that was a thing. So I don't know. I don't. I don't know if it's a law in certain States that you have to have a cafeteria. I think it is.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, we also, when in grade school, we had hot dog day. So it wasn't. It wasn't pizza day. It was hot dog. And you could buy milk or chocolate milk.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. I think we had hot dog day, too. And I think it was out of the. Like I said, the canteen, the good old canteen had hot dog day. But I mean, I never was like, you know what? I need a hot dog. Like, I never wanted that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: What I wanted was to go downtown and eat, you know, fried chicken with my friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Which I did. Which for my parents were like, well, whatever $2 can get you. So there was like a deal that they had for us kids at lunch where it was like, you know, you get a drumstick and a pop or something for two bucks or whatever it was.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, I'm gonna just switch topics now.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. I'm really hung up on the cafetoriums. Yeah. Of the world.
>> Marco Timpano: Our tulips. Oh, our tulips are out, folks. And they're the white ones.
>> Amanda Barker: They've come to play.
>> Marco Timpano: They have come to play. And we have a little bit of a cold snap right now. Like, it's been a bit cold. A day of warmth and cold. And the last few days it's been very cold. And the tulips love that burst of cold. And they last longer.
>> Amanda Barker: They do. They love it. Should we mention what day it is today for us?
>> Marco Timpano: You can, but, like, well, for sure do it. It's not a problem at all.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, today is our anniversary, folks. And not only that, it's our 15 year anniversary. And of course, we both tried to take the day off and it's just ended up filling up with, oh, I have time on Thursday. But not to worry, we'll go out to dinner tonight and maybe in a little bit we'll tell everyone the weird, weird and wonderful things we're doing this weekend to celebrate.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes, but tell us about those tulips, because they.
>> Amanda Barker: So I planted them. I think I planted them actually before we got married. I think I planted them like when I first moved into the house. It was right around. It was either right before or right after, but I would say they're on year 15, those bulbs.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're a cream color, like a creamy white color.
>> Amanda Barker: I wanted white tulips. I love white tulips. They were all over. Our wedding was white tulips.
>> Marco Timpano: They were. They're beautiful. Where did you get them?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. Probably from the grocery store. That is no longer there. That is now condos. Sorry to bring up a sore spot for you. Well, it's not anything yet. It's a building site, but probably from there, because that was close by. Or the other grocery store that's still there.
>> Marco Timpano: Now Amanda has this particular store she likes to buy flowers at. When we're heading north and we head north on Oakwood is the. Is the name of the street.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I thought you meant north north, like up by the cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, and there is that store that
>> Amanda Barker: we go to, big green greenhouse situation up there.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll talk about that too. But on the way, heading out of the city, there's a little grocery store. Sorry, not a grocery. A convenient. What we call a convenience store.
>> Amanda Barker: And what some states, like in New York state, they would call it a bodega, probably.
>> Marco Timpano: And what would they call it in the uk?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Shop.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never lived. Corner shop.
>> Marco Timpano: A corner shop?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I've never lived in the uk, so I don't know. But probably corner shop.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll have to ask our UK listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But anyway, what we would call a convenience store. I love getting flowers from those places. I like supporting them. And I'll take it back even further. When you and I first met, and we're working together way back, like 20 years ago now, every week, because we had this gigantic cast that we were performing with. It was a cast of 34 plus understudies, etc. So every week there was something to celebrate with that many people. Someone was having a birthday, someone was leaving the show or whatever. So I found myself inevitably wanting to give them something. So what I started doing was there was one by my house at the time, more west in the city than I am now. And I would just go and see what they had in season. And for $10, 20 years ago, but for $10, I could always get a little bouquet of daisies or mums or, you know, like a little thing of mums or hydrangeas or tulips, if it was this time of year, whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you had five tunies, you could buy that. Or if you had 10 loonies, you could buy those flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Math teacher. Yes. So I started. I realized that, you know, it was nice to support them. They have these fresh flowers. It was convenient, obviously. So there is a place. Yeah. That really has. They always have beautiful fresh flowers. And, you know, it's not a huge selection, but it doesn't matter if you just want to get a little burst of color. Like, listen, I think We've established I love flowers. I've always loved flowers. I will continue to love flowers. You know, when. When my day on this earth is done, please write, in lieu of donations, please send flowers.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll say this. I've come to really love flowers. And I think I've mentioned this on the podcast before, that a lot of men are conditioned not to have feelings on flowers. Rather, it's something you give women.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a good point. And I don't know, I just got
>> Marco Timpano: these roses, and I was listening to an CBC radio show, and they were talking to men and saying, like, you know, we've been conditioned not to love flowers. But when you actually talk to men and say, what flowers do you love? Or you talk to little boys who haven't been conditioned yet, they'll talk about how much they love flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And so then I started to reflect and, like, I do like flowers. Like, when we have our garden, I love looking at the flowers in our garden or planting.
>> Amanda Barker: You have so much joy. You take so much joy in flowers.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And those peonies that come up that we.
>> Amanda Barker: One year, you would just post, like, every week a plant photo or a flower photo every week. Do you remember that? A couple of years ago? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I know that for me, there was a time where I was trying not to post anything that was going to be controversial, triggering or whatnot. And I was like, what can I post that is friendly and fun and I can still connect, stay connected with friends? And flowers were one of the things. Food, of course, and hotel carpets. But I have to give Michelle Miracle credit because she's the one who first started posting hotel carpets. And every hotel has different carpeting.
>> Amanda Barker: It does. Some brands, like chains, have their own sort of carpet.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know, when you go to conference centers in a hotel, they have particular carpets. So I started to post that, and I have to give a shout out to Michelle Miracle, one of our dearest friends, who we also like to buy flowers for. We just bought flowers for Nima, her husband.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: And I bought him a prayer plant, and he really loves it. It makes me so happy because we had prayer plants. And so I said, this is okay if you have cats. Like, it's not one of the plants that you have to be careful of if you have plants. And he just showed me a little video of it, of his prayer plant opening. And he's like, when did we get
>> Amanda Barker: him a prayer plan?
>> Marco Timpano: He helped me with the class I'm teaching, so I sent it to him and it was his birthday recently, so a shout out to him.
>> Amanda Barker: We sent him sunflowers.
>> Marco Timpano: Happy birthday, Nima. I haven't spoken to you since birthday, but I will. And we need to have Nima back on the podcast. So, Nima, if you're listening, let's make a date to have you on the podcast. Because he's a fan favorite, people say, when's Nima coming back?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he's awesome. They're both awesome. They're good friends. And. Yeah, and I do tend to send them flowers. They live in California, so there's no flowers. Hey, I don't know what flowers are. Yeah, there's no. What I was going to say is there's no shortage of flowers near them. So it's. It's a beautiful, easy gift to send. But I send them. I sent them to my parents. It was their anniversary a few weeks back.
>> Marco Timpano: They have a tree right outside their balcony which hummingbirds nest in. And so Nemo will send us pictures of the hummingbirds and the flowers that the hummingbirds go to. It's really quite beautiful. But anyways, this bodega or this convenience store, this corner shop is now where we buy flowers. And they have a plenitude of beautiful flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, and that place was always on the way up to go see your aunt, your mom, et cetera. So if it was a holiday and I just wanted to bring a little arrangement or, you know, bulbs in a pot kind of thing, like a hydrangea or something, then it was a great place to stop and grab two. So I'd always get one for your mom and one for your aunt or one for your sister or whatever. So, yeah, it just has been a convenient place to go.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just tricky to park. Amanda will do what she calls live park in front of the.
>> Amanda Barker: Which I don't know, maybe is a maybe. It's a term my mom invented. You know, when you move countries when you're 13, you don't know what was just something your parents or your family said or if it was like a regional country thing. And I will forever be trying to decode it all. But it's what my parents always called when you're not, you know, when you're. I think we call it idling here when you just park the car, but it's still running.
>> Marco Timpano: You might have your four way blinkers on.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So what is it then? Define for our listeners what rockstar parking is. What we refer to as rock star parking.
>> Amanda Barker: When you pull right up to a place and you've Got the perfect spot. You can get right out.
>> Marco Timpano: That's our rock star parking. All right, so that's the convenience store flowers. What about this one in the north of where we are that you were referring to? That's.
>> Amanda Barker: And I think technically it's in Bradford, Ontario, which you might not have known.
>> Marco Timpano: Look it up, folks, because it's an exciting town.
>> Amanda Barker: I forget what. What the name of the actual place is. It's one of those gigantic greenhouses.
>> Marco Timpano: It's Bradford, not Brantford.
>> Amanda Barker: There's Brantford and there's Bradford.
>> Marco Timpano: Brantford is where Alexander Graham Bell.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Lived.
>> Amanda Barker: That's west and Bradford is north, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought it was Innisfil.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it's springwater.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it not spring water?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. You know what I mean? It's a place that is part of a municipality that has a name, but then again, it's like a highway and a big field and then this massive greenhouse.
>> Marco Timpano: We're talking Simcoe north, for those who
>> Amanda Barker: know, which barely we would even know. Simcoe North. Simcoe, by the way, is a lake
>> Marco Timpano: named after Lord Simcoe.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, what would we find in this greenhouse place? We found some pretty great things. We got my mother this really cool hibiscus tree.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's true. I can't believe they've had it going all year.
>> Marco Timpano: They brought it in, and then my mother wanted to bring it out in April, and I was like, it's not going to survive. You've kept it all winter long inside and have been very judicious with watering it, making sure that it. It survives.
>> Amanda Barker: I think we got it for her for Mother's Day maybe, or her birthday, both of which are coming up, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, we got her this massive hibiscus tree and again, thinking, that'll be nice. And then whatever, you know, like, it's a tropical flower.
>> Marco Timpano: We can only withstand so much in Canada.
>> Amanda Barker: But your mom being your mom was like, oh, we'll bring it in. And it's flourished. They had Christmas ornaments all over it. I mean, it's this ma. It's a massive tree, truthfully. So now it's, I guess, time to bring it back out.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And it had, like, peachy. Peachy pink. What do you call that color? Peachy pink?
>> Amanda Barker: Salmon.
>> Marco Timpano: Salmony colored hibiscus flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Coral. In that world.
>> Marco Timpano: In that world, indeed.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah. What, sorry, what were we talking about? The greenhouse.
>> Marco Timpano: That greenhouse in spring water slash Bradford.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's one of those, like, you get a cart and it's massive. And there's an indoor section and an outdoor section. I love going to those places because they remind me of my mom.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: She loved. Loves gardening. And all through my life, sort of fostered this idea of, like, going to those places and picking out things and what are we gonna get? And you and I don't do a ton of it, but once a year, we do go there. I tend to end up buying as many indoor as outdoor plants, but we sort of do our back deck and have things hanging and have it all ready. And every year, I kind of make this thing both here and up north of, like, we live in a climate that will always support this. And my brain gets tricked into thinking this is our life now, and it's wonderful. And then the fall comes.
>> Marco Timpano: The fall takes it all away. Are there any flowers you want to see in our garden this year?
>> Amanda Barker: Out. Out here?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Here?
>> Amanda Barker: No. I mean, I like the bulbs that we have going. Did we get dahlias in last year? No, I don't think every year I'm like, dahlias. We got to get into the dahlias because those are the last of the year. I thought we planted some.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the problem is the city has dug up our front. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So many times.
>> Marco Timpano: And I don't think our pink tulips are coming. Which reminds me, I'm gonna.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you plant pink tulips?
>> Marco Timpano: I planted those, like, 50 bulbs of pink tulips that came up so beautifully last year from, you know, we went to that big bulk store that I love.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And they had 50 tulips.
>> Amanda Barker: It's amazing that these white tulips after 15 years are still going strong.
>> Marco Timpano: And, you know, tulips deep in the ground, tulips, after a while get a bit wonky or they don't blossom like they used to. Not these.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Amanda Barker: I think they get stronger.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I think if the pink tulips aren't coming up, they just, like, after a few years, like, one thing I noticed with tulips is when they first come up, they're pretty short. And you're like, but I want the long tulips that everybody has. But now, those white ones were really short when they first came up.
>> Marco Timpano: Were they?
>> Amanda Barker: Okay? And now they're much longer. They're long, beautiful stems. Just takes time.
>> Marco Timpano: We had these fascinating tulips that a friend brought us from Holland or the Netherlands, and they were really interesting looking. They weren't the prettiest tulips. They weren't the you know, they were definitely eye catching.
>> Amanda Barker: They were very bulbous.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So they were very full and they were so red that they were black.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And the city, I don't know what they did, dug them up, got rid of them.
>> Amanda Barker: To be very honest, I'm surprised the white tulips have. Have remained because that was a massive dig. Like, how anything survived in that dirt, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a fire hydrant on our front property, in case anybody's wondering, why is the city taking up our front? And another shout out to Michelle Miracle, who collects pictures of fire hydrants. So if you have a fire hydrant in front of your property, send a picture on our Instagram and I will tag Michelle Miracle in it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so they've dug it up because they've been doing fire hydrant work as a city does. And of course, when they come to dig, they don't pay much attention to the beautiful flowers that we curated in our front. And so now we have. It's funny because the white tulips, there's four in a. In a cluster and then one off, way off by itself.
>> Amanda Barker: That got moved.
>> Marco Timpano: That got moved.
>> Amanda Barker: But they're more or less where I originally put them. So that means that they were as deep as it could possibly get. But the peonies have come up, which is like, talk about resilience. My goodness. The fact that they're even still happening at all.
>> Marco Timpano: They're coming up so grateful. I think they were my mother's or my grandmothers.
>> Amanda Barker: They're grandmothers. I know there's always a confusion of my mother's.
>> Marco Timpano: My sister has my grandmother's, and we have your mother's and I have my mother's.
>> Amanda Barker: So inherited plants. And we did have Dale's grandmother's sedum, because when everything got. When she. When her grandmother sold her house, Dale was like, she took a bunch of
>> Marco Timpano: sedum and she's like, I don't have a front yard. Can I temporarily plant it in your yard?
>> Amanda Barker: We've been housing that. But then, of course, the city had other plants. I think one survived.
>> Marco Timpano: I think there's a sedum. I do like sedums. I have to say.
>> Amanda Barker: They're okay. They're. They're pretty hearty, and they're fine.
>> Marco Timpano: My favorite flower, as you know, is the anthurium, which is a tropical flower that's very waxy looking. And I've always liked it when I was a kid and I used to watch this program called Fantasy island because they would show them I like how
>> Amanda Barker: you say this program. I, like most people would know a fantasy island. No. Of a certain age.
>> Marco Timpano: Of a certain age. Of a certain age. So, yeah, as a kid, I was like, oh, look at that flower. And I had never seen one because they weren't bringing them. I don't think they could bring them to Canada or they were very expensive or whatnot. And then, you know, as years go by, they start appearing, and I was like, oh, that's what it looks like. And so I've always had a fascination.
>> Amanda Barker: It's so funny, right? Like, I imagine there are a whole bunch of people, elderly people, that still have that feeling about oranges, because I know, like, at Christmas time, it was especially in British tradition to get an orange in your stocking because it was this very tropical splurge of a fruit that would blossom during Christmas time.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So to get an orange was like, wow. You know, but now we live in this world where you can just go to the. The bodega. Yeah. Corner shop, convenience store and get, you know, whatever, you know, whatever veg or fruit or whatever is there, so.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, Amanda. So as we mentioned at the top of the program or the podcast episode, we're gonna go longer because we didn't have one last week, but the week before, we did some poetry readings and we got a lot of shout outs or people reaching out saying they enjoyed it. So people just really enjoyed it. They love the way you read poetry.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: They were a little bit shocked of the poem I chose.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I didn't realize that's what proofreading will do. Do people know the poem and know the words? You were. You were deleting.
>> Marco Timpano: I have a feeling people looked it up and then really saw what I was. So. But. But we got a really lovely message from one of our longtime listeners, Charlotte.
>> Amanda Barker: Charlotte. And Charlotte has a child named Alex. And Alex created a beautiful. Looks like a painting and collage, collaged words on top of a painting of Mary Oliver's wild geese.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so nice. Beautiful. And it just happened to coincide with the fact that you read that one on the. On the program two weeks ago.
>> Amanda Barker: And I want to just describe the. The gorgeous painting here that's here. And again, I think Alex created it for Charlotte. But in any event, it's got. It has. You can imagine, it's a field of beautiful flowers. In fact, it looks like. Let me look at what these flowers are. Kind of looks like. And has a very impressionist style, which is just beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Love.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, I'm Just trying to think of what these flowers would be. Lupins.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, lupines are gorgeous.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It looks like purple lupines, I think, which in New Brunswick are everywhere at this time of year.
>> Marco Timpano: I've tried to grow lupines here in Ontario. I've never had luck.
>> Amanda Barker: No lupins. Lupins, like the east Coast. Those are the pink and purple flowers. If you've ever driven out east at this time, you will see them everywhere. They're those cone shaped pink and purple flowers all over the sides of the roads of the Maritimes. So I think there's lupins. There's definitely looks like almost like pink daisies. Gorgeous. A lot of white flowers. So it could be any kind of white ground cover type of flowers. Looks like daffodils in the distance. I mean, just beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: They did an amazing job on that.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely. Some violets, maybe those like little bluebells. And then there's sort of mountains in the distance. A gorgeous cloud, little sprinkling of clouds. And then of course, for the poem, Wild geese. Some wild geese.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's so great.
>> Amanda Barker: And I think in this one they're flying back home. They're flying north to us here.
>> Marco Timpano: And Charlotte says she'd like to hear us read Wordsworth or I can't remember, Emily Dickinson or something.
>> Amanda Barker: Emily Dickinson can go pretty dark. I did a whole thing on I'm, by the way, related to Emily Dickinson.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda's related to a lot of people.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Especially if they're from Massachusetts and lived in the 1800s. Solid chance I have some of their DNA in me. And Emily Dickinson, for sure I'm related to. I forget what cousin. I can look that up if you want.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I'm going to read a Wordsworth poem for you, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, you read. Wait, which one are you reading?
>> Marco Timpano: I picked one that I thought was appropriate to the podcast and one that did not have any inappropriate content. Shall we say? This one's called a slumber. Did my spirit seal.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's a very famous poem, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: It is.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Yeah. Do you know anything about Wordsworth?
>> Marco Timpano: Not really.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so Wordsworth was one of the Romantic poets In Wordsworth, Keats,
>> Marco Timpano: not Irving Layton.
>> Amanda Barker: There's. There's four of them. And now I can't think. But anyway. But anyways, we'll give the credit to Wordsworth and Keats. They are kind of considered the fathers of Romantic poetry. Right. And they really found they wrote in the 1800s. And so you have to think that was a time where there was great industrialization happening.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And so for them, they found the beauty in nature. And it was that return to nature, you know, to get out of the city, to get out of. For them, London and to go back and find solace and peace and beauty in nature. And so this was considered a very romantic notion, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So because of that. Sorry, I'm trying to sign into this thing to find out about Emily Dickinson. Because of that, you know, there they were. It was a movement and it was kind of a new idea at that time.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that. Okay, so I'll read this poem and it's called A Slumber. Well, I should try to say it properly.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, yeah. Are you okay to do? Yeah, I'm okay with Read of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'm gonna do. It's not. It's. It's a semi cold read, what we
>> Amanda Barker: call in the business a cold read. Someone hands you something and you just have to read it.
>> Marco Timpano: A slumber did my spirit seal. A slumber did my spirit seal. I had no human fears. She seemed a thing that could not feel the touch of earthly years. No motion has she now no force she neither hears nor sees. Rolled round in earth's journal course with rocks and stones entries William Wordsworth. That's a good poem to exercise your mouth, I have to say.
>> Amanda Barker: Just give me one more second here.
>> Marco Timpano: Figure out how Amanda knows more about poetry and authors, especially Canadian authors. Amanda knows quite. Quite a great deal. So I. I always defer to her with regards to that.
>> Amanda Barker: So I. Yeah, Canada was all uncharted new, exciting territory for me when I was young. And so it. It's kind of always been that.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting that you talk about the Romantic poets. Kind of reminded me of what the Group of Seven did with paintings at the time. So if you are not familiar with the Group of Seven group of painters in Canada from the 1920s and 30s and 40s, they painted beyond that too. But I've always loved their work. So if you get a chance, I'll post some on our Instagram.
>> Amanda Barker: And since it is our anniversary today, I should mention that you proposed to me in front of one of the Group of Seven's paintings. Lauren Harris is painting who's My Favorite. And there's a story behind that. I don't know if we want to share that of why, but he did propose to me there at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinberg, which is considered the home gallery, I believe, of the Group of Seven. And we continued that another member of the Group of Seven painted the cross at the church that we got married in.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. Yeah, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: I actually forget which one, though. Do you remember who?
>> Marco Timpano: Which church or which.
>> Amanda Barker: Which group of seven person.
>> Marco Timpano: It'll come to me. I just can't think at this moment. He's also one of my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Should I just list all the people that I'm related to? Because I'm scrolling through them.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda's.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you want to hear? This is going to put everybody to sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: All the really boring old people I'm related to. When I get to Emily Dickinson, I will stop. I will stop.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And by the way, if you're still awake and listening, and if this is hopefully will soothe you, but if it has piqued your curiosity, you can always go to familysearch.org which is what I did on a whim when I was in Salt Lake City in Utah. And there's a huge genealogy institute there. And, well, we didn't know that, but our friend Michelle, Miracle shout out to Michelle and she said, that's one of the things you kind of do here. And so we went and plugged our names into the computers there and the elders there helped us out and it was a fun journey. And so you start to build your family tree. And it's a way to do all that.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's free, right, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: It's all free.
>> Marco Timpano: That's where you mentioned it.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the site again? Yeah, FamilySearch. So the one that's better known as Ancestry.com. you didn't hear from me. They might all be on with the same person, say people, you know, like it's all the same thing. So, I mean, your history is your history.
>> Marco Timpano: Rumor has it.
>> Amanda Barker: Rumor has it. Yeah, it's true. I don't actually know that for sure. So anyway, so on familysearch.org I've found now it's a little bit of a trickier website.
>> Marco Timpano: I will say this. If you do go on that website and you type in your name and nothing comes up, you're in good company because that was that. While Amanda had just a roll of people come up, I had no one. So fret not, you're in good company.
>> Amanda Barker: This is what happens when you're from one state that has a lot of history and nobody ever moved until you did. Anyway, here are the people I'm related to. We're going to start with leaders. John Adams. So these are all presidents I'm going to mention. John Adams, also known. John Quincy Adams. Oh, the Q. Benjamin Harrison. Lesser known President Franklin Pierce.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I thought it was gonna be Roosevelt.
>> Amanda Barker: Also President James Madison.
>> Marco Timpano: Good stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, sorry. I keep clicking on it and then
>> Marco Timpano: it shows me how James Madison is the street in New York. Madison, which the movie Splash then named the mermaid painting Daryl Hannah. And there wasn't a person's name Madison.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we watched Splash recently. And I. And I. The one thing I remember from the movie that I explained to my niece and nephew who were going to watch it with us, we watched it at Easter, was. I said, no. There's a moment where she says she wants her name to be Madison because he's looking at the street names and he says, madison, Madison. That's not a name. You can't be named Madison. But she liked the name, so he's like, fine, your name is Madison. And as we all now know, Madison is an extremely popular name. In fact, it's so popular, it's not as popular anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: But maybe 10 years ago, there were a lot of baby girls named Madison
>> Marco Timpano: because of the movie Splash. And if you haven't seen that movie, I think it was Ron Howard's first movie. It holds up. It's quite lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's a lovely little film. And I watched it a ton as a kid, so I remember that moment. Anyways, back to Presidents. I'm related to Herbert Hoover.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Which if you're into musicals, you might remember the song. We'd like to thank you. Herbert Hoover. HH from Annie. Anyway, Franklin Roosevelt.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, finally. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: William Howard Taft. Calvin Coolidge. Rutherford B. Hayes.
>> Marco Timpano: My favorite. Rutherford.
>> Amanda Barker: Millard Fillmore.
>> Marco Timpano: I think I stayed at the Fillmore Hotel in New York.
>> Amanda Barker: Let's see how I'm related to him. Oh, through my mother.
>> Marco Timpano: What would he be?
>> Amanda Barker: He's my sixth cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: George Washington.
>> Marco Timpano: You might have heard of him across the Delaware.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Thomas Jefferson.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, he was pretty.
>> Amanda Barker: He's still on Presidents. James Garfield, Abraham Lincoln.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I need to know how you're related to Abraham Lincoln, because I don't believe that.
>> Amanda Barker: Through my mother. He's my seventh cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Once removed through a lot of the same people, actually. Yeah. It goes back to John Howard and DOROTHY in the 1500s, I dare say, in England.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. John Tyler. Good old Ulysses S. Grant. Martin Van Buren. There's still presidents. Zachary Taylor. Wow, I should really learn my presence. James Buchanan. William Henry Harrison. Unfortunate looking mug there back in the day.
>> Marco Timpano: That was the. Look, man.
>> Amanda Barker: It was someone's. It was William's look. Richard Nixon, you might have heard of him.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Also related to him.
>> Marco Timpano: How many cousins away are you from Him.
>> Amanda Barker: I am Richard Nixon's ninth cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you're closer related to Abraham Lincoln than you are to Richard Nixon?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Richard Nixon is through my dad, Theodore Roosevelt, William McKinley. I mean, this is just all the presidents.
>> Marco Timpano: My goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Everybody but Obama, basically.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: James K. Polk, Warren Harding.
>> Marco Timpano: Yet we don't know. Obama might appear in your tree because they. They come up.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, no, it reboots. The more they find through Obama's mom, who I think was originally from Kansas. They lived in Hawaii, but I think was from Kansas, so it's possible. Diana.
>> Marco Timpano: What's Diana?
>> Amanda Barker: Princess Diana. It just says Diana.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a funny thing is you're
>> Amanda Barker: talking about all these presidents and then it's Diana.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, wait, how are you related to the Princess of Wales? And I don't believe that this.
>> Amanda Barker: I am related to her through my dad and she is my 10th cousin once removed.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. At that point.
>> Amanda Barker: At that point, I don't think John Forbes and Constant Mitchell. Oh, good old constant from the 1600s, are out related. That's what I mean. I mean, I think a lot of people can do this on family, church. I don't think this is particularly unique to me. Winston Churchill.
>> Marco Timpano: I could see that. I could see that.
>> Amanda Barker: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your relation to. Let's see if you're more related to Winston Churchill than Nixon. That's what I want to know.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm more related to Nixon. Winston Churchill is my tenth cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: So was Nixon. Wasn't he? He was ten.
>> Amanda Barker: He wasn't. No, I think Nixon. Nixon was. Hang on, I'll go back. I'm not at Emily Dickinson yet. He's my ninth cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so Nixon by one degree more.
>> Amanda Barker: I think I did all these already. Winston Churchill, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy. I want to look at that one.
>> Marco Timpano: You would think he's from Massachusetts.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, through my mom.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you are? Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But I actually haven't. But the thing is, I'm related to Kennedy again through Baron Henry Stewart, First Lord Methuen or something in the 15. So he's my 11th cousin. So through, like Britishy stuff. Not through Irish stuff. I bet I'm more related to Kennedy than that, though, because I haven't dealt with my mom's father's side yet.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, when you go in there, Dwight Eisenhower.
>> Amanda Barker: I have more. And Harry Truman. Those are all the. That's pretty much all the presidents except for Clinton and Obama.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm telling you, Trump. So, Amanda, when you go into that, you just type in your last name and some Information of who you're related to. And then it'll start.
>> Amanda Barker: You do all the information you have. You do your birth dates, you do your parents birth dates, any information you have on your grandparents, birth dates. And that'll start really, when you get into your parents and your grandparents. That's what's. Then it's going to start digging things. It's going to find marriage certificates, it's going to find death records and birth records and all that stuff. And it really depends on who kept the records. I think in New England, truthfully, they kept good books.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that's what it comes down to. So it's not like I'm particularly special. I think it's. They had really good record keeping. You know, it wasn't, oh, Bob had a kid, it was like, you know, come in, write it in a book. Put that dusty book in the year, you know, in the library or wherever the office was for the town.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's so funny. Like, mine, on the other hand is like, I have some information of my, like, not distant relatives, so my grandparents and maybe their parents. And then it goes from there to Roman times. So my last name is a Roman Times.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a big gap. There's a huge gap there, like a thousand years.
>> Marco Timpano: And my. My ancestors would make drums, and that's the name Timpano. So they make drums that would either. They'd either fix drums or make drums that were used in wartime in Rome. So that's. That's how my lineage goes.
>> Amanda Barker: My sister asked me once at the time, I had asked her what, you know, the person she was with, how they were special to her in a weird and unique way. That kind of felt almost like, you know, I don't know how to describe it. And for her, it was that this person had seen a certain band that she loved in a certain time of when they were playing and that she was obsessed with very random little thing. And so that this person had gone and seen this band at that time, right? And so she said, do you have something like that with Marco? And I said, thought about it for a second. And I said, his last name means drum. In my family, we grew up around drums. Drums were part of our lives always in every way. And so I always felt that was a. I love that your last name means drum. It feels like very special to me.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: But I'm related to the Wright brothers. I'm not gonna go through all of these people.
>> Marco Timpano: That's why you left the fly.
>> Amanda Barker: Should I go through all these.
>> Marco Timpano: We don't have that much time for you to go through all your.
>> Amanda Barker: Henry David Thoreau. Speaking of poets, I was. Here we go. Emily Dickinson. Emily Dickinson is my. Oh. And then it just rebooted. Hang on.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a suspenseful moment here on the inside.
>> Amanda Barker: Emily Dickinson is one. I am not. Some of these I'm surprised I'm related to. She is one. I am not surprised.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because you write great poems.
>> Amanda Barker: Depressed woman in Massachusetts. Yeah, I can see it. You know. You know, who sat and wrote poems and. Okay. She's my sixth cousin through my dad.
>> Marco Timpano: That's impressive.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, she's. We're actually pretty close. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So how did that work? Just give us the lineage of that so we can follow, and then we'll end with that.
>> Amanda Barker: So my dad's mother, Dorothy Haydock. Her mother, Hazel Belcher. Hazel Belcher's father, Franklin Belcher. His mother, Sarah Fitchlock. And I'm gonna say this. That. That little line of what I just said.
>> Marco Timpano: The Fitzlock line.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the Sarah Fitchlock. That's a lot of the Mayflowery people. Yeah, go back that way.
>> Marco Timpano: Sarah Fitchlock. What's her name?
>> Amanda Barker: Sarah Fitchlock. She was born in 1815.
>> Marco Timpano: She's the key to your relations.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of them. Not all of them, but a lot of the Mayflower y. New Englandy people.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Her dad was Frederick Locke. His mom was Abigail Maynard. Her dad was James Maynard. His mom was Lydia Ward. Lydia Ward's dad was Richard Ward. And Richard Ward's parents were Eleanor and William Ward. And William Ward had a sister named Elizabeth who gave birth to Increase. This woman's name was Increase Ward.
>> Marco Timpano: We don't hear that. Lovely name.
>> Amanda Barker: Increase.
>> Marco Timpano: This is my cousin, Increase. Tim Panel.
>> Amanda Barker: Increase Ward.
>> Marco Timpano: Great name.
>> Amanda Barker: Increase Ward gave birth to Tabitha Ward, who gave birth to Ebenezer Fay, who with his wife gave birth to Jude Fay, who with his wife, gave birth to Elizabeth Fay. And with her husband, they had Emily. Elizabeth Norcross, who was Emily Dickinson's mother. So there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: My sixth cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for that journey.
>> Amanda Barker: Me and Emily.
>> Marco Timpano: My goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: And. Yeah, I did a. Me and Julie Stiles and Natalie Buckingham. Did a presentation on Emily Dickinson in grade 11. And we each read one of her poems and blew out a candle.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. That's dramatic.
>> Amanda Barker: It was very dramatic. We get a good mark on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the poem you. You read?
>> Amanda Barker: It was all, like, death. Something about death's door.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Death. Death down the road. Or, you know, something like that. Something. But I can probably find an Emily Dickinson. That's not as dark.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Because she did write other things. Let me just look.
>> Marco Timpano: And we'll end with that because we're getting to our double episode time.
>> Amanda Barker: Standby Stan.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I will say this, that years ago, I was a. I was. I had a radio show at the university and I would cover a lot of art stuff. So I would go to the Toronto International Film Festival. Stanley Tucci at the time, had a film called Big Night, and if you haven't seen it, it's a really great film. And it was sort of the hit of the festival. And Stanley Tucci, I know, is from the area of Italy, Calabria, where my father was from. So I was desperate to get an interview with him, and it was really challenging because he was really sought after. So everybody wanted to interview him graciously. I was interviewing Tony Shalhoub, who was in the movie, and Stanley came in and when I saw him, he's like. I said, I'm Marco. He goes, oh, you're Marco Tinpano? Everybody's been telling me that I should get an interview with you. And that's because in the film there's a dish he makes called timpano. And so we were talking and I said, and what's funny is I've always said this. Stanley Tucci looks a lot like my relatives. So he looks like someone who could be related to me, my uncles. He has a face that's very familiar to me. There's certain aspects to his face that even reminds me of my father. And so I was talking to him and I said, oh, you know, I said I wanted to know what town you're from, where this dish comes from, because my name is Tim Pano. Where's your. Where's your family in Colabia from? And he said, Cosenza. And I said, oh. I said, I'm from Catanzaro. And I thought that maybe there was a connection there. He goes, wearing Catanzaro. And I said, my father's hometown, which is a beautiful town called Serra San Bruno. And he's like, that's where my maternal grandmother's from, and that's where this recipe is from.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And so immediately I thought there must be. Be some relation there, though I haven't been able to look it up, because as I said, it goes from my immediate family to Roman times. So hopefully this family org will. Will make the connection. But, yeah, you know, the town is not a big town. And I know that there's a lot of, you know, when you go to monuments and they list names of soldiers or people in the town. There's a lot of Timpanos and there's a lot of Tuccis. So either at some point they mingled or they were sworn enemies. But that is the closest I can come to a connection that I made. Not through that site, you said, but just by happenstance.
>> Amanda Barker: I am having the hardest time finding an Emily Dickinson poem that doesn't end up not so great.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. So why don't we.
>> Amanda Barker: Why don't I do a Wordsworth?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, let's do a Wordsworth in its place. Are you related to Wordsworth?
>> Amanda Barker: Probably. Okay, I like Keats, too, so maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: So then do a Keats.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not reading Kubla Khan, though. Hang on.
>> Marco Timpano: I gave her all that time. I gave Amanda all this went through.
>> Amanda Barker: You have no idea how many Emily Dickinson poems I just scanned through. And I was like, oh, two girls talking. Oh, no, no.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny. That's what I should have done with the Irving Layton poem.
>> Amanda Barker: You know,
>> Marco Timpano: I'll tell you who wouldn't have had problems finding a poem is your cousin Increase.
>> Amanda Barker: Good old Increase Ward.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to know what happens to Increase Ward. She sounds like the most interesting person in your tree.
>> Amanda Barker: We're going to do Ode to a Nightingale because I do remember loving this poem.
>> Marco Timpano: And we'll end the episode there. Thank you for your patience with regards to episodes and our delay, and we hope this double episode has made you smile at the very least.
>> Amanda Barker: So this will be excerpts of Ode to a Nightingale because I do remember loving this poem back in the day, and I think it's fitting for our podcast. So here we go. My heart aches and a drowsy numbness pains my sense as though of hemlock I had drunk or emptied some dull opiate to the drains. One minute passed, and lethwards had sunk. Tis not through envy of thy happy lot, but being too happy in thine happiness that thou light winged dryad of the trees in some melodious plot of beechen green and shadows numberless singest of summer in full throated ease Fade far away, dissolve and quite forget what thou among the leaves hast never known the weariness, the fever and the fret here where men sit and hear each other groan, where palsy shakes a few sad last gray hairs, where youth grows pale and spectre thin and dies, where but to think. Tis to be full of sorrow at leadenized despair, where beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes, or new love pine at them beyond to marrow I cannot see what flowers are at my feet. Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs. But in embalmed darkness guess each sweet wherein the seasonable moth endows the grass, the thicket and the fruit tree. Wild white hawthorn and the pastoral elegantine. Fast fading violets covered up in leaves. And mid May's eldest child, the coming must grows full of dewy wine, the murmurous haunt flies on summer eve Forlorn. The very word is like a bell to toll me back from thee to my soul self. Adieu. The fancy cannot clear so well as she is famed to do, deceiving elf. Adieu, adieu. Thy plaintive anthem fades Past the near meadows, over the still stream, up the hillside and now tis buried deep in the next valley glades. Was it a vision or a waking dream? Fled. Is that music? Do I wake or sleep?
>> Marco Timpano: And we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Pool Noodles, Sunglasses, and Fruit Trees
(Original airdate: April 9, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation meant to help you find your way to sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: We wow, that really relaxed me.
>> Marco Timpano: Did it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Good.
>> Amanda Barker: I was like, good night. My body is very relaxed right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh good. I'm glad to hear that because we both had busy days.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. And I've been Sedentary for far too many days. And so for various reasons. And tonight I went to Aquafoot Fit.
>> Marco Timpano: Aqua Fit. How was that? How was your Aqua Fit foot in Aqua Fit?
>> Amanda Barker: My feet are good. In aqua feet. Foot fit. That was not intentional. It was good. It was good. There's seven of us. It was all Canadian music tonight.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's interesting.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I liked this class better than the last Aqua Fit class I did, which was a few weeks ago. Oh, good. Yeah. And this one I paid for the one a few weeks ago. I didn't realize I was supposed to pay. Nobody stop. I stole a free class.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the first one's always free, Right? And how was this class? How would you rate this class?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it was good. It wasn't. I'd like a bit more flow. I'd like more of a dance, if you will. But the exercises were good and the music was good, and the teacher was jovial, and that's really all you need from Aquafit. I've learned a trick with Aquafit.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, share, share.
>> Amanda Barker: I like to do it right on the line of the pool where the shallow end meets the deep end.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And why is that?
>> Amanda Barker: Because some exercises I'd rather do in the shallow end. Generally speaking, that's easier. But some exercises I want to do and more enjoy doing in the deep end. And it's a better workout with those ones.
>> Marco Timpano: So what exactly is Aqua Fit? Is it like a jazzercise class in the water?
>> Amanda Barker: Basically, we use dumbbells, like foam dumbbells that offer a lot of resistance. And we use really strong pool noodles that offer a lot of resistance as well.
>> Marco Timpano: So they're different than regular pool noodles?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the pool noodles that I always remember are, like, hollow, almost Styrofoamy plasticky tubes.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Are they hollow in the middle? When you picture a pool noodle, is it hollow in the middle?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course it is. Yeah, that's how I picture it.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, these are not hollow. These are like these. If. If those are licorice, then these are nibs.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: If you know what a nib is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah. Nib and a licorice are kind of in the same family. It's candy, anyways.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but nibs are like a strong core.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And. And like, Twizzlers would have a hollowed center. Right, right. Gotcha. Actually, you know what it's more like. It's like the normal Twizzlers with the hollowed center and then the peel. The peel and twist or whatever they're called. Twizzlers that are like individual strands.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: That make up a thicker, fuller Twizzler.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Okay. If you know your candy, you'll know what we're talking about.
>> Amanda Barker: You know your Twizzlers, Which I do. So anyway, they're like stronger pool noodles. And we like, like, we'll put it between our legs like it's a horse, like a play horse. And then pedal like it's like, put your hands on the top and then pedal around the pool like it's a bike.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is quite enjoyable, I have to say.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds silly, but.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, they're all ridiculous. Like, everything you're doing in there is. You look ridiculous, but it's you and six other women who look equally ridiculous. So it's fine. And I do appreciate that they put the blinds down in the windows.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: For the pool. So even though you look ridiculous, no one's watching you. There's nobody gawking, going. Also, I don't think anybody would really care to be like, look at those dumb middle aged women dancing around to Canadian hits of the 80s.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, maybe there's somebody out there that would be that person. But anyway, there wasn't. And the lifeguards are all like 16, so I keep thinking like, do they know Corey Hart? Do they know Gowen? Probably not.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, doubtful.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, I don't know how many of our listeners know those Canadian artists either.
>> Amanda Barker: Corey Hart is better known, sure, if you're of a certain age, because of his wonderful hit Sunglasses at Night.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: Which has a really, like, dangerous sound to it. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Has a dangerous feel to it, if you will, but.
>> Amanda Barker: And yet a stupid message.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: He wears. I don't. What are the lyrics? I wear my sunglasses at night so I can see.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't remember, so I can't be seen. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: It doesn't make any sense. Why would you wear your sunglasses at night?
>> Marco Timpano: Was there any. Was there anything you wore when you went to clubs that was your staple thing that you wore?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I didn't really, unfortunately, have the benefit of getting to go to many clubs.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't grow up around the club.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I grew up around hillbilly bars that wish they were the club.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And I wished they were the club so I would dress appropriately, but it's not the same. But I did wear thigh highs that was really big in like 1995.
>> Marco Timpano: Thigh highs.
>> Amanda Barker: Like thigh high black stockings.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And like granny boots.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I Rocked that look for a long time. I got really into vests also in that era of the 90s, wearing a vest was really cool, but it, like, my mom took it to extremes. She was doing a lot of sewing in those days. She would never tell, say that she was a champion sewer, but she was actually quite crafty. Is quite crafty with a sewing machine. And so she knew there was one vest she made me, and I really liked it. And so then she. I think she made that vest for me. And then she started making me all kinds of vests out of, like, material that she also made pillows and tablecloths out of. So, like, I had to draw the line. When she made me a brocade cat vest, I was like, I'm not gonna wear this. It has cats on. She's like, but you like cats. I'm like, I know.
>> Marco Timpano: A vest with cats you would wore to a club.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I didn't wear it to a club, but that was in my closet.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: How about you? What were your signature club clothes?
>> Marco Timpano: I remember. Well, I remember not wanting to wear a jacket to clubs, even in the winter. And sometimes you'd have to stay in a line.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, that was a thing. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because then you'd have to bring it to a coat check, and that would take forever. And who knows who's running the coat check if you'd ever see your jacket again. So there was that.
>> Amanda Barker: And if you're going to go to more than one club, that's a lot of coat checks.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a lot of code checks.
>> Amanda Barker: But you're really cold. I mean, this is Canada. So the. You know, you're cold outside.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And so it wasn't. It wasn't. My favorite thing was to try to figure out where to bring my. Like, where to leave my jacket or bring my jacket. That was never fun. And I think I just had a lot of untucked shirts. So I'd have a T shirt and an untucked shirt. Yeah, that was my. That was my standard shirts, too.
>> Amanda Barker: This just in the actual lyrics of Sunglasses at Night. Do you know them?
>> Marco Timpano: I wear my sunglasses at night so I can do something.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. What is it that you do? Well, little did I know that what he's saying is so I can watch you weave, then breathe your storylines. No, that's what he's saying.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Watch you weave, then breathe your storylines.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I can keep. I knew this one, I think. Keep track of the visions in my eyes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, okay. Okay. So he needed his sunglasses. So that he could keep track of the visions in his eyes.
>> Amanda Barker: And then the bridges. Don't switch the blade on the guy in shades. Oh, no. Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: That took a good. Don't masquerade with the guy in shades. Oh, no. I can't believe it. Because you got it made. You've got it made with the guy in shades. Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess who wrote this.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, here's another reason he wears this. We should have a trivia. What are five reasons that Cory Hart wears a sunglasses night? Here's another one. Number four. So I can. So I can forget my name while you collect your claim.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like Duran Duran wrote this because their lyrics are equally awesome, but they make no sense. Oh, here's another one.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, the only reason I could see wearing sunglasses at night is you have a bad eye infection or you have. You have. You know, you're sensitive to light because
>> Amanda Barker: you have get rid of this infection in my left eye.
>> Marco Timpano: Or like, you've.
>> Amanda Barker: There's one more. There's six reasons he wears a sunglasses night. The final one is so that I can. So I can see the light that's right before my eyes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Okay. That one makes sense.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, does it? Yeah. I mean, what are you walking up to? A lamp? No.
>> Marco Timpano: What if the person's so bright and so lovely that you've got to wear sunglasses to be around them?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's not how that. That lyric. That lyric works for me.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, well. And then he just repeats a lot
>> Marco Timpano: of things I did. Like the sunglasses he wore in the video. And I had a pair of.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he was cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Those were. Those were like Ray ban aviator glasses. Aviator? No, Ray Ban.
>> Amanda Barker: No, they're aviators. I think he had a Top Gun kind of look.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it wasn't aviators. They're wear Wayfair glasses, I think is what. They're so.
>> Amanda Barker: Like the Kelly Clarkson furniture store.
>> Marco Timpano: No. Yeah, I think that.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's way fair. You've got just what I need here. Here he is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Those are not aviator. Those are. Those are.
>> Amanda Barker: I think. No, they're not. You're right.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So. So those are the glasses that I had. I had and have a pair of those Ray Ban glasses.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they were mine. You took them from me and claimed them as your own.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I had a pair even. Even before I knew.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But then when I found those in the lost and found in my work and nobody claimed them after like a year, I took them home all excited, and then they became yours. And I never Got to see them again.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I scratched them. And it's so hard to wear scratched sunglasses.
>> Amanda Barker: It's also hard when someone takes them from you and then scratches them.
>> Marco Timpano: It happens. What can I say? I mean, those glasses look good on me.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. Well, I'll get you a pair of sunglasses.
>> Amanda Barker: You won't get me that pair.
>> Marco Timpano: I could, because I want the Cory Hart pair.
>> Amanda Barker: I want to wear a white shirt with my collar up. I want to do a pout and have spiky little brown spike hair.
>> Marco Timpano: I once lost a pair of sunglasses at a monument at a. Remember when I lost those?
>> Amanda Barker: You want to tell that story?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if we've already told it, but we were on the. Was it the Arizona or above the Arizona?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. At Pearl Harbor. You might want to lead with that.
>> Marco Timpano: We were at Pearl harbor at this memorial to the sunken ships.
>> Amanda Barker: The. The Pearl Harbor Memorial in Oahu.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is in Hawaii. Of course, once the ship sunk, they have. They're. They're actually in. And this is something I didn't know. They're in a pretty shallow bay.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Relatively speaking. So they sunk, but they're right below the water. In fact, parts of them are still sticking out of the water, so they're that close to the surface.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's a great. It's a great museum, memorial type thing. And what happened was I was wearing my sunglasses because it was a bright day, sunny. And I looked down to look at the ship in a better. Because you're kind of the memorials above the ship. So you can look down.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they've almost made a bridge over these submerged. Over the submerged ship. So that you kind of walk over it. And they're very careful to say it's memorial site.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: A war memorial. And so you are meant to be silent and, you know, walk with reverence,
>> Marco Timpano: which we did. And then I looked over and my sunglasses fell off my face into the water and sank down on the ship.
>> Amanda Barker: Like they're on the Arizona.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if. I don't know if they're on the ship.
>> Amanda Barker: We do know that they're on the. We saw them go down.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but it could have gone because it could have gone to the water, like, beneath. Like.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, but they went down.
>> Marco Timpano: Down. It went down. We don't know exactly where it went,
>> Amanda Barker: except that all under the water is the ship.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, they could have floated.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I dare say you're not the first person who lost your sunglasses that way. It was a moment, and we were Trying not to say anything because we were trying to be silent, but down they went.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I lost those sunglasses and not at night. Not at night. I wasn't wearing them at night. Perhaps if I was wearing them at night, I wouldn't have.
>> Amanda Barker: Sunglasses were very loose.
>> Marco Timpano: They were loose.
>> Amanda Barker: They were extremely loose.
>> Marco Timpano: They needed.
>> Amanda Barker: They shouldn't have been worn. I remember putting them on and being like, these are so loose. And I have a bigger noggin than you, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I have a big head. I need to pull my head back in pictures because when we are side by side, it's like, here's Gigantor head and little sweet little Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: What can I say?
>> Amanda Barker: My. My family has big heads. All of us do.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Oh, my sister might not, does she? No.
>> Marco Timpano: Or I think she's the smallest of the.
>> Amanda Barker: Of the heads.
>> Marco Timpano: Of the heads, she's the smallest.
>> Amanda Barker: But my parents have big heads. My brother is a big head. I think my little nephew is. Is going to have a sizable and smart brain.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, he's.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, he's definitely smart.
>> Marco Timpano: Definitely smart. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: We are not biased also, but he is extremely smart.
>> Marco Timpano: We just got back from Halifax and we had a lovely time there.
>> Amanda Barker: Should we mention the thingy, one of his parting words to us?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: It's so funny and so cute and so sweet. He's just the sweetest thing. He just turned three and I mean, you can. A three year old is just a magical person. They're just amazing. And so it was really fun. We got to spend three whole days with him, which was wonderful. And as we were leaving, I was trying to explain to him, you know, the last time we were there a few months ago, he's that, you know, much younger in development, that it's not. You can't really explain. They're just grabbing some concepts. Right. So there's a likelihood that they might go, oh, these people live here now, or they're in that room now. And so I was sad to think that he might go to our room the next day and we wouldn't be there.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And if he remembered, you know, which I thought he might because he seemed to. So. And he was finding always ways to refer to us. And the last day he got up, he looked and he said to his mom, put one of them downstairs. He wanted to play with at least one of us.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so I said to him, you know, we're not going to be here tomorrow. Tomorrow we won't be here in the morning. We will not be here. I was sad, very sad saying it. But I wanted him. I wanted to say it, sure, that maybe he had some understanding of that, that this is what was happening. And we showed him where we lived and where he lived on the globe. And we went, we fly over here. And then he was, like, very sweetly doing, like, airplane noises and stuff. He's so cool. Anyway, and so now there's some debate over what he said, but I'm pretty sure what he said was. Because I said, we're very sad. And he said. I don't know if he said our friends or my. I think he said our friends. Our friends are sad. They are making bad choices.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, he's not the first to tell me that. He probably won't be the last.
>> Amanda Barker: He's learned that, you know, if you do something, if you're making a choice and it makes you sad, that could be a bad choice. Right. So it's very advanced learning and thinking and applying that learning to our situation. Or there's some debate he might have said, I am sad. They were making bad choices. Either way, we made bad choices.
>> Marco Timpano: What I love with all our nephews and niece is that they all gravitate to something and love something that you have no knowledge of. And so then, as the uncle and aunt, you have to learn about the.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. Luca, our nephew, was for many years, like, obsessed. Am I allowed to say this? I think I am sure. Obsessed with cows. Like, obsessed with cows. Like, he. It's just. It's just a sign that, like, some people are just born in their DNA with certain desires.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And he just desired to be in and among the cows.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And he was very young, I think three. And a cow licked his back. Now, if a cow licked my back at any age, I'm not sure how I'd feel about it. He was so thrilled, he didn't want to wash his back. I mean, he loves cows.
>> Marco Timpano: And the thing about that is I had to do research on different kinds of cows to tell him this was a Jersey cow, this was another cow. And we were going through a whole bunch of different breeds of cows, and he was really enjoying it.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's progressed into a love of a lot of other things, farming and raising plants.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: He guarded his tomato plants last year. Brought them up to his bedroom to watch them at night, I mean, and all sorts of other things. But, yeah, it's just amazing, like, how kids are into a thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you like to garden when you were a kid?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, actually, I think I have A brother and sister. And I think more than either of them, I was probably the most in the garden with my mom. She worked hard to kind of show us the garden. And she does it with me. Even today she'll be like, let's go out to the garden. I'll show you everything she loves. She's done it ever since I was very small, showing me everything that she's growing and pointing out each flower. And when it comes up, like, I have memories of going out and her showing me the crocuses.
>> Marco Timpano: She's a very good gardener.
>> Amanda Barker: She is. She would say she's not, but she is.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember in school we had to do this. I don't know if you had to do this. So you'd get a little glass jar and you'd wet paper towel and you'd put it in the jar. And then you'd take little bean, you take beans and you would put the beans in the jar between the paper and the glass so you could see through and you could see the bean. And you'd put it by the windowsill and the bean would start to sprout. And you could watch it every day as a kid in class as the bean sprouted and you could watch it. Right. And that was one of our.
>> Amanda Barker: That's such a great thing for kids to just any. I worked for a long time. I volunteered actually at a place called the Stop, which is very close to here and its whole mission. It's an after school program to teach kids about farms.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Food and plants and growing. Especially kids. You know, we live downtown Toronto, so they may not have access to that in the same way. But it's a beautiful greenhouse, in fact. And so these kids go to this greenhouse and they do after school programs. I think it's once a week. And they learn about all sorts of aspects of growing food. And they just have a really deep understanding and appreciation for the earth and the cycles of food and life and all of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this, have you ever done this, especially as a child, taken the avocado pit, put four toothpicks in it and let the end of it sort of touch water in a glass?
>> Amanda Barker: I've seen it. Like it, it has roots. Like, does the root up if the end of the pit touches the glass, the water?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we did it. We did it when I was young. I remember. And A, you've got to have sturdy toothpicks because the avocado pit is pretty heavy. B, it's always got to be touching water. So if the water Evaporates, you have to fill it. And so, yeah, it's supposed to start to root and then eventually sprout. We never got to that stage because maybe it would start to root a little bit, then the water would evaporate. I'd forget to fill it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, and then the end game is what? That you have an avocado tree eventually, I guess, which in Canada I'm not sure if you could do. Also, isn't avocados one of those fruits? Like male, female, Like.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, maybe. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like you. I mean, I don't know. But I don't know if they would just bear fruit on their own, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I think also growing trees isn't from. From scratch or from seed is not the easiest thing in the world.
>> Amanda Barker: My brother did it with an orange
>> Marco Timpano: tree or lemon orange.
>> Amanda Barker: But the oranges, I think he did it at my parents home in Florida, their first home. So that's three homes ago in Florida. And they were oranges, but not oranges the way you think of oranges. They're more like lemony oranges.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Just so you know, they were a different kind of orange. I don't know what kind.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But yeah, but the thing about that is. So he grew so great. He's got an orange tree, but it's full of thorns. I didn't see it last time we were there. I don't know. Maybe it was in another room and I just didn't see it. Probably.
>> Marco Timpano: I know where it ended up. It's still living and thriving and it's not in the house right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it's doing very well.
>> Amanda Barker: Where did it end up?
>> Marco Timpano: It's in someone's office right now and it's doing very well.
>> Amanda Barker: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm trying to think. I grew cherry trees. Like, we've always had cherry trees when I was growing up. And I used to love cherries and I still do.
>> Amanda Barker: They're great. But they're messy, are they not?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you have to. You have to pick them. And a lot of birds go to them.
>> Amanda Barker: So.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, any fruit tree. You know, I participated in a program last summer and I didn't go once, so I should do it again this year. Which is a fruit harvesting program in the city where you can sign up ahead of time. It's $10 for the year. For the year, yeah. And you have from the early to the end of the season. So like, I don't know, probably June, maybe May, May, June into, I think October. You go to people's homes and there'll be so many people on a session, so they'll have up to eight people depending on or more depending on the bounty of trees they expect. But your job is to go with all of them. And they bring, I guess the head or whatever, brings a ladder or something. I don't exactly know. And you go and you pick all the fruit for this person. A lot of aged people are just, you know, government offices, people that have these fruit trees. The fruit just nobody's using it. I mean, it's a great. It's sad if you have a tree bearing pears or plums or cherries or whatever it is.
>> Marco Timpano: And the thing about that, because my aunt had a very prolific pear tree, you can only eat so many pears and it. And it fruits more than. Than one family can typically eat. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. Like everyone knows if you've got a bushel on your. Like my house in New Brunswick, our first year there, they were raspberries everywhere. I mean, we ate raspberry and everything. Raspberry cobbler and raspberry syrup and raspberry muffins. And like, I love raspberries.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Again, you can only eat so much of one thing before you're like, I'm kind of done.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm all raspberry doubt.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. So what's good about this is you can. You could ostensibly go and have a bag of fruit every two weeks or whatever from various things. But I just are scared. The problem with it was, for me, by the time I knew I had an afternoon free or evening or morning or whatever it would be, each one would be filled up.
>> Marco Timpano: Filled up. I see. Okay, so let me ask you this. What is the name of this program for anybody in Toronto? And then what's great is that if you're in a place, maybe they have a similar type program that you can look at if you want to, you know, go and collect fruit and have fruit throughout the spring, summer and fall. I wonder if they do nuts too, because I know there's a lot of nut trees in the city. I remember where was I. Where they were talking about the different nuts. And it was really fascinating because I saw nuts I had never seen before. Like a nut that was in the shape of a heart that you could eat. And it was like, just fascinating. We actually walked by a walnut tree one time when we were walking in the Scarborough Bluffs. And I was like, this is a walnut. These are walnuts. Because they are encased in a prickly, thorny sort of fruit. I guess that falls to the ground and can really stain.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the name of the one that I'm part of is called Not Far from the Tree.
>> Marco Timpano: Not Far from the Tree.
>> Amanda Barker: So you can go to not farfromthetree.org I'm pretty sure this particular one is only in Toronto, but you can have a look and it's, it's pretty incredible when you look at, I mean, 288,000 pounds of picked fruit last year.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how many pounds.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: And it says, join our mission. We harness the power of fruit trees to create healthy, resilient, sustainable and connected communities across Toronto. By picking and sharing overlooked fruit, we bring people closer together and create a stronger connection with our neighbors, environment and food system. So it's really. They've existed since 2008 and there's lots of partnerships and yeah, it's, it's all
>> Marco Timpano: of $10 and it's a tasty way to enjoy the summer. I'll say this, if you have a program like that in your area, let us know and we'll mention it here on the podcast. You can always find us on our Instagram or you can email us, go to our website, the insomniaproject.com thank you for joining us. Of course. And going on this journey from Corey Hart to fruit trees. Who would have saw that connection, right, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, until next time, thank you for joining us. And we hope you're able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: April 9, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation meant to help you find your way to sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: We wow, that really relaxed me.
>> Marco Timpano: Did it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Good.
>> Amanda Barker: I was like, good night. My body is very relaxed right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh good. I'm glad to hear that because we both had busy days.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. And I've been Sedentary for far too many days. And so for various reasons. And tonight I went to Aquafoot Fit.
>> Marco Timpano: Aqua Fit. How was that? How was your Aqua Fit foot in Aqua Fit?
>> Amanda Barker: My feet are good. In aqua feet. Foot fit. That was not intentional. It was good. It was good. There's seven of us. It was all Canadian music tonight.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's interesting.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I liked this class better than the last Aqua Fit class I did, which was a few weeks ago. Oh, good. Yeah. And this one I paid for the one a few weeks ago. I didn't realize I was supposed to pay. Nobody stop. I stole a free class.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the first one's always free, Right? And how was this class? How would you rate this class?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it was good. It wasn't. I'd like a bit more flow. I'd like more of a dance, if you will. But the exercises were good and the music was good, and the teacher was jovial, and that's really all you need from Aquafit. I've learned a trick with Aquafit.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, share, share.
>> Amanda Barker: I like to do it right on the line of the pool where the shallow end meets the deep end.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And why is that?
>> Amanda Barker: Because some exercises I'd rather do in the shallow end. Generally speaking, that's easier. But some exercises I want to do and more enjoy doing in the deep end. And it's a better workout with those ones.
>> Marco Timpano: So what exactly is Aqua Fit? Is it like a jazzercise class in the water?
>> Amanda Barker: Basically, we use dumbbells, like foam dumbbells that offer a lot of resistance. And we use really strong pool noodles that offer a lot of resistance as well.
>> Marco Timpano: So they're different than regular pool noodles?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the pool noodles that I always remember are, like, hollow, almost Styrofoamy plasticky tubes.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Are they hollow in the middle? When you picture a pool noodle, is it hollow in the middle?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course it is. Yeah, that's how I picture it.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, these are not hollow. These are like these. If. If those are licorice, then these are nibs.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: If you know what a nib is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah. Nib and a licorice are kind of in the same family. It's candy, anyways.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but nibs are like a strong core.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And. And like, Twizzlers would have a hollowed center. Right, right. Gotcha. Actually, you know what it's more like. It's like the normal Twizzlers with the hollowed center and then the peel. The peel and twist or whatever they're called. Twizzlers that are like individual strands.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: That make up a thicker, fuller Twizzler.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Okay. If you know your candy, you'll know what we're talking about.
>> Amanda Barker: You know your Twizzlers, Which I do. So anyway, they're like stronger pool noodles. And we like, like, we'll put it between our legs like it's a horse, like a play horse. And then pedal like it's like, put your hands on the top and then pedal around the pool like it's a bike.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is quite enjoyable, I have to say.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds silly, but.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, they're all ridiculous. Like, everything you're doing in there is. You look ridiculous, but it's you and six other women who look equally ridiculous. So it's fine. And I do appreciate that they put the blinds down in the windows.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: For the pool. So even though you look ridiculous, no one's watching you. There's nobody gawking, going. Also, I don't think anybody would really care to be like, look at those dumb middle aged women dancing around to Canadian hits of the 80s.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, maybe there's somebody out there that would be that person. But anyway, there wasn't. And the lifeguards are all like 16, so I keep thinking like, do they know Corey Hart? Do they know Gowen? Probably not.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, doubtful.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, I don't know how many of our listeners know those Canadian artists either.
>> Amanda Barker: Corey Hart is better known, sure, if you're of a certain age, because of his wonderful hit Sunglasses at Night.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: Which has a really, like, dangerous sound to it. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Has a dangerous feel to it, if you will, but.
>> Amanda Barker: And yet a stupid message.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: He wears. I don't. What are the lyrics? I wear my sunglasses at night so I can see.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't remember, so I can't be seen. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: It doesn't make any sense. Why would you wear your sunglasses at night?
>> Marco Timpano: Was there any. Was there anything you wore when you went to clubs that was your staple thing that you wore?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I didn't really, unfortunately, have the benefit of getting to go to many clubs.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't grow up around the club.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I grew up around hillbilly bars that wish they were the club.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And I wished they were the club so I would dress appropriately, but it's not the same. But I did wear thigh highs that was really big in like 1995.
>> Marco Timpano: Thigh highs.
>> Amanda Barker: Like thigh high black stockings.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And like granny boots.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I Rocked that look for a long time. I got really into vests also in that era of the 90s, wearing a vest was really cool, but it, like, my mom took it to extremes. She was doing a lot of sewing in those days. She would never tell, say that she was a champion sewer, but she was actually quite crafty. Is quite crafty with a sewing machine. And so she knew there was one vest she made me, and I really liked it. And so then she. I think she made that vest for me. And then she started making me all kinds of vests out of, like, material that she also made pillows and tablecloths out of. So, like, I had to draw the line. When she made me a brocade cat vest, I was like, I'm not gonna wear this. It has cats on. She's like, but you like cats. I'm like, I know.
>> Marco Timpano: A vest with cats you would wore to a club.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I didn't wear it to a club, but that was in my closet.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: How about you? What were your signature club clothes?
>> Marco Timpano: I remember. Well, I remember not wanting to wear a jacket to clubs, even in the winter. And sometimes you'd have to stay in a line.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, that was a thing. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because then you'd have to bring it to a coat check, and that would take forever. And who knows who's running the coat check if you'd ever see your jacket again. So there was that.
>> Amanda Barker: And if you're going to go to more than one club, that's a lot of coat checks.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a lot of code checks.
>> Amanda Barker: But you're really cold. I mean, this is Canada. So the. You know, you're cold outside.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And so it wasn't. It wasn't. My favorite thing was to try to figure out where to bring my. Like, where to leave my jacket or bring my jacket. That was never fun. And I think I just had a lot of untucked shirts. So I'd have a T shirt and an untucked shirt. Yeah, that was my. That was my standard shirts, too.
>> Amanda Barker: This just in the actual lyrics of Sunglasses at Night. Do you know them?
>> Marco Timpano: I wear my sunglasses at night so I can do something.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. What is it that you do? Well, little did I know that what he's saying is so I can watch you weave, then breathe your storylines. No, that's what he's saying.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Watch you weave, then breathe your storylines.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I can keep. I knew this one, I think. Keep track of the visions in my eyes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, okay. Okay. So he needed his sunglasses. So that he could keep track of the visions in his eyes.
>> Amanda Barker: And then the bridges. Don't switch the blade on the guy in shades. Oh, no. Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: That took a good. Don't masquerade with the guy in shades. Oh, no. I can't believe it. Because you got it made. You've got it made with the guy in shades. Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess who wrote this.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, here's another reason he wears this. We should have a trivia. What are five reasons that Cory Hart wears a sunglasses night? Here's another one. Number four. So I can. So I can forget my name while you collect your claim.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like Duran Duran wrote this because their lyrics are equally awesome, but they make no sense. Oh, here's another one.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, the only reason I could see wearing sunglasses at night is you have a bad eye infection or you have. You have. You know, you're sensitive to light because
>> Amanda Barker: you have get rid of this infection in my left eye.
>> Marco Timpano: Or like, you've.
>> Amanda Barker: There's one more. There's six reasons he wears a sunglasses night. The final one is so that I can. So I can see the light that's right before my eyes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Okay. That one makes sense.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, does it? Yeah. I mean, what are you walking up to? A lamp? No.
>> Marco Timpano: What if the person's so bright and so lovely that you've got to wear sunglasses to be around them?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's not how that. That lyric. That lyric works for me.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, well. And then he just repeats a lot
>> Marco Timpano: of things I did. Like the sunglasses he wore in the video. And I had a pair of.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he was cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Those were. Those were like Ray ban aviator glasses. Aviator? No, Ray Ban.
>> Amanda Barker: No, they're aviators. I think he had a Top Gun kind of look.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it wasn't aviators. They're wear Wayfair glasses, I think is what. They're so.
>> Amanda Barker: Like the Kelly Clarkson furniture store.
>> Marco Timpano: No. Yeah, I think that.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's way fair. You've got just what I need here. Here he is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Those are not aviator. Those are. Those are.
>> Amanda Barker: I think. No, they're not. You're right.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So. So those are the glasses that I had. I had and have a pair of those Ray Ban glasses.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they were mine. You took them from me and claimed them as your own.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I had a pair even. Even before I knew.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But then when I found those in the lost and found in my work and nobody claimed them after like a year, I took them home all excited, and then they became yours. And I never Got to see them again.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I scratched them. And it's so hard to wear scratched sunglasses.
>> Amanda Barker: It's also hard when someone takes them from you and then scratches them.
>> Marco Timpano: It happens. What can I say? I mean, those glasses look good on me.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. Well, I'll get you a pair of sunglasses.
>> Amanda Barker: You won't get me that pair.
>> Marco Timpano: I could, because I want the Cory Hart pair.
>> Amanda Barker: I want to wear a white shirt with my collar up. I want to do a pout and have spiky little brown spike hair.
>> Marco Timpano: I once lost a pair of sunglasses at a monument at a. Remember when I lost those?
>> Amanda Barker: You want to tell that story?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if we've already told it, but we were on the. Was it the Arizona or above the Arizona?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. At Pearl Harbor. You might want to lead with that.
>> Marco Timpano: We were at Pearl harbor at this memorial to the sunken ships.
>> Amanda Barker: The. The Pearl Harbor Memorial in Oahu.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is in Hawaii. Of course, once the ship sunk, they have. They're. They're actually in. And this is something I didn't know. They're in a pretty shallow bay.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Relatively speaking. So they sunk, but they're right below the water. In fact, parts of them are still sticking out of the water, so they're that close to the surface.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's a great. It's a great museum, memorial type thing. And what happened was I was wearing my sunglasses because it was a bright day, sunny. And I looked down to look at the ship in a better. Because you're kind of the memorials above the ship. So you can look down.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they've almost made a bridge over these submerged. Over the submerged ship. So that you kind of walk over it. And they're very careful to say it's memorial site.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: A war memorial. And so you are meant to be silent and, you know, walk with reverence,
>> Marco Timpano: which we did. And then I looked over and my sunglasses fell off my face into the water and sank down on the ship.
>> Amanda Barker: Like they're on the Arizona.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if. I don't know if they're on the ship.
>> Amanda Barker: We do know that they're on the. We saw them go down.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but it could have gone because it could have gone to the water, like, beneath. Like.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, but they went down.
>> Marco Timpano: Down. It went down. We don't know exactly where it went,
>> Amanda Barker: except that all under the water is the ship.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, they could have floated.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I dare say you're not the first person who lost your sunglasses that way. It was a moment, and we were Trying not to say anything because we were trying to be silent, but down they went.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I lost those sunglasses and not at night. Not at night. I wasn't wearing them at night. Perhaps if I was wearing them at night, I wouldn't have.
>> Amanda Barker: Sunglasses were very loose.
>> Marco Timpano: They were loose.
>> Amanda Barker: They were extremely loose.
>> Marco Timpano: They needed.
>> Amanda Barker: They shouldn't have been worn. I remember putting them on and being like, these are so loose. And I have a bigger noggin than you, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I have a big head. I need to pull my head back in pictures because when we are side by side, it's like, here's Gigantor head and little sweet little Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: What can I say?
>> Amanda Barker: My. My family has big heads. All of us do.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Oh, my sister might not, does she? No.
>> Marco Timpano: Or I think she's the smallest of the.
>> Amanda Barker: Of the heads.
>> Marco Timpano: Of the heads, she's the smallest.
>> Amanda Barker: But my parents have big heads. My brother is a big head. I think my little nephew is. Is going to have a sizable and smart brain.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, he's.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, he's definitely smart.
>> Marco Timpano: Definitely smart. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: We are not biased also, but he is extremely smart.
>> Marco Timpano: We just got back from Halifax and we had a lovely time there.
>> Amanda Barker: Should we mention the thingy, one of his parting words to us?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: It's so funny and so cute and so sweet. He's just the sweetest thing. He just turned three and I mean, you can. A three year old is just a magical person. They're just amazing. And so it was really fun. We got to spend three whole days with him, which was wonderful. And as we were leaving, I was trying to explain to him, you know, the last time we were there a few months ago, he's that, you know, much younger in development, that it's not. You can't really explain. They're just grabbing some concepts. Right. So there's a likelihood that they might go, oh, these people live here now, or they're in that room now. And so I was sad to think that he might go to our room the next day and we wouldn't be there.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And if he remembered, you know, which I thought he might because he seemed to. So. And he was finding always ways to refer to us. And the last day he got up, he looked and he said to his mom, put one of them downstairs. He wanted to play with at least one of us.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so I said to him, you know, we're not going to be here tomorrow. Tomorrow we won't be here in the morning. We will not be here. I was sad, very sad saying it. But I wanted him. I wanted to say it, sure, that maybe he had some understanding of that, that this is what was happening. And we showed him where we lived and where he lived on the globe. And we went, we fly over here. And then he was, like, very sweetly doing, like, airplane noises and stuff. He's so cool. Anyway, and so now there's some debate over what he said, but I'm pretty sure what he said was. Because I said, we're very sad. And he said. I don't know if he said our friends or my. I think he said our friends. Our friends are sad. They are making bad choices.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, he's not the first to tell me that. He probably won't be the last.
>> Amanda Barker: He's learned that, you know, if you do something, if you're making a choice and it makes you sad, that could be a bad choice. Right. So it's very advanced learning and thinking and applying that learning to our situation. Or there's some debate he might have said, I am sad. They were making bad choices. Either way, we made bad choices.
>> Marco Timpano: What I love with all our nephews and niece is that they all gravitate to something and love something that you have no knowledge of. And so then, as the uncle and aunt, you have to learn about the.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. Luca, our nephew, was for many years, like, obsessed. Am I allowed to say this? I think I am sure. Obsessed with cows. Like, obsessed with cows. Like, he. It's just. It's just a sign that, like, some people are just born in their DNA with certain desires.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And he just desired to be in and among the cows.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And he was very young, I think three. And a cow licked his back. Now, if a cow licked my back at any age, I'm not sure how I'd feel about it. He was so thrilled, he didn't want to wash his back. I mean, he loves cows.
>> Marco Timpano: And the thing about that is I had to do research on different kinds of cows to tell him this was a Jersey cow, this was another cow. And we were going through a whole bunch of different breeds of cows, and he was really enjoying it.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's progressed into a love of a lot of other things, farming and raising plants.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: He guarded his tomato plants last year. Brought them up to his bedroom to watch them at night, I mean, and all sorts of other things. But, yeah, it's just amazing, like, how kids are into a thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you like to garden when you were a kid?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, actually, I think I have A brother and sister. And I think more than either of them, I was probably the most in the garden with my mom. She worked hard to kind of show us the garden. And she does it with me. Even today she'll be like, let's go out to the garden. I'll show you everything she loves. She's done it ever since I was very small, showing me everything that she's growing and pointing out each flower. And when it comes up, like, I have memories of going out and her showing me the crocuses.
>> Marco Timpano: She's a very good gardener.
>> Amanda Barker: She is. She would say she's not, but she is.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember in school we had to do this. I don't know if you had to do this. So you'd get a little glass jar and you'd wet paper towel and you'd put it in the jar. And then you'd take little bean, you take beans and you would put the beans in the jar between the paper and the glass so you could see through and you could see the bean. And you'd put it by the windowsill and the bean would start to sprout. And you could watch it every day as a kid in class as the bean sprouted and you could watch it. Right. And that was one of our.
>> Amanda Barker: That's such a great thing for kids to just any. I worked for a long time. I volunteered actually at a place called the Stop, which is very close to here and its whole mission. It's an after school program to teach kids about farms.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Food and plants and growing. Especially kids. You know, we live downtown Toronto, so they may not have access to that in the same way. But it's a beautiful greenhouse, in fact. And so these kids go to this greenhouse and they do after school programs. I think it's once a week. And they learn about all sorts of aspects of growing food. And they just have a really deep understanding and appreciation for the earth and the cycles of food and life and all of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this, have you ever done this, especially as a child, taken the avocado pit, put four toothpicks in it and let the end of it sort of touch water in a glass?
>> Amanda Barker: I've seen it. Like it, it has roots. Like, does the root up if the end of the pit touches the glass, the water?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we did it. We did it when I was young. I remember. And A, you've got to have sturdy toothpicks because the avocado pit is pretty heavy. B, it's always got to be touching water. So if the water Evaporates, you have to fill it. And so, yeah, it's supposed to start to root and then eventually sprout. We never got to that stage because maybe it would start to root a little bit, then the water would evaporate. I'd forget to fill it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, and then the end game is what? That you have an avocado tree eventually, I guess, which in Canada I'm not sure if you could do. Also, isn't avocados one of those fruits? Like male, female, Like.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, maybe. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like you. I mean, I don't know. But I don't know if they would just bear fruit on their own, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I think also growing trees isn't from. From scratch or from seed is not the easiest thing in the world.
>> Amanda Barker: My brother did it with an orange
>> Marco Timpano: tree or lemon orange.
>> Amanda Barker: But the oranges, I think he did it at my parents home in Florida, their first home. So that's three homes ago in Florida. And they were oranges, but not oranges the way you think of oranges. They're more like lemony oranges.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Just so you know, they were a different kind of orange. I don't know what kind.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But yeah, but the thing about that is. So he grew so great. He's got an orange tree, but it's full of thorns. I didn't see it last time we were there. I don't know. Maybe it was in another room and I just didn't see it. Probably.
>> Marco Timpano: I know where it ended up. It's still living and thriving and it's not in the house right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it's doing very well.
>> Amanda Barker: Where did it end up?
>> Marco Timpano: It's in someone's office right now and it's doing very well.
>> Amanda Barker: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm trying to think. I grew cherry trees. Like, we've always had cherry trees when I was growing up. And I used to love cherries and I still do.
>> Amanda Barker: They're great. But they're messy, are they not?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you have to. You have to pick them. And a lot of birds go to them.
>> Amanda Barker: So.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, any fruit tree. You know, I participated in a program last summer and I didn't go once, so I should do it again this year. Which is a fruit harvesting program in the city where you can sign up ahead of time. It's $10 for the year. For the year, yeah. And you have from the early to the end of the season. So like, I don't know, probably June, maybe May, May, June into, I think October. You go to people's homes and there'll be so many people on a session, so they'll have up to eight people depending on or more depending on the bounty of trees they expect. But your job is to go with all of them. And they bring, I guess the head or whatever, brings a ladder or something. I don't exactly know. And you go and you pick all the fruit for this person. A lot of aged people are just, you know, government offices, people that have these fruit trees. The fruit just nobody's using it. I mean, it's a great. It's sad if you have a tree bearing pears or plums or cherries or whatever it is.
>> Marco Timpano: And the thing about that, because my aunt had a very prolific pear tree, you can only eat so many pears and it. And it fruits more than. Than one family can typically eat. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. Like everyone knows if you've got a bushel on your. Like my house in New Brunswick, our first year there, they were raspberries everywhere. I mean, we ate raspberry and everything. Raspberry cobbler and raspberry syrup and raspberry muffins. And like, I love raspberries.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Again, you can only eat so much of one thing before you're like, I'm kind of done.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm all raspberry doubt.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. So what's good about this is you can. You could ostensibly go and have a bag of fruit every two weeks or whatever from various things. But I just are scared. The problem with it was, for me, by the time I knew I had an afternoon free or evening or morning or whatever it would be, each one would be filled up.
>> Marco Timpano: Filled up. I see. Okay, so let me ask you this. What is the name of this program for anybody in Toronto? And then what's great is that if you're in a place, maybe they have a similar type program that you can look at if you want to, you know, go and collect fruit and have fruit throughout the spring, summer and fall. I wonder if they do nuts too, because I know there's a lot of nut trees in the city. I remember where was I. Where they were talking about the different nuts. And it was really fascinating because I saw nuts I had never seen before. Like a nut that was in the shape of a heart that you could eat. And it was like, just fascinating. We actually walked by a walnut tree one time when we were walking in the Scarborough Bluffs. And I was like, this is a walnut. These are walnuts. Because they are encased in a prickly, thorny sort of fruit. I guess that falls to the ground and can really stain.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the name of the one that I'm part of is called Not Far from the Tree.
>> Marco Timpano: Not Far from the Tree.
>> Amanda Barker: So you can go to not farfromthetree.org I'm pretty sure this particular one is only in Toronto, but you can have a look and it's, it's pretty incredible when you look at, I mean, 288,000 pounds of picked fruit last year.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how many pounds.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: And it says, join our mission. We harness the power of fruit trees to create healthy, resilient, sustainable and connected communities across Toronto. By picking and sharing overlooked fruit, we bring people closer together and create a stronger connection with our neighbors, environment and food system. So it's really. They've existed since 2008 and there's lots of partnerships and yeah, it's, it's all
>> Marco Timpano: of $10 and it's a tasty way to enjoy the summer. I'll say this, if you have a program like that in your area, let us know and we'll mention it here on the podcast. You can always find us on our Instagram or you can email us, go to our website, the insomniaproject.com thank you for joining us. Of course. And going on this journey from Corey Hart to fruit trees. Who would have saw that connection, right, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, until next time, thank you for joining us. And we hope you're able to listen and sleep.
The Lady with the Feet
original airdate: Feb 26, 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen. Find the most comfortable spot that you're near and just tune into us. I want to thank you for joining us. My name is Marco Timpano. I'm Amanda Barker and Amanda, we asked our listeners to tell us what their favorite episode was from our canon of 10 seasons. And Janelle has said the following. Okay. The string theory that was done with Nima. Great grandmaster.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't do anything.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was called the string theory of Grandmaster Flash.
>> Amanda Barker: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: Then there was.
>> Amanda Barker: I only have one story about Grandmaster Flash.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, we'll hear it in a moment then. Birding delights, also with Nima.
>> Amanda Barker: Birding. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Mittens and string, I believe, was with you.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And the game show episode, and that was with Nima.
>> Amanda Barker: So those are greatest, greatest hit. Greatest hits that we can revisit.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Also greatest revisit.
>> Marco Timpano: I was told the backpack episode was someone else's favorite. That one comes up a lot.
>> Amanda Barker: The backpack episode, people. I understand that because that is what relaxes me.
>> Marco Timpano: Ellen Kay. So the backpack upstairs is a kindred spirit for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I would do more like that, frankly, folks. But Marco stops me.
>> Marco Timpano: I do not. So you do. Let's begin. The floor is yours.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'm not doing the backpack episode again.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you don't have to. You do.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone knows the contents.
>> Marco Timpano: You do what works for you.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I have a question.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: What is this?
>> Marco Timpano: That there is.
>> Amanda Barker: So, folks, I'm just going to explain to you what I'm looking at right now. So we are in the booth. There are tiled walls, and usually Marco has. He's actually quite a gifted artist. He wouldn't say he is, but he is. And he sometimes will draw little cards. He'll sometimes write inspirational things on cards, and they're put up with, like, hat pins. But today, for the first time, I'm seeing this series of notes about. It looks like characters for a film script or something. And it's tacked up and there's some names of people that I don't know and I don't know what it is.
>> Marco Timpano: This, I think, was for an audio edition for audition for a audiobook. So it was the various characters that
>> Amanda Barker: I had looking at somebody who co. Owns a farm. Yeah, I'm looking at a lot of things. So I'm just. There's a lot about these people on here. So I was just trying to figure it out.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know why I have it up, to be honest with you, because this audition happened a while ago, but there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, well, I'm glad we got to the end of that mystery.
>> Marco Timpano: So you said you had a Grandmaster Flash story.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone does, but mine is. So in the earlier days of Facebook, but not that long ago, but like, maybe I would say now, six, seven years ago, there was a phenomenon that kept happening. Now, you know When, And I don't know with social media, I think it's still the same when you write, you start to write something like in a post, and it might intuitively know, like an autocorrect, but it's like, oh, you're trying to tag this person or this thing. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So, for example, if I started to write your name, it might come up in bottom blue, and it's like you're tagging Marco in this post versus just mentioning him, certainly.
>> Marco Timpano: Especially because you would likely be tagging me on a lot of stuff because I'd be mentioned.
>> Amanda Barker: Correct. Right. Well, and I guess what I should say is that usually doesn't just happen with a person, as far as I know. I think it happens with open pages and public profiles. So, for example, better example actually would be if I were to write about a restaurant. Like, Marco and I had a lovely time at Spirits Bar and Grill.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which no longer exists. But say I wrote that, of course. So if they had a little Facebook page that locals could go to, as I started to write it, it would probably pop up blue. Right. Well, there was a phenomenon that kept happening on Facebook. Grandmaster Flash had one of those public pages, like a business page. Okay. You know, for his art, his work, his music, et cetera. And all people that are like, what's Grandmaster Flash up to? Or, I want to be with like minded Grandmaster Flash fans, of course, like you do. So what was happening was grandparents were writing how they were so proud to be a proud grandparent of, you know, Justin as he turns 8 or whatever. But what was happening? It was automatically, instead of your grandfather and I, or your grandmother and I, it was just automatically tagging Grandmaster Flash. And they weren't wise to that. They just wrote what they wrote and didn't realize that it had automatically changed to Grandmaster Flash and tagged and just left it up. So there was a time where you could just scroll and look at all the grandparents inadvertently tagging Grandmaster Flash, usually for birthday or like, we're so proud of you as you graduate from military college. Things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's great. I love those funny mishaps.
>> Amanda Barker: Wholesome little moments, for sure. And I. I'm sure that even if those posts don't exist, that the site or whoever wrote it on medium or whatever, I'm sure that that still exists.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Of course. So you said that you wanted to bring up a topic or there was a topic that you wanted to talk about. You said.
>> Amanda Barker: When did I say that?
>> Marco Timpano: You said, I don't let you talk about backpacks.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, no, what I said was when I try to go through something and go through stuff in a methodical way, I go very detailed. We've established I'm a Virgo. I go very, very detailed and very intricate. And you don't have the patience. Sagittarius. Am I right, folks?
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't have the patience for my time that I take with it and my detailing. So you'll often sort of cut me off. Trul say, okay, well, that's. Let's move on to. Because you want to move on to another topic. So I can never really recreate the magic of the backpack episode because I get interrupted.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, listen, I. I want to participate in the episode. But if you would like to go through.
>> Amanda Barker: No, you can. But what do we have to go through? That's truly. I would. And we know this. We all know this. I, for years now, would put myself to sleep thinking about the details of the van or school bus that I wanted to renovate and live in. But I've abandoned that dream now.
>> Marco Timpano: What's in your pocketbook in your wallet? Oh, look, if you were to dissect
>> Amanda Barker: Mr. American saying pocketbook. Well, I don't know. I've gone through phases with bags. I used to be the big bag lady. So everything under the sun in a large purse. Yeah, I wouldn't even call them purses. I would call them bags. Okay, fair enough. You know, and then I went through my backpack phase, which has been a very long time. And these days I still have my backpack and I still take that to work because I always carry my laptop around. And for me, a backpack is the best way to transport my laptop. I don't trust an open. A more open bag like a purse. I don't want to wheel anything. That's what it's going to be.
>> Marco Timpano: That's not for you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, so hence the backpack. But. And I do, because, you know, I do take my own computer to work and use and work on that.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: So all that to say I have become the small purse lady.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the small purse lady.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I have. I have. I have done a 180. So I. Years ago, when bunz was still a thing, I traded for a small purse and fell quite in love with it. And for Christmas this year, my lovely sister in law got me a small purse. It was on my list. And I really love that purse.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a very thoughtful gift, too.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a very thoughtful gift.
>> Marco Timpano: So tell us about this purse well,
>> Amanda Barker: that purse is called. So it's an interesting one. It's actually called Save the Girls. And this woman thought, you know, too many women are carrying phones in their bra strap. Or in my case, it would be my tank top strap.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And she thought, you know, that's probably not the ideal choice. Certainly the people who make the phones tell you don't do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So what's a better solution? And truthfully, pockets and things like that, you know, again, not ideal. So what do you do? This is a dilemma we all have, you know, in this day and age. So this purse is really a phone strap with a bit of accoutrement. So there's a clear thing that has a magnet on the top of it. So you slip the phone into that, and you can just use the phone in its clear case.
>> Marco Timpano: Because the screen of the phone would be in this purse facing out, and you can touch the clear plastic and it will still register with the phone. Is that correct?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Yeah. You can totally use the phone while it's inside the purse because it has the, like, window that you can use. Much akin to, like, those water safe neck lanyard things that you get for snorkeling and things.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. Which I love to use.
>> Amanda Barker: They always make me nervous.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And you're not a big fan, but I like to use them.
>> Amanda Barker: Just afraid they're gonna open.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Okay. So that's part of this purse. What are other features that you appreciate?
>> Amanda Barker: But what I like is it's because there are some you can buy, and it's just that for the phone. But ultimately, I'm always gonna want to sneak some other things. And so it has a zipper and just the tiniest sort of like, almost like wallet attached to it and then another little zipper for, like, lipstick or lip balm. So the little things that I always get into every purse, that one and then the one that I got before, I always slip in a hand sanitizer. Of course, I always slip in a lip balm. I usually slip in a lipstick as well.
>> Marco Timpano: A lip balm and a lipstick.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Because they are not. There's nothing worse than when you want a lip balm, but all you have is a lipstick, and you're like, well, good enough. It's something on my lips, and it's just the worst feeling.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really? I didn't. I didn't realize that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's just doesn't do what a lip balm's gonna. It doesn't give you that satisfying. I'm coating this in a shea Butter or whatever your lip balm's made out of.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: So. Or coconut, whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So I like to have both personally. And yes, there are hydrating lipsticks, and yes, there are tinted lip balms, and there is one tinted lip balm that seems to have lasted me a decade, and I still use from Burt's Bees. Yeah, I remember I got a pack of three and this one. But you know what the thing is with lipsticks, Marco? They travel. Same as our tweezers. Like, they go on little journeys. You don't see them for a while, and then you're like, oh, there you are, friend Marco. And I. Can I tell them, of course.
>> Marco Timpano: This is a great story.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't know about that, but. So we have. We have a couple tweezers in our house, in our home, and that we travel with. But there's one particular tweezer that just is really good. I don't know where I got it, but I think I got it from a dollar store. And if you can imagine, the tweezer, the top of the tweezer is like a lady's head, and she's wearing, like, a lovely sort of 1950s dress. And then the feet are the heels, or her feet are the tweezer part.
>> Marco Timpano: The part that actually captures the hair. Yeah, whatever captures whatever you need to tweeze.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So we call her the lady with
>> Marco Timpano: the feet because her feet do the tweezing, which is unusual and quite funny to us.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's her name. So Marco actually coined that term where's. Because he'd be like, I don't like this tweezer. Where's the lady with the feet? And the lady with the feet came into our lives. When would that have been?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Quite a while ago. I wouldn't say about 10 years ago, at least.
>> Marco Timpano: At least. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So the lady with the feet, she goes on journeys with us sometimes. She often goes away for a long time. Like, I think she has a house in Palm Springs or something. She. She just leaves our lives for a. And then she'll just reappear.
>> Marco Timpano: She likes to travel with us. So what I find is the lady with the feet will end up in wherever we're at. Like, if we're in Turks and Caicos, if we're in Los Angeles, if we're in Ottawa, There she is. There she is.
>> Amanda Barker: She's with us.
>> Marco Timpano: So the lady with the feet really likes to travel.
>> Amanda Barker: I will just. I'll be looking for her. I'll be home. She's nowhere to be.
>> Marco Timpano: Found.
>> Amanda Barker: And then suddenly I'm packing my bags, and then I'm like, oh, I better put a tweezer into my makeup case. And there she is. Lady with the feet. She just appears, I swear.
>> Marco Timpano: And she just doesn'. Amanda's makeup case. Because we'll be like, okay, let's get in the car.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no, she's on the move. Always.
>> Marco Timpano: And then all of a sudden, she's in the car. So you know those movies where inanimate objects take a life of their own? I swear, the lady with the feet is living her best life. She's an adventurer.
>> Amanda Barker: She's an adventurer. That woman, that tweezer woman.
>> Marco Timpano: She's stylish. She's very stylish.
>> Amanda Barker: She's very stylish. She likes to go to the stylish places.
>> Marco Timpano: She's effective. She can use her feet like no one else.
>> Amanda Barker: Like the Middle East. She was everywhere I looked. She was in our room. First she's on the nightstand, then she seems to have traveled over the sink. Yeah, she's just on the move. Lady with the feet.
>> Marco Timpano: We appreciate the lady with the feet because she does. When we need her to do the job, she does it well and she does it right.
>> Amanda Barker: She does.
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, it's kind of the.
>> Amanda Barker: She has a job to do, but I think she married well because she. She has her own income and she doesn't need to do the job. She just shows up when we. When she knows we're going somewhere.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So.
>> Marco Timpano: So we. We appreciate the lady with the feet. So. So she travels with us. I don't know how we got there. Oh, you were talking about lipstick and things you find.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So sometimes I will have a tweezer in. In a. But not. Not normally. I usually just put one in the car. Car is the best place to use a tweezer, I think, because you have the best light.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I think something that you have in the car, which I think is a pretty. Pretty wise thing, is you'll have spare makeup in the car for when you need it, right?
>> Amanda Barker: I do, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You have a little makeup bag?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't know. I don't always have it in the car. I just have two. I just have a lot of makeup.
>> Marco Timpano: But don't you have car makeup, like the makeup that stays in the car?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I have makeup that I bring to the car, and I leave it out there because I keep forgetting to bring it back into the house, in which case I then use my backup makeup in the house and go, oh, I gotta get that out of the car and then it might stay there. Like the one that's in the car now has been in there for a couple of days, I think, because the thing is, I don't leave it out. I shove it under the seat or I shove it in the glove box so that there's not a bag just sitting in the car. But because I do that, it's out of sight. So out of sight, out of mind. And then in the morning, I'm waking up, I'm having a coffee, I'm doing my hair, I got to put my makeup on. Oh, it's in the car. Not to worry. Amanda has lots of backups, so I just go to the backup crew.
>> Marco Timpano: And you were recently discussing a specific kind of makeup that you discovered and you were talking with a young, young girl and she was like, oh, yeah, I know this. It was like a jelly. Yeah, a jelly something.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Our friend's daughter, who is 11, I think so. Yeah, yeah. And she's extremely into makeup and makeup tutorials and skincare, which I guess is just when you're an 11 year old child, that's just a big part. You know, they're watching tutorials. Sure. That's what they watch. How to contour, how to your skincare routine, get ready with me and pick my outfit and all that stuff. Right. So she wants to do these. She's aching to do these videos, but her very conscientious mother is like, no, you're not doing these videos. So what her mom, our dear friend, has allowed her to do, and this is great is she has a Instagram account for her dog. So she never showed. The 11 year old girl never shows her face, but she gets to use her voice and she gets to talk about her dog's makeup routine and her dog's skincare regimen and the products that her dog most loves from Sephora, things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: And what's this jelly thing that you've discovered?
>> Amanda Barker: It's a jelly tint that can be used for lips or. So something's happened in the makeup world in the last 10 years where there's a lot of love for. Which I love. There's a lot of love for versatile, versatile, versatile products. So there's a real movement that if you use it on your cheeks, why can't you use it on your lips or on your lids? If you would like a nice, you know, rosy pinky color on your eyes, which some do.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not just a lipstick, it's a, it's a blush lipstick combo.
>> Amanda Barker: It it could, it's. Yeah, they'll call it like lip and lip and cheek tint or something like that. I don't know. But this one is particularly fun and, and a big hit with the young 11 year olds because, and, and myself because it's got a, it's like a. It's like Jello. It's like a little stick of jello.
>> Marco Timpano: It has a jelly consistency.
>> Amanda Barker: Definitely is a jelly consistency. And so if you can just imagine a little blob of Jello in a
>> Marco Timpano: tube, because it looks like a fat lipstick to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's in a tube. Now I will say the thing about that lip tint, because I used to have one from the same company and it wasn't jelly, it was just a lipstick blush thing. And I mostly used it for blush, but when you use it on your lips, it's quite drying.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So again, back to the types of lipsticks out there. You'd want your lip balm in there for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this because I remember when I was much younger, there was a thing that was touted and I don't even know if you'll know what it is because I haven't seen it in, you know, many, many decades, but Kiss Proof lipstick, what exactly was that?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh yeah, that was like a marketing campaign. Well, I think the idea is, I mean, you've, I mean, listen, I did a casting on Friday and we had a fake microphone for.
>> Marco Timpano: This is for commercials, by the way. Amanda helps to cast commercials for those who don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And we were auditioning these people to be basically in a pretend band. We had some real singers and some real musicians, but then we had some fake ones as well. Anyhow, the, the singers, both real and imagined, had a microphone. It wasn't on or working or anything, but they could use the microphone to, you know, be a singer of a piece.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a prop, in other words.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a prop. But at the end of the day we looked at the microphone, it was covered in lipstick.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh no.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's why I say that. So lipstick, you know, you, you look at a coffee cup and it can be covered in lipstick, a soda can, you know, your husband's cheek perhaps. And so I think there was a movement to like have a more lasting lipstick that was more of a stain and not some, not a smeary, smushy thing that you put on your lips, but rather something that just stays there. So there's actually, and I haven't seen it a long time, but about 20 years ago, they. They had a type of lipstick where you put sort of the stain on your lips, and it. And then you put a. On the other side of it was like a gloss. So you do the stain, and then I'm sure they still have this and then a gloss on the other side. And that stuff was magic. That stuff will last a long time. It probably still exists. My friend Lois and I got really, really into it, and there was a certain number of color that we loved, and, like, I'm talking, like, four years. Like, that's all we were.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. Do you remember the name of the. The color you liked? Because I love the names.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I don't remember. I should ask her and see if she remembers. But now, because I have a makeup subscription that comes every month. Yes. I'm one of those people. It's probably one of the only subscriptions I have, I think. But it just brings me so much joy. I love it. And there's a lot of travel stuff in there. That's my justification. I just try the lipsticks that they send or recommend, you know, so. And also the thing I like about that is a lot of the stuff because it's. I don't pay a lot for it. The stuff tends to be small. And I appreciate that because, like, nobody needs to hold a lipstick for 10, 15 years.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And that sounds like a long time, but you easily could if it's a color you don't wear a lot. It's just in your bag, especially as an actor. Like, I have a bright red that is a solid 10 years old. It was cheap to begin with, but I keep it because if I need a bright red lip, I'll have it. But on me, I love the idea of a bright red lip, but I don't. I don't have the lips that. It doesn't look great.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: When it's on me.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Well, thank you for that little lipstick tutorial.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I can talk about makeup all day long.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny, I don't wear makeup very often when I'm on set and they have to put makeup on me. Sure. But I do wear cologne, and you've gifted me some cologne, and I like the smell of cologne, and I like the smell of perfumes and scented things. That's just me.
>> Amanda Barker: I like a good perfume.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And so I have. So for me, my colognes are seasonal. I like to have one that I wear in this.
>> Amanda Barker: That makes sense to me.
>> Marco Timpano: One that I wear in the summer, one that I Wear in the winter. And I just transitioned to my spring scent.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: And a lot of people at work really are enjoying the scent. And I know you're not supposed to wear. I was going to say lipstick. You're not supposed to wear cologne at certain works and sense.
>> Amanda Barker: And we try to. Yeah, we try to observe those scent free spaces. My friend Lois, actually, who I was talking about, who loved that tinted lipstick, she has a real, real scent allergy and aversion. So I've seen in real time what her being around people who are wearing scents does.
>> Marco Timpano: And to be fair, I don't wear it around. I will not.
>> Amanda Barker: We do not wear it around her.
>> Marco Timpano: I've actually showered accidentally put it on and then showered again so I wouldn't have it on when we went to see Lois.
>> Amanda Barker: And because of her and spending time with her, I don't ever wear it in a theater. Because when you wear it in a. If it's strong in the theater, if the person next to you starts to have an adverse reaction, starts coughing, sneezing, it's disruptive. It's disruptive. They don't want to be coughing and sneezing. And it's disruptive for the actors. It's disruptive for everyone. And I've seen that happen in real time. So I don't wear it there. But I do love perfume. So if I'm in a place where I. I don't have to be in close proximity for long amounts of time with someone, I will wear it. I wear it to work. But that's because generally speaking, at my work, with my job the way it is. Well, one, I'm running around, I'm sweating a lot usually. But also where I'm kind of sitting in the room, I'm kind of away from everyone.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, that's my justification.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Well, I'll even put it on when I'm not going out of the house just for myself.
>> Amanda Barker: Same.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I really do love. There's two fragrance ears that I. Oh,
>> Marco Timpano: is that how you say it? Fragrance.
>> Amanda Barker: I had no idea.
>> Marco Timpano: I meant, I don't know, Fragrant Tours.
>> Amanda Barker: There's two brands. How about that?
>> Marco Timpano: And they are.
>> Amanda Barker: Can I say that? Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, they're not our sponsors, but you can say them.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I know. I wish they were sponsors. I love Jo Malone scents. They are made with essential oils for the essential oil people of the world. So they do not, as far as I know, have the perfume and all of the things that you don't want to have in them. And they're lighter scents, generally speaking, because of that. Some people say they dissipate quicker. But I just love the smells. I think they're really different kinds of
>> Marco Timpano: smells and they got nice flavor combinations.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, again, nose flavor.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So Joe Malone. But then if I want, like, okay, we're doing it. We're in perfume. I love. Terry Mugler has three scents and I love them all. Angel, Alien and Aura.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are the three classic scents. Yeah, Terry Mugler's brand has more than just those scents.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because I bought one of those scents for you and I saw that there's different variations of the scent.
>> Amanda Barker: Like it's like variations of. Within the scent there always is Ice,
>> Marco Timpano: Alien or something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: But those are the three.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are the three major ones.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but I don't. There's not another one, is there?
>> Marco Timpano: I think there is, but I could be wrong. But like, I remember when I went to go. When I went to go buy it for you, I had to base it on the bottle because I knew the other two bottles that you had.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I looked in the same sort of.
>> Amanda Barker: But in the perfumery. Perfumery world, like say I have Aura, the green bottle, there's going to be an Aura eau de toilette and there's going to be an Aura body spray or I don't know, I don't know all the ins and outs.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: There's going to be just the perfume. There's going to be. Usually they have some sort of a body wash. So there's a whole bunch of things within that world. And I don't really know the difference between an eau de toilette and a straight up perfume.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: There is, but I don't know what it is. So. So those three. But I think those three scents are. Are the three if.
>> Marco Timpano: And that will end on this. If the lady with the feet was to wear a perfume or cologne, what do you think that would be?
>> Amanda Barker: She's very girly.
>> Marco Timpano: See, I think she's very classic. So for me, I think she'd wear Chanel Number five.
>> Amanda Barker: But here's the thing. You hate Chanel Number five.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't like Chanel Number five.
>> Amanda Barker: I have Chanel Number five because it's so iconic. I asked for it one year and it sits in my thing. Actually, I have. I forgot I have two Chanel fragrances too. Mademoiselle, which I do like, and then Chanel Number five. And I gotta be honest, I don't like it at all. But the bottle Looks great sitting there. So that's why I have it. It's an expensive prop, really. So would she wear Chanel number five? Okay. If she wore Chanel no. 5, she'd be one of those people where it smells really amazing on her.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Because that's a big part of perfume, right? Is your body chemistry.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: So on Chanel Number five, me smells like a great aunt that doesn't get out of the house much and is going to the bingo. That's what Chanel number five smells like on me. But on Marily Monroe, apparently, was amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So if lady with the feet is wearing it. But I think she's more of like a Chanel mademoiselle. Like Coco mademoiselle.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Or maybe a Terry. Maybe Terry Mugler. But I think Angel's just a bit too exotic for her. Although she loves to travel.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Or maybe Jo Malone's orange blossoms.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds nice. Sounds like a nice cologne.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, listen, she might like a seasonal cologne, same as you do.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Well, we hope you enjoyed this journey with us and the lady with the feet and our walk through our scents and Amanda's little purse thing. And, of course, we're always open to hear things that you do or that you enjoy. Perhaps you have a perfume or cologne you enjoy, let us know. And, of course, if you have a suggestion for a show that you would like to hear or us to revisit a topic, we're always happy to do that. Right, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. Well, until next time, we hope you enjoyed this episode, and we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
original airdate: Feb 26, 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen. Find the most comfortable spot that you're near and just tune into us. I want to thank you for joining us. My name is Marco Timpano. I'm Amanda Barker and Amanda, we asked our listeners to tell us what their favorite episode was from our canon of 10 seasons. And Janelle has said the following. Okay. The string theory that was done with Nima. Great grandmaster.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't do anything.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was called the string theory of Grandmaster Flash.
>> Amanda Barker: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: Then there was.
>> Amanda Barker: I only have one story about Grandmaster Flash.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, we'll hear it in a moment then. Birding delights, also with Nima.
>> Amanda Barker: Birding. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Mittens and string, I believe, was with you.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And the game show episode, and that was with Nima.
>> Amanda Barker: So those are greatest, greatest hit. Greatest hits that we can revisit.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Also greatest revisit.
>> Marco Timpano: I was told the backpack episode was someone else's favorite. That one comes up a lot.
>> Amanda Barker: The backpack episode, people. I understand that because that is what relaxes me.
>> Marco Timpano: Ellen Kay. So the backpack upstairs is a kindred spirit for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I would do more like that, frankly, folks. But Marco stops me.
>> Marco Timpano: I do not. So you do. Let's begin. The floor is yours.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'm not doing the backpack episode again.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you don't have to. You do.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone knows the contents.
>> Marco Timpano: You do what works for you.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I have a question.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: What is this?
>> Marco Timpano: That there is.
>> Amanda Barker: So, folks, I'm just going to explain to you what I'm looking at right now. So we are in the booth. There are tiled walls, and usually Marco has. He's actually quite a gifted artist. He wouldn't say he is, but he is. And he sometimes will draw little cards. He'll sometimes write inspirational things on cards, and they're put up with, like, hat pins. But today, for the first time, I'm seeing this series of notes about. It looks like characters for a film script or something. And it's tacked up and there's some names of people that I don't know and I don't know what it is.
>> Marco Timpano: This, I think, was for an audio edition for audition for a audiobook. So it was the various characters that
>> Amanda Barker: I had looking at somebody who co. Owns a farm. Yeah, I'm looking at a lot of things. So I'm just. There's a lot about these people on here. So I was just trying to figure it out.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know why I have it up, to be honest with you, because this audition happened a while ago, but there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, well, I'm glad we got to the end of that mystery.
>> Marco Timpano: So you said you had a Grandmaster Flash story.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone does, but mine is. So in the earlier days of Facebook, but not that long ago, but like, maybe I would say now, six, seven years ago, there was a phenomenon that kept happening. Now, you know When, And I don't know with social media, I think it's still the same when you write, you start to write something like in a post, and it might intuitively know, like an autocorrect, but it's like, oh, you're trying to tag this person or this thing. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So, for example, if I started to write your name, it might come up in bottom blue, and it's like you're tagging Marco in this post versus just mentioning him, certainly.
>> Marco Timpano: Especially because you would likely be tagging me on a lot of stuff because I'd be mentioned.
>> Amanda Barker: Correct. Right. Well, and I guess what I should say is that usually doesn't just happen with a person, as far as I know. I think it happens with open pages and public profiles. So, for example, better example actually would be if I were to write about a restaurant. Like, Marco and I had a lovely time at Spirits Bar and Grill.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which no longer exists. But say I wrote that, of course. So if they had a little Facebook page that locals could go to, as I started to write it, it would probably pop up blue. Right. Well, there was a phenomenon that kept happening on Facebook. Grandmaster Flash had one of those public pages, like a business page. Okay. You know, for his art, his work, his music, et cetera. And all people that are like, what's Grandmaster Flash up to? Or, I want to be with like minded Grandmaster Flash fans, of course, like you do. So what was happening was grandparents were writing how they were so proud to be a proud grandparent of, you know, Justin as he turns 8 or whatever. But what was happening? It was automatically, instead of your grandfather and I, or your grandmother and I, it was just automatically tagging Grandmaster Flash. And they weren't wise to that. They just wrote what they wrote and didn't realize that it had automatically changed to Grandmaster Flash and tagged and just left it up. So there was a time where you could just scroll and look at all the grandparents inadvertently tagging Grandmaster Flash, usually for birthday or like, we're so proud of you as you graduate from military college. Things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's great. I love those funny mishaps.
>> Amanda Barker: Wholesome little moments, for sure. And I. I'm sure that even if those posts don't exist, that the site or whoever wrote it on medium or whatever, I'm sure that that still exists.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Of course. So you said that you wanted to bring up a topic or there was a topic that you wanted to talk about. You said.
>> Amanda Barker: When did I say that?
>> Marco Timpano: You said, I don't let you talk about backpacks.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, no, what I said was when I try to go through something and go through stuff in a methodical way, I go very detailed. We've established I'm a Virgo. I go very, very detailed and very intricate. And you don't have the patience. Sagittarius. Am I right, folks?
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't have the patience for my time that I take with it and my detailing. So you'll often sort of cut me off. Trul say, okay, well, that's. Let's move on to. Because you want to move on to another topic. So I can never really recreate the magic of the backpack episode because I get interrupted.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, listen, I. I want to participate in the episode. But if you would like to go through.
>> Amanda Barker: No, you can. But what do we have to go through? That's truly. I would. And we know this. We all know this. I, for years now, would put myself to sleep thinking about the details of the van or school bus that I wanted to renovate and live in. But I've abandoned that dream now.
>> Marco Timpano: What's in your pocketbook in your wallet? Oh, look, if you were to dissect
>> Amanda Barker: Mr. American saying pocketbook. Well, I don't know. I've gone through phases with bags. I used to be the big bag lady. So everything under the sun in a large purse. Yeah, I wouldn't even call them purses. I would call them bags. Okay, fair enough. You know, and then I went through my backpack phase, which has been a very long time. And these days I still have my backpack and I still take that to work because I always carry my laptop around. And for me, a backpack is the best way to transport my laptop. I don't trust an open. A more open bag like a purse. I don't want to wheel anything. That's what it's going to be.
>> Marco Timpano: That's not for you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, so hence the backpack. But. And I do, because, you know, I do take my own computer to work and use and work on that.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: So all that to say I have become the small purse lady.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the small purse lady.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I have. I have. I have done a 180. So I. Years ago, when bunz was still a thing, I traded for a small purse and fell quite in love with it. And for Christmas this year, my lovely sister in law got me a small purse. It was on my list. And I really love that purse.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a very thoughtful gift, too.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a very thoughtful gift.
>> Marco Timpano: So tell us about this purse well,
>> Amanda Barker: that purse is called. So it's an interesting one. It's actually called Save the Girls. And this woman thought, you know, too many women are carrying phones in their bra strap. Or in my case, it would be my tank top strap.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And she thought, you know, that's probably not the ideal choice. Certainly the people who make the phones tell you don't do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So what's a better solution? And truthfully, pockets and things like that, you know, again, not ideal. So what do you do? This is a dilemma we all have, you know, in this day and age. So this purse is really a phone strap with a bit of accoutrement. So there's a clear thing that has a magnet on the top of it. So you slip the phone into that, and you can just use the phone in its clear case.
>> Marco Timpano: Because the screen of the phone would be in this purse facing out, and you can touch the clear plastic and it will still register with the phone. Is that correct?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Yeah. You can totally use the phone while it's inside the purse because it has the, like, window that you can use. Much akin to, like, those water safe neck lanyard things that you get for snorkeling and things.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. Which I love to use.
>> Amanda Barker: They always make me nervous.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And you're not a big fan, but I like to use them.
>> Amanda Barker: Just afraid they're gonna open.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Okay. So that's part of this purse. What are other features that you appreciate?
>> Amanda Barker: But what I like is it's because there are some you can buy, and it's just that for the phone. But ultimately, I'm always gonna want to sneak some other things. And so it has a zipper and just the tiniest sort of like, almost like wallet attached to it and then another little zipper for, like, lipstick or lip balm. So the little things that I always get into every purse, that one and then the one that I got before, I always slip in a hand sanitizer. Of course, I always slip in a lip balm. I usually slip in a lipstick as well.
>> Marco Timpano: A lip balm and a lipstick.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Because they are not. There's nothing worse than when you want a lip balm, but all you have is a lipstick, and you're like, well, good enough. It's something on my lips, and it's just the worst feeling.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really? I didn't. I didn't realize that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's just doesn't do what a lip balm's gonna. It doesn't give you that satisfying. I'm coating this in a shea Butter or whatever your lip balm's made out of.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: So. Or coconut, whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So I like to have both personally. And yes, there are hydrating lipsticks, and yes, there are tinted lip balms, and there is one tinted lip balm that seems to have lasted me a decade, and I still use from Burt's Bees. Yeah, I remember I got a pack of three and this one. But you know what the thing is with lipsticks, Marco? They travel. Same as our tweezers. Like, they go on little journeys. You don't see them for a while, and then you're like, oh, there you are, friend Marco. And I. Can I tell them, of course.
>> Marco Timpano: This is a great story.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't know about that, but. So we have. We have a couple tweezers in our house, in our home, and that we travel with. But there's one particular tweezer that just is really good. I don't know where I got it, but I think I got it from a dollar store. And if you can imagine, the tweezer, the top of the tweezer is like a lady's head, and she's wearing, like, a lovely sort of 1950s dress. And then the feet are the heels, or her feet are the tweezer part.
>> Marco Timpano: The part that actually captures the hair. Yeah, whatever captures whatever you need to tweeze.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So we call her the lady with
>> Marco Timpano: the feet because her feet do the tweezing, which is unusual and quite funny to us.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's her name. So Marco actually coined that term where's. Because he'd be like, I don't like this tweezer. Where's the lady with the feet? And the lady with the feet came into our lives. When would that have been?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Quite a while ago. I wouldn't say about 10 years ago, at least.
>> Marco Timpano: At least. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So the lady with the feet, she goes on journeys with us sometimes. She often goes away for a long time. Like, I think she has a house in Palm Springs or something. She. She just leaves our lives for a. And then she'll just reappear.
>> Marco Timpano: She likes to travel with us. So what I find is the lady with the feet will end up in wherever we're at. Like, if we're in Turks and Caicos, if we're in Los Angeles, if we're in Ottawa, There she is. There she is.
>> Amanda Barker: She's with us.
>> Marco Timpano: So the lady with the feet really likes to travel.
>> Amanda Barker: I will just. I'll be looking for her. I'll be home. She's nowhere to be.
>> Marco Timpano: Found.
>> Amanda Barker: And then suddenly I'm packing my bags, and then I'm like, oh, I better put a tweezer into my makeup case. And there she is. Lady with the feet. She just appears, I swear.
>> Marco Timpano: And she just doesn'. Amanda's makeup case. Because we'll be like, okay, let's get in the car.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no, she's on the move. Always.
>> Marco Timpano: And then all of a sudden, she's in the car. So you know those movies where inanimate objects take a life of their own? I swear, the lady with the feet is living her best life. She's an adventurer.
>> Amanda Barker: She's an adventurer. That woman, that tweezer woman.
>> Marco Timpano: She's stylish. She's very stylish.
>> Amanda Barker: She's very stylish. She likes to go to the stylish places.
>> Marco Timpano: She's effective. She can use her feet like no one else.
>> Amanda Barker: Like the Middle East. She was everywhere I looked. She was in our room. First she's on the nightstand, then she seems to have traveled over the sink. Yeah, she's just on the move. Lady with the feet.
>> Marco Timpano: We appreciate the lady with the feet because she does. When we need her to do the job, she does it well and she does it right.
>> Amanda Barker: She does.
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, it's kind of the.
>> Amanda Barker: She has a job to do, but I think she married well because she. She has her own income and she doesn't need to do the job. She just shows up when we. When she knows we're going somewhere.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So.
>> Marco Timpano: So we. We appreciate the lady with the feet. So. So she travels with us. I don't know how we got there. Oh, you were talking about lipstick and things you find.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So sometimes I will have a tweezer in. In a. But not. Not normally. I usually just put one in the car. Car is the best place to use a tweezer, I think, because you have the best light.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I think something that you have in the car, which I think is a pretty. Pretty wise thing, is you'll have spare makeup in the car for when you need it, right?
>> Amanda Barker: I do, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You have a little makeup bag?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't know. I don't always have it in the car. I just have two. I just have a lot of makeup.
>> Marco Timpano: But don't you have car makeup, like the makeup that stays in the car?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I have makeup that I bring to the car, and I leave it out there because I keep forgetting to bring it back into the house, in which case I then use my backup makeup in the house and go, oh, I gotta get that out of the car and then it might stay there. Like the one that's in the car now has been in there for a couple of days, I think, because the thing is, I don't leave it out. I shove it under the seat or I shove it in the glove box so that there's not a bag just sitting in the car. But because I do that, it's out of sight. So out of sight, out of mind. And then in the morning, I'm waking up, I'm having a coffee, I'm doing my hair, I got to put my makeup on. Oh, it's in the car. Not to worry. Amanda has lots of backups, so I just go to the backup crew.
>> Marco Timpano: And you were recently discussing a specific kind of makeup that you discovered and you were talking with a young, young girl and she was like, oh, yeah, I know this. It was like a jelly. Yeah, a jelly something.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Our friend's daughter, who is 11, I think so. Yeah, yeah. And she's extremely into makeup and makeup tutorials and skincare, which I guess is just when you're an 11 year old child, that's just a big part. You know, they're watching tutorials. Sure. That's what they watch. How to contour, how to your skincare routine, get ready with me and pick my outfit and all that stuff. Right. So she wants to do these. She's aching to do these videos, but her very conscientious mother is like, no, you're not doing these videos. So what her mom, our dear friend, has allowed her to do, and this is great is she has a Instagram account for her dog. So she never showed. The 11 year old girl never shows her face, but she gets to use her voice and she gets to talk about her dog's makeup routine and her dog's skincare regimen and the products that her dog most loves from Sephora, things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: And what's this jelly thing that you've discovered?
>> Amanda Barker: It's a jelly tint that can be used for lips or. So something's happened in the makeup world in the last 10 years where there's a lot of love for. Which I love. There's a lot of love for versatile, versatile, versatile products. So there's a real movement that if you use it on your cheeks, why can't you use it on your lips or on your lids? If you would like a nice, you know, rosy pinky color on your eyes, which some do.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not just a lipstick, it's a, it's a blush lipstick combo.
>> Amanda Barker: It it could, it's. Yeah, they'll call it like lip and lip and cheek tint or something like that. I don't know. But this one is particularly fun and, and a big hit with the young 11 year olds because, and, and myself because it's got a, it's like a. It's like Jello. It's like a little stick of jello.
>> Marco Timpano: It has a jelly consistency.
>> Amanda Barker: Definitely is a jelly consistency. And so if you can just imagine a little blob of Jello in a
>> Marco Timpano: tube, because it looks like a fat lipstick to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's in a tube. Now I will say the thing about that lip tint, because I used to have one from the same company and it wasn't jelly, it was just a lipstick blush thing. And I mostly used it for blush, but when you use it on your lips, it's quite drying.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So again, back to the types of lipsticks out there. You'd want your lip balm in there for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this because I remember when I was much younger, there was a thing that was touted and I don't even know if you'll know what it is because I haven't seen it in, you know, many, many decades, but Kiss Proof lipstick, what exactly was that?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh yeah, that was like a marketing campaign. Well, I think the idea is, I mean, you've, I mean, listen, I did a casting on Friday and we had a fake microphone for.
>> Marco Timpano: This is for commercials, by the way. Amanda helps to cast commercials for those who don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And we were auditioning these people to be basically in a pretend band. We had some real singers and some real musicians, but then we had some fake ones as well. Anyhow, the, the singers, both real and imagined, had a microphone. It wasn't on or working or anything, but they could use the microphone to, you know, be a singer of a piece.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a prop, in other words.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a prop. But at the end of the day we looked at the microphone, it was covered in lipstick.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh no.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's why I say that. So lipstick, you know, you, you look at a coffee cup and it can be covered in lipstick, a soda can, you know, your husband's cheek perhaps. And so I think there was a movement to like have a more lasting lipstick that was more of a stain and not some, not a smeary, smushy thing that you put on your lips, but rather something that just stays there. So there's actually, and I haven't seen it a long time, but about 20 years ago, they. They had a type of lipstick where you put sort of the stain on your lips, and it. And then you put a. On the other side of it was like a gloss. So you do the stain, and then I'm sure they still have this and then a gloss on the other side. And that stuff was magic. That stuff will last a long time. It probably still exists. My friend Lois and I got really, really into it, and there was a certain number of color that we loved, and, like, I'm talking, like, four years. Like, that's all we were.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. Do you remember the name of the. The color you liked? Because I love the names.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I don't remember. I should ask her and see if she remembers. But now, because I have a makeup subscription that comes every month. Yes. I'm one of those people. It's probably one of the only subscriptions I have, I think. But it just brings me so much joy. I love it. And there's a lot of travel stuff in there. That's my justification. I just try the lipsticks that they send or recommend, you know, so. And also the thing I like about that is a lot of the stuff because it's. I don't pay a lot for it. The stuff tends to be small. And I appreciate that because, like, nobody needs to hold a lipstick for 10, 15 years.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And that sounds like a long time, but you easily could if it's a color you don't wear a lot. It's just in your bag, especially as an actor. Like, I have a bright red that is a solid 10 years old. It was cheap to begin with, but I keep it because if I need a bright red lip, I'll have it. But on me, I love the idea of a bright red lip, but I don't. I don't have the lips that. It doesn't look great.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: When it's on me.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Well, thank you for that little lipstick tutorial.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I can talk about makeup all day long.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny, I don't wear makeup very often when I'm on set and they have to put makeup on me. Sure. But I do wear cologne, and you've gifted me some cologne, and I like the smell of cologne, and I like the smell of perfumes and scented things. That's just me.
>> Amanda Barker: I like a good perfume.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And so I have. So for me, my colognes are seasonal. I like to have one that I wear in this.
>> Amanda Barker: That makes sense to me.
>> Marco Timpano: One that I wear in the summer, one that I Wear in the winter. And I just transitioned to my spring scent.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: And a lot of people at work really are enjoying the scent. And I know you're not supposed to wear. I was going to say lipstick. You're not supposed to wear cologne at certain works and sense.
>> Amanda Barker: And we try to. Yeah, we try to observe those scent free spaces. My friend Lois, actually, who I was talking about, who loved that tinted lipstick, she has a real, real scent allergy and aversion. So I've seen in real time what her being around people who are wearing scents does.
>> Marco Timpano: And to be fair, I don't wear it around. I will not.
>> Amanda Barker: We do not wear it around her.
>> Marco Timpano: I've actually showered accidentally put it on and then showered again so I wouldn't have it on when we went to see Lois.
>> Amanda Barker: And because of her and spending time with her, I don't ever wear it in a theater. Because when you wear it in a. If it's strong in the theater, if the person next to you starts to have an adverse reaction, starts coughing, sneezing, it's disruptive. It's disruptive. They don't want to be coughing and sneezing. And it's disruptive for the actors. It's disruptive for everyone. And I've seen that happen in real time. So I don't wear it there. But I do love perfume. So if I'm in a place where I. I don't have to be in close proximity for long amounts of time with someone, I will wear it. I wear it to work. But that's because generally speaking, at my work, with my job the way it is. Well, one, I'm running around, I'm sweating a lot usually. But also where I'm kind of sitting in the room, I'm kind of away from everyone.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, that's my justification.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Well, I'll even put it on when I'm not going out of the house just for myself.
>> Amanda Barker: Same.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I really do love. There's two fragrance ears that I. Oh,
>> Marco Timpano: is that how you say it? Fragrance.
>> Amanda Barker: I had no idea.
>> Marco Timpano: I meant, I don't know, Fragrant Tours.
>> Amanda Barker: There's two brands. How about that?
>> Marco Timpano: And they are.
>> Amanda Barker: Can I say that? Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, they're not our sponsors, but you can say them.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I know. I wish they were sponsors. I love Jo Malone scents. They are made with essential oils for the essential oil people of the world. So they do not, as far as I know, have the perfume and all of the things that you don't want to have in them. And they're lighter scents, generally speaking, because of that. Some people say they dissipate quicker. But I just love the smells. I think they're really different kinds of
>> Marco Timpano: smells and they got nice flavor combinations.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, again, nose flavor.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So Joe Malone. But then if I want, like, okay, we're doing it. We're in perfume. I love. Terry Mugler has three scents and I love them all. Angel, Alien and Aura.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are the three classic scents. Yeah, Terry Mugler's brand has more than just those scents.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because I bought one of those scents for you and I saw that there's different variations of the scent.
>> Amanda Barker: Like it's like variations of. Within the scent there always is Ice,
>> Marco Timpano: Alien or something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: But those are the three.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are the three major ones.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but I don't. There's not another one, is there?
>> Marco Timpano: I think there is, but I could be wrong. But like, I remember when I went to go. When I went to go buy it for you, I had to base it on the bottle because I knew the other two bottles that you had.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I looked in the same sort of.
>> Amanda Barker: But in the perfumery. Perfumery world, like say I have Aura, the green bottle, there's going to be an Aura eau de toilette and there's going to be an Aura body spray or I don't know, I don't know all the ins and outs.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: There's going to be just the perfume. There's going to be. Usually they have some sort of a body wash. So there's a whole bunch of things within that world. And I don't really know the difference between an eau de toilette and a straight up perfume.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: There is, but I don't know what it is. So. So those three. But I think those three scents are. Are the three if.
>> Marco Timpano: And that will end on this. If the lady with the feet was to wear a perfume or cologne, what do you think that would be?
>> Amanda Barker: She's very girly.
>> Marco Timpano: See, I think she's very classic. So for me, I think she'd wear Chanel Number five.
>> Amanda Barker: But here's the thing. You hate Chanel Number five.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't like Chanel Number five.
>> Amanda Barker: I have Chanel Number five because it's so iconic. I asked for it one year and it sits in my thing. Actually, I have. I forgot I have two Chanel fragrances too. Mademoiselle, which I do like, and then Chanel Number five. And I gotta be honest, I don't like it at all. But the bottle Looks great sitting there. So that's why I have it. It's an expensive prop, really. So would she wear Chanel number five? Okay. If she wore Chanel no. 5, she'd be one of those people where it smells really amazing on her.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Because that's a big part of perfume, right? Is your body chemistry.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: So on Chanel Number five, me smells like a great aunt that doesn't get out of the house much and is going to the bingo. That's what Chanel number five smells like on me. But on Marily Monroe, apparently, was amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So if lady with the feet is wearing it. But I think she's more of like a Chanel mademoiselle. Like Coco mademoiselle.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Or maybe a Terry. Maybe Terry Mugler. But I think Angel's just a bit too exotic for her. Although she loves to travel.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Or maybe Jo Malone's orange blossoms.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds nice. Sounds like a nice cologne.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, listen, she might like a seasonal cologne, same as you do.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Well, we hope you enjoyed this journey with us and the lady with the feet and our walk through our scents and Amanda's little purse thing. And, of course, we're always open to hear things that you do or that you enjoy. Perhaps you have a perfume or cologne you enjoy, let us know. And, of course, if you have a suggestion for a show that you would like to hear or us to revisit a topic, we're always happy to do that. Right, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. Well, until next time, we hope you enjoyed this episode, and we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Snow Day (in April??)
original airdate: April 3, 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm and relaxing conversation to help you find yourself to a relaxing place yourself. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, it's April 2nd. And it's a snow day today. It's been snowing all morning. A lot of what we had to do has been altered so that, you know, we could make provisions for the snow that has arrived, which is a rare occasion in April these days. My niece and nephew had a snow day from school. We had things we had to do. We were going to go up north.
>> Amanda Barker: Our other nephew, with my sister and her partner were on a plane and they were on that. Stuck on the tarmac for a long time. And full disclosure, Marco. And I thought, well, I thought, oh, they're going to spend the night at our house because they're flying in from Halifax. And anyway, they had a stop over here, which I didn't know until this morning. And then it was, oh, we're in Toronto. Okay, great. Let us know when you do this. Let us know when you do that. And they had, I think, a few hours before they went to their final destination, but they then were like, we're stuck. And then I saw the snow and I was like, oh, I don't know if they're getting out today.
>> Marco Timpano: They might be crashing at our place,
>> Amanda Barker: which we would welcome. And our house was not quite ready
>> Marco Timpano: for visitors, so we were getting the house ready. If you'd like to see what it was like, if it's not snowy where you are, go to. No, no, no.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought you meant, like, if you want to see what, the mess of our house.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, not that. I want folks, if they want to see what it's like to go to our Instagram, the Insomnia project. And you can see I did a little video. I don't know if you call it video. A little snippet.
>> Amanda Barker: You're allowed to call it a video.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, I did a little video and. And it's with the snow and my eyes were getting pelted with ice and I was wearing glasses and.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness, he went to take out the.
>> Marco Timpano: The trash.
>> Amanda Barker: The recycling. The trash or recycling?
>> Marco Timpano: Both, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: And he said that the. What did you say?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I went to go throw the. You know, like, you open the lid to the box, the blue box. And I went to bend to put the. The recycling in there. And as I bent, my neck got exposed and so much ice just got pelted behind my neck.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was one of those, like, sideways ice storms.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to love, love, love a snow day back when I was in grade school. It was the. It was like a bonus day where you. You stayed home, you got to watch television, you got to Eat snacks and you just got to cuddle in a warm bed. Those were some of my favorite memories when I was a kid.
>> Amanda Barker: What TV would you watch? What snacks would you have?
>> Marco Timpano: Definitely the Price is Right. And any game shows. As Amanda knows, I'm a big fan of game shows. I think it harks back to when I was a child and I got to experience that when I went during a snow day. And then, of course, I'm born in December, so snow days around my birthday were always fun as. And then for snacks, good question. Like hot chocolate, cheeses, any sweets we might have in the home, those were all on the agenda.
>> Amanda Barker: I loved snow days. Now, would you go outside and do snow angels and build forts and things like that?
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes, yeah, I remember building forts and I just can't remember if it was on a snow day or not. But also hanging out with kids, my neighbors and stuff on a snow day. That was always a big fun, fun thing to do as well.
>> Amanda Barker: I loved snow days. My number one memory or feeling with snow days was that I didn't have to do my homework. If we knew the night before that we might have a snow day, then that was like this big relief of like, oh, I have a day where I don't have to go to school. I wasn't a kid that enjoyed school, so I really, really loved those days. And yeah, we would watch game shows too. Although I always think of the prices right in Ginger, Alex and dry toast as like the triumvirate of if you were sick or got out of school because you weren't feeling well.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, snow day as an adult is great too. You know, we had all these things on our agenda to do. We were doing it early this morning to get up north, and then we received a phone call saying that our appointment got postponed. And then all of a sudden we had free time.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we really had a pretty planned out and stacked day. Down to the hour, down to the half hour. In fact, if this is due at this time and this is due at that time, and then if we get on the road by that time, we can have our meeting at such and such time, all of it. And then maybe two hours before we found out that, nope, Mother Nature had other plans for us and she wants us to be home today. And that's honestly a real gift because I had so many things I wanted to do yesterday and I didn't do most of them. And most of them were like the personal things, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Cleaning. Nothing particularly exciting, but just mostly cleaning, actually. And now we're having a day where we both can take some time to do those things and to maybe clean. So I've cleaned two rooms, and that makes me really happy.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. Actually, this episode got delayed a bit because of the snow day. We were going to do it early and get my computer and.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's right. Your computer's up north.
>> Marco Timpano: My computer's up north. I mistakenly left it at my sister's house, saying, oh, I'm coming up on Wednesday. I'll get it then. And of course, it's gonna stay there for the next little while until we head up there to get it, which
>> Amanda Barker: we will, and it'll be fine. And luckily, we have a lot of what I call old beater computers. I don't know. Can you call a computer a beater? We call cars beaters. As though you can, like, beat it around, I guess. Like, they'll take a lot of hits.
>> Marco Timpano: That's something you say. We never used to say that. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I wonder what that's from.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Where did I get that from? Maybe it's an east coast thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Could be.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Because we'll. We'll say that about cars. You never said that about cars. No, we would say, oh, yeah, that's. She's a beater. Like, in other words, it can. Like a tank full of, you know, dents and rust and whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I was saying that to a friend of mine not too long ago. He. He said his dad always had really nice cars, and he always has really nice cars. He leases a new car every two years.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, we're very alike, he and I, in many weird ways. But I said, that is one way we are very different, because I will drive a car into the ground. And he's like, no, I. I blame my dad. Now I always have to have a new car. He has beautiful cars.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: However he gets them.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I just like a car that takes me from place A to place B safely and warmly.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm the same.
>> Marco Timpano: I like a car that warms your feet. Like, you know, where the. Where the heat gets to your feet. I had a car, beautiful car, but I would never. For some reason, the way they built it, heat would not get to the bottom. It would get all around me except my feet. So I was warm everywhere else except my feet. And, you know, on a snow day, too, you want to be warm. The funny thing, Amanda. So our crocuses started coming. Oh, coming out.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no, I forgot.
>> Marco Timpano: And I was thinking the other day, you know, I remember when crocuses came out and there was snow. And I was thinking to myself, it's so cute to see crocuses with snow around them. Not thinking that it was going to pile on like that, battered with snow. But they can. They're resistant little flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, that's what they're meant for. They're meant to be some of the first flowers of spring, right? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I really love crocuses. I always mention it on our on podcast because of the first flowers that pop up. And they're really bold and brave because they face the weather like no other flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: First come the crocuses, then usually the daffodils, then the tulips. Although it's. They're a little neck and neck. Who's going to make it up first?
>> Marco Timpano: We don't have any daffodils in our backyard.
>> Amanda Barker: In our front yard we have tried.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, squirrels.
>> Amanda Barker: Delicious dinner for the squirrels. Apparently. The bulbs I have planted, I think quite literally hundreds of daffodils. I think we have one that makes it up every year. That's it. I'm sure I'm not burying them enough. I've given up on daffodils, but to be honest, in a race, I prefer tulips anyway. So I just focus my efforts on the tulips. And we've mentioned before, our front gets, from various reasons, dug up pretty much every year. So those flowers, if they make it through the dig of that year during the summer, then it's always funny to see where they might land.
>> Marco Timpano: You would think our front is an archaeological site because of all the digging that they do. And twice they had to because we have the fire hydrant on our front. They had to dig it one year and then the next year they didn't do it right, so they dug it up again.
>> Amanda Barker: Good old. We have a friend who's been on this program who loves fire hydrants. She is a fire hydrant connoisseur. And wherever, whenever we go, to any place, this new city, country, you name it, she wants pictures of fire hydrants. Not every country or city has them, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: At least not some of them aren't even recognizable as fire hydrants.
>> Amanda Barker: Not in the North American yellow fire hydrant sense, that is.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That our friend is Michelle Miracle.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I hope she's okay with us outing her fire hydrant Passion. Oh, I don't know if it's a secret thing or. No, I'm sure it's fine.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I can always edit that.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I Don't think she's. And she's into mustaches, too. I don't really know where that came from, but that I didn't know about until much later. Until her wedding, actually. There was a lot of mustaches.
>> Marco Timpano: She had us take photos with mustache. What would you call that? Like, little mustache? Fake mustaches, but, you know, like those glasses that you flip.
>> Amanda Barker: What are they called? Like a. Instead of a monocle. A Mustachical.
>> Marco Timpano: She had Mustachicals for all of us to have and take photos. It was a lot of fun, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: And I should mention her company is called Mishmash Art Stash because she's an artist. Beautiful painter. Watercolors mostly, and some collages as well. And you can check all that out. But the stash part is, I believe, from mustaches.
>> Marco Timpano: Mishmash Art Stash, definitely. Check out her artwork. She just had a big show of
>> Amanda Barker: her art in Santa Clarita. Yeah, Michelle Miracle, if you want to look that up. Beautiful. Show her and another artist. Gorgeous stuff. what else was I gonna say about mustaches? I don't remember. They have a cat who I believe is named Mustache in Persian.
>> Marco Timpano: Beautiful cat.
>> Amanda Barker: Two beautiful cats.
>> Marco Timpano: Two beautiful cats. One that has, like. It looks like it has a mustache, which is pretty great.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe their names are Batchet and Moosh. I believe those are the names of the cats.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think so. Sounds right to me. So funny.
>> Amanda Barker: You're looking at me in a very expectant way, Marco, like you're expecting me to say something. I'm not sure.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I thought you were going to say something. You kind of had this look on your face like you were going to say something.
>> Amanda Barker: I think because if you had a look on your face.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, we have that look. That. That snow. Snow day look.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess that snow day, expectant look.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Remember that guy on TV last night? There was a guy on TV last night. So we watch. Sometimes we'll watch Italian programming and there's a couple local. We have such an Italian community here in Toronto that because. And I say this because I think this is somewhat unique to the city. I mean, I don't think it's solely unique to the city, but the fact that we have a programming that is local in Italian isn't something you see in every single city.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. And when we're not watching British television, we're watching the Italian local news.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, not from Italy, usually. Usually local Italians. Anyway, there was a guy last night and he just had these. He was an older man, but he had these Like, I don't know how to explain it. He had this face that looked like a newborn baby just seeing the world for the first time, Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. He had bright, bright wandering eyes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. There's something like almost. I don't know how to put it. Expectant and curious and fascinated in his eyes. Like, what am I looking at? I don't know. I'm assuming it was a teleprompter. But he seemed marveling at them.
>> Marco Timpano: He was reporting on the price drop of gasoline. So he was by a gas station. So it wasn't like.
>> Amanda Barker: But imagine a newborn baby looking at the world for the first time, but at a gas station, interviewing people.
>> Marco Timpano: That's. That's exactly how it was.
>> Amanda Barker: So I couldn't get over this guy's face. I don't remember what his name was.
>> Marco Timpano: And then we watched someone prepare a carrot salad. That was not what we expected.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they folks, they parboiled the carrots. So sort of not fully boiled, but like, got a good boil on the carrots whole.
>> Marco Timpano: They had to be toothsome.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So parboiled. And then they chopped that carrot up and then added a bunch of stuff to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Garlic, parsley, I think Lemon, finely chopped with the rind.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like actual lemon chopped up.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Thinly, Thinly sliced.
>> Amanda Barker: Make that tonight.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. It's one of those things where you see it and you're like, this will be either great or horrible. There's no in between.
>> Amanda Barker: There were capers in that salad, which I don't think we have. We have a caper shortage in this house right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Why is it we never have capers? You and I love capers. You love them in particular, I'll be
>> Amanda Barker: honest, because a lot of the food in this house that comes in and goes out isn't from Caperville. Caperville, your average grocery store. Like, we have a grocery store nearby. We do go there, I guess, but not very regularly or with any kind of regularity.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not like my mom used to go to the grocery store, I think every week or every two weeks or whatever. We don't. We don't do that. Really. I have food boxes that come in, and that's a big part of it. And then we go to Costco.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Costco doesn't sell capers because I don't think anybody needs a flat of capers.
>> Marco Timpano: I do a lot of salt. Question. Do you think your mom has capers in her fridge right now?
>> Amanda Barker: I would almost guarantee it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Have you ever had caper Buds. Where the capers are bigger and juicier than the actual little capers.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but take me to that place. I would like to eat them in Caperville. I would like to go to Caperville now.
>> Marco Timpano: Where do you most like capers?
>> Amanda Barker: In my mouth.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but by what vehicle? By what instrument do you like them on a caper pizza? Do you like them on a French toast? What do you like?
>> Amanda Barker: I think there's a reason they get often paired with seafood. I think they make sense in seafood because you want a bit of brine, generally speaking, with the food from the sea. Beyond that, I don't know. Where else does one put one?
>> Marco Timpano: You could have them in a salad. You could have them anywhere that. I guess salt or brine is required.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe fried, I don't know. But only usually with seafood. Like a smoked salmon on a bagel. Bit of capers. That seems to be the. The old standby.
>> Marco Timpano: And in a carrot and a weird carrot salad.
>> Amanda Barker: Weird carrot salad. Capers. Now, I have olives. I could chop those up and put it in there, but I don't think you would eat that.
>> Marco Timpano: Capers and olives are two different beasts,
>> Amanda Barker: but they're both vehicles for salt.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, but you know me. I've got to be in a olive mood. I don't disagree.
>> Amanda Barker: Which. You're never in an olive mood. When were you. When are you in an olive mood?
>> Marco Timpano: I had olives the other day, and
>> Amanda Barker: I was really good. Who's that guy? I'd like to meet him.
>> Marco Timpano: Where was I? That I had olives? I had not with me. I had a big olive, and I couldn't find a place to put the pit.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you secretly eating olives without me?
>> Marco Timpano: Where was I?
>> Amanda Barker: He did this with pesto. Folks, I'm waiting for eggplant to get into the mix. He swore up and down he couldn't eat pesto. Didn't like pesto. And I thought, oh, what a shame. I love pesto. I stopped making it. I stopped buying it. Next thing I know, Marco discovers pesto.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I loved pesto. It just did a number on me, and it no longer does a number on me.
>> Amanda Barker: A number on you? I went tap dance in your stomach.
>> Marco Timpano: I went to the mailbox because it was. Because after I got the snow in my. In my neck, I figured I might as well.
>> Amanda Barker: What mailbox?
>> Marco Timpano: Our little mailbox.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I don't think of that as a mailbox, but sure.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you. What do you call that?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Mail slot thing. I think of A mailbox as like the end of a driveway on a wooden thing with the little flag up or down with the front thing. We have a little metal box, rectangular box, sort of fastened to the side of the brick. I don't know, it doesn't feel the same.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a mailbox. But I see you like that end of the drive kind of mail hut that. I've never had a mailbox like that, ever.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's funny. Where my parents live, the big thing is to have a big cement manatee as a mailbox. That's a trend there. I don't know, there must be some person that makes them or something.
>> Marco Timpano: The manatee is like holding the mailbox in its flippers and it's kind of curved forward as if it's propping itself out of the wall.
>> Amanda Barker: And it makes sense because they live in Manatee County. So it makes complete sense. However, we were driving in Ontario not too long ago. Where were we? We saw one, I knew, like Bolton area.
>> Marco Timpano: We were somewhere.
>> Amanda Barker: We saw like an hour north of Toronto and there was a manatee mailbox. And I thought, how did you make it up here, friend? Like, who was like, I gotta have the manatee at the end of my driveway in Ontario. And like packaged that manatee up, brought it like, is that your carry on? Or. Or did they get it shipped? I suppose. But even still, that's a big thing to ship.
>> Marco Timpano: It seemed unusual, I know. We were driving to Tottenham when we
>> Amanda Barker: saw it, which in itself is unusual.
>> Marco Timpano: We never go to Tottenham.
>> Amanda Barker: Can you explain the Tottenham trip?
>> Marco Timpano: My aunt turned 80 and so my sister was having a party for my aunt at her house. And my cousin, my aunt's daughter said, I called and I said, do you need anything? And she said, could you pick up a cake? And so we're like, okay, we'll get the cake, no problem. And my sister had told me of a place that makes great cannoli and sfolia cake. And sfolia cake, like a multi layered cake.
>> Amanda Barker: So we called them and said, do you have a sfolia cake that just happens to be lying around that we could pick up in the next hour or two?
>> Marco Timpano: And they said no.
>> Amanda Barker: They laughed at me. And then they said no, but they
>> Marco Timpano: said they had cannoli. And my sister kind of gave the impression that this was near her home.
>> Amanda Barker: We should probably do some translation for people who are listening in. Unless it's the. The guy with the baby wide eyes that interviews people at gas stations or
>> Marco Timpano: the person who Makes a carrot salad with capers and piece chunks of lemon. So what we're going to translate cannoli,
>> Amanda Barker: in case you don't know what cannoli is. Not to be confused with cannelloni. Cannelloni, which is a pasta stuffed pasta. Cannoli is. What's the name of the biscuit that you use? Like, what's the vehicle of the cannoli? What's that called?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a cannoli shell. It's a shell that looks like a tube that's stuffed with like a. What do you call it? A cream or a cream or a pistachio cream. And then usually on the either end, they might even dip that in pistachios.
>> Amanda Barker: Or they'll put. Sometimes a candied orange peel will go on one side. Chocolate chips can go inside. It can taste like Nutella. It can taste like a lot of things.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I should have had one of the ricotta ones, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: Was good. And so we drove and sfolia, you
>> Amanda Barker: have to translate that. So I always think of sfolia as the same as mille foy, which means a thousand layers. Right. So it's one of the. It's pastry with cream that.
>> Amanda Barker: Ha.
>> Amanda Barker: That's like those tiny, like very thin, crunchy layers. Right. I'll be honest. Sfolia, not my favorite cake. They decorate it to look like a beautiful grocery store cake with all the promise and all the sugar. And then you cut into it and it's cream that's somewhat sweet. Good with coffee. Not my bag.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. It's wonderful. If you haven't had a chance to experience that. So we order the cannoli and we drive, thinking it's near my sister's home, but it's 30 minutes away from my sister's home.
>> Amanda Barker: And 30 minutes, like through woods and farmhouses. Like, not. Not a tight 30.
>> Marco Timpano: No, not a tight 30.
>> Amanda Barker: Very long and languid 30.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And then we get there and we're like, where. Where are we going for these? And we get to Tottenham. The answer was Tottenham and Tottenham. Quaint little. Quaint little town.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's. I've never been. It's cute.
>> Marco Timpano: Go cannoli. Were ready for me. You know, sometimes you go places and it's usually not a pastry shop where you see. Have a book, take a book, and there's like a bookshelf where you can take a book and have a book and donate your books and whatnot. Well, this place had that. I should mention the place because we really enjoyed the. If you're in Tottenham, and you want great pastries, go to Salvatore's Pastries and Cakes on the main drag. And they have. Have a book, Take a book. Amanda, I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I never saw that coming with a pastry shop, but it can happen.
>> Marco Timpano: And I found a book that I wanted. I never find books at. Have a Book, Take a Book. And I don't know what they're called, but I'm going to just call it
>> Amanda Barker: that Lending libraries or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I didn't have a book to donate, but I certainly took the book.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, we can go back up there. I got lots of books I can donate.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Well, I was very grateful. I got my cannoli, I got my book. Everyone was happy.
>> Amanda Barker: At the end of the day, wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: But on the drive home from Tottenham, we're drive to my sister's place. I said to you, why are the trees so shimmery and shiny? They look so beautiful. And we realized it was ice that had frozen on the tree. And you said, be careful. That ice wasn't there when we came to Tottenham, but on the way back, the temperature must have dropped and the rain froze on the tree.
>> Amanda Barker: And our car that night was encased in ice.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: We had to wait for it to. Like, there was no scraping it off. It was encased in ice. And I imagine right now it is as well, because it's a snow day.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. It's always a lovely warm feeling when it's cold outside. Things are encased in ice. And you're indoors under the COVID with.
>> Amanda Barker: Encased in warmth.
>> Marco Timpano: Encased in warmth with a warm tea or beverage. And I'm gonna make myself a very milky tea and just enjoy it.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm gonna make myself a very tea milk. Oh, I don't know how that works, but I'm gonna try.
>> Marco Timpano: And I had all the biscotti that we have, so I have nothing to dunk in my tea.
>> Amanda Barker: There's plenty. You got plenty. You can dunk.
>> Marco Timpano: No capers.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe we have a few olives left, since you enjoy those on the. On the sly. Enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: Where was I? That I had olives and I was, like, looking for a plate to put the pit in.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: That was. It was racist restaurant. Oh, was it the restaurant? No, it wasn't the restaurant. It was somewhere.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe you. I believe that you ate an olive and didn't know where to put the pit. That's a common problem. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever seen those devices that are kind of like half. Like a half thing to put the olive in the other half is for your pit.
>> Amanda Barker: Nope.
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen them. They're like, kind of like squiggly ceramic things. So your olives are all in a row, and then beside it.
>> Amanda Barker: Is it deep hit them, like, in. In batches?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, it's a. Something you put on the table. Oh. So you would eat it, and then beside it, you would throw the pit grass. Well, that's what. That's why they made this device. But I hear you. I hear you.
>> Amanda Barker: Well. I remember the day I discovered olives. I was eight or nine, I think eight. And I had just let my sister cut my hair, and I got in real trouble for that, which I didn't think was fair because my sister was in charge of myself and my younger brother. So I was doing what she said, which was letting her cut my hair. But somehow I still got in trouble for it. And we had to go to an inn. Very weird for my parents to do this. I feel like you grew up doing these types of things, but. Actually, I didn't. But somebody in my mother's family was having a 50th anniversary.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know who it was. And it was in a church basement. And so we had to go to. It was a couple towns over. We had to go to this thing. I was still in trouble because of my hair. And so my hair was shorter than it had been. And we go to this place, and they have those green with pimento cocktail olives on every table.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I never tried them. And I tried one because I was probably hungry and nobody was paying attention to me, and I was like, what is this delicious flavor in my mouth? Because I didn't as a kid, salt wasn't really my thing. I didn't go for chips. Anyway, I was in love. And I managed that day to eat the olives from every single table. The little dish on every table, and. And there was nothing else like the ones you went to, I'm sure. Had antipasto on each table. This one just had cocktail olives on each table. I don't know. I managed to empty each one into my mouth by the. By the time we left, there were no olives in the place. I think I ate, like, five jars
>> Marco Timpano: of olives that day. W. Well, whatever you need with regards to salt, whether it be capers or olives or a warm snuggle, we hope you find it today on this snow day. Once again, check out our Instagram where you'll see what it's like. Any last things you'd like to say. Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I just want some salt now.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, well, we're gonna go have some salt. And we hope that you're able to grab some salt, some warmth, and, of course, you're able to find your way to sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: Sam.
original airdate: April 3, 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm and relaxing conversation to help you find yourself to a relaxing place yourself. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, it's April 2nd. And it's a snow day today. It's been snowing all morning. A lot of what we had to do has been altered so that, you know, we could make provisions for the snow that has arrived, which is a rare occasion in April these days. My niece and nephew had a snow day from school. We had things we had to do. We were going to go up north.
>> Amanda Barker: Our other nephew, with my sister and her partner were on a plane and they were on that. Stuck on the tarmac for a long time. And full disclosure, Marco. And I thought, well, I thought, oh, they're going to spend the night at our house because they're flying in from Halifax. And anyway, they had a stop over here, which I didn't know until this morning. And then it was, oh, we're in Toronto. Okay, great. Let us know when you do this. Let us know when you do that. And they had, I think, a few hours before they went to their final destination, but they then were like, we're stuck. And then I saw the snow and I was like, oh, I don't know if they're getting out today.
>> Marco Timpano: They might be crashing at our place,
>> Amanda Barker: which we would welcome. And our house was not quite ready
>> Marco Timpano: for visitors, so we were getting the house ready. If you'd like to see what it was like, if it's not snowy where you are, go to. No, no, no.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought you meant, like, if you want to see what, the mess of our house.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, not that. I want folks, if they want to see what it's like to go to our Instagram, the Insomnia project. And you can see I did a little video. I don't know if you call it video. A little snippet.
>> Amanda Barker: You're allowed to call it a video.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, I did a little video and. And it's with the snow and my eyes were getting pelted with ice and I was wearing glasses and.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness, he went to take out the.
>> Marco Timpano: The trash.
>> Amanda Barker: The recycling. The trash or recycling?
>> Marco Timpano: Both, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: And he said that the. What did you say?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I went to go throw the. You know, like, you open the lid to the box, the blue box. And I went to bend to put the. The recycling in there. And as I bent, my neck got exposed and so much ice just got pelted behind my neck.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was one of those, like, sideways ice storms.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to love, love, love a snow day back when I was in grade school. It was the. It was like a bonus day where you. You stayed home, you got to watch television, you got to Eat snacks and you just got to cuddle in a warm bed. Those were some of my favorite memories when I was a kid.
>> Amanda Barker: What TV would you watch? What snacks would you have?
>> Marco Timpano: Definitely the Price is Right. And any game shows. As Amanda knows, I'm a big fan of game shows. I think it harks back to when I was a child and I got to experience that when I went during a snow day. And then, of course, I'm born in December, so snow days around my birthday were always fun as. And then for snacks, good question. Like hot chocolate, cheeses, any sweets we might have in the home, those were all on the agenda.
>> Amanda Barker: I loved snow days. Now, would you go outside and do snow angels and build forts and things like that?
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes, yeah, I remember building forts and I just can't remember if it was on a snow day or not. But also hanging out with kids, my neighbors and stuff on a snow day. That was always a big fun, fun thing to do as well.
>> Amanda Barker: I loved snow days. My number one memory or feeling with snow days was that I didn't have to do my homework. If we knew the night before that we might have a snow day, then that was like this big relief of like, oh, I have a day where I don't have to go to school. I wasn't a kid that enjoyed school, so I really, really loved those days. And yeah, we would watch game shows too. Although I always think of the prices right in Ginger, Alex and dry toast as like the triumvirate of if you were sick or got out of school because you weren't feeling well.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, snow day as an adult is great too. You know, we had all these things on our agenda to do. We were doing it early this morning to get up north, and then we received a phone call saying that our appointment got postponed. And then all of a sudden we had free time.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we really had a pretty planned out and stacked day. Down to the hour, down to the half hour. In fact, if this is due at this time and this is due at that time, and then if we get on the road by that time, we can have our meeting at such and such time, all of it. And then maybe two hours before we found out that, nope, Mother Nature had other plans for us and she wants us to be home today. And that's honestly a real gift because I had so many things I wanted to do yesterday and I didn't do most of them. And most of them were like the personal things, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Cleaning. Nothing particularly exciting, but just mostly cleaning, actually. And now we're having a day where we both can take some time to do those things and to maybe clean. So I've cleaned two rooms, and that makes me really happy.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. Actually, this episode got delayed a bit because of the snow day. We were going to do it early and get my computer and.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's right. Your computer's up north.
>> Marco Timpano: My computer's up north. I mistakenly left it at my sister's house, saying, oh, I'm coming up on Wednesday. I'll get it then. And of course, it's gonna stay there for the next little while until we head up there to get it, which
>> Amanda Barker: we will, and it'll be fine. And luckily, we have a lot of what I call old beater computers. I don't know. Can you call a computer a beater? We call cars beaters. As though you can, like, beat it around, I guess. Like, they'll take a lot of hits.
>> Marco Timpano: That's something you say. We never used to say that. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I wonder what that's from.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Where did I get that from? Maybe it's an east coast thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Could be.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Because we'll. We'll say that about cars. You never said that about cars. No, we would say, oh, yeah, that's. She's a beater. Like, in other words, it can. Like a tank full of, you know, dents and rust and whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I was saying that to a friend of mine not too long ago. He. He said his dad always had really nice cars, and he always has really nice cars. He leases a new car every two years.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, we're very alike, he and I, in many weird ways. But I said, that is one way we are very different, because I will drive a car into the ground. And he's like, no, I. I blame my dad. Now I always have to have a new car. He has beautiful cars.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: However he gets them.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I just like a car that takes me from place A to place B safely and warmly.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm the same.
>> Marco Timpano: I like a car that warms your feet. Like, you know, where the. Where the heat gets to your feet. I had a car, beautiful car, but I would never. For some reason, the way they built it, heat would not get to the bottom. It would get all around me except my feet. So I was warm everywhere else except my feet. And, you know, on a snow day, too, you want to be warm. The funny thing, Amanda. So our crocuses started coming. Oh, coming out.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no, I forgot.
>> Marco Timpano: And I was thinking the other day, you know, I remember when crocuses came out and there was snow. And I was thinking to myself, it's so cute to see crocuses with snow around them. Not thinking that it was going to pile on like that, battered with snow. But they can. They're resistant little flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, that's what they're meant for. They're meant to be some of the first flowers of spring, right? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I really love crocuses. I always mention it on our on podcast because of the first flowers that pop up. And they're really bold and brave because they face the weather like no other flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: First come the crocuses, then usually the daffodils, then the tulips. Although it's. They're a little neck and neck. Who's going to make it up first?
>> Marco Timpano: We don't have any daffodils in our backyard.
>> Amanda Barker: In our front yard we have tried.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, squirrels.
>> Amanda Barker: Delicious dinner for the squirrels. Apparently. The bulbs I have planted, I think quite literally hundreds of daffodils. I think we have one that makes it up every year. That's it. I'm sure I'm not burying them enough. I've given up on daffodils, but to be honest, in a race, I prefer tulips anyway. So I just focus my efforts on the tulips. And we've mentioned before, our front gets, from various reasons, dug up pretty much every year. So those flowers, if they make it through the dig of that year during the summer, then it's always funny to see where they might land.
>> Marco Timpano: You would think our front is an archaeological site because of all the digging that they do. And twice they had to because we have the fire hydrant on our front. They had to dig it one year and then the next year they didn't do it right, so they dug it up again.
>> Amanda Barker: Good old. We have a friend who's been on this program who loves fire hydrants. She is a fire hydrant connoisseur. And wherever, whenever we go, to any place, this new city, country, you name it, she wants pictures of fire hydrants. Not every country or city has them, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: At least not some of them aren't even recognizable as fire hydrants.
>> Amanda Barker: Not in the North American yellow fire hydrant sense, that is.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That our friend is Michelle Miracle.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I hope she's okay with us outing her fire hydrant Passion. Oh, I don't know if it's a secret thing or. No, I'm sure it's fine.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I can always edit that.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I Don't think she's. And she's into mustaches, too. I don't really know where that came from, but that I didn't know about until much later. Until her wedding, actually. There was a lot of mustaches.
>> Marco Timpano: She had us take photos with mustache. What would you call that? Like, little mustache? Fake mustaches, but, you know, like those glasses that you flip.
>> Amanda Barker: What are they called? Like a. Instead of a monocle. A Mustachical.
>> Marco Timpano: She had Mustachicals for all of us to have and take photos. It was a lot of fun, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: And I should mention her company is called Mishmash Art Stash because she's an artist. Beautiful painter. Watercolors mostly, and some collages as well. And you can check all that out. But the stash part is, I believe, from mustaches.
>> Marco Timpano: Mishmash Art Stash, definitely. Check out her artwork. She just had a big show of
>> Amanda Barker: her art in Santa Clarita. Yeah, Michelle Miracle, if you want to look that up. Beautiful. Show her and another artist. Gorgeous stuff. what else was I gonna say about mustaches? I don't remember. They have a cat who I believe is named Mustache in Persian.
>> Marco Timpano: Beautiful cat.
>> Amanda Barker: Two beautiful cats.
>> Marco Timpano: Two beautiful cats. One that has, like. It looks like it has a mustache, which is pretty great.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe their names are Batchet and Moosh. I believe those are the names of the cats.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think so. Sounds right to me. So funny.
>> Amanda Barker: You're looking at me in a very expectant way, Marco, like you're expecting me to say something. I'm not sure.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I thought you were going to say something. You kind of had this look on your face like you were going to say something.
>> Amanda Barker: I think because if you had a look on your face.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, we have that look. That. That snow. Snow day look.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess that snow day, expectant look.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Remember that guy on TV last night? There was a guy on TV last night. So we watch. Sometimes we'll watch Italian programming and there's a couple local. We have such an Italian community here in Toronto that because. And I say this because I think this is somewhat unique to the city. I mean, I don't think it's solely unique to the city, but the fact that we have a programming that is local in Italian isn't something you see in every single city.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. And when we're not watching British television, we're watching the Italian local news.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, not from Italy, usually. Usually local Italians. Anyway, there was a guy last night and he just had these. He was an older man, but he had these Like, I don't know how to explain it. He had this face that looked like a newborn baby just seeing the world for the first time, Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. He had bright, bright wandering eyes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. There's something like almost. I don't know how to put it. Expectant and curious and fascinated in his eyes. Like, what am I looking at? I don't know. I'm assuming it was a teleprompter. But he seemed marveling at them.
>> Marco Timpano: He was reporting on the price drop of gasoline. So he was by a gas station. So it wasn't like.
>> Amanda Barker: But imagine a newborn baby looking at the world for the first time, but at a gas station, interviewing people.
>> Marco Timpano: That's. That's exactly how it was.
>> Amanda Barker: So I couldn't get over this guy's face. I don't remember what his name was.
>> Marco Timpano: And then we watched someone prepare a carrot salad. That was not what we expected.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they folks, they parboiled the carrots. So sort of not fully boiled, but like, got a good boil on the carrots whole.
>> Marco Timpano: They had to be toothsome.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So parboiled. And then they chopped that carrot up and then added a bunch of stuff to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Garlic, parsley, I think Lemon, finely chopped with the rind.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like actual lemon chopped up.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Thinly, Thinly sliced.
>> Amanda Barker: Make that tonight.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. It's one of those things where you see it and you're like, this will be either great or horrible. There's no in between.
>> Amanda Barker: There were capers in that salad, which I don't think we have. We have a caper shortage in this house right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Why is it we never have capers? You and I love capers. You love them in particular, I'll be
>> Amanda Barker: honest, because a lot of the food in this house that comes in and goes out isn't from Caperville. Caperville, your average grocery store. Like, we have a grocery store nearby. We do go there, I guess, but not very regularly or with any kind of regularity.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not like my mom used to go to the grocery store, I think every week or every two weeks or whatever. We don't. We don't do that. Really. I have food boxes that come in, and that's a big part of it. And then we go to Costco.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Costco doesn't sell capers because I don't think anybody needs a flat of capers.
>> Marco Timpano: I do a lot of salt. Question. Do you think your mom has capers in her fridge right now?
>> Amanda Barker: I would almost guarantee it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Have you ever had caper Buds. Where the capers are bigger and juicier than the actual little capers.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but take me to that place. I would like to eat them in Caperville. I would like to go to Caperville now.
>> Marco Timpano: Where do you most like capers?
>> Amanda Barker: In my mouth.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but by what vehicle? By what instrument do you like them on a caper pizza? Do you like them on a French toast? What do you like?
>> Amanda Barker: I think there's a reason they get often paired with seafood. I think they make sense in seafood because you want a bit of brine, generally speaking, with the food from the sea. Beyond that, I don't know. Where else does one put one?
>> Marco Timpano: You could have them in a salad. You could have them anywhere that. I guess salt or brine is required.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe fried, I don't know. But only usually with seafood. Like a smoked salmon on a bagel. Bit of capers. That seems to be the. The old standby.
>> Marco Timpano: And in a carrot and a weird carrot salad.
>> Amanda Barker: Weird carrot salad. Capers. Now, I have olives. I could chop those up and put it in there, but I don't think you would eat that.
>> Marco Timpano: Capers and olives are two different beasts,
>> Amanda Barker: but they're both vehicles for salt.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, but you know me. I've got to be in a olive mood. I don't disagree.
>> Amanda Barker: Which. You're never in an olive mood. When were you. When are you in an olive mood?
>> Marco Timpano: I had olives the other day, and
>> Amanda Barker: I was really good. Who's that guy? I'd like to meet him.
>> Marco Timpano: Where was I? That I had olives? I had not with me. I had a big olive, and I couldn't find a place to put the pit.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you secretly eating olives without me?
>> Marco Timpano: Where was I?
>> Amanda Barker: He did this with pesto. Folks, I'm waiting for eggplant to get into the mix. He swore up and down he couldn't eat pesto. Didn't like pesto. And I thought, oh, what a shame. I love pesto. I stopped making it. I stopped buying it. Next thing I know, Marco discovers pesto.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I loved pesto. It just did a number on me, and it no longer does a number on me.
>> Amanda Barker: A number on you? I went tap dance in your stomach.
>> Marco Timpano: I went to the mailbox because it was. Because after I got the snow in my. In my neck, I figured I might as well.
>> Amanda Barker: What mailbox?
>> Marco Timpano: Our little mailbox.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I don't think of that as a mailbox, but sure.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you. What do you call that?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Mail slot thing. I think of A mailbox as like the end of a driveway on a wooden thing with the little flag up or down with the front thing. We have a little metal box, rectangular box, sort of fastened to the side of the brick. I don't know, it doesn't feel the same.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a mailbox. But I see you like that end of the drive kind of mail hut that. I've never had a mailbox like that, ever.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's funny. Where my parents live, the big thing is to have a big cement manatee as a mailbox. That's a trend there. I don't know, there must be some person that makes them or something.
>> Marco Timpano: The manatee is like holding the mailbox in its flippers and it's kind of curved forward as if it's propping itself out of the wall.
>> Amanda Barker: And it makes sense because they live in Manatee County. So it makes complete sense. However, we were driving in Ontario not too long ago. Where were we? We saw one, I knew, like Bolton area.
>> Marco Timpano: We were somewhere.
>> Amanda Barker: We saw like an hour north of Toronto and there was a manatee mailbox. And I thought, how did you make it up here, friend? Like, who was like, I gotta have the manatee at the end of my driveway in Ontario. And like packaged that manatee up, brought it like, is that your carry on? Or. Or did they get it shipped? I suppose. But even still, that's a big thing to ship.
>> Marco Timpano: It seemed unusual, I know. We were driving to Tottenham when we
>> Amanda Barker: saw it, which in itself is unusual.
>> Marco Timpano: We never go to Tottenham.
>> Amanda Barker: Can you explain the Tottenham trip?
>> Marco Timpano: My aunt turned 80 and so my sister was having a party for my aunt at her house. And my cousin, my aunt's daughter said, I called and I said, do you need anything? And she said, could you pick up a cake? And so we're like, okay, we'll get the cake, no problem. And my sister had told me of a place that makes great cannoli and sfolia cake. And sfolia cake, like a multi layered cake.
>> Amanda Barker: So we called them and said, do you have a sfolia cake that just happens to be lying around that we could pick up in the next hour or two?
>> Marco Timpano: And they said no.
>> Amanda Barker: They laughed at me. And then they said no, but they
>> Marco Timpano: said they had cannoli. And my sister kind of gave the impression that this was near her home.
>> Amanda Barker: We should probably do some translation for people who are listening in. Unless it's the. The guy with the baby wide eyes that interviews people at gas stations or
>> Marco Timpano: the person who Makes a carrot salad with capers and piece chunks of lemon. So what we're going to translate cannoli,
>> Amanda Barker: in case you don't know what cannoli is. Not to be confused with cannelloni. Cannelloni, which is a pasta stuffed pasta. Cannoli is. What's the name of the biscuit that you use? Like, what's the vehicle of the cannoli? What's that called?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a cannoli shell. It's a shell that looks like a tube that's stuffed with like a. What do you call it? A cream or a cream or a pistachio cream. And then usually on the either end, they might even dip that in pistachios.
>> Amanda Barker: Or they'll put. Sometimes a candied orange peel will go on one side. Chocolate chips can go inside. It can taste like Nutella. It can taste like a lot of things.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I should have had one of the ricotta ones, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: Was good. And so we drove and sfolia, you
>> Amanda Barker: have to translate that. So I always think of sfolia as the same as mille foy, which means a thousand layers. Right. So it's one of the. It's pastry with cream that.
>> Amanda Barker: Ha.
>> Amanda Barker: That's like those tiny, like very thin, crunchy layers. Right. I'll be honest. Sfolia, not my favorite cake. They decorate it to look like a beautiful grocery store cake with all the promise and all the sugar. And then you cut into it and it's cream that's somewhat sweet. Good with coffee. Not my bag.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. It's wonderful. If you haven't had a chance to experience that. So we order the cannoli and we drive, thinking it's near my sister's home, but it's 30 minutes away from my sister's home.
>> Amanda Barker: And 30 minutes, like through woods and farmhouses. Like, not. Not a tight 30.
>> Marco Timpano: No, not a tight 30.
>> Amanda Barker: Very long and languid 30.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And then we get there and we're like, where. Where are we going for these? And we get to Tottenham. The answer was Tottenham and Tottenham. Quaint little. Quaint little town.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's. I've never been. It's cute.
>> Marco Timpano: Go cannoli. Were ready for me. You know, sometimes you go places and it's usually not a pastry shop where you see. Have a book, take a book, and there's like a bookshelf where you can take a book and have a book and donate your books and whatnot. Well, this place had that. I should mention the place because we really enjoyed the. If you're in Tottenham, and you want great pastries, go to Salvatore's Pastries and Cakes on the main drag. And they have. Have a book, Take a book. Amanda, I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I never saw that coming with a pastry shop, but it can happen.
>> Marco Timpano: And I found a book that I wanted. I never find books at. Have a Book, Take a Book. And I don't know what they're called, but I'm going to just call it
>> Amanda Barker: that Lending libraries or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I didn't have a book to donate, but I certainly took the book.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, we can go back up there. I got lots of books I can donate.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Well, I was very grateful. I got my cannoli, I got my book. Everyone was happy.
>> Amanda Barker: At the end of the day, wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: But on the drive home from Tottenham, we're drive to my sister's place. I said to you, why are the trees so shimmery and shiny? They look so beautiful. And we realized it was ice that had frozen on the tree. And you said, be careful. That ice wasn't there when we came to Tottenham, but on the way back, the temperature must have dropped and the rain froze on the tree.
>> Amanda Barker: And our car that night was encased in ice.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: We had to wait for it to. Like, there was no scraping it off. It was encased in ice. And I imagine right now it is as well, because it's a snow day.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. It's always a lovely warm feeling when it's cold outside. Things are encased in ice. And you're indoors under the COVID with.
>> Amanda Barker: Encased in warmth.
>> Marco Timpano: Encased in warmth with a warm tea or beverage. And I'm gonna make myself a very milky tea and just enjoy it.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm gonna make myself a very tea milk. Oh, I don't know how that works, but I'm gonna try.
>> Marco Timpano: And I had all the biscotti that we have, so I have nothing to dunk in my tea.
>> Amanda Barker: There's plenty. You got plenty. You can dunk.
>> Marco Timpano: No capers.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe we have a few olives left, since you enjoy those on the. On the sly. Enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: Where was I? That I had olives and I was, like, looking for a plate to put the pit in.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: That was. It was racist restaurant. Oh, was it the restaurant? No, it wasn't the restaurant. It was somewhere.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe you. I believe that you ate an olive and didn't know where to put the pit. That's a common problem. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever seen those devices that are kind of like half. Like a half thing to put the olive in the other half is for your pit.
>> Amanda Barker: Nope.
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen them. They're like, kind of like squiggly ceramic things. So your olives are all in a row, and then beside it.
>> Amanda Barker: Is it deep hit them, like, in. In batches?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, it's a. Something you put on the table. Oh. So you would eat it, and then beside it, you would throw the pit grass. Well, that's what. That's why they made this device. But I hear you. I hear you.
>> Amanda Barker: Well. I remember the day I discovered olives. I was eight or nine, I think eight. And I had just let my sister cut my hair, and I got in real trouble for that, which I didn't think was fair because my sister was in charge of myself and my younger brother. So I was doing what she said, which was letting her cut my hair. But somehow I still got in trouble for it. And we had to go to an inn. Very weird for my parents to do this. I feel like you grew up doing these types of things, but. Actually, I didn't. But somebody in my mother's family was having a 50th anniversary.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know who it was. And it was in a church basement. And so we had to go to. It was a couple towns over. We had to go to this thing. I was still in trouble because of my hair. And so my hair was shorter than it had been. And we go to this place, and they have those green with pimento cocktail olives on every table.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I never tried them. And I tried one because I was probably hungry and nobody was paying attention to me, and I was like, what is this delicious flavor in my mouth? Because I didn't as a kid, salt wasn't really my thing. I didn't go for chips. Anyway, I was in love. And I managed that day to eat the olives from every single table. The little dish on every table, and. And there was nothing else like the ones you went to, I'm sure. Had antipasto on each table. This one just had cocktail olives on each table. I don't know. I managed to empty each one into my mouth by the. By the time we left, there were no olives in the place. I think I ate, like, five jars
>> Marco Timpano: of olives that day. W. Well, whatever you need with regards to salt, whether it be capers or olives or a warm snuggle, we hope you find it today on this snow day. Once again, check out our Instagram where you'll see what it's like. Any last things you'd like to say. Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I just want some salt now.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, well, we're gonna go have some salt. And we hope that you're able to grab some salt, some warmth, and, of course, you're able to find your way to sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: Sam.
Speech Writing, Summer Jobs & Scent Preferences with Mia
(Original airdate: June 2, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project, Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation. That, of course, is meant to help you drift off to find your way to sleep. And if you don't find your way to sleep, that's fine. You can stay with us for the next 20 some odd minutes and we'll just talk about things that go nowhere. And you're welcome to stay or you're welcome to drift off. I'm happy to say that my guest right now is my niece, Mia. Welcome back to the podcast, Mia.
>> Mia: Hello. I'm so excited to be on this podcast once again. Zio.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm glad to hear it. So tell me, Mia, you recently had to do a speech.
>> Mia: I did.
>> Marco Timpano: What are some things you've learned about speech writing and doing a speech in front of an audience that you didn't know beforehand? What would you recommend for our listeners if they have speeches that they need to work on?
>> Mia: So recently, I'll give you guys a little bit of a background on what my speech was about. So I was chosen to be a valedictorian for my grade eight graduation, which was very exciting. I was a co valedictorian with another girl. So a few things I learned while I was writing my own speech were definitely when I first started, I gathered all of my ideas. I looked up quotes, I looked up things that I would need to include. Like the graduate expectations.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. There was. There was like some expectations that they had that you would include in there.
>> Mia: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Or a guideline.
>> Mia: Yes. So. And I also thanked the parents, guardians, teachers, families and other students. I made sure to include that. I also made sure to include a little spiel about the church because I do go to Catholic school.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay. So there was a religious component to it.
>> Mia: Okay. So I made sure to include that. And I also added in some jokes. Like one joke I added in was about math.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And another joke I added in was about awards.
>> Marco Timpano: So why would you say the humor is important in a speech? Why did you choose to go that route?
>> Mia: It's definitely important to include humor in your speech because it makes it very light hearted instead of a more serious. It's also very important to have elements of levity in your speech to help relax the audience, to give them a sense of happiness and joy, and also to settle them into their seats and to lighten the mood.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So taking your speech from the written word to actually saying in front of the audience, what was that like for you?
>> Mia: So it was very. I wouldn't say challenging, but I would say it was a bit of a new experience, because I had written things like this before, like projects or presentations, but nothing that I would really need to put my all into to really make it a resounding speech.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: So when I wrote out my speech, I gathered. So I had gathered all of my research prior, and I had organized it into a proper speech, and then I had read it out to my family, including Yuzio.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Mia: And they kind of gave me some feedback. So at first I started just a monotone, just kind of factual reading. And then they gave me some notes I edited, and I read it with emotion the second time. And then they gave me some new notes this time on how fast I was reading or what points to really emphasize or.
>> Marco Timpano: For me, I always find when I'm writing a speech that I like to write down points and maybe flesh out the speech a bit, but leave room for adding more points that might come to me later. Or, you know, when I'm reading it the first few times out loud, I'll find that it'll spark more ideas that I want to include into my speech. I don't know if you found that at all, but that was certainly something that I discover when I'm writing a speech.
>> Mia: I don't really think that I discovered that, but when I was reading it out, I definitely changed some words that tripped me up or that I didn't like, or I also maybe added something that could make it better, make it flow nice.
>> Marco Timpano: How important would you say it is to read your speech out loud?
>> Mia: Very important. I think it's like, to read it out is
>> Marco Timpano: some people will write a speech and not read it out loud until they're in front of their audience. And I couldn't do that. I would have to read it out loud first just to get my mouth ready for the feel of what I'm going to say. Right.
>> Mia: Yeah. I can't. I can't even think of the words to describe how important it is to read the speech prior to presenting it. Because if you're just reading it in your head, you go faster than you normally would when you're reading it. And you really need to pace yourself because when you're reading it, you sound slower in your head than you actually are. So if you're not pacing yourself properly when you read it, it'll sound, like, really fast to your listeners.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's important not to look at the page when you're doing a speech. Yes, you can certainly look down at the page, but that should not be the only thing you're doing. You should raise your gaze up so the audience looks like you're trying to connect with them.
>> Mia: Yeah. Eye contact is essential when you're doing a speech. I didn't really memorize it, but I like to read it over again and again until it's, like, embedded into my mind.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: So if I just quickly look down on my paper, I'll know where I am, and then my brain will just do the rest because it knows the words, and I can just focus on emotion, pace, tone, and anything else that I would need to regulate when I'm reading.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. I see. Now, did you watch other speeches before you wrote yours? And what resonates with you when you learn listen to a speech?
>> Mia: I did. So I looked up some speeches that were at my school, and I found one from a few years ago, and it was pretty good. I actually did think it was a good speech, but of course I didn't want to copy it. I wanted my own ideas. But it was good for me to listen to another speech to kind of get the idea of what. What I was going to start with, because I had very. I had a lot of trouble actually starting my speech once I started my speech. It just kind of flowed and flowed and flowed, but I have lots of trouble actually starting it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And then. But when I do start, like, goes perfectly. And then I can just. I have so many ideas, so I can just keep and keep writing.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's really fascinating. Thank you for sharing that with us. You know, speeches are, you know, many people have to make them for, you know, could be at work, could be at a graduation, could be at a retirement party. Someone needs to make a speech. And it's good to have an idea of what other people do when they write speeches. For me, I always really want to leave my speech with a very impactful end. So I always try to figure out how am I going to end the speech where I basically have my final say, something that really resonates with the audience. How did you find your end of your speech?
>> Mia: So I believe that the ending. While I was ending my speech, I left a bunch of motivational kind of. Not quotes, but kind of motivational thoughts. Yes, motivational words, Motivational thoughts. Like, you can do this. Never give up. You are your own person. It has been an amazing journey. All of those things I included in the end because that's when the speech is wrapping up and we need some main ideas into these speeches. Speeches. And one thing I always want my audience to remember is that they are valuable people and especially for My grade at graduation, I definitely wanted to instill this thought into my listeners. You know, the beginning, the middle, and the end. The end, I feel, is the most impactful.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: It wraps up the whole speech, and I think it resonates with the speakers or with the listeners so much more. And the last thing I did, I ended with a quote. So I ended with a quote from St. John Paul II.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And it was a quote about hope. I believe it was never doubt, never tire, and never give up. Something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a pretty good quote. And so you looked for quotes from this particular person, and you were like, okay, let me find a quote to end on. I like to end on a quote, too. I think that's a nice way to wrap up a speech, too.
>> Mia: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you write out your speech or did you type it on a computer?
>> Mia: I typed it on a computer, but I wrote out notes for myself. So I typed it, and then I printed it, and then I wrote little smiley faces or sad faces. When I had to change the mood, I wrote on every single page, slow down. So I would have those notes to slow down. Because it is so important to slow yourself down and give yourself a good pace. Because if people can't understand you, they won't understand your speech, and they won't
>> Marco Timpano: hear your speech if you go too fast. Right. People might lose things. I'll just say that you might be hearing the sounds of cars in the background. We're not in the studio right now, but I was fortunate enough to get my niece to record with me today. Okay, so that's you talking about speeches. Let me ask you this. Okay. So you've done your speech, you've graduated. What does your summer entail, or what are you hoping to do in the summer?
>> Mia: Okay, so this summer, I am going into grade nine, as you may know. So.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's high school.
>> Mia: Yes. So at my school, I'm going to a Catholic high school, and we have to do 40 hours of community service. I'm not sure if just Catholic schools have to do it. I'm sure that other.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Other schools.
>> Mia: Yeah, Other schools would have to do it.
>> Marco Timpano: That component, I think it's. Schools in Ontario make you do that. Yeah. I mean, when I went to school, we didn't have to do it, but.
>> Mia: Yeah, it's a new thing. I think it was implemented in the 2000s, but I think it's for all of Ontario, actually. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And are you looking forward to doing these community hours or not so much?
>> Mia: Well, I mean, it is. It's Kind of like a chore. Right. But I feel that I can make it fun. Definitely. I can definitely do some stuff that I would love to do. One of the things I would love to do is shadow. So you and my Zia. Amanda. So that's your aunt, right? That's my aunt. Your wife.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Mia: So I would love to shadow her at her work because she works at a casting agency, and I just love watching the work that she does. I would love to hang out with her for a day and get my community service done. And same for you at your job or, I don't know, just bringing you coffee, even.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, you can bring me coffee anytime. I'm always happy to get that.
>> Mia: Giving you assistance.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: And getting my community service hours done would be a dream, you know, spending the day with you guys. And also my aunt has friend who works in HR for a hospital, and possibly she could get me community service hours at the hospital, which I would love, because I would love to do that at the hospital.
>> Marco Timpano: Why? What is it about the hospital that really has you?
>> Mia: So one of my dreams would be to become a doctor or work in a hospital. And I would love to see all the doctors at work. Obviously, I wouldn't do anything. Maybe just, like, bring them papers and stuff, but I think it would be really cool to just immerse myself in that environment.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And sometimes you'll just be the person in the front who directs people to where they need to go, you know, like information.
>> Mia: That would be really cool.
>> Marco Timpano: You get to know your way around the hospital, too.
>> Mia: Yeah. And also, I wouldn't mind doing things like. Like maybe being a camp counselor in the future or working at a. Even a retirement home just to, like, help out.
>> Marco Timpano: That's really lovely.
>> Mia: Yeah. Help out the seniors there.
>> Marco Timpano: And do you. Like you said, camp counseling is something you might want to do. Do you like going to camp? Because camping is not my thing at all.
>> Mia: I'm actually going to a camp this summer, in August, I think. Yeah. So I'm very excited about that. And I would love to be a camp counselor, I don't think this summer, but maybe next summer. I would love to do that, you know, especially with little kids, like those day camps where they kind of come, like an art camp or something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: I think you would make a very good camp counselor. Yeah, that'd be awesome. Listen, I mean, I remember some of my summer jobs were all over the map when I was young, and probably the worst summer job I had was around Father's Day. I got hired to spray cologne on people as they walked into a mall.
>> Mia: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I would come home, and I would just be drenched in the smell of this cologne. And the problem was I didn't like the smell of that cologne either. And so it was kind of a double whammy of, you know, people did not want to be sprayed, and I don't blame them. And standing around with a bottle of perfume in your hand for hours and hours and hours trying to get people to spray or buy it. Not for me.
>> Mia: I can imagine little Marco just going, would you like some of this cologne, sir? And then spraying it on them. Oh, that would be awful. Honestly, I would not take that job now.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's. What's. What's interesting is, you know, when you're getting your first jobs, oftentimes it's places near your home. Right. And when. Where I grew up in the suburbs, there weren't a lot of places nearby that would hire high school students, but they had just opened up a theme park, and so a lot of my friends worked at that theme park. So I would go to the theme park, which is called Canada's Wonderland, in case anyone's wondering. And I would see my friends, like, at the. You. What's it called where you put money, you get to play games, and you compete for prizes? What's that called?
>> Mia: Just the game station.
>> Marco Timpano: The game station. Or they would work at the ice cream station, and they'd always put extra ice cream for me. And I had a friend, she worked at the pick a pearl station. Yeah. So they had a tank of oysters, and you would pick an oyster and you'd pay. I think at that time, it was like $19.99. You'd pay $19.99, and they'd open the clam or oyster, actually. Yeah, they'd open the oyster, and you could find one pearl or you could find. You would always find at least one pearl, but sometimes you would find two or three, and I only found one, but I had a friend who did that for me.
>> Mia: Nice. That's so cool. Wait, for free?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I paid for it, but okay.
>> Mia: Yeah, that's cool. Did you ever want a job at Canada's Wonderland?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's funny, because I didn't apply there. It wasn't so close to my house. I don't know why I didn't apply there, to be honest with you. But I got a job close. Closer to my home at a country club.
>> Mia: Oh, were you, like, a golf caddy?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I wasn't. Thank goodness. That's not my scene at all. But there was. So where I lived at the time, it was very suburban, and like I said, there wasn't much around. So if you wanted to go to, let's say, a fast food place, you'd have to drive to the main street. And that was maybe 10, 15 minutes away. And I did work at a fast food restaurant when I was. That was one of my jobs. But there was this country club that was much closer to my home. And I don't know how I applied. I think my mom had friends who went to that country club, and they said to my mom, your son should apply or something like that. So I went, put on my resume, and I got hired as a bar waiter to serve alcohol because this country club would do. They would do cocktails and stuff before people went into the restaurant. And then I worked in a restaurant, and that was my journey in the restaurant field.
>> Mia: Nice. And you worked at a restaurant for a long time with my mother, I believe that's right.
>> Marco Timpano: So once again, for some reason, it was much easier to get jobs in restaurants where we lived. And so there was an old doctor's house in a neighboring town, and this doctor's house from the 1800s had been converted over the years into a lovely restaurant. It had a very picturesque sort of old, old home feel, and it was like, on a lot of land, and it was really pretty. And so I worked at this place called the Doctor's House. And then your mom got hired at the doctor's house too, and we were both working at the doctor's house. Once again, I worked in the bar in this particular instance, and your mom worked in. In the restaurant. And we had to wear, like, period cloth waiter clothing. It was really weird. So your mom was kind of in a long dress, and I think she wore a bonnet. Did she wear a bonnet?
>> Mia: Did she? I remember her talking about it. It was like plaid and orange, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was like a plaid, green and orange.
>> Mia: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Apron on a really, like, long dress, kind of like Little House on the Prairies type outfit for her. And I had like a. I had like a.
>> Mia: Like a dress shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: It had like, no collar. So it had like a. Like a. I think they call it a mandarin collar. And it had, once again, the sleeves were very much like the mandarin collar. And so I had puffy sleeves with cinched cuffs. Oh, and a tight neck. And then once again, a green platty kind of vest. Yeah.
>> Mia: Oh, that sounds awful.
>> Marco Timpano: It wasn't great, let me tell you. And we're in this doctor's house, this former doctor's house that was now a kind of fancy restaurant, if you can believe it. And it had a huge brunch, and everybody would come there for brunch, or they'd have a lot of showers, wedding showers or baby showers in this place. It was like that kind of a place.
>> Mia: Well, other than these questionable outfits, did you enjoy your time working there?
>> Marco Timpano: I did. I did enjoy it. You know, it was interesting. It was an interesting group of people who both owned the restaurant and who worked there. So I had a couple pals that worked there, and it would be fun. And then, you know, your mom worked there, so I would see her in the, you know, serving. Serving the restaurant. And then I worked in the restaurant for a short, short time, but I. I stayed mainly in the bar. And it was not because I wanted to work in the bar. It was just. That's where I got hired in that particular place.
>> Mia: Yeah, that makes sense. And that's really cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Would you ever want to work in a restaurant?
>> Mia: Yeah, I definitely would. There are some restaurants in my hometown that seem pretty cool, and there's also some in a mall nearby that are, like, really funky. Like that one restaurant that we went to, me, you and my Aunt Sonia, when we went shopping.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. Do you remember the name of it?
>> Mia: Something to do with turtles.
>> Marco Timpano: Turtle Jacks.
>> Mia: Yeah, it was such a cool restaurant. It was very funky. Like, the walls were green and blue with lots of artwork and lots of, like, pictures everywhere. And they served, like, really good food. I would love to work there. And the staff seemed really fun.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they seemed happy, which is always an indication that the restaurant's running very well. Yeah, that's very interesting. You know, if I think back to my first jobs, how funny they were. I worked at a. At a mall, in a card shop, in a fancy card.
>> Mia: Like birthday cards.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And posters. It was like black and white posters and cards and like, I don't know, funky cards. Like very, like, artistic photograph cards. The. The place was called Athena for any of our listeners who might have been like, I remember that place, but it was like this place where you go and buy fancy cards or a really cool black and white photo or you get something framed. Yeah. And I didn't love having to do the frames because you'd have to measure it and really be, like, very close to the whatever border they wanted. It was too much math. Too much math for me.
>> Mia: And how long did you work there?
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say I worked for There for a year or two. And then I got a job at Sears in the shipping department where I would load cart. I would take out anything that got shipped. Shipped to Sears in these big trucks. I would have to take off the truck, and then I would have to. If you were coming to pick up, say, a lawnmower, you'd come, you'd give me your thing. I'd go get you the lawnmower from the back and put it in your car. I did not love that job. My friend. My best friend at the time was a security guard at the same mall. And the security area and the shipping area were right next to each other. And so he was on all these, like, escapades of, like, pretending to be a shopper and watching people in. In the Sears while I was loading all these heavy things in and out of the. The big truck. And I didn't enjoy that at all. I was kind of like, I wanted to work with him, but they wouldn't let us work together.
>> Mia: Yeah, that sounds like a sucky job, if I'm being honest. But, I mean, it doesn't sound so bad compared to some of these other jobs you've had. Like the spraying cologne on people who are like, get this cologne off of me. You know? I mean, I wouldn't want cologne sprayed on me just randomly for no reason either.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a cologne of perfume that you enjoy the scent of?
>> Mia: well, so my. My aunt, your wife, loves Jo Malone, and recently she got me into Jo Malone and gave me little samples of all the bottles that she's had.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: So I. I got some gift cards recently, and I would love to go down to Sephora or another shop, even the Jo Malone shop, and pick some up, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a scent in particular you like or.
>> Mia: My favorite scent? I think it was orange blossom.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, orange blossom.
>> Mia: Or something to do with pine.
>> Marco Timpano: Pine?
>> Speaker B: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought it was bluebells or something.
>> Mia: No, that's the. Isn't that the scent that Harry and Megan used for their wedding? Or was that blueberry something?
>> Marco Timpano: I can't remember. This is something you'd have to ask your aunt. My wife Amanda, who's in the other room there.
>> Mia: Yeah. What is she doing? Drinking a Coke?
>> Marco Timpano: I think she's. She's just resting while we do this, but we'll figure out what the cologne is that or the perfume is that you want to get.
>> Mia: She gave me that sample first, and I was like, oh, I love this stuff. It was that. It's that big bottle that she has, and it's my favorite, and I would love to get a little bottle that next time I go to the mall.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I wonder.
>> Mia: I think it had something to do with cardamom, actually.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it cardamom mimosa or mimosa cardamom? Because I think that's one of the scents she has.
>> Mia: Yeah, I think it was. But I also liked one that had to do with pine, but she didn't give me a sample, but I remember. So one of my favorite things to do with my aunt is getting ready for, like, going out, and she always lets me pick her perfume.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And one that I always picks or one that I always picked is something to do with pine. I don't remember the full name, though. It's like, something and pine.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: But it is so good. That is, like, an herbal smell. And then mimosa and cardamom is like, a more floral smell.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, there you go. Well, listen, I hope you get the scent you like. There's. I'm sure they have plenty of scents for you to try.
>> Mia: Definitely will.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm sure one will. Will suit you just fine. And. And thank you for being a guest on the podcast again, Mia.
>> Mia: Of course. Oh, my gosh. I love being on this podcast, and I love helping these wonderful listeners get
>> Marco Timpano: their sleep very well. Well, thank you very much. And to our listeners, we hope you were able to listen and sleep good.
(Original airdate: June 2, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project, Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation. That, of course, is meant to help you drift off to find your way to sleep. And if you don't find your way to sleep, that's fine. You can stay with us for the next 20 some odd minutes and we'll just talk about things that go nowhere. And you're welcome to stay or you're welcome to drift off. I'm happy to say that my guest right now is my niece, Mia. Welcome back to the podcast, Mia.
>> Mia: Hello. I'm so excited to be on this podcast once again. Zio.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm glad to hear it. So tell me, Mia, you recently had to do a speech.
>> Mia: I did.
>> Marco Timpano: What are some things you've learned about speech writing and doing a speech in front of an audience that you didn't know beforehand? What would you recommend for our listeners if they have speeches that they need to work on?
>> Mia: So recently, I'll give you guys a little bit of a background on what my speech was about. So I was chosen to be a valedictorian for my grade eight graduation, which was very exciting. I was a co valedictorian with another girl. So a few things I learned while I was writing my own speech were definitely when I first started, I gathered all of my ideas. I looked up quotes, I looked up things that I would need to include. Like the graduate expectations.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. There was. There was like some expectations that they had that you would include in there.
>> Mia: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Or a guideline.
>> Mia: Yes. So. And I also thanked the parents, guardians, teachers, families and other students. I made sure to include that. I also made sure to include a little spiel about the church because I do go to Catholic school.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay. So there was a religious component to it.
>> Mia: Okay. So I made sure to include that. And I also added in some jokes. Like one joke I added in was about math.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And another joke I added in was about awards.
>> Marco Timpano: So why would you say the humor is important in a speech? Why did you choose to go that route?
>> Mia: It's definitely important to include humor in your speech because it makes it very light hearted instead of a more serious. It's also very important to have elements of levity in your speech to help relax the audience, to give them a sense of happiness and joy, and also to settle them into their seats and to lighten the mood.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So taking your speech from the written word to actually saying in front of the audience, what was that like for you?
>> Mia: So it was very. I wouldn't say challenging, but I would say it was a bit of a new experience, because I had written things like this before, like projects or presentations, but nothing that I would really need to put my all into to really make it a resounding speech.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: So when I wrote out my speech, I gathered. So I had gathered all of my research prior, and I had organized it into a proper speech, and then I had read it out to my family, including Yuzio.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Mia: And they kind of gave me some feedback. So at first I started just a monotone, just kind of factual reading. And then they gave me some notes I edited, and I read it with emotion the second time. And then they gave me some new notes this time on how fast I was reading or what points to really emphasize or.
>> Marco Timpano: For me, I always find when I'm writing a speech that I like to write down points and maybe flesh out the speech a bit, but leave room for adding more points that might come to me later. Or, you know, when I'm reading it the first few times out loud, I'll find that it'll spark more ideas that I want to include into my speech. I don't know if you found that at all, but that was certainly something that I discover when I'm writing a speech.
>> Mia: I don't really think that I discovered that, but when I was reading it out, I definitely changed some words that tripped me up or that I didn't like, or I also maybe added something that could make it better, make it flow nice.
>> Marco Timpano: How important would you say it is to read your speech out loud?
>> Mia: Very important. I think it's like, to read it out is
>> Marco Timpano: some people will write a speech and not read it out loud until they're in front of their audience. And I couldn't do that. I would have to read it out loud first just to get my mouth ready for the feel of what I'm going to say. Right.
>> Mia: Yeah. I can't. I can't even think of the words to describe how important it is to read the speech prior to presenting it. Because if you're just reading it in your head, you go faster than you normally would when you're reading it. And you really need to pace yourself because when you're reading it, you sound slower in your head than you actually are. So if you're not pacing yourself properly when you read it, it'll sound, like, really fast to your listeners.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's important not to look at the page when you're doing a speech. Yes, you can certainly look down at the page, but that should not be the only thing you're doing. You should raise your gaze up so the audience looks like you're trying to connect with them.
>> Mia: Yeah. Eye contact is essential when you're doing a speech. I didn't really memorize it, but I like to read it over again and again until it's, like, embedded into my mind.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: So if I just quickly look down on my paper, I'll know where I am, and then my brain will just do the rest because it knows the words, and I can just focus on emotion, pace, tone, and anything else that I would need to regulate when I'm reading.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. I see. Now, did you watch other speeches before you wrote yours? And what resonates with you when you learn listen to a speech?
>> Mia: I did. So I looked up some speeches that were at my school, and I found one from a few years ago, and it was pretty good. I actually did think it was a good speech, but of course I didn't want to copy it. I wanted my own ideas. But it was good for me to listen to another speech to kind of get the idea of what. What I was going to start with, because I had very. I had a lot of trouble actually starting my speech once I started my speech. It just kind of flowed and flowed and flowed, but I have lots of trouble actually starting it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And then. But when I do start, like, goes perfectly. And then I can just. I have so many ideas, so I can just keep and keep writing.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's really fascinating. Thank you for sharing that with us. You know, speeches are, you know, many people have to make them for, you know, could be at work, could be at a graduation, could be at a retirement party. Someone needs to make a speech. And it's good to have an idea of what other people do when they write speeches. For me, I always really want to leave my speech with a very impactful end. So I always try to figure out how am I going to end the speech where I basically have my final say, something that really resonates with the audience. How did you find your end of your speech?
>> Mia: So I believe that the ending. While I was ending my speech, I left a bunch of motivational kind of. Not quotes, but kind of motivational thoughts. Yes, motivational words, Motivational thoughts. Like, you can do this. Never give up. You are your own person. It has been an amazing journey. All of those things I included in the end because that's when the speech is wrapping up and we need some main ideas into these speeches. Speeches. And one thing I always want my audience to remember is that they are valuable people and especially for My grade at graduation, I definitely wanted to instill this thought into my listeners. You know, the beginning, the middle, and the end. The end, I feel, is the most impactful.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: It wraps up the whole speech, and I think it resonates with the speakers or with the listeners so much more. And the last thing I did, I ended with a quote. So I ended with a quote from St. John Paul II.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And it was a quote about hope. I believe it was never doubt, never tire, and never give up. Something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a pretty good quote. And so you looked for quotes from this particular person, and you were like, okay, let me find a quote to end on. I like to end on a quote, too. I think that's a nice way to wrap up a speech, too.
>> Mia: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you write out your speech or did you type it on a computer?
>> Mia: I typed it on a computer, but I wrote out notes for myself. So I typed it, and then I printed it, and then I wrote little smiley faces or sad faces. When I had to change the mood, I wrote on every single page, slow down. So I would have those notes to slow down. Because it is so important to slow yourself down and give yourself a good pace. Because if people can't understand you, they won't understand your speech, and they won't
>> Marco Timpano: hear your speech if you go too fast. Right. People might lose things. I'll just say that you might be hearing the sounds of cars in the background. We're not in the studio right now, but I was fortunate enough to get my niece to record with me today. Okay, so that's you talking about speeches. Let me ask you this. Okay. So you've done your speech, you've graduated. What does your summer entail, or what are you hoping to do in the summer?
>> Mia: Okay, so this summer, I am going into grade nine, as you may know. So.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's high school.
>> Mia: Yes. So at my school, I'm going to a Catholic high school, and we have to do 40 hours of community service. I'm not sure if just Catholic schools have to do it. I'm sure that other.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Other schools.
>> Mia: Yeah, Other schools would have to do it.
>> Marco Timpano: That component, I think it's. Schools in Ontario make you do that. Yeah. I mean, when I went to school, we didn't have to do it, but.
>> Mia: Yeah, it's a new thing. I think it was implemented in the 2000s, but I think it's for all of Ontario, actually. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And are you looking forward to doing these community hours or not so much?
>> Mia: Well, I mean, it is. It's Kind of like a chore. Right. But I feel that I can make it fun. Definitely. I can definitely do some stuff that I would love to do. One of the things I would love to do is shadow. So you and my Zia. Amanda. So that's your aunt, right? That's my aunt. Your wife.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Mia: So I would love to shadow her at her work because she works at a casting agency, and I just love watching the work that she does. I would love to hang out with her for a day and get my community service done. And same for you at your job or, I don't know, just bringing you coffee, even.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, you can bring me coffee anytime. I'm always happy to get that.
>> Mia: Giving you assistance.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: And getting my community service hours done would be a dream, you know, spending the day with you guys. And also my aunt has friend who works in HR for a hospital, and possibly she could get me community service hours at the hospital, which I would love, because I would love to do that at the hospital.
>> Marco Timpano: Why? What is it about the hospital that really has you?
>> Mia: So one of my dreams would be to become a doctor or work in a hospital. And I would love to see all the doctors at work. Obviously, I wouldn't do anything. Maybe just, like, bring them papers and stuff, but I think it would be really cool to just immerse myself in that environment.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And sometimes you'll just be the person in the front who directs people to where they need to go, you know, like information.
>> Mia: That would be really cool.
>> Marco Timpano: You get to know your way around the hospital, too.
>> Mia: Yeah. And also, I wouldn't mind doing things like. Like maybe being a camp counselor in the future or working at a. Even a retirement home just to, like, help out.
>> Marco Timpano: That's really lovely.
>> Mia: Yeah. Help out the seniors there.
>> Marco Timpano: And do you. Like you said, camp counseling is something you might want to do. Do you like going to camp? Because camping is not my thing at all.
>> Mia: I'm actually going to a camp this summer, in August, I think. Yeah. So I'm very excited about that. And I would love to be a camp counselor, I don't think this summer, but maybe next summer. I would love to do that, you know, especially with little kids, like those day camps where they kind of come, like an art camp or something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: I think you would make a very good camp counselor. Yeah, that'd be awesome. Listen, I mean, I remember some of my summer jobs were all over the map when I was young, and probably the worst summer job I had was around Father's Day. I got hired to spray cologne on people as they walked into a mall.
>> Mia: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I would come home, and I would just be drenched in the smell of this cologne. And the problem was I didn't like the smell of that cologne either. And so it was kind of a double whammy of, you know, people did not want to be sprayed, and I don't blame them. And standing around with a bottle of perfume in your hand for hours and hours and hours trying to get people to spray or buy it. Not for me.
>> Mia: I can imagine little Marco just going, would you like some of this cologne, sir? And then spraying it on them. Oh, that would be awful. Honestly, I would not take that job now.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's. What's. What's interesting is, you know, when you're getting your first jobs, oftentimes it's places near your home. Right. And when. Where I grew up in the suburbs, there weren't a lot of places nearby that would hire high school students, but they had just opened up a theme park, and so a lot of my friends worked at that theme park. So I would go to the theme park, which is called Canada's Wonderland, in case anyone's wondering. And I would see my friends, like, at the. You. What's it called where you put money, you get to play games, and you compete for prizes? What's that called?
>> Mia: Just the game station.
>> Marco Timpano: The game station. Or they would work at the ice cream station, and they'd always put extra ice cream for me. And I had a friend, she worked at the pick a pearl station. Yeah. So they had a tank of oysters, and you would pick an oyster and you'd pay. I think at that time, it was like $19.99. You'd pay $19.99, and they'd open the clam or oyster, actually. Yeah, they'd open the oyster, and you could find one pearl or you could find. You would always find at least one pearl, but sometimes you would find two or three, and I only found one, but I had a friend who did that for me.
>> Mia: Nice. That's so cool. Wait, for free?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I paid for it, but okay.
>> Mia: Yeah, that's cool. Did you ever want a job at Canada's Wonderland?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's funny, because I didn't apply there. It wasn't so close to my house. I don't know why I didn't apply there, to be honest with you. But I got a job close. Closer to my home at a country club.
>> Mia: Oh, were you, like, a golf caddy?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I wasn't. Thank goodness. That's not my scene at all. But there was. So where I lived at the time, it was very suburban, and like I said, there wasn't much around. So if you wanted to go to, let's say, a fast food place, you'd have to drive to the main street. And that was maybe 10, 15 minutes away. And I did work at a fast food restaurant when I was. That was one of my jobs. But there was this country club that was much closer to my home. And I don't know how I applied. I think my mom had friends who went to that country club, and they said to my mom, your son should apply or something like that. So I went, put on my resume, and I got hired as a bar waiter to serve alcohol because this country club would do. They would do cocktails and stuff before people went into the restaurant. And then I worked in a restaurant, and that was my journey in the restaurant field.
>> Mia: Nice. And you worked at a restaurant for a long time with my mother, I believe that's right.
>> Marco Timpano: So once again, for some reason, it was much easier to get jobs in restaurants where we lived. And so there was an old doctor's house in a neighboring town, and this doctor's house from the 1800s had been converted over the years into a lovely restaurant. It had a very picturesque sort of old, old home feel, and it was like, on a lot of land, and it was really pretty. And so I worked at this place called the Doctor's House. And then your mom got hired at the doctor's house too, and we were both working at the doctor's house. Once again, I worked in the bar in this particular instance, and your mom worked in. In the restaurant. And we had to wear, like, period cloth waiter clothing. It was really weird. So your mom was kind of in a long dress, and I think she wore a bonnet. Did she wear a bonnet?
>> Mia: Did she? I remember her talking about it. It was like plaid and orange, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was like a plaid, green and orange.
>> Mia: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Apron on a really, like, long dress, kind of like Little House on the Prairies type outfit for her. And I had like a. I had like a.
>> Mia: Like a dress shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: It had like, no collar. So it had like a. Like a. I think they call it a mandarin collar. And it had, once again, the sleeves were very much like the mandarin collar. And so I had puffy sleeves with cinched cuffs. Oh, and a tight neck. And then once again, a green platty kind of vest. Yeah.
>> Mia: Oh, that sounds awful.
>> Marco Timpano: It wasn't great, let me tell you. And we're in this doctor's house, this former doctor's house that was now a kind of fancy restaurant, if you can believe it. And it had a huge brunch, and everybody would come there for brunch, or they'd have a lot of showers, wedding showers or baby showers in this place. It was like that kind of a place.
>> Mia: Well, other than these questionable outfits, did you enjoy your time working there?
>> Marco Timpano: I did. I did enjoy it. You know, it was interesting. It was an interesting group of people who both owned the restaurant and who worked there. So I had a couple pals that worked there, and it would be fun. And then, you know, your mom worked there, so I would see her in the, you know, serving. Serving the restaurant. And then I worked in the restaurant for a short, short time, but I. I stayed mainly in the bar. And it was not because I wanted to work in the bar. It was just. That's where I got hired in that particular place.
>> Mia: Yeah, that makes sense. And that's really cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Would you ever want to work in a restaurant?
>> Mia: Yeah, I definitely would. There are some restaurants in my hometown that seem pretty cool, and there's also some in a mall nearby that are, like, really funky. Like that one restaurant that we went to, me, you and my Aunt Sonia, when we went shopping.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. Do you remember the name of it?
>> Mia: Something to do with turtles.
>> Marco Timpano: Turtle Jacks.
>> Mia: Yeah, it was such a cool restaurant. It was very funky. Like, the walls were green and blue with lots of artwork and lots of, like, pictures everywhere. And they served, like, really good food. I would love to work there. And the staff seemed really fun.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they seemed happy, which is always an indication that the restaurant's running very well. Yeah, that's very interesting. You know, if I think back to my first jobs, how funny they were. I worked at a. At a mall, in a card shop, in a fancy card.
>> Mia: Like birthday cards.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And posters. It was like black and white posters and cards and like, I don't know, funky cards. Like very, like, artistic photograph cards. The. The place was called Athena for any of our listeners who might have been like, I remember that place, but it was like this place where you go and buy fancy cards or a really cool black and white photo or you get something framed. Yeah. And I didn't love having to do the frames because you'd have to measure it and really be, like, very close to the whatever border they wanted. It was too much math. Too much math for me.
>> Mia: And how long did you work there?
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say I worked for There for a year or two. And then I got a job at Sears in the shipping department where I would load cart. I would take out anything that got shipped. Shipped to Sears in these big trucks. I would have to take off the truck, and then I would have to. If you were coming to pick up, say, a lawnmower, you'd come, you'd give me your thing. I'd go get you the lawnmower from the back and put it in your car. I did not love that job. My friend. My best friend at the time was a security guard at the same mall. And the security area and the shipping area were right next to each other. And so he was on all these, like, escapades of, like, pretending to be a shopper and watching people in. In the Sears while I was loading all these heavy things in and out of the. The big truck. And I didn't enjoy that at all. I was kind of like, I wanted to work with him, but they wouldn't let us work together.
>> Mia: Yeah, that sounds like a sucky job, if I'm being honest. But, I mean, it doesn't sound so bad compared to some of these other jobs you've had. Like the spraying cologne on people who are like, get this cologne off of me. You know? I mean, I wouldn't want cologne sprayed on me just randomly for no reason either.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a cologne of perfume that you enjoy the scent of?
>> Mia: well, so my. My aunt, your wife, loves Jo Malone, and recently she got me into Jo Malone and gave me little samples of all the bottles that she's had.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: So I. I got some gift cards recently, and I would love to go down to Sephora or another shop, even the Jo Malone shop, and pick some up, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a scent in particular you like or.
>> Mia: My favorite scent? I think it was orange blossom.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, orange blossom.
>> Mia: Or something to do with pine.
>> Marco Timpano: Pine?
>> Speaker B: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought it was bluebells or something.
>> Mia: No, that's the. Isn't that the scent that Harry and Megan used for their wedding? Or was that blueberry something?
>> Marco Timpano: I can't remember. This is something you'd have to ask your aunt. My wife Amanda, who's in the other room there.
>> Mia: Yeah. What is she doing? Drinking a Coke?
>> Marco Timpano: I think she's. She's just resting while we do this, but we'll figure out what the cologne is that or the perfume is that you want to get.
>> Mia: She gave me that sample first, and I was like, oh, I love this stuff. It was that. It's that big bottle that she has, and it's my favorite, and I would love to get a little bottle that next time I go to the mall.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I wonder.
>> Mia: I think it had something to do with cardamom, actually.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it cardamom mimosa or mimosa cardamom? Because I think that's one of the scents she has.
>> Mia: Yeah, I think it was. But I also liked one that had to do with pine, but she didn't give me a sample, but I remember. So one of my favorite things to do with my aunt is getting ready for, like, going out, and she always lets me pick her perfume.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And one that I always picks or one that I always picked is something to do with pine. I don't remember the full name, though. It's like, something and pine.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: But it is so good. That is, like, an herbal smell. And then mimosa and cardamom is like, a more floral smell.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, there you go. Well, listen, I hope you get the scent you like. There's. I'm sure they have plenty of scents for you to try.
>> Mia: Definitely will.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm sure one will. Will suit you just fine. And. And thank you for being a guest on the podcast again, Mia.
>> Mia: Of course. Oh, my gosh. I love being on this podcast, and I love helping these wonderful listeners get
>> Marco Timpano: their sleep very well. Well, thank you very much. And to our listeners, we hope you were able to listen and sleep good.
The Misadventures of Water Bottles: The Musical
airdate: March 19, 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, listen, chill. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. Flying by the seat of my pants.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. It's true. Ten seasons, Amanda. Ten years of podcasting.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's crazy.
>> Amanda Barker: Congratulations.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. It's awesome. So how was your day?
>> Amanda Barker: So here's the deal. Marco asked me, what are we going to talk about? And I said, I think we just don't talk. I mean, we never. He usually has a sense of what he wants to talk about, and he just sort of throws it at me. But today he didn't have one, and I'm like, that's normally me. So let's just chill and see what comes up. That's what it's meant to be, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: What did I just say? Before we turn. Oh, gravy on chips.
>> Marco Timpano: Gravy on chips.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you know what that means?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: So chips, as in the British sense. Okay, so we are watching one of our favorite reality shows right now. It's called Traitors.
>> Marco Timpano: The traitors.
>> Amanda Barker: Yep, the traitors. I have to say Traitors UK into our remote so that it knows which one to take me to. And one of the guys on it keeps saying, yeah, that's just gravy on chips. Gravy on chips. So I guess that means, like, it's all good. That's like some sort of Britishy all good kind of statement. Listen, I love my. I love my British slang.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what? I love Amanda. And this happened to us recently. An uncanceled stamp on a letter.
>> Amanda Barker: You love an uncanceled stamp.
>> Marco Timpano: I love an uncanceled stamp. I love ripping it from the envelope, soaking it water so the stamp lifts off and then gluing it onto another postcard or letter and sending it to someone else.
>> Amanda Barker: So are we talking about, like, things that give us satisfaction? Yeah, because that gives you a good sense of satisfaction.
>> Marco Timpano: It does.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, right now our fridge is clean and sparse, and that gives me a certain satisfaction. To have a sparse fridge does that
>> Marco Timpano: mean we ate our fridge. Everything that was in our fridge?
>> Amanda Barker: Not even close.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But because my freezer is quite full, it means that we've made space so that we can start to defrost things in our freezer. And that's a great satisfaction because it also is saving money. If you give yourself a couple weeks every year to just make sure you've gone through everything.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Depends on the time of week, the month, whatever, but whether we're going away, whether or not. But I just wanted to give us some breathing space. And I grew up with a very packed fridge all the time. My mom made sure that we had everything and that if we were about to run out, there was already another one.
>> Marco Timpano: I find if a fridge is so packed, I can't find anything in it, I don't know what's in it.
>> Amanda Barker: Your mom loves a fridge that is very clean and organized, and I would say she favors more a couple of fresh things versus a packed. I've never seen your mom's fridge particularly packed.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I have, I guess, but it's a different type of pack than my mom's fridge. But our freezer is quite packed. So I've been trying to go through our freezer.
>> Marco Timpano: I love a packed mailbox, too. When we come home and there's a packed mailbox, I love that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's a great feeling because there's so much possibility in the mail. Is there a magazine? A check you weren't expecting? Who knows?
>> Marco Timpano: A postcard from someone who used an uncancelled stamp?
>> Amanda Barker: A catalog full of things I want to buy?
>> Marco Timpano: Could be anything.
>> Amanda Barker: A calendar that a charity sent me because I donated to them at some point in my life. Address stamps from the same charity, Christmas cards from that charity. Right, right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: You name it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, any. Anything like that, I guess I really like the name Chair. Although, do we say charity more? We say nonprofit. Well, they're two different things.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But, yeah, no, I'm really excited to. You should clean out your freezer at least once a year, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I would imagine a few times a year.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I'd love to think I cleaned it out every month or two,
>> Marco Timpano: but the reality is, every season I think you're okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Every season is a good way to look at it. I read once a friend of mine runs a. I don't know what it is, like a cooking class company. And so she sends these emails and she says a freezer should be like petty cash, not a safety deposit box.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I like that.
>> Amanda Barker: And not a savings Account either. Just treat it like petty cash. Like, oh, I have this. I can grab this. So I have that. I can grab that. Not like, you know, I have all these things locked in and I'm going to use them or not someday, you know, because they can't live in there forever.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. I. I really recently discovered the cap to my water bottle and they're in two different places of the house.
>> Amanda Barker: So tell me more about that.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had a.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I don't know what you mean.
>> Marco Timpano: So we have. We have these water water bottles that we use to drink water with. You know, what do you call them? Water bottles, right?
>> Amanda Barker: No, water bottles.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, water bottles. And I have one that I.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're not a particular brand. We have different brands. We're not. There's a water bottle or. I don't know if it's a water bottle or coffee or what it is, but there's a certain brand that seems to be Quite trending with 11 year olds right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so we don't have any. We don't have any fancy ones. Yeah, I had a fancy one once, but Amanda ran over it with the car and I never saw it again.
>> Amanda Barker: Stop that. He got it for free, guys. So I didn't mean to run over it with the car.
>> Marco Timpano: It was my favorite water bottle. But we won't get into that. Instead, I'll talk about the water bottle.
>> Amanda Barker: Mark, what you have. You had that water bottle for years. And it's not my fault. I ran over it. What was it doing outside of the car?
>> Marco Timpano: You had dropped it and it rolled under the tire. And then you came back.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know I'd drop it. And you were where in all of this?
>> Marco Timpano: I wasn't even home. You came back and you said, I have some bad news. And then you showed me a squished water bottle, I believe.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that what happened?
>> Marco Timpano: How that panned out?
>> Amanda Barker: This was, I want to say, either before we were married or in the first year of marriage. So we've been married 15 years now. So I think it might be time to let the water ball water bottle catastrophe of 2011 go.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, I'll let that one go. Even though it's a Sig water bottle. It's such a good waddle. Had a little picture of.
>> Amanda Barker: He just made a point about how we're not water bottle. Like we're not into brands.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And you just named the brand of that water bottle and how great it was because it was that brand.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. And then I'VE never bought one since because of it.
>> Amanda Barker: What am I drinking out of a swell?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I think a swell's a brand name water bottle.
>> Amanda Barker: We should say swell more.
>> Marco Timpano: We should, we should. So my water bottle that I keep in here.
>> Amanda Barker: Hey, we have a cig water bottle upstairs.
>> Marco Timpano: We do?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. That one you hate, the green one. I've also dropped that one. It has a bit of a dent and it's sort of like a muddy green, greenish blue.
>> Marco Timpano: Remember when we left one in the car and it froze?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Overnight.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And then when the car.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone's done that.
>> Marco Timpano: And then when the car heated up, there was a crack in it and so it was spilling everywhere.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone has done the water bottle, quick freeze, forget about it situation. Everyone, I think, on the planet has been like, oh, this is warm water. I want it to be cold. I'm going to throw it in the freezer, then it'll be cold. I just have to remember about it in 20 minutes. Cut to a week later. Oh, no. I froze it and then it's destroyed.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like the misadventures of water bottles this episode. So my water bottle that I keep here, I guess I. I filled in the. In the restroom, washroom, bathroom, whatever you call it. That's next to the studio here.
>> Amanda Barker: The wc.
>> Marco Timpano: The wc.
>> Amanda Barker: The water closet.
>> Marco Timpano: And I, I had the cap in my hand, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I brought the cap upstairs. And then I guess when you have the cap in your hand, you think the water bottle is near you and it wasn't. And so I was looking for it and then I left the cap upstairs.
>> Amanda Barker: I've been doing dishes and this cap has been floating around and I don't know what to do about it.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I discovered the water bottle. This is three days after it's been missing down here.
>> Amanda Barker: So Agatha Christie indeed is on this.
>> Marco Timpano: So yeah. So now the mystery of the water bottle has been solved. I just need to marry the two.
>> Amanda Barker: Speaking of Agatha Christie, that is. How is your reading going? Good.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm on my last book of her. Sorry, I shouldn't say that because people think I'm reading her last book. I'm finishing up the books she wrote in the 1920s.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you're almost finished the twenties?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I'm almost finished in the 1920s. I think that's nine books in total.
>> Amanda Barker: That's amazing, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm getting better.
>> Amanda Barker: What does that mean?
>> Marco Timpano: So this is what it means. I'm figuring out who did it in the whodunit part.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no, you're Knowing formulas and things.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not even formulas. The last one, Marco likes to tell
>> Amanda Barker: you who he thinks did it early in so that he really spoils it for you.
>> Marco Timpano: Just so if I have a suspicion I'm going to mention it one time. I don't remember this.
>> Amanda Barker: This is actually my mother. I took my mother and father to go see the Scarlet Pimpernel at Stratford, which is a theater festival here in Ontario. And they. At the. So the Scarlet Pimpernel is a scarf. I believe it's a rouge y kind of scarf. And it was like, who's this mysterious person? And at the end of the first act, you see one of the characters and he takes this red scarf out of his whatever, pocket, dabs his face with it or whatever, looks around and then scurries off. And you hear a little hush in the audience, like, oh, he's it. So then lights come up, intermission, go to the bathroom, get a Diet Coke, whatever. Lights go back down. The second act starts. We're about 20 minutes into the second act, and my mother, in a stage whisper, I would say, she's pretty loud. And this was pretty loud. When he's the Scarlet Pimpernel, like, she had just discovered. It was kind of like, I know who it is. 20 minutes in. And I went, mom, they revealed that at the end of the first act, we all know that he's the Scarlet pin. She goes, oh, well, whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: I went to see Evita with your bff, my cousin Danny.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, what?
>> Marco Timpano: Years and years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, Danny going to theater is a very funny. Has Danny done a podcast here?
>> Marco Timpano: He has, he has, yeah. On. On waste management.
>> Amanda Barker: Fascinating.
>> Marco Timpano: So Danny and I went to see Evita years ago. He. He was with his wife at the time. And I can't remember if I brought anyone or not, but we.
>> Amanda Barker: So before his kids were born, even.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think it was before his kids were born. So we went to go see Evita and it was a big thing, you know, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Evita here in Toronto. Not the first time. But do you call it when they bring it back?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: When they bring a musical back. What is that called?
>> Amanda Barker: Bringing it back?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not. There's an award at the Tonys for.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, revival.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a revival. Okay, thanks.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but that's a little different in Toronto because it's bringing it back means you launched it here, you went and toured it and then you came back.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it had.
>> Amanda Barker: You mean a revival.
>> Marco Timpano: It had its run in New York when it had its run in the
>> Amanda Barker: 70s, you mean, or 80s.
>> Marco Timpano: And then this was in the.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. The revival of the 90s. We all remember it. Okay?
>> Marco Timpano: So we go see it. And you know how they play the first. So we. We see it. They play the first song or whatever. And then in Evita, it's. They're all chanting, evita. Evita, right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so then we go to intermission or something, and Danny goes, that's Evita, the blonde one. And we're like, yeah. They only chanted her name off the top for 20 minutes. It was a new. It was a new discovery to him. I'll never forget that.
>> Amanda Barker: He took him all the first act. Figure out who Ava Peron was.
>> Marco Timpano: It took him a while. I was like, what's going on here? Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. So that's so funny.
>> Marco Timpano: But I was saying. I was saying something before we got to.
>> Amanda Barker: I have. I have important. Since you brought up your cousin Danny, I have important cousin updates. Okay. For you.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you know that your cousins were featured in. On tv in the Alps, where they live. And there's some pretty amazing footage here. You might want to have a look.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you mean?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'm on a WhatsApp chat with all your Italian cousins. I don't always understand what they're saying, but I kind of get the gist of it. And so Marco. So it's for his cousins here and at that side of the family, of which Danny, his cousin, is on that side. His mother's side of the family. And anyway, Marco has six direct cousins that all live in Trento, Italy, as well as his aunt. And so this is a WhatsApp chat so that we can all keep in touch with each other. Anyway, someone posted all of this footage. I mean, it looks like Sound of Music. It's amazing. It's like a big folk festival with bands, and everyone's wearing the caps with the feathers in them, and there's a lot of old stone structures that people seem to be marching through joyfully. And it looks like a really fun time. Okay, so I don't know which cousins are on the TV or what the deal is with that, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I think someone's kids or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'll have to look at that. That's so funny. Yeah. I've never seen the Sound of Music. Speaking of plays that I'd like to see are musicals or revivals.
>> Amanda Barker: You've never seen it alive?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I've never seen. I've never seen it live. I've only seen the movie.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's your cousins there? I don't know. They seem to be singing in some sort of Austrian looking choir. I know it's not Austria, it's northern Italy, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, none of these are my cousins, but they're probably friends of them. Who are? Who they?
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's someone's daughter, but yeah. A cousin daughter.
>> Marco Timpano: A cousin daughter.
>> Amanda Barker: If your cousin has a daughter, what is that to you? A second cousin?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't really know how.
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's how it goes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I think. No, my mother's cousin is my second cousin.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So my cousin's kid in this case, like Jennifer.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Is my cousin right. Or is that my second cousin?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I really don't know my family well enough to. To know how that works, but. But I do know that I'm on this WhatsApp thread and people like to send fun Italian videos.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. You look quite an education. You look at look at it far more than I do.
>> Amanda Barker: I do, yeah. Yeah. You don't look at WhatsApp ever.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't like those things where I have to look at stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: Tell me more about that.
>> Marco Timpano: So there's all these apps where it's like, I'm gonna send you a message. Great. And it's a. Marco Polo is the name of the app. One of the apps, but it's a video message. So now I have to watch you talking to me. I don't have time to watch extra video stuff. If you. If you send me a audio recording, I can listen to it anytime. Easy peasy.
>> Amanda Barker: At your leisure.
>> Marco Timpano: At my leisure.
>> Amanda Barker: You say leisure or leisure?
>> Marco Timpano: Leisure. You say leisure.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I say leisure.
>> Marco Timpano: What about when you write in a book? You write all the things that your company has purchased and sent out. What do you call that?
>> Amanda Barker: Accounting?
>> Marco Timpano: A ledger. Oh, I was wanting to see how you. How you would say.
>> Amanda Barker: What about the guy that played the Joker?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Heath Leisure.
>> Marco Timpano: Jack Nicholson.
>> Amanda Barker: Joaquin Phoenix. Anyway, I don't know what we're talking about now.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we were talking about mail. We were talking about musicals. We were talking about getting a plenitude of mail. Coming home to.
>> Amanda Barker: That was a long time ago.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. That's what I'm going through.
>> Amanda Barker: The thoughts that you've never seen Sound of Music in person, but you've seen Evita, even though your cousin didn't know, who couldn't figure out which one on the stage was Ava Perrone. This is very funny to me and
>> Marco Timpano: the actress who Played Eva Perron in that production, Madonna. No, it wasn't. It was.
>> Amanda Barker: I would love it if you saw. If she was playing in Toronto, a
>> Marco Timpano: woman who was on Miami Vice. So she. Why are you laughing?
>> Amanda Barker: Because people doing touring musicals make me laugh. I saw Mickey Dolan's in Aida.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw the father on Happy Days. So why are you laughing in Beauty and the Beast?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: What's his name?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Tom.
>> Marco Timpano: Tom. Tom. Tom Bosley. Tom. Tom. Tom Bosley. I think it is.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I think it is. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: He played Belle's father.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God. That's.
>> Marco Timpano: I would hope. I mean, what else could he have played?
>> Amanda Barker: The one that makes me laugh the most is Chicago. Everybody plays Roxie Hart. You don't need to have talent to play Roxie Hart because you can just do a kind of cutesy voice and talk through your songs, and then you can. If you move good enough. Like, if you can do a jazzercise or a Zumba class, you could probably play Roxie Hart. But I saw. I don't know if I should name her because it's not gonna be nice, but I saw a model. So everyone plays Roxie Hart, right? So it's like, now I'm on. I have this career and this career. Now I'm on Broadway, and it's like. But in Chicago. Let's chill down.
>> Marco Timpano: When you say model, do you mean, like, Supermodel from the 80s?
>> Amanda Barker: From the 80s, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Would she be of supermodel status?
>> Amanda Barker: Rhymes with risty wrinkley.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. All right.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah. Anyway, we. So I was doing a show. I was launching a show in Hartford, Connecticut. So we were in the smaller theater launching a very fun show that I ended up doing for three years. But that was the sort of. You need to. When you're going to do a touring show, you need to pick a home. A home base to. To launch it, to figure out all the bells and whistles and the Kinks and all that. And so that's what we were doing. So we had an extended stay in Hartford, Connecticut, and there was a touring production of Chicago was in town for the week or weeks, I don't remember, while we were there. So they gave us free tickets to go see it. And it was so bad.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Amanda Barker: And the director that I was working with at the time leaned over and said, she can't even walk across the stage convincingly. And he was right. Like, she couldn't make it look like a person that's walking. I don't know how else to say It. I felt really bad. She couldn't say she couldn't dance.
>> Marco Timpano: They should have just put a Runway. She would have been fine if they had a Runway.
>> Amanda Barker: But they needed a name that people. Right, exactly. I know. I mean, I feel really rude saying all that, but, you know, they need a name. So it'll be now starring. And it can be pretty much anyone in that role, as long as it's a woman.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they can. Or, you know, there's male roles. Like, you could probably play the. In fact, the male role in the lead male role in Chicago. I can't think of his name. Anyway, he sings Mr. Cellophane, the guy that plays the husband, Roxy's husband.
>> Marco Timpano: I think the original guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, John C. Reilly, I think played it in the movie anyway.
>> Marco Timpano: Was the guy who. Who was on Law and Order famous
>> Amanda Barker: guy who was the original guy in Chicago?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Wasn't it? What's his name?
>> Amanda Barker: Jimmy Smith.
>> Marco Timpano: No, he plays the candle in beauty and the beastly Back to East Everything leads.
>> Amanda Barker: The guy that we saw when we were eating that day.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's rich. Richard Belsner.
>> Amanda Barker: All right. Anyway, it doesn't really matter, but Mr. Cellophane, which is another song from the musical Chicago, I've helped out with various castings. Usually I don't do musical castings, but there's one company I work with where I help them out with that. And Mr. Selphine is the song that the men come and sing when they can't sing, when they're funny guys or whatever, but they can't sing. They all sing Mr. Cellophane from Chicago, or at least the round of auditions that I witnessed did. So it's one of those, like, fun songs that anyone can sing. So you could also put a guy in that role, too. But Chicago just happens to have these roles. In fact, the woman who was playing Velma that I saw play Velma, I was told by people who knew that they cast her because she knows how to bring her performance down so that she never outshines the Roxie Hart. So if you have somebody who's not as versed in the stage, right. Like you had a career in modeling or whatever, and you have a name and you'd like to try something new. So you're going to take on this role, but you're not a singer, dancer, actor, whatever. This girl who plays the other, which was Catherine Zeta Jones in the movie, just for reference, for those who know the Chicago universe, they hire her so that she can do a more toned down performance. So that they're kind of even keel, which is insane.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, Jerry Orbach is the person I was trying to think of.
>> Amanda Barker: The guy from Dirty Dancing. That's all you had to say.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the father from Dirty Dancing. I sent the candle from Beauty and the Beast.
>> Amanda Barker: A Dirty Dancing Beauty and the Beast mashup. Would be amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: That would be amazing. Be my guest. And mixed with.
>> Amanda Barker: Could use that. She, my guess, could be the. The opening song when they're driving into Kellerman's. Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, I'm trying to think of other somewhat famous people I saw in musicals.
>> Amanda Barker: In touring companies of musicals.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw. I saw Karen Kane.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Who's not. I wouldn't say sort of famous. She's great. She's fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: Canadian famous.
>> Marco Timpano: No, not Karen Kane.
>> Amanda Barker: The dancer.
>> Marco Timpano: No, the one from Taxi. What's her name?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Marlee Matlin.
>> Marco Timpano: No, from Taxi. From the. From the television series Taxi. She played Latke's girlfriend, blonde. She has a very squeaky voice.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that woman.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Kimmy Schmidt. Carolyn.
>> Marco Timpano: Carol Kane.
>> Amanda Barker: Carol Kane. Is that Carol Kane?
>> Marco Timpano: Carol Kane.
>> Amanda Barker: What did you say? Oh, you said Karen Kane.
>> Marco Timpano: Karen Kane.
>> Amanda Barker: Carol Kane.
>> Marco Timpano: Carol Kane in Wicked. Oh, she played the. The teacher of all the witches. I don't know, something like that. I didn't enjoy them. She was great.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But she was like the only famous person that I knew at the time.
>> Amanda Barker: But I shot a movie with Anna Gasteyer, who played Elphaba in one of the Wicked's.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. I didn't know she did, but I saw something on her.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't realize she could sing.
>> Amanda Barker: She's a great singer.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Very funny, improviser and very lovely to work with.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's nice.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we did a. We did a movie, but I don't know what's happening with it, so I don't know. It was a Lilly Singh project.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll keep you posted.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a musical that you would like to do?
>> Amanda Barker: I would love to do. There's a lot of male roles that I would love to do. I would love to play Fagin and Oliver. That's a dream role.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Or the Artful Dodger, but I think Fagin at this stage and age. I would love to play Fagin. I would love to play Judas. Jesus Christ Superstar.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: You need a powerhouse voice, which I don't really have, but I put in my dreams. I do. When I was young, I wanted to play Eponine and Les Mis. That was the dream role. Didn't happen. What about you?
>> Marco Timpano: Probably just Baron von Trapp and the Sound of Music.
>> Amanda Barker: That's all you ever need. And you've never seen it.
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen the movie many times.
>> Amanda Barker: With Sound of Music, you got to see a really good production of it because it's a long show, and every community theater does it because families love it and there's kids in it and all those things, but it can really drag.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. No, yeah, that's. That's the. I'm. You know, me. I'm not.
>> Amanda Barker: I'd love to do Anything Goes. I've always had a big love of Anything Goes. I'd love to play Reno Sweeney and Anything Goes.
>> Marco Timpano: I would sing that Razzle Dazzle song. That's from Chicago, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Razzle Dazzle's from Chicago, too. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that. Is that Jerry Orbach's role?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Okay, That's.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's the. That's the one.
>> Amanda Barker: And the movie was Pretty Woman there. What's his name?
>> Marco Timpano: Richard Gere.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Richard.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like we're playing a game
>> Amanda Barker: of, like, definitely playing a game of celebrity. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: This is the type of episode that drives Bill and. To Newey.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, He's. He's. He's not happy with anything right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: He's just shouting.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a musical you haven't seen that you'd like to see?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, all of them. Like, any musical I haven't seen, I'd like to see. I never saw Evan Hansen, and I'm kind of mad because I could have. I was right next to it. It just opened. No one was talking about it. No one had heard of it. It had opened that week. So I could have seen that with Benjamin Platt or whatever his name is. But I was working in New York, and work kind of came first.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't know. So, yeah, recently, something Rotten, I've heard is really fun. That's a Stratford this year, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I'd like to see that.
>> Amanda Barker: Or what? Did it already happen? I don't even know if. Anyways, if it is coming, we should go see it. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I like that idea. All right. Maybe we'll. We'll come back with a report on some musicals we've seen. We said the last one I saw was, like, Water for. For Elephants. Is that what it's called?
>> Amanda Barker: Not like. Like, chocolate, Water for Elephants.
>> Marco Timpano: Like chocolate, Water for Elephants.
>> Amanda Barker: Water for Elephants.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, just water for elements.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It had more promise.
>> Marco Timpano: I'd like to see, like, Water for Chocolate, the musical.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never seen that. I don't know that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember enjoying it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was. It was all the rage in the late 90s, but I don't know. People love that movie. Water for Elephants had really good parts in it that I really enjoyed, but it could have done more.
>> Marco Timpano: It was all the in between. I want to see more opera. So there's an opera coming to town that I want to see.
>> Amanda Barker: Which one?
>> Marco Timpano: Madame Butterfly. Ever heard of it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Okay,
>> Marco Timpano: so there's that.
>> Amanda Barker: There's actually a musical based on Madame Butterfly, isn't there?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of what it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't it Miss Saigon?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Miss Saigon. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go, folks. Let us know what your favorite musical is. We'd love to hear it. Or if there's a musical you saw with someone somewhat famous in it. And we'll.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we want to hear about the touring production and the random person that was starring in it.
>> Marco Timpano: That would be so much fun.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, totally.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we had fun on this episode, and I hope you were able to have fun. And if not have fun, I hope you were able to listen and sleep.
airdate: March 19, 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, listen, chill. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. Flying by the seat of my pants.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. It's true. Ten seasons, Amanda. Ten years of podcasting.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's crazy.
>> Amanda Barker: Congratulations.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. It's awesome. So how was your day?
>> Amanda Barker: So here's the deal. Marco asked me, what are we going to talk about? And I said, I think we just don't talk. I mean, we never. He usually has a sense of what he wants to talk about, and he just sort of throws it at me. But today he didn't have one, and I'm like, that's normally me. So let's just chill and see what comes up. That's what it's meant to be, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: What did I just say? Before we turn. Oh, gravy on chips.
>> Marco Timpano: Gravy on chips.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you know what that means?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: So chips, as in the British sense. Okay, so we are watching one of our favorite reality shows right now. It's called Traitors.
>> Marco Timpano: The traitors.
>> Amanda Barker: Yep, the traitors. I have to say Traitors UK into our remote so that it knows which one to take me to. And one of the guys on it keeps saying, yeah, that's just gravy on chips. Gravy on chips. So I guess that means, like, it's all good. That's like some sort of Britishy all good kind of statement. Listen, I love my. I love my British slang.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what? I love Amanda. And this happened to us recently. An uncanceled stamp on a letter.
>> Amanda Barker: You love an uncanceled stamp.
>> Marco Timpano: I love an uncanceled stamp. I love ripping it from the envelope, soaking it water so the stamp lifts off and then gluing it onto another postcard or letter and sending it to someone else.
>> Amanda Barker: So are we talking about, like, things that give us satisfaction? Yeah, because that gives you a good sense of satisfaction.
>> Marco Timpano: It does.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, right now our fridge is clean and sparse, and that gives me a certain satisfaction. To have a sparse fridge does that
>> Marco Timpano: mean we ate our fridge. Everything that was in our fridge?
>> Amanda Barker: Not even close.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But because my freezer is quite full, it means that we've made space so that we can start to defrost things in our freezer. And that's a great satisfaction because it also is saving money. If you give yourself a couple weeks every year to just make sure you've gone through everything.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Depends on the time of week, the month, whatever, but whether we're going away, whether or not. But I just wanted to give us some breathing space. And I grew up with a very packed fridge all the time. My mom made sure that we had everything and that if we were about to run out, there was already another one.
>> Marco Timpano: I find if a fridge is so packed, I can't find anything in it, I don't know what's in it.
>> Amanda Barker: Your mom loves a fridge that is very clean and organized, and I would say she favors more a couple of fresh things versus a packed. I've never seen your mom's fridge particularly packed.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I have, I guess, but it's a different type of pack than my mom's fridge. But our freezer is quite packed. So I've been trying to go through our freezer.
>> Marco Timpano: I love a packed mailbox, too. When we come home and there's a packed mailbox, I love that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's a great feeling because there's so much possibility in the mail. Is there a magazine? A check you weren't expecting? Who knows?
>> Marco Timpano: A postcard from someone who used an uncancelled stamp?
>> Amanda Barker: A catalog full of things I want to buy?
>> Marco Timpano: Could be anything.
>> Amanda Barker: A calendar that a charity sent me because I donated to them at some point in my life. Address stamps from the same charity, Christmas cards from that charity. Right, right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: You name it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, any. Anything like that, I guess I really like the name Chair. Although, do we say charity more? We say nonprofit. Well, they're two different things.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But, yeah, no, I'm really excited to. You should clean out your freezer at least once a year, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I would imagine a few times a year.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I'd love to think I cleaned it out every month or two,
>> Marco Timpano: but the reality is, every season I think you're okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Every season is a good way to look at it. I read once a friend of mine runs a. I don't know what it is, like a cooking class company. And so she sends these emails and she says a freezer should be like petty cash, not a safety deposit box.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I like that.
>> Amanda Barker: And not a savings Account either. Just treat it like petty cash. Like, oh, I have this. I can grab this. So I have that. I can grab that. Not like, you know, I have all these things locked in and I'm going to use them or not someday, you know, because they can't live in there forever.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. I. I really recently discovered the cap to my water bottle and they're in two different places of the house.
>> Amanda Barker: So tell me more about that.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had a.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I don't know what you mean.
>> Marco Timpano: So we have. We have these water water bottles that we use to drink water with. You know, what do you call them? Water bottles, right?
>> Amanda Barker: No, water bottles.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, water bottles. And I have one that I.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're not a particular brand. We have different brands. We're not. There's a water bottle or. I don't know if it's a water bottle or coffee or what it is, but there's a certain brand that seems to be Quite trending with 11 year olds right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so we don't have any. We don't have any fancy ones. Yeah, I had a fancy one once, but Amanda ran over it with the car and I never saw it again.
>> Amanda Barker: Stop that. He got it for free, guys. So I didn't mean to run over it with the car.
>> Marco Timpano: It was my favorite water bottle. But we won't get into that. Instead, I'll talk about the water bottle.
>> Amanda Barker: Mark, what you have. You had that water bottle for years. And it's not my fault. I ran over it. What was it doing outside of the car?
>> Marco Timpano: You had dropped it and it rolled under the tire. And then you came back.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know I'd drop it. And you were where in all of this?
>> Marco Timpano: I wasn't even home. You came back and you said, I have some bad news. And then you showed me a squished water bottle, I believe.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that what happened?
>> Marco Timpano: How that panned out?
>> Amanda Barker: This was, I want to say, either before we were married or in the first year of marriage. So we've been married 15 years now. So I think it might be time to let the water ball water bottle catastrophe of 2011 go.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, I'll let that one go. Even though it's a Sig water bottle. It's such a good waddle. Had a little picture of.
>> Amanda Barker: He just made a point about how we're not water bottle. Like we're not into brands.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And you just named the brand of that water bottle and how great it was because it was that brand.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. And then I'VE never bought one since because of it.
>> Amanda Barker: What am I drinking out of a swell?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I think a swell's a brand name water bottle.
>> Amanda Barker: We should say swell more.
>> Marco Timpano: We should, we should. So my water bottle that I keep in here.
>> Amanda Barker: Hey, we have a cig water bottle upstairs.
>> Marco Timpano: We do?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. That one you hate, the green one. I've also dropped that one. It has a bit of a dent and it's sort of like a muddy green, greenish blue.
>> Marco Timpano: Remember when we left one in the car and it froze?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Overnight.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And then when the car.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone's done that.
>> Marco Timpano: And then when the car heated up, there was a crack in it and so it was spilling everywhere.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone has done the water bottle, quick freeze, forget about it situation. Everyone, I think, on the planet has been like, oh, this is warm water. I want it to be cold. I'm going to throw it in the freezer, then it'll be cold. I just have to remember about it in 20 minutes. Cut to a week later. Oh, no. I froze it and then it's destroyed.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like the misadventures of water bottles this episode. So my water bottle that I keep here, I guess I. I filled in the. In the restroom, washroom, bathroom, whatever you call it. That's next to the studio here.
>> Amanda Barker: The wc.
>> Marco Timpano: The wc.
>> Amanda Barker: The water closet.
>> Marco Timpano: And I, I had the cap in my hand, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I brought the cap upstairs. And then I guess when you have the cap in your hand, you think the water bottle is near you and it wasn't. And so I was looking for it and then I left the cap upstairs.
>> Amanda Barker: I've been doing dishes and this cap has been floating around and I don't know what to do about it.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I discovered the water bottle. This is three days after it's been missing down here.
>> Amanda Barker: So Agatha Christie indeed is on this.
>> Marco Timpano: So yeah. So now the mystery of the water bottle has been solved. I just need to marry the two.
>> Amanda Barker: Speaking of Agatha Christie, that is. How is your reading going? Good.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm on my last book of her. Sorry, I shouldn't say that because people think I'm reading her last book. I'm finishing up the books she wrote in the 1920s.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you're almost finished the twenties?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I'm almost finished in the 1920s. I think that's nine books in total.
>> Amanda Barker: That's amazing, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm getting better.
>> Amanda Barker: What does that mean?
>> Marco Timpano: So this is what it means. I'm figuring out who did it in the whodunit part.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no, you're Knowing formulas and things.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not even formulas. The last one, Marco likes to tell
>> Amanda Barker: you who he thinks did it early in so that he really spoils it for you.
>> Marco Timpano: Just so if I have a suspicion I'm going to mention it one time. I don't remember this.
>> Amanda Barker: This is actually my mother. I took my mother and father to go see the Scarlet Pimpernel at Stratford, which is a theater festival here in Ontario. And they. At the. So the Scarlet Pimpernel is a scarf. I believe it's a rouge y kind of scarf. And it was like, who's this mysterious person? And at the end of the first act, you see one of the characters and he takes this red scarf out of his whatever, pocket, dabs his face with it or whatever, looks around and then scurries off. And you hear a little hush in the audience, like, oh, he's it. So then lights come up, intermission, go to the bathroom, get a Diet Coke, whatever. Lights go back down. The second act starts. We're about 20 minutes into the second act, and my mother, in a stage whisper, I would say, she's pretty loud. And this was pretty loud. When he's the Scarlet Pimpernel, like, she had just discovered. It was kind of like, I know who it is. 20 minutes in. And I went, mom, they revealed that at the end of the first act, we all know that he's the Scarlet pin. She goes, oh, well, whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: I went to see Evita with your bff, my cousin Danny.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, what?
>> Marco Timpano: Years and years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, Danny going to theater is a very funny. Has Danny done a podcast here?
>> Marco Timpano: He has, he has, yeah. On. On waste management.
>> Amanda Barker: Fascinating.
>> Marco Timpano: So Danny and I went to see Evita years ago. He. He was with his wife at the time. And I can't remember if I brought anyone or not, but we.
>> Amanda Barker: So before his kids were born, even.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think it was before his kids were born. So we went to go see Evita and it was a big thing, you know, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Evita here in Toronto. Not the first time. But do you call it when they bring it back?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: When they bring a musical back. What is that called?
>> Amanda Barker: Bringing it back?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not. There's an award at the Tonys for.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, revival.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a revival. Okay, thanks.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but that's a little different in Toronto because it's bringing it back means you launched it here, you went and toured it and then you came back.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it had.
>> Amanda Barker: You mean a revival.
>> Marco Timpano: It had its run in New York when it had its run in the
>> Amanda Barker: 70s, you mean, or 80s.
>> Marco Timpano: And then this was in the.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. The revival of the 90s. We all remember it. Okay?
>> Marco Timpano: So we go see it. And you know how they play the first. So we. We see it. They play the first song or whatever. And then in Evita, it's. They're all chanting, evita. Evita, right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so then we go to intermission or something, and Danny goes, that's Evita, the blonde one. And we're like, yeah. They only chanted her name off the top for 20 minutes. It was a new. It was a new discovery to him. I'll never forget that.
>> Amanda Barker: He took him all the first act. Figure out who Ava Peron was.
>> Marco Timpano: It took him a while. I was like, what's going on here? Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. So that's so funny.
>> Marco Timpano: But I was saying. I was saying something before we got to.
>> Amanda Barker: I have. I have important. Since you brought up your cousin Danny, I have important cousin updates. Okay. For you.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you know that your cousins were featured in. On tv in the Alps, where they live. And there's some pretty amazing footage here. You might want to have a look.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you mean?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'm on a WhatsApp chat with all your Italian cousins. I don't always understand what they're saying, but I kind of get the gist of it. And so Marco. So it's for his cousins here and at that side of the family, of which Danny, his cousin, is on that side. His mother's side of the family. And anyway, Marco has six direct cousins that all live in Trento, Italy, as well as his aunt. And so this is a WhatsApp chat so that we can all keep in touch with each other. Anyway, someone posted all of this footage. I mean, it looks like Sound of Music. It's amazing. It's like a big folk festival with bands, and everyone's wearing the caps with the feathers in them, and there's a lot of old stone structures that people seem to be marching through joyfully. And it looks like a really fun time. Okay, so I don't know which cousins are on the TV or what the deal is with that, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I think someone's kids or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'll have to look at that. That's so funny. Yeah. I've never seen the Sound of Music. Speaking of plays that I'd like to see are musicals or revivals.
>> Amanda Barker: You've never seen it alive?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I've never seen. I've never seen it live. I've only seen the movie.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's your cousins there? I don't know. They seem to be singing in some sort of Austrian looking choir. I know it's not Austria, it's northern Italy, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, none of these are my cousins, but they're probably friends of them. Who are? Who they?
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's someone's daughter, but yeah. A cousin daughter.
>> Marco Timpano: A cousin daughter.
>> Amanda Barker: If your cousin has a daughter, what is that to you? A second cousin?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't really know how.
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's how it goes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I think. No, my mother's cousin is my second cousin.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So my cousin's kid in this case, like Jennifer.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Is my cousin right. Or is that my second cousin?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I really don't know my family well enough to. To know how that works, but. But I do know that I'm on this WhatsApp thread and people like to send fun Italian videos.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. You look quite an education. You look at look at it far more than I do.
>> Amanda Barker: I do, yeah. Yeah. You don't look at WhatsApp ever.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't like those things where I have to look at stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: Tell me more about that.
>> Marco Timpano: So there's all these apps where it's like, I'm gonna send you a message. Great. And it's a. Marco Polo is the name of the app. One of the apps, but it's a video message. So now I have to watch you talking to me. I don't have time to watch extra video stuff. If you. If you send me a audio recording, I can listen to it anytime. Easy peasy.
>> Amanda Barker: At your leisure.
>> Marco Timpano: At my leisure.
>> Amanda Barker: You say leisure or leisure?
>> Marco Timpano: Leisure. You say leisure.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I say leisure.
>> Marco Timpano: What about when you write in a book? You write all the things that your company has purchased and sent out. What do you call that?
>> Amanda Barker: Accounting?
>> Marco Timpano: A ledger. Oh, I was wanting to see how you. How you would say.
>> Amanda Barker: What about the guy that played the Joker?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Heath Leisure.
>> Marco Timpano: Jack Nicholson.
>> Amanda Barker: Joaquin Phoenix. Anyway, I don't know what we're talking about now.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we were talking about mail. We were talking about musicals. We were talking about getting a plenitude of mail. Coming home to.
>> Amanda Barker: That was a long time ago.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. That's what I'm going through.
>> Amanda Barker: The thoughts that you've never seen Sound of Music in person, but you've seen Evita, even though your cousin didn't know, who couldn't figure out which one on the stage was Ava Perrone. This is very funny to me and
>> Marco Timpano: the actress who Played Eva Perron in that production, Madonna. No, it wasn't. It was.
>> Amanda Barker: I would love it if you saw. If she was playing in Toronto, a
>> Marco Timpano: woman who was on Miami Vice. So she. Why are you laughing?
>> Amanda Barker: Because people doing touring musicals make me laugh. I saw Mickey Dolan's in Aida.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw the father on Happy Days. So why are you laughing in Beauty and the Beast?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: What's his name?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Tom.
>> Marco Timpano: Tom. Tom. Tom Bosley. Tom. Tom. Tom Bosley. I think it is.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I think it is. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: He played Belle's father.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God. That's.
>> Marco Timpano: I would hope. I mean, what else could he have played?
>> Amanda Barker: The one that makes me laugh the most is Chicago. Everybody plays Roxie Hart. You don't need to have talent to play Roxie Hart because you can just do a kind of cutesy voice and talk through your songs, and then you can. If you move good enough. Like, if you can do a jazzercise or a Zumba class, you could probably play Roxie Hart. But I saw. I don't know if I should name her because it's not gonna be nice, but I saw a model. So everyone plays Roxie Hart, right? So it's like, now I'm on. I have this career and this career. Now I'm on Broadway, and it's like. But in Chicago. Let's chill down.
>> Marco Timpano: When you say model, do you mean, like, Supermodel from the 80s?
>> Amanda Barker: From the 80s, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Would she be of supermodel status?
>> Amanda Barker: Rhymes with risty wrinkley.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. All right.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah. Anyway, we. So I was doing a show. I was launching a show in Hartford, Connecticut. So we were in the smaller theater launching a very fun show that I ended up doing for three years. But that was the sort of. You need to. When you're going to do a touring show, you need to pick a home. A home base to. To launch it, to figure out all the bells and whistles and the Kinks and all that. And so that's what we were doing. So we had an extended stay in Hartford, Connecticut, and there was a touring production of Chicago was in town for the week or weeks, I don't remember, while we were there. So they gave us free tickets to go see it. And it was so bad.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Amanda Barker: And the director that I was working with at the time leaned over and said, she can't even walk across the stage convincingly. And he was right. Like, she couldn't make it look like a person that's walking. I don't know how else to say It. I felt really bad. She couldn't say she couldn't dance.
>> Marco Timpano: They should have just put a Runway. She would have been fine if they had a Runway.
>> Amanda Barker: But they needed a name that people. Right, exactly. I know. I mean, I feel really rude saying all that, but, you know, they need a name. So it'll be now starring. And it can be pretty much anyone in that role, as long as it's a woman.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they can. Or, you know, there's male roles. Like, you could probably play the. In fact, the male role in the lead male role in Chicago. I can't think of his name. Anyway, he sings Mr. Cellophane, the guy that plays the husband, Roxy's husband.
>> Marco Timpano: I think the original guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, John C. Reilly, I think played it in the movie anyway.
>> Marco Timpano: Was the guy who. Who was on Law and Order famous
>> Amanda Barker: guy who was the original guy in Chicago?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Wasn't it? What's his name?
>> Amanda Barker: Jimmy Smith.
>> Marco Timpano: No, he plays the candle in beauty and the beastly Back to East Everything leads.
>> Amanda Barker: The guy that we saw when we were eating that day.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's rich. Richard Belsner.
>> Amanda Barker: All right. Anyway, it doesn't really matter, but Mr. Cellophane, which is another song from the musical Chicago, I've helped out with various castings. Usually I don't do musical castings, but there's one company I work with where I help them out with that. And Mr. Selphine is the song that the men come and sing when they can't sing, when they're funny guys or whatever, but they can't sing. They all sing Mr. Cellophane from Chicago, or at least the round of auditions that I witnessed did. So it's one of those, like, fun songs that anyone can sing. So you could also put a guy in that role, too. But Chicago just happens to have these roles. In fact, the woman who was playing Velma that I saw play Velma, I was told by people who knew that they cast her because she knows how to bring her performance down so that she never outshines the Roxie Hart. So if you have somebody who's not as versed in the stage, right. Like you had a career in modeling or whatever, and you have a name and you'd like to try something new. So you're going to take on this role, but you're not a singer, dancer, actor, whatever. This girl who plays the other, which was Catherine Zeta Jones in the movie, just for reference, for those who know the Chicago universe, they hire her so that she can do a more toned down performance. So that they're kind of even keel, which is insane.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, Jerry Orbach is the person I was trying to think of.
>> Amanda Barker: The guy from Dirty Dancing. That's all you had to say.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the father from Dirty Dancing. I sent the candle from Beauty and the Beast.
>> Amanda Barker: A Dirty Dancing Beauty and the Beast mashup. Would be amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: That would be amazing. Be my guest. And mixed with.
>> Amanda Barker: Could use that. She, my guess, could be the. The opening song when they're driving into Kellerman's. Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, I'm trying to think of other somewhat famous people I saw in musicals.
>> Amanda Barker: In touring companies of musicals.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw. I saw Karen Kane.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Who's not. I wouldn't say sort of famous. She's great. She's fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: Canadian famous.
>> Marco Timpano: No, not Karen Kane.
>> Amanda Barker: The dancer.
>> Marco Timpano: No, the one from Taxi. What's her name?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Marlee Matlin.
>> Marco Timpano: No, from Taxi. From the. From the television series Taxi. She played Latke's girlfriend, blonde. She has a very squeaky voice.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that woman.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Kimmy Schmidt. Carolyn.
>> Marco Timpano: Carol Kane.
>> Amanda Barker: Carol Kane. Is that Carol Kane?
>> Marco Timpano: Carol Kane.
>> Amanda Barker: What did you say? Oh, you said Karen Kane.
>> Marco Timpano: Karen Kane.
>> Amanda Barker: Carol Kane.
>> Marco Timpano: Carol Kane in Wicked. Oh, she played the. The teacher of all the witches. I don't know, something like that. I didn't enjoy them. She was great.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But she was like the only famous person that I knew at the time.
>> Amanda Barker: But I shot a movie with Anna Gasteyer, who played Elphaba in one of the Wicked's.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. I didn't know she did, but I saw something on her.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't realize she could sing.
>> Amanda Barker: She's a great singer.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Very funny, improviser and very lovely to work with.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's nice.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we did a. We did a movie, but I don't know what's happening with it, so I don't know. It was a Lilly Singh project.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll keep you posted.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a musical that you would like to do?
>> Amanda Barker: I would love to do. There's a lot of male roles that I would love to do. I would love to play Fagin and Oliver. That's a dream role.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Or the Artful Dodger, but I think Fagin at this stage and age. I would love to play Fagin. I would love to play Judas. Jesus Christ Superstar.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: You need a powerhouse voice, which I don't really have, but I put in my dreams. I do. When I was young, I wanted to play Eponine and Les Mis. That was the dream role. Didn't happen. What about you?
>> Marco Timpano: Probably just Baron von Trapp and the Sound of Music.
>> Amanda Barker: That's all you ever need. And you've never seen it.
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen the movie many times.
>> Amanda Barker: With Sound of Music, you got to see a really good production of it because it's a long show, and every community theater does it because families love it and there's kids in it and all those things, but it can really drag.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. No, yeah, that's. That's the. I'm. You know, me. I'm not.
>> Amanda Barker: I'd love to do Anything Goes. I've always had a big love of Anything Goes. I'd love to play Reno Sweeney and Anything Goes.
>> Marco Timpano: I would sing that Razzle Dazzle song. That's from Chicago, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Razzle Dazzle's from Chicago, too. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that. Is that Jerry Orbach's role?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Okay, That's.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's the. That's the one.
>> Amanda Barker: And the movie was Pretty Woman there. What's his name?
>> Marco Timpano: Richard Gere.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Richard.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like we're playing a game
>> Amanda Barker: of, like, definitely playing a game of celebrity. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: This is the type of episode that drives Bill and. To Newey.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, He's. He's. He's not happy with anything right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: He's just shouting.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a musical you haven't seen that you'd like to see?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, all of them. Like, any musical I haven't seen, I'd like to see. I never saw Evan Hansen, and I'm kind of mad because I could have. I was right next to it. It just opened. No one was talking about it. No one had heard of it. It had opened that week. So I could have seen that with Benjamin Platt or whatever his name is. But I was working in New York, and work kind of came first.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't know. So, yeah, recently, something Rotten, I've heard is really fun. That's a Stratford this year, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I'd like to see that.
>> Amanda Barker: Or what? Did it already happen? I don't even know if. Anyways, if it is coming, we should go see it. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I like that idea. All right. Maybe we'll. We'll come back with a report on some musicals we've seen. We said the last one I saw was, like, Water for. For Elephants. Is that what it's called?
>> Amanda Barker: Not like. Like, chocolate, Water for Elephants.
>> Marco Timpano: Like chocolate, Water for Elephants.
>> Amanda Barker: Water for Elephants.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, just water for elements.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It had more promise.
>> Marco Timpano: I'd like to see, like, Water for Chocolate, the musical.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never seen that. I don't know that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember enjoying it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was. It was all the rage in the late 90s, but I don't know. People love that movie. Water for Elephants had really good parts in it that I really enjoyed, but it could have done more.
>> Marco Timpano: It was all the in between. I want to see more opera. So there's an opera coming to town that I want to see.
>> Amanda Barker: Which one?
>> Marco Timpano: Madame Butterfly. Ever heard of it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Okay,
>> Marco Timpano: so there's that.
>> Amanda Barker: There's actually a musical based on Madame Butterfly, isn't there?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of what it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't it Miss Saigon?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Miss Saigon. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go, folks. Let us know what your favorite musical is. We'd love to hear it. Or if there's a musical you saw with someone somewhat famous in it. And we'll.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we want to hear about the touring production and the random person that was starring in it.
>> Marco Timpano: That would be so much fun.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, totally.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we had fun on this episode, and I hope you were able to have fun. And if not have fun, I hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Crystals, Gems & Metamorphic Rock
Original airdate: March 6, 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less and fascinating so you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna.
>> Marco Timpano: Nidhi, I took a course today on crystals and rocks.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fascinating.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I thought our listeners might find it relaxing, so. And I noticed that there was a rock store near my house that was offering this sort of introductory course on various crystals and gems and rocks and whatnot. And I thought, you know, I don't know much about that, so maybe I'll take a course in that. And I know that some people will use rocks or gems or crystals in particular to help them get over stressful events or, or to bring money or abundance or even love into their lives. Almost like a talisman or a sort of energy energy stone or something like
>> Nidhi Khanna: the crystal healing that one does sometimes at a naturopathic type of doctor or spa.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, there's a lot of wives tales around certain crystals and what, like amber to put amber around a child when they're teething or as a sign of protection have you ever heard of that?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not heard of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Actually, I didn't hear of that either. And then my wife, Amanda, pointed out that we saw a child. And I was like, why is there a amber necklace around that infant? And she said, the child is probably teething, and it's something that supposedly alleviates the pain of teething in children. And so the more I sort of thought or inquired about this, the more it was coming into my life. And when I saw that the rock store near my home was offering a course, I said, well, I think I'll take it. And then you and I could converse about it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'd like to know a little bit more about what you learned on this course, Marco, because my only experience with crystals has been I did have some crystal healing once done on me to open up my chakras, and I don't know if it actually did anything.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm gonna ask you about that, because what's funny is I've never had crystal healing. I just took this course on a whim. You know, it's interesting because it brought up some things that we may have learned back in grade school. For example, we got into rocks, and the different. And the three different types of rock, Ignatius. Sedimentary and metamorphic rock. And I don't know if you recall right, what each one of those means.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I think sedimentary rock is sort of like the rock that you would find in a cliff, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great. That's a great assumption you made, because it is often found in cliffs because it's formed by the material being deposited on top of each other. So, for example, sand being deposited in rock on top of it, and more sand and whatnot. So, for example, sandstone, which is a sedimentary rock, you can actually see the layers of sand that comprise sandstone. So over the years, as each layer builds up, builds on another, it kind of compresses and then becomes a rock. So.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And isn't that how they tell how. Geologists, I guess, would tell how old the Earth is or a particular era in the Earth's history?
>> Marco Timpano: I believe so now, we didn't get into that sort of aspect of it, but much like the rings of a tree, I would imagine you would be able to tell how old various types of sedimentary rock is. And like, you know, gypsum, Epsom salt, shale, even marble are examples of sedimentary rocks.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's fascinating, Marco. And so does that mean you mentioned Morpheus rock?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And other than being a very villainous superhero, I would assume that Morpheus rock is sort of like volcanic rock.
>> Marco Timpano: You would be wrong.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So Ignatius rock is made up from the cooling and the cooling of magma.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And then when it solidifies, it becomes various types of rock. And you know, things like obsidian. Have you ever seen obsidian? It's a really shiny black. It almost looks like glass.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: That's when magma cools. It becomes obsidian or some forms of magma when they cool. Granite, pumice. You know, the stone that you often. People will often use to clean their feet. Clean their feet or. Yeah, I guess you rub the stone against hard skin and it helps to peel it away. These are examples of Ignatius rock. Now, metamorphic rocks are rocks that have had some sort of change. So there are rocks that were like originally Ignatius or sedimentary. So partly you are right, because if they were Ignatius, they would have been from the earth's crust, in other words, from magma and whatnot. But they were changed from heat or pressure. So over many thousands of years, when the Earth's crust would move would cause these rocks to get squeezed. So that sort of heat from the pressure of those rocks sort of being smushed together. And I don't use the word smushed very often, but when I do, I use it in its proper context.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, you do.
>> Marco Timpano: And examples of that would be limestone and marble as well. So different types of marble are from metamorphic rock.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So was the point of the course to discern different rock formations or was it to you how you would use those rocks in a particular context?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it began. It's sort of. I don't want to say the history, but it's really got really into depth with various aspects of geology, so from different, different types of rocks to the periodic table. Which brings me to the next thing I wanted to ask you. Do you know any elements from the periodic table?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco? I can recite the first little bit of the periodic table.
>> Marco Timpano: Really? And do you have like a. A method to recite it or is it just in your short, long term memory?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's in my long term memory because when I was in high school, I was very, very science focused and we had to learn the elements of the periodic table. So I believe I'll see how far I can get.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I might get it wrong.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's fine. This is not a test. We're not seeing how well you do in order to get into a science based field or university. This is more of a. Let's see what you can recall with regards to the periodic table.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, so let us begin. Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, and I am
>> Marco Timpano: following on the periodic table, as you say. So that's number four.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. So hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, Neon. Now is where it gets confusing. So neon is an inert gas, Marco. So it has to be one of the first. I think it's a second row, first element. Okay, so neon. Sodium.
>> Marco Timpano: You got it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I did.
>> Marco Timpano: Sodium, which is. It's periodic.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Na.
>> Marco Timpano: You're right. Thank you. So.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sodium. So it has to be a plus two or a minus two element, and
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know what that means in the slightest. Sodium is the 11th one, which you did get correctly.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. I know chlorine's in that line.
>> Marco Timpano: Chlorine is not the 12th. It's 17, but 17.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So what comes next?
>> Marco Timpano: Magnesium.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Magnesium.
>> Marco Timpano: So we'll stop there at 12, because
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm sure calcium comes after somewhere.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, it does.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think it's 13, but unless calcium is al. As it's.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, that's aluminum.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it's not number 13. Unfortunately, I don't. I only have a very small periodic table of elements in front of me, and it doesn't give me all. All the. All the names of it. Just. Just the.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fair enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So. Well, that's fascinating. I'm. I applaud you, nid, for knowing that, because I certainly did not know any of them.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No.
>> Marco Timpano: At least not in the order. I do know them. If you were to.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As elements.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, as elements. Correct. But so we got into a lot of sort of the. The nitty gritty with regards to rocks and crystals and the difference between a rock and a crystal. And in this case, when they're talking about crystal, they're not talking about, you know, how you can get crystal jewelry or crystal things to hang in your window. Swarovski makes a lot of crystal, which is lead in glass. So it refracts light. Here we're talking about crystals that you may have seen or you'll see in jewelry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So a lot of people have certain types of jewelry that have crystals, and those crystals have different properties. So, for example, are you familiar with blue topaz?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am.
>> Marco Timpano: So blue topaz would be one of those crystals and its properties. And once again, this is just sort of a. A simple sort of look at blue topaz in it. If you were to wear blue topaz, even though it's sort of general properties are this, it might be different for you, because the way you connect with that particular crystal may be very different than the way I connect the energy and because crystals have minerals in them which are found in our bodies, depending on how you. The minerals in your bodies in your body chemically react. Reacts with that crystal will bring up different things.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Whether or not you believe that is entirely up to you. And certainly we here at the Insomnia Project aren't telling you whether or not this is true or not. It just happens to be based on a course that I took today, so. Blue topaz. Now, do you own any blue topaz?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't. I have rose quartz. Is that a crystal?
>> Marco Timpano: It is. And I'll tell you more about rose quartz in a minute. Okay, let me just make sure I write that down or I'll forget as I go through some of these. So blue topaz is one that we're gonna need to get you nitty.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And we're gonna get for myself as well, because its properties are communication. So expressing yourself, both speaking and writing. So that would be a great thing to be wearing when we're doing this show, which we're not. Are you wearing any crystals right now?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm not wearing any crystals. But, Marco, that would be a fascinating experiment to try. Maybe if next time we could get some blue topaz and sort of see if there's any difference in our communication style or our energy with the show. That would be. That would be a fascinating experiment to conduct.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what? We will do that for the next show, because I know that Amanda, my wife, has a few pieces of blue topaz, and I know that because I bought them for her.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll just rate her jewelry box while she's away, and it's perfect. And wear them. You were asking about rose quartz. So rose quartz is a pink variety of quartz. So if you're not as. As the name would suggest, it's a very light pink stone, and it's the universal love stone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: It restores both trust and harmony in relationships. So if you are thinking you want to find love or restore love or just reconnect with your loved ones, grab yourself some rose quartz. Put it in your pocket. I was also told.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sorry. It's also good to love yourself. I believe for people who have certain confidence issues or, you know, you. You hold some rose quartz, and it's supposed to help you heal yourself.
>> Marco Timpano: Look at you. Earlier, you said you didn't know anything about crystals, but in fact, you do have some.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I can't believe that.
>> Marco Timpano: The other thing about rose quartz, it's. Someone told me that it's great to have at your bedside. It's a good stone to have at your bedside. So it's a really interesting thing to to note. Anyways, another popular crystal and I'll only go through a couple nitty because I don't think we have to go through the entire. There's so many. There's over 3,000 different rocks and crystals that we've identified so far and there's probably even more garnet. Now do you know what a garnet looks like?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is that sort of like a deep reddish purpley stone?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, it's a really deep red stone and it's an energizing stone and it also is a protective stone and way back in the day it was believed that if you wore garnet it protected you from the evil eye. Ah, so that's a interesting thing. And I mentioned the more popular stones that you'll find in jewelry and these are the ones I've sort of picked randomly. But if there's a stone that you come think of Nidhi, feel free to mention it and we'll see if we can figure out what the properties of that particular stone are.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I wonder stones like now is opal a stone?
>> Marco Timpano: It definitely is. It definitely is a stone. It's a, it's a, it's a crystal.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know what's interesting about opal? I believe it's the stone for the birth month of October and I believe opal is mined primarily in Australia or they have a large sort of opal mines and a lot of opals come from Australia.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And the old wives tale with opal is that only people who are born in October should be wearing opal.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know they say a similar thing
>> Marco Timpano: about blue sapphire which is September's birthstone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh interesting. So blue sapphire is a very powerful stone and it can either give you tremendous amounts of good fortune and luck or if worn by the wrong person and it has a adverse effect. As you were mentioning before, different stones can have different impacts. If it has an adverse respect
>> Marco Timpano: it
>> Nidhi Khanna: can actually destroy a person.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. That's how powerful that stone is.
>> Marco Timpano: So be wary of blue sapphire. Of blue sapphire and opal. According to wives tales now its primary element is oxygen. In opal. That is. That's one of the things I learned okay. On the course a lot of the time I actually tuned out a bit Nidhi, because did you pay for this course? I did. But you know sometimes you take a course and the teacher is energetic and really involved and you really connect with them.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: And sometimes you don't.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So was there what was the particular takeaway or one or two things that you just found learnings or fascinating facts that you said, okay, you know what? This course was worth it.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I think what I found interesting was that because our bodies are made up with minerals, and obviously these crystals are made up with minerals, we will connect with the stone. And depending on the minerals that one has in their body, the amount or the lack of, you'll connect to different crystals and stones because of that. That's one of the takeaways I found that was very interesting. I will say, though, if I was to. If I was to say two stones that I think everyone should have based on the properties that were discussed, one would be. And I'm going to ask you if you know what this stone looks like, and I'll correct it if you don't, or I'll mention what it is. Citrine.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, you love this stone.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Love by Amanda citrine all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Isn't it sort of orangey, kind of in that shade of family?
>> Marco Timpano: Correct. It's a very, very pale, pale orange crystal. And the reason I buy Amanda citrine is because I read that it brings abundance in particular with money and security with regards to employment and just abundance in every shape and form. So not only monetary abundance, but health, love, you name it, citrine brings abundance. And the reason I purchased so much citrine for Amanda is because I read that somewhere and I happened to find a citrine ring that was on sale. So I said, well, it certainly couldn't hurt. I don't know if I believe it or not, but let me. Let me buy her this ring and see what happens. And actually, to be truthful, that's not. That's not how it started. We happen to be in one of those stores that. That sells, you know, incense and potpourri. Potpourri and. And crystals and teas and things like that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And they happen to have candles on sale.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So we looked at the section because Amanda wanted a candle. This was in Thunder Bay. She was working in Thunder Bay. We looked at the candles that were on sale, and there were candles that had crystals in them. So, like, for example, I think there was one that had garnet in it. We mentioned garnet. I think one had amethyst and one had soledite or something. And we were looking at the different properties that it had. And it just so happened to have citrine, the one we purchased because it said abundance. We're like, let's buy this citrine candle. So we bought that, Amanda lit it. And the day she lit it, she got an offer for another job. So we saw, we thought, wow, that's an awesome coincident. And then I came home and she was still working in Thunder Bay. And I have been waiting for a particular check for almost four months. And I was like, I'm gonna have to call and find out when this check is going to come. And that day I went to the mailbox and there was a check. So I called him and I said, did you happen to light the candle? She said, I lit it maybe two minutes ago. Why do you ask? And I said, I just went to the mailbox and I got this, I got this, this jack that I'd been waiting for. So then I found a ring with citrine and I gave it to Amanda and she thought it was really pretty. And so she said, I didn't, I never would have bought this stone. But on my hand it looks really nice. And because of that, every time I sort of see citrine, it's not a very expensive crystal, especially in jewelry. So I tend to buy her. And you know, I say if it brings abundance, great. And if it, it doesn't, well, at least she has a pretty ring or, or earrings or necklace. The last stone I'll mention is, and I don't know if I'm saying this
>> Nidhi Khanna: right, Piridot, I've never heard of that, that stone.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's pure dough. Please forgive me if I've said it incorrectly, but it's a really light green. Almost like a, a bottle green stone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The, like an emerald type?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, it's, it's lighter in color. Like. Oh, maybe more like a lime green. Sorry, I think I, I gave the wrong color.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It's actually, I think it's, you know, the perfect. It's a chatruse colored stone. A light chatre colored stone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay. And when do you get to use the word chatruse?
>> Marco Timpano: I guess only when you like to have a drink of Chatruse or when you're mentioning that potential color of green. There you go. Its properties are that it alleviates jealousy, spite, bitterness and hatred. So it's a great stone to give
>> Nidhi Khanna: someone who might not like you, you
>> Marco Timpano: have a problem with. It also reduces stress, anger and guilt.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now that's interesting because don't they say that jealousy is a green eyed.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, they do, don't they?
>> Nidhi Khanna: And here we have a greenish colored stone to alleviate jealous tendencies in people.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Let me ask you this. So if there Was one gemstone or crystal that you have a lot of, what would that be? And it could be like diamonds or pearls or any of those things.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I would have to say diamonds because I'm not very big on actual gemstone necklaces. Like, my mother loves gems like gemstone necklaces, like the big chunky stones, and it's just not my thing. However, I love diamonds.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Particularly the ones that my mom has in her jewelry that I tend to braid and take as my own.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I've been very fortunate to be able to have the diamonds in my repertoire. And you've seen a couple of the rings that I have. I just find them very. It makes me feel very elegant when, without trying, very difficult.
>> Marco Timpano: You have a small ring.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That has the brightest diamond. Yeah. The solar. You have the. It has the brightest diamond. So obviously it was cut. And the quality of that diamond must be superb because every time you wear it, I spot it. Do you have pearls?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do. So just to backtrack on the diamonds for a second, the diamonds were. They're cut and set in India. Oh, so it's.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it a different style of cutting and setting?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, I think it's just probably cheaper than getting a diamond cut and set here. But I think because you have. Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: India has great craftsmen when it comes to jewelry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, that's what I was going to say. Every family kind of has their family jewelry.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Whereas. So you wouldn't really go to, you know, you wouldn't go to Tiffany's or to other diamonds, wherever it may be. You'd actually go to your family jeweler, which is why the craftsmanship is a lot different because you also get to design things yourself so you can have things that are custom made.
>> Marco Timpano: And when I was in India, I noticed that there was a lot of jewelers in a lot of places where you could buy, like different types of bracelets and bangles and stuff. And. And people wore. Women wore a lot of jewelry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely, absolutely. So that's sort of my fascination with diamonds. But it was only. It's only been recent as I got older and. And. But in terms of pearls, to answer your question, I do have pearl. I have a few pearl sets. We went to China when I was quite young and we were able to get to actually go to a pearl making factory to see how pearls were made, which was really interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, they say about pearls, it should be the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, I didn't know.
>> Marco Timpano: And that'll be the last thing we talk about on this particular episode. So we want to thank our listeners.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We, as always, are broadcasting from Toronto and the Insomnia Project is produced by drumcast Productions. Thank you for listening and join us next time.
Original airdate: March 6, 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less and fascinating so you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna.
>> Marco Timpano: Nidhi, I took a course today on crystals and rocks.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fascinating.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I thought our listeners might find it relaxing, so. And I noticed that there was a rock store near my house that was offering this sort of introductory course on various crystals and gems and rocks and whatnot. And I thought, you know, I don't know much about that, so maybe I'll take a course in that. And I know that some people will use rocks or gems or crystals in particular to help them get over stressful events or, or to bring money or abundance or even love into their lives. Almost like a talisman or a sort of energy energy stone or something like
>> Nidhi Khanna: the crystal healing that one does sometimes at a naturopathic type of doctor or spa.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, there's a lot of wives tales around certain crystals and what, like amber to put amber around a child when they're teething or as a sign of protection have you ever heard of that?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not heard of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Actually, I didn't hear of that either. And then my wife, Amanda, pointed out that we saw a child. And I was like, why is there a amber necklace around that infant? And she said, the child is probably teething, and it's something that supposedly alleviates the pain of teething in children. And so the more I sort of thought or inquired about this, the more it was coming into my life. And when I saw that the rock store near my home was offering a course, I said, well, I think I'll take it. And then you and I could converse about it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'd like to know a little bit more about what you learned on this course, Marco, because my only experience with crystals has been I did have some crystal healing once done on me to open up my chakras, and I don't know if it actually did anything.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm gonna ask you about that, because what's funny is I've never had crystal healing. I just took this course on a whim. You know, it's interesting because it brought up some things that we may have learned back in grade school. For example, we got into rocks, and the different. And the three different types of rock, Ignatius. Sedimentary and metamorphic rock. And I don't know if you recall right, what each one of those means.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I think sedimentary rock is sort of like the rock that you would find in a cliff, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great. That's a great assumption you made, because it is often found in cliffs because it's formed by the material being deposited on top of each other. So, for example, sand being deposited in rock on top of it, and more sand and whatnot. So, for example, sandstone, which is a sedimentary rock, you can actually see the layers of sand that comprise sandstone. So over the years, as each layer builds up, builds on another, it kind of compresses and then becomes a rock. So.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And isn't that how they tell how. Geologists, I guess, would tell how old the Earth is or a particular era in the Earth's history?
>> Marco Timpano: I believe so now, we didn't get into that sort of aspect of it, but much like the rings of a tree, I would imagine you would be able to tell how old various types of sedimentary rock is. And like, you know, gypsum, Epsom salt, shale, even marble are examples of sedimentary rocks.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's fascinating, Marco. And so does that mean you mentioned Morpheus rock?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And other than being a very villainous superhero, I would assume that Morpheus rock is sort of like volcanic rock.
>> Marco Timpano: You would be wrong.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So Ignatius rock is made up from the cooling and the cooling of magma.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And then when it solidifies, it becomes various types of rock. And you know, things like obsidian. Have you ever seen obsidian? It's a really shiny black. It almost looks like glass.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: That's when magma cools. It becomes obsidian or some forms of magma when they cool. Granite, pumice. You know, the stone that you often. People will often use to clean their feet. Clean their feet or. Yeah, I guess you rub the stone against hard skin and it helps to peel it away. These are examples of Ignatius rock. Now, metamorphic rocks are rocks that have had some sort of change. So there are rocks that were like originally Ignatius or sedimentary. So partly you are right, because if they were Ignatius, they would have been from the earth's crust, in other words, from magma and whatnot. But they were changed from heat or pressure. So over many thousands of years, when the Earth's crust would move would cause these rocks to get squeezed. So that sort of heat from the pressure of those rocks sort of being smushed together. And I don't use the word smushed very often, but when I do, I use it in its proper context.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, you do.
>> Marco Timpano: And examples of that would be limestone and marble as well. So different types of marble are from metamorphic rock.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So was the point of the course to discern different rock formations or was it to you how you would use those rocks in a particular context?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it began. It's sort of. I don't want to say the history, but it's really got really into depth with various aspects of geology, so from different, different types of rocks to the periodic table. Which brings me to the next thing I wanted to ask you. Do you know any elements from the periodic table?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco? I can recite the first little bit of the periodic table.
>> Marco Timpano: Really? And do you have like a. A method to recite it or is it just in your short, long term memory?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's in my long term memory because when I was in high school, I was very, very science focused and we had to learn the elements of the periodic table. So I believe I'll see how far I can get.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I might get it wrong.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's fine. This is not a test. We're not seeing how well you do in order to get into a science based field or university. This is more of a. Let's see what you can recall with regards to the periodic table.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, so let us begin. Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, and I am
>> Marco Timpano: following on the periodic table, as you say. So that's number four.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. So hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, Neon. Now is where it gets confusing. So neon is an inert gas, Marco. So it has to be one of the first. I think it's a second row, first element. Okay, so neon. Sodium.
>> Marco Timpano: You got it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I did.
>> Marco Timpano: Sodium, which is. It's periodic.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Na.
>> Marco Timpano: You're right. Thank you. So.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sodium. So it has to be a plus two or a minus two element, and
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know what that means in the slightest. Sodium is the 11th one, which you did get correctly.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. I know chlorine's in that line.
>> Marco Timpano: Chlorine is not the 12th. It's 17, but 17.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So what comes next?
>> Marco Timpano: Magnesium.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Magnesium.
>> Marco Timpano: So we'll stop there at 12, because
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm sure calcium comes after somewhere.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, it does.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think it's 13, but unless calcium is al. As it's.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, that's aluminum.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it's not number 13. Unfortunately, I don't. I only have a very small periodic table of elements in front of me, and it doesn't give me all. All the. All the names of it. Just. Just the.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fair enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So. Well, that's fascinating. I'm. I applaud you, nid, for knowing that, because I certainly did not know any of them.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No.
>> Marco Timpano: At least not in the order. I do know them. If you were to.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As elements.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, as elements. Correct. But so we got into a lot of sort of the. The nitty gritty with regards to rocks and crystals and the difference between a rock and a crystal. And in this case, when they're talking about crystal, they're not talking about, you know, how you can get crystal jewelry or crystal things to hang in your window. Swarovski makes a lot of crystal, which is lead in glass. So it refracts light. Here we're talking about crystals that you may have seen or you'll see in jewelry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So a lot of people have certain types of jewelry that have crystals, and those crystals have different properties. So, for example, are you familiar with blue topaz?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am.
>> Marco Timpano: So blue topaz would be one of those crystals and its properties. And once again, this is just sort of a. A simple sort of look at blue topaz in it. If you were to wear blue topaz, even though it's sort of general properties are this, it might be different for you, because the way you connect with that particular crystal may be very different than the way I connect the energy and because crystals have minerals in them which are found in our bodies, depending on how you. The minerals in your bodies in your body chemically react. Reacts with that crystal will bring up different things.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Whether or not you believe that is entirely up to you. And certainly we here at the Insomnia Project aren't telling you whether or not this is true or not. It just happens to be based on a course that I took today, so. Blue topaz. Now, do you own any blue topaz?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't. I have rose quartz. Is that a crystal?
>> Marco Timpano: It is. And I'll tell you more about rose quartz in a minute. Okay, let me just make sure I write that down or I'll forget as I go through some of these. So blue topaz is one that we're gonna need to get you nitty.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And we're gonna get for myself as well, because its properties are communication. So expressing yourself, both speaking and writing. So that would be a great thing to be wearing when we're doing this show, which we're not. Are you wearing any crystals right now?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm not wearing any crystals. But, Marco, that would be a fascinating experiment to try. Maybe if next time we could get some blue topaz and sort of see if there's any difference in our communication style or our energy with the show. That would be. That would be a fascinating experiment to conduct.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what? We will do that for the next show, because I know that Amanda, my wife, has a few pieces of blue topaz, and I know that because I bought them for her.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll just rate her jewelry box while she's away, and it's perfect. And wear them. You were asking about rose quartz. So rose quartz is a pink variety of quartz. So if you're not as. As the name would suggest, it's a very light pink stone, and it's the universal love stone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: It restores both trust and harmony in relationships. So if you are thinking you want to find love or restore love or just reconnect with your loved ones, grab yourself some rose quartz. Put it in your pocket. I was also told.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sorry. It's also good to love yourself. I believe for people who have certain confidence issues or, you know, you. You hold some rose quartz, and it's supposed to help you heal yourself.
>> Marco Timpano: Look at you. Earlier, you said you didn't know anything about crystals, but in fact, you do have some.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I can't believe that.
>> Marco Timpano: The other thing about rose quartz, it's. Someone told me that it's great to have at your bedside. It's a good stone to have at your bedside. So it's a really interesting thing to to note. Anyways, another popular crystal and I'll only go through a couple nitty because I don't think we have to go through the entire. There's so many. There's over 3,000 different rocks and crystals that we've identified so far and there's probably even more garnet. Now do you know what a garnet looks like?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is that sort of like a deep reddish purpley stone?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, it's a really deep red stone and it's an energizing stone and it also is a protective stone and way back in the day it was believed that if you wore garnet it protected you from the evil eye. Ah, so that's a interesting thing. And I mentioned the more popular stones that you'll find in jewelry and these are the ones I've sort of picked randomly. But if there's a stone that you come think of Nidhi, feel free to mention it and we'll see if we can figure out what the properties of that particular stone are.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I wonder stones like now is opal a stone?
>> Marco Timpano: It definitely is. It definitely is a stone. It's a, it's a, it's a crystal.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know what's interesting about opal? I believe it's the stone for the birth month of October and I believe opal is mined primarily in Australia or they have a large sort of opal mines and a lot of opals come from Australia.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And the old wives tale with opal is that only people who are born in October should be wearing opal.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know they say a similar thing
>> Marco Timpano: about blue sapphire which is September's birthstone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh interesting. So blue sapphire is a very powerful stone and it can either give you tremendous amounts of good fortune and luck or if worn by the wrong person and it has a adverse effect. As you were mentioning before, different stones can have different impacts. If it has an adverse respect
>> Marco Timpano: it
>> Nidhi Khanna: can actually destroy a person.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. That's how powerful that stone is.
>> Marco Timpano: So be wary of blue sapphire. Of blue sapphire and opal. According to wives tales now its primary element is oxygen. In opal. That is. That's one of the things I learned okay. On the course a lot of the time I actually tuned out a bit Nidhi, because did you pay for this course? I did. But you know sometimes you take a course and the teacher is energetic and really involved and you really connect with them.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: And sometimes you don't.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So was there what was the particular takeaway or one or two things that you just found learnings or fascinating facts that you said, okay, you know what? This course was worth it.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I think what I found interesting was that because our bodies are made up with minerals, and obviously these crystals are made up with minerals, we will connect with the stone. And depending on the minerals that one has in their body, the amount or the lack of, you'll connect to different crystals and stones because of that. That's one of the takeaways I found that was very interesting. I will say, though, if I was to. If I was to say two stones that I think everyone should have based on the properties that were discussed, one would be. And I'm going to ask you if you know what this stone looks like, and I'll correct it if you don't, or I'll mention what it is. Citrine.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, you love this stone.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Love by Amanda citrine all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Isn't it sort of orangey, kind of in that shade of family?
>> Marco Timpano: Correct. It's a very, very pale, pale orange crystal. And the reason I buy Amanda citrine is because I read that it brings abundance in particular with money and security with regards to employment and just abundance in every shape and form. So not only monetary abundance, but health, love, you name it, citrine brings abundance. And the reason I purchased so much citrine for Amanda is because I read that somewhere and I happened to find a citrine ring that was on sale. So I said, well, it certainly couldn't hurt. I don't know if I believe it or not, but let me. Let me buy her this ring and see what happens. And actually, to be truthful, that's not. That's not how it started. We happen to be in one of those stores that. That sells, you know, incense and potpourri. Potpourri and. And crystals and teas and things like that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And they happen to have candles on sale.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So we looked at the section because Amanda wanted a candle. This was in Thunder Bay. She was working in Thunder Bay. We looked at the candles that were on sale, and there were candles that had crystals in them. So, like, for example, I think there was one that had garnet in it. We mentioned garnet. I think one had amethyst and one had soledite or something. And we were looking at the different properties that it had. And it just so happened to have citrine, the one we purchased because it said abundance. We're like, let's buy this citrine candle. So we bought that, Amanda lit it. And the day she lit it, she got an offer for another job. So we saw, we thought, wow, that's an awesome coincident. And then I came home and she was still working in Thunder Bay. And I have been waiting for a particular check for almost four months. And I was like, I'm gonna have to call and find out when this check is going to come. And that day I went to the mailbox and there was a check. So I called him and I said, did you happen to light the candle? She said, I lit it maybe two minutes ago. Why do you ask? And I said, I just went to the mailbox and I got this, I got this, this jack that I'd been waiting for. So then I found a ring with citrine and I gave it to Amanda and she thought it was really pretty. And so she said, I didn't, I never would have bought this stone. But on my hand it looks really nice. And because of that, every time I sort of see citrine, it's not a very expensive crystal, especially in jewelry. So I tend to buy her. And you know, I say if it brings abundance, great. And if it, it doesn't, well, at least she has a pretty ring or, or earrings or necklace. The last stone I'll mention is, and I don't know if I'm saying this
>> Nidhi Khanna: right, Piridot, I've never heard of that, that stone.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's pure dough. Please forgive me if I've said it incorrectly, but it's a really light green. Almost like a, a bottle green stone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The, like an emerald type?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, it's, it's lighter in color. Like. Oh, maybe more like a lime green. Sorry, I think I, I gave the wrong color.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It's actually, I think it's, you know, the perfect. It's a chatruse colored stone. A light chatre colored stone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay. And when do you get to use the word chatruse?
>> Marco Timpano: I guess only when you like to have a drink of Chatruse or when you're mentioning that potential color of green. There you go. Its properties are that it alleviates jealousy, spite, bitterness and hatred. So it's a great stone to give
>> Nidhi Khanna: someone who might not like you, you
>> Marco Timpano: have a problem with. It also reduces stress, anger and guilt.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now that's interesting because don't they say that jealousy is a green eyed.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, they do, don't they?
>> Nidhi Khanna: And here we have a greenish colored stone to alleviate jealous tendencies in people.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Let me ask you this. So if there Was one gemstone or crystal that you have a lot of, what would that be? And it could be like diamonds or pearls or any of those things.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I would have to say diamonds because I'm not very big on actual gemstone necklaces. Like, my mother loves gems like gemstone necklaces, like the big chunky stones, and it's just not my thing. However, I love diamonds.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Particularly the ones that my mom has in her jewelry that I tend to braid and take as my own.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I've been very fortunate to be able to have the diamonds in my repertoire. And you've seen a couple of the rings that I have. I just find them very. It makes me feel very elegant when, without trying, very difficult.
>> Marco Timpano: You have a small ring.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That has the brightest diamond. Yeah. The solar. You have the. It has the brightest diamond. So obviously it was cut. And the quality of that diamond must be superb because every time you wear it, I spot it. Do you have pearls?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do. So just to backtrack on the diamonds for a second, the diamonds were. They're cut and set in India. Oh, so it's.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it a different style of cutting and setting?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, I think it's just probably cheaper than getting a diamond cut and set here. But I think because you have. Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: India has great craftsmen when it comes to jewelry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, that's what I was going to say. Every family kind of has their family jewelry.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Whereas. So you wouldn't really go to, you know, you wouldn't go to Tiffany's or to other diamonds, wherever it may be. You'd actually go to your family jeweler, which is why the craftsmanship is a lot different because you also get to design things yourself so you can have things that are custom made.
>> Marco Timpano: And when I was in India, I noticed that there was a lot of jewelers in a lot of places where you could buy, like different types of bracelets and bangles and stuff. And. And people wore. Women wore a lot of jewelry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely, absolutely. So that's sort of my fascination with diamonds. But it was only. It's only been recent as I got older and. And. But in terms of pearls, to answer your question, I do have pearl. I have a few pearl sets. We went to China when I was quite young and we were able to get to actually go to a pearl making factory to see how pearls were made, which was really interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, they say about pearls, it should be the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, I didn't know.
>> Marco Timpano: And that'll be the last thing we talk about on this particular episode. So we want to thank our listeners.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We, as always, are broadcasting from Toronto and the Insomnia Project is produced by drumcast Productions. Thank you for listening and join us next time.
Poetry, Peonies, and Peaceful Slumber
(Original airdate: April 16, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that is designed to help you find your way to sleep possibly. And if it doesn't, that's okay too. You can just listen and calm and everything around you. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Parker. I'm sleepy.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you Amanda? Well, thank you for joining us both yourself who's sleepy, and our listeners who might be.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you for joining us both, myself who's sleepy, and our listeners who are
>> Marco Timpano: soon to be Amanda, I just read something that asked me what my favorite poem is and you know, and it says, do you have a favorite poem, poem, poet, etc. So I had to think and I was like, you know what? I remember really enjoying the poems of Irving Layton. Do you know Irving Layton?
>> Amanda Barker: Kind of.
>> Marco Timpano: He's a poet from Montreal who had. Who used a lot of satire in his works.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, right. In the like the 20s.
>> Marco Timpano: He was. No, I would say in the 40s, 50s, 60s, I think he did a
>> Amanda Barker: poem about William Ly and McKenzie King,
>> Marco Timpano: I wouldn't be surprised.
>> Amanda Barker: And he kind of made fun of him, if I'm thinking correctly, because William Lyon Mackenzie King, for those who don't know, or maybe you've heard the name, he was our third prime minister, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I think he was our third prime minister. And he was quite a colorful character. And so one of the things he said, and this would make sense if it was written in the 20s, but William Lyon Mackenzie King, when asked if he was going to send people off to war and conscription, I remember he said conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription. That was his big answer to that for the crowds. But that doesn't mean anything. But that was kind of how he was. And he also was really well known because he really consulted astrological charts to make decisions. And I think he, if I'm remembering correctly, not only did he have an astrologer that he would, you know, make decisions for the company based on this person's predictions, but then he believed his cat.
>> Marco Timpano: Who doesn't?
>> Amanda Barker: I might be making this up. I don't know. I think he consulted his mother. When his mother passed, he believed that she was in the spirit of his cat.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So then he would consult his cat and then when the cat died, he had like seances to bring the cat spirit to life to tell him how to lead the country or something. I might be making this up. I don't know. This is buried in my consciousness.
>> Marco Timpano: He was the 10th Prime Minister, I just looked it up.
>> Amanda Barker: So there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: But he was a prime minister. He served three consecutive terms, if that makes a difference to you. Yeah. So I love the satire of Irving Layton. And of course he was supposedly a predecessor or a teacher to Leonard Cohen, who I'm a big fan of as well. Who or what is your favorite poem?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: Or poet.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we've talked about it many times before. I do love Robert Frost. I know it's. That's a. Maybe not an obscure reference, you know, maybe that's a really well trod path to use his own imagery, but I really do love Robert Frost. So probably Robert Frost. Mary Oliver is also fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know who that is.
>> Amanda Barker: And I didn't know who she was until just recently. I don't read a lot of poetry. It's kind of sad. When I was a kid, I loved poetry and I would. I loved it a lot. I would write it, I would read it. And very often late at night, I'd be just kind of falling asleep, and then out of nowhere, this sort of lightning bolt would come to me of a poem, almost like a fully formed poem. And then I would have to write it down. If I didn't write it down, it'd be gone the next morning, so. But it would mean getting out of bed, which I never wanted to do, but I would jump out of bed and write it all down and write it down until it was out of me. And I heard once that Paul Simon wrote the Sound of Silence. Very recently, I heard this. He wrote the Sound of Silence that way.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: That. It just sort of struck him like a lightning bolt, fully. Like a fully formed song almost. And he just had to get it on paper and write it, both the lyrics and the melody. And he went into his bathroom at like, four in the morning in, I think, Brooklyn, where he lived.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Or Queens, and wrote it all down at 16 years old. The sound of silence.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. That's incredible.
>> Amanda Barker: So I'm no Paul Simon, I mean, because I couldn't do the melody. And I miss that because I don't really have those sort of strokes of creative inspiration. Have you had that?
>> Marco Timpano: Not when it comes to poetry. And I, you know, me and sleep. Right. So I'm not the type of person to wake up and write, write something down, though I probably should be.
>> Amanda Barker: But have you had that feeling of like, I've got to get this out of me, this thought, this poem, this idea?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, I have, and I do, and sometimes. And Amanda knows this about me, but listeners might not know. I like using cue cards. And so there's always a plethora of cue cards in our home that I'm constantly writing on or using for work. It's interesting when you see the work that I do. I often use a lot of highlighters. I use lots of certain pens. You know, I love certain pens that have a nice flow of ink. And so I'll make a lot of cue cards that indicate what I need to know. For a client today, I had a very challenging client. They weren't difficult at all. It was just a very heavy, heavy subject, I guess you could say. And so it was a. It was a long process and a long day with. With These clients who were lovely. But I used a lot of cue cards, and I have a lot of cue cards around the house. And today I couldn't find my white cue cards. I needed to white cue cards. And I was like, where are my. All my cue cards? And they're not where they usually are, which means I've used them. But I'll often write because, you know,
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not using them.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you. You don't really use cue cards.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I had a cue card agenda forced onto me when I was, like, in my. When I was, like, 13. It was like. They made me write speeches on cue cards. And I didn't want to.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: But we were told we had to. That the only proper way to give a speech was to have it on cue cards. So I would write out these speeches and cram them into cue cards, but I would much rather have paper.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: That's just who I am. And so to me, they feel less scattered, less messy. If I just have a couple good sheets of paper laid out in front of me. Can't always. You don't always have the space for that. But. Yeah, but they were always like, no, you have to write it on a cue card. And it has to be point form the touch points. I get the concept, and I did do it, but I always felt like it was, like, forced on me.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's more my style. The cue card and writing pointing form on cue card.
>> Amanda Barker: Who introduced a cue card? Was there also a cue card agenda in your school? No.
>> Marco Timpano: What's interesting, I never used cue cards in high school, grade school, or university.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: That's so funny. We didn't know this about each other. That I was forced to use. So much so that my entire Mount Allison application was all done on cue cards.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Embarrassingly so, I think. I don't know how they let me in.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, if you see a lot of my work today, I use a lot of highlighters. It's very colorful. It's very bubbly. You would think it was, you know, a grade schooler writing my notes. But I make very thorough notes, and they help me separate ideas and keep concepts together. So for me, that totally works. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, your notes are always great.
>> Marco Timpano: Mine are not going back to poetry and poems. One of my favorite poems that you could not fit on a cue card would be Leonard Cohen's A Thousand Kisses Deep, which is also a song, but it was a poem that had constant evolution because he was always adding to it. Yeah. And so one of my Favorites.
>> Amanda Barker: Can we read our poems or some of our favorite poems?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, we can, but that's a really long poem.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there's a poem called Wild Geese by Mary Oliver that I really, really.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know it off by heart?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. You can certainly read it.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to remember. Do you know any poems off by heart?
>> Marco Timpano: Just some dirty limericks, but I won't share those. I will say this. I will say this. Amanda, do you remember we went to a hotel, this really cool hotel, which we may have mentioned on the podcast, but it's worth mentioning again. And every room in this hotel, it was in Paris or it is in Paris, Ontario, Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: So funny. You're like, it was in Paris while it was in Paris, Ontario.
>> Marco Timpano: And some would say Paris, Ontario is as dynamic as Paris, France.
>> Amanda Barker: It's the Paris of Ontario.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it certainly is. So they have this wonderful hotel where every room is themed that of an author. So it has a theme that reflects an author.
>> Amanda Barker: Do we remember the name of the hotel?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: It begins with an A.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me see if I can find the Ambassador Hotel. I'm going to guess.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it's like a name like Alderwood or something. Let me look it up because I feel badly talking about it and not mentioning the name for one source.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Amanda's looking that up. I'll tell you this. So we went with some friends and we had two rooms and we were quite, you know, excited to see what author reflects our Arlington.
>> Amanda Barker: The Arlington.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what I. Yeah, that's what I meant, the Arlington. So. So our friends went in their room and they turned the key and they opened. And this was around Halloween too, so it was really interesting.
>> Amanda Barker: It was the weekend of Halloween. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So they opened the door and they had the Edgar Allan Poe room, which was wonderfully designed and certainly thematic for the weekend.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, there was a raven. Most definitely not a live one, but there's certainly a raven. And Poe's poetry. And it was done in sort of an eerie kind of dark lavender. Indigo, kind of the color of like twilight darkness.
>> Marco Timpano: It was very somber, too. It wasn't very somber. It felt very relaxing in a way.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of blacks, a lot of dark, sort of purples and lavenders. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And of course, Edgar Allan Poe is a poem.
>> Amanda Barker: Poet.
>> Marco Timpano: Poet who? A lot of people like. Like that poem you mentioned, the. The Raven.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he's a poet. I don't. I always think of him more of a short story guy, but yeah, I guess he was a poet.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't that the raven.
>> Amanda Barker: A poem.
>> Marco Timpano: His poem. I'm going to guess it is a short story poem. Whatever.
>> Amanda Barker: Cloth. The raven nevermore. Yeah. Because there's, there's repetition there.
>> Marco Timpano: So we were glad to see our friend's room. And they're like, okay, let's go to your room and see yours. And we were quite excited and we turned the key and. And open the room and it was the Maya Angelou room. So it wasn't thematic with Spooky, with Halloween.
>> Amanda Barker: So.
>> Marco Timpano: But I remember that we were hoping,
>> Amanda Barker: like, there's a Mary Shelley room, for example. So we're hoping for like a Frankenstein, you know, something Halloween.
>> Marco Timpano: And I remember that above the Bed was her poem Still I Rise. And they painted it on the. Above the bed frame. And it was actually quite, quite lovely to see that. It's like one of your favorite poems written above your bed. And it's an inspirational poem especially thematic with Rising from bed too. Like, I just thought it was really, really cool in that way.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's interesting. Yeah. Like, I took a writing. I took writing in university. I wrote poems in university a bit more. And we had all these different assignments of forms of poems that we had to write.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember in school, whenever we had to do a poem assignment, I would always choose the haiku because I thought it was easier to write because they were short poems, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: Harder to write.
>> Marco Timpano: It is harder to write, but not when you want to get it done quick and you don't care about what comes out as long as it meets that standard.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I loved it. I mean, any type of class or assignment where I had to write a poem was joy for me. I loved it.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what I love, too? When you're on the ttc, which is the Toronto transit system, for us, it's the subway system. They have reader poem or writer poems on the. I don't know what you call it. Like, the little area above where you sit. There's an area where you'll often see advertisements, but they'll also add writer poems. So if you're a writer, the tdc, you can submit your poem and it might be featured there. And you know when you're standing because there's no room to sit and you know you're waiting, you know you've got a bit of a way to go. Those, those can actually help pass the time and you can really appreciate it. You know, I read a haiku recently that was really beautiful. And I was like, oh, that's why these are so great. And I couldn't I couldn't tell. Tell it to you right now.
>> Amanda Barker: What? I really. Should I read Wild Geese?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course you should.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, let me just angle it so that it's a little more legible.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda's a great reader of poems. When she reads poems, I always enjoy that.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I do.
>> Amanda Barker: You think so? I don't know about that. Okay, let's see how good I am. I have no glasses on.
>> Marco Timpano: Should I honk while you're doing this? As a goose for geese? Just for sound effects.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Might be disruptive for our listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, so this is Mary Oliver's Wild Geese. I'm feeling a lot of pressure now that you said man is a really good poem. I mean, I'm just gonna read it.
>> Marco Timpano: Cold read.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a nice cold read of a warm poem. You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile, the world goes on. Meanwhile, the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are making moves across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains, and the rivers. Meanwhile, the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely the world offers itself to your imagination calls to you like wild geese, harsh and exciting, over and over, announcing your place in the family of things.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. Wild Geese by Mary Oliver. Very nice. Thank you, Amanda, for sharing that. I love hearing you read poems. We should have an episode where you just read a whole bunch of poems.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure. I could read all my favorite. I have a Robert Frost book upstairs. I can blow the dust off that.
>> Marco Timpano: Let us know if you'd like to hear that. And please share with us your favorite poem, and maybe we'll include that in the poetry readings that Amanda will do. On the podcast, we mention these things and then we forget about them, but if that's something you'd like to hear, let us know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you know, I was just. I got a text from an old friend today, and I haven't talked to her in a long time, and she. It just reminded me that she gave me a poetry book, and I'm trying to remember which one it was. I think it was poems. There was a Kennedy reference. So it was like the favorite poems of Jackie Kennedy or something like that, I think. I don't think it was just Robert Frost, although I associate Robert Frost with sort of that time frame, you know, 50s, 60s. But I don't. I think I have to think about it. I think she gave me. Yeah. I'll have to look anyway. I'll remember that to her. Although I don't know if I still have the book, but I probably do. I don't keep many books.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't? You don't.
>> Amanda Barker: I try really hard not to keep books.
>> Marco Timpano: The books you have are the books that you cherish and might go back to.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm. And there's very few. I mean, I'm reading Emily St. John Mandel's books right now and realizing that all of her books are interconnected in fairly thin threads. Like, they're not. It's more like little Easter eggs throughout the. Throughout the text of different characters or people that you might know sort of passing through other people's narratives, which is really interesting. That term Easter eggs. That's a video game term, right? People say that. Easter eggs.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a good. I don't know where did that.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, obviously we know Easter and Easter hunts and things like that. Egg hunts and finding treasure sort of buried. But we now say it for literary references and movie references. I'm just trying to think of where that came from.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know either.
>> Marco Timpano: I will read here Irving Layton's poem, Whatever else, Poetry is Freedom.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the title of it, and it's a cold read, so I'll read that just to share one of Irving Leighton's poems, Whatever Else, Poetry is Freedom. Forget the rhetoric, the trick of metaphor, the painted face it wears. Believe me, not for a moment did I think the word arrangement and sweet sounds were all. No, it's the naked face which I approach. Others may sing white peak. But I have seen it and prefer to celebrate the smell of human sweat. These poems. I guess I should stop here because these are my p**** fencing with death.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, what? People are falling asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't expect that turn.
>> Amanda Barker: People are trying to fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I just wasn't expecting.
>> Amanda Barker: You went crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't. It's just, you know, when you pull up a poetry. A poem called Whatever Else, Poetry is Freedom. You don't expect that.
>> Amanda Barker: You could have glossed over.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess I could have. Whatever Else, Poetry is Freedom. I shall not make it pretty with.
>> Amanda Barker: I looked up and he was kind of, like, smiling at the mic, not sure what to do, and I was like, what's going on?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. A little poetry can really affect emotions. Let me continue the poem and Finish it off.
>> Amanda Barker: I apologize to you and to Irving.
>> Marco Timpano: Whatever else, poetry is freedom. I shall not make it pretty with comely nouns, nor sweeten it. Please.
>> Amanda Barker: What's going on?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I think I'll just skip this part here.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. All right.
>> Marco Timpano: I think I'll just stop.
>> Amanda Barker: We see why you like Irvin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Not fit for sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So, anyways, yeah. Speaking of spring poetry and Easter eggs, our peonies, I saw.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, what?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. They're really. Yes, they're popping out and ready to.
>> Amanda Barker: Those poor peonies.
>> Marco Timpano: They've been through so much.
>> Amanda Barker: Every year they get moved. And the one thing you know about peonies is they hate to be moved.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's not, and trust me, we are not moving those peonies. The city has dug up our front area, our front yard, if you will, a couple of times last year, and moving our peonies. And I was not pleased, to say the least, with regards to that, Amanda. So hopefully our peonies, who are popping up right now, will delight us with flowers. You know, peonies is one of my favorite flowers, as are the crocuses that came up this spring. I love to see crocuses. And they were. They were popping their heads and they came in little waves, which I like. The yellow ones came first, then purple.
>> Amanda Barker: Yellow first, then purple. Now we're into the white.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I wasn't expecting that. Usually they. In the past, they've come out at the same time.
>> Amanda Barker: It's weird. Yeah. It's really been color based, and I don't know why that is, but it has exactly been that. Yeah. I don't know why I thought the white. When the yellow came up, I thought, oh, no, white. There's a yellow and a bit of purple and then a lot of purple. And I just thought, oh, we used to have white. I wonder what happened to them. And then up they came.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, they did.
>> Amanda Barker: Do crocuses come in other colors other than those?
>> Marco Timpano: No, not. Well, I mean, I think there's like, some mottled or, like, some crocuses that might have a little bit of pink tinge to them. But I do know the crocus is what provides you with saffron.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: The saffron crocus. So.
>> Amanda Barker: And then in between the crocuses and the peonies, we must mention that the tulips are coming up.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you seen tulips come up?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there's the leaves for the tulips.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
>> Amanda Barker: And then there's daffodils. And there is a daffodil that's going to emerge there. Every year we get one. We get the leaves of a bunch, the promise of a lot of daffodils, but usually only one kind of pokes its head through. But my mom had a good point. She was talking about my dad's gardening that he does and container gardening. And she said, you know, if you really want, because I give him seeds all the time, of different fruits and veg to grow in his little container garden that he has. And she said to him, you know, if you want these tomatoes and beans, whatever, if you want them to grow, you really have to invest in better soil.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Because he hasn't been. And so now, apparently my dad is buying, like, the Cadillac of soils. And she's like, okay, you need to calm down with the soil, because that's all he's doing because he's seeing the results. But I would say the same to you and I about that little patch out there. Like, I don't think we use the best soil.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to buy. You know, that's a really great point, Amanda. I'm going to buy soil this year and add some nice soil to that front mix or to that front.
>> Amanda Barker: Because, honestly, it gets dug up by the city. I mean, it's right on a sidewalk.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's also city soil. When they were digging it up, they were like, this is so hard. This is like. Yeah, really? It took. It took them three times to dig where they needed to dig.
>> Amanda Barker: It's amazing. Anything grows, to be honest, from there. So, yeah, they could probably use a little tlc. And then, of course, the lilacs. The lilacs will come next month.
>> Marco Timpano: My nephew was really interested because his mom pointed out the buds on our tree. And so that's going to be a lot of fun.
>> Amanda Barker: We do have a beautiful lilac tree. Thank you to Margaret, who planted it for this house. This was her house. She was the only other person who lived here, right?
>> Marco Timpano: No, there was, I think, one gentleman who lived here before that.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: I found his bank card in the wall one time. Yeah. So there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: In the wall. Do you think you put it there?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it was in the cupboard in kind of when I was resurfacing the cupboard or something. It must have fallen out of where he must have. In there or something. And.
>> Amanda Barker: But I mean, it was from a time when we had bank card. So he. Yeah, that's interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: It did look like an old rudimentary bank card.
>> Amanda Barker: The first generation.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember his Name Li or something like that. That E, L. And then lie. L, A, I. I think it was something like. Something like that is what I recall. But not. I will say this, Amanda, you mentioned your poem about wild geese. Or not your poem. A poem you like?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I did not write it, but yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And for those who don't live in North America, in particular our part of North America, you might not see this, but the Canadian geese are coming home. And when they fly above, because they come home for spring and summer, they form a V pattern, and you'll hear them honking in the distance.
>> Amanda Barker: It's quite a thing. Wild geese flying is quite a thing, honestly. There you hear them honking in the distance, and you just watch them as they come overhead. And this is when they fly, you know, now they're flying back in to our country, but also in the fall when they fly south, and then you stand underneath them and you just hear this incredible flapping of their wings. I love that sound. Just the flap, flap, flap of their wings. I don't know how to even. It's just the sound. It's a really gentle sound, so you have to. So flap. Doesn't quite encapsulated, but it's just the sound of, like, the wings pushing the air. And you can almost like a. I don't know. How would you describe it?
>> Marco Timpano: A ripple in the air? I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's almost like a mechanical. I don't know how to describe it. Yeah, the sound of geese flapping their wings. But it's a really cool sound. It's like a rush of air above you. I guess that's the best way I can put it.
>> Marco Timpano: The sound of the equinox, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I will.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. Well, on that note, I hope you will tell people about. About this podcast, let them know that we're here for them. The more listeners we have, the more we can produce. And that's Amanda yawning. So I think it's time we say good night. We hope you have a lovely rest of your day, evening or afternoon. And until next time, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: April 16, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that is designed to help you find your way to sleep possibly. And if it doesn't, that's okay too. You can just listen and calm and everything around you. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Parker. I'm sleepy.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you Amanda? Well, thank you for joining us both yourself who's sleepy, and our listeners who might be.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you for joining us both, myself who's sleepy, and our listeners who are
>> Marco Timpano: soon to be Amanda, I just read something that asked me what my favorite poem is and you know, and it says, do you have a favorite poem, poem, poet, etc. So I had to think and I was like, you know what? I remember really enjoying the poems of Irving Layton. Do you know Irving Layton?
>> Amanda Barker: Kind of.
>> Marco Timpano: He's a poet from Montreal who had. Who used a lot of satire in his works.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, right. In the like the 20s.
>> Marco Timpano: He was. No, I would say in the 40s, 50s, 60s, I think he did a
>> Amanda Barker: poem about William Ly and McKenzie King,
>> Marco Timpano: I wouldn't be surprised.
>> Amanda Barker: And he kind of made fun of him, if I'm thinking correctly, because William Lyon Mackenzie King, for those who don't know, or maybe you've heard the name, he was our third prime minister, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I think he was our third prime minister. And he was quite a colorful character. And so one of the things he said, and this would make sense if it was written in the 20s, but William Lyon Mackenzie King, when asked if he was going to send people off to war and conscription, I remember he said conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription. That was his big answer to that for the crowds. But that doesn't mean anything. But that was kind of how he was. And he also was really well known because he really consulted astrological charts to make decisions. And I think he, if I'm remembering correctly, not only did he have an astrologer that he would, you know, make decisions for the company based on this person's predictions, but then he believed his cat.
>> Marco Timpano: Who doesn't?
>> Amanda Barker: I might be making this up. I don't know. I think he consulted his mother. When his mother passed, he believed that she was in the spirit of his cat.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So then he would consult his cat and then when the cat died, he had like seances to bring the cat spirit to life to tell him how to lead the country or something. I might be making this up. I don't know. This is buried in my consciousness.
>> Marco Timpano: He was the 10th Prime Minister, I just looked it up.
>> Amanda Barker: So there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: But he was a prime minister. He served three consecutive terms, if that makes a difference to you. Yeah. So I love the satire of Irving Layton. And of course he was supposedly a predecessor or a teacher to Leonard Cohen, who I'm a big fan of as well. Who or what is your favorite poem?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: Or poet.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we've talked about it many times before. I do love Robert Frost. I know it's. That's a. Maybe not an obscure reference, you know, maybe that's a really well trod path to use his own imagery, but I really do love Robert Frost. So probably Robert Frost. Mary Oliver is also fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know who that is.
>> Amanda Barker: And I didn't know who she was until just recently. I don't read a lot of poetry. It's kind of sad. When I was a kid, I loved poetry and I would. I loved it a lot. I would write it, I would read it. And very often late at night, I'd be just kind of falling asleep, and then out of nowhere, this sort of lightning bolt would come to me of a poem, almost like a fully formed poem. And then I would have to write it down. If I didn't write it down, it'd be gone the next morning, so. But it would mean getting out of bed, which I never wanted to do, but I would jump out of bed and write it all down and write it down until it was out of me. And I heard once that Paul Simon wrote the Sound of Silence. Very recently, I heard this. He wrote the Sound of Silence that way.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: That. It just sort of struck him like a lightning bolt, fully. Like a fully formed song almost. And he just had to get it on paper and write it, both the lyrics and the melody. And he went into his bathroom at like, four in the morning in, I think, Brooklyn, where he lived.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Or Queens, and wrote it all down at 16 years old. The sound of silence.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. That's incredible.
>> Amanda Barker: So I'm no Paul Simon, I mean, because I couldn't do the melody. And I miss that because I don't really have those sort of strokes of creative inspiration. Have you had that?
>> Marco Timpano: Not when it comes to poetry. And I, you know, me and sleep. Right. So I'm not the type of person to wake up and write, write something down, though I probably should be.
>> Amanda Barker: But have you had that feeling of like, I've got to get this out of me, this thought, this poem, this idea?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, I have, and I do, and sometimes. And Amanda knows this about me, but listeners might not know. I like using cue cards. And so there's always a plethora of cue cards in our home that I'm constantly writing on or using for work. It's interesting when you see the work that I do. I often use a lot of highlighters. I use lots of certain pens. You know, I love certain pens that have a nice flow of ink. And so I'll make a lot of cue cards that indicate what I need to know. For a client today, I had a very challenging client. They weren't difficult at all. It was just a very heavy, heavy subject, I guess you could say. And so it was a. It was a long process and a long day with. With These clients who were lovely. But I used a lot of cue cards, and I have a lot of cue cards around the house. And today I couldn't find my white cue cards. I needed to white cue cards. And I was like, where are my. All my cue cards? And they're not where they usually are, which means I've used them. But I'll often write because, you know,
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not using them.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you. You don't really use cue cards.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I had a cue card agenda forced onto me when I was, like, in my. When I was, like, 13. It was like. They made me write speeches on cue cards. And I didn't want to.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: But we were told we had to. That the only proper way to give a speech was to have it on cue cards. So I would write out these speeches and cram them into cue cards, but I would much rather have paper.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: That's just who I am. And so to me, they feel less scattered, less messy. If I just have a couple good sheets of paper laid out in front of me. Can't always. You don't always have the space for that. But. Yeah, but they were always like, no, you have to write it on a cue card. And it has to be point form the touch points. I get the concept, and I did do it, but I always felt like it was, like, forced on me.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's more my style. The cue card and writing pointing form on cue card.
>> Amanda Barker: Who introduced a cue card? Was there also a cue card agenda in your school? No.
>> Marco Timpano: What's interesting, I never used cue cards in high school, grade school, or university.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: That's so funny. We didn't know this about each other. That I was forced to use. So much so that my entire Mount Allison application was all done on cue cards.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Embarrassingly so, I think. I don't know how they let me in.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, if you see a lot of my work today, I use a lot of highlighters. It's very colorful. It's very bubbly. You would think it was, you know, a grade schooler writing my notes. But I make very thorough notes, and they help me separate ideas and keep concepts together. So for me, that totally works. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, your notes are always great.
>> Marco Timpano: Mine are not going back to poetry and poems. One of my favorite poems that you could not fit on a cue card would be Leonard Cohen's A Thousand Kisses Deep, which is also a song, but it was a poem that had constant evolution because he was always adding to it. Yeah. And so one of my Favorites.
>> Amanda Barker: Can we read our poems or some of our favorite poems?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, we can, but that's a really long poem.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there's a poem called Wild Geese by Mary Oliver that I really, really.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know it off by heart?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. You can certainly read it.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to remember. Do you know any poems off by heart?
>> Marco Timpano: Just some dirty limericks, but I won't share those. I will say this. I will say this. Amanda, do you remember we went to a hotel, this really cool hotel, which we may have mentioned on the podcast, but it's worth mentioning again. And every room in this hotel, it was in Paris or it is in Paris, Ontario, Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: So funny. You're like, it was in Paris while it was in Paris, Ontario.
>> Marco Timpano: And some would say Paris, Ontario is as dynamic as Paris, France.
>> Amanda Barker: It's the Paris of Ontario.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it certainly is. So they have this wonderful hotel where every room is themed that of an author. So it has a theme that reflects an author.
>> Amanda Barker: Do we remember the name of the hotel?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: It begins with an A.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me see if I can find the Ambassador Hotel. I'm going to guess.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it's like a name like Alderwood or something. Let me look it up because I feel badly talking about it and not mentioning the name for one source.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Amanda's looking that up. I'll tell you this. So we went with some friends and we had two rooms and we were quite, you know, excited to see what author reflects our Arlington.
>> Amanda Barker: The Arlington.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what I. Yeah, that's what I meant, the Arlington. So. So our friends went in their room and they turned the key and they opened. And this was around Halloween too, so it was really interesting.
>> Amanda Barker: It was the weekend of Halloween. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So they opened the door and they had the Edgar Allan Poe room, which was wonderfully designed and certainly thematic for the weekend.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, there was a raven. Most definitely not a live one, but there's certainly a raven. And Poe's poetry. And it was done in sort of an eerie kind of dark lavender. Indigo, kind of the color of like twilight darkness.
>> Marco Timpano: It was very somber, too. It wasn't very somber. It felt very relaxing in a way.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of blacks, a lot of dark, sort of purples and lavenders. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And of course, Edgar Allan Poe is a poem.
>> Amanda Barker: Poet.
>> Marco Timpano: Poet who? A lot of people like. Like that poem you mentioned, the. The Raven.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he's a poet. I don't. I always think of him more of a short story guy, but yeah, I guess he was a poet.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't that the raven.
>> Amanda Barker: A poem.
>> Marco Timpano: His poem. I'm going to guess it is a short story poem. Whatever.
>> Amanda Barker: Cloth. The raven nevermore. Yeah. Because there's, there's repetition there.
>> Marco Timpano: So we were glad to see our friend's room. And they're like, okay, let's go to your room and see yours. And we were quite excited and we turned the key and. And open the room and it was the Maya Angelou room. So it wasn't thematic with Spooky, with Halloween.
>> Amanda Barker: So.
>> Marco Timpano: But I remember that we were hoping,
>> Amanda Barker: like, there's a Mary Shelley room, for example. So we're hoping for like a Frankenstein, you know, something Halloween.
>> Marco Timpano: And I remember that above the Bed was her poem Still I Rise. And they painted it on the. Above the bed frame. And it was actually quite, quite lovely to see that. It's like one of your favorite poems written above your bed. And it's an inspirational poem especially thematic with Rising from bed too. Like, I just thought it was really, really cool in that way.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's interesting. Yeah. Like, I took a writing. I took writing in university. I wrote poems in university a bit more. And we had all these different assignments of forms of poems that we had to write.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember in school, whenever we had to do a poem assignment, I would always choose the haiku because I thought it was easier to write because they were short poems, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: Harder to write.
>> Marco Timpano: It is harder to write, but not when you want to get it done quick and you don't care about what comes out as long as it meets that standard.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I loved it. I mean, any type of class or assignment where I had to write a poem was joy for me. I loved it.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what I love, too? When you're on the ttc, which is the Toronto transit system, for us, it's the subway system. They have reader poem or writer poems on the. I don't know what you call it. Like, the little area above where you sit. There's an area where you'll often see advertisements, but they'll also add writer poems. So if you're a writer, the tdc, you can submit your poem and it might be featured there. And you know when you're standing because there's no room to sit and you know you're waiting, you know you've got a bit of a way to go. Those, those can actually help pass the time and you can really appreciate it. You know, I read a haiku recently that was really beautiful. And I was like, oh, that's why these are so great. And I couldn't I couldn't tell. Tell it to you right now.
>> Amanda Barker: What? I really. Should I read Wild Geese?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course you should.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, let me just angle it so that it's a little more legible.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda's a great reader of poems. When she reads poems, I always enjoy that.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I do.
>> Amanda Barker: You think so? I don't know about that. Okay, let's see how good I am. I have no glasses on.
>> Marco Timpano: Should I honk while you're doing this? As a goose for geese? Just for sound effects.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Might be disruptive for our listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, so this is Mary Oliver's Wild Geese. I'm feeling a lot of pressure now that you said man is a really good poem. I mean, I'm just gonna read it.
>> Marco Timpano: Cold read.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a nice cold read of a warm poem. You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile, the world goes on. Meanwhile, the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are making moves across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains, and the rivers. Meanwhile, the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely the world offers itself to your imagination calls to you like wild geese, harsh and exciting, over and over, announcing your place in the family of things.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. Wild Geese by Mary Oliver. Very nice. Thank you, Amanda, for sharing that. I love hearing you read poems. We should have an episode where you just read a whole bunch of poems.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure. I could read all my favorite. I have a Robert Frost book upstairs. I can blow the dust off that.
>> Marco Timpano: Let us know if you'd like to hear that. And please share with us your favorite poem, and maybe we'll include that in the poetry readings that Amanda will do. On the podcast, we mention these things and then we forget about them, but if that's something you'd like to hear, let us know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you know, I was just. I got a text from an old friend today, and I haven't talked to her in a long time, and she. It just reminded me that she gave me a poetry book, and I'm trying to remember which one it was. I think it was poems. There was a Kennedy reference. So it was like the favorite poems of Jackie Kennedy or something like that, I think. I don't think it was just Robert Frost, although I associate Robert Frost with sort of that time frame, you know, 50s, 60s. But I don't. I think I have to think about it. I think she gave me. Yeah. I'll have to look anyway. I'll remember that to her. Although I don't know if I still have the book, but I probably do. I don't keep many books.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't? You don't.
>> Amanda Barker: I try really hard not to keep books.
>> Marco Timpano: The books you have are the books that you cherish and might go back to.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm. And there's very few. I mean, I'm reading Emily St. John Mandel's books right now and realizing that all of her books are interconnected in fairly thin threads. Like, they're not. It's more like little Easter eggs throughout the. Throughout the text of different characters or people that you might know sort of passing through other people's narratives, which is really interesting. That term Easter eggs. That's a video game term, right? People say that. Easter eggs.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a good. I don't know where did that.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, obviously we know Easter and Easter hunts and things like that. Egg hunts and finding treasure sort of buried. But we now say it for literary references and movie references. I'm just trying to think of where that came from.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know either.
>> Marco Timpano: I will read here Irving Layton's poem, Whatever else, Poetry is Freedom.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the title of it, and it's a cold read, so I'll read that just to share one of Irving Leighton's poems, Whatever Else, Poetry is Freedom. Forget the rhetoric, the trick of metaphor, the painted face it wears. Believe me, not for a moment did I think the word arrangement and sweet sounds were all. No, it's the naked face which I approach. Others may sing white peak. But I have seen it and prefer to celebrate the smell of human sweat. These poems. I guess I should stop here because these are my p**** fencing with death.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, what? People are falling asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't expect that turn.
>> Amanda Barker: People are trying to fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I just wasn't expecting.
>> Amanda Barker: You went crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't. It's just, you know, when you pull up a poetry. A poem called Whatever Else, Poetry is Freedom. You don't expect that.
>> Amanda Barker: You could have glossed over.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess I could have. Whatever Else, Poetry is Freedom. I shall not make it pretty with.
>> Amanda Barker: I looked up and he was kind of, like, smiling at the mic, not sure what to do, and I was like, what's going on?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. A little poetry can really affect emotions. Let me continue the poem and Finish it off.
>> Amanda Barker: I apologize to you and to Irving.
>> Marco Timpano: Whatever else, poetry is freedom. I shall not make it pretty with comely nouns, nor sweeten it. Please.
>> Amanda Barker: What's going on?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I think I'll just skip this part here.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. All right.
>> Marco Timpano: I think I'll just stop.
>> Amanda Barker: We see why you like Irvin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Not fit for sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So, anyways, yeah. Speaking of spring poetry and Easter eggs, our peonies, I saw.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, what?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. They're really. Yes, they're popping out and ready to.
>> Amanda Barker: Those poor peonies.
>> Marco Timpano: They've been through so much.
>> Amanda Barker: Every year they get moved. And the one thing you know about peonies is they hate to be moved.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's not, and trust me, we are not moving those peonies. The city has dug up our front area, our front yard, if you will, a couple of times last year, and moving our peonies. And I was not pleased, to say the least, with regards to that, Amanda. So hopefully our peonies, who are popping up right now, will delight us with flowers. You know, peonies is one of my favorite flowers, as are the crocuses that came up this spring. I love to see crocuses. And they were. They were popping their heads and they came in little waves, which I like. The yellow ones came first, then purple.
>> Amanda Barker: Yellow first, then purple. Now we're into the white.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I wasn't expecting that. Usually they. In the past, they've come out at the same time.
>> Amanda Barker: It's weird. Yeah. It's really been color based, and I don't know why that is, but it has exactly been that. Yeah. I don't know why I thought the white. When the yellow came up, I thought, oh, no, white. There's a yellow and a bit of purple and then a lot of purple. And I just thought, oh, we used to have white. I wonder what happened to them. And then up they came.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, they did.
>> Amanda Barker: Do crocuses come in other colors other than those?
>> Marco Timpano: No, not. Well, I mean, I think there's like, some mottled or, like, some crocuses that might have a little bit of pink tinge to them. But I do know the crocus is what provides you with saffron.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: The saffron crocus. So.
>> Amanda Barker: And then in between the crocuses and the peonies, we must mention that the tulips are coming up.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you seen tulips come up?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there's the leaves for the tulips.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
>> Amanda Barker: And then there's daffodils. And there is a daffodil that's going to emerge there. Every year we get one. We get the leaves of a bunch, the promise of a lot of daffodils, but usually only one kind of pokes its head through. But my mom had a good point. She was talking about my dad's gardening that he does and container gardening. And she said, you know, if you really want, because I give him seeds all the time, of different fruits and veg to grow in his little container garden that he has. And she said to him, you know, if you want these tomatoes and beans, whatever, if you want them to grow, you really have to invest in better soil.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Because he hasn't been. And so now, apparently my dad is buying, like, the Cadillac of soils. And she's like, okay, you need to calm down with the soil, because that's all he's doing because he's seeing the results. But I would say the same to you and I about that little patch out there. Like, I don't think we use the best soil.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to buy. You know, that's a really great point, Amanda. I'm going to buy soil this year and add some nice soil to that front mix or to that front.
>> Amanda Barker: Because, honestly, it gets dug up by the city. I mean, it's right on a sidewalk.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's also city soil. When they were digging it up, they were like, this is so hard. This is like. Yeah, really? It took. It took them three times to dig where they needed to dig.
>> Amanda Barker: It's amazing. Anything grows, to be honest, from there. So, yeah, they could probably use a little tlc. And then, of course, the lilacs. The lilacs will come next month.
>> Marco Timpano: My nephew was really interested because his mom pointed out the buds on our tree. And so that's going to be a lot of fun.
>> Amanda Barker: We do have a beautiful lilac tree. Thank you to Margaret, who planted it for this house. This was her house. She was the only other person who lived here, right?
>> Marco Timpano: No, there was, I think, one gentleman who lived here before that.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: I found his bank card in the wall one time. Yeah. So there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: In the wall. Do you think you put it there?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it was in the cupboard in kind of when I was resurfacing the cupboard or something. It must have fallen out of where he must have. In there or something. And.
>> Amanda Barker: But I mean, it was from a time when we had bank card. So he. Yeah, that's interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: It did look like an old rudimentary bank card.
>> Amanda Barker: The first generation.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember his Name Li or something like that. That E, L. And then lie. L, A, I. I think it was something like. Something like that is what I recall. But not. I will say this, Amanda, you mentioned your poem about wild geese. Or not your poem. A poem you like?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I did not write it, but yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And for those who don't live in North America, in particular our part of North America, you might not see this, but the Canadian geese are coming home. And when they fly above, because they come home for spring and summer, they form a V pattern, and you'll hear them honking in the distance.
>> Amanda Barker: It's quite a thing. Wild geese flying is quite a thing, honestly. There you hear them honking in the distance, and you just watch them as they come overhead. And this is when they fly, you know, now they're flying back in to our country, but also in the fall when they fly south, and then you stand underneath them and you just hear this incredible flapping of their wings. I love that sound. Just the flap, flap, flap of their wings. I don't know how to even. It's just the sound. It's a really gentle sound, so you have to. So flap. Doesn't quite encapsulated, but it's just the sound of, like, the wings pushing the air. And you can almost like a. I don't know. How would you describe it?
>> Marco Timpano: A ripple in the air? I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's almost like a mechanical. I don't know how to describe it. Yeah, the sound of geese flapping their wings. But it's a really cool sound. It's like a rush of air above you. I guess that's the best way I can put it.
>> Marco Timpano: The sound of the equinox, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I will.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. Well, on that note, I hope you will tell people about. About this podcast, let them know that we're here for them. The more listeners we have, the more we can produce. And that's Amanda yawning. So I think it's time we say good night. We hope you have a lovely rest of your day, evening or afternoon. And until next time, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Oats today, Cherries Tomorrow
(Original airdate: July 25, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation meant to help you drift off to sleep maybe, or just to chillness and calm. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda.
>> Marco Timpano: Hi Amanda. How you doing tonight?
>> Amanda Barker: Tired. Oh, sono stanca.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go. Well, we did get some messages from listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh wow.
>> Marco Timpano: We have A listener who really enjoyed the Rome episode and happened to be Rome in Rome around the same time as us. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And did they go through the holy doors?
>> Marco Timpano: They didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: Did they eat the holy pastas?
>> Marco Timpano: They didn't go that far into the message, but maybe we'll hear from them.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Also, listeners are asking how they can get advertising free episodes because ACAST took that away and now the ads are too loud and I'm working with them. I'm gonna work on that all day tomorrow. I'm gonna try to figure out a way for our listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: So we're on it. We're trying. Yeah, give us a week or two.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, give us a week or two more. I have been looking into this, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I know.
>> Marco Timpano: Forgive me, but we'll get that sorted out. Thank you for bearing with those loud advertisements. I trust me. I have someone in California who listens. Nima is his name. He's going to be a guest again on the show. He's a friend show who always tells me when they're loud. And I, and I do my best.
>> Amanda Barker: So we appreciate the heads up too because you know, we want the podcast that you need.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And those ads are different in different locations as part of the situation. So they might be calm in some places.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. They target them. Yeah, I know. I was just listening to an ACAST podcast myself.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great. Is it a recommendation you would mention?
>> Amanda Barker: Sure I would. Actually, it's called, it's interesting. It's called we regret to inform you.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's the same production team that does under the Influence, which is a really interesting long running series on CBC Radio and podcast as well about marketing decisions. That's not a great pitch, but it's
>> Marco Timpano: actually quite fascinating because they'll tell you about like when Coke switched their formula and why they did it and what the repercussions were. And they do it in a fun sort of way too.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's Terry O'Reilly that does this. I think it's his daughter. That's what I'm gleaning. I'm pretty sure that produces and is the main voice on this one called we regret to inform you. And it's great because it tells you stories of people who got rejected.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: And then how the rejection became their biggest blessing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I need to listen to this.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I just listened to the Lisa Kudrow episode, which is a great one. And I'm listening to one about the script of Pretty Woman.
>> Marco Timpano: How did you find this out, this podcast? How did this Podcast come to you cbc. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they. I think they're starting to air them. They just started. And so I heard it and then went, oh, I'm gonna go check that out. And I also love the cost of living. I'm a CBC person. Listen. I moved to Canada. I immersed myself as a child in Canadian things. And CBC is very Canadian. So I'm a longtime fan and part time employee sometimes of cbc. When they'll hire me.
>> Marco Timpano: When they hire you, they should hire you more often.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I've just found out that a series that I was in, the first series, the first season called Small achievable Goals, that that is getting a second season.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Who knows if I'll be in it?
>> Marco Timpano: But if you haven't checked that out, definitely check it out. It's a great series. And you'll see Amanda in it as
>> Amanda Barker: well,
>> Marco Timpano: and great writers on that series
>> Amanda Barker: who we might see this weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. That's right. So hopefully we will. We got cherries. We were supposed to eat cherries tonight. I forgot.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. And we had ice cream instead. Well, those are the good problems, I think, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: We'll have cherries tomorrow. Yeah, Cherries Tomorrow sounds like a title of a book or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Or a great rock album or a podcast. Imagine Cherries Tomorrow.
>> Amanda Barker: Or should we start a podcast, Cherries Tomorrow? I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Things you can do tomorrow that you didn't do today.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, maybe. Maybe that's this episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Stuff we'll do tomorrow that we didn't get done today.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I love cherries and you love cherries.
>> Amanda Barker: I love cherries.
>> Marco Timpano: I love strawberries. Amanda, not so much.
>> Amanda Barker: Not a strawberry fan. Are there anybody. Are there any of us out there listening that cannot stand strawberries? Please let me know. I've only ever found one in my life. Now, mind you, it's not something that comes up a lot in casual conversation. Hi, my name's Teresa, and I hate strawberries. But here's my journey with strawberries.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. On this episode of Cherries Tomorrow, I
>> Amanda Barker: forget what I was talking about.
>> Marco Timpano: You're gonna talk about your journey with strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, strawberries. Strawberries yesterday, cherries tomorrow. So here's my thing with strawberries. As a kid, you know, you are socialized to love strawberries. Why wouldn't you love strawberries? Everybody loved. There was strawberry shortcake. She was a doll. She smelled great. I had apple dumpling. Who was her, like, sidekick, but I think my sister.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought there was blueberry muffin.
>> Amanda Barker: There's also blueberry muffin.
>> Marco Timpano: And who was that character?
>> Amanda Barker: My sister had blueberry muffin. I had apple dumpling, and I think our neighbor had strawberry shortcake.
>> Marco Timpano: So wait a minute. I don't know the strawberry shortcake world.
>> Amanda Barker: That's all I can tell you about the universe, because all I can tell you is the dolls we had. I don't remember the cartoons.
>> Marco Timpano: But if Apple dumpling was the sidekick, who was blueberry muffin?
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe Apple dumpling was, like, the little sidekick, and blueberry muffin was, like, the best friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I don't know. All right, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so as a kid, you're like, strawberries, they're the best. Everyone around you is like, guess what we're having tonight? Strawberries or strawberry shortcake. So you think, yay, that's the best thing ever.
>> Marco Timpano: And it is in my book.
>> Amanda Barker: And so as a kid, my mom would be like, this weekend, you know, this is a very specific memory, but we're gonna watch Solid Gold and have strawberry shortcake. Well, that was like, the ultimate Saturday night, right? Solid Gold. Or maybe it's Friday.
>> Marco Timpano: It still is.
>> Amanda Barker: Solid Gold. Strawberry shortcake. And I remember, like, jumping on the couch with my sister. We're so excited for strawberries. And the thing is, as I would eat them and they didn't taste great to me, but the concept was, like, this exciting thing. Strawberries. They're red, they're beautiful, they look good. Everyone loves them, so what's not to love? So I don't think I really listened to my own inner voice or stomach saying, this doesn't taste great. I just kept eating them. And so I got into adult. I never, ever would choose them because I'd be like, I don't. That's not. You know, I would never buy them. And then finally, really, like in my 30s, people offer me strawberries, and I'd be like, you know what? I don't like strawberries. Actually, to me, they're full of seeds, and they have either no taste or an acidic taste, but there's nothing sweet or even a flavor that I can really detect. It's. I don't know, my cilantro or something. So that's what I realized. And so very much like comic book movies where people will be like, no, no, you'll like this one. And then you're like, no, that. Although people don't say that anymore to me, but it used to be that my comic book nerdy friends would be like, even people that don't like comic movies, this has great characters this has a great plot. And so I would be like, okay, great, I'll come watch that movie with you. And then be like, eh, sure. That's me. With strawberries as well. People would be like, oh, but you'll love these ones. Then they'll say things like, oh, I get it if they're like, farmed, but these are wild. Or these are Ontario, or these are really whatever. And they'll be like, you'll like these ones. And so then I'd be like, okay, great. And then I'd eat them and be like, I don't get it. They're just little. They taste like cleaning solution with seeds.
>> Marco Timpano: I was with you when we had, like, one of the world's best strawberries I've ever had, and you didn't like it. I'm like, she's never gonna like strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Where was that?
>> Marco Timpano: That was in Montreal.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: They had, like, wild strawberries picked from a farm an hour north of.
>> Amanda Barker: How are they wild if they're from
>> Marco Timpano: a farm on Forest. I guess they were forage strawberries. Yeah. And they were fantastic. And you didn't like them. And I was like, you'll never like. If you don't like these strawberries. You'll never like strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: There's something in them that I can't taste now. There's only one person I've ever met who I've, I guess, had the conversation with. I don't remember her name, but she was a hair and makeup artist. But specifically hair on a set of a Christmas movie that I shot like five years ago. Somebody said, oh, you know, we have on set various. It's like a good set. Most sets have kind of food all the time. And there's actually a thing that they have to. They have to give you a snack. I think it's like you have to have lunch. I don't remember what it is four hours in. There's some rules anyways, five hours in, anyway. And, like, they have to have proper meals every so many hours. But then every two hours, I think it is, they have to have what we call a substantial snack. Now, they don't do this in the States. They call it this in the States, I've learned. But in Canada, we call them all subs. So every two hours you're like, what's the sub? What's the sub?
>> Marco Timpano: The substantial snack.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's short for substantial snack. But for whatever reason, we always call them. I don't know what they call them in the States. But anyway, we always call Them, the sub. Sometimes they are subs.
>> Marco Timpano: I was gonna. I said, begs the question, can it be a sub for your sub?
>> Amanda Barker: They usually be like, what's the sub? Oh, it's like a lentil soup. It's, you know, a little cup of lentil soup or it's chili or, oh, it's been a, you know, a little banh mi or whatever. Like there's all sorts of things it could be, right. A little snack, a pasta salad. I've seen. So anyway, the sub had something to do with strawberries or they had strawberries at the craft truck. And so someone came in, they're like, they have strawberries or they have great strawberry shortcake or strawberry something. And she was doing my hair and I had pretty elaborate hair for that shoot. And she was doing my hair and she was like, no, sorry, I don't like strawberries. And they went, what? She's like, no, don't like them. I don't get it. And I went, me too. And we both freaked out because we had never met anyone else who didn't like strawberries. And even if you remember the night we got married, my bridesmaids, very sweetly.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Did chocolate covered strawberries and champagne. And I had to laugh. It was one of those moments. God love them. It was very sweet. But I was like, there's nothing I would like less than chocolate covered strawberries. And you don't like champagne.
>> Marco Timpano: It was the perfect match.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't really love champagne either. I mean, I'll drink it, but it's not my favorite. So I was like, what they should have put was like Coke Zeros and, you know, some smart food.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Yeah. So I have a little. Well, I have a strawberry story, but I also have another story I'm going to tell. So today on cherries. Tomorrow I'm going to talk about cherries. Tomorrow I'm going to talk about the
>> Amanda Barker: name of our next season. Cherries Tomorrow.
>> Marco Timpano: I sanded wood floors.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you need to talk about it.
>> Marco Timpano: So we at our cottage have linoleum that had been there forever and it was peeling and kind of getting a little bit precarious because the parts that were peeling, if you walked by them, you could trip and really hurt yourself. So it was like it was like a floor that bit back. Like it was not a floor to mess with. Okay. So I was like, it's time to get rid of these floors. And so when I pulled back the linoleum, I noticed that underneath there was like hardwood or I should say pine, because it's pine, but pine wood, slatted floors, kind of like hardwood floors, if you could picture. Only they were very dingy and gray and scuffed because they had taken the abuse of everything under the linoleum. And I think the linoleum itself was. Was wreaking havoc on it. Certainly there were some. There was some glue that was underneath as well, and they probably had seen feet in the 1930s.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, it's crazy when you think about it. I mean. So would you call that, like, a naughty pine?
>> Marco Timpano: There's nuts, but I don't think I'd call it a naughty pine. I don't know how knotty a knotty pine is.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we're gonna look it up.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Amanda will look it up. So this had a few knots here and there, but it wasn't extremely naughty, and it was well behaved.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's naughty pine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: I do, yeah. Like looking at it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's a naughty pine.
>> Marco Timpano: Naughty pine, yeah. So anyway, so let's assume it was a naughty pine, because it does kind of look like the images Amanda is showing.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, and these are fresh, naughty pine. Like you had to sand it down. But I think ultimately that's what it is, because I think it's safe to say it probably was pine floors. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: 100.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm sanding these floors, and it's taking me forever because I need to hand sand them, because I wanted to get the sanding machine. But I was talking the guy at the hardware store, and we both agreed that with the size of the floor and what I had to do, hand sanding would be better. Well, hand sanding proved to be quite a challenge. I had an orbital sander, which is the round one. I had the little mouse, which is the one that has the little peak. I had a square sander. And it wasn't until my sister brought out the belt sander that I really made some hedgeway. Right. But you've got to be hedge way. What's the phrase?
>> Amanda Barker: Headway.
>> Marco Timpano: Headway.
>> Amanda Barker: I like hedgeway.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you have to like when you have a hedge, and you've got to cut it down. So I was hedging my way through the floor, right? And with this handset, with this belt sander. But you've got to be careful with the belt sander, Amanda, because a belt sander is fast and furious.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're not careful, you can notch out a piece of wood, or you could, you know, make a. A divot in your floors and you don't want to divot in your floor.
>> Amanda Barker: Right, right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had to be careful.
>> Amanda Barker: But also, you know, you're learning, and there's a bit of grace with that. I think if you have a divot, I mean, especially at a cottage, you have a divot, then you have a divot.
>> Marco Timpano: But this wasn't my first time. This wasn't the first time I sanded floors. I believe there's an episode out there where I sanded our floors in our home. And that was a challenge. And I used a machine, and I. And there is a divot and a notch, because that machine was. Was a machine meant for people who sand floors all the time. But I digress. And here's the thing, folks. I was like, listen, it'll be better than the linoleum that bites you back. So I'm just gonna do it. So I did it, and then I went to the. I had gone to the paint store the week before, and I had a wonderful person there. Her name wasn't Oats, but we met someone named Oats recently, didn't we? My name is Oats.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we did. In Minneapolis. Yeah, we met in Oats. Yeah, she was lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, this woman kind of reminded me.
>> Amanda Barker: By the way, folks, we went to Minneapolis. I met a woman named Oats.
>> Marco Timpano: She was kind of like Oats, but with shorter hair. Okay, so no one will understand that. Except Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I don't really remember Oats. I just remember mostly her name was Oats. She was a waitress, and when I ordered the fish tacos, she said, people come from other. We were at the airport. People come from other terminals just to eat these fish tacos.
>> Marco Timpano: What could Oats be short for? I wanted to ask her, but I didn't know how to say.
>> Amanda Barker: I almost went. Well, there's a few things. Her last name, it could just be a nickname, and that's what she goes by. Like, I was called Oats my whole life because when I was little, I fell in a bag of oats, and they all called me Oats. I know, it's true. We should. We gotta go back to Minneapolis and find her.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a name that is like Oats? Like, is. Is there like shs. Is that a name?
>> Amanda Barker: Or like, O. Odile? Odala, Odella, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, Minneapolis has a Nordic population, so maybe it's a Nordic name.
>> Marco Timpano: Odilia or something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Or Orin. Son. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, anyways, I guess it would be
>> Amanda Barker: this woman, Odin's daughter. Odin. Maybe Odin Odin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, yeah, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: She wasn't a mythical Norse. Norse, no.
>> Amanda Barker: But she was a, you know, 60 year old waitress in Minneapolis. So.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, cut to this. The six year old woman who helped me at the hardware store with the paint.
>> Amanda Barker: Oats two.
>> Marco Timpano: Oats two, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: The revenge.
>> Marco Timpano: So Oats two takes me and I'm like, I need to have. I'm doing this with my floors. I showed her photos and she's like, okay, I know what you need. And you know when you have somebody,
>> Amanda Barker: I'm laughing because I know his cousin was with him.
>> Marco Timpano: My cousin. My cousin lover.
>> Amanda Barker: She.
>> Marco Timpano: She has strong opinions and just won't let those opinions lie.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just. Can I just say one thing about your cousin? I won't even name this cousin, okay? Because I don't want them to be a source of anyone's ridicule. They are their own person. So they live alone. They have a lovely home. And they live alone. They've lived alone a long time in their lovely home. And they have interesting complaints about their house and things and renovations that they want to do to their house. And one of the big renovations that I think we've said that it's a she. One of the big renovations that she wants to do in her house is she wants to soundproof her shower because her shower is really loud when she takes a shower. Now, it's not loud inside the shower, it's loud in the hallway. You can hear the shower. Okay. But she lives alone, so I don't understand. And she. And this is a real concern to her that the shower is loud from the hallway. But as far as I know, I mean, she could be living a whole other life. I have no real idea. But as far as I know, there's nobody else there, at least on a daily basis. So she's mad that other. She doesn't even have a cat. Like nobody can hear the shower, but somehow she knows that the shower is loud. So she wants to soundproof the bathroom or the shower to make it less loud for the hallway.
>> Marco Timpano: My cousin is like an Oats three. Okay? So let's just put that into perspective. She's a younger Oats. So Oats two takes me to the paint section.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And Oats two is like, okay, here are the paints that you need for flooring. She's like, this one's going to be great. This one's great too. But this one here is the best. It will give you a bowling ball, bowling alley finish.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, and what does that Mean a bowling alley.
>> Marco Timpano: That means you can walk on it, you can tap dance on it, you can tap dance, you could throw bowling balls on it. And your floor will be perfect every time.
>> Amanda Barker: Amazing. And it's going to take a lot of A kitchen anywhere, no matter where, is going to take a lot of foot traffic.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I don't blame the linoleum for biting back. It had a lot of wear and tear.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. It owed us nothing. I mean, and actually it looked decent. It was just when we put in the flooring around it that wasn't linoleum. I think it got displaced a bit and then started peeling up.
>> Marco Timpano: And then if you catch your foot on the peel, you'd go flying.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, it was a trip. It was like. I don't know what to describe it. It was like walking on the inside of. You know how kids have those bibs that are plastic that flip up at the end? Yeah, it was like being on the inside, the kitchen floor. Like the one of those bibs surrounding it so you would trip over the ledge of the flippy uppy part.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a walking hazard for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We had to deal with it.
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, so Oats recommends this one brand.
>> Amanda Barker: Like. Like an Oats is. Is ought to do.
>> Marco Timpano: And this. I got a gallon of that paint, Amanda, and it cost $147.
>> Amanda Barker: That's no joke.
>> Marco Timpano: That's no joke. That is no joke. But I had faith in Oats too, and their reco. So I was like, okay. And I said. And I said to Oats, I said oats to listen, I only want to do this once and I want to do it right.
>> Amanda Barker: And then she said.
>> Marco Timpano: And she's like, this is.
>> Amanda Barker: Why are you calling me Oats?
>> Marco Timpano: She's like, she had an odd name, too. Like an unusual name. No, it was like, what was it? Jazzy or something like that. It was something like that. I can't remember their name.
>> Amanda Barker: But this is a more interesting part of the whole story.
>> Marco Timpano: So I go to get the. I go to get the. The paint. And this is where Oats 3, my cousin, is with me. And Oats 3 is like, you gotta get the glossy. You gotta get the glossy. Your other. Your other floor is glossy. It won't look right. I'm like, I don't want glossy. Because I had spoken to Amanda and Amanda said, I don't want glossy. Amanda's with her folks in Florida.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't live in a world of gloss friends. No gloss for this lake.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's like, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: She's right. The other floor is glossy because it was salvaged hardwood. The rest of the other floor, pretty much all of it is salvaged hardwood. And came and it was glossy because that's how it was.
>> Marco Timpano: That floor comes from my best friend's living room because he had a flood and so some of his floor was damaged and the insurance was replacing all the floor. So I said, can I take your hardwood floor? I went there with him.
>> Amanda Barker: He offered it. He called you up and said, do you want to come get it? Because they're just gonna get it and toss it. And I have no use for it. Maybe you do. I showed up with a crowbar and a father and two Italians.
>> Marco Timpano: My cousins were visiting from Italy. And we plink, plank, plink. We took the floors off, put them in a van.
>> Amanda Barker: I love that. We put your little cousin to work when he came.
>> Marco Timpano: And his friend, his best friend, his
>> Amanda Barker: English speaking best friend. So anyways, his friend did not speak English, folks. But that was how they got their parents to pay for the trip.
>> Marco Timpano: So my cousin insisted that I should get the glossy or the semi glossy.
>> Amanda Barker: Not his cousin from Italy. No, but Oats three.
>> Marco Timpano: Three. So I was like, oats three, you've got to leave me alone for a second. I don't want that.
>> Amanda Barker: Just the thought of you guys yelling at each other.
>> Marco Timpano: We weren't yelling, but I was. I had to be firm.
>> Amanda Barker: But I know how she is and I know how you are.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was firm with Oats 3. And I will say this, Oats 3 took it in stride. Because when I said I need she
>> Amanda Barker: also a very hard worker.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So Oats three were like, come and
>> Amanda Barker: lay all the hardwood with me. She's like, okay, no problem. And she'd come.
>> Marco Timpano: So I look and I said, I just don't want to get the wrong one. I want to get the clearance and I want to get the satin finish. I didn't want the semi gloss. I didn't want the gloss. I wanted the satin.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. I had nothing to do with this. I just made a request and off I went. So I wasn't around.
>> Marco Timpano: The hardest part, the sanding was tough for sure, but the cleaning up of the dust in the cottage to prepare the floors was a nightmare.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe it.
>> Marco Timpano: Thankfully, my sister loves to clean. She told me she was excited to clean and I was like, let's have at it. And so she had a plan. And, you know, she's almost like an oats 4. She had a plan and we.
>> Amanda Barker: And our niece is Oats five.
>> Marco Timpano: And we executed the plan.
>> Amanda Barker: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: And our niece Mia has been on the podcast, and she will come back on the podcast too, so. So I'll call her Oats when she does. And she's.
>> Amanda Barker: She's a little. She's the little original OG Oats.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So we cleaned your family and their plans.
>> Marco Timpano: We cleaned and we cleaned Amanda. We washed walls, we vacuumed, we did everything.
>> Amanda Barker: That's amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: We even took the blinds off, completely off. And they were washed by my cousin Oates. Three.
>> Amanda Barker: Washed.
>> Marco Timpano: Washed the blinds.
>> Amanda Barker: Your family loves to wash a blind too.
>> Marco Timpano: Vacuumed and then washed the blinds.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: While this was going on, once we cleaned, it was time to use this very expensive varnish, or whatever you call it. I should look it up. I have it in my phone, and the minute I put it on, it was worth. I could tell it was worth every penny.
>> Amanda Barker: It looked amazing from the picture. I haven't seen it yet. So because I've been away, I'll put.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll put photos on the. On. On the Instagram. And Amanda, the moment I put it on, it just wonderful. And this particular. This particular varnish, or I'm gonna call it Varnish, I'll look it up. What it. What it's actually called, if you put it on and let it dry for two hours, you can then put another coat on without sanding in between. But if you wait 24 hours, you have to actually sand before your next coat. So my goal was not to sand because I had sanded so much. Yeah, a light sanding. That is right. Just a light sand. And so like clockwork, every two hours, my sister and I would go paint the floors. And the minute we stepped on the paint on the floor the first time, after the first coat, my sister said, this feels great underneath my feet. And I was like, this is great.
>> Amanda Barker: Awesome.
>> Marco Timpano: Every coat, it just looked better. It looked. Came out better than I expected, and so I'm happy.
>> Amanda Barker: That's awesome. I can't wait to see it.
>> Marco Timpano: So you'll have to let our listeners know next time what you think of the floors.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Oats nine.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. If you have an Oats in your family, please share a story or let us know why you think the nickname was Oats. And if you know Oats, who works in the Minneapolis airport, it's called.
>> Amanda Barker: The name of the restaurant, I think was called Twins.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Twins. Please give a shout out like the baseball team from us.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Imagine you serve a couple once, and all of a sudden they're talking about you on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: I will say, she was right. The fish tacos were amazing. And you had a salad that was pretty good, too, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I had an enormous salad.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. We highly recommend the Twins restaurant at the Minneapolis airport in terminal.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say three, and I will say this, I recommend you let your friends know about this podcast, especially if you're enjoying it. And we thank you. A few people were telling me that they were recommending it to friends who are having trouble sleeping.
>> Amanda Barker: So give us, please give us four bags of oats on your recos and
>> Marco Timpano: five star review if you can. Until next time.
>> Amanda Barker: Five bags of oats.
>> Marco Timpano: Of oats. Five bags of oats from us here at Cherries tomorrow. We wish you a lovely evening and
>> Amanda Barker: I hope you had some beautiful strawberries yesterday.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Until next time. We hope you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: July 25, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation meant to help you drift off to sleep maybe, or just to chillness and calm. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda.
>> Marco Timpano: Hi Amanda. How you doing tonight?
>> Amanda Barker: Tired. Oh, sono stanca.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go. Well, we did get some messages from listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh wow.
>> Marco Timpano: We have A listener who really enjoyed the Rome episode and happened to be Rome in Rome around the same time as us. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And did they go through the holy doors?
>> Marco Timpano: They didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: Did they eat the holy pastas?
>> Marco Timpano: They didn't go that far into the message, but maybe we'll hear from them.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Also, listeners are asking how they can get advertising free episodes because ACAST took that away and now the ads are too loud and I'm working with them. I'm gonna work on that all day tomorrow. I'm gonna try to figure out a way for our listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: So we're on it. We're trying. Yeah, give us a week or two.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, give us a week or two more. I have been looking into this, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I know.
>> Marco Timpano: Forgive me, but we'll get that sorted out. Thank you for bearing with those loud advertisements. I trust me. I have someone in California who listens. Nima is his name. He's going to be a guest again on the show. He's a friend show who always tells me when they're loud. And I, and I do my best.
>> Amanda Barker: So we appreciate the heads up too because you know, we want the podcast that you need.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And those ads are different in different locations as part of the situation. So they might be calm in some places.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. They target them. Yeah, I know. I was just listening to an ACAST podcast myself.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great. Is it a recommendation you would mention?
>> Amanda Barker: Sure I would. Actually, it's called, it's interesting. It's called we regret to inform you.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's the same production team that does under the Influence, which is a really interesting long running series on CBC Radio and podcast as well about marketing decisions. That's not a great pitch, but it's
>> Marco Timpano: actually quite fascinating because they'll tell you about like when Coke switched their formula and why they did it and what the repercussions were. And they do it in a fun sort of way too.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's Terry O'Reilly that does this. I think it's his daughter. That's what I'm gleaning. I'm pretty sure that produces and is the main voice on this one called we regret to inform you. And it's great because it tells you stories of people who got rejected.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: And then how the rejection became their biggest blessing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I need to listen to this.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I just listened to the Lisa Kudrow episode, which is a great one. And I'm listening to one about the script of Pretty Woman.
>> Marco Timpano: How did you find this out, this podcast? How did this Podcast come to you cbc. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they. I think they're starting to air them. They just started. And so I heard it and then went, oh, I'm gonna go check that out. And I also love the cost of living. I'm a CBC person. Listen. I moved to Canada. I immersed myself as a child in Canadian things. And CBC is very Canadian. So I'm a longtime fan and part time employee sometimes of cbc. When they'll hire me.
>> Marco Timpano: When they hire you, they should hire you more often.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I've just found out that a series that I was in, the first series, the first season called Small achievable Goals, that that is getting a second season.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Who knows if I'll be in it?
>> Marco Timpano: But if you haven't checked that out, definitely check it out. It's a great series. And you'll see Amanda in it as
>> Amanda Barker: well,
>> Marco Timpano: and great writers on that series
>> Amanda Barker: who we might see this weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. That's right. So hopefully we will. We got cherries. We were supposed to eat cherries tonight. I forgot.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. And we had ice cream instead. Well, those are the good problems, I think, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: We'll have cherries tomorrow. Yeah, Cherries Tomorrow sounds like a title of a book or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Or a great rock album or a podcast. Imagine Cherries Tomorrow.
>> Amanda Barker: Or should we start a podcast, Cherries Tomorrow? I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Things you can do tomorrow that you didn't do today.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, maybe. Maybe that's this episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Stuff we'll do tomorrow that we didn't get done today.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I love cherries and you love cherries.
>> Amanda Barker: I love cherries.
>> Marco Timpano: I love strawberries. Amanda, not so much.
>> Amanda Barker: Not a strawberry fan. Are there anybody. Are there any of us out there listening that cannot stand strawberries? Please let me know. I've only ever found one in my life. Now, mind you, it's not something that comes up a lot in casual conversation. Hi, my name's Teresa, and I hate strawberries. But here's my journey with strawberries.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. On this episode of Cherries Tomorrow, I
>> Amanda Barker: forget what I was talking about.
>> Marco Timpano: You're gonna talk about your journey with strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, strawberries. Strawberries yesterday, cherries tomorrow. So here's my thing with strawberries. As a kid, you know, you are socialized to love strawberries. Why wouldn't you love strawberries? Everybody loved. There was strawberry shortcake. She was a doll. She smelled great. I had apple dumpling. Who was her, like, sidekick, but I think my sister.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought there was blueberry muffin.
>> Amanda Barker: There's also blueberry muffin.
>> Marco Timpano: And who was that character?
>> Amanda Barker: My sister had blueberry muffin. I had apple dumpling, and I think our neighbor had strawberry shortcake.
>> Marco Timpano: So wait a minute. I don't know the strawberry shortcake world.
>> Amanda Barker: That's all I can tell you about the universe, because all I can tell you is the dolls we had. I don't remember the cartoons.
>> Marco Timpano: But if Apple dumpling was the sidekick, who was blueberry muffin?
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe Apple dumpling was, like, the little sidekick, and blueberry muffin was, like, the best friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I don't know. All right, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so as a kid, you're like, strawberries, they're the best. Everyone around you is like, guess what we're having tonight? Strawberries or strawberry shortcake. So you think, yay, that's the best thing ever.
>> Marco Timpano: And it is in my book.
>> Amanda Barker: And so as a kid, my mom would be like, this weekend, you know, this is a very specific memory, but we're gonna watch Solid Gold and have strawberry shortcake. Well, that was like, the ultimate Saturday night, right? Solid Gold. Or maybe it's Friday.
>> Marco Timpano: It still is.
>> Amanda Barker: Solid Gold. Strawberry shortcake. And I remember, like, jumping on the couch with my sister. We're so excited for strawberries. And the thing is, as I would eat them and they didn't taste great to me, but the concept was, like, this exciting thing. Strawberries. They're red, they're beautiful, they look good. Everyone loves them, so what's not to love? So I don't think I really listened to my own inner voice or stomach saying, this doesn't taste great. I just kept eating them. And so I got into adult. I never, ever would choose them because I'd be like, I don't. That's not. You know, I would never buy them. And then finally, really, like in my 30s, people offer me strawberries, and I'd be like, you know what? I don't like strawberries. Actually, to me, they're full of seeds, and they have either no taste or an acidic taste, but there's nothing sweet or even a flavor that I can really detect. It's. I don't know, my cilantro or something. So that's what I realized. And so very much like comic book movies where people will be like, no, no, you'll like this one. And then you're like, no, that. Although people don't say that anymore to me, but it used to be that my comic book nerdy friends would be like, even people that don't like comic movies, this has great characters this has a great plot. And so I would be like, okay, great, I'll come watch that movie with you. And then be like, eh, sure. That's me. With strawberries as well. People would be like, oh, but you'll love these ones. Then they'll say things like, oh, I get it if they're like, farmed, but these are wild. Or these are Ontario, or these are really whatever. And they'll be like, you'll like these ones. And so then I'd be like, okay, great. And then I'd eat them and be like, I don't get it. They're just little. They taste like cleaning solution with seeds.
>> Marco Timpano: I was with you when we had, like, one of the world's best strawberries I've ever had, and you didn't like it. I'm like, she's never gonna like strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Where was that?
>> Marco Timpano: That was in Montreal.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: They had, like, wild strawberries picked from a farm an hour north of.
>> Amanda Barker: How are they wild if they're from
>> Marco Timpano: a farm on Forest. I guess they were forage strawberries. Yeah. And they were fantastic. And you didn't like them. And I was like, you'll never like. If you don't like these strawberries. You'll never like strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: There's something in them that I can't taste now. There's only one person I've ever met who I've, I guess, had the conversation with. I don't remember her name, but she was a hair and makeup artist. But specifically hair on a set of a Christmas movie that I shot like five years ago. Somebody said, oh, you know, we have on set various. It's like a good set. Most sets have kind of food all the time. And there's actually a thing that they have to. They have to give you a snack. I think it's like you have to have lunch. I don't remember what it is four hours in. There's some rules anyways, five hours in, anyway. And, like, they have to have proper meals every so many hours. But then every two hours, I think it is, they have to have what we call a substantial snack. Now, they don't do this in the States. They call it this in the States, I've learned. But in Canada, we call them all subs. So every two hours you're like, what's the sub? What's the sub?
>> Marco Timpano: The substantial snack.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's short for substantial snack. But for whatever reason, we always call them. I don't know what they call them in the States. But anyway, we always call Them, the sub. Sometimes they are subs.
>> Marco Timpano: I was gonna. I said, begs the question, can it be a sub for your sub?
>> Amanda Barker: They usually be like, what's the sub? Oh, it's like a lentil soup. It's, you know, a little cup of lentil soup or it's chili or, oh, it's been a, you know, a little banh mi or whatever. Like there's all sorts of things it could be, right. A little snack, a pasta salad. I've seen. So anyway, the sub had something to do with strawberries or they had strawberries at the craft truck. And so someone came in, they're like, they have strawberries or they have great strawberry shortcake or strawberry something. And she was doing my hair and I had pretty elaborate hair for that shoot. And she was doing my hair and she was like, no, sorry, I don't like strawberries. And they went, what? She's like, no, don't like them. I don't get it. And I went, me too. And we both freaked out because we had never met anyone else who didn't like strawberries. And even if you remember the night we got married, my bridesmaids, very sweetly.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Did chocolate covered strawberries and champagne. And I had to laugh. It was one of those moments. God love them. It was very sweet. But I was like, there's nothing I would like less than chocolate covered strawberries. And you don't like champagne.
>> Marco Timpano: It was the perfect match.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't really love champagne either. I mean, I'll drink it, but it's not my favorite. So I was like, what they should have put was like Coke Zeros and, you know, some smart food.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Yeah. So I have a little. Well, I have a strawberry story, but I also have another story I'm going to tell. So today on cherries. Tomorrow I'm going to talk about cherries. Tomorrow I'm going to talk about the
>> Amanda Barker: name of our next season. Cherries Tomorrow.
>> Marco Timpano: I sanded wood floors.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you need to talk about it.
>> Marco Timpano: So we at our cottage have linoleum that had been there forever and it was peeling and kind of getting a little bit precarious because the parts that were peeling, if you walked by them, you could trip and really hurt yourself. So it was like it was like a floor that bit back. Like it was not a floor to mess with. Okay. So I was like, it's time to get rid of these floors. And so when I pulled back the linoleum, I noticed that underneath there was like hardwood or I should say pine, because it's pine, but pine wood, slatted floors, kind of like hardwood floors, if you could picture. Only they were very dingy and gray and scuffed because they had taken the abuse of everything under the linoleum. And I think the linoleum itself was. Was wreaking havoc on it. Certainly there were some. There was some glue that was underneath as well, and they probably had seen feet in the 1930s.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, it's crazy when you think about it. I mean. So would you call that, like, a naughty pine?
>> Marco Timpano: There's nuts, but I don't think I'd call it a naughty pine. I don't know how knotty a knotty pine is.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we're gonna look it up.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Amanda will look it up. So this had a few knots here and there, but it wasn't extremely naughty, and it was well behaved.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's naughty pine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: I do, yeah. Like looking at it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's a naughty pine.
>> Marco Timpano: Naughty pine, yeah. So anyway, so let's assume it was a naughty pine, because it does kind of look like the images Amanda is showing.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, and these are fresh, naughty pine. Like you had to sand it down. But I think ultimately that's what it is, because I think it's safe to say it probably was pine floors. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: 100.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm sanding these floors, and it's taking me forever because I need to hand sand them, because I wanted to get the sanding machine. But I was talking the guy at the hardware store, and we both agreed that with the size of the floor and what I had to do, hand sanding would be better. Well, hand sanding proved to be quite a challenge. I had an orbital sander, which is the round one. I had the little mouse, which is the one that has the little peak. I had a square sander. And it wasn't until my sister brought out the belt sander that I really made some hedgeway. Right. But you've got to be hedge way. What's the phrase?
>> Amanda Barker: Headway.
>> Marco Timpano: Headway.
>> Amanda Barker: I like hedgeway.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you have to like when you have a hedge, and you've got to cut it down. So I was hedging my way through the floor, right? And with this handset, with this belt sander. But you've got to be careful with the belt sander, Amanda, because a belt sander is fast and furious.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're not careful, you can notch out a piece of wood, or you could, you know, make a. A divot in your floors and you don't want to divot in your floor.
>> Amanda Barker: Right, right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had to be careful.
>> Amanda Barker: But also, you know, you're learning, and there's a bit of grace with that. I think if you have a divot, I mean, especially at a cottage, you have a divot, then you have a divot.
>> Marco Timpano: But this wasn't my first time. This wasn't the first time I sanded floors. I believe there's an episode out there where I sanded our floors in our home. And that was a challenge. And I used a machine, and I. And there is a divot and a notch, because that machine was. Was a machine meant for people who sand floors all the time. But I digress. And here's the thing, folks. I was like, listen, it'll be better than the linoleum that bites you back. So I'm just gonna do it. So I did it, and then I went to the. I had gone to the paint store the week before, and I had a wonderful person there. Her name wasn't Oats, but we met someone named Oats recently, didn't we? My name is Oats.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we did. In Minneapolis. Yeah, we met in Oats. Yeah, she was lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, this woman kind of reminded me.
>> Amanda Barker: By the way, folks, we went to Minneapolis. I met a woman named Oats.
>> Marco Timpano: She was kind of like Oats, but with shorter hair. Okay, so no one will understand that. Except Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I don't really remember Oats. I just remember mostly her name was Oats. She was a waitress, and when I ordered the fish tacos, she said, people come from other. We were at the airport. People come from other terminals just to eat these fish tacos.
>> Marco Timpano: What could Oats be short for? I wanted to ask her, but I didn't know how to say.
>> Amanda Barker: I almost went. Well, there's a few things. Her last name, it could just be a nickname, and that's what she goes by. Like, I was called Oats my whole life because when I was little, I fell in a bag of oats, and they all called me Oats. I know, it's true. We should. We gotta go back to Minneapolis and find her.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a name that is like Oats? Like, is. Is there like shs. Is that a name?
>> Amanda Barker: Or like, O. Odile? Odala, Odella, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, Minneapolis has a Nordic population, so maybe it's a Nordic name.
>> Marco Timpano: Odilia or something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Or Orin. Son. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, anyways, I guess it would be
>> Amanda Barker: this woman, Odin's daughter. Odin. Maybe Odin Odin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, yeah, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: She wasn't a mythical Norse. Norse, no.
>> Amanda Barker: But she was a, you know, 60 year old waitress in Minneapolis. So.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, cut to this. The six year old woman who helped me at the hardware store with the paint.
>> Amanda Barker: Oats two.
>> Marco Timpano: Oats two, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: The revenge.
>> Marco Timpano: So Oats two takes me and I'm like, I need to have. I'm doing this with my floors. I showed her photos and she's like, okay, I know what you need. And you know when you have somebody,
>> Amanda Barker: I'm laughing because I know his cousin was with him.
>> Marco Timpano: My cousin. My cousin lover.
>> Amanda Barker: She.
>> Marco Timpano: She has strong opinions and just won't let those opinions lie.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just. Can I just say one thing about your cousin? I won't even name this cousin, okay? Because I don't want them to be a source of anyone's ridicule. They are their own person. So they live alone. They have a lovely home. And they live alone. They've lived alone a long time in their lovely home. And they have interesting complaints about their house and things and renovations that they want to do to their house. And one of the big renovations that I think we've said that it's a she. One of the big renovations that she wants to do in her house is she wants to soundproof her shower because her shower is really loud when she takes a shower. Now, it's not loud inside the shower, it's loud in the hallway. You can hear the shower. Okay. But she lives alone, so I don't understand. And she. And this is a real concern to her that the shower is loud from the hallway. But as far as I know, I mean, she could be living a whole other life. I have no real idea. But as far as I know, there's nobody else there, at least on a daily basis. So she's mad that other. She doesn't even have a cat. Like nobody can hear the shower, but somehow she knows that the shower is loud. So she wants to soundproof the bathroom or the shower to make it less loud for the hallway.
>> Marco Timpano: My cousin is like an Oats three. Okay? So let's just put that into perspective. She's a younger Oats. So Oats two takes me to the paint section.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And Oats two is like, okay, here are the paints that you need for flooring. She's like, this one's going to be great. This one's great too. But this one here is the best. It will give you a bowling ball, bowling alley finish.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, and what does that Mean a bowling alley.
>> Marco Timpano: That means you can walk on it, you can tap dance on it, you can tap dance, you could throw bowling balls on it. And your floor will be perfect every time.
>> Amanda Barker: Amazing. And it's going to take a lot of A kitchen anywhere, no matter where, is going to take a lot of foot traffic.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I don't blame the linoleum for biting back. It had a lot of wear and tear.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. It owed us nothing. I mean, and actually it looked decent. It was just when we put in the flooring around it that wasn't linoleum. I think it got displaced a bit and then started peeling up.
>> Marco Timpano: And then if you catch your foot on the peel, you'd go flying.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, it was a trip. It was like. I don't know what to describe it. It was like walking on the inside of. You know how kids have those bibs that are plastic that flip up at the end? Yeah, it was like being on the inside, the kitchen floor. Like the one of those bibs surrounding it so you would trip over the ledge of the flippy uppy part.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a walking hazard for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We had to deal with it.
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, so Oats recommends this one brand.
>> Amanda Barker: Like. Like an Oats is. Is ought to do.
>> Marco Timpano: And this. I got a gallon of that paint, Amanda, and it cost $147.
>> Amanda Barker: That's no joke.
>> Marco Timpano: That's no joke. That is no joke. But I had faith in Oats too, and their reco. So I was like, okay. And I said. And I said to Oats, I said oats to listen, I only want to do this once and I want to do it right.
>> Amanda Barker: And then she said.
>> Marco Timpano: And she's like, this is.
>> Amanda Barker: Why are you calling me Oats?
>> Marco Timpano: She's like, she had an odd name, too. Like an unusual name. No, it was like, what was it? Jazzy or something like that. It was something like that. I can't remember their name.
>> Amanda Barker: But this is a more interesting part of the whole story.
>> Marco Timpano: So I go to get the. I go to get the. The paint. And this is where Oats 3, my cousin, is with me. And Oats 3 is like, you gotta get the glossy. You gotta get the glossy. Your other. Your other floor is glossy. It won't look right. I'm like, I don't want glossy. Because I had spoken to Amanda and Amanda said, I don't want glossy. Amanda's with her folks in Florida.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't live in a world of gloss friends. No gloss for this lake.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's like, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: She's right. The other floor is glossy because it was salvaged hardwood. The rest of the other floor, pretty much all of it is salvaged hardwood. And came and it was glossy because that's how it was.
>> Marco Timpano: That floor comes from my best friend's living room because he had a flood and so some of his floor was damaged and the insurance was replacing all the floor. So I said, can I take your hardwood floor? I went there with him.
>> Amanda Barker: He offered it. He called you up and said, do you want to come get it? Because they're just gonna get it and toss it. And I have no use for it. Maybe you do. I showed up with a crowbar and a father and two Italians.
>> Marco Timpano: My cousins were visiting from Italy. And we plink, plank, plink. We took the floors off, put them in a van.
>> Amanda Barker: I love that. We put your little cousin to work when he came.
>> Marco Timpano: And his friend, his best friend, his
>> Amanda Barker: English speaking best friend. So anyways, his friend did not speak English, folks. But that was how they got their parents to pay for the trip.
>> Marco Timpano: So my cousin insisted that I should get the glossy or the semi glossy.
>> Amanda Barker: Not his cousin from Italy. No, but Oats three.
>> Marco Timpano: Three. So I was like, oats three, you've got to leave me alone for a second. I don't want that.
>> Amanda Barker: Just the thought of you guys yelling at each other.
>> Marco Timpano: We weren't yelling, but I was. I had to be firm.
>> Amanda Barker: But I know how she is and I know how you are.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was firm with Oats 3. And I will say this, Oats 3 took it in stride. Because when I said I need she
>> Amanda Barker: also a very hard worker.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So Oats three were like, come and
>> Amanda Barker: lay all the hardwood with me. She's like, okay, no problem. And she'd come.
>> Marco Timpano: So I look and I said, I just don't want to get the wrong one. I want to get the clearance and I want to get the satin finish. I didn't want the semi gloss. I didn't want the gloss. I wanted the satin.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. I had nothing to do with this. I just made a request and off I went. So I wasn't around.
>> Marco Timpano: The hardest part, the sanding was tough for sure, but the cleaning up of the dust in the cottage to prepare the floors was a nightmare.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe it.
>> Marco Timpano: Thankfully, my sister loves to clean. She told me she was excited to clean and I was like, let's have at it. And so she had a plan. And, you know, she's almost like an oats 4. She had a plan and we.
>> Amanda Barker: And our niece is Oats five.
>> Marco Timpano: And we executed the plan.
>> Amanda Barker: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: And our niece Mia has been on the podcast, and she will come back on the podcast too, so. So I'll call her Oats when she does. And she's.
>> Amanda Barker: She's a little. She's the little original OG Oats.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So we cleaned your family and their plans.
>> Marco Timpano: We cleaned and we cleaned Amanda. We washed walls, we vacuumed, we did everything.
>> Amanda Barker: That's amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: We even took the blinds off, completely off. And they were washed by my cousin Oates. Three.
>> Amanda Barker: Washed.
>> Marco Timpano: Washed the blinds.
>> Amanda Barker: Your family loves to wash a blind too.
>> Marco Timpano: Vacuumed and then washed the blinds.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: While this was going on, once we cleaned, it was time to use this very expensive varnish, or whatever you call it. I should look it up. I have it in my phone, and the minute I put it on, it was worth. I could tell it was worth every penny.
>> Amanda Barker: It looked amazing from the picture. I haven't seen it yet. So because I've been away, I'll put.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll put photos on the. On. On the Instagram. And Amanda, the moment I put it on, it just wonderful. And this particular. This particular varnish, or I'm gonna call it Varnish, I'll look it up. What it. What it's actually called, if you put it on and let it dry for two hours, you can then put another coat on without sanding in between. But if you wait 24 hours, you have to actually sand before your next coat. So my goal was not to sand because I had sanded so much. Yeah, a light sanding. That is right. Just a light sand. And so like clockwork, every two hours, my sister and I would go paint the floors. And the minute we stepped on the paint on the floor the first time, after the first coat, my sister said, this feels great underneath my feet. And I was like, this is great.
>> Amanda Barker: Awesome.
>> Marco Timpano: Every coat, it just looked better. It looked. Came out better than I expected, and so I'm happy.
>> Amanda Barker: That's awesome. I can't wait to see it.
>> Marco Timpano: So you'll have to let our listeners know next time what you think of the floors.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Oats nine.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. If you have an Oats in your family, please share a story or let us know why you think the nickname was Oats. And if you know Oats, who works in the Minneapolis airport, it's called.
>> Amanda Barker: The name of the restaurant, I think was called Twins.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Twins. Please give a shout out like the baseball team from us.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Imagine you serve a couple once, and all of a sudden they're talking about you on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: I will say, she was right. The fish tacos were amazing. And you had a salad that was pretty good, too, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I had an enormous salad.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. We highly recommend the Twins restaurant at the Minneapolis airport in terminal.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say three, and I will say this, I recommend you let your friends know about this podcast, especially if you're enjoying it. And we thank you. A few people were telling me that they were recommending it to friends who are having trouble sleeping.
>> Amanda Barker: So give us, please give us four bags of oats on your recos and
>> Marco Timpano: five star review if you can. Until next time.
>> Amanda Barker: Five bags of oats.
>> Marco Timpano: Of oats. Five bags of oats from us here at Cherries tomorrow. We wish you a lovely evening and
>> Amanda Barker: I hope you had some beautiful strawberries yesterday.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Until next time. We hope you listen and sleep.
Hi Boomer, Staining Decks & Thrift Treasures
(May 41, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that is designed in a way to help you find your way to sleep. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda. Marco. I just remembered that last week we did travel movies and there were so many more.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's true.
>> Amanda Barker: We were going to do more.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, anyway, I don't remember what we did or what we.
>> Amanda Barker: I think we squeezed in a few of the last minutes.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you. Do you want to cover one that we didn't do?
>> Amanda Barker: No. But then I started all week thinking of other ones, but now I don't remember half of them, so. Okay, I'll make a comprehensive list and we'll pick it up next week.
>> Marco Timpano: All right? Okay. So she says, I'll hold you to that, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I just finished staining the deck.
>> Amanda Barker: He sure did. Handyman.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a process. Or process, depending on how you say it.
>> Amanda Barker: How do you say it?
>> Marco Timpano: I say it's a lot of work. Well, our. Our deck is wood, right? And so with the harsh weather that we get here, or harsh winters or snowy winters and hot summers and whatnot, over time the deck gets black. Like it gets mildewy. It gets. I Don't know what it is, Amanda, but it just gets. It doesn't look so nice after a while.
>> Amanda Barker: I call it scum. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda doesn't like it.
>> Amanda Barker: I call it just a nice slippery layer of dexcum.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And there's.
>> Amanda Barker: We have trees.
>> Marco Timpano: We have trees.
>> Amanda Barker: A tree.
>> Marco Timpano: A particular tree, A big tree that sheds on.
>> Amanda Barker: And friends. It sheds all year round. It's equal opportunity with the seasons. You think, oh, okay, we're. We're good now. Nope. It. Right now, it is shedding buds of all kinds.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Little.
>> Marco Timpano: So we have a Norway maple in our backyard. It was one of the things that I really liked about this house. And now I realize a Norway maple is not an indigenous species of maple here in Canada. And so it has a very.
>> Amanda Barker: In the 70s, they just went Norway maple crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: They grow tall and Norwegian wood. Yeah, they do. They grow tall and big, and they have beautiful leaves that turn beautiful colors in the fall.
>> Amanda Barker: But at what cost?
>> Marco Timpano: At what cost?
>> Amanda Barker: So right now, it's spitting. Just looks like little green flower bud clusters.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yellow green. That yellow green color.
>> Amanda Barker: Almost like Queen Anne's lace or something. But like tiny. Tiny. Yeah, but just tiny enough that they get everywhere. And within a day, like, you stained the deck, I noticed, and then it was covered.
>> Marco Timpano: I was sweeping those things off all the time. And Amanda's right, because then at a certain point in the year, all these maple keys fall from the tree, which
>> Amanda Barker: are the seed pods. I forget when maple key season is. I'm sure listeners could remind us. But maple keys, all kinds. So then we're sweeping those. And then the leaves.
>> Marco Timpano: The leaves.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the leaves themselves.
>> Marco Timpano: And maple keys, when they fall, they kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they're really cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Propel like a propeller.
>> Amanda Barker: Nature's amazing. Knows what it's doing.
>> Marco Timpano: And so that tree has all. And then branches fall from that tree, and so.
>> Amanda Barker: And if we're really lucky, then birds live in it, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So there's a lot that that tree brings.
>> Amanda Barker: We're just complaining about nature.
>> Marco Timpano: We love the tree, though. Yeah, we do. We do.
>> Amanda Barker: We built the deck around the tree.
>> Marco Timpano: So as much as we complain about the tree, we also really enjoy the tree. But the tree and the elements made our deck not so nice. So I had to go and get. We have a little porch that's also a wood deck, and we have the back, which is our wood deck.
>> Amanda Barker: And when we say little, I mean tiny compared to, like, probably your home.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So because we live in the city and so. But still enough that I have to like it Wasn't.
>> Amanda Barker: It's work.
>> Marco Timpano: It's work. You've worked.
>> Amanda Barker: Honestly, you've worked so hard on it.
>> Marco Timpano: I got some mildew remover.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I put that in our power washer, and I power washed that then with a brush. Kind of looks like a sweeping brush or like a broom. I guess that's what you call a sweeping brush. A broom. Like a hard, bristled broom. I kind of really worked that cleaning agent into the wood. Then I power washed it, waited for it to dry completely. Then I stained it with a natural wood stain. Had to wait for it to dry. I did half the deck because the other half had all our deck furniture piled in the corner. I gave it two stains. One waited for it to completely dry, moved all the furniture over to the other side, and then did the process again.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And the front porch I actually sanded because I had the power washer on a. It had an attachment that was really, really strong, and it kind of worked too hard into the grain of the wood, so it made all these fibers come out. And I realized I used the wrong nozzle, if you will, to power wash the deck.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no. Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So as a result, like, the wood came up. The wood started to splinter a bit. It started to become fibrous.
>> Amanda Barker: So I almost need that level of clean, though. Because it. Because of the scum and stuff?
>> Marco Timpano: No, because in the back, I didn't need to do that. I just had the wrong attachment. So I sanded the deck down so that it would be nice and smooth.
>> Amanda Barker: In the front.
>> Marco Timpano: In the front. Sorry. The porch.
>> Amanda Barker: That's why it looks so good, though.
>> Marco Timpano: And. And so there wasn't a mark or a mar on it. And I'm happy to do that for the porch because that's what everyone sees. And there's nothing that we really have on the front porch.
>> Amanda Barker: Except for.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because the backyard, even if it's not perfect the way I did it, we have a lot of furniture. We have a lot of plants that we bring out.
>> Amanda Barker: I'll deck it out.
>> Marco Timpano: However, in the front, we just have a concrete flower pot with some bo Yellow bonas this year in it. And so do you like where it
>> Amanda Barker: is now or do you want to move it back to where it was?
>> Marco Timpano: I moved it.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you did?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I did move it. Yeah. So that's the tall tale of our deck.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you want me to get more plants for the front there?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think we need any more plants, to be honest with you.
>> Amanda Barker: It's almost time for These plants to go outside. It would have been time. But it's been so cool.
>> Marco Timpano: It's been a cool, cool spring.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But maybe cool spring, warm summer. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: The interesting thing about cool springs are that the tulips last longer. Like all those bulby flowers last because it's cool and they like the coolness. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like a big refrigerator.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So that's always fun. And we saw a tulip recently that I thought was a peonies. And you said, no, it's a fancy tulip. Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I think it's called like a double tulip. Tiered tulip or a double. There's roses like that too. But yeah, it's a double tulip or something.
>> Marco Timpano: That's pretty.
>> Amanda Barker: Double stop.
>> Marco Timpano: I really like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Have we explained double stop?
>> Marco Timpano: I think we have explained double stop in the past.
>> Amanda Barker: Also talking about the world being a big refrigerator. All I can ever think of our sweet friends who also listen to the program and our guests of the program, Michelle Anima. Their wedding. Remember we got the flowers, but then they had a Persian wedding and a western wedding. So some of the flowers were for the western wedding. So their apartment, they had to blast the air conditioning to keep the flowers fresh.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because it was a few days between each wedding. Right. So the apartment was like a cooler.
>> Amanda Barker: And they knew it too. And they're like, we're so sorry. But it was so, so funny because it was like we had to just blast everything to keep the flowers fresh. Oh, it makes me laugh because they went and got them at the. That beautiful huge flower market in, in Los Angeles.
>> Marco Timpano: That those flowers are beautiful. And that flower market was impressive. I love going to like, I love to go to a market that has a lot of one item things.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Like, you know, I love, I love fish markets. Right. And when I was in Tokyo, I got to go to that big Tokyo fish market.
>> Amanda Barker: Same as I. I went as well. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was before it moved. It has moved since we both went
>> Amanda Barker: to it in its old location, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: And I loved it.
>> Amanda Barker: But not together.
>> Marco Timpano: No. And I loved it and I love going to fish markets. But even going to. I remember Nima and I went to a jewelry, a jewel market in la. So it was all jewelry. Every, every little. Do you call them kiosk stand.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Had different jewelers and some only dealt in certain gemstones.
>> Amanda Barker: I love it.
>> Marco Timpano: Like there would be people who like, we're just diamond people. We don't deal with anything else. And then you'd have other people who were like, we're watch people. We only deal with watches or colored stones or pearls or you name it. And it was so fascinating just to walk and look.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm, absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So that's always fun. I enjoy that. Kind of like, you know, Christmas markets. When we go to Christmas markets. Those are fun. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of a market that isn't fish that I've been to, that's memorable. Or isn't jewelry like a market that's really been focused on one item? I can't really think of any street fairs.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure. Food markets or art fairs. Art fair.
>> Amanda Barker: An art market.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure. Perhaps we walked by a little art market in Florida not too long ago.
>> Amanda Barker: Florida seems to have a lot of them, like, little festivals, and they close off a street downtown, and it always seems like someone's doing, like, chalk designs or something. And. Yeah, there's, like, little stalls and stuff. California does that a lot too. They have so much nice weather.
>> Marco Timpano: There was one that I recall, and the artist took graph paper and put it over sewers in different cities and kind of used charcoal.
>> Amanda Barker: That was in Vero beach, right? Yeah. Very cool.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was framed, and you could get a sewer grate Framed.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, like, he traced the sewer grates. Cool. But also, I mean, cool. Yeah, it was really expensive. I remember.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember that too. I was like, I could probably fly to that city and bring a chalk. Chalk. Chalk or not chalk, Charcoal, and some paper and do the same impression.
>> Amanda Barker: Some orange pylon. So nobody bothered you while you did it and still be cheaper.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So.
>> Amanda Barker: But, I mean, he did a good job.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's true. It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: And when you have, I guess, people there, when you have, you know, money, you're like, oh, let's. Let's get that sewer grade. Remember the time that we lived in Columbus or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes you're in a place and you're like, oh, let's. You're having a great time. You're like, let's get some art. Like, and you're like, you purchase some art, and then you bring it back home and then you put it on your wall, and you're like, I don't know if I like it. No longer in that tropical place.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. People on vacation, they're like, look at this amazing art. You know, in the Caribbean, most of the art is from Haiti. Right, right. Like, most of the art from those types of stalls. And we only know that because we worked on cruise ships, so we'd see the same art in Every stall. And, you know, you'd finally figure out, like, it's all coming from Haiti, which is Caribbean. It's Caribbean art.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But they were the ones that were really producing it at the level that they would actually ship it out to Saint Martin and Aruba and all these other places.
>> Marco Timpano: And so you would see similar art in all these places in that style, and so it became associated with the Caribbean. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: You might remember that I used to collect masks from every single country I went to.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda had so many masks. I think we counted.
>> Amanda Barker: I still have them, but they're in storage.
>> Marco Timpano: We counted, like, 85 masks.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I would try to get one from every country I'd been to, and then I finally gave that up because it's a really intimidating wall when there's masks all over it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Staring at you. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Do we have them on our walls?
>> Marco Timpano: We did. We did have them.
>> Amanda Barker: Some of them.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. We had a lot, actually, and then
>> Amanda Barker: we took them down, and they've just lived in the box since then, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We have a new listener who happens to be a high school friend of mine who really enjoys the podcast and. Or enjoyed listening to the episodes that they listen to. And she said, you guys should talk about trivia, because I used to play Trivial Pursuit back in high school.
>> Amanda Barker: One of my New Year's resolutions of last year that I didn't complete was to join a trivia team.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you know that?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. I mean, I. We have a whole ceremony.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't. I don't remember this.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco and I and two dear friends, we have a whole process where we end our years and create new and
>> Marco Timpano: talk about things we want to do and whatnot. And yours was trivia.
>> Amanda Barker: That was a big one. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So much so that my theme of last year was convivial pursuits.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But then I didn't. I didn't join this trivia team of my dreams. I'd still like to.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you can. I love trivia. I'll do.
>> Amanda Barker: I'll join with you to go to, like, Trivia, like, one Thursday night a month or something or whatever. Go to my. Like, I just think it's like you go to your local bar and, you know the people. We don't do that.
>> Marco Timpano: No, we don't.
>> Amanda Barker: But I feel like in English towns, they do this.
>> Marco Timpano: I think they do that. That all over the place. There's trivia nights all over the place.
>> Amanda Barker: We need to. And Toronto is known as the city. City of neighborhoods. Right. So we need to tap into Our neighborhood and go to a local trivia night.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I won't stop you. I'm happy to go. We watch. We watch Jeopardy. We enjoy Jeopardy. Amanda and I. And Amanda got me a Trivial Pursuit game for my birthday or for Christmas. Now I don't remember.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, I did.
>> Marco Timpano: And I love trivia, but this is. This trivia is a little too modern for me. And one of the questions was, I couldn't think of it. I said, hi, Boomer. And the expression is okay, Boomer. And I couldn't remember.
>> Amanda Barker: So now all we ever say is high Boomer.
>> Marco Timpano: Hi, Boomer.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how the expression is known to us.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. Hi, Boomer.
>> Amanda Barker: Played that game.
>> Marco Timpano: I knew it was a two letter word. Just couldn't think of. Okay, in the moment.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then everybody's looking at you like, you should know this answer.
>> Amanda Barker: And if you don't, then you're the high Boomer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I guess. I guess in that moment I was.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a no win. That's a no win.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, you went thrifting today.
>> Amanda Barker: I did, I did. I had the day off, which isn't always. I'm not structured enough to deal with my days off. My mom was always so good at creating her own schedules and stuff. And I do try and sometimes I succeed, but sometimes I don't. Especially if I have like a whole bunch of days off. Then I really don't, which I don't have. So I'm in luck. But I kind of had, like, sort of a few major things to do today. Not even major, just things I gotta get done. But I didn't do any of them. I instead got in the car and went thrifting to my favorite thrifting place where you just dig through bins of clothes and you treasure hunt.
>> Marco Timpano: Can we talk about it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's called buy the pound because you buy.
>> Amanda Barker: Now I. I in my heart feel that it should be called B U Y the pound.
>> Marco Timpano: B U Y.
>> Amanda Barker: Like buy the pound and buy that you buy. Buy the pound.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, B U, Y.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's not.
>> Marco Timpano: It's B Y. I see you're spelling it out. I thought you were be. Be. I. I didn't realize you were spelling out the word buy.
>> Amanda Barker: I just thought I. It should be called B U. I. Yeah. And I was like a pound.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but like, it's by the pound. Oh, but it, but it would be clever if it was B U Y the pound.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Because then it would be by the pound. But you're buying. Right, yeah. It doesn't matter. It's not called that.
>> Marco Timpano: I've been to this place, my marketing scheme. I've been to this place and I don't think they care about the marketing because it's not.
>> Amanda Barker: It's actually called Marketplace by the pound. There you go. For a market. A one item market.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: This is a one item used clothing market, I suppose.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're in Toronto and you're like, I want to go there. Because sometimes our listeners are like, I want to go there. It's on Orifice Road.
>> Amanda Barker: 55 Orifice Road.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's not a well curated place. That's the point of it.
>> Amanda Barker: The point of it is you treasure hunt. You get a bin. They blast 80s music. No night, no better. 90s music.
>> Marco Timpano: 90s music.
>> Amanda Barker: They blast like dance music. Like, like today they were blasting oh, Sonique.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love Sonique.
>> Amanda Barker: Feels so good. Was it Soni?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it feels so good. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, it doesn't matter.
>> Marco Timpano: It.
>> Amanda Barker: They were blasting that like the best of. Of 2001.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay. A high boomer.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Yeah. And so, and so I was digging through stuff, pants and tops. Just wanted to find a couple new tops from work. But the way it works is you can't just buy one pound of clothes.
>> Marco Timpano: You have to buy five, minimum of five.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's five bucks a pound, but you gotta buy five. So you're not walk. If you're buying stuff, you're not walking out of there with less than $25 minimum.
>> Marco Timpano: Spend 25.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Today I spent 31 because it's hard to get the met. You know, I was under my five pounds. So I threw in this blazer that I was like unsure about, but it had some heft to it and that took it over and she's like, well, you can go get something else. And I was like, I don't have the patience. I was ready to go.
>> Marco Timpano: So I got.
>> Amanda Barker: Blazer is now mine.
>> Marco Timpano: I got a leather jacket from by the pound.
>> Amanda Barker: You did? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so it was a really heavy,
>> Amanda Barker: strong, like a substantial leather.
>> Marco Timpano: Like the leather felt quality, if that makes sense.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's not a bomber, it's. It goes past your hips a little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I don't even know how to describe what it looks like, but I. As soon as I put it on.
>> Amanda Barker: Leather pea coat almost.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, like a leather pea coat, but not ish. Anyways, I really liked it when I, when I put it on and I, and I showed it to you and I'm like, wow, this is great. And you. You had said, well, you'll probably spend 25 bucks or less for that because it's not. It's not going to be five pounds. I said, no, it's maybe. Maybe it's two pounds. Yeah. Two, three pounds.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was like, oh, you're right. And that this leather jacket would probably cost around, let's say, 200 in the store or whatnot.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: At least.
>> Amanda Barker: And it was new. Like, no one had worn this jacket.
>> Marco Timpano: It was wonderful. I really liked it. And so I liked it. And I casually said to Amanda, I said, oh, you know what? I would love it if the liner inside the inside lining of the jacket was colorful because it's a black leather jacket, and a pop of color on the inside is always a pleasant little surprise. Right. And so unbeknownst to me, Amanda heard that and decided to get the liner changed for me as a surprise.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I remember looking for that jacket several times.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Where did I put the jacket? I looked in our spare room and in our office, and I was like. Because I had bought it in the summer. I had bought it when you don't buy a heavy leather jacket like that. And so in the fall, I was looking for it. I couldn't find it.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you buy in the summer? Did you buy in the fall?
>> Marco Timpano: It was still warm outside.
>> Amanda Barker: It was definitely still warm.
>> Marco Timpano: So I bought it in non leather jacket weather. So it was either late summer or early, early fall. Couldn't find it when I wanted it. Could not find it.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't realize you wanted it in the fall.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a.
>> Amanda Barker: You might have worn it a few times in the fall.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I never got a chance to wear it.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't? No.
>> Marco Timpano: And I kept looking for it. I couldn't find it. And I was like, where did I put it? And then I would forget to ask you. And so then I would just put on my other jackets and.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, okay. But I didn't take it till December, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you took it in December. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So I don't. It didn't. It was in this house. So if you actually looked for it,
>> Marco Timpano: I probably looked in December.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because our. Our December was mild.
>> Amanda Barker: I think our fall was pretty mild.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. But I didn't. Yeah. That's why I'm saying, like, I. I think you got it later than you think, because I didn't. It didn't leave this house until December.
>> Marco Timpano: So it left the house in December,
>> Amanda Barker: unbeknownst to me, because I was trying to get it for his birthday from a very good friend who's a seamstress who said she could do it. And then she was like, I don't think I can do it in time. And then I was like, how about Christmas? Nope, can't do it in time, and I'm going to Winnipeg. But at this point, she has a jacket, right? So I was like, well, what can I say? We'll make it a Valentine's Day present, right? Then we went away for Valentine's, and I hadn't seen her anyway, so I was like, well, it's an anniversary present.
>> Marco Timpano: And so the day before. Anniversary. Was it the day before Amanda? I think it was the day before.
>> Amanda Barker: I was like, two days.
>> Marco Timpano: Two days before. I was like, I need my leather jacket. I can't find my leather jacket. Do you know?
>> Amanda Barker: And he said something. I said, oh, remind me, and I'll. And when we're home, remind. We were out somewhere. And I was like, oh, remind me and I'll find it for you. The thinking he wouldn't remember and that I could stall for another two days.
>> Marco Timpano: And then instead. Hi, Boomer. I said, where's my leather jacket? I really want my leather jacket. And you presented me with the jacket.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, okay, let me go. And I'm like, it's in the car. And he was like, why is it in the car? And he got upset because he thought I had used it as a costume piece or something.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought Amanda had taken my leather jacket and done on unsavory things with it. So.
>> Amanda Barker: So for my work, I often need costume pieces from. For my work and I. For other people to wear. So he was upset that maybe I took it for other people to wear.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't want my leather jacket, which I wouldn't have done, but defiled by other people.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: So it wasn't.
>> Amanda Barker: I couldn't bring it in the house. I was never, as it turns out, coming from the car. Or maybe I was, and I forgot the few times, but I got it from her probably end of March or early April. Oh, yeah. And so then I was like, I just have to wait a month. But it was really cold. It was too cold for you to be wearing it, really. Which is crazy that it was that cold, but it was.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And so I left it in the car because anytime you and I were going to the house, I didn't want to be like, oh, let me get this big garment bag. That I've sort of wedged under a blanket and, you know, grocery bags and things.
>> Marco Timpano: And then one day I saw the. The garment bag, and I don't even remember what I said to you.
>> Amanda Barker: You're like, what is that? What's the garment bag? And I was like, oh, that's Dale's. That's something at Dale's.
>> Marco Timpano: One of our friends, our dear friends.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know why I would have a garment bag of her stuff, but you seem to go, oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Hi, Boomer. And I let that one sneak past. But anyways, Amanda brought me the jacket, and I love it. I love it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's so cool. It's really funky.
>> Marco Timpano: It's very colorful. I'll take a photo of it, and
>> Amanda Barker: I'll put it on her Instagram and tag our. My dear friend in yours, Vanessa, she's an amazing seamstress, and she makes jackets.
>> Marco Timpano: And you can tell because the lining of the jacket is perfection. Like, it's.
>> Amanda Barker: It's incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: It's lined as if it was a designer jacket. Like, it's not just.
>> Amanda Barker: She is a designer.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no.
>> Amanda Barker: She's a proper designer, 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: And you can tell there's a difference between lining a jacket and lining it the way Vanessa did. And I really appreciate it. So.
>> Amanda Barker: And. And not only that, she makes jackets, and at one point was like, I'm so sorry. I can get this to you in time. Might you want to. I can make him a jacket. She offered to make you a jacket? She makes bomber jackets. Okay. You've had bomber jackets in the past. I didn't think that was the style that you were after, so I said, no, let's just wait and do this one.
>> Marco Timpano: So, anyways, love the jacket. Thank you, Vanessa. Thank you, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Vanessa Wishart is her name. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And she's phenomenal, and I'm getting a lot of compliments on it.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And it's funny because it's the inside liner, so only when I'm taking it off do people see it.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's like a little surprise.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a little surprise in every zip. So that's that. That's the little story behind that.
>> Amanda Barker: Very cool. Yeah, it's beautiful. It's really fun, funky. She found the material, and, yeah, I'm grateful it all worked out. It was a long, long plan. I played the long game with that
>> Marco Timpano: one, and it worked marvelously.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. She's costumed. She did the costuming for a show that I was in a theater show about 10 years ago, and then she did another one. And I actually worked on the Lilly Singh Live show, and she did the costuming for that. So I was a production person on that and worked with her on that. And then, yeah, like, she. She does Fashion Week. Like, she's. She's a really great designer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Out of this world. And speaking of out of this world, it's time for us to go. I hope you enjoyed this particular episode. If you're staying your deck, I wish you the best.
>> Amanda Barker: If you're relining your jacket, I wish you the best.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're a boomer, I say hi to you. Hope you enjoyed this episode and hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(May 41, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that is designed in a way to help you find your way to sleep. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda. Marco. I just remembered that last week we did travel movies and there were so many more.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's true.
>> Amanda Barker: We were going to do more.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, anyway, I don't remember what we did or what we.
>> Amanda Barker: I think we squeezed in a few of the last minutes.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you. Do you want to cover one that we didn't do?
>> Amanda Barker: No. But then I started all week thinking of other ones, but now I don't remember half of them, so. Okay, I'll make a comprehensive list and we'll pick it up next week.
>> Marco Timpano: All right? Okay. So she says, I'll hold you to that, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I just finished staining the deck.
>> Amanda Barker: He sure did. Handyman.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a process. Or process, depending on how you say it.
>> Amanda Barker: How do you say it?
>> Marco Timpano: I say it's a lot of work. Well, our. Our deck is wood, right? And so with the harsh weather that we get here, or harsh winters or snowy winters and hot summers and whatnot, over time the deck gets black. Like it gets mildewy. It gets. I Don't know what it is, Amanda, but it just gets. It doesn't look so nice after a while.
>> Amanda Barker: I call it scum. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda doesn't like it.
>> Amanda Barker: I call it just a nice slippery layer of dexcum.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And there's.
>> Amanda Barker: We have trees.
>> Marco Timpano: We have trees.
>> Amanda Barker: A tree.
>> Marco Timpano: A particular tree, A big tree that sheds on.
>> Amanda Barker: And friends. It sheds all year round. It's equal opportunity with the seasons. You think, oh, okay, we're. We're good now. Nope. It. Right now, it is shedding buds of all kinds.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Little.
>> Marco Timpano: So we have a Norway maple in our backyard. It was one of the things that I really liked about this house. And now I realize a Norway maple is not an indigenous species of maple here in Canada. And so it has a very.
>> Amanda Barker: In the 70s, they just went Norway maple crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: They grow tall and Norwegian wood. Yeah, they do. They grow tall and big, and they have beautiful leaves that turn beautiful colors in the fall.
>> Amanda Barker: But at what cost?
>> Marco Timpano: At what cost?
>> Amanda Barker: So right now, it's spitting. Just looks like little green flower bud clusters.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yellow green. That yellow green color.
>> Amanda Barker: Almost like Queen Anne's lace or something. But like tiny. Tiny. Yeah, but just tiny enough that they get everywhere. And within a day, like, you stained the deck, I noticed, and then it was covered.
>> Marco Timpano: I was sweeping those things off all the time. And Amanda's right, because then at a certain point in the year, all these maple keys fall from the tree, which
>> Amanda Barker: are the seed pods. I forget when maple key season is. I'm sure listeners could remind us. But maple keys, all kinds. So then we're sweeping those. And then the leaves.
>> Marco Timpano: The leaves.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the leaves themselves.
>> Marco Timpano: And maple keys, when they fall, they kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they're really cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Propel like a propeller.
>> Amanda Barker: Nature's amazing. Knows what it's doing.
>> Marco Timpano: And so that tree has all. And then branches fall from that tree, and so.
>> Amanda Barker: And if we're really lucky, then birds live in it, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So there's a lot that that tree brings.
>> Amanda Barker: We're just complaining about nature.
>> Marco Timpano: We love the tree, though. Yeah, we do. We do.
>> Amanda Barker: We built the deck around the tree.
>> Marco Timpano: So as much as we complain about the tree, we also really enjoy the tree. But the tree and the elements made our deck not so nice. So I had to go and get. We have a little porch that's also a wood deck, and we have the back, which is our wood deck.
>> Amanda Barker: And when we say little, I mean tiny compared to, like, probably your home.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So because we live in the city and so. But still enough that I have to like it Wasn't.
>> Amanda Barker: It's work.
>> Marco Timpano: It's work. You've worked.
>> Amanda Barker: Honestly, you've worked so hard on it.
>> Marco Timpano: I got some mildew remover.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I put that in our power washer, and I power washed that then with a brush. Kind of looks like a sweeping brush or like a broom. I guess that's what you call a sweeping brush. A broom. Like a hard, bristled broom. I kind of really worked that cleaning agent into the wood. Then I power washed it, waited for it to dry completely. Then I stained it with a natural wood stain. Had to wait for it to dry. I did half the deck because the other half had all our deck furniture piled in the corner. I gave it two stains. One waited for it to completely dry, moved all the furniture over to the other side, and then did the process again.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And the front porch I actually sanded because I had the power washer on a. It had an attachment that was really, really strong, and it kind of worked too hard into the grain of the wood, so it made all these fibers come out. And I realized I used the wrong nozzle, if you will, to power wash the deck.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no. Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So as a result, like, the wood came up. The wood started to splinter a bit. It started to become fibrous.
>> Amanda Barker: So I almost need that level of clean, though. Because it. Because of the scum and stuff?
>> Marco Timpano: No, because in the back, I didn't need to do that. I just had the wrong attachment. So I sanded the deck down so that it would be nice and smooth.
>> Amanda Barker: In the front.
>> Marco Timpano: In the front. Sorry. The porch.
>> Amanda Barker: That's why it looks so good, though.
>> Marco Timpano: And. And so there wasn't a mark or a mar on it. And I'm happy to do that for the porch because that's what everyone sees. And there's nothing that we really have on the front porch.
>> Amanda Barker: Except for.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because the backyard, even if it's not perfect the way I did it, we have a lot of furniture. We have a lot of plants that we bring out.
>> Amanda Barker: I'll deck it out.
>> Marco Timpano: However, in the front, we just have a concrete flower pot with some bo Yellow bonas this year in it. And so do you like where it
>> Amanda Barker: is now or do you want to move it back to where it was?
>> Marco Timpano: I moved it.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you did?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I did move it. Yeah. So that's the tall tale of our deck.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you want me to get more plants for the front there?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think we need any more plants, to be honest with you.
>> Amanda Barker: It's almost time for These plants to go outside. It would have been time. But it's been so cool.
>> Marco Timpano: It's been a cool, cool spring.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But maybe cool spring, warm summer. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: The interesting thing about cool springs are that the tulips last longer. Like all those bulby flowers last because it's cool and they like the coolness. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like a big refrigerator.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So that's always fun. And we saw a tulip recently that I thought was a peonies. And you said, no, it's a fancy tulip. Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I think it's called like a double tulip. Tiered tulip or a double. There's roses like that too. But yeah, it's a double tulip or something.
>> Marco Timpano: That's pretty.
>> Amanda Barker: Double stop.
>> Marco Timpano: I really like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Have we explained double stop?
>> Marco Timpano: I think we have explained double stop in the past.
>> Amanda Barker: Also talking about the world being a big refrigerator. All I can ever think of our sweet friends who also listen to the program and our guests of the program, Michelle Anima. Their wedding. Remember we got the flowers, but then they had a Persian wedding and a western wedding. So some of the flowers were for the western wedding. So their apartment, they had to blast the air conditioning to keep the flowers fresh.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because it was a few days between each wedding. Right. So the apartment was like a cooler.
>> Amanda Barker: And they knew it too. And they're like, we're so sorry. But it was so, so funny because it was like we had to just blast everything to keep the flowers fresh. Oh, it makes me laugh because they went and got them at the. That beautiful huge flower market in, in Los Angeles.
>> Marco Timpano: That those flowers are beautiful. And that flower market was impressive. I love going to like, I love to go to a market that has a lot of one item things.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Like, you know, I love, I love fish markets. Right. And when I was in Tokyo, I got to go to that big Tokyo fish market.
>> Amanda Barker: Same as I. I went as well. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was before it moved. It has moved since we both went
>> Amanda Barker: to it in its old location, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: And I loved it.
>> Amanda Barker: But not together.
>> Marco Timpano: No. And I loved it and I love going to fish markets. But even going to. I remember Nima and I went to a jewelry, a jewel market in la. So it was all jewelry. Every, every little. Do you call them kiosk stand.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Had different jewelers and some only dealt in certain gemstones.
>> Amanda Barker: I love it.
>> Marco Timpano: Like there would be people who like, we're just diamond people. We don't deal with anything else. And then you'd have other people who were like, we're watch people. We only deal with watches or colored stones or pearls or you name it. And it was so fascinating just to walk and look.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm, absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So that's always fun. I enjoy that. Kind of like, you know, Christmas markets. When we go to Christmas markets. Those are fun. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of a market that isn't fish that I've been to, that's memorable. Or isn't jewelry like a market that's really been focused on one item? I can't really think of any street fairs.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure. Food markets or art fairs. Art fair.
>> Amanda Barker: An art market.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure. Perhaps we walked by a little art market in Florida not too long ago.
>> Amanda Barker: Florida seems to have a lot of them, like, little festivals, and they close off a street downtown, and it always seems like someone's doing, like, chalk designs or something. And. Yeah, there's, like, little stalls and stuff. California does that a lot too. They have so much nice weather.
>> Marco Timpano: There was one that I recall, and the artist took graph paper and put it over sewers in different cities and kind of used charcoal.
>> Amanda Barker: That was in Vero beach, right? Yeah. Very cool.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was framed, and you could get a sewer grate Framed.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, like, he traced the sewer grates. Cool. But also, I mean, cool. Yeah, it was really expensive. I remember.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember that too. I was like, I could probably fly to that city and bring a chalk. Chalk. Chalk or not chalk, Charcoal, and some paper and do the same impression.
>> Amanda Barker: Some orange pylon. So nobody bothered you while you did it and still be cheaper.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So.
>> Amanda Barker: But, I mean, he did a good job.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's true. It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: And when you have, I guess, people there, when you have, you know, money, you're like, oh, let's. Let's get that sewer grade. Remember the time that we lived in Columbus or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes you're in a place and you're like, oh, let's. You're having a great time. You're like, let's get some art. Like, and you're like, you purchase some art, and then you bring it back home and then you put it on your wall, and you're like, I don't know if I like it. No longer in that tropical place.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. People on vacation, they're like, look at this amazing art. You know, in the Caribbean, most of the art is from Haiti. Right, right. Like, most of the art from those types of stalls. And we only know that because we worked on cruise ships, so we'd see the same art in Every stall. And, you know, you'd finally figure out, like, it's all coming from Haiti, which is Caribbean. It's Caribbean art.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But they were the ones that were really producing it at the level that they would actually ship it out to Saint Martin and Aruba and all these other places.
>> Marco Timpano: And so you would see similar art in all these places in that style, and so it became associated with the Caribbean. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: You might remember that I used to collect masks from every single country I went to.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda had so many masks. I think we counted.
>> Amanda Barker: I still have them, but they're in storage.
>> Marco Timpano: We counted, like, 85 masks.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I would try to get one from every country I'd been to, and then I finally gave that up because it's a really intimidating wall when there's masks all over it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Staring at you. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Do we have them on our walls?
>> Marco Timpano: We did. We did have them.
>> Amanda Barker: Some of them.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. We had a lot, actually, and then
>> Amanda Barker: we took them down, and they've just lived in the box since then, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We have a new listener who happens to be a high school friend of mine who really enjoys the podcast and. Or enjoyed listening to the episodes that they listen to. And she said, you guys should talk about trivia, because I used to play Trivial Pursuit back in high school.
>> Amanda Barker: One of my New Year's resolutions of last year that I didn't complete was to join a trivia team.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you know that?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. I mean, I. We have a whole ceremony.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't. I don't remember this.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco and I and two dear friends, we have a whole process where we end our years and create new and
>> Marco Timpano: talk about things we want to do and whatnot. And yours was trivia.
>> Amanda Barker: That was a big one. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So much so that my theme of last year was convivial pursuits.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But then I didn't. I didn't join this trivia team of my dreams. I'd still like to.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you can. I love trivia. I'll do.
>> Amanda Barker: I'll join with you to go to, like, Trivia, like, one Thursday night a month or something or whatever. Go to my. Like, I just think it's like you go to your local bar and, you know the people. We don't do that.
>> Marco Timpano: No, we don't.
>> Amanda Barker: But I feel like in English towns, they do this.
>> Marco Timpano: I think they do that. That all over the place. There's trivia nights all over the place.
>> Amanda Barker: We need to. And Toronto is known as the city. City of neighborhoods. Right. So we need to tap into Our neighborhood and go to a local trivia night.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I won't stop you. I'm happy to go. We watch. We watch Jeopardy. We enjoy Jeopardy. Amanda and I. And Amanda got me a Trivial Pursuit game for my birthday or for Christmas. Now I don't remember.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, I did.
>> Marco Timpano: And I love trivia, but this is. This trivia is a little too modern for me. And one of the questions was, I couldn't think of it. I said, hi, Boomer. And the expression is okay, Boomer. And I couldn't remember.
>> Amanda Barker: So now all we ever say is high Boomer.
>> Marco Timpano: Hi, Boomer.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how the expression is known to us.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. Hi, Boomer.
>> Amanda Barker: Played that game.
>> Marco Timpano: I knew it was a two letter word. Just couldn't think of. Okay, in the moment.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then everybody's looking at you like, you should know this answer.
>> Amanda Barker: And if you don't, then you're the high Boomer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I guess. I guess in that moment I was.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a no win. That's a no win.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, you went thrifting today.
>> Amanda Barker: I did, I did. I had the day off, which isn't always. I'm not structured enough to deal with my days off. My mom was always so good at creating her own schedules and stuff. And I do try and sometimes I succeed, but sometimes I don't. Especially if I have like a whole bunch of days off. Then I really don't, which I don't have. So I'm in luck. But I kind of had, like, sort of a few major things to do today. Not even major, just things I gotta get done. But I didn't do any of them. I instead got in the car and went thrifting to my favorite thrifting place where you just dig through bins of clothes and you treasure hunt.
>> Marco Timpano: Can we talk about it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's called buy the pound because you buy.
>> Amanda Barker: Now I. I in my heart feel that it should be called B U Y the pound.
>> Marco Timpano: B U Y.
>> Amanda Barker: Like buy the pound and buy that you buy. Buy the pound.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, B U, Y.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's not.
>> Marco Timpano: It's B Y. I see you're spelling it out. I thought you were be. Be. I. I didn't realize you were spelling out the word buy.
>> Amanda Barker: I just thought I. It should be called B U. I. Yeah. And I was like a pound.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but like, it's by the pound. Oh, but it, but it would be clever if it was B U Y the pound.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Because then it would be by the pound. But you're buying. Right, yeah. It doesn't matter. It's not called that.
>> Marco Timpano: I've been to this place, my marketing scheme. I've been to this place and I don't think they care about the marketing because it's not.
>> Amanda Barker: It's actually called Marketplace by the pound. There you go. For a market. A one item market.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: This is a one item used clothing market, I suppose.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're in Toronto and you're like, I want to go there. Because sometimes our listeners are like, I want to go there. It's on Orifice Road.
>> Amanda Barker: 55 Orifice Road.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's not a well curated place. That's the point of it.
>> Amanda Barker: The point of it is you treasure hunt. You get a bin. They blast 80s music. No night, no better. 90s music.
>> Marco Timpano: 90s music.
>> Amanda Barker: They blast like dance music. Like, like today they were blasting oh, Sonique.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love Sonique.
>> Amanda Barker: Feels so good. Was it Soni?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it feels so good. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, it doesn't matter.
>> Marco Timpano: It.
>> Amanda Barker: They were blasting that like the best of. Of 2001.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay. A high boomer.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Yeah. And so, and so I was digging through stuff, pants and tops. Just wanted to find a couple new tops from work. But the way it works is you can't just buy one pound of clothes.
>> Marco Timpano: You have to buy five, minimum of five.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's five bucks a pound, but you gotta buy five. So you're not walk. If you're buying stuff, you're not walking out of there with less than $25 minimum.
>> Marco Timpano: Spend 25.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Today I spent 31 because it's hard to get the met. You know, I was under my five pounds. So I threw in this blazer that I was like unsure about, but it had some heft to it and that took it over and she's like, well, you can go get something else. And I was like, I don't have the patience. I was ready to go.
>> Marco Timpano: So I got.
>> Amanda Barker: Blazer is now mine.
>> Marco Timpano: I got a leather jacket from by the pound.
>> Amanda Barker: You did? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so it was a really heavy,
>> Amanda Barker: strong, like a substantial leather.
>> Marco Timpano: Like the leather felt quality, if that makes sense.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's not a bomber, it's. It goes past your hips a little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I don't even know how to describe what it looks like, but I. As soon as I put it on.
>> Amanda Barker: Leather pea coat almost.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, like a leather pea coat, but not ish. Anyways, I really liked it when I, when I put it on and I, and I showed it to you and I'm like, wow, this is great. And you. You had said, well, you'll probably spend 25 bucks or less for that because it's not. It's not going to be five pounds. I said, no, it's maybe. Maybe it's two pounds. Yeah. Two, three pounds.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was like, oh, you're right. And that this leather jacket would probably cost around, let's say, 200 in the store or whatnot.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: At least.
>> Amanda Barker: And it was new. Like, no one had worn this jacket.
>> Marco Timpano: It was wonderful. I really liked it. And so I liked it. And I casually said to Amanda, I said, oh, you know what? I would love it if the liner inside the inside lining of the jacket was colorful because it's a black leather jacket, and a pop of color on the inside is always a pleasant little surprise. Right. And so unbeknownst to me, Amanda heard that and decided to get the liner changed for me as a surprise.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I remember looking for that jacket several times.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Where did I put the jacket? I looked in our spare room and in our office, and I was like. Because I had bought it in the summer. I had bought it when you don't buy a heavy leather jacket like that. And so in the fall, I was looking for it. I couldn't find it.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you buy in the summer? Did you buy in the fall?
>> Marco Timpano: It was still warm outside.
>> Amanda Barker: It was definitely still warm.
>> Marco Timpano: So I bought it in non leather jacket weather. So it was either late summer or early, early fall. Couldn't find it when I wanted it. Could not find it.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't realize you wanted it in the fall.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a.
>> Amanda Barker: You might have worn it a few times in the fall.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I never got a chance to wear it.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't? No.
>> Marco Timpano: And I kept looking for it. I couldn't find it. And I was like, where did I put it? And then I would forget to ask you. And so then I would just put on my other jackets and.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, okay. But I didn't take it till December, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you took it in December. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So I don't. It didn't. It was in this house. So if you actually looked for it,
>> Marco Timpano: I probably looked in December.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because our. Our December was mild.
>> Amanda Barker: I think our fall was pretty mild.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. But I didn't. Yeah. That's why I'm saying, like, I. I think you got it later than you think, because I didn't. It didn't leave this house until December.
>> Marco Timpano: So it left the house in December,
>> Amanda Barker: unbeknownst to me, because I was trying to get it for his birthday from a very good friend who's a seamstress who said she could do it. And then she was like, I don't think I can do it in time. And then I was like, how about Christmas? Nope, can't do it in time, and I'm going to Winnipeg. But at this point, she has a jacket, right? So I was like, well, what can I say? We'll make it a Valentine's Day present, right? Then we went away for Valentine's, and I hadn't seen her anyway, so I was like, well, it's an anniversary present.
>> Marco Timpano: And so the day before. Anniversary. Was it the day before Amanda? I think it was the day before.
>> Amanda Barker: I was like, two days.
>> Marco Timpano: Two days before. I was like, I need my leather jacket. I can't find my leather jacket. Do you know?
>> Amanda Barker: And he said something. I said, oh, remind me, and I'll. And when we're home, remind. We were out somewhere. And I was like, oh, remind me and I'll find it for you. The thinking he wouldn't remember and that I could stall for another two days.
>> Marco Timpano: And then instead. Hi, Boomer. I said, where's my leather jacket? I really want my leather jacket. And you presented me with the jacket.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, okay, let me go. And I'm like, it's in the car. And he was like, why is it in the car? And he got upset because he thought I had used it as a costume piece or something.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought Amanda had taken my leather jacket and done on unsavory things with it. So.
>> Amanda Barker: So for my work, I often need costume pieces from. For my work and I. For other people to wear. So he was upset that maybe I took it for other people to wear.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't want my leather jacket, which I wouldn't have done, but defiled by other people.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: So it wasn't.
>> Amanda Barker: I couldn't bring it in the house. I was never, as it turns out, coming from the car. Or maybe I was, and I forgot the few times, but I got it from her probably end of March or early April. Oh, yeah. And so then I was like, I just have to wait a month. But it was really cold. It was too cold for you to be wearing it, really. Which is crazy that it was that cold, but it was.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And so I left it in the car because anytime you and I were going to the house, I didn't want to be like, oh, let me get this big garment bag. That I've sort of wedged under a blanket and, you know, grocery bags and things.
>> Marco Timpano: And then one day I saw the. The garment bag, and I don't even remember what I said to you.
>> Amanda Barker: You're like, what is that? What's the garment bag? And I was like, oh, that's Dale's. That's something at Dale's.
>> Marco Timpano: One of our friends, our dear friends.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know why I would have a garment bag of her stuff, but you seem to go, oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Hi, Boomer. And I let that one sneak past. But anyways, Amanda brought me the jacket, and I love it. I love it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's so cool. It's really funky.
>> Marco Timpano: It's very colorful. I'll take a photo of it, and
>> Amanda Barker: I'll put it on her Instagram and tag our. My dear friend in yours, Vanessa, she's an amazing seamstress, and she makes jackets.
>> Marco Timpano: And you can tell because the lining of the jacket is perfection. Like, it's.
>> Amanda Barker: It's incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: It's lined as if it was a designer jacket. Like, it's not just.
>> Amanda Barker: She is a designer.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no.
>> Amanda Barker: She's a proper designer, 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: And you can tell there's a difference between lining a jacket and lining it the way Vanessa did. And I really appreciate it. So.
>> Amanda Barker: And. And not only that, she makes jackets, and at one point was like, I'm so sorry. I can get this to you in time. Might you want to. I can make him a jacket. She offered to make you a jacket? She makes bomber jackets. Okay. You've had bomber jackets in the past. I didn't think that was the style that you were after, so I said, no, let's just wait and do this one.
>> Marco Timpano: So, anyways, love the jacket. Thank you, Vanessa. Thank you, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Vanessa Wishart is her name. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And she's phenomenal, and I'm getting a lot of compliments on it.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And it's funny because it's the inside liner, so only when I'm taking it off do people see it.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's like a little surprise.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a little surprise in every zip. So that's that. That's the little story behind that.
>> Amanda Barker: Very cool. Yeah, it's beautiful. It's really fun, funky. She found the material, and, yeah, I'm grateful it all worked out. It was a long, long plan. I played the long game with that
>> Marco Timpano: one, and it worked marvelously.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. She's costumed. She did the costuming for a show that I was in a theater show about 10 years ago, and then she did another one. And I actually worked on the Lilly Singh Live show, and she did the costuming for that. So I was a production person on that and worked with her on that. And then, yeah, like, she. She does Fashion Week. Like, she's. She's a really great designer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Out of this world. And speaking of out of this world, it's time for us to go. I hope you enjoyed this particular episode. If you're staying your deck, I wish you the best.
>> Amanda Barker: If you're relining your jacket, I wish you the best.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're a boomer, I say hi to you. Hope you enjoyed this episode and hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Travel Films and Listener Messages
Original airdate: May 7 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, grab yourself an iced tea, a cold water, a warm beverage, and just enjoy this podcast, which is meant to help you find your way to sleep. And if that doesn't work, it's at least going to hopefully help you. Hopefully help you divert your attention.
>> Amanda Barker: What happened there?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. The record skip, I think so my F became a V, I think, is what happened there.
>> Amanda Barker: The kids wouldn't know about record skipping. Probably.
>> Marco Timpano: Probably not. I mean, I'm your host.
>> Amanda Barker: DJs. I guess they would.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker, your resident dj.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. And Amanda, we have some housekeeping to do, so I'm going to do that right now.
>> Amanda Barker: You said that very Canadianly.
>> Marco Timpano: Did I?
>> Amanda Barker: Housekeeping.
>> Marco Timpano: Housekeeping to do. We do have some housekeeping to.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the house? Keeping a boat.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so we've got some. We people have messaged us and stuff, and it's taken me a while to get to them. So on April.
>> Amanda Barker: Me too.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. Amanda does none of that.
>> Amanda Barker: None of it.
>> Marco Timpano: So EC Wise reached out to us. Remember April 2nd, it snowed. And it was snowing in April. Really crazily. Well, they wrote. Love to you and Amanda from Georgia, usa. Your podcasts are greatly appreciated. You both are amazing hosts.
>> Amanda Barker: That's nice.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so nice.
>> Amanda Barker: And we love Georgia.
>> Marco Timpano: We love Georgia.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh. We haven't been back to Georgia in a while.
>> Marco Timpano: My colleague, Mark Browning, I don't know if I should mention his last name, but he's great.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Why not shout out to Mark. Very talented actor and creator and a lot of things.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways. And he makes me laugh quite a bit. Mark went to Georgia because that's where his partner's from just recently. And I said, savannah has the best food. You won't have any problem finding great food in Savannah.
>> Amanda Barker: Was he going to Savannah?
>> Marco Timpano: He was going to Savannah. He was going.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, Atlanta has pretty great food.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Atlanta. I mean, there's nothing to snark at when you're in a cafe.
>> Amanda Barker: And never mind. Macon. We had a good time in Macon.
>> Marco Timpano: Decatur. Probably my favorite Decatur meal I've had in a long time was in Decatur.
>> Amanda Barker: It was such a memorable, beautiful meal that night.
>> Marco Timpano: It was magical.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was one of those for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: So, EC wise, thank you for that shout out. We really appreciate it. We love your state, and we hope you continue to enjoy our podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like there was more to the Mark Browning story. You just said Mark Browning went to Georgia and you said there's good food. That's the whole story.
>> Marco Timpano: He went to Georgia. I had recommended a few places in Savannah.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But he did not go there.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. He didn't go to Savannah or those places.
>> Marco Timpano: Those places.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's fine. I mean, it. To be fair, it's been exactly 15 years since we've been there, so perhaps there are some new places to go.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, he was there with his partner's family.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And I think they gave him a bum steer and took him somewhere else, even though he had mentioned the places.
>> Amanda Barker: Bum steer? Why? He wasn't happy with the food he had?
>> Marco Timpano: No, he said it was fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, then I don't think that's a bum steer.
>> Marco Timpano: For me, it's a bum steer. I recommend a place. I expect you to go there.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Tough customer.
>> Marco Timpano: Tough customer.
>> Amanda Barker: We've switched microphones today. I just want to throw that in there.
>> Marco Timpano: We switched microphones because I can hear
>> Amanda Barker: more mouth noise from you today. So maybe it is that microphone.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's this microphone. We've got a sensor.
>> Amanda Barker: Let us know how you feel about Marco's mouth noise.
>> Marco Timpano: It's usually Amanda's mouth noise. And I'm, like, trying to try to mitigate it, so.
>> Amanda Barker: And look at me, all quiet. Mouth.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: And you're Mr. We got into a little Mr. ASMR over there.
>> Marco Timpano: We got into a little bit of a row before.
>> Amanda Barker: A row.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't that what people say?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it sounds like we were a row. It was a very Canadian row. Then. Very polite.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm like, stop breathing in the mic.
>> Amanda Barker: He's like, sometimes you breathe in the mic. And he goes, actually, he said sometimes you breathe. I was like. And he's like, well, I'm moving you so to see if you don't breathe as much. I have to say, maybe I don't because it's more roomy over here. Over there, it's more claustrophobic.
>> Marco Timpano: Indeed, indeed. Which I don't mind. I like a snug. You're not a snug person.
>> Amanda Barker: No. I am. What are you talking about? What's my dream? Living in a van. I think that's snug.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I don't know. I'm not too sure. But back to housekeeping.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: There's more I have to cover here. So when our first episode for season 10 came out, Linda Porter, on her Facebook, wrote, yay. And so she was happy that we.
>> Amanda Barker: That's nice.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm just gonna say thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: Where is she?
>> Marco Timpano: Didn't say.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Is she of the New Brunswick Porters? I wonder.
>> Marco Timpano: Perhaps.
>> Amanda Barker: I know a few.
>> Marco Timpano: But actually.
>> Amanda Barker: Actually,
>> Marco Timpano: we've got some more Linda Porter news.
>> Amanda Barker: So on February 18th, heartbreaking news.
>> Marco Timpano: February 18th of last year.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, this year. Sorry. Of this year. I wrote what's your walk home like? Because ours was full of snow. And Linda wrote, no walking or driving up here in the Laurentians. Oh, beautiful. So there we go. And they said, come on.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, the Laurentians. Do all our listeners know where the Laurentians are?
>> Marco Timpano: Please inform them.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think they're in Quebec, are they not?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the Laurentians are in Quebec for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Beautiful. The beautiful mountains of Quebec. What more is there to know? Are they part of the Appalachians?
>> Marco Timpano: No, they're the Laurentians.
>> Amanda Barker: They're their own thing.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: But the Appalachians, like, end in, like, New Brunswick and start in, like, maybe Georgia. I don't know. There's a lot more of Appalachian than people realize, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's Appalachian is how you say it.
>> Amanda Barker: No, Really?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Not where I grew up. Not those Appalachians. Appalachians.
>> Marco Timpano: Appalachian Trail. Yeah, I believe.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, here's one that came up this week. I had an audition yesterday, and I said bourgeoisie, and someone said bourgeoisie. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, I think that person's part of the bourgeoisie. I think it's bourgeoisie, too.
>> Amanda Barker: It was. It was a very talented and hilarious actor. Doesn't sound like Paul Bronstein. Boar or Boo, I don't know, but there's no R in it. So that was my confusion.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Onto our next housekeeping. Amanda. So we had someone. Remember when I read that poem that I had to censor?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, recently. Okay, so not the Mary Oliver poem.
>> Marco Timpano: Not the Mary Oliver poem.
>> Amanda Barker: Archibald Lampman was it.
>> Marco Timpano: It was Irving Layton. Carrie says. Carrie Duclos, I believe, says. Oh, guys. Amanda. Amanda should consider a poetry. Poetry reading podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So they loved your reading.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: And they have suggested a title, Poetry with Amanda Phenomenal. Or Add poetry to this one. So they love your poetry.
>> Amanda Barker: So we should do more of that.
>> Marco Timpano: We should do more.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're cold reads.
>> Marco Timpano: Carrie, would you want to do a poetry podcast where you just read?
>> Amanda Barker: Like, on my own?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Why not?
>> Amanda Barker: I think. I don't know. You know, I loved poems. Like, when I was a kid, I would lay in bed and a poem would, like. I would jump out of bed and, like, a poem would, like, pour out of me. I think I talked about that the other day. But as I got older, as you do, in fact, I wrote a poem about how when I was like, 14 or something, I wrote a poem about how I'm going to get older and lose this creative side of me and become world weary. And that's a prophecy that came true, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: How old were you when you wrote that poem?
>> Amanda Barker: I was 14. And it was in TG magazine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I thought you would say TG Max.
>> Amanda Barker: TJ Maxx.
>> Marco Timpano: TJ Maxx. What's TG magazine?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it definitely doesn't exist anymore. I can't remember. I think it was stood for Teen Generation Magazine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it was in Canada and you could submit stuff. So I did. And it was a really good poem when I think about it now. Yeah, I love dealing with rhymes and then some on rhyming and so on.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the poem?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I remember the first line was flipping to the B side of my thoughts. Again, another record analogy. And the last line to kind of tie in that was. To be fair, this was the. I was really into the Manchester scene at the time. The last two lines were, once a happy weed, now a stone rose.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, because the stone rose.
>> Amanda Barker: Now I'm the stone rose. Yeah, I guess. I don't know. Anyway, I. And it got published, and then there was a picture of me that my mom took, but I didn't love the picture.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I didn't like my nose in the picture.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: I was 14. What do you want?
>> Marco Timpano: What are you gonna do?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, maybe I was 13.
>> Marco Timpano: I wonder if you could find that poem and read it next week for car. Do some deep diving.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know where some of that stuff lives. You know, like my. The stuff that my parents held on to and all that. I don't know. We moved so many times, so, you know, and parents get. You know, they don't want to hang on to stuff, which I don't blame them.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't know where it lives, but, I mean, I'll have to do a deep dive to find it. If it lives, like, online, I can't imagine. I mean, it was 1990 or something, right.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's a hot tip for folks that want to get rid of stuff, but they're hanging on to stuff that they really should get rid of. Take a photo of it, put it on your Facebook. Keep it on your phone. Get rid of the thing. And if you really.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Put it in a third location, though, don't just keep it on your phone.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Because the idea, if you're someone like me, then you immediately. Oh, yeah. But what about if that happens and I lose it?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I've taken photos of stuff I've gotten rid of, and I've never gone back to those photos. So that's. That's the point.
>> Amanda Barker: There's you and I looking for a magazine from 1990.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, so back to some housekeeping.
>> Amanda Barker: So then I was in English lit, and so, I don't know, I. Anyway, I studied poems. I think when you study a thing, I don't know, sometimes you accentuate your love and then sometimes you lose your love for it. I haven't lost my love for poetry, but I don't find. I sit and open a book of poems, that's for sure. So that's why I'd be like, no, I think there's just other things I'm interested in.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. Well, I think you. You'll have to just find her reading poems here or just keep asking and
>> Amanda Barker: maybe eventually consider it.
>> Marco Timpano: She'll consider it. 8 weeks ago Nella Wafer 2.
>> Amanda Barker: I love that name.
>> Marco Timpano: Says, I think you could call your fans Sleepy Heads.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I love that.
>> Marco Timpano: That is great.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I think we mentioned. What should we call our fans?
>> Amanda Barker: Sleepyheads.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that.
>> Amanda Barker: I love that.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. Just put a heart on that and say thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: Let's really incorporate that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Sleepy Heads rocks.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh, I feel like Lady Gaga.
>> Marco Timpano: What does that mean?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's like, hey, all my sleepy heads. I'm not gonna do those posts. Guys. Don't worry. If I ever do an Instagram post that starts with it's your girl, please don't. Please, please check me and message me and say, you were never gonna do that. Hey, it's your girl, Amanda. I'm just here today to give you some tips. Or if I ever say, all my girlies, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: That's not you. That's not you.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it's definitely not me. All my girlies. All my Toronto girlies.
>> Marco Timpano: Diane Brunel was happy that our first episode aired on their birthday, which was March 5th.
>> Amanda Barker: Amazing. Happy birthday, Diane.
>> Marco Timpano: People just saying that they missed us.
>> Amanda Barker: This is nice.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like you're my. My mom goes through her Facebook and narrates it. She'll say, who, like, liked a photo? Like, oh, Marielle liked my photo. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So for our listeners, our longtime listeners, you know that in December, I air or we air a episode every day for the holidays in December. Back then, holy tea 7.
>> Amanda Barker: I like the ones with the numbers because it's like there's six other Holy Teas out there.
>> Marco Timpano: Said that they really appreciated the movie recommendations, and they had never seen the Family Stone before.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, so good.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's a movie that you really like.
>> Amanda Barker: Hey, we should do another movie recommendations for summer.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, great summer movies because we're in spring. Springy times, which I love the spring. Do you like the spring?
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, spring isn't my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: And I made you get married in the spring. You didn't come out with that.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't, no. Well, I was happy to be married. So the date doesn't. You know me and dates. I'm never one for, like, I'm not precious with things like that, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not a precious person.
>> Amanda Barker: I just. A summer wedding felt. I don't know. I didn't want a summer wedding and I didn't want a fall wedding, so it didn't leave a whole lot. I think you would have had a fall wedding. Wouldn't you have?
>> Marco Timpano: Probably.
>> Amanda Barker: I think you would have had a fall wedding, but I. I have feelings about fall and my sister at a fall wedding, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Anyway, some controversy here, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: All right. But I'm excited to do summer movies or travel movies.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So think of some summer movies.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm thinking of, like, travel movies.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, travel movies and summer movies could be two different things.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I guess. Okay. All right.
>> Marco Timpano: I just breathed.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that happens sometimes to humans.
>> Marco Timpano: Well. So, okay. So this was on my birthday, it looks like. So back in December, Diane Burnell wrote to Marco, I am Team Becca, meaning your sister.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no. About what?
>> Marco Timpano: When it comes to slicing bagels.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, controversy.
>> Marco Timpano: Diane says we're back to the bagel.
>> Amanda Barker: This is like the milk bag controversy of 2024.
>> Marco Timpano: Diane, I hope I'm not bringing things up. Dian married to a Jewish family, and everybody slices and freezes their Montreal bagels. Montreal being in America. With an exclamation. Just this morning, I pulled the bag of bagels out of the freezer and asked my husband, are they sliced? His answer was, of course. So.
>> Amanda Barker: So my sister knows my.
>> Marco Timpano: Your sister. I still can.
>> Amanda Barker: But you're an Italian, so I'm not
>> Marco Timpano: going to slice the bagel till the very last moment.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. For freshness.
>> Marco Timpano: To honor the bagel.
>> Amanda Barker: To honor the container.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. One of our listeners, Amanda and I don't have my phone on me. Got married in the same place where we got married. Yes. And it warmed my heart. I don't have my phone with me. I'm gonna see if I can find that.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Okay. Well, why don't we park? That's a lot of listener feedback for now. And people are maybe trying to have the content, because I like listener feedback, but I also want to give people a streamlined content to follow for optimal drifting.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Because that's what I always need is like. Like, for example, the very popular backpack episode where I went through everything I needed in my backpack. I like. That's what I like to do, is to itemize things as I fall asleep. It makes it. I don't know. My brain needs that.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: So I think we should go back and forth. This is on the fly here. And go through a list of travel movies because summer's upon us.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: It's at our door. It's not here yet. It's not here yet. But I'm ambitious for summer, and so I love this idea. So maybe people have a bit more free time travel. And I love the idea of traveling and escaping. And sometimes you don't have the means, the funds, the time to do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So popping in a travel movie for two hours on a Friday night is a beautiful escape. Or whenever.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
>> Amanda Barker: So I'm going to tell you my first one.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So this was my favorite movie when I was in university. Not too much long after I wrote that poem. And it opened up a whole new idea of the world for me. Okay, so the movie was called Stealing Beauty.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't think of the director's name, but he's Bertolucci. Yeah. So it's set in Italy, and it's a bit of a weird. I don't know. I don't want to say it's weird, but it takes some turns that you're like, I'm not sure what's happening here, but ultimately it's Liv, a very young Liv Tyler. I think it came out in, like, 94. 5 or something like that. But it's a young Liv Tyler who's going back to a sort of artist commune. Not a commune, but like an artist place in Tuscany. That her mom lived in when she was younger and all her friends that, you know, meet at this big villa.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Jeremy Irons is one of those people. Jeremy Irons, Rachel Weitz.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Who became who? It was one of her first roles, so she was not particularly famous. Are two of the actors in it anyway.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Did I say the name right?
>> Marco Timpano: You said Vice. Rachel Weisz.
>> Amanda Barker: Irons. You looked at me and you went,
>> Marco Timpano: jeremy seems kind of old to be in that film with a young Liv Tyler.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, he isn't young in the movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So that's fine. All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. You're like, he's not the love interest.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, but you're like Rachel Weisz. That was her first film. Liv Tyler, she's living on the edge.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's, it's a group, I think Liv Tyler plays the daughter maybe of the woman. They're all, you know, they're all age, aging people and she's lost her mom, so she's trying to reconnect with. With her mom's past.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So anyway, she goes to this villa in, you know, a rural, sun drenched place in Tuscany. It's beautiful. It's just olive groves and her just sort of wandering around and enjoying the sun and having pizza in town and meeting a local boy and. And it's. There's a simplicity to that movie. And I was that age and all I wanted to do was just go a harvest table in Italy and have beautiful meals and wine with fun and interesting people at that harvest table. It's probably all I ever really want out of life. In fact.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the dream for me always. And in fact, talking about weddings, that's all I wanted for my wedding was just a harvest table full of wonderful people and wonderful food and a good time. So I love that movie. I haven't seen it in years.
>> Marco Timpano: I have never seen it.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a few parts where you're like, I don't know what's happening, but. But it's all fun and joyful and playful and explorative and it's a beautiful movie. So stealing Beauty.
>> Marco Timpano: That's Amanda's pick or recommendation. I will say Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
>> Amanda Barker: Very different type of travel movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Steve Martin, John Candy. So many great people have little cameos in it.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the escape? Chicago in the winter.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, they're trying to get to Chicago for Thanksgiving.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, and where are they?
>> Marco Timpano: They are, I want to say Omaha or somewhere. Not Chicago. They're trying to get to Chicago. All the planes. It's very Funny.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm thinking more like escaping movies.
>> Marco Timpano: Very poignant. I like that movie. I don't know why. It can't be one of the movies on my list.
>> Amanda Barker: It absolutely can.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. How about Only you?
>> Amanda Barker: That's where another. So, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Marissa, No.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't want to take you away from Plane Strange Automobiles. I was just. You were taking a new direction I didn't see coming.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you said travel movies. Those are.
>> Amanda Barker: It is a travel movie. It's true.
>> Marco Timpano: So then there's that movie with Marisa Tomei and.
>> Amanda Barker: So let's talk about Only you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, hang on. I'm trying to think of the other actor, Iron man there.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Iron Man.
>> Marco Timpano: What's his name?
>> Amanda Barker: Robert Downey. Do you want me to talk about Only you? I think I know that movie better than you. Probably only you. I had a beautiful, wonderful friend who was my roommate in third year, and I would rent Stealing Beauty all the time. She would rent Only you. She'd love that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: I would rent Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
>> Amanda Barker: You weren't. You didn't live at nine Balser?
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: Sackville, New Brunswick. So Marcus tried it. Get my water right now. And it's like you're playing operation.
>> Marco Timpano: Trying to get it through the.
>> Amanda Barker: He's trying to get it through all the wires without jostling anything so he doesn't have to go back on the podcast. He did it. He's enjoying the water. Only you is Marisa Tomei again. This was a movie back in the 90s, and Robert Downey Jr. Was Judy Greer in it. I'm trying to think. No, Bonnie. Bonnie Hunt.
>> Marco Timpano: Bonnie Hunt, Yeah. The rich man's Judy Greer. I didn't want to say the poor man's because I feel like that's.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: A knock on Bonnie Hunter. She's very funny and talented.
>> Amanda Barker: A comedic actress who played a lot of sidekicks in the 90s. They both did, anyhow. And a few other people. But it's. And we actually know someone who worked on that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: We do.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Dina Morone was a translator. Oh, that's amazing. Yeah. Anyhow, it takes place in Rome, so it's like a love letter to Rome. And she. The concept is, when she's very young, she goes to a fair, and the fortune teller gives her a name of a guy that is going to be her true love. So she spends her life looking for this guy. And so Robert Downey Jr. Shows up, and he's the guy with that name. And I'll just leave that.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It's a great. It's a really fun and lovely and sweet movie and lots of great shots of wandering around Rome and having a fabulous time. So that's a really, really great one. I know Roman Holiday is supposed to be a great movie. I've never seen it, have you?
>> Marco Timpano: I have, I have. And Gregory Peck. What's her name? The thin one.
>> Amanda Barker: Audrey Hepburn, also known as. What's her name? The thin one. She was then. Yes, I'll give you that.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're on a Vespa, riding around Rome and stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: I have another Audrey Hepburn movie that would. Would be a travel movie from that era. And I'll give you this funny face.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a travel one for me.
>> Amanda Barker: It is. It's a tribute to Paris. It's a beautiful tribute to Paris. It's Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn, which. There was an age gap there. I'm just gonna throw that out there.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's this lovely fun time in the 60s when beatniks.
>> Marco Timpano: Beatniks.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you know what a beatnik is?
>> Marco Timpano: I know what a beatnik is, but
>> Amanda Barker: how old is this film from the 60s? I mean, Fred Astaire was in it. As a lead. Okay. Yeah. As a love interest lead. All right, so it's from, like, the early. Probably. Actually, it might be the 50s.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it a dancey film?
>> Amanda Barker: For sure. Okay. I'm gonna say it's the 50s, not the 60s. Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of Omaha. He's from Omaha.
>> Amanda Barker: Is he really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Predister.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And she was from.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know she was from Belgium or something.
>> Amanda Barker: The Netherlands.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the Netherlands.
>> Amanda Barker: That's why she had that accent, because it was like a British British. She had learned sort of a British English.
>> Marco Timpano: She's remarkable. If you look at her life. She's pretty. It was pretty remarkable.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely. She was wonderful. Humanitarian. So this is a young Audrey Hepburn and an aging Fred Astaire. But anyway, it's all about fashion in the 1950s. I'm sorry I said 60s, because now I realize I've got to be wrong on that. So I'm correcting myself here. But fashion in the 1950s, it started with, like, the trends of. I mean, I just love the fashion from that era. Those tight little waists and big, beautiful skirts and collared shirts. And there's this fun. They're talking about, like, it was like, Parisian Vogue or whatever off the top. And they have this musical number, and it's like, think pink. And, like, they decide that the color that year is pink. And she doesn't want Anything to do with it. She's a bookworm at a bookshop and she's this beatnik. And anyways, they meet up in Paris and he, you know, wants to make her into a model, and she wants to show him, like, her life in cafes in Paris where she dances around and smokey bars and stuff. And of course, it's, you know, a fun love story and they dance and it's beautiful. But anyway, it's a really fun. There's a whimsy in that movie, and I loved that she wore, like, these black turtlenecks and these black capri pants and, like, ballet flats. Like, if I could live in clothes that look like that and look like her in them with those, like, blunt bangs and cute ponytails, I'd be happy the rest of my life. So, yeah, it's just the fashion and the whimsy and the funness of 1950s Paris.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's a fun escape movie. What else you got?
>> Marco Timpano: I got. I like this film more than I thought I would. Okay, so I'll just. I'll just start with that. Because I hadn't read the book, and I think you wanted to see the film, and I feel like we saw it at the movie theater, but I could be wrong. 2010s Eat, Pray, and Then Love.
>> Amanda Barker: And you liked the movie?
>> Marco Timpano: I did like the movie. I liked the movie. I should. I should say I liked it more than I thought I was going to like it.
>> Amanda Barker: Fair enough. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought Julia Roberts was great in it.
>> Amanda Barker: She was. What did you like about the movie?
>> Marco Timpano: Probably Julia Roberts. I thought she was great in it.
>> Amanda Barker: She's great.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought that's a. That's a hard film to make the. The protagonist likable, because I don't find the protagonist likable in things that I've read from the book.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you read the book?
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't read the book.
>> Amanda Barker: I read the book.
>> Marco Timpano: You read me some passages from the book, and I was like, I'm not into this at all.
>> Amanda Barker: I loved the book. I mean, you know, I'm a woman of a certain age, and I think that was our. I'm the demo, let's be honest.
>> Marco Timpano: Gilbert something.
>> Amanda Barker: Gilbert Elizabeth, not something. Gilbert. Elizabeth Gilbert.
>> Marco Timpano: It was coming to me. I read her other book that I really liked.
>> Amanda Barker: Big Magic.
>> Marco Timpano: Big Magic is great.
>> Amanda Barker: Phenomenal. A must read for any artist. Big Magic.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a good summer read. I'll throw that out there.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And it's a beautiful. Listen, Big Magic is great. If you like audiobooks, like I do.
>> Marco Timpano: It is. It is a good listen. Yeah. So.
>> Amanda Barker: But Eat, Pray, Love is beautiful. For those who haven't seen it or haven't seen it in a while, because you've got India, Italy, and Indonesia. Not in that order. I think it's actually Italy, India, Indonesia is my memory of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think you're right.
>> Amanda Barker: Or Indonesia. Yeah, I think that's it. And she's just, you know, she spends this year traveling after her life kind of falls apart. And it's an interesting and fun journey. I would have thought it would be a hard book to make into a movie because it's a very personal, introspective, just sort of journey. But from that book came a couple of really wonderful things and concepts. And it's certainly, I think, the pizza industry in Naples. You know, like, she basically was saying, I'm having a heavenly experience eating this pizza in Naples and how amazing it is.
>> Marco Timpano: True enough. There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a great reco. I think that's a great reco.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. All right, Amanda, it's your turn.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to go with the beach.
>> Marco Timpano: The beach. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So a fun escape. I highly recommend the book. There was a certain time in my life once I did my Stealing Beauty Summer and went to Europe and did that. I then went to Asia, and after I was done, a teaching contract, I backpacked in Thailand and some other places. And when I was in Thailand, you could look at any given beach, and everybody on that beach was reading the book. The beach, the movie hadn't come out yet, but it was. I mean, you could find a copy of it anywhere. It was sort of left in every cafe. And back then, I don't know if this is still the case because I haven't been back, but it was. And you've been to Thailand more recently, so you can tell me. But I mean, this was the late 90s, so every bar had, like. It would show, like, pirated English movies. And you just go to this bar, you know, on these beaches, like, you'd spend the day at the beach. And then at night, if you wanted to go have a drink, one of the things you would do is just go see. And they'd be like, tonight we're showing these two movies. Right. And they were always like, you know, pirate copies.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. No, that wasn't my experience.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I mean, I think that was just a thing at that time, but. And then I saw the movie, and I really love the movie, and I will say this, I love the soundtrack from that movie. It's One of my most often listened to soundtracks. What's interesting about the book versus the movie is the antagonist in the book is American, and she kind of is that quintessential American traveler archetype.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Bossy. And I can say this as an American, but loud and bossy and all these things because they had Leonardo DiCaprio, who was like the hottest star on the planet at that point, as the lead. They couldn't make. They needed something to juxtapose. They didn't make him British, which the lead is in the book.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So they made him sort of against this British person played deftly by Tilda Swinton. And she is very quintessentially British, I would say, like, in that she's.
>> Marco Timpano: She's a great actor.
>> Amanda Barker: She's amazing in that movie, and she is a great actor. And so she's sort of like dismissive at times, perhaps condescending without him understanding it. Passive. Passive aggressive. More so. Very, very different and different endings to the movie and the ultimately about travelers wanting to make this beautiful, perfect escape.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's a really good one. Are we at our time? I feel like I have more movies I want to.
>> Marco Timpano: We're past our time, actually. And I'm surprised you didn't mention the Motorcycle Diaries.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God, I love that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm surprised you didn't mention the Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know that one.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know it either, but that's. I'm surprised you didn't mention it.
>> Amanda Barker: Can we just talk about the Motorcycle Diaries real quick before we leave?
>> Marco Timpano: It won't be real quick with you, though, because that's one of your favorite films.
>> Amanda Barker: I have to say. I haven't seen it in a while.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: The Motorcycle Diaries 2004. Okay. In 2004. Oh, and then Casa de los Babies isn't a wonderful movie. Sure, I have too many. Maybe we should do another podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe we will.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, then we'll leave those for next time.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, Let us know if you've. If any of these recommendations are things on your list that you've watched and what you think of them, and then eight weeks or more later, I'll get to them. But thank you so much to all our listeners who reach out and send us messages. We do read them, and we're very grateful and we hope that this podcast has helped you listen and sleep.
Original airdate: May 7 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, grab yourself an iced tea, a cold water, a warm beverage, and just enjoy this podcast, which is meant to help you find your way to sleep. And if that doesn't work, it's at least going to hopefully help you. Hopefully help you divert your attention.
>> Amanda Barker: What happened there?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. The record skip, I think so my F became a V, I think, is what happened there.
>> Amanda Barker: The kids wouldn't know about record skipping. Probably.
>> Marco Timpano: Probably not. I mean, I'm your host.
>> Amanda Barker: DJs. I guess they would.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker, your resident dj.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. And Amanda, we have some housekeeping to do, so I'm going to do that right now.
>> Amanda Barker: You said that very Canadianly.
>> Marco Timpano: Did I?
>> Amanda Barker: Housekeeping.
>> Marco Timpano: Housekeeping to do. We do have some housekeeping to.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the house? Keeping a boat.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so we've got some. We people have messaged us and stuff, and it's taken me a while to get to them. So on April.
>> Amanda Barker: Me too.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. Amanda does none of that.
>> Amanda Barker: None of it.
>> Marco Timpano: So EC Wise reached out to us. Remember April 2nd, it snowed. And it was snowing in April. Really crazily. Well, they wrote. Love to you and Amanda from Georgia, usa. Your podcasts are greatly appreciated. You both are amazing hosts.
>> Amanda Barker: That's nice.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so nice.
>> Amanda Barker: And we love Georgia.
>> Marco Timpano: We love Georgia.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh. We haven't been back to Georgia in a while.
>> Marco Timpano: My colleague, Mark Browning, I don't know if I should mention his last name, but he's great.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Why not shout out to Mark. Very talented actor and creator and a lot of things.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways. And he makes me laugh quite a bit. Mark went to Georgia because that's where his partner's from just recently. And I said, savannah has the best food. You won't have any problem finding great food in Savannah.
>> Amanda Barker: Was he going to Savannah?
>> Marco Timpano: He was going to Savannah. He was going.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, Atlanta has pretty great food.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Atlanta. I mean, there's nothing to snark at when you're in a cafe.
>> Amanda Barker: And never mind. Macon. We had a good time in Macon.
>> Marco Timpano: Decatur. Probably my favorite Decatur meal I've had in a long time was in Decatur.
>> Amanda Barker: It was such a memorable, beautiful meal that night.
>> Marco Timpano: It was magical.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was one of those for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: So, EC wise, thank you for that shout out. We really appreciate it. We love your state, and we hope you continue to enjoy our podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like there was more to the Mark Browning story. You just said Mark Browning went to Georgia and you said there's good food. That's the whole story.
>> Marco Timpano: He went to Georgia. I had recommended a few places in Savannah.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But he did not go there.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. He didn't go to Savannah or those places.
>> Marco Timpano: Those places.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's fine. I mean, it. To be fair, it's been exactly 15 years since we've been there, so perhaps there are some new places to go.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, he was there with his partner's family.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And I think they gave him a bum steer and took him somewhere else, even though he had mentioned the places.
>> Amanda Barker: Bum steer? Why? He wasn't happy with the food he had?
>> Marco Timpano: No, he said it was fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, then I don't think that's a bum steer.
>> Marco Timpano: For me, it's a bum steer. I recommend a place. I expect you to go there.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Tough customer.
>> Marco Timpano: Tough customer.
>> Amanda Barker: We've switched microphones today. I just want to throw that in there.
>> Marco Timpano: We switched microphones because I can hear
>> Amanda Barker: more mouth noise from you today. So maybe it is that microphone.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's this microphone. We've got a sensor.
>> Amanda Barker: Let us know how you feel about Marco's mouth noise.
>> Marco Timpano: It's usually Amanda's mouth noise. And I'm, like, trying to try to mitigate it, so.
>> Amanda Barker: And look at me, all quiet. Mouth.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: And you're Mr. We got into a little Mr. ASMR over there.
>> Marco Timpano: We got into a little bit of a row before.
>> Amanda Barker: A row.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't that what people say?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it sounds like we were a row. It was a very Canadian row. Then. Very polite.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm like, stop breathing in the mic.
>> Amanda Barker: He's like, sometimes you breathe in the mic. And he goes, actually, he said sometimes you breathe. I was like. And he's like, well, I'm moving you so to see if you don't breathe as much. I have to say, maybe I don't because it's more roomy over here. Over there, it's more claustrophobic.
>> Marco Timpano: Indeed, indeed. Which I don't mind. I like a snug. You're not a snug person.
>> Amanda Barker: No. I am. What are you talking about? What's my dream? Living in a van. I think that's snug.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I don't know. I'm not too sure. But back to housekeeping.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: There's more I have to cover here. So when our first episode for season 10 came out, Linda Porter, on her Facebook, wrote, yay. And so she was happy that we.
>> Amanda Barker: That's nice.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm just gonna say thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: Where is she?
>> Marco Timpano: Didn't say.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Is she of the New Brunswick Porters? I wonder.
>> Marco Timpano: Perhaps.
>> Amanda Barker: I know a few.
>> Marco Timpano: But actually.
>> Amanda Barker: Actually,
>> Marco Timpano: we've got some more Linda Porter news.
>> Amanda Barker: So on February 18th, heartbreaking news.
>> Marco Timpano: February 18th of last year.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, this year. Sorry. Of this year. I wrote what's your walk home like? Because ours was full of snow. And Linda wrote, no walking or driving up here in the Laurentians. Oh, beautiful. So there we go. And they said, come on.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, the Laurentians. Do all our listeners know where the Laurentians are?
>> Marco Timpano: Please inform them.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think they're in Quebec, are they not?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the Laurentians are in Quebec for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Beautiful. The beautiful mountains of Quebec. What more is there to know? Are they part of the Appalachians?
>> Marco Timpano: No, they're the Laurentians.
>> Amanda Barker: They're their own thing.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: But the Appalachians, like, end in, like, New Brunswick and start in, like, maybe Georgia. I don't know. There's a lot more of Appalachian than people realize, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's Appalachian is how you say it.
>> Amanda Barker: No, Really?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Not where I grew up. Not those Appalachians. Appalachians.
>> Marco Timpano: Appalachian Trail. Yeah, I believe.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, here's one that came up this week. I had an audition yesterday, and I said bourgeoisie, and someone said bourgeoisie. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, I think that person's part of the bourgeoisie. I think it's bourgeoisie, too.
>> Amanda Barker: It was. It was a very talented and hilarious actor. Doesn't sound like Paul Bronstein. Boar or Boo, I don't know, but there's no R in it. So that was my confusion.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Onto our next housekeeping. Amanda. So we had someone. Remember when I read that poem that I had to censor?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, recently. Okay, so not the Mary Oliver poem.
>> Marco Timpano: Not the Mary Oliver poem.
>> Amanda Barker: Archibald Lampman was it.
>> Marco Timpano: It was Irving Layton. Carrie says. Carrie Duclos, I believe, says. Oh, guys. Amanda. Amanda should consider a poetry. Poetry reading podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So they loved your reading.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: And they have suggested a title, Poetry with Amanda Phenomenal. Or Add poetry to this one. So they love your poetry.
>> Amanda Barker: So we should do more of that.
>> Marco Timpano: We should do more.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're cold reads.
>> Marco Timpano: Carrie, would you want to do a poetry podcast where you just read?
>> Amanda Barker: Like, on my own?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Why not?
>> Amanda Barker: I think. I don't know. You know, I loved poems. Like, when I was a kid, I would lay in bed and a poem would, like. I would jump out of bed and, like, a poem would, like, pour out of me. I think I talked about that the other day. But as I got older, as you do, in fact, I wrote a poem about how when I was like, 14 or something, I wrote a poem about how I'm going to get older and lose this creative side of me and become world weary. And that's a prophecy that came true, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: How old were you when you wrote that poem?
>> Amanda Barker: I was 14. And it was in TG magazine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I thought you would say TG Max.
>> Amanda Barker: TJ Maxx.
>> Marco Timpano: TJ Maxx. What's TG magazine?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it definitely doesn't exist anymore. I can't remember. I think it was stood for Teen Generation Magazine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it was in Canada and you could submit stuff. So I did. And it was a really good poem when I think about it now. Yeah, I love dealing with rhymes and then some on rhyming and so on.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the poem?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I remember the first line was flipping to the B side of my thoughts. Again, another record analogy. And the last line to kind of tie in that was. To be fair, this was the. I was really into the Manchester scene at the time. The last two lines were, once a happy weed, now a stone rose.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, because the stone rose.
>> Amanda Barker: Now I'm the stone rose. Yeah, I guess. I don't know. Anyway, I. And it got published, and then there was a picture of me that my mom took, but I didn't love the picture.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I didn't like my nose in the picture.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: I was 14. What do you want?
>> Marco Timpano: What are you gonna do?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, maybe I was 13.
>> Marco Timpano: I wonder if you could find that poem and read it next week for car. Do some deep diving.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know where some of that stuff lives. You know, like my. The stuff that my parents held on to and all that. I don't know. We moved so many times, so, you know, and parents get. You know, they don't want to hang on to stuff, which I don't blame them.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't know where it lives, but, I mean, I'll have to do a deep dive to find it. If it lives, like, online, I can't imagine. I mean, it was 1990 or something, right.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's a hot tip for folks that want to get rid of stuff, but they're hanging on to stuff that they really should get rid of. Take a photo of it, put it on your Facebook. Keep it on your phone. Get rid of the thing. And if you really.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Put it in a third location, though, don't just keep it on your phone.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Because the idea, if you're someone like me, then you immediately. Oh, yeah. But what about if that happens and I lose it?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I've taken photos of stuff I've gotten rid of, and I've never gone back to those photos. So that's. That's the point.
>> Amanda Barker: There's you and I looking for a magazine from 1990.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, so back to some housekeeping.
>> Amanda Barker: So then I was in English lit, and so, I don't know, I. Anyway, I studied poems. I think when you study a thing, I don't know, sometimes you accentuate your love and then sometimes you lose your love for it. I haven't lost my love for poetry, but I don't find. I sit and open a book of poems, that's for sure. So that's why I'd be like, no, I think there's just other things I'm interested in.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. Well, I think you. You'll have to just find her reading poems here or just keep asking and
>> Amanda Barker: maybe eventually consider it.
>> Marco Timpano: She'll consider it. 8 weeks ago Nella Wafer 2.
>> Amanda Barker: I love that name.
>> Marco Timpano: Says, I think you could call your fans Sleepy Heads.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I love that.
>> Marco Timpano: That is great.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I think we mentioned. What should we call our fans?
>> Amanda Barker: Sleepyheads.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that.
>> Amanda Barker: I love that.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. Just put a heart on that and say thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: Let's really incorporate that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Sleepy Heads rocks.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh, I feel like Lady Gaga.
>> Marco Timpano: What does that mean?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's like, hey, all my sleepy heads. I'm not gonna do those posts. Guys. Don't worry. If I ever do an Instagram post that starts with it's your girl, please don't. Please, please check me and message me and say, you were never gonna do that. Hey, it's your girl, Amanda. I'm just here today to give you some tips. Or if I ever say, all my girlies, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: That's not you. That's not you.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it's definitely not me. All my girlies. All my Toronto girlies.
>> Marco Timpano: Diane Brunel was happy that our first episode aired on their birthday, which was March 5th.
>> Amanda Barker: Amazing. Happy birthday, Diane.
>> Marco Timpano: People just saying that they missed us.
>> Amanda Barker: This is nice.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like you're my. My mom goes through her Facebook and narrates it. She'll say, who, like, liked a photo? Like, oh, Marielle liked my photo. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So for our listeners, our longtime listeners, you know that in December, I air or we air a episode every day for the holidays in December. Back then, holy tea 7.
>> Amanda Barker: I like the ones with the numbers because it's like there's six other Holy Teas out there.
>> Marco Timpano: Said that they really appreciated the movie recommendations, and they had never seen the Family Stone before.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, so good.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's a movie that you really like.
>> Amanda Barker: Hey, we should do another movie recommendations for summer.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, great summer movies because we're in spring. Springy times, which I love the spring. Do you like the spring?
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, spring isn't my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: And I made you get married in the spring. You didn't come out with that.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't, no. Well, I was happy to be married. So the date doesn't. You know me and dates. I'm never one for, like, I'm not precious with things like that, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not a precious person.
>> Amanda Barker: I just. A summer wedding felt. I don't know. I didn't want a summer wedding and I didn't want a fall wedding, so it didn't leave a whole lot. I think you would have had a fall wedding. Wouldn't you have?
>> Marco Timpano: Probably.
>> Amanda Barker: I think you would have had a fall wedding, but I. I have feelings about fall and my sister at a fall wedding, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Anyway, some controversy here, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: All right. But I'm excited to do summer movies or travel movies.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So think of some summer movies.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm thinking of, like, travel movies.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, travel movies and summer movies could be two different things.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I guess. Okay. All right.
>> Marco Timpano: I just breathed.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that happens sometimes to humans.
>> Marco Timpano: Well. So, okay. So this was on my birthday, it looks like. So back in December, Diane Burnell wrote to Marco, I am Team Becca, meaning your sister.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no. About what?
>> Marco Timpano: When it comes to slicing bagels.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, controversy.
>> Marco Timpano: Diane says we're back to the bagel.
>> Amanda Barker: This is like the milk bag controversy of 2024.
>> Marco Timpano: Diane, I hope I'm not bringing things up. Dian married to a Jewish family, and everybody slices and freezes their Montreal bagels. Montreal being in America. With an exclamation. Just this morning, I pulled the bag of bagels out of the freezer and asked my husband, are they sliced? His answer was, of course. So.
>> Amanda Barker: So my sister knows my.
>> Marco Timpano: Your sister. I still can.
>> Amanda Barker: But you're an Italian, so I'm not
>> Marco Timpano: going to slice the bagel till the very last moment.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. For freshness.
>> Marco Timpano: To honor the bagel.
>> Amanda Barker: To honor the container.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. One of our listeners, Amanda and I don't have my phone on me. Got married in the same place where we got married. Yes. And it warmed my heart. I don't have my phone with me. I'm gonna see if I can find that.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Okay. Well, why don't we park? That's a lot of listener feedback for now. And people are maybe trying to have the content, because I like listener feedback, but I also want to give people a streamlined content to follow for optimal drifting.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Because that's what I always need is like. Like, for example, the very popular backpack episode where I went through everything I needed in my backpack. I like. That's what I like to do, is to itemize things as I fall asleep. It makes it. I don't know. My brain needs that.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: So I think we should go back and forth. This is on the fly here. And go through a list of travel movies because summer's upon us.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: It's at our door. It's not here yet. It's not here yet. But I'm ambitious for summer, and so I love this idea. So maybe people have a bit more free time travel. And I love the idea of traveling and escaping. And sometimes you don't have the means, the funds, the time to do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So popping in a travel movie for two hours on a Friday night is a beautiful escape. Or whenever.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
>> Amanda Barker: So I'm going to tell you my first one.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So this was my favorite movie when I was in university. Not too much long after I wrote that poem. And it opened up a whole new idea of the world for me. Okay, so the movie was called Stealing Beauty.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't think of the director's name, but he's Bertolucci. Yeah. So it's set in Italy, and it's a bit of a weird. I don't know. I don't want to say it's weird, but it takes some turns that you're like, I'm not sure what's happening here, but ultimately it's Liv, a very young Liv Tyler. I think it came out in, like, 94. 5 or something like that. But it's a young Liv Tyler who's going back to a sort of artist commune. Not a commune, but like an artist place in Tuscany. That her mom lived in when she was younger and all her friends that, you know, meet at this big villa.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Jeremy Irons is one of those people. Jeremy Irons, Rachel Weitz.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Who became who? It was one of her first roles, so she was not particularly famous. Are two of the actors in it anyway.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Did I say the name right?
>> Marco Timpano: You said Vice. Rachel Weisz.
>> Amanda Barker: Irons. You looked at me and you went,
>> Marco Timpano: jeremy seems kind of old to be in that film with a young Liv Tyler.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, he isn't young in the movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So that's fine. All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. You're like, he's not the love interest.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, but you're like Rachel Weisz. That was her first film. Liv Tyler, she's living on the edge.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's, it's a group, I think Liv Tyler plays the daughter maybe of the woman. They're all, you know, they're all age, aging people and she's lost her mom, so she's trying to reconnect with. With her mom's past.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So anyway, she goes to this villa in, you know, a rural, sun drenched place in Tuscany. It's beautiful. It's just olive groves and her just sort of wandering around and enjoying the sun and having pizza in town and meeting a local boy and. And it's. There's a simplicity to that movie. And I was that age and all I wanted to do was just go a harvest table in Italy and have beautiful meals and wine with fun and interesting people at that harvest table. It's probably all I ever really want out of life. In fact.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the dream for me always. And in fact, talking about weddings, that's all I wanted for my wedding was just a harvest table full of wonderful people and wonderful food and a good time. So I love that movie. I haven't seen it in years.
>> Marco Timpano: I have never seen it.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a few parts where you're like, I don't know what's happening, but. But it's all fun and joyful and playful and explorative and it's a beautiful movie. So stealing Beauty.
>> Marco Timpano: That's Amanda's pick or recommendation. I will say Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
>> Amanda Barker: Very different type of travel movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Steve Martin, John Candy. So many great people have little cameos in it.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the escape? Chicago in the winter.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, they're trying to get to Chicago for Thanksgiving.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, and where are they?
>> Marco Timpano: They are, I want to say Omaha or somewhere. Not Chicago. They're trying to get to Chicago. All the planes. It's very Funny.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm thinking more like escaping movies.
>> Marco Timpano: Very poignant. I like that movie. I don't know why. It can't be one of the movies on my list.
>> Amanda Barker: It absolutely can.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. How about Only you?
>> Amanda Barker: That's where another. So, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Marissa, No.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't want to take you away from Plane Strange Automobiles. I was just. You were taking a new direction I didn't see coming.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you said travel movies. Those are.
>> Amanda Barker: It is a travel movie. It's true.
>> Marco Timpano: So then there's that movie with Marisa Tomei and.
>> Amanda Barker: So let's talk about Only you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, hang on. I'm trying to think of the other actor, Iron man there.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Iron Man.
>> Marco Timpano: What's his name?
>> Amanda Barker: Robert Downey. Do you want me to talk about Only you? I think I know that movie better than you. Probably only you. I had a beautiful, wonderful friend who was my roommate in third year, and I would rent Stealing Beauty all the time. She would rent Only you. She'd love that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: I would rent Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
>> Amanda Barker: You weren't. You didn't live at nine Balser?
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: Sackville, New Brunswick. So Marcus tried it. Get my water right now. And it's like you're playing operation.
>> Marco Timpano: Trying to get it through the.
>> Amanda Barker: He's trying to get it through all the wires without jostling anything so he doesn't have to go back on the podcast. He did it. He's enjoying the water. Only you is Marisa Tomei again. This was a movie back in the 90s, and Robert Downey Jr. Was Judy Greer in it. I'm trying to think. No, Bonnie. Bonnie Hunt.
>> Marco Timpano: Bonnie Hunt, Yeah. The rich man's Judy Greer. I didn't want to say the poor man's because I feel like that's.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: A knock on Bonnie Hunter. She's very funny and talented.
>> Amanda Barker: A comedic actress who played a lot of sidekicks in the 90s. They both did, anyhow. And a few other people. But it's. And we actually know someone who worked on that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: We do.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Dina Morone was a translator. Oh, that's amazing. Yeah. Anyhow, it takes place in Rome, so it's like a love letter to Rome. And she. The concept is, when she's very young, she goes to a fair, and the fortune teller gives her a name of a guy that is going to be her true love. So she spends her life looking for this guy. And so Robert Downey Jr. Shows up, and he's the guy with that name. And I'll just leave that.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It's a great. It's a really fun and lovely and sweet movie and lots of great shots of wandering around Rome and having a fabulous time. So that's a really, really great one. I know Roman Holiday is supposed to be a great movie. I've never seen it, have you?
>> Marco Timpano: I have, I have. And Gregory Peck. What's her name? The thin one.
>> Amanda Barker: Audrey Hepburn, also known as. What's her name? The thin one. She was then. Yes, I'll give you that.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're on a Vespa, riding around Rome and stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: I have another Audrey Hepburn movie that would. Would be a travel movie from that era. And I'll give you this funny face.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a travel one for me.
>> Amanda Barker: It is. It's a tribute to Paris. It's a beautiful tribute to Paris. It's Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn, which. There was an age gap there. I'm just gonna throw that out there.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's this lovely fun time in the 60s when beatniks.
>> Marco Timpano: Beatniks.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you know what a beatnik is?
>> Marco Timpano: I know what a beatnik is, but
>> Amanda Barker: how old is this film from the 60s? I mean, Fred Astaire was in it. As a lead. Okay. Yeah. As a love interest lead. All right, so it's from, like, the early. Probably. Actually, it might be the 50s.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it a dancey film?
>> Amanda Barker: For sure. Okay. I'm gonna say it's the 50s, not the 60s. Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of Omaha. He's from Omaha.
>> Amanda Barker: Is he really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Predister.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And she was from.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know she was from Belgium or something.
>> Amanda Barker: The Netherlands.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the Netherlands.
>> Amanda Barker: That's why she had that accent, because it was like a British British. She had learned sort of a British English.
>> Marco Timpano: She's remarkable. If you look at her life. She's pretty. It was pretty remarkable.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely. She was wonderful. Humanitarian. So this is a young Audrey Hepburn and an aging Fred Astaire. But anyway, it's all about fashion in the 1950s. I'm sorry I said 60s, because now I realize I've got to be wrong on that. So I'm correcting myself here. But fashion in the 1950s, it started with, like, the trends of. I mean, I just love the fashion from that era. Those tight little waists and big, beautiful skirts and collared shirts. And there's this fun. They're talking about, like, it was like, Parisian Vogue or whatever off the top. And they have this musical number, and it's like, think pink. And, like, they decide that the color that year is pink. And she doesn't want Anything to do with it. She's a bookworm at a bookshop and she's this beatnik. And anyways, they meet up in Paris and he, you know, wants to make her into a model, and she wants to show him, like, her life in cafes in Paris where she dances around and smokey bars and stuff. And of course, it's, you know, a fun love story and they dance and it's beautiful. But anyway, it's a really fun. There's a whimsy in that movie, and I loved that she wore, like, these black turtlenecks and these black capri pants and, like, ballet flats. Like, if I could live in clothes that look like that and look like her in them with those, like, blunt bangs and cute ponytails, I'd be happy the rest of my life. So, yeah, it's just the fashion and the whimsy and the funness of 1950s Paris.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's a fun escape movie. What else you got?
>> Marco Timpano: I got. I like this film more than I thought I would. Okay, so I'll just. I'll just start with that. Because I hadn't read the book, and I think you wanted to see the film, and I feel like we saw it at the movie theater, but I could be wrong. 2010s Eat, Pray, and Then Love.
>> Amanda Barker: And you liked the movie?
>> Marco Timpano: I did like the movie. I liked the movie. I should. I should say I liked it more than I thought I was going to like it.
>> Amanda Barker: Fair enough. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought Julia Roberts was great in it.
>> Amanda Barker: She was. What did you like about the movie?
>> Marco Timpano: Probably Julia Roberts. I thought she was great in it.
>> Amanda Barker: She's great.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought that's a. That's a hard film to make the. The protagonist likable, because I don't find the protagonist likable in things that I've read from the book.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you read the book?
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't read the book.
>> Amanda Barker: I read the book.
>> Marco Timpano: You read me some passages from the book, and I was like, I'm not into this at all.
>> Amanda Barker: I loved the book. I mean, you know, I'm a woman of a certain age, and I think that was our. I'm the demo, let's be honest.
>> Marco Timpano: Gilbert something.
>> Amanda Barker: Gilbert Elizabeth, not something. Gilbert. Elizabeth Gilbert.
>> Marco Timpano: It was coming to me. I read her other book that I really liked.
>> Amanda Barker: Big Magic.
>> Marco Timpano: Big Magic is great.
>> Amanda Barker: Phenomenal. A must read for any artist. Big Magic.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a good summer read. I'll throw that out there.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And it's a beautiful. Listen, Big Magic is great. If you like audiobooks, like I do.
>> Marco Timpano: It is. It is a good listen. Yeah. So.
>> Amanda Barker: But Eat, Pray, Love is beautiful. For those who haven't seen it or haven't seen it in a while, because you've got India, Italy, and Indonesia. Not in that order. I think it's actually Italy, India, Indonesia is my memory of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think you're right.
>> Amanda Barker: Or Indonesia. Yeah, I think that's it. And she's just, you know, she spends this year traveling after her life kind of falls apart. And it's an interesting and fun journey. I would have thought it would be a hard book to make into a movie because it's a very personal, introspective, just sort of journey. But from that book came a couple of really wonderful things and concepts. And it's certainly, I think, the pizza industry in Naples. You know, like, she basically was saying, I'm having a heavenly experience eating this pizza in Naples and how amazing it is.
>> Marco Timpano: True enough. There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a great reco. I think that's a great reco.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. All right, Amanda, it's your turn.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to go with the beach.
>> Marco Timpano: The beach. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So a fun escape. I highly recommend the book. There was a certain time in my life once I did my Stealing Beauty Summer and went to Europe and did that. I then went to Asia, and after I was done, a teaching contract, I backpacked in Thailand and some other places. And when I was in Thailand, you could look at any given beach, and everybody on that beach was reading the book. The beach, the movie hadn't come out yet, but it was. I mean, you could find a copy of it anywhere. It was sort of left in every cafe. And back then, I don't know if this is still the case because I haven't been back, but it was. And you've been to Thailand more recently, so you can tell me. But I mean, this was the late 90s, so every bar had, like. It would show, like, pirated English movies. And you just go to this bar, you know, on these beaches, like, you'd spend the day at the beach. And then at night, if you wanted to go have a drink, one of the things you would do is just go see. And they'd be like, tonight we're showing these two movies. Right. And they were always like, you know, pirate copies.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. No, that wasn't my experience.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I mean, I think that was just a thing at that time, but. And then I saw the movie, and I really love the movie, and I will say this, I love the soundtrack from that movie. It's One of my most often listened to soundtracks. What's interesting about the book versus the movie is the antagonist in the book is American, and she kind of is that quintessential American traveler archetype.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Bossy. And I can say this as an American, but loud and bossy and all these things because they had Leonardo DiCaprio, who was like the hottest star on the planet at that point, as the lead. They couldn't make. They needed something to juxtapose. They didn't make him British, which the lead is in the book.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So they made him sort of against this British person played deftly by Tilda Swinton. And she is very quintessentially British, I would say, like, in that she's.
>> Marco Timpano: She's a great actor.
>> Amanda Barker: She's amazing in that movie, and she is a great actor. And so she's sort of like dismissive at times, perhaps condescending without him understanding it. Passive. Passive aggressive. More so. Very, very different and different endings to the movie and the ultimately about travelers wanting to make this beautiful, perfect escape.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's a really good one. Are we at our time? I feel like I have more movies I want to.
>> Marco Timpano: We're past our time, actually. And I'm surprised you didn't mention the Motorcycle Diaries.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God, I love that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm surprised you didn't mention the Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know that one.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know it either, but that's. I'm surprised you didn't mention it.
>> Amanda Barker: Can we just talk about the Motorcycle Diaries real quick before we leave?
>> Marco Timpano: It won't be real quick with you, though, because that's one of your favorite films.
>> Amanda Barker: I have to say. I haven't seen it in a while.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: The Motorcycle Diaries 2004. Okay. In 2004. Oh, and then Casa de los Babies isn't a wonderful movie. Sure, I have too many. Maybe we should do another podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe we will.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, then we'll leave those for next time.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, Let us know if you've. If any of these recommendations are things on your list that you've watched and what you think of them, and then eight weeks or more later, I'll get to them. But thank you so much to all our listeners who reach out and send us messages. We do read them, and we're very grateful and we hope that this podcast has helped you listen and sleep.
Who Is Your Schneider
(Original airdate: July 30, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you find your way to sleep and who knows, drift off or just chill, explore. You don't fall asleep. That's fine too. You're just tuning in and finding a place where we're going to talk about nothing of importance. So feel free to drift off. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. I had a thought.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you know the term house proud?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you've never heard?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, house proud means you're h. Proud of your house.
>> Amanda Barker: I think so. Yeah. Like you're like, I like my house. I want it to look good. I want people to like it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you feel that way?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I Do. Yeah, I do.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like we used to have a lot more people over and we were more house proud. And so we haven't had that because you used to record quite a bit in the studio with various guests. This studio, of course, being in our house. So I always was like, you know, we have to get it. What I always called show ready. House proud, I guess would be another. But I'd always be like, okay, we have to get the house ready. Like, make sure, you know, everything's good, put away, clean, swept, the bathrooms are in working order. You know, maybe not our bedroom and the bathroom there, but everywhere else. Everywhere else, yeah. And although we'd have. I know we'd have friends and I'd be like, it's okay, you can show them our room or whatever, you know, I don't think that'll be the case tomorrow. You're recording tomorrow and I'm tired and I'm like, oh, I have to get the house show ready.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And so it's always a bit of a mad scramble. I'm sure a lot of people throw things in closets.
>> Amanda Barker: But then you feel good after. Then you're like, it's true. Or like when you have company over, you know, like you're having a little get together and you're like, oh my gosh, we have to get it ready. And then. But then that feeling after they leave and you're like, now they're gone and we have a clean house. What a bonus.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a good feeling, I have to say. We're almost there. I'm gonna get up early as well and really spiff up everything.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what I'm thinking because I'm just. I don't know what it is right now. I'm just so tired at night.
>> Marco Timpano: So I have a lot of things going on tomorrow. So I'm already feeling tired for tomorrow. But I'm just trying to. I'm just trying to chill and just like, you know, work things out one thing at a time. One foot forward is how I look at it.
>> Amanda Barker: I always try to. I think that's a good way to be when I'm with my mom, God love her, she will, you know, if I have anything I have to do at all when I'm at my parents house, which I was two weeks ago, I'll be like, oh, I just have to do this thing. And then they'll be like, oh, well. And it becomes this all encompassing thing. Like, you know, I'm Mandy to them. So they'll be like, mandy has to do this. Mandy. We gotta get this. Mandy. Oh, okay. Well, Mandy's thing. And it becomes this. And I almost don't want to tell them if I have, you know, which I inevitably try to get it all done before I see them so that I can just be with them the whole time and not have to jump on my computer for any reason. But, you know, sometimes there's one or two things that you're like, I just have to make sure I get this email out. Or in the case of last visit, I had a little writing thing that I'd pretty much done. But, you know, I just had a bit of. I just needed to see it with fresh eyes, do a bit of editing before I sent it off. Well, I don't want to say I made the mistake of telling them, but I wanted to be transparent. Hey, I just got to do this thing. And so once I did send it off, my mom was like, now you can relax now that thing is done. And I just said to my mom, like, mom, I can't look at things like that. I mean, she meant it in the most wonderful way. But if I look at things like that, then it's always going to be, once I get this thing done, I can relax. But the truth is, the lives we all live, especially you and I being, you know, contract. But I think that's everybody.
>> Marco Timpano: I think also when it comes to our parents who are retired, like my mom, who seems to think that time is, you know, for me to get home at a reasonable time, I have to be. Be on the highway before 3 or just around 3 o'. Clock. And she doesn't seem to realize that when I'm at her place and everything she has to say, she holds to the last minute. She's like, oh, just one more thing. Let me show you this. Can you do this? I'm like, I need to get on the road.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is hilarious, because when she wants to leave a place, she wants to leave that place. There is no stopping her.
>> Marco Timpano: You have to leave.
>> Amanda Barker: Shoes are on. And she's like, you can feel it. Like she's getting irritated and like, come on, come on, let's go. Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: And she was always someone who was quick and fast and, like, ready to jet.
>> Amanda Barker: And she still is at 78.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Not when I'm ready to leave.
>> Amanda Barker: No. So anyways, our parents, I mean, we're lucky to have them. Like, the thing is just, I'm trying to look at life to your point of just one day at a time. And not once we get this Thing done then, you know, because the lives that we live. But I don't think we're unique. I think that's everybody. There's always something, right? Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: You mentioned One Day at a time there. And do you remember Schneider from the television series One Day at a Time?
>> Amanda Barker: No, Schneider.
>> Marco Timpano: Schneider was.
>> Amanda Barker: I did like that show, though.
>> Marco Timpano: So when I was a kid, I didn't really. I didn't really realize the significance of the. Of the show. A divorced mom with two kids.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I didn't, you know, all that stuff. For us, I think as kids, the premise was kind of arbitrary. It really could have been anything. An alien living with a family was a premise and we loved it.
>> Marco Timpano: But the fix it guy, or he wasn't the landlord, but you know, the guy who would. The maintenance person who lived in the. In the complex, wherever they lived, was named Schneider.
>> Amanda Barker: How often do you see your maintenance person when you live in a complex?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, back in the day, if you were on a television sitcom, you saw them often. They were often coming. And Schneider was kind of like. Like a less cool Fonz on the series. So he was like the interesting character, the rugged guy in a T shirt and a belt. And he always had a fun little quip. Right. So you're always waiting for Schneider to come on. And I was just thinking, how many of those characters do you have in real life, the Schneider person?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we probably do.
>> Marco Timpano: We do.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think. Oh, speaking of Schneiders, we have to get our. Sorry, this is probably not making for great radio, but we're now on radio. We used to say that when I worked in radio. Well, this is probably not great radio. And then we just do the bit anyway. But we have to do our maintenance on our heating system or whatever the thing it's called. We have to get the maintenance guys to come and. Maintenance.
>> Marco Timpano: You're getting the.
>> Amanda Barker: We need Schneiders.
>> Marco Timpano: We need Schneiders to come to our
>> Amanda Barker: house and our Schneiders. Is it going to be the same people that put installed it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't know the Schneiders because I like them.
>> Amanda Barker: Because in that case, our Schneiders is a lovely team of one older Korean man and one younger Korean man. And I was so happy to have them over because as people know who've been following this for a long time, I lived in Korea. I love Korea in general, and I love the Korean people. So I was so happy to have them.
>> Marco Timpano: I anticipate we'll have one person come over and he will be more. Or she will be more like a Schneider type.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: With a belt buckle that has all the, you know, bells and whistles that you need for maintenance repairs.
>> Amanda Barker: Folks, stay tuned. For what? Whoever our Schneider ends up being.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Amanda Barker: Who are some of those other characters in those 80s 90s sitcoms? There was Alvin in Designing Women.
>> Marco Timpano: Right? Right.
>> Amanda Barker: He wore the overalls.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And he was like.
>> Amanda Barker: He was a painter.
>> Marco Timpano: No, he was the guy who delivered their furniture. I don't think his name was Alvin.
>> Amanda Barker: Elvin.
>> Marco Timpano: Elvin.
>> Amanda Barker: Wasn't it Elvin with an E?
>> Marco Timpano: We're talking about What's Designing Women?
>> Amanda Barker: The guy with the overalls and only one overall was done up.
>> Marco Timpano: The actor's name was Meshach Taylor.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And his role.
>> Amanda Barker: I think we're talking about two different people.
>> Marco Timpano: You're talking about Designing Women, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Or am I talking about Murphy Brown?
>> Marco Timpano: That. See, I don't know. I never watched Murphy Brown.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm gonna have to do a look. But who was the guy that had the white overalls? Kind of a mullet. See, that's not me. Shut down.
>> Marco Timpano: I think you're thinking of Family Ties and Alex's sister's boyfriend, the guy who was like, whoa, whatever.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no, that was Keith. Oh, my goodness. Okay, I got a lot to look up. I'm gonna start with that. I'm gonna start Family Ties boyfriend. What was his name?
>> Marco Timpano: I think the actor's name was Valentine was his last name.
>> Amanda Barker: I like that. You know, the Scott Valentine. But what was the guy's name? Nick.
>> Marco Timpano: Nick.
>> Amanda Barker: So that was Nick.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so he was.
>> Amanda Barker: So we've got that one figured out. Yeah. Mallory's boyfriend, Nick.
>> Marco Timpano: What about Meshach Taylor's role on Designing Women? I don't think it was Alvin. I can't remember his name.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know how to spell Meshach.
>> Marco Timpano: M E. Shock. Okay, so he. When he would come up, it was fun. He was funny. I remember.
>> Amanda Barker: I love Meshach Taylor.
>> Marco Timpano: And he used to.
>> Amanda Barker: Anthony Bouvier on. On Designing Women. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And he delivered their furniture.
>> Amanda Barker: He's from Boston.
>> Marco Timpano: And when he would come on the screen, he would often work with. What's her name? Delta Burke. And they would have funny little moments.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Okay. So Elvin, I think, must have been Murphy Brown.
>> Marco Timpano: On Murphy Brown, I did not really watch. I know that. What's her name? Was it Murphy Brown? Candice Bergen, I believe, is her name. Her father was a ventriloquist guy who had a ventriloquist dummy.
>> Amanda Barker: In real life.
>> Marco Timpano: In real life, he was very famous.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Eldon was his name, Not Elvin. And his name was Robert Pastorelli.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wasn't he a painter or something? He painted her house or something. Just a fix it guy.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't understand again, what did he do? Like, I. Like, how often is a painter in your life when you work? Like, that was like a news show. Right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: She was a Barbara Walters type.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: She was the head of the news.
>> Amanda Barker: Why would a painter. You know what I mean?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. I didn't watch that show. That show did not make me laugh. So I guess he was the comedic beat. The painter who would paint in a white overall. That one thing was unbuttoned as you described.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but I just don't understand. Yeah. Lovable house painter. Eldon Bernanke on the series Murphy's Brown. Yeah. He was a house painter. Was she just constantly getting her house painted? He was in like almost every episode, it felt like.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, you watched the show. I didn't. So I couldn't tell you.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember.
>> Marco Timpano: I couldn't tell you. But yeah, the Fonz was the original,
>> Amanda Barker: sort of Meshach Taylor.
>> Marco Timpano: The original Meshach Taylor. Schneider, whatever. But he was cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the house is a little different because the Fonz was not a maintenance guy.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but he was a motorcycle guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but we're talking. I think we're getting into a very specific genre of maintenance people on 80 sitcoms. Schneider, who was a maintenance guy. Eldon, who was the house painter. Somehow on Murphy Brown. Meshach Taylor, who was the furniture deliverer. Anthony Bouvier on designing. Because they were designers. Is that what it was?
>> Marco Timpano: They were designers in Atlanta.
>> Amanda Barker: So. So the guy that delivers the furniture makes some sense. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, the Fonz, for the record, that was like a 70s show, not an 80s show. 70s, 80s. Like it crossed over.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And the Fonz lived upstairs and he fixed motorcycles and he was just cool. All he had to do was be cool.
>> Amanda Barker: It's funny that he lived upstairs. Like this idea like that they had an upstairs renter. Yeah. Because it's so interesting. Like that time in the 50s, like my. My mom. Like my parents grew up in a lot of apartments and stuff because that was the reality. Right. In the city in the 50s.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But then I think suburbia kind of happened sort of right after that.
>> Marco Timpano: Did your folks have a cool guy live upstairs?
>> Amanda Barker: A Fonz.
>> Marco Timpano: A Fonz, too?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, my dad's was. My dad was a drummer, so a lot of his friends were cool guys.
>> Marco Timpano: I did not expect A yes to that question.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, not lived, but he had Uncle Peter. Uncle Peter was his cool friend who had like really, really curly hair.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And Uncle Peter was often doing odd jobs.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Like hire Uncle Peter to do it. He was not my uncle.
>> Marco Timpano: It all comes back. Right. So you did have a Schneider, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: Who was your Schneider?
>> Marco Timpano: My dad had to be the Schneider was everyone's Schneider. My dad was because he was a Fix it. My dad could fix a lot of things.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. He was so handy.
>> Marco Timpano: So he was the Schneider of our house, that's for sure. And other people's places. And by proxy, I became my dad Schneider's assistant and.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you were little Schneider.
>> Marco Timpano: I was little Schneider.
>> Amanda Barker: Petite Schneider.
>> Marco Timpano: I was pretty petitioner. And for the record, one day at a time. Never had a petite Schneider. But my dad had a petite Schneider. And my dad, like a surgeon, he would ask me for tools that I had no idea what they were.
>> Amanda Barker: But what an education for you.
>> Marco Timpano: Not at the time. He would yell at me if I didn't know what the particular wrench he asked for was. And I'm like, I've never heard of this wrench, but I should know what it is or whatever tool he wanted. Now I know what those things are. And now I am handy. And most recently, I had Amanda help me move a fridge on a dolly. And so. So I like to think that my Schneider's not as short tempered as my dad's Schneider was. But I'm pretty handy. I'm a pretty handy guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Now there's another kind of 80s, 90s or 70s sitcom. Sorry to interrupt you. You are handy. Yeah, but now I'm stuck on this supporting role thing, which, by the way, is my ideal role. Like, I love booking. I've done a few. I have a few very small brushes with very small fame, but got to be that thing of like, yeah, we're gonna bring her back for another episode. You know, she's the wacky teacher. She's the Kurt secretary. I played a few of those. And it's a delight when I know that I get to come in for another episode and deliver a line or two.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you played the fix it person or the house painter?
>> Amanda Barker: Not yet.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: The painter is a really interesting choice, but there is also the supporting role of the wacky CA character. Right. Like too wacky for every episode, but a lovable character that you're like, oh, here comes wacky person.
>> Marco Timpano: Like Monroe on Too Close for Comfort.
>> Amanda Barker: I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember who that is.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the premise of Too Close for Comfort?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: So the white haired guy. I forget his name. I'm sure Bill's gonna be like shouting right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the white haired guy, Bill Antonio. Hi.
>> Marco Timpano: Was a cartoonist and used to do a duck no cow cartoon.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And he had two.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe, I don't remember the show.
>> Marco Timpano: Two hot daughters, a blonde one.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Is that the pitch that he had hot daughters?
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, I don't know how else to describe it.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know if any of this. It feels very inappropriate. But it was probably the 70s.
>> Marco Timpano: It was. No, it was the 80s and that's how it was pitched. You can read a synopsis of that.
>> Amanda Barker: That he had two hot. Who were the hot daughters?
>> Marco Timpano: The blonde one and the dark haired one.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And the blonde one was a bit more ditzy and the D haired one was more academic. And they had a neighbor who was Monroe, played by Jim Bullock, I think is his name.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Who was like this zany, almost childlike character. And I don't know what he did. I think he. Was he a fix it person or did he just live next door? Well, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: The zany. So I'm trying to remember the name of. And I had it and I lost it. There was a woman. So my mom was a dance teacher, choreographer in that world. And so she would sometimes. We had a big theater in the area. So sometimes she would. The woman who ran it at the time would come over and my mom would. She'd kind of pitch like the musical to my mom. Like, my mom didn't know it or it wasn't like now where you could just Google it and watch the Tonys or whatever. So she would come over and explain either the premise of the musical or play the cassette tape or the album, the record. I mean, when I was really little, to my mom. So that she would come over and pitch like, to my mom, will you do this musical? Will you choreograph it?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I think her name was Ro Rosemarie. I don't know, but she was kind of the. The closest I can think of for sitcom characters.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Is. Would be Joey's agent on Friends.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: That kind of. She would come over, chain smoke the entire time. Like you would know she was. The house would smell for two days after because she just never stopped smoking. I remember she would bring like film strips, like those little like super eights of the movies. If there was a movie, or she'd play the record or whatever. My mom would have to like listen to it. And I'd be little, she'd have a
>> Marco Timpano: Super 8 of a movie.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I remember she came over and had the Super 8, I guess. No, well, what, what were the things? And you put it in the projector and you projected it on the wall. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Of a movie. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, so she had. I remember she had all of her and she wanted my mom to choreograph all of her at this theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: My mom didn't know the music. You know, we didn't have the album. Maybe it hadn't. Probably hadn't come out yet. But anyway, the movie had just come out or whatever and my mom hadn't seen it. So she brought over the movie in the. Isn't that what that's called, a Super 8?
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I feel like a Super 8 is smaller.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, whatever it was the film that you put in the projector, a film reel of Oliver, she brought that over. I mean, it was before vhs. Okay, or maybe it wasn't before vhs, I don't know. But VHS was like a new fangled thing anyway. So I remember she brought the film of Oliver and they projected it on the wall and I sat with Rosemarie, I think, was that her name? Chain smoking for the Hingham Conservatory Music Theater or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: In Massachusetts and watched Oliver with them. I'll never forget it. But this woman was just like, you know, long nails, a crazy bun piled sort of haphazardly on top of her head, like, lacy blouse and red stiletto heels.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: She just was like a torrent of smoke.
>> Marco Timpano: I just picture Rosemarie from D*** Van D***.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I don't know who that is.
>> Marco Timpano: She was a comedy writer, the female comedy writer on the D*** Van D*** Show.
>> Amanda Barker: What was the premise of the D*** Van D*** Show?
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, I. I was really, really young when I saw the repeats of it, so I can barely tell you. I can tell you that he trips over the ottoman when he walks in and there was like a writing room.
>> Amanda Barker: So they're actually writing a show for him.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if they were like. I think they were writing a show. I don't know if it was for him, but it was Rosemary, the guy with the dark hair, the bald dude and D*** Van D*** and they would write their little show, they would write a comedy show. And I think Rosemary and the dark haired guy were the comedic writers and the rest I don't know. And Rob Reiner's father was one of the writers, I think, both of the D*** Van D*** show and was one of the writers in the writing room on the D*** Van D*** Show.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the best I can remember, but I couldn't tell you anything other than that. I just happen to like sitcoms, so I know a little bit about a lot of sitcoms, even though I haven't seen them. So name a sitcom. I'll tell you who the Schneider is on the sitcom.
>> Amanda Barker: My Two Dads.
>> Marco Timpano: My Two Dads was Two fathers. One was buttoned up and one was more cool. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I think so. That was a real. That was. Everyone loved that premise. One's a nerd, is a cool guy,
>> Marco Timpano: and I don't know who the Schneider is on that show. That's. That's about all I know about that. That show.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, let me think of another one. How about the one with Tom Hanks and they dressed up like bosom buddies. Bosom buddies, yeah. That was. God, I love that show.
>> Marco Timpano: That great. That show.
>> Amanda Barker: So, I mean, they were the crazy ones, weren't they? Kind of.
>> Marco Timpano: They were. Well, they were two guys who pretended to be women so that they could live in a. Yeah. In a dormitory or in a. In a.
>> Amanda Barker: All women's dorm.
>> Marco Timpano: It wasn't a dorm, but it was a dorm.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, I think back then it was
>> Marco Timpano: at like a halfway. It was like a house.
>> Amanda Barker: It was not a halfway house.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a.
>> Amanda Barker: Can I just say, back then, up until the 80s, there were places where you could live like an apartment, but just women. But you'd have a shared bathroom.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: Almost like a tenement. That's what I was trying to say.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's not a dormitory because that's.
>> Amanda Barker: They would call it a dorm. Yeah, yeah. It's not associated with a college or university, but it would be more of a dorm, because I don't think dormitory has to be part of a college or university. But in any event, you could call it a tenement. Maybe. But I mean, that's because I remember when I was going to move to New York, they still existed. And I was sort of looking at them like these houses for young ladies, just so it was all women. So there was like a safety component. Sure, sure. But you shared bathrooms and things like that. Yeah. So that. And it was cheaper and. And it was even when I looked like the cheapest place to live in New York at the time.
>> Amanda Barker: And
>> Marco Timpano: I think the house mother was played by that older actress now, Holland.
>> Amanda Barker: Holland Taylor.
>> Marco Timpano: Holland Taylor, I think Holland Taylor, yeah. And there was the blonde, the big statuesque blonde. And I want to say that was Donna Dixon. I could be wrong.
>> Amanda Barker: I Can't help you there. I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I think she ended up marrying Dan Aykroyd.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think. I think so. And then there was the shorter woman with the dark hair who was kind of, you know, bigger, and she was funny.
>> Amanda Barker: Bigger.
>> Marco Timpano: She.
>> Amanda Barker: He's doing b*** motions.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I wasn't doing b*** motions.
>> Amanda Barker: You were.
>> Marco Timpano: Was doing bigger. She's bigger.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm offended by all of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, anyways, she was the funny one.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And that was the story there.
>> Amanda Barker: That was always the lot. But. But I guarantee you one thing about the 80s. Go back and look, and she's not as big as you remember.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Because they would have these characters and they would be the. The chubby, funny ones. And then you go back and you're like, they weren't chubby.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, can you find out if it was Holland Taylor who played the. The house mother on Bosom Buddies?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. I did not know I'd do a deep dive.
>> Marco Timpano: I need to know if Dan Aykroyd married the blonde one.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't do all of this. This is a lot of work.
>> Marco Timpano: You just have to type in Bosom Buddies.
>> Amanda Barker: I will, but it's not gonna be who did Dan Aykroyd marry?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'll know when you mentioned her name.
>> Amanda Barker: Buzzum Buddies. Oh, so you know this woman's name if she married Dan Aykroyd?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I was. I was young when that came out, but I remember it being very funny. And I bet if I watched episodes today, they wouldn't be very funny.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. Can I read you the pitch? So I'm gonna pitch this to you like it's a series today and you're a producer. Okay, Margo, here's the show I want to do. Kip and Henry, two young studs working for a New York ad agency, come home to find their apartment building being demolished.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Amy, the receptionist, convinces them to move into her complex. Oh, she's the inn. The problem is that it's a complex. So they're calling it a complex. A complex for women only. But the rent is cheap. To get the low rent joint. The low rent joint. All they have to do is dress in drag. Okay. Enter Buffy and Hildegard, AKA Kip and Henry. Who was Hildegard?
>> Marco Timpano: Hildegard was, I think, the short one. I think, the other guy. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And Buffy was Tom Hanks.
>> Marco Timpano: Hanks. I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Sonny and Isabel are two cuties living in the same building. Sun, Sunny. Being heavily pursued by Kip. Or was it Buffy. The ruse is eventually known by all the women in the building, but by now, Buffy and Hildegard are each just one of the girls. The show was a launching point in the careers of eventual movie megastar Tom Hanks, who played the Kip Buffy role in the series. Okay. Anyway, the cast. So Peter Scolari.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And Tom Hanks.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: It'd be hard to be Peter Scolari and be like, I was good too,
>> Marco Timpano: and he was great in New Heart.
>> Amanda Barker: He was great. Oh, yeah, he was great. Okay. Wendy Jo Sperber is Amy Cassidy. Donna Dixon.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: Was Sunny Lumen all right? So did she marry? I'm pretty sure. Do you want me to look? Yeah, of course. All right. And Holland Taylor was Ruth Thumper.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. I mean, I was a kid the
>> Amanda Barker: last time I saw me as Holland Taylor. So Holland Taylor was playing a battle axe back then.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, she's been a battle axe for years and she does it so well.
>> Amanda Barker: I get it. I play them too. Donna Dixon. Let's just see. She's looked. Yep. Dan Aykroyd. They're no longer together. Oh, sorry to say. Well, but they were together a very, very long time.
>> Marco Timpano: They had a good run.
>> Amanda Barker: They had a very good run. They made some albums. You know.
>> Marco Timpano: Who was the Schneider on Newhart? And we'll end it there.
>> Amanda Barker: Who? The Schneider on New.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, who was the. Was it Larry? Larry.
>> Amanda Barker: Which Newhart? The new. You're talking about the. The new heart that we watched.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the new heart that was before that. I was a little kid once again and I think my parents watch it and Marsha Wal was the receptionist.
>> Amanda Barker: So the original. So it was the Bob Newhart show and that was six seasons from 1972. So then what's the one we're talking about?
>> Marco Timpano: It's called Newhart.
>> Amanda Barker: It's just called Newhart. Yeah. And who am I looking up?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Henry Mancini did the theme song.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I couldn't tell. I couldn't tell you the theme song of Newhart.
>> Amanda Barker: If you heard it, you would know it. Yeah. The handyman. Tom Poston as George Utley. The sensitive, dutiful, trustworthy, but slow witted handyman. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: He wasn't very funny though, that guy. He was a character actor. You've seen him in everything. Tom Poston.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, then Larry, Darrell and Darryl must have been right. Yeah. William, Tony. William Sanderson, Tony Papenfuss and John Volstead. Gosh, Larry Darrell and Daryl were really funny. You know, Newhart, we love Newhart so much. I mean, who didn't right from that time? But my family loved it so much. I'm just trying to see when it aired, because at that time. Yeah, 1982 to 1990.
>> Marco Timpano: So during those years, you guys ran an inn.
>> Amanda Barker: We ran an inn in Vermont, surprisingly, with Bob Newhart. He based the show on it. No, but we were going. My family would commute to Canada, back and forth from New England to Canada. So we had a lot of experiences through Maine and then obviously in rural New Brunswick, but we weren't living there yet. So we were experiencing rural New Brunswick, but we hadn't fully settled there anyway. And we did by the time we had started going, sort of as the show just started airing a little bit after it, and then by the time it ended, we were fully settled. So that kind of any fish out of water into a rural existence, like the movie Baby Boom was my mom's favorite movie because it's the same kind of premise was very important to my family. We saw ourselves in that. So there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. Well, folks, that's the end of this episode, which, where we cover a lot of sitcoms from the 80s.
>> Amanda Barker: Didn't know we were going to do that today.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope you enjoyed it and I hope some of you actually found it uninteresting enough that you were able to chill.
>> Amanda Barker: And if you're still with us and you know, tell us who your Schneider is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, tell us who.
>> Amanda Barker: Let us know.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we'd love to know that. Until next time, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: July 30, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you find your way to sleep and who knows, drift off or just chill, explore. You don't fall asleep. That's fine too. You're just tuning in and finding a place where we're going to talk about nothing of importance. So feel free to drift off. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. I had a thought.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you know the term house proud?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you've never heard?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, house proud means you're h. Proud of your house.
>> Amanda Barker: I think so. Yeah. Like you're like, I like my house. I want it to look good. I want people to like it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you feel that way?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I Do. Yeah, I do.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like we used to have a lot more people over and we were more house proud. And so we haven't had that because you used to record quite a bit in the studio with various guests. This studio, of course, being in our house. So I always was like, you know, we have to get it. What I always called show ready. House proud, I guess would be another. But I'd always be like, okay, we have to get the house ready. Like, make sure, you know, everything's good, put away, clean, swept, the bathrooms are in working order. You know, maybe not our bedroom and the bathroom there, but everywhere else. Everywhere else, yeah. And although we'd have. I know we'd have friends and I'd be like, it's okay, you can show them our room or whatever, you know, I don't think that'll be the case tomorrow. You're recording tomorrow and I'm tired and I'm like, oh, I have to get the house show ready.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And so it's always a bit of a mad scramble. I'm sure a lot of people throw things in closets.
>> Amanda Barker: But then you feel good after. Then you're like, it's true. Or like when you have company over, you know, like you're having a little get together and you're like, oh my gosh, we have to get it ready. And then. But then that feeling after they leave and you're like, now they're gone and we have a clean house. What a bonus.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a good feeling, I have to say. We're almost there. I'm gonna get up early as well and really spiff up everything.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what I'm thinking because I'm just. I don't know what it is right now. I'm just so tired at night.
>> Marco Timpano: So I have a lot of things going on tomorrow. So I'm already feeling tired for tomorrow. But I'm just trying to. I'm just trying to chill and just like, you know, work things out one thing at a time. One foot forward is how I look at it.
>> Amanda Barker: I always try to. I think that's a good way to be when I'm with my mom, God love her, she will, you know, if I have anything I have to do at all when I'm at my parents house, which I was two weeks ago, I'll be like, oh, I just have to do this thing. And then they'll be like, oh, well. And it becomes this all encompassing thing. Like, you know, I'm Mandy to them. So they'll be like, mandy has to do this. Mandy. We gotta get this. Mandy. Oh, okay. Well, Mandy's thing. And it becomes this. And I almost don't want to tell them if I have, you know, which I inevitably try to get it all done before I see them so that I can just be with them the whole time and not have to jump on my computer for any reason. But, you know, sometimes there's one or two things that you're like, I just have to make sure I get this email out. Or in the case of last visit, I had a little writing thing that I'd pretty much done. But, you know, I just had a bit of. I just needed to see it with fresh eyes, do a bit of editing before I sent it off. Well, I don't want to say I made the mistake of telling them, but I wanted to be transparent. Hey, I just got to do this thing. And so once I did send it off, my mom was like, now you can relax now that thing is done. And I just said to my mom, like, mom, I can't look at things like that. I mean, she meant it in the most wonderful way. But if I look at things like that, then it's always going to be, once I get this thing done, I can relax. But the truth is, the lives we all live, especially you and I being, you know, contract. But I think that's everybody.
>> Marco Timpano: I think also when it comes to our parents who are retired, like my mom, who seems to think that time is, you know, for me to get home at a reasonable time, I have to be. Be on the highway before 3 or just around 3 o'. Clock. And she doesn't seem to realize that when I'm at her place and everything she has to say, she holds to the last minute. She's like, oh, just one more thing. Let me show you this. Can you do this? I'm like, I need to get on the road.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is hilarious, because when she wants to leave a place, she wants to leave that place. There is no stopping her.
>> Marco Timpano: You have to leave.
>> Amanda Barker: Shoes are on. And she's like, you can feel it. Like she's getting irritated and like, come on, come on, let's go. Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: And she was always someone who was quick and fast and, like, ready to jet.
>> Amanda Barker: And she still is at 78.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Not when I'm ready to leave.
>> Amanda Barker: No. So anyways, our parents, I mean, we're lucky to have them. Like, the thing is just, I'm trying to look at life to your point of just one day at a time. And not once we get this Thing done then, you know, because the lives that we live. But I don't think we're unique. I think that's everybody. There's always something, right? Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: You mentioned One Day at a time there. And do you remember Schneider from the television series One Day at a Time?
>> Amanda Barker: No, Schneider.
>> Marco Timpano: Schneider was.
>> Amanda Barker: I did like that show, though.
>> Marco Timpano: So when I was a kid, I didn't really. I didn't really realize the significance of the. Of the show. A divorced mom with two kids.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I didn't, you know, all that stuff. For us, I think as kids, the premise was kind of arbitrary. It really could have been anything. An alien living with a family was a premise and we loved it.
>> Marco Timpano: But the fix it guy, or he wasn't the landlord, but you know, the guy who would. The maintenance person who lived in the. In the complex, wherever they lived, was named Schneider.
>> Amanda Barker: How often do you see your maintenance person when you live in a complex?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, back in the day, if you were on a television sitcom, you saw them often. They were often coming. And Schneider was kind of like. Like a less cool Fonz on the series. So he was like the interesting character, the rugged guy in a T shirt and a belt. And he always had a fun little quip. Right. So you're always waiting for Schneider to come on. And I was just thinking, how many of those characters do you have in real life, the Schneider person?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we probably do.
>> Marco Timpano: We do.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think. Oh, speaking of Schneiders, we have to get our. Sorry, this is probably not making for great radio, but we're now on radio. We used to say that when I worked in radio. Well, this is probably not great radio. And then we just do the bit anyway. But we have to do our maintenance on our heating system or whatever the thing it's called. We have to get the maintenance guys to come and. Maintenance.
>> Marco Timpano: You're getting the.
>> Amanda Barker: We need Schneiders.
>> Marco Timpano: We need Schneiders to come to our
>> Amanda Barker: house and our Schneiders. Is it going to be the same people that put installed it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't know the Schneiders because I like them.
>> Amanda Barker: Because in that case, our Schneiders is a lovely team of one older Korean man and one younger Korean man. And I was so happy to have them over because as people know who've been following this for a long time, I lived in Korea. I love Korea in general, and I love the Korean people. So I was so happy to have them.
>> Marco Timpano: I anticipate we'll have one person come over and he will be more. Or she will be more like a Schneider type.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: With a belt buckle that has all the, you know, bells and whistles that you need for maintenance repairs.
>> Amanda Barker: Folks, stay tuned. For what? Whoever our Schneider ends up being.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Amanda Barker: Who are some of those other characters in those 80s 90s sitcoms? There was Alvin in Designing Women.
>> Marco Timpano: Right? Right.
>> Amanda Barker: He wore the overalls.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And he was like.
>> Amanda Barker: He was a painter.
>> Marco Timpano: No, he was the guy who delivered their furniture. I don't think his name was Alvin.
>> Amanda Barker: Elvin.
>> Marco Timpano: Elvin.
>> Amanda Barker: Wasn't it Elvin with an E?
>> Marco Timpano: We're talking about What's Designing Women?
>> Amanda Barker: The guy with the overalls and only one overall was done up.
>> Marco Timpano: The actor's name was Meshach Taylor.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And his role.
>> Amanda Barker: I think we're talking about two different people.
>> Marco Timpano: You're talking about Designing Women, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Or am I talking about Murphy Brown?
>> Marco Timpano: That. See, I don't know. I never watched Murphy Brown.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm gonna have to do a look. But who was the guy that had the white overalls? Kind of a mullet. See, that's not me. Shut down.
>> Marco Timpano: I think you're thinking of Family Ties and Alex's sister's boyfriend, the guy who was like, whoa, whatever.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no, that was Keith. Oh, my goodness. Okay, I got a lot to look up. I'm gonna start with that. I'm gonna start Family Ties boyfriend. What was his name?
>> Marco Timpano: I think the actor's name was Valentine was his last name.
>> Amanda Barker: I like that. You know, the Scott Valentine. But what was the guy's name? Nick.
>> Marco Timpano: Nick.
>> Amanda Barker: So that was Nick.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so he was.
>> Amanda Barker: So we've got that one figured out. Yeah. Mallory's boyfriend, Nick.
>> Marco Timpano: What about Meshach Taylor's role on Designing Women? I don't think it was Alvin. I can't remember his name.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know how to spell Meshach.
>> Marco Timpano: M E. Shock. Okay, so he. When he would come up, it was fun. He was funny. I remember.
>> Amanda Barker: I love Meshach Taylor.
>> Marco Timpano: And he used to.
>> Amanda Barker: Anthony Bouvier on. On Designing Women. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And he delivered their furniture.
>> Amanda Barker: He's from Boston.
>> Marco Timpano: And when he would come on the screen, he would often work with. What's her name? Delta Burke. And they would have funny little moments.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Okay. So Elvin, I think, must have been Murphy Brown.
>> Marco Timpano: On Murphy Brown, I did not really watch. I know that. What's her name? Was it Murphy Brown? Candice Bergen, I believe, is her name. Her father was a ventriloquist guy who had a ventriloquist dummy.
>> Amanda Barker: In real life.
>> Marco Timpano: In real life, he was very famous.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Eldon was his name, Not Elvin. And his name was Robert Pastorelli.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wasn't he a painter or something? He painted her house or something. Just a fix it guy.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't understand again, what did he do? Like, I. Like, how often is a painter in your life when you work? Like, that was like a news show. Right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: She was a Barbara Walters type.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: She was the head of the news.
>> Amanda Barker: Why would a painter. You know what I mean?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. I didn't watch that show. That show did not make me laugh. So I guess he was the comedic beat. The painter who would paint in a white overall. That one thing was unbuttoned as you described.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but I just don't understand. Yeah. Lovable house painter. Eldon Bernanke on the series Murphy's Brown. Yeah. He was a house painter. Was she just constantly getting her house painted? He was in like almost every episode, it felt like.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, you watched the show. I didn't. So I couldn't tell you.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember.
>> Marco Timpano: I couldn't tell you. But yeah, the Fonz was the original,
>> Amanda Barker: sort of Meshach Taylor.
>> Marco Timpano: The original Meshach Taylor. Schneider, whatever. But he was cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the house is a little different because the Fonz was not a maintenance guy.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but he was a motorcycle guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but we're talking. I think we're getting into a very specific genre of maintenance people on 80 sitcoms. Schneider, who was a maintenance guy. Eldon, who was the house painter. Somehow on Murphy Brown. Meshach Taylor, who was the furniture deliverer. Anthony Bouvier on designing. Because they were designers. Is that what it was?
>> Marco Timpano: They were designers in Atlanta.
>> Amanda Barker: So. So the guy that delivers the furniture makes some sense. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, the Fonz, for the record, that was like a 70s show, not an 80s show. 70s, 80s. Like it crossed over.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And the Fonz lived upstairs and he fixed motorcycles and he was just cool. All he had to do was be cool.
>> Amanda Barker: It's funny that he lived upstairs. Like this idea like that they had an upstairs renter. Yeah. Because it's so interesting. Like that time in the 50s, like my. My mom. Like my parents grew up in a lot of apartments and stuff because that was the reality. Right. In the city in the 50s.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But then I think suburbia kind of happened sort of right after that.
>> Marco Timpano: Did your folks have a cool guy live upstairs?
>> Amanda Barker: A Fonz.
>> Marco Timpano: A Fonz, too?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, my dad's was. My dad was a drummer, so a lot of his friends were cool guys.
>> Marco Timpano: I did not expect A yes to that question.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, not lived, but he had Uncle Peter. Uncle Peter was his cool friend who had like really, really curly hair.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And Uncle Peter was often doing odd jobs.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Like hire Uncle Peter to do it. He was not my uncle.
>> Marco Timpano: It all comes back. Right. So you did have a Schneider, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: Who was your Schneider?
>> Marco Timpano: My dad had to be the Schneider was everyone's Schneider. My dad was because he was a Fix it. My dad could fix a lot of things.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. He was so handy.
>> Marco Timpano: So he was the Schneider of our house, that's for sure. And other people's places. And by proxy, I became my dad Schneider's assistant and.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you were little Schneider.
>> Marco Timpano: I was little Schneider.
>> Amanda Barker: Petite Schneider.
>> Marco Timpano: I was pretty petitioner. And for the record, one day at a time. Never had a petite Schneider. But my dad had a petite Schneider. And my dad, like a surgeon, he would ask me for tools that I had no idea what they were.
>> Amanda Barker: But what an education for you.
>> Marco Timpano: Not at the time. He would yell at me if I didn't know what the particular wrench he asked for was. And I'm like, I've never heard of this wrench, but I should know what it is or whatever tool he wanted. Now I know what those things are. And now I am handy. And most recently, I had Amanda help me move a fridge on a dolly. And so. So I like to think that my Schneider's not as short tempered as my dad's Schneider was. But I'm pretty handy. I'm a pretty handy guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Now there's another kind of 80s, 90s or 70s sitcom. Sorry to interrupt you. You are handy. Yeah, but now I'm stuck on this supporting role thing, which, by the way, is my ideal role. Like, I love booking. I've done a few. I have a few very small brushes with very small fame, but got to be that thing of like, yeah, we're gonna bring her back for another episode. You know, she's the wacky teacher. She's the Kurt secretary. I played a few of those. And it's a delight when I know that I get to come in for another episode and deliver a line or two.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you played the fix it person or the house painter?
>> Amanda Barker: Not yet.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: The painter is a really interesting choice, but there is also the supporting role of the wacky CA character. Right. Like too wacky for every episode, but a lovable character that you're like, oh, here comes wacky person.
>> Marco Timpano: Like Monroe on Too Close for Comfort.
>> Amanda Barker: I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember who that is.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the premise of Too Close for Comfort?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: So the white haired guy. I forget his name. I'm sure Bill's gonna be like shouting right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the white haired guy, Bill Antonio. Hi.
>> Marco Timpano: Was a cartoonist and used to do a duck no cow cartoon.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And he had two.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe, I don't remember the show.
>> Marco Timpano: Two hot daughters, a blonde one.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Is that the pitch that he had hot daughters?
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, I don't know how else to describe it.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know if any of this. It feels very inappropriate. But it was probably the 70s.
>> Marco Timpano: It was. No, it was the 80s and that's how it was pitched. You can read a synopsis of that.
>> Amanda Barker: That he had two hot. Who were the hot daughters?
>> Marco Timpano: The blonde one and the dark haired one.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And the blonde one was a bit more ditzy and the D haired one was more academic. And they had a neighbor who was Monroe, played by Jim Bullock, I think is his name.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Who was like this zany, almost childlike character. And I don't know what he did. I think he. Was he a fix it person or did he just live next door? Well, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: The zany. So I'm trying to remember the name of. And I had it and I lost it. There was a woman. So my mom was a dance teacher, choreographer in that world. And so she would sometimes. We had a big theater in the area. So sometimes she would. The woman who ran it at the time would come over and my mom would. She'd kind of pitch like the musical to my mom. Like, my mom didn't know it or it wasn't like now where you could just Google it and watch the Tonys or whatever. So she would come over and explain either the premise of the musical or play the cassette tape or the album, the record. I mean, when I was really little, to my mom. So that she would come over and pitch like, to my mom, will you do this musical? Will you choreograph it?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I think her name was Ro Rosemarie. I don't know, but she was kind of the. The closest I can think of for sitcom characters.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Is. Would be Joey's agent on Friends.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: That kind of. She would come over, chain smoke the entire time. Like you would know she was. The house would smell for two days after because she just never stopped smoking. I remember she would bring like film strips, like those little like super eights of the movies. If there was a movie, or she'd play the record or whatever. My mom would have to like listen to it. And I'd be little, she'd have a
>> Marco Timpano: Super 8 of a movie.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I remember she came over and had the Super 8, I guess. No, well, what, what were the things? And you put it in the projector and you projected it on the wall. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Of a movie. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, so she had. I remember she had all of her and she wanted my mom to choreograph all of her at this theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: My mom didn't know the music. You know, we didn't have the album. Maybe it hadn't. Probably hadn't come out yet. But anyway, the movie had just come out or whatever and my mom hadn't seen it. So she brought over the movie in the. Isn't that what that's called, a Super 8?
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I feel like a Super 8 is smaller.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, whatever it was the film that you put in the projector, a film reel of Oliver, she brought that over. I mean, it was before vhs. Okay, or maybe it wasn't before vhs, I don't know. But VHS was like a new fangled thing anyway. So I remember she brought the film of Oliver and they projected it on the wall and I sat with Rosemarie, I think, was that her name? Chain smoking for the Hingham Conservatory Music Theater or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: In Massachusetts and watched Oliver with them. I'll never forget it. But this woman was just like, you know, long nails, a crazy bun piled sort of haphazardly on top of her head, like, lacy blouse and red stiletto heels.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: She just was like a torrent of smoke.
>> Marco Timpano: I just picture Rosemarie from D*** Van D***.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I don't know who that is.
>> Marco Timpano: She was a comedy writer, the female comedy writer on the D*** Van D*** Show.
>> Amanda Barker: What was the premise of the D*** Van D*** Show?
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, I. I was really, really young when I saw the repeats of it, so I can barely tell you. I can tell you that he trips over the ottoman when he walks in and there was like a writing room.
>> Amanda Barker: So they're actually writing a show for him.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if they were like. I think they were writing a show. I don't know if it was for him, but it was Rosemary, the guy with the dark hair, the bald dude and D*** Van D*** and they would write their little show, they would write a comedy show. And I think Rosemary and the dark haired guy were the comedic writers and the rest I don't know. And Rob Reiner's father was one of the writers, I think, both of the D*** Van D*** show and was one of the writers in the writing room on the D*** Van D*** Show.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the best I can remember, but I couldn't tell you anything other than that. I just happen to like sitcoms, so I know a little bit about a lot of sitcoms, even though I haven't seen them. So name a sitcom. I'll tell you who the Schneider is on the sitcom.
>> Amanda Barker: My Two Dads.
>> Marco Timpano: My Two Dads was Two fathers. One was buttoned up and one was more cool. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I think so. That was a real. That was. Everyone loved that premise. One's a nerd, is a cool guy,
>> Marco Timpano: and I don't know who the Schneider is on that show. That's. That's about all I know about that. That show.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, let me think of another one. How about the one with Tom Hanks and they dressed up like bosom buddies. Bosom buddies, yeah. That was. God, I love that show.
>> Marco Timpano: That great. That show.
>> Amanda Barker: So, I mean, they were the crazy ones, weren't they? Kind of.
>> Marco Timpano: They were. Well, they were two guys who pretended to be women so that they could live in a. Yeah. In a dormitory or in a. In a.
>> Amanda Barker: All women's dorm.
>> Marco Timpano: It wasn't a dorm, but it was a dorm.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, I think back then it was
>> Marco Timpano: at like a halfway. It was like a house.
>> Amanda Barker: It was not a halfway house.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a.
>> Amanda Barker: Can I just say, back then, up until the 80s, there were places where you could live like an apartment, but just women. But you'd have a shared bathroom.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: Almost like a tenement. That's what I was trying to say.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's not a dormitory because that's.
>> Amanda Barker: They would call it a dorm. Yeah, yeah. It's not associated with a college or university, but it would be more of a dorm, because I don't think dormitory has to be part of a college or university. But in any event, you could call it a tenement. Maybe. But I mean, that's because I remember when I was going to move to New York, they still existed. And I was sort of looking at them like these houses for young ladies, just so it was all women. So there was like a safety component. Sure, sure. But you shared bathrooms and things like that. Yeah. So that. And it was cheaper and. And it was even when I looked like the cheapest place to live in New York at the time.
>> Amanda Barker: And
>> Marco Timpano: I think the house mother was played by that older actress now, Holland.
>> Amanda Barker: Holland Taylor.
>> Marco Timpano: Holland Taylor, I think Holland Taylor, yeah. And there was the blonde, the big statuesque blonde. And I want to say that was Donna Dixon. I could be wrong.
>> Amanda Barker: I Can't help you there. I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I think she ended up marrying Dan Aykroyd.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think. I think so. And then there was the shorter woman with the dark hair who was kind of, you know, bigger, and she was funny.
>> Amanda Barker: Bigger.
>> Marco Timpano: She.
>> Amanda Barker: He's doing b*** motions.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I wasn't doing b*** motions.
>> Amanda Barker: You were.
>> Marco Timpano: Was doing bigger. She's bigger.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm offended by all of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, anyways, she was the funny one.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And that was the story there.
>> Amanda Barker: That was always the lot. But. But I guarantee you one thing about the 80s. Go back and look, and she's not as big as you remember.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Because they would have these characters and they would be the. The chubby, funny ones. And then you go back and you're like, they weren't chubby.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, can you find out if it was Holland Taylor who played the. The house mother on Bosom Buddies?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. I did not know I'd do a deep dive.
>> Marco Timpano: I need to know if Dan Aykroyd married the blonde one.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't do all of this. This is a lot of work.
>> Marco Timpano: You just have to type in Bosom Buddies.
>> Amanda Barker: I will, but it's not gonna be who did Dan Aykroyd marry?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'll know when you mentioned her name.
>> Amanda Barker: Buzzum Buddies. Oh, so you know this woman's name if she married Dan Aykroyd?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I was. I was young when that came out, but I remember it being very funny. And I bet if I watched episodes today, they wouldn't be very funny.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. Can I read you the pitch? So I'm gonna pitch this to you like it's a series today and you're a producer. Okay, Margo, here's the show I want to do. Kip and Henry, two young studs working for a New York ad agency, come home to find their apartment building being demolished.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Amy, the receptionist, convinces them to move into her complex. Oh, she's the inn. The problem is that it's a complex. So they're calling it a complex. A complex for women only. But the rent is cheap. To get the low rent joint. The low rent joint. All they have to do is dress in drag. Okay. Enter Buffy and Hildegard, AKA Kip and Henry. Who was Hildegard?
>> Marco Timpano: Hildegard was, I think, the short one. I think, the other guy. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And Buffy was Tom Hanks.
>> Marco Timpano: Hanks. I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Sonny and Isabel are two cuties living in the same building. Sun, Sunny. Being heavily pursued by Kip. Or was it Buffy. The ruse is eventually known by all the women in the building, but by now, Buffy and Hildegard are each just one of the girls. The show was a launching point in the careers of eventual movie megastar Tom Hanks, who played the Kip Buffy role in the series. Okay. Anyway, the cast. So Peter Scolari.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And Tom Hanks.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: It'd be hard to be Peter Scolari and be like, I was good too,
>> Marco Timpano: and he was great in New Heart.
>> Amanda Barker: He was great. Oh, yeah, he was great. Okay. Wendy Jo Sperber is Amy Cassidy. Donna Dixon.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: Was Sunny Lumen all right? So did she marry? I'm pretty sure. Do you want me to look? Yeah, of course. All right. And Holland Taylor was Ruth Thumper.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. I mean, I was a kid the
>> Amanda Barker: last time I saw me as Holland Taylor. So Holland Taylor was playing a battle axe back then.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, she's been a battle axe for years and she does it so well.
>> Amanda Barker: I get it. I play them too. Donna Dixon. Let's just see. She's looked. Yep. Dan Aykroyd. They're no longer together. Oh, sorry to say. Well, but they were together a very, very long time.
>> Marco Timpano: They had a good run.
>> Amanda Barker: They had a very good run. They made some albums. You know.
>> Marco Timpano: Who was the Schneider on Newhart? And we'll end it there.
>> Amanda Barker: Who? The Schneider on New.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, who was the. Was it Larry? Larry.
>> Amanda Barker: Which Newhart? The new. You're talking about the. The new heart that we watched.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the new heart that was before that. I was a little kid once again and I think my parents watch it and Marsha Wal was the receptionist.
>> Amanda Barker: So the original. So it was the Bob Newhart show and that was six seasons from 1972. So then what's the one we're talking about?
>> Marco Timpano: It's called Newhart.
>> Amanda Barker: It's just called Newhart. Yeah. And who am I looking up?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Henry Mancini did the theme song.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I couldn't tell. I couldn't tell you the theme song of Newhart.
>> Amanda Barker: If you heard it, you would know it. Yeah. The handyman. Tom Poston as George Utley. The sensitive, dutiful, trustworthy, but slow witted handyman. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: He wasn't very funny though, that guy. He was a character actor. You've seen him in everything. Tom Poston.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, then Larry, Darrell and Darryl must have been right. Yeah. William, Tony. William Sanderson, Tony Papenfuss and John Volstead. Gosh, Larry Darrell and Daryl were really funny. You know, Newhart, we love Newhart so much. I mean, who didn't right from that time? But my family loved it so much. I'm just trying to see when it aired, because at that time. Yeah, 1982 to 1990.
>> Marco Timpano: So during those years, you guys ran an inn.
>> Amanda Barker: We ran an inn in Vermont, surprisingly, with Bob Newhart. He based the show on it. No, but we were going. My family would commute to Canada, back and forth from New England to Canada. So we had a lot of experiences through Maine and then obviously in rural New Brunswick, but we weren't living there yet. So we were experiencing rural New Brunswick, but we hadn't fully settled there anyway. And we did by the time we had started going, sort of as the show just started airing a little bit after it, and then by the time it ended, we were fully settled. So that kind of any fish out of water into a rural existence, like the movie Baby Boom was my mom's favorite movie because it's the same kind of premise was very important to my family. We saw ourselves in that. So there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. Well, folks, that's the end of this episode, which, where we cover a lot of sitcoms from the 80s.
>> Amanda Barker: Didn't know we were going to do that today.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope you enjoyed it and I hope some of you actually found it uninteresting enough that you were able to chill.
>> Amanda Barker: And if you're still with us and you know, tell us who your Schneider is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, tell us who.
>> Amanda Barker: Let us know.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we'd love to know that. Until next time, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Game Changer
original airdate: March 12, 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. We're in our 10th season. I hope you're enjoying what you've heard over the last 10 seasons.
>> Amanda Barker: 10.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. We're a calm podcast. Just to remind you.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I don't know why I'm so. I think because I had Coca Cola.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So we're gonna just remind ourselves that the caffeine in that is going to bring us down a little bit and we're going to have a nice, calm conversation. Thank you to all our listeners who've been here for 10 seasons and for those who just joined us, thank you as well. I'm your host, Marco Timfano, and I'm
>> Amanda Barker: his sidekick, Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, you know when you get a song in your head or like a thought in your head, and so it's. Is it called a wormhole?
>> Amanda Barker: What do you.
>> Marco Timpano: What is it called? A wormhole.
>> Amanda Barker: You're a wormhole. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: What is it called?
>> Amanda Barker: An earworm.
>> Marco Timpano: Earworm, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. An earworm.
>> Marco Timpano: A wormhole is a science space thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I think people. Well, no, people say, go down the rabbit hole. Like when you're like, oh, what was the name of that actress that was in that thing?
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: And then you find it, and then you're like, oh, did you know. You know she's also a master pottery maker.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: What does that call when you're a master pottery maker?
>> Marco Timpano: You're. Oh, that's great.
>> Amanda Barker: A potter. San.
>> Marco Timpano: A potter. I think just a great potter.
>> Amanda Barker: Master potter.
>> Marco Timpano: We watched Great, Great British Pottery show or whatever it's called. What's it called again?
>> Amanda Barker: The Great Pottery Throwdown, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you haven't watched it, Great British.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think British is in the title. I don't think they realized it would become a franchise entity.
>> Marco Timpano: There became a Canadian one. Right?
>> Amanda Barker: There is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, there is.
>> Amanda Barker: I think there's the Great Canadian Pottery Throwdown, but then there's just the Great Pottery Throw Down. I think that's what it's called.
>> Marco Timpano: I want you to take a pottery class that I've, I've said I was Going to give you years ago. And I've been looking into one, so we need to find out what works with your schedule.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't have my ghost moment without it.
>> Marco Timpano: What's that? Your ghost. Oh, your ghost. Oh, ghost.
>> Amanda Barker: But you're alive in my version.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, thank goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: We've been waiting a long time, so. I'm sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so too much caffeine, clearly.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I haven't.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I apologize to all.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of worms, have you ever. Have you ever held a worm in your hand?
>> Amanda Barker: Is this our. This our wormhole? We're going down our rabbit hole. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We've talked about so many things over the last 10 seasons, I don't think we've talked about worms.
>> Amanda Barker: Worms? You want to do a worm die?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. There's something fun about seeing worms in the rain when. When you go outside and they're all squiggling around.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, those are earthworms. Yeah. Specific type of worm.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Amanda Barker: Have I ever held an earthworm in my hand? I have. I don't know how deep you want to go down, but Science class in grade seven.
>> Marco Timpano: I see in Australia they have earthworms that are really, really long. Like crazy long.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Like the length of a school bus.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. There's a.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're not snakes. They're worms.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, they're earthworms. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the difference between a worm and a snake?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, a worm is an invertebrate, and a snake has a vertebrae, and it's a. One is an amphibious. One is a reptile, the snake. And the worm is a. I believe it belong. Belongs to the insect genus, but I'm not sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know my genuses. Oh, at all. I'm realizing I called something an amphibian the other day and realized, no, it's a reptile. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to know what you called an amphibian.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I don't remember, but maybe a frog or a toad.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are both amphibians.
>> Amanda Barker: Cool. I think I called them reptiles. And I realized that I don't. I've kind of forgotten, you know, you. You don't use it. You lose it. And trust that I have not used any of that knowledge from the fifth grade or grade five.
>> Marco Timpano: As we say, you've aged out of
>> Amanda Barker: your genius potentially a long time ago. But. But yeah, I don't know. It's funny. We were talking to our niece tonight, and by we, I mean you were texting with her, and she is concerned. She's so sweet. She was concerned that she. She's had a substitute teacher now for a while. I don't know what the story is there, but she has and she's worried she's not going to be well prepared for high school.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So this is a concern for her,
>> Marco Timpano: to which I assured her she could. She could teach high school in two years, let alone go to high school.
>> Amanda Barker: She knows a lot about a lot. But I. All of that knowledge that biology. I liked biology. Did you like biology?
>> Marco Timpano: I did, but I didn't love my biology teacher, so I never went further with.
>> Amanda Barker: It makes the difference.
>> Marco Timpano: It makes a huge difference.
>> Amanda Barker: I loved my biology teacher in grade 10, and I used to babysit for him.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So he was sort of like a family member. Really?
>> Marco Timpano: That's cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What were your desks like in high school or in grade school? Did you have the ones. So these are the ones I had.
>> Amanda Barker: High school was different than grade school.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So did you ever have the one where the chair that you sit on is attached with a bar to the. To the desk that you write on?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever have the desk that would open up and you could store things inside the desk?
>> Amanda Barker: Grade 8. My first year in the Canadian school System was grade 8 and grade 8. I had. We had those. I remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever have a.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I remember I had so much in mine, I had a hard time closing it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's hilarious.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The desk that you couldn't lift open but had like a little hole where your belly would go, and that's where
>> Amanda Barker: you could put stuff in papers and so on. Yeah. And you always kind of have your pencils and erasers up in the front of it so that you had access to them. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever have a desk that was on a slant and had a little groove cut out of the top so that you could put paper, pens and pencils?
>> Amanda Barker: I've had all these desks.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever had a desk that had a chalkboard attached with a string to it so you could write on the chalkboard and hold it up to your teacher?
>> Amanda Barker: No. Gilbert Blythe. I did not. I don't know if you know that.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: Anna Green Gables.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I did not go to School in 1901.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever have a rollaway desk or roll up topic desk?
>> Amanda Barker: What?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, those ones, they're not for school, but some people have them. I think they're called secretary secretaries where you roll it open?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my parents had one in the house.
>> Marco Timpano: What's it called.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, maybe it is called a secretary jask. Although it does not seem desky. It seems more like a hutch.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's a large piece of furniture.
>> Amanda Barker: Indeed.
>> Marco Timpano: With a lot of little compartments. I think that you can store things.
>> Amanda Barker: Our ancestors, man, once they figured out shelter, they were like, you know what we need to do? Spend all of our money on massive pieces of furniture. And then our children and our children's children and their children will want them. And then those poor descendants are left with all this stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: So much stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: We don't want it. Except I do want it, but I don't. And we have too much stuff in our own house, so we don't have a lot of room.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's true. It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Still. Still. Still fighting the good fight of what to purge and what to keep. It's hard.
>> Marco Timpano: We could purge the desk that's upstairs, actually, that has a computer that we don't use on it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I was just thinking. It's funny that you say that, because I've been. You know, we're in a regrouping phase. Spring is around the corner. You know, we're early in the year yet. And I've been thinking a lot about changes that we should make, and I think we definitely need to get rid of that archaic computer because it's as old as our nephew.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: And maybe older. I bought it for my sister, so I just need to get whatever's on that because really, it's just a big storage system.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And everything on it, I think, is backed up anyway. But I'll deal with that. And then my big. This is riveting for everyone listening. My big pink computer, which is my laptop.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: That'll be like our big computer there, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: I was thinking if we got rid of the entire desk, we could put a Murphy bed there, which has always been something.
>> Amanda Barker: But then where do we have a desk then? We have zero desks in this house. I, for example, today you are at the kitchen table, which is where I would normally be to do the work I was doing. But since you were there, I went up and used the desk, and I'm
>> Marco Timpano: talking about the desk the computer sits on, not that little desk that you sit at.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, where do you. Do you think I wrote my lines today?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, on the desk.
>> Amanda Barker: On the desk. Because I need a surface to write on. We only really have two surfaces to write on in this house. That desk. Oh, my God. I hope this puts people to sleep. Because it feels weirdly personal today. That desk I can sit and write on, and then the kitchen table, which was at that point in use.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't know if we need to get rid of more. Right? Like, more workspaces. I know you want a Murphy bed.
>> Marco Timpano: Everybody wants a Murphy bed.
>> Amanda Barker: We could put a Murphy bed in the spare room. Get rid of the bed that's there. You don't want to do that.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess. I. I know it's.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like. Well, that's my point is, like, the house needs to work for us.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe I just want a Murphy bed
>> Amanda Barker: because I just think it's cool.
>> Marco Timpano: I think a. I think it's cool.
>> Amanda Barker: For sure. Let's put one in the cottage, then.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, I love the concept of a Murphy bed.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a bed that disappears.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I get it. But the house needs to work for us, not for a visitor when we have other visitors and other beds in the house. You know what I'm saying?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, fair enough. There are.
>> Amanda Barker: We don't need two spare bedrooms.
>> Marco Timpano: There are Murphy beds that, when you put them up, they become a desk.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but I don't. You have to move everything on that desk when it becomes a bed. Which is fine, but my thing is that desk has storage. Listen, I'm gonna go through the. This is what I'm talking about. I'm gonna go through. It's time to go through some things and get rid of more things. But even still, there's going to be stuff we keep. We need the storage.
>> Marco Timpano: Spring cleaning, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: It is indeed so.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So those are. That's my desk conversation. That's as far as I can talk to you about.
>> Amanda Barker: We're doing worms. I thought you were on worms.
>> Marco Timpano: You weren't contributing to the worm conversation. Yeah, I brought in all the worm knowledge I could.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: Share some worm knowledge.
>> Amanda Barker: That was it, really. I dissected one, though.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: An earthworm.
>> Marco Timpano: I've used worms when I fish. Have you ever gone fishing?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. With you One. Well, twice. What?
>> Marco Timpano: You went fishing with me twice?
>> Amanda Barker: I've been fishing twice. Once with you, once with my father. That didn't work out so great because I went to cast the line, and somehow I let go of the fishing rod and it sunk into the St. John river, and that was my first and last day of fishing with my dad.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you must have been young, so. It's okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I was 16.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: I was pretty old. Definitely old enough to know how to hold a Rod. Oh, you know what, though? The first time I ever really fished.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I did catch something. I cut. Caught trout.
>> Marco Timpano: When you threw your fishing line.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I forgot there was. I was like four.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't know how much you're really fishing when you're four, but you're holding the thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And standing with the thing and I caught. And then something bit.
>> Marco Timpano: What. What kind of trout did you catch?
>> Amanda Barker: Lake trout, I think. I don't know. Or. But maybe it was bass out there. It's a lot of bass. I see river bass and so on.
>> Marco Timpano: The first fish I ever caught was a brook trout.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, when I was young, too, it was.
>> Amanda Barker: It was in. It was a place called Charlie Lake, and that's where I was four. It was my first time ever to Canada.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was in Massachusetts now.
>> Amanda Barker: My dad was doing the company he worked with Massachusetts at that time. Long time ago. Symbol Co. Had an offshoot location in Canada. The offshoot location became its own company years later, and he worked for them. And I think we've talked about that maybe on the podcast. But back then it was all one company. So I was really little and we came up to Canada and went fishing. Yeah. That's cool.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: That's kind of it. That. And there was a lot of hunting trophies in the lodge, Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But I was four. That's funny that. My first trip to Canada, I was so young. I always forget that. But anyway. Yeah. What was the first country you went to outside of Canada, and how old were you?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a really good question. I would say I went to.
>> Amanda Barker: Because you have family in lots of other countries.
>> Marco Timpano: I do, I do.
>> Amanda Barker: But was it to the States or.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's such a. You know, you have to. You have to sort of reach back just to figure out what. When. The first trip you took. So I. I would take trips with my folks. We would go to Niagara Falls, Canada. But I don't think we ever drove into New York. I'm trying to think of if we went to. The interesting thing with living in Toronto, the closest sort of major U.S. city is Buffalo, New York.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And so, you know, throughout my years, I've been to Buffalo many times.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: As you do, you go with your family, you go with your friends, especially when you're old enough to drive. It's one of the first sort of locations you can kind of go to. At the time, we didn't need a passport. You could do it with your driver's
>> Amanda Barker: license and you could shop. And that was a big thing in the 90s. Like, it all kind of depends on where the dollar was at back then.
>> Marco Timpano: And I love Buffalo. Like, I have to say, it's a great city. Buffalo, New York is a great city. Sometimes it's maligned. I don't know why. The food is great there, the art is great there. The buildings are look really cool there. So I have a. I have a love for Buffalo and. But I did go to Italy when I was 12. So I'm just trying to think, did I go to Buffalo before the age of 12 or none. Right. And I guess I don't think your
>> Amanda Barker: parents were really people that would go over and shop in Buffalo, were they?
>> Marco Timpano: No, not really. They did when that was popular, but I think that was later on in the 80s, my mom would go 80s and 90s.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. I don't know. I mean, we would. Like I said before, we lived on the border, so we. Back in the 90s, we would cross it weekly for sure, every week. But I mean, we live 15 minutes from the border, so that was. And there was not much going on in our town. So we'd go for fast food and we'd go for groceries and gas and we'd go to the movies and all the things we didn't have. I mean, we had groceries and gas in our town, but things that were definitely cheaper or just things that we could have access to.
>> Marco Timpano: Likely I went to, to the U.S. but I'm going to say that I probably my first trip was with my grandmother when I was 11 years old, I went to Italy.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, 11.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, 11 was my first trip. Yeah. But I was with my grandmother.
>> Amanda Barker: That's our nephew's age. Our youngest nephews, or not our youngest nephew, but our second youngest nephew.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And so that was my first trip. First time on a plane.
>> Amanda Barker: What did you think? What kind of plane was it? Do you remember?
>> Marco Timpano: I remember it being big, but I could remember it being big because I was little. And I remember I had what, what's it called when your ears get sort
>> Amanda Barker: of a year's popped?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that was really bothering me. And I remember the flight attendant brought me ginger ale. Ginger ale was supposedly supposed to help with that.
>> Amanda Barker: In the 80s, ginger ale was the cure for everything.
>> Marco Timpano: Gingerl is the cure for everything. So definitely that helped. I remember it being really big. I remember not being. Not being worried about it. I don't mind air travel and I didn't back.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you remember the food? Do you remember where you sat? What seats the window.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Remember any of it or the movie they showed.
>> Marco Timpano: They used to show the movie in one spot and everyone would have to watch.
>> Amanda Barker: You had to watch that movie. If you wanted to watch a movie, that was the one. I know it's funny to think about now.
>> Marco Timpano: I wish I could remember that movie. But I was young and had a great time. Came home. I remember having. I went on a. On SAS airline, which is a Swedish airline. Scandinavian airport.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Not to. Not to Italy. This was years later. I went to Argentina.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. And I remember they went to Argentina on the Scandinavian Airlines. Of course.
>> Marco Timpano: How. How else does one travel to South America? And I remember. I remember having salmon locks toast and it was like, this is amazing. I remember.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember we have the doos.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Argentina. Yeah, I remember. That was awesome.
>> Amanda Barker: That's funny.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I. So yeah, I remember those kind of trips. I remember trips to Buffalo with friends, going shopping and going for wings. So those were the memories. Where was your first trip outside of the U.S. was it Canada when you were 4?
>> Amanda Barker: I guess my first trip outside of the U.S. was Canada when I was 4. So that means we would have driven. I don't think we flew. I think we drove.
>> Marco Timpano: And your first plane trip?
>> Amanda Barker: My first plane trip was I think also when I was four. I guess I was a busy four year old. I'll have to check with my parents, but I'm pretty sure it was when I was four. Four or five. No, not five. Maybe even three. Because I have a couple memories. And it's funny that you say that the plane was big because of course we were little kids, so the plane was big. But I do think there were bigger planes like back then too. Right. Because I remember being in the. I mean, I've been on planes that have a middle now. It's not like they don't, but we were in the middle chunk, you know. And I remember the. The movie. This will give us the year. Anyway, the movie they showed on the plane was all of Me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. With Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Funny movie.
>> Amanda Barker: So I have to look and see what year that was. But I remember that being on the plane and everyone finding it funny. But I found. I remember not being able to follow it because I was a little kid with these big headphones on.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And they gave out these like big headphones. Not the little ones we have now. Right. But the big ones. And yeah, I remember that a little bit. But then the first. So I guess that was my first plane ride. And we were going to Disney World.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And I was like, I know. I was three. I wasn't four yet. So I have that memory. I remember the Dumbo ride, and I remember the tire swing at the condo that we rented. I was a big fan of that tire swing out of all the rides. But then I have a really, really distinct memory of going again when I was nine. Eight. Eight or nine. I think I just turned nine. And because it was Christmas. Yeah. So I would have been nine. And I. I'll never forget the meal I had on that plane. For some reason, they served breakfast.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool.
>> Amanda Barker: So it must have been early in the morning. And I got the window seat, and my dad was sitting to the right of me, and they served us French toast. And I was like, this is the best French toast I've ever had. I was so enraptured that I could eat French toast on this plane looking at the clouds out the window. And I'll never forget my dad said, did that hit the spot? And I was like, yeah. Like, that, to me, was the perfect way to phrase it. It hit the spot. Like, I just was so happy and still on plane. Sometimes when you have the right drink or the right snack on a plane, I think I'm always chasing that on planes because, you know, sometimes I'll buy the. The better snacks than the ones they hand out whatever they're handing out that day or, you know me, I really. I'm very particular with what I like to do and watch and read.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: On a plane. I'm very particular with my.
>> Marco Timpano: And I never buy the snacks because I always find them overpriced. But you always find them. So I'll sneak one of Amanda's. You still like to sit next to the window?
>> Amanda Barker: I love a window seat. I do. Although lately, our last few trips, I've been more partial to just. If there's a window in a middle, I'll give you the middle. Because those head cushion things that we have are so great that I find I'm much more likely to. If I'm really tired to fall asleep in the middle as much as much as the. I mean, I prefer the window any. Any day, but I don't want to stick you always with the middle. I think you've sat in enough middle seats for both of us.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: He knows I'll sleep if I have the window. And he. His attitude was always, I'm never going to sleep no matter what, so I might as be. Might as well be less comfortable. But it's not fair to you. So I want to give you the window more.
>> Marco Timpano: I I last, last ride we took on a plane, I slept on the window seat. So maybe the key is the window seat.
>> Amanda Barker: I think the key is the window seat. And see, I if I'm tired enough, which I was our last plane ride. If I have that neck pillow thing and I think we've talked about these neck pillows before, I think we should
>> Marco Timpano: mention it again as a hot tip in case.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's more than a hot tip.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a travel essential game changer.
>> Amanda Barker: It hits the spot, man.
>> Marco Timpano: You're listening to game changer with Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: If you're still awake. So it's a neck pillow that you open up. It's like a velveteen kind of material, so it's nice and plush and soft. And it has a zipper so it looks like a worm. Just to tie in our worm theme that we tried and failed with today.
>> Marco Timpano: A sausage, if you will, or a worm.
>> Amanda Barker: And you unzip it and you stuff it with all your clothes. Your change of socks if you want them, your underwear, a different shirt. I always have a couple shirts, couple pairs of pants. Like the last trip we did. I can tell you exactly what was in still in my brain. I had an extra pair of socks, an extra pair of underwear. Just because, you know, you never know what's gonna happen, who's gonna spill what on you. And you sure. A different pair of pants, but not jeans. They'll take up too much room. So you want like thinnish pants that are stretchy or whatever, but comfortable. Whatever you got. I put in two tops and another tank top just because I live in tank top. So just basically a change, A full, full new outfit, plus a few other things. Sometimes I'll throw in my poncho will go in there. I always travel with a poncho. Always, always. I keep them small and light. I have a white cashmere one that I'm pretty partial to right now, but I also have a sort of more rugged little brown woven one. Not a big poncho like with fringe, but something that I can just tie onto my strap of my backpack that just looks like almost like a little half sweater or like a little rag almost, because I just love having a little extra blanket on the plane or a little extra pillow if I want to turn it into one. But anyway, that neck pillow thing. So sometimes I'll put the poncho in there, but that neck pillow thing, and then it has a little. You just clip it so it looks Like a big sausage or worm. And then you clip it. And it's bigger than. Because you've stuffed it with clothes. It's bigger than the average neck pillow,
>> Marco Timpano: but it looks like one end, but
>> Amanda Barker: it looks like a neck pillow. And when you're traveling with just a backpack and you know, the airlines, I'm talking about pretty much all of them at this point, and they're like. You just have a personal item. Yeah, I just have my backpack with my little neck pillow attached. My neck pillow filled with clothes.
>> Marco Timpano: That is. And that was Travel Essentials with Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like I should have a travel line of goods. You should. And market them. That would be. I would. I would make a few adjustments to that existing nepillow and make it even better.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So, speaking of worms, I wanted to say, did you ever have that light up worm toy as a kid? My sister had it. What was it called?
>> Amanda Barker: Glow worm.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Glow worm.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't think my brother had it. He was gonna have it or he did or. But I don't think he ended up with it. I don't know. We were not a glowworm family, as it turns out.
>> Marco Timpano: My sister had a glow worm, and you would take it to bed with you, and anytime you needed a little bit of light, you would squeeze its belly.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's right.
>> Marco Timpano: And I don't know if its head would light up or the tail end.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a smart idea because the dark, you know, as a kid.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't always love the dark, so having something that, you know, helps. Probably helped a lot of parents.
>> Marco Timpano: Without a doubt. And my. I remember my. I should ask my sister about it if she liked it. I tried to record a podcast with my sister once.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, did you? Yeah. And how'd that go?
>> Marco Timpano: Not so great.
>> Amanda Barker: Like a long time ago or not too long ago.
>> Marco Timpano: She's not the easiest person to converse with on air.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what it is? I think you tell me if I'm right. My hunch is that I didn't know you did that. But my hunch is that she gets, like, nervous to be recorded and gets, like, in her head about what she's saying.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know, maybe if you did an interview with her or. She's quite funny, you should do one with her and see how that turns out. That would be nice.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, she's easy to talk to.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, we'll see if we can make that happen.
>> Amanda Barker: She has a great sense of humor in season 10.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's our episode of Desks, worms and travel essentials, I guess is how I'm going to wrap that worms in
>> Amanda Barker: our first play ride. First plane memories. Mine was a Delta plane, by the way. I don't know why I need to
>> Marco Timpano: do the shout out, but mine was Canadian Pacific, which no longer exists.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember looking at the Delta insignia and going, is it the same as Delta faucets?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. At nine years old. Wow. It's the way a nine year old thinks. And then for years later I was like, how are there two companies with the same name? But I don't think one has anything to do with the other, the faucets and the planes. But anyway, I guess we must add a Delta faucet at home.
>> Marco Timpano: But yeah, likely, likely. I don't remember much more than that. I think it was. Oh, no, wait, Canadian Pacific is not an airline. It was, it was. Then it was Canadian.
>> Amanda Barker: Canadian Airlines. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Canadian Airlines.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Canadian Pacific is a railroad.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was Canadian Airlines. I flew Canadian Canadian.
>> Amanda Barker: But you went off the continent.
>> Marco Timpano: I did.
>> Amanda Barker: I haven't gone. I. I was 21 when I went off the continent for the first time.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. Where'd you go?
>> Amanda Barker: Monaco. Oh, well, into Nice. So I flew from Montreal into Nice of all places, and then lived in Monaco.
>> Marco Timpano: That's awesome.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, just for a small time.
>> Marco Timpano: But where, where was your first trip on a plane? Folks, let us know and send us your message on Instagram or wherever. We'd love to hear from it. Thank you for listening. We hope this episode here helped you to listen and sleep.
original airdate: March 12, 2025
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. We're in our 10th season. I hope you're enjoying what you've heard over the last 10 seasons.
>> Amanda Barker: 10.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. We're a calm podcast. Just to remind you.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I don't know why I'm so. I think because I had Coca Cola.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So we're gonna just remind ourselves that the caffeine in that is going to bring us down a little bit and we're going to have a nice, calm conversation. Thank you to all our listeners who've been here for 10 seasons and for those who just joined us, thank you as well. I'm your host, Marco Timfano, and I'm
>> Amanda Barker: his sidekick, Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, you know when you get a song in your head or like a thought in your head, and so it's. Is it called a wormhole?
>> Amanda Barker: What do you.
>> Marco Timpano: What is it called? A wormhole.
>> Amanda Barker: You're a wormhole. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: What is it called?
>> Amanda Barker: An earworm.
>> Marco Timpano: Earworm, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. An earworm.
>> Marco Timpano: A wormhole is a science space thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I think people. Well, no, people say, go down the rabbit hole. Like when you're like, oh, what was the name of that actress that was in that thing?
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: And then you find it, and then you're like, oh, did you know. You know she's also a master pottery maker.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: What does that call when you're a master pottery maker?
>> Marco Timpano: You're. Oh, that's great.
>> Amanda Barker: A potter. San.
>> Marco Timpano: A potter. I think just a great potter.
>> Amanda Barker: Master potter.
>> Marco Timpano: We watched Great, Great British Pottery show or whatever it's called. What's it called again?
>> Amanda Barker: The Great Pottery Throwdown, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you haven't watched it, Great British.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think British is in the title. I don't think they realized it would become a franchise entity.
>> Marco Timpano: There became a Canadian one. Right?
>> Amanda Barker: There is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, there is.
>> Amanda Barker: I think there's the Great Canadian Pottery Throwdown, but then there's just the Great Pottery Throw Down. I think that's what it's called.
>> Marco Timpano: I want you to take a pottery class that I've, I've said I was Going to give you years ago. And I've been looking into one, so we need to find out what works with your schedule.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't have my ghost moment without it.
>> Marco Timpano: What's that? Your ghost. Oh, your ghost. Oh, ghost.
>> Amanda Barker: But you're alive in my version.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, thank goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: We've been waiting a long time, so. I'm sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so too much caffeine, clearly.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I haven't.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I apologize to all.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of worms, have you ever. Have you ever held a worm in your hand?
>> Amanda Barker: Is this our. This our wormhole? We're going down our rabbit hole. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We've talked about so many things over the last 10 seasons, I don't think we've talked about worms.
>> Amanda Barker: Worms? You want to do a worm die?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. There's something fun about seeing worms in the rain when. When you go outside and they're all squiggling around.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, those are earthworms. Yeah. Specific type of worm.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Amanda Barker: Have I ever held an earthworm in my hand? I have. I don't know how deep you want to go down, but Science class in grade seven.
>> Marco Timpano: I see in Australia they have earthworms that are really, really long. Like crazy long.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Like the length of a school bus.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. There's a.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're not snakes. They're worms.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, they're earthworms. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the difference between a worm and a snake?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, a worm is an invertebrate, and a snake has a vertebrae, and it's a. One is an amphibious. One is a reptile, the snake. And the worm is a. I believe it belong. Belongs to the insect genus, but I'm not sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know my genuses. Oh, at all. I'm realizing I called something an amphibian the other day and realized, no, it's a reptile. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to know what you called an amphibian.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I don't remember, but maybe a frog or a toad.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are both amphibians.
>> Amanda Barker: Cool. I think I called them reptiles. And I realized that I don't. I've kind of forgotten, you know, you. You don't use it. You lose it. And trust that I have not used any of that knowledge from the fifth grade or grade five.
>> Marco Timpano: As we say, you've aged out of
>> Amanda Barker: your genius potentially a long time ago. But. But yeah, I don't know. It's funny. We were talking to our niece tonight, and by we, I mean you were texting with her, and she is concerned. She's so sweet. She was concerned that she. She's had a substitute teacher now for a while. I don't know what the story is there, but she has and she's worried she's not going to be well prepared for high school.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So this is a concern for her,
>> Marco Timpano: to which I assured her she could. She could teach high school in two years, let alone go to high school.
>> Amanda Barker: She knows a lot about a lot. But I. All of that knowledge that biology. I liked biology. Did you like biology?
>> Marco Timpano: I did, but I didn't love my biology teacher, so I never went further with.
>> Amanda Barker: It makes the difference.
>> Marco Timpano: It makes a huge difference.
>> Amanda Barker: I loved my biology teacher in grade 10, and I used to babysit for him.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So he was sort of like a family member. Really?
>> Marco Timpano: That's cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What were your desks like in high school or in grade school? Did you have the ones. So these are the ones I had.
>> Amanda Barker: High school was different than grade school.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So did you ever have the one where the chair that you sit on is attached with a bar to the. To the desk that you write on?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever have the desk that would open up and you could store things inside the desk?
>> Amanda Barker: Grade 8. My first year in the Canadian school System was grade 8 and grade 8. I had. We had those. I remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever have a.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I remember I had so much in mine, I had a hard time closing it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's hilarious.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The desk that you couldn't lift open but had like a little hole where your belly would go, and that's where
>> Amanda Barker: you could put stuff in papers and so on. Yeah. And you always kind of have your pencils and erasers up in the front of it so that you had access to them. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever have a desk that was on a slant and had a little groove cut out of the top so that you could put paper, pens and pencils?
>> Amanda Barker: I've had all these desks.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever had a desk that had a chalkboard attached with a string to it so you could write on the chalkboard and hold it up to your teacher?
>> Amanda Barker: No. Gilbert Blythe. I did not. I don't know if you know that.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: Anna Green Gables.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I did not go to School in 1901.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever have a rollaway desk or roll up topic desk?
>> Amanda Barker: What?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, those ones, they're not for school, but some people have them. I think they're called secretary secretaries where you roll it open?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my parents had one in the house.
>> Marco Timpano: What's it called.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, maybe it is called a secretary jask. Although it does not seem desky. It seems more like a hutch.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's a large piece of furniture.
>> Amanda Barker: Indeed.
>> Marco Timpano: With a lot of little compartments. I think that you can store things.
>> Amanda Barker: Our ancestors, man, once they figured out shelter, they were like, you know what we need to do? Spend all of our money on massive pieces of furniture. And then our children and our children's children and their children will want them. And then those poor descendants are left with all this stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: So much stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: We don't want it. Except I do want it, but I don't. And we have too much stuff in our own house, so we don't have a lot of room.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's true. It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Still. Still. Still fighting the good fight of what to purge and what to keep. It's hard.
>> Marco Timpano: We could purge the desk that's upstairs, actually, that has a computer that we don't use on it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I was just thinking. It's funny that you say that, because I've been. You know, we're in a regrouping phase. Spring is around the corner. You know, we're early in the year yet. And I've been thinking a lot about changes that we should make, and I think we definitely need to get rid of that archaic computer because it's as old as our nephew.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: And maybe older. I bought it for my sister, so I just need to get whatever's on that because really, it's just a big storage system.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And everything on it, I think, is backed up anyway. But I'll deal with that. And then my big. This is riveting for everyone listening. My big pink computer, which is my laptop.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: That'll be like our big computer there, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: I was thinking if we got rid of the entire desk, we could put a Murphy bed there, which has always been something.
>> Amanda Barker: But then where do we have a desk then? We have zero desks in this house. I, for example, today you are at the kitchen table, which is where I would normally be to do the work I was doing. But since you were there, I went up and used the desk, and I'm
>> Marco Timpano: talking about the desk the computer sits on, not that little desk that you sit at.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, where do you. Do you think I wrote my lines today?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, on the desk.
>> Amanda Barker: On the desk. Because I need a surface to write on. We only really have two surfaces to write on in this house. That desk. Oh, my God. I hope this puts people to sleep. Because it feels weirdly personal today. That desk I can sit and write on, and then the kitchen table, which was at that point in use.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't know if we need to get rid of more. Right? Like, more workspaces. I know you want a Murphy bed.
>> Marco Timpano: Everybody wants a Murphy bed.
>> Amanda Barker: We could put a Murphy bed in the spare room. Get rid of the bed that's there. You don't want to do that.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess. I. I know it's.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like. Well, that's my point is, like, the house needs to work for us.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe I just want a Murphy bed
>> Amanda Barker: because I just think it's cool.
>> Marco Timpano: I think a. I think it's cool.
>> Amanda Barker: For sure. Let's put one in the cottage, then.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, I love the concept of a Murphy bed.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a bed that disappears.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I get it. But the house needs to work for us, not for a visitor when we have other visitors and other beds in the house. You know what I'm saying?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, fair enough. There are.
>> Amanda Barker: We don't need two spare bedrooms.
>> Marco Timpano: There are Murphy beds that, when you put them up, they become a desk.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but I don't. You have to move everything on that desk when it becomes a bed. Which is fine, but my thing is that desk has storage. Listen, I'm gonna go through the. This is what I'm talking about. I'm gonna go through. It's time to go through some things and get rid of more things. But even still, there's going to be stuff we keep. We need the storage.
>> Marco Timpano: Spring cleaning, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: It is indeed so.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So those are. That's my desk conversation. That's as far as I can talk to you about.
>> Amanda Barker: We're doing worms. I thought you were on worms.
>> Marco Timpano: You weren't contributing to the worm conversation. Yeah, I brought in all the worm knowledge I could.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: Share some worm knowledge.
>> Amanda Barker: That was it, really. I dissected one, though.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: An earthworm.
>> Marco Timpano: I've used worms when I fish. Have you ever gone fishing?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. With you One. Well, twice. What?
>> Marco Timpano: You went fishing with me twice?
>> Amanda Barker: I've been fishing twice. Once with you, once with my father. That didn't work out so great because I went to cast the line, and somehow I let go of the fishing rod and it sunk into the St. John river, and that was my first and last day of fishing with my dad.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you must have been young, so. It's okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I was 16.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: I was pretty old. Definitely old enough to know how to hold a Rod. Oh, you know what, though? The first time I ever really fished.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I did catch something. I cut. Caught trout.
>> Marco Timpano: When you threw your fishing line.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I forgot there was. I was like four.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't know how much you're really fishing when you're four, but you're holding the thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And standing with the thing and I caught. And then something bit.
>> Marco Timpano: What. What kind of trout did you catch?
>> Amanda Barker: Lake trout, I think. I don't know. Or. But maybe it was bass out there. It's a lot of bass. I see river bass and so on.
>> Marco Timpano: The first fish I ever caught was a brook trout.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, when I was young, too, it was.
>> Amanda Barker: It was in. It was a place called Charlie Lake, and that's where I was four. It was my first time ever to Canada.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was in Massachusetts now.
>> Amanda Barker: My dad was doing the company he worked with Massachusetts at that time. Long time ago. Symbol Co. Had an offshoot location in Canada. The offshoot location became its own company years later, and he worked for them. And I think we've talked about that maybe on the podcast. But back then it was all one company. So I was really little and we came up to Canada and went fishing. Yeah. That's cool.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: That's kind of it. That. And there was a lot of hunting trophies in the lodge, Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But I was four. That's funny that. My first trip to Canada, I was so young. I always forget that. But anyway. Yeah. What was the first country you went to outside of Canada, and how old were you?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a really good question. I would say I went to.
>> Amanda Barker: Because you have family in lots of other countries.
>> Marco Timpano: I do, I do.
>> Amanda Barker: But was it to the States or.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's such a. You know, you have to. You have to sort of reach back just to figure out what. When. The first trip you took. So I. I would take trips with my folks. We would go to Niagara Falls, Canada. But I don't think we ever drove into New York. I'm trying to think of if we went to. The interesting thing with living in Toronto, the closest sort of major U.S. city is Buffalo, New York.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And so, you know, throughout my years, I've been to Buffalo many times.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: As you do, you go with your family, you go with your friends, especially when you're old enough to drive. It's one of the first sort of locations you can kind of go to. At the time, we didn't need a passport. You could do it with your driver's
>> Amanda Barker: license and you could shop. And that was a big thing in the 90s. Like, it all kind of depends on where the dollar was at back then.
>> Marco Timpano: And I love Buffalo. Like, I have to say, it's a great city. Buffalo, New York is a great city. Sometimes it's maligned. I don't know why. The food is great there, the art is great there. The buildings are look really cool there. So I have a. I have a love for Buffalo and. But I did go to Italy when I was 12. So I'm just trying to think, did I go to Buffalo before the age of 12 or none. Right. And I guess I don't think your
>> Amanda Barker: parents were really people that would go over and shop in Buffalo, were they?
>> Marco Timpano: No, not really. They did when that was popular, but I think that was later on in the 80s, my mom would go 80s and 90s.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. I don't know. I mean, we would. Like I said before, we lived on the border, so we. Back in the 90s, we would cross it weekly for sure, every week. But I mean, we live 15 minutes from the border, so that was. And there was not much going on in our town. So we'd go for fast food and we'd go for groceries and gas and we'd go to the movies and all the things we didn't have. I mean, we had groceries and gas in our town, but things that were definitely cheaper or just things that we could have access to.
>> Marco Timpano: Likely I went to, to the U.S. but I'm going to say that I probably my first trip was with my grandmother when I was 11 years old, I went to Italy.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, 11.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, 11 was my first trip. Yeah. But I was with my grandmother.
>> Amanda Barker: That's our nephew's age. Our youngest nephews, or not our youngest nephew, but our second youngest nephew.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And so that was my first trip. First time on a plane.
>> Amanda Barker: What did you think? What kind of plane was it? Do you remember?
>> Marco Timpano: I remember it being big, but I could remember it being big because I was little. And I remember I had what, what's it called when your ears get sort
>> Amanda Barker: of a year's popped?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that was really bothering me. And I remember the flight attendant brought me ginger ale. Ginger ale was supposedly supposed to help with that.
>> Amanda Barker: In the 80s, ginger ale was the cure for everything.
>> Marco Timpano: Gingerl is the cure for everything. So definitely that helped. I remember it being really big. I remember not being. Not being worried about it. I don't mind air travel and I didn't back.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you remember the food? Do you remember where you sat? What seats the window.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Remember any of it or the movie they showed.
>> Marco Timpano: They used to show the movie in one spot and everyone would have to watch.
>> Amanda Barker: You had to watch that movie. If you wanted to watch a movie, that was the one. I know it's funny to think about now.
>> Marco Timpano: I wish I could remember that movie. But I was young and had a great time. Came home. I remember having. I went on a. On SAS airline, which is a Swedish airline. Scandinavian airport.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Not to. Not to Italy. This was years later. I went to Argentina.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. And I remember they went to Argentina on the Scandinavian Airlines. Of course.
>> Marco Timpano: How. How else does one travel to South America? And I remember. I remember having salmon locks toast and it was like, this is amazing. I remember.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember we have the doos.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Argentina. Yeah, I remember. That was awesome.
>> Amanda Barker: That's funny.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I. So yeah, I remember those kind of trips. I remember trips to Buffalo with friends, going shopping and going for wings. So those were the memories. Where was your first trip outside of the U.S. was it Canada when you were 4?
>> Amanda Barker: I guess my first trip outside of the U.S. was Canada when I was 4. So that means we would have driven. I don't think we flew. I think we drove.
>> Marco Timpano: And your first plane trip?
>> Amanda Barker: My first plane trip was I think also when I was four. I guess I was a busy four year old. I'll have to check with my parents, but I'm pretty sure it was when I was four. Four or five. No, not five. Maybe even three. Because I have a couple memories. And it's funny that you say that the plane was big because of course we were little kids, so the plane was big. But I do think there were bigger planes like back then too. Right. Because I remember being in the. I mean, I've been on planes that have a middle now. It's not like they don't, but we were in the middle chunk, you know. And I remember the. The movie. This will give us the year. Anyway, the movie they showed on the plane was all of Me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. With Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Funny movie.
>> Amanda Barker: So I have to look and see what year that was. But I remember that being on the plane and everyone finding it funny. But I found. I remember not being able to follow it because I was a little kid with these big headphones on.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And they gave out these like big headphones. Not the little ones we have now. Right. But the big ones. And yeah, I remember that a little bit. But then the first. So I guess that was my first plane ride. And we were going to Disney World.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And I was like, I know. I was three. I wasn't four yet. So I have that memory. I remember the Dumbo ride, and I remember the tire swing at the condo that we rented. I was a big fan of that tire swing out of all the rides. But then I have a really, really distinct memory of going again when I was nine. Eight. Eight or nine. I think I just turned nine. And because it was Christmas. Yeah. So I would have been nine. And I. I'll never forget the meal I had on that plane. For some reason, they served breakfast.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool.
>> Amanda Barker: So it must have been early in the morning. And I got the window seat, and my dad was sitting to the right of me, and they served us French toast. And I was like, this is the best French toast I've ever had. I was so enraptured that I could eat French toast on this plane looking at the clouds out the window. And I'll never forget my dad said, did that hit the spot? And I was like, yeah. Like, that, to me, was the perfect way to phrase it. It hit the spot. Like, I just was so happy and still on plane. Sometimes when you have the right drink or the right snack on a plane, I think I'm always chasing that on planes because, you know, sometimes I'll buy the. The better snacks than the ones they hand out whatever they're handing out that day or, you know me, I really. I'm very particular with what I like to do and watch and read.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: On a plane. I'm very particular with my.
>> Marco Timpano: And I never buy the snacks because I always find them overpriced. But you always find them. So I'll sneak one of Amanda's. You still like to sit next to the window?
>> Amanda Barker: I love a window seat. I do. Although lately, our last few trips, I've been more partial to just. If there's a window in a middle, I'll give you the middle. Because those head cushion things that we have are so great that I find I'm much more likely to. If I'm really tired to fall asleep in the middle as much as much as the. I mean, I prefer the window any. Any day, but I don't want to stick you always with the middle. I think you've sat in enough middle seats for both of us.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: He knows I'll sleep if I have the window. And he. His attitude was always, I'm never going to sleep no matter what, so I might as be. Might as well be less comfortable. But it's not fair to you. So I want to give you the window more.
>> Marco Timpano: I I last, last ride we took on a plane, I slept on the window seat. So maybe the key is the window seat.
>> Amanda Barker: I think the key is the window seat. And see, I if I'm tired enough, which I was our last plane ride. If I have that neck pillow thing and I think we've talked about these neck pillows before, I think we should
>> Marco Timpano: mention it again as a hot tip in case.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's more than a hot tip.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a travel essential game changer.
>> Amanda Barker: It hits the spot, man.
>> Marco Timpano: You're listening to game changer with Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: If you're still awake. So it's a neck pillow that you open up. It's like a velveteen kind of material, so it's nice and plush and soft. And it has a zipper so it looks like a worm. Just to tie in our worm theme that we tried and failed with today.
>> Marco Timpano: A sausage, if you will, or a worm.
>> Amanda Barker: And you unzip it and you stuff it with all your clothes. Your change of socks if you want them, your underwear, a different shirt. I always have a couple shirts, couple pairs of pants. Like the last trip we did. I can tell you exactly what was in still in my brain. I had an extra pair of socks, an extra pair of underwear. Just because, you know, you never know what's gonna happen, who's gonna spill what on you. And you sure. A different pair of pants, but not jeans. They'll take up too much room. So you want like thinnish pants that are stretchy or whatever, but comfortable. Whatever you got. I put in two tops and another tank top just because I live in tank top. So just basically a change, A full, full new outfit, plus a few other things. Sometimes I'll throw in my poncho will go in there. I always travel with a poncho. Always, always. I keep them small and light. I have a white cashmere one that I'm pretty partial to right now, but I also have a sort of more rugged little brown woven one. Not a big poncho like with fringe, but something that I can just tie onto my strap of my backpack that just looks like almost like a little half sweater or like a little rag almost, because I just love having a little extra blanket on the plane or a little extra pillow if I want to turn it into one. But anyway, that neck pillow thing. So sometimes I'll put the poncho in there, but that neck pillow thing, and then it has a little. You just clip it so it looks Like a big sausage or worm. And then you clip it. And it's bigger than. Because you've stuffed it with clothes. It's bigger than the average neck pillow,
>> Marco Timpano: but it looks like one end, but
>> Amanda Barker: it looks like a neck pillow. And when you're traveling with just a backpack and you know, the airlines, I'm talking about pretty much all of them at this point, and they're like. You just have a personal item. Yeah, I just have my backpack with my little neck pillow attached. My neck pillow filled with clothes.
>> Marco Timpano: That is. And that was Travel Essentials with Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like I should have a travel line of goods. You should. And market them. That would be. I would. I would make a few adjustments to that existing nepillow and make it even better.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So, speaking of worms, I wanted to say, did you ever have that light up worm toy as a kid? My sister had it. What was it called?
>> Amanda Barker: Glow worm.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Glow worm.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't think my brother had it. He was gonna have it or he did or. But I don't think he ended up with it. I don't know. We were not a glowworm family, as it turns out.
>> Marco Timpano: My sister had a glow worm, and you would take it to bed with you, and anytime you needed a little bit of light, you would squeeze its belly.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's right.
>> Marco Timpano: And I don't know if its head would light up or the tail end.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a smart idea because the dark, you know, as a kid.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't always love the dark, so having something that, you know, helps. Probably helped a lot of parents.
>> Marco Timpano: Without a doubt. And my. I remember my. I should ask my sister about it if she liked it. I tried to record a podcast with my sister once.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, did you? Yeah. And how'd that go?
>> Marco Timpano: Not so great.
>> Amanda Barker: Like a long time ago or not too long ago.
>> Marco Timpano: She's not the easiest person to converse with on air.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what it is? I think you tell me if I'm right. My hunch is that I didn't know you did that. But my hunch is that she gets, like, nervous to be recorded and gets, like, in her head about what she's saying.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know, maybe if you did an interview with her or. She's quite funny, you should do one with her and see how that turns out. That would be nice.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, she's easy to talk to.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, we'll see if we can make that happen.
>> Amanda Barker: She has a great sense of humor in season 10.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's our episode of Desks, worms and travel essentials, I guess is how I'm going to wrap that worms in
>> Amanda Barker: our first play ride. First plane memories. Mine was a Delta plane, by the way. I don't know why I need to
>> Marco Timpano: do the shout out, but mine was Canadian Pacific, which no longer exists.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember looking at the Delta insignia and going, is it the same as Delta faucets?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. At nine years old. Wow. It's the way a nine year old thinks. And then for years later I was like, how are there two companies with the same name? But I don't think one has anything to do with the other, the faucets and the planes. But anyway, I guess we must add a Delta faucet at home.
>> Marco Timpano: But yeah, likely, likely. I don't remember much more than that. I think it was. Oh, no, wait, Canadian Pacific is not an airline. It was, it was. Then it was Canadian.
>> Amanda Barker: Canadian Airlines. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Canadian Airlines.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Canadian Pacific is a railroad.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was Canadian Airlines. I flew Canadian Canadian.
>> Amanda Barker: But you went off the continent.
>> Marco Timpano: I did.
>> Amanda Barker: I haven't gone. I. I was 21 when I went off the continent for the first time.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. Where'd you go?
>> Amanda Barker: Monaco. Oh, well, into Nice. So I flew from Montreal into Nice of all places, and then lived in Monaco.
>> Marco Timpano: That's awesome.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, just for a small time.
>> Marco Timpano: But where, where was your first trip on a plane? Folks, let us know and send us your message on Instagram or wherever. We'd love to hear from it. Thank you for listening. We hope this episode here helped you to listen and sleep.
Oats today, Cherries Tomorrow
(Original airdate: July 25, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation meant to help you drift off to sleep maybe, or just to chillness and calm. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda.
>> Marco Timpano: Hi Amanda. How you doing tonight?
>> Amanda Barker: Tired. Oh, sono stanca.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go. Well, we did get some messages from listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh wow.
>> Marco Timpano: We have A listener who really enjoyed the Rome episode and happened to be Rome in Rome around the same time as us. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And did they go through the holy doors?
>> Marco Timpano: They didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: Did they eat the holy pastas?
>> Marco Timpano: They didn't go that far into the message, but maybe we'll hear from them.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Also, listeners are asking how they can get advertising free episodes because ACAST took that away and now the ads are too loud and I'm working with them. I'm gonna work on that all day tomorrow. I'm gonna try to figure out a way for our listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: So we're on it. We're trying. Yeah, give us a week or two.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, give us a week or two more. I have been looking into this, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I know.
>> Marco Timpano: Forgive me, but we'll get that sorted out. Thank you for bearing with those loud advertisements. I trust me. I have someone in California who listens. Nima is his name. He's going to be a guest again on the show. He's a friend show who always tells me when they're loud. And I, and I do my best.
>> Amanda Barker: So we appreciate the heads up too because you know, we want the podcast that you need.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And those ads are different in different locations as part of the situation. So they might be calm in some places.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. They target them. Yeah, I know. I was just listening to an ACAST podcast myself.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great. Is it a recommendation you would mention?
>> Amanda Barker: Sure I would. Actually, it's called, it's interesting. It's called we regret to inform you.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's the same production team that does under the Influence, which is a really interesting long running series on CBC Radio and podcast as well about marketing decisions. That's not a great pitch, but it's
>> Marco Timpano: actually quite fascinating because they'll tell you about like when Coke switched their formula and why they did it and what the repercussions were. And they do it in a fun sort of way too.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's Terry O'Reilly that does this. I think it's his daughter. That's what I'm gleaning. I'm pretty sure that produces and is the main voice on this one called we regret to inform you. And it's great because it tells you stories of people who got rejected.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: And then how the rejection became their biggest blessing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I need to listen to this.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I just listened to the Lisa Kudrow episode, which is a great one. And I'm listening to one about the script of Pretty Woman.
>> Marco Timpano: How did you find this out, this podcast? How did this Podcast come to you cbc. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they. I think they're starting to air them. They just started. And so I heard it and then went, oh, I'm gonna go check that out. And I also love the cost of living. I'm a CBC person. Listen. I moved to Canada. I immersed myself as a child in Canadian things. And CBC is very Canadian. So I'm a longtime fan and part time employee sometimes of cbc. When they'll hire me.
>> Marco Timpano: When they hire you, they should hire you more often.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I've just found out that a series that I was in, the first series, the first season called Small achievable Goals, that that is getting a second season.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Who knows if I'll be in it?
>> Marco Timpano: But if you haven't checked that out, definitely check it out. It's a great series. And you'll see Amanda in it as
>> Amanda Barker: well,
>> Marco Timpano: and great writers on that series
>> Amanda Barker: who we might see this weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. That's right. So hopefully we will. We got cherries. We were supposed to eat cherries tonight. I forgot.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. And we had ice cream instead. Well, those are the good problems, I think, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: We'll have cherries tomorrow. Yeah, Cherries Tomorrow sounds like a title of a book or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Or a great rock album or a podcast. Imagine Cherries Tomorrow.
>> Amanda Barker: Or should we start a podcast, Cherries Tomorrow? I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Things you can do tomorrow that you didn't do today.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, maybe. Maybe that's this episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Stuff we'll do tomorrow that we didn't get done today.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I love cherries and you love cherries.
>> Amanda Barker: I love cherries.
>> Marco Timpano: I love strawberries. Amanda, not so much.
>> Amanda Barker: Not a strawberry fan. Are there anybody. Are there any of us out there listening that cannot stand strawberries? Please let me know. I've only ever found one in my life. Now, mind you, it's not something that comes up a lot in casual conversation. Hi, my name's Teresa, and I hate strawberries. But here's my journey with strawberries.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. On this episode of Cherries Tomorrow, I
>> Amanda Barker: forget what I was talking about.
>> Marco Timpano: You're gonna talk about your journey with strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, strawberries. Strawberries yesterday, cherries tomorrow. So here's my thing with strawberries. As a kid, you know, you are socialized to love strawberries. Why wouldn't you love strawberries? Everybody loved. There was strawberry shortcake. She was a doll. She smelled great. I had apple dumpling. Who was her, like, sidekick, but I think my sister.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought there was blueberry muffin.
>> Amanda Barker: There's also blueberry muffin.
>> Marco Timpano: And who was that character?
>> Amanda Barker: My sister had blueberry muffin. I had apple dumpling, and I think our neighbor had strawberry shortcake.
>> Marco Timpano: So wait a minute. I don't know the strawberry shortcake world.
>> Amanda Barker: That's all I can tell you about the universe, because all I can tell you is the dolls we had. I don't remember the cartoons.
>> Marco Timpano: But if Apple dumpling was the sidekick, who was blueberry muffin?
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe Apple dumpling was, like, the little sidekick, and blueberry muffin was, like, the best friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I don't know. All right, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so as a kid, you're like, strawberries, they're the best. Everyone around you is like, guess what we're having tonight? Strawberries or strawberry shortcake. So you think, yay, that's the best thing ever.
>> Marco Timpano: And it is in my book.
>> Amanda Barker: And so as a kid, my mom would be like, this weekend, you know, this is a very specific memory, but we're gonna watch Solid Gold and have strawberry shortcake. Well, that was like, the ultimate Saturday night, right? Solid Gold. Or maybe it's Friday.
>> Marco Timpano: It still is.
>> Amanda Barker: Solid Gold. Strawberry shortcake. And I remember, like, jumping on the couch with my sister. We're so excited for strawberries. And the thing is, as I would eat them and they didn't taste great to me, but the concept was, like, this exciting thing. Strawberries. They're red, they're beautiful, they look good. Everyone loves them, so what's not to love? So I don't think I really listened to my own inner voice or stomach saying, this doesn't taste great. I just kept eating them. And so I got into adult. I never, ever would choose them because I'd be like, I don't. That's not. You know, I would never buy them. And then finally, really, like in my 30s, people offer me strawberries, and I'd be like, you know what? I don't like strawberries. Actually, to me, they're full of seeds, and they have either no taste or an acidic taste, but there's nothing sweet or even a flavor that I can really detect. It's. I don't know, my cilantro or something. So that's what I realized. And so very much like comic book movies where people will be like, no, no, you'll like this one. And then you're like, no, that. Although people don't say that anymore to me, but it used to be that my comic book nerdy friends would be like, even people that don't like comic movies, this has great characters this has a great plot. And so I would be like, okay, great, I'll come watch that movie with you. And then be like, eh, sure. That's me. With strawberries as well. People would be like, oh, but you'll love these ones. Then they'll say things like, oh, I get it if they're like, farmed, but these are wild. Or these are Ontario, or these are really whatever. And they'll be like, you'll like these ones. And so then I'd be like, okay, great. And then I'd eat them and be like, I don't get it. They're just little. They taste like cleaning solution with seeds.
>> Marco Timpano: I was with you when we had, like, one of the world's best strawberries I've ever had, and you didn't like it. I'm like, she's never gonna like strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Where was that?
>> Marco Timpano: That was in Montreal.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: They had, like, wild strawberries picked from a farm an hour north of.
>> Amanda Barker: How are they wild if they're from
>> Marco Timpano: a farm on Forest. I guess they were forage strawberries. Yeah. And they were fantastic. And you didn't like them. And I was like, you'll never like. If you don't like these strawberries. You'll never like strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: There's something in them that I can't taste now. There's only one person I've ever met who I've, I guess, had the conversation with. I don't remember her name, but she was a hair and makeup artist. But specifically hair on a set of a Christmas movie that I shot like five years ago. Somebody said, oh, you know, we have on set various. It's like a good set. Most sets have kind of food all the time. And there's actually a thing that they have to. They have to give you a snack. I think it's like you have to have lunch. I don't remember what it is four hours in. There's some rules anyways, five hours in, anyway. And, like, they have to have proper meals every so many hours. But then every two hours, I think it is, they have to have what we call a substantial snack. Now, they don't do this in the States. They call it this in the States, I've learned. But in Canada, we call them all subs. So every two hours you're like, what's the sub? What's the sub?
>> Marco Timpano: The substantial snack.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's short for substantial snack. But for whatever reason, we always call them. I don't know what they call them in the States. But anyway, we always call Them, the sub. Sometimes they are subs.
>> Marco Timpano: I was gonna. I said, begs the question, can it be a sub for your sub?
>> Amanda Barker: They usually be like, what's the sub? Oh, it's like a lentil soup. It's, you know, a little cup of lentil soup or it's chili or, oh, it's been a, you know, a little banh mi or whatever. Like there's all sorts of things it could be, right. A little snack, a pasta salad. I've seen. So anyway, the sub had something to do with strawberries or they had strawberries at the craft truck. And so someone came in, they're like, they have strawberries or they have great strawberry shortcake or strawberry something. And she was doing my hair and I had pretty elaborate hair for that shoot. And she was doing my hair and she was like, no, sorry, I don't like strawberries. And they went, what? She's like, no, don't like them. I don't get it. And I went, me too. And we both freaked out because we had never met anyone else who didn't like strawberries. And even if you remember the night we got married, my bridesmaids, very sweetly.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Did chocolate covered strawberries and champagne. And I had to laugh. It was one of those moments. God love them. It was very sweet. But I was like, there's nothing I would like less than chocolate covered strawberries. And you don't like champagne.
>> Marco Timpano: It was the perfect match.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't really love champagne either. I mean, I'll drink it, but it's not my favorite. So I was like, what they should have put was like Coke Zeros and, you know, some smart food.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Yeah. So I have a little. Well, I have a strawberry story, but I also have another story I'm going to tell. So today on cherries. Tomorrow I'm going to talk about cherries. Tomorrow I'm going to talk about the
>> Amanda Barker: name of our next season. Cherries Tomorrow.
>> Marco Timpano: I sanded wood floors.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you need to talk about it.
>> Marco Timpano: So we at our cottage have linoleum that had been there forever and it was peeling and kind of getting a little bit precarious because the parts that were peeling, if you walked by them, you could trip and really hurt yourself. So it was like it was like a floor that bit back. Like it was not a floor to mess with. Okay. So I was like, it's time to get rid of these floors. And so when I pulled back the linoleum, I noticed that underneath there was like hardwood or I should say pine, because it's pine, but pine wood, slatted floors, kind of like hardwood floors, if you could picture. Only they were very dingy and gray and scuffed because they had taken the abuse of everything under the linoleum. And I think the linoleum itself was. Was wreaking havoc on it. Certainly there were some. There was some glue that was underneath as well, and they probably had seen feet in the 1930s.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, it's crazy when you think about it. I mean. So would you call that, like, a naughty pine?
>> Marco Timpano: There's nuts, but I don't think I'd call it a naughty pine. I don't know how knotty a knotty pine is.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we're gonna look it up.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Amanda will look it up. So this had a few knots here and there, but it wasn't extremely naughty, and it was well behaved.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's naughty pine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: I do, yeah. Like looking at it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's a naughty pine.
>> Marco Timpano: Naughty pine, yeah. So anyway, so let's assume it was a naughty pine, because it does kind of look like the images Amanda is showing.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, and these are fresh, naughty pine. Like you had to sand it down. But I think ultimately that's what it is, because I think it's safe to say it probably was pine floors. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: 100.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm sanding these floors, and it's taking me forever because I need to hand sand them, because I wanted to get the sanding machine. But I was talking the guy at the hardware store, and we both agreed that with the size of the floor and what I had to do, hand sanding would be better. Well, hand sanding proved to be quite a challenge. I had an orbital sander, which is the round one. I had the little mouse, which is the one that has the little peak. I had a square sander. And it wasn't until my sister brought out the belt sander that I really made some hedgeway. Right. But you've got to be hedge way. What's the phrase?
>> Amanda Barker: Headway.
>> Marco Timpano: Headway.
>> Amanda Barker: I like hedgeway.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you have to like when you have a hedge, and you've got to cut it down. So I was hedging my way through the floor, right? And with this handset, with this belt sander. But you've got to be careful with the belt sander, Amanda, because a belt sander is fast and furious.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're not careful, you can notch out a piece of wood, or you could, you know, make a. A divot in your floors and you don't want to divot in your floor.
>> Amanda Barker: Right, right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had to be careful.
>> Amanda Barker: But also, you know, you're learning, and there's a bit of grace with that. I think if you have a divot, I mean, especially at a cottage, you have a divot, then you have a divot.
>> Marco Timpano: But this wasn't my first time. This wasn't the first time I sanded floors. I believe there's an episode out there where I sanded our floors in our home. And that was a challenge. And I used a machine, and I. And there is a divot and a notch, because that machine was. Was a machine meant for people who sand floors all the time. But I digress. And here's the thing, folks. I was like, listen, it'll be better than the linoleum that bites you back. So I'm just gonna do it. So I did it, and then I went to the. I had gone to the paint store the week before, and I had a wonderful person there. Her name wasn't Oats, but we met someone named Oats recently, didn't we? My name is Oats.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we did. In Minneapolis. Yeah, we met in Oats. Yeah, she was lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, this woman kind of reminded me.
>> Amanda Barker: By the way, folks, we went to Minneapolis. I met a woman named Oats.
>> Marco Timpano: She was kind of like Oats, but with shorter hair. Okay, so no one will understand that. Except Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I don't really remember Oats. I just remember mostly her name was Oats. She was a waitress, and when I ordered the fish tacos, she said, people come from other. We were at the airport. People come from other terminals just to eat these fish tacos.
>> Marco Timpano: What could Oats be short for? I wanted to ask her, but I didn't know how to say.
>> Amanda Barker: I almost went. Well, there's a few things. Her last name, it could just be a nickname, and that's what she goes by. Like, I was called Oats my whole life because when I was little, I fell in a bag of oats, and they all called me Oats. I know, it's true. We should. We gotta go back to Minneapolis and find her.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a name that is like Oats? Like, is. Is there like shs. Is that a name?
>> Amanda Barker: Or like, O. Odile? Odala, Odella, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, Minneapolis has a Nordic population, so maybe it's a Nordic name.
>> Marco Timpano: Odilia or something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Or Orin. Son. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, anyways, I guess it would be
>> Amanda Barker: this woman, Odin's daughter. Odin. Maybe Odin Odin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, yeah, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: She wasn't a mythical Norse. Norse, no.
>> Amanda Barker: But she was a, you know, 60 year old waitress in Minneapolis. So.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, cut to this. The six year old woman who helped me at the hardware store with the paint.
>> Amanda Barker: Oats two.
>> Marco Timpano: Oats two, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: The revenge.
>> Marco Timpano: So Oats two takes me and I'm like, I need to have. I'm doing this with my floors. I showed her photos and she's like, okay, I know what you need. And you know when you have somebody,
>> Amanda Barker: I'm laughing because I know his cousin was with him.
>> Marco Timpano: My cousin. My cousin lover.
>> Amanda Barker: She.
>> Marco Timpano: She has strong opinions and just won't let those opinions lie.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just. Can I just say one thing about your cousin? I won't even name this cousin, okay? Because I don't want them to be a source of anyone's ridicule. They are their own person. So they live alone. They have a lovely home. And they live alone. They've lived alone a long time in their lovely home. And they have interesting complaints about their house and things and renovations that they want to do to their house. And one of the big renovations that I think we've said that it's a she. One of the big renovations that she wants to do in her house is she wants to soundproof her shower because her shower is really loud when she takes a shower. Now, it's not loud inside the shower, it's loud in the hallway. You can hear the shower. Okay. But she lives alone, so I don't understand. And she. And this is a real concern to her that the shower is loud from the hallway. But as far as I know, I mean, she could be living a whole other life. I have no real idea. But as far as I know, there's nobody else there, at least on a daily basis. So she's mad that other. She doesn't even have a cat. Like nobody can hear the shower, but somehow she knows that the shower is loud. So she wants to soundproof the bathroom or the shower to make it less loud for the hallway.
>> Marco Timpano: My cousin is like an Oats three. Okay? So let's just put that into perspective. She's a younger Oats. So Oats two takes me to the paint section.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And Oats two is like, okay, here are the paints that you need for flooring. She's like, this one's going to be great. This one's great too. But this one here is the best. It will give you a bowling ball, bowling alley finish.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, and what does that Mean a bowling alley.
>> Marco Timpano: That means you can walk on it, you can tap dance on it, you can tap dance, you could throw bowling balls on it. And your floor will be perfect every time.
>> Amanda Barker: Amazing. And it's going to take a lot of A kitchen anywhere, no matter where, is going to take a lot of foot traffic.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I don't blame the linoleum for biting back. It had a lot of wear and tear.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. It owed us nothing. I mean, and actually it looked decent. It was just when we put in the flooring around it that wasn't linoleum. I think it got displaced a bit and then started peeling up.
>> Marco Timpano: And then if you catch your foot on the peel, you'd go flying.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, it was a trip. It was like. I don't know what to describe it. It was like walking on the inside of. You know how kids have those bibs that are plastic that flip up at the end? Yeah, it was like being on the inside, the kitchen floor. Like the one of those bibs surrounding it so you would trip over the ledge of the flippy uppy part.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a walking hazard for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We had to deal with it.
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, so Oats recommends this one brand.
>> Amanda Barker: Like. Like an Oats is. Is ought to do.
>> Marco Timpano: And this. I got a gallon of that paint, Amanda, and it cost $147.
>> Amanda Barker: That's no joke.
>> Marco Timpano: That's no joke. That is no joke. But I had faith in Oats too, and their reco. So I was like, okay. And I said. And I said to Oats, I said oats to listen, I only want to do this once and I want to do it right.
>> Amanda Barker: And then she said.
>> Marco Timpano: And she's like, this is.
>> Amanda Barker: Why are you calling me Oats?
>> Marco Timpano: She's like, she had an odd name, too. Like an unusual name. No, it was like, what was it? Jazzy or something like that. It was something like that. I can't remember their name.
>> Amanda Barker: But this is a more interesting part of the whole story.
>> Marco Timpano: So I go to get the. I go to get the. The paint. And this is where Oats 3, my cousin, is with me. And Oats 3 is like, you gotta get the glossy. You gotta get the glossy. Your other. Your other floor is glossy. It won't look right. I'm like, I don't want glossy. Because I had spoken to Amanda and Amanda said, I don't want glossy. Amanda's with her folks in Florida.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't live in a world of gloss friends. No gloss for this lake.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's like, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: She's right. The other floor is glossy because it was salvaged hardwood. The rest of the other floor, pretty much all of it is salvaged hardwood. And came and it was glossy because that's how it was.
>> Marco Timpano: That floor comes from my best friend's living room because he had a flood and so some of his floor was damaged and the insurance was replacing all the floor. So I said, can I take your hardwood floor? I went there with him.
>> Amanda Barker: He offered it. He called you up and said, do you want to come get it? Because they're just gonna get it and toss it. And I have no use for it. Maybe you do. I showed up with a crowbar and a father and two Italians.
>> Marco Timpano: My cousins were visiting from Italy. And we plink, plank, plink. We took the floors off, put them in a van.
>> Amanda Barker: I love that. We put your little cousin to work when he came.
>> Marco Timpano: And his friend, his best friend, his
>> Amanda Barker: English speaking best friend. So anyways, his friend did not speak English, folks. But that was how they got their parents to pay for the trip.
>> Marco Timpano: So my cousin insisted that I should get the glossy or the semi glossy.
>> Amanda Barker: Not his cousin from Italy. No, but Oats three.
>> Marco Timpano: Three. So I was like, oats three, you've got to leave me alone for a second. I don't want that.
>> Amanda Barker: Just the thought of you guys yelling at each other.
>> Marco Timpano: We weren't yelling, but I was. I had to be firm.
>> Amanda Barker: But I know how she is and I know how you are.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was firm with Oats 3. And I will say this, Oats 3 took it in stride. Because when I said I need she
>> Amanda Barker: also a very hard worker.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So Oats three were like, come and
>> Amanda Barker: lay all the hardwood with me. She's like, okay, no problem. And she'd come.
>> Marco Timpano: So I look and I said, I just don't want to get the wrong one. I want to get the clearance and I want to get the satin finish. I didn't want the semi gloss. I didn't want the gloss. I wanted the satin.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. I had nothing to do with this. I just made a request and off I went. So I wasn't around.
>> Marco Timpano: The hardest part, the sanding was tough for sure, but the cleaning up of the dust in the cottage to prepare the floors was a nightmare.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe it.
>> Marco Timpano: Thankfully, my sister loves to clean. She told me she was excited to clean and I was like, let's have at it. And so she had a plan. And, you know, she's almost like an oats 4. She had a plan and we.
>> Amanda Barker: And our niece is Oats five.
>> Marco Timpano: And we executed the plan.
>> Amanda Barker: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: And our niece Mia has been on the podcast, and she will come back on the podcast too, so. So I'll call her Oats when she does. And she's.
>> Amanda Barker: She's a little. She's the little original OG Oats.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So we cleaned your family and their plans.
>> Marco Timpano: We cleaned and we cleaned Amanda. We washed walls, we vacuumed, we did everything.
>> Amanda Barker: That's amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: We even took the blinds off, completely off. And they were washed by my cousin Oates. Three.
>> Amanda Barker: Washed.
>> Marco Timpano: Washed the blinds.
>> Amanda Barker: Your family loves to wash a blind too.
>> Marco Timpano: Vacuumed and then washed the blinds.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: While this was going on, once we cleaned, it was time to use this very expensive varnish, or whatever you call it. I should look it up. I have it in my phone, and the minute I put it on, it was worth. I could tell it was worth every penny.
>> Amanda Barker: It looked amazing from the picture. I haven't seen it yet. So because I've been away, I'll put.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll put photos on the. On. On the Instagram. And Amanda, the moment I put it on, it just wonderful. And this particular. This particular varnish, or I'm gonna call it Varnish, I'll look it up. What it. What it's actually called, if you put it on and let it dry for two hours, you can then put another coat on without sanding in between. But if you wait 24 hours, you have to actually sand before your next coat. So my goal was not to sand because I had sanded so much. Yeah, a light sanding. That is right. Just a light sand. And so like clockwork, every two hours, my sister and I would go paint the floors. And the minute we stepped on the paint on the floor the first time, after the first coat, my sister said, this feels great underneath my feet. And I was like, this is great.
>> Amanda Barker: Awesome.
>> Marco Timpano: Every coat, it just looked better. It looked. Came out better than I expected, and so I'm happy.
>> Amanda Barker: That's awesome. I can't wait to see it.
>> Marco Timpano: So you'll have to let our listeners know next time what you think of the floors.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Oats nine.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. If you have an Oats in your family, please share a story or let us know why you think the nickname was Oats. And if you know Oats, who works in the Minneapolis airport, it's called.
>> Amanda Barker: The name of the restaurant, I think was called Twins.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Twins. Please give a shout out like the baseball team from us.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Imagine you serve a couple once, and all of a sudden they're talking about you on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: I will say, she was right. The fish tacos were amazing. And you had a salad that was pretty good, too, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I had an enormous salad.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. We highly recommend the Twins restaurant at the Minneapolis airport in terminal.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say three, and I will say this, I recommend you let your friends know about this podcast, especially if you're enjoying it. And we thank you. A few people were telling me that they were recommending it to friends who are having trouble sleeping.
>> Amanda Barker: So give us, please give us four bags of oats on your recos and
>> Marco Timpano: five star review if you can. Until next time.
>> Amanda Barker: Five bags of oats.
>> Marco Timpano: Of oats. Five bags of oats from us here at Cherries tomorrow. We wish you a lovely evening and
>> Amanda Barker: I hope you had some beautiful strawberries yesterday.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Until next time. We hope you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: July 25, 2025)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation meant to help you drift off to sleep maybe, or just to chillness and calm. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda.
>> Marco Timpano: Hi Amanda. How you doing tonight?
>> Amanda Barker: Tired. Oh, sono stanca.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go. Well, we did get some messages from listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh wow.
>> Marco Timpano: We have A listener who really enjoyed the Rome episode and happened to be Rome in Rome around the same time as us. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And did they go through the holy doors?
>> Marco Timpano: They didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: Did they eat the holy pastas?
>> Marco Timpano: They didn't go that far into the message, but maybe we'll hear from them.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Also, listeners are asking how they can get advertising free episodes because ACAST took that away and now the ads are too loud and I'm working with them. I'm gonna work on that all day tomorrow. I'm gonna try to figure out a way for our listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: So we're on it. We're trying. Yeah, give us a week or two.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, give us a week or two more. I have been looking into this, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I know.
>> Marco Timpano: Forgive me, but we'll get that sorted out. Thank you for bearing with those loud advertisements. I trust me. I have someone in California who listens. Nima is his name. He's going to be a guest again on the show. He's a friend show who always tells me when they're loud. And I, and I do my best.
>> Amanda Barker: So we appreciate the heads up too because you know, we want the podcast that you need.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And those ads are different in different locations as part of the situation. So they might be calm in some places.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. They target them. Yeah, I know. I was just listening to an ACAST podcast myself.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great. Is it a recommendation you would mention?
>> Amanda Barker: Sure I would. Actually, it's called, it's interesting. It's called we regret to inform you.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's the same production team that does under the Influence, which is a really interesting long running series on CBC Radio and podcast as well about marketing decisions. That's not a great pitch, but it's
>> Marco Timpano: actually quite fascinating because they'll tell you about like when Coke switched their formula and why they did it and what the repercussions were. And they do it in a fun sort of way too.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's Terry O'Reilly that does this. I think it's his daughter. That's what I'm gleaning. I'm pretty sure that produces and is the main voice on this one called we regret to inform you. And it's great because it tells you stories of people who got rejected.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: And then how the rejection became their biggest blessing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I need to listen to this.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I just listened to the Lisa Kudrow episode, which is a great one. And I'm listening to one about the script of Pretty Woman.
>> Marco Timpano: How did you find this out, this podcast? How did this Podcast come to you cbc. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they. I think they're starting to air them. They just started. And so I heard it and then went, oh, I'm gonna go check that out. And I also love the cost of living. I'm a CBC person. Listen. I moved to Canada. I immersed myself as a child in Canadian things. And CBC is very Canadian. So I'm a longtime fan and part time employee sometimes of cbc. When they'll hire me.
>> Marco Timpano: When they hire you, they should hire you more often.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I've just found out that a series that I was in, the first series, the first season called Small achievable Goals, that that is getting a second season.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Who knows if I'll be in it?
>> Marco Timpano: But if you haven't checked that out, definitely check it out. It's a great series. And you'll see Amanda in it as
>> Amanda Barker: well,
>> Marco Timpano: and great writers on that series
>> Amanda Barker: who we might see this weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. That's right. So hopefully we will. We got cherries. We were supposed to eat cherries tonight. I forgot.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. And we had ice cream instead. Well, those are the good problems, I think, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: We'll have cherries tomorrow. Yeah, Cherries Tomorrow sounds like a title of a book or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Or a great rock album or a podcast. Imagine Cherries Tomorrow.
>> Amanda Barker: Or should we start a podcast, Cherries Tomorrow? I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Things you can do tomorrow that you didn't do today.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, maybe. Maybe that's this episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Stuff we'll do tomorrow that we didn't get done today.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I love cherries and you love cherries.
>> Amanda Barker: I love cherries.
>> Marco Timpano: I love strawberries. Amanda, not so much.
>> Amanda Barker: Not a strawberry fan. Are there anybody. Are there any of us out there listening that cannot stand strawberries? Please let me know. I've only ever found one in my life. Now, mind you, it's not something that comes up a lot in casual conversation. Hi, my name's Teresa, and I hate strawberries. But here's my journey with strawberries.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. On this episode of Cherries Tomorrow, I
>> Amanda Barker: forget what I was talking about.
>> Marco Timpano: You're gonna talk about your journey with strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, strawberries. Strawberries yesterday, cherries tomorrow. So here's my thing with strawberries. As a kid, you know, you are socialized to love strawberries. Why wouldn't you love strawberries? Everybody loved. There was strawberry shortcake. She was a doll. She smelled great. I had apple dumpling. Who was her, like, sidekick, but I think my sister.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought there was blueberry muffin.
>> Amanda Barker: There's also blueberry muffin.
>> Marco Timpano: And who was that character?
>> Amanda Barker: My sister had blueberry muffin. I had apple dumpling, and I think our neighbor had strawberry shortcake.
>> Marco Timpano: So wait a minute. I don't know the strawberry shortcake world.
>> Amanda Barker: That's all I can tell you about the universe, because all I can tell you is the dolls we had. I don't remember the cartoons.
>> Marco Timpano: But if Apple dumpling was the sidekick, who was blueberry muffin?
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe Apple dumpling was, like, the little sidekick, and blueberry muffin was, like, the best friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I don't know. All right, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so as a kid, you're like, strawberries, they're the best. Everyone around you is like, guess what we're having tonight? Strawberries or strawberry shortcake. So you think, yay, that's the best thing ever.
>> Marco Timpano: And it is in my book.
>> Amanda Barker: And so as a kid, my mom would be like, this weekend, you know, this is a very specific memory, but we're gonna watch Solid Gold and have strawberry shortcake. Well, that was like, the ultimate Saturday night, right? Solid Gold. Or maybe it's Friday.
>> Marco Timpano: It still is.
>> Amanda Barker: Solid Gold. Strawberry shortcake. And I remember, like, jumping on the couch with my sister. We're so excited for strawberries. And the thing is, as I would eat them and they didn't taste great to me, but the concept was, like, this exciting thing. Strawberries. They're red, they're beautiful, they look good. Everyone loves them, so what's not to love? So I don't think I really listened to my own inner voice or stomach saying, this doesn't taste great. I just kept eating them. And so I got into adult. I never, ever would choose them because I'd be like, I don't. That's not. You know, I would never buy them. And then finally, really, like in my 30s, people offer me strawberries, and I'd be like, you know what? I don't like strawberries. Actually, to me, they're full of seeds, and they have either no taste or an acidic taste, but there's nothing sweet or even a flavor that I can really detect. It's. I don't know, my cilantro or something. So that's what I realized. And so very much like comic book movies where people will be like, no, no, you'll like this one. And then you're like, no, that. Although people don't say that anymore to me, but it used to be that my comic book nerdy friends would be like, even people that don't like comic movies, this has great characters this has a great plot. And so I would be like, okay, great, I'll come watch that movie with you. And then be like, eh, sure. That's me. With strawberries as well. People would be like, oh, but you'll love these ones. Then they'll say things like, oh, I get it if they're like, farmed, but these are wild. Or these are Ontario, or these are really whatever. And they'll be like, you'll like these ones. And so then I'd be like, okay, great. And then I'd eat them and be like, I don't get it. They're just little. They taste like cleaning solution with seeds.
>> Marco Timpano: I was with you when we had, like, one of the world's best strawberries I've ever had, and you didn't like it. I'm like, she's never gonna like strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Where was that?
>> Marco Timpano: That was in Montreal.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: They had, like, wild strawberries picked from a farm an hour north of.
>> Amanda Barker: How are they wild if they're from
>> Marco Timpano: a farm on Forest. I guess they were forage strawberries. Yeah. And they were fantastic. And you didn't like them. And I was like, you'll never like. If you don't like these strawberries. You'll never like strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: There's something in them that I can't taste now. There's only one person I've ever met who I've, I guess, had the conversation with. I don't remember her name, but she was a hair and makeup artist. But specifically hair on a set of a Christmas movie that I shot like five years ago. Somebody said, oh, you know, we have on set various. It's like a good set. Most sets have kind of food all the time. And there's actually a thing that they have to. They have to give you a snack. I think it's like you have to have lunch. I don't remember what it is four hours in. There's some rules anyways, five hours in, anyway. And, like, they have to have proper meals every so many hours. But then every two hours, I think it is, they have to have what we call a substantial snack. Now, they don't do this in the States. They call it this in the States, I've learned. But in Canada, we call them all subs. So every two hours you're like, what's the sub? What's the sub?
>> Marco Timpano: The substantial snack.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's short for substantial snack. But for whatever reason, we always call them. I don't know what they call them in the States. But anyway, we always call Them, the sub. Sometimes they are subs.
>> Marco Timpano: I was gonna. I said, begs the question, can it be a sub for your sub?
>> Amanda Barker: They usually be like, what's the sub? Oh, it's like a lentil soup. It's, you know, a little cup of lentil soup or it's chili or, oh, it's been a, you know, a little banh mi or whatever. Like there's all sorts of things it could be, right. A little snack, a pasta salad. I've seen. So anyway, the sub had something to do with strawberries or they had strawberries at the craft truck. And so someone came in, they're like, they have strawberries or they have great strawberry shortcake or strawberry something. And she was doing my hair and I had pretty elaborate hair for that shoot. And she was doing my hair and she was like, no, sorry, I don't like strawberries. And they went, what? She's like, no, don't like them. I don't get it. And I went, me too. And we both freaked out because we had never met anyone else who didn't like strawberries. And even if you remember the night we got married, my bridesmaids, very sweetly.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Did chocolate covered strawberries and champagne. And I had to laugh. It was one of those moments. God love them. It was very sweet. But I was like, there's nothing I would like less than chocolate covered strawberries. And you don't like champagne.
>> Marco Timpano: It was the perfect match.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't really love champagne either. I mean, I'll drink it, but it's not my favorite. So I was like, what they should have put was like Coke Zeros and, you know, some smart food.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Yeah. So I have a little. Well, I have a strawberry story, but I also have another story I'm going to tell. So today on cherries. Tomorrow I'm going to talk about cherries. Tomorrow I'm going to talk about the
>> Amanda Barker: name of our next season. Cherries Tomorrow.
>> Marco Timpano: I sanded wood floors.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you need to talk about it.
>> Marco Timpano: So we at our cottage have linoleum that had been there forever and it was peeling and kind of getting a little bit precarious because the parts that were peeling, if you walked by them, you could trip and really hurt yourself. So it was like it was like a floor that bit back. Like it was not a floor to mess with. Okay. So I was like, it's time to get rid of these floors. And so when I pulled back the linoleum, I noticed that underneath there was like hardwood or I should say pine, because it's pine, but pine wood, slatted floors, kind of like hardwood floors, if you could picture. Only they were very dingy and gray and scuffed because they had taken the abuse of everything under the linoleum. And I think the linoleum itself was. Was wreaking havoc on it. Certainly there were some. There was some glue that was underneath as well, and they probably had seen feet in the 1930s.
>> Amanda Barker: So, yeah, it's crazy when you think about it. I mean. So would you call that, like, a naughty pine?
>> Marco Timpano: There's nuts, but I don't think I'd call it a naughty pine. I don't know how knotty a knotty pine is.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we're gonna look it up.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Amanda will look it up. So this had a few knots here and there, but it wasn't extremely naughty, and it was well behaved.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's naughty pine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: I do, yeah. Like looking at it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's a naughty pine.
>> Marco Timpano: Naughty pine, yeah. So anyway, so let's assume it was a naughty pine, because it does kind of look like the images Amanda is showing.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, and these are fresh, naughty pine. Like you had to sand it down. But I think ultimately that's what it is, because I think it's safe to say it probably was pine floors. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: 100.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm sanding these floors, and it's taking me forever because I need to hand sand them, because I wanted to get the sanding machine. But I was talking the guy at the hardware store, and we both agreed that with the size of the floor and what I had to do, hand sanding would be better. Well, hand sanding proved to be quite a challenge. I had an orbital sander, which is the round one. I had the little mouse, which is the one that has the little peak. I had a square sander. And it wasn't until my sister brought out the belt sander that I really made some hedgeway. Right. But you've got to be hedge way. What's the phrase?
>> Amanda Barker: Headway.
>> Marco Timpano: Headway.
>> Amanda Barker: I like hedgeway.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you have to like when you have a hedge, and you've got to cut it down. So I was hedging my way through the floor, right? And with this handset, with this belt sander. But you've got to be careful with the belt sander, Amanda, because a belt sander is fast and furious.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're not careful, you can notch out a piece of wood, or you could, you know, make a. A divot in your floors and you don't want to divot in your floor.
>> Amanda Barker: Right, right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had to be careful.
>> Amanda Barker: But also, you know, you're learning, and there's a bit of grace with that. I think if you have a divot, I mean, especially at a cottage, you have a divot, then you have a divot.
>> Marco Timpano: But this wasn't my first time. This wasn't the first time I sanded floors. I believe there's an episode out there where I sanded our floors in our home. And that was a challenge. And I used a machine, and I. And there is a divot and a notch, because that machine was. Was a machine meant for people who sand floors all the time. But I digress. And here's the thing, folks. I was like, listen, it'll be better than the linoleum that bites you back. So I'm just gonna do it. So I did it, and then I went to the. I had gone to the paint store the week before, and I had a wonderful person there. Her name wasn't Oats, but we met someone named Oats recently, didn't we? My name is Oats.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we did. In Minneapolis. Yeah, we met in Oats. Yeah, she was lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, this woman kind of reminded me.
>> Amanda Barker: By the way, folks, we went to Minneapolis. I met a woman named Oats.
>> Marco Timpano: She was kind of like Oats, but with shorter hair. Okay, so no one will understand that. Except Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I don't really remember Oats. I just remember mostly her name was Oats. She was a waitress, and when I ordered the fish tacos, she said, people come from other. We were at the airport. People come from other terminals just to eat these fish tacos.
>> Marco Timpano: What could Oats be short for? I wanted to ask her, but I didn't know how to say.
>> Amanda Barker: I almost went. Well, there's a few things. Her last name, it could just be a nickname, and that's what she goes by. Like, I was called Oats my whole life because when I was little, I fell in a bag of oats, and they all called me Oats. I know, it's true. We should. We gotta go back to Minneapolis and find her.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a name that is like Oats? Like, is. Is there like shs. Is that a name?
>> Amanda Barker: Or like, O. Odile? Odala, Odella, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, Minneapolis has a Nordic population, so maybe it's a Nordic name.
>> Marco Timpano: Odilia or something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Or Orin. Son. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, anyways, I guess it would be
>> Amanda Barker: this woman, Odin's daughter. Odin. Maybe Odin Odin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, yeah, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: She wasn't a mythical Norse. Norse, no.
>> Amanda Barker: But she was a, you know, 60 year old waitress in Minneapolis. So.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, cut to this. The six year old woman who helped me at the hardware store with the paint.
>> Amanda Barker: Oats two.
>> Marco Timpano: Oats two, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: The revenge.
>> Marco Timpano: So Oats two takes me and I'm like, I need to have. I'm doing this with my floors. I showed her photos and she's like, okay, I know what you need. And you know when you have somebody,
>> Amanda Barker: I'm laughing because I know his cousin was with him.
>> Marco Timpano: My cousin. My cousin lover.
>> Amanda Barker: She.
>> Marco Timpano: She has strong opinions and just won't let those opinions lie.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just. Can I just say one thing about your cousin? I won't even name this cousin, okay? Because I don't want them to be a source of anyone's ridicule. They are their own person. So they live alone. They have a lovely home. And they live alone. They've lived alone a long time in their lovely home. And they have interesting complaints about their house and things and renovations that they want to do to their house. And one of the big renovations that I think we've said that it's a she. One of the big renovations that she wants to do in her house is she wants to soundproof her shower because her shower is really loud when she takes a shower. Now, it's not loud inside the shower, it's loud in the hallway. You can hear the shower. Okay. But she lives alone, so I don't understand. And she. And this is a real concern to her that the shower is loud from the hallway. But as far as I know, I mean, she could be living a whole other life. I have no real idea. But as far as I know, there's nobody else there, at least on a daily basis. So she's mad that other. She doesn't even have a cat. Like nobody can hear the shower, but somehow she knows that the shower is loud. So she wants to soundproof the bathroom or the shower to make it less loud for the hallway.
>> Marco Timpano: My cousin is like an Oats three. Okay? So let's just put that into perspective. She's a younger Oats. So Oats two takes me to the paint section.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And Oats two is like, okay, here are the paints that you need for flooring. She's like, this one's going to be great. This one's great too. But this one here is the best. It will give you a bowling ball, bowling alley finish.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, and what does that Mean a bowling alley.
>> Marco Timpano: That means you can walk on it, you can tap dance on it, you can tap dance, you could throw bowling balls on it. And your floor will be perfect every time.
>> Amanda Barker: Amazing. And it's going to take a lot of A kitchen anywhere, no matter where, is going to take a lot of foot traffic.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I don't blame the linoleum for biting back. It had a lot of wear and tear.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. It owed us nothing. I mean, and actually it looked decent. It was just when we put in the flooring around it that wasn't linoleum. I think it got displaced a bit and then started peeling up.
>> Marco Timpano: And then if you catch your foot on the peel, you'd go flying.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, it was a trip. It was like. I don't know what to describe it. It was like walking on the inside of. You know how kids have those bibs that are plastic that flip up at the end? Yeah, it was like being on the inside, the kitchen floor. Like the one of those bibs surrounding it so you would trip over the ledge of the flippy uppy part.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a walking hazard for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We had to deal with it.
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, so Oats recommends this one brand.
>> Amanda Barker: Like. Like an Oats is. Is ought to do.
>> Marco Timpano: And this. I got a gallon of that paint, Amanda, and it cost $147.
>> Amanda Barker: That's no joke.
>> Marco Timpano: That's no joke. That is no joke. But I had faith in Oats too, and their reco. So I was like, okay. And I said. And I said to Oats, I said oats to listen, I only want to do this once and I want to do it right.
>> Amanda Barker: And then she said.
>> Marco Timpano: And she's like, this is.
>> Amanda Barker: Why are you calling me Oats?
>> Marco Timpano: She's like, she had an odd name, too. Like an unusual name. No, it was like, what was it? Jazzy or something like that. It was something like that. I can't remember their name.
>> Amanda Barker: But this is a more interesting part of the whole story.
>> Marco Timpano: So I go to get the. I go to get the. The paint. And this is where Oats 3, my cousin, is with me. And Oats 3 is like, you gotta get the glossy. You gotta get the glossy. Your other. Your other floor is glossy. It won't look right. I'm like, I don't want glossy. Because I had spoken to Amanda and Amanda said, I don't want glossy. Amanda's with her folks in Florida.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't live in a world of gloss friends. No gloss for this lake.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's like, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: She's right. The other floor is glossy because it was salvaged hardwood. The rest of the other floor, pretty much all of it is salvaged hardwood. And came and it was glossy because that's how it was.
>> Marco Timpano: That floor comes from my best friend's living room because he had a flood and so some of his floor was damaged and the insurance was replacing all the floor. So I said, can I take your hardwood floor? I went there with him.
>> Amanda Barker: He offered it. He called you up and said, do you want to come get it? Because they're just gonna get it and toss it. And I have no use for it. Maybe you do. I showed up with a crowbar and a father and two Italians.
>> Marco Timpano: My cousins were visiting from Italy. And we plink, plank, plink. We took the floors off, put them in a van.
>> Amanda Barker: I love that. We put your little cousin to work when he came.
>> Marco Timpano: And his friend, his best friend, his
>> Amanda Barker: English speaking best friend. So anyways, his friend did not speak English, folks. But that was how they got their parents to pay for the trip.
>> Marco Timpano: So my cousin insisted that I should get the glossy or the semi glossy.
>> Amanda Barker: Not his cousin from Italy. No, but Oats three.
>> Marco Timpano: Three. So I was like, oats three, you've got to leave me alone for a second. I don't want that.
>> Amanda Barker: Just the thought of you guys yelling at each other.
>> Marco Timpano: We weren't yelling, but I was. I had to be firm.
>> Amanda Barker: But I know how she is and I know how you are.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was firm with Oats 3. And I will say this, Oats 3 took it in stride. Because when I said I need she
>> Amanda Barker: also a very hard worker.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So Oats three were like, come and
>> Amanda Barker: lay all the hardwood with me. She's like, okay, no problem. And she'd come.
>> Marco Timpano: So I look and I said, I just don't want to get the wrong one. I want to get the clearance and I want to get the satin finish. I didn't want the semi gloss. I didn't want the gloss. I wanted the satin.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. I had nothing to do with this. I just made a request and off I went. So I wasn't around.
>> Marco Timpano: The hardest part, the sanding was tough for sure, but the cleaning up of the dust in the cottage to prepare the floors was a nightmare.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe it.
>> Marco Timpano: Thankfully, my sister loves to clean. She told me she was excited to clean and I was like, let's have at it. And so she had a plan. And, you know, she's almost like an oats 4. She had a plan and we.
>> Amanda Barker: And our niece is Oats five.
>> Marco Timpano: And we executed the plan.
>> Amanda Barker: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: And our niece Mia has been on the podcast, and she will come back on the podcast too, so. So I'll call her Oats when she does. And she's.
>> Amanda Barker: She's a little. She's the little original OG Oats.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So we cleaned your family and their plans.
>> Marco Timpano: We cleaned and we cleaned Amanda. We washed walls, we vacuumed, we did everything.
>> Amanda Barker: That's amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: We even took the blinds off, completely off. And they were washed by my cousin Oates. Three.
>> Amanda Barker: Washed.
>> Marco Timpano: Washed the blinds.
>> Amanda Barker: Your family loves to wash a blind too.
>> Marco Timpano: Vacuumed and then washed the blinds.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: While this was going on, once we cleaned, it was time to use this very expensive varnish, or whatever you call it. I should look it up. I have it in my phone, and the minute I put it on, it was worth. I could tell it was worth every penny.
>> Amanda Barker: It looked amazing from the picture. I haven't seen it yet. So because I've been away, I'll put.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll put photos on the. On. On the Instagram. And Amanda, the moment I put it on, it just wonderful. And this particular. This particular varnish, or I'm gonna call it Varnish, I'll look it up. What it. What it's actually called, if you put it on and let it dry for two hours, you can then put another coat on without sanding in between. But if you wait 24 hours, you have to actually sand before your next coat. So my goal was not to sand because I had sanded so much. Yeah, a light sanding. That is right. Just a light sand. And so like clockwork, every two hours, my sister and I would go paint the floors. And the minute we stepped on the paint on the floor the first time, after the first coat, my sister said, this feels great underneath my feet. And I was like, this is great.
>> Amanda Barker: Awesome.
>> Marco Timpano: Every coat, it just looked better. It looked. Came out better than I expected, and so I'm happy.
>> Amanda Barker: That's awesome. I can't wait to see it.
>> Marco Timpano: So you'll have to let our listeners know next time what you think of the floors.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Oats nine.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. If you have an Oats in your family, please share a story or let us know why you think the nickname was Oats. And if you know Oats, who works in the Minneapolis airport, it's called.
>> Amanda Barker: The name of the restaurant, I think was called Twins.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Twins. Please give a shout out like the baseball team from us.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Imagine you serve a couple once, and all of a sudden they're talking about you on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: I will say, she was right. The fish tacos were amazing. And you had a salad that was pretty good, too, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I had an enormous salad.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. We highly recommend the Twins restaurant at the Minneapolis airport in terminal.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say three, and I will say this, I recommend you let your friends know about this podcast, especially if you're enjoying it. And we thank you. A few people were telling me that they were recommending it to friends who are having trouble sleeping.
>> Amanda Barker: So give us, please give us four bags of oats on your recos and
>> Marco Timpano: five star review if you can. Until next time.
>> Amanda Barker: Five bags of oats.
>> Marco Timpano: Of oats. Five bags of oats from us here at Cherries tomorrow. We wish you a lovely evening and
>> Amanda Barker: I hope you had some beautiful strawberries yesterday.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Until next time. We hope you listen and sleep.
Season 9
The Penultimate Episode of the Season 9
(Original airdate: Nov 13, 2024)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm Amanda. Thank you for joining us
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you sort of find your way to sleep or just chill. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'm Amanda. And I've been mouthing every word he says.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that what we're. They're hearing in the background?
>> Amanda Barker: That's a fun game we play here, Amanda.
>> Marco Timpano: I, you know, you know the word bamboozled?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like I got massage oozled. Oh, just a few hours ago, I got a massage, but it was like my neck was hurting. And my masseuse really said, well, can I go hard on your. On your neck? And I said, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't Think they're called masseuse anymore?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Amanda Barker: Registered massage therapist. Rmt.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you don't call them masseuse, I guess. No.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Unless it's in the 70s in Sweden, I suppose.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I wasn't in Sweden, and I
>> Amanda Barker: was like, my masseuse. I don't know. It feels like something from a movie of the week.
>> Marco Timpano: I think you're right. You know, this person is a trained massage licensed therapist. You know, like, all that stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's part of our care that we all get or should be getting, hopefully. But when you say masseuse, I just think of that scene in a movie where it's like, a guy on the phone and he's. To show how rich he is, there's, like, two massage people, like, chopping his back while he has a towel, and there's like a golf course nearby or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. Well, forgive me.
>> Amanda Barker: Not you.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's definitely not me. forgive me if, I've offended you by saying masseuse. If you're out there, massage therapist, I just. Well, somebody could be offended, and I don't want to offend them.
>> Amanda Barker: I will say. Yeah, and this offended me a little bit. You came home with a lot of hickeys on your neck.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, right?
>> Amanda Barker: From the massage.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I think they look like fingerprints, and I'm worried they're gonna bruise into Morgan. I have these fingerprint.
>> Amanda Barker: It looks like you have a cat and that a cat, like, scratched you, except they're not scratches. They're like bruises. I don't know. It's. It was a little weird.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's weird. And I'm,
>> Amanda Barker: Like, swollen or a rash, like, it could be.
>> Marco Timpano: Looks. Maybe it's a rash, too.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't think it's a. I mean, I think it's. Can I see? Oh, yeah, that's like a rash, but it's on the other side where the most of the things are.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, I got massage. Usual is what happened.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, gotcha.
>> Marco Timpano: and I'm grateful, though. My massage. My licensed massage therapist does. Does not talk during the massage. They're silent. They have, like, bird noises is what. What they play in the background.
>> Amanda Barker: That place is a real clinic, so there's doctors there. There's people getting, like, you know, on mats, doing work on their.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, lumbar.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, lumbar work. It's a. Your cervical spine is well attended to there. your psoas muscle, they're all up in it.
>> Marco Timpano: A couple of trapezoids.
>> Amanda Barker: Get it's one of those places. It's not like, you know, my preferred registered massage therapy.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your preferred?
>> Amanda Barker: I like a steam room. I like not having to. Not hearing people as they walk through the door. You know, that little door baby thing. I don't want to know that. I don't want to hear people having conversations.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I definitely hear people having conversations and paying for their.
>> Amanda Barker: Their, see, that's not my. But you go to specifically work an area. Yeah, I go to pretend I'm a rich lady in a night in that 1982 movie of the week where you're getting your back chopped or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think they chop your back.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, what is the thing called where there's like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a massage. It's type of, whatever that is.
Tuning massage is supposed to be therapeutic, but sometimes it's not
Tuning massage. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, anyway, I. I want to believe that I'm pampering myself with a spa experience.
>> Marco Timpano: That's fair.
>> Amanda Barker: That's fair.
>> Marco Timpano: And you don't like it when they talk to you, Right? Too much?
>> Amanda Barker: No, but they do often. And I'm a chatty person.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, there's one person who gives massages who we love, and she's been on this program before. I do enjoy talking to her. I. Because we know a lot of the same people.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And she goes long, so it could be 90 minutes of just solid gossip.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And there is something, kind of relaxing in that.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, like watching bad TV and eating junk food. It has that kind of effect.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, Right. So, I mean, one's supposed to be therapeutic. One is not good for you. But it is.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's all therapeutic. I think reality tv, when it's well timed and in short moments and, you know, a bowl of popcorn and some something can. Your favorite candy, I think that can be really converting and therapeutic.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there, a, therapeutic candy that you enjoy?
>> Amanda Barker: Depends on the mood I'm in. But I should say that's because she and I know each other. Fair enough. So that's a different world. What happens to me very often is I write my profession, which is I usually write actor, or sometimes I'll write casting, but either way, you know, I get on the table. So you're an actor, right? I don't want to talk about this. Fair enough. I had one woman not too long ago, well, probably a year ago now, but it was like her therapy session. And I'm an empathetic person and I do like having conversations with people. But what Happens is, well, we're having a nice conversation about things as you do, and then next thing I know, it's their therapy session and I'm like, I just lost out of my massage. Even though we're 20 minutes in. Because this person is not going to stop talking.
>> Marco Timpano: They're chatting to you and asking for advice. Etc.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, exactly. No, that happens to me all the time. No, all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: sometimes I'll do this. So I have a chatty, hygienist and a wife. My wife is not my hygienist. It's Amanda here in front of me. But my hygienist at the dentist office really likes to chat and likes to have me download apps for them because they are not able to.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry, I did not expect you to say that. You're doing tech support while you're, while your mouth is open and you're drooling.
>> Marco Timpano: That's really funny and awful and I don't love it.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: So what I do now is I walk in with headphones.
>> Marco Timpano: And I say, I'm so sorry, I need to listen to this podcast for work.
>> Marco Timpano: And I put it in my ears.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that's great.
>> Marco Timpano: And then people, because of that, at the end of M. One of my last sessions with her, she asked what podcast should she listen to and maybe download the podcast app. And then those podcasts.
>> Amanda Barker: And then she listens to this one and then she hears you, talking about her.
>> Marco Timpano: The truth is, I now request a different hygienist.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I don't. I just can't. I feel badly that, that I have to. But I can't, engage in a conversation when you're, when you're like, working on.
>> Amanda Barker: It's tricky. And you want to pretend sometimes that going to the dentist especially, especially if they have a nice tv. Wouldn't it be great if that chair was a massage chair?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Why don't they do that? They should.
>> Marco Timpano: I think the rumbling if they're. If they use.
>> Amanda Barker: You can do. Listen, if the talented women who do my nails and my toes can do it and there's a. You just. You don't put it on flap. Maybe that's what the chop chop thing is called. Flap. You don't put it on flap. You put it on need.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are the settings of the massage chairs.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you like a chatty nail technician?
>> Amanda Barker: that I don't mind. Because you lose the ability to use your hands for a while.
All you have is your mouth or your eyes to watch TV
So all you have is your mouth or your eyes to watch TV. Like, if the TV's good, then whatever. But if it's just a YouTube channel or something, which it often is, then I don't mind chatting with a nail person. But usually they're so intent on their
>> Marco Timpano: work that they don't want to chat with you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't the tables have turned.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: So to speak.
This is our penultimate show for this season
Speaking of tables turning, this is our penultimate show for this season. For season nine, the second last.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't realize that's what that meant.
>> Marco Timpano: What did you think that meant?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. It's like a fortnight. Do you know what a fortnight means? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: four nights from now.
>> Amanda Barker: No, that's not what that.
>> Marco Timpano: 40 nights from now did.
>> Amanda Barker: Definitely also not what that means.
>> Marco Timpano: Four and a half hours from now,
>> Amanda Barker: it means two weeks. Did you know that?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't. I mean, I didn't. I didn't. I knew it was a certain amount of time.
>> Amanda Barker: You say it all the time in a fortnight. Can you imagine?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but I do say penultimate a lot.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, what other things in your life are penultimate?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know, but I just say it. When it's the second last. I say penultimate.
>> Amanda Barker: This is the penultimate dinner.
>> Marco Timpano: I wish you wouldn't say because you
>> Amanda Barker: pop your peas, this is the penultimate meal of the day.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: When I say it's an ultimate hour of work, I'm trying not to pop my piece.
This podcast captures me but doesn't over capture me, Sherry says
>> Marco Timpano: I, wanted to say, since it is our penultimate episode, I've been looking at some of the reviews from the past a little bit. No, they're good. And, Apple has it so that I have to change the country location to see the review. I need to find an app that'll show us our reviews. But I'm going to read a couple of our reviews from Canada. No, I've got yes. And the US and Australia.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so this one's. This one's from Australia.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I was actually showing my class how to do this when I saw it. I was like, oh, my goodness. I can't believe this has been up since March 26, 2024. Okay, so Sherry, B.4 says five stars. I've been listening to the Insomnia Project for a few years and love to recommend. That's so lovely. Thank you, Sherry. It's entertaining enough to catch and, catch and keep my attention, but calm and inconsequential enough for me not to worry to get involved. Most definitely. You never have to worry about entertaining us or getting involved you just chill and Sherry continues. Other sleep podcasts, I've tried have been quite boring, and my mind wanders. Oh, I didn't think that. Thanks, Amanda. Sorry. Thanks, Marco and Amanda, slash friends, our other guests, and a smiley emoji.
>> Amanda Barker: That's so nice. I need the same thing. Whether it's podcast or when I'm going to sleep. I want something that captures me but doesn't over capture me.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Captures without stimulating. Does that make sense?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe that should be our new tagline, captures without stimulating.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: maybe not. All right.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds wrong on two levels.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, focus. Grouping now.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, let's let us know if you think that's a great. A great catchphrase for us.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: Capture without stimulating.
Do we know where in the U.S. Amanda is from
Okay, so this is from our U.S. listeners. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Do we know where in the U.S. amanda?
>> Marco Timpano: no, I don't. I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: You only say my name to me when we do this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. You never. You would never say that in a normal conversation. I wouldn't say, like, hey, babe, do you know where this is? And you wouldn't go up, Amanda. No.
>> Marco Timpano: What do I say?
>> Amanda Barker: You call me babe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Or you just don't. Or hate you, like, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What do you call me?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I say Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: You do say Marco.
>> Amanda Barker: H m. H m. I guess I care enough to say your name.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess I,
>> Amanda Barker: I guess you care enough when I'm working the mic.
>> Marco Timpano: I think babe is a lovely thing to call somebody if you're a pig. No, if you. If. Well, I guess you shouldn't call someone you don't know babe. Like, if you go get a coffee, people do. People do.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a whole culture of. Of girls who were like, hey, girl, or, there's another one. Well, anyway, that one is a big one. Or, hey, gorgeous. It's like, you don't know me, but
>> Marco Timpano: what if they're just saying you're gorgeous? You can say. You can call me hey, gorgeous if you want.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'll be honest, I do it. I say, hey.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, do you?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. do you want me to say more?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm going to. I'm going to read our reviews. Cool. Okay, so these are from the U.S. there's just two. We have more.
>> Amanda Barker: My question was simply, do you know where in the US and then I got an Amanda.
>> Marco Timpano: My. The answer to that question, babe, is no.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so here's.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to pretend they're from places. This one is definitely from Kansas.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so Katie. Mh. M. So that could be where they're from.
>> Amanda Barker: MH or nh.
>> Marco Timpano: M as in Mary and H as in Harry.
>> Amanda Barker: New Hampshire.
>> Marco Timpano: New Hampshire. Okay. Oh, it's actually Kathy. Sorry, not Katie.
>> Amanda Barker: K A T. Do you want me to read these? I feel like there's a bit of a struggle. Maybe the light is dim.
>> Marco Timpano: There's no struggle. The struggle is. I'm trying to get through it. I'm trying to read it. Okay, but it's Kathy, spelled K A
>> Amanda Barker: T, H, I, E. That's how you spell Kathy. Margot.
>> Marco Timpano: Not with a Y.
>> Amanda Barker: You can do anything that's with a Y. Can also be with an ie.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so Mandy, your nickname is with
>> Amanda Barker: a Y, but I went through a phase where it was with an ie. So there you go. And you could also just do I like our dear sister in law, Carrie can be with an ie. It can be with an I. It can be with a Y.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. That's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, there you go. So, Kathy, I stand corrected.
>> Amanda Barker: There we go.
This podcast provides a peacefulness I've enjoyed on many nights
>> Marco Timpano: Kathy. MH sent this September 27, 2024, and they write the very best. Five stars. This podcast has been amazing. Truly a great find. The voices are so pleasing and the conversations and the back and forth dialogue are wonderful. Marco goes above and beyond in creating calmness throughout the episodes. I think I can just stop there. I don't have to read anything else.
>> Amanda Barker: and Amanda? Good enough?
>> Marco Timpano: No, there's no mention of Amanda. The show provides a, ah, peacefulness I've enjoyed for many on many nights where I've suffered with pain and anxiety. It is a soothing and it is tranquilizing.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Kathy, we love you. Thank you so much. And I hope for less pain and less suffering.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, Kathy, thank you so much. I hope I didn't cause pain by saying you don't spell Kathy with an ie, because now I stand corrected.
>> Amanda Barker: You did cause suffering for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Kathy didn't mention you. That's all I'm going to say.
Next review is from Jessox. They left this review on, uh, 2024
All right, the next one.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, it's fine. I'm a late bloomer on this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: The next review is from Jessox. J E S I O X. How would you say that?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know, but I'm definitely saying that they live in Oregon.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just picking states.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. They left this review on, April 2nd, 2024.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Asleep in 10 minutes. Five stars. It works. This podcast put me to sleep within 10 minutes. 10 out of 10.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow. Right thank you. Jess or Jesse Ox or Jess Ox. However you say your name. Hopefully you're not awake to.
>> Marco Timpano: To hear us.
>> Amanda Barker: To hear us talking about you. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. And then the ones from Canada. I'm just going to read the. The last three. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Do we know what province they're from?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but I'll let you guess.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It doesn't tell me that information, Amanda. that's why I can't tell you. I wish it. I wish it did.
>> Amanda Barker: There's my name again.
>> Marco Timpano: I can't call you babe on the podcast. It just doesn't feel right.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
Amanda: Saying the word gentleman is funny to me
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so here we go.
>> Amanda Barker: There's no one else in this room. Like I'll know you're talking to me.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, but m. Maybe our listeners, new listeners, are like, who is that gentleman speaking to? Amanda? I'm reinforcing the name.
>> Amanda Barker: People thinking. People's mind voice. Saying the word gentleman is funny to me. Oh, who's that gentleman?
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. I say gentleman a lot.
>> Amanda Barker: You do.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Amanda Barker: And yet you don't say gentle woman.
>> Marco Timpano: It feels wrong. Should I say gentlewoman now?
>> Amanda Barker: You should.
>> Marco Timpano: If I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So I would like you to start using the word gentlewoman and fortnite. Okay. That's your task for the next.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll do my. I'll do my best.
Kaylee Kate says she falls asleep to Marco and Amanda's voices
All right, so here we go. Kaylee Kate. June 3, 2024.
>> Amanda Barker: Definitely from Texas.
>> Marco Timpano: This is Canadian Reviews.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, still from Texas.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: From Alberta.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Love this pod. Exclamation mark. Five stars. Have been listening most nights for over a year now. I look forward to a new episode every week, which I rarely finish. That's music to my ear. I don't think I could ever meet them in person since I think I've trained myself to fall asleep to Marco and Amanda's voices. Haha.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a fair thing. I will tell you, Kaylee Kate, of. Of what I've determined to be Alberta, but I have no idea. I will tell you. We, myself and my husband, for quite a while, were listening to British things, British TV shows to fall asleep to. And then we took a British class of, really wonderful people that were doing, best practices.
>> Marco Timpano: Friends of ours.
>> Amanda Barker: Friends of ours. Yeah. And that we work with work colleagues and friends. Anyway, they're lovely. They're very engaging. It was not a relax. Not meant to be a relaxing class at all. But Marco kept falling asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: I kept falling asleep because we were
>> Amanda Barker: so trained that British discussion means it's sleepy time.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Well, it was also in A very, sort of, you know, parceled out, way so of. Of a class and somewhat serious. So of course I fell asleep.
>> Amanda Barker: I, like, you said music to my ear. Just the one ear. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, the other ear is busy listening.
>> Amanda Barker: Got it. Oh, I like that.
The next podcast goes back to September 24, 2023
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so here we go. The next one. Sleep Sleepless, north of Seattle.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: That's their name.
>> Amanda Barker: So definitely they're in Nova Scotia.
>> Marco Timpano: Right? I was waiting for you to. Great. Podcast is the title. Five stars. Eggnog in my coffee. Eggnog in my frother, panettone French toast. I'm definitely living, like, every week is Shark Week since I found this podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God, I love this. You get us, you understand us, and you must be in bc. I was joking about the Nova Scotia thing. Obviously.
>> Marco Timpano: This was left December 18, 2023, but I had to read it because when I saw it, it really brought warmth, to it.
>> Amanda Barker: Live every week like it's Shark Week.
>> Marco Timpano: Live every week like it's Shark Week.
>> Amanda Barker: We need to put that on a mug, a T shirt, a plaque of some kind, something.
>> Marco Timpano: Something.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe put it on our front door.
>> Marco Timpano: Wouldn't that be great?
>> Amanda Barker: Live every week like it's.
>> Marco Timpano: I would do it.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, let's do it.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, this one goes back to September 24, 2023.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, going into the vault.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we're going. We're going back here.
Marco keeps showing me people's names after, and I'm not sure why
>> Amanda Barker: And Marco keeps showing me people's names after, and I'm not sure why did you want me to say their name?
>> Marco Timpano: Just in case I'm saying them wrong? Because now I. I feel very,
>> Amanda Barker: Judged.
>> Marco Timpano: Judged. And I don't. I hate it when people get people's names wrong. So I want to make sure that I get their names.
>> Amanda Barker: So this is Diane and B. Yeah,
>> Marco Timpano: so this is from Diane and B. Diane.
>> Amanda Barker: New Beginnings or New Brunswick? New Brunswick, my. My home province.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Although I haven't lived there in a long time.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's still your home province because you talk about it quite a bit.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it needs. New Brunswick still has not gotten its due as far as I'm concerned. People still treat it like province to drive through to get to other provinces.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's beautiful. It is beautiful, and it's wonderful, and it has lovely people.
>> Amanda Barker: The best people.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Would you say that about Diane and Bea, who you haven't met yet?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Why is this gonna be a. This would be really funny if I said all this, and then Diane's like, hate this podcast. Two stars, one star.
>> Marco Timpano: No, Diane wouldn't be like that. Cause she's from New Brunswick, we're guessing. And it's wonderful. Five stars. That's the title.
>> Amanda Barker: That's nice.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know why I took so long to write a review. Because you're from New Brunswick and that's what it takes.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, what is that? What kind of left handed judgmental compliment was that?
>> Marco Timpano: That wasn't meant to be.
>> Amanda Barker: Because you're from New Brunswick and that's what it takes.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that.
>> Amanda Barker: Does that mean that we're slow to the. To the review writing?
>> Marco Timpano: That you've got lots to do and you don't necessarily have time to write reviews is what I meant from it.
>> Amanda Barker: I really don't think that's what you meant.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, I'm sorry if it came out the wrong way.
>> Amanda Barker: See what I have to put up with, Diane? This is what living it on Ontario is, slander to our people.
>> Marco Timpano: You're gonna offend our Ontarian listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'm also one of them.
I found the Insomnia project at a particular difficult time that included insomnia
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so. All right, let me. Let me backtrack. I don't know why I took so long to write this writer review. I found the Insomnia project at a particular difficult time that included bouts of insomnia. Listening to Marco and Amanda was soothing. Like having someone else up with you in the middle of the night. Even if I sleep much better now, I look forward to the episodes and play them at bedtime to relax and fall asleep. This podcast helps my mind be quiet so that I can drift off. Come for the sleep aid, stay for their interesting conversations. Highly recommended.
>> Amanda Barker: That's wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. Very robust review too. And I. I do appreciate that.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco, should I take your podcasting class? I think maybe I should.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think you should. I don't know. I don't know how that would work out.
>> Amanda Barker: I think I want to learn how to edit.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you think you would edit?
>> Amanda Barker: I think it would be helpful for you.
>> Marco Timpano: It would be certainly helpful for me.
>> Amanda Barker: I want to support you.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, let's record more often. That would be supportive for me. That would. That would help.
>> Amanda Barker: So I offered to.
>> Marco Timpano: Why don't you schedule it in?
>> Amanda Barker: What?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't calendly. I don't have in what calendly calendarly.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, when we met, I had every moment scheduled. You taught me how to live in the moment. And now, all these years later, I don't write anything down. Isn't that crazy?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not crazy. It's. It's.
>> Amanda Barker: I literally only know it's because of the nature of my job, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: And our lives. But I can tell you at best, next week and that's it. And then I go, okay, what did I tell other people I would do? Oh, I have. I told her I would go there. I told him I'd meet up with him on this night. That's as far as I schedule.
We're going mushroom hunting today. I haven't gone since I was a little kid
>> Marco Timpano: We're going mushroom hunting.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe. Foraging, I believe.
>> Marco Timpano: Foraging, yes. I call it hunting, but I guess,
>> Amanda Barker: well, see, if you can snag a mushroom. Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm excited. I haven't gone since I was a little kid.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I mean, I once went foraging and I don't even think I've. It wasn't proper foraging.
>> Marco Timpano: What. What was it like? Did you. Was it for mushrooms or was it for just.
>> Amanda Barker: It was me, you and your dad, and your dad showing me mushrooms.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: We. And him putting them in a bag. And then your mom saying, throw out this bag and tell him you ate them.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's what that was.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: She was too afraid the mushrooms were poisonous. She didn't trust them, so she wouldn't let me eat any of them.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. But my dad knew mushrooms.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, but your mom was your. Is your mom.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. If you go foraging, make sure you go with an expert forager, which we are doing.
>> Amanda Barker: You go foraging, isn't there? If you go to the woods today. What is that?
>> Marco Timpano: You're in for a big surprise. It's the day the teddy bears have their picnic.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, the teddy is. That's the. How do we both know the teddy bear picnic song?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a song kids sing, I think.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, My brother was into that song.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Let me ask you this.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Are. Is there a mushroom you're excited to forage for?
>> Amanda Barker: I would love. I don't know if they're in season, but those lobster mushrooms. Oh, yeah, those big orangey ones. Yes, that would be the one. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, would I love to find a porcini mushroom? A porcino? Yes. Will I find it in Ontario? No.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So if I can't find that, I would love to find some chanterelles.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Or morels.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Or any mushroom that ends in l. Okay. A morale would make chantrell morel or any. Anything that incident.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I'm not in the mood to find those oyster, mushrooms or things that.
>> Amanda Barker: What, when you say you're not in the mood to find, are they particularly hard or something?
>> Marco Timpano: No, they're pedestrian. Like, you know, you see them in the store all the time.
>> Amanda Barker: Pedestrian.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah, I'm using all the P words today. Penultimate. Pedestrian.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Pterodactyl. Stay tuned. I'll use that. but there's an episode of the Golden Girls where the guys, the person that the Golden Girls are talking to, his name is Pfeiffer. Ah. They say Mr. Pfeiffer. And he says, no, it's Pfeiffer. And then he says something rude to Sophia and she goes, watch it, Pfeiffer. I'll punch you in the face. And it's a very funny line. And I think of that anytime there's a silent pee.
>> Amanda Barker: Very funny.
>> Marco Timpano: So those are the mushrooms I'm looking forward to. We will talk about that on next week's show. And I'm going to be working on the holiday episodes.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe it.
>> Marco Timpano: So get set for those.
We've already started it on the eggnog in our coffee
>> Amanda Barker: We've already started it on the eggnog in our coffee.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Amanda got eggnog. Actually. Amanda, didn't you scorch my mouth with the eggnog?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I scorched your mouth with the almond, pumpkin spice coffee creamer. Yeah, it had large promise. But also I didn't realize because it's almond and oat, apparently that heats up quicker. And I put in eggnog prior to that. So I was used to going even longer with the little frother because not that I control how long it froths, but, because eggnog takes longer. But then I put in this oat oil, almond pumpkin spice stuff that I got on sale because you know me, and put it in the coffee, not realizing that it was like scalding hot. How's your mouth? Has it recovered? That was last week.
>> Marco Timpano: It's fine, it's fine. I almost bought peanut milk. It was on sale.
>> Amanda Barker: What? I know, I've never heard of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a little box of peanut milk. Yeah, I think it's used in, in some, some ethnic cuisine. I don't know which one.
>> Amanda Barker: Never heard of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I almost bought. It was 24 cents.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, right now we've got the almond. Oh, it's almond and oat. And then I've got a candy cane eggnog and then a normal eggnog.
>> Marco Timpano: Just so we have just so much
>> Amanda Barker: seasonal drink for our coffee in this house right now. So much.
>> Marco Timpano: We hope whatever you are drinking next to you right now, it's getting cold because you're fast asleep. And until next time, we hope you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: Nov 13, 2024)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm Amanda. Thank you for joining us
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you sort of find your way to sleep or just chill. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'm Amanda. And I've been mouthing every word he says.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that what we're. They're hearing in the background?
>> Amanda Barker: That's a fun game we play here, Amanda.
>> Marco Timpano: I, you know, you know the word bamboozled?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like I got massage oozled. Oh, just a few hours ago, I got a massage, but it was like my neck was hurting. And my masseuse really said, well, can I go hard on your. On your neck? And I said, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't Think they're called masseuse anymore?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Amanda Barker: Registered massage therapist. Rmt.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you don't call them masseuse, I guess. No.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Unless it's in the 70s in Sweden, I suppose.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I wasn't in Sweden, and I
>> Amanda Barker: was like, my masseuse. I don't know. It feels like something from a movie of the week.
>> Marco Timpano: I think you're right. You know, this person is a trained massage licensed therapist. You know, like, all that stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's part of our care that we all get or should be getting, hopefully. But when you say masseuse, I just think of that scene in a movie where it's like, a guy on the phone and he's. To show how rich he is, there's, like, two massage people, like, chopping his back while he has a towel, and there's like a golf course nearby or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. Well, forgive me.
>> Amanda Barker: Not you.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's definitely not me. forgive me if, I've offended you by saying masseuse. If you're out there, massage therapist, I just. Well, somebody could be offended, and I don't want to offend them.
>> Amanda Barker: I will say. Yeah, and this offended me a little bit. You came home with a lot of hickeys on your neck.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, right?
>> Amanda Barker: From the massage.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I think they look like fingerprints, and I'm worried they're gonna bruise into Morgan. I have these fingerprint.
>> Amanda Barker: It looks like you have a cat and that a cat, like, scratched you, except they're not scratches. They're like bruises. I don't know. It's. It was a little weird.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's weird. And I'm,
>> Amanda Barker: Like, swollen or a rash, like, it could be.
>> Marco Timpano: Looks. Maybe it's a rash, too.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't think it's a. I mean, I think it's. Can I see? Oh, yeah, that's like a rash, but it's on the other side where the most of the things are.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, I got massage. Usual is what happened.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, gotcha.
>> Marco Timpano: and I'm grateful, though. My massage. My licensed massage therapist does. Does not talk during the massage. They're silent. They have, like, bird noises is what. What they play in the background.
>> Amanda Barker: That place is a real clinic, so there's doctors there. There's people getting, like, you know, on mats, doing work on their.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, lumbar.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, lumbar work. It's a. Your cervical spine is well attended to there. your psoas muscle, they're all up in it.
>> Marco Timpano: A couple of trapezoids.
>> Amanda Barker: Get it's one of those places. It's not like, you know, my preferred registered massage therapy.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your preferred?
>> Amanda Barker: I like a steam room. I like not having to. Not hearing people as they walk through the door. You know, that little door baby thing. I don't want to know that. I don't want to hear people having conversations.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I definitely hear people having conversations and paying for their.
>> Amanda Barker: Their, see, that's not my. But you go to specifically work an area. Yeah, I go to pretend I'm a rich lady in a night in that 1982 movie of the week where you're getting your back chopped or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think they chop your back.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, what is the thing called where there's like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a massage. It's type of, whatever that is.
Tuning massage is supposed to be therapeutic, but sometimes it's not
Tuning massage. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, anyway, I. I want to believe that I'm pampering myself with a spa experience.
>> Marco Timpano: That's fair.
>> Amanda Barker: That's fair.
>> Marco Timpano: And you don't like it when they talk to you, Right? Too much?
>> Amanda Barker: No, but they do often. And I'm a chatty person.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, there's one person who gives massages who we love, and she's been on this program before. I do enjoy talking to her. I. Because we know a lot of the same people.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And she goes long, so it could be 90 minutes of just solid gossip.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And there is something, kind of relaxing in that.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, like watching bad TV and eating junk food. It has that kind of effect.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, Right. So, I mean, one's supposed to be therapeutic. One is not good for you. But it is.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's all therapeutic. I think reality tv, when it's well timed and in short moments and, you know, a bowl of popcorn and some something can. Your favorite candy, I think that can be really converting and therapeutic.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there, a, therapeutic candy that you enjoy?
>> Amanda Barker: Depends on the mood I'm in. But I should say that's because she and I know each other. Fair enough. So that's a different world. What happens to me very often is I write my profession, which is I usually write actor, or sometimes I'll write casting, but either way, you know, I get on the table. So you're an actor, right? I don't want to talk about this. Fair enough. I had one woman not too long ago, well, probably a year ago now, but it was like her therapy session. And I'm an empathetic person and I do like having conversations with people. But what Happens is, well, we're having a nice conversation about things as you do, and then next thing I know, it's their therapy session and I'm like, I just lost out of my massage. Even though we're 20 minutes in. Because this person is not going to stop talking.
>> Marco Timpano: They're chatting to you and asking for advice. Etc.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, exactly. No, that happens to me all the time. No, all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: sometimes I'll do this. So I have a chatty, hygienist and a wife. My wife is not my hygienist. It's Amanda here in front of me. But my hygienist at the dentist office really likes to chat and likes to have me download apps for them because they are not able to.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry, I did not expect you to say that. You're doing tech support while you're, while your mouth is open and you're drooling.
>> Marco Timpano: That's really funny and awful and I don't love it.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: So what I do now is I walk in with headphones.
>> Marco Timpano: And I say, I'm so sorry, I need to listen to this podcast for work.
>> Marco Timpano: And I put it in my ears.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that's great.
>> Marco Timpano: And then people, because of that, at the end of M. One of my last sessions with her, she asked what podcast should she listen to and maybe download the podcast app. And then those podcasts.
>> Amanda Barker: And then she listens to this one and then she hears you, talking about her.
>> Marco Timpano: The truth is, I now request a different hygienist.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I don't. I just can't. I feel badly that, that I have to. But I can't, engage in a conversation when you're, when you're like, working on.
>> Amanda Barker: It's tricky. And you want to pretend sometimes that going to the dentist especially, especially if they have a nice tv. Wouldn't it be great if that chair was a massage chair?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Why don't they do that? They should.
>> Marco Timpano: I think the rumbling if they're. If they use.
>> Amanda Barker: You can do. Listen, if the talented women who do my nails and my toes can do it and there's a. You just. You don't put it on flap. Maybe that's what the chop chop thing is called. Flap. You don't put it on flap. You put it on need.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are the settings of the massage chairs.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you like a chatty nail technician?
>> Amanda Barker: that I don't mind. Because you lose the ability to use your hands for a while.
All you have is your mouth or your eyes to watch TV
So all you have is your mouth or your eyes to watch TV. Like, if the TV's good, then whatever. But if it's just a YouTube channel or something, which it often is, then I don't mind chatting with a nail person. But usually they're so intent on their
>> Marco Timpano: work that they don't want to chat with you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't the tables have turned.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: So to speak.
This is our penultimate show for this season
Speaking of tables turning, this is our penultimate show for this season. For season nine, the second last.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't realize that's what that meant.
>> Marco Timpano: What did you think that meant?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. It's like a fortnight. Do you know what a fortnight means? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: four nights from now.
>> Amanda Barker: No, that's not what that.
>> Marco Timpano: 40 nights from now did.
>> Amanda Barker: Definitely also not what that means.
>> Marco Timpano: Four and a half hours from now,
>> Amanda Barker: it means two weeks. Did you know that?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't. I mean, I didn't. I didn't. I knew it was a certain amount of time.
>> Amanda Barker: You say it all the time in a fortnight. Can you imagine?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but I do say penultimate a lot.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, what other things in your life are penultimate?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know, but I just say it. When it's the second last. I say penultimate.
>> Amanda Barker: This is the penultimate dinner.
>> Marco Timpano: I wish you wouldn't say because you
>> Amanda Barker: pop your peas, this is the penultimate meal of the day.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: When I say it's an ultimate hour of work, I'm trying not to pop my piece.
This podcast captures me but doesn't over capture me, Sherry says
>> Marco Timpano: I, wanted to say, since it is our penultimate episode, I've been looking at some of the reviews from the past a little bit. No, they're good. And, Apple has it so that I have to change the country location to see the review. I need to find an app that'll show us our reviews. But I'm going to read a couple of our reviews from Canada. No, I've got yes. And the US and Australia.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so this one's. This one's from Australia.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I was actually showing my class how to do this when I saw it. I was like, oh, my goodness. I can't believe this has been up since March 26, 2024. Okay, so Sherry, B.4 says five stars. I've been listening to the Insomnia Project for a few years and love to recommend. That's so lovely. Thank you, Sherry. It's entertaining enough to catch and, catch and keep my attention, but calm and inconsequential enough for me not to worry to get involved. Most definitely. You never have to worry about entertaining us or getting involved you just chill and Sherry continues. Other sleep podcasts, I've tried have been quite boring, and my mind wanders. Oh, I didn't think that. Thanks, Amanda. Sorry. Thanks, Marco and Amanda, slash friends, our other guests, and a smiley emoji.
>> Amanda Barker: That's so nice. I need the same thing. Whether it's podcast or when I'm going to sleep. I want something that captures me but doesn't over capture me.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Captures without stimulating. Does that make sense?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe that should be our new tagline, captures without stimulating.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: maybe not. All right.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds wrong on two levels.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, focus. Grouping now.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, let's let us know if you think that's a great. A great catchphrase for us.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: Capture without stimulating.
Do we know where in the U.S. Amanda is from
Okay, so this is from our U.S. listeners. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Do we know where in the U.S. amanda?
>> Marco Timpano: no, I don't. I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: You only say my name to me when we do this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. You never. You would never say that in a normal conversation. I wouldn't say, like, hey, babe, do you know where this is? And you wouldn't go up, Amanda. No.
>> Marco Timpano: What do I say?
>> Amanda Barker: You call me babe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Or you just don't. Or hate you, like, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What do you call me?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I say Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: You do say Marco.
>> Amanda Barker: H m. H m. I guess I care enough to say your name.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess I,
>> Amanda Barker: I guess you care enough when I'm working the mic.
>> Marco Timpano: I think babe is a lovely thing to call somebody if you're a pig. No, if you. If. Well, I guess you shouldn't call someone you don't know babe. Like, if you go get a coffee, people do. People do.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a whole culture of. Of girls who were like, hey, girl, or, there's another one. Well, anyway, that one is a big one. Or, hey, gorgeous. It's like, you don't know me, but
>> Marco Timpano: what if they're just saying you're gorgeous? You can say. You can call me hey, gorgeous if you want.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'll be honest, I do it. I say, hey.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, do you?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. do you want me to say more?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm going to. I'm going to read our reviews. Cool. Okay, so these are from the U.S. there's just two. We have more.
>> Amanda Barker: My question was simply, do you know where in the US and then I got an Amanda.
>> Marco Timpano: My. The answer to that question, babe, is no.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so here's.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to pretend they're from places. This one is definitely from Kansas.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so Katie. Mh. M. So that could be where they're from.
>> Amanda Barker: MH or nh.
>> Marco Timpano: M as in Mary and H as in Harry.
>> Amanda Barker: New Hampshire.
>> Marco Timpano: New Hampshire. Okay. Oh, it's actually Kathy. Sorry, not Katie.
>> Amanda Barker: K A T. Do you want me to read these? I feel like there's a bit of a struggle. Maybe the light is dim.
>> Marco Timpano: There's no struggle. The struggle is. I'm trying to get through it. I'm trying to read it. Okay, but it's Kathy, spelled K A
>> Amanda Barker: T, H, I, E. That's how you spell Kathy. Margot.
>> Marco Timpano: Not with a Y.
>> Amanda Barker: You can do anything that's with a Y. Can also be with an ie.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so Mandy, your nickname is with
>> Amanda Barker: a Y, but I went through a phase where it was with an ie. So there you go. And you could also just do I like our dear sister in law, Carrie can be with an ie. It can be with an I. It can be with a Y.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. That's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, there you go. So, Kathy, I stand corrected.
>> Amanda Barker: There we go.
This podcast provides a peacefulness I've enjoyed on many nights
>> Marco Timpano: Kathy. MH sent this September 27, 2024, and they write the very best. Five stars. This podcast has been amazing. Truly a great find. The voices are so pleasing and the conversations and the back and forth dialogue are wonderful. Marco goes above and beyond in creating calmness throughout the episodes. I think I can just stop there. I don't have to read anything else.
>> Amanda Barker: and Amanda? Good enough?
>> Marco Timpano: No, there's no mention of Amanda. The show provides a, ah, peacefulness I've enjoyed for many on many nights where I've suffered with pain and anxiety. It is a soothing and it is tranquilizing.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Kathy, we love you. Thank you so much. And I hope for less pain and less suffering.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, Kathy, thank you so much. I hope I didn't cause pain by saying you don't spell Kathy with an ie, because now I stand corrected.
>> Amanda Barker: You did cause suffering for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Kathy didn't mention you. That's all I'm going to say.
Next review is from Jessox. They left this review on, uh, 2024
All right, the next one.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, it's fine. I'm a late bloomer on this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: The next review is from Jessox. J E S I O X. How would you say that?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know, but I'm definitely saying that they live in Oregon.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just picking states.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. They left this review on, April 2nd, 2024.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Asleep in 10 minutes. Five stars. It works. This podcast put me to sleep within 10 minutes. 10 out of 10.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow. Right thank you. Jess or Jesse Ox or Jess Ox. However you say your name. Hopefully you're not awake to.
>> Marco Timpano: To hear us.
>> Amanda Barker: To hear us talking about you. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. And then the ones from Canada. I'm just going to read the. The last three. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Do we know what province they're from?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but I'll let you guess.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It doesn't tell me that information, Amanda. that's why I can't tell you. I wish it. I wish it did.
>> Amanda Barker: There's my name again.
>> Marco Timpano: I can't call you babe on the podcast. It just doesn't feel right.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
Amanda: Saying the word gentleman is funny to me
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so here we go.
>> Amanda Barker: There's no one else in this room. Like I'll know you're talking to me.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, but m. Maybe our listeners, new listeners, are like, who is that gentleman speaking to? Amanda? I'm reinforcing the name.
>> Amanda Barker: People thinking. People's mind voice. Saying the word gentleman is funny to me. Oh, who's that gentleman?
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. I say gentleman a lot.
>> Amanda Barker: You do.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Amanda Barker: And yet you don't say gentle woman.
>> Marco Timpano: It feels wrong. Should I say gentlewoman now?
>> Amanda Barker: You should.
>> Marco Timpano: If I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So I would like you to start using the word gentlewoman and fortnite. Okay. That's your task for the next.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll do my. I'll do my best.
Kaylee Kate says she falls asleep to Marco and Amanda's voices
All right, so here we go. Kaylee Kate. June 3, 2024.
>> Amanda Barker: Definitely from Texas.
>> Marco Timpano: This is Canadian Reviews.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, still from Texas.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: From Alberta.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Love this pod. Exclamation mark. Five stars. Have been listening most nights for over a year now. I look forward to a new episode every week, which I rarely finish. That's music to my ear. I don't think I could ever meet them in person since I think I've trained myself to fall asleep to Marco and Amanda's voices. Haha.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a fair thing. I will tell you, Kaylee Kate, of. Of what I've determined to be Alberta, but I have no idea. I will tell you. We, myself and my husband, for quite a while, were listening to British things, British TV shows to fall asleep to. And then we took a British class of, really wonderful people that were doing, best practices.
>> Marco Timpano: Friends of ours.
>> Amanda Barker: Friends of ours. Yeah. And that we work with work colleagues and friends. Anyway, they're lovely. They're very engaging. It was not a relax. Not meant to be a relaxing class at all. But Marco kept falling asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: I kept falling asleep because we were
>> Amanda Barker: so trained that British discussion means it's sleepy time.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Well, it was also in A very, sort of, you know, parceled out, way so of. Of a class and somewhat serious. So of course I fell asleep.
>> Amanda Barker: I, like, you said music to my ear. Just the one ear. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, the other ear is busy listening.
>> Amanda Barker: Got it. Oh, I like that.
The next podcast goes back to September 24, 2023
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so here we go. The next one. Sleep Sleepless, north of Seattle.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: That's their name.
>> Amanda Barker: So definitely they're in Nova Scotia.
>> Marco Timpano: Right? I was waiting for you to. Great. Podcast is the title. Five stars. Eggnog in my coffee. Eggnog in my frother, panettone French toast. I'm definitely living, like, every week is Shark Week since I found this podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God, I love this. You get us, you understand us, and you must be in bc. I was joking about the Nova Scotia thing. Obviously.
>> Marco Timpano: This was left December 18, 2023, but I had to read it because when I saw it, it really brought warmth, to it.
>> Amanda Barker: Live every week like it's Shark Week.
>> Marco Timpano: Live every week like it's Shark Week.
>> Amanda Barker: We need to put that on a mug, a T shirt, a plaque of some kind, something.
>> Marco Timpano: Something.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe put it on our front door.
>> Marco Timpano: Wouldn't that be great?
>> Amanda Barker: Live every week like it's.
>> Marco Timpano: I would do it.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, let's do it.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, this one goes back to September 24, 2023.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, going into the vault.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we're going. We're going back here.
Marco keeps showing me people's names after, and I'm not sure why
>> Amanda Barker: And Marco keeps showing me people's names after, and I'm not sure why did you want me to say their name?
>> Marco Timpano: Just in case I'm saying them wrong? Because now I. I feel very,
>> Amanda Barker: Judged.
>> Marco Timpano: Judged. And I don't. I hate it when people get people's names wrong. So I want to make sure that I get their names.
>> Amanda Barker: So this is Diane and B. Yeah,
>> Marco Timpano: so this is from Diane and B. Diane.
>> Amanda Barker: New Beginnings or New Brunswick? New Brunswick, my. My home province.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Although I haven't lived there in a long time.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's still your home province because you talk about it quite a bit.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it needs. New Brunswick still has not gotten its due as far as I'm concerned. People still treat it like province to drive through to get to other provinces.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's beautiful. It is beautiful, and it's wonderful, and it has lovely people.
>> Amanda Barker: The best people.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Would you say that about Diane and Bea, who you haven't met yet?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Why is this gonna be a. This would be really funny if I said all this, and then Diane's like, hate this podcast. Two stars, one star.
>> Marco Timpano: No, Diane wouldn't be like that. Cause she's from New Brunswick, we're guessing. And it's wonderful. Five stars. That's the title.
>> Amanda Barker: That's nice.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know why I took so long to write a review. Because you're from New Brunswick and that's what it takes.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, what is that? What kind of left handed judgmental compliment was that?
>> Marco Timpano: That wasn't meant to be.
>> Amanda Barker: Because you're from New Brunswick and that's what it takes.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that.
>> Amanda Barker: Does that mean that we're slow to the. To the review writing?
>> Marco Timpano: That you've got lots to do and you don't necessarily have time to write reviews is what I meant from it.
>> Amanda Barker: I really don't think that's what you meant.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, I'm sorry if it came out the wrong way.
>> Amanda Barker: See what I have to put up with, Diane? This is what living it on Ontario is, slander to our people.
>> Marco Timpano: You're gonna offend our Ontarian listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'm also one of them.
I found the Insomnia project at a particular difficult time that included insomnia
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so. All right, let me. Let me backtrack. I don't know why I took so long to write this writer review. I found the Insomnia project at a particular difficult time that included bouts of insomnia. Listening to Marco and Amanda was soothing. Like having someone else up with you in the middle of the night. Even if I sleep much better now, I look forward to the episodes and play them at bedtime to relax and fall asleep. This podcast helps my mind be quiet so that I can drift off. Come for the sleep aid, stay for their interesting conversations. Highly recommended.
>> Amanda Barker: That's wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. Very robust review too. And I. I do appreciate that.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco, should I take your podcasting class? I think maybe I should.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think you should. I don't know. I don't know how that would work out.
>> Amanda Barker: I think I want to learn how to edit.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you think you would edit?
>> Amanda Barker: I think it would be helpful for you.
>> Marco Timpano: It would be certainly helpful for me.
>> Amanda Barker: I want to support you.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, let's record more often. That would be supportive for me. That would. That would help.
>> Amanda Barker: So I offered to.
>> Marco Timpano: Why don't you schedule it in?
>> Amanda Barker: What?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't calendly. I don't have in what calendly calendarly.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, when we met, I had every moment scheduled. You taught me how to live in the moment. And now, all these years later, I don't write anything down. Isn't that crazy?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not crazy. It's. It's.
>> Amanda Barker: I literally only know it's because of the nature of my job, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: And our lives. But I can tell you at best, next week and that's it. And then I go, okay, what did I tell other people I would do? Oh, I have. I told her I would go there. I told him I'd meet up with him on this night. That's as far as I schedule.
We're going mushroom hunting today. I haven't gone since I was a little kid
>> Marco Timpano: We're going mushroom hunting.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe. Foraging, I believe.
>> Marco Timpano: Foraging, yes. I call it hunting, but I guess,
>> Amanda Barker: well, see, if you can snag a mushroom. Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm excited. I haven't gone since I was a little kid.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I mean, I once went foraging and I don't even think I've. It wasn't proper foraging.
>> Marco Timpano: What. What was it like? Did you. Was it for mushrooms or was it for just.
>> Amanda Barker: It was me, you and your dad, and your dad showing me mushrooms.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: We. And him putting them in a bag. And then your mom saying, throw out this bag and tell him you ate them.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's what that was.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: She was too afraid the mushrooms were poisonous. She didn't trust them, so she wouldn't let me eat any of them.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. But my dad knew mushrooms.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, but your mom was your. Is your mom.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. If you go foraging, make sure you go with an expert forager, which we are doing.
>> Amanda Barker: You go foraging, isn't there? If you go to the woods today. What is that?
>> Marco Timpano: You're in for a big surprise. It's the day the teddy bears have their picnic.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, the teddy is. That's the. How do we both know the teddy bear picnic song?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a song kids sing, I think.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, My brother was into that song.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Let me ask you this.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Are. Is there a mushroom you're excited to forage for?
>> Amanda Barker: I would love. I don't know if they're in season, but those lobster mushrooms. Oh, yeah, those big orangey ones. Yes, that would be the one. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, would I love to find a porcini mushroom? A porcino? Yes. Will I find it in Ontario? No.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So if I can't find that, I would love to find some chanterelles.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Or morels.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Or any mushroom that ends in l. Okay. A morale would make chantrell morel or any. Anything that incident.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I'm not in the mood to find those oyster, mushrooms or things that.
>> Amanda Barker: What, when you say you're not in the mood to find, are they particularly hard or something?
>> Marco Timpano: No, they're pedestrian. Like, you know, you see them in the store all the time.
>> Amanda Barker: Pedestrian.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah, I'm using all the P words today. Penultimate. Pedestrian.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Pterodactyl. Stay tuned. I'll use that. but there's an episode of the Golden Girls where the guys, the person that the Golden Girls are talking to, his name is Pfeiffer. Ah. They say Mr. Pfeiffer. And he says, no, it's Pfeiffer. And then he says something rude to Sophia and she goes, watch it, Pfeiffer. I'll punch you in the face. And it's a very funny line. And I think of that anytime there's a silent pee.
>> Amanda Barker: Very funny.
>> Marco Timpano: So those are the mushrooms I'm looking forward to. We will talk about that on next week's show. And I'm going to be working on the holiday episodes.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe it.
>> Marco Timpano: So get set for those.
We've already started it on the eggnog in our coffee
>> Amanda Barker: We've already started it on the eggnog in our coffee.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Amanda got eggnog. Actually. Amanda, didn't you scorch my mouth with the eggnog?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I scorched your mouth with the almond, pumpkin spice coffee creamer. Yeah, it had large promise. But also I didn't realize because it's almond and oat, apparently that heats up quicker. And I put in eggnog prior to that. So I was used to going even longer with the little frother because not that I control how long it froths, but, because eggnog takes longer. But then I put in this oat oil, almond pumpkin spice stuff that I got on sale because you know me, and put it in the coffee, not realizing that it was like scalding hot. How's your mouth? Has it recovered? That was last week.
>> Marco Timpano: It's fine, it's fine. I almost bought peanut milk. It was on sale.
>> Amanda Barker: What? I know, I've never heard of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a little box of peanut milk. Yeah, I think it's used in, in some, some ethnic cuisine. I don't know which one.
>> Amanda Barker: Never heard of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I almost bought. It was 24 cents.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, right now we've got the almond. Oh, it's almond and oat. And then I've got a candy cane eggnog and then a normal eggnog.
>> Marco Timpano: Just so we have just so much
>> Amanda Barker: seasonal drink for our coffee in this house right now. So much.
>> Marco Timpano: We hope whatever you are drinking next to you right now, it's getting cold because you're fast asleep. And until next time, we hope you listen and sleep.
Picture Day
(Original airdate: November 9, 2024)
The Insomnia Project is meant to help you drift off to sleep
Amantara.comm a m E N T A R A I know that was fast. So I have it in our show notes so that you can have easy reference to it. Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to just help you drift your way to sleep. Find it in any way you can, or at least just calm you down. Push everything away.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that sounds really. Calm you down. Sounds like a directive. I don't like that.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I don't mean calm you down, but like just chill, release.
Amanda Barker says she assembled all her furniture by herself before meeting Marco
There you go. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: We are here for your chill and that's Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for joining us.
>> Amanda Barker: Can you turn it down a little bit in my headphone? Just. It's loud in one ear there we go. Thank you. Hopefully that doesn't make a difference to anyone listening.
>> Marco Timpano: Little instructions on,
>> Amanda Barker: we should read instruction manuals.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that would be fun.
>> Amanda Barker: That would really. That would knock me out for sure. That would knock you out for sure. Sleep wise.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. There are certain instructions. Like the IKEA instruction manuals have pictures and no words.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like that would bring a level of not chill.
>> Marco Timpano: You could describe the pictures.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. But like, trying to find where to put the Allen key and all that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Did Allen keys exist before ikea?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: They must have, but I never heard of one prior to it.
>> Marco Timpano: I have an Allen key that's for my bike. Or was for a bike.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And, now we use it all the time. I don't have the bike anymore, but
>> Amanda Barker: I think I only ever got one with a kid. You know, before I met you, I assembled all my furniture by myself.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you did?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I mean, who else would have done it for me, I guess? But, and. And the truth is, it's not like I'm bringing pieces home for you and making you assemble things on the daily.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Can you imagine? you know, we're just at a place where we don't buy furniture very often, and if we do, it may not be an assemblage type of situation.
>> Marco Timpano: Although there's pieces of furniture. I don't know understand how people get them in their homes because they're bigger than the entrance doorways.
>> Amanda Barker: There's pieces of furniture. I don't understand how we got them in our home. And I don't know that they're ever leaving until, you know, we leave.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, here's the thing. It's like, okay, you've got those pieces in now, you're older, you don't want to have to get them out, so you get somebody else to do that work.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not like you're to be more inspired to get furniture moved the older you get.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. We once drove down to Nashville.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it Nashville? Yeah, in Nashville, to help your parents move. And we came back with so much fun.
>> Amanda Barker: My father kept throwing things into the back of the truck. So much so that I was like, dad, we have to take this across the border, and we don't know what's in there. Like, you're throwing weird china pieces and all sorts of mugs and things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of china pieces, your mom has some sort of Japanese tea set that she's trying to Unload.
>> Amanda Barker: Not quite.
>> Marco Timpano: And m. I haven't heard a response from these things.
>> Amanda Barker: I see in your face and I hear in your voice that what you're trying to tell me if I'm wrong, that you want to tell me, no, we don't need it. We don't want it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, no, we don't need it. That's for certain. Need or want Do I want it
>> Amanda Barker: is a fun game.
>> Marco Timpano: Do I want it? No. Do I like the look of it? No. Oh, okay. So for me, that's. For me, it's three strikes. But I don't know where you sit on that. And if we do acquire it, because it seems like your siblings aren't going to take it, I don't know
>> Amanda Barker: how we would get it up here, though.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's true. And also, I don't know how we're going to get it up here. And where we. Where would we, house it?
>> Amanda Barker: There's a lot of, Why are you. I thought we were supposed to be chill today.
>> Marco Timpano: We are chill.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just yelling at me about antiques that my parents have is not the pathway to chillness.
Let me ask you this. We recently used a teacup for an audition
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this. We recently used a teacup for an audition. A really pretty teacup that has, I think, thistles on the outside and purple on the inside.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow, you really memorized it. Okay. Thistles. All right.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it not thistles?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's thistles.
>> Amanda Barker: Something's on the outside. I know it's purple on the inside.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll take. Oh, is it an orchid on the outside?
>> Amanda Barker: No, no, the color is orchid on the inside. It's not like a purple purple. It's like a lighter orchid.
>> Marco Timpano: I see orchid color. Okay, so I'll take a photo and I'll put it on the Instagram account. But let me ask you this. Where does that take teacup co. Because I don't know where it came from to put it back. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Into our, china cabinet.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: We inherited a china cabinet. That's good because it's smaller. It's antique for sure, and it's smaller. And so it fits well in our home because our home is small.
>> Marco Timpano: True.
>> Amanda Barker: Everything here is petite. except for us. we're just trying to figure out, you know, it's always a. It's always a balance.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a balance.
>> Amanda Barker: But guess what I'm gonna do today? Balance, probably work and life. I'm not sure. But I am going to put pictures up. But, it's gonna be like a three tiered process.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love this three tiered process.
>> Amanda Barker: So when you come home. Cause you have to leave. So when you come home. Cause I'm home all day.
>> Marco Timpano: I have to go to work.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't folks.
>> Marco Timpano: But you're always working. Let's just set that table now.
>> Amanda Barker: You always set the table. Oh, I like that expression. Set the table. Ah, I am most. Even today I have an audition that's gonna be later on in the night, but I get to go there and do it. I don't have to do it at home, which is good and bad. But, I do have the day and I've cleared this week.
>> Marco Timpano: so you're gonna do it.
>> Amanda Barker: I hope certain people don't listen to this where I'm like, no, I can't work for you. the truth is I have been doing some work this week.
>> Marco Timpano: You have actually.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's why I said no to your work folks. but I do have some space and time today that I've made that I've created for myself, quite truthfully. And so one of the things that we have not done in, maybe ridiculously long time, it's, you know, it's one of those tasks that if you don't do it at the beginning, it's same with this furniture moving discussion. If you don't do it at the beginning, you're not going to do it. You're not going to want to do it more after.
Hill: We had our walls painted a large while ago
So we had our walls painted. I'm almost embarrassed to say how long ago.
>> Marco Timpano: A while. A large while ago.
>> Amanda Barker: A large while ago. We had our walls painted, folks. Like a large while ago. And I was happy. And it was sort of the one thing we were doing to our house that year. We try to do a little something every year. This year was we bought a new bed. I think we've talked about that a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, there's several episodes about our bed.
>> Amanda Barker: About our bed. So that's been covered. And if you haven't tuned in for the hot bed content, certainly listen to past you can because we're quite in love with our new bed and it's just a lovely time. But, so that year I was like, you know, we don't have a lot of money, but I am going to hire, somebody that I know that's a professional painter. He's also a friend, but he's a lovely guy and I'm going to get him to paint the house. I'll get him to come in. Give us a quote. Now we have friends that are painting their house step by step. Every day, they are painting.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's a task.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's a task, but they're giving their time.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm a good painter, but I don't know what was going on at that time. And I was like, I just don't think I can paint.
>> Amanda Barker: Sometimes you do. And I'm learning to do this, and it's tricky, but sometimes it makes sense to, delegate out something that you can and surely could do for yourself. But if you're not confident that you'll do it for yourself or in a timely way or for whatever the reason, Listen, everybody in this world works pretty hard, I think. So sometimes you delegate out. And that's what we did that year.
>> Marco Timpano: Give yourself a break.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So we got it painted. We loved the look of it. We were very happy with the paint. And some rooms, it was just a freshening up of pretty much the same color. Other rooms, we made a change, and, it was great. The thing is, it looks so great. I was reticent to put up any pictures. We had taken everything down, filled in the holes, even. And I didn't want to wreck my perfect walls.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like I'm to blame, too, because I said to Amanda, we need the walls to cure. You should let them cure for three weeks.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really? Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I said, we're not gonna put anything up till the walls are cured. In other words, you let the walls completely dry of paint so that if you put anything that leans on them, like a painting, like this.
>> Amanda Barker: And I was fine with that. And, you know, I'm gonna just come clean with the timeline, because I want people to feel it, because I can guarantee that other people are feeling like they're in the same boat with some other task.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So this was 2019. So for those listening and not sure when we recorded this, it's now 2024.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's been a while.
>> Amanda Barker: It's been five years.
>> Marco Timpano: But we do have a couple of paintings on the wall.
>> Amanda Barker: Very few. And the truth is, I like simplicity. So I think it spoke to me in a way of keep things clean and fresh and simple. that said, all these pictures, paintings, whatever it was we had on the walls before, I don't even remember now. They've all been in, like, whatever storage we can eke out in this house
>> Marco Timpano: in the nooks and crannies of the place, and they keep.
>> Amanda Barker: There's one. There's some in a basket, and we're tripping on them.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's time.
>> Marco Timpano: It's time.
>> Amanda Barker: It's just time. So I am m going to go. And this is why this is a many tiered process I am m going to go through. Once I get off this microphone, I am going to set about the task and I'm going to be gentle with myself, make myself coffee, and I'm going to find every picture in this house. And not all of them will go back up on the walls, but I am m going to assemble them on our dining room table. We don't really have a dining room. Our table.
>> Marco Timpano: We just have a table or the informal dining room.
>> Amanda Barker: The area of the second floor have a. I think we've established we have a very narrow townhouse. So narrow as you think.
>> Marco Timpano: This is narrow?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't realize it was narrow. Oh, no, they're narrower townhouses.
>> Amanda Barker: The one in Notting Hill might be narrower. Is the most narrow.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so we're not.
>> Amanda Barker: We're not that one. But we're not far off. Okay, listen, we have length, we just don't have width.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
Amanda says it's time to go from minimalism to maximalism
>> Amanda Barker: So anyway, so I'm gonna take them. They might cover. So I will tell yourself, brace yourself when you come home, they might be on the couch, on the coffee table.
>> Marco Timpano: Love it.
>> Amanda Barker: The dining room, whatever you want to
>> Marco Timpano: call it, Table, wherever they need to lay.
>> Amanda Barker: But they're all gonna be. I'm gonna try to find every last one because they're taking up a lot of room.
>> Marco Timpano: It's almost like an Easter egg hunt.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, a little bit. they're taking up a lot of room in storage. And that to me is always silly because the storage is worth more than the thing. So let's go ahead and get them out in the open and make decisions as to where to put things up. We used to have dishes up, and I wouldn't mind putting dishes back up.
>> Marco Timpano: What dishes do we have up?
>> Amanda Barker: My grandmother's. My dad's mother's china. Yeah, we did have dishes up. I know, right?
>> Marco Timpano: We had four dishes, four plates.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I know. We made choices, decor choices. And it's time we must again, we're
>> Marco Timpano: going from minimalism, which is five years of very few things on the wall, to maximalism.
>> Amanda Barker: And to be fair, there were some years in those years where people didn't come over and I didn't feel as inspired to put things on the wall.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's fair.
>> Amanda Barker: One would argue I should be more inspired just for our own selves because we were home so much. But anyway, I didn't.
>> Marco Timpano: We're here and we're going to, Carry on.
>> Amanda Barker: There's that expression where it's like, the best time was whenever it was, and then the next best time is now.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I like that expression. You know, I bought that tool, and I'm excited to use it. So there's a tool, and it's. I don't know if tool's the right word.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that measure Y thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So there's this. Our good friend Dale, who we often, often reference on the podcast. Hi, Dale, if you're listening. I don't think she listens, but she's a great guest. Dale is my person when it comes to house and home, work. So if I. Or even the car. Like, when I have a question or when I have someone, I need to say, look what I did. She's the person who's gonna appreciate it. And likewise, when we were at their house yesterday, she was pointing out, first of all, the painting job they did was fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: It's pretty remarkable. Like, that is some quality. Like, it looks like they hired someone.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I'll say this. This is a good tip for anyone who's, like, not so handy or somewhat handy or it's like, I need to paint a wall. If your budget allows, buy a higher quality paint.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: Buy a higher quality paint. It'll make your life easier. Because in one of our bedrooms I bought, we had one wall. We were gonna do an accent wall. And, Amanda, I think you wanted it gray.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I was like, okay, well, it's just one wall.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna get a gray. The gray that you like or the gray that we liked. And I'm not gonna spend a lot of money on the paint because it's just one wal. Oh, this was years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: I was gonna say. Does this wall still exist?
>> Marco Timpano: It's the one in the spare room.
>> Amanda Barker: Which spare.
>> Marco Timpano: Where Debbie recently slept. Isn't that a gray wall?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, right.
>> Marco Timpano: But where the.
>> Amanda Barker: Where the, board was gray. See, this is. When you live in the same house, this is why people should move. I think we've been here maybe too long.
>> Marco Timpano: Move. Because they don't know the colors of their walls.
>> Amanda Barker: No, because you get so used to seeing the same thing that you don't see it with a new perspective.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. So.
>> Amanda Barker: But we're not moving.
>> Marco Timpano: We're not moving. But, imagine. Let' we can't remember what our.
>> Amanda Barker: What color the wall is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. so I bought this inexpensive paint, and, Amanda, I would roll it, and half the paint wouldn't stick to the wall. And I was like, what's going on? And I'm like, I didn't realize that, remember, this paint has a adhesive quality or has a quality that allows it to. To remain on a surface. M. And I don't know what paint I used. It was like a silly putty paint. Like, you roll it up and it would not adhere. It took me so many coats to get the gray that was there.
When you say early morning, most people envision a 5am Wake up
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. Thank you, babe.
>> Marco Timpano: It was such a pain.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you, Marco. Fifteen years ago, whenever this was, that.
>> Marco Timpano: That young lad is not the person who. Who sits behind this mic microphone right now. I would not do that. I would spend the money on a higher quality paint. And m. One of the first things I said when I saw the paint on the wall, I said, you spent money on this paint? And she's. We did spend money on this paint.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like, we had to, is what
>> Marco Timpano: she said, because her walls, as in older homes, are not perfectly smooth. You know, there's some. There's some divots or dimples and whatnot, and they filled them all in, but they needed a. They needed a good quality paint, and you can tell, and it's in it. What's that expression? You smooth. you make everything smooth when you need to. Something like that. I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, that. I saw that once on a horoscope.
>> Marco Timpano: That old chestnut.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: sorry, I can't think of the expression.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's like, you make everything smooth when you need to.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Wisdom.
>> Marco Timpano: but you know what I'm trying to say.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like, let's put it on a T shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: All cracks get filled if they have to.
>> Amanda Barker: okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, I'm just trying to think of, like, isn't there an expression like that that's like, stop, you're making me laugh. I had to edit out that last
>> Amanda Barker: thing that I said something, and then
>> Marco Timpano: we both started laughing really loudly, and we couldn't have that on.
>> Amanda Barker: It was like, loud.
>> Marco Timpano: Loud. Anyways, enough with the expressions. A good quality.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to. I would like to know what the expression is you're trying to say. I'm sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: It's kind of. It has the meaning of. Listen, if there's bumps on the wall. Chill.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, There we go.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have an expression like that? Is there.
>> Amanda Barker: No, not in my arsenal of wall, expressions. Something that one does not come up.
>> Marco Timpano: It's also. We're recording first thing in the morning, and I just ironed a shirt, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, but to be fair, it's 9:24 in the morning. I know, but I've said it before on this podcast. I'll say it again. When I met Marco and we started dating and I was trying to get to know him, I said to him, what time do you wake up normally?
>> Marco Timpano: And he said, here we go.
>> Amanda Barker: I like to be up by 11.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, hang on.
>> Amanda Barker: So I can have my coffee and watch the View.
>> Marco Timpano: I was also working late nights.
>> Amanda Barker: So was I with you. But I was also working days.
>> Marco Timpano: You, you always establish I work a lot. You always remove the other aspects of the conversation. For example, I don't fall asleep at night. So when I do. Although last night I did. when I do, and we were up early, we just didn't get out of our shaky bed.
>> Amanda Barker: All I'm saying is your early morning, it's all relative. And when you say early morning, most people envision a 5am Wake up or 6am Wake up.
>> Marco Timpano: I was awake around that time. I just.
>> Amanda Barker: Because you hadn't gone to sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So anyway, I don't know. I don't know how I got morning shamed just now.
>> Amanda Barker: I wasn't trying to. All I was trying to say is you're saying it's early in the morning. And my counter to that is, most people are living their day at this point. They're at work, jogging, or in my case, having a coffee. I'm going to put up some pictures around their house. I say pictures. A lot of them are in frames, but not all of them.
>> Marco Timpano: It's wine o' clock somewhere. Is all I'm going to say though.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that the expression you're trying to. It's wall o'. Clock.
>> Marco Timpano: It's wall o' clock somewhere.
>> Amanda Barker: I will say this. Some of those pictures are going to leave the house because we're going to go, I don't need this anymore. Okay. Some do not have frames.
Amanda started crocheting to help decorate her new home
>> Marco Timpano: There's that picture of you as a baby in a carriage that's leaving the house.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm kidding.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think I was ever in a carriage. I'm a second. I'm a middle child.
>> Marco Timpano: Pram perhaps?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I was in a hand me down something or other. I, I was not that baby. I'm second child baby. My mom lied to all of her students that I would be born in August just so she they wouldn't quit because she had to start back up in September. For those who don't remember, my mom
>> Marco Timpano: was a dance teacher and Amanda's born in September.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So, but my mom, to this day goes, oh, I always think your birthday's August. Because she had told everyone I would be born in August so that they wouldn't leave her dance school. And they didn't.
>> Marco Timpano: so pictures are going to leave the house, some never to be seen again.
>> Amanda Barker: Some are also going to get framed or reframed. Like, we have those honest ads, ones that are great and they do not have frames. And I would like things to get framed.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I would say I'm not. Some people are very intuitive with how to do, like a gallery wall or how to do. I wouldn't say I'm intuitive with those things. I know it looks good, but I have to be shown it. I'm not back to my mom. My mom is, like, expert at knowing where things should go and live in space. That's just not my brain, which is fine. So what I want to do is I want to get everything out, see how much storage we have and how much room everything's been taking up, and then we can plan it out. Since the house is kind of a blank slate, it has been for a long time. So let's just really talk it through and go. Okay, let's put these here, that there.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're doing a three stage process. We only got the third stage, but before we get to that, the, tool I was talking about is this piece of plastic that sort of guides you. So I have two tools. I have a stud finder which will help us find a stud for certain heavier paintings.
>> Amanda Barker: And then my stud.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I had to. And then. Is that. Is that a famous saying? And then I have that yellow, plastic guide.
>> Amanda Barker: There is a famous stud saying from Greece. She's like, what's it to you, stud?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if that's something you're going to crochet into. you know, you don't know. Okay, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Speaking of crochet, folks, I started crocheting.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. Oh, we might not have time to get into that in this.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, that's really all there is to it. Because I learned how to do, like, the one move and I can make a chain.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know how to start the chain?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know how to start nor end it, nor do I know how to turn it around to make a double chain, which could maybe graduate into a scarf. I don't know how to do any of that.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're just gonna make a long worm is what you could do.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we're not there. Baby steps.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay? Baby steps. So I have this tool. It's a plastic tool. It will guide where the nail goes. And on, next episode, I'll tell you how that went.
>> Amanda Barker: Brilliant.
Amanda says she's hesitant to do this project because it's long
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, you were saying three stage process. First process, all the paintings on the tables and on the couch.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Second process. We choose and we also make decisions. Is this the right frame? Because sometimes people give you things and they're just in that frame, and you just go, okay, that's the frame. Let's be more specific with our framing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: That could be a challenge, but let's just try.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And then final stage, they go on the walls.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's. I guess one of the reasons I've been hesitant to do it, or reticent, as I said earlier, is because it's. It might take over our. Our room. Like it might take over our living room. And then what if we don't finish it? But we'll finish it, or it does until we don't. But we've got to do it right?
>> Marco Timpano: We have to do it.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. So you'll work on stage one.
>> Marco Timpano: Together we'll work on stage two.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: And then on stage three, I will hammer. You will tell me where you want it, high or low or not.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'll say, what's it to you? Stud. With the stud finder. Isn't that the line? Bill's gonna message me and go, you are quoting Olivia Newton genre.
>> Marco Timpano: Or was it Olivia de Havilland?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, well, I've never. To be very truthful, I've never seen Gone with the Wind, so I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: You've never seen Gone with the Wind?
>> Amanda Barker: You say that every time I say
>> Marco Timpano: such a good film.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, Christmas is coming. We can watch Gone with the Wind.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think it's a Christmas movie.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, what movie is it?
>> Marco Timpano: It's more of, It's more of a, I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the right holiday for Gone with the Wind? Easter Remembrance Day, maybe, though.
>> Marco Timpano: It has. Yeah. They do go to war in it. In the top end of it. All right, maybe we'll watch it.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. You tell me when. The right time to watch Gone with the Windows. Also, how long a time commitment is this?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a long film, but it's a
>> Amanda Barker: really, like how long?
>> Marco Timpano: Like, long.
>> Amanda Barker: Like four hours, eight hours?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's not eight hours.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so all I know is that generally speaking, it's aired on television. Or was aired on television. So when they aired it on television, there would be commercial breaks. It would be at least a two hour movie. Now if we were to get the movie.
>> Amanda Barker: But every Oscar movie is a two hour movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Two hours plus. Two hour plus. I mean, you, you have a phone. You could look up the running time,
>> Amanda Barker: but we want to take bets.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to say 2:30. 2 hours and 30 minutes.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to go four hours.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, well, we'll see. But remember that they would chop up that movie a lot. So sometimes they would show certain scenes and have it in its entirety with commercials. And sometimes they wouldn't. You know what? We need to remember not to bring up movies because every time we do, we upset Bill. So we have to just.
Have you read the book by Margaret Mitchell? Maybe you should read the film
All right, here we go.
>> Amanda Barker: You ready?
>> Marco Timpano: I say 2:30. What did you say? Four hours?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And the actual running time?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: 3 hours and 58 minutes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: I win the prices. Right. Without going over. Oh, I went over though, so you win the.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. So we'll, we'll watch it. It's a really good film. Surprising. Not surprisingly good. But have you read the book by Margaret Mitchell?
>> Amanda Barker: My goodness, no.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe you should read the book.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, if the movie's four hours, how long is this book?
>> Marco Timpano: The book's only like, what, 350 pages?
>> Amanda Barker: Have you read the book?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Is it. The book's only 350 pages.
>> Marco Timpano: Look it up. You're on that. On that website on the market, Google,
>> Amanda Barker: the one known as Google. That website.
>> Marco Timpano: How many pages do you think it is? Think I say 400 pages.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to say 800.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: How.
>> Marco Timpano: Men. This is always fun. Just listening to Amanda search on is gone.
>> Amanda Barker: with the wind. 1400 pages.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. See?
>> Amanda Barker: Or I can listen to it on audio for 49 hours.
>> Marco Timpano: Who reads it on audio?
>> Amanda Barker: What do you mean? Oh, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Who's the, who's the narrator?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: The voiceover artist?
>> Amanda Barker: I'll look on my little Libby app.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure there's a few, few recordings.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't have the Libby app or a library app that gives you audiobooks. I highly suggest getting one.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm reading Agatha Christie's books.
>> Marco Timpano: And I got two of. I'm reading. I'm on her sixth book and I've got two versions of it. Because I wasn't. I wanted a book quickly, so I, I checked out two of them. Whichever came faster, I would start reading and they both came to the library, but one has a. Has a CD with it. Oh. And I'm like, okay, this is cool. But what's going on? It looks like it's half book, half cd, so I have to spend a moment taking a look at it. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: The most recent one I can find, which was released in 2012, audiobook is read by Linda Stevens.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, good old Linda.
>> Amanda Barker: She's read a lot of. Here are other books she's read. Texas Rain, Texas Blue, Tall, Dark in Texan, Wild, Texas Rose, Texas Princess. So she must be Southern.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I would hope so.
>> Amanda Barker: Imagine she's from North Dakota.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, because, you know, Gone with the Wind takes place in Georgia. In Atlanta.
>> Amanda Barker: Is it Atlanta? I knew it was summer thereish.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Yeah. Ah, so we'll watch that film, too.
>> Amanda Barker: We haven't been to Atlanta. We used to go to Atlanta all the time. I know, it's true. Now we just fly through it. See my parents.
A special hello to you and everyone else from Decatur
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there's a lot of beautiful in Atlanta, including Decatur. We love Decatur.
>> Marco Timpano: We do love Decatur. Beautiful Decatur. A special hello to you and to everyone else. Another special hello. Until next time.
Amanda: Put your photos up. If you have a particular picture or painting you like
Amanda. We've reached the end of this episode. Hope you enjoyed it.
>> Amanda Barker: Put your photos up. Put your pictures up. One foot in front of the other.
>> Marco Timpano: If you have a particular picture or painting you have hanging on your wall that you like, send us a picture and we'd love to see them.
>> Amanda Barker: Or if you have a task that you've put off for a very long time and you want to join us in this process of, you know what? This is the week. I'm going to tackle it. I'm going to tackle it one little step at a time. I am with you. I am feeling that. And I'm just letting myself move forward as slowly as I can, but moving forward. So let us know about your journey, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. Until next time. We hope you listened and you slept.
(Original airdate: November 9, 2024)
The Insomnia Project is meant to help you drift off to sleep
Amantara.comm a m E N T A R A I know that was fast. So I have it in our show notes so that you can have easy reference to it. Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to just help you drift your way to sleep. Find it in any way you can, or at least just calm you down. Push everything away.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that sounds really. Calm you down. Sounds like a directive. I don't like that.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I don't mean calm you down, but like just chill, release.
Amanda Barker says she assembled all her furniture by herself before meeting Marco
There you go. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: We are here for your chill and that's Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for joining us.
>> Amanda Barker: Can you turn it down a little bit in my headphone? Just. It's loud in one ear there we go. Thank you. Hopefully that doesn't make a difference to anyone listening.
>> Marco Timpano: Little instructions on,
>> Amanda Barker: we should read instruction manuals.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that would be fun.
>> Amanda Barker: That would really. That would knock me out for sure. That would knock you out for sure. Sleep wise.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. There are certain instructions. Like the IKEA instruction manuals have pictures and no words.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like that would bring a level of not chill.
>> Marco Timpano: You could describe the pictures.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. But like, trying to find where to put the Allen key and all that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Did Allen keys exist before ikea?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: They must have, but I never heard of one prior to it.
>> Marco Timpano: I have an Allen key that's for my bike. Or was for a bike.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And, now we use it all the time. I don't have the bike anymore, but
>> Amanda Barker: I think I only ever got one with a kid. You know, before I met you, I assembled all my furniture by myself.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you did?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I mean, who else would have done it for me, I guess? But, and. And the truth is, it's not like I'm bringing pieces home for you and making you assemble things on the daily.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Can you imagine? you know, we're just at a place where we don't buy furniture very often, and if we do, it may not be an assemblage type of situation.
>> Marco Timpano: Although there's pieces of furniture. I don't know understand how people get them in their homes because they're bigger than the entrance doorways.
>> Amanda Barker: There's pieces of furniture. I don't understand how we got them in our home. And I don't know that they're ever leaving until, you know, we leave.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, here's the thing. It's like, okay, you've got those pieces in now, you're older, you don't want to have to get them out, so you get somebody else to do that work.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not like you're to be more inspired to get furniture moved the older you get.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. We once drove down to Nashville.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it Nashville? Yeah, in Nashville, to help your parents move. And we came back with so much fun.
>> Amanda Barker: My father kept throwing things into the back of the truck. So much so that I was like, dad, we have to take this across the border, and we don't know what's in there. Like, you're throwing weird china pieces and all sorts of mugs and things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of china pieces, your mom has some sort of Japanese tea set that she's trying to Unload.
>> Amanda Barker: Not quite.
>> Marco Timpano: And m. I haven't heard a response from these things.
>> Amanda Barker: I see in your face and I hear in your voice that what you're trying to tell me if I'm wrong, that you want to tell me, no, we don't need it. We don't want it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, no, we don't need it. That's for certain. Need or want Do I want it
>> Amanda Barker: is a fun game.
>> Marco Timpano: Do I want it? No. Do I like the look of it? No. Oh, okay. So for me, that's. For me, it's three strikes. But I don't know where you sit on that. And if we do acquire it, because it seems like your siblings aren't going to take it, I don't know
>> Amanda Barker: how we would get it up here, though.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's true. And also, I don't know how we're going to get it up here. And where we. Where would we, house it?
>> Amanda Barker: There's a lot of, Why are you. I thought we were supposed to be chill today.
>> Marco Timpano: We are chill.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just yelling at me about antiques that my parents have is not the pathway to chillness.
Let me ask you this. We recently used a teacup for an audition
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this. We recently used a teacup for an audition. A really pretty teacup that has, I think, thistles on the outside and purple on the inside.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow, you really memorized it. Okay. Thistles. All right.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it not thistles?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's thistles.
>> Amanda Barker: Something's on the outside. I know it's purple on the inside.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll take. Oh, is it an orchid on the outside?
>> Amanda Barker: No, no, the color is orchid on the inside. It's not like a purple purple. It's like a lighter orchid.
>> Marco Timpano: I see orchid color. Okay, so I'll take a photo and I'll put it on the Instagram account. But let me ask you this. Where does that take teacup co. Because I don't know where it came from to put it back. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Into our, china cabinet.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: We inherited a china cabinet. That's good because it's smaller. It's antique for sure, and it's smaller. And so it fits well in our home because our home is small.
>> Marco Timpano: True.
>> Amanda Barker: Everything here is petite. except for us. we're just trying to figure out, you know, it's always a. It's always a balance.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a balance.
>> Amanda Barker: But guess what I'm gonna do today? Balance, probably work and life. I'm not sure. But I am going to put pictures up. But, it's gonna be like a three tiered process.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love this three tiered process.
>> Amanda Barker: So when you come home. Cause you have to leave. So when you come home. Cause I'm home all day.
>> Marco Timpano: I have to go to work.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't folks.
>> Marco Timpano: But you're always working. Let's just set that table now.
>> Amanda Barker: You always set the table. Oh, I like that expression. Set the table. Ah, I am most. Even today I have an audition that's gonna be later on in the night, but I get to go there and do it. I don't have to do it at home, which is good and bad. But, I do have the day and I've cleared this week.
>> Marco Timpano: so you're gonna do it.
>> Amanda Barker: I hope certain people don't listen to this where I'm like, no, I can't work for you. the truth is I have been doing some work this week.
>> Marco Timpano: You have actually.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's why I said no to your work folks. but I do have some space and time today that I've made that I've created for myself, quite truthfully. And so one of the things that we have not done in, maybe ridiculously long time, it's, you know, it's one of those tasks that if you don't do it at the beginning, it's same with this furniture moving discussion. If you don't do it at the beginning, you're not going to do it. You're not going to want to do it more after.
Hill: We had our walls painted a large while ago
So we had our walls painted. I'm almost embarrassed to say how long ago.
>> Marco Timpano: A while. A large while ago.
>> Amanda Barker: A large while ago. We had our walls painted, folks. Like a large while ago. And I was happy. And it was sort of the one thing we were doing to our house that year. We try to do a little something every year. This year was we bought a new bed. I think we've talked about that a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, there's several episodes about our bed.
>> Amanda Barker: About our bed. So that's been covered. And if you haven't tuned in for the hot bed content, certainly listen to past you can because we're quite in love with our new bed and it's just a lovely time. But, so that year I was like, you know, we don't have a lot of money, but I am going to hire, somebody that I know that's a professional painter. He's also a friend, but he's a lovely guy and I'm going to get him to paint the house. I'll get him to come in. Give us a quote. Now we have friends that are painting their house step by step. Every day, they are painting.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's a task.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's a task, but they're giving their time.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm a good painter, but I don't know what was going on at that time. And I was like, I just don't think I can paint.
>> Amanda Barker: Sometimes you do. And I'm learning to do this, and it's tricky, but sometimes it makes sense to, delegate out something that you can and surely could do for yourself. But if you're not confident that you'll do it for yourself or in a timely way or for whatever the reason, Listen, everybody in this world works pretty hard, I think. So sometimes you delegate out. And that's what we did that year.
>> Marco Timpano: Give yourself a break.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So we got it painted. We loved the look of it. We were very happy with the paint. And some rooms, it was just a freshening up of pretty much the same color. Other rooms, we made a change, and, it was great. The thing is, it looks so great. I was reticent to put up any pictures. We had taken everything down, filled in the holes, even. And I didn't want to wreck my perfect walls.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like I'm to blame, too, because I said to Amanda, we need the walls to cure. You should let them cure for three weeks.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really? Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I said, we're not gonna put anything up till the walls are cured. In other words, you let the walls completely dry of paint so that if you put anything that leans on them, like a painting, like this.
>> Amanda Barker: And I was fine with that. And, you know, I'm gonna just come clean with the timeline, because I want people to feel it, because I can guarantee that other people are feeling like they're in the same boat with some other task.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So this was 2019. So for those listening and not sure when we recorded this, it's now 2024.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's been a while.
>> Amanda Barker: It's been five years.
>> Marco Timpano: But we do have a couple of paintings on the wall.
>> Amanda Barker: Very few. And the truth is, I like simplicity. So I think it spoke to me in a way of keep things clean and fresh and simple. that said, all these pictures, paintings, whatever it was we had on the walls before, I don't even remember now. They've all been in, like, whatever storage we can eke out in this house
>> Marco Timpano: in the nooks and crannies of the place, and they keep.
>> Amanda Barker: There's one. There's some in a basket, and we're tripping on them.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's time.
>> Marco Timpano: It's time.
>> Amanda Barker: It's just time. So I am m going to go. And this is why this is a many tiered process I am m going to go through. Once I get off this microphone, I am going to set about the task and I'm going to be gentle with myself, make myself coffee, and I'm going to find every picture in this house. And not all of them will go back up on the walls, but I am m going to assemble them on our dining room table. We don't really have a dining room. Our table.
>> Marco Timpano: We just have a table or the informal dining room.
>> Amanda Barker: The area of the second floor have a. I think we've established we have a very narrow townhouse. So narrow as you think.
>> Marco Timpano: This is narrow?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't realize it was narrow. Oh, no, they're narrower townhouses.
>> Amanda Barker: The one in Notting Hill might be narrower. Is the most narrow.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so we're not.
>> Amanda Barker: We're not that one. But we're not far off. Okay, listen, we have length, we just don't have width.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
Amanda says it's time to go from minimalism to maximalism
>> Amanda Barker: So anyway, so I'm gonna take them. They might cover. So I will tell yourself, brace yourself when you come home, they might be on the couch, on the coffee table.
>> Marco Timpano: Love it.
>> Amanda Barker: The dining room, whatever you want to
>> Marco Timpano: call it, Table, wherever they need to lay.
>> Amanda Barker: But they're all gonna be. I'm gonna try to find every last one because they're taking up a lot of room.
>> Marco Timpano: It's almost like an Easter egg hunt.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, a little bit. they're taking up a lot of room in storage. And that to me is always silly because the storage is worth more than the thing. So let's go ahead and get them out in the open and make decisions as to where to put things up. We used to have dishes up, and I wouldn't mind putting dishes back up.
>> Marco Timpano: What dishes do we have up?
>> Amanda Barker: My grandmother's. My dad's mother's china. Yeah, we did have dishes up. I know, right?
>> Marco Timpano: We had four dishes, four plates.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I know. We made choices, decor choices. And it's time we must again, we're
>> Marco Timpano: going from minimalism, which is five years of very few things on the wall, to maximalism.
>> Amanda Barker: And to be fair, there were some years in those years where people didn't come over and I didn't feel as inspired to put things on the wall.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's fair.
>> Amanda Barker: One would argue I should be more inspired just for our own selves because we were home so much. But anyway, I didn't.
>> Marco Timpano: We're here and we're going to, Carry on.
>> Amanda Barker: There's that expression where it's like, the best time was whenever it was, and then the next best time is now.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I like that expression. You know, I bought that tool, and I'm excited to use it. So there's a tool, and it's. I don't know if tool's the right word.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that measure Y thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So there's this. Our good friend Dale, who we often, often reference on the podcast. Hi, Dale, if you're listening. I don't think she listens, but she's a great guest. Dale is my person when it comes to house and home, work. So if I. Or even the car. Like, when I have a question or when I have someone, I need to say, look what I did. She's the person who's gonna appreciate it. And likewise, when we were at their house yesterday, she was pointing out, first of all, the painting job they did was fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: It's pretty remarkable. Like, that is some quality. Like, it looks like they hired someone.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I'll say this. This is a good tip for anyone who's, like, not so handy or somewhat handy or it's like, I need to paint a wall. If your budget allows, buy a higher quality paint.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: Buy a higher quality paint. It'll make your life easier. Because in one of our bedrooms I bought, we had one wall. We were gonna do an accent wall. And, Amanda, I think you wanted it gray.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I was like, okay, well, it's just one wall.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna get a gray. The gray that you like or the gray that we liked. And I'm not gonna spend a lot of money on the paint because it's just one wal. Oh, this was years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: I was gonna say. Does this wall still exist?
>> Marco Timpano: It's the one in the spare room.
>> Amanda Barker: Which spare.
>> Marco Timpano: Where Debbie recently slept. Isn't that a gray wall?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, right.
>> Marco Timpano: But where the.
>> Amanda Barker: Where the, board was gray. See, this is. When you live in the same house, this is why people should move. I think we've been here maybe too long.
>> Marco Timpano: Move. Because they don't know the colors of their walls.
>> Amanda Barker: No, because you get so used to seeing the same thing that you don't see it with a new perspective.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. So.
>> Amanda Barker: But we're not moving.
>> Marco Timpano: We're not moving. But, imagine. Let' we can't remember what our.
>> Amanda Barker: What color the wall is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. so I bought this inexpensive paint, and, Amanda, I would roll it, and half the paint wouldn't stick to the wall. And I was like, what's going on? And I'm like, I didn't realize that, remember, this paint has a adhesive quality or has a quality that allows it to. To remain on a surface. M. And I don't know what paint I used. It was like a silly putty paint. Like, you roll it up and it would not adhere. It took me so many coats to get the gray that was there.
When you say early morning, most people envision a 5am Wake up
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. Thank you, babe.
>> Marco Timpano: It was such a pain.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you, Marco. Fifteen years ago, whenever this was, that.
>> Marco Timpano: That young lad is not the person who. Who sits behind this mic microphone right now. I would not do that. I would spend the money on a higher quality paint. And m. One of the first things I said when I saw the paint on the wall, I said, you spent money on this paint? And she's. We did spend money on this paint.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like, we had to, is what
>> Marco Timpano: she said, because her walls, as in older homes, are not perfectly smooth. You know, there's some. There's some divots or dimples and whatnot, and they filled them all in, but they needed a. They needed a good quality paint, and you can tell, and it's in it. What's that expression? You smooth. you make everything smooth when you need to. Something like that. I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, that. I saw that once on a horoscope.
>> Marco Timpano: That old chestnut.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: sorry, I can't think of the expression.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's like, you make everything smooth when you need to.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Wisdom.
>> Marco Timpano: but you know what I'm trying to say.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like, let's put it on a T shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: All cracks get filled if they have to.
>> Amanda Barker: okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, I'm just trying to think of, like, isn't there an expression like that that's like, stop, you're making me laugh. I had to edit out that last
>> Amanda Barker: thing that I said something, and then
>> Marco Timpano: we both started laughing really loudly, and we couldn't have that on.
>> Amanda Barker: It was like, loud.
>> Marco Timpano: Loud. Anyways, enough with the expressions. A good quality.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to. I would like to know what the expression is you're trying to say. I'm sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: It's kind of. It has the meaning of. Listen, if there's bumps on the wall. Chill.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, There we go.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have an expression like that? Is there.
>> Amanda Barker: No, not in my arsenal of wall, expressions. Something that one does not come up.
>> Marco Timpano: It's also. We're recording first thing in the morning, and I just ironed a shirt, so.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, but to be fair, it's 9:24 in the morning. I know, but I've said it before on this podcast. I'll say it again. When I met Marco and we started dating and I was trying to get to know him, I said to him, what time do you wake up normally?
>> Marco Timpano: And he said, here we go.
>> Amanda Barker: I like to be up by 11.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, hang on.
>> Amanda Barker: So I can have my coffee and watch the View.
>> Marco Timpano: I was also working late nights.
>> Amanda Barker: So was I with you. But I was also working days.
>> Marco Timpano: You, you always establish I work a lot. You always remove the other aspects of the conversation. For example, I don't fall asleep at night. So when I do. Although last night I did. when I do, and we were up early, we just didn't get out of our shaky bed.
>> Amanda Barker: All I'm saying is your early morning, it's all relative. And when you say early morning, most people envision a 5am Wake up or 6am Wake up.
>> Marco Timpano: I was awake around that time. I just.
>> Amanda Barker: Because you hadn't gone to sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So anyway, I don't know. I don't know how I got morning shamed just now.
>> Amanda Barker: I wasn't trying to. All I was trying to say is you're saying it's early in the morning. And my counter to that is, most people are living their day at this point. They're at work, jogging, or in my case, having a coffee. I'm going to put up some pictures around their house. I say pictures. A lot of them are in frames, but not all of them.
>> Marco Timpano: It's wine o' clock somewhere. Is all I'm going to say though.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that the expression you're trying to. It's wall o'. Clock.
>> Marco Timpano: It's wall o' clock somewhere.
>> Amanda Barker: I will say this. Some of those pictures are going to leave the house because we're going to go, I don't need this anymore. Okay. Some do not have frames.
Amanda started crocheting to help decorate her new home
>> Marco Timpano: There's that picture of you as a baby in a carriage that's leaving the house.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm kidding.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think I was ever in a carriage. I'm a second. I'm a middle child.
>> Marco Timpano: Pram perhaps?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I was in a hand me down something or other. I, I was not that baby. I'm second child baby. My mom lied to all of her students that I would be born in August just so she they wouldn't quit because she had to start back up in September. For those who don't remember, my mom
>> Marco Timpano: was a dance teacher and Amanda's born in September.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So, but my mom, to this day goes, oh, I always think your birthday's August. Because she had told everyone I would be born in August so that they wouldn't leave her dance school. And they didn't.
>> Marco Timpano: so pictures are going to leave the house, some never to be seen again.
>> Amanda Barker: Some are also going to get framed or reframed. Like, we have those honest ads, ones that are great and they do not have frames. And I would like things to get framed.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I would say I'm not. Some people are very intuitive with how to do, like a gallery wall or how to do. I wouldn't say I'm intuitive with those things. I know it looks good, but I have to be shown it. I'm not back to my mom. My mom is, like, expert at knowing where things should go and live in space. That's just not my brain, which is fine. So what I want to do is I want to get everything out, see how much storage we have and how much room everything's been taking up, and then we can plan it out. Since the house is kind of a blank slate, it has been for a long time. So let's just really talk it through and go. Okay, let's put these here, that there.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're doing a three stage process. We only got the third stage, but before we get to that, the, tool I was talking about is this piece of plastic that sort of guides you. So I have two tools. I have a stud finder which will help us find a stud for certain heavier paintings.
>> Amanda Barker: And then my stud.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I had to. And then. Is that. Is that a famous saying? And then I have that yellow, plastic guide.
>> Amanda Barker: There is a famous stud saying from Greece. She's like, what's it to you, stud?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if that's something you're going to crochet into. you know, you don't know. Okay, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Speaking of crochet, folks, I started crocheting.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. Oh, we might not have time to get into that in this.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, that's really all there is to it. Because I learned how to do, like, the one move and I can make a chain.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know how to start the chain?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know how to start nor end it, nor do I know how to turn it around to make a double chain, which could maybe graduate into a scarf. I don't know how to do any of that.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're just gonna make a long worm is what you could do.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we're not there. Baby steps.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay? Baby steps. So I have this tool. It's a plastic tool. It will guide where the nail goes. And on, next episode, I'll tell you how that went.
>> Amanda Barker: Brilliant.
Amanda says she's hesitant to do this project because it's long
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, you were saying three stage process. First process, all the paintings on the tables and on the couch.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Second process. We choose and we also make decisions. Is this the right frame? Because sometimes people give you things and they're just in that frame, and you just go, okay, that's the frame. Let's be more specific with our framing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: That could be a challenge, but let's just try.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And then final stage, they go on the walls.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's. I guess one of the reasons I've been hesitant to do it, or reticent, as I said earlier, is because it's. It might take over our. Our room. Like it might take over our living room. And then what if we don't finish it? But we'll finish it, or it does until we don't. But we've got to do it right?
>> Marco Timpano: We have to do it.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. So you'll work on stage one.
>> Marco Timpano: Together we'll work on stage two.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: And then on stage three, I will hammer. You will tell me where you want it, high or low or not.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'll say, what's it to you? Stud. With the stud finder. Isn't that the line? Bill's gonna message me and go, you are quoting Olivia Newton genre.
>> Marco Timpano: Or was it Olivia de Havilland?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, well, I've never. To be very truthful, I've never seen Gone with the Wind, so I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: You've never seen Gone with the Wind?
>> Amanda Barker: You say that every time I say
>> Marco Timpano: such a good film.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, Christmas is coming. We can watch Gone with the Wind.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think it's a Christmas movie.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, what movie is it?
>> Marco Timpano: It's more of, It's more of a, I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: What's the right holiday for Gone with the Wind? Easter Remembrance Day, maybe, though.
>> Marco Timpano: It has. Yeah. They do go to war in it. In the top end of it. All right, maybe we'll watch it.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. You tell me when. The right time to watch Gone with the Windows. Also, how long a time commitment is this?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a long film, but it's a
>> Amanda Barker: really, like how long?
>> Marco Timpano: Like, long.
>> Amanda Barker: Like four hours, eight hours?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's not eight hours.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so all I know is that generally speaking, it's aired on television. Or was aired on television. So when they aired it on television, there would be commercial breaks. It would be at least a two hour movie. Now if we were to get the movie.
>> Amanda Barker: But every Oscar movie is a two hour movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Two hours plus. Two hour plus. I mean, you, you have a phone. You could look up the running time,
>> Amanda Barker: but we want to take bets.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to say 2:30. 2 hours and 30 minutes.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to go four hours.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, well, we'll see. But remember that they would chop up that movie a lot. So sometimes they would show certain scenes and have it in its entirety with commercials. And sometimes they wouldn't. You know what? We need to remember not to bring up movies because every time we do, we upset Bill. So we have to just.
Have you read the book by Margaret Mitchell? Maybe you should read the film
All right, here we go.
>> Amanda Barker: You ready?
>> Marco Timpano: I say 2:30. What did you say? Four hours?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And the actual running time?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: 3 hours and 58 minutes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: I win the prices. Right. Without going over. Oh, I went over though, so you win the.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. So we'll, we'll watch it. It's a really good film. Surprising. Not surprisingly good. But have you read the book by Margaret Mitchell?
>> Amanda Barker: My goodness, no.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe you should read the book.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, if the movie's four hours, how long is this book?
>> Marco Timpano: The book's only like, what, 350 pages?
>> Amanda Barker: Have you read the book?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Is it. The book's only 350 pages.
>> Marco Timpano: Look it up. You're on that. On that website on the market, Google,
>> Amanda Barker: the one known as Google. That website.
>> Marco Timpano: How many pages do you think it is? Think I say 400 pages.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to say 800.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: How.
>> Marco Timpano: Men. This is always fun. Just listening to Amanda search on is gone.
>> Amanda Barker: with the wind. 1400 pages.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. See?
>> Amanda Barker: Or I can listen to it on audio for 49 hours.
>> Marco Timpano: Who reads it on audio?
>> Amanda Barker: What do you mean? Oh, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Who's the, who's the narrator?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: The voiceover artist?
>> Amanda Barker: I'll look on my little Libby app.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure there's a few, few recordings.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't have the Libby app or a library app that gives you audiobooks. I highly suggest getting one.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm reading Agatha Christie's books.
>> Marco Timpano: And I got two of. I'm reading. I'm on her sixth book and I've got two versions of it. Because I wasn't. I wanted a book quickly, so I, I checked out two of them. Whichever came faster, I would start reading and they both came to the library, but one has a. Has a CD with it. Oh. And I'm like, okay, this is cool. But what's going on? It looks like it's half book, half cd, so I have to spend a moment taking a look at it. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: The most recent one I can find, which was released in 2012, audiobook is read by Linda Stevens.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, good old Linda.
>> Amanda Barker: She's read a lot of. Here are other books she's read. Texas Rain, Texas Blue, Tall, Dark in Texan, Wild, Texas Rose, Texas Princess. So she must be Southern.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I would hope so.
>> Amanda Barker: Imagine she's from North Dakota.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, because, you know, Gone with the Wind takes place in Georgia. In Atlanta.
>> Amanda Barker: Is it Atlanta? I knew it was summer thereish.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Yeah. Ah, so we'll watch that film, too.
>> Amanda Barker: We haven't been to Atlanta. We used to go to Atlanta all the time. I know, it's true. Now we just fly through it. See my parents.
A special hello to you and everyone else from Decatur
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there's a lot of beautiful in Atlanta, including Decatur. We love Decatur.
>> Marco Timpano: We do love Decatur. Beautiful Decatur. A special hello to you and to everyone else. Another special hello. Until next time.
Amanda: Put your photos up. If you have a particular picture or painting you like
Amanda. We've reached the end of this episode. Hope you enjoyed it.
>> Amanda Barker: Put your photos up. Put your pictures up. One foot in front of the other.
>> Marco Timpano: If you have a particular picture or painting you have hanging on your wall that you like, send us a picture and we'd love to see them.
>> Amanda Barker: Or if you have a task that you've put off for a very long time and you want to join us in this process of, you know what? This is the week. I'm going to tackle it. I'm going to tackle it one little step at a time. I am with you. I am feeling that. And I'm just letting myself move forward as slowly as I can, but moving forward. So let us know about your journey, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. Until next time. We hope you listened and you slept.
From Podcast Dreams to Travel Schemes A Chat with Amanda Cupido
(Original airdate" October 30, 2024)
Marco Timpano welcomes Amanda Cupido to the podcast today
Marco I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me today is Amanda. But not the Amanda you might be thinking of. I have a special guest who's in the studio. Amanda Capito is here with me today. And before I get Amanda to say hello, I just want to say Amanda is one of the reasons I was able to bring this podcast to you, our listeners. Because when I started podcasting I didn't know what I was doing or how to do it. And Amanda's book was the first one book and it was a quintessential book for me on my podcast journey that brought me here today. So it's a great honour for me to welcome Amanda Cupido to the podcast today.
>> Amanda Capito: Thank you, Marco. That's so nice. I'm, like, flushing over here.
>> Marco Timpano: You wrote a wonderful book, and there's a few things that I really loved about it. One, that it was written by a Canadian podcaster, and as a Canadian podcaster at the time, there was so few of us out there, and there were so few of our stories being told, and I just. I just was so grateful. So thank you so much for. For bringing that book to light.
>> Amanda Capito: Oh, well, you're so welcome. And that was. I started writing it in 2016, and then it came out in 2018, and so much has changed since then. But, I was very aware that the Canadian landscape specifically didn't have a lot of literature, and I was happy to add to it.
>> Marco Timpano: I should mention to our listeners, it's called let's Talk the Essential Guide to Doing It Right. And second edition is coming out, isn't it, Amanda?
>> Amanda Capito: It's here. I'm so excited to share it with the world. This has been a long time coming, and there's a lot that's changed in the world, but in podcasting for sure. So, it's a great time for a new edition. And so six new chapters, six new
>> Marco Timpano: chapters behind the scenes, all kinds of things that your, readers will be able to grasp onto, get information that they need to start podcasting. I can't recommend this book enough. I teach a podcasting course, and it's on my reading list, just so you're aware.
>> Amanda Capito: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're interested in, reading about podcasting, starting your own podcasting journey, start here and you can get this book [email protected] is that correct?
>> Amanda Capito: That's it. LetstalkPodcasting.com and I will have that link
>> Marco Timpano: in our show notes for anyone who wants to go out there along with the book.
You have a sleep podcast called how to Fall Asleep Fast
You have a couple of podcasts, and I'm happy to say that, you're the first person from another sleep podcast to be on our podcast. So you have a sleep podcast called how to Fall Asleep Fast?
>> Amanda Capito: Yes. So this is new.
>> Marco Timpano: How old is this podcast?
>> Amanda Capito: It just launched in June, so it's still pretty new. But we've been receiving such positive feedback. It's been charting all over the world. We hit number one in the leisure category on Apple within the first two months, and so we've just been overwhelmed with the response.
>> Marco Timpano: Congratulations. That's so wonderful. You know, I say the Insomnia Project is about how to fall asleep slowly. some of our listeners will always be like, ah, I made it halfway through your episode and I have to go back. And it's like, no, you don't have to finish the episode to. I'd like you to fall asleep before you get to the end. But our listeners tend to go back, so that's so great.
How to fall asleep fast is the most Googled term around sleep
What is one thing that's come out of doing that podcast that surprised you?
>> Amanda Capito: Well, and I write about this in the book because I had never actively tried to hit number one on Apple. And so this was me trying to, like, you know, work the system. and we tried to push the boundaries along the way. And so how to fall asleep fast. I know we laugh because, you know, falling asleep slowly sounds much more relaxing, but how to fall asleep fast is the most Googled term around sleep. Oh. So this was an SEO, a search engine optimization play. So in Canada, the U.S. the UK and Australia, number one searched term, searched phrase. So that's how we. So we really were responsive to the community that tended to need sleep. And that's how we came up with the name. We did a lot of, focus groups before we released episodes on what was helping people sleep, what kind of length of episode. And so the episodes include a one minute meditation from me and then a one hour original composition from my husband, which most of them include binaural beats. So these are different frequencies in each channel in your ear, creating a third perceived frequency that is scientifically proven to help bring you into a theta or delta state of mind, which is, for sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I love that you, know, I wish that chapter was in the book when I read it, because the Insomnia Project is one of the worst titles of a podcast that I have. And it was just a lark that we used it as the title of our podcast because I didn't think I could podcast at the time, or I thought it was going to be such a challenge that it was born from a Nuit Blanche exhibition. So we're like, maybe if we do it as an exhibit at Nuit Blanche, we'll be able to figure out the podcasting angle of it.
>> Amanda Capito: And.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's how it got its name. And that's art.
>> Amanda Capito: That's great art.
>> Marco Timpano: Right? Right.
>> Amanda Capito: That's good.
Your other podcast is called Forefront. And can you tell us about that
>> Marco Timpano: So your other podcast is called Forefront. And can you tell us about that?
>> Amanda Capito: Yes. So the Forefront ideas for Cities is the series, and I'm the host of it, and it is a narrative podcast. Produced in conjunction with Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly Ryerson. And so the idea is we take big problems that Canadians are facing and then look at the research that's coming out of the university and think tanks and the community around it. They're helping to try to solve that big problem. So some of the problems are, like loneliness in aging populations, of course. Right. A big thing that, the National Institute of Aging has done some research around, in Canada specifically. Another problem is inclusivity in the fashion industry. Oh, yeah. Profile a fashion designer who's included braille on her, on her designs and on clothing.
>> Marco Timpano: How wonderful.
>> Amanda Capito: Really neat stories. Really interesting. these are all in the upcoming season that's just launched that season five. but even if you go in the back catalog, a lot of the issues are really interesting to learn about and to. To really think about their issues that might be around us that we don't even really realize how prevalent they are or what kind of work is being done to try to combat it.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's fascinating. So forefront, once again, you'll find these. I'll have links to this in the show notes. And, you can hear Amanda, as the host of that podcast. Do you have any other podcasts on the horizon that you can mention?
>> Amanda Capito: Oh, well, I always have podcasts on the horizon. I will say, I'm in development with a really exciting one that pits two industries against each other. I'll just say that. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Will you let us know when this is going to launch so we can mention it on our podcast?
>> Amanda Capito: I would be happy to. Yes, you could stay tuned. That'll be in 2025.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fantastic. Something to look forward to. Let me ask you this.
What's the most interesting thing you've learned as a podcaster
What's the most interesting thing you've learned as a podcaster?
>> Amanda Capito: Wow, that's such a great question. I think I'm learning all the time is the reality. And because the industry's changing and even what's considered a best practice is changing. you know, a personal growth for me is actually getting into the sleep space and even learning how to use my voice in a different way. I'm usually a broadcast. Like I've been, a trained broadcast journalist. And so even right now, I'm being so intentional. I'm trying to be softer with my voice. And. And that was a good growth for me. Where some people, this kind of tone and pacing comes really naturally. Where I had to really practice how do I use my voice in a different way other than going into broadcast mode, which is my default.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Channeling into that part of your voice, that part of your being that can slow things down. I know I always have a challenge with it. One time we did an episode about cutlery.
>> Amanda Capito: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And my co host, like, we have these. We. We do, symbols like this, especially for me when. Because I speed up and I get very energized. So I'm basically moving my hands up and down, back and forth. And that's the symbol that Amanda will use with me. Amanda Barker, my co host or Nidhi, would use to me to tell me, you need to slow down. And I did this cutlery episode where all of a sudden I started talking about ladles, and I got really excited and really dynamic, and they're all like, you. You talked about ladles and you really got excited. And I'm sure you woke people up. And they're like, why ladles? And I go, I have no idea. On any given day,
>> Amanda Capito: that's so funny. But I think that also just goes to show who you are as a person, and if you could find joy in little things like ladles, I think life becomes a lot happier. So kudos to you.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what's funny? I studied journalism, too. I had studied. I did a joint program with York University and Seneca College. So journalism was one area that I was thinking of getting into when. When my path turned into comedy and then comedy, theater, film, and podcasting. And so I've done quite a few things to get me here today.
How did you find your way to podcasting
so I just think it's interesting that both of us are podcasters, both of us are Canadian podcasters and have a background in journalism. How did you find your way to podcasting?
>> Amanda Capito: Yes, and I think that's also, really indicative of the. The medium as a whole. People have these windy roads to podcasting, which I actually think is quite interesting, and it can really, you know, you'll be surprised who ends up here. but I. I found my way to podcasting in a more linear way than most, which was that I was studying journalism and radio and audio, and I was in the audio world professionally and always, but really loving it and truly wanting to explore and make some extra money. And so I started making podcasts on the side. I had made some as a student before most of my friends even knew what podcasts were. but I had been making them on the side since I started working in radio. And as I continued into my radio journey, I just kept banging on about podcasts until they became popular enough to. To warrant some attention. at least from some of the places I was working. And so my first podcast was in 2010, was for a magazine and I was doing it just on the side for them. I was. I was brought on to be a writer, but insisted I also make them a podcast. And if you look very hard, that podcast still exists on the Internet in the. In the depths of the Internet.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Capito: but then I didn't. And then I was at one point working in a communications role at a nonprofit and I called myself an intrapreneur because within the organization I brought. It was a legacy organization and I brought a lot of new, ideas and I produced several podcasts for them. and that's when I got a lot of great case studies. I had some clients on the side. My book came out. And then I finally took the plunge to launching my own podcast production company, lead podcasting in 2020.
>> Marco Timpano: That's wonderful.
Do you remember the first podcast you listened to
Do you remember the first podcast you listened to?
>> Amanda Capito: You know, it's so hard because I was probably listening to some weird audio stuff that was being uploaded. But the one that, that like sticks in my mind, a couple that stick in my mind at really early days was that I was listening to Spark cbc.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Capito: With. Which was a technology podcast. And it was like a radio show, but also uploaded online as a podcast. And I loved that show. and I also listened to 99 Invisible and I remember there was this like, episode about the design of barcodes. And I also listened to an episode about the design of, the revolving door. And I like so clearly can picture myself sitting in the backseat of my parents car listening to these audio stories from, Yeah. And. Or telling them about it. And I don't even know how I was accessing them. I didn't have an Apple iPhone, but I hadn't. I had one of the very, very early Apple ipods.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Capito: So I'm wondering if it was like I downloaded an app through there. It was when. When the ipod looked like an iPhone, but it was just an ipod, if you remember that iteration.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I do. And I remember my friend wanted it for Christmas and it was a really big pur. Because that particular expensive too Ipod could hold a lot, a lot more than the smaller ones that you could just kind of scroll like that with. Right. If I'm not mistaken.
>> Amanda Capito: That's right. That's right.
Are You a techie? Are you someone who likes tech
>> Marco Timpano: So one of my biggest challenges, for this podcast is coming up with topics for the show. And you've given me to barcodes and revolving doors. So I've written that down. Those are two topics I have not talked about. Are You a techie? Are you someone who likes tech? Because you've mentioned it twice. So I'm like, I bet you're a techie.
>> Amanda Capito: I, so I, I feel like a capital T techie is a big title. I sure I can't play with like the Mark Saltzman's of the world who always know the latest gadget. love that guy, but I, he's great.
>> Marco Timpano: He's so great.
>> Amanda Capito: He's great. He's so great.
>> Marco Timpano: What I like about him is, is how he distills his knowledge in a very friendly, non tech kind of way. And you know, he knows everything about anything tech. Right.
>> Amanda Capito: Truly anything. He knows everything. He's so smart. But yes, he's so eye level and and I, I just appreciate what he does so much. So I, I always learn from him when I'm talking to him. But, but I am into technology. I, I recently actually got a certificate in artificial intelligence from the University of Oxford. So congrats. thank you. I'm very interested in, in the intersection of audio and AI. and I, and I feel genuinely curious when new technology comes out and I love to just play around and experiment with it. I'm not an expert in it all, but I'm definitely one of the people who are intrigued by it and not, not shying away or scared of learning a new technology.
>> Marco Timpano: AI kind of frightened me at first and then I was like, I need to try it. So I opened up a new Gmail account where it couldn't connect with me because I was all nervous about it. And now it's changed my life for the better. I use it to help me and some of my students use it now for podcasting, for designing their logo and a whole bunch of things. It's pretty incred.
>> Amanda Capito: Great. Yeah. Very powerful shift.
Is there a piece of tech that you enjoy or it has changed your life
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, before that, I just want to ask, is there a piece of tech that you have that you really enjoy or it has changed your life.
>> Amanda Capito: So. Well, one that. Okay, I'm going to answer, I'm going to give two answers because one is more like a software. So I don't know if it counts as tech, but I will say and this is not paid.
>> Marco Timpano: This is just genuinely on this podcast, everything counts. So whatever you want, whatever you want to say.
>> Amanda Capito: So Calendly, which is the booking software when I. That has been a game changer for me. The. So this is. If you don't know Calendly or some people use Acuity, there's, there's lots of different, versions of this Google Also, I think has just, released a lean version of this where you can sync it up with your calendar and it could show your availability, but you could create different versions of your availability for different people and send it to them to book time in your calendar. And so I was just, you know, the amount of time I saved from going back and forth with people, and I was like, do I get a virtual assistant? And no, I just got calendly. And that saved me so much time with booking. And because I have a lot of meetings and these sorts of connections, like even interview requests, it's. It's been very easy to lean on that. I use that all the time. So even with my own team at lead podcasting, they will check my calendar to see when they can grab some time with me. But it's, it's great. Prevents that back and forth. So that's like a software, really. It's not a. It's not something you're holding in your hand. but as far as. As something that you would hold in your hand, I do feel like. And again, maybe a loose definition of technology, but I am such a fan of, massage.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Yeah.
>> Amanda Capito: And I have a hand massager.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it the. The one that punches? We call it a puncher kind of punch. It has, like, a little bulbous end you can punch.
>> Amanda Capito: It's. No, those are. That's good too. But this is literally. It looks like a giant glove, like a plastic glove that you put your hand in, and then it, like, moves and heats and like, it. It's. And I have carpal tunnel. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: So it massages your hand.
>> Amanda Capito: Your whole hand.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought you put it on like, you know, the Hulk gloves that kids wear, and then you massage people with it. But it's for your hands. Oh, this is amazing.
>> Amanda Capito: Your own hands.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love this.
>> Amanda Capito: It's so nice. And so I will. And my husband bought it for me because he knows and I think I'm just like. I grip the mouse really tightly when I'm working and editing, you know? So, yeah, it's like a hand massager. It's amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't it amazing how something like that can change your life.
>> Amanda Capito: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: We recently got. I don't know if we've mentioned this on the podcast yet. We had to replace our mattress. So we got a, platform to put the mattress on that can raise up and down your feet, up your feet, down and whatnot. Right. Because my wife was like, I'm tired of propping up pillows behind my head to watch the Television? Yes, we have a television in our room. And it's probably not good for people who can't sleep, but that's where we are. And so we were like, oh, let's get that. And then we realized it has a massage feature. Like, it'll. It'll. And it's changed our life, and it actually helps us fall asleep quicker. And, oftentimes it's like, I just need to raise my feet and give them a shake. And so that's what we do.
>> Amanda Capito: Okay, I'm gonna need the link to that. You gotta put that in the show notes, too.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm happy to. You know, it's funny. When we went to the mattress store to get it, Amanda was laying on it, and she's like, oh, this is great. I can go up. And we're like, what's the difference between these two, besides price? and the person who was helping us was like, oh, there's no real difference. She was like, the only difference is you can lower the legs on the more expensive ones. So Amanda's like, oh, we might want that feature. And she got on it, and when I went to go sign some paperwork or whatnot, I got back, and I could see her shaking on the bed. I'm like, what's going on? She goes, it has a massage feature. And I'm like, is it good or is it silly? And she's like, it's fantastic. So I'm like, okay, we're getting that. And we haven't regretted it since.
>> Amanda Capito: Oh, I am so jealous. That sounds amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: It's great. I love talking to people who have, like, you know, like, this hand thing that you're. To the hand massager. Sounds fun. Yeah, fantastic, too.
I'm a hand model, too, which is a weird thing
I'm a hand model, too, which is a weird thing.
>> Amanda Capito: I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: It's. It's the weirdest thing. And when I tell people, and it's so. It's so an uninteresting thing on my end of things, but it's so unique that people find it very interesting. I just have very still hands. So if I hold a product, it features it well. It's one of the reasons. So I should get that. Because, you know, after a day of hand.
>> Amanda Capito: Hand work, they deserve some pampering.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
What's the most memorable vacation you've ever taken
Speaking of pampering, what's the most memorable vacation you've ever taken?
>> Amanda Capito: I'm a big traveler, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this is. Well, listen, I. I didn't go. I had to meet you because I'm. We're big travelers, too, so I need to. I need to hear this.
>> Amanda Capito: Okay. Well. Okay. Can I pick. Can I pick three places?
>> Marco Timpano: As many as you want.
>> Amanda Capito: I always ask. Okay. So I just very, First is the recent one. I very recently went to Malta, south of Sicily. It's amazing. All right. Malta is the most underrated country. I almost stayed there and just did a PR campaign for the whole country because.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you go to the Popeye Village? That's there. Did you go to the Popeye Village?
>> Amanda Capito: Have you been?
>> Marco Timpano: I haven't, but Amanda, my wife really wants to go to Malta.
>> Amanda Capito: Okay. And I'll give you the lowdown.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Capito: You've heard it here first. Yes. Popeye Village is run down. Okay. Don't go. Okay. Like Robin Williams movie. Which is in theory cool, but we saw photos of it and we just. And it's very. It's a little bit out of the way and they are proud of it, but it's not. I don't think it's worth it because there's so many better things. Okay. So Malta has the oldest ruins that indicate there was a civilization older than the pyramids, older than Stonehenge. Oldest, oldest indicator of civilization is in Malta. They don't even talk about it. And it is this underground multi floor temple with paintings that are still on the walls that they found sculptures that were incredible, that, that were from like 5000 BC.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
>> Amanda Capito: They think, right. And they didn't have tools. They were using stone on stone to create like it was. And you could. And they only let 10 people in at a time. And you can walk down there and go see it. And we, we got our hands on some tickets. And so the history, if you're a history buff, and I love good history. It's. It's a. I was emotional. It was really special, and I had no idea. And then they also have really beautiful beaches. Like, the water is so clear. And. And it's like all these little islands around Malta that you could take a little boat to. And you're like the only one on this beach. And it's like stunning. Crystal clear blue waters. And then they also have amazing food. It's like Arabic and Italian food mixed.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Capito: So what more can you ask for? It was just like, so nice. So beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: A place of intersection with absolute beauty. I can't wait to go.
Number two is Ecuador which I feel like is underrated as well
>> Amanda Capito: Yeah. So add that to your list. Okay. That was one. Number two is Ecuador, which I feel like is underrated as well. And I did the Galapagos Island Islands, which were amazing. I was snorkeling. You don't even have to. I have a scuba license. But you don't even have to scuba. You just snorkel down. I held a starfish the size of both my hands. I snorkeled with eagle rays, which is a very weird offshoot of a stingray and like a human face on them. It's very interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm riding that town. Eagle rays?
>> Amanda Capito: Yes, eagle rays. Sharks. I swam with sharks. Turtles that were the size of my body. Like incredible. But then on the other side, I was in the Amazon and I spent three nights in the jungle.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Capito: With like monkeys jumping over a river that I was canoeing down. And I saw a real life tarantula in the, in the, you know, in the greenery that was the forest. And they said that you don't even know all the species of bugs and insects that live there yet. And it was. And then, then you get the city. Quito is like bumping party. Really great central city. And then we went to Cuenca, which had like Incan ruins. And you think the ruins are only in Peru but, but Ecuador's got the same sort of thing. So like, wow. Like the vastness. If you travel that country, it's just like incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like a pendulum swings like to the, you know, beginning of time and nature and creatures that that you, you like. The pendulum swings one way. You get to the beginning of time and creatures and animals that people don't get to see. And then you go, it swings the other way and you're in a modern city with, you know, happening things. It sounds awesome.
>> Amanda Capito: Yeah, it is. It was really something special.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's hot too, right? It's really hot.
>> Amanda Capito: So nice. So nice. The third one was Egypt. As you know, I'm like history. I do love history. Yeah. So seeing the pyramids and I went and swam in the Red Sea and took a cruise down the Nile and drank the best hibiscus tea, and learned and I went into, I got to see King Tut's tomb. I went into the Valley of the Kings. It just happened to be open when I was there. They don't. They open it like kind of. They roll. There's a rolling opening of different tombs. So I happened to be able to go see King Tut which is actually. King Tut's tomb is very bland because they didn't think he was going to die. He was so young. I wasn't prepared. but then there was some, there was other, there was other incredible tombs in the Valley of the Kings that ah, made me emotional. Like, it was, it was really, really special.
>> Marco Timpano: So, yeah, it's absolutely wonderful. Thank you. For those three places. We're often talking about places we want to go to or places we visited, and we have our listeners from all over the world who reach out and, you know, some of, some of our listeners will tell us places to go to, and we just have such a great time when we end up in those places. So, I appreciate that. yeah, if you're ever in Otto, if you're ever in Ottawa, there is a spa that one of our listeners invited us to go to, which is called Nordic. It's in Chelsea, Quebec. And I, I, every time I go or every time I mention it to, to one, one of my friends and they go and they have such a great time, I'm always like, one of my listeners reached out and told us about it, and I'm so grateful.
>> Amanda Capito: that's so nice. I've heard of this. I've never been, though, so I've got to add it to the list because, as you know, I love a massage, I love a spa. So gotta add it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
Let's Talk Podcasting is the Essential Guide to doing it right
So as we reach the end of this episode, I just want to remind our listeners, if you're interested in getting let's Talk Podcasting, the Essential Guide to doing it right, second edition, you can go to letstalkpodcasting.com and there's six new chapters in it. And let me just, set the record straight. This is if you know anyone who wants to get into podcasting. Great Christmas gift or holiday gift? that's the book that I would recommend, and I've written a book about podcasting. For me, this is the quintessential book as well. If you need to fall asleep fast and this podcast isn't doing it for you, check out how to Fall Asleep Fast, with Amanda, and you'll enjoy that. And if you want, to be on the forefront of things or know what's going on in our city, in our country, but it'll relate to places all over the world, check out Forefront with Amanda as the host. Amanda, it's been an absolute pleasure having you on the podcast.
>> Amanda Capito: Thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to have been able to come on and to talk with your listeners, too, and I wish them a restful, peaceful sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. And, well, hopefully you'll come back to our podcast because we'd love to have you back.
>> Amanda Capito: Yes, we've got to do this again for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful. Until then, listeners, I hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate" October 30, 2024)
Marco Timpano welcomes Amanda Cupido to the podcast today
Marco I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me today is Amanda. But not the Amanda you might be thinking of. I have a special guest who's in the studio. Amanda Capito is here with me today. And before I get Amanda to say hello, I just want to say Amanda is one of the reasons I was able to bring this podcast to you, our listeners. Because when I started podcasting I didn't know what I was doing or how to do it. And Amanda's book was the first one book and it was a quintessential book for me on my podcast journey that brought me here today. So it's a great honour for me to welcome Amanda Cupido to the podcast today.
>> Amanda Capito: Thank you, Marco. That's so nice. I'm, like, flushing over here.
>> Marco Timpano: You wrote a wonderful book, and there's a few things that I really loved about it. One, that it was written by a Canadian podcaster, and as a Canadian podcaster at the time, there was so few of us out there, and there were so few of our stories being told, and I just. I just was so grateful. So thank you so much for. For bringing that book to light.
>> Amanda Capito: Oh, well, you're so welcome. And that was. I started writing it in 2016, and then it came out in 2018, and so much has changed since then. But, I was very aware that the Canadian landscape specifically didn't have a lot of literature, and I was happy to add to it.
>> Marco Timpano: I should mention to our listeners, it's called let's Talk the Essential Guide to Doing It Right. And second edition is coming out, isn't it, Amanda?
>> Amanda Capito: It's here. I'm so excited to share it with the world. This has been a long time coming, and there's a lot that's changed in the world, but in podcasting for sure. So, it's a great time for a new edition. And so six new chapters, six new
>> Marco Timpano: chapters behind the scenes, all kinds of things that your, readers will be able to grasp onto, get information that they need to start podcasting. I can't recommend this book enough. I teach a podcasting course, and it's on my reading list, just so you're aware.
>> Amanda Capito: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're interested in, reading about podcasting, starting your own podcasting journey, start here and you can get this book [email protected] is that correct?
>> Amanda Capito: That's it. LetstalkPodcasting.com and I will have that link
>> Marco Timpano: in our show notes for anyone who wants to go out there along with the book.
You have a sleep podcast called how to Fall Asleep Fast
You have a couple of podcasts, and I'm happy to say that, you're the first person from another sleep podcast to be on our podcast. So you have a sleep podcast called how to Fall Asleep Fast?
>> Amanda Capito: Yes. So this is new.
>> Marco Timpano: How old is this podcast?
>> Amanda Capito: It just launched in June, so it's still pretty new. But we've been receiving such positive feedback. It's been charting all over the world. We hit number one in the leisure category on Apple within the first two months, and so we've just been overwhelmed with the response.
>> Marco Timpano: Congratulations. That's so wonderful. You know, I say the Insomnia Project is about how to fall asleep slowly. some of our listeners will always be like, ah, I made it halfway through your episode and I have to go back. And it's like, no, you don't have to finish the episode to. I'd like you to fall asleep before you get to the end. But our listeners tend to go back, so that's so great.
How to fall asleep fast is the most Googled term around sleep
What is one thing that's come out of doing that podcast that surprised you?
>> Amanda Capito: Well, and I write about this in the book because I had never actively tried to hit number one on Apple. And so this was me trying to, like, you know, work the system. and we tried to push the boundaries along the way. And so how to fall asleep fast. I know we laugh because, you know, falling asleep slowly sounds much more relaxing, but how to fall asleep fast is the most Googled term around sleep. Oh. So this was an SEO, a search engine optimization play. So in Canada, the U.S. the UK and Australia, number one searched term, searched phrase. So that's how we. So we really were responsive to the community that tended to need sleep. And that's how we came up with the name. We did a lot of, focus groups before we released episodes on what was helping people sleep, what kind of length of episode. And so the episodes include a one minute meditation from me and then a one hour original composition from my husband, which most of them include binaural beats. So these are different frequencies in each channel in your ear, creating a third perceived frequency that is scientifically proven to help bring you into a theta or delta state of mind, which is, for sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I love that you, know, I wish that chapter was in the book when I read it, because the Insomnia Project is one of the worst titles of a podcast that I have. And it was just a lark that we used it as the title of our podcast because I didn't think I could podcast at the time, or I thought it was going to be such a challenge that it was born from a Nuit Blanche exhibition. So we're like, maybe if we do it as an exhibit at Nuit Blanche, we'll be able to figure out the podcasting angle of it.
>> Amanda Capito: And.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's how it got its name. And that's art.
>> Amanda Capito: That's great art.
>> Marco Timpano: Right? Right.
>> Amanda Capito: That's good.
Your other podcast is called Forefront. And can you tell us about that
>> Marco Timpano: So your other podcast is called Forefront. And can you tell us about that?
>> Amanda Capito: Yes. So the Forefront ideas for Cities is the series, and I'm the host of it, and it is a narrative podcast. Produced in conjunction with Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly Ryerson. And so the idea is we take big problems that Canadians are facing and then look at the research that's coming out of the university and think tanks and the community around it. They're helping to try to solve that big problem. So some of the problems are, like loneliness in aging populations, of course. Right. A big thing that, the National Institute of Aging has done some research around, in Canada specifically. Another problem is inclusivity in the fashion industry. Oh, yeah. Profile a fashion designer who's included braille on her, on her designs and on clothing.
>> Marco Timpano: How wonderful.
>> Amanda Capito: Really neat stories. Really interesting. these are all in the upcoming season that's just launched that season five. but even if you go in the back catalog, a lot of the issues are really interesting to learn about and to. To really think about their issues that might be around us that we don't even really realize how prevalent they are or what kind of work is being done to try to combat it.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's fascinating. So forefront, once again, you'll find these. I'll have links to this in the show notes. And, you can hear Amanda, as the host of that podcast. Do you have any other podcasts on the horizon that you can mention?
>> Amanda Capito: Oh, well, I always have podcasts on the horizon. I will say, I'm in development with a really exciting one that pits two industries against each other. I'll just say that. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Will you let us know when this is going to launch so we can mention it on our podcast?
>> Amanda Capito: I would be happy to. Yes, you could stay tuned. That'll be in 2025.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fantastic. Something to look forward to. Let me ask you this.
What's the most interesting thing you've learned as a podcaster
What's the most interesting thing you've learned as a podcaster?
>> Amanda Capito: Wow, that's such a great question. I think I'm learning all the time is the reality. And because the industry's changing and even what's considered a best practice is changing. you know, a personal growth for me is actually getting into the sleep space and even learning how to use my voice in a different way. I'm usually a broadcast. Like I've been, a trained broadcast journalist. And so even right now, I'm being so intentional. I'm trying to be softer with my voice. And. And that was a good growth for me. Where some people, this kind of tone and pacing comes really naturally. Where I had to really practice how do I use my voice in a different way other than going into broadcast mode, which is my default.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Channeling into that part of your voice, that part of your being that can slow things down. I know I always have a challenge with it. One time we did an episode about cutlery.
>> Amanda Capito: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And my co host, like, we have these. We. We do, symbols like this, especially for me when. Because I speed up and I get very energized. So I'm basically moving my hands up and down, back and forth. And that's the symbol that Amanda will use with me. Amanda Barker, my co host or Nidhi, would use to me to tell me, you need to slow down. And I did this cutlery episode where all of a sudden I started talking about ladles, and I got really excited and really dynamic, and they're all like, you. You talked about ladles and you really got excited. And I'm sure you woke people up. And they're like, why ladles? And I go, I have no idea. On any given day,
>> Amanda Capito: that's so funny. But I think that also just goes to show who you are as a person, and if you could find joy in little things like ladles, I think life becomes a lot happier. So kudos to you.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what's funny? I studied journalism, too. I had studied. I did a joint program with York University and Seneca College. So journalism was one area that I was thinking of getting into when. When my path turned into comedy and then comedy, theater, film, and podcasting. And so I've done quite a few things to get me here today.
How did you find your way to podcasting
so I just think it's interesting that both of us are podcasters, both of us are Canadian podcasters and have a background in journalism. How did you find your way to podcasting?
>> Amanda Capito: Yes, and I think that's also, really indicative of the. The medium as a whole. People have these windy roads to podcasting, which I actually think is quite interesting, and it can really, you know, you'll be surprised who ends up here. but I. I found my way to podcasting in a more linear way than most, which was that I was studying journalism and radio and audio, and I was in the audio world professionally and always, but really loving it and truly wanting to explore and make some extra money. And so I started making podcasts on the side. I had made some as a student before most of my friends even knew what podcasts were. but I had been making them on the side since I started working in radio. And as I continued into my radio journey, I just kept banging on about podcasts until they became popular enough to. To warrant some attention. at least from some of the places I was working. And so my first podcast was in 2010, was for a magazine and I was doing it just on the side for them. I was. I was brought on to be a writer, but insisted I also make them a podcast. And if you look very hard, that podcast still exists on the Internet in the. In the depths of the Internet.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Capito: but then I didn't. And then I was at one point working in a communications role at a nonprofit and I called myself an intrapreneur because within the organization I brought. It was a legacy organization and I brought a lot of new, ideas and I produced several podcasts for them. and that's when I got a lot of great case studies. I had some clients on the side. My book came out. And then I finally took the plunge to launching my own podcast production company, lead podcasting in 2020.
>> Marco Timpano: That's wonderful.
Do you remember the first podcast you listened to
Do you remember the first podcast you listened to?
>> Amanda Capito: You know, it's so hard because I was probably listening to some weird audio stuff that was being uploaded. But the one that, that like sticks in my mind, a couple that stick in my mind at really early days was that I was listening to Spark cbc.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Capito: With. Which was a technology podcast. And it was like a radio show, but also uploaded online as a podcast. And I loved that show. and I also listened to 99 Invisible and I remember there was this like, episode about the design of barcodes. And I also listened to an episode about the design of, the revolving door. And I like so clearly can picture myself sitting in the backseat of my parents car listening to these audio stories from, Yeah. And. Or telling them about it. And I don't even know how I was accessing them. I didn't have an Apple iPhone, but I hadn't. I had one of the very, very early Apple ipods.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Capito: So I'm wondering if it was like I downloaded an app through there. It was when. When the ipod looked like an iPhone, but it was just an ipod, if you remember that iteration.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I do. And I remember my friend wanted it for Christmas and it was a really big pur. Because that particular expensive too Ipod could hold a lot, a lot more than the smaller ones that you could just kind of scroll like that with. Right. If I'm not mistaken.
>> Amanda Capito: That's right. That's right.
Are You a techie? Are you someone who likes tech
>> Marco Timpano: So one of my biggest challenges, for this podcast is coming up with topics for the show. And you've given me to barcodes and revolving doors. So I've written that down. Those are two topics I have not talked about. Are You a techie? Are you someone who likes tech? Because you've mentioned it twice. So I'm like, I bet you're a techie.
>> Amanda Capito: I, so I, I feel like a capital T techie is a big title. I sure I can't play with like the Mark Saltzman's of the world who always know the latest gadget. love that guy, but I, he's great.
>> Marco Timpano: He's so great.
>> Amanda Capito: He's great. He's so great.
>> Marco Timpano: What I like about him is, is how he distills his knowledge in a very friendly, non tech kind of way. And you know, he knows everything about anything tech. Right.
>> Amanda Capito: Truly anything. He knows everything. He's so smart. But yes, he's so eye level and and I, I just appreciate what he does so much. So I, I always learn from him when I'm talking to him. But, but I am into technology. I, I recently actually got a certificate in artificial intelligence from the University of Oxford. So congrats. thank you. I'm very interested in, in the intersection of audio and AI. and I, and I feel genuinely curious when new technology comes out and I love to just play around and experiment with it. I'm not an expert in it all, but I'm definitely one of the people who are intrigued by it and not, not shying away or scared of learning a new technology.
>> Marco Timpano: AI kind of frightened me at first and then I was like, I need to try it. So I opened up a new Gmail account where it couldn't connect with me because I was all nervous about it. And now it's changed my life for the better. I use it to help me and some of my students use it now for podcasting, for designing their logo and a whole bunch of things. It's pretty incred.
>> Amanda Capito: Great. Yeah. Very powerful shift.
Is there a piece of tech that you enjoy or it has changed your life
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, before that, I just want to ask, is there a piece of tech that you have that you really enjoy or it has changed your life.
>> Amanda Capito: So. Well, one that. Okay, I'm going to answer, I'm going to give two answers because one is more like a software. So I don't know if it counts as tech, but I will say and this is not paid.
>> Marco Timpano: This is just genuinely on this podcast, everything counts. So whatever you want, whatever you want to say.
>> Amanda Capito: So Calendly, which is the booking software when I. That has been a game changer for me. The. So this is. If you don't know Calendly or some people use Acuity, there's, there's lots of different, versions of this Google Also, I think has just, released a lean version of this where you can sync it up with your calendar and it could show your availability, but you could create different versions of your availability for different people and send it to them to book time in your calendar. And so I was just, you know, the amount of time I saved from going back and forth with people, and I was like, do I get a virtual assistant? And no, I just got calendly. And that saved me so much time with booking. And because I have a lot of meetings and these sorts of connections, like even interview requests, it's. It's been very easy to lean on that. I use that all the time. So even with my own team at lead podcasting, they will check my calendar to see when they can grab some time with me. But it's, it's great. Prevents that back and forth. So that's like a software, really. It's not a. It's not something you're holding in your hand. but as far as. As something that you would hold in your hand, I do feel like. And again, maybe a loose definition of technology, but I am such a fan of, massage.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Yeah.
>> Amanda Capito: And I have a hand massager.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it the. The one that punches? We call it a puncher kind of punch. It has, like, a little bulbous end you can punch.
>> Amanda Capito: It's. No, those are. That's good too. But this is literally. It looks like a giant glove, like a plastic glove that you put your hand in, and then it, like, moves and heats and like, it. It's. And I have carpal tunnel. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: So it massages your hand.
>> Amanda Capito: Your whole hand.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought you put it on like, you know, the Hulk gloves that kids wear, and then you massage people with it. But it's for your hands. Oh, this is amazing.
>> Amanda Capito: Your own hands.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love this.
>> Amanda Capito: It's so nice. And so I will. And my husband bought it for me because he knows and I think I'm just like. I grip the mouse really tightly when I'm working and editing, you know? So, yeah, it's like a hand massager. It's amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't it amazing how something like that can change your life.
>> Amanda Capito: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: We recently got. I don't know if we've mentioned this on the podcast yet. We had to replace our mattress. So we got a, platform to put the mattress on that can raise up and down your feet, up your feet, down and whatnot. Right. Because my wife was like, I'm tired of propping up pillows behind my head to watch the Television? Yes, we have a television in our room. And it's probably not good for people who can't sleep, but that's where we are. And so we were like, oh, let's get that. And then we realized it has a massage feature. Like, it'll. It'll. And it's changed our life, and it actually helps us fall asleep quicker. And, oftentimes it's like, I just need to raise my feet and give them a shake. And so that's what we do.
>> Amanda Capito: Okay, I'm gonna need the link to that. You gotta put that in the show notes, too.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm happy to. You know, it's funny. When we went to the mattress store to get it, Amanda was laying on it, and she's like, oh, this is great. I can go up. And we're like, what's the difference between these two, besides price? and the person who was helping us was like, oh, there's no real difference. She was like, the only difference is you can lower the legs on the more expensive ones. So Amanda's like, oh, we might want that feature. And she got on it, and when I went to go sign some paperwork or whatnot, I got back, and I could see her shaking on the bed. I'm like, what's going on? She goes, it has a massage feature. And I'm like, is it good or is it silly? And she's like, it's fantastic. So I'm like, okay, we're getting that. And we haven't regretted it since.
>> Amanda Capito: Oh, I am so jealous. That sounds amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: It's great. I love talking to people who have, like, you know, like, this hand thing that you're. To the hand massager. Sounds fun. Yeah, fantastic, too.
I'm a hand model, too, which is a weird thing
I'm a hand model, too, which is a weird thing.
>> Amanda Capito: I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: It's. It's the weirdest thing. And when I tell people, and it's so. It's so an uninteresting thing on my end of things, but it's so unique that people find it very interesting. I just have very still hands. So if I hold a product, it features it well. It's one of the reasons. So I should get that. Because, you know, after a day of hand.
>> Amanda Capito: Hand work, they deserve some pampering.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
What's the most memorable vacation you've ever taken
Speaking of pampering, what's the most memorable vacation you've ever taken?
>> Amanda Capito: I'm a big traveler, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this is. Well, listen, I. I didn't go. I had to meet you because I'm. We're big travelers, too, so I need to. I need to hear this.
>> Amanda Capito: Okay. Well. Okay. Can I pick. Can I pick three places?
>> Marco Timpano: As many as you want.
>> Amanda Capito: I always ask. Okay. So I just very, First is the recent one. I very recently went to Malta, south of Sicily. It's amazing. All right. Malta is the most underrated country. I almost stayed there and just did a PR campaign for the whole country because.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you go to the Popeye Village? That's there. Did you go to the Popeye Village?
>> Amanda Capito: Have you been?
>> Marco Timpano: I haven't, but Amanda, my wife really wants to go to Malta.
>> Amanda Capito: Okay. And I'll give you the lowdown.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Capito: You've heard it here first. Yes. Popeye Village is run down. Okay. Don't go. Okay. Like Robin Williams movie. Which is in theory cool, but we saw photos of it and we just. And it's very. It's a little bit out of the way and they are proud of it, but it's not. I don't think it's worth it because there's so many better things. Okay. So Malta has the oldest ruins that indicate there was a civilization older than the pyramids, older than Stonehenge. Oldest, oldest indicator of civilization is in Malta. They don't even talk about it. And it is this underground multi floor temple with paintings that are still on the walls that they found sculptures that were incredible, that, that were from like 5000 BC.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
>> Amanda Capito: They think, right. And they didn't have tools. They were using stone on stone to create like it was. And you could. And they only let 10 people in at a time. And you can walk down there and go see it. And we, we got our hands on some tickets. And so the history, if you're a history buff, and I love good history. It's. It's a. I was emotional. It was really special, and I had no idea. And then they also have really beautiful beaches. Like, the water is so clear. And. And it's like all these little islands around Malta that you could take a little boat to. And you're like the only one on this beach. And it's like stunning. Crystal clear blue waters. And then they also have amazing food. It's like Arabic and Italian food mixed.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Capito: So what more can you ask for? It was just like, so nice. So beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: A place of intersection with absolute beauty. I can't wait to go.
Number two is Ecuador which I feel like is underrated as well
>> Amanda Capito: Yeah. So add that to your list. Okay. That was one. Number two is Ecuador, which I feel like is underrated as well. And I did the Galapagos Island Islands, which were amazing. I was snorkeling. You don't even have to. I have a scuba license. But you don't even have to scuba. You just snorkel down. I held a starfish the size of both my hands. I snorkeled with eagle rays, which is a very weird offshoot of a stingray and like a human face on them. It's very interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm riding that town. Eagle rays?
>> Amanda Capito: Yes, eagle rays. Sharks. I swam with sharks. Turtles that were the size of my body. Like incredible. But then on the other side, I was in the Amazon and I spent three nights in the jungle.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Capito: With like monkeys jumping over a river that I was canoeing down. And I saw a real life tarantula in the, in the, you know, in the greenery that was the forest. And they said that you don't even know all the species of bugs and insects that live there yet. And it was. And then, then you get the city. Quito is like bumping party. Really great central city. And then we went to Cuenca, which had like Incan ruins. And you think the ruins are only in Peru but, but Ecuador's got the same sort of thing. So like, wow. Like the vastness. If you travel that country, it's just like incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like a pendulum swings like to the, you know, beginning of time and nature and creatures that that you, you like. The pendulum swings one way. You get to the beginning of time and creatures and animals that people don't get to see. And then you go, it swings the other way and you're in a modern city with, you know, happening things. It sounds awesome.
>> Amanda Capito: Yeah, it is. It was really something special.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's hot too, right? It's really hot.
>> Amanda Capito: So nice. So nice. The third one was Egypt. As you know, I'm like history. I do love history. Yeah. So seeing the pyramids and I went and swam in the Red Sea and took a cruise down the Nile and drank the best hibiscus tea, and learned and I went into, I got to see King Tut's tomb. I went into the Valley of the Kings. It just happened to be open when I was there. They don't. They open it like kind of. They roll. There's a rolling opening of different tombs. So I happened to be able to go see King Tut which is actually. King Tut's tomb is very bland because they didn't think he was going to die. He was so young. I wasn't prepared. but then there was some, there was other, there was other incredible tombs in the Valley of the Kings that ah, made me emotional. Like, it was, it was really, really special.
>> Marco Timpano: So, yeah, it's absolutely wonderful. Thank you. For those three places. We're often talking about places we want to go to or places we visited, and we have our listeners from all over the world who reach out and, you know, some of, some of our listeners will tell us places to go to, and we just have such a great time when we end up in those places. So, I appreciate that. yeah, if you're ever in Otto, if you're ever in Ottawa, there is a spa that one of our listeners invited us to go to, which is called Nordic. It's in Chelsea, Quebec. And I, I, every time I go or every time I mention it to, to one, one of my friends and they go and they have such a great time, I'm always like, one of my listeners reached out and told us about it, and I'm so grateful.
>> Amanda Capito: that's so nice. I've heard of this. I've never been, though, so I've got to add it to the list because, as you know, I love a massage, I love a spa. So gotta add it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
Let's Talk Podcasting is the Essential Guide to doing it right
So as we reach the end of this episode, I just want to remind our listeners, if you're interested in getting let's Talk Podcasting, the Essential Guide to doing it right, second edition, you can go to letstalkpodcasting.com and there's six new chapters in it. And let me just, set the record straight. This is if you know anyone who wants to get into podcasting. Great Christmas gift or holiday gift? that's the book that I would recommend, and I've written a book about podcasting. For me, this is the quintessential book as well. If you need to fall asleep fast and this podcast isn't doing it for you, check out how to Fall Asleep Fast, with Amanda, and you'll enjoy that. And if you want, to be on the forefront of things or know what's going on in our city, in our country, but it'll relate to places all over the world, check out Forefront with Amanda as the host. Amanda, it's been an absolute pleasure having you on the podcast.
>> Amanda Capito: Thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to have been able to come on and to talk with your listeners, too, and I wish them a restful, peaceful sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. And, well, hopefully you'll come back to our podcast because we'd love to have you back.
>> Amanda Capito: Yes, we've got to do this again for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful. Until then, listeners, I hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Windshield Washer Fluid, Burnt Biscuits, and Bette Midler
(Original airdate: October 23, 2024)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen, of course, as you find your way to sleep or relaxation. Thank you for coming on this journey with us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: And Amanda, it's been two weeks since we've been on.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, I know. And it's was not our intention. We did record. So maybe explain yourself, Marco, to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Well, we did record an entire episode for last week. And then, just as we got to the bottom of it, my computer froze and we lost the entire episode. So we're back.
>> Amanda Barker: I wish I could recreate it. I don't remember what we talked about, but I did remember thinking, I'm really enjoying this. This is a great, possibly the best episode. The last episode.
>> Marco Timpano: The last episode. We have seven minutes of it. We were talking about windshield wiper fluid.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: My pie making escapades.
>> Amanda Barker: How do I not remember any of this? Windshield wiper fluid? Oh, yeah. Okay.
Bill: Bette Midler never seems to age
>> Marco Timpano: And we talked about something you had said in the previous episode that rocked the world of our listeners. Like Bill, when you said that the song from Beaches was called Misery.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Misery, oh, Misery. Which, by the way, is not the most notable song from Beaches. I think Wind Beneath My Wings is probably the Song that people, or maybe even under the Boardwalk are the songs that people associate with Beaches.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. But what is the actual O Misery? It's not called O Misery, it's called
>> Amanda Barker: O Industry because it's its, comment, I think, on industrialization. And who better to play in your avant garde off Broadway musical but Bette Midler? Like, can you imagine
>> Marco Timpano: Bette Midler? You know, it's interesting. She never seems to age. So when you look at her today and you look at her when she did that movie, what was it called about a tattoo and before that about a tattoo, wasn't it called Tattoo the Rose Tattoo the Rose.
>> Amanda Barker: Rose.
>> Marco Timpano: The Rose. The Rose.
>> Amanda Barker: There you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: When she did, was it about a tattoo?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think here I'm not even, I'm not even going to say anything because.
>> Amanda Barker: Why would you say that?
>> Marco Timpano: I think it, I think the symbol is a rose on her, on her shoulder. I never saw it. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: A, tattooed rose.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't get in trouble again to do with tattoos. And once again, as Bill said to me last time, no gays are sleeping tonight.
>> Marco Timpano: I think we just need to avoid saying. Explain why Bill said that so that.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think because. Because it is his belief implied in that statement that Beaches and Bette Midler content is important to our friends in the LGBTQIA community, of which he is part.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And so, it's troubling to hear all this misinformation be spewed out like the rose is about a tattoo.
>> Marco Timpano: No, she has a tattoo of a rose on her shoulder.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. Maybe on an album cover? I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, I just don't think it's a movie about a tattoo.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. My whole point is she doesn't look like she's aged. If you look at clips of her back then, she looks the same as she did today, etc. Etc.
>> Amanda Barker: She's the Tom Cruise of, the gay icon world.
>> Marco Timpano: Has Tom Cruise not aged in your opinion?
>> Amanda Barker: No. Tom Cruise, no.
>> Marco Timpano: You think he stayed, Remained the same?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, he's worked pretty hard to stay the same, but I think so, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Like the, like the new age Dick Clark. Remember how everybody said Dick Clark looked like a teenager all his life? Which I don't think.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think he ever looked like a teenager, but I will say he didn't age. He was one of those. I also think that about Pat Sajak. I feel like Pat Sajak doesn't age. Who. Who else doesn't age? We age.
>> Marco Timpano: We've certainly, certainly I've aged since we started recording this podcast.
Bill Antonui has a wonderful new podcast called Riviera Rats
all right, so before we get off this topic, I just want to say once again, Bill Antonui has a wonderful new podcast called Riviera Rats. Riviera Rats. And it's about films that were at Cannes. At the Cannes Film Festival. Cannes Film Festival. And it's fantastic. I'll put a. I'll put a link on our show notes for anyone who's into movies. In particular a insightful and well, well researched and knowledged. talk on. On film, unlike what we do.
>> Amanda Barker: And maybe that seven minutes of lost footage or audio footage. I guess it's not footage if it's audio. Audio that lost seven minutes of audio Edge. We can put up on the Patreon.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And that can be a little Easter
>> Marco Timpano: egg because we haven't recorded a Patreon episode in a while either.
>> Amanda Barker: So. Or. Or have we and lost it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, we haven't.
Marco: I had to do a British accent this morning for an audition
>> Amanda Barker: well then it's time.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so it's time. So I will say this as well. we were talking about windshield wiper fluid because we recently went back and forth to London, Ontario.
>> Marco Timpano: For work. And at one of the en routes, which is a truck stop, I guess you could call them a highway stop. A.
>> Amanda Barker: Are we recreating?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I guess, but I just mentioned it. So I want to explain. What. What? Why. Okay, so, we went to put in gas and I noticed that there was this windshield wiper thing next to the gas where you could pump it in to your windshield wiper area of the car.
>> Amanda Barker: Folks. It blew his mind.
>> Marco Timpano: It not much surprises me anymore because I'm of a certain age where I've seen and done a lot and so
>> Amanda Barker: now you and Bette Midler.
>> Marco Timpano: Me and Bette Midler. I'd love to be in a
>> Amanda Barker: film with Bette Midler and Tom Cruise.
>> Marco Timpano: more Bette Midler.
>> Amanda Barker: Could I play Bette Midler does Tom Cruise's stunts. Tom Cruise has to sing.
>> Marco Timpano: That'd be awesome, right? Oh, now you've cut me out of the film.
>> Amanda Barker: No, you're in there could bet mid
>> Marco Timpano: they're conceived a. Ah, butler.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm the fun quirky secretary that says weird things. Yeah, I guess that's what I play.
>> Marco Timpano: I had to do a British accent this morning.
>> Amanda Barker: So did I. Folks, we auditioned for the same role. That's what our lives are like. We get up at 6am to do an audition where we're Competing against each other.
>> Marco Timpano: Our British listeners are probably saying, I would love to hear your British accent. Let me assure you, I sound like different parts of England in the same sentence.
>> Amanda Barker: Let me assure you I sound as good as all the people that did American accents on Downton Abbey.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. There you go. Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: That guy from Baltimore, his accent was awful.
>> Marco Timpano: Another thing Amanda's family likes to do is point out bad New England accents when people do them.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a lot of them. So many bad New England accents. So little time in this world.
>> Marco Timpano: It's very.
>> Amanda Barker: So, windshield washer fluid.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we went recently, and I pumped the windshield washer fluid directly from a pump into my windshield wiper area. I didn't have to get those big plastic jugs. I didn't have to figure out how to dispose of those big plastic jugs, because you're not supposed to. To put them in the recycling.
>> Amanda Barker: You're not?
>> Marco Timpano: No. You're not. Oh, you're not.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. You're not supposed.
>> Amanda Barker: They're, like, contaminated or whatever. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. Like, there's antifreeze in it. Who knows? You're not supposed to.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And places where you buy them don't want you to put them in their garbage because then they have to deal with it. So it was a pleasure to do that at that truck stop.
>> Amanda Barker: So, maybe we'll be seeing more of those. One can only dream.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm just giving everyone the heads up. When you see it, you can say Marco told me about it first here on the podcast.
Amanda has a bias when it comes to windshield wiper fluid
And I have to say, I have a bias when it comes to windshield wiper fluid.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: I do. I prefer a blue windshield over the pink. Over the pink over the fluorescent yellow.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you think blue is more water, like, or m. More clean or both?
>> Marco Timpano: More clean? Because blue reminds me of Windex, which is blue, which is a glass cleaner.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it is the color of the windshield wiper fluid that I remember as a child, my parents or my dad putting into the car.
>> Amanda Barker: Which begs the question, could you do windshield white wiper fluid in any hue?
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen.
>> Marco Timpano: Purple. I have seen.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: could it be a lime green? How about black? Why. Why stop at anything?
>> Marco Timpano: True. As long as the black doesn't, smear or smudge your windows.
>> Amanda Barker: You'd be a soft beige,
>> Marco Timpano: I guess. I guess. I don't think that's an attractive color. Putting it into your car.
>> Amanda Barker: Match the sand, though.
>> Marco Timpano: The sand?
>> Amanda Barker: The sand that's on your car.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, I guess sand.
>> Marco Timpano: Dirt. Dirt you can certainly have clear too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But then do you know if it's actually working or. I guess you have to have it a color so people can go, look, it's coming out like I have it. I. I feel validated. Oh, this is a fascinating topic now for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Do you. Have you ever.
>> Amanda Barker: Silvery color would be interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I guess. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: A gold. That'd be like beige.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Have you ever been in a bright red for Halloween? Sure, sure. Have you ever been in a car where the car in front of you uses their windshield wipers and the fluid hit car?
>> Amanda Barker: I have indeed. Yeah. It's raining fluid. Hallelujah.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess. I guess I never like that. you're breathing really close.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, because I'm laughing at myself because I'm thinking of other jokes that I'm not saying. Don't you hate it when people say that? When they're like, I could make a joke, but I'm not gonna. And you're like, just make it. It's really. You couldn't make a joke because it wouldn't be funny if you said the thing you're thinking.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. Okay, well, those. Those breaths you heard from Amanda was her suppressing laughter, and it's impossible for me to remove that. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Amanda, I'm sorry. I'm a little punchy.
>> Marco Timpano: People's sleep apnea machines are gonna say, what's going on? Why is there these sounds coming from.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we have a bed that detects snoring, don't we?
>> Marco Timpano: No. There's versions of the bed that can do that, but ours doesn't.
>> Amanda Barker: But imagine me snoring into this app, then raised somebody's bed up.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if I'd like. Oh, yeah, right. Yeah, yeah, that could happen.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, like I said, I have that friend, Alexa Pozobon. and when people say her name, things happen. Houses go crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. yeah, it happened on our podcast, so we try not to say that name.
>> Amanda Barker: Oops.
>> Marco Timpano: yes, exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: See, I'm Punchy. Bad joke.
>> Marco Timpano: Punchy, I think you are punchy today.
I want to talk about my baking now. So I'm taking a baking course
I want to talk about my baking now.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, we've all been waiting for this.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm taking a baking course. I don't know if I've already mentioned this, and my first two lessons were me baking an apple pie. And I found some tips. And this is one of the things that we said in the podcast episode that we lost. I'm going to share a couple of tips. One Tip is if you're making an apple pie, use two different types of apple. One tart, one sweet. And. And it'll balance the flavor inside your pie.
>> Marco Timpano: And I really like that tip.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: The other tip I can't really remember. Make sure your pie when you're making it is very cold. So what I did was I put my hands.
>> Amanda Barker: The dough.
>> Marco Timpano: The dough. And so when you're kneading the dough, if you have hot hands like mine.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I submerged them in cold water, dried my hands and then made the dough. Amanda's falling asleep in the background. That's her yawning. So that's my pie week. And today I had to make biscuits or quick bread. So I had to make my biscuits.
>> Amanda Barker: So what is considered quick bread?
>> Marco Timpano: Biscuits.
>> Amanda Barker: What else?
>> Marco Timpano: Muffins.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I believe a carrot or. Or pumpkin cake or pumpkin bread, I should say.
>> Amanda Barker: I see. So nothing that you have to let sit.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: It should.
>> Marco Timpano: It should. You should be able to make it. Pop it in the oven and it will rise.
>> Amanda Barker: What about Irish soda bread?
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's a quick bread.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone loves to make that on St. Patrick's Day.
>> Marco Timpano: Your mom makes it.
>> Amanda Barker: Irish soda bread? Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just a bread that you don't have to let rise.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I guess it's the baking soda. It must have baking soda because I don't think it has like Pepsi in it. I think it's like baking soda bread is what it's. And that's what rises it. Maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you say Pepsi?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, like a, soda.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, like a soda. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Seven UP kind of thing.
>> Marco Timpano: We are out of baking soda. I used it all to make my, my biscuits.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you check the fridge? There's some in the fridge.
>> Marco Timpano: There is?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I always have baking soda on the fridge.
>> Marco Timpano: No, sorry. Baking powder. We're out of baking powder.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Magic is baking powder. Right. The magic.
>> Amanda Barker: It is. Did you check both the things? Cuz sometimes we have two of them on, the go for a long time. We had like two or three.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't check any. I only.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you check the bin? The Tupperware bin?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. It's not in the Tupperware bin.
>> Amanda Barker: Well then we might be out.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a baking bin that sits under the sink.
>> Amanda Barker: We have a small kitchen.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a small kitchen.
>> Amanda Barker: And I feel happy that you're baking now because I'm usually the one that spends, I would say the majority of the time in the kitchen. So now you can understand my pain. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: it's hard to bake in A small kitchen.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't have a lot of counter space. You really don't. And you Mr. Me. I love you, but you. Our counters get very cluttered with things.
>> Marco Timpano: What's that supposed to mean?
The cranberry is a difficult fruit to use and utilize
What things?
>> Amanda Barker: You're just like, things end up on our counters and more and more. Some of them are mine, but it just becomes a thing of, like, this is where these bottles are just gonna stay.
>> Marco Timpano: I did wash all our bottles, our, like, water bottles recently.
>> Amanda Barker: And they. There's a room for them in the cabinet. Not a lot of room, to be honest. But there is. But you like to leave them standing there.
>> Marco Timpano: They're ready to go. That's why.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. But there's just not any space.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. But anyways, I made biscuits.
>> Amanda Barker: We're only two people. We don't need 10 water bottles.
>> Marco Timpano: I used cran. Dried cranberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is that what's in there?
>> Marco Timpano: Raisins? Yeah. Because I know you don't like raisins.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. I thought there were raisins. That's one of the reasons I didn't have one.
>> Marco Timpano: No cranberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Very exciting.
>> Marco Timpano: Or Craisins, as we call them. And I have to be careful with our, Craisin purchases because I got a lot of trouble.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God.
>> Marco Timpano: If you want to listen to some early episodes, you'll hear the crazy stories.
>> Amanda Barker: Because at the start of our relationship, when I moved into this house, I was like, okay, moving in. You know, my baking powder, my baking soda, my water bottle. And there was no room on one shelf because the entire shelf was Craisins. One big bag, another big bag, two smaller half used bag. All of them open. But it's like, I think Marco goes to Costco. He's like, oh, Craisins on sale. Guess I'll buy two gigantic bags of Craisins.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll tell you one thing, Scurvy's coming back, and I'm not gonna get it, because I eat Craisins.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a lot of Craisins.
>> Marco Timpano: So I used Craisins in my biscuits.
>> Amanda Barker: We're acting like the whole world has access to this product called Craisin. There might be people that are like, what is a, Craisin?
>> Marco Timpano: So a Craisin, for those of you who haven't experienced it or don't have a plenitude of it in your cupboard, the way we do is a dried cranberry. And if you haven't had a cranberry, because cranberries aren't native to your area, a cranberry is a berry that's bright red, sometimes white, and sometimes mottled white and red. And it's very sour or very, What's the word? acidically sour. Like, how would you describe the taste of a cranberry?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Very acidy. Not very. Like a tiny crab apple.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It has that kind of flavor to it. So it's a difficult. It's a difficult fruit to deal with. It's often used as a souse or sauce with, your turkey for Thanksgiving. Yeah, souse. sometimes I say souse and I forget that that's not how you say it.
>> Amanda Barker: Or Krause or cross.
>> Marco Timpano: So the, cranberry is a difficult, difficult fruit to use and utilize. Unless it's dried as.
>> Amanda Barker: How do you solve a problem like a cranberry?
>> Marco Timpano: You make it into a craisin. You dry it like a raisin, and then it has a sweeter quality to it.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. But you are aware that drying a cranberry does not give it that sweeter taste. And what you have upstairs, those things have been soaked in sugar and grape juice. That's why they taste like. They taste really. Oh, I just blew your mind. Look at the back of the package. Yeah. A cranberry dried is still a very sour, bitter experience. The reason the people who farm, I guess the bogs of cranberries have to figure out what to do with them. And so Craisins happen. But it's mostly grape juice there, soaked in. No. Yeah, it's a lot of sugar.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, well, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you sure?
>> Amanda Barker: I really feel like I've upset you. Well, I can see like his shoulders just dropped. I feel. I feel like when I told you our grocery store was closing, that's what I feel like I've just ruined Craisins for you.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, whatever. I'll just. I'll get over it.
I burnt the bottom of my biscuit in the oven
But, There's Craisins in my biscuits. But I burnt the bottom of my biscuit.
>> Amanda Barker: How did that happen?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I put an egg wash on the top, which is supposed to brown the top.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I put them in for 15 minutes. At 4:25, they should be fine. But the problem was at 15 minutes, it was still very light on the top. So I said, I'll wait another two minutes. I shouldn't have waited two minutes. I should have checked after one minute. At two minutes, the top was golden brown. So I was like, oh, this is wonderful. They look great. But lo and behold, when I looked
>> Amanda Barker: at the bottom, I still don't think the bottom should have Burned that much? Seems weird to me that they burnt. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe I had too much flour on the bottom of them. I'm not sure.
>> Amanda Barker: You. You put them on parchment, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I did.
>> Amanda Barker: 15 minutes. Should not scorch them.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, it was 17 when all was said and done.
>> Amanda Barker: Even still, I expect that from, like, the. The. The oven at the cottage will do that. But our oven is usually pretty good. It doesn't do that, so I'm kind of surprised. What. What rack did you have them on?
>> Marco Timpano: Center rack.
>> Amanda Barker: okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I also think mine. My quantities are off. Every time I make a dough, it's too wet.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I want the dough to be Shaggy, but my dough is never Shaggy. It's always clingy and wet, so I'm always adding extra flour to it. Okay, so that's my dilemma.
>> Amanda Barker: Shaggy.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they say Shaggy dough. It should be Shaggy.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I've never heard that.
>> Marco Timpano: My dough's never Shaggy. But I have to. I have to catch up because I'm behind. Not him. M only am I behind on our podcast Episodes Friends. I'm behind on, my baking.
>> Amanda Barker: So are you gonna get marked on these burnt bottom biscuits?
>> Marco Timpano: I guess it's not so much the burnt that's gonna get me. It's if I don't hand in the assignments.
Okay, so now I have to work on custards. And I don't like custard
Okay, so now I have to work on custards.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: So.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't like custard.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you have a choice of the following custards.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Representing Italy. Panna cotta.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Representing France. Creme caramel.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Representing Great Britain. What's, it called?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Sticky toffee pudding. Hang on.
>> Marco Timpano: It's called bread. What's the bread one? when you put bread. Wet bread in a pastry, and you cook it. What's it called?
>> Amanda Barker: Wet bread in a pastry. Estrada. No.
>> Marco Timpano: What?
>> Amanda Barker: Bread and a pastry. French toast. No. Pan perdu. No.
>> Marco Timpano: Babe, come on. It's the bread.
>> Amanda Barker: Wet bread.
>> Marco Timpano: Bread. Soaked bread.
>> Amanda Barker: Soaked wheat biscuit like my mom used to eat. I. I don't know. Soaked bread is French toast.
>> Marco Timpano: Bread, bread, bread, bread. Wet bread. like, wet. Not wet bread, but like, Oh, my God, Amanda, you're killing me.
>> Amanda Barker: Why am I killing you? How is this.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you're making it more complicated than it needs to be.
>> Amanda Barker: Wet bread. Custard. Pudding.
>> Marco Timpano: No, bread.
>> Amanda Barker: Eggy custard.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a curd. It's. It's a. Oh, okay. Give me a second. I'm looking.
>> Amanda Barker: This is really troubling to hear. I Don't know if this is a good episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you're making. You're making a mountain out of a bread hill. So,
>> Amanda Barker: what.
>> Marco Timpano: What is the dessert that has bread in it? That, bread. Oh, Amanda,
>> Amanda Barker: Why do you keep saying my name like that?
>> Marco Timpano: Because you're not.
>> Amanda Barker: It's really creepy and weird. Yeah, you're like, oh, how could you do this to me?
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm like, bread pudding. Bread pudding is what I'm trying to say.
Of those three, I have to make at least one of my brain
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, all right.
>> Marco Timpano: What's bread pudding? It's.
>> Amanda Barker: It's gross is what it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you don't want bread pudding?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I hate it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Of those three, I have to make
>> Amanda Barker: at least one of my brain. That's why I couldn't remember. Wet bread is what I'm going to call it from now on. And wet bread. You're killing me, Amanda.
>> Marco Timpano: Bread pudding. I love bread pudding.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so it always has raisins involved. It's so nasty.
>> Marco Timpano: I love. I love raisins.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I guess of all of
>> Marco Timpano: them, I could put craisins in it if you prefer.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, creme caramel sounds the nicest, but.
>> Marco Timpano: What, you don't like creme caramel?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't like any of these things. I hate custard. Remember when I. We started this whole part of the conversation? I went, I don't like custard. Shocker. I don't like Gus.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so then I guess I'll just pick.
>> Amanda Barker: But don't pick the bread pudding. No one's gonna eat that.
>> Marco Timpano: I like bread pudding.
>> Amanda Barker: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Like.
>> Amanda Barker: Enjoy. Have fun. Don't you have to make the bread first, or can you just rip up some wonder bread and call it a night?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. I have to look at the recipe.
>> Amanda Barker: Good old wet.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to make. I'm going to, Cuz I get to make creme anglaise with the. With the wet bread there. At the bread pudding.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't like panacotta?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. When have I had it?
>> Marco Timpano: You've had it once or twice.
>> Amanda Barker: Have I? Then. Then that's probably my favorite panna cotta. Go for it. You always feel flan. I don't like.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's kind of flanny.
>> Amanda Barker: What's flan?
>> Marco Timpano: Flan is the. If. If we were representing countries, flan would be Spain's, contribution to this.
>> Amanda Barker: Funny is, I did a. I did a Spanish play once, and we kept saying creme caramel. That's why I was thinking I would like that one, but I guess it's French, so who knows?
>> Marco Timpano: You. You don't like creme carmel?
>> Amanda Barker: I think you don't like. I don't like custardy things.
>> Marco Timpano: What about creme brulee?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, in a pinch, but it's not my favorite. I like cracking the thing, but I'll crack it and then hand it to the person to my left.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: None of these can hold a candle to a nice, thick, dark chocolate cake or a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie.
>> Marco Timpano: I do have, black forest cake coming up in the future. So we'll be making that. I'll be making that.
>> Amanda Barker: But make it good. Like, not dry. Like, make it good.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I can only do what I can do.
>> Amanda Barker: I like things that aren't fully cooked, like doughy, which is. Makes you think I would like custard, but I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Wet bread? Not for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay. But what about bread in a salad? Like croutons. Croutons. Or bonzanella salad that uses stale bread?
>> Amanda Barker: I am fine with bread. Bread as a general concept. I eat bread.
>> Marco Timpano: But that's a wet bread in a salad.
>> Amanda Barker: Not normally.
Amanda loves things soaked in olive oil and tomato
If it's a crouton, it's crunchy.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but what about in a panzanella salad?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Does that mean it's all soggy?
>> Marco Timpano: It's soggy from the tomato.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. When was the last time I had a panzanella salad? I've never had one. I don't think I see them on chop sometimes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that's enough.
>> Amanda Barker: So stop with that little line of questioning, Mr. Interrogator of you seem to love it when it's soaked in tomato. Yes, I enjoy things soaked in olive oil and tomato rule. But no one's made me a dessert custard soaked in olive oil and tomato.
>> Marco Timpano: I've had olive oil ice cream gelato before.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, me too. It was delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: What if I made that. What if I made you a tomato custard that had a drizzle of olive oil and salt on top?
>> Amanda Barker: Great. Put some bacon on it and we're good. Or mortadella or whatever. Okay, pancetta.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll see if I can make a savory custard.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that'd be great.
>> Marco Timpano: What about. What's that stuff called where it's like, in gelatin that they used to do in the 70s all the time?
>> Amanda Barker: jello?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, no. But it was, like, savory. Ah, stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, like an ambrosia salt no,
>> Marco Timpano: yeah, terrine, like a terrain terrain.
>> Amanda Barker: My mom made a lobster terrine once. Of a lobster. Like it was like a lobster dip in a terrine thing.
>> Marco Timpano: How was it?
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't bad. I'd Say yes to that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'm not taking a terrain class, so that's not gonna happen.
>> Amanda Barker: You take a whole class where all you make is terrines?
>> Marco Timpano: That'd be amazing. You take a class, you just.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, here's Marco with his terrine of this week. All of our friends have to eat terrine.
>> Marco Timpano: well, I've got, you know, a good 12 burnt biscuits upstairs. We've got to figure it. The top is fine. Top of the biscuit to you. what was I going to say? I can't remember now, but,
>> Amanda Barker: that we're probably at a time.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we're just about out of time. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed this episode. We kind of rehashed what we talked about.
>> Amanda Barker: Not really.
>> Marco Timpano: A little bit. The windshield, it's gone.
>> Amanda Barker: No, there was other things. Really great things. Lost episodes.
>> Marco Timpano: What are you going to do? What are you going to do? Well, Amanda, thank you for coming and recording this episode.
>> Amanda Barker: You're welcome, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: And thank you.
Sorry about the hasty exit. It was technical difficulties
For our listeners who've been patient, we have received some notice asking, how are we doing? Is everything all right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Sorry about the hasty exit. It really was unintentional. It was technical difficulties and we couldn't bounce back.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. But now we have. So, I hope you enjoy this episode. Next week we're going to have a guest that I've interviewed. so you'll have to tune in next week to hear that, that, that podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna keep it a surprise till next week. Her name is close to yours.
>> Amanda Barker: As in the exact same first name.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And what about the last name?
>> Marco Timpano: Last name? No.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Until next week, we hope you're able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: October 23, 2024)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen, of course, as you find your way to sleep or relaxation. Thank you for coming on this journey with us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: And Amanda, it's been two weeks since we've been on.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, I know. And it's was not our intention. We did record. So maybe explain yourself, Marco, to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Well, we did record an entire episode for last week. And then, just as we got to the bottom of it, my computer froze and we lost the entire episode. So we're back.
>> Amanda Barker: I wish I could recreate it. I don't remember what we talked about, but I did remember thinking, I'm really enjoying this. This is a great, possibly the best episode. The last episode.
>> Marco Timpano: The last episode. We have seven minutes of it. We were talking about windshield wiper fluid.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: My pie making escapades.
>> Amanda Barker: How do I not remember any of this? Windshield wiper fluid? Oh, yeah. Okay.
Bill: Bette Midler never seems to age
>> Marco Timpano: And we talked about something you had said in the previous episode that rocked the world of our listeners. Like Bill, when you said that the song from Beaches was called Misery.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Misery, oh, Misery. Which, by the way, is not the most notable song from Beaches. I think Wind Beneath My Wings is probably the Song that people, or maybe even under the Boardwalk are the songs that people associate with Beaches.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. But what is the actual O Misery? It's not called O Misery, it's called
>> Amanda Barker: O Industry because it's its, comment, I think, on industrialization. And who better to play in your avant garde off Broadway musical but Bette Midler? Like, can you imagine
>> Marco Timpano: Bette Midler? You know, it's interesting. She never seems to age. So when you look at her today and you look at her when she did that movie, what was it called about a tattoo and before that about a tattoo, wasn't it called Tattoo the Rose Tattoo the Rose.
>> Amanda Barker: Rose.
>> Marco Timpano: The Rose. The Rose.
>> Amanda Barker: There you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: When she did, was it about a tattoo?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think here I'm not even, I'm not even going to say anything because.
>> Amanda Barker: Why would you say that?
>> Marco Timpano: I think it, I think the symbol is a rose on her, on her shoulder. I never saw it. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: A, tattooed rose.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't get in trouble again to do with tattoos. And once again, as Bill said to me last time, no gays are sleeping tonight.
>> Marco Timpano: I think we just need to avoid saying. Explain why Bill said that so that.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think because. Because it is his belief implied in that statement that Beaches and Bette Midler content is important to our friends in the LGBTQIA community, of which he is part.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And so, it's troubling to hear all this misinformation be spewed out like the rose is about a tattoo.
>> Marco Timpano: No, she has a tattoo of a rose on her shoulder.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. Maybe on an album cover? I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, I just don't think it's a movie about a tattoo.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. My whole point is she doesn't look like she's aged. If you look at clips of her back then, she looks the same as she did today, etc. Etc.
>> Amanda Barker: She's the Tom Cruise of, the gay icon world.
>> Marco Timpano: Has Tom Cruise not aged in your opinion?
>> Amanda Barker: No. Tom Cruise, no.
>> Marco Timpano: You think he stayed, Remained the same?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, he's worked pretty hard to stay the same, but I think so, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Like the, like the new age Dick Clark. Remember how everybody said Dick Clark looked like a teenager all his life? Which I don't think.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think he ever looked like a teenager, but I will say he didn't age. He was one of those. I also think that about Pat Sajak. I feel like Pat Sajak doesn't age. Who. Who else doesn't age? We age.
>> Marco Timpano: We've certainly, certainly I've aged since we started recording this podcast.
Bill Antonui has a wonderful new podcast called Riviera Rats
all right, so before we get off this topic, I just want to say once again, Bill Antonui has a wonderful new podcast called Riviera Rats. Riviera Rats. And it's about films that were at Cannes. At the Cannes Film Festival. Cannes Film Festival. And it's fantastic. I'll put a. I'll put a link on our show notes for anyone who's into movies. In particular a insightful and well, well researched and knowledged. talk on. On film, unlike what we do.
>> Amanda Barker: And maybe that seven minutes of lost footage or audio footage. I guess it's not footage if it's audio. Audio that lost seven minutes of audio Edge. We can put up on the Patreon.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And that can be a little Easter
>> Marco Timpano: egg because we haven't recorded a Patreon episode in a while either.
>> Amanda Barker: So. Or. Or have we and lost it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, we haven't.
Marco: I had to do a British accent this morning for an audition
>> Amanda Barker: well then it's time.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so it's time. So I will say this as well. we were talking about windshield wiper fluid because we recently went back and forth to London, Ontario.
>> Marco Timpano: For work. And at one of the en routes, which is a truck stop, I guess you could call them a highway stop. A.
>> Amanda Barker: Are we recreating?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I guess, but I just mentioned it. So I want to explain. What. What? Why. Okay, so, we went to put in gas and I noticed that there was this windshield wiper thing next to the gas where you could pump it in to your windshield wiper area of the car.
>> Amanda Barker: Folks. It blew his mind.
>> Marco Timpano: It not much surprises me anymore because I'm of a certain age where I've seen and done a lot and so
>> Amanda Barker: now you and Bette Midler.
>> Marco Timpano: Me and Bette Midler. I'd love to be in a
>> Amanda Barker: film with Bette Midler and Tom Cruise.
>> Marco Timpano: more Bette Midler.
>> Amanda Barker: Could I play Bette Midler does Tom Cruise's stunts. Tom Cruise has to sing.
>> Marco Timpano: That'd be awesome, right? Oh, now you've cut me out of the film.
>> Amanda Barker: No, you're in there could bet mid
>> Marco Timpano: they're conceived a. Ah, butler.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm the fun quirky secretary that says weird things. Yeah, I guess that's what I play.
>> Marco Timpano: I had to do a British accent this morning.
>> Amanda Barker: So did I. Folks, we auditioned for the same role. That's what our lives are like. We get up at 6am to do an audition where we're Competing against each other.
>> Marco Timpano: Our British listeners are probably saying, I would love to hear your British accent. Let me assure you, I sound like different parts of England in the same sentence.
>> Amanda Barker: Let me assure you I sound as good as all the people that did American accents on Downton Abbey.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. There you go. Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: That guy from Baltimore, his accent was awful.
>> Marco Timpano: Another thing Amanda's family likes to do is point out bad New England accents when people do them.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a lot of them. So many bad New England accents. So little time in this world.
>> Marco Timpano: It's very.
>> Amanda Barker: So, windshield washer fluid.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we went recently, and I pumped the windshield washer fluid directly from a pump into my windshield wiper area. I didn't have to get those big plastic jugs. I didn't have to figure out how to dispose of those big plastic jugs, because you're not supposed to. To put them in the recycling.
>> Amanda Barker: You're not?
>> Marco Timpano: No. You're not. Oh, you're not.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. You're not supposed.
>> Amanda Barker: They're, like, contaminated or whatever. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. Like, there's antifreeze in it. Who knows? You're not supposed to.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And places where you buy them don't want you to put them in their garbage because then they have to deal with it. So it was a pleasure to do that at that truck stop.
>> Amanda Barker: So, maybe we'll be seeing more of those. One can only dream.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm just giving everyone the heads up. When you see it, you can say Marco told me about it first here on the podcast.
Amanda has a bias when it comes to windshield wiper fluid
And I have to say, I have a bias when it comes to windshield wiper fluid.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: I do. I prefer a blue windshield over the pink. Over the pink over the fluorescent yellow.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you think blue is more water, like, or m. More clean or both?
>> Marco Timpano: More clean? Because blue reminds me of Windex, which is blue, which is a glass cleaner.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it is the color of the windshield wiper fluid that I remember as a child, my parents or my dad putting into the car.
>> Amanda Barker: Which begs the question, could you do windshield white wiper fluid in any hue?
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen.
>> Marco Timpano: Purple. I have seen.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: could it be a lime green? How about black? Why. Why stop at anything?
>> Marco Timpano: True. As long as the black doesn't, smear or smudge your windows.
>> Amanda Barker: You'd be a soft beige,
>> Marco Timpano: I guess. I guess. I don't think that's an attractive color. Putting it into your car.
>> Amanda Barker: Match the sand, though.
>> Marco Timpano: The sand?
>> Amanda Barker: The sand that's on your car.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, I guess sand.
>> Marco Timpano: Dirt. Dirt you can certainly have clear too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But then do you know if it's actually working or. I guess you have to have it a color so people can go, look, it's coming out like I have it. I. I feel validated. Oh, this is a fascinating topic now for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Do you. Have you ever.
>> Amanda Barker: Silvery color would be interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I guess. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: A gold. That'd be like beige.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Have you ever been in a bright red for Halloween? Sure, sure. Have you ever been in a car where the car in front of you uses their windshield wipers and the fluid hit car?
>> Amanda Barker: I have indeed. Yeah. It's raining fluid. Hallelujah.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess. I guess I never like that. you're breathing really close.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, because I'm laughing at myself because I'm thinking of other jokes that I'm not saying. Don't you hate it when people say that? When they're like, I could make a joke, but I'm not gonna. And you're like, just make it. It's really. You couldn't make a joke because it wouldn't be funny if you said the thing you're thinking.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. Okay, well, those. Those breaths you heard from Amanda was her suppressing laughter, and it's impossible for me to remove that. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Amanda, I'm sorry. I'm a little punchy.
>> Marco Timpano: People's sleep apnea machines are gonna say, what's going on? Why is there these sounds coming from.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we have a bed that detects snoring, don't we?
>> Marco Timpano: No. There's versions of the bed that can do that, but ours doesn't.
>> Amanda Barker: But imagine me snoring into this app, then raised somebody's bed up.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if I'd like. Oh, yeah, right. Yeah, yeah, that could happen.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, like I said, I have that friend, Alexa Pozobon. and when people say her name, things happen. Houses go crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. yeah, it happened on our podcast, so we try not to say that name.
>> Amanda Barker: Oops.
>> Marco Timpano: yes, exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: See, I'm Punchy. Bad joke.
>> Marco Timpano: Punchy, I think you are punchy today.
I want to talk about my baking now. So I'm taking a baking course
I want to talk about my baking now.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, we've all been waiting for this.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm taking a baking course. I don't know if I've already mentioned this, and my first two lessons were me baking an apple pie. And I found some tips. And this is one of the things that we said in the podcast episode that we lost. I'm going to share a couple of tips. One Tip is if you're making an apple pie, use two different types of apple. One tart, one sweet. And. And it'll balance the flavor inside your pie.
>> Marco Timpano: And I really like that tip.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: The other tip I can't really remember. Make sure your pie when you're making it is very cold. So what I did was I put my hands.
>> Amanda Barker: The dough.
>> Marco Timpano: The dough. And so when you're kneading the dough, if you have hot hands like mine.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I submerged them in cold water, dried my hands and then made the dough. Amanda's falling asleep in the background. That's her yawning. So that's my pie week. And today I had to make biscuits or quick bread. So I had to make my biscuits.
>> Amanda Barker: So what is considered quick bread?
>> Marco Timpano: Biscuits.
>> Amanda Barker: What else?
>> Marco Timpano: Muffins.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I believe a carrot or. Or pumpkin cake or pumpkin bread, I should say.
>> Amanda Barker: I see. So nothing that you have to let sit.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: It should.
>> Marco Timpano: It should. You should be able to make it. Pop it in the oven and it will rise.
>> Amanda Barker: What about Irish soda bread?
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's a quick bread.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone loves to make that on St. Patrick's Day.
>> Marco Timpano: Your mom makes it.
>> Amanda Barker: Irish soda bread? Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just a bread that you don't have to let rise.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I guess it's the baking soda. It must have baking soda because I don't think it has like Pepsi in it. I think it's like baking soda bread is what it's. And that's what rises it. Maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you say Pepsi?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, like a, soda.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, like a soda. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Seven UP kind of thing.
>> Marco Timpano: We are out of baking soda. I used it all to make my, my biscuits.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you check the fridge? There's some in the fridge.
>> Marco Timpano: There is?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I always have baking soda on the fridge.
>> Marco Timpano: No, sorry. Baking powder. We're out of baking powder.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Magic is baking powder. Right. The magic.
>> Amanda Barker: It is. Did you check both the things? Cuz sometimes we have two of them on, the go for a long time. We had like two or three.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't check any. I only.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you check the bin? The Tupperware bin?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. It's not in the Tupperware bin.
>> Amanda Barker: Well then we might be out.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a baking bin that sits under the sink.
>> Amanda Barker: We have a small kitchen.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a small kitchen.
>> Amanda Barker: And I feel happy that you're baking now because I'm usually the one that spends, I would say the majority of the time in the kitchen. So now you can understand my pain. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: it's hard to bake in A small kitchen.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't have a lot of counter space. You really don't. And you Mr. Me. I love you, but you. Our counters get very cluttered with things.
>> Marco Timpano: What's that supposed to mean?
The cranberry is a difficult fruit to use and utilize
What things?
>> Amanda Barker: You're just like, things end up on our counters and more and more. Some of them are mine, but it just becomes a thing of, like, this is where these bottles are just gonna stay.
>> Marco Timpano: I did wash all our bottles, our, like, water bottles recently.
>> Amanda Barker: And they. There's a room for them in the cabinet. Not a lot of room, to be honest. But there is. But you like to leave them standing there.
>> Marco Timpano: They're ready to go. That's why.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. But there's just not any space.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. But anyways, I made biscuits.
>> Amanda Barker: We're only two people. We don't need 10 water bottles.
>> Marco Timpano: I used cran. Dried cranberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is that what's in there?
>> Marco Timpano: Raisins? Yeah. Because I know you don't like raisins.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. I thought there were raisins. That's one of the reasons I didn't have one.
>> Marco Timpano: No cranberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Very exciting.
>> Marco Timpano: Or Craisins, as we call them. And I have to be careful with our, Craisin purchases because I got a lot of trouble.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God.
>> Marco Timpano: If you want to listen to some early episodes, you'll hear the crazy stories.
>> Amanda Barker: Because at the start of our relationship, when I moved into this house, I was like, okay, moving in. You know, my baking powder, my baking soda, my water bottle. And there was no room on one shelf because the entire shelf was Craisins. One big bag, another big bag, two smaller half used bag. All of them open. But it's like, I think Marco goes to Costco. He's like, oh, Craisins on sale. Guess I'll buy two gigantic bags of Craisins.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll tell you one thing, Scurvy's coming back, and I'm not gonna get it, because I eat Craisins.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a lot of Craisins.
>> Marco Timpano: So I used Craisins in my biscuits.
>> Amanda Barker: We're acting like the whole world has access to this product called Craisin. There might be people that are like, what is a, Craisin?
>> Marco Timpano: So a Craisin, for those of you who haven't experienced it or don't have a plenitude of it in your cupboard, the way we do is a dried cranberry. And if you haven't had a cranberry, because cranberries aren't native to your area, a cranberry is a berry that's bright red, sometimes white, and sometimes mottled white and red. And it's very sour or very, What's the word? acidically sour. Like, how would you describe the taste of a cranberry?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Very acidy. Not very. Like a tiny crab apple.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It has that kind of flavor to it. So it's a difficult. It's a difficult fruit to deal with. It's often used as a souse or sauce with, your turkey for Thanksgiving. Yeah, souse. sometimes I say souse and I forget that that's not how you say it.
>> Amanda Barker: Or Krause or cross.
>> Marco Timpano: So the, cranberry is a difficult, difficult fruit to use and utilize. Unless it's dried as.
>> Amanda Barker: How do you solve a problem like a cranberry?
>> Marco Timpano: You make it into a craisin. You dry it like a raisin, and then it has a sweeter quality to it.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. But you are aware that drying a cranberry does not give it that sweeter taste. And what you have upstairs, those things have been soaked in sugar and grape juice. That's why they taste like. They taste really. Oh, I just blew your mind. Look at the back of the package. Yeah. A cranberry dried is still a very sour, bitter experience. The reason the people who farm, I guess the bogs of cranberries have to figure out what to do with them. And so Craisins happen. But it's mostly grape juice there, soaked in. No. Yeah, it's a lot of sugar.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, well, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you sure?
>> Amanda Barker: I really feel like I've upset you. Well, I can see like his shoulders just dropped. I feel. I feel like when I told you our grocery store was closing, that's what I feel like I've just ruined Craisins for you.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, whatever. I'll just. I'll get over it.
I burnt the bottom of my biscuit in the oven
But, There's Craisins in my biscuits. But I burnt the bottom of my biscuit.
>> Amanda Barker: How did that happen?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I put an egg wash on the top, which is supposed to brown the top.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I put them in for 15 minutes. At 4:25, they should be fine. But the problem was at 15 minutes, it was still very light on the top. So I said, I'll wait another two minutes. I shouldn't have waited two minutes. I should have checked after one minute. At two minutes, the top was golden brown. So I was like, oh, this is wonderful. They look great. But lo and behold, when I looked
>> Amanda Barker: at the bottom, I still don't think the bottom should have Burned that much? Seems weird to me that they burnt. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe I had too much flour on the bottom of them. I'm not sure.
>> Amanda Barker: You. You put them on parchment, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I did.
>> Amanda Barker: 15 minutes. Should not scorch them.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, it was 17 when all was said and done.
>> Amanda Barker: Even still, I expect that from, like, the. The. The oven at the cottage will do that. But our oven is usually pretty good. It doesn't do that, so I'm kind of surprised. What. What rack did you have them on?
>> Marco Timpano: Center rack.
>> Amanda Barker: okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I also think mine. My quantities are off. Every time I make a dough, it's too wet.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I want the dough to be Shaggy, but my dough is never Shaggy. It's always clingy and wet, so I'm always adding extra flour to it. Okay, so that's my dilemma.
>> Amanda Barker: Shaggy.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they say Shaggy dough. It should be Shaggy.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I've never heard that.
>> Marco Timpano: My dough's never Shaggy. But I have to. I have to catch up because I'm behind. Not him. M only am I behind on our podcast Episodes Friends. I'm behind on, my baking.
>> Amanda Barker: So are you gonna get marked on these burnt bottom biscuits?
>> Marco Timpano: I guess it's not so much the burnt that's gonna get me. It's if I don't hand in the assignments.
Okay, so now I have to work on custards. And I don't like custard
Okay, so now I have to work on custards.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: So.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't like custard.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you have a choice of the following custards.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Representing Italy. Panna cotta.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Representing France. Creme caramel.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Representing Great Britain. What's, it called?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Sticky toffee pudding. Hang on.
>> Marco Timpano: It's called bread. What's the bread one? when you put bread. Wet bread in a pastry, and you cook it. What's it called?
>> Amanda Barker: Wet bread in a pastry. Estrada. No.
>> Marco Timpano: What?
>> Amanda Barker: Bread and a pastry. French toast. No. Pan perdu. No.
>> Marco Timpano: Babe, come on. It's the bread.
>> Amanda Barker: Wet bread.
>> Marco Timpano: Bread. Soaked bread.
>> Amanda Barker: Soaked wheat biscuit like my mom used to eat. I. I don't know. Soaked bread is French toast.
>> Marco Timpano: Bread, bread, bread, bread. Wet bread. like, wet. Not wet bread, but like, Oh, my God, Amanda, you're killing me.
>> Amanda Barker: Why am I killing you? How is this.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you're making it more complicated than it needs to be.
>> Amanda Barker: Wet bread. Custard. Pudding.
>> Marco Timpano: No, bread.
>> Amanda Barker: Eggy custard.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a curd. It's. It's a. Oh, okay. Give me a second. I'm looking.
>> Amanda Barker: This is really troubling to hear. I Don't know if this is a good episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you're making. You're making a mountain out of a bread hill. So,
>> Amanda Barker: what.
>> Marco Timpano: What is the dessert that has bread in it? That, bread. Oh, Amanda,
>> Amanda Barker: Why do you keep saying my name like that?
>> Marco Timpano: Because you're not.
>> Amanda Barker: It's really creepy and weird. Yeah, you're like, oh, how could you do this to me?
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm like, bread pudding. Bread pudding is what I'm trying to say.
Of those three, I have to make at least one of my brain
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, all right.
>> Marco Timpano: What's bread pudding? It's.
>> Amanda Barker: It's gross is what it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you don't want bread pudding?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I hate it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Of those three, I have to make
>> Amanda Barker: at least one of my brain. That's why I couldn't remember. Wet bread is what I'm going to call it from now on. And wet bread. You're killing me, Amanda.
>> Marco Timpano: Bread pudding. I love bread pudding.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so it always has raisins involved. It's so nasty.
>> Marco Timpano: I love. I love raisins.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I guess of all of
>> Marco Timpano: them, I could put craisins in it if you prefer.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, creme caramel sounds the nicest, but.
>> Marco Timpano: What, you don't like creme caramel?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't like any of these things. I hate custard. Remember when I. We started this whole part of the conversation? I went, I don't like custard. Shocker. I don't like Gus.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so then I guess I'll just pick.
>> Amanda Barker: But don't pick the bread pudding. No one's gonna eat that.
>> Marco Timpano: I like bread pudding.
>> Amanda Barker: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Like.
>> Amanda Barker: Enjoy. Have fun. Don't you have to make the bread first, or can you just rip up some wonder bread and call it a night?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. I have to look at the recipe.
>> Amanda Barker: Good old wet.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to make. I'm going to, Cuz I get to make creme anglaise with the. With the wet bread there. At the bread pudding.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't like panacotta?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. When have I had it?
>> Marco Timpano: You've had it once or twice.
>> Amanda Barker: Have I? Then. Then that's probably my favorite panna cotta. Go for it. You always feel flan. I don't like.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's kind of flanny.
>> Amanda Barker: What's flan?
>> Marco Timpano: Flan is the. If. If we were representing countries, flan would be Spain's, contribution to this.
>> Amanda Barker: Funny is, I did a. I did a Spanish play once, and we kept saying creme caramel. That's why I was thinking I would like that one, but I guess it's French, so who knows?
>> Marco Timpano: You. You don't like creme carmel?
>> Amanda Barker: I think you don't like. I don't like custardy things.
>> Marco Timpano: What about creme brulee?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, in a pinch, but it's not my favorite. I like cracking the thing, but I'll crack it and then hand it to the person to my left.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: None of these can hold a candle to a nice, thick, dark chocolate cake or a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie.
>> Marco Timpano: I do have, black forest cake coming up in the future. So we'll be making that. I'll be making that.
>> Amanda Barker: But make it good. Like, not dry. Like, make it good.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I can only do what I can do.
>> Amanda Barker: I like things that aren't fully cooked, like doughy, which is. Makes you think I would like custard, but I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Wet bread? Not for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay. But what about bread in a salad? Like croutons. Croutons. Or bonzanella salad that uses stale bread?
>> Amanda Barker: I am fine with bread. Bread as a general concept. I eat bread.
>> Marco Timpano: But that's a wet bread in a salad.
>> Amanda Barker: Not normally.
Amanda loves things soaked in olive oil and tomato
If it's a crouton, it's crunchy.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but what about in a panzanella salad?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Does that mean it's all soggy?
>> Marco Timpano: It's soggy from the tomato.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. When was the last time I had a panzanella salad? I've never had one. I don't think I see them on chop sometimes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that's enough.
>> Amanda Barker: So stop with that little line of questioning, Mr. Interrogator of you seem to love it when it's soaked in tomato. Yes, I enjoy things soaked in olive oil and tomato rule. But no one's made me a dessert custard soaked in olive oil and tomato.
>> Marco Timpano: I've had olive oil ice cream gelato before.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, me too. It was delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: What if I made that. What if I made you a tomato custard that had a drizzle of olive oil and salt on top?
>> Amanda Barker: Great. Put some bacon on it and we're good. Or mortadella or whatever. Okay, pancetta.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll see if I can make a savory custard.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that'd be great.
>> Marco Timpano: What about. What's that stuff called where it's like, in gelatin that they used to do in the 70s all the time?
>> Amanda Barker: jello?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, no. But it was, like, savory. Ah, stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, like an ambrosia salt no,
>> Marco Timpano: yeah, terrine, like a terrain terrain.
>> Amanda Barker: My mom made a lobster terrine once. Of a lobster. Like it was like a lobster dip in a terrine thing.
>> Marco Timpano: How was it?
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't bad. I'd Say yes to that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'm not taking a terrain class, so that's not gonna happen.
>> Amanda Barker: You take a whole class where all you make is terrines?
>> Marco Timpano: That'd be amazing. You take a class, you just.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, here's Marco with his terrine of this week. All of our friends have to eat terrine.
>> Marco Timpano: well, I've got, you know, a good 12 burnt biscuits upstairs. We've got to figure it. The top is fine. Top of the biscuit to you. what was I going to say? I can't remember now, but,
>> Amanda Barker: that we're probably at a time.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we're just about out of time. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed this episode. We kind of rehashed what we talked about.
>> Amanda Barker: Not really.
>> Marco Timpano: A little bit. The windshield, it's gone.
>> Amanda Barker: No, there was other things. Really great things. Lost episodes.
>> Marco Timpano: What are you going to do? What are you going to do? Well, Amanda, thank you for coming and recording this episode.
>> Amanda Barker: You're welcome, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: And thank you.
Sorry about the hasty exit. It was technical difficulties
For our listeners who've been patient, we have received some notice asking, how are we doing? Is everything all right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Sorry about the hasty exit. It really was unintentional. It was technical difficulties and we couldn't bounce back.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. But now we have. So, I hope you enjoy this episode. Next week we're going to have a guest that I've interviewed. so you'll have to tune in next week to hear that, that, that podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna keep it a surprise till next week. Her name is close to yours.
>> Amanda Barker: As in the exact same first name.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And what about the last name?
>> Marco Timpano: Last name? No.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Until next week, we hope you're able to listen and sleep.
Garlic, Movies, and Demi Moore.
(Original airdate: October 2, 2024)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a 20, 26 minute conversation.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no. 20 cynics.
>> Marco Timpano: there are probably 20 cynics listening right now. Amanda, to the Insomnia Project. We just want you to chill on this episode.
>> Amanda Barker: Imagine being a cynic listening to this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: You're like, yeah, ah, I'm here for this, but I'm gonna judge it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like, yeah, I thought you were cutting me off.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no.
>> Amanda Barker: Being like, I don't think this is gonna make me sleep. And then like sitting with your arms crossed. I'm sure there are people that do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, certainly.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that happens a lot when people overhype movies or TV shows. I have such a hard time in Oscar season when some movies get really overhyped and then, you know, it's like that thing of like.
>> Marco Timpano: Nah.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah. It really wasn't that good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Whereas if you just see something out of the blue and you have no expectations. Maybe you haven't even seen the trailer. it's one of the reasons I love the Toronto Fringe Festival, or any fringe festival. You know, just going into random plays or musicals or whatever it ends up being. And just seeing something without any expectation. It's such a great way to experience something.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the double feature?
>> Amanda Barker: Like in movies?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Like there was a time. I only remember it for a short glimmer of time.
>> Amanda Barker: Wasn't it in the 50s?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I wasn't around in the 50s, but. And that's why maybe it disappeared. Maybe I was really young. I was in my teens. Okay. And we went to go see a movie, and then at the start of the movie, they said they would say they'd make this announcement. This is a double feature. We're going to play a film before the film that you've paid for, which means you're going to be here for two films. If you cannot be here for two films, please, exit. We'll give you a refund or we'll get you another movie or something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: This. Oh, so you had to watch the
>> Marco Timpano: second movie, or I think they played it first before. So you would go. You'd pay to see a movie. Yeah. So this happened only twice.
>> Amanda Barker: I can understand. I have a theory about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Both times the movie was a surprise, excellent film. So once it was, Do you remember the movie Beaches with Bette Midler and.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, do I remember the movie Beaches?
>> Marco Timpano: And, Was it Demi Moore or something else?
>> Amanda Barker: Not. It was, Oh, if you hadn't asked me, I would remember.
>> Marco Timpano: They were singers and they were in a band or something.
>> Amanda Barker: No. What?
>> Marco Timpano: No, she was a Broadway star.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I. Are you actually, you know, I know this movie inside and out.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw it as a teen by accident, like at a double feature.
>> Amanda Barker: What was that woman's name? I just remember she got lip injections for the movie. for some reason.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't she the one who plays on Downton Abbey, the wife of Mr. No?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh my gosh, this is gonna drive me crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you'll think about it. But anyway, so we saw that and it was like, wow, what a great film. And then we saw the film that we paid for. I want to say it was Planes, Trains and Automobiles, which also was a great film.
>> Amanda Barker: But Beaches actually didn't do that well in theaters, truthfully.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really? Okay, Well, I didn't. Knew nothing about it when they played it. And it was like, oh, what a cool film. Right. We weren't expecting it. This kind of, like, film about pals through the ages or something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Women. Yeah. About women's friendship, which I guess is pals, but yeah, we don't usually use pals for women. We usually use it for men.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: her name. I'm trying to come.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess you could call it, like, Barbara Hershey.
>> Amanda Barker: Right, right.
Bee should have been made into a Broadway musical, you say
>> Marco Timpano: That's what I said, didn't I?
>> Amanda Barker: I believe you said Demi Moore.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, So it was a buddy picture, Right? So it was really great.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It was a story of friendship. Again, with women. We don't usually call them a buddy
>> Marco Timpano: picture, but that's what that genre of film is called.
>> Amanda Barker: I think a buddy picture is. Usually has a comedic ending. Which Beaches, Spoiler alert. Came out in 1989. Does not have a comedic ending.
>> Marco Timpano: It doesn't? A little bit.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you joking?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. Okay. Yes. right.
>> Amanda Barker: For real. Are you joking? No, no, no. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: There are comedic moments in it, though.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. Well, because Bette Miller's amazing. Yeah. And she plays this aspiring actress singer. I mean, she's amazing in it. She's so good. I mean, I know the movie inside. And how they have not made that into a Broadway musical is beyond me. Of all the things that have become Broadway musicals that, like Back to the Future or, you know, Waitress the movie. Never saw that as a Broadway musical.
>> Marco Timpano: Huey Lewis in the news album.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, that's a jute. What we call a jute box or jute. It's really juke box, isn't it? But I always say jute with, like,
>> Marco Timpano: t. No, jute is a fabric made of, like.
>> Amanda Barker: I know I'm pronouncing it wrong. Anyway, that's what the Huey Lewis and the news one was. And there's several others. Others, like. I mean, that's what Mamma Mia Is. Mamma Mia is a jukebox. You go with the story. But, But Bee just should be made into a musical.
>> Marco Timpano: I agree. I couldn't agree with you more.
>> Amanda Barker: Producers of Broadway.
>> Marco Timpano: So the other and only other.
>> Amanda Barker: You could do the musical within the musical because she's in. There's actually two musicals featured in that movie. I think it's one of the reasons it's so big with people like me who love musicals and watching them. do you remember the two musicals?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. One is, like, a body M Musical.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. It's called. It's like the one I was in, which was called Spank.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the one you were in, but
>> Amanda Barker: I think hers is called Honk or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And then the other one was some avant m garde thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's right. The song was called oh, Misery. And it was like about industrialization and stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is funny to watch Bette Midler in anything that's like that because it's. She's so great and her voice is so distinctive and so on. but I don't know, like, I don't think she would be the person you would go to to cast for that. But anyway.
Marco Timpano: It's been two weeks since we aired an episode
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, while Amanda's looking something up, I'm going to talk about the other movie that I saw.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm looking at the other musical that's in the movie Beaches.
>> Marco Timpano: We should. We, you know, we never introduced ourselves. I'm Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Parker.
>> Marco Timpano: And thank you for joining us. Thank you for being patient because it's been two weeks since we aired an episode. I was sick last week and prior to that we had to. We had a bit of a family emergency we were dealing with. So, we're back on the air. And thank you for being patient. And remind me, Amanda M. I have a message that I have to read after I talk about my next film that I saw at a double feature.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. Well, anyways, I would say, Oh, hang on. How long is Beach? Is the musical I'm seeing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So someone has made it into a musical.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, how long is it? That's what I need to know now.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a two and a half hour show with a 20 minute intermission. So this has happened. Okay. It came out in May of this year. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well.
>> Amanda Barker: But May. So where did it go? Because Beaches M Theater Calgary is doing Beaches the musical.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe it just didn't live up to what you hoped it lived up to.
>> Amanda Barker: I really do need to know what the name of that musical is. It's like one. It's like. Because I remember when I was touring with Spank, I'm like, oh my God, I've become Bette Midler and Beaches.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: well, that's gonna bother me.
One movie I saw on the double feature was the movie Ghost
>> Marco Timpano: All right, well, while it bothers you, can I talk about the other movie I saw on the double feature?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So the second movie that I saw this was a few years later and once again, this movie hadn't come out. I hadn't seen a trailer for it was totally unaware was the movie Ghost with Patrick Swayze, whoopi Goldberg and of course now Demi Moore.
>> Marco Timpano: And that we were like, wow, what a great film. And once, again, a film that did not receive great critical, acclaim from critics but found its not. No, I didn't realize that. Yeah, yeah, it got Panda, I believe.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: But I enjoyed that. And I was like, this movie is great. And you know, when you see something without that sort of baggage, attached to it of everyone loving it.
>> Marco Timpano: You can sort of form your own opinion. And though both those movies I have a very good impression of because I saw them before the film that we were actually going to see. And I wish I could remember the films that we actually saw because the. This preview. Was it called a double feature? Was it called a preview? Preview? It had a really interesting. This name. When you'd go to the theater and they'd say, all right, you're here at our theater and it's going to be a preview screening double feature. I can't remember. But, it was so long ago, if you will.
The name of Otto Titzeling was taken from a 1971 satire
>> Amanda Barker: I have gone down a deep rabbit hole as you were talking about. I don't know if, Well, the name of the song. It's a name. Is Otto Titzeling and that's the name of the song from the musical. And now I've learned a whole bunch that that was actually taken from a 1971 satire called Bust, the uplifting tale of Otto Titzeling by New Zealand humorist Wallace Rayburn. and it was a book and that's so interesting. Oh, and it was a hoax because this guy never existed.
>> Marco Timpano: Who? Auto Titzeling never existed? No, I thought he invented the brassiere.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, and that's why it's a hoax. It was even made it into Trovio Pursuit. Who invented the brassiere? Auto Titling.
>> Marco Timpano: Trovial Pursuit.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Trivial Pursuit.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah, that's the off brand version.
>> Marco Timpano: A trivial person, a knockoff.
>> Amanda Barker: and so they used all of that from the book Philip de Brassiere, which is in the book too for this fictitious musical that lives within Beaches. However, the fictitious musical, I still cannot find the name. I really think it's like one word. It's like honk or spank, but it's not spank or it's something like that. Like it's one word. Now I do have friends I could message.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. It is early in the morning, but maybe not too early.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what? Here's how you know when you have good friends. I'm gonna go ahead and text. It is early in the Morning. I'm gonna go ahead and text my friend Daniel and see how quickly I get her.
>> Marco Timpano: Daniel's a friend of the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: He's a good friend of the podcast. And a friend of mine.
>> Marco Timpano: And a good friend of mine. And while Amanda does that, I'm going to read a Instagram message that we received from one of our listeners. Okay, Amanda, So thank you for everyone who does send us messages, especially messages of support and. And, you know, corrections and whatnot. We really do appreciate it. We don't always get to them as quickly as we can, but we do appreciate them. Amanda is texting. I'll just wait till she's done texting before I read this.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, here's what I'm texting. This is the live feed, folks. Okay. I need the name of the Otto Titley musical in Beaches. I know it is early, but you are the only one I can trust with.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, there we go. We'll see if Daniel gets back to us before the end of this podcast. Okay, so, Amanda, do you want to read this message or shall I?
>> Amanda Barker: I think you can. You have it in your hand.
Janelle W. recalls a cheap perfume called exclamation Mark
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so Janelle W. Says the following. I love the Insomnia Project podcast. Exclamation mark, Amanda. You know it's true when there's an exclamation mark that follows it.
>> Marco Timpano: Were you talking about a perfume called exclamation Mark?
>> Amanda Barker: Exclamation? Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Did you own that perfume?
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone owned that perfume. And we have gotten so much response from that show. and I was with a group of friends who were talking about their daughters, and how their daughters what? Their daughter's version of what we had as exclamation in the 80s.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was exclamation like a cheaper perfume, or was it an eau de toilette?
>> Amanda Barker: No, it was very cheap and very cheerful.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, it might have been $15. I don't know. Like, it was cheap perfume. They got to bring it back, and we loved it. I remember loving the smell of exclamation.
>> Marco Timpano: Was the bottle an exclamation mark?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Y. We've covered this.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we did. On the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I don't remember.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you don't remember?
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, there's so many podcast episodes.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how I've told you about exclamation. And then I sang it in English and French. Exclamation.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. Yeah, No, I remember you talking recently, just the other day with our friend Dale, who's also a good friend of mine.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, about exclamation. Okay. Yeah. But we did a whole podcast episode on it. Anyway. It lives in our memories.
>> Marco Timpano: clearly not mine.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Right. but her daughter is really into a particular Ariana Grande perfume. And then we went shopping with her niece last night, who, educated me on Sol de Janeiro, which is perfume spray that you put in your hair.
>> Marco Timpano: Hair perfume, I believe Hair perfume.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know that was a thing.
>> Marco Timpano: The woman who worked there said it was a body mist and hair perfume. And I said, there's a thing called a hair perfume.
>> Amanda Barker: It's really funny. And then our adorable niece, she was like, what are you looking for? And our niece very eruditely said, I'm really looking for more of a fall scent right now. She wanted things that had notes of fall in it, and she got it.
>> Marco Timpano: I respect that because I have so for my cologne, Amanda, I have a spring cologne. I have a fall cologne and have the cologne that you like.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Thank you. The name of the musical is Sizzle 76.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, what's the.
>> Amanda Barker: I was thinking it was Sizzle.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the other musical where she's, like, all robotic or whatever called.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know if that one had a name.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you have. You have someone on the hotline there that you can take.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe he got back to me. Okay. And the dystopian off. okay. And did the. This has got to be putting people to sleep.
Daniel Krolik is the co host of the podcast Bad Gay Movies
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's always fun to listen to people formulate a text while Amanda's doing that. I'll just say, Daniel Krolik is such an awesome person. I don't know anyone who knows more about musicals than Daniel Krolek. And, Daniel actually once got us to read a musical, and I was told I wouldn't have to sing. And then I got there, and there was a whole bunch of, like, these wonderful, musical theater people. And we're all reading. I believe it was Assassins, which was a musical I'd never heard of before.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a bunch of Assassins singing to each other. And I had to sing I Killed Abraham. I killed Abraham Lincoln.
>> Marco Timpano: And I had to, sing a couple of, notes or something. It would come to me, and I was like, oh, no, here we go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So what happened was just to explain our friend. This is the Daniel Krolik podcast. Now.
>> Marco Timpano: I would listen to the Daniel. In fact, I will say this. If you haven't listened to Daniel on our podcast, you can find him as a co host of a fantastic podcast called Bad Gay Movies, Bitchy Gay Men, and that's hosted by Bill, antonui, who's also a huge friend of the, of this podcast. And he's actually the reason I got into podcasting. And Daniel Krolek. And there's one other.
>> Amanda Barker: Bill is the reason you got into podcasting.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because remember when I wanted to get into podcasting and I didn't know anyone, and you're like, Daniel's friend Bill, who's a friend of mine, you kept saying, is a podcaster. I can reach out to him.
>> Amanda Barker: I did not remember this at all.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And you're like, do you want me to reach out to Bill? I go, I don't know if Bill will remember me. And you're like, I think he will. And plus, Bill's such a nice guy. And you said, I love Bill, and so I do love Bill. And you're like, I don't know anyone else who would be more, happy to help you or who would.
>> Amanda Barker: He really is a great guy.
>> Marco Timpano: He is a great guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: As is Daniel. And, you know. And, you know, whenever I need advice on other things, I'll turn to Daniel. And he always gives very sage advice
>> Amanda Barker: anyways, like, like, beaches, references, like.
>> Marco Timpano: Like anything like that. but also, I just love. I love going to dinner with Daniel. We need to make it, because Daniel's a lot of fun at dinner, even. And I'm not. I don't even mean fun fun. He's just a great person to go to dinner with. He knows how to order food. We always have a, you know, a lovely time. And I really enjoy hanging, out with him. So there you go.
Janelle: Amanda asked whether Canada has bagged milk
All right. While we're waiting for Daniel's, I don't
>> Amanda Barker: know if the text has gone through.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, there it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I only read one line.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: From Janelle's, message. Okay, so here we go. Because it's a little bit long. I love the Insomnia Project podcast. Exclamation mark. Not the perfume, but the actual punctuation. I find myself strangely compelled to clarify for both you and Amanda. I'm sorry. I find myself strangely compelled to clarify for you both that Amanda didn't assert that only Canada has bagged milk.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, here we are with the bagged milk.
>> Marco Timpano: She inquired whether. Well, this is actually supporting you, she said. You didn't assert it. You inquired whether Canada was the only country with bagged milk. It was Marco with bag. it was Marco. That affirmed incorrectly, apparently, that Canada was the only country with bagged milk. It went like this at about 8 minutes and 10 minutes into the. Into the Shreddies podcast episode. Amanda, you want to read your line there?
>> Amanda Barker: sure. we'll recreate it. This is a recreation. Amanda, is Canada the only country in the world that has bags of milk?
>> Marco Timpano: And then it comes back to me. Marco, I believe so. that's exactly how it went. So there you have it. This is Janelle. Now, folks, the responsibility for the bagged milk controversy of 2024 is at least shared. 50. 50 or slightly more on Marco's shoulder for affirming that the authoritative or with my authority of tone, as opposed to Amanda's inquiry or inquiry, that left possibilities open. There's no sense crying over and over and over again bagged milk. So please keep the insomnia project going, Janelle. Thank you very much. We will keep that going. And, do you feel vindicated, Amanda, with your bagged milk controversy? Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Daniel's like, what is going on? Why are you asking? I do, because I, you know, listen, I will say this, and maybe this is the final note of the bagged milk situation. One can only hope, because when we were talking about it, I believe it was because we were talking about the fact that I got bagged milk and put it in the freezer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was on sale, and you bought. So how are we with that frozen bag?
>> Amanda Barker: So here's the thing. I looked this morning. I defrosted yet another bag, like, a day or two ago, and I looked this morning. I think we have the final one in the freezer.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: But that's incredible, because we are into October now.
>> Marco Timpano: And when did you buy them?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the dates on that. Those milk bags are either August 4th or August 7th, so. So it would have been before August 4th. So August, long weekend, I think so August 1st. So that's two months for $6. I got two months worth of milk. Now, we're not. We don't have, you know, five kids at home, having bowls of cereal. We really just use milk for our coffee. I think I made a cream of broccoli soup last week. So, you know, I use milk daily,
>> Marco Timpano: but not in large quantities daily, but
>> Amanda Barker: exactly sparingly, but daily, probably, on some level. So I'm still pretty impressed. That was a good find. And I also want to say, I don't know if I talked about the great bagel haul of 2024, but, I got these bagels. I know I'm dating the podcast right now. And I apologize. But I got all these bagels that were like marked down and then further marked down, and we estimated that they all cost us 12 cents a bag. And along with the bag milk, I crammed them into every aspect of my freezer. And I have one more of those bagels in the freezer. And they have lasted for these months too. So, you know, these, these. I feel like, I follow this. Ah, she's not a podcaster. She's. I don't know, she sends me emails and then I get YouTube clips. I think she's a YouTuber.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But social media personality that has a whole thing. Should I plug her?
>> Marco Timpano: You can if you want.
>> Amanda Barker: I never do this because I never follow anybody. But, her name's Tara, I think, and it's called Living on a Dime.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And you know, that's always gonna draw me in. And it's really kind of like almost like we're talking like Nevada, Utah, homesteader kind of advice.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
She had one yesterday about these, like, grocery hauls
>> Amanda Barker: And so she had one yesterday about these, like, grocery hauls. I'm like, I've never heard of this grocery store. And you know, it's pretty. It can be pretty local to that world and that area. Always helpful. But she does have this like, Living on a Dime cookbook she's always selling or.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's like how to send recipes, how to maximize your dollars.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: yeah. It's all about that, which I'm always, always into. I always try to follow things like that, even if I ideologically am not matched with that person. I like to just see, like, you can always pick up tips. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
Amanda Burrell recommends checking out Dutch snack bar in Toronto
>> Amanda Barker: And speaking of which, who did we run into who's also really good friends with Dan Hookerlich, Actually one of his best friends.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Allison.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: And Allison's mother. Should I say her full name? Because she's also a creator. Content creator. Sure. Her name's Allison Broverman. And actually I'm just gonna. It's just become a plug a thon. I hope you're asleep now, but if you're not and you're like, wow, what businesses in Toronto can I support? trying to remember the name of the restaurant.
>> Marco Timpano: Borel.
>> Amanda Barker: It's fantastic. Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a Dutch snack bar. Snack bar. And Dutch. And Dutch like, countries that have been influenced by. By the Dutch.
>> Amanda Barker: Also Indonesian, perhaps.
>> Marco Timpano: There's dishes from all those, like, Dutch. Dutch influenced countries, or however you want to put it.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's a lovely place. It's in the East End of Toronto
>> Marco Timpano: Burrell, if you're coming to Toronto, two hours in that. It's a hidden gem. So you want to check it out because for sure. and they had an Oscar party there that we went to because you were talking about Oscars and it was lovely. And it was so great she'd do
>> Amanda Barker: that again this year.
>> Marco Timpano: It was lovely bumping into her and her parents in a drugstore. Drug mart.
>> Amanda Barker: So we bumped into her. That restaurant's in the East End. We live in the West End. And, we went to a garlic festival actually this weekend we should probably talk about. And it was quite warm. And so we went into, nearby there was a, ah, drugstore and we had our, nephew with us. And so we said, you know, it's, it's hot. Let's step inside the drugstore just to get some air conditioning and then we can figure out our next steps. And as we walked in, there she was with her parents. And the reason I'm bringing any of this up, truly, is because I've talked about her mom and I said to her mother who was there, I think about you so often because you taught me to get ends of cheeses from cheesemongers for your cheese plate.
>> Marco Timpano: So just to explain, if you go to a cheesemonger and you say, I've got $35 that I want to spend, can you give me all the ends of cheeses that you don't know what to do with because it's not enough. And cheese mongers will generally say, wow, of course, I'm happy to. And they end up giving you more cheese than you would if you just bought it by the weight. And you get to try a whole bunch of different cheeses. Often they'll ask you, what cheeses don't you like? So they don't include those cheese ends.
>> Marco Timpano: Into the bundle. But you've always scored very well when you've done that. Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: I. Yeah, and I think it's really great to do in different cities because, you know, there's certain cheeses I like, but I don't need to get the best, you know, French or Dutch or whatever cheese. When I'm in Thunder Bay, Ontario, I want to get what's interesting and local to Thunder Bay, Ontario, which there might be Finnish cheese. Actually. Yeah, there's a huge Finnish population and Italian population. So, you know, they'll know what, what they have and be able to showcase it that way. And then you're not committing to any one huge block of cheese.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. Well, I know what I have in a co host and a wonderful, delightful person who, stopped her work today, to come down and record the podcast so I could get this one out on time and on spec, as we say. And Amanda, I'm going to put this up on our podcast, and then I'm going to head to work, and then you are working as well, and then I come back to my baking class tonight.
Marco, we didn't talk about the garlic festival, though. Tell us about the barbecue
>> Amanda Barker: Marco, we didn't talk about the garlic festival, though. We really teased it.
>> Marco Timpano: You have one minute. Tell us about the barbecue.
>> Amanda Barker: Only one minute. Listen, it was lovely. It was a garlic festival that showcased all things garlic. And because it was a garlic festival, there was a nice booth of mouthwash there, and we got some free mouthwash. Not mouthwash. Mouthwash.
>> Marco Timpano: Mouthwash. Yeah. They weren't actually handing out the mouthwash, but because that's a brand I know, and I enjoy. I had mentioned it to them, and I said, are there new brands? She's like, I'm going to give you one. And I was like, all right.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a great hookup, and there was some live Chaz. And we took, our sweet nephew, one of our nephews, and, and he, ended up getting ice cream. There was no garlic involved in the ice cream.
>> Marco Timpano: No. But I did see gelato that had ice cream in it that they were selling. There was a really big line, and we had.
>> Amanda Barker: We got garlic poetry. They would write garlic poetry on the spot for you. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: They asked you three things, or they asked each one of us things we liked about garlic, and then they incorporated those things. So I liked. I liked, I liked its bulbousness.
>> Amanda Barker: What did he like? the taste.
>> Marco Timpano: The taste.
>> Amanda Barker: And I liked its antifungal properties, which she said was quite a challenge to work into a poem, but she made it happen.
>> Marco Timpano: Tune in next week. We will read that poem on air, if we can find it. And, you'll hear that garlic poem.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Until next time. We hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: October 2, 2024)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a 20, 26 minute conversation.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no. 20 cynics.
>> Marco Timpano: there are probably 20 cynics listening right now. Amanda, to the Insomnia Project. We just want you to chill on this episode.
>> Amanda Barker: Imagine being a cynic listening to this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: You're like, yeah, ah, I'm here for this, but I'm gonna judge it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like, yeah, I thought you were cutting me off.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no.
>> Amanda Barker: Being like, I don't think this is gonna make me sleep. And then like sitting with your arms crossed. I'm sure there are people that do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, certainly.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that happens a lot when people overhype movies or TV shows. I have such a hard time in Oscar season when some movies get really overhyped and then, you know, it's like that thing of like.
>> Marco Timpano: Nah.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah. It really wasn't that good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Whereas if you just see something out of the blue and you have no expectations. Maybe you haven't even seen the trailer. it's one of the reasons I love the Toronto Fringe Festival, or any fringe festival. You know, just going into random plays or musicals or whatever it ends up being. And just seeing something without any expectation. It's such a great way to experience something.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the double feature?
>> Amanda Barker: Like in movies?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Like there was a time. I only remember it for a short glimmer of time.
>> Amanda Barker: Wasn't it in the 50s?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I wasn't around in the 50s, but. And that's why maybe it disappeared. Maybe I was really young. I was in my teens. Okay. And we went to go see a movie, and then at the start of the movie, they said they would say they'd make this announcement. This is a double feature. We're going to play a film before the film that you've paid for, which means you're going to be here for two films. If you cannot be here for two films, please, exit. We'll give you a refund or we'll get you another movie or something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: This. Oh, so you had to watch the
>> Marco Timpano: second movie, or I think they played it first before. So you would go. You'd pay to see a movie. Yeah. So this happened only twice.
>> Amanda Barker: I can understand. I have a theory about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Both times the movie was a surprise, excellent film. So once it was, Do you remember the movie Beaches with Bette Midler and.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, do I remember the movie Beaches?
>> Marco Timpano: And, Was it Demi Moore or something else?
>> Amanda Barker: Not. It was, Oh, if you hadn't asked me, I would remember.
>> Marco Timpano: They were singers and they were in a band or something.
>> Amanda Barker: No. What?
>> Marco Timpano: No, she was a Broadway star.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I. Are you actually, you know, I know this movie inside and out.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw it as a teen by accident, like at a double feature.
>> Amanda Barker: What was that woman's name? I just remember she got lip injections for the movie. for some reason.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't she the one who plays on Downton Abbey, the wife of Mr. No?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh my gosh, this is gonna drive me crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you'll think about it. But anyway, so we saw that and it was like, wow, what a great film. And then we saw the film that we paid for. I want to say it was Planes, Trains and Automobiles, which also was a great film.
>> Amanda Barker: But Beaches actually didn't do that well in theaters, truthfully.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really? Okay, Well, I didn't. Knew nothing about it when they played it. And it was like, oh, what a cool film. Right. We weren't expecting it. This kind of, like, film about pals through the ages or something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Women. Yeah. About women's friendship, which I guess is pals, but yeah, we don't usually use pals for women. We usually use it for men.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: her name. I'm trying to come.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess you could call it, like, Barbara Hershey.
>> Amanda Barker: Right, right.
Bee should have been made into a Broadway musical, you say
>> Marco Timpano: That's what I said, didn't I?
>> Amanda Barker: I believe you said Demi Moore.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, So it was a buddy picture, Right? So it was really great.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It was a story of friendship. Again, with women. We don't usually call them a buddy
>> Marco Timpano: picture, but that's what that genre of film is called.
>> Amanda Barker: I think a buddy picture is. Usually has a comedic ending. Which Beaches, Spoiler alert. Came out in 1989. Does not have a comedic ending.
>> Marco Timpano: It doesn't? A little bit.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you joking?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. Okay. Yes. right.
>> Amanda Barker: For real. Are you joking? No, no, no. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: There are comedic moments in it, though.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. Well, because Bette Miller's amazing. Yeah. And she plays this aspiring actress singer. I mean, she's amazing in it. She's so good. I mean, I know the movie inside. And how they have not made that into a Broadway musical is beyond me. Of all the things that have become Broadway musicals that, like Back to the Future or, you know, Waitress the movie. Never saw that as a Broadway musical.
>> Marco Timpano: Huey Lewis in the news album.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, that's a jute. What we call a jute box or jute. It's really juke box, isn't it? But I always say jute with, like,
>> Marco Timpano: t. No, jute is a fabric made of, like.
>> Amanda Barker: I know I'm pronouncing it wrong. Anyway, that's what the Huey Lewis and the news one was. And there's several others. Others, like. I mean, that's what Mamma Mia Is. Mamma Mia is a jukebox. You go with the story. But, But Bee just should be made into a musical.
>> Marco Timpano: I agree. I couldn't agree with you more.
>> Amanda Barker: Producers of Broadway.
>> Marco Timpano: So the other and only other.
>> Amanda Barker: You could do the musical within the musical because she's in. There's actually two musicals featured in that movie. I think it's one of the reasons it's so big with people like me who love musicals and watching them. do you remember the two musicals?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. One is, like, a body M Musical.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. It's called. It's like the one I was in, which was called Spank.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the one you were in, but
>> Amanda Barker: I think hers is called Honk or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And then the other one was some avant m garde thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's right. The song was called oh, Misery. And it was like about industrialization and stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is funny to watch Bette Midler in anything that's like that because it's. She's so great and her voice is so distinctive and so on. but I don't know, like, I don't think she would be the person you would go to to cast for that. But anyway.
Marco Timpano: It's been two weeks since we aired an episode
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, while Amanda's looking something up, I'm going to talk about the other movie that I saw.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm looking at the other musical that's in the movie Beaches.
>> Marco Timpano: We should. We, you know, we never introduced ourselves. I'm Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Parker.
>> Marco Timpano: And thank you for joining us. Thank you for being patient because it's been two weeks since we aired an episode. I was sick last week and prior to that we had to. We had a bit of a family emergency we were dealing with. So, we're back on the air. And thank you for being patient. And remind me, Amanda M. I have a message that I have to read after I talk about my next film that I saw at a double feature.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness. Well, anyways, I would say, Oh, hang on. How long is Beach? Is the musical I'm seeing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So someone has made it into a musical.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, how long is it? That's what I need to know now.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a two and a half hour show with a 20 minute intermission. So this has happened. Okay. It came out in May of this year. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well.
>> Amanda Barker: But May. So where did it go? Because Beaches M Theater Calgary is doing Beaches the musical.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe it just didn't live up to what you hoped it lived up to.
>> Amanda Barker: I really do need to know what the name of that musical is. It's like one. It's like. Because I remember when I was touring with Spank, I'm like, oh my God, I've become Bette Midler and Beaches.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: well, that's gonna bother me.
One movie I saw on the double feature was the movie Ghost
>> Marco Timpano: All right, well, while it bothers you, can I talk about the other movie I saw on the double feature?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So the second movie that I saw this was a few years later and once again, this movie hadn't come out. I hadn't seen a trailer for it was totally unaware was the movie Ghost with Patrick Swayze, whoopi Goldberg and of course now Demi Moore.
>> Marco Timpano: And that we were like, wow, what a great film. And once, again, a film that did not receive great critical, acclaim from critics but found its not. No, I didn't realize that. Yeah, yeah, it got Panda, I believe.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: But I enjoyed that. And I was like, this movie is great. And you know, when you see something without that sort of baggage, attached to it of everyone loving it.
>> Marco Timpano: You can sort of form your own opinion. And though both those movies I have a very good impression of because I saw them before the film that we were actually going to see. And I wish I could remember the films that we actually saw because the. This preview. Was it called a double feature? Was it called a preview? Preview? It had a really interesting. This name. When you'd go to the theater and they'd say, all right, you're here at our theater and it's going to be a preview screening double feature. I can't remember. But, it was so long ago, if you will.
The name of Otto Titzeling was taken from a 1971 satire
>> Amanda Barker: I have gone down a deep rabbit hole as you were talking about. I don't know if, Well, the name of the song. It's a name. Is Otto Titzeling and that's the name of the song from the musical. And now I've learned a whole bunch that that was actually taken from a 1971 satire called Bust, the uplifting tale of Otto Titzeling by New Zealand humorist Wallace Rayburn. and it was a book and that's so interesting. Oh, and it was a hoax because this guy never existed.
>> Marco Timpano: Who? Auto Titzeling never existed? No, I thought he invented the brassiere.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, and that's why it's a hoax. It was even made it into Trovio Pursuit. Who invented the brassiere? Auto Titling.
>> Marco Timpano: Trovial Pursuit.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Trivial Pursuit.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah, that's the off brand version.
>> Marco Timpano: A trivial person, a knockoff.
>> Amanda Barker: and so they used all of that from the book Philip de Brassiere, which is in the book too for this fictitious musical that lives within Beaches. However, the fictitious musical, I still cannot find the name. I really think it's like one word. It's like honk or spank, but it's not spank or it's something like that. Like it's one word. Now I do have friends I could message.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. It is early in the morning, but maybe not too early.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what? Here's how you know when you have good friends. I'm gonna go ahead and text. It is early in the Morning. I'm gonna go ahead and text my friend Daniel and see how quickly I get her.
>> Marco Timpano: Daniel's a friend of the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: He's a good friend of the podcast. And a friend of mine.
>> Marco Timpano: And a good friend of mine. And while Amanda does that, I'm going to read a Instagram message that we received from one of our listeners. Okay, Amanda, So thank you for everyone who does send us messages, especially messages of support and. And, you know, corrections and whatnot. We really do appreciate it. We don't always get to them as quickly as we can, but we do appreciate them. Amanda is texting. I'll just wait till she's done texting before I read this.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, here's what I'm texting. This is the live feed, folks. Okay. I need the name of the Otto Titley musical in Beaches. I know it is early, but you are the only one I can trust with.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, there we go. We'll see if Daniel gets back to us before the end of this podcast. Okay, so, Amanda, do you want to read this message or shall I?
>> Amanda Barker: I think you can. You have it in your hand.
Janelle W. recalls a cheap perfume called exclamation Mark
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so Janelle W. Says the following. I love the Insomnia Project podcast. Exclamation mark, Amanda. You know it's true when there's an exclamation mark that follows it.
>> Marco Timpano: Were you talking about a perfume called exclamation Mark?
>> Amanda Barker: Exclamation? Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Did you own that perfume?
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone owned that perfume. And we have gotten so much response from that show. and I was with a group of friends who were talking about their daughters, and how their daughters what? Their daughter's version of what we had as exclamation in the 80s.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was exclamation like a cheaper perfume, or was it an eau de toilette?
>> Amanda Barker: No, it was very cheap and very cheerful.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, it might have been $15. I don't know. Like, it was cheap perfume. They got to bring it back, and we loved it. I remember loving the smell of exclamation.
>> Marco Timpano: Was the bottle an exclamation mark?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Y. We've covered this.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we did. On the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I don't remember.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you don't remember?
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, there's so many podcast episodes.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how I've told you about exclamation. And then I sang it in English and French. Exclamation.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. Yeah, No, I remember you talking recently, just the other day with our friend Dale, who's also a good friend of mine.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, about exclamation. Okay. Yeah. But we did a whole podcast episode on it. Anyway. It lives in our memories.
>> Marco Timpano: clearly not mine.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Right. but her daughter is really into a particular Ariana Grande perfume. And then we went shopping with her niece last night, who, educated me on Sol de Janeiro, which is perfume spray that you put in your hair.
>> Marco Timpano: Hair perfume, I believe Hair perfume.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know that was a thing.
>> Marco Timpano: The woman who worked there said it was a body mist and hair perfume. And I said, there's a thing called a hair perfume.
>> Amanda Barker: It's really funny. And then our adorable niece, she was like, what are you looking for? And our niece very eruditely said, I'm really looking for more of a fall scent right now. She wanted things that had notes of fall in it, and she got it.
>> Marco Timpano: I respect that because I have so for my cologne, Amanda, I have a spring cologne. I have a fall cologne and have the cologne that you like.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Thank you. The name of the musical is Sizzle 76.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, what's the.
>> Amanda Barker: I was thinking it was Sizzle.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the other musical where she's, like, all robotic or whatever called.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know if that one had a name.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you have. You have someone on the hotline there that you can take.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe he got back to me. Okay. And the dystopian off. okay. And did the. This has got to be putting people to sleep.
Daniel Krolik is the co host of the podcast Bad Gay Movies
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's always fun to listen to people formulate a text while Amanda's doing that. I'll just say, Daniel Krolik is such an awesome person. I don't know anyone who knows more about musicals than Daniel Krolek. And, Daniel actually once got us to read a musical, and I was told I wouldn't have to sing. And then I got there, and there was a whole bunch of, like, these wonderful, musical theater people. And we're all reading. I believe it was Assassins, which was a musical I'd never heard of before.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a bunch of Assassins singing to each other. And I had to sing I Killed Abraham. I killed Abraham Lincoln.
>> Marco Timpano: And I had to, sing a couple of, notes or something. It would come to me, and I was like, oh, no, here we go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So what happened was just to explain our friend. This is the Daniel Krolik podcast. Now.
>> Marco Timpano: I would listen to the Daniel. In fact, I will say this. If you haven't listened to Daniel on our podcast, you can find him as a co host of a fantastic podcast called Bad Gay Movies, Bitchy Gay Men, and that's hosted by Bill, antonui, who's also a huge friend of the, of this podcast. And he's actually the reason I got into podcasting. And Daniel Krolek. And there's one other.
>> Amanda Barker: Bill is the reason you got into podcasting.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because remember when I wanted to get into podcasting and I didn't know anyone, and you're like, Daniel's friend Bill, who's a friend of mine, you kept saying, is a podcaster. I can reach out to him.
>> Amanda Barker: I did not remember this at all.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And you're like, do you want me to reach out to Bill? I go, I don't know if Bill will remember me. And you're like, I think he will. And plus, Bill's such a nice guy. And you said, I love Bill, and so I do love Bill. And you're like, I don't know anyone else who would be more, happy to help you or who would.
>> Amanda Barker: He really is a great guy.
>> Marco Timpano: He is a great guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: As is Daniel. And, you know. And, you know, whenever I need advice on other things, I'll turn to Daniel. And he always gives very sage advice
>> Amanda Barker: anyways, like, like, beaches, references, like.
>> Marco Timpano: Like anything like that. but also, I just love. I love going to dinner with Daniel. We need to make it, because Daniel's a lot of fun at dinner, even. And I'm not. I don't even mean fun fun. He's just a great person to go to dinner with. He knows how to order food. We always have a, you know, a lovely time. And I really enjoy hanging, out with him. So there you go.
Janelle: Amanda asked whether Canada has bagged milk
All right. While we're waiting for Daniel's, I don't
>> Amanda Barker: know if the text has gone through.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, there it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I only read one line.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: From Janelle's, message. Okay, so here we go. Because it's a little bit long. I love the Insomnia Project podcast. Exclamation mark. Not the perfume, but the actual punctuation. I find myself strangely compelled to clarify for both you and Amanda. I'm sorry. I find myself strangely compelled to clarify for you both that Amanda didn't assert that only Canada has bagged milk.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, here we are with the bagged milk.
>> Marco Timpano: She inquired whether. Well, this is actually supporting you, she said. You didn't assert it. You inquired whether Canada was the only country with bagged milk. It was Marco with bag. it was Marco. That affirmed incorrectly, apparently, that Canada was the only country with bagged milk. It went like this at about 8 minutes and 10 minutes into the. Into the Shreddies podcast episode. Amanda, you want to read your line there?
>> Amanda Barker: sure. we'll recreate it. This is a recreation. Amanda, is Canada the only country in the world that has bags of milk?
>> Marco Timpano: And then it comes back to me. Marco, I believe so. that's exactly how it went. So there you have it. This is Janelle. Now, folks, the responsibility for the bagged milk controversy of 2024 is at least shared. 50. 50 or slightly more on Marco's shoulder for affirming that the authoritative or with my authority of tone, as opposed to Amanda's inquiry or inquiry, that left possibilities open. There's no sense crying over and over and over again bagged milk. So please keep the insomnia project going, Janelle. Thank you very much. We will keep that going. And, do you feel vindicated, Amanda, with your bagged milk controversy? Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Daniel's like, what is going on? Why are you asking? I do, because I, you know, listen, I will say this, and maybe this is the final note of the bagged milk situation. One can only hope, because when we were talking about it, I believe it was because we were talking about the fact that I got bagged milk and put it in the freezer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was on sale, and you bought. So how are we with that frozen bag?
>> Amanda Barker: So here's the thing. I looked this morning. I defrosted yet another bag, like, a day or two ago, and I looked this morning. I think we have the final one in the freezer.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: But that's incredible, because we are into October now.
>> Marco Timpano: And when did you buy them?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the dates on that. Those milk bags are either August 4th or August 7th, so. So it would have been before August 4th. So August, long weekend, I think so August 1st. So that's two months for $6. I got two months worth of milk. Now, we're not. We don't have, you know, five kids at home, having bowls of cereal. We really just use milk for our coffee. I think I made a cream of broccoli soup last week. So, you know, I use milk daily,
>> Marco Timpano: but not in large quantities daily, but
>> Amanda Barker: exactly sparingly, but daily, probably, on some level. So I'm still pretty impressed. That was a good find. And I also want to say, I don't know if I talked about the great bagel haul of 2024, but, I got these bagels. I know I'm dating the podcast right now. And I apologize. But I got all these bagels that were like marked down and then further marked down, and we estimated that they all cost us 12 cents a bag. And along with the bag milk, I crammed them into every aspect of my freezer. And I have one more of those bagels in the freezer. And they have lasted for these months too. So, you know, these, these. I feel like, I follow this. Ah, she's not a podcaster. She's. I don't know, she sends me emails and then I get YouTube clips. I think she's a YouTuber.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But social media personality that has a whole thing. Should I plug her?
>> Marco Timpano: You can if you want.
>> Amanda Barker: I never do this because I never follow anybody. But, her name's Tara, I think, and it's called Living on a Dime.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And you know, that's always gonna draw me in. And it's really kind of like almost like we're talking like Nevada, Utah, homesteader kind of advice.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
She had one yesterday about these, like, grocery hauls
>> Amanda Barker: And so she had one yesterday about these, like, grocery hauls. I'm like, I've never heard of this grocery store. And you know, it's pretty. It can be pretty local to that world and that area. Always helpful. But she does have this like, Living on a Dime cookbook she's always selling or.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's like how to send recipes, how to maximize your dollars.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: yeah. It's all about that, which I'm always, always into. I always try to follow things like that, even if I ideologically am not matched with that person. I like to just see, like, you can always pick up tips. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
Amanda Burrell recommends checking out Dutch snack bar in Toronto
>> Amanda Barker: And speaking of which, who did we run into who's also really good friends with Dan Hookerlich, Actually one of his best friends.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Allison.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: And Allison's mother. Should I say her full name? Because she's also a creator. Content creator. Sure. Her name's Allison Broverman. And actually I'm just gonna. It's just become a plug a thon. I hope you're asleep now, but if you're not and you're like, wow, what businesses in Toronto can I support? trying to remember the name of the restaurant.
>> Marco Timpano: Borel.
>> Amanda Barker: It's fantastic. Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a Dutch snack bar. Snack bar. And Dutch. And Dutch like, countries that have been influenced by. By the Dutch.
>> Amanda Barker: Also Indonesian, perhaps.
>> Marco Timpano: There's dishes from all those, like, Dutch. Dutch influenced countries, or however you want to put it.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's a lovely place. It's in the East End of Toronto
>> Marco Timpano: Burrell, if you're coming to Toronto, two hours in that. It's a hidden gem. So you want to check it out because for sure. and they had an Oscar party there that we went to because you were talking about Oscars and it was lovely. And it was so great she'd do
>> Amanda Barker: that again this year.
>> Marco Timpano: It was lovely bumping into her and her parents in a drugstore. Drug mart.
>> Amanda Barker: So we bumped into her. That restaurant's in the East End. We live in the West End. And, we went to a garlic festival actually this weekend we should probably talk about. And it was quite warm. And so we went into, nearby there was a, ah, drugstore and we had our, nephew with us. And so we said, you know, it's, it's hot. Let's step inside the drugstore just to get some air conditioning and then we can figure out our next steps. And as we walked in, there she was with her parents. And the reason I'm bringing any of this up, truly, is because I've talked about her mom and I said to her mother who was there, I think about you so often because you taught me to get ends of cheeses from cheesemongers for your cheese plate.
>> Marco Timpano: So just to explain, if you go to a cheesemonger and you say, I've got $35 that I want to spend, can you give me all the ends of cheeses that you don't know what to do with because it's not enough. And cheese mongers will generally say, wow, of course, I'm happy to. And they end up giving you more cheese than you would if you just bought it by the weight. And you get to try a whole bunch of different cheeses. Often they'll ask you, what cheeses don't you like? So they don't include those cheese ends.
>> Marco Timpano: Into the bundle. But you've always scored very well when you've done that. Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: I. Yeah, and I think it's really great to do in different cities because, you know, there's certain cheeses I like, but I don't need to get the best, you know, French or Dutch or whatever cheese. When I'm in Thunder Bay, Ontario, I want to get what's interesting and local to Thunder Bay, Ontario, which there might be Finnish cheese. Actually. Yeah, there's a huge Finnish population and Italian population. So, you know, they'll know what, what they have and be able to showcase it that way. And then you're not committing to any one huge block of cheese.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. Well, I know what I have in a co host and a wonderful, delightful person who, stopped her work today, to come down and record the podcast so I could get this one out on time and on spec, as we say. And Amanda, I'm going to put this up on our podcast, and then I'm going to head to work, and then you are working as well, and then I come back to my baking class tonight.
Marco, we didn't talk about the garlic festival, though. Tell us about the barbecue
>> Amanda Barker: Marco, we didn't talk about the garlic festival, though. We really teased it.
>> Marco Timpano: You have one minute. Tell us about the barbecue.
>> Amanda Barker: Only one minute. Listen, it was lovely. It was a garlic festival that showcased all things garlic. And because it was a garlic festival, there was a nice booth of mouthwash there, and we got some free mouthwash. Not mouthwash. Mouthwash.
>> Marco Timpano: Mouthwash. Yeah. They weren't actually handing out the mouthwash, but because that's a brand I know, and I enjoy. I had mentioned it to them, and I said, are there new brands? She's like, I'm going to give you one. And I was like, all right.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a great hookup, and there was some live Chaz. And we took, our sweet nephew, one of our nephews, and, and he, ended up getting ice cream. There was no garlic involved in the ice cream.
>> Marco Timpano: No. But I did see gelato that had ice cream in it that they were selling. There was a really big line, and we had.
>> Amanda Barker: We got garlic poetry. They would write garlic poetry on the spot for you. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: They asked you three things, or they asked each one of us things we liked about garlic, and then they incorporated those things. So I liked. I liked, I liked its bulbousness.
>> Amanda Barker: What did he like? the taste.
>> Marco Timpano: The taste.
>> Amanda Barker: And I liked its antifungal properties, which she said was quite a challenge to work into a poem, but she made it happen.
>> Marco Timpano: Tune in next week. We will read that poem on air, if we can find it. And, you'll hear that garlic poem.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Until next time. We hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Birds of a Feather, Vespa Together
(Original airdate: Sept 24, 2024)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm your host, Marco Timpano
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm m conversation that's meant to help you sort of drift off and find your way to La La land, I guess some people refer to it. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. I need to take my earrings out.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. While Amanda's taking her earrings out, we will say, thank you for listening.
Marco: I'm trying my best Amanda to record brand new holiday episodes
Last week we had my niece on the podcast, and this week we're back with Amanda, and I'm trying my best Amanda to record brand new holiday episodes. So we have a whole bunch of new holiday episodes because, you know, I've been recycling some that we've recorded in the past, but now I think it's time to update them a bit. So that'll be coming in the month of December. But just so our listeners know what
>> Amanda Barker: I'm working on, what did my niece talk about?
>> Marco Timpano: She talked about being at camp because she was at a camp and what to bring when you go on a camp and archery and things like that.
>> Amanda Barker: She was very excited about that camp. She was glowing after that camp. It's lovely when you get to be that age and immersed in something with a whole new people and a whole new experience. it's really great for kids.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, Amanda, two weeks prior we recorded an episode, and I've got some listener feedback on two of our episodes.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: So the one that we did about watermelon picking the perfect watermelon.
>> Amanda Barker: You would think we talk about this. We live together. We sometimes often work together. I only hear about this in this booth.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, watermelon, here we go.
>> Marco Timpano: Carrie writes to us on our social media.
>> Amanda Barker: Carrie, my. Our sister in law.
>> Marco Timpano: No. Unless Carrie S. Is my new sister in law. I don't want to say her last name because I don't want to unless I have her permission. But Carrie writes. Hi, Marco and Amanda, Been loving your last episode. Still have to finish it, though. Once again, you never have to finish our episodes. We leave it up to you. But if you fall asleep and never get to the end, or we couldn't
>> Amanda Barker: be happier, the more times you've put it on and have no idea how it ends, ends the better.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, Carrie continues laughing emoji, but with a very soft exclamation mark.
You can make a lovely watermelon smoothie or slushy type drink
I wanted to chime in and give you my hack for the tons of leftover watermelon you have.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, great.
>> Marco Timpano: You can make a lovely watermelon smoothie or slushy type drink.
>> Marco Timpano: Just put loads of watermelon in a blender and it doesn't matter if it's over or under half or a whole frozen banana, of which we have a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: And a little bit of milk or water and blend it up.
>> Amanda Barker: This is a great hack.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, you could also throw in strawberries or other fruit if you have it too. It's so delicious in the summer and it quickly uses up the watermelon.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a great idea. I don't know why we haven't been doing that.
>> Marco Timpano: I love this idea.
>> Amanda Barker: I do too. And I love a watermelon shake. You know, when I was shake.
>> Marco Timpano: A watermelon shake.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what? Because that's what they called them in Thailand. Like a watermelon smoothie. They would call it a watermelon shake.
>> Marco Timpano: So not nowhere near Thailand. When was the last time you were in Thailand that you're referencing it like something Amanda often says? You know what they call it something else in Thailand. It's like this is the first I've ever heard you say that too.
>> Amanda Barker: Last time I was in Thailand, I was 23.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So, it's been a while. It's been a minute, as they say.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. The first thing I remember there is the first day, like for lunch, I remember having a big plate of pad Thai and a watermelon shake. I don't know. That's what they called it.
>> Marco Timpano: And so listen, I don't have problems with shakes. I love shakes. I love watermelon. And that's it.
Sierra says not all of Canada has bagged milk
All right, so now to the controversial.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that was not it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that was not it. Now this is from Sierra. Okay. And Sierra is right. And I have to point, waggle a finger at you because you're the one who made this statement.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: Who knew that our milk bag episode.
>> Amanda Barker: We're back to the milk bags. I can never escape. I am saddled like a ball and chain. There are bags of milk around my theoretical, ankles and wrists.
>> Marco Timpano: Folks, we still have a ton of frozen bags of milk in the freezer in case we have.
>> Amanda Barker: That was a haul.
>> Marco Timpano: So Sierra says, listening to all the bagged milk talk the last few episodes. And I thought I would jump in and say that not all of Canada has bagged milk.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: I grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. P.S. love Edmonton. Love Alberta. I just said this the other day. I go every time I go to Alberta. I have the best time.
>> Amanda Barker: I've only been once. I've never been to Edmonton.
>> Marco Timpano: Actually, if you're listening and you haven't been to Alberta yet, and you.
>> Amanda Barker: And you do what I did go
>> Marco Timpano: do what Amanda did go. In particular, if you can drive from Calgary to Banff, Lake Louise, all that business.
>> Amanda Barker: It's so stunning.
>> Marco Timpano: I was talking about it with somebody today at works, R. Sierra.
>> Amanda Barker: It really warns you how stunning it is. You think, oh, yeah, Banff. Everyone goes to Banff. Banff, Banff, Banff. Now, people who are not in Canada will be like, what are you saying?
>> Marco Timpano: But anyways, B, A, N, F, F, Banff.
>> Amanda Barker: But I always pretend there's an M, but there isn't, I guess. Anyway, so people will say, oh, yeah, go to Banff. Go to Banff. And then you go and you drive from M. Calgary. And it's breathtaking. It's so stunning. It's the Rockies. So if you've driven along the Rockies or into the Rockies, on other Rockies, then you've had some of that experience. But I have to say, compared to other Rockies, I've been to.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Right? And I was talking to Kevin at work today, M. And he said it's like everywhere you look is a postcard. Is exactly what he said today.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's true.
Back to the back to the much more important, um, Bagged Milk
>> Marco Timpano: But anyways, back to the.
>> Amanda Barker: Back to the back to the much more important, Bagged Milk.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Bagged Milk of Banff. Sierra grew up in Edmonton, Alberta.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. And she says maybe she knows our friends Troy.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes, Troy.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Troy o'. Donnell.
>> Amanda Barker: Are we allowed to say his name?
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know I'd say. He's an actor and he's a friend, and he would do a podcast if he was here.
>> Amanda Barker: He would. And he's so lovely. And we did a show with him, and he's quite involved in the Shakespeare festival there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I remember I used to love,
>> Marco Timpano: Honestly, I had a great time performing with Troy.
>> Amanda Barker: You did? You loved working with Troy.
>> Marco Timpano: And I used to say this. And I still say this today. You can get. You can get.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe we're doing this.
>> Marco Timpano: You can get two pheasants for the price of one turkey every Thursday at Thirsty's.
>> Amanda Barker: That's just a thing Marco made up for a show that we did and a long time ago.
>> Marco Timpano: And Troy would always. Yes, and that.
>> Marco Timpano: And always.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he would. He was lovely. That's a great price.
>> Marco Timpano: Even though, if you think about it, two pheasants would not be the Same value as one turkey. Even though if you could get two pheasants for the price of one turkey,
>> Amanda Barker: pheasant is highly prized. I think it's a great deal.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, how much would a turkey cost? Not on sale?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I only buy them on sale.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's say a 10 pound turkey.
>> Amanda Barker: I really don't know. Okay, so also the reference you're making was from 1948.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's true.
>> Amanda Barker: They were in a play that took place in 1948.
>> Marco Timpano: Not that I.
>> Amanda Barker: Back then. $10. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, how much would two pheasants cost you back in 1948?
>> Amanda Barker: I've never gone to the grocery store and ordered up some pheasants.
>> Marco Timpano: Can you look up the price of a Turkey in 1948 while I finish this, text?
Sierra says all of Canada has bagged milk, not her
Okay, so sorry, Sierra, we've just, we've deep dived in the middle of your Instagram message. So where was I, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: So Sierra grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, and Sierra says we have jugs and cartons, not bags. Silent exclamation mark. I think it's just some of the east coast, Quebec and Ontario that do bagged milk still. I always heard growing up that Canada has bagged milk, but I never experienced it until I moved to Ontario a few years back.
>> Amanda Barker: I see.
>> Marco Timpano: But Canada always seems to get generalized based on what Ontario does. And she has an emoji that is laughing, but tears are coming out of her eyes.
>> Amanda Barker: I get it. I get it. Being from New Brunswick, it's not usually the province people think of, when they're talking about Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: But I will say for the longest time, Amanda called me an upper Canadian and I feel like it was a bit of a Slurpee.
>> Amanda Barker: It was not a slur. It's what we called you guys. And ah, also the price of a turkey in 1940, somehow I found was between 29 and 31 cents a pound.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, and how much was the price of a pheasant back then?
>> Amanda Barker: Who's buying pheasant? You're not. They're not even for sale. I think you have to get them only through game hunting.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Have you ever bought pheasant? Like, I don't think you can buy it.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: maybe not, because I have at, certain restaurants had pheasant.
>> Marco Timpano: Pheasant under glass was a thing.
>> Amanda Barker: What?
>> Marco Timpano: I've never had pheasant under glass. But don't you remember watching like Bugs Bunny and they would like, say, pheasant under glass no, no. As a very high priced item.
>> Amanda Barker: But I did. In my search, the first thing that comes up when I type in pheasant is pheasant versus turkey.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay?
>> Amanda Barker: Which is, you know, the Thanksgiving movie everyone needs to see.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so tell us about that.
>> Amanda Barker: Ring necked pheasants are smaller and more slender than wild turkeys. That's all that comes up.
>> Marco Timpano: We see wild turkeys all the time. And every time I see one, I think how much I would love to have that on my plate.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco, there are people that don't eat animals and that's disturbing for them to listen to. I'm sorry. And now you've done that to them and that's really unfair. I'm not joking.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, what do you want me to do? I'm sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: I take it back, folks. If I said that all joyfully sipping my tea, which he just did, all smiles, he would roll his eyes at
>> Marco Timpano: me, which I do.
>> Amanda Barker: He would roll his eyes, he would tisk. He would continue on and then stop it. And then yell at me and say, we can't do that. That's not fair to the people that don't.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like you're doing this to shift the milk bag blame because you said that milk bags.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm fine. I am fine to know. In fact, I'm happy to m. Embrace the milk of Edmonton.
>> Marco Timpano: And you were the one who said that all of Canada has bagged milk, not me.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, and. And, but why are you upset about it?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not upset. I'm not upset.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like a marital dispute.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but here's the thing too. We.
>> Amanda Barker: We had a lovely Vespa ride. Things are not bad in this house. I don't know why. We're. We just came from the most loveliest Vespa ride.
>> Marco Timpano: We. We did go by. Amanda was like, I'd like to see the water.
>> Amanda Barker: So I came home from work and was like, let's put on our. You know that feeling when you put on your plate clothes? That's what it felt like. I came home, I took off my work clothes and I put on my play clothes. I put on comfy jeans and a comfy sweater and comfy sneakers and said, let's go on the Vespa.
>> Marco Timpano: And we drove down to Lake Ontario
>> Amanda Barker: because he always says, where do you want to go? And I always think I want to go near the water.
>> Marco Timpano: So we drove to the water. It was beautiful. We went for a walk. We saw dragon boats.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah, like, practice dragon boat. They weren't racing. They were practicing. They were. What is that called? Practicing?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, practice. And there was the person who sits at the back who yells at the rest of the people.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco said that would be his form of dragon boating. Yelling at everyone.
>> Marco Timpano: I would be the person who yells. And as they were yelling, I was trying to hear them yell.
Mia M: People are eating goose. Who is eating goose?
A Canada goose was squawking and he
>> Amanda Barker: got mad at the goose.
>> Marco Timpano: I did get mad at the goose.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was really funny because you. All you wanted to do was hear what she was yelling at them. And you were mad because somebody else walked by. And then he went back to listen. And then this goose starts squawking. He's like yelling at the goose because he wants to hear the dragon boat lady.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to know how much the price of goose was in 1940. Who is eating goose? People are eating goose.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you can't eat a Canada goose. You're not allowed to eat them. Oh, well, why are you so on to eating fowl today?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: The foul, eating episode.
>> Marco Timpano: So, okay, so we, we did that. And then we drove to a place where you got a lovely top. And I got a scrubber for pots.
>> Marco Timpano: Because our scrubber. I didn't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Are we allowed to say the name of the store?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure, like, they don't. They're not a sponsor, but you can say it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't care. You said a place. Well, I was like, what is he talking about? And you're like. And you got a top. Like, yes, we went to a department store.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, we went to Marshalls. In case people are wondering which one we went to.
>> Amanda Barker: Marshalls.
>> Marco Timpano: is it from Boston? Marshall's.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not. Not from Boston.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so that's Amanda's Boston accent. That's why I asked. And so Amanda got a beautiful little top and I got a scrubber.
>> Marco Timpano: For our pots. I got a pan.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Ah, you're excited about that pan.
>> Marco Timpano: And we got slippers for my niece who was on last week.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. And my niece and I went thrift shopping. That's right. And had an amazing time. And these slippers actually match a pair of pajama pants that she got that she's thrilled about. They're very cute. They have little avocados, although they're white. Pajama pants look brand new. And they had little avocados all over them. And so we just found white slippers that have avocados on them. So they're gonna Match. Very cute.
>> Marco Timpano: And we, we talked about this thrifting place you go to. How was Mia M As a thrifter?
>> Amanda Barker: I. She took to thrifting this particular type of thrifting, like a little duck to water. I was so proud of my little gosling. She was so cute. Speaking of waterfowl, I love duck, by the way. Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sorry. I do.
>> Amanda Barker: What is with you today?
>> Marco Timpano: I guess I just got foul on the brain.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Am I not cooking enough waterfowl for you?
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, I do.
>> Amanda Barker: What is this conversation? What year is this conversation?
>> Marco Timpano: I do like duck as an animal. Like as a pretty little animal. I do, I do. I think they're beautiful animals.
>> Amanda Barker: And we'll leave it there because no one needs to hear about your weird meat cravings.
>> Marco Timpano: No. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Your foul cravings as you go to sleep. Like nothing good comes of that conversation.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: maybe not like, maybe I wouldn't.
>> Marco Timpano: I've never had ptarmigan, but that's, that's.
>> Amanda Barker: Goodness. Are you allowed to eat that?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you remember the story about my nephew?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I do. Our nephew.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, our nephew.
My sister in law was a vegetarian and for a while a vegan
When he was much, much younger. He's a cool teen now, but when he was much younger, he figured out where hamburger came from.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Which if you do eat meat, you have to have those conversations with your kids, of course. And so he, And what's funny is his mom, my sister, my sister in law was a vegetarian and for a while a vegan. She'd kind of go back and forth with.
>> Marco Timpano: She was vegan.
>> Amanda Barker: She'd kind of go back and forth. Her best friend would be vegan on Sunday or would be vegetarian on weekends and vegan the rest of the week or something. Like she'd have one day where she'd
>> Marco Timpano: eat cheese and maybe eggs.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know about the eggs, but she's. For sure. Maybe the eggs. I don't know. Anyway, she, I remember, her, her dear friend Helen would, would, would take days off of veganism. Most, most days they would be vegan, her and her husband, I think her husband was always vegan. But then she would take the weekends just because there was a few dairy indulgences that she.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so I don't. I think my sister did some version of that. But, anyway, life, continued. her partner had a lot of allergies and veganism, was not in the cards for them because of all the. Because of the allergies. Sure. she went back to eating meat and, and her son was eating meat. And so he figured out where cow. Like, you know, cows and that whole connection, important conversations. And she was like, all right, this is it. He's gon be like, I don't want to do this anymore. I'm going to go vegetarian. I think part. I don't know if she was hoping for it, but she was like, this is where. This is where we're going to go with this. And he sat and he thought about it, and he thought about it, and he said, what other animals are we allowed to eat? I would like to try turtle.
>> Marco Timpano: So there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: And she was like, oh, okay. Yeah. not really. We're not probably going to not eat that. But anyway, he was very young. It was such a cute thing because he just sat there thinking about it. And she's like, okay, here we go. Right? I want to eat turtle.
>> Marco Timpano: You never know, right? My niece. All my sister ever wanted to do was put her in pink. Pink, pink, pink, pink. And my niece is like, nope, I don't like pink.
>> Amanda Barker: One color she doesn't want.
>> Marco Timpano: She doesn't want pink.
>> Amanda Barker: Nope. Not at all. but what were we saying prior to that? My niece and the thrifting. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: How was she as a thrifter? You said duck to water.
>> Amanda Barker: She was having, She has, sometimes problems with dairy. And so she had an upset stomach when we went because of some milk she had. And so I was like, oh, if she's not feeling well, this is not the place for her. You know, it can get. It's not. It's never been super crowded, but it can be a little more people. And it's sort of people doing whatever. And, you know, you're leaning into these bins and sure.
>> Marco Timpano: With an upset tummy. You don't want to be shopping anyway
>> Amanda Barker: in a new place. Sure. But she smartly wore her bathing suit now also because we were going to hit some water slides later that day.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And, so she had it all planned out. She would wear her little shorts and her bathing suit, and then she just started going. And I said, you have to treat it like a treasure. Huh? Hunt anything you might be interested in. You put it in your cart. And then we're going to try it all in front of the mirrors, but there's no change room, so you have to just throw it on. And she goes, great. And so she showed up in her bathing suit, and so she had no problem trying on pants and tops because, you know, she's in a bathing suit, so she didn't feel like she was exposed. She was, you know, in a very modest bathing suit. And so, but still as a 12 year old girl, you know, just throwing, taking off your shorts and throwing on a new pair of pants in front of a mirror with, you know, various people walking around her kids, she didn't care. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because there's no change rooms. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I was really proud of her. It was super cute. And because you just got to kind of be that person and go for it. And that kid, she found, so many amazing things. Lots of stuff from. Should I say the labels? Does it matter?
Your sister recently bought 14 tops at Marshalls for $40
>> Marco Timpano: They're not sponsors, but sure, you can say them.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. from Zara. A, lot of like new stuff from Zara with tags on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, she's turning 13, so she's starting to have an awareness of brands and labels and all of that. For better or for worse. she found seven for All Mankind jeans that fit her like a glove. So she's thrilled about those. Ah, Hollister jeans. Hollister.
>> Marco Timpano: Hollister is how I think you say it.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway.
>> Marco Timpano: That's how I say it.
>> Amanda Barker: That look brand new. That also, fit her extremely well. And she was really happy. A new pair of shorts, lots of tops, these pajama bottoms. I think she got something like 14 things and then four tops for her mom. How's your sister like those tops?
>> Marco Timpano: I asked my sister. She said she hasn't had an opportunity to try them on yet.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, things have been busy for her,
>> Marco Timpano: but she's excited because they'll, they'll be appropriate for work.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Which is what we were thinking anyhow. And, yeah, and she spent $40. 14, things for her and another four for her mom. And it cost her a, whopping $40. So this 12 year old girl now understands like the real joy of thrifting. And you know, then you go to the mall and I know her, she's gonna say, why would I spend that when I can maybe go pick it up secondhand? So. And I said to her, the true. Yes, the savings and the frugality of it is just a wonderful joy. But also, you know, you're saving all this from a landfill.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, and it's a fun process. So there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this. How many items did you get from that?
>> Amanda Barker: I think about the same. I got to go through my stuff, but yeah, tops. I couldn't deal with the pants, so lots of tops. But that's good. There's stuff I can retire. Right. And Stuff to just throw in a bag for when we travel. Which we do. Perfect.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll talk about where we travel to in the next podcast and next.
>> Amanda Barker: Next week or what? Where we did travel to.
>> Marco Timpano: Where we did. Where we've just. Where we just came back from.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And then we're heading. We're heading out again, for work. But, our travel was, was more for pleasure than work.
>> Marco Timpano: Recently. So there's that. And Yeah. And I realize now that we're in September, I can change the mat we have outside our house to the turkey one that we have.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Two turkey mats for the price of one pheasant mat.
>> Marco Timpano: I can also put the wreath that has an owl on it too. If we're talking about. Not, foul, but if we're talking about birds, we could have two birds for the price of one mat outside our house.
>> Amanda Barker: The owl one. Is it a Halloween wreath?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's more fall.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's fall meets Halloween. So I think it can bleed in
>> Amanda Barker: because stores are very Halloween right now. It's crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't love how stores anticipate the holidays too far in advance.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't mind it.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know why. I just don't.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw, a casserole dish.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't spend a ton of time in stores. We just came from one, but it's because I had a gift card. We very rarely just go into stores.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true, we don't really go shopping like that per se. But at Marshalls, which is not a sponsor of this podcast, but at Marshalls, I saw a.
>> Amanda Barker: So we're just gonna keep naming brands that are not a sponsor of this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, exactly. And so, at Marshalls.
We don't hang on to Halloween themed decorations because we don't have space
Speaking of which, folks, thank you for, giving me the feedback with regards to the commercials that appear before our, ah, podcast. Some are loud. I'm sorry, I'm really working on that. But they help us to continue to make this podcast go. So thank you for your patience with that. But I saw casserole dish in the shape of, of a, like a scary coffin with, Malicefin. Is that how you say it? Malicent.
>> Amanda Barker: Maleficent.
>> Marco Timpano: Maleficent. Am I saying it wrong? I.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I think you said it right. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Maleficent.
>> Amanda Barker: Maleficent. Maleficent. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it Ursula and, villains? Yeah, and another one. And the. And all these Disney villains on the site was really cute and Then I was like, that's a great casserole dish to have. But as we were talking about in a previous episode, we don't have the space for.
>> Amanda Barker: For an Ursula casserole dish. No, we don't.
>> Marco Timpano: In the shape of a coffin. No.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it was in the shape of a coffin.
>> Marco Timpano: It was in the shape of a coffin. Right. Casserole dish.
>> Amanda Barker: And it was a casserole dish. Who wants to make.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a spooky casserole dish for Halloween.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, but. But is it more for dips? Like, for themed Halloween dips? Or is it like, like, I'm not gonna make a broccoli chicken casserole and a coffin
>> Marco Timpano: in a. In a Halloween. Halloween thing. Yeah, I know, I know. Listen, it was. That's part of the reason why I didn't show it to you because I was like, I think you're right. It's more of a dip. It's more of what you would dip into also. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: We've talked about this many times on this podcast. We have a real. We do not hang on to, like, like, holiday, themed stuff if it takes up a lot of room or we only use it for one week a year. Obviously we do have a Christmas cupboard, but, that also has a few little Halloween things. But the Halloween stuff we had, we got rid of most of it because.
>> Marco Timpano: We got rid of it because for
>> Amanda Barker: 20 bucks at a dollar store, I can do the same thing and have as much fun outside of our house with whatever I find. And we have that one little light that has, like, dancing skeletons that we'll play.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That's right. I have to take that out so
>> Amanda Barker: that I don't think it even came out last year. But that's okay. It doesn't have to come out every year.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's the, light that you project onto the house.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But it's a tiny little box. It's the size of my hand, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: It doesn't take a lot of room. And it has a big impact because it's a big light projector, so. Or fair sized. So that one, to me, you get a lot of bang for your buck in terms of size.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry, I just hit the mic with my finger.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. but like, all the other stuff we had that was Halloween themed, it took up so much space and we didn't really use it, so off it went.
>> Marco Timpano: I do miss that Dracula.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. It was a great Dracula.
>> Marco Timpano: The problem with that Dracula was he
>> Amanda Barker: took, up so much room.
>> Marco Timpano: It Took up a lot of room and it. And it teetered. Like, it wouldn't. Yeah, it was kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a prop. It was a set prop. Like, it was a. It wasn't really. You know, it was handmade.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it was handmade.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it was from an event that happens every year. I think it still happens, called Screamers.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And, you know, it's like mazes and haunted houses and things like that. And so the company I worked for was a sponsor of it.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And the.
We projected things into our neighbor's window while we were gone
The person who was my supervisor, the head of my department, he had a really big office and people, because he. He was the head of special events for a large pizza. All the things and events that we sponsor, they would very often, award us with plaques, you name it, gear. And so because we were sponsor of
>> Marco Timpano: Screamers, they awarded you.
>> Amanda Barker: They. It was in his office when he left the company. He left a lot of stuff in his office. So I took that because I was like, this Dracula's cool. And I think there was a skeleton that would say, like, there was a bunch of stuff. His office was full filled with stuff. But then it's like, okay, now I'm, you know, I was in my 20s, moving houses with this, like, prop basket, prop Dracula. That's, like, fairly large. It's.
>> Marco Timpano: It was taller than my knee.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, it, like, it was, like, from knee down.
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't person size, but it would go up to, like, your belly button kind of thing. Too big for a house in the city. I mean, for something that's going to spend a week outside.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, if you have a home where you have the space and that's what you enjoy, by all means.
>> Amanda Barker: But that's why people do those blow up things, too. They have such a big impact, but they don't. I don't think they take up a ton of room once they're collapsed. I could be wrong.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no. I think that's a fair, fair, fair statement.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, you want stuff that have high impact. That's why the projectors are great, because they're quite small to pack, but they have a high impact versus, like, a sleigh or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: I felt bad because one. One Christmas, we were blasting the. I don't know if it's snowflakes or what.
>> Amanda Barker: It is sort of just a watery
>> Marco Timpano: snowflakey thing on our neighbor's window.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. like someone hit it, and it was like we were projecting snowflakes right into their, like, bedroom window. For like a week we were gone. And then we came back, we're like, oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: And then when I spoke to our neighbor, she was like, no, it's very relaxing. I was like, okay, sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the sweetest neighbor.
>> Marco Timpano: That is the sweetest neighbor.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry. We projected things into your window while we were gone.
>> Marco Timpano: While we were gone. My goodness. We've got to be better neighbors. Well, I hope you have lovely neighbors. Like, we have a lovely neighbor. and, we wish you pleasant, pleasant dreams. And I'm sorry about my foul, talk today in our Halloween talk. It certainly wasn't a relaxing episode.
>> Amanda Barker: There is foul, and foul is fair.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Until next time, Halloween content for you. For those who know it, we'll do
>> Marco Timpano: some Halloween themed episodes in October if you want.
>> Amanda Barker: That would be fun. I love Halloween.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so do I. And until next time, we hope you are able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: Sept 24, 2024)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm your host, Marco Timpano
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm m conversation that's meant to help you sort of drift off and find your way to La La land, I guess some people refer to it. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker. I need to take my earrings out.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. While Amanda's taking her earrings out, we will say, thank you for listening.
Marco: I'm trying my best Amanda to record brand new holiday episodes
Last week we had my niece on the podcast, and this week we're back with Amanda, and I'm trying my best Amanda to record brand new holiday episodes. So we have a whole bunch of new holiday episodes because, you know, I've been recycling some that we've recorded in the past, but now I think it's time to update them a bit. So that'll be coming in the month of December. But just so our listeners know what
>> Amanda Barker: I'm working on, what did my niece talk about?
>> Marco Timpano: She talked about being at camp because she was at a camp and what to bring when you go on a camp and archery and things like that.
>> Amanda Barker: She was very excited about that camp. She was glowing after that camp. It's lovely when you get to be that age and immersed in something with a whole new people and a whole new experience. it's really great for kids.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, Amanda, two weeks prior we recorded an episode, and I've got some listener feedback on two of our episodes.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: So the one that we did about watermelon picking the perfect watermelon.
>> Amanda Barker: You would think we talk about this. We live together. We sometimes often work together. I only hear about this in this booth.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: All right, watermelon, here we go.
>> Marco Timpano: Carrie writes to us on our social media.
>> Amanda Barker: Carrie, my. Our sister in law.
>> Marco Timpano: No. Unless Carrie S. Is my new sister in law. I don't want to say her last name because I don't want to unless I have her permission. But Carrie writes. Hi, Marco and Amanda, Been loving your last episode. Still have to finish it, though. Once again, you never have to finish our episodes. We leave it up to you. But if you fall asleep and never get to the end, or we couldn't
>> Amanda Barker: be happier, the more times you've put it on and have no idea how it ends, ends the better.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, Carrie continues laughing emoji, but with a very soft exclamation mark.
You can make a lovely watermelon smoothie or slushy type drink
I wanted to chime in and give you my hack for the tons of leftover watermelon you have.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, great.
>> Marco Timpano: You can make a lovely watermelon smoothie or slushy type drink.
>> Marco Timpano: Just put loads of watermelon in a blender and it doesn't matter if it's over or under half or a whole frozen banana, of which we have a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: And a little bit of milk or water and blend it up.
>> Amanda Barker: This is a great hack.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, you could also throw in strawberries or other fruit if you have it too. It's so delicious in the summer and it quickly uses up the watermelon.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a great idea. I don't know why we haven't been doing that.
>> Marco Timpano: I love this idea.
>> Amanda Barker: I do too. And I love a watermelon shake. You know, when I was shake.
>> Marco Timpano: A watermelon shake.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what? Because that's what they called them in Thailand. Like a watermelon smoothie. They would call it a watermelon shake.
>> Marco Timpano: So not nowhere near Thailand. When was the last time you were in Thailand that you're referencing it like something Amanda often says? You know what they call it something else in Thailand. It's like this is the first I've ever heard you say that too.
>> Amanda Barker: Last time I was in Thailand, I was 23.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So, it's been a while. It's been a minute, as they say.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. The first thing I remember there is the first day, like for lunch, I remember having a big plate of pad Thai and a watermelon shake. I don't know. That's what they called it.
>> Marco Timpano: And so listen, I don't have problems with shakes. I love shakes. I love watermelon. And that's it.
Sierra says not all of Canada has bagged milk
All right, so now to the controversial.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that was not it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that was not it. Now this is from Sierra. Okay. And Sierra is right. And I have to point, waggle a finger at you because you're the one who made this statement.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: Who knew that our milk bag episode.
>> Amanda Barker: We're back to the milk bags. I can never escape. I am saddled like a ball and chain. There are bags of milk around my theoretical, ankles and wrists.
>> Marco Timpano: Folks, we still have a ton of frozen bags of milk in the freezer in case we have.
>> Amanda Barker: That was a haul.
>> Marco Timpano: So Sierra says, listening to all the bagged milk talk the last few episodes. And I thought I would jump in and say that not all of Canada has bagged milk.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: I grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. P.S. love Edmonton. Love Alberta. I just said this the other day. I go every time I go to Alberta. I have the best time.
>> Amanda Barker: I've only been once. I've never been to Edmonton.
>> Marco Timpano: Actually, if you're listening and you haven't been to Alberta yet, and you.
>> Amanda Barker: And you do what I did go
>> Marco Timpano: do what Amanda did go. In particular, if you can drive from Calgary to Banff, Lake Louise, all that business.
>> Amanda Barker: It's so stunning.
>> Marco Timpano: I was talking about it with somebody today at works, R. Sierra.
>> Amanda Barker: It really warns you how stunning it is. You think, oh, yeah, Banff. Everyone goes to Banff. Banff, Banff, Banff. Now, people who are not in Canada will be like, what are you saying?
>> Marco Timpano: But anyways, B, A, N, F, F, Banff.
>> Amanda Barker: But I always pretend there's an M, but there isn't, I guess. Anyway, so people will say, oh, yeah, go to Banff. Go to Banff. And then you go and you drive from M. Calgary. And it's breathtaking. It's so stunning. It's the Rockies. So if you've driven along the Rockies or into the Rockies, on other Rockies, then you've had some of that experience. But I have to say, compared to other Rockies, I've been to.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Right? And I was talking to Kevin at work today, M. And he said it's like everywhere you look is a postcard. Is exactly what he said today.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's true.
Back to the back to the much more important, um, Bagged Milk
>> Marco Timpano: But anyways, back to the.
>> Amanda Barker: Back to the back to the much more important, Bagged Milk.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Bagged Milk of Banff. Sierra grew up in Edmonton, Alberta.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. And she says maybe she knows our friends Troy.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes, Troy.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Troy o'. Donnell.
>> Amanda Barker: Are we allowed to say his name?
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know I'd say. He's an actor and he's a friend, and he would do a podcast if he was here.
>> Amanda Barker: He would. And he's so lovely. And we did a show with him, and he's quite involved in the Shakespeare festival there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I remember I used to love,
>> Marco Timpano: Honestly, I had a great time performing with Troy.
>> Amanda Barker: You did? You loved working with Troy.
>> Marco Timpano: And I used to say this. And I still say this today. You can get. You can get.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe we're doing this.
>> Marco Timpano: You can get two pheasants for the price of one turkey every Thursday at Thirsty's.
>> Amanda Barker: That's just a thing Marco made up for a show that we did and a long time ago.
>> Marco Timpano: And Troy would always. Yes, and that.
>> Marco Timpano: And always.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he would. He was lovely. That's a great price.
>> Marco Timpano: Even though, if you think about it, two pheasants would not be the Same value as one turkey. Even though if you could get two pheasants for the price of one turkey,
>> Amanda Barker: pheasant is highly prized. I think it's a great deal.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, how much would a turkey cost? Not on sale?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I only buy them on sale.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's say a 10 pound turkey.
>> Amanda Barker: I really don't know. Okay, so also the reference you're making was from 1948.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's true.
>> Amanda Barker: They were in a play that took place in 1948.
>> Marco Timpano: Not that I.
>> Amanda Barker: Back then. $10. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, how much would two pheasants cost you back in 1948?
>> Amanda Barker: I've never gone to the grocery store and ordered up some pheasants.
>> Marco Timpano: Can you look up the price of a Turkey in 1948 while I finish this, text?
Sierra says all of Canada has bagged milk, not her
Okay, so sorry, Sierra, we've just, we've deep dived in the middle of your Instagram message. So where was I, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: So Sierra grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, and Sierra says we have jugs and cartons, not bags. Silent exclamation mark. I think it's just some of the east coast, Quebec and Ontario that do bagged milk still. I always heard growing up that Canada has bagged milk, but I never experienced it until I moved to Ontario a few years back.
>> Amanda Barker: I see.
>> Marco Timpano: But Canada always seems to get generalized based on what Ontario does. And she has an emoji that is laughing, but tears are coming out of her eyes.
>> Amanda Barker: I get it. I get it. Being from New Brunswick, it's not usually the province people think of, when they're talking about Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: But I will say for the longest time, Amanda called me an upper Canadian and I feel like it was a bit of a Slurpee.
>> Amanda Barker: It was not a slur. It's what we called you guys. And ah, also the price of a turkey in 1940, somehow I found was between 29 and 31 cents a pound.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, and how much was the price of a pheasant back then?
>> Amanda Barker: Who's buying pheasant? You're not. They're not even for sale. I think you have to get them only through game hunting.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Have you ever bought pheasant? Like, I don't think you can buy it.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: maybe not, because I have at, certain restaurants had pheasant.
>> Marco Timpano: Pheasant under glass was a thing.
>> Amanda Barker: What?
>> Marco Timpano: I've never had pheasant under glass. But don't you remember watching like Bugs Bunny and they would like, say, pheasant under glass no, no. As a very high priced item.
>> Amanda Barker: But I did. In my search, the first thing that comes up when I type in pheasant is pheasant versus turkey.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay?
>> Amanda Barker: Which is, you know, the Thanksgiving movie everyone needs to see.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so tell us about that.
>> Amanda Barker: Ring necked pheasants are smaller and more slender than wild turkeys. That's all that comes up.
>> Marco Timpano: We see wild turkeys all the time. And every time I see one, I think how much I would love to have that on my plate.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco, there are people that don't eat animals and that's disturbing for them to listen to. I'm sorry. And now you've done that to them and that's really unfair. I'm not joking.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, what do you want me to do? I'm sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: I take it back, folks. If I said that all joyfully sipping my tea, which he just did, all smiles, he would roll his eyes at
>> Marco Timpano: me, which I do.
>> Amanda Barker: He would roll his eyes, he would tisk. He would continue on and then stop it. And then yell at me and say, we can't do that. That's not fair to the people that don't.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like you're doing this to shift the milk bag blame because you said that milk bags.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm fine. I am fine to know. In fact, I'm happy to m. Embrace the milk of Edmonton.
>> Marco Timpano: And you were the one who said that all of Canada has bagged milk, not me.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, and. And, but why are you upset about it?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not upset. I'm not upset.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like a marital dispute.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but here's the thing too. We.
>> Amanda Barker: We had a lovely Vespa ride. Things are not bad in this house. I don't know why. We're. We just came from the most loveliest Vespa ride.
>> Marco Timpano: We. We did go by. Amanda was like, I'd like to see the water.
>> Amanda Barker: So I came home from work and was like, let's put on our. You know that feeling when you put on your plate clothes? That's what it felt like. I came home, I took off my work clothes and I put on my play clothes. I put on comfy jeans and a comfy sweater and comfy sneakers and said, let's go on the Vespa.
>> Marco Timpano: And we drove down to Lake Ontario
>> Amanda Barker: because he always says, where do you want to go? And I always think I want to go near the water.
>> Marco Timpano: So we drove to the water. It was beautiful. We went for a walk. We saw dragon boats.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah, like, practice dragon boat. They weren't racing. They were practicing. They were. What is that called? Practicing?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, practice. And there was the person who sits at the back who yells at the rest of the people.
>> Amanda Barker: Marco said that would be his form of dragon boating. Yelling at everyone.
>> Marco Timpano: I would be the person who yells. And as they were yelling, I was trying to hear them yell.
Mia M: People are eating goose. Who is eating goose?
A Canada goose was squawking and he
>> Amanda Barker: got mad at the goose.
>> Marco Timpano: I did get mad at the goose.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was really funny because you. All you wanted to do was hear what she was yelling at them. And you were mad because somebody else walked by. And then he went back to listen. And then this goose starts squawking. He's like yelling at the goose because he wants to hear the dragon boat lady.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to know how much the price of goose was in 1940. Who is eating goose? People are eating goose.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you can't eat a Canada goose. You're not allowed to eat them. Oh, well, why are you so on to eating fowl today?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: The foul, eating episode.
>> Marco Timpano: So, okay, so we, we did that. And then we drove to a place where you got a lovely top. And I got a scrubber for pots.
>> Marco Timpano: Because our scrubber. I didn't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Are we allowed to say the name of the store?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure, like, they don't. They're not a sponsor, but you can say it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't care. You said a place. Well, I was like, what is he talking about? And you're like. And you got a top. Like, yes, we went to a department store.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, we went to Marshalls. In case people are wondering which one we went to.
>> Amanda Barker: Marshalls.
>> Marco Timpano: is it from Boston? Marshall's.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not. Not from Boston.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so that's Amanda's Boston accent. That's why I asked. And so Amanda got a beautiful little top and I got a scrubber.
>> Marco Timpano: For our pots. I got a pan.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Ah, you're excited about that pan.
>> Marco Timpano: And we got slippers for my niece who was on last week.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. And my niece and I went thrift shopping. That's right. And had an amazing time. And these slippers actually match a pair of pajama pants that she got that she's thrilled about. They're very cute. They have little avocados, although they're white. Pajama pants look brand new. And they had little avocados all over them. And so we just found white slippers that have avocados on them. So they're gonna Match. Very cute.
>> Marco Timpano: And we, we talked about this thrifting place you go to. How was Mia M As a thrifter?
>> Amanda Barker: I. She took to thrifting this particular type of thrifting, like a little duck to water. I was so proud of my little gosling. She was so cute. Speaking of waterfowl, I love duck, by the way. Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sorry. I do.
>> Amanda Barker: What is with you today?
>> Marco Timpano: I guess I just got foul on the brain.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Am I not cooking enough waterfowl for you?
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, I do.
>> Amanda Barker: What is this conversation? What year is this conversation?
>> Marco Timpano: I do like duck as an animal. Like as a pretty little animal. I do, I do. I think they're beautiful animals.
>> Amanda Barker: And we'll leave it there because no one needs to hear about your weird meat cravings.
>> Marco Timpano: No. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Your foul cravings as you go to sleep. Like nothing good comes of that conversation.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: maybe not like, maybe I wouldn't.
>> Marco Timpano: I've never had ptarmigan, but that's, that's.
>> Amanda Barker: Goodness. Are you allowed to eat that?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you remember the story about my nephew?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I do. Our nephew.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, our nephew.
My sister in law was a vegetarian and for a while a vegan
When he was much, much younger. He's a cool teen now, but when he was much younger, he figured out where hamburger came from.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Which if you do eat meat, you have to have those conversations with your kids, of course. And so he, And what's funny is his mom, my sister, my sister in law was a vegetarian and for a while a vegan. She'd kind of go back and forth with.
>> Marco Timpano: She was vegan.
>> Amanda Barker: She'd kind of go back and forth. Her best friend would be vegan on Sunday or would be vegetarian on weekends and vegan the rest of the week or something. Like she'd have one day where she'd
>> Marco Timpano: eat cheese and maybe eggs.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know about the eggs, but she's. For sure. Maybe the eggs. I don't know. Anyway, she, I remember, her, her dear friend Helen would, would, would take days off of veganism. Most, most days they would be vegan, her and her husband, I think her husband was always vegan. But then she would take the weekends just because there was a few dairy indulgences that she.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, so I don't. I think my sister did some version of that. But, anyway, life, continued. her partner had a lot of allergies and veganism, was not in the cards for them because of all the. Because of the allergies. Sure. she went back to eating meat and, and her son was eating meat. And so he figured out where cow. Like, you know, cows and that whole connection, important conversations. And she was like, all right, this is it. He's gon be like, I don't want to do this anymore. I'm going to go vegetarian. I think part. I don't know if she was hoping for it, but she was like, this is where. This is where we're going to go with this. And he sat and he thought about it, and he thought about it, and he said, what other animals are we allowed to eat? I would like to try turtle.
>> Marco Timpano: So there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: And she was like, oh, okay. Yeah. not really. We're not probably going to not eat that. But anyway, he was very young. It was such a cute thing because he just sat there thinking about it. And she's like, okay, here we go. Right? I want to eat turtle.
>> Marco Timpano: You never know, right? My niece. All my sister ever wanted to do was put her in pink. Pink, pink, pink, pink. And my niece is like, nope, I don't like pink.
>> Amanda Barker: One color she doesn't want.
>> Marco Timpano: She doesn't want pink.
>> Amanda Barker: Nope. Not at all. but what were we saying prior to that? My niece and the thrifting. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: How was she as a thrifter? You said duck to water.
>> Amanda Barker: She was having, She has, sometimes problems with dairy. And so she had an upset stomach when we went because of some milk she had. And so I was like, oh, if she's not feeling well, this is not the place for her. You know, it can get. It's not. It's never been super crowded, but it can be a little more people. And it's sort of people doing whatever. And, you know, you're leaning into these bins and sure.
>> Marco Timpano: With an upset tummy. You don't want to be shopping anyway
>> Amanda Barker: in a new place. Sure. But she smartly wore her bathing suit now also because we were going to hit some water slides later that day.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And, so she had it all planned out. She would wear her little shorts and her bathing suit, and then she just started going. And I said, you have to treat it like a treasure. Huh? Hunt anything you might be interested in. You put it in your cart. And then we're going to try it all in front of the mirrors, but there's no change room, so you have to just throw it on. And she goes, great. And so she showed up in her bathing suit, and so she had no problem trying on pants and tops because, you know, she's in a bathing suit, so she didn't feel like she was exposed. She was, you know, in a very modest bathing suit. And so, but still as a 12 year old girl, you know, just throwing, taking off your shorts and throwing on a new pair of pants in front of a mirror with, you know, various people walking around her kids, she didn't care. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because there's no change rooms. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I was really proud of her. It was super cute. And because you just got to kind of be that person and go for it. And that kid, she found, so many amazing things. Lots of stuff from. Should I say the labels? Does it matter?
Your sister recently bought 14 tops at Marshalls for $40
>> Marco Timpano: They're not sponsors, but sure, you can say them.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. from Zara. A, lot of like new stuff from Zara with tags on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, she's turning 13, so she's starting to have an awareness of brands and labels and all of that. For better or for worse. she found seven for All Mankind jeans that fit her like a glove. So she's thrilled about those. Ah, Hollister jeans. Hollister.
>> Marco Timpano: Hollister is how I think you say it.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway.
>> Marco Timpano: That's how I say it.
>> Amanda Barker: That look brand new. That also, fit her extremely well. And she was really happy. A new pair of shorts, lots of tops, these pajama bottoms. I think she got something like 14 things and then four tops for her mom. How's your sister like those tops?
>> Marco Timpano: I asked my sister. She said she hasn't had an opportunity to try them on yet.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, things have been busy for her,
>> Marco Timpano: but she's excited because they'll, they'll be appropriate for work.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Which is what we were thinking anyhow. And, yeah, and she spent $40. 14, things for her and another four for her mom. And it cost her a, whopping $40. So this 12 year old girl now understands like the real joy of thrifting. And you know, then you go to the mall and I know her, she's gonna say, why would I spend that when I can maybe go pick it up secondhand? So. And I said to her, the true. Yes, the savings and the frugality of it is just a wonderful joy. But also, you know, you're saving all this from a landfill.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, and it's a fun process. So there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this. How many items did you get from that?
>> Amanda Barker: I think about the same. I got to go through my stuff, but yeah, tops. I couldn't deal with the pants, so lots of tops. But that's good. There's stuff I can retire. Right. And Stuff to just throw in a bag for when we travel. Which we do. Perfect.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll talk about where we travel to in the next podcast and next.
>> Amanda Barker: Next week or what? Where we did travel to.
>> Marco Timpano: Where we did. Where we've just. Where we just came back from.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And then we're heading. We're heading out again, for work. But, our travel was, was more for pleasure than work.
>> Marco Timpano: Recently. So there's that. And Yeah. And I realize now that we're in September, I can change the mat we have outside our house to the turkey one that we have.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Two turkey mats for the price of one pheasant mat.
>> Marco Timpano: I can also put the wreath that has an owl on it too. If we're talking about. Not, foul, but if we're talking about birds, we could have two birds for the price of one mat outside our house.
>> Amanda Barker: The owl one. Is it a Halloween wreath?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's more fall.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's fall meets Halloween. So I think it can bleed in
>> Amanda Barker: because stores are very Halloween right now. It's crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't love how stores anticipate the holidays too far in advance.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't mind it.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know why. I just don't.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw, a casserole dish.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't spend a ton of time in stores. We just came from one, but it's because I had a gift card. We very rarely just go into stores.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true, we don't really go shopping like that per se. But at Marshalls, which is not a sponsor of this podcast, but at Marshalls, I saw a.
>> Amanda Barker: So we're just gonna keep naming brands that are not a sponsor of this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, exactly. And so, at Marshalls.
We don't hang on to Halloween themed decorations because we don't have space
Speaking of which, folks, thank you for, giving me the feedback with regards to the commercials that appear before our, ah, podcast. Some are loud. I'm sorry, I'm really working on that. But they help us to continue to make this podcast go. So thank you for your patience with that. But I saw casserole dish in the shape of, of a, like a scary coffin with, Malicefin. Is that how you say it? Malicent.
>> Amanda Barker: Maleficent.
>> Marco Timpano: Maleficent. Am I saying it wrong? I.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I think you said it right. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Maleficent.
>> Amanda Barker: Maleficent. Maleficent. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it Ursula and, villains? Yeah, and another one. And the. And all these Disney villains on the site was really cute and Then I was like, that's a great casserole dish to have. But as we were talking about in a previous episode, we don't have the space for.
>> Amanda Barker: For an Ursula casserole dish. No, we don't.
>> Marco Timpano: In the shape of a coffin. No.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it was in the shape of a coffin.
>> Marco Timpano: It was in the shape of a coffin. Right. Casserole dish.
>> Amanda Barker: And it was a casserole dish. Who wants to make.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a spooky casserole dish for Halloween.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, but. But is it more for dips? Like, for themed Halloween dips? Or is it like, like, I'm not gonna make a broccoli chicken casserole and a coffin
>> Marco Timpano: in a. In a Halloween. Halloween thing. Yeah, I know, I know. Listen, it was. That's part of the reason why I didn't show it to you because I was like, I think you're right. It's more of a dip. It's more of what you would dip into also. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: We've talked about this many times on this podcast. We have a real. We do not hang on to, like, like, holiday, themed stuff if it takes up a lot of room or we only use it for one week a year. Obviously we do have a Christmas cupboard, but, that also has a few little Halloween things. But the Halloween stuff we had, we got rid of most of it because.
>> Marco Timpano: We got rid of it because for
>> Amanda Barker: 20 bucks at a dollar store, I can do the same thing and have as much fun outside of our house with whatever I find. And we have that one little light that has, like, dancing skeletons that we'll play.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That's right. I have to take that out so
>> Amanda Barker: that I don't think it even came out last year. But that's okay. It doesn't have to come out every year.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's the, light that you project onto the house.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But it's a tiny little box. It's the size of my hand, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: It doesn't take a lot of room. And it has a big impact because it's a big light projector, so. Or fair sized. So that one, to me, you get a lot of bang for your buck in terms of size.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry, I just hit the mic with my finger.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. but like, all the other stuff we had that was Halloween themed, it took up so much space and we didn't really use it, so off it went.
>> Marco Timpano: I do miss that Dracula.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. It was a great Dracula.
>> Marco Timpano: The problem with that Dracula was he
>> Amanda Barker: took, up so much room.
>> Marco Timpano: It Took up a lot of room and it. And it teetered. Like, it wouldn't. Yeah, it was kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a prop. It was a set prop. Like, it was a. It wasn't really. You know, it was handmade.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it was handmade.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it was from an event that happens every year. I think it still happens, called Screamers.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And, you know, it's like mazes and haunted houses and things like that. And so the company I worked for was a sponsor of it.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And the.
We projected things into our neighbor's window while we were gone
The person who was my supervisor, the head of my department, he had a really big office and people, because he. He was the head of special events for a large pizza. All the things and events that we sponsor, they would very often, award us with plaques, you name it, gear. And so because we were sponsor of
>> Marco Timpano: Screamers, they awarded you.
>> Amanda Barker: They. It was in his office when he left the company. He left a lot of stuff in his office. So I took that because I was like, this Dracula's cool. And I think there was a skeleton that would say, like, there was a bunch of stuff. His office was full filled with stuff. But then it's like, okay, now I'm, you know, I was in my 20s, moving houses with this, like, prop basket, prop Dracula. That's, like, fairly large. It's.
>> Marco Timpano: It was taller than my knee.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, it, like, it was, like, from knee down.
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't person size, but it would go up to, like, your belly button kind of thing. Too big for a house in the city. I mean, for something that's going to spend a week outside.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, if you have a home where you have the space and that's what you enjoy, by all means.
>> Amanda Barker: But that's why people do those blow up things, too. They have such a big impact, but they don't. I don't think they take up a ton of room once they're collapsed. I could be wrong.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no. I think that's a fair, fair, fair statement.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, you want stuff that have high impact. That's why the projectors are great, because they're quite small to pack, but they have a high impact versus, like, a sleigh or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: I felt bad because one. One Christmas, we were blasting the. I don't know if it's snowflakes or what.
>> Amanda Barker: It is sort of just a watery
>> Marco Timpano: snowflakey thing on our neighbor's window.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. like someone hit it, and it was like we were projecting snowflakes right into their, like, bedroom window. For like a week we were gone. And then we came back, we're like, oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: And then when I spoke to our neighbor, she was like, no, it's very relaxing. I was like, okay, sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the sweetest neighbor.
>> Marco Timpano: That is the sweetest neighbor.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry. We projected things into your window while we were gone.
>> Marco Timpano: While we were gone. My goodness. We've got to be better neighbors. Well, I hope you have lovely neighbors. Like, we have a lovely neighbor. and, we wish you pleasant, pleasant dreams. And I'm sorry about my foul, talk today in our Halloween talk. It certainly wasn't a relaxing episode.
>> Amanda Barker: There is foul, and foul is fair.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Until next time, Halloween content for you. For those who know it, we'll do
>> Marco Timpano: some Halloween themed episodes in October if you want.
>> Amanda Barker: That would be fun. I love Halloween.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so do I. And until next time, we hope you are able to listen and sleep.
Discovering Saskatoon_ A Prairie Adventure
(Original airdate: Sept 11, 2024)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm, soothing, hopefully salve like conversation so that you can just rest, relax and who knows, maybe even find your way to sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: I want everyone to imagine that, that they are staring at fields, what we would call amber waves of grain. Sure, as we used to say in our little song that I have to sing in elementary school, a sea of,
>> Marco Timpano: swaying shafts of wheat, shafts of
>> Amanda Barker: wheat, hay bales, grain elevators sort of in the middle of fields and, yeah, just tilling the land. Because that is where we were this Weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: We're taking you there on this particular episode. I'm your host, Marco Tympano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: And so, Amanda, tell our listeners where we were.
>> Amanda Barker: We were in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan. Yeah. And, did you see what it says on their license plate? it's really lovely, and it's so apropos.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I did. And I can't remember, but it's something with the sky. Help me out.
>> Amanda Barker: So on their license plate, it says land of the living skies. And I thought that was so beautiful. And that is one of those things that might make no sense to someone. And then you go there, and it makes perfect sense. The skies are. It has the most sunlight of anywhere in Canada, which is an amazing thing that I didn't know. And the skies are so full and blue and ever continuous. It is a big sky.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, we have listeners from Saskatchewan, and we also have listeners from Saskatoon. So I hope you'll enjoy this episode, and please forgive us if we m. Misspeak on your province.
Saskatchewan is known for its large production of wheat and mustard
So Saskatoon, or Saskatchewan, is a prairie province, and it's known because of its large production of wheat, amongst other things. I think it produces the most m. Mustard in.
>> Amanda Barker: Mustard.
>> Marco Timpano: Mustard.
>> Amanda Barker: Lentils. I know a lot of lentils come from Saskatchewan.
>> Marco Timpano: Pulses. Yeah. And. Yeah, mustard. A lot of mustard that you get from. Where's that place in France that's famous for Dijon? Dijon actually comes, what, from Canada? Yeah. They don't tell you. They don't advertise that when you go there, that's for sure. but it's certainly, an important province, for our country, for anyone who's listening outside. And we have not been to Saskatchewan. And that was the last province for you.
>> Amanda Barker: I have now been to all of the provinces of Canada, and now it's time for me to get to know the territories that's left and head north.
Did you enjoy Saskatoon? I loved Saskatoon
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this. Did you enjoy Saskatoon?
>> Amanda Barker: I loved Saskatoon. I thought it was just a beautiful, charming, vibrant, fun, happy city.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, people were lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a lot of happiness there. Yeah, it felt like.
>> Marco Timpano: It certainly felt. It certainly felt like that the people that we encountered.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, there could be people that are listening. They're like, well, you didn't meet me, or you didn't meet my family or whatever, but, you know, you can only you get the experience you get. And we had a very quick experience, quicker than we even realized it would be. We thought we were going to fly in on a Friday night and then realized when we went to check in the night before we're actually flying in on a Saturday night on a long weekend. So we had the. The tail end of Saturday, all of Sunday, and a good chunk of Monday before we got back on the plane. So not a very long visit, that's for sure. And over a long holiday weekend. So, you know, we didn't have the full experience because a lot of things were closed, but we had an amazing experience nonetheless.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I should mention that Saskatoon is known as the Paris of the Prairies.
>> Amanda Barker: And who coined that phrase?
>> Marco Timpano: I believe it was Bob Dylan.
>> Amanda Barker: Bob Dylan.
>> Marco Timpano: They said, Yeah, that's what they're saying. Yeah. So Bob Dylan once dubbed this pretty little city Paris of the Prairies. No one seems to know exactly why is what it says here on this particular website, but it's really quite a lovely city.
>> Amanda Barker: Does he know he said that? Like, does he know that he coined that term and everyone's quoting him on it, attributes it to him.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure he does. He seems like the type of person who.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Sometimes those things happen and they're like, what.
>> Marco Timpano: What was the. It was also known as the city of bridges. They have beautiful bridges.
>> Amanda Barker: Bridges everywhere. That gorgeous river. I. What's the name of that river? I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: It's an important river. And so I,
>> Amanda Barker: Better look it up.
>> Marco Timpano: You best look it up. I will say this. So we ate in some tremendous restaurants, and there were restaurants we couldn't go to because, as Amanda said, we were there on the Labor Day long weekend. And there was two restaurants we wanted to go to that were closed because of the long weekend. But the restaurants we did go in its place were fantastic. One was recommended to us by the person who we rented the car from. You know, when you go to the airport and you rent a car and you deal with that person, well, she couldn't be any more lovely. I think it's safe to say her name. Brittany. Brittany, who was so lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: From Thrifty. Brittany from Thrifty. By the way, that river is called the South Saskatchewan River.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course. so she recommended we go to 13 pies, which was this pizza place that was open till late. So we went. Once we got to our hotel, we went there and we had.
>> Amanda Barker: We went at midnight and had pizza and.
>> Marco Timpano: And we had delicious pizza.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh, it was fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: And then our waiter recommended a bunch of things for us to do.
>> Amanda Barker: Her name was Kayla at thirteen Pies. She was amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: She was wonderful. And then we went to. Oh. And then we went home and we had an amazing.
We stayed at this hotel that was. Um, it was like a convention center hotel
>> Amanda Barker: So we should, we should talk a little bit about 13 pies. Yeah, let's talk about it because I think it's neat. It's a horror themed pizza, restaurant. So every pizza, every signature pizza of which there are 13 is named after a horror movie.
>> Marco Timpano: So what did we get? We had the White Walker and it was delicious.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then we, the next day we had a full.
>> Amanda Barker: She gave it. She hooked us up, gave us, on the house, Key lime cheesecake. Key lime pie, which was one of the best key lime pies I've ever had.
>> Marco Timpano: Truly.
>> Amanda Barker: It was fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: It was incredible.
>> Amanda Barker: And they do not grow key limes in Saskatoon, I don't think.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it was out of this world.
>> Amanda Barker: They do grow amazing berries. And we'll talk about that in a bit.
>> Marco Timpano: So the next morning we woke up and we had a full day in front of us.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. Yes. It was my birthday.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is why we went. I wanted to go hit my last province before I turned of, age.
>> Marco Timpano: And where did we go first on the next day when we had the full day to ourselves? We swam.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we swam because we had. We stayed at this hotel that was. Should we talk about the hotel?
>> Marco Timpano: It had an interesting lazy river to
>> Amanda Barker: it, sort of like a pool that had a bridge. So it was quite an extensive pool. And there was a lot happening at the hotel, you know, and a lot of people.
>> Marco Timpano: it was like a convention center hotel as well.
>> Amanda Barker: So, so filled with children and it was lovely. And the breakfast, they had like a brunch. That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: We were going to go to a fancy schmancy breakfast.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we didn't know if it was fancy schmancy, but it, to be fair, we thought we were getting in Friday night, as I said. So we had a lot of reservations lined up. So our brunch reservation was, named to some Saskatoon's best restaurant. Although I think that would be a hard title to capture because there's a lot of great restaurants. But anyway, one of them, which is called Hearth, but they weren't open on the Sundays so we didn't have brunch plans. So we actually just after swimming, looked at the brunch at the hotel and it looked amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was like, they have crap.
>> Amanda Barker: They, they have, they had crab, shrimp, crab legs and shrimp.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, mussels and clams.
>> Amanda Barker: All the seafood, unlimited seafood. And it was fantastic. And it wasn't very expensive. And we were also like, I mean none of that seafood's Local. Like, none of it's local.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. You're Saskatchewan sandwiched, like.
>> Amanda Barker: And I did not go there to eat seafood, that's for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: However, nowhere near.
>> Amanda Barker: It was really good.
>> Marco Timpano: Our oceans.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Is where Saskatchewan is, but I guess
>> Amanda Barker: it's maybe the one. One of the few places that does it. So anyway.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'll say this. Some of the best seafood I had was in Calgary, too. So once again, not a province that has any body of water like an ocean, or sea.
>> Amanda Barker: They have lakes and rivers.
>> Marco Timpano: They have lakes and rivers, but that's not the case.
>> Amanda Barker: Quite a few lakes and rivers, sure,
>> Marco Timpano: as Saskatchewan does as well. But this was crab. Like snow. crab and shrimp and other things.
>> Amanda Barker: Not. This was ocean, not river.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: Any. It was great and unexpected, and we just. It was also the easiest way to have lunch because we were right there.
Saskatoon has some nice museums, some nice art galleries
So then we changed and went about our day. We walked, along Broadway. A lot of people said, you should walk along Broadway. It's sort of the funky old part of town with some cool shops, and some of them are open. It was lovely. And of course, they were having this big street fair the next weekend, so something to do. Saskatoon.
>> Marco Timpano: A lovely walk around Broadway. Then we went on a lark to a museum.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. My sister said, oh, both my sister and her partner were like. Their friend Michelle, works at this museum. She's a head curator at this museum. And someone had actually, Brittany Thrifty rental car. Brittany said, you should go to the river. And there's some nice museums, some nice art galleries. She said, right, right. So in my mind, when you say some nice art galleries, I'm thinking art for purchase.
>> Marco Timpano: Like those kind of places.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. You know, like, oh, this is a cute little place. And, oh, look at this. Oh, look at this. You could buy this. I wasn't thinking of a gorgeous museum of modern art, like, state of the art, huge, massive facility. It was stunning. And I don't know. Do you say Ramai? Is that how it's called?
>> Marco Timpano: That's how I say it.
>> Amanda Barker: Ramai Museum of Modern Art, I believe is the name of it in Saskatoon. And that was a. And it was open on a holiday Sunday. And it was fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: It was wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, wow, what a gorgeous, gorgeous museum. Really stunning.
>> Marco Timpano: three floors of this museum. It was beautiful. It had views that were stunning.
>> Amanda Barker: It had, an exhibit we went to, that was comparing the works of Picasso and William Kentridge, and they were phenomenal.
>> Marco Timpano: Kentridge's work was, for me, more impressive than the Picasso stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it was very interesting because it was all on, lithographs. Right. And printmaking. Yeah. anyway, really, really stunning, gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. Lots of interactive sort of pieces. The curation was gorgeous.
>> Marco Timpano: And then we went to. It was like a blue. Like it was a blue themed art or there's something to do with blue. All the paintings that we saw, including the group of seven, the Lauren Harris.
>> Amanda Barker: So that was the pink room, was it?
>> Marco Timpano: The Pink room? Is that what it was called? Yeah, I thought it was blue.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a whole room dedicated to pink.
>> Marco Timpano: Not blue?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: It talked about the pink, the pink of the sun and the skies. But see, isn't that interesting that you remember it being blue, but that Lauren Harris has a lot of blue to it. I don't know if that Lauren Harris was in that room though.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the room that I'm thinking of was the blue was, was, I thought was the blue themed room, but there was a pink.
>> Amanda Barker: A room that was about pink. It was really like a whitish pink, but it was stunning.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it upstairs or the middle floor?
>> Amanda Barker: It was by the Lauren Harris. Anyway, it doesn't matter. No one's listening. In case you landed here by accident, this is not your guided tour of the Ramay Museum.
>> Marco Timpano: it's just the conversation or Blue room. Right, it's just the conversation.
>> Amanda Barker: But imagine it was. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen. Pink and blue are both relaxing colors that can help you fall asleep, that's for sure. And yeah, it was just a wonderful museum.
Toronto has banned any type of standup scooter. In fact, even for personal use
Then we rented those little, those scooters. Those scooters that you can find in cities all across the world if you're
>> Amanda Barker: still awake and listening. That's the question of the hour. Does your city have those rental scooters that you rent with an app and people drive along sidewalks and you know the ones, you know the ones, different companies that do them.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we rented one and we went along.
>> Amanda Barker: We rented two.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: We've done it before, but not recently.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. And we went around along the river.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was really quite beautiful.
>> Amanda Barker: I said let's get scooters. And. And because this river is long and vast and sort of spans the city, wouldn't it be fun to just sort of scoot along the river? And we did.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: It was incredible. and that's one of the things I like using those scooters for. But see, our city doesn't have them. Toronto has banned any type of standup scooter. In fact, even for personal use.
>> Marco Timpano: I Think it would be difficult to maintain those scooters in the city. Like, I think when they're in a large city, it can be a challenge because if they end up in the road or you really got to keep on.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, there's lots of reasons to ban them, and I totally understand that. And to be fair, this. Well, no, we rode them in quite large cities and we've ridden them in sort of medium sized city. They're great for a medium sized city, I will say, especially a city that sees tourists like us. now, you know, you have to be safe and et cetera. But, for something like that, to ride a scooter along a river, you know, a river walk kind of thing, that can be quite lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: I got charged twice for it, so check your credit card so that, you know. Yeah, I got charged twice for the. I noticed that the charge was the same amount twice.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, so you can refute that?
>> Marco Timpano: I did, I did. So there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: It kind of made us do that.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, Yeah. I meant to tell you that.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry. I usually check it every day, but for some reason I just haven't.
Accounting can really put you to sleep, says Rene Dion
>> Marco Timpano: we also do accounting on the show.
>> Amanda Barker: In case you're wondering, this is also the accounting hour.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, accounting really put you to sleep. Accounting can really put you to sleep. And I'll tell you, like, sometimes when you're in front of numbers and just using the calculator. We have a calculator that has a roll of paper that we use. And there's something hypnotic about typing in many numbers and just watching that roll, sort of.
>> Amanda Barker: And every time you type it in, it's like that chugga, chugga, chugga.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that clickety clack, clickety clack as it comes from the roll. And then you rip the roll and you have that.
>> Amanda Barker: I like. For me, I like to fall asleep thinking about organizing. It's not necessarily numbers. It can be numbers. But I like to think about, like, organizational things that I can do.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever have a Rolodex?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: So my boss had a Rolodex.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, everyone's boss had a Rolodex.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I got a Rolodex from that same workplace.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, they gave you a Rolodex. Like, welcome, son, you've been here a year. Here's your Rolodex.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's just say a Rolodex fell off a truck into my bag.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, what?
>> Marco Timpano: Somehow I ended up with a Rolodex off a truck. Well, let's just say stole a roller. No I don't think I stole it.
>> Amanda Barker: Somebody's uncle stole a roller.
>> Marco Timpano: No, what I think happened was because I was working.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, they weren't expensive.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think they were expensive back then.
>> Amanda Barker: A Rolodex.
>> Marco Timpano: A Rolodex. Back in the day. Look up how much a rolodex was in 1940. we did that last episode. So let me just tell my Rolodex situation.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: So my boss had a Rolodex with a lot of important numbers on it. And he. And this was a television station. And so somehow I had a Rolodex. I think I had. I think it was. I had a Rolodex on my desk at work.
>> Amanda Barker: You're. You're right. They're not cheap. I don't like $75 on Amazon right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Imagine 1940.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't work in 1940.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't work in 1940. But last week we were looking at the price of turkeys in 1940. So, I had this Rolodex, and one time, oftentimes I would have to go through his Rolodex. He'd be like, go on my Rolodex and find. So I'd go through the number.
>> Amanda Barker: You have to flip through and find the number. Isn't that amazing?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Well, I found Rene Angelil's number in his Rolodex. No, I'm not. So I saved it onto my phone and I put it in my Rolodex just in case.
>> Amanda Barker: On your phone? What year was this?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I guess I didn't. I put it in my Rolodex.
>> Amanda Barker: I was gonna say you didn't have a phone. That's the thing. We needed Rolodexes because we didn't have cell phones.
>> Marco Timpano: I had it in my address book. I put it in. You know how you'd have an address book with phone numbers? So I put Renee Angelils.
>> Amanda Barker: He wrote it down, folks. Old schools.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had it both in my Rolodex and in my phone. And for the longest time, I didn't want to throw away the Rolodex because I had Rene Angelil's private cell phone number.
>> Amanda Barker: And did you call him? No.
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to, but I never had occasion to. And I felt like I shouldn't have the number because I took it from my boss's Rolodex.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, now it wouldn't matter.
>> Marco Timpano: Now it wouldn't matter. But in case you're wondering who Rene
>> Amanda Barker: angel is, do you regret. Is that one of life's? Regrets that you didn't call Rene Angelil. And. Yeah, there's a lot of people going, who the hell is Rene Angelil?
>> Marco Timpano: Rene Angelil was Celine, Dion's first husband and.
>> Amanda Barker: First husband.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, well, her husband.
Are you hooking her up? No. I don't think she's. Who knows? She might have another husband
>> Amanda Barker: Are you hooking her up? No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Her only husband.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think she's. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: People will listen to this in the future. Who knows? She might have another husband. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And we hope she does. We hope you're listening in the future going, isn't that sweet?
>> Marco Timpano: If you haven't seen the documentary on her. I think it's on Netflix.
>> Amanda Barker: It's fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, in Canada, it's on Prime.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Who knows what it's on?
>> Marco Timpano: Check your Netflix. So I will say this. I'm proud that I had his number. I'm proud that I didn't call him, because I don't know what I would have said to him.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I don't think he would have picked up, but. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: If I called for my boss's phone, maybe.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, sure.
>> Marco Timpano: I was just happy to have his phone number in my role.
>> Amanda Barker: That's fine. The end.
>> Marco Timpano: The end.
Back to Saskatchewan. So we went to a lovely dinner that evening at a restaurant
Back to Saskatchewan. So then. So then that we took a detour. We took a little Celine Dion detour, like you do. P.S. if you're listening to this and you're not from Canada, I just want to make sure you are aware that Celine Dion is not for. From Saskatchewan. She's from Quebec. So we went to a lovely dinner that evening at a beautiful restaurant. And I can't remember its name.
>> Amanda Barker: Odd La Odla. It is a restaurant that owns a farm. And everything there. Most things there are from its farm.
>> Marco Timpano: Farm to table.
>> Amanda Barker: It's true. Farm to table. And it was phenomenal. pharma. So good.
>> Marco Timpano: We did the tasting menu, and they accommodated the.
Both of us have allergies that give us hives
>> Amanda Barker: Our list of weird displeasures. not displeasures, but we have allergies. We have. I would group them into three things. We have allergies that are legitimate, that will give us hives. Both of us do. Now, both of our allergies are really weird.
>> Marco Timpano: We've talked about them on the show.
>> Amanda Barker: Then we also have, I would say, intolerances, which you and I have the same intolerance. And I think it's because we don't eat them that we have an intolerance.
>> Marco Timpano: It's really quite fortunate that we have an intolerance to bell peppers that we both don't eat them.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I think if we ate them, if we liked them, we wouldn't have an intolerance. To them. That's what I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this. You don't eat what I'm allergic to, which is passion fruit. do you miss not eating passion fruit?
>> Amanda Barker: No, but I do miss not eating goat cheese.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is a preference.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a preference, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So that would be the other group. Goat cheese for him. Goat cheese. Anything lamb or sheep related for me. Truffle.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Anything truffle related I don't want anything to do with.
>> Marco Timpano: Which now I feel like I don't like truffle Oreo. I'm building an intolerance to it because I never get to have it.
>> Amanda Barker: This is what happens, folks. marriage.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever gone truffle hunting?
>> Amanda Barker: No. See, I think I like actual truffles, and I think I would like truffle hunting. It's the oil. Because usually it's not. They're putting truffles on things. Usually it's. They're dousing things with oil. And that's what I don't want.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
Saskatoon has a food item that neither of us are allergic to
Anyways, let's get back to Saskatchewan.
>> Amanda Barker: We're never going to.
>> Marco Timpano: We have to get to Saskatoon in particular. While they don't have truffles, they do have a food item that is fantastic that neither of us are allergic to. And that's the Saskatoon berry.
>> Amanda Barker: Delicious. so delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: I was like, I really want a Saskatoon berry. And I really want to see a wheat field in Saskatchewan.
>> Amanda Barker: And so we spent Saturday, walking along Broadway, which was lovely, and eating at Oddlaw. And what else did we do? We did something else.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I took you to that, ice cream place. That was a bit of a bust.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a. But they had really cool flavors. But yeah, it was like creamed corn, ice cream, things like that. And you're like, that's gonna be so good. And then it just tasted like, meh.
>> Marco Timpano: It wasn't the best place. So we won't mention where it is, but we. Then the next day I was like, I really want some Saskatoon berries. And I really want to see a wheat field. So we drove outside of Saskatoon. Just outside. To a place called the Berry Farm. Barn.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the Saskatoon Berry Barn, I believe it's called. Or the Berry Barn.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So is it still in Saskatoon? I feel like we. We drove a bit.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like 15 minutes outside of Saskatoon.
>> Marco Timpano: 24, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Cuz I was like, that was far. Because everywhere we would go was about 12 minutes away at the furthest.
>> Amanda Barker: and it was lovely. I'm glad we went and we had
>> Marco Timpano: all the Saskatoon berry you could want and more.
>> Amanda Barker: Let's list what we had. I had wings, chicken wings in Saskatoon berry barbecue sauce.
>> Marco Timpano: I had pierogies, which were fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: And we should mention there's a strong, Ukrainian population out there.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And so I knew they would know how to make pierogies. Well. And then I had the meatballs in a dill white gravy and they were fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: M. And I think a strong Polish population there too, but I think very strong Ukrainian population. I had Saskatoon berry filled pierogies, deep fried, dusted with like cinnamon sugar, and some whipped cream. They were fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: And I had a Saskatoon berry pie.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you did.
>> Marco Timpano: Which was excellent.
>> Amanda Barker: And there are, as you said, very toothsome. The Saskatoon berry because they look kind
>> Marco Timpano: of like a rounder blueberry. If you haven't encountered.
>> Amanda Barker: They always look like a holly berry or a chokecherry.
>> Marco Timpano: but if you haven't encountered either of those, it looks like a round blueberry.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, like a red berry. so you think it's going to be like a blueberry because it's in pies and things, but it has a little bit more to it than like a blueberry. Kind of, dissolves as soon as you bite it. It kind of even a really plump one.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, this will this.
>> Marco Timpano: You need teeth to bite into it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, a little bit more.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So. And it's neither sour nor sweet, it's kind of in between. But tasty. Leans more towards sweetness for sure. But it was delectable to me.
>> Amanda Barker: It was most like in a way, the chokecherry. But you can't properly eat a chokecherry because the pits are poison. You have to boil chokecherries, which a lot of people don't, but I love doing that. You boil the choke cherries. It's a type of bush.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll be honest with you, before I met you, I didn't know what a chokecherry was.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well now you know. Now our listeners know, if you didn't already. You boil the chokecherries and you get all the pits out of the chokecherries. You strain all the pits, damned to pits. And then you get kind of like a syrup out of it. And then you can just use the syrup or you can make a jelly out of it. And that's what I used to do. I used to take all the choke cherries from our land in New Brunswick. Not all because there's tons of them, but quite a bit bushels of them. And then I'd make choke cherry jelly. But it does have, I don't know how to put it. Almost like a berry meets a red pepper.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: Kind of taste.
Everybody wants to give me crab apple stuff. Even my grandmother used to make crabapple jam
Sure you didn't love chokecherries?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: And the jelly that I made,
>> Marco Timpano: and I'm not a fan of crabapple.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: That's fair.
>> Marco Timpano: Everybody wants to give me crab apple stuff. Even my grandmother used to make crabapple jam. Like, I don't like this crab apple stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: You know why? Because people. Crab apple is something that's there, and there's plenty. They're plentiful. So people are trying to do something fun with it. All right.
>> Marco Timpano: Do it on your own time, with your own dime.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what I did with chokecherries. Anyway. so I think a Saskatoon berry taste is actually similar to a chokecherry personally.
This episode is a Saskatchewan episode, so thank you, Saskatoon
>> Marco Timpano: And then to close this episode, we'll just tell you what we did after the Berry Barn before we went to the Back to the airport.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to remember.
>> Marco Timpano: We went to go see Amber's house.
>> Amanda Barker: That's gonna make the podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: My friend grew up in Saskatoon, and so she gave me the address of her house, and I went and took a picture, and she happened to be in my hometown, but she didn't get the address of my house. the problem is the address of my old house in New Brunswick. They kept changing the address because it used to not have an address. It would just be our name and RR1. That was our address for years. And then finally someone was like, I
>> Marco Timpano: feel like you're trying to strong arm this episode to New Brunswick when it's a Saskatchewan episode. Careful with your laughs. Into the mic.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry. Anyway, so I had to look up the address of my old house because they've changed it. The government has changed it.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, have you sent this picture to Amber of you in front of her house?
>> Amanda Barker: I have.
>> Marco Timpano: And what was her response?
>> Amanda Barker: She's like, there's my forever home. And I said, what you can't hear is that we were blasting the Northern Pikes, which is a Saskatoon band, in the background. And she was like, northern Pikes. That's amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: And, yeah, I should mention that when we drove to the Berry Barn, I saw wheat fields. Beautiful, golden wheat in a field that went on forever.
>> Amanda Barker: And it was beautiful under the living skies.
>> Marco Timpano: It was. And you know, Amanda, from our hotel room, you could just see, like, when you look left or right, you could just see horizon forever.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what they say that you can just see. It's easy. People would used to always joke that when your dog runs away, you see it leaving you for days. For days. Because you could just see how far everything goes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was beautiful. I loved. I loved Saskatoon. I loved Saskatchewan. I loved what I saw.
>> Amanda Barker: It was beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a great time. Time. So thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you, Saskatoon.
>> Marco Timpano: And for our listeners from there, we say a special hello. And for everyone else, we say we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: Sept 11, 2024)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm, soothing, hopefully salve like conversation so that you can just rest, relax and who knows, maybe even find your way to sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: I want everyone to imagine that, that they are staring at fields, what we would call amber waves of grain. Sure, as we used to say in our little song that I have to sing in elementary school, a sea of,
>> Marco Timpano: swaying shafts of wheat, shafts of
>> Amanda Barker: wheat, hay bales, grain elevators sort of in the middle of fields and, yeah, just tilling the land. Because that is where we were this Weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: We're taking you there on this particular episode. I'm your host, Marco Tympano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: And so, Amanda, tell our listeners where we were.
>> Amanda Barker: We were in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan. Yeah. And, did you see what it says on their license plate? it's really lovely, and it's so apropos.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I did. And I can't remember, but it's something with the sky. Help me out.
>> Amanda Barker: So on their license plate, it says land of the living skies. And I thought that was so beautiful. And that is one of those things that might make no sense to someone. And then you go there, and it makes perfect sense. The skies are. It has the most sunlight of anywhere in Canada, which is an amazing thing that I didn't know. And the skies are so full and blue and ever continuous. It is a big sky.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, we have listeners from Saskatchewan, and we also have listeners from Saskatoon. So I hope you'll enjoy this episode, and please forgive us if we m. Misspeak on your province.
Saskatchewan is known for its large production of wheat and mustard
So Saskatoon, or Saskatchewan, is a prairie province, and it's known because of its large production of wheat, amongst other things. I think it produces the most m. Mustard in.
>> Amanda Barker: Mustard.
>> Marco Timpano: Mustard.
>> Amanda Barker: Lentils. I know a lot of lentils come from Saskatchewan.
>> Marco Timpano: Pulses. Yeah. And. Yeah, mustard. A lot of mustard that you get from. Where's that place in France that's famous for Dijon? Dijon actually comes, what, from Canada? Yeah. They don't tell you. They don't advertise that when you go there, that's for sure. but it's certainly, an important province, for our country, for anyone who's listening outside. And we have not been to Saskatchewan. And that was the last province for you.
>> Amanda Barker: I have now been to all of the provinces of Canada, and now it's time for me to get to know the territories that's left and head north.
Did you enjoy Saskatoon? I loved Saskatoon
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this. Did you enjoy Saskatoon?
>> Amanda Barker: I loved Saskatoon. I thought it was just a beautiful, charming, vibrant, fun, happy city.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, people were lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a lot of happiness there. Yeah, it felt like.
>> Marco Timpano: It certainly felt. It certainly felt like that the people that we encountered.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, there could be people that are listening. They're like, well, you didn't meet me, or you didn't meet my family or whatever, but, you know, you can only you get the experience you get. And we had a very quick experience, quicker than we even realized it would be. We thought we were going to fly in on a Friday night and then realized when we went to check in the night before we're actually flying in on a Saturday night on a long weekend. So we had the. The tail end of Saturday, all of Sunday, and a good chunk of Monday before we got back on the plane. So not a very long visit, that's for sure. And over a long holiday weekend. So, you know, we didn't have the full experience because a lot of things were closed, but we had an amazing experience nonetheless.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I should mention that Saskatoon is known as the Paris of the Prairies.
>> Amanda Barker: And who coined that phrase?
>> Marco Timpano: I believe it was Bob Dylan.
>> Amanda Barker: Bob Dylan.
>> Marco Timpano: They said, Yeah, that's what they're saying. Yeah. So Bob Dylan once dubbed this pretty little city Paris of the Prairies. No one seems to know exactly why is what it says here on this particular website, but it's really quite a lovely city.
>> Amanda Barker: Does he know he said that? Like, does he know that he coined that term and everyone's quoting him on it, attributes it to him.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure he does. He seems like the type of person who.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Sometimes those things happen and they're like, what.
>> Marco Timpano: What was the. It was also known as the city of bridges. They have beautiful bridges.
>> Amanda Barker: Bridges everywhere. That gorgeous river. I. What's the name of that river? I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: It's an important river. And so I,
>> Amanda Barker: Better look it up.
>> Marco Timpano: You best look it up. I will say this. So we ate in some tremendous restaurants, and there were restaurants we couldn't go to because, as Amanda said, we were there on the Labor Day long weekend. And there was two restaurants we wanted to go to that were closed because of the long weekend. But the restaurants we did go in its place were fantastic. One was recommended to us by the person who we rented the car from. You know, when you go to the airport and you rent a car and you deal with that person, well, she couldn't be any more lovely. I think it's safe to say her name. Brittany. Brittany, who was so lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: From Thrifty. Brittany from Thrifty. By the way, that river is called the South Saskatchewan River.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course. so she recommended we go to 13 pies, which was this pizza place that was open till late. So we went. Once we got to our hotel, we went there and we had.
>> Amanda Barker: We went at midnight and had pizza and.
>> Marco Timpano: And we had delicious pizza.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh, it was fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: And then our waiter recommended a bunch of things for us to do.
>> Amanda Barker: Her name was Kayla at thirteen Pies. She was amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: She was wonderful. And then we went to. Oh. And then we went home and we had an amazing.
We stayed at this hotel that was. Um, it was like a convention center hotel
>> Amanda Barker: So we should, we should talk a little bit about 13 pies. Yeah, let's talk about it because I think it's neat. It's a horror themed pizza, restaurant. So every pizza, every signature pizza of which there are 13 is named after a horror movie.
>> Marco Timpano: So what did we get? We had the White Walker and it was delicious.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then we, the next day we had a full.
>> Amanda Barker: She gave it. She hooked us up, gave us, on the house, Key lime cheesecake. Key lime pie, which was one of the best key lime pies I've ever had.
>> Marco Timpano: Truly.
>> Amanda Barker: It was fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: It was incredible.
>> Amanda Barker: And they do not grow key limes in Saskatoon, I don't think.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it was out of this world.
>> Amanda Barker: They do grow amazing berries. And we'll talk about that in a bit.
>> Marco Timpano: So the next morning we woke up and we had a full day in front of us.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. Yes. It was my birthday.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is why we went. I wanted to go hit my last province before I turned of, age.
>> Marco Timpano: And where did we go first on the next day when we had the full day to ourselves? We swam.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we swam because we had. We stayed at this hotel that was. Should we talk about the hotel?
>> Marco Timpano: It had an interesting lazy river to
>> Amanda Barker: it, sort of like a pool that had a bridge. So it was quite an extensive pool. And there was a lot happening at the hotel, you know, and a lot of people.
>> Marco Timpano: it was like a convention center hotel as well.
>> Amanda Barker: So, so filled with children and it was lovely. And the breakfast, they had like a brunch. That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: We were going to go to a fancy schmancy breakfast.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we didn't know if it was fancy schmancy, but it, to be fair, we thought we were getting in Friday night, as I said. So we had a lot of reservations lined up. So our brunch reservation was, named to some Saskatoon's best restaurant. Although I think that would be a hard title to capture because there's a lot of great restaurants. But anyway, one of them, which is called Hearth, but they weren't open on the Sundays so we didn't have brunch plans. So we actually just after swimming, looked at the brunch at the hotel and it looked amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was like, they have crap.
>> Amanda Barker: They, they have, they had crab, shrimp, crab legs and shrimp.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, mussels and clams.
>> Amanda Barker: All the seafood, unlimited seafood. And it was fantastic. And it wasn't very expensive. And we were also like, I mean none of that seafood's Local. Like, none of it's local.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. You're Saskatchewan sandwiched, like.
>> Amanda Barker: And I did not go there to eat seafood, that's for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: However, nowhere near.
>> Amanda Barker: It was really good.
>> Marco Timpano: Our oceans.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Is where Saskatchewan is, but I guess
>> Amanda Barker: it's maybe the one. One of the few places that does it. So anyway.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'll say this. Some of the best seafood I had was in Calgary, too. So once again, not a province that has any body of water like an ocean, or sea.
>> Amanda Barker: They have lakes and rivers.
>> Marco Timpano: They have lakes and rivers, but that's not the case.
>> Amanda Barker: Quite a few lakes and rivers, sure,
>> Marco Timpano: as Saskatchewan does as well. But this was crab. Like snow. crab and shrimp and other things.
>> Amanda Barker: Not. This was ocean, not river.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: Any. It was great and unexpected, and we just. It was also the easiest way to have lunch because we were right there.
Saskatoon has some nice museums, some nice art galleries
So then we changed and went about our day. We walked, along Broadway. A lot of people said, you should walk along Broadway. It's sort of the funky old part of town with some cool shops, and some of them are open. It was lovely. And of course, they were having this big street fair the next weekend, so something to do. Saskatoon.
>> Marco Timpano: A lovely walk around Broadway. Then we went on a lark to a museum.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. My sister said, oh, both my sister and her partner were like. Their friend Michelle, works at this museum. She's a head curator at this museum. And someone had actually, Brittany Thrifty rental car. Brittany said, you should go to the river. And there's some nice museums, some nice art galleries. She said, right, right. So in my mind, when you say some nice art galleries, I'm thinking art for purchase.
>> Marco Timpano: Like those kind of places.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. You know, like, oh, this is a cute little place. And, oh, look at this. Oh, look at this. You could buy this. I wasn't thinking of a gorgeous museum of modern art, like, state of the art, huge, massive facility. It was stunning. And I don't know. Do you say Ramai? Is that how it's called?
>> Marco Timpano: That's how I say it.
>> Amanda Barker: Ramai Museum of Modern Art, I believe is the name of it in Saskatoon. And that was a. And it was open on a holiday Sunday. And it was fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: It was wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, wow, what a gorgeous, gorgeous museum. Really stunning.
>> Marco Timpano: three floors of this museum. It was beautiful. It had views that were stunning.
>> Amanda Barker: It had, an exhibit we went to, that was comparing the works of Picasso and William Kentridge, and they were phenomenal.
>> Marco Timpano: Kentridge's work was, for me, more impressive than the Picasso stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it was very interesting because it was all on, lithographs. Right. And printmaking. Yeah. anyway, really, really stunning, gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. Lots of interactive sort of pieces. The curation was gorgeous.
>> Marco Timpano: And then we went to. It was like a blue. Like it was a blue themed art or there's something to do with blue. All the paintings that we saw, including the group of seven, the Lauren Harris.
>> Amanda Barker: So that was the pink room, was it?
>> Marco Timpano: The Pink room? Is that what it was called? Yeah, I thought it was blue.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a whole room dedicated to pink.
>> Marco Timpano: Not blue?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: It talked about the pink, the pink of the sun and the skies. But see, isn't that interesting that you remember it being blue, but that Lauren Harris has a lot of blue to it. I don't know if that Lauren Harris was in that room though.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the room that I'm thinking of was the blue was, was, I thought was the blue themed room, but there was a pink.
>> Amanda Barker: A room that was about pink. It was really like a whitish pink, but it was stunning.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it upstairs or the middle floor?
>> Amanda Barker: It was by the Lauren Harris. Anyway, it doesn't matter. No one's listening. In case you landed here by accident, this is not your guided tour of the Ramay Museum.
>> Marco Timpano: it's just the conversation or Blue room. Right, it's just the conversation.
>> Amanda Barker: But imagine it was. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen. Pink and blue are both relaxing colors that can help you fall asleep, that's for sure. And yeah, it was just a wonderful museum.
Toronto has banned any type of standup scooter. In fact, even for personal use
Then we rented those little, those scooters. Those scooters that you can find in cities all across the world if you're
>> Amanda Barker: still awake and listening. That's the question of the hour. Does your city have those rental scooters that you rent with an app and people drive along sidewalks and you know the ones, you know the ones, different companies that do them.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we rented one and we went along.
>> Amanda Barker: We rented two.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: We've done it before, but not recently.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. And we went around along the river.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was really quite beautiful.
>> Amanda Barker: I said let's get scooters. And. And because this river is long and vast and sort of spans the city, wouldn't it be fun to just sort of scoot along the river? And we did.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: It was incredible. and that's one of the things I like using those scooters for. But see, our city doesn't have them. Toronto has banned any type of standup scooter. In fact, even for personal use.
>> Marco Timpano: I Think it would be difficult to maintain those scooters in the city. Like, I think when they're in a large city, it can be a challenge because if they end up in the road or you really got to keep on.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, there's lots of reasons to ban them, and I totally understand that. And to be fair, this. Well, no, we rode them in quite large cities and we've ridden them in sort of medium sized city. They're great for a medium sized city, I will say, especially a city that sees tourists like us. now, you know, you have to be safe and et cetera. But, for something like that, to ride a scooter along a river, you know, a river walk kind of thing, that can be quite lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: I got charged twice for it, so check your credit card so that, you know. Yeah, I got charged twice for the. I noticed that the charge was the same amount twice.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, so you can refute that?
>> Marco Timpano: I did, I did. So there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: It kind of made us do that.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, Yeah. I meant to tell you that.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry. I usually check it every day, but for some reason I just haven't.
Accounting can really put you to sleep, says Rene Dion
>> Marco Timpano: we also do accounting on the show.
>> Amanda Barker: In case you're wondering, this is also the accounting hour.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, accounting really put you to sleep. Accounting can really put you to sleep. And I'll tell you, like, sometimes when you're in front of numbers and just using the calculator. We have a calculator that has a roll of paper that we use. And there's something hypnotic about typing in many numbers and just watching that roll, sort of.
>> Amanda Barker: And every time you type it in, it's like that chugga, chugga, chugga.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that clickety clack, clickety clack as it comes from the roll. And then you rip the roll and you have that.
>> Amanda Barker: I like. For me, I like to fall asleep thinking about organizing. It's not necessarily numbers. It can be numbers. But I like to think about, like, organizational things that I can do.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever have a Rolodex?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: So my boss had a Rolodex.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, everyone's boss had a Rolodex.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I got a Rolodex from that same workplace.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, they gave you a Rolodex. Like, welcome, son, you've been here a year. Here's your Rolodex.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's just say a Rolodex fell off a truck into my bag.
>> Amanda Barker: Wait, what?
>> Marco Timpano: Somehow I ended up with a Rolodex off a truck. Well, let's just say stole a roller. No I don't think I stole it.
>> Amanda Barker: Somebody's uncle stole a roller.
>> Marco Timpano: No, what I think happened was because I was working.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, they weren't expensive.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think they were expensive back then.
>> Amanda Barker: A Rolodex.
>> Marco Timpano: A Rolodex. Back in the day. Look up how much a rolodex was in 1940. we did that last episode. So let me just tell my Rolodex situation.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: So my boss had a Rolodex with a lot of important numbers on it. And he. And this was a television station. And so somehow I had a Rolodex. I think I had. I think it was. I had a Rolodex on my desk at work.
>> Amanda Barker: You're. You're right. They're not cheap. I don't like $75 on Amazon right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Imagine 1940.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't work in 1940.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't work in 1940. But last week we were looking at the price of turkeys in 1940. So, I had this Rolodex, and one time, oftentimes I would have to go through his Rolodex. He'd be like, go on my Rolodex and find. So I'd go through the number.
>> Amanda Barker: You have to flip through and find the number. Isn't that amazing?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Well, I found Rene Angelil's number in his Rolodex. No, I'm not. So I saved it onto my phone and I put it in my Rolodex just in case.
>> Amanda Barker: On your phone? What year was this?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I guess I didn't. I put it in my Rolodex.
>> Amanda Barker: I was gonna say you didn't have a phone. That's the thing. We needed Rolodexes because we didn't have cell phones.
>> Marco Timpano: I had it in my address book. I put it in. You know how you'd have an address book with phone numbers? So I put Renee Angelils.
>> Amanda Barker: He wrote it down, folks. Old schools.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had it both in my Rolodex and in my phone. And for the longest time, I didn't want to throw away the Rolodex because I had Rene Angelil's private cell phone number.
>> Amanda Barker: And did you call him? No.
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to, but I never had occasion to. And I felt like I shouldn't have the number because I took it from my boss's Rolodex.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, now it wouldn't matter.
>> Marco Timpano: Now it wouldn't matter. But in case you're wondering who Rene
>> Amanda Barker: angel is, do you regret. Is that one of life's? Regrets that you didn't call Rene Angelil. And. Yeah, there's a lot of people going, who the hell is Rene Angelil?
>> Marco Timpano: Rene Angelil was Celine, Dion's first husband and.
>> Amanda Barker: First husband.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, well, her husband.
Are you hooking her up? No. I don't think she's. Who knows? She might have another husband
>> Amanda Barker: Are you hooking her up? No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Her only husband.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think she's. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: People will listen to this in the future. Who knows? She might have another husband. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And we hope she does. We hope you're listening in the future going, isn't that sweet?
>> Marco Timpano: If you haven't seen the documentary on her. I think it's on Netflix.
>> Amanda Barker: It's fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, in Canada, it's on Prime.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Who knows what it's on?
>> Marco Timpano: Check your Netflix. So I will say this. I'm proud that I had his number. I'm proud that I didn't call him, because I don't know what I would have said to him.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I don't think he would have picked up, but. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: If I called for my boss's phone, maybe.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, sure.
>> Marco Timpano: I was just happy to have his phone number in my role.
>> Amanda Barker: That's fine. The end.
>> Marco Timpano: The end.
Back to Saskatchewan. So we went to a lovely dinner that evening at a restaurant
Back to Saskatchewan. So then. So then that we took a detour. We took a little Celine Dion detour, like you do. P.S. if you're listening to this and you're not from Canada, I just want to make sure you are aware that Celine Dion is not for. From Saskatchewan. She's from Quebec. So we went to a lovely dinner that evening at a beautiful restaurant. And I can't remember its name.
>> Amanda Barker: Odd La Odla. It is a restaurant that owns a farm. And everything there. Most things there are from its farm.
>> Marco Timpano: Farm to table.
>> Amanda Barker: It's true. Farm to table. And it was phenomenal. pharma. So good.
>> Marco Timpano: We did the tasting menu, and they accommodated the.
Both of us have allergies that give us hives
>> Amanda Barker: Our list of weird displeasures. not displeasures, but we have allergies. We have. I would group them into three things. We have allergies that are legitimate, that will give us hives. Both of us do. Now, both of our allergies are really weird.
>> Marco Timpano: We've talked about them on the show.
>> Amanda Barker: Then we also have, I would say, intolerances, which you and I have the same intolerance. And I think it's because we don't eat them that we have an intolerance.
>> Marco Timpano: It's really quite fortunate that we have an intolerance to bell peppers that we both don't eat them.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I think if we ate them, if we liked them, we wouldn't have an intolerance. To them. That's what I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this. You don't eat what I'm allergic to, which is passion fruit. do you miss not eating passion fruit?
>> Amanda Barker: No, but I do miss not eating goat cheese.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is a preference.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a preference, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So that would be the other group. Goat cheese for him. Goat cheese. Anything lamb or sheep related for me. Truffle.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Anything truffle related I don't want anything to do with.
>> Marco Timpano: Which now I feel like I don't like truffle Oreo. I'm building an intolerance to it because I never get to have it.
>> Amanda Barker: This is what happens, folks. marriage.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever gone truffle hunting?
>> Amanda Barker: No. See, I think I like actual truffles, and I think I would like truffle hunting. It's the oil. Because usually it's not. They're putting truffles on things. Usually it's. They're dousing things with oil. And that's what I don't want.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
Saskatoon has a food item that neither of us are allergic to
Anyways, let's get back to Saskatchewan.
>> Amanda Barker: We're never going to.
>> Marco Timpano: We have to get to Saskatoon in particular. While they don't have truffles, they do have a food item that is fantastic that neither of us are allergic to. And that's the Saskatoon berry.
>> Amanda Barker: Delicious. so delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: I was like, I really want a Saskatoon berry. And I really want to see a wheat field in Saskatchewan.
>> Amanda Barker: And so we spent Saturday, walking along Broadway, which was lovely, and eating at Oddlaw. And what else did we do? We did something else.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I took you to that, ice cream place. That was a bit of a bust.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a. But they had really cool flavors. But yeah, it was like creamed corn, ice cream, things like that. And you're like, that's gonna be so good. And then it just tasted like, meh.
>> Marco Timpano: It wasn't the best place. So we won't mention where it is, but we. Then the next day I was like, I really want some Saskatoon berries. And I really want to see a wheat field. So we drove outside of Saskatoon. Just outside. To a place called the Berry Farm. Barn.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, the Saskatoon Berry Barn, I believe it's called. Or the Berry Barn.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So is it still in Saskatoon? I feel like we. We drove a bit.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like 15 minutes outside of Saskatoon.
>> Marco Timpano: 24, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Cuz I was like, that was far. Because everywhere we would go was about 12 minutes away at the furthest.
>> Amanda Barker: and it was lovely. I'm glad we went and we had
>> Marco Timpano: all the Saskatoon berry you could want and more.
>> Amanda Barker: Let's list what we had. I had wings, chicken wings in Saskatoon berry barbecue sauce.
>> Marco Timpano: I had pierogies, which were fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: And we should mention there's a strong, Ukrainian population out there.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And so I knew they would know how to make pierogies. Well. And then I had the meatballs in a dill white gravy and they were fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: M. And I think a strong Polish population there too, but I think very strong Ukrainian population. I had Saskatoon berry filled pierogies, deep fried, dusted with like cinnamon sugar, and some whipped cream. They were fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: And I had a Saskatoon berry pie.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you did.
>> Marco Timpano: Which was excellent.
>> Amanda Barker: And there are, as you said, very toothsome. The Saskatoon berry because they look kind
>> Marco Timpano: of like a rounder blueberry. If you haven't encountered.
>> Amanda Barker: They always look like a holly berry or a chokecherry.
>> Marco Timpano: but if you haven't encountered either of those, it looks like a round blueberry.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, like a red berry. so you think it's going to be like a blueberry because it's in pies and things, but it has a little bit more to it than like a blueberry. Kind of, dissolves as soon as you bite it. It kind of even a really plump one.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, this will this.
>> Marco Timpano: You need teeth to bite into it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, a little bit more.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So. And it's neither sour nor sweet, it's kind of in between. But tasty. Leans more towards sweetness for sure. But it was delectable to me.
>> Amanda Barker: It was most like in a way, the chokecherry. But you can't properly eat a chokecherry because the pits are poison. You have to boil chokecherries, which a lot of people don't, but I love doing that. You boil the choke cherries. It's a type of bush.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll be honest with you, before I met you, I didn't know what a chokecherry was.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well now you know. Now our listeners know, if you didn't already. You boil the chokecherries and you get all the pits out of the chokecherries. You strain all the pits, damned to pits. And then you get kind of like a syrup out of it. And then you can just use the syrup or you can make a jelly out of it. And that's what I used to do. I used to take all the choke cherries from our land in New Brunswick. Not all because there's tons of them, but quite a bit bushels of them. And then I'd make choke cherry jelly. But it does have, I don't know how to put it. Almost like a berry meets a red pepper.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: Kind of taste.
Everybody wants to give me crab apple stuff. Even my grandmother used to make crabapple jam
Sure you didn't love chokecherries?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: And the jelly that I made,
>> Marco Timpano: and I'm not a fan of crabapple.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: That's fair.
>> Marco Timpano: Everybody wants to give me crab apple stuff. Even my grandmother used to make crabapple jam. Like, I don't like this crab apple stuff.
>> Amanda Barker: You know why? Because people. Crab apple is something that's there, and there's plenty. They're plentiful. So people are trying to do something fun with it. All right.
>> Marco Timpano: Do it on your own time, with your own dime.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what I did with chokecherries. Anyway. so I think a Saskatoon berry taste is actually similar to a chokecherry personally.
This episode is a Saskatchewan episode, so thank you, Saskatoon
>> Marco Timpano: And then to close this episode, we'll just tell you what we did after the Berry Barn before we went to the Back to the airport.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to remember.
>> Marco Timpano: We went to go see Amber's house.
>> Amanda Barker: That's gonna make the podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: My friend grew up in Saskatoon, and so she gave me the address of her house, and I went and took a picture, and she happened to be in my hometown, but she didn't get the address of my house. the problem is the address of my old house in New Brunswick. They kept changing the address because it used to not have an address. It would just be our name and RR1. That was our address for years. And then finally someone was like, I
>> Marco Timpano: feel like you're trying to strong arm this episode to New Brunswick when it's a Saskatchewan episode. Careful with your laughs. Into the mic.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry. Anyway, so I had to look up the address of my old house because they've changed it. The government has changed it.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, have you sent this picture to Amber of you in front of her house?
>> Amanda Barker: I have.
>> Marco Timpano: And what was her response?
>> Amanda Barker: She's like, there's my forever home. And I said, what you can't hear is that we were blasting the Northern Pikes, which is a Saskatoon band, in the background. And she was like, northern Pikes. That's amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: And, yeah, I should mention that when we drove to the Berry Barn, I saw wheat fields. Beautiful, golden wheat in a field that went on forever.
>> Amanda Barker: And it was beautiful under the living skies.
>> Marco Timpano: It was. And you know, Amanda, from our hotel room, you could just see, like, when you look left or right, you could just see horizon forever.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what they say that you can just see. It's easy. People would used to always joke that when your dog runs away, you see it leaving you for days. For days. Because you could just see how far everything goes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was beautiful. I loved. I loved Saskatoon. I loved Saskatchewan. I loved what I saw.
>> Amanda Barker: It was beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a great time. Time. So thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you, Saskatoon.
>> Marco Timpano: And for our listeners from there, we say a special hello. And for everyone else, we say we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Season 6
You've Got Mail
(June 1, 2022) Season 6
Insomnia Project is a calm and hopefully mundane conversation to help you sleep
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, lie back and listen as we have a calm and hopefully mundane conversation to help you drift off and find your way to sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I
>> Amanda Barker: dare to dream of being mundane.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm Amanda and that's Amanda Barker over there.
>> Amanda Barker: Was that too sassy?
>> Marco Timpano: It had a little sass stink on the end of it, but it's fine.
>> Amanda Barker: Sass stink.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Do you find the post office comforting? The post office? Yeah. Um, I'm not sure that
we got some lovely responses to our love letter to Vermont episode we had, yesterday. People are wanting now to go to Vermont, and I can't recommend it nearly enough.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a really, it's a beautiful state for this state of mind, you know, when you want something cozy and comforting but still interesting, you know, which is the world we try to inhabit here.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you find the post office comforting?
>> Amanda Barker: The post office?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not sure that I Do, you know, I do when I do my cards once a year.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We've talked a lot about that and getting the stamps. I love getting those stamps. But in terms of the post office as an institution, I'm not so sure. I'm picturing different post offices that I've frequented in my life.
>> Marco Timpano: I love searching out and going to post office in other places outside of my country. do you really? Yeah. Remember we were in Istanbul and we had to find a post office, and I feel like we had to mail a packet of some sort.
>> Amanda Barker: We were mailing postcards, but for some reason you went, and then I had to go. I'm not sure why it hadn't opened yet. And then it's interesting because my memory is that you had to go do something. But what would you have had to do in Istanbul? have some tea, maybe. Maybe because I was there by myself.
>> Marco Timpano: We traded off at a little cafe. Right, Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. What were we doing? That we were doing. You stood in line, and then I went and stood for you. And it had just opened, and there was a lot of. I remember there was a lot of discussion over which teller to go to.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't recall at all.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I recall being there, and I think we were trying to mail postcards to our niece and nephews. Sure. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And, you know, we go to this post office that's not far from our home, which is in a,
>> Amanda Barker: Drugstore.
>> Marco Timpano: Drugstore. Thank you. I was gonna say a drug mart. Which is funny. and, you know, sometimes you get someone who's very friendly and helpful, and then you get those other people who just are all.
>> Amanda Barker: I find that most of them in that one are very helpful. Like, I'm usually very. But there is something about a person who works in any post office where you're just grateful to be served.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: You just want to thank them. Oh, my goodness. You're making it happen that my package will get to my sister in time. Thank you. Whatever it is. You just feel really, really, grateful.
>> Marco Timpano: There's an excitement when I get, you know, those cards that say you have a package.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And you don't know what the package is. And you're like, what could this package be?
>> Amanda Barker: The mystery.
>> Marco Timpano: The mystery of it all.
>> Amanda Barker: The drama, the intrigue. in my university, we would have a mailroom. And, that doesn't really exist much anymore. I went to my university, my old university. It had been a long time. What was the mailroom? that building is no longer but they did replace it with a new mailroom. But the thing is, nobody in the student body is getting anymore. Sure. Of course, you know, they don't have as much of a need for it. Like, we used to get our grades by mail. A whole bunch of things. In fact, there was a mail strike, or a strike of a certain sect of workers of which the male people were part of at my university. And I used that to my advantage to, get a withdrawal from a class because everything was late because the mail was delayed. So I said, oh, no, I withdrew. They just didn't get because of the strike. So I use that to my advantage.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes you have to. Gone are the days when you're like, it must have got lost in the mail because you get so little mail.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: We do have a wonderful mail carrier, I have to say our mail carrier. His name is Dominic, and he's just always so lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: I will say, since you and I have been working from home, and I don't think we're unique in this, I think a lot of people started feeling more this way. There's much more excitement around mail, without a doubt. Because if you're home all day and, you know, even if you work out at home, which many of us do, and, you know, your entertainment is going to be at night at home, and of course you're cooking, there's a real excitement. It's your one sort of hello from the outside world. Whether, you know, in our life, we have lots of different, streams of employment. And so, you know, it might be a check that we're not expecting from our work as actors or artists. you know, I think we've well established that I like to get mail in the form of magazines, of course, and subscription boxes, but also just other things. Right.
What do you most look forward to in the mail
What do you most look forward to in the mail?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a great question. I guess I look forward to, I always liked getting postcards in the mail.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, always fun.
>> Marco Timpano: Or letters. But I haven't received a letter from someone formal in such a long time. nor have I written a letter that's very formal.
>> Amanda Barker: You know who I saw today, who I think would be a really worthy guest for you on this podcast?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, who is this?
>> Amanda Barker: my dear friend. I'm gonna say his full name, and I'll explain why. Or should I not say his full name?
>> Marco Timpano: Do you do what you need to do?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, anyway, I don't know. People probably won't be able to spell it anyway if they wanted to find him. I Don't know if he needs anonymity, but anyway, his name is Chris Levier.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And he is a master at letter writing and card sending. Just sending little hel lows in the mail. it's part of sort of who he is. And, he's so sweet. And he said, let's get together for a tea, which is just the sweetest thing in the world. But he's sort of from another era. And, he's quite a letter writer himself. so he's somebody that sort of kept it up. My sister, at one point, since I've talked about my sister today a little bit, wrote me a letter kind of out of the blue, which I thought was really nice. For nothing in particular. She just wanted to write a letter once.
>> Marco Timpano: When's this?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. A few years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. Yeah, I thought.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't write her back. So m. That exchange or that hope for exchange didn't go very far.
>> Marco Timpano: You just received recently some address stickers.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you know that?
>> Amanda Barker: I did, I think I did one of the charities. I think I have more than you now. It used to be you had a lot. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You got a lot of bunnies and Easter egg.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It was an Easter theme, I think, from heart and stroke. Yeah. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's the charity that Amanda's referencing there.
>> Amanda Barker: We have a lot of, these now.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: It's become a thing that happened more
>> Marco Timpano: of those letter address tags than we could possibly send out for.
>> Amanda Barker: I know we could send a letter every day using one of those little sticker address tags and probably still have enough for a while.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Like for a year at least. yeah, I'm not sure there's a lot of them and I just keep saving them. So if people don't know what we're talking about or if you're in a country that this is not. I don't know why this has become a thing here, but, what I'm finding is when I donate to various causes, organizations, charities, I've become now part of their mailing list because they ask for your address. Of course, the donations are usually because a friend is doing a birthday fundraiser of some kind. So over the years, throw $50 here and $35 to that walk or run, whatever, of course. And so you become known to these charities. So what I'm finding is especially around the holidays, but even, I mean, those ones were Easter themed, so I guess they're like holidays are maxed out let's hit the people at Easter. they're sending. And there's a word for it where people or organizations send you something because they think you're more likely to give back in return. It's like a reciprocal soft contract.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are my words.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not sure I love that. Reciprocal soft contract.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm quoting that phrase here. In other words, when we talked about contracting in human relationships, we talk about soft contracting. So not a signature anywhere, but somewhere where you say, okay, are we in agreement on this thing? And that person in the conversation or interaction says, yes, yes, we agree on that. That's a soft contract. Because now you have created a alignment with the other party. And once you create that alignment, then you can all agree that you're on the same page, and you're more likely to convince them to do something, whether it's change behavior, or whatever, continue to donate.
>> Marco Timpano: In this case.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So in this case it is. We both agree that this is a nice thing. Sure. You know, here's some. We agree that this is your label and that you might be. Oh, look, I don't need to write the address on the back of this receipt that I'm sending to my insurance. I can just plop this cute little sticker onto the back of the envelope or front of the envelope. Well, they're really nice at that hospital or that society or that organization. Maybe I'll just throw an extra little $30 their way. That kind of thing. That's what it is.
Might you be inclined to send Easter or spring cards because of these address stickers
>> Marco Timpano: Might you be inclined to send Easter or spring cards out to friends and family because of these address stickers?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't see a world where I
>> Marco Timpano: would a little bunny popping out of an Easter egg saying, hello, hop along.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but that said, I do collect all those cards. And, I do try to use them.
>> Marco Timpano: The stickers, you mean?
>> Amanda Barker: And the cards. Because the other part is they send cards.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: The ones you're referring to about the Easter. there's cards in there, too. Most of them are like, get better, get well soon. So I guess it's with a hospital or heart and stroke.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. So I guess if you have a friend or loved one in the hospital, then you can send them one of these little cards. I don't know. But it's also maybe a thank you because I've donated in the past. but one would also argue they are spending a lot of money to send those things out. So I don't know. I don't know. What the rate of, return is
>> Marco Timpano: on those, the cac, the customer acquisition costs.
I'm wondering if there is a post office that sticks in your memory
>> Amanda Barker: I'm wondering if there is a post office that sticks in your memory, since we're talking about mail. I bet there is.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a couple. So there's that. The oldest post office in Toronto, which is.
>> Amanda Barker: Where's that?
>> Marco Timpano: It's very close to George Brown College.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I believe it's on Toronto Street.
>> Amanda Barker: All right.
>> Marco Timpano: We went into it. It's small and it's kind of like it has the edifice of, what was once the post office, and now it's been sort of swallowed by other buildings, but the edifice is still there. And you walk in and it's just a small little post office, and you can send postcards there. Another post office that I remember is the one in the Vatican.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it's its own city state. And so when you go to the Vatican, it has its own little post office where you buy Vatican stamps.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: That's one of the. That's one of the reason go to the Vatican is to send a postcard with a Vatican stamp on it. Or at least it was one of the reasons I made a point of going there when I was in Rome. I'm trying to think of other. We've been to some really cute post offices.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to remember the one that I used to go to in Korea.
>> Marco Timpano: When you lived there.
>> Amanda Barker: When I lived there. And it's. I don't know if it's coming to me, but I did used to mail out things from Korea. I more remember the bank that I used to go to.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: that I actually remember very well because, of course, I was wiring money back and forth and so on. But, I do remember the one from my hometown. And I will say that older post office in little small towns, are something to behold. The one in my old town was quite old. It had old stamps and old, you know, those, like, stencil letters, like, things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know what a stencil letter is.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you remember Hatch, the old Hatch show print?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: workshop in, Nashville. Now it's in the basement of the Country Music hall of Fame. But it used to be a very old print shop. So I feel like post office have that sort of old, just really almost gilded kind of, you know, just the stamp has been used for decades. That type of feel to them.
What I would love is a post office in every airport
>> Marco Timpano: speaking of stamps, when you go to buy stamps, do you just say, I want $10 worth of stamps? Or do you look at the stamps and choose the stamps you want?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I usually say, can I get a book of stamps? And then I'll say, which ones do you have? And they'll say, this one. They don't usually give me an option.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I always say, can I see the stamps you have? And I make them, pull them out. And then I'm like, just recently, I bought tulips. I think they were stamps because they were very. I was deciding between the tulips and there was, some creature, creature of the deep or something. And I was like, what do I use? What do I use? And so I went with tulips.
>> Amanda Barker: If I was an architect or somebody that planned airports, and I just say this to the world, what I would love is a post office in every airport.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this is brilliant.
>> Amanda Barker: Because so many times you buy the postcard and you may even get the stamp, but oftentimes what happens is, I mean, I can think of so many times where this has been the case. You and I are, you know, in whatever country you want to pick. Say you're in, Peru. This time last year we were in Panama. So say we're in Panama, but it could be anywhere. And, you know, you inevitably go to a little kiosk or a lovely vendor, on the street side, or that type of thing. Oh, three postcards for $2 or a dollar or whatever it is. And then you think, oh, you know what would be good? We'll send a postcard. My nephew would love it, my niece would love it, my other nephew would love it, and so on. And you, well, now, I haven't mentioned my other nephew because I have three nephews. I'm blessed with nephews. So, in any event, you go and then maybe you sit somewhere with a coffee or whatever the beverage is where you are, and you write out maybe a Fanta.
>> Marco Timpano: An orange Fanta.
>> Amanda Barker: An orange Fanta. you know, a mojito, if you will. Whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: A yogurt based drink.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, A Lassie. Anyway, and then you sit and you write out your postcards. And I do have memories of doing that when I was backpacking Asia. just having, like an afternoon where I just sat. And actually, I remember doing it in Hong Kong. Just writing and writing and writing. But then you are tasked with, okay, you have all these postcards, you bought them, you filled them out for your loved ones, and then you are, as we were in Istanbul, tasked with finding a post office, finding stamps, caning with someone having the right currency for the stamps. Of course, if they're not taking, because some of them are kind of old school. And I just wish that it was universally acknowledged that airports would have a post office even if they're not on the other side of the gate, at least from the departures, so that everybody who's visiting can be like, oh, I just want to make a little stop to the post office kiosk, buy my stamps and have them send it. How hard would that be?
>> Marco Timpano: If you can buy postcards at one of the little stores in an airport, you should be able to buy the stamps.
>> Amanda Barker: agreed.
>> Marco Timpano: And mail it out from there.
>> Amanda Barker: I agree. And I just think. I mean, really, ideally, it'd be great if you had it on the other side of customs or security, because then, you know, inevitably, if you're like us, you do get there early. You are kind of just sitting there, and it's an easy thing to sit and do for that hour that you're waiting to board your plane. So wouldn't it be great to go and buy or, you know, you didn't have time in Paris to buy postcards, but now you're like, oh, you know what would be nice? I think there's quite a business opportunity there to buy those postcards. Because how many people. I know so many people that buy the postcards, and then they don't ever bother to fill them out. They just buy them. I've done it. Or they fill them out. They take it to that level, but then they don't. Oh, I never found. Oh, we'll find a, you know, we'll find a post office today. I'm sure we'll see one.
>> Marco Timpano: Or how many times have you sent a postcard from a place and you sent it from your own hometown?
>> Amanda Barker: I try really hard not to do that, but sometimes it happens, right? And then the stamp isn't the cool. Whatever it is the cool stamp from Paris or the Vatican or Panama or wherever you are. Of course, it's, you know, it's from Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: It has the queen on it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And you're like, you know, and you hope your little, you know, niece doesn't notice, but those kids are savvy. And also that's part of the fun, is that you're sending a little piece of where you went, that you're thinking about them there. And you write in the postcard, I saw this. I went to the Eiffel Tower, I went to the Louvre, or I saw the Panama Canal, or in Hong Kong, we made A day trip over to Macau today. And we came back, whatever it is, of course. And I just feel like airports, would be wise to do this and maybe some do, but I've often am looking and every now and then you will see like a mailbox drop in an airport. But they're pretty few and far between.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I want to send more postcards to people I know, and I have some postcards, so I should start writing them out. Especially at this time of year where, you know, it's cold, people are inside, it can feel a little bit gloomy, a little bit gray. And, you know, just sending someone a postcard for no reason is a delightful thing.
>> Amanda Barker: I had, ah, my sister's best and dearest friend, ah, from a long time ago, a wonderful artist. She, at one point in her marriage sent, postcards, blank postcards to legions of friends and family around the world.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And as a fun project, really, and an act of love and many other things, she got everybody to send them to her husband so that he got different postcards from all over the world.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that is sweet.
>> Amanda Barker: Isn't that lovely? Yeah.
Where do you put your postcards when you receive them
So there's lots of things you can do with postcards. They're small, but they also don't take up a lot of room. So they're a nice thing to collect for those who do. I know my sister used to collect them. She used to put them on her closet door wall. She'd have a collection of postcards.
>> Marco Timpano: Where do you put your postcards when you receive them?
>> Amanda Barker: I put them in my taxes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you do?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, things like that I throw into. Because we still keep old school files for our taxes. So generally speaking, that's what I do. I don't know. It's not probably the best choice though. Or I throw them in with photos, but then they just kind of languish.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a few on our fridge.
>> Amanda Barker: We do. They go in our fridge for a long time. When we get a postcard, it's pretty committed to our fridge for sometimes a year or at least half a year.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And inevitably I do a big cleaning of the fridge. And then I'm like, okay, it's time to take this town.
>> Marco Timpano: What's always fascinating is when Amanda and I are in a place and we're buying postcards. You and I have both very different postcard attraction.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we tend to.
>> Amanda Barker: I like a woman in bikini with something sassy, but like 80s hair. No, I'm just joking.
>> Marco Timpano: We have purchased those on a beach or whatever. We have Purchased beach bums.
>> Amanda Barker: Wish you were here.
>> Marco Timpano: We have sent those out to people. We have, I don't know, sometimes I like the ones that have little squares with different parts of the city. And you prefer the different ones? it's just interesting to see people's taste. I know. When we were in Tel Aviv, we were looking for postcards and you and
>> Amanda Barker: I had very different.
>> Marco Timpano: Had very different tastes.
>> Amanda Barker: I had a collection of really beautiful postcards. I still have them from Korea. There used to be gorgeous postcards in Korea. Really beautiful ones. almost like little. They were so nice that you think, oh, okay, I want to frame them. They had like a framed border around each one.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And you know, I wasn't a broke student, but I was just barely. I mean, it was my first kind of, or second rather, job out of school and I was definitely still living like a student. So anyway, I had a, little sparse room that I lived in my bedroom. And ah, that was one of my, decorating pieces was this pack of postcards. I got like 20 postcards of scenes around Korea and I made a border around the perimeter of the room. and I still have them.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I've framed postcards before that are really pretty.
>> Amanda Barker: Sometimes I'll get a free postcard from a restaurant. New York used to do this a lot where you just grab a postcard and then that's a fun thing to send of some funky, weird little art installation or restaurant or something.
>> Marco Timpano: I have an interesting postcard story that I may have already told on the podcast, but I'm going to retell it now.
>> Amanda Barker: An encore.
>> Marco Timpano: An encore presentation of my encore, encore postcard presentation.
Mark and Adrian went to Quebec City for their anniversary
So we have dear friends, Mark and Adrian, who are married.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: They went to Quebec City and they had a great time in Quebec City. You know, Quebec City is a wonderful city to visit, if you're thinking, where can I go?
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, if you like Vermont, you'll love Quebec.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. No, but Quebec City is special.
>> Amanda Barker: Quebec City is a gorgeous, gorgeous, wonderful experience of a city.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're living in North America and you're like, I've always wanted to go to Paris, but it's a little bit out of my price range. I say go to Quebec City. You will love it. Now let's get back to the story.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Mark and Adrian had a great time. I think it was their anniversary.
>> Marco Timpano: Or it was before they were getting married.
>> Marco Timpano: In Quebec City, they get married and they go back for their anniversary to Quebec City. Same beautiful B and B. Same beautiful time. It's Summer, they're having a lovely time. They pick up some postcards to write to send to friends and family. And Adrienne turns the postcard over, and she's got this blank look on her face. And Mark's like, what's up? what's going on? And she hands him the postcard and says, look. He looks at the postcard, and it's Old Quebec, which is, Old Quebec City. Do they call it Old Town? Old Quebec? They call it Old Quebec.
>> Amanda Barker: View Quebec, Right? Old.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Old Quebec. And it is, like, cobblestone streets and really old buildings. And in the postcard captured is Mark and Adrian from a year before.
>> Amanda Barker: Unbelievable.
>> Marco Timpano: Walking away. So you just see the back of them. And Adrian says, I remember when I wore this.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Because, you know, Adrian was like, I remember what I wore on that day. I wouldn't remember what I wore on that day. But you're more the type of person to say, I remember what I wore on that day. And it's a picture of them. And so they had it blown up and they framed it.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, did they?
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, yeah. And it says, you know, Old Quebec. And it has a picture of them walking away in a postcard. And I think that's such a wonderful tale. It's kind of like. Have you ever looked at, You know how Google does The Google car goes and takes pictures, and then you can. What's that called? Google Maps.
>> Amanda Barker: Google Earth.
>> Marco Timpano: Google Earth, I think.
>> Amanda Barker: Or Google Maps. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever gone on that to see places where you live and see.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we saw the cottage. Remember, we looked at the cottage and we said that was the day. Looks like your parents were closing down. Both cottages you could see because the machine was out to suck the air or the water, rather, out of the pipes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We have a condenser, compressor, I should say.
>> Amanda Barker: Interesting little snapshots of the world. There used to be a website, and I don't. I mean, it exists because it's only been a couple years since I saw it, but. Which gives you. I don't know if it's live footage, but gives you footage from Windows all over the world.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's neat.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And it's random, so you just kind of go on it, and then it'll be like, oh, here's this window in Kenya. Now you're in Kenya. Or here's this window in Dubai or whatever. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What a wonderful way to take sort of a little, vicarious break and see other places through the windows.
>> Amanda Barker: There used to also be an app that was Like a random Google Earth app. So you would just be like, where do I go? Like, kind of like when you're a kid and you twirl the globe and stick your finger on it and. But like a virtual version of that. So it. I can't quite remember, but it just kind of gives you random places and shows you random places. Like, oh, my goodness. You know, now I'm in Northern Ireland. Sure. Oh, look at. Look at this little, you know, yard or whatever. And it's just little, like, pieces of those maps, those Google Earth pictures.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you feel about those things you can purchase, which is like a little snippet of the map of where you're from in a heart. And then it has a little liney thing that goes to the place where I was born with another little heart.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that what I'm getting for Valentine's Day?
>> Marco Timpano: No, you're not getting anything for Valentine's Day. But I'm just curious to how you feel about those.
Sometimes I get really odd things on my phone. It's not for me, but I enjoy them
>> Amanda Barker: I don't really understand what you're talking about, but no, thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. It's like.
>> Amanda Barker: Because then what do I do? I put it on the wall.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a picture. Let's say you're from Boston. So it would be like, Boston. Like a little street map of Boston, like, you would get if you were touring the city. And it would have a ma that you would use to find your way around before phones existed, before, you know,
>> Amanda Barker: you just go on the Rivia Trail.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And it would have a heart. Heart around that little area. And then they would draw a line from your little place in Boston to me in North York, Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't need that. I don't need that little line, nor do I understand.
>> Marco Timpano: I get a lot of messages on my phone telling me I should buy that for you. So, yeah, I get a lot of that.
>> Amanda Barker: Some versions of things like that. But the one you're describing sounds, in your words, rancid.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it is a little bit. It's not for me, but I get really odd things. Like, I think one time I mentioned that I thought Beyonce was great, and then I was getting a lot of Beyonce.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there's a lot of Beyonce videos. Content.
>> Marco Timpano: I know there's a lot of content.
>> Amanda Barker: Beyonce content directed to me. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then it became.
>> Amanda Barker: I like that you get that. I get amusement parks. You know what? I get a ton of water slides.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. My phone in whatever media app.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah.
>> Amanda Barker: I open. I don't know why, but I do enjoy them. So I guess I look on Them and then goes, oh, you liked this?
>> Marco Timpano: I had three months of, Ariana Grande being sent to me, and I
>> Amanda Barker: couldn't understand and a soccer player. Soccer player.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Then. So I had a lot of Ariana Grande, and I must have been saying something in Italian. And I have a cousin named Ariana.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: So I think I said her name a couple of times. And so then your phone went. My phone just. I know what you like.
>> Amanda Barker: I know what you like.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a lot of Ariana Grande. Listen, I don't have a problem with Ariana Grande at all. I think she's great, but, not my thing. And then I got so much soccer content. So much from Cristiano, Ronaldo, who I really like as a soccer. Like, he's probably one of my favorite soccer players now, because I've seen. I've seen so many clips of him, and he's so nice.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And so now I'm like, see?
>> Amanda Barker: You got your phone. Wanted to educate you on how nice he is. Whereas my phone wants me to watch people getting into a tube in the Bahamas and going down a weird water slide everywhere. It'll be like, look at this crazy water slide. And, you know, somewhere in China. Okay, great.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, let us know what your phone is giving you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Hopefully it's not too much insomnia project content.
>> Amanda Barker: No, never enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Never enough. But, for all of you, let us know what your favorite post office is, if there's a particular stamp that you like. And until next time, we hope you enjoyed this particular episode.
Amanda: I'd love to hear people's experiences with different post offices
Any last things you'd like to say, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: No. I thought we started to get a little. We started ramping up with the phone combo, and I just want to get back to the beautifulness of post offices around the world, so. Yeah, I'd love to hear people's experiences with different post offices around the world. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And until next time, we hope you are able to listen and sleep.
(June 1, 2022) Season 6
Insomnia Project is a calm and hopefully mundane conversation to help you sleep
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, lie back and listen as we have a calm and hopefully mundane conversation to help you drift off and find your way to sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I
>> Amanda Barker: dare to dream of being mundane.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm Amanda and that's Amanda Barker over there.
>> Amanda Barker: Was that too sassy?
>> Marco Timpano: It had a little sass stink on the end of it, but it's fine.
>> Amanda Barker: Sass stink.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Do you find the post office comforting? The post office? Yeah. Um, I'm not sure that
we got some lovely responses to our love letter to Vermont episode we had, yesterday. People are wanting now to go to Vermont, and I can't recommend it nearly enough.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a really, it's a beautiful state for this state of mind, you know, when you want something cozy and comforting but still interesting, you know, which is the world we try to inhabit here.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you find the post office comforting?
>> Amanda Barker: The post office?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not sure that I Do, you know, I do when I do my cards once a year.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We've talked a lot about that and getting the stamps. I love getting those stamps. But in terms of the post office as an institution, I'm not so sure. I'm picturing different post offices that I've frequented in my life.
>> Marco Timpano: I love searching out and going to post office in other places outside of my country. do you really? Yeah. Remember we were in Istanbul and we had to find a post office, and I feel like we had to mail a packet of some sort.
>> Amanda Barker: We were mailing postcards, but for some reason you went, and then I had to go. I'm not sure why it hadn't opened yet. And then it's interesting because my memory is that you had to go do something. But what would you have had to do in Istanbul? have some tea, maybe. Maybe because I was there by myself.
>> Marco Timpano: We traded off at a little cafe. Right, Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. What were we doing? That we were doing. You stood in line, and then I went and stood for you. And it had just opened, and there was a lot of. I remember there was a lot of discussion over which teller to go to.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't recall at all.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I recall being there, and I think we were trying to mail postcards to our niece and nephews. Sure. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And, you know, we go to this post office that's not far from our home, which is in a,
>> Amanda Barker: Drugstore.
>> Marco Timpano: Drugstore. Thank you. I was gonna say a drug mart. Which is funny. and, you know, sometimes you get someone who's very friendly and helpful, and then you get those other people who just are all.
>> Amanda Barker: I find that most of them in that one are very helpful. Like, I'm usually very. But there is something about a person who works in any post office where you're just grateful to be served.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: You just want to thank them. Oh, my goodness. You're making it happen that my package will get to my sister in time. Thank you. Whatever it is. You just feel really, really, grateful.
>> Marco Timpano: There's an excitement when I get, you know, those cards that say you have a package.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And you don't know what the package is. And you're like, what could this package be?
>> Amanda Barker: The mystery.
>> Marco Timpano: The mystery of it all.
>> Amanda Barker: The drama, the intrigue. in my university, we would have a mailroom. And, that doesn't really exist much anymore. I went to my university, my old university. It had been a long time. What was the mailroom? that building is no longer but they did replace it with a new mailroom. But the thing is, nobody in the student body is getting anymore. Sure. Of course, you know, they don't have as much of a need for it. Like, we used to get our grades by mail. A whole bunch of things. In fact, there was a mail strike, or a strike of a certain sect of workers of which the male people were part of at my university. And I used that to my advantage to, get a withdrawal from a class because everything was late because the mail was delayed. So I said, oh, no, I withdrew. They just didn't get because of the strike. So I use that to my advantage.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes you have to. Gone are the days when you're like, it must have got lost in the mail because you get so little mail.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: We do have a wonderful mail carrier, I have to say our mail carrier. His name is Dominic, and he's just always so lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: I will say, since you and I have been working from home, and I don't think we're unique in this, I think a lot of people started feeling more this way. There's much more excitement around mail, without a doubt. Because if you're home all day and, you know, even if you work out at home, which many of us do, and, you know, your entertainment is going to be at night at home, and of course you're cooking, there's a real excitement. It's your one sort of hello from the outside world. Whether, you know, in our life, we have lots of different, streams of employment. And so, you know, it might be a check that we're not expecting from our work as actors or artists. you know, I think we've well established that I like to get mail in the form of magazines, of course, and subscription boxes, but also just other things. Right.
What do you most look forward to in the mail
What do you most look forward to in the mail?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a great question. I guess I look forward to, I always liked getting postcards in the mail.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, always fun.
>> Marco Timpano: Or letters. But I haven't received a letter from someone formal in such a long time. nor have I written a letter that's very formal.
>> Amanda Barker: You know who I saw today, who I think would be a really worthy guest for you on this podcast?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, who is this?
>> Amanda Barker: my dear friend. I'm gonna say his full name, and I'll explain why. Or should I not say his full name?
>> Marco Timpano: Do you do what you need to do?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, anyway, I don't know. People probably won't be able to spell it anyway if they wanted to find him. I Don't know if he needs anonymity, but anyway, his name is Chris Levier.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And he is a master at letter writing and card sending. Just sending little hel lows in the mail. it's part of sort of who he is. And, he's so sweet. And he said, let's get together for a tea, which is just the sweetest thing in the world. But he's sort of from another era. And, he's quite a letter writer himself. so he's somebody that sort of kept it up. My sister, at one point, since I've talked about my sister today a little bit, wrote me a letter kind of out of the blue, which I thought was really nice. For nothing in particular. She just wanted to write a letter once.
>> Marco Timpano: When's this?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. A few years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. Yeah, I thought.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't write her back. So m. That exchange or that hope for exchange didn't go very far.
>> Marco Timpano: You just received recently some address stickers.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you know that?
>> Amanda Barker: I did, I think I did one of the charities. I think I have more than you now. It used to be you had a lot. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You got a lot of bunnies and Easter egg.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It was an Easter theme, I think, from heart and stroke. Yeah. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's the charity that Amanda's referencing there.
>> Amanda Barker: We have a lot of, these now.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: It's become a thing that happened more
>> Marco Timpano: of those letter address tags than we could possibly send out for.
>> Amanda Barker: I know we could send a letter every day using one of those little sticker address tags and probably still have enough for a while.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: Like for a year at least. yeah, I'm not sure there's a lot of them and I just keep saving them. So if people don't know what we're talking about or if you're in a country that this is not. I don't know why this has become a thing here, but, what I'm finding is when I donate to various causes, organizations, charities, I've become now part of their mailing list because they ask for your address. Of course, the donations are usually because a friend is doing a birthday fundraiser of some kind. So over the years, throw $50 here and $35 to that walk or run, whatever, of course. And so you become known to these charities. So what I'm finding is especially around the holidays, but even, I mean, those ones were Easter themed, so I guess they're like holidays are maxed out let's hit the people at Easter. they're sending. And there's a word for it where people or organizations send you something because they think you're more likely to give back in return. It's like a reciprocal soft contract.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are my words.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not sure I love that. Reciprocal soft contract.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm quoting that phrase here. In other words, when we talked about contracting in human relationships, we talk about soft contracting. So not a signature anywhere, but somewhere where you say, okay, are we in agreement on this thing? And that person in the conversation or interaction says, yes, yes, we agree on that. That's a soft contract. Because now you have created a alignment with the other party. And once you create that alignment, then you can all agree that you're on the same page, and you're more likely to convince them to do something, whether it's change behavior, or whatever, continue to donate.
>> Marco Timpano: In this case.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So in this case it is. We both agree that this is a nice thing. Sure. You know, here's some. We agree that this is your label and that you might be. Oh, look, I don't need to write the address on the back of this receipt that I'm sending to my insurance. I can just plop this cute little sticker onto the back of the envelope or front of the envelope. Well, they're really nice at that hospital or that society or that organization. Maybe I'll just throw an extra little $30 their way. That kind of thing. That's what it is.
Might you be inclined to send Easter or spring cards because of these address stickers
>> Marco Timpano: Might you be inclined to send Easter or spring cards out to friends and family because of these address stickers?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't see a world where I
>> Marco Timpano: would a little bunny popping out of an Easter egg saying, hello, hop along.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but that said, I do collect all those cards. And, I do try to use them.
>> Marco Timpano: The stickers, you mean?
>> Amanda Barker: And the cards. Because the other part is they send cards.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: The ones you're referring to about the Easter. there's cards in there, too. Most of them are like, get better, get well soon. So I guess it's with a hospital or heart and stroke.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. So I guess if you have a friend or loved one in the hospital, then you can send them one of these little cards. I don't know. But it's also maybe a thank you because I've donated in the past. but one would also argue they are spending a lot of money to send those things out. So I don't know. I don't know. What the rate of, return is
>> Marco Timpano: on those, the cac, the customer acquisition costs.
I'm wondering if there is a post office that sticks in your memory
>> Amanda Barker: I'm wondering if there is a post office that sticks in your memory, since we're talking about mail. I bet there is.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a couple. So there's that. The oldest post office in Toronto, which is.
>> Amanda Barker: Where's that?
>> Marco Timpano: It's very close to George Brown College.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I believe it's on Toronto Street.
>> Amanda Barker: All right.
>> Marco Timpano: We went into it. It's small and it's kind of like it has the edifice of, what was once the post office, and now it's been sort of swallowed by other buildings, but the edifice is still there. And you walk in and it's just a small little post office, and you can send postcards there. Another post office that I remember is the one in the Vatican.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it's its own city state. And so when you go to the Vatican, it has its own little post office where you buy Vatican stamps.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: That's one of the. That's one of the reason go to the Vatican is to send a postcard with a Vatican stamp on it. Or at least it was one of the reasons I made a point of going there when I was in Rome. I'm trying to think of other. We've been to some really cute post offices.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to remember the one that I used to go to in Korea.
>> Marco Timpano: When you lived there.
>> Amanda Barker: When I lived there. And it's. I don't know if it's coming to me, but I did used to mail out things from Korea. I more remember the bank that I used to go to.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: that I actually remember very well because, of course, I was wiring money back and forth and so on. But, I do remember the one from my hometown. And I will say that older post office in little small towns, are something to behold. The one in my old town was quite old. It had old stamps and old, you know, those, like, stencil letters, like, things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know what a stencil letter is.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you remember Hatch, the old Hatch show print?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: workshop in, Nashville. Now it's in the basement of the Country Music hall of Fame. But it used to be a very old print shop. So I feel like post office have that sort of old, just really almost gilded kind of, you know, just the stamp has been used for decades. That type of feel to them.
What I would love is a post office in every airport
>> Marco Timpano: speaking of stamps, when you go to buy stamps, do you just say, I want $10 worth of stamps? Or do you look at the stamps and choose the stamps you want?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I usually say, can I get a book of stamps? And then I'll say, which ones do you have? And they'll say, this one. They don't usually give me an option.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I always say, can I see the stamps you have? And I make them, pull them out. And then I'm like, just recently, I bought tulips. I think they were stamps because they were very. I was deciding between the tulips and there was, some creature, creature of the deep or something. And I was like, what do I use? What do I use? And so I went with tulips.
>> Amanda Barker: If I was an architect or somebody that planned airports, and I just say this to the world, what I would love is a post office in every airport.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this is brilliant.
>> Amanda Barker: Because so many times you buy the postcard and you may even get the stamp, but oftentimes what happens is, I mean, I can think of so many times where this has been the case. You and I are, you know, in whatever country you want to pick. Say you're in, Peru. This time last year we were in Panama. So say we're in Panama, but it could be anywhere. And, you know, you inevitably go to a little kiosk or a lovely vendor, on the street side, or that type of thing. Oh, three postcards for $2 or a dollar or whatever it is. And then you think, oh, you know what would be good? We'll send a postcard. My nephew would love it, my niece would love it, my other nephew would love it, and so on. And you, well, now, I haven't mentioned my other nephew because I have three nephews. I'm blessed with nephews. So, in any event, you go and then maybe you sit somewhere with a coffee or whatever the beverage is where you are, and you write out maybe a Fanta.
>> Marco Timpano: An orange Fanta.
>> Amanda Barker: An orange Fanta. you know, a mojito, if you will. Whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: A yogurt based drink.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, A Lassie. Anyway, and then you sit and you write out your postcards. And I do have memories of doing that when I was backpacking Asia. just having, like an afternoon where I just sat. And actually, I remember doing it in Hong Kong. Just writing and writing and writing. But then you are tasked with, okay, you have all these postcards, you bought them, you filled them out for your loved ones, and then you are, as we were in Istanbul, tasked with finding a post office, finding stamps, caning with someone having the right currency for the stamps. Of course, if they're not taking, because some of them are kind of old school. And I just wish that it was universally acknowledged that airports would have a post office even if they're not on the other side of the gate, at least from the departures, so that everybody who's visiting can be like, oh, I just want to make a little stop to the post office kiosk, buy my stamps and have them send it. How hard would that be?
>> Marco Timpano: If you can buy postcards at one of the little stores in an airport, you should be able to buy the stamps.
>> Amanda Barker: agreed.
>> Marco Timpano: And mail it out from there.
>> Amanda Barker: I agree. And I just think. I mean, really, ideally, it'd be great if you had it on the other side of customs or security, because then, you know, inevitably, if you're like us, you do get there early. You are kind of just sitting there, and it's an easy thing to sit and do for that hour that you're waiting to board your plane. So wouldn't it be great to go and buy or, you know, you didn't have time in Paris to buy postcards, but now you're like, oh, you know what would be nice? I think there's quite a business opportunity there to buy those postcards. Because how many people. I know so many people that buy the postcards, and then they don't ever bother to fill them out. They just buy them. I've done it. Or they fill them out. They take it to that level, but then they don't. Oh, I never found. Oh, we'll find a, you know, we'll find a post office today. I'm sure we'll see one.
>> Marco Timpano: Or how many times have you sent a postcard from a place and you sent it from your own hometown?
>> Amanda Barker: I try really hard not to do that, but sometimes it happens, right? And then the stamp isn't the cool. Whatever it is the cool stamp from Paris or the Vatican or Panama or wherever you are. Of course, it's, you know, it's from Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: It has the queen on it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And you're like, you know, and you hope your little, you know, niece doesn't notice, but those kids are savvy. And also that's part of the fun, is that you're sending a little piece of where you went, that you're thinking about them there. And you write in the postcard, I saw this. I went to the Eiffel Tower, I went to the Louvre, or I saw the Panama Canal, or in Hong Kong, we made A day trip over to Macau today. And we came back, whatever it is, of course. And I just feel like airports, would be wise to do this and maybe some do, but I've often am looking and every now and then you will see like a mailbox drop in an airport. But they're pretty few and far between.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I want to send more postcards to people I know, and I have some postcards, so I should start writing them out. Especially at this time of year where, you know, it's cold, people are inside, it can feel a little bit gloomy, a little bit gray. And, you know, just sending someone a postcard for no reason is a delightful thing.
>> Amanda Barker: I had, ah, my sister's best and dearest friend, ah, from a long time ago, a wonderful artist. She, at one point in her marriage sent, postcards, blank postcards to legions of friends and family around the world.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And as a fun project, really, and an act of love and many other things, she got everybody to send them to her husband so that he got different postcards from all over the world.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that is sweet.
>> Amanda Barker: Isn't that lovely? Yeah.
Where do you put your postcards when you receive them
So there's lots of things you can do with postcards. They're small, but they also don't take up a lot of room. So they're a nice thing to collect for those who do. I know my sister used to collect them. She used to put them on her closet door wall. She'd have a collection of postcards.
>> Marco Timpano: Where do you put your postcards when you receive them?
>> Amanda Barker: I put them in my taxes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you do?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, things like that I throw into. Because we still keep old school files for our taxes. So generally speaking, that's what I do. I don't know. It's not probably the best choice though. Or I throw them in with photos, but then they just kind of languish.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a few on our fridge.
>> Amanda Barker: We do. They go in our fridge for a long time. When we get a postcard, it's pretty committed to our fridge for sometimes a year or at least half a year.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And inevitably I do a big cleaning of the fridge. And then I'm like, okay, it's time to take this town.
>> Marco Timpano: What's always fascinating is when Amanda and I are in a place and we're buying postcards. You and I have both very different postcard attraction.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we tend to.
>> Amanda Barker: I like a woman in bikini with something sassy, but like 80s hair. No, I'm just joking.
>> Marco Timpano: We have purchased those on a beach or whatever. We have Purchased beach bums.
>> Amanda Barker: Wish you were here.
>> Marco Timpano: We have sent those out to people. We have, I don't know, sometimes I like the ones that have little squares with different parts of the city. And you prefer the different ones? it's just interesting to see people's taste. I know. When we were in Tel Aviv, we were looking for postcards and you and
>> Amanda Barker: I had very different.
>> Marco Timpano: Had very different tastes.
>> Amanda Barker: I had a collection of really beautiful postcards. I still have them from Korea. There used to be gorgeous postcards in Korea. Really beautiful ones. almost like little. They were so nice that you think, oh, okay, I want to frame them. They had like a framed border around each one.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And you know, I wasn't a broke student, but I was just barely. I mean, it was my first kind of, or second rather, job out of school and I was definitely still living like a student. So anyway, I had a, little sparse room that I lived in my bedroom. And ah, that was one of my, decorating pieces was this pack of postcards. I got like 20 postcards of scenes around Korea and I made a border around the perimeter of the room. and I still have them.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I've framed postcards before that are really pretty.
>> Amanda Barker: Sometimes I'll get a free postcard from a restaurant. New York used to do this a lot where you just grab a postcard and then that's a fun thing to send of some funky, weird little art installation or restaurant or something.
>> Marco Timpano: I have an interesting postcard story that I may have already told on the podcast, but I'm going to retell it now.
>> Amanda Barker: An encore.
>> Marco Timpano: An encore presentation of my encore, encore postcard presentation.
Mark and Adrian went to Quebec City for their anniversary
So we have dear friends, Mark and Adrian, who are married.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: They went to Quebec City and they had a great time in Quebec City. You know, Quebec City is a wonderful city to visit, if you're thinking, where can I go?
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, if you like Vermont, you'll love Quebec.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. No, but Quebec City is special.
>> Amanda Barker: Quebec City is a gorgeous, gorgeous, wonderful experience of a city.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're living in North America and you're like, I've always wanted to go to Paris, but it's a little bit out of my price range. I say go to Quebec City. You will love it. Now let's get back to the story.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Mark and Adrian had a great time. I think it was their anniversary.
>> Marco Timpano: Or it was before they were getting married.
>> Marco Timpano: In Quebec City, they get married and they go back for their anniversary to Quebec City. Same beautiful B and B. Same beautiful time. It's Summer, they're having a lovely time. They pick up some postcards to write to send to friends and family. And Adrienne turns the postcard over, and she's got this blank look on her face. And Mark's like, what's up? what's going on? And she hands him the postcard and says, look. He looks at the postcard, and it's Old Quebec, which is, Old Quebec City. Do they call it Old Town? Old Quebec? They call it Old Quebec.
>> Amanda Barker: View Quebec, Right? Old.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Old Quebec. And it is, like, cobblestone streets and really old buildings. And in the postcard captured is Mark and Adrian from a year before.
>> Amanda Barker: Unbelievable.
>> Marco Timpano: Walking away. So you just see the back of them. And Adrian says, I remember when I wore this.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Because, you know, Adrian was like, I remember what I wore on that day. I wouldn't remember what I wore on that day. But you're more the type of person to say, I remember what I wore on that day. And it's a picture of them. And so they had it blown up and they framed it.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, did they?
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, yeah. And it says, you know, Old Quebec. And it has a picture of them walking away in a postcard. And I think that's such a wonderful tale. It's kind of like. Have you ever looked at, You know how Google does The Google car goes and takes pictures, and then you can. What's that called? Google Maps.
>> Amanda Barker: Google Earth.
>> Marco Timpano: Google Earth, I think.
>> Amanda Barker: Or Google Maps. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever gone on that to see places where you live and see.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we saw the cottage. Remember, we looked at the cottage and we said that was the day. Looks like your parents were closing down. Both cottages you could see because the machine was out to suck the air or the water, rather, out of the pipes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We have a condenser, compressor, I should say.
>> Amanda Barker: Interesting little snapshots of the world. There used to be a website, and I don't. I mean, it exists because it's only been a couple years since I saw it, but. Which gives you. I don't know if it's live footage, but gives you footage from Windows all over the world.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's neat.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And it's random, so you just kind of go on it, and then it'll be like, oh, here's this window in Kenya. Now you're in Kenya. Or here's this window in Dubai or whatever. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What a wonderful way to take sort of a little, vicarious break and see other places through the windows.
>> Amanda Barker: There used to also be an app that was Like a random Google Earth app. So you would just be like, where do I go? Like, kind of like when you're a kid and you twirl the globe and stick your finger on it and. But like a virtual version of that. So it. I can't quite remember, but it just kind of gives you random places and shows you random places. Like, oh, my goodness. You know, now I'm in Northern Ireland. Sure. Oh, look at. Look at this little, you know, yard or whatever. And it's just little, like, pieces of those maps, those Google Earth pictures.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you feel about those things you can purchase, which is like a little snippet of the map of where you're from in a heart. And then it has a little liney thing that goes to the place where I was born with another little heart.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that what I'm getting for Valentine's Day?
>> Marco Timpano: No, you're not getting anything for Valentine's Day. But I'm just curious to how you feel about those.
Sometimes I get really odd things on my phone. It's not for me, but I enjoy them
>> Amanda Barker: I don't really understand what you're talking about, but no, thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. It's like.
>> Amanda Barker: Because then what do I do? I put it on the wall.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a picture. Let's say you're from Boston. So it would be like, Boston. Like a little street map of Boston, like, you would get if you were touring the city. And it would have a ma that you would use to find your way around before phones existed, before, you know,
>> Amanda Barker: you just go on the Rivia Trail.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And it would have a heart. Heart around that little area. And then they would draw a line from your little place in Boston to me in North York, Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't need that. I don't need that little line, nor do I understand.
>> Marco Timpano: I get a lot of messages on my phone telling me I should buy that for you. So, yeah, I get a lot of that.
>> Amanda Barker: Some versions of things like that. But the one you're describing sounds, in your words, rancid.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it is a little bit. It's not for me, but I get really odd things. Like, I think one time I mentioned that I thought Beyonce was great, and then I was getting a lot of Beyonce.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there's a lot of Beyonce videos. Content.
>> Marco Timpano: I know there's a lot of content.
>> Amanda Barker: Beyonce content directed to me. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then it became.
>> Amanda Barker: I like that you get that. I get amusement parks. You know what? I get a ton of water slides.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. My phone in whatever media app.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah.
>> Amanda Barker: I open. I don't know why, but I do enjoy them. So I guess I look on Them and then goes, oh, you liked this?
>> Marco Timpano: I had three months of, Ariana Grande being sent to me, and I
>> Amanda Barker: couldn't understand and a soccer player. Soccer player.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Then. So I had a lot of Ariana Grande, and I must have been saying something in Italian. And I have a cousin named Ariana.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: So I think I said her name a couple of times. And so then your phone went. My phone just. I know what you like.
>> Amanda Barker: I know what you like.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a lot of Ariana Grande. Listen, I don't have a problem with Ariana Grande at all. I think she's great, but, not my thing. And then I got so much soccer content. So much from Cristiano, Ronaldo, who I really like as a soccer. Like, he's probably one of my favorite soccer players now, because I've seen. I've seen so many clips of him, and he's so nice.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And so now I'm like, see?
>> Amanda Barker: You got your phone. Wanted to educate you on how nice he is. Whereas my phone wants me to watch people getting into a tube in the Bahamas and going down a weird water slide everywhere. It'll be like, look at this crazy water slide. And, you know, somewhere in China. Okay, great.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, let us know what your phone is giving you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Hopefully it's not too much insomnia project content.
>> Amanda Barker: No, never enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Never enough. But, for all of you, let us know what your favorite post office is, if there's a particular stamp that you like. And until next time, we hope you enjoyed this particular episode.
Amanda: I'd love to hear people's experiences with different post offices
Any last things you'd like to say, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: No. I thought we started to get a little. We started ramping up with the phone combo, and I just want to get back to the beautifulness of post offices around the world, so. Yeah, I'd love to hear people's experiences with different post offices around the world. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And until next time, we hope you are able to listen and sleep.
Season 5
The Approach - How we approach things on today's sleepcast.
(Original airdate: January 6, 2021)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm, mundane conversation to help you, you know, relax and hopefully find your way to sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: And joining me is me, Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: And, Amanda, I wanted to talk to you about approach.
>> Amanda Barker: Approach, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So, for example, how do you approach a magazine? Let's say.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, well, you know, it's interesting that you say that or ask that. I didn't, of course, know what was coming today.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And I, I don't know how I got the idea of approach. But there's two things that I want to know how you approach, and one is magazines.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I actually will start answering that by telling you about my mother, Valerie. She loved magazines. Still does, actually. Yeah. And as a kid, I would see her magazines coming in to the mail all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's my coffee cup hitting the saucer. Sorry about that.
>> Amanda Barker: My mother, would always approach a magazine starting from the back first. Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I'm not sure what the connection is in this, but she always said it was because she was left handed.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I usually don't. I usually get very excited when I see the COVID of A magazine.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, you do.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I've inherited this love of magazines for a few reasons from my mother, but also from my time in Korea. That's when I really. Magazines really became a treat for me.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: because at the time you're talking about English magazines. So when I lived in Korea, and this is now, M. 23 years ago, 22 years ago, where I was in Korea, English magazines, English reading material wasn't super easy to come by. It involved a trip into the city, city, which was Seoul, and the trip to the Kyobo bookstore, which was the one bookstore that had, English reading material. And so an English magazine, whether it was British or American, you really couldn't get. Canadian ones at that time would, easily cost like $20. And it was a real treat. And once you were finished with it, you painted it around to all your friends. If I did a weekend trip, that in Flight magazine would have the same kind of importance.
>> Marco Timpano: So the magazine that you got on the plane.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that would be really exciting to come home and bring home a United magazine or something like that. So, it's different now. in Korea, I think there's a lot more English, material in general there, especially where I used to live. But, I think because of that I had this love for magazines. So in terms of my approach, usually I look at the COVID think about, oh, okay, that's an article I want to get to. And then I kind of just open it up. I often will start, sometimes look at the table of contents, but usually I'll start at the middle and then work my way around.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's funny, you mentioned your mother, who is my mother in law, Valerie. I love going to see her because of the fact that I get to peruse her magazines that I would otherwise not see.
>> Amanda Barker: It's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Including Southern Living.
>> Amanda Barker: One of her favorites is Southern Living. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Southern Cuisine.
>> Amanda Barker: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Aarp. And what are the other magazines that she does?
>> Amanda Barker: She does a lot of decor magazines. And then because they're retirees in Florida, even this year, they've had very little to do. So because they're retirees in Florida, they do read a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, they do.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a big activity for them is reading.
>> Marco Timpano: They always read a lot, though.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And we as kids read a lot. We were always encouraged to read. If there was a book series I liked, like I got deeply into Nancy Drew when I was probably 10, 11, they very much encouraged it. They would go out, they didn't wait for a birthday Or Christmas, they would go out and say, okay, let's go buy you that book, whatever the next Archaeology Today. So what I was gonna say is those are my dad's magazines that we have gotten him. So Money magazine, Archaeology magazine, Flea,
>> Marco Timpano: Market magazine or something.
>> Amanda Barker: That one I like. I think I'm gonna have to subscribe to that. Picked that up the other day and thought, oh, I need to subscribe to this. Yeah, he is a. He has a different flea Market magazine and then, the Smithsonian magazine. He loves that one. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Doesn't he have like an angler magazine, Some sort of fishing or sailing?
>> Amanda Barker: Sailing, Sailing, yes, that probably was me too. I mean, it's hard to know what to get anyone's parents. So magazines are the gift that gives all year round.
>> Marco Timpano: For sure. For sure.
Ali: How do you approach magazines when you're learning about cars
So now I want to ask, how
>> Amanda Barker: do you approach magazines is what I wanted to ask you.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great question. I think I, look at the COVID and see if there's articles that I like that are gonna appear in there or the front page. That gives you the list, the index, if you will. And then I will flip through the entire magazine to see if there's any eye catching photos that'll cause me to pause and look there. And then I'll go back and I'll read the articles that may have caught my eye in the index.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And then if there's short ones, I'll tend to really glance at those.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And then usually if you're reading, I'll ask you to tell me what you just read.
>> Amanda Barker: You like to read over my shoulder.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the best way to read.
>> Amanda Barker: Not everybody would love, but I don't mind it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Or I get you to tell me what you just read. That's my favorite way to magazine is to have someone else reiterate what they just read, which sometimes drives people crazy.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't always need to tell you about, you know, tips to protect your joints or whatever, but I love them.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, another magazine that I love is the Costco magazine. It's one of my favorite magazines.
>> Amanda Barker: Does that now I wonder if a magazine that is selling one product counts as a magazine.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, first of all, it sells many products. Secondly, it does have articles in there that I do appreciate.
>> Amanda Barker: and I just wonder that with the AARP magazine, I mean, ultimately it's everything. I get the CAA magazine, which is like aaa.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Which is the automotive magazine. for anyone who's listening, in parts of countries that don't have CAA or aaa, it Is if you have that service, if you are found on the roadside and you have a problem with your car or you can't start your car, you just call up this organization.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And they will come.
>> Amanda Barker: They must have in Europe something. Oh, I'm sure that resembles it. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: We have listeners all over, so who knows if in the M. Philippines or in Bahrain they have that? So I just want to clarify it for our listeners because they'll be like, oh, I'm not sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember AAA when I was in the Philippines.
>> Marco Timpano: So there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: But, yeah, it's great if you've locked your keys out of the car. That's not really a problem these days. But when I first joined again 20 years ago, my good friend Lois, who had to use CAA this week, she said, as soon as you get a car, even if you don't have a car. Actually, she had me on it before I even had a car.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Because I was driving company cars.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And she said, for the hundred dollars or whatever it is a year, get it. Because if you lock your keys in the car even once, you'll be happy that you have it. You have someone to call who will then just show up and help you out. and she needed it this week. She needed her battery. Getting your battery started is a real thing in Canada. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I guess that's another approach you have, how to approach dealing with situations that might arise with your vehicle.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it's like extended insurance.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is funny because I don't always buy the insurance policies, but I'm the person that would. It's only because of a lot of learning and cost figuring that I don't. But I'm certainly the person that, you know in my 20s, if they said you want the extended warranty, I would sign up for all of them.
>> Marco Timpano: So what is your approach to learning? And I hate to provoke you with that, but I'm just curious. What. What is your approach?
>> Amanda Barker: I am not by nature the most organized person. And so because of that, I try very hard to be organized.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I'm very organized because I'm not an organized person. And I tend to use a lot of highlighters and colors and, squiggly font.
>> Amanda Barker: Your other podcast, one of your other podcasts, Eat and Drink. I know Ali is always teasing you about your highlighters and your. All your highlighters.
>> Marco Timpano: Highlighters are meant to be used, and so I use.
>> Amanda Barker: You have a bag everywhere you go of highlighters I do.
>> Marco Timpano: It's right here, too. It's buried under all these markers, if you can see.
>> Amanda Barker: It's buried under other highlighters, kind of.
Do you have an approach to learning? Here's my approach
my approach to learning is a great question, and I don't know that I have an answer for it. I'll throw it back to you. Do you have an approach to learning?
>> Marco Timpano: Here's my approach. If I enjoy what I'm learning, I'm all in.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: If what I'm learning is not for me, then I will just work my way through it. In other words, I will just sort of repeat things back to the. To the workshop leader or the teacher, in this case, that they want to hear to make it seem like I'm listening. But really I'm just distracted in other things.
>> Amanda Barker: So my approach. I think I'm always gonna be an immersive person. I want to be in all in. That's who I am and how I am. And. And I, come by it naturally. My family has shades of that. I know my uncle said to me once, he's like, I'm all in or I'm all out. And he would become an expert in one thing for, like, five years. The best saxophone player, the best stockbroker in his case, and then be bored of it. The best basketball coach. so for me, I see shades of that in myself, but I don't know that I want to be that person. Because I do believe that slow and steady wins the race. And my biggest accomplishments have been the slow burns.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So, m. That said, I am that person by nature. So I do want to immerse myself in the material as much as possible. I tend to want to ask a lot of questions. My approach to learning often is, This is a weird word to use, but adversarial.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. I see that in you.
>> Amanda Barker: And what that means is, you know, I'm constantly. To use the word you use. Provoking. If I hear something and I don't fully agree with it, I'll be the first one to raise my hand and say, but what about this and what about that? So I tend to provoke. I tend to pick away at something. it helps me understand more. I think it comes. I have that approach for a few reasons, but one, I was a debater in. I was a debater in high school. I was a very good debater at that time.
>> Marco Timpano: So she still is a good debater.
>> Amanda Barker: We debated, but I don't win things.
>> Marco Timpano: The difference between pencil, crayon, and colored
>> Amanda Barker: pencil, which, by the way, is a Canadian American debate. Because they're the same things.
>> Marco Timpano: Pencil crayon is what we say in
>> Amanda Barker: Canada and we call them colored pencils.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm curious to know what you call them. So if you can send us a little message, whether it be on Twitter or Instagram or even an email, we'll get back to the pencil crayon. Colored pencil debate.
>> Amanda Barker: Debate. I don't remember what I was saying. Oh, I asked questions. So I tend to. I want to see if you hold up a fact, or let's just pick another noun. If you hold up an apple.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: In the light, I want to see every angle of that apple. I don't take it at face value. I need to test that theory. I need to look at all the things. Because in debating, that's what we were asked to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And often with a topic.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'll just bite that apple.
>> Amanda Barker: It would be, you know, be it resolved that commercials on TV should be abolished or something. And so, you know, your first instinct. You have a first instinct that is. No, that's wrong. Or yes, that's right. I agree with it. You have your natural instinct. And what a debater does is they look at all sides of it so that you really. And at the end, if you're still in the same. Where you started, you may be where you started with or maybe you aren't, but at least you know, you fully developed your ideas about this thing. So. Ah, that's. That is how I approach learning. If I'm really truthful about it. I don't know that I've ever sat and thought about it like that, but I do know that I do that. And that's where I go. When people say, what are your thoughts? I immediately look for the things that I don't understand. The holes, the loopholes, the problems.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I go for those.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
I recently read that people who take baths tend to fall asleep quicker
So turning things a little bit on its head, M. How do you approach a bath? I recently read that people who take baths tend to fall asleep quicker.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I was curious.
>> Amanda Barker: I fall asleep after one for sure. Quicker.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what they say.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Yeah, I do. But my problem is, not problem. My thing is I love them so much that I don't always wait to the end of the day. Like, if it was a day where I was out at the office all day working, doing, various things that I do, then a bath is my perfect way to come home and unwind. If I have dinner in an oven or something, then I'll get that started and go up and take the Bath, have dinner, and then go to bed. But sometimes it's, I have dinner and then take the bath.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, when you approach a bath, do you approach it with Epsom salts or those bally things that fizz in the water? What are they called?
>> Amanda Barker: Bath bombs? M. Yeah. I will say a bath helps me digest. Oh, that's a thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I. If I've had a big meal, I want to take a bath because I do feel like it helps me digest. I don't know why that is, but I. I know they always said don't swim after you've eaten or something, but I don't find that. I find water helps me digest. but, how do I approach a bath? I like to get into the tub right at the beginning.
>> Marco Timpano: So before it's full.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So you fill in the bath.
>> Amanda Barker: I like it filling with me in the tub for a lot of reasons.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't like to draw a bath and step into it. That's not who I am.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: the anticipation of the joy of the bath is as good as the bath itself.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And so ever since I was a child, I like to get into a big old cold tub and then start the water so that it feels warm on my toes first. And then eventually I know I'll be warm all over.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's fascinating.
>> Amanda Barker: It's weird because most people like to draw it and then get in.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And what about those things like Epsom salt bath salts?
>> Amanda Barker: Or I'll add those. But none of those in terms of enjoyment for the bath, they don't factor in. It's only. Those things only mean that I'm committed to a long bath.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So if I have a bath bomb, I better enjoy the water. I don't want to just throw a bath bomb in and then 15 minutes later get out, or 20 minutes later get out. because I've turned the water a weird shade of orange or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
If this house had no bathtub, would you be okay with a shower
>> Marco Timpano: Well, from bath, let's find out your approach.
>> Amanda Barker: How do you approach a bath?
>> Marco Timpano: I approach it by turning the tap on and taking a shower. I'm more of a shower person. I like to take long showers.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't imagine living without a bathtub. That's not. That's a. I have done it, but I always do it for a limited time. When we. When we were working in Vancouver, we had a shower only.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: But we had a hot tub outside.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I forgot about that.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a shared accommodation, so it wasn't like I was in it all the time, but knowing we had it made a difference. And, and then on the cruise ship, we had a tiny little shower between the two of us. And, sometimes I'll sit down in the shower just to pretend it's a bath.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm m. More of a shower person. Baths, I can take or leave.
>> Amanda Barker: If this house had no bathtub, would you be okay?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so, yeah. You know, I only like to hop in the bath if I've been cold. So from shoveling snow or, you know, being outside for a great period of time, I'll take a bath.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, nothing will get me warm like a bath. Yeah, there are baths, there are tubs that you can buy if you only have a shower. So if I only had a shower.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I would buy one of those portable. I don't know how good they are, but portable pop up tubs.
>> Marco Timpano: What? I've never heard of this.
>> Amanda Barker: I'll show you one. It's a big plastic thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And get it on him. M. You know, on wherever you get things. Right. but it, it folds into a flat thing, kind of like a baby tub.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And then you can pop it open.
>> Marco Timpano: And how do you get the water out of it?
>> Amanda Barker: You drain it in the shower.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you put it in the shower.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, or somewhere you can get the water into it anyway. And then you can get into it and then you drain it. Oh, you just need the storage for the big plastic thing.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
How do you approach taking snow off your car or shoveling snow
Speaking of shoveling snow, how do you approach those winter activities like taking snow off your car or shoveling snow or things like that?
>> Amanda Barker: By dreaming of the sun.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. That's a good way.
>> Amanda Barker: I like to have the car going. If all things are equal, then I'll have the car going for a while before I go out there. That tends to loosen up the ice underneath. If you're not used to shoveling out your car, which unfortunately for us, we are, you can't just get the snow off if there's ice underneath, which there often is, because if the car was warm and it was snow snowing, all of that snow is going to first melt onto the car.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Cover it in water and then it's going to freeze back up again.
>> Marco Timpano: So you have a layer.
>> Amanda Barker: So you have a layer. You often with snow will have a layer of ice underneath.
>> Marco Timpano: Unless your car was cold at the time of the snowfall. Then you wouldn't necessarily have ice unless it was wet snow off the top,
>> Amanda Barker: which sometimes it is. Yeah, about half the time. I would say it is for us. So, to scrape that ice, you need a good scraper. But, you know, you. It's better if the car is warm first.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it called a scraper? What is that thing called?
>> Amanda Barker: Ice scraper.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but what about the telescopic one we have? That is a brush on one side, scraper on the other side.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you brush off the snow, uncover the ice, and then you have to try and get under the ice to pry it off. again, it's better if it's warm because the ice that's been warmed is going to pop out.
>> Marco Timpano: So you'll actually turn on the heat on the inside of the car to help heat up the windows.
>> Amanda Barker: Defrost the windows. if I can. But I mean, you don't always have that luxury. No, we often don't. I mean, because that would mean leaving the keys in our car, which is not where we are a good choice because people all the time see cars that are started in driveways.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but that's only if you're going to start your car. You should be near your car at the time of.
>> Amanda Barker: You should.
>> Marco Timpano: But some people aren't.
>> Amanda Barker: some people can start it with the doors locked. If you have a fancy car. We just don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
Tell us about your approach in shoveling
>> Marco Timpano: What about shoveling the walkway, driveway way of any sort?
>> Amanda Barker: My approach is to let you do it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: So tell us about your approach in shoveling.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a great, it's a great question. Where does one start? So usually if I'm shoveling our front, let's say I'll shovel a path for myself from my front door down the steps to the sidewalk. And then I'll do the sidewalk first.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'll sort of work my way towards. I like to do patterns and straight line patterns, generally speaking. So I won't do the whole half moon scoop. That's not for me.
>> Amanda Barker: Not the half moon scoop.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not a half moon scooper. I prefer the straight ahead and plow method. Right. So I'll. I'll walk straight. I'll push my shovel straight when the shovel is full.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: I will lift the snow from the shovel and empty it into a pile, most likely in front of our house and then continue that way.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I'll do that all the way. And then I will go back and make sure it's very clear. Because sometimes you'll leave little patches or there's this type of snow that will pack underneath. What You've just shoveled and leave a layer of packed snow.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know how to describe that
>> Marco Timpano: for anyone who hasn't experienced it, but
>> Amanda Barker: like the icy crusty snow.
>> Marco Timpano: No, like a packed hard snow.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So you have to kind of pry at it with the shovel. So then I'll clear that and then I will go back, back from whence I came and clear the steps. Because I feel like if you approach the steps from the bottom versus the top, you get a better clean of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Why? You just do. I feel like from the top you would.
>> Amanda Barker: Wouldn't the argument be start at the top so you're not treading over old ground.
>> Marco Timpano: That's because I shovel as I leave. So I leave myself. Oh, pathway of shoveled. And then I go from the bottom to the top and I remove the rest on either side.
>> Amanda Barker: You do the pre shovel?
>> Marco Timpano: I do a pre shovel followed by a fine tuned shovel. The reason I say it's easier from the bottom is because you can really get in the side corners of the steps easier from below than above.
>> Amanda Barker: I see.
>> Marco Timpano: Then what I'll do once all that is done, depending on what our snowfall looks like or if there has been ice on the bottom, what I've shoveled. Because there can be icy snow or ice. If once again the snow has fallen wet and then frozen there, I will take a de icer of some sort. And usually we don't use salt anymore. We use a de icer that is good for the environment or good or not harmful. I should say better for the environment. And I will throw it on our steps on the sidewalk so no one slips as they approach our home. And that's my approach to shoveling.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: And I would have to say that my approach to the, car situation is similar to yours. But I always ensure that if I'm going to be clearing off the snow of the car that our windshield wiper is off.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it'll freeze too. And you don't always do that.
>> Amanda Barker: And I didn't ever do that. But I think people who aren't used to this type of winter that we have wouldn't understand what you mean. So what he means is he pulls the windshield wipers when he leaves the car at night. Say he pulls the windshield wipers forward so they're jutting straight out perpendicular to the car.
>> Marco Timpano: In other words, they are no longer functional as windshield wipers.
>> Amanda Barker: They're not on the glass in any way.
>> Marco Timpano: They jet straight up.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. They're not touching the glass in Any way, they're just like little arrows.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, little arrows pointing straight up.
>> Amanda Barker: but that's a good idea, a good approach. Because what you can't do when you have ice and snow like we have, even though you are want to do it, you get in your car, maybe you've had it going, maybe you've checked your messages or whatever. So you've sat in a, snow covered. And I've been guilty of this many times, but you sit in your snow covered vehicle that's encased in snow and you think, okay, it'll just warm up a bit. I'll just hit the defrost a bit and then I can use the windshield wipers to wipe the snow away. It's not a good plan because most often they can't. The snow's too heavy for us anyway. Like I said this. We're not talking about a light dusting. We're talking about real winter.
>> Marco Timpano: The windshield wiper is adhered to the window with ice.
>> Amanda Barker: With ice is more than, I would say at least half the times the case. So you cannot do that unless it's a light snow.
>> Marco Timpano: Then you can, because if you do, you will damage your windshield wiper because it will try to.
>> Amanda Barker: And I have, I have damaged it because it's so much easier to hit a button and hope that it might work than to go out, get yourself covered in snow. Because that's the other thing. When you have to dig around at a windshield. Your arms, you know, obviously you have all your gloves and things on, but you come back into the car completely covered. You're like the abominable snowman. Like you're covered in snow, which then means you're covered in wet. Once it melts in the car, you know, it's a real thing.
>> Marco Timpano: That's why the telescopic scraper is so great.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it allows you not to get as covered.
>> Amanda Barker: I've seen ads for a circle, a circular scraper.
I've seen an ad for a scraper that melts ice instantly
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: They make it look really good and effective in the ads. I don't know if it is, but I would like to try it.
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen the, ad for a scraper that is heated so that when it touches the.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a great idea.
>> Marco Timpano: Ice. It melts it immediately.
>> Amanda Barker: It feels very technical. Like the ice would wipe it out in one. That's the one you're. Then you don't want to use it because you don't want to break it because you spent $50 on it.
>> Marco Timpano: The other thing is you have to.
>> Amanda Barker: A good scraper is from a gas station and you spent $6.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. I think you have to charge that one up. No one's going to do that.
We've come to the end of this podcast. We hope you were able to sleep
Well, thank you, Amanda, for your approach today, because we've come to the end of this podcast. And, thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: Approaching magazines, baths and ice scraping.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, who would have thought?
>> Amanda Barker: And learning.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, thank you all for joining us. We hope you were able to listen to this episode and sleep.
(Original airdate: January 6, 2021)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm, mundane conversation to help you, you know, relax and hopefully find your way to sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: And joining me is me, Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: And, Amanda, I wanted to talk to you about approach.
>> Amanda Barker: Approach, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So, for example, how do you approach a magazine? Let's say.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, well, you know, it's interesting that you say that or ask that. I didn't, of course, know what was coming today.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And I, I don't know how I got the idea of approach. But there's two things that I want to know how you approach, and one is magazines.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I actually will start answering that by telling you about my mother, Valerie. She loved magazines. Still does, actually. Yeah. And as a kid, I would see her magazines coming in to the mail all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's my coffee cup hitting the saucer. Sorry about that.
>> Amanda Barker: My mother, would always approach a magazine starting from the back first. Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I'm not sure what the connection is in this, but she always said it was because she was left handed.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I usually don't. I usually get very excited when I see the COVID of A magazine.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, you do.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I've inherited this love of magazines for a few reasons from my mother, but also from my time in Korea. That's when I really. Magazines really became a treat for me.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: because at the time you're talking about English magazines. So when I lived in Korea, and this is now, M. 23 years ago, 22 years ago, where I was in Korea, English magazines, English reading material wasn't super easy to come by. It involved a trip into the city, city, which was Seoul, and the trip to the Kyobo bookstore, which was the one bookstore that had, English reading material. And so an English magazine, whether it was British or American, you really couldn't get. Canadian ones at that time would, easily cost like $20. And it was a real treat. And once you were finished with it, you painted it around to all your friends. If I did a weekend trip, that in Flight magazine would have the same kind of importance.
>> Marco Timpano: So the magazine that you got on the plane.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that would be really exciting to come home and bring home a United magazine or something like that. So, it's different now. in Korea, I think there's a lot more English, material in general there, especially where I used to live. But, I think because of that I had this love for magazines. So in terms of my approach, usually I look at the COVID think about, oh, okay, that's an article I want to get to. And then I kind of just open it up. I often will start, sometimes look at the table of contents, but usually I'll start at the middle and then work my way around.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's funny, you mentioned your mother, who is my mother in law, Valerie. I love going to see her because of the fact that I get to peruse her magazines that I would otherwise not see.
>> Amanda Barker: It's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Including Southern Living.
>> Amanda Barker: One of her favorites is Southern Living. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Southern Cuisine.
>> Amanda Barker: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Aarp. And what are the other magazines that she does?
>> Amanda Barker: She does a lot of decor magazines. And then because they're retirees in Florida, even this year, they've had very little to do. So because they're retirees in Florida, they do read a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, they do.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a big activity for them is reading.
>> Marco Timpano: They always read a lot, though.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And we as kids read a lot. We were always encouraged to read. If there was a book series I liked, like I got deeply into Nancy Drew when I was probably 10, 11, they very much encouraged it. They would go out, they didn't wait for a birthday Or Christmas, they would go out and say, okay, let's go buy you that book, whatever the next Archaeology Today. So what I was gonna say is those are my dad's magazines that we have gotten him. So Money magazine, Archaeology magazine, Flea,
>> Marco Timpano: Market magazine or something.
>> Amanda Barker: That one I like. I think I'm gonna have to subscribe to that. Picked that up the other day and thought, oh, I need to subscribe to this. Yeah, he is a. He has a different flea Market magazine and then, the Smithsonian magazine. He loves that one. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Doesn't he have like an angler magazine, Some sort of fishing or sailing?
>> Amanda Barker: Sailing, Sailing, yes, that probably was me too. I mean, it's hard to know what to get anyone's parents. So magazines are the gift that gives all year round.
>> Marco Timpano: For sure. For sure.
Ali: How do you approach magazines when you're learning about cars
So now I want to ask, how
>> Amanda Barker: do you approach magazines is what I wanted to ask you.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great question. I think I, look at the COVID and see if there's articles that I like that are gonna appear in there or the front page. That gives you the list, the index, if you will. And then I will flip through the entire magazine to see if there's any eye catching photos that'll cause me to pause and look there. And then I'll go back and I'll read the articles that may have caught my eye in the index.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And then if there's short ones, I'll tend to really glance at those.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And then usually if you're reading, I'll ask you to tell me what you just read.
>> Amanda Barker: You like to read over my shoulder.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the best way to read.
>> Amanda Barker: Not everybody would love, but I don't mind it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Or I get you to tell me what you just read. That's my favorite way to magazine is to have someone else reiterate what they just read, which sometimes drives people crazy.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't always need to tell you about, you know, tips to protect your joints or whatever, but I love them.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, another magazine that I love is the Costco magazine. It's one of my favorite magazines.
>> Amanda Barker: Does that now I wonder if a magazine that is selling one product counts as a magazine.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, first of all, it sells many products. Secondly, it does have articles in there that I do appreciate.
>> Amanda Barker: and I just wonder that with the AARP magazine, I mean, ultimately it's everything. I get the CAA magazine, which is like aaa.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Which is the automotive magazine. for anyone who's listening, in parts of countries that don't have CAA or aaa, it Is if you have that service, if you are found on the roadside and you have a problem with your car or you can't start your car, you just call up this organization.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And they will come.
>> Amanda Barker: They must have in Europe something. Oh, I'm sure that resembles it. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: We have listeners all over, so who knows if in the M. Philippines or in Bahrain they have that? So I just want to clarify it for our listeners because they'll be like, oh, I'm not sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember AAA when I was in the Philippines.
>> Marco Timpano: So there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: But, yeah, it's great if you've locked your keys out of the car. That's not really a problem these days. But when I first joined again 20 years ago, my good friend Lois, who had to use CAA this week, she said, as soon as you get a car, even if you don't have a car. Actually, she had me on it before I even had a car.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Because I was driving company cars.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And she said, for the hundred dollars or whatever it is a year, get it. Because if you lock your keys in the car even once, you'll be happy that you have it. You have someone to call who will then just show up and help you out. and she needed it this week. She needed her battery. Getting your battery started is a real thing in Canada. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I guess that's another approach you have, how to approach dealing with situations that might arise with your vehicle.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it's like extended insurance.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is funny because I don't always buy the insurance policies, but I'm the person that would. It's only because of a lot of learning and cost figuring that I don't. But I'm certainly the person that, you know in my 20s, if they said you want the extended warranty, I would sign up for all of them.
>> Marco Timpano: So what is your approach to learning? And I hate to provoke you with that, but I'm just curious. What. What is your approach?
>> Amanda Barker: I am not by nature the most organized person. And so because of that, I try very hard to be organized.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I'm very organized because I'm not an organized person. And I tend to use a lot of highlighters and colors and, squiggly font.
>> Amanda Barker: Your other podcast, one of your other podcasts, Eat and Drink. I know Ali is always teasing you about your highlighters and your. All your highlighters.
>> Marco Timpano: Highlighters are meant to be used, and so I use.
>> Amanda Barker: You have a bag everywhere you go of highlighters I do.
>> Marco Timpano: It's right here, too. It's buried under all these markers, if you can see.
>> Amanda Barker: It's buried under other highlighters, kind of.
Do you have an approach to learning? Here's my approach
my approach to learning is a great question, and I don't know that I have an answer for it. I'll throw it back to you. Do you have an approach to learning?
>> Marco Timpano: Here's my approach. If I enjoy what I'm learning, I'm all in.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: If what I'm learning is not for me, then I will just work my way through it. In other words, I will just sort of repeat things back to the. To the workshop leader or the teacher, in this case, that they want to hear to make it seem like I'm listening. But really I'm just distracted in other things.
>> Amanda Barker: So my approach. I think I'm always gonna be an immersive person. I want to be in all in. That's who I am and how I am. And. And I, come by it naturally. My family has shades of that. I know my uncle said to me once, he's like, I'm all in or I'm all out. And he would become an expert in one thing for, like, five years. The best saxophone player, the best stockbroker in his case, and then be bored of it. The best basketball coach. so for me, I see shades of that in myself, but I don't know that I want to be that person. Because I do believe that slow and steady wins the race. And my biggest accomplishments have been the slow burns.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So, m. That said, I am that person by nature. So I do want to immerse myself in the material as much as possible. I tend to want to ask a lot of questions. My approach to learning often is, This is a weird word to use, but adversarial.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. I see that in you.
>> Amanda Barker: And what that means is, you know, I'm constantly. To use the word you use. Provoking. If I hear something and I don't fully agree with it, I'll be the first one to raise my hand and say, but what about this and what about that? So I tend to provoke. I tend to pick away at something. it helps me understand more. I think it comes. I have that approach for a few reasons, but one, I was a debater in. I was a debater in high school. I was a very good debater at that time.
>> Marco Timpano: So she still is a good debater.
>> Amanda Barker: We debated, but I don't win things.
>> Marco Timpano: The difference between pencil, crayon, and colored
>> Amanda Barker: pencil, which, by the way, is a Canadian American debate. Because they're the same things.
>> Marco Timpano: Pencil crayon is what we say in
>> Amanda Barker: Canada and we call them colored pencils.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm curious to know what you call them. So if you can send us a little message, whether it be on Twitter or Instagram or even an email, we'll get back to the pencil crayon. Colored pencil debate.
>> Amanda Barker: Debate. I don't remember what I was saying. Oh, I asked questions. So I tend to. I want to see if you hold up a fact, or let's just pick another noun. If you hold up an apple.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: In the light, I want to see every angle of that apple. I don't take it at face value. I need to test that theory. I need to look at all the things. Because in debating, that's what we were asked to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And often with a topic.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'll just bite that apple.
>> Amanda Barker: It would be, you know, be it resolved that commercials on TV should be abolished or something. And so, you know, your first instinct. You have a first instinct that is. No, that's wrong. Or yes, that's right. I agree with it. You have your natural instinct. And what a debater does is they look at all sides of it so that you really. And at the end, if you're still in the same. Where you started, you may be where you started with or maybe you aren't, but at least you know, you fully developed your ideas about this thing. So. Ah, that's. That is how I approach learning. If I'm really truthful about it. I don't know that I've ever sat and thought about it like that, but I do know that I do that. And that's where I go. When people say, what are your thoughts? I immediately look for the things that I don't understand. The holes, the loopholes, the problems.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I go for those.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
I recently read that people who take baths tend to fall asleep quicker
So turning things a little bit on its head, M. How do you approach a bath? I recently read that people who take baths tend to fall asleep quicker.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I was curious.
>> Amanda Barker: I fall asleep after one for sure. Quicker.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what they say.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Yeah, I do. But my problem is, not problem. My thing is I love them so much that I don't always wait to the end of the day. Like, if it was a day where I was out at the office all day working, doing, various things that I do, then a bath is my perfect way to come home and unwind. If I have dinner in an oven or something, then I'll get that started and go up and take the Bath, have dinner, and then go to bed. But sometimes it's, I have dinner and then take the bath.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, when you approach a bath, do you approach it with Epsom salts or those bally things that fizz in the water? What are they called?
>> Amanda Barker: Bath bombs? M. Yeah. I will say a bath helps me digest. Oh, that's a thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I. If I've had a big meal, I want to take a bath because I do feel like it helps me digest. I don't know why that is, but I. I know they always said don't swim after you've eaten or something, but I don't find that. I find water helps me digest. but, how do I approach a bath? I like to get into the tub right at the beginning.
>> Marco Timpano: So before it's full.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So you fill in the bath.
>> Amanda Barker: I like it filling with me in the tub for a lot of reasons.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't like to draw a bath and step into it. That's not who I am.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: the anticipation of the joy of the bath is as good as the bath itself.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And so ever since I was a child, I like to get into a big old cold tub and then start the water so that it feels warm on my toes first. And then eventually I know I'll be warm all over.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's fascinating.
>> Amanda Barker: It's weird because most people like to draw it and then get in.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And what about those things like Epsom salt bath salts?
>> Amanda Barker: Or I'll add those. But none of those in terms of enjoyment for the bath, they don't factor in. It's only. Those things only mean that I'm committed to a long bath.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So if I have a bath bomb, I better enjoy the water. I don't want to just throw a bath bomb in and then 15 minutes later get out, or 20 minutes later get out. because I've turned the water a weird shade of orange or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
If this house had no bathtub, would you be okay with a shower
>> Marco Timpano: Well, from bath, let's find out your approach.
>> Amanda Barker: How do you approach a bath?
>> Marco Timpano: I approach it by turning the tap on and taking a shower. I'm more of a shower person. I like to take long showers.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't imagine living without a bathtub. That's not. That's a. I have done it, but I always do it for a limited time. When we. When we were working in Vancouver, we had a shower only.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: But we had a hot tub outside.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I forgot about that.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a shared accommodation, so it wasn't like I was in it all the time, but knowing we had it made a difference. And, and then on the cruise ship, we had a tiny little shower between the two of us. And, sometimes I'll sit down in the shower just to pretend it's a bath.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm m. More of a shower person. Baths, I can take or leave.
>> Amanda Barker: If this house had no bathtub, would you be okay?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so, yeah. You know, I only like to hop in the bath if I've been cold. So from shoveling snow or, you know, being outside for a great period of time, I'll take a bath.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, nothing will get me warm like a bath. Yeah, there are baths, there are tubs that you can buy if you only have a shower. So if I only had a shower.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I would buy one of those portable. I don't know how good they are, but portable pop up tubs.
>> Marco Timpano: What? I've never heard of this.
>> Amanda Barker: I'll show you one. It's a big plastic thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And get it on him. M. You know, on wherever you get things. Right. but it, it folds into a flat thing, kind of like a baby tub.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And then you can pop it open.
>> Marco Timpano: And how do you get the water out of it?
>> Amanda Barker: You drain it in the shower.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you put it in the shower.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, or somewhere you can get the water into it anyway. And then you can get into it and then you drain it. Oh, you just need the storage for the big plastic thing.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
How do you approach taking snow off your car or shoveling snow
Speaking of shoveling snow, how do you approach those winter activities like taking snow off your car or shoveling snow or things like that?
>> Amanda Barker: By dreaming of the sun.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. That's a good way.
>> Amanda Barker: I like to have the car going. If all things are equal, then I'll have the car going for a while before I go out there. That tends to loosen up the ice underneath. If you're not used to shoveling out your car, which unfortunately for us, we are, you can't just get the snow off if there's ice underneath, which there often is, because if the car was warm and it was snow snowing, all of that snow is going to first melt onto the car.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Cover it in water and then it's going to freeze back up again.
>> Marco Timpano: So you have a layer.
>> Amanda Barker: So you have a layer. You often with snow will have a layer of ice underneath.
>> Marco Timpano: Unless your car was cold at the time of the snowfall. Then you wouldn't necessarily have ice unless it was wet snow off the top,
>> Amanda Barker: which sometimes it is. Yeah, about half the time. I would say it is for us. So, to scrape that ice, you need a good scraper. But, you know, you. It's better if the car is warm first.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it called a scraper? What is that thing called?
>> Amanda Barker: Ice scraper.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but what about the telescopic one we have? That is a brush on one side, scraper on the other side.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you brush off the snow, uncover the ice, and then you have to try and get under the ice to pry it off. again, it's better if it's warm because the ice that's been warmed is going to pop out.
>> Marco Timpano: So you'll actually turn on the heat on the inside of the car to help heat up the windows.
>> Amanda Barker: Defrost the windows. if I can. But I mean, you don't always have that luxury. No, we often don't. I mean, because that would mean leaving the keys in our car, which is not where we are a good choice because people all the time see cars that are started in driveways.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but that's only if you're going to start your car. You should be near your car at the time of.
>> Amanda Barker: You should.
>> Marco Timpano: But some people aren't.
>> Amanda Barker: some people can start it with the doors locked. If you have a fancy car. We just don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
Tell us about your approach in shoveling
>> Marco Timpano: What about shoveling the walkway, driveway way of any sort?
>> Amanda Barker: My approach is to let you do it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: So tell us about your approach in shoveling.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a great, it's a great question. Where does one start? So usually if I'm shoveling our front, let's say I'll shovel a path for myself from my front door down the steps to the sidewalk. And then I'll do the sidewalk first.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'll sort of work my way towards. I like to do patterns and straight line patterns, generally speaking. So I won't do the whole half moon scoop. That's not for me.
>> Amanda Barker: Not the half moon scoop.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not a half moon scooper. I prefer the straight ahead and plow method. Right. So I'll. I'll walk straight. I'll push my shovel straight when the shovel is full.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: I will lift the snow from the shovel and empty it into a pile, most likely in front of our house and then continue that way.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I'll do that all the way. And then I will go back and make sure it's very clear. Because sometimes you'll leave little patches or there's this type of snow that will pack underneath. What You've just shoveled and leave a layer of packed snow.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know how to describe that
>> Marco Timpano: for anyone who hasn't experienced it, but
>> Amanda Barker: like the icy crusty snow.
>> Marco Timpano: No, like a packed hard snow.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So you have to kind of pry at it with the shovel. So then I'll clear that and then I will go back, back from whence I came and clear the steps. Because I feel like if you approach the steps from the bottom versus the top, you get a better clean of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Why? You just do. I feel like from the top you would.
>> Amanda Barker: Wouldn't the argument be start at the top so you're not treading over old ground.
>> Marco Timpano: That's because I shovel as I leave. So I leave myself. Oh, pathway of shoveled. And then I go from the bottom to the top and I remove the rest on either side.
>> Amanda Barker: You do the pre shovel?
>> Marco Timpano: I do a pre shovel followed by a fine tuned shovel. The reason I say it's easier from the bottom is because you can really get in the side corners of the steps easier from below than above.
>> Amanda Barker: I see.
>> Marco Timpano: Then what I'll do once all that is done, depending on what our snowfall looks like or if there has been ice on the bottom, what I've shoveled. Because there can be icy snow or ice. If once again the snow has fallen wet and then frozen there, I will take a de icer of some sort. And usually we don't use salt anymore. We use a de icer that is good for the environment or good or not harmful. I should say better for the environment. And I will throw it on our steps on the sidewalk so no one slips as they approach our home. And that's my approach to shoveling.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: And I would have to say that my approach to the, car situation is similar to yours. But I always ensure that if I'm going to be clearing off the snow of the car that our windshield wiper is off.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it'll freeze too. And you don't always do that.
>> Amanda Barker: And I didn't ever do that. But I think people who aren't used to this type of winter that we have wouldn't understand what you mean. So what he means is he pulls the windshield wipers when he leaves the car at night. Say he pulls the windshield wipers forward so they're jutting straight out perpendicular to the car.
>> Marco Timpano: In other words, they are no longer functional as windshield wipers.
>> Amanda Barker: They're not on the glass in any way.
>> Marco Timpano: They jet straight up.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. They're not touching the glass in Any way, they're just like little arrows.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, little arrows pointing straight up.
>> Amanda Barker: but that's a good idea, a good approach. Because what you can't do when you have ice and snow like we have, even though you are want to do it, you get in your car, maybe you've had it going, maybe you've checked your messages or whatever. So you've sat in a, snow covered. And I've been guilty of this many times, but you sit in your snow covered vehicle that's encased in snow and you think, okay, it'll just warm up a bit. I'll just hit the defrost a bit and then I can use the windshield wipers to wipe the snow away. It's not a good plan because most often they can't. The snow's too heavy for us anyway. Like I said this. We're not talking about a light dusting. We're talking about real winter.
>> Marco Timpano: The windshield wiper is adhered to the window with ice.
>> Amanda Barker: With ice is more than, I would say at least half the times the case. So you cannot do that unless it's a light snow.
>> Marco Timpano: Then you can, because if you do, you will damage your windshield wiper because it will try to.
>> Amanda Barker: And I have, I have damaged it because it's so much easier to hit a button and hope that it might work than to go out, get yourself covered in snow. Because that's the other thing. When you have to dig around at a windshield. Your arms, you know, obviously you have all your gloves and things on, but you come back into the car completely covered. You're like the abominable snowman. Like you're covered in snow, which then means you're covered in wet. Once it melts in the car, you know, it's a real thing.
>> Marco Timpano: That's why the telescopic scraper is so great.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it allows you not to get as covered.
>> Amanda Barker: I've seen ads for a circle, a circular scraper.
I've seen an ad for a scraper that melts ice instantly
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: They make it look really good and effective in the ads. I don't know if it is, but I would like to try it.
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen the, ad for a scraper that is heated so that when it touches the.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a great idea.
>> Marco Timpano: Ice. It melts it immediately.
>> Amanda Barker: It feels very technical. Like the ice would wipe it out in one. That's the one you're. Then you don't want to use it because you don't want to break it because you spent $50 on it.
>> Marco Timpano: The other thing is you have to.
>> Amanda Barker: A good scraper is from a gas station and you spent $6.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. I think you have to charge that one up. No one's going to do that.
We've come to the end of this podcast. We hope you were able to sleep
Well, thank you, Amanda, for your approach today, because we've come to the end of this podcast. And, thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: Approaching magazines, baths and ice scraping.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, who would have thought?
>> Amanda Barker: And learning.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, thank you all for joining us. We hope you were able to listen to this episode and sleep.
Day-Planners and Tool Boxes
(Original airdate: Jan 14, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project podcast, hosted by Marco Timpano
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation on something that is hopefully mundane enough for you to just drift off. And if you can't drift off to sleep, well, we hope that you're able to just relax and let everything else around you just drift away while you listen to our podcast. We're delighted to have you. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I will be doing this podcast episode by myself. I figured it was time for me to do a solo cast since this is the fifth episode in the. Sorry, the second episode in the fifth season. I don't know where my mind went there for a brief moment, but, anyways, nonetheless, here we are. And I'm very grateful to our listeners and everyone who's been with us for five years. And I'm grateful to those listeners who've told me that some of the ads they've been hearing have been too loud. I've tried to deal with that with the, podcast platform we're on and unfortunately, I don't get to hear all the ads that they play on our podcast because it depends on what part of the world they play in. So I've hopefully addressed that. But if you do hear something that's a bit jarring. Let me know and I will do my best to make sure you don't experience that.
Since it is the start of 2021, I figured I'd talk about my daytimer
Since it is the start of 2021, I figured I'd talk about my daytimer, my calendar, if you will. I love a calendar, as you may know. I love to write on nice paper and I love to have things written. Some people like to use their phones as schedulers or some people have other ways that they schedule. Maybe a calendar on the wall. I like a daytimer. And that's one of the things that I've always sort of gravitated towards. And this one here has, you know, that surface. I'm rubbing it now in case you're hearing that sound. It has that surface that feels almost like rubber leather, like a fake sort of softness to it, almost like what a, what a 1960s pleather couch would feel like. It has that kind of texture to the front of it. And I really, really love that. And of course when you open it up, it says, this planner belongs to you. Fill in your name and an emergency contact if they find your planner. And I once lost a planner, if you can believe it. I left it in a, a thrift store and someone went to go buy the planner or bought the planner and saw that my name was, and they called me, but we were never able to connect in order for me to get the planner from them. And so they walked away with a beautiful planner that I had bought that I never really got to use other than to put my name in it. And I guess that planner went on to lead a great life because it was the last I saw of it. And I had already purchased a new planner by the time that one was discovered. It just goes to show you that part of the, planner actually worked in that occasion for me. So I don't know if that's ever worked for any of you. I love that it has those important dates that are listed and mine has the dates, those important sort of celebratory dates for both the US and Canada. Although I wish it had, you know, the uk, Australia, Canada, all the sort of English speaking countries, that would, sort of signify what celebrations they're doing in those places. I have another podcast called Born on this Day, where we celebrate different festivals and different things and national holidays in different places every day along with celebrities who are born on that day. And I'm always kind of thrilled to find out that it's National Popcorn Day or it's Grandfather's Day in Poland and we Mention that, and we talk about famous people who are born on those days. It is not a relaxing podcast, and there is sometimes strong language in there. So I'll just forewarn you in case you're like, oh, I should check that out. but it is a fun podcast, and I host it with Amanda, who you probably remember or have heard on this podcast, as well as my friend Bill Antonio, who is, also been a guest on this podcast, and I have to have him back. I always love talking to Bill.
This episode is coming late because of a bunch of things
So I'm just flipping through my calendar, in case you're wondering, what's that, what those sounds are. It's the pages of 2021 calendar. And as I flip now, I like to be able to see the week in front of me and the month on another page. And I usually write on the month what things I have coming up, and then I'll write on the weekly, the date on that date, what things I have to accomplish. And I love the calendars, like this one, this planner that has inspirational quotes. I love a good quote. And the first one is by Maya Angelou. And it goes, you may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. So that's my January quote, and I do like that. So it's a good quote for the start of a month. And then it has a section that you can put this month's best. So there I'm writing things that come to me. And I was listening to another podcast, and one of the guests on that podcast said something that really struck me. So I wrote it here in this month's best, and I'll share it with you because it really struck me. And it says, strive for excellence, not perfection. And I thought that was really a lovely quote. And, of course, this episode's coming late. It should have aired yesterday, but I got bogged down with a bunch of things, and I wasn't able to make it happen. So I'm gonna strive for this episode to be as perfect, as excellent as I can make it, and not worry that it wasn't perfect and it didn't air, yesterday. So thank you for being patient with that.
My calendar tells me the month's priorities, things that you have to complete
So as I look on my calendar, it tells me the month's priorities, things that you have to complete in the month. So I have a few things that I want to complete. I want to do my taxes, so I have. Oh, that's my pen. I want to do my taxes so that they're ready to go. I have listened to some podcasts. I have a list of podcasts, of 30 podcasts that I need to listen to for a project that I, have kind of in the back of my mind that I'm working on as well. I have to submit something to a library system. It's a bit, tricky to explain, but basically because I've recorded an audiobook I can submit to the library system so that the more people who take out that particular book means that I will get a certain amount of credit, hopefully for that book in the form of some dollars or some accolades. I don't know exactly. So I'm looking into that for this month as well. And then it says, notes of inspiration. I've read one already. And there's a I am proud of section, which I haven't filled out yet. But I guess I'm proud of this podcast and my listeners. So I'll just put my podcast so that at least I have something filled out already for this month on my calendar. It's so. It's so interesting because, you know, you put things, or I put things in my planner, my calendar, and sometimes I don't finish it, so it has to be sort of moved over to the next day or a couple of days later. So I always look. I'm looking through last week and seeing the things that got pushed and things that maybe I didn't do. yeah, so I've got to update something that I've been working on. And, I see I have a busy day tomorrow, but my weekend seems free so far, so that makes me very happy to see that. And then on the weekly part of the calendar, it asks me what's my priority for the week. In this case, it's to finish this audiobook that I've been working on. the to do and not to do list. So that's an interesting thing. And mine involves getting my basement sorted a bit. There's some things that are in disarray that I just need to. It's not tidy up, but, you know, straighten out so that it's back to where I need it to be. And then there's a section that says I am grateful for. So it asks, what are you grateful for? And I am grateful that my toilets flush because I had two toilets that weren't flushing properly and it was such a. It was such a tricky thing because they weren't flushing. And I tried to fix one aspect of it and it wasn't working. So I replaced the cable or the. The metal hose that goes from the toilet to the wall and I replaced the part that. That flushes and all that stuff, and it would just continuously flush. And I couldn't figure what that was. And I was doing everything. Turns out it was the flapper, the little part when you flush that gets lifted up and allows the water to go run through. I only needed to replace that. And it was the least expensive of all the replacement parts that I uncovered and tried to fix with regards to my. My toilet. And now I was able to do it. And, my toilet's flush. And I'm very grateful for that. And it's so interesting because there's no greater sound than the sound of a toilet flushing when it hasn't flushed for a while, or at least haven't. Hasn't flushed properly for a while. So we would have to. We would have to constantly turn the toilet on and off from the little. The little spouty thing that is at the bottom side of the toilet. And it was. It was never fun. You're always sort of filling the toilet, flushing the toilet, and then closing that off. Because there was also a weird leak that seems to have disappeared because of this flapper thing that I fixed. I don't understand what happened. But as a result of that, I'm also grateful for my toolbox. I don't know if you have a toolbox, but it's the one thing that I sort of have stored and when I need it, I am grateful for all the tools that I have in there. I'm also grateful that I have a lumber store or a. It is a lumber store, but it's a hardware store as well. So it's a hardware lumber store. So I don't use the lumber aspect of it as much as I use the hardware aspect of it. But it's within walking distance of my home. And I just love that. I live so close to a hardware store. So I've been able to pick up tools that I've needed as I've needed them because it's so close. So I have some. I have my general wrenches, which I think everyone should have a good wrench. I have, certainly screwdrivers galore, which I think are so key, along with a drill, which of course, the drill also allows you to screw things into the wall if you need. But I think even just having a handheld screwdriver is so important. And I think a hammer is really important. I think we did an episode on a hammer and how awesome it is to have a good hammer. So if you don't have a good hammer, I really recommend getting one, because if you, if you don't. I think I did that with. Did I do that with, my friend in Stratford. I think, was the episode with a hammer. And, so when you have a good hammer, you can really. You can really make things happen, I guess, is what I'm trying to say there.
I say everyone should have a toolbox, no matter the gender
What are the other tools? There's another tool, and they're pliers, a couple of different styles of pliers. Those are the things that I would say are like your toolbox basic. And I think everyone should have a, toolbox, no matter the gender, no matter the age, no matter, you know, your proficiency when it comes to using tools. I say have a toolbox. There's so many helpful YouTube videos out there that sort of walk you through how to do things. And, I invite you to try, try before you have to call the repairman if that's something you want to do. Some people are like, that's not in any way anything I want to do. And I respect that as well. I also like to have, you know, I like to have different colored pens and pencils when I write into my daytimer. especially, like, highlighters. For me, that's so key because I'll write the important event that has to occur on that day, and I'll highlight it and it'll really stand out for me, I guess because I'm a visual person that really helps. Some people don't need that, but you, you know, I do. So that's. That's how that works. It's so funny. I was coloring in an adult coloring book, so I don't know if you've ever had one of those, but I was gifted one of those adult coloring books with an array of, colored markers. And I love those markers that it was gifted because they have two ends to it. So the one end has a very fine tip. So it can do really fine details and almost like the point of a regular pen. That's what I mean by a fine tip. The other end was really long, and it could do really big, almost like brush strokes from a paintbrush. But this was a marker, and so I could really fill in this adult coloring book very, very easily and quickly because of that end. And I used it. And I'm not one who would think that an adult coloring book would be in my toolbox, so to speak. It wouldn't be something that would resonate with me. But I found I was on this, this virtual zoom call for a while. I had a week of zoom calls. With the same. The same people organization. And we would have to sit there for hours and hours, and we were running a whole bunch of things with that group. And I found it difficult to maintain focus because my mind would drift or I would think of many other things that I needed to get done. And, you know, perhaps I would just drift sometime because what was being talked about was not sort of resonating with me, shall we say? And so Amanda said, well, you have that coloring book. Why don't you use that so that you can color but continue to listen? And so that's what I did. I pulled out this adult coloring book and I thought, okay, I'll try this. And I found my focus was a lot more keen to what was being talked about because I was coloring as I was listening. And then I would sort of put it down when I had to say something salient or when something really pressing or important was being said. And for me, that was pretty. That was pretty useful as a tool, especially as we tend to do more zooms or virtual sort of workshops, and whatnot.
When you record an audiobook, you inevitably make mistakes
So just a tip from me, I'm using a highlighter right now to color in what I have to do tomorrow. I have a few pickups to do for this book, this audiobook. And what pickups are, is when you record an audiobook, you inevitably make mistakes, just like I did there. But stuff that you and your director may not pick up when you're doing it, when you're recording on the day and they have people who listen to make sure what you say is actually on the page of the book. And if there's something that's a little out of sync or out of whack or untoward, maybe not untoward, but maybe mispronounced, they will give you a list of things you have to redo or pick up and redo. So sometimes I would forget an S at the end of a word, or I would invert two words so that it wasn't into. But, Well, that's not a good example. But it would be like, to also. Or also to would get inverted. And so I would have to redo that. So I have that to do tomorrow. That's the big thing on my day. As well as to update my websites. In, particular the one for the Insomnia project, because we got a beautiful review, or we were listed as one of the top 15 things, sleep podcasts to listen to, through an organization in the UK called the Breakout, I believe. I'm just going to check that Right now. Sorry, the breakdown. Yes, the breakdown in the UK gave us a. Ah, really lovely right up. So it's 15 night time podcasts to help you fall asleep and we're one of the 15th. So that was so wonderful and I really do appreciate that. And that was brought to my attention by Amy, our social media manager, who you've also heard on the podcast. So that's so wonderful and I'm really grateful to everyone there. I'm also grateful for features on my phone. There's certain apps that I love. What are your favorite apps? I'd love to know what your favorite apps are. I know that mine for exists. For example, there are a few apps I use consistently and constantly. Like for example, my simple calculator that's on my phone. If I didn't have my calculator, I don't know what I would do. Of course, along with all the social media apps like Instagram and Twitter, things like that. I really do love my font candy where I can take a photo and add words to it. If you've looked at our Instagram account, you would have seen me utilize that many times. There's an app called Voxer that I love where I get to sort of like a walkie talkie. So I get to talk to some friends all over the world and leave messages and they'll get back to it. Some people use an app called Marco Polo, which is a, video app. But that doesn't necessarily work for me because sometimes I don't want to be seen clearly. I want to be heard and not seen. And Voxer, I can just leave a message to my friends in Los Angeles. I have a friend in Northern Italy. I leave messages to a friend in Las Vegas. I leave messages to family in the east coast of Canada that I leave messages to and family all over the world. Really? Who will tune in? Friends in the UK who will tune in. I used it, actually. I discovered that app and we received no monies from Voxer, but I discovered that app when we were working out of town. That's me hitting my pen against a little cardboard box. when we were out of town and we were working with people from different parts of the world who if we had to call them, they would incur long distance charges. So we figured we'd just use this app and we could do a multi, person sort of, I'm in the lobby, we'll be there in 10 minutes or whatnot. And so it became sort of adapted into my daily use and then I found it so convenient and easy in particular when you're, trying to stay in touch with people. So I love my Voxer app. I have another app that is solely, I think, for my library system in Toronto, where I can take, out audiobooks with this Libby, app. It's called. I don't know if you have Libby where you are, but I'm able to listen to audiobooks and I love it. Of course, I have my podcasting app where I can listen to different podcasts. Those are the ones I use more than anything else. I also have this great little app, and there's multiple apps like this, so I'm not necessarily recommending this one. But it is a security app that you can put all your passwords in and your numbers that you need that are like, let's say, your social insurance number that you might not necessarily know offhand or have in your wallet. So it's kind of a virtual wallet. And I trust the one I have because it has a multiple authentication, authenticating sort of system. And it's really top rated. So I'm very happy with that. And the weather app, Those are the ones that I use. What are the apps that you use? I guess the single most used app I have is my alarm to wake up in the morning. I use my phone. I find that the phone has replaced watches now. Like, I don't wear a watch as often as I used to. A wristwatch that is. And I got a beautiful, wood wristwatch made of wood, if you can believe it, for Christmas. And it is just a wonderful watch. You know what I'll do is I'll take a photo of it and I'll put it up on the Instagram page, and I'll use Font Candy, that app I was telling you about. And I'll write this is my wristwatch. And I'll write the Insomnia project. So I just better make it. this is my wristwatch. I'm just making a note on my agenda so I don't forget what I just said. I would write, as I put this episode up. So, yeah, so that's. That's what's in front of me every day. And I'm just gonna give you a preview of what next month's. What next month's quote is. But I will say this. The one thing that annoys me about agendas, the only thing that annoys me is they have this kind of ribbon that you can sort of bookmark the pages you need. But sometimes I need to access the calendar and the week with the calendars on one page way ahead of the pages that indicate that week, especially as we go further into the month. And I wish they had little tabs. Now, I happen to have tabs. And, you know, what do you call those pages that have stickies on them? Like, I don't remember what they're called now, but you know what I'm talking about, those sticky pages. So I've used them as tabs for every month so I can flip to the month that I need.
Thank you to everyone who listens to the Insomnia Project
so I'm going to go to February, and I'm going to tell you the quote for that month, and I haven't read it yet. And if you have the same daytimer as me, you'll know what the quote is. It's by Arthur Schopenhauer. To overcome difficulties is to experience the full delight of existence. So I don't know, Arthur, if I agree with that, but it's nice to find an interesting little quote. I had another daytimer that had quotes for every single page. What I might do, I might do this. Maybe I'll do this for the Patreons. I will do an episode where I just read those quotes because I love quotes. So maybe I'll read them and do a solo episode for the patrons. So stay tuned for that. Thank you to everyone who listens to the Insomnia Project. Of course, I love. I love hearing from our listeners, but I also love knowing that this podcast helps people relax, deal with any stresses, and hopefully sleep. I hope you're having a good week, a good month, and a good year. I wish that for everyone who listens. I've been wiggling a great deal here in the studio because I'm by myself. I find I move so much more when I'm in the studio. and I don't tend to have the moments to do the things that I would do when Amanda is talking. For example, I have lip balm here that I often will put on during the episode, and I have water that I'll often take a sip of. So if you hear me wiggling about on this episode, I apologize for that. But, it is nice to be in the studio just talking to the listeners as opposed to just having a conversation with someone. Sometimes I like to do that because I feel like I'm able to connect in a way that's different than usual episodes. Sorry, that's the top of my lip balm being snapped together. See, once again, I realize I make the sounds. I try not to make the sounds. And yet I continue to make the sounds, but there are some sounds that are relaxing. That's why a lot of people like that. MSR or, asm. Ams? Asmr. I can't remember right now. I can't remember anything, it seems. Anyways, I hope you remember to say something nice to someone and tell me what your favorite quote is. And, thank you. Of course. Until next time, we hope that you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: Jan 14, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project podcast, hosted by Marco Timpano
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation on something that is hopefully mundane enough for you to just drift off. And if you can't drift off to sleep, well, we hope that you're able to just relax and let everything else around you just drift away while you listen to our podcast. We're delighted to have you. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I will be doing this podcast episode by myself. I figured it was time for me to do a solo cast since this is the fifth episode in the. Sorry, the second episode in the fifth season. I don't know where my mind went there for a brief moment, but, anyways, nonetheless, here we are. And I'm very grateful to our listeners and everyone who's been with us for five years. And I'm grateful to those listeners who've told me that some of the ads they've been hearing have been too loud. I've tried to deal with that with the, podcast platform we're on and unfortunately, I don't get to hear all the ads that they play on our podcast because it depends on what part of the world they play in. So I've hopefully addressed that. But if you do hear something that's a bit jarring. Let me know and I will do my best to make sure you don't experience that.
Since it is the start of 2021, I figured I'd talk about my daytimer
Since it is the start of 2021, I figured I'd talk about my daytimer, my calendar, if you will. I love a calendar, as you may know. I love to write on nice paper and I love to have things written. Some people like to use their phones as schedulers or some people have other ways that they schedule. Maybe a calendar on the wall. I like a daytimer. And that's one of the things that I've always sort of gravitated towards. And this one here has, you know, that surface. I'm rubbing it now in case you're hearing that sound. It has that surface that feels almost like rubber leather, like a fake sort of softness to it, almost like what a, what a 1960s pleather couch would feel like. It has that kind of texture to the front of it. And I really, really love that. And of course when you open it up, it says, this planner belongs to you. Fill in your name and an emergency contact if they find your planner. And I once lost a planner, if you can believe it. I left it in a, a thrift store and someone went to go buy the planner or bought the planner and saw that my name was, and they called me, but we were never able to connect in order for me to get the planner from them. And so they walked away with a beautiful planner that I had bought that I never really got to use other than to put my name in it. And I guess that planner went on to lead a great life because it was the last I saw of it. And I had already purchased a new planner by the time that one was discovered. It just goes to show you that part of the, planner actually worked in that occasion for me. So I don't know if that's ever worked for any of you. I love that it has those important dates that are listed and mine has the dates, those important sort of celebratory dates for both the US and Canada. Although I wish it had, you know, the uk, Australia, Canada, all the sort of English speaking countries, that would, sort of signify what celebrations they're doing in those places. I have another podcast called Born on this Day, where we celebrate different festivals and different things and national holidays in different places every day along with celebrities who are born on that day. And I'm always kind of thrilled to find out that it's National Popcorn Day or it's Grandfather's Day in Poland and we Mention that, and we talk about famous people who are born on those days. It is not a relaxing podcast, and there is sometimes strong language in there. So I'll just forewarn you in case you're like, oh, I should check that out. but it is a fun podcast, and I host it with Amanda, who you probably remember or have heard on this podcast, as well as my friend Bill Antonio, who is, also been a guest on this podcast, and I have to have him back. I always love talking to Bill.
This episode is coming late because of a bunch of things
So I'm just flipping through my calendar, in case you're wondering, what's that, what those sounds are. It's the pages of 2021 calendar. And as I flip now, I like to be able to see the week in front of me and the month on another page. And I usually write on the month what things I have coming up, and then I'll write on the weekly, the date on that date, what things I have to accomplish. And I love the calendars, like this one, this planner that has inspirational quotes. I love a good quote. And the first one is by Maya Angelou. And it goes, you may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. So that's my January quote, and I do like that. So it's a good quote for the start of a month. And then it has a section that you can put this month's best. So there I'm writing things that come to me. And I was listening to another podcast, and one of the guests on that podcast said something that really struck me. So I wrote it here in this month's best, and I'll share it with you because it really struck me. And it says, strive for excellence, not perfection. And I thought that was really a lovely quote. And, of course, this episode's coming late. It should have aired yesterday, but I got bogged down with a bunch of things, and I wasn't able to make it happen. So I'm gonna strive for this episode to be as perfect, as excellent as I can make it, and not worry that it wasn't perfect and it didn't air, yesterday. So thank you for being patient with that.
My calendar tells me the month's priorities, things that you have to complete
So as I look on my calendar, it tells me the month's priorities, things that you have to complete in the month. So I have a few things that I want to complete. I want to do my taxes, so I have. Oh, that's my pen. I want to do my taxes so that they're ready to go. I have listened to some podcasts. I have a list of podcasts, of 30 podcasts that I need to listen to for a project that I, have kind of in the back of my mind that I'm working on as well. I have to submit something to a library system. It's a bit, tricky to explain, but basically because I've recorded an audiobook I can submit to the library system so that the more people who take out that particular book means that I will get a certain amount of credit, hopefully for that book in the form of some dollars or some accolades. I don't know exactly. So I'm looking into that for this month as well. And then it says, notes of inspiration. I've read one already. And there's a I am proud of section, which I haven't filled out yet. But I guess I'm proud of this podcast and my listeners. So I'll just put my podcast so that at least I have something filled out already for this month on my calendar. It's so. It's so interesting because, you know, you put things, or I put things in my planner, my calendar, and sometimes I don't finish it, so it has to be sort of moved over to the next day or a couple of days later. So I always look. I'm looking through last week and seeing the things that got pushed and things that maybe I didn't do. yeah, so I've got to update something that I've been working on. And, I see I have a busy day tomorrow, but my weekend seems free so far, so that makes me very happy to see that. And then on the weekly part of the calendar, it asks me what's my priority for the week. In this case, it's to finish this audiobook that I've been working on. the to do and not to do list. So that's an interesting thing. And mine involves getting my basement sorted a bit. There's some things that are in disarray that I just need to. It's not tidy up, but, you know, straighten out so that it's back to where I need it to be. And then there's a section that says I am grateful for. So it asks, what are you grateful for? And I am grateful that my toilets flush because I had two toilets that weren't flushing properly and it was such a. It was such a tricky thing because they weren't flushing. And I tried to fix one aspect of it and it wasn't working. So I replaced the cable or the. The metal hose that goes from the toilet to the wall and I replaced the part that. That flushes and all that stuff, and it would just continuously flush. And I couldn't figure what that was. And I was doing everything. Turns out it was the flapper, the little part when you flush that gets lifted up and allows the water to go run through. I only needed to replace that. And it was the least expensive of all the replacement parts that I uncovered and tried to fix with regards to my. My toilet. And now I was able to do it. And, my toilet's flush. And I'm very grateful for that. And it's so interesting because there's no greater sound than the sound of a toilet flushing when it hasn't flushed for a while, or at least haven't. Hasn't flushed properly for a while. So we would have to. We would have to constantly turn the toilet on and off from the little. The little spouty thing that is at the bottom side of the toilet. And it was. It was never fun. You're always sort of filling the toilet, flushing the toilet, and then closing that off. Because there was also a weird leak that seems to have disappeared because of this flapper thing that I fixed. I don't understand what happened. But as a result of that, I'm also grateful for my toolbox. I don't know if you have a toolbox, but it's the one thing that I sort of have stored and when I need it, I am grateful for all the tools that I have in there. I'm also grateful that I have a lumber store or a. It is a lumber store, but it's a hardware store as well. So it's a hardware lumber store. So I don't use the lumber aspect of it as much as I use the hardware aspect of it. But it's within walking distance of my home. And I just love that. I live so close to a hardware store. So I've been able to pick up tools that I've needed as I've needed them because it's so close. So I have some. I have my general wrenches, which I think everyone should have a good wrench. I have, certainly screwdrivers galore, which I think are so key, along with a drill, which of course, the drill also allows you to screw things into the wall if you need. But I think even just having a handheld screwdriver is so important. And I think a hammer is really important. I think we did an episode on a hammer and how awesome it is to have a good hammer. So if you don't have a good hammer, I really recommend getting one, because if you, if you don't. I think I did that with. Did I do that with, my friend in Stratford. I think, was the episode with a hammer. And, so when you have a good hammer, you can really. You can really make things happen, I guess, is what I'm trying to say there.
I say everyone should have a toolbox, no matter the gender
What are the other tools? There's another tool, and they're pliers, a couple of different styles of pliers. Those are the things that I would say are like your toolbox basic. And I think everyone should have a, toolbox, no matter the gender, no matter the age, no matter, you know, your proficiency when it comes to using tools. I say have a toolbox. There's so many helpful YouTube videos out there that sort of walk you through how to do things. And, I invite you to try, try before you have to call the repairman if that's something you want to do. Some people are like, that's not in any way anything I want to do. And I respect that as well. I also like to have, you know, I like to have different colored pens and pencils when I write into my daytimer. especially, like, highlighters. For me, that's so key because I'll write the important event that has to occur on that day, and I'll highlight it and it'll really stand out for me, I guess because I'm a visual person that really helps. Some people don't need that, but you, you know, I do. So that's. That's how that works. It's so funny. I was coloring in an adult coloring book, so I don't know if you've ever had one of those, but I was gifted one of those adult coloring books with an array of, colored markers. And I love those markers that it was gifted because they have two ends to it. So the one end has a very fine tip. So it can do really fine details and almost like the point of a regular pen. That's what I mean by a fine tip. The other end was really long, and it could do really big, almost like brush strokes from a paintbrush. But this was a marker, and so I could really fill in this adult coloring book very, very easily and quickly because of that end. And I used it. And I'm not one who would think that an adult coloring book would be in my toolbox, so to speak. It wouldn't be something that would resonate with me. But I found I was on this, this virtual zoom call for a while. I had a week of zoom calls. With the same. The same people organization. And we would have to sit there for hours and hours, and we were running a whole bunch of things with that group. And I found it difficult to maintain focus because my mind would drift or I would think of many other things that I needed to get done. And, you know, perhaps I would just drift sometime because what was being talked about was not sort of resonating with me, shall we say? And so Amanda said, well, you have that coloring book. Why don't you use that so that you can color but continue to listen? And so that's what I did. I pulled out this adult coloring book and I thought, okay, I'll try this. And I found my focus was a lot more keen to what was being talked about because I was coloring as I was listening. And then I would sort of put it down when I had to say something salient or when something really pressing or important was being said. And for me, that was pretty. That was pretty useful as a tool, especially as we tend to do more zooms or virtual sort of workshops, and whatnot.
When you record an audiobook, you inevitably make mistakes
So just a tip from me, I'm using a highlighter right now to color in what I have to do tomorrow. I have a few pickups to do for this book, this audiobook. And what pickups are, is when you record an audiobook, you inevitably make mistakes, just like I did there. But stuff that you and your director may not pick up when you're doing it, when you're recording on the day and they have people who listen to make sure what you say is actually on the page of the book. And if there's something that's a little out of sync or out of whack or untoward, maybe not untoward, but maybe mispronounced, they will give you a list of things you have to redo or pick up and redo. So sometimes I would forget an S at the end of a word, or I would invert two words so that it wasn't into. But, Well, that's not a good example. But it would be like, to also. Or also to would get inverted. And so I would have to redo that. So I have that to do tomorrow. That's the big thing on my day. As well as to update my websites. In, particular the one for the Insomnia project, because we got a beautiful review, or we were listed as one of the top 15 things, sleep podcasts to listen to, through an organization in the UK called the Breakout, I believe. I'm just going to check that Right now. Sorry, the breakdown. Yes, the breakdown in the UK gave us a. Ah, really lovely right up. So it's 15 night time podcasts to help you fall asleep and we're one of the 15th. So that was so wonderful and I really do appreciate that. And that was brought to my attention by Amy, our social media manager, who you've also heard on the podcast. So that's so wonderful and I'm really grateful to everyone there. I'm also grateful for features on my phone. There's certain apps that I love. What are your favorite apps? I'd love to know what your favorite apps are. I know that mine for exists. For example, there are a few apps I use consistently and constantly. Like for example, my simple calculator that's on my phone. If I didn't have my calculator, I don't know what I would do. Of course, along with all the social media apps like Instagram and Twitter, things like that. I really do love my font candy where I can take a photo and add words to it. If you've looked at our Instagram account, you would have seen me utilize that many times. There's an app called Voxer that I love where I get to sort of like a walkie talkie. So I get to talk to some friends all over the world and leave messages and they'll get back to it. Some people use an app called Marco Polo, which is a, video app. But that doesn't necessarily work for me because sometimes I don't want to be seen clearly. I want to be heard and not seen. And Voxer, I can just leave a message to my friends in Los Angeles. I have a friend in Northern Italy. I leave messages to a friend in Las Vegas. I leave messages to family in the east coast of Canada that I leave messages to and family all over the world. Really? Who will tune in? Friends in the UK who will tune in. I used it, actually. I discovered that app and we received no monies from Voxer, but I discovered that app when we were working out of town. That's me hitting my pen against a little cardboard box. when we were out of town and we were working with people from different parts of the world who if we had to call them, they would incur long distance charges. So we figured we'd just use this app and we could do a multi, person sort of, I'm in the lobby, we'll be there in 10 minutes or whatnot. And so it became sort of adapted into my daily use and then I found it so convenient and easy in particular when you're, trying to stay in touch with people. So I love my Voxer app. I have another app that is solely, I think, for my library system in Toronto, where I can take, out audiobooks with this Libby, app. It's called. I don't know if you have Libby where you are, but I'm able to listen to audiobooks and I love it. Of course, I have my podcasting app where I can listen to different podcasts. Those are the ones I use more than anything else. I also have this great little app, and there's multiple apps like this, so I'm not necessarily recommending this one. But it is a security app that you can put all your passwords in and your numbers that you need that are like, let's say, your social insurance number that you might not necessarily know offhand or have in your wallet. So it's kind of a virtual wallet. And I trust the one I have because it has a multiple authentication, authenticating sort of system. And it's really top rated. So I'm very happy with that. And the weather app, Those are the ones that I use. What are the apps that you use? I guess the single most used app I have is my alarm to wake up in the morning. I use my phone. I find that the phone has replaced watches now. Like, I don't wear a watch as often as I used to. A wristwatch that is. And I got a beautiful, wood wristwatch made of wood, if you can believe it, for Christmas. And it is just a wonderful watch. You know what I'll do is I'll take a photo of it and I'll put it up on the Instagram page, and I'll use Font Candy, that app I was telling you about. And I'll write this is my wristwatch. And I'll write the Insomnia project. So I just better make it. this is my wristwatch. I'm just making a note on my agenda so I don't forget what I just said. I would write, as I put this episode up. So, yeah, so that's. That's what's in front of me every day. And I'm just gonna give you a preview of what next month's. What next month's quote is. But I will say this. The one thing that annoys me about agendas, the only thing that annoys me is they have this kind of ribbon that you can sort of bookmark the pages you need. But sometimes I need to access the calendar and the week with the calendars on one page way ahead of the pages that indicate that week, especially as we go further into the month. And I wish they had little tabs. Now, I happen to have tabs. And, you know, what do you call those pages that have stickies on them? Like, I don't remember what they're called now, but you know what I'm talking about, those sticky pages. So I've used them as tabs for every month so I can flip to the month that I need.
Thank you to everyone who listens to the Insomnia Project
so I'm going to go to February, and I'm going to tell you the quote for that month, and I haven't read it yet. And if you have the same daytimer as me, you'll know what the quote is. It's by Arthur Schopenhauer. To overcome difficulties is to experience the full delight of existence. So I don't know, Arthur, if I agree with that, but it's nice to find an interesting little quote. I had another daytimer that had quotes for every single page. What I might do, I might do this. Maybe I'll do this for the Patreons. I will do an episode where I just read those quotes because I love quotes. So maybe I'll read them and do a solo episode for the patrons. So stay tuned for that. Thank you to everyone who listens to the Insomnia Project. Of course, I love. I love hearing from our listeners, but I also love knowing that this podcast helps people relax, deal with any stresses, and hopefully sleep. I hope you're having a good week, a good month, and a good year. I wish that for everyone who listens. I've been wiggling a great deal here in the studio because I'm by myself. I find I move so much more when I'm in the studio. and I don't tend to have the moments to do the things that I would do when Amanda is talking. For example, I have lip balm here that I often will put on during the episode, and I have water that I'll often take a sip of. So if you hear me wiggling about on this episode, I apologize for that. But, it is nice to be in the studio just talking to the listeners as opposed to just having a conversation with someone. Sometimes I like to do that because I feel like I'm able to connect in a way that's different than usual episodes. Sorry, that's the top of my lip balm being snapped together. See, once again, I realize I make the sounds. I try not to make the sounds. And yet I continue to make the sounds, but there are some sounds that are relaxing. That's why a lot of people like that. MSR or, asm. Ams? Asmr. I can't remember right now. I can't remember anything, it seems. Anyways, I hope you remember to say something nice to someone and tell me what your favorite quote is. And, thank you. Of course. Until next time, we hope that you were able to listen and sleep.
Belts, Hats and Painter's Tape
9original airdate: January 20, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about mundane topics to help you sort of ease into your day or ease into your night. Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I
>> Amanda Barker: am joining him today.
Amanda Barker: I like a wide, stretchy belt
Once again, this is Amanda Barker speaking.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, Amanda, I wanted to ask you about your belts.
>> Amanda Barker: My belts?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, your belts.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, Marco, I never know what we're going to talk about.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Last night I asked you and, you had given me a bevy of topics.
>> Marco Timpano: Indeed.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember belts being on there.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I just figured we'd start with belts and then see where that takes us.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, what makes a good belt for you?
>> Amanda Barker: I like a wide, stretchy belt.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So I think that would determine the. What the belt is made of too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I like a. I like a stretchy belt. I don't like a belt that is dependent on belt loops. So I don't tend to wear them if I have jeans on. Sometimes I'll wear one if I have black pants or gray pants on. But generally speaking, I like a wide, stretchy belt because I wear black tank tops most days.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And so I will put the stretchy belt between where the tank top meets the pants and then a cardigan or sweater on top of that. That's my norm.
>> Marco Timpano: So you don't have belts that have belt loops in it, Is that correct?
>> Amanda Barker: well, you mean pants. I don't have pants that have belt loops.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I thought you meant the belts didn't have belt loops. You're talking about belts.
>> Amanda Barker: No, the belt goes through the belt loops.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So you don't have many pants that have the belt loops.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I have jeans. All jeans have them, I think. Or a lot of jeans. I shouldn't say all, but a lot have them. But I don't tend to use them now.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Whereas you would use them. You have leather belts and you put them. You're more normal.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I only really get big, wide, stretchy belts and use them to make the outfit connect. But again, it's because I wear black tank tops every day.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a color of belt that you enjoy or is it a multicolored? Depends on what you wear.
>> Amanda Barker: Brown or black? Oh, I have brown and black. And I have black. And I really should get a new one because they're all kind of dog eared at this point.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I do. That's what I tend to go with. I like a big, wide belt. I'm apple shaped. So for me, I think I use a belt to try and define my waist.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what I use them for.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
Where do you hang your belts and your hats in your closet
>> Marco Timpano: I guess the next follow up question would be where do you hang your belts? Or do you hang your belts?
>> Amanda Barker: You made me a belt hanger, so maybe this means we should talk about my closet a little more.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I think we've visited your closet before.
>> Amanda Barker: We have. Many times.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's go back.
>> Amanda Barker: You made me a belt hanger. So it's got little pegs in it. And I put the belts. I loop the belts around them. So I click them together.
>> Marco Timpano: you click them together?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know you Clicked them together.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Otherwise they'll fall.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Because they're wide. Right. and then I just loop them around, the little hooks next to, the hanger hook, which is a really great closet invention that you came up with, which for anyone. I don't think we've talked about it, but basically. Mark, open.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know what you're talking about.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you do. Okay, well you will. there's two. You put two prodding. They're not hooks because they're long, but two poles, little poles, like the size of my hand, each next to each other in the closet next to where my belts are. And that's where we put hangers that are not in use.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yes. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So you know, you have hangers and then you have hangers that are not in use. My closet's quite full. So is yours sometimes more full than not? So, that's where we put our hangers. So they're not sort of floating around or, or getting lost in the rest of the clothing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I just found some long hooks that I think are to support other things. So they're like for your garage or for your tool shed. So you hook things on there. So they're quite sturdy. And because we had hangers everywhere, I said, why don't we just hangers we're not using place here, so we know where there are. So when we need a hanger, we just grab them from there and they're not buried amongst our clothes. And it seems to have worked out really nicely.
>> Amanda Barker: I enjoy it because then I know, okay, I have five empty hangers, so I'll double up these pants, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you double your pants on hangers?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I have to.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness. Well, I guess because my pants would not be supported by one hanger, they'd break.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't double your pants.
>> Marco Timpano: Never.
>> Amanda Barker: But you also hang all your jeans, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I do hang my jeans.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't hang my jeans because I have that awesome shelf in there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: That has a section for jeans.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't hang.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't have that awesome shelf for jeans, so I have to hang them.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's fair to say I have more clothes than you.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true, it's true.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sorry, what about hats?
>> Marco Timpano: So if we go from belts to
>> Amanda Barker: hats, I have a lot of hats and I'm actually not sure what to do about them, because I don't
>> Marco Timpano: really see them anymore. They're out of sight.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they're out of sight, but I still have them. So my hats are in a few different sections. First off, we should say that over where we hang the hangers and the belts, there's a little ledge and you put nails on that ledge, a little beam or something. And the hats hang there in our closet. So those are your hats that are hanging there in the closet?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they are, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But, I have beach hats that I love. I have too many of them though, because anytime I went to a clothing swap, I would grab one if I saw a good one, and now I just have too many. So I probably have about five or six, maybe 10, I don't know, beach hats. so I kind of stack those. But I inherited. And I can't be the only one out there who has inherited hats. But my next door neighbor Ruth, who I love very much, she had a collection of hats when it was trendy to wear them. So from the 1940s to about the 1960s, 70s, chapeaus, if you will. I mean, if I will, but I will. Pillbox hats and, you know, hats that she would wear on occasions. we don't wear hats to church the way they do in England or to weddings usually, but I think there was a time when people did. So anyway, I have all these lovely hats and, you know, they lose their form over time. You think you're going to wear them or that they're cool to have and then you don't wear them.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And they just sit in a hat box, which is where they are now. I probably have about 10 of those as well.
What makes a good beach hat? Um, I like a wide brim
>> Marco Timpano: What makes a good beach hat?
>> Amanda Barker: I like a beach hat that has a wide brim or doesn't have to be super wide, but wide enough that it'll afford some coverage while you're strolling around in the sun.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But also not so wide that it's just like a walking hat coming toward you.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. Like you don't want a sombrero type.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I have some that have wide brims, but when you're traveling, you don't want a hat that's going to take up a lot of your luggage or you wear it. But again, you don't want to wear a massive, huge hat on a plane or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So, or a train or whatever. So for me, I like a mid sized sort of hat, but if it has a bit of extra coverage, that's nice. I like a woven hat, like a rattan kind of material, because I like the breathability that that affords. I see when you put it on your face when you're lying in the sand. That kind of thing. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting because I don't really have a beach hat. I've kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: You wear mine, and mine have little bows and tassels and things. But you have no problem wearing them.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, when I'm on the beach and I need a hat, I'll just grab the closest thing to me. I generally will wear it when I'm lying on the mat or on the towel, and I'll just cover my face with it.
>> Amanda Barker: There have been many times where you didn't bring a hat or glasses.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So you're wearing my stylish lady glasses. And my stylish lady hat.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. There's many pictures of me on the beach wearing your hats and gloves. Not gloves. Your hats and glasses.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God, my gloves. Imagine my little white gloves for my wedding.
>> Marco Timpano: I like to be fancy on the beach. what snacks do you like to take on the beach?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, we're going in a beach direction.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess now that I'm on the beach wearing your hat and glasses.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, at the cottage, we seem to have a lot of fruit leather. At the cot this summer. Do you remember that?
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know why. Someone bought a box of fruit leather, which I always called a fruit roll up, but I guess they don't always roll up. That was a brand that I had when I was a kid.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, strawberry. That strawberry, fruit product.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, you don't like strawberries?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't like strawberries in raw form.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: But if they're pureed into, like, a jam, I'm fine with that.
>> Marco Timpano: Into a leather.
>> Amanda Barker: Into a fine leather.
>> Marco Timpano: They're kind of. It's funny because you're talking about.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't like. My hats are leather. I like a rattan hat. But a leather strawberry, it's surprising.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny, because you don't like leather belts, but you don't mind if your fruit is leather.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's a different kind of leather. And I do have some vegan leather that's made out of mushrooms. Actually.
>> Marco Timpano: Belts.
>> Amanda Barker: not belt. I think I have a purse made of mushroom. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Vegan leather is also. Because people go, what's the difference between vegan leather and, say, a synthetic leather? Because sometimes people mistakenly call it that. But I believe true vegan leather is made from biodegradable products.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And which purse is made of mushrooms?
>> Amanda Barker: you know the blue purse that I. That drives you Crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: Probably the one that has the insert that you don't.
>> Amanda Barker: That I don't use. Yeah, I believe that's vegan in there. Now, whether it's mushrooms specifically or other products, I'm not sure.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. And what makes a good purse?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's a hard one for us. I mean, a lot of compartments so that things don't get lost, but not too many compartments that you forgot that you already have a lip balm in there or where you put that card. So it's sort of a balance.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, Right.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't want just a big open sack. Although I have quite a few that are just big open sacks. I thought we were on the beach. How do we get into places?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, okay, so then, what's the best?
>> Amanda Barker: Or strawberries.
There's very few fruits I don't like. How about you? What are some things that. Um, I'm also particular with fruit
Maybe we should talk about strawberries.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, let's talk about strawberries. Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't like strawberries.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. And I love strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: I have only ever in my life met one other person who doesn't like strawberries. I worked with her last summer. But I don't like them. They don't work for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: but I don't mind strawberry flavored things, so I don't know what that says about. I always want to like them.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. But you just don't.
>> Amanda Barker: They look great. And then I go, oh, right. I don't like them.
>> Marco Timpano: What about strawberries in a salad?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, see, that's funny, because I will. I don't have a problem with them there. It's almost like I need them to be a vegetable.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. You need them to be safe.
>> Amanda Barker: You need mango.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you don't. Mango. I thought you liked mango.
>> Amanda Barker: I do, but I like it better when it's a bit unripe. And in a salad, I don't like it. Just sitting. Eating a mango to me is like eating a ball of perfume. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: It doesn't work.
>> Amanda Barker: How about you? What are some things that.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I do like strawberries. I always have. I love cherries. And I love mango.
>> Amanda Barker: I love cherries. No, you didn't. We didn't talk about cherries. Well, I love cherries.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, fair enough. Okay, you love cherries. But I'm just saying I love all those. I love watermelon.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And, So I do like fruits. There's very few fruits I don't like.
>> Amanda Barker: You used to be more picky.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not a big fan of grapes. So much grapes don't do a thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, good. I'm glad. I bought some last year.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Amanda Barker: Keep buying them. I thought you liked them.
>> Marco Timpano: no, I don't love grapes. Sometimes I like a grape, but recently I've been eating grapes, but grapes aren't
>> Amanda Barker: for me because I'm force feeding.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you're like, there's grapes on salad. I don't mind a good grape that's on sale. I'm also particular with fruit and the time of year to eat them.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that makes sense. I mean, that's in accordance to Ayurvedic principles. You eat what's seasonal. I think sometimes we as a society, like things that are forced seasonally. Like a certain type of latte you can only get during these months. That type of thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait a minute. What lattes can you only get during? Oh, like a pumpkin spice that places off ricey.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Or gingerbread or whatever. You don't want that in June.
We have a gingerbread house waiting to be decorated for Valentine's Day
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of gingerbread, we have a gingerbread house. So I'm gonna be doing this in some way, shape or form, but we have a gingerbread house that I bought for the holiday season that I didn't have the time to put together.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think it wasn't just the time.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, fair enough. There was just a few other things. Yeah. And so it's sitting there waiting to be. Waiting to be decorated. And I think it's already made into a house. I just need to decorate it. So I think I'm gonna make it.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's. The pieces are there, but I think you have to assemble it into a house. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think this one is.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it's a pre made house.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's pre made. I think I bought.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a lazy person sitting.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, because I was like, I'm so busy. I won't have a time. I, won't have time to put the icing sugar because that's the hardest part is assembling it. So I thought I'd have the British
>> Amanda Barker: bake office taught us anything.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, definitely. so I think I'm going to make a Valentine's Day house with it. A Valentine's Day gingerbread house. Because, you know, for Valentine's Day you tend to eat things that are a little bit spicier and sweet and ginger, though it's often associated with, you know, the Christmas holidays or the winter holidays, I think it can carry over to Valentine's Day. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to make a Valentine's Day house and I'm going to put lots of hearts as decorations.
>> Amanda Barker: I'll eat all the green candies.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we won't put the green candies on.
>> Amanda Barker: Just leave the red.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you can eat the green. I'll buy some cinnamon hearts and some chocolates, and I'll incorporate that into the design.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And we'll see how it turns out. Stay tuned, folks.
>> Amanda Barker: That'll be my Valentine's Day present.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Maybe I'll put a Valentine's Day gift inside the house, and you have to smash the house to find it. What do you think of that?
>> Amanda Barker: A ring? No, we'll get married again.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, no. Nothing too fancy.
>> Amanda Barker: That's one thing. Once you are married, there's never that, oh, how is he gonna propose thing. Like, whenever there's a big event or expectation from your spouse, you don't ever. You always think, oh, is he gonna propose? Well, no, that's happened. People don't talk about that, but maybe that's just me.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you saying that people who are married want to be proposed to again?
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe. Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: No. I'm just saying when you're not married and you're with somebody and there's this expectation that it's some moment they might. You're kind of waiting for that shoe to drop. Like, is it going to happen? When's it going to happen? Unless you've just sat. Talked about it and went and bought a ring together, which a lot of couples do. So then when there's moments like that past your wedding, you have this thing of, oh, is it now? And then you realize it's already happened. So then you always go, oh, well, it can't be that, because that's already happened. Hence the gingerbread Valentine's Day Gingerbread House present.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. I'm curious. I'll start that on the 1st of February. He'll start making that. So we have it for February, so
>> Amanda Barker: it'll be nice and saggy by the time. Or hard.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, gingerbread houses generally aren't the ones that we have. That thing could last several months.
>> Amanda Barker: Pure sugar. I mean, if we had the space, we'd just keep it for next Christmas.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I don't know if I'd keep it that long.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a long time.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a long time. Plus, I like gingerbread.
>> Amanda Barker: Plus, we don't have the space, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen to me.
>> Amanda Barker: I need it for my hats.
>> Marco Timpano: You need it for your hats, okay? So from belts to hats to strawberry leather.
Let's talk about your nail polish. Sometimes I feel like the Insomnia Project
let me ask you about your nail polish.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Of which I think you have a few nail polishes hidden away, too. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Sometimes I feel like the Insomnia Project is just a chance for you to passively air your grievances on the things I own.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not true.
>> Amanda Barker: Like. Okay, I didn't know.
>> Marco Timpano: No, because you do have a lot of.
>> Amanda Barker: The way you're phrasing, you're like. So you have a lot of nail polishes. I've noticed. Okay, I do have a lot of nail polishes.
>> Marco Timpano: They don't get in my way. I never really see them. That's why I say I'm trying to make it seem like I'm, I don't know the answer.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe some hats, maybe a lot. Some would say, let's talk about your purses again and how many you own.
>> Marco Timpano: No, let's talk about your nail polish.
>> Amanda Barker: Some of it's fair.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's talk about your nail polish.
>> Amanda Barker: I, have a lot of nail polish. it was my New Year's resolution two years ago to stop spending money on getting my nails done professionally.
>> Marco Timpano: And how's that working out for you?
>> Amanda Barker: Really, really well. For the most part, I know you can do. So if you don't know about the world of nails, a, quick refresher. There's at home products, which can come in a lot of different things, but in terms of nails, you can either just have regular old nail polish, which is all I have, then you get into the next level, which is. It's called various things, but gel, acrylics. Acrylic is sort of the next level. So the in between level would be. It's commonly referred to as gel. There's a few other terms for it, but we'll leave it at that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Shellac. Sorry?
>> Marco Timpano: Shellac. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, sometimes it's called shellac. They're essentially all the same thing where it's a type of nail polish that gets sealed by an overcoat, and the UV light seals in the color so it doesn't chip. Not to the same degree, certainly. It's kind of like paint that lives on your nails until you get it. You have to get a special chemical to get it off.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And then the next level would be fake nails, and those would be your acrylics and everything else.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: There's other products in there, but, those are the three levels, basically.
>> Marco Timpano: Got it.
>> Amanda Barker: So for me, I don't do gel at home. I have friends that do. I just don't. I don't have the time, and I don't want to get into that.
>> Marco Timpano: They take longer to dry.
>> Amanda Barker: You need to have the whole UV light machine at home and the special sealant. I just don't want to hold on to all that. Instead, I take up that space with just regular nail polish. So I have just regular nail polish at home. And so two years ago, I stopped doing shellac, ah, in the, boutique or whatever, salon, and I just started doing it at home. So it doesn't last nearly as long. On your toes, it can last, but on your fingers that you use all the time, it's not going to last more than a few days, but that's okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And do you. Do fingers and toes match? Generally speaking, I do. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm very Virgo when it comes to that.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't even do the one. One nail a different color. I just. I can't.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not for you.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not for me. I used to get into designs and stuff a little bit. I dabbled in little, you know, stickers and designs, but for the most part, I just like a solid color. Keep it simple and I'll put it on. But I don't tend to put as much on my fingers these days.
>> Marco Timpano: Is color determined by mood or time of year?
>> Amanda Barker: Both, but usually time of year. So I will tend to go richer and darker in the winter months, and then I'll go a little lighter. The light pinks and so on, or the bright oranges for summer, that type of thing. But I do have a lot. I probably have, I don't know, maybe 25.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: 30. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know.
>> Amanda Barker: But I'm part of a, subscription service that sends me makeup. And so a lot in the last two years have been from there, which is fine. I enjoy a new nail polish color.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, what time of year is the French manicure suited for?
>> Amanda Barker: French manicure is too fussy for. I've done it myself, but for me, it's just too fussy to be bothered with. But that would be a springy, summery thing, I think. I mean, I'm sure many would argue you could have a French manicure anytime.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
I used to have a roommate who taught me how to do French manicures
>> Amanda Barker: I used to have a roommate way back in, it would have been in 1999, I think, maybe the year 2000 anyway. And, yeah, 1999, I had a roommate who was from Costa Rica, and, she taught me how to do a French manicure to myself. She would do that to herself all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. What's the secret?
>> Amanda Barker: The secret is having something that you can. Like that you can use. Like, you know, how you use Frog tape to paint or masking tape to paint so that when you paint over, it goes onto the tape and then you pull the tape off. You need something like that for your nail so you have a nice straight white line.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And would it be a frog tape or a special kind of tape or is it.
>> Amanda Barker: You could, but really it's probably going to be, I don't know, some other kind of thing that you put over. There's little tools you can buy. For me, I just would. I had a little wooden peg that I would use, but again, I haven't done this in years.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Maybe it's time to revisit the French.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm good. It's too much work.
>> Marco Timpano: Frog tape, for anyone listening, is a brand of tape that is green, but you'll often see painter's tape, as it's referred to in blues or greens. So that when you paint you can recognize where the tape is unless you're using those colors, which aren't generally colors people use. People generally don't use a neon green or a green screen color, green, to paint with. So it's easier. but because a lot of them are green. I guess a company called it frog tape and there you have it. And that's. And that's the origins, I guess, of that, of that product.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it's because the green.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah. Because they're generally blue or green.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So. And unlike masking tape, which was used before this tape came out, it's not as, the adhesive isn't as strong.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's very light tape. Yeah, it peels right off.
>> Marco Timpano: It's light, but it can still stay on the wall. Like it. It's still strong enough so that when you paint over it, it won't come off. Although there is different degrees of adhesive strength that you can get for your painter's tape.
>> Marco Timpano: And ah, I have quite a supply of painter's tape. Speaking of supplies, in my tool area, I've got at least four different painter's tape. I use them depending on the season. I'll use different colors of painter's tape.
>> Amanda Barker: Really? No, they're like your nails.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what I was trying to compare them to. But I do have the green.
>> Amanda Barker: In November you go with a rich brown for Valentine's Day. A bright red.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly, exactly. Bright red. Painter's tape would be wise. I haven't seen that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it would be wise.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because, you definitely see it. Right. I know that they put pink in the paint for your ceiling.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Your ceiling paint, There's a product that has a pink color to it, and when it dries, it dries white so that you can see where you've painted. Because if you're painting a ceiling that's already white, it's often hard to see what you've gone over, because white on white. But when you do pink on white and it dries white, it makes your painting job of the ceiling so much easier.
>> Amanda Barker: That's fascinating.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we'll end it there with a fascinating ceiling paint note. I hope.
This episode had you relaxing, maybe even drifting off to sleep
this episode had you relaxing, maybe even drifting off to sleep. Thank you for listening. I'm Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: And we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
9original airdate: January 20, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about mundane topics to help you sort of ease into your day or ease into your night. Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I
>> Amanda Barker: am joining him today.
Amanda Barker: I like a wide, stretchy belt
Once again, this is Amanda Barker speaking.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, Amanda, I wanted to ask you about your belts.
>> Amanda Barker: My belts?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, your belts.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, Marco, I never know what we're going to talk about.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Last night I asked you and, you had given me a bevy of topics.
>> Marco Timpano: Indeed.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember belts being on there.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I just figured we'd start with belts and then see where that takes us.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, what makes a good belt for you?
>> Amanda Barker: I like a wide, stretchy belt.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So I think that would determine the. What the belt is made of too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I like a. I like a stretchy belt. I don't like a belt that is dependent on belt loops. So I don't tend to wear them if I have jeans on. Sometimes I'll wear one if I have black pants or gray pants on. But generally speaking, I like a wide, stretchy belt because I wear black tank tops most days.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And so I will put the stretchy belt between where the tank top meets the pants and then a cardigan or sweater on top of that. That's my norm.
>> Marco Timpano: So you don't have belts that have belt loops in it, Is that correct?
>> Amanda Barker: well, you mean pants. I don't have pants that have belt loops.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I thought you meant the belts didn't have belt loops. You're talking about belts.
>> Amanda Barker: No, the belt goes through the belt loops.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So you don't have many pants that have the belt loops.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I have jeans. All jeans have them, I think. Or a lot of jeans. I shouldn't say all, but a lot have them. But I don't tend to use them now.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Whereas you would use them. You have leather belts and you put them. You're more normal.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I only really get big, wide, stretchy belts and use them to make the outfit connect. But again, it's because I wear black tank tops every day.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a color of belt that you enjoy or is it a multicolored? Depends on what you wear.
>> Amanda Barker: Brown or black? Oh, I have brown and black. And I have black. And I really should get a new one because they're all kind of dog eared at this point.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I do. That's what I tend to go with. I like a big, wide belt. I'm apple shaped. So for me, I think I use a belt to try and define my waist.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what I use them for.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
Where do you hang your belts and your hats in your closet
>> Marco Timpano: I guess the next follow up question would be where do you hang your belts? Or do you hang your belts?
>> Amanda Barker: You made me a belt hanger, so maybe this means we should talk about my closet a little more.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I think we've visited your closet before.
>> Amanda Barker: We have. Many times.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's go back.
>> Amanda Barker: You made me a belt hanger. So it's got little pegs in it. And I put the belts. I loop the belts around them. So I click them together.
>> Marco Timpano: you click them together?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know you Clicked them together.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Otherwise they'll fall.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Because they're wide. Right. and then I just loop them around, the little hooks next to, the hanger hook, which is a really great closet invention that you came up with, which for anyone. I don't think we've talked about it, but basically. Mark, open.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know what you're talking about.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you do. Okay, well you will. there's two. You put two prodding. They're not hooks because they're long, but two poles, little poles, like the size of my hand, each next to each other in the closet next to where my belts are. And that's where we put hangers that are not in use.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yes. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So you know, you have hangers and then you have hangers that are not in use. My closet's quite full. So is yours sometimes more full than not? So, that's where we put our hangers. So they're not sort of floating around or, or getting lost in the rest of the clothing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I just found some long hooks that I think are to support other things. So they're like for your garage or for your tool shed. So you hook things on there. So they're quite sturdy. And because we had hangers everywhere, I said, why don't we just hangers we're not using place here, so we know where there are. So when we need a hanger, we just grab them from there and they're not buried amongst our clothes. And it seems to have worked out really nicely.
>> Amanda Barker: I enjoy it because then I know, okay, I have five empty hangers, so I'll double up these pants, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you double your pants on hangers?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I have to.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness. Well, I guess because my pants would not be supported by one hanger, they'd break.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't double your pants.
>> Marco Timpano: Never.
>> Amanda Barker: But you also hang all your jeans, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I do hang my jeans.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't hang my jeans because I have that awesome shelf in there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: That has a section for jeans.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't hang.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't have that awesome shelf for jeans, so I have to hang them.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's fair to say I have more clothes than you.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true, it's true.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm sorry, what about hats?
>> Marco Timpano: So if we go from belts to
>> Amanda Barker: hats, I have a lot of hats and I'm actually not sure what to do about them, because I don't
>> Marco Timpano: really see them anymore. They're out of sight.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they're out of sight, but I still have them. So my hats are in a few different sections. First off, we should say that over where we hang the hangers and the belts, there's a little ledge and you put nails on that ledge, a little beam or something. And the hats hang there in our closet. So those are your hats that are hanging there in the closet?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they are, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But, I have beach hats that I love. I have too many of them though, because anytime I went to a clothing swap, I would grab one if I saw a good one, and now I just have too many. So I probably have about five or six, maybe 10, I don't know, beach hats. so I kind of stack those. But I inherited. And I can't be the only one out there who has inherited hats. But my next door neighbor Ruth, who I love very much, she had a collection of hats when it was trendy to wear them. So from the 1940s to about the 1960s, 70s, chapeaus, if you will. I mean, if I will, but I will. Pillbox hats and, you know, hats that she would wear on occasions. we don't wear hats to church the way they do in England or to weddings usually, but I think there was a time when people did. So anyway, I have all these lovely hats and, you know, they lose their form over time. You think you're going to wear them or that they're cool to have and then you don't wear them.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And they just sit in a hat box, which is where they are now. I probably have about 10 of those as well.
What makes a good beach hat? Um, I like a wide brim
>> Marco Timpano: What makes a good beach hat?
>> Amanda Barker: I like a beach hat that has a wide brim or doesn't have to be super wide, but wide enough that it'll afford some coverage while you're strolling around in the sun.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But also not so wide that it's just like a walking hat coming toward you.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. Like you don't want a sombrero type.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I have some that have wide brims, but when you're traveling, you don't want a hat that's going to take up a lot of your luggage or you wear it. But again, you don't want to wear a massive, huge hat on a plane or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So, or a train or whatever. So for me, I like a mid sized sort of hat, but if it has a bit of extra coverage, that's nice. I like a woven hat, like a rattan kind of material, because I like the breathability that that affords. I see when you put it on your face when you're lying in the sand. That kind of thing. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting because I don't really have a beach hat. I've kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: You wear mine, and mine have little bows and tassels and things. But you have no problem wearing them.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, when I'm on the beach and I need a hat, I'll just grab the closest thing to me. I generally will wear it when I'm lying on the mat or on the towel, and I'll just cover my face with it.
>> Amanda Barker: There have been many times where you didn't bring a hat or glasses.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So you're wearing my stylish lady glasses. And my stylish lady hat.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. There's many pictures of me on the beach wearing your hats and gloves. Not gloves. Your hats and glasses.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my God, my gloves. Imagine my little white gloves for my wedding.
>> Marco Timpano: I like to be fancy on the beach. what snacks do you like to take on the beach?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, we're going in a beach direction.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess now that I'm on the beach wearing your hat and glasses.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, at the cottage, we seem to have a lot of fruit leather. At the cot this summer. Do you remember that?
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know why. Someone bought a box of fruit leather, which I always called a fruit roll up, but I guess they don't always roll up. That was a brand that I had when I was a kid.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, strawberry. That strawberry, fruit product.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, you don't like strawberries?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't like strawberries in raw form.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: But if they're pureed into, like, a jam, I'm fine with that.
>> Marco Timpano: Into a leather.
>> Amanda Barker: Into a fine leather.
>> Marco Timpano: They're kind of. It's funny because you're talking about.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't like. My hats are leather. I like a rattan hat. But a leather strawberry, it's surprising.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny, because you don't like leather belts, but you don't mind if your fruit is leather.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's a different kind of leather. And I do have some vegan leather that's made out of mushrooms. Actually.
>> Marco Timpano: Belts.
>> Amanda Barker: not belt. I think I have a purse made of mushroom. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Vegan leather is also. Because people go, what's the difference between vegan leather and, say, a synthetic leather? Because sometimes people mistakenly call it that. But I believe true vegan leather is made from biodegradable products.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And which purse is made of mushrooms?
>> Amanda Barker: you know the blue purse that I. That drives you Crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: Probably the one that has the insert that you don't.
>> Amanda Barker: That I don't use. Yeah, I believe that's vegan in there. Now, whether it's mushrooms specifically or other products, I'm not sure.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. And what makes a good purse?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's a hard one for us. I mean, a lot of compartments so that things don't get lost, but not too many compartments that you forgot that you already have a lip balm in there or where you put that card. So it's sort of a balance.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, Right.
>> Amanda Barker: You don't want just a big open sack. Although I have quite a few that are just big open sacks. I thought we were on the beach. How do we get into places?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, okay, so then, what's the best?
>> Amanda Barker: Or strawberries.
There's very few fruits I don't like. How about you? What are some things that. Um, I'm also particular with fruit
Maybe we should talk about strawberries.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, let's talk about strawberries. Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't like strawberries.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. And I love strawberries.
>> Amanda Barker: I have only ever in my life met one other person who doesn't like strawberries. I worked with her last summer. But I don't like them. They don't work for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: but I don't mind strawberry flavored things, so I don't know what that says about. I always want to like them.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. But you just don't.
>> Amanda Barker: They look great. And then I go, oh, right. I don't like them.
>> Marco Timpano: What about strawberries in a salad?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, see, that's funny, because I will. I don't have a problem with them there. It's almost like I need them to be a vegetable.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. You need them to be safe.
>> Amanda Barker: You need mango.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you don't. Mango. I thought you liked mango.
>> Amanda Barker: I do, but I like it better when it's a bit unripe. And in a salad, I don't like it. Just sitting. Eating a mango to me is like eating a ball of perfume. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: It doesn't work.
>> Amanda Barker: How about you? What are some things that.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I do like strawberries. I always have. I love cherries. And I love mango.
>> Amanda Barker: I love cherries. No, you didn't. We didn't talk about cherries. Well, I love cherries.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, fair enough. Okay, you love cherries. But I'm just saying I love all those. I love watermelon.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And, So I do like fruits. There's very few fruits I don't like.
>> Amanda Barker: You used to be more picky.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not a big fan of grapes. So much grapes don't do a thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, good. I'm glad. I bought some last year.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Amanda Barker: Keep buying them. I thought you liked them.
>> Marco Timpano: no, I don't love grapes. Sometimes I like a grape, but recently I've been eating grapes, but grapes aren't
>> Amanda Barker: for me because I'm force feeding.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you're like, there's grapes on salad. I don't mind a good grape that's on sale. I'm also particular with fruit and the time of year to eat them.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that makes sense. I mean, that's in accordance to Ayurvedic principles. You eat what's seasonal. I think sometimes we as a society, like things that are forced seasonally. Like a certain type of latte you can only get during these months. That type of thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait a minute. What lattes can you only get during? Oh, like a pumpkin spice that places off ricey.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Or gingerbread or whatever. You don't want that in June.
We have a gingerbread house waiting to be decorated for Valentine's Day
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of gingerbread, we have a gingerbread house. So I'm gonna be doing this in some way, shape or form, but we have a gingerbread house that I bought for the holiday season that I didn't have the time to put together.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think it wasn't just the time.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, fair enough. There was just a few other things. Yeah. And so it's sitting there waiting to be. Waiting to be decorated. And I think it's already made into a house. I just need to decorate it. So I think I'm gonna make it.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's. The pieces are there, but I think you have to assemble it into a house. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think this one is.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it's a pre made house.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's pre made. I think I bought.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a lazy person sitting.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, because I was like, I'm so busy. I won't have a time. I, won't have time to put the icing sugar because that's the hardest part is assembling it. So I thought I'd have the British
>> Amanda Barker: bake office taught us anything.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, definitely. so I think I'm going to make a Valentine's Day house with it. A Valentine's Day gingerbread house. Because, you know, for Valentine's Day you tend to eat things that are a little bit spicier and sweet and ginger, though it's often associated with, you know, the Christmas holidays or the winter holidays, I think it can carry over to Valentine's Day. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to make a Valentine's Day house and I'm going to put lots of hearts as decorations.
>> Amanda Barker: I'll eat all the green candies.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we won't put the green candies on.
>> Amanda Barker: Just leave the red.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you can eat the green. I'll buy some cinnamon hearts and some chocolates, and I'll incorporate that into the design.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And we'll see how it turns out. Stay tuned, folks.
>> Amanda Barker: That'll be my Valentine's Day present.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Maybe I'll put a Valentine's Day gift inside the house, and you have to smash the house to find it. What do you think of that?
>> Amanda Barker: A ring? No, we'll get married again.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, no. Nothing too fancy.
>> Amanda Barker: That's one thing. Once you are married, there's never that, oh, how is he gonna propose thing. Like, whenever there's a big event or expectation from your spouse, you don't ever. You always think, oh, is he gonna propose? Well, no, that's happened. People don't talk about that, but maybe that's just me.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you saying that people who are married want to be proposed to again?
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe. Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: No. I'm just saying when you're not married and you're with somebody and there's this expectation that it's some moment they might. You're kind of waiting for that shoe to drop. Like, is it going to happen? When's it going to happen? Unless you've just sat. Talked about it and went and bought a ring together, which a lot of couples do. So then when there's moments like that past your wedding, you have this thing of, oh, is it now? And then you realize it's already happened. So then you always go, oh, well, it can't be that, because that's already happened. Hence the gingerbread Valentine's Day Gingerbread House present.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. I'm curious. I'll start that on the 1st of February. He'll start making that. So we have it for February, so
>> Amanda Barker: it'll be nice and saggy by the time. Or hard.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, gingerbread houses generally aren't the ones that we have. That thing could last several months.
>> Amanda Barker: Pure sugar. I mean, if we had the space, we'd just keep it for next Christmas.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I don't know if I'd keep it that long.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a long time.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a long time. Plus, I like gingerbread.
>> Amanda Barker: Plus, we don't have the space, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen to me.
>> Amanda Barker: I need it for my hats.
>> Marco Timpano: You need it for your hats, okay? So from belts to hats to strawberry leather.
Let's talk about your nail polish. Sometimes I feel like the Insomnia Project
let me ask you about your nail polish.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Of which I think you have a few nail polishes hidden away, too. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Sometimes I feel like the Insomnia Project is just a chance for you to passively air your grievances on the things I own.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not true.
>> Amanda Barker: Like. Okay, I didn't know.
>> Marco Timpano: No, because you do have a lot of.
>> Amanda Barker: The way you're phrasing, you're like. So you have a lot of nail polishes. I've noticed. Okay, I do have a lot of nail polishes.
>> Marco Timpano: They don't get in my way. I never really see them. That's why I say I'm trying to make it seem like I'm, I don't know the answer.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe some hats, maybe a lot. Some would say, let's talk about your purses again and how many you own.
>> Marco Timpano: No, let's talk about your nail polish.
>> Amanda Barker: Some of it's fair.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's talk about your nail polish.
>> Amanda Barker: I, have a lot of nail polish. it was my New Year's resolution two years ago to stop spending money on getting my nails done professionally.
>> Marco Timpano: And how's that working out for you?
>> Amanda Barker: Really, really well. For the most part, I know you can do. So if you don't know about the world of nails, a, quick refresher. There's at home products, which can come in a lot of different things, but in terms of nails, you can either just have regular old nail polish, which is all I have, then you get into the next level, which is. It's called various things, but gel, acrylics. Acrylic is sort of the next level. So the in between level would be. It's commonly referred to as gel. There's a few other terms for it, but we'll leave it at that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Shellac. Sorry?
>> Marco Timpano: Shellac. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, sometimes it's called shellac. They're essentially all the same thing where it's a type of nail polish that gets sealed by an overcoat, and the UV light seals in the color so it doesn't chip. Not to the same degree, certainly. It's kind of like paint that lives on your nails until you get it. You have to get a special chemical to get it off.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And then the next level would be fake nails, and those would be your acrylics and everything else.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: There's other products in there, but, those are the three levels, basically.
>> Marco Timpano: Got it.
>> Amanda Barker: So for me, I don't do gel at home. I have friends that do. I just don't. I don't have the time, and I don't want to get into that.
>> Marco Timpano: They take longer to dry.
>> Amanda Barker: You need to have the whole UV light machine at home and the special sealant. I just don't want to hold on to all that. Instead, I take up that space with just regular nail polish. So I have just regular nail polish at home. And so two years ago, I stopped doing shellac, ah, in the, boutique or whatever, salon, and I just started doing it at home. So it doesn't last nearly as long. On your toes, it can last, but on your fingers that you use all the time, it's not going to last more than a few days, but that's okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And do you. Do fingers and toes match? Generally speaking, I do. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm very Virgo when it comes to that.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't even do the one. One nail a different color. I just. I can't.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not for you.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not for me. I used to get into designs and stuff a little bit. I dabbled in little, you know, stickers and designs, but for the most part, I just like a solid color. Keep it simple and I'll put it on. But I don't tend to put as much on my fingers these days.
>> Marco Timpano: Is color determined by mood or time of year?
>> Amanda Barker: Both, but usually time of year. So I will tend to go richer and darker in the winter months, and then I'll go a little lighter. The light pinks and so on, or the bright oranges for summer, that type of thing. But I do have a lot. I probably have, I don't know, maybe 25.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: 30. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know.
>> Amanda Barker: But I'm part of a, subscription service that sends me makeup. And so a lot in the last two years have been from there, which is fine. I enjoy a new nail polish color.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, what time of year is the French manicure suited for?
>> Amanda Barker: French manicure is too fussy for. I've done it myself, but for me, it's just too fussy to be bothered with. But that would be a springy, summery thing, I think. I mean, I'm sure many would argue you could have a French manicure anytime.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
I used to have a roommate who taught me how to do French manicures
>> Amanda Barker: I used to have a roommate way back in, it would have been in 1999, I think, maybe the year 2000 anyway. And, yeah, 1999, I had a roommate who was from Costa Rica, and, she taught me how to do a French manicure to myself. She would do that to herself all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. What's the secret?
>> Amanda Barker: The secret is having something that you can. Like that you can use. Like, you know, how you use Frog tape to paint or masking tape to paint so that when you paint over, it goes onto the tape and then you pull the tape off. You need something like that for your nail so you have a nice straight white line.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And would it be a frog tape or a special kind of tape or is it.
>> Amanda Barker: You could, but really it's probably going to be, I don't know, some other kind of thing that you put over. There's little tools you can buy. For me, I just would. I had a little wooden peg that I would use, but again, I haven't done this in years.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Maybe it's time to revisit the French.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm good. It's too much work.
>> Marco Timpano: Frog tape, for anyone listening, is a brand of tape that is green, but you'll often see painter's tape, as it's referred to in blues or greens. So that when you paint you can recognize where the tape is unless you're using those colors, which aren't generally colors people use. People generally don't use a neon green or a green screen color, green, to paint with. So it's easier. but because a lot of them are green. I guess a company called it frog tape and there you have it. And that's. And that's the origins, I guess, of that, of that product.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it's because the green.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah. Because they're generally blue or green.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So. And unlike masking tape, which was used before this tape came out, it's not as, the adhesive isn't as strong.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's very light tape. Yeah, it peels right off.
>> Marco Timpano: It's light, but it can still stay on the wall. Like it. It's still strong enough so that when you paint over it, it won't come off. Although there is different degrees of adhesive strength that you can get for your painter's tape.
>> Marco Timpano: And ah, I have quite a supply of painter's tape. Speaking of supplies, in my tool area, I've got at least four different painter's tape. I use them depending on the season. I'll use different colors of painter's tape.
>> Amanda Barker: Really? No, they're like your nails.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what I was trying to compare them to. But I do have the green.
>> Amanda Barker: In November you go with a rich brown for Valentine's Day. A bright red.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly, exactly. Bright red. Painter's tape would be wise. I haven't seen that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it would be wise.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because, you definitely see it. Right. I know that they put pink in the paint for your ceiling.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Your ceiling paint, There's a product that has a pink color to it, and when it dries, it dries white so that you can see where you've painted. Because if you're painting a ceiling that's already white, it's often hard to see what you've gone over, because white on white. But when you do pink on white and it dries white, it makes your painting job of the ceiling so much easier.
>> Amanda Barker: That's fascinating.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we'll end it there with a fascinating ceiling paint note. I hope.
This episode had you relaxing, maybe even drifting off to sleep
this episode had you relaxing, maybe even drifting off to sleep. Thank you for listening. I'm Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: And we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Weather & Writing with guest_ Paul PK Kingston
(Original airdate: February 3, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm Marco Timpano
Foreign. Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, put your feet up, put your hands behind your head and just relax and chill as we have a calm conversation. And hopefully this will help you find your way to a restful, peaceful and possibly sleep filled part of your day. Thank you for listening. I'm your host, Marco Timpano and I have the extreme pleasure of inviting and having as my guest a good friend who I haven't seen in a while because he now lives in California. Paul P.K. Kingston. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Thanks so much for having me, Marco
>> Marco Timpano: And Paul, I'm probably going to refer to you as pk, which a lot of your friends call you. And so that's the first name that comes to mind. So I hope you don't mind if I refer to you as PK in this episode.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Of course.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic.
Pk says his interest in weather started when he was young
Now, pk, you have a love for weather.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: And I need to know more about that.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: I, would say my interest in weather probably Was first born when I was a young kid. My, family has a cottage in the northern part of Ontario. And growing up, we would spend summers there and, we have property, ah, that's just. Just on the lake. And you know, when I was very, very young, obviously, you know, as most children, are, when you hear a thunderstorm, you know, you. You get spooked by it. But, but I very quickly learned to sort of embrace the sort of beauty of a thunderstorm, and watching it like roll across a lake and being able to time out the thunder and the lightning with the distance of the storm and so on and so forth. And And yeah, over time I just. I, I think it very quickly became sort of the most soothing sound, that I could possibly think of, to the point that I just sometimes will even put on artificial soundtracks of rainstorms, just as a calming and sort of soothing thing if I need it.
Being in California, rain is fewer and far between compared to Toronto
>> Marco Timpano: Have you noticed a difference in the rain patter that you hear now that you're on the west coast versus when you were here in the northeast part of, North America?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: yeah, absolutely. yeah, I mean, I will say first off, being in California, you know, rain is a little fewer and far between.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Than it was back in Toronto. but yeah, when the. When the storms do come here, you know, it's like sometimes they. They are, you know, very, very heavy or extremely light. whereas, back in Ontario, one of the. One of the most beautiful things that I used to. I to used, find about rainstorms was just the waves of them that would come in off of Lake Ontario and. And you know, you could sort of watch the gradual increase and decrease of it. Almost as if it was like a, you know, well, coursed sort of symphony kind of thing of. Of percussion and And yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So do you watch the Weather Channel?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: I don't watch the Weather Channel, but I do have like the multiple, weather apps on my phone, so I can sort of track the kind of things that, I also spent a, good time, back when I was in my late teen years working at a summer, camp where I was a nature instructor and actually was, reading up on the weather in order to sort of teach kids how to predict weather patterns while on, canoe trips and such.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, then I need to know some of that. You know, I'll share with you, a little story. When I was a tour guide in Italy, we would be riding bikes. It was a cycle tour that I was leading and weather would be predicted for the next day. Rain, I should say, not weather, but rain was predicted, and heavy rain. And I remember talking to a friend who was, who was around a colleague, let's say. And I was like, it's supposed to rain really bad tomorrow. And she turned to me and she said, hang on, I'm going to call my friend who's a fisherman. And I was like, what? She's like, if anyone knows what the weather's going to be like tomorrow, it will be the local fishermen. And she called me back and she said, the weather's going to be fine. And I said, but all the newscasts are saying it's going to be terrible. And she was like, mark my words, it'll be fine. And sure enough, we had perfect riding weather the next day.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah, yeah. And it goes to show, you can never really underestimate the, knowledge of those who live it, you know, I mean, a, lot of, weather broadcasts are done, you know, these days by computer and data and so on and so forth. But weather really is one of the very unpredictable things that are out there, and things can shift in a matter of moments, depending, on various factors. And. And so it is one of those things where it's like, you know, learning to be able to spot patterns in weather, as opposed to relying on data, can sometimes actually be much more reliable, in regards to sort of figuring out what might be coming.
>> Marco Timpano: So what are some ways in which you learned that you can predict the weather?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: well, one. One thing that, I have, that has really, really stuck with me, for a long, long time is, you know how sometimes you'll be walking outside, it'll be a cloudy day, but then all of a sudden there will just be this yellow light. Like the sky takes on a bit of a yellowish hue that is typically the sign of an impending storm. But. Okay, but you can kind of call it the. For lack of a better term, I've often referred to it as a golden sky, because it's almost as if it's like letting everyone know with a cautionary light that it's like it's sit back, enjoy, I'm about to put on a show kind of thing, you know, and, and it's just. It's kind of cool that it, that even weather will give its own styles of warning, you know, very similar to that, you know, even one thing that I think a lot of people have a tendency to sort of see such things as, like cumulonimbus clouds. Like those are your massive, massive storm clouds. Right? The ones that go thousand, tens of thousands of feet high in the air.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: and typically what those are is actually just a culmination of your cumulus clouds, which are your standard sort of puffy white ones that we look up in the sky and we say, oh, I see a rabbit, or, oh, I see, you know, the CN Tower. or we find the imagery in those clouds, you know, but when those gather together, you know, they can create a fairly ominous looking storm cloud. But I will say this as somebody who's also traveled from above or from a distance. Those clouds can be some of the most beautiful, most majestic imagery you've ever seen. Just this towering, towering, you know, puffy, almost like a stack of whipped cream on the sky, you know, and while it may be gray and rainy underneath, I mean above, it's just pure beauty.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. You know, it's interesting, I was always told, you know, when you see certain leaves on plants, if they're flipped over and you see their underside, in other words, some of them have more of a whiter hue on the backside of the leaf. That means rain is coming.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah, no, and it's, and it is one of those things too where it's like, I mean, even stepping away from the weather itself. Plant, life is another great example of like, you know, how just nature seems to work in sync with one another. you know, whether it's animals or plants or whatever the case might be, it's like they are so in tune based on experience and instinct and, and you know, it's. To be in tune with weather patterns I just find is just like. It creates this feeling of, I don't want to go so far as to say catharsis, but it sure definitely creates, you know, a, feeling of connection, with the, with everything around you and, and yeah, seeing things like plants turning over their leaves or even simply the way that plants will naturally lean towards the source of sunlight. if, if you watch even a house plant that sits in a window on a sunny day, there is tiny incremental movements over the course of the day as it follows the sun. we used to have, flowers back when I was living in Toronto. I, was living in a house in the annex. And up the front porch we had morning glories. And I, don't know. Yes, those flowers, they're absolutely stunning. But they only bloom in the morning. And then they close up for the rest of the day because they're essentially trying to capture a mixture of moisture and sunlight at the point of the day where dew is typically rising or steam is rising or whatever the case might be. and then they close up for the remainder of the day so as to protect themselves from weather patterns. And even just seeing that sort of instinctual, nonsense, behavior. It really is fascinating.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
You mentioned Toronto's CN Tower. That is a very, very tall tower
Let me ask you this. So you've mentioned Toronto, and in case our listeners are like, what did he mean when he said the CN Tower? That's a tower that's in the middle of our. Or in right in the heart of our city. That is a very, very tall tower. It was once the tallest tower in the world. No, I think it's just the tallest self supporting tower. I could be wrong, but having said that, pk, do you miss the snow?
Paul: I do occasionally miss the snow in Southern California
Since you're not here right now and there's a bit of snow on the ground here, you're in sunny California. And if so, what do you miss from it, from a weather perspective?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: when it comes to snow? Yeah, I definitely do occasionally miss the snow. I mean, one thing that I'm sure a lot of people will make fun of me for saying is, moving to California, you sort of sacrifice, the experience of seasons.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, sure.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Every day sort of outputs very, very similar weather. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It seems, Paul, that every day in California, in Southern California is a glorious, beautiful day.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: yeah. this past week has been a little bit on the colder side, comparatively speaking. Obviously it's, not getting down to freezing temperatures, but, yeah, for the most part it's, it's, you know, generally very nice and temperate weather. but you do occasionally, you know, especially as a Canadian, I definitely find that I miss, the experience of watching snowfall or watching it slowly accumulate. And I mean, while it does come with its fair share of frustrations, be it or slush or whatever the case might be, there like, like watching one of those, like big chunky snowflake days. You know what they refer to as kissing snow?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that. I know that as like, you know, the snowflakes that land on your eyelashes and just sit there in big clumps. Yeah. Kissing snow. I love that.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, well.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: And I believe it earned its name mainly because it is just so atmospheric. Right, right, of course. And you know, whenever movies have those, like, you know, those kissing scenes, around Christmas or whatever the case might be, usually they opt for whether it is synthetic or real. Usually they're opting for the thicker sort of snowflakes. More of an impact.
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>> Paul P.K. Kingston: And and yeah, even just that name of it, I think it's just so fitting because there's a certain romance about the way that snowflakes will dance through the air. You know, especially when, before I moved from Toronto, we were living down by Lake Ontario, like right on the edge of the shore. And and with the lake effect wind that would come in, you know, sometimes you'd look out the window and it was snowing upwards. You know these.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Like we're sort of scooping up and all of a sudden heading back up into the sky. And that is actually, I think one of the cool things that people don't realize is that the size of snowflakes actually is dictated by how many times it's cycled back up into the air and refrozen and.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, kind of like hail too, right? Hail does that same sort of thing.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah, very, very similar to that. Yeah. and it's just kind of cool to think that it's just sort of like kind of creating its own snowballs in the air. You know, it's too heavy for, to suspend in the air and gravity does its job. But
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah, it's just. Yeah, I used, I did used to get lost in just sort of watching that beautiful dance.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny.
You often talk about very uniquely Canadian or you know, cold weather country
You, know we, we are fortunate we have listeners from all over the world who listen to this podcast and I'm so grateful to all my listeners. Thank you for listening once again. But I often talk about very uniquely Canadian or you know, cold weather country, things like snow. And so they hear us talk about these things in great detail. I think I had an episode where we talked about putting on hockey skates and the whole episode was talking about this, this sort of task of putting on hockey skates. But it makes me laugh because, you know, being in a cold weather climate and dealing with snow, we often have these sort of unwritten knowledge of different types of snow. So if I was to say to you, you know that snow that lands, and when you step on it with your boots, it makes a squeaky, crunching sound, you would know what that snow is that I'm talking about?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Yeah. Ah. Or the. Or the kissing snow. Or that first little bit of snow that's kind of powdery. Powdery. And it's almost like little balls. And you could just sweep it off your porch. You don't even need a shovel. It's so. It's so thin, and powdery.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Almost like dandelion puffs.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. But it always comes with a really cold snap. It's always like, oh, it's cold. And all it is is this. These little tiny balls, almost like dandelion fluff. Yeah, yeah.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Or even just the term flurries.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I love that. That term for flurries, which we use to reference, blowing gusts of snow. Correct. Is that. Is that how you would describe a flurry?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Typically, yeah. It's, blowing gusts, but also very, very small snowflakes. So it's. Right. You know, they. They can sometimes move so fast that you barely register them and turn them in the same direction.
>> Marco Timpano: And I love when that. That term, that word flurry gets taken and used in our national sport, hockey, when they talk about a flurry of pucks heading towards the goalie, you'll often hear that used. yeah, I know that because my cousin always uses flurry, flurry for anything that's happening. He's like, oh, it's like a flurry of cars were coming towards me, or. Oh, man, I was swimming. It was like a flurry of boats were driving by me. It's like, I say to my cousin, I'm like, you're always talking about flurries of things. He goes, I guess I just watched too much hockey, and it's a really funny thing. But, you know, we're talking about all this weather and this imagery, as you mentioned.
Paul Kingston has three published short stories and one upcoming novel
And that brings me to a lovely segue to the fact that Paul Kingston is a prolific writer, and you have three published short stories, and you have three books, one of which you're giving your readers in chapters right now. And, pk, the names of your short
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: stories are, There's Feast, Sweet Mary, and A Pound of the Devil's Flesh.
>> Marco Timpano: Ooh, A Pound of the Devil's Flesh. Sounds like a children's novel.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: yeah, no, it's. It's a Western, horror, which was something, that Sort of jumped out at me as a genre that's not really touched on as much as it could be.
>> Marco Timpano: Might we see some of these short stories or your novels turned into screenplays and on the screen starring both you and perhaps your lovely wife, who we've had on the podcast as well?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: that's the hope. Absolutely. obviously with this industry not keeping my fingers crossed, but yes, for sure. I hope that is the eventual result.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I wish it for you.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
>> Marco Timpano: I'd like to talk about your writing if I can.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Absolutely.
Paul has been writing short stories and novels since college
All right.
>> Marco Timpano: So what brought you to writing short stories and novels is my first question.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: yeah, so, well, similar, to yourself, I started with an acting background, and working in college comedy. we naturally, you know, quickly discover that the easiest way to get ahead in comedy is to create your own work as opposed to waiting to book something.
>> Marco Timpano: Indeed.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: And so. And so, yeah, I started, when I first moved back to Toronto from college, I very quickly, started falling into sketch writing. ah, and for those that don't know, that's ah, very, very short, comedic scenes, often slice of life humor. and, yeah, so I started working on those. And the more that I was writing sketch comedy, the more I started to realize there was a potential career in screenwriting and so on and so forth. And yeah, it was, I guess around 2015 or 2016, I was still back in Toronto and I decided I was going to write my first screenplay. I had skipped right past the idea of even considering, writing books or novels. and in the process of, writing the first few pages of my first screenplay, I very quickly, Because the scene was basically one man walking down the street by himself. And so it was, predominantly, you know, stage directions or, you know, action notations as opposed to dialogue. And looking at that as an actor, I sort of looked at it and, you know, I have a habit of being somewhat critical of myself and critical of my work and, as any Canadian does. And, I was looking over these pages and saying, you know, this. This is reading so heavy. This is almost reading like it's a novel. And then suddenly something clicked and I was like, okay, first attempt was, you know what? I'm going to try to write this out in a literary sense so that I can go back and then harvest what I need for the script, screenplay. And next thing I knew, as. As I was writing page after page after page of this opening scene, I started realizing this is not is less of an opening scene and more of a prologue. And so naturally I just sort of sat there, I sat on that probably for a couple months, maybe showed it to like one or two friends who emphatically loved it. Oh wow. And so I was just like, okay, well maybe, you know, I need to continue writing it this way to sort of see what it needs to be. And around that time, ah, a friend of mine that I was working with for a, comedic musical had actually introduced me to a website that they worked for, called wattpad.com and basically it's a, sort of, I guess you could say it's a launching pad for up and coming literary writers. And so I decided, you know what, what the heck, I'm going to load it up there, sort of see what people think, see if it gets a response. And within a month I had a couple hundred reads on the prologue and people were loving it. So I uploaded the next chapter and that got a couple hundred reads. And yeah, and it just sort of spiraled from there. And currently that first book in its completion is now sitting at Oh, the last I checked I think it was approximately 243,000 reads.
>> Marco Timpano: That's amazing. Yeah, that's Wattpad W-A T-T-P-A D.com but we'll have it in our show notes in case anybody wants to take a look at what Paul is writing.
Paul says the reach of his website has been overwhelming
That's so exciting, Paul. Isn't it just so overwhelming when you see so many people reading what you've written and how the reach that it has.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah, no, it's, it's, I'd say that's probably one of the most amazing things about that platform just in general. And I'm not trying to do a product placement, this is purely based on personal experience. But yeah, I mean the, like you said, the reach is sort of, has probably been the most astounding thing. because one of the features is that I can check in with the demographic of readers that I have and sort of get a sense of who's reading this and where, they're breeding it from. And for the most part, you know, I mean, I, I was expecting the majority of the audience to come from North America as a whole. sure. And while there are a sizable chunk of readers in Canada and the United States, one of my top three countries, for readership is Indonesia. And I never saw that coming. And, and go figure. you know, it's like it's A sizable fan base. And the other added bonus is that you get direct contact with these readers. You know, they, they have the ability to comment on the book as they're reading it, or leave little thoughts along the way. And, and it's just, it's, it's amazing because it creates sort of a connectivity to your fan base that is really sort of unprecedented in regards to the literary world.
You've written several children's books and also some short stories
>> Marco Timpano: I should mention your book titles are Goats from Lambs. Butterflies in Glass Cases, Mikaela's Monsters or Michaela's Monster rather. And then you've got some short stories as well.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So that leads me to. How do you go about finding the title for your books? Yeah, Butterflies in Glass Cases.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Butterflies in Glass Cases was a little bit more focused around like I've spent the majority of my life, in various capacities working with kids. I mentioned summer camps earlier. I've also been a youth, and teen improv and sketch comedy instructor for upwards of 11 years now. so I've, I've, I've worked with children for the majority of my life. And so I knew I wanted to write some sort of story that had to do with connection with children.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Okay.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: and this story specifically, is a little bit more derived from Celtic folklore. And essentially what it is is sort of your traditional approach of someone gets an offer to work in a remote home as sort of like au pair, if you will, or someone to help oversee the house and assist with the children. and in this story, I don't want to spoil too much of it, but in this story basically the bond between this person who has moved to this remote home and the two children who live there becomes very, very it becomes very, very strong bond between them. And there's suppositions about odd things that are happening around the home and so on and so forth. that creates some contention between this, this lead character, Patty Woodall or Patricia Woodall, who goes by Patty, and Ms. Pierre who is the matriarch of the home. anyway, long story short, there is sort of the Butterflies and Glass Cases was sort of intended to insinuate the beauty of childhood being contained by ah, stipulations and rules and so on and so forth. And it very quickly becomes a focal point for our, for the main character to want to essentially free these children of the thumbs that they're living under.
>> Marco Timpano: Interesting.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: And so that, that imagery of a butterfly in glass, a case sort of really, really jumped out at me as, as really embodying that kind of mentality. And sure enough, midway through the story there is actually a direct reference to one of the children who has a butterfly in a glass case.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. And yeah, well listen, you said to make a long story short here on the Insomnia Project we like to make short stories long. Absolutely.
Where do you get your names from when writing novels
So I'm going to take you back to that book and I'm going to say where do you get your names from? I always find it tricky to figure out when I'm writing protagonists or an antagonist's name. You've got Patty, you've got Mrs. Pierre. You've mentioned one of your books. I believe there's going to be a Michaela in it, hence the title. Where do these names come from? Where do you draw these names? And I find last names tricky.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah, no, I've used various tricks over the years. you know, because of the fact that I had like over the course of writing these three books I had lived in two cities between two countries. I did have sort of an added advantage of just searching street names. and often I'll just sort of look for off like out of the way, sort of residential street names, that jump to me that sort of speak to the voice of the character or the, or the attitude of the character. but sometimes the names just come very organically. so for instance, with Ms. Pierre, and her full name in the book is Ms. Rosalind Pierre. I just felt that the use of Miss combined with you know, the full use of Rosalind in place of Roz and then Pierre, all three of those just very. Spoke very cleanly to me as a sort of stern, approach to life or a very, you know, structured, partly because I, I, When I was in college, I was over in in Quebec, and we were living in a English speaking town surrounded by the Eastern townships which are predominantly French, very, very French speaking. And there is a lot of contention there in that regard. And, and so I knew I wanted to have some sort of French and fl. Reflection upon it because to me, and this is not meant to be a blanket statement, this is more based on my experiences while living there. it was just like no, no, when you're, you know, out amongst the locals, you, you adhere to their way of life and you try to speak French and you try to respect all that sort of thing as opposed to, you know, coming in and you know, causing a scene, as college students have a tendency to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, of course.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah. Yeah. So I knew that spoke to me in that regard, and. Yeah. but I think the biggest key to it is just sort of finding names that really sort of embody the voice. you know, if it's somebody who's going to be a little bit more relaxed, then they're probably not using the most formal version of their name.
>> Marco Timpano: fair.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting you mentioned, you know, using street names, and both PK and myself, we're skilled improvisers, and we've been improvising for many years. You teach it currently as well. And so whenever I'm doing improv in the scene, generally speaking, I have two names that I'll use, which is Franklin for male characters and Margaret for female characters. And I don't know why those names are the ones that come to me, but all my friends who I perform with always know that I use those characters. And one time we were performing in the US In Chicago and Los Angeles, and I said, I can't always use the same names. And someone said, well, why don't you use street names? So then all of a sudden, I started to have characters like Jane and Dr. Eglinton and Mrs. Kothra, and, you know, I was just using street names in my town that the people in the area where I was performing would not have, you know, realize that I'm using actual intersections.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: As people's names. Right?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: No, and it. I mean, that is a really, really great way to do that. And that is actually advice that I give, to a lot of my students is I, I tell them, you know, it's, like, don't default to the. I. I definitely have found, like, my teen students specifically have a tendency to default to the classics like Billy and J. Jimmy and those sorts of things. Right. and I just say to them, I'm just like, you know, you don't have to default to the easy names. Just give yourself five stock names that you can pull from, or as you said, go from something familiar, like street names or company names or something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's so much fun. Oh, my goodness. Well, listen, you can, find Paul's work on his website, paulpkkingston.com and that'll be on our show Notes, as well as seek, out his [email protected]. that's W a T-T-P a D dot com. Once again, you'll find that in the show notes.
Paul: 26 minutes just flew by on this Insomnia Project episode
Paul, it's been such a delight to have you. This 26 minutes just flew by.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Or should I say it? It was a flurry that came and went, and I had a great time from top to bottom.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Thank you. I did as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Great. Paul, let us know when you have more things coming out that you want our listeners to know. You're always welcome to be a guest on the Insomnia Project.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Thank you so much. Absolutely. Well.
>> Marco Timpano: And, thank you to all our listeners. We hope you enjoyed this episode. Coming from both Toronto, Canada, and Los Angeles, California, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: February 3, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm Marco Timpano
Foreign. Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, put your feet up, put your hands behind your head and just relax and chill as we have a calm conversation. And hopefully this will help you find your way to a restful, peaceful and possibly sleep filled part of your day. Thank you for listening. I'm your host, Marco Timpano and I have the extreme pleasure of inviting and having as my guest a good friend who I haven't seen in a while because he now lives in California. Paul P.K. Kingston. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Thanks so much for having me, Marco
>> Marco Timpano: And Paul, I'm probably going to refer to you as pk, which a lot of your friends call you. And so that's the first name that comes to mind. So I hope you don't mind if I refer to you as PK in this episode.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Of course.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic.
Pk says his interest in weather started when he was young
Now, pk, you have a love for weather.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: And I need to know more about that.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: I, would say my interest in weather probably Was first born when I was a young kid. My, family has a cottage in the northern part of Ontario. And growing up, we would spend summers there and, we have property, ah, that's just. Just on the lake. And you know, when I was very, very young, obviously, you know, as most children, are, when you hear a thunderstorm, you know, you. You get spooked by it. But, but I very quickly learned to sort of embrace the sort of beauty of a thunderstorm, and watching it like roll across a lake and being able to time out the thunder and the lightning with the distance of the storm and so on and so forth. And And yeah, over time I just. I, I think it very quickly became sort of the most soothing sound, that I could possibly think of, to the point that I just sometimes will even put on artificial soundtracks of rainstorms, just as a calming and sort of soothing thing if I need it.
Being in California, rain is fewer and far between compared to Toronto
>> Marco Timpano: Have you noticed a difference in the rain patter that you hear now that you're on the west coast versus when you were here in the northeast part of, North America?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: yeah, absolutely. yeah, I mean, I will say first off, being in California, you know, rain is a little fewer and far between.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Than it was back in Toronto. but yeah, when the. When the storms do come here, you know, it's like sometimes they. They are, you know, very, very heavy or extremely light. whereas, back in Ontario, one of the. One of the most beautiful things that I used to. I to used, find about rainstorms was just the waves of them that would come in off of Lake Ontario and. And you know, you could sort of watch the gradual increase and decrease of it. Almost as if it was like a, you know, well, coursed sort of symphony kind of thing of. Of percussion and And yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So do you watch the Weather Channel?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: I don't watch the Weather Channel, but I do have like the multiple, weather apps on my phone, so I can sort of track the kind of things that, I also spent a, good time, back when I was in my late teen years working at a summer, camp where I was a nature instructor and actually was, reading up on the weather in order to sort of teach kids how to predict weather patterns while on, canoe trips and such.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, then I need to know some of that. You know, I'll share with you, a little story. When I was a tour guide in Italy, we would be riding bikes. It was a cycle tour that I was leading and weather would be predicted for the next day. Rain, I should say, not weather, but rain was predicted, and heavy rain. And I remember talking to a friend who was, who was around a colleague, let's say. And I was like, it's supposed to rain really bad tomorrow. And she turned to me and she said, hang on, I'm going to call my friend who's a fisherman. And I was like, what? She's like, if anyone knows what the weather's going to be like tomorrow, it will be the local fishermen. And she called me back and she said, the weather's going to be fine. And I said, but all the newscasts are saying it's going to be terrible. And she was like, mark my words, it'll be fine. And sure enough, we had perfect riding weather the next day.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah, yeah. And it goes to show, you can never really underestimate the, knowledge of those who live it, you know, I mean, a, lot of, weather broadcasts are done, you know, these days by computer and data and so on and so forth. But weather really is one of the very unpredictable things that are out there, and things can shift in a matter of moments, depending, on various factors. And. And so it is one of those things where it's like, you know, learning to be able to spot patterns in weather, as opposed to relying on data, can sometimes actually be much more reliable, in regards to sort of figuring out what might be coming.
>> Marco Timpano: So what are some ways in which you learned that you can predict the weather?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: well, one. One thing that, I have, that has really, really stuck with me, for a long, long time is, you know how sometimes you'll be walking outside, it'll be a cloudy day, but then all of a sudden there will just be this yellow light. Like the sky takes on a bit of a yellowish hue that is typically the sign of an impending storm. But. Okay, but you can kind of call it the. For lack of a better term, I've often referred to it as a golden sky, because it's almost as if it's like letting everyone know with a cautionary light that it's like it's sit back, enjoy, I'm about to put on a show kind of thing, you know, and, and it's just. It's kind of cool that it, that even weather will give its own styles of warning, you know, very similar to that, you know, even one thing that I think a lot of people have a tendency to sort of see such things as, like cumulonimbus clouds. Like those are your massive, massive storm clouds. Right? The ones that go thousand, tens of thousands of feet high in the air.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: and typically what those are is actually just a culmination of your cumulus clouds, which are your standard sort of puffy white ones that we look up in the sky and we say, oh, I see a rabbit, or, oh, I see, you know, the CN Tower. or we find the imagery in those clouds, you know, but when those gather together, you know, they can create a fairly ominous looking storm cloud. But I will say this as somebody who's also traveled from above or from a distance. Those clouds can be some of the most beautiful, most majestic imagery you've ever seen. Just this towering, towering, you know, puffy, almost like a stack of whipped cream on the sky, you know, and while it may be gray and rainy underneath, I mean above, it's just pure beauty.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. You know, it's interesting, I was always told, you know, when you see certain leaves on plants, if they're flipped over and you see their underside, in other words, some of them have more of a whiter hue on the backside of the leaf. That means rain is coming.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah, no, and it's, and it is one of those things too where it's like, I mean, even stepping away from the weather itself. Plant, life is another great example of like, you know, how just nature seems to work in sync with one another. you know, whether it's animals or plants or whatever the case might be, it's like they are so in tune based on experience and instinct and, and you know, it's. To be in tune with weather patterns I just find is just like. It creates this feeling of, I don't want to go so far as to say catharsis, but it sure definitely creates, you know, a, feeling of connection, with the, with everything around you and, and yeah, seeing things like plants turning over their leaves or even simply the way that plants will naturally lean towards the source of sunlight. if, if you watch even a house plant that sits in a window on a sunny day, there is tiny incremental movements over the course of the day as it follows the sun. we used to have, flowers back when I was living in Toronto. I, was living in a house in the annex. And up the front porch we had morning glories. And I, don't know. Yes, those flowers, they're absolutely stunning. But they only bloom in the morning. And then they close up for the rest of the day because they're essentially trying to capture a mixture of moisture and sunlight at the point of the day where dew is typically rising or steam is rising or whatever the case might be. and then they close up for the remainder of the day so as to protect themselves from weather patterns. And even just seeing that sort of instinctual, nonsense, behavior. It really is fascinating.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
You mentioned Toronto's CN Tower. That is a very, very tall tower
Let me ask you this. So you've mentioned Toronto, and in case our listeners are like, what did he mean when he said the CN Tower? That's a tower that's in the middle of our. Or in right in the heart of our city. That is a very, very tall tower. It was once the tallest tower in the world. No, I think it's just the tallest self supporting tower. I could be wrong, but having said that, pk, do you miss the snow?
Paul: I do occasionally miss the snow in Southern California
Since you're not here right now and there's a bit of snow on the ground here, you're in sunny California. And if so, what do you miss from it, from a weather perspective?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: when it comes to snow? Yeah, I definitely do occasionally miss the snow. I mean, one thing that I'm sure a lot of people will make fun of me for saying is, moving to California, you sort of sacrifice, the experience of seasons.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, sure.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Every day sort of outputs very, very similar weather. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It seems, Paul, that every day in California, in Southern California is a glorious, beautiful day.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: yeah. this past week has been a little bit on the colder side, comparatively speaking. Obviously it's, not getting down to freezing temperatures, but, yeah, for the most part it's, it's, you know, generally very nice and temperate weather. but you do occasionally, you know, especially as a Canadian, I definitely find that I miss, the experience of watching snowfall or watching it slowly accumulate. And I mean, while it does come with its fair share of frustrations, be it or slush or whatever the case might be, there like, like watching one of those, like big chunky snowflake days. You know what they refer to as kissing snow?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that. I know that as like, you know, the snowflakes that land on your eyelashes and just sit there in big clumps. Yeah. Kissing snow. I love that.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, well.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: And I believe it earned its name mainly because it is just so atmospheric. Right, right, of course. And you know, whenever movies have those, like, you know, those kissing scenes, around Christmas or whatever the case might be, usually they opt for whether it is synthetic or real. Usually they're opting for the thicker sort of snowflakes. More of an impact.
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>> Paul P.K. Kingston: And and yeah, even just that name of it, I think it's just so fitting because there's a certain romance about the way that snowflakes will dance through the air. You know, especially when, before I moved from Toronto, we were living down by Lake Ontario, like right on the edge of the shore. And and with the lake effect wind that would come in, you know, sometimes you'd look out the window and it was snowing upwards. You know these.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Like we're sort of scooping up and all of a sudden heading back up into the sky. And that is actually, I think one of the cool things that people don't realize is that the size of snowflakes actually is dictated by how many times it's cycled back up into the air and refrozen and.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, kind of like hail too, right? Hail does that same sort of thing.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah, very, very similar to that. Yeah. and it's just kind of cool to think that it's just sort of like kind of creating its own snowballs in the air. You know, it's too heavy for, to suspend in the air and gravity does its job. But
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah, it's just. Yeah, I used, I did used to get lost in just sort of watching that beautiful dance.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny.
You often talk about very uniquely Canadian or you know, cold weather country
You, know we, we are fortunate we have listeners from all over the world who listen to this podcast and I'm so grateful to all my listeners. Thank you for listening once again. But I often talk about very uniquely Canadian or you know, cold weather country, things like snow. And so they hear us talk about these things in great detail. I think I had an episode where we talked about putting on hockey skates and the whole episode was talking about this, this sort of task of putting on hockey skates. But it makes me laugh because, you know, being in a cold weather climate and dealing with snow, we often have these sort of unwritten knowledge of different types of snow. So if I was to say to you, you know that snow that lands, and when you step on it with your boots, it makes a squeaky, crunching sound, you would know what that snow is that I'm talking about?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Yeah. Ah. Or the. Or the kissing snow. Or that first little bit of snow that's kind of powdery. Powdery. And it's almost like little balls. And you could just sweep it off your porch. You don't even need a shovel. It's so. It's so thin, and powdery.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Almost like dandelion puffs.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. But it always comes with a really cold snap. It's always like, oh, it's cold. And all it is is this. These little tiny balls, almost like dandelion fluff. Yeah, yeah.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Or even just the term flurries.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I love that. That term for flurries, which we use to reference, blowing gusts of snow. Correct. Is that. Is that how you would describe a flurry?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Typically, yeah. It's, blowing gusts, but also very, very small snowflakes. So it's. Right. You know, they. They can sometimes move so fast that you barely register them and turn them in the same direction.
>> Marco Timpano: And I love when that. That term, that word flurry gets taken and used in our national sport, hockey, when they talk about a flurry of pucks heading towards the goalie, you'll often hear that used. yeah, I know that because my cousin always uses flurry, flurry for anything that's happening. He's like, oh, it's like a flurry of cars were coming towards me, or. Oh, man, I was swimming. It was like a flurry of boats were driving by me. It's like, I say to my cousin, I'm like, you're always talking about flurries of things. He goes, I guess I just watched too much hockey, and it's a really funny thing. But, you know, we're talking about all this weather and this imagery, as you mentioned.
Paul Kingston has three published short stories and one upcoming novel
And that brings me to a lovely segue to the fact that Paul Kingston is a prolific writer, and you have three published short stories, and you have three books, one of which you're giving your readers in chapters right now. And, pk, the names of your short
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: stories are, There's Feast, Sweet Mary, and A Pound of the Devil's Flesh.
>> Marco Timpano: Ooh, A Pound of the Devil's Flesh. Sounds like a children's novel.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: yeah, no, it's. It's a Western, horror, which was something, that Sort of jumped out at me as a genre that's not really touched on as much as it could be.
>> Marco Timpano: Might we see some of these short stories or your novels turned into screenplays and on the screen starring both you and perhaps your lovely wife, who we've had on the podcast as well?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: that's the hope. Absolutely. obviously with this industry not keeping my fingers crossed, but yes, for sure. I hope that is the eventual result.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I wish it for you.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
>> Marco Timpano: I'd like to talk about your writing if I can.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Absolutely.
Paul has been writing short stories and novels since college
All right.
>> Marco Timpano: So what brought you to writing short stories and novels is my first question.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: yeah, so, well, similar, to yourself, I started with an acting background, and working in college comedy. we naturally, you know, quickly discover that the easiest way to get ahead in comedy is to create your own work as opposed to waiting to book something.
>> Marco Timpano: Indeed.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: And so. And so, yeah, I started, when I first moved back to Toronto from college, I very quickly, started falling into sketch writing. ah, and for those that don't know, that's ah, very, very short, comedic scenes, often slice of life humor. and, yeah, so I started working on those. And the more that I was writing sketch comedy, the more I started to realize there was a potential career in screenwriting and so on and so forth. And yeah, it was, I guess around 2015 or 2016, I was still back in Toronto and I decided I was going to write my first screenplay. I had skipped right past the idea of even considering, writing books or novels. and in the process of, writing the first few pages of my first screenplay, I very quickly, Because the scene was basically one man walking down the street by himself. And so it was, predominantly, you know, stage directions or, you know, action notations as opposed to dialogue. And looking at that as an actor, I sort of looked at it and, you know, I have a habit of being somewhat critical of myself and critical of my work and, as any Canadian does. And, I was looking over these pages and saying, you know, this. This is reading so heavy. This is almost reading like it's a novel. And then suddenly something clicked and I was like, okay, first attempt was, you know what? I'm going to try to write this out in a literary sense so that I can go back and then harvest what I need for the script, screenplay. And next thing I knew, as. As I was writing page after page after page of this opening scene, I started realizing this is not is less of an opening scene and more of a prologue. And so naturally I just sort of sat there, I sat on that probably for a couple months, maybe showed it to like one or two friends who emphatically loved it. Oh wow. And so I was just like, okay, well maybe, you know, I need to continue writing it this way to sort of see what it needs to be. And around that time, ah, a friend of mine that I was working with for a, comedic musical had actually introduced me to a website that they worked for, called wattpad.com and basically it's a, sort of, I guess you could say it's a launching pad for up and coming literary writers. And so I decided, you know what, what the heck, I'm going to load it up there, sort of see what people think, see if it gets a response. And within a month I had a couple hundred reads on the prologue and people were loving it. So I uploaded the next chapter and that got a couple hundred reads. And yeah, and it just sort of spiraled from there. And currently that first book in its completion is now sitting at Oh, the last I checked I think it was approximately 243,000 reads.
>> Marco Timpano: That's amazing. Yeah, that's Wattpad W-A T-T-P-A D.com but we'll have it in our show notes in case anybody wants to take a look at what Paul is writing.
Paul says the reach of his website has been overwhelming
That's so exciting, Paul. Isn't it just so overwhelming when you see so many people reading what you've written and how the reach that it has.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah, no, it's, it's, I'd say that's probably one of the most amazing things about that platform just in general. And I'm not trying to do a product placement, this is purely based on personal experience. But yeah, I mean the, like you said, the reach is sort of, has probably been the most astounding thing. because one of the features is that I can check in with the demographic of readers that I have and sort of get a sense of who's reading this and where, they're breeding it from. And for the most part, you know, I mean, I, I was expecting the majority of the audience to come from North America as a whole. sure. And while there are a sizable chunk of readers in Canada and the United States, one of my top three countries, for readership is Indonesia. And I never saw that coming. And, and go figure. you know, it's like it's A sizable fan base. And the other added bonus is that you get direct contact with these readers. You know, they, they have the ability to comment on the book as they're reading it, or leave little thoughts along the way. And, and it's just, it's, it's amazing because it creates sort of a connectivity to your fan base that is really sort of unprecedented in regards to the literary world.
You've written several children's books and also some short stories
>> Marco Timpano: I should mention your book titles are Goats from Lambs. Butterflies in Glass Cases, Mikaela's Monsters or Michaela's Monster rather. And then you've got some short stories as well.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So that leads me to. How do you go about finding the title for your books? Yeah, Butterflies in Glass Cases.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Butterflies in Glass Cases was a little bit more focused around like I've spent the majority of my life, in various capacities working with kids. I mentioned summer camps earlier. I've also been a youth, and teen improv and sketch comedy instructor for upwards of 11 years now. so I've, I've, I've worked with children for the majority of my life. And so I knew I wanted to write some sort of story that had to do with connection with children.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Okay.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: and this story specifically, is a little bit more derived from Celtic folklore. And essentially what it is is sort of your traditional approach of someone gets an offer to work in a remote home as sort of like au pair, if you will, or someone to help oversee the house and assist with the children. and in this story, I don't want to spoil too much of it, but in this story basically the bond between this person who has moved to this remote home and the two children who live there becomes very, very it becomes very, very strong bond between them. And there's suppositions about odd things that are happening around the home and so on and so forth. that creates some contention between this, this lead character, Patty Woodall or Patricia Woodall, who goes by Patty, and Ms. Pierre who is the matriarch of the home. anyway, long story short, there is sort of the Butterflies and Glass Cases was sort of intended to insinuate the beauty of childhood being contained by ah, stipulations and rules and so on and so forth. And it very quickly becomes a focal point for our, for the main character to want to essentially free these children of the thumbs that they're living under.
>> Marco Timpano: Interesting.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: And so that, that imagery of a butterfly in glass, a case sort of really, really jumped out at me as, as really embodying that kind of mentality. And sure enough, midway through the story there is actually a direct reference to one of the children who has a butterfly in a glass case.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. And yeah, well listen, you said to make a long story short here on the Insomnia Project we like to make short stories long. Absolutely.
Where do you get your names from when writing novels
So I'm going to take you back to that book and I'm going to say where do you get your names from? I always find it tricky to figure out when I'm writing protagonists or an antagonist's name. You've got Patty, you've got Mrs. Pierre. You've mentioned one of your books. I believe there's going to be a Michaela in it, hence the title. Where do these names come from? Where do you draw these names? And I find last names tricky.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah, no, I've used various tricks over the years. you know, because of the fact that I had like over the course of writing these three books I had lived in two cities between two countries. I did have sort of an added advantage of just searching street names. and often I'll just sort of look for off like out of the way, sort of residential street names, that jump to me that sort of speak to the voice of the character or the, or the attitude of the character. but sometimes the names just come very organically. so for instance, with Ms. Pierre, and her full name in the book is Ms. Rosalind Pierre. I just felt that the use of Miss combined with you know, the full use of Rosalind in place of Roz and then Pierre, all three of those just very. Spoke very cleanly to me as a sort of stern, approach to life or a very, you know, structured, partly because I, I, When I was in college, I was over in in Quebec, and we were living in a English speaking town surrounded by the Eastern townships which are predominantly French, very, very French speaking. And there is a lot of contention there in that regard. And, and so I knew I wanted to have some sort of French and fl. Reflection upon it because to me, and this is not meant to be a blanket statement, this is more based on my experiences while living there. it was just like no, no, when you're, you know, out amongst the locals, you, you adhere to their way of life and you try to speak French and you try to respect all that sort of thing as opposed to, you know, coming in and you know, causing a scene, as college students have a tendency to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, of course.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah. Yeah. So I knew that spoke to me in that regard, and. Yeah. but I think the biggest key to it is just sort of finding names that really sort of embody the voice. you know, if it's somebody who's going to be a little bit more relaxed, then they're probably not using the most formal version of their name.
>> Marco Timpano: fair.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting you mentioned, you know, using street names, and both PK and myself, we're skilled improvisers, and we've been improvising for many years. You teach it currently as well. And so whenever I'm doing improv in the scene, generally speaking, I have two names that I'll use, which is Franklin for male characters and Margaret for female characters. And I don't know why those names are the ones that come to me, but all my friends who I perform with always know that I use those characters. And one time we were performing in the US In Chicago and Los Angeles, and I said, I can't always use the same names. And someone said, well, why don't you use street names? So then all of a sudden, I started to have characters like Jane and Dr. Eglinton and Mrs. Kothra, and, you know, I was just using street names in my town that the people in the area where I was performing would not have, you know, realize that I'm using actual intersections.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: As people's names. Right?
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: No, and it. I mean, that is a really, really great way to do that. And that is actually advice that I give, to a lot of my students is I, I tell them, you know, it's, like, don't default to the. I. I definitely have found, like, my teen students specifically have a tendency to default to the classics like Billy and J. Jimmy and those sorts of things. Right. and I just say to them, I'm just like, you know, you don't have to default to the easy names. Just give yourself five stock names that you can pull from, or as you said, go from something familiar, like street names or company names or something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's so much fun. Oh, my goodness. Well, listen, you can, find Paul's work on his website, paulpkkingston.com and that'll be on our show Notes, as well as seek, out his [email protected]. that's W a T-T-P a D dot com. Once again, you'll find that in the show notes.
Paul: 26 minutes just flew by on this Insomnia Project episode
Paul, it's been such a delight to have you. This 26 minutes just flew by.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Or should I say it? It was a flurry that came and went, and I had a great time from top to bottom.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Thank you. I did as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Great. Paul, let us know when you have more things coming out that you want our listeners to know. You're always welcome to be a guest on the Insomnia Project.
>> Paul P.K. Kingston: Thank you so much. Absolutely. Well.
>> Marco Timpano: And, thank you to all our listeners. We hope you enjoyed this episode. Coming from both Toronto, Canada, and Los Angeles, California, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Guitar Pedals with Dan Tomlin
(Orignal airdate: April 28, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I am your host, Marco Timpano
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation on a topic that is hopefully mundane for you, but you might find it intriguing. And if so, I hope you're able to at the very least sit back and relax as you listen to the Insomnia Project. Thank you for listening. I am your host, Marco Timpano. And joining me, I have a special guest, Dan Tomlin. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Dan Tomlin: Hey, Marco, how's it going? Thanks for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's my pleasure. And I'm so happy to have you on. my listeners might remember that when I did the episode with Tyler Murray, we talked about Mers Nerds and your name came up because you're a co host of that podcast. So welcome. and how is podcasting going for you, Dan?
>> Dan Tomlin: podcasting has been a, fun ride so far. Amazing. Yes, thanks. And, it's been a real treat to work with, Tyler, our mutual friend.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Dan Tomlin: And doing Mers Nerds has been a real learning experience and it's been a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to, Tyler and I, doing our second season coming up.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. So great. Congratulations. And if you, get a chance, listen to Mers Nerds rather and I will put a link in the show notes for you to follow. Otherwise you can find it on Facebook and soon it will be available to you anywhere you listen to podcasts.
So you're a musician? I am. What other instruments do you play
But, Dan, I wanted to talk to you about. So you're a musician?
>> Dan Tomlin: I am.
>> Marco Timpano: And you play the guitar?
>> Dan Tomlin: Some of the time.
>> Marco Timpano: What other instruments do you play?
>> Dan Tomlin: well, mainly in my basement I have a small little recording studio set up. So, I grew up playing guitar. And, in the studio now I have guitars and synthesizers, a drum kit, bass guitar, and other noisy sort of instruments to, make songs.
>> Marco Timpano: What cymbals do you have on your drum kit?
>> Dan Tomlin: Ooh, that's a good question.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a very good question. And the reason I ask is my father in law is a cymbal maker and he worked for Zildjian and Sabian. And we have a whole Cymbals episode in our archives. We where I talked him. If you ever are interested in listening to that. Wow.
>> Dan Tomlin: I, think I'm going to have to go back in time and check that out because, I love lots of. I'll answer the simple question in a second. But I love gear, straight up. So I like putting gear together and setting things up. I think I just always have, making the connections, making things work. even tonight, getting set up for this podcast. I, had to troubleshoot a few things. But, we're here now.
>> Marco Timpano: It's amazing.
>> Dan Tomlin: It is. And, so just to get back to the symbol thing for a second. Yeah, I have some Sabian symbols. I've got Sabian hi hats and a couple of Sabian, crash symbols. And my ride symbol is by a company called. I'm gonna butcher the name, but it's M. Minial.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yes it is. I've heard them say. I've heard my wife and my father in law say this name multiple times and it's not coming to me.
>> Dan Tomlin: It's an odd one to say. I think it's Minial.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, yeah, I'll go with that. Had you said piestease, I would have been like, oh, that's the one from Germany. when they talk symbols I just kind of tune out. So I don't even know why I asked you which symbols you have because I wouldn't necessarily be able to speak to them other than to say we have a whole episode on cymbals.
>> Dan Tomlin: We're just making references to the past here.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm telling you.
We're in the golden age of guitar pedals, right? Right. We are. And there's many different pedals
Let me ask you this one thing about guitar playing that's always been something I've been curious about is you know the pedal that guitarists step on?
>> Dan Tomlin: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What does it do and why?
>> Dan Tomlin: Okay, so I love this question because I am possibly a self proclaimed guitar pedal nerd and that is a very vastly rising field of nerdom at the moment.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: And it's. I think people have been nerds for guitar pedals for some time, but it's really starting to come to the forefront now. and there's many YouTube channels, there's many books on them now. And to be on to, to be honest, we're kind of in the golden age of guitar pedals.
>> Marco Timpano: Really.
>> Dan Tomlin: We are. And there's so many different builders from all over the world and they all share in a community, you know, online. And when, you know, we can do things together, they, there's exhibitions and all those kinds of things. And the pedals are the, you know, the, the main focus on this. And there's many different pedals that do many different things. Okay. So really, that's a loaded question what you're asking me.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. So let me ask you this. The pedal doesn't make that wah, wah sound, does it on a guitar?
>> Dan Tomlin: Well, that would be, a wah pedal.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it does. Okay. Yeah.
>> Dan Tomlin: So that, that would be like an example of a pedal, that makes that type of a sound. So there's many different pedals that make many different types of sounds. do you want me to Break it down a little bit to you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because I always thought the thing that made the wawa was the little thing that's on the guitar that you lift with your pinky. Isn't there, like, it looks like an Allen key, or am I thinking something totally wrong? Clearly I am.
>> Dan Tomlin: I think maybe you're thinking of a whammy bar.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, maybe that's what I'm thinking. Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: Yeah. So. So like a wah puddle makes like a wawa sound.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: Right. And a whammy bar. you know, you may thinking. Be thinking. Would be easier to think of somebody like Van Halen, Right. Doing, like, dive bomb sort of sounds.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Dan Tomlin: it's more of a vibrato effect. So you're. Okay, you're loosening the strings and you're changing their pitch with, the whammy bar.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see. Okay. So then the wah pedal makes that wah sound. And that's only one function of one particular pedal.
>> Dan Tomlin: That's correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Dan Tomlin: Yes. It's funny that you mentioned that because I just watched a quick history on the wah pedal today. And, it's just fascinating where this stuff comes from. And some of the guitar pedals are actually a lot of them. They've shaped the history of music as we know it. So, maybe I'll give you a quick example.
>> Marco Timpano: Please.
>> Dan Tomlin: A really. A really popular guitar pedal that people buy, and it's really shaped the way that we listen to music, is the fuzz pedal. And now I'm not, you know, a historian of sorts, but, you know, from my minimal amount of research, I can talk a little bit about this. The wah. sorry. The fuzz pedal was created in the, in the 60s, and it was brought into fashion by people like Jimi Hendrix and Keith, Richards of the Rolling Stones. And if you think of that song Satisfaction, Right. We all know that that famous guitar lick that's done with a fuzz pedal.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Dan Tomlin: And, you know, when people first heard that, you know, people started losing their minds because it was like, what is this crazy sound? Right. So then from then on, lots, of people started buying those. And that was changing the way in which we made music. One, thing I want to add before this. The wah pedal. Or. Sorry, I keep saying the wah pedal. The fuzz pedal was originally made for trumpet players.
>> Marco Timpano: How, How. How does the fuzz pedal go from trumpet to. To guitar?
>> Dan Tomlin: You know what? I. I don't fully understand that myself, but that's. It was originally made for trumpet players, and it was originally like advertised to make your guitar sound like what do they say? Like you can make your guitar sound like a trumpet or really sound like a violin. And. Yeah. And, and then these creative people, they just got ahold of it and they're like, no, that's not what this is for. This is what this is for. And then started shaping the fabric of history as we know it now.
Most guitar pedals require um, a power source, so there'd be a separate connection point
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness. Okay, so Dan, please forgive me, but I gotta ask. So does the pedal, the guitar pedal, whichever one you choose to use, whether it be the fuzz one or the wah or. I'm sure there's more you'll tell us about so many. Do you plug it into the guitar and then you plug it into an outlet or do you plug it into the amp? How does the logistics of connection work with a pedal?
>> Dan Tomlin: Sure. So if you've got one guitar pedal, okay, there's an input, there's a signal input and a signal output.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: And your guitar goes into the signal input and then a cable comes from the output and then goes to your amp. Now some guitar. Most guitar pedals require a power source, so there'd be a separate connection point. most guitar pedals run a 9v DC. very easy to put a 9 volt battery, which is the, the typical power source for a lot of pedals. But, but that's, that's, that's basically it. If I've got one. Yeah. so if you have more than one, you would then plug your guitar into the first one and then from that one go into the next one and from that one go into the next one.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh wow.
>> Dan Tomlin: Go into the next one. And that's where things, for me anyways, that's where things start to get interesting because this type of a connection is called a series connection where one thing comes right after the next in series with each other.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Dan Tomlin: So depending on what effect you put before and after each other, like however you organize these effects, the sonic outcome could be increasingly different every single time. And that's how people you know, a lot of musicians, they'll figure out how they organize their pedal chain. And, and that's a lot of the time. That's what gives them their unique sound. And it's talked about all over the forums online. How did this person do this? What was their chain? You know, were they using batteries? Were they using a power supply? You know, sometimes a weak battery makes a fuzz sound. Amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: really? Oh wow.
>> Dan Tomlin: It's. There. There's a lot of variables, and, to me, that's what makes it so very interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like there's a lot of artistic, There's an artistic quotient in using the pedal for a guitar.
>> Dan Tomlin: Yes. Oh, very much so. Yeah. And I think that's. And that's the thing that I like about, pedals themselves. Because there is. I mean, you could look at it, in a very, scientific sort of method, I guess. Sure. Where, like, you know, this pedal does this specific thing, and you need to put this one next and this one next and this one next and this one next. M. But that doesn't always yield the most interesting, outcome. Okay. it's. It's. It's always fun to, like, just throw some chaos in there and. And just mix things up and just see what happens in the end.
If a guitar player uses pedals, are they considered a pedalist
>> Marco Timpano: Now, if a guitar player uses pedals or is proficient in pedal use, are they considered a pedalist or is there a term for a, guitar player who is very proficient at it?
>> Dan Tomlin: That's an interesting question. I'm not sure because there's definitely several, YouTube channels that I follow where, the people that are doing their thing are relying heavily on the guitar pedals.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Dan Tomlin: And I don't know if you. Or if those people would necessarily necessarily refer to themselves as a pedalist or. I don't know if there's a term. Okay. In regards to that. But I think a lot of people, maybe they default to maybe certain genre, terms, I guess. I think a lot of people that use a lot of guitar pedals, they tend to make more, ambient or spacey kind of music. Okay. one of the.
>> Marco Timpano: Go on. Oh, So I was gonna say, is there a guitar pedal, pedalist or whatever you want to call them, who you think is one of the greatest or is deemed as one of the most proficient at, using the pedals?
>> Dan Tomlin: I. Oh, man.
>> Marco Timpano: Tough questions on the guitar pedal episode.
>> Dan Tomlin: It is tough, tough guitar pedal episode questions. there's, you know, that one's up for debate, I would say, because there's just so many people out there and there's so many ways to look at it. I could give you a few channels that are interesting to check out.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Dan Tomlin: So, one guy that I follow, his name is Andy Offling, and he's out of New Mexico, and he, runs a channel called lowercase Noises. And he does these very long, droning ambient, live streams. And some of them are like four or five hours long. And sometimes he will create a loop. Like, so he'll. A guitar pedal, that you can use as a looper pedal. So you'll play, you can play a phrase. It will record that phrase and play it back.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Dan Tomlin: And then what you can do is you can affect that phrase and, change the sonic character of it with pedals over time, if you want.
>> Marco Timpano: So one pedal would record it and then you can manipulate that recording with other pedals.
>> Dan Tomlin: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: While you're playing.
>> Dan Tomlin: While you're playing. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. And.
>> Dan Tomlin: And, it yields. It might be interesting for some of your listeners because it can yield very, very calming, very mellow, sonic experiences and, for long durations of time too. So, that's one example. somebody else that I might suggest to look up would be, oh, sugar. At least a channel that I follow is, that Pedal show and these two guys from England, and they go on a lot. I mean, it's, it's all about guitar pedals and making pedal boards and, they break down a lot of the information about each type of pedal and, you know, the different types of things you need to think about when you're putting things together, whether it's current or voltage, or, inductance from AC current, getting into your signal, path. so, yeah, sorry, so that YouTube channel is called, that Pedal show. And they're quite good.
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>> Marco Timpano: okay, so you've brought me to another question that's come to mind because you say that there's a lot of things that can influence the sound that comes from a particular pedal, including the diminishment of the battery life in that pedal. Would the current from, say, a North American electrical outlet versus a British electrical outlet have an effect on, on the sound of your pedal?
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>> Dan Tomlin: Yeah, the type of effect it would have there, it would probably destroy.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh really? Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: Because they have their, their system over there runs on 240v if I'm not mistaken. Right, right. Where, where we run on 120.
>> Marco Timpano: But they would have pedals for the 220 volt. Would that same pedal with the 120 volt if made in the same factory but with a different plug, have a different sound depending where you play it on the globe?
>> Dan Tomlin: So you know what, that is an interesting question and there's a couple things I can say to that.
Some guitar pedals are made to accept different voltages, but it's not
Okay, so number one, when you're building, so I've made reference to something called a pedal board, right? And this is something that's become more I guess ubiquitous over time because there's so many, like I said, there's so many pedals now people, they need something. You know, we don't just put them in a bag and then go to the show anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Dan Tomlin: You know, we have these pre made boards with everything on them and everything's all plugged together and you've got one input and one output. You know, you put your guitar, the input, you take the output to your amp and you're ready to go. You know, turn it on, you're good to go. So the way that the majority of us power these pedals now are with with, with with power supplies. So you have these, these blocks and out of these blocks you've got like, I don't know, 8, 10, 12, outputs and into the block or the, the block gets powered from your wall wart, right? And then it outputs specific voltages that sometimes you can manipulate to your guitar pedals. So those blocks, now even more so now than before, are being built to accept anything, any type of voltage from anywhere. And it will just Regulate that voltage within. Yeah, within that power block itself. But to, to answer your question, kind of on a different tip, some guitar pedals are made to accept different voltages, but it's not, but it's not like mains voltage. It's not like 120 volts.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
>> Dan Tomlin: Or 240 volts. It's, it's the step down version. But you can, you can step down, you can have step down voltages come out as 9 volts, 12 volts, 18 volts, 24 volts, 48 volts. Are. They're, they're fairly common voltages to go to guitar pedals. And, some pedals will take a range of, of what type of, D. And this is all in dc, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: they'll take a range of what DC voltage they're able to accept. Some people can hear the difference. there's a lot of videos out there. There's another channel I watch, by this builder. His name is Brian Wampler. And, he's. He, he will. He'll, take apart a circuit and he'll show you how it works, and he'll build one in front of you on the screen and he'll be like, okay, here's all the components. Like, he'll, he'll show you component level, what's going on, and he'll, he'll change the variables of each component to show you, you know, what the difference is. And, he's done a couple videos of running certain guitar pedals at 9 volts versus 18 volts, say. Right. And, he's, he's like, you be the judge. Can you hear the difference? He's like, I can't really hear the difference, but some people swear by it. There's a lot of, there's a lot of like Magic Bean right In, in this kind of a thing too. Right?
How much space does a guitar player need for pedals on stage
>> Marco Timpano: So, so this Dan, just so you know, this episode, I am like, I've got like a million questions have just come through my brain.
>> Dan Tomlin: Wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: And I didn't think they would, but how much real estate does a guitar player who uses pedals need on stage when they're with their band playing?
>> Dan Tomlin: it's, it's really humorous, Marco, because the memes that are out there about this stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Dan Tomlin: Yeah. Is just like. It's like. It's like you're hitting it right on the head. Because if there's one thing about guitar players and pedals, it's, it's like they can't get Enough. And you know, everyone, you know in, in these circles, you know, we all make fun of that idea. You know, like, you get to the bar and it's like, okay, here's your stage, right? And it's like, you know, a, ah, 4x8 sheet of plywood in the corner. And like the guitar player's pedal board will fit on that. So where does the rest of the band go? So, you know what, it depends. Some people tour. So, there's a band that I really like, that's really known for, you know, the guitar players known for using pedals a lot. And that's. That band's called My Bloody Valentine.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: And you know, I've seen them once at the warehouse downtown. And you know, not only did this guy, Kevin Shields is the name of the guy, not only did he have a wall of amps, but he's got racks and racks of effects, in the back. And it's, it's important for him to have those so that he can, he can give us, you know, the sonicness that's in his brain. So, you know, for somebody like that, you know, it's, it's a, it's a, it's so much, You know, people always talk about the edge from U2, right? And maybe you've seen that doc. This might get Loud. Have you seen that?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I saw Rattle and Hum. That's how old I am.
>> Dan Tomlin: That's great. I think I've seen Rattle and Hum too. But, so a documentary came out several years ago now. It's the Edge, Jack White from the White Stripes and Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin. Right. And the three of them get together and they talk about being guitar players and it's sort of like the old guy, the middle aged guy and the young guy sort of set up, right? And, and when they go to talk about the Edge, you know, he's talking about all his gear and he's the one with the most gear, you know what I mean? And he's got this, I don't know if you've ever heard of the Edge and the amount of gear that this guy uses.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I had no idea.
>> Dan Tomlin: If you watch that doc, there's this one scene where they bring the brains of his system to the student, to the stadium that they're playing. And it literally is a forklift that has to lift it up and bring it to the stage.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Dan Tomlin: And put it on the stage. Yeah. And you know, like that's part of his sound, though, right? Like, if you think of any classic U2 song, right, it's. He's got those. You know, it's that sound. And what it is, it's. It's. It's a delayed delay, repeats going on and on. And, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanwa had a lot to do with that when they were recording songs like, you know, where the Streets had no Name, where it's got that, you know, that unmistakable, rich guitar sound. Just those repeats going on and on, and it just sounds huge and glorious. Right. So. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Dan, forgive me for asking this question, but I need to ask it. So a, guitar pedal you actually step on. Correct. It's a pedal on the ground that you would step on.
>> Dan Tomlin: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, good. because you were talking about all these boards, I was like, oh, could it be such that you no longer step on them? You can just hit them with a finger and play or something? So I wanted to make sure. And if that is the case, or since that is the case, I should say, how do you know which pedal is which when you're playing on a stage and there's multiple pedals in front of you?
>> Dan Tomlin: Man, I love you. You've got great questions, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
One of the things that becomes more popular as pedals become more popular is a loop switcher
>> Dan Tomlin: This is good because. So, you know, obviously there's varying degrees of this stuff, right? So you could be, you know, me at 18 years old. I've got, like, a distortion and a delay pedal, and that was it. And that was the bee's knees.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: Right. Or you move in, up in life to, you know, where some people are, like, the edge or people, you know, people like David Gilmore. it's got just racks of gear and m. You're right. How do they know what to do? And, one of the terms used, when you've got so many guitar pedals is tap dancing. Because you end up looking like you're tap dancing all the time. Right. So one of the things that's become more popular as the increase of, pedals. Pardon me. as pedals become more popular over time, is something called, a loop switcher. And so I talked earlier about guitar pedals being in series with each other. Now, what happens when you have a loop switcher?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Dan Tomlin: Yeah. So, yeah, what happens is your guitar signal goes into the switcher, and then there are independent loops, like in and out loops in the switcher. And so your signal goes in, it'll hit a loop, and if you turn that loop on, it'll go out to a pedal or A series of pedals be affected and then come back into the switcher and that goes out to your amp. So if you have a switcher that's got multiple parallel channels in it, like I do, for instance, you can then program that to remember which pedals to come on at certain times. So and then you can make banks of programs that then you can just hit one button to recall that what that program is.
Guitar pedals can now be programmed via MIDI, which is computer language
So now on top, I'll add one more layer to that. So on top of that, a lot of guitar pedals. Now they are also able to be programmed via a language called midi. That's M M I D I. Oh
>> Marco Timpano: yes, midi, yes, I've heard of that.
>> Dan Tomlin: Musical Instrument Digital Interface. And what MIDI does is it can send program change information and continuous controller information. And so a program change is kind of like what I just said. So like it'll tell you to change the program. So it's like, go to this effect. Go to this effect. Continuous controller message means that you can have something that's called an expression pedal. And it's very much like a wah, like we talked earlier, where you can put your foot on it and rock it back and forth, right? And that will give different value information to a pedal. and that will change the value of what's happening from that effect. So for instance, if you're using a reverb and you don't want reverb at one section and your pedals are off in the distance and all you've got is this expression pedal, but then that one part of the song comes on, all you have to do is just rock that thing forward and then you're just, you're floating in this spacious reverb space.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it almost like feedback? Like pedal feedback, guitar pedal feedback?
>> Dan Tomlin: what's that? Reverb?
>> Marco Timpano: No, like. Well, is that an issue? Can you get feedback when you use a pedal with a guitar?
>> Dan Tomlin: Oh, I would. 100%. Sometimes that's the end result, the desired effect.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, wow. Well, listen, I'm gonna have to invite you back for a part two on guitar pedals. Maybe you can stay for a bit and I'll do it for my patrons who are on my Patreon. We'll talk more about pedals, but we've come to the end of episode.
>> Dan Tomlin: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Dan, thank you so much. My goodness, before I started this episode, all I thought about with regards to pedals and music, where pianos have pedals and drums have pedals, I didn't think of the importance of guitar pedals.
>> Dan Tomlin: It's huge. It's huge. And it's become such a large thing recently.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Dan Tomlin: Well, we'll have to.
>> Marco Timpano: We were even going to talk about puddles. So we'll have you back to talk more about guitar pedals, and maybe we'll dive into, pardon the pun, puddles on that. On that episode.
>> Dan Tomlin: That's right. Pedals and Puddles. Looking forward to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Dan, where can our listeners find you?
>> Dan Tomlin: well, you can definitely find me, making new episodes with Guitar Nerds. Or, I'm sorry, Guitar Nerds with Mers Nerds. Sorry, Guitar Nerds is a, another web, podcast that I follow. That's funny. They just got a plug. but outside of that, I, don't have anything solid at the moment. I'm working on, a few things right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. Well, might we see a guitar pedal deep dive on Mers Nerds?
>> Dan Tomlin: I could do a whole series on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Season two. Season two, my friends.
>> Dan Tomlin: Season two.
>> Marco Timpano: Dan Tomlin, thank you so much for being a part of the Insomnia Project and enlightening us, on guitar pedals.
>> Dan Tomlin: Thanks, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: And for everyone else, I hope you were able to enjoy this episode, however, it suits you best. And I hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Orignal airdate: April 28, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I am your host, Marco Timpano
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation on a topic that is hopefully mundane for you, but you might find it intriguing. And if so, I hope you're able to at the very least sit back and relax as you listen to the Insomnia Project. Thank you for listening. I am your host, Marco Timpano. And joining me, I have a special guest, Dan Tomlin. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Dan Tomlin: Hey, Marco, how's it going? Thanks for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's my pleasure. And I'm so happy to have you on. my listeners might remember that when I did the episode with Tyler Murray, we talked about Mers Nerds and your name came up because you're a co host of that podcast. So welcome. and how is podcasting going for you, Dan?
>> Dan Tomlin: podcasting has been a, fun ride so far. Amazing. Yes, thanks. And, it's been a real treat to work with, Tyler, our mutual friend.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Dan Tomlin: And doing Mers Nerds has been a real learning experience and it's been a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to, Tyler and I, doing our second season coming up.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. So great. Congratulations. And if you, get a chance, listen to Mers Nerds rather and I will put a link in the show notes for you to follow. Otherwise you can find it on Facebook and soon it will be available to you anywhere you listen to podcasts.
So you're a musician? I am. What other instruments do you play
But, Dan, I wanted to talk to you about. So you're a musician?
>> Dan Tomlin: I am.
>> Marco Timpano: And you play the guitar?
>> Dan Tomlin: Some of the time.
>> Marco Timpano: What other instruments do you play?
>> Dan Tomlin: well, mainly in my basement I have a small little recording studio set up. So, I grew up playing guitar. And, in the studio now I have guitars and synthesizers, a drum kit, bass guitar, and other noisy sort of instruments to, make songs.
>> Marco Timpano: What cymbals do you have on your drum kit?
>> Dan Tomlin: Ooh, that's a good question.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a very good question. And the reason I ask is my father in law is a cymbal maker and he worked for Zildjian and Sabian. And we have a whole Cymbals episode in our archives. We where I talked him. If you ever are interested in listening to that. Wow.
>> Dan Tomlin: I, think I'm going to have to go back in time and check that out because, I love lots of. I'll answer the simple question in a second. But I love gear, straight up. So I like putting gear together and setting things up. I think I just always have, making the connections, making things work. even tonight, getting set up for this podcast. I, had to troubleshoot a few things. But, we're here now.
>> Marco Timpano: It's amazing.
>> Dan Tomlin: It is. And, so just to get back to the symbol thing for a second. Yeah, I have some Sabian symbols. I've got Sabian hi hats and a couple of Sabian, crash symbols. And my ride symbol is by a company called. I'm gonna butcher the name, but it's M. Minial.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yes it is. I've heard them say. I've heard my wife and my father in law say this name multiple times and it's not coming to me.
>> Dan Tomlin: It's an odd one to say. I think it's Minial.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, yeah, I'll go with that. Had you said piestease, I would have been like, oh, that's the one from Germany. when they talk symbols I just kind of tune out. So I don't even know why I asked you which symbols you have because I wouldn't necessarily be able to speak to them other than to say we have a whole episode on cymbals.
>> Dan Tomlin: We're just making references to the past here.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm telling you.
We're in the golden age of guitar pedals, right? Right. We are. And there's many different pedals
Let me ask you this one thing about guitar playing that's always been something I've been curious about is you know the pedal that guitarists step on?
>> Dan Tomlin: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What does it do and why?
>> Dan Tomlin: Okay, so I love this question because I am possibly a self proclaimed guitar pedal nerd and that is a very vastly rising field of nerdom at the moment.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: And it's. I think people have been nerds for guitar pedals for some time, but it's really starting to come to the forefront now. and there's many YouTube channels, there's many books on them now. And to be on to, to be honest, we're kind of in the golden age of guitar pedals.
>> Marco Timpano: Really.
>> Dan Tomlin: We are. And there's so many different builders from all over the world and they all share in a community, you know, online. And when, you know, we can do things together, they, there's exhibitions and all those kinds of things. And the pedals are the, you know, the, the main focus on this. And there's many different pedals that do many different things. Okay. So really, that's a loaded question what you're asking me.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. So let me ask you this. The pedal doesn't make that wah, wah sound, does it on a guitar?
>> Dan Tomlin: Well, that would be, a wah pedal.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it does. Okay. Yeah.
>> Dan Tomlin: So that, that would be like an example of a pedal, that makes that type of a sound. So there's many different pedals that make many different types of sounds. do you want me to Break it down a little bit to you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because I always thought the thing that made the wawa was the little thing that's on the guitar that you lift with your pinky. Isn't there, like, it looks like an Allen key, or am I thinking something totally wrong? Clearly I am.
>> Dan Tomlin: I think maybe you're thinking of a whammy bar.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, maybe that's what I'm thinking. Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: Yeah. So. So like a wah puddle makes like a wawa sound.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: Right. And a whammy bar. you know, you may thinking. Be thinking. Would be easier to think of somebody like Van Halen, Right. Doing, like, dive bomb sort of sounds.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Dan Tomlin: it's more of a vibrato effect. So you're. Okay, you're loosening the strings and you're changing their pitch with, the whammy bar.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see. Okay. So then the wah pedal makes that wah sound. And that's only one function of one particular pedal.
>> Dan Tomlin: That's correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Dan Tomlin: Yes. It's funny that you mentioned that because I just watched a quick history on the wah pedal today. And, it's just fascinating where this stuff comes from. And some of the guitar pedals are actually a lot of them. They've shaped the history of music as we know it. So, maybe I'll give you a quick example.
>> Marco Timpano: Please.
>> Dan Tomlin: A really. A really popular guitar pedal that people buy, and it's really shaped the way that we listen to music, is the fuzz pedal. And now I'm not, you know, a historian of sorts, but, you know, from my minimal amount of research, I can talk a little bit about this. The wah. sorry. The fuzz pedal was created in the, in the 60s, and it was brought into fashion by people like Jimi Hendrix and Keith, Richards of the Rolling Stones. And if you think of that song Satisfaction, Right. We all know that that famous guitar lick that's done with a fuzz pedal.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Dan Tomlin: And, you know, when people first heard that, you know, people started losing their minds because it was like, what is this crazy sound? Right. So then from then on, lots, of people started buying those. And that was changing the way in which we made music. One, thing I want to add before this. The wah pedal. Or. Sorry, I keep saying the wah pedal. The fuzz pedal was originally made for trumpet players.
>> Marco Timpano: How, How. How does the fuzz pedal go from trumpet to. To guitar?
>> Dan Tomlin: You know what? I. I don't fully understand that myself, but that's. It was originally made for trumpet players, and it was originally like advertised to make your guitar sound like what do they say? Like you can make your guitar sound like a trumpet or really sound like a violin. And. Yeah. And, and then these creative people, they just got ahold of it and they're like, no, that's not what this is for. This is what this is for. And then started shaping the fabric of history as we know it now.
Most guitar pedals require um, a power source, so there'd be a separate connection point
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness. Okay, so Dan, please forgive me, but I gotta ask. So does the pedal, the guitar pedal, whichever one you choose to use, whether it be the fuzz one or the wah or. I'm sure there's more you'll tell us about so many. Do you plug it into the guitar and then you plug it into an outlet or do you plug it into the amp? How does the logistics of connection work with a pedal?
>> Dan Tomlin: Sure. So if you've got one guitar pedal, okay, there's an input, there's a signal input and a signal output.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: And your guitar goes into the signal input and then a cable comes from the output and then goes to your amp. Now some guitar. Most guitar pedals require a power source, so there'd be a separate connection point. most guitar pedals run a 9v DC. very easy to put a 9 volt battery, which is the, the typical power source for a lot of pedals. But, but that's, that's, that's basically it. If I've got one. Yeah. so if you have more than one, you would then plug your guitar into the first one and then from that one go into the next one and from that one go into the next one.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh wow.
>> Dan Tomlin: Go into the next one. And that's where things, for me anyways, that's where things start to get interesting because this type of a connection is called a series connection where one thing comes right after the next in series with each other.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Dan Tomlin: So depending on what effect you put before and after each other, like however you organize these effects, the sonic outcome could be increasingly different every single time. And that's how people you know, a lot of musicians, they'll figure out how they organize their pedal chain. And, and that's a lot of the time. That's what gives them their unique sound. And it's talked about all over the forums online. How did this person do this? What was their chain? You know, were they using batteries? Were they using a power supply? You know, sometimes a weak battery makes a fuzz sound. Amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: really? Oh wow.
>> Dan Tomlin: It's. There. There's a lot of variables, and, to me, that's what makes it so very interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like there's a lot of artistic, There's an artistic quotient in using the pedal for a guitar.
>> Dan Tomlin: Yes. Oh, very much so. Yeah. And I think that's. And that's the thing that I like about, pedals themselves. Because there is. I mean, you could look at it, in a very, scientific sort of method, I guess. Sure. Where, like, you know, this pedal does this specific thing, and you need to put this one next and this one next and this one next and this one next. M. But that doesn't always yield the most interesting, outcome. Okay. it's. It's. It's always fun to, like, just throw some chaos in there and. And just mix things up and just see what happens in the end.
If a guitar player uses pedals, are they considered a pedalist
>> Marco Timpano: Now, if a guitar player uses pedals or is proficient in pedal use, are they considered a pedalist or is there a term for a, guitar player who is very proficient at it?
>> Dan Tomlin: That's an interesting question. I'm not sure because there's definitely several, YouTube channels that I follow where, the people that are doing their thing are relying heavily on the guitar pedals.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Dan Tomlin: And I don't know if you. Or if those people would necessarily necessarily refer to themselves as a pedalist or. I don't know if there's a term. Okay. In regards to that. But I think a lot of people, maybe they default to maybe certain genre, terms, I guess. I think a lot of people that use a lot of guitar pedals, they tend to make more, ambient or spacey kind of music. Okay. one of the.
>> Marco Timpano: Go on. Oh, So I was gonna say, is there a guitar pedal, pedalist or whatever you want to call them, who you think is one of the greatest or is deemed as one of the most proficient at, using the pedals?
>> Dan Tomlin: I. Oh, man.
>> Marco Timpano: Tough questions on the guitar pedal episode.
>> Dan Tomlin: It is tough, tough guitar pedal episode questions. there's, you know, that one's up for debate, I would say, because there's just so many people out there and there's so many ways to look at it. I could give you a few channels that are interesting to check out.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Dan Tomlin: So, one guy that I follow, his name is Andy Offling, and he's out of New Mexico, and he, runs a channel called lowercase Noises. And he does these very long, droning ambient, live streams. And some of them are like four or five hours long. And sometimes he will create a loop. Like, so he'll. A guitar pedal, that you can use as a looper pedal. So you'll play, you can play a phrase. It will record that phrase and play it back.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Dan Tomlin: And then what you can do is you can affect that phrase and, change the sonic character of it with pedals over time, if you want.
>> Marco Timpano: So one pedal would record it and then you can manipulate that recording with other pedals.
>> Dan Tomlin: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: While you're playing.
>> Dan Tomlin: While you're playing. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. And.
>> Dan Tomlin: And, it yields. It might be interesting for some of your listeners because it can yield very, very calming, very mellow, sonic experiences and, for long durations of time too. So, that's one example. somebody else that I might suggest to look up would be, oh, sugar. At least a channel that I follow is, that Pedal show and these two guys from England, and they go on a lot. I mean, it's, it's all about guitar pedals and making pedal boards and, they break down a lot of the information about each type of pedal and, you know, the different types of things you need to think about when you're putting things together, whether it's current or voltage, or, inductance from AC current, getting into your signal, path. so, yeah, sorry, so that YouTube channel is called, that Pedal show. And they're quite good.
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>> Marco Timpano: okay, so you've brought me to another question that's come to mind because you say that there's a lot of things that can influence the sound that comes from a particular pedal, including the diminishment of the battery life in that pedal. Would the current from, say, a North American electrical outlet versus a British electrical outlet have an effect on, on the sound of your pedal?
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>> Dan Tomlin: Yeah, the type of effect it would have there, it would probably destroy.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh really? Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: Because they have their, their system over there runs on 240v if I'm not mistaken. Right, right. Where, where we run on 120.
>> Marco Timpano: But they would have pedals for the 220 volt. Would that same pedal with the 120 volt if made in the same factory but with a different plug, have a different sound depending where you play it on the globe?
>> Dan Tomlin: So you know what, that is an interesting question and there's a couple things I can say to that.
Some guitar pedals are made to accept different voltages, but it's not
Okay, so number one, when you're building, so I've made reference to something called a pedal board, right? And this is something that's become more I guess ubiquitous over time because there's so many, like I said, there's so many pedals now people, they need something. You know, we don't just put them in a bag and then go to the show anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Dan Tomlin: You know, we have these pre made boards with everything on them and everything's all plugged together and you've got one input and one output. You know, you put your guitar, the input, you take the output to your amp and you're ready to go. You know, turn it on, you're good to go. So the way that the majority of us power these pedals now are with with, with with power supplies. So you have these, these blocks and out of these blocks you've got like, I don't know, 8, 10, 12, outputs and into the block or the, the block gets powered from your wall wart, right? And then it outputs specific voltages that sometimes you can manipulate to your guitar pedals. So those blocks, now even more so now than before, are being built to accept anything, any type of voltage from anywhere. And it will just Regulate that voltage within. Yeah, within that power block itself. But to, to answer your question, kind of on a different tip, some guitar pedals are made to accept different voltages, but it's not, but it's not like mains voltage. It's not like 120 volts.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
>> Dan Tomlin: Or 240 volts. It's, it's the step down version. But you can, you can step down, you can have step down voltages come out as 9 volts, 12 volts, 18 volts, 24 volts, 48 volts. Are. They're, they're fairly common voltages to go to guitar pedals. And, some pedals will take a range of, of what type of, D. And this is all in dc, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: they'll take a range of what DC voltage they're able to accept. Some people can hear the difference. there's a lot of videos out there. There's another channel I watch, by this builder. His name is Brian Wampler. And, he's. He, he will. He'll, take apart a circuit and he'll show you how it works, and he'll build one in front of you on the screen and he'll be like, okay, here's all the components. Like, he'll, he'll show you component level, what's going on, and he'll, he'll change the variables of each component to show you, you know, what the difference is. And, he's done a couple videos of running certain guitar pedals at 9 volts versus 18 volts, say. Right. And, he's, he's like, you be the judge. Can you hear the difference? He's like, I can't really hear the difference, but some people swear by it. There's a lot of, there's a lot of like Magic Bean right In, in this kind of a thing too. Right?
How much space does a guitar player need for pedals on stage
>> Marco Timpano: So, so this Dan, just so you know, this episode, I am like, I've got like a million questions have just come through my brain.
>> Dan Tomlin: Wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: And I didn't think they would, but how much real estate does a guitar player who uses pedals need on stage when they're with their band playing?
>> Dan Tomlin: it's, it's really humorous, Marco, because the memes that are out there about this stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Dan Tomlin: Yeah. Is just like. It's like. It's like you're hitting it right on the head. Because if there's one thing about guitar players and pedals, it's, it's like they can't get Enough. And you know, everyone, you know in, in these circles, you know, we all make fun of that idea. You know, like, you get to the bar and it's like, okay, here's your stage, right? And it's like, you know, a, ah, 4x8 sheet of plywood in the corner. And like the guitar player's pedal board will fit on that. So where does the rest of the band go? So, you know what, it depends. Some people tour. So, there's a band that I really like, that's really known for, you know, the guitar players known for using pedals a lot. And that's. That band's called My Bloody Valentine.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: And you know, I've seen them once at the warehouse downtown. And you know, not only did this guy, Kevin Shields is the name of the guy, not only did he have a wall of amps, but he's got racks and racks of effects, in the back. And it's, it's important for him to have those so that he can, he can give us, you know, the sonicness that's in his brain. So, you know, for somebody like that, you know, it's, it's a, it's a, it's so much, You know, people always talk about the edge from U2, right? And maybe you've seen that doc. This might get Loud. Have you seen that?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I saw Rattle and Hum. That's how old I am.
>> Dan Tomlin: That's great. I think I've seen Rattle and Hum too. But, so a documentary came out several years ago now. It's the Edge, Jack White from the White Stripes and Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin. Right. And the three of them get together and they talk about being guitar players and it's sort of like the old guy, the middle aged guy and the young guy sort of set up, right? And, and when they go to talk about the Edge, you know, he's talking about all his gear and he's the one with the most gear, you know what I mean? And he's got this, I don't know if you've ever heard of the Edge and the amount of gear that this guy uses.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I had no idea.
>> Dan Tomlin: If you watch that doc, there's this one scene where they bring the brains of his system to the student, to the stadium that they're playing. And it literally is a forklift that has to lift it up and bring it to the stage.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Dan Tomlin: And put it on the stage. Yeah. And you know, like that's part of his sound, though, right? Like, if you think of any classic U2 song, right, it's. He's got those. You know, it's that sound. And what it is, it's. It's. It's a delayed delay, repeats going on and on. And, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanwa had a lot to do with that when they were recording songs like, you know, where the Streets had no Name, where it's got that, you know, that unmistakable, rich guitar sound. Just those repeats going on and on, and it just sounds huge and glorious. Right. So. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Dan, forgive me for asking this question, but I need to ask it. So a, guitar pedal you actually step on. Correct. It's a pedal on the ground that you would step on.
>> Dan Tomlin: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, good. because you were talking about all these boards, I was like, oh, could it be such that you no longer step on them? You can just hit them with a finger and play or something? So I wanted to make sure. And if that is the case, or since that is the case, I should say, how do you know which pedal is which when you're playing on a stage and there's multiple pedals in front of you?
>> Dan Tomlin: Man, I love you. You've got great questions, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
One of the things that becomes more popular as pedals become more popular is a loop switcher
>> Dan Tomlin: This is good because. So, you know, obviously there's varying degrees of this stuff, right? So you could be, you know, me at 18 years old. I've got, like, a distortion and a delay pedal, and that was it. And that was the bee's knees.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Dan Tomlin: Right. Or you move in, up in life to, you know, where some people are, like, the edge or people, you know, people like David Gilmore. it's got just racks of gear and m. You're right. How do they know what to do? And, one of the terms used, when you've got so many guitar pedals is tap dancing. Because you end up looking like you're tap dancing all the time. Right. So one of the things that's become more popular as the increase of, pedals. Pardon me. as pedals become more popular over time, is something called, a loop switcher. And so I talked earlier about guitar pedals being in series with each other. Now, what happens when you have a loop switcher?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Dan Tomlin: Yeah. So, yeah, what happens is your guitar signal goes into the switcher, and then there are independent loops, like in and out loops in the switcher. And so your signal goes in, it'll hit a loop, and if you turn that loop on, it'll go out to a pedal or A series of pedals be affected and then come back into the switcher and that goes out to your amp. So if you have a switcher that's got multiple parallel channels in it, like I do, for instance, you can then program that to remember which pedals to come on at certain times. So and then you can make banks of programs that then you can just hit one button to recall that what that program is.
Guitar pedals can now be programmed via MIDI, which is computer language
So now on top, I'll add one more layer to that. So on top of that, a lot of guitar pedals. Now they are also able to be programmed via a language called midi. That's M M I D I. Oh
>> Marco Timpano: yes, midi, yes, I've heard of that.
>> Dan Tomlin: Musical Instrument Digital Interface. And what MIDI does is it can send program change information and continuous controller information. And so a program change is kind of like what I just said. So like it'll tell you to change the program. So it's like, go to this effect. Go to this effect. Continuous controller message means that you can have something that's called an expression pedal. And it's very much like a wah, like we talked earlier, where you can put your foot on it and rock it back and forth, right? And that will give different value information to a pedal. and that will change the value of what's happening from that effect. So for instance, if you're using a reverb and you don't want reverb at one section and your pedals are off in the distance and all you've got is this expression pedal, but then that one part of the song comes on, all you have to do is just rock that thing forward and then you're just, you're floating in this spacious reverb space.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it almost like feedback? Like pedal feedback, guitar pedal feedback?
>> Dan Tomlin: what's that? Reverb?
>> Marco Timpano: No, like. Well, is that an issue? Can you get feedback when you use a pedal with a guitar?
>> Dan Tomlin: Oh, I would. 100%. Sometimes that's the end result, the desired effect.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, wow. Well, listen, I'm gonna have to invite you back for a part two on guitar pedals. Maybe you can stay for a bit and I'll do it for my patrons who are on my Patreon. We'll talk more about pedals, but we've come to the end of episode.
>> Dan Tomlin: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Dan, thank you so much. My goodness, before I started this episode, all I thought about with regards to pedals and music, where pianos have pedals and drums have pedals, I didn't think of the importance of guitar pedals.
>> Dan Tomlin: It's huge. It's huge. And it's become such a large thing recently.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Dan Tomlin: Well, we'll have to.
>> Marco Timpano: We were even going to talk about puddles. So we'll have you back to talk more about guitar pedals, and maybe we'll dive into, pardon the pun, puddles on that. On that episode.
>> Dan Tomlin: That's right. Pedals and Puddles. Looking forward to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Dan, where can our listeners find you?
>> Dan Tomlin: well, you can definitely find me, making new episodes with Guitar Nerds. Or, I'm sorry, Guitar Nerds with Mers Nerds. Sorry, Guitar Nerds is a, another web, podcast that I follow. That's funny. They just got a plug. but outside of that, I, don't have anything solid at the moment. I'm working on, a few things right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. Well, might we see a guitar pedal deep dive on Mers Nerds?
>> Dan Tomlin: I could do a whole series on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Season two. Season two, my friends.
>> Dan Tomlin: Season two.
>> Marco Timpano: Dan Tomlin, thank you so much for being a part of the Insomnia Project and enlightening us, on guitar pedals.
>> Dan Tomlin: Thanks, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: And for everyone else, I hope you were able to enjoy this episode, however, it suits you best. And I hope you were able to listen and sleep.
At the Piano Bar with guest_ Katy Marquardt
(Original airdate: May 12, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a hopefully mundane conversation. Mundane for some of us. Anyways, that'll hopefully once again allow you to relax, chill, think of nothing but the topics we talk about, and drift off. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I am thrilled because I have a dear friend who I haven't seen in a while but have had such great times with. I want to welcome to the podcast Katie Marquardt from Chicago, who's joining us today.
>> Katie Marquardt: Hi, everybody. Thanks for having me. M. Marco, I'm very excited to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Katie, you know, I've been on your Twitch show, and now I'm so grateful to have you on this podcast. And I should just say that Katie and I worked for the Second City, a few years back, and we worked on cruise ships, entertaining thousands and thousands of people.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes. Twice a week.
>> Marco Timpano: Twice a week. And, you know, a lot of people are like, oh, Marco, you've traveled so much. It's because some of the work I did involved travel. And, Katie was our musical. Oh, I can't think of what it's called. A musical director. Musical.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, Music director.
>> Marco Timpano: Music director, improviser, performer, writer, writer of music. And sometimes our director. Oftentimes when we didn't know when the cast who was performing not behind musical instruments, didn't know what to do, we would turn to you and you'd be like, we're doing this next. You'd sort of guide us. And I'd be like, if it wasn't for Katie, God knows what we would. Would have been doing on the high seas.
>> Katie Marquardt: Oh, well, thank you. I think you're making me sound much more impressive than I am, but I appreciate that.
>> Marco Timpano: Katie, you are a master at the keys. You are a, ah, musical talent. You play multiple instruments. What brought you to music?
>> Katie Marquardt: When I was young? she still is, but my mom is a piano teacher, as you know.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Katie Marquardt: You didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that. I know your mom and I know your grandmother, but I didn't know your mom was a piano teacher.
>> Katie Marquardt: My mind is blown right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Mine is, too. And I'm getting excited. I'm going to try to calm down.
>> Katie Marquardt: So, yeah, so, she taught me to play. I started when I was three. I took a little break, and I think I started back again when I was 4 or 5 and kind of ready to learn. And, she taught me how to read music and play that way. and then when I was in college, they had a piano bar there that was a solo piano bar. But the gentleman that did it basically did a dueling piano show. Highly interactive, get the crowd to sing along, crowd request songs, parties with their friends. so then for my 21st birthday, I went to a club called Hal at the Moon here in Chicago and learn that, you know, between those two things, learned that that was a job that you could do. So then kind of took off from there with playing more by ear and without music and memorizing songs. and in the meantime, took a little detour with Second City because I was taking voice lessons from somebody who worked at the training center, here in Chicago. And she told me about an internship program that they had for music directors. And when I was in high school, my drama club field trip every year was to go see the main stage at Second City. So I knew Second City. I loved Second City. I'd taken improv classes as an actor and was like, whoa, why not? I mean, I probably won't get this internship, but I'll try it. Why not? Who cares? And I tried out and somehow I got it.
>> Marco Timpano: Not somehow, you're very talented. You deserve to get it. And I, can say it because I, I worked with you and I consider you a dear friend. I want to ask you something before we go into the Second City and howl at the Moon and your show.
>> Marco Timpano: I need to get to this spot.
Your mother was your music teacher. Was. Piano teacher you said, right? Yes. Back to knowing that your mother is now
Back to knowing that your mother is now was your music teacher. Was a music. Was. It was a piano teacher. Piano teacher you said, right?
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What style of playing does your mother have and how does it differ from your style of playing?
>> Katie Marquardt: Well, my mom, and she will say this too, she's not a performer.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Katie Marquardt: But she can sight read just about anything. Her sight reading skills are amazing. but. So she can play just about any piece of music you put in front of her, but she doesn't, she doesn't perform. You can always ask her, do you want to do I bet you wish that you were up there with your daughter? And she's like, no, it's not my thing. I'm okay. But she's really, she's a good teacher. She's taught people for a long time and she now she's in the teaching, multiple generations.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Katie Marquardt: because her style of teaching was always, if, if you wanted, if I wanted to play classical, which I did because those are impressive pieces and I like to be impressive and show off a little, she's fine with that. But if I'd wanted to learn some, you know, Beatles or whatever, I wanted to play whatever I was interested In I, I could play, there was no, like, no, you have to play this concerto and then you have to play this. So I think really a lot of people like to stick with that because I know a lot of piano teachers have that reputation of being strict, and being you have to do it this way and kind of taking a lot of the joy out of it for people.
>> Marco Timpano: That's wonderful.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, it was a great experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Some people I know, for example, I would love to play the guitar, but I want to play the music. I want to learn. I, want to play. So there's certain artists I want to learn how to play and I don't want to have to play someone else or, you know, I'd rather play a scaled back version of a song that I want to play than, you know, the prescribed things that one is supposed to learn. When you play an, instrument or a particular instrument.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, well, because then you're excited about it and you want to practice, you want to play, you want to get better so you can play that song that you really like 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
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So you mentioned how you went to go see Howl of the Moon. Howl at the Moon, Sorry. And how you realized, wow, what a great thing to be able to do. And now you've been working with Howl at the Moon and other piano bars for a while now, is that correct?
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes. over ten years now. Eleven years this year. Yeah, it's crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: And what about that job brings you joy?
>> Katie Marquardt: I always say I get paid to have fun with people. That's really what it is. And it's, it's a job that I'm never going to be done. I'm never going to be like, I've reached the top of, you know, because there's always new music, right? There's always new stuff to learn. And two, I always say, like, you're going to hear the same probably big tunes every night. You're going to hear Piano man, you're going to hear Sweet Caroline, just like that. But at the same time, the audience is always different. So along the way between those tunes, you're going to hear and see all different stuff. It's not the same every night, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Has a guest ever surprised you with their request?
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>> Katie Marquardt: yeah, I'm sure that they have.
Katie, watching you perform has been a delight for me
>> Marco Timpano: While you're thinking about that, you know, it doesn't have to be anything grand, but just think of what a guest may have surprised you. I just want to say this. It's one thing when you have a friend who's a performer and you know them and you hang out and you're like, you know, you know them as close friends and whatnot. And then when you see them, or when I saw you entertaining people behind the piano with another person, you guys were dueling and playing music against each other. And how you got a whole crowd of people in this bar to just sing along. It was such a magical thing. And you forget how talented your friends are often, or I did anyways, until you have that experience. And if you do get a chance to see, that type of a show, or if you do get to see Katie, it is quite a great experience. So I have to say, like, you know, watching you perform has been a delight for me.
>> Katie Marquardt: Thank you. I mean, it really is fun. I always tell people, as I told the story before, I was a customer at Piano Bars before I ever worked in them. And I just love requesting, like, if there was a song that's special to us, I'd want to go, like, Walking on Sunshine. I mean, it always brings up. I'd want to go request that because it's our special song, and I want to put my arm around you and sing it with you and just. It just makes. I just have a lot of really good memories. We took my Grandma for her 80th birthday, and she didn't want to leave. She was having so much fun. It's just a, Yeah, it's just a good, good time.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Katie Marquardt: I do. I. I couldn't think of a surprise just yet, but I did think of a lot of times people will get either the name of the song or the artist incorrect or something. Something like that when they bring up a request. And when I first started this, someone brought up, Are you familiar with the band Violent Femmes?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course.
>> Katie Marquardt: So they brought up the request, Raisin in the sun instead of Blister in the Sun. That always just sticks out in my mind of. Oh, close. But I know what you mean.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm kind of the worst at that because I won't know the name of the song, but I'll know something in the song, a lyric or two. So I will just tell Amanda I want to hear that song, and I'll just give a random lyric in the song, and she'll be like, what is that? And then I'll sing it, and I don't have a great singing voice, as you know. And she'll be like, this helps me even less than when you just told me the name of the lyric. And then now she just knows. Now I'll just say, you know that singer that has that voice that drives me crazy? And she'll be like, oh, this person? Or I'll be like, that singer that does this. And she'll be like, oh, you mean that person. And so she kind of deduces what song I want to hear based on. It's almost like a game of charades with me and her.
>> Katie Marquardt: That's what I was just gonna say. It is like a game. Sometimes when people bring up requests that I have to figure out. Like, someone requested Fast Machine by acdc, and my first instinct was like, oh, I don't know that song. And then I was like, oh, you shook me all night long. She was a fast machine, duh. so it does make. Keeps it entertaining most of the time. I won't call you out on it because I don't want to embarrass people or discourage people from bringing songs.
>> Marco Timpano: That's where you and I are the opposite. But I digress.
>> Katie Marquardt: But sometimes they're just too good that I can't.
>> Marco Timpano: Not now for our listeners who are. Sometimes people get annoyed because I've been talking about seeing you perform, and people are like, I'm not in Chicago. I'm not able to go and see you perform. But in this case, I mention it because people can see you perform as long as they can turn on a computer. And, I've been on your show, and your show's fantastic. And it is a great facsimile if you can't be at a piano bar and you want that experience from the comfort of your home.
Katie's online piano bar streams live on Twitch TV
Katie, tell us about Katie's online piano bar.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes. So it streams live on Twitch tv, and it was historically a platform for people to play video games and people to watch. but I discovered that there's a huge musical component on it as well. So you do not need an account on Twitch to watch anything, just if you want to participate in the chat. But really, I've tried to make it as interactive as if you were to see me in person. It's not the same. I can't hear you applaud. I can't hear you that. But the chat, you can put emotes in there and they show up on the screen. You can hit the applause button and that sound plays, things like that. That. And just really what it comes down to more is people hanging out and chatting with each other. More so than it is about me. But along the way, I also play your favorite songs that you request.
>> Marco Timpano: So you can request the songs, you can interact with Katie and you can listen to her perform the songs on Katie's online piano bar. So you would just go to Twitch TV and then type in Katie's piano bar. Is that correct?
>> Katie Marquardt: It's just Twitch TV. KatieOnkeys. And that's Katie with a Y. Katie onkeys.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's also your social media ationkeys. And listeners, don't worry if you don't remember this. I will have it in the show notes. You can go back and every Tuesday and Friday if you need a little pick me up. If you need something to do, if you want to do something different, and if you want to do it from the comfort of your home, you can bop, you can sing with her, you can shake, rattle and roll and participate with Katie on Katie's online piano bar. And she won't see you do those embarrassing things, but she will be happy to have you there.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes. So if you can't sing or you don't have good dance moves, it doesn't matter.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I have one of those two things in my back pocket. I won't say which, but, Okay.
Tell me about your first memory of your grandmother and fishing
Katie, I need to talk about your grandmother because we spoke about your mom, and I would like to speak about your grandmother because your grandmother is a delightful person that I've spent some great time with. So, her and I share a love of fishing, and she's one of the few people that I could talk for hours about fishing with.
>> Katie Marquardt: Oh, and her, too. She loves to talk fishing.
>> Marco Timpano: So tell me about the first time you remember your grandmother and fishing, because it's kind of a topic that I love. So tell me about your first experience with that. That you remember.
>> Katie Marquardt: No, absolutely. It's actually a memory that I have a lot of joy associated with, too. not so much for the fishing aspect, because, as you know, I'm vegetarian, but more so with the. Spending time with my grandparents. So when my grandpa was alive, they had a boat called Sweet sue, after my. After my mom.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Katie Marquardt: And they lived in. They've lived in Florida my whole life.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, your grandparents lived in Florida your whole life because you're from Indiana originally.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And. And Susan, Indiana. You're in Chicago and you have a sister, right?
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes. In Bermuda.
>> Marco Timpano: In Bermuda, that's right. Okay.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, we're spread all out. but. So in the summer, I would go stay with them for two weeks. They'd come, they'd drive up, they'd get me, we'd drive back down to Florida, and we'd get up. That's the only time I ever was willing to get up at the crack of dawn, because, as you know, as a fisherman, that's a lot of times when you got to go to get the bites. so, yeah, we would just.
>> Marco Timpano: Betty doesn't strike me as someone. Betty's your grandmother, who, you know, she's not someone who snoozes and loses.
>> Katie Marquardt: No, absolutely not. She wants to get. Get up and get those fish for sure. But, yeah, so we would go. Go out on the boat and get to watch the sunrise and just. It just reminds me of getting to spend time with both of them. And it was just a very joyous, nice. I mean, I'm sure there were mornings I was cranky because I was. Especially when I got a little bit older, but still, even then, it was just a beautiful day out on the water, and the Lakes in Florida.
>> Marco Timpano: Please give her my regards.
>> Katie Marquardt: I absolutely will.
There's a memory I want to share with you about cruise ships
>> Marco Timpano: And speaking of being on boats, you and I were on a cruise ship together and you did multiple cruise ships. There's a memory I want to share with you. I don't know if you remember. We would dock in Florida, we would go into, Cape Canaveral, I believe it was.
>> Marco Timpano: And when we first got into Florida, we would be boating, I don't know what you call it, sailing alongside Florida. And as we got into sort of the, the tip or like near Miami, however you, you get into Florida to get to Cape Canaveral, there would be dolphins that would follow our boat. And I would wake up early because we would often get there very early just to watch those dolphins, tag alongside us.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes, I totally remember that. Because where our cabins were was at the back of the boat and we could sit outside. So I would, I would always sit at the back of the boat and looked down. And the first time I saw them, I thought they were fish. And it didn't occur to me, oh, they're dolphins. Because you're so high up that they look so tiny.
What are some of your favorite ports on a cruise
>> Marco Timpano: What are some of your favorite ports?
>> Katie Marquardt: Ooh, good one. I loved, Barcelona, Spain.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Katie Marquardt: I did a Mediterranean Cruise, in 2019 with how the Moon. I loved that city. That was a great city. I loved, we stopped in Guatemala actually, after you guys got off the ship for my next contract because I stayed behind to do another contract. That was just a beautiful place. I saw waterfalls and hot springs and all kinds of just gorgeous stuff. I always like Cozumel just because it's familiar and I've been there and there's a nice craft beer bar there that I found.
>> Marco Timpano: It's always nice when you find those little hidden gems that become part of your experience of that place.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah. And, when you and I were on. Actually, Bar Harbor, Maine is one of my favorite places I've ever been.
>> Marco Timpano: Bar Harbor, Maine is my favorite. Stop. That we did.
>> Katie Marquardt: I love that national park. Oh, it's beautiful. Especially when we did it in the fall. So pretty.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember you, myself, and our dear friend Derek Shipman and Amanda Barker, who the guests know. We rented mopeds and we drove around, I want to say Martha's Vineyard.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, it was.
>> Marco Timpano: And we just drove around free and fancy and just having a good old time. That was one thing I'll always remember.
>> Katie Marquardt: That was a perfect day. I always, Because my screensaver will be old photos just from my whole photo library. So every once In a while, those come up, and I always just pause and look at them, like, oh, that was such a great day.
>> Marco Timpano: And we also performed with Academy, award nominee Steven Yun. Was on our. Was on our ship is a friend of ours who we performed with. And that was fun, too.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember we would rehearse, and sometimes there would be that drop. The boat would, like, drop, and you would feel almost suspended in the air. I don't remember that. Those moments where.
>> Katie Marquardt: I remember that from storms when the weather would be bad, like, the ship would go up and then just slam back down. Yeah, definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember that. Going to Bermuda, we would often face that kind of, not stormy, but kind of like trickier weather, I guess.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah. Coming out of New York. Yeah, definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: Those were fun times, I must say.
>> Katie Marquardt: I should have said Bermuda was one of my favorite ports, since my sister now lives there, and now she'll know
>> Marco Timpano: forever that it wasn't one of your favorite ports. What does your sister do, Bermuda?
>> Katie Marquardt: she's an actuary, so she works for an insurance company there.
>> Marco Timpano: Ooh, Lots of numbers.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Does she get to do numbers in shorts? In Bermuda shorts?
>> Katie Marquardt: Probably. Now, if they're, like, working from home, you know, I think the Bermuda shorts are more of a, menswear.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, yes, of course.
>> Katie Marquardt: For the business.
>> Marco Timpano: But I should know that. I mean, we were there. You know what? I have no problems wearing shorts with socks in that fashion. I think it's. I think it's quite. I don't know. There's something quite debonair about it.
>> Katie Marquardt: I think they're actually really nice looking. I like the Bermuda shorts. I thought that was very cute the first time we went. Aww.
>> Marco Timpano: okay, Katie, I'm gonna go back to music for a second.
Is there an artist that feels good on your fingers when playing their music
>> Katie Marquardt: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a artist that feels good on the fingers when you play their music? Something that's like people. You know, people love the sound of certain artists voices. People like the lyrics written by songwriters, and people, like, tune the tune. But I'm wondering if there's a particular artist who, when you're playing their music, gives your fingers a workout or gives your. Your fingers and your hands a really nice feel. Is there something tactile about someone's music?
>> Katie Marquardt: Oh, for sure. I think anytime there's, like, an impressive run or anything that you can work hard and get, you know, much like in classical music. But definitely as far as, on the poppier side, Ben Folds definitely has that aspect to his music not being just, you know, chords. And then obviously a lot of The Doors stuff, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Katie Marquardt: You know, kind of the organ runs and things like that? Yeah, absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there an artist whose music when you play it puts you in a good mood when you play it, not when you listen to it?
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, I always, like. Well, there's not too much I don't like, which makes me uniquely qualified for my job. But I always, like, In more recent years, Lizzo's music's always been fun and empowering to play.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Katie Marquardt: I like that a lot. I played Come Together the other night at work, and that was just. I was just really feeling it and grooving to it, so that's a fun one.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, when people request songs at a piano bar, what is some etiquette? They should be aware of that maybe people don't know. like, should we be buying you drinks?
>> Katie Marquardt: You can. I would always check with the piano player first. I wouldn't just send something. some people might be okay with that, but I know that way, if somebody. Because a lot of times, especially if I'm driving after a gig, I can't drink that much, and then I feel bad. But, But, yeah, you know, any kind of appreciation, we've got a tip jar out. You can bring it up with a tip. We certainly appreciate that. But honestly, for me, if you're just having a good time singing with your friends, I mean, especially now, since it's been so long since I've had that. It's great just to have you excited and having a great time. It just. It always means a lot. One of the times that sticks out in my memory of just a time that really was special, I was playing at this. It was somewhere in the suburbs, some restaurant. I can't even remember the name of it, but there was this older couple and a. And a woman sitting all together, and they'd get up and dance occasionally, and they looked like they were having a really good time. And then, the woman came up to me and she said, this is the first time that I've been out in a long time, and I'm here with my husband's best friend from high school, and I'm just having an absolute blast. And it just really meant, you know, stuff like that where it's like, you don't necessarily realize, but then they come up and tell you, like, wow, this really made my night. I had such a great time. Things like that. Just, you know, that's awesome. That's what means a lot to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Of course you're able to, you know, really affect people who listen to your art form. Always a joy. I think I want to mention to our listeners, if you are able to check out Katie's online piano bar by going to twitchtv.com and then Twitch TV.
>> Katie Marquardt: Thank you. Yeah, it's a weird one.
>> Marco Timpano: You can see how great I am. Twitch tv. Ationkeys. You can join in on Tuesdays and Fridays. When you message her, tell her that you heard her here on the Insomnia Project so she can see how our fans like to support other creatives.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes, please stop by. I would love it so much. Marco is one of my dear friends as well. I love him to death. So I was super excited to come on your podcast and chat with you. Any excuse to chat with my friends is just awesome.
>> Marco Timpano: For sure. Well, Katie, it's been an absolute pleasure. Time just flew by.
Is there a song that you are tired of playing that people request
before we go, I want to know, is there a song that you are tired of playing that you wish people would not request anymore?
>> Katie Marquardt: there's not. Like I said, there's not too many that I don't like. I mean, I'm not gonna listen to Piano man on my own anymore. But I understand that people, they don't hear it every day, and they like to sing that at the top of their lungs. The only time is where they. If it's a song that the audience isn't gonna dig. Like, every once in a while, with the meatloaf tune paradise by the Dashboard Lights, I'll get a crowd that just does not know that song. And it's very long, and so it just kind of falls flat sometimes. But other than that, but there are nights when everybody knows every word to that and loves it. And so it just really depends.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a friend who's a caroler or who was a professional caroler, and she would say that sometimes companies would hire them for, like, a half hour to come to their Christmas party and sing Christmas carols to get the company in the spirits. And she'd be like, whenever someone requested the 12 days of Christmas or the 12 nights of Christmas, she'd be like, we would tell them, we can play it, but that's gonna be half the time. We could sing so many more carols in there. And she'd be like. There'd always be someone who would be insistent, and she'd be like, we'd sing it. And then be like, well, thanks, Merry Christmas. We'll see you next year. And the person who was paying for the party would be like, you only sang three songs, and she's like, well, you said open it up to requests.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, well, yeah, especially because what I will do sometimes, especially with songs like, especially if I see that it's not going well. I'll edit it, we'll cut it down, we'll do a shorter version. But you can't really do that with 12 days of Christmas. Like, you skipped days seven through 10.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, listen, those lords were tired of leaping, and that's all. That's all we had the time for.
>> Katie Marquardt: They don't want to leap anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: How much leaping can you possibly do for this month? Katie, listen, I of course, wish you all the best. Thank you so much. You're always welcome here on the Insomnia Project. Who knows, maybe around Christmas time we'll have you play a few carols for us.
>> Katie Marquardt: Oh, I'd love that. That'd be awesome. I could do that. I could do that in a subdued, calm, nice voice instead of my usual.
>> Marco Timpano: Our holiday episodes are up for grabs. I always kind of warn our listeners, listen, these are the holiday episodes. They're not necessarily our regular episodes. So, you know, we can always figure something out. But we'll get you in before December. Katie, thank you so much for being a guest on the Insomnia project.
>> Katie Marquardt: Thank you for having me. It's lovely to chat with you.
>> Marco Timpano: And remember, you can catch her. That's Katie Marquardt on Twitch. That's Twitch tv. Her handle is Katie Onkeys. Don't worry, I'll have it in the show notes. But she's, That's her handle for all her social media and her show. Her piano show is called Katie. Katie's online piano bar. Until the next time, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: May 12, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a hopefully mundane conversation. Mundane for some of us. Anyways, that'll hopefully once again allow you to relax, chill, think of nothing but the topics we talk about, and drift off. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I am thrilled because I have a dear friend who I haven't seen in a while but have had such great times with. I want to welcome to the podcast Katie Marquardt from Chicago, who's joining us today.
>> Katie Marquardt: Hi, everybody. Thanks for having me. M. Marco, I'm very excited to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Katie, you know, I've been on your Twitch show, and now I'm so grateful to have you on this podcast. And I should just say that Katie and I worked for the Second City, a few years back, and we worked on cruise ships, entertaining thousands and thousands of people.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes. Twice a week.
>> Marco Timpano: Twice a week. And, you know, a lot of people are like, oh, Marco, you've traveled so much. It's because some of the work I did involved travel. And, Katie was our musical. Oh, I can't think of what it's called. A musical director. Musical.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, Music director.
>> Marco Timpano: Music director, improviser, performer, writer, writer of music. And sometimes our director. Oftentimes when we didn't know when the cast who was performing not behind musical instruments, didn't know what to do, we would turn to you and you'd be like, we're doing this next. You'd sort of guide us. And I'd be like, if it wasn't for Katie, God knows what we would. Would have been doing on the high seas.
>> Katie Marquardt: Oh, well, thank you. I think you're making me sound much more impressive than I am, but I appreciate that.
>> Marco Timpano: Katie, you are a master at the keys. You are a, ah, musical talent. You play multiple instruments. What brought you to music?
>> Katie Marquardt: When I was young? she still is, but my mom is a piano teacher, as you know.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Katie Marquardt: You didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that. I know your mom and I know your grandmother, but I didn't know your mom was a piano teacher.
>> Katie Marquardt: My mind is blown right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Mine is, too. And I'm getting excited. I'm going to try to calm down.
>> Katie Marquardt: So, yeah, so, she taught me to play. I started when I was three. I took a little break, and I think I started back again when I was 4 or 5 and kind of ready to learn. And, she taught me how to read music and play that way. and then when I was in college, they had a piano bar there that was a solo piano bar. But the gentleman that did it basically did a dueling piano show. Highly interactive, get the crowd to sing along, crowd request songs, parties with their friends. so then for my 21st birthday, I went to a club called Hal at the Moon here in Chicago and learn that, you know, between those two things, learned that that was a job that you could do. So then kind of took off from there with playing more by ear and without music and memorizing songs. and in the meantime, took a little detour with Second City because I was taking voice lessons from somebody who worked at the training center, here in Chicago. And she told me about an internship program that they had for music directors. And when I was in high school, my drama club field trip every year was to go see the main stage at Second City. So I knew Second City. I loved Second City. I'd taken improv classes as an actor and was like, whoa, why not? I mean, I probably won't get this internship, but I'll try it. Why not? Who cares? And I tried out and somehow I got it.
>> Marco Timpano: Not somehow, you're very talented. You deserve to get it. And I, can say it because I, I worked with you and I consider you a dear friend. I want to ask you something before we go into the Second City and howl at the Moon and your show.
>> Marco Timpano: I need to get to this spot.
Your mother was your music teacher. Was. Piano teacher you said, right? Yes. Back to knowing that your mother is now
Back to knowing that your mother is now was your music teacher. Was a music. Was. It was a piano teacher. Piano teacher you said, right?
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What style of playing does your mother have and how does it differ from your style of playing?
>> Katie Marquardt: Well, my mom, and she will say this too, she's not a performer.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Katie Marquardt: But she can sight read just about anything. Her sight reading skills are amazing. but. So she can play just about any piece of music you put in front of her, but she doesn't, she doesn't perform. You can always ask her, do you want to do I bet you wish that you were up there with your daughter? And she's like, no, it's not my thing. I'm okay. But she's really, she's a good teacher. She's taught people for a long time and she now she's in the teaching, multiple generations.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Katie Marquardt: because her style of teaching was always, if, if you wanted, if I wanted to play classical, which I did because those are impressive pieces and I like to be impressive and show off a little, she's fine with that. But if I'd wanted to learn some, you know, Beatles or whatever, I wanted to play whatever I was interested In I, I could play, there was no, like, no, you have to play this concerto and then you have to play this. So I think really a lot of people like to stick with that because I know a lot of piano teachers have that reputation of being strict, and being you have to do it this way and kind of taking a lot of the joy out of it for people.
>> Marco Timpano: That's wonderful.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, it was a great experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Some people I know, for example, I would love to play the guitar, but I want to play the music. I want to learn. I, want to play. So there's certain artists I want to learn how to play and I don't want to have to play someone else or, you know, I'd rather play a scaled back version of a song that I want to play than, you know, the prescribed things that one is supposed to learn. When you play an, instrument or a particular instrument.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, well, because then you're excited about it and you want to practice, you want to play, you want to get better so you can play that song that you really like 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
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So you mentioned how you went to go see Howl of the Moon. Howl at the Moon, Sorry. And how you realized, wow, what a great thing to be able to do. And now you've been working with Howl at the Moon and other piano bars for a while now, is that correct?
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes. over ten years now. Eleven years this year. Yeah, it's crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: And what about that job brings you joy?
>> Katie Marquardt: I always say I get paid to have fun with people. That's really what it is. And it's, it's a job that I'm never going to be done. I'm never going to be like, I've reached the top of, you know, because there's always new music, right? There's always new stuff to learn. And two, I always say, like, you're going to hear the same probably big tunes every night. You're going to hear Piano man, you're going to hear Sweet Caroline, just like that. But at the same time, the audience is always different. So along the way between those tunes, you're going to hear and see all different stuff. It's not the same every night, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Has a guest ever surprised you with their request?
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>> Katie Marquardt: yeah, I'm sure that they have.
Katie, watching you perform has been a delight for me
>> Marco Timpano: While you're thinking about that, you know, it doesn't have to be anything grand, but just think of what a guest may have surprised you. I just want to say this. It's one thing when you have a friend who's a performer and you know them and you hang out and you're like, you know, you know them as close friends and whatnot. And then when you see them, or when I saw you entertaining people behind the piano with another person, you guys were dueling and playing music against each other. And how you got a whole crowd of people in this bar to just sing along. It was such a magical thing. And you forget how talented your friends are often, or I did anyways, until you have that experience. And if you do get a chance to see, that type of a show, or if you do get to see Katie, it is quite a great experience. So I have to say, like, you know, watching you perform has been a delight for me.
>> Katie Marquardt: Thank you. I mean, it really is fun. I always tell people, as I told the story before, I was a customer at Piano Bars before I ever worked in them. And I just love requesting, like, if there was a song that's special to us, I'd want to go, like, Walking on Sunshine. I mean, it always brings up. I'd want to go request that because it's our special song, and I want to put my arm around you and sing it with you and just. It just makes. I just have a lot of really good memories. We took my Grandma for her 80th birthday, and she didn't want to leave. She was having so much fun. It's just a, Yeah, it's just a good, good time.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Katie Marquardt: I do. I. I couldn't think of a surprise just yet, but I did think of a lot of times people will get either the name of the song or the artist incorrect or something. Something like that when they bring up a request. And when I first started this, someone brought up, Are you familiar with the band Violent Femmes?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course.
>> Katie Marquardt: So they brought up the request, Raisin in the sun instead of Blister in the Sun. That always just sticks out in my mind of. Oh, close. But I know what you mean.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm kind of the worst at that because I won't know the name of the song, but I'll know something in the song, a lyric or two. So I will just tell Amanda I want to hear that song, and I'll just give a random lyric in the song, and she'll be like, what is that? And then I'll sing it, and I don't have a great singing voice, as you know. And she'll be like, this helps me even less than when you just told me the name of the lyric. And then now she just knows. Now I'll just say, you know that singer that has that voice that drives me crazy? And she'll be like, oh, this person? Or I'll be like, that singer that does this. And she'll be like, oh, you mean that person. And so she kind of deduces what song I want to hear based on. It's almost like a game of charades with me and her.
>> Katie Marquardt: That's what I was just gonna say. It is like a game. Sometimes when people bring up requests that I have to figure out. Like, someone requested Fast Machine by acdc, and my first instinct was like, oh, I don't know that song. And then I was like, oh, you shook me all night long. She was a fast machine, duh. so it does make. Keeps it entertaining most of the time. I won't call you out on it because I don't want to embarrass people or discourage people from bringing songs.
>> Marco Timpano: That's where you and I are the opposite. But I digress.
>> Katie Marquardt: But sometimes they're just too good that I can't.
>> Marco Timpano: Not now for our listeners who are. Sometimes people get annoyed because I've been talking about seeing you perform, and people are like, I'm not in Chicago. I'm not able to go and see you perform. But in this case, I mention it because people can see you perform as long as they can turn on a computer. And, I've been on your show, and your show's fantastic. And it is a great facsimile if you can't be at a piano bar and you want that experience from the comfort of your home.
Katie's online piano bar streams live on Twitch TV
Katie, tell us about Katie's online piano bar.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes. So it streams live on Twitch tv, and it was historically a platform for people to play video games and people to watch. but I discovered that there's a huge musical component on it as well. So you do not need an account on Twitch to watch anything, just if you want to participate in the chat. But really, I've tried to make it as interactive as if you were to see me in person. It's not the same. I can't hear you applaud. I can't hear you that. But the chat, you can put emotes in there and they show up on the screen. You can hit the applause button and that sound plays, things like that. That. And just really what it comes down to more is people hanging out and chatting with each other. More so than it is about me. But along the way, I also play your favorite songs that you request.
>> Marco Timpano: So you can request the songs, you can interact with Katie and you can listen to her perform the songs on Katie's online piano bar. So you would just go to Twitch TV and then type in Katie's piano bar. Is that correct?
>> Katie Marquardt: It's just Twitch TV. KatieOnkeys. And that's Katie with a Y. Katie onkeys.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's also your social media ationkeys. And listeners, don't worry if you don't remember this. I will have it in the show notes. You can go back and every Tuesday and Friday if you need a little pick me up. If you need something to do, if you want to do something different, and if you want to do it from the comfort of your home, you can bop, you can sing with her, you can shake, rattle and roll and participate with Katie on Katie's online piano bar. And she won't see you do those embarrassing things, but she will be happy to have you there.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes. So if you can't sing or you don't have good dance moves, it doesn't matter.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I have one of those two things in my back pocket. I won't say which, but, Okay.
Tell me about your first memory of your grandmother and fishing
Katie, I need to talk about your grandmother because we spoke about your mom, and I would like to speak about your grandmother because your grandmother is a delightful person that I've spent some great time with. So, her and I share a love of fishing, and she's one of the few people that I could talk for hours about fishing with.
>> Katie Marquardt: Oh, and her, too. She loves to talk fishing.
>> Marco Timpano: So tell me about the first time you remember your grandmother and fishing, because it's kind of a topic that I love. So tell me about your first experience with that. That you remember.
>> Katie Marquardt: No, absolutely. It's actually a memory that I have a lot of joy associated with, too. not so much for the fishing aspect, because, as you know, I'm vegetarian, but more so with the. Spending time with my grandparents. So when my grandpa was alive, they had a boat called Sweet sue, after my. After my mom.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Katie Marquardt: And they lived in. They've lived in Florida my whole life.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, your grandparents lived in Florida your whole life because you're from Indiana originally.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And. And Susan, Indiana. You're in Chicago and you have a sister, right?
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes. In Bermuda.
>> Marco Timpano: In Bermuda, that's right. Okay.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, we're spread all out. but. So in the summer, I would go stay with them for two weeks. They'd come, they'd drive up, they'd get me, we'd drive back down to Florida, and we'd get up. That's the only time I ever was willing to get up at the crack of dawn, because, as you know, as a fisherman, that's a lot of times when you got to go to get the bites. so, yeah, we would just.
>> Marco Timpano: Betty doesn't strike me as someone. Betty's your grandmother, who, you know, she's not someone who snoozes and loses.
>> Katie Marquardt: No, absolutely not. She wants to get. Get up and get those fish for sure. But, yeah, so we would go. Go out on the boat and get to watch the sunrise and just. It just reminds me of getting to spend time with both of them. And it was just a very joyous, nice. I mean, I'm sure there were mornings I was cranky because I was. Especially when I got a little bit older, but still, even then, it was just a beautiful day out on the water, and the Lakes in Florida.
>> Marco Timpano: Please give her my regards.
>> Katie Marquardt: I absolutely will.
There's a memory I want to share with you about cruise ships
>> Marco Timpano: And speaking of being on boats, you and I were on a cruise ship together and you did multiple cruise ships. There's a memory I want to share with you. I don't know if you remember. We would dock in Florida, we would go into, Cape Canaveral, I believe it was.
>> Marco Timpano: And when we first got into Florida, we would be boating, I don't know what you call it, sailing alongside Florida. And as we got into sort of the, the tip or like near Miami, however you, you get into Florida to get to Cape Canaveral, there would be dolphins that would follow our boat. And I would wake up early because we would often get there very early just to watch those dolphins, tag alongside us.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes, I totally remember that. Because where our cabins were was at the back of the boat and we could sit outside. So I would, I would always sit at the back of the boat and looked down. And the first time I saw them, I thought they were fish. And it didn't occur to me, oh, they're dolphins. Because you're so high up that they look so tiny.
What are some of your favorite ports on a cruise
>> Marco Timpano: What are some of your favorite ports?
>> Katie Marquardt: Ooh, good one. I loved, Barcelona, Spain.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Katie Marquardt: I did a Mediterranean Cruise, in 2019 with how the Moon. I loved that city. That was a great city. I loved, we stopped in Guatemala actually, after you guys got off the ship for my next contract because I stayed behind to do another contract. That was just a beautiful place. I saw waterfalls and hot springs and all kinds of just gorgeous stuff. I always like Cozumel just because it's familiar and I've been there and there's a nice craft beer bar there that I found.
>> Marco Timpano: It's always nice when you find those little hidden gems that become part of your experience of that place.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah. And, when you and I were on. Actually, Bar Harbor, Maine is one of my favorite places I've ever been.
>> Marco Timpano: Bar Harbor, Maine is my favorite. Stop. That we did.
>> Katie Marquardt: I love that national park. Oh, it's beautiful. Especially when we did it in the fall. So pretty.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember you, myself, and our dear friend Derek Shipman and Amanda Barker, who the guests know. We rented mopeds and we drove around, I want to say Martha's Vineyard.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, it was.
>> Marco Timpano: And we just drove around free and fancy and just having a good old time. That was one thing I'll always remember.
>> Katie Marquardt: That was a perfect day. I always, Because my screensaver will be old photos just from my whole photo library. So every once In a while, those come up, and I always just pause and look at them, like, oh, that was such a great day.
>> Marco Timpano: And we also performed with Academy, award nominee Steven Yun. Was on our. Was on our ship is a friend of ours who we performed with. And that was fun, too.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember we would rehearse, and sometimes there would be that drop. The boat would, like, drop, and you would feel almost suspended in the air. I don't remember that. Those moments where.
>> Katie Marquardt: I remember that from storms when the weather would be bad, like, the ship would go up and then just slam back down. Yeah, definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember that. Going to Bermuda, we would often face that kind of, not stormy, but kind of like trickier weather, I guess.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah. Coming out of New York. Yeah, definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: Those were fun times, I must say.
>> Katie Marquardt: I should have said Bermuda was one of my favorite ports, since my sister now lives there, and now she'll know
>> Marco Timpano: forever that it wasn't one of your favorite ports. What does your sister do, Bermuda?
>> Katie Marquardt: she's an actuary, so she works for an insurance company there.
>> Marco Timpano: Ooh, Lots of numbers.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Does she get to do numbers in shorts? In Bermuda shorts?
>> Katie Marquardt: Probably. Now, if they're, like, working from home, you know, I think the Bermuda shorts are more of a, menswear.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, yes, of course.
>> Katie Marquardt: For the business.
>> Marco Timpano: But I should know that. I mean, we were there. You know what? I have no problems wearing shorts with socks in that fashion. I think it's. I think it's quite. I don't know. There's something quite debonair about it.
>> Katie Marquardt: I think they're actually really nice looking. I like the Bermuda shorts. I thought that was very cute the first time we went. Aww.
>> Marco Timpano: okay, Katie, I'm gonna go back to music for a second.
Is there an artist that feels good on your fingers when playing their music
>> Katie Marquardt: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a artist that feels good on the fingers when you play their music? Something that's like people. You know, people love the sound of certain artists voices. People like the lyrics written by songwriters, and people, like, tune the tune. But I'm wondering if there's a particular artist who, when you're playing their music, gives your fingers a workout or gives your. Your fingers and your hands a really nice feel. Is there something tactile about someone's music?
>> Katie Marquardt: Oh, for sure. I think anytime there's, like, an impressive run or anything that you can work hard and get, you know, much like in classical music. But definitely as far as, on the poppier side, Ben Folds definitely has that aspect to his music not being just, you know, chords. And then obviously a lot of The Doors stuff, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Katie Marquardt: You know, kind of the organ runs and things like that? Yeah, absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there an artist whose music when you play it puts you in a good mood when you play it, not when you listen to it?
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, I always, like. Well, there's not too much I don't like, which makes me uniquely qualified for my job. But I always, like, In more recent years, Lizzo's music's always been fun and empowering to play.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Katie Marquardt: I like that a lot. I played Come Together the other night at work, and that was just. I was just really feeling it and grooving to it, so that's a fun one.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, when people request songs at a piano bar, what is some etiquette? They should be aware of that maybe people don't know. like, should we be buying you drinks?
>> Katie Marquardt: You can. I would always check with the piano player first. I wouldn't just send something. some people might be okay with that, but I know that way, if somebody. Because a lot of times, especially if I'm driving after a gig, I can't drink that much, and then I feel bad. But, But, yeah, you know, any kind of appreciation, we've got a tip jar out. You can bring it up with a tip. We certainly appreciate that. But honestly, for me, if you're just having a good time singing with your friends, I mean, especially now, since it's been so long since I've had that. It's great just to have you excited and having a great time. It just. It always means a lot. One of the times that sticks out in my memory of just a time that really was special, I was playing at this. It was somewhere in the suburbs, some restaurant. I can't even remember the name of it, but there was this older couple and a. And a woman sitting all together, and they'd get up and dance occasionally, and they looked like they were having a really good time. And then, the woman came up to me and she said, this is the first time that I've been out in a long time, and I'm here with my husband's best friend from high school, and I'm just having an absolute blast. And it just really meant, you know, stuff like that where it's like, you don't necessarily realize, but then they come up and tell you, like, wow, this really made my night. I had such a great time. Things like that. Just, you know, that's awesome. That's what means a lot to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Of course you're able to, you know, really affect people who listen to your art form. Always a joy. I think I want to mention to our listeners, if you are able to check out Katie's online piano bar by going to twitchtv.com and then Twitch TV.
>> Katie Marquardt: Thank you. Yeah, it's a weird one.
>> Marco Timpano: You can see how great I am. Twitch tv. Ationkeys. You can join in on Tuesdays and Fridays. When you message her, tell her that you heard her here on the Insomnia Project so she can see how our fans like to support other creatives.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yes, please stop by. I would love it so much. Marco is one of my dear friends as well. I love him to death. So I was super excited to come on your podcast and chat with you. Any excuse to chat with my friends is just awesome.
>> Marco Timpano: For sure. Well, Katie, it's been an absolute pleasure. Time just flew by.
Is there a song that you are tired of playing that people request
before we go, I want to know, is there a song that you are tired of playing that you wish people would not request anymore?
>> Katie Marquardt: there's not. Like I said, there's not too many that I don't like. I mean, I'm not gonna listen to Piano man on my own anymore. But I understand that people, they don't hear it every day, and they like to sing that at the top of their lungs. The only time is where they. If it's a song that the audience isn't gonna dig. Like, every once in a while, with the meatloaf tune paradise by the Dashboard Lights, I'll get a crowd that just does not know that song. And it's very long, and so it just kind of falls flat sometimes. But other than that, but there are nights when everybody knows every word to that and loves it. And so it just really depends.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a friend who's a caroler or who was a professional caroler, and she would say that sometimes companies would hire them for, like, a half hour to come to their Christmas party and sing Christmas carols to get the company in the spirits. And she'd be like, whenever someone requested the 12 days of Christmas or the 12 nights of Christmas, she'd be like, we would tell them, we can play it, but that's gonna be half the time. We could sing so many more carols in there. And she'd be like. There'd always be someone who would be insistent, and she'd be like, we'd sing it. And then be like, well, thanks, Merry Christmas. We'll see you next year. And the person who was paying for the party would be like, you only sang three songs, and she's like, well, you said open it up to requests.
>> Katie Marquardt: Yeah, well, yeah, especially because what I will do sometimes, especially with songs like, especially if I see that it's not going well. I'll edit it, we'll cut it down, we'll do a shorter version. But you can't really do that with 12 days of Christmas. Like, you skipped days seven through 10.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, listen, those lords were tired of leaping, and that's all. That's all we had the time for.
>> Katie Marquardt: They don't want to leap anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: How much leaping can you possibly do for this month? Katie, listen, I of course, wish you all the best. Thank you so much. You're always welcome here on the Insomnia Project. Who knows, maybe around Christmas time we'll have you play a few carols for us.
>> Katie Marquardt: Oh, I'd love that. That'd be awesome. I could do that. I could do that in a subdued, calm, nice voice instead of my usual.
>> Marco Timpano: Our holiday episodes are up for grabs. I always kind of warn our listeners, listen, these are the holiday episodes. They're not necessarily our regular episodes. So, you know, we can always figure something out. But we'll get you in before December. Katie, thank you so much for being a guest on the Insomnia project.
>> Katie Marquardt: Thank you for having me. It's lovely to chat with you.
>> Marco Timpano: And remember, you can catch her. That's Katie Marquardt on Twitch. That's Twitch tv. Her handle is Katie Onkeys. Don't worry, I'll have it in the show notes. But she's, That's her handle for all her social media and her show. Her piano show is called Katie. Katie's online piano bar. Until the next time, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Batman talk
(Oridinal airdate: April 21, 2021)
Joining me today is a dear friend, Tyler Murray, who, I've had you on the, podcast before, and I'm happy to have you back. Welcome, Tyler.
>> Tyler Murray: Thanks, Marco. It's great to be back.
>> Marco Timpano: Now I'm so pleased to know that you also have a podcast called Mers Nerds. Tell us about your podcast.
>> Tyler Murray: So Mers Nerds started off as a, and continues to be a Facebook page. a few years ago I think I was living in New York City. And, I'm a big nerd. I love all things Batman and it's kind of, spread to other superheroes. I love me some Superman. And you know, with the Marvel success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the last few years, I've really become a fan of that as well. But the one thing I don't like about being a nerd is, the toxic fandom online.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah. So. And I think at the time when this all started, I think I was reading an article about how someone was just so upset that Ben Affleck was the new Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Tyler Murray: And for, you know, for. They were mad because he didn't give a great performance in a movie from 10 years ago or 10 years previous. And I thought, and as an actor, I was offended by that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: you know, you can't judge someone based on their abilities from 10 years ago. People grow so much. Anywho, of course, I just, I got really irate. Now, it should also be noted that I was probably at least a half or three quarters through a bottle of wine at the time. But, in my anger I thought, you know, I just want to create a place on the Internet for like minded nerds who just. Who really enjoy these subjects, enjoy these topics. But. But don't enjoy the vitriol.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: So I went on my Facebook page and I created a group and I called it Mers Nerds. It sounded very elegant at the time. And I just went through my friends list and I chose, I think I chose around 25 people who I thought would be amenable to this idea.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I was not one of them, for the record.
>> Tyler Murray: Well, I didn't know. and you've even said to me, you're not really huge on the comic book genre. Right. Or the superheroes and stuff like that.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not, I'm not listening. I love the movies. I can understand why people love it, but I would not sit down and read a comic book. that's just not my thing.
>> Tyler Murray: Fair enough. Fair enough. And you know, I think if you're like, if I were to ask my dad and be like, dad, ah, do you think, 40 year old men should be watching comic books? You'd be like, no. What's wrong with you? When you turn 12, that should be shut down.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, right?
>> Tyler Murray: My dad is a very nice person.
>> Marco Timpano: He's not a jerk.
>> Tyler Murray: But, anyway, so I chose the 25 people and I invited them to the group and I went to bed, I woke up the next morning and I was like, oh my God, what have I done? These 25 friends are gonna make such fun of me. Cause I had a mission statement too, of like, are you sick and tired of the bullies on the Internet or the trolls and, you know, invited them. And I was just fully expecting a bunch of people to, have a good ribbing at me, or toward me. And oddly enough, the opposite happened. It really took off.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this is cool, people.
>> Tyler Murray: We started just kind of, and not super duper in depth conversations. You know, sometimes it's people just sharing a funny meme. Sometimes people find a good article or they'll watch, a recent show or a movie and be like, oh, this is my two cents. Or people would come to me especially and they'd be like, well, what do you think about Ben Affleck being chosen as Batman? I was like, you know, great, let's talk about that. So it just started conversations about some of our favorite things. And the rule was always if you disagree with someone, it's just agree to disagree or present your two points. And every like, once in a blue moon, I've stepped in and been like, okay, everybody just calm down. And people totally get it.
>> Marco Timpano: So this is Merzner's. This is not.
>> Tyler Murray: It's just, you know, Tyler Murr Reese friends who happen to be nerds. And we're just discussing. And it's grown now in the six years that's been around. It went from 25 people. I think there's maybe just more than 100 right now, which is nice. You know what I mean? And I've allowed people to invite friends of friends if they think they're like minded people. And I've never had a problem on the page ever. And it's the, topics have grown. So now, recently Disney and Marvel released a show called WandaVision. And they released it, they kind of went Old school. And they released an episode a week instead of everyone just being able to binge watch the entire series. But every Friday after the show is released, someone will post, you know, a thumbnail of a scene from that show, and they'll put in big letters, spoiler. And then they'll have a conversation about the show, and people really get in depth. And there's no vitriol.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: It's just a really engaging conversation, and you can come and go as you please.
>> Marco Timpano: That's amazing.
>> Tyler Murray: It's lovely.
It's a safe space for people to discuss one of their loves
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. It's a lovely place. A lovely space for people to go to if they want to discuss one of the things they love.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah. It's a safe space.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. That's wonderful.
>> Tyler Murray: Which is nice. Yeah.
How did you get into Batman? Was it the animal that brought you there
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you mentioned you're a big fan of Batman.
>> Tyler Murray: Huge.
>> Marco Timpano: How did you get into Batman? Was it the bat, the animal that brought you there? Or was it the Batman comic that brought you there?
>> Tyler Murray: So it was the bat. It was the animal.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: when I was five years old.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love where this story's going already.
>> Tyler Murray: Do you?
>> Marco Timpano: Because I'm a huge fish fan, and I'll get into that later, but.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, I want to hear this.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: Okay. So when I was five, I was in Beavers, which is for, anybody who's not Canadian listening. Beavers is kind of like the junior version of the Cub Scouts.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: So, like, when you're. When you're really young, you start off as a Beaver. And our meetings were, I think, you know, every Wednesday night at, in the basement of a church where I grew up. And so. And I loved it. I just thought it was the greatest thing. my dad would take me every Wednesday or Thursday or whatever night it was. and this one night, we got there just on time, and there was people waiting in the parking lot, which was weird. Everyone just kind of usually went into the room, and we said, you know, what's up? And someone said, oh, there's a bat in the church, and it's flying around, and they don't want us to go in yet. And it was like, you know, at five years old, you're like, oh, bats. You associate them with Halloween and scary.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, yeah, of course.
>> Tyler Murray: So after a while, no one had seen the bat for a bit. So we all went in, we started our meeting, and very soon thereafter, the bat flew in to this, you know, brightly. You know, the bright neon lights of the. Of the church basements and stuff like that. It's very. Whatever. But the bat flew in, and then all the dads got up. I, remember it as being all the dads. I'm sure there were some very wonderful moms in there, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: but I remember, like, you know, trying to swat this guy with, like, you know, tennis rackets or whatever. Whatever they could find. I don't know what the tennis racket was doing in the church basement. This is also 35 years ago. So, my memory might be a bit clouded, but I just. I was so fascinated that this little, tiny. And it was way smaller than I expected it to be, and he was just darting in and out, and finally, unfortunately, someone got him.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: And we all, you know, all the boys ran over there, and we all wanted to have our look. And I remember just being fascinated by him. And as children do, I just kind of globbed onto it. You know, I had this really exciting moment with a bat, and then all I wanted to do was learn about bats. So I read about them when we went to the library. All my books that I got were about bats. And then eventually I found out that there was a Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Tyler Murray: I was like, well, what's this? And, you know, everyone hears about Superman. I think Superman. It's just kind of like you're born, and someone's like, oh, by the way, there's a comic character that can fly. And you're like, right. So you just kind of. I don't remember when I learned about Superman, but I do remember when I learned about Batman. And I was just like, I love bats, and I love, you know, I love Superman. So you kind of put them together, and there's a guy in the cape, and it just kind of went from there.
>> Marco Timpano: I must say that bats are really great animals for anyone who's a little bit nervous about bats. They eat a lot of insects, including the pests, like mosquitoes, and they rarely bother people. They just want to live their little bat lives flying around and, helping us get rid of a lot of pesky insects. So I. I give them the. The respect that they. That they're due. I don't necessarily love them, but I do respect them, and I'm happy to have them. I see them at my cottage. Sometimes I see them, you know, even in the city. Sometimes I'll see some bats. So I think they're great.
>> Tyler Murray: People have bat boxes now.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: So, like, if you have, like a. Like a. A rural house, it has to be 15ft in the air, and it has to be within a kilometer of a body of water, and it doesn't have to be, like, a massive body of water either.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: So that's. And then you put up the bat boxes and it drastically releases or, sorry, it dramatically cuts down on your insect population.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I didn't know that. I didn't know the specifications that a bat box requires. Yeah, that's fascinating.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
Bats grew up loving fish. For some reason, anything underwater was my thing
so how does that relate to your story about fish?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so I grew up loving fish. For some reason, like, anything underwater was my thing. So when I was a kid, I wanted to be a fisherman. Cause I thought, I love fish. Fisherman deals with fish, and that's what I wanted to be.
>> Tyler Murray: Makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: People who listen to this podcast probably have heard the story a million times. So I apologize. But then I realized, well, a fisherman doesn't help fish. So that sort of morphed into what was then called an oceanographer. So we called it an oceanographer. Now they're called marine biologists. But for the longest time, that's what I wanted to do. And so I have this unique, almost encyclopedic knowledge of fish that always surprises my friends when it comes up. Because it's rare that, you know, you get into conversation where you're talking about fish. And I'll always surprise my wife and now my niece and nephew when. When they're watching SpongeBob or one of these underwater things. And I'll say, oh, yeah, that's a moray eel. Oh, yeah, that's a, And I'll just start naming fish. And I can draw fish really well because I used to watch Jacques Cousteau. I used to watch Oceans Alive. I was a big fan of Aquaman, as you can imagine. So any sort of general fish. I'm pretty great at drawing. So Amanda will always be surprised if my niece or nephew asks me to draw something. And I draw, like, a sailfish or a swordfish or a. Whatever, octopus, cuttlefish. And she'll be like, wow, I always forget that you have this fish talent. So translate to today or yesterday, I should say. one of my, closest friends is really into sharks as I am. And so he sent me a message, and he's like, there's a course we can take through the University of Adelaide, Australia, and Cornell about sharks. and it's free. Do you want to take it? So we're taking a shark course. Nice. Yeah, we're going to take a shark course in summer. It's coming up. So because of this love, that we have for sharks, to learn more about them and how important they are, and, yeah, University of Queensland. I should say not.
>> Tyler Murray: I would love for you to send me that information.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'll send it to you right now. Maybe you can join with us and be in our class together. That'd be amazing.
>> Tyler Murray: There's a reason why Shark Week is what it is. I mean, it's people there. Do you remember what was it like 15, 20 years ago when they first showed those documentaries of the great whites breaching the surface?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Tyler Murray: And people's fear of sharks just kind of went into a completely different. I mean, and shark attacks are so rare, but, they've just made you think, well, Jaws was nowhere near as scary as it could have been.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Well, it's interesting because the author of Jaws, Peter Benchley, always regrets the outcome of that book that made so much fear towards this majestic and noble creature. But let's get back to Bats, because otherwise, it's gonna be a shark episode. And trust me when I say this, there is so much shark content on this podcast that I think we're good on that. on that front, fair enough, but.
>> Tyler Murray: Okay, I'm gonna go back and listen to those episodes because I love sharks.
Who was your first Batman you discovered? Was it comic book or animated series
>> Marco Timpano: So the bat that was at Beaver's led you to Batman.
>> Tyler Murray: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And so then let me ask you this. Who was the first Batman you discovered? Was it a comic book or was it the television show? Was it a movie?
>> Tyler Murray: The first one, I remember, really is the Adam west show. Okay. The 1960s, television series, which, when you're a kid, that. I mean, when you watch it now, it's campy and hilarious and ridiculous. Right. But as a kid, you take that very seriously. You know, it was always in two parts. And the first part usually ended on a cliffhanger. you know, Robin dangling upside down above, a boiling crate of, you know, boiling sharks or something like that. And you know what will happen next? Tune in tomorrow. Same Bat time, same Bat channel. And it was now, when I watched it, you know, the show was already 20 years old and it was in syndication, so instead of having to wait till the next day, it was on. Like, you know, the first episode was on a 4, and the second was at 4:30. And so I watched that, and I. I loved it. And then,
>> Marco Timpano: And the villains were so great on that show.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, my God. Cesar Romero refusing to shave his, mustache. mustache to play the Joker.
>> Marco Timpano: Vincent Price. Joan Baghead. Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: Did you know who really lobbied hard to be the Joker on that show? Frank Sinatra.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah. Cesar Romero. Even with the mustache clause, he beat out Frank Sinatra for that. So even then, these characters were kind of a big deal and people wanted to play them.
>> Marco Timpano: But Frank Sinatra was on the show. Didn't he play like a mobster kind of villain?
>> Tyler Murray: You know what? I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't remember. Okay, fair enough.
>> Tyler Murray: I stopped paying attention to it because the next, Well, so after that, when I was 10, the Batman movie came out with Michael Keaton, right. And that, like, I destroyed the VHS for that. I remember my dad coming home with the VHS copy of that, and I lost my mind. And it was like, it was a big deal in our house, you know, because, you know, movies weren't. You couldn't watch a million movies whenever you wanted, the way we can now. You had to get the VHS tape. And, you know, when we first got it, we had to rent it. But when it came out, it was like, it was the hottest rental, so you had to time it. And there was no blockbuster where I grew up in the country. So you had to go to a gas station to rent movies. And I think they had one copy of Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Tyler Murray: So when dad. Dad finally made it his mission to, to get this copy of Batman for me. And we, we made a big deal. And I think, you know, in the 24 hour rental, I probably watched it five times. And then I got my own copy and I, I, destroyed my own copy of it. But soon after that, in 1992, there was, an animated version called the Animated Series with Kevin Conroy as Batman. This is the one where Mark Hamill of Luke, Skywalker fame, of course, where he started, voicing the Joker, who. Fun fact, it was actually Tim Curry cast at first, but they found Tim Curry too scary. Okay, and. Or something. That was one of the stories I heard. I mean, who knows what actually happened? But Tim Curry was out. And they brought Mark Hamill in. And I mean that Mark Hamill has become synonymous with the Joker now. It's just, he's, and Kevin Conroy is the Batman. He did such a great job. But I was at the time, you know, I was still in elementary school and I would walk home to my grandmother's every night. Grandma would watch me for a little while and then my mom would pick me up after work and I'd go home and I was used to watching whatever show at 4 o'. Clock. And this one day that show wasn't on and it was this new version of Batman. And the animation was absolutely stunning. They kind of went, they went old school and they went to this timeless, this timeless design. So all the cars and the clothes were from the 30s and 40s.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: But they still had computers and phones and cell phones and everything like that. So it was this kind of weird art deco, quasi modern, quasi, old school design for the show. And it was like, you know, instead of helicopters, the police used blimps.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Tyler Murray: That kind of thing. Sure. And it was just. It was. It reminded me, have you ever seen the old Fleischer Superman animated show from M. The 40s?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the old one, yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: With the hand drawn. And it's like some of the storylines are very dated and whatnot, but the animation is beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: And
>> Tyler Murray: they kind of gave a, ah, hat tip to that style of animation. And Batman lends itself so well to that with all the shadows and the darkness.
I find Batman fascinating because of some of those darker elements
And what I loved so much about this show was it was very much a show for kids.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: but it also had those dark elements that made Batman. I find Batman fascinating because of some of those darker elements. And if you read the comics, there was a switch to how Batman was written in, around, like the 1970s, he got a lot darker. I see Joker, disappeared for a while, and then when they brought Joker back again, he was very much the killer.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: whereas, like, in the 50s and 60s, they made him, just kind of a trickster. He would play pranks and his goal was to embarrass Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: Whereas in the 70s, they brought him back to actually where he started in the 40s. They brought him back to be a much more sinister villain.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Tyler Murray: Shall I say
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There's a trend to make Batman a bit of a jerk
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah, so. But. And this show plays with that. There's. There's definitely a threat that Batman faces, but he's also very much a compassionate. Like Bruce Wayne is a compassionate man who does what he does because
>> Marco Timpano: he
>> Tyler Murray: faced this massive tragedy as a child, and he made it his goal to make sure that no one else felt that. Or he tried his hardest to alleviate that for as many people as he possibly could, which is why he struck out on this vendetta against the criminal element. and I've always loved that there's a trend to make Batman or Bruce Wayne a bit of a jerk.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: And I always. And I get it, you know, he's a loner. but there's also a lot of these stories miss his humanity.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: you know, there's the. Ben Affleck recently played Batman, and he did a wonderful job playing Batman, but his Batman was very much. The stories were very much geared to a man who has lost his humanity, who's lost his way, and he becomes a bit more brutal. Whereas the Batman of that Animated series in the 90s, he very much had the code that he stuck by, and his compassion for other human beings was at the forefront. And that's what I loved about that. Sorry, that was a very long answer.
>> Marco Timpano: No, listen, I appreciate that. I do appreciate that.
For listeners who are fans of Batman in 2022, I will have some Batman news
I have some Batman. For listeners who are fans of Batman in 2022, I will have some Batman news that I'm in. Involved with, which is a little weird. I'll tell you. I'll tell you about it. I can't. Unfortunately, I can't tell you right now, but I will, I'll give. I'll give you the preview. Tyler, when. When we're off the air, so.
>> Tyler Murray: Understood.
But I want to ask you this. Can you talk about Batman Part 4 in 2022
>> Marco Timpano: But I want to ask you this.
>> Tyler Murray: Marco, whenever you do that, can I. May I don't. This might be a big go. Sure. But can I come back to the show to talk about that? 2022.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Batman Part 2. By then, it'll be probably. Batman Part 4 will have so many episodes by then.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
Tyler: What is Batman's most useful gadget? M. M. asks
>> Marco Timpano: But I wanted to say this. One of the things I love about Batman is his. So you mentioned Superman. Superman has the power because he's an alien. Other people, other superheroes are born with it. Maybe they're a mythical creature or mythical person. like Thor is. But Batman has a utility belt, and he has a lot of gadgets. So, Tyler, what, in your opinion, is Batman's most useful gadget?
>> Tyler Murray: Ooh, okay, I thought this question was going to go a different direction, but, his most useful gadget. It's funny, you know, I mean, the thing with Batman is especially like, you know, when you hearken Back to the 1966 version, he had a gadget for everything. Remember, his most famous gadget was the. The anti shark spray. M. The bat shark repellent, if you will. I mean, at the time, you know, when he was hanging off, a rope ladder from a helicopter and the shark jumped out of the water and bit his leg, that was a very useful gadget.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, sharks don't do that, by the way, for everyone who.
>> Tyler Murray: True enough. Yeah, they hate helicopters. M. But I mean, that's very specific. I mean, he's got his Batarang, which is kind of ridiculous because really, it should just be a ninja star.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I don't care how ridiculous it is. I just want to know. And I don't care from what Batman incarnate. It's from whether it be the comic book, the television series, or the movie.
>> Tyler Murray: Probably his grappling gun then, because it makes people think he can fly and he can get out of sticky situations.
>> Marco Timpano: So then I'm going to ask you this. The reverse. What's his least useful tool?
>> Tyler Murray: Probably the bat shark repellent.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: Unless at the time he is facing a shark.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, now let me ask you this.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Of all the gadgets, he has two. Belt and beyond.
>> Marco Timpano: Which is the one that you would most like to possess?
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, wow. Now, if I possess it, is this, under the impression that not only do I possess it, but I also have the skills to use it as well as Batman does?
>> Marco Timpano: 100%.
>> Tyler Murray: Okay. Ooh, that makes it harder. I would probably. He always had like, an underwater breather in his belt.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah, that. I was like, oh, man, I'm stuck underwater. I'm just gonna put this breather in. It was like the size of a tootsie Roll, but it lasted for an hour. I thought that was kind of. I would probably say the Batarangs. if I was proficient with a Batarang, I would, you know, that'd be pretty, Pretty great.
I thought you were gonna ask about Batman's Lack of superpowers
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you said you anticipated I was gonna ask a different question, so I'd like to ask that question that I don't know what it is. Okay, so you'll have to ask it to yourself, in other words.
>> Tyler Murray: So I thought you were gonna ask about Batman's Lack of superpowers.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: And what makes him a formidable opponent against these, for lack of a better term, gods.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: and I was having this conversation with, a group of friends recently. I think Batman's superpower is that he is, in essence, the true, the definitive Superman. Cause Superman comes from an alien world and our son gives him his strength, and that's where his superpowers come from. But I mean, even if he were to sit on the couch and eat Twinkies all day, he would still be able to fly and have this incredible strength. Whereas Batman, after that tragedy hit him. My favorite part of the character, my favorite aspect of the mythos, is those years when he disappeared from Gotham to learn all his skills.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Tyler Murray: And, if you watch the Batman Begins, which is a great movie with Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, directed it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so long.
>> Tyler Murray: It's long. But I mean, if you're a Batman fan, that movie is amazing. But it really focuses on his training as a ninja, which is super important because Batman is kind of like a, you know, a hyper skilled ninja. But in a lot of the. And that animated series, it really, like, there's a lot of episodes with flashbacks where, you know, he learns, how to be an escape artist from a magician who. And that magician and that magician's daughter later on, later become, big heroes in the DC universe. that he learns detective work from a Sherlock Holmes type character, like a fictionalized version of Sherlock Holmes, and he learns theatricality. Ah, he becomes a master actor as well. So in that 10 years that he's gone, yes, he masters all these fighting styles so he can beat up criminals, but he also masters all these other skills, the escape artist and the acting and the. Just, I can't think of them right now. I don't know why. I've only had coffee, I suppose. But all these different skills that he acquires in his journeys, and he brings that back and he takes this smorgasbord of talents and creates this one kind of hyper realized human in the Batman. and the big thing that drives him or keeps him going is this promise he made on the grave of his parents to make sure that no one feels the pain that he's felt and this loss that he's felt. And it's his willpower. So if you were to say, what's Batman's superpower? I would say it's his will. There's a great section from. And I can't remember exactly what comic it is, but, a City Official, who's very anti. Batman, is stuck in a sewer. the criminals have laid this great trap and Batman's gotta save him. And the water is rising and finally gets to the point where the two of them are underwater. And. And Batman gives the city official his breather. And he has to. You know the wheel that's got the opening, it looks like it's from a submarine. He's gotta turn it, but it's stuck. And, you know, he finally gets it open. And the next thing is the police on the beach talking to this city official. And he's in tears. And he's saying he just wouldn't give up. He wouldn't give up. We were underwater for so long and he wouldn't give up. And it's just that, like, when I read that, I started to well up. and of course, Batman's nowhere to be found. They assume he's dead because he gave his last breath. And of course he's not. Cause he's Batman. But, that idea to me, like, no matter what, he won't give up. In the Animated Series, he and Superman are fighting the great big. The most evil character in all of D.C. this guy Darkseid. And Darkseid's got these lasers that come out of his eyes. And he shoots the lasers at Batman. And Batman flips and jumps and dances around and he goes, no one has ever escaped my Omega beams before. And Superman turns to him and says, that man will never give up no matter what you throw at him.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: And just the fact that it was Superman who said it. You know what I mean? It was it always. If you're a Batman fan, that's the thing about Batman, that you people always go back, well, how could Batman beat Superman? And the answer is always, well, he sees Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. I see.
>> Tyler Murray: It's, you know, people will fully, ah, accept the answer. Because he's Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: Right? Of course.
>> Tyler Murray: For anything. Yeah. Well, how did he jump off that building and survive? Because he's Batman. Well, how did he beat an alien with superpowers because he's Batman? We'll say it with. With increasing incredulity.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: Because he's Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I will say this. You said that Batman is the real Superman. Is it fair to say Batman is a man who's super versus the real Superman?
>> Tyler Murray: I mean, that's semantics, but sure. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I don't think it is semantics, though, because Superman is Superman. To say Batman is, the real Superman, you diminish Superman. And I think you diminish Batman. In comparison to Superman.
>> Tyler Murray: I see what you're saying.
People who work in sanitation are in fact the heroes of every city
>> Tyler Murray: I absolutely see what you're saying.
>> Marco Timpano: it's a debate on our.
>> Tyler Murray: It's a very big debate. and this is like I'm about to get hyper nerdy on you right now. Like Superman is what the humans called this guy before they knew he was an alien. Right. You know, I mean, he's, he's Kal El of Krypton who has just through, you know, just his presence on this planet with the yellow sun and its radiation has given him these powers.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: There's nothing. The thing that makes Kal el super is his. The upbringing from his, earthling parents who have made him a good man.
>> Marco Timpano: Oftentimes when I'm on a resort in some beautiful location, whether it be the Dominican Republic or Hawaii, I feel like I have superpowers because of the sun and the sea.
>> Tyler Murray: Right. Well, think of, you know, we're just coming into spring right now, and every spring you see it when you get those first nice days where you can take off your jacket, maybe put on shorts for the first time, people are friendlier. People like, you know, waving to each other on the streets, getting the barbecues out. You know, like I was barbecuing the other day and the, sanitation guys came, the garbage man came and picked up. And the guy yells across. He's like, I'll be back in 20 minutes. I'll have a burger and a dog. And we're just like, ha, ha. You know, with like, just this friendly kind of, vibe.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, what time are you barbecuing if the sanitation people are talking and waving to you? Because mine come at seven in the morning.
>> Tyler Murray: Well, it's funny because mine will come like one week it'll be seven in the morning. the next week it's five in the afternoon.
>> Marco Timpano: If we're talking about super men and women, I gotta say, people who work in sanitation are in fact the heroes of every city. Yeah, because if it wasn't for them, I can't even tell you what kind of place we would be living in. So I might have off to anyone who works in sanitation and helping with the disposal of everything, whether it be in your office building or in your school and janitors sanitation. Those people really are heroes.
>> Tyler Murray: Have you ever lived through a garbage strike?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I have, and it's horrendous.
>> Tyler Murray: point made right there. Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more.
I wanted to talk about how the parallels of Batman and spider man are interesting
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk about how the parallels of Batman and spider man are interesting in that we're dealing with another creature that people fear that helps control the insect population, that there's a tragic tale associated with it, and that, unlike Batman, Spider man doesn't have the money to go learn his skills. rather he has to figure them out on his own while dealing with the pressures of high school. So, in my opinion, Spider man is the true Superman, and I'm gonna leave it at that so that we can have a continued conversation about this later on.
>> Tyler Murray: The important thing to note about Spider man and Batman, though, is that they're both incredibly intelligent human beings.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: So stay in school.
>> Marco Timpano: They're nerds, if you will.
>> Tyler Murray: Huge nerds.
>> Marco Timpano: And having said that, I want you to check out MERS Nerds. That's M M U R or M
>> Tyler Murray: U R M M U R S Nerds.
>> Marco Timpano: Really easy to find when you have to put in that kind of punctuation. But, I will gladly and happily link it in our show notes for anyone who's still awake. Thank you. And wants, to check it out. I am on an episode and I was so grateful to be on an episode. And we're gonna.
>> Tyler Murray: A wonderful guest.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. We adored having you. You were a wonderful host, as well as your co host, who will be on the show.
Tyler Murray: Dan Tomlin is the catalyst behind MERS Nerds
But just tell us about Dan a little bit.
>> Tyler Murray: Dan Tomlin is. He's actually the reason. The catalyst behind MERS Nerds. He and I met a few years ago. Our sons are in the same class at school and for various fundraisers in the school. We were paired together and we just hit it off. And he's the one who. And I invited him recently to be, a member of MERS Nerds. And when he started watching WandaVision, he and his wife turned and said, you know, and they were talking about it on the Facebook page. they said, you know, this page is great, and talking about this stuff is so much fun. And they knew I'm an actor. They're like, tyler should have a podcast. So Dan told me, you know, you should start a podcast. And I'm very much a procrastinator, as I'm sure you've realized, having had various conversations with me. And Dan said, no, we're going to do this. And the next day he emailed me and said, check this out. He wrote a theme song because he's a musician. He wrote a theme song for it and went, oh, okay, I guess we're doing this. So immediately we went and we bought your book and we read about how to start our podcast. And within A week we had recorded our first episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's. That's so lovely. Thank you for sharing that.
>> Tyler Murray: Your book was instrumental in us, getting this off the ground.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen.
>> Tyler Murray: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyone who's considering doing a podcast. I'm not saying you have to get my book, but there are resources out there for you, and you can do it. I'm so encouraging of everyone who wants a podcast to do it. I think your voice is the best
>> Tyler Murray: resource, is your book.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, well, thank you. I want to say this, and this is going to be selfish, but I want to be on your podcast again. But I want to host a Face off between you and Dan Tomlin where I bring up a topic like Spider Man, Batman, who is the true Superman, and you guys have, like, 30, to 45 seconds to debate your point, and then we move on to another.
>> Tyler Murray: So we're gonna do an episode of the Debaters.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, pretty much.
>> Tyler Murray: I like it.
>> Marco Timpano: I get to host it, but it's not comedic. But you have to actually prove your side. and it'll be topics that both you and him don't know, and it'll be in the world of Nerdom, and I'll have to do research on it. I don't know why I'm giving myself more work when I have planning going on, but that's what I propose.
>> Tyler Murray: That's fun. Dan actually doesn't like Superman.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, then I'll have to explain.
>> Tyler Murray: That's gonna be a big one.
>> Marco Timpano: His challenge will be why do you love Superman?
>> Tyler Murray: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Ooh, yeah. Why do you, Then I'll turn it to you and ask you, why do you dislike Superman? And you'll prove why you dislike. Or your favorite. I'll say, why do you dislike Batman? Because he's your favorite.
>> Tyler Murray: I have a massive advantage of this in the fact in that I have given decades of useless thought to all of these subjects. So.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, there you go. Only time will tell. You'll have to tune in for that. Maybe on your next season or whenever you can.
>> Tyler Murray: We'll do it as soon as we can. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, thank you, Tyler Murray. Thank you so much for being on.
>> Tyler Murray: Thank you, Marco. I appreciate being, being asked back. It's a. It's a pleasure.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen anytime, anytime. And hopefully that awesome voice that Tyler did earlier of one of the villains didn't jar you from your sleep. But if it did, I apologize and thank you.
>> Tyler Murray: Which one was that you did?
>> Marco Timpano: The guy with death rays coming out of his eyes.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Can you wish us all a good night with that voice, so maybe people won't find him so threatening.
>> Tyler Murray: I wish you all good night. Pleasant dreams.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you so much, Tyler.
>> Tyler Murray: thanks.
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome.
>> Tyler Murray: Hopefully you were to able.
>> Marco Timpano: Able to listen and sleep.
(Oridinal airdate: April 21, 2021)
Joining me today is a dear friend, Tyler Murray, who, I've had you on the, podcast before, and I'm happy to have you back. Welcome, Tyler.
>> Tyler Murray: Thanks, Marco. It's great to be back.
>> Marco Timpano: Now I'm so pleased to know that you also have a podcast called Mers Nerds. Tell us about your podcast.
>> Tyler Murray: So Mers Nerds started off as a, and continues to be a Facebook page. a few years ago I think I was living in New York City. And, I'm a big nerd. I love all things Batman and it's kind of, spread to other superheroes. I love me some Superman. And you know, with the Marvel success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the last few years, I've really become a fan of that as well. But the one thing I don't like about being a nerd is, the toxic fandom online.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah. So. And I think at the time when this all started, I think I was reading an article about how someone was just so upset that Ben Affleck was the new Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Tyler Murray: And for, you know, for. They were mad because he didn't give a great performance in a movie from 10 years ago or 10 years previous. And I thought, and as an actor, I was offended by that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: you know, you can't judge someone based on their abilities from 10 years ago. People grow so much. Anywho, of course, I just, I got really irate. Now, it should also be noted that I was probably at least a half or three quarters through a bottle of wine at the time. But, in my anger I thought, you know, I just want to create a place on the Internet for like minded nerds who just. Who really enjoy these subjects, enjoy these topics. But. But don't enjoy the vitriol.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: So I went on my Facebook page and I created a group and I called it Mers Nerds. It sounded very elegant at the time. And I just went through my friends list and I chose, I think I chose around 25 people who I thought would be amenable to this idea.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I was not one of them, for the record.
>> Tyler Murray: Well, I didn't know. and you've even said to me, you're not really huge on the comic book genre. Right. Or the superheroes and stuff like that.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not, I'm not listening. I love the movies. I can understand why people love it, but I would not sit down and read a comic book. that's just not my thing.
>> Tyler Murray: Fair enough. Fair enough. And you know, I think if you're like, if I were to ask my dad and be like, dad, ah, do you think, 40 year old men should be watching comic books? You'd be like, no. What's wrong with you? When you turn 12, that should be shut down.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, right?
>> Tyler Murray: My dad is a very nice person.
>> Marco Timpano: He's not a jerk.
>> Tyler Murray: But, anyway, so I chose the 25 people and I invited them to the group and I went to bed, I woke up the next morning and I was like, oh my God, what have I done? These 25 friends are gonna make such fun of me. Cause I had a mission statement too, of like, are you sick and tired of the bullies on the Internet or the trolls and, you know, invited them. And I was just fully expecting a bunch of people to, have a good ribbing at me, or toward me. And oddly enough, the opposite happened. It really took off.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this is cool, people.
>> Tyler Murray: We started just kind of, and not super duper in depth conversations. You know, sometimes it's people just sharing a funny meme. Sometimes people find a good article or they'll watch, a recent show or a movie and be like, oh, this is my two cents. Or people would come to me especially and they'd be like, well, what do you think about Ben Affleck being chosen as Batman? I was like, you know, great, let's talk about that. So it just started conversations about some of our favorite things. And the rule was always if you disagree with someone, it's just agree to disagree or present your two points. And every like, once in a blue moon, I've stepped in and been like, okay, everybody just calm down. And people totally get it.
>> Marco Timpano: So this is Merzner's. This is not.
>> Tyler Murray: It's just, you know, Tyler Murr Reese friends who happen to be nerds. And we're just discussing. And it's grown now in the six years that's been around. It went from 25 people. I think there's maybe just more than 100 right now, which is nice. You know what I mean? And I've allowed people to invite friends of friends if they think they're like minded people. And I've never had a problem on the page ever. And it's the, topics have grown. So now, recently Disney and Marvel released a show called WandaVision. And they released it, they kind of went Old school. And they released an episode a week instead of everyone just being able to binge watch the entire series. But every Friday after the show is released, someone will post, you know, a thumbnail of a scene from that show, and they'll put in big letters, spoiler. And then they'll have a conversation about the show, and people really get in depth. And there's no vitriol.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: It's just a really engaging conversation, and you can come and go as you please.
>> Marco Timpano: That's amazing.
>> Tyler Murray: It's lovely.
It's a safe space for people to discuss one of their loves
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. It's a lovely place. A lovely space for people to go to if they want to discuss one of the things they love.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah. It's a safe space.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. That's wonderful.
>> Tyler Murray: Which is nice. Yeah.
How did you get into Batman? Was it the animal that brought you there
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you mentioned you're a big fan of Batman.
>> Tyler Murray: Huge.
>> Marco Timpano: How did you get into Batman? Was it the bat, the animal that brought you there? Or was it the Batman comic that brought you there?
>> Tyler Murray: So it was the bat. It was the animal.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: when I was five years old.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love where this story's going already.
>> Tyler Murray: Do you?
>> Marco Timpano: Because I'm a huge fish fan, and I'll get into that later, but.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, I want to hear this.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: Okay. So when I was five, I was in Beavers, which is for, anybody who's not Canadian listening. Beavers is kind of like the junior version of the Cub Scouts.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: So, like, when you're. When you're really young, you start off as a Beaver. And our meetings were, I think, you know, every Wednesday night at, in the basement of a church where I grew up. And so. And I loved it. I just thought it was the greatest thing. my dad would take me every Wednesday or Thursday or whatever night it was. and this one night, we got there just on time, and there was people waiting in the parking lot, which was weird. Everyone just kind of usually went into the room, and we said, you know, what's up? And someone said, oh, there's a bat in the church, and it's flying around, and they don't want us to go in yet. And it was like, you know, at five years old, you're like, oh, bats. You associate them with Halloween and scary.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, yeah, of course.
>> Tyler Murray: So after a while, no one had seen the bat for a bit. So we all went in, we started our meeting, and very soon thereafter, the bat flew in to this, you know, brightly. You know, the bright neon lights of the. Of the church basements and stuff like that. It's very. Whatever. But the bat flew in, and then all the dads got up. I, remember it as being all the dads. I'm sure there were some very wonderful moms in there, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: but I remember, like, you know, trying to swat this guy with, like, you know, tennis rackets or whatever. Whatever they could find. I don't know what the tennis racket was doing in the church basement. This is also 35 years ago. So, my memory might be a bit clouded, but I just. I was so fascinated that this little, tiny. And it was way smaller than I expected it to be, and he was just darting in and out, and finally, unfortunately, someone got him.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: And we all, you know, all the boys ran over there, and we all wanted to have our look. And I remember just being fascinated by him. And as children do, I just kind of globbed onto it. You know, I had this really exciting moment with a bat, and then all I wanted to do was learn about bats. So I read about them when we went to the library. All my books that I got were about bats. And then eventually I found out that there was a Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Tyler Murray: I was like, well, what's this? And, you know, everyone hears about Superman. I think Superman. It's just kind of like you're born, and someone's like, oh, by the way, there's a comic character that can fly. And you're like, right. So you just kind of. I don't remember when I learned about Superman, but I do remember when I learned about Batman. And I was just like, I love bats, and I love, you know, I love Superman. So you kind of put them together, and there's a guy in the cape, and it just kind of went from there.
>> Marco Timpano: I must say that bats are really great animals for anyone who's a little bit nervous about bats. They eat a lot of insects, including the pests, like mosquitoes, and they rarely bother people. They just want to live their little bat lives flying around and, helping us get rid of a lot of pesky insects. So I. I give them the. The respect that they. That they're due. I don't necessarily love them, but I do respect them, and I'm happy to have them. I see them at my cottage. Sometimes I see them, you know, even in the city. Sometimes I'll see some bats. So I think they're great.
>> Tyler Murray: People have bat boxes now.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: So, like, if you have, like a. Like a. A rural house, it has to be 15ft in the air, and it has to be within a kilometer of a body of water, and it doesn't have to be, like, a massive body of water either.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: So that's. And then you put up the bat boxes and it drastically releases or, sorry, it dramatically cuts down on your insect population.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I didn't know that. I didn't know the specifications that a bat box requires. Yeah, that's fascinating.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
Bats grew up loving fish. For some reason, anything underwater was my thing
so how does that relate to your story about fish?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so I grew up loving fish. For some reason, like, anything underwater was my thing. So when I was a kid, I wanted to be a fisherman. Cause I thought, I love fish. Fisherman deals with fish, and that's what I wanted to be.
>> Tyler Murray: Makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: People who listen to this podcast probably have heard the story a million times. So I apologize. But then I realized, well, a fisherman doesn't help fish. So that sort of morphed into what was then called an oceanographer. So we called it an oceanographer. Now they're called marine biologists. But for the longest time, that's what I wanted to do. And so I have this unique, almost encyclopedic knowledge of fish that always surprises my friends when it comes up. Because it's rare that, you know, you get into conversation where you're talking about fish. And I'll always surprise my wife and now my niece and nephew when. When they're watching SpongeBob or one of these underwater things. And I'll say, oh, yeah, that's a moray eel. Oh, yeah, that's a, And I'll just start naming fish. And I can draw fish really well because I used to watch Jacques Cousteau. I used to watch Oceans Alive. I was a big fan of Aquaman, as you can imagine. So any sort of general fish. I'm pretty great at drawing. So Amanda will always be surprised if my niece or nephew asks me to draw something. And I draw, like, a sailfish or a swordfish or a. Whatever, octopus, cuttlefish. And she'll be like, wow, I always forget that you have this fish talent. So translate to today or yesterday, I should say. one of my, closest friends is really into sharks as I am. And so he sent me a message, and he's like, there's a course we can take through the University of Adelaide, Australia, and Cornell about sharks. and it's free. Do you want to take it? So we're taking a shark course. Nice. Yeah, we're going to take a shark course in summer. It's coming up. So because of this love, that we have for sharks, to learn more about them and how important they are, and, yeah, University of Queensland. I should say not.
>> Tyler Murray: I would love for you to send me that information.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'll send it to you right now. Maybe you can join with us and be in our class together. That'd be amazing.
>> Tyler Murray: There's a reason why Shark Week is what it is. I mean, it's people there. Do you remember what was it like 15, 20 years ago when they first showed those documentaries of the great whites breaching the surface?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Tyler Murray: And people's fear of sharks just kind of went into a completely different. I mean, and shark attacks are so rare, but, they've just made you think, well, Jaws was nowhere near as scary as it could have been.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Well, it's interesting because the author of Jaws, Peter Benchley, always regrets the outcome of that book that made so much fear towards this majestic and noble creature. But let's get back to Bats, because otherwise, it's gonna be a shark episode. And trust me when I say this, there is so much shark content on this podcast that I think we're good on that. on that front, fair enough, but.
>> Tyler Murray: Okay, I'm gonna go back and listen to those episodes because I love sharks.
Who was your first Batman you discovered? Was it comic book or animated series
>> Marco Timpano: So the bat that was at Beaver's led you to Batman.
>> Tyler Murray: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And so then let me ask you this. Who was the first Batman you discovered? Was it a comic book or was it the television show? Was it a movie?
>> Tyler Murray: The first one, I remember, really is the Adam west show. Okay. The 1960s, television series, which, when you're a kid, that. I mean, when you watch it now, it's campy and hilarious and ridiculous. Right. But as a kid, you take that very seriously. You know, it was always in two parts. And the first part usually ended on a cliffhanger. you know, Robin dangling upside down above, a boiling crate of, you know, boiling sharks or something like that. And you know what will happen next? Tune in tomorrow. Same Bat time, same Bat channel. And it was now, when I watched it, you know, the show was already 20 years old and it was in syndication, so instead of having to wait till the next day, it was on. Like, you know, the first episode was on a 4, and the second was at 4:30. And so I watched that, and I. I loved it. And then,
>> Marco Timpano: And the villains were so great on that show.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, my God. Cesar Romero refusing to shave his, mustache. mustache to play the Joker.
>> Marco Timpano: Vincent Price. Joan Baghead. Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: Did you know who really lobbied hard to be the Joker on that show? Frank Sinatra.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah. Cesar Romero. Even with the mustache clause, he beat out Frank Sinatra for that. So even then, these characters were kind of a big deal and people wanted to play them.
>> Marco Timpano: But Frank Sinatra was on the show. Didn't he play like a mobster kind of villain?
>> Tyler Murray: You know what? I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't remember. Okay, fair enough.
>> Tyler Murray: I stopped paying attention to it because the next, Well, so after that, when I was 10, the Batman movie came out with Michael Keaton, right. And that, like, I destroyed the VHS for that. I remember my dad coming home with the VHS copy of that, and I lost my mind. And it was like, it was a big deal in our house, you know, because, you know, movies weren't. You couldn't watch a million movies whenever you wanted, the way we can now. You had to get the VHS tape. And, you know, when we first got it, we had to rent it. But when it came out, it was like, it was the hottest rental, so you had to time it. And there was no blockbuster where I grew up in the country. So you had to go to a gas station to rent movies. And I think they had one copy of Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Tyler Murray: So when dad. Dad finally made it his mission to, to get this copy of Batman for me. And we, we made a big deal. And I think, you know, in the 24 hour rental, I probably watched it five times. And then I got my own copy and I, I, destroyed my own copy of it. But soon after that, in 1992, there was, an animated version called the Animated Series with Kevin Conroy as Batman. This is the one where Mark Hamill of Luke, Skywalker fame, of course, where he started, voicing the Joker, who. Fun fact, it was actually Tim Curry cast at first, but they found Tim Curry too scary. Okay, and. Or something. That was one of the stories I heard. I mean, who knows what actually happened? But Tim Curry was out. And they brought Mark Hamill in. And I mean that Mark Hamill has become synonymous with the Joker now. It's just, he's, and Kevin Conroy is the Batman. He did such a great job. But I was at the time, you know, I was still in elementary school and I would walk home to my grandmother's every night. Grandma would watch me for a little while and then my mom would pick me up after work and I'd go home and I was used to watching whatever show at 4 o'. Clock. And this one day that show wasn't on and it was this new version of Batman. And the animation was absolutely stunning. They kind of went, they went old school and they went to this timeless, this timeless design. So all the cars and the clothes were from the 30s and 40s.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: But they still had computers and phones and cell phones and everything like that. So it was this kind of weird art deco, quasi modern, quasi, old school design for the show. And it was like, you know, instead of helicopters, the police used blimps.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Tyler Murray: That kind of thing. Sure. And it was just. It was. It reminded me, have you ever seen the old Fleischer Superman animated show from M. The 40s?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the old one, yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: With the hand drawn. And it's like some of the storylines are very dated and whatnot, but the animation is beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: And
>> Tyler Murray: they kind of gave a, ah, hat tip to that style of animation. And Batman lends itself so well to that with all the shadows and the darkness.
I find Batman fascinating because of some of those darker elements
And what I loved so much about this show was it was very much a show for kids.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: but it also had those dark elements that made Batman. I find Batman fascinating because of some of those darker elements. And if you read the comics, there was a switch to how Batman was written in, around, like the 1970s, he got a lot darker. I see Joker, disappeared for a while, and then when they brought Joker back again, he was very much the killer.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: whereas, like, in the 50s and 60s, they made him, just kind of a trickster. He would play pranks and his goal was to embarrass Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: Whereas in the 70s, they brought him back to actually where he started in the 40s. They brought him back to be a much more sinister villain.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Tyler Murray: Shall I say
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There's a trend to make Batman a bit of a jerk
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah, so. But. And this show plays with that. There's. There's definitely a threat that Batman faces, but he's also very much a compassionate. Like Bruce Wayne is a compassionate man who does what he does because
>> Marco Timpano: he
>> Tyler Murray: faced this massive tragedy as a child, and he made it his goal to make sure that no one else felt that. Or he tried his hardest to alleviate that for as many people as he possibly could, which is why he struck out on this vendetta against the criminal element. and I've always loved that there's a trend to make Batman or Bruce Wayne a bit of a jerk.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: And I always. And I get it, you know, he's a loner. but there's also a lot of these stories miss his humanity.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: you know, there's the. Ben Affleck recently played Batman, and he did a wonderful job playing Batman, but his Batman was very much. The stories were very much geared to a man who has lost his humanity, who's lost his way, and he becomes a bit more brutal. Whereas the Batman of that Animated series in the 90s, he very much had the code that he stuck by, and his compassion for other human beings was at the forefront. And that's what I loved about that. Sorry, that was a very long answer.
>> Marco Timpano: No, listen, I appreciate that. I do appreciate that.
For listeners who are fans of Batman in 2022, I will have some Batman news
I have some Batman. For listeners who are fans of Batman in 2022, I will have some Batman news that I'm in. Involved with, which is a little weird. I'll tell you. I'll tell you about it. I can't. Unfortunately, I can't tell you right now, but I will, I'll give. I'll give you the preview. Tyler, when. When we're off the air, so.
>> Tyler Murray: Understood.
But I want to ask you this. Can you talk about Batman Part 4 in 2022
>> Marco Timpano: But I want to ask you this.
>> Tyler Murray: Marco, whenever you do that, can I. May I don't. This might be a big go. Sure. But can I come back to the show to talk about that? 2022.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Batman Part 2. By then, it'll be probably. Batman Part 4 will have so many episodes by then.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
Tyler: What is Batman's most useful gadget? M. M. asks
>> Marco Timpano: But I wanted to say this. One of the things I love about Batman is his. So you mentioned Superman. Superman has the power because he's an alien. Other people, other superheroes are born with it. Maybe they're a mythical creature or mythical person. like Thor is. But Batman has a utility belt, and he has a lot of gadgets. So, Tyler, what, in your opinion, is Batman's most useful gadget?
>> Tyler Murray: Ooh, okay, I thought this question was going to go a different direction, but, his most useful gadget. It's funny, you know, I mean, the thing with Batman is especially like, you know, when you hearken Back to the 1966 version, he had a gadget for everything. Remember, his most famous gadget was the. The anti shark spray. M. The bat shark repellent, if you will. I mean, at the time, you know, when he was hanging off, a rope ladder from a helicopter and the shark jumped out of the water and bit his leg, that was a very useful gadget.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, sharks don't do that, by the way, for everyone who.
>> Tyler Murray: True enough. Yeah, they hate helicopters. M. But I mean, that's very specific. I mean, he's got his Batarang, which is kind of ridiculous because really, it should just be a ninja star.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I don't care how ridiculous it is. I just want to know. And I don't care from what Batman incarnate. It's from whether it be the comic book, the television series, or the movie.
>> Tyler Murray: Probably his grappling gun then, because it makes people think he can fly and he can get out of sticky situations.
>> Marco Timpano: So then I'm going to ask you this. The reverse. What's his least useful tool?
>> Tyler Murray: Probably the bat shark repellent.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: Unless at the time he is facing a shark.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, now let me ask you this.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Of all the gadgets, he has two. Belt and beyond.
>> Marco Timpano: Which is the one that you would most like to possess?
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, wow. Now, if I possess it, is this, under the impression that not only do I possess it, but I also have the skills to use it as well as Batman does?
>> Marco Timpano: 100%.
>> Tyler Murray: Okay. Ooh, that makes it harder. I would probably. He always had like, an underwater breather in his belt.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah, that. I was like, oh, man, I'm stuck underwater. I'm just gonna put this breather in. It was like the size of a tootsie Roll, but it lasted for an hour. I thought that was kind of. I would probably say the Batarangs. if I was proficient with a Batarang, I would, you know, that'd be pretty, Pretty great.
I thought you were gonna ask about Batman's Lack of superpowers
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you said you anticipated I was gonna ask a different question, so I'd like to ask that question that I don't know what it is. Okay, so you'll have to ask it to yourself, in other words.
>> Tyler Murray: So I thought you were gonna ask about Batman's Lack of superpowers.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: And what makes him a formidable opponent against these, for lack of a better term, gods.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: and I was having this conversation with, a group of friends recently. I think Batman's superpower is that he is, in essence, the true, the definitive Superman. Cause Superman comes from an alien world and our son gives him his strength, and that's where his superpowers come from. But I mean, even if he were to sit on the couch and eat Twinkies all day, he would still be able to fly and have this incredible strength. Whereas Batman, after that tragedy hit him. My favorite part of the character, my favorite aspect of the mythos, is those years when he disappeared from Gotham to learn all his skills.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Tyler Murray: And, if you watch the Batman Begins, which is a great movie with Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, directed it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so long.
>> Tyler Murray: It's long. But I mean, if you're a Batman fan, that movie is amazing. But it really focuses on his training as a ninja, which is super important because Batman is kind of like a, you know, a hyper skilled ninja. But in a lot of the. And that animated series, it really, like, there's a lot of episodes with flashbacks where, you know, he learns, how to be an escape artist from a magician who. And that magician and that magician's daughter later on, later become, big heroes in the DC universe. that he learns detective work from a Sherlock Holmes type character, like a fictionalized version of Sherlock Holmes, and he learns theatricality. Ah, he becomes a master actor as well. So in that 10 years that he's gone, yes, he masters all these fighting styles so he can beat up criminals, but he also masters all these other skills, the escape artist and the acting and the. Just, I can't think of them right now. I don't know why. I've only had coffee, I suppose. But all these different skills that he acquires in his journeys, and he brings that back and he takes this smorgasbord of talents and creates this one kind of hyper realized human in the Batman. and the big thing that drives him or keeps him going is this promise he made on the grave of his parents to make sure that no one feels the pain that he's felt and this loss that he's felt. And it's his willpower. So if you were to say, what's Batman's superpower? I would say it's his will. There's a great section from. And I can't remember exactly what comic it is, but, a City Official, who's very anti. Batman, is stuck in a sewer. the criminals have laid this great trap and Batman's gotta save him. And the water is rising and finally gets to the point where the two of them are underwater. And. And Batman gives the city official his breather. And he has to. You know the wheel that's got the opening, it looks like it's from a submarine. He's gotta turn it, but it's stuck. And, you know, he finally gets it open. And the next thing is the police on the beach talking to this city official. And he's in tears. And he's saying he just wouldn't give up. He wouldn't give up. We were underwater for so long and he wouldn't give up. And it's just that, like, when I read that, I started to well up. and of course, Batman's nowhere to be found. They assume he's dead because he gave his last breath. And of course he's not. Cause he's Batman. But, that idea to me, like, no matter what, he won't give up. In the Animated Series, he and Superman are fighting the great big. The most evil character in all of D.C. this guy Darkseid. And Darkseid's got these lasers that come out of his eyes. And he shoots the lasers at Batman. And Batman flips and jumps and dances around and he goes, no one has ever escaped my Omega beams before. And Superman turns to him and says, that man will never give up no matter what you throw at him.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: And just the fact that it was Superman who said it. You know what I mean? It was it always. If you're a Batman fan, that's the thing about Batman, that you people always go back, well, how could Batman beat Superman? And the answer is always, well, he sees Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. I see.
>> Tyler Murray: It's, you know, people will fully, ah, accept the answer. Because he's Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: Right? Of course.
>> Tyler Murray: For anything. Yeah. Well, how did he jump off that building and survive? Because he's Batman. Well, how did he beat an alien with superpowers because he's Batman? We'll say it with. With increasing incredulity.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: Because he's Batman.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I will say this. You said that Batman is the real Superman. Is it fair to say Batman is a man who's super versus the real Superman?
>> Tyler Murray: I mean, that's semantics, but sure. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I don't think it is semantics, though, because Superman is Superman. To say Batman is, the real Superman, you diminish Superman. And I think you diminish Batman. In comparison to Superman.
>> Tyler Murray: I see what you're saying.
People who work in sanitation are in fact the heroes of every city
>> Tyler Murray: I absolutely see what you're saying.
>> Marco Timpano: it's a debate on our.
>> Tyler Murray: It's a very big debate. and this is like I'm about to get hyper nerdy on you right now. Like Superman is what the humans called this guy before they knew he was an alien. Right. You know, I mean, he's, he's Kal El of Krypton who has just through, you know, just his presence on this planet with the yellow sun and its radiation has given him these powers.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: There's nothing. The thing that makes Kal el super is his. The upbringing from his, earthling parents who have made him a good man.
>> Marco Timpano: Oftentimes when I'm on a resort in some beautiful location, whether it be the Dominican Republic or Hawaii, I feel like I have superpowers because of the sun and the sea.
>> Tyler Murray: Right. Well, think of, you know, we're just coming into spring right now, and every spring you see it when you get those first nice days where you can take off your jacket, maybe put on shorts for the first time, people are friendlier. People like, you know, waving to each other on the streets, getting the barbecues out. You know, like I was barbecuing the other day and the, sanitation guys came, the garbage man came and picked up. And the guy yells across. He's like, I'll be back in 20 minutes. I'll have a burger and a dog. And we're just like, ha, ha. You know, with like, just this friendly kind of, vibe.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, what time are you barbecuing if the sanitation people are talking and waving to you? Because mine come at seven in the morning.
>> Tyler Murray: Well, it's funny because mine will come like one week it'll be seven in the morning. the next week it's five in the afternoon.
>> Marco Timpano: If we're talking about super men and women, I gotta say, people who work in sanitation are in fact the heroes of every city. Yeah, because if it wasn't for them, I can't even tell you what kind of place we would be living in. So I might have off to anyone who works in sanitation and helping with the disposal of everything, whether it be in your office building or in your school and janitors sanitation. Those people really are heroes.
>> Tyler Murray: Have you ever lived through a garbage strike?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I have, and it's horrendous.
>> Tyler Murray: point made right there. Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more.
I wanted to talk about how the parallels of Batman and spider man are interesting
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk about how the parallels of Batman and spider man are interesting in that we're dealing with another creature that people fear that helps control the insect population, that there's a tragic tale associated with it, and that, unlike Batman, Spider man doesn't have the money to go learn his skills. rather he has to figure them out on his own while dealing with the pressures of high school. So, in my opinion, Spider man is the true Superman, and I'm gonna leave it at that so that we can have a continued conversation about this later on.
>> Tyler Murray: The important thing to note about Spider man and Batman, though, is that they're both incredibly intelligent human beings.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: So stay in school.
>> Marco Timpano: They're nerds, if you will.
>> Tyler Murray: Huge nerds.
>> Marco Timpano: And having said that, I want you to check out MERS Nerds. That's M M U R or M
>> Tyler Murray: U R M M U R S Nerds.
>> Marco Timpano: Really easy to find when you have to put in that kind of punctuation. But, I will gladly and happily link it in our show notes for anyone who's still awake. Thank you. And wants, to check it out. I am on an episode and I was so grateful to be on an episode. And we're gonna.
>> Tyler Murray: A wonderful guest.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. We adored having you. You were a wonderful host, as well as your co host, who will be on the show.
Tyler Murray: Dan Tomlin is the catalyst behind MERS Nerds
But just tell us about Dan a little bit.
>> Tyler Murray: Dan Tomlin is. He's actually the reason. The catalyst behind MERS Nerds. He and I met a few years ago. Our sons are in the same class at school and for various fundraisers in the school. We were paired together and we just hit it off. And he's the one who. And I invited him recently to be, a member of MERS Nerds. And when he started watching WandaVision, he and his wife turned and said, you know, and they were talking about it on the Facebook page. they said, you know, this page is great, and talking about this stuff is so much fun. And they knew I'm an actor. They're like, tyler should have a podcast. So Dan told me, you know, you should start a podcast. And I'm very much a procrastinator, as I'm sure you've realized, having had various conversations with me. And Dan said, no, we're going to do this. And the next day he emailed me and said, check this out. He wrote a theme song because he's a musician. He wrote a theme song for it and went, oh, okay, I guess we're doing this. So immediately we went and we bought your book and we read about how to start our podcast. And within A week we had recorded our first episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's. That's so lovely. Thank you for sharing that.
>> Tyler Murray: Your book was instrumental in us, getting this off the ground.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen.
>> Tyler Murray: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyone who's considering doing a podcast. I'm not saying you have to get my book, but there are resources out there for you, and you can do it. I'm so encouraging of everyone who wants a podcast to do it. I think your voice is the best
>> Tyler Murray: resource, is your book.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, well, thank you. I want to say this, and this is going to be selfish, but I want to be on your podcast again. But I want to host a Face off between you and Dan Tomlin where I bring up a topic like Spider Man, Batman, who is the true Superman, and you guys have, like, 30, to 45 seconds to debate your point, and then we move on to another.
>> Tyler Murray: So we're gonna do an episode of the Debaters.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, pretty much.
>> Tyler Murray: I like it.
>> Marco Timpano: I get to host it, but it's not comedic. But you have to actually prove your side. and it'll be topics that both you and him don't know, and it'll be in the world of Nerdom, and I'll have to do research on it. I don't know why I'm giving myself more work when I have planning going on, but that's what I propose.
>> Tyler Murray: That's fun. Dan actually doesn't like Superman.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, then I'll have to explain.
>> Tyler Murray: That's gonna be a big one.
>> Marco Timpano: His challenge will be why do you love Superman?
>> Tyler Murray: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Ooh, yeah. Why do you, Then I'll turn it to you and ask you, why do you dislike Superman? And you'll prove why you dislike. Or your favorite. I'll say, why do you dislike Batman? Because he's your favorite.
>> Tyler Murray: I have a massive advantage of this in the fact in that I have given decades of useless thought to all of these subjects. So.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, there you go. Only time will tell. You'll have to tune in for that. Maybe on your next season or whenever you can.
>> Tyler Murray: We'll do it as soon as we can. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, thank you, Tyler Murray. Thank you so much for being on.
>> Tyler Murray: Thank you, Marco. I appreciate being, being asked back. It's a. It's a pleasure.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen anytime, anytime. And hopefully that awesome voice that Tyler did earlier of one of the villains didn't jar you from your sleep. But if it did, I apologize and thank you.
>> Tyler Murray: Which one was that you did?
>> Marco Timpano: The guy with death rays coming out of his eyes.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Can you wish us all a good night with that voice, so maybe people won't find him so threatening.
>> Tyler Murray: I wish you all good night. Pleasant dreams.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you so much, Tyler.
>> Tyler Murray: thanks.
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome.
>> Tyler Murray: Hopefully you were to able.
>> Marco Timpano: Able to listen and sleep.
The Towel Episode
(April 14, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation on mundane topics. And I'm purposely trying to be very calm, but I'm also very excited because I have on the show today. One of my favourite people in all the world, Nidhi Khanna, is back on the podcast today. Nidhi, welcome.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Hey, Marco. So good to be here. I'm excited to be here as well.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's so funny, you know, I try to be as calm as I can all the time. Like most of the time on the podcast and most of the time I'm fighting just, you know, shouting from the top of my lungs. How are you?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am so well. And I know you must be missing my hand signals of remember the slow down hand signal that we had for one another?
>> Marco Timpano: which really means Nidhi was doing it always to me, like I would always get the hand signal because. Yeah, yeah, I do miss it. I certainly miss it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, I know. I miss it too. So good to see you even ah, in this virtual setting. But, yeah, I'm really well, I am, in honor of this recording and as a throwback to our, I think it was our lush episode that was one of the popular ones. I am sitting in a robe this time. Not my white plush robe, but a different one. But I figured it would be appropriate attire for our session today.
>> Marco Timpano: And. Is that Xena drinking in the background?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. Can you hear that?
>> Marco Timpano: I can hear it, yeah. I don't know if our listeners will hear it, but I can hear it, so I imagine they will. But I'm like, that's got to be Xena. She's probably like, listen, you're on the air. Which means I'm on the air.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. She's got to show up somewhere and leave her mark. Really.
>> Marco Timpano: Is she behaving herself these days?
>> Nidhi Khanna: She is, you know, she's getting a little older. Her energy levels are a little bit less than what we, used to have in her, but fair enough. She's doing well, you know, sleeping, living the life.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I'm glad someone can sleep is what I'll say.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. Exactly.
I wanted to talk to you about a topic that's been burning for myself
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk to you about a topic that's been burning for myself for a while. And that topic is towels. Yes, towels. Yeah, we haven't done one on towels.
>> Nidhi Khanna: really? Never.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't. Maybe we did. But I want to take a deep dive into towels and ask when you're looking for a beach towel, what's important to you with regards to the look, the design, the pattern, any of that stuff? Any sort of towel imagery that you like on your beach towel?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So this is a great question mark. And the reason for that is, as you know, and as the listeners know, I'm an avid Scuba diver.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And, actually one of the things that I've been working on is a little scuba diving business. But, once that's launched, I'll come back on and tell you all about it.
>> Marco Timpano: But I'm promising my listeners that you will be on and break the news here first so they know and they can get access to whatever you're working on.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Perfect. I saw a promo code coming on. but so when I'm diving, it's less about the, color of the towel and more about the absorption quality of it.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: However, if I am going to be a total lush and lie on the beach and just sunbathe, etcetera, Then I'm less worried about the absorption quality and kind of want something funky and fun, you know, that can speak to my personality. So that when I leave the sun tanning bed on the beach that if somebody were to like walk by, they'd say, cool. towel. I wonder who that is.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And then sometimes I'm just like, I don't care. Just, give me the only thing I don't like. The only time I ever get really not irked, a bit annoyed is when you go away and, you know, you invest in a nice little vacation somewhere.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Going to the beach. And they give you beach towels that are the same as the bath towels. And to me that is just amateur because a beach towel needs to have a certain length to it. there's a quality of a beach towel. I love the ones where when you. And I'm only 5 3, so this might be easier for me.
>> Marco Timpano: But okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: When you wrap it at the, when you come out of the ocean or whatever, or out of the pool, when you wrap it, it kind of goes all the way down your body because it's. So, so those are the types of beach towels that I enjoy. And when I receive just a bath towel, I just, I judge, Marco. I judge when that happens.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not a big fan of that either because I feel like a beach towel has to take some wear and tear. It has to face the elements and there's the sand factor. Right. So I don't want a beach towel hung up in my bathroom, in a hotel resort, wherever I happen to be. Because I'm not sure that that beach towel is going to be sand free, let's say, or hasn't been used in a way that makes it less soft and absorbent for the skin when you come out of the bath. So for me, I'm on the same page as you like, for me, it's very important that they stay separate. And I like places that have, you know, a stripy one for the beach and then you have the plain white one for the hotel.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure. Have you tried. Oh, sorry, go ahead.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I was gonna say for your room, if it's not a hotel.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. Have you tried these new beach towels that are supposed to be like sand proof or. I guess it's some special material. No, don't ask me what the material is unless we want to go down the route of me just making stuff up. And I'm always a big fan of that. So it's some special material that when you dust it off, all the sand comes out. Because it's. I mean, I don't want to say sand proof because can anything be sand proof?
>> Marco Timpano: But no, I don't. Sand resistant, I guess.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know. but it's supposed to be these, And you can, wrap it up very small so that it can fit into your beach bag and doesn't take up too much space.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it like, you know those yoga towels that are like the perfect length for a, yoga mat and they are really thin, but very absorbent?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Something like that. I don't know. I. I saw this fleetingly. Somebody told me about it. I kind of was half paying attention that I felt that maybe if anyone was going to try something like this, it would be you, because I feel like you try innovative products.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, I'm. We're always a bit. Me and Amanda are always at a bit of butting, heads, because I'm the type of person, if it's a gadget and it's new, I'm all on board trying it. So we've had things in this house that we've had to get rid of because I will have purchased it, been very excited about it, and then after a month, never used it again. And she'll be like, why do we have this? And I'm like. She's like, it's just one of those gadgets, one of those electronics that you and your family seem to feel you need to get. I'm like, I guess. I don't know. So I'm being resistant to jumping into that as much as I did before.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You're a true early adopter, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess, I guess. But always for the silliest things, I will say this. I like beach towel that has a nautical theme on it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, okay. Whether it's a blue and white.
>> Marco Timpano: No. Yeah, that too. But Like I like a picture on it. So like I think I have a flamingo with one of its foot raised or a, ah, whale that's kind of jumping in the water or like seahorses or you know, the lifesaver of a boat that says, you know, SS10 or something like. Something like that for me is, is the beach towel if it has a nautily theme. Although I did have one that was yellow and had the Corona beer label on it. One of those ones that you win or you get out of, you know, swaggy kind of thing where you get it out of your, your beer. And we use that whenever we would go away as the towel that we would put down.
Do you have tea towels in your kitchen? For drying hands or anything
And if someone took it, fine, but we could spot it from a mile away and they're like, that's our towel, that's our chair. Let's.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No one's gonna be touching that towel anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was our decoy towel.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, yeah. With anything. The word corona on it now.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Oh, that's true. I didn't even think of that. isn't that fun? Yeah. Well, I guess that towel's not coming with me again. I know. Isn't that funny? What about tea towels?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, good question. So tea towels as in like a face cloth type of tea?
>> Marco Timpano: No, like one. Do you have tea towels in your kitchen? For. They call them tea towels but I find them more for like drying hands or for.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I didn't know that that's what they were called.
>> Marco Timpano: That's. I think that's what I call them tea towels.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, probably. I just called them. I guess I don't know what I called them.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have tea towels?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do, I do. I have a few of them actually. I'm very much. I always need to have a hand drying towel in the vicinity of the sink. Find it missing otherwise or odd when that isn't there because you're gonna get your hands wet.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You need to do something about it. And those tea towels like mine are checkered kind of. I think you can go a little bit more. I mean I think I like more of a funky design on those tea towels just to add a pop of color in the kitchen, of course.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: To make it a little bit more interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like we have to go that way because we've had some white ones that have like little embroidered like home is where the heart is or the kitchen is where you find love. I don't know, like sayings, you know, that would be on it. And we had a couple that were white. But Amanda tends to mop up if there's a spill and it's always coffee. She'll grab the whitest, the whitest tea towel, mop it up, and then it's like, I can't get this coffee. Like, it's no longer white. Right. So now we just do checkered or colored or like patterns and stuff. So it's like this is going to be much more, you know, resilient to the odd mop up of a spill or what have you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, the white towels, so elegant. But I don't know, it's not the color that I go for when I'm towel shopping.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I just. It's too complicated.
>> Marco Timpano: What about this? So I thought I would be a fan of this. And now in reality, not so much controversy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: The large bath towel. So you know the bath towel that's like twice the seat, twice the size of a regular towel. So like it'll wrap around you. It's almost like a blanket. It's so big.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah. okay, so I know I said that I really like that for the beach, sure. But for me, a towel has a functional requirement.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And when you get out of the shower or the bath, it's like you gotta dry it all off.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And then for me, it's like, I'd rather have a robe or something that I change into that I can then, you know, dry my hair, do my makeup, get ready, etc. I don't want to be in the towel. So for me, it's a little bit like, what's the point? I find, like it feels like it's just a little too indulgent.
>> Marco Timpano: Too much towel. It's too much towel. I can't. I can't deal with how much towel it is. It's heavy. It like basically eats the towel rack. Like, it's like there's nothing. Like it's just all over. Like you can't even see what was a towel rack. And then to wash takes up half the washing machine and it's like, what do you like? This is just too much towel. At a certain point, it becomes blanket versus towel fair.
When I was in Europe, towel warmers were much more prevalent
>> Nidhi Khanna: How do you feel about those, warming stations for the towels?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, great question. That's a great question.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So getting very excited about it.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm trying to. Nidhi's about to give me the hand signal.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Totally. I was 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: So when I was in Europe, I find that you find those towel warmers much more prevalent. And so it's safe to say that Europe is a very civilized nation of towel warming people that I really respect. So if you're in Europe right now and you have a towel warmer, I'm totally, totally on board.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Can I give a caveat about that, though?
>> Marco Timpano: Please, please.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Because, yes, they all have towel warmers, but it's because their heating is, like, terrible. So they're not going from heated car into heated flush space into heated, heated, heated. It's like it's damp and cold and not very well insulated.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Some places I don't want our European listeners to be like, what are they talking about?
>> Nidhi Khanna: But I think her on again, I
>> Marco Timpano: think it's because Canada is so cold that when it's cold, our heat gets. Our heat gets jacked up so much. But I know when I'm with my relatives, let's say in Italy, in some of those places, it doesn't get as, snowy and cold. So they're more used to moderate temperatures in the home. Whereas we're used to, like, you get
>> Nidhi Khanna: out of dry, cracked skin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. A, broiling home, like you're being boiled into the most severe cold and then back into a car that will heat up to, you know, like you're cooking a chicken. But anyways, I digress about that.
Let's get back to the towel warmer. I had it in the home, but it did not do the job
Let's get back to the towel warmer. So I've always wanted that towel warmer. And in order to do that in the bathroom, you have to sort of rewire things and all. it's a whole big thing. So that wasn't going to happen. But I did find what looked like a giant toaster. Nidhi. So it was like a box, like, you know, a bread box, if you will, or like just a box, and you could open it and roll up a towel and put it in it and then plunge something that would heat that towel while you were taking your bath. So when you came out, you had a hot towel that you kind of basically put in a toaster to toast.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is this kind of like what they have at spas sometimes? Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: yes, thank you. I'm talking to someone who enjoys spas and understands so exactly like that. I had it in the home, but I had a very inexpensive version that I think, I think I even won it. I don't even think I bought it, but let's say I purchased it. The problem with it was every time I would plunge it and put my towel in it, it would, like, off gas heat. So everything smelled like plastic. So it was like, oh, my towel is warm, but the smell from this towel is going to kill me, so I cannot use it. Right. So I had this wonderful, in theory, towel warmer, but it did not do the job I needed it to do. So I've always been sad. But I love a hot towel.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, a hot towel is lush. I like, remember planes, Marco. Remember when we could.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I do. I do. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: and do you remember when sometimes they would give you the hot face towel?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's never happening again. But it was a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: It was so wonderful. I loved that so much. Oh, my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: With the tongs. I used to pick it up.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, the tongs. It was the best thing. You felt like it was so special.
61% of knowledge workers manage work more than doing it
let me ask you this, though. From a practical perspective, when you wash your towels, how many towels do you put in your washing machine and dryer at a time?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, I want to say.
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>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, so hold on, because I think you're gonna get really upset with me.
>> Marco Timpano: No, because I used to throw the whole shebang in, so I'm just always.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But it's also. There's not that many people in my home, so, you know, there's like five towels, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Like, if you count the bath mat and the Towel and the like hand towel or whatever. but I usually just like wash it with other stuff. I don't just do a towel wash.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know that that's kind of.
>> Marco Timpano: I do have a problem with that. I wash towels separately. But I didn't realize you're only supposed to put a certain amount of towels depending on your machine. So I used to, I used to fill my machine so much like, you know when you have to cram clothes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. Sitting in. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You're not supposed to do that. My sister was like, you're not supposed to put more than eight towels in the machine at a time. I'm like, what?
>> Nidhi Khanna: She's like, yeah, where did that number come from?
>> Marco Timpano: She's like, look at your washing machine. You know when you get the booklet, you're supposed to read it. It says in that. And I was like, I think you're crazy. And sure enough, mine said five towels. I'm like, where am I going to go? Listen, no, I love my wife 100% and she loves to take baths and I totally. She can take as many baths as she want. I absolutely do not care. especially in the winter when she needs to warm up, there's always a hot bath. And. And so we go through towels like crazy. And that's fine. I don't mind at all. Actually. I enjoy washing them. But if I'm washing five towels at a time, I'm gonna spend a day in front of the washing machine.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, no, no, no. That's just somebody. I think this is just big, big water coming to conspiracy to get you to use more water.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, supposedly it's more efficient for your washing machine and for your dryer. You'll dry them faster if you don' with 19 towels. So I have been, I have been trying to do the eight to nine towel rule, especially with these ginormous towels I have now.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I just feel like then you're wasting water by doing more of the laundry.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's towel cycle.
>> Marco Timpano: That said, I do have a, I do have a high efficiency, washing machine dryer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Makes sense. Makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have one of those old fashioned ones? The ones that like, you have to kind of like dive into? Kind of like.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, yeah. Gotta dive into it. It rolls around, it makes noise. I can hear it two stories above.
>> Marco Timpano: It's right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's a clunker. I don't think my landlord's ever changed it. So that's the feeling I get.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't mind the sound of a washing machine and dryer. Going. I really don't. This is the most, this is the most unflattering angle I could ever ask. But anyway. Sorry, go on.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Of yourself, of myself.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm like, I look horrible. But anyways, no one can see me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You look beautiful inside and out.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
How do you feel once you've done laundry? Oh, I love it
>> Nidhi Khanna: I was gonna say, how do you feel once you've done laundry?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love it. I love it so much. There's just this. It's a feeling I can't describe, but it is a very joyous, joyous satisfaction feeling. And I love to be in front of the television watching a program as I fold everything. I just fold, fold, fold, fold, fold.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay. so here's another interesting question.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you like, what is the time frame between washer, dryer and folding? So for example, do you put a load in the washer when you're about to like leave the house and then three hours later come home, put it in the dryer? Or, or do you like have set time of like. Okay, I'm doing laundry at this time. So it's going to be washer right away, dryer next, load in the washer, dryer comes out, fold right away. Or do you let the laundry, when it comes out of the dryer stay before you fold it?
>> Marco Timpano: This is the best question. This is the best question ever. In fact, you know when you go for a job interview and they tell you what would be one of your qualities that isn't so great they should ask this question.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true. Because it tells you a lot about someone's like, way of operating.
>> Marco Timpano: Totally, totally. So, okay, it's a great question. It's going to have a multi pronged answer. But you know, in some places and where we are, it was like this for a time where energy costs were cheaper at certain hours. So I would try to do it later in the day when the energy prices were less. So I would do it from 7pm till 9pm and I tried to do my washing there, but I found I was washing every single day. Every single day. And I hate that I like to do one or two washes a week and that's my thing. So that means you could do it on the weekend. So I would do a lot of the washing on the weekend. My preference is always this. Wash, dry while it's still warm, fold M. But that's difficult because you're chained to the laundry room and we can't always be doing that. So sometimes I will do the. You know what, I'm going to throw a big load in, turn it on at maximum, maximum wash. And then I'm going to go wherever I have to go. When I come back, hopefully it'll be done and I'll take it out and I'll push it into the dryer and let that happen. And if I can get to it before I have to go to bed or another thing, great. If not, I'll do it the next day. So my preference is to do it while it's still warm. But I would say I only. I. That only happens 40% of the time.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay. We have completely different.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Strategies.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So for me, laundry is a weekday thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Especially now with work from home. It's like I want to pop it in in the morning, get stuff done, go downstairs, put it in the dryer. Boom. And then when I take it out of the dryer. I guess the difference is like, depending on the laundry. Xena loves warm laundry. And so it's the one few things that my poor dog has during these times where she can just feel like a queen. I mean, she is always.
>> Marco Timpano: She is a queen. Since the day I met her, she's been a queen. But good for her. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So she likes to. For example, I did some laundry. And part of that laundry today is some of her laundry. So I let her sleep in it because she take a nap in the warm, luscious. It's like a big towel for her. Of course, a warm towel. So she does that. And then I have to wait until she's done with it before I fold it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But sometimes I will do. Because I don't like.
Marco says he schedules his laundry so that it's dry before sunset
You've seen where my laundry is in my basement. And it's really creepy. Like it creeps me out.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's. It's a bit of a dungeon. Yes, I agree.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's like not a great place. So, sometimes, depending on the time of day, if the sun goes down, I don't get the dryer. So I will schedule the laundry so that the last load is in the dryer before the sun sets.
>> Marco Timpano: vampire rules apply.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Rules. Exactly. And then the next morning, I will get the laundry from the laundry room.
>> Marco Timpano: M. Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so it's cold sometimes. Marco. I let the dryer stay in there for days. I don't take it out for days.
>> Marco Timpano: As far as I'm concerned, it's fine for it to be dried in the dryer for days. That I never have a problem.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, not in the washer.
>> Marco Timpano: Not in the washer. Especially if it's wet. You're in trouble because It'll get moldy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And that happens to me sometimes. Like I'll be like, oh no, did I transfer the washing from the end? I'll go there. And I'm like, oh no, this was yesterday's or the day before.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I'm like, have you seen that case? Do you.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a great question. So there's no rhyme or reason to how I do it. But if it's within, let's say, a nine to ten hour span, let's say I put it in. Let's say I put the thing in at midnight and the next morning at 9am I realized I hadn't transferred it. I'll transfer it. And I'm like, I'm cool with that. But once you approach that 12, 14 hour mark, I'll re rinse it. And if it's longer than that, I'll just do a rewash on a hot temperature. Because I'm like, I don't want to deal with that moldy clothes, that mold smell on clothes. That's not for me. No, that's not for me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'd like to meet the person that that is for.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, Fair enough. It's true. It's true.
To have free dry cleaning means you end up dry cleaning your stuff more
now let me ask you this. When it comes to laundry and dry cleaning, are you, do you have to be careful as a woman when it comes to dry cleaning your suits or your jackets? Because as a man, if you take them to a dry cleaner who doesn't know what they're doing, they can ruin your suit. So I'm wondering, is that true for women's clothing?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Especially because often the materials sometimes because even for dresses and things like that. Right. The materials might be silk, it might be something really fragile, I don't know,
>> Marco Timpano: needed or something.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right? Yeah. And so you want to make sure that they're taking care with it. So, For sure, for sure. Actually, my dad is a dry cleaner. I should ask him some stories.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that. Oh, I would love to hear some dry cleaning stories.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you grow up around the dry cleaners?
>> Nidhi Khanna: He worked in manufacturing for many years. So, always the garment industry.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: but, dry cleaning was sort of his post retirement foray.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Of all things, he just cannot retire.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like some people like puzzles, some people like building things. I like dry cleaning.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Completely.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness. That's great though at least you know the source of where you can bring your stuff and feel confident that it's not Going to get wrecked.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. And to have free dry cleaning means you end up dry cleaning your stuff more, Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You're like, okay, well, But yeah, I. I, don't think. I'm just trying to think when I was wearing suits, how often I would dry clean them. Like if it was a weekly or if it was, I guess. Is it like a weekly?
>> Marco Timpano: I think it depends how often you wear it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Wear it. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, true. So. So I think it, For me, anyways, because, like, you know, with regards to a suit, I'm not wearing a suit as often as one might think. Right. And then sometimes I'm doing corporate work that, you know, and I'm like, oh, my God, I've been wearing this. Like, I'm. All I'm doing is wearing suits, so I have to bring them in. I always like to get a shirt dry clean because I. Not that I hate ironing them, but when you get a dry clean shirt, it's always ironed perfectly. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I can.
>> Marco Timpano: I can never get that. That same sort of crispness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. I kind of wonder. At one point, I was thinking about investing in a little steamer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, those are great. My sister swears by them. We had it. But it bulkily takes up room in the most awkward way.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. Because it's long. Right. Like, it's like a lamp, almost.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. It's like this awkward lamp. And it's like, where do we move this? Okay. I mean, I don't have a big house, so that's part of the issue. My sister has a bigger house in the suburbs, but it's like, where do we put this? And Amanda be like, this is always in our way. And I'm like, you're right. And she's like, how much do you use it? I'm like, enough that it should be here. And she's like, no. And so we got rid of it. Now they have a handheld one where it's just the. Just the steamer. You don't need the thing that all the other. Yeah, yeah. M. But I loved it. I thought it was great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, there you have it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Nidhi: I miss you so much, Marco. I really do miss you. Well, that's, uh, really the end of
Well, that's, really the end of the episode, Niddy, if you can imagine. From towels to dry cleaning. Here we go. Thank you so much for being a part of the show, Marco.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is so nice. I miss you so much.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, man.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The listeners and, Yeah. I'm so glad that we get to do this every once in a while.
>> Marco Timpano: I should let the listeners know that Nidhi and I often hang out and we'll go for walks. And, you know, we're being very careful, but we see each other more than when you hear us. But I do miss you. I really do miss you. And, we had some delightful cookies last time we saw each other.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We did? We did indeed.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen if you're listening. If you're still listening, I hope that there's delightful cookies within arm's reach for you. Nidhi, thanks again for being on this episode.
>> Nidhi Khanna: My pleasure. I'll see you next time.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. And I hope that you were able to listen and sleep.
(April 14, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation on mundane topics. And I'm purposely trying to be very calm, but I'm also very excited because I have on the show today. One of my favourite people in all the world, Nidhi Khanna, is back on the podcast today. Nidhi, welcome.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Hey, Marco. So good to be here. I'm excited to be here as well.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's so funny, you know, I try to be as calm as I can all the time. Like most of the time on the podcast and most of the time I'm fighting just, you know, shouting from the top of my lungs. How are you?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am so well. And I know you must be missing my hand signals of remember the slow down hand signal that we had for one another?
>> Marco Timpano: which really means Nidhi was doing it always to me, like I would always get the hand signal because. Yeah, yeah, I do miss it. I certainly miss it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, I know. I miss it too. So good to see you even ah, in this virtual setting. But, yeah, I'm really well, I am, in honor of this recording and as a throwback to our, I think it was our lush episode that was one of the popular ones. I am sitting in a robe this time. Not my white plush robe, but a different one. But I figured it would be appropriate attire for our session today.
>> Marco Timpano: And. Is that Xena drinking in the background?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. Can you hear that?
>> Marco Timpano: I can hear it, yeah. I don't know if our listeners will hear it, but I can hear it, so I imagine they will. But I'm like, that's got to be Xena. She's probably like, listen, you're on the air. Which means I'm on the air.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. She's got to show up somewhere and leave her mark. Really.
>> Marco Timpano: Is she behaving herself these days?
>> Nidhi Khanna: She is, you know, she's getting a little older. Her energy levels are a little bit less than what we, used to have in her, but fair enough. She's doing well, you know, sleeping, living the life.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I'm glad someone can sleep is what I'll say.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. Exactly.
I wanted to talk to you about a topic that's been burning for myself
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk to you about a topic that's been burning for myself for a while. And that topic is towels. Yes, towels. Yeah, we haven't done one on towels.
>> Nidhi Khanna: really? Never.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't. Maybe we did. But I want to take a deep dive into towels and ask when you're looking for a beach towel, what's important to you with regards to the look, the design, the pattern, any of that stuff? Any sort of towel imagery that you like on your beach towel?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So this is a great question mark. And the reason for that is, as you know, and as the listeners know, I'm an avid Scuba diver.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And, actually one of the things that I've been working on is a little scuba diving business. But, once that's launched, I'll come back on and tell you all about it.
>> Marco Timpano: But I'm promising my listeners that you will be on and break the news here first so they know and they can get access to whatever you're working on.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Perfect. I saw a promo code coming on. but so when I'm diving, it's less about the, color of the towel and more about the absorption quality of it.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: However, if I am going to be a total lush and lie on the beach and just sunbathe, etcetera, Then I'm less worried about the absorption quality and kind of want something funky and fun, you know, that can speak to my personality. So that when I leave the sun tanning bed on the beach that if somebody were to like walk by, they'd say, cool. towel. I wonder who that is.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And then sometimes I'm just like, I don't care. Just, give me the only thing I don't like. The only time I ever get really not irked, a bit annoyed is when you go away and, you know, you invest in a nice little vacation somewhere.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Going to the beach. And they give you beach towels that are the same as the bath towels. And to me that is just amateur because a beach towel needs to have a certain length to it. there's a quality of a beach towel. I love the ones where when you. And I'm only 5 3, so this might be easier for me.
>> Marco Timpano: But okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: When you wrap it at the, when you come out of the ocean or whatever, or out of the pool, when you wrap it, it kind of goes all the way down your body because it's. So, so those are the types of beach towels that I enjoy. And when I receive just a bath towel, I just, I judge, Marco. I judge when that happens.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not a big fan of that either because I feel like a beach towel has to take some wear and tear. It has to face the elements and there's the sand factor. Right. So I don't want a beach towel hung up in my bathroom, in a hotel resort, wherever I happen to be. Because I'm not sure that that beach towel is going to be sand free, let's say, or hasn't been used in a way that makes it less soft and absorbent for the skin when you come out of the bath. So for me, I'm on the same page as you like, for me, it's very important that they stay separate. And I like places that have, you know, a stripy one for the beach and then you have the plain white one for the hotel.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure. Have you tried. Oh, sorry, go ahead.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I was gonna say for your room, if it's not a hotel.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. Have you tried these new beach towels that are supposed to be like sand proof or. I guess it's some special material. No, don't ask me what the material is unless we want to go down the route of me just making stuff up. And I'm always a big fan of that. So it's some special material that when you dust it off, all the sand comes out. Because it's. I mean, I don't want to say sand proof because can anything be sand proof?
>> Marco Timpano: But no, I don't. Sand resistant, I guess.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know. but it's supposed to be these, And you can, wrap it up very small so that it can fit into your beach bag and doesn't take up too much space.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it like, you know those yoga towels that are like the perfect length for a, yoga mat and they are really thin, but very absorbent?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Something like that. I don't know. I. I saw this fleetingly. Somebody told me about it. I kind of was half paying attention that I felt that maybe if anyone was going to try something like this, it would be you, because I feel like you try innovative products.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, I'm. We're always a bit. Me and Amanda are always at a bit of butting, heads, because I'm the type of person, if it's a gadget and it's new, I'm all on board trying it. So we've had things in this house that we've had to get rid of because I will have purchased it, been very excited about it, and then after a month, never used it again. And she'll be like, why do we have this? And I'm like. She's like, it's just one of those gadgets, one of those electronics that you and your family seem to feel you need to get. I'm like, I guess. I don't know. So I'm being resistant to jumping into that as much as I did before.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You're a true early adopter, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess, I guess. But always for the silliest things, I will say this. I like beach towel that has a nautical theme on it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, okay. Whether it's a blue and white.
>> Marco Timpano: No. Yeah, that too. But Like I like a picture on it. So like I think I have a flamingo with one of its foot raised or a, ah, whale that's kind of jumping in the water or like seahorses or you know, the lifesaver of a boat that says, you know, SS10 or something like. Something like that for me is, is the beach towel if it has a nautily theme. Although I did have one that was yellow and had the Corona beer label on it. One of those ones that you win or you get out of, you know, swaggy kind of thing where you get it out of your, your beer. And we use that whenever we would go away as the towel that we would put down.
Do you have tea towels in your kitchen? For drying hands or anything
And if someone took it, fine, but we could spot it from a mile away and they're like, that's our towel, that's our chair. Let's.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No one's gonna be touching that towel anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was our decoy towel.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, yeah. With anything. The word corona on it now.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Oh, that's true. I didn't even think of that. isn't that fun? Yeah. Well, I guess that towel's not coming with me again. I know. Isn't that funny? What about tea towels?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, good question. So tea towels as in like a face cloth type of tea?
>> Marco Timpano: No, like one. Do you have tea towels in your kitchen? For. They call them tea towels but I find them more for like drying hands or for.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I didn't know that that's what they were called.
>> Marco Timpano: That's. I think that's what I call them tea towels.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, probably. I just called them. I guess I don't know what I called them.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have tea towels?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do, I do. I have a few of them actually. I'm very much. I always need to have a hand drying towel in the vicinity of the sink. Find it missing otherwise or odd when that isn't there because you're gonna get your hands wet.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You need to do something about it. And those tea towels like mine are checkered kind of. I think you can go a little bit more. I mean I think I like more of a funky design on those tea towels just to add a pop of color in the kitchen, of course.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: To make it a little bit more interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like we have to go that way because we've had some white ones that have like little embroidered like home is where the heart is or the kitchen is where you find love. I don't know, like sayings, you know, that would be on it. And we had a couple that were white. But Amanda tends to mop up if there's a spill and it's always coffee. She'll grab the whitest, the whitest tea towel, mop it up, and then it's like, I can't get this coffee. Like, it's no longer white. Right. So now we just do checkered or colored or like patterns and stuff. So it's like this is going to be much more, you know, resilient to the odd mop up of a spill or what have you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, the white towels, so elegant. But I don't know, it's not the color that I go for when I'm towel shopping.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I just. It's too complicated.
>> Marco Timpano: What about this? So I thought I would be a fan of this. And now in reality, not so much controversy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: The large bath towel. So you know the bath towel that's like twice the seat, twice the size of a regular towel. So like it'll wrap around you. It's almost like a blanket. It's so big.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah. okay, so I know I said that I really like that for the beach, sure. But for me, a towel has a functional requirement.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And when you get out of the shower or the bath, it's like you gotta dry it all off.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And then for me, it's like, I'd rather have a robe or something that I change into that I can then, you know, dry my hair, do my makeup, get ready, etc. I don't want to be in the towel. So for me, it's a little bit like, what's the point? I find, like it feels like it's just a little too indulgent.
>> Marco Timpano: Too much towel. It's too much towel. I can't. I can't deal with how much towel it is. It's heavy. It like basically eats the towel rack. Like, it's like there's nothing. Like it's just all over. Like you can't even see what was a towel rack. And then to wash takes up half the washing machine and it's like, what do you like? This is just too much towel. At a certain point, it becomes blanket versus towel fair.
When I was in Europe, towel warmers were much more prevalent
>> Nidhi Khanna: How do you feel about those, warming stations for the towels?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, great question. That's a great question.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So getting very excited about it.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm trying to. Nidhi's about to give me the hand signal.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Totally. I was 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: So when I was in Europe, I find that you find those towel warmers much more prevalent. And so it's safe to say that Europe is a very civilized nation of towel warming people that I really respect. So if you're in Europe right now and you have a towel warmer, I'm totally, totally on board.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Can I give a caveat about that, though?
>> Marco Timpano: Please, please.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Because, yes, they all have towel warmers, but it's because their heating is, like, terrible. So they're not going from heated car into heated flush space into heated, heated, heated. It's like it's damp and cold and not very well insulated.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Some places I don't want our European listeners to be like, what are they talking about?
>> Nidhi Khanna: But I think her on again, I
>> Marco Timpano: think it's because Canada is so cold that when it's cold, our heat gets. Our heat gets jacked up so much. But I know when I'm with my relatives, let's say in Italy, in some of those places, it doesn't get as, snowy and cold. So they're more used to moderate temperatures in the home. Whereas we're used to, like, you get
>> Nidhi Khanna: out of dry, cracked skin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. A, broiling home, like you're being boiled into the most severe cold and then back into a car that will heat up to, you know, like you're cooking a chicken. But anyways, I digress about that.
Let's get back to the towel warmer. I had it in the home, but it did not do the job
Let's get back to the towel warmer. So I've always wanted that towel warmer. And in order to do that in the bathroom, you have to sort of rewire things and all. it's a whole big thing. So that wasn't going to happen. But I did find what looked like a giant toaster. Nidhi. So it was like a box, like, you know, a bread box, if you will, or like just a box, and you could open it and roll up a towel and put it in it and then plunge something that would heat that towel while you were taking your bath. So when you came out, you had a hot towel that you kind of basically put in a toaster to toast.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is this kind of like what they have at spas sometimes? Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: yes, thank you. I'm talking to someone who enjoys spas and understands so exactly like that. I had it in the home, but I had a very inexpensive version that I think, I think I even won it. I don't even think I bought it, but let's say I purchased it. The problem with it was every time I would plunge it and put my towel in it, it would, like, off gas heat. So everything smelled like plastic. So it was like, oh, my towel is warm, but the smell from this towel is going to kill me, so I cannot use it. Right. So I had this wonderful, in theory, towel warmer, but it did not do the job I needed it to do. So I've always been sad. But I love a hot towel.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, a hot towel is lush. I like, remember planes, Marco. Remember when we could.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I do. I do. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: and do you remember when sometimes they would give you the hot face towel?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's never happening again. But it was a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: It was so wonderful. I loved that so much. Oh, my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: With the tongs. I used to pick it up.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, the tongs. It was the best thing. You felt like it was so special.
61% of knowledge workers manage work more than doing it
let me ask you this, though. From a practical perspective, when you wash your towels, how many towels do you put in your washing machine and dryer at a time?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, I want to say.
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>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, so hold on, because I think you're gonna get really upset with me.
>> Marco Timpano: No, because I used to throw the whole shebang in, so I'm just always.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But it's also. There's not that many people in my home, so, you know, there's like five towels, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Like, if you count the bath mat and the Towel and the like hand towel or whatever. but I usually just like wash it with other stuff. I don't just do a towel wash.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know that that's kind of.
>> Marco Timpano: I do have a problem with that. I wash towels separately. But I didn't realize you're only supposed to put a certain amount of towels depending on your machine. So I used to, I used to fill my machine so much like, you know when you have to cram clothes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. Sitting in. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You're not supposed to do that. My sister was like, you're not supposed to put more than eight towels in the machine at a time. I'm like, what?
>> Nidhi Khanna: She's like, yeah, where did that number come from?
>> Marco Timpano: She's like, look at your washing machine. You know when you get the booklet, you're supposed to read it. It says in that. And I was like, I think you're crazy. And sure enough, mine said five towels. I'm like, where am I going to go? Listen, no, I love my wife 100% and she loves to take baths and I totally. She can take as many baths as she want. I absolutely do not care. especially in the winter when she needs to warm up, there's always a hot bath. And. And so we go through towels like crazy. And that's fine. I don't mind at all. Actually. I enjoy washing them. But if I'm washing five towels at a time, I'm gonna spend a day in front of the washing machine.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, no, no, no. That's just somebody. I think this is just big, big water coming to conspiracy to get you to use more water.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, supposedly it's more efficient for your washing machine and for your dryer. You'll dry them faster if you don' with 19 towels. So I have been, I have been trying to do the eight to nine towel rule, especially with these ginormous towels I have now.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I just feel like then you're wasting water by doing more of the laundry.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's towel cycle.
>> Marco Timpano: That said, I do have a, I do have a high efficiency, washing machine dryer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Makes sense. Makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have one of those old fashioned ones? The ones that like, you have to kind of like dive into? Kind of like.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, yeah. Gotta dive into it. It rolls around, it makes noise. I can hear it two stories above.
>> Marco Timpano: It's right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's a clunker. I don't think my landlord's ever changed it. So that's the feeling I get.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't mind the sound of a washing machine and dryer. Going. I really don't. This is the most, this is the most unflattering angle I could ever ask. But anyway. Sorry, go on.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Of yourself, of myself.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm like, I look horrible. But anyways, no one can see me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You look beautiful inside and out.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
How do you feel once you've done laundry? Oh, I love it
>> Nidhi Khanna: I was gonna say, how do you feel once you've done laundry?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love it. I love it so much. There's just this. It's a feeling I can't describe, but it is a very joyous, joyous satisfaction feeling. And I love to be in front of the television watching a program as I fold everything. I just fold, fold, fold, fold, fold.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay. so here's another interesting question.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you like, what is the time frame between washer, dryer and folding? So for example, do you put a load in the washer when you're about to like leave the house and then three hours later come home, put it in the dryer? Or, or do you like have set time of like. Okay, I'm doing laundry at this time. So it's going to be washer right away, dryer next, load in the washer, dryer comes out, fold right away. Or do you let the laundry, when it comes out of the dryer stay before you fold it?
>> Marco Timpano: This is the best question. This is the best question ever. In fact, you know when you go for a job interview and they tell you what would be one of your qualities that isn't so great they should ask this question.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true. Because it tells you a lot about someone's like, way of operating.
>> Marco Timpano: Totally, totally. So, okay, it's a great question. It's going to have a multi pronged answer. But you know, in some places and where we are, it was like this for a time where energy costs were cheaper at certain hours. So I would try to do it later in the day when the energy prices were less. So I would do it from 7pm till 9pm and I tried to do my washing there, but I found I was washing every single day. Every single day. And I hate that I like to do one or two washes a week and that's my thing. So that means you could do it on the weekend. So I would do a lot of the washing on the weekend. My preference is always this. Wash, dry while it's still warm, fold M. But that's difficult because you're chained to the laundry room and we can't always be doing that. So sometimes I will do the. You know what, I'm going to throw a big load in, turn it on at maximum, maximum wash. And then I'm going to go wherever I have to go. When I come back, hopefully it'll be done and I'll take it out and I'll push it into the dryer and let that happen. And if I can get to it before I have to go to bed or another thing, great. If not, I'll do it the next day. So my preference is to do it while it's still warm. But I would say I only. I. That only happens 40% of the time.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay. We have completely different.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Strategies.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So for me, laundry is a weekday thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Especially now with work from home. It's like I want to pop it in in the morning, get stuff done, go downstairs, put it in the dryer. Boom. And then when I take it out of the dryer. I guess the difference is like, depending on the laundry. Xena loves warm laundry. And so it's the one few things that my poor dog has during these times where she can just feel like a queen. I mean, she is always.
>> Marco Timpano: She is a queen. Since the day I met her, she's been a queen. But good for her. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So she likes to. For example, I did some laundry. And part of that laundry today is some of her laundry. So I let her sleep in it because she take a nap in the warm, luscious. It's like a big towel for her. Of course, a warm towel. So she does that. And then I have to wait until she's done with it before I fold it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But sometimes I will do. Because I don't like.
Marco says he schedules his laundry so that it's dry before sunset
You've seen where my laundry is in my basement. And it's really creepy. Like it creeps me out.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's. It's a bit of a dungeon. Yes, I agree.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's like not a great place. So, sometimes, depending on the time of day, if the sun goes down, I don't get the dryer. So I will schedule the laundry so that the last load is in the dryer before the sun sets.
>> Marco Timpano: vampire rules apply.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Rules. Exactly. And then the next morning, I will get the laundry from the laundry room.
>> Marco Timpano: M. Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so it's cold sometimes. Marco. I let the dryer stay in there for days. I don't take it out for days.
>> Marco Timpano: As far as I'm concerned, it's fine for it to be dried in the dryer for days. That I never have a problem.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, not in the washer.
>> Marco Timpano: Not in the washer. Especially if it's wet. You're in trouble because It'll get moldy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And that happens to me sometimes. Like I'll be like, oh no, did I transfer the washing from the end? I'll go there. And I'm like, oh no, this was yesterday's or the day before.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I'm like, have you seen that case? Do you.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a great question. So there's no rhyme or reason to how I do it. But if it's within, let's say, a nine to ten hour span, let's say I put it in. Let's say I put the thing in at midnight and the next morning at 9am I realized I hadn't transferred it. I'll transfer it. And I'm like, I'm cool with that. But once you approach that 12, 14 hour mark, I'll re rinse it. And if it's longer than that, I'll just do a rewash on a hot temperature. Because I'm like, I don't want to deal with that moldy clothes, that mold smell on clothes. That's not for me. No, that's not for me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'd like to meet the person that that is for.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, Fair enough. It's true. It's true.
To have free dry cleaning means you end up dry cleaning your stuff more
now let me ask you this. When it comes to laundry and dry cleaning, are you, do you have to be careful as a woman when it comes to dry cleaning your suits or your jackets? Because as a man, if you take them to a dry cleaner who doesn't know what they're doing, they can ruin your suit. So I'm wondering, is that true for women's clothing?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Especially because often the materials sometimes because even for dresses and things like that. Right. The materials might be silk, it might be something really fragile, I don't know,
>> Marco Timpano: needed or something.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right? Yeah. And so you want to make sure that they're taking care with it. So, For sure, for sure. Actually, my dad is a dry cleaner. I should ask him some stories.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that. Oh, I would love to hear some dry cleaning stories.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you grow up around the dry cleaners?
>> Nidhi Khanna: He worked in manufacturing for many years. So, always the garment industry.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: but, dry cleaning was sort of his post retirement foray.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Of all things, he just cannot retire.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like some people like puzzles, some people like building things. I like dry cleaning.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Completely.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness. That's great though at least you know the source of where you can bring your stuff and feel confident that it's not Going to get wrecked.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. And to have free dry cleaning means you end up dry cleaning your stuff more, Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You're like, okay, well, But yeah, I. I, don't think. I'm just trying to think when I was wearing suits, how often I would dry clean them. Like if it was a weekly or if it was, I guess. Is it like a weekly?
>> Marco Timpano: I think it depends how often you wear it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Wear it. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, true. So. So I think it, For me, anyways, because, like, you know, with regards to a suit, I'm not wearing a suit as often as one might think. Right. And then sometimes I'm doing corporate work that, you know, and I'm like, oh, my God, I've been wearing this. Like, I'm. All I'm doing is wearing suits, so I have to bring them in. I always like to get a shirt dry clean because I. Not that I hate ironing them, but when you get a dry clean shirt, it's always ironed perfectly. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I can.
>> Marco Timpano: I can never get that. That same sort of crispness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. I kind of wonder. At one point, I was thinking about investing in a little steamer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, those are great. My sister swears by them. We had it. But it bulkily takes up room in the most awkward way.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. Because it's long. Right. Like, it's like a lamp, almost.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. It's like this awkward lamp. And it's like, where do we move this? Okay. I mean, I don't have a big house, so that's part of the issue. My sister has a bigger house in the suburbs, but it's like, where do we put this? And Amanda be like, this is always in our way. And I'm like, you're right. And she's like, how much do you use it? I'm like, enough that it should be here. And she's like, no. And so we got rid of it. Now they have a handheld one where it's just the. Just the steamer. You don't need the thing that all the other. Yeah, yeah. M. But I loved it. I thought it was great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, there you have it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Nidhi: I miss you so much, Marco. I really do miss you. Well, that's, uh, really the end of
Well, that's, really the end of the episode, Niddy, if you can imagine. From towels to dry cleaning. Here we go. Thank you so much for being a part of the show, Marco.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is so nice. I miss you so much.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, man.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The listeners and, Yeah. I'm so glad that we get to do this every once in a while.
>> Marco Timpano: I should let the listeners know that Nidhi and I often hang out and we'll go for walks. And, you know, we're being very careful, but we see each other more than when you hear us. But I do miss you. I really do miss you. And, we had some delightful cookies last time we saw each other.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We did? We did indeed.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen if you're listening. If you're still listening, I hope that there's delightful cookies within arm's reach for you. Nidhi, thanks again for being on this episode.
>> Nidhi Khanna: My pleasure. I'll see you next time.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. And I hope that you were able to listen and sleep.
Star Trek and Sci Fi with guest Frankie Day
April 7, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we discuss a variety of topics
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we discuss, a variety of topics, perhaps one topic only in hopefully a calm manner. And, that isn't so interesting that you won't be able to drift off. But listen, there's going to be some episodes that people find interesting, and there's going to be that same episode that people aren't going to find interesting. I say it only because people sometimes review the podcast and say it was interesting. Trust me, there's going to be an episode that you won't find interesting. We have over 200, so good luck finding that episode. Or perhaps all of them are for you. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. Enjoy.
Marco: Welcome to the podcast, Frankie Day from Charlotte, North Carolina
Joining me is a dear friend, who's currently, communicating with me from Charlotte, Frankie Day. Welcome to the podcast.
>> Speaker D: Thanks so much for having me, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Frankie, first of all, I need to say that Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of my favorite places on the planet.
>> Speaker D: Yes, it's, great down here, especially right now when things are just turning to spring and the weather is starting to warm up just a little bit. it's perfect positioning, in the south here.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I need to say I met Frankie in a course that I took. And, you know when you meet someone who's the coolest person in the room, and you're like, I got to get to know this person, because they just exude a sort of coolness, a hipness, just somebody who you just want to be around and talk to. And Frankie, for me, that was you in that class that we took.
>> Speaker D: Well, thank you. I think the same thing about you, to be really honest. you and your wife are both amazing people, and every time I get to hear from you, it's just an awesome time.
>> Marco Timpano: well, I'll say this, Frankie, Canada misses you, and you're always welcome back. And I hope to see you sooner rather than later back in Toronto or somewhere here in Canada where we can have a drink and clink some glasses.
>> Speaker D: Definitely. Definitely. Soon.
Frankie: I love sci fi. I have since I was a kid
>> Marco Timpano: But until then, Frankie, I want to talk sci fi with you.
>> Speaker D: Great. That's going to be. I was. I love sci fi. I have since I was a kid. And, actually write a bit of science fiction in my free time. So it's a subject that I think is very interesting in that you can explore things that most people will only dream of or never even consider. Which I think is one of the best things about science fiction is that it allows your mind to expand to places that you may never have considered before.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your earliest memory of sci fi as a kid that gravitated or brought you to that genre?
>> Speaker D: Well, I definitely read a lot as a kid, and so I'd read things like H.G. wells and the Time Machine or, Ray Bradbury, things like that. I like to read a lot of stories about space exploration, you know, or, things like meeting other cultures or different alien species. So that was very interesting to me when I was a kid, and that's something that I gravitated to a lot and read a lot of. So I think probably those early science fiction writers that I was reading, it may be 12 or 13, is some of the first science fiction that I ever encountered.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
There's a lot of talk about time travel in science fiction
So this logically leads me to the question of where do you stand on the time warp continuum?
>> Speaker D: the time warp continuum.
>> Marco Timpano: Does that make any sense? You know, how they talk about it? I have no idea what it is, Frankie, to be quite honest with you. But they often talk about it in, you know, when they talk about time, people doing time jumps and like, Like. I don't. I don't know. But yeah, I just thought I'd throw it out there, thinking it would make me sound smart, but clearly it didn't.
>> Speaker D: No, there's a lot of, talk about the way that time travel could work or even far off space travel. it's really funny that you would bring that up because just yesterday I was watching a documentary about quantum mechanics and how, particles of light can travel in waves or they can travel in particles. And one of the documentaries, it was a short documentary, featuring the physicist Michio Kaku, who is an American physicist who he works to make science relatable and understandable to the average person. And he was talking about how he envisions travel in the future and possibly time travel in the future, and how he imagines that you will be able to download your mind, your thoughts, your brain, basically, and then send it across the universe faster than light, and it will arrive and inhabit a body that you can then use to explore this alien world. And he had a lot of really interesting hypotheses and theories about how that could mix with traveling not necessarily through. Through time, but through other dimensions that could exist close to our Earth, our. Our world dimension. Which sounds all very fantastical, of course. Right. But that's his job, is to imagine the fantastic things of the future. Which I think, bringing it back to science fiction is what we. What science fiction authors and science fiction readers come to expect from the genre. These things that the furthest limits, the most creative understanding of what the possibilities could be of the future. So I think that kind of thing, like time travel and, you know, traveling through dimensions are all things that science fiction writers have tried to explore and used as much creativity as they can to explore. And in some ways they use the science that really exists to further their, explorations in their writings.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. You could even go back to someone like say, Mary Shelley, who was at the time writing about something that didn't really exist in her novel Frankenstein. And then, you know, you look at it today and it's like, well, we're not quite there. But certainly science has come so far that we have been able to resurrect people who've, you know, have had, incidences where we were able to sort of bring them back to life. So it's really fascinating to see how sometimes science fiction writing catches up to the present day and we actually bring some of those concepts or thoughts to life.
>> Speaker D: Exactly, exactly. Like, we were speaking before the show a little bit about Star Trek and something like the pads from Star Trek, which are. These were completely created by the Star Trek the Next Generation and the original series. Their, props masters and their special effects people, which are just these rectangular looking flat tablets that were just from their imagination. Then the creators of, the iPad and things like the Kindle, they looked at those science fiction items and thought, wouldn't that be cool if that could exist? And finally, when the technology was able to catch up to those ideas, those fantastic imaginings, then you have things like the iPad and the Kindle or anything, the art station, tablets that people can draw on. So it's quite interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, you mentioned Star Trek. Can we just take a little detour to Star Trek land for a brief second?
>> Speaker D: Absolutely.
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>> Marco Timpano: All right, who are your favorite characters in the Star Trek universe?
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>> Marco Timpano: And I'll tell you, I'll tell you mine too, in case you need a minute to think because there's so many.
>> Speaker D: I do have quite a few. Okay. Yeah.
Third on your list is Diana Troi, who is an empath
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so let me bring you mine and see what you think of these characters. Okay, so, I guess third on my list is going to be Diana Troi, because I Just love her, you know, ability on that show as a empath. And there's just something about it and her performance and her portrayal of it that, not to mention the outfit she wore was spectacular on her. But just that character I really, really loved.
>> Speaker D: I also. She's one of my favorite characters. I love that she is an empath, just as you said. she serves at the side of the captain of the flagship of Starfleet. And so they have elevated her to a position where she has the ear of one of the most powerful people in Starfleet. And that makes her an important character and shows that her role is important on the ship. And there are so many instances where Picard is not sure of what to do or, wants another perspective. And he goes to Troy, who is able to help him to make these vital decisions. So definitely 100% love her, that character and love her. And Maria Sirtis, who is American, and I think she might have been born in England but moved to America. She completely, made up that accent that she uses for the show.
>> Marco Timpano: She's not. That's not her accent. I thought she was British and that was her British accent.
>> Speaker D: Nope. That is an amalgamation of accents that she came up with with Gene Roddenberry to give Troy a more, like, alien kind of background. Right. If you hear her in regular interviews, she just has a regular American accent.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
Dr. Crusher was on the show from seasons one to two
Now, the other character I really liked on the show and she didn't have, the biggest role, I guess it got eclipsed, was the original Doctor on the Jean Luc Picard series. So not Crusher's mother, but the one that came before with the short hair. Do you know who I'm talking about?
>> Speaker D: Yes. yes. She's played by Diana Muldor. And I'm clicking on her name, the character's name, Dr. Pulaski.
>> Marco Timpano: There was something about her. She had this kind of like, no nonsense kind of delivery, and she had this kind of. She always had this kind of slightly ticked off look on her face that I really, really enjoyed, I have to say. And her character. Her character or that, character wasn't on for very long, but I remember when I watched it back in the day that I really liked it.
>> Speaker D: Yes. So Dr. Pulaski. So it's actually. So Dr. Crusher was on the show from seasons one to, I think the middle of season two. And then she left, that actor left the show and they brought on Dr. Pulaski as a, kind of Bones type. So if you remember from the original series, Bones was more of a gruff doctor. He was a skeptic. He had a lot of issues with technology. And so they brought in that kind of Dr. Pulaski character to mirror that. And she, was she never. I think in my feelings she never really meshed well with a lot of the crew. And I think that that was probably one of the reasons that she ended up leaving. But she did. I think she left a huge mark on the show and I think that she was, I think that she was a very interesting character.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And she was a, character who brought some, low stakes conflict to the show in just that she offered a different perspective. And I really like that about her. And then Diana Mulder went on to be on LA Law after leaving that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Speaker D: So it worked out for her. Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, wow.
Now my favorite character on the Star Trek universe is on Star Discovery
Now my favorite character on the Star Trek, in the Star Trek universe is on Star Discovery. I don't know. Are you watching that, Frankie?
>> Speaker D: I love Discovery. I've watched every episode. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm gonna be biased, but it's the character of Lido, who happens to be played by my nephew Luca on the show. On my actual, on the actual show. And, he had a small part.
>> Speaker D: I remember. Absolutely. I remember, seeing the post that you posted about him being on the show and kind of not. And kind of forgetting about it a little until I watched the episode and then remembering, oh, I know that that actor. Well, tangentially, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon kind of situation.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: M. And he, was really great. He was so cute. And he got to interact with Sonequa. Yeah. In a really nice, like, way. And I loved that scene. It was great. He did a great job. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And my sister said everyone on that show, especially the ones he was, acting with, were so wonderful. So absolutely wonderful. And Jonathan Frakes directed that episode. So my sister sat next to him and the entire time she was sweating buckets because she couldn't believe she was sitting next to Jonathan Frakes. Because my father was a huge Star Trek fan. And so she remembered growing up watching my father watch Jonathan Frakes on Star, Trek. And she was like, she was kind of. She didn't know what to do because she was sitting right next to him as he directed her son. It was an incredible sort of moment.
>> Speaker D: I guess I would have absolutely died. I would have absolutely just been so excited. it was. Yeah, that would be incredible.
Marco Day almost met Michelle Yeoh at the U.S. consulate
I can tell you a story that I have about Michelle. Yeoh.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And she of course plays, Captain Giorgio and then she plays, Philippa Giorgio and on the show. And so to preface this, I will say that I have loved Michelle Yeoh since I was about 12 years old.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Speaker D: I saw her in a movie called Super Cop with Jackie Chan, and they played two police officers who were trying to infiltrate a gang. And, you know, they had their. Their, did their police work. And I thought she was amazing. She does this great stunt where she's on a motorcycle, and it's just burned in my brain as this wonderful moment. And I've been a huge fan of her ever since. I've seen all of her movies. and I actually, when we met in Canada, Marco, I was working at the U.S. embassy. Yes. Or the consulate, actually. And, so a lot of, celebrities will come through the consulate. They will be in New York, and they'll come to the consulate to renew their visa if they're from, you know, England or what have you.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Speaker D: And then they'll go back to New York. So it was very. As a hub, I got to meet all kinds of people, and it was great. And then. And then one day, Michelle Yeoh was coming to get her visa. And I used to do all the celebrity visa interviews because I was, I got there early.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: And the week after I stopped working in that section and stopped doing the interviews, Michelle Yeoh came to the consulate to get her visa. And I missed the opportunity to meet her, and I was pretty upset. But, I did get to see and hold her passport.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: As we were processing it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: That made me feel a bit better. I heard she was very nice, which, of course, I'm not surprised at all, and just a complete professional. So that is my story of almost meeting Michelle Yeoh. And in retrospect, it probably isn't that exciting to people who don't really love that character and that actor. But for me, it was pretty. Pretty amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Michelle Yeoh, if you're listening, please, you know, contact us so we can put you in contact with Frankie Day so that, you know, you can make one of her, unrealized dreams come true.
>> Speaker D: that would be amazing.
Now, you have met a lot of celebrities in the sci fi world
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you have met a lot of celebrities in the sci fi world at those various conferences and whatnot. Cause I've seen pictures on your Instagram
>> Speaker D: with
>> Marco Timpano: the actor who played Xena. Was it with her that you.
>> Speaker D: Yep. Lucy Lawless.
>> Marco Timpano: Lucy Lawless. Thank you. Sorry, Lucy, if you're listening to this and you're like, you don't know my name, And I'm like, Of course, I know it, it just didn't come to me in that moment.
Who would you like to meet from your favorite sci fi or superhero shows
But, is there someone you haven't met yet that you would like to meet who's been in one of your, sci fi or superhero type shows?
>> Speaker D: So that is a great question and I have an answer. And that answer is Brie Larson. I would love to meet Brie Larson. She played Captain Marvel, of course, in the Marvel movie Captain Marvel. I'm looking at my water bottle with my Captain Marvel logo on it right now. she does do conventions, and so hopefully we'll get to see her really soon at a convention maybe there in Toronto or, or in the States somewhere. I would also like to meet Brendan Fraser, who is having a bit of a renaissance right now. They call it the Brenaissance.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Speaker D: yeah, yeah, he's doing some shows, he's got some jobs and he's, you know, he's, he's on his way back up and he was trending on Twitter the other day. So, he's another guy who does conventions that I would love to meet in person. What about you, Marco? Who would you like to meet?
>> Marco Timpano: So we went to a Comic Con sheerly, by accident one time, Amanda and myself, we were in Chicago and we were doing a corporate gig there and it happened to be happening at our hotel at the time. So we would see a lot of people that were at the Comic Con walking in the hotel lobby, like Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk on the television series back in the 80s. We saw him. But, who would I like to meet from those shows? That's a great question. I never really gave it much thought because, you know, for me, that's not necessarily my genre. Like, I don't think I would freak out too much, but. But, certainly I would love to meet some of my heroes, which would be, let's say Dolly Parton is high on that.
>> Speaker D: Listen.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, she's so great. We actually did an episode, I did an episode about Dolly Parton with my friend Shannon McDonough. but yeah, she would be top of my list. And I, don't know who else, to be honest with you. It's not coming to me anyways. I'm sure as soon as we finish, I'll be like, oh, this person, that person. surely, Patrick Stewart I would love to meet. I thought he was brilliant and, always like everybody, everything he does. but that's the Star Trek universe.
Warp cores are the propulsion system on Star Trek vessels
I wanted to ask you, when I had asked you about doing an episode about Sci fi. You had mentioned things like warp cores and schematics and I responded with, I don't know what those mean, but I would love to talk about them. So can we talk a little bit about warp cores?
>> Speaker D: Absolutely. So warp cores, are. Now if somebody is listening and is a huge Star Trek fan, they may say that I've misspoken or said something that wasn't quite accurate. So I will preface this by saying this is just my own interpretation of the things that I read and seen. And I'm sure there are some errors that I'm going to say, but I'm just doing my best. basically, warp cores are the propulsion system on vessels in the Star Trek universe. Most vessels, they use, a fuel called the lithium, which lasts a very long time and has a huge output of power. Then the warp cores translate that power into propulsion. And also, it uses it for every source of energy on the ship, including life support systems, you know, replicators, which is where they get their food from, transporter systems. anything that runs on power will use the dilithium from the warp core. And I believe there's a secondary power source that they can use when they are in a lower, need. Have a lower need for power.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker D: so the warp cores are the heart of the ship. Something that happens often the Star Trek universe is that they have to eject the warp cores for one reason or another. And of course they always get the workhorse back because they need the workhorse to pilot the ship.
>> Marco Timpano: And I bet they're very expensive too. You don't want to be leaving your warp core in the middle of space.
>> Speaker D: Yeah, exactly. They're expensive and hard to recreate. So. So, they are very important for the ship. And something that happens in Discovery that I think is very interesting is that we get to see something called detachable warp cores which aren't actually physically connected to the ship. So, the warp cores, the warp core which like, is the engine, which you of course can eject, they use a type of technology, nanotechnology, to detach it from the ship so it can have more maneuverability, which I think is very interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: That's amazing.
The Star Trek universe has fans who are very dedicated to the craft
And when we're talking schematics, what are we talking about precisely?
>> Speaker D: Well, the Star Trek universe has fans who are very dedicated to the craft due to the show and the craft of building the show. So they have created schematics that will tell you all, all you need to know about any ship that has been seen on screen. And there, there are people working even now to incorporate new design elements and new information into the schematics and that they have for old and new ships. So for example, I am looking at the Enterprise NCC1701C which you will recognize as the ship that Captain Picard pilots, in the next generation. And it has everything from the maximum cruise speed or the maximum emergency speed to the length, the breadth, how many shuttles, how many probes, transporters and every bit of information that you can imagine including the date that it was commissioned and the place where it was fitted and constructed.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay,
>> Speaker D: so I can tell you some of that information.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, I would love that. I hear an engine in the background in case people are listening to that and they say what is that sound? So it's probably just some car in the background, right Frankie?
>> Speaker D: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I just, I just like to identify it in case our listeners are like what's that sound? Once you tell people what it is, we can move on and everyone's happy. So yes, I would love to know this information. Where was this spacecraft made? Any other details? Yes.
>> Speaker D: So the Enterprise is a multi mission long range starship and its classic classification is cruiser. it was designed by the Advanced Starship Design Bureau and its construction site was actually on Jupiter. Oh, McKinley Orbital Shipyards which are not technically on Jupiter but orbiting Jupiter.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see, yes.
>> Speaker D: And the ship was fitted out which I believe it, that means that it after its main construction it was built up to Starfleet specifications at the John F. Kennedy Orbital Shipyards.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker D: Also orbiting Jupiter. And the controlling authority for that entire construction was the Starfleet Starfleet Command of course, which is the militaristic arm of the Federation, the United Federation of Planets.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's amazing. So there's these schematics for all the ships that have appeared in the Star Trek universe on screen.
>> Speaker D: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker D: As much information as can be either found out from the source material or gleaned from understanding of Starfleet technology and the shape and dimensions of the ship. That will be what they use to the enthusiast will use to determine what information is available. And of course there are hundreds of thousands of pages written about all of these ships in the official universe through books and guides that anybody can buy online or in a bookstore.
>> Marco Timpano: That's amazing. That's truly amazing.
Frankie Day is working on his first sci fi novel
Well listen, you know we're coming to the end of this episode of the Insomnia project. Frankie, is there any way our listeners can read your sci fi material? Is it available online or. available anywhere.
>> Speaker D: I am still working out the last edits to my first novel.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: but I will definitely be sure to announce when that is done. In the meantime, people can follow me on Twitter at frankyday. D A Y writes. So just Frankie Day writes all together. And I'll post there any updates. Great.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'll keep that in our show notes for anyone who is falling asleep and doesn't want to grab a pen and paper. Frankie Day writes. Frankie, I'm going to say this. When your book is published, will you be a guest on the show and we can talk about that?
>> Speaker D: Absolutely. It's about Greek mythology and like, Star Trek, I can talk about Greek mythology for hours.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Then we're. We might have to do a double episode. Frankie, thank you so much for being a part of the show. I've learned some things. I feel like I was being a little bit silly, but, you never. You never made me feel bad about that. So thank you, Frankie.
>> Speaker D: Absolutely. My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: And, for everyone else, we hope you enjoy this episode. And we were. We really hope you were able to listen and sleep.
April 7, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we discuss a variety of topics
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we discuss, a variety of topics, perhaps one topic only in hopefully a calm manner. And, that isn't so interesting that you won't be able to drift off. But listen, there's going to be some episodes that people find interesting, and there's going to be that same episode that people aren't going to find interesting. I say it only because people sometimes review the podcast and say it was interesting. Trust me, there's going to be an episode that you won't find interesting. We have over 200, so good luck finding that episode. Or perhaps all of them are for you. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. Enjoy.
Marco: Welcome to the podcast, Frankie Day from Charlotte, North Carolina
Joining me is a dear friend, who's currently, communicating with me from Charlotte, Frankie Day. Welcome to the podcast.
>> Speaker D: Thanks so much for having me, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Frankie, first of all, I need to say that Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of my favorite places on the planet.
>> Speaker D: Yes, it's, great down here, especially right now when things are just turning to spring and the weather is starting to warm up just a little bit. it's perfect positioning, in the south here.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I need to say I met Frankie in a course that I took. And, you know when you meet someone who's the coolest person in the room, and you're like, I got to get to know this person, because they just exude a sort of coolness, a hipness, just somebody who you just want to be around and talk to. And Frankie, for me, that was you in that class that we took.
>> Speaker D: Well, thank you. I think the same thing about you, to be really honest. you and your wife are both amazing people, and every time I get to hear from you, it's just an awesome time.
>> Marco Timpano: well, I'll say this, Frankie, Canada misses you, and you're always welcome back. And I hope to see you sooner rather than later back in Toronto or somewhere here in Canada where we can have a drink and clink some glasses.
>> Speaker D: Definitely. Definitely. Soon.
Frankie: I love sci fi. I have since I was a kid
>> Marco Timpano: But until then, Frankie, I want to talk sci fi with you.
>> Speaker D: Great. That's going to be. I was. I love sci fi. I have since I was a kid. And, actually write a bit of science fiction in my free time. So it's a subject that I think is very interesting in that you can explore things that most people will only dream of or never even consider. Which I think is one of the best things about science fiction is that it allows your mind to expand to places that you may never have considered before.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your earliest memory of sci fi as a kid that gravitated or brought you to that genre?
>> Speaker D: Well, I definitely read a lot as a kid, and so I'd read things like H.G. wells and the Time Machine or, Ray Bradbury, things like that. I like to read a lot of stories about space exploration, you know, or, things like meeting other cultures or different alien species. So that was very interesting to me when I was a kid, and that's something that I gravitated to a lot and read a lot of. So I think probably those early science fiction writers that I was reading, it may be 12 or 13, is some of the first science fiction that I ever encountered.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
There's a lot of talk about time travel in science fiction
So this logically leads me to the question of where do you stand on the time warp continuum?
>> Speaker D: the time warp continuum.
>> Marco Timpano: Does that make any sense? You know, how they talk about it? I have no idea what it is, Frankie, to be quite honest with you. But they often talk about it in, you know, when they talk about time, people doing time jumps and like, Like. I don't. I don't know. But yeah, I just thought I'd throw it out there, thinking it would make me sound smart, but clearly it didn't.
>> Speaker D: No, there's a lot of, talk about the way that time travel could work or even far off space travel. it's really funny that you would bring that up because just yesterday I was watching a documentary about quantum mechanics and how, particles of light can travel in waves or they can travel in particles. And one of the documentaries, it was a short documentary, featuring the physicist Michio Kaku, who is an American physicist who he works to make science relatable and understandable to the average person. And he was talking about how he envisions travel in the future and possibly time travel in the future, and how he imagines that you will be able to download your mind, your thoughts, your brain, basically, and then send it across the universe faster than light, and it will arrive and inhabit a body that you can then use to explore this alien world. And he had a lot of really interesting hypotheses and theories about how that could mix with traveling not necessarily through. Through time, but through other dimensions that could exist close to our Earth, our. Our world dimension. Which sounds all very fantastical, of course. Right. But that's his job, is to imagine the fantastic things of the future. Which I think, bringing it back to science fiction is what we. What science fiction authors and science fiction readers come to expect from the genre. These things that the furthest limits, the most creative understanding of what the possibilities could be of the future. So I think that kind of thing, like time travel and, you know, traveling through dimensions are all things that science fiction writers have tried to explore and used as much creativity as they can to explore. And in some ways they use the science that really exists to further their, explorations in their writings.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. You could even go back to someone like say, Mary Shelley, who was at the time writing about something that didn't really exist in her novel Frankenstein. And then, you know, you look at it today and it's like, well, we're not quite there. But certainly science has come so far that we have been able to resurrect people who've, you know, have had, incidences where we were able to sort of bring them back to life. So it's really fascinating to see how sometimes science fiction writing catches up to the present day and we actually bring some of those concepts or thoughts to life.
>> Speaker D: Exactly, exactly. Like, we were speaking before the show a little bit about Star Trek and something like the pads from Star Trek, which are. These were completely created by the Star Trek the Next Generation and the original series. Their, props masters and their special effects people, which are just these rectangular looking flat tablets that were just from their imagination. Then the creators of, the iPad and things like the Kindle, they looked at those science fiction items and thought, wouldn't that be cool if that could exist? And finally, when the technology was able to catch up to those ideas, those fantastic imaginings, then you have things like the iPad and the Kindle or anything, the art station, tablets that people can draw on. So it's quite interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, you mentioned Star Trek. Can we just take a little detour to Star Trek land for a brief second?
>> Speaker D: Absolutely.
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>> Marco Timpano: All right, who are your favorite characters in the Star Trek universe?
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>> Marco Timpano: And I'll tell you, I'll tell you mine too, in case you need a minute to think because there's so many.
>> Speaker D: I do have quite a few. Okay. Yeah.
Third on your list is Diana Troi, who is an empath
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so let me bring you mine and see what you think of these characters. Okay, so, I guess third on my list is going to be Diana Troi, because I Just love her, you know, ability on that show as a empath. And there's just something about it and her performance and her portrayal of it that, not to mention the outfit she wore was spectacular on her. But just that character I really, really loved.
>> Speaker D: I also. She's one of my favorite characters. I love that she is an empath, just as you said. she serves at the side of the captain of the flagship of Starfleet. And so they have elevated her to a position where she has the ear of one of the most powerful people in Starfleet. And that makes her an important character and shows that her role is important on the ship. And there are so many instances where Picard is not sure of what to do or, wants another perspective. And he goes to Troy, who is able to help him to make these vital decisions. So definitely 100% love her, that character and love her. And Maria Sirtis, who is American, and I think she might have been born in England but moved to America. She completely, made up that accent that she uses for the show.
>> Marco Timpano: She's not. That's not her accent. I thought she was British and that was her British accent.
>> Speaker D: Nope. That is an amalgamation of accents that she came up with with Gene Roddenberry to give Troy a more, like, alien kind of background. Right. If you hear her in regular interviews, she just has a regular American accent.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
Dr. Crusher was on the show from seasons one to two
Now, the other character I really liked on the show and she didn't have, the biggest role, I guess it got eclipsed, was the original Doctor on the Jean Luc Picard series. So not Crusher's mother, but the one that came before with the short hair. Do you know who I'm talking about?
>> Speaker D: Yes. yes. She's played by Diana Muldor. And I'm clicking on her name, the character's name, Dr. Pulaski.
>> Marco Timpano: There was something about her. She had this kind of like, no nonsense kind of delivery, and she had this kind of. She always had this kind of slightly ticked off look on her face that I really, really enjoyed, I have to say. And her character. Her character or that, character wasn't on for very long, but I remember when I watched it back in the day that I really liked it.
>> Speaker D: Yes. So Dr. Pulaski. So it's actually. So Dr. Crusher was on the show from seasons one to, I think the middle of season two. And then she left, that actor left the show and they brought on Dr. Pulaski as a, kind of Bones type. So if you remember from the original series, Bones was more of a gruff doctor. He was a skeptic. He had a lot of issues with technology. And so they brought in that kind of Dr. Pulaski character to mirror that. And she, was she never. I think in my feelings she never really meshed well with a lot of the crew. And I think that that was probably one of the reasons that she ended up leaving. But she did. I think she left a huge mark on the show and I think that she was, I think that she was a very interesting character.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And she was a, character who brought some, low stakes conflict to the show in just that she offered a different perspective. And I really like that about her. And then Diana Mulder went on to be on LA Law after leaving that movie.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Speaker D: So it worked out for her. Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, wow.
Now my favorite character on the Star Trek universe is on Star Discovery
Now my favorite character on the Star Trek, in the Star Trek universe is on Star Discovery. I don't know. Are you watching that, Frankie?
>> Speaker D: I love Discovery. I've watched every episode. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm gonna be biased, but it's the character of Lido, who happens to be played by my nephew Luca on the show. On my actual, on the actual show. And, he had a small part.
>> Speaker D: I remember. Absolutely. I remember, seeing the post that you posted about him being on the show and kind of not. And kind of forgetting about it a little until I watched the episode and then remembering, oh, I know that that actor. Well, tangentially, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon kind of situation.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: M. And he, was really great. He was so cute. And he got to interact with Sonequa. Yeah. In a really nice, like, way. And I loved that scene. It was great. He did a great job. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And my sister said everyone on that show, especially the ones he was, acting with, were so wonderful. So absolutely wonderful. And Jonathan Frakes directed that episode. So my sister sat next to him and the entire time she was sweating buckets because she couldn't believe she was sitting next to Jonathan Frakes. Because my father was a huge Star Trek fan. And so she remembered growing up watching my father watch Jonathan Frakes on Star, Trek. And she was like, she was kind of. She didn't know what to do because she was sitting right next to him as he directed her son. It was an incredible sort of moment.
>> Speaker D: I guess I would have absolutely died. I would have absolutely just been so excited. it was. Yeah, that would be incredible.
Marco Day almost met Michelle Yeoh at the U.S. consulate
I can tell you a story that I have about Michelle. Yeoh.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And she of course plays, Captain Giorgio and then she plays, Philippa Giorgio and on the show. And so to preface this, I will say that I have loved Michelle Yeoh since I was about 12 years old.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Speaker D: I saw her in a movie called Super Cop with Jackie Chan, and they played two police officers who were trying to infiltrate a gang. And, you know, they had their. Their, did their police work. And I thought she was amazing. She does this great stunt where she's on a motorcycle, and it's just burned in my brain as this wonderful moment. And I've been a huge fan of her ever since. I've seen all of her movies. and I actually, when we met in Canada, Marco, I was working at the U.S. embassy. Yes. Or the consulate, actually. And, so a lot of, celebrities will come through the consulate. They will be in New York, and they'll come to the consulate to renew their visa if they're from, you know, England or what have you.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Speaker D: And then they'll go back to New York. So it was very. As a hub, I got to meet all kinds of people, and it was great. And then. And then one day, Michelle Yeoh was coming to get her visa. And I used to do all the celebrity visa interviews because I was, I got there early.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: And the week after I stopped working in that section and stopped doing the interviews, Michelle Yeoh came to the consulate to get her visa. And I missed the opportunity to meet her, and I was pretty upset. But, I did get to see and hold her passport.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: As we were processing it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: That made me feel a bit better. I heard she was very nice, which, of course, I'm not surprised at all, and just a complete professional. So that is my story of almost meeting Michelle Yeoh. And in retrospect, it probably isn't that exciting to people who don't really love that character and that actor. But for me, it was pretty. Pretty amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Michelle Yeoh, if you're listening, please, you know, contact us so we can put you in contact with Frankie Day so that, you know, you can make one of her, unrealized dreams come true.
>> Speaker D: that would be amazing.
Now, you have met a lot of celebrities in the sci fi world
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you have met a lot of celebrities in the sci fi world at those various conferences and whatnot. Cause I've seen pictures on your Instagram
>> Speaker D: with
>> Marco Timpano: the actor who played Xena. Was it with her that you.
>> Speaker D: Yep. Lucy Lawless.
>> Marco Timpano: Lucy Lawless. Thank you. Sorry, Lucy, if you're listening to this and you're like, you don't know my name, And I'm like, Of course, I know it, it just didn't come to me in that moment.
Who would you like to meet from your favorite sci fi or superhero shows
But, is there someone you haven't met yet that you would like to meet who's been in one of your, sci fi or superhero type shows?
>> Speaker D: So that is a great question and I have an answer. And that answer is Brie Larson. I would love to meet Brie Larson. She played Captain Marvel, of course, in the Marvel movie Captain Marvel. I'm looking at my water bottle with my Captain Marvel logo on it right now. she does do conventions, and so hopefully we'll get to see her really soon at a convention maybe there in Toronto or, or in the States somewhere. I would also like to meet Brendan Fraser, who is having a bit of a renaissance right now. They call it the Brenaissance.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Speaker D: yeah, yeah, he's doing some shows, he's got some jobs and he's, you know, he's, he's on his way back up and he was trending on Twitter the other day. So, he's another guy who does conventions that I would love to meet in person. What about you, Marco? Who would you like to meet?
>> Marco Timpano: So we went to a Comic Con sheerly, by accident one time, Amanda and myself, we were in Chicago and we were doing a corporate gig there and it happened to be happening at our hotel at the time. So we would see a lot of people that were at the Comic Con walking in the hotel lobby, like Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk on the television series back in the 80s. We saw him. But, who would I like to meet from those shows? That's a great question. I never really gave it much thought because, you know, for me, that's not necessarily my genre. Like, I don't think I would freak out too much, but. But, certainly I would love to meet some of my heroes, which would be, let's say Dolly Parton is high on that.
>> Speaker D: Listen.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, she's so great. We actually did an episode, I did an episode about Dolly Parton with my friend Shannon McDonough. but yeah, she would be top of my list. And I, don't know who else, to be honest with you. It's not coming to me anyways. I'm sure as soon as we finish, I'll be like, oh, this person, that person. surely, Patrick Stewart I would love to meet. I thought he was brilliant and, always like everybody, everything he does. but that's the Star Trek universe.
Warp cores are the propulsion system on Star Trek vessels
I wanted to ask you, when I had asked you about doing an episode about Sci fi. You had mentioned things like warp cores and schematics and I responded with, I don't know what those mean, but I would love to talk about them. So can we talk a little bit about warp cores?
>> Speaker D: Absolutely. So warp cores, are. Now if somebody is listening and is a huge Star Trek fan, they may say that I've misspoken or said something that wasn't quite accurate. So I will preface this by saying this is just my own interpretation of the things that I read and seen. And I'm sure there are some errors that I'm going to say, but I'm just doing my best. basically, warp cores are the propulsion system on vessels in the Star Trek universe. Most vessels, they use, a fuel called the lithium, which lasts a very long time and has a huge output of power. Then the warp cores translate that power into propulsion. And also, it uses it for every source of energy on the ship, including life support systems, you know, replicators, which is where they get their food from, transporter systems. anything that runs on power will use the dilithium from the warp core. And I believe there's a secondary power source that they can use when they are in a lower, need. Have a lower need for power.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker D: so the warp cores are the heart of the ship. Something that happens often the Star Trek universe is that they have to eject the warp cores for one reason or another. And of course they always get the workhorse back because they need the workhorse to pilot the ship.
>> Marco Timpano: And I bet they're very expensive too. You don't want to be leaving your warp core in the middle of space.
>> Speaker D: Yeah, exactly. They're expensive and hard to recreate. So. So, they are very important for the ship. And something that happens in Discovery that I think is very interesting is that we get to see something called detachable warp cores which aren't actually physically connected to the ship. So, the warp cores, the warp core which like, is the engine, which you of course can eject, they use a type of technology, nanotechnology, to detach it from the ship so it can have more maneuverability, which I think is very interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: That's amazing.
The Star Trek universe has fans who are very dedicated to the craft
And when we're talking schematics, what are we talking about precisely?
>> Speaker D: Well, the Star Trek universe has fans who are very dedicated to the craft due to the show and the craft of building the show. So they have created schematics that will tell you all, all you need to know about any ship that has been seen on screen. And there, there are people working even now to incorporate new design elements and new information into the schematics and that they have for old and new ships. So for example, I am looking at the Enterprise NCC1701C which you will recognize as the ship that Captain Picard pilots, in the next generation. And it has everything from the maximum cruise speed or the maximum emergency speed to the length, the breadth, how many shuttles, how many probes, transporters and every bit of information that you can imagine including the date that it was commissioned and the place where it was fitted and constructed.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay,
>> Speaker D: so I can tell you some of that information.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, I would love that. I hear an engine in the background in case people are listening to that and they say what is that sound? So it's probably just some car in the background, right Frankie?
>> Speaker D: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I just, I just like to identify it in case our listeners are like what's that sound? Once you tell people what it is, we can move on and everyone's happy. So yes, I would love to know this information. Where was this spacecraft made? Any other details? Yes.
>> Speaker D: So the Enterprise is a multi mission long range starship and its classic classification is cruiser. it was designed by the Advanced Starship Design Bureau and its construction site was actually on Jupiter. Oh, McKinley Orbital Shipyards which are not technically on Jupiter but orbiting Jupiter.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see, yes.
>> Speaker D: And the ship was fitted out which I believe it, that means that it after its main construction it was built up to Starfleet specifications at the John F. Kennedy Orbital Shipyards.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker D: Also orbiting Jupiter. And the controlling authority for that entire construction was the Starfleet Starfleet Command of course, which is the militaristic arm of the Federation, the United Federation of Planets.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's amazing. So there's these schematics for all the ships that have appeared in the Star Trek universe on screen.
>> Speaker D: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker D: As much information as can be either found out from the source material or gleaned from understanding of Starfleet technology and the shape and dimensions of the ship. That will be what they use to the enthusiast will use to determine what information is available. And of course there are hundreds of thousands of pages written about all of these ships in the official universe through books and guides that anybody can buy online or in a bookstore.
>> Marco Timpano: That's amazing. That's truly amazing.
Frankie Day is working on his first sci fi novel
Well listen, you know we're coming to the end of this episode of the Insomnia project. Frankie, is there any way our listeners can read your sci fi material? Is it available online or. available anywhere.
>> Speaker D: I am still working out the last edits to my first novel.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: but I will definitely be sure to announce when that is done. In the meantime, people can follow me on Twitter at frankyday. D A Y writes. So just Frankie Day writes all together. And I'll post there any updates. Great.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'll keep that in our show notes for anyone who is falling asleep and doesn't want to grab a pen and paper. Frankie Day writes. Frankie, I'm going to say this. When your book is published, will you be a guest on the show and we can talk about that?
>> Speaker D: Absolutely. It's about Greek mythology and like, Star Trek, I can talk about Greek mythology for hours.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Then we're. We might have to do a double episode. Frankie, thank you so much for being a part of the show. I've learned some things. I feel like I was being a little bit silly, but, you never. You never made me feel bad about that. So thank you, Frankie.
>> Speaker D: Absolutely. My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: And, for everyone else, we hope you enjoy this episode. And we were. We really hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Van Conversion Homes & Note Taking
(Original airdate: March 31, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation on, a topic that hopefully will. Will allow you to sort of just sit back, kick your heels up, put your hands behind your head, and who knows, maybe even drift off to sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. And joining me is.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi, I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: As always, Amanda, thank you for being here today on the Insomnia Project. And, some interesting news. We're going to attempt to record an episode with your father in Florida.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't know. Yes, this is hot off the press. I'm not privy to this press release.
>> Marco Timpano: So we sent him a microphone in Florida with headphones. And your mom is going to help with the tech.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And we're going to do our best because our listeners have been asking for more Dan Barker episodes.
Marco, you pride yourself on being an expert note taker
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So I wanted to begin by talking about making notes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Yeah. So, Marco, you, you pride yourself on being an expert note taker. And, it's actually something I think that our niece has inherited. She has that gene.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: you both have your cases of colored pencils and markers, and so I thought it might be interesting. I don't, I was not given the gift of precise and clean note taking for various reasons that we probably won't get into. But I'm very curious about your process and how it came to be.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So I can say that, you know, taking notes for a lot of the work that we do is important because we'll have many, many pages and we have to sort of break it down to make sense for the work that we have to do. And so what I found was, what helped me was to use a lot of colors. In particular a lot of highlighters of different colors, sometimes different colored pens, markers, and I'll often also draw symbols. And we run into this interesting perspective when, Amanda, you borrow my notes and you see how colorful they are, especially in a professional setting.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe that the only thing that holds you back is the lack of, ah, variety in highlighters. I think if there were 25 different highlighter colors, you would absolutely employ them all.
>> Marco Timpano: In fact, sometimes when we're missing a highlighter, I kind of go crazy. Trying to find the highlighter, like throughout the house, I think green.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that your day planner?
>> Marco Timpano: That's my day planner.
>> Amanda Barker: Can you hold that up again? Because you didn't really show it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Amanda's. Amanda's able to see what I'm doing, but our listeners won't be able to see it.
>> Amanda Barker: But you can see.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And so there's different. Like I just highlight. This is just my daytimer. It's not even taking notes. But I'll highlight and use different colors and symbols and whatnot. And so that allows me to immediately see important items within the notes. Well, there's a reason.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry, sorry to interrupt. The reason I wanted you to hold it up so I could see it is I was trying to count the number of colors.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And m. How many did you get?
>> Amanda Barker: I saw a yellow. There's lots of pink. Then there's yellow surrounded by pink. There's yellow surrounded by an aqua or a blue. There's a full orange. there's orange and then there's orange surrounded by yellow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah, that's a sampling just of the highlighters.
>> Marco Timpano: And then there's different symbols like circles, rectangles, squares, lines. Lines. Yeah, I do a lot of that and that lets it stand out for me. But I'm often teased by my colleagues who will look at my work and say, you know, this is like, what's going on? It looks like, you know, a child has been scribbling on your notes.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, in contrast, I'm just going to show you mine that I made earlier today. Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Couple of scratches on a, on a yellow sticky. On a sticky tab.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are intelligence scratches though. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Listen, what works for you, works for you. But we often get into these moments of like, funny moments when people look at my notes. And I also will employ, a system called anchoring to help remember.
>> Marco Timpano: Certain key things that have to be remembered.
>> Amanda Barker: If you could explain that. I think that's.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a tough one to explain, but the way I know it anyways is you anchor certain keywords to. In my case, I do it to certain parts of the body. So I'll start with my toe. So I will anchor a key phrase or key word to my toe. And then I'll go to my ankle, I'll anchor another key phrase, I'll go to my knee and I'll anchor another key, phrase. And I'll work it all the way up, I think, to my chin is where I go to. And, or to the Top of my head, chin and then the top of my head. And what I will do is if I need to recall it, I kind of tap my toe and I'll think, okay, what is the word associated with that? And let's say it's proximity. And I know that proximity represents the proximity to some work that needs to be done, in a certain part of the world, let's say. Right. So if I tap my toe to the ground and I think proximity, I will recall all that other stuff. And if I think of my ankle and I know that I go from my toe to my ankle and I know that associated with my ankle is you know, the competition is fierce, right. So I'll have that little tiny phrase there and then I can talk about the competition in the particular space that we're talking about. And so I do this all the way up. And so I end up retaining, let's say nine key pieces of information that unfold to more detailed items that I need to recall.
You hone your notes every time you do something
>> Amanda Barker: So the first time I think really that I remember anyway, really borrowing your notes and needing them, relying on them, because I was sort of last minute into a, into a thing that you had been doing for quite a long time and you had very fine tuned notes. because you hone them every time you do something. They're not, they're a mallet, constant malleable piece of clay that you're fine tuning and then refine, tuning. And so I had your most updated. But when I had the first page, it was a series of illustrations of body parts. So there was a foot and an ankle, a toe, an elbow. so it didn't stick in my brain quite the same way. It's stuck in yours. I'm more likely to use colors like colors of the rainbow would stick in my brain.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: yeah, it's just a different type of brain. I always say that LA for me for example is a very. Those who know it and drive it is very easy to remember where everything is. And for my brain, New York is extremely hard because it's all numbers.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So colors would work for me versus body parts. I'm not sure why, but yeah, you're constantly, you'll, you'll, you know, you'll have a thing that you're doing that you need to study for and say it's a two or three day thing or even a one day thing. Sure. A, ah, role play or whatever. And when you're done you'll revise your notes. To tailor it to make them even more specific and more detailed. So you're never, you never stop really with your note taking.
>> Marco Timpano: And I tend to use a lot of cue cards for the work that I do. I always have. We always have a bunch of cue cards in the house because I never know when I'm going to need to use cue cards.
>> Amanda Barker: Have you always been like that? Is there somebody you could sort of credit with making you a great notetaker?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a good question. I don't think in my school years I was that great a note taker. I think if I had that system in place, I would have been much better, to be quite honest with you. I think it was when I started to do this work that required, let's say two days of research and two days of work, especially overseas where you're on a plane. I think I was starting to make detailed notes and it kind of, it kind of sort of clicked for me on what was going to work. But I know that like I've always been a doodler. So I will doodle and you know, I'll still be listening, listening, but I'll doodle. So I find that a lot of my notes have a doodle esque sort of look and feel to them. And that sort of helps me too.
>> Amanda Barker: They're certainly animated.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And colorful. so I'm surprised. I. I thought that was something you had developed in high school or university. No. Oh, interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I wasn't a particularly great. Perhaps in more. It started to come out, but not to the degree of which it is today, where I always have to have highlighters. And if a highlighter, lays uncapped in the house, I'm always in fear that I won't have that color.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's on me. I try to cap them, but they don't. The cap doesn't always find its way make it back on. I have a few highlighters next to me up here.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
Different vans make different styles of tiny homes. So different. Um, so that's my note taking
so that's my note taking, but I wanted to sort of dive into something that is kind of a continuation of an episode that we had done on tiny houses and how much you were getting into tiny houses. Now you seem to have come from tiny houses and sort of gone into another cool sort of rabbit hole, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'll tell you, it's been my place in my mind to relax. So it's my go to place. Even as I am trying to fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I will walk myself through the of. Well, a tiny house or the spaces and things and choose each thing. I found it's been really helpful to relax me. And I do find I don't stay awake to the end of the house. And so now I've gotten even smaller with vans. So I haven't made it to minivan, but I'm more in a cube van house kind of phase.
>> Marco Timpano: And what are those called?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Van reno or van restoration. They're often called. You'll see videos and I've seen a lot of them where it's sort of tiny home in a. And then they'll give the dimensions of the van or the make of the van. it's gotten to the point where I know what vans make what kind of homes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So different. Different vans make different styles of tiny homes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. For example, you know, I don't want to. We're not here to plug any company. But there's one company I saw. they were actually on Shark Tank, which you and I enjoy. And, they're called Boho Camper Vans. So I started looking at all of their models just to dream about having a van which has become my new daydream. And, they. All of their models are for a Toyota, a brand of a Toyota Ram van.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So that's what they deal in. But there's a lot of Mercedes and so on. So it depends on the make of the Fords. but generally speaking, they follow similar things where they have, a, ah, gray water system. Most of them have a sink. I would say some of them at least have an indoor shower. Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: In a van?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: and then they'll have like a composting toilet either inside, sort of like the little shower stall, that you can sort of move around. Or some will have a composting toilet inside a bench that you open up. and then if it's surrounded by metal, you can kind of take a shower in that little bench as well. Some have showers that attach to the back door so you would have an outside shower.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Yeah. In my opinion, not so conducive to living in Canada. But a lot of these people that have their social media media followings where they live all year round in a van tend to be in the southern U.S. australia. Places that have access to a warmer climate where. And enough desolate area that taking an outdoor shower is conducive. Is conducive.
Let me ask you this. What would your ideal van house look like
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this. So what would be in your ideal van house is that what you'd call it?
>> Amanda Barker: Van conversion.
>> Marco Timpano: Van conversion. Thank you. I wasn't sure what it's called. It sounds like I'm saying a Dutch name, Van house, but.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: In your van conversion, what would that look like?
>> Amanda Barker: I think it would probably. The sliding door would reveal, on the other side of it, part of my kitchen, the swinging counter that would swing all the way out. so that I would have increased counter space for cooking and prepping. It would have a small oven and a two burner stove. it would have a nice backsplash. maybe some mermaid tiles or scale tiles, because I'm, I was arabesque for a long time and I love a subway tile too. But right now I'm feeling the. The, mermaid tiles.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Across from that in the van, it would have a shower and, with a composting toilet in there with a side vent for the. For the air of the composting toilet to be let out as you drive. and then if you continued on, it would have. I think my ideal configuration would actually be a Murphy bed situation strapped in with a very thin, but firm sort of foam mattress so that it doesn't take up a ton of space.
>> Marco Timpano: So how big can the bed be? In a van?
>> Amanda Barker: You can. Well, one of the configurations I saw, you sort of have a double bed, but if you can imagine, it's strapped to the side. And when it is, you have a shelf and a table and chair set up. So a little place for you to work. A little place sort of like a kitchen table with some benches. And then the Murphy bed comes out and the pillows flatten so that it becomes like a queen bed with this with a seam down it. So it would be a double bed or a queen if you use the additional space when you flatten out the pillows, if that makes sense from your table chair setup.
>> Marco Timpano: But do you need a special mattress? Like, do you need a thinner mattress or is it just a, regular.
>> Amanda Barker: Basically a foam mattress is your best bet. One of the ones that you would sort of order.
>> Marco Timpano: That's everywhere.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, you know, like a Casper mattress would be a great mattress for that, for example, or.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's fantastic. So that sounds like there's a lot of things in this van conversion. Like, I didn't think you could get all those things in there. A stove, an oven, shower, and a bed.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And when you're driving, is one person driving and one person cooking or.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's another thing about the, that's another thing about the, the, the, the driving situation. So you would have, the person who's the passenger has a swivel chair. So it would be a normal passenger chair, but then it would swivel around, so that you'd have extra seating area. So for example, if you and I were living in the van, which I plan to, and I hope you don't
>> Marco Timpano: mind, I have no desire to do that, but sure, let's go on.
>> Amanda Barker: If you and I were living in the van, I would swivel, you know, if I was cooking, you could swivel around in the passenger chair and that would be a nice seat for when I was cooking dinner. And then we could take it to the back to the kitchen table. Then when we're done dinner, we could pull the Murphy bed down and watch some TV. It's see, it will all work.
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There's no fridge in this van, right? There's no kitchen table
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>> Marco Timpano: Where's the kitchen table? You never mentioned a kitchen table.
>> Amanda Barker: So if you can imagine the kitchen As I set it up. And across from it, the bathroom, which is a shower stall with a toilet in it.
>> Marco Timpano: But there's no fridge in this kitchen, right? There's no fridge.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yes. There's a bar fridge. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a. Under the sink. So if you are to walk through the sliding door to your immediate left. Well, okay. If you were to walk through the sliding door, on your right would be where the driver and the passenger is.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Then to your immediate left is the kitchen. So that includes a two burner stove, a small bar fridge. There's different opinions about fridges in the van community, but I think I would still want a small, or maybe a bit of a deeper bar fridge, which would have a little freezer unit so you could freeze a few things. Then, a fairly deep, small but deep sink so you could wash dishes. And then a swinging counter so you have more counter space to prep. And then across from it, the bathroom. And then if you keep walking to the back of the van, there's a. A table with benches. Cushioned benches on both sides, perhaps in the back, perhaps not, but at least on both sides so that you can work, play a board game, read a, table and benches. And then the Murphy bed is strapped into the left side, same side that the kitchen is on. And you unstrap, it. So it comes down to sleep. And then you crawl and have a. The coziest night's sleep with a nice back window of the mountains or the beach or whatever it is that you. That you found. And that's your home.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So I'm going to throw a wrench into your little. Your little design here.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. And I should say the mattress, it could be. Nd it could be Casper. Any of the foam mattresses. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Any of those mattresses. I think there's a purple one. I forget that one's what that one's called.
The top of the van becomes both solar panels and a deck
But let me ask you this. Where do your clothes go? Because I know you have a lot of clothes, and I'm just curious, where do my clothes go, of which I also have a lot?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you have less clothes in your van life, but, they would go. You'd have storage under those benches in the kitchen. So inside those benches is completely storage. And there's also. It's all raised a little bit, so there's some storage under the kitchen table and benches, like a little shelf. And that's where the solar power batteries go. And that's where the gray water tank goes. If you want an outdoor shower hookup, that's where it would go. And in my ultimate van conversion, you have a ladder that goes up to the roof of the van and some cedar planks on the top of the van. And you have a deck that you can sit on on the top of the van. So the top of the van becomes both solar panels to power the van and power all the electricity in the van. And then, a beautiful deck that you can enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: You can't have both. You can't have a deck and solar powers.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you can. You can have a half deck and half solar.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. But because you can't step on the solar panels, right?
>> Amanda Barker: No, yeah, they'd have to be sort of. You'd have like two or three by the front, and then the rest would be deck. In my. Since you're asking for my dream van.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: This is my dream van. and yeah, so the clothing, obviously, you'd have less. A lot less. So they would be under the. They would be inside the benches. And then also because it's a raised platform that the kitchen table and benches is on in that. Underneath that platform, you'd put the solar battery, the gray water tank, and then you'd have a bit more storage as well. And around the perimeter of the van.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Around, the top part of the van, there's all storage. So upper cabinets.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: But like for a few dishes, a different pair of shoes, umbrella, and maybe there's a plant or two hanging as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's my new home. Goodbye.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, I see. I see what you're saying. I see what you're saying. I guess you would just need the staples of a wardrobe. The few staples that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, okay, so you'd want, And a lot of people wash their clothes in the van as well, because they do have a tank. A lot of them have like a 25 gallon tank.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: For the gray water. And they change it out at places where you do that. Campgrounds or so on. So, you know, just depending. But, yeah, you'd want your staples. You'd want a pair or two of pants, something to sleep in. Sure, yeah. It would become a capsule wardrobe. There's no question about that. But that's van life, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess it is. I guess it is.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's our new life.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know about that. I don't know. Where would I podcast from? There's no podcasting area in this van of yours.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I've thought of that. And our dear friend Marilla Wex, who does A lot of.
>> Marco Timpano: She's been on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Yep, she has, yeah. She's done a lot of voice work. She's the one who's, who's been my gateway into vans and she's really studying them as well. So I think she's thinking about figuring out a studio contraption. I think your best bet actually would probably be in the driver. With all these things I've mentioned without sacrificing any of them. I think your best bet is there's a few things you could do, but I think your best bet is in the front, like in the passenger side and. Or driver passenger side. But you'd have to have, foam or something that you could line it all with that you take down obviously when you're driving and not in use. So it would double as driver and passenger, but then it would become a studio. So.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I disagree.
>> Amanda Barker: I.
>> Marco Timpano: The only way I could see it is when you bring the Murphy bed down.
>> Marco Timpano: If you have like a curtain of sound absorbing cloth that you sort of pull out and pull around.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that might be a better.
>> Marco Timpano: The bed. Almost like, you know when you have a bathtub and you want to take a shower there and they have like, Yeah, an oval, an oval rack with, with a, with a curtain that you can pull.
>> Amanda Barker: We could do that. We could do that. The only thing is we wouldn't be able to sit. You know, you, you'd only have so much headroom, so that would be the only thing.
Amanda has dreams of living on a houseboat or a van
Or you sacrifice your indoor bathroom. You have a composting toilet in there if you want.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: but you sacrifice your indoor bathroom and you just have the outdoor shower and that would give you a little bit of extra space to do that. Maybe like a bench that when you open it, it's the toilet. And then when you close then becomes like you said, a curtained off little space. So that would be another way to do it.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you certainly have all the answers, Amanda. With regards to van living. I never thought I'd Now I guess a, tiny home seems like a mansion to you when you think about it in comparison. Your van conversion.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the next stop for me once I've fully exhausted all my van life daydreams is probably going to be houseboats. That's probably the next stop.
>> Marco Timpano: I just watched a, news clip from someone who had a 1920s ferry.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: Go across the Ottawa river that he converted into a houseboat. And he has a stove. He has a wood burning stove on the houseboat.
>> Amanda Barker: I want to See this video? Maybe our listeners do. I definitely do. So please send it to me.
>> Marco Timpano: So you would want to live on a houseboat. You would have no problem with that?
>> Amanda Barker: No problem. No. I would love it on the water. Yeah. Or in a sailboat. I'm not sure. Okay. I have, like I said, I haven't fully let go of van life. When I do, it'll be houseboat life. But I'm not quite there with houseboat life yet. I'm certainly dabbling. I'm dabbling in houseboats right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Could you have both? Could you have. Your vehicle is a van conversion and your home is your houseboat?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I'm sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Or does that make no sense to you?
>> Amanda Barker: You absolutely could. I don't know what you do with your, your house house in all of this. I mean, I think for people who do this, it's because they want to live, a more frugal and sustainable and simple life.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's what I figured. I figured that becomes your home. You no longer have a brick and mortar house. You now have a, plank and plank and vessel boathouse or a wheels and steering wheel van conversion house.
>> Amanda Barker: I haven't figured out the longevity of any of these plans. Right now I'm just dreaming about a three month jaunt. Not a life change.
>> Marco Timpano: So are there not rentals, is there not a van conversion rental that we're looking at?
>> Amanda Barker: And boho camper vans who are getting a lot of love from us today? Yeah, they, they do rent their vans. A lot do, but they do rent their vans. Well, the only thing I find is it's not, I don't know that it's, it's a bit cost prohibited as far as I'm concerned. Like it might be. It's probably cheaper the longer you go, which makes sense because you'd want to go long if you have a van with all those amenities. So it sure that you know where you're driving across, you know, several states or the country or whatever it is. So for you and I, I mean if we could find a cost efficient way to do it, I think it would be a great way to, to drive across the prairies and to see more of the west coast because there's lots I haven't seen.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's my, that's my current dream. And also because all of our travel, of course currently is, is within Canada. So there's lots of things I'd love to kind of go deeper and explore in my home, in my, in my home. My home country.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Well, Amanda, that's been a fascinating tour from my highlighted pens, which now I don't feel so bad that I buy so many of them. compared to your we're going to live in a van all of a sudden.
>> Amanda Barker: Not all of a sudden. It's been a long time thinking about it every night. That's what I think about.
Insomnia Project hopes this podcast brings you to your happy place
>> Marco Timpano: Well, tell us what your van or houseboat dreams are here at the Insomnia Project. Thank you for listening and please follow us. Social media and Amanda, thank you for this, this, this tour, grand tour of the place.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. Thank you for taking me to my happy, my happy place.
>> Marco Timpano: We hope this podcast brings you to your happy place and hopefully that happy place. It involves a bit of sleep until the next time. We hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: March 31, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation on, a topic that hopefully will. Will allow you to sort of just sit back, kick your heels up, put your hands behind your head, and who knows, maybe even drift off to sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. And joining me is.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi, I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: As always, Amanda, thank you for being here today on the Insomnia Project. And, some interesting news. We're going to attempt to record an episode with your father in Florida.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't know. Yes, this is hot off the press. I'm not privy to this press release.
>> Marco Timpano: So we sent him a microphone in Florida with headphones. And your mom is going to help with the tech.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And we're going to do our best because our listeners have been asking for more Dan Barker episodes.
Marco, you pride yourself on being an expert note taker
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So I wanted to begin by talking about making notes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Yeah. So, Marco, you, you pride yourself on being an expert note taker. And, it's actually something I think that our niece has inherited. She has that gene.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: you both have your cases of colored pencils and markers, and so I thought it might be interesting. I don't, I was not given the gift of precise and clean note taking for various reasons that we probably won't get into. But I'm very curious about your process and how it came to be.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So I can say that, you know, taking notes for a lot of the work that we do is important because we'll have many, many pages and we have to sort of break it down to make sense for the work that we have to do. And so what I found was, what helped me was to use a lot of colors. In particular a lot of highlighters of different colors, sometimes different colored pens, markers, and I'll often also draw symbols. And we run into this interesting perspective when, Amanda, you borrow my notes and you see how colorful they are, especially in a professional setting.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe that the only thing that holds you back is the lack of, ah, variety in highlighters. I think if there were 25 different highlighter colors, you would absolutely employ them all.
>> Marco Timpano: In fact, sometimes when we're missing a highlighter, I kind of go crazy. Trying to find the highlighter, like throughout the house, I think green.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that your day planner?
>> Marco Timpano: That's my day planner.
>> Amanda Barker: Can you hold that up again? Because you didn't really show it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Amanda's. Amanda's able to see what I'm doing, but our listeners won't be able to see it.
>> Amanda Barker: But you can see.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And so there's different. Like I just highlight. This is just my daytimer. It's not even taking notes. But I'll highlight and use different colors and symbols and whatnot. And so that allows me to immediately see important items within the notes. Well, there's a reason.
>> Amanda Barker: Sorry, sorry to interrupt. The reason I wanted you to hold it up so I could see it is I was trying to count the number of colors.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And m. How many did you get?
>> Amanda Barker: I saw a yellow. There's lots of pink. Then there's yellow surrounded by pink. There's yellow surrounded by an aqua or a blue. There's a full orange. there's orange and then there's orange surrounded by yellow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah, that's a sampling just of the highlighters.
>> Marco Timpano: And then there's different symbols like circles, rectangles, squares, lines. Lines. Yeah, I do a lot of that and that lets it stand out for me. But I'm often teased by my colleagues who will look at my work and say, you know, this is like, what's going on? It looks like, you know, a child has been scribbling on your notes.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, in contrast, I'm just going to show you mine that I made earlier today. Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Couple of scratches on a, on a yellow sticky. On a sticky tab.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are intelligence scratches though. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Listen, what works for you, works for you. But we often get into these moments of like, funny moments when people look at my notes. And I also will employ, a system called anchoring to help remember.
>> Marco Timpano: Certain key things that have to be remembered.
>> Amanda Barker: If you could explain that. I think that's.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a tough one to explain, but the way I know it anyways is you anchor certain keywords to. In my case, I do it to certain parts of the body. So I'll start with my toe. So I will anchor a key phrase or key word to my toe. And then I'll go to my ankle, I'll anchor another key phrase, I'll go to my knee and I'll anchor another key, phrase. And I'll work it all the way up, I think, to my chin is where I go to. And, or to the Top of my head, chin and then the top of my head. And what I will do is if I need to recall it, I kind of tap my toe and I'll think, okay, what is the word associated with that? And let's say it's proximity. And I know that proximity represents the proximity to some work that needs to be done, in a certain part of the world, let's say. Right. So if I tap my toe to the ground and I think proximity, I will recall all that other stuff. And if I think of my ankle and I know that I go from my toe to my ankle and I know that associated with my ankle is you know, the competition is fierce, right. So I'll have that little tiny phrase there and then I can talk about the competition in the particular space that we're talking about. And so I do this all the way up. And so I end up retaining, let's say nine key pieces of information that unfold to more detailed items that I need to recall.
You hone your notes every time you do something
>> Amanda Barker: So the first time I think really that I remember anyway, really borrowing your notes and needing them, relying on them, because I was sort of last minute into a, into a thing that you had been doing for quite a long time and you had very fine tuned notes. because you hone them every time you do something. They're not, they're a mallet, constant malleable piece of clay that you're fine tuning and then refine, tuning. And so I had your most updated. But when I had the first page, it was a series of illustrations of body parts. So there was a foot and an ankle, a toe, an elbow. so it didn't stick in my brain quite the same way. It's stuck in yours. I'm more likely to use colors like colors of the rainbow would stick in my brain.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: yeah, it's just a different type of brain. I always say that LA for me for example is a very. Those who know it and drive it is very easy to remember where everything is. And for my brain, New York is extremely hard because it's all numbers.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So colors would work for me versus body parts. I'm not sure why, but yeah, you're constantly, you'll, you'll, you know, you'll have a thing that you're doing that you need to study for and say it's a two or three day thing or even a one day thing. Sure. A, ah, role play or whatever. And when you're done you'll revise your notes. To tailor it to make them even more specific and more detailed. So you're never, you never stop really with your note taking.
>> Marco Timpano: And I tend to use a lot of cue cards for the work that I do. I always have. We always have a bunch of cue cards in the house because I never know when I'm going to need to use cue cards.
>> Amanda Barker: Have you always been like that? Is there somebody you could sort of credit with making you a great notetaker?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a good question. I don't think in my school years I was that great a note taker. I think if I had that system in place, I would have been much better, to be quite honest with you. I think it was when I started to do this work that required, let's say two days of research and two days of work, especially overseas where you're on a plane. I think I was starting to make detailed notes and it kind of, it kind of sort of clicked for me on what was going to work. But I know that like I've always been a doodler. So I will doodle and you know, I'll still be listening, listening, but I'll doodle. So I find that a lot of my notes have a doodle esque sort of look and feel to them. And that sort of helps me too.
>> Amanda Barker: They're certainly animated.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And colorful. so I'm surprised. I. I thought that was something you had developed in high school or university. No. Oh, interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I wasn't a particularly great. Perhaps in more. It started to come out, but not to the degree of which it is today, where I always have to have highlighters. And if a highlighter, lays uncapped in the house, I'm always in fear that I won't have that color.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's on me. I try to cap them, but they don't. The cap doesn't always find its way make it back on. I have a few highlighters next to me up here.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
Different vans make different styles of tiny homes. So different. Um, so that's my note taking
so that's my note taking, but I wanted to sort of dive into something that is kind of a continuation of an episode that we had done on tiny houses and how much you were getting into tiny houses. Now you seem to have come from tiny houses and sort of gone into another cool sort of rabbit hole, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'll tell you, it's been my place in my mind to relax. So it's my go to place. Even as I am trying to fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I will walk myself through the of. Well, a tiny house or the spaces and things and choose each thing. I found it's been really helpful to relax me. And I do find I don't stay awake to the end of the house. And so now I've gotten even smaller with vans. So I haven't made it to minivan, but I'm more in a cube van house kind of phase.
>> Marco Timpano: And what are those called?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. Van reno or van restoration. They're often called. You'll see videos and I've seen a lot of them where it's sort of tiny home in a. And then they'll give the dimensions of the van or the make of the van. it's gotten to the point where I know what vans make what kind of homes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So different. Different vans make different styles of tiny homes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. For example, you know, I don't want to. We're not here to plug any company. But there's one company I saw. they were actually on Shark Tank, which you and I enjoy. And, they're called Boho Camper Vans. So I started looking at all of their models just to dream about having a van which has become my new daydream. And, they. All of their models are for a Toyota, a brand of a Toyota Ram van.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So that's what they deal in. But there's a lot of Mercedes and so on. So it depends on the make of the Fords. but generally speaking, they follow similar things where they have, a, ah, gray water system. Most of them have a sink. I would say some of them at least have an indoor shower. Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: In a van?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: and then they'll have like a composting toilet either inside, sort of like the little shower stall, that you can sort of move around. Or some will have a composting toilet inside a bench that you open up. and then if it's surrounded by metal, you can kind of take a shower in that little bench as well. Some have showers that attach to the back door so you would have an outside shower.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Yeah. In my opinion, not so conducive to living in Canada. But a lot of these people that have their social media media followings where they live all year round in a van tend to be in the southern U.S. australia. Places that have access to a warmer climate where. And enough desolate area that taking an outdoor shower is conducive. Is conducive.
Let me ask you this. What would your ideal van house look like
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this. So what would be in your ideal van house is that what you'd call it?
>> Amanda Barker: Van conversion.
>> Marco Timpano: Van conversion. Thank you. I wasn't sure what it's called. It sounds like I'm saying a Dutch name, Van house, but.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: In your van conversion, what would that look like?
>> Amanda Barker: I think it would probably. The sliding door would reveal, on the other side of it, part of my kitchen, the swinging counter that would swing all the way out. so that I would have increased counter space for cooking and prepping. It would have a small oven and a two burner stove. it would have a nice backsplash. maybe some mermaid tiles or scale tiles, because I'm, I was arabesque for a long time and I love a subway tile too. But right now I'm feeling the. The, mermaid tiles.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Across from that in the van, it would have a shower and, with a composting toilet in there with a side vent for the. For the air of the composting toilet to be let out as you drive. and then if you continued on, it would have. I think my ideal configuration would actually be a Murphy bed situation strapped in with a very thin, but firm sort of foam mattress so that it doesn't take up a ton of space.
>> Marco Timpano: So how big can the bed be? In a van?
>> Amanda Barker: You can. Well, one of the configurations I saw, you sort of have a double bed, but if you can imagine, it's strapped to the side. And when it is, you have a shelf and a table and chair set up. So a little place for you to work. A little place sort of like a kitchen table with some benches. And then the Murphy bed comes out and the pillows flatten so that it becomes like a queen bed with this with a seam down it. So it would be a double bed or a queen if you use the additional space when you flatten out the pillows, if that makes sense from your table chair setup.
>> Marco Timpano: But do you need a special mattress? Like, do you need a thinner mattress or is it just a, regular.
>> Amanda Barker: Basically a foam mattress is your best bet. One of the ones that you would sort of order.
>> Marco Timpano: That's everywhere.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, you know, like a Casper mattress would be a great mattress for that, for example, or.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's fantastic. So that sounds like there's a lot of things in this van conversion. Like, I didn't think you could get all those things in there. A stove, an oven, shower, and a bed.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And when you're driving, is one person driving and one person cooking or.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's another thing about the, that's another thing about the, the, the, the driving situation. So you would have, the person who's the passenger has a swivel chair. So it would be a normal passenger chair, but then it would swivel around, so that you'd have extra seating area. So for example, if you and I were living in the van, which I plan to, and I hope you don't
>> Marco Timpano: mind, I have no desire to do that, but sure, let's go on.
>> Amanda Barker: If you and I were living in the van, I would swivel, you know, if I was cooking, you could swivel around in the passenger chair and that would be a nice seat for when I was cooking dinner. And then we could take it to the back to the kitchen table. Then when we're done dinner, we could pull the Murphy bed down and watch some TV. It's see, it will all work.
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There's no fridge in this van, right? There's no kitchen table
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>> Marco Timpano: Where's the kitchen table? You never mentioned a kitchen table.
>> Amanda Barker: So if you can imagine the kitchen As I set it up. And across from it, the bathroom, which is a shower stall with a toilet in it.
>> Marco Timpano: But there's no fridge in this kitchen, right? There's no fridge.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yes. There's a bar fridge. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a. Under the sink. So if you are to walk through the sliding door to your immediate left. Well, okay. If you were to walk through the sliding door, on your right would be where the driver and the passenger is.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Then to your immediate left is the kitchen. So that includes a two burner stove, a small bar fridge. There's different opinions about fridges in the van community, but I think I would still want a small, or maybe a bit of a deeper bar fridge, which would have a little freezer unit so you could freeze a few things. Then, a fairly deep, small but deep sink so you could wash dishes. And then a swinging counter so you have more counter space to prep. And then across from it, the bathroom. And then if you keep walking to the back of the van, there's a. A table with benches. Cushioned benches on both sides, perhaps in the back, perhaps not, but at least on both sides so that you can work, play a board game, read a, table and benches. And then the Murphy bed is strapped into the left side, same side that the kitchen is on. And you unstrap, it. So it comes down to sleep. And then you crawl and have a. The coziest night's sleep with a nice back window of the mountains or the beach or whatever it is that you. That you found. And that's your home.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So I'm going to throw a wrench into your little. Your little design here.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. And I should say the mattress, it could be. Nd it could be Casper. Any of the foam mattresses. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Any of those mattresses. I think there's a purple one. I forget that one's what that one's called.
The top of the van becomes both solar panels and a deck
But let me ask you this. Where do your clothes go? Because I know you have a lot of clothes, and I'm just curious, where do my clothes go, of which I also have a lot?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you have less clothes in your van life, but, they would go. You'd have storage under those benches in the kitchen. So inside those benches is completely storage. And there's also. It's all raised a little bit, so there's some storage under the kitchen table and benches, like a little shelf. And that's where the solar power batteries go. And that's where the gray water tank goes. If you want an outdoor shower hookup, that's where it would go. And in my ultimate van conversion, you have a ladder that goes up to the roof of the van and some cedar planks on the top of the van. And you have a deck that you can sit on on the top of the van. So the top of the van becomes both solar panels to power the van and power all the electricity in the van. And then, a beautiful deck that you can enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: You can't have both. You can't have a deck and solar powers.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you can. You can have a half deck and half solar.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. But because you can't step on the solar panels, right?
>> Amanda Barker: No, yeah, they'd have to be sort of. You'd have like two or three by the front, and then the rest would be deck. In my. Since you're asking for my dream van.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: This is my dream van. and yeah, so the clothing, obviously, you'd have less. A lot less. So they would be under the. They would be inside the benches. And then also because it's a raised platform that the kitchen table and benches is on in that. Underneath that platform, you'd put the solar battery, the gray water tank, and then you'd have a bit more storage as well. And around the perimeter of the van.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Around, the top part of the van, there's all storage. So upper cabinets.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: But like for a few dishes, a different pair of shoes, umbrella, and maybe there's a plant or two hanging as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's my new home. Goodbye.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, I see. I see what you're saying. I see what you're saying. I guess you would just need the staples of a wardrobe. The few staples that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, okay, so you'd want, And a lot of people wash their clothes in the van as well, because they do have a tank. A lot of them have like a 25 gallon tank.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: For the gray water. And they change it out at places where you do that. Campgrounds or so on. So, you know, just depending. But, yeah, you'd want your staples. You'd want a pair or two of pants, something to sleep in. Sure, yeah. It would become a capsule wardrobe. There's no question about that. But that's van life, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess it is. I guess it is.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's our new life.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know about that. I don't know. Where would I podcast from? There's no podcasting area in this van of yours.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I've thought of that. And our dear friend Marilla Wex, who does A lot of.
>> Marco Timpano: She's been on the podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Yep, she has, yeah. She's done a lot of voice work. She's the one who's, who's been my gateway into vans and she's really studying them as well. So I think she's thinking about figuring out a studio contraption. I think your best bet actually would probably be in the driver. With all these things I've mentioned without sacrificing any of them. I think your best bet is there's a few things you could do, but I think your best bet is in the front, like in the passenger side and. Or driver passenger side. But you'd have to have, foam or something that you could line it all with that you take down obviously when you're driving and not in use. So it would double as driver and passenger, but then it would become a studio. So.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I disagree.
>> Amanda Barker: I.
>> Marco Timpano: The only way I could see it is when you bring the Murphy bed down.
>> Marco Timpano: If you have like a curtain of sound absorbing cloth that you sort of pull out and pull around.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that might be a better.
>> Marco Timpano: The bed. Almost like, you know when you have a bathtub and you want to take a shower there and they have like, Yeah, an oval, an oval rack with, with a, with a curtain that you can pull.
>> Amanda Barker: We could do that. We could do that. The only thing is we wouldn't be able to sit. You know, you, you'd only have so much headroom, so that would be the only thing.
Amanda has dreams of living on a houseboat or a van
Or you sacrifice your indoor bathroom. You have a composting toilet in there if you want.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: but you sacrifice your indoor bathroom and you just have the outdoor shower and that would give you a little bit of extra space to do that. Maybe like a bench that when you open it, it's the toilet. And then when you close then becomes like you said, a curtained off little space. So that would be another way to do it.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you certainly have all the answers, Amanda. With regards to van living. I never thought I'd Now I guess a, tiny home seems like a mansion to you when you think about it in comparison. Your van conversion.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the next stop for me once I've fully exhausted all my van life daydreams is probably going to be houseboats. That's probably the next stop.
>> Marco Timpano: I just watched a, news clip from someone who had a 1920s ferry.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: Go across the Ottawa river that he converted into a houseboat. And he has a stove. He has a wood burning stove on the houseboat.
>> Amanda Barker: I want to See this video? Maybe our listeners do. I definitely do. So please send it to me.
>> Marco Timpano: So you would want to live on a houseboat. You would have no problem with that?
>> Amanda Barker: No problem. No. I would love it on the water. Yeah. Or in a sailboat. I'm not sure. Okay. I have, like I said, I haven't fully let go of van life. When I do, it'll be houseboat life. But I'm not quite there with houseboat life yet. I'm certainly dabbling. I'm dabbling in houseboats right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Could you have both? Could you have. Your vehicle is a van conversion and your home is your houseboat?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I'm sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Or does that make no sense to you?
>> Amanda Barker: You absolutely could. I don't know what you do with your, your house house in all of this. I mean, I think for people who do this, it's because they want to live, a more frugal and sustainable and simple life.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's what I figured. I figured that becomes your home. You no longer have a brick and mortar house. You now have a, plank and plank and vessel boathouse or a wheels and steering wheel van conversion house.
>> Amanda Barker: I haven't figured out the longevity of any of these plans. Right now I'm just dreaming about a three month jaunt. Not a life change.
>> Marco Timpano: So are there not rentals, is there not a van conversion rental that we're looking at?
>> Amanda Barker: And boho camper vans who are getting a lot of love from us today? Yeah, they, they do rent their vans. A lot do, but they do rent their vans. Well, the only thing I find is it's not, I don't know that it's, it's a bit cost prohibited as far as I'm concerned. Like it might be. It's probably cheaper the longer you go, which makes sense because you'd want to go long if you have a van with all those amenities. So it sure that you know where you're driving across, you know, several states or the country or whatever it is. So for you and I, I mean if we could find a cost efficient way to do it, I think it would be a great way to, to drive across the prairies and to see more of the west coast because there's lots I haven't seen.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's my, that's my current dream. And also because all of our travel, of course currently is, is within Canada. So there's lots of things I'd love to kind of go deeper and explore in my home, in my, in my home. My home country.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Well, Amanda, that's been a fascinating tour from my highlighted pens, which now I don't feel so bad that I buy so many of them. compared to your we're going to live in a van all of a sudden.
>> Amanda Barker: Not all of a sudden. It's been a long time thinking about it every night. That's what I think about.
Insomnia Project hopes this podcast brings you to your happy place
>> Marco Timpano: Well, tell us what your van or houseboat dreams are here at the Insomnia Project. Thank you for listening and please follow us. Social media and Amanda, thank you for this, this, this tour, grand tour of the place.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. Thank you for taking me to my happy, my happy place.
>> Marco Timpano: We hope this podcast brings you to your happy place and hopefully that happy place. It involves a bit of sleep until the next time. We hope you were able to listen and sleep.
St. Paddy's Day Episode
(Original airdate: March 17, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation. And we hope that this podcast will help you relax, chill, perhaps even find sleep. I'm very excited. This episode is airing on, St. Patrick's Day, and I was thinking to myself, who could I have? Who would be the perfect guest? And I remembered I have a friend who is from Ireland who lives in Ireland. And since I haven't done an episode from Canada to Ireland or Ireland to Canada, I thought, what a great, day to air such an episode. So I want to welcome a dear friend, Timmy o', Dowd, to the Insomnia Project. Welcome, Timmy.
>> Marco Timpano: Hello. Thank you for having me. And, we don't say it that often, but top of the morning.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. You know, I have a friend who was on the podcast Cloda, and I said to her, do you ever say that? And she goes, only to the tourists and only if I want tips when I'm working in a bar.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, we never say that. It's like, when I lived in Toronto and also Vancouver, it's like people were like, you don't say that to me. I was like, no, it's just a fabricated story or a myth, like the leprechauns and all that stuff. And they're just small people.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, yes, fair enough. I know that. Like, sometimes people ask me, do you.
>> Marco Timpano: You're Canadian.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you ever say hoser? And I'm like, I've never said hoser in my entire life. nor have I ever heard someone use that in an expression. But, you know, somehow it gets in there, and people. People think it's something we say, and it's not.
Timmy says he really appreciated Ireland once he moved back from Canada
I met you, Timmy, in Vancouver, and, you were living in Canada, and you had mentioned to me that you really appreciated your home country of Ireland once you moved away and came back. Can you tell me about that?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes. It's, And it's not just, myself who says that. I know a lot of people, like many people that listen to your podcast and that know people that have traveled to different countries, and then when they come back, they appreciate where they come from. It's. I think it's a. No matter where you live, you always want to see other places, but you never really experience your own country until you get that kind of your euphoric moment. I don't know that word, but it's a. Like, Canada was a fantastic. I do a lot of work in America, and I went to Australia, New Zealand, Bali, and Thailand, just a few other places. But the beauty, like, I'm Especially on the southwest coast of Ireland we have some of the most amazing scenery that you can find in any other country. Like I know people say the weather in Ireland, it fluctuates. Yeah. But on when we get super, super nice days, there's no better place than like Killarney, which is a 20 minute drive from where I am in Chile. And then there's most people know the Ring of Kerry and Dingle and I would say Fungi. But unfortunately Fungi is missing at the moment. He's been missing for a couple of weeks but he's the famous dolphin that people when used to go out to see. And yeah, it's, it's a kind of a hard time for the locals in Dingle because a lot of the tourism was surrounded around Fungi. But that's a different topic. But it's just the scenery, the beauty. The people of Ireland are so, so nice and friendly. Just like Canadians. Like I. Other than the Irish, of all the places I've been, I've never met just the nicest people as I did in Canada. like in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, the places that I've been to, everyone is super friendly. And that's why I call Canada my second home.
>> Marco Timpano: Well Timmy, I don't know if it's the people you met or just the sort of enthusiasm you exude that makes nice people want to be around you. So I don't know, I've certainly met a lot of people in Canada that, who aren't lovely.
Tim Ferriss is a professional photographer and videographer based in Ireland
But I wanted to go back to your hometown. So you're in County Kerry, and your hometown is Trilly, correct?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a, the Irish is trolley so it's a beach town. So in and around where I am there's. You could easily add up like 12 to 14 different places where a beach is within like 10, 15 minute drive. it's ah, where I'm Tralee is the capital of Kerry. it's not a big city like Toronto or anything like that. But there's a lot of infrastructure in and around the town. So like if people come to Kerry they have to stop off and truly if they want to go to Killarney or Dingle because it's like the middle port in between kind of the two.
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this. If I came to Trilly, where would you take me?
>> Marco Timpano: I definitely, I'll do the Ring of Kerry. It's just driving around the coast, but I'll take it to Waterville there's a statue there of, Charlie Chaplin. And everybody around the world knows who Charlie Chaplin was and Waterville was one of his favorite places. So even if you want, after this, I have a photo of Charlie, the statue down Waterville. So I can send that on to you if you want.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, and I'll put it on my, Instagram, on our Instagram page so people can see what we're talking about.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's, you know, there. For a man who very few words, as everyone knows, one of the main places he loved and in the world is or was or is Waterville. the scenery is fantastic and just like anywhere in Kerry, you can, you wouldn't have to travel far to get fantastic scenery. And then after that I take you out to Dingle, as I just mentioned, and then to the Blascot Islands and there's a place called Dunquin. so you get a ferry from Dunquin and you go to the Blascot Islands. And it's hard to describe, but it is just magical. Especially on a clear blue sky day. It's fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness. Ireland has always been a place I've wanted to travel to. There's. It was, it's funny because, you know, speaking with friends, I'm like, I want to go to places that start with the letter I. I always have. So Ireland, Iceland, Israel, which I was able to visit, have always been places that have really spoken to me. Of course I'm Italian, so Italy was, was definitely up there. But, let me ask you this, so you. Something our listeners might not know is you are a professional photographer and videographer and one of the ways I keep in touch with you is I just love the photos that you put on Instagram. So tell me about your love for photography and if you don't mind, share your Instagram handle so that our listeners can follow and see those beautiful beaches that you talk about, which is not something people immediately think of when they think of Ireland.
>> Timmy O'Dowd: Yep, no worries.
>> Marco Timpano: my 30th birthday, I suppose I could start from years ago. I just loved taking photos of anything. Remember I was in New Zealand, ah, with my ex girlfriend and her uncle. It was so funny. her uncle just took me around. he was a truck driver. So he took me around the truck while she was working. And then I couldn't stop taking photos. So I, I remember he just stopped the truck. He goes, oh, Tim, look, there's a trash can. Take a photo. so like, for years I just love Taking photos. And on my 30th birthday I came back at that Christmas, my birthday is tomorrow. But I came back to Christmas. and I remember it was 2013 I think. Yeah, it was the coldest winter in recent record in Toronto. And I said I'd stay at home for a bit longer because I used to do part time dog walking and dog training in Toronto and I never noticed cold until it reached like minus 50 degrees and my eyelashes were sticking together.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: so I stayed at home for another bit and then my birthday was as I said, 10th of March. So my parents, mom and dad, they bought me the Nikon D5200. It was my first DSLR camera having. And I just fell in love with taking photos, shooting some videos and subsequently I traveled around the world, I took beautiful photos and my hobby has become my passion.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so wonderful. Happy birthday from all of us here at the Insomnia project.
Timmy has developed a passion for photography and now runs his own business
what are some tips you would give to people who are picking up a camera for the very first time
>> Marco Timpano: for someone if they want to get into photography? It's just like you can read all the books, you can study online, you can look UP courses on YouTube, but you know, you will create fantastic work. And not just photography, any kind of industry that you want to get into.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: But you can create, you create fantastic work if you're passionate and you want to succeed in that field. Like the main thing with any job is you have to love it. The beauty of photography is like everything is an opportunity. so like I remember I was reading the story before. My brother lives in the uk so I was living over there before I moved to Canada and I just came out of the gym and I just went on a computer and I looked up, you know that the old PC, PC computers. And the background was just the two mountains in the background, right? Yes, I do remember on every single computer. I just wanted, just was curious how and when and who took that photo. And it was a guy, he was a hobbyist and I think was down Route 66 in America or somewhere along there. He just got out, took a photo to a fence and he sent it into Microsoft and Google and a few other different places and it was Microsoft that gave him a six figure sum. they didn't mention some obviously, but he's basically sitting pretty. And again as I just said a while ago, the beauty of photography is everything is an opportunity.
>> Marco Timpano: So let me get this straight Timmy, from a truck drive in Australia, New Zealand, to a cold dog walking day in Toronto. From a gift from your parents in Ireland, you developed not only this love for photography but now you've made it into a business, if I'm not mistaken.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I've, I have my own photography and video business and I'm currently just updating my new website and I won't say the name yet because I still have to register the name. But once I give you my, I'll give you my handles on social media platforms and you can check it out there and there'll be updates pretty
>> Marco Timpano: soon for sure and we'll, we'll put it on our social media as well once we get them. So if our listeners want to check they can always go to our, not our social medias, our we will also put on our social media but we'll put it in our show notes so they can always look on our show notes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, perfect. And like when I lived in Canada for just under four years, I took good shots but I need to go back because now I'm a professional photographer so I need to get photos of the CN Tower, I need to get the Lionsgate Bridge in Vancouver in Victoria Island. I got lovely photos. But now when I go back I specialize in panorama photography as well. Amazing. Yeah, I can't wait to get on go on the Canadian. Like one one of my most memorable things in Canada was I love health and fitness and stuff. And I left Vancouver and instead of flying back to Toronto I said because my girlfriend from New Zealand, she was flying from the Vancouver to New Zealand and I was going back to Toronto to finish work. So I got a bus I think was the Greyhound, the Banff. And then in Banff I got off. I stayed in the hospital for a few days and I rented out a bike. So I cycled one day it was snow and it was just magical. So I cycled up to the base of the Rocky, where you get the gondola in the Rocky Mountains, right? And instead of hiking it up they said oh, if you. Or instead of getting the gondola up they said if you hike it up you get the free gondola down. So I was like, so I'm not doing anything for today. So I parked up my bike, I went for a hike through the snow and the most beautiful scenery. And ah, I'll never forget it was on my own. The gondola was going above me. There's another funny story in a minute I'll tell you, but the gun that was above me, there's a guy waving down at me or something and there was these squirrels just jumping from branch to branch. And when they were jumping, the snow just falling crystalline down into the, onto the ground. And that, was. I never forget that because it was. I've never seen a squirrel up close. Oh my goodness. So I took a photo, but it wasn't a great photo, so I need to go back and do that. And then after, when I got to the top, because I was in a TV show for, two years. Over two years, Suits in Toronto.
You've been in several TV shows including Suits and Rookie Blue
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I wanted to mention, I wanted to mention that, you know, not only are you behind the camera as a photographer, but you've also been in front of the camera as both a model and an actor. So tell us about you. Were you were on Suits.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I was in, a few shows. So I was in Suits and Rookie Blue in Toronto and then Rookie Blue. they cancelled the show after. I can't remember how many seasons, but I was only in one. Suits. I was a regular and then when I was in Vancouver, I was on the Flash for a couple of episodes. and yeah, I just, like, I love, as I said at the very start, love everything I do. So acting, modeling, photography and video. It's kind of like my bread and butter. The good thing with especially just modeling and the photography, I know how to position people because I'm so used to people telling me how to position myself when they're taking photos. So now I can do the same and, you know, do the same for other people to get their headshots and stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: That's wonderful. What a, what a wonderful way to translate something that was done to you and make it a benefit for anyone that you're photographing, whether they be professional actors or not, to make them look their best.
>> Marco Timpano: I say it to a lot of my clients. And actually a tip for anyone that has a services business, either photography, video or whatever kind of business it is, when a client gets in contact with me, I do initial chat or meetup and then I say, they asked me for a price and I don't give a price until I meet him again because I just tell them, go away, talk to your husband or whoever you want me to take photos with. narrow down what it is that you need because I don't want to overprice and I don't want to underprice. So say if I'm doing a wedding and they only want me for the morning and the evening, I'm not going to give them a full day rate.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Marco Timpano: Subsequently, if they want me for the whole day and then I give them a price without. Without me knowing that they want me to for the whole day. I could underprice myself. So if you underprice yourself, you'll be known as that guy who is. He's good and he's cheap. So you want to undervalue your, what you're worth. So. Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Know your worth. That's. That's for sure.
Today is St. Patrick's Day in Ireland
Timmy, you know, we're taking this grand tour of the world, but I want to get back to Ireland because today is St. Patrick's Day. So first let me ask you this. What do you do in Ireland if you do anything on St. Patrick's Day?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'll be, stopping all the stereotypes and what people think Irish people do on Paddy's Day.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, no, I want to know the real thing because, you know, there's here and in the United States there's parades and there's people drinking green beer and wearing green hats and doing crazy things. But I want to know what is actually done in Ireland to celebrate, if anything is done on this day.
>> Marco Timpano: The funny thing is, every other country, mostly, not every other country, but say built up countries like America, Canada, Australia, big city, big places like that, they celebrate Paddy's Day so much better than what we do in Ireland. and it just goes to show you that Irish, we are everywhere and that's why people love us, because we're in every country. And for some reason people like the banter, they just love the Irish, mentality. And that's why, I'm so lucky to be, to be Irish at heart. But, I'd rather be Irish Canadian to Mass. but anyway, what we do in like in Chile, there's little parades. In Dublin is a bigger parade. sometimes they do die. I think it's the River Liffey. They dye it green. I know for a fact in big places like Chicago, they died a whole river. yes, green as well. And pretty sure when I was in Niagara Falls they do fireworks and they dye that green as well. Or they have some green lighting effects down, in the Falls one. But, you know, obviously people drink. But the steroid, like, I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do any of that. I, for me, on a good Paddy's Day, I go hiking up a mountain and take some photos or do some videos. it's. Yeah, I'd rather appreciate the, out, the outdoors instead of being indoors drinking a pint.
>> Marco Timpano: That's, that's wonderful. Really appreciate Ireland for what it is. And that's, it's raw beauty, it's great cities, it's lovely people. I think that's a great way to celebrate.
Tim Ferriss: We're going to do a song for St Patrick's Day
Timmy, Now I want to mention that, Timmy, you're going to do a little song. And I'm only mentioning this for our listeners because sometimes listeners feel a little bit distracted when music is played on our podcast. So I'm going to give you the heads up to anyone who's listening that we're going to be doing a song. And if it, if it jars you out of your slumber, I apologize. But it is St. Patrick's Day. We do have a real Irishman here on the show. And one of the beauties of, Ireland is its music. So, Timmy, whenever you're ready, tell us about the song you're going to sing. Or just sing it, whatever you prefer.
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Timmy Dowd sings a song to promote a football club
>> Marco Timpano: I'll just give you a bit of a, an intro into the song. I, honestly, I don't know the whole context of it, but I'm shooting a video at the moment. And the video is promoting, a football club here in Glennonville, which is like five minutes out the road for myself. And they're raising money, for their football club because, you know, they have ex football players and ext, committee members living in different countries. So they said they asked me to do the video. So I've been recording different artists either playing the cello, dancing Irish jigs, and a couple of people from New York and one, from Canada, one from Australia. For a couple of people around Ireland just giving messages of saying, happy Paddy's Day and hope everyone's keeping well. And this one guy was singing this song and it just stuck in my head. And, it was. It's when the song came, out. I've only been told the basics of it. They said it was after the hard times in Ireland years ago. So, as I said, it's stuck in my head. Usually I'll be playing a guitar or a ukulele with it, but it's just going to be, unedited. My voice, I. I'm not. I don't think I'm a great singer, but I think I can sing this, so I hope you enjoy.
>> Timmy O'Dowd: Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears While we all sup sorrow with the poor There's a song that will linger forever in our ears O hard, times Come, again no more. Tis the song sigh of the weary. Hard times, hard times Come again no more. Many days you have lingered around, my cabin door O hard times, Come again, no more. While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay There are frail forms fainting at the door Though their voices, they are silent Their pleading looks will say O hard times, come again no more. Tis the song, the sigh of the weary Hard times, hard times Come again no more Many days you have lingered all around my cabin door O hard times, Come again no more Tis the song, the sigh of, the weary Hard times, hard times Come again no more Many days you have lingered around my cabin door O hard times come again no more oh, hard times come m. Again no more.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that was really, really beautiful. Timmy, you know the song you're singing and it says, hard times come by no more. I want to say, Timmy o', Dowd, we hope that you come to the podcast more because that was just so lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: It's my first time singing on a podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: Now there's a. Next door, there's a guy drilling. I don't know if you can hear that or not.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm glad. Yeah, I can. I'm glad. The gentleman decided to drill after the song was recorded. So, we're very fortunate with that. my goodness. that's so wonderful. I didn't know you were a singer either, and I've known you for years now.
>> Marco Timpano: I, sometimes I can sing. I haven't really, tried to, promote myself singing because I don't know if I'm any good. but yeah, there we go.
>> Marco Timpano: It's one of the things that often people associate with Ireland and with Irish people and yes, that is a drilling sound you're hearing in the background. What's going on there? You know, it happens. These things happen. And I, think it's. One of the delightful things about podcasts is that, you know, things happen and you just have to deal with them in the moment.
Tim Ferriss: I understand you do some talks on positivity
now, Timmy, one of the things that always, strikes me about you is you have such a positive attitude. And I understand you do some talks on positivity.
>> Marco Timpano: yeah. actually my first, positivity talk was when I was in Toronto. I was working at just, an exhibition booth. And this lady, her name is Darlene Auby. she's from Toronto and herself and her husband owned, I think it was a chimney sweeping company. But they wanted some positivity motivation talks about exercise, health and fitness and mental kind of well being. And I always kind of gave positivity talks, just say friends and stuff. And this is my first opportunity to talk to more than one person. I think there was like 50 people or something or maybe a tiny bit less in the room. But again, just what I said at the start of this podcast.
Keep on achieving goals because once you have goals, you're never bored
Main things first. the, the most important person in your life is you if you don't look after yourself. What's the point in looking after everyone else if you can't look after yourself?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: After that, work on, you know, once you set yourself goals and like, you achieve that goal, set another set and then Keep on achieving goals because you have, if you have goals that you want to achieve, you're never going to get bored. You're never going to be saying there's never nothing to do. And if you, like, always upskill, you know, when I came back, I upskilled in my photography and video just so I can benefit my, myself just to learn more myself. And then subsequently I can charge more now for my services because I have a drone and I do drone photography, drone videography. So, you know, that aside, I'm constantly upskilling. I just love health and fitness. I like looking after myself. And if you look after yourself and stuff happens, it was, you know, stuff will happen, but you just have to learn from it and don't dwell in the past. So something happens, you have to deal with it there and then, or, and it might take a while to get over it. Just keep setting yourself goals. And a goal could be something as small as, like, I'm getting up at 8 o' clock in the morning, right, at 9 o' clock in the morning, I'm doing some exercise. I'm going to eat an apple or a banana or any, any type of food or anything. Or else a goal could be like, oh, within four weeks, I'm going to be this far up in my business or this far up in the job that I'm currently working in. Say if you're working in sales or I would like to be a sales manager in two to three months. Give yourself that goal and go above and beyond what other people are doing and don't focus on what they're doing because at the end of the day, they couldn't care less what you do. Once you like what you do and you're focused and you're determined, there's kind of like your path to success, no matter what field it is in.
>> Marco Timpano: That's wonderful.
Marco: Timmy, happy birthday and happy St Patrick's Day
Well, listen, Timmy, I want to wish you a happy birthday. I also want to wish you a happy St. Patrick's Day as we come to the end of this episode. Thank you so much for being a guest on the podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you, Marco. And, I'm looking forward to when I do get back to Canada. And, we won't be going for a pint. I'll be taking you for a hike.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I can't wait until I see you in Ireland. And, we won't be going for a hike. We'll be going for a hike down.
>> Marco Timpano: We can do a video call. I'll be on the mountain, you'll be in the boat.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly. Exactly. Thank you so much, Timmy. And we'll definitely have you back on the podcast. I wish you all the best.
>> Marco Timpano: Perfect. Thank you. And have a good day.
>> Marco Timpano: And I hope everyone who listened was able to listen and relax, enjoy some music and maybe even sleep.
(Original airdate: March 17, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation. And we hope that this podcast will help you relax, chill, perhaps even find sleep. I'm very excited. This episode is airing on, St. Patrick's Day, and I was thinking to myself, who could I have? Who would be the perfect guest? And I remembered I have a friend who is from Ireland who lives in Ireland. And since I haven't done an episode from Canada to Ireland or Ireland to Canada, I thought, what a great, day to air such an episode. So I want to welcome a dear friend, Timmy o', Dowd, to the Insomnia Project. Welcome, Timmy.
>> Marco Timpano: Hello. Thank you for having me. And, we don't say it that often, but top of the morning.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. You know, I have a friend who was on the podcast Cloda, and I said to her, do you ever say that? And she goes, only to the tourists and only if I want tips when I'm working in a bar.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, we never say that. It's like, when I lived in Toronto and also Vancouver, it's like people were like, you don't say that to me. I was like, no, it's just a fabricated story or a myth, like the leprechauns and all that stuff. And they're just small people.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, yes, fair enough. I know that. Like, sometimes people ask me, do you.
>> Marco Timpano: You're Canadian.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you ever say hoser? And I'm like, I've never said hoser in my entire life. nor have I ever heard someone use that in an expression. But, you know, somehow it gets in there, and people. People think it's something we say, and it's not.
Timmy says he really appreciated Ireland once he moved back from Canada
I met you, Timmy, in Vancouver, and, you were living in Canada, and you had mentioned to me that you really appreciated your home country of Ireland once you moved away and came back. Can you tell me about that?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes. It's, And it's not just, myself who says that. I know a lot of people, like many people that listen to your podcast and that know people that have traveled to different countries, and then when they come back, they appreciate where they come from. It's. I think it's a. No matter where you live, you always want to see other places, but you never really experience your own country until you get that kind of your euphoric moment. I don't know that word, but it's a. Like, Canada was a fantastic. I do a lot of work in America, and I went to Australia, New Zealand, Bali, and Thailand, just a few other places. But the beauty, like, I'm Especially on the southwest coast of Ireland we have some of the most amazing scenery that you can find in any other country. Like I know people say the weather in Ireland, it fluctuates. Yeah. But on when we get super, super nice days, there's no better place than like Killarney, which is a 20 minute drive from where I am in Chile. And then there's most people know the Ring of Kerry and Dingle and I would say Fungi. But unfortunately Fungi is missing at the moment. He's been missing for a couple of weeks but he's the famous dolphin that people when used to go out to see. And yeah, it's, it's a kind of a hard time for the locals in Dingle because a lot of the tourism was surrounded around Fungi. But that's a different topic. But it's just the scenery, the beauty. The people of Ireland are so, so nice and friendly. Just like Canadians. Like I. Other than the Irish, of all the places I've been, I've never met just the nicest people as I did in Canada. like in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, the places that I've been to, everyone is super friendly. And that's why I call Canada my second home.
>> Marco Timpano: Well Timmy, I don't know if it's the people you met or just the sort of enthusiasm you exude that makes nice people want to be around you. So I don't know, I've certainly met a lot of people in Canada that, who aren't lovely.
Tim Ferriss is a professional photographer and videographer based in Ireland
But I wanted to go back to your hometown. So you're in County Kerry, and your hometown is Trilly, correct?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a, the Irish is trolley so it's a beach town. So in and around where I am there's. You could easily add up like 12 to 14 different places where a beach is within like 10, 15 minute drive. it's ah, where I'm Tralee is the capital of Kerry. it's not a big city like Toronto or anything like that. But there's a lot of infrastructure in and around the town. So like if people come to Kerry they have to stop off and truly if they want to go to Killarney or Dingle because it's like the middle port in between kind of the two.
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this. If I came to Trilly, where would you take me?
>> Marco Timpano: I definitely, I'll do the Ring of Kerry. It's just driving around the coast, but I'll take it to Waterville there's a statue there of, Charlie Chaplin. And everybody around the world knows who Charlie Chaplin was and Waterville was one of his favorite places. So even if you want, after this, I have a photo of Charlie, the statue down Waterville. So I can send that on to you if you want.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, and I'll put it on my, Instagram, on our Instagram page so people can see what we're talking about.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's, you know, there. For a man who very few words, as everyone knows, one of the main places he loved and in the world is or was or is Waterville. the scenery is fantastic and just like anywhere in Kerry, you can, you wouldn't have to travel far to get fantastic scenery. And then after that I take you out to Dingle, as I just mentioned, and then to the Blascot Islands and there's a place called Dunquin. so you get a ferry from Dunquin and you go to the Blascot Islands. And it's hard to describe, but it is just magical. Especially on a clear blue sky day. It's fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness. Ireland has always been a place I've wanted to travel to. There's. It was, it's funny because, you know, speaking with friends, I'm like, I want to go to places that start with the letter I. I always have. So Ireland, Iceland, Israel, which I was able to visit, have always been places that have really spoken to me. Of course I'm Italian, so Italy was, was definitely up there. But, let me ask you this, so you. Something our listeners might not know is you are a professional photographer and videographer and one of the ways I keep in touch with you is I just love the photos that you put on Instagram. So tell me about your love for photography and if you don't mind, share your Instagram handle so that our listeners can follow and see those beautiful beaches that you talk about, which is not something people immediately think of when they think of Ireland.
>> Timmy O'Dowd: Yep, no worries.
>> Marco Timpano: my 30th birthday, I suppose I could start from years ago. I just loved taking photos of anything. Remember I was in New Zealand, ah, with my ex girlfriend and her uncle. It was so funny. her uncle just took me around. he was a truck driver. So he took me around the truck while she was working. And then I couldn't stop taking photos. So I, I remember he just stopped the truck. He goes, oh, Tim, look, there's a trash can. Take a photo. so like, for years I just love Taking photos. And on my 30th birthday I came back at that Christmas, my birthday is tomorrow. But I came back to Christmas. and I remember it was 2013 I think. Yeah, it was the coldest winter in recent record in Toronto. And I said I'd stay at home for a bit longer because I used to do part time dog walking and dog training in Toronto and I never noticed cold until it reached like minus 50 degrees and my eyelashes were sticking together.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: so I stayed at home for another bit and then my birthday was as I said, 10th of March. So my parents, mom and dad, they bought me the Nikon D5200. It was my first DSLR camera having. And I just fell in love with taking photos, shooting some videos and subsequently I traveled around the world, I took beautiful photos and my hobby has become my passion.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so wonderful. Happy birthday from all of us here at the Insomnia project.
Timmy has developed a passion for photography and now runs his own business
what are some tips you would give to people who are picking up a camera for the very first time
>> Marco Timpano: for someone if they want to get into photography? It's just like you can read all the books, you can study online, you can look UP courses on YouTube, but you know, you will create fantastic work. And not just photography, any kind of industry that you want to get into.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: But you can create, you create fantastic work if you're passionate and you want to succeed in that field. Like the main thing with any job is you have to love it. The beauty of photography is like everything is an opportunity. so like I remember I was reading the story before. My brother lives in the uk so I was living over there before I moved to Canada and I just came out of the gym and I just went on a computer and I looked up, you know that the old PC, PC computers. And the background was just the two mountains in the background, right? Yes, I do remember on every single computer. I just wanted, just was curious how and when and who took that photo. And it was a guy, he was a hobbyist and I think was down Route 66 in America or somewhere along there. He just got out, took a photo to a fence and he sent it into Microsoft and Google and a few other different places and it was Microsoft that gave him a six figure sum. they didn't mention some obviously, but he's basically sitting pretty. And again as I just said a while ago, the beauty of photography is everything is an opportunity.
>> Marco Timpano: So let me get this straight Timmy, from a truck drive in Australia, New Zealand, to a cold dog walking day in Toronto. From a gift from your parents in Ireland, you developed not only this love for photography but now you've made it into a business, if I'm not mistaken.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I've, I have my own photography and video business and I'm currently just updating my new website and I won't say the name yet because I still have to register the name. But once I give you my, I'll give you my handles on social media platforms and you can check it out there and there'll be updates pretty
>> Marco Timpano: soon for sure and we'll, we'll put it on our social media as well once we get them. So if our listeners want to check they can always go to our, not our social medias, our we will also put on our social media but we'll put it in our show notes so they can always look on our show notes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, perfect. And like when I lived in Canada for just under four years, I took good shots but I need to go back because now I'm a professional photographer so I need to get photos of the CN Tower, I need to get the Lionsgate Bridge in Vancouver in Victoria Island. I got lovely photos. But now when I go back I specialize in panorama photography as well. Amazing. Yeah, I can't wait to get on go on the Canadian. Like one one of my most memorable things in Canada was I love health and fitness and stuff. And I left Vancouver and instead of flying back to Toronto I said because my girlfriend from New Zealand, she was flying from the Vancouver to New Zealand and I was going back to Toronto to finish work. So I got a bus I think was the Greyhound, the Banff. And then in Banff I got off. I stayed in the hospital for a few days and I rented out a bike. So I cycled one day it was snow and it was just magical. So I cycled up to the base of the Rocky, where you get the gondola in the Rocky Mountains, right? And instead of hiking it up they said oh, if you. Or instead of getting the gondola up they said if you hike it up you get the free gondola down. So I was like, so I'm not doing anything for today. So I parked up my bike, I went for a hike through the snow and the most beautiful scenery. And ah, I'll never forget it was on my own. The gondola was going above me. There's another funny story in a minute I'll tell you, but the gun that was above me, there's a guy waving down at me or something and there was these squirrels just jumping from branch to branch. And when they were jumping, the snow just falling crystalline down into the, onto the ground. And that, was. I never forget that because it was. I've never seen a squirrel up close. Oh my goodness. So I took a photo, but it wasn't a great photo, so I need to go back and do that. And then after, when I got to the top, because I was in a TV show for, two years. Over two years, Suits in Toronto.
You've been in several TV shows including Suits and Rookie Blue
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I wanted to mention, I wanted to mention that, you know, not only are you behind the camera as a photographer, but you've also been in front of the camera as both a model and an actor. So tell us about you. Were you were on Suits.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I was in, a few shows. So I was in Suits and Rookie Blue in Toronto and then Rookie Blue. they cancelled the show after. I can't remember how many seasons, but I was only in one. Suits. I was a regular and then when I was in Vancouver, I was on the Flash for a couple of episodes. and yeah, I just, like, I love, as I said at the very start, love everything I do. So acting, modeling, photography and video. It's kind of like my bread and butter. The good thing with especially just modeling and the photography, I know how to position people because I'm so used to people telling me how to position myself when they're taking photos. So now I can do the same and, you know, do the same for other people to get their headshots and stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: That's wonderful. What a, what a wonderful way to translate something that was done to you and make it a benefit for anyone that you're photographing, whether they be professional actors or not, to make them look their best.
>> Marco Timpano: I say it to a lot of my clients. And actually a tip for anyone that has a services business, either photography, video or whatever kind of business it is, when a client gets in contact with me, I do initial chat or meetup and then I say, they asked me for a price and I don't give a price until I meet him again because I just tell them, go away, talk to your husband or whoever you want me to take photos with. narrow down what it is that you need because I don't want to overprice and I don't want to underprice. So say if I'm doing a wedding and they only want me for the morning and the evening, I'm not going to give them a full day rate.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Marco Timpano: Subsequently, if they want me for the whole day and then I give them a price without. Without me knowing that they want me to for the whole day. I could underprice myself. So if you underprice yourself, you'll be known as that guy who is. He's good and he's cheap. So you want to undervalue your, what you're worth. So. Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Know your worth. That's. That's for sure.
Today is St. Patrick's Day in Ireland
Timmy, you know, we're taking this grand tour of the world, but I want to get back to Ireland because today is St. Patrick's Day. So first let me ask you this. What do you do in Ireland if you do anything on St. Patrick's Day?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'll be, stopping all the stereotypes and what people think Irish people do on Paddy's Day.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, no, I want to know the real thing because, you know, there's here and in the United States there's parades and there's people drinking green beer and wearing green hats and doing crazy things. But I want to know what is actually done in Ireland to celebrate, if anything is done on this day.
>> Marco Timpano: The funny thing is, every other country, mostly, not every other country, but say built up countries like America, Canada, Australia, big city, big places like that, they celebrate Paddy's Day so much better than what we do in Ireland. and it just goes to show you that Irish, we are everywhere and that's why people love us, because we're in every country. And for some reason people like the banter, they just love the Irish, mentality. And that's why, I'm so lucky to be, to be Irish at heart. But, I'd rather be Irish Canadian to Mass. but anyway, what we do in like in Chile, there's little parades. In Dublin is a bigger parade. sometimes they do die. I think it's the River Liffey. They dye it green. I know for a fact in big places like Chicago, they died a whole river. yes, green as well. And pretty sure when I was in Niagara Falls they do fireworks and they dye that green as well. Or they have some green lighting effects down, in the Falls one. But, you know, obviously people drink. But the steroid, like, I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do any of that. I, for me, on a good Paddy's Day, I go hiking up a mountain and take some photos or do some videos. it's. Yeah, I'd rather appreciate the, out, the outdoors instead of being indoors drinking a pint.
>> Marco Timpano: That's, that's wonderful. Really appreciate Ireland for what it is. And that's, it's raw beauty, it's great cities, it's lovely people. I think that's a great way to celebrate.
Tim Ferriss: We're going to do a song for St Patrick's Day
Timmy, Now I want to mention that, Timmy, you're going to do a little song. And I'm only mentioning this for our listeners because sometimes listeners feel a little bit distracted when music is played on our podcast. So I'm going to give you the heads up to anyone who's listening that we're going to be doing a song. And if it, if it jars you out of your slumber, I apologize. But it is St. Patrick's Day. We do have a real Irishman here on the show. And one of the beauties of, Ireland is its music. So, Timmy, whenever you're ready, tell us about the song you're going to sing. Or just sing it, whatever you prefer.
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Rebel. com drops thousands of new products every day for 70% off
Try ClickUp for free today and get 15% off AI [email protected] podcast that's C L I C K U P.com podcast
>> Speaker C: did you know you can save up to 70% on your favorite brands every single day? From rebel.com sells strollers, car seats, espresso machines, skincare, cookware, everything you need for your home, your family and your life. All for way less. Here's how it works. Every day, REBBL drops thousands of new products for up to 70% off. It's a nonstop feat of deals from brands like UPPAbaby, Nuna, BabyBjorn, Nespresso, M Breville, Wilson, Dyson, Caraway, and more. But every listing is one of a kind. So if you see something you love, you have to move fast. Why pay full price when you you don't have to? From baby gear to tech to self care staples, Rebel helps you save big on brands you know and love.
Jerry helps you compare car insurance quotes from over 50 top insurers
Shop now@from rebel.com Are you noticing your
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Timmy Dowd sings a song to promote a football club
>> Marco Timpano: I'll just give you a bit of a, an intro into the song. I, honestly, I don't know the whole context of it, but I'm shooting a video at the moment. And the video is promoting, a football club here in Glennonville, which is like five minutes out the road for myself. And they're raising money, for their football club because, you know, they have ex football players and ext, committee members living in different countries. So they said they asked me to do the video. So I've been recording different artists either playing the cello, dancing Irish jigs, and a couple of people from New York and one, from Canada, one from Australia. For a couple of people around Ireland just giving messages of saying, happy Paddy's Day and hope everyone's keeping well. And this one guy was singing this song and it just stuck in my head. And, it was. It's when the song came, out. I've only been told the basics of it. They said it was after the hard times in Ireland years ago. So, as I said, it's stuck in my head. Usually I'll be playing a guitar or a ukulele with it, but it's just going to be, unedited. My voice, I. I'm not. I don't think I'm a great singer, but I think I can sing this, so I hope you enjoy.
>> Timmy O'Dowd: Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears While we all sup sorrow with the poor There's a song that will linger forever in our ears O hard, times Come, again no more. Tis the song sigh of the weary. Hard times, hard times Come again no more. Many days you have lingered around, my cabin door O hard times, Come again, no more. While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay There are frail forms fainting at the door Though their voices, they are silent Their pleading looks will say O hard times, come again no more. Tis the song, the sigh of the weary Hard times, hard times Come again no more Many days you have lingered all around my cabin door O hard times, Come again no more Tis the song, the sigh of, the weary Hard times, hard times Come again no more Many days you have lingered around my cabin door O hard times come again no more oh, hard times come m. Again no more.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that was really, really beautiful. Timmy, you know the song you're singing and it says, hard times come by no more. I want to say, Timmy o', Dowd, we hope that you come to the podcast more because that was just so lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: It's my first time singing on a podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: Now there's a. Next door, there's a guy drilling. I don't know if you can hear that or not.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm glad. Yeah, I can. I'm glad. The gentleman decided to drill after the song was recorded. So, we're very fortunate with that. my goodness. that's so wonderful. I didn't know you were a singer either, and I've known you for years now.
>> Marco Timpano: I, sometimes I can sing. I haven't really, tried to, promote myself singing because I don't know if I'm any good. but yeah, there we go.
>> Marco Timpano: It's one of the things that often people associate with Ireland and with Irish people and yes, that is a drilling sound you're hearing in the background. What's going on there? You know, it happens. These things happen. And I, think it's. One of the delightful things about podcasts is that, you know, things happen and you just have to deal with them in the moment.
Tim Ferriss: I understand you do some talks on positivity
now, Timmy, one of the things that always, strikes me about you is you have such a positive attitude. And I understand you do some talks on positivity.
>> Marco Timpano: yeah. actually my first, positivity talk was when I was in Toronto. I was working at just, an exhibition booth. And this lady, her name is Darlene Auby. she's from Toronto and herself and her husband owned, I think it was a chimney sweeping company. But they wanted some positivity motivation talks about exercise, health and fitness and mental kind of well being. And I always kind of gave positivity talks, just say friends and stuff. And this is my first opportunity to talk to more than one person. I think there was like 50 people or something or maybe a tiny bit less in the room. But again, just what I said at the start of this podcast.
Keep on achieving goals because once you have goals, you're never bored
Main things first. the, the most important person in your life is you if you don't look after yourself. What's the point in looking after everyone else if you can't look after yourself?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: After that, work on, you know, once you set yourself goals and like, you achieve that goal, set another set and then Keep on achieving goals because you have, if you have goals that you want to achieve, you're never going to get bored. You're never going to be saying there's never nothing to do. And if you, like, always upskill, you know, when I came back, I upskilled in my photography and video just so I can benefit my, myself just to learn more myself. And then subsequently I can charge more now for my services because I have a drone and I do drone photography, drone videography. So, you know, that aside, I'm constantly upskilling. I just love health and fitness. I like looking after myself. And if you look after yourself and stuff happens, it was, you know, stuff will happen, but you just have to learn from it and don't dwell in the past. So something happens, you have to deal with it there and then, or, and it might take a while to get over it. Just keep setting yourself goals. And a goal could be something as small as, like, I'm getting up at 8 o' clock in the morning, right, at 9 o' clock in the morning, I'm doing some exercise. I'm going to eat an apple or a banana or any, any type of food or anything. Or else a goal could be like, oh, within four weeks, I'm going to be this far up in my business or this far up in the job that I'm currently working in. Say if you're working in sales or I would like to be a sales manager in two to three months. Give yourself that goal and go above and beyond what other people are doing and don't focus on what they're doing because at the end of the day, they couldn't care less what you do. Once you like what you do and you're focused and you're determined, there's kind of like your path to success, no matter what field it is in.
>> Marco Timpano: That's wonderful.
Marco: Timmy, happy birthday and happy St Patrick's Day
Well, listen, Timmy, I want to wish you a happy birthday. I also want to wish you a happy St. Patrick's Day as we come to the end of this episode. Thank you so much for being a guest on the podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you, Marco. And, I'm looking forward to when I do get back to Canada. And, we won't be going for a pint. I'll be taking you for a hike.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I can't wait until I see you in Ireland. And, we won't be going for a hike. We'll be going for a hike down.
>> Marco Timpano: We can do a video call. I'll be on the mountain, you'll be in the boat.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly. Exactly. Thank you so much, Timmy. And we'll definitely have you back on the podcast. I wish you all the best.
>> Marco Timpano: Perfect. Thank you. And have a good day.
>> Marco Timpano: And I hope everyone who listened was able to listen and relax, enjoy some music and maybe even sleep.
Netball the sport we didn't know we loved so much
(Original airdate: March 3, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm your host, Marco Timpano
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that'll hopefully lead you to a space of relaxation and positive, possibly even sleep. Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project, the podcast that was created by Insomniacs for Insomniacs. But we find a lot of people listen who aren't necessarily insomniac. So thank you for listening. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. And joining me today, I have the pleasure of welcoming back Amy Dyson. Welcome.
>> Amy Dyson: Hi, thanks for having me.
Amy says netball is a sport a bit like basketball but with more rules
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amy, I wanted to talk to you about this thing you call netball and I need some instructions, some understanding behind it. What is netball?
>> Amy Dyson: so netball is a sport a bit like basketball. in the uk it's kind of what m most girls play while the boys are sort of playing football or whatever. And so it's quite popular, in schools. but yeah, it's basically a bit like basketball but with a few more rules.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so what are the rules that make it different?
>> Amy Dyson: So you have three, sections on the court, and basically you have certain positions that can go in certain sections. Only two of the positions can shoot. you can only hold the ball for three seconds and you're not allowed to move with the ball, that's the main thing. So if you catch the ball, you can't move your feet. You have to stay there.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you catch the ball, you have to stay standing where you are and then you just throw the ball to a team member who runs. But once they catch it, they have to stay still.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Okay. And are you using a ball that is similar to what we might know as a basketball?
>> Amy Dyson: yeah, I think it's a bit smaller. Okay. But it's the same.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, no, it's the same. It's the same type of ball, but slightly smaller than a basketball.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And you play this game?
>> Amy Dyson: Yes. So I started playing, when I was about nine or so, and then I played at school and then I played for my town and then I played in, like a ladies league, on a Sunday. and I stopped doing it since I went to university. But I was. I'm hopefully going to start playing again soon.
>> Marco Timpano: And what position did you play? Or if there is a position?
>> Amy Dyson: yeah. So there's seven players on a team. So coming from the sort of goalkeeper. You've got a goalkeeper, a goal defense, a, wing defense, a center, a wing attack, a goal attack and a goal shooter. And I used to play center. So the center does the most work, really, because they can go in all the sections. but then I sort of became more of a goal attack and sort of like the shooting side of it a bit more.
>> Marco Timpano: Can you bounce the ball? Are you allowed to dribble the ball?
>> Amy Dyson: No. So you can do a bounce pass where you, like, pass it to someone by bouncing it once or so. But if you bounce the ball, like to yourself, it's pulled up and it's called, repossession. So you're not allowed to do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. So there's no real bouncing in netball other than if I bounce pass.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's got to be a one bouncer, not more.
>> Amy Dyson: it can be more, but if you're. If you're deliberately doing it, it's probably going to be one bounce. people like to do it in the circle when they shoot because, if the goalkeepers are sort of stood high trying to stop you from shooting, then if you bounce it, it's hard for them to get down because they're so. They're standing so tall.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. So the goalkeeper is basically guarding the net, and the net is like what we would know as a basketball net, is that correct?
>> Amy Dyson: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: We're not throwing it into a Goal. We're not throwing it into a goal area like in soccer, let's say.
>> Amy Dyson: No. So it's a sort of. It's, it's a basketball hoop as ah, such, but there's no backboard and it's like freestanding. so it's a freestanding goal and the hoop itself isn't. I know in basketball the hoops quite a bit bigger than the ball, but the hoop is only just bigger than the ball in netball.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. So. So it's trickier to get it in because the circumference of the hoop is smaller than what a traditional basketball hoop would be.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's not suspended in the air like a basketball hoop, it's on more of a pole, you're saying.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So you have like a base and then a pole that goes into it, with a hoop on top.
>> Marco Timpano: And how many goalkeepers are there?
>> Amy Dyson: So you have the goalkeeper who can only go in their third and then you have the goal defense who can go in their third and in the middle third. So he's a bit more of like a wing player.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amy Dyson: So they're kind of stopping, so they can both go in the semicircle. so only the goal attack, goal shooter, goalkeeper and goal defence can go in the semicircle to shoot or to defend. but basically the goal defence is sort of helping the wing defence in stopping it getting into the, that third. Whereas the goalkeepers, like, only really when it gets to that third do they sort of come into it. This is.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like an exciting game. Is that fair to say?
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, I mean, I went to, I was lucky to go to, to watch some professionals play last year in London. And, so it's a sport that gets played indoors and outdoors. So, when I used to play before university, we trained indoors, but we played outdoors. but as an indoor sport, it is very, very fast. I mean, I think the quarters are normally 15 minutes and when you're in the professionals, like the. It's like a hundred, 100 all or something. Like, there's a lot of goals.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amy Dyson: So basically when, if you score, it's like the other person's center, and in the professional matches it is like center to goal in sort of, I don't know, like 10 seconds maybe or so. it's very, very quick and especially indoors as well, because the court's not that big, but obviously because you can't move, it's a lot of teamwork. but watching the professionals, it is very fast paced.
>> Marco Timpano: And you call them goals versus baskets when someone scores a point, correct?
>> Amy Dyson: yeah, I think so. I know there's some talk about do you call it nets or do you call it goals? I've always called it goals.
Is netball a Olympic sport yet? I think so
I'm not sure if that's the right term, but no one's corrected me. So.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, is netball a Olympic sport yet?
>> Amy Dyson: I think so, I'm pretty sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because this is the first I've heard of netball and now I'm fascinated by it.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So I know the, when we went, when I went to watch it last year, it was England, South Africa, Jamaica and maybe Australia. So I think they're the top like four teams.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amy Dyson: that are like really good at it. but yeah, I know that I've spoken to like a few people that aren't from the UK and they haven't heard of it. So maybe it's more of a European thing. I'm not sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Well, I have here, I just did a quick search. It says netball has never been played at the Summer Olympics, but its federation has been recognized by the International Olympic Committee, otherwise known as the IOC, since 1995 after a 20 year period of lobbying. So, so that's fascinating. It's like, okay, so we, they recognize the sport but it hasn't been included in the Olympics. Oh, it hasn't been, yeah. So, so that's fascinating. Now, who is your netball team? so besides England, of course.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. so netball is a game that I sort of play more than support.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Amy Dyson: So I've only the games I've went to see England play last year, but other than that I've only really sort of been to see sort of my friends or other teams that I know people that play, for. So I don't really follow it to that level. but I know that you sort of. So you have school teams and then you have like Sunday leagues and then you have sort of county teams and it obviously goes up to being international. so I don't follow it enough to know many teams. Really.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure, sure. Wow. I find it a fascinating, you know, having never heard about it, other than a brief discussion you and I had about netball, I had never heard of this sport. And now it's just, I think it's such a interesting sport because for my eyes, being used to basketball and of course my home team is the Toronto Raptors and there's quite a bit of, you know, we see a lot of paraphernalia with regards to basketball and, you know, there's jerseys and things you can buy ever just about everywhere and games are always on television. But to see a game where they, they. There's similarities, but drastic differences is just fascinating. I would love to see this sport where they don't dribble the ball. And I'm kind of sad that the Olympics haven't. Haven't yet put it into their Summer Olympic programming.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, so another, sort of key difference is, with the marking. I'm not too clear on basketball, but I think you can kind of. You don't have to be a distance, do you? You can just sort of be stood next to them, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, yes, you can be right close. I mean.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So in netball you have to be, a meter or three foot away from the person before that. So when, if you're, if a player has the ball, the person that marking them can put their arms up, but they have to be a meter away from them. so they can't just sort of be stood right in front of them. and that's one of the rules that sort of new players always seem to struggle with because they kind of, I think they forget and their default is sort of the basketball sort of mentality of like not, not having a limit of where you can be stood.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Tell me how you got into netball.
>> Amy Dyson: so I, as I say, started playing when I was about nine. so I used to play for my, primary school, and then from there I, went to the trials for my, local, like youth town team. And, I got into that and then when I was 16, that was like, when the cut off for, like, you couldn't play there anymore. and my coach helped me find a local women's team that needed players. so I started playing there and then actually my mum, actually joined the team as well because she used to play with the same M. Sort of players, back before I was born. So about, like 25 years ago. and she'd kind of stopped playing since she'd had me and my brother. so it was quite nice for her because when we, when we joined and we started playing on a Sunday, there were a lot of players that she used to play with as well. so it's quite nice because she knew quite a lot of the other players. And so, yeah, I just started sort of playing on the women's team, which was a bit different to playing other people my age. but it was a good experience.
Ted: One of the things that me and my mum struggled with is shortness
>> Marco Timpano: Sure did Your mother give you any helpful tips when you were playing, having played this sport herself?
>> Amy Dyson: I can't really remember, but one of the things that me and my mum both sort of struggled with is that we're both quite short. And netball, especially if you look at sort of the England players and stuff, they're all very tall. So I remember there was a time when, so over the summer month we played when we had our matches, it was, ah, versatility. So you basically just picked a bib at random so you could be in any position. And I remember one game when she got. She's about, I don't know how tall she is, like five foot two. And, she got goalkeeper against this lady who was like at least 6 foot. And it was just really funny to watch because she had. There was no chance. But I think because of that we've sort of adapted our own game to sort of play as shorter players because you're at a disadvantage, because people can just throw the ball over your head. But because of that, you sort of got to find your own strengths a bit more.
>> Marco Timpano: So what are some of the strengths that you have as a player when you play netball?
>> Amy Dyson: so one of my mum's favourites is to, especially when you're shooting, to sort of like I said, like, roll the ball, because everyone's always so focused on it being high up. So she always like sort of bounce it or roll it along the floor to you and. Because obviously we're both closer to the ground.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amy Dyson: but yeah, I think that. And just sort of maybe there's a lot of like, dodging that goes on. So like pretending to go one way and then running another way and stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amy Dyson: And then other than that, I guess probably just sort of like conserving your energy like where you can, because especially the center. Like I. Netball is like my main sport really, so I don't really do like athletics or running and stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amy Dyson: So because of that, my stamina is not amazing. And some of the people I used to play against were like, really into like running and stuff, so they had a much better stamina than me. So it's just sort of finding, I guess finding your opponent's weaknesses that sort of are the. Are the same as your strengths, of course. And I guess, I guess reading the game as well, like my mum always likes to sort of read the game and sort of see what's going on and sort of as you're playing to sort of work out, because you have like team chats every quarter so, like, after 10, 15 minutes, you can have a bit of a team chat and sort of have a talk about, like, tactics and that sort of thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's cool. Now, you said you can roll the ball. You can actually just roll it like a bowling ball, like, to your teammate.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So obviously that's something they do if you're, like, quite close to the player. And again, like, if you're, I know some people like to sort of pretend they're gonna shoot and then roll it, because of the whole taking a while, maybe, to get to the floor. So that's used sometimes for shorter passes. But then there's also a rule about short passes. I'm not really clear on it because it seems to be one of those rules that sometimes it gets pulled up and sometimes it doesn't. That there's some rule about, a short pass and, like, you're not allowed to do a short pass. But I'm not quite sure how far away a short pass is or how that rule works.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, this is really, like, fascinating. I'm really, like, thrown by the fact that you can roll the ball. So let me ask you this silly question. Can you kick the ball?
>> Amy Dyson: No, you can't kick them. and at school we always got told that you shouldn't kick them either because they like, they. Well, as they called it, like, they egg. So where they are a sort of circular ball, they sort of swell, in one area if you kick them too much.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. And become more oblong, like an egg. Or more oval.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. Just sort of have a bit of a bump on them which isn't very handy.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, nobody wants an eggy netball. I think that's something you can write in stone somewhere. Oh, my goodness. Now, this reminds me of, in a weird sort of way, the television series Ted Lasso. Have you seen it?
>> Amy Dyson: no, I haven't.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's this wonderful, wonderful, television program where this, American football coach goes to the UK and becomes the coach of a soccer, or in your case, football team. And so he brings his sort of American, football coaching, sensibility to the game of soccer or football or European football, I should say. And, it's really delightful, even if you don't know anything about the two sports, but just the performance. And it's very, What's the word? It is a very uplifting show. And, it's kind of a fish out of water. So I feel a little bit like a fish out of water talking about a sport that I have no idea about. but now I'm intrigued. I really want to see it. I see that it's often played, by the Commonwealth and in Commonwealth Games, so it leads me to believe that maybe my country has a netball, team. But clearly we're not doing well because it seems like South Africa and Australia and Malawi seems to be doing well too. And it's like, like, wow. Like, now I want my, my country to do well in netball. Perhaps I can be the, the spokesperson for netball in Canada. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: You know how everything's a subscription now? Music, movies, even socks. I swear.
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Do you get to enjoy the game watching it or looking at strategy
>> Marco Timpano: Now, when, you watch the game as a player, do you get to enjoy the game watching it or you just looking at strategy and false moves and what they could have done better?
>> Amy Dyson: I, think because there's like, the court isn't, I don't know the sort of dimensions, but the court isn't very big. So I think the only point you can sort of stand and enjoy it is maybe if you're like goalkeeper or goal shooter. so like on a, on a center pass, for example, so sort of the kickoff of the game.
>> Marco Timpano: sure.
>> Amy Dyson: So you step into the little circle that's in the middle of the court and then, so the, so you have the three thirds and your goal defense. So each, I should say each player has a player opposite them. So obviously like my goalkeeper would be against your goal shooter. Okay, so there are 14 players on the, on the court at a time. And so like on a centre pass, you have to be the only two people in the center. On the center pass are, ah, the other two centers. so the other players all have to be behind the, that third line. So in either of the end thirds and then the whistle goes, you step into the circle and then they run in. so there's a lot of involvement in the sort of those sort of the, the center, the wing attack, the wing defense, the goal attack, the goal defense. So it's only really the goal shooter and the goalkeeper that at any point are ah, sort of maybe not involved. so I think because of that, like, as I say, it is very quick paced. so I think unless you're either of those positions and the balls at the other end, like you're always sort of switched on and trying to figure out what's going on and stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Well, this just in, it seems that the highest we've ever ranked Canada's netball team at the Netball World cup has been sixth in 19, 91, we came M in sixth. And it seems like Australia and New Zealand really know how to play because they, they come in first and second and third. And England, while it's never received a gold or, or has never received a gold, has come in second, third and fourth. And so they do very well, as does Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. And I'm just looking at the Netball World cup, so I haven't even looked at the netball at the Commonwealth Games or the, the Netball Quad Series or the Fast5 Netball World Series and hopefully we'll get to see netball at the Olympics because now I'm in love with the sport that I've never seen before in my life. Do you think we could at all get Liz Ellis, the most capped international player in the history of Australian netball, on our podcast? Do you think we could get her?
>> Amy Dyson: I think she'd be very interesting to talk to, like with the sort of more elite, level of the game.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because I'd love to get her on. So this is an open request for Liz Ellis to come on the podcast and perhaps she can explain strategy. Perhaps she could give me some tips that I could give the Canadian national netball team so that they can rank a little bit higher. we tend to be in the 12th and 13th position. A lot, it seems, could get us back up to the fifth and sixth position. I'd be very happy. Oh, this is such a wonderful, wonderful sport. And what is the biggest challenge of playing this sport for you, Amy?
>> Amy Dyson: that's a good question.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sometimes I bang them. I get a couple of good questions.
>> Amy Dyson: I think with me it's probably more like the stamina so, as I said, I didn't play netball at university. I played, badminton instead. And, there was actually the netball team at the university did a charity match each year. So I, convinced everyone to join, which was like, usually me, one other girl who played before and the rest of them being boys who'd never played before. So we used to play against, it was only once a year, but we played twice in that against the other sports teams. and I think even then, like I put myself forward as center because I thought, okay, I know the game, I know how to play. I can sort of. Because the center is the middle player as such. Like, it's quite a good position to be like captain or something because you can like see everyone and like sort of talk to everyone. and I think from like playing that just sort of one off, like the past couple of years, like I realized how not necessarily unfit I am, but like, badminton's a much different sport. So, like the two levels of fitness is so different. and I sort of always finished the first. So, netball's done in quarters. So after the first quarter I'd come off like really struggling for sort of breath. Just feel like I'm not even like I am quite active and do sport. And I was like, I'm so tired already. Like, so I think just sort of pacing myself a bit more. and just maybe if I was to sort of, ah, start again or sort of maybe try and get better. Because I mean I'm looking at joining my old club again, but I'm sort of only going to play recreationally. I think if I was sort of had a more of a push to sort of get better. Better. I'd want to work on my stamina.
>> Marco Timpano: And what is your old club? Can we, can we give them a shout out? Your old club?
>> Amy Dyson: so when I first joined them, they were Panthers and then they became Montang Sports and now they're benchmarks.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait a second. So they were this really fast, dangerous animal called the Panthers. Then they became the Montags. What are Montags?
>> Amy Dyson: so they were Montaigne sport. Like my, I'm not even gonna try and pronounce it in French, but you know, like mountain in French.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Montaigne. Sure, of course, Montagne. So you went from Panthers to a mountain. Okay, fair enough. Mountains are big and all encompassing. And then from mountain you guys decided to become what?
>> Amy Dyson: so it's benchmarks. So the first one, I don't know why they were called Panthers, but the second two are both like local, companies that sponsor them, hence, the name. But, yeah, I'm not sure why they were, Were Panthers. I liked being Panthers. It felt quite cool. now it's like just a sort of company name.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Yeah. You see that on a lot of, you know, football teams. You'll see the different names on the, on the jerseys and whatnot. Wow, this has been a delightful tour into netball. Now, you know what? I want to be Canada's representative of netball. So I might reach out to the Canadian Net association or whatever it is to say, hey, we want to. The Insomnia Project wants to be your official podcast. And you, work on getting Liz Ellis on the show. Amy and I'll work on teaming up with the Canadian Netball, Association.
In 2022, the Commonwealth Games will happen in Birmingham, England
I want to mention that at the Netball Commonwealth Games, I don't know if I mentioned Jamaica. Jamaica is also a very strong player in this sport. Since 1998 at the Commonwealth Games, there has been 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6 in total, because it seems every four years they play. Australia and New Zealand have all won gold and England won gold in the Last one in 2018. And silver has always been won by New Zealand and Australia, and bronze goes to either England or Jamaica.
>> Amy Dyson: So I think, I'd recommend. I think it was that one. So I think it was a 2018 one. I'd recommend, watching the YouTube highlights because, basically there's a thing called a penalty shot. So if, if I'm the shooter and the keeper, sort of touches me or hits the ball out of my hand while I'm shooting, you get a penalty shot. And I think it was that game when England won it, that, So there's a penalty shot. The whistle had gone, but you still get to take the penalty shot. And basically it was a draw. And if they scored, they won. And they obviously did score and win. so I think it's that. So I definitely recommend checking that out because, like, the tension of, like, the sort of the last shot of the game, it's like, all to play for, is so tense.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm going to watch this. Like, it's going out of style now. In 2022, the, Commonwealth Games will happen in Birmingham, England. And I'm not making promises, but if you and I could go there as representatives of the official podcast of the sport of netball and, do podcasts there, then that's my goal for 2022. Okay, Amy, are you on board with that?
>> Amy Dyson: That would be so cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, I'm gonna watch the YouTube highlight of that. I'm gonna invite you to watch Ted Lasso if you get Apple tv, because it's really, really lovely. And maybe we can have a podcast where we talk about that as well. And we'll give you updates of whether we get Liz Ellis on the show or anyone else from, various teams that play netball. Thank you so much for introducing me to this sport, Amy. I'm so excited about it.
>> Amy Dyson: that's so good to hear. I know sometimes you get introduced to a new sport and you'll just be like, why do people play that? so I'm glad that, it's been positive for you and that you're interested in it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I love sports that are not those, like, five traditional sports that the world watches. I love, like, I watched sumo wrestling one time. It was on television one Saturday afternoon, and I did not leave my team, my television, because I was so fascinated by the skill that these players have and other sports. Like you mentioned badminton. Love watching badminton, being played. So, yeah, we had a badminton episode. I don't know if you listened to that.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, I loved the episode. I just. It really. It just. I haven't been playing badminton that long, but it's become more of my love than, netball. And as I was listening to that, I was just like, I remember learning all these rules and some of it, I was like, oh, I didn't know. I didn't know that was a rule. so I really enjoyed that episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm going to promise to have a bocci, episode. I don't know if you've ever played bocce, which is like this Italian game of throwing these heavy balls onto sand.
>> Amy Dyson: Oh, no, I haven't heard of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so we're gonna have an episode coming up maybe in the summertime, because it's more of a summer sport with bocchi. Until then, thank you for listening. I know I got excited during this episode, so I apologize. Some of our listeners, they'll write me emails saying that some of the shows are a little bit too exciting. I apologize. It's often me that makes them too exciting. And, for listeners who have been, lamenting about some of the sound issues we've had, we've corrected those. So please don't give us bad, bad stars in our reviews because of sound problems. That's all my doing, and I'm trying to learn it as best I can. But for everyone else who enjoys the podcast, thank you so much for listening. And Amy who is our social media manager. Thank you for all that you do. If you write an email or an Instagram post, it's Amy who's the one who, lets me know about it and often post the things that we try to highlight. So thank you so much, Amy.
>> Amy Dyson: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Until next time, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: March 3, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm your host, Marco Timpano
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that'll hopefully lead you to a space of relaxation and positive, possibly even sleep. Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project, the podcast that was created by Insomniacs for Insomniacs. But we find a lot of people listen who aren't necessarily insomniac. So thank you for listening. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. And joining me today, I have the pleasure of welcoming back Amy Dyson. Welcome.
>> Amy Dyson: Hi, thanks for having me.
Amy says netball is a sport a bit like basketball but with more rules
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amy, I wanted to talk to you about this thing you call netball and I need some instructions, some understanding behind it. What is netball?
>> Amy Dyson: so netball is a sport a bit like basketball. in the uk it's kind of what m most girls play while the boys are sort of playing football or whatever. And so it's quite popular, in schools. but yeah, it's basically a bit like basketball but with a few more rules.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so what are the rules that make it different?
>> Amy Dyson: So you have three, sections on the court, and basically you have certain positions that can go in certain sections. Only two of the positions can shoot. you can only hold the ball for three seconds and you're not allowed to move with the ball, that's the main thing. So if you catch the ball, you can't move your feet. You have to stay there.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you catch the ball, you have to stay standing where you are and then you just throw the ball to a team member who runs. But once they catch it, they have to stay still.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Okay. And are you using a ball that is similar to what we might know as a basketball?
>> Amy Dyson: yeah, I think it's a bit smaller. Okay. But it's the same.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, no, it's the same. It's the same type of ball, but slightly smaller than a basketball.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And you play this game?
>> Amy Dyson: Yes. So I started playing, when I was about nine or so, and then I played at school and then I played for my town and then I played in, like a ladies league, on a Sunday. and I stopped doing it since I went to university. But I was. I'm hopefully going to start playing again soon.
>> Marco Timpano: And what position did you play? Or if there is a position?
>> Amy Dyson: yeah. So there's seven players on a team. So coming from the sort of goalkeeper. You've got a goalkeeper, a goal defense, a, wing defense, a center, a wing attack, a goal attack and a goal shooter. And I used to play center. So the center does the most work, really, because they can go in all the sections. but then I sort of became more of a goal attack and sort of like the shooting side of it a bit more.
>> Marco Timpano: Can you bounce the ball? Are you allowed to dribble the ball?
>> Amy Dyson: No. So you can do a bounce pass where you, like, pass it to someone by bouncing it once or so. But if you bounce the ball, like to yourself, it's pulled up and it's called, repossession. So you're not allowed to do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. So there's no real bouncing in netball other than if I bounce pass.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's got to be a one bouncer, not more.
>> Amy Dyson: it can be more, but if you're. If you're deliberately doing it, it's probably going to be one bounce. people like to do it in the circle when they shoot because, if the goalkeepers are sort of stood high trying to stop you from shooting, then if you bounce it, it's hard for them to get down because they're so. They're standing so tall.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. So the goalkeeper is basically guarding the net, and the net is like what we would know as a basketball net, is that correct?
>> Amy Dyson: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: We're not throwing it into a Goal. We're not throwing it into a goal area like in soccer, let's say.
>> Amy Dyson: No. So it's a sort of. It's, it's a basketball hoop as ah, such, but there's no backboard and it's like freestanding. so it's a freestanding goal and the hoop itself isn't. I know in basketball the hoops quite a bit bigger than the ball, but the hoop is only just bigger than the ball in netball.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. So. So it's trickier to get it in because the circumference of the hoop is smaller than what a traditional basketball hoop would be.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's not suspended in the air like a basketball hoop, it's on more of a pole, you're saying.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So you have like a base and then a pole that goes into it, with a hoop on top.
>> Marco Timpano: And how many goalkeepers are there?
>> Amy Dyson: So you have the goalkeeper who can only go in their third and then you have the goal defense who can go in their third and in the middle third. So he's a bit more of like a wing player.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amy Dyson: So they're kind of stopping, so they can both go in the semicircle. so only the goal attack, goal shooter, goalkeeper and goal defence can go in the semicircle to shoot or to defend. but basically the goal defence is sort of helping the wing defence in stopping it getting into the, that third. Whereas the goalkeepers, like, only really when it gets to that third do they sort of come into it. This is.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like an exciting game. Is that fair to say?
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, I mean, I went to, I was lucky to go to, to watch some professionals play last year in London. And, so it's a sport that gets played indoors and outdoors. So, when I used to play before university, we trained indoors, but we played outdoors. but as an indoor sport, it is very, very fast. I mean, I think the quarters are normally 15 minutes and when you're in the professionals, like the. It's like a hundred, 100 all or something. Like, there's a lot of goals.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amy Dyson: So basically when, if you score, it's like the other person's center, and in the professional matches it is like center to goal in sort of, I don't know, like 10 seconds maybe or so. it's very, very quick and especially indoors as well, because the court's not that big, but obviously because you can't move, it's a lot of teamwork. but watching the professionals, it is very fast paced.
>> Marco Timpano: And you call them goals versus baskets when someone scores a point, correct?
>> Amy Dyson: yeah, I think so. I know there's some talk about do you call it nets or do you call it goals? I've always called it goals.
Is netball a Olympic sport yet? I think so
I'm not sure if that's the right term, but no one's corrected me. So.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, is netball a Olympic sport yet?
>> Amy Dyson: I think so, I'm pretty sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because this is the first I've heard of netball and now I'm fascinated by it.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So I know the, when we went, when I went to watch it last year, it was England, South Africa, Jamaica and maybe Australia. So I think they're the top like four teams.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amy Dyson: that are like really good at it. but yeah, I know that I've spoken to like a few people that aren't from the UK and they haven't heard of it. So maybe it's more of a European thing. I'm not sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Well, I have here, I just did a quick search. It says netball has never been played at the Summer Olympics, but its federation has been recognized by the International Olympic Committee, otherwise known as the IOC, since 1995 after a 20 year period of lobbying. So, so that's fascinating. It's like, okay, so we, they recognize the sport but it hasn't been included in the Olympics. Oh, it hasn't been, yeah. So, so that's fascinating. Now, who is your netball team? so besides England, of course.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. so netball is a game that I sort of play more than support.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Amy Dyson: So I've only the games I've went to see England play last year, but other than that I've only really sort of been to see sort of my friends or other teams that I know people that play, for. So I don't really follow it to that level. but I know that you sort of. So you have school teams and then you have like Sunday leagues and then you have sort of county teams and it obviously goes up to being international. so I don't follow it enough to know many teams. Really.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure, sure. Wow. I find it a fascinating, you know, having never heard about it, other than a brief discussion you and I had about netball, I had never heard of this sport. And now it's just, I think it's such a interesting sport because for my eyes, being used to basketball and of course my home team is the Toronto Raptors and there's quite a bit of, you know, we see a lot of paraphernalia with regards to basketball and, you know, there's jerseys and things you can buy ever just about everywhere and games are always on television. But to see a game where they, they. There's similarities, but drastic differences is just fascinating. I would love to see this sport where they don't dribble the ball. And I'm kind of sad that the Olympics haven't. Haven't yet put it into their Summer Olympic programming.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, so another, sort of key difference is, with the marking. I'm not too clear on basketball, but I think you can kind of. You don't have to be a distance, do you? You can just sort of be stood next to them, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, yes, you can be right close. I mean.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So in netball you have to be, a meter or three foot away from the person before that. So when, if you're, if a player has the ball, the person that marking them can put their arms up, but they have to be a meter away from them. so they can't just sort of be stood right in front of them. and that's one of the rules that sort of new players always seem to struggle with because they kind of, I think they forget and their default is sort of the basketball sort of mentality of like not, not having a limit of where you can be stood.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Tell me how you got into netball.
>> Amy Dyson: so I, as I say, started playing when I was about nine. so I used to play for my, primary school, and then from there I, went to the trials for my, local, like youth town team. And, I got into that and then when I was 16, that was like, when the cut off for, like, you couldn't play there anymore. and my coach helped me find a local women's team that needed players. so I started playing there and then actually my mum, actually joined the team as well because she used to play with the same M. Sort of players, back before I was born. So about, like 25 years ago. and she'd kind of stopped playing since she'd had me and my brother. so it was quite nice for her because when we, when we joined and we started playing on a Sunday, there were a lot of players that she used to play with as well. so it's quite nice because she knew quite a lot of the other players. And so, yeah, I just started sort of playing on the women's team, which was a bit different to playing other people my age. but it was a good experience.
Ted: One of the things that me and my mum struggled with is shortness
>> Marco Timpano: Sure did Your mother give you any helpful tips when you were playing, having played this sport herself?
>> Amy Dyson: I can't really remember, but one of the things that me and my mum both sort of struggled with is that we're both quite short. And netball, especially if you look at sort of the England players and stuff, they're all very tall. So I remember there was a time when, so over the summer month we played when we had our matches, it was, ah, versatility. So you basically just picked a bib at random so you could be in any position. And I remember one game when she got. She's about, I don't know how tall she is, like five foot two. And, she got goalkeeper against this lady who was like at least 6 foot. And it was just really funny to watch because she had. There was no chance. But I think because of that we've sort of adapted our own game to sort of play as shorter players because you're at a disadvantage, because people can just throw the ball over your head. But because of that, you sort of got to find your own strengths a bit more.
>> Marco Timpano: So what are some of the strengths that you have as a player when you play netball?
>> Amy Dyson: so one of my mum's favourites is to, especially when you're shooting, to sort of like I said, like, roll the ball, because everyone's always so focused on it being high up. So she always like sort of bounce it or roll it along the floor to you and. Because obviously we're both closer to the ground.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amy Dyson: but yeah, I think that. And just sort of maybe there's a lot of like, dodging that goes on. So like pretending to go one way and then running another way and stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amy Dyson: And then other than that, I guess probably just sort of like conserving your energy like where you can, because especially the center. Like I. Netball is like my main sport really, so I don't really do like athletics or running and stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amy Dyson: So because of that, my stamina is not amazing. And some of the people I used to play against were like, really into like running and stuff, so they had a much better stamina than me. So it's just sort of finding, I guess finding your opponent's weaknesses that sort of are the. Are the same as your strengths, of course. And I guess, I guess reading the game as well, like my mum always likes to sort of read the game and sort of see what's going on and sort of as you're playing to sort of work out, because you have like team chats every quarter so, like, after 10, 15 minutes, you can have a bit of a team chat and sort of have a talk about, like, tactics and that sort of thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's cool. Now, you said you can roll the ball. You can actually just roll it like a bowling ball, like, to your teammate.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So obviously that's something they do if you're, like, quite close to the player. And again, like, if you're, I know some people like to sort of pretend they're gonna shoot and then roll it, because of the whole taking a while, maybe, to get to the floor. So that's used sometimes for shorter passes. But then there's also a rule about short passes. I'm not really clear on it because it seems to be one of those rules that sometimes it gets pulled up and sometimes it doesn't. That there's some rule about, a short pass and, like, you're not allowed to do a short pass. But I'm not quite sure how far away a short pass is or how that rule works.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, this is really, like, fascinating. I'm really, like, thrown by the fact that you can roll the ball. So let me ask you this silly question. Can you kick the ball?
>> Amy Dyson: No, you can't kick them. and at school we always got told that you shouldn't kick them either because they like, they. Well, as they called it, like, they egg. So where they are a sort of circular ball, they sort of swell, in one area if you kick them too much.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. And become more oblong, like an egg. Or more oval.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. Just sort of have a bit of a bump on them which isn't very handy.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, nobody wants an eggy netball. I think that's something you can write in stone somewhere. Oh, my goodness. Now, this reminds me of, in a weird sort of way, the television series Ted Lasso. Have you seen it?
>> Amy Dyson: no, I haven't.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's this wonderful, wonderful, television program where this, American football coach goes to the UK and becomes the coach of a soccer, or in your case, football team. And so he brings his sort of American, football coaching, sensibility to the game of soccer or football or European football, I should say. And, it's really delightful, even if you don't know anything about the two sports, but just the performance. And it's very, What's the word? It is a very uplifting show. And, it's kind of a fish out of water. So I feel a little bit like a fish out of water talking about a sport that I have no idea about. but now I'm intrigued. I really want to see it. I see that it's often played, by the Commonwealth and in Commonwealth Games, so it leads me to believe that maybe my country has a netball, team. But clearly we're not doing well because it seems like South Africa and Australia and Malawi seems to be doing well too. And it's like, like, wow. Like, now I want my, my country to do well in netball. Perhaps I can be the, the spokesperson for netball in Canada. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: You know how everything's a subscription now? Music, movies, even socks. I swear.
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Do you get to enjoy the game watching it or looking at strategy
>> Marco Timpano: Now, when, you watch the game as a player, do you get to enjoy the game watching it or you just looking at strategy and false moves and what they could have done better?
>> Amy Dyson: I, think because there's like, the court isn't, I don't know the sort of dimensions, but the court isn't very big. So I think the only point you can sort of stand and enjoy it is maybe if you're like goalkeeper or goal shooter. so like on a, on a center pass, for example, so sort of the kickoff of the game.
>> Marco Timpano: sure.
>> Amy Dyson: So you step into the little circle that's in the middle of the court and then, so the, so you have the three thirds and your goal defense. So each, I should say each player has a player opposite them. So obviously like my goalkeeper would be against your goal shooter. Okay, so there are 14 players on the, on the court at a time. And so like on a centre pass, you have to be the only two people in the center. On the center pass are, ah, the other two centers. so the other players all have to be behind the, that third line. So in either of the end thirds and then the whistle goes, you step into the circle and then they run in. so there's a lot of involvement in the sort of those sort of the, the center, the wing attack, the wing defense, the goal attack, the goal defense. So it's only really the goal shooter and the goalkeeper that at any point are ah, sort of maybe not involved. so I think because of that, like, as I say, it is very quick paced. so I think unless you're either of those positions and the balls at the other end, like you're always sort of switched on and trying to figure out what's going on and stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Well, this just in, it seems that the highest we've ever ranked Canada's netball team at the Netball World cup has been sixth in 19, 91, we came M in sixth. And it seems like Australia and New Zealand really know how to play because they, they come in first and second and third. And England, while it's never received a gold or, or has never received a gold, has come in second, third and fourth. And so they do very well, as does Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. And I'm just looking at the Netball World cup, so I haven't even looked at the netball at the Commonwealth Games or the, the Netball Quad Series or the Fast5 Netball World Series and hopefully we'll get to see netball at the Olympics because now I'm in love with the sport that I've never seen before in my life. Do you think we could at all get Liz Ellis, the most capped international player in the history of Australian netball, on our podcast? Do you think we could get her?
>> Amy Dyson: I think she'd be very interesting to talk to, like with the sort of more elite, level of the game.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because I'd love to get her on. So this is an open request for Liz Ellis to come on the podcast and perhaps she can explain strategy. Perhaps she could give me some tips that I could give the Canadian national netball team so that they can rank a little bit higher. we tend to be in the 12th and 13th position. A lot, it seems, could get us back up to the fifth and sixth position. I'd be very happy. Oh, this is such a wonderful, wonderful sport. And what is the biggest challenge of playing this sport for you, Amy?
>> Amy Dyson: that's a good question.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sometimes I bang them. I get a couple of good questions.
>> Amy Dyson: I think with me it's probably more like the stamina so, as I said, I didn't play netball at university. I played, badminton instead. And, there was actually the netball team at the university did a charity match each year. So I, convinced everyone to join, which was like, usually me, one other girl who played before and the rest of them being boys who'd never played before. So we used to play against, it was only once a year, but we played twice in that against the other sports teams. and I think even then, like I put myself forward as center because I thought, okay, I know the game, I know how to play. I can sort of. Because the center is the middle player as such. Like, it's quite a good position to be like captain or something because you can like see everyone and like sort of talk to everyone. and I think from like playing that just sort of one off, like the past couple of years, like I realized how not necessarily unfit I am, but like, badminton's a much different sport. So, like the two levels of fitness is so different. and I sort of always finished the first. So, netball's done in quarters. So after the first quarter I'd come off like really struggling for sort of breath. Just feel like I'm not even like I am quite active and do sport. And I was like, I'm so tired already. Like, so I think just sort of pacing myself a bit more. and just maybe if I was to sort of, ah, start again or sort of maybe try and get better. Because I mean I'm looking at joining my old club again, but I'm sort of only going to play recreationally. I think if I was sort of had a more of a push to sort of get better. Better. I'd want to work on my stamina.
>> Marco Timpano: And what is your old club? Can we, can we give them a shout out? Your old club?
>> Amy Dyson: so when I first joined them, they were Panthers and then they became Montang Sports and now they're benchmarks.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait a second. So they were this really fast, dangerous animal called the Panthers. Then they became the Montags. What are Montags?
>> Amy Dyson: so they were Montaigne sport. Like my, I'm not even gonna try and pronounce it in French, but you know, like mountain in French.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Montaigne. Sure, of course, Montagne. So you went from Panthers to a mountain. Okay, fair enough. Mountains are big and all encompassing. And then from mountain you guys decided to become what?
>> Amy Dyson: so it's benchmarks. So the first one, I don't know why they were called Panthers, but the second two are both like local, companies that sponsor them, hence, the name. But, yeah, I'm not sure why they were, Were Panthers. I liked being Panthers. It felt quite cool. now it's like just a sort of company name.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Yeah. You see that on a lot of, you know, football teams. You'll see the different names on the, on the jerseys and whatnot. Wow, this has been a delightful tour into netball. Now, you know what? I want to be Canada's representative of netball. So I might reach out to the Canadian Net association or whatever it is to say, hey, we want to. The Insomnia Project wants to be your official podcast. And you, work on getting Liz Ellis on the show. Amy and I'll work on teaming up with the Canadian Netball, Association.
In 2022, the Commonwealth Games will happen in Birmingham, England
I want to mention that at the Netball Commonwealth Games, I don't know if I mentioned Jamaica. Jamaica is also a very strong player in this sport. Since 1998 at the Commonwealth Games, there has been 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6 in total, because it seems every four years they play. Australia and New Zealand have all won gold and England won gold in the Last one in 2018. And silver has always been won by New Zealand and Australia, and bronze goes to either England or Jamaica.
>> Amy Dyson: So I think, I'd recommend. I think it was that one. So I think it was a 2018 one. I'd recommend, watching the YouTube highlights because, basically there's a thing called a penalty shot. So if, if I'm the shooter and the keeper, sort of touches me or hits the ball out of my hand while I'm shooting, you get a penalty shot. And I think it was that game when England won it, that, So there's a penalty shot. The whistle had gone, but you still get to take the penalty shot. And basically it was a draw. And if they scored, they won. And they obviously did score and win. so I think it's that. So I definitely recommend checking that out because, like, the tension of, like, the sort of the last shot of the game, it's like, all to play for, is so tense.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm going to watch this. Like, it's going out of style now. In 2022, the, Commonwealth Games will happen in Birmingham, England. And I'm not making promises, but if you and I could go there as representatives of the official podcast of the sport of netball and, do podcasts there, then that's my goal for 2022. Okay, Amy, are you on board with that?
>> Amy Dyson: That would be so cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, I'm gonna watch the YouTube highlight of that. I'm gonna invite you to watch Ted Lasso if you get Apple tv, because it's really, really lovely. And maybe we can have a podcast where we talk about that as well. And we'll give you updates of whether we get Liz Ellis on the show or anyone else from, various teams that play netball. Thank you so much for introducing me to this sport, Amy. I'm so excited about it.
>> Amy Dyson: that's so good to hear. I know sometimes you get introduced to a new sport and you'll just be like, why do people play that? so I'm glad that, it's been positive for you and that you're interested in it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I love sports that are not those, like, five traditional sports that the world watches. I love, like, I watched sumo wrestling one time. It was on television one Saturday afternoon, and I did not leave my team, my television, because I was so fascinated by the skill that these players have and other sports. Like you mentioned badminton. Love watching badminton, being played. So, yeah, we had a badminton episode. I don't know if you listened to that.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, I loved the episode. I just. It really. It just. I haven't been playing badminton that long, but it's become more of my love than, netball. And as I was listening to that, I was just like, I remember learning all these rules and some of it, I was like, oh, I didn't know. I didn't know that was a rule. so I really enjoyed that episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm going to promise to have a bocci, episode. I don't know if you've ever played bocce, which is like this Italian game of throwing these heavy balls onto sand.
>> Amy Dyson: Oh, no, I haven't heard of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so we're gonna have an episode coming up maybe in the summertime, because it's more of a summer sport with bocchi. Until then, thank you for listening. I know I got excited during this episode, so I apologize. Some of our listeners, they'll write me emails saying that some of the shows are a little bit too exciting. I apologize. It's often me that makes them too exciting. And, for listeners who have been, lamenting about some of the sound issues we've had, we've corrected those. So please don't give us bad, bad stars in our reviews because of sound problems. That's all my doing, and I'm trying to learn it as best I can. But for everyone else who enjoys the podcast, thank you so much for listening. And Amy who is our social media manager. Thank you for all that you do. If you write an email or an Instagram post, it's Amy who's the one who, lets me know about it and often post the things that we try to highlight. So thank you so much, Amy.
>> Amy Dyson: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Until next time, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Bunkie and Tiny Home Fascination
(Original airdate: March 10, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation meant for you to relax and listen. And who knows, maybe even fall asleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and joining
>> Amanda Barker: me is me, Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, we, have some changes going on at the Insomnia Project. People might notice that the names of our episodes no longer have the season or the episode number. I've been changing those on the direction of people that we're working with who say that it's, less convoluted and easier to sort of source. So you're going to see some changes happen with the Insomnia Project from a not content perspective, but more from a, visual perspective. I don't know how you would describe that.
>> Amanda Barker: So, explain it to me. So instead of saying episode three, season
>> Marco Timpano: one, it used to say S4 for season four, episode five, let's say. And then it would have the title of the show. So it would be like the Pickle episode, let's say. And now it just says the Pickle Episode. So every episode just has a title, just has a name for people to see.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it's. In some ways, ways, it's easier just to follow now that if you want to follow, what's it called?
>> Amanda Barker: One after the other, Sequentially.
>> Marco Timpano: Sequentially. Thank you. I was gonna say seasonally. And it's not. It's still listed that way because as they upload, they. They get sorted by date.
>> Amanda Barker: I see, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: So they will be listed in that way. So season four, season five, episode seven, it was quite a bit you had to work your way through before you got to the actual title of the show.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: And supposedly doing it this way will bring our show to more people. Apple Podcasts prefers that, so that's why those changes are being made.
Amanda wants to do a virtual conversation with your dad Daniel Barker
In case you're wondering, we have also had some really lovely responses from people, recently. We don't mention your name unless you specifically say we can. But, Amanda, we had a response from someone on Twitter who says they love the sound of your voice.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's nice.
>> Marco Timpano: And they miss or love the sound of your dad Daniel Barker's voice.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, hopefully, dad will be on back, you know, will be back soon.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm thinking of maybe. What do you think if I send him a microphone and we do a virtual conversation with your Father.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you think that would work? Do you think that, between your mother and your father, they could build a little recording space?
>> Amanda Barker: the technology in that house, in Sebastian may not be. They haven't figured things out past Netflix, because anytime I'm on something that's. My mom will ask me, is it on Netflix? and I'll say, no, it's on Amazon or it's on Hulu. And she'll say, we don't get that. So I don't know if her little power book or whatever it is she uses. But listen, if they're determined to do it, they'll do it.
>> Marco Timpano: There's also quite a bit of noise that happens.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of birds.
>> Marco Timpano: There's birds because they live with their back to a bird sanctuary.
>> Amanda Barker: Is it? Yeah, there's, on either side of them, I believe, there's protected land, and so there are a lot of birds. The Sebastian Inlet is known for its wildlife refuge and its bird sanctuary. And you and I were lucky enough to stay there once, during mating season. During mating season. So at.
>> Speaker A: Around.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, and it doesn't matter what time, but early in the morning, there'd be what you'd think would be the beautiful sound of bird song waking us up. it was more of a squawk song.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it was a loud squawk. I think it was a crane of some sort. It was making quite a bit of noise.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they were having a party.
>> Marco Timpano: But besides the bird noises, there's a lot of washing machine dishwashing sounds. And I think it reverberates because of the tile that's everywhere. Oh, perhaps.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a pretty open concept place, too, so you can kind of hear everything. And I will say, my mother, Valerie Barker, does not live quietly. She never has, she never will. So you'll have to contend with that, Marco, if you want to go this route.
>> Marco Timpano: So I open it up to our listeners. Do you want me to figure out a way to get a microphone to Dan Barker and then face the rigors of the sounds of nature and the sounds of echoes and machines and Valerie Barker, I leave it to you. Let us know.
>> Amanda Barker: He has a lot of books he's been reading.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true.
>> Amanda Barker: He could tell you a lot about Andrew Garfield right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that might be a great episode.
>> Amanda Barker: He has all the Christmas presents I sent down there.
>> Marco Timpano: What I'd like to do is actually have an episode where you and your dad speak.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. That would be really fun.
>> Marco Timpano: That would be fun. But remember, it has to Be calm. So maybe I will get on that train. Let us know what you think.
I seem to have pulled my back a little bit this morning
I seem to have pulled my back a little bit this morning. So that's why this episode is coming to you a little bit later than usual. In case you're wondering where's the episode today, I seem to have, I don't know, twisted myself in an awkward moment.
>> Amanda Barker: I saw it happen before my eyes.
>> Marco Timpano: What was I doing at that moment?
>> Amanda Barker: Stretching.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, maybe I overstretched myself.
>> Amanda Barker: But you just had a moment where you're like, oh, listen, that happens. And, you know, Dan Barker knows a lot about throwing backs out. And as I say to him, and I'll say to you, the maintenance of yoga would, prevent that a little bit. We can talk about yoga today if you want.
Amanda has a real fascination with tiny houses
>> Marco Timpano: What I wanted to talk about is your fascination with tiny houses.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Anytime.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know why or when this happened, but it seems Amanda has a real fascination with tiny houses.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I. Well, you know, I've always loved a cozy space.
>> Marco Timpano: We talked about some nooks and cozy spaces in an earlier episode.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. When we moved into my home, when I was a small child, I actually picked. I was the kid that would pick the smallest room. Which room do you want? I want the smallest, coziest room. So I think there's something in that with tiny houses. but, I don't know when it started. It's whenever the tiny house movement started. But one of the things I love to do late at night, If I have 10 minutes, just as a way to daydream, is I will watch videos of people giving tours of their tiny home. And I have a fantasy that we'll have tiny homes in pretty much anywhere I want to live. I think, oh, maybe we could put a tiny house there.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. That's just a thought that comes up to you.
>> Amanda Barker: It's kind of the antithesis to the tiny house movement. Because the tiny house movement, of course, is about a more minimalistic style of living, both financially and spiritually and certainly materially. So if you have a small closet, you don't have room for many clothes. So you pick the things that have the strongest and most meaning to you, and you sort of let go that everything else that doesn't serve you.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And instead, you want it like a little tree house or a little backyard house.
>> Amanda Barker: I want to populate the world with small homes, I think, because there's an affordability aspect to it where I think, well, that's only 100,000 or whatever it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that still seems expensive for a town.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, a nice one. A nice one.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you don't just want a little tiny house on wheels. It sounds. You want a gorgeous little mansiony, tiny house.
>> Amanda Barker: a mansiony, tiny house, for sure. You know, I love the. There's a whole movement, too, within the tiny house communities.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness, here we go. Unraveling the peeling back the onion of,
>> Amanda Barker: container, homes and people using shipping containers to, you know, as homes.
>> Marco Timpano: So what we see on the trains, those big rectangular boxes that come off, ships that are shipped all over the world.
>> Amanda Barker: Corrugated iron. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are being turned into homes.
>> Amanda Barker: Into homes. Yeah. But when you look at them, because everyone goes, oh, look, a shipping container. That'll cost me $50 or $100 or whatever it is. you'd still have to do a lot of work to kind of retrofit it to be a home. Especially if you live in a non warm climate. You'd have to spray the insulation because I don't know that that really would work in Canada if it's quite cold.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think you can have a metal box as a home in a climate that goes below zero like that gets that cold like it can here.
>> Amanda Barker: I think you can do whatever you want, but I think you have to really reinforce it, in which case you're kind of building a house ins. So why not just build a house would be the argument.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I think I'd rather live in a bus than in a corrugated box, personally.
>> Amanda Barker: okay. Are we gonna live in a bus?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm just saying, like, when you're dealing with these corrugated metal structures, either
>> Amanda Barker: way, you have to retrofit it. I mean, a bus, if you really wanted to live in it, you would pull out the seats and, you know, so there'd be all of that. And again, you'd want to insulate it because a bus is a metal thing, a metal structure. So you wouldn't. You need the warmth. see, they all work great. When you're in California, Texas, Florida. yeah. That's where you see these dream homes and think, oh, I could do this. But then you translate it to Canada and go, you know, there's a trailer park down the road and they have some nice trailers that's the same thing. And that's sort of one of the pushbacks in the tiny house world is, you know, are they not just trailers for hipsters and.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I've been in some gorgeous trailers. So, you know, what's the difference and
>> Marco Timpano: didn't you have Now, I wonder if your tiny home fascination comes from the fact that the original home your parents had in Florida was actually a tiny home compared to what they have today.
>> Amanda Barker: In fact, in the world of trailers, they always refer to it as the double wide. And sometimes I. My parents moved a lot and they loved property. Right. They love real estate. I've inherited that. I've realized in different ways, but certainly
>> Marco Timpano: you inherited the love for real estate,
>> Amanda Barker: the love for wanting to buy.
>> Marco Timpano: You didn't inherit any real estate.
>> Amanda Barker: No, no, no. All been sold off. I, mean, that's an episode unto itself. All the things that they have bought and sold over the years.
>> Marco Timpano: But that's the episode we'll do with your dad. Because I feel like they should be my mother. Yeah. It wasn't so much about their love for real estate. It was more about necessity in the moves that they have made throughout the years.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
The double wide is a metal house without wheels. It's not what I would think of as a trailer
>> Marco Timpano: But let's get back to the double wide.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. The double wide, as we lovingly refer to it, was a pink. A large pink. It's not a trailer in what you'd think of. It's not what I would think of as a trailer. It's. But it is a metal house. hence the term the double wide.
>> Marco Timpano: I always thought of it as a trailer without, ah, wheels. That it was like a permanent fixture on a plot of land.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, most trailers don't have wheels. Oh, yeah. They can be pulled.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, they can be pulled. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: Manufactured housing. I mean, that's the other thing. Is a prefab house or a manufactured house. in any event, it was a metal home, so I suppose it was a trailer. and you see these a lot in Florida and California, like you said, Arizona, New Mexico, probably, but I've not been.
>> Amanda Barker: And, it was pink. And it was in a community called Barefoot Bay, which is part of Sebastian, or at least it was at the time, Sebastian, Florida. And then now it's its own community. And it was affordable retirement community, filled with people from New England and New York, but mostly New England. and so my parents, knew somebody whose mother had bought in that community. So it was a big trip where they went to Florida. My mom first, I think by herself, and then my dad later on went to Florida and hung out with this retirement community. Everybody in their trailers with a pool.
>> Marco Timpano: like a communal pool.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: For everyone who lived on site.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Oh, I swam in that pool a lot. when it was freezing cold, I would jump into that pool. And swim.
>> Marco Timpano: You'll jump into any water.
>> Amanda Barker: And that pool, because it was a retirement community, would always play the greatest hits of like the 1940s and 50s. So it had a lot of Elvis. They'd play a lot of Elvis at that pool. I loved it.
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>> Amanda Barker: you know I was like 25 and everybody else was like 75.
>> Marco Timpano: it certainly doesn't sound like the Daytona trips that people take.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are my spring breaks, me and Elvis. So I do remember it's the first time I ever heard somebody unironically use the term Yankees.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: because he said it's not as bad as the weather the Yankees are getting, which I just thought was wonderful. So anyway, I used to hang out in that community, and that community has grown quite a bit. They have a bowling alley, they have a florist, they have a grocery store right in. So people.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, wait. Right in the little.
>> Amanda Barker: In the community.
>> Marco Timpano: In the community they have those things. Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So now it's become its own little incorporated town instead of just a sort of deluxe trailer park.
>> Marco Timpano: Barefoot Bay has.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Barefoot Bay is its own town now.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yes, lots happening in, Indian River County, Florida. and, a lot of people don't have cars there. What they have is golf carts or, tricycles are really popular there. So a bicycle, but with an extra wheel. So that if you're a bit wobbly, you know, because you're 80 or whatever, you, have a nice basket, a nice little tricycle, and you can drive it to the grocery store and get what you need and, go play, you know, some shuffleboard.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like you're making things up, but it's. I have to confirm. I know I have to confirm for our listeners in the UK and elsewhere who might not be familiar with this type of community setting. If you're thinking it's a little bit strange, don't worry. Because I thought it was a little strange when I went there too, when I saw what was going on. But it makes sense once you're there. And it's actually quite lovely, I have to say.
>> Amanda Barker: And so if they want to go off the compound, there's shuttles.
>> Marco Timpano: They're not allowed to take their tricycle onto the highway.
>> Amanda Barker: I wouldn't. No. So, they'll just take a shuttle to. There's an airport up the road. The Melbourne Airport.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, Melbourne, Florida.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And that is about 25 minutes. And, you can kind of get. I mean, that's what we try to fly into. If, you go through Atlanta, you can kind of get anywhere from there. So, yeah, that. That was their first home. That was my parents first home and in Florida. And they loved that home, as you say. It had two bedrooms, I think. it had two bathrooms, so, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it had two bathrooms, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it had. I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Because we had. I remember staying there with My sister, we had our own bathroom and then my parents had. And then there was the other bathroom, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because it wasn't very big.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I know. That's why when you say it was a, you know, a tiny home. I don't think most tiny homes don't have two bathrooms. But it was tiny.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a tiny home. It wasn't big.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a tiny home with two bathrooms.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess one of the bathrooms was ate away at, other space that could have been used for the bathroom.
>> Amanda Barker: It had a sunroom too. So it had a sunroom. Sort of porch, what they call a Florida room. I've seen it called a lot of kind of things. But a screened in porch area, then a sort of main room, you know, where you'd watch tv, which was open to, the kitchen kind of thing. It was all kind of one room and then a little hallway with a bathroom, my parents room and our room with the bathroom off of it. Yeah. So. And it came furnished. it was incredibly cheap.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's where I think your love for the tiny home. That's why we got on this double wine.
You watch a lot of tiny home shows and tiny home building shows
>> Amanda Barker: I'll tell you, I am like my father. It was his favorite of all things that they've ever lived in. That one was his favorite. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And, so if you were to get a tiny home, would you want it to be stout and bungalowy, like one floor? Or would you want it so that you have to climb up to go to the. Let's say the.
>> Amanda Barker: I like the. I've seen so many. I like the loft idea. I do. I love, But a ladder, I think is not something that would be sustainable as you get older.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I went through a bunky phase this summer and so I was.
>> Marco Timpano: What's a bunky?
>> Amanda Barker: So a bunky. A bunky is, not usually a full home, although you could kind of again turn it into one if you were ambitious.
>> Marco Timpano: But because you watch a lot of these shows, right? You watch tiny home shows and tiny home building shows.
>> Speaker A: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a, bunky show? Because I don't remember you watching a bunky show.
>> Amanda Barker: There's not a bunky show, but there are a lot of cottage shows.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So that sort of. But believe me, if there were a bunky show, I would watch it happily.
Bunkies are basically, um, a little house or shed
>> Marco Timpano: Is a bunky a room in a house or is it.
>> Amanda Barker: A bunky is a very Canadian, specifically, I think Ontario term, but it's a very Canadian term, I believe. I don't think other people use the word bunky. The first time I had ever heard it was in the Sarah Richardson show where she was building a bunky for her cottage. And I was like, what is she saying? And, now there's a whole bunky movement. But bunkies are basically, a little house or shed or something, a unit of some kind that sits on your property, near your main property. So if it's a cottage, you put the bunkie in the back or in the front by the water O. And usually it's just a place for. Could be just extra beds, just like three bunk beds or two bunk beds.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just a room that houses sleeping
>> Amanda Barker: quarters as families grow, put them in the bunky kind of thing when everybody comes up. or you could put it in your backyard and have it as a studio or, you know, a TV space or a she shed or a man cave. Remember the she shed phase I went through?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the she shed. We were watching a lot of she shed. There was a program. You watch a lot of these.
>> Amanda Barker: We almost built a she shed in our back.
>> Marco Timpano: We did.
>> Amanda Barker: You may not remember, but when we put the deck in the back, it almost was a shed. Because I was like, the only way to build, like to create we're out of space in this house would be to build in our little tiny postage stamp in the back and just put. Make a shed there. But then we'd have a shed there.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like a lot of listeners, if they were in our home, they think we live in a tiny home because we live in the city. Oh, for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: In fact, some of the tiny. I do laugh because sometimes it'll be like tiny space and you look at it and you're like, well, this is my house. I mean, really? Because we live in a townhouse.
>> Marco Timpano: It's very narrow, you know, like we're recording our studio. When I talk about our studio, it's a closet that we're in right now, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, absolutely. it's a closet that would have been one shower stall, except we couldn't put a shower stall in it.
>> Marco Timpano: In fact, every time Amanda has to go to the spot where she has to sit, she'll knock a panel of my sound absorbing phone off the wall. I'll always give her a look like you're knocking. She's like, there's no room to get to the chair you want me to get to without knocking things off the wall.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, absolutely. So, so a bunky.
>> Marco Timpano: So we were talking about bunkies. And so they're basically an adjunct sort of portable or space shed. That is not attached to the house, but within walking distance to the house. So that if you have to use facilities, you can.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Or if you wanted to, you could build a bunky bathroom.
>> Marco Timpano: So just a bathroom? So it's just a room?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So now there's, like, an outhouse, but again, a really nice one. But you'd have to get the plumbing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this sounds weird. I don't think a monkey's that. I know.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm so into it.
Amanda loves watching tiny home bunky type shows
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, so you also mentioned the she shed you wanted to build.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I started following a site called Bunky Stop.
>> Marco Timpano: People are gonna think we're a little bit nuts. Go on.
>> Amanda Barker: I started following. This is what I do to relax.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda loves when it comes. We get so many home magazines. Style it, decor, style it. Like, I feel like every time I go to the mailbox, there's some sort of new magazine that talks about home design, and there is little nookie and
>> Amanda Barker: cranny type things, and it's escalated. Like, I found every home magazine. It's not. You used to just be one that would sort of fill. No, I want them all now. So that's where we're at with that. But I started following Bunky Life, which is a whole Bunky Life site. And of course, they sell bunkies, too. And so they had a bunky contest. So that was a big part of the last month.
>> Marco Timpano: to be honest, she made me sign up for the contest, the monkey contest. And I was like, what am I signing for? She's like, we could have a bunky. I'm like, do we need a bunky? And she's like, I just want my life desire is to have some sort of tiny home.
>> Amanda Barker: It had a loft, so it was like you walked in. It even had a porch.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, okay, so when does a bunky become a tiny home?
>> Amanda Barker: I think when it has a bathroom.
>> Marco Timpano: But you said a bunky could be a bathroom in itself.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you'd get a set. Then you have two bunkies.
>> Marco Timpano: What? Yeah. How many? You can't have more than one bunky.
>> Amanda Barker: You could have a bunky village.
>> Marco Timpano: This sounds like Barefoot Bay is what it sounds like.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. That's probably how it started. It was Bunky Village, but they thought Barefoot Bay sounded a little nicer.
>> Marco Timpano: I just picture this connection of bunkies, and then you and I on tricycles riding through the little bunk.
>> Amanda Barker: There's nothing wrong with it. You want to move to Hawaii someday? I'm telling you, a tiny house, a tricycle, a bunky on the water would There be anything better in Hawaii? Fresh avocados off the tree. Just shake the tree. Boom, there they come.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess when you put it like that. But I mean, folks, I just need to say that Amanda really does love watching tiny home bunky type shows.
>> Amanda Barker: I love it. I absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: There was even she shed shows you used to watch. They're not on anymore.
>> Amanda Barker: Right?
>> Marco Timpano: That phase of she shedding. Yeah, there was a show where it was like, we're gonna turn this garage or this shed into a she shed.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember if there was. I mean, probably that was sort of what I was going through in 2015-2017.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I've graduated from she shed to bunkie. But really it's all the same. yeah. I just love the idea of a small property anywhere. You know, I, you know, as actors we often talk about if we'd ever have to move to LA or California. And so I always thought, that a tiny home would be the way to do it. You know, find a friend who has a backyard and build a little house on their backyard property or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's imposing a bit on your friends.
>> Amanda Barker: Hey, we're here.
>> Marco Timpano: Can we build on your property?
>> Amanda Barker: Do you mind?
>> Marco Timpano: A structure. My goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Dared to dream. anyway, we could rent it out the rest of the year. I mean, this, that's the other thing.
>> Marco Timpano: We have friends who want to stay and have stayed in tiny homes. Like we have a friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Who puts on Facebook every time she's able to go stay for a few days.
>> Amanda Barker: She wants to start a tiny. I don't know if you want to name her, but she wants to start a tiny home community. She's really actively. And she wants her own tiny home. That's her dream.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not going to name her. She's been a guest on the show. What I'll do is I'll have her back on the show and we'll talk about that. wow. Well, that comes to the end of this episode.
Amanda sheds tiny homes in Barefoot Bay near Sebastian, Florida
Amanda, thank you so much for telling us about bunkies. She sheds tiny homes. Barefoot Bay.
>> Amanda Barker: All Barefoot Bay. You know, it's not a bad life.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not. If you get a chance, go on Google Earth and look at Barefoot Bay in the town of Barefoot Bay.
>> Amanda Barker: But it was part of. It's in Indian river county near Sebastian, where my parents, you know, they started in Barefoot Bay and it was sort of the gateway to Florida. Them. but it's Barefoot Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: It's his own town.
>> Amanda Barker: It is now when they have a mayor of that? I think so. Well, I don't know if they have a mayor, but they have a council. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because I remember it being a trailer park. So it's that expansive.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: And all the streets are named after flowers.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So my parents were on Hyacinth, Right. And we had, an orange tree and a lemon and lime tree. It was actually a grafted tree where half of it would do lemons and half of it would do limes.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we'll have to save that for another episode. Thank you, Amanda, for sharing all, ah, that tiny knowledge that you have on homes. Well, we hope you enjoyed this episode. Feel free to, connect with us on Instagram or on Twitter or even send us a little email. we just received another email from a listener who really enjoyed it, so thank you all for listening. There are going to be a few changes, that happen. Let us know what you think and if there's anything that we can do to make the show more accessible to you or people you know. Until then, we hope you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: March 10, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation meant for you to relax and listen. And who knows, maybe even fall asleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and joining
>> Amanda Barker: me is me, Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, we, have some changes going on at the Insomnia Project. People might notice that the names of our episodes no longer have the season or the episode number. I've been changing those on the direction of people that we're working with who say that it's, less convoluted and easier to sort of source. So you're going to see some changes happen with the Insomnia Project from a not content perspective, but more from a, visual perspective. I don't know how you would describe that.
>> Amanda Barker: So, explain it to me. So instead of saying episode three, season
>> Marco Timpano: one, it used to say S4 for season four, episode five, let's say. And then it would have the title of the show. So it would be like the Pickle episode, let's say. And now it just says the Pickle Episode. So every episode just has a title, just has a name for people to see.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it's. In some ways, ways, it's easier just to follow now that if you want to follow, what's it called?
>> Amanda Barker: One after the other, Sequentially.
>> Marco Timpano: Sequentially. Thank you. I was gonna say seasonally. And it's not. It's still listed that way because as they upload, they. They get sorted by date.
>> Amanda Barker: I see, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: So they will be listed in that way. So season four, season five, episode seven, it was quite a bit you had to work your way through before you got to the actual title of the show.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: And supposedly doing it this way will bring our show to more people. Apple Podcasts prefers that, so that's why those changes are being made.
Amanda wants to do a virtual conversation with your dad Daniel Barker
In case you're wondering, we have also had some really lovely responses from people, recently. We don't mention your name unless you specifically say we can. But, Amanda, we had a response from someone on Twitter who says they love the sound of your voice.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's nice.
>> Marco Timpano: And they miss or love the sound of your dad Daniel Barker's voice.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, hopefully, dad will be on back, you know, will be back soon.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm thinking of maybe. What do you think if I send him a microphone and we do a virtual conversation with your Father.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you think that would work? Do you think that, between your mother and your father, they could build a little recording space?
>> Amanda Barker: the technology in that house, in Sebastian may not be. They haven't figured things out past Netflix, because anytime I'm on something that's. My mom will ask me, is it on Netflix? and I'll say, no, it's on Amazon or it's on Hulu. And she'll say, we don't get that. So I don't know if her little power book or whatever it is she uses. But listen, if they're determined to do it, they'll do it.
>> Marco Timpano: There's also quite a bit of noise that happens.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of birds.
>> Marco Timpano: There's birds because they live with their back to a bird sanctuary.
>> Amanda Barker: Is it? Yeah, there's, on either side of them, I believe, there's protected land, and so there are a lot of birds. The Sebastian Inlet is known for its wildlife refuge and its bird sanctuary. And you and I were lucky enough to stay there once, during mating season. During mating season. So at.
>> Speaker A: Around.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, and it doesn't matter what time, but early in the morning, there'd be what you'd think would be the beautiful sound of bird song waking us up. it was more of a squawk song.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it was a loud squawk. I think it was a crane of some sort. It was making quite a bit of noise.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they were having a party.
>> Marco Timpano: But besides the bird noises, there's a lot of washing machine dishwashing sounds. And I think it reverberates because of the tile that's everywhere. Oh, perhaps.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a pretty open concept place, too, so you can kind of hear everything. And I will say, my mother, Valerie Barker, does not live quietly. She never has, she never will. So you'll have to contend with that, Marco, if you want to go this route.
>> Marco Timpano: So I open it up to our listeners. Do you want me to figure out a way to get a microphone to Dan Barker and then face the rigors of the sounds of nature and the sounds of echoes and machines and Valerie Barker, I leave it to you. Let us know.
>> Amanda Barker: He has a lot of books he's been reading.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true.
>> Amanda Barker: He could tell you a lot about Andrew Garfield right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that might be a great episode.
>> Amanda Barker: He has all the Christmas presents I sent down there.
>> Marco Timpano: What I'd like to do is actually have an episode where you and your dad speak.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. That would be really fun.
>> Marco Timpano: That would be fun. But remember, it has to Be calm. So maybe I will get on that train. Let us know what you think.
I seem to have pulled my back a little bit this morning
I seem to have pulled my back a little bit this morning. So that's why this episode is coming to you a little bit later than usual. In case you're wondering where's the episode today, I seem to have, I don't know, twisted myself in an awkward moment.
>> Amanda Barker: I saw it happen before my eyes.
>> Marco Timpano: What was I doing at that moment?
>> Amanda Barker: Stretching.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, maybe I overstretched myself.
>> Amanda Barker: But you just had a moment where you're like, oh, listen, that happens. And, you know, Dan Barker knows a lot about throwing backs out. And as I say to him, and I'll say to you, the maintenance of yoga would, prevent that a little bit. We can talk about yoga today if you want.
Amanda has a real fascination with tiny houses
>> Marco Timpano: What I wanted to talk about is your fascination with tiny houses.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Anytime.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know why or when this happened, but it seems Amanda has a real fascination with tiny houses.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I. Well, you know, I've always loved a cozy space.
>> Marco Timpano: We talked about some nooks and cozy spaces in an earlier episode.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. When we moved into my home, when I was a small child, I actually picked. I was the kid that would pick the smallest room. Which room do you want? I want the smallest, coziest room. So I think there's something in that with tiny houses. but, I don't know when it started. It's whenever the tiny house movement started. But one of the things I love to do late at night, If I have 10 minutes, just as a way to daydream, is I will watch videos of people giving tours of their tiny home. And I have a fantasy that we'll have tiny homes in pretty much anywhere I want to live. I think, oh, maybe we could put a tiny house there.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. That's just a thought that comes up to you.
>> Amanda Barker: It's kind of the antithesis to the tiny house movement. Because the tiny house movement, of course, is about a more minimalistic style of living, both financially and spiritually and certainly materially. So if you have a small closet, you don't have room for many clothes. So you pick the things that have the strongest and most meaning to you, and you sort of let go that everything else that doesn't serve you.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And instead, you want it like a little tree house or a little backyard house.
>> Amanda Barker: I want to populate the world with small homes, I think, because there's an affordability aspect to it where I think, well, that's only 100,000 or whatever it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that still seems expensive for a town.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, a nice one. A nice one.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you don't just want a little tiny house on wheels. It sounds. You want a gorgeous little mansiony, tiny house.
>> Amanda Barker: a mansiony, tiny house, for sure. You know, I love the. There's a whole movement, too, within the tiny house communities.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness, here we go. Unraveling the peeling back the onion of,
>> Amanda Barker: container, homes and people using shipping containers to, you know, as homes.
>> Marco Timpano: So what we see on the trains, those big rectangular boxes that come off, ships that are shipped all over the world.
>> Amanda Barker: Corrugated iron. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are being turned into homes.
>> Amanda Barker: Into homes. Yeah. But when you look at them, because everyone goes, oh, look, a shipping container. That'll cost me $50 or $100 or whatever it is. you'd still have to do a lot of work to kind of retrofit it to be a home. Especially if you live in a non warm climate. You'd have to spray the insulation because I don't know that that really would work in Canada if it's quite cold.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think you can have a metal box as a home in a climate that goes below zero like that gets that cold like it can here.
>> Amanda Barker: I think you can do whatever you want, but I think you have to really reinforce it, in which case you're kind of building a house ins. So why not just build a house would be the argument.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I think I'd rather live in a bus than in a corrugated box, personally.
>> Amanda Barker: okay. Are we gonna live in a bus?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm just saying, like, when you're dealing with these corrugated metal structures, either
>> Amanda Barker: way, you have to retrofit it. I mean, a bus, if you really wanted to live in it, you would pull out the seats and, you know, so there'd be all of that. And again, you'd want to insulate it because a bus is a metal thing, a metal structure. So you wouldn't. You need the warmth. see, they all work great. When you're in California, Texas, Florida. yeah. That's where you see these dream homes and think, oh, I could do this. But then you translate it to Canada and go, you know, there's a trailer park down the road and they have some nice trailers that's the same thing. And that's sort of one of the pushbacks in the tiny house world is, you know, are they not just trailers for hipsters and.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I've been in some gorgeous trailers. So, you know, what's the difference and
>> Marco Timpano: didn't you have Now, I wonder if your tiny home fascination comes from the fact that the original home your parents had in Florida was actually a tiny home compared to what they have today.
>> Amanda Barker: In fact, in the world of trailers, they always refer to it as the double wide. And sometimes I. My parents moved a lot and they loved property. Right. They love real estate. I've inherited that. I've realized in different ways, but certainly
>> Marco Timpano: you inherited the love for real estate,
>> Amanda Barker: the love for wanting to buy.
>> Marco Timpano: You didn't inherit any real estate.
>> Amanda Barker: No, no, no. All been sold off. I, mean, that's an episode unto itself. All the things that they have bought and sold over the years.
>> Marco Timpano: But that's the episode we'll do with your dad. Because I feel like they should be my mother. Yeah. It wasn't so much about their love for real estate. It was more about necessity in the moves that they have made throughout the years.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
The double wide is a metal house without wheels. It's not what I would think of as a trailer
>> Marco Timpano: But let's get back to the double wide.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. The double wide, as we lovingly refer to it, was a pink. A large pink. It's not a trailer in what you'd think of. It's not what I would think of as a trailer. It's. But it is a metal house. hence the term the double wide.
>> Marco Timpano: I always thought of it as a trailer without, ah, wheels. That it was like a permanent fixture on a plot of land.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, most trailers don't have wheels. Oh, yeah. They can be pulled.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, they can be pulled. Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: Manufactured housing. I mean, that's the other thing. Is a prefab house or a manufactured house. in any event, it was a metal home, so I suppose it was a trailer. and you see these a lot in Florida and California, like you said, Arizona, New Mexico, probably, but I've not been.
>> Amanda Barker: And, it was pink. And it was in a community called Barefoot Bay, which is part of Sebastian, or at least it was at the time, Sebastian, Florida. And then now it's its own community. And it was affordable retirement community, filled with people from New England and New York, but mostly New England. and so my parents, knew somebody whose mother had bought in that community. So it was a big trip where they went to Florida. My mom first, I think by herself, and then my dad later on went to Florida and hung out with this retirement community. Everybody in their trailers with a pool.
>> Marco Timpano: like a communal pool.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: For everyone who lived on site.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Oh, I swam in that pool a lot. when it was freezing cold, I would jump into that pool. And swim.
>> Marco Timpano: You'll jump into any water.
>> Amanda Barker: And that pool, because it was a retirement community, would always play the greatest hits of like the 1940s and 50s. So it had a lot of Elvis. They'd play a lot of Elvis at that pool. I loved it.
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>> Amanda Barker: you know I was like 25 and everybody else was like 75.
>> Marco Timpano: it certainly doesn't sound like the Daytona trips that people take.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are my spring breaks, me and Elvis. So I do remember it's the first time I ever heard somebody unironically use the term Yankees.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: because he said it's not as bad as the weather the Yankees are getting, which I just thought was wonderful. So anyway, I used to hang out in that community, and that community has grown quite a bit. They have a bowling alley, they have a florist, they have a grocery store right in. So people.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, wait. Right in the little.
>> Amanda Barker: In the community.
>> Marco Timpano: In the community they have those things. Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So now it's become its own little incorporated town instead of just a sort of deluxe trailer park.
>> Marco Timpano: Barefoot Bay has.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Barefoot Bay is its own town now.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yes, lots happening in, Indian River County, Florida. and, a lot of people don't have cars there. What they have is golf carts or, tricycles are really popular there. So a bicycle, but with an extra wheel. So that if you're a bit wobbly, you know, because you're 80 or whatever, you, have a nice basket, a nice little tricycle, and you can drive it to the grocery store and get what you need and, go play, you know, some shuffleboard.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like you're making things up, but it's. I have to confirm. I know I have to confirm for our listeners in the UK and elsewhere who might not be familiar with this type of community setting. If you're thinking it's a little bit strange, don't worry. Because I thought it was a little strange when I went there too, when I saw what was going on. But it makes sense once you're there. And it's actually quite lovely, I have to say.
>> Amanda Barker: And so if they want to go off the compound, there's shuttles.
>> Marco Timpano: They're not allowed to take their tricycle onto the highway.
>> Amanda Barker: I wouldn't. No. So, they'll just take a shuttle to. There's an airport up the road. The Melbourne Airport.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, Melbourne, Florida.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And that is about 25 minutes. And, you can kind of get. I mean, that's what we try to fly into. If, you go through Atlanta, you can kind of get anywhere from there. So, yeah, that. That was their first home. That was my parents first home and in Florida. And they loved that home, as you say. It had two bedrooms, I think. it had two bathrooms, so, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it had two bathrooms, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it had. I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Because we had. I remember staying there with My sister, we had our own bathroom and then my parents had. And then there was the other bathroom, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because it wasn't very big.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I know. That's why when you say it was a, you know, a tiny home. I don't think most tiny homes don't have two bathrooms. But it was tiny.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a tiny home. It wasn't big.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a tiny home with two bathrooms.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess one of the bathrooms was ate away at, other space that could have been used for the bathroom.
>> Amanda Barker: It had a sunroom too. So it had a sunroom. Sort of porch, what they call a Florida room. I've seen it called a lot of kind of things. But a screened in porch area, then a sort of main room, you know, where you'd watch tv, which was open to, the kitchen kind of thing. It was all kind of one room and then a little hallway with a bathroom, my parents room and our room with the bathroom off of it. Yeah. So. And it came furnished. it was incredibly cheap.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's where I think your love for the tiny home. That's why we got on this double wine.
You watch a lot of tiny home shows and tiny home building shows
>> Amanda Barker: I'll tell you, I am like my father. It was his favorite of all things that they've ever lived in. That one was his favorite. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And, so if you were to get a tiny home, would you want it to be stout and bungalowy, like one floor? Or would you want it so that you have to climb up to go to the. Let's say the.
>> Amanda Barker: I like the. I've seen so many. I like the loft idea. I do. I love, But a ladder, I think is not something that would be sustainable as you get older.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I went through a bunky phase this summer and so I was.
>> Marco Timpano: What's a bunky?
>> Amanda Barker: So a bunky. A bunky is, not usually a full home, although you could kind of again turn it into one if you were ambitious.
>> Marco Timpano: But because you watch a lot of these shows, right? You watch tiny home shows and tiny home building shows.
>> Speaker A: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a, bunky show? Because I don't remember you watching a bunky show.
>> Amanda Barker: There's not a bunky show, but there are a lot of cottage shows.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So that sort of. But believe me, if there were a bunky show, I would watch it happily.
Bunkies are basically, um, a little house or shed
>> Marco Timpano: Is a bunky a room in a house or is it.
>> Amanda Barker: A bunky is a very Canadian, specifically, I think Ontario term, but it's a very Canadian term, I believe. I don't think other people use the word bunky. The first time I had ever heard it was in the Sarah Richardson show where she was building a bunky for her cottage. And I was like, what is she saying? And, now there's a whole bunky movement. But bunkies are basically, a little house or shed or something, a unit of some kind that sits on your property, near your main property. So if it's a cottage, you put the bunkie in the back or in the front by the water O. And usually it's just a place for. Could be just extra beds, just like three bunk beds or two bunk beds.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just a room that houses sleeping
>> Amanda Barker: quarters as families grow, put them in the bunky kind of thing when everybody comes up. or you could put it in your backyard and have it as a studio or, you know, a TV space or a she shed or a man cave. Remember the she shed phase I went through?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the she shed. We were watching a lot of she shed. There was a program. You watch a lot of these.
>> Amanda Barker: We almost built a she shed in our back.
>> Marco Timpano: We did.
>> Amanda Barker: You may not remember, but when we put the deck in the back, it almost was a shed. Because I was like, the only way to build, like to create we're out of space in this house would be to build in our little tiny postage stamp in the back and just put. Make a shed there. But then we'd have a shed there.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like a lot of listeners, if they were in our home, they think we live in a tiny home because we live in the city. Oh, for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: In fact, some of the tiny. I do laugh because sometimes it'll be like tiny space and you look at it and you're like, well, this is my house. I mean, really? Because we live in a townhouse.
>> Marco Timpano: It's very narrow, you know, like we're recording our studio. When I talk about our studio, it's a closet that we're in right now, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, absolutely. it's a closet that would have been one shower stall, except we couldn't put a shower stall in it.
>> Marco Timpano: In fact, every time Amanda has to go to the spot where she has to sit, she'll knock a panel of my sound absorbing phone off the wall. I'll always give her a look like you're knocking. She's like, there's no room to get to the chair you want me to get to without knocking things off the wall.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, absolutely. So, so a bunky.
>> Marco Timpano: So we were talking about bunkies. And so they're basically an adjunct sort of portable or space shed. That is not attached to the house, but within walking distance to the house. So that if you have to use facilities, you can.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Or if you wanted to, you could build a bunky bathroom.
>> Marco Timpano: So just a bathroom? So it's just a room?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So now there's, like, an outhouse, but again, a really nice one. But you'd have to get the plumbing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this sounds weird. I don't think a monkey's that. I know.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm so into it.
Amanda loves watching tiny home bunky type shows
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, so you also mentioned the she shed you wanted to build.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I started following a site called Bunky Stop.
>> Marco Timpano: People are gonna think we're a little bit nuts. Go on.
>> Amanda Barker: I started following. This is what I do to relax.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda loves when it comes. We get so many home magazines. Style it, decor, style it. Like, I feel like every time I go to the mailbox, there's some sort of new magazine that talks about home design, and there is little nookie and
>> Amanda Barker: cranny type things, and it's escalated. Like, I found every home magazine. It's not. You used to just be one that would sort of fill. No, I want them all now. So that's where we're at with that. But I started following Bunky Life, which is a whole Bunky Life site. And of course, they sell bunkies, too. And so they had a bunky contest. So that was a big part of the last month.
>> Marco Timpano: to be honest, she made me sign up for the contest, the monkey contest. And I was like, what am I signing for? She's like, we could have a bunky. I'm like, do we need a bunky? And she's like, I just want my life desire is to have some sort of tiny home.
>> Amanda Barker: It had a loft, so it was like you walked in. It even had a porch.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, okay, so when does a bunky become a tiny home?
>> Amanda Barker: I think when it has a bathroom.
>> Marco Timpano: But you said a bunky could be a bathroom in itself.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you'd get a set. Then you have two bunkies.
>> Marco Timpano: What? Yeah. How many? You can't have more than one bunky.
>> Amanda Barker: You could have a bunky village.
>> Marco Timpano: This sounds like Barefoot Bay is what it sounds like.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. That's probably how it started. It was Bunky Village, but they thought Barefoot Bay sounded a little nicer.
>> Marco Timpano: I just picture this connection of bunkies, and then you and I on tricycles riding through the little bunk.
>> Amanda Barker: There's nothing wrong with it. You want to move to Hawaii someday? I'm telling you, a tiny house, a tricycle, a bunky on the water would There be anything better in Hawaii? Fresh avocados off the tree. Just shake the tree. Boom, there they come.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess when you put it like that. But I mean, folks, I just need to say that Amanda really does love watching tiny home bunky type shows.
>> Amanda Barker: I love it. I absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: There was even she shed shows you used to watch. They're not on anymore.
>> Amanda Barker: Right?
>> Marco Timpano: That phase of she shedding. Yeah, there was a show where it was like, we're gonna turn this garage or this shed into a she shed.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember if there was. I mean, probably that was sort of what I was going through in 2015-2017.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I've graduated from she shed to bunkie. But really it's all the same. yeah. I just love the idea of a small property anywhere. You know, I, you know, as actors we often talk about if we'd ever have to move to LA or California. And so I always thought, that a tiny home would be the way to do it. You know, find a friend who has a backyard and build a little house on their backyard property or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's imposing a bit on your friends.
>> Amanda Barker: Hey, we're here.
>> Marco Timpano: Can we build on your property?
>> Amanda Barker: Do you mind?
>> Marco Timpano: A structure. My goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Dared to dream. anyway, we could rent it out the rest of the year. I mean, this, that's the other thing.
>> Marco Timpano: We have friends who want to stay and have stayed in tiny homes. Like we have a friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Who puts on Facebook every time she's able to go stay for a few days.
>> Amanda Barker: She wants to start a tiny. I don't know if you want to name her, but she wants to start a tiny home community. She's really actively. And she wants her own tiny home. That's her dream.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not going to name her. She's been a guest on the show. What I'll do is I'll have her back on the show and we'll talk about that. wow. Well, that comes to the end of this episode.
Amanda sheds tiny homes in Barefoot Bay near Sebastian, Florida
Amanda, thank you so much for telling us about bunkies. She sheds tiny homes. Barefoot Bay.
>> Amanda Barker: All Barefoot Bay. You know, it's not a bad life.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not. If you get a chance, go on Google Earth and look at Barefoot Bay in the town of Barefoot Bay.
>> Amanda Barker: But it was part of. It's in Indian river county near Sebastian, where my parents, you know, they started in Barefoot Bay and it was sort of the gateway to Florida. Them. but it's Barefoot Bay.
>> Marco Timpano: It's his own town.
>> Amanda Barker: It is now when they have a mayor of that? I think so. Well, I don't know if they have a mayor, but they have a council. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because I remember it being a trailer park. So it's that expansive.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: And all the streets are named after flowers.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So my parents were on Hyacinth, Right. And we had, an orange tree and a lemon and lime tree. It was actually a grafted tree where half of it would do lemons and half of it would do limes.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we'll have to save that for another episode. Thank you, Amanda, for sharing all, ah, that tiny knowledge that you have on homes. Well, we hope you enjoyed this episode. Feel free to, connect with us on Instagram or on Twitter or even send us a little email. we just received another email from a listener who really enjoyed it, so thank you all for listening. There are going to be a few changes, that happen. Let us know what you think and if there's anything that we can do to make the show more accessible to you or people you know. Until then, we hope you listen and sleep.
Famous cities in not-so-famous places
(Original airdate: February 12, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a subtle and calm conversation about the mundane. One thing that we promise is that our podcast will hopefully calm and relax you. The very least, it will hopefully just ease your tension away and who knows, maybe you'll find sleep. Thank you for joining us. I'm Marco Timpano and joining me is someone you haven't heard for the last couple of weeks, but is always a favorite, Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi, thanks for having me back, Amanda.
Today we're going to talk about cities that have famous names but aren't located
>> Marco Timpano: Today we're going to talk about cities that have famous names but aren't necessarily in the location you expect them to be.
>> Amanda Barker: Is there a name for that type of city, like Copycat?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: yeah, I don't know either.
>> Marco Timpano: So have you been to any cities that are famous but not in the place you expect them to be?
>> Amanda Barker: So I think what you mean is like London, England and London, Ontario as a great example. That's a pretty well known example for us because London, Ontario turns Out also is, although not the city London, England is. It is its own thriving city. And, so it's one we hear and have to explain a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: And we do work in London, Ontario often. And so it's about a two hour drive from Toronto. It's nothing like London, England, but it has its own charm, for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: It does. And the similarities in naming doesn't stop there. I do believe they've called the river the Thames, have they not?
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So they. And there's a London Bridge as well, in that London. And that might be where the similarities end. But I have been to many places that have the same name.
>> Marco Timpano: Just down the street from London, Ontario is Stratford, Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's home of a big theater Shakespeare festival. And it's not far from the town of Shakespeare as well.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right. You know, that's actually a really great place to start because Stratford, the reason that there is a Shakespearean festival there is because of its name. So it was obviously named Stratford. And of course we live in North America. And so so many of our town names and place names are named in tribute to, I guess you would say, the original names, for us mostly in England, of course, and some other places as well. But, Stratford is a great example because here's a town near London, you know, particularly loyalist part of Canada, where the United Empire Loyalists settled, you know, after, the American Revolution. And they were granted parcels of land for their allegiance to the king at that time.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And, it's interesting because, they named a lot of these towns. Of course, they had indigenous names. And, many of those places still do. The Loyalists decided to name them in honor of the king.
>> Marco Timpano: England, their homeland.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: Places from where they came from.
>> Amanda Barker: That's absolutely right. And, actually a little more history on that. What often happened was they came over the Pilgrims, et cetera. And then more and more people from the British Empire came and they named, so many of those towns in New England. Of course, it was New England. So they named, so many of those towns. Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Halifax, Dartmouth, I could keep naming them, sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: so many. Anyways, and then what happened was when they, left. Were asked to leave, exiled, whatever version of history you read. Anyway, when they left, they then renamed so many of the places that they settled. So now these places have been named a third time. So Halifax would be a great example. Or Portsmouth. Halifax. There's one in England. And then there's one in New England and then there's one in Nova Scotia. And again that's New Scotland. Nova Scotia. So, I'm trying to think of some others. There's so many. I'm from Hanover, Massachusetts.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Which there's a. Hanover, Germany.
>> Amanda Barker: Hanover, Germany, in fact. Yeah. And then there's a Hanover, New Hampshire, which is a bigger one. And then. So that was from the German settlers that came over.
>> Marco Timpano: We're in the province of Ontario. And have you ever been to Ontario, California?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think I have, but I've certainly heard about it.
>> Marco Timpano: We have friends who are often in that area of California. And I believe there's an airport there too, isn't there, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I think so, yeah. There's, Brunswick, and then New Brunswick, N.J. and then of course, New Brunswick became a province. New Jersey, in fact. Was New Jersey named after Jersey?
>> Marco Timpano: We have British Columbia.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's true as well. So anyway, I guess my point is simply that there's a lot of towns that were named in New England and then renamed in the Maritimes or in Ontario, depending where people settled. so London is certainly one of those. And then of course, Stratford is one of those. And that festival happened. Just to wrap my own thought up, that festival happened because they were trying to give the town some vitality. They were trying to find something that would increase tourism. And they said, well, we have this name, Stratford. Maybe enough people know that Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon in England. And maybe potentially we can actually bring people to the town by having a little theater festival. And that little theater festival in I believe the 50s, late 50s, early 60s, of course, has blossomed into one of the premier theater destinations in the world. And certainly for Shakespeare. Yes.
Have you ever been to Athens, Georgia? I haven't
>> Marco Timpano: All right, going back to the theme of famous places and not so famous areas.
>> Marco Timpano: Versus, Stratford's wonderful theatre festival. Have you ever been to Athens, Georgia?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think I have. And I've always wanted to go because it is a college town and so many great, bands and music came from there. Have you ever been?
>> Marco Timpano: I haven't. I think we drove nearby.
>> Amanda Barker: Did we drive near it or on our way to Savannah potentially?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't, I haven't been, I don't think. so we'll have to make that a destination at some point.
>> Marco Timpano: We recently went to Paris.
>> Amanda Barker: We did, we went to Paris.
>> Marco Timpano: City of Lights.
>> Amanda Barker: City of Lights, Paris, Ontario.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. It's about an hour and a half drive Away. And it's a small, little charming town, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: it's quite pretty.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. on the river, but not on the Seine.
>> Amanda Barker: I was very excited to go to the Paris bakery. I was hoping for some pain au chocolat or a fresh baked croissant. And they were very lovely. But I got a pumpkin square and a butter tart.
>> Marco Timpano: A little bit different, a little bit different than the croissant that you were hoping for.
Calais, Maine, is after the French. So it's spelled the same
Any other famous place names? I know there's a Rome in New, York. Rome, New York. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, near where I did some of my growing up in New Brunswick, over the border, there was Calais, Maine, which is after the French. Calais.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. So it's spelled the same, but of course, in Maine. there is actually some French there, but they pronounce it Calais.
The first Bethlehem I ever went to was Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me what it was like when you went to Bethlehem.
>> Amanda Barker: Which one? So, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, you mean?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, because we never got to Bethlehem, Israel, did we?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, yeah, there's a story there. so the first Bethlehem I ever went to, and the only Bethlehem, in the end I thought I was going to go to the other one was, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It is quite an interesting little town. And I was performing there for a week. and they have this because Pennsylvania is steel country and there's so much steel manufacturing. A lot of it, is no longer in operation. And Bethlehem has what they call the steel stacks, which is honestly a thing to behold. An immense steel structure which was made out of steel and produced steel.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: so it sits now defunct. But because it is such a sight to behold, it's not your average factory. I don't know another way to explain it. It's just all these tubes and this huge steel structure. They've actually built around it. They've kept it there, they've built around it. And one of the things that they've built is this sort of performance venue. And it has huge windows so that you can perform in it all year long. And it overlooks these huge stacks of ste. So that's in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, I believe. Lehigh University is there as well, or Lehigh College. It's a university town, for sure. It's a very interesting town. so anyway, I was doing a show there. Now, the big windows probably weren't the most appropriate thing for our show. So it made for an interesting week, certainly. And it was a dinner theater, too. But, that was Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Fun little town in Pennsylvania.
Bill Baltax takes you to Naples and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
>> Marco Timpano: Let me take you to somewhere a little bit m warmer, perhaps a little bit more Tropical. Oh, a little bit more cosmopolitan. Okay, Sydney, Nova Scotia. But you've been to Sydney as well, correct? In Australia?
>> Amanda Barker: I've never been to Sydney, Nova Scotia. I just never made it up to Cape Breton.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I thought you did. Sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I think I did. But then I realized I haven't. You know, when you live near a place your whole life, so you just assume you've been there and then you realize you never have.
>> Marco Timpano: We drove the other way around Nova Scotia. We drove towards Yarmouth.
>> Amanda Barker: The south shore.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the south shore. Yarmouth and back to Baltax.
>> Amanda Barker: And Yarmouth is another great example of Yarmouth, England. Yarmouth, Massachusetts. And then one more time, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. so I've been to Sydney, Australia, but I actually haven't been to Sydney, Cape Breton, which is part of Nova Scotia. I have another one for you. somewhere also pretty warm and beautiful on both ends. Naples, Florida.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yes, that's right. I didn't think of that. So arguably two of my favorite places, to be quite honest with you. you know, Naples, Italy. Hustle and bustle and musical and really gritty, but interesting. Fascinating.
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>> Marco Timpano: And then I went to Naples, Florida and I thought it was going to be very typical to the other places I've been to in Florida.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was just so charming and wonderful and had great restaurants and beautiful beaches and I just had a great sunny time in both of them.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a beautiful town. Yeah, we really love Naples.
>> Marco Timpano: And of course it's near Marco island,
>> Amanda Barker: which is why we went. That's right, we specifically went so you could go to. You could be Marco on Marco Island.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's funny because, you know, growing up, I always heard of this little island in Florida, m that bore my name. And so as a child, you're fascinated by this place that would have your name and in your mind, you picture it to be. I don't know what. So for years I was, I kept telling you, you never take me to Marco Island. And one year you said, okay, guess where I'm taking you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was two Years ago, three years ago now, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: And we went, and it was delightful.
>> Amanda Barker: It was delightful. Yeah. I was doing a show in Tampa, and after we wrapped, we just got in the car and drove. And, off to Marco island and to Naples we went. And that was a beautiful time.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It might be one of my favorite places in Florida.
Have you been to Toledo, Ohio? I've been to. But what's the original Toledo, Spain
so now I'm trying to think of other places that I've been that, match up with both. Like having been to the original and then having been to the.
>> Marco Timpano: Or even just places that have that duality. Even if you haven't been, I'm sure there's people listening right now who are shouting out different names.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. Well, I hope not. I hope they're. Or maybe somewhere in the brain there are, Yeah. Calas was the one that came to mind. Which is funny, because there really isn't much to do in Calus. but I do know that going through England, certainly you see all the original names of all the places that, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Toledo. Have you been to Toledo?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, Toledo, Ohio, I've been to.
>> Marco Timpano: But what's the original Toledo, Spain?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't even know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't even know there was a. I mean, it makes sense. It sounds Spanish.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Where in Spain is it?
>> Marco Timpano: We, almost were gonna drive through it at one point. We were thinking of driving through Spain. And, I'm not exactly sure. It's not on the coast, I don't think. But I know that Klinger from mash, who was played by Jamie Farr, was from, Toledo, Ohio. And so, because I watched a lot of M A S H and, as a kid, you know, how could you not fall in love with Klinger? He was such a fun character that he, you know, always remained in my. In my mind. And now I have a desire. I've always had this desire to go to Klinger's hometown, which is so funny because it's a fictional character. But, you know, have you been to Toledo, Ohio?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Toledo, Ohio. I have, yeah. I, actually did a show there. Yeah. I found another one, though.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I knew I had heard of a Madrid somewhere in the States. So there's a Madrid, New Mexico.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. now, we haven't been to New Mexico yet, so we're going to have
>> Marco Timpano: to put that on our list.
>> Amanda Barker: On our list. But I do think, oh, I know another one we've been to.
>> Marco Timpano: Just to answer your question, Toledo's like if you took a pin, that's Why? I remember it and sort of eyeballed it to the center of Spain. Yeah, that's where you would. Your, your pin would end up pretty much in Toledo or near Toledo.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you remember another place we went to in Ohio? We went to a wedding there.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you were. Okay, okay. I was thinking Erie, Pennsylvania, but no.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, okay. And it's named after a much bigger and more famous city. Although this place is well known in Ohio.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, the only thing that's coming to my mind, and I know it's not the place, but you know how a lot of cities have Germantown?
>> Marco Timpano: That's what's coming to me.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's not like a Frankenmuth.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but even like, I think. Doesn't, Detroit or near Detroit have a German town that you drive past?
>> Amanda Barker: Frankenmuth.
>> Marco Timpano: No, Frankenmuth is.
>> Amanda Barker: Frankenmuth is in. Near Detroit.
>> Marco Timpano: No, Frankenmuth is in Michigan. Is in Detroit.
>> Amanda Barker: Us Also in Michigan.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I know, sorry. I meant to say Frankenmuth is near another city.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe. Well, anyway, this is not Michigan. This is Ohio.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So wrong. Wedding. This is a wedding we went to in Ohio. Do you remember the wedding we went to in Ohio?
>> Marco Timpano: no, I don't. I do remember it. I don't remember where it was.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so it was in Geneva, Ohio. That's right. But I think it's called Lake Geneva. Or let me just look here.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Because it was Geneva on the lake. Because it's on a lake. It's on Lake Erie, but they call it Geneva, Ohio.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And the funny thing about Geneva, Ohio is.
Geneva, Switzerland, is surrounded by vineyards
Or not the funny thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Geneva on the lake is what they officially call it. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The interesting thing about, Geneva, Ohio is that it is sort of surrounded by vineyards. You can go on a bunch of wine tours.
>> Amanda Barker: we had some of that wine.
>> Marco Timpano: We did, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I, don't know. I think I'd like to go to the real Geneva.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. But I don't think Geneva, Switzerland is known for its wine.
>> Amanda Barker: Probably not.
>> Marco Timpano: I think your wine might be better served in Ohio. My goodness. I'm just trying to.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of other French towns too. I think that, Especially in Michigan.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, for sure, for sure. I, just, I just think it's, I just think it's so interesting, you know, when you're, when, when you can say to someone, oh, I'm going to Paris for the weekend, and you're just driving an hour and a half away. It's always so funny to me. So I found that interesting. These place. These famous place names in areas that you don't necessarily expect them to be.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely, yeah. there's also Holland, Michigan. I've been there, but now we're getting into country.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. There's a Holland Marsh not far from.
>> Amanda Barker: Not far from here.
>> Marco Timpano: Not far from here. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: and then of course, Quebec would have a lot of French place names as well. That would be the same in France.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But I always think it's funny when you see, like, French place name somewhere that ended up being English. and Maine does have a lot of those, but Calais is the one I always think of. But there's lots of them, actually. I'm trying to think of a few of them.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure there's a Lyon in other places as well. I feel like I've seen it on the map quite a bit. so I know that Kitchener, Ontario, was formerly Berlin, and they changed the name at, World War II, but it was Berlin for years.
>> Amanda Barker: That's controversial to have a town named Berlin, so they changed it. and right next to Kitchener, of course, is Waterloo.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And Waterloo is. Although it m. Probably is pronounced differently in Belgium.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know, because it's a Belgian
>> Amanda Barker: name, hence the Napoleonic Wars. But, yeah, Waterloo. but it's actually always called Kitchener Waterloo.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And you have a jacket that says Waterloo on it.
>> Amanda Barker: I do. I want it. I love that jacket. So thank you to all who are listening who are involved in that wonderful Waterloo Library event, because I still am wearing my jacket.
A lot of place names in Illinois have changed over time
There's also, I've been to Brussels, Illinois, speaking of Belgian place names. It was not like Brussels.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it wasn't?
>> Amanda Barker: No. Well, I've never been to Brussels, but I don't think Brussels, Illinois was like Brussels. and I'm trying to think of a few others. Antwerp, Ohio, I've been to.
>> Marco Timpano: What about this? Kansas City, Kansas. And right across the river, Kansas City, Missouri.
>> Amanda Barker: It's really confusing. Even when you're there, it's confusing.
>> Marco Timpano: I just wonder, how do the people who live in either place identify which KC they're at?
>> Amanda Barker: And the bigger one is actually Missouri. That's the funny part. It's like people, Missouri, couldn't think of anything else to call their city, so they just stole the closest city's name, which was Kansas City.
>> Marco Timpano: So, great.
>> Amanda Barker: Very confusing. I'm trying to, just look. I know there's a Toronto, Kansas as Well.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is there really?
>> Amanda Barker: There is.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that there's a Toronto.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not very big. but there is. There is one. And, there's also. What's interesting, too, is there's a lot of place names that have since changed their name. Like there's Peking, Illinois, which was out of Peking, but is, of course, now Beijing.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's still Peking, Illinois, but it's no longer. We now say Beijing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Isn't that interesting?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting how names of places also change as people sort of learn to pronounce them in their original language. Because I know growing up, everyone would refer to Torino as Turin.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Like the Shroud of Turin. And then after the Olympics in Torino, everyone seemed to be calling it Torino. So it's really fascinating when you see names of places change as the years go on.
>> Amanda Barker: Illinois seems to have a lot. I'm not sure what it was about Illinois or Chicago, if it was wishful thinking. There's also a Cairo, Illinois. there's also, Lidice, Illinois, but it's called Le Dice, Illinois. there's so many places in Illinois. Shanghai City, Illinois.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Is a place.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: they just love naming their place names, or whoever got to name them, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: We drove to a San Marino in Florida, remember?
>> Amanda Barker: I think so. Where was it?
>> Marco Timpano: That was near Jacksonville. No. San Marco. It was San Marco.
>> Amanda Barker: There's also, Chateauguay, New York.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. I don't know what the original is.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, in France, French is the other one because there was so much French settlers. Same as England. Right. So there's a Bordeaux, Kentucky.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a lot. Chantilly, Missouri. Mentone, Texas is right next to Monaco, where I used to live. Yeah. Well, the original one, is it one
>> Marco Timpano: of the more exclusive areas of southern France?
>> Amanda Barker: I suppose. I suppose it is. I don't know if it's one of the more exclusive areas of Texas, but,
>> Marco Timpano: Texas or Montana.
>> Amanda Barker: Texas in Montana, Texas. And there's a lot of Parises. There's Paris, Ontario, which we mentioned. There's also Paris, Arkansas. Paris, Illinois. They had to have one.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: Paris, Maine. Yes, I do remember. Paris, Maine. That's right. Paris, Texas.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Paris, Texas, of course. There's even a film called Paris, Texas.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is there?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow. So there's quite a few. Right. it's just a.
It's amazing to me, just so many place names. A lot of them are named after German settlers
It's amazing to me, just so many place names. But I guess it was, like, also German. Ah, when you get into the German.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Of Course, there's a Munster, Texas.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a Heidelberg. I don't know if it's in Texas, but I know there's a Heidelberg, in. I want to say, Is it Illinois? Heidelberg. There's a Heidelberg.
>> Amanda Barker: There's, a. There's a Cologne, Illinois. And there's also a Frankfort, Illinois.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes. Frankfort. Isn't one of the capitals of one of the states. Frankfurt.
>> Amanda Barker: Frankfurt, Yeah. Is it? Oh, really? North Virginia, one of the Virginias.
>> Marco Timpano: Frankfurt.
>> Amanda Barker: Norfolk. I'm not sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, while you're thinking of that, let me list you all the Berlins that didn't change their name in World War II. There's Berlin, Wisconsin, Berlin, New York, which I've heard of. Berlin, Georgia, Berlin, Pennsylvania, and Berlin, Connecticut. Quite a few Berlins. We forget about all the German settlers. All the Ulster. Weren't they called the Ulster? Oh, no, those are the Ulster Scots. Anyhow, at the turn of the,
>> Marco Timpano: century, Frankfurt is the capital of Kentucky.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is it Frankfort?
>> Marco Timpano: Frankfort. So it's not Frankfurt, it's Frankfort.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of them are named after those places. It's just the names. The spelling sort of changed by the time they wrote anything down. Right.
Does Toronto have a twin city? It does. It has a few
>> Marco Timpano: What about twin cities? You know how you have a city and it has its twin city?
>> Amanda Barker: yeah. Does Toronto have a twin city?
>> Marco Timpano: It does. It has a few.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I think Amsterdam is one of them.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: And then there's a bunch of more obscure ones.
>> Amanda Barker: We should go to all the twin cities. But I remember Vaughn always had one going into. Vaughn.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: But what were they?
>> Marco Timpano: I think Vaughn is. Vaughn is where I grew up. That's why Amanda's saying, I think we've been to. I think it's. I think there's two. I think it's Monte Cassino in Italy and somewhere in Poland.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you want to hear ours? I never knew this about Toronto. Are you ready?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
There's three twin cities of Toronto; do you want to guess
And we're gonna end with this, Amanda, because we've got to the end of
>> Amanda Barker: the episode, there's three twin cities of Toronto. Do you want to guess the three twin cities?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I guessed Amsterdam. Am I correct?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Well, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you want to guess the other two?
>> Marco Timpano: No, because I'll probably get them wrong. I was so sure Amsterdam was one of them. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I mean, you could just pick two cities.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I'll pick Warsaw, Poland.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'll pick, Manchester, England.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are great suggestions. And Manchester, by the way, is another place that there's about a million Manchesters.
>> Marco Timpano: Manchester by the sea.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. In Massachusetts. Manchester, New Hampshire. there's a Manchester I believe in, in Nova Scotia. And of course, there's Manchester, which I
>> Marco Timpano: want to go to Manchester in England.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm so wanting. Next time we're in the uk, let's go to Manchester.
>> Amanda Barker: I would love to do that. All that music from the 80s. Let's go back in time for sure, and go listen to the music anyway. I'm sure there's great music now. Here we are. This is the big reveal. It's all leading up to this. Toronto's friendship. Twin cities are Ho Chi Minh City.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Vietnam. Kyiv.
>> Marco Timpano: Kyiv.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think it's Kyiv. K, Y, I, V. I think that's how they. Oh, is that how they spell it?
Amanda: I hope at this point you're dreaming about places
Okay, so Kiev, Ukraine, and Quito, Ecuador.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. And I've not been to any of those, so we'll have to. Now, that's a new goal, a new thing to strive for and dream about. Well, there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope at this point you're dreaming, whether it be about places, cities, or just slumbering away. I want to thank you for listening, Amanda. This has been a delight, talking about cities and places that we love.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely. It's been a delight for me, too. Quito, Ecuador. Who knew?
>> Marco Timpano: Who knew? Well, as always, we're recording from Toronto, which is Twin cities with Quito, Kiev and Ho Chi Minh City. And, wherever you are, we hope that you are doing very well and having a great day, afternoon or evening.
>> Amanda Barker: And no matter what time of day, if this is what you're wanting to do, I hope you do listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: February 12, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a subtle and calm conversation about the mundane. One thing that we promise is that our podcast will hopefully calm and relax you. The very least, it will hopefully just ease your tension away and who knows, maybe you'll find sleep. Thank you for joining us. I'm Marco Timpano and joining me is someone you haven't heard for the last couple of weeks, but is always a favorite, Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi, thanks for having me back, Amanda.
Today we're going to talk about cities that have famous names but aren't located
>> Marco Timpano: Today we're going to talk about cities that have famous names but aren't necessarily in the location you expect them to be.
>> Amanda Barker: Is there a name for that type of city, like Copycat?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: yeah, I don't know either.
>> Marco Timpano: So have you been to any cities that are famous but not in the place you expect them to be?
>> Amanda Barker: So I think what you mean is like London, England and London, Ontario as a great example. That's a pretty well known example for us because London, Ontario turns Out also is, although not the city London, England is. It is its own thriving city. And, so it's one we hear and have to explain a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: And we do work in London, Ontario often. And so it's about a two hour drive from Toronto. It's nothing like London, England, but it has its own charm, for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: It does. And the similarities in naming doesn't stop there. I do believe they've called the river the Thames, have they not?
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So they. And there's a London Bridge as well, in that London. And that might be where the similarities end. But I have been to many places that have the same name.
>> Marco Timpano: Just down the street from London, Ontario is Stratford, Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's home of a big theater Shakespeare festival. And it's not far from the town of Shakespeare as well.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right. You know, that's actually a really great place to start because Stratford, the reason that there is a Shakespearean festival there is because of its name. So it was obviously named Stratford. And of course we live in North America. And so so many of our town names and place names are named in tribute to, I guess you would say, the original names, for us mostly in England, of course, and some other places as well. But, Stratford is a great example because here's a town near London, you know, particularly loyalist part of Canada, where the United Empire Loyalists settled, you know, after, the American Revolution. And they were granted parcels of land for their allegiance to the king at that time.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And, it's interesting because, they named a lot of these towns. Of course, they had indigenous names. And, many of those places still do. The Loyalists decided to name them in honor of the king.
>> Marco Timpano: England, their homeland.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: Places from where they came from.
>> Amanda Barker: That's absolutely right. And, actually a little more history on that. What often happened was they came over the Pilgrims, et cetera. And then more and more people from the British Empire came and they named, so many of those towns in New England. Of course, it was New England. So they named, so many of those towns. Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Halifax, Dartmouth, I could keep naming them, sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: so many. Anyways, and then what happened was when they, left. Were asked to leave, exiled, whatever version of history you read. Anyway, when they left, they then renamed so many of the places that they settled. So now these places have been named a third time. So Halifax would be a great example. Or Portsmouth. Halifax. There's one in England. And then there's one in New England and then there's one in Nova Scotia. And again that's New Scotland. Nova Scotia. So, I'm trying to think of some others. There's so many. I'm from Hanover, Massachusetts.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Which there's a. Hanover, Germany.
>> Amanda Barker: Hanover, Germany, in fact. Yeah. And then there's a Hanover, New Hampshire, which is a bigger one. And then. So that was from the German settlers that came over.
>> Marco Timpano: We're in the province of Ontario. And have you ever been to Ontario, California?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think I have, but I've certainly heard about it.
>> Marco Timpano: We have friends who are often in that area of California. And I believe there's an airport there too, isn't there, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I think so, yeah. There's, Brunswick, and then New Brunswick, N.J. and then of course, New Brunswick became a province. New Jersey, in fact. Was New Jersey named after Jersey?
>> Marco Timpano: We have British Columbia.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's true as well. So anyway, I guess my point is simply that there's a lot of towns that were named in New England and then renamed in the Maritimes or in Ontario, depending where people settled. so London is certainly one of those. And then of course, Stratford is one of those. And that festival happened. Just to wrap my own thought up, that festival happened because they were trying to give the town some vitality. They were trying to find something that would increase tourism. And they said, well, we have this name, Stratford. Maybe enough people know that Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon in England. And maybe potentially we can actually bring people to the town by having a little theater festival. And that little theater festival in I believe the 50s, late 50s, early 60s, of course, has blossomed into one of the premier theater destinations in the world. And certainly for Shakespeare. Yes.
Have you ever been to Athens, Georgia? I haven't
>> Marco Timpano: All right, going back to the theme of famous places and not so famous areas.
>> Marco Timpano: Versus, Stratford's wonderful theatre festival. Have you ever been to Athens, Georgia?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think I have. And I've always wanted to go because it is a college town and so many great, bands and music came from there. Have you ever been?
>> Marco Timpano: I haven't. I think we drove nearby.
>> Amanda Barker: Did we drive near it or on our way to Savannah potentially?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So I don't, I haven't been, I don't think. so we'll have to make that a destination at some point.
>> Marco Timpano: We recently went to Paris.
>> Amanda Barker: We did, we went to Paris.
>> Marco Timpano: City of Lights.
>> Amanda Barker: City of Lights, Paris, Ontario.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. It's about an hour and a half drive Away. And it's a small, little charming town, actually.
>> Amanda Barker: it's quite pretty.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. on the river, but not on the Seine.
>> Amanda Barker: I was very excited to go to the Paris bakery. I was hoping for some pain au chocolat or a fresh baked croissant. And they were very lovely. But I got a pumpkin square and a butter tart.
>> Marco Timpano: A little bit different, a little bit different than the croissant that you were hoping for.
Calais, Maine, is after the French. So it's spelled the same
Any other famous place names? I know there's a Rome in New, York. Rome, New York. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, near where I did some of my growing up in New Brunswick, over the border, there was Calais, Maine, which is after the French. Calais.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. So it's spelled the same, but of course, in Maine. there is actually some French there, but they pronounce it Calais.
The first Bethlehem I ever went to was Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me what it was like when you went to Bethlehem.
>> Amanda Barker: Which one? So, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, you mean?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, because we never got to Bethlehem, Israel, did we?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, yeah, there's a story there. so the first Bethlehem I ever went to, and the only Bethlehem, in the end I thought I was going to go to the other one was, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It is quite an interesting little town. And I was performing there for a week. and they have this because Pennsylvania is steel country and there's so much steel manufacturing. A lot of it, is no longer in operation. And Bethlehem has what they call the steel stacks, which is honestly a thing to behold. An immense steel structure which was made out of steel and produced steel.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: so it sits now defunct. But because it is such a sight to behold, it's not your average factory. I don't know another way to explain it. It's just all these tubes and this huge steel structure. They've actually built around it. They've kept it there, they've built around it. And one of the things that they've built is this sort of performance venue. And it has huge windows so that you can perform in it all year long. And it overlooks these huge stacks of ste. So that's in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, I believe. Lehigh University is there as well, or Lehigh College. It's a university town, for sure. It's a very interesting town. so anyway, I was doing a show there. Now, the big windows probably weren't the most appropriate thing for our show. So it made for an interesting week, certainly. And it was a dinner theater, too. But, that was Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Fun little town in Pennsylvania.
Bill Baltax takes you to Naples and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
>> Marco Timpano: Let me take you to somewhere a little bit m warmer, perhaps a little bit more Tropical. Oh, a little bit more cosmopolitan. Okay, Sydney, Nova Scotia. But you've been to Sydney as well, correct? In Australia?
>> Amanda Barker: I've never been to Sydney, Nova Scotia. I just never made it up to Cape Breton.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I thought you did. Sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I think I did. But then I realized I haven't. You know, when you live near a place your whole life, so you just assume you've been there and then you realize you never have.
>> Marco Timpano: We drove the other way around Nova Scotia. We drove towards Yarmouth.
>> Amanda Barker: The south shore.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the south shore. Yarmouth and back to Baltax.
>> Amanda Barker: And Yarmouth is another great example of Yarmouth, England. Yarmouth, Massachusetts. And then one more time, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. so I've been to Sydney, Australia, but I actually haven't been to Sydney, Cape Breton, which is part of Nova Scotia. I have another one for you. somewhere also pretty warm and beautiful on both ends. Naples, Florida.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yes, that's right. I didn't think of that. So arguably two of my favorite places, to be quite honest with you. you know, Naples, Italy. Hustle and bustle and musical and really gritty, but interesting. Fascinating.
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>> Marco Timpano: And then I went to Naples, Florida and I thought it was going to be very typical to the other places I've been to in Florida.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was just so charming and wonderful and had great restaurants and beautiful beaches and I just had a great sunny time in both of them.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a beautiful town. Yeah, we really love Naples.
>> Marco Timpano: And of course it's near Marco island,
>> Amanda Barker: which is why we went. That's right, we specifically went so you could go to. You could be Marco on Marco Island.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's funny because, you know, growing up, I always heard of this little island in Florida, m that bore my name. And so as a child, you're fascinated by this place that would have your name and in your mind, you picture it to be. I don't know what. So for years I was, I kept telling you, you never take me to Marco Island. And one year you said, okay, guess where I'm taking you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was two Years ago, three years ago now, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: And we went, and it was delightful.
>> Amanda Barker: It was delightful. Yeah. I was doing a show in Tampa, and after we wrapped, we just got in the car and drove. And, off to Marco island and to Naples we went. And that was a beautiful time.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It might be one of my favorite places in Florida.
Have you been to Toledo, Ohio? I've been to. But what's the original Toledo, Spain
so now I'm trying to think of other places that I've been that, match up with both. Like having been to the original and then having been to the.
>> Marco Timpano: Or even just places that have that duality. Even if you haven't been, I'm sure there's people listening right now who are shouting out different names.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. Well, I hope not. I hope they're. Or maybe somewhere in the brain there are, Yeah. Calas was the one that came to mind. Which is funny, because there really isn't much to do in Calus. but I do know that going through England, certainly you see all the original names of all the places that, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Toledo. Have you been to Toledo?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, Toledo, Ohio, I've been to.
>> Marco Timpano: But what's the original Toledo, Spain?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't even know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't even know there was a. I mean, it makes sense. It sounds Spanish.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Where in Spain is it?
>> Marco Timpano: We, almost were gonna drive through it at one point. We were thinking of driving through Spain. And, I'm not exactly sure. It's not on the coast, I don't think. But I know that Klinger from mash, who was played by Jamie Farr, was from, Toledo, Ohio. And so, because I watched a lot of M A S H and, as a kid, you know, how could you not fall in love with Klinger? He was such a fun character that he, you know, always remained in my. In my mind. And now I have a desire. I've always had this desire to go to Klinger's hometown, which is so funny because it's a fictional character. But, you know, have you been to Toledo, Ohio?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Toledo, Ohio. I have, yeah. I, actually did a show there. Yeah. I found another one, though.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I knew I had heard of a Madrid somewhere in the States. So there's a Madrid, New Mexico.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. now, we haven't been to New Mexico yet, so we're going to have
>> Marco Timpano: to put that on our list.
>> Amanda Barker: On our list. But I do think, oh, I know another one we've been to.
>> Marco Timpano: Just to answer your question, Toledo's like if you took a pin, that's Why? I remember it and sort of eyeballed it to the center of Spain. Yeah, that's where you would. Your, your pin would end up pretty much in Toledo or near Toledo.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you remember another place we went to in Ohio? We went to a wedding there.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you were. Okay, okay. I was thinking Erie, Pennsylvania, but no.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, okay. And it's named after a much bigger and more famous city. Although this place is well known in Ohio.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, the only thing that's coming to my mind, and I know it's not the place, but you know how a lot of cities have Germantown?
>> Marco Timpano: That's what's coming to me.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's not like a Frankenmuth.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but even like, I think. Doesn't, Detroit or near Detroit have a German town that you drive past?
>> Amanda Barker: Frankenmuth.
>> Marco Timpano: No, Frankenmuth is.
>> Amanda Barker: Frankenmuth is in. Near Detroit.
>> Marco Timpano: No, Frankenmuth is in Michigan. Is in Detroit.
>> Amanda Barker: Us Also in Michigan.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I know, sorry. I meant to say Frankenmuth is near another city.
>> Amanda Barker: I can't believe. Well, anyway, this is not Michigan. This is Ohio.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So wrong. Wedding. This is a wedding we went to in Ohio. Do you remember the wedding we went to in Ohio?
>> Marco Timpano: no, I don't. I do remember it. I don't remember where it was.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so it was in Geneva, Ohio. That's right. But I think it's called Lake Geneva. Or let me just look here.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Because it was Geneva on the lake. Because it's on a lake. It's on Lake Erie, but they call it Geneva, Ohio.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And the funny thing about Geneva, Ohio is.
Geneva, Switzerland, is surrounded by vineyards
Or not the funny thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Geneva on the lake is what they officially call it. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The interesting thing about, Geneva, Ohio is that it is sort of surrounded by vineyards. You can go on a bunch of wine tours.
>> Amanda Barker: we had some of that wine.
>> Marco Timpano: We did, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I, don't know. I think I'd like to go to the real Geneva.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. But I don't think Geneva, Switzerland is known for its wine.
>> Amanda Barker: Probably not.
>> Marco Timpano: I think your wine might be better served in Ohio. My goodness. I'm just trying to.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of other French towns too. I think that, Especially in Michigan.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, for sure, for sure. I, just, I just think it's, I just think it's so interesting, you know, when you're, when, when you can say to someone, oh, I'm going to Paris for the weekend, and you're just driving an hour and a half away. It's always so funny to me. So I found that interesting. These place. These famous place names in areas that you don't necessarily expect them to be.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely, yeah. there's also Holland, Michigan. I've been there, but now we're getting into country.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. There's a Holland Marsh not far from.
>> Amanda Barker: Not far from here.
>> Marco Timpano: Not far from here. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: and then of course, Quebec would have a lot of French place names as well. That would be the same in France.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But I always think it's funny when you see, like, French place name somewhere that ended up being English. and Maine does have a lot of those, but Calais is the one I always think of. But there's lots of them, actually. I'm trying to think of a few of them.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure there's a Lyon in other places as well. I feel like I've seen it on the map quite a bit. so I know that Kitchener, Ontario, was formerly Berlin, and they changed the name at, World War II, but it was Berlin for years.
>> Amanda Barker: That's controversial to have a town named Berlin, so they changed it. and right next to Kitchener, of course, is Waterloo.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And Waterloo is. Although it m. Probably is pronounced differently in Belgium.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know, because it's a Belgian
>> Amanda Barker: name, hence the Napoleonic Wars. But, yeah, Waterloo. but it's actually always called Kitchener Waterloo.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And you have a jacket that says Waterloo on it.
>> Amanda Barker: I do. I want it. I love that jacket. So thank you to all who are listening who are involved in that wonderful Waterloo Library event, because I still am wearing my jacket.
A lot of place names in Illinois have changed over time
There's also, I've been to Brussels, Illinois, speaking of Belgian place names. It was not like Brussels.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it wasn't?
>> Amanda Barker: No. Well, I've never been to Brussels, but I don't think Brussels, Illinois was like Brussels. and I'm trying to think of a few others. Antwerp, Ohio, I've been to.
>> Marco Timpano: What about this? Kansas City, Kansas. And right across the river, Kansas City, Missouri.
>> Amanda Barker: It's really confusing. Even when you're there, it's confusing.
>> Marco Timpano: I just wonder, how do the people who live in either place identify which KC they're at?
>> Amanda Barker: And the bigger one is actually Missouri. That's the funny part. It's like people, Missouri, couldn't think of anything else to call their city, so they just stole the closest city's name, which was Kansas City.
>> Marco Timpano: So, great.
>> Amanda Barker: Very confusing. I'm trying to, just look. I know there's a Toronto, Kansas as Well.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is there really?
>> Amanda Barker: There is.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that there's a Toronto.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not very big. but there is. There is one. And, there's also. What's interesting, too, is there's a lot of place names that have since changed their name. Like there's Peking, Illinois, which was out of Peking, but is, of course, now Beijing.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's still Peking, Illinois, but it's no longer. We now say Beijing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Isn't that interesting?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting how names of places also change as people sort of learn to pronounce them in their original language. Because I know growing up, everyone would refer to Torino as Turin.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Like the Shroud of Turin. And then after the Olympics in Torino, everyone seemed to be calling it Torino. So it's really fascinating when you see names of places change as the years go on.
>> Amanda Barker: Illinois seems to have a lot. I'm not sure what it was about Illinois or Chicago, if it was wishful thinking. There's also a Cairo, Illinois. there's also, Lidice, Illinois, but it's called Le Dice, Illinois. there's so many places in Illinois. Shanghai City, Illinois.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Is a place.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: they just love naming their place names, or whoever got to name them, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: We drove to a San Marino in Florida, remember?
>> Amanda Barker: I think so. Where was it?
>> Marco Timpano: That was near Jacksonville. No. San Marco. It was San Marco.
>> Amanda Barker: There's also, Chateauguay, New York.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. I don't know what the original is.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, in France, French is the other one because there was so much French settlers. Same as England. Right. So there's a Bordeaux, Kentucky.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a lot. Chantilly, Missouri. Mentone, Texas is right next to Monaco, where I used to live. Yeah. Well, the original one, is it one
>> Marco Timpano: of the more exclusive areas of southern France?
>> Amanda Barker: I suppose. I suppose it is. I don't know if it's one of the more exclusive areas of Texas, but,
>> Marco Timpano: Texas or Montana.
>> Amanda Barker: Texas in Montana, Texas. And there's a lot of Parises. There's Paris, Ontario, which we mentioned. There's also Paris, Arkansas. Paris, Illinois. They had to have one.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: Paris, Maine. Yes, I do remember. Paris, Maine. That's right. Paris, Texas.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Paris, Texas, of course. There's even a film called Paris, Texas.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is there?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow. So there's quite a few. Right. it's just a.
It's amazing to me, just so many place names. A lot of them are named after German settlers
It's amazing to me, just so many place names. But I guess it was, like, also German. Ah, when you get into the German.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Of Course, there's a Munster, Texas.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a Heidelberg. I don't know if it's in Texas, but I know there's a Heidelberg, in. I want to say, Is it Illinois? Heidelberg. There's a Heidelberg.
>> Amanda Barker: There's, a. There's a Cologne, Illinois. And there's also a Frankfort, Illinois.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes. Frankfort. Isn't one of the capitals of one of the states. Frankfurt.
>> Amanda Barker: Frankfurt, Yeah. Is it? Oh, really? North Virginia, one of the Virginias.
>> Marco Timpano: Frankfurt.
>> Amanda Barker: Norfolk. I'm not sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, while you're thinking of that, let me list you all the Berlins that didn't change their name in World War II. There's Berlin, Wisconsin, Berlin, New York, which I've heard of. Berlin, Georgia, Berlin, Pennsylvania, and Berlin, Connecticut. Quite a few Berlins. We forget about all the German settlers. All the Ulster. Weren't they called the Ulster? Oh, no, those are the Ulster Scots. Anyhow, at the turn of the,
>> Marco Timpano: century, Frankfurt is the capital of Kentucky.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is it Frankfort?
>> Marco Timpano: Frankfort. So it's not Frankfurt, it's Frankfort.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of them are named after those places. It's just the names. The spelling sort of changed by the time they wrote anything down. Right.
Does Toronto have a twin city? It does. It has a few
>> Marco Timpano: What about twin cities? You know how you have a city and it has its twin city?
>> Amanda Barker: yeah. Does Toronto have a twin city?
>> Marco Timpano: It does. It has a few.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I think Amsterdam is one of them.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: And then there's a bunch of more obscure ones.
>> Amanda Barker: We should go to all the twin cities. But I remember Vaughn always had one going into. Vaughn.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: But what were they?
>> Marco Timpano: I think Vaughn is. Vaughn is where I grew up. That's why Amanda's saying, I think we've been to. I think it's. I think there's two. I think it's Monte Cassino in Italy and somewhere in Poland.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you want to hear ours? I never knew this about Toronto. Are you ready?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
There's three twin cities of Toronto; do you want to guess
And we're gonna end with this, Amanda, because we've got to the end of
>> Amanda Barker: the episode, there's three twin cities of Toronto. Do you want to guess the three twin cities?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I guessed Amsterdam. Am I correct?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Well, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you want to guess the other two?
>> Marco Timpano: No, because I'll probably get them wrong. I was so sure Amsterdam was one of them. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. I mean, you could just pick two cities.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I'll pick Warsaw, Poland.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'll pick, Manchester, England.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are great suggestions. And Manchester, by the way, is another place that there's about a million Manchesters.
>> Marco Timpano: Manchester by the sea.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. In Massachusetts. Manchester, New Hampshire. there's a Manchester I believe in, in Nova Scotia. And of course, there's Manchester, which I
>> Marco Timpano: want to go to Manchester in England.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm so wanting. Next time we're in the uk, let's go to Manchester.
>> Amanda Barker: I would love to do that. All that music from the 80s. Let's go back in time for sure, and go listen to the music anyway. I'm sure there's great music now. Here we are. This is the big reveal. It's all leading up to this. Toronto's friendship. Twin cities are Ho Chi Minh City.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Vietnam. Kyiv.
>> Marco Timpano: Kyiv.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think it's Kyiv. K, Y, I, V. I think that's how they. Oh, is that how they spell it?
Amanda: I hope at this point you're dreaming about places
Okay, so Kiev, Ukraine, and Quito, Ecuador.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. And I've not been to any of those, so we'll have to. Now, that's a new goal, a new thing to strive for and dream about. Well, there you go.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope at this point you're dreaming, whether it be about places, cities, or just slumbering away. I want to thank you for listening, Amanda. This has been a delight, talking about cities and places that we love.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely. It's been a delight for me, too. Quito, Ecuador. Who knew?
>> Marco Timpano: Who knew? Well, as always, we're recording from Toronto, which is Twin cities with Quito, Kiev and Ho Chi Minh City. And, wherever you are, we hope that you are doing very well and having a great day, afternoon or evening.
>> Amanda Barker: And no matter what time of day, if this is what you're wanting to do, I hope you do listen and sleep.
Sculpting and Jazz Cats
(Original airdate: February 10, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation on, hopefully a mundane topic. I know some of my listeners have been saying that they enjoy the topics and they find it intriguing. That's not what we're trying to do. We're just trying to have a calm conversation. But if you do find this particular episode interesting, I hope you're able to just sit back and enjoy it. Thank you for listening. My name is Marco Timpano and joining me today is a friend who happens to be an award winning playwright, screenwriter and now a novelist. His first novel, Thunderbolts and Dunderheads, A myth, sterically funny novel By Todd mcginnis is adapted from his novelization of the award winning farcical stage comedy, Thunderbolts and Dunderheads. I want to welcome Todd McGinnis to the Insomnia project. Welcome, Todd.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you very much, Marco. It's great to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, before we go any further, I need to know what a mysterically funny novel means.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm a cheesy marketing kind of guy and I love to make up words. thunderbolts and dunderheads is a novel about iris, the goddess of rainbows, going to Mount Olympus for a promotion, and then her day goes horribly wrong from there and hilariously wrong from there. And, I was trying to indicate in the title, you know, that it's a funny book or whatever. And I was like, it's a hysterically funny book. And I was like, no, wait, it's a myth sterically funny book, because Greek gods, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Of course. And, what is your favorite myth? Greek myth.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there's so many. I. I would actually probably say it is. I was gonna. I guess I'm gonna blank on the name for a moment. Ah, Sisyphus. Oh, the myth of Sisyphus. And part, of the reason it's my favorite Greek myth has a little bit less to do with Greek mythology and more to do with, Warner brothers cartoons. Because there's a really good documentary I saw with, Chuck Jones, who was the creator of many of the greatest Warner brothers cartoons and characters. Bugs Bunny and wile E. Coyote. And, and he was talking in that about how wile E. Coyote was conceived as Sisyphus, the character who is eternally rolling a boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down and he has to start again. And I've never looked at Wile E. Coyote the same way since.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful. Your book is available on Amazon if anyone wishes to go out and read this myth sterically funny novel. And, we will have it in our show notes, the link, in case anyone is dozing off and doesn't want to write it down. Is that all right with you, Todd?
>> Marco Timpano: That is absolutely wonderful, yes.
Cat jazz is something the boy invented. Is that correct
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk about your piano playing cat that you do duets with. And you refer to this style of music as cat jazz. Is that correct?
>> Marco Timpano: That is correct. Cat jazz is something the boy invented. I refer to him as the boy. His actual name is Mr. Burns. so it's a Simpsons themed thing. he's a very, very affectionate and very curious orange tabby and, I've been teaching myself piano for quite a few years now. And I go down and sit and practice and enjoy playing. And for a while he used to sit on the piano bench beside me and just sort of stare at my fingers as I was playing piano. And then he sort of moved on to kind of meowing at me while I played piano.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Which made me wonder if he was trying to sing along. and then it evolved to him jumping up on the keyboard at random points and walking around on the keyboard while I'm playing piano. so. And I was like, are you, are you trying to jam with me? Is that what's happening? so. And what would happen is every once in a while we would have a day where I'd be, you know, if you get practicing on piano and you get really into what you're doing and you're playing a song and, you know, I'm having a day where I'm, oh, I'm gonna get through this whole song without any mistakes. And then without any warning, from nowhere, this giant ball of orange fur comes flying through the air and lands on the piano keys. and, you know, spoils the take, but makes me laugh a great deal. So he's, he's started playing. And at one point I commented my wife, I said, I think he's gonna just start playing without me soon. one night we were lying in bed, I think we were just drifting off to sleep, and suddenly some very loud piano playing started happening. yeah, he's, he's taken to improvising on his own. He doesn't need me anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a particular jazz artist that Mr. Burns is into?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm just gonna guess, based on the style of his playing, that he's kind of a Miles Davis guy.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. It's definitely a cool cat is what you have.
>> Marco Timpano: It's all improv and it's never the same thing.
>> Marco Timpano: I understand you also play fetch with your cat, which is something unusual as far as, you know, cat and human, relations goes.
>> Marco Timpano: Absolutely. Do you have any pets?
>> Marco Timpano: No, we don't have a cat or dog in the house, but my mom has a dog and we often refer to the dog as our pet.
>> Marco Timpano: Mm. He's the best kind. He's like an adopted one that you can send home when you're done with him. That's right, yeah, we have, Yeah. So our boy likes, to play fetch with, you know those little balls that they sell in the pet stores for cats? The little ball with a bell in it. And it's kind of like a little
>> Marco Timpano: plastic cage with a little bell inside that as it rolls, the bell continues to jingle.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly. Exactly. And. And, you know, a lot of people are sort of like, why. Why do they even make cat toys? Because cats generally don't play with cat toys. We. We had. We got a few when he was very, very small, and we had a few from previous cats that we'd had. And initially, he never played with cat toys. He'd only, you know, like many cats, he would only play with things that he wasn't supposed to. You know, the mouse of your computer, pens, binder, clips, cutlery on the table that should be on the floor, that sort of thing. So, you know, typical cat. And one day I was working on a play with my writing partner at the time, and we, suddenly heard this ball with a bell in it sort of bashing around downstairs. And, we sort of looked at each other like, what's going on? Cat came walking up and, brought the ball over to me and spat it out like. Okay, like a dog. Like dogs that I'd had when I was a kid would do. So I picked it up and I threw it. Went down into the, Through. Down the stairs into the downstairs area. He ran after it like a maniac and came back. And I thought, you know, he's a cat. You know, that. That'll be it. Like 13 retrievals. Wow. I've. I've had several dogs, and, And the ones that I've had, they fall into two camps. One camp will return it three or four times, and then after that, it turns into a game of keep away. Right. Where they run around and make you chase them. And the other one was that we'd had was a border collie. Very, very clever dog. And if you threw a ball, he'd run and get it and bring it back to. And if you threw it again, he'd look at you like, that's weird. And then he'd run and grab it and bring it back again, but slower. And if you threw it a third time, he'd look at you like, what's your problem? And then he'd walk over and lay down beside the ball. His attitude, I guess, was, well, clearly, you don't want this. You keep throwing it away. So I'll just lie here and let you know where it is. But, yeah. So Mr. Burns frequently plays, fetch for long periods of time. And it taught me something about the mindset of cats, which is sometimes you Start playing with a cat and you think, oh, they're bored, they're done. And then you go off for 20 minutes and do something else and you come back and the cat picks up the game where you left off. And I'm like, wow, they're, they're the opposite of dogs. They have the opposite of whatever add is. Twenty minutes later he's like, okay, let's keep playing, right?
Todd Burns adopted a kitten from the forest at his family cottage
I was like, oh, really? I thought we were done with that game. They have a very long attention span, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Which I guess it sounds like you have a very special cat.
>> Marco Timpano: He's, he is a pretty special little boy. He he actually adopted us out of the forest up at our family cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we found him. We didn't find him, he found us. I was we had some friends over and we were barbecuing and I heard this really loud meow. And I looked and coming out of the woods over on our neighbor's property, I heard this loud meow. Like there was a cat coming. And. But I couldn't see it. And the meow kept getting closer and I still couldn't see it. It was closer, it was louder. And then I suddenly looked and realized there was this teeny weeny, weeny little kitten, who was racing towards us. He was scrawny as anything. He was, he was very, very hungry. And anyway, yeah, he came right out of the forest. I obviously smelled food and thought, well, I guess these people will feed me. And so he ran over and ran, up onto the deck, immediately tried to nurse from my friend's dog. Okay. Which, which fortunately the dog is a very good tempered shelty and mostly just looked at the little kitten like, what are you doing? You're just you're just trying to cramp my, my mooching style. Right? but anyway, so he we picked him up and he was this little scrawny, teeny weeny little ball. We took him and I immediately knew we were adopting another cat. And. Right. Anyway, so we, we kept him and took him to the vets. And the vet was astounded because he said, he said it's pretty impressive because he said there's no way he's more than seven weeks old. And he said based on the number of ticks that I had pulled off of him and the fleas and various other things that the vet sort of looked at, he goes, I'm pretty sure he's been on his own for at least two weeks. Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, well, that's wonderful. What a wonderful story of how Mr. Burns came to you and, the fun that you two have been having.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Both, playing fetch and playing jazz, which I think is incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: He has just arrived in the room and decided he wants to be on the podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's not never a problem for us. We love pets. And I think I. I think I just heard him.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you hear him?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. That's awesome. you, Todd, you also. I guess he. Right on cue, too. What an intelligent cat. I have to say, he's.
>> Marco Timpano: He's a real showboat. Wow. He has now climbed up and is hanging over my shoulder. So if that spoils the audio, let me know and I'll get rid of him.
>> Marco Timpano: It should be perfectly fine.
You like to sculpt out of modeling clay called Fimo
let me ask you this. You also like to sculpt out of. Is it Fimo or F I M
>> Marco Timpano: M O. Yeah, Fimo. It's a, it's a modeling clay. It's been around for a long time and, back in a long time ago. Anyway, 90s, late 80s 90s friend of mine, his older brother is an incredibly talented artist, and he made, all kinds of neat little crafts with this modeling clay. And it's a modeling clay that comes in all these different colors and, and you can combine them to get like, sort of neat, marbly techniques and so on. But the beauty of it is when you're done modeling, it's like Plasticine. And when you're done creating, whatever you create, you just bake it in your oven at a fairly low heat for about 20 minutes or half an hour, and then suddenly, like, it. It hardens into, you know, a finished product. so you can make some. You know, you can keep remolding it until you've got it right, and then, and then you can basically just bake it in the oven and harden it, and the next thing you know, you've got a finished little sculpture. So.
>> Marco Timpano: So your oven acts like a kiln in a certain sort of way.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So which, which is nice because it saves you the kiln, fees.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Of real sculpting. And, Yeah. So I, I was just intrigued by that because I remember one of my earliest memories going to school, I think. I think it was the first day in kindergarten was that they had Plasticine and they let us play with Plasticine. I was transfixed. I loved modeling things. I remember making what in my mind, in my recollection, was a perfect replica of the Flintstones car in plastic. and I think I made a Flintstones house at a Plasticine and I was very into the Flintstones.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess it sounds like it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And you know, so anyway, that was. Those were in the days when it's like you, you walked home from school at lunch, you had a sandwich while you watched the Flintstones and then you walked back to school. Yes, that was a thing in my neighborhood. So anyway, yeah, it was this fantastic, thing that I loved working with. And then as happens, you grow up, you find other interests and you forget about things. And then all of a sudden one day I saw my, my friend wearing this really interesting looking, brooch that sort of looked like a really old man's face, but it was incredibly detailed. And that, was when he told me that his brother had made it. And he made it out of this substance called Fimo. And so I, I bought some Fimo and started working with that and made a bunch of those. Made a bunch of weird looking heads and all kinds of little sculptures and Christmas tree ornaments and, you know, little for people and stuff like that. So it's. I find it very relaxing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yes.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a very Zen like thing to work with. It's very tactile. And I just really enjoy working with it.
>> Marco Timpano: And I remember when I was a kid there was this advertisement for this modeling clay called Das. Das Modeling clay.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: And I remember I wanted it so bad and never, never ever got. Got it. I remember being quite pricey.
>> Marco Timpano: And yes, it was. I had the same experience. I remember seeing ads and I was like, I really want that. And I didn't get it because it was pricey.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I don't know where it was from. I want to say like a Scandinavian country. Because I always remember the commercials being a little bit different than what we were used to. and that's the only recollection I have of that particular modeling clay. I think I remember it being gray. Like it wasn't. I believe with Fimo you can get different colors.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: But with this one here was just like a gray or a terracotta kind of color. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And then you were meant to make things out of it and then paint them.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Which, I'm not a, I'm not particularly adept at painting, so that would also have made it a no go for me. So, I liked working with Fimo because I'm like, okay, I want this to be these colors. And
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Paris: I'm pretty decent at doing some artistic things
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, my cat has decided that he wants to attack the microphone.
>> Marco Timpano: He just wants to make his presence known.
>> Marco Timpano: He really does. It's very important to him to be the center of attention, which on an audio podcast he's unaware that no one can see him. Which is too bad because he's really showing off right now. But yeah, I, I got into a modeling clay. Do you have any hobbies like that? Do you work with, like arts or crafts?
>> Marco Timpano: you know, I do, I'm very crafty. I'm very, I've got a good artist hand if you will. Like. I'm pretty decent at doing some artistic things. So. So for example, I've mentioned this on, I've mentioned this on the podcast before, but I, had a, a kit of a gingerbread house for Christmas and I didn't do it for Christmas. So you know, they come in a box and they're pre made, like the house sculptures already pre made and you just have to take everything out and start decorating it. Well, I got busy around Christmas or I didn't get to it and so I thought, okay, I'm going to make a Valentine's Day gingerbread house. So this morning I got up, opened the package. It was of course sealed in like a cellophane or like a cling wrap. So it was, it was still fresh, I guess fresh enough. I don't think gingerbread necessarily goes bad. But anyways, it's February now and I'M doing something that I should have done in December, but I started decorating and putting little, little cinnamon hearts all over it and those little candies that say, be mine or marry me, or whatever it is all over it. And, my wife came down, Amanda, and she saw, and she's like, this is what you've been doing since 7 this morning. I'm like, yes. And she goes, it looks really, really nice, actually. So I'll take a photo and I'll put it on our. On our Instagram page for people to see. But that's what I did this morning. But I do have a. Like, I'm. I'm a good calligrapher, and I'm pretty good when it comes to cutting and pasting, if you will.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's excellent. yeah, I admire people who can do calligraphy. I, My, my handwriting started out terrible and got worse, as life went on. So, I, I can occasionally. I actually had a calligraphy set at one point, and I worked on practicing it, and I would find that, the problem seems to be patience, because I could make, with the right head of the pen or whatever, I could make shape the right capital letters, and I could make each individual letter look nice. When I was doing on the practice pages. You know, they give you those practice pages and the examples, and I'd be, oh, okay, I can do this. And then I' get, you know, the proper piece of stationary and attempt to write on it. And I would get about three letters in, and then my hand would do something weird. And I'd be like, I clearly would make a terrible monk in the Middle Ages. It'd be like, who drew this? This is a sacrilege. You have ruined the Bible.
>> Marco Timpano: You cannot. You cannot go on. You cannot go on scribing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, get out of the monastery, perhaps. Unless you can brew beer, get out. But, yeah, so that, that was not my draw. Writing, calligraphy was not my forte. But that's the, the beauty of sculpting, especially with materials like fimo or clay. What have you is you're shaping it into what you want. And if you make a mistake and it isn't what you want, you can often repair it, reshape it, change it. You can just keep working it. It doesn't. Until you get what you want. As opposed to certain kinds of painting or drawing where if you make a mistake, you've kind of ruined it. right. And. And I. So I love that. I love the trial and error aspect of it. I did a Plaster, of Paris project last year for the first time. it took a sculpting or. Yeah, yeah, sculpting class. and we had a, they had a couple of plaster paris projects that you could do. And one of them was to bring in a bunch of items that meant something to you. and you sort of press them into the plaster of Paris, which is in a mold. Okay. And then, so, so you have like a little square mold, and it's filled with plaster paris, maybe about an inch or two, sorry, 2.5 centimeters or so. You, so you took your various objects and you would press them into it when it was sort of, it was beginning to sort of set. So it had kind of a ah, interesting texture to it. And so I brought in a bunch of items from toy items from my childhood from a GI Joe set that I had.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I don't know if you'd remember this. This will, depending on the age range of this will be a fun flashback for some people. G.I. joe used to be a toy doll that boys loved. He was a soldier and he was like a foot tall. he was, he was quite sure. Much later on they made little teeny versions of them. And there was a set you could get with GI Joe, which was the curse of the mummy's tomb or something like that. It was the search for the, an Egyptian tomb. And it came with a little like Tutankhamun, like sarcophagus and and a bunch of archaeological dig tools like shovels and picks and so on. So I, I combined all those elements and I created this artifact with the sarcophagus in the middle and a pickaxe and a shovel and used a little circle to create the impression of a sun. And I used some triangles to create the impression of pyramids. So I was creating something that's called, it's called a bas relief, I think that's how you pronounce it. and basically so it's sort of a three dimensional picture. And then when I was done with it all, it actually worked out and it looked really good. And then I sprinkled it with this kind of copper paint and then brushed this other sort of copper sandy toned paint over it. And effectively what I did was I created a fake Egyptian relic from using impressions from a bunch of my GI Joe toys when I was a kid. And it turned out really nice.
You make intricate Ukrainian Easter eggs. Does it bring back associations for you
>> Marco Timpano: That's pretty amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a pretty cool artifact. I quite like it. I have it on display in the front hall. I'm very proud of it. It's my big artistic accomplishment.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that kind of stuff, like, because you can make things that you treasured when you were a kid kind of come back to life in a different form.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And admire them from. From a different perspective.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. It was very cool. And I sort of, I included enough elements, I think. I think there was a little. I also had a little owl statuette. Little pewter owl statuette, which looks kind of like, I'm gonna forget the name. One of the, In part of Egyptian mythology, there's an owl. Anyway, But anyhow, I. I want to say Horus, and I'm sure that's wrong. Anyway, I put this little owl as part of the picture and stuff like that. So there's the owl and the pyramids and the sarcophagus and the shovel and the. The pickaxe or the pickaxe for digging and so on. It came out quite nice. That's wonderful. It's very. I find it very. It's odd because you create something like that. It's very. A tranquil. I said sort of earlier, it's a tranquil sort of Zen experience. But what was interesting to me is that when I look at it, I recapture the feeling of creating. Relaxes me just to look at it, which is kind of interesting. I didn't expect that kind of phenomenon. Do you find that when you look at anything that you've created, do you. Does it bring back associations for you?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I did once. You know, those Ukrainian Easter eggs, they're called Pinsky, I believe, where they're, like intricate colors and intricate designs, and a lot of them have black as a major sort of color theme in them. M. It's very. It's very, you know, true, to the Ukrainian traditions. And I always wanted to know how to do them because there used to be a sort of. I forget what they were even called, like a Heritage Canada commercial or something, where they were making these eggs in, I want to say, Saskatchewan and Northern Saskatchewan, where there's a big Ukrainian population. And I was always fascinated by that my whole life. And it turns out I happen to be in some store, some art store or something, and they were selling the wax and the tool that you need to make these eggs. And so I bought a book on how to do it. This was before you could find out how to do things on the Internet. There wasn't YouTube at the time that I was making these. And I Brought them home and I started to make these really beautiful, intricate pinskis or Ukrainian, Easter eggs. And it's a long process. It's a long, arduous, painstaking process of putting wax on your egg, dipping it and dyeing it and then taking it out where it has this color, let's say it's all red. Then you apply wax on it again and you dip it in a different color, a darker color. And so whatever you covered with wax stays red and whatever you've dyed now changes to the next color. And you keep doing that till you get to black and you dye the egg black. And then your egg is covered with wax. So you have to melt the wax off with a candle and not, burn your egg and just constantly wipe the wax off the egg until you reveal the design that you've made. And so each egg took me so long to do. And I have them in a little bowl and they sit there and they're really intricate and I love looking at them because I remember how long and how painstaking and they're really beautiful. And it was my only attempt at ever making them and someone picked one up and broke it. And I was really upset by it because it had taken me so long to make. Right. And I guess they didn't realize it and they're fragile so they shouldn't be played with.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But, yeah, when I look at them, I remember everything that went into making them and how long it took and I think I'll do it again. but it took so long and you know, I think I was cross eyed by the end of it that, I haven't ventured into doing it again. But they, they do come out quite beautiful. And you are kind of proud when you see them. At least I am when I see them. My creations.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's. It. That's a. Yeah. That to me is the real motivator, is the pride in creation. Like anything that I do the, like even with, like the book that I just, that I just finished, the Thunderbolts and Dunderheads, I designed the COVID myself because in one of my many careers I've been a graphic designer. But I did the, And part of the reason I did it was because I didn't want to subject any perfectly decent normal human who's a graphic designer to having to deal with me as a client.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I have a very, I had a very, very clear idea of exactly what I wanted. And I think when you, if you have a vague idea, you're like, hey, I kind of want to cover that suggests this or that, then you're a good client for an artist because then the artist can try and satisfy your sort of vague idea. Sure. but if you have a really absolutely clear idea of what the picture is going to be, if you can, you should draw it yourself because otherwise you're going to drive some poor graphic designer crazy. Because what you really want to do is draw it yourself.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I was like. And although my, my drawing skills are limited, but fortunately, computer technology enables me to compensate for my weaknesses. And also I had a very simplistic idea. I wanted to create a very sort of cartoony, childlike cover, to try and convey the sort of silliness of the novel so that nobody would pick the novel up thinking, oh, this is a serious treatise on Greek mythology and then be horribly disappointed when a whole bunch of silly things happen. I try to. I do my best for Truth in advertising, but every time I look at the COVID of it, it makes me smile because it's just so childlike and silly. It's a, basically the image on the COVID is a sort of. If you think of like little Lego figures, like a little Lego people from the Lego Movie, like the real round yellow heads.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like Iris, the goddess of rainbows, is depicted as a little round yellow head with like a triangle body. That's her rainbow colored dress.
Marco Tamp: Todd McInnes Dodd on Insomnia podcast
And she's sort of screaming and running away from Zeus who's up above some clouds holding some thunderbolts in his hand, ready to throw them at her. Right. and it's just. I know it might sound like an alarming image, but it's actually just an adorably cute, kind of hilarious image. I don't know why, but I find it very, very funny.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it sounds like you made your client happy.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I did. And he was remarkably, easy for me to deal with.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so great. Well, listen, you can pick up a copy of that book on Amazon called Thunderbolts and A Myth Sterically Funny novel by Todd McInnes Dodd. It's been just so having you on the Insomnia project. We've come to the end of the episode, if you can believe it.
>> Marco Timpano: I can't thank. Thank you so much for having me on. This was so much fun. I actually do love listening to this project and I find it very. I don't have insomnia, but I find it very calming and wonderful to listen to. So it's part of my regular listening now.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, well, thank you so much, Todd. You know, we have so many people who listen just. Just for the fun of listening to it or they find it relaxing. They'll listen in the morning when they're getting ready for work or school or whatnot. So we appreciate all our listeners. And, thank you for being a part of the show today.
>> Marco Timpano: My pleasure. Thank you for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: As always. We hope you listen and enjoy, I guess, is the right way to end this one, because it sounds like Todd's not gonna sleep. And if you don't, that's great, too. Until next time, I'm Marco Tamp.
(Original airdate: February 10, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation on, hopefully a mundane topic. I know some of my listeners have been saying that they enjoy the topics and they find it intriguing. That's not what we're trying to do. We're just trying to have a calm conversation. But if you do find this particular episode interesting, I hope you're able to just sit back and enjoy it. Thank you for listening. My name is Marco Timpano and joining me today is a friend who happens to be an award winning playwright, screenwriter and now a novelist. His first novel, Thunderbolts and Dunderheads, A myth, sterically funny novel By Todd mcginnis is adapted from his novelization of the award winning farcical stage comedy, Thunderbolts and Dunderheads. I want to welcome Todd McGinnis to the Insomnia project. Welcome, Todd.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you very much, Marco. It's great to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, before we go any further, I need to know what a mysterically funny novel means.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm a cheesy marketing kind of guy and I love to make up words. thunderbolts and dunderheads is a novel about iris, the goddess of rainbows, going to Mount Olympus for a promotion, and then her day goes horribly wrong from there and hilariously wrong from there. And, I was trying to indicate in the title, you know, that it's a funny book or whatever. And I was like, it's a hysterically funny book. And I was like, no, wait, it's a myth sterically funny book, because Greek gods, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Of course. And, what is your favorite myth? Greek myth.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there's so many. I. I would actually probably say it is. I was gonna. I guess I'm gonna blank on the name for a moment. Ah, Sisyphus. Oh, the myth of Sisyphus. And part, of the reason it's my favorite Greek myth has a little bit less to do with Greek mythology and more to do with, Warner brothers cartoons. Because there's a really good documentary I saw with, Chuck Jones, who was the creator of many of the greatest Warner brothers cartoons and characters. Bugs Bunny and wile E. Coyote. And, and he was talking in that about how wile E. Coyote was conceived as Sisyphus, the character who is eternally rolling a boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down and he has to start again. And I've never looked at Wile E. Coyote the same way since.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful. Your book is available on Amazon if anyone wishes to go out and read this myth sterically funny novel. And, we will have it in our show notes, the link, in case anyone is dozing off and doesn't want to write it down. Is that all right with you, Todd?
>> Marco Timpano: That is absolutely wonderful, yes.
Cat jazz is something the boy invented. Is that correct
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk about your piano playing cat that you do duets with. And you refer to this style of music as cat jazz. Is that correct?
>> Marco Timpano: That is correct. Cat jazz is something the boy invented. I refer to him as the boy. His actual name is Mr. Burns. so it's a Simpsons themed thing. he's a very, very affectionate and very curious orange tabby and, I've been teaching myself piano for quite a few years now. And I go down and sit and practice and enjoy playing. And for a while he used to sit on the piano bench beside me and just sort of stare at my fingers as I was playing piano. And then he sort of moved on to kind of meowing at me while I played piano.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Which made me wonder if he was trying to sing along. and then it evolved to him jumping up on the keyboard at random points and walking around on the keyboard while I'm playing piano. so. And I was like, are you, are you trying to jam with me? Is that what's happening? so. And what would happen is every once in a while we would have a day where I'd be, you know, if you get practicing on piano and you get really into what you're doing and you're playing a song and, you know, I'm having a day where I'm, oh, I'm gonna get through this whole song without any mistakes. And then without any warning, from nowhere, this giant ball of orange fur comes flying through the air and lands on the piano keys. and, you know, spoils the take, but makes me laugh a great deal. So he's, he's started playing. And at one point I commented my wife, I said, I think he's gonna just start playing without me soon. one night we were lying in bed, I think we were just drifting off to sleep, and suddenly some very loud piano playing started happening. yeah, he's, he's taken to improvising on his own. He doesn't need me anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a particular jazz artist that Mr. Burns is into?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm just gonna guess, based on the style of his playing, that he's kind of a Miles Davis guy.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. It's definitely a cool cat is what you have.
>> Marco Timpano: It's all improv and it's never the same thing.
>> Marco Timpano: I understand you also play fetch with your cat, which is something unusual as far as, you know, cat and human, relations goes.
>> Marco Timpano: Absolutely. Do you have any pets?
>> Marco Timpano: No, we don't have a cat or dog in the house, but my mom has a dog and we often refer to the dog as our pet.
>> Marco Timpano: Mm. He's the best kind. He's like an adopted one that you can send home when you're done with him. That's right, yeah, we have, Yeah. So our boy likes, to play fetch with, you know those little balls that they sell in the pet stores for cats? The little ball with a bell in it. And it's kind of like a little
>> Marco Timpano: plastic cage with a little bell inside that as it rolls, the bell continues to jingle.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly. Exactly. And. And, you know, a lot of people are sort of like, why. Why do they even make cat toys? Because cats generally don't play with cat toys. We. We had. We got a few when he was very, very small, and we had a few from previous cats that we'd had. And initially, he never played with cat toys. He'd only, you know, like many cats, he would only play with things that he wasn't supposed to. You know, the mouse of your computer, pens, binder, clips, cutlery on the table that should be on the floor, that sort of thing. So, you know, typical cat. And one day I was working on a play with my writing partner at the time, and we, suddenly heard this ball with a bell in it sort of bashing around downstairs. And, we sort of looked at each other like, what's going on? Cat came walking up and, brought the ball over to me and spat it out like. Okay, like a dog. Like dogs that I'd had when I was a kid would do. So I picked it up and I threw it. Went down into the, Through. Down the stairs into the downstairs area. He ran after it like a maniac and came back. And I thought, you know, he's a cat. You know, that. That'll be it. Like 13 retrievals. Wow. I've. I've had several dogs, and, And the ones that I've had, they fall into two camps. One camp will return it three or four times, and then after that, it turns into a game of keep away. Right. Where they run around and make you chase them. And the other one was that we'd had was a border collie. Very, very clever dog. And if you threw a ball, he'd run and get it and bring it back to. And if you threw it again, he'd look at you like, that's weird. And then he'd run and grab it and bring it back again, but slower. And if you threw it a third time, he'd look at you like, what's your problem? And then he'd walk over and lay down beside the ball. His attitude, I guess, was, well, clearly, you don't want this. You keep throwing it away. So I'll just lie here and let you know where it is. But, yeah. So Mr. Burns frequently plays, fetch for long periods of time. And it taught me something about the mindset of cats, which is sometimes you Start playing with a cat and you think, oh, they're bored, they're done. And then you go off for 20 minutes and do something else and you come back and the cat picks up the game where you left off. And I'm like, wow, they're, they're the opposite of dogs. They have the opposite of whatever add is. Twenty minutes later he's like, okay, let's keep playing, right?
Todd Burns adopted a kitten from the forest at his family cottage
I was like, oh, really? I thought we were done with that game. They have a very long attention span, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Which I guess it sounds like you have a very special cat.
>> Marco Timpano: He's, he is a pretty special little boy. He he actually adopted us out of the forest up at our family cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we found him. We didn't find him, he found us. I was we had some friends over and we were barbecuing and I heard this really loud meow. And I looked and coming out of the woods over on our neighbor's property, I heard this loud meow. Like there was a cat coming. And. But I couldn't see it. And the meow kept getting closer and I still couldn't see it. It was closer, it was louder. And then I suddenly looked and realized there was this teeny weeny, weeny little kitten, who was racing towards us. He was scrawny as anything. He was, he was very, very hungry. And anyway, yeah, he came right out of the forest. I obviously smelled food and thought, well, I guess these people will feed me. And so he ran over and ran, up onto the deck, immediately tried to nurse from my friend's dog. Okay. Which, which fortunately the dog is a very good tempered shelty and mostly just looked at the little kitten like, what are you doing? You're just you're just trying to cramp my, my mooching style. Right? but anyway, so he we picked him up and he was this little scrawny, teeny weeny little ball. We took him and I immediately knew we were adopting another cat. And. Right. Anyway, so we, we kept him and took him to the vets. And the vet was astounded because he said, he said it's pretty impressive because he said there's no way he's more than seven weeks old. And he said based on the number of ticks that I had pulled off of him and the fleas and various other things that the vet sort of looked at, he goes, I'm pretty sure he's been on his own for at least two weeks. Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, well, that's wonderful. What a wonderful story of how Mr. Burns came to you and, the fun that you two have been having.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Both, playing fetch and playing jazz, which I think is incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: He has just arrived in the room and decided he wants to be on the podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's not never a problem for us. We love pets. And I think I. I think I just heard him.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you hear him?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. That's awesome. you, Todd, you also. I guess he. Right on cue, too. What an intelligent cat. I have to say, he's.
>> Marco Timpano: He's a real showboat. Wow. He has now climbed up and is hanging over my shoulder. So if that spoils the audio, let me know and I'll get rid of him.
>> Marco Timpano: It should be perfectly fine.
You like to sculpt out of modeling clay called Fimo
let me ask you this. You also like to sculpt out of. Is it Fimo or F I M
>> Marco Timpano: M O. Yeah, Fimo. It's a, it's a modeling clay. It's been around for a long time and, back in a long time ago. Anyway, 90s, late 80s 90s friend of mine, his older brother is an incredibly talented artist, and he made, all kinds of neat little crafts with this modeling clay. And it's a modeling clay that comes in all these different colors and, and you can combine them to get like, sort of neat, marbly techniques and so on. But the beauty of it is when you're done modeling, it's like Plasticine. And when you're done creating, whatever you create, you just bake it in your oven at a fairly low heat for about 20 minutes or half an hour, and then suddenly, like, it. It hardens into, you know, a finished product. so you can make some. You know, you can keep remolding it until you've got it right, and then, and then you can basically just bake it in the oven and harden it, and the next thing you know, you've got a finished little sculpture. So.
>> Marco Timpano: So your oven acts like a kiln in a certain sort of way.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So which, which is nice because it saves you the kiln, fees.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Of real sculpting. And, Yeah. So I, I was just intrigued by that because I remember one of my earliest memories going to school, I think. I think it was the first day in kindergarten was that they had Plasticine and they let us play with Plasticine. I was transfixed. I loved modeling things. I remember making what in my mind, in my recollection, was a perfect replica of the Flintstones car in plastic. and I think I made a Flintstones house at a Plasticine and I was very into the Flintstones.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess it sounds like it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And you know, so anyway, that was. Those were in the days when it's like you, you walked home from school at lunch, you had a sandwich while you watched the Flintstones and then you walked back to school. Yes, that was a thing in my neighborhood. So anyway, yeah, it was this fantastic, thing that I loved working with. And then as happens, you grow up, you find other interests and you forget about things. And then all of a sudden one day I saw my, my friend wearing this really interesting looking, brooch that sort of looked like a really old man's face, but it was incredibly detailed. And that, was when he told me that his brother had made it. And he made it out of this substance called Fimo. And so I, I bought some Fimo and started working with that and made a bunch of those. Made a bunch of weird looking heads and all kinds of little sculptures and Christmas tree ornaments and, you know, little for people and stuff like that. So it's. I find it very relaxing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yes.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a very Zen like thing to work with. It's very tactile. And I just really enjoy working with it.
>> Marco Timpano: And I remember when I was a kid there was this advertisement for this modeling clay called Das. Das Modeling clay.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: And I remember I wanted it so bad and never, never ever got. Got it. I remember being quite pricey.
>> Marco Timpano: And yes, it was. I had the same experience. I remember seeing ads and I was like, I really want that. And I didn't get it because it was pricey.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And I don't know where it was from. I want to say like a Scandinavian country. Because I always remember the commercials being a little bit different than what we were used to. and that's the only recollection I have of that particular modeling clay. I think I remember it being gray. Like it wasn't. I believe with Fimo you can get different colors.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: But with this one here was just like a gray or a terracotta kind of color. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And then you were meant to make things out of it and then paint them.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Which, I'm not a, I'm not particularly adept at painting, so that would also have made it a no go for me. So, I liked working with Fimo because I'm like, okay, I want this to be these colors. And
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Paris: I'm pretty decent at doing some artistic things
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, my cat has decided that he wants to attack the microphone.
>> Marco Timpano: He just wants to make his presence known.
>> Marco Timpano: He really does. It's very important to him to be the center of attention, which on an audio podcast he's unaware that no one can see him. Which is too bad because he's really showing off right now. But yeah, I, I got into a modeling clay. Do you have any hobbies like that? Do you work with, like arts or crafts?
>> Marco Timpano: you know, I do, I'm very crafty. I'm very, I've got a good artist hand if you will. Like. I'm pretty decent at doing some artistic things. So. So for example, I've mentioned this on, I've mentioned this on the podcast before, but I, had a, a kit of a gingerbread house for Christmas and I didn't do it for Christmas. So you know, they come in a box and they're pre made, like the house sculptures already pre made and you just have to take everything out and start decorating it. Well, I got busy around Christmas or I didn't get to it and so I thought, okay, I'm going to make a Valentine's Day gingerbread house. So this morning I got up, opened the package. It was of course sealed in like a cellophane or like a cling wrap. So it was, it was still fresh, I guess fresh enough. I don't think gingerbread necessarily goes bad. But anyways, it's February now and I'M doing something that I should have done in December, but I started decorating and putting little, little cinnamon hearts all over it and those little candies that say, be mine or marry me, or whatever it is all over it. And, my wife came down, Amanda, and she saw, and she's like, this is what you've been doing since 7 this morning. I'm like, yes. And she goes, it looks really, really nice, actually. So I'll take a photo and I'll put it on our. On our Instagram page for people to see. But that's what I did this morning. But I do have a. Like, I'm. I'm a good calligrapher, and I'm pretty good when it comes to cutting and pasting, if you will.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's excellent. yeah, I admire people who can do calligraphy. I, My, my handwriting started out terrible and got worse, as life went on. So, I, I can occasionally. I actually had a calligraphy set at one point, and I worked on practicing it, and I would find that, the problem seems to be patience, because I could make, with the right head of the pen or whatever, I could make shape the right capital letters, and I could make each individual letter look nice. When I was doing on the practice pages. You know, they give you those practice pages and the examples, and I'd be, oh, okay, I can do this. And then I' get, you know, the proper piece of stationary and attempt to write on it. And I would get about three letters in, and then my hand would do something weird. And I'd be like, I clearly would make a terrible monk in the Middle Ages. It'd be like, who drew this? This is a sacrilege. You have ruined the Bible.
>> Marco Timpano: You cannot. You cannot go on. You cannot go on scribing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, get out of the monastery, perhaps. Unless you can brew beer, get out. But, yeah, so that, that was not my draw. Writing, calligraphy was not my forte. But that's the, the beauty of sculpting, especially with materials like fimo or clay. What have you is you're shaping it into what you want. And if you make a mistake and it isn't what you want, you can often repair it, reshape it, change it. You can just keep working it. It doesn't. Until you get what you want. As opposed to certain kinds of painting or drawing where if you make a mistake, you've kind of ruined it. right. And. And I. So I love that. I love the trial and error aspect of it. I did a Plaster, of Paris project last year for the first time. it took a sculpting or. Yeah, yeah, sculpting class. and we had a, they had a couple of plaster paris projects that you could do. And one of them was to bring in a bunch of items that meant something to you. and you sort of press them into the plaster of Paris, which is in a mold. Okay. And then, so, so you have like a little square mold, and it's filled with plaster paris, maybe about an inch or two, sorry, 2.5 centimeters or so. You, so you took your various objects and you would press them into it when it was sort of, it was beginning to sort of set. So it had kind of a ah, interesting texture to it. And so I brought in a bunch of items from toy items from my childhood from a GI Joe set that I had.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I don't know if you'd remember this. This will, depending on the age range of this will be a fun flashback for some people. G.I. joe used to be a toy doll that boys loved. He was a soldier and he was like a foot tall. he was, he was quite sure. Much later on they made little teeny versions of them. And there was a set you could get with GI Joe, which was the curse of the mummy's tomb or something like that. It was the search for the, an Egyptian tomb. And it came with a little like Tutankhamun, like sarcophagus and and a bunch of archaeological dig tools like shovels and picks and so on. So I, I combined all those elements and I created this artifact with the sarcophagus in the middle and a pickaxe and a shovel and used a little circle to create the impression of a sun. And I used some triangles to create the impression of pyramids. So I was creating something that's called, it's called a bas relief, I think that's how you pronounce it. and basically so it's sort of a three dimensional picture. And then when I was done with it all, it actually worked out and it looked really good. And then I sprinkled it with this kind of copper paint and then brushed this other sort of copper sandy toned paint over it. And effectively what I did was I created a fake Egyptian relic from using impressions from a bunch of my GI Joe toys when I was a kid. And it turned out really nice.
You make intricate Ukrainian Easter eggs. Does it bring back associations for you
>> Marco Timpano: That's pretty amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a pretty cool artifact. I quite like it. I have it on display in the front hall. I'm very proud of it. It's my big artistic accomplishment.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that kind of stuff, like, because you can make things that you treasured when you were a kid kind of come back to life in a different form.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And admire them from. From a different perspective.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. It was very cool. And I sort of, I included enough elements, I think. I think there was a little. I also had a little owl statuette. Little pewter owl statuette, which looks kind of like, I'm gonna forget the name. One of the, In part of Egyptian mythology, there's an owl. Anyway, But anyhow, I. I want to say Horus, and I'm sure that's wrong. Anyway, I put this little owl as part of the picture and stuff like that. So there's the owl and the pyramids and the sarcophagus and the shovel and the. The pickaxe or the pickaxe for digging and so on. It came out quite nice. That's wonderful. It's very. I find it very. It's odd because you create something like that. It's very. A tranquil. I said sort of earlier, it's a tranquil sort of Zen experience. But what was interesting to me is that when I look at it, I recapture the feeling of creating. Relaxes me just to look at it, which is kind of interesting. I didn't expect that kind of phenomenon. Do you find that when you look at anything that you've created, do you. Does it bring back associations for you?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I did once. You know, those Ukrainian Easter eggs, they're called Pinsky, I believe, where they're, like intricate colors and intricate designs, and a lot of them have black as a major sort of color theme in them. M. It's very. It's very, you know, true, to the Ukrainian traditions. And I always wanted to know how to do them because there used to be a sort of. I forget what they were even called, like a Heritage Canada commercial or something, where they were making these eggs in, I want to say, Saskatchewan and Northern Saskatchewan, where there's a big Ukrainian population. And I was always fascinated by that my whole life. And it turns out I happen to be in some store, some art store or something, and they were selling the wax and the tool that you need to make these eggs. And so I bought a book on how to do it. This was before you could find out how to do things on the Internet. There wasn't YouTube at the time that I was making these. And I Brought them home and I started to make these really beautiful, intricate pinskis or Ukrainian, Easter eggs. And it's a long process. It's a long, arduous, painstaking process of putting wax on your egg, dipping it and dyeing it and then taking it out where it has this color, let's say it's all red. Then you apply wax on it again and you dip it in a different color, a darker color. And so whatever you covered with wax stays red and whatever you've dyed now changes to the next color. And you keep doing that till you get to black and you dye the egg black. And then your egg is covered with wax. So you have to melt the wax off with a candle and not, burn your egg and just constantly wipe the wax off the egg until you reveal the design that you've made. And so each egg took me so long to do. And I have them in a little bowl and they sit there and they're really intricate and I love looking at them because I remember how long and how painstaking and they're really beautiful. And it was my only attempt at ever making them and someone picked one up and broke it. And I was really upset by it because it had taken me so long to make. Right. And I guess they didn't realize it and they're fragile so they shouldn't be played with.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But, yeah, when I look at them, I remember everything that went into making them and how long it took and I think I'll do it again. but it took so long and you know, I think I was cross eyed by the end of it that, I haven't ventured into doing it again. But they, they do come out quite beautiful. And you are kind of proud when you see them. At least I am when I see them. My creations.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's. It. That's a. Yeah. That to me is the real motivator, is the pride in creation. Like anything that I do the, like even with, like the book that I just, that I just finished, the Thunderbolts and Dunderheads, I designed the COVID myself because in one of my many careers I've been a graphic designer. But I did the, And part of the reason I did it was because I didn't want to subject any perfectly decent normal human who's a graphic designer to having to deal with me as a client.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I have a very, I had a very, very clear idea of exactly what I wanted. And I think when you, if you have a vague idea, you're like, hey, I kind of want to cover that suggests this or that, then you're a good client for an artist because then the artist can try and satisfy your sort of vague idea. Sure. but if you have a really absolutely clear idea of what the picture is going to be, if you can, you should draw it yourself because otherwise you're going to drive some poor graphic designer crazy. Because what you really want to do is draw it yourself.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I was like. And although my, my drawing skills are limited, but fortunately, computer technology enables me to compensate for my weaknesses. And also I had a very simplistic idea. I wanted to create a very sort of cartoony, childlike cover, to try and convey the sort of silliness of the novel so that nobody would pick the novel up thinking, oh, this is a serious treatise on Greek mythology and then be horribly disappointed when a whole bunch of silly things happen. I try to. I do my best for Truth in advertising, but every time I look at the COVID of it, it makes me smile because it's just so childlike and silly. It's a, basically the image on the COVID is a sort of. If you think of like little Lego figures, like a little Lego people from the Lego Movie, like the real round yellow heads.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like Iris, the goddess of rainbows, is depicted as a little round yellow head with like a triangle body. That's her rainbow colored dress.
Marco Tamp: Todd McInnes Dodd on Insomnia podcast
And she's sort of screaming and running away from Zeus who's up above some clouds holding some thunderbolts in his hand, ready to throw them at her. Right. and it's just. I know it might sound like an alarming image, but it's actually just an adorably cute, kind of hilarious image. I don't know why, but I find it very, very funny.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it sounds like you made your client happy.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I did. And he was remarkably, easy for me to deal with.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so great. Well, listen, you can pick up a copy of that book on Amazon called Thunderbolts and A Myth Sterically Funny novel by Todd McInnes Dodd. It's been just so having you on the Insomnia project. We've come to the end of the episode, if you can believe it.
>> Marco Timpano: I can't thank. Thank you so much for having me on. This was so much fun. I actually do love listening to this project and I find it very. I don't have insomnia, but I find it very calming and wonderful to listen to. So it's part of my regular listening now.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, well, thank you so much, Todd. You know, we have so many people who listen just. Just for the fun of listening to it or they find it relaxing. They'll listen in the morning when they're getting ready for work or school or whatnot. So we appreciate all our listeners. And, thank you for being a part of the show today.
>> Marco Timpano: My pleasure. Thank you for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: As always. We hope you listen and enjoy, I guess, is the right way to end this one, because it sounds like Todd's not gonna sleep. And if you don't, that's great, too. Until next time, I'm Marco Tamp.
Hotels & Authors_Arthurs
(Original airdate: Nov 5, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about the mundane to help you, our listeners, find your way to sleep or relaxation. And I just want to say, start off. You might be wondering why this show when we just had one on Wednesday.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'll let you consider that. And I'm going to let you take a drink because you feel a bit mouth noisy to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda brings in a, glass of water with a lot of ice, so it clanks away.
>> Amanda Barker: In my defense, this is slightly melted ice.
Marco says some ads on the podcast were too loud and disturbed listeners
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so I just want to start the, start this episode off by saying I understand that there were some very loud ads that we had in the mid part of our episodes and at the end of our episode recently. And, thankfully our listeners reached out to me and said, the ads are too loud. They're waking us up as we're falling asleep.
>> Amanda Barker: Was that for all markets, Marco?
>> Marco Timpano: That was for the U.S. marco. So it seemed like, or at least that's what I heard. The response I heard were all from U.S. american listeners. and so if you're listening in another part of the world and you're hearing really loud ads in the middle and towards the end of the podcast, please let us know. But I've removed all those ads. I've asked the partner that we work with acast to please remove those ads because I can't determine if they're loud or not for the different markets. Amanda? I only select the type of ad that can be played.
>> Amanda Barker: Which in your defense was a sleeping ad, right? I think it was a mattress, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think it was a mattress ad. And so I said like anything to do with sleep, you can advertise on our show, thinking that it would be calm and relaxing. And it turns out this one particular sleep ad was loud and disturbing people. So I apologize for that. They have all been pulled. You may hear some ads at the very top of the show. Of course, we're using those ads to make revenue so that we can continue to have the podcast on and, you know, just to help us with the costs that are associated with this podcast. So you will no longer hear mid roll or end roll ads unless I am reading them. I told them I'll do spons ads or host red ads because I can determine the volume of that and the pacing of that so that people who are mid sort of mid drift off won't be disturbed by them.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's. I just wanted to come out and say that to our listeners. Hopefully I haven't lost listeners who are really turned off by it. And if it disturbed your sleep, I apologize. But I have received some beautiful emails from people, Amanda, saying that they love the show and that those ads were just a bit jarring. That brought that to my attention. Now, Amanda, you are joining a gang of some sort.
>> Amanda Barker: I am joining a gang.
>> Marco Timpano: A motorcycle gang.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'm actually right now trying to figure out the etymology of the name of my new gang. I think it's a gang, right? We're allowed to say gang.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know about that, but it's not quite a gang. I also want to mention this, Amanda, before I forget, that if you've downloaded episodes previous to today's episode, those downloaded episodes may still have the ads on them. So you might want to delete those and redownload them because now they won't feature the ad. But if you downloaded them as of yesterday, they may have still had the ads in the middle and at the end. So that's the only other sort of clarifying statement I want to make.
Amanda recently joined a Vespa riding gang on Facebook
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so I have recently joined a gang on Facebook. and the name of this gang is the Piper Doves. Now I'm trying to. I have not partaken in any of Their activities. Any gang related activities as of yet? I feel like I'm being a bit coy with the word gang, but I think that is what it is actually called.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a group of people, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yep. And in this case a group of, I, think females. Female identifying people, which are females. and they're called the Piper Doves. Now I'm trying to find the etymology of the name and I know I did see, the etymology of the name and now I'm just trying to.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll let you look that up as I drop my pencil here. Amanda's joined this Vespa riding gang. So it's a bunch of, women who are scooters. Oh, scooters, sorry, scooter riding women in the Toronto area. It's just in the city, right, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I think so, yeah. And they ride their scooters around and they're women and that's their thing. So I thought, well, that's me and I have a scooter, so I'm gonna do that. But now I'm trying to figure out why they're called the Piper Doves. And I know, I know I've seen it, somewhere on this group, but I can't find it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'll let you look for it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's something, Piper. I gotta find it.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda's gonna look for it.
We got a lovely review for our podcast, five stars
While she's looking for it, I also wanted to mention we got a lovely review. So apart from, you know, all the feedback that I got with regards to, you know, the loud ads, I also got a lovely review and I'm really grateful for it. And it's from Jay Electra and she called and she writes favorite podcast, five stars. So already after a day of being very upset that these, these ads were waking people up, this really picked up my experience. So thank you, Jay Electra. I'll just read you the review. It says, engaging, yet relaxing, thoughtful and fun. Marco, Amanda, Nidhi and guests became my friends through the pandemic. Pause. Thank you for sharing your talent, creativity, amazing network, and many hours of companionship with the rest of with a restless world. So I just want to say this, thank you. First of all, thank you for that lovely review. Secondly, we have had so many people listen to our podcast because of the pandemic. And we never mention the pandemic because nobody needs to hear more about that.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone's living it in their own way.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. You know, and so we try not to. We don't mention it. But, I mention it only because it was referenced in the review. But thank you. If you're just listening just to have a friendly voice talk to you about things that hopefully don't bother you. Right, Amanda? So thank you for all our new listeners who have joined in because of what's going on in the world.
Heidi Kitten: Speaking of birds, I know we mention Wingspan frequently
All right, enough of all that. Since I'm giving a little bonus episode here, we will just get into it. And now you can sort of not worry about us talking about everything that we spoke off the top of the show.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, here we go. So somebody wrote, I found it. Not sure what a Piper dove is yet, but I'm Heidi Kitten. And so they wrote, piper is the word for scooterist. Somebody on a scooter. Oh. Is a piper a piper? Yeah. And dove is a pacifist or bird. So, it's the idea of a peaceful gang.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's what I have joined.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of birds, I know we mention Wingspan all the time. One of our listeners said they got into Wingspan and their family loves it.
>> Marco Timpano: And that makes me so happy.
>> Amanda Barker: It makes me happy too. And, maybe we'll do a round of Wingspan tonight. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe we'll tape it and I'll put it on the Patreon episode. Like put it as a Patreon episode so people can watch us watch. Can we film it and put it up?
>> Amanda Barker: What do you mean? Can we?
>> Marco Timpano: Like shall we or.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, perfect. Okay, we'll do that. Yes, we certainly can, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: I love Wingspan because I love that it's a 40 minute commitment that'll just rezone me, put me in a nice place, allow me to just think about birds and facts about birds and, strategies. But, you know, in a simple, soothing kind of way.
Arthur: We went to Paris, Ontario, last weekend. It's the official city of the season
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting. We seem to this season talk a lot about Paris, Ontario, and we were there last weekend.
>> Amanda Barker: It's the official city of the season.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess so. And you know, anyone listening who's from Paris? You have a beautiful. You have a beautiful city, a beautiful town, I guess you would say. I don't know if it's really qualifies to be a city with regards to population.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It might not be an actual city, but I have to say any place that has a river running through it is beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: No doubt. And we got to stay at that hotel that we mentioned.
>> Amanda Barker: Have we not talked about this yet?
>> Marco Timpano: We've talked about the hotel, but we weren't able to stay there. So we actually stayed at the hotel.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't Realize we haven't unearthed this?
>> Marco Timpano: No. So we'll describe what happened when we went to this lovely hotel. So it's an old hotel from the 1800s called the M. Ambassador.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just gonna let you try to find it in your brain. I know what it is. No, I'll tell you. It's the Arlington.
>> Marco Timpano: Arlington. The Arlington.
>> Amanda Barker: But I wanted to see how many versions of the hotel name you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Why do I want to say Ambassador?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, it's the Arlington. The Arlington Hotel in downtown Paris, Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: It is right at the. There's a light, the four corners, and a crosswalk. That is quite a, It's called the Barnes Dance Crosswalk because it can go in every direction, including diagonally.
>> Marco Timpano: I kind of love that.
>> Amanda Barker: It's called quite a, crosswalk.
>> Marco Timpano: They call it a dance. And if you haven't experienced one of these crosswalks, all the lights. So the floor lights will be red, and you can walk in every direction, including diagonal. During that particular quote, unquote.
>> Amanda Barker: Dance diagonally.
>> Marco Timpano: Diagonally, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Make it a proper adverb.
>> Marco Timpano: We had somebody actually reach out, about the, the grammar that we were talking about.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, and correcting me.
>> Marco Timpano: No, just saying how, that. I'll look it up in a moment. They're like, you know, it's Amanda's. Right. With the grammar or something. I'll look up the exact quote. But, So you. You do that little farmer's dance, or what was it called? Barnyard dance.
>> Amanda Barker: It's someone's name. It's Barnes Dance. That's like Farmer's dance.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: You just spin your partner around the crosswalk to get to the other side.
>> Marco Timpano: How hungry would that be if you could do a square dance?
>> Amanda Barker: As you could. Again, can or may. Two different things. You can do a, square dance across the road in Paris, Ontario, if that's what your heart chooses for you. Well, anyway, you cross the crosswalk, and
>> Marco Timpano: you get to the hotel.
>> Amanda Barker: There it is. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And every room is themed with a particular author in mind.
>> Amanda Barker: And then they've jumped away from that theme only a few times. For filmmakers, I think. I mean, Stanley Kubrick might be an author. I don't know. Leonardo da Vinci, I suppose, made some books, so there's a few that you're like, okay, I don't know if that. But whatever. I mean, be a stickler for the authors, but most of them are authors.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. We're there with friends.
>> Amanda Barker: By the way, author is one of the words that I always have to, put through my mind because otherwise you'll say Arthur. Well, because I think I'm saying it wrong. Because of being a Bostonian. There are words that you just learn to say, I guess, wrong, quote, unquote. And Arthur always sounds like I'm saying it like it should be Arthur. Yeah, right.
Amanda wanted something that would lend itself to a Halloween experience
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, so we're excited to see which Arthur we're going to be, whose room we're going to get. And our friends get their room first, or we go to their room first.
>> Amanda Barker: And I think we should mention that it's Halloween weekend. This was last weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: So Amanda's really hoping her author is going to have some sort of.
>> Amanda Barker: I wanted something that would lend itself to a Halloween experience. Halloween spooky weekend. So some of the options would have been the Mary Shelley room, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: She wrote Frankenstein.
>> Amanda Barker: Indeed. Or, even like the Brothers Grimm. The Brothers Grimm. Sir Arthur. There we go. Arthur. Not Arthur.
>> Marco Timpano: Not Arthur.
>> Amanda Barker: Arthur Conan Doyle. Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote Sherlock Holmes, even kind of has a bit of a suspenseful, feel. Halloween vibe. Or, Agatha Christie was another one.
>> Marco Timpano: She wrote a lot of mystery books.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I'm trying to think of other spooky, rooms, but anyway, there were a few.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah, Stanley Kubrick would be spooky in its own right, I suppose.
>> Marco Timpano: So however, we go to our friend's room, Matt and Mel, who have been on the show, and they use their hotel key. They open it, and as we pry open the door, all excited to see their room, it reveals that the room is.
>> Amanda Barker: We see a raven and then a dark blue paint on the walls and all these etchings. And it's the Edgar Allan Poe room.
>> Marco Timpano: And we're pretty excited because, as you mentioned, it's Halloween weekend. So this is really a perfect.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, there's a raven in it. Like a perfect, spooky, eerie, Halloween themed room.
>> Marco Timpano: On point with the weekend that we're looking to have. And so we're very excited. And there's like quotes on the wall that he's written and little black frames with little black cutouts of him.
>> Amanda Barker: And there's the telltale heart. There's a frame of the telltale heart. There's a, as I said, huge frame of the raven. so those lock and key, those types of things that will lead you to pose. Mostly poetry or short stories. So very spooky. And the thing too is Edgar Allan Poe, I believe, was a New Englander. Anything from, whether it's Sleepy Hollow, New York, which isn't technically New England, or anywhere in Massachusetts. obviously Salem, but anywhere in Massachusetts. We really love our fall. Right. So spooky Halloween into Thanksgiving, those types of Thanksgiving. So I'm hoping for, again, Mary Shelley, maybe Emily Dickinson, another New Englander who wrote some actually quite eerie and sad and lonely, but also eerie poetry. So maybe that would be a nice, spooky experience. you know, Halloween, kind of that eerie, somber kind of thing. Very excited. And so we turn the key and we are greeted with Maya Angelou.
>> Marco Timpano: That was our room. Maya Angelou. So not spooky in any way, shape or form.
>> Amanda Barker: Empowering, in fact.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And, it had various photos of her life framed on the walls.
>> Amanda Barker: She had quite a life. I learned a lot about her in that room.
>> Marco Timpano: It was great. And above the bed was the poem.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe it's called Still I Rise. Or maybe it's just called I Rise.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's called Still I Rise. Or it looked like it was Still I Rise, because it was.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, still I rise is the refrain in the poem. And it's a beautiful poem. And it was written over the bed. but also pictures of her as a singer in her youth, pictures of her political activism over the years, obviously pictures of her with Oprah, who was a big, big supporter and proponent of her work.
>> Marco Timpano: And friend.
>> Amanda Barker: And friend. Yeah. so just some really beautiful and empowering, photos, poems. and it was decorated in sort of a 1960s vibe a little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So you felt like maybe you're taking a rest from a march that day. Like it had that kind of vibe to it. Like maybe you were in Memphis or Dallas and you've now, you know, this is your little, you know, Middle America room.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what it felt like. not Edgar Allan Poe, not that experience at all. So not the Halloween experience, but, you know. But an experience nonetheless.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. Lovely.
If you have an interesting hotel, let us know. Send us a word on Instagram
And then we had the opportunity to see other rooms, because we did. We happened to run into two really
>> Amanda Barker: lovely people who were like, a very wonderful woman who was cleaning the rooms and seemed very happy to show us some rooms that we really.
>> Marco Timpano: And proud of the hotel.
>> Amanda Barker: And. And let me tell you, they were amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We saw some amazing rooms.
>> Marco Timpano: Which was your favorite?
>> Amanda Barker: Alice in Wonderland, actually, kind of the Lewis Carroll room kind of stood out to me. I liked the Oscar Wilde room. Seemed very interesting. how about you?
>> Marco Timpano: I really like the, Stan Lee room.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought that was a cool room.
>> Amanda Barker: And.
>> Marco Timpano: And the Ernest Hemingway room was my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Hemingway was a great room. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I didn't think I would like that room based on photos I saw online. And then when you see it in real life, you're like, oh, this is a really cool room.
>> Amanda Barker: I actually think the online photos didn't do them all justice.
>> Marco Timpano: I agree. Because you don't get to see the view from those rooms. And like we said, it's right on the corner of the main street. And so you have really awesome views no matter where your room is.
>> Amanda Barker: Apparently in the Edgar Allan Poe room, it had a spooky history as well. We got a little extra tour, spooky goings on that have happened in that room. So, you know, and different people have different feelings about those types of things. But I quite love. I like to dig into that in October and even November. I enjoy the spooky fall.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. So that was our trip, our weekend.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And we got to see the basement, which was really. It was just a really neat hotel, which, you know, it's smart because it could just easily have been a chain hotel or even just a, kind of nice older hotel with no real character other than the fact that it was a bit older or had been there a while. So they're very, very smart to do what they did. and I know there are a few. There are a lot of hotels that do this. I know there's a big one in LA called, the Madonna Inn.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know this.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And every room is themed. I heard about this. And, there's also one in Chatham, Ontario, that I don't think it's all authors, but it's, themed rooms anyway. But being somebody who loves to read and being somebody with an English degree, I have to say I love the fact that they're all authors. And then being a Virgo, the only thing that, I'm kind of stuck on is the fact that there's a few that aren't maybe technically authors, but whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, we've been talking a lot about hotels because we talked about the cool hotel in Ottawa, the Swiss hotel we went to. If you have an interesting hotel in your. Or you've been to an interesting hotel, let us know. Send us a word on Instagram. If you have photos or on Twitter or however you want to reach us, we'll be happy to know more about cool hotels, because I would love to stay in more interesting hotels.
Sometimes the city or the place is the destination, sometimes it's not
>> Amanda Barker: Well, and also, you know, there is something to be said, and I think this is something you and I have really kind of played with and discovered in the last two years that sometimes the city or the place is the destination, and sometimes you can't go to the city or place you want to go to for various reasons. So finding a landmark or an experience like that, I mean, Paris, Ontario, truly wasn't a town that we were like, gotta go there. and the only reason we did go there was because it was called Paris. So we were being a bit cheeky, I guess, in the fact that we thought, okay, we're going to Paris for Valentine's Day, even though we had no idea what it held or what there was to do. But once we discovered that hotel in Paris, kind of by a fluke, then, then it became this whole experience. Let's all go with our friends and stay at this hotel. And truly, the big part was the reveal. What room will you get? And how will that determine your experience?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I kind of love the idea of going to one of those hotels with some creative friends and each of us having to write a story in the style of that author.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Or a treatment for a, series in that author or whatever it is that you. Or a painting inspired by. I mean, you know, just something creative because it's such a. Each room is such an homage to each of these people and their lives. I just think, what a wonderful experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Yeah.
You love Canadian literature, but you don't read Canadian literature
you know, one of the things I love, too, is, you know, how you mentioned the authors and the theme of that and how, you know, you're a big fan of. You're a big fan of reading and books and whatnot.
>> Amanda Barker: I am.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, you have a book club. You're in a book gang.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess you could say I'm in a book gang. Yeah. And actually, the book club was something. And I've talked about it on the show. Something that I did, did, for me, for my personal kind of development and mental health, because I felt like I had a lot of the same friends. And it's harder when you're older and I'm in my 40s, where you want to expand your circle of friends. And I just thought, what a way to do it. And through books.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so interesting because I'm working on this podcast called Getting lit with Linda
>> Amanda Barker: Which is an excellent podcast with Linda
>> Marco Timpano: Mora is the host. It's a Canadian literature podcast, and I don't read Canadian literature.
>> Amanda Barker: And I do.
>> Marco Timpano: And you do. You love Canadian literature. And actually, some of your recommendations I've mentioned are going to be, on the podcast in the future. But I digress. So Linda talks about these books on the podcast and I feel like I have a connection to these books even though I haven't read them. And so I get to experience them through her sort of conversation of how they intersect with her life. And so I've been you know, really fascinating and been looking into a bunch of books that were mentioned on the podcast. And it's interesting because I'm a producer on it and I recommended a book for her to read.
>> Marco Timpano: Hadn't read it, but I recommended she read it. She read the book and it was a book that really she had to put down sometimes because it was a very powerful book. And so it's funny how books are really connecting me through podcasting. And then today I listened to a podcast and it had a poet on it. And the poem that she reads at the end of that episode is so wonderful. The podcast is called Stories from the Land. It's an indigenous podcast and it's a series of collection of indigenous community sourced stories and told by various people. And this particular episode called Bush Love and Powwow Snags, Geraldine King reads a few of her poems and you know, the content can be not for everyone because it's strong and they have some sexual themes. But her last poem about the birth of her son was so powerful and so wonderful. And I recommend this podcast that deals with stories called Stories from the Land.
>> Amanda Barker: And I just. Because I'm a bit confused. So if any listener has similar reference points as me, isn't there also something coming out by CBC a documentary called Stories from the Land?
>> Marco Timpano: It could be, I don't know if
>> Amanda Barker: it's, if it's Linda posted about it. That's why I'm wondering.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think that's about authors. You can take a quick look.
>> Amanda Barker: Two things.
>> Marco Timpano: So this is a podcast called Stories from the Land.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know, as interest, you know, I just discovered it this past week and turns out I actually know someone who's involved in producing it or who started the whole podcast up called and his name is Ryan McMahon and I've known him from when I started doing Comedy in the City. And then, you know, your lives sort of intersect and then they go, they go in a different direction and then they meet up again. And so I saw him at a webinar, he was talking about his podcast and I was like, oh, I'm going to check it out. And then this powerful poem sort of really struck me. So I really enjoyed it. I really recommend it.
>> Amanda Barker: So I figured out my confusion.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Writing the Land is different. Writing the Land is a documentary series celebrating Canadian literature to air on CBC gem. Okay, That's Righting the Land. CBC gem, by the way, for those who are not, Canadian is. I think you can get it anywhere. It's a streaming platform full of Canadian content. I believe it's free.
>> Marco Timpano: And you have a show that's on CBC gem.
>> Amanda Barker: I do have a. Hey, listen, if you're on CBC gem, and you're like, hey, I need some new shows to binge Canada makes some fun and funny stuff. Then since you led me to it, I guess I'll plug the show that I'm on, which is called Overlord and the Underwoods. So, a family show. It's very fun. And I play a quirky teacher on that one. Mrs. Pressburger is my name. I'm in the second episode. Apparently. Haven't, done a deep dive yet. But, yeah, Writing the Land anyway. And there are a lot of wonderful Indigenous authors as part of that as well, that series. but Stories from the Land is what you were talking about, which is an amazing podcast that I'm really excited to check out.
What are suburbs of Toronto if Ajax is not part of that group
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we're gonna actually end this episode now because you and I have to get to Ajax, Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: We're gonna drive across the land to
>> Marco Timpano: Ajax, Ontario, because I have to get an MRI on my foot.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, okay, that's a lot of detail. But I thought, hey, let's make a fun afternoon out of it, and you and I will take a road trip to Ajax.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Who doesn't want a road trip to Ajax?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the person who's getting an MRI on his foot.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it'll be fine.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll be fine.
>> Amanda Barker: We'll have a coffee. Sure. We'll see the fall colors.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not that far. We're making it like it's really far.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe an hour and 20 minutes.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it'll take a while, but, it's a suburb of Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's not a suburb of Toronto.
>> Amanda Barker: It certainly is.
>> Marco Timpano: It's more of a suburb. Like, it's further than a suburb.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, hang on. What are suburbs of Toronto if Ajax is not part of that group?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think Ajax is a suburb. I think it's its own sort of thing.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a suburb of Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: So what's past Scarborough?
>> Amanda Barker: Scarborough's part of Toronto, Mississippi.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. But after Scarborough, Pickering.
>> Amanda Barker: Pickering is a suburb of Toronto, but so is Ajax. Okay. Well, I don't know what your definition. If it has to. I think in your definition, if I'm understanding correctly, the suburb has to touch the city limits.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, it has to border the city on one side.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: See, I don't think so. Okay, well, let's see what our Orangeville
>> Marco Timpano: you could consider as a suburb of Toronto.
>> Amanda Barker: That's very far. Remarkable. Okay, that's very far.
>> Marco Timpano: Is Oshawa a suburb of Toronto?
>> Amanda Barker: See, I would argue it is, but I would.
>> Marco Timpano: You would?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: No, really? No. See, you and I have different ideas
>> Amanda Barker: of what the suburbs are.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. What's a suburb of Fredericton?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, Fredericton's small, but Nashwa. Cis.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, since you asked, I'll concede there. What's a suburb of Boston?
>> Amanda Barker: where I lived, Hanover. And that did not border Boston. That's why I think of suburbs as like, the wholesale shore would be considered suburbs of Boston.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so then Hyannis is a suburb?
>> Amanda Barker: No, it's on the Cape. That's Cape Cod. But anything prior to that. Norwell. Do you want me to start listing them? Brockton, Pembroke.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a whole episode where.
>> Amanda Barker: Scituate, Marshfield.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a whole episode with your father where he talks about all these. All these suburbs. Okay, well, thank you for listening once again. let us know if you hear anything that is, jarring on the podcast. And if I can correct it, I will. Until then, I hope this episode brought you some peace, tranquility, and maybe some sleep.
(Original airdate: Nov 5, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about the mundane to help you, our listeners, find your way to sleep or relaxation. And I just want to say, start off. You might be wondering why this show when we just had one on Wednesday.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'll let you consider that. And I'm going to let you take a drink because you feel a bit mouth noisy to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda brings in a, glass of water with a lot of ice, so it clanks away.
>> Amanda Barker: In my defense, this is slightly melted ice.
Marco says some ads on the podcast were too loud and disturbed listeners
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so I just want to start the, start this episode off by saying I understand that there were some very loud ads that we had in the mid part of our episodes and at the end of our episode recently. And, thankfully our listeners reached out to me and said, the ads are too loud. They're waking us up as we're falling asleep.
>> Amanda Barker: Was that for all markets, Marco?
>> Marco Timpano: That was for the U.S. marco. So it seemed like, or at least that's what I heard. The response I heard were all from U.S. american listeners. and so if you're listening in another part of the world and you're hearing really loud ads in the middle and towards the end of the podcast, please let us know. But I've removed all those ads. I've asked the partner that we work with acast to please remove those ads because I can't determine if they're loud or not for the different markets. Amanda? I only select the type of ad that can be played.
>> Amanda Barker: Which in your defense was a sleeping ad, right? I think it was a mattress, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think it was a mattress ad. And so I said like anything to do with sleep, you can advertise on our show, thinking that it would be calm and relaxing. And it turns out this one particular sleep ad was loud and disturbing people. So I apologize for that. They have all been pulled. You may hear some ads at the very top of the show. Of course, we're using those ads to make revenue so that we can continue to have the podcast on and, you know, just to help us with the costs that are associated with this podcast. So you will no longer hear mid roll or end roll ads unless I am reading them. I told them I'll do spons ads or host red ads because I can determine the volume of that and the pacing of that so that people who are mid sort of mid drift off won't be disturbed by them.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's. I just wanted to come out and say that to our listeners. Hopefully I haven't lost listeners who are really turned off by it. And if it disturbed your sleep, I apologize. But I have received some beautiful emails from people, Amanda, saying that they love the show and that those ads were just a bit jarring. That brought that to my attention. Now, Amanda, you are joining a gang of some sort.
>> Amanda Barker: I am joining a gang.
>> Marco Timpano: A motorcycle gang.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'm actually right now trying to figure out the etymology of the name of my new gang. I think it's a gang, right? We're allowed to say gang.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know about that, but it's not quite a gang. I also want to mention this, Amanda, before I forget, that if you've downloaded episodes previous to today's episode, those downloaded episodes may still have the ads on them. So you might want to delete those and redownload them because now they won't feature the ad. But if you downloaded them as of yesterday, they may have still had the ads in the middle and at the end. So that's the only other sort of clarifying statement I want to make.
Amanda recently joined a Vespa riding gang on Facebook
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so I have recently joined a gang on Facebook. and the name of this gang is the Piper Doves. Now I'm trying to. I have not partaken in any of Their activities. Any gang related activities as of yet? I feel like I'm being a bit coy with the word gang, but I think that is what it is actually called.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a group of people, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yep. And in this case a group of, I, think females. Female identifying people, which are females. and they're called the Piper Doves. Now I'm trying to find the etymology of the name and I know I did see, the etymology of the name and now I'm just trying to.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll let you look that up as I drop my pencil here. Amanda's joined this Vespa riding gang. So it's a bunch of, women who are scooters. Oh, scooters, sorry, scooter riding women in the Toronto area. It's just in the city, right, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I think so, yeah. And they ride their scooters around and they're women and that's their thing. So I thought, well, that's me and I have a scooter, so I'm gonna do that. But now I'm trying to figure out why they're called the Piper Doves. And I know, I know I've seen it, somewhere on this group, but I can't find it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'll let you look for it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's something, Piper. I gotta find it.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda's gonna look for it.
We got a lovely review for our podcast, five stars
While she's looking for it, I also wanted to mention we got a lovely review. So apart from, you know, all the feedback that I got with regards to, you know, the loud ads, I also got a lovely review and I'm really grateful for it. And it's from Jay Electra and she called and she writes favorite podcast, five stars. So already after a day of being very upset that these, these ads were waking people up, this really picked up my experience. So thank you, Jay Electra. I'll just read you the review. It says, engaging, yet relaxing, thoughtful and fun. Marco, Amanda, Nidhi and guests became my friends through the pandemic. Pause. Thank you for sharing your talent, creativity, amazing network, and many hours of companionship with the rest of with a restless world. So I just want to say this, thank you. First of all, thank you for that lovely review. Secondly, we have had so many people listen to our podcast because of the pandemic. And we never mention the pandemic because nobody needs to hear more about that.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone's living it in their own way.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. You know, and so we try not to. We don't mention it. But, I mention it only because it was referenced in the review. But thank you. If you're just listening just to have a friendly voice talk to you about things that hopefully don't bother you. Right, Amanda? So thank you for all our new listeners who have joined in because of what's going on in the world.
Heidi Kitten: Speaking of birds, I know we mention Wingspan frequently
All right, enough of all that. Since I'm giving a little bonus episode here, we will just get into it. And now you can sort of not worry about us talking about everything that we spoke off the top of the show.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, here we go. So somebody wrote, I found it. Not sure what a Piper dove is yet, but I'm Heidi Kitten. And so they wrote, piper is the word for scooterist. Somebody on a scooter. Oh. Is a piper a piper? Yeah. And dove is a pacifist or bird. So, it's the idea of a peaceful gang.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's what I have joined.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of birds, I know we mention Wingspan all the time. One of our listeners said they got into Wingspan and their family loves it.
>> Marco Timpano: And that makes me so happy.
>> Amanda Barker: It makes me happy too. And, maybe we'll do a round of Wingspan tonight. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe we'll tape it and I'll put it on the Patreon episode. Like put it as a Patreon episode so people can watch us watch. Can we film it and put it up?
>> Amanda Barker: What do you mean? Can we?
>> Marco Timpano: Like shall we or.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, perfect. Okay, we'll do that. Yes, we certainly can, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: I love Wingspan because I love that it's a 40 minute commitment that'll just rezone me, put me in a nice place, allow me to just think about birds and facts about birds and, strategies. But, you know, in a simple, soothing kind of way.
Arthur: We went to Paris, Ontario, last weekend. It's the official city of the season
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting. We seem to this season talk a lot about Paris, Ontario, and we were there last weekend.
>> Amanda Barker: It's the official city of the season.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess so. And you know, anyone listening who's from Paris? You have a beautiful. You have a beautiful city, a beautiful town, I guess you would say. I don't know if it's really qualifies to be a city with regards to population.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It might not be an actual city, but I have to say any place that has a river running through it is beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: No doubt. And we got to stay at that hotel that we mentioned.
>> Amanda Barker: Have we not talked about this yet?
>> Marco Timpano: We've talked about the hotel, but we weren't able to stay there. So we actually stayed at the hotel.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't Realize we haven't unearthed this?
>> Marco Timpano: No. So we'll describe what happened when we went to this lovely hotel. So it's an old hotel from the 1800s called the M. Ambassador.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just gonna let you try to find it in your brain. I know what it is. No, I'll tell you. It's the Arlington.
>> Marco Timpano: Arlington. The Arlington.
>> Amanda Barker: But I wanted to see how many versions of the hotel name you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Why do I want to say Ambassador?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, it's the Arlington. The Arlington Hotel in downtown Paris, Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: It is right at the. There's a light, the four corners, and a crosswalk. That is quite a, It's called the Barnes Dance Crosswalk because it can go in every direction, including diagonally.
>> Marco Timpano: I kind of love that.
>> Amanda Barker: It's called quite a, crosswalk.
>> Marco Timpano: They call it a dance. And if you haven't experienced one of these crosswalks, all the lights. So the floor lights will be red, and you can walk in every direction, including diagonal. During that particular quote, unquote.
>> Amanda Barker: Dance diagonally.
>> Marco Timpano: Diagonally, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Make it a proper adverb.
>> Marco Timpano: We had somebody actually reach out, about the, the grammar that we were talking about.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, and correcting me.
>> Marco Timpano: No, just saying how, that. I'll look it up in a moment. They're like, you know, it's Amanda's. Right. With the grammar or something. I'll look up the exact quote. But, So you. You do that little farmer's dance, or what was it called? Barnyard dance.
>> Amanda Barker: It's someone's name. It's Barnes Dance. That's like Farmer's dance.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: You just spin your partner around the crosswalk to get to the other side.
>> Marco Timpano: How hungry would that be if you could do a square dance?
>> Amanda Barker: As you could. Again, can or may. Two different things. You can do a, square dance across the road in Paris, Ontario, if that's what your heart chooses for you. Well, anyway, you cross the crosswalk, and
>> Marco Timpano: you get to the hotel.
>> Amanda Barker: There it is. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And every room is themed with a particular author in mind.
>> Amanda Barker: And then they've jumped away from that theme only a few times. For filmmakers, I think. I mean, Stanley Kubrick might be an author. I don't know. Leonardo da Vinci, I suppose, made some books, so there's a few that you're like, okay, I don't know if that. But whatever. I mean, be a stickler for the authors, but most of them are authors.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. We're there with friends.
>> Amanda Barker: By the way, author is one of the words that I always have to, put through my mind because otherwise you'll say Arthur. Well, because I think I'm saying it wrong. Because of being a Bostonian. There are words that you just learn to say, I guess, wrong, quote, unquote. And Arthur always sounds like I'm saying it like it should be Arthur. Yeah, right.
Amanda wanted something that would lend itself to a Halloween experience
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, so we're excited to see which Arthur we're going to be, whose room we're going to get. And our friends get their room first, or we go to their room first.
>> Amanda Barker: And I think we should mention that it's Halloween weekend. This was last weekend.
>> Marco Timpano: So Amanda's really hoping her author is going to have some sort of.
>> Amanda Barker: I wanted something that would lend itself to a Halloween experience. Halloween spooky weekend. So some of the options would have been the Mary Shelley room, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: She wrote Frankenstein.
>> Amanda Barker: Indeed. Or, even like the Brothers Grimm. The Brothers Grimm. Sir Arthur. There we go. Arthur. Not Arthur.
>> Marco Timpano: Not Arthur.
>> Amanda Barker: Arthur Conan Doyle. Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote Sherlock Holmes, even kind of has a bit of a suspenseful, feel. Halloween vibe. Or, Agatha Christie was another one.
>> Marco Timpano: She wrote a lot of mystery books.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I'm trying to think of other spooky, rooms, but anyway, there were a few.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah, Stanley Kubrick would be spooky in its own right, I suppose.
>> Marco Timpano: So however, we go to our friend's room, Matt and Mel, who have been on the show, and they use their hotel key. They open it, and as we pry open the door, all excited to see their room, it reveals that the room is.
>> Amanda Barker: We see a raven and then a dark blue paint on the walls and all these etchings. And it's the Edgar Allan Poe room.
>> Marco Timpano: And we're pretty excited because, as you mentioned, it's Halloween weekend. So this is really a perfect.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, there's a raven in it. Like a perfect, spooky, eerie, Halloween themed room.
>> Marco Timpano: On point with the weekend that we're looking to have. And so we're very excited. And there's like quotes on the wall that he's written and little black frames with little black cutouts of him.
>> Amanda Barker: And there's the telltale heart. There's a frame of the telltale heart. There's a, as I said, huge frame of the raven. so those lock and key, those types of things that will lead you to pose. Mostly poetry or short stories. So very spooky. And the thing too is Edgar Allan Poe, I believe, was a New Englander. Anything from, whether it's Sleepy Hollow, New York, which isn't technically New England, or anywhere in Massachusetts. obviously Salem, but anywhere in Massachusetts. We really love our fall. Right. So spooky Halloween into Thanksgiving, those types of Thanksgiving. So I'm hoping for, again, Mary Shelley, maybe Emily Dickinson, another New Englander who wrote some actually quite eerie and sad and lonely, but also eerie poetry. So maybe that would be a nice, spooky experience. you know, Halloween, kind of that eerie, somber kind of thing. Very excited. And so we turn the key and we are greeted with Maya Angelou.
>> Marco Timpano: That was our room. Maya Angelou. So not spooky in any way, shape or form.
>> Amanda Barker: Empowering, in fact.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And, it had various photos of her life framed on the walls.
>> Amanda Barker: She had quite a life. I learned a lot about her in that room.
>> Marco Timpano: It was great. And above the bed was the poem.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe it's called Still I Rise. Or maybe it's just called I Rise.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's called Still I Rise. Or it looked like it was Still I Rise, because it was.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, still I rise is the refrain in the poem. And it's a beautiful poem. And it was written over the bed. but also pictures of her as a singer in her youth, pictures of her political activism over the years, obviously pictures of her with Oprah, who was a big, big supporter and proponent of her work.
>> Marco Timpano: And friend.
>> Amanda Barker: And friend. Yeah. so just some really beautiful and empowering, photos, poems. and it was decorated in sort of a 1960s vibe a little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So you felt like maybe you're taking a rest from a march that day. Like it had that kind of vibe to it. Like maybe you were in Memphis or Dallas and you've now, you know, this is your little, you know, Middle America room.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what it felt like. not Edgar Allan Poe, not that experience at all. So not the Halloween experience, but, you know. But an experience nonetheless.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. Lovely.
If you have an interesting hotel, let us know. Send us a word on Instagram
And then we had the opportunity to see other rooms, because we did. We happened to run into two really
>> Amanda Barker: lovely people who were like, a very wonderful woman who was cleaning the rooms and seemed very happy to show us some rooms that we really.
>> Marco Timpano: And proud of the hotel.
>> Amanda Barker: And. And let me tell you, they were amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We saw some amazing rooms.
>> Marco Timpano: Which was your favorite?
>> Amanda Barker: Alice in Wonderland, actually, kind of the Lewis Carroll room kind of stood out to me. I liked the Oscar Wilde room. Seemed very interesting. how about you?
>> Marco Timpano: I really like the, Stan Lee room.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought that was a cool room.
>> Amanda Barker: And.
>> Marco Timpano: And the Ernest Hemingway room was my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Hemingway was a great room. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I didn't think I would like that room based on photos I saw online. And then when you see it in real life, you're like, oh, this is a really cool room.
>> Amanda Barker: I actually think the online photos didn't do them all justice.
>> Marco Timpano: I agree. Because you don't get to see the view from those rooms. And like we said, it's right on the corner of the main street. And so you have really awesome views no matter where your room is.
>> Amanda Barker: Apparently in the Edgar Allan Poe room, it had a spooky history as well. We got a little extra tour, spooky goings on that have happened in that room. So, you know, and different people have different feelings about those types of things. But I quite love. I like to dig into that in October and even November. I enjoy the spooky fall.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. So that was our trip, our weekend.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And we got to see the basement, which was really. It was just a really neat hotel, which, you know, it's smart because it could just easily have been a chain hotel or even just a, kind of nice older hotel with no real character other than the fact that it was a bit older or had been there a while. So they're very, very smart to do what they did. and I know there are a few. There are a lot of hotels that do this. I know there's a big one in LA called, the Madonna Inn.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know this.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And every room is themed. I heard about this. And, there's also one in Chatham, Ontario, that I don't think it's all authors, but it's, themed rooms anyway. But being somebody who loves to read and being somebody with an English degree, I have to say I love the fact that they're all authors. And then being a Virgo, the only thing that, I'm kind of stuck on is the fact that there's a few that aren't maybe technically authors, but whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, we've been talking a lot about hotels because we talked about the cool hotel in Ottawa, the Swiss hotel we went to. If you have an interesting hotel in your. Or you've been to an interesting hotel, let us know. Send us a word on Instagram. If you have photos or on Twitter or however you want to reach us, we'll be happy to know more about cool hotels, because I would love to stay in more interesting hotels.
Sometimes the city or the place is the destination, sometimes it's not
>> Amanda Barker: Well, and also, you know, there is something to be said, and I think this is something you and I have really kind of played with and discovered in the last two years that sometimes the city or the place is the destination, and sometimes you can't go to the city or place you want to go to for various reasons. So finding a landmark or an experience like that, I mean, Paris, Ontario, truly wasn't a town that we were like, gotta go there. and the only reason we did go there was because it was called Paris. So we were being a bit cheeky, I guess, in the fact that we thought, okay, we're going to Paris for Valentine's Day, even though we had no idea what it held or what there was to do. But once we discovered that hotel in Paris, kind of by a fluke, then, then it became this whole experience. Let's all go with our friends and stay at this hotel. And truly, the big part was the reveal. What room will you get? And how will that determine your experience?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I kind of love the idea of going to one of those hotels with some creative friends and each of us having to write a story in the style of that author.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Or a treatment for a, series in that author or whatever it is that you. Or a painting inspired by. I mean, you know, just something creative because it's such a. Each room is such an homage to each of these people and their lives. I just think, what a wonderful experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Yeah.
You love Canadian literature, but you don't read Canadian literature
you know, one of the things I love, too, is, you know, how you mentioned the authors and the theme of that and how, you know, you're a big fan of. You're a big fan of reading and books and whatnot.
>> Amanda Barker: I am.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, you have a book club. You're in a book gang.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess you could say I'm in a book gang. Yeah. And actually, the book club was something. And I've talked about it on the show. Something that I did, did, for me, for my personal kind of development and mental health, because I felt like I had a lot of the same friends. And it's harder when you're older and I'm in my 40s, where you want to expand your circle of friends. And I just thought, what a way to do it. And through books.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so interesting because I'm working on this podcast called Getting lit with Linda
>> Amanda Barker: Which is an excellent podcast with Linda
>> Marco Timpano: Mora is the host. It's a Canadian literature podcast, and I don't read Canadian literature.
>> Amanda Barker: And I do.
>> Marco Timpano: And you do. You love Canadian literature. And actually, some of your recommendations I've mentioned are going to be, on the podcast in the future. But I digress. So Linda talks about these books on the podcast and I feel like I have a connection to these books even though I haven't read them. And so I get to experience them through her sort of conversation of how they intersect with her life. And so I've been you know, really fascinating and been looking into a bunch of books that were mentioned on the podcast. And it's interesting because I'm a producer on it and I recommended a book for her to read.
>> Marco Timpano: Hadn't read it, but I recommended she read it. She read the book and it was a book that really she had to put down sometimes because it was a very powerful book. And so it's funny how books are really connecting me through podcasting. And then today I listened to a podcast and it had a poet on it. And the poem that she reads at the end of that episode is so wonderful. The podcast is called Stories from the Land. It's an indigenous podcast and it's a series of collection of indigenous community sourced stories and told by various people. And this particular episode called Bush Love and Powwow Snags, Geraldine King reads a few of her poems and you know, the content can be not for everyone because it's strong and they have some sexual themes. But her last poem about the birth of her son was so powerful and so wonderful. And I recommend this podcast that deals with stories called Stories from the Land.
>> Amanda Barker: And I just. Because I'm a bit confused. So if any listener has similar reference points as me, isn't there also something coming out by CBC a documentary called Stories from the Land?
>> Marco Timpano: It could be, I don't know if
>> Amanda Barker: it's, if it's Linda posted about it. That's why I'm wondering.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think that's about authors. You can take a quick look.
>> Amanda Barker: Two things.
>> Marco Timpano: So this is a podcast called Stories from the Land.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know, as interest, you know, I just discovered it this past week and turns out I actually know someone who's involved in producing it or who started the whole podcast up called and his name is Ryan McMahon and I've known him from when I started doing Comedy in the City. And then, you know, your lives sort of intersect and then they go, they go in a different direction and then they meet up again. And so I saw him at a webinar, he was talking about his podcast and I was like, oh, I'm going to check it out. And then this powerful poem sort of really struck me. So I really enjoyed it. I really recommend it.
>> Amanda Barker: So I figured out my confusion.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Writing the Land is different. Writing the Land is a documentary series celebrating Canadian literature to air on CBC gem. Okay, That's Righting the Land. CBC gem, by the way, for those who are not, Canadian is. I think you can get it anywhere. It's a streaming platform full of Canadian content. I believe it's free.
>> Marco Timpano: And you have a show that's on CBC gem.
>> Amanda Barker: I do have a. Hey, listen, if you're on CBC gem, and you're like, hey, I need some new shows to binge Canada makes some fun and funny stuff. Then since you led me to it, I guess I'll plug the show that I'm on, which is called Overlord and the Underwoods. So, a family show. It's very fun. And I play a quirky teacher on that one. Mrs. Pressburger is my name. I'm in the second episode. Apparently. Haven't, done a deep dive yet. But, yeah, Writing the Land anyway. And there are a lot of wonderful Indigenous authors as part of that as well, that series. but Stories from the Land is what you were talking about, which is an amazing podcast that I'm really excited to check out.
What are suburbs of Toronto if Ajax is not part of that group
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we're gonna actually end this episode now because you and I have to get to Ajax, Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: We're gonna drive across the land to
>> Marco Timpano: Ajax, Ontario, because I have to get an MRI on my foot.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, okay, that's a lot of detail. But I thought, hey, let's make a fun afternoon out of it, and you and I will take a road trip to Ajax.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Who doesn't want a road trip to Ajax?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the person who's getting an MRI on his foot.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it'll be fine.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll be fine.
>> Amanda Barker: We'll have a coffee. Sure. We'll see the fall colors.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not that far. We're making it like it's really far.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe an hour and 20 minutes.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it'll take a while, but, it's a suburb of Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's not a suburb of Toronto.
>> Amanda Barker: It certainly is.
>> Marco Timpano: It's more of a suburb. Like, it's further than a suburb.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, hang on. What are suburbs of Toronto if Ajax is not part of that group?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think Ajax is a suburb. I think it's its own sort of thing.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a suburb of Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: So what's past Scarborough?
>> Amanda Barker: Scarborough's part of Toronto, Mississippi.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. But after Scarborough, Pickering.
>> Amanda Barker: Pickering is a suburb of Toronto, but so is Ajax. Okay. Well, I don't know what your definition. If it has to. I think in your definition, if I'm understanding correctly, the suburb has to touch the city limits.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, it has to border the city on one side.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: See, I don't think so. Okay, well, let's see what our Orangeville
>> Marco Timpano: you could consider as a suburb of Toronto.
>> Amanda Barker: That's very far. Remarkable. Okay, that's very far.
>> Marco Timpano: Is Oshawa a suburb of Toronto?
>> Amanda Barker: See, I would argue it is, but I would.
>> Marco Timpano: You would?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: No, really? No. See, you and I have different ideas
>> Amanda Barker: of what the suburbs are.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. What's a suburb of Fredericton?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, Fredericton's small, but Nashwa. Cis.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, since you asked, I'll concede there. What's a suburb of Boston?
>> Amanda Barker: where I lived, Hanover. And that did not border Boston. That's why I think of suburbs as like, the wholesale shore would be considered suburbs of Boston.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so then Hyannis is a suburb?
>> Amanda Barker: No, it's on the Cape. That's Cape Cod. But anything prior to that. Norwell. Do you want me to start listing them? Brockton, Pembroke.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a whole episode where.
>> Amanda Barker: Scituate, Marshfield.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a whole episode with your father where he talks about all these. All these suburbs. Okay, well, thank you for listening once again. let us know if you hear anything that is, jarring on the podcast. And if I can correct it, I will. Until then, I hope this episode brought you some peace, tranquility, and maybe some sleep.
The Interface Episode
(original airdate: Nov 24, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia project. Sit back, relax and just listen and let your insomnia just drift away. And if you have anxiety, let that drift away because we're going to talk to you for about 26 minutes about something very calm and relaxing. Thank you for joining us today.
Today is the last episode of season five. That's seven years we've been on the airwaves
Today is the last episode of season five. That's seven years we've been on, the airwaves as of January.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know I was here for the last episode of season five.
>> Marco Timpano: You are. You're an integral part of season five.
>> Amanda Barker: I had no one to told me. I wasn't informed. I did mention by the studio.
>> Marco Timpano: I did mention it a few weeks back and you were like, no, there's more weeks in January Remember?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I might have said there's more weeks in November.
>> Marco Timpano: November, sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: Versus January. You're ahead of yourself, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: I am. I am. This is Amanda Barker, by the way.
>> Amanda Barker: this is Marco Timpano.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And, we had a lot of people are. I don't know what it is for the season five, but I'm so grateful to all the people who have messaged me and told us how much they're enjoying the podcast, people who are listening because they've been anxious as of late, Amanda. And, thank you for all those messages.
>> Amanda Barker: It's really wonderful. And it's, nice to be of service, honestly.
>> Marco Timpano: It is. And it's nice to be here with you sharing the same. The same thing where we can't sleep sometimes. And we know where you are, Amanda.
We also realized that I have not been to Milwaukee, and I thought you had
before we go any further, I want to mention that one of our dear listeners, Devin, who is a Patreon on our Patreon page, messaged me. Devin said that they had not heard of jumping the shark until days prior to our episode where Devin asked their partner what jumping the shark was. And then our episode followed.
>> Amanda Barker: Right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: And Devin continued to tell us. Devin's from Madison, Wisconsin, that there is a Bronze Fonz in Milwaukee.
>> Amanda Barker: I've been to the Bronze Fonz.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have a photo with the Bronze Fonz?
>> Amanda Barker: I know I have a photo.
>> Marco Timpano: Can we put that up with the Bronze Fonz on our Instagram? Because that would be awesome.
>> Amanda Barker: I have to go into a hard drive, but I definitely have it. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the Bronze Fonz like?
>> Amanda Barker: And I should mention this, it's weird because he's bronze.
>> Marco Timpano: A bronze statue of the character, the Fonz, that was played by Henry Winkler in Happy Days.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Because it all took place in Milwaukee. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. So did Laverne Shirley.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It's funny because in those shows, I think of Milwaukee as a very big city, but having been to Milwaukee, I think of it more as a fun little place, but as a child, everything feels bigger, you know?
>> Marco Timpano: We also realized that I have not been to Milwaukee, and I thought you had. I thought I had, too.
>> Amanda Barker: You thought you had.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought I had.
>> Amanda Barker: I talked about it a lot because I've been there a couple times.
>> Marco Timpano: Can we go in the New Year?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you'd love Milwaukee.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I want to go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. lots of great food there.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, not only is Milwaukee sounding tremendous, but on Devin's back Bucket list is going to Montreal.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Because they really enjoyed our Montreal Episode.
>> Marco Timpano: And in Madison, Wisconsin, they have a yearly naked bicycle ride.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I'm all for it. I don't know if I'd want people filming me while I'm naked on my bike, but I'm definitely all. I think I would enjoy being naked on my bike.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a parade of nude riders.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Nicknamed Bear as you dare.
>> Marco Timpano: Riding around the city in the off. And Amanda Devin sent me a video of it and it's really.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't realize that video was from Devin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's really, really funny to see.
>> Amanda Barker: We enjoyed that video immensely.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a real play and freedom in it and. And also Wisconsin's really cold a lot of the time. So the fact that people are like, you know what? We're going to celebrate the warmth when we have it, I think it's great.
>> Marco Timpano: I had some dear friends from Wisconsin and they're just the best people.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. You had friends from Wisconsin.
>> Marco Timpano: Jay was from Wisconsin.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Jay was from Wisconsin.
>> Marco Timpano: From Tomahawk, Wisconsin. Yeah. A director of ours who came to our weddings. Really, really lovely gentleman, Jay Leggett. And I knew another person from Wisconsin who was just wonderful. That said, we are using new technology today, friends and listeners. So I had a bit of an incident where my interface, which is the electronic box that allows the XLR cable from these condenser mics to go from the XLR cable through the interface into the computer.
>> Amanda Barker: Keep talking about it and you will surely put me to sleep at least.
>> Marco Timpano: Well.
>> Amanda Barker: XLR interface CABLE INPUT output so the
>> Marco Timpano: interface, what it does is it allows the microphone, which is a better microphone than the USB microphone that we often use. When you hear the squeaky chair.
>> Marco Timpano: That's usually the USB mic and the studio mic is this XLR mic or this condenser mic that we're using. These two condenser mics that we're using. So the condenser mic goes through the XLR cable, which is far too big a cable to plug into a regular computer. The interface then allows me to modulate our microphones and the mixer and the main switch, headphones, etc. As they go into the computer through a USB follow.
>> Amanda Barker: So far, no, not at all.
My interface was not working the other day when you had. Something wasn't working
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so my interface was not working the other day when you had.
>> Amanda Barker: What's an interface?
>> Marco Timpano: I just explained it. It's this box.
>> Amanda Barker: I was thinking about my sister and the subway schedule.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, we'll talk about, that.
>> Amanda Barker: Honestly, that's what happened. My brain switched off. You Were talking, but I was thinking about my sister and the subway schedule.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll get to that in just a moment. So this interface, it's this box right here. Do you see it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So you might remember we were going to.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh yeah, it's different.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We were going to record your voiceover audition that you had.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And we went to the cupboard.
>> Amanda Barker: High stakes drama.
>> Marco Timpano: the cupboard was bare. Something wasn't working. I thought it was perhaps the electrical plug. So what I plug the electrical. What do you call it? The actual outlet? Not the outlet, but the thing that I plug in the.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't ever know that we. Because you tend to call. There's about five different electronics in this house that we call chargers. It could be a charging cord, it could be a wall charger, unit thing.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's more of a wall charger.
>> Amanda Barker: But we were like, where's the charger? It could be one of those portable chargers that I use to power up my phone on the road.
>> Marco Timpano: No, this is what you plug into.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what I call a charger.
>> Marco Timpano: It's what you plug into the electrical outlet.
>> Amanda Barker: The thingy on the wall.
>> Marco Timpano: No, not the outlet.
>> Amanda Barker: The thingy that goes into the outlet on the wall.
>> Marco Timpano: That's it. So that was a little bit frayed. You know how it has a hard plastic nub and then it goes to the cord. Sure. Where the nub meets the cord was a bit frayed. So that particular interface, which is an audient 14.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: It needs a power from both the computer and the outlet. And I thought it wasn't getting the power from the outlet or the juice to power the interface to allow the signal from the microphone to go into the computer.
I was having trouble connecting my microphones to an audio interface for podcasting
Thankfully, speaking of your sister, she has given me gifts certificates to the audio store that I purchased my equipment at for the pop. For podcasting.
>> Marco Timpano: Every year for Christmas she gives that to me and I use it towards the podcast. M and for the past three years I've used it to up the warranty on both the microphones we use and the interface.
>> Amanda Barker: Amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: So I brought the interface in, thinking they were just going to replace the cord that goes into the wall.
>> Marco Timpano: And when the gentleman tested it, he said to me, it's more than the cord. I think something's going on with the interface itself.
>> Amanda Barker: We Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: Need to look into it. And so the gentleman at that store is going to look into it because the warranty has been extended now. And I said to him, well, I'm a podcaster I need to podcast because we have listeners expecting this episode to air on Wednesday. And we were late last week because we were traveling, so I didn't want to do that again to our listeners. And he said, okay, well, your warranty also covers a rental, so I'll give you a new interface.
>> Marco Timpano: So he gave me this interface, which is the Audiobox USB 96. And he had asked me, do you want an audience like the one you had? Which he then said is finicky with regards to power.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I said, I'd like to try a new one. So he's gonna give me the Scarlet, but I'm not. I have a Scarlett. I didn't. I wanted to try something new.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So he gave me the audiobox USB 96 okay to use. And I was having the most tremendous amount of trouble getting my Daw Daw or my digital audio workstation to connect with the interface. As you saw, I was, I was, I was spending a lot of time on that. Turns out it was the USB cable that was too long for this interface. This interface likes a short USB cable.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: And so the, the one they gave me was too long. The one that I had was too long. So I went into one that I had kind of in a box that I don't really use that was shorter.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it worked.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And so if the sound sounds a bit different today, it's because I'm using a new interface. And so it may react a little bit differently, not greatly with our microphones and our voice might sound a little bit different.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And that is the journey of my interface.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think, I'm. All of me is in this room.
>> Marco Timpano: fair enough.
Amanda was thinking about the subway schedule that you were thinking about
So, Amanda, you were talking about the subway schedule that you were thinking about and our subway.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, our subway's expanded a lot in the last couple of years. And, you know, I used to rely on the subway a lot and not as much now. So I was just thinking of some of the new stations that have evolved and been built on the subway in the last few years. That's where my brain was.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure enough, the subway now goes to my former university, which is York University, which is very north of the city, really, if you think about it.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, do you know anybody at Besserian Subway stop?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but that one always strikes me too. That's a weird one.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, you never hear of anyone. Like it's on the map, but you never hear of anyone going, oh, I just got a condo, right at Besarian. Like, it's not a word you ever hear, but on the subway map in Toronto, for some reason, it's there. This is wildly specific for.
>> Marco Timpano: For me, Glencairn is the one, I always think, who gets off at Glen Karen?
>> Amanda Barker: Glencairn. Yeah, but then there's other subway stops in Toronto that you hear about all the time, right? Like getting off at Spadina or the Zaveria subway stop or Dufferin Station.
>> Marco Timpano: When I lived in New York, Prince, I would get off at Prince station for work.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. When I lived in Korea, I got off at Bupyeonggu, which was next to Pegun and between Pegun and Puge. They were all P's. But actually, what's funny is they're all bees now because they went with the other Alphabet. There were sort of two versions of whatever the Anglicized Korean Alphabet was, and I knew it all as peas. like Busan. But now it's Busan, right? Anyway, I mean, it's all the same in Korean.
>> Marco Timpano: But, I'm so glad you're using P's, because.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's your favorite.
>> Marco Timpano: You have a tendency to pop your P's.
>> Amanda Barker: Hey, I mean, if we're going to try this new interface, let's see how it does with P's and B's. That has nothing to do with the interface, does it?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you. You.
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Amanda says she has a heavy foot because her mother told her
>> Marco Timpano: We just have a very prominent pee.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know why my pee is so prominent.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. And you also have a heavy foot.
>> Amanda Barker: I do have a heavy foot.
>> Marco Timpano: The reason we know Amanda has a heavy foot.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, because my mother used to tell me I did.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, did your mother tell you?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh my God.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, growing up.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. Stomp, stomp, stomp.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. Because I know you have a heavy foot. When you're walking above the studio, I can hear you.
>> Amanda Barker: But my friend and our friend Michelle, Miracle in la, said, you know, you're very heavy footed once to me, and I was like, oh, gosh. I guess she is very aware that I have heavy feet.
>> Marco Timpano: I think you just have a heavy foot.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess I do. I don't know. I thought maybe it was a dance thing. Like when I was a kid, I thought that's just something every mom says to every kid. But now I realize no, maybe it's specifically me. I don't have big feet.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you don't. Not at all.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe that's why they're so heavy. Maybe I should be smaller for my feet. My feet are too small for my body.
>> Marco Timpano: Perhaps. Perhaps. When I was a child, I thought every parent, every mom cut their kids hair.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because my mom was a hairdresser, so she would cut my hair.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And, I just figured every mom cuts every child's hair. That's what they do.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. No, I probably wouldn't have ended up with a pixie cut if that was the case. Or I would have only had a pixie cut if that was the case.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. I see. Did you ever cut your own hair as a child?
>> Amanda Barker: No. I tried to shave.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: once. And another time I let my sister cut my hair and that was a disaster.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Amanda Barker: I wanted to be a Cabbage Patch doll for Halloween.
>> Marco Timpano: Who doesn't?
>> Amanda Barker: And. And I decided this sometime early October. And so she said, okay, if you want to be a Cabbage Patch doll for Halloween, then we should probably cut your hair in ponytails so that it can look properly like a Cabbage Patch doll. And she was very convinced of it.
>> Marco Timpano: how old were you at this time?
>> Amanda Barker: We were older than you'd think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I want to say I was 7 or 8. So that would have put her at a solid 9 or 10, which really is, you know, that's something like a 4 year old does. We were old enough that you both
>> Marco Timpano: should have known better.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess I just always listened to whatever she said and she definitely should have known better. So she cut my hair in ponytails. And so of course it was all jagged and different lengths. And so then I had to go and get my hair properly cut. So then it became a bob.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't mind the bob, but my mom didn't like it.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is funny because she likes short hair.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, I want to say a special hello to all the flowers that are blooming in November, which for me, a November bloom is spectacular.
>> Amanda Barker: We have some geraniums that won't quit.
>> Marco Timpano: They're just like, it's the end of the season, I'm still gonna give you some blooms.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they're hot pink geraniums. And I mean, it's December. Next week.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Amanda Barker: This week. Is it December this week? No, next week.
>> Marco Timpano: Next week.
As of December 1st, we're gonna have our holiday episodes
Speaking of December, So today's our last episode of season five. Thank you for being with us all this time. As of December 1st, we're gonna have our holiday episodes. And we're gonna have an episode for every day in December and a little pinch after in November too, till the 6th, which is epiphany.
>> Amanda Barker: January.
>> Marco Timpano: What did I say?
>> Amanda Barker: November.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: And earlier when you were talking about November, you said January. I guess you get those two mixed up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think I'm just at the end of my day. I think it's just, it's just been a long day.
>> Marco Timpano: And so we're going to do a show for the 31 days of December. They're going to be holiday shows, so they're going to be not our regular episodes. They're going to be a little bit peppier. They're going to have a little more holiday feel to it. We'll talk more about that on the December 1 episode. But I just want to let everyone know I'm very excited about it. And Amanda, a preview for our listeners. We are going to be putting together a new podcast logo.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: So the one that you see of me and you in front of microphones with a sheep jumping over us is going to change to something else.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: So very excited.
>> Amanda Barker: Will it feature my chin as much?
>> Marco Timpano: It won't. Why? I think you look good in that picture. You're not happy with the chin?
>> Amanda Barker: No, it's just, you know, one never quite adjusts to one's profile, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess profiles are a challenging thing.
>> Amanda Barker: They are, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we're going to have a new logo.
>> Marco Timpano: Sans either of our chins.
>> Amanda Barker: That means without.
>> Marco Timpano: That means without. And we hope you will like it. I'm really excited about it.
>> Amanda Barker: Good. That's very exciting. That's exciting news.
What does the end of November bring for you, Amanda?
>> Marco Timpano: What does the end of November bring for you, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's a really good question.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll say this. Your magazines for the end of November are pretty great. The five you got all the covers all look fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: You're enjoying my magazines. Yeah, it's a lot of turkeys and, leaves and let's get into Christmas and let's get into the holidays. I think for me, November brings darkness. And in that darkness can be a lot of things. I think it can be a coziness.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: A want to look inward.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: A want to sleep more. I had a fabulous nap today.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you had. It feels like when you nap, I don't. And when I nap, you don't.
>> Amanda Barker: We have an energetic thing in this house with sleep in general. we should do a whole episode on that since it is a sleep podcast.
American Thanksgiving is coming up on Thursday
>> Marco Timpano: I want to also mention our listener Heidi, who, tweeted us at, listen and sleep. That's our Twitter handle, in case you're wondering. so Heidi mentions that. She mentions she loved hearing about the beautiful townships that we drove through on the latest episode. So the Eastern townships. And Heidi, if you get a chance, please, you and Devin take a trip. I know you don't know each other, but take a trip through Matchmaker.
>> Amanda Barker: Matchmaker.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think they're both partnered. But still, they can still go.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, friend, Matchmaker.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't mean romantically fair, but they can drive through Quebec. It's so, so beautiful. So beautiful.
>> Amanda Barker: Where is Heidi?
>> Marco Timpano: Heidi doesn't say where she's from. So Heidi, if you get a chance, let us know where you're from. But I want to say that she enjoyed the episode and it helped her get back to sleep when her head was stirring with her Thanksgiving menu plans. And American Thanksgiving is coming up on Thursday.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I want to wish all our American listeners a happy Thanksgiving.
>> Amanda Barker: Would it be helpful if I went through what I did for Thanksgiving?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course. I don't think we talked about it.
>> Amanda Barker: I think we did the way I organized it all.
>> Marco Timpano: But I also want to say that I'm thankful for all our listeners and our American listeners who are celebrating Thanksgiving. I am thankful to have you here listening. And thank you, Heidi, for mentioning that. I. I sort of responded by saying I'm sure her Thanksgiving menu is going to be awesome, because I know you plan yours, and she was planning hers.
>> Amanda Barker: The key is timing. The key is having a timed schedule for me this year. It was, But you asked about November, and I just want to say I think there's some real magic to be found in the darkness of November. I think there's a real. Because it can be really challenging right when you lose the light and lose the sunlight. So I just wanted to say that I'm really trying this year to just invite the warmth and coziness that more hours of darkness can bring and, the inward introspection that more hours of darkness can bring.
The loud ad in the middle of our show episodes was a challenge for some listeners
I just really wanted to say that
>> Marco Timpano: I want to thank all our listeners who have stayed with us through the loud ad in the middle of our show episodes that I know was a challenge for a lot of people.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that was, something that you only found out about after. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: You had to troubleshoot. It's a difficult one. Now, we do have two ads that will happen at the start of our show, and one of those ads I was Told by Nima was a bit loud.
>> Marco Timpano: But I figure if they're at the top of the show, once you start hearing me speak, you're going to chill and hopefully find your way to sleep. So I'm going to leave those ads
>> Amanda Barker: because I will say so. A podcast I'm listening to right now has some ads in it and it's the same ad every time. And I actually don't mind, personally. I like hearing the ads at the same time every time in the podcast, but I am a creature of, comfort and habit.
>> Marco Timpano: Mountain goat1.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Had tweeted us and said that they usually love our podcast, but the Jumping the Shark episode was too much banter and too many interruptions. I think we went a little bit out of our norm of being calm.
>> Amanda Barker: I understand.
>> Marco Timpano: And you even called it out in the episode.
>> Amanda Barker: I did. Right. I said I think this is too conversational.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we're gonna make it a little
>> Amanda Barker: more what's good feedback.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. Mountain Goat 1.
>> Amanda Barker: I am thankful, for the feedback.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I am thankful too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And there's different episodes for different people too. Right. That's why people flag like some people. The interface episode. I will never make it through this episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we talked about the interface early in the episode, so hopefully at this point that helped people.
>> Marco Timpano: But I'm looking forward, I'm going to just end the episode talking about interfaces if I can.
Marco Tampano wants to know what you're planning for Christmas
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, great.
>> Marco Timpano: So Chris Bond has an interface that he spent quite a bit of money on, but it has all these features on it where he can program buttons to sort of allow for certain sound effects, certain dings and chimes. And his intro music is all pre planned on the interface. And I really want to look into that particular interface because I feel like it's kind of the Rolls Royce of interfaces.
>> Marco Timpano: And if I'm going, if my audience 14 doesn't work out, I might look at getting that Rolls Royce of interfaces. But I want to ask him more about it. And that's interface talk with Marco Tampano. Let m us know if you let us know what your plans are, if you're celebrating Thanksgiving or what your plans are or what you like about the end of November. Would love to know that. Or whatever else you'd like to share with us. Of course, we're always open to that as well. I recently had all my markers and highlighters out, Amanda, because I had some work I had to do. And you know, I highlight everything.
>> Amanda Barker: You do? You're very into color Coding. And this is a house where I always can count on having a highlighter.
>> Marco Timpano: A highlighter or cue cards. I have cue cards everywhere.
>> Amanda Barker: Highlighters especially though they're, they're, they're heavily prized and in every room.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. I don't have a good green one right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I know what to get you for Christmas.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. A green highlighter goes. Because the one I have light green
>> Amanda Barker: or a dark green?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, no, not a dark one because the one I have is too dark when I highlight. It's just this. It's like using a, green marker.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's like you're almost. You can't read the thing. Some of the blues can be like that too.
>> Marco Timpano: The purples I find difficult.
>> Amanda Barker: Very dark. You need a light. Highlighters need to, by definition, be light.
>> Marco Timpano: There's pastely ones in different colors. I saw. A whole pack of them. But they were $17. So I was like, I'm not getting those. But I had my eye on them. Maybe Santa will get me pastel highlighters.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, maybe.
Thank you for listening to our Sleep podcast. Please tell your friends about our podcast
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, thank you so much for listening and I hope you've had an, ah, enjoyable season five. Thank you for, being with us. Please tell your friends about our podcast. they might enjoy it. I know I've had some people I recently spoke with and they've said, I didn't realize you had a podcast about sleep. And so they're now listeners. So thank you for listening to all of you and I wish all of you a good night and I hope you were able to, to listen and sleep.
(original airdate: Nov 24, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia project. Sit back, relax and just listen and let your insomnia just drift away. And if you have anxiety, let that drift away because we're going to talk to you for about 26 minutes about something very calm and relaxing. Thank you for joining us today.
Today is the last episode of season five. That's seven years we've been on the airwaves
Today is the last episode of season five. That's seven years we've been on, the airwaves as of January.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know I was here for the last episode of season five.
>> Marco Timpano: You are. You're an integral part of season five.
>> Amanda Barker: I had no one to told me. I wasn't informed. I did mention by the studio.
>> Marco Timpano: I did mention it a few weeks back and you were like, no, there's more weeks in January Remember?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I might have said there's more weeks in November.
>> Marco Timpano: November, sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: Versus January. You're ahead of yourself, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: I am. I am. This is Amanda Barker, by the way.
>> Amanda Barker: this is Marco Timpano.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And, we had a lot of people are. I don't know what it is for the season five, but I'm so grateful to all the people who have messaged me and told us how much they're enjoying the podcast, people who are listening because they've been anxious as of late, Amanda. And, thank you for all those messages.
>> Amanda Barker: It's really wonderful. And it's, nice to be of service, honestly.
>> Marco Timpano: It is. And it's nice to be here with you sharing the same. The same thing where we can't sleep sometimes. And we know where you are, Amanda.
We also realized that I have not been to Milwaukee, and I thought you had
before we go any further, I want to mention that one of our dear listeners, Devin, who is a Patreon on our Patreon page, messaged me. Devin said that they had not heard of jumping the shark until days prior to our episode where Devin asked their partner what jumping the shark was. And then our episode followed.
>> Amanda Barker: Right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: And Devin continued to tell us. Devin's from Madison, Wisconsin, that there is a Bronze Fonz in Milwaukee.
>> Amanda Barker: I've been to the Bronze Fonz.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have a photo with the Bronze Fonz?
>> Amanda Barker: I know I have a photo.
>> Marco Timpano: Can we put that up with the Bronze Fonz on our Instagram? Because that would be awesome.
>> Amanda Barker: I have to go into a hard drive, but I definitely have it. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the Bronze Fonz like?
>> Amanda Barker: And I should mention this, it's weird because he's bronze.
>> Marco Timpano: A bronze statue of the character, the Fonz, that was played by Henry Winkler in Happy Days.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Because it all took place in Milwaukee. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. So did Laverne Shirley.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It's funny because in those shows, I think of Milwaukee as a very big city, but having been to Milwaukee, I think of it more as a fun little place, but as a child, everything feels bigger, you know?
>> Marco Timpano: We also realized that I have not been to Milwaukee, and I thought you had. I thought I had, too.
>> Amanda Barker: You thought you had.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought I had.
>> Amanda Barker: I talked about it a lot because I've been there a couple times.
>> Marco Timpano: Can we go in the New Year?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you'd love Milwaukee.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I want to go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. lots of great food there.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, not only is Milwaukee sounding tremendous, but on Devin's back Bucket list is going to Montreal.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Because they really enjoyed our Montreal Episode.
>> Marco Timpano: And in Madison, Wisconsin, they have a yearly naked bicycle ride.
>> Amanda Barker: I. I'm all for it. I don't know if I'd want people filming me while I'm naked on my bike, but I'm definitely all. I think I would enjoy being naked on my bike.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a parade of nude riders.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Nicknamed Bear as you dare.
>> Marco Timpano: Riding around the city in the off. And Amanda Devin sent me a video of it and it's really.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't realize that video was from Devin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's really, really funny to see.
>> Amanda Barker: We enjoyed that video immensely.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
>> Amanda Barker: There's a real play and freedom in it and. And also Wisconsin's really cold a lot of the time. So the fact that people are like, you know what? We're going to celebrate the warmth when we have it, I think it's great.
>> Marco Timpano: I had some dear friends from Wisconsin and they're just the best people.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. You had friends from Wisconsin.
>> Marco Timpano: Jay was from Wisconsin.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Jay was from Wisconsin.
>> Marco Timpano: From Tomahawk, Wisconsin. Yeah. A director of ours who came to our weddings. Really, really lovely gentleman, Jay Leggett. And I knew another person from Wisconsin who was just wonderful. That said, we are using new technology today, friends and listeners. So I had a bit of an incident where my interface, which is the electronic box that allows the XLR cable from these condenser mics to go from the XLR cable through the interface into the computer.
>> Amanda Barker: Keep talking about it and you will surely put me to sleep at least.
>> Marco Timpano: Well.
>> Amanda Barker: XLR interface CABLE INPUT output so the
>> Marco Timpano: interface, what it does is it allows the microphone, which is a better microphone than the USB microphone that we often use. When you hear the squeaky chair.
>> Marco Timpano: That's usually the USB mic and the studio mic is this XLR mic or this condenser mic that we're using. These two condenser mics that we're using. So the condenser mic goes through the XLR cable, which is far too big a cable to plug into a regular computer. The interface then allows me to modulate our microphones and the mixer and the main switch, headphones, etc. As they go into the computer through a USB follow.
>> Amanda Barker: So far, no, not at all.
My interface was not working the other day when you had. Something wasn't working
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so my interface was not working the other day when you had.
>> Amanda Barker: What's an interface?
>> Marco Timpano: I just explained it. It's this box.
>> Amanda Barker: I was thinking about my sister and the subway schedule.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, we'll talk about, that.
>> Amanda Barker: Honestly, that's what happened. My brain switched off. You Were talking, but I was thinking about my sister and the subway schedule.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll get to that in just a moment. So this interface, it's this box right here. Do you see it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So you might remember we were going to.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh yeah, it's different.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We were going to record your voiceover audition that you had.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And we went to the cupboard.
>> Amanda Barker: High stakes drama.
>> Marco Timpano: the cupboard was bare. Something wasn't working. I thought it was perhaps the electrical plug. So what I plug the electrical. What do you call it? The actual outlet? Not the outlet, but the thing that I plug in the.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't ever know that we. Because you tend to call. There's about five different electronics in this house that we call chargers. It could be a charging cord, it could be a wall charger, unit thing.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's more of a wall charger.
>> Amanda Barker: But we were like, where's the charger? It could be one of those portable chargers that I use to power up my phone on the road.
>> Marco Timpano: No, this is what you plug into.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what I call a charger.
>> Marco Timpano: It's what you plug into the electrical outlet.
>> Amanda Barker: The thingy on the wall.
>> Marco Timpano: No, not the outlet.
>> Amanda Barker: The thingy that goes into the outlet on the wall.
>> Marco Timpano: That's it. So that was a little bit frayed. You know how it has a hard plastic nub and then it goes to the cord. Sure. Where the nub meets the cord was a bit frayed. So that particular interface, which is an audient 14.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: It needs a power from both the computer and the outlet. And I thought it wasn't getting the power from the outlet or the juice to power the interface to allow the signal from the microphone to go into the computer.
I was having trouble connecting my microphones to an audio interface for podcasting
Thankfully, speaking of your sister, she has given me gifts certificates to the audio store that I purchased my equipment at for the pop. For podcasting.
>> Marco Timpano: Every year for Christmas she gives that to me and I use it towards the podcast. M and for the past three years I've used it to up the warranty on both the microphones we use and the interface.
>> Amanda Barker: Amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: So I brought the interface in, thinking they were just going to replace the cord that goes into the wall.
>> Marco Timpano: And when the gentleman tested it, he said to me, it's more than the cord. I think something's going on with the interface itself.
>> Amanda Barker: We Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: Need to look into it. And so the gentleman at that store is going to look into it because the warranty has been extended now. And I said to him, well, I'm a podcaster I need to podcast because we have listeners expecting this episode to air on Wednesday. And we were late last week because we were traveling, so I didn't want to do that again to our listeners. And he said, okay, well, your warranty also covers a rental, so I'll give you a new interface.
>> Marco Timpano: So he gave me this interface, which is the Audiobox USB 96. And he had asked me, do you want an audience like the one you had? Which he then said is finicky with regards to power.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I said, I'd like to try a new one. So he's gonna give me the Scarlet, but I'm not. I have a Scarlett. I didn't. I wanted to try something new.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So he gave me the audiobox USB 96 okay to use. And I was having the most tremendous amount of trouble getting my Daw Daw or my digital audio workstation to connect with the interface. As you saw, I was, I was, I was spending a lot of time on that. Turns out it was the USB cable that was too long for this interface. This interface likes a short USB cable.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: And so the, the one they gave me was too long. The one that I had was too long. So I went into one that I had kind of in a box that I don't really use that was shorter.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it worked.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And so if the sound sounds a bit different today, it's because I'm using a new interface. And so it may react a little bit differently, not greatly with our microphones and our voice might sound a little bit different.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And that is the journey of my interface.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think, I'm. All of me is in this room.
>> Marco Timpano: fair enough.
Amanda was thinking about the subway schedule that you were thinking about
So, Amanda, you were talking about the subway schedule that you were thinking about and our subway.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, our subway's expanded a lot in the last couple of years. And, you know, I used to rely on the subway a lot and not as much now. So I was just thinking of some of the new stations that have evolved and been built on the subway in the last few years. That's where my brain was.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure enough, the subway now goes to my former university, which is York University, which is very north of the city, really, if you think about it.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, do you know anybody at Besserian Subway stop?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but that one always strikes me too. That's a weird one.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, you never hear of anyone. Like it's on the map, but you never hear of anyone going, oh, I just got a condo, right at Besarian. Like, it's not a word you ever hear, but on the subway map in Toronto, for some reason, it's there. This is wildly specific for.
>> Marco Timpano: For me, Glencairn is the one, I always think, who gets off at Glen Karen?
>> Amanda Barker: Glencairn. Yeah, but then there's other subway stops in Toronto that you hear about all the time, right? Like getting off at Spadina or the Zaveria subway stop or Dufferin Station.
>> Marco Timpano: When I lived in New York, Prince, I would get off at Prince station for work.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. When I lived in Korea, I got off at Bupyeonggu, which was next to Pegun and between Pegun and Puge. They were all P's. But actually, what's funny is they're all bees now because they went with the other Alphabet. There were sort of two versions of whatever the Anglicized Korean Alphabet was, and I knew it all as peas. like Busan. But now it's Busan, right? Anyway, I mean, it's all the same in Korean.
>> Marco Timpano: But, I'm so glad you're using P's, because.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's your favorite.
>> Marco Timpano: You have a tendency to pop your P's.
>> Amanda Barker: Hey, I mean, if we're going to try this new interface, let's see how it does with P's and B's. That has nothing to do with the interface, does it?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you. You.
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Amanda says she has a heavy foot because her mother told her
>> Marco Timpano: We just have a very prominent pee.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know why my pee is so prominent.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. And you also have a heavy foot.
>> Amanda Barker: I do have a heavy foot.
>> Marco Timpano: The reason we know Amanda has a heavy foot.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, because my mother used to tell me I did.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, did your mother tell you?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh my God.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, growing up.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. Stomp, stomp, stomp.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. Because I know you have a heavy foot. When you're walking above the studio, I can hear you.
>> Amanda Barker: But my friend and our friend Michelle, Miracle in la, said, you know, you're very heavy footed once to me, and I was like, oh, gosh. I guess she is very aware that I have heavy feet.
>> Marco Timpano: I think you just have a heavy foot.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess I do. I don't know. I thought maybe it was a dance thing. Like when I was a kid, I thought that's just something every mom says to every kid. But now I realize no, maybe it's specifically me. I don't have big feet.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you don't. Not at all.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe that's why they're so heavy. Maybe I should be smaller for my feet. My feet are too small for my body.
>> Marco Timpano: Perhaps. Perhaps. When I was a child, I thought every parent, every mom cut their kids hair.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because my mom was a hairdresser, so she would cut my hair.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And, I just figured every mom cuts every child's hair. That's what they do.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. No, I probably wouldn't have ended up with a pixie cut if that was the case. Or I would have only had a pixie cut if that was the case.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. I see. Did you ever cut your own hair as a child?
>> Amanda Barker: No. I tried to shave.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: once. And another time I let my sister cut my hair and that was a disaster.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Amanda Barker: I wanted to be a Cabbage Patch doll for Halloween.
>> Marco Timpano: Who doesn't?
>> Amanda Barker: And. And I decided this sometime early October. And so she said, okay, if you want to be a Cabbage Patch doll for Halloween, then we should probably cut your hair in ponytails so that it can look properly like a Cabbage Patch doll. And she was very convinced of it.
>> Marco Timpano: how old were you at this time?
>> Amanda Barker: We were older than you'd think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I want to say I was 7 or 8. So that would have put her at a solid 9 or 10, which really is, you know, that's something like a 4 year old does. We were old enough that you both
>> Marco Timpano: should have known better.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess I just always listened to whatever she said and she definitely should have known better. So she cut my hair in ponytails. And so of course it was all jagged and different lengths. And so then I had to go and get my hair properly cut. So then it became a bob.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't mind the bob, but my mom didn't like it.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is funny because she likes short hair.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyway, I want to say a special hello to all the flowers that are blooming in November, which for me, a November bloom is spectacular.
>> Amanda Barker: We have some geraniums that won't quit.
>> Marco Timpano: They're just like, it's the end of the season, I'm still gonna give you some blooms.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they're hot pink geraniums. And I mean, it's December. Next week.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Amanda Barker: This week. Is it December this week? No, next week.
>> Marco Timpano: Next week.
As of December 1st, we're gonna have our holiday episodes
Speaking of December, So today's our last episode of season five. Thank you for being with us all this time. As of December 1st, we're gonna have our holiday episodes. And we're gonna have an episode for every day in December and a little pinch after in November too, till the 6th, which is epiphany.
>> Amanda Barker: January.
>> Marco Timpano: What did I say?
>> Amanda Barker: November.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: And earlier when you were talking about November, you said January. I guess you get those two mixed up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think I'm just at the end of my day. I think it's just, it's just been a long day.
>> Marco Timpano: And so we're going to do a show for the 31 days of December. They're going to be holiday shows, so they're going to be not our regular episodes. They're going to be a little bit peppier. They're going to have a little more holiday feel to it. We'll talk more about that on the December 1 episode. But I just want to let everyone know I'm very excited about it. And Amanda, a preview for our listeners. We are going to be putting together a new podcast logo.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: So the one that you see of me and you in front of microphones with a sheep jumping over us is going to change to something else.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: So very excited.
>> Amanda Barker: Will it feature my chin as much?
>> Marco Timpano: It won't. Why? I think you look good in that picture. You're not happy with the chin?
>> Amanda Barker: No, it's just, you know, one never quite adjusts to one's profile, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess profiles are a challenging thing.
>> Amanda Barker: They are, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we're going to have a new logo.
>> Marco Timpano: Sans either of our chins.
>> Amanda Barker: That means without.
>> Marco Timpano: That means without. And we hope you will like it. I'm really excited about it.
>> Amanda Barker: Good. That's very exciting. That's exciting news.
What does the end of November bring for you, Amanda?
>> Marco Timpano: What does the end of November bring for you, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's a really good question.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll say this. Your magazines for the end of November are pretty great. The five you got all the covers all look fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: You're enjoying my magazines. Yeah, it's a lot of turkeys and, leaves and let's get into Christmas and let's get into the holidays. I think for me, November brings darkness. And in that darkness can be a lot of things. I think it can be a coziness.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: A want to look inward.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: A want to sleep more. I had a fabulous nap today.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you had. It feels like when you nap, I don't. And when I nap, you don't.
>> Amanda Barker: We have an energetic thing in this house with sleep in general. we should do a whole episode on that since it is a sleep podcast.
American Thanksgiving is coming up on Thursday
>> Marco Timpano: I want to also mention our listener Heidi, who, tweeted us at, listen and sleep. That's our Twitter handle, in case you're wondering. so Heidi mentions that. She mentions she loved hearing about the beautiful townships that we drove through on the latest episode. So the Eastern townships. And Heidi, if you get a chance, please, you and Devin take a trip. I know you don't know each other, but take a trip through Matchmaker.
>> Amanda Barker: Matchmaker.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think they're both partnered. But still, they can still go.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, friend, Matchmaker.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't mean romantically fair, but they can drive through Quebec. It's so, so beautiful. So beautiful.
>> Amanda Barker: Where is Heidi?
>> Marco Timpano: Heidi doesn't say where she's from. So Heidi, if you get a chance, let us know where you're from. But I want to say that she enjoyed the episode and it helped her get back to sleep when her head was stirring with her Thanksgiving menu plans. And American Thanksgiving is coming up on Thursday.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I want to wish all our American listeners a happy Thanksgiving.
>> Amanda Barker: Would it be helpful if I went through what I did for Thanksgiving?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course. I don't think we talked about it.
>> Amanda Barker: I think we did the way I organized it all.
>> Marco Timpano: But I also want to say that I'm thankful for all our listeners and our American listeners who are celebrating Thanksgiving. I am thankful to have you here listening. And thank you, Heidi, for mentioning that. I. I sort of responded by saying I'm sure her Thanksgiving menu is going to be awesome, because I know you plan yours, and she was planning hers.
>> Amanda Barker: The key is timing. The key is having a timed schedule for me this year. It was, But you asked about November, and I just want to say I think there's some real magic to be found in the darkness of November. I think there's a real. Because it can be really challenging right when you lose the light and lose the sunlight. So I just wanted to say that I'm really trying this year to just invite the warmth and coziness that more hours of darkness can bring and, the inward introspection that more hours of darkness can bring.
The loud ad in the middle of our show episodes was a challenge for some listeners
I just really wanted to say that
>> Marco Timpano: I want to thank all our listeners who have stayed with us through the loud ad in the middle of our show episodes that I know was a challenge for a lot of people.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that was, something that you only found out about after. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: You had to troubleshoot. It's a difficult one. Now, we do have two ads that will happen at the start of our show, and one of those ads I was Told by Nima was a bit loud.
>> Marco Timpano: But I figure if they're at the top of the show, once you start hearing me speak, you're going to chill and hopefully find your way to sleep. So I'm going to leave those ads
>> Amanda Barker: because I will say so. A podcast I'm listening to right now has some ads in it and it's the same ad every time. And I actually don't mind, personally. I like hearing the ads at the same time every time in the podcast, but I am a creature of, comfort and habit.
>> Marco Timpano: Mountain goat1.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Had tweeted us and said that they usually love our podcast, but the Jumping the Shark episode was too much banter and too many interruptions. I think we went a little bit out of our norm of being calm.
>> Amanda Barker: I understand.
>> Marco Timpano: And you even called it out in the episode.
>> Amanda Barker: I did. Right. I said I think this is too conversational.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we're gonna make it a little
>> Amanda Barker: more what's good feedback.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. Mountain Goat 1.
>> Amanda Barker: I am thankful, for the feedback.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I am thankful too.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And there's different episodes for different people too. Right. That's why people flag like some people. The interface episode. I will never make it through this episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we talked about the interface early in the episode, so hopefully at this point that helped people.
>> Marco Timpano: But I'm looking forward, I'm going to just end the episode talking about interfaces if I can.
Marco Tampano wants to know what you're planning for Christmas
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, great.
>> Marco Timpano: So Chris Bond has an interface that he spent quite a bit of money on, but it has all these features on it where he can program buttons to sort of allow for certain sound effects, certain dings and chimes. And his intro music is all pre planned on the interface. And I really want to look into that particular interface because I feel like it's kind of the Rolls Royce of interfaces.
>> Marco Timpano: And if I'm going, if my audience 14 doesn't work out, I might look at getting that Rolls Royce of interfaces. But I want to ask him more about it. And that's interface talk with Marco Tampano. Let m us know if you let us know what your plans are, if you're celebrating Thanksgiving or what your plans are or what you like about the end of November. Would love to know that. Or whatever else you'd like to share with us. Of course, we're always open to that as well. I recently had all my markers and highlighters out, Amanda, because I had some work I had to do. And you know, I highlight everything.
>> Amanda Barker: You do? You're very into color Coding. And this is a house where I always can count on having a highlighter.
>> Marco Timpano: A highlighter or cue cards. I have cue cards everywhere.
>> Amanda Barker: Highlighters especially though they're, they're, they're heavily prized and in every room.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. I don't have a good green one right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I know what to get you for Christmas.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. A green highlighter goes. Because the one I have light green
>> Amanda Barker: or a dark green?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, no, not a dark one because the one I have is too dark when I highlight. It's just this. It's like using a, green marker.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's like you're almost. You can't read the thing. Some of the blues can be like that too.
>> Marco Timpano: The purples I find difficult.
>> Amanda Barker: Very dark. You need a light. Highlighters need to, by definition, be light.
>> Marco Timpano: There's pastely ones in different colors. I saw. A whole pack of them. But they were $17. So I was like, I'm not getting those. But I had my eye on them. Maybe Santa will get me pastel highlighters.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, maybe.
Thank you for listening to our Sleep podcast. Please tell your friends about our podcast
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, thank you so much for listening and I hope you've had an, ah, enjoyable season five. Thank you for, being with us. Please tell your friends about our podcast. they might enjoy it. I know I've had some people I recently spoke with and they've said, I didn't realize you had a podcast about sleep. And so they're now listeners. So thank you for listening to all of you and I wish all of you a good night and I hope you were able to, to listen and sleep.
Season 1 - 2016
Candles, Honey & Baseball
originally recored: Feb 14, 2016
>> Nidhi Khanna: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us and we hope that you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Nidhi Khanna, and today we have a very special guest in studio with us, Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi, thanks for having Me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, some of you might remember some of our listeners who've been subscribing to our podcast that every time Marco and I have a conversation, somehow the conversation leads back to Amanda in some way or another, either through referencing their wedding and speaking about flowers, or talking about the long drives in the summer that Amanda and I take in terms of our country antiquing adventures. Amanda, thank you so much for joining us.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it's wonderful to be here.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Amanda, you're a fan of candles, aren't you?
>> Amanda Barker: I am. I love candles.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What is it about a candle that is so appealing to you?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think fire being one of the most basic elements of the earth, fire, wind, water, and rock. I think fire is one of those elements that every human responds to in a very visceral way. I feel like whether it's one flame or a bonfire or a fireplace, there's something about a flame that allows people to connect and to just slow down and take pause. And that's what I really love about candles.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And do you? Because I like to, at the end of the day, light a candle, whether I'm enjoying a glass of wine or there's something that is part of my ritual in terms of coming home at the end of the day, I need to light a candle. There's something that makes the atmosphere a little bit different. Do you have a particular scent that you gravitate towards?
>> Amanda Barker: I tend to like a nice sandalwood.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sandalwood?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, something musky or patchouli based. That said, I do find some candles are particularly strong, so I'm not always in love with a very strong candle. Perfume in general makes my throat close up, so I have to be very careful when I'm using scents.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, you spoke a moment ago about bonfires. Can you tell me about a time when you were at a bonfire and what the situation was that brought you there?
>> Amanda Barker: Sure. Last bonfire I can readily remember was I was in New Hampshire in. At a bonfire just outside of Concord, New Hampshire, which is the capital of New Hampshire, and had a good friend whose father lived there in a really fun sort of cottage in the woods. He's an artist, his father is, and he makes large wood sculptures. So we were in this sort of wooded area surrounded by wooden art and some stone art as well, and his father threw us a very big bonfire. Now, I was in New Hampshire because I was performing in a show at the time, and because it was one of my fellow actors hometowns, his dad offered to host us all with a really big roaring fire outside and I should add that it was in January, so there was snow, but we were really warm because the fire was quite large.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I love bonfires in the winter. I feel like there's something about the smell of a bonfire and the, the, the burning wood just somehow makes winter seem like it. It's a winter smell.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right. Cozy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, cozy. But that being said, give me a bonfire by the beach any day now. Your parents, they live in Florida. Are there a lot of bonfires in Florida?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there's some heavy restrictions for burning in Florida because a lot of the land where they live is quite protected. They live literally a stone's throw from a bird sanctuary. So they have to be very careful. You can't just have a fire anywhere. So for them, they don't normally engage in bonfires, but they do have, I believe, an open flame pit outside in a sort of secluded area underneath some palm trees. And sometimes we will have some fire roaring there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And are marshmallows still part of the bonfire ritual?
>> Amanda Barker: Not for my dad because he's diabetic.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, well, we don't want that.
>> Amanda Barker: For my mother and for me and my brother and sister when they find time to come, which isn't very often.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, family's family. Amanda, tell me, what is your favorite beach?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow, there are so many. I love beaches. One of my favorite beaches is Cinnamon Bay on the island of St. John. St. John is an American virgin island. It's one of the few American Virgin Islands. There's St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix. But St. John is actually the smallest and hardest to get to and most secluded. The majority of St. John is national park. So there are three beautiful, well known beaches on St. John, and the middle beach is Cinnamon Bay, and that's my particular favorite. The snorkeling there is gorgeous and serene. It's very often that you can have the beach to yourself, which is magical. And it's not unusual to see many types of fish when you're snorkeling in that water. Highly recommended. Not easy to get to, but a beautiful beach all the same.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, Cinnamon Bay, I don't know if you are aware, but in a previous podcast episode, your husband and I were discussing the. The ingredients in what would make the best official cookie for the city of Toronto.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And one of those ingredients that we decided would be really, really important to have in there would actually be cinnamon. The spiciness and the warmness. I feel I need to ask you, what do you feel would be the best ingredient for Toronto's Official cookie.
>> Amanda Barker: I think oatmeal, I think Toronto is an oatmeal cookie type of city because oatmeal is both healthy but can also be sweet. And I believe that Toronto is a very health conscious city but also enjoys its treats. So for me it would be maybe an oatmeal raisin chocolate chip.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, okay. You've got a bit of the sweet and savory in there. A little bit. Do you, do you have a preference between sweet and savory?
>> Amanda Barker: I like them together myself. Really.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm. I used to be a sweet tooth person. Like, I couldn't go the. Without a. At the end of a meal, after dinner, I would always need something sweet. But something happened to me a few years ago and all of a sudden I turned into a savory person.
>> Amanda Barker: Interesting.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And instead of going for the sweet, I would go for the potato chips or the pretzels or something like that. And I don't know, I don't know if I cleansed my body of sweet food or I just, I found when I stopped taking sugar in my coffee that I didn't crave sweets as much and I found things to be too sugary after that. Did you ever. Have you ever encountered a similar type of thing or gone through a change in diet that has created a different taste for you?
>> Amanda Barker: I have been told that craving sweet and savory together can be a symptom of an electrolyte imbalance. Electrolytes essentially can be salts and sugars. And there's something that people recommend if something someone's been sick or ill in any way or had any digestive problem, that they simply use salt and sugar to, you know, retain or contribute to their electrolyte balance. So for me, I do find that when I have sweet and savory together, then I do crave it more, whether it be fries dipped in honey, which is one of my personal favorites.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Really? How did you discover that concoction?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, when I was a child, I never ate beef, but I would eat chicken, chicken nuggets. And the first thing that I was ever given with my chicken nuggets was honey. So as a child, this idea of chicken tenders, chicken fingers or chicken nuggets with honey was something that would become my go to at various restaurants. Not unlike most children, I think as I got older, I would get chicken nuggets with fries and then I wouldn't just dip the chicken nuggets into honey, I would dip the fries in as well. And I still do to this day.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That is interesting. I think I'm gonna have to try that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you'll never go back once you try it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is honey a staple in your diet?
>> Amanda Barker: It absolutely is. And actually, both my mother and grandmother, by the time they were my age, had seasonal allergies, which I can say with some certainty that I haven't really experienced, certainly not to any type of any type of way that would be noticeable, certainly by me or anyone else. And I think that possibly one of the reasons I've managed to fight growing allergies, seasonal allergies in my later adulthood is because I do try to have the honey of any region that I'm in. And I try to sample many different types of honey. For example, when I was visiting Mexico City, the honey there tastes like rose petals.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Really.
>> Amanda Barker: You could tell that the bees had had a wide variety of. Of rose pollen when making the honey. Whereas here in Toronto, you're more apt to find a wildflower honey from the wildflowers that grow in the rural parts of Ontario and even not the rural parts of Ontario.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you have a favorite type or like a favorite region to get your honey from?
>> Amanda Barker: That's a good question. When I was in Georgia, I really loved the honey there. There was some beautiful thick but buckwheat honey that I really, really loved. In Savannah, Georgia,
>> Nidhi Khanna: have you ever tried Portuguese honey?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I haven't.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So we used to have Portuguese honey because it was less sweet.
>> Amanda Barker: Interesting.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it's actually supposed to be very good for the skin. Interesting because honey, as you may know, has natural antibacterial properties, which is why it's used in so many different, you know, face masks and exfoliants, etc. When you're making them at home. But this Portuguese honey is you. You drink it with. As a concoction with hot water in the morning, and it completely cleanses your skin.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, I'm curious, would you have it? When I was a child, I discovered concoction of warm water or cold water, honey, vinegar and lemon. Is this something you've ever tried?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, I've done the warm water, honey and lemon. I've never had it with vinegar.
>> Amanda Barker: That definitely speaks to a sweet and savory balance or possibly imbalance. I've been told that some people who have an overgrowth of yeast in their body might want both sweet and savory at the same time. And people will crave this sort of the acidity of vinegar with the sweetness of the honey. I'm not sure, but when I was about 10, I read a book on beekeeping, and this was the drink that was the recipe in the in the school book. So I went home and I went into my parents fridge and found the vinegar and found I found the honey in the cupboard and made it myself and it's still to this day something that I crave really
>> Speaker A: Here at Blue Apron we know exactly how hectic school nights can be. That's why we created Assemble and Bake delicious one pan meals that make family dinner simple. Just assemble the pre chopped ingredients and put the pan in the oven to bake. Then you're free to help out with that last minute diorama shop. Assemble and [email protected] get 50% off your first two orders with code apron50 terms and conditions apply. Visit blueapron.com terms for more why Choose a Sleep Number Smart Bed Can I
>> Amanda Barker: make my site softer?
>> Speaker A: Can I make my site firmer?
>> Amanda Barker: Can we sleep cooler?
>> Speaker A: Sleep number does that cools up to eight times faster and lets you choose your ideal comfort on either side your sleep number setting. Enjoy personalized comfort for better sleep night after night. And now during our President's day sale, take 50% off our limited edition bed plus an extra $100 off all mattresses and Saturday only at a Sleep number store or sleepnumber.com.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now speaking of beekeeping, so we've talked about different things that Marco and I did when we were children. So we talked about our fascination with stamp collecting. We talked about how we all both wanted to go into medicine and ended up in the arts. Did you ever want to become a beekeeper?
>> Amanda Barker: It's funny that you asked that. And actually I want to thank you for that because you've just reminded me there's a beekeeping course offered by the city of Toronto that actually I very much want to take. And a friend of mine who I've worked with twice, her name is Boyana and she is from the Ukraine. She's a makeup artist. I worked with her on a commercial and then I ran into her on another commercial much later and she told me about this beekeeping course that she was going to take and it reminded me just now that I'd like to get the information on it and maybe keep a few bees in my backyard.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now that would be I guess fascinating and dangerous at the same time.
>> Amanda Barker: Or it would be for my neighbor, certainly. Correct. Correct. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But what did you want to be when you were a child? Like what was your. What did you think you wanted to
>> Amanda Barker: My first ambition was to be, I think. I think my first ambition was to be a Ballet dancer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah, yes, because you were a big dancer when you were a child.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I loved to dance, and I loved ballet in particular, and I loved the. This idea of the pain that it took to get there and that if I just worked hard enough that maybe I could get there. But when I was about 10, 11, maybe 12, I realized that what I really, truly enjoyed was the storytelling aspect of dance. And so I thought that perhaps I didn't have really what it took to become, you know, a lead dancer, prima ballerina, if you will. And so I hung up my toe shoes. I also moved at that time, so furthering my career in dance wasn't really an option. And instead I focused more on acting and performing. And I've never looked back.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is there, other than ballet, like, is there a contemporary dance that you prefer?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, ballet was always my first love. I loved tap, but I was always told I wasn't very good at it. But I do love it. I actually always wanted to. And I took a few classes. I wanted to learn to break dance.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I was a mascot, a professional mascot, and I always wanted to be able to, you know, whip out some smooth break dancing. Break dancing moves as a mascot never really got that good. My upper body strength isn't really good at all. So it was hard for me to do any of the holds, but I did enjoy it all the same.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I. Have you ever tried these barre classes, which are ballet fitness classes?
>> Amanda Barker: You know, I don't think I have done a. I've certainly done barre, but I. I don't think I've done a ballet class in a fitness facility. Not. Not in recent memory. Although I do have a friend who is going to start training course to teach it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In fact, well, I've done it a couple of times. Amanda, I'm gonna say it is one of the most intense things that I have ever experienced in my life. And it's funny because you go in there and you think, oh, I'm just kind of taking a dance class. But I felt pain from muscles I didn't realize that I had with those ballet classes. But I want to just circle back quickly and talk about your time as a mascot. What was your favorite memory from being a mascot?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, my favorite memory, I have a lot. I have a few different favorite memories, but one of them, I guess, would be there was a baseball player named Roy Holiday. He still plays. And that particular year that I was working with the Toronto Blue Jays, he had pitched. I don't remember the number, but a series of no hitter Games, meaning that none of the people on the other team could hit the ball when he was pitching. And that went on for many, many games. And finally when he got to a certain number, and I don't remember the number, it was pretty clear that he would win some something called the Cy Young Award, which is award reserved for pitchers in baseball and major league baseball. And so many news outlets were interviewing him after the game. He was sitting there and I ran up behind him and did a sort of bow as though I as the mascot, as the mascot, as though I was not worthy, that none of us were worthy kind of thing. And in my ear I could hear the head of game ops saying, diamond, which was my character's name, diamond, get out of the shot, diamond, get out of the shot. But I ignored it and I kept going anyway because I knew that the character would not be there much longer and I wanted her to have her mom in the sun. And frankly, at that moment I didn't mind care. That is a good memory. I have another wonderful memory to continue. Yeah, there was another player. If anyone follows Toronto baseball, then this might have meaning to them. But there was a pitching coach in the Blue Jays dugout. And when I say in the dugout, I don't mean the part that one can visibly see, but rather the part of the dugout where one walks down into the sort of basement area and people wait and warm up and whatever. And often that's where the mascots go. So I had to go out for the seventh inning. But as anyone knows, an inning in baseball can take, you know, five minutes or an hour, it's anyone's guess. So I had to be in costume waiting to go. But often I'd be there standing for quite a long time. And then as the season wore on, I started playing something I called the Name Game with one of the security guards where we would try to come up with baseball players names. So for example, if Roy Halladay was the baseball player, then the next name would have to begin with H A Howard or H*** or that type of thing. Anyhow, we would play that and we weren't particularly good at it. I only knew the players that I had met or had seen playing. And this very large kind man started playing with us. I knew he worked with the team. I didn't know who he was, but he was very good at the game. He knew a lot of players names. And as the season wore on, finally by the end of the season, I realized that I had been playing the Name Game every day with a Man named Sito Gaston, who to this day is probably my favorite player in baseball. Sorry. Although maybe he could play basketball too. I'm not sure. Very lovely man, Sito Casto.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so with this lovely mascot, because what a wonderful experience, once in a lifetime experience that you had. Tell me about the conversation when you found out that this mascot was no longer gonna be used.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it was 10 minutes before the home opening game. I was getting my costume on. I was about to fasten my head on, and I was pulled aside and said, just so you know, this character won't. Won't continue after this season. We're phasing her out. We want you to know that. Because we want you to know that it has nothing to do with you, but we won't be featuring her as much. So if you notice that the other mascot has more to do or is more in the spotlight, we just thought we should warn you ahead of time. And it felt like someone had punched me in the gut. I was sad, and I was about to go perform for 60,000 people. But then I realized what it really meant was that I could do whatever I wanted. So for that example with Roy Holiday, when people told me to get out of the shot, I just continued onward. And then at the end of the season, they decided they changed their mind. Because I had done such a good job with it, they wanted me to continue. Unfortunately, at that moment, I had accepted a new job with the Second City. So I wasn't able to commit to the role in the way that would have been a full committing of the role. And so they had to work around my experience schedule, which was, to be honest, really only working on Sundays. So the mascot sort of faded out the next year when I could only do a series of Sundays. And then after that, she was no more.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, it looks like you left there with them wanting more.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's true. And I always hope that maybe someday they'll bring the character back because little girls really loved her and loved getting her autograph and seeing something that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Can you describe what she looked like? Like, what was the. What was the mascot costume?
>> Amanda Barker: So her name was Diamond. She was Blue because it was for the Toronto Blue Jays. She had a series of different pants. When they started the character. She had white sort of old timey baseball pants with little red ribbon around the edges. But by the time I came along, I was the third diamond, third person playing that role. And there were no white pants left for me or they didn't fit me. I think the other girls were much Tinier than me. And so I just wore blue pants that actually, I still have blue pants that were like running pants almost with stripes down the side. And that's what I wore then. I wore a big white baseball shirt, and I had eyelashes. Big, big eyes and eyelashes. And a mechanical device in my hand that would make one of the eyes wink at people, although it didn't work most of the time.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And. And a big red flower in my hair.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Wow. And children would gravitate. Now, now, when you're playing a mascot, is it kind of like playing Santa Claus in that you can never really like, is it. You never want the children to know that the mascot isn't a mascot?
>> Amanda Barker: I see. Yeah. Well, the interesting thing was, yeah, I respected that. I definitely would never have taken, you know, my head off and anywhere in public. But the interesting thing was you would be playing with some kids or some people maybe many times throughout the game, and I would always take the subway home. I didn't have a car in those days, so I would take the subway home, and I'd often sit across or next to the kids that I'd been playing, but they had no idea who I was, and I just smile at them.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, Amanda, thank you so much for being here with me today. It's been such a pleasure.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I've learned a lot about mascotting and about sweet and savory, and we hope to have you back again soon.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'm here anytime.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Thank you so much for listening. And if you have anything that you would like to tweet to contact us, please do find us online at Listen and sleep. Marco will be back next episode. And as usual, we are broadcasting from Toronto, and we hope that you have relaxed, are in a deep, deep slumber, and we'll see you next time.
originally recored: Feb 14, 2016
>> Nidhi Khanna: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us and we hope that you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Nidhi Khanna, and today we have a very special guest in studio with us, Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi, thanks for having Me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, some of you might remember some of our listeners who've been subscribing to our podcast that every time Marco and I have a conversation, somehow the conversation leads back to Amanda in some way or another, either through referencing their wedding and speaking about flowers, or talking about the long drives in the summer that Amanda and I take in terms of our country antiquing adventures. Amanda, thank you so much for joining us.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it's wonderful to be here.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Amanda, you're a fan of candles, aren't you?
>> Amanda Barker: I am. I love candles.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What is it about a candle that is so appealing to you?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think fire being one of the most basic elements of the earth, fire, wind, water, and rock. I think fire is one of those elements that every human responds to in a very visceral way. I feel like whether it's one flame or a bonfire or a fireplace, there's something about a flame that allows people to connect and to just slow down and take pause. And that's what I really love about candles.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And do you? Because I like to, at the end of the day, light a candle, whether I'm enjoying a glass of wine or there's something that is part of my ritual in terms of coming home at the end of the day, I need to light a candle. There's something that makes the atmosphere a little bit different. Do you have a particular scent that you gravitate towards?
>> Amanda Barker: I tend to like a nice sandalwood.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sandalwood?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, something musky or patchouli based. That said, I do find some candles are particularly strong, so I'm not always in love with a very strong candle. Perfume in general makes my throat close up, so I have to be very careful when I'm using scents.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, you spoke a moment ago about bonfires. Can you tell me about a time when you were at a bonfire and what the situation was that brought you there?
>> Amanda Barker: Sure. Last bonfire I can readily remember was I was in New Hampshire in. At a bonfire just outside of Concord, New Hampshire, which is the capital of New Hampshire, and had a good friend whose father lived there in a really fun sort of cottage in the woods. He's an artist, his father is, and he makes large wood sculptures. So we were in this sort of wooded area surrounded by wooden art and some stone art as well, and his father threw us a very big bonfire. Now, I was in New Hampshire because I was performing in a show at the time, and because it was one of my fellow actors hometowns, his dad offered to host us all with a really big roaring fire outside and I should add that it was in January, so there was snow, but we were really warm because the fire was quite large.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I love bonfires in the winter. I feel like there's something about the smell of a bonfire and the, the, the burning wood just somehow makes winter seem like it. It's a winter smell.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right. Cozy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, cozy. But that being said, give me a bonfire by the beach any day now. Your parents, they live in Florida. Are there a lot of bonfires in Florida?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there's some heavy restrictions for burning in Florida because a lot of the land where they live is quite protected. They live literally a stone's throw from a bird sanctuary. So they have to be very careful. You can't just have a fire anywhere. So for them, they don't normally engage in bonfires, but they do have, I believe, an open flame pit outside in a sort of secluded area underneath some palm trees. And sometimes we will have some fire roaring there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And are marshmallows still part of the bonfire ritual?
>> Amanda Barker: Not for my dad because he's diabetic.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, well, we don't want that.
>> Amanda Barker: For my mother and for me and my brother and sister when they find time to come, which isn't very often.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, family's family. Amanda, tell me, what is your favorite beach?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow, there are so many. I love beaches. One of my favorite beaches is Cinnamon Bay on the island of St. John. St. John is an American virgin island. It's one of the few American Virgin Islands. There's St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix. But St. John is actually the smallest and hardest to get to and most secluded. The majority of St. John is national park. So there are three beautiful, well known beaches on St. John, and the middle beach is Cinnamon Bay, and that's my particular favorite. The snorkeling there is gorgeous and serene. It's very often that you can have the beach to yourself, which is magical. And it's not unusual to see many types of fish when you're snorkeling in that water. Highly recommended. Not easy to get to, but a beautiful beach all the same.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, Cinnamon Bay, I don't know if you are aware, but in a previous podcast episode, your husband and I were discussing the. The ingredients in what would make the best official cookie for the city of Toronto.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And one of those ingredients that we decided would be really, really important to have in there would actually be cinnamon. The spiciness and the warmness. I feel I need to ask you, what do you feel would be the best ingredient for Toronto's Official cookie.
>> Amanda Barker: I think oatmeal, I think Toronto is an oatmeal cookie type of city because oatmeal is both healthy but can also be sweet. And I believe that Toronto is a very health conscious city but also enjoys its treats. So for me it would be maybe an oatmeal raisin chocolate chip.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, okay. You've got a bit of the sweet and savory in there. A little bit. Do you, do you have a preference between sweet and savory?
>> Amanda Barker: I like them together myself. Really.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm. I used to be a sweet tooth person. Like, I couldn't go the. Without a. At the end of a meal, after dinner, I would always need something sweet. But something happened to me a few years ago and all of a sudden I turned into a savory person.
>> Amanda Barker: Interesting.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And instead of going for the sweet, I would go for the potato chips or the pretzels or something like that. And I don't know, I don't know if I cleansed my body of sweet food or I just, I found when I stopped taking sugar in my coffee that I didn't crave sweets as much and I found things to be too sugary after that. Did you ever. Have you ever encountered a similar type of thing or gone through a change in diet that has created a different taste for you?
>> Amanda Barker: I have been told that craving sweet and savory together can be a symptom of an electrolyte imbalance. Electrolytes essentially can be salts and sugars. And there's something that people recommend if something someone's been sick or ill in any way or had any digestive problem, that they simply use salt and sugar to, you know, retain or contribute to their electrolyte balance. So for me, I do find that when I have sweet and savory together, then I do crave it more, whether it be fries dipped in honey, which is one of my personal favorites.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Really? How did you discover that concoction?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, when I was a child, I never ate beef, but I would eat chicken, chicken nuggets. And the first thing that I was ever given with my chicken nuggets was honey. So as a child, this idea of chicken tenders, chicken fingers or chicken nuggets with honey was something that would become my go to at various restaurants. Not unlike most children, I think as I got older, I would get chicken nuggets with fries and then I wouldn't just dip the chicken nuggets into honey, I would dip the fries in as well. And I still do to this day.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That is interesting. I think I'm gonna have to try that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you'll never go back once you try it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is honey a staple in your diet?
>> Amanda Barker: It absolutely is. And actually, both my mother and grandmother, by the time they were my age, had seasonal allergies, which I can say with some certainty that I haven't really experienced, certainly not to any type of any type of way that would be noticeable, certainly by me or anyone else. And I think that possibly one of the reasons I've managed to fight growing allergies, seasonal allergies in my later adulthood is because I do try to have the honey of any region that I'm in. And I try to sample many different types of honey. For example, when I was visiting Mexico City, the honey there tastes like rose petals.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Really.
>> Amanda Barker: You could tell that the bees had had a wide variety of. Of rose pollen when making the honey. Whereas here in Toronto, you're more apt to find a wildflower honey from the wildflowers that grow in the rural parts of Ontario and even not the rural parts of Ontario.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you have a favorite type or like a favorite region to get your honey from?
>> Amanda Barker: That's a good question. When I was in Georgia, I really loved the honey there. There was some beautiful thick but buckwheat honey that I really, really loved. In Savannah, Georgia,
>> Nidhi Khanna: have you ever tried Portuguese honey?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I haven't.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So we used to have Portuguese honey because it was less sweet.
>> Amanda Barker: Interesting.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it's actually supposed to be very good for the skin. Interesting because honey, as you may know, has natural antibacterial properties, which is why it's used in so many different, you know, face masks and exfoliants, etc. When you're making them at home. But this Portuguese honey is you. You drink it with. As a concoction with hot water in the morning, and it completely cleanses your skin.
>> Amanda Barker: Now, I'm curious, would you have it? When I was a child, I discovered concoction of warm water or cold water, honey, vinegar and lemon. Is this something you've ever tried?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, I've done the warm water, honey and lemon. I've never had it with vinegar.
>> Amanda Barker: That definitely speaks to a sweet and savory balance or possibly imbalance. I've been told that some people who have an overgrowth of yeast in their body might want both sweet and savory at the same time. And people will crave this sort of the acidity of vinegar with the sweetness of the honey. I'm not sure, but when I was about 10, I read a book on beekeeping, and this was the drink that was the recipe in the in the school book. So I went home and I went into my parents fridge and found the vinegar and found I found the honey in the cupboard and made it myself and it's still to this day something that I crave really
>> Speaker A: Here at Blue Apron we know exactly how hectic school nights can be. That's why we created Assemble and Bake delicious one pan meals that make family dinner simple. Just assemble the pre chopped ingredients and put the pan in the oven to bake. Then you're free to help out with that last minute diorama shop. Assemble and [email protected] get 50% off your first two orders with code apron50 terms and conditions apply. Visit blueapron.com terms for more why Choose a Sleep Number Smart Bed Can I
>> Amanda Barker: make my site softer?
>> Speaker A: Can I make my site firmer?
>> Amanda Barker: Can we sleep cooler?
>> Speaker A: Sleep number does that cools up to eight times faster and lets you choose your ideal comfort on either side your sleep number setting. Enjoy personalized comfort for better sleep night after night. And now during our President's day sale, take 50% off our limited edition bed plus an extra $100 off all mattresses and Saturday only at a Sleep number store or sleepnumber.com.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now speaking of beekeeping, so we've talked about different things that Marco and I did when we were children. So we talked about our fascination with stamp collecting. We talked about how we all both wanted to go into medicine and ended up in the arts. Did you ever want to become a beekeeper?
>> Amanda Barker: It's funny that you asked that. And actually I want to thank you for that because you've just reminded me there's a beekeeping course offered by the city of Toronto that actually I very much want to take. And a friend of mine who I've worked with twice, her name is Boyana and she is from the Ukraine. She's a makeup artist. I worked with her on a commercial and then I ran into her on another commercial much later and she told me about this beekeeping course that she was going to take and it reminded me just now that I'd like to get the information on it and maybe keep a few bees in my backyard.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now that would be I guess fascinating and dangerous at the same time.
>> Amanda Barker: Or it would be for my neighbor, certainly. Correct. Correct. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But what did you want to be when you were a child? Like what was your. What did you think you wanted to
>> Amanda Barker: My first ambition was to be, I think. I think my first ambition was to be a Ballet dancer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah, yes, because you were a big dancer when you were a child.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I loved to dance, and I loved ballet in particular, and I loved the. This idea of the pain that it took to get there and that if I just worked hard enough that maybe I could get there. But when I was about 10, 11, maybe 12, I realized that what I really, truly enjoyed was the storytelling aspect of dance. And so I thought that perhaps I didn't have really what it took to become, you know, a lead dancer, prima ballerina, if you will. And so I hung up my toe shoes. I also moved at that time, so furthering my career in dance wasn't really an option. And instead I focused more on acting and performing. And I've never looked back.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is there, other than ballet, like, is there a contemporary dance that you prefer?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, ballet was always my first love. I loved tap, but I was always told I wasn't very good at it. But I do love it. I actually always wanted to. And I took a few classes. I wanted to learn to break dance.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I was a mascot, a professional mascot, and I always wanted to be able to, you know, whip out some smooth break dancing. Break dancing moves as a mascot never really got that good. My upper body strength isn't really good at all. So it was hard for me to do any of the holds, but I did enjoy it all the same.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I. Have you ever tried these barre classes, which are ballet fitness classes?
>> Amanda Barker: You know, I don't think I have done a. I've certainly done barre, but I. I don't think I've done a ballet class in a fitness facility. Not. Not in recent memory. Although I do have a friend who is going to start training course to teach it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In fact, well, I've done it a couple of times. Amanda, I'm gonna say it is one of the most intense things that I have ever experienced in my life. And it's funny because you go in there and you think, oh, I'm just kind of taking a dance class. But I felt pain from muscles I didn't realize that I had with those ballet classes. But I want to just circle back quickly and talk about your time as a mascot. What was your favorite memory from being a mascot?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, my favorite memory, I have a lot. I have a few different favorite memories, but one of them, I guess, would be there was a baseball player named Roy Holiday. He still plays. And that particular year that I was working with the Toronto Blue Jays, he had pitched. I don't remember the number, but a series of no hitter Games, meaning that none of the people on the other team could hit the ball when he was pitching. And that went on for many, many games. And finally when he got to a certain number, and I don't remember the number, it was pretty clear that he would win some something called the Cy Young Award, which is award reserved for pitchers in baseball and major league baseball. And so many news outlets were interviewing him after the game. He was sitting there and I ran up behind him and did a sort of bow as though I as the mascot, as the mascot, as though I was not worthy, that none of us were worthy kind of thing. And in my ear I could hear the head of game ops saying, diamond, which was my character's name, diamond, get out of the shot, diamond, get out of the shot. But I ignored it and I kept going anyway because I knew that the character would not be there much longer and I wanted her to have her mom in the sun. And frankly, at that moment I didn't mind care. That is a good memory. I have another wonderful memory to continue. Yeah, there was another player. If anyone follows Toronto baseball, then this might have meaning to them. But there was a pitching coach in the Blue Jays dugout. And when I say in the dugout, I don't mean the part that one can visibly see, but rather the part of the dugout where one walks down into the sort of basement area and people wait and warm up and whatever. And often that's where the mascots go. So I had to go out for the seventh inning. But as anyone knows, an inning in baseball can take, you know, five minutes or an hour, it's anyone's guess. So I had to be in costume waiting to go. But often I'd be there standing for quite a long time. And then as the season wore on, I started playing something I called the Name Game with one of the security guards where we would try to come up with baseball players names. So for example, if Roy Halladay was the baseball player, then the next name would have to begin with H A Howard or H*** or that type of thing. Anyhow, we would play that and we weren't particularly good at it. I only knew the players that I had met or had seen playing. And this very large kind man started playing with us. I knew he worked with the team. I didn't know who he was, but he was very good at the game. He knew a lot of players names. And as the season wore on, finally by the end of the season, I realized that I had been playing the Name Game every day with a Man named Sito Gaston, who to this day is probably my favorite player in baseball. Sorry. Although maybe he could play basketball too. I'm not sure. Very lovely man, Sito Casto.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so with this lovely mascot, because what a wonderful experience, once in a lifetime experience that you had. Tell me about the conversation when you found out that this mascot was no longer gonna be used.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it was 10 minutes before the home opening game. I was getting my costume on. I was about to fasten my head on, and I was pulled aside and said, just so you know, this character won't. Won't continue after this season. We're phasing her out. We want you to know that. Because we want you to know that it has nothing to do with you, but we won't be featuring her as much. So if you notice that the other mascot has more to do or is more in the spotlight, we just thought we should warn you ahead of time. And it felt like someone had punched me in the gut. I was sad, and I was about to go perform for 60,000 people. But then I realized what it really meant was that I could do whatever I wanted. So for that example with Roy Holiday, when people told me to get out of the shot, I just continued onward. And then at the end of the season, they decided they changed their mind. Because I had done such a good job with it, they wanted me to continue. Unfortunately, at that moment, I had accepted a new job with the Second City. So I wasn't able to commit to the role in the way that would have been a full committing of the role. And so they had to work around my experience schedule, which was, to be honest, really only working on Sundays. So the mascot sort of faded out the next year when I could only do a series of Sundays. And then after that, she was no more.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, it looks like you left there with them wanting more.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's true. And I always hope that maybe someday they'll bring the character back because little girls really loved her and loved getting her autograph and seeing something that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Can you describe what she looked like? Like, what was the. What was the mascot costume?
>> Amanda Barker: So her name was Diamond. She was Blue because it was for the Toronto Blue Jays. She had a series of different pants. When they started the character. She had white sort of old timey baseball pants with little red ribbon around the edges. But by the time I came along, I was the third diamond, third person playing that role. And there were no white pants left for me or they didn't fit me. I think the other girls were much Tinier than me. And so I just wore blue pants that actually, I still have blue pants that were like running pants almost with stripes down the side. And that's what I wore then. I wore a big white baseball shirt, and I had eyelashes. Big, big eyes and eyelashes. And a mechanical device in my hand that would make one of the eyes wink at people, although it didn't work most of the time.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And. And a big red flower in my hair.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Wow. And children would gravitate. Now, now, when you're playing a mascot, is it kind of like playing Santa Claus in that you can never really like, is it. You never want the children to know that the mascot isn't a mascot?
>> Amanda Barker: I see. Yeah. Well, the interesting thing was, yeah, I respected that. I definitely would never have taken, you know, my head off and anywhere in public. But the interesting thing was you would be playing with some kids or some people maybe many times throughout the game, and I would always take the subway home. I didn't have a car in those days, so I would take the subway home, and I'd often sit across or next to the kids that I'd been playing, but they had no idea who I was, and I just smile at them.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, Amanda, thank you so much for being here with me today. It's been such a pleasure.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I've learned a lot about mascotting and about sweet and savory, and we hope to have you back again soon.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'm here anytime.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Thank you so much for listening. And if you have anything that you would like to tweet to contact us, please do find us online at Listen and sleep. Marco will be back next episode. And as usual, we are broadcasting from Toronto, and we hope that you have relaxed, are in a deep, deep slumber, and we'll see you next time.
Koi, Concrete & Farmer's Markets
original airdate: Feb 17, 2025
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less and fascinating so you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for Joining us, we hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host Marco Tumpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna.
>> Marco Timpano: Nidhi, we have a few things that we want to mention on today's show. Starting with we've mentioned on past shows how we think the city of Toronto where we're broadcasting from should have an official cookie. Much like we discovered Red Deer, Alberta has the caramel surprise. We have sort of mentioned that we think our city should have an official cookie.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we came up with quite an elaborate yet enticing recipe for the official cookie.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. We have ginger vanilla molasses cookie with
>> Nidhi Khanna: some cinnamon and vanilla, I believe.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, cinnamon and vanilla. And you know, I think we should add a little bit of chili pepper to it. Just a dash of chili pepper for this.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's controversial. I like it.
>> Marco Timpano: It makes the cookie, I think very reflective of all the different flavors out of our different cultures that you'll find in Toronto. So we've had some listeners sort of tweet us and ask what's going on with this official campaign for our official cookie for the city of Toronto. And we've decided to take it a step further by emailing our mayor, John Tory and seeing if he'll jump on board with the official cookie. And we'll let our listeners know what happens with regards to that particular email. But we sent it out today.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm curious to see what he thinks about both the thought of an official cookie for the city of Toronto and our potential recipe.
>> Marco Timpano: Who knows, maybe we'll actually get the mayor on and talk to him about that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Wouldn't that be wonderful?
>> Marco Timpano: Some of the things that happen in council that make him want to fall asleep. Because sometimes if you listen to a counselor speak about a particular bylaw or injunction or whatnot, they can go on and on and on and it can be quite thorough and not interesting.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree, Marco, to watch it sometimes I don't know if it's called committee of adjustment where they have to hear all the citizens come in to talk about housing plans or get a building permit or things like that. I can't imagine that that's as colorful or exciting as some of the other things that go along in council.
>> Marco Timpano: I know one time I had to face a city tribunal. Let's say it wasn't necessarily a council, but it was something to do with the ravine behind my parents house where it was being optioned to have homes built there. And the community at large was a little bit nervous that they were going to build many homes in this small plot of ravine. As you know, every little space of the city seems to be used for housing. So I went to speak for my parents and told the city councilors who were there listening to this sort of. I don't think it was a legal proceeding, but it was something to hear the voices of the various people that would be affected by the homes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Community engagement.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but I know that there was a lawyer representing the builders. Anyway, so. So we basically said, listen, we don't. We understand that this beautiful ravine, which had beautiful grasses and, you know, finches and various birds and, you know, wildlife, flowers and whatnot in this beautiful ravine, was going to be utilized for homes because it had been purchased from the city. And while we thought it was a shame to lose this beautiful grassland, we said, we just want to ensure that it doesn't become incongruent with what the neighborhood looks like. Whereas the residents were like, we understand that homes are going to be built and we welcome, you know, people coming into our community, but they want it to be congruent and not overdone as some, some projects could happen or has. Have happened in the area. And so our thoughts were. Were listened to or her feelings were listened to and considered. And in fact, they reduced the number of homes based on that particular meeting amendment or whatnot.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm glad that worked out, Marco, because sometimes it could go either way. In those situations, you're not sure what council wants or what they're going to do, but I'm really happy to hear that they consider the voice voices of the constituents. Sure, Marco. We've been getting some great feedback from around the world about this podcast, which has been really wonderful. And some of our listeners are actually in a town called Bury in the United Kingdom. Have you heard of Bury?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I haven't actually.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So Bury is in the Greater Manchester area.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So it's. It's part of the. That sort of area of England.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. And they are known for. They have a thrice weekly market. Now, you never hear the word thrice,
>> Marco Timpano: not often enough, that's for sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. But it's a thrice weekly market that's held on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love markets. Is it, Is it a open market or is it a market of just sort of fruits and vegetables and local sort of farming? Or does it encompass more than that? Because I love going to markets and in the summertime when they have a farmer's market, it's always lovely to sort of walk and see what fruits and vegetables are in season. Or you might run into a beekeeper who's selling honey or honey products like honeycomb and candles and whatnot and homemade items like quilts and things like that. It's one of the things I love to do on a Sunday afternoon.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Farmers markets are up there with antique markets. I think in terms of your ability to just enjoy and relax and it being summertime Sunday afternoon, as you say. At least that's what it evokes for me as well, that feeling of just pleasant list pleasantness.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. So it sounds like Bury would be a pleasant place to stroll three times a week at the very least at these markets that they have.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. And I'm just looking at some photos here on the Greater Manchester website and it does look like it's both an open air market and perhaps it has a little bit of an enclosed area. But I think it is your traditional English market with food and perhaps artisanal crafts. They also have a notorious Bury black pudding.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yummy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Which is a local delicacy and it's served boiling hot and eaten as a taste takeaway snack, I believe. Takeaway or, or. Have you ever had black pudding, Marco?
>> Marco Timpano: I have in the past, yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What do you think about black pudding?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting because I can understand how the thought of having black pudding could be off putting for people, but once you get over that sort of, you know, thought. Because they use pork blood, if I'm not mistaken, when you're making a black pudding to get over the fact that, you know, there's an. An item that you eat. Now if you eat meat, I see nothing wrong with eating, you know, the entire animal or as much of the animal as possible and not wasting any of that animal. And pork blood is part of it as well. And I've had it in sausages and in puddings and whatnot and it's actually quite lovely. I know that I've had recently a crepe that's made with both chocolate, dark chocolate and pork blood.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And those sound like very incongruous tastes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but it wasn't. It actually really reflected well in the crepe and it had chocolate and almonds inside and was wrapped with a bit of creme anglaise on top and it was actually sensational. So Bury has their own.
>> Nidhi Khanna: They. So their farmers market. Now the name Bury Margo is actually comes from a Saxon word and it probably meant a stronghold in ancient times. And in ancient times they say that the whole area must have been very marshy and moorland like which Makes sense, it being England.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: They also have Sir Robert Peel, who is a Prime Minister, who has a monument there.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And he actually was also the founder of the Metropolitan Police Force.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. Well, listen, we'd like to send a special hello to all our listeners from Bury in the United Kingdom. And thank you for listening. And if you'd like to let us know about fun things that happen in your city, we welcome it at Listen and Sleep or go to our website. And we look forward to talking about other places where we have listeners. And we invite our listeners to subscribe to our podcast on itunes. We've had a couple of subscribers and it's always nice to know that there are people who are looking forward to the next episode. I was walking by a construction site yesterday and I noticed that there was a concrete mixer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah, very. That's very typical of a construction site, is it not?
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. You know, depending on what's happening, whether they're retarring or repaving the road, you'll see different things that will, you know, the thing that sort of boils the tar or keeps the tar warm.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: This particular construction site was building, I want to say condos, but large buildings anyways, and they had a couple of concrete mixers. And I was thinking to myself, I remember mixing concrete for various projects that we would have in the home as a child. Have you ever had contact with concrete or mixed any concrete?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not mixed concrete. I don't even think I know the recipe for mixing concrete. I imagine there's. I'm curious to know that. But before we get there, Marco, I find it interesting that you mixed concrete for home projects because in earlier episodes you talked about how you wanted your hands to be very much the hands of like, worker hands, construction hands, like your father. And it seems that if you have experience mixing concrete, that you do have those hands.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting you should say that. My father is a very handy individual. So he, around the house would fix things and build things and whatnot. And so long before I, I became a hand model, I would assist him in these various projects and whatnot. And when things had to be repaired in the home, I was always his reluctant assistant. And as a result, I picked up quite a few sort of skills with regards to home projects. And one of them was mixing conger concrete, which is a lot more complex than you would think.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Tell me about what goes into mixing concrete.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it really depends on where the concrete is going to be used and what Mix of concrete you're going to use as well. So some concrete. And I am in no way a expert in concrete mixing or making concrete. I, I can only tell you, Marco,
>> Nidhi Khanna: on this show, you are the expert,
>> Marco Timpano: I guess, in this particular case. But some concrete has stones in it. Some concrete is powder. Fine. There's different kinds of concrete for different projects. So essentially you would get a bag of whatever concrete you're going to use, and they're like, you can get like a 1 pound to 210 pound bag of concrete and even more for construction sites. But for our purposes, we would have like maybe a 10 pound bag of concrete which you'd open this paper bag and put it into a wheelbarrow. I'm sure you could use it in various pails as well. We would always use a wheelbarrow and then you would add water to the mix and mix it thoroughly with a shovel. Now, the difficult part is not to add too much water, that the concrete becomes too liquid.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: You want it to have more of a thicker consistency. Yeah. In some cases you want it like tar. In some cases you want a little more liquid. And then there's a whole bunch of tools that go along with when you use concrete. So there's like trowels and various sort of little spades and whatnot that would allow you to take the concrete from the wheelbarrow and put it into the project that you're going to be using.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I can imagine that that would be quite a workout in terms of mixing it because of the strength required as the concrete becomes thicker and thicker. Or is it quite a simple.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, for sure, for sure. There's the challenge of that. In certain concretes you want to use pretty quick as well, because they'll harden quicker than others. And you want to use it while its consistency is still. You know, I think the best way to describe the consistency of concrete for most of the projects is like oatmeal. So like, like an oatmeal that you make. That was the consistency we were going for. So not too liquid. It has some sort of, you know, stickiness to it. But that's, that's the consistency we would look for.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, you mentioned that sometimes you would use fine concrete and sometimes more grain. Grainy or stone concrete.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes we would add actual stones to the concrete.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now when would you use either or.
>> Marco Timpano: So I know we used a finer concrete when we were doing, let's say, the floor of a shower.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But when we were doing bigger projects that were outside and would have more wear and tear and wouldn't necessarily be the base of something else. So, for example, in a shower we would be adding tiles and other things on top of the concrete. But outside we might be doing like a little patio area or I'm trying to think something more recent. We did. It was kind of like a. It wasn't quite a patio area, but it would be at the cottage where you. Where you get out of the cottage. And it was the area that, let's say the. The barbecue was on. So that particular area we did in concrete and would require a stronger. Because it's outdoors type of concrete. And in this case, we had some stones in it as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I want to talk a bit about patios.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I love patio season, patio weather. I love reading a book outside with a patio. I think patios can also be used more and more in the wintertime with these outdoor heaters.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't have a patio in my home currently. However, you this past summer created a patio area in your home. And how did that change the experience of your outdoor capabilities in the summer and perhaps even the fall?
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great question. So it was quite an expense to build this patio in our backyard, but we wanted to really use, like you said, all seasons of the year, our home. And what the patio ended up doing was add an additional room, although be, albeit being an outdoor room to our home.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's like another space where you can. Can congregate, really, without a doubt.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was wonderful because it was an area area where we could have friends sit and have drinks or have coffee. And sometimes Amanda and I would go out and have our morning coffee and read the paper. And on occasions, I really enjoyed bringing my computer out onto the patio where we got some beautiful patio furniture and paying bills, which is never a fun, fun activity to do, but at least when you're outside, we have a beautiful tree in our patio as well. And there's always birds and squirrels in that tree and paying the bills while you're in the city amongst whatever nature that you have. In this case, we have a Norway, a Norwegian maple in our backyard, which is a very large tree. And it's not a native species. I ended up discovering when I spoke to arborist who was dealing with our tree.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And
>> Marco Timpano: although it's not a native species, we've really loved this tree in our backyard and sort of built our patio around it. And it is now a feature of our patio. One thing I know we were thinking of doing was putting up hammocks.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, that would be quite an idea because hammocks in patios are not seen too often. However, I believe they are very integral to a patio experience or can be if used correctly.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, for sure. I think the one thing about a patio is that. Oh, sorry. The one thing about hammocks is that you need two strong structures to support the patio. So it would be two trees or two
>> Nidhi Khanna: objects that would be pillars. Pillars would be good because it has to be. The structure has to be embedded in the patio. Right. You can't just use something that would easily collapse or anything like that.
>> Marco Timpano: And the thing about our particular patio is that we've only got one. One tree back there. And for the hammock to stretch from the tree to our fence, where we could probably secure it brings a really weird sort of angle. And therefore we weren't able to use the hammock in our patio. That said, we got some beautiful patio furniture and a beautiful table that we have guests out there. And. And I think we. When patio season opens for us, we'll be broadcasting our podcast from the patio, and you might hear the sounds of little critters that dwell in the city, whether they be little finches or chickadees or the odd squirrel that jumps from tree to tree. You'll be hearing that in upcoming podcasts, so listen out for that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, you read my mind with that. We were quite in sync with regards to. To a broadcast from the patio area. I think that that is going to provide, as you say, a unique background noise and backdrop for our podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: It would be something that we would invite our listeners to let us know about their patios and features that they enjoy in their patios. For example, I have friends who are. Have a beautiful backyard. And one of the features of their backyard, they do have a patio, but it continues on. This is in Stratford, Ontario, and they have a beautiful koi pond. And actually, you know, Phi has this beautiful koi pond and he's got little koi fish in it, and they grow over the season. And I often ask him, how are your koi koi doing? And it's something that both Fi and I really enjoy talking about.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What is it about watching fish in water that is so relaxing, calming, interesting, because I've been to the aquarium here in Toronto, and it is quite a lovely experience. And you have some. Some fish who would be. Who are kind of cute and interesting to look at. And then you have your jellyfish or your more unique species that are also very. Just quite. You can look at them for hours on end just watching them. Do whatever it is that they do in those waters.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And then you have, you know, the bigger fish, such as the sharks.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And somehow sharks are very interesting as well to watch, even though there is danger about them.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I, I think they're very sleek and they glide in the water so elegantly. And I think whenever you look at water and moving water and things that move in water, it does have a hypnotic effect.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It does.
>> Marco Timpano: Especially when you see interesting creatures like various fish that you would see in an aquarium. I know from the, from the perspective of looking at koi, you're looking at them from above, and so you can really see the patterns in which they swim. Each koi looks very different. Some have speckles, some have are completely golden or orange in color. And their tails can often be very fancy. And so watching fish swim, whether it be jellyfish that sort of go back and forth and back and forth and move very slowly, to a tiger shark that may be in a large aquarium that gracefully and cunningly moves through the water, it can have quite a. A hypnotic effect and it could have a beautiful delight to your eyes. At least it does for me. And that's why I love seeing water and wildlife.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree. I find that the ability to even seash fish in a smaller at home aquarium can be quite calming.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to have freshwater fish aquariums and I used to love that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Did you?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, various things, from little tetras, the ones that have neon colors to them, to angelfish and little sharks in the tank that sort of clean. They're like bottom dwellers. That clean. Sort of the base of the tank and algae that grows. It was something that really enjoyed as a child.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, Marco, if any of our listeners have some tales with fish that they would like to talk to us about or let us know about, we can be reached at. Listen and Sleep. And as usual, we are broadcasting today from Toronto and we are thrilled and so thankful for the support that we have with this podcast from all different places in the world. So thank you to our listeners and
>> Marco Timpano: we hope you will subscribe and let us know what you'd like to hear us talk about on future episodes of the Insomnia Project.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sa. Sam. Sa.
original airdate: Feb 17, 2025
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less and fascinating so you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for Joining us, we hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host Marco Tumpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna.
>> Marco Timpano: Nidhi, we have a few things that we want to mention on today's show. Starting with we've mentioned on past shows how we think the city of Toronto where we're broadcasting from should have an official cookie. Much like we discovered Red Deer, Alberta has the caramel surprise. We have sort of mentioned that we think our city should have an official cookie.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we came up with quite an elaborate yet enticing recipe for the official cookie.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. We have ginger vanilla molasses cookie with
>> Nidhi Khanna: some cinnamon and vanilla, I believe.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, cinnamon and vanilla. And you know, I think we should add a little bit of chili pepper to it. Just a dash of chili pepper for this.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's controversial. I like it.
>> Marco Timpano: It makes the cookie, I think very reflective of all the different flavors out of our different cultures that you'll find in Toronto. So we've had some listeners sort of tweet us and ask what's going on with this official campaign for our official cookie for the city of Toronto. And we've decided to take it a step further by emailing our mayor, John Tory and seeing if he'll jump on board with the official cookie. And we'll let our listeners know what happens with regards to that particular email. But we sent it out today.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm curious to see what he thinks about both the thought of an official cookie for the city of Toronto and our potential recipe.
>> Marco Timpano: Who knows, maybe we'll actually get the mayor on and talk to him about that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Wouldn't that be wonderful?
>> Marco Timpano: Some of the things that happen in council that make him want to fall asleep. Because sometimes if you listen to a counselor speak about a particular bylaw or injunction or whatnot, they can go on and on and on and it can be quite thorough and not interesting.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree, Marco, to watch it sometimes I don't know if it's called committee of adjustment where they have to hear all the citizens come in to talk about housing plans or get a building permit or things like that. I can't imagine that that's as colorful or exciting as some of the other things that go along in council.
>> Marco Timpano: I know one time I had to face a city tribunal. Let's say it wasn't necessarily a council, but it was something to do with the ravine behind my parents house where it was being optioned to have homes built there. And the community at large was a little bit nervous that they were going to build many homes in this small plot of ravine. As you know, every little space of the city seems to be used for housing. So I went to speak for my parents and told the city councilors who were there listening to this sort of. I don't think it was a legal proceeding, but it was something to hear the voices of the various people that would be affected by the homes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Community engagement.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but I know that there was a lawyer representing the builders. Anyway, so. So we basically said, listen, we don't. We understand that this beautiful ravine, which had beautiful grasses and, you know, finches and various birds and, you know, wildlife, flowers and whatnot in this beautiful ravine, was going to be utilized for homes because it had been purchased from the city. And while we thought it was a shame to lose this beautiful grassland, we said, we just want to ensure that it doesn't become incongruent with what the neighborhood looks like. Whereas the residents were like, we understand that homes are going to be built and we welcome, you know, people coming into our community, but they want it to be congruent and not overdone as some, some projects could happen or has. Have happened in the area. And so our thoughts were. Were listened to or her feelings were listened to and considered. And in fact, they reduced the number of homes based on that particular meeting amendment or whatnot.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm glad that worked out, Marco, because sometimes it could go either way. In those situations, you're not sure what council wants or what they're going to do, but I'm really happy to hear that they consider the voice voices of the constituents. Sure, Marco. We've been getting some great feedback from around the world about this podcast, which has been really wonderful. And some of our listeners are actually in a town called Bury in the United Kingdom. Have you heard of Bury?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I haven't actually.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So Bury is in the Greater Manchester area.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So it's. It's part of the. That sort of area of England.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. And they are known for. They have a thrice weekly market. Now, you never hear the word thrice,
>> Marco Timpano: not often enough, that's for sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. But it's a thrice weekly market that's held on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love markets. Is it, Is it a open market or is it a market of just sort of fruits and vegetables and local sort of farming? Or does it encompass more than that? Because I love going to markets and in the summertime when they have a farmer's market, it's always lovely to sort of walk and see what fruits and vegetables are in season. Or you might run into a beekeeper who's selling honey or honey products like honeycomb and candles and whatnot and homemade items like quilts and things like that. It's one of the things I love to do on a Sunday afternoon.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Farmers markets are up there with antique markets. I think in terms of your ability to just enjoy and relax and it being summertime Sunday afternoon, as you say. At least that's what it evokes for me as well, that feeling of just pleasant list pleasantness.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. So it sounds like Bury would be a pleasant place to stroll three times a week at the very least at these markets that they have.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. And I'm just looking at some photos here on the Greater Manchester website and it does look like it's both an open air market and perhaps it has a little bit of an enclosed area. But I think it is your traditional English market with food and perhaps artisanal crafts. They also have a notorious Bury black pudding.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yummy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Which is a local delicacy and it's served boiling hot and eaten as a taste takeaway snack, I believe. Takeaway or, or. Have you ever had black pudding, Marco?
>> Marco Timpano: I have in the past, yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What do you think about black pudding?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting because I can understand how the thought of having black pudding could be off putting for people, but once you get over that sort of, you know, thought. Because they use pork blood, if I'm not mistaken, when you're making a black pudding to get over the fact that, you know, there's an. An item that you eat. Now if you eat meat, I see nothing wrong with eating, you know, the entire animal or as much of the animal as possible and not wasting any of that animal. And pork blood is part of it as well. And I've had it in sausages and in puddings and whatnot and it's actually quite lovely. I know that I've had recently a crepe that's made with both chocolate, dark chocolate and pork blood.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And those sound like very incongruous tastes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but it wasn't. It actually really reflected well in the crepe and it had chocolate and almonds inside and was wrapped with a bit of creme anglaise on top and it was actually sensational. So Bury has their own.
>> Nidhi Khanna: They. So their farmers market. Now the name Bury Margo is actually comes from a Saxon word and it probably meant a stronghold in ancient times. And in ancient times they say that the whole area must have been very marshy and moorland like which Makes sense, it being England.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: They also have Sir Robert Peel, who is a Prime Minister, who has a monument there.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And he actually was also the founder of the Metropolitan Police Force.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. Well, listen, we'd like to send a special hello to all our listeners from Bury in the United Kingdom. And thank you for listening. And if you'd like to let us know about fun things that happen in your city, we welcome it at Listen and Sleep or go to our website. And we look forward to talking about other places where we have listeners. And we invite our listeners to subscribe to our podcast on itunes. We've had a couple of subscribers and it's always nice to know that there are people who are looking forward to the next episode. I was walking by a construction site yesterday and I noticed that there was a concrete mixer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah, very. That's very typical of a construction site, is it not?
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. You know, depending on what's happening, whether they're retarring or repaving the road, you'll see different things that will, you know, the thing that sort of boils the tar or keeps the tar warm.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: This particular construction site was building, I want to say condos, but large buildings anyways, and they had a couple of concrete mixers. And I was thinking to myself, I remember mixing concrete for various projects that we would have in the home as a child. Have you ever had contact with concrete or mixed any concrete?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not mixed concrete. I don't even think I know the recipe for mixing concrete. I imagine there's. I'm curious to know that. But before we get there, Marco, I find it interesting that you mixed concrete for home projects because in earlier episodes you talked about how you wanted your hands to be very much the hands of like, worker hands, construction hands, like your father. And it seems that if you have experience mixing concrete, that you do have those hands.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting you should say that. My father is a very handy individual. So he, around the house would fix things and build things and whatnot. And so long before I, I became a hand model, I would assist him in these various projects and whatnot. And when things had to be repaired in the home, I was always his reluctant assistant. And as a result, I picked up quite a few sort of skills with regards to home projects. And one of them was mixing conger concrete, which is a lot more complex than you would think.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Tell me about what goes into mixing concrete.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it really depends on where the concrete is going to be used and what Mix of concrete you're going to use as well. So some concrete. And I am in no way a expert in concrete mixing or making concrete. I, I can only tell you, Marco,
>> Nidhi Khanna: on this show, you are the expert,
>> Marco Timpano: I guess, in this particular case. But some concrete has stones in it. Some concrete is powder. Fine. There's different kinds of concrete for different projects. So essentially you would get a bag of whatever concrete you're going to use, and they're like, you can get like a 1 pound to 210 pound bag of concrete and even more for construction sites. But for our purposes, we would have like maybe a 10 pound bag of concrete which you'd open this paper bag and put it into a wheelbarrow. I'm sure you could use it in various pails as well. We would always use a wheelbarrow and then you would add water to the mix and mix it thoroughly with a shovel. Now, the difficult part is not to add too much water, that the concrete becomes too liquid.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: You want it to have more of a thicker consistency. Yeah. In some cases you want it like tar. In some cases you want a little more liquid. And then there's a whole bunch of tools that go along with when you use concrete. So there's like trowels and various sort of little spades and whatnot that would allow you to take the concrete from the wheelbarrow and put it into the project that you're going to be using.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I can imagine that that would be quite a workout in terms of mixing it because of the strength required as the concrete becomes thicker and thicker. Or is it quite a simple.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, for sure, for sure. There's the challenge of that. In certain concretes you want to use pretty quick as well, because they'll harden quicker than others. And you want to use it while its consistency is still. You know, I think the best way to describe the consistency of concrete for most of the projects is like oatmeal. So like, like an oatmeal that you make. That was the consistency we were going for. So not too liquid. It has some sort of, you know, stickiness to it. But that's, that's the consistency we would look for.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, you mentioned that sometimes you would use fine concrete and sometimes more grain. Grainy or stone concrete.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes we would add actual stones to the concrete.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now when would you use either or.
>> Marco Timpano: So I know we used a finer concrete when we were doing, let's say, the floor of a shower.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But when we were doing bigger projects that were outside and would have more wear and tear and wouldn't necessarily be the base of something else. So, for example, in a shower we would be adding tiles and other things on top of the concrete. But outside we might be doing like a little patio area or I'm trying to think something more recent. We did. It was kind of like a. It wasn't quite a patio area, but it would be at the cottage where you. Where you get out of the cottage. And it was the area that, let's say the. The barbecue was on. So that particular area we did in concrete and would require a stronger. Because it's outdoors type of concrete. And in this case, we had some stones in it as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I want to talk a bit about patios.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I love patio season, patio weather. I love reading a book outside with a patio. I think patios can also be used more and more in the wintertime with these outdoor heaters.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't have a patio in my home currently. However, you this past summer created a patio area in your home. And how did that change the experience of your outdoor capabilities in the summer and perhaps even the fall?
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great question. So it was quite an expense to build this patio in our backyard, but we wanted to really use, like you said, all seasons of the year, our home. And what the patio ended up doing was add an additional room, although be, albeit being an outdoor room to our home.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's like another space where you can. Can congregate, really, without a doubt.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was wonderful because it was an area area where we could have friends sit and have drinks or have coffee. And sometimes Amanda and I would go out and have our morning coffee and read the paper. And on occasions, I really enjoyed bringing my computer out onto the patio where we got some beautiful patio furniture and paying bills, which is never a fun, fun activity to do, but at least when you're outside, we have a beautiful tree in our patio as well. And there's always birds and squirrels in that tree and paying the bills while you're in the city amongst whatever nature that you have. In this case, we have a Norway, a Norwegian maple in our backyard, which is a very large tree. And it's not a native species. I ended up discovering when I spoke to arborist who was dealing with our tree.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And
>> Marco Timpano: although it's not a native species, we've really loved this tree in our backyard and sort of built our patio around it. And it is now a feature of our patio. One thing I know we were thinking of doing was putting up hammocks.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, that would be quite an idea because hammocks in patios are not seen too often. However, I believe they are very integral to a patio experience or can be if used correctly.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, for sure. I think the one thing about a patio is that. Oh, sorry. The one thing about hammocks is that you need two strong structures to support the patio. So it would be two trees or two
>> Nidhi Khanna: objects that would be pillars. Pillars would be good because it has to be. The structure has to be embedded in the patio. Right. You can't just use something that would easily collapse or anything like that.
>> Marco Timpano: And the thing about our particular patio is that we've only got one. One tree back there. And for the hammock to stretch from the tree to our fence, where we could probably secure it brings a really weird sort of angle. And therefore we weren't able to use the hammock in our patio. That said, we got some beautiful patio furniture and a beautiful table that we have guests out there. And. And I think we. When patio season opens for us, we'll be broadcasting our podcast from the patio, and you might hear the sounds of little critters that dwell in the city, whether they be little finches or chickadees or the odd squirrel that jumps from tree to tree. You'll be hearing that in upcoming podcasts, so listen out for that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, you read my mind with that. We were quite in sync with regards to. To a broadcast from the patio area. I think that that is going to provide, as you say, a unique background noise and backdrop for our podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: It would be something that we would invite our listeners to let us know about their patios and features that they enjoy in their patios. For example, I have friends who are. Have a beautiful backyard. And one of the features of their backyard, they do have a patio, but it continues on. This is in Stratford, Ontario, and they have a beautiful koi pond. And actually, you know, Phi has this beautiful koi pond and he's got little koi fish in it, and they grow over the season. And I often ask him, how are your koi koi doing? And it's something that both Fi and I really enjoy talking about.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What is it about watching fish in water that is so relaxing, calming, interesting, because I've been to the aquarium here in Toronto, and it is quite a lovely experience. And you have some. Some fish who would be. Who are kind of cute and interesting to look at. And then you have your jellyfish or your more unique species that are also very. Just quite. You can look at them for hours on end just watching them. Do whatever it is that they do in those waters.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And then you have, you know, the bigger fish, such as the sharks.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And somehow sharks are very interesting as well to watch, even though there is danger about them.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I, I think they're very sleek and they glide in the water so elegantly. And I think whenever you look at water and moving water and things that move in water, it does have a hypnotic effect.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It does.
>> Marco Timpano: Especially when you see interesting creatures like various fish that you would see in an aquarium. I know from the, from the perspective of looking at koi, you're looking at them from above, and so you can really see the patterns in which they swim. Each koi looks very different. Some have speckles, some have are completely golden or orange in color. And their tails can often be very fancy. And so watching fish swim, whether it be jellyfish that sort of go back and forth and back and forth and move very slowly, to a tiger shark that may be in a large aquarium that gracefully and cunningly moves through the water, it can have quite a. A hypnotic effect and it could have a beautiful delight to your eyes. At least it does for me. And that's why I love seeing water and wildlife.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree. I find that the ability to even seash fish in a smaller at home aquarium can be quite calming.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to have freshwater fish aquariums and I used to love that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Did you?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, various things, from little tetras, the ones that have neon colors to them, to angelfish and little sharks in the tank that sort of clean. They're like bottom dwellers. That clean. Sort of the base of the tank and algae that grows. It was something that really enjoyed as a child.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, Marco, if any of our listeners have some tales with fish that they would like to talk to us about or let us know about, we can be reached at. Listen and Sleep. And as usual, we are broadcasting today from Toronto and we are thrilled and so thankful for the support that we have with this podcast from all different places in the world. So thank you to our listeners and
>> Marco Timpano: we hope you will subscribe and let us know what you'd like to hear us talk about on future episodes of the Insomnia Project.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sa. Sam. Sa.
The Cello Episode with guest_ Tori Rushton
(Original airdate Jan 27,2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we discuss ordinary things
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about just ordinary things in life. Certainly, some of our episodes tend to be more, let's say, interesting than others, but there's always an avenue to relaxation and calmness and possibly even sleep. So I hope you find whatever you need on today's episode. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. Thank you for listening. Joining me all the way from England, is a guest that I'm excited to have and, hopefully by the end of this, we can consider ourselves friends. Tori Rushton. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Tori Rushton: Hi there, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Tori, thank you so much for joining us.
>> Tori Rushton: Well, it's a pleasure and, I love to be connected through the
>> Marco Timpano: pond it's true, it's true.
You and Marilla Wax have known each other since your teenage years
we have a common friend in association, Marilla Wax. And I love it how it's bounced from me and Marilla all the way back to her home country to you in England.
>> Tori Rushton: Absolutely. And pretty much her hometown, because we lived about three or four miles away from each other.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so have you known her since you both were younger? Let's say?
>> Tori Rushton: Yes. We've known each other since, we were, you know, those wonderful teenage years.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. That's so wonderful. She's also been a guest on the show. So if you want to go back and listen to, me and Marilla having conversations about crochet and, voice work, you can certainly listen to that.
>> Tori Rushton: Certainly will. she's great. And her sister as well, who is a fabulous crochet person.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, we mentioned her. I want to get her on the podcast as well.
>> Marco Timpano: I meant to invite the listeners to listen to that, not you, Tory, but I'm glad you might go back and listen to that as well.
You do voice work, and I want to mention your website
>> Marco Timpano: speaking of voice work, you do voice work, and I want to mention your website, and I will have it in the show notes for everyone who wants to. Anyone who, isn't taking notes right now. But toritalksvo.com is your voiceover, website.
>> Tori Rushton: Yes, that's right. I'm really excited about it because I've just joined the VEO world, and, I became a radio presenter, for my local community some years ago, and I, really enjoyed being on the mic and I really enjoyed, presenting and, then in the world of editing and music. And in fact, it was Marilla Wex who knocked on my text door and, said, tori, you know what? I think you would be great, in the voiceover world. So she actually opened that door for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, how wonderful is that?
>> Tori Rushton: It's great. Yeah.
Marcos has a wonderful podcast called Music Magic Podcast
>> Marco Timpano: And that world also opened you up to the podcast world because you have a wonderful podcast called Music Magic Podcast. Can you tell us about that?
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah, sure. I mean, music is magical within itself. So the title says it all, really. And everybody. It touches everybody, whether, you know, you are a musician, which I am. I've been a musician for 25 years as a professional musician, and started, at a very early age. I think I was about 5 when I picked up my, first instrument, which was the guitar. And, Yeah, so music is something that can, take you back to a place, a memory, a feeling. it can give you that tingle sensation inside when you hear maybe, the drums if that's what you like, or the rush of a string orchestra. and so I thought I would just try. Try to express that.
>> Marco Timpano: For sure, for sure. It also, music has the ability to transcend language in that, you know, everyone around the world can appreciate music not only of their making, but international music. And songs touches everyone in similar and different ways. And your podcast, Music Magic Podcast, explores three songs from your guests and what it means to them, is that correct?
>> Tori Rushton: That's exactly right, yes, Marcos. So I just ask them, you know, what three songs gives you that music magic? And, often they do come back to me and say, my goodness, that is a task. Because how many songs are out there? How many pieces of music are out there that we've all, you know, listened to or had experiences? So to narrow it down to three is, I'm quite impressed that my guests can do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. So that makes me want to ask the cheeky question. What gives you music magic? If you can name a song or two, that is music magic for you.
>> Tori Rushton: It's funny you should say that, because one of my guests did ask me that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tori Rushton: He really did put me on the spot. but I'm a professional. Cellist is my main instrument, and so I have to go with probably the best cello concerto ever played, by Jacqueline Dupre.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tori Rushton: And if I can, I've been probably listening to that since the day I picked up a cello, and I could listen to it now, and I would still have that sensation. They're almost goose pimples, if you like, when I listen to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. So I need to ask, how did you find the cello? Or perhaps the better question is, how did the cello find you?
>> Tori Rushton: I happened to have a, member of my family, who at the age of, when he was 13, he started having some cello lessons, and he brought it to my house, and I was six or seven. And, I thought it was massive. It was just this huge instrument in front of my eyes. And, I was just instantly intrigued, attracted. And then he played it, and I loved the sound. And so that was it, really. And I was very fortunate that there was a cello teacher at my primary school.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Tori Rushton: Just went from there, really.
>> Marco Timpano: One of the things I love about the cello, and I could be totally wrong. This is just from an observer who's never played the cello, though I do love string instruments, and I have a great string instrument story if you want. Later, I'll tell you. but it doesn't seem to be a delicate instrument, like, say, the violin, it seems to be an instrument where your whole body is involved. And it's kind of like one of these instruments where the more you use it and the more you give it force, the more force it gives back. Am I correct in that assumption?
>> Tori Rushton: It is a very, strong instrument. And you're right, it doesn't have that tiny delicacies like the violin. it's a solid instrument. but it has this remarkable, connection with the human being body and also with the, with the sound. It has a beautiful connection with the human voice. And many people say that the cello is probably the, oh, I don't know, the best connection between human, voice. Some people say that when I play the cello, it sounds as if the cello is talking.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful.
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah. So I feel like for me, the cello is my best friend. I can say anything to it by playing. And I have feelings of when I'm not. So, you know, I'm probably angry about something I did or didn't do, or I'm feeling sad or I'm feeling, happy, whatever my feelings are. I can express that with my cello, my best friend. And, it's just a great connection
>> Marco Timpano: when you play it. Does the sound resonate throughout your whole body?
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah, because there is. We're actually touching and we're actually hugging almost. It's almost like the body, your body is like the backbone of, the instrument, if that makes sense. And so if you had a pack of or two books that are leaning into each other and they would just stay on the table, if you will, that's exactly the same between, a player and the instrument.
There's a grace and elegance to the cello or the cellist playing
>> Marco Timpano: There's certainly a grace and elegance to the cello or the cellist playing the cello. And there's also a theatrical expressiveness to the person playing that instrument.
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah. I, I, I definitely think that you, you need to be very physical. Yeah. You need to play the cello.
>> Marco Timpano: You need to be fit to play the cello.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that safe to say?
>> Marco Timpano: Not like the tuba.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: Or other instruments where you expect to
>> Marco Timpano: see, you know, a large German man playing the tuba. That's sort of the, the stereotype I have.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't see that when you see the cello.
>> Marco Timpano: You see very fit people being very, expressive with that instrument.
>> Tori Rushton: absolutely. Because you have to reach your arm over to get to the higher string. and then I think it's probably the music we play, as I said before, so connected that we are at one. So we're just dancing around. We're jiving, we're grooving, or, you know, relaxing, whatever music is played. It's.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's wonderful.
>> Tori Rushton: I can't describe it too much, but it's. Yeah, it's. It's. It's. It's amazing. And I'm. I'm very. I feel very honored to myself in some ways that I chose that instrument and not the violin.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Right.
I want to talk bows, cello bows in particular
Now, let me ask you this. I want to talk bows, cello bows in particular. What makes a good bow for you?
>> Tori Rushton: a good bow nowadays, it's very different now because bows have changed so, so much. And it used to be made of wood, but often these days they're made of carbon fiber. So it's the lighter bow, which is really important because you've got the flexibility. that's. That's really it. But the. But it's the bowing technique, which takes years.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Tori Rushton: To get. because if you think about it, the bow is the one that produces the sound. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And. And how long does a bow last for you?
>> Tori Rushton: It can last forever. I mean, I. I've got two cellos. I've got an, a cello that's dated from 1823, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah. And I haven't got the original bow from that, but I've got a bow that I have had since I got it when I was 15, and that's quite a few years ago. So. But you can get antique bows that can date back to 200 years. So it's not the bow that changes, it's just the hair that gets used. So the bow needs to be rehaired frequently.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. And do you rehair your own bows? I never thought I'd ever ask that question, but I love that I just did.
>> Tori Rushton: I would love to have. I. I actually, looked into being, You know, I don't know what they call it, someone who rehairs bows, but I looked into a course on how to do it because, it's just really fascinating. And also, I teach this instrument, and I have many students that have about not three hairs on their bow left, but they don't have a lot. And it's quite hard to find someone who does rehair bows. yeah. But no, I don't do them. I don't. I have to go and see, my Lutea man, and he does it.
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>> Tori Rushton: The app Association.
>> Marco Timpano: What an interesting course that would be to take. How to rehair a bow for your instrument.
>> Tori Rushton: I know, it'd be so cool.
>> Marco Timpano: I would take it just to say I took that course.
>> Marco Timpano: what would be the reason why you would want an old bow from the 1800s versus today's? carbon. Carbon bows.
>> Tori Rushton: I think that you have to have the bow that matches the instrument. So let's say for my 200 year old Baroque cello, a bow, an antique bow would be superb because the instrument was kind of, and was made at the same time as the bow, if that makes sense. So it has that kind of, it will keep that oaky, sound quality, from, from, from that. If I put, if I played, my 200 year old baroque cello with my carbon fiber bow, which is a. It will sound nice, it will sound bright, but it won't give that kind of proper depth. So I do have a wooden bow that I use when I play my older instrument, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: That's awesome. M. What was the moment for you when you said it takes years to really get the movement of the bow and the sound and the expressiveness of the instrument? Was there a moment when you realized you had turned from someone who was playing the instrument to a professional musician who understood and could relay all the beauty of that instrument? I liken that to. I realized I was fluent in a language when I started to dream in that language. So I'm just wondering if there's any moment for you and there might not be where you cross that line.
>> Tori Rushton: That's a really hard question actually, because you kind of are developing all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Tori Rushton: And this instrument, like a lot of instruments, can be so diverse in genres. So you've got classical, you've got jazz, you've got rock, pop, you know, lots of cello. bits and pieces are in rock and pop music these days. and so your technique for bowing would have to adapt for the genre that you're playing in. and I think so for me it was probably a time when I could flip from playing jazz, then classical, then, you know, so probably those moments and that, that probably would have been a time, when I was studying in the, in, in Paris at the time I was studying Paris Conservatoire. and, and, and I could flip from one to another bit. Like what you were saying about the language. You suddenly flip from, let's say English to French, back to English, you know,
>> Marco Timpano: quite easily when you're in France. Do you think in French when you're playing your cello?
>> Tori Rushton: depends who I'm playing with.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, fair enough. Fair enough.
>> Tori Rushton: That's awesome.
You play numerous string instruments including the double bass and the cello
>> Marco Timpano: I should mention that we've, I've sort
>> Marco Timpano: of fixated on the cello. But you also play other string instruments. Instruments like the double bass, the guitar, the ukulele, just to name a few. tell me about the double bass.
>> Tori Rushton: Big Bertha or actually, my double bass is actually called Billy from Billie Holiday. and that's because I really love jazz. I love jazz music. It's just so cool. And I've got an absolutely huge mentor friend of mine who's known me from a very, very young age and he's always encouraged me with music. And When I was 12 I went to his house and I was, he, he actually played, accompanied me on my exams when I was younger with my cello. And he's, he plays a double bass
>> Marco Timpano: and he said the instruments look similar.
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah, they do look similar. Okay, okay, yeah. And, and I, I went wow, that's huge at the age of 12. And he goes well pick it up and play. And I went, can I, I went yeah, pick up my double bass, not a problem. So I picked it up. He just then sat down on the piano and started improvising. And so I started improvising as well. And yeah, just. And I had the privilege to play lots of jazz tunes with him for many years after that. And so I just kind of self taught, double bass. yes. It's the depth of the instrument, but yet the funk and the soul and the groove and it's awesome. It really is.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it safe to say that everyone looks cool when playing a double bass?
>> Tori Rushton: I think you have to.
>> Marco Timpano: It is one of the coolest looking instruments.
>> Marco Timpano: Like when you watch someone play a double bass, you're like that person's just really cool. I don't know, there's just something about it. Maybe it is the jazz connection. Or something. But there's something about the double bass that just exudes coolness to me.
>> Tori Rushton: what can I say? But yeah, it's sometimes quite nice to look cool because sometimes when I'm playing my cello, I just look a little bit serious with my classical stuff and a bit of Haydn here and stuff. And then I let my hair down when I pick up my double bass. And, yeah, kind of. And you also have to. You have to shake your head a lot when you play double bass. Of course.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Tori Rushton: You know, you have to do a lot of nodding and looking around.
>> Marco Timpano: One might even say bopping.
Avon Shakespeare has a string instrument story that he'd love to share
>> Tori Rushton: So I m. Was going to ask you a question mark.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sure, of course. Yes, please.
>> Tori Rushton: so if there was. Is there an instrument that you have ever tried or. Or play?
>> Marco Timpano: I took piano lessons when I was a child, but my teachers were not great, and so they. They shied me away from the piano. But I do have a string instrument story that I'd love to share with you.
>> Tori Rushton: Please do.
>> Marco Timpano: So I have a sort of interest or fondness, I should say, for the banjo. And we happen to be in Oklahoma City, and they have a banjo museum there. And so I said to my wife, I said, let's go to the banjo museum. It's a museum that you won't find just anywhere. So we went and we saw all the banjos from the different years. And there was a whole tribute to, like, Kermit the Frog and Steve Martin and other fantastic banjo players whom I cannot name because I don't remember. And at the end of the tour, you could go into a room and they had some banjos that you could pick up and play. And so I was really excited about that. And I was like, I really want to do that. And we went to the banjo museum on the last day of our trip. And so we were going to go from the banjo museum to our hotel, directly to the airport. Not thinking the banjo museum was as extensive as it was. It's a beautiful museum, and if you happen to be in Oklahoma City, I strongly recommend it as a stop on your tour. So we got through the history of the banjo, but I really wanted to play the instrument at the end of the tour in that room. But we also had to get back to the hotel, so I had very little time to enjoy this moment. So I rushed into that room and there was this older couple in there who were. Who were from the area, let's say they seemed like they were from the south. And they. And they. And they had spoke with a bit of Twang. And I rushed in, and I looked on the wall at all the different banjos you could pick, and I saw a bluegrass banjo. So I was like, oh, this is the one. And I picked it up from the wall, unbeknownst, to me, because I was in a rush. I looked like someone who knew what they were doing. And my wife's like, you walked in there, and you said, oh, this is the one. And you grabbed it, you sat. You sat on the stool as if you've been playing the banjo all your life. So this couple that happened to be in that room kind of sat back ready to hear me play the banjo. Now, I've never really played a string
>> Marco Timpano: instrument in my life, so I put
>> Marco Timpano: the banjo on my knee, and I
>> Marco Timpano: just start strumming away as if I knew what I was doing, but making horrible sounds. So this couple, who thought they were going to see a little banjo performance because of the way I ran in there and was so confident, really got the exact opposite. And so they were kind of chuckling. And then my wife turned to them and said, sorry, I know he made it seem like he played the banjo. And her husband, who was a professional banjo player, said, I've never seen anyone walk into a room with such confidence. He goes, I was expecting to see a great concert performed by your husband. So it was a really funny moment of a love for an instrument, but a lack of ability on my side.
>> Tori Rushton: But, you know, I think it's really important to still, go somewhere and be almost, knowing what you're going to do. You know, it sums up some parts of life, isn't it, as well. You just got to walk in there and go for it?
>> Marco Timpano: Most definitely. I think if you want to have sort of a connection with whatever you're doing, whatever instrument you might be playing or whatever, let's say, sport you might be doing, you have to have a bit of confidence when you do it because, it's almost a respectful way to approach whatever endeavor you're doing. And so I certainly had the confidence there, but not the talent in that moment.
>> Tori Rushton: Well, even when I'm on professional stages, I played, my cello for a play at the. At the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre in Stratford Upon Avon.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Tori Rushton: I played, a solo moment, for. For the dance. and so it's just m. My notes, if you will, just in the theater. but, every time, like, I would have this huge thought in my head that I can't do it just for a split second and go No, I can't do this. And then before I know it, I've been told to come in and I'm just playing it. So, you know, there is this doubt. Always questioning doubt. But then there's another part of me that goes, don't be ridiculous. Just do it.
>> Marco Timpano: that might be the cello talking to you, probably.
>> Tori Rushton: Hopefully. She's my best friend.
>> Marco Timpano: That's wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so wonderful.
Tori: I think learning an instrument is a very useful tool
Tori, we're coming to the end of this episode, and it just flew by. I want to thank you so, so much. I never thought I'd get so deep into the cello, but I had such a wonderful experience.
>> Tori Rushton: Well, I hope you're going to listen to some great cello pieces like the Elgar or a, bit of jazz
>> Marco Timpano: maybe, you know, for sure. If you were to give some advice to, say, a younger you or say to someone who's thinking about entering the world of the cello, what would that advice be?
>> Tori Rushton: Well, I think that if it's the cello or any instrument, I just think if you are willing to pick up any instrument, just go for it. Don't, don't. And if, for example, the cello or guitar or the piano is not quite your instrument, don't worry, there are others. But I do think that learning an instrument is a very, very useful tool to switch off, to relax and also entertain people, your friends, or maybe professionally later, but definitely. And it's also good for other studies that you do as a kid. that's so important and enhances that, ah, a lot. So, yeah, go for it. Especially cellos, because, they're just cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they certainly are. As you are. Tori, thank you so much for being a guest on the Insomnia project today.
>> Tori Rushton: Oh, you're welcome. And thank you so much, Marco, for inviting me. And I can't wait to hear all your episodes that I've missed.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. There's plenty of them out there for anyone who wants to listen to our back catalog. And I invite you to listen to Music Magic Podcast, which is the podcast that Tory Rushton produces, hosts, and makes available to you. Thank you for listening. We hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate Jan 27,2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we discuss ordinary things
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about just ordinary things in life. Certainly, some of our episodes tend to be more, let's say, interesting than others, but there's always an avenue to relaxation and calmness and possibly even sleep. So I hope you find whatever you need on today's episode. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. Thank you for listening. Joining me all the way from England, is a guest that I'm excited to have and, hopefully by the end of this, we can consider ourselves friends. Tori Rushton. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Tori Rushton: Hi there, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Tori, thank you so much for joining us.
>> Tori Rushton: Well, it's a pleasure and, I love to be connected through the
>> Marco Timpano: pond it's true, it's true.
You and Marilla Wax have known each other since your teenage years
we have a common friend in association, Marilla Wax. And I love it how it's bounced from me and Marilla all the way back to her home country to you in England.
>> Tori Rushton: Absolutely. And pretty much her hometown, because we lived about three or four miles away from each other.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so have you known her since you both were younger? Let's say?
>> Tori Rushton: Yes. We've known each other since, we were, you know, those wonderful teenage years.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. That's so wonderful. She's also been a guest on the show. So if you want to go back and listen to, me and Marilla having conversations about crochet and, voice work, you can certainly listen to that.
>> Tori Rushton: Certainly will. she's great. And her sister as well, who is a fabulous crochet person.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, we mentioned her. I want to get her on the podcast as well.
>> Marco Timpano: I meant to invite the listeners to listen to that, not you, Tory, but I'm glad you might go back and listen to that as well.
You do voice work, and I want to mention your website
>> Marco Timpano: speaking of voice work, you do voice work, and I want to mention your website, and I will have it in the show notes for everyone who wants to. Anyone who, isn't taking notes right now. But toritalksvo.com is your voiceover, website.
>> Tori Rushton: Yes, that's right. I'm really excited about it because I've just joined the VEO world, and, I became a radio presenter, for my local community some years ago, and I, really enjoyed being on the mic and I really enjoyed, presenting and, then in the world of editing and music. And in fact, it was Marilla Wex who knocked on my text door and, said, tori, you know what? I think you would be great, in the voiceover world. So she actually opened that door for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, how wonderful is that?
>> Tori Rushton: It's great. Yeah.
Marcos has a wonderful podcast called Music Magic Podcast
>> Marco Timpano: And that world also opened you up to the podcast world because you have a wonderful podcast called Music Magic Podcast. Can you tell us about that?
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah, sure. I mean, music is magical within itself. So the title says it all, really. And everybody. It touches everybody, whether, you know, you are a musician, which I am. I've been a musician for 25 years as a professional musician, and started, at a very early age. I think I was about 5 when I picked up my, first instrument, which was the guitar. And, Yeah, so music is something that can, take you back to a place, a memory, a feeling. it can give you that tingle sensation inside when you hear maybe, the drums if that's what you like, or the rush of a string orchestra. and so I thought I would just try. Try to express that.
>> Marco Timpano: For sure, for sure. It also, music has the ability to transcend language in that, you know, everyone around the world can appreciate music not only of their making, but international music. And songs touches everyone in similar and different ways. And your podcast, Music Magic Podcast, explores three songs from your guests and what it means to them, is that correct?
>> Tori Rushton: That's exactly right, yes, Marcos. So I just ask them, you know, what three songs gives you that music magic? And, often they do come back to me and say, my goodness, that is a task. Because how many songs are out there? How many pieces of music are out there that we've all, you know, listened to or had experiences? So to narrow it down to three is, I'm quite impressed that my guests can do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. So that makes me want to ask the cheeky question. What gives you music magic? If you can name a song or two, that is music magic for you.
>> Tori Rushton: It's funny you should say that, because one of my guests did ask me that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tori Rushton: He really did put me on the spot. but I'm a professional. Cellist is my main instrument, and so I have to go with probably the best cello concerto ever played, by Jacqueline Dupre.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tori Rushton: And if I can, I've been probably listening to that since the day I picked up a cello, and I could listen to it now, and I would still have that sensation. They're almost goose pimples, if you like, when I listen to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. So I need to ask, how did you find the cello? Or perhaps the better question is, how did the cello find you?
>> Tori Rushton: I happened to have a, member of my family, who at the age of, when he was 13, he started having some cello lessons, and he brought it to my house, and I was six or seven. And, I thought it was massive. It was just this huge instrument in front of my eyes. And, I was just instantly intrigued, attracted. And then he played it, and I loved the sound. And so that was it, really. And I was very fortunate that there was a cello teacher at my primary school.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Tori Rushton: Just went from there, really.
>> Marco Timpano: One of the things I love about the cello, and I could be totally wrong. This is just from an observer who's never played the cello, though I do love string instruments, and I have a great string instrument story if you want. Later, I'll tell you. but it doesn't seem to be a delicate instrument, like, say, the violin, it seems to be an instrument where your whole body is involved. And it's kind of like one of these instruments where the more you use it and the more you give it force, the more force it gives back. Am I correct in that assumption?
>> Tori Rushton: It is a very, strong instrument. And you're right, it doesn't have that tiny delicacies like the violin. it's a solid instrument. but it has this remarkable, connection with the human being body and also with the, with the sound. It has a beautiful connection with the human voice. And many people say that the cello is probably the, oh, I don't know, the best connection between human, voice. Some people say that when I play the cello, it sounds as if the cello is talking.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful.
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah. So I feel like for me, the cello is my best friend. I can say anything to it by playing. And I have feelings of when I'm not. So, you know, I'm probably angry about something I did or didn't do, or I'm feeling sad or I'm feeling, happy, whatever my feelings are. I can express that with my cello, my best friend. And, it's just a great connection
>> Marco Timpano: when you play it. Does the sound resonate throughout your whole body?
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah, because there is. We're actually touching and we're actually hugging almost. It's almost like the body, your body is like the backbone of, the instrument, if that makes sense. And so if you had a pack of or two books that are leaning into each other and they would just stay on the table, if you will, that's exactly the same between, a player and the instrument.
There's a grace and elegance to the cello or the cellist playing
>> Marco Timpano: There's certainly a grace and elegance to the cello or the cellist playing the cello. And there's also a theatrical expressiveness to the person playing that instrument.
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah. I, I, I definitely think that you, you need to be very physical. Yeah. You need to play the cello.
>> Marco Timpano: You need to be fit to play the cello.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that safe to say?
>> Marco Timpano: Not like the tuba.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: Or other instruments where you expect to
>> Marco Timpano: see, you know, a large German man playing the tuba. That's sort of the, the stereotype I have.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't see that when you see the cello.
>> Marco Timpano: You see very fit people being very, expressive with that instrument.
>> Tori Rushton: absolutely. Because you have to reach your arm over to get to the higher string. and then I think it's probably the music we play, as I said before, so connected that we are at one. So we're just dancing around. We're jiving, we're grooving, or, you know, relaxing, whatever music is played. It's.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's wonderful.
>> Tori Rushton: I can't describe it too much, but it's. Yeah, it's. It's. It's. It's amazing. And I'm. I'm very. I feel very honored to myself in some ways that I chose that instrument and not the violin.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Right.
I want to talk bows, cello bows in particular
Now, let me ask you this. I want to talk bows, cello bows in particular. What makes a good bow for you?
>> Tori Rushton: a good bow nowadays, it's very different now because bows have changed so, so much. And it used to be made of wood, but often these days they're made of carbon fiber. So it's the lighter bow, which is really important because you've got the flexibility. that's. That's really it. But the. But it's the bowing technique, which takes years.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Tori Rushton: To get. because if you think about it, the bow is the one that produces the sound. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And. And how long does a bow last for you?
>> Tori Rushton: It can last forever. I mean, I. I've got two cellos. I've got an, a cello that's dated from 1823, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah. And I haven't got the original bow from that, but I've got a bow that I have had since I got it when I was 15, and that's quite a few years ago. So. But you can get antique bows that can date back to 200 years. So it's not the bow that changes, it's just the hair that gets used. So the bow needs to be rehaired frequently.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. And do you rehair your own bows? I never thought I'd ever ask that question, but I love that I just did.
>> Tori Rushton: I would love to have. I. I actually, looked into being, You know, I don't know what they call it, someone who rehairs bows, but I looked into a course on how to do it because, it's just really fascinating. And also, I teach this instrument, and I have many students that have about not three hairs on their bow left, but they don't have a lot. And it's quite hard to find someone who does rehair bows. yeah. But no, I don't do them. I don't. I have to go and see, my Lutea man, and he does it.
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>> Tori Rushton: The app Association.
>> Marco Timpano: What an interesting course that would be to take. How to rehair a bow for your instrument.
>> Tori Rushton: I know, it'd be so cool.
>> Marco Timpano: I would take it just to say I took that course.
>> Marco Timpano: what would be the reason why you would want an old bow from the 1800s versus today's? carbon. Carbon bows.
>> Tori Rushton: I think that you have to have the bow that matches the instrument. So let's say for my 200 year old Baroque cello, a bow, an antique bow would be superb because the instrument was kind of, and was made at the same time as the bow, if that makes sense. So it has that kind of, it will keep that oaky, sound quality, from, from, from that. If I put, if I played, my 200 year old baroque cello with my carbon fiber bow, which is a. It will sound nice, it will sound bright, but it won't give that kind of proper depth. So I do have a wooden bow that I use when I play my older instrument, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: That's awesome. M. What was the moment for you when you said it takes years to really get the movement of the bow and the sound and the expressiveness of the instrument? Was there a moment when you realized you had turned from someone who was playing the instrument to a professional musician who understood and could relay all the beauty of that instrument? I liken that to. I realized I was fluent in a language when I started to dream in that language. So I'm just wondering if there's any moment for you and there might not be where you cross that line.
>> Tori Rushton: That's a really hard question actually, because you kind of are developing all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Tori Rushton: And this instrument, like a lot of instruments, can be so diverse in genres. So you've got classical, you've got jazz, you've got rock, pop, you know, lots of cello. bits and pieces are in rock and pop music these days. and so your technique for bowing would have to adapt for the genre that you're playing in. and I think so for me it was probably a time when I could flip from playing jazz, then classical, then, you know, so probably those moments and that, that probably would have been a time, when I was studying in the, in, in Paris at the time I was studying Paris Conservatoire. and, and, and I could flip from one to another bit. Like what you were saying about the language. You suddenly flip from, let's say English to French, back to English, you know,
>> Marco Timpano: quite easily when you're in France. Do you think in French when you're playing your cello?
>> Tori Rushton: depends who I'm playing with.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, fair enough. Fair enough.
>> Tori Rushton: That's awesome.
You play numerous string instruments including the double bass and the cello
>> Marco Timpano: I should mention that we've, I've sort
>> Marco Timpano: of fixated on the cello. But you also play other string instruments. Instruments like the double bass, the guitar, the ukulele, just to name a few. tell me about the double bass.
>> Tori Rushton: Big Bertha or actually, my double bass is actually called Billy from Billie Holiday. and that's because I really love jazz. I love jazz music. It's just so cool. And I've got an absolutely huge mentor friend of mine who's known me from a very, very young age and he's always encouraged me with music. And When I was 12 I went to his house and I was, he, he actually played, accompanied me on my exams when I was younger with my cello. And he's, he plays a double bass
>> Marco Timpano: and he said the instruments look similar.
>> Tori Rushton: Yeah, they do look similar. Okay, okay, yeah. And, and I, I went wow, that's huge at the age of 12. And he goes well pick it up and play. And I went, can I, I went yeah, pick up my double bass, not a problem. So I picked it up. He just then sat down on the piano and started improvising. And so I started improvising as well. And yeah, just. And I had the privilege to play lots of jazz tunes with him for many years after that. And so I just kind of self taught, double bass. yes. It's the depth of the instrument, but yet the funk and the soul and the groove and it's awesome. It really is.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it safe to say that everyone looks cool when playing a double bass?
>> Tori Rushton: I think you have to.
>> Marco Timpano: It is one of the coolest looking instruments.
>> Marco Timpano: Like when you watch someone play a double bass, you're like that person's just really cool. I don't know, there's just something about it. Maybe it is the jazz connection. Or something. But there's something about the double bass that just exudes coolness to me.
>> Tori Rushton: what can I say? But yeah, it's sometimes quite nice to look cool because sometimes when I'm playing my cello, I just look a little bit serious with my classical stuff and a bit of Haydn here and stuff. And then I let my hair down when I pick up my double bass. And, yeah, kind of. And you also have to. You have to shake your head a lot when you play double bass. Of course.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Tori Rushton: You know, you have to do a lot of nodding and looking around.
>> Marco Timpano: One might even say bopping.
Avon Shakespeare has a string instrument story that he'd love to share
>> Tori Rushton: So I m. Was going to ask you a question mark.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sure, of course. Yes, please.
>> Tori Rushton: so if there was. Is there an instrument that you have ever tried or. Or play?
>> Marco Timpano: I took piano lessons when I was a child, but my teachers were not great, and so they. They shied me away from the piano. But I do have a string instrument story that I'd love to share with you.
>> Tori Rushton: Please do.
>> Marco Timpano: So I have a sort of interest or fondness, I should say, for the banjo. And we happen to be in Oklahoma City, and they have a banjo museum there. And so I said to my wife, I said, let's go to the banjo museum. It's a museum that you won't find just anywhere. So we went and we saw all the banjos from the different years. And there was a whole tribute to, like, Kermit the Frog and Steve Martin and other fantastic banjo players whom I cannot name because I don't remember. And at the end of the tour, you could go into a room and they had some banjos that you could pick up and play. And so I was really excited about that. And I was like, I really want to do that. And we went to the banjo museum on the last day of our trip. And so we were going to go from the banjo museum to our hotel, directly to the airport. Not thinking the banjo museum was as extensive as it was. It's a beautiful museum, and if you happen to be in Oklahoma City, I strongly recommend it as a stop on your tour. So we got through the history of the banjo, but I really wanted to play the instrument at the end of the tour in that room. But we also had to get back to the hotel, so I had very little time to enjoy this moment. So I rushed into that room and there was this older couple in there who were. Who were from the area, let's say they seemed like they were from the south. And they. And they. And they had spoke with a bit of Twang. And I rushed in, and I looked on the wall at all the different banjos you could pick, and I saw a bluegrass banjo. So I was like, oh, this is the one. And I picked it up from the wall, unbeknownst, to me, because I was in a rush. I looked like someone who knew what they were doing. And my wife's like, you walked in there, and you said, oh, this is the one. And you grabbed it, you sat. You sat on the stool as if you've been playing the banjo all your life. So this couple that happened to be in that room kind of sat back ready to hear me play the banjo. Now, I've never really played a string
>> Marco Timpano: instrument in my life, so I put
>> Marco Timpano: the banjo on my knee, and I
>> Marco Timpano: just start strumming away as if I knew what I was doing, but making horrible sounds. So this couple, who thought they were going to see a little banjo performance because of the way I ran in there and was so confident, really got the exact opposite. And so they were kind of chuckling. And then my wife turned to them and said, sorry, I know he made it seem like he played the banjo. And her husband, who was a professional banjo player, said, I've never seen anyone walk into a room with such confidence. He goes, I was expecting to see a great concert performed by your husband. So it was a really funny moment of a love for an instrument, but a lack of ability on my side.
>> Tori Rushton: But, you know, I think it's really important to still, go somewhere and be almost, knowing what you're going to do. You know, it sums up some parts of life, isn't it, as well. You just got to walk in there and go for it?
>> Marco Timpano: Most definitely. I think if you want to have sort of a connection with whatever you're doing, whatever instrument you might be playing or whatever, let's say, sport you might be doing, you have to have a bit of confidence when you do it because, it's almost a respectful way to approach whatever endeavor you're doing. And so I certainly had the confidence there, but not the talent in that moment.
>> Tori Rushton: Well, even when I'm on professional stages, I played, my cello for a play at the. At the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre in Stratford Upon Avon.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Tori Rushton: I played, a solo moment, for. For the dance. and so it's just m. My notes, if you will, just in the theater. but, every time, like, I would have this huge thought in my head that I can't do it just for a split second and go No, I can't do this. And then before I know it, I've been told to come in and I'm just playing it. So, you know, there is this doubt. Always questioning doubt. But then there's another part of me that goes, don't be ridiculous. Just do it.
>> Marco Timpano: that might be the cello talking to you, probably.
>> Tori Rushton: Hopefully. She's my best friend.
>> Marco Timpano: That's wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so wonderful.
Tori: I think learning an instrument is a very useful tool
Tori, we're coming to the end of this episode, and it just flew by. I want to thank you so, so much. I never thought I'd get so deep into the cello, but I had such a wonderful experience.
>> Tori Rushton: Well, I hope you're going to listen to some great cello pieces like the Elgar or a, bit of jazz
>> Marco Timpano: maybe, you know, for sure. If you were to give some advice to, say, a younger you or say to someone who's thinking about entering the world of the cello, what would that advice be?
>> Tori Rushton: Well, I think that if it's the cello or any instrument, I just think if you are willing to pick up any instrument, just go for it. Don't, don't. And if, for example, the cello or guitar or the piano is not quite your instrument, don't worry, there are others. But I do think that learning an instrument is a very, very useful tool to switch off, to relax and also entertain people, your friends, or maybe professionally later, but definitely. And it's also good for other studies that you do as a kid. that's so important and enhances that, ah, a lot. So, yeah, go for it. Especially cellos, because, they're just cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they certainly are. As you are. Tori, thank you so much for being a guest on the Insomnia project today.
>> Tori Rushton: Oh, you're welcome. And thank you so much, Marco, for inviting me. And I can't wait to hear all your episodes that I've missed.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. There's plenty of them out there for anyone who wants to listen to our back catalog. And I invite you to listen to Music Magic Podcast, which is the podcast that Tory Rushton produces, hosts, and makes available to you. Thank you for listening. We hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Cereal and Podcasting with Marco's niece Mia
(Original airdate: May 5, 2021)
Welcome, to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, and listen as we have a calm conversation about hopefully a mundane topic so that you, our listeners, can drift off, relax, and possibly find your way to sleep. I'm really happy today because I didn't have a guest scheduled, and so I was a little concerned, so I reached out to my niece, Mia, and I said, mia, would you like to be a guest on my podcast? And she said, of course. So it gives me great pleasure to introduce my niece, Mia, to the podcast. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Mia: Thank you, Zio. I'm very happy to be here. Hello, everybody, on the Insomnia Project. I'm really happy to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: And Mia, is calling me Zio, because that's the word for uncle in Italian, so she calls me Zio in case you're wondering what she's saying.
Mia likes painting because it's very calming, right? Sure
I wanted to talk to you about painting. So let me ask you, Mia, what do you like about painting?
>> Mia: I like that it's very calming, and I'm glad that we're talking about it so our, listeners can listen to something calming.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And what is it about painting you find very calming?
>> Mia: I think just the stroking of the brush, especially when you're not painting anything under pressure.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: Just painting slowly and whatever you would like it to be.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have a subject you like to paint?
>> Mia: Well, I usually like to paint portraits.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really? So, like, a portrait of. What would you paint, for example?
>> Mia: I would like to paint portraits of, maybe a person, Someone in my family. Sure, you example would be a good example.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. And is there a particular color you like to paint with?
>> Mia: I really enjoy painting with purple, pink, and blue. When you blend them together, I think they all look pretty nice.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
>> Mia: But I also think that blending together pink, blue, yellow, and green is, also very nice colors.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a lot of colors to blend, though, don't you think?
>> Mia: Yes, but surprisingly, it actually turns out good when you make them very light colors.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, and what about painting walls? Like in painting, let's say your kitchen wall or your living room wall. Do you enjoy doing that?
>> Mia: Well, if my parents let me, then yes, I would enjoy it.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, let me ask you this. Have you ever scribbled on a wall with a crayon?
>> Mia: Maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And what's your, preferred thing to scribble on a wall? I know you don't do it anymore. But when you were a kid.
>> Mia: When I was a baby. Well, yes, I did used to grab a crayon and then scribble all over the wall. I think I would usually do it with. In red or yellow.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. But you don't have any subject. You would draw like a. Like a cow or, you know.
>> Mia: No, it's because when I was a baby, I didn't really know how to draw or what to draw.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, m. Now you're nine and a half.
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you are the one who introduced me to this half birthday. So can you explain to our listeners what a half birthday is?
>> Mia: Well, in my family, me, my parents, and my sibling, we all celebrate a half birthday and a half birthday.
>> Marco Timpano: It should be said that you're the one who came up with this, right?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Now, a half birthday is the birthday that celebrates when you turn six and a half. 12 and a half, nine and a half example for me, it means it's your birthday. It's six months later from your birthday. So, for example, if your birthday was, let's say, October 18th, then your birthday would be April, 18th, six months later from October.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that was really quick math too, I have to say. And what does one do on their half birthday?
>> Mia: Well, you don't get gifts, but the family usually bakes cupcakes or buys cupcakes from the store, sings them happy birthday and they get. Sometimes they get breakfast in bed.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. Is there a preferred breakfast in bed that you enjoy?
>> Mia: I like English muffins with orange juice. That's my kind of perfect breakfast.
>> Marco Timpano: Butter on the English muffin or just plain?
>> Mia: I like peanut butter and jam.
>> Marco Timpano: So an English muffin can also be called a crumpet. And I don't know if you know this, but we have a lot of listeners in the uk, you know, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, who listen and they like English muffins or crumpets for breakfast, too.
>> Mia: That's very interesting.
Do you like eating English muffins? Great question, Theo
Now, have you. I have a question for you now, Theo.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Mia: Do you like eating English muffins?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I have to be honest with you. I love English muffins. I also love scones and tea and clotted cream and jams and anything that is very warm and rich and makes you feel warm on a cool day. Even a warm. If I can have a warm blanket on me, warm while I have a scone, an English muffin, and some Earl Grey tea, I'm very, very happy.
>> Mia: What would you like on your English muffin? So say I gave you an English muffin. And then I gave you all the toppings in the world. Which topping would you put on the English muffin?
>> Marco Timpano: Great question. So I would probably put some butter and raspberry jam, maybe some honey. So I could, I could do one that has raspberry jam and butter and one that has butter and some honey drizzled on top. M. I love honey and so does your aunt. But let me ask you this. How do you feel about honey?
>> Mia: To be honest, I'm not that much of a honey fan. But if, say if I went to the, I don't know, hun. At English muffin store.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And then there were English muffins laid there and there was two items.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Maybe peanut butter and jam. No, that's two items. So maybe Nutella and honey. Sure, I would pick Nutella. But if there was only one topping at the store and that topping was honey, I would take the honey because I do not mind it. But if there was another option, I would take the other option over honey.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's so. So I would hate to go to an English muffin shop that only had one topping to offer you.
>> Mia: I know. That would be horrible.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
Do you have any hobbies or any things that you like to do when not in school
So let me ask you this. Do you have any hobbies or any things that you like to do when you're not in school?
>> Mia: Well, I sometimes I really like reading books.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Mia: Then I also like baking.
>> Mia: I like sometimes facetiming my friends and chatting.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: And I really, I really enjoy writing down math questions for myself and answering them.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. Okay.
Do you, as my niece, like books and do you like libraries
So let me start with books. You know, I'm a big fan of books and I'm a huge fan of libraries. What types of books do you like to read and do you, as my niece, like libraries?
>> Mia: For question one, I usually like reading books with Roman or Greek mythology in it because I am Italian and Greek.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: So for instance, maybe the Percy Jackson series. I am a big fan of that series. Series. And I probably after that series will be getting into a Roman mythology book.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool. And what about libraries? Do you like them?
>> Mia: I personally love libraries. The calmness and quietness of a library just calms me head to toe. It's very part, it's a part of my spirit.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so when you go into a library, what do you do? What's your procedure? When you walk into a library, do you go to a certain section right away? Do you check in with librarian or do you just search for books?
>> Mia: I check in with the librarian. Yes. I check in the librarian, ask her how she's doing. And she's a very nice librarian. this library that I go to is usually at my school.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool.
>> Mia: Then once I do that, I search through the books, seeing which books I would like to read. Usually I like reading fantasy stories.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Mia: But if there is a nonfiction book that I like on, let's say turtles or camels, I would also take it.
>> Marco Timpano: oh, that's cool.
Tell me five things that you love about math
Now, you mentioned math. You like math? Tell me about math. What do you like about it? and why do you find math so easy to do?
>> Mia: Five things that I love about math.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: Addition.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Subtraction.
>> Mia: Multiplication, division, and fractions. These are the five core math things that I love. There's also patterns and algebra. But, the main core parts of what I love are those five things.
Talk to me about fractions. You're good at fractions and they're part of your soul
>> Marco Timpano: So talk to me about fractions.
>> Mia: Fractions. Well, I think most of our listeners know this, but fractions are halves or fourths or thirds. You know, not usually not wholes. It's parts of parts of a, whole. So I feel like fractions, they're a fraction of my soul is math.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. So one could say because you're nine and a half, there's a fraction. You're good at fractions and they're part of your soul, did you say?
>> Mia: Yes, math is all part of my soul, but fractions, it is a fifth of that fraction of my soul.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow, that's really cool that you broke it down like that.
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
Mia says having a working studio in your house is key for podcasting
So, Mia, I'd like to know some other things I'd like to chat with you about. For example, you have a studio in your house and I have a studio in my house. And that's how we're communicating to us. So what's key in having a, working studio in your house for any listeners that might want to do a podcast or record audio?
>> Mia: Well, there's one thing that might help him. M. I have. But first, I would like to talk about my studio.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: One thing. That one studio. The one studio in my house is my parents closet.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: It is filled with clothes and we have everything we need. So now for our listeners, if they want to start a podcast, here are things we need.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: We need a quiet area. Usually not on the main floor. In that quiet area, it could be small or big no matter what, but usually it's better small because the bigger, the more echoey it gets. And sometimes the mic that you have, you will need for podcasting will pick up those sounds because the mic is very sensitive.
>> Marco Timpano: What is the most Difficult sound in your area that you try to avoid getting picked up on the microphone.
>> Mia: Probably my little brother.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Because he can be quite noisy, right?
>> Mia: Yes, very noisy. He's very definite.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: And very sporty, and I love him, but sometimes he can be just a teensy weensy annoying.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
All right, Mia, I want to talk about some other subjects that you enjoy
All right, Mia, I want to talk about some other subjects that you enjoy.
>> Mia: I feel like we should circle back. We could circle back to podcasting.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sure.
>> Mia: Yes. Because I feel that we need to talk about podcasting a little bit more to the listeners.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, sure. I love podcasting. Of course.
>> Mia: Me too.
So now circling back to how to podcast for the listeners
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so tell me more. Is this your first podcast that you're on?
>> Mia: yes, it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, cool.
>> Mia: I have submitted many auditions, many voice auditions that I have done, with you in this closet. So now circling back to how to podcast for the listeners. One, you need a, small room, not on the main floor. Two, that room should be covered in something like foam tiles or something soft to absorb the excess sound so the mic doesn't pick it up. Three, you need a mic. Four, you need something to record your podcast on. Five, you need a headset. It could be cheap. it could be cheap like connectable earpods. Or it could be a headset like we're wearing. Or it could be AirPods. Whatever fits the listeners here. And five, you just need a. A set of, chairs.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: So you can be comfortable. Now, if there's anything else that you need to go to the podcast to podcasting, you can always circle back to the 25 things I wish I knew before I started podcasting. Book by my uncle here.
>> Marco Timpano: I wasn't expecting you to plug my book, but I do appreciate that.
>> Mia: You're welcome.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
>> Mia: I actually read it myself at school.
>> Marco Timpano: I can't believe you read my book at school even. What did your teacher say?
>> Mia: Well, my teacher said it is very cool to have a podcasting uncle.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. I have to agree with your teacher.
Can we talk about clothes for a minute? Yes. Okay. So imagine this in your head. It's like a timeline. What it looks
So since you are in a closet, can we talk about clothes for a minute?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so tell me what your favorite types of clothes are. And I noticed that you're wearing a leopard. A leopard patterned shirt Today.
>> Mia: Today I'm wearing a, leopard pattern T shirt. I actually have a sweater, but it's not in my closet.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: It's outside my closet. Well, my parents closet.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: So I'm wearing a leopard print T shirt. So let's circle back to the books for a second.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, sure.
>> Mia: To just in books. You in most books, like chapter books, fantasy, chapter Books. You need to imagine the image in your head.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep.
>> Mia: What it looks like. So we're going to circle back to that.
>> Marco Timpano: We're doing a lot of circling back, it seems, on this podcast. Okay.
>> Mia: It's like a timeline. So imagine this in your head. It's like a timeline.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Then there's circles for books, clothes, podcasting, and then the line stops there. Then there's an arrow going back to one of the circles.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: So imagine that, and then we go back, and then, we could go forward, and then we can go back or back two, or back three, or all the way to the beginning, and then just go on another line.
>> Marco Timpano: That's cool.
>> Mia: So that's what's podcasting about is about.
What you wear is driven by your mood, not the temperature outside
So now back to the clothing where we are right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you pick out your wardrobe for the day, or does your mom pick it out for you?
>> Mia: Okay, I pick. I usually pick it out, except when we're going out on formal wear.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so m. Let me ask you this. and this is not a formal occasion. So you would pick out what instructs what you're going to wear for any given day? Is it the temperature outside? Is it the mood you're in? What makes you pick out the clothes that you're going to wear on any given day?
>> Mia: Well, depending on if it's a T shirt, a dress, or just a normal shirt that is driven by the temperature.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: But the. What I'm going to wear is driven by my mood. So say I'm in a lazy mood. I would like sweatshirts, and some, track pants.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: But if I'm in a sporty mood, maybe I would like some jeans and maybe just a very definite shirt. What if I'm in a formal mood?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: I could get a ruffled shirt and some very nice, tight, very nice jeans.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Mia: It's driven, really, by my mood, but what type of thing I'm going to wear is driven by the temperature. So really, both.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool. Cool. Well, thank you for that insight.
Um, is there a type of clothing you would recommend people wear when podcasting
is there a type of clothing you would recommend people wear if they're going to be on a podcast?
>> Mia: I would recommend, not too neon, not too bright.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And just maybe a blue or a purple or a black. Some maybe a cool color. I see there's hot colors and cool colors. I. If I were you, I would choose a, cool color when I was going to podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: And are you a fan of cool colors or warm colors when you paint?
>> Mia: I'm a fan of cool colors.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you're a Fan of cool colors. I see.
Do you enjoy playing board games with me or do I get too competitive
Now, we also like to play games, you and I, board games and whatnot. Can you tell me what your favorite board game is and if there's a game you enjoy playing with me?
>> Mia: Honestly, I don't really have a favorite board game.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Some of my favorite board games are children on stage and lots of others. Like let's say, for instance, Mousetrap, Mouse Trap. Yes. Or, Treble Trouble is also a very good game. So it's all. They're all very good board games, but I really don't have a definite favorite.
>> Marco Timpano: And do you enjoy playing board games with me or do I get too competitive? Because when we play Trouble, what is it that I always say to when I go on your, peg, See
>> Mia: you, later, sucker.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. I always say that. And it always upsets your brother when I say that.
>> Mia: So, yes, last time he was crying because of it.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I don't want to make it seem I'm seem like I'm that mean, but we were having a lot of fun. So tell me, do you enjoy playing games with me or am I just so mean that you don't enjoy playing games with me?
>> Mia: You're not mean. You're just competitive. But I still beat you every time.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's true. There's a game that I'm currently playing that I can't wait to play with you. It's called Wingspan. And basically it's a bunch of cards. There's 190 cards. And, on every card is a different bird and it tells you it has a beautiful picture of a bird. I'll take a picture and I'll show it to you. One of the, one of the pictures of the birds. Is there a particular bird you want me to find and take a picture of? Because it's all North American birds and European birds.
>> Mia: M. Do they have us? I'm gonna go with something simple.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: A robin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, they do have a robin. So I'll take a picture of that robin and I'll send it to you and I'll put it on our. On our, on our social media so that our listeners can see it as well. But every single card has a different bird on it. In fact, I'm going to get one. So just give me two seconds. Okay.
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Xiomarco is a card game that you can play with others
>> Mia: So now that you're back, tell me about this game. Xiomarco.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so there's like I said, 190 cards. And I'm gonna show you a card right now. It's the one that you asked about, the robin, right?
>> Mia: That is a very good drawing of a robin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. They're really beautiful, aren't they?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And you can see it says the name of the robin and then the Latin name underneath it. And then it shows you pictures of what the robin eats. So you can see a worm or
>> Mia: a berry, and it shows you these worms, Seeds.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And it shows you what habitat, where it likes to nest. And in this case it's a tree or in the grasslands. It shows you how many eggs a robin will lay in its nest. The type of Nest. It makes its wingspan. Do you see the wingspan there?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What is the robin's wingspan?
>> Mia: 43 centimeters, or around 20 inches.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. Did you just do that in your head?
>> Mia: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's really great. And then it tells you what this card does when you activate it. And you activate it in many ways, but there's also little eggs that you can put on the cards. Do you see that egg? And then there's these dice that you roll. You roll about five dice, and they have different things on it. You can see some of the pictures.
>> Mia: mouse berries, fish, leaf worm.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep. So that's you roll. Yep, you roll that. And that's, that's what the food is that the various, various birds eat. And you want to collect those, right?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, it says that this game is for 14 years plus, but I think that you would be able to play it with me because you're really good at numbers and you're really, you know, you're really good at games. So this is the game that I want to play with you, but I don't know if your little brother would be able to play. So it'll have to be when he's either, you know, distracted with something else or playing with your aunt. And you and I can play this game. Would you like to do that?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so that's something you and I will do next time we see each other. All right? Is that a deal?
>> Mia: It's a deal. All, right.
Can you walk me through how one makes an espresso or espresso coffee
>> Marco Timpano: All right, well, before we end the podcast, I need to share some information with our listeners. And it's something that I taught you when you were very young and you're very skilled at. Do you know what that is?
>> Mia: What is it?
>> Marco Timpano: What did I teach you when you were young? And now anytime we're together, I'm always asking you if you wouldn't mind making me one.
>> Mia: Oh, you taught me how to make a, coffee, or better known as an Italian espresso.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so can you walk me through how one makes an espresso or espresso coffee?
>> Mia: So first of all, you need to wash out the container.
>> Mia: Second, there's two parts of the container.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. It's actually, it's called a mocha is what they call it. And it's a stovetop coffee maker for espresso coffee. Just so our listeners can follow along.
>> Mia: All right, that's what I was about to say.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sorry.
>> Mia: Is called the mocha. It's where you put all of the water. And then the second part, I do not remember what it is called the filter.
>> Marco Timpano: So you have the reservoir where you put the water, then you have the filter. What does the filter look like?
>> Mia: The filter, it's like a little circle and that is where you put the coffee mixture.
>> Marco Timpano: It kind of looks like a funnel to me. You know what a funnel is?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: To me it kind of looks like a circled funnel.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And that comes with a lid. So when the espresso bubbles, which we'll get on to later, it does not go all over your stove.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: So the first thing you want to do is grab the mocha, and fill it with water up to the line.
>> Marco Timpano: And what happens if you fill past the line?
>> Mia: The espresso will overflow and it won't taste very good.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Too much water. Second thing you want to do is grab the filter. Grab a spoon and some of, the powder that you put in the coffee. Powder.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: Put that into the little funnel.
>> Marco Timpano: Anything we should know about that? Are you supposed to pack the coffee in or just let it loose? Loose. Loose and goose.
>> Mia: You need to pack the coffee in once it is up to its limits.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't like it too packed, I must say. You tend to pack it and I always say don't pack it as much.
>> Mia: Yes, I remember.
>> Mia: Then you put the two, the mocha and the filter together. The filter on top of the mocha. Put the lid on, heat your oven up to I would say 600 degrees Celsius.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, hang on a second. We don't put it inside the oven. We put it on the stovetop.
>> Mia: Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but we don't. Yeah. Okay. So that is usually determined by low, medium or high, not degrees. Okay.
>> Mia: Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's okay. Which, which. So what would you put it on? High, medium or low?
>> Mia: I would have put it. I would put it on medium.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: But I'm not remembering much because the last time I made a coffee with you espresso was when I was seven, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really? Okay. Okay. You're starting to make it sound like I'm. I'm using you as child coffee labor.
>> Mia: No, you're not. Okay, maybe you are.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, let's not tell anyone that.
You should put honey in your coffee as soon as it starts bubbling
All right, let's continue with. So once it's on the stove and it's heating up. And of course at that point you're staying far away from the stove. Correct. So you don't get burned.
>> Mia: Yes, correct. Always make sure that you have an adult supervising if you are under the age of 50.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And then what happens? Now the coffee is bubbling, right?
>> Mia: Yes. As soon as the coffee starts bubbling. And it should. After about five minutes. Five to ten minutes. Sure it should. Then you will have the perfect espresso. You pour it out of the. You take off the filter from the mocha. Take the mocha and pour the. Pour the liquid from the mocha into your finest coffee cup.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Thank you for that. Now, you make me want to go make one for myself, but I don't make them as good as you. I have to be honest with you. Is there anything that one could put in their coffee, or is there anything that I like in my coffee?
>> Mia: Well, let's circle, back for a second.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Your. Your like of honey.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Honey. You said that you like honey. So let's circle.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: Let's go back to the timeline.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And then let's circle back to that circle of, honey.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: Jump there.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm there.
>> Mia: The number line. It's like a number line, but it's a timeline.
>> Marco Timpano: Got it.
>> Mia: You said that you like honey.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Mia: So now let's circle back to where we are.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. In the coffee area.
>> Mia: Now, we know that you like honey, so we should put honey in your coffee, because that is what you like.
>> Marco Timpano: I, happily take honey in my coffee.
>> Mia: There is also other ingredients that our listeners can put in their coffee, like.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: Milk, sugar, cream, etc.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Many different, choices. But I feel if I were you, with all of your interests, I would put, honey, a little bit of sugar and milk in my coffee. Is that correct?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that is 100% correct.
Italian espresso goes really well with English muffins, right
Now, can we circle back to the English muffin conversation that we had? And could I have an English muffin with my coffee?
>> Mia: You certainly can. It actually occurred to my mom and my dad that they, well, they are both English muffin fans.
>> Marco Timpano: I, see.
>> Mia: So when they drank it with an espresso, because, well, they just wanted it to be special, so they made an espresso, it occurred to them that espresso goes really well with English muffins.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Mia: It's both from the same continent. Italy. Italy and England in the uk sure. All are in Europe.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So you kind of get the best of both worlds in that combination. You certainly do.
Now, before we end the podcast today, we want to talk about cereal
Now, before we end the podcast today, and I want to thank you for being such a spectacular guest, I, wanted to talk about cereal, because there's a cereal that both myself and your mother really enjoy that you pointed out to me once. Do you remember what that cereal is?
>> Mia: I do Not.
>> Marco Timpano: Remember I told you I liked Shreddies?
>> Mia: Oh, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And you said, you know who likes Shreddies?
>> Mia: Yes. My mom. She has Shreddies a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, she does?
>> Mia: We have, like, two boxes in our thing, our cupboard right now.
>> Marco Timpano: And how do you feel about Shreddies?
>> Mia: Honestly, it's like, so. So for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. We should explain what Shreddies are for our listeners, because we have some listeners in parts of the world that don't get Shreddies. So describe what a Shreddy cereal is, and then I'll ask you what your favorite cereal is, and then we'll end the podcast.
>> Mia: Okay. A, Shreddies is a, square cereal. It's all squares. And the squares. It has tinier squares, like waffles.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Mia: That are usually filled with sugar. When you put them in the milk, the milk gets soaked in there. And that's the part that my mother and my Zio really like.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's the Shreddies that have sugar in it. A lot of times they don't have sugar. It's a whole grain wheat cereal. So, like, Shredded Wheats. I think that's where it gets its name from. And it is an iconic Canadian cereal made with 100% whole grain wheat in Niagara Falls. That's where they make it. Did you know that?
>> Mia: No, but. But Xiomarco.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Mia: You know, you do know what they say.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't.
>> Mia: northeast, south, rest. Never eat Shredded Wheat.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. That's how you remember north, east, east, south, and west. I think I got it wrong. Never eat Shredded Wheat.
>> Mia: Now you're eating Shredded Wheat.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Mia: Never eat Shredded Wheat. Go back to the cereal.
Mia says Corn Pops and Froot Loops are her favorite cereal
Okay, so sugared cereal.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What's your favorite cereal then? Let me ask you.
>> Mia: I'm a big fan of, Corn Pops and Froot Loops.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Those are your two favorite. Why are they your favorite? And then we're gonna end, the episode today.
>> Mia: Well, Corn Pops, they're very poppy, and they taste a little bit like popcorn, but they go well with milk and as a cereal. So it's the best of both worlds. Cereal and popcorn mashed together. And they're actually tasted good.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And Fruit Loops.
>> Mia: Froot Loops. They don't actually. They're not actually Froot Loops. They're cereal. They don't have any artificial colors or flavors.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I don't know.
>> Mia: They do have colors.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Mia: But not flavors. So no artificial flavors?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not sure. I think they do.
>> Mia: Wait, what does artificial flavors mean?
>> Marco Timpano: It means the flavor doesn't come necessarily from the fruits they represent.
>> Mia: Oh, oopsies.
>> Marco Timpano: That's fine. I just don't want to. I don't want to shatter your world with Froot Loops. But they are tasty.
>> Mia: Yes, they are very tasty.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're fun to eat.
>> Mia: Yes. That's all I could say. I can't really explain Fruit Loops. They're just good. Oh, well, in my world, they're just good.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes that's all you need. Great. Well, Mia, listen, you're just great on the podcast. Thank you so much for being a guest. Nine and a half. You have all this information to share, so I really do appreciate it.
>> Mia: You're very welcome.
>> Marco Timpano: And, of course, we hope our listeners
>> Mia: were able to listen and sleep. Good night, listeners.
>> Marco Timpano: Good night.
(Original airdate: May 5, 2021)
Welcome, to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, and listen as we have a calm conversation about hopefully a mundane topic so that you, our listeners, can drift off, relax, and possibly find your way to sleep. I'm really happy today because I didn't have a guest scheduled, and so I was a little concerned, so I reached out to my niece, Mia, and I said, mia, would you like to be a guest on my podcast? And she said, of course. So it gives me great pleasure to introduce my niece, Mia, to the podcast. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Mia: Thank you, Zio. I'm very happy to be here. Hello, everybody, on the Insomnia Project. I'm really happy to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: And Mia, is calling me Zio, because that's the word for uncle in Italian, so she calls me Zio in case you're wondering what she's saying.
Mia likes painting because it's very calming, right? Sure
I wanted to talk to you about painting. So let me ask you, Mia, what do you like about painting?
>> Mia: I like that it's very calming, and I'm glad that we're talking about it so our, listeners can listen to something calming.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And what is it about painting you find very calming?
>> Mia: I think just the stroking of the brush, especially when you're not painting anything under pressure.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: Just painting slowly and whatever you would like it to be.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have a subject you like to paint?
>> Mia: Well, I usually like to paint portraits.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really? So, like, a portrait of. What would you paint, for example?
>> Mia: I would like to paint portraits of, maybe a person, Someone in my family. Sure, you example would be a good example.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. And is there a particular color you like to paint with?
>> Mia: I really enjoy painting with purple, pink, and blue. When you blend them together, I think they all look pretty nice.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
>> Mia: But I also think that blending together pink, blue, yellow, and green is, also very nice colors.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a lot of colors to blend, though, don't you think?
>> Mia: Yes, but surprisingly, it actually turns out good when you make them very light colors.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, and what about painting walls? Like in painting, let's say your kitchen wall or your living room wall. Do you enjoy doing that?
>> Mia: Well, if my parents let me, then yes, I would enjoy it.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, let me ask you this. Have you ever scribbled on a wall with a crayon?
>> Mia: Maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And what's your, preferred thing to scribble on a wall? I know you don't do it anymore. But when you were a kid.
>> Mia: When I was a baby. Well, yes, I did used to grab a crayon and then scribble all over the wall. I think I would usually do it with. In red or yellow.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. But you don't have any subject. You would draw like a. Like a cow or, you know.
>> Mia: No, it's because when I was a baby, I didn't really know how to draw or what to draw.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, m. Now you're nine and a half.
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you are the one who introduced me to this half birthday. So can you explain to our listeners what a half birthday is?
>> Mia: Well, in my family, me, my parents, and my sibling, we all celebrate a half birthday and a half birthday.
>> Marco Timpano: It should be said that you're the one who came up with this, right?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Now, a half birthday is the birthday that celebrates when you turn six and a half. 12 and a half, nine and a half example for me, it means it's your birthday. It's six months later from your birthday. So, for example, if your birthday was, let's say, October 18th, then your birthday would be April, 18th, six months later from October.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that was really quick math too, I have to say. And what does one do on their half birthday?
>> Mia: Well, you don't get gifts, but the family usually bakes cupcakes or buys cupcakes from the store, sings them happy birthday and they get. Sometimes they get breakfast in bed.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. Is there a preferred breakfast in bed that you enjoy?
>> Mia: I like English muffins with orange juice. That's my kind of perfect breakfast.
>> Marco Timpano: Butter on the English muffin or just plain?
>> Mia: I like peanut butter and jam.
>> Marco Timpano: So an English muffin can also be called a crumpet. And I don't know if you know this, but we have a lot of listeners in the uk, you know, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, who listen and they like English muffins or crumpets for breakfast, too.
>> Mia: That's very interesting.
Do you like eating English muffins? Great question, Theo
Now, have you. I have a question for you now, Theo.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Mia: Do you like eating English muffins?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I have to be honest with you. I love English muffins. I also love scones and tea and clotted cream and jams and anything that is very warm and rich and makes you feel warm on a cool day. Even a warm. If I can have a warm blanket on me, warm while I have a scone, an English muffin, and some Earl Grey tea, I'm very, very happy.
>> Mia: What would you like on your English muffin? So say I gave you an English muffin. And then I gave you all the toppings in the world. Which topping would you put on the English muffin?
>> Marco Timpano: Great question. So I would probably put some butter and raspberry jam, maybe some honey. So I could, I could do one that has raspberry jam and butter and one that has butter and some honey drizzled on top. M. I love honey and so does your aunt. But let me ask you this. How do you feel about honey?
>> Mia: To be honest, I'm not that much of a honey fan. But if, say if I went to the, I don't know, hun. At English muffin store.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And then there were English muffins laid there and there was two items.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Maybe peanut butter and jam. No, that's two items. So maybe Nutella and honey. Sure, I would pick Nutella. But if there was only one topping at the store and that topping was honey, I would take the honey because I do not mind it. But if there was another option, I would take the other option over honey.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's so. So I would hate to go to an English muffin shop that only had one topping to offer you.
>> Mia: I know. That would be horrible.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
Do you have any hobbies or any things that you like to do when not in school
So let me ask you this. Do you have any hobbies or any things that you like to do when you're not in school?
>> Mia: Well, I sometimes I really like reading books.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Mia: Then I also like baking.
>> Mia: I like sometimes facetiming my friends and chatting.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: And I really, I really enjoy writing down math questions for myself and answering them.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. Okay.
Do you, as my niece, like books and do you like libraries
So let me start with books. You know, I'm a big fan of books and I'm a huge fan of libraries. What types of books do you like to read and do you, as my niece, like libraries?
>> Mia: For question one, I usually like reading books with Roman or Greek mythology in it because I am Italian and Greek.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: So for instance, maybe the Percy Jackson series. I am a big fan of that series. Series. And I probably after that series will be getting into a Roman mythology book.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool. And what about libraries? Do you like them?
>> Mia: I personally love libraries. The calmness and quietness of a library just calms me head to toe. It's very part, it's a part of my spirit.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so when you go into a library, what do you do? What's your procedure? When you walk into a library, do you go to a certain section right away? Do you check in with librarian or do you just search for books?
>> Mia: I check in with the librarian. Yes. I check in the librarian, ask her how she's doing. And she's a very nice librarian. this library that I go to is usually at my school.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool.
>> Mia: Then once I do that, I search through the books, seeing which books I would like to read. Usually I like reading fantasy stories.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Mia: But if there is a nonfiction book that I like on, let's say turtles or camels, I would also take it.
>> Marco Timpano: oh, that's cool.
Tell me five things that you love about math
Now, you mentioned math. You like math? Tell me about math. What do you like about it? and why do you find math so easy to do?
>> Mia: Five things that I love about math.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: Addition.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Subtraction.
>> Mia: Multiplication, division, and fractions. These are the five core math things that I love. There's also patterns and algebra. But, the main core parts of what I love are those five things.
Talk to me about fractions. You're good at fractions and they're part of your soul
>> Marco Timpano: So talk to me about fractions.
>> Mia: Fractions. Well, I think most of our listeners know this, but fractions are halves or fourths or thirds. You know, not usually not wholes. It's parts of parts of a, whole. So I feel like fractions, they're a fraction of my soul is math.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. So one could say because you're nine and a half, there's a fraction. You're good at fractions and they're part of your soul, did you say?
>> Mia: Yes, math is all part of my soul, but fractions, it is a fifth of that fraction of my soul.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow, that's really cool that you broke it down like that.
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
Mia says having a working studio in your house is key for podcasting
So, Mia, I'd like to know some other things I'd like to chat with you about. For example, you have a studio in your house and I have a studio in my house. And that's how we're communicating to us. So what's key in having a, working studio in your house for any listeners that might want to do a podcast or record audio?
>> Mia: Well, there's one thing that might help him. M. I have. But first, I would like to talk about my studio.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: One thing. That one studio. The one studio in my house is my parents closet.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: It is filled with clothes and we have everything we need. So now for our listeners, if they want to start a podcast, here are things we need.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: We need a quiet area. Usually not on the main floor. In that quiet area, it could be small or big no matter what, but usually it's better small because the bigger, the more echoey it gets. And sometimes the mic that you have, you will need for podcasting will pick up those sounds because the mic is very sensitive.
>> Marco Timpano: What is the most Difficult sound in your area that you try to avoid getting picked up on the microphone.
>> Mia: Probably my little brother.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Because he can be quite noisy, right?
>> Mia: Yes, very noisy. He's very definite.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: And very sporty, and I love him, but sometimes he can be just a teensy weensy annoying.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
All right, Mia, I want to talk about some other subjects that you enjoy
All right, Mia, I want to talk about some other subjects that you enjoy.
>> Mia: I feel like we should circle back. We could circle back to podcasting.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sure.
>> Mia: Yes. Because I feel that we need to talk about podcasting a little bit more to the listeners.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, sure. I love podcasting. Of course.
>> Mia: Me too.
So now circling back to how to podcast for the listeners
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so tell me more. Is this your first podcast that you're on?
>> Mia: yes, it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, cool.
>> Mia: I have submitted many auditions, many voice auditions that I have done, with you in this closet. So now circling back to how to podcast for the listeners. One, you need a, small room, not on the main floor. Two, that room should be covered in something like foam tiles or something soft to absorb the excess sound so the mic doesn't pick it up. Three, you need a mic. Four, you need something to record your podcast on. Five, you need a headset. It could be cheap. it could be cheap like connectable earpods. Or it could be a headset like we're wearing. Or it could be AirPods. Whatever fits the listeners here. And five, you just need a. A set of, chairs.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: So you can be comfortable. Now, if there's anything else that you need to go to the podcast to podcasting, you can always circle back to the 25 things I wish I knew before I started podcasting. Book by my uncle here.
>> Marco Timpano: I wasn't expecting you to plug my book, but I do appreciate that.
>> Mia: You're welcome.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
>> Mia: I actually read it myself at school.
>> Marco Timpano: I can't believe you read my book at school even. What did your teacher say?
>> Mia: Well, my teacher said it is very cool to have a podcasting uncle.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. I have to agree with your teacher.
Can we talk about clothes for a minute? Yes. Okay. So imagine this in your head. It's like a timeline. What it looks
So since you are in a closet, can we talk about clothes for a minute?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so tell me what your favorite types of clothes are. And I noticed that you're wearing a leopard. A leopard patterned shirt Today.
>> Mia: Today I'm wearing a, leopard pattern T shirt. I actually have a sweater, but it's not in my closet.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: It's outside my closet. Well, my parents closet.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: So I'm wearing a leopard print T shirt. So let's circle back to the books for a second.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, sure.
>> Mia: To just in books. You in most books, like chapter books, fantasy, chapter Books. You need to imagine the image in your head.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep.
>> Mia: What it looks like. So we're going to circle back to that.
>> Marco Timpano: We're doing a lot of circling back, it seems, on this podcast. Okay.
>> Mia: It's like a timeline. So imagine this in your head. It's like a timeline.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Then there's circles for books, clothes, podcasting, and then the line stops there. Then there's an arrow going back to one of the circles.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: So imagine that, and then we go back, and then, we could go forward, and then we can go back or back two, or back three, or all the way to the beginning, and then just go on another line.
>> Marco Timpano: That's cool.
>> Mia: So that's what's podcasting about is about.
What you wear is driven by your mood, not the temperature outside
So now back to the clothing where we are right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you pick out your wardrobe for the day, or does your mom pick it out for you?
>> Mia: Okay, I pick. I usually pick it out, except when we're going out on formal wear.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so m. Let me ask you this. and this is not a formal occasion. So you would pick out what instructs what you're going to wear for any given day? Is it the temperature outside? Is it the mood you're in? What makes you pick out the clothes that you're going to wear on any given day?
>> Mia: Well, depending on if it's a T shirt, a dress, or just a normal shirt that is driven by the temperature.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: But the. What I'm going to wear is driven by my mood. So say I'm in a lazy mood. I would like sweatshirts, and some, track pants.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: But if I'm in a sporty mood, maybe I would like some jeans and maybe just a very definite shirt. What if I'm in a formal mood?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: I could get a ruffled shirt and some very nice, tight, very nice jeans.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Mia: It's driven, really, by my mood, but what type of thing I'm going to wear is driven by the temperature. So really, both.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool. Cool. Well, thank you for that insight.
Um, is there a type of clothing you would recommend people wear when podcasting
is there a type of clothing you would recommend people wear if they're going to be on a podcast?
>> Mia: I would recommend, not too neon, not too bright.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And just maybe a blue or a purple or a black. Some maybe a cool color. I see there's hot colors and cool colors. I. If I were you, I would choose a, cool color when I was going to podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: And are you a fan of cool colors or warm colors when you paint?
>> Mia: I'm a fan of cool colors.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you're a Fan of cool colors. I see.
Do you enjoy playing board games with me or do I get too competitive
Now, we also like to play games, you and I, board games and whatnot. Can you tell me what your favorite board game is and if there's a game you enjoy playing with me?
>> Mia: Honestly, I don't really have a favorite board game.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Some of my favorite board games are children on stage and lots of others. Like let's say, for instance, Mousetrap, Mouse Trap. Yes. Or, Treble Trouble is also a very good game. So it's all. They're all very good board games, but I really don't have a definite favorite.
>> Marco Timpano: And do you enjoy playing board games with me or do I get too competitive? Because when we play Trouble, what is it that I always say to when I go on your, peg, See
>> Mia: you, later, sucker.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. I always say that. And it always upsets your brother when I say that.
>> Mia: So, yes, last time he was crying because of it.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I don't want to make it seem I'm seem like I'm that mean, but we were having a lot of fun. So tell me, do you enjoy playing games with me or am I just so mean that you don't enjoy playing games with me?
>> Mia: You're not mean. You're just competitive. But I still beat you every time.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's true. There's a game that I'm currently playing that I can't wait to play with you. It's called Wingspan. And basically it's a bunch of cards. There's 190 cards. And, on every card is a different bird and it tells you it has a beautiful picture of a bird. I'll take a picture and I'll show it to you. One of the, one of the pictures of the birds. Is there a particular bird you want me to find and take a picture of? Because it's all North American birds and European birds.
>> Mia: M. Do they have us? I'm gonna go with something simple.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: A robin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, they do have a robin. So I'll take a picture of that robin and I'll send it to you and I'll put it on our. On our, on our social media so that our listeners can see it as well. But every single card has a different bird on it. In fact, I'm going to get one. So just give me two seconds. Okay.
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Xiomarco is a card game that you can play with others
>> Mia: So now that you're back, tell me about this game. Xiomarco.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so there's like I said, 190 cards. And I'm gonna show you a card right now. It's the one that you asked about, the robin, right?
>> Mia: That is a very good drawing of a robin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. They're really beautiful, aren't they?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And you can see it says the name of the robin and then the Latin name underneath it. And then it shows you pictures of what the robin eats. So you can see a worm or
>> Mia: a berry, and it shows you these worms, Seeds.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And it shows you what habitat, where it likes to nest. And in this case it's a tree or in the grasslands. It shows you how many eggs a robin will lay in its nest. The type of Nest. It makes its wingspan. Do you see the wingspan there?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What is the robin's wingspan?
>> Mia: 43 centimeters, or around 20 inches.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. Did you just do that in your head?
>> Mia: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's really great. And then it tells you what this card does when you activate it. And you activate it in many ways, but there's also little eggs that you can put on the cards. Do you see that egg? And then there's these dice that you roll. You roll about five dice, and they have different things on it. You can see some of the pictures.
>> Mia: mouse berries, fish, leaf worm.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep. So that's you roll. Yep, you roll that. And that's, that's what the food is that the various, various birds eat. And you want to collect those, right?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, it says that this game is for 14 years plus, but I think that you would be able to play it with me because you're really good at numbers and you're really, you know, you're really good at games. So this is the game that I want to play with you, but I don't know if your little brother would be able to play. So it'll have to be when he's either, you know, distracted with something else or playing with your aunt. And you and I can play this game. Would you like to do that?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so that's something you and I will do next time we see each other. All right? Is that a deal?
>> Mia: It's a deal. All, right.
Can you walk me through how one makes an espresso or espresso coffee
>> Marco Timpano: All right, well, before we end the podcast, I need to share some information with our listeners. And it's something that I taught you when you were very young and you're very skilled at. Do you know what that is?
>> Mia: What is it?
>> Marco Timpano: What did I teach you when you were young? And now anytime we're together, I'm always asking you if you wouldn't mind making me one.
>> Mia: Oh, you taught me how to make a, coffee, or better known as an Italian espresso.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so can you walk me through how one makes an espresso or espresso coffee?
>> Mia: So first of all, you need to wash out the container.
>> Mia: Second, there's two parts of the container.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. It's actually, it's called a mocha is what they call it. And it's a stovetop coffee maker for espresso coffee. Just so our listeners can follow along.
>> Mia: All right, that's what I was about to say.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sorry.
>> Mia: Is called the mocha. It's where you put all of the water. And then the second part, I do not remember what it is called the filter.
>> Marco Timpano: So you have the reservoir where you put the water, then you have the filter. What does the filter look like?
>> Mia: The filter, it's like a little circle and that is where you put the coffee mixture.
>> Marco Timpano: It kind of looks like a funnel to me. You know what a funnel is?
>> Mia: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: To me it kind of looks like a circled funnel.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And that comes with a lid. So when the espresso bubbles, which we'll get on to later, it does not go all over your stove.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: So the first thing you want to do is grab the mocha, and fill it with water up to the line.
>> Marco Timpano: And what happens if you fill past the line?
>> Mia: The espresso will overflow and it won't taste very good.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Too much water. Second thing you want to do is grab the filter. Grab a spoon and some of, the powder that you put in the coffee. Powder.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: Put that into the little funnel.
>> Marco Timpano: Anything we should know about that? Are you supposed to pack the coffee in or just let it loose? Loose. Loose and goose.
>> Mia: You need to pack the coffee in once it is up to its limits.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't like it too packed, I must say. You tend to pack it and I always say don't pack it as much.
>> Mia: Yes, I remember.
>> Mia: Then you put the two, the mocha and the filter together. The filter on top of the mocha. Put the lid on, heat your oven up to I would say 600 degrees Celsius.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, hang on a second. We don't put it inside the oven. We put it on the stovetop.
>> Mia: Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but we don't. Yeah. Okay. So that is usually determined by low, medium or high, not degrees. Okay.
>> Mia: Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's okay. Which, which. So what would you put it on? High, medium or low?
>> Mia: I would have put it. I would put it on medium.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: But I'm not remembering much because the last time I made a coffee with you espresso was when I was seven, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really? Okay. Okay. You're starting to make it sound like I'm. I'm using you as child coffee labor.
>> Mia: No, you're not. Okay, maybe you are.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, let's not tell anyone that.
You should put honey in your coffee as soon as it starts bubbling
All right, let's continue with. So once it's on the stove and it's heating up. And of course at that point you're staying far away from the stove. Correct. So you don't get burned.
>> Mia: Yes, correct. Always make sure that you have an adult supervising if you are under the age of 50.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And then what happens? Now the coffee is bubbling, right?
>> Mia: Yes. As soon as the coffee starts bubbling. And it should. After about five minutes. Five to ten minutes. Sure it should. Then you will have the perfect espresso. You pour it out of the. You take off the filter from the mocha. Take the mocha and pour the. Pour the liquid from the mocha into your finest coffee cup.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Thank you for that. Now, you make me want to go make one for myself, but I don't make them as good as you. I have to be honest with you. Is there anything that one could put in their coffee, or is there anything that I like in my coffee?
>> Mia: Well, let's circle, back for a second.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Your. Your like of honey.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Honey. You said that you like honey. So let's circle.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: Let's go back to the timeline.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: And then let's circle back to that circle of, honey.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: Jump there.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm there.
>> Mia: The number line. It's like a number line, but it's a timeline.
>> Marco Timpano: Got it.
>> Mia: You said that you like honey.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Mia: So now let's circle back to where we are.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. In the coffee area.
>> Mia: Now, we know that you like honey, so we should put honey in your coffee, because that is what you like.
>> Marco Timpano: I, happily take honey in my coffee.
>> Mia: There is also other ingredients that our listeners can put in their coffee, like.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Mia: Milk, sugar, cream, etc.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Mia: Many different, choices. But I feel if I were you, with all of your interests, I would put, honey, a little bit of sugar and milk in my coffee. Is that correct?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that is 100% correct.
Italian espresso goes really well with English muffins, right
Now, can we circle back to the English muffin conversation that we had? And could I have an English muffin with my coffee?
>> Mia: You certainly can. It actually occurred to my mom and my dad that they, well, they are both English muffin fans.
>> Marco Timpano: I, see.
>> Mia: So when they drank it with an espresso, because, well, they just wanted it to be special, so they made an espresso, it occurred to them that espresso goes really well with English muffins.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Mia: It's both from the same continent. Italy. Italy and England in the uk sure. All are in Europe.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So you kind of get the best of both worlds in that combination. You certainly do.
Now, before we end the podcast today, we want to talk about cereal
Now, before we end the podcast today, and I want to thank you for being such a spectacular guest, I, wanted to talk about cereal, because there's a cereal that both myself and your mother really enjoy that you pointed out to me once. Do you remember what that cereal is?
>> Mia: I do Not.
>> Marco Timpano: Remember I told you I liked Shreddies?
>> Mia: Oh, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And you said, you know who likes Shreddies?
>> Mia: Yes. My mom. She has Shreddies a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, she does?
>> Mia: We have, like, two boxes in our thing, our cupboard right now.
>> Marco Timpano: And how do you feel about Shreddies?
>> Mia: Honestly, it's like, so. So for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. We should explain what Shreddies are for our listeners, because we have some listeners in parts of the world that don't get Shreddies. So describe what a Shreddy cereal is, and then I'll ask you what your favorite cereal is, and then we'll end the podcast.
>> Mia: Okay. A, Shreddies is a, square cereal. It's all squares. And the squares. It has tinier squares, like waffles.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Mia: That are usually filled with sugar. When you put them in the milk, the milk gets soaked in there. And that's the part that my mother and my Zio really like.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's the Shreddies that have sugar in it. A lot of times they don't have sugar. It's a whole grain wheat cereal. So, like, Shredded Wheats. I think that's where it gets its name from. And it is an iconic Canadian cereal made with 100% whole grain wheat in Niagara Falls. That's where they make it. Did you know that?
>> Mia: No, but. But Xiomarco.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Mia: You know, you do know what they say.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't.
>> Mia: northeast, south, rest. Never eat Shredded Wheat.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. That's how you remember north, east, east, south, and west. I think I got it wrong. Never eat Shredded Wheat.
>> Mia: Now you're eating Shredded Wheat.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Mia: Never eat Shredded Wheat. Go back to the cereal.
Mia says Corn Pops and Froot Loops are her favorite cereal
Okay, so sugared cereal.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What's your favorite cereal then? Let me ask you.
>> Mia: I'm a big fan of, Corn Pops and Froot Loops.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Those are your two favorite. Why are they your favorite? And then we're gonna end, the episode today.
>> Mia: Well, Corn Pops, they're very poppy, and they taste a little bit like popcorn, but they go well with milk and as a cereal. So it's the best of both worlds. Cereal and popcorn mashed together. And they're actually tasted good.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And Fruit Loops.
>> Mia: Froot Loops. They don't actually. They're not actually Froot Loops. They're cereal. They don't have any artificial colors or flavors.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I don't know.
>> Mia: They do have colors.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Mia: But not flavors. So no artificial flavors?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not sure. I think they do.
>> Mia: Wait, what does artificial flavors mean?
>> Marco Timpano: It means the flavor doesn't come necessarily from the fruits they represent.
>> Mia: Oh, oopsies.
>> Marco Timpano: That's fine. I just don't want to. I don't want to shatter your world with Froot Loops. But they are tasty.
>> Mia: Yes, they are very tasty.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're fun to eat.
>> Mia: Yes. That's all I could say. I can't really explain Fruit Loops. They're just good. Oh, well, in my world, they're just good.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes that's all you need. Great. Well, Mia, listen, you're just great on the podcast. Thank you so much for being a guest. Nine and a half. You have all this information to share, so I really do appreciate it.
>> Mia: You're very welcome.
>> Marco Timpano: And, of course, we hope our listeners
>> Mia: were able to listen and sleep. Good night, listeners.
>> Marco Timpano: Good night.
Arizona, Cross Stitch & Hair Colour
(Original airdate: June 28, 2020)
The Insomnia Project is a podcast about mundane things
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about mundane things. And hopefully you find them mundane because I'm finding a lot of people telling me they find the topics interesting. And if you do do just go with it and let the topic sort of relax you. At the very least, you know, Insomnia is something that I often sadly connect with. So I've been there with you. But during this podcast, we're just going to have calm conversation with friends. And I'm so happy to have this guest on my podcast.
Miriam Kenley has a podcast called We Like Theme Parks
Welcome Miriam Kenley to the Insomnia Project.
>> Miriam Kenley: Hi, thanks for having me, Miriam.
>> Marco Timpano: So I know you because my good friends have this podcast called We Like Theme Parks, and I've had them on the show and you're their west coast correspondent, and I'm so happy to have you on the Insomnia Project. tell me about We Like Theme Parks.
>> Miriam Kenley: Okay. We Like Theme Parks is a podcast about theme parks. So the three of us just really love, Disney and Universal and anything that goes along with that. So we started the podcast to kind of just have fun with that topic. So our podcast is really more of a humor and less about information. So it's just a nice little escape we find.
>> Marco Timpano: And, So you're a Disney file, right? Disneyophile, I guess you would say.
>> Miriam Kenley: Yes, absolutely. Disney and Harry Potter are like, my wheelhouse.
Okay, so I love Harry Potter, which are your favorite three books
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so I love Harry Potter, which are your favorite three books, because it's so hard to say what's your favorite book? I find. But what are your favorite, Harry Potter books? I'll let you get three of them out.
>> Miriam Kenley: Okay. I think my favorite three are the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third book, the Goblet of Fire, the fourth book. And, I think my. Actually, my first favorite. My real, real favorite is the sixth book. The, Why am I blanking on the title?
>> Marco Timpano: Is. Is that the. Is that the second last book?
>> Miriam Kenley: Yes, yes, that's my.
>> Marco Timpano: So mine is 1, 1, 5, and I. I guess six or seven. Like, it's hard. It's a really toss up between six and seven for me, because there's moments in seven that just are incredible. Or. Or the last book. no worries about the title of the book. I'm sure our listeners who are big fans are probably, like, jumping up and down saying it, but we'll get to that.
>> Miriam Kenley: And since it's my actual favorite, I don't know why I'm blanking on the title.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny sometimes when you love something so much, it just. It's a part of you and it escapes you and it always comes back.
Miriam loves Arizona. You live in one of my favorite states
you are in. You live in one of my favorite states in the U.S. now. I'm a huge. I love the U.S. i love Americans. I'm married to an American. I love our American fans. And I love Arizona.
>> Miriam Kenley: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me. Yeah, I do. I went to Tucson, when I was, in my 20s, and just. It's just so unique. It's its own place. The desert feels different than other deserts I've been to. The saguaro cactuses, or cacti, are so majestic. They were in bloom when I was there. and I prefer a dry heat to a humid heat like in Florida. So I'll take the dry heat. Yeah. Any day. tell me about your Arizona.
>> Miriam Kenley: My Arizona. So I live in Phoenix, right in the middle of downtown, which I love because we are surrounded by that desert landscape, but it's still very urban, and there's tons of really wonderful local restaurants around me. And we actually do have a saguaro in our front yard, which I love. And,
>> Marco Timpano: Is it really tall?
>> Miriam Kenley: It's really tall. And I think a lot of people think that's maybe like a caricature of Phoenix. But we really do have them right in the city, which I love. And, we have the most beautiful winters. The summer I can kind of do without. I do. I don't do that well in the extreme heat. But it's not enough to deter me and make me want to move from the state. So that's good. And yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Can I ask you a silly question as someone who doesn't live in the desert, but when you said you love the winters in Arizona, do you decorate your saguaro for Christmas?
>> Miriam Kenley: You know, we do. We put Christmas lights on it and sometimes a Santa hat on top.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's so great because living in Canada, we have a lot of evergreens. And of course with the evergreens in front of, most of our homes will get Christmas lights or festive lights. Right. So I was like, you have the saguaro cactus. Do you decorate it? And I know it's a silly question, but it's like it just came to mind. So that's very fascinating to me.
>> Miriam Kenley: Absolutely. I think that's another thing. Like, oh, that can't be real. They don't decorate those for Christmas. And we absolutely do.
>> Marco Timpano: That's another example. Miriam, I was telling you that sometimes I get excited about topics on the show and I need to work. Pull back. So I think we'll, I think we'll jump away from saguaros before I get really excited.
Miriam was born and raised in Arizona and enjoys Lake Powell every summer
But you had mentioned this lake that you really enjoy in Arizona. I don't want to say the name because I know I'll make a mess of it.
>> Miriam Kenley: It's called Lake Powell and it's on the Arizona Utah border. And the best way I can describe this lake is, have if you've seen pictures of the Grand Canyon or if you've been to the Grand Canyon and we're looks very much like the Grand Canyon but full of water. So this lake isn't like your typical just round big lake. It sort of is in a river shape and it has more coastline than the entire west coast because it is very snake like and meandering through many canyons. So it actually has a ton of shoreline. and of course that's around the entire lake, not just like one shore, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, of course. Right. That makes sense. But it has, because of how it meanders and sort of side sidewinds itself around, it stands to reason that it would have a large coastline.
>> Miriam Kenley: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you like to do at that lake?
>> Miriam Kenley: Oh my gosh. So, when I listened to your episode with Chris Bond about, Cottaging it sounds very much like houseboating on Lake Powell. So what we like to do is every summer, me and my whole family, so it's usually around 20 people, we have two houseboats, and we take them out on the lake and we pick a beach and we just set up camp there for the week. And we do a lot of wakeboarding, and, a lot of the times in the afternoon, we like to take out a big raft. And about 10 of us will just have cocktails in the afternoon out on the water. And it's just my favorite time of the year. We've been going since I was born. my parents were going before that, but my first trip up there, I was three months old, so it's like. Feels like it's part of my DNA at this point to go to Lake Powell every summer.
>> Marco Timpano: So you were born and raised in Arizona?
>> Miriam Kenley: I was born here and raised in Denver, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. I have a special place in my heart for Denver as well.
>> Miriam Kenley: Oh, gosh. Denver is just the best city. So fun.
>> Marco Timpano: I have a dear friend, Michelle Miracle, who will be on this podcast this season. She's from Denver, and she. Whenever she says Denver, she says Denver as, as though it's spelled with an I. At least that's what I hear. And I always tease her about it, and she's like, I do not say Denver.
>> Miriam Kenley: That's kind of. There's, There's a city here in Arizona called Tempe, and a lot of people who don't live here call it Tempe. Like, it's just like a different cadence than if you live here. We always make fun of those people, too. You know, just give them a little. A little razz about it.
>> Marco Timpano: I love those linguistic variants on places like Toronto. Where I'm from, the locals will call it Toronto. So you'll always know when someone's not from here by their over pronunciation of the second T or their actual pronunciation, their correct pronunciation, I should say, of the second letter T in the name, right?
>> Miriam Kenley: Yeah, I would totally say Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: Like Regina. In Saskatchewan. If you look at the word, it really is Regina, like the queen, named after the queen. Latin for queen, but they pronounce it Regina. So anyone who hasn't been there or heard that pronunciation, they're going to pronounce it most likely Regina, which is something that causes a lot of chuckles, I'm
>> Miriam Kenley: sure in Saskatchewan just marks you out as a tourist right away.
>> Marco Timpano: most definitely. Most definitely. Miriam.
Tell me how you got into cross stitching and embroidery
So taking a little, walk from, Arizona, I'd like to dive into cross stitching and embroidery.
>> Miriam Kenley: Oh, yes. One of my favorite topics.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me how you got into that.
>> Miriam Kenley: So when I was very young, it was actually a Lake Powell trip, believe it or not.
>> Marco Timpano: I was all roads lead to Lake Powell.
>> Miriam Kenley: They do. So I have both of my mom's sisters. my aunts are very good at cross stitch and embroidery. And so they would always bring their projects up with them to the lake because, you know, it's a very remote place. So at night you kind of have to find things to occupy your time that don't include, like, turning on the TV or whatever. So they would bring books and cross stitch and puzzles and things like that. And my sister was like, very active and wanting to run around all the time. And I'm much more like, I always call it, like from wet, hot American summer. Like an indoor kid.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Miriam Kenley: I just like to be inside and I love puzzles and things like that. And I was always fascinated with, whenever my aunts would pull out their cross stitch or their embroidery, I'd be like over their shoulder watching what they were doing. And so one year they finally brought one up with them, that was blank and kind of were like, hey, if you want to learn, we can teach you right now. So that's how I got into it. My aunts just sat me down at like, Powell and we're like, we're going to teach you how to cross stitch so you can like stop being a parrot while we're doing this, be part of it. So that's how I started learning.
What is the difference between cross stitch and embroidery
>> Marco Timpano: What is the difference between cross stitch and embroidery?
>> Miriam Kenley: So cross stitch, you're only making cross stitches. So it's basically an X on the fabric. And you work with a fabric called Aida or Ida. I've never really known about that. Pronunciate pronunciation.
>> Marco Timpano: I always thought it was linen.
>> Miriam Kenley: So linen, you're. That's really what you're doing embroidery on.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay. So, and, and, and those stitches aren't X's or crosses. They can be lines. Is that correct?
>> Miriam Kenley: It can be any. There's so many variations with embroidery. Embroidery is much more like of a freestyle, form of sewing or embellishment. And cross stitch is typically just crosses. And sometimes you'll do maybe like a back stitch to outline something, but you're really making your picture or your main focus out of these crossed stitches.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds to me like cross stitch can be a little bit more technical where embroidery can be a little bit more free flowing and allow for the embroiderer to take their own reign to the project.
>> Miriam Kenley: Yeah. So, with. And with cross stitch, you're working with that fabric, the Aida. and what that is, is it's sort of a. It's a stiff fabric that has many holes in it, and the holes are what guides where your X's go. So they make, like, a little grid on this fabric, and you make these X's in a little square on each side. So there's four holes that you'll connect your X to, if that makes sense. And with, embroidery. You're working with linen or. I've gotten into starting to embellish clothing, so you can really embroider on any fabric you want. Most of us learn on linen because it's very thin and easy to work with. But right now, like, I've been embroidering denim jackets.
>> Marco Timpano: What have you been embroidering on these jackets?
>> Miriam Kenley: so I love Star wars, and, lately I've been watching the movies on repeat. I'm like, okay, let's take a deep dive into what this space revolution looks like. You know?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Miriam Kenley: Something I really love. And so I've been embraced. Like, right now, I'm working on a, like, an overall denim dress, and it just says on the front pocket, may the Force be with you, and, like, a funny 90s font that I found.
>> Marco Timpano: So I love that.
>> Miriam Kenley: Yeah. So just all sorts of, like, nerdy. I made a denim jacket that says the scavenger on the back for Rey from the new sequel movies and has her lightsaber and a resistance symbol on the front. So just silly things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: So I don't know if you know this about me, Miriam, but I'm a Jedi Master.
>> Miriam Kenley: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm an. I'm an official Jedi Master. So I. I became, a pastor with the Universal Life Church, which is an online church where you can get your documentation that allows you to marry people. So it's not affiliated with any religious. It is, and it can be whatever religion you want. I'm not here to espouse the virtues of Universal Life Church, but it's one of those online services where you can type your name in and you'll get this sort of accreditation which will allow you to marry people in. In certain locations. Certain states allow it, and certain ones don't, because I was marrying, friends, and so that was the easiest way for me to do so. And you can click on different sort of accreditations. And one of them was Jedi Master.
>> Miriam Kenley: Oh, my gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I was Like, I put my name in that. I have a certificate. And so when I. When I marry people, I can officially say, may the Force be with you during the ceremony.
>> Miriam Kenley: I love that so much.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I encourage you to check that out if it's something that interests you.
>> Miriam Kenley: I absolutely will. That'll be so fun. I can think of several people that I would love to introduce Star wars into their wedding, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly, exactly. And if, like, you know, sometimes in a pinch, if you need to marry someone, you'll have the ability to do so.
>> Miriam Kenley: I mean, I can't think of a better emergency function than that.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, you never know when you're at a theme park and you might need to emergency marry someone. Especially in the Star wars area of. Is, it Disney now that they have the Star Wars?
>> Miriam Kenley: Yeah, it's in. Yeah, it's in Hollywood studios in Florida and then in Disneyland in California. And that would be the most magical wedding ever. I would really enjoy that. So I hope I should probably get this Jedi Master thing going in the hopes that I could do that one day.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you know, if you did do that, you got your Jedi Master and your ability to marry someone. And I think California is one of those states where you can use that. You can mention on your podcast. We like theme parks. That. That's a service that you'll gladly provide. Look, I'm starting a whole business for you, Miriam.
>> Miriam Kenley: I love this. I really. I'm gonna hop on right after we get done recording and make this happen.
You are also an accomplished hairstylist, hairdresser, designer
>> Marco Timpano: You are also an accomplished hairstylist, hairdresser, designer, colorist, you name it. When it comes to hair, you can do it.
>> Miriam Kenley: I can, yeah. so I typically mostly do color cutting. Never really stuck for me. It's, it's so permanent. Like color. You can kind of. Anything that goes wrong, you can fix, and that's what I really love. but with haircutting, you basically have to let it grow out of a mistake is made. So that always. I shied away from it early in my career and stuck mostly to color because it was sort of my comfort zone. So that's.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's talk.
Let's talk color. What is some advice you would give to someone who is home coloring hair
Let's talk color. What is some advice you would give to the person listening who is home coloring their hair?
>> Miriam Kenley: Oh, my. It's so hard right now because a lot of people are having to do that. Right. With.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course.
>> Miriam Kenley: With quarantine and all that. So I typically don't recommend at home hair color only because we don't know what's happening in box colors. A lot of the time it's very heavy with ammonia, which is very bad for your hair. and a lot of people think, oh, well, I'll try this, you know, like a natural color. Like what, ah, what is it that they use? Sometimes there's, there's a few natural colors that you can use, but those when you come back to a regular hairdresser or really harsh on your hair to get out. So I don't recommend that either. my best advice is to just hopefully wait it out and see your hairdresser because it's also very hard to apply at home and they just haven't really caught up with like what is available for people to buy to try at home. I'm hoping that technology or, you know, whatever we're using in the salon starts to catch up with the market outside of the salon.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Miriam Kenley: Because I do think that that option should be available for people. So my best advice, you could also contact your hairdresser. And what I've been doing for a lot of my clients that I can't see right now is putting together a kit of their actual color and dropping it off at their house.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's a good thing to know your actual color or the name of the color. I'm sure you know the numbers that correspond to certain colors like ash blonde, chestnut brown. You, probably know the, the colors based on the Schwarzkopf or whatever you're using in that world.
>> Miriam Kenley: So they, most of them have a number and a couple letters attached to it. so what I usually do is I'll write out a list of instructions and everything that they'll need and make like a little kit with like brushes and bowls and things like that. And hopefully they have someone in their house that can apply it for them. But that seems to have been helping a lot of my clients who maybe have great coverage that they typically dress every few weeks or what have you. So I think that's the best thing to do is maybe contact your stylist and see if they offer an at home kit that they'll drop off.
Red hair is difficult to color if you don't know what you're doing
>> Marco Timpano: What's the best piece of advice for someone who's going to a colorist to prepare themselves or prepare their hair for someone like yourself, what's the best thing that they can do before they see you?
>> Miriam Kenley: The best thing I can offer is always bring pictures because that's typically where the breakdown happens between stylists and clients and why maybe you would, wouldn't like your hair when you're leaving the salon. It's very hard to you know what if you're coming in and you say you want to change your hair from a brunette to a red. Red can mean so many different things to different people. It could be a warm red. It could be a cool red. It could be maybe just mostly brunette with a slight warmth to it that you're considering red, that I wouldn't consider red. So things like that, can get lost in translations. So I always suggest to bring in pictures to talk specifically about what you like about a certain person's hair or what you want your hair to look like visually.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it true that colorists prefer if the person doesn't come in with freshly
>> Miriam Kenley: washed hair so that, I.
>> Marco Timpano: Or is that just a myth that that has been around?
>> Miriam Kenley: It's slightly a myth, but slightly true. So where that is really helpful is in bleach services. So, like, if you are trying to be blonde, we typically like hair to be maybe unwashed for a couple days, because I see the oils in your hair will help protect it as we lighten. But if you're coming in for, like, regular gray coverage, it's best to come in with clean hair. So then there's no barrier between the color and your gray, because gray can be very resistant to color.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, and I understand if I'm correct. Red hair is difficult to color if you don't know what you're doing.
>> Miriam Kenley: So red hair is so interesting. It's almost like, since there are so few redheads out there, because it's a recessive gene, that it's almost like it protects itself. So with red hair, you can typically go lighter. So it will take to bleach and going lighter. But if you. A redhead, a natural redhead comes in and wants to be brunette, it's very hard to color their hair. It almost doesn't take the color at all. So I've definitely been in that position where I'm like, I don't know what happened. You wash it out, and it looks exactly the same as if we had not put anything on it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's almost like you have to do multiple coloring of the red to get it. You can't just go from red and hop to a really dark color. You have to stage it. Is that fair to say, or am I,
>> Miriam Kenley: Typically, what happens is you'll have to. It's so counterintuitive, but you'll have to lighten that red hair and then put the dark color over that because the red just will not cover. It's.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're stripping the pigment from the red so that it can then absorb a darker, non red hue.
>> Miriam Kenley: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
I love to do what's called a bleach retouch
what's your favorite color to put on someone's head?
>> Miriam Kenley: Okay. I.
>> Marco Timpano: If you have one.
>> Miriam Kenley: I do. I, I love to do what's called a bleach retouch. So think Marilyn Monroe, like platinum blondes, because they're very technical and hard to pull off, but when you do, it feels like such a victory. So that's currently what my hair looks like. I did this process to my own hair in January, and so now I'm attracting a lot of people who want that. I. I honestly think anytime my hair is a certain color, I attract more of that color into my chair, which is very fun, but it's very. It's very hard because you have to apply bleach straight to the scalp, which can be dangerous. M. Of course, I'm. I've been doing it for 12 years now, so I know what to do to not make it dangerous. But if you go to a hair stylist that doesn't know what they're doing, it can be very scary. and then it's also possible to break hair that way, which, luckily, I haven't had any experience doing that to a client either. But, so what it is, is you'll apply bleach throughout the hair to make it lighter, and then it's sort of a series of toning processes to make it as blonde as possible. And I love that because when it turns out, it's spectacular.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
Miriam has a passion for hair color and has covered many techniques
So you might be wondering why I have a love for this topic of coloring and hair. I grew up in salons because my mot was a hairstylist.
>> Miriam Kenley: Amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So have you ever done this? And maybe you can explain what this is, because I've seen this all my life. They put a rubber skull cap on a person's head that has lots of little holes in it, and then they take a crochet hook and pull some hair out of the rubber skull cap, for lack of a better word, and then they color only the hairs that come out. Do you know what I'm talking about, or is it something that's no longer in use and I just know it from 30 years ago?
>> Miriam Kenley: I do know what you're talking about.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyone listening? It's probably like, what is he talking about?
>> Miriam Kenley: I know. It's such a. I would suggest everyone go look that up, because it is fascinating to watch for sure. So we never learned that one in beauty school. I do think that maybe that was, an 80s technique.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Miriam Kenley: I'm sure. And so what that is accomplishing is you're either highlighting that hair that is now pulled out of the cap, so you're either applying a lightener to make it lighter, or you're applying that as a low light, so you're making those pieces darker, and then the rest of your hair would be lighter. So that's what's going on with that process. now we typically either hand paint those highlights or low lights, so all the hair will be out, and you'll just see, like, pieces of lightener within the hair. So we can actually see it visually where that is going up. Because the problem with that cap is you really can't tell where you're putting any of those highlights. It's kind of a guessing game is
>> Marco Timpano: the new process where you're getting that aluminum foil, putting it underneath the hair, and brushing the color or bleach on
>> Miriam Kenley: the hair or that can be done. So you use foils, and the foil really conducts heat. So that is done when you want the hair to be very, very light and maybe go all the way to your root. But a lot of the time, women these days want something that's really lived in or easier to take care of. So we do a process called balayage, and that is just a French, technique for painting the lightener onto the hair. It's a hand painting thing. So that will typically put color just in the ends of your hair so as it grows out, you don't have to maintain it as often.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. This has been a fascinating journey into hair color. Miriam, thank you so much. We've unfortunately come to the end of this episode, but I would love to have you back on to talk about hairdressing, because it's a topic I haven't covered and I have some knowledge in because of my background, my mom being a hairdresser and me growing up in. In salons. Maybe we can do a French braid episode.
>> Miriam Kenley: Oh, yes. Okay. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll definitely do that.
Miriam's aunt's names brought her to the world of cross stitch
Can we mention your aunt's names who brought you to the world of cross stitch and embroidery at Lake Powell?
>> Miriam Kenley: Yeah, so my parents thought I was. I'm actually named after my two aunts. My parents thought I was going to be a boy, and when I was born a girl, they were like, oh, no, we don't have any girl names, so let's name her after your sisters. So my aunts are actually named Miriam and Anne. So those are my.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful. Well, a shout out to Miriam and Ann. Thank you for bringing Miriam on the show today. To the world of cross stitch and embroidery. And to Lake Powell, for that matter, in Arizona.
>> Miriam Kenley: Love those ladies.
>> Marco Timpano: You can catch Miriam on We Like Theme Parks Podcast. I enjoy you immensely on that. I hope to be a guest back on that show because I think I had. I didn't have enough rapport with you, but the rapport I did have was my favorite. Don't tell Chris Bond that.
>> Miriam Kenley: Never. We hope to have you back on soon, too. We have so much fun when you guys come on.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. Miriam, thank you for being on the show from Arizona. And I would like to say on behalf of everyone here, here at, ah, the Insomnia Project, may the force be with you.
>> Miriam Kenley: also with you.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. All right, folks, thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. Please let me know if there is a topic that you would like us to cover. And I hope that you have not gotten to the end of this episode, and if you have, may the Force be with you.
(Original airdate: June 28, 2020)
The Insomnia Project is a podcast about mundane things
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about mundane things. And hopefully you find them mundane because I'm finding a lot of people telling me they find the topics interesting. And if you do do just go with it and let the topic sort of relax you. At the very least, you know, Insomnia is something that I often sadly connect with. So I've been there with you. But during this podcast, we're just going to have calm conversation with friends. And I'm so happy to have this guest on my podcast.
Miriam Kenley has a podcast called We Like Theme Parks
Welcome Miriam Kenley to the Insomnia Project.
>> Miriam Kenley: Hi, thanks for having me, Miriam.
>> Marco Timpano: So I know you because my good friends have this podcast called We Like Theme Parks, and I've had them on the show and you're their west coast correspondent, and I'm so happy to have you on the Insomnia Project. tell me about We Like Theme Parks.
>> Miriam Kenley: Okay. We Like Theme Parks is a podcast about theme parks. So the three of us just really love, Disney and Universal and anything that goes along with that. So we started the podcast to kind of just have fun with that topic. So our podcast is really more of a humor and less about information. So it's just a nice little escape we find.
>> Marco Timpano: And, So you're a Disney file, right? Disneyophile, I guess you would say.
>> Miriam Kenley: Yes, absolutely. Disney and Harry Potter are like, my wheelhouse.
Okay, so I love Harry Potter, which are your favorite three books
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so I love Harry Potter, which are your favorite three books, because it's so hard to say what's your favorite book? I find. But what are your favorite, Harry Potter books? I'll let you get three of them out.
>> Miriam Kenley: Okay. I think my favorite three are the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third book, the Goblet of Fire, the fourth book. And, I think my. Actually, my first favorite. My real, real favorite is the sixth book. The, Why am I blanking on the title?
>> Marco Timpano: Is. Is that the. Is that the second last book?
>> Miriam Kenley: Yes, yes, that's my.
>> Marco Timpano: So mine is 1, 1, 5, and I. I guess six or seven. Like, it's hard. It's a really toss up between six and seven for me, because there's moments in seven that just are incredible. Or. Or the last book. no worries about the title of the book. I'm sure our listeners who are big fans are probably, like, jumping up and down saying it, but we'll get to that.
>> Miriam Kenley: And since it's my actual favorite, I don't know why I'm blanking on the title.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny sometimes when you love something so much, it just. It's a part of you and it escapes you and it always comes back.
Miriam loves Arizona. You live in one of my favorite states
you are in. You live in one of my favorite states in the U.S. now. I'm a huge. I love the U.S. i love Americans. I'm married to an American. I love our American fans. And I love Arizona.
>> Miriam Kenley: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me. Yeah, I do. I went to Tucson, when I was, in my 20s, and just. It's just so unique. It's its own place. The desert feels different than other deserts I've been to. The saguaro cactuses, or cacti, are so majestic. They were in bloom when I was there. and I prefer a dry heat to a humid heat like in Florida. So I'll take the dry heat. Yeah. Any day. tell me about your Arizona.
>> Miriam Kenley: My Arizona. So I live in Phoenix, right in the middle of downtown, which I love because we are surrounded by that desert landscape, but it's still very urban, and there's tons of really wonderful local restaurants around me. And we actually do have a saguaro in our front yard, which I love. And,
>> Marco Timpano: Is it really tall?
>> Miriam Kenley: It's really tall. And I think a lot of people think that's maybe like a caricature of Phoenix. But we really do have them right in the city, which I love. And, we have the most beautiful winters. The summer I can kind of do without. I do. I don't do that well in the extreme heat. But it's not enough to deter me and make me want to move from the state. So that's good. And yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Can I ask you a silly question as someone who doesn't live in the desert, but when you said you love the winters in Arizona, do you decorate your saguaro for Christmas?
>> Miriam Kenley: You know, we do. We put Christmas lights on it and sometimes a Santa hat on top.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's so great because living in Canada, we have a lot of evergreens. And of course with the evergreens in front of, most of our homes will get Christmas lights or festive lights. Right. So I was like, you have the saguaro cactus. Do you decorate it? And I know it's a silly question, but it's like it just came to mind. So that's very fascinating to me.
>> Miriam Kenley: Absolutely. I think that's another thing. Like, oh, that can't be real. They don't decorate those for Christmas. And we absolutely do.
>> Marco Timpano: That's another example. Miriam, I was telling you that sometimes I get excited about topics on the show and I need to work. Pull back. So I think we'll, I think we'll jump away from saguaros before I get really excited.
Miriam was born and raised in Arizona and enjoys Lake Powell every summer
But you had mentioned this lake that you really enjoy in Arizona. I don't want to say the name because I know I'll make a mess of it.
>> Miriam Kenley: It's called Lake Powell and it's on the Arizona Utah border. And the best way I can describe this lake is, have if you've seen pictures of the Grand Canyon or if you've been to the Grand Canyon and we're looks very much like the Grand Canyon but full of water. So this lake isn't like your typical just round big lake. It sort of is in a river shape and it has more coastline than the entire west coast because it is very snake like and meandering through many canyons. So it actually has a ton of shoreline. and of course that's around the entire lake, not just like one shore, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, of course. Right. That makes sense. But it has, because of how it meanders and sort of side sidewinds itself around, it stands to reason that it would have a large coastline.
>> Miriam Kenley: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you like to do at that lake?
>> Miriam Kenley: Oh my gosh. So, when I listened to your episode with Chris Bond about, Cottaging it sounds very much like houseboating on Lake Powell. So what we like to do is every summer, me and my whole family, so it's usually around 20 people, we have two houseboats, and we take them out on the lake and we pick a beach and we just set up camp there for the week. And we do a lot of wakeboarding, and, a lot of the times in the afternoon, we like to take out a big raft. And about 10 of us will just have cocktails in the afternoon out on the water. And it's just my favorite time of the year. We've been going since I was born. my parents were going before that, but my first trip up there, I was three months old, so it's like. Feels like it's part of my DNA at this point to go to Lake Powell every summer.
>> Marco Timpano: So you were born and raised in Arizona?
>> Miriam Kenley: I was born here and raised in Denver, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. I have a special place in my heart for Denver as well.
>> Miriam Kenley: Oh, gosh. Denver is just the best city. So fun.
>> Marco Timpano: I have a dear friend, Michelle Miracle, who will be on this podcast this season. She's from Denver, and she. Whenever she says Denver, she says Denver as, as though it's spelled with an I. At least that's what I hear. And I always tease her about it, and she's like, I do not say Denver.
>> Miriam Kenley: That's kind of. There's, There's a city here in Arizona called Tempe, and a lot of people who don't live here call it Tempe. Like, it's just like a different cadence than if you live here. We always make fun of those people, too. You know, just give them a little. A little razz about it.
>> Marco Timpano: I love those linguistic variants on places like Toronto. Where I'm from, the locals will call it Toronto. So you'll always know when someone's not from here by their over pronunciation of the second T or their actual pronunciation, their correct pronunciation, I should say, of the second letter T in the name, right?
>> Miriam Kenley: Yeah, I would totally say Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: Like Regina. In Saskatchewan. If you look at the word, it really is Regina, like the queen, named after the queen. Latin for queen, but they pronounce it Regina. So anyone who hasn't been there or heard that pronunciation, they're going to pronounce it most likely Regina, which is something that causes a lot of chuckles, I'm
>> Miriam Kenley: sure in Saskatchewan just marks you out as a tourist right away.
>> Marco Timpano: most definitely. Most definitely. Miriam.
Tell me how you got into cross stitching and embroidery
So taking a little, walk from, Arizona, I'd like to dive into cross stitching and embroidery.
>> Miriam Kenley: Oh, yes. One of my favorite topics.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me how you got into that.
>> Miriam Kenley: So when I was very young, it was actually a Lake Powell trip, believe it or not.
>> Marco Timpano: I was all roads lead to Lake Powell.
>> Miriam Kenley: They do. So I have both of my mom's sisters. my aunts are very good at cross stitch and embroidery. And so they would always bring their projects up with them to the lake because, you know, it's a very remote place. So at night you kind of have to find things to occupy your time that don't include, like, turning on the TV or whatever. So they would bring books and cross stitch and puzzles and things like that. And my sister was like, very active and wanting to run around all the time. And I'm much more like, I always call it, like from wet, hot American summer. Like an indoor kid.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Miriam Kenley: I just like to be inside and I love puzzles and things like that. And I was always fascinated with, whenever my aunts would pull out their cross stitch or their embroidery, I'd be like over their shoulder watching what they were doing. And so one year they finally brought one up with them, that was blank and kind of were like, hey, if you want to learn, we can teach you right now. So that's how I got into it. My aunts just sat me down at like, Powell and we're like, we're going to teach you how to cross stitch so you can like stop being a parrot while we're doing this, be part of it. So that's how I started learning.
What is the difference between cross stitch and embroidery
>> Marco Timpano: What is the difference between cross stitch and embroidery?
>> Miriam Kenley: So cross stitch, you're only making cross stitches. So it's basically an X on the fabric. And you work with a fabric called Aida or Ida. I've never really known about that. Pronunciate pronunciation.
>> Marco Timpano: I always thought it was linen.
>> Miriam Kenley: So linen, you're. That's really what you're doing embroidery on.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay. So, and, and, and those stitches aren't X's or crosses. They can be lines. Is that correct?
>> Miriam Kenley: It can be any. There's so many variations with embroidery. Embroidery is much more like of a freestyle, form of sewing or embellishment. And cross stitch is typically just crosses. And sometimes you'll do maybe like a back stitch to outline something, but you're really making your picture or your main focus out of these crossed stitches.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds to me like cross stitch can be a little bit more technical where embroidery can be a little bit more free flowing and allow for the embroiderer to take their own reign to the project.
>> Miriam Kenley: Yeah. So, with. And with cross stitch, you're working with that fabric, the Aida. and what that is, is it's sort of a. It's a stiff fabric that has many holes in it, and the holes are what guides where your X's go. So they make, like, a little grid on this fabric, and you make these X's in a little square on each side. So there's four holes that you'll connect your X to, if that makes sense. And with, embroidery. You're working with linen or. I've gotten into starting to embellish clothing, so you can really embroider on any fabric you want. Most of us learn on linen because it's very thin and easy to work with. But right now, like, I've been embroidering denim jackets.
>> Marco Timpano: What have you been embroidering on these jackets?
>> Miriam Kenley: so I love Star wars, and, lately I've been watching the movies on repeat. I'm like, okay, let's take a deep dive into what this space revolution looks like. You know?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Miriam Kenley: Something I really love. And so I've been embraced. Like, right now, I'm working on a, like, an overall denim dress, and it just says on the front pocket, may the Force be with you, and, like, a funny 90s font that I found.
>> Marco Timpano: So I love that.
>> Miriam Kenley: Yeah. So just all sorts of, like, nerdy. I made a denim jacket that says the scavenger on the back for Rey from the new sequel movies and has her lightsaber and a resistance symbol on the front. So just silly things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: So I don't know if you know this about me, Miriam, but I'm a Jedi Master.
>> Miriam Kenley: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm an. I'm an official Jedi Master. So I. I became, a pastor with the Universal Life Church, which is an online church where you can get your documentation that allows you to marry people. So it's not affiliated with any religious. It is, and it can be whatever religion you want. I'm not here to espouse the virtues of Universal Life Church, but it's one of those online services where you can type your name in and you'll get this sort of accreditation which will allow you to marry people in. In certain locations. Certain states allow it, and certain ones don't, because I was marrying, friends, and so that was the easiest way for me to do so. And you can click on different sort of accreditations. And one of them was Jedi Master.
>> Miriam Kenley: Oh, my gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I was Like, I put my name in that. I have a certificate. And so when I. When I marry people, I can officially say, may the Force be with you during the ceremony.
>> Miriam Kenley: I love that so much.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I encourage you to check that out if it's something that interests you.
>> Miriam Kenley: I absolutely will. That'll be so fun. I can think of several people that I would love to introduce Star wars into their wedding, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly, exactly. And if, like, you know, sometimes in a pinch, if you need to marry someone, you'll have the ability to do so.
>> Miriam Kenley: I mean, I can't think of a better emergency function than that.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, you never know when you're at a theme park and you might need to emergency marry someone. Especially in the Star wars area of. Is, it Disney now that they have the Star Wars?
>> Miriam Kenley: Yeah, it's in. Yeah, it's in Hollywood studios in Florida and then in Disneyland in California. And that would be the most magical wedding ever. I would really enjoy that. So I hope I should probably get this Jedi Master thing going in the hopes that I could do that one day.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you know, if you did do that, you got your Jedi Master and your ability to marry someone. And I think California is one of those states where you can use that. You can mention on your podcast. We like theme parks. That. That's a service that you'll gladly provide. Look, I'm starting a whole business for you, Miriam.
>> Miriam Kenley: I love this. I really. I'm gonna hop on right after we get done recording and make this happen.
You are also an accomplished hairstylist, hairdresser, designer
>> Marco Timpano: You are also an accomplished hairstylist, hairdresser, designer, colorist, you name it. When it comes to hair, you can do it.
>> Miriam Kenley: I can, yeah. so I typically mostly do color cutting. Never really stuck for me. It's, it's so permanent. Like color. You can kind of. Anything that goes wrong, you can fix, and that's what I really love. but with haircutting, you basically have to let it grow out of a mistake is made. So that always. I shied away from it early in my career and stuck mostly to color because it was sort of my comfort zone. So that's.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's talk.
Let's talk color. What is some advice you would give to someone who is home coloring hair
Let's talk color. What is some advice you would give to the person listening who is home coloring their hair?
>> Miriam Kenley: Oh, my. It's so hard right now because a lot of people are having to do that. Right. With.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course.
>> Miriam Kenley: With quarantine and all that. So I typically don't recommend at home hair color only because we don't know what's happening in box colors. A lot of the time it's very heavy with ammonia, which is very bad for your hair. and a lot of people think, oh, well, I'll try this, you know, like a natural color. Like what, ah, what is it that they use? Sometimes there's, there's a few natural colors that you can use, but those when you come back to a regular hairdresser or really harsh on your hair to get out. So I don't recommend that either. my best advice is to just hopefully wait it out and see your hairdresser because it's also very hard to apply at home and they just haven't really caught up with like what is available for people to buy to try at home. I'm hoping that technology or, you know, whatever we're using in the salon starts to catch up with the market outside of the salon.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Miriam Kenley: Because I do think that that option should be available for people. So my best advice, you could also contact your hairdresser. And what I've been doing for a lot of my clients that I can't see right now is putting together a kit of their actual color and dropping it off at their house.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's a good thing to know your actual color or the name of the color. I'm sure you know the numbers that correspond to certain colors like ash blonde, chestnut brown. You, probably know the, the colors based on the Schwarzkopf or whatever you're using in that world.
>> Miriam Kenley: So they, most of them have a number and a couple letters attached to it. so what I usually do is I'll write out a list of instructions and everything that they'll need and make like a little kit with like brushes and bowls and things like that. And hopefully they have someone in their house that can apply it for them. But that seems to have been helping a lot of my clients who maybe have great coverage that they typically dress every few weeks or what have you. So I think that's the best thing to do is maybe contact your stylist and see if they offer an at home kit that they'll drop off.
Red hair is difficult to color if you don't know what you're doing
>> Marco Timpano: What's the best piece of advice for someone who's going to a colorist to prepare themselves or prepare their hair for someone like yourself, what's the best thing that they can do before they see you?
>> Miriam Kenley: The best thing I can offer is always bring pictures because that's typically where the breakdown happens between stylists and clients and why maybe you would, wouldn't like your hair when you're leaving the salon. It's very hard to you know what if you're coming in and you say you want to change your hair from a brunette to a red. Red can mean so many different things to different people. It could be a warm red. It could be a cool red. It could be maybe just mostly brunette with a slight warmth to it that you're considering red, that I wouldn't consider red. So things like that, can get lost in translations. So I always suggest to bring in pictures to talk specifically about what you like about a certain person's hair or what you want your hair to look like visually.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it true that colorists prefer if the person doesn't come in with freshly
>> Miriam Kenley: washed hair so that, I.
>> Marco Timpano: Or is that just a myth that that has been around?
>> Miriam Kenley: It's slightly a myth, but slightly true. So where that is really helpful is in bleach services. So, like, if you are trying to be blonde, we typically like hair to be maybe unwashed for a couple days, because I see the oils in your hair will help protect it as we lighten. But if you're coming in for, like, regular gray coverage, it's best to come in with clean hair. So then there's no barrier between the color and your gray, because gray can be very resistant to color.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, and I understand if I'm correct. Red hair is difficult to color if you don't know what you're doing.
>> Miriam Kenley: So red hair is so interesting. It's almost like, since there are so few redheads out there, because it's a recessive gene, that it's almost like it protects itself. So with red hair, you can typically go lighter. So it will take to bleach and going lighter. But if you. A redhead, a natural redhead comes in and wants to be brunette, it's very hard to color their hair. It almost doesn't take the color at all. So I've definitely been in that position where I'm like, I don't know what happened. You wash it out, and it looks exactly the same as if we had not put anything on it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's almost like you have to do multiple coloring of the red to get it. You can't just go from red and hop to a really dark color. You have to stage it. Is that fair to say, or am I,
>> Miriam Kenley: Typically, what happens is you'll have to. It's so counterintuitive, but you'll have to lighten that red hair and then put the dark color over that because the red just will not cover. It's.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're stripping the pigment from the red so that it can then absorb a darker, non red hue.
>> Miriam Kenley: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
I love to do what's called a bleach retouch
what's your favorite color to put on someone's head?
>> Miriam Kenley: Okay. I.
>> Marco Timpano: If you have one.
>> Miriam Kenley: I do. I, I love to do what's called a bleach retouch. So think Marilyn Monroe, like platinum blondes, because they're very technical and hard to pull off, but when you do, it feels like such a victory. So that's currently what my hair looks like. I did this process to my own hair in January, and so now I'm attracting a lot of people who want that. I. I honestly think anytime my hair is a certain color, I attract more of that color into my chair, which is very fun, but it's very. It's very hard because you have to apply bleach straight to the scalp, which can be dangerous. M. Of course, I'm. I've been doing it for 12 years now, so I know what to do to not make it dangerous. But if you go to a hair stylist that doesn't know what they're doing, it can be very scary. and then it's also possible to break hair that way, which, luckily, I haven't had any experience doing that to a client either. But, so what it is, is you'll apply bleach throughout the hair to make it lighter, and then it's sort of a series of toning processes to make it as blonde as possible. And I love that because when it turns out, it's spectacular.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
Miriam has a passion for hair color and has covered many techniques
So you might be wondering why I have a love for this topic of coloring and hair. I grew up in salons because my mot was a hairstylist.
>> Miriam Kenley: Amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So have you ever done this? And maybe you can explain what this is, because I've seen this all my life. They put a rubber skull cap on a person's head that has lots of little holes in it, and then they take a crochet hook and pull some hair out of the rubber skull cap, for lack of a better word, and then they color only the hairs that come out. Do you know what I'm talking about, or is it something that's no longer in use and I just know it from 30 years ago?
>> Miriam Kenley: I do know what you're talking about.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyone listening? It's probably like, what is he talking about?
>> Miriam Kenley: I know. It's such a. I would suggest everyone go look that up, because it is fascinating to watch for sure. So we never learned that one in beauty school. I do think that maybe that was, an 80s technique.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Miriam Kenley: I'm sure. And so what that is accomplishing is you're either highlighting that hair that is now pulled out of the cap, so you're either applying a lightener to make it lighter, or you're applying that as a low light, so you're making those pieces darker, and then the rest of your hair would be lighter. So that's what's going on with that process. now we typically either hand paint those highlights or low lights, so all the hair will be out, and you'll just see, like, pieces of lightener within the hair. So we can actually see it visually where that is going up. Because the problem with that cap is you really can't tell where you're putting any of those highlights. It's kind of a guessing game is
>> Marco Timpano: the new process where you're getting that aluminum foil, putting it underneath the hair, and brushing the color or bleach on
>> Miriam Kenley: the hair or that can be done. So you use foils, and the foil really conducts heat. So that is done when you want the hair to be very, very light and maybe go all the way to your root. But a lot of the time, women these days want something that's really lived in or easier to take care of. So we do a process called balayage, and that is just a French, technique for painting the lightener onto the hair. It's a hand painting thing. So that will typically put color just in the ends of your hair so as it grows out, you don't have to maintain it as often.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. This has been a fascinating journey into hair color. Miriam, thank you so much. We've unfortunately come to the end of this episode, but I would love to have you back on to talk about hairdressing, because it's a topic I haven't covered and I have some knowledge in because of my background, my mom being a hairdresser and me growing up in. In salons. Maybe we can do a French braid episode.
>> Miriam Kenley: Oh, yes. Okay. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll definitely do that.
Miriam's aunt's names brought her to the world of cross stitch
Can we mention your aunt's names who brought you to the world of cross stitch and embroidery at Lake Powell?
>> Miriam Kenley: Yeah, so my parents thought I was. I'm actually named after my two aunts. My parents thought I was going to be a boy, and when I was born a girl, they were like, oh, no, we don't have any girl names, so let's name her after your sisters. So my aunts are actually named Miriam and Anne. So those are my.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful. Well, a shout out to Miriam and Ann. Thank you for bringing Miriam on the show today. To the world of cross stitch and embroidery. And to Lake Powell, for that matter, in Arizona.
>> Miriam Kenley: Love those ladies.
>> Marco Timpano: You can catch Miriam on We Like Theme Parks Podcast. I enjoy you immensely on that. I hope to be a guest back on that show because I think I had. I didn't have enough rapport with you, but the rapport I did have was my favorite. Don't tell Chris Bond that.
>> Miriam Kenley: Never. We hope to have you back on soon, too. We have so much fun when you guys come on.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. Miriam, thank you for being on the show from Arizona. And I would like to say on behalf of everyone here, here at, ah, the Insomnia Project, may the force be with you.
>> Miriam Kenley: also with you.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. All right, folks, thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. Please let me know if there is a topic that you would like us to cover. And I hope that you have not gotten to the end of this episode, and if you have, may the Force be with you.
A Magical Conversation
(Original airdate: June 3, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. Hopefully, and hopefully that will lead you to find your bliss and rest. And I am Marco Timpano. This is the Insomnia Project, the only podcast we hope you never get to the end of. and joining me in the studio today is Billy Kidd.
Billy, welcome to the Insomnia Project. Just woke up
Billy, welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Billy Kidd: Thanks for having me. Just woke up.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's great.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're in a. You're in a calm state of mind, would you say?
>> Billy Kidd: I'm pretty calm right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool. Cool.
Billy Kid Show is a very accomplished magician. What road led you to magic
Billy, you have a website which is BillyKidShow.com and you're a, among other things, a very accomplished magician.
>> Billy Kidd: That is correct.
>> Marco Timpano: What road led you to magic?
>> Billy Kidd: I had no idea I was ever going to be a magician. Never saw magic in my life. And then one day at a festival in Canada, I saw a, street magician performing and that was it.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Billy Kidd: It went downhill from there. I got depressed because I knew I have to become a magician.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. So how did you find your way to magic at that point? You're like, I want to be a magician. Did you go to the library? Did you watch YouTube videos? Did you just go to magic shop and purchase.
>> Billy Kidd: I hid Behind a tree.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Billy Kidd: And I was too embarrassed to let anyone know I wanted to become a magician. And then a juggler walked past, and he saw I had a deck of cards in my hand. He's like, I'm going to tell the other magician that you like this stuff. And I screamed silently and was like, no, don't do it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Billy Kidd: And he did. with. Which was a good thing, because then they told me what book to get. And I found the book. The book in a secondhand, bookshop.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Billy Kidd: So it was a sign.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it an old book?
>> Billy Kidd: It's an old book written a long time ago. There's many reprints of this book.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Billy Kidd: But.
>> Marco Timpano: So if anyone's listening to magic, if anyone's listening right now and thinking, oh, I want to get into magic, or my nephew or niece or someone we know wants to get into magic, can you reveal the book that started your journey?
>> Billy Kidd: I will. Are you ready for this?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Billy Kidd: No. Drumroll, please.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. No drumroll.
>> Billy Kidd: Royal Road to card Magic.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Billy Kidd: That is the name of the book.
>> Marco Timpano: And, what is one. One tip you would give anyone who's going to be doing card magic?
>> Billy Kidd: The one tip I'd give to anyone doing card magic, I would say is leave your bedroom.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: Perform for real people.
>> Marco Timpano: Perform for real people.
>> Billy Kidd: Too many magicians are weirdos, as you know, because of the stereotype, because they don't really leave their bedrooms.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. And you're just like, go out there and do it.
>> Billy Kidd: Yep.
Billy Kidd hides three of clubs playing cards in almost every airport
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have a favorite card?
>> Billy Kidd: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What is that?
>> Billy Kidd: It's usually the three of clubs.
>> Marco Timpano: And can I ask why?
>> Billy Kidd: There's not really a reason why.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just a card that you like.
>> Billy Kidd: it's a card I like. It's a card I was kind of given. I'm part of a group called the 52, and we're all assigned cards. That is my card. In fact, I hide the the three of clubs playing card in almost every airport that I frequent.
>> Marco Timpano: That's awesome.
>> Billy Kidd: Like a geocache, but a three of clubs. Cash.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you're in an airport and you find the three of clubs somewhere hidden.
>> Billy Kidd: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That's Billy Kidd's club.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. My name is on it. And then I get people to sign it and put it back.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's so great.
>> Billy Kidd: To relieve airport boredom. M. You know, so when you're traveling, something to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so look out for the three of clubs at your airport.
Are there better playing cards for use in magic than bicycle cards
Now, here's a question with regards to cards themselves. Are there better playing cards? To use in magic. So I know that there's. The one that I immediately think of is bicycle cards. But I know that there must be many more types of cards out there.
>> Billy Kidd: there's so many cards out there. There's even more cards than ever because there's a new kind of thing happening called cardistry. It's kind of like juggling, but with cards.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: And they have, like, beautiful designs, new designs, so they look really pretty when you're doing flourishes. So there's so many. I don't want to really advertise for too many of them.
>> Marco Timpano: No, fair enough. You don't have to.
>> Billy Kidd: But bicycle is probably the most common brand. Or Bee or B.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That's right. And they've got a nice plastification on the card that makes them easy air cushion finish.
>> Billy Kidd: The paper quality. Oh, it's beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen black faced cards so that the, the negative space, let's say behind the queen, which is traditionally white, is jet black. And all the colors have a different sort of look to them.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. So that goes back to all these new designs. Like people are making, you know, go fund mes for new designs for decks of playing cards. And some decks of Playing cards cost $10 a deck.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Billy Kidd: It's gotten out of control, people.
>> Marco Timpano: And so for you, who has a, multitude of three of clubs, do you just order that. That card, that particular card in multiple decks? I guess.
>> Billy Kidd: Or that would be the smart thing to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: I'm not very smart. All right. I just buy all the decks and take the three of clubs out.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. Thanks for reminding me.
>> Marco Timpano: M. No. M sorry, I didn't mean to.
>> Billy Kidd: It's fine. It's fine.
Your home is Bath in England. What drew you to Bath initially
>> Marco Timpano: Now, your. Your home is Bath in England.
>> Billy Kidd: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And I've been to Bath. Oh. And it's a beautiful part of the country, I have to say.
>> Billy Kidd: It is.
>> Marco Timpano: What drew you to Bath initially?
>> Billy Kidd: there was no magicians that I knew of that were working there.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Billy Kidd: So I walked through town, was like, hey, no magic. Well then. And then I just set up camp. And that's what you did, and that's what I did. And I've been there for a very long time now.
Have you been to the Magic Castle in Los Angeles
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a magician living or dead that you would love to work with that you haven't worked with as of yet?
>> Billy Kidd: A magician living or dead? I would have loved to work with Tommy Wonder.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: He was a fantastic magician. He was also a creator, of magic and mechanisms and just an amazing brain all around. He would have been very cool to work with, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you been to that place in Los Angeles, like the Magic Castle?
>> Billy Kidd: I think it's called the Magic Castle.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that right?
>> Billy Kidd: That is right. I've actually worked there.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: Maybe I work there once or twice a year, but I freak in there often every time I'm in la. It is a magical, magical place.
>> Marco Timpano: What are your thoughts of it? It's just.
>> Billy Kidd: There's no other place like it in the world.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: It's very unique. It's very difficult to get into, even as just an audience member. You need to know a member or be a member to get in. But once you're in there, it really is one of the most magical places ever.
>> Marco Timpano: We drove up to it one time when we were laid just to look at it. But then our friends who live in LA are like, oh, no, you can't just. You can't just walk in. You need a special invitation or you need to know how to.
>> Billy Kidd: It is very prestigious for magicians to work there because it's difficult to get even a booking there.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Billy Kidd: And yeah, when you walk in, there's a bookcase and an owl, and you have to say, open sesame to the owl and the entire bookcase moves. And then you enter this amazing building with so much history for magicians. Magicians, we love going there because of the history. One of our professors, we call him the professor, who's actually a Canadian guy, he's dead now.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: But he was one of the best magicians in the world and he used to sit there in the corner and show people stuff and secrets. So it is a very prestigious place for magicians to frequent. But if you ever get the opportunity to go inside there. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Go see a show or go.
>> Billy Kidd: And there's shows happening everywhere in the place. It's fantastic. There's nothing else like it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's, one could say, magic.
>> Billy Kidd: It is itself very.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
You have a hobby where you take photos of dogs pooping
now you have an interesting hobby we were talking about, something that you like to do.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Would you share that with my audience?
>> Billy Kidd: I guess so. Well, I have this hobby where I like to take photos of dogs pooping as their owners are waiting for the dog to poop.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Billy Kidd: Now, the reason why I love these photos is because I wish somebody else was watching me taking the photo of the dog pooping and going, what is this about? That hasn't happened, but I imagine it. And there's something so beautiful of seeing a dog pooping and the owner does not know that I'm there taking a photo. It's a very private moment for dog and owner.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Billy Kidd: Yet there I am behind a bush, pressing. Click.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you're hidden too?
>> Billy Kidd: Pretty much hidden. I don't want the owner to see what I'm doing because that'd be weird.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Billy Kidd: But again, in the perfect world, I want someone else to watch me taking the photo of the dog pooping and the owner not knowing. That's the scene I have in my head.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't know if that's happened yet. It could have happened. Someone could be hiding, taking a photo of you taking a photo of a dog.
>> Billy Kidd: That is my dream come true.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'll tell you a story. I have a very good friend of mine who, went to Quebec City for an anniversary with his wife, I think it was before they were engaged, I think. And they happened to, you know, it was summertime, they grabbed their stuff to go away from their hotel and just sightsee for the day. And so they went out and they did that. Five years later, after they were married, they were back in Quebec City, once again, I think on their anniversary. And they happened to pop into one of these little tourist shops where you would buy magnets or a drink of water and. And they saw on a postcard a scenic picture of Quebec City. And walking in the distance is them from five years prior.
>> Billy Kidd: Oh wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And they were like, we know it was us because even though we're a little bit in the distance, that's the clothes we were wearing. And we got into a fight because we had the wrong bag with us that day. And that was the bag that's in the photo. And so now they have it framed in their house of this, this postcard that says Quebec City with them in the distance.
>> Billy Kidd: That's amazing. Are they making money off of this?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, no. It's just the back of them. And who knows, it was taken five years prior. Now it's like maybe 15 years ago, but it's quite spooky.
>> Billy Kidd: M well maybe dog owners out there. If you happen to see a postcard of you and your dog pooping, you
>> Marco Timpano: know who took it?
>> Billy Kidd: It's me.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Yeah, there you go.
>> Billy Kidd: Guilty.
Do you have any travel rituals that you do
>> Marco Timpano: And so you've traveled quite a bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have any travel rituals that you do?
>> Billy Kidd: Travel rituals.
>> Marco Timpano: Like for example, when you go on a plane, do you do I tend to try to really clean the area. I'm going to be sit for a while or I'll always wear compression socks when I travel on the plane or when I get to my hotel. There's certain things I do before I take my clothes out of my luggage.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. Well, besides hiding cards in airports, I guess that is a ritual, which I think is cool for me now I just like emptying my entire suitcase out as soon as I land. Someone told me that people who do that are a bit psycho.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Billy Kidd: I don't know. Someone else told me that I don't care how jet lag I am, I need to empty that suitcase. Like, full stop, all of it. It's got to get out. So that is a weird ritual that I guess I have.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: but mostly I just fall asleep. I try to. Planes are the only things that make me fall asleep. Funny enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I have such difficulty falling asleep on planes.
>> Billy Kidd: Me too. Well, not on planes, but in normal life I can't fall asleep, but on planes I'm gone.
>> Marco Timpano: Even if you're next to people who are loud or obnoxious.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. Noise doesn't bother me.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. It's.
>> Billy Kidd: Nah, sunlight bothers me, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. So shades down.
>> Billy Kidd: Shades down for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: A lot of people who listen to this podcast will listen on the plane because they find it very relaxing when they take off. Because some people have a bit of an anxiety around the takeoff of a plane. And so people. I get a lot of emails saying, I listen to your podcast when I'm flying. It really helps me, et cetera.
>> Billy Kidd: Oh, that's good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, there you go.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. Anxiety is your flight as you're departing and landing. You should have anxiety dream. That's the most scary part.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, fair enough. But once you're up, you're up. And it's smooth sailing is how I like to look at it.
State farm personal price plan can help you save on home purchases
Are you working on any current magic that you can talk about?
>> Billy Kidd: Oh, my goodness, I am. I'm working on a short film that I've somehow devised in my brain a couple months ago. that is magic related. And I'm working on two new routines that are literally going to take me months before they hit the stage because of logistics and blocking and all this. So, yeah, it's a lot of, it's a lot of in your head time. And you have to, you know, like I said, get out of your bedroom.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Billy Kidd: To get out into the real world.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're devising this trick that's going to be coming up, let's say, in your bedroom. Where do you take it from there? So, for example, a standup will go to sort of smaller shows and. And practice material until they fine tune it. But where does a magician go when they have an idea for
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>> Marco Timpano: Trick and they're developing it.
>> Billy Kidd: Well, the good thing about magic is that, you can take it almost anywhere and perform magic anywhere, anytime. It's kind of universal in that sense. It kind of transcends even language. But sometimes routines, like what I'm doing is more specific to stage. But I'm very lucky because in Bath Spa, where I live, I run a weekly parlor magic theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Billy Kidd: Every Friday, Saturday, which is kind of like my play space where I can work on new material. I've got a new audience every single week, and I just try out all my stuff there.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you're listening and you happen to be in Bath, where would they go? Or do they go to your website to find out where they can check this.
>> Billy Kidd: Well, we are the second best thing to do on TripAdvisor in all of Bath Spa. So after the Roman baths is my little magic theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
>> Billy Kidd: So, yeah, we're raking it in.
>> Marco Timpano: That's wonderful.
>> Billy Kidd: it's called crowdkeepers magic theater, and it's very central. It's around the corner from the Roman baths. So we got it seats only maybe 40 people upstairs.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's an intimate space, which I think is the best. You know, I've seen magic in big, big theaters, or big, concert halls. And I've seen magic done in little, theaters that are attached to pubs and whatnot. I saw one, and I'll tell you, the one that I saw in that intimate space had such an effect on me because you were close to everything. So you were like, there's no way they could have pulled the rug on me because of the vastness of the space. Like, how did that magician do that trick? M. For me, it's so much more mind blowing when you're in a smaller space.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. Nice and intimate. And, you know, there's no trap doors or anything funny. So it is pretty bare.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Billy Kidd: But, yeah, it's upstairs of a pub called the ale house in Bath. So we've Got a parlor theatre up there and then in the cellar we've got a magic bar which is a totally different vibe. So people sit around a bar that's specific only to magic. So you kind of get a bit of everything.
>> Marco Timpano: So wait a minute, I'm getting a drink, I'm getting a pint at the bar and will magic happen in front of me?
>> Billy Kidd: At some point, you have to go to the area where the magic is happening. So there's a bar for drinks and then around the corner there's a bar that's only for magic.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so you're. So now you're really intimate with the trick that's going on.
>> Billy Kidd: So the whole thing with Ale House, so upstairs you can kind of see more stand up, parlor type of magic stage stuff and then close up stuff down in the cellar so you can spend your entire evening there. So that's kind of where I nowadays where I practice my new stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so wonderful.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. I'm very lucky to be, to have that space.
>> Marco Timpano: And you started this theater.
>> Marco Timpano: That's great. How long has it been running?
>> Billy Kidd: over five years now.
>> Marco Timpano: What a wonderful, wonderful thing. How does it feel as an entrepreneur to have your establishment represented by people who go there and TripAdvisor saying that they love your place.
>> Billy Kidd: It's still a shock. Even though we've been there five years. I'm amazed that we even get audiences because magic is kind of niche and it has a stereotype and it is a bit geeky and, and all that. So I'm hoping to kind of change that through the type of magic or the style of magic that I do, you know, at the theater and at the magic bar. So it does bring people in. I think it's the perfect thing because if you don't want to go see a play, let's say if you're not into stand up comedy, magic is kind of that weird in between.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Billy Kidd: Where you might like it, you might hate it. But it's worth a try.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Billy Kidd: It brings people who normally wouldn't go to the theater, let's say they might come to a magic show.
Ireland and now Vermont are your top favorite audiences to perform for
>> Marco Timpano: Who's your favorite audience? Because you know, people have it in their minds like, oh, wow, it'd be great to perform in front of, you know, celebrities or you know, royalty or something like that. When in fact for a lot of performers it's like the last thing I want to perform in front of is celebrities or people of note. My preference is this type of audience who's your favorite type of audience to perform.
>> Billy Kidd: Well, it's funny you say that because I was just working in Vermont, doing four shows there. And the audiences in Vermont are incredible. The closest thing they remind me to is the audiences in Ireland.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: I think Ireland and now Vermont are like my top favorite audiences to perform for. I don't know exactly why, I don't know what it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: In Vermont, they were just so, just so like on the ball. They were with you like every step of the way. You could do literally nothing and it felt like they give you a standing ovation for just walking on stage. So they are now my new favorite audience.
>> Marco Timpano: I wonder if it's, verdant green farmlands and boats.
>> Billy Kidd: Well, when the house lights came up, I didn't know if they were hipsters or farmers.
>> Marco Timpano: Really.
>> Billy Kidd: It was that. Yeah. Different compared to most, you know, theaters I work in. So they were, they were great. I loved, I loved all of them.
Where were you in Vermont? Because we have listeners in New England
>> Marco Timpano: Where were you in Vermont? Because we have listeners in New England and Vermont is one of the states in New England that I have not been to that I'm really wanting to go.
>> Billy Kidd: Okay. So I was basically in a town called Hardwick.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: Which is maybe an hour, an hour and a half drive from Burlington.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: And there's many other towns around there. But Hardwick is where it's at.
>> Marco Timpano: Is where it's at.
>> Billy Kidd: And surrounding farms.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, if you're listening from Hardwick, we thank you for being a great audience and for listening.
Magic has the ability to transcend language as far as performance is concerned
so let me ask you this. Where have you performed that you didn't speak the language, but the people there really were floored by what you did. Because I know you perform all over the world.
>> Marco Timpano: So you had said that sort of magic has the ability to transcend language as far as performance is concerned. Where is there a place where you're like, I don't know if they're gonna enjoy this or they're gonna quite get this. And in fact, you know, the opposite was true. They just really, really dug it.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. I would say when I was performing in Kuwait, oh, wow. Was a place where I wasn't sure how they were gonna take it, really. Also, being a woman in magic, sure. I've got tattoos that are visible and all of that combined. I was not sure how it was going to go. and having to force myself to do the silent show because of the language barrier. I don't know if they're gonna understand me. Of course, some, do, some don't. So you kind of have to Play more general. But the response was amazing. Almost like any other audience, I'd say. I think sometimes they're confused. Not really in the sense of how magic is done. Because I think when people watch a magician, we always still have that question of how.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Billy Kidd: They're probably more like, why, okay, why are you doing this? Which I loved. Yeah. So I would say Kuwait.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Awesome. I want to clarify something. I also do enjoy watching magic on the big stage in large concert halls or like in Vegas. If you ever get to see one of those house magicians who does the show seven times a week at one of the casinos, I don't want to disparage that at all. I just wanted to mention how that intimate, show that I saw was really, really outstanding.
>> Billy Kidd: It's comparing between like big illusion type thing or close up magic. Stuff that can almost happen in your hand. In the spectator's hand. Yeah. It is very different. I think it becomes more personal when you're doing close up magic. Which stage magic, like illusions I'm a fan of. But what's that mysterious box you've just wheeled on?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Billy Kidd: You've posed more questions, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. That's why I always like, I appreciate magicians, like Pan Teller, who sort of m. Take away the box or they open the box up and then they do the trick in a way that you're like, oh. But now I've got more questions than if it was just the box or
>> Billy Kidd: they tell you how it's done before they do the trick, yet you're still equally as confused.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's pretty neat. I have to say. I feel like magic is a culmination of so many different types of performance. It really is. It has elements of clown, it has elements of, you know, drama, like true drama. It has elements of comedy stand up. There's so many different elements of performance when it comes to magic that it really. I think a magician is a really well rounded performer. Does that make sense?
>> Billy Kidd: It makes totally sense. I just wish more magicians knew that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: I find most magicians, the way they perform, the mannerisms, the style they perform in, it's almost if no other art form existed.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Billy Kidd: But I agree with what you're saying. I just wish more magicians were aware of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because you're a classically trained doctor, is that correct? Yeah.
>> Billy Kidd: And funny. I, in school they made us do a clowning intensive clowning workshop, which I hated.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Billy Kidd: It's just not me. I was like, this is not what I Do. And the first magic show I ever performed, I was like, oh, my goodness. All of this is clowning technique. It really is. I had to tell my teacher. I'm like, remember when I hated your class? Well, all I do is pull from it. I'm going back to my notes going, yep. It's a different kind of performing because as a magician, you are directly talking to an audience, not at them. They are there with you. Similar to stand up, but an audience watching, a magic show, we know you're gonna lie to us, right? So there's already a weird barrier you have to break through. It's. It's. Yeah. It's fascinated me, even though I do. I'm m. Like, why do they laugh at this? Or why do they amaze by that? How is this possible? I have the same questions that the audience does about the audience.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Do you find that they react to things that are very simple, that are so simplistic, and the things that, you know, take so much practice and skill? They're like, oh, yeah, whatever.
>> Billy Kidd: Yes, for sure.
Magicians appreciate the stuff that a normal audience does not see
I think that's why magicians have conventions, because we can tap each other on the back, going, well done.
>> Marco Timpano: We.
>> Billy Kidd: We can appreciate the stuff that a, normal audience does not see.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Billy Kidd: The hard work, all the sleight of hand, the techniques that take forever, but we have to make them look natural. So, unfortunately, the good stuff, no one knows we're doing. It's kind of sad. So magicians like to hang out with each other just to, you know, for kicks.
Billy Kid says it's difficult to watch another magic show as a spectator
>> Marco Timpano: What's it like when you watch magic? M. Like, is it like, can you take yourself away from the magician and watch it as a spectator? Or are you always like, I love what they did. I know what they did, but I just love how they executed it.
>> Billy Kidd: It's difficult. It's difficult to watch another magic show as a spectator. As a layman. I try to, because nothing's worse than performing for other magicians with their arms folded and staring, no smiling, because I know they know what I'm doing. So when I'm watching another magician, I'm trying to be in the mindset of, I don't care how it's done. I just want to enjoy the performance. Now, if I'm watching it a second time, probably the second time, I'm watching for technique and method.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. So if I'm there twice, you know why I'm there twice? It means you did a good job.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, of course.
>> Billy Kidd: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: That's quite a compliment. If the magician's there Twice. Unless they're there four times now. You know they're trying to steal your bit.
>> Billy Kidd: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Has that happened to you?
>> Billy Kidd: I've been very fortunate. It actually hasn't happened to me. But, also, I don't put a lot of my full routines and stuff online. I know that is out there. There are people who will steal, but I know it's happened to many other friends of mine.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you don't think of plagiarism in the magic community, but yeah, it must be rampant because a good trick is a good trick.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. Tricks, presentations, all of that. And it's hard because no one thinks of a magic act like a play where you go, you know, there's a copyright on this and that, so it's very difficult to protect at times. So thievery is quite big in the magic world.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Well, Billy Kid, I must say this has a magical time spent with you here on the Insomnia Project.
>> Billy Kidd: Oh, thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: once again, you can check out things that you are up [email protected] youm travel all over the world, so there's no reason why you might not see Billy Kidd in your town. And if you want Billy Kidd to perform in your town, can they go to the website and make requests?
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah, they can go to my website, they can email me, they can get in touch with me through social media. All of that I'm quite easy to
>> Marco Timpano: find are your handles as well.
>> Billy Kidd: BillyKidShow, Billy Kid show on Instagram and Twitter, Facebook. I think it's like Billy Kid Magician.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
>> Billy Kidd: Stalk away, people.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Billy Kid, thank you so much. I wish you a pleasant, day and afternoon.
>> Billy Kidd: Thank you very much.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for listening and we hope you had the opportunity to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: June 3, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. Hopefully, and hopefully that will lead you to find your bliss and rest. And I am Marco Timpano. This is the Insomnia Project, the only podcast we hope you never get to the end of. and joining me in the studio today is Billy Kidd.
Billy, welcome to the Insomnia Project. Just woke up
Billy, welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Billy Kidd: Thanks for having me. Just woke up.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's great.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're in a. You're in a calm state of mind, would you say?
>> Billy Kidd: I'm pretty calm right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool. Cool.
Billy Kid Show is a very accomplished magician. What road led you to magic
Billy, you have a website which is BillyKidShow.com and you're a, among other things, a very accomplished magician.
>> Billy Kidd: That is correct.
>> Marco Timpano: What road led you to magic?
>> Billy Kidd: I had no idea I was ever going to be a magician. Never saw magic in my life. And then one day at a festival in Canada, I saw a, street magician performing and that was it.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Billy Kidd: It went downhill from there. I got depressed because I knew I have to become a magician.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. So how did you find your way to magic at that point? You're like, I want to be a magician. Did you go to the library? Did you watch YouTube videos? Did you just go to magic shop and purchase.
>> Billy Kidd: I hid Behind a tree.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Billy Kidd: And I was too embarrassed to let anyone know I wanted to become a magician. And then a juggler walked past, and he saw I had a deck of cards in my hand. He's like, I'm going to tell the other magician that you like this stuff. And I screamed silently and was like, no, don't do it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Billy Kidd: And he did. with. Which was a good thing, because then they told me what book to get. And I found the book. The book in a secondhand, bookshop.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Billy Kidd: So it was a sign.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it an old book?
>> Billy Kidd: It's an old book written a long time ago. There's many reprints of this book.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Billy Kidd: But.
>> Marco Timpano: So if anyone's listening to magic, if anyone's listening right now and thinking, oh, I want to get into magic, or my nephew or niece or someone we know wants to get into magic, can you reveal the book that started your journey?
>> Billy Kidd: I will. Are you ready for this?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Billy Kidd: No. Drumroll, please.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. No drumroll.
>> Billy Kidd: Royal Road to card Magic.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Billy Kidd: That is the name of the book.
>> Marco Timpano: And, what is one. One tip you would give anyone who's going to be doing card magic?
>> Billy Kidd: The one tip I'd give to anyone doing card magic, I would say is leave your bedroom.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: Perform for real people.
>> Marco Timpano: Perform for real people.
>> Billy Kidd: Too many magicians are weirdos, as you know, because of the stereotype, because they don't really leave their bedrooms.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. And you're just like, go out there and do it.
>> Billy Kidd: Yep.
Billy Kidd hides three of clubs playing cards in almost every airport
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have a favorite card?
>> Billy Kidd: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What is that?
>> Billy Kidd: It's usually the three of clubs.
>> Marco Timpano: And can I ask why?
>> Billy Kidd: There's not really a reason why.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just a card that you like.
>> Billy Kidd: it's a card I like. It's a card I was kind of given. I'm part of a group called the 52, and we're all assigned cards. That is my card. In fact, I hide the the three of clubs playing card in almost every airport that I frequent.
>> Marco Timpano: That's awesome.
>> Billy Kidd: Like a geocache, but a three of clubs. Cash.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you're in an airport and you find the three of clubs somewhere hidden.
>> Billy Kidd: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That's Billy Kidd's club.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. My name is on it. And then I get people to sign it and put it back.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's so great.
>> Billy Kidd: To relieve airport boredom. M. You know, so when you're traveling, something to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so look out for the three of clubs at your airport.
Are there better playing cards for use in magic than bicycle cards
Now, here's a question with regards to cards themselves. Are there better playing cards? To use in magic. So I know that there's. The one that I immediately think of is bicycle cards. But I know that there must be many more types of cards out there.
>> Billy Kidd: there's so many cards out there. There's even more cards than ever because there's a new kind of thing happening called cardistry. It's kind of like juggling, but with cards.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: And they have, like, beautiful designs, new designs, so they look really pretty when you're doing flourishes. So there's so many. I don't want to really advertise for too many of them.
>> Marco Timpano: No, fair enough. You don't have to.
>> Billy Kidd: But bicycle is probably the most common brand. Or Bee or B.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That's right. And they've got a nice plastification on the card that makes them easy air cushion finish.
>> Billy Kidd: The paper quality. Oh, it's beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen black faced cards so that the, the negative space, let's say behind the queen, which is traditionally white, is jet black. And all the colors have a different sort of look to them.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. So that goes back to all these new designs. Like people are making, you know, go fund mes for new designs for decks of playing cards. And some decks of Playing cards cost $10 a deck.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Billy Kidd: It's gotten out of control, people.
>> Marco Timpano: And so for you, who has a, multitude of three of clubs, do you just order that. That card, that particular card in multiple decks? I guess.
>> Billy Kidd: Or that would be the smart thing to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: I'm not very smart. All right. I just buy all the decks and take the three of clubs out.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. Thanks for reminding me.
>> Marco Timpano: M. No. M sorry, I didn't mean to.
>> Billy Kidd: It's fine. It's fine.
Your home is Bath in England. What drew you to Bath initially
>> Marco Timpano: Now, your. Your home is Bath in England.
>> Billy Kidd: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And I've been to Bath. Oh. And it's a beautiful part of the country, I have to say.
>> Billy Kidd: It is.
>> Marco Timpano: What drew you to Bath initially?
>> Billy Kidd: there was no magicians that I knew of that were working there.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Billy Kidd: So I walked through town, was like, hey, no magic. Well then. And then I just set up camp. And that's what you did, and that's what I did. And I've been there for a very long time now.
Have you been to the Magic Castle in Los Angeles
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a magician living or dead that you would love to work with that you haven't worked with as of yet?
>> Billy Kidd: A magician living or dead? I would have loved to work with Tommy Wonder.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: He was a fantastic magician. He was also a creator, of magic and mechanisms and just an amazing brain all around. He would have been very cool to work with, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you been to that place in Los Angeles, like the Magic Castle?
>> Billy Kidd: I think it's called the Magic Castle.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that right?
>> Billy Kidd: That is right. I've actually worked there.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: Maybe I work there once or twice a year, but I freak in there often every time I'm in la. It is a magical, magical place.
>> Marco Timpano: What are your thoughts of it? It's just.
>> Billy Kidd: There's no other place like it in the world.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: It's very unique. It's very difficult to get into, even as just an audience member. You need to know a member or be a member to get in. But once you're in there, it really is one of the most magical places ever.
>> Marco Timpano: We drove up to it one time when we were laid just to look at it. But then our friends who live in LA are like, oh, no, you can't just. You can't just walk in. You need a special invitation or you need to know how to.
>> Billy Kidd: It is very prestigious for magicians to work there because it's difficult to get even a booking there.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Billy Kidd: And yeah, when you walk in, there's a bookcase and an owl, and you have to say, open sesame to the owl and the entire bookcase moves. And then you enter this amazing building with so much history for magicians. Magicians, we love going there because of the history. One of our professors, we call him the professor, who's actually a Canadian guy, he's dead now.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: But he was one of the best magicians in the world and he used to sit there in the corner and show people stuff and secrets. So it is a very prestigious place for magicians to frequent. But if you ever get the opportunity to go inside there. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Go see a show or go.
>> Billy Kidd: And there's shows happening everywhere in the place. It's fantastic. There's nothing else like it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's, one could say, magic.
>> Billy Kidd: It is itself very.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
You have a hobby where you take photos of dogs pooping
now you have an interesting hobby we were talking about, something that you like to do.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Would you share that with my audience?
>> Billy Kidd: I guess so. Well, I have this hobby where I like to take photos of dogs pooping as their owners are waiting for the dog to poop.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Billy Kidd: Now, the reason why I love these photos is because I wish somebody else was watching me taking the photo of the dog pooping and going, what is this about? That hasn't happened, but I imagine it. And there's something so beautiful of seeing a dog pooping and the owner does not know that I'm there taking a photo. It's a very private moment for dog and owner.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Billy Kidd: Yet there I am behind a bush, pressing. Click.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you're hidden too?
>> Billy Kidd: Pretty much hidden. I don't want the owner to see what I'm doing because that'd be weird.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Billy Kidd: But again, in the perfect world, I want someone else to watch me taking the photo of the dog pooping and the owner not knowing. That's the scene I have in my head.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't know if that's happened yet. It could have happened. Someone could be hiding, taking a photo of you taking a photo of a dog.
>> Billy Kidd: That is my dream come true.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'll tell you a story. I have a very good friend of mine who, went to Quebec City for an anniversary with his wife, I think it was before they were engaged, I think. And they happened to, you know, it was summertime, they grabbed their stuff to go away from their hotel and just sightsee for the day. And so they went out and they did that. Five years later, after they were married, they were back in Quebec City, once again, I think on their anniversary. And they happened to pop into one of these little tourist shops where you would buy magnets or a drink of water and. And they saw on a postcard a scenic picture of Quebec City. And walking in the distance is them from five years prior.
>> Billy Kidd: Oh wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And they were like, we know it was us because even though we're a little bit in the distance, that's the clothes we were wearing. And we got into a fight because we had the wrong bag with us that day. And that was the bag that's in the photo. And so now they have it framed in their house of this, this postcard that says Quebec City with them in the distance.
>> Billy Kidd: That's amazing. Are they making money off of this?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, no. It's just the back of them. And who knows, it was taken five years prior. Now it's like maybe 15 years ago, but it's quite spooky.
>> Billy Kidd: M well maybe dog owners out there. If you happen to see a postcard of you and your dog pooping, you
>> Marco Timpano: know who took it?
>> Billy Kidd: It's me.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Yeah, there you go.
>> Billy Kidd: Guilty.
Do you have any travel rituals that you do
>> Marco Timpano: And so you've traveled quite a bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have any travel rituals that you do?
>> Billy Kidd: Travel rituals.
>> Marco Timpano: Like for example, when you go on a plane, do you do I tend to try to really clean the area. I'm going to be sit for a while or I'll always wear compression socks when I travel on the plane or when I get to my hotel. There's certain things I do before I take my clothes out of my luggage.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. Well, besides hiding cards in airports, I guess that is a ritual, which I think is cool for me now I just like emptying my entire suitcase out as soon as I land. Someone told me that people who do that are a bit psycho.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Billy Kidd: I don't know. Someone else told me that I don't care how jet lag I am, I need to empty that suitcase. Like, full stop, all of it. It's got to get out. So that is a weird ritual that I guess I have.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: but mostly I just fall asleep. I try to. Planes are the only things that make me fall asleep. Funny enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I have such difficulty falling asleep on planes.
>> Billy Kidd: Me too. Well, not on planes, but in normal life I can't fall asleep, but on planes I'm gone.
>> Marco Timpano: Even if you're next to people who are loud or obnoxious.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. Noise doesn't bother me.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. It's.
>> Billy Kidd: Nah, sunlight bothers me, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. So shades down.
>> Billy Kidd: Shades down for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: A lot of people who listen to this podcast will listen on the plane because they find it very relaxing when they take off. Because some people have a bit of an anxiety around the takeoff of a plane. And so people. I get a lot of emails saying, I listen to your podcast when I'm flying. It really helps me, et cetera.
>> Billy Kidd: Oh, that's good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, there you go.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. Anxiety is your flight as you're departing and landing. You should have anxiety dream. That's the most scary part.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, fair enough. But once you're up, you're up. And it's smooth sailing is how I like to look at it.
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Are you working on any current magic that you can talk about?
>> Billy Kidd: Oh, my goodness, I am. I'm working on a short film that I've somehow devised in my brain a couple months ago. that is magic related. And I'm working on two new routines that are literally going to take me months before they hit the stage because of logistics and blocking and all this. So, yeah, it's a lot of, it's a lot of in your head time. And you have to, you know, like I said, get out of your bedroom.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Billy Kidd: To get out into the real world.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're devising this trick that's going to be coming up, let's say, in your bedroom. Where do you take it from there? So, for example, a standup will go to sort of smaller shows and. And practice material until they fine tune it. But where does a magician go when they have an idea for
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>> Marco Timpano: Trick and they're developing it.
>> Billy Kidd: Well, the good thing about magic is that, you can take it almost anywhere and perform magic anywhere, anytime. It's kind of universal in that sense. It kind of transcends even language. But sometimes routines, like what I'm doing is more specific to stage. But I'm very lucky because in Bath Spa, where I live, I run a weekly parlor magic theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Billy Kidd: Every Friday, Saturday, which is kind of like my play space where I can work on new material. I've got a new audience every single week, and I just try out all my stuff there.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you're listening and you happen to be in Bath, where would they go? Or do they go to your website to find out where they can check this.
>> Billy Kidd: Well, we are the second best thing to do on TripAdvisor in all of Bath Spa. So after the Roman baths is my little magic theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
>> Billy Kidd: So, yeah, we're raking it in.
>> Marco Timpano: That's wonderful.
>> Billy Kidd: it's called crowdkeepers magic theater, and it's very central. It's around the corner from the Roman baths. So we got it seats only maybe 40 people upstairs.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's an intimate space, which I think is the best. You know, I've seen magic in big, big theaters, or big, concert halls. And I've seen magic done in little, theaters that are attached to pubs and whatnot. I saw one, and I'll tell you, the one that I saw in that intimate space had such an effect on me because you were close to everything. So you were like, there's no way they could have pulled the rug on me because of the vastness of the space. Like, how did that magician do that trick? M. For me, it's so much more mind blowing when you're in a smaller space.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. Nice and intimate. And, you know, there's no trap doors or anything funny. So it is pretty bare.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Billy Kidd: But, yeah, it's upstairs of a pub called the ale house in Bath. So we've Got a parlor theatre up there and then in the cellar we've got a magic bar which is a totally different vibe. So people sit around a bar that's specific only to magic. So you kind of get a bit of everything.
>> Marco Timpano: So wait a minute, I'm getting a drink, I'm getting a pint at the bar and will magic happen in front of me?
>> Billy Kidd: At some point, you have to go to the area where the magic is happening. So there's a bar for drinks and then around the corner there's a bar that's only for magic.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so you're. So now you're really intimate with the trick that's going on.
>> Billy Kidd: So the whole thing with Ale House, so upstairs you can kind of see more stand up, parlor type of magic stage stuff and then close up stuff down in the cellar so you can spend your entire evening there. So that's kind of where I nowadays where I practice my new stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so wonderful.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. I'm very lucky to be, to have that space.
>> Marco Timpano: And you started this theater.
>> Marco Timpano: That's great. How long has it been running?
>> Billy Kidd: over five years now.
>> Marco Timpano: What a wonderful, wonderful thing. How does it feel as an entrepreneur to have your establishment represented by people who go there and TripAdvisor saying that they love your place.
>> Billy Kidd: It's still a shock. Even though we've been there five years. I'm amazed that we even get audiences because magic is kind of niche and it has a stereotype and it is a bit geeky and, and all that. So I'm hoping to kind of change that through the type of magic or the style of magic that I do, you know, at the theater and at the magic bar. So it does bring people in. I think it's the perfect thing because if you don't want to go see a play, let's say if you're not into stand up comedy, magic is kind of that weird in between.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Billy Kidd: Where you might like it, you might hate it. But it's worth a try.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Billy Kidd: It brings people who normally wouldn't go to the theater, let's say they might come to a magic show.
Ireland and now Vermont are your top favorite audiences to perform for
>> Marco Timpano: Who's your favorite audience? Because you know, people have it in their minds like, oh, wow, it'd be great to perform in front of, you know, celebrities or you know, royalty or something like that. When in fact for a lot of performers it's like the last thing I want to perform in front of is celebrities or people of note. My preference is this type of audience who's your favorite type of audience to perform.
>> Billy Kidd: Well, it's funny you say that because I was just working in Vermont, doing four shows there. And the audiences in Vermont are incredible. The closest thing they remind me to is the audiences in Ireland.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: I think Ireland and now Vermont are like my top favorite audiences to perform for. I don't know exactly why, I don't know what it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: In Vermont, they were just so, just so like on the ball. They were with you like every step of the way. You could do literally nothing and it felt like they give you a standing ovation for just walking on stage. So they are now my new favorite audience.
>> Marco Timpano: I wonder if it's, verdant green farmlands and boats.
>> Billy Kidd: Well, when the house lights came up, I didn't know if they were hipsters or farmers.
>> Marco Timpano: Really.
>> Billy Kidd: It was that. Yeah. Different compared to most, you know, theaters I work in. So they were, they were great. I loved, I loved all of them.
Where were you in Vermont? Because we have listeners in New England
>> Marco Timpano: Where were you in Vermont? Because we have listeners in New England and Vermont is one of the states in New England that I have not been to that I'm really wanting to go.
>> Billy Kidd: Okay. So I was basically in a town called Hardwick.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: Which is maybe an hour, an hour and a half drive from Burlington.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: And there's many other towns around there. But Hardwick is where it's at.
>> Marco Timpano: Is where it's at.
>> Billy Kidd: And surrounding farms.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, if you're listening from Hardwick, we thank you for being a great audience and for listening.
Magic has the ability to transcend language as far as performance is concerned
so let me ask you this. Where have you performed that you didn't speak the language, but the people there really were floored by what you did. Because I know you perform all over the world.
>> Marco Timpano: So you had said that sort of magic has the ability to transcend language as far as performance is concerned. Where is there a place where you're like, I don't know if they're gonna enjoy this or they're gonna quite get this. And in fact, you know, the opposite was true. They just really, really dug it.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. I would say when I was performing in Kuwait, oh, wow. Was a place where I wasn't sure how they were gonna take it, really. Also, being a woman in magic, sure. I've got tattoos that are visible and all of that combined. I was not sure how it was going to go. and having to force myself to do the silent show because of the language barrier. I don't know if they're gonna understand me. Of course, some, do, some don't. So you kind of have to Play more general. But the response was amazing. Almost like any other audience, I'd say. I think sometimes they're confused. Not really in the sense of how magic is done. Because I think when people watch a magician, we always still have that question of how.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Billy Kidd: They're probably more like, why, okay, why are you doing this? Which I loved. Yeah. So I would say Kuwait.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Awesome. I want to clarify something. I also do enjoy watching magic on the big stage in large concert halls or like in Vegas. If you ever get to see one of those house magicians who does the show seven times a week at one of the casinos, I don't want to disparage that at all. I just wanted to mention how that intimate, show that I saw was really, really outstanding.
>> Billy Kidd: It's comparing between like big illusion type thing or close up magic. Stuff that can almost happen in your hand. In the spectator's hand. Yeah. It is very different. I think it becomes more personal when you're doing close up magic. Which stage magic, like illusions I'm a fan of. But what's that mysterious box you've just wheeled on?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Billy Kidd: You've posed more questions, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. That's why I always like, I appreciate magicians, like Pan Teller, who sort of m. Take away the box or they open the box up and then they do the trick in a way that you're like, oh. But now I've got more questions than if it was just the box or
>> Billy Kidd: they tell you how it's done before they do the trick, yet you're still equally as confused.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's pretty neat. I have to say. I feel like magic is a culmination of so many different types of performance. It really is. It has elements of clown, it has elements of, you know, drama, like true drama. It has elements of comedy stand up. There's so many different elements of performance when it comes to magic that it really. I think a magician is a really well rounded performer. Does that make sense?
>> Billy Kidd: It makes totally sense. I just wish more magicians knew that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: I find most magicians, the way they perform, the mannerisms, the style they perform in, it's almost if no other art form existed.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Billy Kidd: But I agree with what you're saying. I just wish more magicians were aware of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because you're a classically trained doctor, is that correct? Yeah.
>> Billy Kidd: And funny. I, in school they made us do a clowning intensive clowning workshop, which I hated.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Billy Kidd: It's just not me. I was like, this is not what I Do. And the first magic show I ever performed, I was like, oh, my goodness. All of this is clowning technique. It really is. I had to tell my teacher. I'm like, remember when I hated your class? Well, all I do is pull from it. I'm going back to my notes going, yep. It's a different kind of performing because as a magician, you are directly talking to an audience, not at them. They are there with you. Similar to stand up, but an audience watching, a magic show, we know you're gonna lie to us, right? So there's already a weird barrier you have to break through. It's. It's. Yeah. It's fascinated me, even though I do. I'm m. Like, why do they laugh at this? Or why do they amaze by that? How is this possible? I have the same questions that the audience does about the audience.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Do you find that they react to things that are very simple, that are so simplistic, and the things that, you know, take so much practice and skill? They're like, oh, yeah, whatever.
>> Billy Kidd: Yes, for sure.
Magicians appreciate the stuff that a normal audience does not see
I think that's why magicians have conventions, because we can tap each other on the back, going, well done.
>> Marco Timpano: We.
>> Billy Kidd: We can appreciate the stuff that a, normal audience does not see.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Billy Kidd: The hard work, all the sleight of hand, the techniques that take forever, but we have to make them look natural. So, unfortunately, the good stuff, no one knows we're doing. It's kind of sad. So magicians like to hang out with each other just to, you know, for kicks.
Billy Kid says it's difficult to watch another magic show as a spectator
>> Marco Timpano: What's it like when you watch magic? M. Like, is it like, can you take yourself away from the magician and watch it as a spectator? Or are you always like, I love what they did. I know what they did, but I just love how they executed it.
>> Billy Kidd: It's difficult. It's difficult to watch another magic show as a spectator. As a layman. I try to, because nothing's worse than performing for other magicians with their arms folded and staring, no smiling, because I know they know what I'm doing. So when I'm watching another magician, I'm trying to be in the mindset of, I don't care how it's done. I just want to enjoy the performance. Now, if I'm watching it a second time, probably the second time, I'm watching for technique and method.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. So if I'm there twice, you know why I'm there twice? It means you did a good job.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, of course.
>> Billy Kidd: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: That's quite a compliment. If the magician's there Twice. Unless they're there four times now. You know they're trying to steal your bit.
>> Billy Kidd: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Has that happened to you?
>> Billy Kidd: I've been very fortunate. It actually hasn't happened to me. But, also, I don't put a lot of my full routines and stuff online. I know that is out there. There are people who will steal, but I know it's happened to many other friends of mine.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you don't think of plagiarism in the magic community, but yeah, it must be rampant because a good trick is a good trick.
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah. Tricks, presentations, all of that. And it's hard because no one thinks of a magic act like a play where you go, you know, there's a copyright on this and that, so it's very difficult to protect at times. So thievery is quite big in the magic world.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Well, Billy Kid, I must say this has a magical time spent with you here on the Insomnia Project.
>> Billy Kidd: Oh, thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: once again, you can check out things that you are up [email protected] youm travel all over the world, so there's no reason why you might not see Billy Kidd in your town. And if you want Billy Kidd to perform in your town, can they go to the website and make requests?
>> Billy Kidd: Yeah, they can go to my website, they can email me, they can get in touch with me through social media. All of that I'm quite easy to
>> Marco Timpano: find are your handles as well.
>> Billy Kidd: BillyKidShow, Billy Kid show on Instagram and Twitter, Facebook. I think it's like Billy Kid Magician.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
>> Billy Kidd: Stalk away, people.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Billy Kid, thank you so much. I wish you a pleasant, day and afternoon.
>> Billy Kidd: Thank you very much.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for listening and we hope you had the opportunity to listen and sleep.
Flower Arranging with Leslie Seiler
I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me once again is a dear friend from Los Angeles, Leslie Seiler. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, thank you, Marco. I'm so happy to be back here again.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. We had a wonderful holiday, episode with Leslie. And our holiday episodes only are up for the month of December and a little bit of January, so you'll have to wait till next year to hear that episode again. But I was fortunate enough to have Leslie say, yeah, I'll come back on the podcast and we'll do another episode. So here she is.
>> Leslie Seiler: oh, absolutely. And very excited. I'm excited to be here.
Leslie Seiler has a secret talent when it comes to flower arranging
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Leslie, I know you as a talented writer, director, and first and foremost, anyways, actor, comedian, improviser. That's what's dear to my heart when I think of Leslie Seiler. But you also have a great talent when it comes to flower arranging. Tell me about that.
>> Leslie Seiler: It is my hidden. It's my secret talent. I tell a lot of people, even though, I do post about it a lot on social media, so it's not so secret. But still, a lot of people don't know. yeah, I, have this secret skill as a florist, as a floral designer. and it started because way back in high school, like, my first, like, after school job just ended up being at a flower shop. It was just a flower shop looking for a clerk. And so I applied and I ended up working at a place called Plant Care Plus.
>> Marco Timpano: Plant Care Plus.
>> Leslie Seiler: Plant Care plus in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. And, they, the lady who ran it, or who was the manager, she sort of just took me under her wing. I guess she liked me, and so she just started teaching me, because it had a small. It was mostly plants, but had a small floral department as well. And she just started teaching me how to arrange flowers. And so she would even give me little assignments or say, okay, make something like this or try this. And, so she really let me play around and practice, because I think it is a skill that truly only through practice can you, you know, there might be, some innate talent in that you might have an eye for color or, or something like that. but really practicing I think makes. Is, is the key to a good florist.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay. So practice makes perfect when it comes to flower arranging.
Leslie: Practice makes perfect when it comes to flower arranging. Which maybe does connect to practice making perfect
>> Marco Timpano: So Leslie, can you give us some other secret tips? One should know when they're approaching a flower arrangement.
>> Leslie Seiler: Absolutely I can. so this is almost gonna sound absolutely contradictory to what I just said, but just follow your instincts.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: And I mean that truthfully. Like if you do start playing around with flower arranging, then just truly start playing around with it. Which maybe does connect to pract, practice making perfect. But it means, you know, if you're drawn to certain colors, play within those colors. you know, if you want to, if you love all whites, then grab all kinds of white flowers and put those together and just sort of start, I think playing with it. Because again, I, I guess this does match that. It's just practice makes perfect. So my biggest, advice would be just to start, you know, grab some you know, you can, even at the grocery store, you can get pre made bouquets, but you can also get. Sometimes they'll have like different clumps of flour. So you can get a whole batch of, you know, tulips and a whole batch of you, roses and a whole batch of daisies or whatever it is. And just play around with putting those together, certain phases and such. The other thing because I think this key is don't be afraid to cut them short. I think a lot of people, when they get, especially when you get a bouquet and you think, because this will happen a lot, people get a bouquet or some flowers from the store and they just kind of clip off the bottom and put them in. And then in the vase, you know, your vase is so wide that the flowers are all kind of flailing everywhere. So don't be afraid to kind of clump them together in your hand, make them a little bit shorter in your vase. They'll of stay together a little bit more. So that's kind of a fun tip as well.
>> Marco Timpano: When you cut. Are we supposed to cut our flowers on an angle?
>> Leslie Seiler: You are. And and with a knife if possible. Because when you cut them with scissors. So a lot of people will cut them with scissors or clippers. It's basically when you cut with the scissors, it cuts it, but it also closes the, the, the pores basically because scissors close on each other. Right. If you think about it. But if you cut with a knife, so the ideally kind of on an angle and cut away from yourself on an angle. and even just like a paring knife or something will work. I actually have floral knives obviously, which you can buy on, you know, you can go on to Amazon and Google floral knife. They're not expensive if you're really passionate.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Leslie Seiler: yeah, but doing on an angle because also the angle just makes the area of the ah. Of What's like the, the area of what's the surface area. That's what I'm trying to say. Thank you. The surface area that the water, can get up flower is bigger if you do it on an angle and I see. Yeah, it opens the pores wider, basically.
>> Marco Timpano: What a brilliant tip though. I didn't realize that if you use scissors, if I'm hearing what you're saying, you're kind of pinching the flower and crushing it. Right, Exactly. With a knife, you're making a clean cut that keeps the the flower open or the stem open to receive the water that it needs to stay alive.
>> Leslie Seiler: You summed that up perfectly. That's exactly it. That's exactly it. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
You should actually put your flowers in warm water first, right
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so that brings me to leaves. I heard somewhere that you're supposed to remove any leaf that would be in the water. So strip it. So, that whatever gets submerged, there's no leaf in the water.
>> Leslie Seiler: Exactly. You are correct because. Yes. So you can either, you can do that with your hands if it's, you know, a non thorny flower. So don't do it with a rose because you'll, you know, if you, if you run your hand down a rose stem, you might get full of, full of thorns.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Leslie Seiler: But any other flower, you just sort of put your fingers around the stem and just pull down right down the stem and take all the leaves with you. and the reason for that is because the water will get murky faster. And then once you start to get, kind of start getting moldy, gross brown water, which is what the leaves will do because they start to disintegrate obviously in the water. And then your flowers aren't getting nice fresh, clear water. They're starting to kind of take in mold and other things that are going to make them last less time. Right. Or die quicker, I guess. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's something I've been told, but I feel like in practice it's difficult. You're supposed to change the water every day.
>> Leslie Seiler: You know, I think every day is a little extreme.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah. So some people might say that I would say every like four days even.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: and really, you can also do it by sight. So especially if you have a clear vase, if it starts to look murky, then absolutely change it. if it's a non clear vase, then yeah, you might have to kind of peek inside and go, how's that water doing? But every third or fourth day, I think is. Is more than enough. The other thing to note is that flowers do drink a lot of water. We don't actually think it. So if you put flowers in a vase. I was just. I have some actually out there just now that I'm thinking of. And the water is very low, so you also want to watch that, especially if you have stems that are at different lengths to make sure all the stems are still reaching the water. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: What about water temperature? Does that factor in?
>> Leslie Seiler: This is going to blow a lot of people's minds. You should actually put your flowers in warm water first. Oh, everyone would think, oh, cold, cold, cold, they got to be cold. But warm water is easier for your flowers to drink. It's the same as the human body, actually, because don't they say we're supposed to drink room temperature water versus cold, or just our bodies react to it differently? But for flowers. So not hot. although I have. Well, I'll hold on to that. I have another tip for you in a second. But definitely warm water. So it should not be ice cold when you bring those flowers home because you want. Because they are thirsty at this point if they have been out of water for a while.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Leslie Seiler: So you want to give them something that's easy to drink quickly.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's a great tip. I'll be using that one for sure. What's this other tip of yours?
>> Leslie Seiler: Well, then I was like, oh, there is a time to use hot water. So there are some flowers that are very finicky and can, I guess die or wilt quickly, but they can also be brought back to life. So the number one flower, if anyone out there is a hydrangea fan and they ever get cut hydrangeas so often you'll get a beautiful bouquet. Oh, my God. It's got three or four hydrangea. This is lovely. And then the next morning you'll get up and the hydrangea will be like, like it'll look dead. It'll be all wilty, all, all it needs. I promise you, if you take it out, just wiggle it out of the bouquet, give it a fresh cut, put it in hot water. Within about an hour or two, it'll look as fresh as new. It Just drinks it up and it brings it back to life.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it safe to say that, the hydrangea, of all the flowers, is maybe the kind of flower that likes a warm tea or a hot tea, like, some people are like that. It might be the most British of flowers, one could say.
>> Leslie Seiler: Perhaps it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Leslie Seiler: It doesn't appreciate a cold lemonade. It would rather a warm tea break.
Tell me about your favorite flowers and what flowers are great for arranging
All right, Leslie, let me ask you this.
>> Marco Timpano: Since we're on flowers, tell me about your favorite flowers and what flowers are great for arranging what flowers aren't your favorite? Just some. Let's just talk flowers.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, gosh, yes. Okay. This is tough, because to name my favorite flower.
>> Marco Timpano: O.
>> Leslie Seiler: It's. It's tough. I love. Oh, my God. Well, stalk is one of my most favorite flowers. And for anyone who's listening, maybe tomorrow when, they have some time, Google what a stalk is flower.
>> Marco Timpano: I have no. I have no idea what a stalk is.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh. When you see it, you might go, oh, that. So they kind of look like a snapdragon or like a larkspur. Like one of those taller flowers where. Okay. they're like a long, sort of vertical kind of flower.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, almost like a gladiota. No, but.
>> Leslie Seiler: But, fluffier, like, as if. So long and tall. Like, not quite as tall as a gladiola, but they kind of look like, Again, I'm just going to name probably other flowers that maybe you don't know. Delphinium. No.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, delphinium.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not like a grass. Like a pompous grass, right?
>> Leslie Seiler: No, no, no, no. They're a very fluffy, romantic, like, beautiful flower. That's why I love them. But.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah, but they have, like, lots of blooms. So, like, it's a long stem with, like, lots of blooms. So, like, from. You know, there might be, like, 5 or 6 inches of bloom up the stem, if that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: And they're so. Oh, go ahead. You kind of, like.
>> Marco Timpano: I was gonna say kind of like a lupine. Like Lupinesque or.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yes, like a lupin. Okay, you do know lupins. Okay, good. Yes, like a lupin. So, yeah, like snapdragon, lupin, delphinium, stalk. Those are all the same kind of like, tall flower with, like, lots of blooms. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yep. Yes. But stock also have the most amazing smell. They almost smell like fresh green apples, which I know seems impossible, but if you get a fresh. Like, every time I go into a flower shop, if I'm working or whatever I'm doing, I'll just take A big bunch of stock and just sniff them. and they come in gorgeous flowers. Purples, lavenders, pinks, cream white. so they're really, really pretty. That's definitely one of my favorite things.
>> Marco Timpano: sounds like they also add height and a bit of drama to your arrangement.
>> Leslie Seiler: Absolutely. Especially they can. Like, the purple is such a dark, gorgeous, rich purple that. That can add the drama, for sure. but then again, what's nice is even if you're doing a low, kind of, like, tight arrangement, like maybe something in, like, a round bubble vase or something like that, they can give a little bit of height but still add to the thickness because they are such a fluffy, thick flower. So even if you cut them a little bit shorter, they're still kind of poking out of the arrangement, but adding to the. The bulk. The bulk of it, if that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful. For sure.
>> Leslie Seiler: Beautiful. I mean, and then, of course, I. I do love. I. I do like roses. I have nothing against them, but, you know, they're not like, top. Top of the list, but they can be beautiful as well. I do like hydrangea. Oh. What else are favorites? But what.
>> Marco Timpano: Where do you stand on one of my favorite flowers, which is. I. I never know how to pronounce it correctly, so. Forgive me, Leslie, I'm going to say that off the top. Anthuriums.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, anthuriums. That was it. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
Rebel: I love tropical flowers. Here's why I love them
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's at the tropical.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Leslie Seiler: And.
>> Speaker A: Yes.
>> Leslie Seiler: And you. You like the, sort of the red or I guess they come in many different colors. Oh, they can come in pink and white. So I'm just picturing them all now.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's why I love them. So when I was a kid, there was a television show called Fantasy island, and whenever the guests would get off the plane and be in this Fantasy island world, there was always these, these flowers. These anthuriums, I think is how you say them. Anthuriums. And, I always thought they were so exotic. And at that time, I had never seen one in real life because they were tropical flowers. And at that time, I don't think we had the same sort of ability to have flowers shipped from all over the world. Cut to years later, I saw them in real life, and they look so waxy, and they look so. Almost like. They almost don't look like real flowers. But there was something so fascinating and nostalgic for me. I love those flowers.
>> Leslie Seiler: You're so right. They look like plastic or. You said wax. Wax or plastic.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
>> Leslie Seiler: I think. Well, that's what's great because so now we're. Now we're in a different genre of flower, which is the tropical. No, no, but that's great because. Because that's all the tropicals. So. Okay, how do I feel about the Anthurium? I will say tropicals aren't my favorite. I see. I do prefer. Or, like if I was making. But I, but I. They are gorgeous and I can appreciate especially the Anthurium because I have had arrangements with. Especially when they come in shades of that you almost don't expect. So yeah, it's kind of mean for me to say that, that tropicals aren't my favorite because they are gorgeous. But but yeah, I think I prefer more like fluffy, gardeny, romantic, that kind of thing. But, But the Anthurium is. Birds of paradise is in that category. I don't know how you feel about those.
>> Marco Timpano: Love them.
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Where do you feel orchids fit in a flower bouquet or arrangement
>> Leslie Seiler: yeah, Dendrobian orchids, which come in like gorgeous purples, lime greens. Like you can make some pretty spectacular stuff with, with, with tropicals. I feel like I've been too hard on them now by saying they're not my favorite.
>> Marco Timpano: But where do you, how do you feel orchids fit in the flower bouquet or arrangement? hierarchy, I guess.
>> Leslie Seiler: Hierarchy. It depends on the kind. Because a Dendrobium orchid can be beautiful because again they have length and height. Right. Because they, they're going to long flower with like many stem or many blooms on the stem. So they can be very beautiful. And they do give your arrangement kind of especially if it's like a hand tied bouquet, almost an exotic feel. Which I think it can be really, really pretty and very special. It feels very different. But I do truly love a cymbidian orchid. Oh, wow. So the cymbidians are, I don't how to describe. They're a one larger bloom. So often they're by themselves. It's one large bloom, almost the size of the palm of your hand, I would say. And they can come in again lime greens, rich purples, white with gorgeous pink centers, purpley pink. And often what you do with a cymbidian orchid is they also come on a giant thick stem with like 25 of these flowers on it. But often flourishes. We, we cut off each bloom and sell each bloom separately. That's how gorgeous they are. Just as one piece.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Leslie Seiler: And then we wire them so we stick a little. We usually put them in like a, a tube of water. Like a rose tube.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Leslie Seiler: And then we wire them onto a longer stick or something and then we put them into arrangements and bouquets.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh wow.
>> Leslie Seiler: But they're again, they almost like your anthurium. They don't quite have a fake look, but they're a sturdy flower. Like the anthurium is sturdy, like so they're sturdy or almost waxy or plasticky. but so stunning. So for me a symbidium orchid in an arrangement or a bouquet is stunning. Like next level. and bride bouquets. wedding bouquets, definitely very popular because they're these gorgeous, again, romantic, rich, really pretty flowers.
Are there difficult flowers to have in an arrangement? Yes, absolutely. Tulips are very hard to arrange
>> Marco Timpano: Are there difficult flowers to have in an arrangement?
>> Leslie Seiler: Yes, absolutely. tulips are very hard. This is why, tulips, open and very quickly and they continue to grow when they're in water. So if you buy some tulips today and you cut them in three or four days, they're going to be 2 inches longer. So what that just means is that it's hard to put them in an arrangement because they're going change size and shape. It's not like they're going to stay where you put them, basically, if that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Leslie Seiler: The other thing that's hard about tulips is that they. And any flower that has that juicy stem. So like a tulip, a daffodil, hyacinth, which I do love hyacinth, but they have a juicy, juicy stem. They can be difficult, to put in vases because the thumbs. So if you're doing a taped vase, which is where you take a vase and we put clear tape to make kind of like a grid over the top of the vase, and then we use that to hold the flowers as we kind of arrange. Arrange them. Right, if that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, it does.
>> Leslie Seiler: The other thing you can do though, of course, is an oasis arrangement, which is floral foam, which is like green foam that you soak in water and then you stick the flowers in it. so you can make arrangements that way. But that's very difficult with flowers that have juicy stems because. Oh, you go to stick it in the foam and it just, it, it doesn't want to go in. You have to really work it in or your stems break a lot because the, the juicy stem won't go in the juicy foam. You know what I mean?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Is that when a frog comes to the rescue and,
>> Leslie Seiler: Wait, is it because he, he drinks all the juice out of the stem?
>> Marco Timpano: No. Isn't that what that's called? Leslie, I'm not sure. It's like this spiky thing that you put. It's like this round. Isn't that called a frog? Maybe I got it wrong. Now I feel like I got it wrong.
>> Leslie Seiler: No, you're gonna love this. I don't know what that's called, but I think. Isn't that. Are we talking about the thing which is. Is very popular in Japanese, floral arrangements which would use a lot of your tropicals, like anthuriums, because often a Japanese style arrangement is, like, minimalistic, or it's got more of those, like, long, you know, orchids and things. So normally the. The base, like, it's. It's all these flowers coming out of that little frog. That little, like, comb thing. Is that what you mean? The little. Yeah, it looks like a.
>> Marco Timpano: It looks like a spiky.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Puck. And those spikes spike up, and then you put. You put flowers in the spikes so that they stay ye. And I always thought it was called a frog, but I could be wrong. But that's how I know it. And that's why I was thinking maybe a juicy stem sits better on a frog than, in that foam. It would.
>> Leslie Seiler: A juicy stem would sit better on a frog. You're right.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: but I will say this. I've never combined foam and the frog, so maybe I have to.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought the frog is its own thing, and the foam is its own thing, and never the two shall meet.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah, I've never had the two meet. But also, after this, I do have to Google what that thing is called. And if, you're probably right, it is called a frog. And I just never knew that.
>> Marco Timpano: I bet in the industry it's not called that. It's called, like, a pin cushion or something like that. I'm sure you guys have a different term for it, and I think just, you know, for we who buy things online, they want to give it a fun name. I'm sure that's why it's called a frog.
You are originally from Halifax in Nova Scotia and now live in Los Angeles
let me ask you this, Leslie. Yeah. You are originally from Halifax in Nova Scotia. Now you live in Los Angeles. Is there a difference in the flowers that you arranged in both places? Have you noticed a difference. Like, are the flowers different that you're arranging? Are they fresh? Certain flowers? Fresher? Tell me. Tell me your impression of having arranged in both places.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yes, absolutely. And I also did do a pit stop and arranged in Toronto as well. So I have three. So definitely the flowers in Nova Scotia are more expensive. They just. Just not a lot there. We do have some local products, but the season for local, Nova Scotia product is shorter. It's. It really is restricted kind of to summer. So from, like, May to August, you're probably getting maybe more of the local stuff, and then otherwise, you're shipping stuff in. So probably less tropical, less. You know, roses might be a little more expensive because they're coming from Ecuador or Colombia or all of those things. Sure. Toronto was somewhere in between, where seasonally, you know, again, there would be some local, But.
>> Speaker A: But.
>> Leslie Seiler: But Always. There's always the option to get stuff that is coming from Hawaii or, again, South America or maybe somewhere in the States. But Toronto, again, would have some local stuff. definitely. Like, certain kinds of hydrangea, for sure would be cheaper in Toronto at a certain time, at certain times of year, as well as peonies, which had a very short season. That's that peonies are often a flower you don't ship in, just because they're so delicate and they don't last very long. But they're gorgeous. I forgot those in my favorite list.
>> Marco Timpano: We, talk about peonies a lot this podcast, Leslie. Yeah. Because they're the flower that requires ants to help open them up.
>> Leslie Seiler: Of course they are. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So for some reason, and they're the type of flower. So long story short, because I've said it before on the podcast, but I transplanted my mom's peonies from her house to mine when she moved. And they're also a finicky flower, so they might be like, you moved me to a different area. I'm not going to bloom for two years type thing.
>> Leslie Seiler: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But my mother's bloomed the next year, and I was really happy. And then I had a window put in my front, and of course, the people putting in the window trampled all over my peonies. But they bloomed again the next year, and I was like, this is great, these peonies. And then this year, they decided to replace the fire hydrant that happens to be right in front of my house on my property. And by doing that, they ripped it completely out and really disturbed all my flowers in the front, Leslie. And so I'm just crossing my fingers and stay tuned, friends, to hear if my peonies bloom this year. And I'll take pictures and send them out. But, you have to. Yeah, they're a personal. I guess you could say the peonies is the flower of the Insomnia Project. So thank you for bringing that one up.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, my God, I'm glad they came up. yes, yes. well, well, interestingly enough, I will say there's. Peonies are more readily available, in California, for sure. And I would say, in general, what I've noticed is we have, I, would say lot more variety for more of the year, I think, is what I've noticed in California. So whether it's locals or tropicals or there's just more product, less expensive and just kind of more of it is what I have noticed here.
Have you been to the flower market in downtown la. I, I can't believe I haven't
>> Marco Timpano: Have you been to the flower market in downtown la.
>> Leslie Seiler: You're. I, I can't believe I haven't. But my friend. And we were, I think, because a good friend of mine goes every Sunday, pretty much, or at least every second Sunday, and she is just like, you have to go, Leslie. You have to go. So I will. And when I do, I will take some pictures, I will share it on social media, and I will probably lose my mind.
>> Marco Timpano: I went for a friend's wedding when I was. It's, it's, it's impossible to describe. So we were in LA for a friend's wedding and my wife went to the flower. The flower area in downtown la and I went to the jewelry or the gems and jewelry making area of Los Angeles, which are both downtown and not far from each other. And my mind was completely blown because of everything I saw in the jewelry district of Los Angeles is incredible. And then going from these vibrant gems everywhere and beautiful jewelry being made and then going to the flower district, it was just, it was just incredible to see the amount, the scope, and the different kinds of flowers that were available there. It's. It's incredible.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah. Yeah. I think the variety is, again, quite remarkable.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Leslie Seiler: and again in, in every season, because I've worked, you know, I guess Valentine's would be more winter. Mother's Day is obviously spring into summer. yeah. Oh, wow. I, I have to go. I have to go to this flower market. It.
>> Marco Timpano: Most definitely you have to go.
Give your florist some guidelines on how much to charge for flowers
Let me ask you this, Leslie. Okay. So I'm not a florist, I'm not an arranger, but I'm certainly someone who buys flowers.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What's a good tip for, for those of us who call florists to buy flowers? What should we be saying to florists that make the arrangement prettier or make your job easier?
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, what a great question. Because, listen, it's very tempting to go online and pick like a picture from online, but that is the most recent restrictive thing you can do and probably will end up giving you something that you, you didn't really imagine. Because as the florist, I'm going to try and make it like the picture, but I'm going to have to substitute things or maybe it won't be quite. And of course I'll try to make it beautiful. But here's what you should do. Call your florist and you can give them some guidelines so know how much you want to spend. so, you know, I, I want something for $70. I want it in, and Then give them a color palette. So either bright and colorful, pale and, and pastel, or, you know, pink, orange. This person's favorite colors are purple and white. You know, give us a palette to work within. Right, okay. and then if you desperately have one or two favorite flowers, you can say, can it include some roses, can it include some tulips? But the less restrictive you are, and to be honest, the more you leave it to the designer, Designer's choice, you're nine times out of ten you're going to get something much more beautiful. So give your florist some guidelines, but don't be super specific because then you're sort of, you're backing us into a corner where we'll try to make what you're sort of picturing, but it's never going to be exactly like you're picturing. Or maybe we don't have the exact flower that you want. So yeah, if that makes sense. Give us the guidelines and let us do our thing.
Okay, so Leslie, I'm going to give you some guidelines for an arrangement
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so Leslie, I'm going to give you some guidelines. Assume you have whatever flower you could possibly want in front of you. You and assume my budget is between 70 and $100. I'm a big spender today.
>> Leslie Seiler: All right. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: If I said something like tall and spiky.
>> Marco Timpano: What would you put in that arrangement?
>> Leslie Seiler: Okay, so I'm definitely going to put in, some dendro. We're going to go get some dendrobium orchids because they're going to be gorgeous, tall and spiky, I think. oh, but wait, now I want to put curly willow and I'm not sure if that's going to go with the orchids.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We'll see.
>> Leslie Seiler: We'll see. So I want some curly willow because, because it's very seasonal this time of year and that's kind of like a pretty branch that's going to go up and around. Then I'm going to go snapdragons. I am going to put some stock in there because they're tall, but they're still going to give it a little bit of kind of, thickness. Then I am going to put in some, some roses as those are going to kind of. Because something that's all tall and spiky, we need to fill it in a little bit. Right. So it's going to be outlined with the snapdragons, the curly willow, the stalk. Then we're going to get some roses in there and then probably some ranunculus because they're just so gorgeous this time of year. I can't even handle it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: And I think the look that I'm creating my mind with the curly willow and the roses, it's a little bit fresh and woodsy, but it's a little bit romantic as well. So I'm going to get some of those ranunculus in there. And, And. Yeah, and that's going to be beautiful. Then I'll look at it, I'll fill it out with whatever sort of we need. But sure. Yeah, that's how I'm going to start. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have a go to filler, Leslie?
>> Leslie Seiler: I wax, flower, probably.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: I, don't love baby's breath. and that's not just because it's popular not to like it.
>> Speaker A: It.
>> Leslie Seiler: Because it is popular to also like it. Some people really love it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Leslie Seiler: But I think it's also very difficult to work with baby's breath because it's so fluffy and it breaks so easily and it's so chunky that to put it into an arrangement, it kind of. It just kind of clumps. You can't really spread it around and make it kind of nice and even. yeah. So for me, it's not my favorite, but I'll put it in if you are really in love with it. But wax flower comes in a lot of beautiful colors. Whites, pinks, purples. And it. It's. It's soft and. And, it can be spiky. So it might go into your spiky arrangement because it can be long and tall, but it can also be a little more clumpy. So if I was doing a. An arrangement that needed some filler like that, I would definitely do that. Oh, and one more hypericum. Hypericum. If you've never. If you don't know what hypericum is, Google it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: But they almost look like berries on a stick, truthfully. But they come in, like, lime green and, like, soft pink and white and all these, like, gorgeous colors that you wouldn't expect. And they can really add, like, dimension and just something really different to an arrangement that just. You're like, oh, this is so beautiful. so they can really add something.
Is there an unsung hero in the flower arranging world
>> Marco Timpano: Is there an unsung hero in the flower arranging world?
>> Leslie Seiler: What is the un. I think it's greenery in general. And I'm going to say this because a lot of people are like, not too much greenery. I once had a man say, I'm not buying a salad here.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Leslie Seiler: And I just wanted to turn to him and say, if I put no greenery in this, you'll take it home and imagine a vase of flowers with just. I mean, you can do it. But if you want a vase that's full of only flowers and no greens, it's going to be a lot of flowers. You're talking about 100, $200 worth of flowers to fill a vase where it. It looks full. However, you can spend $30 on some gorgeous blooms. And then I'll come in there and I'll put in some gorgeous salal, maybe some seeded eucalyptus, maybe even a little bit of bear grass or something, and it's going to fill that out, and it's going to give a collar, and it's going to hold your flowers in place, and you're going to have a beautiful bouquet. But if you're all, oh, no greenery. No greenery.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah. So that's the young sun hero.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, you could take a big monstera, leaf stem, cut it and put it in a vase, and it just brings drama. And then you just need one other flower in there, and you've got a most beautiful arrangement.
>> Leslie Seiler: Absolutely. Exactly. Thank you. Yes. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Linda? Leslie, I don't even know where I am right now, because I'm caught
>> Leslie Seiler: up in those leaves.
One great way to make an arrangement at home very quickly is with a vase
>> Marco Timpano: we're coming to the end of this episode, but I feel like there's so much more flower to talk about. Is there anything that we didn't mention that has come up in your mind that you're like, oh, I want to say this, or I want to mention this about flowers?
>> Leslie Seiler: Yes, I forgot something very important. So one great way to make an arrangement for yourself at home very quickly, if you just have a vase is,
>> Marco Timpano: oh, take your time. It's not a problem. Leslie, you tell us. You tell us everything we need to know.
>> Leslie Seiler: All right, I will. So you've got your flowers, and you want to make an arrangement. So basically what you do is you arrange them in your hand for first, right? So you start putting them in your hand, and you put them in, like, kind of at an angle, right? So this one goes in this way, this one goes in this way, and you're sort of. Imagine if you're holding your hand, like a little, you know, circle, and then you're putting the flowers in, right? So then you can look at it, and you can see how it's going to look. And all the. The flower stems should be crisscrossed, right? So that there's one point where all the stems are kind of close together in that circle of your hand, if that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Yeah.
>> Leslie Seiler: So, right, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: They're bunched in one. Tightly in one area. Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: Exactly. But at the bottom, the stems are kind of going out in different directions because they're crisscrossing. Right. Then what you do is where your hand is, you can tie a piece of ribbon or some twine or an elastic or something to hold the. So it's almost like you're making a neck. So all the flowers are held together at that neck.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: And then the stems can go whatever way underneath. It doesn't matter because you're going to put those in the vase. Vase. But then you have that, and it's. Then you can put it in any size vase. You don't have to worry about how wide your vase is, because often we have vases that are so wide, but again, not enough flowers to fill them. But if you make that arrangement in your hand first, and then you just tie the flowers together, they're not going to go anywhere. Then you can cut your stems on an angle, drop that into a vase, and your arrangement is. Is done for you. So no matter what you've brought, you know, if somebody brings you, you know, a dozen roses in a box, that looks beautiful in the box. But how do I now transfer them into a vase? Well, try this. Try kind of arranging them in your hand and then tying them so that they kind of look like a bouquet. And then put them in your vase.
>> Marco Timpano: It's also brilliant if you have a garden.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, you want to put an arrangement together, and you're like, okay, what do I cut? What do I, How do I do this? You can put them in your hand and form that bouquet whilst you're in your garden. Tie it off, bring it inside, and put it in your vase and away, you go.
>> Leslie Seiler: Exactly. And then, boom, you're done.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah, that's it. That's what I should have opened with. That was the number one tip that. Thank goodness I remembered it.
Marco: How do you deal with thorns on a rose
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I would be remiss if I didn't ask you this, Leslie M. How do you deal with thorns on a rose?
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh. So I take them off with a knife.
>> Marco Timpano: So just peel them back like you're peeling an apple or something. Like, just strip them off. Is that what you do?
>> Leslie Seiler: Exactly. So just at the base of the thorn, just take the knife and again, always do this away from you so you don't cut yourself. And you just like, floop. Like floop, floop, floop. You're just sort of like picking them off, like a little peel. Like, just.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Leslie, thank you so much. I've learned so much in this episode, and I hope you have, too. Listening. If you want to see some of Leslie's designs, you can follow her on Instagram at Leslie Seiler, and I'll have that in the show notes. Leslie, thank you so much for being a guest on the Insomnia project.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, thank you for having me back, Marco. It's always so much fun to talk to you and just like, like, get really deep into a topic. I love it.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. Well, we'll have to have you back and talk either more flowers or another topic. Leslie, you're a wonderful guest. Thank you.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, absolutely. Thank you, Marco. So nice to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: And I hope our listeners were able to gain some knowledge. And if you were excited, as I was during this episode and weren't able to fall asleep, well, I hope you have some relaxing tips on what to do with your flower arrangement. And. And the rest of you, I hope you were able to listen and sleep.
I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me once again is a dear friend from Los Angeles, Leslie Seiler. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, thank you, Marco. I'm so happy to be back here again.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. We had a wonderful holiday, episode with Leslie. And our holiday episodes only are up for the month of December and a little bit of January, so you'll have to wait till next year to hear that episode again. But I was fortunate enough to have Leslie say, yeah, I'll come back on the podcast and we'll do another episode. So here she is.
>> Leslie Seiler: oh, absolutely. And very excited. I'm excited to be here.
Leslie Seiler has a secret talent when it comes to flower arranging
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Leslie, I know you as a talented writer, director, and first and foremost, anyways, actor, comedian, improviser. That's what's dear to my heart when I think of Leslie Seiler. But you also have a great talent when it comes to flower arranging. Tell me about that.
>> Leslie Seiler: It is my hidden. It's my secret talent. I tell a lot of people, even though, I do post about it a lot on social media, so it's not so secret. But still, a lot of people don't know. yeah, I, have this secret skill as a florist, as a floral designer. and it started because way back in high school, like, my first, like, after school job just ended up being at a flower shop. It was just a flower shop looking for a clerk. And so I applied and I ended up working at a place called Plant Care Plus.
>> Marco Timpano: Plant Care Plus.
>> Leslie Seiler: Plant Care plus in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. And, they, the lady who ran it, or who was the manager, she sort of just took me under her wing. I guess she liked me, and so she just started teaching me, because it had a small. It was mostly plants, but had a small floral department as well. And she just started teaching me how to arrange flowers. And so she would even give me little assignments or say, okay, make something like this or try this. And, so she really let me play around and practice, because I think it is a skill that truly only through practice can you, you know, there might be, some innate talent in that you might have an eye for color or, or something like that. but really practicing I think makes. Is, is the key to a good florist.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay. So practice makes perfect when it comes to flower arranging.
Leslie: Practice makes perfect when it comes to flower arranging. Which maybe does connect to practice making perfect
>> Marco Timpano: So Leslie, can you give us some other secret tips? One should know when they're approaching a flower arrangement.
>> Leslie Seiler: Absolutely I can. so this is almost gonna sound absolutely contradictory to what I just said, but just follow your instincts.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: And I mean that truthfully. Like if you do start playing around with flower arranging, then just truly start playing around with it. Which maybe does connect to pract, practice making perfect. But it means, you know, if you're drawn to certain colors, play within those colors. you know, if you want to, if you love all whites, then grab all kinds of white flowers and put those together and just sort of start, I think playing with it. Because again, I, I guess this does match that. It's just practice makes perfect. So my biggest, advice would be just to start, you know, grab some you know, you can, even at the grocery store, you can get pre made bouquets, but you can also get. Sometimes they'll have like different clumps of flour. So you can get a whole batch of, you know, tulips and a whole batch of you, roses and a whole batch of daisies or whatever it is. And just play around with putting those together, certain phases and such. The other thing because I think this key is don't be afraid to cut them short. I think a lot of people, when they get, especially when you get a bouquet and you think, because this will happen a lot, people get a bouquet or some flowers from the store and they just kind of clip off the bottom and put them in. And then in the vase, you know, your vase is so wide that the flowers are all kind of flailing everywhere. So don't be afraid to kind of clump them together in your hand, make them a little bit shorter in your vase. They'll of stay together a little bit more. So that's kind of a fun tip as well.
>> Marco Timpano: When you cut. Are we supposed to cut our flowers on an angle?
>> Leslie Seiler: You are. And and with a knife if possible. Because when you cut them with scissors. So a lot of people will cut them with scissors or clippers. It's basically when you cut with the scissors, it cuts it, but it also closes the, the, the pores basically because scissors close on each other. Right. If you think about it. But if you cut with a knife, so the ideally kind of on an angle and cut away from yourself on an angle. and even just like a paring knife or something will work. I actually have floral knives obviously, which you can buy on, you know, you can go on to Amazon and Google floral knife. They're not expensive if you're really passionate.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Leslie Seiler: yeah, but doing on an angle because also the angle just makes the area of the ah. Of What's like the, the area of what's the surface area. That's what I'm trying to say. Thank you. The surface area that the water, can get up flower is bigger if you do it on an angle and I see. Yeah, it opens the pores wider, basically.
>> Marco Timpano: What a brilliant tip though. I didn't realize that if you use scissors, if I'm hearing what you're saying, you're kind of pinching the flower and crushing it. Right, Exactly. With a knife, you're making a clean cut that keeps the the flower open or the stem open to receive the water that it needs to stay alive.
>> Leslie Seiler: You summed that up perfectly. That's exactly it. That's exactly it. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
You should actually put your flowers in warm water first, right
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so that brings me to leaves. I heard somewhere that you're supposed to remove any leaf that would be in the water. So strip it. So, that whatever gets submerged, there's no leaf in the water.
>> Leslie Seiler: Exactly. You are correct because. Yes. So you can either, you can do that with your hands if it's, you know, a non thorny flower. So don't do it with a rose because you'll, you know, if you, if you run your hand down a rose stem, you might get full of, full of thorns.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Leslie Seiler: But any other flower, you just sort of put your fingers around the stem and just pull down right down the stem and take all the leaves with you. and the reason for that is because the water will get murky faster. And then once you start to get, kind of start getting moldy, gross brown water, which is what the leaves will do because they start to disintegrate obviously in the water. And then your flowers aren't getting nice fresh, clear water. They're starting to kind of take in mold and other things that are going to make them last less time. Right. Or die quicker, I guess. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's something I've been told, but I feel like in practice it's difficult. You're supposed to change the water every day.
>> Leslie Seiler: You know, I think every day is a little extreme.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah. So some people might say that I would say every like four days even.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: and really, you can also do it by sight. So especially if you have a clear vase, if it starts to look murky, then absolutely change it. if it's a non clear vase, then yeah, you might have to kind of peek inside and go, how's that water doing? But every third or fourth day, I think is. Is more than enough. The other thing to note is that flowers do drink a lot of water. We don't actually think it. So if you put flowers in a vase. I was just. I have some actually out there just now that I'm thinking of. And the water is very low, so you also want to watch that, especially if you have stems that are at different lengths to make sure all the stems are still reaching the water. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: What about water temperature? Does that factor in?
>> Leslie Seiler: This is going to blow a lot of people's minds. You should actually put your flowers in warm water first. Oh, everyone would think, oh, cold, cold, cold, they got to be cold. But warm water is easier for your flowers to drink. It's the same as the human body, actually, because don't they say we're supposed to drink room temperature water versus cold, or just our bodies react to it differently? But for flowers. So not hot. although I have. Well, I'll hold on to that. I have another tip for you in a second. But definitely warm water. So it should not be ice cold when you bring those flowers home because you want. Because they are thirsty at this point if they have been out of water for a while.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Leslie Seiler: So you want to give them something that's easy to drink quickly.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's a great tip. I'll be using that one for sure. What's this other tip of yours?
>> Leslie Seiler: Well, then I was like, oh, there is a time to use hot water. So there are some flowers that are very finicky and can, I guess die or wilt quickly, but they can also be brought back to life. So the number one flower, if anyone out there is a hydrangea fan and they ever get cut hydrangeas so often you'll get a beautiful bouquet. Oh, my God. It's got three or four hydrangea. This is lovely. And then the next morning you'll get up and the hydrangea will be like, like it'll look dead. It'll be all wilty, all, all it needs. I promise you, if you take it out, just wiggle it out of the bouquet, give it a fresh cut, put it in hot water. Within about an hour or two, it'll look as fresh as new. It Just drinks it up and it brings it back to life.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it safe to say that, the hydrangea, of all the flowers, is maybe the kind of flower that likes a warm tea or a hot tea, like, some people are like that. It might be the most British of flowers, one could say.
>> Leslie Seiler: Perhaps it is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Leslie Seiler: It doesn't appreciate a cold lemonade. It would rather a warm tea break.
Tell me about your favorite flowers and what flowers are great for arranging
All right, Leslie, let me ask you this.
>> Marco Timpano: Since we're on flowers, tell me about your favorite flowers and what flowers are great for arranging what flowers aren't your favorite? Just some. Let's just talk flowers.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, gosh, yes. Okay. This is tough, because to name my favorite flower.
>> Marco Timpano: O.
>> Leslie Seiler: It's. It's tough. I love. Oh, my God. Well, stalk is one of my most favorite flowers. And for anyone who's listening, maybe tomorrow when, they have some time, Google what a stalk is flower.
>> Marco Timpano: I have no. I have no idea what a stalk is.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh. When you see it, you might go, oh, that. So they kind of look like a snapdragon or like a larkspur. Like one of those taller flowers where. Okay. they're like a long, sort of vertical kind of flower.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, almost like a gladiota. No, but.
>> Leslie Seiler: But, fluffier, like, as if. So long and tall. Like, not quite as tall as a gladiola, but they kind of look like, Again, I'm just going to name probably other flowers that maybe you don't know. Delphinium. No.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, delphinium.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not like a grass. Like a pompous grass, right?
>> Leslie Seiler: No, no, no, no. They're a very fluffy, romantic, like, beautiful flower. That's why I love them. But.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah, but they have, like, lots of blooms. So, like, it's a long stem with, like, lots of blooms. So, like, from. You know, there might be, like, 5 or 6 inches of bloom up the stem, if that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: And they're so. Oh, go ahead. You kind of, like.
>> Marco Timpano: I was gonna say kind of like a lupine. Like Lupinesque or.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yes, like a lupin. Okay, you do know lupins. Okay, good. Yes, like a lupin. So, yeah, like snapdragon, lupin, delphinium, stalk. Those are all the same kind of like, tall flower with, like, lots of blooms. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yep. Yes. But stock also have the most amazing smell. They almost smell like fresh green apples, which I know seems impossible, but if you get a fresh. Like, every time I go into a flower shop, if I'm working or whatever I'm doing, I'll just take A big bunch of stock and just sniff them. and they come in gorgeous flowers. Purples, lavenders, pinks, cream white. so they're really, really pretty. That's definitely one of my favorite things.
>> Marco Timpano: sounds like they also add height and a bit of drama to your arrangement.
>> Leslie Seiler: Absolutely. Especially they can. Like, the purple is such a dark, gorgeous, rich purple that. That can add the drama, for sure. but then again, what's nice is even if you're doing a low, kind of, like, tight arrangement, like maybe something in, like, a round bubble vase or something like that, they can give a little bit of height but still add to the thickness because they are such a fluffy, thick flower. So even if you cut them a little bit shorter, they're still kind of poking out of the arrangement, but adding to the. The bulk. The bulk of it, if that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful. For sure.
>> Leslie Seiler: Beautiful. I mean, and then, of course, I. I do love. I. I do like roses. I have nothing against them, but, you know, they're not like, top. Top of the list, but they can be beautiful as well. I do like hydrangea. Oh. What else are favorites? But what.
>> Marco Timpano: Where do you stand on one of my favorite flowers, which is. I. I never know how to pronounce it correctly, so. Forgive me, Leslie, I'm going to say that off the top. Anthuriums.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, anthuriums. That was it. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
Rebel: I love tropical flowers. Here's why I love them
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's at the tropical.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Leslie Seiler: And.
>> Speaker A: Yes.
>> Leslie Seiler: And you. You like the, sort of the red or I guess they come in many different colors. Oh, they can come in pink and white. So I'm just picturing them all now.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's why I love them. So when I was a kid, there was a television show called Fantasy island, and whenever the guests would get off the plane and be in this Fantasy island world, there was always these, these flowers. These anthuriums, I think is how you say them. Anthuriums. And, I always thought they were so exotic. And at that time, I had never seen one in real life because they were tropical flowers. And at that time, I don't think we had the same sort of ability to have flowers shipped from all over the world. Cut to years later, I saw them in real life, and they look so waxy, and they look so. Almost like. They almost don't look like real flowers. But there was something so fascinating and nostalgic for me. I love those flowers.
>> Leslie Seiler: You're so right. They look like plastic or. You said wax. Wax or plastic.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
>> Leslie Seiler: I think. Well, that's what's great because so now we're. Now we're in a different genre of flower, which is the tropical. No, no, but that's great because. Because that's all the tropicals. So. Okay, how do I feel about the Anthurium? I will say tropicals aren't my favorite. I see. I do prefer. Or, like if I was making. But I, but I. They are gorgeous and I can appreciate especially the Anthurium because I have had arrangements with. Especially when they come in shades of that you almost don't expect. So yeah, it's kind of mean for me to say that, that tropicals aren't my favorite because they are gorgeous. But but yeah, I think I prefer more like fluffy, gardeny, romantic, that kind of thing. But, But the Anthurium is. Birds of paradise is in that category. I don't know how you feel about those.
>> Marco Timpano: Love them.
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Where do you feel orchids fit in a flower bouquet or arrangement
>> Leslie Seiler: yeah, Dendrobian orchids, which come in like gorgeous purples, lime greens. Like you can make some pretty spectacular stuff with, with, with tropicals. I feel like I've been too hard on them now by saying they're not my favorite.
>> Marco Timpano: But where do you, how do you feel orchids fit in the flower bouquet or arrangement? hierarchy, I guess.
>> Leslie Seiler: Hierarchy. It depends on the kind. Because a Dendrobium orchid can be beautiful because again they have length and height. Right. Because they, they're going to long flower with like many stem or many blooms on the stem. So they can be very beautiful. And they do give your arrangement kind of especially if it's like a hand tied bouquet, almost an exotic feel. Which I think it can be really, really pretty and very special. It feels very different. But I do truly love a cymbidian orchid. Oh, wow. So the cymbidians are, I don't how to describe. They're a one larger bloom. So often they're by themselves. It's one large bloom, almost the size of the palm of your hand, I would say. And they can come in again lime greens, rich purples, white with gorgeous pink centers, purpley pink. And often what you do with a cymbidian orchid is they also come on a giant thick stem with like 25 of these flowers on it. But often flourishes. We, we cut off each bloom and sell each bloom separately. That's how gorgeous they are. Just as one piece.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Leslie Seiler: And then we wire them so we stick a little. We usually put them in like a, a tube of water. Like a rose tube.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Leslie Seiler: And then we wire them onto a longer stick or something and then we put them into arrangements and bouquets.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh wow.
>> Leslie Seiler: But they're again, they almost like your anthurium. They don't quite have a fake look, but they're a sturdy flower. Like the anthurium is sturdy, like so they're sturdy or almost waxy or plasticky. but so stunning. So for me a symbidium orchid in an arrangement or a bouquet is stunning. Like next level. and bride bouquets. wedding bouquets, definitely very popular because they're these gorgeous, again, romantic, rich, really pretty flowers.
Are there difficult flowers to have in an arrangement? Yes, absolutely. Tulips are very hard to arrange
>> Marco Timpano: Are there difficult flowers to have in an arrangement?
>> Leslie Seiler: Yes, absolutely. tulips are very hard. This is why, tulips, open and very quickly and they continue to grow when they're in water. So if you buy some tulips today and you cut them in three or four days, they're going to be 2 inches longer. So what that just means is that it's hard to put them in an arrangement because they're going change size and shape. It's not like they're going to stay where you put them, basically, if that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Leslie Seiler: The other thing that's hard about tulips is that they. And any flower that has that juicy stem. So like a tulip, a daffodil, hyacinth, which I do love hyacinth, but they have a juicy, juicy stem. They can be difficult, to put in vases because the thumbs. So if you're doing a taped vase, which is where you take a vase and we put clear tape to make kind of like a grid over the top of the vase, and then we use that to hold the flowers as we kind of arrange. Arrange them. Right, if that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, it does.
>> Leslie Seiler: The other thing you can do though, of course, is an oasis arrangement, which is floral foam, which is like green foam that you soak in water and then you stick the flowers in it. so you can make arrangements that way. But that's very difficult with flowers that have juicy stems because. Oh, you go to stick it in the foam and it just, it, it doesn't want to go in. You have to really work it in or your stems break a lot because the, the juicy stem won't go in the juicy foam. You know what I mean?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Is that when a frog comes to the rescue and,
>> Leslie Seiler: Wait, is it because he, he drinks all the juice out of the stem?
>> Marco Timpano: No. Isn't that what that's called? Leslie, I'm not sure. It's like this spiky thing that you put. It's like this round. Isn't that called a frog? Maybe I got it wrong. Now I feel like I got it wrong.
>> Leslie Seiler: No, you're gonna love this. I don't know what that's called, but I think. Isn't that. Are we talking about the thing which is. Is very popular in Japanese, floral arrangements which would use a lot of your tropicals, like anthuriums, because often a Japanese style arrangement is, like, minimalistic, or it's got more of those, like, long, you know, orchids and things. So normally the. The base, like, it's. It's all these flowers coming out of that little frog. That little, like, comb thing. Is that what you mean? The little. Yeah, it looks like a.
>> Marco Timpano: It looks like a spiky.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Puck. And those spikes spike up, and then you put. You put flowers in the spikes so that they stay ye. And I always thought it was called a frog, but I could be wrong. But that's how I know it. And that's why I was thinking maybe a juicy stem sits better on a frog than, in that foam. It would.
>> Leslie Seiler: A juicy stem would sit better on a frog. You're right.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: but I will say this. I've never combined foam and the frog, so maybe I have to.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought the frog is its own thing, and the foam is its own thing, and never the two shall meet.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah, I've never had the two meet. But also, after this, I do have to Google what that thing is called. And if, you're probably right, it is called a frog. And I just never knew that.
>> Marco Timpano: I bet in the industry it's not called that. It's called, like, a pin cushion or something like that. I'm sure you guys have a different term for it, and I think just, you know, for we who buy things online, they want to give it a fun name. I'm sure that's why it's called a frog.
You are originally from Halifax in Nova Scotia and now live in Los Angeles
let me ask you this, Leslie. Yeah. You are originally from Halifax in Nova Scotia. Now you live in Los Angeles. Is there a difference in the flowers that you arranged in both places? Have you noticed a difference. Like, are the flowers different that you're arranging? Are they fresh? Certain flowers? Fresher? Tell me. Tell me your impression of having arranged in both places.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yes, absolutely. And I also did do a pit stop and arranged in Toronto as well. So I have three. So definitely the flowers in Nova Scotia are more expensive. They just. Just not a lot there. We do have some local products, but the season for local, Nova Scotia product is shorter. It's. It really is restricted kind of to summer. So from, like, May to August, you're probably getting maybe more of the local stuff, and then otherwise, you're shipping stuff in. So probably less tropical, less. You know, roses might be a little more expensive because they're coming from Ecuador or Colombia or all of those things. Sure. Toronto was somewhere in between, where seasonally, you know, again, there would be some local, But.
>> Speaker A: But.
>> Leslie Seiler: But Always. There's always the option to get stuff that is coming from Hawaii or, again, South America or maybe somewhere in the States. But Toronto, again, would have some local stuff. definitely. Like, certain kinds of hydrangea, for sure would be cheaper in Toronto at a certain time, at certain times of year, as well as peonies, which had a very short season. That's that peonies are often a flower you don't ship in, just because they're so delicate and they don't last very long. But they're gorgeous. I forgot those in my favorite list.
>> Marco Timpano: We, talk about peonies a lot this podcast, Leslie. Yeah. Because they're the flower that requires ants to help open them up.
>> Leslie Seiler: Of course they are. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So for some reason, and they're the type of flower. So long story short, because I've said it before on the podcast, but I transplanted my mom's peonies from her house to mine when she moved. And they're also a finicky flower, so they might be like, you moved me to a different area. I'm not going to bloom for two years type thing.
>> Leslie Seiler: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But my mother's bloomed the next year, and I was really happy. And then I had a window put in my front, and of course, the people putting in the window trampled all over my peonies. But they bloomed again the next year, and I was like, this is great, these peonies. And then this year, they decided to replace the fire hydrant that happens to be right in front of my house on my property. And by doing that, they ripped it completely out and really disturbed all my flowers in the front, Leslie. And so I'm just crossing my fingers and stay tuned, friends, to hear if my peonies bloom this year. And I'll take pictures and send them out. But, you have to. Yeah, they're a personal. I guess you could say the peonies is the flower of the Insomnia Project. So thank you for bringing that one up.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, my God, I'm glad they came up. yes, yes. well, well, interestingly enough, I will say there's. Peonies are more readily available, in California, for sure. And I would say, in general, what I've noticed is we have, I, would say lot more variety for more of the year, I think, is what I've noticed in California. So whether it's locals or tropicals or there's just more product, less expensive and just kind of more of it is what I have noticed here.
Have you been to the flower market in downtown la. I, I can't believe I haven't
>> Marco Timpano: Have you been to the flower market in downtown la.
>> Leslie Seiler: You're. I, I can't believe I haven't. But my friend. And we were, I think, because a good friend of mine goes every Sunday, pretty much, or at least every second Sunday, and she is just like, you have to go, Leslie. You have to go. So I will. And when I do, I will take some pictures, I will share it on social media, and I will probably lose my mind.
>> Marco Timpano: I went for a friend's wedding when I was. It's, it's, it's impossible to describe. So we were in LA for a friend's wedding and my wife went to the flower. The flower area in downtown la and I went to the jewelry or the gems and jewelry making area of Los Angeles, which are both downtown and not far from each other. And my mind was completely blown because of everything I saw in the jewelry district of Los Angeles is incredible. And then going from these vibrant gems everywhere and beautiful jewelry being made and then going to the flower district, it was just, it was just incredible to see the amount, the scope, and the different kinds of flowers that were available there. It's. It's incredible.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah. Yeah. I think the variety is, again, quite remarkable.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Leslie Seiler: and again in, in every season, because I've worked, you know, I guess Valentine's would be more winter. Mother's Day is obviously spring into summer. yeah. Oh, wow. I, I have to go. I have to go to this flower market. It.
>> Marco Timpano: Most definitely you have to go.
Give your florist some guidelines on how much to charge for flowers
Let me ask you this, Leslie. Okay. So I'm not a florist, I'm not an arranger, but I'm certainly someone who buys flowers.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What's a good tip for, for those of us who call florists to buy flowers? What should we be saying to florists that make the arrangement prettier or make your job easier?
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, what a great question. Because, listen, it's very tempting to go online and pick like a picture from online, but that is the most recent restrictive thing you can do and probably will end up giving you something that you, you didn't really imagine. Because as the florist, I'm going to try and make it like the picture, but I'm going to have to substitute things or maybe it won't be quite. And of course I'll try to make it beautiful. But here's what you should do. Call your florist and you can give them some guidelines so know how much you want to spend. so, you know, I, I want something for $70. I want it in, and Then give them a color palette. So either bright and colorful, pale and, and pastel, or, you know, pink, orange. This person's favorite colors are purple and white. You know, give us a palette to work within. Right, okay. and then if you desperately have one or two favorite flowers, you can say, can it include some roses, can it include some tulips? But the less restrictive you are, and to be honest, the more you leave it to the designer, Designer's choice, you're nine times out of ten you're going to get something much more beautiful. So give your florist some guidelines, but don't be super specific because then you're sort of, you're backing us into a corner where we'll try to make what you're sort of picturing, but it's never going to be exactly like you're picturing. Or maybe we don't have the exact flower that you want. So yeah, if that makes sense. Give us the guidelines and let us do our thing.
Okay, so Leslie, I'm going to give you some guidelines for an arrangement
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so Leslie, I'm going to give you some guidelines. Assume you have whatever flower you could possibly want in front of you. You and assume my budget is between 70 and $100. I'm a big spender today.
>> Leslie Seiler: All right. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: If I said something like tall and spiky.
>> Marco Timpano: What would you put in that arrangement?
>> Leslie Seiler: Okay, so I'm definitely going to put in, some dendro. We're going to go get some dendrobium orchids because they're going to be gorgeous, tall and spiky, I think. oh, but wait, now I want to put curly willow and I'm not sure if that's going to go with the orchids.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We'll see.
>> Leslie Seiler: We'll see. So I want some curly willow because, because it's very seasonal this time of year and that's kind of like a pretty branch that's going to go up and around. Then I'm going to go snapdragons. I am going to put some stock in there because they're tall, but they're still going to give it a little bit of kind of, thickness. Then I am going to put in some, some roses as those are going to kind of. Because something that's all tall and spiky, we need to fill it in a little bit. Right. So it's going to be outlined with the snapdragons, the curly willow, the stalk. Then we're going to get some roses in there and then probably some ranunculus because they're just so gorgeous this time of year. I can't even handle it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: And I think the look that I'm creating my mind with the curly willow and the roses, it's a little bit fresh and woodsy, but it's a little bit romantic as well. So I'm going to get some of those ranunculus in there. And, And. Yeah, and that's going to be beautiful. Then I'll look at it, I'll fill it out with whatever sort of we need. But sure. Yeah, that's how I'm going to start. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have a go to filler, Leslie?
>> Leslie Seiler: I wax, flower, probably.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: I, don't love baby's breath. and that's not just because it's popular not to like it.
>> Speaker A: It.
>> Leslie Seiler: Because it is popular to also like it. Some people really love it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Leslie Seiler: But I think it's also very difficult to work with baby's breath because it's so fluffy and it breaks so easily and it's so chunky that to put it into an arrangement, it kind of. It just kind of clumps. You can't really spread it around and make it kind of nice and even. yeah. So for me, it's not my favorite, but I'll put it in if you are really in love with it. But wax flower comes in a lot of beautiful colors. Whites, pinks, purples. And it. It's. It's soft and. And, it can be spiky. So it might go into your spiky arrangement because it can be long and tall, but it can also be a little more clumpy. So if I was doing a. An arrangement that needed some filler like that, I would definitely do that. Oh, and one more hypericum. Hypericum. If you've never. If you don't know what hypericum is, Google it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: But they almost look like berries on a stick, truthfully. But they come in, like, lime green and, like, soft pink and white and all these, like, gorgeous colors that you wouldn't expect. And they can really add, like, dimension and just something really different to an arrangement that just. You're like, oh, this is so beautiful. so they can really add something.
Is there an unsung hero in the flower arranging world
>> Marco Timpano: Is there an unsung hero in the flower arranging world?
>> Leslie Seiler: What is the un. I think it's greenery in general. And I'm going to say this because a lot of people are like, not too much greenery. I once had a man say, I'm not buying a salad here.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Leslie Seiler: And I just wanted to turn to him and say, if I put no greenery in this, you'll take it home and imagine a vase of flowers with just. I mean, you can do it. But if you want a vase that's full of only flowers and no greens, it's going to be a lot of flowers. You're talking about 100, $200 worth of flowers to fill a vase where it. It looks full. However, you can spend $30 on some gorgeous blooms. And then I'll come in there and I'll put in some gorgeous salal, maybe some seeded eucalyptus, maybe even a little bit of bear grass or something, and it's going to fill that out, and it's going to give a collar, and it's going to hold your flowers in place, and you're going to have a beautiful bouquet. But if you're all, oh, no greenery. No greenery.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah. So that's the young sun hero.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, you could take a big monstera, leaf stem, cut it and put it in a vase, and it just brings drama. And then you just need one other flower in there, and you've got a most beautiful arrangement.
>> Leslie Seiler: Absolutely. Exactly. Thank you. Yes. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Linda? Leslie, I don't even know where I am right now, because I'm caught
>> Leslie Seiler: up in those leaves.
One great way to make an arrangement at home very quickly is with a vase
>> Marco Timpano: we're coming to the end of this episode, but I feel like there's so much more flower to talk about. Is there anything that we didn't mention that has come up in your mind that you're like, oh, I want to say this, or I want to mention this about flowers?
>> Leslie Seiler: Yes, I forgot something very important. So one great way to make an arrangement for yourself at home very quickly, if you just have a vase is,
>> Marco Timpano: oh, take your time. It's not a problem. Leslie, you tell us. You tell us everything we need to know.
>> Leslie Seiler: All right, I will. So you've got your flowers, and you want to make an arrangement. So basically what you do is you arrange them in your hand for first, right? So you start putting them in your hand, and you put them in, like, kind of at an angle, right? So this one goes in this way, this one goes in this way, and you're sort of. Imagine if you're holding your hand, like a little, you know, circle, and then you're putting the flowers in, right? So then you can look at it, and you can see how it's going to look. And all the. The flower stems should be crisscrossed, right? So that there's one point where all the stems are kind of close together in that circle of your hand, if that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Yeah.
>> Leslie Seiler: So, right, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: They're bunched in one. Tightly in one area. Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: Exactly. But at the bottom, the stems are kind of going out in different directions because they're crisscrossing. Right. Then what you do is where your hand is, you can tie a piece of ribbon or some twine or an elastic or something to hold the. So it's almost like you're making a neck. So all the flowers are held together at that neck.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Leslie Seiler: And then the stems can go whatever way underneath. It doesn't matter because you're going to put those in the vase. Vase. But then you have that, and it's. Then you can put it in any size vase. You don't have to worry about how wide your vase is, because often we have vases that are so wide, but again, not enough flowers to fill them. But if you make that arrangement in your hand first, and then you just tie the flowers together, they're not going to go anywhere. Then you can cut your stems on an angle, drop that into a vase, and your arrangement is. Is done for you. So no matter what you've brought, you know, if somebody brings you, you know, a dozen roses in a box, that looks beautiful in the box. But how do I now transfer them into a vase? Well, try this. Try kind of arranging them in your hand and then tying them so that they kind of look like a bouquet. And then put them in your vase.
>> Marco Timpano: It's also brilliant if you have a garden.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, you want to put an arrangement together, and you're like, okay, what do I cut? What do I, How do I do this? You can put them in your hand and form that bouquet whilst you're in your garden. Tie it off, bring it inside, and put it in your vase and away, you go.
>> Leslie Seiler: Exactly. And then, boom, you're done.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah, that's it. That's what I should have opened with. That was the number one tip that. Thank goodness I remembered it.
Marco: How do you deal with thorns on a rose
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I would be remiss if I didn't ask you this, Leslie M. How do you deal with thorns on a rose?
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh. So I take them off with a knife.
>> Marco Timpano: So just peel them back like you're peeling an apple or something. Like, just strip them off. Is that what you do?
>> Leslie Seiler: Exactly. So just at the base of the thorn, just take the knife and again, always do this away from you so you don't cut yourself. And you just like, floop. Like floop, floop, floop. You're just sort of like picking them off, like a little peel. Like, just.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Leslie Seiler: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Leslie, thank you so much. I've learned so much in this episode, and I hope you have, too. Listening. If you want to see some of Leslie's designs, you can follow her on Instagram at Leslie Seiler, and I'll have that in the show notes. Leslie, thank you so much for being a guest on the Insomnia project.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, thank you for having me back, Marco. It's always so much fun to talk to you and just like, like, get really deep into a topic. I love it.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. Well, we'll have to have you back and talk either more flowers or another topic. Leslie, you're a wonderful guest. Thank you.
>> Leslie Seiler: Oh, absolutely. Thank you, Marco. So nice to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: And I hope our listeners were able to gain some knowledge. And if you were excited, as I was during this episode and weren't able to fall asleep, well, I hope you have some relaxing tips on what to do with your flower arrangement. And. And the rest of you, I hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Travel stories and a sore foot
(Original airdate: July 14, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about the mundane.
I haven't released a show in a few weeks because I injured my foot
Today's show is going to start with a little tiny bit of a trigger warning. I just want to start by saying I am perfectly fine, but I haven't released a show in a few weeks because I injured my foot. So. Dear listeners, I know a lot of people have reached out to ask why we haven't had a show in a bit. I apologize. I just. My foot was really sore and injured and I couldn't really walk and so I couldn't get to our studio to record. And so what we did, I'm feeling better. I've had X rays. It seems like I've bruised my bone in my foot and we're working with it and I'm walking much better, so I don't want anyone to think anything else. But in order to record today, my lovely wife, Amanda. Welcome, Amanda, to the show.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi. I was just thinking about the narrative of your foot.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe we'll talk about that. Was, kind enough to bring my, my second tier equipment up to our bedroom so we could record, with my foot stretched out and iced, in the bed, which we've never recorded in the bed before. And this is a show about sleep. So thank you for doing all that for me.
>> Amanda Barker: For most people that would be a clandest thing. For us it's a relaxing thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we're just relaxing from the third floor of our place with comfortable pillows and me propped up. So thank you, Amanda, for that. No, thank you for helping me set this up. So I'm going to do my best to record consistently, but I apologize for the last three weeks and not having any episodes or any, social media post to let you know what was going on.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, everyone takes a vacation. Even you and your foot decided that it was time for you to take a vacation.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's what I'm doing. A little vacation.
Amanda says when she travels she's the most Virgo
speaking of vacations, tell me, Amanda, what do you pack in your suitcase that you put with you on the plane? Not the one you check, not your checked bag.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. Because, you know, I'm very, What's the word?
>> Marco Timpano: Persnickety.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a word. I don't know that that's the word. I'm very, precise.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: With what I pack and how I pack it. And I feel very taken care of when I have all my things in their place. I think when I travel I'm the most Virgo. I am. Because I'm a Virgo in the truest
>> Marco Timpano: sense of the word.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, in the astrological world, which, you know, you might believe in that or not believe in that. But for me, my Virgo ism is my, preciseness. But it's not always there. It comes and goes. And But I think at my heart that's who I am. And certainly I'm, I'm in my heart when I travel. So I have had a few different backpacks over the years. I like to travel with a backpack. and my current backpack. It was actually your backpack.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. I had purchased this backpack that I was really excited to have.
>> Marco Timpano: And then it wasn't working out for me. I didn't like it. I spent quite a bit of money on it and. And I just couldn't make it work. And I was ready to.
>> Amanda Barker: You were trying to sell it.
>> Marco Timpano: I was trying to sell it and get rid of it.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm so glad you didn't, because I've used it so many times.
>> Marco Timpano: And then you said, let me try it, and you're like, I love this backpack.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was great.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the worst backpack for me and it's the best backpack for you.
>> Amanda Barker: Should we name the company or just leave that out?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm sure you can name the company. I mean, they're not a sponsor, but listeners like to know.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, it's a Lululemon backpack. And, as a former yoga teacher, or a yoga teacher on a very long sabbatical, as I like to say, I, I used a lot of their products at one time in my life. And, I do find their backpacks particularly intuitive.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And very well made. And I appreciate a company that will mend or fix something long after the purchase date for you. And that is genuine, genuinely their mission. Genuinely. And generally, I don't know if it still is because I haven't bought anything in the last little while from them.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But, so I had a Lululemon backpack, I had the zipper replaced, I had the men, I had all these things. And finally it died. but it died after I took it on, at least a plain a week for three years. So it, as our friend would say, it owed me nothing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. What makes a good backpack for you?
>> Amanda Barker: I think there's an intuitiveness, lots of compartments, strength. The number one thing you don't want about a backpack is when it is particularly full and you need it to hold things. You don't want a zipper. You know, like you took off your jacket and it's going in there and suddenly it's back bursting. You want a zipper that's going to contain everything and hold it. Not something that's going to pop open.
>> Marco Timpano: And you really test your zippers. I can, I can.
>> Amanda Barker: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: I can swear to that. Because you like to stuff your bags.
>> Amanda Barker: Like to, or need to.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, probably need to. And I remember one time I was telling you, I think if you, if you put any more in, that we might have problems. And sure enough, you and your mother stretched it to the max and zipped it up.
>> Amanda Barker: And then pop goes the weasel. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyways, back to your. Do you remember? It was a funny.
>> Amanda Barker: That was our hard show, too. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It Was a really funny moment.
>> Amanda Barker: You were so. No, it wasn't. Not at the time. You were very upset.
>> Marco Timpano: I wasn't very upset. You. I was fine. Because you were upset with your mother.
>> Amanda Barker: I was laughing.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, first you kind of gave your mother a bit of the. I, told you we shouldn't stuff it. He was telling me that this is what was gonna happen.
Pillows are so not the thing you want to travel with
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And that made me. That made me less.
>> Amanda Barker: It was all because, dear listeners, it was all because my mother, sweet lady that she is, she sews. She would never say she's a champion sewer, but she's great. But she. She sews out of necessity, so. So it wasn't. She's not the person that would make us cute little dresses. She couldn't be bothered with that. But she certainly will make drapes, pillows, and things she wants for her home. So she was making me pillows.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: And so she, had all these pillows at their place. And so I had to get on the plane. And I'm trying to take these pillows, but take up a lot of room.
>> Marco Timpano: Pillows are so not the thing you want to travel with. Like.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they're light.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, no, but, like, you don't want to stuff your. Of all things.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it really takes up a lot of space.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like books. Packing books that are so heavy. But anyway. So your mother made all these pillows?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So anyways, that's what opened it up. But because you think, oh, I can just compress them. They're pillows, but they still open up and take a lot of space. Right. Anyway, the perfect, backpack, as I said, has strength, so the zipper doesn't pop, and lots of compartments. I like having a space for my computer so that I don't have to have a separate computer case. So if a backpack has, like, a gel foamy kind of section that I can just slip my computer into
>> Marco Timpano: that's meant for technology, like tablets and.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, exactly. And sometimes my tablet goes into that space, too, if I'm traveling with one. And, it has a top. I like having a top compartment so that when it's under my feet in the plane, I can kind of just pull that top part up just a little bit, open it up, and have access to any of the things I need without fully pulling the entire thing onto my lap and disrupting everything. So things I would put in the top or in the front. There's a little front compartment.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So, I put headphones into. It's almost like a little plaid pill Box that I got in a museum once, and you looked at me like I had three eyes. Because you're like, why are you buying that? And I was like, this is the perfect headphone box. It's like the size of my thumb. It's sort of hard and clamps shut. And it's perfect to put one or two sets of headphones in. So I put them in there. I always have lip balm.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, you do. And I'm always grateful that you have it.
>> Amanda Barker: I always have access to lip balm, especially on planes.
>> Marco Timpano: You realize how dry your lips get on planes and things.
>> Amanda Barker: I always want to have one handy. There's nothing worse than having dry. Dry, even chafed or cracked lips. And not being able to do something immediately about it drives me crazy. so lip balm. a computer, headphones, tissues, eye mask.
>> Marco Timpano: You always travel with at least one eye?
>> Amanda Barker: I usually have two. You tell me you won't care, and then you're grateful when I hand you one.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: So I have a compartment for them. I have a little bag of them.
>> Marco Timpano: Another trigger warning.
Someone stole your eye mask on a plane once
We once got into a little. Oh, little tiff on a plane because someone stole your eye mask. Remember?
>> Amanda Barker: Was it mine or yours? Oh, it was mine.
>> Marco Timpano: Was yours. Because I never travel with an ina. So do you always travel?
>> Amanda Barker: So we were.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't make it too exciting, because people are trending.
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't. Exciting is not the word.
>> Marco Timpano: No fair.
>> Amanda Barker: Do we have a space between us? A middle seat between us?
>> Marco Timpano: We did.
>> Amanda Barker: And was there a person there or.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, it was just us.
>> Amanda Barker: so how did it end up on your seat then? okay, so the plane was still filling with people. So, you know, that kind of moment, you get on the plane, you find your seat. You're like 36A. Okay, that's me. You're 36C. It wasn't a full plane. So you get the aisle and I get the window, or vice versa. But in that case, that's what it was. And there's other people behind you, so you want to sit there fairly quickly. And then you kind of wait for spaces where you can put your bag up top or get stuck. Settled. Sure. You know, like, I get my eye masks out would be one of the things I would do. So I got my eye masks out, and I asked you if you wanted one. You did, and you were standing, I think, in the aisle. you were. Your eyes were not on the seat necessarily. So you're sort of standing in your seat, but kind of getting things out of your bag up top while. And the aisle was wide enough that people were sort of shimmying by you. Right, right, right. So that eye mask, I put it on your seat as you stood very close to the seat. and then you looked or I looked and said wait, where did it go? And it wasn't there. And it was our personal eye mask.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I think that's key of the story. It wasn't an imac, it wasn't a freebie.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, this, this plane didn't provide very much, if at anything at all. It didn't even provide drinks, if you remember.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it didn't provide you water. You had to buy water, but you
>> Marco Timpano: had to buy water before you got on the plane. You had to pay for it prior to.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, it was something odd like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you had to pre buy your water if you wanted water. But it was a shortish flight.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a shortish flight.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying. My memory was. It was from Israel, the Turkey.
Someone stole an eye mask on a Turkish Airlines flight
>> Marco Timpano: We need to keep kids safe online. But some special interests are sending policymakers in the wrong direction. Pushing the so called App Store Accountability act demanding government ID from all users just to download an app. Replacing parents judgment with government mandates. It doesn't even stand up in court. A better bipartisan bill, the Parents Over Platforms act would put parents in the driver's seat, empowering parents and businesses to keep kids safe without drowning all of us in red tape. Tell Congress to get it done right and put parents over platforms paid for by act, the app Association. I'll go with that.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it was. Yeah, from Tel Aviv to Istanbul.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it was even shorter than that. Well, anyway, it was Jordan too.
>> Amanda Barker: No, because was it at night?
>> Marco Timpano: Jordan during the day?
>> Amanda Barker: Anyways, I think it was Tel Aviv to Istanbul. Anyway. Maybe, maybe not. It was somewhere in there. Right? Maybe it was Turkey to Heathrow.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that would be far.
>> Amanda Barker: Istanbul.
>> Marco Timpano: That would be.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, No, I know it would be, but.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but it was a short, it was a very short flight. It wasn't.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, Istanbul, the Heathrow is not a long. That's like a three hour.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, whatever it was, it was.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it was. I think it was Istanbul to Heath to London.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, whatever. And so I put it on that seat and then I said, where did it go? I just put it there and we look and I'm Like. But I just put it on the seat and you looked and you're like well, it probably fell. And I'm looking and I'm looking and you're looking and it's not there.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not there. It's like it disappeared in thin air.
>> Amanda Barker: People are starting to sit. People are, you know. And now I'm just mad. It's a eye mask I've purchased with a little. I had the matching bag on me. It's not a big deal. Obviously it's not a high ticket item, but it's more. I wanted. I wanted it for the flight and I wanted you to have it for the flight.
>> Marco Timpano: I needed it for the flight so you could sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, after some discussion, I think you. Did you say, did anyone see an eye mask?
>> Marco Timpano: I think I did. I think I kind of. Because I was standing right at the time and I mean, it was really bothering me. I didn't make a huge announcement. I just kind of made announcement where
>> Amanda Barker: you didn't get on the speaker?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm not that. I'm not that type of person.
>> Amanda Barker: People were still kind of filing in, but we were at the back of the plane, I think. So people were filing in more in the front.
>> Marco Timpano: I think I was kind of saying it just to people around us in case it had fallen and we didn't see it.
>> Amanda Barker: You're right. Like the people behind us maybe had fallen.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe that's exactly it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like, hey, did you see an eye mask? Did you see those? And then three or four things down. I think finally somebody said that they had it.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Or somebody else said, she has it.
>> Marco Timpano: That. That was it.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what happened. They said she took it. Someone saw her take it?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, someone said she took it. I saw her take it. That's what they said.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. We were like, what?
>> Marco Timpano: We couldn't. It was kind of like whoever took it was very stealthy because you were sitting down next to the seat where you had placed it. Right. And I was standing.
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't a particularly roomy place.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it was like. Like they. They were like a, cat burglar, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: But I mean, here's the thing. Did they think it was a free.
>> Marco Timpano: Perhaps that's what I think, you know, Turkish Airlines flight. Maybe they saw it. M. Maybe I had.
With the eye mask debacle, everyone supported you and made jokes about it
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe they thought it was from first class and it migrated back at all.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe they were like, oh, this is just on their seat. They don't even realize.
>> Amanda Barker: Who knows the intention of why one takes something. I mean, I think at that point it wasn't obvious. You were sitting in that seat.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So they might have thought someone left it. hey, free eye mask. Fair Enough. but the real controversy with the. With the eye mask debacle happened much later because.
>> Marco Timpano: Because we didn't really care.
>> Amanda Barker: I think I posted, or you posted about the.
>> Marco Timpano: It was more of a funny little.
>> Amanda Barker: I might have been tweeting about.
>> Marco Timpano: I think we were just laughing about how it happened, and we were like, whatever. If they want to keep the mask, they. And I think they kept the mask. Or did they give it back to us?
>> Amanda Barker: They gave it back to us.
>> Marco Timpano: They gave it back to us. It wasn't a.
>> Amanda Barker: At the time, she kind of was like, oh, I have it. Or someone's like, she took it. And then we're like, did you take an eye mask? And she was like, at that point, the jig was, up of the great imac.
>> Marco Timpano: But she was lovely, and we were lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't. It wasn't overly contentious, but it was questionable.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. It's one of those things where you
>> Amanda Barker: start, she was an opportunist, not a thief.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's more of the way to look at it.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
>> Amanda Barker: If I'm being charitable. Who knows? I mean, I think so. But then there was a whole thing, and I think you posted about it in flight or something, kind of as a joke.
>> Marco Timpano: I posted about, like, one of those things. You'll never guess what happened. I think I put it on Facebook.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone supported you and made jokes about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Everybody was kind of thinking it was very funny because it's a funny story.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone but one.
>> Marco Timpano: Everyone but one, who shall remain nameless. Because I don't want that person to feel badly.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it rhymes with my wrister.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'll let you sell out your wrister.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't care. She knows what she did.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So anyway, she. She. She said, what's the big deal? It's an eye mask or something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: For the record, I love your wrister.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, M. And so everybody else was like. She was like, why are you getting so upset? And she kept going on, like, what's the big deal? Why are you getting so upset? I guess you really have a problem that you need an eye mask or something. I have to go back and look. And it was just like, what is she doing? Right? Why? Really? This is the side. This is the hill to die on. Like, really? We kind of just let it go and that was that. Or so we thought.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no. Are you going to part two of this story? Now I feel badly.
>> Amanda Barker: Now I'm just talking about family grievances.
Six weeks later, we step off yet another plane. This time In a place that shall remain nameless
Six weeks later, we step off yet another plane. This time In a place that shall remain nameless, but rhymes with ralfax rova rocha.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And the first thing she says to us is, did Marco find his eye mask? Facetiously and with a tinge of an acid tongue.
>> Marco Timpano: I, I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: This began a new argument.
>> Marco Timpano: I think this is can only wound.
>> Amanda Barker: The scab was peeled off and the wound bled fresh again of the eye mask debacle of 2019.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, everyone's over it now.
Marco recently got sold out by a young friend's daughter
I will say though, speaking of selling people out, I recently got sold out by a six year old daughter of a friend. We have.
>> Amanda Barker: You use the term sell sold out very loosely. I need to clarify.
>> Marco Timpano: I got sold out large.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyone telling anything about you is, in your opinion, getting sold out.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, dear listeners, you let me know if you think I got sold out in this occasion. So we were driving with some friends and I happened to be in the backseat with their daughter. And their daughter, who's six years old, was in the car seat and said, marco, you know, my mother told me to unbuckle my seat and grab the pillow from behind.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a big moment. I was in the car when it happened. And she said, well, if you really want your pillow, we're gonna have to do something like I used to do when I was a kid. We're safe, we're driving, so it's not ideal, but you're gonna unbuckle your seat for two seconds and just reach back and grab it and then buckle back up.
>> Marco Timpano: So she tells me the stories and she says, don't you think that was dangerous? And I said, I don't. I said, I know your mother and she wouldn't take unnecessary risks, so I don't think so. And she's like, but I had to, unbuckle my seat and grab the
>> Amanda Barker: pillow in the moment that she did it. She said, mom, is this legal?
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Amanda Barker: So she's very concerned with what's legal. And also she's pretty precocious and she likes to tell her parents what she thinks the best parenting tips are.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, she tells me this story, this scenario, and I said, well, I'm. I said, I'm certain. I said, how far was the pillow? Was it in the trunk? Like, did you have to go? And she like, no, it was just over here. I said, so you unbuckled it and basically reached and grabbed it and then buckled your seatbelt? And she said, yes. I said, I think that was probably fine. And she's like, but it was dangerous. And I'M like, oh, well, I don't know. It sounds like we were on some pretty quiet streets, too. I said, I'm sure it was fine.
Marco says his daughter misquoted him about being a bad parent
Cut to us driving back from where we went. Now I'm in the front seat, her mom is in the backseat, and my friend is driving her father. And I'm helping with directions. So I'm giving our friend directions, and I hear from the backseat, this little munchkin says to her mother, you know, I was speaking with Marco, and he says, in some ways you're a good parent, and in some ways you're a bad parent is what she says. Did you say that for the record? I did not. In no way. First of all, I think my friend is a great parent, but she's saying this, and I'm trying to give my friend.
>> Amanda Barker: She's an exceptional parent.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, and she tries very hard to have open and honest conversations with her daughter and to honor her feelings.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And so I'm, I'm telling the, the driver, like, directions, but I'm hearing this and I was. And I said, I said no such. And of course our friend is like, well, I'd really like to know what he said, why he considers me a bad parent. To which this six year old sells me out and says, marco said, you shouldn't have let me take off my seatbelt. It was very dangerous. And what kind of parent are you? I never said such words. But hearing it from the back, being misquoted was a quite hilarious, but. But quite a moment for me and this little girl who was. Who was beyond, lovely. But that was another little incident. We're just, we're just, we're just really airing our laundry.
>> Amanda Barker: It sounds like travel. Travel. yeah, travel mishaps. I don't know, travel. Antagonistic things. I don't know.
Now, you had said that your mother is a person who sews
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you had said that your mother is a person who sews.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you. Would you consider yourself a mender?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, in my heart I mend broken hearts. Spirit.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But, I used to sit with, my buttons that had popped off and thread sit and like, re. Sew buttons on, like, I would hold on to stuff and maybe twice a year re. Sew the buttons.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you would pick like a day.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I would sit in front of, you know, do something calm television or put some music on or whatever. And I would have some. Some light sewing to do. And I would. I know. I don't know that I ever darned my socks.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But I certainly would sew on missing buttons. Hem pants. I would sometimes do not do a great job of it.
>> Marco Timpano: But you would.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I have. Definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen you hem a skirt.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Have you?
>> Marco Timpano: I believe so.
>> Amanda Barker: It's been a while. I don't think I've had anything with buttons, now that I think about it, or needed, to be hemmed in a long time. But I used to. I'd sort of set it aside and say, okay, I have a few things I want to do. Or put. Sew a patch.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I've done that a few times onto jeans and things. Hand sewing.
>> Marco Timpano: Would you use a thimble?
>> Amanda Barker: No, no, I'm not that fancy. I mean, when I say sewing, let's. Here's what I mean. I have a ripped thing here, a missing button there. It goes into some sort of box or pile or bag or whatever. It sits there for three months.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And when, I have a few more things, I'll take, like a sewing kit I got from a hotel.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And sew that button back on or whatever it is, you know, so I've done that a bunch of times. I haven't done that recently. I haven't had. Need to, but I don't have a sewing machine. I'd like one, though.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, good to know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I would like one. It's been on the list for a while.
Amanda: We recently bought new pillows. How are you liking these pillows
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Amanda, that about takes us towards the end of the podcast. I just want to say, once again to anyone who has an injury out there that you're nursing back to good health, I'm with you. I'm thinking of you. And, I hope you get better and feel better very soon. I'm certainly feeling better, especially being in front of the microphone with you.
>> Amanda Barker: It does feel nice. And it's been too long.
>> Marco Timpano: We recently bought new pillows. How are you liking these pillows?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm, loving them. Well, we actually bought new pillow covers. I don't think you realize I've put old pillows into those pillow covers.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you mean? No, I'm talking about these pillows that were laying on.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I thought you meant the ones outside. No, the yellowy ones.
>> Marco Timpano: the yellowy ones. I think I saw that you put.
>> Amanda Barker: No, these are new pillows. Yeah, I'm enjoying them. They have a cool touch aspect that I'm enjoying.
>> Marco Timpano: They're short. They're short pillows. That's the only thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, maybe our heads are just too large.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe.
Amanda thanks her friend Trevor for lending her his foot brace
Well, on that note, Amanda, I want to thank you so much. We certainly traveled in this episode.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. With our eye masks and, our car. seats with children.
>> Marco Timpano: I actually want to thank my friend Trevor for lending me his foot brace.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Which has proven to be so helpful. And my chiropodist said to me, that's a really good foot brace. And I was like, thank you to my good friend.
This is the last time I'll talk about my foot on this podcast
So, anyways, enough about my foot. I feel like I've exhausted my foot this.
>> Amanda Barker: My foot. I know.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like my foot this.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, your foot has been keeping me up at night.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll say.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it has. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But other than that, this is the last I'll talk about my foot. I hope, We hope you were able to listen to this episode and hopefully drift off or at least get a chuckle or
>> Amanda Barker: two out of the stories we told about my wrister.
>> Marco Timpano: About your wrister. About being sold out and about the. The. The eye mask caper.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, the great Eye mask caper of November 2019.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you remember the date?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's Virgo. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, thank you for listening, folks. We hope you were able to. So listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: July 14, 2021)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about the mundane.
I haven't released a show in a few weeks because I injured my foot
Today's show is going to start with a little tiny bit of a trigger warning. I just want to start by saying I am perfectly fine, but I haven't released a show in a few weeks because I injured my foot. So. Dear listeners, I know a lot of people have reached out to ask why we haven't had a show in a bit. I apologize. I just. My foot was really sore and injured and I couldn't really walk and so I couldn't get to our studio to record. And so what we did, I'm feeling better. I've had X rays. It seems like I've bruised my bone in my foot and we're working with it and I'm walking much better, so I don't want anyone to think anything else. But in order to record today, my lovely wife, Amanda. Welcome, Amanda, to the show.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi. I was just thinking about the narrative of your foot.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe we'll talk about that. Was, kind enough to bring my, my second tier equipment up to our bedroom so we could record, with my foot stretched out and iced, in the bed, which we've never recorded in the bed before. And this is a show about sleep. So thank you for doing all that for me.
>> Amanda Barker: For most people that would be a clandest thing. For us it's a relaxing thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we're just relaxing from the third floor of our place with comfortable pillows and me propped up. So thank you, Amanda, for that. No, thank you for helping me set this up. So I'm going to do my best to record consistently, but I apologize for the last three weeks and not having any episodes or any, social media post to let you know what was going on.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen, everyone takes a vacation. Even you and your foot decided that it was time for you to take a vacation.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's what I'm doing. A little vacation.
Amanda says when she travels she's the most Virgo
speaking of vacations, tell me, Amanda, what do you pack in your suitcase that you put with you on the plane? Not the one you check, not your checked bag.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. Because, you know, I'm very, What's the word?
>> Marco Timpano: Persnickety.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a word. I don't know that that's the word. I'm very, precise.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: With what I pack and how I pack it. And I feel very taken care of when I have all my things in their place. I think when I travel I'm the most Virgo. I am. Because I'm a Virgo in the truest
>> Marco Timpano: sense of the word.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, in the astrological world, which, you know, you might believe in that or not believe in that. But for me, my Virgo ism is my, preciseness. But it's not always there. It comes and goes. And But I think at my heart that's who I am. And certainly I'm, I'm in my heart when I travel. So I have had a few different backpacks over the years. I like to travel with a backpack. and my current backpack. It was actually your backpack.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. I had purchased this backpack that I was really excited to have.
>> Marco Timpano: And then it wasn't working out for me. I didn't like it. I spent quite a bit of money on it and. And I just couldn't make it work. And I was ready to.
>> Amanda Barker: You were trying to sell it.
>> Marco Timpano: I was trying to sell it and get rid of it.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm so glad you didn't, because I've used it so many times.
>> Marco Timpano: And then you said, let me try it, and you're like, I love this backpack.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was great.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the worst backpack for me and it's the best backpack for you.
>> Amanda Barker: Should we name the company or just leave that out?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm sure you can name the company. I mean, they're not a sponsor, but listeners like to know.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, it's a Lululemon backpack. And, as a former yoga teacher, or a yoga teacher on a very long sabbatical, as I like to say, I, I used a lot of their products at one time in my life. And, I do find their backpacks particularly intuitive.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And very well made. And I appreciate a company that will mend or fix something long after the purchase date for you. And that is genuine, genuinely their mission. Genuinely. And generally, I don't know if it still is because I haven't bought anything in the last little while from them.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But, so I had a Lululemon backpack, I had the zipper replaced, I had the men, I had all these things. And finally it died. but it died after I took it on, at least a plain a week for three years. So it, as our friend would say, it owed me nothing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. What makes a good backpack for you?
>> Amanda Barker: I think there's an intuitiveness, lots of compartments, strength. The number one thing you don't want about a backpack is when it is particularly full and you need it to hold things. You don't want a zipper. You know, like you took off your jacket and it's going in there and suddenly it's back bursting. You want a zipper that's going to contain everything and hold it. Not something that's going to pop open.
>> Marco Timpano: And you really test your zippers. I can, I can.
>> Amanda Barker: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: I can swear to that. Because you like to stuff your bags.
>> Amanda Barker: Like to, or need to.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, probably need to. And I remember one time I was telling you, I think if you, if you put any more in, that we might have problems. And sure enough, you and your mother stretched it to the max and zipped it up.
>> Amanda Barker: And then pop goes the weasel. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But anyways, back to your. Do you remember? It was a funny.
>> Amanda Barker: That was our hard show, too. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It Was a really funny moment.
>> Amanda Barker: You were so. No, it wasn't. Not at the time. You were very upset.
>> Marco Timpano: I wasn't very upset. You. I was fine. Because you were upset with your mother.
>> Amanda Barker: I was laughing.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, first you kind of gave your mother a bit of the. I, told you we shouldn't stuff it. He was telling me that this is what was gonna happen.
Pillows are so not the thing you want to travel with
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And that made me. That made me less.
>> Amanda Barker: It was all because, dear listeners, it was all because my mother, sweet lady that she is, she sews. She would never say she's a champion sewer, but she's great. But she. She sews out of necessity, so. So it wasn't. She's not the person that would make us cute little dresses. She couldn't be bothered with that. But she certainly will make drapes, pillows, and things she wants for her home. So she was making me pillows.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: And so she, had all these pillows at their place. And so I had to get on the plane. And I'm trying to take these pillows, but take up a lot of room.
>> Marco Timpano: Pillows are so not the thing you want to travel with. Like.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they're light.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, no, but, like, you don't want to stuff your. Of all things.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it really takes up a lot of space.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like books. Packing books that are so heavy. But anyway. So your mother made all these pillows?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So anyways, that's what opened it up. But because you think, oh, I can just compress them. They're pillows, but they still open up and take a lot of space. Right. Anyway, the perfect, backpack, as I said, has strength, so the zipper doesn't pop, and lots of compartments. I like having a space for my computer so that I don't have to have a separate computer case. So if a backpack has, like, a gel foamy kind of section that I can just slip my computer into
>> Marco Timpano: that's meant for technology, like tablets and.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, exactly. And sometimes my tablet goes into that space, too, if I'm traveling with one. And, it has a top. I like having a top compartment so that when it's under my feet in the plane, I can kind of just pull that top part up just a little bit, open it up, and have access to any of the things I need without fully pulling the entire thing onto my lap and disrupting everything. So things I would put in the top or in the front. There's a little front compartment.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So, I put headphones into. It's almost like a little plaid pill Box that I got in a museum once, and you looked at me like I had three eyes. Because you're like, why are you buying that? And I was like, this is the perfect headphone box. It's like the size of my thumb. It's sort of hard and clamps shut. And it's perfect to put one or two sets of headphones in. So I put them in there. I always have lip balm.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, you do. And I'm always grateful that you have it.
>> Amanda Barker: I always have access to lip balm, especially on planes.
>> Marco Timpano: You realize how dry your lips get on planes and things.
>> Amanda Barker: I always want to have one handy. There's nothing worse than having dry. Dry, even chafed or cracked lips. And not being able to do something immediately about it drives me crazy. so lip balm. a computer, headphones, tissues, eye mask.
>> Marco Timpano: You always travel with at least one eye?
>> Amanda Barker: I usually have two. You tell me you won't care, and then you're grateful when I hand you one.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: So I have a compartment for them. I have a little bag of them.
>> Marco Timpano: Another trigger warning.
Someone stole your eye mask on a plane once
We once got into a little. Oh, little tiff on a plane because someone stole your eye mask. Remember?
>> Amanda Barker: Was it mine or yours? Oh, it was mine.
>> Marco Timpano: Was yours. Because I never travel with an ina. So do you always travel?
>> Amanda Barker: So we were.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't make it too exciting, because people are trending.
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't. Exciting is not the word.
>> Marco Timpano: No fair.
>> Amanda Barker: Do we have a space between us? A middle seat between us?
>> Marco Timpano: We did.
>> Amanda Barker: And was there a person there or.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, it was just us.
>> Amanda Barker: so how did it end up on your seat then? okay, so the plane was still filling with people. So, you know, that kind of moment, you get on the plane, you find your seat. You're like 36A. Okay, that's me. You're 36C. It wasn't a full plane. So you get the aisle and I get the window, or vice versa. But in that case, that's what it was. And there's other people behind you, so you want to sit there fairly quickly. And then you kind of wait for spaces where you can put your bag up top or get stuck. Settled. Sure. You know, like, I get my eye masks out would be one of the things I would do. So I got my eye masks out, and I asked you if you wanted one. You did, and you were standing, I think, in the aisle. you were. Your eyes were not on the seat necessarily. So you're sort of standing in your seat, but kind of getting things out of your bag up top while. And the aisle was wide enough that people were sort of shimmying by you. Right, right, right. So that eye mask, I put it on your seat as you stood very close to the seat. and then you looked or I looked and said wait, where did it go? And it wasn't there. And it was our personal eye mask.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I think that's key of the story. It wasn't an imac, it wasn't a freebie.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, this, this plane didn't provide very much, if at anything at all. It didn't even provide drinks, if you remember.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it didn't provide you water. You had to buy water, but you
>> Marco Timpano: had to buy water before you got on the plane. You had to pay for it prior to.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, it was something odd like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you had to pre buy your water if you wanted water. But it was a shortish flight.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a shortish flight.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying. My memory was. It was from Israel, the Turkey.
Someone stole an eye mask on a Turkish Airlines flight
>> Marco Timpano: We need to keep kids safe online. But some special interests are sending policymakers in the wrong direction. Pushing the so called App Store Accountability act demanding government ID from all users just to download an app. Replacing parents judgment with government mandates. It doesn't even stand up in court. A better bipartisan bill, the Parents Over Platforms act would put parents in the driver's seat, empowering parents and businesses to keep kids safe without drowning all of us in red tape. Tell Congress to get it done right and put parents over platforms paid for by act, the app Association. I'll go with that.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it was. Yeah, from Tel Aviv to Istanbul.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it was even shorter than that. Well, anyway, it was Jordan too.
>> Amanda Barker: No, because was it at night?
>> Marco Timpano: Jordan during the day?
>> Amanda Barker: Anyways, I think it was Tel Aviv to Istanbul. Anyway. Maybe, maybe not. It was somewhere in there. Right? Maybe it was Turkey to Heathrow.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that would be far.
>> Amanda Barker: Istanbul.
>> Marco Timpano: That would be.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, No, I know it would be, but.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but it was a short, it was a very short flight. It wasn't.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, Istanbul, the Heathrow is not a long. That's like a three hour.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, whatever it was, it was.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it was. I think it was Istanbul to Heath to London.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, whatever. And so I put it on that seat and then I said, where did it go? I just put it there and we look and I'm Like. But I just put it on the seat and you looked and you're like well, it probably fell. And I'm looking and I'm looking and you're looking and it's not there.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not there. It's like it disappeared in thin air.
>> Amanda Barker: People are starting to sit. People are, you know. And now I'm just mad. It's a eye mask I've purchased with a little. I had the matching bag on me. It's not a big deal. Obviously it's not a high ticket item, but it's more. I wanted. I wanted it for the flight and I wanted you to have it for the flight.
>> Marco Timpano: I needed it for the flight so you could sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, after some discussion, I think you. Did you say, did anyone see an eye mask?
>> Marco Timpano: I think I did. I think I kind of. Because I was standing right at the time and I mean, it was really bothering me. I didn't make a huge announcement. I just kind of made announcement where
>> Amanda Barker: you didn't get on the speaker?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm not that. I'm not that type of person.
>> Amanda Barker: People were still kind of filing in, but we were at the back of the plane, I think. So people were filing in more in the front.
>> Marco Timpano: I think I was kind of saying it just to people around us in case it had fallen and we didn't see it.
>> Amanda Barker: You're right. Like the people behind us maybe had fallen.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe that's exactly it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like, hey, did you see an eye mask? Did you see those? And then three or four things down. I think finally somebody said that they had it.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Or somebody else said, she has it.
>> Marco Timpano: That. That was it.
>> Amanda Barker: That's what happened. They said she took it. Someone saw her take it?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, someone said she took it. I saw her take it. That's what they said.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. We were like, what?
>> Marco Timpano: We couldn't. It was kind of like whoever took it was very stealthy because you were sitting down next to the seat where you had placed it. Right. And I was standing.
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't a particularly roomy place.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it was like. Like they. They were like a, cat burglar, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: But I mean, here's the thing. Did they think it was a free.
>> Marco Timpano: Perhaps that's what I think, you know, Turkish Airlines flight. Maybe they saw it. M. Maybe I had.
With the eye mask debacle, everyone supported you and made jokes about it
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe they thought it was from first class and it migrated back at all.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe they were like, oh, this is just on their seat. They don't even realize.
>> Amanda Barker: Who knows the intention of why one takes something. I mean, I think at that point it wasn't obvious. You were sitting in that seat.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So they might have thought someone left it. hey, free eye mask. Fair Enough. but the real controversy with the. With the eye mask debacle happened much later because.
>> Marco Timpano: Because we didn't really care.
>> Amanda Barker: I think I posted, or you posted about the.
>> Marco Timpano: It was more of a funny little.
>> Amanda Barker: I might have been tweeting about.
>> Marco Timpano: I think we were just laughing about how it happened, and we were like, whatever. If they want to keep the mask, they. And I think they kept the mask. Or did they give it back to us?
>> Amanda Barker: They gave it back to us.
>> Marco Timpano: They gave it back to us. It wasn't a.
>> Amanda Barker: At the time, she kind of was like, oh, I have it. Or someone's like, she took it. And then we're like, did you take an eye mask? And she was like, at that point, the jig was, up of the great imac.
>> Marco Timpano: But she was lovely, and we were lovely.
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't. It wasn't overly contentious, but it was questionable.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. It's one of those things where you
>> Amanda Barker: start, she was an opportunist, not a thief.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's more of the way to look at it.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
>> Amanda Barker: If I'm being charitable. Who knows? I mean, I think so. But then there was a whole thing, and I think you posted about it in flight or something, kind of as a joke.
>> Marco Timpano: I posted about, like, one of those things. You'll never guess what happened. I think I put it on Facebook.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone supported you and made jokes about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Everybody was kind of thinking it was very funny because it's a funny story.
>> Amanda Barker: Everyone but one.
>> Marco Timpano: Everyone but one, who shall remain nameless. Because I don't want that person to feel badly.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it rhymes with my wrister.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'll let you sell out your wrister.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't care. She knows what she did.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So anyway, she. She. She said, what's the big deal? It's an eye mask or something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: For the record, I love your wrister.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, M. And so everybody else was like. She was like, why are you getting so upset? And she kept going on, like, what's the big deal? Why are you getting so upset? I guess you really have a problem that you need an eye mask or something. I have to go back and look. And it was just like, what is she doing? Right? Why? Really? This is the side. This is the hill to die on. Like, really? We kind of just let it go and that was that. Or so we thought.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no. Are you going to part two of this story? Now I feel badly.
>> Amanda Barker: Now I'm just talking about family grievances.
Six weeks later, we step off yet another plane. This time In a place that shall remain nameless
Six weeks later, we step off yet another plane. This time In a place that shall remain nameless, but rhymes with ralfax rova rocha.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And the first thing she says to us is, did Marco find his eye mask? Facetiously and with a tinge of an acid tongue.
>> Marco Timpano: I, I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: This began a new argument.
>> Marco Timpano: I think this is can only wound.
>> Amanda Barker: The scab was peeled off and the wound bled fresh again of the eye mask debacle of 2019.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, everyone's over it now.
Marco recently got sold out by a young friend's daughter
I will say though, speaking of selling people out, I recently got sold out by a six year old daughter of a friend. We have.
>> Amanda Barker: You use the term sell sold out very loosely. I need to clarify.
>> Marco Timpano: I got sold out large.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyone telling anything about you is, in your opinion, getting sold out.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, dear listeners, you let me know if you think I got sold out in this occasion. So we were driving with some friends and I happened to be in the backseat with their daughter. And their daughter, who's six years old, was in the car seat and said, marco, you know, my mother told me to unbuckle my seat and grab the pillow from behind.
>> Amanda Barker: It was a big moment. I was in the car when it happened. And she said, well, if you really want your pillow, we're gonna have to do something like I used to do when I was a kid. We're safe, we're driving, so it's not ideal, but you're gonna unbuckle your seat for two seconds and just reach back and grab it and then buckle back up.
>> Marco Timpano: So she tells me the stories and she says, don't you think that was dangerous? And I said, I don't. I said, I know your mother and she wouldn't take unnecessary risks, so I don't think so. And she's like, but I had to, unbuckle my seat and grab the
>> Amanda Barker: pillow in the moment that she did it. She said, mom, is this legal?
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Amanda Barker: So she's very concerned with what's legal. And also she's pretty precocious and she likes to tell her parents what she thinks the best parenting tips are.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, she tells me this story, this scenario, and I said, well, I'm. I said, I'm certain. I said, how far was the pillow? Was it in the trunk? Like, did you have to go? And she like, no, it was just over here. I said, so you unbuckled it and basically reached and grabbed it and then buckled your seatbelt? And she said, yes. I said, I think that was probably fine. And she's like, but it was dangerous. And I'M like, oh, well, I don't know. It sounds like we were on some pretty quiet streets, too. I said, I'm sure it was fine.
Marco says his daughter misquoted him about being a bad parent
Cut to us driving back from where we went. Now I'm in the front seat, her mom is in the backseat, and my friend is driving her father. And I'm helping with directions. So I'm giving our friend directions, and I hear from the backseat, this little munchkin says to her mother, you know, I was speaking with Marco, and he says, in some ways you're a good parent, and in some ways you're a bad parent is what she says. Did you say that for the record? I did not. In no way. First of all, I think my friend is a great parent, but she's saying this, and I'm trying to give my friend.
>> Amanda Barker: She's an exceptional parent.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, and she tries very hard to have open and honest conversations with her daughter and to honor her feelings.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And so I'm, I'm telling the, the driver, like, directions, but I'm hearing this and I was. And I said, I said no such. And of course our friend is like, well, I'd really like to know what he said, why he considers me a bad parent. To which this six year old sells me out and says, marco said, you shouldn't have let me take off my seatbelt. It was very dangerous. And what kind of parent are you? I never said such words. But hearing it from the back, being misquoted was a quite hilarious, but. But quite a moment for me and this little girl who was. Who was beyond, lovely. But that was another little incident. We're just, we're just, we're just really airing our laundry.
>> Amanda Barker: It sounds like travel. Travel. yeah, travel mishaps. I don't know, travel. Antagonistic things. I don't know.
Now, you had said that your mother is a person who sews
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you had said that your mother is a person who sews.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you. Would you consider yourself a mender?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, in my heart I mend broken hearts. Spirit.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But, I used to sit with, my buttons that had popped off and thread sit and like, re. Sew buttons on, like, I would hold on to stuff and maybe twice a year re. Sew the buttons.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you would pick like a day.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I would sit in front of, you know, do something calm television or put some music on or whatever. And I would have some. Some light sewing to do. And I would. I know. I don't know that I ever darned my socks.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But I certainly would sew on missing buttons. Hem pants. I would sometimes do not do a great job of it.
>> Marco Timpano: But you would.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I have. Definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen you hem a skirt.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Have you?
>> Marco Timpano: I believe so.
>> Amanda Barker: It's been a while. I don't think I've had anything with buttons, now that I think about it, or needed, to be hemmed in a long time. But I used to. I'd sort of set it aside and say, okay, I have a few things I want to do. Or put. Sew a patch.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I've done that a few times onto jeans and things. Hand sewing.
>> Marco Timpano: Would you use a thimble?
>> Amanda Barker: No, no, I'm not that fancy. I mean, when I say sewing, let's. Here's what I mean. I have a ripped thing here, a missing button there. It goes into some sort of box or pile or bag or whatever. It sits there for three months.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And when, I have a few more things, I'll take, like a sewing kit I got from a hotel.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And sew that button back on or whatever it is, you know, so I've done that a bunch of times. I haven't done that recently. I haven't had. Need to, but I don't have a sewing machine. I'd like one, though.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, good to know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I would like one. It's been on the list for a while.
Amanda: We recently bought new pillows. How are you liking these pillows
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Amanda, that about takes us towards the end of the podcast. I just want to say, once again to anyone who has an injury out there that you're nursing back to good health, I'm with you. I'm thinking of you. And, I hope you get better and feel better very soon. I'm certainly feeling better, especially being in front of the microphone with you.
>> Amanda Barker: It does feel nice. And it's been too long.
>> Marco Timpano: We recently bought new pillows. How are you liking these pillows?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm, loving them. Well, we actually bought new pillow covers. I don't think you realize I've put old pillows into those pillow covers.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you mean? No, I'm talking about these pillows that were laying on.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I thought you meant the ones outside. No, the yellowy ones.
>> Marco Timpano: the yellowy ones. I think I saw that you put.
>> Amanda Barker: No, these are new pillows. Yeah, I'm enjoying them. They have a cool touch aspect that I'm enjoying.
>> Marco Timpano: They're short. They're short pillows. That's the only thing.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, maybe our heads are just too large.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe.
Amanda thanks her friend Trevor for lending her his foot brace
Well, on that note, Amanda, I want to thank you so much. We certainly traveled in this episode.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. With our eye masks and, our car. seats with children.
>> Marco Timpano: I actually want to thank my friend Trevor for lending me his foot brace.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Which has proven to be so helpful. And my chiropodist said to me, that's a really good foot brace. And I was like, thank you to my good friend.
This is the last time I'll talk about my foot on this podcast
So, anyways, enough about my foot. I feel like I've exhausted my foot this.
>> Amanda Barker: My foot. I know.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like my foot this.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, your foot has been keeping me up at night.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll say.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it has. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But other than that, this is the last I'll talk about my foot. I hope, We hope you were able to listen to this episode and hopefully drift off or at least get a chuckle or
>> Amanda Barker: two out of the stories we told about my wrister.
>> Marco Timpano: About your wrister. About being sold out and about the. The. The eye mask caper.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, the great Eye mask caper of November 2019.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you remember the date?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's Virgo. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, thank you for listening, folks. We hope you were able to. So listen and sleep.
Season 4
Backyard Plants and Transitioning to winter.
(Original airdate: Nov 18, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a mundane conversation that'll hopefully lull you to a relaxing place. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. Of course. Follow us on our social media, our Instagram, the Insomnia Project, our Twitter listen and sleep. And I'm joined with by Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi. Thanks for having me again.
Ferns are great for cleaning the ugly plants you like
>> Marco Timpano: And, I wanted to talk about a couple of things.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: First. First, I want to talk about closing things down for the winter. So, for example, in our backyard, we have patio furniture and whatnot. And because it snows here, we have to take all the patio cushions and all the plants in from outside.
>> Amanda Barker: We do have to take the plants is a big moment because there's no turning back for me once we bring the plants in. I had left a fern, a poor little silver, silver break fern outside in a pot, and it started snowing on it yesterday, so I don't know if it'll recover.
>> Marco Timpano: But, you actually said you don't like that fern. Should I just leave it outside or should we bring it?
>> Amanda Barker: At least you like the pot. If nothing else. I know you don't like. Ferns are tricky.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not the hugest fan of ferns to begin with.
>> Amanda Barker: They. They shed a lot. They're not very conducive to K. Canada. I think they're better in a. In a more humid, moist, certainly warm climate. But, anyway, I.
>> Marco Timpano: What is it you like about ferns?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that one, I. I traded, I think a necklace or something for it. And I like plants because they clean the air. So ferns are great actually for cleaning
>> Marco Timpano: the ugly plants you like.
>> Amanda Barker: Even an ugly plant will clean the air for you and. And serve its purpose in the world. And your ugly plant might be somebody else's beautiful plant. Anyway, that fern is in. We'll see how it. If it makes it throughout the winter.
>> Marco Timpano: Which of the plants in our house do you currently find to be the ugliest?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, the ugliest plants. I have a spider plant upstairs that's starting to brown in the leaves a little bit. So I've cut the brown off. I'm trying a few different things with it.
>> Marco Timpano: If you have a spider plant tip you can give us, please put it on our Twitter page.
>> Amanda Barker: I also have a plant. I'm trying to think of what it's called.
>> Marco Timpano: Spider plant is doing really well.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, one of the.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I have one like it's, it's
>> Amanda Barker: actually quite a few.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's making a lot of pups, that one. Right? That's what they're called when they make
>> Amanda Barker: little, even spider plants. They're called pups. Yeah, I guess. Babies, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought they were called pups.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, plant babies are usually called pups, but. But I think pups are things that have to break through the ground. That's my. Understand. Like a snake plant has pups.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And they break through the soil and you're like, oh, there's a new one. Whereas a spider plant, as we know, the babies kind of dangle out and then finally you, you plant those and put them into.
>> Marco Timpano: But what was the plant you were going to mention before I asked you?
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's called a pilea. It's commonly referred to as a Chinese money plant.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes, that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Yeah. And I just wish it would do better. But it just, it continues on, but it will never be. The full, really full ones are beautiful because their big, round, circular leaves look like coins. I think that's why they're called money plants.
>> Marco Timpano: And what do yours look like?
>> Amanda Barker: Like they're not getting enough light.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
Despite my best intentions, our money plants seem to do well
>> Amanda Barker: They, they kind of reach toward the window. They're not full. They don't come around on all sides. They're. It's leggy. you know, it only seems to have like three or four shoots at a time. And then the old ones will just drop off. Whereas I've seen them and they're very full and very nice.
>> Marco Timpano: But not yours.
>> Amanda Barker: No. So I don't know if that's ugly, but it certainly isn't living its best life here. Despite my best intentions and which plants
>> Marco Timpano: are living their best lives, our money
>> Amanda Barker: plants seem to do well. Not the Chinese money plant, but which one's money plan. Ah, oh, the tree behind you.
>> Marco Timpano: I see it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, ours are big. Most people's don't have money plants as big as ours. Usually they're, small.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought, look, that's a tree, not a plant.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a plant.
>> Marco Timpano: That's just a regular.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, any. A lot of plants can be a tree. Like think about my parents. They have a ficus. That's usually a household plant or that can become a tree. Well, previous to them living where they live on a canal in Florida, somebody planted this household plant outside. Outside. But, you know, and it's perfect weather there for it. It's humid, it's obviously very, very hot, very moist. And that thing is insane. I Mean, it's huge.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a huge tree.
>> Amanda Barker: It's massive. They have to, they, they do a full trim of that tree and every year several bird species. Because they live on a bird, sanctuary, a bird reserve.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a bank of water between them and a bird sanctuary. So like a little.
>> Amanda Barker: And, and what's behind them is a bird sanctuary too.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I forgot about that. Across the street.
>> Amanda Barker: I think so. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Debatable. But anyway, they're, they're quite surround. There's a lot of bird sanctuaries in that area. This is the Sebastian Inlet. For anybody.
>> Marco Timpano: people know it because when I would speak with your father.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Talk about it.
>> Amanda Barker: So, so, anyway, there's a lot of bird sanctuaries there. And they have a lot of, rose tip spoonbills that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: come there. That look like you'd think they were flamingos, but they're actually rose tip spoonbills. They're beautiful creatures. They're white and pink. Anyway, and so they all live in this ficus tree.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, you know the spoonbills live there.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. Well, they, they hang out sometimes. They're pelicans, cranes, a lot of cranes. And they love that huge ficus tree. It's, it's phenomenal.
>> Marco Timpano: I've never seen a pelican at your parents place.
>> Amanda Barker: You haven't?
>> Marco Timpano: Not a pelican. I've seen it when we're by the
>> Amanda Barker: water, like driving around.
>> Marco Timpano: But not near their home. Not in that boot. I think pelicans stay near, near the open water.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they live near open water. You're talking about the ocean? Yeah, yeah. They live on a canal, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: fine.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you seen pelicans there?
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe not.
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen gators.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. You've seen a lot of alligators. There's so many there.
>> Marco Timpano: They're so fun.
>> Amanda Barker: They just, they're there all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: They hang out.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a beautiful place.
Amanda deals with the plants that are in her backyard, but also furniture
And by that ficus tree that was once a household plant, which is how we got here. they have two beautiful little chairs. Adirondack chairs or Muskoka chairs. and so it's a great place to just sit, have a coffee, read a book in the morning, listen to all the birds and, and it's quite a view. It's beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: While Amanda deals with the plants that are in her backyard, I often have to deal with the furniture. And so I've got to sort of take the pillows out. I have to cover all the furniture with the, these canvas Tarps.
>> Amanda Barker: Are we doing that this year?
>> Marco Timpano: I think we are.
>> Amanda Barker: Or are we going to try and use our back deck as a, as a place to hang out? I'm going to try the fire table.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to try to do it so that they're covered, but we can also use it.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to strategically.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Cover our furniture with canvas.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But so we can still use it to sit and put things on as a table. And then I take the pillows.
>> Marco Timpano: That ordinarily sit on all the patio. What would you call it? Like the, the loungey kind of area. What is that called?
>> Amanda Barker: Patio furniture.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's like segmented seats or we've.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, like. Yeah, I guess it's not a couch. It's like chair. Well, there's the table and then the cushions for the chairs at the table and then there's. Yeah. Patio furniture.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Chair there. Chair. There are four individual chairs that we kind of push together to make sort of a chair and a couch or four chairs or two and two.
>> Marco Timpano: So the pillows are quite large and they take up a lot of space. But we can't leave those pillows outside.
>> Amanda Barker: No, we take them in all the time. It's quite a dance in the summer. I don't know how other people do it or deal with it, but for us the constant taking of patio. Of you know, like you hear, you see the first powder of rain and then it's like, is it going to be a hard rain? And they're quite thick, our cushions.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So are they going to be soaked? And if they're soaked, they're soaked for days. Or do we leave them out there? Is it going to be just a sprinkling?
>> Marco Timpano: So then when we go through this transitional period into winter, I take them and we have a little nook under our stairwell that we sort of Storage area. Storage area that we walled off, I guess you could say.
>> Amanda Barker: So originally it was going to be cubbies.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: That was the first plan when we. We kind of redid the basement and I had a. In the architect's plan, it was all cubbies. And that's great for like shoes and things like that. But then when I realized what we really needed storage for was, you know, six months on me or you? Yeah. Are these massive cushions? So cubbies weren't going to cut it.
>> Marco Timpano: So then it becomes a Tetris game for me. And the sort of triangular shape under the stairs.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: To put this large Pile that's about, I would say, four and a half feet tall.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's not. It's a lot. And cushions are things that multiply in houses. Like, you know, every summer, every spring, every season, you want kind of new, fresh cushions. And then next thing you know, you're just swimming in pillows and cushions.
>> Marco Timpano: And you're a lover of pillows. We have a lot of just decorative pillows.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I think I'm a medium in pillow land.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you get tired of the same pillows, they lose their oomph. you want new cushions? New cushions are the easiest and cheapest way to sort of brighten up a room or change it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Anybody will tell you that.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Plus, I like cushions. I like to be cushioned in my watching of tv, in my binge watching, I like to be cushioned.
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One of the things that I'm finding tricky is these solar lamp situations
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I also wanted to talk about something. Speaking of transitions, a thing called the self tape.
>> Amanda Barker: We weren't speaking about transitions. We were speaking cushioning.
>> Marco Timpano: One that we did talk about. Transitioning from winter or you're transitioning into winter. Regarding patio. Okay, unless you have more patio information,
>> Amanda Barker: I can talk patio furniture all night long.
>> Marco Timpano: Please, please.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, okay. one of the things that I'm finding tricky Is these solar, the solar lamp situations. So you buy these. we have like, these lanterns that have sort of like a solar candle inside.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're beautiful looking.
>> Amanda Barker: They're great. I got them at Target before Target went under in Canada. So I got them for a song, as they say. But, they have sort of solar panels on the top of them that charge the little candle. But they all kind of worked the first year. And then I don't know if anyone else notices with solar stuff. After a time it's. It kind of stops working. And then you replace it. You replace the batteries.
>> Marco Timpano: I replace the batteries. So they have fresh batteries.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And they still stop working.
>> Marco Timpano: What it's supposed to do is get the sunlight during the day.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then at night, the candle portion illuminates.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, we live in a townhouse. Our back area has a big tree that shades a lot of things, which makes it really lovely and tolerable sort of during the day so that it's not full sun, in the. In the summer. But, you know, I think the. The downside of that is you just don't get a ton of light. So you're always trying to navigate that, I think, with these solar lights.
>> Marco Timpano: Although the ones that are frogs. Frog.
>> Amanda Barker: The frog frog ones, which I never loved. I think you bought those.
>> Marco Timpano: I think I got them. They were majorly on sale, I'm sure at our local grocery store.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what, they're cute. I don't mind them.
>> Marco Timpano: They're little frogs that have a light inside them.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not one for, like, ornaments, Chachkis or tchotchkas. I never know how to say it.
>> Marco Timpano: And see, I am. So I thought those little frogs would be nice by the tree.
>> Amanda Barker: And I thought, where did these frogs come from? I don't need frogs out here. There's enough going on, and I think
>> Marco Timpano: there's not enough going on. But the frogs do light up, so their bellies, they do light up, so.
>> Amanda Barker: So there's that. Yeah. So, yeah, I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with these solar. Because I don't want to throw out. I have like eight or nine of these lamps. I don't want to throw them out. But they're kind of just decorative because they're not actually illuminating at night, which was the point of them. And, our chandelier when I was, I love to obsess about a room and redo rooms. that's what keeps me sane. And we, have a chandelier that hangs from our. Our big maple tree out there that kind of dangles in the little seating area. I got that at, Habitat for Humanity. The restock. Is that what it's called?
>> Marco Timpano: Restore.
>> Amanda Barker: Restore. So it's like a charity donated?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a charity shop that sells home refurbished or donated home furnishings. And anything from, your refrigerator to panes of glass, doors, faucets, you name it, you'll find it.
>> Amanda Barker: Kitchen, cabinets, also, basically,
>> Marco Timpano: when people redo their homes, oftentimes if they have good quality things that they're replacing, though, they'll bring it and donate it to.
>> Amanda Barker: I actually filmed a public service announcement about just donating. When you redo your kitchen to donate your cabinets and so on, and bathroom stuff like, vanities and things like that. Especially, you know, a lot of times things come with what people call builder basic. So pretty basic looking vanity, your basic cabinets. And then, you know, you move in and you want your own touch on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: so you rent on your kitchen or you change up the powder room. And so a lot of that stuff that's quite new and sometimes really plain that you can jazz up on your own, if you need to or want to lives there. So anyway, I got the, the chandelier from there, and I think the reason it's an out. It's actually an outdoor chandelier, and I found it online.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I have to remove that. I forgot. That's still hanging.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah, I'm looking at it right now.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I need a ladder for that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you do. Do you not have a ladder?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I have to borrow one. I had the ladder that we usually use.
>> Amanda Barker: Is it up north?
The lights on it have always been tricky because what. Right. So I love having a chandelier out there
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's up north.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we can get it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So anyways, I forgot I need to take it down.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's part of it. I mean, that's fine. But, you know what's funny is, is we were so ambitious to close the cottage down this year early. And we have all this stuff here that we know. It's cold. Anyway, I think it's supposed to be warmer this week, so we can do it later on.
>> Marco Timpano: Very well.
>> Amanda Barker: anyway, that chandelier didn't cost very much. No, it's $25. but the. The lights on it have always been tricky because what. The lights that were originally on, it must have been glass and they broke. And that's why that person donated it, I guess. So we put on. I put on little mason jars and super glued them in.
>> Marco Timpano: Super glued them or No, I have. I use a putty to hold it in place.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Yeah. but then we weren't getting much light from the LED that's in there. So then.
>> Marco Timpano: Because the light shoots up.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Because the LED lights that are battery run don't have the strength because of the small little pucks.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It's not like a bulb.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So they would shoot up, but you wouldn't see it. So what I did was I painted the inside of those mason jars. The top, or if you look at it as a jar, the bottom of the mason jar with gold leaf.
>> Amanda Barker: You painted it or you put in gold leaf?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I. I put glue and then I applied the gold leaf.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you gold. Okay. I.
>> Marco Timpano: Gold leaf the bottom so that when the light would hit it, it would refract from the gold luminous sheen down towards us.
>> Amanda Barker: And that was my.
>> Marco Timpano: Still doesn't cast a lot of light.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it really does. That was my brother's idea. He's a lighting designer.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, it is. It was his idea.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, well, he. He's. He's a mechanic at heart, so he. He suggested we put aluminum foil. We went a little bit more high end with the gold leaf. But even still, I would have done
>> Marco Timpano: aluminum foil, but I just didn't know how to make it adhere.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But I knew I had some gold leaf from the project, which was a
>> Amanda Barker: great idea, and I love gold. But we still haven't figured out the way to make those LEDs be bright. I mean, maybe that's why it was donated. So I love having a chandelier out there, but it never casts quite as much light as I want it to, which is a very good problem to have in the. In the world of problems. But, we also have a fire table out there, and I guess we're going to try and use that during the winter.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, it's like a little fire.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a little, like gas fire thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a propane fire.
>> Amanda Barker: Once again, somebody got it on major sale and it was the last one. So, yeah, all my patio furniture I bought at the end of the season because that's the only time to buy it because it's.
>> Marco Timpano: It's surprisingly expensive. It's so expensive furniture.
>> Amanda Barker: But it makes sense because it has to. I mean, for us, we don't have anywhere to store. Store it. It has to stay outside all winter. So even though you do an amazing job wrapping it up in. What do you wrap it up in?
>> Marco Timpano: Like, it's a canvas tarp that I purchased online.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know how I was, otherwise I would be using dollar store tarps.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're more plasticky.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But they were so hard to. It just took me a long time and a lot of rope to secure it.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And so when I found these canvas tarps online that are designed for patio furniture.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought, oh, this is the way to go. Because it kind of is already molded in the shape of your table or your share or your chair. So you can just lay it on there and it'll protect your furniture. So that's what I went with. But if you're going to do that, make sure you get the proper sizes because I've got one that's a bit too big.
>> Marco Timpano: And so it becomes problematic.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
We have steep steps that go from our deck to our alleyway
yeah. I guess that's everything that's. That's out there. We have a tree growing back there, so we had to sort of build the wooden deck around it kind of thing because we weren't going to chop it down. It's a Norway maple.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: I think we've talked about it on here before.
>> Marco Timpano: We have. We need to cut some of the limbs that are kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: You better get that. Better borrow that ladder then.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, but I can't. It's too late in the center season to cut. I have to cut early in the spring now. Oh my goodness. So much for a little postage stamp of a backyard.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. It almost seems like it's not a yard. It's a deck.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a deck.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a tiny deck in the city. and then we have the steepest steps that go from our deck to the little alleyway.
>> Amanda Barker: They're so steep and every time somebody goes on them, we fear for them and say they're steeper than you think
>> Marco Timpano: and they're shorter than you think. So the step is actually not the right legal.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen. They're not the safest steps and they have been broken by somebody.
>> Marco Timpano: I have to replace one of the steps.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So that doesn't help.
>> Marco Timpano: Doesn't help. But we love our backyard.
>> Amanda Barker: We do. And having the steps, even though they are steep and a little precarious, is great because then we have access to our car, which, you know, we don't have underground parking. So we. Trying to get out there is not. Not easy.
>> Amanda Barker: But, yeah, it's quite a process to wrap all that stuff. And don't you like, tape it up too?
>> Marco Timpano: I use rope. I rope it up underneath so that it, it won't flap away. But the hardest thing I find is that on some of the things I tarp it will pool with water and then freeze. And so I have this pool of water on some of the.
>> Amanda Barker: And even though it's. How does the water get in?
>> Marco Timpano: It just gets heavy when the snow lands on it. It gets heavy. And if there's an indentation in whatever I'm wrapping.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Because sometimes I'll put the couch chairs on top of each other just so that it's more compact. So the underside of one of the chairs is hollow and so it will dip. Okay. Even though I always make it very, very taut and tight when I secure it, eventually the weight of the snow will cause it to sort of well and be weighted and it'll start to, it'll start to cause a little bit of a pool there once it gets warm. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So we have so many ferocious squirrels out there.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. Our backyard. I don't know what your listeners backyard, what crazy animals you might have, but for some reason the city of Toronto. One interesting thing about the city of Toronto that many visitors remark on is we have black squirrels.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It's actually not just Toronto, it's Ontario. the first time I ever went to Ontario, so I was in the, my first trip to Ontario was in 1993, in the fall, in Kingston, Ontario. And the thing I remember, I was in a tall building and I remember looking down, down at a, in a grassy park and seeing these big black bushy tailed creatures and going are those squirrels? They're huge. I had never seen squirrels because you're
>> Marco Timpano: used to the brown and gray squirrels.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I'm used to squirrels being cute and like a cousin, like an older cousin to a chipmunk.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not used to them being even. Our gray squirrels are huge here. They're massive beasts. I had never seen squirrels that big. Like the fact that I could see them from a tall like a window that was like 10 stories up or whatever was shocking to me. And they seem to be everywhere and fearless too. And cut. to almost 30 years later and here I am living in Ontario and and they're just as big and as ferocious as I always thought.
>> Marco Timpano: They come and they dig up anything we plant. So if I have, I had little planters with some herbs and they just like to come and dig everything up and make a mess.
>> Amanda Barker: But we have new animal visitors that visited us.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: This year. I'm not sure how you feel about them. They are pigeons. So we were in the summer, enjoying a socially distant moment with some friends on the back deck, at quite a distance. And so they were sort of looking and they saw this one pigeon and said, it hasn't moved in almost an hour. And then we looked and it moved and we thought, okay. It's okay. It's just sleeping. Well, what that pigeon was doing was laying to pigeon eggs, I guess. Do pigeons have eggs? They must.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. All birds do. Yeah.
We have two pigeons now. They were named by our nephew
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. So that's what. I've never seen a pigeon egg, but that's what it was doing. And, a few weeks later, two little pigeon. We could hear little cries from little babies outside our bedroom window. And I thought that pigeon had babies. And so we have two pigeons now. They're fully formed. They were named by our nephew. He named them Pidgey and Piggy. He likes to name things, the names that sound like the thing. So for example, a squirrel. He'd probably name Squirrely.
>> Marco Timpano: and squirrels.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how he. That's how he rolls.
>> Marco Timpano: But we have Pidgey and piggy. And they coo every morning.
>> Amanda Barker: They coo every morning. And at first it was all really cute. but you know, they do need to go to, as we say in America, the bathroom, as we say in Canada. The washroom.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Or the restroom or the wc. Anyway, so cleaning up after them has not been fun. And also, I don't know, I think they're quite intent on staying with us. So I'm not sure what to do about that because they're quite high up. They're up in like the, gutter.
>> Marco Timpano: I need an even longer ladder to deal with them or at least to, least to secure that area. So next year we don't have any more.
>> Amanda Barker: They were awfully cute when they were little. But, you know, they're not little anymore. And, I'm worried they're gonna lay their own eggs now and, and live, their best life with us. And I have to say, like, sitting outside my office, which is next to the window where they are, was nice hearing them. It was nice having some. Some life friends. Yeah, it was. I guess I was lonely because it was nice hearing there were little coos. There's something comforting about a cooing pigeon, actually. I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Speaking of animals, not. Not quite as comforting as the blue
>> Amanda Barker: build bird m. The rose tip spoon. Do you remember? So we stayed with my parents and that was like. That week was mating season. Season and their beautiful, serene home in Florida. And every morning at like 5 in the morning, we would hear birds that were very loud. They were loud. Yeah, but, but that said, it's always nice to hear birds.
>> Marco Timpano: It is true.
>> Marco Timpano: It is true. Well, hopefully the wildlife in our city backyard will calm down and we'll have less of those animals. Screen. We, we used to have, raccoons that would cut. No. Yeah, that would come on our backyard.
>> Amanda Barker: Remember your cousin was visiting from Italy and she got so excited because there was a raccoon in our backyard.
>> Marco Timpano: And I was like, no, not raccoons. And then I was able to. The area that they would be able to sneak in, I was able to cover with dirt.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, were you?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because it was where our tree was. So where the tree comes out from the deck, there was a bit of area.
>> Amanda Barker: I was gonna say I didn't see many last summer.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I see them, but not in our area.
>> Marco Timpano: I filled it with dirt so they can't, they can't quite crawl.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And this year, thankfully, we didn't run any two. But there was, we noticed a lot of skunks were hanging out this year.
>> Amanda Barker: And opossum.
>> Marco Timpano: You saw opossum?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it walked right past my foot. I was, putting out lights for Halloween and we have a little thing of dancing skeletons. And it was a rainy night. As I was doing it, I looked in a paw sp. Just basically almost brushed my foot. Didn't seem to care that I was standing there. Kept on her merry way and, went over to our neighbor's house.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, possums are really good though, apparently. Yeah, they, they take care of a lot of vermin and whatnot.
>> Amanda Barker: So.
>> Marco Timpano: I've never met a possum I didn't like.
>> Amanda Barker: That was the first one I met and we got along just fine.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. I hope you got along just fine.
We hope you enjoyed this little venture. Listening to this episode of the Insomnia Project
Listening to this episode of the Insomnia Project, we were going to talk about another thing, but we'll save that for the next episode when we talk about certain transitions. But we hope you enjoyed this little venture. What I'll do is I'll take a photo of the money plant that we have.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'll put it on our Instagram for people to see.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we have two, so you have to pick one.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'll pick one. I don't know. I'll pick the bigger of the two.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, well, one is like longer and one is fuller.
>> Marco Timpano: Fuller.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'll pick one of them and I'll take a picture and I'll put it on our Instagram. Until next time, we hope you were able to enjoy this.
Amanda takes us on a walk of plants and backyard things
Thank you, Amanda, for taking us on a walk of plants and backyard things.
>> Amanda Barker: An unexpected journey. You had other plans today, but I just wanted to keep talking about the patio furniture.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So whatever you have in your patio, we hope your transition, if you do have to bring it in, go smoothly. Until next time, thank you for listening, and we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: Nov 18, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a mundane conversation that'll hopefully lull you to a relaxing place. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. Of course. Follow us on our social media, our Instagram, the Insomnia Project, our Twitter listen and sleep. And I'm joined with by Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi. Thanks for having me again.
Ferns are great for cleaning the ugly plants you like
>> Marco Timpano: And, I wanted to talk about a couple of things.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: First. First, I want to talk about closing things down for the winter. So, for example, in our backyard, we have patio furniture and whatnot. And because it snows here, we have to take all the patio cushions and all the plants in from outside.
>> Amanda Barker: We do have to take the plants is a big moment because there's no turning back for me once we bring the plants in. I had left a fern, a poor little silver, silver break fern outside in a pot, and it started snowing on it yesterday, so I don't know if it'll recover.
>> Marco Timpano: But, you actually said you don't like that fern. Should I just leave it outside or should we bring it?
>> Amanda Barker: At least you like the pot. If nothing else. I know you don't like. Ferns are tricky.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not the hugest fan of ferns to begin with.
>> Amanda Barker: They. They shed a lot. They're not very conducive to K. Canada. I think they're better in a. In a more humid, moist, certainly warm climate. But, anyway, I.
>> Marco Timpano: What is it you like about ferns?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that one, I. I traded, I think a necklace or something for it. And I like plants because they clean the air. So ferns are great actually for cleaning
>> Marco Timpano: the ugly plants you like.
>> Amanda Barker: Even an ugly plant will clean the air for you and. And serve its purpose in the world. And your ugly plant might be somebody else's beautiful plant. Anyway, that fern is in. We'll see how it. If it makes it throughout the winter.
>> Marco Timpano: Which of the plants in our house do you currently find to be the ugliest?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, the ugliest plants. I have a spider plant upstairs that's starting to brown in the leaves a little bit. So I've cut the brown off. I'm trying a few different things with it.
>> Marco Timpano: If you have a spider plant tip you can give us, please put it on our Twitter page.
>> Amanda Barker: I also have a plant. I'm trying to think of what it's called.
>> Marco Timpano: Spider plant is doing really well.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, one of the.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I have one like it's, it's
>> Amanda Barker: actually quite a few.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's making a lot of pups, that one. Right? That's what they're called when they make
>> Amanda Barker: little, even spider plants. They're called pups. Yeah, I guess. Babies, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought they were called pups.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, plant babies are usually called pups, but. But I think pups are things that have to break through the ground. That's my. Understand. Like a snake plant has pups.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And they break through the soil and you're like, oh, there's a new one. Whereas a spider plant, as we know, the babies kind of dangle out and then finally you, you plant those and put them into.
>> Marco Timpano: But what was the plant you were going to mention before I asked you?
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's called a pilea. It's commonly referred to as a Chinese money plant.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes, that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Yeah. And I just wish it would do better. But it just, it continues on, but it will never be. The full, really full ones are beautiful because their big, round, circular leaves look like coins. I think that's why they're called money plants.
>> Marco Timpano: And what do yours look like?
>> Amanda Barker: Like they're not getting enough light.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
Despite my best intentions, our money plants seem to do well
>> Amanda Barker: They, they kind of reach toward the window. They're not full. They don't come around on all sides. They're. It's leggy. you know, it only seems to have like three or four shoots at a time. And then the old ones will just drop off. Whereas I've seen them and they're very full and very nice.
>> Marco Timpano: But not yours.
>> Amanda Barker: No. So I don't know if that's ugly, but it certainly isn't living its best life here. Despite my best intentions and which plants
>> Marco Timpano: are living their best lives, our money
>> Amanda Barker: plants seem to do well. Not the Chinese money plant, but which one's money plan. Ah, oh, the tree behind you.
>> Marco Timpano: I see it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, ours are big. Most people's don't have money plants as big as ours. Usually they're, small.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought, look, that's a tree, not a plant.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a plant.
>> Marco Timpano: That's just a regular.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, any. A lot of plants can be a tree. Like think about my parents. They have a ficus. That's usually a household plant or that can become a tree. Well, previous to them living where they live on a canal in Florida, somebody planted this household plant outside. Outside. But, you know, and it's perfect weather there for it. It's humid, it's obviously very, very hot, very moist. And that thing is insane. I Mean, it's huge.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a huge tree.
>> Amanda Barker: It's massive. They have to, they, they do a full trim of that tree and every year several bird species. Because they live on a bird, sanctuary, a bird reserve.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a bank of water between them and a bird sanctuary. So like a little.
>> Amanda Barker: And, and what's behind them is a bird sanctuary too.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I forgot about that. Across the street.
>> Amanda Barker: I think so. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Debatable. But anyway, they're, they're quite surround. There's a lot of bird sanctuaries in that area. This is the Sebastian Inlet. For anybody.
>> Marco Timpano: people know it because when I would speak with your father.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Talk about it.
>> Amanda Barker: So, so, anyway, there's a lot of bird sanctuaries there. And they have a lot of, rose tip spoonbills that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: come there. That look like you'd think they were flamingos, but they're actually rose tip spoonbills. They're beautiful creatures. They're white and pink. Anyway, and so they all live in this ficus tree.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, you know the spoonbills live there.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. Well, they, they hang out sometimes. They're pelicans, cranes, a lot of cranes. And they love that huge ficus tree. It's, it's phenomenal.
>> Marco Timpano: I've never seen a pelican at your parents place.
>> Amanda Barker: You haven't?
>> Marco Timpano: Not a pelican. I've seen it when we're by the
>> Amanda Barker: water, like driving around.
>> Marco Timpano: But not near their home. Not in that boot. I think pelicans stay near, near the open water.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they live near open water. You're talking about the ocean? Yeah, yeah. They live on a canal, so.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: fine.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you seen pelicans there?
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe not.
>> Marco Timpano: I've seen gators.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. You've seen a lot of alligators. There's so many there.
>> Marco Timpano: They're so fun.
>> Amanda Barker: They just, they're there all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: They hang out.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a beautiful place.
Amanda deals with the plants that are in her backyard, but also furniture
And by that ficus tree that was once a household plant, which is how we got here. they have two beautiful little chairs. Adirondack chairs or Muskoka chairs. and so it's a great place to just sit, have a coffee, read a book in the morning, listen to all the birds and, and it's quite a view. It's beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: While Amanda deals with the plants that are in her backyard, I often have to deal with the furniture. And so I've got to sort of take the pillows out. I have to cover all the furniture with the, these canvas Tarps.
>> Amanda Barker: Are we doing that this year?
>> Marco Timpano: I think we are.
>> Amanda Barker: Or are we going to try and use our back deck as a, as a place to hang out? I'm going to try the fire table.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to try to do it so that they're covered, but we can also use it.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to strategically.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Cover our furniture with canvas.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But so we can still use it to sit and put things on as a table. And then I take the pillows.
>> Marco Timpano: That ordinarily sit on all the patio. What would you call it? Like the, the loungey kind of area. What is that called?
>> Amanda Barker: Patio furniture.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's like segmented seats or we've.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, like. Yeah, I guess it's not a couch. It's like chair. Well, there's the table and then the cushions for the chairs at the table and then there's. Yeah. Patio furniture.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Chair there. Chair. There are four individual chairs that we kind of push together to make sort of a chair and a couch or four chairs or two and two.
>> Marco Timpano: So the pillows are quite large and they take up a lot of space. But we can't leave those pillows outside.
>> Amanda Barker: No, we take them in all the time. It's quite a dance in the summer. I don't know how other people do it or deal with it, but for us the constant taking of patio. Of you know, like you hear, you see the first powder of rain and then it's like, is it going to be a hard rain? And they're quite thick, our cushions.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So are they going to be soaked? And if they're soaked, they're soaked for days. Or do we leave them out there? Is it going to be just a sprinkling?
>> Marco Timpano: So then when we go through this transitional period into winter, I take them and we have a little nook under our stairwell that we sort of Storage area. Storage area that we walled off, I guess you could say.
>> Amanda Barker: So originally it was going to be cubbies.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: That was the first plan when we. We kind of redid the basement and I had a. In the architect's plan, it was all cubbies. And that's great for like shoes and things like that. But then when I realized what we really needed storage for was, you know, six months on me or you? Yeah. Are these massive cushions? So cubbies weren't going to cut it.
>> Marco Timpano: So then it becomes a Tetris game for me. And the sort of triangular shape under the stairs.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: To put this large Pile that's about, I would say, four and a half feet tall.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's not. It's a lot. And cushions are things that multiply in houses. Like, you know, every summer, every spring, every season, you want kind of new, fresh cushions. And then next thing you know, you're just swimming in pillows and cushions.
>> Marco Timpano: And you're a lover of pillows. We have a lot of just decorative pillows.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I think I'm a medium in pillow land.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you get tired of the same pillows, they lose their oomph. you want new cushions? New cushions are the easiest and cheapest way to sort of brighten up a room or change it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Anybody will tell you that.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Plus, I like cushions. I like to be cushioned in my watching of tv, in my binge watching, I like to be cushioned.
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One of the things that I'm finding tricky is these solar lamp situations
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I also wanted to talk about something. Speaking of transitions, a thing called the self tape.
>> Amanda Barker: We weren't speaking about transitions. We were speaking cushioning.
>> Marco Timpano: One that we did talk about. Transitioning from winter or you're transitioning into winter. Regarding patio. Okay, unless you have more patio information,
>> Amanda Barker: I can talk patio furniture all night long.
>> Marco Timpano: Please, please.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, okay. one of the things that I'm finding tricky Is these solar, the solar lamp situations. So you buy these. we have like, these lanterns that have sort of like a solar candle inside.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're beautiful looking.
>> Amanda Barker: They're great. I got them at Target before Target went under in Canada. So I got them for a song, as they say. But, they have sort of solar panels on the top of them that charge the little candle. But they all kind of worked the first year. And then I don't know if anyone else notices with solar stuff. After a time it's. It kind of stops working. And then you replace it. You replace the batteries.
>> Marco Timpano: I replace the batteries. So they have fresh batteries.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And they still stop working.
>> Marco Timpano: What it's supposed to do is get the sunlight during the day.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then at night, the candle portion illuminates.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, we live in a townhouse. Our back area has a big tree that shades a lot of things, which makes it really lovely and tolerable sort of during the day so that it's not full sun, in the. In the summer. But, you know, I think the. The downside of that is you just don't get a ton of light. So you're always trying to navigate that, I think, with these solar lights.
>> Marco Timpano: Although the ones that are frogs. Frog.
>> Amanda Barker: The frog frog ones, which I never loved. I think you bought those.
>> Marco Timpano: I think I got them. They were majorly on sale, I'm sure at our local grocery store.
>> Amanda Barker: You know what, they're cute. I don't mind them.
>> Marco Timpano: They're little frogs that have a light inside them.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not one for, like, ornaments, Chachkis or tchotchkas. I never know how to say it.
>> Marco Timpano: And see, I am. So I thought those little frogs would be nice by the tree.
>> Amanda Barker: And I thought, where did these frogs come from? I don't need frogs out here. There's enough going on, and I think
>> Marco Timpano: there's not enough going on. But the frogs do light up, so their bellies, they do light up, so.
>> Amanda Barker: So there's that. Yeah. So, yeah, I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with these solar. Because I don't want to throw out. I have like eight or nine of these lamps. I don't want to throw them out. But they're kind of just decorative because they're not actually illuminating at night, which was the point of them. And, our chandelier when I was, I love to obsess about a room and redo rooms. that's what keeps me sane. And we, have a chandelier that hangs from our. Our big maple tree out there that kind of dangles in the little seating area. I got that at, Habitat for Humanity. The restock. Is that what it's called?
>> Marco Timpano: Restore.
>> Amanda Barker: Restore. So it's like a charity donated?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a charity shop that sells home refurbished or donated home furnishings. And anything from, your refrigerator to panes of glass, doors, faucets, you name it, you'll find it.
>> Amanda Barker: Kitchen, cabinets, also, basically,
>> Marco Timpano: when people redo their homes, oftentimes if they have good quality things that they're replacing, though, they'll bring it and donate it to.
>> Amanda Barker: I actually filmed a public service announcement about just donating. When you redo your kitchen to donate your cabinets and so on, and bathroom stuff like, vanities and things like that. Especially, you know, a lot of times things come with what people call builder basic. So pretty basic looking vanity, your basic cabinets. And then, you know, you move in and you want your own touch on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: so you rent on your kitchen or you change up the powder room. And so a lot of that stuff that's quite new and sometimes really plain that you can jazz up on your own, if you need to or want to lives there. So anyway, I got the, the chandelier from there, and I think the reason it's an out. It's actually an outdoor chandelier, and I found it online.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I have to remove that. I forgot. That's still hanging.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah, I'm looking at it right now.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I need a ladder for that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you do. Do you not have a ladder?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I have to borrow one. I had the ladder that we usually use.
>> Amanda Barker: Is it up north?
The lights on it have always been tricky because what. Right. So I love having a chandelier out there
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's up north.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we can get it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So anyways, I forgot I need to take it down.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's part of it. I mean, that's fine. But, you know what's funny is, is we were so ambitious to close the cottage down this year early. And we have all this stuff here that we know. It's cold. Anyway, I think it's supposed to be warmer this week, so we can do it later on.
>> Marco Timpano: Very well.
>> Amanda Barker: anyway, that chandelier didn't cost very much. No, it's $25. but the. The lights on it have always been tricky because what. The lights that were originally on, it must have been glass and they broke. And that's why that person donated it, I guess. So we put on. I put on little mason jars and super glued them in.
>> Marco Timpano: Super glued them or No, I have. I use a putty to hold it in place.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Yeah. but then we weren't getting much light from the LED that's in there. So then.
>> Marco Timpano: Because the light shoots up.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Because the LED lights that are battery run don't have the strength because of the small little pucks.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It's not like a bulb.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So they would shoot up, but you wouldn't see it. So what I did was I painted the inside of those mason jars. The top, or if you look at it as a jar, the bottom of the mason jar with gold leaf.
>> Amanda Barker: You painted it or you put in gold leaf?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I. I put glue and then I applied the gold leaf.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you gold. Okay. I.
>> Marco Timpano: Gold leaf the bottom so that when the light would hit it, it would refract from the gold luminous sheen down towards us.
>> Amanda Barker: And that was my.
>> Marco Timpano: Still doesn't cast a lot of light.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it really does. That was my brother's idea. He's a lighting designer.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, it is. It was his idea.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, well, he. He's. He's a mechanic at heart, so he. He suggested we put aluminum foil. We went a little bit more high end with the gold leaf. But even still, I would have done
>> Marco Timpano: aluminum foil, but I just didn't know how to make it adhere.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But I knew I had some gold leaf from the project, which was a
>> Amanda Barker: great idea, and I love gold. But we still haven't figured out the way to make those LEDs be bright. I mean, maybe that's why it was donated. So I love having a chandelier out there, but it never casts quite as much light as I want it to, which is a very good problem to have in the. In the world of problems. But, we also have a fire table out there, and I guess we're going to try and use that during the winter.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, it's like a little fire.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a little, like gas fire thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a propane fire.
>> Amanda Barker: Once again, somebody got it on major sale and it was the last one. So, yeah, all my patio furniture I bought at the end of the season because that's the only time to buy it because it's.
>> Marco Timpano: It's surprisingly expensive. It's so expensive furniture.
>> Amanda Barker: But it makes sense because it has to. I mean, for us, we don't have anywhere to store. Store it. It has to stay outside all winter. So even though you do an amazing job wrapping it up in. What do you wrap it up in?
>> Marco Timpano: Like, it's a canvas tarp that I purchased online.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know how I was, otherwise I would be using dollar store tarps.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're more plasticky.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But they were so hard to. It just took me a long time and a lot of rope to secure it.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And so when I found these canvas tarps online that are designed for patio furniture.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought, oh, this is the way to go. Because it kind of is already molded in the shape of your table or your share or your chair. So you can just lay it on there and it'll protect your furniture. So that's what I went with. But if you're going to do that, make sure you get the proper sizes because I've got one that's a bit too big.
>> Marco Timpano: And so it becomes problematic.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
We have steep steps that go from our deck to our alleyway
yeah. I guess that's everything that's. That's out there. We have a tree growing back there, so we had to sort of build the wooden deck around it kind of thing because we weren't going to chop it down. It's a Norway maple.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: I think we've talked about it on here before.
>> Marco Timpano: We have. We need to cut some of the limbs that are kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: You better get that. Better borrow that ladder then.
>> Marco Timpano: I know, but I can't. It's too late in the center season to cut. I have to cut early in the spring now. Oh my goodness. So much for a little postage stamp of a backyard.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. It almost seems like it's not a yard. It's a deck.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a deck.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a tiny deck in the city. and then we have the steepest steps that go from our deck to the little alleyway.
>> Amanda Barker: They're so steep and every time somebody goes on them, we fear for them and say they're steeper than you think
>> Marco Timpano: and they're shorter than you think. So the step is actually not the right legal.
>> Amanda Barker: Listen. They're not the safest steps and they have been broken by somebody.
>> Marco Timpano: I have to replace one of the steps.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So that doesn't help.
>> Marco Timpano: Doesn't help. But we love our backyard.
>> Amanda Barker: We do. And having the steps, even though they are steep and a little precarious, is great because then we have access to our car, which, you know, we don't have underground parking. So we. Trying to get out there is not. Not easy.
>> Amanda Barker: But, yeah, it's quite a process to wrap all that stuff. And don't you like, tape it up too?
>> Marco Timpano: I use rope. I rope it up underneath so that it, it won't flap away. But the hardest thing I find is that on some of the things I tarp it will pool with water and then freeze. And so I have this pool of water on some of the.
>> Amanda Barker: And even though it's. How does the water get in?
>> Marco Timpano: It just gets heavy when the snow lands on it. It gets heavy. And if there's an indentation in whatever I'm wrapping.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Because sometimes I'll put the couch chairs on top of each other just so that it's more compact. So the underside of one of the chairs is hollow and so it will dip. Okay. Even though I always make it very, very taut and tight when I secure it, eventually the weight of the snow will cause it to sort of well and be weighted and it'll start to, it'll start to cause a little bit of a pool there once it gets warm. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So we have so many ferocious squirrels out there.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. Our backyard. I don't know what your listeners backyard, what crazy animals you might have, but for some reason the city of Toronto. One interesting thing about the city of Toronto that many visitors remark on is we have black squirrels.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It's actually not just Toronto, it's Ontario. the first time I ever went to Ontario, so I was in the, my first trip to Ontario was in 1993, in the fall, in Kingston, Ontario. And the thing I remember, I was in a tall building and I remember looking down, down at a, in a grassy park and seeing these big black bushy tailed creatures and going are those squirrels? They're huge. I had never seen squirrels because you're
>> Marco Timpano: used to the brown and gray squirrels.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I'm used to squirrels being cute and like a cousin, like an older cousin to a chipmunk.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not used to them being even. Our gray squirrels are huge here. They're massive beasts. I had never seen squirrels that big. Like the fact that I could see them from a tall like a window that was like 10 stories up or whatever was shocking to me. And they seem to be everywhere and fearless too. And cut. to almost 30 years later and here I am living in Ontario and and they're just as big and as ferocious as I always thought.
>> Marco Timpano: They come and they dig up anything we plant. So if I have, I had little planters with some herbs and they just like to come and dig everything up and make a mess.
>> Amanda Barker: But we have new animal visitors that visited us.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: This year. I'm not sure how you feel about them. They are pigeons. So we were in the summer, enjoying a socially distant moment with some friends on the back deck, at quite a distance. And so they were sort of looking and they saw this one pigeon and said, it hasn't moved in almost an hour. And then we looked and it moved and we thought, okay. It's okay. It's just sleeping. Well, what that pigeon was doing was laying to pigeon eggs, I guess. Do pigeons have eggs? They must.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. All birds do. Yeah.
We have two pigeons now. They were named by our nephew
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. So that's what. I've never seen a pigeon egg, but that's what it was doing. And, a few weeks later, two little pigeon. We could hear little cries from little babies outside our bedroom window. And I thought that pigeon had babies. And so we have two pigeons now. They're fully formed. They were named by our nephew. He named them Pidgey and Piggy. He likes to name things, the names that sound like the thing. So for example, a squirrel. He'd probably name Squirrely.
>> Marco Timpano: and squirrels.
>> Amanda Barker: That's how he. That's how he rolls.
>> Marco Timpano: But we have Pidgey and piggy. And they coo every morning.
>> Amanda Barker: They coo every morning. And at first it was all really cute. but you know, they do need to go to, as we say in America, the bathroom, as we say in Canada. The washroom.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Or the restroom or the wc. Anyway, so cleaning up after them has not been fun. And also, I don't know, I think they're quite intent on staying with us. So I'm not sure what to do about that because they're quite high up. They're up in like the, gutter.
>> Marco Timpano: I need an even longer ladder to deal with them or at least to, least to secure that area. So next year we don't have any more.
>> Amanda Barker: They were awfully cute when they were little. But, you know, they're not little anymore. And, I'm worried they're gonna lay their own eggs now and, and live, their best life with us. And I have to say, like, sitting outside my office, which is next to the window where they are, was nice hearing them. It was nice having some. Some life friends. Yeah, it was. I guess I was lonely because it was nice hearing there were little coos. There's something comforting about a cooing pigeon, actually. I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Speaking of animals, not. Not quite as comforting as the blue
>> Amanda Barker: build bird m. The rose tip spoon. Do you remember? So we stayed with my parents and that was like. That week was mating season. Season and their beautiful, serene home in Florida. And every morning at like 5 in the morning, we would hear birds that were very loud. They were loud. Yeah, but, but that said, it's always nice to hear birds.
>> Marco Timpano: It is true.
>> Marco Timpano: It is true. Well, hopefully the wildlife in our city backyard will calm down and we'll have less of those animals. Screen. We, we used to have, raccoons that would cut. No. Yeah, that would come on our backyard.
>> Amanda Barker: Remember your cousin was visiting from Italy and she got so excited because there was a raccoon in our backyard.
>> Marco Timpano: And I was like, no, not raccoons. And then I was able to. The area that they would be able to sneak in, I was able to cover with dirt.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, were you?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because it was where our tree was. So where the tree comes out from the deck, there was a bit of area.
>> Amanda Barker: I was gonna say I didn't see many last summer.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I see them, but not in our area.
>> Marco Timpano: I filled it with dirt so they can't, they can't quite crawl.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And this year, thankfully, we didn't run any two. But there was, we noticed a lot of skunks were hanging out this year.
>> Amanda Barker: And opossum.
>> Marco Timpano: You saw opossum?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it walked right past my foot. I was, putting out lights for Halloween and we have a little thing of dancing skeletons. And it was a rainy night. As I was doing it, I looked in a paw sp. Just basically almost brushed my foot. Didn't seem to care that I was standing there. Kept on her merry way and, went over to our neighbor's house.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, possums are really good though, apparently. Yeah, they, they take care of a lot of vermin and whatnot.
>> Amanda Barker: So.
>> Marco Timpano: I've never met a possum I didn't like.
>> Amanda Barker: That was the first one I met and we got along just fine.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. I hope you got along just fine.
We hope you enjoyed this little venture. Listening to this episode of the Insomnia Project
Listening to this episode of the Insomnia Project, we were going to talk about another thing, but we'll save that for the next episode when we talk about certain transitions. But we hope you enjoyed this little venture. What I'll do is I'll take a photo of the money plant that we have.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'll put it on our Instagram for people to see.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, we have two, so you have to pick one.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'll pick one. I don't know. I'll pick the bigger of the two.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, well, one is like longer and one is fuller.
>> Marco Timpano: Fuller.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'll pick one of them and I'll take a picture and I'll put it on our Instagram. Until next time, we hope you were able to enjoy this.
Amanda takes us on a walk of plants and backyard things
Thank you, Amanda, for taking us on a walk of plants and backyard things.
>> Amanda Barker: An unexpected journey. You had other plans today, but I just wanted to keep talking about the patio furniture.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So whatever you have in your patio, we hope your transition, if you do have to bring it in, go smoothly. Until next time, thank you for listening, and we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Trip to the Cobbler
(Original airdate: November 11, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a mundane conversation about something ordinary. Thank you for listening. We hope you listen and sleep. My name is Marco Timpano and joining me is Amanda Barker. Hi, Amanda. I wanted to talk about cobblers and shoe repair today.
>> Amanda Barker: So not peach and apple?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I love peach and apple cobbler. I love a peach cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: Actually, I haven't had a peach cobbler in a long time.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your favorite flavor of cobbler?
>> Amanda Barker: Rhubarb.
>> Marco Timpano: Ooh, a rhubarb. Rhubarb on its own or mixed with
>> Amanda Barker: something for me, Rhubarb and apple. I know strawberry and rhubarb is the more classic combo, but I don't like strawberries. So a rhubarb apple, tangy and sweet. That would be a great cobbler.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, how about you? I love a peach cobbler. I think that's my favorite cobbler. I feel like, because everyone says peach cobbler, it's My. Go to cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: Your cobbler of choice.
>> Marco Timpano: It is definitely my cobbler of choice. Good peach cobbler. At the right time of year, nothing's better.
Amanda asks what makes a cobbler different than a crisp
>> Amanda Barker: So how are two very different nouns both called cobbler? I know that there's a grammatical term for that, and now I'm not remembering what it is. Two things that are the same word with very different meanings.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's a good question. Amanda. I can tell you what makes a cobbler different than a crumble or a crisp. That would be great, but I don't know what makes it different than someone who repairs your shoes.
>> Amanda Barker: I've actually always under. I've always. I've never understood the difference between a crisp, a cobbler, and a. What was the other one?
>> Marco Timpano: A crisp, a cobbler and a crumble.
>> Amanda Barker: And a crumble. And then isn't there also a Buckley or something? Buckle. Blueberry buckle.
>> Marco Timpano: A buckle. That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Though today's episode is about shoes, so I don't want to go down the food route too much.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, okay, well, we can come back to that.
>> Marco Timpano: A, ah, cobbler has a biscuit topping on fresh fruit.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So there's that a crumble. And crisps are very similar with the name crumble originating from England.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: They both contain fresh fruit with a streusel like topping that gets baked until the fruit is cooked.
>> Amanda Barker: I always think of a crumble as having oatmeal involved and walnuts involved and then a crisp just as the brown sugar butter combo.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is my go to, really. In any event, none of those are somebody who can repair the strap of my heels.
Can you tell me about your first experience with a cobbler
>> Marco Timpano: So tell me about going a trip to the cobbler for you.
>> Amanda Barker: When I was little, it's funny because I, don't know if people realize, but I don't know what the topic is going to be until I'm in this room usually. So my first thing when I think of when I hear the word cobbler in terms of shoe cobbler is when I was little, my mom would always talk about going to the cobbler. And of course she's from Massachusetts, so she'd pronounce a cobbler. so I was a little kid on the South Shore of Massachusetts growing up until I was 13. And our cobbler was in the grocery store.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he had a little booth, if you can picture like a Walmart that has a McDonald's sort of one end. Well, that was our stop and shop, but it was a cobbler, you know, not a McDonald's or a nail, salon or whatever else. You know, sometimes with these big grocery stores, you can have this sort of little side kiosk or business. So ours was just past the checkout. There was a cobbler. And I remember the wall was green of the cobbler's place. So that's how I remember it anyway. Sort of a mint green.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And my mom would always take shoes to him. Like a bag of shoes. Our shoes. Straps, heels, broken. leather repair. you know, stretching things out maybe would be part of it, but any type of shoe repair. How about you? What was your first experience with a cobbler?
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting because for me, I don't think I went to a cobbler when I was younger.
>> Amanda Barker: No?
>> Marco Timpano: No. I can't recall going to a cobbler's.
>> Amanda Barker: It was part of the errands that my mom would do. She'd be like, we have to go to the cobbler. We have to go to the consignment shop. And, you know, we'd bags of our clothes and consign them, and then there's a bakery next door. So I loved going to the consignment shop because it smelt like fresh gingerbread. Always next door.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, that said, we have a cobbler not too far from where we live. Or at least when we drive on this one street to go, north of the city, we always pass this cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. We used to go to a guy who was from the same area of Italy as your dad was from Calabria.
>> Marco Timpano: Who was that?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the Calabrese, I think his name was Frank.
>> Marco Timpano: where was that cobbler? I don't remember that.
>> Amanda Barker: That was on Dupont. We used to go to him.
>> Marco Timpano: Dupont in what?
>> Amanda Barker: Across from the grocery store. They seem to always be around grocery stores. But he hasn't been there in a long time. Right. But we. That was the first place we used to go.
>> Marco Timpano: That was our cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And then he. He shut it all down. because, like so many cobblers, he was. You know, he wasn't young.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And, so then I was sort of on a. On a. You know, I was out to find a new cobbler. And they're not easy to find. especially not ones that are open and reliable. And, you know, they almost always only take cash, which is challenging.
>> Marco Timpano: It almost seemed like cobbling was a dying art form.
>> Amanda Barker: It did.
>> Marco Timpano: Can I tell you the etymology of the word cobbler in reference to shoe repair?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the term cobbler was originally used pejoratively to indicate that someone did not know Their craft in the 18th century.
>> Amanda Barker: Really? Yeah. So you cobbled it together?
>> Marco Timpano: I guess. Yeah. Well, sorry. In the 18th century, it became a term for those who repaired shoes but did not know enough to make them. so you could repair them, but you couldn't make them interesting.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So, that's interesting. Yeah. Late 13th century. The surname, and place names were caubalier in France, which meant one who mends shoes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. That's a place name as well.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what it says,
>> Amanda Barker: I would think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. That's interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: so once that shop closed down, we found another one.
>> Amanda Barker: So I went out looking, right? And it's one of the. I find a cobbler is one of those things where you, you know, you're out. You're never looking for it. You're out for a drive and you. It's a sunny day. Yes.
Your cobbler finds you. What shoes were you bringing to this gentleman at the time
Your cobbler finds you. And so, anyway, we were, near our home, and I, looked and it said cobbler and it was a fresh new sign. And I thought, oh, that's exciting. Like a new cobbler. Just a little bit north of us. And there was even parking next door. Bonus. So we went next door and I walked in and, a very lovely Persian man was there. And, I was in the middle of reading Prisoner of Tehran. So I had a long talk with him about Iran and Persian culture, and it was really lovely. He was so lovely. he takes cash only, but he does amazing work. And, he's smart. He gets you to pay up front, which is very smart because how many people leave their old shoes and then just don't come back for them?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. What shoes were you bringing to this gentleman at the time?
>> Amanda Barker: Probably my heels. I actually had a pair of wedge heels that I loved that actually I got in a clothing swap. So I wasn't even the first owner of them. They were, See, if you remember them, they were, ah, blue, sort of canvas, blue wedges. And how did I break the heels? Well, you and I were in Atlanta, and we went to the Coca Cola factory.
>> Marco Timpano: Museum.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, the Coca Cola museum. Yes. And I call it a factory because there is, massive room where you test something like over 100 different flavors of Cokes. Yeah, Coke products from all over the world, right? Anything citrusy, anything root beer y. Anything tangy, whatever. It doesn't matter. Everything they make. There's, fountains like you'd see in any fast, food chain. But they're all over. The walls are lined with them, and you can just go up and taste. Whatever. Well, that particular day there was a problem with their cleaning systems or something. And the entire floor was sticky, like a sticky syrup from people, I guess, dripping the soda.
>> Marco Timpano: There were so many of these fountain areas that you would, you know, you would put your cup there and fill up and then you'd quickly remove the cup, drink it, and go to another fountain. So in that process of filling, taking, drinking, there was some splashes to be had.
>> Amanda Barker: And now that we talk about it, doesn't sound very hygienic, does it? Like it sounds, you know. Anyways, so, there was some problem with your cleaning. Anyway, the entire floor was just imagine walking in a layer of like, syrup.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And so it was quite sticky and people were remarking on it, but whatever. And it was so sticky that the bottom part of my, wedge heels separated from the rest of the shoe. Like I went to walk and the entire bottom part of the shoe was still on the floor and I walked out of it.
>> Marco Timpano: It was as if your shoe melded with the sticky floor and became more part of the floor than part of your foot.
>> Amanda Barker: So, I complained and they gave me a pair of Coca Cola flip flops, which I think we still have somewhere. And so, that's what I wore the rest of the day. And then I loved the shoes so much that instead of just throwing them away, I needed a cobbler. So I took them to that, Persian cobbler and we've had a good relationship ever since.
What is the typical reason you need to go to a cobbler
>> Marco Timpano: What is the typical reason you need to go to a cobbler? Is it heel related, strap related? width related?
>> Amanda Barker: For me, and I want to ask the same question of you, but for me it is always heel related because I, ah, subpronate. Most people either pronate or subpronate. And that's how you walk on your feet. So you can walk on the outside or like the inside edges of your heels or the outside edges of your heels. if you look at the back of people and sometimes you can really. It's really pronounced. It always becomes more pronounced in winter shoes. And we live in a winter climate, you know, seven months out of the year, whatever it is. So heels, of boots, for me, ah, a pair of heels that I wear a lot for when I have to wear heels, like for corporate stuff that we do, they can take a beating. But heels of boots are probably the number one. And I've learned to buy better quality boots because if you buy sort of cheap, kind of fashiony, you know, boots, usually those heels are hollow. So Once you've walked on the side enough, it'll pop off the bottom and then you've got a hollow heel that's really loud that you're walking on and you can't really use the shoe anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, the heel itself is hollow, meaning
>> Amanda Barker: that the inside of the heel. So if you have like a chunky heel. So imagine a pair of women's brown leather boots that zip up at the side. I've had many over the years, so you can imagine most of them, if they are cheaply made, then the heel of that boot is usually hollow. So, once you've worn it down a bit, because you love those boots and you wear them all fall or whatever, if the bottom part of the heel pops off, the little sort of black attach that buffers the cap, if you will.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know what else to call it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, sure, once that pops off, it's hollow inside. and usually you're done. But if you really love those boots and you have a good cobbler, they can put a much more substantial heel made out of cork or, just a sturdy, not hollow product. I have learned though, to not buy boots like that from trial and error over the years. And I personally, especially when it comes to footwear, I'd rather spend money once and wear those boots for several seasons, several years than buying a new pair every year, which is what happens when you buy cheap ones if you subpronate like I do.
>> Marco Timpano: So that part of the heel is called the top lift. and the heel part that we know. Or under the heel. So the part of the heel that would be facing your toe, let's say. Do you know what I'm saying?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's called the heel breast. And the heel is the actual heel as we know it.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting. So what do you normally have to go to a cobbler for?
>> Marco Timpano: So here is my cobbler adventure.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it also deals with boots.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So clearly living in Canada, we do face cold weather for five months out of the year. I would say November to April.
>> Marco Timpano: We wear boots when it gets really cold.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a pair of leather boots that I got on sale after Christmas years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And they were still not inexpensive.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But I could tell they were well made. I love these boots. They zipped all the way up past my mid calf, so they were high and comfortable.
>> Amanda Barker: You had them so long. You had them when I met you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And that is now probably 15 years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: I no longer have them, by the way.
>> Amanda Barker: But you very recently Yeah, I had
>> Marco Timpano: them for a good 10, 12 years.
>> Amanda Barker: And you had them recent. You actually looked for them this year and you're like, did I get rid of them?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So those boots were tied, tested and true. They, they, they just could face anything.
>> Amanda Barker: Tried, tested and true, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Tied. Did I say died?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
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>> Marco Timpano: So
>> Marco Timpano: over 90 of the top 100 US accounting firms trust Bill to simplify and secure bill pay. That's proven financial infrastructure built on over a trillion dollars of secure payments. Visit bill.com proven for a special offer.
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The welt of the shoe separated from the boot. So if I look on that chart that I was looking on
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>> Marco Timpano: The front of the shoe came off. So if I look on that chart that I was looking on, it was like flapping the welt.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: The welt of the shoe separated from the boot. So the welt being the front part of the. Where you step.
>> Marco Timpano: Versus the heel, I guess, where you're stepping off from.
>> Marco Timpano: That on my right foot came off.
>> Marco Timpano: So I took it to the cobbler, our cobbler, the one you mentioned. The Persian gentleman repaired it like a champ two years later. That part because it was weak. At this point, I even forget the name of that. The welt separated again, brought it to the cobbler, and he's like, okay, you don't have that many repairs on this boot left. There's only so much we can do. And I think the welt came off the boot because, you know, when you take off your boots, for those of us who wear winter boots, sometimes you'll put the heel and you'll use the other boot and push on your heel to remove it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, sometimes you have to do that because they'll like, my rain boots will just suction into my feet if I don't do that.
>> Marco Timpano: It's about being lazy. If you sit and remove the boot with your two hands, you won't, you won't encounter this. But if you're in a hurry, you want to get it out from the cold. Oftentimes you'll Just stand there, and with one foot, you'll push the heel off, and then with the other. So I'm sure I affected the welt by doing that.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I brought it the second year, and he's like, there's not much shoe left on the bottom for me to adhere.
>> Amanda Barker: They were over 10 years old. Definitely at that point when I had
>> Marco Timpano: worn the tread away.
>> Amanda Barker: You wore them everywhere you would walk in the winter. Because the thing about those boots. See, there's different levels of boots. In Canada, we have our sort of fall or spring boots, which, for women, like I said, a brown leather pair that maybe zips on the side or kind of slouches, and you can wear them with slouch.
>> Marco Timpano: You also have plenty of black leather pairs. You're focused on brown, but you also have.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm gonna say this. I have two pairs of long boots, and that's it. One brown and one black.
>> Marco Timpano: Only two?
>> Amanda Barker: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I do. Only two. I've gotten rid of everything else.
>> Speaker D: Okay, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're both quality boots, but you've
>> Marco Timpano: had several in the past that I have.
>> Amanda Barker: Trial and error, like I said. For the record, my black ones are Birkenstock boots.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: they're very heavy and very wide, so I always feel a little bit punky wearing them because they're wide and long, black leather. And when I say wide, I mean wide in the footbed. So they're.
>> Marco Timpano: When you say punky, what do you mean by punky?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they're not sleek, so they have a Doc Marten kind of look versus, you know, a, more slimmer look. My brown ones are slimmer, and I forget the name of this Kenneth Cole. Where did I get them?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know, but let's go back to my welts, my sore welts.
>> Amanda Barker: My point is, those boots that you're talking about, you could wear them in the fall, and they just look like black boots. Yeah. Or you could wear them. And this is what's unique, because usually you can't when it. When it's really icy and really snow. You have to get into things that look like you're walking on the moon.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: but those ones you actually could wear, they were that good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So he repaired them one more time, and then the following year, they really separated. You know how when you watch animations for kids and boots talk and it looks like it has a mouth?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That was my totally. So what I did was. All right, I'm gonna cobble it together.
>> Amanda Barker: You did it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I got some extra super strength.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember this.
>> Marco Timpano: I got some. Here's my. Here's where cobble goes wrong, folks. I got some extra strength glue that's used in. When you're adhering things together on an industrial scale. So industrial glue that one would use if you're doing repair to concrete, let's say, or to something that requires great adhesion. So I put that on the bottom on the welt, pressed it together with the sole, and some of the glue kind of seeped out. So my boot looked like it had a growth coming from, from it because all this glue kind of just seeped out and it bubbled and grew. And I tried to cut the glue away, but it wouldn't shape properly. So one, one boot looked, malformed. So my cobbler. So cobbling is a lot harder than one would think.
Have you ever gone for stretching to the cobbler
And that's why my.
>> Amanda Barker: Those boots had to listen. As our good friend Dale says, they owed you nothing.
>> Marco Timpano: They owed me absolutely nothing. And so that was the end of those boots. But I've gone to the cobbler for other things, heel related things. Stretching. Have you ever gone for stretching to the cobbler?
>> Amanda Barker: I haven't gone for stretching. I don't know if I believe in stretching. I mean, it has to be really good leather for it to work. And even then, I don't know. I mean, I think a good shoe has a bit of stretch in it, but not enough that you should be able to just go and stretch it out. I always think stretching is wishful thinking. I don't think if a pair of shoes are too tight, they're still gonna be too tight. So I think it's time to pass those on. Even if you got them for a good deal or whatever, that's the problem. You try them on in the store and they fit and then. But a day out in a pair of shoes is a whole different ball game. Right? And that's actually why I got Birkenstock boots, because I wanted a pair of boots that looked good and that were leather but that I could stand in all day long. And you can stand in Birkenstocks all day long, so they were worth the extra penny for those. And then I got another pair of brown ones that are equally comfortable. And, And that's it. And then I have short black ones. But the other reason I've gone to a cobbler is I actually was about to go last spring to the cobbler. Yeah, I got a pair of Prada heels that are too big. And I thought Maybe he could,
>> Amanda Barker: fill in, the heel a little bit so they wouldn't slip off again. I kind of feel like it's wishful thinking and maybe I should just sell them or pass them on to have a better life. They were given to me, in a clothing swap, which they were just out and they were in the dust cover in the box. And I was like, I might take these. And even though they were a bit loose, I was like, I'll make them work. And we do that so often. And now they're just sort of sitting.
>> Marco Timpano: They're sitting somewhere.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they're, up my nice heels and my expensive heels and I don't have a ton, but. Well, you and I could debate that, I suppose, but, I was thinking about it. They kind of almost feel like little. I don't know, like, you know, we don't have the space to have a big collection. And nobody really wants a big collection of anything these days. You just something that just sits and so shoes are one of the last great sort of collector things, right?
>> Marco Timpano: well, they're practical because you need them, but they also take up room. And you need more than a pair and women do.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it's like a dress. You don't wear the same one to everything. Some people do.
>> Marco Timpano: You need more than a pair for.
>> Amanda Barker: You do. so then it becomes one of the few things like jewelry that you can kind of collect. Right. because, you know, most of us don't collect crystal figurines anymore. Or when I was a kid, china dolls, I had them all on a shelf. And so my shoes are kind of taking that position because the truth is I'm not wearing. I have some beautiful heels, but I'm not really wearing them. So anyway, I'm trying to figure out what to do. That was the last time I had the inclination to go to the cobbler. And then he was closed. And I haven't had a need to wear those heels.
>> Marco Timpano: and that particular cobbler retired and was replaced by a new cobbler. Right. A younger cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, his son or something or somebody was training with him. that's true.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, we started the episode by saying it's a profession that we see diminishing, but, ah, it's actually on the resurgence.
>> Amanda Barker: It is people and the trades are in general, and so they should be. We need them.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I need a cobbler.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you look for before we end the show?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, a good cobbler. What do you can we do one
>> Amanda Barker: on shoes because I have so many.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll do. We'll do an. An episode for the Patreon page that we need two on shoes. So we'll do that for our Patreon.
>> Amanda Barker: Have some beautiful shoes.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll talk about shoes right after this. But let's focus on Cob the cobbler.
What do I look for in a cobbler now? I love the smell of leather
>> Amanda Barker: What do I look for in a cobbler now?
>> Marco Timpano: I love the smell of going to a cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, God. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because there's all those kind of glues and whatnot. So it has a really strong.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but people. Funky shoe foot smell.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no. But I only smell the glue and things like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Leather.
>> Marco Timpano: The leather, the glue.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of times, cobblers don't just cobble shoes. They do belts and bags and things like that. So there is usually a nice leather kind of smell that does emanate. I mean, definitely that's the smell you want.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a leatherman shop not far from me.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he called. Well, he calls himself the Leatherman. Right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: But he's no cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: He's not?
>> Marco Timpano: No, he doesn't cobble.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, he does leather.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting. Oh, he makes stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: He makes leather goods.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never been in there.
>> Marco Timpano: I went in once. It was very, very pricey for what they had.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways. But anyways, back to the cobbler.
Shopping at a cobbler is cheaper than buying new shoes
What do you look for in a good cobbler?
>> Amanda Barker: someone who's friendly.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Someone who. Bonus. If they give you your shoes in a nice bag and not an old shopping bag, which is what they all do. They. An old grocery store plastic bag. somebody who can find my shoe even if I can't find the little ticket. Because I usually can't find the little ticket. it's somewhere in my car or in my purse when they're like, what's the ticket? And I don't have it. And then I describe it, and then I'm shown a lot of other shoes, and then I can see it usually on the shelf and point to it. And that takes some doing.
>> Marco Timpano: so your trip to a cobbler is the extended affair, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't mind paying a decent price. I think some people would say, oh, it's too expensive.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. And the older I get. I probably felt differently in my 20s, but the older I get, the more I'm happy to pay for good work and the more I'm happy to pay for quality.
>> Marco Timpano: Inevitably, it's cheaper than buying a new pair of shoes.
>> Amanda Barker: It is. And if you love a pair of shoes, spend the money and get them. And I would just say this. If people are still awake, and even if they're not, maybe in your dreams, you know, if you spend the money on it, then you will spend less money. I don't remember what I was gonna say.
>> Marco Timpano: That's fine. That's fine.
>> Amanda Barker: My mind drifted.
In general, buy quality shoes because quality is easier to fix
>> Marco Timpano: Well, with your drifting mind and our Close of the Cobbler episode, I think it's time to say, farewell to our listeners. Or not a farewell, but a farewell to this episode. I like a cobbler who can look at your shoe that needs repair and tell you what they can do.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. And what they can't.
>> Marco Timpano: And what they can't. But generally speaking, they'll be like, oh, yeah, I can fix this. All I have to do is stretch the leather here, hammer the nail there, et cetera, et cetera.
>> Amanda Barker: I would just say, in general, buy quality, because quality is easier to fix.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Everything will break down eventually, but quality will take longer to break down, and then it's. You have somebody who can help it versus a hollow plastic heel.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I hope you enjoyed this quality episode of the Insomnia Project.
>> Amanda Barker: Hope people walk, walk safely.
>> Marco Timpano: And, we hope you had the opportunity to listen and repair your shoes and then sleep.
(Original airdate: November 11, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a mundane conversation about something ordinary. Thank you for listening. We hope you listen and sleep. My name is Marco Timpano and joining me is Amanda Barker. Hi, Amanda. I wanted to talk about cobblers and shoe repair today.
>> Amanda Barker: So not peach and apple?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I love peach and apple cobbler. I love a peach cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: Actually, I haven't had a peach cobbler in a long time.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your favorite flavor of cobbler?
>> Amanda Barker: Rhubarb.
>> Marco Timpano: Ooh, a rhubarb. Rhubarb on its own or mixed with
>> Amanda Barker: something for me, Rhubarb and apple. I know strawberry and rhubarb is the more classic combo, but I don't like strawberries. So a rhubarb apple, tangy and sweet. That would be a great cobbler.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, how about you? I love a peach cobbler. I think that's my favorite cobbler. I feel like, because everyone says peach cobbler, it's My. Go to cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: Your cobbler of choice.
>> Marco Timpano: It is definitely my cobbler of choice. Good peach cobbler. At the right time of year, nothing's better.
Amanda asks what makes a cobbler different than a crisp
>> Amanda Barker: So how are two very different nouns both called cobbler? I know that there's a grammatical term for that, and now I'm not remembering what it is. Two things that are the same word with very different meanings.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's a good question. Amanda. I can tell you what makes a cobbler different than a crumble or a crisp. That would be great, but I don't know what makes it different than someone who repairs your shoes.
>> Amanda Barker: I've actually always under. I've always. I've never understood the difference between a crisp, a cobbler, and a. What was the other one?
>> Marco Timpano: A crisp, a cobbler and a crumble.
>> Amanda Barker: And a crumble. And then isn't there also a Buckley or something? Buckle. Blueberry buckle.
>> Marco Timpano: A buckle. That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Though today's episode is about shoes, so I don't want to go down the food route too much.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, okay, well, we can come back to that.
>> Marco Timpano: A, ah, cobbler has a biscuit topping on fresh fruit.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So there's that a crumble. And crisps are very similar with the name crumble originating from England.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: They both contain fresh fruit with a streusel like topping that gets baked until the fruit is cooked.
>> Amanda Barker: I always think of a crumble as having oatmeal involved and walnuts involved and then a crisp just as the brown sugar butter combo.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Which is my go to, really. In any event, none of those are somebody who can repair the strap of my heels.
Can you tell me about your first experience with a cobbler
>> Marco Timpano: So tell me about going a trip to the cobbler for you.
>> Amanda Barker: When I was little, it's funny because I, don't know if people realize, but I don't know what the topic is going to be until I'm in this room usually. So my first thing when I think of when I hear the word cobbler in terms of shoe cobbler is when I was little, my mom would always talk about going to the cobbler. And of course she's from Massachusetts, so she'd pronounce a cobbler. so I was a little kid on the South Shore of Massachusetts growing up until I was 13. And our cobbler was in the grocery store.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he had a little booth, if you can picture like a Walmart that has a McDonald's sort of one end. Well, that was our stop and shop, but it was a cobbler, you know, not a McDonald's or a nail, salon or whatever else. You know, sometimes with these big grocery stores, you can have this sort of little side kiosk or business. So ours was just past the checkout. There was a cobbler. And I remember the wall was green of the cobbler's place. So that's how I remember it anyway. Sort of a mint green.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And my mom would always take shoes to him. Like a bag of shoes. Our shoes. Straps, heels, broken. leather repair. you know, stretching things out maybe would be part of it, but any type of shoe repair. How about you? What was your first experience with a cobbler?
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting because for me, I don't think I went to a cobbler when I was younger.
>> Amanda Barker: No?
>> Marco Timpano: No. I can't recall going to a cobbler's.
>> Amanda Barker: It was part of the errands that my mom would do. She'd be like, we have to go to the cobbler. We have to go to the consignment shop. And, you know, we'd bags of our clothes and consign them, and then there's a bakery next door. So I loved going to the consignment shop because it smelt like fresh gingerbread. Always next door.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, that said, we have a cobbler not too far from where we live. Or at least when we drive on this one street to go, north of the city, we always pass this cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. We used to go to a guy who was from the same area of Italy as your dad was from Calabria.
>> Marco Timpano: Who was that?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the Calabrese, I think his name was Frank.
>> Marco Timpano: where was that cobbler? I don't remember that.
>> Amanda Barker: That was on Dupont. We used to go to him.
>> Marco Timpano: Dupont in what?
>> Amanda Barker: Across from the grocery store. They seem to always be around grocery stores. But he hasn't been there in a long time. Right. But we. That was the first place we used to go.
>> Marco Timpano: That was our cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And then he. He shut it all down. because, like so many cobblers, he was. You know, he wasn't young.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And, so then I was sort of on a. On a. You know, I was out to find a new cobbler. And they're not easy to find. especially not ones that are open and reliable. And, you know, they almost always only take cash, which is challenging.
>> Marco Timpano: It almost seemed like cobbling was a dying art form.
>> Amanda Barker: It did.
>> Marco Timpano: Can I tell you the etymology of the word cobbler in reference to shoe repair?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the term cobbler was originally used pejoratively to indicate that someone did not know Their craft in the 18th century.
>> Amanda Barker: Really? Yeah. So you cobbled it together?
>> Marco Timpano: I guess. Yeah. Well, sorry. In the 18th century, it became a term for those who repaired shoes but did not know enough to make them. so you could repair them, but you couldn't make them interesting.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So, that's interesting. Yeah. Late 13th century. The surname, and place names were caubalier in France, which meant one who mends shoes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. That's a place name as well.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what it says,
>> Amanda Barker: I would think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. That's interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: so once that shop closed down, we found another one.
>> Amanda Barker: So I went out looking, right? And it's one of the. I find a cobbler is one of those things where you, you know, you're out. You're never looking for it. You're out for a drive and you. It's a sunny day. Yes.
Your cobbler finds you. What shoes were you bringing to this gentleman at the time
Your cobbler finds you. And so, anyway, we were, near our home, and I, looked and it said cobbler and it was a fresh new sign. And I thought, oh, that's exciting. Like a new cobbler. Just a little bit north of us. And there was even parking next door. Bonus. So we went next door and I walked in and, a very lovely Persian man was there. And, I was in the middle of reading Prisoner of Tehran. So I had a long talk with him about Iran and Persian culture, and it was really lovely. He was so lovely. he takes cash only, but he does amazing work. And, he's smart. He gets you to pay up front, which is very smart because how many people leave their old shoes and then just don't come back for them?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. What shoes were you bringing to this gentleman at the time?
>> Amanda Barker: Probably my heels. I actually had a pair of wedge heels that I loved that actually I got in a clothing swap. So I wasn't even the first owner of them. They were, See, if you remember them, they were, ah, blue, sort of canvas, blue wedges. And how did I break the heels? Well, you and I were in Atlanta, and we went to the Coca Cola factory.
>> Marco Timpano: Museum.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, the Coca Cola museum. Yes. And I call it a factory because there is, massive room where you test something like over 100 different flavors of Cokes. Yeah, Coke products from all over the world, right? Anything citrusy, anything root beer y. Anything tangy, whatever. It doesn't matter. Everything they make. There's, fountains like you'd see in any fast, food chain. But they're all over. The walls are lined with them, and you can just go up and taste. Whatever. Well, that particular day there was a problem with their cleaning systems or something. And the entire floor was sticky, like a sticky syrup from people, I guess, dripping the soda.
>> Marco Timpano: There were so many of these fountain areas that you would, you know, you would put your cup there and fill up and then you'd quickly remove the cup, drink it, and go to another fountain. So in that process of filling, taking, drinking, there was some splashes to be had.
>> Amanda Barker: And now that we talk about it, doesn't sound very hygienic, does it? Like it sounds, you know. Anyways, so, there was some problem with your cleaning. Anyway, the entire floor was just imagine walking in a layer of like, syrup.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And so it was quite sticky and people were remarking on it, but whatever. And it was so sticky that the bottom part of my, wedge heels separated from the rest of the shoe. Like I went to walk and the entire bottom part of the shoe was still on the floor and I walked out of it.
>> Marco Timpano: It was as if your shoe melded with the sticky floor and became more part of the floor than part of your foot.
>> Amanda Barker: So, I complained and they gave me a pair of Coca Cola flip flops, which I think we still have somewhere. And so, that's what I wore the rest of the day. And then I loved the shoes so much that instead of just throwing them away, I needed a cobbler. So I took them to that, Persian cobbler and we've had a good relationship ever since.
What is the typical reason you need to go to a cobbler
>> Marco Timpano: What is the typical reason you need to go to a cobbler? Is it heel related, strap related? width related?
>> Amanda Barker: For me, and I want to ask the same question of you, but for me it is always heel related because I, ah, subpronate. Most people either pronate or subpronate. And that's how you walk on your feet. So you can walk on the outside or like the inside edges of your heels or the outside edges of your heels. if you look at the back of people and sometimes you can really. It's really pronounced. It always becomes more pronounced in winter shoes. And we live in a winter climate, you know, seven months out of the year, whatever it is. So heels, of boots, for me, ah, a pair of heels that I wear a lot for when I have to wear heels, like for corporate stuff that we do, they can take a beating. But heels of boots are probably the number one. And I've learned to buy better quality boots because if you buy sort of cheap, kind of fashiony, you know, boots, usually those heels are hollow. So Once you've walked on the side enough, it'll pop off the bottom and then you've got a hollow heel that's really loud that you're walking on and you can't really use the shoe anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, the heel itself is hollow, meaning
>> Amanda Barker: that the inside of the heel. So if you have like a chunky heel. So imagine a pair of women's brown leather boots that zip up at the side. I've had many over the years, so you can imagine most of them, if they are cheaply made, then the heel of that boot is usually hollow. So, once you've worn it down a bit, because you love those boots and you wear them all fall or whatever, if the bottom part of the heel pops off, the little sort of black attach that buffers the cap, if you will.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know what else to call it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, sure, once that pops off, it's hollow inside. and usually you're done. But if you really love those boots and you have a good cobbler, they can put a much more substantial heel made out of cork or, just a sturdy, not hollow product. I have learned though, to not buy boots like that from trial and error over the years. And I personally, especially when it comes to footwear, I'd rather spend money once and wear those boots for several seasons, several years than buying a new pair every year, which is what happens when you buy cheap ones if you subpronate like I do.
>> Marco Timpano: So that part of the heel is called the top lift. and the heel part that we know. Or under the heel. So the part of the heel that would be facing your toe, let's say. Do you know what I'm saying?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's called the heel breast. And the heel is the actual heel as we know it.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting. So what do you normally have to go to a cobbler for?
>> Marco Timpano: So here is my cobbler adventure.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it also deals with boots.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So clearly living in Canada, we do face cold weather for five months out of the year. I would say November to April.
>> Marco Timpano: We wear boots when it gets really cold.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a pair of leather boots that I got on sale after Christmas years ago.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And they were still not inexpensive.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But I could tell they were well made. I love these boots. They zipped all the way up past my mid calf, so they were high and comfortable.
>> Amanda Barker: You had them so long. You had them when I met you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And that is now probably 15 years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: I no longer have them, by the way.
>> Amanda Barker: But you very recently Yeah, I had
>> Marco Timpano: them for a good 10, 12 years.
>> Amanda Barker: And you had them recent. You actually looked for them this year and you're like, did I get rid of them?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So those boots were tied, tested and true. They, they, they just could face anything.
>> Amanda Barker: Tried, tested and true, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Tied. Did I say died?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
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>> Marco Timpano: So
>> Marco Timpano: over 90 of the top 100 US accounting firms trust Bill to simplify and secure bill pay. That's proven financial infrastructure built on over a trillion dollars of secure payments. Visit bill.com proven for a special offer.
>> Speaker D: At blinds.com, it's not just about window treatments. It's about you, your style, your, your way. Whether you DIY or want the pros to handle it all, you'll have the confidence of knowing it's done right. From free expert design help to our, 100% satisfaction guarantee, everything we do is made to fit your life and your windows. [email protected], the only thing we treat better than windows is you.
The welt of the shoe separated from the boot. So if I look on that chart that I was looking on
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>> Marco Timpano: The front of the shoe came off. So if I look on that chart that I was looking on, it was like flapping the welt.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: The welt of the shoe separated from the boot. So the welt being the front part of the. Where you step.
>> Marco Timpano: Versus the heel, I guess, where you're stepping off from.
>> Marco Timpano: That on my right foot came off.
>> Marco Timpano: So I took it to the cobbler, our cobbler, the one you mentioned. The Persian gentleman repaired it like a champ two years later. That part because it was weak. At this point, I even forget the name of that. The welt separated again, brought it to the cobbler, and he's like, okay, you don't have that many repairs on this boot left. There's only so much we can do. And I think the welt came off the boot because, you know, when you take off your boots, for those of us who wear winter boots, sometimes you'll put the heel and you'll use the other boot and push on your heel to remove it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, sometimes you have to do that because they'll like, my rain boots will just suction into my feet if I don't do that.
>> Marco Timpano: It's about being lazy. If you sit and remove the boot with your two hands, you won't, you won't encounter this. But if you're in a hurry, you want to get it out from the cold. Oftentimes you'll Just stand there, and with one foot, you'll push the heel off, and then with the other. So I'm sure I affected the welt by doing that.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I brought it the second year, and he's like, there's not much shoe left on the bottom for me to adhere.
>> Amanda Barker: They were over 10 years old. Definitely at that point when I had
>> Marco Timpano: worn the tread away.
>> Amanda Barker: You wore them everywhere you would walk in the winter. Because the thing about those boots. See, there's different levels of boots. In Canada, we have our sort of fall or spring boots, which, for women, like I said, a brown leather pair that maybe zips on the side or kind of slouches, and you can wear them with slouch.
>> Marco Timpano: You also have plenty of black leather pairs. You're focused on brown, but you also have.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm gonna say this. I have two pairs of long boots, and that's it. One brown and one black.
>> Marco Timpano: Only two?
>> Amanda Barker: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I do. Only two. I've gotten rid of everything else.
>> Speaker D: Okay, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're both quality boots, but you've
>> Marco Timpano: had several in the past that I have.
>> Amanda Barker: Trial and error, like I said. For the record, my black ones are Birkenstock boots.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: they're very heavy and very wide, so I always feel a little bit punky wearing them because they're wide and long, black leather. And when I say wide, I mean wide in the footbed. So they're.
>> Marco Timpano: When you say punky, what do you mean by punky?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they're not sleek, so they have a Doc Marten kind of look versus, you know, a, more slimmer look. My brown ones are slimmer, and I forget the name of this Kenneth Cole. Where did I get them?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know, but let's go back to my welts, my sore welts.
>> Amanda Barker: My point is, those boots that you're talking about, you could wear them in the fall, and they just look like black boots. Yeah. Or you could wear them. And this is what's unique, because usually you can't when it. When it's really icy and really snow. You have to get into things that look like you're walking on the moon.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: but those ones you actually could wear, they were that good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So he repaired them one more time, and then the following year, they really separated. You know how when you watch animations for kids and boots talk and it looks like it has a mouth?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That was my totally. So what I did was. All right, I'm gonna cobble it together.
>> Amanda Barker: You did it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I got some extra super strength.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember this.
>> Marco Timpano: I got some. Here's my. Here's where cobble goes wrong, folks. I got some extra strength glue that's used in. When you're adhering things together on an industrial scale. So industrial glue that one would use if you're doing repair to concrete, let's say, or to something that requires great adhesion. So I put that on the bottom on the welt, pressed it together with the sole, and some of the glue kind of seeped out. So my boot looked like it had a growth coming from, from it because all this glue kind of just seeped out and it bubbled and grew. And I tried to cut the glue away, but it wouldn't shape properly. So one, one boot looked, malformed. So my cobbler. So cobbling is a lot harder than one would think.
Have you ever gone for stretching to the cobbler
And that's why my.
>> Amanda Barker: Those boots had to listen. As our good friend Dale says, they owed you nothing.
>> Marco Timpano: They owed me absolutely nothing. And so that was the end of those boots. But I've gone to the cobbler for other things, heel related things. Stretching. Have you ever gone for stretching to the cobbler?
>> Amanda Barker: I haven't gone for stretching. I don't know if I believe in stretching. I mean, it has to be really good leather for it to work. And even then, I don't know. I mean, I think a good shoe has a bit of stretch in it, but not enough that you should be able to just go and stretch it out. I always think stretching is wishful thinking. I don't think if a pair of shoes are too tight, they're still gonna be too tight. So I think it's time to pass those on. Even if you got them for a good deal or whatever, that's the problem. You try them on in the store and they fit and then. But a day out in a pair of shoes is a whole different ball game. Right? And that's actually why I got Birkenstock boots, because I wanted a pair of boots that looked good and that were leather but that I could stand in all day long. And you can stand in Birkenstocks all day long, so they were worth the extra penny for those. And then I got another pair of brown ones that are equally comfortable. And, And that's it. And then I have short black ones. But the other reason I've gone to a cobbler is I actually was about to go last spring to the cobbler. Yeah, I got a pair of Prada heels that are too big. And I thought Maybe he could,
>> Amanda Barker: fill in, the heel a little bit so they wouldn't slip off again. I kind of feel like it's wishful thinking and maybe I should just sell them or pass them on to have a better life. They were given to me, in a clothing swap, which they were just out and they were in the dust cover in the box. And I was like, I might take these. And even though they were a bit loose, I was like, I'll make them work. And we do that so often. And now they're just sort of sitting.
>> Marco Timpano: They're sitting somewhere.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they're, up my nice heels and my expensive heels and I don't have a ton, but. Well, you and I could debate that, I suppose, but, I was thinking about it. They kind of almost feel like little. I don't know, like, you know, we don't have the space to have a big collection. And nobody really wants a big collection of anything these days. You just something that just sits and so shoes are one of the last great sort of collector things, right?
>> Marco Timpano: well, they're practical because you need them, but they also take up room. And you need more than a pair and women do.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it's like a dress. You don't wear the same one to everything. Some people do.
>> Marco Timpano: You need more than a pair for.
>> Amanda Barker: You do. so then it becomes one of the few things like jewelry that you can kind of collect. Right. because, you know, most of us don't collect crystal figurines anymore. Or when I was a kid, china dolls, I had them all on a shelf. And so my shoes are kind of taking that position because the truth is I'm not wearing. I have some beautiful heels, but I'm not really wearing them. So anyway, I'm trying to figure out what to do. That was the last time I had the inclination to go to the cobbler. And then he was closed. And I haven't had a need to wear those heels.
>> Marco Timpano: and that particular cobbler retired and was replaced by a new cobbler. Right. A younger cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, his son or something or somebody was training with him. that's true.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, we started the episode by saying it's a profession that we see diminishing, but, ah, it's actually on the resurgence.
>> Amanda Barker: It is people and the trades are in general, and so they should be. We need them.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I need a cobbler.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you look for before we end the show?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, a good cobbler. What do you can we do one
>> Amanda Barker: on shoes because I have so many.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll do. We'll do an. An episode for the Patreon page that we need two on shoes. So we'll do that for our Patreon.
>> Amanda Barker: Have some beautiful shoes.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll talk about shoes right after this. But let's focus on Cob the cobbler.
What do I look for in a cobbler now? I love the smell of leather
>> Amanda Barker: What do I look for in a cobbler now?
>> Marco Timpano: I love the smell of going to a cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, God. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because there's all those kind of glues and whatnot. So it has a really strong.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but people. Funky shoe foot smell.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no. But I only smell the glue and things like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Leather.
>> Marco Timpano: The leather, the glue.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of times, cobblers don't just cobble shoes. They do belts and bags and things like that. So there is usually a nice leather kind of smell that does emanate. I mean, definitely that's the smell you want.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a leatherman shop not far from me.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, he called. Well, he calls himself the Leatherman. Right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: But he's no cobbler.
>> Amanda Barker: He's not?
>> Marco Timpano: No, he doesn't cobble.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, he does leather.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, interesting. Oh, he makes stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: He makes leather goods.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never been in there.
>> Marco Timpano: I went in once. It was very, very pricey for what they had.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways. But anyways, back to the cobbler.
Shopping at a cobbler is cheaper than buying new shoes
What do you look for in a good cobbler?
>> Amanda Barker: someone who's friendly.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Someone who. Bonus. If they give you your shoes in a nice bag and not an old shopping bag, which is what they all do. They. An old grocery store plastic bag. somebody who can find my shoe even if I can't find the little ticket. Because I usually can't find the little ticket. it's somewhere in my car or in my purse when they're like, what's the ticket? And I don't have it. And then I describe it, and then I'm shown a lot of other shoes, and then I can see it usually on the shelf and point to it. And that takes some doing.
>> Marco Timpano: so your trip to a cobbler is the extended affair, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't mind paying a decent price. I think some people would say, oh, it's too expensive.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. And the older I get. I probably felt differently in my 20s, but the older I get, the more I'm happy to pay for good work and the more I'm happy to pay for quality.
>> Marco Timpano: Inevitably, it's cheaper than buying a new pair of shoes.
>> Amanda Barker: It is. And if you love a pair of shoes, spend the money and get them. And I would just say this. If people are still awake, and even if they're not, maybe in your dreams, you know, if you spend the money on it, then you will spend less money. I don't remember what I was gonna say.
>> Marco Timpano: That's fine. That's fine.
>> Amanda Barker: My mind drifted.
In general, buy quality shoes because quality is easier to fix
>> Marco Timpano: Well, with your drifting mind and our Close of the Cobbler episode, I think it's time to say, farewell to our listeners. Or not a farewell, but a farewell to this episode. I like a cobbler who can look at your shoe that needs repair and tell you what they can do.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh. And what they can't.
>> Marco Timpano: And what they can't. But generally speaking, they'll be like, oh, yeah, I can fix this. All I have to do is stretch the leather here, hammer the nail there, et cetera, et cetera.
>> Amanda Barker: I would just say, in general, buy quality, because quality is easier to fix.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Everything will break down eventually, but quality will take longer to break down, and then it's. You have somebody who can help it versus a hollow plastic heel.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I hope you enjoyed this quality episode of the Insomnia Project.
>> Amanda Barker: Hope people walk, walk safely.
>> Marco Timpano: And, we hope you had the opportunity to listen and repair your shoes and then sleep.
Online Reading and Treasures
(Original airdate: Nov 25, 2020)
The Insomnia Project is a podcast that helps you fall asleep easily
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a mundane conversation that'll hopefully help lull you to sleep or at least relax you. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm pretty relaxed. My name's Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, welcome to the show. Why are you so relaxed today?
>> Amanda Barker: Your voice is relaxing me right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, good.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's actually. We're winding down after a long day, and so it feels good to just sit here and unwind.
>> Marco Timpano: I was grateful because I taught a workshop this past week, a podcasting workshop, and one of the students in the class said that he listened to this podcast and he goes, I couldn't stay awake for it. And he felt bad. And I was like, absolutely not.
>> Amanda Barker: That's lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: If you fall asleep, that's the biggest compliment you can give us. Speaking of, workshops and things, you have something coming up that our listeners can actually join in if they want to.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure. But there's no pressure there. They don't have to at all.
A reading of a play that has already been produced is scheduled for Friday
But, for fodder of discussion, I do have a workshop. In this day and age of, actually it's a reading. I should say that it's not a workshop, it's a reading of a play that has already been produced last year.
>> Marco Timpano: so explain what a reading is for people who don't know what that term means.
>> Amanda Barker: It can mean a lot of things actually in the theater world. this particular reading is happening on. It's actually a platform called Streamyard. But, zoom seems to be the word. Just like Google is becoming a verb used, to be Skype actually. But I, guess Skype was more one on one and Zoom was more teleconferencing. So anyway, if you could picture that type of a platform, that's what we're using. And you know, we're getting together via Streamyard at 8 o' clock this Friday, November 27th, and we're doing a reading of a play that we've already produced. Already done. And it's quite an interactive play. It's called Clothes Swap. and if you're still awake and listening and if you have any interest and no worries if you don't, close Swapshow ca. There's lots of information on there about
>> Marco Timpano: that and you'll find the link there as well. And we'll put it on our show notes in case you're wondering. And m. You don't have a pen and paper next to you, but no worries, we'll have it available for you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, so it'll be available. it's completely free. anybody who feels motivated or moved to donate, we'd love if they donate to Sistering, which is a beautiful organization that helps women of all identities and all states of life just get back on their feet in any way that they can. And, we'll have a link to that too, of course. But yeah, it's a reading of a play. And so we're all going to sit in our cozy couches and armchairs at home, or desks, and read and just get to be this cast again and get to be these characters again and get to embody it as best we can. So I'm looking forward to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's wonderful. So you'll be reading right off the script in your. Each. Every actor in their individual homes will be doing that.
>> Amanda Barker: We are. But like any reading, you know, it does come off the page. We have done the show before, so we're not too tied to the Script. So we're making, making eye contact, you know, with ourselves and with each other and you know, with the audience too. So it'll be a reading, but a lively one, like any good reading.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Sounds exciting.
Zoom lets you see people's backgrounds in their living rooms and bedrooms
M. You know these tools that we talk about, like zoom, which we've been using a lot lately for work, for, you know, just hanging out with people. I always find it interesting how many people have their computer so low that it's not at eye level so it gives them an unflattering view.
>> Amanda Barker: It's such an interesting learning curve. Right. everyone has a different setup, which was actually quite a private thing. What your desk was like and your relationship to that. And with Zoom. And we'll watch the news and people are using that type of technology to, to report into the news. you know, it's interesting. I love seeing people's backgrounds in their living rooms, in their dining rooms, their bedrooms. What art do they have on their wall? You know, what pens and papers they have or bookshelves, wedding photos behind them. there's something really fun.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh sure. And it's going to get more fun as we get closer to the holiday seasons, or season, I should say, as you see different holiday things in the background.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't think of that. But you're right. You'll get to see how people trimmed their tree or how many candles are lit on the menorah. or if they have lights up or anything like that. Yeah, that'll be really interesting.
What's the most challenging aspect of doing a live reading on a virtual platform
>> Marco Timpano: What's the most challenging aspect of doing a live reading on a virtual platform like m, the one you're going to be doing?
>> Amanda Barker: I think WI fi is a big problem or a big aspect because if you have, you know, if you're in a place in your house that isn't the strongest connection if you're on your phone. a lot of people do these types of interviews and readings from their phone. One of our actresses, it just turned out that she had ah, two laptops and a phone. And the phone actually had the clearest picture and the best quality. So that's what we went with in one of our tests. But I think the precariousness of WI fi is one of the challenges. And it's an unforeseen challenge because when you're on, if there's an issue with your WI fi in that type of platform, you're not aware that you're pixelated or that you're lagging. You're just there. And so you think it's everyone else or you're not aware that there's any problem. So that makes it challenging. You don't know when your face becomes pixelated or whatever. So that's part of it. or if someone else is using the WI fi in your house. I mean our houses are not business. They're not set up to be businesses. So you know, if someone else is playing a video game or, surfing the web or downloading things from the web, that's what can take up a lot of, as they say, broadband. and I don't really know these terms very well, but that's essentially what it is. So yeah, that's one aspect. It's a challenge for everyone to feel an intimacy, in a teleconference. But I think people ultimately we're adaptable creatures. Yes, we are. knowing that when you look into the camera, you're making eye contact with that person I think is important. And I do tend to find that I'm sitting very, very uprigh. Right. Just to get the best angle for myself. I'm doing it on a big armchair a lot of the time with my computer propped up on notebooks. So it's more at eye level. So for me, because it creates a sort of white background that's quite neutral. So that's what I tend to use.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's also a part of the house that's kind of its own little corner. So I'm not revealing anything I don't have. You won't see my Christmas tree in the background, but it's also just all white. So it just creates some neutrality.
>> Marco Timpano: I had to get a green screen because one of the things I had to do, for a zoom business call was have a logo that the company logo behind me. And because my computer is not the most recent computer on the market, my laptop, it wouldn't allow me to just click on virtual background and put whatever virtual background one would want behind them.
>> Amanda Barker: And we. And that's the most. That's the newest computer in this house.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. So.
>> Amanda Barker: So it might be time to get
>> Marco Timpano: a new one perhaps. And so I got a green screen on online.
>> Marco Timpano: Not very much. $25. And I strung it up kind of like a. It's almost like a very bright green sheet. Like not quite lime, but like a. Like a green. A proper green. And I strung it up. Amanda. and it picks up the color behind me or the logo really well. But I have a friend and when we were. My colleague who was Also a friend. We were all doing this Zoom call, and she didn't have a green screen, but her computer was such that it could superimpose the background. But the problem was, anytime she smiled, the logo was on her teeth.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And if she turned to the side,
>> Amanda Barker: why would that happen? Because it's dark in her mouth, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: It's anywhere. There was, like, a bright white.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: So when she would turn her head, the whites of her eyes would also have the logo in the background.
>> Amanda Barker: That's funny.
>> Marco Timpano: It was quite funny.
>> Amanda Barker: It's tricky business, right? I mean, we all. There was that famous boss a few months ago who turned herself into a potato somehow, and then couldn't figure out how to get it out, and then just decided to continue the meeting. As a potato.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Cause her.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't have the potato setting.
>> Marco Timpano: No, the potato setting. So her, app, her kids were using her computer, and it could transform you so that your face was in a potato. And so this boss had he.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's probably a Facebook. It was probably through Facebook because you can do a group teleconference that way through Messenger. Right. So many different ways that you can connect with people. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: That's so funny. But, yeah, anyway, yeah, there's so many different little things that we're all still learning because it's relatively new technology.
Amanda put a question on Facebook about a Zoom call she had to do
>> Marco Timpano: The fascinating thing is I had a question, Amanda, about a Zoom call that I had to do, and so I put it on Facebook. The question. And I got so many responses so quickly that m answered my question, Friends. And it was marvelous. It's amazing how many people are using it and know information you might not have about Facebook. Sorry, not Facebook. About Zoom.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you put a question about Zoom, on your Facebook. I missed a part of that, so I was like, sorry about that. Yes, Facebook is a great tool to crowdsource answers to questions, is what you're saying.
A friend asked if we could talk about charity shops on Clothes Swap
>> Marco Timpano: So a friend asked if we could talk about charity shops, and so I think it kind of bleeds in well with your show, Clothes Swap.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Cause Sistering is our charity, and you can. It's, They don't have a lot of overhead, so they might be able to send you a card, you know, or a nice email. But that's. That's, That's as far as they go. But certainly there are a lot of
>> Marco Timpano: charity shops that you could go purchase, use gently used items, and the money goes to charities.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is that what we're talking about?
>> Marco Timpano: That's what we're Talking about?
Bill Artman adopted animals for some people he works with
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I thought we were talking about gifts that you can buy. Like I bought, for, some people that we work with. I adopted an animal with the World Wildlife Federation.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me the animals you adopted and why you chose them for those particular people.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you have the option on the website for $25 or 35. I think if you want, you can either get a plushie toy.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So if you were to adopt a whale, you could get a plush whale to send to a little one. And maybe it comes with a little card. I'm not sure, but I think it does. Like a little certificate saying a whale has been adopted in your name.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Amanda Barker: but quite frankly, these were for our agents.
>> Marco Timpano: and the last thing they need
>> Amanda Barker: is a plush toy. They don't need a plush toy. So, you and I share three, agents and so. Or two agents and an assistant, I should say. And when I say that, I mean for our acting work and so on and our voice work. So, for our dear friend, our agent Ron, I got him a turtle. It kind of reminded me of him. So it's a big, really big, beautiful card and a nice, glossy, photo of a turtle.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting because when I think of a turtle, I think slow and old. And the last thing this agent is is slow and old.
>> Amanda Barker: No, he's not. But they're also wise. I think of them as wise, majestic and calm.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And he is those things. And, he can also be a tiger if you disturb him. But turtles can snap, of course. But you have to really provoke them. And that's him, too. So if he's really angry, believe me, you will know it. But for the most part, he lets everything glide along. And he also, Ron, loves beaches and water and tropical locations. He really does. So I wanted to get him a warm weather, animal.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Now our voice agent, Noelle. I got her a puffin. An Atlantic puffin.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, they're so, so. Those animals are so interesting and charming and unusual.
>> Amanda Barker: I have to say I don't know much about puffins. I think they're off the coast of, like, Greenland, Iceland, and Newfoundland as well. Newfoundland has puffins? It does. Okay. so we got her a puffin, and I just thought it was really pretty and kind of interesting and a little icy background. But it's holding a flower in its teeth in the picture.
>> Marco Timpano: Its beak.
>> Amanda Barker: In its beak? Yeah. it's holding an iris. Oh. And irises are really interesting summer flowers. And there's a color to it. And I just thought Noel would Like that.
>> Marco Timpano: So there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: And then we got Tim, who's the assistant, we got him a walrus.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: He does not remind me of a walrus.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: but he's funny and he's quirky and he's dry actually in a humor kind of way. He's British. and I just thought, well, we're going with sort of water animals that live near in the water. So let's continue with that theme. And the walrus just kind of made me laugh.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So this charity shop that, a friend of mine who is British and so it's a term that she uses or they use in the UK for these places, these secondhand shops, raise that their funds or the selling of the items goes to a charity.
>> Amanda Barker: You know it's interesting.
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>> Amanda Barker: It is interesting. Yeah.
What's your best find in a charity or thrift store
I think in the States there's actually more of those types of shops. I know my dad shops at a lot of them for various charities and churches have shops too, but I cannot actually think of many. We have thrift stores, we have consignment stores. But actually when you talked about it, I could think of one store in particular that had artisans from around the world and sourced in a sustainable way that give back that type of thing. but I couldn't think of any that were thrift or second hand stores that then went to a charity other than one church that's really well known.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. And remember in Florida we went back to this charity shop because you saw this pineapple ring that you liked and we went back there to pick it up. Because you wish you had picked it up and you were hoping that it would still be there. It's a garnet ring that looks like a pineapple, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Kind of. It's scored to look like a pineapple. Yeah. It's an interesting ring. I've never seen one like it. It's true. I don't wear it a lot. I should bring it back out. It's ah. I always think of it in January because of course garnet is January stone, but the stone itself is scored like a pineapple. So it has, an interesting cut into the cut. It's all one stone though. It's not like normally you would think that's a bunch of little stones, but it isn't. Yeah, it's interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we went back for that.
>> Amanda Barker: But was that at a charity shop? I thought it was at a consignment.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it consignment now? Now, I don't remember.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it was a consignment shop. But yeah, I mean, I mean we could name the two major places that you buy secondhand clothes here in Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, we don't have to.
>> Amanda Barker: There used to be three. I mean, they're very basic.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: and one has a charity affiliate, but it's for profit, certainly it's a business. And then the other is for a church.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your best find in a charity or thrift store?
>> Amanda Barker: That is challenging.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean the one that jumps out to me it might be a bit of a cheat because it was at a yard sale. Does that count?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, let's make it a yard sale. Include a yard sale.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, or a car boot sale,
>> Marco Timpano: I think, as they say in the uk.
>> Amanda Barker: Interesting. We say garage sale and maybe, they just say a boot sale.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: They also say the tip for the dump. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that we're saying this because our UK listeners are going to
>> Amanda Barker: be like, we know what we say,
>> Marco Timpano: we know what we say. And you get it. I so often get it.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. But they might not know. They might not know the word the dump, which is not a nice term. So I'd much rather say the tip. Not that we say the dump much, because living in the city we don't go to it much, but back in the day we used to. So what was I saying?
>> Marco Timpano: Your best find.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay. So we were going to Los Angeles, California, as opposed to what was.
>> Marco Timpano: I just thought I'd add that in.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's where it is. we were going there to perform, a show in a festival many years ago. You and I and our two good friends. And so we, decided to raise funds and just to get rid of some stuff, we had a yard sale or a boot sale or whatever. And we kind of put it up online. We crowdsourced and said, listen, we're having a yard sale. If you have stuff that you want to get rid of. Donate it to, not the most charitable cause, but it'll go to us. It'll fund our little trip to go to Los Angeles to, let's be honest, have a great time, but also get to do the show. I think we raised. I mean, each flight would have been like 500 bucks maybe, but we raised, I think 150 total. But it was like a few meals, a few fast food meals maybe. So anyway, or like the entry into the festival probably. But, so we offered to go around and pick people's old stuff up that they didn't want anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: oh, I remember this story.
>> Amanda Barker: So our friend Dale picked up a bunch of bags from somebody she knew who offered. And this person said, you know what? My neighbors said? Oh, you're getting rid of stuff to a good cause. I have a bunch of stuff. Take all of my stuff. So then she added, so there were bags that this girl didn't know, and then bags that my friend didn't know. And so on the day, bright and early, because people do go to those yard sales bright and early, you're gonna
>> Marco Timpano: go, go early, get the best stuff. It'll be there at that time.
>> Amanda Barker: They drive around, they look for the signs and they find them. So, we had to get it out like at 6am so we were very quickly sort of assigning, okay, you're in charge of the clothes and you're in charge of the hardware, and you're in charge of the dinnerware or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And so there were a bunch of things on the table. So she had put all these things out on the table and, you know, we weren't going crazy. Everything was like $2 or $1 or something really valuable, 5 or 10. You can't expect you're going to sell anything for a lot of money at one of these things because people are just looking for exactly that.
A man came in with a tarnished silver water pitcher at auction
Spend a few dollars and get something interesting. So, the day had gone on. I had folded out the clothes and made them look as nice as possible. I think it was a dollar. And towards the end of the day, it was a dollar for anything you want. Fill up a bag. this man came in and he had this water pitcher. And it was really, tarnished. It was clearly a metal water pitcher, but it was very tarnished, very old. There was dirt inside of. Looked like it had been through a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: So not attractive in the slightest?
>> Amanda Barker: No, not at all. And he said, it was marked $2, I think, or maybe three sure. I think maybe three. I think she had put $3 on it. So he said, can I get it for, $1?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, how about $2? You know, meet me in the middle. I figured that's what he was trying to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And he kept saying, no, $1. And I was like, m. So we kind of joked about it, we kind of laughed about it. And he kind of perused like, maybe, and he kept walking, but he didn't leave. And he was looking at other things. And when he went to look at some shoes, I picked it up and looked at it. And now I've spoken about this, and my father's spoken about this. My father, as some people might remember if they listen to interviews with him on this podcast, he used to be, an antiques auctioneer. He worked for an auction house. And my family has always had a lot of antiques around, and we inherited a lot. And there's many stories involved with them. But I, coming from this family, am quite in the habit of anything I pick up, I turn over and look at the bottom. It's just something I always do if I know it's old. And, so he went and looked at some shoes sort of more into the garage part of the driveway. And, I picked it up and I turned it around. I looked underneath, and it was from Berks. And it was silver. It was a silver water pitcher from Berks. Now, if you don't know what Berks
>> Marco Timpano: is, it's sort of Canada's equivalent to Tiffany.
>> Amanda Barker: Tiffany's. And it's definitely one of the oldest jewelry shops. It's very exclusive. It's beautiful. my engagement ring is from Burke's. Thank you very much, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: You're welcome very much.
>> Amanda Barker: And, it's a very high end Canadian store.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: and so I realized that this is a silver water pitcher, that probably had a lot of value. And so especially if it wasn't made anymore, it would be also considered antique, but even brand new, it would have had quite a bit of value. So he came back around and he had $2. And he went to hand me the $2 and said, okay, $2. And I went, nope, it sold. And he looked at me because I was holding it, and I said, I'm sorry, it sold. I'm taking it. And, I put it away. He kind of laughed and I was like, too late. And, I don't think he realized what it was. So he just thought, okay, who cares? I didn't get my tarnished old water Pitcher.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And at the end of the day, I looked at it, I said to her, do you understand what this is? And she kind of was like, oh, well, whatever. It looked like garbage. And I took it home and I polished the silver and it shone like new. And it gleams on our table and it sits various, places in our house, but I always have it out. And, I usually put flowers in it. And it's a beautiful silver water pitcher.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. Do you know what the value of it is?
>> Amanda Barker: You know, I haven't looked it up. It's not pure. It's silver plated, if I'm being honest.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's a gorgeous looking water pitcher.
>> Amanda Barker: So I'm not sure because I don't know the year it was made. I would put it m modestly around $75 to $100, you know, Canadian. So that's not a huge sum. This is an Antiques Roadshow, but, you know, still, it's more value than the $2 I was going to sell it for.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, then.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's a treasure.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a found treasure from the yard sale.
>> Amanda Barker: Who doesn't love a treasure?
>> Marco Timpano: Everyone loves a treasure.
Amanda's reading will be Friday, November 27, 2020
well, this podcast is my treasure, as are you, Amanda. And we've come to the end.
>> Amanda Barker: You're my booty.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, well, I'm glad we're coming to an end. You can, go to our show Notes to find out more about Amanda's reading, which will happen this Friday.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, this Friday, November 27, 2020, at what time? 8:00pm That's Eastern Time, Eastern standard Time. But, we might leave the link up a little longer, but. Closeswapshow, ca There you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Until next time. We hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: Nov 25, 2020)
The Insomnia Project is a podcast that helps you fall asleep easily
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a mundane conversation that'll hopefully help lull you to sleep or at least relax you. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm pretty relaxed. My name's Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, welcome to the show. Why are you so relaxed today?
>> Amanda Barker: Your voice is relaxing me right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, good.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's actually. We're winding down after a long day, and so it feels good to just sit here and unwind.
>> Marco Timpano: I was grateful because I taught a workshop this past week, a podcasting workshop, and one of the students in the class said that he listened to this podcast and he goes, I couldn't stay awake for it. And he felt bad. And I was like, absolutely not.
>> Amanda Barker: That's lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: If you fall asleep, that's the biggest compliment you can give us. Speaking of, workshops and things, you have something coming up that our listeners can actually join in if they want to.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure. But there's no pressure there. They don't have to at all.
A reading of a play that has already been produced is scheduled for Friday
But, for fodder of discussion, I do have a workshop. In this day and age of, actually it's a reading. I should say that it's not a workshop, it's a reading of a play that has already been produced last year.
>> Marco Timpano: so explain what a reading is for people who don't know what that term means.
>> Amanda Barker: It can mean a lot of things actually in the theater world. this particular reading is happening on. It's actually a platform called Streamyard. But, zoom seems to be the word. Just like Google is becoming a verb used, to be Skype actually. But I, guess Skype was more one on one and Zoom was more teleconferencing. So anyway, if you could picture that type of a platform, that's what we're using. And you know, we're getting together via Streamyard at 8 o' clock this Friday, November 27th, and we're doing a reading of a play that we've already produced. Already done. And it's quite an interactive play. It's called Clothes Swap. and if you're still awake and listening and if you have any interest and no worries if you don't, close Swapshow ca. There's lots of information on there about
>> Marco Timpano: that and you'll find the link there as well. And we'll put it on our show notes in case you're wondering. And m. You don't have a pen and paper next to you, but no worries, we'll have it available for you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, so it'll be available. it's completely free. anybody who feels motivated or moved to donate, we'd love if they donate to Sistering, which is a beautiful organization that helps women of all identities and all states of life just get back on their feet in any way that they can. And, we'll have a link to that too, of course. But yeah, it's a reading of a play. And so we're all going to sit in our cozy couches and armchairs at home, or desks, and read and just get to be this cast again and get to be these characters again and get to embody it as best we can. So I'm looking forward to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's wonderful. So you'll be reading right off the script in your. Each. Every actor in their individual homes will be doing that.
>> Amanda Barker: We are. But like any reading, you know, it does come off the page. We have done the show before, so we're not too tied to the Script. So we're making, making eye contact, you know, with ourselves and with each other and you know, with the audience too. So it'll be a reading, but a lively one, like any good reading.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Sounds exciting.
Zoom lets you see people's backgrounds in their living rooms and bedrooms
M. You know these tools that we talk about, like zoom, which we've been using a lot lately for work, for, you know, just hanging out with people. I always find it interesting how many people have their computer so low that it's not at eye level so it gives them an unflattering view.
>> Amanda Barker: It's such an interesting learning curve. Right. everyone has a different setup, which was actually quite a private thing. What your desk was like and your relationship to that. And with Zoom. And we'll watch the news and people are using that type of technology to, to report into the news. you know, it's interesting. I love seeing people's backgrounds in their living rooms, in their dining rooms, their bedrooms. What art do they have on their wall? You know, what pens and papers they have or bookshelves, wedding photos behind them. there's something really fun.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh sure. And it's going to get more fun as we get closer to the holiday seasons, or season, I should say, as you see different holiday things in the background.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't think of that. But you're right. You'll get to see how people trimmed their tree or how many candles are lit on the menorah. or if they have lights up or anything like that. Yeah, that'll be really interesting.
What's the most challenging aspect of doing a live reading on a virtual platform
>> Marco Timpano: What's the most challenging aspect of doing a live reading on a virtual platform like m, the one you're going to be doing?
>> Amanda Barker: I think WI fi is a big problem or a big aspect because if you have, you know, if you're in a place in your house that isn't the strongest connection if you're on your phone. a lot of people do these types of interviews and readings from their phone. One of our actresses, it just turned out that she had ah, two laptops and a phone. And the phone actually had the clearest picture and the best quality. So that's what we went with in one of our tests. But I think the precariousness of WI fi is one of the challenges. And it's an unforeseen challenge because when you're on, if there's an issue with your WI fi in that type of platform, you're not aware that you're pixelated or that you're lagging. You're just there. And so you think it's everyone else or you're not aware that there's any problem. So that makes it challenging. You don't know when your face becomes pixelated or whatever. So that's part of it. or if someone else is using the WI fi in your house. I mean our houses are not business. They're not set up to be businesses. So you know, if someone else is playing a video game or, surfing the web or downloading things from the web, that's what can take up a lot of, as they say, broadband. and I don't really know these terms very well, but that's essentially what it is. So yeah, that's one aspect. It's a challenge for everyone to feel an intimacy, in a teleconference. But I think people ultimately we're adaptable creatures. Yes, we are. knowing that when you look into the camera, you're making eye contact with that person I think is important. And I do tend to find that I'm sitting very, very uprigh. Right. Just to get the best angle for myself. I'm doing it on a big armchair a lot of the time with my computer propped up on notebooks. So it's more at eye level. So for me, because it creates a sort of white background that's quite neutral. So that's what I tend to use.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's also a part of the house that's kind of its own little corner. So I'm not revealing anything I don't have. You won't see my Christmas tree in the background, but it's also just all white. So it just creates some neutrality.
>> Marco Timpano: I had to get a green screen because one of the things I had to do, for a zoom business call was have a logo that the company logo behind me. And because my computer is not the most recent computer on the market, my laptop, it wouldn't allow me to just click on virtual background and put whatever virtual background one would want behind them.
>> Amanda Barker: And we. And that's the most. That's the newest computer in this house.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. So.
>> Amanda Barker: So it might be time to get
>> Marco Timpano: a new one perhaps. And so I got a green screen on online.
>> Marco Timpano: Not very much. $25. And I strung it up kind of like a. It's almost like a very bright green sheet. Like not quite lime, but like a. Like a green. A proper green. And I strung it up. Amanda. and it picks up the color behind me or the logo really well. But I have a friend and when we were. My colleague who was Also a friend. We were all doing this Zoom call, and she didn't have a green screen, but her computer was such that it could superimpose the background. But the problem was, anytime she smiled, the logo was on her teeth.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And if she turned to the side,
>> Amanda Barker: why would that happen? Because it's dark in her mouth, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: It's anywhere. There was, like, a bright white.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: So when she would turn her head, the whites of her eyes would also have the logo in the background.
>> Amanda Barker: That's funny.
>> Marco Timpano: It was quite funny.
>> Amanda Barker: It's tricky business, right? I mean, we all. There was that famous boss a few months ago who turned herself into a potato somehow, and then couldn't figure out how to get it out, and then just decided to continue the meeting. As a potato.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Cause her.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't have the potato setting.
>> Marco Timpano: No, the potato setting. So her, app, her kids were using her computer, and it could transform you so that your face was in a potato. And so this boss had he.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's probably a Facebook. It was probably through Facebook because you can do a group teleconference that way through Messenger. Right. So many different ways that you can connect with people. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: That's so funny. But, yeah, anyway, yeah, there's so many different little things that we're all still learning because it's relatively new technology.
Amanda put a question on Facebook about a Zoom call she had to do
>> Marco Timpano: The fascinating thing is I had a question, Amanda, about a Zoom call that I had to do, and so I put it on Facebook. The question. And I got so many responses so quickly that m answered my question, Friends. And it was marvelous. It's amazing how many people are using it and know information you might not have about Facebook. Sorry, not Facebook. About Zoom.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you put a question about Zoom, on your Facebook. I missed a part of that, so I was like, sorry about that. Yes, Facebook is a great tool to crowdsource answers to questions, is what you're saying.
A friend asked if we could talk about charity shops on Clothes Swap
>> Marco Timpano: So a friend asked if we could talk about charity shops, and so I think it kind of bleeds in well with your show, Clothes Swap.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Cause Sistering is our charity, and you can. It's, They don't have a lot of overhead, so they might be able to send you a card, you know, or a nice email. But that's. That's, That's as far as they go. But certainly there are a lot of
>> Marco Timpano: charity shops that you could go purchase, use gently used items, and the money goes to charities.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, is that what we're talking about?
>> Marco Timpano: That's what we're Talking about?
Bill Artman adopted animals for some people he works with
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I thought we were talking about gifts that you can buy. Like I bought, for, some people that we work with. I adopted an animal with the World Wildlife Federation.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me the animals you adopted and why you chose them for those particular people.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you have the option on the website for $25 or 35. I think if you want, you can either get a plushie toy.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So if you were to adopt a whale, you could get a plush whale to send to a little one. And maybe it comes with a little card. I'm not sure, but I think it does. Like a little certificate saying a whale has been adopted in your name.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Amanda Barker: but quite frankly, these were for our agents.
>> Marco Timpano: and the last thing they need
>> Amanda Barker: is a plush toy. They don't need a plush toy. So, you and I share three, agents and so. Or two agents and an assistant, I should say. And when I say that, I mean for our acting work and so on and our voice work. So, for our dear friend, our agent Ron, I got him a turtle. It kind of reminded me of him. So it's a big, really big, beautiful card and a nice, glossy, photo of a turtle.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting because when I think of a turtle, I think slow and old. And the last thing this agent is is slow and old.
>> Amanda Barker: No, he's not. But they're also wise. I think of them as wise, majestic and calm.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: And he is those things. And, he can also be a tiger if you disturb him. But turtles can snap, of course. But you have to really provoke them. And that's him, too. So if he's really angry, believe me, you will know it. But for the most part, he lets everything glide along. And he also, Ron, loves beaches and water and tropical locations. He really does. So I wanted to get him a warm weather, animal.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Now our voice agent, Noelle. I got her a puffin. An Atlantic puffin.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, they're so, so. Those animals are so interesting and charming and unusual.
>> Amanda Barker: I have to say I don't know much about puffins. I think they're off the coast of, like, Greenland, Iceland, and Newfoundland as well. Newfoundland has puffins? It does. Okay. so we got her a puffin, and I just thought it was really pretty and kind of interesting and a little icy background. But it's holding a flower in its teeth in the picture.
>> Marco Timpano: Its beak.
>> Amanda Barker: In its beak? Yeah. it's holding an iris. Oh. And irises are really interesting summer flowers. And there's a color to it. And I just thought Noel would Like that.
>> Marco Timpano: So there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: And then we got Tim, who's the assistant, we got him a walrus.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: He does not remind me of a walrus.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: but he's funny and he's quirky and he's dry actually in a humor kind of way. He's British. and I just thought, well, we're going with sort of water animals that live near in the water. So let's continue with that theme. And the walrus just kind of made me laugh.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So this charity shop that, a friend of mine who is British and so it's a term that she uses or they use in the UK for these places, these secondhand shops, raise that their funds or the selling of the items goes to a charity.
>> Amanda Barker: You know it's interesting.
>> Amanda Barker: We all prefer things a certain way, like groceries. If you want groceries just how you like them, you gotta try Instacart. They have a new preference picker that lets you pick how ripe or unripe you want your bananas. Shoppers can see your preferences upfront, helping guide their choices. Because when it comes to groceries, the details matter. Instacart get groceries just how you like.
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>> Amanda Barker: It is interesting. Yeah.
What's your best find in a charity or thrift store
I think in the States there's actually more of those types of shops. I know my dad shops at a lot of them for various charities and churches have shops too, but I cannot actually think of many. We have thrift stores, we have consignment stores. But actually when you talked about it, I could think of one store in particular that had artisans from around the world and sourced in a sustainable way that give back that type of thing. but I couldn't think of any that were thrift or second hand stores that then went to a charity other than one church that's really well known.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. And remember in Florida we went back to this charity shop because you saw this pineapple ring that you liked and we went back there to pick it up. Because you wish you had picked it up and you were hoping that it would still be there. It's a garnet ring that looks like a pineapple, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Kind of. It's scored to look like a pineapple. Yeah. It's an interesting ring. I've never seen one like it. It's true. I don't wear it a lot. I should bring it back out. It's ah. I always think of it in January because of course garnet is January stone, but the stone itself is scored like a pineapple. So it has, an interesting cut into the cut. It's all one stone though. It's not like normally you would think that's a bunch of little stones, but it isn't. Yeah, it's interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we went back for that.
>> Amanda Barker: But was that at a charity shop? I thought it was at a consignment.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it consignment now? Now, I don't remember.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it was a consignment shop. But yeah, I mean, I mean we could name the two major places that you buy secondhand clothes here in Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, we don't have to.
>> Amanda Barker: There used to be three. I mean, they're very basic.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: and one has a charity affiliate, but it's for profit, certainly it's a business. And then the other is for a church.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your best find in a charity or thrift store?
>> Amanda Barker: That is challenging.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean the one that jumps out to me it might be a bit of a cheat because it was at a yard sale. Does that count?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, let's make it a yard sale. Include a yard sale.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, or a car boot sale,
>> Marco Timpano: I think, as they say in the uk.
>> Amanda Barker: Interesting. We say garage sale and maybe, they just say a boot sale.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: They also say the tip for the dump. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that we're saying this because our UK listeners are going to
>> Amanda Barker: be like, we know what we say,
>> Marco Timpano: we know what we say. And you get it. I so often get it.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. But they might not know. They might not know the word the dump, which is not a nice term. So I'd much rather say the tip. Not that we say the dump much, because living in the city we don't go to it much, but back in the day we used to. So what was I saying?
>> Marco Timpano: Your best find.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay. So we were going to Los Angeles, California, as opposed to what was.
>> Marco Timpano: I just thought I'd add that in.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's where it is. we were going there to perform, a show in a festival many years ago. You and I and our two good friends. And so we, decided to raise funds and just to get rid of some stuff, we had a yard sale or a boot sale or whatever. And we kind of put it up online. We crowdsourced and said, listen, we're having a yard sale. If you have stuff that you want to get rid of. Donate it to, not the most charitable cause, but it'll go to us. It'll fund our little trip to go to Los Angeles to, let's be honest, have a great time, but also get to do the show. I think we raised. I mean, each flight would have been like 500 bucks maybe, but we raised, I think 150 total. But it was like a few meals, a few fast food meals maybe. So anyway, or like the entry into the festival probably. But, so we offered to go around and pick people's old stuff up that they didn't want anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: oh, I remember this story.
>> Amanda Barker: So our friend Dale picked up a bunch of bags from somebody she knew who offered. And this person said, you know what? My neighbors said? Oh, you're getting rid of stuff to a good cause. I have a bunch of stuff. Take all of my stuff. So then she added, so there were bags that this girl didn't know, and then bags that my friend didn't know. And so on the day, bright and early, because people do go to those yard sales bright and early, you're gonna
>> Marco Timpano: go, go early, get the best stuff. It'll be there at that time.
>> Amanda Barker: They drive around, they look for the signs and they find them. So, we had to get it out like at 6am so we were very quickly sort of assigning, okay, you're in charge of the clothes and you're in charge of the hardware, and you're in charge of the dinnerware or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And so there were a bunch of things on the table. So she had put all these things out on the table and, you know, we weren't going crazy. Everything was like $2 or $1 or something really valuable, 5 or 10. You can't expect you're going to sell anything for a lot of money at one of these things because people are just looking for exactly that.
A man came in with a tarnished silver water pitcher at auction
Spend a few dollars and get something interesting. So, the day had gone on. I had folded out the clothes and made them look as nice as possible. I think it was a dollar. And towards the end of the day, it was a dollar for anything you want. Fill up a bag. this man came in and he had this water pitcher. And it was really, tarnished. It was clearly a metal water pitcher, but it was very tarnished, very old. There was dirt inside of. Looked like it had been through a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: So not attractive in the slightest?
>> Amanda Barker: No, not at all. And he said, it was marked $2, I think, or maybe three sure. I think maybe three. I think she had put $3 on it. So he said, can I get it for, $1?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, how about $2? You know, meet me in the middle. I figured that's what he was trying to do.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And he kept saying, no, $1. And I was like, m. So we kind of joked about it, we kind of laughed about it. And he kind of perused like, maybe, and he kept walking, but he didn't leave. And he was looking at other things. And when he went to look at some shoes, I picked it up and looked at it. And now I've spoken about this, and my father's spoken about this. My father, as some people might remember if they listen to interviews with him on this podcast, he used to be, an antiques auctioneer. He worked for an auction house. And my family has always had a lot of antiques around, and we inherited a lot. And there's many stories involved with them. But I, coming from this family, am quite in the habit of anything I pick up, I turn over and look at the bottom. It's just something I always do if I know it's old. And, so he went and looked at some shoes sort of more into the garage part of the driveway. And, I picked it up and I turned it around. I looked underneath, and it was from Berks. And it was silver. It was a silver water pitcher from Berks. Now, if you don't know what Berks
>> Marco Timpano: is, it's sort of Canada's equivalent to Tiffany.
>> Amanda Barker: Tiffany's. And it's definitely one of the oldest jewelry shops. It's very exclusive. It's beautiful. my engagement ring is from Burke's. Thank you very much, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: You're welcome very much.
>> Amanda Barker: And, it's a very high end Canadian store.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: and so I realized that this is a silver water pitcher, that probably had a lot of value. And so especially if it wasn't made anymore, it would be also considered antique, but even brand new, it would have had quite a bit of value. So he came back around and he had $2. And he went to hand me the $2 and said, okay, $2. And I went, nope, it sold. And he looked at me because I was holding it, and I said, I'm sorry, it sold. I'm taking it. And, I put it away. He kind of laughed and I was like, too late. And, I don't think he realized what it was. So he just thought, okay, who cares? I didn't get my tarnished old water Pitcher.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And at the end of the day, I looked at it, I said to her, do you understand what this is? And she kind of was like, oh, well, whatever. It looked like garbage. And I took it home and I polished the silver and it shone like new. And it gleams on our table and it sits various, places in our house, but I always have it out. And, I usually put flowers in it. And it's a beautiful silver water pitcher.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. Do you know what the value of it is?
>> Amanda Barker: You know, I haven't looked it up. It's not pure. It's silver plated, if I'm being honest.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's a gorgeous looking water pitcher.
>> Amanda Barker: So I'm not sure because I don't know the year it was made. I would put it m modestly around $75 to $100, you know, Canadian. So that's not a huge sum. This is an Antiques Roadshow, but, you know, still, it's more value than the $2 I was going to sell it for.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, then.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's a treasure.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a found treasure from the yard sale.
>> Amanda Barker: Who doesn't love a treasure?
>> Marco Timpano: Everyone loves a treasure.
Amanda's reading will be Friday, November 27, 2020
well, this podcast is my treasure, as are you, Amanda. And we've come to the end.
>> Amanda Barker: You're my booty.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, well, I'm glad we're coming to an end. You can, go to our show Notes to find out more about Amanda's reading, which will happen this Friday.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, this Friday, November 27, 2020, at what time? 8:00pm That's Eastern Time, Eastern standard Time. But, we might leave the link up a little longer, but. Closeswapshow, ca There you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Until next time. We hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Dissertations & Toques
(Original airdate: Dec 2, 2020)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing that we can promise is that our conversation will hopefully be less than fascinating so that you can just drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep.
Marco Timpano welcomes social media manager, Amy Dyson
I'm your host, Marco Timpano and joining me for the first time is our social media manager, Amy Dyson, all the way from Newbury Berkshire in the uk. Welcome, Amy. Hi, Amy. Did I get that right where you're from? Because I know that I make. Okay, great. I know that I often get, get place names incorrect and I don't want to do that neither to yourself or the place you're from. So. So thank you for joining us today.
>> Amy Dyson: Thank you for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: This is very exciting.
Amy, Canada has a strong winter climate with a lot of snow
And we kind of spoke a moment before and I was asking you about if you have any snow there and you were explaining that you didn't have snow. Since when?
>> Amy Dyson: So we had, a lot of snow. In, I think it was March 2018. so I was at university. and I think university might have even been shut because, my university was in the middle of quite a rural area, so some of the lecturers couldn't actually get into the uni, so it got shut for a few days.
>> Marco Timpano: And what did you do during that time? Did you enjoy the snowfall at all?
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, a few of my friends had, snowball fights. but as much as I like the snow, I get very cold, so I just enjoyed it from inside.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Fair enough. You know, when it comes to snow, to really enjoy it, you need all the accoutrements and all the. All the clothing that make it less cold when you're out there to make yourself comfortable. So you need a good set of gloves and a good toque. Is that what you call it? We call it a toque here. I'm sure you've heard me talk about toques before.
>> Amy Dyson: I don't know what a toque is.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So bear with me. Amy, let's go on this toque journey for a moment. So what do you call the winter hat that sometimes has a pom pom on it? It's like a knitted cat.
>> Amy Dyson: I guess we'd call it a hat or a bobble hat. A bubble hat. A bobble hat. So like a bobble being. the pom pom.
>> Marco Timpano: The pom pom. In the US they'll often call it a beanie.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But we don't call it a beanie, because for us, a beanie is, you know, it's kind of like a little tiny cap that you put on the top of your head.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Almost like a yarmulke would be. It's kind of in that veins. For us, a beanie what a beanie is. Well, a toque is. Of course, Canada is a country that has a strong winter climate with a lot of snow. And so the toque is what we call that bobble hat, usually without the pom pom. But usually people know the hat with the pom pom. So if you imagine it without the pom pom, and it's a knit hat that you wear on your head. And it comes. The name comes from a town in Quebec called Toque, or whose name is Toque. Getting back to place names. And so in Canada, we call that specifically the winter knitted cap or hat that you wear, toque. So all of us in Canada will say toque, and we know exactly what it is. We don't have to explain you know, the knitted hat, the bobble hat, or, you know, what kind of beanie we're about to wear.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. Oh, that's interesting. I've, Yeah, I've not heard that name before.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have a toque?
>> Amy Dyson: I do, but I don't really. I prefer either to just have, like, a woolly or, like, fluffy hood, or, I have a hat that has some bits that come down by my ears. I like that one.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. You just haven't found the right toque yet, Amy.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, maybe that's it.
Hand: I wrote my dissertation at Canterbury University this summer
Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: You were mentioning that the snowfall happened around your university or when you were at university. I'd love to talk about dissertation writing and in particular, what you wrote as your different dissertation at university.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So, I finished university this summer from Canterbury. Christchurch in Canterbury in Kent. And I wrote my dissertation on, the title was form and the Feminist Text. And then it had a bit of a longer sort of subtitle after.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, we need the subtitle for sure. I know, for example, my book I wrote. I don't know why I chose the world's longest title, 25 Things I Wish I Knew. Before I started my podcast, I could have just done 25 podcasting tips. Made everyone's life easier. But I decided to go down the long title road. So tell us the title, the complete title of your dissertation.
>> Amy Dyson: So my complete title was form and the Feminist Writing Social Change in Literary Text from the late 19th century to the Present day.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow, that sounds like a lot of work, your dissertation.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, I got quite lucky because, my dissertation was only 6,000 words, whereas some people have 7, 8, 9, 10,000. so it wasn't too many.
>> Marco Timpano: And what was. Tell me about something you discovered in writing your dissertation that you thought was very interesting or fascinating.
>> Amy Dyson: so I had a section on, how the attitudes towards women and mental health had changed, in recent years, looking at, like, the yellow wallpaper, the bell jar, and texts from periods when, mental health was really taboo, especially with, women. That was really interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, fascinating. And for anyone listening who might be like, like myself, who are like, what is the difference between a dissertation and just an essay that one Hand. Hands in at university.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So, so for my degree, I did creative and professional writing. So most of my essays as such, weren't actually essays, but were instead creative pieces. So this was one of the first essays I'd done since I finished my A levels, before I went to university. whereas all of my Peers did creative work, so they wrote like part of a play or the start of a novel. so I took a bit of a leap in doing an essay because I hadn't really written many essays before that. But the ones I had done were about 2,000 words, and were very much like one. An introduction and then a few points and then a conclusion. Whereas my dissertation, I had. I separated it into five subsections. so one of them was looking at, how the attitudes about mental health had changed. and then some other sections on some other bits. so the way I structured it, I did basically five small essays that were about a thousand words each, which made it a lot more manageable for me. instead of thinking I have 6,000 words to do, what am I going to write about?
>> Marco Timpano: Almost like chapters in a book, I would say.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, yeah, definitely. it meant that I also didn't have to go into too much depth for each, topic, because I only had about a thousand words to play with each time.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
In writing my dissertation, I found some interesting articles online
And who is an essayist that you enjoy reading?
>> Amy Dyson: Oh, I don't. I don't know really. in writing my dissertation, I found some interesting, journal articles online. some of them just written by students. Ah, some of them written and published in books. I can't really remember any specific ones. there was one about, I think it was called, it was about, gender inequality in 19, 84 and about how Orwell presents his female characters and stuff. And that was quite an interesting piece to look at and inspired some of my own thinking.
You mentioned that you are a fan of writing essays beyond writing your dissertation
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this. Beyond writing the dissertation, are you more. Are you the type of person who prefers to read, books, short stories or essays or all three?
>> Amy Dyson: I do like to write essays. I wouldn't say I'm a massive fan of reading them, as a sort of pastime. I like to read books. but at the minute I'm actually, reading a, ah, non fiction book, which I guess has links to sort of being a sort of essay as it's not got the typical structure of a fiction book. and I have read quite a lot of nonfiction this year, which has been really interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the book you're currently reading and do you recommend it?
>> Amy Dyson: it's called Educated by Tara Westover. And yeah, I really would. It's really, really interesting. her life was quite sort of different and unique and the way she writes it is really interesting in that she doesn't. She accepts her difference without, because her parents brought her up in a way that isn't sort of what people would class as normal. But she writes it in a way that she doesn't resent her parents. But it's just like this is what I've learned from being my own person since leaving my parents, which is really interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: You mentioned that you are a fan of writing essays.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: tell us what approach you use or what approach you would tell someone who is going to approach writing an essay. that is helpful for you.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So, one of the tips I've always been given, is to write the introduction last, just so that you can be really clear and what you're going to say. Because I've had essays where I've opened it saying this is what I'm going to discuss. And then I've discussed something completely different and it just doesn't fit what I've said. I think definitely breaking it down and sort of subheading and then bullet pointing. I like to bullet point. I normally have, ah, some bullet points for that and then a list of books that I should reference. and maybe ones that I haven't read yet and maybe ones I have read. just to include some sort of secondary material.
>> Marco Timpano: That's fascinating. I love that tip of starting. One could even write their introduction just to get into the piece if they find that writing the introduction helps them get into writing. But to rewrite or re examine your introduction once you've completed it I think is a brilliant tip.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, I think that I found that with my dissertation too because, what I wanted to argue in the first instance wasn't what I ended up arguing. and when I spoke to my supervisor who helped me with my dissertation, she said, you need to edit it because you, you really need to hone in what it is that you're discussing. and then obviously linking the conclusion back to the introduction. Just saying this is what I've found from my research.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the most satisfying thing about essay writing for you?
>> Amy Dyson: I think sometimes when I go to write things, I'm not quite sure what I want to say. So I think once you hit that point of, okay, this is the argument that I'm taking. I think it's quite, for me, it's quite a good way to figure out how I actually feel about things. because a lot of essays I've done at school and at uni, they like you to argue both sides of it. So, yeah, so you have to argue like for and against. and it's always interesting for me to find out which side I actually fall on, especially if I thought I was really for the argument. And then there's a few bits of against that are ah, actually like resonate with me.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
Have your mind ever been changed from writing an essay to completing that essay
Have you, has your mind ever been changed from when you initially started writing an essay to completing that essay? And if so, what happened?
>> Amy Dyson: I'm not sure. I'm not, I'm not sure I know that I wrote an essay, at a level for my media coursework, about the presentation of females in romantic comedies. and I think from m that I learned that there are some issues with some of the films I looked at. But I also really enjoy the films. and I think I can enjoy them while also acknowledging that there are issues. so I think that's been something that's quite interesting and linking that to my dissertation again with some of the pieces that have dealt with sort of issues of the time. I've again really enjoyed reading about it and I think that although books such as, like the Bell Jar, obviously, they display a very worrying, belief about mental health and stuff, but it's also interesting to have that sort of historical reference to look at, as someone that isn't living in that time with those issues.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
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>> Amy Dyson: So yeah, I think that, yeah, of
>> Marco Timpano: course we here at the Insomnia Project really appreciate everyone who works in mental health and who seeks out mental health professionals to help them with any issues that they're dealing with, including myself. I've certainly leaned on that kind of help and we encourage you to do so should you feel you need that.
What's your approach to tweet writing or to writing for Twitter
Amy, let me ask you this. So going from essays to what your role is here at the Insomnia Project, which is managing the social media, one could say that a, ah, tweet on Twitter is almost like writing the mini est of essays. What's your approach to tweet writing or to writing for Twitter?
>> Amy Dyson: Oh, that's an interesting question actually.
>> Marco Timpano: every once In a while I come up with one.
>> Amy Dyson: You know, Amy, linking that back to, something I did in my degree, actually. We have to do, some flash fiction and hint fiction, and I think Hint Fiction is 15 words or less. So you have to tell a story in 15 words or less. and Twitter was quite good for that too. obviously you're limited with the words that you can use. so it's interesting to try and tell a whole story in 15 words. but yeah, I think with Twitter, the way I've been using it has definitely been to try and engage with people and especially, tweeting as the Insomnia project. definitely to be tweeting sort of as a person and not as a company that doesn't sort of resonate with its listeners and followers. just trying to have that personal touch and get people to realize there's actually a person behind the social media of it. and, yeah, just engaging with them.
What would you like our listeners to know about our social media
>> Marco Timpano: Now, since we're on this topic, what would you like our listeners to know about our social media and how they can engage with us or things you'd like to see from them? For anyone who's kind of like, oh, you know, I don't. I don't know if I want to do that or I don't know if it falls on deaf ears or. I think the thing that a lot of people think, I don't know if my voice or my opinion matters.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, definitely. So, I can completely understand those sort of, worries. And I've had it before when I've, Even when I reached out to you and said about the social media, I was a bit nervous and like, I don't even know if he's going to, like, care that I've messaged. but no, I think if people are thinking of, like, responding to tweets or just, reaching out to us, on their own. definitely. We really, like, are interested in what you have to say, whether it's your favorite episode, something you want to hear, like, an issue with episode. Like, I know, for example, in the past, people have given more information about something that you've mentioned. so I think the listeners are definitely more valuable than most of them probably realize they are. and yeah, personally, I want to know what, what episodes people enjoy. obviously coming from the uk, most, of the ones that I've enjoyed most have been things linked to the uk, which is always interesting, or
>> Marco Timpano: when I make a grave mistake when I'm talking about Things in the uk. I apologize for that always. Even if I'm aware or I'm unaware that I'm making such a silly, silly air.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, yeah, it's definitely, it's always nice when people do engage and ask questions about, things that have been said, because I think it really shows that, again, they are actual people as opposed to just being sort of numbers or listeners. again, they're real people, so it's nice to know their opinion. but, yeah, I think it would be good to have. For people to engage more if they want to, just so that, we can really help the Insomnia Project to become more engaged with its followers and to have more. More for the followers themselves to have more influence over the topics that get discussed and that sort of thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Most definitely. No matter where you are in the world. reach out to us on social media.
Sometimes people will send tweets based on episodes that we recorded long ago
Did you see the post about the, forced rhubarb from Yorkshire?
>> Amy Dyson: yeah, I wasn't really sure what that was about. I'm not a massive fan of rhubarb. but, yeah, what was. What was that?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so one of our listeners had mentioned, like, are you aware of the Yorkshire forced rhubarb? And I am m a big fan of rhubarb, and I'm certain that there's an episode where I talk about rhubarb. And what's interesting, Amy, is that sometimes people will send tweets or social media messages based on episodes that we recorded long ago. So I have to rack my brain and think, okay, yeah, we did do an episode about the glue that's used on stamps or whatever the topic may be. Right. I'm assuming that this was brought to my attention because the listener knows I love rhubarb. And I don't know how you cannot love rhubarb coming from a country that, you know, has probably the best rhubarb recipes ever. But it's talking about this rhubarb in Yorkshire that they grow out of season, and they force the stalks to grow, and so you can get rhubarb, you know, most of the year. And I did see a program on it, and I think there is one in Canada that also does it that I recently looked up in Quebec. So now my mission is to get myself some forced rhubarb out of season.
>> Amy Dyson: Oh, interesting. Yeah, I didn't know about that. I, think it's interesting what you say about, people picking up things from previous episodes, because I think, again, engaging with listeners. It is really interesting when people bring up episodes that you might have even forgotten ever happened. so it's quite nice to be reminded of the episodes that you have done in the past. and I don't think they're ever irrelevant to mention. Like, if someone is bringing up an episode from season, one, I don't think they should ever think, oh, but it aired years ago, so it's not relevant anymore. Because they're always relevant.
>> Marco Timpano: I certainly hope so. Relevant in the sense of if it helps you to fall asleep or to relax, then it's serving its purpose. At least that's what I always go for.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, definitely. I mean, I'm personally working my way back from the beginning. I'm on about episode 103, I think, at the minute, from the first series. So, yeah, working my way back through.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so fascinating, Amy, like, knowing now what I wish I knew then. Our first season was so many episodes, we didn't know how a season should be laid out. Now I try to do 26 episodes, although this season has been longer, just because. By request of people who wanted extra seasons during this time. But, always fascinating how my first season is like 137 episodes. It's like, where did that number come from?
>> Amy Dyson: do you think that's one of the things that has helped you most to learn about the, sort of how long to have it?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, because it became this really impossible task for us to record. We were recording so much, and we're like, when does this end? Like, how do we know when to end? And at that time, there were podcasts, but it wasn't as. The landscape wasn't as plentiful as it is today. So we were trying to figure out, how do you figure out your seasons? And then we sat down and we're like, well, our episodes are generally 26 minutes long, so let's make a season 26 episodes. And what we didn't realize is you could have multiple seasons in a year. So we thought, okay, 26 episodes, one a week, that's not a full year. But we're like, well, you could have season three and then season four kind of goes partway through the year. So that's what we decided to do. We're like, we're gonna stick to 26 episodes.
>> Amy Dyson: interesting. Yeah. I guess it must stem from TV shows when they have their new season. It's like a yearly thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. I think in those terms. Right. I think in television and film, because that's the industry. I Work in.
How did you do on your dissertation? Congratulations on that
So the question that comes to mind is how did you do on your dissertation? Did the professor appreciate what you brought to light?
>> Amy Dyson: yeah, I actually did. Ah, a lot better than I was, expecting. I got, Hang on again, I'll have to.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you don't have to. If you don't feel comfortable telling us you're grade, that's fine.
>> Amy Dyson: I do. I just can't remember exactly what it is and I don't want to. Don't want to say I did better than I did. yeah, so I actually did a lot better than I was expecting. I'd gotten a few, ah, firsts, which, if you're not familiar with university, grading is like 70 out of 100. but I actually managed to get 80 on my dissertation, which was more than I could have ever dreamed of getting. I'd spent so, so long on it. I started it back in a whole year before it was due. I know a lot of my friends didn't start until sort of a couple of months, a couple of weeks before it was due. and I really had put my heart and soul into it, so. So I was so, so happy, to come out with the best grade I'd ever got, because I really did feel like I'd earned it, which was a really, really nice feeling. so, yeah, that was really, really nice to know that all the hours I spent on it were worth it in the end.
>> Marco Timpano: Congratulations on that. That's wonderful to hear.
>> Amy Dyson: Thank you. Thank you.
How many books do you read a year, Amy
>> Marco Timpano: So here's another question on always in the vein of reading. How many books do you read a year, Amy? And do you set a goal for yourself with regards to reading? Because I know you're pretty prolific from your Facebook or from your social media. I see that you're constantly reading various, books and things for your own entertainment and interest.
>> Amy Dyson: Yes. So I use Goodreads, which I'm not a massive fan of. but it's the best there is out there at the minute for me to use. and last year I set myself a goal of 20 books. I set it again to 20 this year and I have beaten it quite a lot. I'm currently on my 51st book of the year.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. That's a book a week. That's almost a book a week.
>> Amy Dyson: I'm very lucky in that, for my degree I had to do a lot of reading. so whenever we got, we got told you could read this book. I often read it. so that's helped me to read books that I wouldn't necessarily have read. The book I'm reading at the minute, actually got mentioned to me in a lecture back in January, and I had my eye on it, but I didn't have time to read it at the time. and back in April, May time in the uk, it was really, really sunny for a few weeks. So I had a lot of time to just lay outside in the sun and read some books. And at that point I was getting through like a book every two days or so. now that I'm a bit more busy, I'm getting through about a book a week. But my goal for this year is 52, which I'm almost at. So, hopefully I'll do that. Yeah, it's a lot of books, but I've had a lot of time this year to read, so.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're a fast reader too then? I would say yeah.
>> Amy Dyson: I mean, last year I read 25 books, which is like a book every two weeks. but once I get into it I can normally, if I have like days of doing nothing, I can get it read in like two days. but at the minute I'm sort of having to find pockets of time when I can to sit down and read.
Of your 51 books that you've read thus far, which has been your surprise favorite
>> Marco Timpano: Of your 51 books that you've read thus far and we haven't gotten to the end of the year, which has been your surprise favorite.
>> Amy Dyson: I've recently finished the Flatshare, by Beth o', Leary, which is a bit of a chick lit sort of book. I thought it was going to be really cheesy and very, sort of lovey. but I actually really enjoyed it and there was a bit of an underlying storyline that was a bit more serious. and yeah, it was, it was actually really, really good. And I've recommended it to everyone I know and a few people have read it and said they loved it as well. So, yeah, I think it came out like last year and it's been quite a big book, here in the uk.
>> Marco Timpano: So, yeah, sorry, the name of the book again.
>> Amy Dyson: the Flatshare by Beth o'. Leary.
>> Marco Timpano: So maybe we'll tag Beth o' Leary on, on our social media with regards to this episode and she'll be like, what is this about? Why am I being singled out here?
Amy, thank you so much for recording this episode of Insomnia Project
Amy, it's been quite a pleasure speaking with you, for an episode of the Insomnia Project.
>> Amy Dyson: Yes, thank you. This has been so exciting for me. I found this podcast, last year when I was struggling to sleep, and it's so weird that I'm now recording an episode with you. so thank you so much for having me. It means a lot, Amy.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope to record more episodes. If you enjoyed this, you let me know and we'll get you on more regularly because this would be great. even just to have a different voice than just my North American Canadian accent on here, which I'm sure drives some of our listeners crazy.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, that would be brilliant. Great.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, thank you so much. And thank you to you, our listeners. we're going to have some holiday episodes coming up, in the near future. If there's a holiday topic you would like us to talk about, please let Amy and myself know through any of our social medias, which you can find on our show notes or just type in the Insomnia project and see what comes up. Until then, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: Dec 2, 2020)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing that we can promise is that our conversation will hopefully be less than fascinating so that you can just drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep.
Marco Timpano welcomes social media manager, Amy Dyson
I'm your host, Marco Timpano and joining me for the first time is our social media manager, Amy Dyson, all the way from Newbury Berkshire in the uk. Welcome, Amy. Hi, Amy. Did I get that right where you're from? Because I know that I make. Okay, great. I know that I often get, get place names incorrect and I don't want to do that neither to yourself or the place you're from. So. So thank you for joining us today.
>> Amy Dyson: Thank you for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: This is very exciting.
Amy, Canada has a strong winter climate with a lot of snow
And we kind of spoke a moment before and I was asking you about if you have any snow there and you were explaining that you didn't have snow. Since when?
>> Amy Dyson: So we had, a lot of snow. In, I think it was March 2018. so I was at university. and I think university might have even been shut because, my university was in the middle of quite a rural area, so some of the lecturers couldn't actually get into the uni, so it got shut for a few days.
>> Marco Timpano: And what did you do during that time? Did you enjoy the snowfall at all?
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, a few of my friends had, snowball fights. but as much as I like the snow, I get very cold, so I just enjoyed it from inside.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Fair enough. You know, when it comes to snow, to really enjoy it, you need all the accoutrements and all the. All the clothing that make it less cold when you're out there to make yourself comfortable. So you need a good set of gloves and a good toque. Is that what you call it? We call it a toque here. I'm sure you've heard me talk about toques before.
>> Amy Dyson: I don't know what a toque is.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So bear with me. Amy, let's go on this toque journey for a moment. So what do you call the winter hat that sometimes has a pom pom on it? It's like a knitted cat.
>> Amy Dyson: I guess we'd call it a hat or a bobble hat. A bubble hat. A bobble hat. So like a bobble being. the pom pom.
>> Marco Timpano: The pom pom. In the US they'll often call it a beanie.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But we don't call it a beanie, because for us, a beanie is, you know, it's kind of like a little tiny cap that you put on the top of your head.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Almost like a yarmulke would be. It's kind of in that veins. For us, a beanie what a beanie is. Well, a toque is. Of course, Canada is a country that has a strong winter climate with a lot of snow. And so the toque is what we call that bobble hat, usually without the pom pom. But usually people know the hat with the pom pom. So if you imagine it without the pom pom, and it's a knit hat that you wear on your head. And it comes. The name comes from a town in Quebec called Toque, or whose name is Toque. Getting back to place names. And so in Canada, we call that specifically the winter knitted cap or hat that you wear, toque. So all of us in Canada will say toque, and we know exactly what it is. We don't have to explain you know, the knitted hat, the bobble hat, or, you know, what kind of beanie we're about to wear.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. Oh, that's interesting. I've, Yeah, I've not heard that name before.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have a toque?
>> Amy Dyson: I do, but I don't really. I prefer either to just have, like, a woolly or, like, fluffy hood, or, I have a hat that has some bits that come down by my ears. I like that one.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. You just haven't found the right toque yet, Amy.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, maybe that's it.
Hand: I wrote my dissertation at Canterbury University this summer
Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: You were mentioning that the snowfall happened around your university or when you were at university. I'd love to talk about dissertation writing and in particular, what you wrote as your different dissertation at university.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So, I finished university this summer from Canterbury. Christchurch in Canterbury in Kent. And I wrote my dissertation on, the title was form and the Feminist Text. And then it had a bit of a longer sort of subtitle after.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, we need the subtitle for sure. I know, for example, my book I wrote. I don't know why I chose the world's longest title, 25 Things I Wish I Knew. Before I started my podcast, I could have just done 25 podcasting tips. Made everyone's life easier. But I decided to go down the long title road. So tell us the title, the complete title of your dissertation.
>> Amy Dyson: So my complete title was form and the Feminist Writing Social Change in Literary Text from the late 19th century to the Present day.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow, that sounds like a lot of work, your dissertation.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, I got quite lucky because, my dissertation was only 6,000 words, whereas some people have 7, 8, 9, 10,000. so it wasn't too many.
>> Marco Timpano: And what was. Tell me about something you discovered in writing your dissertation that you thought was very interesting or fascinating.
>> Amy Dyson: so I had a section on, how the attitudes towards women and mental health had changed, in recent years, looking at, like, the yellow wallpaper, the bell jar, and texts from periods when, mental health was really taboo, especially with, women. That was really interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, fascinating. And for anyone listening who might be like, like myself, who are like, what is the difference between a dissertation and just an essay that one Hand. Hands in at university.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So, so for my degree, I did creative and professional writing. So most of my essays as such, weren't actually essays, but were instead creative pieces. So this was one of the first essays I'd done since I finished my A levels, before I went to university. whereas all of my Peers did creative work, so they wrote like part of a play or the start of a novel. so I took a bit of a leap in doing an essay because I hadn't really written many essays before that. But the ones I had done were about 2,000 words, and were very much like one. An introduction and then a few points and then a conclusion. Whereas my dissertation, I had. I separated it into five subsections. so one of them was looking at, how the attitudes about mental health had changed. and then some other sections on some other bits. so the way I structured it, I did basically five small essays that were about a thousand words each, which made it a lot more manageable for me. instead of thinking I have 6,000 words to do, what am I going to write about?
>> Marco Timpano: Almost like chapters in a book, I would say.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, yeah, definitely. it meant that I also didn't have to go into too much depth for each, topic, because I only had about a thousand words to play with each time.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
In writing my dissertation, I found some interesting articles online
And who is an essayist that you enjoy reading?
>> Amy Dyson: Oh, I don't. I don't know really. in writing my dissertation, I found some interesting, journal articles online. some of them just written by students. Ah, some of them written and published in books. I can't really remember any specific ones. there was one about, I think it was called, it was about, gender inequality in 19, 84 and about how Orwell presents his female characters and stuff. And that was quite an interesting piece to look at and inspired some of my own thinking.
You mentioned that you are a fan of writing essays beyond writing your dissertation
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this. Beyond writing the dissertation, are you more. Are you the type of person who prefers to read, books, short stories or essays or all three?
>> Amy Dyson: I do like to write essays. I wouldn't say I'm a massive fan of reading them, as a sort of pastime. I like to read books. but at the minute I'm actually, reading a, ah, non fiction book, which I guess has links to sort of being a sort of essay as it's not got the typical structure of a fiction book. and I have read quite a lot of nonfiction this year, which has been really interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the book you're currently reading and do you recommend it?
>> Amy Dyson: it's called Educated by Tara Westover. And yeah, I really would. It's really, really interesting. her life was quite sort of different and unique and the way she writes it is really interesting in that she doesn't. She accepts her difference without, because her parents brought her up in a way that isn't sort of what people would class as normal. But she writes it in a way that she doesn't resent her parents. But it's just like this is what I've learned from being my own person since leaving my parents, which is really interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: You mentioned that you are a fan of writing essays.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: tell us what approach you use or what approach you would tell someone who is going to approach writing an essay. that is helpful for you.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah. So, one of the tips I've always been given, is to write the introduction last, just so that you can be really clear and what you're going to say. Because I've had essays where I've opened it saying this is what I'm going to discuss. And then I've discussed something completely different and it just doesn't fit what I've said. I think definitely breaking it down and sort of subheading and then bullet pointing. I like to bullet point. I normally have, ah, some bullet points for that and then a list of books that I should reference. and maybe ones that I haven't read yet and maybe ones I have read. just to include some sort of secondary material.
>> Marco Timpano: That's fascinating. I love that tip of starting. One could even write their introduction just to get into the piece if they find that writing the introduction helps them get into writing. But to rewrite or re examine your introduction once you've completed it I think is a brilliant tip.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, I think that I found that with my dissertation too because, what I wanted to argue in the first instance wasn't what I ended up arguing. and when I spoke to my supervisor who helped me with my dissertation, she said, you need to edit it because you, you really need to hone in what it is that you're discussing. and then obviously linking the conclusion back to the introduction. Just saying this is what I've found from my research.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the most satisfying thing about essay writing for you?
>> Amy Dyson: I think sometimes when I go to write things, I'm not quite sure what I want to say. So I think once you hit that point of, okay, this is the argument that I'm taking. I think it's quite, for me, it's quite a good way to figure out how I actually feel about things. because a lot of essays I've done at school and at uni, they like you to argue both sides of it. So, yeah, so you have to argue like for and against. and it's always interesting for me to find out which side I actually fall on, especially if I thought I was really for the argument. And then there's a few bits of against that are ah, actually like resonate with me.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
Have your mind ever been changed from writing an essay to completing that essay
Have you, has your mind ever been changed from when you initially started writing an essay to completing that essay? And if so, what happened?
>> Amy Dyson: I'm not sure. I'm not, I'm not sure I know that I wrote an essay, at a level for my media coursework, about the presentation of females in romantic comedies. and I think from m that I learned that there are some issues with some of the films I looked at. But I also really enjoy the films. and I think I can enjoy them while also acknowledging that there are issues. so I think that's been something that's quite interesting and linking that to my dissertation again with some of the pieces that have dealt with sort of issues of the time. I've again really enjoyed reading about it and I think that although books such as, like the Bell Jar, obviously, they display a very worrying, belief about mental health and stuff, but it's also interesting to have that sort of historical reference to look at, as someone that isn't living in that time with those issues.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
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>> Amy Dyson: So yeah, I think that, yeah, of
>> Marco Timpano: course we here at the Insomnia Project really appreciate everyone who works in mental health and who seeks out mental health professionals to help them with any issues that they're dealing with, including myself. I've certainly leaned on that kind of help and we encourage you to do so should you feel you need that.
What's your approach to tweet writing or to writing for Twitter
Amy, let me ask you this. So going from essays to what your role is here at the Insomnia Project, which is managing the social media, one could say that a, ah, tweet on Twitter is almost like writing the mini est of essays. What's your approach to tweet writing or to writing for Twitter?
>> Amy Dyson: Oh, that's an interesting question actually.
>> Marco Timpano: every once In a while I come up with one.
>> Amy Dyson: You know, Amy, linking that back to, something I did in my degree, actually. We have to do, some flash fiction and hint fiction, and I think Hint Fiction is 15 words or less. So you have to tell a story in 15 words or less. and Twitter was quite good for that too. obviously you're limited with the words that you can use. so it's interesting to try and tell a whole story in 15 words. but yeah, I think with Twitter, the way I've been using it has definitely been to try and engage with people and especially, tweeting as the Insomnia project. definitely to be tweeting sort of as a person and not as a company that doesn't sort of resonate with its listeners and followers. just trying to have that personal touch and get people to realize there's actually a person behind the social media of it. and, yeah, just engaging with them.
What would you like our listeners to know about our social media
>> Marco Timpano: Now, since we're on this topic, what would you like our listeners to know about our social media and how they can engage with us or things you'd like to see from them? For anyone who's kind of like, oh, you know, I don't. I don't know if I want to do that or I don't know if it falls on deaf ears or. I think the thing that a lot of people think, I don't know if my voice or my opinion matters.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, definitely. So, I can completely understand those sort of, worries. And I've had it before when I've, Even when I reached out to you and said about the social media, I was a bit nervous and like, I don't even know if he's going to, like, care that I've messaged. but no, I think if people are thinking of, like, responding to tweets or just, reaching out to us, on their own. definitely. We really, like, are interested in what you have to say, whether it's your favorite episode, something you want to hear, like, an issue with episode. Like, I know, for example, in the past, people have given more information about something that you've mentioned. so I think the listeners are definitely more valuable than most of them probably realize they are. and yeah, personally, I want to know what, what episodes people enjoy. obviously coming from the uk, most, of the ones that I've enjoyed most have been things linked to the uk, which is always interesting, or
>> Marco Timpano: when I make a grave mistake when I'm talking about Things in the uk. I apologize for that always. Even if I'm aware or I'm unaware that I'm making such a silly, silly air.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, yeah, it's definitely, it's always nice when people do engage and ask questions about, things that have been said, because I think it really shows that, again, they are actual people as opposed to just being sort of numbers or listeners. again, they're real people, so it's nice to know their opinion. but, yeah, I think it would be good to have. For people to engage more if they want to, just so that, we can really help the Insomnia Project to become more engaged with its followers and to have more. More for the followers themselves to have more influence over the topics that get discussed and that sort of thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Most definitely. No matter where you are in the world. reach out to us on social media.
Sometimes people will send tweets based on episodes that we recorded long ago
Did you see the post about the, forced rhubarb from Yorkshire?
>> Amy Dyson: yeah, I wasn't really sure what that was about. I'm not a massive fan of rhubarb. but, yeah, what was. What was that?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so one of our listeners had mentioned, like, are you aware of the Yorkshire forced rhubarb? And I am m a big fan of rhubarb, and I'm certain that there's an episode where I talk about rhubarb. And what's interesting, Amy, is that sometimes people will send tweets or social media messages based on episodes that we recorded long ago. So I have to rack my brain and think, okay, yeah, we did do an episode about the glue that's used on stamps or whatever the topic may be. Right. I'm assuming that this was brought to my attention because the listener knows I love rhubarb. And I don't know how you cannot love rhubarb coming from a country that, you know, has probably the best rhubarb recipes ever. But it's talking about this rhubarb in Yorkshire that they grow out of season, and they force the stalks to grow, and so you can get rhubarb, you know, most of the year. And I did see a program on it, and I think there is one in Canada that also does it that I recently looked up in Quebec. So now my mission is to get myself some forced rhubarb out of season.
>> Amy Dyson: Oh, interesting. Yeah, I didn't know about that. I, think it's interesting what you say about, people picking up things from previous episodes, because I think, again, engaging with listeners. It is really interesting when people bring up episodes that you might have even forgotten ever happened. so it's quite nice to be reminded of the episodes that you have done in the past. and I don't think they're ever irrelevant to mention. Like, if someone is bringing up an episode from season, one, I don't think they should ever think, oh, but it aired years ago, so it's not relevant anymore. Because they're always relevant.
>> Marco Timpano: I certainly hope so. Relevant in the sense of if it helps you to fall asleep or to relax, then it's serving its purpose. At least that's what I always go for.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, definitely. I mean, I'm personally working my way back from the beginning. I'm on about episode 103, I think, at the minute, from the first series. So, yeah, working my way back through.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so fascinating, Amy, like, knowing now what I wish I knew then. Our first season was so many episodes, we didn't know how a season should be laid out. Now I try to do 26 episodes, although this season has been longer, just because. By request of people who wanted extra seasons during this time. But, always fascinating how my first season is like 137 episodes. It's like, where did that number come from?
>> Amy Dyson: do you think that's one of the things that has helped you most to learn about the, sort of how long to have it?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, because it became this really impossible task for us to record. We were recording so much, and we're like, when does this end? Like, how do we know when to end? And at that time, there were podcasts, but it wasn't as. The landscape wasn't as plentiful as it is today. So we were trying to figure out, how do you figure out your seasons? And then we sat down and we're like, well, our episodes are generally 26 minutes long, so let's make a season 26 episodes. And what we didn't realize is you could have multiple seasons in a year. So we thought, okay, 26 episodes, one a week, that's not a full year. But we're like, well, you could have season three and then season four kind of goes partway through the year. So that's what we decided to do. We're like, we're gonna stick to 26 episodes.
>> Amy Dyson: interesting. Yeah. I guess it must stem from TV shows when they have their new season. It's like a yearly thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. I think in those terms. Right. I think in television and film, because that's the industry. I Work in.
How did you do on your dissertation? Congratulations on that
So the question that comes to mind is how did you do on your dissertation? Did the professor appreciate what you brought to light?
>> Amy Dyson: yeah, I actually did. Ah, a lot better than I was, expecting. I got, Hang on again, I'll have to.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you don't have to. If you don't feel comfortable telling us you're grade, that's fine.
>> Amy Dyson: I do. I just can't remember exactly what it is and I don't want to. Don't want to say I did better than I did. yeah, so I actually did a lot better than I was expecting. I'd gotten a few, ah, firsts, which, if you're not familiar with university, grading is like 70 out of 100. but I actually managed to get 80 on my dissertation, which was more than I could have ever dreamed of getting. I'd spent so, so long on it. I started it back in a whole year before it was due. I know a lot of my friends didn't start until sort of a couple of months, a couple of weeks before it was due. and I really had put my heart and soul into it, so. So I was so, so happy, to come out with the best grade I'd ever got, because I really did feel like I'd earned it, which was a really, really nice feeling. so, yeah, that was really, really nice to know that all the hours I spent on it were worth it in the end.
>> Marco Timpano: Congratulations on that. That's wonderful to hear.
>> Amy Dyson: Thank you. Thank you.
How many books do you read a year, Amy
>> Marco Timpano: So here's another question on always in the vein of reading. How many books do you read a year, Amy? And do you set a goal for yourself with regards to reading? Because I know you're pretty prolific from your Facebook or from your social media. I see that you're constantly reading various, books and things for your own entertainment and interest.
>> Amy Dyson: Yes. So I use Goodreads, which I'm not a massive fan of. but it's the best there is out there at the minute for me to use. and last year I set myself a goal of 20 books. I set it again to 20 this year and I have beaten it quite a lot. I'm currently on my 51st book of the year.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. That's a book a week. That's almost a book a week.
>> Amy Dyson: I'm very lucky in that, for my degree I had to do a lot of reading. so whenever we got, we got told you could read this book. I often read it. so that's helped me to read books that I wouldn't necessarily have read. The book I'm reading at the minute, actually got mentioned to me in a lecture back in January, and I had my eye on it, but I didn't have time to read it at the time. and back in April, May time in the uk, it was really, really sunny for a few weeks. So I had a lot of time to just lay outside in the sun and read some books. And at that point I was getting through like a book every two days or so. now that I'm a bit more busy, I'm getting through about a book a week. But my goal for this year is 52, which I'm almost at. So, hopefully I'll do that. Yeah, it's a lot of books, but I've had a lot of time this year to read, so.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're a fast reader too then? I would say yeah.
>> Amy Dyson: I mean, last year I read 25 books, which is like a book every two weeks. but once I get into it I can normally, if I have like days of doing nothing, I can get it read in like two days. but at the minute I'm sort of having to find pockets of time when I can to sit down and read.
Of your 51 books that you've read thus far, which has been your surprise favorite
>> Marco Timpano: Of your 51 books that you've read thus far and we haven't gotten to the end of the year, which has been your surprise favorite.
>> Amy Dyson: I've recently finished the Flatshare, by Beth o', Leary, which is a bit of a chick lit sort of book. I thought it was going to be really cheesy and very, sort of lovey. but I actually really enjoyed it and there was a bit of an underlying storyline that was a bit more serious. and yeah, it was, it was actually really, really good. And I've recommended it to everyone I know and a few people have read it and said they loved it as well. So, yeah, I think it came out like last year and it's been quite a big book, here in the uk.
>> Marco Timpano: So, yeah, sorry, the name of the book again.
>> Amy Dyson: the Flatshare by Beth o'. Leary.
>> Marco Timpano: So maybe we'll tag Beth o' Leary on, on our social media with regards to this episode and she'll be like, what is this about? Why am I being singled out here?
Amy, thank you so much for recording this episode of Insomnia Project
Amy, it's been quite a pleasure speaking with you, for an episode of the Insomnia Project.
>> Amy Dyson: Yes, thank you. This has been so exciting for me. I found this podcast, last year when I was struggling to sleep, and it's so weird that I'm now recording an episode with you. so thank you so much for having me. It means a lot, Amy.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope to record more episodes. If you enjoyed this, you let me know and we'll get you on more regularly because this would be great. even just to have a different voice than just my North American Canadian accent on here, which I'm sure drives some of our listeners crazy.
>> Amy Dyson: Yeah, that would be brilliant. Great.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, thank you so much. And thank you to you, our listeners. we're going to have some holiday episodes coming up, in the near future. If there's a holiday topic you would like us to talk about, please let Amy and myself know through any of our social medias, which you can find on our show notes or just type in the Insomnia project and see what comes up. Until then, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Fall Walk
(Original airdate: Oct 14, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about the mundane topics that we come up with. If you have one, just send it to our Twitter account or Instagram and we'll be happy to consider it as one of the topics for our shows. I'm Marco Timpano. Thank you for joining us.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, welcome to the show.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you for having me back, as always.
>> Marco Timpano: We talked about, doing the cranberry bog on our last episode.
>> Amanda Barker: We did? I don't even remember it. I'm sure we did. I'm just, you know, things go in and out of my brain quickly. Now that you say it, I have, like, a vague memory of talking about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because you made me think for a second.
>> Amanda Barker: No, you're right. I mean, this is your show. I just don't, you know, for those who don't know me, as well, I worked in radio for five years, so every day I was. I didn't remember by the end of the day what I had talked about.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, it's not your job to remember. It's your job to be here and to enjoy the 26 minutes we have.
>> Amanda Barker: I always do.
I wanted to talk about fall walks, that kind of sort of links us from last week
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk about fall walks, that kind of sort of links us from last week's show.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know if you know this actually, but I just came from one.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay, you did know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I did know that you came from one because I heard you come into the house.
>> Amanda Barker: But I had told you I was going for a run. But I was actually on a really beautiful trail.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I know, I didn't know this. Okay, so tell me about this before we get into fall walks.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I don't have to.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I want to. Because then we'll just dive deeper.
Allison discovered a path along the train tracks near her Toronto home
>> Amanda Barker: So what I, sort of just discovered, you know, I'm trying to. We're going in, right? Our exploration. You and I are travelers, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: We love to travel. We can certainly do a lot of discussions on cities and that type of thing. But, you know, for the last little while our traveling has been inward, because that's what's accessible to us. And so, you know, I've been trying my best to explore the area around our home, around our city, just undiscovered terrain. And I finally figured out today, a path that I had sort of knew was there but didn't know how to access. and I went for sort of, I would say 30% jog, maybe 40% jog, 50% walk. So walk, jog a walk, Jog a little half and half.
>> Marco Timpano: a walk, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: On the path that is also the train tracks near our house.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, did you go on the train track?
>> Amanda Barker: I did, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: How did you access it?
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so I figured out where to do it. So there's. We have actually two, retirement nursing homes, near our home. And so it is in the. There's sort of a little path and I don't know if this is the official entrance, but the closest to our house that I could find was, from the parking lot of one of them.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, so I was sort of running and jogging and walking like I said, and I thought there's gotta be a way to get onto this path. I could see, you know, a woman walking her dog, two runners. And so I found a little sort of indentation in the shrubbery in the bush and there was a little path up to it.
>> Marco Timpano: So it wasn't an official.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it was unofficial. So I don't know where the official ways to get on. I mean, we can look for that.
>> Marco Timpano: because you can access that train track to walk on.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not, it's meant to be. There's a path and that's what I wanted to tell you. There's a path sort of alongside. There's obviously the train tracks and there were no trains, at that moment. But there's also a walking path that is definitely designated for that with people running and walking on it. And little foot bridge areas of the train bridges themselves to make sure that people are safe as they walk on them. But it really brought back memories of my, young adulthood because I grew up with an old abandoned train bridge, in back of my house.
>> Marco Timpano: And train tracks too, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Train tracks, yeah. after a while I think they took some of them out and some of them were still there. The train hadn't run since the 60s. where I grew up, which is in New Brunswick, I did grow up in Massachusetts too, if anyone's been listening. I moved to New Brunswick when I was 13 and my family lived there until I was, I can't remember when they moved. I think I was in my. I was into my 30s when they moved from that home. I had since moved to Toronto. But, anyway, so my teens and some of my twenties was spent there. And so as a young person I would, Because it was out in the country, I would go and explore the train bridge, which had actually really cool graffiti from the 60s on it. Like stuff that obviously was written during the 60s and 70s.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. and that became kind of my place. So it really brought back a lot of memories of fall walks along train tracks.
>> Marco Timpano: Now there's something so lovely about. For me, anyways. I don't know how you feel about this, about trains near your home.
>> Marco Timpano: And the sounds of trains going by. The odd whistle or the. Or the train on the track. I love it. I know how some people might not,
>> Amanda Barker: but I do, I love it as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Love that.
>> Amanda Barker: we had. So I had that, but there was never a train. And then when I went to university, Mount Allison University, the train would come through twice a day, so we would hear it at night. And then, well, passenger trains would. And then of course there's cargo. And the ones near our house, I should say, are all cargo trains, right?
>> Marco Timpano: mostly, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think a passenger train uses those tracks.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it gets diverted a little bit west of us. The passenger train.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never seen a passenger train on those tracks.
>> Marco Timpano: No. I'm sure they could access it, but it wouldn't take them to anywhere that.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not a route that nobody would take. Not right now anyway.
There's a whole bunch of apple trees along the sides of the train tracks
>> Marco Timpano: You were telling me There's a whole bunch of apple trees along the sides of the train tracks where you grew up.
>> Amanda Barker: So what happened was.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I can't wait to hear this.
>> Amanda Barker: well, I think I told you at one point maybe, but, what happened was the train. So I grew up in. I should preface this with the town that was nearest to my home was the town of Woodstock, New Brunswick. And at the turn of the century and the early 19th century, it was, I think, a town that. I think that was its heyday, to be honest. The train went through. It was one of the, first English. Actually, it was the first English town you would hit from Quebec, in New Brunswick. So, it was a gateway for a few different places. gateway to Fredericton or Saint John, gateway to Quebec going the other way. it was also. It's right on the border to Maine. So it had a lot of people coming and going through it. And, when I lived there, it only had about 5,000 people. so I don't think it ever really fully flourished its potential, with the advent of cars and so on. But, in any event, it was in the early 19th century, a place that people would at the very least go through. And so the train tracks were lined with, all types of trees, but particularly apple trees. There were tons and tons and tons of apple trees along the tracks just growing wild. And the reason was because people. Apples were the easiest thing that you could take as a snack on the train. Sure. If it was 1910 or 1920 and you were taking a Cross Canada trip, or if you were, an immigrant coming in from Halifax, going to Ontario, for example, you would have apples. That's what you'd feed your kids. That's the perfect snack.
>> Marco Timpano: Portable, hearty, cheap, cheap. They're not gonna get damaged. Like, they're not gonna be like. Certain fruits, like a banana would not be available, but B would not be conducive to.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, they wouldn't have bananas back then. No, absolutely. I mean, oranges were considered a luxury. A luxury. A lot of people would get them only at Christmas. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So they would spit the seeds out.
>> Amanda Barker: They would throw the cores. Oh, they would throw the. Yeah, they would spit the seeds out. But more likely they would. When they were done with the apple, they would just throw the apple core out the window.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And so because of that, those seeds. Seeds flourished, some of them. And so the tracks are lined with apple trees. There's also, I should say, other fruits there. There's, some wild strawberries, a Ton of raspberries. Oh, wow. Blueberries, as well. And actually chokecherries as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Not a huge fan of chokecherries.
>> Amanda Barker: I like choke cherries.
>> Marco Timpano: I know you do.
>> Amanda Barker: We can talk more about that if you want. I don't know.
Jimimson: Retirement community near our home has beautiful flower gardens
>> Marco Timpano: Well, before we go to choke chokecherries, you had mentioned the retirement community near our house. Oh yeah, that little. That, residency, I guess you could say. Residence of, retired individuals. And they do the most beautiful flower garden near the tracks.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. So the one. There's two. So the one on the far end is the one near the tracks. So you're talking about the one closer
>> Marco Timpano: to us, which you kind of have to go through their little path.
>> Marco Timpano: To get to the other one.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true, actually.
>> Marco Timpano: And their path is just lined with the most beautiful flowers that bloom throughout the season.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: And right now there's a ton of moonflowers. Is that what they're called?
>> Amanda Barker: Moon lilies?
>> Marco Timpano: Moon lilies, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: They're gorgeous.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's just, they just did such a spectacular job. And I can't help but think they brought their old world knowledge, or their knowledge from the years on planting and how to make a beautiful garden that I certainly don't possess. And they did such a phenomenal job there.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's interesting. I mean, you do have people there that lived through world, War two.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: and, they would have known what a victory garden was and planting victory gardens.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know what a victory garden is.
>> Amanda Barker: I just learned what it was. So a victory garden, my understanding was, similar, to what a lot of people have tried to do in the past few years, but more reliance on what you can grow at home so that you're not draining the resources of the country. Because back then they were feeding the troops, they were sending rations and so on to the troops.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're talking native species of flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, flowers and vegetables. And vegetables and fruit, actually. I mean, an apple tree would certainly be part of a victory garden if it was flowering and bearing fruit. But, I just wanted to say that moon lilies, I don't know, there's a few names for them, but the reason they're called moon lilies is because they only open and bloom at night. So they close up during the day. So they're sort of the opposite flower. It's like opposite day for them. They're beautiful, long white kind of trumpet blossoms. And they open at night.
>> Marco Timpano: Beautiful.
>> Amanda Barker: So they're beautiful at night. And they smell gorgeous.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't Realize they had a scent to them?
>> Amanda Barker: I think so.
>> Speaker C: We need to keep kids safe online. But some special interests are sending policymakers in the wrong direction. Pushing the so called App Store Accountability act, demanding government ID from all users just to download an app, replacing parents judgment with government mandates. It doesn't even stand up in court. A better bipartisan bill, the Parents Over Platforms act, would put parents in the driver's seat, empowering parents and businesses to keep kids safe without drowning all of us in red tape. Tell Congress to get it done right and put parents over platforms paid for
>> Amanda Barker: by act, the app association. Okay, maybe they don't. Maybe I just think they smell gorgeous.
>> Marco Timpano: And what were you saying about the victory garden?
>> Amanda Barker: My understanding was, well, as I just explained that the victory garden was a way for you to not drain the resources of the country. So instead, instead of going to your local grocer and buying carrots, that you grow them at home or whatever. I think that's right, sure. I don't know. Anyway, the point is that the people who inhabit these places near our home would have a lot of gardening knowledge from times when gardening was extraordinarily essential to a country's well being, of course, and not just a fun hobby in their backyard. Like it was something very essential to, their existence. I should say that we live on a fairly quiet tree lined street, but the traffic of the elderly is a real thing, meaning m walking up and down the street. we have our share of anything. Walking aids, canes, etc.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes you have to go off the sidewalk because there is a troop of elderly people with their canes and their walkers coming towards you.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're so lovely, they're so lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: But they mean business when they're walking.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, some of them want in on our lilacs in the spring.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we'll get knocks on the door from some of the people in the residence who just want a clipping of our beautiful lilac tree.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm.
>> Marco Timpano: datura is the common or is the genus of that flower.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're called moon lilies.
>> Marco Timpano: They're called thorn apples. Oh, Jim's on weeds. Or jimson weeds I should say. Okay, not jimson, jimson weeds.
>> Amanda Barker: Jim's on the weeds.
>> Marco Timpano: Devil's, trumpets. Oh, moonflower.
>> Amanda Barker: Moonflower.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe that devil's weed. I've started calling them moon lilies and hell's bells.
>> Amanda Barker: I think moonflower is what I knew them as. So that's a lot of names for one type of species.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're poisonous and psychoactive, especially their seeds and flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: What does psychoactive mean?
>> Marco Timpano: So, just be careful because, you know, psychoactive is a chemical substance that changes the nervous system.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah. So they're, you know, exercise caution. Do not be eating them. because they're so pretty. Not that you would eat a flower because it's pretty.
So we started this journey because of fall walks. Do you like going for day walks or night walks
>> Amanda Barker: Well, some flowers are edible. Stick to apples or pansies, you can eat a pansy.
>> Marco Timpano: So we started this journey because of fall walks. And it's so nice to know there's a beautiful walk by the train track near our home.
>> Amanda Barker: And the smell, that smell of trains, which I don't know if it's good for you, but I do love it.
>> Marco Timpano: We went on a fall walk with some friends yesterday.
>> Amanda Barker: We did.
>> Marco Timpano: And that was a gorgeous walk through the city through a path called the
>> Amanda Barker: Belt Line, the K. Gardner Belt line, which is which.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so great to go through this green patch or swath that snakes its way through the city with a whole canopy of trees surrounding you.
>> Amanda Barker: We're lucky that we live in a city that has these sort of private little areas to discover that are lush,
>> Marco Timpano: but they're open to the public. When you say private.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they're private in that there's no houses or they're not owned by anyone.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess. So in other words, they're public. Right. But they feel private because you feel like you've discovered them and you have them all to yourself.
>> Marco Timpano: So what do you like to see on your fall walk? For me, it's like seeing the notes of fall.
>> Amanda Barker: So, like, what does that mean?
>> Marco Timpano: Colored leaves, falling, pumpkins on the side of people's properties. fall wreaths, which we have to put ours up. I know. I just got a bit of a stare from Amanda. After we record this, I'll go into our little nook where we keep our wreaths.
>> Amanda Barker: And we don't have. We don't have much room for seasonal decor.
>> Marco Timpano: For sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We don't have much room for it.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: because. So we've trimmed it down to like, I used to have Halloween decor, and it just takes up too much space. So it's. Our Halloween decor consists of one tiny little light that projects skeletons onto our door and. And a wreath. I think that's it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But I'll get some mums. And we have some, ah, pumpkins out there too.
>> Marco Timpano: I think the dancing skeletons are quite charming on our door.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it's just our little homage to Halloween. I love Halloween so much. So, ah, it's our little tribute without. You know, I used to have a, you know, a two foot Dracula.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Honestly, who needs a two foot Dracula?
>> Amanda Barker: It took up a lot of space.
>> Marco Timpano: you know, going trick or treating is also a fall walk, if you think about it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's probably more of a three foot Dracula now that I think about it. Trick or treating is a fall walk of, fall.
>> Marco Timpano: An evening fall walk. Do you like going for day walks or night walks?
>> Amanda Barker: I like both.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Because what was neat yesterday was we went for a walk around, I think, 5, 36.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: So. So we got to kind of enjoy the sunset. And as we walked back, it was completely dark and it was just us on the trail with the crunch of the leaves under our feet. And we went from a, Robert Frost poem to a Stephen, King novel all in one walk, which was kind of awesome.
>> Marco Timpano: And, Jason Bateman. Bateman. The Bateman. The person who paints. Not Jason Bateman.
>> Amanda Barker: Jason Bateman does not paint birds. Well, he might paint birds. Jason Bateman was on Arrested Development. Robert Bateman. I'm not sure what the plaque said on the walk. Something about Robert Bateman.
>> Marco Timpano: He used to live off the belt line.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay. So a lot of the birds he would have painted. He's known for his nature paintings.
>> Marco Timpano: Artist who does a lot of birds.
>> Amanda Barker: A. Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: Lot of wolves.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: A lot of wild, animals native to North America.
>> Amanda Barker: I know him as the Birdman.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, do you?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. But my sister's an artist, so she always refers to him and his bird paintings.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. That was something we discovered on our walk.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm. Yeah. they've done a good job with all the little historical plaques that tell you about things that have happened in that area.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it's. It's neat when you live in a City for 20 years and you discover miles and miles of a path that you've never even experienced before or seen before. Just having something new to explore for yourself is pretty magical.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
I love just wearing a sweater, maybe a scarf, and taking a walk
I love just wearing a sweater, maybe a scarf, and taking a walk. Maybe like you said, bring an apple with me and enjoy it along the trail. For me, that's a perfect, fall walk. Maybe a bit of cocoa when you come home.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. Do you say cocoa or hot chocolate?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I think I say hot chocolate.
>> Amanda Barker: Canadians usually say hot chocolate and Americans say cocoa.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure I say hot chocolate, but I say cocoa.
>> Amanda Barker: So I influenced you, I think, perhaps,
>> Marco Timpano: or something pumpkin spiced.
>> Amanda Barker: I love pumpkin spice. I know. It's. It can be a controversial flavoring, but I enjoy it.
>> Marco Timpano: What is it you like about pumpkin spice?
>> Amanda Barker: I like anything that I wouldn't normally get another time of the year. Sometimes it's not available. Sometimes it is, but you just don't. You know, I wouldn't want pumpkin spice in July necessarily.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: we're seasonal creatures, a lot of us humans. And, like ayurvedic medicine sort of talks about whether you practice it or not. Talks about eating seasonally. In fact, you see that a lot. So, I know pumpkin spice isn't really part of ayurvedic medicine, although it
>> Marco Timpano: would be great if it was.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I mean, maybe nutmeg or clove or something would be. But m. Just this idea that it's the time to have that thing. For example, a primavera pasta, you always say, doesn't make sense in the fall. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a spring pasta that has spring veggies in it. Right. That's the key to it.
>> Amanda Barker: And we're so lucky that we can kind of order up anything at any time that it becomes all the more special when it's something you can only get for a month or two of the year.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So your perfect fall walk would be an apple, a sweater, and some crunchy
>> Marco Timpano: leaves, followed by hot chocolate or cocoa, whatever you use. a walk with friends like we did, that was a lot of fun.
>> Amanda Barker: It's something fun. I'm trying to incorporate that when we want to be social, that we also move. Because I think I'm just noticing that I've become a bit more sedentary in my life, so I'm trying to find ways. And nature is so much more fun explored with friends.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And that's great any time of the year. So it doesn't have to stop at fall walks. You can do a winter walk or a spring walk, depending on how wet it is. You could jump in muddy puddles as they do on Peppa Pig.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And then a summer stroll, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure. Yeah. I mean, there's different ways to make it happen. But I think fall is such a perfect temperature for a walk because you have a bit of breeze, you can layer. You might get a bit warm. So you can take that poncho or scarf off and wrap it around your waist. Or, you know, it's that perfect breezy. You know, you're not in sandals, you're not sweaty. You can wear some nice boots if you want and still be comfortable, but you're not, you know, geared up with nine layers of Flannel either. So it's. There's something really lovely about that.
>> Marco Timpano: You could also walk in a pumpkin patch. We were just at a pumpkin patch, and I'm going to, put the video of us strolling through that pumpkin patch on our Patreon page for our patrons. you and I were at a pumpkin patch area and we picked up some fall vegetables.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. Who doesn't love a beautiful farm stand? And that goes back to what I was saying about pumpkin spice. You know, eating seasonally. I picked up whatever was there.
>> Marco Timpano: Beets.
>> Amanda Barker: I got a bunch of beets.
>> Marco Timpano: Or BeeTroot for our UK listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: a bunch of carrots. what else did I get? A big bag of corn, which is. We've enjoyed.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the last of the corn. They said.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they were like, this is the last corn of the season. So we're really savoring it, I think. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But we forgot to get the potatoes.
>> Amanda Barker: That's okay. Potatoes will be there all year. That's the thing about potatoes. You'll get them all year long because they keep.
>> Marco Timpano: But we certainly picked up quite a few squash. And this was the second picking of squash at that particular farm, stand. So we have the Georgia sweet squash. We have the blue.
>> Amanda Barker: Blue Hubbard.
>> Marco Timpano: Blue Hubbard squash.
>> Amanda Barker: We have spaghetti squash.
>> Marco Timpano: We picked up a spaghetti squash.
>> Amanda Barker: Two spaghetti squash, actually.
>> Marco Timpano: We picked up two.
Marco Timpano: Amanda likes to make pumpkin soup around Halloween
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What was that little oblong, football sized.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a spaghetti squash.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that was a spaghetti squash.
>> Amanda Barker: Those were spaghetti squash. Yeah. So they're called that because you scoop them out and they look like stringy spaghetti. And you can kind of eat them like spaghetti or like a pasta.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. My least favorite of the squash.
>> Amanda Barker: Are they.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, not my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they can be delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: And then what's that like? We also picked up a white.
>> Amanda Barker: We got buttercup.
>> Marco Timpano: Buttercup squash.
>> Amanda Barker: and we almost got a butter nut, which is probably the best known of the squashes. And then I think we decided to not. We got a buttercup instead, because I thought a buttercup would look nice on our stoop, so it would be nice and ornamental. And then when we're low on our groceries, I can pull it off the stoop and make a soup with it.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the white one we got?
>> Amanda Barker: That's a pumpkin. That's a white pumpkin.
>> Marco Timpano: And here's a trick that Amanda likes to do before we end our podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't know, I feel like root vegetables are called different things in the uk.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Like you said, beetroot versus beets we say beets. but I think with pumpkin and squash, they may have different names as well. Sure. I just wanted to point that out.
>> Marco Timpano: I, don't think we do, but our UK listeners will certainly let us know because they're some of the most vocal, listeners we have. They send me emails, which I love, by the way. That's great. Around Halloween, I will carve out the pumpkin. And as I'm doing that, anything that I carve from the pumpkin, Amanda will then make a jack o' lantern soup. As, I'm getting ready, she'll just take the flesh and everything and make a pumpkin.
>> Amanda Barker: What we've done for the last 10 years is you carve it on the day, on Halloween day, you carve your jack o' lantern, you scoop it all out for me. I toast the seeds, I actually separate them from the flesh and then toast them. And while I'm doing that, I make a curried coconut pumpkin soup. And that takes a long time because pumpkin is a little bit tougher than your average squash. So it does take a little longer to simmer and to cook.
>> Marco Timpano: It's got some more fibrous nature to it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And so while the kids are coming to the door and trick or treating, I'm making this big soup. And, it takes usually about two hours to make. And then once the kids sort of die down around 9 or so, then we sit down and enjoy it.
>> Marco Timpano: And that is our little stroll through our fall walk. I hope you enjoyed it.
>> Marco Timpano: Let us know what you do on your fall walks and what you see. And if you have photos of trains near your house, we'd be open to putting that on our Instagram. So let us know as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Fall walks and traditions, we should say, because it's as much about fall traditions today as about walks.
>> Marco Timpano: 100%. Amanda, thank you for taking us to Woodstock, New Brunswick, and to the little path by the train track near our home. Until next time, this is the Insomnia Project. I'm Marco Timpano. I'm Amanda Barker and this episode was recorded by the train tracks in Toronto, Canada.
(Original airdate: Oct 14, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about the mundane topics that we come up with. If you have one, just send it to our Twitter account or Instagram and we'll be happy to consider it as one of the topics for our shows. I'm Marco Timpano. Thank you for joining us.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, welcome to the show.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you for having me back, as always.
>> Marco Timpano: We talked about, doing the cranberry bog on our last episode.
>> Amanda Barker: We did? I don't even remember it. I'm sure we did. I'm just, you know, things go in and out of my brain quickly. Now that you say it, I have, like, a vague memory of talking about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because you made me think for a second.
>> Amanda Barker: No, you're right. I mean, this is your show. I just don't, you know, for those who don't know me, as well, I worked in radio for five years, so every day I was. I didn't remember by the end of the day what I had talked about.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, it's not your job to remember. It's your job to be here and to enjoy the 26 minutes we have.
>> Amanda Barker: I always do.
I wanted to talk about fall walks, that kind of sort of links us from last week
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk about fall walks, that kind of sort of links us from last week's show.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know if you know this actually, but I just came from one.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay, you did know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I did know that you came from one because I heard you come into the house.
>> Amanda Barker: But I had told you I was going for a run. But I was actually on a really beautiful trail.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I know, I didn't know this. Okay, so tell me about this before we get into fall walks.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I don't have to.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I want to. Because then we'll just dive deeper.
Allison discovered a path along the train tracks near her Toronto home
>> Amanda Barker: So what I, sort of just discovered, you know, I'm trying to. We're going in, right? Our exploration. You and I are travelers, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: We love to travel. We can certainly do a lot of discussions on cities and that type of thing. But, you know, for the last little while our traveling has been inward, because that's what's accessible to us. And so, you know, I've been trying my best to explore the area around our home, around our city, just undiscovered terrain. And I finally figured out today, a path that I had sort of knew was there but didn't know how to access. and I went for sort of, I would say 30% jog, maybe 40% jog, 50% walk. So walk, jog a walk, Jog a little half and half.
>> Marco Timpano: a walk, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: On the path that is also the train tracks near our house.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, did you go on the train track?
>> Amanda Barker: I did, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: How did you access it?
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, so I figured out where to do it. So there's. We have actually two, retirement nursing homes, near our home. And so it is in the. There's sort of a little path and I don't know if this is the official entrance, but the closest to our house that I could find was, from the parking lot of one of them.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, so I was sort of running and jogging and walking like I said, and I thought there's gotta be a way to get onto this path. I could see, you know, a woman walking her dog, two runners. And so I found a little sort of indentation in the shrubbery in the bush and there was a little path up to it.
>> Marco Timpano: So it wasn't an official.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it was unofficial. So I don't know where the official ways to get on. I mean, we can look for that.
>> Marco Timpano: because you can access that train track to walk on.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not, it's meant to be. There's a path and that's what I wanted to tell you. There's a path sort of alongside. There's obviously the train tracks and there were no trains, at that moment. But there's also a walking path that is definitely designated for that with people running and walking on it. And little foot bridge areas of the train bridges themselves to make sure that people are safe as they walk on them. But it really brought back memories of my, young adulthood because I grew up with an old abandoned train bridge, in back of my house.
>> Marco Timpano: And train tracks too, right?
>> Amanda Barker: Train tracks, yeah. after a while I think they took some of them out and some of them were still there. The train hadn't run since the 60s. where I grew up, which is in New Brunswick, I did grow up in Massachusetts too, if anyone's been listening. I moved to New Brunswick when I was 13 and my family lived there until I was, I can't remember when they moved. I think I was in my. I was into my 30s when they moved from that home. I had since moved to Toronto. But, anyway, so my teens and some of my twenties was spent there. And so as a young person I would, Because it was out in the country, I would go and explore the train bridge, which had actually really cool graffiti from the 60s on it. Like stuff that obviously was written during the 60s and 70s.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. and that became kind of my place. So it really brought back a lot of memories of fall walks along train tracks.
>> Marco Timpano: Now there's something so lovely about. For me, anyways. I don't know how you feel about this, about trains near your home.
>> Marco Timpano: And the sounds of trains going by. The odd whistle or the. Or the train on the track. I love it. I know how some people might not,
>> Amanda Barker: but I do, I love it as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Love that.
>> Amanda Barker: we had. So I had that, but there was never a train. And then when I went to university, Mount Allison University, the train would come through twice a day, so we would hear it at night. And then, well, passenger trains would. And then of course there's cargo. And the ones near our house, I should say, are all cargo trains, right?
>> Marco Timpano: mostly, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think a passenger train uses those tracks.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it gets diverted a little bit west of us. The passenger train.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never seen a passenger train on those tracks.
>> Marco Timpano: No. I'm sure they could access it, but it wouldn't take them to anywhere that.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not a route that nobody would take. Not right now anyway.
There's a whole bunch of apple trees along the sides of the train tracks
>> Marco Timpano: You were telling me There's a whole bunch of apple trees along the sides of the train tracks where you grew up.
>> Amanda Barker: So what happened was.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I can't wait to hear this.
>> Amanda Barker: well, I think I told you at one point maybe, but, what happened was the train. So I grew up in. I should preface this with the town that was nearest to my home was the town of Woodstock, New Brunswick. And at the turn of the century and the early 19th century, it was, I think, a town that. I think that was its heyday, to be honest. The train went through. It was one of the, first English. Actually, it was the first English town you would hit from Quebec, in New Brunswick. So, it was a gateway for a few different places. gateway to Fredericton or Saint John, gateway to Quebec going the other way. it was also. It's right on the border to Maine. So it had a lot of people coming and going through it. And, when I lived there, it only had about 5,000 people. so I don't think it ever really fully flourished its potential, with the advent of cars and so on. But, in any event, it was in the early 19th century, a place that people would at the very least go through. And so the train tracks were lined with, all types of trees, but particularly apple trees. There were tons and tons and tons of apple trees along the tracks just growing wild. And the reason was because people. Apples were the easiest thing that you could take as a snack on the train. Sure. If it was 1910 or 1920 and you were taking a Cross Canada trip, or if you were, an immigrant coming in from Halifax, going to Ontario, for example, you would have apples. That's what you'd feed your kids. That's the perfect snack.
>> Marco Timpano: Portable, hearty, cheap, cheap. They're not gonna get damaged. Like, they're not gonna be like. Certain fruits, like a banana would not be available, but B would not be conducive to.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, they wouldn't have bananas back then. No, absolutely. I mean, oranges were considered a luxury. A luxury. A lot of people would get them only at Christmas. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So they would spit the seeds out.
>> Amanda Barker: They would throw the cores. Oh, they would throw the. Yeah, they would spit the seeds out. But more likely they would. When they were done with the apple, they would just throw the apple core out the window.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And so because of that, those seeds. Seeds flourished, some of them. And so the tracks are lined with apple trees. There's also, I should say, other fruits there. There's, some wild strawberries, a Ton of raspberries. Oh, wow. Blueberries, as well. And actually chokecherries as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Not a huge fan of chokecherries.
>> Amanda Barker: I like choke cherries.
>> Marco Timpano: I know you do.
>> Amanda Barker: We can talk more about that if you want. I don't know.
Jimimson: Retirement community near our home has beautiful flower gardens
>> Marco Timpano: Well, before we go to choke chokecherries, you had mentioned the retirement community near our house. Oh yeah, that little. That, residency, I guess you could say. Residence of, retired individuals. And they do the most beautiful flower garden near the tracks.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. So the one. There's two. So the one on the far end is the one near the tracks. So you're talking about the one closer
>> Marco Timpano: to us, which you kind of have to go through their little path.
>> Marco Timpano: To get to the other one.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true, actually.
>> Marco Timpano: And their path is just lined with the most beautiful flowers that bloom throughout the season.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: And right now there's a ton of moonflowers. Is that what they're called?
>> Amanda Barker: Moon lilies?
>> Marco Timpano: Moon lilies, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: They're gorgeous.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's just, they just did such a spectacular job. And I can't help but think they brought their old world knowledge, or their knowledge from the years on planting and how to make a beautiful garden that I certainly don't possess. And they did such a phenomenal job there.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's interesting. I mean, you do have people there that lived through world, War two.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: and, they would have known what a victory garden was and planting victory gardens.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know what a victory garden is.
>> Amanda Barker: I just learned what it was. So a victory garden, my understanding was, similar, to what a lot of people have tried to do in the past few years, but more reliance on what you can grow at home so that you're not draining the resources of the country. Because back then they were feeding the troops, they were sending rations and so on to the troops.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're talking native species of flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, flowers and vegetables. And vegetables and fruit, actually. I mean, an apple tree would certainly be part of a victory garden if it was flowering and bearing fruit. But, I just wanted to say that moon lilies, I don't know, there's a few names for them, but the reason they're called moon lilies is because they only open and bloom at night. So they close up during the day. So they're sort of the opposite flower. It's like opposite day for them. They're beautiful, long white kind of trumpet blossoms. And they open at night.
>> Marco Timpano: Beautiful.
>> Amanda Barker: So they're beautiful at night. And they smell gorgeous.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't Realize they had a scent to them?
>> Amanda Barker: I think so.
>> Speaker C: We need to keep kids safe online. But some special interests are sending policymakers in the wrong direction. Pushing the so called App Store Accountability act, demanding government ID from all users just to download an app, replacing parents judgment with government mandates. It doesn't even stand up in court. A better bipartisan bill, the Parents Over Platforms act, would put parents in the driver's seat, empowering parents and businesses to keep kids safe without drowning all of us in red tape. Tell Congress to get it done right and put parents over platforms paid for
>> Amanda Barker: by act, the app association. Okay, maybe they don't. Maybe I just think they smell gorgeous.
>> Marco Timpano: And what were you saying about the victory garden?
>> Amanda Barker: My understanding was, well, as I just explained that the victory garden was a way for you to not drain the resources of the country. So instead, instead of going to your local grocer and buying carrots, that you grow them at home or whatever. I think that's right, sure. I don't know. Anyway, the point is that the people who inhabit these places near our home would have a lot of gardening knowledge from times when gardening was extraordinarily essential to a country's well being, of course, and not just a fun hobby in their backyard. Like it was something very essential to, their existence. I should say that we live on a fairly quiet tree lined street, but the traffic of the elderly is a real thing, meaning m walking up and down the street. we have our share of anything. Walking aids, canes, etc.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes you have to go off the sidewalk because there is a troop of elderly people with their canes and their walkers coming towards you.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're so lovely, they're so lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: But they mean business when they're walking.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, some of them want in on our lilacs in the spring.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we'll get knocks on the door from some of the people in the residence who just want a clipping of our beautiful lilac tree.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm.
>> Marco Timpano: datura is the common or is the genus of that flower.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're called moon lilies.
>> Marco Timpano: They're called thorn apples. Oh, Jim's on weeds. Or jimson weeds I should say. Okay, not jimson, jimson weeds.
>> Amanda Barker: Jim's on the weeds.
>> Marco Timpano: Devil's, trumpets. Oh, moonflower.
>> Amanda Barker: Moonflower.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe that devil's weed. I've started calling them moon lilies and hell's bells.
>> Amanda Barker: I think moonflower is what I knew them as. So that's a lot of names for one type of species.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're poisonous and psychoactive, especially their seeds and flowers.
>> Amanda Barker: What does psychoactive mean?
>> Marco Timpano: So, just be careful because, you know, psychoactive is a chemical substance that changes the nervous system.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah. So they're, you know, exercise caution. Do not be eating them. because they're so pretty. Not that you would eat a flower because it's pretty.
So we started this journey because of fall walks. Do you like going for day walks or night walks
>> Amanda Barker: Well, some flowers are edible. Stick to apples or pansies, you can eat a pansy.
>> Marco Timpano: So we started this journey because of fall walks. And it's so nice to know there's a beautiful walk by the train track near our home.
>> Amanda Barker: And the smell, that smell of trains, which I don't know if it's good for you, but I do love it.
>> Marco Timpano: We went on a fall walk with some friends yesterday.
>> Amanda Barker: We did.
>> Marco Timpano: And that was a gorgeous walk through the city through a path called the
>> Amanda Barker: Belt Line, the K. Gardner Belt line, which is which.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so great to go through this green patch or swath that snakes its way through the city with a whole canopy of trees surrounding you.
>> Amanda Barker: We're lucky that we live in a city that has these sort of private little areas to discover that are lush,
>> Marco Timpano: but they're open to the public. When you say private.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they're private in that there's no houses or they're not owned by anyone.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess. So in other words, they're public. Right. But they feel private because you feel like you've discovered them and you have them all to yourself.
>> Marco Timpano: So what do you like to see on your fall walk? For me, it's like seeing the notes of fall.
>> Amanda Barker: So, like, what does that mean?
>> Marco Timpano: Colored leaves, falling, pumpkins on the side of people's properties. fall wreaths, which we have to put ours up. I know. I just got a bit of a stare from Amanda. After we record this, I'll go into our little nook where we keep our wreaths.
>> Amanda Barker: And we don't have. We don't have much room for seasonal decor.
>> Marco Timpano: For sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We don't have much room for it.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: because. So we've trimmed it down to like, I used to have Halloween decor, and it just takes up too much space. So it's. Our Halloween decor consists of one tiny little light that projects skeletons onto our door and. And a wreath. I think that's it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But I'll get some mums. And we have some, ah, pumpkins out there too.
>> Marco Timpano: I think the dancing skeletons are quite charming on our door.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it's just our little homage to Halloween. I love Halloween so much. So, ah, it's our little tribute without. You know, I used to have a, you know, a two foot Dracula.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Honestly, who needs a two foot Dracula?
>> Amanda Barker: It took up a lot of space.
>> Marco Timpano: you know, going trick or treating is also a fall walk, if you think about it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's probably more of a three foot Dracula now that I think about it. Trick or treating is a fall walk of, fall.
>> Marco Timpano: An evening fall walk. Do you like going for day walks or night walks?
>> Amanda Barker: I like both.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Because what was neat yesterday was we went for a walk around, I think, 5, 36.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: So. So we got to kind of enjoy the sunset. And as we walked back, it was completely dark and it was just us on the trail with the crunch of the leaves under our feet. And we went from a, Robert Frost poem to a Stephen, King novel all in one walk, which was kind of awesome.
>> Marco Timpano: And, Jason Bateman. Bateman. The Bateman. The person who paints. Not Jason Bateman.
>> Amanda Barker: Jason Bateman does not paint birds. Well, he might paint birds. Jason Bateman was on Arrested Development. Robert Bateman. I'm not sure what the plaque said on the walk. Something about Robert Bateman.
>> Marco Timpano: He used to live off the belt line.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay. So a lot of the birds he would have painted. He's known for his nature paintings.
>> Marco Timpano: Artist who does a lot of birds.
>> Amanda Barker: A. Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: Lot of wolves.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: A lot of wild, animals native to North America.
>> Amanda Barker: I know him as the Birdman.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, do you?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. But my sister's an artist, so she always refers to him and his bird paintings.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. That was something we discovered on our walk.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm. Yeah. they've done a good job with all the little historical plaques that tell you about things that have happened in that area.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it's. It's neat when you live in a City for 20 years and you discover miles and miles of a path that you've never even experienced before or seen before. Just having something new to explore for yourself is pretty magical.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
I love just wearing a sweater, maybe a scarf, and taking a walk
I love just wearing a sweater, maybe a scarf, and taking a walk. Maybe like you said, bring an apple with me and enjoy it along the trail. For me, that's a perfect, fall walk. Maybe a bit of cocoa when you come home.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. Do you say cocoa or hot chocolate?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I think I say hot chocolate.
>> Amanda Barker: Canadians usually say hot chocolate and Americans say cocoa.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure I say hot chocolate, but I say cocoa.
>> Amanda Barker: So I influenced you, I think, perhaps,
>> Marco Timpano: or something pumpkin spiced.
>> Amanda Barker: I love pumpkin spice. I know. It's. It can be a controversial flavoring, but I enjoy it.
>> Marco Timpano: What is it you like about pumpkin spice?
>> Amanda Barker: I like anything that I wouldn't normally get another time of the year. Sometimes it's not available. Sometimes it is, but you just don't. You know, I wouldn't want pumpkin spice in July necessarily.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: we're seasonal creatures, a lot of us humans. And, like ayurvedic medicine sort of talks about whether you practice it or not. Talks about eating seasonally. In fact, you see that a lot. So, I know pumpkin spice isn't really part of ayurvedic medicine, although it
>> Marco Timpano: would be great if it was.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I mean, maybe nutmeg or clove or something would be. But m. Just this idea that it's the time to have that thing. For example, a primavera pasta, you always say, doesn't make sense in the fall. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a spring pasta that has spring veggies in it. Right. That's the key to it.
>> Amanda Barker: And we're so lucky that we can kind of order up anything at any time that it becomes all the more special when it's something you can only get for a month or two of the year.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So your perfect fall walk would be an apple, a sweater, and some crunchy
>> Marco Timpano: leaves, followed by hot chocolate or cocoa, whatever you use. a walk with friends like we did, that was a lot of fun.
>> Amanda Barker: It's something fun. I'm trying to incorporate that when we want to be social, that we also move. Because I think I'm just noticing that I've become a bit more sedentary in my life, so I'm trying to find ways. And nature is so much more fun explored with friends.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And that's great any time of the year. So it doesn't have to stop at fall walks. You can do a winter walk or a spring walk, depending on how wet it is. You could jump in muddy puddles as they do on Peppa Pig.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And then a summer stroll, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure. Yeah. I mean, there's different ways to make it happen. But I think fall is such a perfect temperature for a walk because you have a bit of breeze, you can layer. You might get a bit warm. So you can take that poncho or scarf off and wrap it around your waist. Or, you know, it's that perfect breezy. You know, you're not in sandals, you're not sweaty. You can wear some nice boots if you want and still be comfortable, but you're not, you know, geared up with nine layers of Flannel either. So it's. There's something really lovely about that.
>> Marco Timpano: You could also walk in a pumpkin patch. We were just at a pumpkin patch, and I'm going to, put the video of us strolling through that pumpkin patch on our Patreon page for our patrons. you and I were at a pumpkin patch area and we picked up some fall vegetables.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. Who doesn't love a beautiful farm stand? And that goes back to what I was saying about pumpkin spice. You know, eating seasonally. I picked up whatever was there.
>> Marco Timpano: Beets.
>> Amanda Barker: I got a bunch of beets.
>> Marco Timpano: Or BeeTroot for our UK listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: a bunch of carrots. what else did I get? A big bag of corn, which is. We've enjoyed.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the last of the corn. They said.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they were like, this is the last corn of the season. So we're really savoring it, I think. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But we forgot to get the potatoes.
>> Amanda Barker: That's okay. Potatoes will be there all year. That's the thing about potatoes. You'll get them all year long because they keep.
>> Marco Timpano: But we certainly picked up quite a few squash. And this was the second picking of squash at that particular farm, stand. So we have the Georgia sweet squash. We have the blue.
>> Amanda Barker: Blue Hubbard.
>> Marco Timpano: Blue Hubbard squash.
>> Amanda Barker: We have spaghetti squash.
>> Marco Timpano: We picked up a spaghetti squash.
>> Amanda Barker: Two spaghetti squash, actually.
>> Marco Timpano: We picked up two.
Marco Timpano: Amanda likes to make pumpkin soup around Halloween
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What was that little oblong, football sized.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a spaghetti squash.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that was a spaghetti squash.
>> Amanda Barker: Those were spaghetti squash. Yeah. So they're called that because you scoop them out and they look like stringy spaghetti. And you can kind of eat them like spaghetti or like a pasta.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. My least favorite of the squash.
>> Amanda Barker: Are they.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, not my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, they can be delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: And then what's that like? We also picked up a white.
>> Amanda Barker: We got buttercup.
>> Marco Timpano: Buttercup squash.
>> Amanda Barker: and we almost got a butter nut, which is probably the best known of the squashes. And then I think we decided to not. We got a buttercup instead, because I thought a buttercup would look nice on our stoop, so it would be nice and ornamental. And then when we're low on our groceries, I can pull it off the stoop and make a soup with it.
>> Marco Timpano: What's the white one we got?
>> Amanda Barker: That's a pumpkin. That's a white pumpkin.
>> Marco Timpano: And here's a trick that Amanda likes to do before we end our podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: And I don't know, I feel like root vegetables are called different things in the uk.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Like you said, beetroot versus beets we say beets. but I think with pumpkin and squash, they may have different names as well. Sure. I just wanted to point that out.
>> Marco Timpano: I, don't think we do, but our UK listeners will certainly let us know because they're some of the most vocal, listeners we have. They send me emails, which I love, by the way. That's great. Around Halloween, I will carve out the pumpkin. And as I'm doing that, anything that I carve from the pumpkin, Amanda will then make a jack o' lantern soup. As, I'm getting ready, she'll just take the flesh and everything and make a pumpkin.
>> Amanda Barker: What we've done for the last 10 years is you carve it on the day, on Halloween day, you carve your jack o' lantern, you scoop it all out for me. I toast the seeds, I actually separate them from the flesh and then toast them. And while I'm doing that, I make a curried coconut pumpkin soup. And that takes a long time because pumpkin is a little bit tougher than your average squash. So it does take a little longer to simmer and to cook.
>> Marco Timpano: It's got some more fibrous nature to it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And so while the kids are coming to the door and trick or treating, I'm making this big soup. And, it takes usually about two hours to make. And then once the kids sort of die down around 9 or so, then we sit down and enjoy it.
>> Marco Timpano: And that is our little stroll through our fall walk. I hope you enjoyed it.
>> Marco Timpano: Let us know what you do on your fall walks and what you see. And if you have photos of trains near your house, we'd be open to putting that on our Instagram. So let us know as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Fall walks and traditions, we should say, because it's as much about fall traditions today as about walks.
>> Marco Timpano: 100%. Amanda, thank you for taking us to Woodstock, New Brunswick, and to the little path by the train track near our home. Until next time, this is the Insomnia Project. I'm Marco Timpano. I'm Amanda Barker and this episode was recorded by the train tracks in Toronto, Canada.
Home Styles:
(Original airdate: October 28, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm your host, Marco Timpano
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about a topic. Hopefully you'll find to Be a bit mundane so that it can just sort of lull you to a place you need to be. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'm the less scruffy voiced host for tonight. Anyway, Amanda, Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: I was doing an audition and so I was using a really scratchy sound m and shouting. And so this is my voice now.
>> Amanda Barker: I actually like your voice. Just a little bit blown.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: Little wrecked. Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe the listeners will like it this way too.
>> Amanda Barker: And then we'll find out.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll have to shout it. I'll just do a shouting match before I do.
>> Amanda Barker: Hopefully not.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda.
Today's episode comes from a tweet that we received
Today's episode comes from a tweet that we received and I thought why not build a whole episode around this? So we got a tweet from one of our followers.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll just say her. Her first name. I won't say the full name because it's not fair if the person doesn't know. Katherine says so she was talking about. We had mentioned in the previous show or somewhere we mentioned Victorian homes or. You lived in a Victorian home, right?
>> Amanda Barker: I lived in a Victorian home when I moved to Canada. and I. Well, that home was built in the late, 1800s. And it was built on old British loyalist land. And so it was in this sort of Victorian style.
>> Marco Timpano: So the question that was raised was, was this in the US or Canada? And wondering how something so British would be used in the US Or Canada in this case a Victorian.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Well, Victorian, I think what we call a Victorian home is probably different. but it's certainly a term that's used on both sides of the border in North America. and it's generally like what you think of as a turn of the century home. usually a big porch turret, in British terms, always a detached house. We use that term in Canada too. They don't use it in the States.
>> Marco Timpano: What do they use in the States?
>> Amanda Barker: House.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But they don't say semi.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Which for those who don't know stands for semi detached. So in which case you'd say detached for a house that doesn't have any other sort of houses. Detached. they say duplex for something that's sort of a building that has more than one home inside the building that's not an apartment or condo.
>> Marco Timpano: So just I have a definition here of a Victorian home. In Great Britain and former British colonies, a Victorian house generally means any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria. During the Industrial Revolution, successive housing booms resulted in buildings of many millions of Victorian houses, which are now defined, it's a defining feature of British towns and cities.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. But in terms of the architectural style, do you have anything there?
>> Marco Timpano: like what describes what makes it Victorian?
>> Amanda Barker: We always called Victorian homes, like I said, really a turn of the century home. And I know turn of the century is a little bit post Victorian, but I think the first ones probably wore more built in the Victorian era. But like any trend, you know, they don't just go away, they catch on and then people tend to do more. But those big, especially in the Maritimes in Canada, but certainly along the east coast, there were certainly lots of Victorian homes in the US as well, where I lived in Massachusetts. But that big, sprawling wooden house, heavy ornamentation. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Gabled roofs.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Rounded towers and large windows that are equally functional and decorative are common threads of this type of home.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So you'd see them. You could see them in the south, certainly in New England, all over the United States, but in Canada, too.
>> Marco Timpano: But your home was built in the late 1800s, so that would qualify as Victorian, right?
>> Amanda Barker: It would, but I think Queen Victoria died in like 1901 or something like that. So I guess technically 1902 wouldn't be Victorian. But of course, the trends, the fashions, the architectural styles didn't just go away. They were really popular. And so people would have continued to build them and want, I mean, Victorian homes. I know of Victorian homes that were built last year that are Victorian homes because they're in that style.
>> Marco Timpano: So they're in the style of Victorian homes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that ornateness, the turrets, the big porch that is so beloved. now they're more often built with siding instead of wood. But certainly there are, you know, Victorian homes that, you know, sure, a lot of them have become apartment buildings.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Because they're huge. They divide them up.
Was Victoria Queen of Canada? Yes, she was. And she still is
That leads to the follow up question that we got from the same Twitter, follower, which was. So was Victoria Queen of Canada? Yes, she was. And she had influence in Canada, of course. Course, us being part of the.
>> Amanda Barker: That was the first question.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it asks, so the question was, so at that time, Canada was still tied to Great Britain.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Was Victoria Queen? Yes, she was our Queen.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, she was. And she still is. I mean, she's still on our money. We're still part of the Commonwealth.
>> Marco Timpano: Elizabeth II is on our money right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, we don't have Victoria on any of our money. Well, the Queen is what I meant.
>> Marco Timpano: We have statues to Queen Victoria for sure. But the follow up question is do you have Edwardian homes as well? Right, and we do, yeah. Because the Edwardian era began after Queen Victoria died, which was 1901. So the Edwardian era is from January 1901 to 1910. The Edwardian era.
>> Amanda Barker: We have so many Edwardian homes. they're really, really popular, actually. Fredericton, which was very close to where I grew up, I think really had a nice boom. New Brunswick was pretty happening at the turn of the century. They had a railroad. my little town was bustling. once the railroad stopped going there in the 60s, it kind of took a downturn. so Edwardian homes were also very popular there. They're extremely popular in Toronto and actually a lot of the capital cities. And that does make sense, because a lot of those capital cities were. Were sort of finding themselves in that time. Right, right, yeah, absolutely. Especially Toronto, actually.
So to answer the question, we do have both Victorian and Edwardian homes
>> Marco Timpano: So to answer the question, we do have both Victorian and Edwardian homes, but let's talk about other home styles.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's talk about the Cape.
>> Amanda Barker: And I should just say the difference between Victorian and Edwardian in terms of homes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Edwardians tend to be just a bit plainer. They're not completely dissimilar because you can have a big, sprawling Edwardian house, but the turrets aren't there. You wouldn't have that big porch, although you might have a porch with some columns. It wouldn't have the same level of ornateness that a Victorian would. Also another characteristic, often Edwardian homes are built with brick versus stone. Well, you can have a stone Victorian, certainly, but versus wood. Wood was sort of the. The material du jour of, Victorian homes. And, you know, for lots of reasons, sturdy reasons, and longevity reasons, Edwardian homes were built with brick. And Toronto, if you haven't been here, is a brick town. Everything is built with brick, whereas where I came from, everything was built with wood. But it was older, so it makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And we had a brick factory Right.
>> Marco Timpano: In the city.
>> Amanda Barker: Brickworks. Yeah. Yeah. And now it's a, beautiful farmer's market.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Let's talk about other styles of home that you may or may not have had
So let me ask you this about other styles of home that you may or may not have had or styles that you like.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: But let's go to the Cape, because I know we often talk about the Cape Cape style.
>> Amanda Barker: So we call it a Cape Cod style.
>> Marco Timpano: A Cape Cod.
>> Amanda Barker: Cod, yeah. The Cape is what we call Cape Cod, but the home we'd call a Cape Cod style. Or you, call it a, Cape, certainly. And I actually grew up in something called a gambrel. Cape so when I say I grew up until the time I was 13, and then when I was 13 I moved to Canada. So in those first 13 years of my life, I grew up in a gambrel cape. And so a Cape Cod house usually is covered in shingles. So not just shingles for a roof, but cover, you know, the siding is all. Shingles.
>> Marco Timpano: Shingle siding, sure. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: particularly because of the proximity to the ocean, to the Atlantic Ocean and the seaside. Shingles are sturdier than a painted, wood which if you paint that wood, as we all know, if you have it, will peel. No question. And before brick was available or as popular, shingles were another way around it. And you could simply stain the shingles, which is what I had to do every summer or. Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we used to have to stain the house. Yeah, you could stain the shingles or you know, you wouldn't paint them often. So often they take a sort of duller brownish tone or gray cone. Gray tone. And Cape Cod gray is something referred to in design a lot. And the reason is, is because of that sort of what the salt has done to those shingles over time.
>> Marco Timpano: True or false.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: A Cape Cod home would have a centralized chimney usually.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, that's right. Yeah, it would. Because they're not large homes, but you can add on to them. And mine was called the Gambrel Cape because it was a different type of roof. It was a gambrel roof. So a wider, more barn style roof.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know how I knew that, but I knew that as a child.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
What's your preferred style of home? Well, before we go there
Now let me ask you this. What's your preferred style of home?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, before we go there, I want to know about where you grew up in the style of home that you had.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, ours was just a brick.
>> Amanda Barker: But not just. It's its own style.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a, it's not a mid century.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, almost.
>> Marco Timpano: Almost.
>> Amanda Barker: What's after it would be modern.
>> Marco Timpano: Modern. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. it wasn't a split level which were really, really popular in the late 60s, 70s and 80s. Right. A split level house. So that's a house where you open the front door and there's stairs that go right up from the door. There's stairs that go up and stairs that go down. You know what I'm talking about? Yes, that's a split level. And those were really, really popular in the 70s. I'm not sure why, but it was a feature. They were really popular. Yours if memory serves, because it's been a while since we've been there.
>> Marco Timpano: it was not a ranch. Ranch homes were popular in the 70s as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Was it more craftsman?
>> Marco Timpano: I would say it had a nod to a Craftsman home.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And a Craftsman home. There's different. I mean a traditional Craftsman home, very popular in California, and in the Midwest as well. And that is usually a combination of wood and stone. Like a stone porch, but a wood surround. and very sturdy with a peaked roof. Often.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's the only difference. It didn't have a peaked roof.
>> Amanda Barker: But yours would have been a bit more modern. I would actually say you were in a, ah, mid century modern. I would. Not the most traditional mid century modern. Sure. I wonder if there's a term for like a Central Ontario style of house.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, no, I wouldn't know.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not a ranch.
>> Marco Timpano: What is a ranch?
>> Amanda Barker: When we're talking ranch, my understanding with ranch is it's one floor. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So like a bungalow.
>> Amanda Barker: What is the difference between a ranch and a bungalow? Maybe it's a two story ranch is what you grew up in. Because what was the, Brady Bunch house that's a ranch or is that Craftsman? It's definitely mid century.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's a ranch. I'm gonna say it's a two story ranch.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, a ranch is described as something that is single story, open concept, rectangular, U or L shaped. So definitely not a ranch.
>> Amanda Barker: Not a ranch.
>> Marco Timpano: Devoted patio or deck space, large windows and sliding glass doors.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Low pitched roof line with wide eaves. But it often includes a finished basement. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm
>> Marco Timpano: So that's a ranch, is a shotgun. A shotgun's not a ranch.
>> Amanda Barker: So shotgun is actually. That's one I do know about. As I'm looking up styles in Ontario homes. Maybe you can look up that a shotgun house is called such because if you were to open the door, and it's a playful term, if you were to open the door and shoot a gun, it would go from the front of the house straight through to the back so that you can see to the back wall of the house from the front door. And it's mostly called that in New Orleans. That's a southern United States thing. A shotgun house. Where, Yeah. Where you can kind of see that back door from the moment you walk in. So it's sort of a straight shot.
I'm looking at various, uh, styles of homes from Gothic revivals
>> Marco Timpano: I'm looking at the various, styles of homes from Gothic revivals, which is not. Which is found in Ontario, but not
>> Amanda Barker: Gothic revival is similar to Victorian I'd love to know what the differences are actually.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the Gothic revival, looks a little bit more, I don't know, peaky. Like the peaked roof seems very sharp.
>> Marco Timpano: Peaky.
>> Marco Timpano: it's just giving me examples of it. It's not telling me what that is.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: yeah. So there's so many different. It's definitely not a Queen Anne, which is a cool style home.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So there's so many different styles. I didn't realize there were so many different styles of homes. I'm looking at them late Victorian style art taco homes. Yeah. I would love to live in a Franklin Lloyd Wright home.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow. So that would be modern. Yeah. Would that be considered mid century?
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's mid century at its definition would be.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah. And of course, mid century meaning the 50s. Right, right, the mid of the century. But I do always get kind of stuck with, what comes after, both in art, in literature, and in architecture, because, you know, we refer to mid century. So we all know what mid century or mid century modern is. Postmodern kind of is just a blanket term for everything after. But I feel like we've evolved certainly since the 70s.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So then what? So if the 80s and 90s were postmodern, what's the last 20 years been called?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: That's always my question. And it's my question in all forms of art, not just architecture.
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>> Amanda Barker: there's an answer. I just don't know what it is because I'm not in university anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. I also love the Tudor style.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you love a Tudor. It's true, it's very true. Which is, Tudor. Tudor, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It has a medieval look, often stucco, half timbered. Tudor revivals. I have always liked that, that look, I don't know why.
>> Amanda Barker: And there's English Tudor, which is always the stucco, the white stucco with the sort of brown or black beams sort of around it and the little peaked door or the peak over the door kind of thing. But there's also German Tudor, which is a bit more of a boxier version.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right, Yeah, I like both, for the record. Okay, so you asked about the Queen Anne style.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It's irregular, busy and ornate with lots of complexity in detail.
>> Marco Timpano: Often has a tourette.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever lived in a home that had a tourette?
>> Amanda Barker: is that how you say it? Tourette or turret?
>> Marco Timpano: Turret.
>> Amanda Barker: Turret. Turret. Tourette, I think is something different. No, no, no. I mean, I haven't lived in that many homes, yet. But wouldn't that be cool to have one and for that to be your room, you know. Well, here's what's interesting. When I look up Ontario style homes, it's more, you know, you have bungalows, okay. And you have split level, which we talked about one and a half story, two story, attached or detached, semi detached townhouse. So I mean, there's gotta be something more to say about a house than it's attached or detached. But I guess that's the style of what's been built in the last 30 years. Right. you and I live in a townhouse, also called a row house, although that's sort of a more antiquated term.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny because I don't know how we got stuck on this trail of identifying Ontario style.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, just because I wonder because they're newer homes and so I wonder what those newer styles are called because I don't always know.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's because I lived in a suburb that was built.
>> Amanda Barker: You lived in a suburban. Suburban Canadian home. But I just don't know if there's a fancy term like Edwardian.
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this. Describe a California style home to me.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a craftsman. That's a Craftsman or a Mediterranean sort of style, because they do like a Spanish colonial. A Spanish colonial home is beautiful with all the stucco and that terracotta tiles on the floor and the blue sort of Mexican tiles around the sink or kitchen.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So that would be like a Spanish Colonial home, I would think. And on the, outside, they're often. They could be white, but they're often painted sort of that terracotta color. they're quite big usually. So that would be that style, I would think.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, let me ask you this. If you could live in a lighthouse.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. That's called a lighthouse style, where it's just one evolving cone. I would live in a lighthouse. I would happily live in a lighthouse.
>> Marco Timpano: Why is that? I don't understand why anyone would want to live in a, lighthouse.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there were two movies I liked as a kid, and they both were people living in lighthouses. So I think that started a lifelong sort of secret joy of, as a child, thinking the coolest thing in the world would be at a lighthouse. And I still think that because you'd have a great view of the water and it would be a weird, fun thing.
>> Marco Timpano: So many stairs.
>> Amanda Barker: But, Pete's Dragon, Helen Reddy, they lived in a lighthouse. It looked pretty nice. and Follow that Bird, which actually was filmed right down the road from where you grew up, and you've never seen it. But the Dodo family, I believe, lived in a lighthouse. But along with all of those, suburban Ontario homes, they built a lighthouse.
If you could have a feature in your home that is a nod to Victorian styles
>> Marco Timpano: If you could have a feature in your home that you don't have that is a nod to one of these styles, what would that feature be?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, yesterday, and this would probably be a different answer a week ago, but we have. Because we live in a townhouse, we have four floors. We're very lucky. But our space is vertical. It's certainly not horizontal. So we're constantly going up and down the stairs, and I'm constantly bringing, you know, if we want to have a coffee in the morning in bed, that's three flights of stairs up and down. So I had the thought yesterday that I wish we had something that we had in my Victorian house, which was a dumbwaiter. So we had a dumb waiter put.
>> Marco Timpano: Explain that to anyone who doesn't know what that is.
>> Amanda Barker: So a dumb waiter, I believe started with Victorian homes. Maybe it came before that. I'm not really sure of the history of them, but it's just a genius device. you put it in the wall. So we had an attic that was like our kind of hangout, den, playroom, kind of area, loft area in our Victorian. That's what we did with the attic. So, we had a little door, you Know, two feet by two feet or whatever it was. just a little sort of door in the wall. And you'd open it up, and there was a pulley above the little door of rope. And you would. Or just a. Yeah, pulley. And you would spin it around, and you were wrapping the rope around, pulling a little crate up. And now the other side of that door was three floors down, to the kitchen. So what would happen was my mom would make trays of grilled cheese sandwiches for us and our friends or chips or nachos or whatever we were eating that week. And she would put them all on plates. She would do a few versions of it because it wasn't very. What you could get, like, plate and two glasses.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So small, a big platter.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, she'd load it into the dumbwaiter, and then she'd open it up and yell up and go, okay, it's ready. And then we would haul it up, like, cranking it up, and then open the little door. And there were. There's. There was our dinner. So it saved a lot of trips up and down the stairs carrying dishes and dirty dishes and stuff. And then when it was dirty, we would let it down.
>> Marco Timpano: So you asked when the dumbwaiter was invented?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And the first recorded use dates back to 200 B.C.
>> Amanda Barker: oh, my gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: During the age of the Romans. Well, they're smart, but the.
>> Amanda Barker: The Romans were smart, man. They knew what they were doing.
>> Marco Timpano: The mechanical dumbwaiter was invented in 1883.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's what we had was a mechanical dumbwaiter.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you said you cranked it. It was. It wasn't like.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it wasn't a button. No, it was manual.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounded like you had to work for that snack.
>> Amanda Barker: Sometimes it would get really, squeaky. You could hear it, you know, you could hear. Or you'd be in the kitchen, and you just hear, like, the squeak coming from the wall of, like, the car, the crate going down or coming back up.
>> Marco Timpano: And would it. Would it stop on every floor or was it just.
>> Amanda Barker: It just went, She didn't put in doors on the floor. There's only one floor between. And she didn't put in a little door there because we weren't supposed to be eating in our bedrooms anyway. I see.
>> Marco Timpano: So it went to the attic.
>> Amanda Barker: It went from kitchen to the attic. Okay. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's fascinating. So you would want that in this home?
>> Amanda Barker: I would, yeah. If I wanted breakfast in bed, you'd say, okay, crank it up. And I would crank it up. And then have it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, well, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it would just save a lot of caring. Although there's only two of us. We're not, you know, a house with a bunch of kids and friends and stuff, so. Sure, we can handle it.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you know I had a dumb waiter?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you showed it to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I did? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw it only one time. I've only been to that home once.
>> Amanda Barker: You were in that house for almost minutes, maybe 90 minutes total.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We covered a few different styles of home in our tour of homes
Well, that's our tour of homes. I don't know if we covered all the styles of home, but we certainly covered a few. A few for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think if there's any others that I love. Colonial homes. Georgian homes.
>> Marco Timpano: Double wide.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, explain what a double wide is.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know. But, you know.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you not know what a double
>> Marco Timpano: wide you always talk about? I do, and I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: My dad always talks about double wide. A, double wide is a trailer, honey.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. It's a trailer home.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's twice the size of a regular trailer.
>> Amanda Barker: So he always refers to. They had what he called the double wide in Florida. He kind of says it jokingly, but they did have a, metal home that was a trailer, basically. That was their first home in Florida,
>> Marco Timpano: and then they moved down permanently.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but he always calls it the double wide, but it just meant it was a. There's also prefab, which is in that world, too, which is a prefabricated house. I lived in one once, in university, and you could feel where the house had been joined together, but we always imagined it sort of in two pieces on the road.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you like those homes that have futuristic looks to them?
>> Amanda Barker: I do. What's interesting is they all kind of called modern, or there's a design term that gets used a lot lately, which is scandi.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Scandinavian. Which is a classic, clean, modern, simple, bleached wood and white walls.
>> Marco Timpano: We did a whole episode on scandi.
>> Amanda Barker: You and I did. Yeah, we did. I don't remember. and that's sort of what I did with our bedroom, because I just. I was trying different things with bedrooms, and people have. People will tell you in bedroom design, like, oh, make the walls black or let it. For me, a white, clean, simple bedroom is the way to go. I've realized after trial and error.
This episode of Insomnia Project focuses on styles of home
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. That's this episode of Insomnia Project. It is. Yeah. where we focused on styles of home. If you have a tweet you want to send us our handle for Twitter? Isttenandsleep. And we hope you did just that.
(Original airdate: October 28, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm your host, Marco Timpano
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about a topic. Hopefully you'll find to Be a bit mundane so that it can just sort of lull you to a place you need to be. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'm the less scruffy voiced host for tonight. Anyway, Amanda, Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: I was doing an audition and so I was using a really scratchy sound m and shouting. And so this is my voice now.
>> Amanda Barker: I actually like your voice. Just a little bit blown.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: Little wrecked. Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe the listeners will like it this way too.
>> Amanda Barker: And then we'll find out.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll have to shout it. I'll just do a shouting match before I do.
>> Amanda Barker: Hopefully not.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda.
Today's episode comes from a tweet that we received
Today's episode comes from a tweet that we received and I thought why not build a whole episode around this? So we got a tweet from one of our followers.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll just say her. Her first name. I won't say the full name because it's not fair if the person doesn't know. Katherine says so she was talking about. We had mentioned in the previous show or somewhere we mentioned Victorian homes or. You lived in a Victorian home, right?
>> Amanda Barker: I lived in a Victorian home when I moved to Canada. and I. Well, that home was built in the late, 1800s. And it was built on old British loyalist land. And so it was in this sort of Victorian style.
>> Marco Timpano: So the question that was raised was, was this in the US or Canada? And wondering how something so British would be used in the US Or Canada in this case a Victorian.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Well, Victorian, I think what we call a Victorian home is probably different. but it's certainly a term that's used on both sides of the border in North America. and it's generally like what you think of as a turn of the century home. usually a big porch turret, in British terms, always a detached house. We use that term in Canada too. They don't use it in the States.
>> Marco Timpano: What do they use in the States?
>> Amanda Barker: House.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But they don't say semi.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Which for those who don't know stands for semi detached. So in which case you'd say detached for a house that doesn't have any other sort of houses. Detached. they say duplex for something that's sort of a building that has more than one home inside the building that's not an apartment or condo.
>> Marco Timpano: So just I have a definition here of a Victorian home. In Great Britain and former British colonies, a Victorian house generally means any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria. During the Industrial Revolution, successive housing booms resulted in buildings of many millions of Victorian houses, which are now defined, it's a defining feature of British towns and cities.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. But in terms of the architectural style, do you have anything there?
>> Marco Timpano: like what describes what makes it Victorian?
>> Amanda Barker: We always called Victorian homes, like I said, really a turn of the century home. And I know turn of the century is a little bit post Victorian, but I think the first ones probably wore more built in the Victorian era. But like any trend, you know, they don't just go away, they catch on and then people tend to do more. But those big, especially in the Maritimes in Canada, but certainly along the east coast, there were certainly lots of Victorian homes in the US as well, where I lived in Massachusetts. But that big, sprawling wooden house, heavy ornamentation. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Gabled roofs.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Rounded towers and large windows that are equally functional and decorative are common threads of this type of home.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So you'd see them. You could see them in the south, certainly in New England, all over the United States, but in Canada, too.
>> Marco Timpano: But your home was built in the late 1800s, so that would qualify as Victorian, right?
>> Amanda Barker: It would, but I think Queen Victoria died in like 1901 or something like that. So I guess technically 1902 wouldn't be Victorian. But of course, the trends, the fashions, the architectural styles didn't just go away. They were really popular. And so people would have continued to build them and want, I mean, Victorian homes. I know of Victorian homes that were built last year that are Victorian homes because they're in that style.
>> Marco Timpano: So they're in the style of Victorian homes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that ornateness, the turrets, the big porch that is so beloved. now they're more often built with siding instead of wood. But certainly there are, you know, Victorian homes that, you know, sure, a lot of them have become apartment buildings.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Because they're huge. They divide them up.
Was Victoria Queen of Canada? Yes, she was. And she still is
That leads to the follow up question that we got from the same Twitter, follower, which was. So was Victoria Queen of Canada? Yes, she was. And she had influence in Canada, of course. Course, us being part of the.
>> Amanda Barker: That was the first question.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it asks, so the question was, so at that time, Canada was still tied to Great Britain.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Was Victoria Queen? Yes, she was our Queen.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, she was. And she still is. I mean, she's still on our money. We're still part of the Commonwealth.
>> Marco Timpano: Elizabeth II is on our money right now.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, we don't have Victoria on any of our money. Well, the Queen is what I meant.
>> Marco Timpano: We have statues to Queen Victoria for sure. But the follow up question is do you have Edwardian homes as well? Right, and we do, yeah. Because the Edwardian era began after Queen Victoria died, which was 1901. So the Edwardian era is from January 1901 to 1910. The Edwardian era.
>> Amanda Barker: We have so many Edwardian homes. they're really, really popular, actually. Fredericton, which was very close to where I grew up, I think really had a nice boom. New Brunswick was pretty happening at the turn of the century. They had a railroad. my little town was bustling. once the railroad stopped going there in the 60s, it kind of took a downturn. so Edwardian homes were also very popular there. They're extremely popular in Toronto and actually a lot of the capital cities. And that does make sense, because a lot of those capital cities were. Were sort of finding themselves in that time. Right, right, yeah, absolutely. Especially Toronto, actually.
So to answer the question, we do have both Victorian and Edwardian homes
>> Marco Timpano: So to answer the question, we do have both Victorian and Edwardian homes, but let's talk about other home styles.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's talk about the Cape.
>> Amanda Barker: And I should just say the difference between Victorian and Edwardian in terms of homes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Edwardians tend to be just a bit plainer. They're not completely dissimilar because you can have a big, sprawling Edwardian house, but the turrets aren't there. You wouldn't have that big porch, although you might have a porch with some columns. It wouldn't have the same level of ornateness that a Victorian would. Also another characteristic, often Edwardian homes are built with brick versus stone. Well, you can have a stone Victorian, certainly, but versus wood. Wood was sort of the. The material du jour of, Victorian homes. And, you know, for lots of reasons, sturdy reasons, and longevity reasons, Edwardian homes were built with brick. And Toronto, if you haven't been here, is a brick town. Everything is built with brick, whereas where I came from, everything was built with wood. But it was older, so it makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And we had a brick factory Right.
>> Marco Timpano: In the city.
>> Amanda Barker: Brickworks. Yeah. Yeah. And now it's a, beautiful farmer's market.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Let's talk about other styles of home that you may or may not have had
So let me ask you this about other styles of home that you may or may not have had or styles that you like.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: But let's go to the Cape, because I know we often talk about the Cape Cape style.
>> Amanda Barker: So we call it a Cape Cod style.
>> Marco Timpano: A Cape Cod.
>> Amanda Barker: Cod, yeah. The Cape is what we call Cape Cod, but the home we'd call a Cape Cod style. Or you, call it a, Cape, certainly. And I actually grew up in something called a gambrel. Cape so when I say I grew up until the time I was 13, and then when I was 13 I moved to Canada. So in those first 13 years of my life, I grew up in a gambrel cape. And so a Cape Cod house usually is covered in shingles. So not just shingles for a roof, but cover, you know, the siding is all. Shingles.
>> Marco Timpano: Shingle siding, sure. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: particularly because of the proximity to the ocean, to the Atlantic Ocean and the seaside. Shingles are sturdier than a painted, wood which if you paint that wood, as we all know, if you have it, will peel. No question. And before brick was available or as popular, shingles were another way around it. And you could simply stain the shingles, which is what I had to do every summer or. Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we used to have to stain the house. Yeah, you could stain the shingles or you know, you wouldn't paint them often. So often they take a sort of duller brownish tone or gray cone. Gray tone. And Cape Cod gray is something referred to in design a lot. And the reason is, is because of that sort of what the salt has done to those shingles over time.
>> Marco Timpano: True or false.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: A Cape Cod home would have a centralized chimney usually.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, that's right. Yeah, it would. Because they're not large homes, but you can add on to them. And mine was called the Gambrel Cape because it was a different type of roof. It was a gambrel roof. So a wider, more barn style roof.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know how I knew that, but I knew that as a child.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
What's your preferred style of home? Well, before we go there
Now let me ask you this. What's your preferred style of home?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, before we go there, I want to know about where you grew up in the style of home that you had.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, ours was just a brick.
>> Amanda Barker: But not just. It's its own style.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a, it's not a mid century.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, almost.
>> Marco Timpano: Almost.
>> Amanda Barker: What's after it would be modern.
>> Marco Timpano: Modern. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. it wasn't a split level which were really, really popular in the late 60s, 70s and 80s. Right. A split level house. So that's a house where you open the front door and there's stairs that go right up from the door. There's stairs that go up and stairs that go down. You know what I'm talking about? Yes, that's a split level. And those were really, really popular in the 70s. I'm not sure why, but it was a feature. They were really popular. Yours if memory serves, because it's been a while since we've been there.
>> Marco Timpano: it was not a ranch. Ranch homes were popular in the 70s as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Was it more craftsman?
>> Marco Timpano: I would say it had a nod to a Craftsman home.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And a Craftsman home. There's different. I mean a traditional Craftsman home, very popular in California, and in the Midwest as well. And that is usually a combination of wood and stone. Like a stone porch, but a wood surround. and very sturdy with a peaked roof. Often.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's the only difference. It didn't have a peaked roof.
>> Amanda Barker: But yours would have been a bit more modern. I would actually say you were in a, ah, mid century modern. I would. Not the most traditional mid century modern. Sure. I wonder if there's a term for like a Central Ontario style of house.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, no, I wouldn't know.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not a ranch.
>> Marco Timpano: What is a ranch?
>> Amanda Barker: When we're talking ranch, my understanding with ranch is it's one floor. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So like a bungalow.
>> Amanda Barker: What is the difference between a ranch and a bungalow? Maybe it's a two story ranch is what you grew up in. Because what was the, Brady Bunch house that's a ranch or is that Craftsman? It's definitely mid century.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: I think it's a ranch. I'm gonna say it's a two story ranch.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, a ranch is described as something that is single story, open concept, rectangular, U or L shaped. So definitely not a ranch.
>> Amanda Barker: Not a ranch.
>> Marco Timpano: Devoted patio or deck space, large windows and sliding glass doors.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Low pitched roof line with wide eaves. But it often includes a finished basement. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm
>> Marco Timpano: So that's a ranch, is a shotgun. A shotgun's not a ranch.
>> Amanda Barker: So shotgun is actually. That's one I do know about. As I'm looking up styles in Ontario homes. Maybe you can look up that a shotgun house is called such because if you were to open the door, and it's a playful term, if you were to open the door and shoot a gun, it would go from the front of the house straight through to the back so that you can see to the back wall of the house from the front door. And it's mostly called that in New Orleans. That's a southern United States thing. A shotgun house. Where, Yeah. Where you can kind of see that back door from the moment you walk in. So it's sort of a straight shot.
I'm looking at various, uh, styles of homes from Gothic revivals
>> Marco Timpano: I'm looking at the various, styles of homes from Gothic revivals, which is not. Which is found in Ontario, but not
>> Amanda Barker: Gothic revival is similar to Victorian I'd love to know what the differences are actually.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the Gothic revival, looks a little bit more, I don't know, peaky. Like the peaked roof seems very sharp.
>> Marco Timpano: Peaky.
>> Marco Timpano: it's just giving me examples of it. It's not telling me what that is.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: yeah. So there's so many different. It's definitely not a Queen Anne, which is a cool style home.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So there's so many different styles. I didn't realize there were so many different styles of homes. I'm looking at them late Victorian style art taco homes. Yeah. I would love to live in a Franklin Lloyd Wright home.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow. So that would be modern. Yeah. Would that be considered mid century?
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's mid century at its definition would be.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah. And of course, mid century meaning the 50s. Right, right, the mid of the century. But I do always get kind of stuck with, what comes after, both in art, in literature, and in architecture, because, you know, we refer to mid century. So we all know what mid century or mid century modern is. Postmodern kind of is just a blanket term for everything after. But I feel like we've evolved certainly since the 70s.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So then what? So if the 80s and 90s were postmodern, what's the last 20 years been called?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: That's always my question. And it's my question in all forms of art, not just architecture.
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>> Amanda Barker: there's an answer. I just don't know what it is because I'm not in university anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. I also love the Tudor style.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you love a Tudor. It's true, it's very true. Which is, Tudor. Tudor, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It has a medieval look, often stucco, half timbered. Tudor revivals. I have always liked that, that look, I don't know why.
>> Amanda Barker: And there's English Tudor, which is always the stucco, the white stucco with the sort of brown or black beams sort of around it and the little peaked door or the peak over the door kind of thing. But there's also German Tudor, which is a bit more of a boxier version.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right, Yeah, I like both, for the record. Okay, so you asked about the Queen Anne style.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It's irregular, busy and ornate with lots of complexity in detail.
>> Marco Timpano: Often has a tourette.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever lived in a home that had a tourette?
>> Amanda Barker: is that how you say it? Tourette or turret?
>> Marco Timpano: Turret.
>> Amanda Barker: Turret. Turret. Tourette, I think is something different. No, no, no. I mean, I haven't lived in that many homes, yet. But wouldn't that be cool to have one and for that to be your room, you know. Well, here's what's interesting. When I look up Ontario style homes, it's more, you know, you have bungalows, okay. And you have split level, which we talked about one and a half story, two story, attached or detached, semi detached townhouse. So I mean, there's gotta be something more to say about a house than it's attached or detached. But I guess that's the style of what's been built in the last 30 years. Right. you and I live in a townhouse, also called a row house, although that's sort of a more antiquated term.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny because I don't know how we got stuck on this trail of identifying Ontario style.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, just because I wonder because they're newer homes and so I wonder what those newer styles are called because I don't always know.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's because I lived in a suburb that was built.
>> Amanda Barker: You lived in a suburban. Suburban Canadian home. But I just don't know if there's a fancy term like Edwardian.
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this. Describe a California style home to me.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a craftsman. That's a Craftsman or a Mediterranean sort of style, because they do like a Spanish colonial. A Spanish colonial home is beautiful with all the stucco and that terracotta tiles on the floor and the blue sort of Mexican tiles around the sink or kitchen.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So that would be like a Spanish Colonial home, I would think. And on the, outside, they're often. They could be white, but they're often painted sort of that terracotta color. they're quite big usually. So that would be that style, I would think.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, let me ask you this. If you could live in a lighthouse.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. That's called a lighthouse style, where it's just one evolving cone. I would live in a lighthouse. I would happily live in a lighthouse.
>> Marco Timpano: Why is that? I don't understand why anyone would want to live in a, lighthouse.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there were two movies I liked as a kid, and they both were people living in lighthouses. So I think that started a lifelong sort of secret joy of, as a child, thinking the coolest thing in the world would be at a lighthouse. And I still think that because you'd have a great view of the water and it would be a weird, fun thing.
>> Marco Timpano: So many stairs.
>> Amanda Barker: But, Pete's Dragon, Helen Reddy, they lived in a lighthouse. It looked pretty nice. and Follow that Bird, which actually was filmed right down the road from where you grew up, and you've never seen it. But the Dodo family, I believe, lived in a lighthouse. But along with all of those, suburban Ontario homes, they built a lighthouse.
If you could have a feature in your home that is a nod to Victorian styles
>> Marco Timpano: If you could have a feature in your home that you don't have that is a nod to one of these styles, what would that feature be?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, yesterday, and this would probably be a different answer a week ago, but we have. Because we live in a townhouse, we have four floors. We're very lucky. But our space is vertical. It's certainly not horizontal. So we're constantly going up and down the stairs, and I'm constantly bringing, you know, if we want to have a coffee in the morning in bed, that's three flights of stairs up and down. So I had the thought yesterday that I wish we had something that we had in my Victorian house, which was a dumbwaiter. So we had a dumb waiter put.
>> Marco Timpano: Explain that to anyone who doesn't know what that is.
>> Amanda Barker: So a dumb waiter, I believe started with Victorian homes. Maybe it came before that. I'm not really sure of the history of them, but it's just a genius device. you put it in the wall. So we had an attic that was like our kind of hangout, den, playroom, kind of area, loft area in our Victorian. That's what we did with the attic. So, we had a little door, you Know, two feet by two feet or whatever it was. just a little sort of door in the wall. And you'd open it up, and there was a pulley above the little door of rope. And you would. Or just a. Yeah, pulley. And you would spin it around, and you were wrapping the rope around, pulling a little crate up. And now the other side of that door was three floors down, to the kitchen. So what would happen was my mom would make trays of grilled cheese sandwiches for us and our friends or chips or nachos or whatever we were eating that week. And she would put them all on plates. She would do a few versions of it because it wasn't very. What you could get, like, plate and two glasses.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So small, a big platter.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, she'd load it into the dumbwaiter, and then she'd open it up and yell up and go, okay, it's ready. And then we would haul it up, like, cranking it up, and then open the little door. And there were. There's. There was our dinner. So it saved a lot of trips up and down the stairs carrying dishes and dirty dishes and stuff. And then when it was dirty, we would let it down.
>> Marco Timpano: So you asked when the dumbwaiter was invented?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And the first recorded use dates back to 200 B.C.
>> Amanda Barker: oh, my gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: During the age of the Romans. Well, they're smart, but the.
>> Amanda Barker: The Romans were smart, man. They knew what they were doing.
>> Marco Timpano: The mechanical dumbwaiter was invented in 1883.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's what we had was a mechanical dumbwaiter.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you said you cranked it. It was. It wasn't like.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it wasn't a button. No, it was manual.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounded like you had to work for that snack.
>> Amanda Barker: Sometimes it would get really, squeaky. You could hear it, you know, you could hear. Or you'd be in the kitchen, and you just hear, like, the squeak coming from the wall of, like, the car, the crate going down or coming back up.
>> Marco Timpano: And would it. Would it stop on every floor or was it just.
>> Amanda Barker: It just went, She didn't put in doors on the floor. There's only one floor between. And she didn't put in a little door there because we weren't supposed to be eating in our bedrooms anyway. I see.
>> Marco Timpano: So it went to the attic.
>> Amanda Barker: It went from kitchen to the attic. Okay. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's fascinating. So you would want that in this home?
>> Amanda Barker: I would, yeah. If I wanted breakfast in bed, you'd say, okay, crank it up. And I would crank it up. And then have it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, well, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it would just save a lot of caring. Although there's only two of us. We're not, you know, a house with a bunch of kids and friends and stuff, so. Sure, we can handle it.
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. I think so.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you know I had a dumb waiter?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you showed it to me.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I did? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw it only one time. I've only been to that home once.
>> Amanda Barker: You were in that house for almost minutes, maybe 90 minutes total.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We covered a few different styles of home in our tour of homes
Well, that's our tour of homes. I don't know if we covered all the styles of home, but we certainly covered a few. A few for sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think if there's any others that I love. Colonial homes. Georgian homes.
>> Marco Timpano: Double wide.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, explain what a double wide is.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know. But, you know.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you not know what a double
>> Marco Timpano: wide you always talk about? I do, and I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: My dad always talks about double wide. A, double wide is a trailer, honey.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. It's a trailer home.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's twice the size of a regular trailer.
>> Amanda Barker: So he always refers to. They had what he called the double wide in Florida. He kind of says it jokingly, but they did have a, metal home that was a trailer, basically. That was their first home in Florida,
>> Marco Timpano: and then they moved down permanently.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but he always calls it the double wide, but it just meant it was a. There's also prefab, which is in that world, too, which is a prefabricated house. I lived in one once, in university, and you could feel where the house had been joined together, but we always imagined it sort of in two pieces on the road.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you like those homes that have futuristic looks to them?
>> Amanda Barker: I do. What's interesting is they all kind of called modern, or there's a design term that gets used a lot lately, which is scandi.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Scandinavian. Which is a classic, clean, modern, simple, bleached wood and white walls.
>> Marco Timpano: We did a whole episode on scandi.
>> Amanda Barker: You and I did. Yeah, we did. I don't remember. and that's sort of what I did with our bedroom, because I just. I was trying different things with bedrooms, and people have. People will tell you in bedroom design, like, oh, make the walls black or let it. For me, a white, clean, simple bedroom is the way to go. I've realized after trial and error.
This episode of Insomnia Project focuses on styles of home
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. That's this episode of Insomnia Project. It is. Yeah. where we focused on styles of home. If you have a tweet you want to send us our handle for Twitter? Isttenandsleep. And we hope you did just that.
Special Guest: Edward Russell from Inside The Groove Podcast
(Original airdate: November 4, 2020)
Marco Timpano welcomes Edward Russell to the Insomnia Project
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. Although I don't know how mundane this episode is going to be, at the very least. Just listen and enjoy. Thank you for joining us. I'm Marco Timpano and we have a special guest today. Fellow podcaster, I want to welcome Edward Russell to the podcast. Welcome, Edward.
>> Edward Russell: Hello, Marco. It's nice to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, this is our first podcast where we're reaching out over the pond. We've had some, episodes where we had some American, guests. So thank you for joining us.
>> Edward Russell: Thank you for inviting me.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a ton of UK listeners, so I'm happy to be recording with someone who's in the uk. One of the reasons I am so excited is Edward Russell. Amongst all the other things he does is a fantastic podcaster with a great podcast.
>> Edward Russell: You know the right things to say, Marco.
Edward Pettis has a new music podcast called Inside the Groove
>> Marco Timpano: Well, every once in a while I get it right, But I'm just going to tell our listeners about your podcast and I may have mentioned it before on this podcast and if you haven't had a chance to listen, I really recommend you do because it is fantastic. It's called Inside the Groove and it's a podcast that dissects Madonna's most famous songs and discusses how they were written, recorded. You get to hear demos, isolated tracks, studio sessions, a whole bunch of information. And what I love about this podcast is you don't have to be a Madonna fan to truly appreciate the focus that this podcast has on music and the music of one of the world's greatest singers, whether or not you enjoy her music, but certainly a contributor to the music industry. So if you enjoy that, in particular the dissection and picking apart of isolated vocals and, drum tracks and whatnot, this is definitely a podcast you need to check out. I hope I did that justice.
>> Edward Russell: Edward, you've done it better than I could have done. Well done. Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: I discovered your podcast through another podcast that a friend of mine hosts. His name is Bill Antonio, and he has a podcast called Bad Gay Movies, Bitchy Gay Men.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, yes, yeah, I've heard of it. They've been in touch. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And, yeah, at the end of their podcast, they always talk about things that they enjoy. And, Bill happened to mention your podcast, and I was like, I'm a fan of Madonna's music. Let me check it out. And I got hooked immediately.
>> Edward Russell: Well, I'm pleased to hear that. But you're quite right, obviously, the focus is on Madonna and Madonna's songs, but I think if you're just interested in pop music or, you know, how music is put together, it's quite interesting. It's not too technical. but we do talk about things that I think a lot of fans of music don't really think about. So, for example, there's some of her early songs that have a very specific drum machine sound. So I talk a bit about the history of that drum machine and play other songs that have got it. And so it's a way of learning a bit about musical history as well as, of course, learning about Madonna and how she wrote the songs and, you know, all the stuff around it. So, yeah, I think it. I think. I think it's quite original and quite different from anything else out there at the moment.
>> Marco Timpano: Most definitely. You know, I have to say, not since, Dolly Parton's America have I enjoyed a music podcast or a podcast that focuses on music and songwriters as much as yours.
>> Edward Russell: I'm so pleased to hear that because I kind of started it really as something to do, and, people told me they liked it, and then lots of people told me they really liked it, and then it has become quite popular. So, you know, any positive praise, it just motivates me. And you'll Know this as well, Marco, from your podcast. When people give you praise, it just makes you want to do more work and better work, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: But you're a busy guy. So what got you into podcasting?
>> Edward Russell: I am busy and sometimes I don't have time to sleep, let alone even if I could sleep a full night through. I started a podcast at the beginning of Lockdown here in the uk. So, well, like many countries around the world, we went into lockdown towards the end of March. And it was quite a severe lockdown in the UK to start with for a few months. And you, know, I had a lot of time on my hands and I needed something to do. And coincidentally, the Madonna song Vogue, probably one of her, most famous tracks, if not her most famous, had just turned 30.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Edward Russell: And there were, there were a few articles about the song, about its cultural impact, and maybe, a little bit about the recording of it itself, but that wasn't the focus. And I know all this stuff because I'm a Madonna fan and I've read lots of interviews over the years. I'm also an amateur music producer as well. So any. Every time I've read something about the recording of the tracks, I've really absorbed it. And I thought, well, it's a shame no one is telling the story of how it was written and it was recorded, because it's a fascinating story. It was recorded as a B side. It was kind of a test to pair Madonna up with the producer Shep Pettibone, who'd remixed a few of her tracks. And he was given a tiny budget of $5,000, which seems a lot these days, but back then that was nothing because that would be like two days in a studio. So it was a tiny budget. And I know that recorded it in Manhattan in a basement because that's all they could afford. And that feels really strange to think that Madonna was probably her most famous at the time, but she's really into that kind of underground, literally way of doing it. So I thought, I know, why don't I fill my time by doing a podcast, a one off where I talk about the recording of Vogue and see how it goes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so it was only going to be about Vogue, that it was going to just be a one episode, podcast, just a tester, I guess.
>> Edward Russell: So, I mean, in the back of my head I knew that if it did work, I might try a couple of other songs.
Over the years, lots of what we call Multi tracks have leaked
Now, something that your, listeners might not be aware of, is that over the years, lots of what we call Multi tracks have leaked. Now, you don't have to know too much about music to know that all the elements in a pop song or any song are recorded separately. So the vocals, the bass, the guitars, the synth, the piano are all recorded on separate tracks. You know, anything up to. Well, it can be hundreds, but back in the 80s and 90s, it was generally about 20, 25 tracks that they were recorded on. Now these have leaked over the years, and I don't really know why, but you can get multi tracks of classic tracks, like by the Jacksons, by Whitney Houston, by Madonna, of course, and lots of great artists. And if, like me, you're interested in how music's put together, I can sit there and listen to, you know, I can listen to just the cymbals on, on the Prince track and go, wow, that's amazing. and I find that fascinating. Anyway, I had a few of these of Madonna. There's about 30 of her songs that have leaked in this way, including some of the. The really big hits, like Express Yourself and, Like a Virgin and even up to Modern Times. so I thought, I'll start with Vogue and see how it goes. And I put it out there, and I did a bit of marketing around it because that's my background. So it got some attention. And I think within a day it may have had 100 or 200 listens. And I, I had no idea if that was good or not good or bad, of course. and I thought it wasn't great. so I asked on Twitter some of my friends what they thought, and they were like, oh, that's really good. I don't get that many in a month. And I was quite surprised at that. But what I've since learned is there are kind of two tiers of podcasts. And again, you'll know this. There are the people that just, you know, them, and a mate will do a podcast about movies and put it out, and they'll be happy if eight people listen to it. And then there are the podcasts that are, successful and they make it into the charts and stuff like that. And they, of course, get thousands of listens per episode. And you've got the top tier that will. Will get 10,000 in the first week or what have you. So I was, I was thinking, okay, is this successful? I don't know, I'll do another episode. But it wasn't about the success of the number of listeners that really made me realize I might be doing something right. It was kind of the feedback I was Getting. Because. Because Madonna fans, and I'm sure there are fans of all sorts of things, especially music that are like this, are quite discerning of other fans that do stuff. perhaps a bit territorial. And I was waiting for somebody to be slagging me off.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Edward Russell: Or being negative about it, and it just didn't happen. And I would get messages from people because I created a Twitter account and an Instagram account, and I would get messages from people saying, I love it. It's really good. And you're really, really good. And I had no. I had no idea what I was doing because I don't listen to podcasts myself. I maybe have heard three or four.
>> Marco Timpano: your husband does. I understand. Right.
>> Edward Russell: Well, he's a big podcast listener, so I was able to, get his advice about what worked and what didn't work. He said, keep it short. He said, you know, he listens. I think he listens to a RuPaul, podcast, and it's two and a half hours long. And he said it's too much.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Edward Russell: so he gave me lots of all these tips and stuff. Anyway, I could go into lots of detail, but the short story is, within a very short time, the podcast became pretty popular. And now here we are, many months later, and it's really popular. So, its category is music commentary, and it's regularly in the top 10 or top 20 music commentary on itunes and Spotify. And that feels good. But when you actually think how many thousands of podcasts are made.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Edward Russell: Every day, all the people making. It's a real achievement. And I'm really pleased with that. I'm a bit competitive. so that makes me feel really great. And of course, it's really motivating as well. But the thing. The thing that I think really resonates is I get messages of people, Madonna fans, who go, do you know what? This is what I've been wanting for so long. I love Madonna, but everybody always talks about her image and the things that she does that are outrageous. Her hair color. They never talk about the music. So I think. I think it's come along at the right time. people want to see your podcast gives.
>> Marco Timpano: Your podcast gives a lot of respect to the artists that here we're talking about Madonna. And the reason I know that it's a great podcast is as I listen to it, I hope to hear other podcasts or I hope you create other podcasts on other artists in this sort of style. So, like you mentioned, Prince. I would love to go down a Prince Podcast where we sort of take his demos, his tracks, and really examine them. Or Dolly Parton, as I mentioned before, or, you know, George Michael, you name it. A bunch of artists who are true artists, and sometimes they get eclipsed by, by their image or what they did in the 80s or 90s.
>> Edward Russell: That's so true. And, everybody's so quick to criticize Madonna. people very rarely want to give her any positive, approval. And I think there's also this thing that's followed her around her career that she is, not particularly creative, that she sings other people's songs, etc. And the truth is that, you know, a song like. Like a Prayer, she wrote in about three minutes. Sorry, in about three hours. She's not that good. but she wrote her. And her, collaborator on that song, he sat down at piano, kicked out some chords, she came up with a melody, came up with the lyric. They then went into a booth, he'd put down a drum track, and she recorded her vocal, and she never sang it again. That was the vocal that ended up on the song that was number one. And, you know, has been one of her biggest hits for 30 years. And it's when you can share stories like that that people realize, okay, so, yeah, she is clever. She is clever, and you know what? Yet she has sung other people's songs as well.
Mark: Madonna doesn't give herself enough credit when it comes to songwriting
And she is no Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston when it comes to her vocal abilities, but she's very creative. And I think people have enjoyed finding that out, because I think a lot of Madonna fans themselves didn't know that. so it's been nice to share those stories, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I certainly learned a couple of things from your podcast, and one, that she doesn't give herself enough credit, when it comes to her songwriting. And I think as a result, we don't think of her as a songwriter.
>> Edward Russell: It's very true. people think of Madonna as being really confident, and she is in so many ways, but she's also very insecure. It's kind of her insecurity that's made her what she is. so she knows she's not the most beautiful woman in the world. She knows that she. She hasn't got the best voice in the world, but nonetheless, she has this drive and ambition to succeed, and that's kind of made her, work harder than other people. you know, Whitney Houston could sing a song and make it sound effortless, and it kind of was. She just had that. The way she was built inside her Voice just sounded fantastic. And I'm not saying that she didn't work very hard and she trained very hard. Of course she did. But she had a natural ability. Madonna has. It's. It's an unnatural, ability that she has. And I think some people think, therefore, that she's manufactured. So it's great to be able to discuss the truth behind all that.
>> Marco Timpano: You talk about her performance in her songs, and I think that's something that separates Madonna from other people. There might be a technically great singer, but they can't bring that performance or that emotion to the song that Madonna can.
>> Edward Russell: It's really true. And I think it's really interesting when you look at Madonna's abilities in film, because we know that she's not been particularly successful on the, in the movie industry. and, you know, I like Madonna, but I agree that she's not the best actor in the world. But yet her performances and her songs are brilliant. If you listen to some of those 80 songs, when her singing really was not where it is now because she did a lot of vocal training in the 90s for Evita, and it changed her voice. But back then, you know, she was very high pitched. And, there's a lot of strain in her voice. But you listen to the performance on a song like Open youn Heart or Live To Tell, and there's so much emotion in it, which women didn't really do back then. Women in the music industry, with a few exceptions of some of the punk artists or, you know, I'm thinking like, people like Patti Smith, they were all technically great singers. They all had very beautiful voices, like, you know, Barbra Streisand or, you know, even Dolly Parton, who I, would say is a very creative person, as you, I'm sure, agree. But she has a very, technically voice as well. Madonna was all about the emotion. And I think that's what's fascinating about her, without a doubt.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever met Madonna?
>> Edward Russell: Do you know what? People ask me this question and I find if I say I prefer not to answer, it really freaks them out.
>> Marco Timpano: No, listen, I'm cool with whatever answer you wish to give here. I can tell you I've met her. I was able to go to the press conference, when she did Ray of Light here in Toronto. And I had a press pass and I was doing it for a university radio station, so my credentials were sketchy, at best, let's say. But I managed to get into the press conference. So I got there early and I Sat right in the front. And I thought to myself, the only way I'm going to be able to ask a question is if I'm first. And so as soon as they came in with the microphone, my hand darted straight up and the person who was walking with the microphone happened to be right next to me. She made the mistake of giving me the microphone. And so I got to ask two questions, both in succession, and then she took the microphone away. But I did get to ask her a couple of questions and I got to correct Madonna, because M, she called me Mark, and I said, no, my name is Marco. And she was very gracious about it. And she's just captivating in a way that's hard to describe.
>> Edward Russell: Well, as I said, I find it kind of funny to tease people about it, and I don't know why. It's kind of a sick delight to have. But, I've heard very similar experiences about how when you are talking to her, she just doesn't break eye contact and that she's very. You, you know why? She's one of the most famous people in the world. She has something very particular about her. As you know, a lot of famous people do. I've managed to work with and meet and perhaps, even be friends with lots of what you might call celebrities. And there's a reason why some people really stand out from the crowd.
Marco is writing a book about working on Doctor who. Might we see that this year in 2020
>> Marco Timpano: I want to dip into things that you do, you know, in your daily life that aren't Madonna related.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, I've done all sorts of things, Marco. I started my career in the music publishing issue industry, but that was a long time ago. And then I moved into television. I worked for BBC for a very long time, 17 years. And, I worked there originally for Top of the Pops, which is. Was our big music TV show that ran for 40 years here in the UK. You may have even heard of it, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: But, yes, I have.
>> Edward Russell: Yeah, indeed. It was very popular. and I worked there doing digital content. And this is back in the days when digital content wasn't what it was. Now we're talking about the, the turn of the century where, it was very much more basic and you didn't have social media in the way that you have now.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Edward Russell: and then I changed jobs, to work on Doctor who. Now, I know you know Doctor who because Canadian broadcasting company partly funded it. So, and I'm sure it's quite popular there, most of what. I worked on that show for 12 years and I was brand manager of Doctor who, which was fantastic because that's a job. Sorry, that's a television program I grew up loving. And then to be on that side of the show where my job was sort of like looking after everything around the show. Not doing all the stuff like the websites or the merchandise or anything, but looking after the people that did sort of acting. Like if you imagine how, an orchestral conductor sort of conducts all the talented people, that was my job, but for the stuff around Doctor who, and that was brilliant. And I worked on the show for a very long time. And so that's the book. That's the book I'm writing at the moment. I'm writing my memoirs of my time working on Doctor who, so. Great. Yeah, it's an interesting story and it's taken me a lot longer than I expected. And if my publisher's listening, don't worry, there is another draft on the way. but, there are so many stories about the making of the show while I was working on it, and lots of interviews with the famous people, the actors that played the Doctor and the. And the writers. But what me and the team that did our job came. What we did was very interesting too. And people just don't know those stories, so it's nice to be able to tell those stories. So, yeah, I don't think it's going to be a bestseller, Marco, but I think some people might find it interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm sure you'll have a lot of Doctor who fans lining up for that. Might we see that this year in 2020?
>> Edward Russell: I think we might see it early next year. okay, it's, it's getting there. but I think, part of the reason why it's been delayed is because a lot of the intention was to, to interview the people I work with, to sort of remind me of stories. And that hasn't really been possible in the way I would have liked. okay. And so I would originally wanted to have brought it out later this year and gone to some conventions, etc, to promote it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, of course.
>> Edward Russell: Hold back in the hope that maybe I can do that next year. we'll see if you know a
>> Marco Timpano: Doctor who fan definitely pre order the book. Is it called, the Trip of a Lifetime?
>> Edward Russell: The Making of. Yes. Of Modern Doctor who. Trip of a Lifetime. and, it's published by Obverse Books and what it will be. And I'm sure that when the time's right, you'll hear about it because I'm quite good self promoter, so I'm making lots of noise.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me know because I'll make sure to add it on our show notes so that when people hear this podcast in the future, they can just click on it and find the resource.
Tell us something that surprised you that came out of your podcast
Tell us something that surprised you that came out of one of your episodes.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, that's very interesting. I think the thing that struck a few chords and I already knew this, but I put it out in that very first podcast and lots of people didn't know is that in Vogue, that very famous song, a couple of, other songs are buried into the mix. so for example, I'm not going to try singing, but there's a little bit that happens between each of the choruses on Vogue where it's sort of a piece of music. that's actually the intro to the song Lucky Star slowed down. So on Lucky Star it's more sort of. That's the most singing you're going to get from me. But so, and, and so a other podcasts I've done when I've listened to the multi tracks, I've discovered a few other little things as well. tiny little things. and it depends perhaps on your listeners knowing the songs really well. But there's a very famous song of hers from the 1980s called Live to Tell, of course, which is big 80s ballad and one of her best songs. And it's a fascinating song because it should never have been a hit single because it's about six minutes long and in the middle it sort of has a breakdown where nothing much happens. when you listen to the multi track of it, you can hear the producer Pat Leonard in the background counting and he's counting Madonna in and he's sort of counting down, I think, I think he's counting bars. and then he sort of goes, three, two, one. And then you hear go if I ran away. So it's just really those little things that don't make it into the actual final track. It's, it's fascinating to hear.
>> Marco Timpano: It's fascinating to hear. It's fascinating to learn. When we listen to your podcast, I can say that. Sorry, I just interrupted you.
>> Edward Russell: No, no, that's fine. That's absolutely fine.
Do you know what the biggest thing I've learned from doing this podcast
Do you know what the biggest thing I've learned from doing this podcast though is just how lovely people are. And maybe you get that with your podcast as well. Because I think sometimes in this modern day, especially on social media, we come across people whose opinions are difficult to deal with. but actually when you're talking about something that's not politics or not the current health situation and talking about something that people are interested in mean, it's so lovely. And people are so passionate about things. And I'm sure you get that. But certainly I've discovered people, beyond passionate about Madonna. And I think there's a perception that fans of, whether it be music, artists or, you know, movies or something like that are a bit crazy. And, you know, maybe they are. Right. I worked, I worked on Doctor who for 12 years. I know that kind of the, the very eager fan. But, a lot of these people, being part of being a fan is not just about loving everything that somebody might do, for example. And a lot of fans of Madonna like to discuss the stuff that didn't work. And I think that's a really healthy attitude to have if you're a fanatic of, of, a musical artist or whoever. and it's not that they want to slag it off, but they want, they like to discuss things such as, you know, maybe this wasn't the right single choice, or, you know, maybe she shouldn' of work with that producer or, you know, that that concert is a, you know, maybe she had laryngitis or something. And it's really great and it's nice to be able to have those, those healthy conversations. So I've kind of discovered a whole network of people that I chat with on social media now, which, which is great. Really refreshing.
>> Marco Timpano: It is really lovely. you know, I've got great fans and I'll get emails from people who listen to the podcast who tell me they listen for their anxiety and it's really helped. And that wasn't the intention of this podcast, but it reaches so many people and it's to hear these kind of things from listeners. I have to say, well, I had
>> Edward Russell: no idea your podcast existed. And actually when you contacted me, I wasn't sure if it was a joke. I. Because, I read about your podcast and I thought, hang on a minute. Are you trying to say that my podcast is going to bore people if we talked about it and they're going to fall asleep? Because I looked into it a bit more and stand more about what it's out. But I, I don't want to say that I suffer from insomnia because that feels defeatist. So what I will say is I don't need an awful lot of sleep. So I do understand those people that wake up in the night or maybe can't get to sleep that possibly need something to tune their mind in, because when I have nights and they're very frequent, when I can't sleep, my mind is racing. And that's probably why I have a problem sleeping, because I'm playing things that have happened in the day or possibly going to happen the next day. So I really respect what you're doing here because sometimes you just need to zone out and put yourself into somebody else's world. So thank you. So I think what you're doing is great. And hopefully, hopefully somebody's listening to this and in the nicest way possible, it's sending them into a deep, deep sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, you have such a calming voice too. You know, there's so many conversations one can have. And there, there are episodes of my podcast that really resonate with people. For example, a friend recently said that they can't listen to the badminton episode because it really gets me excited. she's a fan of badminton. And I'm like, I never thought that would be the case. So where I'm sure there's listeners who are listening right now saying, I love Madonna and I love hearing this and it won't put me to sleep. There's going to be others who are like, you know what? This is just the perfect conversation and the perfect lull that will find me there.
>> Edward Russell: Well, this has been a revelation because, I have done some professional vocal work in the past, and it's just been small stuff. When, I was at the BBC a couple of times, for radio dramas, they need people to read the credits. So I kind of aware, have been aware that, my voice works in that environment. But I hadn't really thought too much about it. But this has been one of the strange things. And, please don't anybody think this is an ego, but I get messages every day from people going, I love your voice. And I don't know why, because it's just my voice. But this is the thing that does slightly inflate my ego. I get messages going, you know, I find your voice really sexy.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Edward Russell: And, I say this to my husband and he laughs because he says, he says when you're speaking normally, it is. He says, but the voice that you do on your podcast, and it's probably the voice I'm doing now, Marco, and I'm not even thinking about it. He said, that's not your real voice. And, ah, I've said, what do you mean by that? Because it is my real voice. And he said, it's like a telephone voice when you're speaking professionally. He Said you, you have a rhythm in your voice that isn't there when you're having a normal conversation. So it's not something I deliberately do. But hey, I can tell you getting an email in the morning when you're feeling a bit fed up with the world saying, hey, I've got. You've got a really sexy voice that, that can start your day off pretty well.
>> Marco Timpano: It certainly can. I never get those emails, by the way. So if anyone's listening who wants to send that to me, I'd be happy to receive them.
I think what's at the heart of Madonna's music is melody
Edward, I wanted to ask you a question that I asked Madonna on that day that I was at the press conference.
>> Edward Russell: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I asked her music has the ability to transcend language. What do you think her music gives people who don't necessarily understand lyrics?
>> Edward Russell: That's really interesting. I think what's at the heart of Madonna's music and part of why she's been successful is the melody. and that obviously does transcend the lyrics. Now there's a really interesting phenomenon. Madonna, Kate Bush, Michael, Jackson, Prince. They were all born within six weeks of each other. Oh, my goodness, that's fascinating, isn't it? There's a few others as well. including people you may not be same so familiar with, Siobhan Farhi from Banana Rama and Shakespeare Sister and one or two others. They were all born, in the summer of 1958. And, and I've often wondered why they all became successful not just as, singers, but as songwriters. What it is about their music. And this is going back to what I was saying about Madonna and her Commander Melody. I think they were the perfect generation to have been brought up on 1960s music, whether that be the remnants of rock and roll and the Beatles and the Stones into Motown and then into that early 70s music. Certainly with the UK artists, they would have been influenced glam rock and, you know, bands like David Bowie. So artists like David Bowie and bands like Roxy Music over in the States, I think it's very much more about things like the Spinners and all that really melodic music into disco. And I think these people we're talking about that were born in the summer of 58, they, they hit the mark perfectly to absorbed all that. So that when they started writing music in the end of the 70s and the early 80s, they were re. Their, their, their threshold, their creative threshold was to do melodies as good as that. But with all the new technology and everything else they'd learned, and I think Madonna's melodies really, really stand Out. And one of the things that I've discovered, and you asked me what I discovered through the podcast, is listen to interviews with or reading interviews with her collaborate collaborators who say they'll just write three chords, they'll, you know, whatever it is, and Madonna will plick a melody out of the air and it will just be the perfect melody. And I think that's what's at the heart of her songs. and then you, you know, we often think of Madonna as being a dance artist because she's got those big dance hits, sure. Like, like Holiday and Music and you know, Ray of Light and Vogue M. But she's also known for those, ballads. Many of them have ended up as movie soundtracks as well. Like, I'll remember, I mentioned Live to Tell and songs like that. she has great variety, but at the heart of all of her songs, I think, is melody. Does that answer your question?
>> Marco Timpano: It does, it does. I remember you also referencing where she was born in Michigan, near Motor City, and the music that was going on around the time that she would be growing up and how that may have influenced her as an artist.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, I think so, definitely. And I tell you, someone else who was a massive influence on her, ah, was David Bowie. so she would have been, she would have been about 12, 13 at the time that he first came to prominence very much in the UK and of course in the US as well. and she snuck out in the mid-70s from her parents home in Michigan, to see his concerts. And she was very, very heavily influenced by what she saw. And if you think about it, she very much like David Bowie, took a lot of that on board. She became a bit of a chameleon, sure. Had a different look. his shows were unlike, other musical shows. You know, it was much more of a theatrical performance. He'd often have Personas, and themes to the concerts and she did that with her shows as well. So, yeah, ah, she's somebody who's who, who's absorbed everything around. And I think growing up in Michigan, ah, at that period will have really sort of infused itself upon her. And that's kind of what made her what she is today, without a, doubt.
What impact do you think Madonna has made to the music industry
>> Marco Timpano: What impact do you think Madonna has made to the music industry that she doesn't get enough credit for?
>> Edward Russell: Well, it's good and bad really, because I, think she broke down the barriers for female artists, without a doubt. and and that, you know, she was very provocative early on. She was very much her own person. She was a bit scary, I think, for some people. but she was able to be a woman who was in control of herself. And in the 90s she made that a very sexual thing. And we, you know, I'm sure even if you're not a big fan of Madonna, you'll be aware of her sex book and the Erotica album, of course, really pushing stuff there. And also she did similar things for. For gay rights and even adopted a period of sexual ambiguity herself. And what that has done is allowed modern female pop stars to embrace that and sort of be able to be comfortable with their sexuality in a way that they couldn't have done because she will. She definitely was the first person to do that and be successful. Now the reason I say good or bad is I think that also has the potential to go the wrong way. Because what Madonna did was to say, I can be feminine and I can be sexy, but I'm still strong and I'm still in control. And I do worry that some young artists, and I'm not thinking of anyone in particular, but there are some that I've seen, are ah, using their sexuality but maybe not in control, in the way that Madonna was. And so, I think they might still being. Be being exploited by the industry in some way. I don't mean in a very bad way, but I think they, they're not taking the pure essence of what she did. but without a doubt she has. She's challenged some viewpoints and made things a lot easier. And there's a number of occasions where she could have, you know, it nearly killed her career when she went on the David Letterman show with Sandra Bernhardt, I think in about 1989, and they pretty much flirted with each other. That could have killed her career and.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Edward Russell: You know, particularly it's different in Canada, but it's still quite conservative, but very much so in the United States, as you know. and so she didn't end her career there. There's been a few occasions where she nearly did, but I think it's She kind of wants to be successful at the same time, doesn't really care. So that's kind of how she's managed to get away with it all the time.
Madonna sings Borderline a whole octave lower than when originally recorded
>> Marco Timpano: Did you happen to see that clip, of her on Jimmy Fallon doing a, more ballady version of Borderline?
>> Edward Russell: I did. she's doing it. I think Barack, Obama is in the audience as well. it's really interesting because, she's singing it now. This is slightly technical. Maybe the musicians there, will understand this. She's singing it a whole octave lower than she did in 1983, February 1983 when she first recorded that vocal. and and that's partly because, well, everybody's voices age as they get older and she may not be quite able to hit that high note. But also the vocal training that she did in the mid-90s, which really worked her voice for the Evita, filming, she sort of discovered a whole new range so that she had a lot more power when she sang deeper. But also when she was able to sing higher, it was less of a nasal sound and much more of a rich, full, airy sound. so I think she's just it chosen. It's, it's at the same notes as the original version, but it's a whole octave lower. And it's really interesting to hear the development in the voice. And as you say, it's quite a laid back version of the original. It's great. It's a really good performance. I think people should check it out. Yeah, it's it's one of the best songs as well, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I agree. For me, when you can hear a song transform into either another genre of music, so you take it from say pop to rock or country, or when you can change the pace and the melody of the song or make slower and still have the same sort of feel from the song or a different coolness to the song. For me, that's a true test of a great song.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, absolutely. Madonna does this a lot. I think she gets very bored with hearing the same versions of her song. So if she does one of her older songs when she goes on tour, she'll often reimagine it and it will be quite different. people may be aware that when she sang Like a Virgin on her Blonde ambition tour in 1990, a good six years after it was originally released, she did it as a sort of world music version. very different. it had quite a, ah, I suppose, shocking and provocative theatrical performance where she had two concubines on stage with male males wearing conical bras as well while she writhed around on a bed. So you know, it was definitely reinterpreting the song quite a bit. I remember.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I was at that concert. It was definitely a moment.
>> Edward Russell: Yeah. Was, it in Toronto? Was it in Canada or.
>> Marco Timpano: They did do well. Well, didn't she do that on her world tour? She brought that performance on a bed. She did, yes, she was on a bed. And she had those that, like. I just remember being in the audience and thinking, this is just intense and incredible.
>> Edward Russell: Well, the reason I asked where that was is because I think famously, she was nearly arrested in Toronto M. and I think she was scared that the Mounties were gonna grab her afterwards because, you know, a lot of people were against what she was doing. Same happened when she, went to Rome to perform it there. And I think the cat, the. The Pope had, ah, condemned her. And, it's kind of crazy when you look back now, and there is that whole thing that if a man had been doing what she was doing, there would have been no problems with it whatsoever. And that's like Madonna or Loathe M. Her. she has definitely done a lot for women's rights, because I think what she's done, and I've said this already, is that she's shown that a woman can be strong but still be feminine and still be sexy. And I think a lot of feminists, don't always address that. And so, I think it's something quite unique to Madonna. Not unique, but something that's been very important to what she's done is to always remain female, and feminine, but still to be any equal with a man.
Is there a song of Madonna's that has had significant impact on you
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a song of Madonna's that has had significant impact to you?
>> Edward Russell: there's so many of them, that I love that I would find it hard to choose one in particular.
>> Marco Timpano: Then let me ask you this. Has there ever been a song that you didn't like when you first heard it that you now have grown to love?
>> Edward Russell: Oh, definitely. Do you know what? I've mentioned this song already, so it feels a bit crass to say it again, but. Vogue. When I heard Vogue, I was really not impressed at all because she'd just done the Like A Prayer album. and that was, you know, I transcended her creative abilities. It's got a very live sound. It's all live drums and a lot of guitars and bass. There's a lot of synth in there as well. But it's kind of a very sort of, retro, 70s type of synth in. In those songs. And then out she comes with Vogue, which felt like the kind of house track that everybody else was doing at that time. it didn't feel particularly original. I was like, oh, okay, well, you know, let her do this and maybe she'll do something else. And of course, within a very short period of Time I realized that, no, it is an incredible song. It's an incredible production. It kind of was what everyone was doing. But this is something that is very much what Madonna does. She sort of takes the best people and does the very best version of what everybody else is doing. and, you know, working with Shep Petterburn, who was the ultimate remixer at the time, and getting him to produce a record for the first time, they, you know, they came out with a tiny bit of magic. so, yeah, Vogue were big, big sample for me.
>> Marco Timpano: It was Bedtime Stories.
>> Edward Russell: Yeah. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't. I didn't love when that song first came on. I didn't understand it. I didn't grasp it. It was just too ethereal, too not lyrical the way I expected a song to be. And now I can listen to it every day and I never get tired of it.
>> Edward Russell: It's a really simple song as well. I've done an episode on that one, so if you haven't listened to it or if your viewers haven't, do listen to it. it's a song that was written by Bjork, the, Icelandic songwriter written for Madonna. and it's a very, very simple, beat. Very, 90s house, deep house track. but her vocals are very dreamy and ethereal. The melody is not a typical melody. It's not one of Madonna's. You know, she didn't write that. She hasn't got a credit on it at all. and so it's very unusual melodically for her. And I think that's kind of what works. It's the very simple backing track, but a very haunting, and slightly surreal, lyric. With Madonna's straightforward pop vocals, it kind of works really well. but I agree with you, it's a fantastic track and it hasn't really aged at all.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm fascinated how you can just draw the year of every song and when it came out. That's. That's fascinating to me.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, I can do the same with Doctor who and I can probably do the same with abba. And what else am I a fan of? All sorts of things. Especially when I've had to do something for work. I'm currently working, on a new project for Wallace and Gromit. I'm sure you've heard of Wallace and Grommet, of course, where you are. So we're creating, a new Wallace and Gromit story, but it's an immersive one that people can have on their phone and, rather than it being a straightforward TV show or film. it's augmented reality, so they'll be able to play out stories in front of them. it's got a bit of gameplay in there as well, and it's. It's very different, unique, and a bit experimental. So I've had to become an expert in Wallace and Gromit, too. I like them before, and I think I'd seen all of the films, sure. But now I know everything, and I know all the brand rules about how, Grommet must be seen and all this kind of stuff. I'm. I think I'm very good at absorbing facts. I work very well with facts and rules and stuff like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing. Might we see another podcast with another musician who you have a lot of this information from, like abba, as you mentioned?
>> Edward Russell: Well, I have thought about it, and I think someone has done the research on ABBA already. I mentioned my friend, Magnus, who's written a book. and, I feel that whatever I did on ABBA would just be recreating all the research that he's already done, and he got to go to Sweden and listen to all the tapes from the 1970s, and so it would just be regurgitating his stuff. Stuff. so I don't know that I would. I feel passionately enough about another artist like Madonna or ABBA to be able to do that. There's lots of artists that I like, but I don't know there's anyone. I feel passionately enough about it, but I am definitely interested in doing more podcasts.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Edward Russell: Because I've become fascinated with the genre, and, I seem to be quite good at it, so maybe I've got more to offer the world. I don't know what it's going to be about, though. I'll give it some thought, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I can't wait. It's addictive. Podcasting is addictive.
>> Edward Russell: It's a joke.
>> Marco Timpano: I have four podcasts right now, but this was my first and, will always be my first love.
Edward Russell says he hopes Madonna fans will become fans of his podcast
Edward, before we go, any messages you have for your fans?
>> Edward Russell: For my fans?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, for your fans.
>> Edward Russell: I don't know that I've got fans, but I'm sure there's fans in Madonna that, like, listen to my podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Edward Russell: so, if they happen to be listening to this as well, or perhaps there's some of your listeners that will become fans of my podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Edward Russell: I would just, like. What would I like to say to them? I'd like to say, you know, thank you for being positive and being open because music and anything creative is never factual and a lot of the time it's an opinion. and, you know, a lot of the things I do in my podcast are my opinion. I've been quite open when I feel that Madonna failed in something that, you know, one of her songs wasn't the best. And obviously, I've done the opposite where I think she's been very, very successful and people have been very open to that. I've never had people writing strongly worded emails to me or starting a campaign against me. And I know it sounds silly, but I had a bit of a fear that might happen. So, I think I, you know, thank you for that and actually thank you to everyone that's come along for the ride with the podcast, interacts with it on social media and, and is enjoying the journey. And I'll keep it going for as long as I've got the energy and the Madonna songs to do it. And, I really hope that somebody has listened to your podcast and it's helped them get rid of some of their anxiety and they're going to sleep better. But also they're going to be checking out my podcast in the morning.
>> Marco Timpano: You can find all the links on our show. Notes. Edward Russell, thank you so much for being a part of the Insomnia Project.
>> Edward Russell: Thank you for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: I am going to extend a standing invitation. When your book comes out or when your new podcast comes out, you're always welcome to be a guest on our podcast.
>> Edward Russell: I'll be in touch. Definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: And definitely listen to Inside the Groove and I think you'll get something out of it. Very valuable. I certainly have. I've learned a lot and I've discovered songs that I didn't even know of Madonna that I love, including, including Masterpiece, which I think your podcast is.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, thank you. That's very important.
>> Marco Timpano: Everyone else who are listening, I hope you enjoyed today's podcast. As always, we hope that this helps you and perhaps that you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: November 4, 2020)
Marco Timpano welcomes Edward Russell to the Insomnia Project
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. Although I don't know how mundane this episode is going to be, at the very least. Just listen and enjoy. Thank you for joining us. I'm Marco Timpano and we have a special guest today. Fellow podcaster, I want to welcome Edward Russell to the podcast. Welcome, Edward.
>> Edward Russell: Hello, Marco. It's nice to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, this is our first podcast where we're reaching out over the pond. We've had some, episodes where we had some American, guests. So thank you for joining us.
>> Edward Russell: Thank you for inviting me.
>> Marco Timpano: We have a ton of UK listeners, so I'm happy to be recording with someone who's in the uk. One of the reasons I am so excited is Edward Russell. Amongst all the other things he does is a fantastic podcaster with a great podcast.
>> Edward Russell: You know the right things to say, Marco.
Edward Pettis has a new music podcast called Inside the Groove
>> Marco Timpano: Well, every once in a while I get it right, But I'm just going to tell our listeners about your podcast and I may have mentioned it before on this podcast and if you haven't had a chance to listen, I really recommend you do because it is fantastic. It's called Inside the Groove and it's a podcast that dissects Madonna's most famous songs and discusses how they were written, recorded. You get to hear demos, isolated tracks, studio sessions, a whole bunch of information. And what I love about this podcast is you don't have to be a Madonna fan to truly appreciate the focus that this podcast has on music and the music of one of the world's greatest singers, whether or not you enjoy her music, but certainly a contributor to the music industry. So if you enjoy that, in particular the dissection and picking apart of isolated vocals and, drum tracks and whatnot, this is definitely a podcast you need to check out. I hope I did that justice.
>> Edward Russell: Edward, you've done it better than I could have done. Well done. Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: I discovered your podcast through another podcast that a friend of mine hosts. His name is Bill Antonio, and he has a podcast called Bad Gay Movies, Bitchy Gay Men.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, yes, yeah, I've heard of it. They've been in touch. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And, yeah, at the end of their podcast, they always talk about things that they enjoy. And, Bill happened to mention your podcast, and I was like, I'm a fan of Madonna's music. Let me check it out. And I got hooked immediately.
>> Edward Russell: Well, I'm pleased to hear that. But you're quite right, obviously, the focus is on Madonna and Madonna's songs, but I think if you're just interested in pop music or, you know, how music is put together, it's quite interesting. It's not too technical. but we do talk about things that I think a lot of fans of music don't really think about. So, for example, there's some of her early songs that have a very specific drum machine sound. So I talk a bit about the history of that drum machine and play other songs that have got it. And so it's a way of learning a bit about musical history as well as, of course, learning about Madonna and how she wrote the songs and, you know, all the stuff around it. So, yeah, I think it. I think. I think it's quite original and quite different from anything else out there at the moment.
>> Marco Timpano: Most definitely. You know, I have to say, not since, Dolly Parton's America have I enjoyed a music podcast or a podcast that focuses on music and songwriters as much as yours.
>> Edward Russell: I'm so pleased to hear that because I kind of started it really as something to do, and, people told me they liked it, and then lots of people told me they really liked it, and then it has become quite popular. So, you know, any positive praise, it just motivates me. And you'll Know this as well, Marco, from your podcast. When people give you praise, it just makes you want to do more work and better work, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: But you're a busy guy. So what got you into podcasting?
>> Edward Russell: I am busy and sometimes I don't have time to sleep, let alone even if I could sleep a full night through. I started a podcast at the beginning of Lockdown here in the uk. So, well, like many countries around the world, we went into lockdown towards the end of March. And it was quite a severe lockdown in the UK to start with for a few months. And you, know, I had a lot of time on my hands and I needed something to do. And coincidentally, the Madonna song Vogue, probably one of her, most famous tracks, if not her most famous, had just turned 30.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Edward Russell: And there were, there were a few articles about the song, about its cultural impact, and maybe, a little bit about the recording of it itself, but that wasn't the focus. And I know all this stuff because I'm a Madonna fan and I've read lots of interviews over the years. I'm also an amateur music producer as well. So any. Every time I've read something about the recording of the tracks, I've really absorbed it. And I thought, well, it's a shame no one is telling the story of how it was written and it was recorded, because it's a fascinating story. It was recorded as a B side. It was kind of a test to pair Madonna up with the producer Shep Pettibone, who'd remixed a few of her tracks. And he was given a tiny budget of $5,000, which seems a lot these days, but back then that was nothing because that would be like two days in a studio. So it was a tiny budget. And I know that recorded it in Manhattan in a basement because that's all they could afford. And that feels really strange to think that Madonna was probably her most famous at the time, but she's really into that kind of underground, literally way of doing it. So I thought, I know, why don't I fill my time by doing a podcast, a one off where I talk about the recording of Vogue and see how it goes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so it was only going to be about Vogue, that it was going to just be a one episode, podcast, just a tester, I guess.
>> Edward Russell: So, I mean, in the back of my head I knew that if it did work, I might try a couple of other songs.
Over the years, lots of what we call Multi tracks have leaked
Now, something that your, listeners might not be aware of, is that over the years, lots of what we call Multi tracks have leaked. Now, you don't have to know too much about music to know that all the elements in a pop song or any song are recorded separately. So the vocals, the bass, the guitars, the synth, the piano are all recorded on separate tracks. You know, anything up to. Well, it can be hundreds, but back in the 80s and 90s, it was generally about 20, 25 tracks that they were recorded on. Now these have leaked over the years, and I don't really know why, but you can get multi tracks of classic tracks, like by the Jacksons, by Whitney Houston, by Madonna, of course, and lots of great artists. And if, like me, you're interested in how music's put together, I can sit there and listen to, you know, I can listen to just the cymbals on, on the Prince track and go, wow, that's amazing. and I find that fascinating. Anyway, I had a few of these of Madonna. There's about 30 of her songs that have leaked in this way, including some of the. The really big hits, like Express Yourself and, Like a Virgin and even up to Modern Times. so I thought, I'll start with Vogue and see how it goes. And I put it out there, and I did a bit of marketing around it because that's my background. So it got some attention. And I think within a day it may have had 100 or 200 listens. And I, I had no idea if that was good or not good or bad, of course. and I thought it wasn't great. so I asked on Twitter some of my friends what they thought, and they were like, oh, that's really good. I don't get that many in a month. And I was quite surprised at that. But what I've since learned is there are kind of two tiers of podcasts. And again, you'll know this. There are the people that just, you know, them, and a mate will do a podcast about movies and put it out, and they'll be happy if eight people listen to it. And then there are the podcasts that are, successful and they make it into the charts and stuff like that. And they, of course, get thousands of listens per episode. And you've got the top tier that will. Will get 10,000 in the first week or what have you. So I was, I was thinking, okay, is this successful? I don't know, I'll do another episode. But it wasn't about the success of the number of listeners that really made me realize I might be doing something right. It was kind of the feedback I was Getting. Because. Because Madonna fans, and I'm sure there are fans of all sorts of things, especially music that are like this, are quite discerning of other fans that do stuff. perhaps a bit territorial. And I was waiting for somebody to be slagging me off.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Edward Russell: Or being negative about it, and it just didn't happen. And I would get messages from people because I created a Twitter account and an Instagram account, and I would get messages from people saying, I love it. It's really good. And you're really, really good. And I had no. I had no idea what I was doing because I don't listen to podcasts myself. I maybe have heard three or four.
>> Marco Timpano: your husband does. I understand. Right.
>> Edward Russell: Well, he's a big podcast listener, so I was able to, get his advice about what worked and what didn't work. He said, keep it short. He said, you know, he listens. I think he listens to a RuPaul, podcast, and it's two and a half hours long. And he said it's too much.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Edward Russell: so he gave me lots of all these tips and stuff. Anyway, I could go into lots of detail, but the short story is, within a very short time, the podcast became pretty popular. And now here we are, many months later, and it's really popular. So, its category is music commentary, and it's regularly in the top 10 or top 20 music commentary on itunes and Spotify. And that feels good. But when you actually think how many thousands of podcasts are made.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Edward Russell: Every day, all the people making. It's a real achievement. And I'm really pleased with that. I'm a bit competitive. so that makes me feel really great. And of course, it's really motivating as well. But the thing. The thing that I think really resonates is I get messages of people, Madonna fans, who go, do you know what? This is what I've been wanting for so long. I love Madonna, but everybody always talks about her image and the things that she does that are outrageous. Her hair color. They never talk about the music. So I think. I think it's come along at the right time. people want to see your podcast gives.
>> Marco Timpano: Your podcast gives a lot of respect to the artists that here we're talking about Madonna. And the reason I know that it's a great podcast is as I listen to it, I hope to hear other podcasts or I hope you create other podcasts on other artists in this sort of style. So, like you mentioned, Prince. I would love to go down a Prince Podcast where we sort of take his demos, his tracks, and really examine them. Or Dolly Parton, as I mentioned before, or, you know, George Michael, you name it. A bunch of artists who are true artists, and sometimes they get eclipsed by, by their image or what they did in the 80s or 90s.
>> Edward Russell: That's so true. And, everybody's so quick to criticize Madonna. people very rarely want to give her any positive, approval. And I think there's also this thing that's followed her around her career that she is, not particularly creative, that she sings other people's songs, etc. And the truth is that, you know, a song like. Like a Prayer, she wrote in about three minutes. Sorry, in about three hours. She's not that good. but she wrote her. And her, collaborator on that song, he sat down at piano, kicked out some chords, she came up with a melody, came up with the lyric. They then went into a booth, he'd put down a drum track, and she recorded her vocal, and she never sang it again. That was the vocal that ended up on the song that was number one. And, you know, has been one of her biggest hits for 30 years. And it's when you can share stories like that that people realize, okay, so, yeah, she is clever. She is clever, and you know what? Yet she has sung other people's songs as well.
Mark: Madonna doesn't give herself enough credit when it comes to songwriting
And she is no Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston when it comes to her vocal abilities, but she's very creative. And I think people have enjoyed finding that out, because I think a lot of Madonna fans themselves didn't know that. so it's been nice to share those stories, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I certainly learned a couple of things from your podcast, and one, that she doesn't give herself enough credit, when it comes to her songwriting. And I think as a result, we don't think of her as a songwriter.
>> Edward Russell: It's very true. people think of Madonna as being really confident, and she is in so many ways, but she's also very insecure. It's kind of her insecurity that's made her what she is. so she knows she's not the most beautiful woman in the world. She knows that she. She hasn't got the best voice in the world, but nonetheless, she has this drive and ambition to succeed, and that's kind of made her, work harder than other people. you know, Whitney Houston could sing a song and make it sound effortless, and it kind of was. She just had that. The way she was built inside her Voice just sounded fantastic. And I'm not saying that she didn't work very hard and she trained very hard. Of course she did. But she had a natural ability. Madonna has. It's. It's an unnatural, ability that she has. And I think some people think, therefore, that she's manufactured. So it's great to be able to discuss the truth behind all that.
>> Marco Timpano: You talk about her performance in her songs, and I think that's something that separates Madonna from other people. There might be a technically great singer, but they can't bring that performance or that emotion to the song that Madonna can.
>> Edward Russell: It's really true. And I think it's really interesting when you look at Madonna's abilities in film, because we know that she's not been particularly successful on the, in the movie industry. and, you know, I like Madonna, but I agree that she's not the best actor in the world. But yet her performances and her songs are brilliant. If you listen to some of those 80 songs, when her singing really was not where it is now because she did a lot of vocal training in the 90s for Evita, and it changed her voice. But back then, you know, she was very high pitched. And, there's a lot of strain in her voice. But you listen to the performance on a song like Open youn Heart or Live To Tell, and there's so much emotion in it, which women didn't really do back then. Women in the music industry, with a few exceptions of some of the punk artists or, you know, I'm thinking like, people like Patti Smith, they were all technically great singers. They all had very beautiful voices, like, you know, Barbra Streisand or, you know, even Dolly Parton, who I, would say is a very creative person, as you, I'm sure, agree. But she has a very, technically voice as well. Madonna was all about the emotion. And I think that's what's fascinating about her, without a doubt.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever met Madonna?
>> Edward Russell: Do you know what? People ask me this question and I find if I say I prefer not to answer, it really freaks them out.
>> Marco Timpano: No, listen, I'm cool with whatever answer you wish to give here. I can tell you I've met her. I was able to go to the press conference, when she did Ray of Light here in Toronto. And I had a press pass and I was doing it for a university radio station, so my credentials were sketchy, at best, let's say. But I managed to get into the press conference. So I got there early and I Sat right in the front. And I thought to myself, the only way I'm going to be able to ask a question is if I'm first. And so as soon as they came in with the microphone, my hand darted straight up and the person who was walking with the microphone happened to be right next to me. She made the mistake of giving me the microphone. And so I got to ask two questions, both in succession, and then she took the microphone away. But I did get to ask her a couple of questions and I got to correct Madonna, because M, she called me Mark, and I said, no, my name is Marco. And she was very gracious about it. And she's just captivating in a way that's hard to describe.
>> Edward Russell: Well, as I said, I find it kind of funny to tease people about it, and I don't know why. It's kind of a sick delight to have. But, I've heard very similar experiences about how when you are talking to her, she just doesn't break eye contact and that she's very. You, you know why? She's one of the most famous people in the world. She has something very particular about her. As you know, a lot of famous people do. I've managed to work with and meet and perhaps, even be friends with lots of what you might call celebrities. And there's a reason why some people really stand out from the crowd.
Marco is writing a book about working on Doctor who. Might we see that this year in 2020
>> Marco Timpano: I want to dip into things that you do, you know, in your daily life that aren't Madonna related.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, I've done all sorts of things, Marco. I started my career in the music publishing issue industry, but that was a long time ago. And then I moved into television. I worked for BBC for a very long time, 17 years. And, I worked there originally for Top of the Pops, which is. Was our big music TV show that ran for 40 years here in the UK. You may have even heard of it, I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: But, yes, I have.
>> Edward Russell: Yeah, indeed. It was very popular. and I worked there doing digital content. And this is back in the days when digital content wasn't what it was. Now we're talking about the, the turn of the century where, it was very much more basic and you didn't have social media in the way that you have now.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Edward Russell: and then I changed jobs, to work on Doctor who. Now, I know you know Doctor who because Canadian broadcasting company partly funded it. So, and I'm sure it's quite popular there, most of what. I worked on that show for 12 years and I was brand manager of Doctor who, which was fantastic because that's a job. Sorry, that's a television program I grew up loving. And then to be on that side of the show where my job was sort of like looking after everything around the show. Not doing all the stuff like the websites or the merchandise or anything, but looking after the people that did sort of acting. Like if you imagine how, an orchestral conductor sort of conducts all the talented people, that was my job, but for the stuff around Doctor who, and that was brilliant. And I worked on the show for a very long time. And so that's the book. That's the book I'm writing at the moment. I'm writing my memoirs of my time working on Doctor who, so. Great. Yeah, it's an interesting story and it's taken me a lot longer than I expected. And if my publisher's listening, don't worry, there is another draft on the way. but, there are so many stories about the making of the show while I was working on it, and lots of interviews with the famous people, the actors that played the Doctor and the. And the writers. But what me and the team that did our job came. What we did was very interesting too. And people just don't know those stories, so it's nice to be able to tell those stories. So, yeah, I don't think it's going to be a bestseller, Marco, but I think some people might find it interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm sure you'll have a lot of Doctor who fans lining up for that. Might we see that this year in 2020?
>> Edward Russell: I think we might see it early next year. okay, it's, it's getting there. but I think, part of the reason why it's been delayed is because a lot of the intention was to, to interview the people I work with, to sort of remind me of stories. And that hasn't really been possible in the way I would have liked. okay. And so I would originally wanted to have brought it out later this year and gone to some conventions, etc, to promote it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, of course.
>> Edward Russell: Hold back in the hope that maybe I can do that next year. we'll see if you know a
>> Marco Timpano: Doctor who fan definitely pre order the book. Is it called, the Trip of a Lifetime?
>> Edward Russell: The Making of. Yes. Of Modern Doctor who. Trip of a Lifetime. and, it's published by Obverse Books and what it will be. And I'm sure that when the time's right, you'll hear about it because I'm quite good self promoter, so I'm making lots of noise.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me know because I'll make sure to add it on our show notes so that when people hear this podcast in the future, they can just click on it and find the resource.
Tell us something that surprised you that came out of your podcast
Tell us something that surprised you that came out of one of your episodes.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, that's very interesting. I think the thing that struck a few chords and I already knew this, but I put it out in that very first podcast and lots of people didn't know is that in Vogue, that very famous song, a couple of, other songs are buried into the mix. so for example, I'm not going to try singing, but there's a little bit that happens between each of the choruses on Vogue where it's sort of a piece of music. that's actually the intro to the song Lucky Star slowed down. So on Lucky Star it's more sort of. That's the most singing you're going to get from me. But so, and, and so a other podcasts I've done when I've listened to the multi tracks, I've discovered a few other little things as well. tiny little things. and it depends perhaps on your listeners knowing the songs really well. But there's a very famous song of hers from the 1980s called Live to Tell, of course, which is big 80s ballad and one of her best songs. And it's a fascinating song because it should never have been a hit single because it's about six minutes long and in the middle it sort of has a breakdown where nothing much happens. when you listen to the multi track of it, you can hear the producer Pat Leonard in the background counting and he's counting Madonna in and he's sort of counting down, I think, I think he's counting bars. and then he sort of goes, three, two, one. And then you hear go if I ran away. So it's just really those little things that don't make it into the actual final track. It's, it's fascinating to hear.
>> Marco Timpano: It's fascinating to hear. It's fascinating to learn. When we listen to your podcast, I can say that. Sorry, I just interrupted you.
>> Edward Russell: No, no, that's fine. That's absolutely fine.
Do you know what the biggest thing I've learned from doing this podcast
Do you know what the biggest thing I've learned from doing this podcast though is just how lovely people are. And maybe you get that with your podcast as well. Because I think sometimes in this modern day, especially on social media, we come across people whose opinions are difficult to deal with. but actually when you're talking about something that's not politics or not the current health situation and talking about something that people are interested in mean, it's so lovely. And people are so passionate about things. And I'm sure you get that. But certainly I've discovered people, beyond passionate about Madonna. And I think there's a perception that fans of, whether it be music, artists or, you know, movies or something like that are a bit crazy. And, you know, maybe they are. Right. I worked, I worked on Doctor who for 12 years. I know that kind of the, the very eager fan. But, a lot of these people, being part of being a fan is not just about loving everything that somebody might do, for example. And a lot of fans of Madonna like to discuss the stuff that didn't work. And I think that's a really healthy attitude to have if you're a fanatic of, of, a musical artist or whoever. and it's not that they want to slag it off, but they want, they like to discuss things such as, you know, maybe this wasn't the right single choice, or, you know, maybe she shouldn' of work with that producer or, you know, that that concert is a, you know, maybe she had laryngitis or something. And it's really great and it's nice to be able to have those, those healthy conversations. So I've kind of discovered a whole network of people that I chat with on social media now, which, which is great. Really refreshing.
>> Marco Timpano: It is really lovely. you know, I've got great fans and I'll get emails from people who listen to the podcast who tell me they listen for their anxiety and it's really helped. And that wasn't the intention of this podcast, but it reaches so many people and it's to hear these kind of things from listeners. I have to say, well, I had
>> Edward Russell: no idea your podcast existed. And actually when you contacted me, I wasn't sure if it was a joke. I. Because, I read about your podcast and I thought, hang on a minute. Are you trying to say that my podcast is going to bore people if we talked about it and they're going to fall asleep? Because I looked into it a bit more and stand more about what it's out. But I, I don't want to say that I suffer from insomnia because that feels defeatist. So what I will say is I don't need an awful lot of sleep. So I do understand those people that wake up in the night or maybe can't get to sleep that possibly need something to tune their mind in, because when I have nights and they're very frequent, when I can't sleep, my mind is racing. And that's probably why I have a problem sleeping, because I'm playing things that have happened in the day or possibly going to happen the next day. So I really respect what you're doing here because sometimes you just need to zone out and put yourself into somebody else's world. So thank you. So I think what you're doing is great. And hopefully, hopefully somebody's listening to this and in the nicest way possible, it's sending them into a deep, deep sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, you have such a calming voice too. You know, there's so many conversations one can have. And there, there are episodes of my podcast that really resonate with people. For example, a friend recently said that they can't listen to the badminton episode because it really gets me excited. she's a fan of badminton. And I'm like, I never thought that would be the case. So where I'm sure there's listeners who are listening right now saying, I love Madonna and I love hearing this and it won't put me to sleep. There's going to be others who are like, you know what? This is just the perfect conversation and the perfect lull that will find me there.
>> Edward Russell: Well, this has been a revelation because, I have done some professional vocal work in the past, and it's just been small stuff. When, I was at the BBC a couple of times, for radio dramas, they need people to read the credits. So I kind of aware, have been aware that, my voice works in that environment. But I hadn't really thought too much about it. But this has been one of the strange things. And, please don't anybody think this is an ego, but I get messages every day from people going, I love your voice. And I don't know why, because it's just my voice. But this is the thing that does slightly inflate my ego. I get messages going, you know, I find your voice really sexy.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Edward Russell: And, I say this to my husband and he laughs because he says, he says when you're speaking normally, it is. He says, but the voice that you do on your podcast, and it's probably the voice I'm doing now, Marco, and I'm not even thinking about it. He said, that's not your real voice. And, ah, I've said, what do you mean by that? Because it is my real voice. And he said, it's like a telephone voice when you're speaking professionally. He Said you, you have a rhythm in your voice that isn't there when you're having a normal conversation. So it's not something I deliberately do. But hey, I can tell you getting an email in the morning when you're feeling a bit fed up with the world saying, hey, I've got. You've got a really sexy voice that, that can start your day off pretty well.
>> Marco Timpano: It certainly can. I never get those emails, by the way. So if anyone's listening who wants to send that to me, I'd be happy to receive them.
I think what's at the heart of Madonna's music is melody
Edward, I wanted to ask you a question that I asked Madonna on that day that I was at the press conference.
>> Edward Russell: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I asked her music has the ability to transcend language. What do you think her music gives people who don't necessarily understand lyrics?
>> Edward Russell: That's really interesting. I think what's at the heart of Madonna's music and part of why she's been successful is the melody. and that obviously does transcend the lyrics. Now there's a really interesting phenomenon. Madonna, Kate Bush, Michael, Jackson, Prince. They were all born within six weeks of each other. Oh, my goodness, that's fascinating, isn't it? There's a few others as well. including people you may not be same so familiar with, Siobhan Farhi from Banana Rama and Shakespeare Sister and one or two others. They were all born, in the summer of 1958. And, and I've often wondered why they all became successful not just as, singers, but as songwriters. What it is about their music. And this is going back to what I was saying about Madonna and her Commander Melody. I think they were the perfect generation to have been brought up on 1960s music, whether that be the remnants of rock and roll and the Beatles and the Stones into Motown and then into that early 70s music. Certainly with the UK artists, they would have been influenced glam rock and, you know, bands like David Bowie. So artists like David Bowie and bands like Roxy Music over in the States, I think it's very much more about things like the Spinners and all that really melodic music into disco. And I think these people we're talking about that were born in the summer of 58, they, they hit the mark perfectly to absorbed all that. So that when they started writing music in the end of the 70s and the early 80s, they were re. Their, their, their threshold, their creative threshold was to do melodies as good as that. But with all the new technology and everything else they'd learned, and I think Madonna's melodies really, really stand Out. And one of the things that I've discovered, and you asked me what I discovered through the podcast, is listen to interviews with or reading interviews with her collaborate collaborators who say they'll just write three chords, they'll, you know, whatever it is, and Madonna will plick a melody out of the air and it will just be the perfect melody. And I think that's what's at the heart of her songs. and then you, you know, we often think of Madonna as being a dance artist because she's got those big dance hits, sure. Like, like Holiday and Music and you know, Ray of Light and Vogue M. But she's also known for those, ballads. Many of them have ended up as movie soundtracks as well. Like, I'll remember, I mentioned Live to Tell and songs like that. she has great variety, but at the heart of all of her songs, I think, is melody. Does that answer your question?
>> Marco Timpano: It does, it does. I remember you also referencing where she was born in Michigan, near Motor City, and the music that was going on around the time that she would be growing up and how that may have influenced her as an artist.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, I think so, definitely. And I tell you, someone else who was a massive influence on her, ah, was David Bowie. so she would have been, she would have been about 12, 13 at the time that he first came to prominence very much in the UK and of course in the US as well. and she snuck out in the mid-70s from her parents home in Michigan, to see his concerts. And she was very, very heavily influenced by what she saw. And if you think about it, she very much like David Bowie, took a lot of that on board. She became a bit of a chameleon, sure. Had a different look. his shows were unlike, other musical shows. You know, it was much more of a theatrical performance. He'd often have Personas, and themes to the concerts and she did that with her shows as well. So, yeah, ah, she's somebody who's who, who's absorbed everything around. And I think growing up in Michigan, ah, at that period will have really sort of infused itself upon her. And that's kind of what made her what she is today, without a, doubt.
What impact do you think Madonna has made to the music industry
>> Marco Timpano: What impact do you think Madonna has made to the music industry that she doesn't get enough credit for?
>> Edward Russell: Well, it's good and bad really, because I, think she broke down the barriers for female artists, without a doubt. and and that, you know, she was very provocative early on. She was very much her own person. She was a bit scary, I think, for some people. but she was able to be a woman who was in control of herself. And in the 90s she made that a very sexual thing. And we, you know, I'm sure even if you're not a big fan of Madonna, you'll be aware of her sex book and the Erotica album, of course, really pushing stuff there. And also she did similar things for. For gay rights and even adopted a period of sexual ambiguity herself. And what that has done is allowed modern female pop stars to embrace that and sort of be able to be comfortable with their sexuality in a way that they couldn't have done because she will. She definitely was the first person to do that and be successful. Now the reason I say good or bad is I think that also has the potential to go the wrong way. Because what Madonna did was to say, I can be feminine and I can be sexy, but I'm still strong and I'm still in control. And I do worry that some young artists, and I'm not thinking of anyone in particular, but there are some that I've seen, are ah, using their sexuality but maybe not in control, in the way that Madonna was. And so, I think they might still being. Be being exploited by the industry in some way. I don't mean in a very bad way, but I think they, they're not taking the pure essence of what she did. but without a doubt she has. She's challenged some viewpoints and made things a lot easier. And there's a number of occasions where she could have, you know, it nearly killed her career when she went on the David Letterman show with Sandra Bernhardt, I think in about 1989, and they pretty much flirted with each other. That could have killed her career and.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Edward Russell: You know, particularly it's different in Canada, but it's still quite conservative, but very much so in the United States, as you know. and so she didn't end her career there. There's been a few occasions where she nearly did, but I think it's She kind of wants to be successful at the same time, doesn't really care. So that's kind of how she's managed to get away with it all the time.
Madonna sings Borderline a whole octave lower than when originally recorded
>> Marco Timpano: Did you happen to see that clip, of her on Jimmy Fallon doing a, more ballady version of Borderline?
>> Edward Russell: I did. she's doing it. I think Barack, Obama is in the audience as well. it's really interesting because, she's singing it now. This is slightly technical. Maybe the musicians there, will understand this. She's singing it a whole octave lower than she did in 1983, February 1983 when she first recorded that vocal. and and that's partly because, well, everybody's voices age as they get older and she may not be quite able to hit that high note. But also the vocal training that she did in the mid-90s, which really worked her voice for the Evita, filming, she sort of discovered a whole new range so that she had a lot more power when she sang deeper. But also when she was able to sing higher, it was less of a nasal sound and much more of a rich, full, airy sound. so I think she's just it chosen. It's, it's at the same notes as the original version, but it's a whole octave lower. And it's really interesting to hear the development in the voice. And as you say, it's quite a laid back version of the original. It's great. It's a really good performance. I think people should check it out. Yeah, it's it's one of the best songs as well, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I agree. For me, when you can hear a song transform into either another genre of music, so you take it from say pop to rock or country, or when you can change the pace and the melody of the song or make slower and still have the same sort of feel from the song or a different coolness to the song. For me, that's a true test of a great song.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, absolutely. Madonna does this a lot. I think she gets very bored with hearing the same versions of her song. So if she does one of her older songs when she goes on tour, she'll often reimagine it and it will be quite different. people may be aware that when she sang Like a Virgin on her Blonde ambition tour in 1990, a good six years after it was originally released, she did it as a sort of world music version. very different. it had quite a, ah, I suppose, shocking and provocative theatrical performance where she had two concubines on stage with male males wearing conical bras as well while she writhed around on a bed. So you know, it was definitely reinterpreting the song quite a bit. I remember.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I was at that concert. It was definitely a moment.
>> Edward Russell: Yeah. Was, it in Toronto? Was it in Canada or.
>> Marco Timpano: They did do well. Well, didn't she do that on her world tour? She brought that performance on a bed. She did, yes, she was on a bed. And she had those that, like. I just remember being in the audience and thinking, this is just intense and incredible.
>> Edward Russell: Well, the reason I asked where that was is because I think famously, she was nearly arrested in Toronto M. and I think she was scared that the Mounties were gonna grab her afterwards because, you know, a lot of people were against what she was doing. Same happened when she, went to Rome to perform it there. And I think the cat, the. The Pope had, ah, condemned her. And, it's kind of crazy when you look back now, and there is that whole thing that if a man had been doing what she was doing, there would have been no problems with it whatsoever. And that's like Madonna or Loathe M. Her. she has definitely done a lot for women's rights, because I think what she's done, and I've said this already, is that she's shown that a woman can be strong but still be feminine and still be sexy. And I think a lot of feminists, don't always address that. And so, I think it's something quite unique to Madonna. Not unique, but something that's been very important to what she's done is to always remain female, and feminine, but still to be any equal with a man.
Is there a song of Madonna's that has had significant impact on you
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a song of Madonna's that has had significant impact to you?
>> Edward Russell: there's so many of them, that I love that I would find it hard to choose one in particular.
>> Marco Timpano: Then let me ask you this. Has there ever been a song that you didn't like when you first heard it that you now have grown to love?
>> Edward Russell: Oh, definitely. Do you know what? I've mentioned this song already, so it feels a bit crass to say it again, but. Vogue. When I heard Vogue, I was really not impressed at all because she'd just done the Like A Prayer album. and that was, you know, I transcended her creative abilities. It's got a very live sound. It's all live drums and a lot of guitars and bass. There's a lot of synth in there as well. But it's kind of a very sort of, retro, 70s type of synth in. In those songs. And then out she comes with Vogue, which felt like the kind of house track that everybody else was doing at that time. it didn't feel particularly original. I was like, oh, okay, well, you know, let her do this and maybe she'll do something else. And of course, within a very short period of Time I realized that, no, it is an incredible song. It's an incredible production. It kind of was what everyone was doing. But this is something that is very much what Madonna does. She sort of takes the best people and does the very best version of what everybody else is doing. and, you know, working with Shep Petterburn, who was the ultimate remixer at the time, and getting him to produce a record for the first time, they, you know, they came out with a tiny bit of magic. so, yeah, Vogue were big, big sample for me.
>> Marco Timpano: It was Bedtime Stories.
>> Edward Russell: Yeah. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't. I didn't love when that song first came on. I didn't understand it. I didn't grasp it. It was just too ethereal, too not lyrical the way I expected a song to be. And now I can listen to it every day and I never get tired of it.
>> Edward Russell: It's a really simple song as well. I've done an episode on that one, so if you haven't listened to it or if your viewers haven't, do listen to it. it's a song that was written by Bjork, the, Icelandic songwriter written for Madonna. and it's a very, very simple, beat. Very, 90s house, deep house track. but her vocals are very dreamy and ethereal. The melody is not a typical melody. It's not one of Madonna's. You know, she didn't write that. She hasn't got a credit on it at all. and so it's very unusual melodically for her. And I think that's kind of what works. It's the very simple backing track, but a very haunting, and slightly surreal, lyric. With Madonna's straightforward pop vocals, it kind of works really well. but I agree with you, it's a fantastic track and it hasn't really aged at all.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm fascinated how you can just draw the year of every song and when it came out. That's. That's fascinating to me.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, I can do the same with Doctor who and I can probably do the same with abba. And what else am I a fan of? All sorts of things. Especially when I've had to do something for work. I'm currently working, on a new project for Wallace and Gromit. I'm sure you've heard of Wallace and Grommet, of course, where you are. So we're creating, a new Wallace and Gromit story, but it's an immersive one that people can have on their phone and, rather than it being a straightforward TV show or film. it's augmented reality, so they'll be able to play out stories in front of them. it's got a bit of gameplay in there as well, and it's. It's very different, unique, and a bit experimental. So I've had to become an expert in Wallace and Gromit, too. I like them before, and I think I'd seen all of the films, sure. But now I know everything, and I know all the brand rules about how, Grommet must be seen and all this kind of stuff. I'm. I think I'm very good at absorbing facts. I work very well with facts and rules and stuff like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing. Might we see another podcast with another musician who you have a lot of this information from, like abba, as you mentioned?
>> Edward Russell: Well, I have thought about it, and I think someone has done the research on ABBA already. I mentioned my friend, Magnus, who's written a book. and, I feel that whatever I did on ABBA would just be recreating all the research that he's already done, and he got to go to Sweden and listen to all the tapes from the 1970s, and so it would just be regurgitating his stuff. Stuff. so I don't know that I would. I feel passionately enough about another artist like Madonna or ABBA to be able to do that. There's lots of artists that I like, but I don't know there's anyone. I feel passionately enough about it, but I am definitely interested in doing more podcasts.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Edward Russell: Because I've become fascinated with the genre, and, I seem to be quite good at it, so maybe I've got more to offer the world. I don't know what it's going to be about, though. I'll give it some thought, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I can't wait. It's addictive. Podcasting is addictive.
>> Edward Russell: It's a joke.
>> Marco Timpano: I have four podcasts right now, but this was my first and, will always be my first love.
Edward Russell says he hopes Madonna fans will become fans of his podcast
Edward, before we go, any messages you have for your fans?
>> Edward Russell: For my fans?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, for your fans.
>> Edward Russell: I don't know that I've got fans, but I'm sure there's fans in Madonna that, like, listen to my podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Edward Russell: so, if they happen to be listening to this as well, or perhaps there's some of your listeners that will become fans of my podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Edward Russell: I would just, like. What would I like to say to them? I'd like to say, you know, thank you for being positive and being open because music and anything creative is never factual and a lot of the time it's an opinion. and, you know, a lot of the things I do in my podcast are my opinion. I've been quite open when I feel that Madonna failed in something that, you know, one of her songs wasn't the best. And obviously, I've done the opposite where I think she's been very, very successful and people have been very open to that. I've never had people writing strongly worded emails to me or starting a campaign against me. And I know it sounds silly, but I had a bit of a fear that might happen. So, I think I, you know, thank you for that and actually thank you to everyone that's come along for the ride with the podcast, interacts with it on social media and, and is enjoying the journey. And I'll keep it going for as long as I've got the energy and the Madonna songs to do it. And, I really hope that somebody has listened to your podcast and it's helped them get rid of some of their anxiety and they're going to sleep better. But also they're going to be checking out my podcast in the morning.
>> Marco Timpano: You can find all the links on our show. Notes. Edward Russell, thank you so much for being a part of the Insomnia Project.
>> Edward Russell: Thank you for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: I am going to extend a standing invitation. When your book comes out or when your new podcast comes out, you're always welcome to be a guest on our podcast.
>> Edward Russell: I'll be in touch. Definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: And definitely listen to Inside the Groove and I think you'll get something out of it. Very valuable. I certainly have. I've learned a lot and I've discovered songs that I didn't even know of Madonna that I love, including, including Masterpiece, which I think your podcast is.
>> Edward Russell: Oh, thank you. That's very important.
>> Marco Timpano: Everyone else who are listening, I hope you enjoyed today's podcast. As always, we hope that this helps you and perhaps that you were able to listen and sleep.
Old Friends
(Original airdate: Sept 23, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. We hope you will listen and sleep
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back Relax and listen as we have a mundane conversation to help you just drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I
>> Nidhi Khanna: am, your co host for today, Nidhi Khanna.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Nidhi. I was, trying not to be too excited in the intro. I have to tell you, it was using all my strength and energy not to give it away. I'm so happy that you're here today.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm so happy to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: Nidhi, first of all, so many of our listeners have been asking about you. How is she doing? Is she all right? Is she. Is she healthy? How's work? What's going on? So I've always been just responding. She's very busy, but she's awesome as always. So just tell us, Nidhi, how have you been?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, my goodness. First of all, thank you to everyone who has been so supportive. I mean, the one thing about, this show that has brought me so much joy is the people who really love us and really have gravitated towards the show. And, that's very, very special. I've been good. I've been. Oh, Marco. it's been, you know, I've been working a lot, as you say. I've been scuba diving a lot. I've been kind of really, just focusing on sort of myself and all of the things that I have been wanting to do for the last little while. And, you know, it's taken up some more time than I thought it would. And so I had to say, okay, where are the points in my life that I want to sort of explore right now? And where are the areas that, you know, I need to kind of step away from?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Nidhi Khanna: and, you've been such a huge support in all of that. So listen, cannot thank you enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome home, welcome back. Anytime you can or feel like being on the podcast, we are thrilled. I am thrilled. I can't speak for everyone, but I can tell you from the responses that I've been seeing, we're all thrilled to have you here. So, Nidhi, you just say the word. You just send me a text and say, let's do an episode.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Done. We can do this all virtually.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we're recording this virtually. And I also, want to tell our guests, you look fantastic. I love your hair, by the way.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Love it.
>> Marco Timpano: Those pictures that you've had on your Instagram of you enjoying a drink or two always make me so happy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I love it.
>> Marco Timpano: But before we go into the drinks that you've been enjoying.
>> Marco Timpano: I need to find out.
Xena just celebrated her ninth birthday. She still acts like a puppy
Xena. How's Xena? she loves me. And I haven't seen her in so long. Hold on here.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm gonna turn it around so you can see her. There she is.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my God. She's so adorable.
>> Marco Timpano: Hi, Xena.
>> Nidhi Khanna: she's waiting for me to throw this thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: There you go. she's good. She just celebrated her ninth birthday.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. and, she still acts like a puppy. which is very odd. Sometimes I'm like, whoa, chill. But it's funny because now she's sort of. You throw this, like, bone thing once or twice and. Whereas before, like, even a couple of years ago you could do it like 10 times and she would still want to keep going. Now it's like, okay, she does it twice and she's like, all right, I'm done.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm done. That sound is nitty throwing the chew toy that looks like a bone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. So, apologies for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's, all good.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But she's good. She's still my little. My little baby.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: My family.
All right, next we have to talk about scuba adventures
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so next we have to talk about scuba because it's always delight to talk to you about your scuba adventures.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And they. Have they been curtailed? What are you up to? How are they going?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, Marco, you know, they have been curtailed, obviously, during this time.
>> Marco Timpano: Time, sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But I cannot wait to get back underneath the ocean soon.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I was supposed to go to Roatan, actually, in June. Had to get back.
>> Marco Timpano: Where's that?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So Roatan is just like an island off of Honduras. It's part of Honduras, I guess. And, it's got a spectacular reef. Actually one of the best reef systems, in the world. And so I was really looking forward to diving somewhere new because, of course, I've been to Bonaire a few times now. And, unfortunately, I had to, delay, that trip. But I did the last time, I think. I think probably the last time we recorded was right before. Did I do my hundred feet? Did I do my advanced diving certificate?
>> Marco Timpano: I think you did.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: You passed that, Right? Where did you do it? Did you do it in Bonaire?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I did.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. So you did. Yeah. So.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So that was really cool. I got to do wreck diving, ice diving and all sorts of stuff. And now I'm studying to do my rescue diving, which is the next course.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. So I think, like, maybe I want to be sort of like, I want to in my back pocket to be a dive instructor at some point or be able to teach diving.
>> Marco Timpano: You would be great at that. Knowing you and how. You know, if I'm being totally honest, folks, sometimes when it comes to computer
>> Marco Timpano: stuff, I don't know what I'm doing. And Niddy will walk me through things
>> Marco Timpano: and she'll be like, no, no, you've got to click the wheel. No, it looks more like a cog, you know, like a. Like if you open up a. Oh, the one that looks like a watch.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so click on that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I X out of the screen. Okay, turn this. And she's very patient and very good natured about it because I'm sometimes,
>> Marco Timpano: technology has the best of me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I mean, look how far you've come. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: That's true.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You're the podcast expert now.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Nidhi, you know, remember the hours we would spend in from the computer watching tutorials.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know, I know. You know, it's really funny because it makes me think about how when you're learning something or when there's something new, like when you have the drive to learn something.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You'll just absorb it. Right. And you'll try and figure it out. And sometimes I think it's hard to find that sometimes, like, okay, are you passionate enough to try and figure out how to learn it? Right. And, yeah, that's what we did. We just.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because the worst, and I'm sure you encounter this at work is when you have to learn a new system and you're like, I'm already busy and now I have to spend time learning a new system and how to. How to implement certain things that work just fine in the previous system.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, exactly, exactly. So, yeah, but kudos.
What are you looking forward to seeing on your next dive
>> Marco Timpano: Well, let me ask you this. Okay. So what are you looking forward to seeing on your next dive? Like, is there something that you're like, I really want to see or explore this on my next dive?
>> Nidhi Khanna: you know what? I think I'm ready to see some sharks.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that's great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think I'm there. Where I wouldn't freak out.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I would be like, yeah, I think it would be kind of cool to see them. M. and then I. Sorry, go ahead.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I was going to say because, you know, sharks are in the wild. Like, as long as you don't antagonize them.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, they don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they're not gonna do. They really don't care.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, you don't taste like food for them. Like. Yeah, yeah, no, I, I want to see, sharks, and then I want to do another night dive. Because the first time I did a night dive, it was kind of scary and a little bit like just getting a climb, like, not knowing what to expect.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Just getting over that. And now that I, am kind of know what to expect, I feel like it would be super, super fun.
When you've done your dive or your dives, what is the next thing
>> Marco Timpano: When you've done your dive or your dives and you're coming out of the water, what is the next thing you want to do after the dive? Like, is there a ritual you have? Are you like,
>> Nidhi Khanna: Good question, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: It's good because I haven't had a chance to ask you a million not so good questions.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. It's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes I would ask Niddy stuff, and you wouldn't see this, but she'd roll her eyes or, like, look at me and shrug her shoulders, like, what are you asking me right now?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Remember the time when I fell asleep during the recording?
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't remember that episode. You were talking about pickling or something. Pickling, like, your furniture. And I was like, I can't. I'm too tired for this.
>> Marco Timpano: because a lot of times we would record when you just got home from a long day at work, and it was like, oh, Niddy, I'm sorry, but we need an episode for tomorrow. And you're like, okay, just come over.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true. I remember, and I remember waking up kind of halfway through going, did I just want to sleep during the episode? I don't know if he noticed. I'm pretty sure he did, but he kept going. Going with, like, the pickling. We're still in the story.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know that we have listeners
>> Marco Timpano: who love, like, everyone's. The pickling episode we did a few years back. And I'll still get, you know, some social media where it's like, just listen to the pickling episode.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so fun. I can't believe it. It makes me fall asleep every time.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, it made me fall asleep too. that's how good it was.
>> Marco Timpano: The chess episode I did with my brother in law.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I actually, like, I had my. My hand on my cheek kind of thing. You know, when you rest your elbow on the table. And a couple times I could feel my head dropping during that episode when
>> Marco Timpano: I was actually interview, I was falling asleep based on his responses.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, man. Oh, man. but to answer your question, my ritual, I think the first thing I want to do is obviously take off my tank.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And take off like, there is, like, a ritual to how you take off your gear.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: because it's all sloppy and like, you're tired and it was a great dive and you're like, talking about it, et cetera. And then it's like, get me my water. Get me, like, I need a snack of some kind.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. what's your preferred after scuba snack?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I mean, something like an apple is fine, but, you know, Yeah, usually I'm really, really hungry by the time I get.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's amazing.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. It's so good.
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Niddy, is there a beverage you like to have after a dive
>> Nidhi Khanna: So good.
>> Marco Timpano: So.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And then I like to. Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: No, please.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I just. Because you're always in a. Because usually, we have a pickup truck and so part of the ritual is also just like sitting on the back of the truck and watching the water right. As you're kind of like just decompressing.
>> Marco Timpano: That's awesome.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: is there a beverage you like to have after a dive where you're like, you know what an aperol spritz would do me just.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, right now.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I mean, after the last dive of a day, for sure. Like, get me the wine.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you're. You're wine. You're a wine. A wine connoisseur.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, well, connoisseurs.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I would say so. You know what, Niddy? Like, when we, when we go out and you have wine, you know the wines you like, and I know the lines. I. I know the line with the wines you like too. Just having known you for as many years as. As I do, I want to mention. So you like, you like sparkling wine, right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Every now and then. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You're more of a red drinker.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But there's a sparkling wine I need you to try.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, tell me.
Nidhi: Prosecco's not my sparkling
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so, okay, this is, this is the episode where I just talked to Nidhi and everyone just listens to.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, this is like our phone call. This is our catch up update. I haven't talked to you in a couple of months.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Nidhi, I don't love Prosecco. Prosecco's not my sparkling. I'm not a big sparkling person. Anyways.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, tell me.
>> Marco Timpano: But I was at my friend's house and I've known about this wine because I lived in Italy and stuff, but I never. Sparkling is not my go to. But it's called Francia, Corta, which means, small France or little France or short France. It's the region that sort of borders France and Italy, and they have a very dry, sparkling, delicate wine. It's not like the. It's not a harsh wine, but it's a really lovely wine. and so a friend of mine had it. We saw him and he was like, I want you to try this wine. I really love it. And so we had it and it was delightful. I have some in my fridge. So the next time you're in my neck of the woods, we'll got to come over and. Yeah, we'll just have it. We'll celebrate. And I, really need you to. I really need you to try it. Like if you're at the wine, store to pick some up.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Because I think, yeah, I'm looking at it right now on the LCBO app. the little wine Store app. Okay. Yum.
>> Marco Timpano: So, where's Prosecco's from? The north eastern, say, part of Italy. Franciacorta is the northwestern part. That's where you're gonna get. It's a different type of grape. It's a different style of sparkly. Yeah.
Marco says he does not like red wine in Greece
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, we talked about my Greece trip last time too.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, we did, but I'm happy to revisit.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, I was just thinking about wine and like, the white wine there is really good, but I just do not like the red wine there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. especially Greece. Did you have the Assytica? Yeah, that's a great, that's a great Greek, white. Yeah, but I just think the conditions are maybe a little too dry in Greece or a little bit too sun baked for any wine. Red. Red, that is. but then again, what do I know? I'm not.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I mean, it sounds like you know what you're talking about, but hasn't that been this entire podcast? Is this pretending we know what we're talking about?
>> Marco Timpano: It's.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so true.
>> Marco Timpano: did I ever ask you what kind of sparkling water you like?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ooh, that's a good question.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's because here's the awesome thing about Nidhi. While she contemplates this, she's up for
>> Marco Timpano: anything when you go out for a bite with her.
>> Marco Timpano: Like if when you go to a restaurant with Nidi and it's like, nidhi,
>> Marco Timpano: you want sparkling, let's get sparkly.
>> Marco Timpano: You want to get an appetizer, let's get appetizers. Like, you're always game for anything, which is something I love. but anyways, I'm asking you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true. True. I mean, yeah, food and drink is definitely up there on my hobbies. I would say I think a good San Pellegrino.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm not like fussy on my sparkling wine, to be honest. How about you? Do you like it spritzed with something? Do you have a spritz? No.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's, here's. You know me, I'm persnickety. So I'm going to tell you, no ice in my sparkling. It has to just be cold sparkling water. I don't like harsh bubbles, like in Perrier.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I prefer medium strength bubbles, like in a San Pellegrino type thing. I don't like faint bubbles. That doesn't do it for me. And I never need a lime or a lemon. I just like the water as is straight.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Straight up.
>> Marco Timpano: Straight. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fair enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my Goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And what have you been up to, Marco? Like, Marco, you're doing so many things. What? Have you, have you read. Oh, no. I was gonna say something, but now it sounds like I'm trying to set this up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's all good.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I was gonna say, have you read any books lately? But I figured, like, that's a setup for your. Anyways.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You wanna plug.
Nidhi was hired to do narration for a new audiobook
>> Marco Timpano: I. Okay. So I've read an audiobook. So I was hired to narrate an audiobook. So that'll be coming out soon. I'll tell people about it when it,
>> Marco Timpano: when, when I can.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't. It's gonna come out in the next week or two really. So I don't know if I can. I'd have to talk to the publishers if I can. But, So as our listeners know, I'm an actor and I got hired to do this voice. These voices. These voices. I got hired to do narration for this audiobook. And I didn't realize that this book has over 30 characters in it.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had to have so many different voices.
>> Nidhi Khanna: you're not just narrating it, right? Like you gotta actually act it out.
>> Marco Timpano: You have to put a different inflection in your voice when you're. When the. When the words on the page are from the character's mouth. At least that's what the director wanted.
>> Marco Timpano: The problem, Nidhi, was the majority of characters were seven year old boys.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, So I was always doing these seven year old boys voices. Right. And at a certain point there's Only so many 7 year old boys I can muster up. Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Can you give me an example though?
>> Marco Timpano: yeah. So one of them I had a slight list with. Right. So they would talk in Italian too. So it wasn't just
>> Nidhi Khanna: a seven year old boy talking in Italian.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So it'd be like, my one character's voice, like the narrator who was the seven year old boy would be saying things like, I don't know why we have to go to the school tomorrow. I really don't want to go to the school. So I would just alter my voice ever so slightly. Right. But then it would be like, let's go up to the mountain and see where the sheep are. Right. Like, so that's the character, that's his best friend, he has a bit of a lisp and I, I chose to give him that because he's more of a tougher character. So one would think give the tougher character tougher voice. But I thought it Would be more interesting to give the kid a little bit of the lisp that he's probably going to grow out of.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But it adds more dimension to this tough kid with a lisp. I thought, And then I had to do. You know, I had to do a woman giving birth at one point. Yeah. Ah. And then Nidhi.
>> Marco Timpano: So.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't tell you any of this, did I?
>> Marco Timpano: Clearly, I didn't tell her she gives birth at a certain point, and it's not the most pleasant birth. Not that, you know, births are an easy thing whatsoever. But this particular character had a really
>> Marco Timpano: tough go at it.
>> Marco Timpano: And so there was that aspect to it. But the director seemed very happy with what I did, so I was happy. And then there was a part where. Where it was a song. Like it was a page of song. And I was like.
>> Marco Timpano: So I just.
>> Marco Timpano: As we get to it, my director, I stopped and I said, okay. I asked the director, I said, I don't know what to do here because it's a song that's being sung of
>> Marco Timpano: a song that doesn't exist.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, my God, I love it.
>> Marco Timpano: And I, don't know if you've ever heard me sing, but I love to sing, but I have the worst singing voice ever.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know two of us can do a duet.
>> Marco Timpano: We should just.
>> Marco Timpano: Bad Duets.
>> Marco Timpano: We should do a podcast called Bad Duets.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was like. I was like, what do I do? Like, what do you want me to do? And, the song was also in Italian, so it was like, oh, there's more challenges here too. Right. So it's a song sung by a male and a female, and it's Italian.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm like, everything in there. It's like the actors gymnastics that you were playing.
>> Marco Timpano: So fortunately, I didn't know what to do and I wouldn't know how to approach that. And the director was like, here's what we do when we have a song in an audiobook. We treat it like a poem. I'm like, all right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, that's good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And the hardest thing for me to do, apart from a lot of the voices, was there was a poem. You know how some books have a poem that introduced the book?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was by Proust. Proust.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah.
Do you listen to audiobooks? I haven't really gotten into them
>> Marco Timpano: You know that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marcel Proust.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, Marcel Proust. Exactly. I didn't love it. It was like, this is the worst quote poem ever. But just because I don't love it
>> Marco Timpano: doesn't mean that the listeners love it or the.
>> Marco Timpano: Or the author didn't love It.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had to. Had to find a way to love that thing that I read. And I found that tricky. But my favorite thing was saying, you know, nitty, kind of audio presents, like, you know, like doing that little.
>> Marco Timpano: Where you mentioned it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, that was my.
>> Marco Timpano: That was my favorite thing of the book. Do you listen to audiobooks?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, it's funny. Like, I'm obviously into podcasts and listen to podcasts, but I haven't really gotten into audiobooks. I think it's because, like, I need, Like, I enjoy my podcasts to be. Or like, my audio m. To be more about, like the news or like, I don't like the fiction. I don't know. I need to. I don't know. Actually, I've never really tried it, so maybe I'm just making a gross generalization about what I like and don't like.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you know, like, if there's. I know you like mystery novels.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: If there is an author whose works you haven't read yet that you're like, oh, you know, I know that you've read Agatha Christie, but let's say you look. You're like, she has such a huge body of work and I would like to read her books, but I don't have the time to be reading all her books. I find audiobooks gets you through an author's sort of repertoire catalog.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, See, I'm just more likely to watch tv. I don't know if that. I'm m more likely to watch tv.
>> Marco Timpano: So we put on.
>> Marco Timpano: So we really got into some of these shows that you like, and our
>> Marco Timpano: audience doesn't know is that I watch. I watch Broadchurch. Then I put on my Facebook, I love Broadchurch.
>> Marco Timpano: I'd like to have other of these kinds of. What would you call that kind. That genre of, TV show, like mystery.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Thriller. Thriller, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so a bunch of people chimed in, and then Niddy chimed in with a dissertation of the different types of British mystery things. And we talked about it on the podcast before.
>> Marco Timpano: So I knew I had some knowledge based on what you told me. But the other day, Amanda and I put on a show, and I'll tell you the name of it in just a second. She's like, I don't know. I just don't understand. They're speaking English, but I feel like it doesn't take place in England. And it's called Young Wallander.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm like, I think this takes place in Sweden.
>> Marco Timpano: And she goes, so we look and it does take place. And she goes, how did you know
>> Marco Timpano: it took place in Sweden? I'm like, well, Nidhi told me that there's a whole genre of Swedish mystery.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh my gosh, that's really funny. I'm glad that I can, provide some enlightenment on the mystery of the day to.
What is your favorite TV show or movie of all time
>> Marco Timpano: What are your favorite, by the way, for our listeners who might be into it?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I mean, I really liked Broadchurch, like the, the English version, the first season in particular. I did like that one. I love anything. David Tennant. m. What is my favorite or
>> Marco Timpano: what cuts it for you? What, like, what is it that you're like when you watch it? You're like, okay, this is one I can dive right into.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think it has to be somewhat complex. Like, I don't like it when it's, you know, yeah, there's got to be like a few. There's got to be a multi episode arc and have some complexity to it. I, like when the characters are kind of a bit more layered.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Often there are, you know, after you've watched as many. There often like very much you can see the tropes and you're like, oh, this guy again. Okay, yeah. this stereotype, etc. But right. you know, the forlorn police officer, chief detective who's lost his wife or in some ways usually up there. and then I like it. You, know it's got. Yeah. So I don't want to have to like solve it right away. Like.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Interested. I like it when there's like something cinema, like when the cinematography actually is kind of cool and dark and like I feel like the, the location
>> Marco Timpano: is part of the story.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. And it's like the location really has to speak to. Like there's a few shows, that were shot in Iceland and it was cool because it's like the, the actual Icelandic, landscape is a part of the mood of the drama. Right, Right. And so you, you can't. Yeah, so. So I do really enjoy that. I really enjoy that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's fascinating. Yeah. I really got into the.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fascinating's a strong word, particularly on this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh man, it's just so funny.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny. Like I, I don't know if you saw. So we've subscribed to a bunch of these, movie channels now just so. Because we've been going through so many. Right. And so we got Apple TV and we got to see the morning show. I don't know if you've seen that. No, it's so great, Nitty, really. Jennifer Aniston is fantastic in it, but going. I don't know why I just went out to that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Those are words I don't hear very often.
>> Marco Timpano: She's so stellar in it, I really have to say. Well, thank you for listening to the, the podcast. Do you want to end it for us, Nidhi?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, my gosh, Sean.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, please.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You've been listening to the Insomnia Project, recorded here in Toronto, Canada, and, we hope that you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: Sept 23, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. We hope you will listen and sleep
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back Relax and listen as we have a mundane conversation to help you just drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I
>> Nidhi Khanna: am, your co host for today, Nidhi Khanna.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Nidhi. I was, trying not to be too excited in the intro. I have to tell you, it was using all my strength and energy not to give it away. I'm so happy that you're here today.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm so happy to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: Nidhi, first of all, so many of our listeners have been asking about you. How is she doing? Is she all right? Is she. Is she healthy? How's work? What's going on? So I've always been just responding. She's very busy, but she's awesome as always. So just tell us, Nidhi, how have you been?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, my goodness. First of all, thank you to everyone who has been so supportive. I mean, the one thing about, this show that has brought me so much joy is the people who really love us and really have gravitated towards the show. And, that's very, very special. I've been good. I've been. Oh, Marco. it's been, you know, I've been working a lot, as you say. I've been scuba diving a lot. I've been kind of really, just focusing on sort of myself and all of the things that I have been wanting to do for the last little while. And, you know, it's taken up some more time than I thought it would. And so I had to say, okay, where are the points in my life that I want to sort of explore right now? And where are the areas that, you know, I need to kind of step away from?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Nidhi Khanna: and, you've been such a huge support in all of that. So listen, cannot thank you enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome home, welcome back. Anytime you can or feel like being on the podcast, we are thrilled. I am thrilled. I can't speak for everyone, but I can tell you from the responses that I've been seeing, we're all thrilled to have you here. So, Nidhi, you just say the word. You just send me a text and say, let's do an episode.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Done. We can do this all virtually.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we're recording this virtually. And I also, want to tell our guests, you look fantastic. I love your hair, by the way.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Love it.
>> Marco Timpano: Those pictures that you've had on your Instagram of you enjoying a drink or two always make me so happy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I love it.
>> Marco Timpano: But before we go into the drinks that you've been enjoying.
>> Marco Timpano: I need to find out.
Xena just celebrated her ninth birthday. She still acts like a puppy
Xena. How's Xena? she loves me. And I haven't seen her in so long. Hold on here.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm gonna turn it around so you can see her. There she is.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my God. She's so adorable.
>> Marco Timpano: Hi, Xena.
>> Nidhi Khanna: she's waiting for me to throw this thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: There you go. she's good. She just celebrated her ninth birthday.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. and, she still acts like a puppy. which is very odd. Sometimes I'm like, whoa, chill. But it's funny because now she's sort of. You throw this, like, bone thing once or twice and. Whereas before, like, even a couple of years ago you could do it like 10 times and she would still want to keep going. Now it's like, okay, she does it twice and she's like, all right, I'm done.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm done. That sound is nitty throwing the chew toy that looks like a bone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. So, apologies for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's, all good.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But she's good. She's still my little. My little baby.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: My family.
All right, next we have to talk about scuba adventures
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so next we have to talk about scuba because it's always delight to talk to you about your scuba adventures.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And they. Have they been curtailed? What are you up to? How are they going?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, Marco, you know, they have been curtailed, obviously, during this time.
>> Marco Timpano: Time, sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But I cannot wait to get back underneath the ocean soon.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I was supposed to go to Roatan, actually, in June. Had to get back.
>> Marco Timpano: Where's that?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So Roatan is just like an island off of Honduras. It's part of Honduras, I guess. And, it's got a spectacular reef. Actually one of the best reef systems, in the world. And so I was really looking forward to diving somewhere new because, of course, I've been to Bonaire a few times now. And, unfortunately, I had to, delay, that trip. But I did the last time, I think. I think probably the last time we recorded was right before. Did I do my hundred feet? Did I do my advanced diving certificate?
>> Marco Timpano: I think you did.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: You passed that, Right? Where did you do it? Did you do it in Bonaire?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I did.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. So you did. Yeah. So.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So that was really cool. I got to do wreck diving, ice diving and all sorts of stuff. And now I'm studying to do my rescue diving, which is the next course.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. So I think, like, maybe I want to be sort of like, I want to in my back pocket to be a dive instructor at some point or be able to teach diving.
>> Marco Timpano: You would be great at that. Knowing you and how. You know, if I'm being totally honest, folks, sometimes when it comes to computer
>> Marco Timpano: stuff, I don't know what I'm doing. And Niddy will walk me through things
>> Marco Timpano: and she'll be like, no, no, you've got to click the wheel. No, it looks more like a cog, you know, like a. Like if you open up a. Oh, the one that looks like a watch.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so click on that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I X out of the screen. Okay, turn this. And she's very patient and very good natured about it because I'm sometimes,
>> Marco Timpano: technology has the best of me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I mean, look how far you've come. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: That's true.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You're the podcast expert now.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Nidhi, you know, remember the hours we would spend in from the computer watching tutorials.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know, I know. You know, it's really funny because it makes me think about how when you're learning something or when there's something new, like when you have the drive to learn something.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You'll just absorb it. Right. And you'll try and figure it out. And sometimes I think it's hard to find that sometimes, like, okay, are you passionate enough to try and figure out how to learn it? Right. And, yeah, that's what we did. We just.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, because the worst, and I'm sure you encounter this at work is when you have to learn a new system and you're like, I'm already busy and now I have to spend time learning a new system and how to. How to implement certain things that work just fine in the previous system.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, exactly, exactly. So, yeah, but kudos.
What are you looking forward to seeing on your next dive
>> Marco Timpano: Well, let me ask you this. Okay. So what are you looking forward to seeing on your next dive? Like, is there something that you're like, I really want to see or explore this on my next dive?
>> Nidhi Khanna: you know what? I think I'm ready to see some sharks.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that's great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think I'm there. Where I wouldn't freak out.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I would be like, yeah, I think it would be kind of cool to see them. M. and then I. Sorry, go ahead.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I was going to say because, you know, sharks are in the wild. Like, as long as you don't antagonize them.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, they don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they're not gonna do. They really don't care.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, you don't taste like food for them. Like. Yeah, yeah, no, I, I want to see, sharks, and then I want to do another night dive. Because the first time I did a night dive, it was kind of scary and a little bit like just getting a climb, like, not knowing what to expect.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Just getting over that. And now that I, am kind of know what to expect, I feel like it would be super, super fun.
When you've done your dive or your dives, what is the next thing
>> Marco Timpano: When you've done your dive or your dives and you're coming out of the water, what is the next thing you want to do after the dive? Like, is there a ritual you have? Are you like,
>> Nidhi Khanna: Good question, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: It's good because I haven't had a chance to ask you a million not so good questions.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. It's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes I would ask Niddy stuff, and you wouldn't see this, but she'd roll her eyes or, like, look at me and shrug her shoulders, like, what are you asking me right now?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Remember the time when I fell asleep during the recording?
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't remember that episode. You were talking about pickling or something. Pickling, like, your furniture. And I was like, I can't. I'm too tired for this.
>> Marco Timpano: because a lot of times we would record when you just got home from a long day at work, and it was like, oh, Niddy, I'm sorry, but we need an episode for tomorrow. And you're like, okay, just come over.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true. I remember, and I remember waking up kind of halfway through going, did I just want to sleep during the episode? I don't know if he noticed. I'm pretty sure he did, but he kept going. Going with, like, the pickling. We're still in the story.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know that we have listeners
>> Marco Timpano: who love, like, everyone's. The pickling episode we did a few years back. And I'll still get, you know, some social media where it's like, just listen to the pickling episode.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so fun. I can't believe it. It makes me fall asleep every time.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, it made me fall asleep too. that's how good it was.
>> Marco Timpano: The chess episode I did with my brother in law.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I actually, like, I had my. My hand on my cheek kind of thing. You know, when you rest your elbow on the table. And a couple times I could feel my head dropping during that episode when
>> Marco Timpano: I was actually interview, I was falling asleep based on his responses.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, man. Oh, man. but to answer your question, my ritual, I think the first thing I want to do is obviously take off my tank.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And take off like, there is, like, a ritual to how you take off your gear.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: because it's all sloppy and like, you're tired and it was a great dive and you're like, talking about it, et cetera. And then it's like, get me my water. Get me, like, I need a snack of some kind.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. what's your preferred after scuba snack?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I mean, something like an apple is fine, but, you know, Yeah, usually I'm really, really hungry by the time I get.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's amazing.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. It's so good.
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Niddy, is there a beverage you like to have after a dive
>> Nidhi Khanna: So good.
>> Marco Timpano: So.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And then I like to. Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: No, please.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I just. Because you're always in a. Because usually, we have a pickup truck and so part of the ritual is also just like sitting on the back of the truck and watching the water right. As you're kind of like just decompressing.
>> Marco Timpano: That's awesome.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: is there a beverage you like to have after a dive where you're like, you know what an aperol spritz would do me just.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, right now.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I mean, after the last dive of a day, for sure. Like, get me the wine.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you're. You're wine. You're a wine. A wine connoisseur.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, well, connoisseurs.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I would say so. You know what, Niddy? Like, when we, when we go out and you have wine, you know the wines you like, and I know the lines. I. I know the line with the wines you like too. Just having known you for as many years as. As I do, I want to mention. So you like, you like sparkling wine, right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Every now and then. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You're more of a red drinker.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But there's a sparkling wine I need you to try.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, tell me.
Nidhi: Prosecco's not my sparkling
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so, okay, this is, this is the episode where I just talked to Nidhi and everyone just listens to.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, this is like our phone call. This is our catch up update. I haven't talked to you in a couple of months.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Nidhi, I don't love Prosecco. Prosecco's not my sparkling. I'm not a big sparkling person. Anyways.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, tell me.
>> Marco Timpano: But I was at my friend's house and I've known about this wine because I lived in Italy and stuff, but I never. Sparkling is not my go to. But it's called Francia, Corta, which means, small France or little France or short France. It's the region that sort of borders France and Italy, and they have a very dry, sparkling, delicate wine. It's not like the. It's not a harsh wine, but it's a really lovely wine. and so a friend of mine had it. We saw him and he was like, I want you to try this wine. I really love it. And so we had it and it was delightful. I have some in my fridge. So the next time you're in my neck of the woods, we'll got to come over and. Yeah, we'll just have it. We'll celebrate. And I, really need you to. I really need you to try it. Like if you're at the wine, store to pick some up.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Because I think, yeah, I'm looking at it right now on the LCBO app. the little wine Store app. Okay. Yum.
>> Marco Timpano: So, where's Prosecco's from? The north eastern, say, part of Italy. Franciacorta is the northwestern part. That's where you're gonna get. It's a different type of grape. It's a different style of sparkly. Yeah.
Marco says he does not like red wine in Greece
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, we talked about my Greece trip last time too.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, we did, but I'm happy to revisit.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, I was just thinking about wine and like, the white wine there is really good, but I just do not like the red wine there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. especially Greece. Did you have the Assytica? Yeah, that's a great, that's a great Greek, white. Yeah, but I just think the conditions are maybe a little too dry in Greece or a little bit too sun baked for any wine. Red. Red, that is. but then again, what do I know? I'm not.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I mean, it sounds like you know what you're talking about, but hasn't that been this entire podcast? Is this pretending we know what we're talking about?
>> Marco Timpano: It's.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so true.
>> Marco Timpano: did I ever ask you what kind of sparkling water you like?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ooh, that's a good question.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's because here's the awesome thing about Nidhi. While she contemplates this, she's up for
>> Marco Timpano: anything when you go out for a bite with her.
>> Marco Timpano: Like if when you go to a restaurant with Nidi and it's like, nidhi,
>> Marco Timpano: you want sparkling, let's get sparkly.
>> Marco Timpano: You want to get an appetizer, let's get appetizers. Like, you're always game for anything, which is something I love. but anyways, I'm asking you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true. True. I mean, yeah, food and drink is definitely up there on my hobbies. I would say I think a good San Pellegrino.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm not like fussy on my sparkling wine, to be honest. How about you? Do you like it spritzed with something? Do you have a spritz? No.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's, here's. You know me, I'm persnickety. So I'm going to tell you, no ice in my sparkling. It has to just be cold sparkling water. I don't like harsh bubbles, like in Perrier.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I prefer medium strength bubbles, like in a San Pellegrino type thing. I don't like faint bubbles. That doesn't do it for me. And I never need a lime or a lemon. I just like the water as is straight.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Straight up.
>> Marco Timpano: Straight. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fair enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my Goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And what have you been up to, Marco? Like, Marco, you're doing so many things. What? Have you, have you read. Oh, no. I was gonna say something, but now it sounds like I'm trying to set this up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's all good.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I was gonna say, have you read any books lately? But I figured, like, that's a setup for your. Anyways.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You wanna plug.
Nidhi was hired to do narration for a new audiobook
>> Marco Timpano: I. Okay. So I've read an audiobook. So I was hired to narrate an audiobook. So that'll be coming out soon. I'll tell people about it when it,
>> Marco Timpano: when, when I can.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't. It's gonna come out in the next week or two really. So I don't know if I can. I'd have to talk to the publishers if I can. But, So as our listeners know, I'm an actor and I got hired to do this voice. These voices. These voices. I got hired to do narration for this audiobook. And I didn't realize that this book has over 30 characters in it.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had to have so many different voices.
>> Nidhi Khanna: you're not just narrating it, right? Like you gotta actually act it out.
>> Marco Timpano: You have to put a different inflection in your voice when you're. When the. When the words on the page are from the character's mouth. At least that's what the director wanted.
>> Marco Timpano: The problem, Nidhi, was the majority of characters were seven year old boys.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, So I was always doing these seven year old boys voices. Right. And at a certain point there's Only so many 7 year old boys I can muster up. Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Can you give me an example though?
>> Marco Timpano: yeah. So one of them I had a slight list with. Right. So they would talk in Italian too. So it wasn't just
>> Nidhi Khanna: a seven year old boy talking in Italian.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So it'd be like, my one character's voice, like the narrator who was the seven year old boy would be saying things like, I don't know why we have to go to the school tomorrow. I really don't want to go to the school. So I would just alter my voice ever so slightly. Right. But then it would be like, let's go up to the mountain and see where the sheep are. Right. Like, so that's the character, that's his best friend, he has a bit of a lisp and I, I chose to give him that because he's more of a tougher character. So one would think give the tougher character tougher voice. But I thought it Would be more interesting to give the kid a little bit of the lisp that he's probably going to grow out of.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But it adds more dimension to this tough kid with a lisp. I thought, And then I had to do. You know, I had to do a woman giving birth at one point. Yeah. Ah. And then Nidhi.
>> Marco Timpano: So.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't tell you any of this, did I?
>> Marco Timpano: Clearly, I didn't tell her she gives birth at a certain point, and it's not the most pleasant birth. Not that, you know, births are an easy thing whatsoever. But this particular character had a really
>> Marco Timpano: tough go at it.
>> Marco Timpano: And so there was that aspect to it. But the director seemed very happy with what I did, so I was happy. And then there was a part where. Where it was a song. Like it was a page of song. And I was like.
>> Marco Timpano: So I just.
>> Marco Timpano: As we get to it, my director, I stopped and I said, okay. I asked the director, I said, I don't know what to do here because it's a song that's being sung of
>> Marco Timpano: a song that doesn't exist.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, my God, I love it.
>> Marco Timpano: And I, don't know if you've ever heard me sing, but I love to sing, but I have the worst singing voice ever.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know two of us can do a duet.
>> Marco Timpano: We should just.
>> Marco Timpano: Bad Duets.
>> Marco Timpano: We should do a podcast called Bad Duets.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was like. I was like, what do I do? Like, what do you want me to do? And, the song was also in Italian, so it was like, oh, there's more challenges here too. Right. So it's a song sung by a male and a female, and it's Italian.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm like, everything in there. It's like the actors gymnastics that you were playing.
>> Marco Timpano: So fortunately, I didn't know what to do and I wouldn't know how to approach that. And the director was like, here's what we do when we have a song in an audiobook. We treat it like a poem. I'm like, all right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, that's good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And the hardest thing for me to do, apart from a lot of the voices, was there was a poem. You know how some books have a poem that introduced the book?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was by Proust. Proust.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah.
Do you listen to audiobooks? I haven't really gotten into them
>> Marco Timpano: You know that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marcel Proust.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, Marcel Proust. Exactly. I didn't love it. It was like, this is the worst quote poem ever. But just because I don't love it
>> Marco Timpano: doesn't mean that the listeners love it or the.
>> Marco Timpano: Or the author didn't love It.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had to. Had to find a way to love that thing that I read. And I found that tricky. But my favorite thing was saying, you know, nitty, kind of audio presents, like, you know, like doing that little.
>> Marco Timpano: Where you mentioned it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, that was my.
>> Marco Timpano: That was my favorite thing of the book. Do you listen to audiobooks?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, it's funny. Like, I'm obviously into podcasts and listen to podcasts, but I haven't really gotten into audiobooks. I think it's because, like, I need, Like, I enjoy my podcasts to be. Or like, my audio m. To be more about, like the news or like, I don't like the fiction. I don't know. I need to. I don't know. Actually, I've never really tried it, so maybe I'm just making a gross generalization about what I like and don't like.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you know, like, if there's. I know you like mystery novels.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: If there is an author whose works you haven't read yet that you're like, oh, you know, I know that you've read Agatha Christie, but let's say you look. You're like, she has such a huge body of work and I would like to read her books, but I don't have the time to be reading all her books. I find audiobooks gets you through an author's sort of repertoire catalog.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, See, I'm just more likely to watch tv. I don't know if that. I'm m more likely to watch tv.
>> Marco Timpano: So we put on.
>> Marco Timpano: So we really got into some of these shows that you like, and our
>> Marco Timpano: audience doesn't know is that I watch. I watch Broadchurch. Then I put on my Facebook, I love Broadchurch.
>> Marco Timpano: I'd like to have other of these kinds of. What would you call that kind. That genre of, TV show, like mystery.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Thriller. Thriller, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so a bunch of people chimed in, and then Niddy chimed in with a dissertation of the different types of British mystery things. And we talked about it on the podcast before.
>> Marco Timpano: So I knew I had some knowledge based on what you told me. But the other day, Amanda and I put on a show, and I'll tell you the name of it in just a second. She's like, I don't know. I just don't understand. They're speaking English, but I feel like it doesn't take place in England. And it's called Young Wallander.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm like, I think this takes place in Sweden.
>> Marco Timpano: And she goes, so we look and it does take place. And she goes, how did you know
>> Marco Timpano: it took place in Sweden? I'm like, well, Nidhi told me that there's a whole genre of Swedish mystery.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh my gosh, that's really funny. I'm glad that I can, provide some enlightenment on the mystery of the day to.
What is your favorite TV show or movie of all time
>> Marco Timpano: What are your favorite, by the way, for our listeners who might be into it?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I mean, I really liked Broadchurch, like the, the English version, the first season in particular. I did like that one. I love anything. David Tennant. m. What is my favorite or
>> Marco Timpano: what cuts it for you? What, like, what is it that you're like when you watch it? You're like, okay, this is one I can dive right into.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think it has to be somewhat complex. Like, I don't like it when it's, you know, yeah, there's got to be like a few. There's got to be a multi episode arc and have some complexity to it. I, like when the characters are kind of a bit more layered.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Often there are, you know, after you've watched as many. There often like very much you can see the tropes and you're like, oh, this guy again. Okay, yeah. this stereotype, etc. But right. you know, the forlorn police officer, chief detective who's lost his wife or in some ways usually up there. and then I like it. You, know it's got. Yeah. So I don't want to have to like solve it right away. Like.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Interested. I like it when there's like something cinema, like when the cinematography actually is kind of cool and dark and like I feel like the, the location
>> Marco Timpano: is part of the story.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. And it's like the location really has to speak to. Like there's a few shows, that were shot in Iceland and it was cool because it's like the, the actual Icelandic, landscape is a part of the mood of the drama. Right, Right. And so you, you can't. Yeah, so. So I do really enjoy that. I really enjoy that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's fascinating. Yeah. I really got into the.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fascinating's a strong word, particularly on this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh man, it's just so funny.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny. Like I, I don't know if you saw. So we've subscribed to a bunch of these, movie channels now just so. Because we've been going through so many. Right. And so we got Apple TV and we got to see the morning show. I don't know if you've seen that. No, it's so great, Nitty, really. Jennifer Aniston is fantastic in it, but going. I don't know why I just went out to that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Those are words I don't hear very often.
>> Marco Timpano: She's so stellar in it, I really have to say. Well, thank you for listening to the, the podcast. Do you want to end it for us, Nidhi?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, my gosh, Sean.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, please.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You've been listening to the Insomnia Project, recorded here in Toronto, Canada, and, we hope that you listen and sleep.
International Podcast Day
(Original airdate Sept 30, 2020)
Today is International Podcast Day, and the Insomnia Project celebrates
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen. We have a conversation about the mundane. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host Marco Timpano, and today is International Podcast Day. And the reason I bring it up is because, A, I'm a podcaster, and B, you're listening to a podcast. And it's a little celebration, if you will. I've, been podcasting for about five years now, and it's always a humbling endeavor. As I tried to get today's episode up and as I was doing it, it crashed and I realized, well, I have it saved somewhere else. It's just gonna take me a little bit longer. So my apologies. I had to dig and fix and work on it. And it's actually the second part of an episode you may have listened to last week with our favourite guest, Nidhi khanna. And we start by talking about podcasts. But before we do that, I just want to say thank you for listening to this podcast. Thank you for sharing this podcast with your friends and people who find it calming and helpful and useful, and all the kind letters and emails and 5 star reviews you've given me over the years, I want to thank you for that. It's provided me with a community that I didn't know was out there, of kind people, of lovely people, of people who have good hearts. And I'm sure you're one of those people listening. So I wish you well, I wish you sleep, and I hope you enjoy this episode and no matter what, Happy International Podcast Day. And I hope you have plenty, in your library that you enjoy listening to.
I start by asking Nidhi about podcasts she's listening to
I start the second part of this interview by asking Nidhi about podcasts she's listening to. So let's have a listen. We never talk about other podcasts. What podcasts are you really into? Let's do a back and forth. Pitch me the podcast you're listening to and I'll pitch you some of the ones that I'm listening to.
>> Nidhi Khanna: so my go tos, the Daily. The New York Times. The Daily. Okay, just for your 20 minutes of like, this is some information about what's going on in the world, but kind of dissect it a little bit more than you would have on regular radio. another classic for me is my favorite Murder.
>> Marco Timpano: You got me into that one for sure. supposedly. And I don't know if this is true because I've listened to many episodes, but someone said that they may have mentioned the insomnia project on. Yeah, that's what. I don't know if it's true because I feel like one of us would know that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, I would have heard that, I'm sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so would I write them. It's so funny. My friend Knows Georgia in a roundabout way in la. Yeah. And she says she's so lovely. She's like, she's the most loveliest person and she seems it. Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Very real.
>> Marco Timpano: They seem very real. I love what they do, you know, you know, to the. With their fans and I love how much respect they have for their fans and just everyone's well being that I really, I really sort of strikes a chord in my heart. but we're both fans and I'm a fan of that podcast because of you.
Let me tell you a, uh, couple of podcasts I'm listening to
Let me tell you a, couple of podcasts I'm listening to. Let's go. Let's go back.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, perfect. Because I have a couple of others that I really want to talk about.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So I just discovered this one that is just on air now. It's called Bunga Banga.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's about Silvio Berlusconi's rise to power. But what I love about it is the host is, Whitney Cummings, who you don't think would necessarily be the person you'd want to host a political serial podcast, but she's perfect and it's very funny as well as being informative. I think you'd get a kick out of it. I think you'd get a kick. Yeah, I think so.
>> Nidhi Khanna: another good one that I've just come onto is Radio Rental.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I don't know that one.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh. So it's like, Rainn Wilson from the Office. He has this character that he does who is this like video store owner, and his name is, Oh my gosh. What's his name?
>> Marco Timpano: his character's name.
>> Nidhi Khanna: His character's name is, anyways, I forgot what his character's name is. Really, like really good, funny, but like he basically narrates, these real life stories that, were on Found on Reddit and they're all kind of like super. Got like a supernatural kind of weird element or like something where it's like the person was almost kidnapped. Like there's a weird story that someone's like kind of like an eerie story. There's something kind of thriller esque about what they're saying. and it's the real person's story who's narrating, it disperses. so that's a pretty cool one.
>> Marco Timpano: That is cool. have you heard of Dolly Parton's America?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, I listened to that one because of you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I loved it so much. I'm a huge fan of Dolly Parton. but that whether you are or Are not. It's a great podcast.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yep. still processing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, what's that?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So, so, it's sort of the two culture writers, these two culture writers from the New York Times, who, really look at sort of, I guess, how would you describe it? Sort of cultural, trends of the day through the lens of the black experience in America. And they kind of dissect that a bit more. And so I really enjoyed that one.
>> Marco Timpano: Perfect. And it would be something for everyone to listen to.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: okay. So you're really going to see our different tastes because NIDIs are all very high brow. Mine are not New York Times, but I stumbled onto this from listening to another podcast. So it's not a podcast I would ever really seek or listen to if I just stumbled onto it myself, but it's called Inside the Groove.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: And what it is is this gentleman from the UK takes one. He's a big fan of Madonnas, and he takes a Madonna song, and he dives into the song in a very studious kind of way. So he's like, let's listen to the track. And he'll take the audio track or the drum track of that particular song and he'll explain the complexities of it. So whether you're a fan of, the singer Madonna or not is not really what I get out of the podcast. It's just, like, fascinating to hear about the impact of that song, the influences and how he picks it apart and to hear her vocals without any music behind it. It's really, it. I. I'm surprised how much I love it. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: okay. What else do I have on mine? I have, Okay, I'm gonna try and find something not so high brow.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no. Are you. Whatever. Listen, whatever you throw us highbrow, I will throw you something a little bit lower. Browsing, don't you worry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I mean, unlocking us. The Brene Brown, podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes. Oh, that's great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Like that one.
>> Marco Timpano: When I say great, I mean it's an important podcast. So, thank you for spotlighting that one. I need to look at my. Nidhi's is looking at hers. I'm looking at mine. So a friend of mine, So a friend. Friend of mine, we've actually had her on the podcast, does a podcast called Tarot for a troubled time. So she. She. Every Monday she'll, flip some tarot cards to deal with that week's, injustices or anything that's happened that that's been troubling. She'll Sort of draw tarot cards to sort of reflect on them. And it's like, this is a. I really like this interesting mashup of these two. These two elements to our podcast. So I find it fascinating. Yeah.
Terry: Do you remember the first podcast you listened to
>> Nidhi Khanna: well, Marco, we. I think we saw this particular host in person. I had got. Been there with some friends, and you were there, I think, with some friends. Ah, at the Hot Socks Podcast Festival.
>> Marco Timpano: by the way, Nidhi got me. Nidhi got me free tickets to that. I'm just gonna. I'm just gonna thank you for that on air. Yeah. You did remember, you connected me with.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Back in the day when people were like, come this thing, just for
>> Marco Timpano: our listeners to know. Niddy's my hookup for a lot of stuff. So it's often like, nidhi, do you know anybody who has. Oh, by the way, if you want to see the, Van Gogh exhibit, let me know, because I'll get you. I'll get.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah, I would like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Okay, let me know.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We'll talk. what's, his name? He did reveal,
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ll.
>> Speaker B: Al.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Lester Al Leston. No, what's his name? Hold on.
>> Marco Timpano: This is Terry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. so Marco and I saw him. Was he reading from a book? I can't remember. He took us through one of his episodes or sort of how he framed it or whatever. and that was really good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. You turned me on to the Secret Life of Canada.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Which is a great podcast. And it's so well done. It's so well done.
>> Nidhi Khanna: it is. They're amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they are truly. It's truly an important and lovely podcast to listen to. I will say that, you also turned me into. Onto, Somebody Knows Something.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah, it's.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What was the one? there was one, Oh, my gosh, I forgot what it was called, but it was before. Not Atlanta Monster, but the same.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes. yes. yeah, yeah, I know what you're saying. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: what did he.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Atlanta. Oh, what's it called? Was it called Atlanta Monster? There's one called up and Vanish, up and Manage.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, that's the one. That's the one that was really good and really got me hooked on. On some of these. Ah, yeah, actually, that was really good.
>> Marco Timpano: have you listened to any podcast? Like. Okay, do you remember the first podcast you listened to? Because mine was.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, it was called the Insomnia Project.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, was it really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, I think ours was the first, like, podcast that I really m. Wait,
>> Marco Timpano: so you had not listened to podcasts before ours?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I listened to this, like, there was this, like, Harry Potter podcast that I listened to.
>> Marco Timpano: What? I love Harry Potter.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. yeah, it was, What was it called? I forgot, but it was like, the Sacred text of Harry Potter or something like that. And then it just got a little too much, and I was like, sure, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: the first one I listened to was called Missing Richard Simmons.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah. Yes, I remember that one. That was so good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was so long ago that I listened to.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It was so long ago.
>> Marco Timpano: really love that podcast.
If you have a podcast that you love, let us know about it
There's so many. There's really so many. Why, don't. I'm going to say this to our listeners, and I'm sure there's listeners who are listening saying, I can't sleep because they're talking about podcasts I need to listen to. But if you have a podcast that you love other than ours, let us know about it. Put it on our social media. We'll check them out.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, that would be great. But, you know, we're number one.
>> Marco Timpano: We're number one. I mean, have you bumped into any fellow podcasters? Nidhi, have you ever bumped into someone where you're like, yeah, I'm a podcaster and you talk podcasting with them?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think that happens to you more than it happens to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I, think, now I feel
>> Marco Timpano: stupid for asking that question.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, because you're. You're, like, on panels and stuff. Of course people are going to argue about that.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny. So, as you know, I wrote a book, which I need to get a copy. I was going to ride my bike and bring it to you the other day, and then I realized I haven't ridden my bike in so long that I need to build myself up to riding to your house. Which is. Which is not that. It's not that you don't even live that far to me, but I'm like, I need to build up my, bike training to get there. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it's all uphill, I think, on your side. Oh, no, it's downhill.
>> Marco Timpano: It's downhill to get to you, but then it's the uphill that kills you. Right. So I'm like, I don't know, do I ride to Niddy's and then walk my bike home? That's not fun.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's why it's easier for me to come to your place, because it's like, I can ride up, but then at the end of the day, it's like, all downhill.
>> Marco Timpano: You're also there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Go ahead.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I was gonna say you're very fit. Cause you're a runner, right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, my gosh, Marco. I have not been running. Oh. I have not been running. I feel like I need to start doing that again, but I've been biking a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you have? Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Instead. Instead.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's good.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: When it comes to managing money, forget the hype and look at the results. Bill has a trillion dollars of secure payments powering our, bill pay tools. Instead of just moving money, Bill is powering the financial operations of nearly half a million customers. So stop the guesswork and start scaling with the proven choice. Ready to talk with an expert? Visit bill.comproven to get started and grab a $250 gift card as a thank you. Terms and conditions apply. See offer page for details.
How was your garden this year? Do you know that I still have hot peppers from your garden last year
>> Marco Timpano: How was your garden this year? Do you know that I still have hot peppers from your garden last year?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Everybody has hot peppers from the garden last year because it took forever for me to finish it.
>> Marco Timpano: They're fantastic. Don't get me wrong. We still refer to them as nitty's peppers, and it's like, do you want some hot sauce, or do you want one of nitty's peppers? I'm like, I want nitty's peppers. But that's when you're like, some of them are hot. Some of them. It's really. You're rolling the dice with Niddy's peppers.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You never know what you're gonna get.
Nidhi: How was your garden this year? It was good
>> Marco Timpano: How was your garden this year?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It was good. we did too many zucchini plants, I think, and so it kind of got overrun. but it was good. We did a couple of watermelon plants and actually got, like, three watermelons out of it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. It's funny because some things that normally grew in the last couple years didn't grow this year, and other things that we thought were gonna not grow, grew, so who knows? We had raspberries and strawberries and, a lot of salad, a lot of lettuce. The lettuce took off this year.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny because there's a lot of construction happening near your home. Right. So some of the plants are like, I can't deal with the noise. Sorry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, they're like, we're done, we're done.
>> Marco Timpano: what was I going to say? So we went to a farmer's market, Amanda and I, the other day. You know the. You know when you're driving near farms and they have little farm Stand where you can pull over. And this particular one had, like, it was kind of a honor system where they put different vegetables in different piles with a price. And then you could deposit money into a lockbox or you could, e transfer them money so the things look beautiful. Like, there's beautiful corn and there's beautiful zucchini and root vegetables. And there was a array of squash. So many different types of squash. And the problem is, when you see beautiful squash, your eye really jumps to squash that you're not familiar with. M. So we bought. Oh, no, we bought these huge, beautiful looking squashes. They were $5 each. And the problem was, it was like, do we get. Okay. So one of the squash is called Sweet Georgia squash. Never m. Heard of it. Very oblong. And they had some that were like the size of a small puppy, let's say. But we decided to go. Yeah, like, like, like, you know, like a puppy that you would hold. I can't think of. What do you measure squash in? Like, what's the. What's the.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Not. Not by puppies.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Like, it's like something you could cradle in your hand. So they had. But we decided to go. No, to the one that. Where two people have to lift it up.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's like, we're not familiar with the squash. And now we've got a giant squash.
>> Nidhi Khanna: what are you gonna do with it?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. Right now it's in front of our house looking decorative because it's cold outside. So we're like, we'll leave it outside because squash needs cold.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: But we're gonna have to deal with it soon. And then we bought a blue Hubbard squash. It's the size of a. You know when they launch a satellite
>> Nidhi Khanna: into space, the Hubble telescope.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what it's like. I don't know. Maybe they're beautiful. I'm gonna. I'm gonna. I'll take a picture of, please. Because if you want some squash, when I cut into it, I'll bring some squash over to you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, my gosh, I would love some squash.
>> Marco Timpano: Hopefully by then I'll have made up, enough biking that I can get
>> Nidhi Khanna: to your house with the major squash. With the big squash.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, man.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, man. Well, I mean, it's, so nice to be talking to you again.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's so great. We've certainly gone over our 26 minutes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We have. We've doubled it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. What I'll do is I'll carve this up into two parts, but I'll Put it on for our patrons as a whole episode.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Nay, go get it.
>> Marco Timpano: the patrons, too, ask about you. Just so you know, they're wanting to know how you're doing.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's amazing. Well, I am good. I am fine. I am, you know, moving through the world with everyone. Yep. All good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep. We're all thinking of you both, Nidhi, and our listeners. So, listen, thank you for being a part of this, episode. People are going to be thrilled when they hear it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: This has been so much fun. Such a, like, great way to start the week because we're on on a Monday, so listen to Recording by on a Monday.
Nidhi promises to bring more boring Prime Minister episodes
>> Marco Timpano: We promised to bring, more boring Prime Minister episodes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yes. Can we do one?
>> Marco Timpano: Can we? And, you know, I don't know. I do. Okay, so I love any episode I do with you. I love how the bougie episode became such a fan favorite. I think we need a part two, so we'll have to do.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, Okay. I can do it. I do it. I can do it. And I'll dress up for it because it's on video. So.
>> Marco Timpano: So what we'll do is we'll do a robe. We'll. We'll have a video of it, and then we'll put that up for people to listen to Nidi anytime. And the more we can get you on the podcast, the happier our listeners and I will be. So you just say the word. Do more.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Love you so much. And love, the show and love being here, so it'll happen more and m. More.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing. Nidhi, we love you, too, and thank you. And my love for you goes way beyond the podcast and more because you're just one of my closest and dearest friends, is all I can say.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Same here, my friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, thank you for listening to the podcast. Do you want to end it for us, Nidhi?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, my gosh. Shy.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, please.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You've been listening to the Insomnia Project, recorded here in Toronto, Canada, and, we hope that you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate Sept 30, 2020)
Today is International Podcast Day, and the Insomnia Project celebrates
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen. We have a conversation about the mundane. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host Marco Timpano, and today is International Podcast Day. And the reason I bring it up is because, A, I'm a podcaster, and B, you're listening to a podcast. And it's a little celebration, if you will. I've, been podcasting for about five years now, and it's always a humbling endeavor. As I tried to get today's episode up and as I was doing it, it crashed and I realized, well, I have it saved somewhere else. It's just gonna take me a little bit longer. So my apologies. I had to dig and fix and work on it. And it's actually the second part of an episode you may have listened to last week with our favourite guest, Nidhi khanna. And we start by talking about podcasts. But before we do that, I just want to say thank you for listening to this podcast. Thank you for sharing this podcast with your friends and people who find it calming and helpful and useful, and all the kind letters and emails and 5 star reviews you've given me over the years, I want to thank you for that. It's provided me with a community that I didn't know was out there, of kind people, of lovely people, of people who have good hearts. And I'm sure you're one of those people listening. So I wish you well, I wish you sleep, and I hope you enjoy this episode and no matter what, Happy International Podcast Day. And I hope you have plenty, in your library that you enjoy listening to.
I start by asking Nidhi about podcasts she's listening to
I start the second part of this interview by asking Nidhi about podcasts she's listening to. So let's have a listen. We never talk about other podcasts. What podcasts are you really into? Let's do a back and forth. Pitch me the podcast you're listening to and I'll pitch you some of the ones that I'm listening to.
>> Nidhi Khanna: so my go tos, the Daily. The New York Times. The Daily. Okay, just for your 20 minutes of like, this is some information about what's going on in the world, but kind of dissect it a little bit more than you would have on regular radio. another classic for me is my favorite Murder.
>> Marco Timpano: You got me into that one for sure. supposedly. And I don't know if this is true because I've listened to many episodes, but someone said that they may have mentioned the insomnia project on. Yeah, that's what. I don't know if it's true because I feel like one of us would know that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, I would have heard that, I'm sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so would I write them. It's so funny. My friend Knows Georgia in a roundabout way in la. Yeah. And she says she's so lovely. She's like, she's the most loveliest person and she seems it. Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Very real.
>> Marco Timpano: They seem very real. I love what they do, you know, you know, to the. With their fans and I love how much respect they have for their fans and just everyone's well being that I really, I really sort of strikes a chord in my heart. but we're both fans and I'm a fan of that podcast because of you.
Let me tell you a, uh, couple of podcasts I'm listening to
Let me tell you a, couple of podcasts I'm listening to. Let's go. Let's go back.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, perfect. Because I have a couple of others that I really want to talk about.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So I just discovered this one that is just on air now. It's called Bunga Banga.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's about Silvio Berlusconi's rise to power. But what I love about it is the host is, Whitney Cummings, who you don't think would necessarily be the person you'd want to host a political serial podcast, but she's perfect and it's very funny as well as being informative. I think you'd get a kick out of it. I think you'd get a kick. Yeah, I think so.
>> Nidhi Khanna: another good one that I've just come onto is Radio Rental.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I don't know that one.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh. So it's like, Rainn Wilson from the Office. He has this character that he does who is this like video store owner, and his name is, Oh my gosh. What's his name?
>> Marco Timpano: his character's name.
>> Nidhi Khanna: His character's name is, anyways, I forgot what his character's name is. Really, like really good, funny, but like he basically narrates, these real life stories that, were on Found on Reddit and they're all kind of like super. Got like a supernatural kind of weird element or like something where it's like the person was almost kidnapped. Like there's a weird story that someone's like kind of like an eerie story. There's something kind of thriller esque about what they're saying. and it's the real person's story who's narrating, it disperses. so that's a pretty cool one.
>> Marco Timpano: That is cool. have you heard of Dolly Parton's America?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, I listened to that one because of you.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I loved it so much. I'm a huge fan of Dolly Parton. but that whether you are or Are not. It's a great podcast.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yep. still processing.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, what's that?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So, so, it's sort of the two culture writers, these two culture writers from the New York Times, who, really look at sort of, I guess, how would you describe it? Sort of cultural, trends of the day through the lens of the black experience in America. And they kind of dissect that a bit more. And so I really enjoyed that one.
>> Marco Timpano: Perfect. And it would be something for everyone to listen to.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: okay. So you're really going to see our different tastes because NIDIs are all very high brow. Mine are not New York Times, but I stumbled onto this from listening to another podcast. So it's not a podcast I would ever really seek or listen to if I just stumbled onto it myself, but it's called Inside the Groove.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: And what it is is this gentleman from the UK takes one. He's a big fan of Madonnas, and he takes a Madonna song, and he dives into the song in a very studious kind of way. So he's like, let's listen to the track. And he'll take the audio track or the drum track of that particular song and he'll explain the complexities of it. So whether you're a fan of, the singer Madonna or not is not really what I get out of the podcast. It's just, like, fascinating to hear about the impact of that song, the influences and how he picks it apart and to hear her vocals without any music behind it. It's really, it. I. I'm surprised how much I love it. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: okay. What else do I have on mine? I have, Okay, I'm gonna try and find something not so high brow.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no. Are you. Whatever. Listen, whatever you throw us highbrow, I will throw you something a little bit lower. Browsing, don't you worry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I mean, unlocking us. The Brene Brown, podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes. Oh, that's great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Like that one.
>> Marco Timpano: When I say great, I mean it's an important podcast. So, thank you for spotlighting that one. I need to look at my. Nidhi's is looking at hers. I'm looking at mine. So a friend of mine, So a friend. Friend of mine, we've actually had her on the podcast, does a podcast called Tarot for a troubled time. So she. She. Every Monday she'll, flip some tarot cards to deal with that week's, injustices or anything that's happened that that's been troubling. She'll Sort of draw tarot cards to sort of reflect on them. And it's like, this is a. I really like this interesting mashup of these two. These two elements to our podcast. So I find it fascinating. Yeah.
Terry: Do you remember the first podcast you listened to
>> Nidhi Khanna: well, Marco, we. I think we saw this particular host in person. I had got. Been there with some friends, and you were there, I think, with some friends. Ah, at the Hot Socks Podcast Festival.
>> Marco Timpano: by the way, Nidhi got me. Nidhi got me free tickets to that. I'm just gonna. I'm just gonna thank you for that on air. Yeah. You did remember, you connected me with.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Back in the day when people were like, come this thing, just for
>> Marco Timpano: our listeners to know. Niddy's my hookup for a lot of stuff. So it's often like, nidhi, do you know anybody who has. Oh, by the way, if you want to see the, Van Gogh exhibit, let me know, because I'll get you. I'll get.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah, I would like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Okay, let me know.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We'll talk. what's, his name? He did reveal,
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ll.
>> Speaker B: Al.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Lester Al Leston. No, what's his name? Hold on.
>> Marco Timpano: This is Terry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. so Marco and I saw him. Was he reading from a book? I can't remember. He took us through one of his episodes or sort of how he framed it or whatever. and that was really good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. You turned me on to the Secret Life of Canada.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Which is a great podcast. And it's so well done. It's so well done.
>> Nidhi Khanna: it is. They're amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they are truly. It's truly an important and lovely podcast to listen to. I will say that, you also turned me into. Onto, Somebody Knows Something.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah, it's.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What was the one? there was one, Oh, my gosh, I forgot what it was called, but it was before. Not Atlanta Monster, but the same.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes. yes. yeah, yeah, I know what you're saying. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: what did he.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Atlanta. Oh, what's it called? Was it called Atlanta Monster? There's one called up and Vanish, up and Manage.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, that's the one. That's the one that was really good and really got me hooked on. On some of these. Ah, yeah, actually, that was really good.
>> Marco Timpano: have you listened to any podcast? Like. Okay, do you remember the first podcast you listened to? Because mine was.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, it was called the Insomnia Project.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, was it really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, I think ours was the first, like, podcast that I really m. Wait,
>> Marco Timpano: so you had not listened to podcasts before ours?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I listened to this, like, there was this, like, Harry Potter podcast that I listened to.
>> Marco Timpano: What? I love Harry Potter.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. yeah, it was, What was it called? I forgot, but it was like, the Sacred text of Harry Potter or something like that. And then it just got a little too much, and I was like, sure, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: the first one I listened to was called Missing Richard Simmons.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yeah. Yes, I remember that one. That was so good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was so long ago that I listened to.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It was so long ago.
>> Marco Timpano: really love that podcast.
If you have a podcast that you love, let us know about it
There's so many. There's really so many. Why, don't. I'm going to say this to our listeners, and I'm sure there's listeners who are listening saying, I can't sleep because they're talking about podcasts I need to listen to. But if you have a podcast that you love other than ours, let us know about it. Put it on our social media. We'll check them out.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, that would be great. But, you know, we're number one.
>> Marco Timpano: We're number one. I mean, have you bumped into any fellow podcasters? Nidhi, have you ever bumped into someone where you're like, yeah, I'm a podcaster and you talk podcasting with them?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think that happens to you more than it happens to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I, think, now I feel
>> Marco Timpano: stupid for asking that question.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, because you're. You're, like, on panels and stuff. Of course people are going to argue about that.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny. So, as you know, I wrote a book, which I need to get a copy. I was going to ride my bike and bring it to you the other day, and then I realized I haven't ridden my bike in so long that I need to build myself up to riding to your house. Which is. Which is not that. It's not that you don't even live that far to me, but I'm like, I need to build up my, bike training to get there. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it's all uphill, I think, on your side. Oh, no, it's downhill.
>> Marco Timpano: It's downhill to get to you, but then it's the uphill that kills you. Right. So I'm like, I don't know, do I ride to Niddy's and then walk my bike home? That's not fun.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's why it's easier for me to come to your place, because it's like, I can ride up, but then at the end of the day, it's like, all downhill.
>> Marco Timpano: You're also there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Go ahead.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I was gonna say you're very fit. Cause you're a runner, right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, my gosh, Marco. I have not been running. Oh. I have not been running. I feel like I need to start doing that again, but I've been biking a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you have? Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Instead. Instead.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's good.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: When it comes to managing money, forget the hype and look at the results. Bill has a trillion dollars of secure payments powering our, bill pay tools. Instead of just moving money, Bill is powering the financial operations of nearly half a million customers. So stop the guesswork and start scaling with the proven choice. Ready to talk with an expert? Visit bill.comproven to get started and grab a $250 gift card as a thank you. Terms and conditions apply. See offer page for details.
How was your garden this year? Do you know that I still have hot peppers from your garden last year
>> Marco Timpano: How was your garden this year? Do you know that I still have hot peppers from your garden last year?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Everybody has hot peppers from the garden last year because it took forever for me to finish it.
>> Marco Timpano: They're fantastic. Don't get me wrong. We still refer to them as nitty's peppers, and it's like, do you want some hot sauce, or do you want one of nitty's peppers? I'm like, I want nitty's peppers. But that's when you're like, some of them are hot. Some of them. It's really. You're rolling the dice with Niddy's peppers.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You never know what you're gonna get.
Nidhi: How was your garden this year? It was good
>> Marco Timpano: How was your garden this year?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It was good. we did too many zucchini plants, I think, and so it kind of got overrun. but it was good. We did a couple of watermelon plants and actually got, like, three watermelons out of it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. It's funny because some things that normally grew in the last couple years didn't grow this year, and other things that we thought were gonna not grow, grew, so who knows? We had raspberries and strawberries and, a lot of salad, a lot of lettuce. The lettuce took off this year.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny because there's a lot of construction happening near your home. Right. So some of the plants are like, I can't deal with the noise. Sorry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, they're like, we're done, we're done.
>> Marco Timpano: what was I going to say? So we went to a farmer's market, Amanda and I, the other day. You know the. You know when you're driving near farms and they have little farm Stand where you can pull over. And this particular one had, like, it was kind of a honor system where they put different vegetables in different piles with a price. And then you could deposit money into a lockbox or you could, e transfer them money so the things look beautiful. Like, there's beautiful corn and there's beautiful zucchini and root vegetables. And there was a array of squash. So many different types of squash. And the problem is, when you see beautiful squash, your eye really jumps to squash that you're not familiar with. M. So we bought. Oh, no, we bought these huge, beautiful looking squashes. They were $5 each. And the problem was, it was like, do we get. Okay. So one of the squash is called Sweet Georgia squash. Never m. Heard of it. Very oblong. And they had some that were like the size of a small puppy, let's say. But we decided to go. Yeah, like, like, like, you know, like a puppy that you would hold. I can't think of. What do you measure squash in? Like, what's the. What's the.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Not. Not by puppies.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Like, it's like something you could cradle in your hand. So they had. But we decided to go. No, to the one that. Where two people have to lift it up.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's like, we're not familiar with the squash. And now we've got a giant squash.
>> Nidhi Khanna: what are you gonna do with it?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. Right now it's in front of our house looking decorative because it's cold outside. So we're like, we'll leave it outside because squash needs cold.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: But we're gonna have to deal with it soon. And then we bought a blue Hubbard squash. It's the size of a. You know when they launch a satellite
>> Nidhi Khanna: into space, the Hubble telescope.
>> Marco Timpano: That's what it's like. I don't know. Maybe they're beautiful. I'm gonna. I'm gonna. I'll take a picture of, please. Because if you want some squash, when I cut into it, I'll bring some squash over to you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, my gosh, I would love some squash.
>> Marco Timpano: Hopefully by then I'll have made up, enough biking that I can get
>> Nidhi Khanna: to your house with the major squash. With the big squash.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, man.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, man. Well, I mean, it's, so nice to be talking to you again.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's so great. We've certainly gone over our 26 minutes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We have. We've doubled it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. What I'll do is I'll carve this up into two parts, but I'll Put it on for our patrons as a whole episode.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Nay, go get it.
>> Marco Timpano: the patrons, too, ask about you. Just so you know, they're wanting to know how you're doing.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's amazing. Well, I am good. I am fine. I am, you know, moving through the world with everyone. Yep. All good.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep. We're all thinking of you both, Nidhi, and our listeners. So, listen, thank you for being a part of this, episode. People are going to be thrilled when they hear it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: This has been so much fun. Such a, like, great way to start the week because we're on on a Monday, so listen to Recording by on a Monday.
Nidhi promises to bring more boring Prime Minister episodes
>> Marco Timpano: We promised to bring, more boring Prime Minister episodes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yes. Can we do one?
>> Marco Timpano: Can we? And, you know, I don't know. I do. Okay, so I love any episode I do with you. I love how the bougie episode became such a fan favorite. I think we need a part two, so we'll have to do.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, Okay. I can do it. I do it. I can do it. And I'll dress up for it because it's on video. So.
>> Marco Timpano: So what we'll do is we'll do a robe. We'll. We'll have a video of it, and then we'll put that up for people to listen to Nidi anytime. And the more we can get you on the podcast, the happier our listeners and I will be. So you just say the word. Do more.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Love you so much. And love, the show and love being here, so it'll happen more and m. More.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing. Nidhi, we love you, too, and thank you. And my love for you goes way beyond the podcast and more because you're just one of my closest and dearest friends, is all I can say.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Same here, my friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, thank you for listening to the podcast. Do you want to end it for us, Nidhi?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, my gosh. Shy.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, please.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You've been listening to the Insomnia Project, recorded here in Toronto, Canada, and, we hope that you listen and sleep.
A trip to the cranberry bog
(Original airdate: October 7, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Thank you for joining us
Foreign. Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a mundane conversation about a ordinary topic. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. And thank you for listening to this podcast. I know that there's a ton of podcasts out there for you listen to, but we have some very loyal fans and we appreciate you. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I'm
>> Amanda Barker: back on here again.
Amanda Barker says cranberries are often associated with New England
And I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, we, had the opportunity to do something yesterday that I've wanted to do for a long time.
>> Amanda Barker: I met you in 2003, I believe, which was a long time ago. Yes. And one of the first things you asked me when you found out that I'm from Massachusetts, one of the first things you asked me is if I had ever been to a, cranberry bog.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: You were so fascinated by the idea of a cranberry bog.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe you could tell us why cranberry bogs have fascinated you for a good part of your life.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So, you know, I love to travel and you know that I love, very, unique things that happen in certain parts of the world. Cultural things or food items or just, I don't know, I'm fascinated by things that only occur in certain places. And I've always had a love for New England and Massachusetts in particular. I don't know why.
>> Marco Timpano: That is. You know how you just have a connection to a place that you gravitate.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But I had no connection to that area of the world other than when I met you. You were the first person I knew who was from there.
>> Amanda Barker: So did you have that connection prior to meeting me?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I always loved, I always loved things that happened in the northeast, I think because I'm in the northeast of Canada or not the Northeast of North America is what I'm trying to say. Like when you think of the Northeast, you think of New England. New York.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Michigan.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And Southern Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: I would not put Michigan into that.
>> Marco Timpano: Detroit. You wouldn't put like Detroit, that area there?
>> Amanda Barker: Not north, not east. That's central to me. But I'm from the east.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: It depends on where you're lie. For me, the line sort of ends with Quebec.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. So that area of North America. And I've always loved lobster.
>> Marco Timpano: So I think because you were from New New England, I associated. Because I think I asked you a lot about lobster too. Too. When we.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Yeah, you, you definitely did.
>> Marco Timpano: And because of you, I know some lobster fishermen. But had I not met you, I would never know any lobster fishermen. Because of you, I know three lobster fishermen and I. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, John Williams.
>> Marco Timpano: John Williams, dad.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a lobster fisherman.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I don't. We've never met him, but I got
>> Marco Timpano: to talk to John Williams about it.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Nikki.
>> Amanda Barker: Nikki. Yeah, that's right.
>> Marco Timpano: And that guy we celebrated New Year's with, I don't know his name, in Florida that met that guy with a strong heavy accent from Boston, Nikki's brother in law. No, it was, Erica's husband. Erica's husband's friend or Erica's friend. That guy, that older gentleman, I don't remember. Erica, by the way, is Amanda's mother's real estate agent.
>> Amanda Barker: And friend. And friend and friend. But they met because of my mother's love of real estate. My mom bought, I, think two houses from her and used her to sell some land.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. So because of that world and I know, cranberries are from specific regions and they're often associated with New England.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Cranberry sauce, cranberry, juice, all that.
>> Amanda Barker: They definitely are. I grew up with them. And, you know, as a kid growing up, you know, I couldn't have grown up in the cherry capital of the
>> Marco Timpano: world, which is a fruit you love. Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Or the peach capital. I wasn't in Georgia.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are sweet, delicious fruits that children love. Instead, true to form, I grew up where this delicious berry was presented in juice and raw form. And it tastes. Tasted very bitter and tart to my little mouth. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But very much like your people.
>> Amanda Barker: You think, oh, it's gonna be this delicious berry. And everybody loves cranberries. It has berry on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So it should be like a blueberry, you know.
I asked you if you've ever been to a cranberry bog
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you. Okay. So back to when we started this conversation. I asked you if you've ever been to a cranberry bog. Because I was fascinated by that thought of going to a bog to pick fruits.
>> Marco Timpano: And there was something just fascinating, not realizing that about an hour and 45 minutes away from my hometown was the cranberry capital of this province of Ontario.
>> Marco Timpano: So when I asked you, had you ever been to a cranberry box, what was your answer? Do you remember?
>> Amanda Barker: I think I told you I had never been in one.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Which was true. but I knew people who had.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Which was true. My, It wasn't something one aspired to.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't seen as a particularly glamorous job.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, like a potato picker
>> Marco Timpano: or that's another show.
>> Amanda Barker: That's another potato.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll do that.
>> Amanda Barker: In fact, we're in potato week right now in New Brunswick.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's not veer to the potato world when we're in cranberry season, because we're also in cranberry season. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: After, yesterday, if someone asked you, have you ever been to a cranberry bog?
>> Amanda Barker: I can say, absolutely, I have been.
>> Marco Timpano: Yesterday we got to go to a cranberry bog. But you were about to say something before I got on to.
>> Amanda Barker: I just was going to say that I think in. In a. In looking for content, my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Lombardi, we, we had a few, you know, we'd go from room to room. But anyway, Mrs. Lombardi had. Ah, I believe it was Mrs. Lombardi had, she got her daughter to come in and tell us what it was like to work in a cranberry bog.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. Mrs. Lombardi's daughter worked in a. Yeah,
>> Amanda Barker: it was her job. I think it was her weekend job, her summer job. Or maybe just her weekend job, because I guess you can't. You'd only work there. It would be seasonal, right?
>> Marco Timpano: It is very seasonal, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: So anyway, I remember her coming in, wearing the waiters and telling us what it was like. I think her. She just thought it would be fun for her daughter to come in and tell us. It didn't sound very glamorous.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And indeed, I can confirm with Mrs. Lombardi's daughter, it was not very glamorous.
>> Marco Timpano: I should mention, as we're recording this episode, you and I are both drinking a glass of cranberry juice, which is solely coincidental. We didn't plan to drink cranberry juice.
>> Amanda Barker: A cran. Raspberry.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so.
>> Marco Timpano: And you might hear some trucks in the background.
>> Amanda Barker: They always know when to come.
>> Marco Timpano: They always know when to come. So I apologize for that noise that you may hear. Who knows? They might have a truck full of cranberries.
>> Amanda Barker: They may, because we're not that far.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. So we got to go to a cranberry box.
There are only three commercially grown crops that can make this claim
Now, Amanda, did you know that cranberries are native only to North America? There are only three commercially grown crops that can make this claim.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Cranberries being one. Do you know the other two crops that are only native or only found in North America?
>> Amanda Barker: Peanuts.
>> Marco Timpano: Nope.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: going to be in the fruit world. I only. I don't know in the legume world or the nut world, but I'm going to say in the, fruit world.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a hard one. Chokecherries.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a good one. But I don't know if those are commercially harvested.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess they're not commercially harvested, commercially grown crops. Cran apples. Like, crab apples?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't think they're a commercial crop either. I'm just going to tell you.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just telling you things. I used to pick off trees.
>> Marco Timpano: Blueberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really? They're only in North America.
>> Marco Timpano: They're a North American crop. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: What about Saskatoon berries?
>> Marco Timpano: that's not on my list, but that sounds like it might be.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like.
>> Marco Timpano: I think you're. You're really poking holes into this.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like there isn't a Saskatoon berry plantation in, say, southern France. Like, I feel like that they live in the prairies.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: And Concord grapes.
>> Amanda Barker: and those are also huge in Massachusetts.
>> Marco Timpano: My least favorite grape.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really? Yeah. Ah, they're they're all I ever heard about. Maybe they're why I didn't like. Why are they your least favorite grape?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't like the taste and I don't like the juice and I don't like that. You, you never hear Concord wine. Concord grape wine. I don't know it.
>> Amanda Barker: Concord grapes were another thing I grew up hearing about all the time. So that make. That stands to complete reason. And blueberries, we had them all around our house in Massachusetts.
>> Marco Timpano: You did?
>> Amanda Barker: We did. And I actually didn't like them very much. My sister liked them and I got poison ivy picking them one time with my sister. So I really didn't like them after that. And I remember I had to sit with my feet in a warm bath or something. Like I remember soaking my feet while my sister was with my dad picking blueberries in the little wooded area in front of our house. So anyway, I, I didn't have a good relationship with blueberries, but. And I didn't have a good relationship with cranberries, but I think that's changed after yesterday.
Amanda Blossom went to a cranberry bog in southern Ontario
>> Marco Timpano: So let's talk about our. I'll pepper in some, some facts, but let's talk about her and I'll poke holes. Yeah, you're really good at that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's what I do.
>> Marco Timpano: so we, we drive to the cranberry bog. And it's a, it's a really lovely farm, vineyard and farm, that we went to. And you drive down these beautiful roads that of course right now here in southern Ontario, the leaves are red, orange and yellow.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was a beautiful drive.
>> Amanda Barker: It was, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then we get to the spot, we put on some warm clothes, long johns, sweaters.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we brought lots of. We weren't sure what to bring, so. So we brought lots of.
>> Marco Timpano: Because we're novice boggers, really.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we have, we have not bogged before. it's not in our wheelhouse, so we brought a lot of things. And then we changed in the car and sort of put on layers in the car and we happened upon this big sort of farm and winery turned out. But it's a different kind of winery because they only make wines that involve
>> Marco Timpano: cranberries, cranberries and blueberries. So two of the north, you'd think they'd put Concord grape in the mix.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think there is one wine that is. None of them are apples. Oh, apples, right.
>> Marco Timpano: One was 80% Apple, 20% Graham.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow. So when I hear winery, I don't. It's interesting to me to know that There could be a winery that never involves a grape, which I think is
>> Marco Timpano: technically you can't do because, a vineyard makes wine.
>> Marco Timpano: And because cranberries aren't on a vine.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not a vineyard.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So in, in a weird sort of way, I don't know if this, this family run farm should be able to call itself a winery because I think the word wine derives from vine.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, but these, but cranberries are sort of viney now. They're vines in the ground, so they're a different type of vine. But, yeah, it was really interesting. We drove up and, what was nice was they had a sort of fire pit going with chairs around it. Now these chairs in, in that region and in this region, are referred to as, ah, Muskoka chairs. now growing up in New England, I always refer to them as Adirondack chairs. And I think they have another name beyond that. what's the other one? Adirondack Muskoka.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a great, that's a great question.
>> Amanda Barker: There's another thing that people call them.
>> Marco Timpano: so if you don't know what it is, it's an outdoor lounge chair that has wide armrests. Amanda, is that fair to say?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's made of wood and it's kind of slatted wood.
>> Marco Timpano: that has a high back m. And kind of a deep sit or deep like where your bottom would rest would be deep in the seat. Does that make sense?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: The first time I've said bottom on the show. so I think in the US it's called Adirondack. In Canada it's called, Muskoka chair. And I don't know another name of it to be.
>> Amanda Barker: There is one other. people sometimes call them Westport chairs. And actually they became known as Adirondack chairs because they were used by tuberculosis patients in upstate New York to relax and take in fresh air. Air.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that makes sense.
>> Amanda Barker: When they convalesced, right? Oh, I didn't know that. That is very interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, since we're going to the etymology of certain words, can I tell you why the cranberry got its name?
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: So early settlers thought the cranberry blossom resembled the head of a crane and called it crane berries.
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>> Amanda Barker: The app association.
>> Marco Timpano: Cranberries were so important to early settlers, laws were passed in some areas to prevent wild bogs from being picked illegally.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And if.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll show you a picture of the crane and the blossom, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. They look very similar and very similar.
>> Marco Timpano: This North American crane has a red.
>> Amanda Barker: It even has a. It really does look like a bird's head with a beak. Yeah. this. Justin. Okay, breaking news. The difference between Adirondack and Muskoka chairs is that the adirondack chair is 2 inches higher from the ground and 2 inches wider between the arms compared to the Muskoka chair. I did not know that.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Another comparison is that the Adirondack chair is built with a flat yolk at the back of the seat and the Moskoka chair is built with a curved yoke.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. Yes. I do notice that our Muskoka chairs have a curved yolk.
>> Amanda Barker: That is so interesting. What's a yolk?
>> Marco Timpano: A yoke is the. The, is this part I'm showing
>> Amanda Barker: you on the lower back.
>> Marco Timpano: Lower back support. Well, even the whole. The whole back support is kind of like the slats. Now it's significant that we mentioned the Muskoka chair.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it seems a little bit random that we mentioned.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But this winery was in Muskoka Lakes. That's the area that we work now.
>> Amanda Barker: I call it the Muskokas.
>> Marco Timpano: And I call it Muskoka.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So we won't get into that debate because it might. It might not be a pleasant one to listen to.
We started our day with a wine tasting at a cranberry farm
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, let's go back into the bog experience. So you get there and there are Muskoka chairs around a nice smoky kind of fire. You can get a hot chocolate. Ah, coffee. You need something stronger. Cider probably.
>> Marco Timpano: There's some pumpkins out in hay bales. So it's. It's actually quite pretty. They didn't overdo it. You know how some farms are like, it's.
>> Amanda Barker: It's fall color. They didn't overdo it. It's true. The fall colors speak for themselves.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a working farm. That's why I think they're like, okay, we'll have this little area for people to come.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But we're still a serious farm.
>> Amanda Barker: and there's a big golden retriever dog that apparently lives on the property and just gets love from all people. So that was.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we were told. We were told. Okay, so see where that golden retriever is? Turn right at the golden gold. Golden retriever.
>> Amanda Barker: Turn left actually.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sorry. Turn left.
>> Amanda Barker: And I wanted to make a joke saying isn't that lucky that that retriever is there? But little did I know, that retriever is always there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Wandering around on the property. So there's a little shop where you can buy their wines. And actually we started our day with with a wine tasting of all these cranberry based wines.
>> Marco Timpano: And fun fact, anything that had blueberry in it was not my favorite. But cranberry alone as a wine m. I wouldn't even call it a wine. I'd call it its own thing. But let's call it a wine. Cuz that's what they called it.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought was nice.
>> Amanda Barker: It was nice. The cranberry wine and the white cranberry was actually really lovely. sort of like a white wine but with a slightly different taste to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Nothing like a wine white or red in my opinion.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought it was like a white R. To me it tasted kind of like a. Actually in my opinion.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, you're, you know, more wines than I do.
>> Marco Timpano: So we had little very acidic white wine.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: It'd have to be like.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but it has a nice taste to it. I don't want to undersell it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it has a roundness to it for sure. That's really pretty.
>> Amanda Barker: So we tried a bunch of wine and that was lovely. And then with a bit of wine in our belly, it was off to get in the bog.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And we had to, I thought the, I thought the bogs. So you know, you have an impression of what a bog is going to be like.
>> Marco Timpano: My impression was not that we would have to walk four miles.
>> Amanda Barker: We did not walk four miles.
>> Marco Timpano: We had to walk a great distance.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was really pretty. It was beautiful to get to the bog.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm glad we did because it gave us space and air and a nice walk.
>> Marco Timpano: And we got to learn all along the walk there were little factoids that we could read.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true. They've done a good job with that at that particular cranberry farm. Bog. There's little things that you can learn about cranberries. I liked that we could do it in our own time.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't feel like we were being herded with any kind of group that I appreciated a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was a cool but pleasant day.
>> Amanda Barker: It really was. Yeah. Beautiful fall day.
Amanda went into a bog to pick cranberries. It actually reminded me a little of the Dead Sea
And then it was time. We had arrived at the bog and
>> Marco Timpano: it was bogging time.
>> Amanda Barker: It was bog tastic.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we got our waiters. Our dumb waiters. Is that what they're called? No, not dumb waiters. What are they called?
>> Amanda Barker: They're not dumb waiters. That's something. Hip waiters.
>> Marco Timpano: Hip waiters. What's a dumb waiter? Is it a little elevator that you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, a food elevator basically that you have in your house? We used to have one.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Believe it or not, when we rent, out our house. It's a smart idea if you have a lot of floors. My parents took a very old, dilapidated Victorian house, gutted it when I was young. When they gutted it, my mom realized that's a lot of stairs to be sending grilled cheeses up to our attic, which was like where we would hang out. It was like our kids space. So she built a dumbwaiter so that we could wheel them up.
>> Marco Timpano: So much fun.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was a smart idea.
>> Marco Timpano: So we put on our hip waders and then we were instructed how to enter the bog.
>> Marco Timpano: And that it would be slopey and deep in some parts. And the bog Arbog m had tons of floating cranberries all around.
>> Marco Timpano: Which was awesome.
>> Amanda Barker: It was really neat. It actually reminded me a little bit of going into the Dead Sea in Israel. I know that sounds funny because it's a very different thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Experience. Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Different part of the world. But ultimately you're getting into a big, mucky, hard to walk in situation. And the water kind of. It makes the hip waders, the, the rubber of it kind of stick to you in a way. Right. Like it kind of closes in on your body. So it's almost like you've got a wetsuit on with boots attached. And so then you go in and basically you just hang out in it for half an hour and do whatever you want to do. So you can walk around, you can take photos, which was the number one thing people did, I think. And just play around in the cranberries.
>> Marco Timpano: Be around cranberries. The funny thing is Amanda thought we were going to be picking cranberries out of the bog.
>> Amanda Barker: I just felt like if you're gonna go into a bog, and maybe this is because of that fourth grade presentation that I got about how hard it was to work in a bog. I thought if you're going to get people to pay to be in the bog, why not get those people to either pick their own cranberries? And that's part of the. What you walk home with is your bag of cranberries that you go home and make a cobbler with or something. or you, you know, I don't know, get them to do the work for you. It was neither. We just splashed around.
>> Marco Timpano: Now it should be known that cranberries do not grow in water.
>> Amanda Barker: AMANDA M. They don't. That was one of the most interesting learnings actually. Now the reason they. It is a bog and the reason the cranberries float around in the bog is because they flood them.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: So they'll flood the bog. because cranberries, if you've ever cut one open, have quite a bit of air in them. There's actually four chambers where the seeds kind of grow. they grow in a sort of airy space and then they're surrounded by the cranberry. So you have four air chambers to every cranberry. So cranberries float. So the easiest way to pick a cranberry or pick cranberries instead of going in, because they do grow in, It's kind of a marshy water though. Look, it's not marshy. It's just a field.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just a field they flood them completely in.
>> Amanda Barker: So the easiest way to pick them without destroying the plant and without getting them is to simply flood the field and they all just rise to the surface.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's what they do once they've been.
>> Amanda Barker: Once they're ready.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, once they've been sort of combed out of the plant that they're in.
>> Marco Timpano: They don't just rise once the water floods it because they have those machines. They kind of look like.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Snow blowers.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: To kind of blow. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That kind of pull them up.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: With comb them like they comb them
>> Amanda Barker: up without destroying the plant. That's the thing is to get the cranberry without. And that's why I'm sure they had rules on them in the early settler days, because it would be very easy to destroy the plant if you're getting the cranberry. So flooding the field is. Is the easiest way to do it, believe it or not.
>> Marco Timpano: And I think we're gonna, we're gonna wind up there, but we'll continue this conversation for our patrons.
Eastern hog nosed snake is an at risk species in Ontario
But before we go, I want to say one thing and you want to say one thing.
>> Amanda Barker: I just wanted you to say something about the difference between what you learned about cranberries themselves. But maybe we'll save that.
>> Marco Timpano: We might say that. I want to talk about the eastern hog nosed snake.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Which is kind of the, the snake of the Insomnia Project. If we had an animal to represent us.
>> Marco Timpano: It would be the eastern hognosed snake. So if anyone, if any of our listeners wants to draw.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not dangerous at all. It just bumps you with its nose.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. If anybody wants to draw a photo or a picture of this snake for us and somehow make it an Insomnia Project thing, we're happy to have it as our emblem. it is a harmless snake that is kind of on the, at risk species. And it's only found in, in this small pocket.
>> Amanda Barker: It is an at. It's not kind of.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you're sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: It's an at risk species species in
>> Marco Timpano: Ontario and it is not even in Ontario. In this small pocket of Ontario, of Muskoka. Georgian Bay in the Georgian Bay area is where you'll find it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a neat looking snake though because it does look like a pig.
>> Marco Timpano: It hisses.
>> Marco Timpano: and it can flare out, flare out its neck a bit like a cobra. But it is not venomous.
>> Marco Timpano: And they don't even bite.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm sure a lot of
>> Amanda Barker: people see them and get upset. You don't get freaked out by them.
>> Marco Timpano: If it strikes you, it keeps its mouth closed and just bumps you.
>> Amanda Barker: Amanda, how sweet. Is it just a snake that's like, hello, Bump, please get out of my way.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's very shy.
>> Amanda Barker: That might be why it's at risk.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's very shy. It doesn't like to visit with people.
>> Marco Timpano: It will come out on sunny days, but, it stays away from humans. But if you ever see it and it uses its hognosed face to dig.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's the. Right, it's, it's the, it's the weirdest, cutest looking thing you've ever seen. So I had posted. The reason I said is, I had posted something on our Instagram about the hognosed snake. So I wanted to just follow up and it was in that area, but we didn't, sadly we didn't see any.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess the thing I learned the most about cranberries on our trip was that white cranberries grow on the bottom side of the cranberry bush.
>> Amanda Barker: It makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: And so they don't see any sun.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And like the asparagus that get covered to be pale.
>> Marco Timpano: These get covered by the vines.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And you don't know how many white cranberries you're gonna get per season because it all depends on how many grow on the underside.
>> Marco Timpano: Of the cranberry bush. And therefore the white cranberry wine that they make, they can't have a good read on how much they're gonna make per season because they don't know how many white cranberries they're gonna. Be able to harvest. So that was the fact that I learned.
>> Amanda Barker: Very cool.
>> Marco Timpano: And on that note, I'm we're going to end this episode. Tell us what you think of granberries on our Twitter or on Instagram. Thank you for listening. If you're ever in a bog, think of us. And we hope you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: October 7, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Thank you for joining us
Foreign. Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a mundane conversation about a ordinary topic. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. And thank you for listening to this podcast. I know that there's a ton of podcasts out there for you listen to, but we have some very loyal fans and we appreciate you. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I'm
>> Amanda Barker: back on here again.
Amanda Barker says cranberries are often associated with New England
And I'm Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, we, had the opportunity to do something yesterday that I've wanted to do for a long time.
>> Amanda Barker: I met you in 2003, I believe, which was a long time ago. Yes. And one of the first things you asked me when you found out that I'm from Massachusetts, one of the first things you asked me is if I had ever been to a, cranberry bog.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: You were so fascinated by the idea of a cranberry bog.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe you could tell us why cranberry bogs have fascinated you for a good part of your life.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So, you know, I love to travel and you know that I love, very, unique things that happen in certain parts of the world. Cultural things or food items or just, I don't know, I'm fascinated by things that only occur in certain places. And I've always had a love for New England and Massachusetts in particular. I don't know why.
>> Marco Timpano: That is. You know how you just have a connection to a place that you gravitate.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But I had no connection to that area of the world other than when I met you. You were the first person I knew who was from there.
>> Amanda Barker: So did you have that connection prior to meeting me?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I always loved, I always loved things that happened in the northeast, I think because I'm in the northeast of Canada or not the Northeast of North America is what I'm trying to say. Like when you think of the Northeast, you think of New England. New York.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Michigan.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And Southern Ontario.
>> Amanda Barker: I would not put Michigan into that.
>> Marco Timpano: Detroit. You wouldn't put like Detroit, that area there?
>> Amanda Barker: Not north, not east. That's central to me. But I'm from the east.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: It depends on where you're lie. For me, the line sort of ends with Quebec.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough. So that area of North America. And I've always loved lobster.
>> Marco Timpano: So I think because you were from New New England, I associated. Because I think I asked you a lot about lobster too. Too. When we.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. Yeah, you, you definitely did.
>> Marco Timpano: And because of you, I know some lobster fishermen. But had I not met you, I would never know any lobster fishermen. Because of you, I know three lobster fishermen and I. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, John Williams.
>> Marco Timpano: John Williams, dad.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a lobster fisherman.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I don't. We've never met him, but I got
>> Marco Timpano: to talk to John Williams about it.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Nikki.
>> Amanda Barker: Nikki. Yeah, that's right.
>> Marco Timpano: And that guy we celebrated New Year's with, I don't know his name, in Florida that met that guy with a strong heavy accent from Boston, Nikki's brother in law. No, it was, Erica's husband. Erica's husband's friend or Erica's friend. That guy, that older gentleman, I don't remember. Erica, by the way, is Amanda's mother's real estate agent.
>> Amanda Barker: And friend. And friend and friend. But they met because of my mother's love of real estate. My mom bought, I, think two houses from her and used her to sell some land.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. So because of that world and I know, cranberries are from specific regions and they're often associated with New England.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Cranberry sauce, cranberry, juice, all that.
>> Amanda Barker: They definitely are. I grew up with them. And, you know, as a kid growing up, you know, I couldn't have grown up in the cherry capital of the
>> Marco Timpano: world, which is a fruit you love. Right?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Or the peach capital. I wasn't in Georgia.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are sweet, delicious fruits that children love. Instead, true to form, I grew up where this delicious berry was presented in juice and raw form. And it tastes. Tasted very bitter and tart to my little mouth. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But very much like your people.
>> Amanda Barker: You think, oh, it's gonna be this delicious berry. And everybody loves cranberries. It has berry on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So it should be like a blueberry, you know.
I asked you if you've ever been to a cranberry bog
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you. Okay. So back to when we started this conversation. I asked you if you've ever been to a cranberry bog. Because I was fascinated by that thought of going to a bog to pick fruits.
>> Marco Timpano: And there was something just fascinating, not realizing that about an hour and 45 minutes away from my hometown was the cranberry capital of this province of Ontario.
>> Marco Timpano: So when I asked you, had you ever been to a cranberry box, what was your answer? Do you remember?
>> Amanda Barker: I think I told you I had never been in one.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Which was true. but I knew people who had.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Which was true. My, It wasn't something one aspired to.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: It wasn't seen as a particularly glamorous job.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, like a potato picker
>> Marco Timpano: or that's another show.
>> Amanda Barker: That's another potato.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll do that.
>> Amanda Barker: In fact, we're in potato week right now in New Brunswick.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's not veer to the potato world when we're in cranberry season, because we're also in cranberry season. So.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: After, yesterday, if someone asked you, have you ever been to a cranberry bog?
>> Amanda Barker: I can say, absolutely, I have been.
>> Marco Timpano: Yesterday we got to go to a cranberry bog. But you were about to say something before I got on to.
>> Amanda Barker: I just was going to say that I think in. In a. In looking for content, my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Lombardi, we, we had a few, you know, we'd go from room to room. But anyway, Mrs. Lombardi had. Ah, I believe it was Mrs. Lombardi had, she got her daughter to come in and tell us what it was like to work in a cranberry bog.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. Mrs. Lombardi's daughter worked in a. Yeah,
>> Amanda Barker: it was her job. I think it was her weekend job, her summer job. Or maybe just her weekend job, because I guess you can't. You'd only work there. It would be seasonal, right?
>> Marco Timpano: It is very seasonal, yes.
>> Amanda Barker: So anyway, I remember her coming in, wearing the waiters and telling us what it was like. I think her. She just thought it would be fun for her daughter to come in and tell us. It didn't sound very glamorous.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And indeed, I can confirm with Mrs. Lombardi's daughter, it was not very glamorous.
>> Marco Timpano: I should mention, as we're recording this episode, you and I are both drinking a glass of cranberry juice, which is solely coincidental. We didn't plan to drink cranberry juice.
>> Amanda Barker: A cran. Raspberry.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so.
>> Marco Timpano: And you might hear some trucks in the background.
>> Amanda Barker: They always know when to come.
>> Marco Timpano: They always know when to come. So I apologize for that noise that you may hear. Who knows? They might have a truck full of cranberries.
>> Amanda Barker: They may, because we're not that far.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. So we got to go to a cranberry box.
There are only three commercially grown crops that can make this claim
Now, Amanda, did you know that cranberries are native only to North America? There are only three commercially grown crops that can make this claim.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Cranberries being one. Do you know the other two crops that are only native or only found in North America?
>> Amanda Barker: Peanuts.
>> Marco Timpano: Nope.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: going to be in the fruit world. I only. I don't know in the legume world or the nut world, but I'm going to say in the, fruit world.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a hard one. Chokecherries.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a good one. But I don't know if those are commercially harvested.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess they're not commercially harvested, commercially grown crops. Cran apples. Like, crab apples?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't think they're a commercial crop either. I'm just going to tell you.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just telling you things. I used to pick off trees.
>> Marco Timpano: Blueberries.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really? They're only in North America.
>> Marco Timpano: They're a North American crop. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: What about Saskatoon berries?
>> Marco Timpano: that's not on my list, but that sounds like it might be.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like.
>> Marco Timpano: I think you're. You're really poking holes into this.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like there isn't a Saskatoon berry plantation in, say, southern France. Like, I feel like that they live in the prairies.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: And Concord grapes.
>> Amanda Barker: and those are also huge in Massachusetts.
>> Marco Timpano: My least favorite grape.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really? Yeah. Ah, they're they're all I ever heard about. Maybe they're why I didn't like. Why are they your least favorite grape?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't like the taste and I don't like the juice and I don't like that. You, you never hear Concord wine. Concord grape wine. I don't know it.
>> Amanda Barker: Concord grapes were another thing I grew up hearing about all the time. So that make. That stands to complete reason. And blueberries, we had them all around our house in Massachusetts.
>> Marco Timpano: You did?
>> Amanda Barker: We did. And I actually didn't like them very much. My sister liked them and I got poison ivy picking them one time with my sister. So I really didn't like them after that. And I remember I had to sit with my feet in a warm bath or something. Like I remember soaking my feet while my sister was with my dad picking blueberries in the little wooded area in front of our house. So anyway, I, I didn't have a good relationship with blueberries, but. And I didn't have a good relationship with cranberries, but I think that's changed after yesterday.
Amanda Blossom went to a cranberry bog in southern Ontario
>> Marco Timpano: So let's talk about our. I'll pepper in some, some facts, but let's talk about her and I'll poke holes. Yeah, you're really good at that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's what I do.
>> Marco Timpano: so we, we drive to the cranberry bog. And it's a, it's a really lovely farm, vineyard and farm, that we went to. And you drive down these beautiful roads that of course right now here in southern Ontario, the leaves are red, orange and yellow.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was a beautiful drive.
>> Amanda Barker: It was, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then we get to the spot, we put on some warm clothes, long johns, sweaters.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we brought lots of. We weren't sure what to bring, so. So we brought lots of.
>> Marco Timpano: Because we're novice boggers, really.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we have, we have not bogged before. it's not in our wheelhouse, so we brought a lot of things. And then we changed in the car and sort of put on layers in the car and we happened upon this big sort of farm and winery turned out. But it's a different kind of winery because they only make wines that involve
>> Marco Timpano: cranberries, cranberries and blueberries. So two of the north, you'd think they'd put Concord grape in the mix.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think there is one wine that is. None of them are apples. Oh, apples, right.
>> Marco Timpano: One was 80% Apple, 20% Graham.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow. So when I hear winery, I don't. It's interesting to me to know that There could be a winery that never involves a grape, which I think is
>> Marco Timpano: technically you can't do because, a vineyard makes wine.
>> Marco Timpano: And because cranberries aren't on a vine.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not a vineyard.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So in, in a weird sort of way, I don't know if this, this family run farm should be able to call itself a winery because I think the word wine derives from vine.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, but these, but cranberries are sort of viney now. They're vines in the ground, so they're a different type of vine. But, yeah, it was really interesting. We drove up and, what was nice was they had a sort of fire pit going with chairs around it. Now these chairs in, in that region and in this region, are referred to as, ah, Muskoka chairs. now growing up in New England, I always refer to them as Adirondack chairs. And I think they have another name beyond that. what's the other one? Adirondack Muskoka.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a great, that's a great question.
>> Amanda Barker: There's another thing that people call them.
>> Marco Timpano: so if you don't know what it is, it's an outdoor lounge chair that has wide armrests. Amanda, is that fair to say?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's made of wood and it's kind of slatted wood.
>> Marco Timpano: that has a high back m. And kind of a deep sit or deep like where your bottom would rest would be deep in the seat. Does that make sense?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: The first time I've said bottom on the show. so I think in the US it's called Adirondack. In Canada it's called, Muskoka chair. And I don't know another name of it to be.
>> Amanda Barker: There is one other. people sometimes call them Westport chairs. And actually they became known as Adirondack chairs because they were used by tuberculosis patients in upstate New York to relax and take in fresh air. Air.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that makes sense.
>> Amanda Barker: When they convalesced, right? Oh, I didn't know that. That is very interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, since we're going to the etymology of certain words, can I tell you why the cranberry got its name?
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: So early settlers thought the cranberry blossom resembled the head of a crane and called it crane berries.
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>> Amanda Barker: The app association.
>> Marco Timpano: Cranberries were so important to early settlers, laws were passed in some areas to prevent wild bogs from being picked illegally.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And if.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll show you a picture of the crane and the blossom, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. They look very similar and very similar.
>> Marco Timpano: This North American crane has a red.
>> Amanda Barker: It even has a. It really does look like a bird's head with a beak. Yeah. this. Justin. Okay, breaking news. The difference between Adirondack and Muskoka chairs is that the adirondack chair is 2 inches higher from the ground and 2 inches wider between the arms compared to the Muskoka chair. I did not know that.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Another comparison is that the Adirondack chair is built with a flat yolk at the back of the seat and the Moskoka chair is built with a curved yoke.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. Yes. I do notice that our Muskoka chairs have a curved yolk.
>> Amanda Barker: That is so interesting. What's a yolk?
>> Marco Timpano: A yoke is the. The, is this part I'm showing
>> Amanda Barker: you on the lower back.
>> Marco Timpano: Lower back support. Well, even the whole. The whole back support is kind of like the slats. Now it's significant that we mentioned the Muskoka chair.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it seems a little bit random that we mentioned.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But this winery was in Muskoka Lakes. That's the area that we work now.
>> Amanda Barker: I call it the Muskokas.
>> Marco Timpano: And I call it Muskoka.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So we won't get into that debate because it might. It might not be a pleasant one to listen to.
We started our day with a wine tasting at a cranberry farm
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, let's go back into the bog experience. So you get there and there are Muskoka chairs around a nice smoky kind of fire. You can get a hot chocolate. Ah, coffee. You need something stronger. Cider probably.
>> Marco Timpano: There's some pumpkins out in hay bales. So it's. It's actually quite pretty. They didn't overdo it. You know how some farms are like, it's.
>> Amanda Barker: It's fall color. They didn't overdo it. It's true. The fall colors speak for themselves.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a working farm. That's why I think they're like, okay, we'll have this little area for people to come.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But we're still a serious farm.
>> Amanda Barker: and there's a big golden retriever dog that apparently lives on the property and just gets love from all people. So that was.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we were told. We were told. Okay, so see where that golden retriever is? Turn right at the golden gold. Golden retriever.
>> Amanda Barker: Turn left actually.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sorry. Turn left.
>> Amanda Barker: And I wanted to make a joke saying isn't that lucky that that retriever is there? But little did I know, that retriever is always there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Wandering around on the property. So there's a little shop where you can buy their wines. And actually we started our day with with a wine tasting of all these cranberry based wines.
>> Marco Timpano: And fun fact, anything that had blueberry in it was not my favorite. But cranberry alone as a wine m. I wouldn't even call it a wine. I'd call it its own thing. But let's call it a wine. Cuz that's what they called it.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought was nice.
>> Amanda Barker: It was nice. The cranberry wine and the white cranberry was actually really lovely. sort of like a white wine but with a slightly different taste to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Nothing like a wine white or red in my opinion.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought it was like a white R. To me it tasted kind of like a. Actually in my opinion.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, you're, you know, more wines than I do.
>> Marco Timpano: So we had little very acidic white wine.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: It'd have to be like.
>> Amanda Barker: No, but it has a nice taste to it. I don't want to undersell it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it has a roundness to it for sure. That's really pretty.
>> Amanda Barker: So we tried a bunch of wine and that was lovely. And then with a bit of wine in our belly, it was off to get in the bog.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And we had to, I thought the, I thought the bogs. So you know, you have an impression of what a bog is going to be like.
>> Marco Timpano: My impression was not that we would have to walk four miles.
>> Amanda Barker: We did not walk four miles.
>> Marco Timpano: We had to walk a great distance.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was really pretty. It was beautiful to get to the bog.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm glad we did because it gave us space and air and a nice walk.
>> Marco Timpano: And we got to learn all along the walk there were little factoids that we could read.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true. They've done a good job with that at that particular cranberry farm. Bog. There's little things that you can learn about cranberries. I liked that we could do it in our own time.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't feel like we were being herded with any kind of group that I appreciated a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was a cool but pleasant day.
>> Amanda Barker: It really was. Yeah. Beautiful fall day.
Amanda went into a bog to pick cranberries. It actually reminded me a little of the Dead Sea
And then it was time. We had arrived at the bog and
>> Marco Timpano: it was bogging time.
>> Amanda Barker: It was bog tastic.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So we got our waiters. Our dumb waiters. Is that what they're called? No, not dumb waiters. What are they called?
>> Amanda Barker: They're not dumb waiters. That's something. Hip waiters.
>> Marco Timpano: Hip waiters. What's a dumb waiter? Is it a little elevator that you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, a food elevator basically that you have in your house? We used to have one.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Believe it or not, when we rent, out our house. It's a smart idea if you have a lot of floors. My parents took a very old, dilapidated Victorian house, gutted it when I was young. When they gutted it, my mom realized that's a lot of stairs to be sending grilled cheeses up to our attic, which was like where we would hang out. It was like our kids space. So she built a dumbwaiter so that we could wheel them up.
>> Marco Timpano: So much fun.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was a smart idea.
>> Marco Timpano: So we put on our hip waders and then we were instructed how to enter the bog.
>> Marco Timpano: And that it would be slopey and deep in some parts. And the bog Arbog m had tons of floating cranberries all around.
>> Marco Timpano: Which was awesome.
>> Amanda Barker: It was really neat. It actually reminded me a little bit of going into the Dead Sea in Israel. I know that sounds funny because it's a very different thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Experience. Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Different part of the world. But ultimately you're getting into a big, mucky, hard to walk in situation. And the water kind of. It makes the hip waders, the, the rubber of it kind of stick to you in a way. Right. Like it kind of closes in on your body. So it's almost like you've got a wetsuit on with boots attached. And so then you go in and basically you just hang out in it for half an hour and do whatever you want to do. So you can walk around, you can take photos, which was the number one thing people did, I think. And just play around in the cranberries.
>> Marco Timpano: Be around cranberries. The funny thing is Amanda thought we were going to be picking cranberries out of the bog.
>> Amanda Barker: I just felt like if you're gonna go into a bog, and maybe this is because of that fourth grade presentation that I got about how hard it was to work in a bog. I thought if you're going to get people to pay to be in the bog, why not get those people to either pick their own cranberries? And that's part of the. What you walk home with is your bag of cranberries that you go home and make a cobbler with or something. or you, you know, I don't know, get them to do the work for you. It was neither. We just splashed around.
>> Marco Timpano: Now it should be known that cranberries do not grow in water.
>> Amanda Barker: AMANDA M. They don't. That was one of the most interesting learnings actually. Now the reason they. It is a bog and the reason the cranberries float around in the bog is because they flood them.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Amanda Barker: So they'll flood the bog. because cranberries, if you've ever cut one open, have quite a bit of air in them. There's actually four chambers where the seeds kind of grow. they grow in a sort of airy space and then they're surrounded by the cranberry. So you have four air chambers to every cranberry. So cranberries float. So the easiest way to pick a cranberry or pick cranberries instead of going in, because they do grow in, It's kind of a marshy water though. Look, it's not marshy. It's just a field.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just a field they flood them completely in.
>> Amanda Barker: So the easiest way to pick them without destroying the plant and without getting them is to simply flood the field and they all just rise to the surface.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's what they do once they've been.
>> Amanda Barker: Once they're ready.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, once they've been sort of combed out of the plant that they're in.
>> Marco Timpano: They don't just rise once the water floods it because they have those machines. They kind of look like.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Snow blowers.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: To kind of blow. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That kind of pull them up.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: With comb them like they comb them
>> Amanda Barker: up without destroying the plant. That's the thing is to get the cranberry without. And that's why I'm sure they had rules on them in the early settler days, because it would be very easy to destroy the plant if you're getting the cranberry. So flooding the field is. Is the easiest way to do it, believe it or not.
>> Marco Timpano: And I think we're gonna, we're gonna wind up there, but we'll continue this conversation for our patrons.
Eastern hog nosed snake is an at risk species in Ontario
But before we go, I want to say one thing and you want to say one thing.
>> Amanda Barker: I just wanted you to say something about the difference between what you learned about cranberries themselves. But maybe we'll save that.
>> Marco Timpano: We might say that. I want to talk about the eastern hog nosed snake.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Which is kind of the, the snake of the Insomnia Project. If we had an animal to represent us.
>> Marco Timpano: It would be the eastern hognosed snake. So if anyone, if any of our listeners wants to draw.
>> Amanda Barker: It's not dangerous at all. It just bumps you with its nose.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. If anybody wants to draw a photo or a picture of this snake for us and somehow make it an Insomnia Project thing, we're happy to have it as our emblem. it is a harmless snake that is kind of on the, at risk species. And it's only found in, in this small pocket.
>> Amanda Barker: It is an at. It's not kind of.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you're sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: It's an at risk species species in
>> Marco Timpano: Ontario and it is not even in Ontario. In this small pocket of Ontario, of Muskoka. Georgian Bay in the Georgian Bay area is where you'll find it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a neat looking snake though because it does look like a pig.
>> Marco Timpano: It hisses.
>> Marco Timpano: and it can flare out, flare out its neck a bit like a cobra. But it is not venomous.
>> Marco Timpano: And they don't even bite.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm sure a lot of
>> Amanda Barker: people see them and get upset. You don't get freaked out by them.
>> Marco Timpano: If it strikes you, it keeps its mouth closed and just bumps you.
>> Amanda Barker: Amanda, how sweet. Is it just a snake that's like, hello, Bump, please get out of my way.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's very shy.
>> Amanda Barker: That might be why it's at risk.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's very shy. It doesn't like to visit with people.
>> Marco Timpano: It will come out on sunny days, but, it stays away from humans. But if you ever see it and it uses its hognosed face to dig.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's the. Right, it's, it's the, it's the weirdest, cutest looking thing you've ever seen. So I had posted. The reason I said is, I had posted something on our Instagram about the hognosed snake. So I wanted to just follow up and it was in that area, but we didn't, sadly we didn't see any.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess the thing I learned the most about cranberries on our trip was that white cranberries grow on the bottom side of the cranberry bush.
>> Amanda Barker: It makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: And so they don't see any sun.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And like the asparagus that get covered to be pale.
>> Marco Timpano: These get covered by the vines.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And you don't know how many white cranberries you're gonna get per season because it all depends on how many grow on the underside.
>> Marco Timpano: Of the cranberry bush. And therefore the white cranberry wine that they make, they can't have a good read on how much they're gonna make per season because they don't know how many white cranberries they're gonna. Be able to harvest. So that was the fact that I learned.
>> Amanda Barker: Very cool.
>> Marco Timpano: And on that note, I'm we're going to end this episode. Tell us what you think of granberries on our Twitter or on Instagram. Thank you for listening. If you're ever in a bog, think of us. And we hope you listen and sleep.
Bridges
(Original airdate: Sept 13, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen. As we have a conversation about the mundane, one thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to just drift off. thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep, or at the very least, listen and relax. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and with me is Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi. Hi again.
>> Marco Timpano: How you doing, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk about bridges. We recently went on a little trip and we encountered a lot of bridges. And I thought, I've never done an episode solely on bridges, so I thought, why?
>> Amanda Barker: Not sure why I'm surprised. You have never done one on bridges?
>> Marco Timpano: Not that I can remember. I'm sure we've mentioned bridges in passing.
>> Marco Timpano: But I can't think of any bridge specific episode.
Do you have a favorite bridge in the world
>> Amanda Barker: Well, here we go then.
>> Marco Timpano: So we were in a town called Perth.
>> Marco Timpano: And it had quite a few bridges.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And it had Some really lovely foot bridges which are really great because you don't have to share them with anyone. And usually they're perched over a stream or, or a koi pond or something really lovely, which in that town they are.
>> Marco Timpano: And I like the arch that those bridges had in particular. Some bridges just go straight across.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess those are more bridges that one encounters when you're driving. But those particular footbridges were over little streams that cascaded with, I don't want to say waterfalls, but little dips and the bridge kind of arced up and then down and those were quite fun to walk across, I would say.
>> Amanda Barker: Arc or ah, arched.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Both.
>> Marco Timpano: Both, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you have a favorite bridge in the world?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a great question. So you know, one of the most famous bridges in the world that I've encountered is Ponte Vecchio in Florence, which means old bridge in Italian. And it's a beautiful bridge to see from a distance. I didn't love walking across it because it's a lot of fancy jewelry stores catering to the tourists. But from afar it's quite neat to see. Then of course, the Bridge of Sighs in Venice is another really beautiful bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never seen that one. I've never been to Venice.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the one that sort of almost looks like a V. Like it's very distinct. You've seen it in a million images of Venice, of gondolas going underneath. That one. There's wider than I thought.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But I guess the bridge that strikes me the most would be from my hometown of Woodbridge.
>> Amanda Barker: What bridge in Woodbridge gives it its namesake?
>> Marco Timpano: So that's a great question. So Woodbridge, Ontario is a bit north of the city of Toronto, where I currently. Or where we currently live home.
>> Amanda Barker: originally, back in the day of Laura Secord.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think so. Oh, of Estee Lauder, I thought Laura Secord. No.
>> Amanda Barker: Where's Laura Secord from?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know where Laura Secord is from. She could be.
>> Amanda Barker: She was from there, but I'll have to look now.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, okay, so back to the famous or not so famous bridge in Woodbridge. So it used to be a tiny little wood bridge, wooden bridge that branched across the little river there. And I couldn't even tell you the name of that river. Possibly the Humber river and it.
>> Amanda Barker: The Humber. No, no, be the Humber River.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know, maybe it is the Humber River. I couldn't tell you.
>> Amanda Barker: She was born and Laura Secord was born in Massachusetts exactly 200 years before me.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's your part of town.
>> Amanda Barker: But I think there's something about her in Woodbridge, I'm pretty sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, back to the wooden bridge. So there was a little wooden bridge that connected, a pretty main street to the downtown on Woodbridge Avenue, hence the name of the street. But it got washed out.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: Back in the, I want to say the 20s, it got washed out.
>> Amanda Barker: Was there a dam or something that
>> Marco Timpano: I think it just. That area was prone to flooding. And I had a friend I worked with whose family lived in Woodbridge for hundreds of years. And his great grandfather, his grandfather was on a canoe helping people who were stuck from the flood.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And it washed out that bridge. And then they just built a concrete nothing bridge there.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that where the downtown is?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, just before there's some banks there and stuff. If you're driving on Woodbridge Avenue and you hit Islington, that's where the bridge is. And it's a nothing bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a little, little bridge you drive over, you don't even notice it. You perhaps don't even realize you're on a bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But I think that's what makes it so special is the town is named after that spot. And so people, so few people know the history of that bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: That it is kind of a funny bridge to me.
What's your favorite covered bridge? That's a hard one
What's your favorite bridge?
>> Amanda Barker: That's a hard one. I guess I will go with the Heartland Covered bridge, which is the longest covered bridge in the world. Covered bridges are really, really pretty. and I've mostly experienced them up and down the Eastern seaboard. but in heartland New Brunswick, their pride is that they have the longest covered bridge in the world. And I believe it still is. And since they're not really making covered bridges anymore, it probably will always be.
>> Marco Timpano: What was the reason for a covered bridge?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think in that area, I, mean the climate is, you know, New Brunswick gets a lot of winter.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it is over the St. John river, which is quite a river that did. And the reason I asked about damming the river was because they did dam that river in the 50s, I believe, or 60s. And so homes were fully submerged underwater. I mean, it made the river a much more grand river, and it already was. So when they built that bridge, I think it was a necessity to build it because for safety, I think, really, because it's such a long span. so that would be one of my favorite ones. And you have to wait. It's quite long and you have to wait for somebody to go all the way through it before you can go through it, I believe. I don't think two cars can be in it at the same time.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think. Anyway, so it's,
>> Marco Timpano: Is it dark when you go through it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like a dark tunnel. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's cool.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's a big one.
Maritimes Confederation Bridge is often closed because of the wind
And then since I'm talking about the Maritimes Confederation Bridge, the bridge to pei, that was many several years in the making. That bridge is phenomenal. I mean, you're passing through a large expanse of ocean, you know, and a, very windy ocean. It's often closed because of the wind.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is it really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you can imagine. I mean, again, that's the Atlantic, so it can get really windy, especially in the spring and fall.
>> Marco Timpano: How long is the drive from,
>> Amanda Barker: of, the bridge?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. From the mainland. Can you call it the mainland to Prince Edward Island?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, New Brunswick.
>> Marco Timpano: From New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island. Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: That bridge. I think it's like 45 minutes you're on that bridge. It is long and high.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's a high bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a very high bridge. And very. You're just you, the bridge in the sky and the water far, far, far underneath you. It's quite something.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I want to do that drive.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Did we? We were on a lot of bridges when we were in the Florida Keys. Right too. Because those are all connected by bridges.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny that you mentioned that because I was going to bring that up.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because when you drive to almost like where the peninsula of Florida comes to its point, you get onto the Keys that jet out further south. And I think if I'm not mistaken, the Keys are the furthest south point in the US Is that right?
>> Amanda Barker: continental us, but actually the furthest south, the most southern point in the US Is actually a point we were at in Hawaii.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, on the Big Island. You didn't want to stop.
>> Marco Timpano: Did we stop?
>> Amanda Barker: No, we drove by it. You said, who cares?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't care. You wanted to get to the Airbnb. So I went. Well, there it was.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's funny.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, let's go. Next time.
>> Marco Timpano: There will be a next time. Because I love, I love, Hawaii so much.
I'm trying to remember all the names of the islands that make up the Keys
It's the Seven Mile Bridge. Is the bridge in the Florida Keys?
>> Marco Timpano: In Monroe County, Florida, I guess, is where it starts or where the bridge spans and. And That's a beautiful drive.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to remember all the names of the islands that make up the Keys. Let's see if we can remember Marathon. Well, no, you're looking up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm not looking up.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you remember Marathon. So Key Largo is the first one you hit. Right. And then Key west is the furthest one that we had. I love Key West. depends on when you go. But it's a nice place.
>> Marco Timpano: That's all I remember.
>> Amanda Barker: There's another one, though, called, like, Belle Isle or Islamorda or something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, yeah, there was before you.
>> Amanda Barker: Before you hit. What's the one before you hit Key West? I, even think we stayed on it and I don't remember the name of it. Remember we stayed in a Airbnb with a little pool? Remember that?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't remember the pool. I remember the Airbnb.
>> Amanda Barker: It was small. It was like a trailer almost. But it had a nice little pool. Sort of kind of my dream. Small house or tiny house. Anyway, I can't think of the name of that island, but I'll look it up.
>> Marco Timpano: Key Largo.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, Marathon.
>> Marco Timpano: Sugarloaf Key.
>> Amanda Barker: I. Oh, I barely remember Sugarloaf Key.
>> Marco Timpano: Long key.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Pigeon key.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember that one.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't remember. I don't remember all these keys. I'm kind of like, just randomly.
>> Amanda Barker: Look, they don't really advertise which one you're on when you go through them. You just know you're in Key Largo, and then suddenly you're on the road to Key West. Marathon. like Marathon. Yeah, but what's the one we're trying to think of?
>> Marco Timpano: let's see if it comes up. No, name Key.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you kidding?
>> Marco Timpano: I think that. I think I remember seeing that.
>> Amanda Barker: They should do a better job.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a lot of keys.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, there's a lot.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't realize. But the one before Key West.
>> Marco Timpano: The one before Key West. I'm on the worst possible site for that.
>> Amanda Barker: okay.
>> Marco Timpano: let's see here. Okay, well, while you're little. Duck Key.
>> Amanda Barker: Don't remember that one.
>> Marco Timpano: M. Sunset Key.
>> Amanda Barker: I do remember hearing that one.
>> Marco Timpano: Boca Chica Key. Raccoon Key. I'm looking for that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Raccoon Key. I don't know about that one.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of some other bridges that I've enjoyed. there was a footbridge, probably the scariest bridge I've ever been on in Korea called the Mountain of Daedun Son, which was a large suspension bridge. Yeah. And actually I remember in New Brunswick, over probably not the St. John, but a tributary of the St. John. I remember I had a friend, actually don't remember who the friend was, but somebody had a cottage that had the longest footbridge you've ever seen to the cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It was quite something to do at night. It was wobbly. You know, we'd have had a few drinks and we'd be giggling.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: In high school, going over this wobbly suspension bridge.
I love bridges in different places and different locales
>> Marco Timpano: I know one of the most impressive bridges I've been on. And this is the something I'm sure our UK listeners will, know.
>> Marco Timpano: A bit about. Is the Tower Bridge in London?
>> Amanda Barker: Is that London Bridge?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, no, it's the Tower Bridge. London Bridge was taken down and I think is in Arizona now.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So you know that song London Bridges or the nursery rhyme London Bridges is falling down. I believe, I believe that bridge is in Arizona. I, could be wrong, but the Tower Bridge was built in the 18, late 1800s. And it looks just so majestic. And it's one of the sort of. Whenever they show that in a film, you immediately know that the scene is being taken. Is taking place in London, England.
>> Marco Timpano: And I remember walking it and just being so like. The interesting thing about it is when you've seen that so many times and then you start to walk it.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm.
>> Marco Timpano: And you look up and you see the two towers on either end. It's so impressive. One of my favorite bridges to drive is the Golden Gate Bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: I was gonna say the Golden Gate Bridge. And remember, on one side of it is. Is it Carmel?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Or is that somewhere else? I get places in, the Bay Area a little mixed up. Carmel's more Monterey, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: But Sausalito wasn't Sausalito.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the one. I'm think just a cute little town sort of near the Golden Gate Bridge.
>> Marco Timpano: And I believe they're constantly painting that bridge. So I think it's, it gets painted one way and then when they get to the end, they just start going back because they constantly have to paint that bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: That's quite a bridge.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's a beautiful bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: It really is. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then of course, the Brooklyn Bridge is impressive both when you're on the bridge and when you're near or underneath the bridge. There's a little restaurant just underneath the bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: that is so cute and quaint. I don't remember the name of It.
>> Amanda Barker: But there's a bridge that takes you in Vancouver to Granville island too. And we were talking about that recently because, there's some shops underneath there too, actually. Ponte Vecchio too. I was thinking this when you were talking about it. It's really more the shops that are sort of in the undercarriage of the bridge. Like you walk on the top part of it. Right. Am I remembering it right? Or maybe not. Well, and that the under part is the part that has all the restaurants and shops and stuff like that?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's kind of built in. I see why you're saying that. Because when you look at it from afar, there is a bit of underneath that the.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe I'm getting it mixed up. We went through one in Istanbul, remember? And there were shops and restaurants.
>> Marco Timpano: Those bridges were fun.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to look up the name of that one in Istanbul.
>> Marco Timpano: Those bridges were really kind of cool.
>> Marco Timpano: I love bridges in different places, different cities and different locales. Just seeing what a bridge looks like in the country versus what a city bridge looks like. And some bridges that are high and some bridges that are low. I remember when we were in Martha's, Vineyard.
>> Marco Timpano: We were often on small bridges that connected different parts of, Martha's Vineyard.
>> Amanda Barker: I just looked up the Florida Keys and there is an Islamorda.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I had it right. I just couldn't remember. And that bridge in Turkey, do you remember that bridge? It was over the Bosphorus, so it's called the Bosphorus.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember it being very wide. I remember people were fishing off that bridge.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I remember there was, It was flanked by restaurants on either side.
>> Amanda Barker: It was. Yeah, yeah. Like fine dining restaurants.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it was.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I think it was seafood restaurants. And like fine dining though, bridge on
>> Marco Timpano: one side and restaurants kind of sandwiched between each other.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that how it was? that's kind of how I remember it, but I just remember like tablecloths and looking at menus and people outside showing you the M menus as though it was a street corner or a beautiful pedestrian road in a city. But it was a bridge. Yeah.
Bill: We really enjoyed Ottawa. It was such a wonderful mix of cultures
Really neat trying to think of some other bridges that we've been to.
>> Marco Timpano: With almost half a million customers and over a trillion dollars of secure payments, Bill isn't new to intelligent finance. It's the proven way to simplify bill pay and maximize cash flow. Want to learn more? Visit bill.comproven for a special offer.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a bridge in Rome that has statues every, like, five meters or so on the bridge, which is really kind of neat.
>> Amanda Barker: And in Ottawa, there's that big bridge over the Rideau Canal.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: We were just on it days ago.
>> Marco Timpano: We should do an Ottawa episode because we had so much fun in that. That's the capital of Canada, in case people have heard of it, and they're like, why do I know that?
>> Amanda Barker: We really enjoyed Ottawa. It was such a wonderful mix of so many different things, and of English and French culture and colonial culture on both sides.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of French, what about the bridges on the left bank in Paris?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember them. I mean, barely. I do. It was many years ago. Sure, 25 years ago. That I've been there. It's been a long time.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. I guess we need to go back to France.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess we do. Or to France. We've never been together.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, we haven't?
>> Amanda Barker: No, no. and I think in Girona, Spain, I feel like there were some old stone bridges. Oh, there was. There was an old stone bridge that we crossed because we stayed sort of on the hillside of Girona. And then to get into the town, it was almost like it was part of the old fort of Girona. And so we'd cross that bridge into the town, to get to the ford and to get to everything. I don't know if you remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: could you drive up it? Like, did our taxi drive us up?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. And, remember we came home that day and we walked into town and then crossed the bridge, and as we crossed the bridge, we just sort of descended on this wine festival. Do you remember that?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: That was. I really like that town. Girona, Spain. We only went because it was the only place I could use my hotel points. At a Marriott there, I think, or a Hilton there? Marriott, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We spent one night in that town.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I had enough points. I had been traveling off and on for three years, more on than off. And so I had a points card from every single hotel. But of course, my hotels were all paid for by the production company. So some hotels won't give you any points, some will give you partial, some will give you full. So I just collected whatever I could. And at the end, I had one night at a Hilton and one night at a Marriott and one night at a Holiday Inn. And so I just used all of them. And we kind of zipped up and down the northeastern coast of Spain, going to these little hotels and exploring these towns.
CNN has a list of 24 most famous bridges and we've probably hit some
>> Marco Timpano: All right, I'm Going to mention a couple of bridges, famous bridges I just looked up, I'll look up. I'll use CNN's 24 most famous bridges. I won't go through all 24, but I'll mention a few and see how many.
>> Amanda Barker: We've probably hit some of them.
>> Marco Timpano: So Ponte Vecchio.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that the number one?
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's number three. Somehow I ended up at number three. Number two is the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: I have been on that bridge.
>> Marco Timpano: And what's that like?
>> Amanda Barker: It's massive and amazing and you can walk up it. You can actually, suspend from it and do like a hike where you harness yourself and walk up the large. Yeah, it's quite something.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And the number one bridge is the Golden Gate Bridge, which we have been on. So I'm gonna go backwards. I don't know why I started at three. But number four, Brooklyn Bridge we mentioned. How about the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in Gateshead, England? Have you been to that?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I don't know where Gateshead is
>> Marco Timpano: and forgive me, because I'm sure I'm going to say this wrong. The Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong.
>> Amanda Barker: I probably have been there. I'm assuming it's the bridge that connects Kowloon to Hong Kong proper. That would be my guess.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the largest suspension bridge in the world to feature two decks and carry both road and rail traffic.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: But it doesn't tell me what places it can.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, Hong Kong is really a series of islands. There's the major island of Hong Kong, but there are a lot of. Lantau island, is one of the more famous ones. It's very rural and has a very famous temple on it which has the floating Buddha or the largest. The world's largest Buddha is at the top sort of peak of Lantau island, which is part of Hong Kong, but not the Hong Kong. You would think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Guess what made it to number 22?
>> Amanda Barker: What's that?
>> Marco Timpano: The New Brunswick Heartland Bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: There it is in Brunswick, Canada. Yeah, it's an important one.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the world's largest country covered bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: Sounds like you didn't believe me.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I did, of course. No, I've heard it and I've seen it. And number 23 is Confederation Bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: There it is.
>> Marco Timpano: You mentioned two bridges from your part of Canada that made it on CNN's, list of 24 bridges.
>> Amanda Barker: What are some bridges we could aspire to on that list?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there's some in China. There's a beautiful one In Switzerland called the Sunnyburg Bridge, in clusters. And it's, really impressive. There was a bridge. Do you remember? We would always be on this bridge in Mexico City and we were driving from the airport and it would have the largest flag I've seen in my life.
>> Amanda Barker: It was huge. Yeah, I do remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if it's a bridge or you know, like a traffic. What do you call it when the traffic goes up over the traffic? Is that a bridge? You know what I'm talking about?
>> Amanda Barker: I do. Raised highway.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna call it a bridge because I can't think of anything else.
Amanda, do you remember the bridge to Nancy Island
>> Amanda Barker: Here's a question. Have you ever played bridge?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I haven't, but we should cover that topic before we go there. Do you remember the bridge to Nancy Island?
>> Amanda Barker: Why don't you explain that one?
>> Marco Timpano: So there's this tiny, tiny island. And I'm talking tiny like I'm sure there's homes that are bigger than this particular island.
>> Marco Timpano: That is near where we have our cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: And I always.
>> Amanda Barker: It's in Wasaga Beach. The town of Wasaga Beach.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And it's kind of in the middle of a river, would you say, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: It is a river. Yeah. And I don't know the name of that river.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't today, I don't know the name of any bodies of water it seems. But I thought there was a snake that was only native to that island, remember? And I said we need to go to Nancy Island.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know where you got that snake.
>> Marco Timpano: Because there is a snake that's only native to a, nearby area.
>> Amanda Barker: That area.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. But it wasn't only native to that one small.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean the island would have to be overrun with snakes for it to breed, to keep itself alive, to keep its species alive if it's only living within a 3,000 foot square radius.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: Square foot radius.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the name of that? That snake? That snake plays dead. Like it turns over and plays dead.
>> Amanda Barker: I really don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. so anyways, that, that island, they have a little bridge that connects you from the parking lot to that small little island. And to say it's a two minute walk might be giving it too much, too much, credit. But yeah, there was a famous battle or something that happened on that bridge. So there was remains of an old ship that ended up there.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: I've never played bridge back to the.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you were back to that. But Nancy island was neat because it Kind of had, like, three sections. It had that big sort of museum, remember?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: that was really interesting, full of artifacts. And then it had a sort of interactive part where there was people sort of telling stories. I think even like a theater company or something like that, or like a little movie theater that tells you the story of Nancy Island. A little amphitheater kind of thing. and then there's sort of like the outdoor area, which is full of, like, little plaques and gardens that you can walk through. So it's actually quite a little fun place to go if you happen to ever be in the Georgian Bay area, in Wasega beach or Wasago Beach.
>> Marco Timpano: The snake that I was referencing that is not on Nancy island, although they had one in an aquarium for you to see is the eastern hognosed snake.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, that's right. Because it looks like a little pig.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because it's kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: It has a little pig nose. I forgot about its pig nose.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's a cute. It's cute for a snake. A lot of people, you know, maybe
>> Amanda Barker: we should get an eastern hognose in an aquarium.
>> Marco Timpano: You can't, because they're very, They're a species on the risk list. Yeah. I think because they are in such a small body or such a small area of the world, and they feed, almost solely on toads. Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And the hognose that they have helps them dig for toads, so it serves a purpose.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's so interesting. I don't remember any of that.
>> Marco Timpano: And when they are harassed or afraid, the hognose snake will raise the front of its body off the ground and spread its neck, similar to a cobra.
>> Amanda Barker: Or me when I'm harassed.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And it will hiss and strike out harmlessly at its opponent. And if the harassment continues, the hognose snake may show signs of distress and produce a snake musk. Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I also do that when I'm harassed.
>> Marco Timpano: And then it will turn over on its back and play dead.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't do that. I get a lawyer.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. And I got that information from, Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve, which is where
>> Amanda Barker: we were, I think, on Nancy island when we took the bridge to Nancy Island.
Do you play bridge or mahjong
>> Marco Timpano: Well, before we end this episode. We're right at the end. Amanda, do you play bridge? And do you enjoy playing the card game? Bridge?
>> Amanda Barker: I have never played bridge. I had a dear, dear, friend and mentor and member of our family who we lived next door to for many years in New Brunswick, and she would play bridge every Thursday night with her girls. And I really did love that with all her friends. And, I have a sort of acquaintance friend who wanted to start a mahjong group where she starts playing mahjong.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And, so we may do that in the future.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, stay tuned for the mahjong episode of the Insomnia Project.
Tell us what your favorite bridge is on Instagram
Until then, we hope you enjoyed this episode. Tell us what your favorite bridge is. Maybe send a picture of it on our Instagram. And I have to post a picture of some fiesta ware that a listener sent us. Yes, that's right. Janine sent us a, photo of, a fiesta bowl that is beautiful and is her favorite. And I will never say a listener name without their permission, just so you're aware. And I, will never post a picture that is sent to me from a listener unless I have their permission. So I do have a permission to post this picture of this beautiful green bowl.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's a beauty.
>> Marco Timpano: With tomatoes in it, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: And one of the tomatoes, most of them are a vibrant red, but there's one unripened tomato in there that's the same color as the bowl. It's quite striking.
>> Marco Timpano: So take a look at our Instagram account and then give us post some pictures of your favorite bridge. Until next time, we hope you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: Sept 13, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen. As we have a conversation about the mundane, one thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to just drift off. thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep, or at the very least, listen and relax. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and with me is Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: Hi. Hi again.
>> Marco Timpano: How you doing, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk about bridges. We recently went on a little trip and we encountered a lot of bridges. And I thought, I've never done an episode solely on bridges, so I thought, why?
>> Amanda Barker: Not sure why I'm surprised. You have never done one on bridges?
>> Marco Timpano: Not that I can remember. I'm sure we've mentioned bridges in passing.
>> Marco Timpano: But I can't think of any bridge specific episode.
Do you have a favorite bridge in the world
>> Amanda Barker: Well, here we go then.
>> Marco Timpano: So we were in a town called Perth.
>> Marco Timpano: And it had quite a few bridges.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And it had Some really lovely foot bridges which are really great because you don't have to share them with anyone. And usually they're perched over a stream or, or a koi pond or something really lovely, which in that town they are.
>> Marco Timpano: And I like the arch that those bridges had in particular. Some bridges just go straight across.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess those are more bridges that one encounters when you're driving. But those particular footbridges were over little streams that cascaded with, I don't want to say waterfalls, but little dips and the bridge kind of arced up and then down and those were quite fun to walk across, I would say.
>> Amanda Barker: Arc or ah, arched.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Both.
>> Marco Timpano: Both, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you have a favorite bridge in the world?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a great question. So you know, one of the most famous bridges in the world that I've encountered is Ponte Vecchio in Florence, which means old bridge in Italian. And it's a beautiful bridge to see from a distance. I didn't love walking across it because it's a lot of fancy jewelry stores catering to the tourists. But from afar it's quite neat to see. Then of course, the Bridge of Sighs in Venice is another really beautiful bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never seen that one. I've never been to Venice.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the one that sort of almost looks like a V. Like it's very distinct. You've seen it in a million images of Venice, of gondolas going underneath. That one. There's wider than I thought.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But I guess the bridge that strikes me the most would be from my hometown of Woodbridge.
>> Amanda Barker: What bridge in Woodbridge gives it its namesake?
>> Marco Timpano: So that's a great question. So Woodbridge, Ontario is a bit north of the city of Toronto, where I currently. Or where we currently live home.
>> Amanda Barker: originally, back in the day of Laura Secord.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think so. Oh, of Estee Lauder, I thought Laura Secord. No.
>> Amanda Barker: Where's Laura Secord from?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know where Laura Secord is from. She could be.
>> Amanda Barker: She was from there, but I'll have to look now.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, okay, so back to the famous or not so famous bridge in Woodbridge. So it used to be a tiny little wood bridge, wooden bridge that branched across the little river there. And I couldn't even tell you the name of that river. Possibly the Humber river and it.
>> Amanda Barker: The Humber. No, no, be the Humber River.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know, maybe it is the Humber River. I couldn't tell you.
>> Amanda Barker: She was born and Laura Secord was born in Massachusetts exactly 200 years before me.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's your part of town.
>> Amanda Barker: But I think there's something about her in Woodbridge, I'm pretty sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, back to the wooden bridge. So there was a little wooden bridge that connected, a pretty main street to the downtown on Woodbridge Avenue, hence the name of the street. But it got washed out.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: Back in the, I want to say the 20s, it got washed out.
>> Amanda Barker: Was there a dam or something that
>> Marco Timpano: I think it just. That area was prone to flooding. And I had a friend I worked with whose family lived in Woodbridge for hundreds of years. And his great grandfather, his grandfather was on a canoe helping people who were stuck from the flood.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And it washed out that bridge. And then they just built a concrete nothing bridge there.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that where the downtown is?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, just before there's some banks there and stuff. If you're driving on Woodbridge Avenue and you hit Islington, that's where the bridge is. And it's a nothing bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a little, little bridge you drive over, you don't even notice it. You perhaps don't even realize you're on a bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But I think that's what makes it so special is the town is named after that spot. And so people, so few people know the history of that bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: That it is kind of a funny bridge to me.
What's your favorite covered bridge? That's a hard one
What's your favorite bridge?
>> Amanda Barker: That's a hard one. I guess I will go with the Heartland Covered bridge, which is the longest covered bridge in the world. Covered bridges are really, really pretty. and I've mostly experienced them up and down the Eastern seaboard. but in heartland New Brunswick, their pride is that they have the longest covered bridge in the world. And I believe it still is. And since they're not really making covered bridges anymore, it probably will always be.
>> Marco Timpano: What was the reason for a covered bridge?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think in that area, I, mean the climate is, you know, New Brunswick gets a lot of winter.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And it is over the St. John river, which is quite a river that did. And the reason I asked about damming the river was because they did dam that river in the 50s, I believe, or 60s. And so homes were fully submerged underwater. I mean, it made the river a much more grand river, and it already was. So when they built that bridge, I think it was a necessity to build it because for safety, I think, really, because it's such a long span. so that would be one of my favorite ones. And you have to wait. It's quite long and you have to wait for somebody to go all the way through it before you can go through it, I believe. I don't think two cars can be in it at the same time.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think. Anyway, so it's,
>> Marco Timpano: Is it dark when you go through it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like a dark tunnel. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's cool.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's a big one.
Maritimes Confederation Bridge is often closed because of the wind
And then since I'm talking about the Maritimes Confederation Bridge, the bridge to pei, that was many several years in the making. That bridge is phenomenal. I mean, you're passing through a large expanse of ocean, you know, and a, very windy ocean. It's often closed because of the wind.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is it really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, you can imagine. I mean, again, that's the Atlantic, so it can get really windy, especially in the spring and fall.
>> Marco Timpano: How long is the drive from,
>> Amanda Barker: of, the bridge?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. From the mainland. Can you call it the mainland to Prince Edward Island?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, New Brunswick.
>> Marco Timpano: From New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island. Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: That bridge. I think it's like 45 minutes you're on that bridge. It is long and high.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's a high bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a very high bridge. And very. You're just you, the bridge in the sky and the water far, far, far underneath you. It's quite something.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I want to do that drive.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Did we? We were on a lot of bridges when we were in the Florida Keys. Right too. Because those are all connected by bridges.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so funny that you mentioned that because I was going to bring that up.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because when you drive to almost like where the peninsula of Florida comes to its point, you get onto the Keys that jet out further south. And I think if I'm not mistaken, the Keys are the furthest south point in the US Is that right?
>> Amanda Barker: continental us, but actually the furthest south, the most southern point in the US Is actually a point we were at in Hawaii.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is it?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, on the Big Island. You didn't want to stop.
>> Marco Timpano: Did we stop?
>> Amanda Barker: No, we drove by it. You said, who cares?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't care. You wanted to get to the Airbnb. So I went. Well, there it was.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's funny.
>> Amanda Barker: And I said, let's go. Next time.
>> Marco Timpano: There will be a next time. Because I love, I love, Hawaii so much.
I'm trying to remember all the names of the islands that make up the Keys
It's the Seven Mile Bridge. Is the bridge in the Florida Keys?
>> Marco Timpano: In Monroe County, Florida, I guess, is where it starts or where the bridge spans and. And That's a beautiful drive.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to remember all the names of the islands that make up the Keys. Let's see if we can remember Marathon. Well, no, you're looking up.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm not looking up.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you remember Marathon. So Key Largo is the first one you hit. Right. And then Key west is the furthest one that we had. I love Key West. depends on when you go. But it's a nice place.
>> Marco Timpano: That's all I remember.
>> Amanda Barker: There's another one, though, called, like, Belle Isle or Islamorda or something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, yeah, there was before you.
>> Amanda Barker: Before you hit. What's the one before you hit Key West? I, even think we stayed on it and I don't remember the name of it. Remember we stayed in a Airbnb with a little pool? Remember that?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't remember the pool. I remember the Airbnb.
>> Amanda Barker: It was small. It was like a trailer almost. But it had a nice little pool. Sort of kind of my dream. Small house or tiny house. Anyway, I can't think of the name of that island, but I'll look it up.
>> Marco Timpano: Key Largo.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, Marathon.
>> Marco Timpano: Sugarloaf Key.
>> Amanda Barker: I. Oh, I barely remember Sugarloaf Key.
>> Marco Timpano: Long key.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Pigeon key.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember that one.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't remember. I don't remember all these keys. I'm kind of like, just randomly.
>> Amanda Barker: Look, they don't really advertise which one you're on when you go through them. You just know you're in Key Largo, and then suddenly you're on the road to Key West. Marathon. like Marathon. Yeah, but what's the one we're trying to think of?
>> Marco Timpano: let's see if it comes up. No, name Key.
>> Amanda Barker: Are you kidding?
>> Marco Timpano: I think that. I think I remember seeing that.
>> Amanda Barker: They should do a better job.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a lot of keys.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, there's a lot.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't realize. But the one before Key West.
>> Marco Timpano: The one before Key West. I'm on the worst possible site for that.
>> Amanda Barker: okay.
>> Marco Timpano: let's see here. Okay, well, while you're little. Duck Key.
>> Amanda Barker: Don't remember that one.
>> Marco Timpano: M. Sunset Key.
>> Amanda Barker: I do remember hearing that one.
>> Marco Timpano: Boca Chica Key. Raccoon Key. I'm looking for that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Raccoon Key. I don't know about that one.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to think of some other bridges that I've enjoyed. there was a footbridge, probably the scariest bridge I've ever been on in Korea called the Mountain of Daedun Son, which was a large suspension bridge. Yeah. And actually I remember in New Brunswick, over probably not the St. John, but a tributary of the St. John. I remember I had a friend, actually don't remember who the friend was, but somebody had a cottage that had the longest footbridge you've ever seen to the cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It was quite something to do at night. It was wobbly. You know, we'd have had a few drinks and we'd be giggling.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: In high school, going over this wobbly suspension bridge.
I love bridges in different places and different locales
>> Marco Timpano: I know one of the most impressive bridges I've been on. And this is the something I'm sure our UK listeners will, know.
>> Marco Timpano: A bit about. Is the Tower Bridge in London?
>> Amanda Barker: Is that London Bridge?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, no, it's the Tower Bridge. London Bridge was taken down and I think is in Arizona now.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So you know that song London Bridges or the nursery rhyme London Bridges is falling down. I believe, I believe that bridge is in Arizona. I, could be wrong, but the Tower Bridge was built in the 18, late 1800s. And it looks just so majestic. And it's one of the sort of. Whenever they show that in a film, you immediately know that the scene is being taken. Is taking place in London, England.
>> Marco Timpano: And I remember walking it and just being so like. The interesting thing about it is when you've seen that so many times and then you start to walk it.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm.
>> Marco Timpano: And you look up and you see the two towers on either end. It's so impressive. One of my favorite bridges to drive is the Golden Gate Bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: I was gonna say the Golden Gate Bridge. And remember, on one side of it is. Is it Carmel?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Or is that somewhere else? I get places in, the Bay Area a little mixed up. Carmel's more Monterey, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: But Sausalito wasn't Sausalito.
>> Amanda Barker: That's the one. I'm think just a cute little town sort of near the Golden Gate Bridge.
>> Marco Timpano: And I believe they're constantly painting that bridge. So I think it's, it gets painted one way and then when they get to the end, they just start going back because they constantly have to paint that bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: That's quite a bridge.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's a beautiful bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: It really is. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And then of course, the Brooklyn Bridge is impressive both when you're on the bridge and when you're near or underneath the bridge. There's a little restaurant just underneath the bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really? Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: that is so cute and quaint. I don't remember the name of It.
>> Amanda Barker: But there's a bridge that takes you in Vancouver to Granville island too. And we were talking about that recently because, there's some shops underneath there too, actually. Ponte Vecchio too. I was thinking this when you were talking about it. It's really more the shops that are sort of in the undercarriage of the bridge. Like you walk on the top part of it. Right. Am I remembering it right? Or maybe not. Well, and that the under part is the part that has all the restaurants and shops and stuff like that?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's kind of built in. I see why you're saying that. Because when you look at it from afar, there is a bit of underneath that the.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe I'm getting it mixed up. We went through one in Istanbul, remember? And there were shops and restaurants.
>> Marco Timpano: Those bridges were fun.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm going to look up the name of that one in Istanbul.
>> Marco Timpano: Those bridges were really kind of cool.
>> Marco Timpano: I love bridges in different places, different cities and different locales. Just seeing what a bridge looks like in the country versus what a city bridge looks like. And some bridges that are high and some bridges that are low. I remember when we were in Martha's, Vineyard.
>> Marco Timpano: We were often on small bridges that connected different parts of, Martha's Vineyard.
>> Amanda Barker: I just looked up the Florida Keys and there is an Islamorda.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I had it right. I just couldn't remember. And that bridge in Turkey, do you remember that bridge? It was over the Bosphorus, so it's called the Bosphorus.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember it being very wide. I remember people were fishing off that bridge.
>> Marco Timpano: And then I remember there was, It was flanked by restaurants on either side.
>> Amanda Barker: It was. Yeah, yeah. Like fine dining restaurants.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it was.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I think it was seafood restaurants. And like fine dining though, bridge on
>> Marco Timpano: one side and restaurants kind of sandwiched between each other.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that how it was? that's kind of how I remember it, but I just remember like tablecloths and looking at menus and people outside showing you the M menus as though it was a street corner or a beautiful pedestrian road in a city. But it was a bridge. Yeah.
Bill: We really enjoyed Ottawa. It was such a wonderful mix of cultures
Really neat trying to think of some other bridges that we've been to.
>> Marco Timpano: With almost half a million customers and over a trillion dollars of secure payments, Bill isn't new to intelligent finance. It's the proven way to simplify bill pay and maximize cash flow. Want to learn more? Visit bill.comproven for a special offer.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a bridge in Rome that has statues every, like, five meters or so on the bridge, which is really kind of neat.
>> Amanda Barker: And in Ottawa, there's that big bridge over the Rideau Canal.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: We were just on it days ago.
>> Marco Timpano: We should do an Ottawa episode because we had so much fun in that. That's the capital of Canada, in case people have heard of it, and they're like, why do I know that?
>> Amanda Barker: We really enjoyed Ottawa. It was such a wonderful mix of so many different things, and of English and French culture and colonial culture on both sides.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of French, what about the bridges on the left bank in Paris?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember them. I mean, barely. I do. It was many years ago. Sure, 25 years ago. That I've been there. It's been a long time.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. I guess we need to go back to France.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess we do. Or to France. We've never been together.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, we haven't?
>> Amanda Barker: No, no. and I think in Girona, Spain, I feel like there were some old stone bridges. Oh, there was. There was an old stone bridge that we crossed because we stayed sort of on the hillside of Girona. And then to get into the town, it was almost like it was part of the old fort of Girona. And so we'd cross that bridge into the town, to get to the ford and to get to everything. I don't know if you remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: could you drive up it? Like, did our taxi drive us up?
>> Amanda Barker: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. And, remember we came home that day and we walked into town and then crossed the bridge, and as we crossed the bridge, we just sort of descended on this wine festival. Do you remember that?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: That was. I really like that town. Girona, Spain. We only went because it was the only place I could use my hotel points. At a Marriott there, I think, or a Hilton there? Marriott, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We spent one night in that town.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I had enough points. I had been traveling off and on for three years, more on than off. And so I had a points card from every single hotel. But of course, my hotels were all paid for by the production company. So some hotels won't give you any points, some will give you partial, some will give you full. So I just collected whatever I could. And at the end, I had one night at a Hilton and one night at a Marriott and one night at a Holiday Inn. And so I just used all of them. And we kind of zipped up and down the northeastern coast of Spain, going to these little hotels and exploring these towns.
CNN has a list of 24 most famous bridges and we've probably hit some
>> Marco Timpano: All right, I'm Going to mention a couple of bridges, famous bridges I just looked up, I'll look up. I'll use CNN's 24 most famous bridges. I won't go through all 24, but I'll mention a few and see how many.
>> Amanda Barker: We've probably hit some of them.
>> Marco Timpano: So Ponte Vecchio.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that the number one?
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's number three. Somehow I ended up at number three. Number two is the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: I have been on that bridge.
>> Marco Timpano: And what's that like?
>> Amanda Barker: It's massive and amazing and you can walk up it. You can actually, suspend from it and do like a hike where you harness yourself and walk up the large. Yeah, it's quite something.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And the number one bridge is the Golden Gate Bridge, which we have been on. So I'm gonna go backwards. I don't know why I started at three. But number four, Brooklyn Bridge we mentioned. How about the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in Gateshead, England? Have you been to that?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I don't know where Gateshead is
>> Marco Timpano: and forgive me, because I'm sure I'm going to say this wrong. The Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong.
>> Amanda Barker: I probably have been there. I'm assuming it's the bridge that connects Kowloon to Hong Kong proper. That would be my guess.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the largest suspension bridge in the world to feature two decks and carry both road and rail traffic.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: But it doesn't tell me what places it can.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, Hong Kong is really a series of islands. There's the major island of Hong Kong, but there are a lot of. Lantau island, is one of the more famous ones. It's very rural and has a very famous temple on it which has the floating Buddha or the largest. The world's largest Buddha is at the top sort of peak of Lantau island, which is part of Hong Kong, but not the Hong Kong. You would think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Guess what made it to number 22?
>> Amanda Barker: What's that?
>> Marco Timpano: The New Brunswick Heartland Bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: There it is in Brunswick, Canada. Yeah, it's an important one.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the world's largest country covered bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: Sounds like you didn't believe me.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I did, of course. No, I've heard it and I've seen it. And number 23 is Confederation Bridge.
>> Amanda Barker: There it is.
>> Marco Timpano: You mentioned two bridges from your part of Canada that made it on CNN's, list of 24 bridges.
>> Amanda Barker: What are some bridges we could aspire to on that list?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there's some in China. There's a beautiful one In Switzerland called the Sunnyburg Bridge, in clusters. And it's, really impressive. There was a bridge. Do you remember? We would always be on this bridge in Mexico City and we were driving from the airport and it would have the largest flag I've seen in my life.
>> Amanda Barker: It was huge. Yeah, I do remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if it's a bridge or you know, like a traffic. What do you call it when the traffic goes up over the traffic? Is that a bridge? You know what I'm talking about?
>> Amanda Barker: I do. Raised highway.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna call it a bridge because I can't think of anything else.
Amanda, do you remember the bridge to Nancy Island
>> Amanda Barker: Here's a question. Have you ever played bridge?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I haven't, but we should cover that topic before we go there. Do you remember the bridge to Nancy Island?
>> Amanda Barker: Why don't you explain that one?
>> Marco Timpano: So there's this tiny, tiny island. And I'm talking tiny like I'm sure there's homes that are bigger than this particular island.
>> Marco Timpano: That is near where we have our cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: And I always.
>> Amanda Barker: It's in Wasaga Beach. The town of Wasaga Beach.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And it's kind of in the middle of a river, would you say, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: It is a river. Yeah. And I don't know the name of that river.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't today, I don't know the name of any bodies of water it seems. But I thought there was a snake that was only native to that island, remember? And I said we need to go to Nancy Island.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know where you got that snake.
>> Marco Timpano: Because there is a snake that's only native to a, nearby area.
>> Amanda Barker: That area.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. But it wasn't only native to that one small.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean the island would have to be overrun with snakes for it to breed, to keep itself alive, to keep its species alive if it's only living within a 3,000 foot square radius.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right.
>> Amanda Barker: Square foot radius.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the name of that? That snake? That snake plays dead. Like it turns over and plays dead.
>> Amanda Barker: I really don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. so anyways, that, that island, they have a little bridge that connects you from the parking lot to that small little island. And to say it's a two minute walk might be giving it too much, too much, credit. But yeah, there was a famous battle or something that happened on that bridge. So there was remains of an old ship that ended up there.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: I've never played bridge back to the.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, you were back to that. But Nancy island was neat because it Kind of had, like, three sections. It had that big sort of museum, remember?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: that was really interesting, full of artifacts. And then it had a sort of interactive part where there was people sort of telling stories. I think even like a theater company or something like that, or like a little movie theater that tells you the story of Nancy Island. A little amphitheater kind of thing. and then there's sort of like the outdoor area, which is full of, like, little plaques and gardens that you can walk through. So it's actually quite a little fun place to go if you happen to ever be in the Georgian Bay area, in Wasega beach or Wasago Beach.
>> Marco Timpano: The snake that I was referencing that is not on Nancy island, although they had one in an aquarium for you to see is the eastern hognosed snake.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, that's right. Because it looks like a little pig.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because it's kind of.
>> Amanda Barker: It has a little pig nose. I forgot about its pig nose.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's a cute. It's cute for a snake. A lot of people, you know, maybe
>> Amanda Barker: we should get an eastern hognose in an aquarium.
>> Marco Timpano: You can't, because they're very, They're a species on the risk list. Yeah. I think because they are in such a small body or such a small area of the world, and they feed, almost solely on toads. Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: And the hognose that they have helps them dig for toads, so it serves a purpose.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's so interesting. I don't remember any of that.
>> Marco Timpano: And when they are harassed or afraid, the hognose snake will raise the front of its body off the ground and spread its neck, similar to a cobra.
>> Amanda Barker: Or me when I'm harassed.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And it will hiss and strike out harmlessly at its opponent. And if the harassment continues, the hognose snake may show signs of distress and produce a snake musk. Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I also do that when I'm harassed.
>> Marco Timpano: And then it will turn over on its back and play dead.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't do that. I get a lawyer.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. And I got that information from, Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve, which is where
>> Amanda Barker: we were, I think, on Nancy island when we took the bridge to Nancy Island.
Do you play bridge or mahjong
>> Marco Timpano: Well, before we end this episode. We're right at the end. Amanda, do you play bridge? And do you enjoy playing the card game? Bridge?
>> Amanda Barker: I have never played bridge. I had a dear, dear, friend and mentor and member of our family who we lived next door to for many years in New Brunswick, and she would play bridge every Thursday night with her girls. And I really did love that with all her friends. And, I have a sort of acquaintance friend who wanted to start a mahjong group where she starts playing mahjong.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And, so we may do that in the future.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, stay tuned for the mahjong episode of the Insomnia Project.
Tell us what your favorite bridge is on Instagram
Until then, we hope you enjoyed this episode. Tell us what your favorite bridge is. Maybe send a picture of it on our Instagram. And I have to post a picture of some fiesta ware that a listener sent us. Yes, that's right. Janine sent us a, photo of, a fiesta bowl that is beautiful and is her favorite. And I will never say a listener name without their permission, just so you're aware. And I, will never post a picture that is sent to me from a listener unless I have their permission. So I do have a permission to post this picture of this beautiful green bowl.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, that's a beauty.
>> Marco Timpano: With tomatoes in it, of course.
>> Amanda Barker: And one of the tomatoes, most of them are a vibrant red, but there's one unripened tomato in there that's the same color as the bowl. It's quite striking.
>> Marco Timpano: So take a look at our Instagram account and then give us post some pictures of your favorite bridge. Until next time, we hope you listen and sleep.
Gems & Mythology
(Original airdate: Sept 13, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we discuss the ordinary
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the ordinary or mundane. Although I don't think today's episode falls in either of those categories, we one thing that we can promise is that our conversation will hopefully be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to just drift off. I know for some people it is interesting. Certain episodes and other episodes aren't. So depending on what you like or dislike, this might be an interesting episode. Regardless, thank you for joining us and we hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'm Amanda Barker joining you yet again.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, how are you doing today?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm, cold.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Well, you do have a blanket on you, so hopefully that'll warm me up.
>> Amanda Barker: And slippers.
>> Marco Timpano: I keep the studio kind of cool because it can get warm real fast in here.
>> Amanda Barker: I often think that it's very cold outside because it's so cold in our house. Until I go outside and realize that, no, you've just been in the studio with the air conditioning going.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, let's see if we get warmed up in the next 26 minutes by the time we finish.
A listener sent an email suggesting some topics for this podcast
So a listener sent an email suggesting some topics and, some of the topics were mythology, semi precious stones, fortune telling, animal facts. So I figured we'd combine two of them.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought you said animal fat.
>> Marco Timpano: Animal fat.
>> Amanda Barker: Cooking with animal fat.
>> Marco Timpano: Cooking with animal fat.
>> Amanda Barker: Bacon. Duck.
>> Marco Timpano: yeah, duck fries. But we're going to combine two of them and look at the mythology of semi precious stones. And I figured I would start with the stones of the month. So every month has a stone, semi precious, or in some cases, precious stones, but they also have mythologies behind them.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, cool.
Amanda, January's semi precious stone is Garnet
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, our first month, January, is Garnet. How do you feel about the semi precious stone? Garnet.
>> Amanda Barker: I like garnet. I like Capricorns. I find Capricorns, which, is usually the symbol. I know that astrology doesn't line up completely with the month, but the bulk of the month usually gets one. And for January, that's Capricorn. So I always think of my sister, who is a January baby, and Garnet, is her birthstone. And, so I always think of Garnet as being a really solid stone, like a stone of hard work. And it's not too flashy. It's a deep sort of reddish hue, but a very deep kind of tone. almost like dark brown, Black. Red.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. It's, in a group of six different stones called grossular, which are red to orange in color. M. And, yeah. And the sort of mythology behind the garnet is that, one of the myths is that garnet originated with persphone. Is that right? Is that how you say the.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'm gonna say Persephone, the Greek goddess of sunshine.
>> Amanda Barker: Ooh.
>> Marco Timpano: And Persephone was.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Persephone.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I guess. Is that how you spell it?
>> Amanda Barker: Persephone would be P, E, R, S. I have to look. But if she's a goddess, I'm assuming would be Persephone.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so, yeah, so then I guess it is Persephone.
>> Marco Timpano: You know more about the myths than I do.
>> Amanda Barker: Not much, but, yeah, that's the e is you pronounce the e at the end.
>> Marco Timpano: So Persephone is the Greek goddess of sunshine. Is that correct?
>> Amanda Barker: Mm.
>> Marco Timpano: And, she was captured by Hades.
>> Amanda Barker: She's the goddess of a few things. She was the daughter of somebody. She's like a daughter of Zeus and somebody.
>> Marco Timpano: Probably most of the gods are. Or the goddesses, aren't they kids of Zeus? That's how much I know about myths.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, Hera was his wife, but he had sort of babies with everybody. anyway, she was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter who was Persephone?
>> Marco Timpano: Persephone. Oh, I'm sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: And Demeter is the God of vegetation, and agriculture. So Persephone gets that sort of agriculture. So certainly sunshine would be part of that.
The word garnet comes from the Latin granitus, which means seeds
>> Marco Timpano: Well, according to this legend or this myth, before Hades released Persephone, he wanted to guarantee her return. So he gave her some pomegranate seeds. And the word garnet comes from the Latin granitus, which means seeds.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay?
>> Marco Timpano: So the next time that you have, cracked open a pomegranate, take a look. You'll notice those seeds are actually very similar in color to an actual garnet.
>> Amanda Barker: That's so true. I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't they call the seeds of pomegranate jewels?
>> Amanda Barker: I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's, I think what they'll often refer to, or chefs will often refer to, seeds from, pomegranate as jewels.
Amethyst is a member of the quartz family
So if we go to the next month, do you know what stone it is, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. February's. What's February's?
>> Marco Timpano: It's purple, if that helps.
>> Amanda Barker: Amethyst.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you got it. And, Amethyst is a member of the quartz family.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, and there's a little, Greek myth with Amethyst.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me.
>> Amanda Barker: So Dionysus.
>> Marco Timpano: You know Dionysus, wine, God of wine.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. The Roman version would be Bacchus.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. God of wine or intoxic, or the enjoyment of wine. Was, apparently angered by an insult from a mere mortal and swore revenge on the next mortal that crossed his path, creating fierce tigers to carry out his wish. All along came the unsuspecting Amethyst, a beautiful maiden on her way to pay tribute to the goddess Diana.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so it was a person's name in this case.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm. Diana turned Amethyst into a statue of pure crystalline quartz to protect her from the tigers. And Dionysus wept tears of wine in remorse at the sight of the beautiful statue. The God's tears stained the quartz purple, creating the gem.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's a wine. In Greek mythology, it was a wine colored quartz.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see. So how do you feel about amethyst, Amana?
>> Amanda Barker: I like amethyst. There's also, you know, we're talking about mythology around stones, but there's also the vibrational aspect of amethyst. And I believe it's a love stone and a cleansing stone. A very powerful stone.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
Any idea on March's birthstone? Is it aquamarine
>> Marco Timpano: So that brings us to March. Any idea on March's birthstone?
>> Amanda Barker: Is it aquamarine?
>> Marco Timpano: You got it. Aquamarine is a variety of the mineral Beryl, spelled B, E, R, Y, L.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a woman's name too.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, you don't hear. I haven't heard.
>> Amanda Barker: You never heard the name Beryl?
>> Marco Timpano: Not in reference to a person's name.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's a woman's name. My mom used to know a beryl.
>> Marco Timpano: Beryls are pretty cool. It's a cool stone and they can range from clear to deep green. And emeralds are beryls, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I did not know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. But aquamarine, is usually like a bluish green color. Right. To sort of represent or it's kind of the color of oceans or waters. That blue green. And it gets its name from aqua, meaning water in Latin, and mare, which means sea.
>> Marco Timpano: Because of its intense blue green color and because of this resemblance to the ocean, sailors used to wear it as a talisman to depict the God Neptune, which is the Roman God, who ruled the seas.
>> Amanda Barker: yeah. And what was his Greek name?
>> Marco Timpano: Neptune was,
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it's gonna drive me nuts.
>> Marco Timpano: Neptune was Poseidon.
>> Amanda Barker: Poseidon.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, Poseidon. I'm sure there's listeners who were exciting. and of course they would wear it so that the God would help them, believing that the aquamarine would offer them protection from the sea's elements.
>> Amanda Barker: Now aquamarine is an interesting stone to me because I don't think you see it a lot like amethyst. You tend to see quite a bit. There's certain stones you see a lot of. And there might have been a time when people wore a lot of aquamarine, but I have to say I haven't seen a lot of people wearing it, you know, recently.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's an expensive stone.
>> Amanda Barker: That's why I think it is. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But, if you're going on a ship, wear aquamarine, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: What was that stone I got in Turkey? That beautiful green stone. That wasn't an aquamarine?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it was, that was called.
>> Amanda Barker: It was beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Mm. Then we get to April.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know what April is.
>> Marco Timpano: April is probably the most expensive, gem.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Diamond. Oh, well, they say diamond or are
>> Amanda Barker: a girl's best friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, they say that. That's. I wonder if that's a myth. but, you know, it is. Of course there's. I'm sure there's a ton of myths and legends with diamonds. m. The hardest stone.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right. You could always check it was a real diamond. If you scratched A mirror with it. Right. I remember there's some scene in a movie where she takes the diamond and tries to show that it's fake and then it scratches the mirror in half.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't have at hand any legends or myths about diamonds, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, well, I mean, certainly there were a lot of legends and myths about diamonds with like Liz Taylor and Marilyn Monroe and all of those people. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's so many movies that deal with diamonds. And you know, Diamonds Are Forever is one of the first ones I can think of, which is a James Bond film.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know, isn't, I'm trying to think of another film that has diamonds. There's a ton of them. but diamonds, diamonds, you know, are the stone of, engagements.
>> Amanda Barker: Right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: Not, I guess, a classic version of that. The engagement ring is made with is. Contains a diamond collection.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it's still the preferred. You do see a lot of people kind of getting sapphires or emeralds now for engagement stone. But it is still the stone to. That is the eternal love stone.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
Amanda May: Ancient Egyptians began mining emeralds thousands of years ago
Well, speaking of emeralds, that brings us to May, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: I love a good emerald. I do.
>> Marco Timpano: They're a delicate stone, so you've got to be very careful. If you submerge your hands in water, that is a different temperature. So if you put it in really, really hot water or really, really cold water, they can crack.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, did you know that thousands of years ago, the ancient Egyptians began mining emeralds? So they were kind of the first ones to discover emeralds and mine them.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And Cleopatra loved them so much that she claimed all the mines just for herself.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So she was actually known for wearing a lot of emeralds and she gave emeralds as well to important visitors.
>> Marco Timpano: And do you know that because emeralds are a barrel, it can, change in color. Like they can have. There's different colors of, the green emerald.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I think you have an emerald that it looks almost blue green, don't you?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, emeralds, the ones you mostly see. I do. And sometimes that's where it's from. So the one you're talking about is a Tanzanian emerald, and that one is almost a blue green emerald. Really beautiful. but actually what's funny is it's not worth as much as a Colombian emerald, which are most of the real emeralds that you see today. And I say real emeralds because so much of the jewelry that we see today is lab created. and there's a great case to make for only wearing Lab created or procuring Lab created diamonds and emeralds and sapphires and rubies because they are, of course, sustainable.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: They're not. No one's being hurt for them or, you know. and I, think actually Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, I think Cornwall. No, I thought she was Sussex.
>> Marco Timpano: It must be Sussex.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, she, I believe, wears lab created diamonds and is a big endorser, of them.
>> Marco Timpano: She's, I think, Meghan Markle's the Duchess of Sussex and I think Camilla is the Duchess of Cornwall. That's where I was making my mistakes.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought you were looking up Lab created it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I think it's great.
May moonstone is a light refractive, uh, type stone
>> Marco Timpano: Let's move to June. I didn't know June's, birthstone, Amanda. I just looked it up now I
>> Amanda Barker: would have said it was emerald. And that's obviously May.
>> Marco Timpano: That's May moonstone.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you like a good moonstone, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think I know. Do I have any moonstone?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'll describe it. It's a very strange, light refractive, type stone. So when you look at it, the light will sort of bounce on it. It almost sort of shimmers and shines, kind of like a tiger's eye, if you know what that stone looks like. So you know moonstone. But I think it's pinkish in color
>> Amanda Barker: or peachy in color. It can be, yeah, yeah. do you know, in ancient, like the druids, they believed that this stone, moonstone, would make somebody invisible if you wore it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess that's the idea of like light refracting off of it. That type of thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Like the cloak of invisibility from Harry Potter.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, sure. You just throw on a moonstone.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Wouldn't that be cool? A lot of ancient people believed the stone had mystical properties and that could help spiritual awakeness if you wore it. So, you know, sometimes when you need that awakeness, or if you have an exam and you want to be awake for it, maybe wear some moonstones.
>> Amanda Barker: M.
Amanda loves rubies, and do you have any mythology about them
>> Marco Timpano: All right, Amanda, we're in July.
>> Amanda Barker: We are. And I know July's very well.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me.
>> Amanda Barker: It is the Ruby. The beautiful ruby.
>> Marco Timpano: It's actually also a person's name.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. I mean, any of them could be. In fact, there's a very famous rap artist whose real name is Amethyst. Do you know who it is?
>> Marco Timpano: Is it, Azalea?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. Her real name is Amethyst.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a Cool name.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. And she turned it into Iggy. I know, but, yeah, no, that's her birth name. But, rubies are beautiful red. I used to get them mixed up with garnets a lot, but they're a more vibrant, almost orangey color.
>> Marco Timpano: Depending red I always pick, it can be okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Or an orange, sort of. Tomato red in a way.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: but they're one of the most expensive gems. I believe they're more expensive than, emeralds, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. I think they're.
>> Amanda Barker: They're up there.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, chromium is what causes the red color.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay. and do you have any mythology about them?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, they're often referred to as the king of gems. Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: they are in various parts of
>> Marco Timpano: the world, and, supposedly royalty would wear it and it would help to ward off evil because it was believed to have magical powers.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they were very popular in Bali, in India, across Southeast Asia.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And, one of the magical powers was that the ruby would get darker in the presence of evil and lighter when evil was gone.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah. So, if you had the, ruby on, you could.
>> Amanda Barker: Almost like a mood ring. But if you were a good person, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. And you said you love rubies, correct?
>> Amanda Barker: I do love rubies. I got a ruby for my birthday this year. Sort of a ruby, like. It is a ruby, but it's mixed in with other stones.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
August's gem is the peridot, which is green in color
And now we move to August.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought August was amethyst.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's actually green in color. It's the peridot.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I like a peridot.
>> Marco Timpano: And the peridot is, a type of olivine.
>> Marco Timpano: And it comes in various shades of green, as the name might suggest.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the ancient Egyptians used to call it the gem of the Sun. And it was believed back then that the peridot glowed with its own inner light even after sunset. And that miners used to locate the stones at night to retrieve them during the day.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. That's pretty cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The inner light of a peridot. Is it peridot or peridot?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't know. I don't know. It looks like it should be peridot. The Arabic word feridot, meaning gem, is where the name for peridot comes from. So that would suggest it's peridot versus do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because that's a French pronunciation of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like feridot sounds like pera. Versus peridot.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So we'll go with that.
Amanda loves sapphires. What's not to love about a beautiful
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I know for a fact you Know what the next month, September's birthstone is?
>> Amanda Barker: Because that's your blur m. It's a sapphire.
>> Marco Timpano: Now it's funny, a lot of people don't love their birthstone for their month. How do you feel about this?
>> Amanda Barker: I love it. I've always loved it. I, love a sapphire. What's not to love about a beautiful sapphire?
>> Marco Timpano: And of course they can range from light to dark deep blue.
>> Marco Timpano: And they are from the mineral corundum.
>> Amanda Barker: Now sapphires, lately, the ones that have been mined last five to 10 years tend to be extraordinarily dark. Very, very dark. Almost, close to black in color. Close to black in color. So it's hard to get a good. Maybe from Ceylon or. That's not a place anymore. But they used to call them Ceylon sapphire.
>> Marco Timpano: Ceylon sapphires, of course, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: can be a bit brighter. And this is another one that is lab created a lot. So you might see the vibrant colors in a lab created version. But, but some older sapphires like Princess Diana's ring, which then is now Princess, Kate's ring.
>> Marco Timpano: the Duchess of Sussex. No, no, she's the other Duchess Cambridge.
>> Amanda Barker: She's the Duchess of Cam. We should do a royal family.
>> Marco Timpano: We should do a royal family tree
>> Amanda Barker: without knowing much about it.
>> Marco Timpano: The problem is we have a lot of listeners in the UK and I think it would just really upset them. So I think we'll avoid doing a royal thing.
>> Amanda Barker: It would be very anger inducing because we don't know that much about the Mount M. Baton Windsors.
>> Marco Timpano: But you do love them. You do.
>> Amanda Barker: I do love them. I don't know what happened to me. I don't know what happened to me. But I think because of Princess Kate. I think Princess Kate, for me was what got me really excited, even though I don't have any. Like, I never wanted to be a princess when I grew up. I didn't think that was particularly fun. She just looks so good in clothes and you just think her life is great.
>> Marco Timpano: there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: And I love Meghan Markle too. And you know, anyway, they're just fun to watch. Like the Greeks watch the gods for sure. Or the Egyptians watch Cleopatra.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep.
>> Amanda Barker: But anyway, that ring that she now wears, that was Princess Dyes. And I'm sure it was some wonderful famous royal Brit person before that. is that beautiful blue sapphire, surrounded by diamonds. So that's, that's a really popular ring. And you can really see the blue on either one of their fingers whenever that, that Ring appears in photos.
>> Marco Timpano: Sapphires have a lot of legends associated with them. They supposedly have protective powers such as preventing envy and protecting the wearer from poisoning. Oh, as well, people believed that sapphire had medical healing properties that. Such as the ability to cure colic, rheumatism, blindness, and mental illness. If you can believe it, Amanda, that's
>> Amanda Barker: from birth to the grave.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: That's certainly from colic to rheumatism.
Only people born in October should be wearing opals, legend says
>> Marco Timpano: So, October. Now I know something fascinating about this stone.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know October stones?
>> Amanda Barker: It's opal.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. O and O. I always remember that supposedly only people in October whose birthstone opal should be wearing opal, or wasn't
>> Amanda Barker: it someone should give you an opal?
>> Marco Timpano: I always knew it as only people born in October should be wearing opals.
>> Amanda Barker: You told me once, not that after I was gonna buy an opal, that someone had to give you an opal or it's unlucky.
>> Marco Timpano: That's probably because I didn't want you to buy that expensive opal you were looking at.
>> Amanda Barker: But that's interesting. Those are two myths around them. And they were born in, by the queens, and kings in the Middle Ages. For their protective powers, they were worn as jewelry, and they were put in a lot of crowns to ward off evil and to protect the wearer's eyesight.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so it's a stone of sight, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: And they would actually grind up opals, and put it in a powder to protect from getting nightmares.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's cool.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know what that was about, but maybe if you had. Like, a lot of people had lead poisoning back then, so maybe the opal counteracted that.
>> Marco Timpano: That's because so many opal drank out of lead ware and whatnot. Before we move to the next one, did you end up buying that opal?
>> Amanda Barker: That I bought Opal earrings.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Australian opal, I think earrings. They're a bluey kind of color. They're very pretty.
>> Marco Timpano: Opal's a very pretty stone.
November is known as the merchant stone that brings money
Speaking of pretty stones, we moved to November, which is probably my favorite semi precious stone, which is known as the merchant stone. Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't realize this was November stone. I'm seeing it here.
>> Marco Timpano: Citrine.
>> Amanda Barker: We love citrine. We went through a real citrine phase, if you will. In 2015, I was living in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is actually the home to nearby, amethyst mines. So there was a lot of rock stores there, and they mostly sold amethyst, but this one sold a Lot of citrine as well. And I was sold a candle. And, it was said that if I burned the candle that I would heat the citrine crystals inside that I would get once it was burned, and that money would come to me. And it did. In fact, in that particular instance that day, every time I lit the candle, something would happen and I would get a check in the mail I didn't know was coming. So then I just lit that thing and I've been lighting it ever since.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you are in need of some cash flow, where a citrine. I always knew November to be Topaz.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I. Me too, actually. But so. But a lot of the months have more than one.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. That's true. Yeah. Citrine is definitely a cool, cool stone.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like some months it's undeniable. Like, May is always emerald. September is always sapphire. But then, like November and sometimes March, those ones are up for grabs, which
>> Marco Timpano: I know for December, which is my birth month, which we're coming to now,
>> Amanda Barker: which I thought was diamond.
>> Marco Timpano: No, April's always been diamond.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: December is turquoise. Or I always knew it as turquoise. But I read recently that tanzanite is also a December stone, if you can believe it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, do we have any citrine legends? I mean, we know it brings money.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm sorry. I jumped to, ah, December. Yeah, I just know it as the stone, the merchant stone that brings money. M. And, if you need money, carry citrine with you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Romans believed in its money bringing powers. turn of the century, Europe, it became very popular for the same reason. And, yeah, people. Citrine is the stone that you wear when you want to sell something, when you want. Also, it's a stone of abundance. So when you want more opportunities in work and life, you wear that stone. In fact, my sister, we gave my sister one and she had to take it off because she said so many opportunities were coming so fast she couldn't feel them all. So she took her beautiful citrine ring off that we gave her just to slow it a bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Well, I tipped the hat with December being turquoise. M. So do you like turquoise? I know you have a turquoise ring.
>> Amanda Barker: What do you think?
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like you wear it once in a while, but it's not your favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Here's the thing. I haven't met a gem I don't like.
>> Marco Timpano: Semi precious or precious.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, and turquoise is definitely semi precious. So it's sort of a everyday kind of wear. I spent some Time in Mexico when I was younger, not so much recently. And so silver and turquoise was sort of the jewelry du jour back then. We would, when I worked on cruise ships, we would all go and find onyx, turquoise and silver and buy it up. But turquoise is a really beautiful stone. And there's white turquoise. I have some white turquoise that's just beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know there was white turquoise. I only know it as blue.
>> Amanda Barker: Well then what was the earrings that you gave me that were white turquoise last year? Because you gave them to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no, they're called something else.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe they're white turquoise.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, maybe they are. Maybe they are. Any legends or myths?
>> Amanda Barker: There are with a lot of the indigenous cultures, of course, of North America and Central America, but also Persian culture as well. very much believe that turquoise is, a lucky stone. And of course it's valued because it's gorgeous. the Navajo in particular believe. So I'm told that turquoise is a part of the sky that fell to earth. That particular group of.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Indigenous people. Yeah. So lots of, it's a very versatile stone, that's for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep. I will say this. A lot of the myths that we got for today's episode came from the Burke Museum website, which is in Seattle, Washington. The Burke Museum. If you get a chance, it looks like a really cool museum. At least visit them online because I certainly did and I enjoyed learning about semi precious and precious stones and the myths behind them.
I want to thank our listener for suggesting those two topics
I want to thank our listener for suggesting those two topics. I hope we did it justice by combining them both.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm And if they want more of one or the other. I don't know about mythology, but I certainly can talk about stones all day.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, if you have a favorite semi precious stone, let us know. Maybe take a photo of it and put it on our Instagram. We'd love to see that. and maybe we'll do the same with some of your, turquoise and citrine.
>> Amanda Barker: Show off my jewelry collection.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, even just. We even just have stones like we have the Easter a train sort of just the rough stone.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's fun too. Anyways, we hope you had not too much fun, but enough fun that brought you to sleep.
(Original airdate: Sept 13, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we discuss the ordinary
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the ordinary or mundane. Although I don't think today's episode falls in either of those categories, we one thing that we can promise is that our conversation will hopefully be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to just drift off. I know for some people it is interesting. Certain episodes and other episodes aren't. So depending on what you like or dislike, this might be an interesting episode. Regardless, thank you for joining us and we hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: And I'm Amanda Barker joining you yet again.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, how are you doing today?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm, cold.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Well, you do have a blanket on you, so hopefully that'll warm me up.
>> Amanda Barker: And slippers.
>> Marco Timpano: I keep the studio kind of cool because it can get warm real fast in here.
>> Amanda Barker: I often think that it's very cold outside because it's so cold in our house. Until I go outside and realize that, no, you've just been in the studio with the air conditioning going.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, let's see if we get warmed up in the next 26 minutes by the time we finish.
A listener sent an email suggesting some topics for this podcast
So a listener sent an email suggesting some topics and, some of the topics were mythology, semi precious stones, fortune telling, animal facts. So I figured we'd combine two of them.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought you said animal fat.
>> Marco Timpano: Animal fat.
>> Amanda Barker: Cooking with animal fat.
>> Marco Timpano: Cooking with animal fat.
>> Amanda Barker: Bacon. Duck.
>> Marco Timpano: yeah, duck fries. But we're going to combine two of them and look at the mythology of semi precious stones. And I figured I would start with the stones of the month. So every month has a stone, semi precious, or in some cases, precious stones, but they also have mythologies behind them.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, cool.
Amanda, January's semi precious stone is Garnet
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, our first month, January, is Garnet. How do you feel about the semi precious stone? Garnet.
>> Amanda Barker: I like garnet. I like Capricorns. I find Capricorns, which, is usually the symbol. I know that astrology doesn't line up completely with the month, but the bulk of the month usually gets one. And for January, that's Capricorn. So I always think of my sister, who is a January baby, and Garnet, is her birthstone. And, so I always think of Garnet as being a really solid stone, like a stone of hard work. And it's not too flashy. It's a deep sort of reddish hue, but a very deep kind of tone. almost like dark brown, Black. Red.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. It's, in a group of six different stones called grossular, which are red to orange in color. M. And, yeah. And the sort of mythology behind the garnet is that, one of the myths is that garnet originated with persphone. Is that right? Is that how you say the.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'm gonna say Persephone, the Greek goddess of sunshine.
>> Amanda Barker: Ooh.
>> Marco Timpano: And Persephone was.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, Persephone.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I guess. Is that how you spell it?
>> Amanda Barker: Persephone would be P, E, R, S. I have to look. But if she's a goddess, I'm assuming would be Persephone.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so, yeah, so then I guess it is Persephone.
>> Marco Timpano: You know more about the myths than I do.
>> Amanda Barker: Not much, but, yeah, that's the e is you pronounce the e at the end.
>> Marco Timpano: So Persephone is the Greek goddess of sunshine. Is that correct?
>> Amanda Barker: Mm.
>> Marco Timpano: And, she was captured by Hades.
>> Amanda Barker: She's the goddess of a few things. She was the daughter of somebody. She's like a daughter of Zeus and somebody.
>> Marco Timpano: Probably most of the gods are. Or the goddesses, aren't they kids of Zeus? That's how much I know about myths.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, Hera was his wife, but he had sort of babies with everybody. anyway, she was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter who was Persephone?
>> Marco Timpano: Persephone. Oh, I'm sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: And Demeter is the God of vegetation, and agriculture. So Persephone gets that sort of agriculture. So certainly sunshine would be part of that.
The word garnet comes from the Latin granitus, which means seeds
>> Marco Timpano: Well, according to this legend or this myth, before Hades released Persephone, he wanted to guarantee her return. So he gave her some pomegranate seeds. And the word garnet comes from the Latin granitus, which means seeds.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay?
>> Marco Timpano: So the next time that you have, cracked open a pomegranate, take a look. You'll notice those seeds are actually very similar in color to an actual garnet.
>> Amanda Barker: That's so true. I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't they call the seeds of pomegranate jewels?
>> Amanda Barker: I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's, I think what they'll often refer to, or chefs will often refer to, seeds from, pomegranate as jewels.
Amethyst is a member of the quartz family
So if we go to the next month, do you know what stone it is, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. February's. What's February's?
>> Marco Timpano: It's purple, if that helps.
>> Amanda Barker: Amethyst.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you got it. And, Amethyst is a member of the quartz family.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, and there's a little, Greek myth with Amethyst.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me.
>> Amanda Barker: So Dionysus.
>> Marco Timpano: You know Dionysus, wine, God of wine.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. The Roman version would be Bacchus.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. God of wine or intoxic, or the enjoyment of wine. Was, apparently angered by an insult from a mere mortal and swore revenge on the next mortal that crossed his path, creating fierce tigers to carry out his wish. All along came the unsuspecting Amethyst, a beautiful maiden on her way to pay tribute to the goddess Diana.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so it was a person's name in this case.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm. Diana turned Amethyst into a statue of pure crystalline quartz to protect her from the tigers. And Dionysus wept tears of wine in remorse at the sight of the beautiful statue. The God's tears stained the quartz purple, creating the gem.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: So it's a wine. In Greek mythology, it was a wine colored quartz.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see. So how do you feel about amethyst, Amana?
>> Amanda Barker: I like amethyst. There's also, you know, we're talking about mythology around stones, but there's also the vibrational aspect of amethyst. And I believe it's a love stone and a cleansing stone. A very powerful stone.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
Any idea on March's birthstone? Is it aquamarine
>> Marco Timpano: So that brings us to March. Any idea on March's birthstone?
>> Amanda Barker: Is it aquamarine?
>> Marco Timpano: You got it. Aquamarine is a variety of the mineral Beryl, spelled B, E, R, Y, L.
>> Amanda Barker: That's a woman's name too.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, you don't hear. I haven't heard.
>> Amanda Barker: You never heard the name Beryl?
>> Marco Timpano: Not in reference to a person's name.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's a woman's name. My mom used to know a beryl.
>> Marco Timpano: Beryls are pretty cool. It's a cool stone and they can range from clear to deep green. And emeralds are beryls, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I did not know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. But aquamarine, is usually like a bluish green color. Right. To sort of represent or it's kind of the color of oceans or waters. That blue green. And it gets its name from aqua, meaning water in Latin, and mare, which means sea.
>> Marco Timpano: Because of its intense blue green color and because of this resemblance to the ocean, sailors used to wear it as a talisman to depict the God Neptune, which is the Roman God, who ruled the seas.
>> Amanda Barker: yeah. And what was his Greek name?
>> Marco Timpano: Neptune was,
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it's gonna drive me nuts.
>> Marco Timpano: Neptune was Poseidon.
>> Amanda Barker: Poseidon.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, Poseidon. I'm sure there's listeners who were exciting. and of course they would wear it so that the God would help them, believing that the aquamarine would offer them protection from the sea's elements.
>> Amanda Barker: Now aquamarine is an interesting stone to me because I don't think you see it a lot like amethyst. You tend to see quite a bit. There's certain stones you see a lot of. And there might have been a time when people wore a lot of aquamarine, but I have to say I haven't seen a lot of people wearing it, you know, recently.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's an expensive stone.
>> Amanda Barker: That's why I think it is. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But, if you're going on a ship, wear aquamarine, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: What was that stone I got in Turkey? That beautiful green stone. That wasn't an aquamarine?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it was, that was called.
>> Amanda Barker: It was beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Mm. Then we get to April.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know what April is.
>> Marco Timpano: April is probably the most expensive, gem.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Diamond. Oh, well, they say diamond or are
>> Amanda Barker: a girl's best friend.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, they say that. That's. I wonder if that's a myth. but, you know, it is. Of course there's. I'm sure there's a ton of myths and legends with diamonds. m. The hardest stone.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right. You could always check it was a real diamond. If you scratched A mirror with it. Right. I remember there's some scene in a movie where she takes the diamond and tries to show that it's fake and then it scratches the mirror in half.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't have at hand any legends or myths about diamonds, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, well, I mean, certainly there were a lot of legends and myths about diamonds with like Liz Taylor and Marilyn Monroe and all of those people. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's so many movies that deal with diamonds. And you know, Diamonds Are Forever is one of the first ones I can think of, which is a James Bond film.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know, isn't, I'm trying to think of another film that has diamonds. There's a ton of them. but diamonds, diamonds, you know, are the stone of, engagements.
>> Amanda Barker: Right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: Not, I guess, a classic version of that. The engagement ring is made with is. Contains a diamond collection.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, it's still the preferred. You do see a lot of people kind of getting sapphires or emeralds now for engagement stone. But it is still the stone to. That is the eternal love stone.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
Amanda May: Ancient Egyptians began mining emeralds thousands of years ago
Well, speaking of emeralds, that brings us to May, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: I love a good emerald. I do.
>> Marco Timpano: They're a delicate stone, so you've got to be very careful. If you submerge your hands in water, that is a different temperature. So if you put it in really, really hot water or really, really cold water, they can crack.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, did you know that thousands of years ago, the ancient Egyptians began mining emeralds? So they were kind of the first ones to discover emeralds and mine them.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And Cleopatra loved them so much that she claimed all the mines just for herself.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: So she was actually known for wearing a lot of emeralds and she gave emeralds as well to important visitors.
>> Marco Timpano: And do you know that because emeralds are a barrel, it can, change in color. Like they can have. There's different colors of, the green emerald.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I think you have an emerald that it looks almost blue green, don't you?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, emeralds, the ones you mostly see. I do. And sometimes that's where it's from. So the one you're talking about is a Tanzanian emerald, and that one is almost a blue green emerald. Really beautiful. but actually what's funny is it's not worth as much as a Colombian emerald, which are most of the real emeralds that you see today. And I say real emeralds because so much of the jewelry that we see today is lab created. and there's a great case to make for only wearing Lab created or procuring Lab created diamonds and emeralds and sapphires and rubies because they are, of course, sustainable.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: They're not. No one's being hurt for them or, you know. and I, think actually Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, I think Cornwall. No, I thought she was Sussex.
>> Marco Timpano: It must be Sussex.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway, she, I believe, wears lab created diamonds and is a big endorser, of them.
>> Marco Timpano: She's, I think, Meghan Markle's the Duchess of Sussex and I think Camilla is the Duchess of Cornwall. That's where I was making my mistakes.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought you were looking up Lab created it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I think it's great.
May moonstone is a light refractive, uh, type stone
>> Marco Timpano: Let's move to June. I didn't know June's, birthstone, Amanda. I just looked it up now I
>> Amanda Barker: would have said it was emerald. And that's obviously May.
>> Marco Timpano: That's May moonstone.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you like a good moonstone, Amanda?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think I know. Do I have any moonstone?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'll describe it. It's a very strange, light refractive, type stone. So when you look at it, the light will sort of bounce on it. It almost sort of shimmers and shines, kind of like a tiger's eye, if you know what that stone looks like. So you know moonstone. But I think it's pinkish in color
>> Amanda Barker: or peachy in color. It can be, yeah, yeah. do you know, in ancient, like the druids, they believed that this stone, moonstone, would make somebody invisible if you wore it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess that's the idea of like light refracting off of it. That type of thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Like the cloak of invisibility from Harry Potter.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, sure. You just throw on a moonstone.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Wouldn't that be cool? A lot of ancient people believed the stone had mystical properties and that could help spiritual awakeness if you wore it. So, you know, sometimes when you need that awakeness, or if you have an exam and you want to be awake for it, maybe wear some moonstones.
>> Amanda Barker: M.
Amanda loves rubies, and do you have any mythology about them
>> Marco Timpano: All right, Amanda, we're in July.
>> Amanda Barker: We are. And I know July's very well.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me.
>> Amanda Barker: It is the Ruby. The beautiful ruby.
>> Marco Timpano: It's actually also a person's name.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. I mean, any of them could be. In fact, there's a very famous rap artist whose real name is Amethyst. Do you know who it is?
>> Marco Timpano: Is it, Azalea?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, yeah. Her real name is Amethyst.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a Cool name.
>> Amanda Barker: I know. And she turned it into Iggy. I know, but, yeah, no, that's her birth name. But, rubies are beautiful red. I used to get them mixed up with garnets a lot, but they're a more vibrant, almost orangey color.
>> Marco Timpano: Depending red I always pick, it can be okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Or an orange, sort of. Tomato red in a way.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: but they're one of the most expensive gems. I believe they're more expensive than, emeralds, right?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. I think they're.
>> Amanda Barker: They're up there.
>> Marco Timpano: Anyway, chromium is what causes the red color.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay. and do you have any mythology about them?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, they're often referred to as the king of gems. Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: they are in various parts of
>> Marco Timpano: the world, and, supposedly royalty would wear it and it would help to ward off evil because it was believed to have magical powers.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, they were very popular in Bali, in India, across Southeast Asia.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And, one of the magical powers was that the ruby would get darker in the presence of evil and lighter when evil was gone.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah. So, if you had the, ruby on, you could.
>> Amanda Barker: Almost like a mood ring. But if you were a good person, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. And you said you love rubies, correct?
>> Amanda Barker: I do love rubies. I got a ruby for my birthday this year. Sort of a ruby, like. It is a ruby, but it's mixed in with other stones.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
August's gem is the peridot, which is green in color
And now we move to August.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought August was amethyst.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's actually green in color. It's the peridot.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I like a peridot.
>> Marco Timpano: And the peridot is, a type of olivine.
>> Marco Timpano: And it comes in various shades of green, as the name might suggest.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the ancient Egyptians used to call it the gem of the Sun. And it was believed back then that the peridot glowed with its own inner light even after sunset. And that miners used to locate the stones at night to retrieve them during the day.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. That's pretty cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The inner light of a peridot. Is it peridot or peridot?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't know. I don't know. It looks like it should be peridot. The Arabic word feridot, meaning gem, is where the name for peridot comes from. So that would suggest it's peridot versus do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because that's a French pronunciation of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like feridot sounds like pera. Versus peridot.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So we'll go with that.
Amanda loves sapphires. What's not to love about a beautiful
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I know for a fact you Know what the next month, September's birthstone is?
>> Amanda Barker: Because that's your blur m. It's a sapphire.
>> Marco Timpano: Now it's funny, a lot of people don't love their birthstone for their month. How do you feel about this?
>> Amanda Barker: I love it. I've always loved it. I, love a sapphire. What's not to love about a beautiful sapphire?
>> Marco Timpano: And of course they can range from light to dark deep blue.
>> Marco Timpano: And they are from the mineral corundum.
>> Amanda Barker: Now sapphires, lately, the ones that have been mined last five to 10 years tend to be extraordinarily dark. Very, very dark. Almost, close to black in color. Close to black in color. So it's hard to get a good. Maybe from Ceylon or. That's not a place anymore. But they used to call them Ceylon sapphire.
>> Marco Timpano: Ceylon sapphires, of course, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: can be a bit brighter. And this is another one that is lab created a lot. So you might see the vibrant colors in a lab created version. But, but some older sapphires like Princess Diana's ring, which then is now Princess, Kate's ring.
>> Marco Timpano: the Duchess of Sussex. No, no, she's the other Duchess Cambridge.
>> Amanda Barker: She's the Duchess of Cam. We should do a royal family.
>> Marco Timpano: We should do a royal family tree
>> Amanda Barker: without knowing much about it.
>> Marco Timpano: The problem is we have a lot of listeners in the UK and I think it would just really upset them. So I think we'll avoid doing a royal thing.
>> Amanda Barker: It would be very anger inducing because we don't know that much about the Mount M. Baton Windsors.
>> Marco Timpano: But you do love them. You do.
>> Amanda Barker: I do love them. I don't know what happened to me. I don't know what happened to me. But I think because of Princess Kate. I think Princess Kate, for me was what got me really excited, even though I don't have any. Like, I never wanted to be a princess when I grew up. I didn't think that was particularly fun. She just looks so good in clothes and you just think her life is great.
>> Marco Timpano: there you go.
>> Amanda Barker: And I love Meghan Markle too. And you know, anyway, they're just fun to watch. Like the Greeks watch the gods for sure. Or the Egyptians watch Cleopatra.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep.
>> Amanda Barker: But anyway, that ring that she now wears, that was Princess Dyes. And I'm sure it was some wonderful famous royal Brit person before that. is that beautiful blue sapphire, surrounded by diamonds. So that's, that's a really popular ring. And you can really see the blue on either one of their fingers whenever that, that Ring appears in photos.
>> Marco Timpano: Sapphires have a lot of legends associated with them. They supposedly have protective powers such as preventing envy and protecting the wearer from poisoning. Oh, as well, people believed that sapphire had medical healing properties that. Such as the ability to cure colic, rheumatism, blindness, and mental illness. If you can believe it, Amanda, that's
>> Amanda Barker: from birth to the grave.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: That's certainly from colic to rheumatism.
Only people born in October should be wearing opals, legend says
>> Marco Timpano: So, October. Now I know something fascinating about this stone.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know October stones?
>> Amanda Barker: It's opal.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. O and O. I always remember that supposedly only people in October whose birthstone opal should be wearing opal, or wasn't
>> Amanda Barker: it someone should give you an opal?
>> Marco Timpano: I always knew it as only people born in October should be wearing opals.
>> Amanda Barker: You told me once, not that after I was gonna buy an opal, that someone had to give you an opal or it's unlucky.
>> Marco Timpano: That's probably because I didn't want you to buy that expensive opal you were looking at.
>> Amanda Barker: But that's interesting. Those are two myths around them. And they were born in, by the queens, and kings in the Middle Ages. For their protective powers, they were worn as jewelry, and they were put in a lot of crowns to ward off evil and to protect the wearer's eyesight.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so it's a stone of sight, if you will.
>> Amanda Barker: And they would actually grind up opals, and put it in a powder to protect from getting nightmares.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's cool.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know what that was about, but maybe if you had. Like, a lot of people had lead poisoning back then, so maybe the opal counteracted that.
>> Marco Timpano: That's because so many opal drank out of lead ware and whatnot. Before we move to the next one, did you end up buying that opal?
>> Amanda Barker: That I bought Opal earrings.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Australian opal, I think earrings. They're a bluey kind of color. They're very pretty.
>> Marco Timpano: Opal's a very pretty stone.
November is known as the merchant stone that brings money
Speaking of pretty stones, we moved to November, which is probably my favorite semi precious stone, which is known as the merchant stone. Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't realize this was November stone. I'm seeing it here.
>> Marco Timpano: Citrine.
>> Amanda Barker: We love citrine. We went through a real citrine phase, if you will. In 2015, I was living in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is actually the home to nearby, amethyst mines. So there was a lot of rock stores there, and they mostly sold amethyst, but this one sold a Lot of citrine as well. And I was sold a candle. And, it was said that if I burned the candle that I would heat the citrine crystals inside that I would get once it was burned, and that money would come to me. And it did. In fact, in that particular instance that day, every time I lit the candle, something would happen and I would get a check in the mail I didn't know was coming. So then I just lit that thing and I've been lighting it ever since.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you are in need of some cash flow, where a citrine. I always knew November to be Topaz.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I. Me too, actually. But so. But a lot of the months have more than one.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. That's true. Yeah. Citrine is definitely a cool, cool stone.
>> Amanda Barker: I feel like some months it's undeniable. Like, May is always emerald. September is always sapphire. But then, like November and sometimes March, those ones are up for grabs, which
>> Marco Timpano: I know for December, which is my birth month, which we're coming to now,
>> Amanda Barker: which I thought was diamond.
>> Marco Timpano: No, April's always been diamond.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: December is turquoise. Or I always knew it as turquoise. But I read recently that tanzanite is also a December stone, if you can believe it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, do we have any citrine legends? I mean, we know it brings money.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I'm sorry. I jumped to, ah, December. Yeah, I just know it as the stone, the merchant stone that brings money. M. And, if you need money, carry citrine with you.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, Romans believed in its money bringing powers. turn of the century, Europe, it became very popular for the same reason. And, yeah, people. Citrine is the stone that you wear when you want to sell something, when you want. Also, it's a stone of abundance. So when you want more opportunities in work and life, you wear that stone. In fact, my sister, we gave my sister one and she had to take it off because she said so many opportunities were coming so fast she couldn't feel them all. So she took her beautiful citrine ring off that we gave her just to slow it a bit.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Well, I tipped the hat with December being turquoise. M. So do you like turquoise? I know you have a turquoise ring.
>> Amanda Barker: What do you think?
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like you wear it once in a while, but it's not your favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: Here's the thing. I haven't met a gem I don't like.
>> Marco Timpano: Semi precious or precious.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, and turquoise is definitely semi precious. So it's sort of a everyday kind of wear. I spent some Time in Mexico when I was younger, not so much recently. And so silver and turquoise was sort of the jewelry du jour back then. We would, when I worked on cruise ships, we would all go and find onyx, turquoise and silver and buy it up. But turquoise is a really beautiful stone. And there's white turquoise. I have some white turquoise that's just beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know there was white turquoise. I only know it as blue.
>> Amanda Barker: Well then what was the earrings that you gave me that were white turquoise last year? Because you gave them to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no, they're called something else.
>> Amanda Barker: I believe they're white turquoise.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, maybe they are. Maybe they are. Any legends or myths?
>> Amanda Barker: There are with a lot of the indigenous cultures, of course, of North America and Central America, but also Persian culture as well. very much believe that turquoise is, a lucky stone. And of course it's valued because it's gorgeous. the Navajo in particular believe. So I'm told that turquoise is a part of the sky that fell to earth. That particular group of.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Indigenous people. Yeah. So lots of, it's a very versatile stone, that's for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep. I will say this. A lot of the myths that we got for today's episode came from the Burke Museum website, which is in Seattle, Washington. The Burke Museum. If you get a chance, it looks like a really cool museum. At least visit them online because I certainly did and I enjoyed learning about semi precious and precious stones and the myths behind them.
I want to thank our listener for suggesting those two topics
I want to thank our listener for suggesting those two topics. I hope we did it justice by combining them both.
>> Amanda Barker: Mm And if they want more of one or the other. I don't know about mythology, but I certainly can talk about stones all day.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, if you have a favorite semi precious stone, let us know. Maybe take a photo of it and put it on our Instagram. We'd love to see that. and maybe we'll do the same with some of your, turquoise and citrine.
>> Amanda Barker: Show off my jewelry collection.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, even just. We even just have stones like we have the Easter a train sort of just the rough stone.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's fun too. Anyways, we hope you had not too much fun, but enough fun that brought you to sleep.
Line Ups & Video Stores
(Original airdate: Sept 16, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about something hopefully somewhat mundane for you. I'm Marco Timpano and joining me is me, Amanda Barker.
Amanda welcomes Insomnia Project listeners to today's podcast
Amanda, welcome to the Insomnia Project. I want to start by thanking all our listeners, of which we have many all over the world who listen to this podcast to help them with their need for sleep or for calming them down or just being company for them
>> Amanda Barker: for calm rather than calming them down. Because we all know that's a way to escalate. Anybody? Sure. I think we all have a need, a yearning for calm, calming conversation. comforting conversation.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: tranquility in what we digest, whether it be listening, reading, or so on, watching. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: We are going to be going to a cranberry bog plunge at the end of next month.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow, I didn't realize that was coming up in this month. Today.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I just booked the tickets for it, so I'm kind of excited about it. Yeah. So we will put pictures of us diving in a cranberry bog, which is a very fall thing to do, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: We're diving and I think we wait.
>> Marco Timpano: We waited.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Yeah, I don't think we do a head first.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it might be a little too Cool for that.
>> Marco Timpano: In October. But stay tuned for that episode.
Someone left me a bookmark from the library and gave me free coffee today
But right now we were in a few cues today and if you don't know the word queue for lineup, I'll say what. We were in a few lineups today. Today.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. British. It's a British term to queue.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I love that term.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I hadn't heard it ever, until I was pretty old. I think there's a sound of, the breeze outside. I don't know if people can hear
>> Marco Timpano: that, but it's a bit of rain.
>> Marco Timpano: We're not in our studio today, so you might hear some outdoor sounds.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But we started the day by going to a drive through for coffee and that's true, a very positive experience because a. I had a little,
>> Amanda Barker: You had a freebie.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a freebie. So you know when you collect enough stickers so you've had enough coffees that every time you get a coffee you get a stamp or a sticker and you apply it to a card.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, as the listeners know, I love libraries.
>> Marco Timpano: And I took out a book from the library and inside that book a person had left a full card of stickered coffees and so I could use it for free coffee.
>> Amanda Barker: A punch card if you will stick it rather than. Yeah, just like, you know, you buy eight and you get the ninth free or whatever it was. and at this particular establishment they honor those and they every coffee you get, you get a little sticker on the back.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to thank the person who left, their bookmark and sent me a free coffee via.
>> Amanda Barker: I felt badly for them, but maybe it was an intentional moment of paying something forward.
>> Marco Timpano: I was grateful to them. The funny thing is if it was in a, you know, new age kind of book or a self help book, I would have been, oh, that's so great. But I don't think it was. I think it was in a podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Probably it was a mistake on their end. They dumped it in the slot and went oh no. But you know, we definitely needed it today and appreciated that little gift from whoever. So anonymous person, thank you so much.
Amanda: What makes a drive through lineup good?
>> Marco Timpano: Now let me ask you this, Amanda. What makes a drive through lineup good?
>> Amanda Barker: A fast food drive thru line or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, when you get in your car and you're in a lineup, a drive through, what makes it a positive experience?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just trying to think of other drive thrus that exist that are not for fast food or for coffees.
>> Marco Timpano: The only one I can think of is self Banking, Right. That's the only other one.
>> Amanda Barker: But that doesn't. Do they still do that? I guess they do, but remember, I remember being a kid and always being in that lineup with my mom and driving through and then that. That capsule that would get sucked into the ground. Do you remember?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't remember. I remember you telling me about this, but I've never.
>> Amanda Barker: You never had them?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Well, in New England, where I grew up, it was pretty exciting actually, because you would talk to somebody through a glass window. You'd see them in the glass window.
>> Marco Timpano: A teller.
>> Amanda Barker: A teller. Yeah. And. But there's two at a time, so they would. There would be two going at the same time. So there'd be two different tellers. So you kind of have to make eye contact with the one. And they would. You would tell them what you needed if you needed to cash checks or cash or whatever. And they would say, okay. And then you put all your bank. You put. My mom would put her bank book because people used to have bank books.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember bank books. They were like little passports almost.
>> Amanda Barker: She still has hers and she still uses hers.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, she can you still use a bank?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. She writes down everything that she takes out.
>> Marco Timpano: But I remember bank books like this, they were like little, passports.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And you would bring it to the teller.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And they would stamp.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Whatever transaction you did.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So you'd know exactly what was coming in and exactly what was going out. I mean, similar to online. But, anyway, I looked forward to that drive through. I loved going to the bank because it was magic to me. You would, you would get this capsule, this plastic, see through capsule, and you'd put your bank book in or your checks. My mom's work in particular, she would deal with a lot of people writing her personal checks. Okay. Cash those, she would pay, put it all in and wait for it. And then it would get. Come back and you'd get the cash back and your bank book back. It was true magic.
>> Marco Timpano: How they did it was the capsule, like the ones you sometimes see in stores where you put it into a slot and it got sucked in.
>> Amanda Barker: It got sucked in. But what do you mean in stores you see it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So I sometimes see it in big box stores. They'll have it when the teller has a lot of cash in their till. The, manager will come over and put. Put some of it.
>> Amanda Barker: What's that called? Skim.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is that what it's called?
>> Amanda Barker: It's called skimming.
>> Marco Timpano: I Didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. You have to skim your till every hour.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
Did you never work in one of those jobs where you had to skim the till
>> Amanda Barker: Did you never work in one of those jobs where you had to skim the till?
>> Marco Timpano: Never had to skim.
>> Amanda Barker: So I only ever had to do that when I started working. It was my first job in the big city. I worked at a video store, which
>> Marco Timpano: they don't really exist.
>> Amanda Barker: No, they don't. I was 24, I think, and might have even been 20, 25. I remember feeling a little bashful because I had had my degree, sure had a lot of cool jobs and in my mind at that age and traveled the world to some degree. Not completely obviously, but, and, but I could not. I thought I was going to be an actress, so I thought that meant I'd be a waitress. Right, that's, that was what they tell you. And so I moved to the big city with my homemade headshots and my cobbled together resume and handed them out. And then I went around trying to get away a waitering gig. And nobody, no, what no one tells you is that it's really hard to get a waitering gig in a big city because there are professional waiters. It was harder to get that than an acting gig. Truthfully for me, I didn't have the qualifications. So anyway, I couldn't get a job. So I finally was like, I don't know who anywhere I need to make rent. So I got a job at a, at a video store. and so that was the first time I ever really had to work a till. I'd never worked at a grocery store or even a fast food place. So I was taught, by this really clever 16 year old gal, Stephanie that I worked with. And she looked at me crazily like you don't know how to skim a till and you had to take out because you always wanted a float of 50, bucks cash. So anytime you did a lot of business you would take that out. You would write how much you're taking out and, and you always needed to have another person there. So it didn't. So obviously you weren't skimming yourself. Yeah, sure. Pocketing the cash and for someone to deal with the customers and you'd put it in a big envelope and write how much you took and what time and, and so that's, that's what, that's called the skimming.
You worked at a video store that doesn't really exist anymore
>> Marco Timpano: I want to dive into this retail experience you had at a video store, which they don't really exist anymore. What were the most popular films?
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: On video.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: When you worked there, to the best of your recollection.
>> Amanda Barker: So the year would have been.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't, tell the year. Tell the thing and see if. Guess the year.
>> Amanda Barker: the first three or four seasons of Sex and the City.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Were extremely popular rentals. Sure. it's so funny. One of the ones I remember was this movie about marijuana. Reefer madness.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, of course. Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think I ever saw it, but I. Cult classic. I remember seeing it always on the shelf. Because, you know, back then, for people who don't remember video stores. Because I have to remember there are people who don't remember video stores. when a Blockbuster movie came out, it would take easily. You would devote an entire section to that movie. So, I think Armageddon was a big one.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Ben Affleck. Oh, twice.
>> Amanda Barker: Pearl Harbor. Just Ben. We just specialized in Ben Affleck movies.
>> Marco Timpano: So this was early 90s. 92. 93.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: So maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it was Armageddon.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Pearl Harbor.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't remember now. I'm joking.
>> Amanda Barker: But, no, it was the early 2000s.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Sex and the City. I don't know why I'm in early 90s.
>> Amanda Barker: but I don't really remember. Those are just. I remember, like, Blockbuster movies. They all seem the same to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So they would take up. You would. You would get, 50 to 80 copies of any given movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, when it first was released.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Because it's such a demand. Oh, this movie's out on video. Everybody would run to the video store to go get it. And so, you know, you would have probably 50 placeholders and maybe 80 copies. So you'd put two or three. I managed to be in the video store when DVDs were the thing. Okay. Because then we all remember the beginning of them with vhs. But this was a dvd, and we did have vhs. we did have still VHS rentals, but they were few and far between because we were with the times.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So we had dvd, rentals, and we were in a very interesting part of the city. So we had some interesting specialized, markets. We were in a real, a real pocket of LGBTQIA presence. And so we had a lot of those types of. Of movies. Okay. maybe more than, say, a small town would, And they were really popular, and we had regulars, actually. One of the cool things about working there. And I was there about a year.
>> Marco Timpano: This is some inside dirt to an industry that doesn't really exist anymore.
>> Amanda Barker: It's true. When the film festival would happen and. Or when somebody famous was shooting, shooting a movie, you'd actually get. Some pretty big names would come through to rent because they would. Where else are they gonna get a movie?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So they'd come in because they'd want to see something by a director that they were gonna work with. They'd come in just because they're only. They were shooting, you know, so many series or they were just on set so much that their only time to watch a movie would be to rent a vcr, which we did do, or a DVD player, which we did do, bring it to their hotel room, plug it in, and they would watch. They would rent a pile of movies. So I remember, what's her name? Amanda. she was in Pulp Fiction.
>> Marco Timpano: Christopher Plummers.
>> Amanda Barker: Amanda Plummer, yes. She actually came in a lot.
People would come in and try to rent movies because you just have to
Ah. And the problem was a lot of the celebrities, their address would be a hotel.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So you'd have to plug in their address and it would come up as this. The Sutton Place Hotel.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Kind of thing. we'd also get, people who were, like, coming through town on tours, so, like, stand ups. Okay. Would come in and try to rent movies because you just have to live a life on the road in some professions. so that was an interesting part of the journey. I can only order things and M. Now tell me if you're like this. It was all alphabetical for the most part.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Wasn't it section by genre? So comedies would be in one area.
>> Amanda Barker: It was section by genre in that. If you can imagine, a horseshoe.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Because the front was all windows. So imagine a horseshoe. And that was most. Most of them. The outer ring of the horseshoe was all the late. The new releases.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that. That's how it functioned.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So that was done alphabetically, but, you know, Sex and the City just lived there or. Or really popular rentals.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So Sex and the City. And that's the first series I think, I rented there. And I remember renting the whole thing and watching it in a weekend up to that point. It was about halfway through at that point. that was all the outer edge. And then the. The columns in the middle, all the rows in the middle. what are they called? Like in a grocery store? Aisles.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Those were one at a time. So that there would be a section for kids.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: LGBTQIA for us. Although back then it would have just been called, gay. I think movies is what we called it. Or gay content. there was a section for Canadian cool movies in that particular, store. So. And there'd be one copy, of those.
>> Marco Timpano: Of those. Of those films.
>> Amanda Barker: But anyway, so having to. Or bring the films back, you'd have it on a little cart and you'd have to wheel the cart. I would take forever. Because I'm not great with. If something is K, I have to go through the whole. I have to sing the Alphabet in my head till I get to K. Wow. To know where it lives.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: On the shelf. I know it's in the middle somewhere, probably the upper middle, but I don't know the two letters next to it until I would say L and M. but is that right?
>> Marco Timpano: J and L. Oh, God. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I don't know it. Like some people would really know. Like you knew that immediately. I have to sing the whole Alphabet song to get there. I don't know why that is. And I don't know. I know there must be other people like me. I just assumed everybody was like that. So it would take me a long time because I'd be like, I don't know where R goes. you know, it goes somewhere in this world.
>> Marco Timpano: But I don't exactly know an S. Yeah.
Would you get irritated when people didn't rewind the VHS tape
Okay, so let me ask you this. Would you get irritated when people didn't rewind the VHS tape? Because I know when I first started renting.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: We would get charged if it wasn't rewound.
>> Amanda Barker: We didn't. I think we told people we would. I do have a memory of opening them up and checking them to see if they had been rewound. I would probably. We. I think we would just say next time please be sure to rewind. But we had a rewinder under the counter. So you'd throw it in and just hit rewind and it would go really fast.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And so you could do it yourself because it was taboo to put, an unrewound or half watched video on the shelf. Isn't that funny?
>> Marco Timpano: It is very funny.
Another industry that's disappearing, if not almost completely disappeared, is the travel agency
You know another industry that's sort of disappearing, if not almost completely disappeared, is the travel agency.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, but they do still exist.
>> Marco Timpano: They do still exist. But I remember when you were planning a trip.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You would go and sit with a travel agent.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Who would click clack on their computer and then tell you what options you had, the times and whatnot. Then they would print you out a physical ticket that was a big rectangle ticket that had all the codes and whatnot printed on it with your name
>> Amanda Barker: for your travel so there was a really well known. I mean, travel agencies tend to be, chains. Right. Or like franchises, some of them and
>> Marco Timpano: then some of them. Some. You have independent operators. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So there was a well known, I think it still exists, chain. I don't know if you want me to say the name or not, but
>> Marco Timpano: we don't need to.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyways, it, it claimed that it wasn't quite a travel agency, that it was something more user friendly.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's. Essentially that's what it was. and they kept advertising for people. I, I applied there twice. No, I applied there once and got, I had a great interview and got not one, but two rejection letters.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Two weeks apart. So they really, they really didn't want me. That's why I ended up at the video store.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And I thought, I can tell them about this. I've traveled here and there and all these computer skills. Nope, they didn't, they didn't, need me.
>> Marco Timpano: But, and what's funny, for our listeners is I have to say this about Amanda. when it comes to booking travel that we need to do, whether it's for our work, which we travel quite a great deal for work or for our own personal pleasure, you are so adept and so great at using the online platforms to pick the best flight, the best train travel, and the best route or route we could take. Pretty cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Great at it. I mean, I, I, and I delight in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you do.
>> Amanda Barker: I love it. A few times I've had, I've gone with a group of friends to a place and I will say if you tell me what it is you want and even more importantly, what you don't want, I will present you with options.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I've done that with cities and countries. What do you want? What do you, you know, resorts. Okay, we're gonna go to the Caribbean. But do, do you care about this? Do you care about that? Great.
With that criteria, I present to you these three options for DVD organizing
With that criteria, I present to you these three options. You know, I love, absolutely love doing it. I know they, it was a real missed opportunity. But hey, I got all that DVD organizing experience that, you know, I get to use right now. And in talking about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. Who would have thought? Did you sell any, confectionery or any.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. We sold gummies and popcorn, of course. Bags of, like, cellophane kind of bags of popcorn, that we would eat when we were really hungry. We sold. Actually, the number one thing we sold was old copies. Oh. Of course. Previously viewed, copies of, of tapes and, and DVDs.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Because if you're getting 50 copies of a blockbuster that just comes out, what happens four months later when it's.
>> Amanda Barker: That's just it. And four, months is probably about what it was too. After about four months you'd pare it down and instead of giving them eight rows in a chunk, you'd give them, you'd get four, you know, you'd probably have it down to 10 copies. And then after about a year or two, you'd really only need two copies of whatever that was, you know, so the rest of them would go into a bin and every month we would mark them down and sell them off. Sure. And people would buy them. And some people really loved to collect movies. I'm not one to re. Watch a movie or how, how do you feel about that?
>> Marco Timpano: Neither am I really.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, neither one of us are.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a couple of movies. If they're on television, you and I will watch it.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll be like, oh, my instructor's on, let's watch it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like a roulette wheel or a sampler on TV these days. Not a lot of people even have.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a car driving by.
>> Amanda Barker: Not a lot of people have cable. and we haven't quite, you know, for whatever reason, we've made the choice to continue with it. Although we do talk about, you know, know, just going to all our streaming platforms.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Of course, we just increased those, so we probably should make a choice. But but yeah, if something is on TV like today GI Jane was on tv. I would never make an effort to go watch GI Jane. I would never dial it up. I would. But it was on. So I watched, you know, a few scenes of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: so yeah, we would sell previously viewed copies and, and, and it was just a way of selling off inventory.
There was one movie called Way Downtown that I really loved while working there
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever find a gem while you were working there, a movie you may never have viewed and you took home one night? You were like, this is such a special movie.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I did actually. And I watched a lot. I tried really hard. You know, as I said, I was just starting out as an actor. I didn't have an agent, didn't have anything, and didn't know anybody. So I tried to educate myself on who, who was working in Toronto, what films were being made in Toronto. And at that time I tried to rent a lot of any Canadian films I could. And so there was one movie called Way Downtown that I really loved. I just thought, never heard of it. Really funny.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: It had I can't even think Don McKellar okay. In it. And I can't remember anyone else, unfortunately. and I don't know if I bought the previously viewed copy or what, but I remember I showed it to my brother, so maybe he was visiting me. I don't remember. Or maybe I brought it home and showed it to him, and to New Brunswick, that is. He loved it so much that he always talked about it and years later said he tried to find a copy of it. This movie, way downtown. The concept is three people who live downtown. I thought it was Toronto, but recently someone told me, no, it was Calgary, so I'd have to look that up. But anyway, they live in a Canadian city in the middle of the winter. They live in condos, and they all work in a, building that you can access through the tunnels through the downs, of course. So they realized that actually there's a grocery store down there, too. So they actually have no real reason to go into the outside world other than just wanting to like everything they could need, more or less.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Was indoors.
>> Amanda Barker: Was indoors. The gym, work, home, food. And so they make a bet with them, with the three among the three of them, that whoever lasts the longest without going outside wins. I don't remember what they were. And so at first, it's all very easy, but then, as the weeks go by, they're trying to find ways to cheat. Like, they'll walk by a revolving door just to try to breathe some of the outside air.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So, anyway, it was a. It was a clever movie. I don't remember much else about how it ends, but. Yeah, so that. That was my undiscovered gem of that time.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: I only worked there, like, eight months, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
We often talk about Canadian things on this podcast
Well, we're winding down. Speaking of winding.
>> Amanda Barker: Not. We didn't realize we'd be talking about DVDs today.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but, please rewind this episode if you've gotten to the end and you haven't fallen asleep. I do want to say something. We often talk about Canadian things on this podcast. We're, of course, unabashedly Canadian. But I want to thank our listeners who are international listeners. We have a ton in Europe. We have so many in the US who listen to our podcast, and they must just think, what do they do in that country? And then they just follow along with us when we go down these little maple, leaf paths, shall we say?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, if anyone is still awake and wants to locate where that video store once stood, it was at the corner of Yonge and Wellesley in Toronto. It's a pretty well known intersection. and, I think there's a Starbucks there. There is. There was back then. It's still there. So that's where I spent and I lived really, like three minutes walk from it. So that was my first year in Toronto, my introduction.
>> Marco Timpano: Didn't the Starbucks take over because.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: What's in its place?
>> Amanda Barker: A candy store. It's been a few things, but I think last I checked it was a candy store. Yeah, it's not a video store anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a candy store.
What's your favorite candy before we leave? Toffee, bananas
What's your favorite candy before we leave?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, gosh. candy. I don't know. Runts was the first thing that came to my mind. That might be Canadian too, though. Name? Runts.
>> Marco Timpano: Runts.
>> Amanda Barker: Little sugary. I was just thinking like little sugary bananas. Oh, I love, I love. Can I name a brand?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: I love a. I love a bag of mixed Jelly Belly Jelly beans. Okay, that's a great. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: Anything? Toffee. Oh, I love toffee.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, See, I wasn't sure if we're just talking candy. I mean, if you get into the chocolate world, that's a whole other.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's. This is the toffee world. It's neither chocolate nor candy.
>> Amanda Barker: So there's a toffee store.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, you know, I have a lot of British sensibilities, and so for me, toffee, would be number one. So there you go.
We've reached the end of the Insomnia project
But anyways, we've reached the end of the Insomnia project. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for joining us. And if you have any suggestions of Episodes you want to hear us talk about, feel free to let us know on her Instagram, our Twitter, or on our Facebook page.
>> Amanda Barker: Be kind, please rewind.
(Original airdate: Sept 16, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about something hopefully somewhat mundane for you. I'm Marco Timpano and joining me is me, Amanda Barker.
Amanda welcomes Insomnia Project listeners to today's podcast
Amanda, welcome to the Insomnia Project. I want to start by thanking all our listeners, of which we have many all over the world who listen to this podcast to help them with their need for sleep or for calming them down or just being company for them
>> Amanda Barker: for calm rather than calming them down. Because we all know that's a way to escalate. Anybody? Sure. I think we all have a need, a yearning for calm, calming conversation. comforting conversation.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: tranquility in what we digest, whether it be listening, reading, or so on, watching. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: We are going to be going to a cranberry bog plunge at the end of next month.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow, I didn't realize that was coming up in this month. Today.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I just booked the tickets for it, so I'm kind of excited about it. Yeah. So we will put pictures of us diving in a cranberry bog, which is a very fall thing to do, I guess.
>> Amanda Barker: We're diving and I think we wait.
>> Marco Timpano: We waited.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Yeah, I don't think we do a head first.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it might be a little too Cool for that.
>> Marco Timpano: In October. But stay tuned for that episode.
Someone left me a bookmark from the library and gave me free coffee today
But right now we were in a few cues today and if you don't know the word queue for lineup, I'll say what. We were in a few lineups today. Today.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. British. It's a British term to queue.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I love that term.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I hadn't heard it ever, until I was pretty old. I think there's a sound of, the breeze outside. I don't know if people can hear
>> Marco Timpano: that, but it's a bit of rain.
>> Marco Timpano: We're not in our studio today, so you might hear some outdoor sounds.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But we started the day by going to a drive through for coffee and that's true, a very positive experience because a. I had a little,
>> Amanda Barker: You had a freebie.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a freebie. So you know when you collect enough stickers so you've had enough coffees that every time you get a coffee you get a stamp or a sticker and you apply it to a card.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, as the listeners know, I love libraries.
>> Marco Timpano: And I took out a book from the library and inside that book a person had left a full card of stickered coffees and so I could use it for free coffee.
>> Amanda Barker: A punch card if you will stick it rather than. Yeah, just like, you know, you buy eight and you get the ninth free or whatever it was. and at this particular establishment they honor those and they every coffee you get, you get a little sticker on the back.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to thank the person who left, their bookmark and sent me a free coffee via.
>> Amanda Barker: I felt badly for them, but maybe it was an intentional moment of paying something forward.
>> Marco Timpano: I was grateful to them. The funny thing is if it was in a, you know, new age kind of book or a self help book, I would have been, oh, that's so great. But I don't think it was. I think it was in a podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Probably it was a mistake on their end. They dumped it in the slot and went oh no. But you know, we definitely needed it today and appreciated that little gift from whoever. So anonymous person, thank you so much.
Amanda: What makes a drive through lineup good?
>> Marco Timpano: Now let me ask you this, Amanda. What makes a drive through lineup good?
>> Amanda Barker: A fast food drive thru line or whatever.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, when you get in your car and you're in a lineup, a drive through, what makes it a positive experience?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm just trying to think of other drive thrus that exist that are not for fast food or for coffees.
>> Marco Timpano: The only one I can think of is self Banking, Right. That's the only other one.
>> Amanda Barker: But that doesn't. Do they still do that? I guess they do, but remember, I remember being a kid and always being in that lineup with my mom and driving through and then that. That capsule that would get sucked into the ground. Do you remember?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't remember. I remember you telling me about this, but I've never.
>> Amanda Barker: You never had them?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Well, in New England, where I grew up, it was pretty exciting actually, because you would talk to somebody through a glass window. You'd see them in the glass window.
>> Marco Timpano: A teller.
>> Amanda Barker: A teller. Yeah. And. But there's two at a time, so they would. There would be two going at the same time. So there'd be two different tellers. So you kind of have to make eye contact with the one. And they would. You would tell them what you needed if you needed to cash checks or cash or whatever. And they would say, okay. And then you put all your bank. You put. My mom would put her bank book because people used to have bank books.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember bank books. They were like little passports almost.
>> Amanda Barker: She still has hers and she still uses hers.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, she can you still use a bank?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. She writes down everything that she takes out.
>> Marco Timpano: But I remember bank books like this, they were like little, passports.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And you would bring it to the teller.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And they would stamp.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Whatever transaction you did.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So you'd know exactly what was coming in and exactly what was going out. I mean, similar to online. But, anyway, I looked forward to that drive through. I loved going to the bank because it was magic to me. You would, you would get this capsule, this plastic, see through capsule, and you'd put your bank book in or your checks. My mom's work in particular, she would deal with a lot of people writing her personal checks. Okay. Cash those, she would pay, put it all in and wait for it. And then it would get. Come back and you'd get the cash back and your bank book back. It was true magic.
>> Marco Timpano: How they did it was the capsule, like the ones you sometimes see in stores where you put it into a slot and it got sucked in.
>> Amanda Barker: It got sucked in. But what do you mean in stores you see it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So I sometimes see it in big box stores. They'll have it when the teller has a lot of cash in their till. The, manager will come over and put. Put some of it.
>> Amanda Barker: What's that called? Skim.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is that what it's called?
>> Amanda Barker: It's called skimming.
>> Marco Timpano: I Didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. You have to skim your till every hour.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
Did you never work in one of those jobs where you had to skim the till
>> Amanda Barker: Did you never work in one of those jobs where you had to skim the till?
>> Marco Timpano: Never had to skim.
>> Amanda Barker: So I only ever had to do that when I started working. It was my first job in the big city. I worked at a video store, which
>> Marco Timpano: they don't really exist.
>> Amanda Barker: No, they don't. I was 24, I think, and might have even been 20, 25. I remember feeling a little bashful because I had had my degree, sure had a lot of cool jobs and in my mind at that age and traveled the world to some degree. Not completely obviously, but, and, but I could not. I thought I was going to be an actress, so I thought that meant I'd be a waitress. Right, that's, that was what they tell you. And so I moved to the big city with my homemade headshots and my cobbled together resume and handed them out. And then I went around trying to get away a waitering gig. And nobody, no, what no one tells you is that it's really hard to get a waitering gig in a big city because there are professional waiters. It was harder to get that than an acting gig. Truthfully for me, I didn't have the qualifications. So anyway, I couldn't get a job. So I finally was like, I don't know who anywhere I need to make rent. So I got a job at a, at a video store. and so that was the first time I ever really had to work a till. I'd never worked at a grocery store or even a fast food place. So I was taught, by this really clever 16 year old gal, Stephanie that I worked with. And she looked at me crazily like you don't know how to skim a till and you had to take out because you always wanted a float of 50, bucks cash. So anytime you did a lot of business you would take that out. You would write how much you're taking out and, and you always needed to have another person there. So it didn't. So obviously you weren't skimming yourself. Yeah, sure. Pocketing the cash and for someone to deal with the customers and you'd put it in a big envelope and write how much you took and what time and, and so that's, that's what, that's called the skimming.
You worked at a video store that doesn't really exist anymore
>> Marco Timpano: I want to dive into this retail experience you had at a video store, which they don't really exist anymore. What were the most popular films?
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: On video.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: When you worked there, to the best of your recollection.
>> Amanda Barker: So the year would have been.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't, tell the year. Tell the thing and see if. Guess the year.
>> Amanda Barker: the first three or four seasons of Sex and the City.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Were extremely popular rentals. Sure. it's so funny. One of the ones I remember was this movie about marijuana. Reefer madness.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, of course. Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't think I ever saw it, but I. Cult classic. I remember seeing it always on the shelf. Because, you know, back then, for people who don't remember video stores. Because I have to remember there are people who don't remember video stores. when a Blockbuster movie came out, it would take easily. You would devote an entire section to that movie. So, I think Armageddon was a big one.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Ben Affleck. Oh, twice.
>> Amanda Barker: Pearl Harbor. Just Ben. We just specialized in Ben Affleck movies.
>> Marco Timpano: So this was early 90s. 92. 93.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Amanda Barker: So maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it was Armageddon.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Pearl Harbor.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't remember now. I'm joking.
>> Amanda Barker: But, no, it was the early 2000s.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Sex and the City. I don't know why I'm in early 90s.
>> Amanda Barker: but I don't really remember. Those are just. I remember, like, Blockbuster movies. They all seem the same to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So they would take up. You would. You would get, 50 to 80 copies of any given movie.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, when it first was released.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Because it's such a demand. Oh, this movie's out on video. Everybody would run to the video store to go get it. And so, you know, you would have probably 50 placeholders and maybe 80 copies. So you'd put two or three. I managed to be in the video store when DVDs were the thing. Okay. Because then we all remember the beginning of them with vhs. But this was a dvd, and we did have vhs. we did have still VHS rentals, but they were few and far between because we were with the times.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So we had dvd, rentals, and we were in a very interesting part of the city. So we had some interesting specialized, markets. We were in a real, a real pocket of LGBTQIA presence. And so we had a lot of those types of. Of movies. Okay. maybe more than, say, a small town would, And they were really popular, and we had regulars, actually. One of the cool things about working there. And I was there about a year.
>> Marco Timpano: This is some inside dirt to an industry that doesn't really exist anymore.
>> Amanda Barker: It's true. When the film festival would happen and. Or when somebody famous was shooting, shooting a movie, you'd actually get. Some pretty big names would come through to rent because they would. Where else are they gonna get a movie?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So they'd come in because they'd want to see something by a director that they were gonna work with. They'd come in just because they're only. They were shooting, you know, so many series or they were just on set so much that their only time to watch a movie would be to rent a vcr, which we did do, or a DVD player, which we did do, bring it to their hotel room, plug it in, and they would watch. They would rent a pile of movies. So I remember, what's her name? Amanda. she was in Pulp Fiction.
>> Marco Timpano: Christopher Plummers.
>> Amanda Barker: Amanda Plummer, yes. She actually came in a lot.
People would come in and try to rent movies because you just have to
Ah. And the problem was a lot of the celebrities, their address would be a hotel.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: So you'd have to plug in their address and it would come up as this. The Sutton Place Hotel.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Kind of thing. we'd also get, people who were, like, coming through town on tours, so, like, stand ups. Okay. Would come in and try to rent movies because you just have to live a life on the road in some professions. so that was an interesting part of the journey. I can only order things and M. Now tell me if you're like this. It was all alphabetical for the most part.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Wasn't it section by genre? So comedies would be in one area.
>> Amanda Barker: It was section by genre in that. If you can imagine, a horseshoe.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Because the front was all windows. So imagine a horseshoe. And that was most. Most of them. The outer ring of the horseshoe was all the late. The new releases.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that. That's how it functioned.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So that was done alphabetically, but, you know, Sex and the City just lived there or. Or really popular rentals.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So Sex and the City. And that's the first series I think, I rented there. And I remember renting the whole thing and watching it in a weekend up to that point. It was about halfway through at that point. that was all the outer edge. And then the. The columns in the middle, all the rows in the middle. what are they called? Like in a grocery store? Aisles.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Those were one at a time. So that there would be a section for kids.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: LGBTQIA for us. Although back then it would have just been called, gay. I think movies is what we called it. Or gay content. there was a section for Canadian cool movies in that particular, store. So. And there'd be one copy, of those.
>> Marco Timpano: Of those. Of those films.
>> Amanda Barker: But anyway, so having to. Or bring the films back, you'd have it on a little cart and you'd have to wheel the cart. I would take forever. Because I'm not great with. If something is K, I have to go through the whole. I have to sing the Alphabet in my head till I get to K. Wow. To know where it lives.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: On the shelf. I know it's in the middle somewhere, probably the upper middle, but I don't know the two letters next to it until I would say L and M. but is that right?
>> Marco Timpano: J and L. Oh, God. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I don't know it. Like some people would really know. Like you knew that immediately. I have to sing the whole Alphabet song to get there. I don't know why that is. And I don't know. I know there must be other people like me. I just assumed everybody was like that. So it would take me a long time because I'd be like, I don't know where R goes. you know, it goes somewhere in this world.
>> Marco Timpano: But I don't exactly know an S. Yeah.
Would you get irritated when people didn't rewind the VHS tape
Okay, so let me ask you this. Would you get irritated when people didn't rewind the VHS tape? Because I know when I first started renting.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: We would get charged if it wasn't rewound.
>> Amanda Barker: We didn't. I think we told people we would. I do have a memory of opening them up and checking them to see if they had been rewound. I would probably. We. I think we would just say next time please be sure to rewind. But we had a rewinder under the counter. So you'd throw it in and just hit rewind and it would go really fast.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And so you could do it yourself because it was taboo to put, an unrewound or half watched video on the shelf. Isn't that funny?
>> Marco Timpano: It is very funny.
Another industry that's disappearing, if not almost completely disappeared, is the travel agency
You know another industry that's sort of disappearing, if not almost completely disappeared, is the travel agency.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, but they do still exist.
>> Marco Timpano: They do still exist. But I remember when you were planning a trip.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You would go and sit with a travel agent.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Who would click clack on their computer and then tell you what options you had, the times and whatnot. Then they would print you out a physical ticket that was a big rectangle ticket that had all the codes and whatnot printed on it with your name
>> Amanda Barker: for your travel so there was a really well known. I mean, travel agencies tend to be, chains. Right. Or like franchises, some of them and
>> Marco Timpano: then some of them. Some. You have independent operators. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: So there was a well known, I think it still exists, chain. I don't know if you want me to say the name or not, but
>> Marco Timpano: we don't need to.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyways, it, it claimed that it wasn't quite a travel agency, that it was something more user friendly.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's. Essentially that's what it was. and they kept advertising for people. I, I applied there twice. No, I applied there once and got, I had a great interview and got not one, but two rejection letters.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Two weeks apart. So they really, they really didn't want me. That's why I ended up at the video store.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And I thought, I can tell them about this. I've traveled here and there and all these computer skills. Nope, they didn't, they didn't, need me.
>> Marco Timpano: But, and what's funny, for our listeners is I have to say this about Amanda. when it comes to booking travel that we need to do, whether it's for our work, which we travel quite a great deal for work or for our own personal pleasure, you are so adept and so great at using the online platforms to pick the best flight, the best train travel, and the best route or route we could take. Pretty cool.
>> Amanda Barker: Great at it. I mean, I, I, and I delight in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you do.
>> Amanda Barker: I love it. A few times I've had, I've gone with a group of friends to a place and I will say if you tell me what it is you want and even more importantly, what you don't want, I will present you with options.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: I've done that with cities and countries. What do you want? What do you, you know, resorts. Okay, we're gonna go to the Caribbean. But do, do you care about this? Do you care about that? Great.
With that criteria, I present to you these three options for DVD organizing
With that criteria, I present to you these three options. You know, I love, absolutely love doing it. I know they, it was a real missed opportunity. But hey, I got all that DVD organizing experience that, you know, I get to use right now. And in talking about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. Who would have thought? Did you sell any, confectionery or any.
>> Amanda Barker: We did. We sold gummies and popcorn, of course. Bags of, like, cellophane kind of bags of popcorn, that we would eat when we were really hungry. We sold. Actually, the number one thing we sold was old copies. Oh. Of course. Previously viewed, copies of, of tapes and, and DVDs.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Because if you're getting 50 copies of a blockbuster that just comes out, what happens four months later when it's.
>> Amanda Barker: That's just it. And four, months is probably about what it was too. After about four months you'd pare it down and instead of giving them eight rows in a chunk, you'd give them, you'd get four, you know, you'd probably have it down to 10 copies. And then after about a year or two, you'd really only need two copies of whatever that was, you know, so the rest of them would go into a bin and every month we would mark them down and sell them off. Sure. And people would buy them. And some people really loved to collect movies. I'm not one to re. Watch a movie or how, how do you feel about that?
>> Marco Timpano: Neither am I really.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, neither one of us are.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a couple of movies. If they're on television, you and I will watch it.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll be like, oh, my instructor's on, let's watch it.
>> Amanda Barker: It's like a roulette wheel or a sampler on TV these days. Not a lot of people even have.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a car driving by.
>> Amanda Barker: Not a lot of people have cable. and we haven't quite, you know, for whatever reason, we've made the choice to continue with it. Although we do talk about, you know, know, just going to all our streaming platforms.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Of course, we just increased those, so we probably should make a choice. But but yeah, if something is on TV like today GI Jane was on tv. I would never make an effort to go watch GI Jane. I would never dial it up. I would. But it was on. So I watched, you know, a few scenes of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: so yeah, we would sell previously viewed copies and, and, and it was just a way of selling off inventory.
There was one movie called Way Downtown that I really loved while working there
>> Marco Timpano: Did you ever find a gem while you were working there, a movie you may never have viewed and you took home one night? You were like, this is such a special movie.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I did actually. And I watched a lot. I tried really hard. You know, as I said, I was just starting out as an actor. I didn't have an agent, didn't have anything, and didn't know anybody. So I tried to educate myself on who, who was working in Toronto, what films were being made in Toronto. And at that time I tried to rent a lot of any Canadian films I could. And so there was one movie called Way Downtown that I really loved. I just thought, never heard of it. Really funny.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: It had I can't even think Don McKellar okay. In it. And I can't remember anyone else, unfortunately. and I don't know if I bought the previously viewed copy or what, but I remember I showed it to my brother, so maybe he was visiting me. I don't remember. Or maybe I brought it home and showed it to him, and to New Brunswick, that is. He loved it so much that he always talked about it and years later said he tried to find a copy of it. This movie, way downtown. The concept is three people who live downtown. I thought it was Toronto, but recently someone told me, no, it was Calgary, so I'd have to look that up. But anyway, they live in a Canadian city in the middle of the winter. They live in condos, and they all work in a, building that you can access through the tunnels through the downs, of course. So they realized that actually there's a grocery store down there, too. So they actually have no real reason to go into the outside world other than just wanting to like everything they could need, more or less.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Was indoors.
>> Amanda Barker: Was indoors. The gym, work, home, food. And so they make a bet with them, with the three among the three of them, that whoever lasts the longest without going outside wins. I don't remember what they were. And so at first, it's all very easy, but then, as the weeks go by, they're trying to find ways to cheat. Like, they'll walk by a revolving door just to try to breathe some of the outside air.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: So, anyway, it was a. It was a clever movie. I don't remember much else about how it ends, but. Yeah, so that. That was my undiscovered gem of that time.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic.
>> Amanda Barker: I only worked there, like, eight months, maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
We often talk about Canadian things on this podcast
Well, we're winding down. Speaking of winding.
>> Amanda Barker: Not. We didn't realize we'd be talking about DVDs today.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but, please rewind this episode if you've gotten to the end and you haven't fallen asleep. I do want to say something. We often talk about Canadian things on this podcast. We're, of course, unabashedly Canadian. But I want to thank our listeners who are international listeners. We have a ton in Europe. We have so many in the US who listen to our podcast, and they must just think, what do they do in that country? And then they just follow along with us when we go down these little maple, leaf paths, shall we say?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, if anyone is still awake and wants to locate where that video store once stood, it was at the corner of Yonge and Wellesley in Toronto. It's a pretty well known intersection. and, I think there's a Starbucks there. There is. There was back then. It's still there. So that's where I spent and I lived really, like three minutes walk from it. So that was my first year in Toronto, my introduction.
>> Marco Timpano: Didn't the Starbucks take over because.
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: What's in its place?
>> Amanda Barker: A candy store. It's been a few things, but I think last I checked it was a candy store. Yeah, it's not a video store anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a candy store.
What's your favorite candy before we leave? Toffee, bananas
What's your favorite candy before we leave?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, gosh. candy. I don't know. Runts was the first thing that came to my mind. That might be Canadian too, though. Name? Runts.
>> Marco Timpano: Runts.
>> Amanda Barker: Little sugary. I was just thinking like little sugary bananas. Oh, I love, I love. Can I name a brand?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Amanda Barker: I love a. I love a bag of mixed Jelly Belly Jelly beans. Okay, that's a great. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: Anything? Toffee. Oh, I love toffee.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, See, I wasn't sure if we're just talking candy. I mean, if you get into the chocolate world, that's a whole other.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's. This is the toffee world. It's neither chocolate nor candy.
>> Amanda Barker: So there's a toffee store.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, you know, I have a lot of British sensibilities, and so for me, toffee, would be number one. So there you go.
We've reached the end of the Insomnia project
But anyways, we've reached the end of the Insomnia project. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for joining us. And if you have any suggestions of Episodes you want to hear us talk about, feel free to let us know on her Instagram, our Twitter, or on our Facebook page.
>> Amanda Barker: Be kind, please rewind.
Mongoose, Michelle Visage & Bus Trips
(Original airdate: Aug 26, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back Relax and listen. As we have a conversation about the mundane, one thing that we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating. Or at the very least, we will try to make it less than fascinating so that you can feel free to just drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep.
Erica Sydney: It was last minute. We kind of, uh. I knew we were gonna get together
I am your host, Marco Tampano, and joining me today is Erica Sydney. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Erica Sydney: Thanks for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for coming. So last minute as well. We kind of, Not only was it last minute, but I meant to Facebook message you, and I guess it didn't go through, so it was a little bit up in the air.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah. That's okay, though. I knew we were gonna get together. I just wasn't sure what time.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Erica Sydney: But we made it happen, so that's all that matters.
>> Marco Timpano: You were just talking about how you love taking transit and transit in our city. And not only that, but I know that you took a really long and circuitous bus trip way back when.
Let's talk about transit and what you like about our transit
So I wanna start by talking about transit.
>> Erica Sydney: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: And the things you love about transit. We can leave all the stuff behind that we dislike, but let's talk about transit and what you like about our transit or transit in general.
>> Erica Sydney: Okay, great. well, let's start off with. I like the length of time it takes me to commute to work because it gives me time to sit down and listen to an audiobook or a podcast or some music on my phone.
>> Marco Timpano: So how long does it take you to get to work?
>> Erica Sydney: So not so bad anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: right now it only takes me about 20 minutes, but about six months ago, it took me probably an hour.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And, okay, so I love audiobooks. Yeah, I love them when they were audio cassettes. So I've been listening to audiobooks when I would get them on cassette for my car. So that's how long I've been listening. And for our listeners who don't know what a cassette is, you'll just have to look it up because I don't have the time to explain. What is the genre of audiobook that you like? Really?
>> Erica Sydney: Right now I'm really into Joe Hill, kind of a little bit of horror, mystery, that kind of stuff. yeah, I just. I love a little bit of fantasy in my life, and dark fantasy, for me is kind of where I lean.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a great podcast that you need to listen to called On a Dark Cold Night. Dark Cold Night, yes. Kristen Zaza is the host and she will be a guest on the Insomnia Project. And she's a friend. and it is. I think you'll really enjoy it and I recommend it to our listeners as well. It's kind of in that genre.
>> Erica Sydney: Is it like, story based?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, she writes the story. They're short, they're not like long. But they're wonderfully written and wonderfully read.
David Sedaris says listening to audiobooks helps him stay engaged
which brings me to my next question. So for me, I love listening to nonfiction and in particular, biographies. But for me, the voice was key. So if I put on a audiobook and the person reading didn't resonate with my ears, in other words, I didn't like the sound, I would quickly pop it out and not listen.
>> Erica Sydney: I have forced myself to make it through a book, even though the voice, was not as entertaining as I'd hoped.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: but I've been lucky. I agree with you on like, reading biographies. I read one recently. it was Michelle Visage's book, and she's one of the hosts on RuPaul's Drag Race.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. She was a singer as well.
>> Erica Sydney: She was. And she also is a radio personality.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Erica Sydney: So her voicing her own story was just so incredibly interesting to listen to. she spoke with so much passion and she's so funny.
>> Marco Timpano: I love her because she is a person who's able to balance humor.
>> Marco Timpano: Honesty. And she knows the space in which she speaks. And it might not be a space that, you know, she was born into, but a space that she has learned and delved into. And she speaks with authority and intelligence and humor. And she's also great at dishing it out. But what I respect about her is she's also great at receiving that feedback. I'd love to have her as a guest. But above and beyond that, I love watching her because I find her entertaining, informative, and intelligent.
>> Erica Sydney: I agree, I agree with all of that. she also, to me, is just one of those people that. She's had some rough patches in her life and she is not ashamed of them. And I really respect that about people.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: She's not hiding the shadier sides of herself. She is who she is and she's proud of who she is.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah.
>> Erica Sydney: And if you're not on board with that, well, as they say, their opinions are not your problem.
>> Marco Timpano: And she's lived a life and you can tell. Ah. And I think that speaks to her honesty. and her ability to dish and receive with, a smile and a wink is the best way I can sort of describe it. For me, that might not be how you, gravitate Towards Michelle. Visage. But that's how I see it.
>> Erica Sydney: I'd agree. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I listened to a bunch of biographies, and there are some that surprised me. Like, I would rotate through so many. Do you find that by listening to audiobooks, you can get through quite a few faster than if you were to physically sit and read them?
>> Erica Sydney: Yes or no?
>> Marco Timpano: I had a lot of. I had a high burn rate of my. Of the books I was going through.
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Erica Sydney: yeah, for me, it depends. Again, I don't make a lot of time in my life to sit down and read a book anymore. As a kid, I definitely did.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: Even as a teenager. Especially as a teenager. but as an adult, I find myself constantly on the go and I get motion sickness, so I can't read on the go.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm like that. If I'm in a car or bus, I can't read. Plane is a different thing. But not in a car or bus.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah. I can't read on anything that's moving. Wow. Yeah. Even if I'm texting and walking, I start getting nauseous.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: Another weird thing about myself is that if I'm in a vehicle for more than about 45 minutes, I fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: So what I find about audiobooks is they actually help me stay engaged.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah. Without, you know, keeping me so aware of all the things happening around me.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah, sure.
>> Marco Timpano: I also grew to like authors by sticking with it. So listening to a voice that I might not have enjoyed for me was David Sedaris. At first, I couldn't get behind his voice. And then there was a turning point. He told the story that. Where his voice, for me, really played into it. And then I read or I listened to everything he had written up until that point and really sort of fell in love with his writing and his speaking.
>> Erica Sydney: Interesting. Okay. I can't even think. I don't think I can think of what his voice sounds like to me.
>> Marco Timpano: It's got a high pitched, nasally Southern twang to it.
>> Erica Sydney: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Is the best. I'm sure if he hears this, he'll be like, what is this person speaking about?
How do you feel about your voice? Because I don't love listening to my voice
But that's how I interpret the voice.
>> Erica Sydney: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you feel about your voice? Because I don't love listening to my voice. and even the listeners will write an email and say, oh, your voice is so soothing. I listen to it and I think, oh, it's the last thing I want to hear is my voice.
>> Erica Sydney: Without sounding super conceited. I love my voice.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah, I love talk. Like, I am a good talker. I like to chat with people, but I like the sound of my own voice. I like hearing it recorded. So maybe that makes me conceited.
>> Marco Timpano: Not at all.
Do you want to record audiobooks? Oh, I would love to
So then next question would be, do you want to record audiobooks?
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, I would love to. Do you have an audiobook in mind? Is there something I was going to
>> Marco Timpano: ask you is that if you could read an audiobook? What audiobook or genre or if there's an actual book that you're like, I would love to read this book.
>> Erica Sydney: You know what? I would love to read something that is, or be the reader on something that is sci fi or fantasy based. Something very whimsically.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: I just think I could bring a lot of depth to that.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: For me, it would be, once again a nonfiction. Maybe not a biography, but something nonfiction.
>> Erica Sydney: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know why. I just, you know, on paper you would think Marco, doesn't seem like the type of person who would be into nonfiction. And then in reality, I love self help books, I love new age books, I love biographies, and I love a lot of nonfiction.
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, well, that's great because I love the sound of your voice and I would definitely read all of those things.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's very kind of you to say.
You took a Greyhound trip across Canada from Toronto to Calgary
I want to get to this bus trip you took. Oh, yes, you had mentioned it earlier. So walk me through or drive me through the route that you had taken.
>> Erica Sydney: So we left out of Toronto and it was a Greyhound trip across Canada all the way to Calgary. So basically, I think that worked out to be about two and a half days in a bus.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah. Sharing one moving toilet with like 30ish people the whole way.
>> Marco Timpano: Would you stop in various cities and get out or was it, you know, just like everyone got on in Toronto and everyone got off in Calgary?
>> Erica Sydney: no, there are definitely stops along the way. People get on and off as you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: so it's a, you know, there's definitely rotating people throughout.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: which is good and bad because if there was somebody who particularly didn't enjoy their snoring or loud talking or, you know, mouth chewing, hopefully they got off in a couple of hours.
>> Marco Timpano: How long was that trip in total?
>> Erica Sydney: Again? It was about two and a half days, I believe.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Erica Sydney: Memory serves. Yeah. And that's of course, if you were to drive that in a car, it wouldn't take that long. I don't think it's because you're on a bus and you have to make all those stops, all those courtesy stops, and for the bus drivers to switch places and ask their pee breaks because, fun fact, they don't pee on the bus, Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah.
Coming up through Ontario and all the way up through to Winnipeg has beautiful scenery
>> Marco Timpano: And, did you see anything out the window that was interesting or was it just like, fields and highways? And fields and highways.
>> Erica Sydney: So coming up through Ontario and all the way up through to Winnipeg, it's a lot of beautiful scenery. Lots of hills and rocks and trees, and you don't realize how much of Ontario is actually just nature and gorgeous.
>> Marco Timpano: what struck you the most? Did you see any wildlife?
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, yes. I mean, there's a. We're in Canada. There's always wildlife. I'm not sure if there's anything we saw along that trip, specifically. I know there was some deer. There's always deer along that path. but no big, like, no moose or anything like that on that trip.
>> Marco Timpano: But it doesn't have to be big to be striking.
A lizard wearing a fur coat was spotted on Hawaii's big island
So when we were driving on the big island of Hawaii, Amanda, who, you know, my wife, we were driving and this animal sort of darted really quickly across our, you know, the road in front of us. And we were, like, struck by it. We're like, what is that? And I think I saw it first. And Amanda said, what? And I said, it was an animal I've never seen before. And she's like, what was it? And I said, it was like a lizard wearing a fur coat. And she's like, what? And then, I swear, moments later, one of these lizards wearing a fur coat ran past us. And she's like, it's like a New York lizard wearing a Upper west side fur coat. And I'm like, what is this animal? So we were texting with our friends here who love Hawaii and have been, and we're like, we just saw an animal that looks like a lizard wearing a fur coat. Can you help us figure this out? Because you've been to Hawaii. So they started to text us native species, native Hawaiian species of animals that aren't found here on, mainland North America, especially in the colder climates.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Things like skinks and, other animals, prairie dog type things. And we're like, no, think lizard with a fur coat.
>> Erica Sydney: Please tell me you found out what it was.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a mongoose. So it's a non native species to Hawaii that was brought to deal with, I think, rats in the fields.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But I think, one of them is nocturnal and the other isn't. So it didn't quite work out. But of course, when you bring non native species, they can really proliferate. And that's what happened with the mongoose. And it's the big. We were on the big island, but our friends had been on other islands where they're not as prevalent. And so it was difficult for them to figure out what the animal was. But kudos to them because they did say, is it a mongoose? And I thought, it might be a mongoose. But I know a mongoose not low to the ground. I always, whenever I see a mongoose, it's on its hind legs and upright. So I didn't.
>> Marco Timpano: Studies show that 100% of everybody in the world wants to curl up indoors and do nothing because it's so darn cold out there. That's why many people are turning to Bombas, whose pillowy plush slippers and warm merino wool socks have been said to be the most comfortable in the history of feet. Bomba's products have been found to boost coziness by up to 1 million percent. Okay, enough fake statistics. But could Bomba's socks and slippers really be the Cure? Go to bombas.com audio and use code audio for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O-M-B-A-S.com and use code audio.
>> Marco Timpano: Know what Mongoose looked like when it was scurrying?
>> Erica Sydney: Interesting.
You went from Ontario to the Prairies in less than two hours
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways, long story for the mongoose, but back to you and your travels in Ontario.
>> Erica Sydney: well, now I can't stop thinking about the mongoose. yeah. Oh, gosh, where do I go back to?
>> Marco Timpano: I think we went to like, what were some of the impressive or things you saw in the landscape or nature?
>> Erica Sydney: So one of the things again I talked about, there's all these rock cliffs and if you're driving along the TransCanada highway, what you'll notice is that on some of these rock cliffs there's all these, stacked rocks.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Erica Sydney: and I know that it's an indigenous symbol.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: But I cannot for the life of me remember what it means, unfortunately.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it the Inukshuk or.
>> Erica Sydney: I think so, yes. Yes. Where it looks like little stacks of people almost. And I remember just passing by so many of those and just feeling that like, yeah, we're in Canada. Ah, like we're definitely in Canada. and then as we got through to kind of the northern parts of the province, the roads become very windy. Oh, yeah. especially if you're going any sort of off road areas to that which we mostly stayed on the highway, on this trip.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: But definitely it was interesting seeing the landscape change so rapidly and so quickly. And then as you come out of Winnipeg and you start going to the Prairies, all of a sudden everything just goes.
>> Marco Timpano: So you've exited Ontario, now you're in Manitoba.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a visible distinction? One, you go from one province to the other.
>> Erica Sydney: I don't find that there's one going from Ontario to Manitoba. Manitoba over to the Prairies. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay, so. So let's get there at some point. But I didn't mean to interrupt what you were saying.
>> Erica Sydney: No, no, it's okay. so yes, as you go into the Prairies, everything just kind of stops and goes flat.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Erica Sydney: And I know people think that it's boring, you know, the drive across.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because there's all the receptionists. You know, I could see my dog run. Run away for miles and miles. Right. I think that's a joke that they make in the Prairies.
>> Erica Sydney: That's right. yeah, I've definitely heard a few of those in my day. But, I'd never actually been to the Prairies before, so I found it fascinating because I'd always lived in this sort of area of, well, some mountains, but mostly just rolly hills and trees.
>> Marco Timpano: Canadian Shield, if you will. Right, yes.
>> Erica Sydney: so to go from that to this just very. Oh, I was going to say plain, but that's not right. Flat landscape.
>> Marco Timpano: Prairie.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes. And then seeing the, you know, the sun go across, it was just wonderful. M. At the time it was summer, and the colors, I found it actually quite beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: Now, I know I'd mentioned before, if I'm in a vehicle for more than 45 minutes, you fall asleep. I fall asleep. So I spent a lot of this trip dozing in and out, which was kind of a magical experience because I'd fall asleep and then I would come to and I'd be in this whole other landscape, this whole other thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Almost like a kaleidoscope. Or maybe not a kaleidoscope, but you know, remember those Fisher Price things? You'd put a little circular disc in and there'd be like different photos and you click it.
>> Erica Sydney: The camera thing.
>> Marco Timpano: The camera thing. And the circular thing in the center would shift and bring another landscape, another slide. So you would kind of doze off and then when you woke up, another projected slide of a different part of Canada would appear in front of you.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that a good way to describe the Fisher Price rotating slide camera and your trip Across Ontario to Calgary, through, Manitoba.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes, that's a great example of it. And then of course, there was whatever was happening on the bus at that moment also to really bring you back to reality.
>> Marco Timpano: So when you would stop in various places, that would be your opportunity to go out and purchase beverages or food.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes. And stretch your legs, maybe take a phone call. when I made this trip, we had phones, but they weren't the smartphones that we have now.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: I wasn't going on Facebook with it. I was, you know, maybe texting a friend or playing that weird, wall breaking game.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: so it was definitely like a different experience in terms of entertaining oneself.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Erica Sydney: And yes, you'd get to like, stop at all these little convenience stops. And it wasn't like you didn't get to taste the cuisine of wherever you were, but it was like, you know, stop for a Twinkie and a coffee.
Your concept of distant travel is different than mine and my contemporary's idea
>> Marco Timpano: So that was your bus trip. Have you ever taken a train trip?
>> Erica Sydney: I have now. Not any great distance. I think I did it from Toronto, I want to say, to Ottawa maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's a bit of a chunk because to drive to Ottawa, it's about three and a half hours, maybe four.
>> Erica Sydney: You know, it's funny, growing up, where I did, which was in, again, northwestern Ontario, anywhere you had to go was a distance. So for me, three hours isn't a long drive. Even though I fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: for me, a long distance is like, yeah, 10 hours or plus.
>> Marco Timpano: It's all perspective.
>> Erica Sydney: It's perspective.
>> Marco Timpano: I find that when you run into Australians m, Their concept of distant travel is so different than, mine and my contemporary's idea of distant travel. Because for many Australians and New Zealanders who. We have a lot of listeners. So shout out to all the people in Asia Pacific who listen. But for them to get anywhere, it can take 10 plus hours to two days. And they're like, yeah, we just know that's what it's gonna be. We prepare for it and we're good. So a two, four hour trip for them feels like nothing. Yeah.
>> Erica Sydney: on the flip side of that coin, our dear friend Cloda.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. Who was on the podcast as well.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes, she told me. so she's from Ireland and I remember having a conversation with her when she first came to Canada about, distance and how she can't imagine traveling an hour. That is insane to her. That's a long ways. That is a journey. so yeah, it's that perspective of the different, you know, different cultures and different countries of how far far is.
If you're driving for five to seven hours, what do you do
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this, then. If five to seven hours is, you know, your sort of barometer of travel, time, what do you fill that time in with when you know you have that kind of length of drift? That is not sleep.
>> Erica Sydney: listening to music.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Audiobooks, of course.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes. Although audiobooks I've only gotten into recently. Okay, fair. So most of my road trips have been done with, you know, music. Lots, of CDs back in the day.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: Or cassette tapes on the odd occasion. and chatting with whoever you're traveling with. So I don't drive myself, which is why I had to take this Greyhound in this particular case.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: So when I have done road trips, it's been with friends or family that drive, and my job as passenger is to keep them entertained.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, of course. That's a key. That's a key role. And one of the reasons I say not to listen to this podcast in the car. But when you are a driver, having someone who ensures that you're alert, especially if you're driving for a great deal of time, is so important. So the thing that always kind of made me uncomfortable is if I was driving and my passenger would doze off, I'd be like, I'd rather you be in the back and not dozing off beside me. And let someone who's in the back sit in the front. Or everyone stays in the back and I just stay alert in the front.
>> Erica Sydney: That's a great point. I have a lovely friend who I have traveled not great distances with, but we do trips to London, whatnot. London, Ontario, Ontario, specifically. or Kitchener, somewhere in that area. And she is not a happy road person.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Erica Sydney: And she gets very nervous driving because I don't drive. We don't share the trip. So my job is to be there with her throughout the whole process. So for her, we always highly caffeinate, and her job is to supply me with the caffeine. And my job is to entertain.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah. And keep her mind off of the stressors of driving on the highway.
>> Marco Timpano: And what do you do to entertain? Is it conversation?
>> Erica Sydney: Is, it partially. Yeah, definitely partially conversation. It's also my incredible singing voice.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know you had a great singing voice.
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that's true. Incredible doesn't necessarily mean fantastic.
>> Erica Sydney: That's right. As much as I love the sound of my own voice, not everyone else does.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go. Is there a particular genre of music that you enjoy? singing.
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, Disney classics.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes.
If your best song were to be critiqued, what would it be
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this just to circle back. If your best song, Disney song, that you were to present for Michelle Visage's critique, what would it be and what would you be wearing?
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, I have the answer for this.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
>> Erica Sydney: It would be I'll make a man out of you from the soundtrack from Mulan. which is that wonderful dichotomy of drag queen and I'm a woman. So it would be drag king.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful. Yes. Because when a woman gets in drag, she's referred to as a drag king.
>> Erica Sydney: Correct? That's right. So that the art of male impersonation.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Erica Sydney: That whole song is exactly that. It is all about a woman becoming a man, or man becoming manlier.
>> Marco Timpano: In this case, what would you be wearing?
>> Erica Sydney: Well, I do love a good tux, but I think for the case of the song, this is a warrior song. So I would have to be in warrior attire of some sort.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it. And what would be the highest praise that Michelle Visage could give you, dressed as a warrior, singing the song from Mulan called, I'll make a man out of you. I'll make a man out of you. What would be for you? The high. Hopefully she'll listen to this podcast, this episode anyways. But I'd like to know what would be the highest praise you could receive from Michelle Visage?
>> Erica Sydney: M. Let's see. If I was in front of them, I know what RuPaul would say.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, we're not bringing Ru into the.
>> Erica Sydney: But for Michelle specifically, this is her episode. I would hope that she would tell me that I slayed that Runway.
>> Marco Timpano: What a great pun. Because you'd be a warrior. That's perfection. Awesome. Well, listen, before we end the podcast.
Do you have any travel tips or audiobook tips for listeners traveling
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have any travel tips or audiobook tips for listeners who may not be into audiobooks or who may not have traveled large distances but are going to be doing so in the future?
>> Erica Sydney: Remember your chargers. Bring some sort of, battery device so that you can charge as you go if you're going any great distance, because you don't know when your next stop is going to be or how long you'll be there to charge up these things for your audio books to listen on.
>> Marco Timpano: And don't assume that they'll have an outlet that works or an outlet at all on the vehicle for your charging needs.
>> Erica Sydney: Correct? Correct. Yeah. It doesn't matter what you're traveling by, you cannot rely on anyone else but yourself to handle your audiobooks.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Erica. Sydney, thank you so much for being a part of the Insomnia Project today.
>> Erica Sydney: Thank you for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm so glad. We took this tour not only by transit, but audiobook. And we took a little stop at Michelle Visage, which I never thought those intersecting, intersecting topics would come together, but I'm so glad they dovetailed.
>> Erica Sydney: Well, I'm glad too. This was fun. Thanks for having me on the show.
>> Marco Timpano: Anytime. And for our listeners, thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. If you've managed to make it to the end, of course, we are the only podcast we hope you don't make it to the end of. But if you have and you'd like to follow us on various social media, you can find us on Twitter istenandsleep, and of course on Instagram and on Facebook. We are the Insomnia Project. Visit Our Patreon page, patreon.com theinsomniaproject and if you feel so inclined and you're like, I just don't know what to do with the rest of my evening or day, give us a five star review on itunes. Stitcher, pod, whatever you listen to a podcast on Podcast Addict, I think is one radio public. Where do you listen to podcasts?
>> Erica Sydney: so I download them from, audible.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. Wherever you listen, give us a five star review and just tell us if this podcast is one that you enjoy. We certainly enjoy having you as listeners and until the next time, we hope you will listen and sleep. Sam.
(Original airdate: Aug 26, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back Relax and listen. As we have a conversation about the mundane, one thing that we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating. Or at the very least, we will try to make it less than fascinating so that you can feel free to just drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep.
Erica Sydney: It was last minute. We kind of, uh. I knew we were gonna get together
I am your host, Marco Tampano, and joining me today is Erica Sydney. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Erica Sydney: Thanks for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for coming. So last minute as well. We kind of, Not only was it last minute, but I meant to Facebook message you, and I guess it didn't go through, so it was a little bit up in the air.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah. That's okay, though. I knew we were gonna get together. I just wasn't sure what time.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Erica Sydney: But we made it happen, so that's all that matters.
>> Marco Timpano: You were just talking about how you love taking transit and transit in our city. And not only that, but I know that you took a really long and circuitous bus trip way back when.
Let's talk about transit and what you like about our transit
So I wanna start by talking about transit.
>> Erica Sydney: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: And the things you love about transit. We can leave all the stuff behind that we dislike, but let's talk about transit and what you like about our transit or transit in general.
>> Erica Sydney: Okay, great. well, let's start off with. I like the length of time it takes me to commute to work because it gives me time to sit down and listen to an audiobook or a podcast or some music on my phone.
>> Marco Timpano: So how long does it take you to get to work?
>> Erica Sydney: So not so bad anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: right now it only takes me about 20 minutes, but about six months ago, it took me probably an hour.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And, okay, so I love audiobooks. Yeah, I love them when they were audio cassettes. So I've been listening to audiobooks when I would get them on cassette for my car. So that's how long I've been listening. And for our listeners who don't know what a cassette is, you'll just have to look it up because I don't have the time to explain. What is the genre of audiobook that you like? Really?
>> Erica Sydney: Right now I'm really into Joe Hill, kind of a little bit of horror, mystery, that kind of stuff. yeah, I just. I love a little bit of fantasy in my life, and dark fantasy, for me is kind of where I lean.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a great podcast that you need to listen to called On a Dark Cold Night. Dark Cold Night, yes. Kristen Zaza is the host and she will be a guest on the Insomnia Project. And she's a friend. and it is. I think you'll really enjoy it and I recommend it to our listeners as well. It's kind of in that genre.
>> Erica Sydney: Is it like, story based?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, she writes the story. They're short, they're not like long. But they're wonderfully written and wonderfully read.
David Sedaris says listening to audiobooks helps him stay engaged
which brings me to my next question. So for me, I love listening to nonfiction and in particular, biographies. But for me, the voice was key. So if I put on a audiobook and the person reading didn't resonate with my ears, in other words, I didn't like the sound, I would quickly pop it out and not listen.
>> Erica Sydney: I have forced myself to make it through a book, even though the voice, was not as entertaining as I'd hoped.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: but I've been lucky. I agree with you on like, reading biographies. I read one recently. it was Michelle Visage's book, and she's one of the hosts on RuPaul's Drag Race.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. She was a singer as well.
>> Erica Sydney: She was. And she also is a radio personality.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Erica Sydney: So her voicing her own story was just so incredibly interesting to listen to. she spoke with so much passion and she's so funny.
>> Marco Timpano: I love her because she is a person who's able to balance humor.
>> Marco Timpano: Honesty. And she knows the space in which she speaks. And it might not be a space that, you know, she was born into, but a space that she has learned and delved into. And she speaks with authority and intelligence and humor. And she's also great at dishing it out. But what I respect about her is she's also great at receiving that feedback. I'd love to have her as a guest. But above and beyond that, I love watching her because I find her entertaining, informative, and intelligent.
>> Erica Sydney: I agree, I agree with all of that. she also, to me, is just one of those people that. She's had some rough patches in her life and she is not ashamed of them. And I really respect that about people.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: She's not hiding the shadier sides of herself. She is who she is and she's proud of who she is.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah.
>> Erica Sydney: And if you're not on board with that, well, as they say, their opinions are not your problem.
>> Marco Timpano: And she's lived a life and you can tell. Ah. And I think that speaks to her honesty. and her ability to dish and receive with, a smile and a wink is the best way I can sort of describe it. For me, that might not be how you, gravitate Towards Michelle. Visage. But that's how I see it.
>> Erica Sydney: I'd agree. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I listened to a bunch of biographies, and there are some that surprised me. Like, I would rotate through so many. Do you find that by listening to audiobooks, you can get through quite a few faster than if you were to physically sit and read them?
>> Erica Sydney: Yes or no?
>> Marco Timpano: I had a lot of. I had a high burn rate of my. Of the books I was going through.
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Erica Sydney: yeah, for me, it depends. Again, I don't make a lot of time in my life to sit down and read a book anymore. As a kid, I definitely did.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: Even as a teenager. Especially as a teenager. but as an adult, I find myself constantly on the go and I get motion sickness, so I can't read on the go.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm like that. If I'm in a car or bus, I can't read. Plane is a different thing. But not in a car or bus.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah. I can't read on anything that's moving. Wow. Yeah. Even if I'm texting and walking, I start getting nauseous.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: Another weird thing about myself is that if I'm in a vehicle for more than about 45 minutes, I fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: So what I find about audiobooks is they actually help me stay engaged.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah. Without, you know, keeping me so aware of all the things happening around me.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah, sure.
>> Marco Timpano: I also grew to like authors by sticking with it. So listening to a voice that I might not have enjoyed for me was David Sedaris. At first, I couldn't get behind his voice. And then there was a turning point. He told the story that. Where his voice, for me, really played into it. And then I read or I listened to everything he had written up until that point and really sort of fell in love with his writing and his speaking.
>> Erica Sydney: Interesting. Okay. I can't even think. I don't think I can think of what his voice sounds like to me.
>> Marco Timpano: It's got a high pitched, nasally Southern twang to it.
>> Erica Sydney: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Is the best. I'm sure if he hears this, he'll be like, what is this person speaking about?
How do you feel about your voice? Because I don't love listening to my voice
But that's how I interpret the voice.
>> Erica Sydney: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you feel about your voice? Because I don't love listening to my voice. and even the listeners will write an email and say, oh, your voice is so soothing. I listen to it and I think, oh, it's the last thing I want to hear is my voice.
>> Erica Sydney: Without sounding super conceited. I love my voice.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah, I love talk. Like, I am a good talker. I like to chat with people, but I like the sound of my own voice. I like hearing it recorded. So maybe that makes me conceited.
>> Marco Timpano: Not at all.
Do you want to record audiobooks? Oh, I would love to
So then next question would be, do you want to record audiobooks?
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, I would love to. Do you have an audiobook in mind? Is there something I was going to
>> Marco Timpano: ask you is that if you could read an audiobook? What audiobook or genre or if there's an actual book that you're like, I would love to read this book.
>> Erica Sydney: You know what? I would love to read something that is, or be the reader on something that is sci fi or fantasy based. Something very whimsically.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: I just think I could bring a lot of depth to that.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: For me, it would be, once again a nonfiction. Maybe not a biography, but something nonfiction.
>> Erica Sydney: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know why. I just, you know, on paper you would think Marco, doesn't seem like the type of person who would be into nonfiction. And then in reality, I love self help books, I love new age books, I love biographies, and I love a lot of nonfiction.
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, well, that's great because I love the sound of your voice and I would definitely read all of those things.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's very kind of you to say.
You took a Greyhound trip across Canada from Toronto to Calgary
I want to get to this bus trip you took. Oh, yes, you had mentioned it earlier. So walk me through or drive me through the route that you had taken.
>> Erica Sydney: So we left out of Toronto and it was a Greyhound trip across Canada all the way to Calgary. So basically, I think that worked out to be about two and a half days in a bus.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah. Sharing one moving toilet with like 30ish people the whole way.
>> Marco Timpano: Would you stop in various cities and get out or was it, you know, just like everyone got on in Toronto and everyone got off in Calgary?
>> Erica Sydney: no, there are definitely stops along the way. People get on and off as you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: so it's a, you know, there's definitely rotating people throughout.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: which is good and bad because if there was somebody who particularly didn't enjoy their snoring or loud talking or, you know, mouth chewing, hopefully they got off in a couple of hours.
>> Marco Timpano: How long was that trip in total?
>> Erica Sydney: Again? It was about two and a half days, I believe.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Erica Sydney: Memory serves. Yeah. And that's of course, if you were to drive that in a car, it wouldn't take that long. I don't think it's because you're on a bus and you have to make all those stops, all those courtesy stops, and for the bus drivers to switch places and ask their pee breaks because, fun fact, they don't pee on the bus, Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah.
Coming up through Ontario and all the way up through to Winnipeg has beautiful scenery
>> Marco Timpano: And, did you see anything out the window that was interesting or was it just like, fields and highways? And fields and highways.
>> Erica Sydney: So coming up through Ontario and all the way up through to Winnipeg, it's a lot of beautiful scenery. Lots of hills and rocks and trees, and you don't realize how much of Ontario is actually just nature and gorgeous.
>> Marco Timpano: what struck you the most? Did you see any wildlife?
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, yes. I mean, there's a. We're in Canada. There's always wildlife. I'm not sure if there's anything we saw along that trip, specifically. I know there was some deer. There's always deer along that path. but no big, like, no moose or anything like that on that trip.
>> Marco Timpano: But it doesn't have to be big to be striking.
A lizard wearing a fur coat was spotted on Hawaii's big island
So when we were driving on the big island of Hawaii, Amanda, who, you know, my wife, we were driving and this animal sort of darted really quickly across our, you know, the road in front of us. And we were, like, struck by it. We're like, what is that? And I think I saw it first. And Amanda said, what? And I said, it was an animal I've never seen before. And she's like, what was it? And I said, it was like a lizard wearing a fur coat. And she's like, what? And then, I swear, moments later, one of these lizards wearing a fur coat ran past us. And she's like, it's like a New York lizard wearing a Upper west side fur coat. And I'm like, what is this animal? So we were texting with our friends here who love Hawaii and have been, and we're like, we just saw an animal that looks like a lizard wearing a fur coat. Can you help us figure this out? Because you've been to Hawaii. So they started to text us native species, native Hawaiian species of animals that aren't found here on, mainland North America, especially in the colder climates.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Things like skinks and, other animals, prairie dog type things. And we're like, no, think lizard with a fur coat.
>> Erica Sydney: Please tell me you found out what it was.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a mongoose. So it's a non native species to Hawaii that was brought to deal with, I think, rats in the fields.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But I think, one of them is nocturnal and the other isn't. So it didn't quite work out. But of course, when you bring non native species, they can really proliferate. And that's what happened with the mongoose. And it's the big. We were on the big island, but our friends had been on other islands where they're not as prevalent. And so it was difficult for them to figure out what the animal was. But kudos to them because they did say, is it a mongoose? And I thought, it might be a mongoose. But I know a mongoose not low to the ground. I always, whenever I see a mongoose, it's on its hind legs and upright. So I didn't.
>> Marco Timpano: Studies show that 100% of everybody in the world wants to curl up indoors and do nothing because it's so darn cold out there. That's why many people are turning to Bombas, whose pillowy plush slippers and warm merino wool socks have been said to be the most comfortable in the history of feet. Bomba's products have been found to boost coziness by up to 1 million percent. Okay, enough fake statistics. But could Bomba's socks and slippers really be the Cure? Go to bombas.com audio and use code audio for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O-M-B-A-S.com and use code audio.
>> Marco Timpano: Know what Mongoose looked like when it was scurrying?
>> Erica Sydney: Interesting.
You went from Ontario to the Prairies in less than two hours
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways, long story for the mongoose, but back to you and your travels in Ontario.
>> Erica Sydney: well, now I can't stop thinking about the mongoose. yeah. Oh, gosh, where do I go back to?
>> Marco Timpano: I think we went to like, what were some of the impressive or things you saw in the landscape or nature?
>> Erica Sydney: So one of the things again I talked about, there's all these rock cliffs and if you're driving along the TransCanada highway, what you'll notice is that on some of these rock cliffs there's all these, stacked rocks.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Erica Sydney: and I know that it's an indigenous symbol.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: But I cannot for the life of me remember what it means, unfortunately.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it the Inukshuk or.
>> Erica Sydney: I think so, yes. Yes. Where it looks like little stacks of people almost. And I remember just passing by so many of those and just feeling that like, yeah, we're in Canada. Ah, like we're definitely in Canada. and then as we got through to kind of the northern parts of the province, the roads become very windy. Oh, yeah. especially if you're going any sort of off road areas to that which we mostly stayed on the highway, on this trip.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: But definitely it was interesting seeing the landscape change so rapidly and so quickly. And then as you come out of Winnipeg and you start going to the Prairies, all of a sudden everything just goes.
>> Marco Timpano: So you've exited Ontario, now you're in Manitoba.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a visible distinction? One, you go from one province to the other.
>> Erica Sydney: I don't find that there's one going from Ontario to Manitoba. Manitoba over to the Prairies. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay, so. So let's get there at some point. But I didn't mean to interrupt what you were saying.
>> Erica Sydney: No, no, it's okay. so yes, as you go into the Prairies, everything just kind of stops and goes flat.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Erica Sydney: And I know people think that it's boring, you know, the drive across.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because there's all the receptionists. You know, I could see my dog run. Run away for miles and miles. Right. I think that's a joke that they make in the Prairies.
>> Erica Sydney: That's right. yeah, I've definitely heard a few of those in my day. But, I'd never actually been to the Prairies before, so I found it fascinating because I'd always lived in this sort of area of, well, some mountains, but mostly just rolly hills and trees.
>> Marco Timpano: Canadian Shield, if you will. Right, yes.
>> Erica Sydney: so to go from that to this just very. Oh, I was going to say plain, but that's not right. Flat landscape.
>> Marco Timpano: Prairie.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes. And then seeing the, you know, the sun go across, it was just wonderful. M. At the time it was summer, and the colors, I found it actually quite beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: Now, I know I'd mentioned before, if I'm in a vehicle for more than 45 minutes, you fall asleep. I fall asleep. So I spent a lot of this trip dozing in and out, which was kind of a magical experience because I'd fall asleep and then I would come to and I'd be in this whole other landscape, this whole other thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Almost like a kaleidoscope. Or maybe not a kaleidoscope, but you know, remember those Fisher Price things? You'd put a little circular disc in and there'd be like different photos and you click it.
>> Erica Sydney: The camera thing.
>> Marco Timpano: The camera thing. And the circular thing in the center would shift and bring another landscape, another slide. So you would kind of doze off and then when you woke up, another projected slide of a different part of Canada would appear in front of you.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that a good way to describe the Fisher Price rotating slide camera and your trip Across Ontario to Calgary, through, Manitoba.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes, that's a great example of it. And then of course, there was whatever was happening on the bus at that moment also to really bring you back to reality.
>> Marco Timpano: So when you would stop in various places, that would be your opportunity to go out and purchase beverages or food.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes. And stretch your legs, maybe take a phone call. when I made this trip, we had phones, but they weren't the smartphones that we have now.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: I wasn't going on Facebook with it. I was, you know, maybe texting a friend or playing that weird, wall breaking game.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: so it was definitely like a different experience in terms of entertaining oneself.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Erica Sydney: And yes, you'd get to like, stop at all these little convenience stops. And it wasn't like you didn't get to taste the cuisine of wherever you were, but it was like, you know, stop for a Twinkie and a coffee.
Your concept of distant travel is different than mine and my contemporary's idea
>> Marco Timpano: So that was your bus trip. Have you ever taken a train trip?
>> Erica Sydney: I have now. Not any great distance. I think I did it from Toronto, I want to say, to Ottawa maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's a bit of a chunk because to drive to Ottawa, it's about three and a half hours, maybe four.
>> Erica Sydney: You know, it's funny, growing up, where I did, which was in, again, northwestern Ontario, anywhere you had to go was a distance. So for me, three hours isn't a long drive. Even though I fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: for me, a long distance is like, yeah, 10 hours or plus.
>> Marco Timpano: It's all perspective.
>> Erica Sydney: It's perspective.
>> Marco Timpano: I find that when you run into Australians m, Their concept of distant travel is so different than, mine and my contemporary's idea of distant travel. Because for many Australians and New Zealanders who. We have a lot of listeners. So shout out to all the people in Asia Pacific who listen. But for them to get anywhere, it can take 10 plus hours to two days. And they're like, yeah, we just know that's what it's gonna be. We prepare for it and we're good. So a two, four hour trip for them feels like nothing. Yeah.
>> Erica Sydney: on the flip side of that coin, our dear friend Cloda.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. Who was on the podcast as well.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes, she told me. so she's from Ireland and I remember having a conversation with her when she first came to Canada about, distance and how she can't imagine traveling an hour. That is insane to her. That's a long ways. That is a journey. so yeah, it's that perspective of the different, you know, different cultures and different countries of how far far is.
If you're driving for five to seven hours, what do you do
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this, then. If five to seven hours is, you know, your sort of barometer of travel, time, what do you fill that time in with when you know you have that kind of length of drift? That is not sleep.
>> Erica Sydney: listening to music.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Audiobooks, of course.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes. Although audiobooks I've only gotten into recently. Okay, fair. So most of my road trips have been done with, you know, music. Lots, of CDs back in the day.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Erica Sydney: Or cassette tapes on the odd occasion. and chatting with whoever you're traveling with. So I don't drive myself, which is why I had to take this Greyhound in this particular case.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: So when I have done road trips, it's been with friends or family that drive, and my job as passenger is to keep them entertained.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, of course. That's a key. That's a key role. And one of the reasons I say not to listen to this podcast in the car. But when you are a driver, having someone who ensures that you're alert, especially if you're driving for a great deal of time, is so important. So the thing that always kind of made me uncomfortable is if I was driving and my passenger would doze off, I'd be like, I'd rather you be in the back and not dozing off beside me. And let someone who's in the back sit in the front. Or everyone stays in the back and I just stay alert in the front.
>> Erica Sydney: That's a great point. I have a lovely friend who I have traveled not great distances with, but we do trips to London, whatnot. London, Ontario, Ontario, specifically. or Kitchener, somewhere in that area. And she is not a happy road person.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Erica Sydney: And she gets very nervous driving because I don't drive. We don't share the trip. So my job is to be there with her throughout the whole process. So for her, we always highly caffeinate, and her job is to supply me with the caffeine. And my job is to entertain.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Erica Sydney: Yeah. And keep her mind off of the stressors of driving on the highway.
>> Marco Timpano: And what do you do to entertain? Is it conversation?
>> Erica Sydney: Is, it partially. Yeah, definitely partially conversation. It's also my incredible singing voice.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know you had a great singing voice.
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that's true. Incredible doesn't necessarily mean fantastic.
>> Erica Sydney: That's right. As much as I love the sound of my own voice, not everyone else does.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go. Is there a particular genre of music that you enjoy? singing.
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, Disney classics.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Erica Sydney: Yes.
If your best song were to be critiqued, what would it be
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this just to circle back. If your best song, Disney song, that you were to present for Michelle Visage's critique, what would it be and what would you be wearing?
>> Erica Sydney: Oh, I have the answer for this.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it.
>> Erica Sydney: It would be I'll make a man out of you from the soundtrack from Mulan. which is that wonderful dichotomy of drag queen and I'm a woman. So it would be drag king.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful. Yes. Because when a woman gets in drag, she's referred to as a drag king.
>> Erica Sydney: Correct? That's right. So that the art of male impersonation.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Erica Sydney: That whole song is exactly that. It is all about a woman becoming a man, or man becoming manlier.
>> Marco Timpano: In this case, what would you be wearing?
>> Erica Sydney: Well, I do love a good tux, but I think for the case of the song, this is a warrior song. So I would have to be in warrior attire of some sort.
>> Marco Timpano: I love it. And what would be the highest praise that Michelle Visage could give you, dressed as a warrior, singing the song from Mulan called, I'll make a man out of you. I'll make a man out of you. What would be for you? The high. Hopefully she'll listen to this podcast, this episode anyways. But I'd like to know what would be the highest praise you could receive from Michelle Visage?
>> Erica Sydney: M. Let's see. If I was in front of them, I know what RuPaul would say.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, we're not bringing Ru into the.
>> Erica Sydney: But for Michelle specifically, this is her episode. I would hope that she would tell me that I slayed that Runway.
>> Marco Timpano: What a great pun. Because you'd be a warrior. That's perfection. Awesome. Well, listen, before we end the podcast.
Do you have any travel tips or audiobook tips for listeners traveling
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have any travel tips or audiobook tips for listeners who may not be into audiobooks or who may not have traveled large distances but are going to be doing so in the future?
>> Erica Sydney: Remember your chargers. Bring some sort of, battery device so that you can charge as you go if you're going any great distance, because you don't know when your next stop is going to be or how long you'll be there to charge up these things for your audio books to listen on.
>> Marco Timpano: And don't assume that they'll have an outlet that works or an outlet at all on the vehicle for your charging needs.
>> Erica Sydney: Correct? Correct. Yeah. It doesn't matter what you're traveling by, you cannot rely on anyone else but yourself to handle your audiobooks.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Erica. Sydney, thank you so much for being a part of the Insomnia Project today.
>> Erica Sydney: Thank you for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm so glad. We took this tour not only by transit, but audiobook. And we took a little stop at Michelle Visage, which I never thought those intersecting, intersecting topics would come together, but I'm so glad they dovetailed.
>> Erica Sydney: Well, I'm glad too. This was fun. Thanks for having me on the show.
>> Marco Timpano: Anytime. And for our listeners, thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. If you've managed to make it to the end, of course, we are the only podcast we hope you don't make it to the end of. But if you have and you'd like to follow us on various social media, you can find us on Twitter istenandsleep, and of course on Instagram and on Facebook. We are the Insomnia Project. Visit Our Patreon page, patreon.com theinsomniaproject and if you feel so inclined and you're like, I just don't know what to do with the rest of my evening or day, give us a five star review on itunes. Stitcher, pod, whatever you listen to a podcast on Podcast Addict, I think is one radio public. Where do you listen to podcasts?
>> Erica Sydney: so I download them from, audible.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. Wherever you listen, give us a five star review and just tell us if this podcast is one that you enjoy. We certainly enjoy having you as listeners and until the next time, we hope you will listen and sleep. Sam.
Van Gogh Immersive
(Original airdate: August 31, 2020)
Marco Timpano welcomes Dale Voyer to Insomnia podcast
I'm Marco Timpano and I have a episode today that I'm excited about, so I'm going to try to just check my excitement. I had an opportunity to see an immersive art exhibit, the first I've ever seen, and I'm fortunate because a friend of mine is involved in it. So when I asked her, I said, would you mind coming on the podcast to talk about this experience I had. She was like, of course. So please let me welcome one of my dearest, most wonderful, talented, expressive genius of a friend, Dale Voyer. Welcome to the Insomnia project.
>> Speaker C: I am so excited to be here, and I'm also going to have to check my excitement.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Okay. So we're going to do our best to check our excitement, folks. I know that sometimes listeners will be saying things like the topic is too interesting. That said, Dale, I've had a lot of feedback from people who listen to the podcast in the morning as they start their day. They say they enjoy listening as they get up and as they get ready, because we talk about light, airy, somewhat interesting things. So perhaps that's the episode for them today. But hopefully we can lull you as well.
>> Speaker C: My intention is to lull and at the same time, talk about this experience you got to have at the exhibit.
The immersive Van Gogh exhibit is 600,000 cubic feet
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so first of all, it's called the. And correct me if I'm wrong, immersive, Van Gogh exhibit.
>> Speaker C: That is correct.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm going to describe it, and you're going to correct me because I'm sure I'm going to do not the best job. So what happens is. M. And what's unique about this exhibit in particular is that you actually walk or drive into a large area, and Van Gogh's work appears around you in 360 degrees. And it is simply spectacular and jaw dropping. Did I describe it correctly, Dale?
>> Speaker C: I think I can expand on that a little bit, please. M. The exhibit is actually 600,000 cubic feet. So it was actually an old printing press, is what the exhibit is housed in. it is large enough to drive vehicles into, and it's actually so large that we created two galleries for it. One for people to walk through and another for people to literally drive their cars into. And I should add, the floor is also projections.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's more than 360, really, because 360 would be all. If you spun your head around, you would hit 360. But if you go down. And is it on the ceiling as well?
>> Speaker C: It is not on the ceiling. However, there are mirror effects in the center of the room that gives it a, kind of endless quality at times.
>> Marco Timpano: I never had an opportunity to look up, Dale, because there was so much going around me and there was so much to take in, and there was the lovely sounds of the music, and I was in my car. I have yet to do the one where I walk in, which I'm excited to do. Because I feel like the experience will be as great, but different.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, they are very different. Many people say in the car, it can feel a little bit like they're floating or flying up into the paintings in a way. for myself, I've never had an experience in my own vehicle where I feel comfortable. Yes. You know, you get in your car every day. It's very familiar place. And then to have projections around your car to suggest that almost it's moving on an axis that it wouldn't move on, not forwards or backwards, but up,
>> Marco Timpano: was pretty magical, now that you mention it. It certainly feels like you're floating, or at least that was my experience. But the great thing is you're floating inside Van Gogh's artwork. So it's almost like, you know, when you see an animation of cartoons that kind of like fall from the sky, and behind them, all these different patterns are kind of appearing. It felt like I didn't dove into a painting and it was all around me.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, that's when you describe that. I almost think of that Homer Simpson episode where he has the hot sauce and he goes on an adventure. That, to me, feels kind of similar. Yeah, definitely. Very moving when you allow yourself to just be truly taken away with it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. M. Why Van Gogh?
>> Speaker C: I think Van Gogh, for a lot of people, is. You know, many, people say he never sold any art. He never knew what a genius he was. He was an outsider. And there's no question when you see Van Gogh's works in person, they're. They're different than what was happening at the time. And I think people can relate to that. It's also, the color is stunning.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the irises, everything that you're. The sunflowers when you're in that. What a great world to be in. Right. And how striking and inspiring and awesome it is.
>> Speaker C: I had never really seen or known much about almond blossoms. His piece, it's blue and I am, full. It's become one of my favorite pieces of art. I think it's so gorgeous in a way that I've never appreciated until I saw it in massive. Five stories being pulled apart.
>> Marco Timpano: And to see the. To see the brushstrokes and to hear a bit of the history and to hear music and hear the stories of Van Gogh while you get to see the paintings and, just see it all around you. And the brushstrokes. One of the things that I loved was you get. You can. Some of the imagery brings you right in to see brushstrokes that he did in some of his most famous paintings and some of his not so famous paintings. I thought it was incredible.
This art exhibit was designed and conceived by Massimiliano Siccardi
Okay, so, Dale, this art exhibit is about Vanko, but who brought it to life?
>> Speaker C: Oh, actually, it was, designed and conceived by Massimiliano Siccardi, and the music and soundtrack was done by Luco Longobardi.
>> Marco Timpano: Luca Longobardi. Okay. And it was brought to the venue that I saw by Lighthouse Immersion.
>> Speaker C: That's right. Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: So there's many people involved to bring this to light.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, Massimiliano and Luca put together the, Atelier de Lumiere in Paris,
>> Marco Timpano: and that was the first time it was displayed.
>> Speaker C: That's right. And this is a completely different exhibit.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, how so?
>> Speaker C: They've created different, ah, way of putting the pictures together and the art together as well as it's a different venue. So each venue is put together uniquely created for that space. So this one, each one is uniquely made for the Toronto Star printing press.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like a snowflake. Right. Each exhibit will be different in each city.
>> Speaker C: That's right. It's quite remarkable what Sicardi did with the, paintings themselves. He has pulled them apart in a way that allows you to focus on, like you said, brushstrokes and also grouping paintings together to give them a context. I thought there's a very stunning moment when, he combines photos with. Sorry. He combines images of Van Gogh's time at the, hospital where he was staying. And he does this with a. With a way of putting together doorways and paintings and the outside orchard, in a way that you would never see all those paintings at the same time. And it was a prolific time for him. He was doing a painting a day, which is unheard of at the time.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
It's seamless. When you're there, you don't even know what's going on
So can you pull back the curtain and give us insight to what's going on and how much technology is working? Because it's seamless. When you're there, you don't even know what's going on. Like, you're just in the experience. And I wasn't thinking of what was going on. But are you able to give us a little glimpse of how many projections or how much. What's going on there?
>> Speaker C: Absolutely. A lot of people will reach out and say, oh, it's just a projection. It's a projector. It's actually about 60 projectors, and they're overlapped on top of each other and working together in a, complex grid in order to kind of. How's the word? Knit together the image in a Way that feels seamless from the ceiling, down the wall, across the floor and up the other wall, as well as a sound system that is enormous, goes all the way around the room. And the grid system itself has some enormous thing, like 10,000 square feet of truss that all 60 projectors had to be put on on the floor and then raised together on one day. And it went up inch by inch by inch. And, of course, the team is, very trained, and, it wasn't worrying to them, but to someone like me, who has not seen such an amazing feat, it was really remarkable. Wow. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know what's funny, Dale, is you don't. It's. It's done so well that as a spectator. Spectator, you don't even stop to think, how is this being done? Because you're in it. And only speaking with you that I'm like, how exactly? is it very complex? It's seamless. That's the beautiful part of it. I think you don't notice what's going on because it's very seamless. Like you said, it's knitted together, dovetailed together so well that the spectator is just in awe.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. And a lot of patrons will come and just find a spot on the floor. Some people like to, have a cushion. They'll sit on the floor, and they'll sit for hours and just watch the exhibit cycle through. Sit in different areas of the room. And I think you really can get lost, truly lost in it.
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Immersive Van Gogh exhibit being put on in Toronto
>> Marco Timpano: So brilliant. Let me ask you this. So this is being put on by Lighthouse Immersive.
>> Speaker C: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's called Immersive Van Gogh exhibit. And I'm fortunate because it's in my home city of Toronto. But if we have listeners who are like, you know what? I live in Minneapolis, and I would love to see this, or I live in, Manchester, UK And I would love to see this. Can they reach out to, Immersive Van Gogh and just say, hey, bring it to our city?
>> Speaker C: Yeah, we have a lot of people actually reach out almost daily. From different cities and places, countries that would like to see it. What's pretty interesting about this exhibit itself is because it has a walk through and drive through quality to it, you can put it in almost any area. So as long as it's indoors, we can bring it. And knowing how quickly multiple galleries can come together, I'm excited to see where it's gonna go next.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. It's incredible. So they can just on all social media at Immersive Van Gogh and say, hey, Dale, bring it to our city, or hey, folks, bring it to our city and tell them why they should bring it to your wonderful city. And maybe they will. I'm making promises on behalf of them which I shouldn't.
>> Speaker C: I'm happy for these promises. I am gonna work for these promises. Tell me you're a listener of the Insomnia project and we will get it to.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
Dale is the social media manager for Immersive Vancouver's Van Gogh exhibit
Dale, let me ask you this. So you're the social media manager for Immersive Vancouver. What are some of the emails or your Twitters or tweets or Instagram things you got that really touched you with regards to this exhibit?
>> Speaker C: You know, I get on average probably anywhere between 200 and 300 comments a day. and they all vary in different types of comments that I get or different people that reach out. But it's pretty amazing, I think, when people get to visit it with different generations of family, we get people who will say, I got to go. I brought my parents and I brought my kids. And of course they look at an exhibit like that, completely different. You know, kids, it's so awe inspiring. And for adults, as we get older, you can, you can allow the images to make you feel what your experience is. You get to live in them. Right. you know, Van Gogh felt very strongly that, like, art was there to help us understand nature. He talks about it in his letters, to his brother, which he's prolific. If, if anyone has an opportunity to read the letters, they're all free online. You can go and read every letter that he did back and forth with his brother. His sister in law kept them all, published them, basically, his sister in law made him who he is, which she is the unsung hero. She is the absolute unsung hero of his story.
>> Marco Timpano: So let's sing her praises, dad.
>> Speaker C: Yes, I'm gonna sing Joanna's praises. Johan. Johanna had the foresight to remember and keep all of the letters that went back and forth between her husband and Vincent. And she took that opportunity to publish them.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: Make a name for herself. And also to really promote his work in a way that I don't think he ever expected it to be taken in by the, you know, populace.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds to me if it wasn't for Joanna, we wouldn't know van Gogh the way we know him today.
>> Speaker C: Oh, there's no question in my mind that we wouldn't know him. He had sold a few pieces. his brother was an art dealer. And so sure, he was friends with, you know, multiple artists and has had, you know, that famous fight with Gauguin and all of these stories. But the truth is, which you, you
>> Marco Timpano: learn this, you learn a bit more of that when you go to the exhibit. I'll just tell people that you'll dive into his life a bit as well. We won't go into that. Cause it can get exciting. But I will ask you in a moment, Dale, some interesting facts you may have learned about van Gogh.
You read Van Gogh's letters to his brother Johanna
>> Speaker C: Listen, I'm like, I feel like I
>> Marco Timpano: cut you off there. You were talking about, Johanna and the letters and how, prolific she was in bringing his work to light.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. And he, he was quite well read and really, he really loved religion and he really loved, helping and being close to the poor. And so you can really see it in his letters. And it's interesting. I never, you know, I'm a social media manager and ah, an actor. And I never thought I would be reading the lengths of Van Gogh's letters to his brother. And now that I have, I'm really thankful that I have.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
Van Gogh's immersive exhibit is called Immersive Van Gogh
So that leads me into what are some interesting facts or things you learned about van Gogh?
>> Speaker C: I like the one off interesting things that I find as we've been going along with research. So the other day I found a painting that actually had a grasshopper in it. And so it had been just sitting in the paint for, you know, whatever,
>> Marco Timpano: 100 years and, oh, an actual grasshopper was in the paint that ended up on the canvas.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So he used to paint outside and no one had looked close enough. And one day they were doing a, ah, cleaning or restoration of this piece and there was a grasshopper in it. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Reminds me of, you know, those bugs that get trapped in amber.
>> Speaker C: Yes. Like Jurassic park.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly. I was thinking Jurassic Park. Oh, that's really funny. Oh, what a great, what a great piece of information that is. What else have you learned about Van Gogh?
>> Speaker C: I think what's interesting is that he didn't have a lot of money. He was being bankrolled by his brother Basically. And that's a lot of the reason why there are so many self portraits of Van Gogh. I always thought he was some kind of narcissist that just painted himself a lot, because, you know, I'm not. I didn't go to school for art. I'm not a historian. But it turns out he did that because he couldn't pay for models, and so he painted himself.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Speaker C: And he was quite adamant that models that sit for him were paid.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great. That's great. What a fascinating exhibit. What a fascinating peek into what goes on beyond what we see. And, how interesting these little tidbits of information about Van Gogh himself. I would love to see this, type of immersive experience with other artists. Like, I could just. And this is bias, and my listeners know that I have a Canadian slant to me, but I would love to see the Group of Seven's work.
>> Speaker C: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: In this kind of thing.
>> Speaker C: I have said it in every meeting I can possibly say it. I just think that some of the Group of Seven's work on that scale would be breathtaking in a way. Just. I would love to experience it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, just imagine Lorne Harris, for example, who is my favorite Group of Seven. His brushstrokes were really definite, like, reminiscent of Van Gogh. And you could couple it with music that. That is uniquely Canadian in an immersive exhibit. I'll leave it there for people listening, who you work with to consider.
>> Speaker C: Well, you know what? There's actually a Group of Seven connection with Van Gogh.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no, I didn't know this.
>> Speaker C: there is a Group of Seven painting, and I am failing right now in who Did It. But there is a painting from one of the painters of Group of Seven through a window. children at play outside in the snow. And if you look on the windowsill, Van Gogh's Sunflowers, there is a print of his sunflowers print postcard in a Group of Seven painting. And I'm going to send it to you after this because it's really a surprise to see it.
>> Marco Timpano: And so, folks, you can look at our Instagram and I will post it there so that you can see what we're talking about here with regards to that Group of Seven, nodes to. Or the baton being passed from Van Gogh to the Group of Seven in some capacity. That's really, really great. once again, if you want to find out more information about this, immersive exhibit, it's called Immersive Van Gogh. Can they Just look that up. Just, type that in the Google search and it'll come up.
>> Speaker C: Google search should bring it up. Make sure you use Toronto to just make sure that you get us. You could also go to the website, which is Van goexhibit. Ca.
>> Marco Timpano: Great. Thank you so much.
Dale says he was completely moved by the immersive exhibit
Dale, before we go, tell me what your impressions were. Seeing it come from, you know, projectors in a box to what it is today. What are some sweeping moments you can tell me or experiences you had with this immersive exhibit that perhaps I will never have, or listeners may never have?
>> Speaker C: I can genuinely say I've been working with this company for a while. Usually they work with theatricals. although we have done art exhibits in the past. and I was not expecting to be as moved as I was when I saw it. If I'm being quite frank. I like art and I enjoy it, but I wasn't. Many of the team members had actually gone to Paris to see the creators. one that they did at the, Atelier de Lumiere in Paris, which had, like, 2 million people go and see it or something. So obviously it was very popular and people were explaining it to me, but I was like, okay, yeah, sure. Then to actually, to. Actually. The first time I got to experience it was in its entirety was in my car. And when the lights went out and it started, I was completely moved, completely transfixed by it in a way that I was not expecting to be. So I would say that I'm a convert at this point.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure people are moved to tears when they see this because it is so special.
>> Speaker C: They, are. It's a very special exhibit at a very special time. And I think it's. You know, art is a salve, and I think that in this way, people can experience it with their families. And it's great. It's great.
>> Marco Timpano: The wonderful thing for me with regards to this. And in case you're hearing noise behind Dale, that's some cars on the street behind you.
>> Speaker C: Right. I'm so sorry. I live right on Queen Street.
>> Marco Timpano: It's kind of hypnotic, but I'm sure listeners are like, what are those sounds? I always like to identify if you're
>> Speaker C: familiar with the Toronto streetcars. right. The iconic Toronto streetcars are only a few feet from my front door.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
One of the things I love about this Van Gogh exhibit is its size
here's one thing I love about this exhibit, and I know I've been going on about it, but it really struck me, I have to say. I know I'm kind of gushing, but I have seen Van Gogh's works in various museums throughout the world. In New York, in Chicago, in Paris, and I think we even have one in Toronto that I may have seen. And so you see the work in front of you, and it's striking and awesome. And whether you like Van Gogh or not, you can appreciate, or one could appreciate what they're seeing. But to see all that work at one time in a immersive exhibit, you get to see sort of a good portion of the body of this artist's work in front of you and get an. An in depth kind of feel for it. That's one of the things that I think is so unique and so special about this exhibit.
>> Speaker C: Well, listen, I'll let the producers know that was. That was their intention. So it's interesting, I think, if I recall, Van Gogh's pieces are very small. Like, there are the ones I have seen have been quite small.
>> Marco Timpano: See, it's interesting because that's something that they say about the Mona Lisa as well. I don't think they're small. I think our perception of what we expect to see is larger than what it is because we tend to see these images in books and on screensavers, let's say, and in so many different places that you have this expectation that it's going to be grand. And they are grand. But I think in North American perspectives, we have this idea that grand is often bigger. And they're not eight by tens, but they're slightly bigger than that. I would say they're the standard size of a. A canvas that you buy. Or perhaps at that time.
>> Speaker C: I feel like my memory is like the tiniest thing, but maybe I just remember things small.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe you do. That's not a bad thing. how do you remember things, folks? Small, big or m? Medium? As I like to give options to my niece when I ask her how does she love me? Small, big, or medium? She always goes with medium. She likes to play her. Play her out.
>> Speaker C: You got to be safe about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, fair enough.
Lee Alexander welcomes Dale Boyer on Insomnia to discuss social media
Well, Dale, listen, this has been such a wonderful. Thank you for doing this, first of all. I really do appreciate it. And thank you to Lighthouse Immersive, who allowed you to be on my show to give us a glimpse of what's behind the curtain.
>> Speaker C: Listen, I'm so happy to be here. I love the show. I've been on it before. Thank you. I talked about snow tires or something, and it is my pleasure. I love your listeners, and I think it's great. I've personally listened to your show and not gotten to the end of it. So that's the idea.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the goal. Maybe we can have you back on to talk about social media in really in depth ways, because for some people, that'll put them right off.
>> Speaker C: Oh, listen, I have the most mundane analytics to talk about. It's really special. Get ready for the funnel.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you know what? I should have you look at my analytics for this show and we can just talk about people in Missouri and who's listening. Missouri to when they're listening.
>> Speaker C: For sure. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, that's awesome. Dale Boyer, or Dale Boyer, thank you so much for being a part of the Insomnia project today. My pleasure, as always. You can, you know, follow us, rate us, review us whatever you like. But please take a look at all, Mersive Van Gogh. We'll have it in the show notes so that you can see what's going on on their Instagram, their Twitter, and see what. What I've tried to explain. And it's so hard to explain art in a audio way. Unless the art is some sort of crazy, crazy music type thing that's been. That's happening.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. You could say this podcast is a type of art.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Digital. Digital art.
>> Speaker C: Staying talking. Chill, Lee. In a chill way.
>> Marco Timpano: Chillaxing. Yeah, for sure. Dale, thanks again. Have a great evening.
(Original airdate: August 31, 2020)
Marco Timpano welcomes Dale Voyer to Insomnia podcast
I'm Marco Timpano and I have a episode today that I'm excited about, so I'm going to try to just check my excitement. I had an opportunity to see an immersive art exhibit, the first I've ever seen, and I'm fortunate because a friend of mine is involved in it. So when I asked her, I said, would you mind coming on the podcast to talk about this experience I had. She was like, of course. So please let me welcome one of my dearest, most wonderful, talented, expressive genius of a friend, Dale Voyer. Welcome to the Insomnia project.
>> Speaker C: I am so excited to be here, and I'm also going to have to check my excitement.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Okay. So we're going to do our best to check our excitement, folks. I know that sometimes listeners will be saying things like the topic is too interesting. That said, Dale, I've had a lot of feedback from people who listen to the podcast in the morning as they start their day. They say they enjoy listening as they get up and as they get ready, because we talk about light, airy, somewhat interesting things. So perhaps that's the episode for them today. But hopefully we can lull you as well.
>> Speaker C: My intention is to lull and at the same time, talk about this experience you got to have at the exhibit.
The immersive Van Gogh exhibit is 600,000 cubic feet
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so first of all, it's called the. And correct me if I'm wrong, immersive, Van Gogh exhibit.
>> Speaker C: That is correct.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm going to describe it, and you're going to correct me because I'm sure I'm going to do not the best job. So what happens is. M. And what's unique about this exhibit in particular is that you actually walk or drive into a large area, and Van Gogh's work appears around you in 360 degrees. And it is simply spectacular and jaw dropping. Did I describe it correctly, Dale?
>> Speaker C: I think I can expand on that a little bit, please. M. The exhibit is actually 600,000 cubic feet. So it was actually an old printing press, is what the exhibit is housed in. it is large enough to drive vehicles into, and it's actually so large that we created two galleries for it. One for people to walk through and another for people to literally drive their cars into. And I should add, the floor is also projections.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's more than 360, really, because 360 would be all. If you spun your head around, you would hit 360. But if you go down. And is it on the ceiling as well?
>> Speaker C: It is not on the ceiling. However, there are mirror effects in the center of the room that gives it a, kind of endless quality at times.
>> Marco Timpano: I never had an opportunity to look up, Dale, because there was so much going around me and there was so much to take in, and there was the lovely sounds of the music, and I was in my car. I have yet to do the one where I walk in, which I'm excited to do. Because I feel like the experience will be as great, but different.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, they are very different. Many people say in the car, it can feel a little bit like they're floating or flying up into the paintings in a way. for myself, I've never had an experience in my own vehicle where I feel comfortable. Yes. You know, you get in your car every day. It's very familiar place. And then to have projections around your car to suggest that almost it's moving on an axis that it wouldn't move on, not forwards or backwards, but up,
>> Marco Timpano: was pretty magical, now that you mention it. It certainly feels like you're floating, or at least that was my experience. But the great thing is you're floating inside Van Gogh's artwork. So it's almost like, you know, when you see an animation of cartoons that kind of like fall from the sky, and behind them, all these different patterns are kind of appearing. It felt like I didn't dove into a painting and it was all around me.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, that's when you describe that. I almost think of that Homer Simpson episode where he has the hot sauce and he goes on an adventure. That, to me, feels kind of similar. Yeah, definitely. Very moving when you allow yourself to just be truly taken away with it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. M. Why Van Gogh?
>> Speaker C: I think Van Gogh, for a lot of people, is. You know, many, people say he never sold any art. He never knew what a genius he was. He was an outsider. And there's no question when you see Van Gogh's works in person, they're. They're different than what was happening at the time. And I think people can relate to that. It's also, the color is stunning.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, the irises, everything that you're. The sunflowers when you're in that. What a great world to be in. Right. And how striking and inspiring and awesome it is.
>> Speaker C: I had never really seen or known much about almond blossoms. His piece, it's blue and I am, full. It's become one of my favorite pieces of art. I think it's so gorgeous in a way that I've never appreciated until I saw it in massive. Five stories being pulled apart.
>> Marco Timpano: And to see the. To see the brushstrokes and to hear a bit of the history and to hear music and hear the stories of Van Gogh while you get to see the paintings and, just see it all around you. And the brushstrokes. One of the things that I loved was you get. You can. Some of the imagery brings you right in to see brushstrokes that he did in some of his most famous paintings and some of his not so famous paintings. I thought it was incredible.
This art exhibit was designed and conceived by Massimiliano Siccardi
Okay, so, Dale, this art exhibit is about Vanko, but who brought it to life?
>> Speaker C: Oh, actually, it was, designed and conceived by Massimiliano Siccardi, and the music and soundtrack was done by Luco Longobardi.
>> Marco Timpano: Luca Longobardi. Okay. And it was brought to the venue that I saw by Lighthouse Immersion.
>> Speaker C: That's right. Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: So there's many people involved to bring this to light.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, Massimiliano and Luca put together the, Atelier de Lumiere in Paris,
>> Marco Timpano: and that was the first time it was displayed.
>> Speaker C: That's right. And this is a completely different exhibit.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, how so?
>> Speaker C: They've created different, ah, way of putting the pictures together and the art together as well as it's a different venue. So each venue is put together uniquely created for that space. So this one, each one is uniquely made for the Toronto Star printing press.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like a snowflake. Right. Each exhibit will be different in each city.
>> Speaker C: That's right. It's quite remarkable what Sicardi did with the, paintings themselves. He has pulled them apart in a way that allows you to focus on, like you said, brushstrokes and also grouping paintings together to give them a context. I thought there's a very stunning moment when, he combines photos with. Sorry. He combines images of Van Gogh's time at the, hospital where he was staying. And he does this with a. With a way of putting together doorways and paintings and the outside orchard, in a way that you would never see all those paintings at the same time. And it was a prolific time for him. He was doing a painting a day, which is unheard of at the time.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
It's seamless. When you're there, you don't even know what's going on
So can you pull back the curtain and give us insight to what's going on and how much technology is working? Because it's seamless. When you're there, you don't even know what's going on. Like, you're just in the experience. And I wasn't thinking of what was going on. But are you able to give us a little glimpse of how many projections or how much. What's going on there?
>> Speaker C: Absolutely. A lot of people will reach out and say, oh, it's just a projection. It's a projector. It's actually about 60 projectors, and they're overlapped on top of each other and working together in a, complex grid in order to kind of. How's the word? Knit together the image in a Way that feels seamless from the ceiling, down the wall, across the floor and up the other wall, as well as a sound system that is enormous, goes all the way around the room. And the grid system itself has some enormous thing, like 10,000 square feet of truss that all 60 projectors had to be put on on the floor and then raised together on one day. And it went up inch by inch by inch. And, of course, the team is, very trained, and, it wasn't worrying to them, but to someone like me, who has not seen such an amazing feat, it was really remarkable. Wow. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know what's funny, Dale, is you don't. It's. It's done so well that as a spectator. Spectator, you don't even stop to think, how is this being done? Because you're in it. And only speaking with you that I'm like, how exactly? is it very complex? It's seamless. That's the beautiful part of it. I think you don't notice what's going on because it's very seamless. Like you said, it's knitted together, dovetailed together so well that the spectator is just in awe.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. And a lot of patrons will come and just find a spot on the floor. Some people like to, have a cushion. They'll sit on the floor, and they'll sit for hours and just watch the exhibit cycle through. Sit in different areas of the room. And I think you really can get lost, truly lost in it.
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Immersive Van Gogh exhibit being put on in Toronto
>> Marco Timpano: So brilliant. Let me ask you this. So this is being put on by Lighthouse Immersive.
>> Speaker C: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's called Immersive Van Gogh exhibit. And I'm fortunate because it's in my home city of Toronto. But if we have listeners who are like, you know what? I live in Minneapolis, and I would love to see this, or I live in, Manchester, UK And I would love to see this. Can they reach out to, Immersive Van Gogh and just say, hey, bring it to our city?
>> Speaker C: Yeah, we have a lot of people actually reach out almost daily. From different cities and places, countries that would like to see it. What's pretty interesting about this exhibit itself is because it has a walk through and drive through quality to it, you can put it in almost any area. So as long as it's indoors, we can bring it. And knowing how quickly multiple galleries can come together, I'm excited to see where it's gonna go next.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. It's incredible. So they can just on all social media at Immersive Van Gogh and say, hey, Dale, bring it to our city, or hey, folks, bring it to our city and tell them why they should bring it to your wonderful city. And maybe they will. I'm making promises on behalf of them which I shouldn't.
>> Speaker C: I'm happy for these promises. I am gonna work for these promises. Tell me you're a listener of the Insomnia project and we will get it to.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
Dale is the social media manager for Immersive Vancouver's Van Gogh exhibit
Dale, let me ask you this. So you're the social media manager for Immersive Vancouver. What are some of the emails or your Twitters or tweets or Instagram things you got that really touched you with regards to this exhibit?
>> Speaker C: You know, I get on average probably anywhere between 200 and 300 comments a day. and they all vary in different types of comments that I get or different people that reach out. But it's pretty amazing, I think, when people get to visit it with different generations of family, we get people who will say, I got to go. I brought my parents and I brought my kids. And of course they look at an exhibit like that, completely different. You know, kids, it's so awe inspiring. And for adults, as we get older, you can, you can allow the images to make you feel what your experience is. You get to live in them. Right. you know, Van Gogh felt very strongly that, like, art was there to help us understand nature. He talks about it in his letters, to his brother, which he's prolific. If, if anyone has an opportunity to read the letters, they're all free online. You can go and read every letter that he did back and forth with his brother. His sister in law kept them all, published them, basically, his sister in law made him who he is, which she is the unsung hero. She is the absolute unsung hero of his story.
>> Marco Timpano: So let's sing her praises, dad.
>> Speaker C: Yes, I'm gonna sing Joanna's praises. Johan. Johanna had the foresight to remember and keep all of the letters that went back and forth between her husband and Vincent. And she took that opportunity to publish them.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: Make a name for herself. And also to really promote his work in a way that I don't think he ever expected it to be taken in by the, you know, populace.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds to me if it wasn't for Joanna, we wouldn't know van Gogh the way we know him today.
>> Speaker C: Oh, there's no question in my mind that we wouldn't know him. He had sold a few pieces. his brother was an art dealer. And so sure, he was friends with, you know, multiple artists and has had, you know, that famous fight with Gauguin and all of these stories. But the truth is, which you, you
>> Marco Timpano: learn this, you learn a bit more of that when you go to the exhibit. I'll just tell people that you'll dive into his life a bit as well. We won't go into that. Cause it can get exciting. But I will ask you in a moment, Dale, some interesting facts you may have learned about van Gogh.
You read Van Gogh's letters to his brother Johanna
>> Speaker C: Listen, I'm like, I feel like I
>> Marco Timpano: cut you off there. You were talking about, Johanna and the letters and how, prolific she was in bringing his work to light.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. And he, he was quite well read and really, he really loved religion and he really loved, helping and being close to the poor. And so you can really see it in his letters. And it's interesting. I never, you know, I'm a social media manager and ah, an actor. And I never thought I would be reading the lengths of Van Gogh's letters to his brother. And now that I have, I'm really thankful that I have.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
Van Gogh's immersive exhibit is called Immersive Van Gogh
So that leads me into what are some interesting facts or things you learned about van Gogh?
>> Speaker C: I like the one off interesting things that I find as we've been going along with research. So the other day I found a painting that actually had a grasshopper in it. And so it had been just sitting in the paint for, you know, whatever,
>> Marco Timpano: 100 years and, oh, an actual grasshopper was in the paint that ended up on the canvas.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So he used to paint outside and no one had looked close enough. And one day they were doing a, ah, cleaning or restoration of this piece and there was a grasshopper in it. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Reminds me of, you know, those bugs that get trapped in amber.
>> Speaker C: Yes. Like Jurassic park.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly. I was thinking Jurassic Park. Oh, that's really funny. Oh, what a great, what a great piece of information that is. What else have you learned about Van Gogh?
>> Speaker C: I think what's interesting is that he didn't have a lot of money. He was being bankrolled by his brother Basically. And that's a lot of the reason why there are so many self portraits of Van Gogh. I always thought he was some kind of narcissist that just painted himself a lot, because, you know, I'm not. I didn't go to school for art. I'm not a historian. But it turns out he did that because he couldn't pay for models, and so he painted himself.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Speaker C: And he was quite adamant that models that sit for him were paid.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great. That's great. What a fascinating exhibit. What a fascinating peek into what goes on beyond what we see. And, how interesting these little tidbits of information about Van Gogh himself. I would love to see this, type of immersive experience with other artists. Like, I could just. And this is bias, and my listeners know that I have a Canadian slant to me, but I would love to see the Group of Seven's work.
>> Speaker C: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: In this kind of thing.
>> Speaker C: I have said it in every meeting I can possibly say it. I just think that some of the Group of Seven's work on that scale would be breathtaking in a way. Just. I would love to experience it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, just imagine Lorne Harris, for example, who is my favorite Group of Seven. His brushstrokes were really definite, like, reminiscent of Van Gogh. And you could couple it with music that. That is uniquely Canadian in an immersive exhibit. I'll leave it there for people listening, who you work with to consider.
>> Speaker C: Well, you know what? There's actually a Group of Seven connection with Van Gogh.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no, I didn't know this.
>> Speaker C: there is a Group of Seven painting, and I am failing right now in who Did It. But there is a painting from one of the painters of Group of Seven through a window. children at play outside in the snow. And if you look on the windowsill, Van Gogh's Sunflowers, there is a print of his sunflowers print postcard in a Group of Seven painting. And I'm going to send it to you after this because it's really a surprise to see it.
>> Marco Timpano: And so, folks, you can look at our Instagram and I will post it there so that you can see what we're talking about here with regards to that Group of Seven, nodes to. Or the baton being passed from Van Gogh to the Group of Seven in some capacity. That's really, really great. once again, if you want to find out more information about this, immersive exhibit, it's called Immersive Van Gogh. Can they Just look that up. Just, type that in the Google search and it'll come up.
>> Speaker C: Google search should bring it up. Make sure you use Toronto to just make sure that you get us. You could also go to the website, which is Van goexhibit. Ca.
>> Marco Timpano: Great. Thank you so much.
Dale says he was completely moved by the immersive exhibit
Dale, before we go, tell me what your impressions were. Seeing it come from, you know, projectors in a box to what it is today. What are some sweeping moments you can tell me or experiences you had with this immersive exhibit that perhaps I will never have, or listeners may never have?
>> Speaker C: I can genuinely say I've been working with this company for a while. Usually they work with theatricals. although we have done art exhibits in the past. and I was not expecting to be as moved as I was when I saw it. If I'm being quite frank. I like art and I enjoy it, but I wasn't. Many of the team members had actually gone to Paris to see the creators. one that they did at the, Atelier de Lumiere in Paris, which had, like, 2 million people go and see it or something. So obviously it was very popular and people were explaining it to me, but I was like, okay, yeah, sure. Then to actually, to. Actually. The first time I got to experience it was in its entirety was in my car. And when the lights went out and it started, I was completely moved, completely transfixed by it in a way that I was not expecting to be. So I would say that I'm a convert at this point.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure people are moved to tears when they see this because it is so special.
>> Speaker C: They, are. It's a very special exhibit at a very special time. And I think it's. You know, art is a salve, and I think that in this way, people can experience it with their families. And it's great. It's great.
>> Marco Timpano: The wonderful thing for me with regards to this. And in case you're hearing noise behind Dale, that's some cars on the street behind you.
>> Speaker C: Right. I'm so sorry. I live right on Queen Street.
>> Marco Timpano: It's kind of hypnotic, but I'm sure listeners are like, what are those sounds? I always like to identify if you're
>> Speaker C: familiar with the Toronto streetcars. right. The iconic Toronto streetcars are only a few feet from my front door.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
One of the things I love about this Van Gogh exhibit is its size
here's one thing I love about this exhibit, and I know I've been going on about it, but it really struck me, I have to say. I know I'm kind of gushing, but I have seen Van Gogh's works in various museums throughout the world. In New York, in Chicago, in Paris, and I think we even have one in Toronto that I may have seen. And so you see the work in front of you, and it's striking and awesome. And whether you like Van Gogh or not, you can appreciate, or one could appreciate what they're seeing. But to see all that work at one time in a immersive exhibit, you get to see sort of a good portion of the body of this artist's work in front of you and get an. An in depth kind of feel for it. That's one of the things that I think is so unique and so special about this exhibit.
>> Speaker C: Well, listen, I'll let the producers know that was. That was their intention. So it's interesting, I think, if I recall, Van Gogh's pieces are very small. Like, there are the ones I have seen have been quite small.
>> Marco Timpano: See, it's interesting because that's something that they say about the Mona Lisa as well. I don't think they're small. I think our perception of what we expect to see is larger than what it is because we tend to see these images in books and on screensavers, let's say, and in so many different places that you have this expectation that it's going to be grand. And they are grand. But I think in North American perspectives, we have this idea that grand is often bigger. And they're not eight by tens, but they're slightly bigger than that. I would say they're the standard size of a. A canvas that you buy. Or perhaps at that time.
>> Speaker C: I feel like my memory is like the tiniest thing, but maybe I just remember things small.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe you do. That's not a bad thing. how do you remember things, folks? Small, big or m? Medium? As I like to give options to my niece when I ask her how does she love me? Small, big, or medium? She always goes with medium. She likes to play her. Play her out.
>> Speaker C: You got to be safe about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, fair enough.
Lee Alexander welcomes Dale Boyer on Insomnia to discuss social media
Well, Dale, listen, this has been such a wonderful. Thank you for doing this, first of all. I really do appreciate it. And thank you to Lighthouse Immersive, who allowed you to be on my show to give us a glimpse of what's behind the curtain.
>> Speaker C: Listen, I'm so happy to be here. I love the show. I've been on it before. Thank you. I talked about snow tires or something, and it is my pleasure. I love your listeners, and I think it's great. I've personally listened to your show and not gotten to the end of it. So that's the idea.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the goal. Maybe we can have you back on to talk about social media in really in depth ways, because for some people, that'll put them right off.
>> Speaker C: Oh, listen, I have the most mundane analytics to talk about. It's really special. Get ready for the funnel.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you know what? I should have you look at my analytics for this show and we can just talk about people in Missouri and who's listening. Missouri to when they're listening.
>> Speaker C: For sure. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, that's awesome. Dale Boyer, or Dale Boyer, thank you so much for being a part of the Insomnia project today. My pleasure, as always. You can, you know, follow us, rate us, review us whatever you like. But please take a look at all, Mersive Van Gogh. We'll have it in the show notes so that you can see what's going on on their Instagram, their Twitter, and see what. What I've tried to explain. And it's so hard to explain art in a audio way. Unless the art is some sort of crazy, crazy music type thing that's been. That's happening.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. You could say this podcast is a type of art.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Digital. Digital art.
>> Speaker C: Staying talking. Chill, Lee. In a chill way.
>> Marco Timpano: Chillaxing. Yeah, for sure. Dale, thanks again. Have a great evening.
Bagels, Pizza & The Panel Show
(origianl airdate: August 12, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. We hope you will listen and sleep
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be hopefully less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm, your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me is a fellow podcaster, a creator, comedian, and a wonderful host himself, David Shore. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> David Shore: Thank you for having me, Marco. I'm very excited to be here. I don't want to sound too excited because I want people to fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: It's fine if you're excited off the top because it usually takes a few beats before people start to drift off, but I'm excited to have you because I've watched you perform over the years, and I think you're brilliant.
>> David Shore: That's very kind.
>> Marco Timpano: but also, you look like you could be related to me. Every time I see you, I think, wow, I feel this kinship, as if you're a relative of mine because you look so much like the Timpano side of my family. and I'm sorry if you take offense to that.
>> David Shore: No, I'm not insulting. No, I think. No, I don't remember you saying. I mean, I haven't seen you in a long time. I was in the UK for seven years, and I know I've seen you since coming back, but we bumped into each other a few weeks ago at that podcamp. Yeah. Because I have a lot of sleep problems. But I don't remember before moving to the UK if you had said to me, you know, you look like you could be in my family. So there's nothing. I don't know why.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's an odd thing to tell people, you know, you look like you could be related to me.
>> David Shore: Well, it's something you don't hear a lot. Sure, I think, but I don't. I didn't find it odd when you said it to me today. And certainly I think I mentioned, like, I'm Jewish. The old I become more ish and less Jew. and I've certainly had lots of Italians think that I'm Italian, because there are certain people, when I see them, it's like, I know you're Jewish. and, I don't particularly look Jewish, and I don't particularly have my first name. Like, David is a Jewish name, but my last name. Sure. Could be anything.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> David Shore: If I was David Goldberg, you would know from my name that I'm probably Jewish. but there could be. You know, it's funny, when I went to Western for my first degree in
>> Marco Timpano: university, that's, ah, a university in London, Ontario, for our international listeners.
>> David Shore: Yes. So University of Western Ontario. And I remember being pretty far away from the campus one day and I stopped at a sub place to get to get lunch, and it was an Italian guy, and he said to me, you know, and you know, he was from Italy. He's like, oh, so you're Italian? And I said, no, I'm Jewish. And he puts his fingers together, he goes, italians and Jews are like a dis. I just thought, that's really nice. And there's a lot of truth in that. And there's a lot of truth in it. I think it's more of a Mediterranean thing Mediterranean look. Because certainly if you go to Israel, you'll see lots of, men and women who look Mediterranean.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. I was just in Israel last year, and I certainly found that. And, I've mentioned it before in this podcast. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Israel, it is such a wonderful, wonderful place to be. Explore if you love history, if you love culture, or if you just love beaches and eating. The beach. speaking of eating.
>> David Shore: Yes.
Let's talk about cultural food. Since we started, that sort of connection with culture has grown
>> Marco Timpano: Let's talk about cultural food. Since we started, that sort of connection with culture.
>> David Shore: Yeah. Well, I was up. I try to have lunch with my uncles at least once or a couple times a month, and they meet daily at Kiva's.
>> Marco Timpano: Kiva's is arguably one of the better places to get bagels in Southern. I'm going to say bagels, because that's what I get there. I'm sure they have other great food.
>> David Shore: It's Kiva's bagels. Yeah, sure. They're known for their bagels. and so I was meeting them and I thought. And I was going up to my mother's after she lives in Thornhill, and I was telling you I was really craving a Dante's Pizza, which is this legendary pizza place in Thornhill. They don't deliver downtown. Because I looked into it and I thought, maybe I'll order pizza to bring home. But I didn't because I was really full and I have to watch what I eat since my Crohn's surgeries.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> David Shore: but I thought, oh, this might be interesting to talk about different bagels. And there's always a bagel debate in Toronto. And also I would love to get. If you have a place down. Oh, this is the best place for pizza downtown. Or, you know, like, I can't really eat pasta that much anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> David Shore: But I was thinking, because there is not just in the Jewish community, but in general, there's a debate over what's the best bagel in the city. And I'm a huge fan of Grice, which is owned by the Grice family. I don't know how long they've been making these bagels down on Bath or Street. But now whenever I go up to my mom's, I get a car share. I make time to stop at the bakery to pick up their bagels. They've also got these pizzas, these little pizzas they make, which are very basic but tasty. And I also get some regula. And at a lot of places in downtown Toronto, you can buy Greif's Bagels and they're fresh, but they cost more. So if I'm heading up there, I'll pick up a dozen.
When talking bagels, what is your preferred topping
>> Marco Timpano: When talking bagels, what is your preferred topping? If there is a topping on your bagel. So for example, do you like poppy seed, sesame seed? What is your go to?
>> David Shore: Good question. You know, it's either one of those. I like either poppy or sesame. And I've only found it recently because I would typically get the poppy seed bagel at Kiva's, but my uncle got one. It seemed like it had taken a bath in poppy seeds. And apparently you have to ask for the extra poppy seed bagel. It's really covered in it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the one I like. But if the bagel almost looks black because it has that many poppy seeds, I'm on board.
>> David Shore: I'm on board with that too.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm a big fan of the plain bagel too.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like sometimes you can really tell the quality of the bagel if it's plain. And that tips into pizza for me.
>> David Shore: Oh yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So if I'm in a pizza restaurant, a pizzeria, and they're making their own sort of personal sized pizza, so I'm getting a 12 inch, let's say eight slice pizza or six slice pizza for myself. Even a four slice if they, they do it like a, quadrants, let's say I'll always get a margarita. M. Because you can't mask your inability to make a pizza if you get the most basic. So I can tell if they know what they're doing. Because a margarita has three ingredients and it's all there, you know, right away you could add a whole bunch of different things. Sausage and spice and whatnot, and pineapples and different mushrooms and whatnot. Five mushrooms and some cream on top. And it will mask a lot of mistakes. So whenever I go to a place for the first time, I will always say I'll have a margarita. And I can tell right away if they know how to do it.
>> David Shore: Well now that makes a lot of sense. Do you have a go to place in the downtown area or midtown?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a great question. So for me, my preferred pizza would be a Neapolitan style pizza.
>> Marco Timpano: So it tends to be a bit chewier. The dough. And I go to a pizzeria for that.
>> David Shore: Is that the Neapolitan? Is that where it's quick fired in a specific type of oven for like 90 seconds? Is that or is it more the dough like you were just saying?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a bit of both. So they use this if it's going to be, How do I say this now, there is a classification, for Neapolitan style pizzas, because that's where the pizza was born, was in Naples. And if you want to have that classification, which you'll see in certain restaurants, you need to use flour from Italy, so double zero flour.
>> David Shore: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And you need to use San Marzano, tomatoes. So that's the tomato that's generally used for pizzas. It's a southern Italian tomato. And the products should be from that area. So from Naples we're looking at to be classified. For me, that's not that important. I think we have great tomatoes. I think our flour that we have here is perfectly acceptable. But a lot of these places will do that. The dough tends to be a bit chewier, almost like, and I hate to say this, but like a, Pita.
>> David Shore: Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It has that kind of feel to me.
>> David Shore: It's funny you say that because there's so many different types of pita.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> David Shore: And I find most of the downtown places, I don't like the falafel because the pita and whereas if I'm up in Thornhill, there's a place called Sababa's on Steel's. And they have their own, they make their own pita fresh every day. And it's a bit more doughy, but it's soft. It's soft and crispy. And their shawarma and falafel as a result is perfect. It reminded me of going to the beach in Israel and getting a falafel.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. So for me, that kind of texture that you just described is my preferred sort of feel. And so my m. Favorite places to go are, is teroni.
>> David Shore: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I know it's a, it's a well known restaurant. I just feel their consistency.
>> David Shore: Well known for a reason.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And the style that they do, Queen Margherita's great.
>> David Shore: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And the margarita was named after Queen Margarita when she visited Naples. So that's where they get their name.
>> David Shore: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And of course, if you, if, if one hasn't seen, Margherita pizza, it is tomato, fiordi latte or mozzarella cheese and basil. And those are the colors of the Italian flag. And hence they made it to welcome Queen Margherita when she was coming to Naples.
>> David Shore: Oh, that's interesting. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's where the origin of that. But if I'm having a Roman style pizza which tends to have a coarser dough and a, almost like a corn. It almost feels like it has a bit of grit in it. Cornmeal or whatnot. Not that I think it's made with cornmeal.
>> David Shore: It just has that sometimes the bottom's got a bit of a coating. Right. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I feel like, and I could be wrong, that they use cornmeal on the bottom. I don't have a particular place that I go for that, but there's been a couple restaurants that have done it really well here. And I do like a couple of the little bakeries that cook it, Especially these old school Italian bakeries will do a great job. Yeah.
Bill loves Montreal style bagels when you couldn't get them here
So for you bagel, do you prefer the bagels we get here or a Montreal style bagel, which we also can get here.
>> David Shore: It's funny, I love Montreal style bagels when you couldn't get them here. If I was ever going to Montreal or a friend was coming, I was like, get me some bagels. And I love them. And when you first could get them here, when Saint Urban first opened, sure, I couldn't get enough Montreal style bagels. And now I still love them. I've got some in my freezer, but it depends what you're having them with. Oh, I love that. Because depending what you're having, it's different. I mean, the texture is so different. The density is so different. Like a lot of times I'll make eggs in the morning, scrambled eggs. And I'll put. I'll get a grice bagel or a Kiva's bagel. M and I'll put some cream cheese on and put the eggs on top and it's got a nice melt. But with the Montreal bagel, because of
>> Marco Timpano: the shape, they tend to be smaller. If you're not familiar with the,
>> David Shore: Thinner.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they're a thinner bagel. They tend to be a little bit smaller. The dough tends to be denser.
>> David Shore: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's a sweetness.
>> David Shore: There is a sweetness.
>> Marco Timpano: I think they use honey when they make it, possibly. And there's a bit of a sweetness to them.
>> David Shore: Yeah. I know when I used to stay with friends in Montreal after summer camp, they would have loads of them in the freezer and they would cut them before freezing them so they could just toast them right away. So I thought that was really smart. And, that's the thing. Butter or margarine are amazing in them. Cream cheese and lux are great in them. But I find the egg, because of the narrowest and the big hole, they don't hold that as well. So it depends. Like, for me, it's not a great sandwich bagel.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> David Shore: But, if I'm having an open face, I like that.
>> Marco Timpano: but then you would be prudent to use a, New York style bagel if you're gonna have a sandwich, because they tend to be enormous or very. They have a lot of surface, I find.
>> David Shore: Well, it's funny, guys. I do love when I go to New York. I love getting bagels there. And you have a great selection of schmears in New York. And here it's a bit harder to get a good shmear. I like a white fish salad. Most places are out of it. Whenever I go, they only make it one day a week. I never go that day. But in New York, it's such an institution that I think that's why they have more choice in their schmear, which is a Yiddish term for spread here. it's funny, my favorite used to be my go to was the Kiva's Big Twister bagel.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> David Shore: which is a really big bagel and it's typically got some poppy and some sesame and salt on it. And it's also a good bagel for making a pizza bagel.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> David Shore: Which is here we're getting cross cultural. We're getting some fusion here. because that would give you a pretty big pizza bagel. Sure. but now, I mean, I was misdiagnosed as being, wheat, allergy for a number of years.
>> Marco Timpano: Intolerant or whatever.
>> David Shore: Yeah. Due to my Crohn's. And when I found out, oh, you can just get a. No one told me you can get a test. So if you think that wheat or gluten is an issue, just know you can get tested for that. So I had to go on gluten free bagels, which typically aren't very good because they're always frozen. Sure. But I did discover there's a place in Kensington Market, New bagel, and they make Montreal style bagels and they make their own gluten free. Even though I'm back on wheat, which was like the greatest thing ever. And I think the first thing I had was a Montreal bagel, which was just heaven. and I had the gluten free bagel at New Bagel, and it's really good. You wouldn't know that it's gluten free and it's fresh. That's the thing with gluten free. A lot of times, hard to find fresh baked goods or pastas. It's very difficult to find
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Some special interests are pushing the so called App Store Accountability act
>> Speaker D: We need to keep kids safe online, but some special interests are sending policymakers in the wrong direction. Pushing the so called App Store Accountability act, demanding government ID from all users just to download an app. Replacing parents judgment with government mandates. It doesn't even stand up in court. A, better bipartisan bill, the Parents over platforms act, would put parents in the driver's seat, empowering parents and businesses to keep kids safe without drowning all of us in red tape. Tell Congress to get it done right and put parents over platforms paid for
>> Marco Timpano: by act, the app association.
>> David Shore: And I want to ask you, have you ever tried. Have you heard of the. There's a small chain, I think it's an American chain. They've come to Canada. Have you heard of Pico, their pizza place?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I have actually.
>> David Shore: Their gluten free pizza is amazing. A friend of mine who's had Crohn's for a long time said to me, because he at the time was avoiding wheat and I had devoid, he said, get their gluten free pizza. You should not know the difference.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> David Shore: And that's true. Like they make their own dough and so if you are celiac or if it's just wheat, highly recommend a pie dough.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great tip because, you know, it's. I've had pizzas that are made with cauliflower. They're good for what they are, but at a certain point they don't feel like pizza to me anymore.
>> David Shore: Pizzo also make their own gluten free and theirs is pretty good. A lot of places use the same place, Nate's Bagels, who make all the frozen bagels you get in the city. They make. Like if you order a gluten free bagel pizza, sorry. And it says 12 inch only. It's probably. They bought frozen crusts and they're being accommodating. It's okay. But there are a few places that
>> Marco Timpano: make their own pieko. with regards to the schmear and the bagels, lox and Schmear on St. Clair, one of m my favorite favorite bagel places, they have a bagel called the Fancy Fancy. They smoke their own fish there.
>> David Shore: Oh wow, that's impressive.
>> Marco Timpano: And what I love about it is it's not skimpy so they pickle their own, pickles and their onions are pickled and brined in shop. Lev Levine is the chef there and they just go out of their way. I recommend it so highly.
>> David Shore: I'll check it out. I've only had smoked fish that was smoked in a small batch like that once when my sister and her husband and I and my, my ex wife we went out to Galliano island in D.C. yeah. And my brother in law got a bike and went tripping around and he found there was an indigenous family that caught and smoked their own salmon and he bought a big piece of it and it was, it was the best smoked salmon I've ever had.
>> Marco Timpano: I bet.
>> David Shore: like we just went to town on that thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, wild, caught, smoked.
>> David Shore: Yeah, I know I'm going to have to check out this. What's it called in the shmer place?
>> Marco Timpano: Lox.
>> David Shore: Lox and Shmer. That's a good name.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's on the north side, between Oakwood and Dufferin.
>> David Shore: Oh, okay. Yeah, I know that area.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's wonderful.
Your podcast is both comedic and political and not just politics
you have a podcast. I sort of mentioned it off the top and if you heard some rumbling off the top, my vacuum was going off. I have a robotic vacuum that loves to start cleaning when I'm podcasting.
>> Marco Timpano: We have Fights, the panel show with David Shore.
>> David Shore: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're looking for a podcast that is both comedic and political and not just politics. No fair. Events.
>> David Shore: Sorry. No. I mean, no, we do talk a lot, mostly politics. But I won't, I try and find some things that are a bit more topical as well to talk about.
>> Marco Timpano: You have that fake and real, portion at the end of the show that I really enjoy as well.
>> David Shore: Yeah, we're going to change the name of that just because. So, so basically the show just for people who don't know, please. so I come from an improv background. That's how we know each other. And I was with the Second City for a long time and I have my own show called Monkey Toast, the improvised talk show which is now in its 18th year in Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: Congrats.
>> David Shore: Thank you very much. We tried podcasting it, but it was a nightmare to record.
>> Marco Timpano: Yet to come is what I'll say.
>> David Shore: Yeah, yes, thank you, that's very kind. That's true. If somebody can come and invest money, we're happy to do it. Perfect. But, so I use a lot of the cast from the show. Like they're all, almost all of them are Second City Main Stage alumni, you know, and you'd be hard pressed to find better improvisers anywhere in the world, that cast. And I had the idea for the show a number of years ago. Ah, watching. I think it was CBC News World. And, they had a panel and they had a comedian as part of the panel. And they weren't funny. Right. They were deadly serious. Well, not deadly serious, they were just serious. And I thought if I could get a great improviser in character just to commit to the character and talk about politics and current events, I think it'll be funny. Sure. So Andrew Coyne was a regular guest on Monkey Toast. He's one of the most well known, journalists and respected journalists in Canada. So he was on board. And at the time, Kim Parley, she's a former student of mine at Second City and she'd been on Monkey Toast a number of times. She was an anchor at. I don't know if they were BNN or BBN Business. It was a business news network. and so we workshopped in front of a live audience and it really worked. But then I went to the UK for seven years and now that I'm back, I've restarted the show, thinking this will make a good podcast. So every show I have two real journalists and two improvisers in character and we talk about real world topics and events. And so Andrew Coyne's been on it quite a bit. Robert Benzie is the Queen's Park Bureau chief, which is the local. The Provincial Parliament here in Ontario. The last show, the Improvisers, Kelly Lorette, who's amazing, she plays this character, your insufferable Aunt Maureen, who's just hilarious. Kerry Griffin, who does Monkey Toast quite a bit. And it's another Second City alumni. And he's been on your podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right, yes.
>> David Shore: Yeah. He played your high school drug dealer, Noel Hendricks. On a previous episode, Carrie, played Jimmy Stewart. And, I'm blanking. I blank on names.
>> Marco Timpano: I love how you have these historical people on or these improvisers playing historical or animated, guests and whatnot. And it's just, I just find the perspective on the given topic is so interesting because you have them sort of weave together with a respected journalist and say, Jimmy Stewart or Bane from the Batman.
>> David Shore: Yes, Bane's very woke is what we discovered. Yeah. So Jim, that Jimmy Stewart episode, the other improviser was Liz Johnson and she played Katharine Hepburn. And her take, because we talked about, of course there was some, uproar where Scorsese said some things about the Marvel Universe. And her in character talking about the Marvel Universe. One of the funniest things I've ever heard. Because she really knows the Marvel Universe, the real person, Liz Johnson, and then to do it in character. So the show really works. It's a lot of fun. We do it in front of a small live audience. And then the real and fake at the end of the show because I have to research all the topics. Every month I come across something and I'm like, this is the craziest thing I've ever heard. And then I find three more things that are the craziest thing we've ever heard. So I read off a headline and I ask the panel, is it real or fake? And then we ask the audience, I need to just change the name of that at the end. The game we play at the end of the show.
>> Marco Timpano: The panel show with David Shore M is the perfect podcast for your, transit experience. I find, you know, when you need something. When you're traveling to and fro from, destinations. For me, that podcast is engaging and it just, it's fun, funny, informative.
>> David Shore: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: And just plain great.
>> David Shore: I really appreciate that.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a great, it's a great podcast. It is topical, it is funny. Current events. Definitely something for, our listeners who need something not to make them fall asleep.
>> David Shore: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: The panel show with David Shore.
What are some things you miss from living in the UK now that you're back
Before we go, you had mentioned living in the UK and I have some amazing listeners in the UK who often send me notes and whatnot. So what are some things you miss from your time in the UK now that you're back in Canada?
>> David Shore: That's an interesting question.
>> Marco Timpano: Our listeners can be like, oh, I didn't realize how lucky I was to still have this. And it would be something that would be missed.
>> David Shore: You know, it's such a different and beautiful place, the United Kingdom. And depending on where you live, just like in Canada, your experience is very different. So I lived in London, which is like New York is so different than the rest of the country. And in London, what I miss is people moving at a quick pace because like, even though I'm not a Londoner, I became a Londoner. Of course, when you become a Londoner, you have no patience for people who are slow on the tube or the subway or on the sidewalk. And I get frustrated with people in Toronto because of that. That being said, one of the things I miss, I lived in the countryside for about 18 months. The countryside is gorgeous in the UK and I miss that. And I miss that you can just walk through the fields like you have right of way.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> David Shore: Oh, yeah. There's paths that are 1,000 years, 600, 700 years old. And so even though they may be a farm and farmer's land, you'll see like a well worn path and they have by law, rite of passage. And there'll be a gate and it'll be set up. There's different trusts, that have all these walking paths all over the UK and you can take. There's all these like mapped out walks and they typically end or start at a pub. So you can have lunch or a pint after. Yes. One of the things I don't miss is if you do go for a pub, for a walk, a lot of pubs, will not be serving food all day. A lot of restaurants. Unless you're in London, like in the countryside, a lot of restaurants are closed. Like it's like being in the Middle east in the 70s where people take a siesta for three hours. and I do remember once, my ex wife and I having a difficult time finding a place to eat. But the countryside and everywhere you look there's horses and the horses will come up to you. And so the countryside there, like it's here. When you drive in the country, everything's fenced off. And if you hop that fence, you're trespassing, you're trespassing. And if you're in the States, you might get shot.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. the funny thing is, I remember being in the UK and everything's green and lush.
>> David Shore: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And of course they do get a lot of rain, but it's not as
>> David Shore: much as people think.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I feel like everyone sort of has this image of that. But when I was there, I had some of the sunniest, most beautiful days in all of Europe.
>> David Shore: And did people say to you, oh, it won't last?
>> Marco Timpano: They did, but I was like, even, it's so beautiful. It doesn't, it doesn't. I don't even mind because even when there's that bit of rain and fog and grayness, it makes the city come alive in a different way. I found.
>> David Shore: No, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: One thing I do want to say, since we started talking about food, the cheeses in the uk.
>> David Shore: Oh yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Are spectacular.
>> David Shore: They Are.
>> Marco Timpano: And I love a good Stilton.
>> David Shore: Oh, yeah. Stilton soup is also excellent.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> David Shore: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I will say this, and I'm sure I'm gonna get a lot of people who are gonna roll their eyes, but I've found this. And it could just be my own personal bias, but tea just tastes better when made by a Brit in England. And I've said it once and I'll say it again, and I'm sure people are gonna just roll their eyes, but I just found when I had tea there, it was just, And I love tea. It was just a different experience.
>> David Shore: It's funny, I don't know if I. I do remember I have to specify that I don't want milk in it. They'll automatically put milk in it. To me, I wasn't brought up with milk and tea, so I find it gross.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you put lemon in your tea?
>> David Shore: Depending on the tea, I might. If there's lemon available, I put in a lot of sugar, to be honest with you.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So that's how Russians, tend to put a lot of sugar, but they also make it very milky. So you wouldn't want a Russian tea either?
>> David Shore: No, it depends on what tea. If it's a particularly dark tea that's bitter, like, that's the thing. Traditionally, you put milk in it, but I don't put milk, so I put in probably extra sugar or honey, depending on what's available.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your preferred tea?
>> David Shore: Right now, I've got. It's funny, I've gotten into orange pico lately. I was always an Earl Grey guy for a long time. and when I was sick, I'd have to have so many mint teas and herbal teas, but they just don't cut it. and I found some President's Choice decaffeinated, orange pico.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> David Shore: So I can have tea at night and not have to be an herbal tea.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. I see.
>> David Shore: Yeah. So right now, yeah, I'm definitely down.
SA: David Shore, thanks for joining us on Insomnia Project podcast
It's funny because my box of Earl Grey was staring at me, and I thought, oh, I haven't had you in months, and you're feeling sad, aren't you?
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> David Shore: There you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, David, thank you so much for being a part of the Insomnia, project today.
>> David Shore: Oh, it's been. It's really been my pleasure. And like I said, like I told you, I love the podcast. I have a lot of stuff. Sleep problems. It's really helped me. And hopefully you're all asleep by now. And if you're not. Please listen to the panel show.
>> Marco Timpano: The Panel show with David Shore. I definitely recommend it on your listening list.
>> David Shore: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: And reach out and tell David you listen to it because you heard it on the Insomnia Project. I would love for you to get feedback from our listeners.
>> David Shore: Thank you. Yeah. And if you're overseas, there's nothing funnier than Canadian politics, that's for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're visiting Toronto and you want to attend a live show of Monkey Toast, where can they go?
>> David Shore: So go to monkeytoast.com is our website and there's info about upcoming shows. And also there will be a link to the panel show website. And we do invite audience for tapings. Those tapings are free, but typically Monkey Toast is once a month. We take the summer off because anyone in Canada, if you work in the arts in Canada, you know, it's hard to get people indoors in the summer.
>> Marco Timpano: So, I will have all those listed in our show notes, so you can just click there in case you're like, I'm just about to fall asleep. I'm not writing that down. David, thanks again. My pleasure, as always. The Insomnia, project is produced by drumcast Productions, and this particular podcast episode, as you may have guessed, was recorded in Toronto, Canada. Until the next time,
>> David Shore: SA.
(origianl airdate: August 12, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. We hope you will listen and sleep
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be hopefully less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm, your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me is a fellow podcaster, a creator, comedian, and a wonderful host himself, David Shore. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> David Shore: Thank you for having me, Marco. I'm very excited to be here. I don't want to sound too excited because I want people to fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: It's fine if you're excited off the top because it usually takes a few beats before people start to drift off, but I'm excited to have you because I've watched you perform over the years, and I think you're brilliant.
>> David Shore: That's very kind.
>> Marco Timpano: but also, you look like you could be related to me. Every time I see you, I think, wow, I feel this kinship, as if you're a relative of mine because you look so much like the Timpano side of my family. and I'm sorry if you take offense to that.
>> David Shore: No, I'm not insulting. No, I think. No, I don't remember you saying. I mean, I haven't seen you in a long time. I was in the UK for seven years, and I know I've seen you since coming back, but we bumped into each other a few weeks ago at that podcamp. Yeah. Because I have a lot of sleep problems. But I don't remember before moving to the UK if you had said to me, you know, you look like you could be in my family. So there's nothing. I don't know why.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's an odd thing to tell people, you know, you look like you could be related to me.
>> David Shore: Well, it's something you don't hear a lot. Sure, I think, but I don't. I didn't find it odd when you said it to me today. And certainly I think I mentioned, like, I'm Jewish. The old I become more ish and less Jew. and I've certainly had lots of Italians think that I'm Italian, because there are certain people, when I see them, it's like, I know you're Jewish. and, I don't particularly look Jewish, and I don't particularly have my first name. Like, David is a Jewish name, but my last name. Sure. Could be anything.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> David Shore: If I was David Goldberg, you would know from my name that I'm probably Jewish. but there could be. You know, it's funny, when I went to Western for my first degree in
>> Marco Timpano: university, that's, ah, a university in London, Ontario, for our international listeners.
>> David Shore: Yes. So University of Western Ontario. And I remember being pretty far away from the campus one day and I stopped at a sub place to get to get lunch, and it was an Italian guy, and he said to me, you know, and you know, he was from Italy. He's like, oh, so you're Italian? And I said, no, I'm Jewish. And he puts his fingers together, he goes, italians and Jews are like a dis. I just thought, that's really nice. And there's a lot of truth in that. And there's a lot of truth in it. I think it's more of a Mediterranean thing Mediterranean look. Because certainly if you go to Israel, you'll see lots of, men and women who look Mediterranean.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. I was just in Israel last year, and I certainly found that. And, I've mentioned it before in this podcast. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Israel, it is such a wonderful, wonderful place to be. Explore if you love history, if you love culture, or if you just love beaches and eating. The beach. speaking of eating.
>> David Shore: Yes.
Let's talk about cultural food. Since we started, that sort of connection with culture has grown
>> Marco Timpano: Let's talk about cultural food. Since we started, that sort of connection with culture.
>> David Shore: Yeah. Well, I was up. I try to have lunch with my uncles at least once or a couple times a month, and they meet daily at Kiva's.
>> Marco Timpano: Kiva's is arguably one of the better places to get bagels in Southern. I'm going to say bagels, because that's what I get there. I'm sure they have other great food.
>> David Shore: It's Kiva's bagels. Yeah, sure. They're known for their bagels. and so I was meeting them and I thought. And I was going up to my mother's after she lives in Thornhill, and I was telling you I was really craving a Dante's Pizza, which is this legendary pizza place in Thornhill. They don't deliver downtown. Because I looked into it and I thought, maybe I'll order pizza to bring home. But I didn't because I was really full and I have to watch what I eat since my Crohn's surgeries.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> David Shore: but I thought, oh, this might be interesting to talk about different bagels. And there's always a bagel debate in Toronto. And also I would love to get. If you have a place down. Oh, this is the best place for pizza downtown. Or, you know, like, I can't really eat pasta that much anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> David Shore: But I was thinking, because there is not just in the Jewish community, but in general, there's a debate over what's the best bagel in the city. And I'm a huge fan of Grice, which is owned by the Grice family. I don't know how long they've been making these bagels down on Bath or Street. But now whenever I go up to my mom's, I get a car share. I make time to stop at the bakery to pick up their bagels. They've also got these pizzas, these little pizzas they make, which are very basic but tasty. And I also get some regula. And at a lot of places in downtown Toronto, you can buy Greif's Bagels and they're fresh, but they cost more. So if I'm heading up there, I'll pick up a dozen.
When talking bagels, what is your preferred topping
>> Marco Timpano: When talking bagels, what is your preferred topping? If there is a topping on your bagel. So for example, do you like poppy seed, sesame seed? What is your go to?
>> David Shore: Good question. You know, it's either one of those. I like either poppy or sesame. And I've only found it recently because I would typically get the poppy seed bagel at Kiva's, but my uncle got one. It seemed like it had taken a bath in poppy seeds. And apparently you have to ask for the extra poppy seed bagel. It's really covered in it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the one I like. But if the bagel almost looks black because it has that many poppy seeds, I'm on board.
>> David Shore: I'm on board with that too.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm a big fan of the plain bagel too.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like sometimes you can really tell the quality of the bagel if it's plain. And that tips into pizza for me.
>> David Shore: Oh yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So if I'm in a pizza restaurant, a pizzeria, and they're making their own sort of personal sized pizza, so I'm getting a 12 inch, let's say eight slice pizza or six slice pizza for myself. Even a four slice if they, they do it like a, quadrants, let's say I'll always get a margarita. M. Because you can't mask your inability to make a pizza if you get the most basic. So I can tell if they know what they're doing. Because a margarita has three ingredients and it's all there, you know, right away you could add a whole bunch of different things. Sausage and spice and whatnot, and pineapples and different mushrooms and whatnot. Five mushrooms and some cream on top. And it will mask a lot of mistakes. So whenever I go to a place for the first time, I will always say I'll have a margarita. And I can tell right away if they know how to do it.
>> David Shore: Well now that makes a lot of sense. Do you have a go to place in the downtown area or midtown?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a great question. So for me, my preferred pizza would be a Neapolitan style pizza.
>> Marco Timpano: So it tends to be a bit chewier. The dough. And I go to a pizzeria for that.
>> David Shore: Is that the Neapolitan? Is that where it's quick fired in a specific type of oven for like 90 seconds? Is that or is it more the dough like you were just saying?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a bit of both. So they use this if it's going to be, How do I say this now, there is a classification, for Neapolitan style pizzas, because that's where the pizza was born, was in Naples. And if you want to have that classification, which you'll see in certain restaurants, you need to use flour from Italy, so double zero flour.
>> David Shore: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And you need to use San Marzano, tomatoes. So that's the tomato that's generally used for pizzas. It's a southern Italian tomato. And the products should be from that area. So from Naples we're looking at to be classified. For me, that's not that important. I think we have great tomatoes. I think our flour that we have here is perfectly acceptable. But a lot of these places will do that. The dough tends to be a bit chewier, almost like, and I hate to say this, but like a, Pita.
>> David Shore: Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It has that kind of feel to me.
>> David Shore: It's funny you say that because there's so many different types of pita.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> David Shore: And I find most of the downtown places, I don't like the falafel because the pita and whereas if I'm up in Thornhill, there's a place called Sababa's on Steel's. And they have their own, they make their own pita fresh every day. And it's a bit more doughy, but it's soft. It's soft and crispy. And their shawarma and falafel as a result is perfect. It reminded me of going to the beach in Israel and getting a falafel.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. So for me, that kind of texture that you just described is my preferred sort of feel. And so my m. Favorite places to go are, is teroni.
>> David Shore: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I know it's a, it's a well known restaurant. I just feel their consistency.
>> David Shore: Well known for a reason.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And the style that they do, Queen Margherita's great.
>> David Shore: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And the margarita was named after Queen Margarita when she visited Naples. So that's where they get their name.
>> David Shore: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And of course, if you, if, if one hasn't seen, Margherita pizza, it is tomato, fiordi latte or mozzarella cheese and basil. And those are the colors of the Italian flag. And hence they made it to welcome Queen Margherita when she was coming to Naples.
>> David Shore: Oh, that's interesting. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's where the origin of that. But if I'm having a Roman style pizza which tends to have a coarser dough and a, almost like a corn. It almost feels like it has a bit of grit in it. Cornmeal or whatnot. Not that I think it's made with cornmeal.
>> David Shore: It just has that sometimes the bottom's got a bit of a coating. Right. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I feel like, and I could be wrong, that they use cornmeal on the bottom. I don't have a particular place that I go for that, but there's been a couple restaurants that have done it really well here. And I do like a couple of the little bakeries that cook it, Especially these old school Italian bakeries will do a great job. Yeah.
Bill loves Montreal style bagels when you couldn't get them here
So for you bagel, do you prefer the bagels we get here or a Montreal style bagel, which we also can get here.
>> David Shore: It's funny, I love Montreal style bagels when you couldn't get them here. If I was ever going to Montreal or a friend was coming, I was like, get me some bagels. And I love them. And when you first could get them here, when Saint Urban first opened, sure, I couldn't get enough Montreal style bagels. And now I still love them. I've got some in my freezer, but it depends what you're having them with. Oh, I love that. Because depending what you're having, it's different. I mean, the texture is so different. The density is so different. Like a lot of times I'll make eggs in the morning, scrambled eggs. And I'll put. I'll get a grice bagel or a Kiva's bagel. M and I'll put some cream cheese on and put the eggs on top and it's got a nice melt. But with the Montreal bagel, because of
>> Marco Timpano: the shape, they tend to be smaller. If you're not familiar with the,
>> David Shore: Thinner.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they're a thinner bagel. They tend to be a little bit smaller. The dough tends to be denser.
>> David Shore: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's a sweetness.
>> David Shore: There is a sweetness.
>> Marco Timpano: I think they use honey when they make it, possibly. And there's a bit of a sweetness to them.
>> David Shore: Yeah. I know when I used to stay with friends in Montreal after summer camp, they would have loads of them in the freezer and they would cut them before freezing them so they could just toast them right away. So I thought that was really smart. And, that's the thing. Butter or margarine are amazing in them. Cream cheese and lux are great in them. But I find the egg, because of the narrowest and the big hole, they don't hold that as well. So it depends. Like, for me, it's not a great sandwich bagel.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> David Shore: But, if I'm having an open face, I like that.
>> Marco Timpano: but then you would be prudent to use a, New York style bagel if you're gonna have a sandwich, because they tend to be enormous or very. They have a lot of surface, I find.
>> David Shore: Well, it's funny, guys. I do love when I go to New York. I love getting bagels there. And you have a great selection of schmears in New York. And here it's a bit harder to get a good shmear. I like a white fish salad. Most places are out of it. Whenever I go, they only make it one day a week. I never go that day. But in New York, it's such an institution that I think that's why they have more choice in their schmear, which is a Yiddish term for spread here. it's funny, my favorite used to be my go to was the Kiva's Big Twister bagel.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> David Shore: which is a really big bagel and it's typically got some poppy and some sesame and salt on it. And it's also a good bagel for making a pizza bagel.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> David Shore: Which is here we're getting cross cultural. We're getting some fusion here. because that would give you a pretty big pizza bagel. Sure. but now, I mean, I was misdiagnosed as being, wheat, allergy for a number of years.
>> Marco Timpano: Intolerant or whatever.
>> David Shore: Yeah. Due to my Crohn's. And when I found out, oh, you can just get a. No one told me you can get a test. So if you think that wheat or gluten is an issue, just know you can get tested for that. So I had to go on gluten free bagels, which typically aren't very good because they're always frozen. Sure. But I did discover there's a place in Kensington Market, New bagel, and they make Montreal style bagels and they make their own gluten free. Even though I'm back on wheat, which was like the greatest thing ever. And I think the first thing I had was a Montreal bagel, which was just heaven. and I had the gluten free bagel at New Bagel, and it's really good. You wouldn't know that it's gluten free and it's fresh. That's the thing with gluten free. A lot of times, hard to find fresh baked goods or pastas. It's very difficult to find
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Some special interests are pushing the so called App Store Accountability act
>> Speaker D: We need to keep kids safe online, but some special interests are sending policymakers in the wrong direction. Pushing the so called App Store Accountability act, demanding government ID from all users just to download an app. Replacing parents judgment with government mandates. It doesn't even stand up in court. A, better bipartisan bill, the Parents over platforms act, would put parents in the driver's seat, empowering parents and businesses to keep kids safe without drowning all of us in red tape. Tell Congress to get it done right and put parents over platforms paid for
>> Marco Timpano: by act, the app association.
>> David Shore: And I want to ask you, have you ever tried. Have you heard of the. There's a small chain, I think it's an American chain. They've come to Canada. Have you heard of Pico, their pizza place?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I have actually.
>> David Shore: Their gluten free pizza is amazing. A friend of mine who's had Crohn's for a long time said to me, because he at the time was avoiding wheat and I had devoid, he said, get their gluten free pizza. You should not know the difference.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> David Shore: And that's true. Like they make their own dough and so if you are celiac or if it's just wheat, highly recommend a pie dough.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great tip because, you know, it's. I've had pizzas that are made with cauliflower. They're good for what they are, but at a certain point they don't feel like pizza to me anymore.
>> David Shore: Pizzo also make their own gluten free and theirs is pretty good. A lot of places use the same place, Nate's Bagels, who make all the frozen bagels you get in the city. They make. Like if you order a gluten free bagel pizza, sorry. And it says 12 inch only. It's probably. They bought frozen crusts and they're being accommodating. It's okay. But there are a few places that
>> Marco Timpano: make their own pieko. with regards to the schmear and the bagels, lox and Schmear on St. Clair, one of m my favorite favorite bagel places, they have a bagel called the Fancy Fancy. They smoke their own fish there.
>> David Shore: Oh wow, that's impressive.
>> Marco Timpano: And what I love about it is it's not skimpy so they pickle their own, pickles and their onions are pickled and brined in shop. Lev Levine is the chef there and they just go out of their way. I recommend it so highly.
>> David Shore: I'll check it out. I've only had smoked fish that was smoked in a small batch like that once when my sister and her husband and I and my, my ex wife we went out to Galliano island in D.C. yeah. And my brother in law got a bike and went tripping around and he found there was an indigenous family that caught and smoked their own salmon and he bought a big piece of it and it was, it was the best smoked salmon I've ever had.
>> Marco Timpano: I bet.
>> David Shore: like we just went to town on that thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, wild, caught, smoked.
>> David Shore: Yeah, I know I'm going to have to check out this. What's it called in the shmer place?
>> Marco Timpano: Lox.
>> David Shore: Lox and Shmer. That's a good name.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's on the north side, between Oakwood and Dufferin.
>> David Shore: Oh, okay. Yeah, I know that area.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's wonderful.
Your podcast is both comedic and political and not just politics
you have a podcast. I sort of mentioned it off the top and if you heard some rumbling off the top, my vacuum was going off. I have a robotic vacuum that loves to start cleaning when I'm podcasting.
>> Marco Timpano: We have Fights, the panel show with David Shore.
>> David Shore: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're looking for a podcast that is both comedic and political and not just politics. No fair. Events.
>> David Shore: Sorry. No. I mean, no, we do talk a lot, mostly politics. But I won't, I try and find some things that are a bit more topical as well to talk about.
>> Marco Timpano: You have that fake and real, portion at the end of the show that I really enjoy as well.
>> David Shore: Yeah, we're going to change the name of that just because. So, so basically the show just for people who don't know, please. so I come from an improv background. That's how we know each other. And I was with the Second City for a long time and I have my own show called Monkey Toast, the improvised talk show which is now in its 18th year in Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: Congrats.
>> David Shore: Thank you very much. We tried podcasting it, but it was a nightmare to record.
>> Marco Timpano: Yet to come is what I'll say.
>> David Shore: Yeah, yes, thank you, that's very kind. That's true. If somebody can come and invest money, we're happy to do it. Perfect. But, so I use a lot of the cast from the show. Like they're all, almost all of them are Second City Main Stage alumni, you know, and you'd be hard pressed to find better improvisers anywhere in the world, that cast. And I had the idea for the show a number of years ago. Ah, watching. I think it was CBC News World. And, they had a panel and they had a comedian as part of the panel. And they weren't funny. Right. They were deadly serious. Well, not deadly serious, they were just serious. And I thought if I could get a great improviser in character just to commit to the character and talk about politics and current events, I think it'll be funny. Sure. So Andrew Coyne was a regular guest on Monkey Toast. He's one of the most well known, journalists and respected journalists in Canada. So he was on board. And at the time, Kim Parley, she's a former student of mine at Second City and she'd been on Monkey Toast a number of times. She was an anchor at. I don't know if they were BNN or BBN Business. It was a business news network. and so we workshopped in front of a live audience and it really worked. But then I went to the UK for seven years and now that I'm back, I've restarted the show, thinking this will make a good podcast. So every show I have two real journalists and two improvisers in character and we talk about real world topics and events. And so Andrew Coyne's been on it quite a bit. Robert Benzie is the Queen's Park Bureau chief, which is the local. The Provincial Parliament here in Ontario. The last show, the Improvisers, Kelly Lorette, who's amazing, she plays this character, your insufferable Aunt Maureen, who's just hilarious. Kerry Griffin, who does Monkey Toast quite a bit. And it's another Second City alumni. And he's been on your podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right, yes.
>> David Shore: Yeah. He played your high school drug dealer, Noel Hendricks. On a previous episode, Carrie, played Jimmy Stewart. And, I'm blanking. I blank on names.
>> Marco Timpano: I love how you have these historical people on or these improvisers playing historical or animated, guests and whatnot. And it's just, I just find the perspective on the given topic is so interesting because you have them sort of weave together with a respected journalist and say, Jimmy Stewart or Bane from the Batman.
>> David Shore: Yes, Bane's very woke is what we discovered. Yeah. So Jim, that Jimmy Stewart episode, the other improviser was Liz Johnson and she played Katharine Hepburn. And her take, because we talked about, of course there was some, uproar where Scorsese said some things about the Marvel Universe. And her in character talking about the Marvel Universe. One of the funniest things I've ever heard. Because she really knows the Marvel Universe, the real person, Liz Johnson, and then to do it in character. So the show really works. It's a lot of fun. We do it in front of a small live audience. And then the real and fake at the end of the show because I have to research all the topics. Every month I come across something and I'm like, this is the craziest thing I've ever heard. And then I find three more things that are the craziest thing we've ever heard. So I read off a headline and I ask the panel, is it real or fake? And then we ask the audience, I need to just change the name of that at the end. The game we play at the end of the show.
>> Marco Timpano: The panel show with David Shore M is the perfect podcast for your, transit experience. I find, you know, when you need something. When you're traveling to and fro from, destinations. For me, that podcast is engaging and it just, it's fun, funny, informative.
>> David Shore: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: And just plain great.
>> David Shore: I really appreciate that.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's a great, it's a great podcast. It is topical, it is funny. Current events. Definitely something for, our listeners who need something not to make them fall asleep.
>> David Shore: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: The panel show with David Shore.
What are some things you miss from living in the UK now that you're back
Before we go, you had mentioned living in the UK and I have some amazing listeners in the UK who often send me notes and whatnot. So what are some things you miss from your time in the UK now that you're back in Canada?
>> David Shore: That's an interesting question.
>> Marco Timpano: Our listeners can be like, oh, I didn't realize how lucky I was to still have this. And it would be something that would be missed.
>> David Shore: You know, it's such a different and beautiful place, the United Kingdom. And depending on where you live, just like in Canada, your experience is very different. So I lived in London, which is like New York is so different than the rest of the country. And in London, what I miss is people moving at a quick pace because like, even though I'm not a Londoner, I became a Londoner. Of course, when you become a Londoner, you have no patience for people who are slow on the tube or the subway or on the sidewalk. And I get frustrated with people in Toronto because of that. That being said, one of the things I miss, I lived in the countryside for about 18 months. The countryside is gorgeous in the UK and I miss that. And I miss that you can just walk through the fields like you have right of way.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> David Shore: Oh, yeah. There's paths that are 1,000 years, 600, 700 years old. And so even though they may be a farm and farmer's land, you'll see like a well worn path and they have by law, rite of passage. And there'll be a gate and it'll be set up. There's different trusts, that have all these walking paths all over the UK and you can take. There's all these like mapped out walks and they typically end or start at a pub. So you can have lunch or a pint after. Yes. One of the things I don't miss is if you do go for a pub, for a walk, a lot of pubs, will not be serving food all day. A lot of restaurants. Unless you're in London, like in the countryside, a lot of restaurants are closed. Like it's like being in the Middle east in the 70s where people take a siesta for three hours. and I do remember once, my ex wife and I having a difficult time finding a place to eat. But the countryside and everywhere you look there's horses and the horses will come up to you. And so the countryside there, like it's here. When you drive in the country, everything's fenced off. And if you hop that fence, you're trespassing, you're trespassing. And if you're in the States, you might get shot.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. the funny thing is, I remember being in the UK and everything's green and lush.
>> David Shore: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And of course they do get a lot of rain, but it's not as
>> David Shore: much as people think.
>> Marco Timpano: I know. I feel like everyone sort of has this image of that. But when I was there, I had some of the sunniest, most beautiful days in all of Europe.
>> David Shore: And did people say to you, oh, it won't last?
>> Marco Timpano: They did, but I was like, even, it's so beautiful. It doesn't, it doesn't. I don't even mind because even when there's that bit of rain and fog and grayness, it makes the city come alive in a different way. I found.
>> David Shore: No, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: One thing I do want to say, since we started talking about food, the cheeses in the uk.
>> David Shore: Oh yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Are spectacular.
>> David Shore: They Are.
>> Marco Timpano: And I love a good Stilton.
>> David Shore: Oh, yeah. Stilton soup is also excellent.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> David Shore: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I will say this, and I'm sure I'm gonna get a lot of people who are gonna roll their eyes, but I've found this. And it could just be my own personal bias, but tea just tastes better when made by a Brit in England. And I've said it once and I'll say it again, and I'm sure people are gonna just roll their eyes, but I just found when I had tea there, it was just, And I love tea. It was just a different experience.
>> David Shore: It's funny, I don't know if I. I do remember I have to specify that I don't want milk in it. They'll automatically put milk in it. To me, I wasn't brought up with milk and tea, so I find it gross.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you put lemon in your tea?
>> David Shore: Depending on the tea, I might. If there's lemon available, I put in a lot of sugar, to be honest with you.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So that's how Russians, tend to put a lot of sugar, but they also make it very milky. So you wouldn't want a Russian tea either?
>> David Shore: No, it depends on what tea. If it's a particularly dark tea that's bitter, like, that's the thing. Traditionally, you put milk in it, but I don't put milk, so I put in probably extra sugar or honey, depending on what's available.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your preferred tea?
>> David Shore: Right now, I've got. It's funny, I've gotten into orange pico lately. I was always an Earl Grey guy for a long time. and when I was sick, I'd have to have so many mint teas and herbal teas, but they just don't cut it. and I found some President's Choice decaffeinated, orange pico.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> David Shore: So I can have tea at night and not have to be an herbal tea.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. I see.
>> David Shore: Yeah. So right now, yeah, I'm definitely down.
SA: David Shore, thanks for joining us on Insomnia Project podcast
It's funny because my box of Earl Grey was staring at me, and I thought, oh, I haven't had you in months, and you're feeling sad, aren't you?
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> David Shore: There you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, David, thank you so much for being a part of the Insomnia, project today.
>> David Shore: Oh, it's been. It's really been my pleasure. And like I said, like I told you, I love the podcast. I have a lot of stuff. Sleep problems. It's really helped me. And hopefully you're all asleep by now. And if you're not. Please listen to the panel show.
>> Marco Timpano: The Panel show with David Shore. I definitely recommend it on your listening list.
>> David Shore: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: And reach out and tell David you listen to it because you heard it on the Insomnia Project. I would love for you to get feedback from our listeners.
>> David Shore: Thank you. Yeah. And if you're overseas, there's nothing funnier than Canadian politics, that's for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're visiting Toronto and you want to attend a live show of Monkey Toast, where can they go?
>> David Shore: So go to monkeytoast.com is our website and there's info about upcoming shows. And also there will be a link to the panel show website. And we do invite audience for tapings. Those tapings are free, but typically Monkey Toast is once a month. We take the summer off because anyone in Canada, if you work in the arts in Canada, you know, it's hard to get people indoors in the summer.
>> Marco Timpano: So, I will have all those listed in our show notes, so you can just click there in case you're like, I'm just about to fall asleep. I'm not writing that down. David, thanks again. My pleasure, as always. The Insomnia, project is produced by drumcast Productions, and this particular podcast episode, as you may have guessed, was recorded in Toronto, Canada. Until the next time,
>> David Shore: SA.
Off the Cuff
(Original airdate: Aug 19, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about topics that are, hopefully for you, mundane and will allow you to just chill and maybe even find your way to sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. And, I am recording this. And the moment I am done, I'm going to post this as episode 31 for season four, because I realize I posted an episode that I had already posted that was actually thanks to a friend, listener, and someone who's been on the podcast, Nima. Nima, who's listening from California. Thank you for, setting me straight with my own episodes. I've been, working on, many different projects and, trying to balance everything. And it's proven a little bit tricky. And I only say this not as an excuse, though it sounds, sounds like one. But for anyone who's listening who might be doing the same and feeling like they're a bit overwhelmed or that they have so many projects that something may fall to the wayside, just know that you're not the only one and that this podcast is here with you and sometimes makes those same kind of things happen in error. Like I did with the podcast episode I posted twice, you may have heard, which was the episode I did with Tyler Murray, which is a great episode, and I strongly recommend you listen to it. but this episode I'm recording from a hotel room in Guelph, Ontario, and I'll talk more about Guelph in a moment. I also received an email from someone who was listening to the podcast who said she, finds it difficult because she hears my mouth noises and it's. Perhaps I'm too close to the microphone. So I will be much more conscious of that. And if that was disturbing to you listeners, I apologize and I'm gonna try my best not to make too many mouth noises. At the very least, I'm going to keep the microphone further away in realization that perhaps my microphones were too close. Also, it could be because I switched from microphone to a different microphone and because I'm recording many of the episodes, remotely. there has been a disconnect there with the microphones. so I'm gonna, I'm gonna do better on that front too. Thank you, listeners for emailing me and giving me your thoughts to make the podcast better and better. That's how I look at it. So thank you for that.
Our podcast has been nominated for another Podcast award
Speaking of podcast better and better, our podcast has been nominated for another Podcast award. This is the Podcast Awards. I just gotta look to make sure, you might be hearing the click, clickety clack of me, typing in the computer. I just want to make sure I got the correct category that we're in. I'm pretty sure it's health. but, Yeah, I just want to send a shout out to the Podcast Awards. The People's Choice Awards is the actual, awards that the Podcast Awards are sort of under. And yes, I am under health. I am nominated for Podcast Award. So we'll see what happens with that. It's always nice to be nominated and, you know, if we win, we would be grateful and if we don't, we're just happy to be on air and being listened to.
One of the things I love about hotels is the different carpet designs
I happen to be in a hotel in Guelph. One of the things I love about hotels, and I may have mentioned this on a past episode, but I love looking at the different carpets that are available in hotel rooms and convention centers. They always sort of evoke, I think, a weird spirit of the hotel or tells you something about the hotel. I know in Florida, there's a hotel that I often stay at for work, and it has the flower, the birds of paradise as their motif. And it's bright and cheery. And that hotel I always find to be bright and cheery. This one tends to have turquoise and brown splonches everywhere. As I walk up and down the halls, I see these turquoise and brown splonches and they're modern and bright and bold. And I would say that's reflective of this particular hotel because you might hear that sound. I'm right by the highway and there's a bunch of trucks that come back and forth, which don't bother me. I actually find the sounds of large motor vehicles, driving by to be quite relaxing. And, so I have a view of three highways that sort of intersect, from the fifth floor of my hotel.
I'm in this really charming city called Guelph, Ontario
I'm in this really charming city called Guelph. Guelph, Ontario. It's about an hour away, an hour and 10 minutes, let's say, away from the city that I usually record in Toronto. And it is charming because it is rural in one aspect. When you drive to Guelph, there's many farms that sort of surround Guelph. And it has a nod to a town that was. That's old. Old for North America, that is. I'm sure there's going to be a bunch of listeners in the UK who roll their eyes or their ears as they hear me say old, but everything is relevant. And there's this beautiful cathedral in the middle of the city, of the downtown, you could say, in the frame, French Revival style. And it certainly towers over the city and is quite, quite lovely, I have to say. I walked by yesterday and took a few photos and, then there's Homes that are made of old stone, like stone homes from way back in the day that I've been admiring. And because it's on some rivers or bodies of water, streams, rivers, canals. I saw an old mill that was turned into a home. I drove by it. I drive by it every day, in fact. And I just love that. I love when people take a, historic place, and rather than just leave it to disrepair, let it get overgrown or vandalized, they take it and they make it into something. I love it when it's something that the public can see. But preserving it, even as a home, is something I certainly. I certainly find to be great, for lack of a better word. yeah, if you have a place that you admire, that you love, that that's been transformed, please let me know, because I love hearing about places that are preserved and kept. Signs that are kept part of the new establishments, even though they may be incongruent, are things I love, too. I, did an episode way back on ghost signs. Those signs that are sort of painted onto buildings but are faded, and perhaps they're products that no longer exist for me. Those are. Those are quite wonderful, too. I also recently recorded an audiobook, and I'm excited about that. And I'll tell you more about that audiobook when it. When it becomes available.
I was helping a dear friend of mine with her podcast
And then another project that I had in the mix, which actually goes live today, is I was helping a dear friend of mine with her podcast. So it's amazing how these things sort of come come to be. But I've known Linda Mora for so many years now. I won't even say how many, but we used to go to grade school together. So I've known her since grade school, and she became a professor of Canadian literature. And when I was writing my book on podcasting, she said, I will edit your book, gladly. And I said, I will only allow you to edit the book. Allow. It sounds so horrible. But I said, I'd only feel comfortable for you to edit the book if I could help you in some capacity and lend my skills. Oh, that's the ac, I think, in the background. I'm sorry, I'm in a hotel room, so you're going to hear hotel sounds in the background, which are always fun or not so fun, but I hope you're bearing with it, and perhaps you can appreciate the feel of a great hotel bed and hotel pillows as you rest and listen to the podcast. Certain hotel rooms, as soon as I lie down, I drift off, and I love staying in those kind of places. And I'm, grateful to say that this hotel in Guelph is actually one of those hotels where I can lay down and feel very comfortable and almost hugged by the linen and comforters and the pillows as my head sinks down into them.
Linda Mora's podcast focuses on Canadian literature
So I was talking about my relationship with this friend of mine, Linda Mora, who I've had for years. And I've said to her, will help. I will. I will only feel comfortable having you edit my book if I can lend my skills to you. And she said, well, part of the reason I'd like to edit the book is because I've always wanted to do a podcast on my skill set, which is Canadian literature. And I said, great, I will hold your hand and walk you through getting your podcast to light or to be, or on air or live, however you like to describe having your podcast or having a podcast be available to people. So Linda's podcast actually became available today, as luck would have it or as kismet would have it. So her podcast is called Getting lit with Linda, and it focuses on. On Canadian literature. And, that might help some people fall asleep. So I suggest you check it out. But I think it's going to be far more interesting for most. It has been interesting for me to hear about these Canadian authors I never knew of, ah. That she talks about with such passion and insight. And I remember we had a whole list of different names for the pop. The possible name for the podcast. But I think we all really liked Getting lit with Linda because of all the different associations or connotations that that title could and does have. So check that out. Wherever you listen to this podcast, you'll find Getting lit with Linda. You might hear my thumbprint on it help having helped to produce it. You might be like, oh, that's something that Marco does on the Insomnia Project, and I can hear his influence. Or maybe you'll be like, oh, no, this podcast is great. I'm glad Marco's thumbprint is not on it the way it is on the Insomnia Project. And, yeah, so that's.
I'm in Guelph, Ontario to record a podcast about corn
That's where I'm at right now in Guelph, surrounded by wonderful fields of farms. Fresh corn is now available. I love corn. I love everything about corn. I love seeing it in the stalks. I love peeling the husk off of corn. I don't love the. The silk of the corn, but there's so many different ways to prepare corn. And my cousin said the best way that she knows is to soak the corn in the husk in water. For let's say an hour. And then to take that wet corn in the husk and put it directly on the barbecue so it steams while it cooks. And I've never had it like that before. And I don't love barbecued corn but that's not my favorite way. I prefer boiled corn. But now I'm thinking, oh, this is something I might have to, I might have to explore getting back to Guelph. One of the things that Guelph is known for apart from the cathedral is the University of Guelph. And the University of Guelph is one of the universities I was thinking of going to way back in the day when I was applying to different post secondary schools. And I got into the University of Guelph. And now having driven by it, I have a little pang of sadness because it's such a beautiful looking campus. Their athletic mascot is a griffin and there's this wonderful sculpture of this griffin kind of leaning on it, on its arm it looks like, or on its clawed lion arm. I don't know how you would describe that. And it's beautiful and it reminds me of Harry Potter a bit and I love Harry Potter and I feel like it's a little bit of a nod to Hogsmeade, Hogsworth, the school. I think I'm saying it wrong, shows how much of a fan I am of Harry Potter. I just can't, can't think of it in this moment. But if you're a fan, you know what I'm talking about. And that's the AC going off and I look at the campus and it's so beautiful. And I love university, university towns. And just seeing the campus amongst the city that they're in or amongst the town that they're in and how they sort of dovetail together and work together. And there's that sort of vibrance of youth and studies and people eager to learn and the people who live in the town and some of whom work for the university or servicing the people who attend or work at the university. And then the exact opposite where the city sort of connects to its past. That's certainly something that I experience here in Guelph. Guelph, Ontario, spelled G U E L P H for those of you who are wondering how, how that is spelled. And yeah, I'm just happy to be in a hotel. I'm here kind of for work, kind of not for work but I brought my microphone just in case and I'm glad I did my Portable microphone to this hotel room. And it's midday, so a lot of the people are not in the hotel's rooms. And so I feel like I have it all to myself. So it's perfect for recording a podcast because I'm not hearing the ding of the elevator or the rustle of carts and luggage and people wandering the halls. Having said that, who knows what's going to happen in a moment or two. It's also kind of amazing, to explore the cities and towns that are near your place where you live that you don't go and see because it just seems so close, or they're not a place to vacation to. And when you're forced to be there the way I am, and you're like, oh, I've never really explored this town. I've heard it mentioned so many times. I have friends who are from here. I actually have relatives I barely know who live in Guelph. And I've driven through it many times. I've passed it to get to other cities and towns. It's not a major city. It's more of a town that has a university, but so it feels like a city, but it still feels very quaint and charming. And one of the things I love about Guelph is you can park for free just about anywhere for two hours. And so, having been here with time on my hands, I'm able to walk around and explore and see, look at the different local restaurants and local shops. There's a shoe store called if, and I thought, what an unusual name for a shoe store.
I love a good shoehorn. I have several near my door at home
Speaking of shoes, I don't think I've ever done an episode where I talk about the shoe horn. That's the ice in the fridge behind me. Deciding to make an appearance on the show. Today's show, brought to you by myself. Ice and the air conditioner. But I love a good shoehorn. I don't know how you feel about a shoehorn. For those of you who are thinking, what exactly is a shoehorn? A shoehorn is that instrument that is often long. I prefer the ones that are long, say, the length of your forearm, if not longer, that look like a concave, often hard plastic, sometimes metal, with a rounded edge, almost like a tongue depressor, if you will, that you put in the heel, you insert into the heel of your shoe. As you put your foot, slip your foot into your shoe. It allows for the back portion of your shoe to widen a bit so that you can just push your foot down into your shoe without damaging the back of your shoe. I know it's not the best description, but it's the one that came off the top of my head. I love a shoehorn. I have several near my door at home. I find it easier to put on shoes. I find I tend to damage in particular runners or running shoe or athletic shoes less when I use a shoehorn. When I go to other people's homes, I'll sometimes say, do you have a shoehorn? And when I meet someone who loves a shoehorn as much as I do, they take great pride in saying, yes, here's my shoehorn. And I'm always grateful for that moment. And then sometimes I'll have people say, what's a shoehorn? And I give the lame description that I just gave you, about what a shoehorn is. But it's one of those things that those one use items that I find when you have them, the moment you need them, you're grateful that they're there and then you don't think about them until you need them again. And they're handy. And if they're, if they stay hidden or tucked away in their place, they're not bothersome. I tend to be the king of useless gadgets. If you ask Amanda, she'll often say, oh, here's another thing we'll use for, for a month or two, and then it'll fall by the wayside. I once bought a spoon. It was kind of like a double ended spatula. So one spatula was on one end and on the opposite end was the other spatula. And it was, not very big. As far as spatulas are concerned. Let's say the size of your three fingers together, that was about the width of the, the width of the spatula. So your index, middle and ring finger together was about the size, what is that? About two and a half inches, let's say. And the purpose of this double ended spatula was for any time that you made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or peanut butter and jam sandwiches, one end would be for the peanut butter and the other end would be for the jelly. And I thought, this is brilliant. How did I live my life without this double ended spatula? And Amanda looked at me and said, all right, you purchased this. How often are you making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? And I said, well, but for those times that I do, I'm not getting two knives dirty. And I'm, especially not combining a bit of peanut butter into my jam or a bit of jam into my peanut butter, which I hate. I have this wonderful tool. Well, that Wonderful tool was in our. In our cutlery drawer, causing all kinds of havoc, getting in the way, sticking out, falling to the ground, and for how much I used it and for as much disruption as it caused my wife and myself in the kitchen. That double spatula jam and peanut butter spreader is no longer in our home, I'm sad to say, and I miss it on those times when I do make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which once again is not often. Maybe I just need to make more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Maybe that's the problem.
Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. I hope you enjoy this episode
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this episode. It's. I'm going to call it the off the Cuff episode because it's off the cuff and I'm recording it from this hotel in Guelph. Thanks to Nima Karazi, who's listening from California who said, I think you posted the the same episode twice, which I did. Thank you to Tyler Murray for unbeknownst to him was the cause of this episode. Thank you to Linda Mora, who has a podcast of her own called Getting lit with Linda. As I mentioned, thank you to the person who emailed me to say they are no longer listening to the Insomnia Project because of the all the mouth noises I make. I'm going to endeavor not to make them. For those of you who decided to stay and push past my mouth noises, now I'm a bit conscious. How many mouth noises do I make when I talk to people on the street? Well, I guess it's. That's their problem. Thank you also to the Podcast Awards, the People's Choice Podcast Awards, for including us in their health category. My other podcast, Eat and Drink, is also nominated. It's always nice to be recognized and to get emails. And I actually, if I was to pick between getting awards and hearing from the listeners, I'd always pick hearing from the listeners. So I guess the ultimate thank you is to you, whoever you are, wherever you are, whether you be in Guelph or in another town with the same name, or if you live near a Gulf or if you've ever gone to a Gulf gas station. Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. Hopefully we've allowed you to listen and sleep and I have some interesting episodes coming up that I think you'll look forward to forward to. I'm excited about next week's episode. I'm going to get back into posting, episodes in twice a week as I was doing. Unfortunately, because of what was going on with me both personally and professionally, I wasn't able to keep up with that. But I'll get back to it, listeners, because I know you appreciate it and I want to thank you. For those of you who are pushing past the ads that we have the top of our show, I know that they can be a little bit annoying, but they also help us to keep the podcast going. So just know that they're helpful to us because they allow us to cover the costs of things like the platform, that we have our podcast on and other things that it doesn't really matter, but they're helpful to us. That's all I can tell you. And if you ever get get the opportunity to drive into Guelph, I recommend it. At least drive by those towns that have beautiful farms and mills and places you can picnic near water. I love those. I love those things. I love it when you can drive by a place that has that. anyways, until next time, I hope you enjoy this and I hope you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: Aug 19, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about topics that are, hopefully for you, mundane and will allow you to just chill and maybe even find your way to sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. And, I am recording this. And the moment I am done, I'm going to post this as episode 31 for season four, because I realize I posted an episode that I had already posted that was actually thanks to a friend, listener, and someone who's been on the podcast, Nima. Nima, who's listening from California. Thank you for, setting me straight with my own episodes. I've been, working on, many different projects and, trying to balance everything. And it's proven a little bit tricky. And I only say this not as an excuse, though it sounds, sounds like one. But for anyone who's listening who might be doing the same and feeling like they're a bit overwhelmed or that they have so many projects that something may fall to the wayside, just know that you're not the only one and that this podcast is here with you and sometimes makes those same kind of things happen in error. Like I did with the podcast episode I posted twice, you may have heard, which was the episode I did with Tyler Murray, which is a great episode, and I strongly recommend you listen to it. but this episode I'm recording from a hotel room in Guelph, Ontario, and I'll talk more about Guelph in a moment. I also received an email from someone who was listening to the podcast who said she, finds it difficult because she hears my mouth noises and it's. Perhaps I'm too close to the microphone. So I will be much more conscious of that. And if that was disturbing to you listeners, I apologize and I'm gonna try my best not to make too many mouth noises. At the very least, I'm going to keep the microphone further away in realization that perhaps my microphones were too close. Also, it could be because I switched from microphone to a different microphone and because I'm recording many of the episodes, remotely. there has been a disconnect there with the microphones. so I'm gonna, I'm gonna do better on that front too. Thank you, listeners for emailing me and giving me your thoughts to make the podcast better and better. That's how I look at it. So thank you for that.
Our podcast has been nominated for another Podcast award
Speaking of podcast better and better, our podcast has been nominated for another Podcast award. This is the Podcast Awards. I just gotta look to make sure, you might be hearing the click, clickety clack of me, typing in the computer. I just want to make sure I got the correct category that we're in. I'm pretty sure it's health. but, Yeah, I just want to send a shout out to the Podcast Awards. The People's Choice Awards is the actual, awards that the Podcast Awards are sort of under. And yes, I am under health. I am nominated for Podcast Award. So we'll see what happens with that. It's always nice to be nominated and, you know, if we win, we would be grateful and if we don't, we're just happy to be on air and being listened to.
One of the things I love about hotels is the different carpet designs
I happen to be in a hotel in Guelph. One of the things I love about hotels, and I may have mentioned this on a past episode, but I love looking at the different carpets that are available in hotel rooms and convention centers. They always sort of evoke, I think, a weird spirit of the hotel or tells you something about the hotel. I know in Florida, there's a hotel that I often stay at for work, and it has the flower, the birds of paradise as their motif. And it's bright and cheery. And that hotel I always find to be bright and cheery. This one tends to have turquoise and brown splonches everywhere. As I walk up and down the halls, I see these turquoise and brown splonches and they're modern and bright and bold. And I would say that's reflective of this particular hotel because you might hear that sound. I'm right by the highway and there's a bunch of trucks that come back and forth, which don't bother me. I actually find the sounds of large motor vehicles, driving by to be quite relaxing. And, so I have a view of three highways that sort of intersect, from the fifth floor of my hotel.
I'm in this really charming city called Guelph, Ontario
I'm in this really charming city called Guelph. Guelph, Ontario. It's about an hour away, an hour and 10 minutes, let's say, away from the city that I usually record in Toronto. And it is charming because it is rural in one aspect. When you drive to Guelph, there's many farms that sort of surround Guelph. And it has a nod to a town that was. That's old. Old for North America, that is. I'm sure there's going to be a bunch of listeners in the UK who roll their eyes or their ears as they hear me say old, but everything is relevant. And there's this beautiful cathedral in the middle of the city, of the downtown, you could say, in the frame, French Revival style. And it certainly towers over the city and is quite, quite lovely, I have to say. I walked by yesterday and took a few photos and, then there's Homes that are made of old stone, like stone homes from way back in the day that I've been admiring. And because it's on some rivers or bodies of water, streams, rivers, canals. I saw an old mill that was turned into a home. I drove by it. I drive by it every day, in fact. And I just love that. I love when people take a, historic place, and rather than just leave it to disrepair, let it get overgrown or vandalized, they take it and they make it into something. I love it when it's something that the public can see. But preserving it, even as a home, is something I certainly. I certainly find to be great, for lack of a better word. yeah, if you have a place that you admire, that you love, that that's been transformed, please let me know, because I love hearing about places that are preserved and kept. Signs that are kept part of the new establishments, even though they may be incongruent, are things I love, too. I, did an episode way back on ghost signs. Those signs that are sort of painted onto buildings but are faded, and perhaps they're products that no longer exist for me. Those are. Those are quite wonderful, too. I also recently recorded an audiobook, and I'm excited about that. And I'll tell you more about that audiobook when it. When it becomes available.
I was helping a dear friend of mine with her podcast
And then another project that I had in the mix, which actually goes live today, is I was helping a dear friend of mine with her podcast. So it's amazing how these things sort of come come to be. But I've known Linda Mora for so many years now. I won't even say how many, but we used to go to grade school together. So I've known her since grade school, and she became a professor of Canadian literature. And when I was writing my book on podcasting, she said, I will edit your book, gladly. And I said, I will only allow you to edit the book. Allow. It sounds so horrible. But I said, I'd only feel comfortable for you to edit the book if I could help you in some capacity and lend my skills. Oh, that's the ac, I think, in the background. I'm sorry, I'm in a hotel room, so you're going to hear hotel sounds in the background, which are always fun or not so fun, but I hope you're bearing with it, and perhaps you can appreciate the feel of a great hotel bed and hotel pillows as you rest and listen to the podcast. Certain hotel rooms, as soon as I lie down, I drift off, and I love staying in those kind of places. And I'm, grateful to say that this hotel in Guelph is actually one of those hotels where I can lay down and feel very comfortable and almost hugged by the linen and comforters and the pillows as my head sinks down into them.
Linda Mora's podcast focuses on Canadian literature
So I was talking about my relationship with this friend of mine, Linda Mora, who I've had for years. And I've said to her, will help. I will. I will only feel comfortable having you edit my book if I can lend my skills to you. And she said, well, part of the reason I'd like to edit the book is because I've always wanted to do a podcast on my skill set, which is Canadian literature. And I said, great, I will hold your hand and walk you through getting your podcast to light or to be, or on air or live, however you like to describe having your podcast or having a podcast be available to people. So Linda's podcast actually became available today, as luck would have it or as kismet would have it. So her podcast is called Getting lit with Linda, and it focuses on. On Canadian literature. And, that might help some people fall asleep. So I suggest you check it out. But I think it's going to be far more interesting for most. It has been interesting for me to hear about these Canadian authors I never knew of, ah. That she talks about with such passion and insight. And I remember we had a whole list of different names for the pop. The possible name for the podcast. But I think we all really liked Getting lit with Linda because of all the different associations or connotations that that title could and does have. So check that out. Wherever you listen to this podcast, you'll find Getting lit with Linda. You might hear my thumbprint on it help having helped to produce it. You might be like, oh, that's something that Marco does on the Insomnia Project, and I can hear his influence. Or maybe you'll be like, oh, no, this podcast is great. I'm glad Marco's thumbprint is not on it the way it is on the Insomnia Project. And, yeah, so that's.
I'm in Guelph, Ontario to record a podcast about corn
That's where I'm at right now in Guelph, surrounded by wonderful fields of farms. Fresh corn is now available. I love corn. I love everything about corn. I love seeing it in the stalks. I love peeling the husk off of corn. I don't love the. The silk of the corn, but there's so many different ways to prepare corn. And my cousin said the best way that she knows is to soak the corn in the husk in water. For let's say an hour. And then to take that wet corn in the husk and put it directly on the barbecue so it steams while it cooks. And I've never had it like that before. And I don't love barbecued corn but that's not my favorite way. I prefer boiled corn. But now I'm thinking, oh, this is something I might have to, I might have to explore getting back to Guelph. One of the things that Guelph is known for apart from the cathedral is the University of Guelph. And the University of Guelph is one of the universities I was thinking of going to way back in the day when I was applying to different post secondary schools. And I got into the University of Guelph. And now having driven by it, I have a little pang of sadness because it's such a beautiful looking campus. Their athletic mascot is a griffin and there's this wonderful sculpture of this griffin kind of leaning on it, on its arm it looks like, or on its clawed lion arm. I don't know how you would describe that. And it's beautiful and it reminds me of Harry Potter a bit and I love Harry Potter and I feel like it's a little bit of a nod to Hogsmeade, Hogsworth, the school. I think I'm saying it wrong, shows how much of a fan I am of Harry Potter. I just can't, can't think of it in this moment. But if you're a fan, you know what I'm talking about. And that's the AC going off and I look at the campus and it's so beautiful. And I love university, university towns. And just seeing the campus amongst the city that they're in or amongst the town that they're in and how they sort of dovetail together and work together. And there's that sort of vibrance of youth and studies and people eager to learn and the people who live in the town and some of whom work for the university or servicing the people who attend or work at the university. And then the exact opposite where the city sort of connects to its past. That's certainly something that I experience here in Guelph. Guelph, Ontario, spelled G U E L P H for those of you who are wondering how, how that is spelled. And yeah, I'm just happy to be in a hotel. I'm here kind of for work, kind of not for work but I brought my microphone just in case and I'm glad I did my Portable microphone to this hotel room. And it's midday, so a lot of the people are not in the hotel's rooms. And so I feel like I have it all to myself. So it's perfect for recording a podcast because I'm not hearing the ding of the elevator or the rustle of carts and luggage and people wandering the halls. Having said that, who knows what's going to happen in a moment or two. It's also kind of amazing, to explore the cities and towns that are near your place where you live that you don't go and see because it just seems so close, or they're not a place to vacation to. And when you're forced to be there the way I am, and you're like, oh, I've never really explored this town. I've heard it mentioned so many times. I have friends who are from here. I actually have relatives I barely know who live in Guelph. And I've driven through it many times. I've passed it to get to other cities and towns. It's not a major city. It's more of a town that has a university, but so it feels like a city, but it still feels very quaint and charming. And one of the things I love about Guelph is you can park for free just about anywhere for two hours. And so, having been here with time on my hands, I'm able to walk around and explore and see, look at the different local restaurants and local shops. There's a shoe store called if, and I thought, what an unusual name for a shoe store.
I love a good shoehorn. I have several near my door at home
Speaking of shoes, I don't think I've ever done an episode where I talk about the shoe horn. That's the ice in the fridge behind me. Deciding to make an appearance on the show. Today's show, brought to you by myself. Ice and the air conditioner. But I love a good shoehorn. I don't know how you feel about a shoehorn. For those of you who are thinking, what exactly is a shoehorn? A shoehorn is that instrument that is often long. I prefer the ones that are long, say, the length of your forearm, if not longer, that look like a concave, often hard plastic, sometimes metal, with a rounded edge, almost like a tongue depressor, if you will, that you put in the heel, you insert into the heel of your shoe. As you put your foot, slip your foot into your shoe. It allows for the back portion of your shoe to widen a bit so that you can just push your foot down into your shoe without damaging the back of your shoe. I know it's not the best description, but it's the one that came off the top of my head. I love a shoehorn. I have several near my door at home. I find it easier to put on shoes. I find I tend to damage in particular runners or running shoe or athletic shoes less when I use a shoehorn. When I go to other people's homes, I'll sometimes say, do you have a shoehorn? And when I meet someone who loves a shoehorn as much as I do, they take great pride in saying, yes, here's my shoehorn. And I'm always grateful for that moment. And then sometimes I'll have people say, what's a shoehorn? And I give the lame description that I just gave you, about what a shoehorn is. But it's one of those things that those one use items that I find when you have them, the moment you need them, you're grateful that they're there and then you don't think about them until you need them again. And they're handy. And if they're, if they stay hidden or tucked away in their place, they're not bothersome. I tend to be the king of useless gadgets. If you ask Amanda, she'll often say, oh, here's another thing we'll use for, for a month or two, and then it'll fall by the wayside. I once bought a spoon. It was kind of like a double ended spatula. So one spatula was on one end and on the opposite end was the other spatula. And it was, not very big. As far as spatulas are concerned. Let's say the size of your three fingers together, that was about the width of the, the width of the spatula. So your index, middle and ring finger together was about the size, what is that? About two and a half inches, let's say. And the purpose of this double ended spatula was for any time that you made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or peanut butter and jam sandwiches, one end would be for the peanut butter and the other end would be for the jelly. And I thought, this is brilliant. How did I live my life without this double ended spatula? And Amanda looked at me and said, all right, you purchased this. How often are you making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? And I said, well, but for those times that I do, I'm not getting two knives dirty. And I'm, especially not combining a bit of peanut butter into my jam or a bit of jam into my peanut butter, which I hate. I have this wonderful tool. Well, that Wonderful tool was in our. In our cutlery drawer, causing all kinds of havoc, getting in the way, sticking out, falling to the ground, and for how much I used it and for as much disruption as it caused my wife and myself in the kitchen. That double spatula jam and peanut butter spreader is no longer in our home, I'm sad to say, and I miss it on those times when I do make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which once again is not often. Maybe I just need to make more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Maybe that's the problem.
Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. I hope you enjoy this episode
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this episode. It's. I'm going to call it the off the Cuff episode because it's off the cuff and I'm recording it from this hotel in Guelph. Thanks to Nima Karazi, who's listening from California who said, I think you posted the the same episode twice, which I did. Thank you to Tyler Murray for unbeknownst to him was the cause of this episode. Thank you to Linda Mora, who has a podcast of her own called Getting lit with Linda. As I mentioned, thank you to the person who emailed me to say they are no longer listening to the Insomnia Project because of the all the mouth noises I make. I'm going to endeavor not to make them. For those of you who decided to stay and push past my mouth noises, now I'm a bit conscious. How many mouth noises do I make when I talk to people on the street? Well, I guess it's. That's their problem. Thank you also to the Podcast Awards, the People's Choice Podcast Awards, for including us in their health category. My other podcast, Eat and Drink, is also nominated. It's always nice to be recognized and to get emails. And I actually, if I was to pick between getting awards and hearing from the listeners, I'd always pick hearing from the listeners. So I guess the ultimate thank you is to you, whoever you are, wherever you are, whether you be in Guelph or in another town with the same name, or if you live near a Gulf or if you've ever gone to a Gulf gas station. Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. Hopefully we've allowed you to listen and sleep and I have some interesting episodes coming up that I think you'll look forward to forward to. I'm excited about next week's episode. I'm going to get back into posting, episodes in twice a week as I was doing. Unfortunately, because of what was going on with me both personally and professionally, I wasn't able to keep up with that. But I'll get back to it, listeners, because I know you appreciate it and I want to thank you. For those of you who are pushing past the ads that we have the top of our show, I know that they can be a little bit annoying, but they also help us to keep the podcast going. So just know that they're helpful to us because they allow us to cover the costs of things like the platform, that we have our podcast on and other things that it doesn't really matter, but they're helpful to us. That's all I can tell you. And if you ever get get the opportunity to drive into Guelph, I recommend it. At least drive by those towns that have beautiful farms and mills and places you can picnic near water. I love those. I love those things. I love it when you can drive by a place that has that. anyways, until next time, I hope you enjoy this and I hope you listen and sleep.
Cigars with Nima Kharrazi
(Original airdate: July 8, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. one thing we try to deliver is a podcast episode that is less than fascinating so that you, the listener, can drift off. Thank you for joining us. My name is Marco Timpano, and I hope you listen and sleep. Joining me today, and I'm quite excited about this and I'm going to try not to be too enthusiastic so that, our listeners can just sort of listen and chill. Is a good friend of mine, Nima Kharazi. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Speaker C: Thank you very much, Marco.
I have the great fortune of being in Salt Lake City, Utah with you
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted you on the program for quite some time, and I have the great fortune of being in Salt Lake City, Utah with you.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, this is really exciting.
>> Marco Timpano: It's pretty fun, isn't it?
>> Speaker C: It's been an experience. You and I have never been slc.
>> Marco Timpano: No, we haven't.
>> Speaker C: And it's so fun to explore a city where neither one of us has the upper hand.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker C: And we just are allowing it to kind of reveal itself to us.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Speaker C: It's just been wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you live in Los Angeles, Correct? I live in Toronto and we met in Salt Lake City, Utah. And I have to say, I always heard that Utah was beautiful. And I'VE heard great things about Salt Lake City, but it, it so superseded what I expected it to be completely. I, I could see myself living here. That's how much I'm enjoying it. And I, I know we have listeners in Utah and I just want you to know how beautiful I think this state is.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. it really helps that also it snowed and there was this like, beautiful blanket of beautiful white snow. And we're in very close proximity to Temple Square and SLC and the mountains are snow covered. And I mean all of it on top of each other. The elevation is nice because you get crisper, cleaner air and the people are very friendly. It also does remind me a lot of like Boulder, Colorado or like, other kinds of cities that I've been to that have these like, one main streets that you go down and there's stores and Rocky Mountain Chocolate. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: We went to Park City the other day and that was just tremendous as well. And you know that old Egyptian theater we walked in? How cool that was. I love going to old theaters that are still used in some capacity for arts.
>> Speaker C: It was nice. It was interesting to see because she had told us that it was from the 1930s.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it was 26. It happened, before the stock market crash. So I think it was 26 is when it was built.
>> Speaker C: 1926. And it was interesting because it's a tall, very tall theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: The stage is decent sized, but there's only about 200 seats in the whole thing. Yeah. And you would be laughed out of either one of our cities if you, if you built something like that and called it a theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: And it's just so impressive to see that they have maintained it and kept it going as well and as long
>> Marco Timpano: as they have all that time. And I read that it survived a lot of things, like the stock market crash. At one point, Park City was a ghost town.
>> Speaker C: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it still survived. And, it changed names like, I think it was called the Wheeler at one point. And then it got refurbished, I believe in the 80s and then restored in the 90s as well. And now it's just a, a jewel in the crown of theater, cinema and performance spaces in this state, I would say.
>> Speaker C: Wonderful. Yeah.
I wanted to talk to you about something that I know is passion for you
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk to you about something that I know is a bit of a passion for you and maybe some of our listeners might be little bit weary of this topic because we haven't talked about this before and in no way am I advising or condoning, this hobby of yours, let's say, but I do Want to, give a little warning. but that said, I want to explore because you have quite a. Quite a knowledge in this field, and you like to, on occasion, smoke cigars.
>> Speaker C: I love smoking cigars.
>> Marco Timpano: So while we don't recommend smoking, I do want to talk about things to do with cigar and the whole sort of, It almost seems like there's a ceremonial aspect once one is going to smoke a cigar.
>> Speaker C: Correct. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I want to talk to you, first of all, what is important to you as far as accoutrements, and smoking cigars?
>> Speaker C: What.
>> Marco Timpano: What. What is key for you?
>> Speaker C: It's interesting that you say, if you had just said what is important in smoking a cigar? My answer is draw. Draw means the effortlessness, or the amount of effort, essentially, that it takes for you to get the smoke from the lit end into your mouth. From the open end. That's cut.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So I don't like to work very hard for my cigar. It's supposed to be a very relaxing thing for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: most cigars will take me about an hour to smoke, and so I like a very easy draw. I compare it to a large straw where you get a lot of soda effortlessly.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: Compared to those very. Remember those tiny coffee straws? Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: They're like stir sticks almost.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: They're not. Their intended. Intended use is not to be used as a straw, but rather as a stir stick. But if you're a kid.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Or you want to just test the liquid you're going to sample, you might use that as a straw, but it's going to bring very little volume of liquid into your mouth. Is that fair to say?
>> Speaker C: Exactly. Okay. And it's also going to take a lot of effort.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Speaker C: So draw is the most important aspect of a cigar. The stick itself.
>> Marco Timpano: The stick, meaning the cigar.
>> Speaker C: Meaning the cigar, the physical cigar that you're smoking. The accoutrement is a different question, and I'm glad you said. Yeah. So I'm a, traditionalist in the fact that I like to use, a matchstick if I can. Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Over a lighter, you're saying over a butane lighter?
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Why is that?
>> Speaker C: Because the butane lighter gives off a bit of a butane vibe to the
>> Marco Timpano: cigar smell and flavor. Would you say both?
>> Speaker C: Okay. Yeah. And so that's your first inhale is more gas chemical than.
>> Marco Timpano: Than, Tobacco.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: now, there are some people that will light a cedar stick and then light their cigar with the cedar stick.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Speaker C: So they'll use the butane to light that cedar stick, and then they'll use the cedar stick. I like that. I just don't have the patience for it, nor do I have the time to go looking around to find. Find cedar sticks to light my cigars. So I tend to just sometimes default to the butane lighter. what I don't ever use is a. Is a handheld, like a Bic lighter.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So one of those ones that have a little flint roller or whatever you call it, to light.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: The gas.
>> Speaker C: The little gas station lighters like those. I never use those.
>> Marco Timpano: And why. So you'd be more likely to use a butane lighter over one of these gas station lighters.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Why is that?
>> Speaker C: Because the butane has a flame, kind of like a torch.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: And that burns off most of the scent. Right. And so then you're not getting, anything but tobacco flavor and content when you're smoking. Okay. And you're getting a faster, more even burn on the outside of the cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Because it's a hotter flame that you can direct because it comes out to a point.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: As opposed to a flickering flame that you have to try to maneuver around.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
You rotate your cigar around a butane lighter
>> Speaker C: And you have to continuously then rotate your cigar around this butane lighter, which is complicated if your cigar isn't,
>> Marco Timpano: cigarillo or something thin.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Or if it's not a circle, because some, cigars are box pressed, meaning it's almost like a circle, but the, the top and the bottom are flat.
>> Marco Timpano: So would it be more oval in shape?
>> Speaker C: Almost rectangular.
>> Marco Timpano: Almost rectangular. Okay.
The purpose of a cutter is to cut off the end that goes in
So I just want, because I'm not a cigar aficionado, I want to take a step back from where, where our conversation is. What is the purpose of that cigar?
>> Marco Timpano: Guillotine.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know what it's called, but, you know, the cutter. It's.
>> Speaker C: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: The cutter. What is the purpose of that? And is it important to have a good cutter? And my third question is, what makes a good cutter?
>> Speaker C: Very good questions. So the purpose of a cutter is to cut off the end that goes in your mouth so that you can draw in the smoke through the cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: Because if I'm not mistaken, the cigar is wrapped with a tobacco leaf, and the end that you put in your mouth is tapered off almost like a torpedo. And would it mean. Then it's sealed and you wouldn't be able to get the air through the cigar to continue to give oxygen to the tobacco inside.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that right?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So that's. That is the Exact reason. Okay, so some do. If you watch these old spaghetti westerns or these old, like movies with you know, whoever old timey guys like.
>> Marco Timpano: Like cowboys and stuff.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, John Wayne flicks when he goes to buy a cigar, you know, they bite off the end of the, the stick and they spit it on the ground and do whatever. There's still some cigar smokers that'll bite off the ends of their cigars. Okay. But nowadays you use, a cutter. there's different types of cutters and there's different types of cuts.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Speaker C: There's a straight cut which looks like a guillotine. It's a circle that your cigar can go through. And you can cut anything from, you know, an eighth of an inch to as half. You cut your cigar in half, essentially. Right. With that guillotine. There's another type of cutter that has a flat back like a wall to it. It's the same guillotine, but instead of a hole all the way through, there's a wall on one end.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, I don't follow. So it's like a guillotine, but instead of cutting straight through the cigar, it does what?
>> Speaker C: The cigar stops at a point. So there's like a, it's almost like there's a back to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So you can't see through it. If you put your finger and, and nipped it, you would just nick the front like 8th inch of your finger.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's just, it doesn't chomp all the way through, but rather it cuts a portion from the top and the bottom of the cigar, but leaves some of the cigar intact.
>> Speaker C: No, so the. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm sorry, I know.
>> Speaker C: It's fine. it's better, to explain it this way anyway. Okay, so, so the guillotine is basically a circle that you could see through that you put your cigar through the circle and the guillotine cuts off the. Where Wherever you have your cigar set in the middle of this.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: The guillotine with a back you cannot see through.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: So it is a circle where the cigar sits in, goes in. But it has a stopper. It has a full back stopper.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: So you can only cut to where the back is against this wall.
>> Marco Timpano: So it only allows you to cut a tiny, tiny or a proportion that the, that the device, wants you to cut. Okay. Because your cigar will hit the back end or that wall, and stop. And then you'll cut only that half an inch or a quarter of an inch or whatever it is.
>> Speaker C: So we call that an idiot proof cutter.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: Because you're going to get the same cut level and almost every cigar needs just that much. You don't need to cut a whole inch off. Now, the advantage of the, the full circle guillotine that you can see through is that if you smoked half of your cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: And then you got called into a meeting or something, you could then cut off. Because the way a cigar is smoked, the, the cherry of the cigar, the, the part of it that's burning is usually in the front inch of the stick. That even though there's ash further out than that, because that's the finished part, the front end of it is burning
>> Marco Timpano: and causing smoke where the, where the red hot embers would be.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So if you finished your cigar, you don't ever tamp it out. You just leave it in the, in the tray.
>> Marco Timpano: You never, you never extinguish it, like. And why is that?
>> Speaker C: First of all, it's, it's dirty, it's messy. Right. Second of all, the cherry is much bigger, so it would take you a long time to extinguish to put every ember out. And third of all, it's just, it doesn't, it's, it smells bad and it causes more of a problem because now you're causing the, the cherry to move up in the cigar and burn new portions of the cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: So some people will smoke a third of their cigar and then cut their cigar in half past the cherry part and save that for to smoke later
>> Marco Timpano: because it's almost like a brand new cigar at that point. Right?
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So you can't do that with the idiot proof cutter. Right. That's only with the guillotine cutter. I see. I like the idiot proof because I only smoke one brand of cigar and that brand of cigar only needs a very tiny sliver cut off the end of it.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: And if you cut more than that, you have a risk of unraveling the outside, and then you've just ruined this whole stick.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
Your intention is always, I will smoke what I will of the cigar
So what do you do in a case of. I don't have the time to finish smoking the cigar, but I haven't gone through enough of it to get rid of the cigar if you have that kind of a cutter.
>> Speaker C: I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't. You just. Your intention is always, I will smoke what I will of the cigar. And when I'm done, the cigar is done.
>> Speaker C: Correct. Okay. Like a drink, like anything else. I'm not going to take it home. It's fine where it is. I spent this much money for this experience. The experience is over, and that's it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. We've talked about the cutter.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
You should never overstuff the humidor because it's not going to work
>> Marco Timpano: Now let's talk about the humidor, which I think. I feel like a lot of people know that word, but they might not know what a humidor's function or purposes.
>> Speaker C: Correct. So the humidor's function, first of all. Okay. Let's start with the basics. Okay. Thank you for that, by the way. I'm getting there. No understanding.
>> Marco Timpano: I appreciate it, and I'm sure our listeners will appreciate it too, because we're really getting a deep dive into the world of the cigar.
>> Speaker C: So the humidor is made from, usually circles, cedar wood.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: The reason why is because cedar wood absorbs moisture and then keeps things at a specific humidity. M. due to the moisture that it has absorbed. I see. Now, you. Depending on the amount of cigar, the number and size of cigars that you have, you can't overload humidor and expect it to work well because there's not enough moisture in that wood to keep all of those cigars humid.
>> Marco Timpano: So what you're saying is you. You should never overstuff the humidor because it's not going to work at its optimum, function.
>> Speaker C: Correct. Okay. So you. What you have to do is either you have to get a second humidor, or you have to get a larger humidor, or you have to get rid of some of your cigars, which I've had to do all three. Wow. and because a lot of times what will happen is, there's a great deal at the cigar lounge. You go to, and you end up buying a box of 14. And then you go on a trip and you come back and you buy another box of 14 of another cigar. Now, you got 28 sticks at home that are drying out that you have to put in a humidor. You already had 10 or 12 sticks in there. So now you're at 40 and your humidor can only hold 30.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So now you have to either move 10 to a second or you have to. You have to get a larger humidor,
>> Marco Timpano: or you'd have to smoke a large quantity of cigars that you have or
>> Speaker C: sell them or trade them. or you could do what a lot of us do in a pinch, which is you wet a paper towel and you put the cigars in a Ziploc bag and you keep those in a, ah, cupboard somewhere.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Speaker C: And that'll. That'll do you until it's like in case of an emergency.
>> Marco Timpano: It will last you a couple months.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, it'll be fine.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not ideal, but.
>> Speaker C: No, it's. But it's better.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a hack that can help you out.
>> Speaker C: It's better than nothing.
>> Marco Timpano: I should say that a humidor, if I'm not mistaken, is a box, Right?
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: And like you said, generally made out of cedar wood.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: In case people are wondering. I still don't know what a humidor is. So it's the vessel that holds the cigars and keeps them fresh for the smoker.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So the humidity in the box, that is airtight, is, is, shown to you by way of a hydra hydrogen hydroge meter.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds right to me, my friend.
>> Speaker C: anyway, it's, it's, there's a meter in there that tells you what percentage it's at, and it should be optimally between 70 to 72% humidity.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't even know the percentage.
>> Speaker C: Okay, so that's optimal, depending on your own surroundings. If it's colder climate, warmer climate, you may need more or less humanity.
>> Marco Timpano: Would altitude affect it too? Since we are.
>> Speaker C: I never thought of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because we're on a high altitude. So I'm wondering if people in Utah have to treat, their cigars a certain.
>> Speaker C: Or Denver, you know, that's even higher. Yeah, that might be a thing. So we had to, I've had to move my cigars into a larger humidor, but before I could do that, I had to prep it. And the way you prep it is you empty it out and you take a wet paper towel with distilled water.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you're like seasoning your. Oh, wow, you're seasoning your humidor.
>> Speaker C: Okay, so you wipe down all the cedar wood.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: And you let it stay overnight. The next day, you take a shot glass of water and you put it in your humidor and you let it stay overnight. And that water will evaporate and absorb into the cedar wood that which hasn't absorbed enough already. Then you let it stay one more night. So three nights of seasoning, like three, 24 hours of seasoning your, your humidor with nothing in it. And then you have to make sure you have the proper distilled water for the humidor. Then for the extra humidity packs that you, you're putting in here, and you get it to a 72% level and then you put your cigars in.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. So it's a 72 hour process before you can even place Your product into the vessel that keeps it fresh.
>> Speaker C: No, it's 72 hour process before you can even start testing it. And putting humidity packs in to get it, then to 72 and then, and that might take two days or it might take a week. With this one, it took me five days.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Speaker C: And I was checking it every day.
You don't want to keep opening and closing your humidor
And you don't, you don't want to keep opening and closing because you're gonna,
>> Marco Timpano: that's gonna affect the humidity in your humidor.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker C: So then finally. Got it, got it right. And, I put my cigars in there and I've checked on them once and had to refill the water, but they're doing okay now.
>> Marco Timpano: Good. Okay, thank you for that, that information.
How important is the tightness of the roll of your cigar
Now how important is the, and I don't know if I'm using the right word, but the tightness of the, of the roll of your cigar? I don't know if those are the right terms.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, no, that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what I'm saying? How would you describe that?
>> Speaker C: So the inside of a cigar is called filler. It's the filler tobacco isn't inside there. And that's just kind of meshed up and squeezed together and pressed. And then it's wrapped with a wrapper. That's what the outside is. So you put the wrapper on. Now if you have the filler too tight and then you put the wrapper. The wrapper is always tight around it. But what your question is. Yeah. You're really trying to ask what's the importance of the filler being very tight. Right. That is what creates a, A, smoother or, or more difficult draw. Oh. And also what constitutes or creates a slow or fast burn. So if you have a pound of tobacco, I mean, I'm using an outrageous pound of tobacco. Tobacco in one hand and a half pound in the other. And you make the same sized cigar, the half pound isn't, isn't wound as tightly as the pound. And so it will draw much faster.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: The same way as if you took a pound of tobacco and you made it loose, it would make a larger cigar. Right. And you made it tight, it would make a smaller cigar. And they might burn at the same rate, but the larger cigar looks like it would burn for longer.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: So I don't like very tight filler, but I also don't like it to be too loose because then it's just, it's over too quickly.
>> Marco Timpano: So you have it, you have a certain degree of tightness that you like in your Cigars.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But, they would be more leaning towards looser than tighter. Because you like to like, as you said at the beginning, effortless draw.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Draw to me is more important than flavor. It's more important than the texture. it's even more important to me than it being handmade.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: I got lucky in the fact that I found a brand that is handmade and is Nicaraguan, which is my favorite type of tobacco. Tobacco. And it's got a very smooth draw.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
Do cigars have notes of flavor like wine does? Does a cigar have flavor
Now you said flavor. Does the cigar have a sort of flavor profile that one could compare wine to in that? Does a cigar have notes of flavor like wine does?
>> Speaker C: You have to think more like coffee.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Because wine is from a fruit. Right. And coffee comes from these. Although technically it gets cool. Coffee's.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a fruit.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a berry.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. that's a strange thing.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but it's fine.
>> Speaker C: But it's the, the, the notes in coffee and cigar are similar in that you will see a hint of. And usually it's a darker thing. Like you can see a chocolatey finish or you can have a more earthy undertone. some cigars taste more like dirt. Some cigars taste, like mint, but without actually being minty.
>> Marco Timpano: Like there's no actual mint in the product.
>> Speaker C: Not like a menthol cigar, which, ah, I don't think exists, but, like a mintier cigar, type. When I smoke, I like to have. I used to go in and say, you know, I want a nice cigar with an easy draw. And they would give me these cigars that are really made for like first time smokers. They're vanilla flavored, they're a little bit smaller, they're very easy to smoke and they're kind of like fruity and sweet and nice.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: People like that. And then they usually go from that into like cognac flavored and rum flavored. And then, then you get into actual cigars. but that's what they think. Although I don't know a lot of people who've done that. Most of the people I know who smoke flavored cigars stay in flavored cigars. Right. I would go opposite. When I walked into a cigar cigar shop, I would say to the owner, I want something that tastes like dirt.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: I wanted to offend me. I wanted to be aggressive in order to make sure they weren't going to go in that direction.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: And, I got a lot of weird looks from owners saying like, if that's what you like I mean, just go lick the ground outside. You don't need to have a cigar for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: Until eventually I figured out that what I like is less earthy and less dark. So, there's two types of wrappers. There's a continental wrapper, which is like a very light brown, almost gray. And then there is a, I think it's called. I don't smoke it, so I don't know it, but I think it's called like a. It can't be called Menudo, but it's something like Menudo.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: And it's, So that's a darker wrapper cigar. And so that's also a stronger flavor, much like a dark roast and coffee is a stronger flavor and a light roast is a lighter. Okay. So I don't like the dark. The darker ones. I all. I. I like a, much lighter cigar and I like a. So everything about me is just the experience of it more than the actual flavor of a cigar or it trying to pretend to be a different thing.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, the non cigar smoker, if I was to see someone with a cigar that was dark in color, I could assume that it's going to have darker, richer, harsher flavors. Like a dark roast coffee.
>> Speaker C: Correct? Okay. Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Speaker C: So if you're going in to have a cigar as a relaxing kind of vibe and you just want to chill and talk to your buddy, you should pick one of the lightest cigars in the house. And usually any cigar shop worth its salt, but will have house blend cigars that are much more affordable. Okay. And if you don't care about a brand name, that's your go to. They're very affordable and very easy to smoke and light and a good draw and clean. And it makes the shop happy that
>> Marco Timpano: you are using their local brand.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
This episode went a bit longer than usual, but it was fascinating to explore
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Nima, I want to thank you. This episode went a bit longer than. Than we usually go, but it was so fascinating to explore. And I know we just sort of chomped off the tip of the cigar world, but it was very informative for me. So I want to thank you for that.
>> Speaker C: Thank you, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: once again for our listeners, we don't recommend or condone smoking, but we wanted to delve into a world in a topic that I know that you have a lot of experience in. Nima. So thank you for that. As always, we hope you listen and sleep. And as we've mentioned, this episode was recorded in Salt Lake City, Utah.
(Original airdate: July 8, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. one thing we try to deliver is a podcast episode that is less than fascinating so that you, the listener, can drift off. Thank you for joining us. My name is Marco Timpano, and I hope you listen and sleep. Joining me today, and I'm quite excited about this and I'm going to try not to be too enthusiastic so that, our listeners can just sort of listen and chill. Is a good friend of mine, Nima Kharazi. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Speaker C: Thank you very much, Marco.
I have the great fortune of being in Salt Lake City, Utah with you
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted you on the program for quite some time, and I have the great fortune of being in Salt Lake City, Utah with you.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, this is really exciting.
>> Marco Timpano: It's pretty fun, isn't it?
>> Speaker C: It's been an experience. You and I have never been slc.
>> Marco Timpano: No, we haven't.
>> Speaker C: And it's so fun to explore a city where neither one of us has the upper hand.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker C: And we just are allowing it to kind of reveal itself to us.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Speaker C: It's just been wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you live in Los Angeles, Correct? I live in Toronto and we met in Salt Lake City, Utah. And I have to say, I always heard that Utah was beautiful. And I'VE heard great things about Salt Lake City, but it, it so superseded what I expected it to be completely. I, I could see myself living here. That's how much I'm enjoying it. And I, I know we have listeners in Utah and I just want you to know how beautiful I think this state is.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. it really helps that also it snowed and there was this like, beautiful blanket of beautiful white snow. And we're in very close proximity to Temple Square and SLC and the mountains are snow covered. And I mean all of it on top of each other. The elevation is nice because you get crisper, cleaner air and the people are very friendly. It also does remind me a lot of like Boulder, Colorado or like, other kinds of cities that I've been to that have these like, one main streets that you go down and there's stores and Rocky Mountain Chocolate. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: We went to Park City the other day and that was just tremendous as well. And you know that old Egyptian theater we walked in? How cool that was. I love going to old theaters that are still used in some capacity for arts.
>> Speaker C: It was nice. It was interesting to see because she had told us that it was from the 1930s.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it was 26. It happened, before the stock market crash. So I think it was 26 is when it was built.
>> Speaker C: 1926. And it was interesting because it's a tall, very tall theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: The stage is decent sized, but there's only about 200 seats in the whole thing. Yeah. And you would be laughed out of either one of our cities if you, if you built something like that and called it a theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: And it's just so impressive to see that they have maintained it and kept it going as well and as long
>> Marco Timpano: as they have all that time. And I read that it survived a lot of things, like the stock market crash. At one point, Park City was a ghost town.
>> Speaker C: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it still survived. And, it changed names like, I think it was called the Wheeler at one point. And then it got refurbished, I believe in the 80s and then restored in the 90s as well. And now it's just a, a jewel in the crown of theater, cinema and performance spaces in this state, I would say.
>> Speaker C: Wonderful. Yeah.
I wanted to talk to you about something that I know is passion for you
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk to you about something that I know is a bit of a passion for you and maybe some of our listeners might be little bit weary of this topic because we haven't talked about this before and in no way am I advising or condoning, this hobby of yours, let's say, but I do Want to, give a little warning. but that said, I want to explore because you have quite a. Quite a knowledge in this field, and you like to, on occasion, smoke cigars.
>> Speaker C: I love smoking cigars.
>> Marco Timpano: So while we don't recommend smoking, I do want to talk about things to do with cigar and the whole sort of, It almost seems like there's a ceremonial aspect once one is going to smoke a cigar.
>> Speaker C: Correct. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I want to talk to you, first of all, what is important to you as far as accoutrements, and smoking cigars?
>> Speaker C: What.
>> Marco Timpano: What. What is key for you?
>> Speaker C: It's interesting that you say, if you had just said what is important in smoking a cigar? My answer is draw. Draw means the effortlessness, or the amount of effort, essentially, that it takes for you to get the smoke from the lit end into your mouth. From the open end. That's cut.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So I don't like to work very hard for my cigar. It's supposed to be a very relaxing thing for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: most cigars will take me about an hour to smoke, and so I like a very easy draw. I compare it to a large straw where you get a lot of soda effortlessly.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: Compared to those very. Remember those tiny coffee straws? Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: They're like stir sticks almost.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: They're not. Their intended. Intended use is not to be used as a straw, but rather as a stir stick. But if you're a kid.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Or you want to just test the liquid you're going to sample, you might use that as a straw, but it's going to bring very little volume of liquid into your mouth. Is that fair to say?
>> Speaker C: Exactly. Okay. And it's also going to take a lot of effort.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Speaker C: So draw is the most important aspect of a cigar. The stick itself.
>> Marco Timpano: The stick, meaning the cigar.
>> Speaker C: Meaning the cigar, the physical cigar that you're smoking. The accoutrement is a different question, and I'm glad you said. Yeah. So I'm a, traditionalist in the fact that I like to use, a matchstick if I can. Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Over a lighter, you're saying over a butane lighter?
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Why is that?
>> Speaker C: Because the butane lighter gives off a bit of a butane vibe to the
>> Marco Timpano: cigar smell and flavor. Would you say both?
>> Speaker C: Okay. Yeah. And so that's your first inhale is more gas chemical than.
>> Marco Timpano: Than, Tobacco.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: now, there are some people that will light a cedar stick and then light their cigar with the cedar stick.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Speaker C: So they'll use the butane to light that cedar stick, and then they'll use the cedar stick. I like that. I just don't have the patience for it, nor do I have the time to go looking around to find. Find cedar sticks to light my cigars. So I tend to just sometimes default to the butane lighter. what I don't ever use is a. Is a handheld, like a Bic lighter.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So one of those ones that have a little flint roller or whatever you call it, to light.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: The gas.
>> Speaker C: The little gas station lighters like those. I never use those.
>> Marco Timpano: And why. So you'd be more likely to use a butane lighter over one of these gas station lighters.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Why is that?
>> Speaker C: Because the butane has a flame, kind of like a torch.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: And that burns off most of the scent. Right. And so then you're not getting, anything but tobacco flavor and content when you're smoking. Okay. And you're getting a faster, more even burn on the outside of the cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Because it's a hotter flame that you can direct because it comes out to a point.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: As opposed to a flickering flame that you have to try to maneuver around.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
You rotate your cigar around a butane lighter
>> Speaker C: And you have to continuously then rotate your cigar around this butane lighter, which is complicated if your cigar isn't,
>> Marco Timpano: cigarillo or something thin.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Or if it's not a circle, because some, cigars are box pressed, meaning it's almost like a circle, but the, the top and the bottom are flat.
>> Marco Timpano: So would it be more oval in shape?
>> Speaker C: Almost rectangular.
>> Marco Timpano: Almost rectangular. Okay.
The purpose of a cutter is to cut off the end that goes in
So I just want, because I'm not a cigar aficionado, I want to take a step back from where, where our conversation is. What is the purpose of that cigar?
>> Marco Timpano: Guillotine.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know what it's called, but, you know, the cutter. It's.
>> Speaker C: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: The cutter. What is the purpose of that? And is it important to have a good cutter? And my third question is, what makes a good cutter?
>> Speaker C: Very good questions. So the purpose of a cutter is to cut off the end that goes in your mouth so that you can draw in the smoke through the cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: Because if I'm not mistaken, the cigar is wrapped with a tobacco leaf, and the end that you put in your mouth is tapered off almost like a torpedo. And would it mean. Then it's sealed and you wouldn't be able to get the air through the cigar to continue to give oxygen to the tobacco inside.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that right?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So that's. That is the Exact reason. Okay, so some do. If you watch these old spaghetti westerns or these old, like movies with you know, whoever old timey guys like.
>> Marco Timpano: Like cowboys and stuff.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, John Wayne flicks when he goes to buy a cigar, you know, they bite off the end of the, the stick and they spit it on the ground and do whatever. There's still some cigar smokers that'll bite off the ends of their cigars. Okay. But nowadays you use, a cutter. there's different types of cutters and there's different types of cuts.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Speaker C: There's a straight cut which looks like a guillotine. It's a circle that your cigar can go through. And you can cut anything from, you know, an eighth of an inch to as half. You cut your cigar in half, essentially. Right. With that guillotine. There's another type of cutter that has a flat back like a wall to it. It's the same guillotine, but instead of a hole all the way through, there's a wall on one end.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, I don't follow. So it's like a guillotine, but instead of cutting straight through the cigar, it does what?
>> Speaker C: The cigar stops at a point. So there's like a, it's almost like there's a back to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So you can't see through it. If you put your finger and, and nipped it, you would just nick the front like 8th inch of your finger.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's just, it doesn't chomp all the way through, but rather it cuts a portion from the top and the bottom of the cigar, but leaves some of the cigar intact.
>> Speaker C: No, so the. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm sorry, I know.
>> Speaker C: It's fine. it's better, to explain it this way anyway. Okay, so, so the guillotine is basically a circle that you could see through that you put your cigar through the circle and the guillotine cuts off the. Where Wherever you have your cigar set in the middle of this.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: The guillotine with a back you cannot see through.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: So it is a circle where the cigar sits in, goes in. But it has a stopper. It has a full back stopper.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: So you can only cut to where the back is against this wall.
>> Marco Timpano: So it only allows you to cut a tiny, tiny or a proportion that the, that the device, wants you to cut. Okay. Because your cigar will hit the back end or that wall, and stop. And then you'll cut only that half an inch or a quarter of an inch or whatever it is.
>> Speaker C: So we call that an idiot proof cutter.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: Because you're going to get the same cut level and almost every cigar needs just that much. You don't need to cut a whole inch off. Now, the advantage of the, the full circle guillotine that you can see through is that if you smoked half of your cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: And then you got called into a meeting or something, you could then cut off. Because the way a cigar is smoked, the, the cherry of the cigar, the, the part of it that's burning is usually in the front inch of the stick. That even though there's ash further out than that, because that's the finished part, the front end of it is burning
>> Marco Timpano: and causing smoke where the, where the red hot embers would be.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So if you finished your cigar, you don't ever tamp it out. You just leave it in the, in the tray.
>> Marco Timpano: You never, you never extinguish it, like. And why is that?
>> Speaker C: First of all, it's, it's dirty, it's messy. Right. Second of all, the cherry is much bigger, so it would take you a long time to extinguish to put every ember out. And third of all, it's just, it doesn't, it's, it smells bad and it causes more of a problem because now you're causing the, the cherry to move up in the cigar and burn new portions of the cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: So some people will smoke a third of their cigar and then cut their cigar in half past the cherry part and save that for to smoke later
>> Marco Timpano: because it's almost like a brand new cigar at that point. Right?
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So you can't do that with the idiot proof cutter. Right. That's only with the guillotine cutter. I see. I like the idiot proof because I only smoke one brand of cigar and that brand of cigar only needs a very tiny sliver cut off the end of it.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: And if you cut more than that, you have a risk of unraveling the outside, and then you've just ruined this whole stick.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
Your intention is always, I will smoke what I will of the cigar
So what do you do in a case of. I don't have the time to finish smoking the cigar, but I haven't gone through enough of it to get rid of the cigar if you have that kind of a cutter.
>> Speaker C: I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't. You just. Your intention is always, I will smoke what I will of the cigar. And when I'm done, the cigar is done.
>> Speaker C: Correct. Okay. Like a drink, like anything else. I'm not going to take it home. It's fine where it is. I spent this much money for this experience. The experience is over, and that's it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. We've talked about the cutter.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
You should never overstuff the humidor because it's not going to work
>> Marco Timpano: Now let's talk about the humidor, which I think. I feel like a lot of people know that word, but they might not know what a humidor's function or purposes.
>> Speaker C: Correct. So the humidor's function, first of all. Okay. Let's start with the basics. Okay. Thank you for that, by the way. I'm getting there. No understanding.
>> Marco Timpano: I appreciate it, and I'm sure our listeners will appreciate it too, because we're really getting a deep dive into the world of the cigar.
>> Speaker C: So the humidor is made from, usually circles, cedar wood.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: The reason why is because cedar wood absorbs moisture and then keeps things at a specific humidity. M. due to the moisture that it has absorbed. I see. Now, you. Depending on the amount of cigar, the number and size of cigars that you have, you can't overload humidor and expect it to work well because there's not enough moisture in that wood to keep all of those cigars humid.
>> Marco Timpano: So what you're saying is you. You should never overstuff the humidor because it's not going to work at its optimum, function.
>> Speaker C: Correct. Okay. So you. What you have to do is either you have to get a second humidor, or you have to get a larger humidor, or you have to get rid of some of your cigars, which I've had to do all three. Wow. and because a lot of times what will happen is, there's a great deal at the cigar lounge. You go to, and you end up buying a box of 14. And then you go on a trip and you come back and you buy another box of 14 of another cigar. Now, you got 28 sticks at home that are drying out that you have to put in a humidor. You already had 10 or 12 sticks in there. So now you're at 40 and your humidor can only hold 30.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So now you have to either move 10 to a second or you have to. You have to get a larger humidor,
>> Marco Timpano: or you'd have to smoke a large quantity of cigars that you have or
>> Speaker C: sell them or trade them. or you could do what a lot of us do in a pinch, which is you wet a paper towel and you put the cigars in a Ziploc bag and you keep those in a, ah, cupboard somewhere.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Speaker C: And that'll. That'll do you until it's like in case of an emergency.
>> Marco Timpano: It will last you a couple months.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, it'll be fine.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not ideal, but.
>> Speaker C: No, it's. But it's better.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a hack that can help you out.
>> Speaker C: It's better than nothing.
>> Marco Timpano: I should say that a humidor, if I'm not mistaken, is a box, Right?
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: And like you said, generally made out of cedar wood.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: In case people are wondering. I still don't know what a humidor is. So it's the vessel that holds the cigars and keeps them fresh for the smoker.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So the humidity in the box, that is airtight, is, is, shown to you by way of a hydra hydrogen hydroge meter.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds right to me, my friend.
>> Speaker C: anyway, it's, it's, there's a meter in there that tells you what percentage it's at, and it should be optimally between 70 to 72% humidity.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't even know the percentage.
>> Speaker C: Okay, so that's optimal, depending on your own surroundings. If it's colder climate, warmer climate, you may need more or less humanity.
>> Marco Timpano: Would altitude affect it too? Since we are.
>> Speaker C: I never thought of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because we're on a high altitude. So I'm wondering if people in Utah have to treat, their cigars a certain.
>> Speaker C: Or Denver, you know, that's even higher. Yeah, that might be a thing. So we had to, I've had to move my cigars into a larger humidor, but before I could do that, I had to prep it. And the way you prep it is you empty it out and you take a wet paper towel with distilled water.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you're like seasoning your. Oh, wow, you're seasoning your humidor.
>> Speaker C: Okay, so you wipe down all the cedar wood.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: And you let it stay overnight. The next day, you take a shot glass of water and you put it in your humidor and you let it stay overnight. And that water will evaporate and absorb into the cedar wood that which hasn't absorbed enough already. Then you let it stay one more night. So three nights of seasoning, like three, 24 hours of seasoning your, your humidor with nothing in it. And then you have to make sure you have the proper distilled water for the humidor. Then for the extra humidity packs that you, you're putting in here, and you get it to a 72% level and then you put your cigars in.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. So it's a 72 hour process before you can even place Your product into the vessel that keeps it fresh.
>> Speaker C: No, it's 72 hour process before you can even start testing it. And putting humidity packs in to get it, then to 72 and then, and that might take two days or it might take a week. With this one, it took me five days.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Speaker C: And I was checking it every day.
You don't want to keep opening and closing your humidor
And you don't, you don't want to keep opening and closing because you're gonna,
>> Marco Timpano: that's gonna affect the humidity in your humidor.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker C: So then finally. Got it, got it right. And, I put my cigars in there and I've checked on them once and had to refill the water, but they're doing okay now.
>> Marco Timpano: Good. Okay, thank you for that, that information.
How important is the tightness of the roll of your cigar
Now how important is the, and I don't know if I'm using the right word, but the tightness of the, of the roll of your cigar? I don't know if those are the right terms.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, no, that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what I'm saying? How would you describe that?
>> Speaker C: So the inside of a cigar is called filler. It's the filler tobacco isn't inside there. And that's just kind of meshed up and squeezed together and pressed. And then it's wrapped with a wrapper. That's what the outside is. So you put the wrapper on. Now if you have the filler too tight and then you put the wrapper. The wrapper is always tight around it. But what your question is. Yeah. You're really trying to ask what's the importance of the filler being very tight. Right. That is what creates a, A, smoother or, or more difficult draw. Oh. And also what constitutes or creates a slow or fast burn. So if you have a pound of tobacco, I mean, I'm using an outrageous pound of tobacco. Tobacco in one hand and a half pound in the other. And you make the same sized cigar, the half pound isn't, isn't wound as tightly as the pound. And so it will draw much faster.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: The same way as if you took a pound of tobacco and you made it loose, it would make a larger cigar. Right. And you made it tight, it would make a smaller cigar. And they might burn at the same rate, but the larger cigar looks like it would burn for longer.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: So I don't like very tight filler, but I also don't like it to be too loose because then it's just, it's over too quickly.
>> Marco Timpano: So you have it, you have a certain degree of tightness that you like in your Cigars.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But, they would be more leaning towards looser than tighter. Because you like to like, as you said at the beginning, effortless draw.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Draw to me is more important than flavor. It's more important than the texture. it's even more important to me than it being handmade.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: I got lucky in the fact that I found a brand that is handmade and is Nicaraguan, which is my favorite type of tobacco. Tobacco. And it's got a very smooth draw.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
Do cigars have notes of flavor like wine does? Does a cigar have flavor
Now you said flavor. Does the cigar have a sort of flavor profile that one could compare wine to in that? Does a cigar have notes of flavor like wine does?
>> Speaker C: You have to think more like coffee.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Because wine is from a fruit. Right. And coffee comes from these. Although technically it gets cool. Coffee's.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a fruit.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a berry.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. that's a strange thing.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but it's fine.
>> Speaker C: But it's the, the, the notes in coffee and cigar are similar in that you will see a hint of. And usually it's a darker thing. Like you can see a chocolatey finish or you can have a more earthy undertone. some cigars taste more like dirt. Some cigars taste, like mint, but without actually being minty.
>> Marco Timpano: Like there's no actual mint in the product.
>> Speaker C: Not like a menthol cigar, which, ah, I don't think exists, but, like a mintier cigar, type. When I smoke, I like to have. I used to go in and say, you know, I want a nice cigar with an easy draw. And they would give me these cigars that are really made for like first time smokers. They're vanilla flavored, they're a little bit smaller, they're very easy to smoke and they're kind of like fruity and sweet and nice.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: People like that. And then they usually go from that into like cognac flavored and rum flavored. And then, then you get into actual cigars. but that's what they think. Although I don't know a lot of people who've done that. Most of the people I know who smoke flavored cigars stay in flavored cigars. Right. I would go opposite. When I walked into a cigar cigar shop, I would say to the owner, I want something that tastes like dirt.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: I wanted to offend me. I wanted to be aggressive in order to make sure they weren't going to go in that direction.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: And, I got a lot of weird looks from owners saying like, if that's what you like I mean, just go lick the ground outside. You don't need to have a cigar for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: Until eventually I figured out that what I like is less earthy and less dark. So, there's two types of wrappers. There's a continental wrapper, which is like a very light brown, almost gray. And then there is a, I think it's called. I don't smoke it, so I don't know it, but I think it's called like a. It can't be called Menudo, but it's something like Menudo.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: And it's, So that's a darker wrapper cigar. And so that's also a stronger flavor, much like a dark roast and coffee is a stronger flavor and a light roast is a lighter. Okay. So I don't like the dark. The darker ones. I all. I. I like a, much lighter cigar and I like a. So everything about me is just the experience of it more than the actual flavor of a cigar or it trying to pretend to be a different thing.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, the non cigar smoker, if I was to see someone with a cigar that was dark in color, I could assume that it's going to have darker, richer, harsher flavors. Like a dark roast coffee.
>> Speaker C: Correct? Okay. Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Speaker C: So if you're going in to have a cigar as a relaxing kind of vibe and you just want to chill and talk to your buddy, you should pick one of the lightest cigars in the house. And usually any cigar shop worth its salt, but will have house blend cigars that are much more affordable. Okay. And if you don't care about a brand name, that's your go to. They're very affordable and very easy to smoke and light and a good draw and clean. And it makes the shop happy that
>> Marco Timpano: you are using their local brand.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
This episode went a bit longer than usual, but it was fascinating to explore
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Nima, I want to thank you. This episode went a bit longer than. Than we usually go, but it was so fascinating to explore. And I know we just sort of chomped off the tip of the cigar world, but it was very informative for me. So I want to thank you for that.
>> Speaker C: Thank you, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: once again for our listeners, we don't recommend or condone smoking, but we wanted to delve into a world in a topic that I know that you have a lot of experience in. Nima. So thank you for that. As always, we hope you listen and sleep. And as we've mentioned, this episode was recorded in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Tarot Cards with River Rose
(Original airdate July 26, 2020)
This episode has a bit of a trigger warning
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. I don't know how mundane today's topic will be. I certainly find it fascinating. And for those of you who feel that sometimes our episodes are are too fascinating to lull you into slumber, maybe it'll just let you relax. So hopefully that is the case. I'm going to mention that today's episode has a bit of a trigger warning, so I want to give everyone the heads up on that because we will be dipping into talking about the pandemic that that most m of us are facing right now with our guests. And we're going to be very conscious and cognizant of it so that we don't delve too much into it. But I wanted to bring that to your attention. Case you're like, I don't want to listen to this. I'll listen to one of the past episodes. I totally understand and I'm with you. but because this guest is so fascinating, a friend and I'm eager to speak to this episode will, sometimes dip into that.
River Rose has a podcast called Tarot for a Troubled Time
I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me is a friend and a fellow podcaster who's new to the podcasting world. I want to, I want to introduce and welcome River Rose to the podcast. River Rose. Thank you.
>> River Rose: Thank you, Marco. It's a pleasure to be here. I'm a big fan of the Insomnia project, actually.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. And I am a big fan of your podcast called Tarot for a Troubled Time. And listeners, you can find that link on our show Notes. but it's a fascinating and wonderful podcast that deals with tarot cards and that will be our focus on today's episode. So River Rose, I'm fascinated with your podcast. Tell our listeners about it.
>> River Rose: I would be happy to. Tarot for a Troubled Time combines, a couple of interests and uses of the tarot that I have, which is to look at the cards, do some readings and use the cards to guide me and us, our community through, through this. So this troubled time that we're in.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> River Rose: I've been using tarot cards for, for a few years to kind of problem solve and to think creatively when I'm stuck or when even like as writing proms. Right. And so I find that there's a, it's a nice sort of, there's a nice companionship pain between just dealing with challenging times and looking at the tarot cards to do that, to get out of your head and to think about your challenges and your crises in different ways. So I put all of that together and I decided to, offer it up to others in this podcast and
>> Marco Timpano: for any of our listeners who might not be familiar with what tarot, is or tarot cards are, can you, you give us a sort of brief definition or explanation on them?
Tarot cards seem to have started about 500 years ago in Italy
>> River Rose: Sure. Well, in the modern world, tarot cards seem to have started about 500 years ago in Italy actually, which is the country I was born in. And it's. I know it's the country of your heritage as well, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> River Rose: and you know, and then kind of went throughout Europe and these cards were used for, for playing games, as indeed, you know, playing cards that, that we use in, in many countries, are used.
>> Marco Timpano: So a regular deck of cards like you would play hearts or euchre with, let's say.
>> River Rose: Yes. And in fact the older cards and even, even tarot cards as we know them today do have suits the way playing cards that you and I know about have. but then there were evolutions over time and there were different decks. And then actually in the 19th century in the English speaking world mainly, there kind of became, there was this deck that became sort of the dominant deck which is still the dominant deck in in many English speaking countries around the world. Which was the Rider Waits Smith deck, which was conceived by A.E. waite and drawn by Pamela Coleman Smith. The illustrations were by Pamela Coleman Smith. And that has continued to be very popular over time. And today there's been a proliferation of I can't even tell you hundreds or possibly even thousands of ducks. But many tarot decks are still based on the Rider Waite Smith deck. And either, you know, there's a spin, there's a difference been on, on the artwork or some other element, but that you know, and, and as far as using tarot cards for a purpose that is not playing a game. You know, Tarot cards have been used for divination, to Frank basically to foresee the future. now I don't myself see the cards as a way to actually foretell the future, but there is. And I actually cover this in one of my episodes, in my first full episode, episode two. There is a way in which you can think about how the future comes to be that does very much involve our role, how we decide things, how we think about things. and so in that sense if we bring to tarot cards into a reading of tarot cards, questions that are not, you know, when will I get a better job or when will I find my spouse or things like that. But if we bring to the cards a quote question like, you know, what can I do to make this come about? Things like that and not yes or no questions, but things that, where, where we ourselves really are at the center of the question, then thinking about what the tarot cards are showing you that way can, you know, in a cosmic sense sort of trigger thoughts and emotions and ultimately actions that maybe can bring about the future that you actually are wondering about.
>> Marco Timpano: If I understand this or the way I understand Tarot is that it's up to the person what you want to get from the tarot. So for you it could be just a fun thing to do. For others it could be a telling sort of guidance. For others it could, they could seek answers from the tarot. For others it might just be a way to look at things from a different perspective. So one can put their own sort of weight in this and, or lightness in this. It's, it's totally up to the person rather than the cards themselves, let's say.
>> River Rose: Yeah. And you know, in a way people who read tarot cards like me, like if I do a reading for you you know, it really is kind of you and I together who are interpreting the cards, and I'm kind of like the guide, and the cards are showing you possibilities, and then it really is up to you. And with me guiding you to examine what those possibilities might be.
Are you finding the cards helpful during this troubled time
>> Marco Timpano: Are you finding the cards helpful during this troubled time, no pun intended, on your podcast called Tarot for a Troubled Time. But have you find them useful, during, say, not necessarily this time, but even stressful times in your life?
>> River Rose: Turning to these cards, I do find it, I do find it, helpful. I do find that thinking about. Because they're, you know, the cards. There are 78 cards and the cards themselves, portray, you know, all different kinds of situations that human beings deal with. And so to think, to see the images, and then to think about your own sort of human condition and your own human situation, it really is helpful. And I think it's, you know, it is for m. For my brain. It is something very creative like it. It brings me to different places, it allows me to see myself and, in a more connected way to something bigger. You know, a lot of the cards portray archetypes. You know, some of the major arcana. There's justice, for example, or some of the minor arcana will portray hardship in very hard ways or inequality, you know, things like that. And so when you're dealing with a, ah, pandemic and, you know, I. You live in Canada, but I live in the United States. States.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I should mention that if you hear sounds in the background, I heard like a motorcycle. Those are sounds from Brooklyn coming to you on this podcast because River Rose is actually in Brooklyn. Brooklyn. While I'm in Toronto.
>> River Rose: You put all of that together. I'm actually kind of going off track a little bit, but that really is. It's a troubled time and, seeing sort of these human situations in the cards, you know, in very radically different contexts, there is something that I find very positive, that happens when I, When I look at the cards and I think of things that. That, that I'm dealing with. But it's really, it, you know, that we are all, as a community and as a nation and as a world, dealing with right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I will say that I listened to your podcast and I found it very helpful during this troubled time. And it sort of got my mind thinking at it from a different perspective.
You had mentioned minor arcana and major arcana in the tarot
But I'd like to focus on the cards themselves. So I want to dive in to the world of the cards, the art on the cards, the decks that you you use. But let me start with this. You had mentioned minor arcana and major arcana. Can you explain that, what that means to, to people like me who aren't that familiar with tarot?
>> River Rose: Sure. So, you know, the tarot. I use the word journey in the podcast, like the podcast is a journey, but actually there are journeys, very systematic journeys, that happen in the tarot that actually structure the cards. the major arcana. There are 22 major arcana. And by the way, all of the cards are. The majority of the cards are numbered. in the Rider Waite Smith deck and in many decks, like it, there are 22 major arcana, they go from zero to 21. And they basically in a way catalog the human journey.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> River Rose: Because you have, you know, the, the first card in the deck is the fool card, number zero. and the fool is basically a blank slate. The fool is a person who is pictured as, you know, you know, with the old timey, you know, the little handkerchief tied up. Handkerchief with, on a stick, you know, with all the possessions inside that handkerchief and with, with a white flower in their hand. And they're, and they're, they're just traipsing along and they're at the edge of the cliff and they're about to jump, they're about to walk off the cliff and the sun is shining and everything is happy and there's a dog pranc about. And basically even though this is happening, the fool is completely trusting the universe and is just going to keep going even though there, there's a cliff there. And so it really is like a blank slate, optimism starting out. Nothing can bring me down. And I trust that whatever happens to me, you know, something good will come out of it. I will be okay. I will make it okay. So it's kind of, you know, like a, like a baby. Right? That's the beginning of the, of our human journey. the fool, just like very clean, very optimistic, no reason to worry,
>> Marco Timpano: no reason to be afraid and somewhat wild. Like say the joker in the traditional 52, playing card deck, would you say?
>> River Rose: Absolutely, absolutely. And I think that they're you know, I think that that's not a coincidence that you make that very intellig connection, because it's true. The fool is a card or the, the joker, is a card in the deck and it is, you know, and then. And also appears here as the Fool. That's, that's an excellent point. And Then, you know, and then, you just keep moving along all the way to the 22nd card, which is number 21, which is the world. And the world is about sort of utter. If you think about it as, like, utter, utter transcendence. everything is available to you. You know, the world is your oyster, and the world is. This usually is shown as this being, you know, kind of up in the sky. And I invite everybody to go look at the card, and different decks as well, because there are all kinds of interesting sort of celestial. Celestial, manifestations of this kind of. Everything is at my disposal. All of the elements are at my beck and call. I have more than everything that I could possibly need. And so, and so. And then the minor arcana, even though they're very different. you know, there are four suits, like there are in playing cards that you might be familiar with. And, they also kind of portray journeys where you have cards one to ten of the four suits, cups, swords, wands and pentacles. And then you also have actually, like you do in playing cards, again, you also have, figures, who are the page and, the knight and the queen and the king. And those exist for all four. And those, again, if you look at the meanings of each four in each deck, those, again, kind of show a journey, a progression.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
River Rose: There are hundreds of different Tarot decks available
Now, what strikes me about these cards is the beautiful artwork that one can see on them. is there a deck that speaks to you more than others? Because my understanding is that there's like, hundreds of hundreds of different kinds of decks you could get that are Tarot cards.
>> River Rose: Yes. So the. Well, the deck that I'm using for the podcast is the Modern Spellcasters Tarot. I like this deck. It, the artwork conceptually is, is. Is. Is rather similar and is based on the Rider Waite Smith deck. But the reason I chose that, and there are many newer decks that actually also have this. It's much more inclusive. So, like in the Rider Waite Smith deck, everyone is white. You know, all the couples are one man, one woman. you know, and so, you know, very traditional view of who. Who makes up a family and, you know, who are lovers. You know, the lovers is actually one of the cards. And. And in the modern spellcasters, Tarot, we actually don't have that. We actually have, you know, people with different skin colors, clearly from different cultures and actually. And also different depictions of, gender and sexual orientation and even family. Yeah. And so that's. That's a deck, that I like, but there are so many interesting, decks to look at. I'm just trying to think, like, there's the Witch's Tarot, the modern witch Tarot. And, you know, there are actually even very, famous artists who've made decks. I'll tell you one deck that I actually haven't looked at closely, just because, I haven't yet. But, like, for example, Salvador Dali, the artist Salvador Dali made a tarot deck.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> River Rose: You know, so they're just. If you're interested in art, just purely interested in art, visual art or graphic art. Tarot cards really are interesting to look at, even for that reason.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. I'm looking at Dolly's deck right now, and they're quite fascinating, I have to say.
>> River Rose: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So River Rose, now that I have a deck on my computer screen, I'm looking at these fascinating tarot cards. And can I just randomly pick a card and you tell me about it or your impressions of that card or whether or not it's one of your favorite or least favorite?
>> River Rose: Sure, I would love to do that.
I'd like to talk about temperance while you're getting your card
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so looking at the major arcana cards you talked about the Fool, I'd like to talk about temperance.
>> River Rose: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And what's your card of temperance? Because while you're looking at the card, I'm going to explain what's on my card, if that's all right with you.
>> River Rose: Yeah. Do you want to. Would you like to go ahead and do that?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'll do that while you're. While you're getting your temperance card out or whatever you need to do. So on my temperance card, it looks like an angel, and the angel has a trumpet. I don't know what those trumpets are called. I'm sure they have a biblical name, but a trumpet. And I believe there's a volcano erupting in the background and sheaths of wheat. And it looks like the angel is dipping its toe into water. That's what I see as my temperance.
>> River Rose: Yeah. So, yes. And, in the modern spellcasters, Tarot, it's actually very different. I believe in, the rider, Waite Smith, the angel is, facing us, Right. In the rider, Waite Smith, the angel is not. The angel is kind of looking off to the right, and the way, like, it's not a traditional angel, but clearly there's something going on. he or she, I'll say they maybe is wearing a hat, which actually has wings. And also they also have, wings, at. At their feet, like these really interesting Sandals that are pretty much bare and wings at their feet as well. A couple of things which I think you're probably seeing, too, on your card. So, one, one. It's important to note that one foot is actually dipped on the ground. One foot is actually on the ground, and one foot is dipped in water.
>> Marco Timpano: And.
>> River Rose: And, the character is also, holding two cups or two chalices or two jugs and pouring water from one to the other.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay. And is there a significance for that?
>> River Rose: So water is one of the elements of the tarot, and it also is the element that's associated with cups. and cups signify. And water signifies emotions, imagination, sort of that realm, kind of the right brain realm, which is also why there's one, foot in the water. This angel has one foot in the water. So there's this kind of balance between being grounded and maybe, you know, just foot on the ground and one foot kind of in the emotional, softer realm. Right. And there it. Temperance represents kind of tranquility, moderation, harmony, healing. balance. and. And that's what kind of balancing this water between these two different vessels represents kind of like really having a balanced point of view, one or the other. And there is this kind of. Because this is a mat, obviously a magical being. there is kind of, like a working of energy or reworking of energy to kind of create something special. And there is actually also an element, you know, as you can kind of think about, you know, with this liquid going back and forth, back and forth, of ex. Of like a calm experiment. Right. You look at. You're. You're trying something. You're trying to work out something. You're not sure what to do, but it's okay. You can figure it out. You can do it with balance. If that doesn't work, you can try something else. And use again, with one foot on the ground, one foot in the water. Use your left brain and your right brain. Use your intellect and your imagination. And, you know, you can do this. You can face this challenge, you can solve this problem, whatever it might be that, the reading is about in a very calm way, and then move on to something else.
Waite Smith picks one card from the major arcana that interests him
>> Marco Timpano: Cool. All right, I'm gonna pick one more card from the major arcana that kind of sort of not speaks to me, but I find interesting. And it. This I find more interesting from the name than the actual design on the card. But it's the hierophant. I hope I said that right. Or the hero Fant.
>> River Rose: Yeah, I've actually. I've actually Heard it pronounced both ways. Okay, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll describe my card while you're fetching yours, if that's okay. River Rose. So I have a robed individual who has quite an ornate crown on their head or like a bishop's or pope's, sort of pointy hat type thing with a scepter that looks like a television screen or a television antenna in one hand. at this hierophant's feet are a pair of keys and two people whose backs are towards me, both of which have a rather large balding spot. And the hierophant is flanked with two columns.
>> River Rose: Right. So it is. This is a pretty typical, depiction of the hierophant. And the hierophant is a pope. Oh, so you're right about that. Yeah, yeah. And kind of represents that like, very structured, very even, like paternalistic, I would say, belief system, like established institution, you know, purveyor of the law kind of a person. And you know, the two figures in the rider, Waite Smith, are kind of like, you know, like at the Vatican, for example, there are the guards there. Yeah, that kind of thing. But like. But they're, they're definitely. Yeah. And they are. Oh, there's actually an issue right that right now with the guards there and the coronavirus. I heard. I thought I heard something about that. But anyway, and the two. And the two kind of like servants at their feet, you know, in. In in In the modern spellcasters tarot, it's very similar. You know, the figure is very similar, but you cannot see the face. There's like this. There's like this rectangle sort of over the face of the hierophant. And you know, some of the symbology is actually more like it's older than kind of the Roman popish symbology that we're used to. There's like the. The eye kind of. And a pyramid, an Egyptian looking eye. and also kind of, it's, it's. It's more harsh. Like the two figures are actually bowing down to the hierophant and they actually look like slaves. and the hierophant, rather than holding a staff, is holding, I think probably a Bible, like a book with a cross on it and also a whip. So the hierophant is taking it to the next level in this deck.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> River Rose: but the hierophant really does kind of, again, it depends on the reading, but like really learned teacher, who, Maybe does not allow questioning because it is the Pope who is infallible. And, you know, and so it's kind of for many people who sort of question authority, like me, frankly, it is. It. It's a bit of an ambivalent card. And, you know, it is. It is good. Institutions are important.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> River Rose: and. And the hierophant reminds us of that. But I think it is important also to question, the beliefs that they're based on and to make sure that the leaders and the institution itself still does serve the people that it exists for.
River Rose drew me my favorite card, which is the King of Wands
>> Marco Timpano: So, River Rose, if I may, I just want to let our listeners know that, I was going through a nervous period. I was, going towards, a project, and I was having some apprehension about it. And I spoke to River Rose about. And she said, let me draw a card for you. And you drew what is now my favorite card, which is the King of Wands. And I know that's a minor arcana card, but, one of the things that I see on this card is clearly there's a king. The king is holding a staff that's made from a switch or a branch of a tree that seems to have growth on it. Behind this king or this member of royalty, is a lion. And at the king's feet is, I want to say salamander or a lizard. I'm going to say salamander.
>> River Rose: Yeah, I think it is a salamander. Yes, yes, yes. And, you know, the King of wands in the modern spellcasters tarot is very similar, except, you know, the deck is very much more linked to nature. a lot of the. They're called court cards. Right. The king and the queen and the page and the queen actually are out in nature. Even in this deck, you see, like, the king is on a throne, but clearly outside, in the modern spellcasters tarot, the throne is actually made out of, the trunk of a tree. And, you know, the king is clear clearly in the forest. the wands, are the suit of fire. And, fire represents energy in most decks. and, the King of wands kind of like, is at the end of the journey of the wands. So kind of represents, authenticity, energy, charisma, like whoever you might picture, as being a very charismatic, positive leader who's really, exudes energy and, is really able to bring about positive, change. And the wands actually, I mean, like, represent sort of every kind of energy. So you could, depending on what you're thinking about or what the reading is. You know, it also, they also represent, for example, sexual energy and sexual potency. And also there is this element of danger. Right. So when you think of fire, you know, fire does feed us, fire does keep us warm, but fire can also destroy us. So there is this kind of like, hyper energetic, vibe to the king.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool. That's awesome. well, listen, River Rose, I'm very grateful.
River Rose draws card for listeners trying to find their way to sleep
Before we end this podcast episode, would you mind drawing a card for our listeners who might be trying to find their way to sleep and give them some sort of inspirational or message, about how they can find their way to it, or any sort of message with regards to sleep.
>> River Rose: Sure. And I'm actually going to use. I have both of these decks we've been talking about with me, but I'm going to use the traditional, the Rider Waite Smith deck, which is the one you've been looking at, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. That way I can look at the card that you draw. And I will mention to my listeners that we are going to have a longer conversation with River Rose, but that will be, on the Patreon ah page. So if you want to listen, please join our Patreon page. But we will be ending the regular, podcast episode here with this little reading from River Rose.
>> River Rose: And just so you know, I'm not, you know, there are no tricks here. I really did, as I always do. I shuffled the deck as I always do, and I'm just going to draw the card as I always do for all of you listening right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> River Rose: Okay. So, actually, it's interestingly, I have drawn. This is one of my favorite cards. it is reversed, which we haven't talked about, but I have drawn the 10 of cups.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, and it's one of your favorite cards, and I understand the Insomnia Project is one of your favorite, podcast. So that makes me happy.
>> River Rose: Yeah. I actually have the 10 of cups framed in my room. Yeah, it did come out reversed. So, you know, there's. They're probably. Usually that represents some kind of, resistance to whatever the card is telling you. But anyway, so the 10 of cups, shows a happy family. They are not lacking anything. They are not facing us. There are two parents, and two children. The parents have their back to us, and they're looking on to this perfect town with a perfect rainbow in the sky. And, they have. Each one of them has a hand in the air. They cannot be happier. The two children are dancing around together in a circle Maybe they're doing, like a ring around the rosy type of game. There could not be anything else that's needed in this picture. the Ten of Cups represents total happiness to the point of transcendence. It's sometimes called the Happily Ever after card. I actually sometimes give this card as a gift to families, who are my friends to say, you know, may you have, like, continued blessings and happy home and shared love and. And peace. And so I did say revert. The card came out reversed. It was upside down. So what I will say to everyone who's listening is, you know, these things are, at. They're. They. They are available to you. If you feel like there's something that is, preventing you from feeling the, kind of love and transcendence in your home right now and in your family, then really think about what that might be and, deal with it. Deal with it. what can you do? feel those feelings. It's very important to feel those feelings. And then, just think about what you can do, because peace, is available to you if you look for it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful. What a wonderful way to end this episode. Like the parents in the card. 10 of, cups. I'm so happy to have had you as a guest on our podcast, River Rose.
>> River Rose: It's really been a pleasure, Marco. I really appreciate it. and, yeah, just, keep looking for creative solutions to your. To your challenges, everybody.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. You can, listen to River Rose on her podcast, Tarot for a troubled time. Wherever you listen to this podcast, you'll find that one. And until next time, I hope you have a great day, A happy day. You work your way through any troubles you may have so that you can be content as well. And thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project.
(Original airdate July 26, 2020)
This episode has a bit of a trigger warning
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. I don't know how mundane today's topic will be. I certainly find it fascinating. And for those of you who feel that sometimes our episodes are are too fascinating to lull you into slumber, maybe it'll just let you relax. So hopefully that is the case. I'm going to mention that today's episode has a bit of a trigger warning, so I want to give everyone the heads up on that because we will be dipping into talking about the pandemic that that most m of us are facing right now with our guests. And we're going to be very conscious and cognizant of it so that we don't delve too much into it. But I wanted to bring that to your attention. Case you're like, I don't want to listen to this. I'll listen to one of the past episodes. I totally understand and I'm with you. but because this guest is so fascinating, a friend and I'm eager to speak to this episode will, sometimes dip into that.
River Rose has a podcast called Tarot for a Troubled Time
I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me is a friend and a fellow podcaster who's new to the podcasting world. I want to, I want to introduce and welcome River Rose to the podcast. River Rose. Thank you.
>> River Rose: Thank you, Marco. It's a pleasure to be here. I'm a big fan of the Insomnia project, actually.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. And I am a big fan of your podcast called Tarot for a Troubled Time. And listeners, you can find that link on our show Notes. but it's a fascinating and wonderful podcast that deals with tarot cards and that will be our focus on today's episode. So River Rose, I'm fascinated with your podcast. Tell our listeners about it.
>> River Rose: I would be happy to. Tarot for a Troubled Time combines, a couple of interests and uses of the tarot that I have, which is to look at the cards, do some readings and use the cards to guide me and us, our community through, through this. So this troubled time that we're in.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> River Rose: I've been using tarot cards for, for a few years to kind of problem solve and to think creatively when I'm stuck or when even like as writing proms. Right. And so I find that there's a, it's a nice sort of, there's a nice companionship pain between just dealing with challenging times and looking at the tarot cards to do that, to get out of your head and to think about your challenges and your crises in different ways. So I put all of that together and I decided to, offer it up to others in this podcast and
>> Marco Timpano: for any of our listeners who might not be familiar with what tarot, is or tarot cards are, can you, you give us a sort of brief definition or explanation on them?
Tarot cards seem to have started about 500 years ago in Italy
>> River Rose: Sure. Well, in the modern world, tarot cards seem to have started about 500 years ago in Italy actually, which is the country I was born in. And it's. I know it's the country of your heritage as well, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> River Rose: and you know, and then kind of went throughout Europe and these cards were used for, for playing games, as indeed, you know, playing cards that, that we use in, in many countries, are used.
>> Marco Timpano: So a regular deck of cards like you would play hearts or euchre with, let's say.
>> River Rose: Yes. And in fact the older cards and even, even tarot cards as we know them today do have suits the way playing cards that you and I know about have. but then there were evolutions over time and there were different decks. And then actually in the 19th century in the English speaking world mainly, there kind of became, there was this deck that became sort of the dominant deck which is still the dominant deck in in many English speaking countries around the world. Which was the Rider Waits Smith deck, which was conceived by A.E. waite and drawn by Pamela Coleman Smith. The illustrations were by Pamela Coleman Smith. And that has continued to be very popular over time. And today there's been a proliferation of I can't even tell you hundreds or possibly even thousands of ducks. But many tarot decks are still based on the Rider Waite Smith deck. And either, you know, there's a spin, there's a difference been on, on the artwork or some other element, but that you know, and, and as far as using tarot cards for a purpose that is not playing a game. You know, Tarot cards have been used for divination, to Frank basically to foresee the future. now I don't myself see the cards as a way to actually foretell the future, but there is. And I actually cover this in one of my episodes, in my first full episode, episode two. There is a way in which you can think about how the future comes to be that does very much involve our role, how we decide things, how we think about things. and so in that sense if we bring to tarot cards into a reading of tarot cards, questions that are not, you know, when will I get a better job or when will I find my spouse or things like that. But if we bring to the cards a quote question like, you know, what can I do to make this come about? Things like that and not yes or no questions, but things that, where, where we ourselves really are at the center of the question, then thinking about what the tarot cards are showing you that way can, you know, in a cosmic sense sort of trigger thoughts and emotions and ultimately actions that maybe can bring about the future that you actually are wondering about.
>> Marco Timpano: If I understand this or the way I understand Tarot is that it's up to the person what you want to get from the tarot. So for you it could be just a fun thing to do. For others it could be a telling sort of guidance. For others it could, they could seek answers from the tarot. For others it might just be a way to look at things from a different perspective. So one can put their own sort of weight in this and, or lightness in this. It's, it's totally up to the person rather than the cards themselves, let's say.
>> River Rose: Yeah. And you know, in a way people who read tarot cards like me, like if I do a reading for you you know, it really is kind of you and I together who are interpreting the cards, and I'm kind of like the guide, and the cards are showing you possibilities, and then it really is up to you. And with me guiding you to examine what those possibilities might be.
Are you finding the cards helpful during this troubled time
>> Marco Timpano: Are you finding the cards helpful during this troubled time, no pun intended, on your podcast called Tarot for a Troubled Time. But have you find them useful, during, say, not necessarily this time, but even stressful times in your life?
>> River Rose: Turning to these cards, I do find it, I do find it, helpful. I do find that thinking about. Because they're, you know, the cards. There are 78 cards and the cards themselves, portray, you know, all different kinds of situations that human beings deal with. And so to think, to see the images, and then to think about your own sort of human condition and your own human situation, it really is helpful. And I think it's, you know, it is for m. For my brain. It is something very creative like it. It brings me to different places, it allows me to see myself and, in a more connected way to something bigger. You know, a lot of the cards portray archetypes. You know, some of the major arcana. There's justice, for example, or some of the minor arcana will portray hardship in very hard ways or inequality, you know, things like that. And so when you're dealing with a, ah, pandemic and, you know, I. You live in Canada, but I live in the United States. States.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I should mention that if you hear sounds in the background, I heard like a motorcycle. Those are sounds from Brooklyn coming to you on this podcast because River Rose is actually in Brooklyn. Brooklyn. While I'm in Toronto.
>> River Rose: You put all of that together. I'm actually kind of going off track a little bit, but that really is. It's a troubled time and, seeing sort of these human situations in the cards, you know, in very radically different contexts, there is something that I find very positive, that happens when I, When I look at the cards and I think of things that. That, that I'm dealing with. But it's really, it, you know, that we are all, as a community and as a nation and as a world, dealing with right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I will say that I listened to your podcast and I found it very helpful during this troubled time. And it sort of got my mind thinking at it from a different perspective.
You had mentioned minor arcana and major arcana in the tarot
But I'd like to focus on the cards themselves. So I want to dive in to the world of the cards, the art on the cards, the decks that you you use. But let me start with this. You had mentioned minor arcana and major arcana. Can you explain that, what that means to, to people like me who aren't that familiar with tarot?
>> River Rose: Sure. So, you know, the tarot. I use the word journey in the podcast, like the podcast is a journey, but actually there are journeys, very systematic journeys, that happen in the tarot that actually structure the cards. the major arcana. There are 22 major arcana. And by the way, all of the cards are. The majority of the cards are numbered. in the Rider Waite Smith deck and in many decks, like it, there are 22 major arcana, they go from zero to 21. And they basically in a way catalog the human journey.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> River Rose: Because you have, you know, the, the first card in the deck is the fool card, number zero. and the fool is basically a blank slate. The fool is a person who is pictured as, you know, you know, with the old timey, you know, the little handkerchief tied up. Handkerchief with, on a stick, you know, with all the possessions inside that handkerchief and with, with a white flower in their hand. And they're, and they're, they're just traipsing along and they're at the edge of the cliff and they're about to jump, they're about to walk off the cliff and the sun is shining and everything is happy and there's a dog pranc about. And basically even though this is happening, the fool is completely trusting the universe and is just going to keep going even though there, there's a cliff there. And so it really is like a blank slate, optimism starting out. Nothing can bring me down. And I trust that whatever happens to me, you know, something good will come out of it. I will be okay. I will make it okay. So it's kind of, you know, like a, like a baby. Right? That's the beginning of the, of our human journey. the fool, just like very clean, very optimistic, no reason to worry,
>> Marco Timpano: no reason to be afraid and somewhat wild. Like say the joker in the traditional 52, playing card deck, would you say?
>> River Rose: Absolutely, absolutely. And I think that they're you know, I think that that's not a coincidence that you make that very intellig connection, because it's true. The fool is a card or the, the joker, is a card in the deck and it is, you know, and then. And also appears here as the Fool. That's, that's an excellent point. And Then, you know, and then, you just keep moving along all the way to the 22nd card, which is number 21, which is the world. And the world is about sort of utter. If you think about it as, like, utter, utter transcendence. everything is available to you. You know, the world is your oyster, and the world is. This usually is shown as this being, you know, kind of up in the sky. And I invite everybody to go look at the card, and different decks as well, because there are all kinds of interesting sort of celestial. Celestial, manifestations of this kind of. Everything is at my disposal. All of the elements are at my beck and call. I have more than everything that I could possibly need. And so, and so. And then the minor arcana, even though they're very different. you know, there are four suits, like there are in playing cards that you might be familiar with. And, they also kind of portray journeys where you have cards one to ten of the four suits, cups, swords, wands and pentacles. And then you also have actually, like you do in playing cards, again, you also have, figures, who are the page and, the knight and the queen and the king. And those exist for all four. And those, again, if you look at the meanings of each four in each deck, those, again, kind of show a journey, a progression.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see.
River Rose: There are hundreds of different Tarot decks available
Now, what strikes me about these cards is the beautiful artwork that one can see on them. is there a deck that speaks to you more than others? Because my understanding is that there's like, hundreds of hundreds of different kinds of decks you could get that are Tarot cards.
>> River Rose: Yes. So the. Well, the deck that I'm using for the podcast is the Modern Spellcasters Tarot. I like this deck. It, the artwork conceptually is, is. Is. Is rather similar and is based on the Rider Waite Smith deck. But the reason I chose that, and there are many newer decks that actually also have this. It's much more inclusive. So, like in the Rider Waite Smith deck, everyone is white. You know, all the couples are one man, one woman. you know, and so, you know, very traditional view of who. Who makes up a family and, you know, who are lovers. You know, the lovers is actually one of the cards. And. And in the modern spellcasters, Tarot, we actually don't have that. We actually have, you know, people with different skin colors, clearly from different cultures and actually. And also different depictions of, gender and sexual orientation and even family. Yeah. And so that's. That's a deck, that I like, but there are so many interesting, decks to look at. I'm just trying to think, like, there's the Witch's Tarot, the modern witch Tarot. And, you know, there are actually even very, famous artists who've made decks. I'll tell you one deck that I actually haven't looked at closely, just because, I haven't yet. But, like, for example, Salvador Dali, the artist Salvador Dali made a tarot deck.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> River Rose: You know, so they're just. If you're interested in art, just purely interested in art, visual art or graphic art. Tarot cards really are interesting to look at, even for that reason.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. I'm looking at Dolly's deck right now, and they're quite fascinating, I have to say.
>> River Rose: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So River Rose, now that I have a deck on my computer screen, I'm looking at these fascinating tarot cards. And can I just randomly pick a card and you tell me about it or your impressions of that card or whether or not it's one of your favorite or least favorite?
>> River Rose: Sure, I would love to do that.
I'd like to talk about temperance while you're getting your card
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so looking at the major arcana cards you talked about the Fool, I'd like to talk about temperance.
>> River Rose: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And what's your card of temperance? Because while you're looking at the card, I'm going to explain what's on my card, if that's all right with you.
>> River Rose: Yeah. Do you want to. Would you like to go ahead and do that?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'll do that while you're. While you're getting your temperance card out or whatever you need to do. So on my temperance card, it looks like an angel, and the angel has a trumpet. I don't know what those trumpets are called. I'm sure they have a biblical name, but a trumpet. And I believe there's a volcano erupting in the background and sheaths of wheat. And it looks like the angel is dipping its toe into water. That's what I see as my temperance.
>> River Rose: Yeah. So, yes. And, in the modern spellcasters, Tarot, it's actually very different. I believe in, the rider, Waite Smith, the angel is, facing us, Right. In the rider, Waite Smith, the angel is not. The angel is kind of looking off to the right, and the way, like, it's not a traditional angel, but clearly there's something going on. he or she, I'll say they maybe is wearing a hat, which actually has wings. And also they also have, wings, at. At their feet, like these really interesting Sandals that are pretty much bare and wings at their feet as well. A couple of things which I think you're probably seeing, too, on your card. So, one, one. It's important to note that one foot is actually dipped on the ground. One foot is actually on the ground, and one foot is dipped in water.
>> Marco Timpano: And.
>> River Rose: And, the character is also, holding two cups or two chalices or two jugs and pouring water from one to the other.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay. And is there a significance for that?
>> River Rose: So water is one of the elements of the tarot, and it also is the element that's associated with cups. and cups signify. And water signifies emotions, imagination, sort of that realm, kind of the right brain realm, which is also why there's one, foot in the water. This angel has one foot in the water. So there's this kind of balance between being grounded and maybe, you know, just foot on the ground and one foot kind of in the emotional, softer realm. Right. And there it. Temperance represents kind of tranquility, moderation, harmony, healing. balance. and. And that's what kind of balancing this water between these two different vessels represents kind of like really having a balanced point of view, one or the other. And there is this kind of. Because this is a mat, obviously a magical being. there is kind of, like a working of energy or reworking of energy to kind of create something special. And there is actually also an element, you know, as you can kind of think about, you know, with this liquid going back and forth, back and forth, of ex. Of like a calm experiment. Right. You look at. You're. You're trying something. You're trying to work out something. You're not sure what to do, but it's okay. You can figure it out. You can do it with balance. If that doesn't work, you can try something else. And use again, with one foot on the ground, one foot in the water. Use your left brain and your right brain. Use your intellect and your imagination. And, you know, you can do this. You can face this challenge, you can solve this problem, whatever it might be that, the reading is about in a very calm way, and then move on to something else.
Waite Smith picks one card from the major arcana that interests him
>> Marco Timpano: Cool. All right, I'm gonna pick one more card from the major arcana that kind of sort of not speaks to me, but I find interesting. And it. This I find more interesting from the name than the actual design on the card. But it's the hierophant. I hope I said that right. Or the hero Fant.
>> River Rose: Yeah, I've actually. I've actually Heard it pronounced both ways. Okay, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll describe my card while you're fetching yours, if that's okay. River Rose. So I have a robed individual who has quite an ornate crown on their head or like a bishop's or pope's, sort of pointy hat type thing with a scepter that looks like a television screen or a television antenna in one hand. at this hierophant's feet are a pair of keys and two people whose backs are towards me, both of which have a rather large balding spot. And the hierophant is flanked with two columns.
>> River Rose: Right. So it is. This is a pretty typical, depiction of the hierophant. And the hierophant is a pope. Oh, so you're right about that. Yeah, yeah. And kind of represents that like, very structured, very even, like paternalistic, I would say, belief system, like established institution, you know, purveyor of the law kind of a person. And you know, the two figures in the rider, Waite Smith, are kind of like, you know, like at the Vatican, for example, there are the guards there. Yeah, that kind of thing. But like. But they're, they're definitely. Yeah. And they are. Oh, there's actually an issue right that right now with the guards there and the coronavirus. I heard. I thought I heard something about that. But anyway, and the two. And the two kind of like servants at their feet, you know, in. In in In the modern spellcasters tarot, it's very similar. You know, the figure is very similar, but you cannot see the face. There's like this. There's like this rectangle sort of over the face of the hierophant. And you know, some of the symbology is actually more like it's older than kind of the Roman popish symbology that we're used to. There's like the. The eye kind of. And a pyramid, an Egyptian looking eye. and also kind of, it's, it's. It's more harsh. Like the two figures are actually bowing down to the hierophant and they actually look like slaves. and the hierophant, rather than holding a staff, is holding, I think probably a Bible, like a book with a cross on it and also a whip. So the hierophant is taking it to the next level in this deck.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> River Rose: but the hierophant really does kind of, again, it depends on the reading, but like really learned teacher, who, Maybe does not allow questioning because it is the Pope who is infallible. And, you know, and so it's kind of for many people who sort of question authority, like me, frankly, it is. It. It's a bit of an ambivalent card. And, you know, it is. It is good. Institutions are important.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> River Rose: and. And the hierophant reminds us of that. But I think it is important also to question, the beliefs that they're based on and to make sure that the leaders and the institution itself still does serve the people that it exists for.
River Rose drew me my favorite card, which is the King of Wands
>> Marco Timpano: So, River Rose, if I may, I just want to let our listeners know that, I was going through a nervous period. I was, going towards, a project, and I was having some apprehension about it. And I spoke to River Rose about. And she said, let me draw a card for you. And you drew what is now my favorite card, which is the King of Wands. And I know that's a minor arcana card, but, one of the things that I see on this card is clearly there's a king. The king is holding a staff that's made from a switch or a branch of a tree that seems to have growth on it. Behind this king or this member of royalty, is a lion. And at the king's feet is, I want to say salamander or a lizard. I'm going to say salamander.
>> River Rose: Yeah, I think it is a salamander. Yes, yes, yes. And, you know, the King of wands in the modern spellcasters tarot is very similar, except, you know, the deck is very much more linked to nature. a lot of the. They're called court cards. Right. The king and the queen and the page and the queen actually are out in nature. Even in this deck, you see, like, the king is on a throne, but clearly outside, in the modern spellcasters tarot, the throne is actually made out of, the trunk of a tree. And, you know, the king is clear clearly in the forest. the wands, are the suit of fire. And, fire represents energy in most decks. and, the King of wands kind of like, is at the end of the journey of the wands. So kind of represents, authenticity, energy, charisma, like whoever you might picture, as being a very charismatic, positive leader who's really, exudes energy and, is really able to bring about positive, change. And the wands actually, I mean, like, represent sort of every kind of energy. So you could, depending on what you're thinking about or what the reading is. You know, it also, they also represent, for example, sexual energy and sexual potency. And also there is this element of danger. Right. So when you think of fire, you know, fire does feed us, fire does keep us warm, but fire can also destroy us. So there is this kind of like, hyper energetic, vibe to the king.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool. That's awesome. well, listen, River Rose, I'm very grateful.
River Rose draws card for listeners trying to find their way to sleep
Before we end this podcast episode, would you mind drawing a card for our listeners who might be trying to find their way to sleep and give them some sort of inspirational or message, about how they can find their way to it, or any sort of message with regards to sleep.
>> River Rose: Sure. And I'm actually going to use. I have both of these decks we've been talking about with me, but I'm going to use the traditional, the Rider Waite Smith deck, which is the one you've been looking at, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. That way I can look at the card that you draw. And I will mention to my listeners that we are going to have a longer conversation with River Rose, but that will be, on the Patreon ah page. So if you want to listen, please join our Patreon page. But we will be ending the regular, podcast episode here with this little reading from River Rose.
>> River Rose: And just so you know, I'm not, you know, there are no tricks here. I really did, as I always do. I shuffled the deck as I always do, and I'm just going to draw the card as I always do for all of you listening right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> River Rose: Okay. So, actually, it's interestingly, I have drawn. This is one of my favorite cards. it is reversed, which we haven't talked about, but I have drawn the 10 of cups.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, and it's one of your favorite cards, and I understand the Insomnia Project is one of your favorite, podcast. So that makes me happy.
>> River Rose: Yeah. I actually have the 10 of cups framed in my room. Yeah, it did come out reversed. So, you know, there's. They're probably. Usually that represents some kind of, resistance to whatever the card is telling you. But anyway, so the 10 of cups, shows a happy family. They are not lacking anything. They are not facing us. There are two parents, and two children. The parents have their back to us, and they're looking on to this perfect town with a perfect rainbow in the sky. And, they have. Each one of them has a hand in the air. They cannot be happier. The two children are dancing around together in a circle Maybe they're doing, like a ring around the rosy type of game. There could not be anything else that's needed in this picture. the Ten of Cups represents total happiness to the point of transcendence. It's sometimes called the Happily Ever after card. I actually sometimes give this card as a gift to families, who are my friends to say, you know, may you have, like, continued blessings and happy home and shared love and. And peace. And so I did say revert. The card came out reversed. It was upside down. So what I will say to everyone who's listening is, you know, these things are, at. They're. They. They are available to you. If you feel like there's something that is, preventing you from feeling the, kind of love and transcendence in your home right now and in your family, then really think about what that might be and, deal with it. Deal with it. what can you do? feel those feelings. It's very important to feel those feelings. And then, just think about what you can do, because peace, is available to you if you look for it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful. What a wonderful way to end this episode. Like the parents in the card. 10 of, cups. I'm so happy to have had you as a guest on our podcast, River Rose.
>> River Rose: It's really been a pleasure, Marco. I really appreciate it. and, yeah, just, keep looking for creative solutions to your. To your challenges, everybody.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. You can, listen to River Rose on her podcast, Tarot for a troubled time. Wherever you listen to this podcast, you'll find that one. And until next time, I hope you have a great day, A happy day. You work your way through any troubles you may have so that you can be content as well. And thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project.
Fiestaware
(Original airdate: August 2, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm Amanda Timpano
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Insomnia Project. I said insomnia.
>> Amanda Barker: That would be the, podcast about your cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right, Sonia.
>> Amanda Barker: Or our friend's older sister.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true, that's true. but you are actually tuned into the Insomnia Project. I'm Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda. Barry Barker with him today.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. And, of course, as always, we're going to be talking about a topic that hopefully you'll find soothing and relaxing and maybe, just maybe, it will even bring you a little bit of sleep. And, Amanda, you know, last time we were talking about rain, m and we had a shower not too long
>> Amanda Barker: ago, it's been raining. It's a different kind of rain today. It's a less gentle rain, but a beautiful rain.
>> Marco Timpano: It was quite spectacular. That's my creaking chair that you're gonna hear. I'm on this old antique chair.
>> Amanda Barker: It is antique, that chair. We're not exactly sure, but we do know the. The house that it came from, and that house dated from the early 1800s. So I don't think the chair goes quite that far back, but it certainly has lived a long life. And, many people have put their weight into it. So it, I guess at this age, it has something to say about it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. So if you hear the odd creek and crackle, that's because I'm on an old, old beautiful chair.
>> Marco Timpano: And this whole table has those claw feet of antiques and whatnot.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's usually a sign of I don't know what style. Like chip and tail.
>> Amanda Barker: I'll say Georgian.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, great.
Fiesta Wear is a line of ceramic dinnerware dating back to 1936
Speaking of styles, I wanted to talk about some chinaware that is really close to our family's heart a little more
>> Amanda Barker: recently compared to Victorian or Georgian.
>> Marco Timpano: So this chinaware comes from Newell, West Virginia, and it is known as Fiesta or Fiestaware. So Amanda, let's dive into Fiesta Wear, please. How did you come to know Fiestaware?
>> Amanda Barker: I personally first heard about Fiesta wear, I think when my sister got engaged probably in 2003. Okay, 2004, somewhere in there she got engaged. And when people asked her what she wanted for her wedding or as an engagement present, she replied by saying Fiesta Wear.
>> Marco Timpano: Now I should mention that Fiesta or Fiesta wear is a line of ceramic glazed dinnerware and it's been around since the 1930s. 1936 is when it was introduced.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, isn't that interesting?
>> Marco Timpano: It did have a hiatus from 73 to 85.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: but it's noted for its Art deco styling, features of concentric circles, and of course its range of solid color. So I'll let you continue. Sorry, I just wanted to.
>> Amanda Barker: That's so interesting because I actually don't think of it as Art deco and I can't. I think I'm not alone in this. I think of it as mid century modern.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So Art Deco would put it at the 1920s, 30s and 40s.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Give or take. and there was an Art deco, I should say, with Art deco, wasn't there? Art Deco and then Art deco revival. Like I believe the original Art deco was actually late 1800s. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Perhaps. But since this was introduced in 36.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. It was part of that revival, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe. In any event, I think of it as a 1950s dinnerware, even 1940s dinnerware. And you often see it, and I know in terms of my sister. Sure, Rebecca, her, her sensibilities, she has a lot of mid century pieces in her home. So a mid century table that sort of M metal and Malamite sort of top. The type of thing, that you would have seen. You know, maybe they had in Leave it to Beaver or later on when they were doing, you know, the Wonder Years as a throwback to the 1950s. But I think of Art Deco as the 1950s, mostly. although. Or not art deco, sorry, mid century modern. and Fiesta ware is often the dinnerware associated with that style.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Now, the original Fiesta was semi virtuous. Vitreous.
>> Amanda Barker: Does that mean porous?
>> Marco Timpano: it means it's the enamel coating that is applied to ceramics.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: So when it was originally produced, it was semi vitreous. And then in its. During its revival after 86, it became completely virtual. Vitreous. I can't say that word. Vitreous china. And what that is is the enamel. Enamel coating that is applied to ceramics, particularly porcelain, after they've been fired, to make the porcelain tougher.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Denser and shinier. That's why it has that really neat kind of, gloss to it.
>> Amanda Barker: It has. Yeah. It definitely looks glazed. Yeah. And one of the signatures, you know, when you're trying to figure out, is it a Fiesta Wear piece like you would with any china, you pick it up and turn it around and look underneath and see what's been stamped into the original porcelain or clay. Porcelain in this case, I would assume.
>> Marco Timpano: In 2002, the New York Times called Fiesta the most collected brand of china in the United States.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. and called it.
>> Amanda Barker: Or is that, like, statistically true?
>> Marco Timpano: it's just said it's the most collected brand of china. Does. I don't know what its sources are cited, but since it is the New York Times, I'm gonna guess very credible sources. Pre 1972, pieces in various colors may be slightly radioactive because there was uranium compounds being used in the ceramic glaze at the time to achieve certain colors, especially red. So if you have one from 1972 or prior and it's red, just be careful. Don't drop it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, but can you eat out of it?
>> Marco Timpano: I think. I think if you're careful, you can. We don't have any old pieces like that.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not so sure about that. I'm pretty sure we don't pre1972, because
>> Marco Timpano: I think those pieces are also very collectible and therefore very expensive as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Again, not so sure about that, because a lot of our stuff comes from Florida.
Dan Barker says Fiesta Wear started with his sister, who is an artist
And maybe we should talk about that, about the role of Fiesta Wear anyway, in my family.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, let's do that.
>> Amanda Barker: So it started with my sister, and she doesn't always get credit. I have a family of five, my immediate family. she doesn't always get credit for starting things, but she was the first to decide that she liked it she's an artist. And so this would have been in the, like, early 2000s, probably even the late 90s, that she started collecting it. And then, you know, it's brightly colored, it's kind of funky. Like I said, it's mid century, kind of, you know, to some. And so that went on for a while. And so my father, who has been a guest on this show many times.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Dan.
>> Marco Timpano: Dan Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you ever do one? You do one on Auction House?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but we never did one on
>> Amanda Barker: Fiesta Wear or on yard sales.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, we did.
>> Amanda Barker: You did? In flea markets. So as you know then, if you listen, my father loves. He's a treasure hunter. He really is. He loves hunting for treasure and collecting it too, much to my mother's chagrin. So, my sister's desire to have Fiesta Wear pieces, resulted in him constantly looking and scouring flea market tables, yard sale tables, that type of thing, and looking for some good finds. Now the thing about Fiesta Wear that people might not realize if you're not collecting it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that ideally most people, and I guess it depends, and maybe this is just true for my family, but I think most people collect many colors of it. So because it's been produced in so many colors, most people who have it have this sort of, you know, Crayola, box of Fiesta Wear. It's not just. You don't just have blue. probably some do, but, she certainly didn't. And when you source any collection like that, you're going to get all sorts of shapes and pieces. Even though there's consistency within the shapes. So, that started him on the journey for Fiesta Wear. Now, my parents during that time had a small house in Florida. And, over the years, through various homes and moving and countries and everything else, they've eventually settled to a different house, but settled in Florida nonetheless. And, for them that was a real downsize. So their everyday wear ended up being Fiesta Wear. And when my sister ran out of room for all the pieces my dad was sourcing for her.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: They started sourcing those pieces. I don't know if they actually ever went out and bought any. I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't think they went. I think they just Macy's or anything
>> Amanda Barker: like that, which you can do. Sure. But my sister being my sister and my family being my family, we're. We love, we love the thrill of the hunt, the finding the treasure, and most importantly, the bargain.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We love the frugal, the frugality of, you know, getting. Getting five pieces for $3 or whatever. So, so that's what they did. And so my parents have this beautiful, very Floridian looking home. Home. But set of fiesta wear. That's multicolored.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And so that is where that fiesta wear went for a while.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And then then, because I would eat off the fiesta wear at your parents home in Florida, and, you know, we'd often go to the beach and whatnot. To me, it had a very summery, beachy feel to it, especially the bright colors.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I said to you. I said. And it reminded me of your family in particular, because of your sister's connection to it and the fact that your parents had it. That I said, maybe we should have a set for the cottage. And so I said. I don't know if I mentioned it to your dad or. You did. Then your dad, being the, you know, yard sale or flea market hunter that he is, went on a mission.
>> Amanda Barker: I think he mentioned it to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And then I said, sure, why not? We didn't really have any vision for what the dinnerware at the cottage looked like.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, it was. As cottages tend to become the dumping ground for people's old. Yeah. I have an extra set of this. Do you want it for the cottage? Is something you'll hear a lot when you have a second home. So, it seems like a fun choice.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: To slowly replace the dishes we had and start. And. And it really gave my dad a task. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It served a dual purpose. If you.
>> Amanda Barker: So off he went looking for bowls and teacups, coffee mugs, plates, sandwich plates and big dinner plates. we got a gravy boat.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. salt and pepper shakers.
>> Amanda Barker: a vase.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. A water pitcher.
I don't particularly enjoy drinking out of thick mugs
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Oh, is that what it is?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a water pitcher.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it's a water pitcher.
>> Marco Timpano: You just sometimes put flowers in each other.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know it was a. I actually didn't know it was a water pitcher.
>> Marco Timpano: It has a handle and a spout.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought it was for flowers.
>> Marco Timpano: Your mom often puts flowers in hers, but I didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: It never occurred to me we could just put water in it and serve water in it. That never occurred to me.
>> Marco Timpano: I need to also say something that Amanda will attest to. So I don't particularly enjoy drinking out of thick mugs. I prefer a finer, thinner mug. And I can be a little bit, persnickety when it comes to.
>> Amanda Barker: Just a little bit. You can be very persnickety. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So with the exception of the Fiesta
>> Amanda Barker: Wear, which is very thick.
>> Marco Timpano: It's very thick. But because.
>> Amanda Barker: Why is that?
>> Marco Timpano: I think because it is, very smooth because of the glaze and feels nice when you put it to your lips. Unlike some other thicker, let's say, not as well crafted, mugs. Like if you get a mug that says, you know, world's greatest neighbor or whatever those tend not to be.
>> Amanda Barker: I would love a mug that said world's greatest neighbor. That would be amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: We did a show where I talked about the mugs I hate in our. Remember?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we did the. We did the. The mug show, which turned into an intervention of what mugs you wanted to convince me to get rid of, which we never did.
>> Marco Timpano: But, I do use them.
>> Amanda Barker: We do.
>> Marco Timpano: We do use them. Yes, it's true. But I do love. I really do love drinking out of the Fiesta wear.
>> Amanda Barker: mugs.
>> Marco Timpano: Mugs.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe we should take some from the cottage and have them back here.
>> Marco Timpano: I just wish they'd.
>> Amanda Barker: Because what this house needs is more mugs.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I wish they made espresso cups. Fiesta Wear Espresso.
>> Amanda Barker: Do they not?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, maybe they do.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, we have a few little ones that are Fiesta Wear light. No, your sister gave them to us. She.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not the same. It's not the same. But if you're thinking of getting me something for my birthday, there's something I would like. Fiesta Wear Espresso.
The challenge is on. What do you like or not like about Fiesta Wear
>> Amanda Barker: All right. The, The challenge is on. I only have eight months.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you like or not like about Fiesta Wear?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't like that some of it could have uranium in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I mean, only the ones pre 72 that are red in color and.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, but my dad is sourcing them foods from church flea market tables.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's more.
>> Amanda Barker: More. I always worry about that because my sister also loves. Is it called Malamite?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Melamite. That plasticky stuff that's really colorful.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, she loves that as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Bracelets and. And things.
>> Amanda Barker: But she. She has mugs made out of it. And I worry about. I worry about plastic. Plastic from the 60s.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that's fair to worry about.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, what don't you worry about with regards to. I don't want my listeners to think.
>> Amanda Barker: No, that's fair. I mean, I just. That's just me.
When we come from Florida, our luggage is often Fiesta wear
okay, what do I like about Fiesta work? Are you. You. You for the record, asked me. What don't you like?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that was my. My.
>> Amanda Barker: So I started with that because I am a glass half empty New Englander person. what I do like is. I mean I actually, I love the idea of having dinnerware where every piece has a bit of a story. Oh, I do love the strength there. It's a very strong china.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean you have to work. It's not to say we haven't broken them in the past, but you. It's not a. It's meant for everyday use.
>> Marco Timpano: We also pack it in our luggage. So when we come from Florida, our luggage is a third of the weight of our luggage is often Fiesta wear. Is that safe to say? When your dad finds a little treasure
>> Amanda Barker: trove of fiesta wear, what happens is. So we have a, ah, room at the house. There's only. It's a small house. So there's two bedrooms. Well, three I suppose. But anyway, our bedroom, because we're the ones that most often visit my parents in Florida, has a sort of chest of drawers and a chest of what I tried really hard to say it right. Chest of draws. Chest of drawers.
>> Marco Timpano: One of the few words Amanda says with a New England.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that I always have to pause in my brain and self. Correct. But anyway, whatever it is, there's a chest. Things you pull out.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And my dad usually when we come home, he spent the last month. Two months, whatever. It's been a little longer now. Six months. Although he hasn't been out looking for it. he spent the last. Whatever it's been filling the drawer with. Fiesta wear. Yeah. So it's now to the point where I don't think we need any more.
>> Marco Timpano: We need bowls.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't even.
>> Marco Timpano: We need bowls.
>> Amanda Barker: But we still have like six, six or seven. Like we have. Actually we keep saying we need bowls, but.
>> Marco Timpano: No, we need bowls. Okay, well we need the large serving.
>> Amanda Barker: The large serving plates. We could do with a few more. Those apparently are harder to find. Okay, but.
>> Marco Timpano: And the knickknacky things like the salt and pepper.
>> Amanda Barker: Don't we have that though? We have a creamer and we have a sugar bowl.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a creamer right there actually. Right over there.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. So we have two creamers.
>> Marco Timpano: Actually, I don't think we have the sugar bowl.
>> Amanda Barker: We do. It's pink. Oh, we do. You don't like the dusty rose?
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. There's certain colors.
>> Amanda Barker: That was like an 80s color fiesta wear. And somebody unloaded all their dusty rose Fiesta wear. So we got a lot of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Now that said, I do love how in Florida your parents will serve it with the different colors. It looks so fantastic. Going to A, you know, what color plate am I getting? What color?
>> Amanda Barker: It's whimsical.
>> Marco Timpano: It's whimsical.
>> Amanda Barker: It's fun. It's. Give me the orange plate. Marco will take the turquoise. You know, like, there's something kind of whimsical about choosing the color of your plate, as silly as that is. and they have other fine china too. They're swimming in it.
>> Marco Timpano: But sure.
>> Amanda Barker: but that tends to be their everyday breakfast, kind of, lunch, kind of.
The other thing I love about it is especially with the mugs because your parents enjoy coffee
>> Marco Timpano: The other thing I love about it is especially with the mugs because your parents enjoy coffee. We enjoy coffee. So there's a. Quite a.
>> Amanda Barker: And they went through a mug face too. Too. Whereas every place they went, they would purposely get a mug. We don't do that. We would be. We. Our house would be made of mugs.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we don't. We. We never need mugs, folks.
>> Amanda Barker: But I used to get. I used to give my parents mugs. Like I would go to Iceland and give my parents a mug. I would go to wherever, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: But what I love about the fiesta mugs at, your parents place is when we're drinking coffee all day, you have the color mug of the day.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true. The purple mug is your mug. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You always know which mug is yours. And if you want to fill it with more coffee.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Even if you've gone outside for a swim.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: You've got the mug that's yours for the day.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Yeah. That's. Well, that is very true.
What are the colors you like to drink out of or eat off best
>> Marco Timpano: What are the colors you like to drink out of or eat off best? Or do you not have a color?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't have a preference. It depends on the mood I'm in. Lately I've enjoyed just a nice white fiesta wear because it's almost. Because it's such a colorful set that we have that they have. I like picking the white one because it almost feels like an anomaly. It feels special, as funny as that sounds. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: I always like the turquoise.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I think I do like the turquoise. Some of the darker colors I like as well. Your parents or your dad was able to find. Find once again, you know, what do you call it when it's like the. Find the sort of golden goose. I don't know if there's anything.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like it's a treasure.
>> Marco Timpano: He found fiesta glassware that I think. Yeah. Do you remember your mom?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, your mom was telling us that. So you know those water, glasses that have the little bands of color. There's like four bands of color. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And you have to, we have to hand wash them.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are Fiestas.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are not Fiesta, are they?
>> Marco Timpano: Don't you listen to your mom when she tells the story?
>> Amanda Barker: You know it my mother's stories and I love my mother very much. But it's like constant running water. You can only have your cup underneath it so long before it overflows. And then you pull it back, drink, and the water keeps running, it never stops. So then you just put it back under. So sometimes I don't get all of the water.
>> Marco Timpano: So here's the story.
>> Amanda Barker: Or all of the story. Because it's, it's a constant stream of.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll. I'll retell the story story as best as I can. So your parents wanted to get, wanted to get, the Fiesta glassware.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it has little bands of color.
>> Marco Timpano: But it was quite pricey at the Macy's or wherever they were.
>> Amanda Barker: That sounds like one of my mother's stories. She will, she will. Because that's like if, if it was $20 a glass, that would be extremely expensive for my parents.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know, it wasn't, it wasn't cheap. Let me just look it up actually as we speak. and then you'll be able to see. Exactly. Yeah, it's these ones here, Amanda.
Your dad goes to church sales to buy new dishes. It's not a yard sale. Really not
Okay, so the glassware was not, was not inexpensive. I don't think it was incredibly expensive. But let's say it was not.
>> Amanda Barker: But I mean my mom. You're talking about a woman who won't pay more than 20 to 30. Like if she pays $30 for a purse, that's a good purse that she will have for 20 years, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So like for example, a four piece set is about $442. So it's $10.
>> Amanda Barker: Really not.
>> Marco Timpano: It's really not. But that's not the kind she had. Anyways. Anyway, they were going to buy it. They were like, let's get it, add to the collection.
>> Marco Timpano: And then your dad went to one of the. It's not a flea market. It's not a yard sale. It's the ones that are kind of like a charity white, white elephant sale, something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: But a white elephant sale is really just a flea market.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So.
>> Amanda Barker: But yeah, he goes to church sales. That's.
>> Marco Timpano: So he went to a church sale
>> Amanda Barker: and lo and behold, it's really just an elaborate yard sale or a, or a pared down flea market. Really.
>> Marco Timpano: He goes in one day and lo and behold there's a set of eight brand new, never Used the stories of my family. Yeah, he finds it, he sees it, he picks it up, purchases it.
>> Amanda Barker: He guaranteed Haggles the person.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure he spent $4 for the set of eight or whatever it was.
>> Amanda Barker: Came home grinning ear to ear, smiling
>> Marco Timpano: for a week, and your mother was like, I was just gonna go and buy them the next day.
>> Amanda Barker: I really don't remember this story at all. So I'm glad you're telling it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah. She. She tells it every time I drink out of that glass. So I tend not to drink.
>> Amanda Barker: Usually I've just gotten out of the plane or we've had a car ride, and I'm. I'm just, you know, I'm being. Soup is being shoved into my face, usually. Or casserole.
>> Marco Timpano: So our dilemma is that we have a lot of pieces of certain Fiesta wear at the cottage, but then it's kind of integrated with the carryover pieces, so we've got to just banish all the dishes.
>> Amanda Barker: What do you mean?
>> Marco Timpano: The carry the stuff that. The, porcelain ware that was there.
>> Amanda Barker: I've tried to banish that. I was told that was the dishes of the cottage, so not to banish it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we're going to banish it this year.
>> Amanda Barker: You've heard it here first, folks. Believe me, the effort has been there. It sits in another cabinet. Somebody's attached to that dishware, so we keep it that.
>> Marco Timpano: The great dishware banishment of 2020.
Amanda would like another Fiesta Wear serving platter for her birthday
Well, Amanda, we're getting towards the end of the. This episode, and I, wanted to just ask you.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm?
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a piece that isn't available or that. Sorry. That we don't have that you want to fetch?
>> Amanda Barker: In Fiesta wear, we have one serving platter, a Fiesta Wear, and not in a particularly bright color. So I would love another Fiesta Wear serving platter.
>> Marco Timpano: What color would you want?
>> Amanda Barker: Something bright and colorful. It wouldn't matter.
>> Marco Timpano: If you were to pick a color, what would that be?
>> Amanda Barker: Be green? I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Green. Okay. Yeah. Just.
>> Amanda Barker: Why is this a birthday present?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, your birthday's coming up and you never know.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I would also like. If we're doing that, I would like Joe Malone perfume.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And a subscription to Apple tv. Thank you very much.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What. What is it about Joe Malone perfume that you like so much?
>> Amanda Barker: It's really sm. It's very luxurious. It smells really good. We can do a whole thing on perfumes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you know what? Join us next time where we will talk about Amanda's love for scents, perfume and eau de toilette. Is that safe to say?
>> Amanda Barker: I Have no idea. My sensibility over sense.
>> Marco Timpano: And we'll also talk about the homemade, deodorant you've recently made.
>> Marco Timpano: What a fun project that is.
>> Amanda Barker: You can, you can smell me from here, I'm sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Listening. Well, listen, thank you so much for, tuning into the Insomnia project. We always love to hear from you. And don't forget, give us a five star review. We've been doing this program for quite some time and I always love hearing from our listeners who say it helps them because, it helps.
>> Amanda Barker: We get it. We. We need it too. And I, by the way, I want to start making my own lip balm. So maybe we'll do a whole thing on homemade products.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that would be great.
>> Amanda Barker: Like my kombucha that I've been making. My lip balm.
>> Marco Timpano: I want homemade soap. That's what I want to get into.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Making.
>> Amanda Barker: It's happening then. All right, I'll look into it.
>> Marco Timpano: Would you?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I. I wouldn't mind. Do it. I actually would like to do. I like homemade soaps and I spend a lot of money buying them.
>> Marco Timpano: You know me. Some people say I'm particular, but I like which people.
>> Amanda Barker: Don't say that. What are the people that say Marco doesn't care about anything?
>> Marco Timpano: I like a big, hefty bar of soap.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, I've tried. I've learned the hard way. Buying body washes that you won't touch.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no. Who does that? I like to hold myself.
>> Amanda Barker: Actually, the truth is, I don't buy body washes. They've been gifted to me. And I'm too frugal like my family to. To not use something, so I end up having to use it all by myself. So no more.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Soap.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, thank you so much for being a part of the show today, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you for having me. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Tune in for more of us on the Insomnia Project. This particular episode was recorded from creaky chairs.
>> Marco Timpano: In our living room.
>> Amanda Barker: And these chairs again, an antique refurbished by my mother, sourced by my dad to some degree. you know, we're a family that likes to, find treasures. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So wherever you are, we hope you find your treasure. From Toronto, Canada, we wish you a great sleep.
(Original airdate: August 2, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm Amanda Timpano
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Insomnia Project. I said insomnia.
>> Amanda Barker: That would be the, podcast about your cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right, Sonia.
>> Amanda Barker: Or our friend's older sister.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true, that's true. but you are actually tuned into the Insomnia Project. I'm Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm Amanda. Barry Barker with him today.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. And, of course, as always, we're going to be talking about a topic that hopefully you'll find soothing and relaxing and maybe, just maybe, it will even bring you a little bit of sleep. And, Amanda, you know, last time we were talking about rain, m and we had a shower not too long
>> Amanda Barker: ago, it's been raining. It's a different kind of rain today. It's a less gentle rain, but a beautiful rain.
>> Marco Timpano: It was quite spectacular. That's my creaking chair that you're gonna hear. I'm on this old antique chair.
>> Amanda Barker: It is antique, that chair. We're not exactly sure, but we do know the. The house that it came from, and that house dated from the early 1800s. So I don't think the chair goes quite that far back, but it certainly has lived a long life. And, many people have put their weight into it. So it, I guess at this age, it has something to say about it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. So if you hear the odd creek and crackle, that's because I'm on an old, old beautiful chair.
>> Marco Timpano: And this whole table has those claw feet of antiques and whatnot.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's usually a sign of I don't know what style. Like chip and tail.
>> Amanda Barker: I'll say Georgian.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, great.
Fiesta Wear is a line of ceramic dinnerware dating back to 1936
Speaking of styles, I wanted to talk about some chinaware that is really close to our family's heart a little more
>> Amanda Barker: recently compared to Victorian or Georgian.
>> Marco Timpano: So this chinaware comes from Newell, West Virginia, and it is known as Fiesta or Fiestaware. So Amanda, let's dive into Fiesta Wear, please. How did you come to know Fiestaware?
>> Amanda Barker: I personally first heard about Fiesta wear, I think when my sister got engaged probably in 2003. Okay, 2004, somewhere in there she got engaged. And when people asked her what she wanted for her wedding or as an engagement present, she replied by saying Fiesta Wear.
>> Marco Timpano: Now I should mention that Fiesta or Fiesta wear is a line of ceramic glazed dinnerware and it's been around since the 1930s. 1936 is when it was introduced.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, isn't that interesting?
>> Marco Timpano: It did have a hiatus from 73 to 85.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: but it's noted for its Art deco styling, features of concentric circles, and of course its range of solid color. So I'll let you continue. Sorry, I just wanted to.
>> Amanda Barker: That's so interesting because I actually don't think of it as Art deco and I can't. I think I'm not alone in this. I think of it as mid century modern.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So Art Deco would put it at the 1920s, 30s and 40s.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Give or take. and there was an Art deco, I should say, with Art deco, wasn't there? Art Deco and then Art deco revival. Like I believe the original Art deco was actually late 1800s. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Perhaps. But since this was introduced in 36.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. It was part of that revival, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe. In any event, I think of it as a 1950s dinnerware, even 1940s dinnerware. And you often see it, and I know in terms of my sister. Sure, Rebecca, her, her sensibilities, she has a lot of mid century pieces in her home. So a mid century table that sort of M metal and Malamite sort of top. The type of thing, that you would have seen. You know, maybe they had in Leave it to Beaver or later on when they were doing, you know, the Wonder Years as a throwback to the 1950s. But I think of Art Deco as the 1950s, mostly. although. Or not art deco, sorry, mid century modern. and Fiesta ware is often the dinnerware associated with that style.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Now, the original Fiesta was semi virtuous. Vitreous.
>> Amanda Barker: Does that mean porous?
>> Marco Timpano: it means it's the enamel coating that is applied to ceramics.
>> Amanda Barker: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: So when it was originally produced, it was semi vitreous. And then in its. During its revival after 86, it became completely virtual. Vitreous. I can't say that word. Vitreous china. And what that is is the enamel. Enamel coating that is applied to ceramics, particularly porcelain, after they've been fired, to make the porcelain tougher.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Denser and shinier. That's why it has that really neat kind of, gloss to it.
>> Amanda Barker: It has. Yeah. It definitely looks glazed. Yeah. And one of the signatures, you know, when you're trying to figure out, is it a Fiesta Wear piece like you would with any china, you pick it up and turn it around and look underneath and see what's been stamped into the original porcelain or clay. Porcelain in this case, I would assume.
>> Marco Timpano: In 2002, the New York Times called Fiesta the most collected brand of china in the United States.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. and called it.
>> Amanda Barker: Or is that, like, statistically true?
>> Marco Timpano: it's just said it's the most collected brand of china. Does. I don't know what its sources are cited, but since it is the New York Times, I'm gonna guess very credible sources. Pre 1972, pieces in various colors may be slightly radioactive because there was uranium compounds being used in the ceramic glaze at the time to achieve certain colors, especially red. So if you have one from 1972 or prior and it's red, just be careful. Don't drop it.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, but can you eat out of it?
>> Marco Timpano: I think. I think if you're careful, you can. We don't have any old pieces like that.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm not so sure about that. I'm pretty sure we don't pre1972, because
>> Marco Timpano: I think those pieces are also very collectible and therefore very expensive as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Again, not so sure about that, because a lot of our stuff comes from Florida.
Dan Barker says Fiesta Wear started with his sister, who is an artist
And maybe we should talk about that, about the role of Fiesta Wear anyway, in my family.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, let's do that.
>> Amanda Barker: So it started with my sister, and she doesn't always get credit. I have a family of five, my immediate family. she doesn't always get credit for starting things, but she was the first to decide that she liked it she's an artist. And so this would have been in the, like, early 2000s, probably even the late 90s, that she started collecting it. And then, you know, it's brightly colored, it's kind of funky. Like I said, it's mid century, kind of, you know, to some. And so that went on for a while. And so my father, who has been a guest on this show many times.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Dan.
>> Marco Timpano: Dan Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you ever do one? You do one on Auction House?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, but we never did one on
>> Amanda Barker: Fiesta Wear or on yard sales.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, we did.
>> Amanda Barker: You did? In flea markets. So as you know then, if you listen, my father loves. He's a treasure hunter. He really is. He loves hunting for treasure and collecting it too, much to my mother's chagrin. So, my sister's desire to have Fiesta Wear pieces, resulted in him constantly looking and scouring flea market tables, yard sale tables, that type of thing, and looking for some good finds. Now the thing about Fiesta Wear that people might not realize if you're not collecting it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that ideally most people, and I guess it depends, and maybe this is just true for my family, but I think most people collect many colors of it. So because it's been produced in so many colors, most people who have it have this sort of, you know, Crayola, box of Fiesta Wear. It's not just. You don't just have blue. probably some do, but, she certainly didn't. And when you source any collection like that, you're going to get all sorts of shapes and pieces. Even though there's consistency within the shapes. So, that started him on the journey for Fiesta Wear. Now, my parents during that time had a small house in Florida. And, over the years, through various homes and moving and countries and everything else, they've eventually settled to a different house, but settled in Florida nonetheless. And, for them that was a real downsize. So their everyday wear ended up being Fiesta Wear. And when my sister ran out of room for all the pieces my dad was sourcing for her.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: They started sourcing those pieces. I don't know if they actually ever went out and bought any. I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't think they went. I think they just Macy's or anything
>> Amanda Barker: like that, which you can do. Sure. But my sister being my sister and my family being my family, we're. We love, we love the thrill of the hunt, the finding the treasure, and most importantly, the bargain.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: We love the frugal, the frugality of, you know, getting. Getting five pieces for $3 or whatever. So, so that's what they did. And so my parents have this beautiful, very Floridian looking home. Home. But set of fiesta wear. That's multicolored.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And so that is where that fiesta wear went for a while.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And then then, because I would eat off the fiesta wear at your parents home in Florida, and, you know, we'd often go to the beach and whatnot. To me, it had a very summery, beachy feel to it, especially the bright colors.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I said to you. I said. And it reminded me of your family in particular, because of your sister's connection to it and the fact that your parents had it. That I said, maybe we should have a set for the cottage. And so I said. I don't know if I mentioned it to your dad or. You did. Then your dad, being the, you know, yard sale or flea market hunter that he is, went on a mission.
>> Amanda Barker: I think he mentioned it to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And then I said, sure, why not? We didn't really have any vision for what the dinnerware at the cottage looked like.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, it was. As cottages tend to become the dumping ground for people's old. Yeah. I have an extra set of this. Do you want it for the cottage? Is something you'll hear a lot when you have a second home. So, it seems like a fun choice.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: To slowly replace the dishes we had and start. And. And it really gave my dad a task. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It served a dual purpose. If you.
>> Amanda Barker: So off he went looking for bowls and teacups, coffee mugs, plates, sandwich plates and big dinner plates. we got a gravy boat.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. salt and pepper shakers.
>> Amanda Barker: a vase.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. A water pitcher.
I don't particularly enjoy drinking out of thick mugs
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Oh, is that what it is?
>> Marco Timpano: It's a water pitcher.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, it's a water pitcher.
>> Marco Timpano: You just sometimes put flowers in each other.
>> Amanda Barker: I didn't know it was a. I actually didn't know it was a water pitcher.
>> Marco Timpano: It has a handle and a spout.
>> Amanda Barker: I thought it was for flowers.
>> Marco Timpano: Your mom often puts flowers in hers, but I didn't.
>> Amanda Barker: It never occurred to me we could just put water in it and serve water in it. That never occurred to me.
>> Marco Timpano: I need to also say something that Amanda will attest to. So I don't particularly enjoy drinking out of thick mugs. I prefer a finer, thinner mug. And I can be a little bit, persnickety when it comes to.
>> Amanda Barker: Just a little bit. You can be very persnickety. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So with the exception of the Fiesta
>> Amanda Barker: Wear, which is very thick.
>> Marco Timpano: It's very thick. But because.
>> Amanda Barker: Why is that?
>> Marco Timpano: I think because it is, very smooth because of the glaze and feels nice when you put it to your lips. Unlike some other thicker, let's say, not as well crafted, mugs. Like if you get a mug that says, you know, world's greatest neighbor or whatever those tend not to be.
>> Amanda Barker: I would love a mug that said world's greatest neighbor. That would be amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: We did a show where I talked about the mugs I hate in our. Remember?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, we did the. We did the. The mug show, which turned into an intervention of what mugs you wanted to convince me to get rid of, which we never did.
>> Marco Timpano: But, I do use them.
>> Amanda Barker: We do.
>> Marco Timpano: We do use them. Yes, it's true. But I do love. I really do love drinking out of the Fiesta wear.
>> Amanda Barker: mugs.
>> Marco Timpano: Mugs.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe we should take some from the cottage and have them back here.
>> Marco Timpano: I just wish they'd.
>> Amanda Barker: Because what this house needs is more mugs.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I wish they made espresso cups. Fiesta Wear Espresso.
>> Amanda Barker: Do they not?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, maybe they do.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, we have a few little ones that are Fiesta Wear light. No, your sister gave them to us. She.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not the same. It's not the same. But if you're thinking of getting me something for my birthday, there's something I would like. Fiesta Wear Espresso.
The challenge is on. What do you like or not like about Fiesta Wear
>> Amanda Barker: All right. The, The challenge is on. I only have eight months.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you like or not like about Fiesta Wear?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I don't like that some of it could have uranium in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I mean, only the ones pre 72 that are red in color and.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, but my dad is sourcing them foods from church flea market tables.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's more.
>> Amanda Barker: More. I always worry about that because my sister also loves. Is it called Malamite?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, Melamite. That plasticky stuff that's really colorful.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, she loves that as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Bracelets and. And things.
>> Amanda Barker: But she. She has mugs made out of it. And I worry about. I worry about plastic. Plastic from the 60s.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I think that's fair to worry about.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, what don't you worry about with regards to. I don't want my listeners to think.
>> Amanda Barker: No, that's fair. I mean, I just. That's just me.
When we come from Florida, our luggage is often Fiesta wear
okay, what do I like about Fiesta work? Are you. You. You for the record, asked me. What don't you like?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that was my. My.
>> Amanda Barker: So I started with that because I am a glass half empty New Englander person. what I do like is. I mean I actually, I love the idea of having dinnerware where every piece has a bit of a story. Oh, I do love the strength there. It's a very strong china.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean you have to work. It's not to say we haven't broken them in the past, but you. It's not a. It's meant for everyday use.
>> Marco Timpano: We also pack it in our luggage. So when we come from Florida, our luggage is a third of the weight of our luggage is often Fiesta wear. Is that safe to say? When your dad finds a little treasure
>> Amanda Barker: trove of fiesta wear, what happens is. So we have a, ah, room at the house. There's only. It's a small house. So there's two bedrooms. Well, three I suppose. But anyway, our bedroom, because we're the ones that most often visit my parents in Florida, has a sort of chest of drawers and a chest of what I tried really hard to say it right. Chest of draws. Chest of drawers.
>> Marco Timpano: One of the few words Amanda says with a New England.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that I always have to pause in my brain and self. Correct. But anyway, whatever it is, there's a chest. Things you pull out.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And my dad usually when we come home, he spent the last month. Two months, whatever. It's been a little longer now. Six months. Although he hasn't been out looking for it. he spent the last. Whatever it's been filling the drawer with. Fiesta wear. Yeah. So it's now to the point where I don't think we need any more.
>> Marco Timpano: We need bowls.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't even.
>> Marco Timpano: We need bowls.
>> Amanda Barker: But we still have like six, six or seven. Like we have. Actually we keep saying we need bowls, but.
>> Marco Timpano: No, we need bowls. Okay, well we need the large serving.
>> Amanda Barker: The large serving plates. We could do with a few more. Those apparently are harder to find. Okay, but.
>> Marco Timpano: And the knickknacky things like the salt and pepper.
>> Amanda Barker: Don't we have that though? We have a creamer and we have a sugar bowl.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a creamer right there actually. Right over there.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah. So we have two creamers.
>> Marco Timpano: Actually, I don't think we have the sugar bowl.
>> Amanda Barker: We do. It's pink. Oh, we do. You don't like the dusty rose?
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. There's certain colors.
>> Amanda Barker: That was like an 80s color fiesta wear. And somebody unloaded all their dusty rose Fiesta wear. So we got a lot of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Now that said, I do love how in Florida your parents will serve it with the different colors. It looks so fantastic. Going to A, you know, what color plate am I getting? What color?
>> Amanda Barker: It's whimsical.
>> Marco Timpano: It's whimsical.
>> Amanda Barker: It's fun. It's. Give me the orange plate. Marco will take the turquoise. You know, like, there's something kind of whimsical about choosing the color of your plate, as silly as that is. and they have other fine china too. They're swimming in it.
>> Marco Timpano: But sure.
>> Amanda Barker: but that tends to be their everyday breakfast, kind of, lunch, kind of.
The other thing I love about it is especially with the mugs because your parents enjoy coffee
>> Marco Timpano: The other thing I love about it is especially with the mugs because your parents enjoy coffee. We enjoy coffee. So there's a. Quite a.
>> Amanda Barker: And they went through a mug face too. Too. Whereas every place they went, they would purposely get a mug. We don't do that. We would be. We. Our house would be made of mugs.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we don't. We. We never need mugs, folks.
>> Amanda Barker: But I used to get. I used to give my parents mugs. Like I would go to Iceland and give my parents a mug. I would go to wherever, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: But what I love about the fiesta mugs at, your parents place is when we're drinking coffee all day, you have the color mug of the day.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true. The purple mug is your mug. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You always know which mug is yours. And if you want to fill it with more coffee.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Even if you've gone outside for a swim.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: You've got the mug that's yours for the day.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Yeah. That's. Well, that is very true.
What are the colors you like to drink out of or eat off best
>> Marco Timpano: What are the colors you like to drink out of or eat off best? Or do you not have a color?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't have a preference. It depends on the mood I'm in. Lately I've enjoyed just a nice white fiesta wear because it's almost. Because it's such a colorful set that we have that they have. I like picking the white one because it almost feels like an anomaly. It feels special, as funny as that sounds. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: I always like the turquoise.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I think I do like the turquoise. Some of the darker colors I like as well. Your parents or your dad was able to find. Find once again, you know, what do you call it when it's like the. Find the sort of golden goose. I don't know if there's anything.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Like it's a treasure.
>> Marco Timpano: He found fiesta glassware that I think. Yeah. Do you remember your mom?
>> Amanda Barker: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, your mom was telling us that. So you know those water, glasses that have the little bands of color. There's like four bands of color. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: And you have to, we have to hand wash them.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are Fiestas.
>> Amanda Barker: Those are not Fiesta, are they?
>> Marco Timpano: Don't you listen to your mom when she tells the story?
>> Amanda Barker: You know it my mother's stories and I love my mother very much. But it's like constant running water. You can only have your cup underneath it so long before it overflows. And then you pull it back, drink, and the water keeps running, it never stops. So then you just put it back under. So sometimes I don't get all of the water.
>> Marco Timpano: So here's the story.
>> Amanda Barker: Or all of the story. Because it's, it's a constant stream of.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll. I'll retell the story story as best as I can. So your parents wanted to get, wanted to get, the Fiesta glassware.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it has little bands of color.
>> Marco Timpano: But it was quite pricey at the Macy's or wherever they were.
>> Amanda Barker: That sounds like one of my mother's stories. She will, she will. Because that's like if, if it was $20 a glass, that would be extremely expensive for my parents.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know, it wasn't, it wasn't cheap. Let me just look it up actually as we speak. and then you'll be able to see. Exactly. Yeah, it's these ones here, Amanda.
Your dad goes to church sales to buy new dishes. It's not a yard sale. Really not
Okay, so the glassware was not, was not inexpensive. I don't think it was incredibly expensive. But let's say it was not.
>> Amanda Barker: But I mean my mom. You're talking about a woman who won't pay more than 20 to 30. Like if she pays $30 for a purse, that's a good purse that she will have for 20 years, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So like for example, a four piece set is about $442. So it's $10.
>> Amanda Barker: Really not.
>> Marco Timpano: It's really not. But that's not the kind she had. Anyways. Anyway, they were going to buy it. They were like, let's get it, add to the collection.
>> Marco Timpano: And then your dad went to one of the. It's not a flea market. It's not a yard sale. It's the ones that are kind of like a charity white, white elephant sale, something like that.
>> Amanda Barker: But a white elephant sale is really just a flea market.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So.
>> Amanda Barker: But yeah, he goes to church sales. That's.
>> Marco Timpano: So he went to a church sale
>> Amanda Barker: and lo and behold, it's really just an elaborate yard sale or a, or a pared down flea market. Really.
>> Marco Timpano: He goes in one day and lo and behold there's a set of eight brand new, never Used the stories of my family. Yeah, he finds it, he sees it, he picks it up, purchases it.
>> Amanda Barker: He guaranteed Haggles the person.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure he spent $4 for the set of eight or whatever it was.
>> Amanda Barker: Came home grinning ear to ear, smiling
>> Marco Timpano: for a week, and your mother was like, I was just gonna go and buy them the next day.
>> Amanda Barker: I really don't remember this story at all. So I'm glad you're telling it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah. She. She tells it every time I drink out of that glass. So I tend not to drink.
>> Amanda Barker: Usually I've just gotten out of the plane or we've had a car ride, and I'm. I'm just, you know, I'm being. Soup is being shoved into my face, usually. Or casserole.
>> Marco Timpano: So our dilemma is that we have a lot of pieces of certain Fiesta wear at the cottage, but then it's kind of integrated with the carryover pieces, so we've got to just banish all the dishes.
>> Amanda Barker: What do you mean?
>> Marco Timpano: The carry the stuff that. The, porcelain ware that was there.
>> Amanda Barker: I've tried to banish that. I was told that was the dishes of the cottage, so not to banish it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we're going to banish it this year.
>> Amanda Barker: You've heard it here first, folks. Believe me, the effort has been there. It sits in another cabinet. Somebody's attached to that dishware, so we keep it that.
>> Marco Timpano: The great dishware banishment of 2020.
Amanda would like another Fiesta Wear serving platter for her birthday
Well, Amanda, we're getting towards the end of the. This episode, and I, wanted to just ask you.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm?
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a piece that isn't available or that. Sorry. That we don't have that you want to fetch?
>> Amanda Barker: In Fiesta wear, we have one serving platter, a Fiesta Wear, and not in a particularly bright color. So I would love another Fiesta Wear serving platter.
>> Marco Timpano: What color would you want?
>> Amanda Barker: Something bright and colorful. It wouldn't matter.
>> Marco Timpano: If you were to pick a color, what would that be?
>> Amanda Barker: Be green? I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Green. Okay. Yeah. Just.
>> Amanda Barker: Why is this a birthday present?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, your birthday's coming up and you never know.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I would also like. If we're doing that, I would like Joe Malone perfume.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And a subscription to Apple tv. Thank you very much.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What. What is it about Joe Malone perfume that you like so much?
>> Amanda Barker: It's really sm. It's very luxurious. It smells really good. We can do a whole thing on perfumes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you know what? Join us next time where we will talk about Amanda's love for scents, perfume and eau de toilette. Is that safe to say?
>> Amanda Barker: I Have no idea. My sensibility over sense.
>> Marco Timpano: And we'll also talk about the homemade, deodorant you've recently made.
>> Marco Timpano: What a fun project that is.
>> Amanda Barker: You can, you can smell me from here, I'm sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Listening. Well, listen, thank you so much for, tuning into the Insomnia project. We always love to hear from you. And don't forget, give us a five star review. We've been doing this program for quite some time and I always love hearing from our listeners who say it helps them because, it helps.
>> Amanda Barker: We get it. We. We need it too. And I, by the way, I want to start making my own lip balm. So maybe we'll do a whole thing on homemade products.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that would be great.
>> Amanda Barker: Like my kombucha that I've been making. My lip balm.
>> Marco Timpano: I want homemade soap. That's what I want to get into.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Making.
>> Amanda Barker: It's happening then. All right, I'll look into it.
>> Marco Timpano: Would you?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I. I wouldn't mind. Do it. I actually would like to do. I like homemade soaps and I spend a lot of money buying them.
>> Marco Timpano: You know me. Some people say I'm particular, but I like which people.
>> Amanda Barker: Don't say that. What are the people that say Marco doesn't care about anything?
>> Marco Timpano: I like a big, hefty bar of soap.
>> Amanda Barker: I know, I've tried. I've learned the hard way. Buying body washes that you won't touch.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no. Who does that? I like to hold myself.
>> Amanda Barker: Actually, the truth is, I don't buy body washes. They've been gifted to me. And I'm too frugal like my family to. To not use something, so I end up having to use it all by myself. So no more.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Soap.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, thank you so much for being a part of the show today, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you for having me. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Tune in for more of us on the Insomnia Project. This particular episode was recorded from creaky chairs.
>> Marco Timpano: In our living room.
>> Amanda Barker: And these chairs again, an antique refurbished by my mother, sourced by my dad to some degree. you know, we're a family that likes to, find treasures. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So wherever you are, we hope you find your treasure. From Toronto, Canada, we wish you a great sleep.
Comedy Writing with Calvin
(Original airdate: July 22, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen. As we have our conversation about the mundane, one thing we can promise is that our conversation will be hopefully less than fascinating so that you, our listener, can find your way to sleep. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Tampano. Follow us on Twitter at, listenandsleep. Give us a five star review on whatever application or app that you listen to our podcast on.
Calvin Storozchuk has a strange last name. Do you know what it means
And joining me today is a friend of mine, Calvin Storozchuk. Yeah.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: You get it?
>> Marco Timpano: Did I get it right?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Well, no. I mean, I always say that I don't even say it right, so I can't criticize. But you said it wrong.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, how do you say it then?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I think the Ukrainian pronunciation is like Storozchuk.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Storschuk.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And how do you say it then?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: How do you say storzchuk?
>> Marco Timpano: Storechuk? Yeah, like a store. Storzchuck. Yeah.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, it's a dumb. It's a bad name.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so not a bad name. Do you know what it means?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: no. I wish I had a clever, improv. But, yeah, now I have no idea.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know what Calvin means?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No. Why? Do you? No.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I know what Marco means. Warrior supposedly is what it means. Yeah. And I know what my last name means, but my last name is easy.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Drum.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Oh yeah, Your last name is drum.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Panho is a drum. Or like, you know, people talk about the timpani in your ear. Okay, yeah.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Does that mean that your family used to make drums?
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great question, actually. So I did look it up and what it said was that my lineage, we either played the drums into war, you know, how there would always be a drummer, or we fixed or built the drums that would be used.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I don't think we've ever seen an Italian playing the drums like a, traditional, you know, I can't think of a traditional Italian drum. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: But, yeah, that's the origin of my name. well, this was Roman times. This was like really ancient times. When I looked it up, it was like. Yeah. And if my last name was timpani with an I versus O, it would mean I came from a long line of drummers, war drummers or drum fixers. But neither's case. And I don't play the drums. And no one in my family has ever played the drums.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Oh no. Your great great great great grandfather would be horrified.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, what happened? So, Calvin, you are a stand up comic.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah.
I want to ask you about your approach to writing comedy
>> Marco Timpano: I want to ask you about writing comedy.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I have a lot of performers that come on the Insomnia project and we talk about different theaters we've performed at or different plays or musicals that we enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: But we never get into the nitty gritty about comedy writing.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And oftentimes when I see you, I'm asking, I'll ask you, what are you doing today? What'd you do today? And you're like, I wrote some comedy. So what is your approach?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: my approach is, to figure out an approach. I'm very meta, I guess, in the comedy thing because I want to figure out, a sustainable way of coming up with unique material so I don't try and just come up with a joke. I'm always trying to work on a system that works and it doesn't. there's not a lot of immediate benefits of that. It seems like a very slow process because it's a struggle.
>> Marco Timpano: But so how are your premises formed? Like your ideas?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: So yeah, I try different things. Like I might try starting with a feeling and try and flesh that out. or I might try making a point, something that I think is true. or I might just think about a subject and Be like, this is an interesting subject. Just. Just go on that.
>> Marco Timpano: And then you delve into it like a subject. Like, let's say, stop signs or something. Traffic signs.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And you're like, okay, I'm gonna really delve into it. Or do you take it more on a broader approach?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Again, I don't know. I might try, like, even with that, I might try different things. Like, I have a subject, and then, I might try focusing on who I am and how, How I think of that thing. Or I might just think about that thing in general as it affects humanity.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. So you take both a micro and a macro approach to.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I'm just trying everything, and I'm trying to see what works. And I've had very bad, consistency. So that's why I keep trying different things again. And I'll go back to things that. Because pretty much everything I've tried has worked. Like, I've had success with all these different things that I've focused on. But then it'll go horribly another time. And I go, what am I doing?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that can be. That could be not necessarily the material itself. Right. It could be if it's me as a person. Well, maybe your delivery, maybe the venue you're at, maybe the crowd that you have.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Well, I think. Well, yeah, right now I think the most important thing is, like, confidence really is, like, probably the biggest thing. slash, being in the moment.
>> Marco Timpano: so when you say confidence, does that mean when you're on stage, we're watching a heightened version of Calvin? Or is it yourself and you're just going forward as like, the stage is mine and you're my audience?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, I don't think it's a heightened. I don't think. Yeah, not a heightened version, but more as in, like, not shutting down things, because that's what, you know, that's just a human thing. Like any kind of, anything that makes you anxious or whatever. You know, it's. You're. You're shutting down things that could help you.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Like, you want to be, like, loose and open to, ideas. Right. But it's also. It's not just the ideas, because you could say something very scripted, but it's also just the energy you have when you're saying the exact same words. It would seem more spontaneous and real and.
>> Marco Timpano: Calvin, do you ever find your writing material on the spot? Like something you might go off on a tangent based on a reaction that you've received?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, kind of, but not that often. I know. Like, I wish I could, because that's like. That's how you see some people get, good really fast is when they know how to do that. It's what, like, you would call, like, writing on stage. Whereas, like, they're so. They know how to control themselves on stage so well that the more time they spend on stage, they're gonna come up with good stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. You know, that's more of what I enjoy, and I think it's because my background is more improv. So as a result, I'm able to improv in the moment. Depending on what happens, it's usually a reaction to something that has happened in the audience or a particular person who might be a little bit rambunctious or Heckly, usually.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: That's where I meant, like, in terms of, like, creating material from it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Like, I think that energy of being on stage is so much more. It's like, more condensed, like, than what you would get from writing in a coffee shop or something, like, because it's so easy to waste time and stuff, but when you're on stage, it's like, everything's. You know, you have so much more energy that if you know how to use it, then you'll get a lot of good stuff from a very short period of time.
>> Marco Timpano: That's really cool. That's very profound.
There's a lot of theft in comedy, okay? Like, but it's legit
What about your punchlines? So how do you get to your punchlines or to the sort of crux, of your comedic writing for stage?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: So that, I think is, like. That's the part I think is just natural, like, people are funny or not kind of thing. And I mean, there's obviously, like, you kind of learn how to be funny as a. As a kid, right? Like, it's not. You're not just born funny or not, I don't think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you believe you. You became funny.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: You.
>> Marco Timpano: You learned how to be funny.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I think. Yeah. I think any funny person, like, there was a process, and. And, I think it's like, I thought about this before. I think there's a lot of theft in comedy, okay? Like, but it's legit. Like, it's. It's. It's kind of like inventions, where, you know, you see how other people have invented things and you invent your own thing. But you had to. You had to take so many ideas from other people. And that's why I think humor is alike, where it's like, you run into funny people in your life and you take little things from them. You learn things about humor from people and I think the best comedy is. Is when you take things from people that don't even know they're funny. Because that's.
>> Marco Timpano: So when you're saying you take things from people who don't know they're funny, you could be working in an office job, and somebody might have a, odd little quirk or tic, and then you'll take from that.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah. The way they reacted to something, and it's usually a mistake, like they got something wrong and they don't even know they did it. But now you know that's funny, and you can implement it into other, you know, situations.
I watched some of your comedy recently. And there's a moment on evolution
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so can I ask you something? I watched some of your comedy recently.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's a moment you were doing a whole bit on, evolution.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But you had said not. You didn't say evolution. You said something else, almost like a mistake. But it was a very funny thing. Was that. Oh, do you know what I mean? Like, you said, not evolution. What was the other word you used? to.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, I just said the wrong word because I was gonna say it later on in the set.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah. So I just messed up.
>> Marco Timpano: So you messed up. Cause I thought, oh, that either it was a happy accident that proved to be very funny, or you planned that perfectly and you executed that sort of. Cause some standups will do that. They'll intentionally make an error that then leads into a funny moment that then leads into what they were going to do. And I thought perhaps you were doing that, too. So I wanted to ask that particular moment because I thought was pretty brilliant either way.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: That's funny. Yeah. There's been. I've been accused of, preparing some accidents before where I was like, I did something so stupid. And they're like, you meant to do that. I'm like, no, I didn't. Because it just. It just. It almost looks fake sometimes.
>> Marco Timpano: And does that then become part of your act?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: no, no, no. I mean, again, it's hard to, like, you want that, like, presence and that. That energy of, like, you know, being there. That's what the. Where the funny stuff comes from. So it's hard to. Like, for me, I wouldn't. Yeah. I wouldn't want to recreate something like that. It's too. It's too hard, and it makes you think about something that, like, I don't want to be in that headspace. I want to be thinking about, like, what I'm. What I'm talking about or whatever.
Do you prefer to have the mic on the stand or remove it
>> Marco Timpano: All right, here's a very, technical question. I guess I'm going to ask, do you prefer when you're on stage doing stand up to have the mic on the stand or remove the mic and you walk and hold the mic?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I don't know. I mean I think I usually take it out, but I don't know because I, I mean I'm sure you can test like what gets the best response. If you know, like, you know, I'm moving around too much or something like that. But I don't, I don't know that part of my, I'm not at that point because other things are. There's other moving pieces that are so much more important right now than like, yeah, where I stand on stage.
>> Marco Timpano: where was your first stand up set?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yuk Yuks.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it was a Yuk Yuks.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah. But it was the Humber thing. So it's like it's like a comedy program. So they like, it's pretty much all the, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: So I should mention for our listeners because we have a lot of international listeners. Yuk Yuks is a pretty well known comedy channel, comedy club chain in Canada. And Yuk and Humber, is a college that university that teaches one of their programs is comedy.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah. So Yuk Yuk has like a partnership thing with the comedy program. So like they just use the space for a certain show. But yeah, it's not the same because the whole audience is basically other kids from college going to see their friends or whatever. So it's very different. It's super supportive and. And it gave me a very skewed view of what standup was. Cause I thought I got a lot. I got a very good response and I didn't deserve anything but I was like, holy.
>> Marco Timpano: Spoken like a true comic who's self deprecating. I didn't deserve the laughs I got.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, no, no, it was horrible. But I got so many laughs and I was like, this is gonna be so easy. Okay. It's actually the hardest thing ever.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you noticed that your come has changed over the years? So for example, like from the first time where you had a really positive response.
>> Marco Timpano: Has it morphed? Has it developed in a way that.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, it's changed a few times. The first like little while, I don't know how long, but I was like basically doing a Mitch Edberg imitation.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Which is like pretty embarrassing. But And then after that I started doing like one liners that were different and like kind of had more of my own style. Right. and then I even that though is pretty embarrassing. Like. Like, I had to stop doing it because it's like you're. It's too. From. From me. Like, there's no. There's no point to. There's no reality to it. It's all about just trying to get the audience to laugh. And I know that sounds like you're supposed to do that, but it's. You're not making them laugh at reality. You're just, like, tricking them. It's a lot of, like, wordplay and stuff that, I'm just. I mean, personally, I just feel like there's more potential in comedy than that. I m. Mean, you know, other people would argue with me and be like, you know, whatever, whatever works. But, I just think about the comedy that I like, and it's always deeper and more like. Yeah, there's a message to it a bit that makes you laugh at, like, life.
>> Marco Timpano: I like when you mention wordplay, because that's something that I love and I really, gravitate towards wordplay. on stage, for sure.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I said it's the highest form of comedy.
>> Marco Timpano: Really? Wordplay?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, I just said I don't think it's that great. But, But it's funny that you say now.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but you said that wordplay for you is a key component.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, no, I said it. It was of, like, one liners. That's why I'm not, like, into one liners.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay, sorry, I misunderstood what you were saying. but that just goes to show you the different styles of comedy, right? Like, if everyone just approached comedy from one, One sort of direction.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Then nothing really would be funny because it would all be the same.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Maybe. I don't know. But yeah, I think it's good that the. There's different styles and different people can find what they like.
One of the source materials that I would often use when doing stand up type comedy
>> Marco Timpano: And what are some things that inspire you people? Or is there something that you use as a tool where you're like, you know what? I watch this program because I find I get a lot of information, or comedy bits from it as far as, like, inspiration.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I think, like, I think, like, profound truths are like. I think that's like, the heart of, like, good comedy. Like, you know, the way you have a silly way of expressing the point. But, like, I think the truer, the point is the more people it hits. And also it hits them deeper. Like, okay, And I mean, obviously people would, you know, disagree about what the most important truths are. But like, a funny one, something that I think works a lot is that, like, how Cruel, nature is right. And I think you can go so many different directions with that. And it's just funny because, like, when you think about it, it's just, it's, it's it's such a, like a sad, scary thing. But it's just funny because it's real. Sure. You know, it's like how brutal reality actually is when you think about it.
>> Marco Timpano: So then would your source material for that be something like Blue Planet or watching Shark Week or like nature programs?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, like that could trigger something. And it has.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: You know, that's why you saw like some stuff about animals and stuff, which I think is funny because it's like, like it just shows you, like, animals are a little bit funnier than humans because they're not trying to do anything. Like they're just doing what they're meant to do. but, yeah, when animals do something messed up, like, you can't debate it. It's like, that's what we live in. That's where we live. So, yeah, I think that's funny.
>> Marco Timpano: One of the source materials that I would often use when I was doing more, stand up type comedy was I would watch the View. I know it sounds funny, but what I would do is I would know what was going on in the mindset of the general public in the US and in North America. So in other words, because I would delve into a lot of politics or into current affairs. And so whatever they were talking about was, were things that I found were in the consciousness of your audience. So I could take something that they were talking about and know that maybe 70 to 80% of the audience was familiar with that versus going into something more obscure that I would then have to explain because the audience wasn't on board. So I would use that program as a barometer for political or current affairs that I wanted to talk about. Sometimes I would use CNN too. Like, those would be my, my source materials. But I always found that the View was one of the best things for me to use. And it would be funny because, you know, my friends would be like, why are you watching this? I'm like, this is research for me.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, no, that's true. Because that's a little bit different than what we were talking about, with like the animals and stuff. Because I think what you're doing is the value is like, it's, it's giving you that, that energy of like, connecting with other people, which is, which is a huge part of comedy. It's about like Building this bridge between, like, your mind and their. In their minds. Sure. so it's very. You have to be aware of, like, other people. And that's. That's one of the challenges of writing too, because you get too in your head and then you come up with stuff that's never gonna. You will never have enough time to explain all the stuff necessary. Sure. You know, so it's good to start from an outside perspective. Like. Like you were saying. and I. Yeah, I definitely find that works too. And that's why I prefer to write. You know, instead of writing at home, I'd rather write at, like, a coffee shop. If you have people around you and like, other people write sometimes at comedy clubs because they're like, this is like the best energy to help you stay away from the stuff that's just going to muddle everything up.
>> Marco Timpano: So you do a type 5 at your local Starbucks.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, no, no, I'm kidding.
>> Marco Timpano: M. let me ask you this. So what do you do to get out of those blocks? If you have blocks while you're writing?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: see that? I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so do you just. But you're very.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I'm working on that.
>> Marco Timpano: You're very, skilled at actually doing the writing. Like, you're very, What's the word I'm looking for? But you make it a part of your practice. Like, you're. Every time I talk to you, you're like, I'm writing. I'm writing.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I'm writing. Which I think is regimented or disciplined. Ah, yeah. Yes, that I've. I've accepted that it takes a lot of time, and I'm fine, like, spending, you know, at least an hour a day writing. And, you know, which is not. That's not actually that much time, but a lot of people wouldn't never do that. but yeah, sometimes I'll write for several hours a day and. And, And usually come up with nothing but.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I. I gotta, You know, once you get once. Once you have a system that has any kind of success rate, you know, then. Then it'll be very much worth that time, you see? So, I don't know.
Have you ever written for someone else to do comedy
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever written for someone else to do comedy? Because I think that's an important skill too. And I feel like that's one area that's lacking in these more formalized schools where you're learning comedy. It's one thing to write for yourself, but it's another to write for someone else's voice or write something that someone else could take and use on stage?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: yeah, I don't think I've ever done that. I mean, I think I've come up with like ideas for other people. But, yeah, I mean, yeah, that could be like an exercise, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to write for, a television show. And I won't say which show it was, but the protagonist, we were looking at their lives in the show and so we had to write comedic bits for this person to execute on film. And the protagonist wasn't very, astute when it came to comedy. I'm being very kind here with my words. And I was in the writers room and a lot of the comedy that I would write they wouldn't necessarily get. So I would have to explain it or really unpack the comedy or the bit that I was writing the joke. And so it was over explained on the television show. So it would never resonate the way I wanted it to.
>> Marco Timpano: And every once in a while I would get really frustrated and angry because of the way I was being treated. It wasn't the best writing room when that happened. I would write ridiculous things for this person to do and in the show just because I was frustrated. So I was like, all right, then I'm gonna make this person, the protagonist, sit on a piano and sing, or like sit on the keys or do just something ridiculous. And Calvin, one of every five times I did that, it would end up in the show and I would just watch and with my hand over my mouth thinking, how did this get through? This was just total me angry. Writing angry crazy things for the person to do and they would do it.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, well, I don't know what
>> Marco Timpano: that says about that I'm probably not a really nice person is what it says about me.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, I don't think it, I don't think it says anything about you. I mean, I don't know, I just think it says something about the systems in place, quality control of tv.
What is the one thing you enjoy having at comedy clubs
>> Marco Timpano: But before we end, what is the one thing you think you enjoy having at comedy clubs? So it's like if I'm at a comedy club, I enjoy performing at.
>> Marco Timpano: I like when this is in place or when they have this.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Your writer?
>> Marco Timpano: No, not my writer. But let's say like, I like a smaller stage, let's say a more focused stage so that there's not a lot of expanse.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Like how do I, if I walk into a comedy club, how do I look at it and be like, oh, this is either good or bad? I don't know, it's anything that makes it feel like the audience is going to be, too comfortable and confident because then it will make me feel more uncomfortable.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. so what's something that makes you feel confident in a comedy club when you're performing that they might have in place?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: honestly, if it's not that cool looking, like, if it, if it, if it looks pretty, I don't know if I can't think of a word. But, you know, it's just basic. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not left fancy club, or let's say a theater. Like, you know, sometimes people perform at a fancy theater or a really large venue.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You prefer more intimate? Sort of.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I would know. I'd prefer large.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you would. Okay.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah. Because I think the, I think the, numbers of people keep themselves in check. Whereas, like a small group, it's very hit and miss. If you get the wrong group, you know, they're comfortable now and they're like, they'll judge you very, openly. But, yeah, that's it.
We did a deep dive into comedy writing and stand up writing on Insomnia Project
Amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Calvin, listen, thank you so much. We did a deep dive into comedy writing and stand up writing, on the Insomnia Project. I hope our listeners enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed having you in the studio.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Studio. All right, thank you very much.
>> Marco Timpano: Where can they find stuff that you're doing? Do you have a website that we can send her?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, I'll let people know. I'll email you.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, don't worry, I'll contact you.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't look up Calvin. He'll look you up. Thank you so much, Calvin. Once again, you've been listening to the Insomnia Project. We hope you enjoyed this. We hope you found your way to sleep. And today's episode was recorded in Toronto, Canada.
(Original airdate: July 22, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen. As we have our conversation about the mundane, one thing we can promise is that our conversation will be hopefully less than fascinating so that you, our listener, can find your way to sleep. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Tampano. Follow us on Twitter at, listenandsleep. Give us a five star review on whatever application or app that you listen to our podcast on.
Calvin Storozchuk has a strange last name. Do you know what it means
And joining me today is a friend of mine, Calvin Storozchuk. Yeah.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: You get it?
>> Marco Timpano: Did I get it right?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Well, no. I mean, I always say that I don't even say it right, so I can't criticize. But you said it wrong.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, how do you say it then?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I think the Ukrainian pronunciation is like Storozchuk.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Storschuk.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And how do you say it then?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: How do you say storzchuk?
>> Marco Timpano: Storechuk? Yeah, like a store. Storzchuck. Yeah.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, it's a dumb. It's a bad name.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so not a bad name. Do you know what it means?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: no. I wish I had a clever, improv. But, yeah, now I have no idea.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know what Calvin means?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No. Why? Do you? No.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I know what Marco means. Warrior supposedly is what it means. Yeah. And I know what my last name means, but my last name is easy.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Drum.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Oh yeah, Your last name is drum.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Panho is a drum. Or like, you know, people talk about the timpani in your ear. Okay, yeah.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Does that mean that your family used to make drums?
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great question, actually. So I did look it up and what it said was that my lineage, we either played the drums into war, you know, how there would always be a drummer, or we fixed or built the drums that would be used.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I don't think we've ever seen an Italian playing the drums like a, traditional, you know, I can't think of a traditional Italian drum. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: But, yeah, that's the origin of my name. well, this was Roman times. This was like really ancient times. When I looked it up, it was like. Yeah. And if my last name was timpani with an I versus O, it would mean I came from a long line of drummers, war drummers or drum fixers. But neither's case. And I don't play the drums. And no one in my family has ever played the drums.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Oh no. Your great great great great grandfather would be horrified.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, what happened? So, Calvin, you are a stand up comic.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah.
I want to ask you about your approach to writing comedy
>> Marco Timpano: I want to ask you about writing comedy.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I have a lot of performers that come on the Insomnia project and we talk about different theaters we've performed at or different plays or musicals that we enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: But we never get into the nitty gritty about comedy writing.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And oftentimes when I see you, I'm asking, I'll ask you, what are you doing today? What'd you do today? And you're like, I wrote some comedy. So what is your approach?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: my approach is, to figure out an approach. I'm very meta, I guess, in the comedy thing because I want to figure out, a sustainable way of coming up with unique material so I don't try and just come up with a joke. I'm always trying to work on a system that works and it doesn't. there's not a lot of immediate benefits of that. It seems like a very slow process because it's a struggle.
>> Marco Timpano: But so how are your premises formed? Like your ideas?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: So yeah, I try different things. Like I might try starting with a feeling and try and flesh that out. or I might try making a point, something that I think is true. or I might just think about a subject and Be like, this is an interesting subject. Just. Just go on that.
>> Marco Timpano: And then you delve into it like a subject. Like, let's say, stop signs or something. Traffic signs.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And you're like, okay, I'm gonna really delve into it. Or do you take it more on a broader approach?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Again, I don't know. I might try, like, even with that, I might try different things. Like, I have a subject, and then, I might try focusing on who I am and how, How I think of that thing. Or I might just think about that thing in general as it affects humanity.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. So you take both a micro and a macro approach to.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I'm just trying everything, and I'm trying to see what works. And I've had very bad, consistency. So that's why I keep trying different things again. And I'll go back to things that. Because pretty much everything I've tried has worked. Like, I've had success with all these different things that I've focused on. But then it'll go horribly another time. And I go, what am I doing?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that can be. That could be not necessarily the material itself. Right. It could be if it's me as a person. Well, maybe your delivery, maybe the venue you're at, maybe the crowd that you have.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Well, I think. Well, yeah, right now I think the most important thing is, like, confidence really is, like, probably the biggest thing. slash, being in the moment.
>> Marco Timpano: so when you say confidence, does that mean when you're on stage, we're watching a heightened version of Calvin? Or is it yourself and you're just going forward as like, the stage is mine and you're my audience?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, I don't think it's a heightened. I don't think. Yeah, not a heightened version, but more as in, like, not shutting down things, because that's what, you know, that's just a human thing. Like any kind of, anything that makes you anxious or whatever. You know, it's. You're. You're shutting down things that could help you.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Like, you want to be, like, loose and open to, ideas. Right. But it's also. It's not just the ideas, because you could say something very scripted, but it's also just the energy you have when you're saying the exact same words. It would seem more spontaneous and real and.
>> Marco Timpano: Calvin, do you ever find your writing material on the spot? Like something you might go off on a tangent based on a reaction that you've received?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, kind of, but not that often. I know. Like, I wish I could, because that's like. That's how you see some people get, good really fast is when they know how to do that. It's what, like, you would call, like, writing on stage. Whereas, like, they're so. They know how to control themselves on stage so well that the more time they spend on stage, they're gonna come up with good stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. You know, that's more of what I enjoy, and I think it's because my background is more improv. So as a result, I'm able to improv in the moment. Depending on what happens, it's usually a reaction to something that has happened in the audience or a particular person who might be a little bit rambunctious or Heckly, usually.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: That's where I meant, like, in terms of, like, creating material from it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Like, I think that energy of being on stage is so much more. It's like, more condensed, like, than what you would get from writing in a coffee shop or something, like, because it's so easy to waste time and stuff, but when you're on stage, it's like, everything's. You know, you have so much more energy that if you know how to use it, then you'll get a lot of good stuff from a very short period of time.
>> Marco Timpano: That's really cool. That's very profound.
There's a lot of theft in comedy, okay? Like, but it's legit
What about your punchlines? So how do you get to your punchlines or to the sort of crux, of your comedic writing for stage?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: So that, I think is, like. That's the part I think is just natural, like, people are funny or not kind of thing. And I mean, there's obviously, like, you kind of learn how to be funny as a. As a kid, right? Like, it's not. You're not just born funny or not, I don't think.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you believe you. You became funny.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: You.
>> Marco Timpano: You learned how to be funny.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I think. Yeah. I think any funny person, like, there was a process, and. And, I think it's like, I thought about this before. I think there's a lot of theft in comedy, okay? Like, but it's legit. Like, it's. It's. It's kind of like inventions, where, you know, you see how other people have invented things and you invent your own thing. But you had to. You had to take so many ideas from other people. And that's why I think humor is alike, where it's like, you run into funny people in your life and you take little things from them. You learn things about humor from people and I think the best comedy is. Is when you take things from people that don't even know they're funny. Because that's.
>> Marco Timpano: So when you're saying you take things from people who don't know they're funny, you could be working in an office job, and somebody might have a, odd little quirk or tic, and then you'll take from that.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah. The way they reacted to something, and it's usually a mistake, like they got something wrong and they don't even know they did it. But now you know that's funny, and you can implement it into other, you know, situations.
I watched some of your comedy recently. And there's a moment on evolution
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so can I ask you something? I watched some of your comedy recently.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's a moment you were doing a whole bit on, evolution.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But you had said not. You didn't say evolution. You said something else, almost like a mistake. But it was a very funny thing. Was that. Oh, do you know what I mean? Like, you said, not evolution. What was the other word you used? to.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, I just said the wrong word because I was gonna say it later on in the set.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah. So I just messed up.
>> Marco Timpano: So you messed up. Cause I thought, oh, that either it was a happy accident that proved to be very funny, or you planned that perfectly and you executed that sort of. Cause some standups will do that. They'll intentionally make an error that then leads into a funny moment that then leads into what they were going to do. And I thought perhaps you were doing that, too. So I wanted to ask that particular moment because I thought was pretty brilliant either way.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: That's funny. Yeah. There's been. I've been accused of, preparing some accidents before where I was like, I did something so stupid. And they're like, you meant to do that. I'm like, no, I didn't. Because it just. It just. It almost looks fake sometimes.
>> Marco Timpano: And does that then become part of your act?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: no, no, no. I mean, again, it's hard to, like, you want that, like, presence and that. That energy of, like, you know, being there. That's what the. Where the funny stuff comes from. So it's hard to. Like, for me, I wouldn't. Yeah. I wouldn't want to recreate something like that. It's too. It's too hard, and it makes you think about something that, like, I don't want to be in that headspace. I want to be thinking about, like, what I'm. What I'm talking about or whatever.
Do you prefer to have the mic on the stand or remove it
>> Marco Timpano: All right, here's a very, technical question. I guess I'm going to ask, do you prefer when you're on stage doing stand up to have the mic on the stand or remove the mic and you walk and hold the mic?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I don't know. I mean I think I usually take it out, but I don't know because I, I mean I'm sure you can test like what gets the best response. If you know, like, you know, I'm moving around too much or something like that. But I don't, I don't know that part of my, I'm not at that point because other things are. There's other moving pieces that are so much more important right now than like, yeah, where I stand on stage.
>> Marco Timpano: where was your first stand up set?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yuk Yuks.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it was a Yuk Yuks.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah. But it was the Humber thing. So it's like it's like a comedy program. So they like, it's pretty much all the, you know.
>> Marco Timpano: So I should mention for our listeners because we have a lot of international listeners. Yuk Yuks is a pretty well known comedy channel, comedy club chain in Canada. And Yuk and Humber, is a college that university that teaches one of their programs is comedy.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah. So Yuk Yuk has like a partnership thing with the comedy program. So like they just use the space for a certain show. But yeah, it's not the same because the whole audience is basically other kids from college going to see their friends or whatever. So it's very different. It's super supportive and. And it gave me a very skewed view of what standup was. Cause I thought I got a lot. I got a very good response and I didn't deserve anything but I was like, holy.
>> Marco Timpano: Spoken like a true comic who's self deprecating. I didn't deserve the laughs I got.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, no, no, it was horrible. But I got so many laughs and I was like, this is gonna be so easy. Okay. It's actually the hardest thing ever.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you noticed that your come has changed over the years? So for example, like from the first time where you had a really positive response.
>> Marco Timpano: Has it morphed? Has it developed in a way that.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, it's changed a few times. The first like little while, I don't know how long, but I was like basically doing a Mitch Edberg imitation.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Which is like pretty embarrassing. But And then after that I started doing like one liners that were different and like kind of had more of my own style. Right. and then I even that though is pretty embarrassing. Like. Like, I had to stop doing it because it's like you're. It's too. From. From me. Like, there's no. There's no point to. There's no reality to it. It's all about just trying to get the audience to laugh. And I know that sounds like you're supposed to do that, but it's. You're not making them laugh at reality. You're just, like, tricking them. It's a lot of, like, wordplay and stuff that, I'm just. I mean, personally, I just feel like there's more potential in comedy than that. I m. Mean, you know, other people would argue with me and be like, you know, whatever, whatever works. But, I just think about the comedy that I like, and it's always deeper and more like. Yeah, there's a message to it a bit that makes you laugh at, like, life.
>> Marco Timpano: I like when you mention wordplay, because that's something that I love and I really, gravitate towards wordplay. on stage, for sure.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I said it's the highest form of comedy.
>> Marco Timpano: Really? Wordplay?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, I just said I don't think it's that great. But, But it's funny that you say now.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but you said that wordplay for you is a key component.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, no, I said it. It was of, like, one liners. That's why I'm not, like, into one liners.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, okay, sorry, I misunderstood what you were saying. but that just goes to show you the different styles of comedy, right? Like, if everyone just approached comedy from one, One sort of direction.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Then nothing really would be funny because it would all be the same.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Maybe. I don't know. But yeah, I think it's good that the. There's different styles and different people can find what they like.
One of the source materials that I would often use when doing stand up type comedy
>> Marco Timpano: And what are some things that inspire you people? Or is there something that you use as a tool where you're like, you know what? I watch this program because I find I get a lot of information, or comedy bits from it as far as, like, inspiration.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I think, like, I think, like, profound truths are like. I think that's like, the heart of, like, good comedy. Like, you know, the way you have a silly way of expressing the point. But, like, I think the truer, the point is the more people it hits. And also it hits them deeper. Like, okay, And I mean, obviously people would, you know, disagree about what the most important truths are. But like, a funny one, something that I think works a lot is that, like, how Cruel, nature is right. And I think you can go so many different directions with that. And it's just funny because, like, when you think about it, it's just, it's, it's it's such a, like a sad, scary thing. But it's just funny because it's real. Sure. You know, it's like how brutal reality actually is when you think about it.
>> Marco Timpano: So then would your source material for that be something like Blue Planet or watching Shark Week or like nature programs?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, like that could trigger something. And it has.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: You know, that's why you saw like some stuff about animals and stuff, which I think is funny because it's like, like it just shows you, like, animals are a little bit funnier than humans because they're not trying to do anything. Like they're just doing what they're meant to do. but, yeah, when animals do something messed up, like, you can't debate it. It's like, that's what we live in. That's where we live. So, yeah, I think that's funny.
>> Marco Timpano: One of the source materials that I would often use when I was doing more, stand up type comedy was I would watch the View. I know it sounds funny, but what I would do is I would know what was going on in the mindset of the general public in the US and in North America. So in other words, because I would delve into a lot of politics or into current affairs. And so whatever they were talking about was, were things that I found were in the consciousness of your audience. So I could take something that they were talking about and know that maybe 70 to 80% of the audience was familiar with that versus going into something more obscure that I would then have to explain because the audience wasn't on board. So I would use that program as a barometer for political or current affairs that I wanted to talk about. Sometimes I would use CNN too. Like, those would be my, my source materials. But I always found that the View was one of the best things for me to use. And it would be funny because, you know, my friends would be like, why are you watching this? I'm like, this is research for me.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, no, that's true. Because that's a little bit different than what we were talking about, with like the animals and stuff. Because I think what you're doing is the value is like, it's, it's giving you that, that energy of like, connecting with other people, which is, which is a huge part of comedy. It's about like Building this bridge between, like, your mind and their. In their minds. Sure. so it's very. You have to be aware of, like, other people. And that's. That's one of the challenges of writing too, because you get too in your head and then you come up with stuff that's never gonna. You will never have enough time to explain all the stuff necessary. Sure. You know, so it's good to start from an outside perspective. Like. Like you were saying. and I. Yeah, I definitely find that works too. And that's why I prefer to write. You know, instead of writing at home, I'd rather write at, like, a coffee shop. If you have people around you and like, other people write sometimes at comedy clubs because they're like, this is like the best energy to help you stay away from the stuff that's just going to muddle everything up.
>> Marco Timpano: So you do a type 5 at your local Starbucks.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, no, no, I'm kidding.
>> Marco Timpano: M. let me ask you this. So what do you do to get out of those blocks? If you have blocks while you're writing?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: see that? I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so do you just. But you're very.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I'm working on that.
>> Marco Timpano: You're very, skilled at actually doing the writing. Like, you're very, What's the word I'm looking for? But you make it a part of your practice. Like, you're. Every time I talk to you, you're like, I'm writing. I'm writing.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I'm writing. Which I think is regimented or disciplined. Ah, yeah. Yes, that I've. I've accepted that it takes a lot of time, and I'm fine, like, spending, you know, at least an hour a day writing. And, you know, which is not. That's not actually that much time, but a lot of people wouldn't never do that. but yeah, sometimes I'll write for several hours a day and. And, And usually come up with nothing but.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I. I gotta, You know, once you get once. Once you have a system that has any kind of success rate, you know, then. Then it'll be very much worth that time, you see? So, I don't know.
Have you ever written for someone else to do comedy
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever written for someone else to do comedy? Because I think that's an important skill too. And I feel like that's one area that's lacking in these more formalized schools where you're learning comedy. It's one thing to write for yourself, but it's another to write for someone else's voice or write something that someone else could take and use on stage?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: yeah, I don't think I've ever done that. I mean, I think I've come up with like ideas for other people. But, yeah, I mean, yeah, that could be like an exercise, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to write for, a television show. And I won't say which show it was, but the protagonist, we were looking at their lives in the show and so we had to write comedic bits for this person to execute on film. And the protagonist wasn't very, astute when it came to comedy. I'm being very kind here with my words. And I was in the writers room and a lot of the comedy that I would write they wouldn't necessarily get. So I would have to explain it or really unpack the comedy or the bit that I was writing the joke. And so it was over explained on the television show. So it would never resonate the way I wanted it to.
>> Marco Timpano: And every once in a while I would get really frustrated and angry because of the way I was being treated. It wasn't the best writing room when that happened. I would write ridiculous things for this person to do and in the show just because I was frustrated. So I was like, all right, then I'm gonna make this person, the protagonist, sit on a piano and sing, or like sit on the keys or do just something ridiculous. And Calvin, one of every five times I did that, it would end up in the show and I would just watch and with my hand over my mouth thinking, how did this get through? This was just total me angry. Writing angry crazy things for the person to do and they would do it.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, well, I don't know what
>> Marco Timpano: that says about that I'm probably not a really nice person is what it says about me.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, I don't think it, I don't think it says anything about you. I mean, I don't know, I just think it says something about the systems in place, quality control of tv.
What is the one thing you enjoy having at comedy clubs
>> Marco Timpano: But before we end, what is the one thing you think you enjoy having at comedy clubs? So it's like if I'm at a comedy club, I enjoy performing at.
>> Marco Timpano: I like when this is in place or when they have this.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Your writer?
>> Marco Timpano: No, not my writer. But let's say like, I like a smaller stage, let's say a more focused stage so that there's not a lot of expanse.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Like how do I, if I walk into a comedy club, how do I look at it and be like, oh, this is either good or bad? I don't know, it's anything that makes it feel like the audience is going to be, too comfortable and confident because then it will make me feel more uncomfortable.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. so what's something that makes you feel confident in a comedy club when you're performing that they might have in place?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: honestly, if it's not that cool looking, like, if it, if it, if it looks pretty, I don't know if I can't think of a word. But, you know, it's just basic. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not left fancy club, or let's say a theater. Like, you know, sometimes people perform at a fancy theater or a really large venue.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You prefer more intimate? Sort of.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: I would know. I'd prefer large.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you would. Okay.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah. Because I think the, I think the, numbers of people keep themselves in check. Whereas, like a small group, it's very hit and miss. If you get the wrong group, you know, they're comfortable now and they're like, they'll judge you very, openly. But, yeah, that's it.
We did a deep dive into comedy writing and stand up writing on Insomnia Project
Amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Calvin, listen, thank you so much. We did a deep dive into comedy writing and stand up writing, on the Insomnia Project. I hope our listeners enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed having you in the studio.
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Studio. All right, thank you very much.
>> Marco Timpano: Where can they find stuff that you're doing? Do you have a website that we can send her?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: No, I'll let people know. I'll email you.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay?
>> Calvin Storozchuk: Yeah, don't worry, I'll contact you.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't look up Calvin. He'll look you up. Thank you so much, Calvin. Once again, you've been listening to the Insomnia Project. We hope you enjoyed this. We hope you found your way to sleep. And today's episode was recorded in Toronto, Canada.
Show preparations
(Original airdate: Aug 5, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm Marco Timpano and this is the podcast
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, lay back and just listen. Or if you're on. If you're on a bus and you're listening, that's cool too. You can only lay back as far as you can on a bus. Although I've seen people really make it their home, one thing we'll try to do is to give you a conversation that is less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off no matter where you are. Thank you for listening and we hope you will listen and sleep. I'm, your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me in the studio, a dear friend, Tyler Murray. Thank you for coming to the Insomnia Project.
>> Tyler Murray: Thank you very much for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: So we know each other through theater because it seems like 90% of the guests I have on my podcast are theater based. But, I want to ask you this. When you're cast in a show.
>> Marco Timpano: And the script is delivered to you, whether it be television or Theater, let's say theater. What's your process when you have the script before you're even in the room with a director and fellow actors?
>> Tyler Murray: Well, step one is read it. I know that sounds facetious, but, a lot of people will go right to highlighting their lines.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: and focusing on the. My stuff part of the script. and I, you know, in my years of experience, I've learned that, you need to see what the writer wanted to say first.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: yeah, figure out what the writer wanted to say first and try to, in that first reading, get a sense of, you know, the play as a whole. But also, because one can't help but focus on themselves or what they're going to be doing in it. So try to see where you fit in that. I've been lucky to play big parts where I'm the lead, and I've been also lucky to be a supporting character and, to take a back seat to support the leads. and just figuring out where you belong in that.
>> Marco Timpano: When you say try to figure out what the writer saying, what do you mean by that? How do you figure that out upon reading the text? Because it sounds really impressive, but what does that actually mean?
>> Tyler Murray: Well, I mean, break that down for us. It can mean a lot of things, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Because in essence, it's your interpretation of what the writer means.
>> Tyler Murray: Very much. Very much. Which is, I guess part of the collaboration. Right. And then doing what the director wants you to do based on what he or she interprets the writer to be saying. But I try to figure out, first of all what the story is and, where my place in the story is, be it lead or the supporting character or just fifth business, who just has to get this point across or whatever. and then on the second or third reading, trying to see, like, I do a lot of, When I do theater, a lot of musical comedy or, a lot of comedy. So the writer is not trying to change anyone's opinions on, you know, how to vote or save the planet.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: Sometimes they are, but, in my recent theatrical experiences, that's not been the case. So, oftentimes mostly in my experiences, it's just been, how do you. Scene by scene. And then, yeah, I'll just say, how do you, scene by scene, get the story across? And for comedy, it could be like, well, what's the joke? How's the writer trying to make the audience laugh and try to deliver it that way? I mean, it's. It sounds bigger than it Actually is, mostly for the stuff that I do. But.
What are some ingredients you need in a good sandwich
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so let me ask you this. We were talking about. You were in Les Mis.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What was the writer? Hugo in this case.
>> Tyler Murray: Right, Victor Hugo. And then the composers, what were
>> Marco Timpano: they trying to say, in your opinion? and I was pointing at, Tyler in a very aggressive manner. You can't hear that. Just to put the pressure on.
>> Tyler Murray: I'm certainly not laying back and falling asleep. Anyway, it's such a massive story.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: So, it's a story about redemption and revolution and growing,
>> Marco Timpano: And bread.
>> Tyler Murray: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: The importance of bread.
>> Tyler Murray: Bread is. You know, you can't. I think the people at Loblaws really needed to, hear the story about bread. You know, how some people were stealing
>> Marco Timpano: it for our international listeners. Loblaws is a chain of grocery stores here. Here in Canada. And they had some, issues. or they were sued because they were overcharging for bread. So that's a little bit of context there. Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: Then they sent everyone a $25 gift card as a. Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: I knew I never got mine.
>> Tyler Murray: Did you never get yours? I still have mine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really? Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: We found it the other day, and I forgot to take it to the
>> Marco Timpano: store, but it doesn't go bad.
>> Tyler Murray: I looked at it and expires in 2028.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What will you buy with that $20 gift card that you got because of being cheated.
>> Tyler Murray: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: By a grocery store on the price of bread?
>> Tyler Murray: Well, we eat a lot of sandwiches, so I'll probably buy some bread.
>> Marco Timpano: What constitutes a great sandwich for you? What are some ingredients you need in a good sandwich?
>> Tyler Murray: warmth.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: I like my sandwich.
>> Marco Timpano: You like a hot sandwich?
>> Tyler Murray: I like my sandwich. Not hot, but warm.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: The other day, I made my son a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And he said to me, and he's kind of picky, like, things that he loves today, he might hate tomorrow. And he says, daddy, you need to teach mom how to make a sandwich. I was like, it's peanut butter and jelly. What's the difference? but I put it in the toaster on the bagel setting for a few seconds, like, for 10, 15 seconds, just to heat up the side that I put the peanut butter and the jelly on. Then I put them together, and apparently that's, like, some massive secret for my son.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like your son's a gourmet.
>> Tyler Murray: He is. He's a bit of a gourmet. Me, I like, For my sandwiches, I like a lot of meat.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: I like a thick amount of cheese and mayo.
>> Marco Timpano: Preferred cheese.
>> Tyler Murray: I like a.
>> Marco Timpano: Or is it sandwich dependent?
>> Tyler Murray: Sandwich dependent. But I usually make a chicken, club sandwich with, like, a lemon chicken, lemon and herbs. And, for that I like a nice flavorful cheddar.
>> Marco Timpano: And just to come full circle, your preferred bread.
>> Tyler Murray: I was on ciabatta for a while, and now I like a kaiser. Okay. And depending on the thickness of it, a baguette.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So when you say depending on the thickness.
>> Tyler Murray: My local bakery, and I love to shop local.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Tyler Murray: there's a Greek bakery near my place, and their baguettes are really, really thin. So it's great to just rip off a piece and dip it in a stew or something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: But.
>> Tyler Murray: But it's not great for making a sandwich.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a true French baguette from France. They make thin ones. Thin, long, and pointy.
>> Tyler Murray: Leave it to the Greeks to give you a true baguette from France.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, that's just it.
You like to highlight your lines when you get a script
But back to our, examination of what you do in your process when you get a script.
>> Tyler Murray: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So you've read it, you've figured out what you believe the writer, she or
>> Tyler Murray: they are trying to express, and that's an ever changing thing. Sure. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And what's your next step then?
>> Tyler Murray: I like to highlight my lines.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a particular color you like to use?
>> Tyler Murray: I like a yellow.
>> Marco Timpano: Why?
>> Tyler Murray: Or a blue? Just, like, because it's bright. I'm also quite colorblind. So a bright yellow highlighter. It's hard to misinterpret what that is. I frequently do a lot of shows where I play multiple characters.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: And, so I like to use a different highlighter for each character.
>> Marco Timpano: I was in a show where I played multiple characters and one of my favorite characters in the whole play, and I looked forward to playing this person had two lines, but I gave it such depth. And I really liked what I did with my voice. And I would get good laughs on it.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was just my favorite. It had a whole. This character had a backstory. It had everything about it. And basically it was. It was a bad imitation of Harvey Feinstein with the voice. Yeah. So that's what I did. Right. And I just. I would look and it was like the.
>> Tyler Murray: What play was this?
>> Marco Timpano: This was called, It's a Wonderful Life. The radio play.
>> Tyler Murray: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it was a radio play version on stage of It's a Wonderful Life.
>> Tyler Murray: one of my best friends does it every year back in Cornwall.
>> Marco Timpano: It's So wonderful. It's such a wonderful, festive holiday.
>> Tyler Murray: I only saw It's a Wonderful Life for the first time as an adult. I was in, like, my late 20s.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: And I was sitting in my apartment and I was like, oh, I'll watch this. And I cried my eyes out at the end. Just blubbered.
You've done a few productions of A Christmas Carol
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a play that makes you cry your eyes out?
>> Tyler Murray: A Christmas Carol.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And have you been in that?
>> Tyler Murray: I've done a few productions of A Christmas Carol. I did a three person version of it. Okay. back in 2006, I was in the production of Lord, Of the Rings. The musical.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Tyler Murray: And for anybody who is international, Toronto and London both did this production. At the time, it was a $30 million production, which was huge. It was the biggest stage production ever. And, it didn't do as well as we'd hoped it would. the reviewers were what they thought was fair, and we didn't because we'd spent so much time on it. Yada, yada, yada. That's not the important part. But it was mass. There was 55 people in the cast. I played nine different characters and battle scenes. And the first preview was five hours long. We got it down to three hours and 45 minutes, which is still a night. You do that eight times a week and it's exhausting. Right. So I said after that, we closed in September, I believe. And I said to my agent, the next thing I do, I want it to be very story driven. I don't care what it is. And they sent me, an audition for a three person version of A Christmas Carol for a company here in Toronto called Smile Theatre, which tours seniors, homes. Cool. so your audience can be, bedridden, and they're wheeled down and to see this. And sometimes it's in lobbies, and sometimes they have actual theater performing spaces or cafeterias, cafetoriums. and we traveled. There was three of us and a stage manager. We traveled around and it was storytelling at its, broken down to, its root. It was just three people telling a story. One man played all the male characters, a girl played all the female characters. And I got to play Scrooge. And it was delightful. Some performances were more difficult than others because people would be just getting up and leaving. I remember one lady saying, is this Scrooge? It's not very good. And you could hear her. Right. She was five feet from me. but that was great. And I talk about harsh critics. Right. Seriously. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because she Worked for the papers, the Toronto Papers.
>> Tyler Murray: They had no caring left to give. which is fine. And then, a few years later, I did a production at the Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg, Ontario. And, I played multiple characters and there was a cast of maybe seven of us. So, and loved it.
Bill Call says he adapted A Christmas Carol for his own show
It's just such a. It's just the story of redemption or it's never too late to do the right thing. and to look back on your life and see the mistakes that you might have made. Sure. And the paths that you've taken. And, I think it rings true for everybody.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: And, so a few years ago I was at Thanksgiving with my aunts and my, you know, my entire family, and my one aunt, my very Catholic family.
>> Marco Timpano: We're covering all the holidays. I love it.
>> Tyler Murray: I know, right? Ye. I'm a recovering Catholic for the visit. Yeah. But my aunt said, would you for Christmas time do, a dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol? And I said, if I do this, I want to do it my way.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: And she said, okay, just tell us what day you're going to do it. And you know, this great big old 150 year old church.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so this was for the community.
>> Tyler Murray: For the community.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought it was for your family at dinner.
>> Tyler Murray: And I was like, no, no, no. What does this. That would be weird, right?
>> Marco Timpano: You're like, as long as I get to do.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah, as long as I get the attention, I don't care what anyone says. But, so it was for her church. And I said, I got the choir involved. So if there's any group scenes. Because you can't do a Christmas show without Christmas music. What's the point? So I got the choir involved and I got my sister to do all the female. Like, she would read all the female parts. And my best friend, who's, back in Cornwall, is a, he's a drama teacher. But he was also. I mean, he very easily could have been a very, very successful professional actor. And he played all the male parts. I played the narrator in Scrooge. And then I got my nieces and nephews and my friend Jimmy's daughter to play these kids. So the conceit of it was. And they got this, you know, this big comfortable chair and they put on the altar. And I came out and I was gonna read my nieces and nephews story. And as I read the story came to life.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Tyler Murray: And, then they would come in like, my nephew became the ghost of Christmas Present and my other nephew who was the Ghost of Christmas Future? And we had a piano player, a guy I went to high school with, and he underscored a bunch of stuff. It was really nice. But working on that because I had to adapt it to be, a 90 minute version. That would be. It couldn't have been any more than 90 minutes because an old church pew. If anyone's ever sat on those things, they're not comfortable. They are the furthest thing from comfortable. So, but we got it involved and it just made me fall in love with the play even more. So, I mean, the second production I did at Upper Canada Playhouse, they're doing it again this Christmas. Coming.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: So, when I. When we finish here today, I'm gonna go and write, an email to the director being like, hey, can I, can you. Would you be interested in me coming back and doing it? So. Yeah. Because I love that show.
>> Marco Timpano: That's fascinating.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah. what's yours?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. So I've never been in a production of this.
>> Marco Timpano: With almost half a million customers and over a trillion dollars of secure payments, Bill isn't new to intelligent finance. It's the proven way to simplify bill pay and maximize cash flow. Want to learn more? Visit bill.comproven for a special offer.
>> Marco Timpano: Nor have I ever seen it on stage. Well, okay, hang on. so I love Les Mis.
>> Tyler Murray: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I saw it years ago when I was in high school, and I just fell in love with Les Mis. Mm.
>> Tyler Murray: Then.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, that's, that's why I could see that anytime it's playing.
>> Tyler Murray: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Call me up. I'll go.
>> Tyler Murray: did you. Did you see me in it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: did you do it here?
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah. Did it here in New York.
>> Marco Timpano: what year? Because I feel like I wasn't in town when it was. I feel like I was away. I was on a cruise ship.
That was 2014. Oh, 2013. Yeah. I was working on a cruise ship
>> Tyler Murray: That was 2014.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I was working.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, 2013.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I was working on a cruise ship.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'm pretty sure I was on cruise ship because I remember being like, oh, if we go home, I really want to see it. Yeah. And, yeah.
You love the Sound of Music, but you weren't interested in seeing it
>> Tyler Murray: but let's circle back to that because I want to hear what your experience on the cruise ship.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sure.
>> Tyler Murray: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So, I love the Sound of Music. And my dream would be to be, Baron Von Trapp in the Sound of Music, even though I don't sing and I don't have a great singing voice, he doesn't do much of that, so. Maybe I could fake it, but that's when I would love to. Love to see.
>> Tyler Murray: But Ervish did a production of that
>> Marco Timpano: a few years ago and I heard it was amazing.
>> Tyler Murray: It was. I. I really wasn't interested in seeing because, you know, you see it 17 million times.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: I don't know when that became a Christmas movie, but it did. But, but we got. I was doing Dirty Dancing at the time downtown.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: And, they gave us tickets to the invited dress rehearsal. Invited dress? It was 2,000 people were in the theater. But, And I sat in front of a bus full of nuns.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Tyler Murray: So that was wonderful. It was great. Right? And you know, I had a lot, A lot of people I knew in it from the Toronto theatre community, and it was the most stunning, production. It was great.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm so sad I didn't see it. I don't even know why I didn't see it.
Well, you were probably on a cruise ship. No, not that time. I'm pretty certain that's when we were
>> Tyler Murray: Well, you were probably on a cruise ship.
>> Marco Timpano: No, not that time.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, okay. Well, it was a good excuse for the first one.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but we were. I'm pretty certain that's when we were on the cruise ship. Hang on a second. 2013.
>> Tyler Murray: No, no, that said Les Mis was 2013. That production of Sound of Music, I think was. That would have been like 2009.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. I don't know my dates. Now I'm confused.
>> Tyler Murray: We're going back.
You were part of the Second City cast on Norwegian Cruise Line
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways, you were asking. You were asking me a question.
>> Tyler Murray: Your cruise ship experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Tyler Murray: which. Which cruise line?
>> Marco Timpano: It was, ncl Norwegian Cruise Line. and I was part of the Second City cast on the cruise ship.
>> Tyler Murray: Nice. Was.
>> Marco Timpano: It was fantastic. I was bored because we only worked like four hours a week, so a lot of it was kind of boring for us.
>> Tyler Murray: Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. But we got to go to all
>> Tyler Murray: the places, get a good tan.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah. Like, I think. I think I wasn't really tanning. I was trying to avoid the sun. But we got some color to us and, we got to see so many different ports, and it was really lovely.
>> Tyler Murray: Where did you go?
>> Marco Timpano: We went. We were based out of New York, so our port city was New York City. And then we did one route which would take us to Bermuda, and then we did a fall foliage tour that took us through Canada and some of New England. And then we did a Bahamas, like a short little jaunt to Bahamas. Those were our three tours. Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: Did you ever pay attention to the water? I find it fascinating because if, like New York, you would never, like if you fell in the water in New York, or someone pushed you in the water off the dock. You'd go to the hospital because you'd like, what did I just get?
>> Marco Timpano: What did I ingest?
>> Tyler Murray: What bacteria is. I'm filthy. But on same ship, you go to the Bahamas and you're like, I can't wait to get into that water. That's the most beautiful water in the world. Did that ever cross your mind when you were,
>> Marco Timpano: It's a great question. And it's funny because ordinarily I would say no, but, two water instances happened to us on the ship. So we would be going into Florida, I guess, for Bahamas, we would be going, into these channels. And it would be early in the morning. I remember one, one morning I woke up and it was like five in the morning. I was just sitting out there as we. As we started to cruise into Florida, and I would see these dolphins, right? And I was like, wow. And so every time we were going into Florida, I would wake up early to watch the dolphins follow the boat. And because it was so early in the morning, like just before six is when we would really get in there and the light would just start coming up. No one was on the deck with me, so I would just sit or look over the side and just watch these dolphins follow the bolt. And it was. It was. Seeing animals like that in their natural habitat is just so impressive. And then another, especially when you're from,
>> Tyler Murray: like, Ontario, where, you know, you're like, hey, a squirrel. Look, a raccoon. Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: And, another time was we would. We would, you know, me and my cast would be sitting on the deck and we'd be looking and we'd often say, like, oh, I'd love to see whales and whatnot. And, a good friend of mine, Michelle Miracle, would spot the whales in the distance all the time. So much so that we would say to her, you have a whale eye. She goes, I don't think I love the way that sounds, right? I'm like, instead of an eagle eye, you have an even better eye. You can spot whales, like, way in the distance. You would just see, sprays from their blowholes, right? To this day, me and my wife use the term instead of, you have an eagle eye or you have, like, if we spot something and you find something right away, we'll just turn to each other and say, wow, you have a whale. Whale eye. So that's, an expression that we've borrowed from seeing different waters in our travels.
>> Tyler Murray: That's funny. I'm trying to make a joke with, like, seeing spray from the blowhole.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe not for this podcast.
You went on Disney cruise in 2000, which was amazing
What about yourself? Like, what were you doing on your cruise line and which cruise line?
>> Tyler Murray: I was on Disney.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Tyler Murray: it was Great. It was 2000. I was 26. Okay. And, I was playing the lead in a new musical that they had commissioned for the 50th anniversary. Sorry, Disneyland. So, that was gonna be their kind of big deal. And then, I played smaller parts in some of the other shows.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: but they wanted to feature me in the one, so I didn't have to do as much. I was the Tarzan understudy. I think I was Disney's fat Tarzan because I went on once.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that how they bill you?
>> Tyler Murray: They should have. But, like a loincloth, a wig, and like, a really cool circus routine, which I think I kind of did.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Amazing.
>> Tyler Murray: But, I mean, the guy who actually was Tarzan was like. He was jacked and he was beautiful. And then I was. I mean, I was skinnier at the time, 30 pounds ago, but still did not have. I was not a shapely. so it was kind of like, you know, they were waiting for Tarzan to come out. Then I came out and I swung out, and they're like, ah, Ah. Okay. But anyway, then I did a cool routine, but I didn't get featured a whole lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: And whereas the rest of my cast, you know, oftentimes the actors will follow Mickey and Goofy around and Cinderella around as the people to stop the line when their time is up and they have to go inside and, just kind of crowd control. And I didn't have to do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: And I actually had a full day off. I think I had Wednesdays off, which is beautiful. So, I had a wonderful time on the ship. I was on the ship for six months, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. And you would perform all but one day?
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah, the first day we were on there, we were also. They usually use the actors as the captains of the lifeboats.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: So you get a captain and a co captain, and the cast goes around the lifeboats. So I was the co captain of a lifeboat. So on the first day, you know, you get on the cruise ship and then you have to go do the safety thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: and that usually took a half an hour and had to dress all in my whites. And because I was a. I don't know, Like, I wasn't an officer. I was a, What's one step down from an officer?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, don't know.
>> Tyler Murray: Something off. Anyway, so long ago. But, then we would do an opening show and I was in the opening show for 45 seconds.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Tyler Murray: And my dressing room, just upstairs from the theater was two flights down. From the dressing room was my cabin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: So it was kind of like go 45 seconds and go back down to my cabin. And then the other days, the actual musicals that we were in, we did three a day. So like Monday I did three shows Tuesday, three shows Thursday, three shows Friday. was a different kind of a show. So I only did like one. And then Saturday, for the closing show, I was in it for another five minutes maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Tyler Murray: So I had a great time. And then we had a couple specialty cruises. So like one time they were like, it's two weeks, we have, we need content. They threw in a murder mystery. So they got a bunch of us to do a murder mystery. And it was just, you know, it was fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. So we had different experiences because I would perform once a week for now we would do. Actually, I shouldn't say, we would perform one full show a week, which was, or a cruise, which was like an hour in length. And then we would do a 35, 40 minute set at the bar one night, just a little improv set just for fun. And that's all we.
>> Tyler Murray: To keep yourselves from going crazy?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, no, that was scheduled. And then we would play board games or whatnot to keep ourselves from going crazy.
What do you do when you're in a show for six weeks
I wanted to ask you this, and this is something that would be a great sort of tool for listeners who might not be, you know, might be looking for other ways to keep themselves healthy. What do you do when you're in a show for six weeks in order not to get colds or to protect your voice that you're using or just to stay in optimum health so that you don't impact the production you're in.
>> Tyler Murray: well, the last production I was in, I was out in Calgary doing a show for three months. And it was very vocally demanding on me. Sure. So I would, I would have to spend the entire day without speaking.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you would.
>> Tyler Murray: So, yes, silence. It was a lot drier out there as well. So, I bought a steamer and I steamed my voice a few times a day and then I would just not use my voice at all. My instrument, if you will. and I always hate it when people call that. But then when you're having vocal trouble, you really understand that. Oh, it's kind of is a thing that you need to protect.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: and Then, you know, try to bark my way through it when it was really rough, but, got through it, thankfully. a lot of times, if you go out of town, theaters, will have agreements with, like, this particular theater had an agreement with, a gym, a YMCA in Calgary. A beautiful YMCA in Calgary. So, you know, go work out for a couple hours a day, get my sleep. because I was away from my family, there was no excuse to not sleep in. I felt guilty every day.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: That I would wake up late, I'd think of my wife, and like, oh, my gosh, you're doing everything by yourself. I'm so sorry. But then you had to do it, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: especially with a physically demanding show, people think, oh, you're only working for three hours a day or two hours a day, but for those three hours, you are going full tilt.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Full force, you know?
>> Tyler Murray: So, yeah, just try to stay as healthy as you can. I would love to tell you that I eat well, but I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: But you do everything else. I have a portable humidifier.
>> Tyler Murray: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: That I take with me. That basically, you take a water bottle that you get in whatever location you have, and you flip it over and you put it into this little thing that will produce steam while you sleep so that you always have a.
>> Tyler Murray: The place I was staying, they provided me with a steamer there. Oh, great. And we put a steamer. My dressing room mate and I, The theater had an extra steamer, so we put one of those in the dressing room, and then we each had those portable steamers, like the face ones. Cause, he and I both had larger roles in the show, so we would sit there and we would steam through these things.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Well, Tyler, I have to say this has been a wonderful conversation.
>> Tyler Murray: I agree.
>> Marco Timpano: About both bread and how you approach your scripts.
>> Tyler Murray: Is it similar to how you approach scripts?
>> Marco Timpano: how do I approach scripts? I read and highlight my parts as I go.
>> Tyler Murray: on the first read.
>> Marco Timpano: On the first read. Because then I inevitably miss highlighting. So the second read, I'll catch it, but I won't read. Like. I'll read it. Just highlight the name, but I won't delve into it. I'll just be doing that as I go. And then the second pass, I will really delve into what's happening.
>> Tyler Murray: Do you write notes in the margin and stuff like that?
>> Marco Timpano: Director notes, mainly. Like, if directors give me notes, I'll write in the margin. Otherwise, I try to just internalize what I want to do.
>> Tyler Murray: Right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: But there you go.
>> Tyler Murray: And what about bread?
>> Marco Timpano: Bread. I usually try to eat bread while I'm reading the lines. But I will say this. I do like to walk around outside to learn lines. That's how I memorize this, by the way.
>> Tyler Murray: So you get to be the crazy person in the neighborhood.
>> Marco Timpano: 100%. I'll walk you with a script, talking to myself and you just walking around. How do you memorize?
>> Tyler Murray: I have to go over and over.
>> Marco Timpano: You just go over.
>> Tyler Murray: I stare in the mirror and go over it, and my son will come and he'll be like, m. That wasn't very good. M. You have no idea what's going on in the play. He'll be like, I know what I don't like.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds like you're constantly surrounded by harsh critics.
>> Tyler Murray: I don't know. I mean, if you're surrounded by harsh critics, then you're constantly striving to do better. I tell you one thing. If I deliver a line or a joke and my kid goes, I like that. Then it's, you know, it's, you know, you. Other 2000 people per night can go sit down because this guy liked it.
>> Marco Timpano: This guy. print it.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, thank you so much for joining us here.
>> Tyler Murray: Thank you for having me.
Do you have a website where people can catch what you're doing
>> Marco Timpano: Insomnia project. do you have a website where people can catch what you're doing?
>> Tyler Murray: It's being rebuilt right now. Tylermurray.com T Y L E R. They
>> Marco Timpano: can look on our show.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, they can. Well, you can feel free to spell just because my. I spell Murray. M U R, R E E. Okay, so just out of the table. No, it's, it's. It goes back. The Murray's come from the morays, and the morays come from the doofuses.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Tyler Murray: You can look that up.
>> Marco Timpano: First, I don't doubt it.
>> Tyler Murray: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: And second, all. I think that's cool.
>> Tyler Murray: Thanks, man.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so definitely go to tylermurray.com.
>> Tyler Murray: yeah. In a few weeks, because it's being built.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it'll probably.
>> Tyler Murray: You know what, it'll be done by now.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you can't remember, just go to our show notes and there'll be a link. You can just click it and it'll take you there.
>> Tyler Murray: Nice.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe you've seen Tyler in a show. And if you haven't, I strongly recommend you do. This episode of the Insomnia Project was recorded in Toronto, Canada, and, as always, is produced by Drumcast Productions.
(Original airdate: Aug 5, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm Marco Timpano and this is the podcast
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, lay back and just listen. Or if you're on. If you're on a bus and you're listening, that's cool too. You can only lay back as far as you can on a bus. Although I've seen people really make it their home, one thing we'll try to do is to give you a conversation that is less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off no matter where you are. Thank you for listening and we hope you will listen and sleep. I'm, your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me in the studio, a dear friend, Tyler Murray. Thank you for coming to the Insomnia Project.
>> Tyler Murray: Thank you very much for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: So we know each other through theater because it seems like 90% of the guests I have on my podcast are theater based. But, I want to ask you this. When you're cast in a show.
>> Marco Timpano: And the script is delivered to you, whether it be television or Theater, let's say theater. What's your process when you have the script before you're even in the room with a director and fellow actors?
>> Tyler Murray: Well, step one is read it. I know that sounds facetious, but, a lot of people will go right to highlighting their lines.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: and focusing on the. My stuff part of the script. and I, you know, in my years of experience, I've learned that, you need to see what the writer wanted to say first.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: yeah, figure out what the writer wanted to say first and try to, in that first reading, get a sense of, you know, the play as a whole. But also, because one can't help but focus on themselves or what they're going to be doing in it. So try to see where you fit in that. I've been lucky to play big parts where I'm the lead, and I've been also lucky to be a supporting character and, to take a back seat to support the leads. and just figuring out where you belong in that.
>> Marco Timpano: When you say try to figure out what the writer saying, what do you mean by that? How do you figure that out upon reading the text? Because it sounds really impressive, but what does that actually mean?
>> Tyler Murray: Well, I mean, break that down for us. It can mean a lot of things, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Because in essence, it's your interpretation of what the writer means.
>> Tyler Murray: Very much. Very much. Which is, I guess part of the collaboration. Right. And then doing what the director wants you to do based on what he or she interprets the writer to be saying. But I try to figure out, first of all what the story is and, where my place in the story is, be it lead or the supporting character or just fifth business, who just has to get this point across or whatever. and then on the second or third reading, trying to see, like, I do a lot of, When I do theater, a lot of musical comedy or, a lot of comedy. So the writer is not trying to change anyone's opinions on, you know, how to vote or save the planet.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: Sometimes they are, but, in my recent theatrical experiences, that's not been the case. So, oftentimes mostly in my experiences, it's just been, how do you. Scene by scene. And then, yeah, I'll just say, how do you, scene by scene, get the story across? And for comedy, it could be like, well, what's the joke? How's the writer trying to make the audience laugh and try to deliver it that way? I mean, it's. It sounds bigger than it Actually is, mostly for the stuff that I do. But.
What are some ingredients you need in a good sandwich
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so let me ask you this. We were talking about. You were in Les Mis.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What was the writer? Hugo in this case.
>> Tyler Murray: Right, Victor Hugo. And then the composers, what were
>> Marco Timpano: they trying to say, in your opinion? and I was pointing at, Tyler in a very aggressive manner. You can't hear that. Just to put the pressure on.
>> Tyler Murray: I'm certainly not laying back and falling asleep. Anyway, it's such a massive story.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: So, it's a story about redemption and revolution and growing,
>> Marco Timpano: And bread.
>> Tyler Murray: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: The importance of bread.
>> Tyler Murray: Bread is. You know, you can't. I think the people at Loblaws really needed to, hear the story about bread. You know, how some people were stealing
>> Marco Timpano: it for our international listeners. Loblaws is a chain of grocery stores here. Here in Canada. And they had some, issues. or they were sued because they were overcharging for bread. So that's a little bit of context there. Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: Then they sent everyone a $25 gift card as a. Sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: I knew I never got mine.
>> Tyler Murray: Did you never get yours? I still have mine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really? Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: We found it the other day, and I forgot to take it to the
>> Marco Timpano: store, but it doesn't go bad.
>> Tyler Murray: I looked at it and expires in 2028.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What will you buy with that $20 gift card that you got because of being cheated.
>> Tyler Murray: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: By a grocery store on the price of bread?
>> Tyler Murray: Well, we eat a lot of sandwiches, so I'll probably buy some bread.
>> Marco Timpano: What constitutes a great sandwich for you? What are some ingredients you need in a good sandwich?
>> Tyler Murray: warmth.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: I like my sandwich.
>> Marco Timpano: You like a hot sandwich?
>> Tyler Murray: I like my sandwich. Not hot, but warm.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: The other day, I made my son a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And he said to me, and he's kind of picky, like, things that he loves today, he might hate tomorrow. And he says, daddy, you need to teach mom how to make a sandwich. I was like, it's peanut butter and jelly. What's the difference? but I put it in the toaster on the bagel setting for a few seconds, like, for 10, 15 seconds, just to heat up the side that I put the peanut butter and the jelly on. Then I put them together, and apparently that's, like, some massive secret for my son.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like your son's a gourmet.
>> Tyler Murray: He is. He's a bit of a gourmet. Me, I like, For my sandwiches, I like a lot of meat.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: I like a thick amount of cheese and mayo.
>> Marco Timpano: Preferred cheese.
>> Tyler Murray: I like a.
>> Marco Timpano: Or is it sandwich dependent?
>> Tyler Murray: Sandwich dependent. But I usually make a chicken, club sandwich with, like, a lemon chicken, lemon and herbs. And, for that I like a nice flavorful cheddar.
>> Marco Timpano: And just to come full circle, your preferred bread.
>> Tyler Murray: I was on ciabatta for a while, and now I like a kaiser. Okay. And depending on the thickness of it, a baguette.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So when you say depending on the thickness.
>> Tyler Murray: My local bakery, and I love to shop local.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Tyler Murray: there's a Greek bakery near my place, and their baguettes are really, really thin. So it's great to just rip off a piece and dip it in a stew or something like that.
>> Marco Timpano: But.
>> Tyler Murray: But it's not great for making a sandwich.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a true French baguette from France. They make thin ones. Thin, long, and pointy.
>> Tyler Murray: Leave it to the Greeks to give you a true baguette from France.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, that's just it.
You like to highlight your lines when you get a script
But back to our, examination of what you do in your process when you get a script.
>> Tyler Murray: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So you've read it, you've figured out what you believe the writer, she or
>> Tyler Murray: they are trying to express, and that's an ever changing thing. Sure. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And what's your next step then?
>> Tyler Murray: I like to highlight my lines.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a particular color you like to use?
>> Tyler Murray: I like a yellow.
>> Marco Timpano: Why?
>> Tyler Murray: Or a blue? Just, like, because it's bright. I'm also quite colorblind. So a bright yellow highlighter. It's hard to misinterpret what that is. I frequently do a lot of shows where I play multiple characters.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: And, so I like to use a different highlighter for each character.
>> Marco Timpano: I was in a show where I played multiple characters and one of my favorite characters in the whole play, and I looked forward to playing this person had two lines, but I gave it such depth. And I really liked what I did with my voice. And I would get good laughs on it.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was just my favorite. It had a whole. This character had a backstory. It had everything about it. And basically it was. It was a bad imitation of Harvey Feinstein with the voice. Yeah. So that's what I did. Right. And I just. I would look and it was like the.
>> Tyler Murray: What play was this?
>> Marco Timpano: This was called, It's a Wonderful Life. The radio play.
>> Tyler Murray: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So it was a radio play version on stage of It's a Wonderful Life.
>> Tyler Murray: one of my best friends does it every year back in Cornwall.
>> Marco Timpano: It's So wonderful. It's such a wonderful, festive holiday.
>> Tyler Murray: I only saw It's a Wonderful Life for the first time as an adult. I was in, like, my late 20s.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: And I was sitting in my apartment and I was like, oh, I'll watch this. And I cried my eyes out at the end. Just blubbered.
You've done a few productions of A Christmas Carol
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a play that makes you cry your eyes out?
>> Tyler Murray: A Christmas Carol.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And have you been in that?
>> Tyler Murray: I've done a few productions of A Christmas Carol. I did a three person version of it. Okay. back in 2006, I was in the production of Lord, Of the Rings. The musical.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Tyler Murray: And for anybody who is international, Toronto and London both did this production. At the time, it was a $30 million production, which was huge. It was the biggest stage production ever. And, it didn't do as well as we'd hoped it would. the reviewers were what they thought was fair, and we didn't because we'd spent so much time on it. Yada, yada, yada. That's not the important part. But it was mass. There was 55 people in the cast. I played nine different characters and battle scenes. And the first preview was five hours long. We got it down to three hours and 45 minutes, which is still a night. You do that eight times a week and it's exhausting. Right. So I said after that, we closed in September, I believe. And I said to my agent, the next thing I do, I want it to be very story driven. I don't care what it is. And they sent me, an audition for a three person version of A Christmas Carol for a company here in Toronto called Smile Theatre, which tours seniors, homes. Cool. so your audience can be, bedridden, and they're wheeled down and to see this. And sometimes it's in lobbies, and sometimes they have actual theater performing spaces or cafeterias, cafetoriums. and we traveled. There was three of us and a stage manager. We traveled around and it was storytelling at its, broken down to, its root. It was just three people telling a story. One man played all the male characters, a girl played all the female characters. And I got to play Scrooge. And it was delightful. Some performances were more difficult than others because people would be just getting up and leaving. I remember one lady saying, is this Scrooge? It's not very good. And you could hear her. Right. She was five feet from me. but that was great. And I talk about harsh critics. Right. Seriously. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because she Worked for the papers, the Toronto Papers.
>> Tyler Murray: They had no caring left to give. which is fine. And then, a few years later, I did a production at the Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg, Ontario. And, I played multiple characters and there was a cast of maybe seven of us. So, and loved it.
Bill Call says he adapted A Christmas Carol for his own show
It's just such a. It's just the story of redemption or it's never too late to do the right thing. and to look back on your life and see the mistakes that you might have made. Sure. And the paths that you've taken. And, I think it rings true for everybody.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: And, so a few years ago I was at Thanksgiving with my aunts and my, you know, my entire family, and my one aunt, my very Catholic family.
>> Marco Timpano: We're covering all the holidays. I love it.
>> Tyler Murray: I know, right? Ye. I'm a recovering Catholic for the visit. Yeah. But my aunt said, would you for Christmas time do, a dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol? And I said, if I do this, I want to do it my way.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: And she said, okay, just tell us what day you're going to do it. And you know, this great big old 150 year old church.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so this was for the community.
>> Tyler Murray: For the community.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought it was for your family at dinner.
>> Tyler Murray: And I was like, no, no, no. What does this. That would be weird, right?
>> Marco Timpano: You're like, as long as I get to do.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah, as long as I get the attention, I don't care what anyone says. But, so it was for her church. And I said, I got the choir involved. So if there's any group scenes. Because you can't do a Christmas show without Christmas music. What's the point? So I got the choir involved and I got my sister to do all the female. Like, she would read all the female parts. And my best friend, who's, back in Cornwall, is a, he's a drama teacher. But he was also. I mean, he very easily could have been a very, very successful professional actor. And he played all the male parts. I played the narrator in Scrooge. And then I got my nieces and nephews and my friend Jimmy's daughter to play these kids. So the conceit of it was. And they got this, you know, this big comfortable chair and they put on the altar. And I came out and I was gonna read my nieces and nephews story. And as I read the story came to life.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Tyler Murray: And, then they would come in like, my nephew became the ghost of Christmas Present and my other nephew who was the Ghost of Christmas Future? And we had a piano player, a guy I went to high school with, and he underscored a bunch of stuff. It was really nice. But working on that because I had to adapt it to be, a 90 minute version. That would be. It couldn't have been any more than 90 minutes because an old church pew. If anyone's ever sat on those things, they're not comfortable. They are the furthest thing from comfortable. So, but we got it involved and it just made me fall in love with the play even more. So, I mean, the second production I did at Upper Canada Playhouse, they're doing it again this Christmas. Coming.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: So, when I. When we finish here today, I'm gonna go and write, an email to the director being like, hey, can I, can you. Would you be interested in me coming back and doing it? So. Yeah. Because I love that show.
>> Marco Timpano: That's fascinating.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah. what's yours?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. So I've never been in a production of this.
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>> Marco Timpano: Nor have I ever seen it on stage. Well, okay, hang on. so I love Les Mis.
>> Tyler Murray: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And I saw it years ago when I was in high school, and I just fell in love with Les Mis. Mm.
>> Tyler Murray: Then.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, that's, that's why I could see that anytime it's playing.
>> Tyler Murray: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Call me up. I'll go.
>> Tyler Murray: did you. Did you see me in it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: did you do it here?
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah. Did it here in New York.
>> Marco Timpano: what year? Because I feel like I wasn't in town when it was. I feel like I was away. I was on a cruise ship.
That was 2014. Oh, 2013. Yeah. I was working on a cruise ship
>> Tyler Murray: That was 2014.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I was working.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, 2013.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I was working on a cruise ship.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'm pretty sure I was on cruise ship because I remember being like, oh, if we go home, I really want to see it. Yeah. And, yeah.
You love the Sound of Music, but you weren't interested in seeing it
>> Tyler Murray: but let's circle back to that because I want to hear what your experience on the cruise ship.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sure.
>> Tyler Murray: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So, I love the Sound of Music. And my dream would be to be, Baron Von Trapp in the Sound of Music, even though I don't sing and I don't have a great singing voice, he doesn't do much of that, so. Maybe I could fake it, but that's when I would love to. Love to see.
>> Tyler Murray: But Ervish did a production of that
>> Marco Timpano: a few years ago and I heard it was amazing.
>> Tyler Murray: It was. I. I really wasn't interested in seeing because, you know, you see it 17 million times.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: I don't know when that became a Christmas movie, but it did. But, but we got. I was doing Dirty Dancing at the time downtown.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: And, they gave us tickets to the invited dress rehearsal. Invited dress? It was 2,000 people were in the theater. But, And I sat in front of a bus full of nuns.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Tyler Murray: So that was wonderful. It was great. Right? And you know, I had a lot, A lot of people I knew in it from the Toronto theatre community, and it was the most stunning, production. It was great.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm so sad I didn't see it. I don't even know why I didn't see it.
Well, you were probably on a cruise ship. No, not that time. I'm pretty certain that's when we were
>> Tyler Murray: Well, you were probably on a cruise ship.
>> Marco Timpano: No, not that time.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, okay. Well, it was a good excuse for the first one.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but we were. I'm pretty certain that's when we were on the cruise ship. Hang on a second. 2013.
>> Tyler Murray: No, no, that said Les Mis was 2013. That production of Sound of Music, I think was. That would have been like 2009.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. I don't know my dates. Now I'm confused.
>> Tyler Murray: We're going back.
You were part of the Second City cast on Norwegian Cruise Line
>> Marco Timpano: Anyways, you were asking. You were asking me a question.
>> Tyler Murray: Your cruise ship experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Tyler Murray: which. Which cruise line?
>> Marco Timpano: It was, ncl Norwegian Cruise Line. and I was part of the Second City cast on the cruise ship.
>> Tyler Murray: Nice. Was.
>> Marco Timpano: It was fantastic. I was bored because we only worked like four hours a week, so a lot of it was kind of boring for us.
>> Tyler Murray: Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. But we got to go to all
>> Tyler Murray: the places, get a good tan.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah. Like, I think. I think I wasn't really tanning. I was trying to avoid the sun. But we got some color to us and, we got to see so many different ports, and it was really lovely.
>> Tyler Murray: Where did you go?
>> Marco Timpano: We went. We were based out of New York, so our port city was New York City. And then we did one route which would take us to Bermuda, and then we did a fall foliage tour that took us through Canada and some of New England. And then we did a Bahamas, like a short little jaunt to Bahamas. Those were our three tours. Yeah.
>> Tyler Murray: Did you ever pay attention to the water? I find it fascinating because if, like New York, you would never, like if you fell in the water in New York, or someone pushed you in the water off the dock. You'd go to the hospital because you'd like, what did I just get?
>> Marco Timpano: What did I ingest?
>> Tyler Murray: What bacteria is. I'm filthy. But on same ship, you go to the Bahamas and you're like, I can't wait to get into that water. That's the most beautiful water in the world. Did that ever cross your mind when you were,
>> Marco Timpano: It's a great question. And it's funny because ordinarily I would say no, but, two water instances happened to us on the ship. So we would be going into Florida, I guess, for Bahamas, we would be going, into these channels. And it would be early in the morning. I remember one, one morning I woke up and it was like five in the morning. I was just sitting out there as we. As we started to cruise into Florida, and I would see these dolphins, right? And I was like, wow. And so every time we were going into Florida, I would wake up early to watch the dolphins follow the boat. And because it was so early in the morning, like just before six is when we would really get in there and the light would just start coming up. No one was on the deck with me, so I would just sit or look over the side and just watch these dolphins follow the bolt. And it was. It was. Seeing animals like that in their natural habitat is just so impressive. And then another, especially when you're from,
>> Tyler Murray: like, Ontario, where, you know, you're like, hey, a squirrel. Look, a raccoon. Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: And, another time was we would. We would, you know, me and my cast would be sitting on the deck and we'd be looking and we'd often say, like, oh, I'd love to see whales and whatnot. And, a good friend of mine, Michelle Miracle, would spot the whales in the distance all the time. So much so that we would say to her, you have a whale eye. She goes, I don't think I love the way that sounds, right? I'm like, instead of an eagle eye, you have an even better eye. You can spot whales, like, way in the distance. You would just see, sprays from their blowholes, right? To this day, me and my wife use the term instead of, you have an eagle eye or you have, like, if we spot something and you find something right away, we'll just turn to each other and say, wow, you have a whale. Whale eye. So that's, an expression that we've borrowed from seeing different waters in our travels.
>> Tyler Murray: That's funny. I'm trying to make a joke with, like, seeing spray from the blowhole.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe not for this podcast.
You went on Disney cruise in 2000, which was amazing
What about yourself? Like, what were you doing on your cruise line and which cruise line?
>> Tyler Murray: I was on Disney.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Tyler Murray: it was Great. It was 2000. I was 26. Okay. And, I was playing the lead in a new musical that they had commissioned for the 50th anniversary. Sorry, Disneyland. So, that was gonna be their kind of big deal. And then, I played smaller parts in some of the other shows.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tyler Murray: but they wanted to feature me in the one, so I didn't have to do as much. I was the Tarzan understudy. I think I was Disney's fat Tarzan because I went on once.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that how they bill you?
>> Tyler Murray: They should have. But, like a loincloth, a wig, and like, a really cool circus routine, which I think I kind of did.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Amazing.
>> Tyler Murray: But, I mean, the guy who actually was Tarzan was like. He was jacked and he was beautiful. And then I was. I mean, I was skinnier at the time, 30 pounds ago, but still did not have. I was not a shapely. so it was kind of like, you know, they were waiting for Tarzan to come out. Then I came out and I swung out, and they're like, ah, Ah. Okay. But anyway, then I did a cool routine, but I didn't get featured a whole lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: And whereas the rest of my cast, you know, oftentimes the actors will follow Mickey and Goofy around and Cinderella around as the people to stop the line when their time is up and they have to go inside and, just kind of crowd control. And I didn't have to do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: And I actually had a full day off. I think I had Wednesdays off, which is beautiful. So, I had a wonderful time on the ship. I was on the ship for six months, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. And you would perform all but one day?
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah, the first day we were on there, we were also. They usually use the actors as the captains of the lifeboats.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: So you get a captain and a co captain, and the cast goes around the lifeboats. So I was the co captain of a lifeboat. So on the first day, you know, you get on the cruise ship and then you have to go do the safety thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: and that usually took a half an hour and had to dress all in my whites. And because I was a. I don't know, Like, I wasn't an officer. I was a, What's one step down from an officer?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, don't know.
>> Tyler Murray: Something off. Anyway, so long ago. But, then we would do an opening show and I was in the opening show for 45 seconds.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Tyler Murray: And my dressing room, just upstairs from the theater was two flights down. From the dressing room was my cabin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tyler Murray: So it was kind of like go 45 seconds and go back down to my cabin. And then the other days, the actual musicals that we were in, we did three a day. So like Monday I did three shows Tuesday, three shows Thursday, three shows Friday. was a different kind of a show. So I only did like one. And then Saturday, for the closing show, I was in it for another five minutes maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Tyler Murray: So I had a great time. And then we had a couple specialty cruises. So like one time they were like, it's two weeks, we have, we need content. They threw in a murder mystery. So they got a bunch of us to do a murder mystery. And it was just, you know, it was fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. So we had different experiences because I would perform once a week for now we would do. Actually, I shouldn't say, we would perform one full show a week, which was, or a cruise, which was like an hour in length. And then we would do a 35, 40 minute set at the bar one night, just a little improv set just for fun. And that's all we.
>> Tyler Murray: To keep yourselves from going crazy?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, no, that was scheduled. And then we would play board games or whatnot to keep ourselves from going crazy.
What do you do when you're in a show for six weeks
I wanted to ask you this, and this is something that would be a great sort of tool for listeners who might not be, you know, might be looking for other ways to keep themselves healthy. What do you do when you're in a show for six weeks in order not to get colds or to protect your voice that you're using or just to stay in optimum health so that you don't impact the production you're in.
>> Tyler Murray: well, the last production I was in, I was out in Calgary doing a show for three months. And it was very vocally demanding on me. Sure. So I would, I would have to spend the entire day without speaking.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you would.
>> Tyler Murray: So, yes, silence. It was a lot drier out there as well. So, I bought a steamer and I steamed my voice a few times a day and then I would just not use my voice at all. My instrument, if you will. and I always hate it when people call that. But then when you're having vocal trouble, you really understand that. Oh, it's kind of is a thing that you need to protect.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: and Then, you know, try to bark my way through it when it was really rough, but, got through it, thankfully. a lot of times, if you go out of town, theaters, will have agreements with, like, this particular theater had an agreement with, a gym, a YMCA in Calgary. A beautiful YMCA in Calgary. So, you know, go work out for a couple hours a day, get my sleep. because I was away from my family, there was no excuse to not sleep in. I felt guilty every day.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: That I would wake up late, I'd think of my wife, and like, oh, my gosh, you're doing everything by yourself. I'm so sorry. But then you had to do it, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tyler Murray: especially with a physically demanding show, people think, oh, you're only working for three hours a day or two hours a day, but for those three hours, you are going full tilt.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Full force, you know?
>> Tyler Murray: So, yeah, just try to stay as healthy as you can. I would love to tell you that I eat well, but I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: But you do everything else. I have a portable humidifier.
>> Tyler Murray: Uh-huh.
>> Marco Timpano: That I take with me. That basically, you take a water bottle that you get in whatever location you have, and you flip it over and you put it into this little thing that will produce steam while you sleep so that you always have a.
>> Tyler Murray: The place I was staying, they provided me with a steamer there. Oh, great. And we put a steamer. My dressing room mate and I, The theater had an extra steamer, so we put one of those in the dressing room, and then we each had those portable steamers, like the face ones. Cause, he and I both had larger roles in the show, so we would sit there and we would steam through these things.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Well, Tyler, I have to say this has been a wonderful conversation.
>> Tyler Murray: I agree.
>> Marco Timpano: About both bread and how you approach your scripts.
>> Tyler Murray: Is it similar to how you approach scripts?
>> Marco Timpano: how do I approach scripts? I read and highlight my parts as I go.
>> Tyler Murray: on the first read.
>> Marco Timpano: On the first read. Because then I inevitably miss highlighting. So the second read, I'll catch it, but I won't read. Like. I'll read it. Just highlight the name, but I won't delve into it. I'll just be doing that as I go. And then the second pass, I will really delve into what's happening.
>> Tyler Murray: Do you write notes in the margin and stuff like that?
>> Marco Timpano: Director notes, mainly. Like, if directors give me notes, I'll write in the margin. Otherwise, I try to just internalize what I want to do.
>> Tyler Murray: Right, right.
>> Marco Timpano: But there you go.
>> Tyler Murray: And what about bread?
>> Marco Timpano: Bread. I usually try to eat bread while I'm reading the lines. But I will say this. I do like to walk around outside to learn lines. That's how I memorize this, by the way.
>> Tyler Murray: So you get to be the crazy person in the neighborhood.
>> Marco Timpano: 100%. I'll walk you with a script, talking to myself and you just walking around. How do you memorize?
>> Tyler Murray: I have to go over and over.
>> Marco Timpano: You just go over.
>> Tyler Murray: I stare in the mirror and go over it, and my son will come and he'll be like, m. That wasn't very good. M. You have no idea what's going on in the play. He'll be like, I know what I don't like.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds like you're constantly surrounded by harsh critics.
>> Tyler Murray: I don't know. I mean, if you're surrounded by harsh critics, then you're constantly striving to do better. I tell you one thing. If I deliver a line or a joke and my kid goes, I like that. Then it's, you know, it's, you know, you. Other 2000 people per night can go sit down because this guy liked it.
>> Marco Timpano: This guy. print it.
>> Tyler Murray: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, thank you so much for joining us here.
>> Tyler Murray: Thank you for having me.
Do you have a website where people can catch what you're doing
>> Marco Timpano: Insomnia project. do you have a website where people can catch what you're doing?
>> Tyler Murray: It's being rebuilt right now. Tylermurray.com T Y L E R. They
>> Marco Timpano: can look on our show.
>> Tyler Murray: Oh, they can. Well, you can feel free to spell just because my. I spell Murray. M U R, R E E. Okay, so just out of the table. No, it's, it's. It goes back. The Murray's come from the morays, and the morays come from the doofuses.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Tyler Murray: You can look that up.
>> Marco Timpano: First, I don't doubt it.
>> Tyler Murray: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: And second, all. I think that's cool.
>> Tyler Murray: Thanks, man.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so definitely go to tylermurray.com.
>> Tyler Murray: yeah. In a few weeks, because it's being built.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it'll probably.
>> Tyler Murray: You know what, it'll be done by now.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you can't remember, just go to our show notes and there'll be a link. You can just click it and it'll take you there.
>> Tyler Murray: Nice.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe you've seen Tyler in a show. And if you haven't, I strongly recommend you do. This episode of the Insomnia Project was recorded in Toronto, Canada, and, as always, is produced by Drumcast Productions.
Cigars with Nima Kharrazi
(Original airdate: July 8, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. one thing we try to deliver is a podcast episode that is less than fascinating so that you, the listener, can drift off. Thank you for joining us. My name is Marco Timpano, and I hope you listen and sleep. Joining me today, and I'm quite excited about this and I'm going to try not to be too enthusiastic so that, our listeners can just sort of listen and chill. Is a good friend of mine, Nima Kharazi. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Speaker C: Thank you very much, Marco.
I have the great fortune of being in Salt Lake City, Utah with you
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted you on the program for quite some time, and I have the great fortune of being in Salt Lake City, Utah with you.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, this is really exciting.
>> Marco Timpano: It's pretty fun, isn't it?
>> Speaker C: It's been an experience. You and I have never been slc.
>> Marco Timpano: No, we haven't.
>> Speaker C: And it's so fun to explore a city where neither one of us has the upper hand.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker C: And we just are allowing it to kind of reveal itself to us.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Speaker C: It's just been wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you live in Los Angeles, Correct? I live in Toronto and we met in Salt Lake City, Utah. And I have to say, I always heard that Utah was beautiful. And I'VE heard great things about Salt Lake City, but it, it so superseded what I expected it to be completely. I, I could see myself living here. That's how much I'm enjoying it. And I, I know we have listeners in Utah and I just want you to know how beautiful I think this state is.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. it really helps that also it snowed and there was this like, beautiful blanket of beautiful white snow. And we're in very close proximity to Temple Square and SLC and the mountains are snow covered. And I mean all of it on top of each other. The elevation is nice because you get crisper, cleaner air and the people are very friendly. It also does remind me a lot of like Boulder, Colorado or like, other kinds of cities that I've been to that have these like, one main streets that you go down and there's stores and Rocky Mountain Chocolate. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: We went to Park City the other day and that was just tremendous as well. And you know that old Egyptian theater we walked in? How cool that was. I love going to old theaters that are still used in some capacity for arts.
>> Speaker C: It was nice. It was interesting to see because she had told us that it was from the 1930s.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it was 26. It happened, before the stock market crash. So I think it was 26 is when it was built.
>> Speaker C: 1926. And it was interesting because it's a tall, very tall theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: The stage is decent sized, but there's only about 200 seats in the whole thing. Yeah. And you would be laughed out of either one of our cities if you, if you built something like that and called it a theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: And it's just so impressive to see that they have maintained it and kept it going as well and as long
>> Marco Timpano: as they have all that time. And I read that it survived a lot of things, like the stock market crash. At one point, Park City was a ghost town.
>> Speaker C: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it still survived. And, it changed names like, I think it was called the Wheeler at one point. And then it got refurbished, I believe in the 80s and then restored in the 90s as well. And now it's just a, a jewel in the crown of theater, cinema and performance spaces in this state, I would say.
>> Speaker C: Wonderful. Yeah.
I wanted to talk to you about something that I know is passion for you
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk to you about something that I know is a bit of a passion for you and maybe some of our listeners might be little bit weary of this topic because we haven't talked about this before and in no way am I advising or condoning, this hobby of yours, let's say, but I do Want to, give a little warning. but that said, I want to explore because you have quite a. Quite a knowledge in this field, and you like to, on occasion, smoke cigars.
>> Speaker C: I love smoking cigars.
>> Marco Timpano: So while we don't recommend smoking, I do want to talk about things to do with cigar and the whole sort of, It almost seems like there's a ceremonial aspect once one is going to smoke a cigar.
>> Speaker C: Correct. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I want to talk to you, first of all, what is important to you as far as accoutrements, and smoking cigars?
>> Speaker C: What.
>> Marco Timpano: What. What is key for you?
>> Speaker C: It's interesting that you say, if you had just said what is important in smoking a cigar? My answer is draw. Draw means the effortlessness, or the amount of effort, essentially, that it takes for you to get the smoke from the lit end into your mouth. From the open end. That's cut.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So I don't like to work very hard for my cigar. It's supposed to be a very relaxing thing for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: most cigars will take me about an hour to smoke, and so I like a very easy draw. I compare it to a large straw where you get a lot of soda effortlessly.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: Compared to those very. Remember those tiny coffee straws? Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: They're like stir sticks almost.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: They're not. Their intended. Intended use is not to be used as a straw, but rather as a stir stick. But if you're a kid.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Or you want to just test the liquid you're going to sample, you might use that as a straw, but it's going to bring very little volume of liquid into your mouth. Is that fair to say?
>> Speaker C: Exactly. Okay. And it's also going to take a lot of effort.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Speaker C: So draw is the most important aspect of a cigar. The stick itself.
>> Marco Timpano: The stick, meaning the cigar.
>> Speaker C: Meaning the cigar, the physical cigar that you're smoking. The accoutrement is a different question, and I'm glad you said. Yeah. So I'm a, traditionalist in the fact that I like to use, a matchstick if I can. Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Over a lighter, you're saying over a butane lighter?
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Why is that?
>> Speaker C: Because the butane lighter gives off a bit of a butane vibe to the
>> Marco Timpano: cigar smell and flavor. Would you say both?
>> Speaker C: Okay. Yeah. And so that's your first inhale is more gas chemical than.
>> Marco Timpano: Than, Tobacco.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: now, there are some people that will light a cedar stick and then light their cigar with the cedar stick.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Speaker C: So they'll use the butane to light that cedar stick, and then they'll use the cedar stick. I like that. I just don't have the patience for it, nor do I have the time to go looking around to find. Find cedar sticks to light my cigars. So I tend to just sometimes default to the butane lighter. what I don't ever use is a. Is a handheld, like a Bic lighter.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So one of those ones that have a little flint roller or whatever you call it, to light.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: The gas.
>> Speaker C: The little gas station lighters like those. I never use those.
>> Marco Timpano: And why. So you'd be more likely to use a butane lighter over one of these gas station lighters.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Why is that?
>> Speaker C: Because the butane has a flame, kind of like a torch.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: And that burns off most of the scent. Right. And so then you're not getting, anything but tobacco flavor and content when you're smoking. Okay. And you're getting a faster, more even burn on the outside of the cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Because it's a hotter flame that you can direct because it comes out to a point.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: As opposed to a flickering flame that you have to try to maneuver around.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
You rotate your cigar around a butane lighter
>> Speaker C: And you have to continuously then rotate your cigar around this butane lighter, which is complicated if your cigar isn't,
>> Marco Timpano: cigarillo or something thin.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Or if it's not a circle, because some, cigars are box pressed, meaning it's almost like a circle, but the, the top and the bottom are flat.
>> Marco Timpano: So would it be more oval in shape?
>> Speaker C: Almost rectangular.
>> Marco Timpano: Almost rectangular. Okay.
The purpose of a cutter is to cut off the end that goes in
So I just want, because I'm not a cigar aficionado, I want to take a step back from where, where our conversation is. What is the purpose of that cigar?
>> Marco Timpano: Guillotine.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know what it's called, but, you know, the cutter. It's.
>> Speaker C: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: The cutter. What is the purpose of that? And is it important to have a good cutter? And my third question is, what makes a good cutter?
>> Speaker C: Very good questions. So the purpose of a cutter is to cut off the end that goes in your mouth so that you can draw in the smoke through the cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: Because if I'm not mistaken, the cigar is wrapped with a tobacco leaf, and the end that you put in your mouth is tapered off almost like a torpedo. And would it mean. Then it's sealed and you wouldn't be able to get the air through the cigar to continue to give oxygen to the tobacco inside.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that right?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So that's. That is the Exact reason. Okay, so some do. If you watch these old spaghetti westerns or these old, like movies with you know, whoever old timey guys like.
>> Marco Timpano: Like cowboys and stuff.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, John Wayne flicks when he goes to buy a cigar, you know, they bite off the end of the, the stick and they spit it on the ground and do whatever. There's still some cigar smokers that'll bite off the ends of their cigars. Okay. But nowadays you use, a cutter. there's different types of cutters and there's different types of cuts.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Speaker C: There's a straight cut which looks like a guillotine. It's a circle that your cigar can go through. And you can cut anything from, you know, an eighth of an inch to as half. You cut your cigar in half, essentially. Right. With that guillotine. There's another type of cutter that has a flat back like a wall to it. It's the same guillotine, but instead of a hole all the way through, there's a wall on one end.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, I don't follow. So it's like a guillotine, but instead of cutting straight through the cigar, it does what?
>> Speaker C: The cigar stops at a point. So there's like a, it's almost like there's a back to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So you can't see through it. If you put your finger and, and nipped it, you would just nick the front like 8th inch of your finger.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's just, it doesn't chomp all the way through, but rather it cuts a portion from the top and the bottom of the cigar, but leaves some of the cigar intact.
>> Speaker C: No, so the. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm sorry, I know.
>> Speaker C: It's fine. it's better, to explain it this way anyway. Okay, so, so the guillotine is basically a circle that you could see through that you put your cigar through the circle and the guillotine cuts off the. Where Wherever you have your cigar set in the middle of this.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: The guillotine with a back you cannot see through.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: So it is a circle where the cigar sits in, goes in. But it has a stopper. It has a full back stopper.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: So you can only cut to where the back is against this wall.
>> Marco Timpano: So it only allows you to cut a tiny, tiny or a proportion that the, that the device, wants you to cut. Okay. Because your cigar will hit the back end or that wall, and stop. And then you'll cut only that half an inch or a quarter of an inch or whatever it is.
>> Speaker C: So we call that an idiot proof cutter.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: Because you're going to get the same cut level and almost every cigar needs just that much. You don't need to cut a whole inch off. Now, the advantage of the, the full circle guillotine that you can see through is that if you smoked half of your cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: And then you got called into a meeting or something, you could then cut off. Because the way a cigar is smoked, the, the cherry of the cigar, the, the part of it that's burning is usually in the front inch of the stick. That even though there's ash further out than that, because that's the finished part, the front end of it is burning
>> Marco Timpano: and causing smoke where the, where the red hot embers would be.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So if you finished your cigar, you don't ever tamp it out. You just leave it in the, in the tray.
>> Marco Timpano: You never, you never extinguish it, like. And why is that?
>> Speaker C: First of all, it's, it's dirty, it's messy. Right. Second of all, the cherry is much bigger, so it would take you a long time to extinguish to put every ember out. And third of all, it's just, it doesn't, it's, it smells bad and it causes more of a problem because now you're causing the, the cherry to move up in the cigar and burn new portions of the cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: So some people will smoke a third of their cigar and then cut their cigar in half past the cherry part and save that for to smoke later
>> Marco Timpano: because it's almost like a brand new cigar at that point. Right?
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So you can't do that with the idiot proof cutter. Right. That's only with the guillotine cutter. I see. I like the idiot proof because I only smoke one brand of cigar and that brand of cigar only needs a very tiny sliver cut off the end of it.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: And if you cut more than that, you have a risk of unraveling the outside, and then you've just ruined this whole stick.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
Your intention is always, I will smoke what I will of the cigar
So what do you do in a case of. I don't have the time to finish smoking the cigar, but I haven't gone through enough of it to get rid of the cigar if you have that kind of a cutter.
>> Speaker C: I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't. You just. Your intention is always, I will smoke what I will of the cigar. And when I'm done, the cigar is done.
>> Speaker C: Correct. Okay. Like a drink, like anything else. I'm not going to take it home. It's fine where it is. I spent this much money for this experience. The experience is over, and that's it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. We've talked about the cutter.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
You should never overstuff the humidor because it's not going to work
>> Marco Timpano: Now let's talk about the humidor, which I think. I feel like a lot of people know that word, but they might not know what a humidor's function or purposes.
>> Speaker C: Correct. So the humidor's function, first of all. Okay. Let's start with the basics. Okay. Thank you for that, by the way. I'm getting there. No understanding.
>> Marco Timpano: I appreciate it, and I'm sure our listeners will appreciate it too, because we're really getting a deep dive into the world of the cigar.
>> Speaker C: So the humidor is made from, usually circles, cedar wood.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: The reason why is because cedar wood absorbs moisture and then keeps things at a specific humidity. M. due to the moisture that it has absorbed. I see. Now, you. Depending on the amount of cigar, the number and size of cigars that you have, you can't overload humidor and expect it to work well because there's not enough moisture in that wood to keep all of those cigars humid.
>> Marco Timpano: So what you're saying is you. You should never overstuff the humidor because it's not going to work at its optimum, function.
>> Speaker C: Correct. Okay. So you. What you have to do is either you have to get a second humidor, or you have to get a larger humidor, or you have to get rid of some of your cigars, which I've had to do all three. Wow. and because a lot of times what will happen is, there's a great deal at the cigar lounge. You go to, and you end up buying a box of 14. And then you go on a trip and you come back and you buy another box of 14 of another cigar. Now, you got 28 sticks at home that are drying out that you have to put in a humidor. You already had 10 or 12 sticks in there. So now you're at 40 and your humidor can only hold 30.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So now you have to either move 10 to a second or you have to. You have to get a larger humidor,
>> Marco Timpano: or you'd have to smoke a large quantity of cigars that you have or
>> Speaker C: sell them or trade them. or you could do what a lot of us do in a pinch, which is you wet a paper towel and you put the cigars in a Ziploc bag and you keep those in a, ah, cupboard somewhere.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Speaker C: And that'll. That'll do you until it's like in case of an emergency.
>> Marco Timpano: It will last you a couple months.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, it'll be fine.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not ideal, but.
>> Speaker C: No, it's. But it's better.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a hack that can help you out.
>> Speaker C: It's better than nothing.
>> Marco Timpano: I should say that a humidor, if I'm not mistaken, is a box, Right?
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: And like you said, generally made out of cedar wood.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: In case people are wondering. I still don't know what a humidor is. So it's the vessel that holds the cigars and keeps them fresh for the smoker.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So the humidity in the box, that is airtight, is, is, shown to you by way of a hydra hydrogen hydroge meter.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds right to me, my friend.
>> Speaker C: anyway, it's, it's, there's a meter in there that tells you what percentage it's at, and it should be optimally between 70 to 72% humidity.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't even know the percentage.
>> Speaker C: Okay, so that's optimal, depending on your own surroundings. If it's colder climate, warmer climate, you may need more or less humanity.
>> Marco Timpano: Would altitude affect it too? Since we are.
>> Speaker C: I never thought of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because we're on a high altitude. So I'm wondering if people in Utah have to treat, their cigars a certain.
>> Speaker C: Or Denver, you know, that's even higher. Yeah, that might be a thing. So we had to, I've had to move my cigars into a larger humidor, but before I could do that, I had to prep it. And the way you prep it is you empty it out and you take a wet paper towel with distilled water.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you're like seasoning your. Oh, wow, you're seasoning your humidor.
>> Speaker C: Okay, so you wipe down all the cedar wood.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: And you let it stay overnight. The next day, you take a shot glass of water and you put it in your humidor and you let it stay overnight. And that water will evaporate and absorb into the cedar wood that which hasn't absorbed enough already. Then you let it stay one more night. So three nights of seasoning, like three, 24 hours of seasoning your, your humidor with nothing in it. And then you have to make sure you have the proper distilled water for the humidor. Then for the extra humidity packs that you, you're putting in here, and you get it to a 72% level and then you put your cigars in.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. So it's a 72 hour process before you can even place Your product into the vessel that keeps it fresh.
>> Speaker C: No, it's 72 hour process before you can even start testing it. And putting humidity packs in to get it, then to 72 and then, and that might take two days or it might take a week. With this one, it took me five days.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Speaker C: And I was checking it every day.
You don't want to keep opening and closing your humidor
And you don't, you don't want to keep opening and closing because you're gonna,
>> Marco Timpano: that's gonna affect the humidity in your humidor.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker C: So then finally. Got it, got it right. And, I put my cigars in there and I've checked on them once and had to refill the water, but they're doing okay now.
>> Marco Timpano: Good. Okay, thank you for that, that information.
How important is the tightness of the roll of your cigar
Now how important is the, and I don't know if I'm using the right word, but the tightness of the, of the roll of your cigar? I don't know if those are the right terms.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, no, that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what I'm saying? How would you describe that?
>> Speaker C: So the inside of a cigar is called filler. It's the filler tobacco isn't inside there. And that's just kind of meshed up and squeezed together and pressed. And then it's wrapped with a wrapper. That's what the outside is. So you put the wrapper on. Now if you have the filler too tight and then you put the wrapper. The wrapper is always tight around it. But what your question is. Yeah. You're really trying to ask what's the importance of the filler being very tight. Right. That is what creates a, A, smoother or, or more difficult draw. Oh. And also what constitutes or creates a slow or fast burn. So if you have a pound of tobacco, I mean, I'm using an outrageous pound of tobacco. Tobacco in one hand and a half pound in the other. And you make the same sized cigar, the half pound isn't, isn't wound as tightly as the pound. And so it will draw much faster.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: The same way as if you took a pound of tobacco and you made it loose, it would make a larger cigar. Right. And you made it tight, it would make a smaller cigar. And they might burn at the same rate, but the larger cigar looks like it would burn for longer.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: So I don't like very tight filler, but I also don't like it to be too loose because then it's just, it's over too quickly.
>> Marco Timpano: So you have it, you have a certain degree of tightness that you like in your Cigars.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But, they would be more leaning towards looser than tighter. Because you like to like, as you said at the beginning, effortless draw.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Draw to me is more important than flavor. It's more important than the texture. it's even more important to me than it being handmade.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: I got lucky in the fact that I found a brand that is handmade and is Nicaraguan, which is my favorite type of tobacco. Tobacco. And it's got a very smooth draw.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
Do cigars have notes of flavor like wine does? Does a cigar have flavor
Now you said flavor. Does the cigar have a sort of flavor profile that one could compare wine to in that? Does a cigar have notes of flavor like wine does?
>> Speaker C: You have to think more like coffee.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Because wine is from a fruit. Right. And coffee comes from these. Although technically it gets cool. Coffee's.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a fruit.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a berry.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. that's a strange thing.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but it's fine.
>> Speaker C: But it's the, the, the notes in coffee and cigar are similar in that you will see a hint of. And usually it's a darker thing. Like you can see a chocolatey finish or you can have a more earthy undertone. some cigars taste more like dirt. Some cigars taste, like mint, but without actually being minty.
>> Marco Timpano: Like there's no actual mint in the product.
>> Speaker C: Not like a menthol cigar, which, ah, I don't think exists, but, like a mintier cigar, type. When I smoke, I like to have. I used to go in and say, you know, I want a nice cigar with an easy draw. And they would give me these cigars that are really made for like first time smokers. They're vanilla flavored, they're a little bit smaller, they're very easy to smoke and they're kind of like fruity and sweet and nice.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: People like that. And then they usually go from that into like cognac flavored and rum flavored. And then, then you get into actual cigars. but that's what they think. Although I don't know a lot of people who've done that. Most of the people I know who smoke flavored cigars stay in flavored cigars. Right. I would go opposite. When I walked into a cigar cigar shop, I would say to the owner, I want something that tastes like dirt.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: I wanted to offend me. I wanted to be aggressive in order to make sure they weren't going to go in that direction.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: And, I got a lot of weird looks from owners saying like, if that's what you like I mean, just go lick the ground outside. You don't need to have a cigar for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: Until eventually I figured out that what I like is less earthy and less dark. So, there's two types of wrappers. There's a continental wrapper, which is like a very light brown, almost gray. And then there is a, I think it's called. I don't smoke it, so I don't know it, but I think it's called like a. It can't be called Menudo, but it's something like Menudo.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: And it's, So that's a darker wrapper cigar. And so that's also a stronger flavor, much like a dark roast and coffee is a stronger flavor and a light roast is a lighter. Okay. So I don't like the dark. The darker ones. I all. I. I like a, much lighter cigar and I like a. So everything about me is just the experience of it more than the actual flavor of a cigar or it trying to pretend to be a different thing.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, the non cigar smoker, if I was to see someone with a cigar that was dark in color, I could assume that it's going to have darker, richer, harsher flavors. Like a dark roast coffee.
>> Speaker C: Correct? Okay. Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Speaker C: So if you're going in to have a cigar as a relaxing kind of vibe and you just want to chill and talk to your buddy, you should pick one of the lightest cigars in the house. And usually any cigar shop worth its salt, but will have house blend cigars that are much more affordable. Okay. And if you don't care about a brand name, that's your go to. They're very affordable and very easy to smoke and light and a good draw and clean. And it makes the shop happy that
>> Marco Timpano: you are using their local brand.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
This episode went a bit longer than usual, but it was fascinating to explore
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Nima, I want to thank you. This episode went a bit longer than. Than we usually go, but it was so fascinating to explore. And I know we just sort of chomped off the tip of the cigar world, but it was very informative for me. So I want to thank you for that.
>> Speaker C: Thank you, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: once again for our listeners, we don't recommend or condone smoking, but we wanted to delve into a world in a topic that I know that you have a lot of experience in. Nima. So thank you for that. As always, we hope you listen and sleep. And as we've mentioned, this episode was recorded in Salt Lake City, Utah.
(Original airdate: July 8, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. one thing we try to deliver is a podcast episode that is less than fascinating so that you, the listener, can drift off. Thank you for joining us. My name is Marco Timpano, and I hope you listen and sleep. Joining me today, and I'm quite excited about this and I'm going to try not to be too enthusiastic so that, our listeners can just sort of listen and chill. Is a good friend of mine, Nima Kharazi. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Speaker C: Thank you very much, Marco.
I have the great fortune of being in Salt Lake City, Utah with you
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted you on the program for quite some time, and I have the great fortune of being in Salt Lake City, Utah with you.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, this is really exciting.
>> Marco Timpano: It's pretty fun, isn't it?
>> Speaker C: It's been an experience. You and I have never been slc.
>> Marco Timpano: No, we haven't.
>> Speaker C: And it's so fun to explore a city where neither one of us has the upper hand.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker C: And we just are allowing it to kind of reveal itself to us.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Speaker C: It's just been wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you live in Los Angeles, Correct? I live in Toronto and we met in Salt Lake City, Utah. And I have to say, I always heard that Utah was beautiful. And I'VE heard great things about Salt Lake City, but it, it so superseded what I expected it to be completely. I, I could see myself living here. That's how much I'm enjoying it. And I, I know we have listeners in Utah and I just want you to know how beautiful I think this state is.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. it really helps that also it snowed and there was this like, beautiful blanket of beautiful white snow. And we're in very close proximity to Temple Square and SLC and the mountains are snow covered. And I mean all of it on top of each other. The elevation is nice because you get crisper, cleaner air and the people are very friendly. It also does remind me a lot of like Boulder, Colorado or like, other kinds of cities that I've been to that have these like, one main streets that you go down and there's stores and Rocky Mountain Chocolate. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: We went to Park City the other day and that was just tremendous as well. And you know that old Egyptian theater we walked in? How cool that was. I love going to old theaters that are still used in some capacity for arts.
>> Speaker C: It was nice. It was interesting to see because she had told us that it was from the 1930s.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it was 26. It happened, before the stock market crash. So I think it was 26 is when it was built.
>> Speaker C: 1926. And it was interesting because it's a tall, very tall theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: The stage is decent sized, but there's only about 200 seats in the whole thing. Yeah. And you would be laughed out of either one of our cities if you, if you built something like that and called it a theater.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: And it's just so impressive to see that they have maintained it and kept it going as well and as long
>> Marco Timpano: as they have all that time. And I read that it survived a lot of things, like the stock market crash. At one point, Park City was a ghost town.
>> Speaker C: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it still survived. And, it changed names like, I think it was called the Wheeler at one point. And then it got refurbished, I believe in the 80s and then restored in the 90s as well. And now it's just a, a jewel in the crown of theater, cinema and performance spaces in this state, I would say.
>> Speaker C: Wonderful. Yeah.
I wanted to talk to you about something that I know is passion for you
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to talk to you about something that I know is a bit of a passion for you and maybe some of our listeners might be little bit weary of this topic because we haven't talked about this before and in no way am I advising or condoning, this hobby of yours, let's say, but I do Want to, give a little warning. but that said, I want to explore because you have quite a. Quite a knowledge in this field, and you like to, on occasion, smoke cigars.
>> Speaker C: I love smoking cigars.
>> Marco Timpano: So while we don't recommend smoking, I do want to talk about things to do with cigar and the whole sort of, It almost seems like there's a ceremonial aspect once one is going to smoke a cigar.
>> Speaker C: Correct. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I want to talk to you, first of all, what is important to you as far as accoutrements, and smoking cigars?
>> Speaker C: What.
>> Marco Timpano: What. What is key for you?
>> Speaker C: It's interesting that you say, if you had just said what is important in smoking a cigar? My answer is draw. Draw means the effortlessness, or the amount of effort, essentially, that it takes for you to get the smoke from the lit end into your mouth. From the open end. That's cut.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So I don't like to work very hard for my cigar. It's supposed to be a very relaxing thing for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: most cigars will take me about an hour to smoke, and so I like a very easy draw. I compare it to a large straw where you get a lot of soda effortlessly.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: Compared to those very. Remember those tiny coffee straws? Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: They're like stir sticks almost.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: They're not. Their intended. Intended use is not to be used as a straw, but rather as a stir stick. But if you're a kid.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Or you want to just test the liquid you're going to sample, you might use that as a straw, but it's going to bring very little volume of liquid into your mouth. Is that fair to say?
>> Speaker C: Exactly. Okay. And it's also going to take a lot of effort.
>> Marco Timpano: Right?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Speaker C: So draw is the most important aspect of a cigar. The stick itself.
>> Marco Timpano: The stick, meaning the cigar.
>> Speaker C: Meaning the cigar, the physical cigar that you're smoking. The accoutrement is a different question, and I'm glad you said. Yeah. So I'm a, traditionalist in the fact that I like to use, a matchstick if I can. Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Over a lighter, you're saying over a butane lighter?
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Why is that?
>> Speaker C: Because the butane lighter gives off a bit of a butane vibe to the
>> Marco Timpano: cigar smell and flavor. Would you say both?
>> Speaker C: Okay. Yeah. And so that's your first inhale is more gas chemical than.
>> Marco Timpano: Than, Tobacco.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: now, there are some people that will light a cedar stick and then light their cigar with the cedar stick.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Speaker C: So they'll use the butane to light that cedar stick, and then they'll use the cedar stick. I like that. I just don't have the patience for it, nor do I have the time to go looking around to find. Find cedar sticks to light my cigars. So I tend to just sometimes default to the butane lighter. what I don't ever use is a. Is a handheld, like a Bic lighter.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. So one of those ones that have a little flint roller or whatever you call it, to light.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: The gas.
>> Speaker C: The little gas station lighters like those. I never use those.
>> Marco Timpano: And why. So you'd be more likely to use a butane lighter over one of these gas station lighters.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Why is that?
>> Speaker C: Because the butane has a flame, kind of like a torch.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: And that burns off most of the scent. Right. And so then you're not getting, anything but tobacco flavor and content when you're smoking. Okay. And you're getting a faster, more even burn on the outside of the cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Because it's a hotter flame that you can direct because it comes out to a point.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: As opposed to a flickering flame that you have to try to maneuver around.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
You rotate your cigar around a butane lighter
>> Speaker C: And you have to continuously then rotate your cigar around this butane lighter, which is complicated if your cigar isn't,
>> Marco Timpano: cigarillo or something thin.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Or if it's not a circle, because some, cigars are box pressed, meaning it's almost like a circle, but the, the top and the bottom are flat.
>> Marco Timpano: So would it be more oval in shape?
>> Speaker C: Almost rectangular.
>> Marco Timpano: Almost rectangular. Okay.
The purpose of a cutter is to cut off the end that goes in
So I just want, because I'm not a cigar aficionado, I want to take a step back from where, where our conversation is. What is the purpose of that cigar?
>> Marco Timpano: Guillotine.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know what it's called, but, you know, the cutter. It's.
>> Speaker C: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: The cutter. What is the purpose of that? And is it important to have a good cutter? And my third question is, what makes a good cutter?
>> Speaker C: Very good questions. So the purpose of a cutter is to cut off the end that goes in your mouth so that you can draw in the smoke through the cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: Because if I'm not mistaken, the cigar is wrapped with a tobacco leaf, and the end that you put in your mouth is tapered off almost like a torpedo. And would it mean. Then it's sealed and you wouldn't be able to get the air through the cigar to continue to give oxygen to the tobacco inside.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that right?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So that's. That is the Exact reason. Okay, so some do. If you watch these old spaghetti westerns or these old, like movies with you know, whoever old timey guys like.
>> Marco Timpano: Like cowboys and stuff.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, John Wayne flicks when he goes to buy a cigar, you know, they bite off the end of the, the stick and they spit it on the ground and do whatever. There's still some cigar smokers that'll bite off the ends of their cigars. Okay. But nowadays you use, a cutter. there's different types of cutters and there's different types of cuts.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Speaker C: There's a straight cut which looks like a guillotine. It's a circle that your cigar can go through. And you can cut anything from, you know, an eighth of an inch to as half. You cut your cigar in half, essentially. Right. With that guillotine. There's another type of cutter that has a flat back like a wall to it. It's the same guillotine, but instead of a hole all the way through, there's a wall on one end.
>> Marco Timpano: Wait, I don't follow. So it's like a guillotine, but instead of cutting straight through the cigar, it does what?
>> Speaker C: The cigar stops at a point. So there's like a, it's almost like there's a back to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So you can't see through it. If you put your finger and, and nipped it, you would just nick the front like 8th inch of your finger.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's just, it doesn't chomp all the way through, but rather it cuts a portion from the top and the bottom of the cigar, but leaves some of the cigar intact.
>> Speaker C: No, so the. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm sorry, I know.
>> Speaker C: It's fine. it's better, to explain it this way anyway. Okay, so, so the guillotine is basically a circle that you could see through that you put your cigar through the circle and the guillotine cuts off the. Where Wherever you have your cigar set in the middle of this.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: The guillotine with a back you cannot see through.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: So it is a circle where the cigar sits in, goes in. But it has a stopper. It has a full back stopper.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: So you can only cut to where the back is against this wall.
>> Marco Timpano: So it only allows you to cut a tiny, tiny or a proportion that the, that the device, wants you to cut. Okay. Because your cigar will hit the back end or that wall, and stop. And then you'll cut only that half an inch or a quarter of an inch or whatever it is.
>> Speaker C: So we call that an idiot proof cutter.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: Because you're going to get the same cut level and almost every cigar needs just that much. You don't need to cut a whole inch off. Now, the advantage of the, the full circle guillotine that you can see through is that if you smoked half of your cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: And then you got called into a meeting or something, you could then cut off. Because the way a cigar is smoked, the, the cherry of the cigar, the, the part of it that's burning is usually in the front inch of the stick. That even though there's ash further out than that, because that's the finished part, the front end of it is burning
>> Marco Timpano: and causing smoke where the, where the red hot embers would be.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So if you finished your cigar, you don't ever tamp it out. You just leave it in the, in the tray.
>> Marco Timpano: You never, you never extinguish it, like. And why is that?
>> Speaker C: First of all, it's, it's dirty, it's messy. Right. Second of all, the cherry is much bigger, so it would take you a long time to extinguish to put every ember out. And third of all, it's just, it doesn't, it's, it smells bad and it causes more of a problem because now you're causing the, the cherry to move up in the cigar and burn new portions of the cigar.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: So some people will smoke a third of their cigar and then cut their cigar in half past the cherry part and save that for to smoke later
>> Marco Timpano: because it's almost like a brand new cigar at that point. Right?
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So you can't do that with the idiot proof cutter. Right. That's only with the guillotine cutter. I see. I like the idiot proof because I only smoke one brand of cigar and that brand of cigar only needs a very tiny sliver cut off the end of it.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: And if you cut more than that, you have a risk of unraveling the outside, and then you've just ruined this whole stick.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
Your intention is always, I will smoke what I will of the cigar
So what do you do in a case of. I don't have the time to finish smoking the cigar, but I haven't gone through enough of it to get rid of the cigar if you have that kind of a cutter.
>> Speaker C: I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't. You just. Your intention is always, I will smoke what I will of the cigar. And when I'm done, the cigar is done.
>> Speaker C: Correct. Okay. Like a drink, like anything else. I'm not going to take it home. It's fine where it is. I spent this much money for this experience. The experience is over, and that's it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. We've talked about the cutter.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
You should never overstuff the humidor because it's not going to work
>> Marco Timpano: Now let's talk about the humidor, which I think. I feel like a lot of people know that word, but they might not know what a humidor's function or purposes.
>> Speaker C: Correct. So the humidor's function, first of all. Okay. Let's start with the basics. Okay. Thank you for that, by the way. I'm getting there. No understanding.
>> Marco Timpano: I appreciate it, and I'm sure our listeners will appreciate it too, because we're really getting a deep dive into the world of the cigar.
>> Speaker C: So the humidor is made from, usually circles, cedar wood.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: The reason why is because cedar wood absorbs moisture and then keeps things at a specific humidity. M. due to the moisture that it has absorbed. I see. Now, you. Depending on the amount of cigar, the number and size of cigars that you have, you can't overload humidor and expect it to work well because there's not enough moisture in that wood to keep all of those cigars humid.
>> Marco Timpano: So what you're saying is you. You should never overstuff the humidor because it's not going to work at its optimum, function.
>> Speaker C: Correct. Okay. So you. What you have to do is either you have to get a second humidor, or you have to get a larger humidor, or you have to get rid of some of your cigars, which I've had to do all three. Wow. and because a lot of times what will happen is, there's a great deal at the cigar lounge. You go to, and you end up buying a box of 14. And then you go on a trip and you come back and you buy another box of 14 of another cigar. Now, you got 28 sticks at home that are drying out that you have to put in a humidor. You already had 10 or 12 sticks in there. So now you're at 40 and your humidor can only hold 30.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: So now you have to either move 10 to a second or you have to. You have to get a larger humidor,
>> Marco Timpano: or you'd have to smoke a large quantity of cigars that you have or
>> Speaker C: sell them or trade them. or you could do what a lot of us do in a pinch, which is you wet a paper towel and you put the cigars in a Ziploc bag and you keep those in a, ah, cupboard somewhere.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Speaker C: And that'll. That'll do you until it's like in case of an emergency.
>> Marco Timpano: It will last you a couple months.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, it'll be fine.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not ideal, but.
>> Speaker C: No, it's. But it's better.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a hack that can help you out.
>> Speaker C: It's better than nothing.
>> Marco Timpano: I should say that a humidor, if I'm not mistaken, is a box, Right?
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: And like you said, generally made out of cedar wood.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: In case people are wondering. I still don't know what a humidor is. So it's the vessel that holds the cigars and keeps them fresh for the smoker.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. So the humidity in the box, that is airtight, is, is, shown to you by way of a hydra hydrogen hydroge meter.
>> Marco Timpano: Sounds right to me, my friend.
>> Speaker C: anyway, it's, it's, there's a meter in there that tells you what percentage it's at, and it should be optimally between 70 to 72% humidity.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't even know the percentage.
>> Speaker C: Okay, so that's optimal, depending on your own surroundings. If it's colder climate, warmer climate, you may need more or less humanity.
>> Marco Timpano: Would altitude affect it too? Since we are.
>> Speaker C: I never thought of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because we're on a high altitude. So I'm wondering if people in Utah have to treat, their cigars a certain.
>> Speaker C: Or Denver, you know, that's even higher. Yeah, that might be a thing. So we had to, I've had to move my cigars into a larger humidor, but before I could do that, I had to prep it. And the way you prep it is you empty it out and you take a wet paper towel with distilled water.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you're like seasoning your. Oh, wow, you're seasoning your humidor.
>> Speaker C: Okay, so you wipe down all the cedar wood.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker C: And you let it stay overnight. The next day, you take a shot glass of water and you put it in your humidor and you let it stay overnight. And that water will evaporate and absorb into the cedar wood that which hasn't absorbed enough already. Then you let it stay one more night. So three nights of seasoning, like three, 24 hours of seasoning your, your humidor with nothing in it. And then you have to make sure you have the proper distilled water for the humidor. Then for the extra humidity packs that you, you're putting in here, and you get it to a 72% level and then you put your cigars in.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. So it's a 72 hour process before you can even place Your product into the vessel that keeps it fresh.
>> Speaker C: No, it's 72 hour process before you can even start testing it. And putting humidity packs in to get it, then to 72 and then, and that might take two days or it might take a week. With this one, it took me five days.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Speaker C: And I was checking it every day.
You don't want to keep opening and closing your humidor
And you don't, you don't want to keep opening and closing because you're gonna,
>> Marco Timpano: that's gonna affect the humidity in your humidor.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker C: So then finally. Got it, got it right. And, I put my cigars in there and I've checked on them once and had to refill the water, but they're doing okay now.
>> Marco Timpano: Good. Okay, thank you for that, that information.
How important is the tightness of the roll of your cigar
Now how important is the, and I don't know if I'm using the right word, but the tightness of the, of the roll of your cigar? I don't know if those are the right terms.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, no, that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what I'm saying? How would you describe that?
>> Speaker C: So the inside of a cigar is called filler. It's the filler tobacco isn't inside there. And that's just kind of meshed up and squeezed together and pressed. And then it's wrapped with a wrapper. That's what the outside is. So you put the wrapper on. Now if you have the filler too tight and then you put the wrapper. The wrapper is always tight around it. But what your question is. Yeah. You're really trying to ask what's the importance of the filler being very tight. Right. That is what creates a, A, smoother or, or more difficult draw. Oh. And also what constitutes or creates a slow or fast burn. So if you have a pound of tobacco, I mean, I'm using an outrageous pound of tobacco. Tobacco in one hand and a half pound in the other. And you make the same sized cigar, the half pound isn't, isn't wound as tightly as the pound. And so it will draw much faster.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: The same way as if you took a pound of tobacco and you made it loose, it would make a larger cigar. Right. And you made it tight, it would make a smaller cigar. And they might burn at the same rate, but the larger cigar looks like it would burn for longer.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: So I don't like very tight filler, but I also don't like it to be too loose because then it's just, it's over too quickly.
>> Marco Timpano: So you have it, you have a certain degree of tightness that you like in your Cigars.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But, they would be more leaning towards looser than tighter. Because you like to like, as you said at the beginning, effortless draw.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Draw to me is more important than flavor. It's more important than the texture. it's even more important to me than it being handmade.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: I got lucky in the fact that I found a brand that is handmade and is Nicaraguan, which is my favorite type of tobacco. Tobacco. And it's got a very smooth draw.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
Do cigars have notes of flavor like wine does? Does a cigar have flavor
Now you said flavor. Does the cigar have a sort of flavor profile that one could compare wine to in that? Does a cigar have notes of flavor like wine does?
>> Speaker C: You have to think more like coffee.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Because wine is from a fruit. Right. And coffee comes from these. Although technically it gets cool. Coffee's.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a fruit.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a berry.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. that's a strange thing.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but it's fine.
>> Speaker C: But it's the, the, the notes in coffee and cigar are similar in that you will see a hint of. And usually it's a darker thing. Like you can see a chocolatey finish or you can have a more earthy undertone. some cigars taste more like dirt. Some cigars taste, like mint, but without actually being minty.
>> Marco Timpano: Like there's no actual mint in the product.
>> Speaker C: Not like a menthol cigar, which, ah, I don't think exists, but, like a mintier cigar, type. When I smoke, I like to have. I used to go in and say, you know, I want a nice cigar with an easy draw. And they would give me these cigars that are really made for like first time smokers. They're vanilla flavored, they're a little bit smaller, they're very easy to smoke and they're kind of like fruity and sweet and nice.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: People like that. And then they usually go from that into like cognac flavored and rum flavored. And then, then you get into actual cigars. but that's what they think. Although I don't know a lot of people who've done that. Most of the people I know who smoke flavored cigars stay in flavored cigars. Right. I would go opposite. When I walked into a cigar cigar shop, I would say to the owner, I want something that tastes like dirt.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: I wanted to offend me. I wanted to be aggressive in order to make sure they weren't going to go in that direction.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Speaker C: And, I got a lot of weird looks from owners saying like, if that's what you like I mean, just go lick the ground outside. You don't need to have a cigar for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: Until eventually I figured out that what I like is less earthy and less dark. So, there's two types of wrappers. There's a continental wrapper, which is like a very light brown, almost gray. And then there is a, I think it's called. I don't smoke it, so I don't know it, but I think it's called like a. It can't be called Menudo, but it's something like Menudo.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: And it's, So that's a darker wrapper cigar. And so that's also a stronger flavor, much like a dark roast and coffee is a stronger flavor and a light roast is a lighter. Okay. So I don't like the dark. The darker ones. I all. I. I like a, much lighter cigar and I like a. So everything about me is just the experience of it more than the actual flavor of a cigar or it trying to pretend to be a different thing.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, the non cigar smoker, if I was to see someone with a cigar that was dark in color, I could assume that it's going to have darker, richer, harsher flavors. Like a dark roast coffee.
>> Speaker C: Correct? Okay. Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Speaker C: So if you're going in to have a cigar as a relaxing kind of vibe and you just want to chill and talk to your buddy, you should pick one of the lightest cigars in the house. And usually any cigar shop worth its salt, but will have house blend cigars that are much more affordable. Okay. And if you don't care about a brand name, that's your go to. They're very affordable and very easy to smoke and light and a good draw and clean. And it makes the shop happy that
>> Marco Timpano: you are using their local brand.
>> Speaker C: Correct.
This episode went a bit longer than usual, but it was fascinating to explore
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Nima, I want to thank you. This episode went a bit longer than. Than we usually go, but it was so fascinating to explore. And I know we just sort of chomped off the tip of the cigar world, but it was very informative for me. So I want to thank you for that.
>> Speaker C: Thank you, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: once again for our listeners, we don't recommend or condone smoking, but we wanted to delve into a world in a topic that I know that you have a lot of experience in. Nima. So thank you for that. As always, we hope you listen and sleep. And as we've mentioned, this episode was recorded in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Authors with Daniel Krolik
(Original airdate: July 15, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you, our listener, can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. And joining me, one of my favourites, Daniel Krolik. Welcome back.
>> Daniel Krolik: The less than fascinating Daniel Krolik.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I would never describe you as that, that's for sure. But, I'm glad that you do your best to be less than fascinating.
>> Daniel Krolik: It's not easy, let me tell you.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like, our episodes, I always listen back when I'm editing thinking, wow, this is a really interesting episode.
Marco: Daniel, you're one of my most prolific readers
Anyways, Daniel, you're one of my most prolific. You're one of my friends who's the most prolific reader that I know. And I have a love for libraries and books and I wanted to talk to you about authors and some of your favorite authors.
>> Daniel Krolek: Terrific.
>> Marco Timpano: So is there an author that you would recommend to listeners who don't read much and they're getting into reading?
>> Daniel Krolek: I think. I think reading is such a personal thing to do, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: So I'm always very cautious about my recommendations.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: Because My. And what I like personally might, not transfer to somebody else. But I can. I mean, I can talk about the authors that I'm passionate about, that I really love. I can talk about things that I personally have read that have made an impact on me.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Daniel Krolek: here's why I say this, Daniel.
>> Marco Timpano: You bought a book for my wife for Christmas. I think it was for Christmas or her birthday years ago.
>> Daniel Krolek: Was this the Neapolitan book?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. My beautiful friend.
>> Daniel Krolek: My brilliant friend.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sorry. My brilliant. Thank you. Of course, you're my brilliant friend.
>> Daniel Krolek: So you're my brilliant friend.
>> Marco Timpano: she read that book. She could not put it down.
>> Daniel Krolek: I know.
>> Marco Timpano: She could not put it down. And then it's a series of four books.
>> Daniel Krolek: It's a tetralogy, which is four.
>> Marco Timpano: Four books. And I've never seen anyone devour books. And then she read the last book and she just cried for a week.
>> Daniel Krolek: I was the same way.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I always think of you. It's like, if there's anyone who knows what kind of book to give as a gift, it's Daniel.
>> Daniel Krolek: Well, I know Amanda very well, so that's, you know, that's a little bit personal. the first author that I ever really attached myself to, and it's funny because, I love Glenn Close so much, but the first author I attached myself to was John Irving. And the first adult work of fiction that I had ever read in the eighth grade was the World According to Garth.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it was, yeah. Oh, that's fascinating. I didn't know that.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, I had my parents copy, so it had the, you know, it was the copy from the 1970s where the book was when the book came out. and I remember reading it every lunch hour at school. after school, on the bus home, I would read the World According to my book.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Is it a big book? Because his books can be very big, epic.
>> Daniel Krolek: Very. I mean, he gets compared to Dickens a lot. So very Dickensian. and also, he eventually settled in Toronto. So in his later books, at least
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that. That's where we're recording right now.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. So in his later books, at least not so much with Garp or New Hampshire or Owen Meaney, but the characters very often end up in Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. So you have a personal connection to his work as well.
>> Daniel Krolek: I do. I haven't really read too much of his later, of his later works. but I mean, when I was younger, the World According to Garp, the Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meaney. the Hotel New Hampshire made big, big, big dents on my psyche.
Jonathan Franzen and Margaret Atwood are among your favorite Canadian authors
>> Marco Timpano: who else, as far as authorship, has had an impact on you? Such an awkward way I phrase that novel. I'm actually physically moving my hand in a very, awkward gesture as well.
>> Daniel Krolek: I, haven't read everything by him, but Jonathan Franzen, for sure, who is very polarizing at times and very controversial at times.
>> Marco Timpano: Was he the author who did not want to be on Oprah?
>> Daniel Krolek: Yes, he was. Yes, he certainly was.
>> Marco Timpano: Oprah had a book club, and I think she wanted one of his books to be on, and then he said no, and then he ended up having a different book on her book club.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yes. Yes. But I have read, And in terms of. I mean, he's written a lot of essays and a lot of short pieces, but he hasn't written too many, novels. But the Corrections and Freedom both destroyed me.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Daniel Krolek: Both, I thought, were really wonderful authors
>> Marco Timpano: that make you laugh. I'll give you a second to think of that. I'll tell you who. Some of you.
>> Daniel Krolek: No, I mean, it is a bit of a cliche, but David Sedaris.
>> Marco Timpano: That's who I was gonna say for sure. And I didn't think I would like his work.
>> Daniel Krolek: He's so easy to read, because I
>> Marco Timpano: was listening to an audiobook, and I got one of his audiobooks, and as soon as he started reading, I was like, this isn't for me. But I remember people saying his work was so great, so I sort of gave it more of a chance, and then I had to read all I had to. I think I listened to all his books because he does a great job in his audiobook.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. And he's quite funny because when you listen to him, he's so gentlemanly when he speaks. And he's from South Carolina, so there's a hint of the gentility about him. The Southern gentility, sure. But especially, his early pieces, like Barrel Fever and Naked. they're so savage and they're so profane. So there's this weird gap between how almost disgusting his material is and how classy and sophisticated his voice sounds.
>> Marco Timpano: I agree with that. Favorite Canadian authors.
>> Daniel Krolek: Embarrassingly, I'm not too big on Canlitt, but, I mean, I'm a Montreal Jewel, so I'd be remiss if I wouldn't say Mordecai Richler.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. See, his stuff never spoke to me.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, his stuff hits me right in the gut.
>> Marco Timpano: And we read it in our. And m. Possibly it's because we read it in school.
>> Daniel Krolek: What did you have to read?
>> Marco Timpano: We had to read
>> Daniel Krolek: Jody Kravitz.
>> Marco Timpano: Duddy Kravitz. Yes, yes, that's what we had to read. And it just did not speak to me. And yet I have friends, my contemporaries, my, my contemporaries who aren't Montrealers. Love, his work. In particular, Harvey's vision. Is that Harvey's vision? Barney's vision.
>> Daniel Krolek: Barney's version.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry. You can tell I'm a big fan of, Mordechai Vic. What about Atwood? I would see you as a fan of Atwood.
>> Daniel Krolek: I haven't picked up. And you know, she has this big resurgence right now with the sequel to the Handmaid's Tale and the television show. But I haven't picked up Margaret Atwood since I was in high school probably or university. So I think I'm well overdue.
>> Marco Timpano: She's someone I love following on Twitter.
>> Marco Timpano: We mentioned in an earlier episode to follow Glenn Close on Instagram, but I find Margaret Atwood on Twitter. So smart, so profound. So smart.
>> Daniel Krolek: I remember when I first moved to Toronto, she was on the COVID of now magazine and it was the Best of Toronto issue. And I looked at it and I said, what is Rhea Perlman doing on the COVID of now magazine?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Daniel Krolek: Because they have, I guess, the similar hair. They have like the large, the dense curls, I guess. So I was totally convinced that Rhea Perlman for some reason was, on the COVID of the Toronto Weekly.
>> Marco Timpano: I met Margaret Atwood at a party one time that I was working at. And we needed her to write a poem. And so she had prepared a poem like everyone who was at the party had to. I might have told this story on our podcast before. And so everyone was to write a poem for the guest of honor and she had forgot hers at home. And so one of the people I was working with said to her, oh, okay, that's fine. She goes, it's okay, just grab me a piece of paper. She sat at the bar and she just scribbled a poem. And it was actually a doggerl.
>> Daniel Krolek: And it, was actually a what?
>> Marco Timpano: A doggerel.
>> Daniel Krolek: I don't know what that is.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a type of, Oh, I would need the definition, but it's kind of a poem in, it's prose dedicated to a person.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So if I was to write like a little send up of you,
>> Daniel Krolek: it would be a doggerel.
>> Marco Timpano: Doggerel also follows a certain sort of,
>> Daniel Krolek: like a haiku, like a scanshin
>> Marco Timpano: yeah, it follows something. I'm so the wrong person to be talking about this.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, I'm fascinated. But, yeah, I know this is supposed to be a less than fascinating conversation, but I'm fascinated.
>> Marco Timpano: Always, when I do it with you, it's always fast. In fact, when I listen to your podcast, I'm always fascinated, too. and I learned so much. But she just scribbled some lines on a page, and her penmanship is awesome, and I was the one who got to read it, and it was.
I try to leave gaps of going back to authors that I love
It was so great.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: So, so great. And then I took the dog roll and I kept it, and then I accidentally shred it in my shredder. Yeah. because my girlfriend, who's now my wife at the time, was a fan, and I was gonna frame it for her, but instead I shred it. Oh, so that's what happened to that. So it wasn't meant to be. I shouldn't have taken it. It was sacred writing.
>> Daniel Krolek: Our lives are littered with, things
>> Marco Timpano: like that current, author that you're really, enjoying.
>> Daniel Krolek: I try to read as much as I can from different authors, so I try to leave gaps of going back to authors that I love.
>> Daniel Krolek: I really love. I've only read two of her books, but I really love Meg Wolitzer, who wrote, Again, it all comes back to Glenn. she wrote the Wife. So she wrote the novel the Wife that was basically, But the two books that I read from her were the, Interestings, which is about a group of teenagers who meet at an arts summer camp, and you follow them through adulthood. and the Female Persuasion, which is a book about, second wave feminists, and the pratfalls, the joys and pratfalls and barriers of feminism in the late 20th century.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you read the Wife before you saw the movie?
>> Daniel Krolek: I haven't read it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you haven't read the Wife. Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: No, I know it exists. And it's by this author that you do like? The two that I have read of, Meg Wolitzer were the Interestings, and the Female Persuasion.
Has there been a book that you've read that has gone to film
>> Marco Timpano: Has there been a book that you've read that has gone to film that you thought they did a great job of?
>> Daniel Krolek: I loved My Brilliant Friend when we watched, and I think you have seen it as well.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw it, yeah.
>> Daniel Krolek: And you're Italian, so you probably have a harsher critical eye, about that project than I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, yes, only in such that I love the Neapolitan dialect. And. And they would have had to have made that. They made it into a, movie of, serial on, hbo. Hbo. And if there's one thing Italian film directors can do brilliantly, it's that Italian, neorealism. And I felt like the series fell into that and they did a brilliant job. I can't wait to see the subsequent follow up.
>> Daniel Krolek: I can't wait. I thought it was beautifully done.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know. And I haven't read the books, but each book was told to me in depth by my wife. So I feel like I've read the book books. I don't know what's gonna happen. I won't tell you what happens at the end, but I don't know what's gonna happen when the last, book is filmed. I don't know. And my heart is already breaking. That's all I'll say with regards to that.
>> Daniel Krolek: I.
The book that I have probably gifted the most is Was by Jeff Reiman
If we're talking about authors, I do want to talk about, the book that I have probably gifted the most.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love this.
>> Daniel Krolek: Which I haven't actually gifted your wife yet. and it's a little bit hard to find because it's in and out of print, but it's called Was by Jeff Reiman, who is an Australian. I don't want to say fantasy author, but possibly he's not that prolific. but it's a book that's set in three different eras, and each story has to do with somebody who is connected to the wizard of Oz.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. So there's one story that's about, Dorothy Gale, but it's about, how terrible her. And this is all fictionalized. It's not based in reality, but it's about the orphan Dorothy Gale coming over to Kansas. Her parents both died of, I think cholera.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: and it's about her hardscrabble life with Auntie Em and Uncle Henry, and Auntie Em is this Christian zealot, so. And Uncle Henry.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay. Yeah, yeah. And, eventually she finds herself, in an English class, classroom, and L. Frank Baum is her substitute teacher.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: So it's the L. Frank Baum character who gives her the life of Dorothy that he wants for her. So that's one plot thread. The other plot thread is how Frances Gumm eventually became Judy Garland. Oh, wow. And it's about seeing Judy on the set of the wizard of Oz. and the third plot thread is about this actor in the 1980s who is, sick with AIDS and who is dying from AIDS and who calls himself the Scarecrow and who goes back to Kansas to look for the house that Dorothy lived in. Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: What is the name of this book again?
>> Daniel Krolek: Was.
>> Marco Timpano: Was out of print, but it sounds
>> Daniel Krolek: like it'd make a great film. I think it's findable. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: it sounds like it may be a great stage. Stage adaptations.
>> Daniel Krolek: They were working on a stage adaptation, but I think Wicked beat them to it, and I don't know if it's still being pursued. Oh, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: That's too bad, because I see it more along the lines of an Angels in America type, show versus a musical, in that it has three distinct storylines that you can cut back and forth.
>> Daniel Krolek: And it's not a large book. I think it's only maybe 300 pages. but it's epic in terms of its scope.
Have you ever seen Liza Minnelli perform? No. I don't want to see her perform now
>> Marco Timpano: speaking of Judy Garland, do you mind if I take a little Liza Minnelli detour here?
>> Daniel Krolek: How could I mind? Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: How so? Have you ever seen Liza Minnelli perform?
>> Daniel Krolek: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: No. And I kind of don't even want to because I want to see her perform in the 1970s. I don't want to see her perform now.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So I'm not a fan. Like, I'm not someone who, you know, I can appreciate her work, but she's not someone I would go see.
>> Daniel Krolek: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: On any given day, but I had the opportunity to see her in a concert with various artists. I don't know if you remember, Luciano Pavarotti did all these, like.
>> Daniel Krolek: I could listen. I could listen to you say his name all day.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: All day.
>> Marco Timpano: He did a, concert series with various artists for the, charity called War Child. So this was back in the late, 90s, early 2000s kind of thing, if I'm not mistaken. So I had the opportunity to go to one of those concerts in Toronto or something. No, this was. He did them all in Modena, Italy, and where the balsamic vinegar is from and, where he's from. And I got to go to the rehearsal, and I watched her perform the rehearsal, and she was fantastic. And then I got to watch the actual concert, and I've never seen. I've only seen a few people as charismatic, as professional, as wonderful, as powerful, as amazing, as, like, all the things you'd want and more. And she actually. I saw her save Pavarotti in that moment because he got off the lyrics like he didn't know where he was.
>> Daniel Krolek: Do you remember what they were singing?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they were singing, New York, New York, which I know she could sing.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, I have seen the video of this.
>> Marco Timpano: And he was just.
>> Daniel Krolek: He was just.
>> Marco Timpano: He didn't know where he was. And she was just like, don't worry, I got you. And she just picked him up and sang it and was like, I'm in control now.
>> Daniel Krolek: I mean, she is show business. When. When you think of. She's, ah, show business in the, in the most traditional sense, when people
>> Marco Timpano: say she's a star. It was in that moment that I knew she was a star. It was a performance I will never forget.
>> Daniel Krolek: There is on YouTube, you can watch an episode, for Oprah's final season.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: They did, like, a behind the scenes reality, show of what behind the scenes at Oprah's final season.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know this. I remember they went to Australia. That's all I really remember about the final season.
>> Daniel Krolek: But there's. You can watch the whole thing on YouTube. But there's an episode where, they have Liza on one of Oprah's final shows.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: And the entire episode is just PAs telling Liza not to smoke backstage.
>> Marco Timpano: That's great. That's great. It's something I have to tell you before we record. Sure. back to authors. Sorry, I took that little, Liza Back to authors.
>> Daniel Krolek: I recently purchased. I haven't read it yet. but a book that details. it's written by Lorna Luft, who is Liza's half sister. which is all about, the behind the scenes of the Judy Star is Born, which was a very fraught and difficult production.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Daniel Krolek: And I really look forward to reading it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. that was gonna bring me to my next question.
Sally Field's biography didn't resonate with me
Do you read autobiographies or biographies?
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, I mean, mostly showbiz stuff, but I do. No, Fair enough.
>> Marco Timpano: some that have resonated with you. Because I love listening to autobiographies or biographies, and I do love ones. I just listened to one that was a real disappointment.
>> Daniel Krolek: Which one?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know if I should say it, but I will.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Trigger warning. Sally Field's biography made me m. Dislike a performer that I really like.
>> Daniel Krolek: Why?
>> Marco Timpano: It didn't resonate with me. She seemed like she. And I listened to her read it, and maybe if I would have read it off the page, it would have been different. She. She comes across to me as very complainy and whiny and ungrateful, and she. She glosses over a couple of things that I think were key, which was her Academy Award acceptance speech where she says, you like me. You really like. She glossed over it, she said, and I won an Academy Award and then went to the next thing. Her work with the people that she worked with in. What's that movie? It's not coming to me.
>> Daniel Krolek: Dolly Parton, Steel Magnolia.
>> Marco Timpano: Steel Magnolias. the movie she did now. It's not coming to me either, with Robin Williams, where he's Mrs. Doubtfire. She doesn't talk about those films at all, which were films that had impact.
>> Daniel Krolek: Does she talk about Soap dish?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I love soap dish. Well, there you go. So she talks about some films and then she goes into her life, of course. But I think she wrote the book more for herself than the people reading it, is all I'll say. But anyways, that's enough of me slamming Sally Field because she's such a wonderful performer. I don't want to give people the bad impression there. Read it for yourself.
>> Daniel Krolek: And she's also somebody who. The older she gets. I mean, I think this is true of all of us, but the older that she gets, the more interesting a performer she becomes.
>> Marco Timpano: Agreed.
Tell us about your favorite biographies and autobiographies
But tell me about your favorite.
>> Daniel Krolek: I'm going to talk about two great. One is, a biography, and one is an autobiography.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Daniel Krolek: The biography I'm going to talk about is. I think it's called. I read it a few years ago, being the Music, which is, the Madeline Kahn biography. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: I've heard someone else say it's great.
>> Daniel Krolek: And you know what? Bill, my co host Bill just read it. I read it a few years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: He said he just read it on your podcast. That's how I know it's really wonderful.
>> Daniel Krolek: And it really paints a very part. And the author, Madeleine. She passed away in 2000. Too soon.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Daniel Krolek: So. Too soon. so the author never met her, unfortunately. But he paints such a vivid picture of what she was like, and you really get a full, full sense of how special she was. and the other one is, the autobiography is Swoozie Curses Biography, which is.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell us, for those who don't know who she is. Give us a name.
>> Daniel Krolek: Ah, you would know her from the television show sisters in the 1990s. I mean, she's been in everything. She was on Pushing Daisies, she was in Dangerous Liaisons with Glenn.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't even know that.
>> Daniel Krolek: she was in Liar Liar with Jim Carrey.
>> Marco Timpano: She's a wonderful performer.
>> Daniel Krolek: Terrific Stanley and Iris, but she's also. She's somebody who I think we take for granted a little bit. And she's never had, like a defining career role, I guess. but the book is about. I mean, it covers her career very vividly. but it's also about her, becoming the caregiver of her mother.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. In her later years.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's great.
>> Daniel Krolek: And she's an only child, so some
>> Marco Timpano: of the biographies that I really appreciated. and here's the thing. I will listen to a biography. I love to listen to biographies on long drives. M. So I will just. If it's a biography and I don't even know or care that much about the person, I will pick it up and listen to it. So. And sometimes I find those to be the best ones. So. Judi Dench did a biography.
>> Daniel Krolek: I had no idea.
>> Marco Timpano: It's. I can't remember the name of something like. And then some. Or something like. It's not called that.
>> Daniel Krolek: It's.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm. Anyways, look up Judi Dench's biography. I think it's an autobiography because she does. She reads it herself. It is great. It is funny. And it made me appreciate her as a performer so much more after reading it.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, no way.
>> Marco Timpano: same with, Jane Fonda.
>> Daniel Krolek: I've heard so much about Jane Fonda's book.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought she. I thought, you know, as a performer, I enjoyed her or whatever. And then I read her book and I was like, oh, this is great. And then she read the book to me and I really enjoyed it. Yeah.
>> Daniel Krolek: Wow. I can tell you one that I was disappointed by, because, you know, you said you were disappointed by Sally's. I was disappointed. And she has two. And I only read the first one, but I was disappointed by Anjelica Huston's.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: I found it very indulgent.
>> Marco Timpano: She just wrote a new one, didn't she?
>> Daniel Krolek: Or she just wrote it. She wrote this. And the second part, I think is all the Hollywood stuff, the Jack Nicholson stuff, all of that. But the first one is mostly about her childhood and her teenage years. and I was let down by that.
Any classic writer that you're a fan of, what is classic
>> Marco Timpano: Any classic writer that you're a fan
>> Daniel Krolek: of, what is classic?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. like the big names like, Dickens and people like that.
>> Daniel Krolek: I haven't read a lot of Dickens. I read Great Expectations a few years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: I had to read that in school. I didn't enjoy it. I think all my school reading I never really enjoyed.
>> Daniel Krolek: I mean, it's not classic, but I have read a lot of Philip Roth.
>> Marco Timpano: Who.
>> Daniel Krolek: I, mean, he died, only a few years ago, but he's been prolific since, like, the 1960s. I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: I don't know if that constitutes a classic. I don't think it does.
>> Marco Timpano: What about playwrights?
>> Daniel Krolek: I mean, reading a play is not an experience for everybody.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: Because plays are meant to be heard and seen. but I mean, you could read something like Angels in America, which we talked about, which is so verbose and so literate, and you could read it like a novel. And it's. Again, the dialogue in something like Angels in America is so dense. So I think, it might even benefit from reading it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: You know, because there's so much happening, there's so much happening there. or even something like August Osage county by Tracy Letts, because it is so epic and there are so many characters, and I think something like that you might also benefit from reading. Or, I haven't seen it because I don't think it's been produced in Toronto. Is the Tom Stoppard plays, the coast of Utopia.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: Which I think it's two parts, about, Oh, God, it's been so long. Russian Revolutionaries. but again, something like that is so epic and so dense. So I think, you know, reading it, you. You absorb it in a different way.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a playwright whose work you will read? Like, you'll like. It'll come on. You're like, I've got to get the latest by this person. Or is there an author who, as soon as their work come out, comes out, you're like, I'm on it.
>> Daniel Krolek: authors. Authors, for sure. Like, you know, we talked about Jonathan Franzen, Zadie Smith. I really love the British author Zadie Smith. Again, I've only read two or three of her titles, and she has a lot of, Jennifer Egan, who wrote, A Visit from the Goon Squad, which I think I also gifted Amanda at one point. John Irving I've sort of fallen off with, but I would love to pick him back up again.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I love Bill Bryson as one of my favorite authors.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay. But you read nonfiction.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Daniel Krolek: I do, and I don't. I read a little bit of nonfiction, but not. Not as much as I should probably.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you read what speaks to you. I love nonfiction. I don't know what it is about nonfiction, because on paper, you wouldn't necessarily say, oh, Marco's a nonfiction reader. But I do. I do love nonfiction. And in fact, if I were to do, record audiobooks, which is a goal of mine.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, mine too.
>> Marco Timpano: I would love to do non fiction.
>> Daniel Krolek: I recently had to make an audiobook demo, which was harder than I thought it would be.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. They're not easy. And recording, an audiobook can be quite grueling, I've been told. But it would be a passion of mine for certain.
Daniel: I love libraries. I love going in there without a goal
Daniel, we've come towards the end of this episode. I just want to say I love libraries. All the books that we've mentioned, you most probably can find in your library. What. What. What do you love about libraries?
>> Daniel Krolek: I love going in there without a goal. And I found several books that I've loved recently, that it was by an author that I wasn't familiar and I picked up because the title looked cool or the spine looked cool for whatever silly reason. but I found quite a few books that have really resonated with me just from, you know, killing. Killing time and just picking up something that I hadn't heard of.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing. Thank you. I want to send a special, heartfelt love to the Waterloo Public Library system. My favorite.
>> Daniel Krolek: Couldn't escape if I wanted to.
>> Marco Timpano: I love them. They had me in as a guest speaker, and I met such wonderful people in Waterloo who are part of that library system, and, you know, people who love libraries are great people, is how I'm going to end today's episode. Thank you, Daniel, once again, for being a part of the Insanity project.
>> Daniel Krolek: Anytime.
>> Marco Timpano: We hope you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: July 15, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you, our listener, can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano. And joining me, one of my favourites, Daniel Krolik. Welcome back.
>> Daniel Krolik: The less than fascinating Daniel Krolik.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I would never describe you as that, that's for sure. But, I'm glad that you do your best to be less than fascinating.
>> Daniel Krolik: It's not easy, let me tell you.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like, our episodes, I always listen back when I'm editing thinking, wow, this is a really interesting episode.
Marco: Daniel, you're one of my most prolific readers
Anyways, Daniel, you're one of my most prolific. You're one of my friends who's the most prolific reader that I know. And I have a love for libraries and books and I wanted to talk to you about authors and some of your favorite authors.
>> Daniel Krolek: Terrific.
>> Marco Timpano: So is there an author that you would recommend to listeners who don't read much and they're getting into reading?
>> Daniel Krolek: I think. I think reading is such a personal thing to do, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: So I'm always very cautious about my recommendations.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: Because My. And what I like personally might, not transfer to somebody else. But I can. I mean, I can talk about the authors that I'm passionate about, that I really love. I can talk about things that I personally have read that have made an impact on me.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course.
>> Daniel Krolek: here's why I say this, Daniel.
>> Marco Timpano: You bought a book for my wife for Christmas. I think it was for Christmas or her birthday years ago.
>> Daniel Krolek: Was this the Neapolitan book?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. My beautiful friend.
>> Daniel Krolek: My brilliant friend.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sorry. My brilliant. Thank you. Of course, you're my brilliant friend.
>> Daniel Krolek: So you're my brilliant friend.
>> Marco Timpano: she read that book. She could not put it down.
>> Daniel Krolek: I know.
>> Marco Timpano: She could not put it down. And then it's a series of four books.
>> Daniel Krolek: It's a tetralogy, which is four.
>> Marco Timpano: Four books. And I've never seen anyone devour books. And then she read the last book and she just cried for a week.
>> Daniel Krolek: I was the same way.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I always think of you. It's like, if there's anyone who knows what kind of book to give as a gift, it's Daniel.
>> Daniel Krolek: Well, I know Amanda very well, so that's, you know, that's a little bit personal. the first author that I ever really attached myself to, and it's funny because, I love Glenn Close so much, but the first author I attached myself to was John Irving. And the first adult work of fiction that I had ever read in the eighth grade was the World According to Garth.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it was, yeah. Oh, that's fascinating. I didn't know that.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, I had my parents copy, so it had the, you know, it was the copy from the 1970s where the book was when the book came out. and I remember reading it every lunch hour at school. after school, on the bus home, I would read the World According to my book.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Is it a big book? Because his books can be very big, epic.
>> Daniel Krolek: Very. I mean, he gets compared to Dickens a lot. So very Dickensian. and also, he eventually settled in Toronto. So in his later books, at least
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that. That's where we're recording right now.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. So in his later books, at least not so much with Garp or New Hampshire or Owen Meaney, but the characters very often end up in Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. So you have a personal connection to his work as well.
>> Daniel Krolek: I do. I haven't really read too much of his later, of his later works. but I mean, when I was younger, the World According to Garp, the Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meaney. the Hotel New Hampshire made big, big, big dents on my psyche.
Jonathan Franzen and Margaret Atwood are among your favorite Canadian authors
>> Marco Timpano: who else, as far as authorship, has had an impact on you? Such an awkward way I phrase that novel. I'm actually physically moving my hand in a very, awkward gesture as well.
>> Daniel Krolek: I, haven't read everything by him, but Jonathan Franzen, for sure, who is very polarizing at times and very controversial at times.
>> Marco Timpano: Was he the author who did not want to be on Oprah?
>> Daniel Krolek: Yes, he was. Yes, he certainly was.
>> Marco Timpano: Oprah had a book club, and I think she wanted one of his books to be on, and then he said no, and then he ended up having a different book on her book club.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yes. Yes. But I have read, And in terms of. I mean, he's written a lot of essays and a lot of short pieces, but he hasn't written too many, novels. But the Corrections and Freedom both destroyed me.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Daniel Krolek: Both, I thought, were really wonderful authors
>> Marco Timpano: that make you laugh. I'll give you a second to think of that. I'll tell you who. Some of you.
>> Daniel Krolek: No, I mean, it is a bit of a cliche, but David Sedaris.
>> Marco Timpano: That's who I was gonna say for sure. And I didn't think I would like his work.
>> Daniel Krolek: He's so easy to read, because I
>> Marco Timpano: was listening to an audiobook, and I got one of his audiobooks, and as soon as he started reading, I was like, this isn't for me. But I remember people saying his work was so great, so I sort of gave it more of a chance, and then I had to read all I had to. I think I listened to all his books because he does a great job in his audiobook.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. And he's quite funny because when you listen to him, he's so gentlemanly when he speaks. And he's from South Carolina, so there's a hint of the gentility about him. The Southern gentility, sure. But especially, his early pieces, like Barrel Fever and Naked. they're so savage and they're so profane. So there's this weird gap between how almost disgusting his material is and how classy and sophisticated his voice sounds.
>> Marco Timpano: I agree with that. Favorite Canadian authors.
>> Daniel Krolek: Embarrassingly, I'm not too big on Canlitt, but, I mean, I'm a Montreal Jewel, so I'd be remiss if I wouldn't say Mordecai Richler.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. See, his stuff never spoke to me.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, his stuff hits me right in the gut.
>> Marco Timpano: And we read it in our. And m. Possibly it's because we read it in school.
>> Daniel Krolek: What did you have to read?
>> Marco Timpano: We had to read
>> Daniel Krolek: Jody Kravitz.
>> Marco Timpano: Duddy Kravitz. Yes, yes, that's what we had to read. And it just did not speak to me. And yet I have friends, my contemporaries, my, my contemporaries who aren't Montrealers. Love, his work. In particular, Harvey's vision. Is that Harvey's vision? Barney's vision.
>> Daniel Krolek: Barney's version.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry. You can tell I'm a big fan of, Mordechai Vic. What about Atwood? I would see you as a fan of Atwood.
>> Daniel Krolek: I haven't picked up. And you know, she has this big resurgence right now with the sequel to the Handmaid's Tale and the television show. But I haven't picked up Margaret Atwood since I was in high school probably or university. So I think I'm well overdue.
>> Marco Timpano: She's someone I love following on Twitter.
>> Marco Timpano: We mentioned in an earlier episode to follow Glenn Close on Instagram, but I find Margaret Atwood on Twitter. So smart, so profound. So smart.
>> Daniel Krolek: I remember when I first moved to Toronto, she was on the COVID of now magazine and it was the Best of Toronto issue. And I looked at it and I said, what is Rhea Perlman doing on the COVID of now magazine?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Daniel Krolek: Because they have, I guess, the similar hair. They have like the large, the dense curls, I guess. So I was totally convinced that Rhea Perlman for some reason was, on the COVID of the Toronto Weekly.
>> Marco Timpano: I met Margaret Atwood at a party one time that I was working at. And we needed her to write a poem. And so she had prepared a poem like everyone who was at the party had to. I might have told this story on our podcast before. And so everyone was to write a poem for the guest of honor and she had forgot hers at home. And so one of the people I was working with said to her, oh, okay, that's fine. She goes, it's okay, just grab me a piece of paper. She sat at the bar and she just scribbled a poem. And it was actually a doggerl.
>> Daniel Krolek: And it, was actually a what?
>> Marco Timpano: A doggerel.
>> Daniel Krolek: I don't know what that is.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a type of, Oh, I would need the definition, but it's kind of a poem in, it's prose dedicated to a person.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So if I was to write like a little send up of you,
>> Daniel Krolek: it would be a doggerel.
>> Marco Timpano: Doggerel also follows a certain sort of,
>> Daniel Krolek: like a haiku, like a scanshin
>> Marco Timpano: yeah, it follows something. I'm so the wrong person to be talking about this.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, I'm fascinated. But, yeah, I know this is supposed to be a less than fascinating conversation, but I'm fascinated.
>> Marco Timpano: Always, when I do it with you, it's always fast. In fact, when I listen to your podcast, I'm always fascinated, too. and I learned so much. But she just scribbled some lines on a page, and her penmanship is awesome, and I was the one who got to read it, and it was.
I try to leave gaps of going back to authors that I love
It was so great.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: So, so great. And then I took the dog roll and I kept it, and then I accidentally shred it in my shredder. Yeah. because my girlfriend, who's now my wife at the time, was a fan, and I was gonna frame it for her, but instead I shred it. Oh, so that's what happened to that. So it wasn't meant to be. I shouldn't have taken it. It was sacred writing.
>> Daniel Krolek: Our lives are littered with, things
>> Marco Timpano: like that current, author that you're really, enjoying.
>> Daniel Krolek: I try to read as much as I can from different authors, so I try to leave gaps of going back to authors that I love.
>> Daniel Krolek: I really love. I've only read two of her books, but I really love Meg Wolitzer, who wrote, Again, it all comes back to Glenn. she wrote the Wife. So she wrote the novel the Wife that was basically, But the two books that I read from her were the, Interestings, which is about a group of teenagers who meet at an arts summer camp, and you follow them through adulthood. and the Female Persuasion, which is a book about, second wave feminists, and the pratfalls, the joys and pratfalls and barriers of feminism in the late 20th century.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you read the Wife before you saw the movie?
>> Daniel Krolek: I haven't read it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you haven't read the Wife. Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: No, I know it exists. And it's by this author that you do like? The two that I have read of, Meg Wolitzer were the Interestings, and the Female Persuasion.
Has there been a book that you've read that has gone to film
>> Marco Timpano: Has there been a book that you've read that has gone to film that you thought they did a great job of?
>> Daniel Krolek: I loved My Brilliant Friend when we watched, and I think you have seen it as well.
>> Marco Timpano: I saw it, yeah.
>> Daniel Krolek: And you're Italian, so you probably have a harsher critical eye, about that project than I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, yes, only in such that I love the Neapolitan dialect. And. And they would have had to have made that. They made it into a, movie of, serial on, hbo. Hbo. And if there's one thing Italian film directors can do brilliantly, it's that Italian, neorealism. And I felt like the series fell into that and they did a brilliant job. I can't wait to see the subsequent follow up.
>> Daniel Krolek: I can't wait. I thought it was beautifully done.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know. And I haven't read the books, but each book was told to me in depth by my wife. So I feel like I've read the book books. I don't know what's gonna happen. I won't tell you what happens at the end, but I don't know what's gonna happen when the last, book is filmed. I don't know. And my heart is already breaking. That's all I'll say with regards to that.
>> Daniel Krolek: I.
The book that I have probably gifted the most is Was by Jeff Reiman
If we're talking about authors, I do want to talk about, the book that I have probably gifted the most.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love this.
>> Daniel Krolek: Which I haven't actually gifted your wife yet. and it's a little bit hard to find because it's in and out of print, but it's called Was by Jeff Reiman, who is an Australian. I don't want to say fantasy author, but possibly he's not that prolific. but it's a book that's set in three different eras, and each story has to do with somebody who is connected to the wizard of Oz.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, cool.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. So there's one story that's about, Dorothy Gale, but it's about, how terrible her. And this is all fictionalized. It's not based in reality, but it's about the orphan Dorothy Gale coming over to Kansas. Her parents both died of, I think cholera.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: and it's about her hardscrabble life with Auntie Em and Uncle Henry, and Auntie Em is this Christian zealot, so. And Uncle Henry.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay. Yeah, yeah. And, eventually she finds herself, in an English class, classroom, and L. Frank Baum is her substitute teacher.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: So it's the L. Frank Baum character who gives her the life of Dorothy that he wants for her. So that's one plot thread. The other plot thread is how Frances Gumm eventually became Judy Garland. Oh, wow. And it's about seeing Judy on the set of the wizard of Oz. and the third plot thread is about this actor in the 1980s who is, sick with AIDS and who is dying from AIDS and who calls himself the Scarecrow and who goes back to Kansas to look for the house that Dorothy lived in. Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: What is the name of this book again?
>> Daniel Krolek: Was.
>> Marco Timpano: Was out of print, but it sounds
>> Daniel Krolek: like it'd make a great film. I think it's findable. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: it sounds like it may be a great stage. Stage adaptations.
>> Daniel Krolek: They were working on a stage adaptation, but I think Wicked beat them to it, and I don't know if it's still being pursued. Oh, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: That's too bad, because I see it more along the lines of an Angels in America type, show versus a musical, in that it has three distinct storylines that you can cut back and forth.
>> Daniel Krolek: And it's not a large book. I think it's only maybe 300 pages. but it's epic in terms of its scope.
Have you ever seen Liza Minnelli perform? No. I don't want to see her perform now
>> Marco Timpano: speaking of Judy Garland, do you mind if I take a little Liza Minnelli detour here?
>> Daniel Krolek: How could I mind? Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: How so? Have you ever seen Liza Minnelli perform?
>> Daniel Krolek: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: No. And I kind of don't even want to because I want to see her perform in the 1970s. I don't want to see her perform now.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So I'm not a fan. Like, I'm not someone who, you know, I can appreciate her work, but she's not someone I would go see.
>> Daniel Krolek: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: On any given day, but I had the opportunity to see her in a concert with various artists. I don't know if you remember, Luciano Pavarotti did all these, like.
>> Daniel Krolek: I could listen. I could listen to you say his name all day.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: All day.
>> Marco Timpano: He did a, concert series with various artists for the, charity called War Child. So this was back in the late, 90s, early 2000s kind of thing, if I'm not mistaken. So I had the opportunity to go to one of those concerts in Toronto or something. No, this was. He did them all in Modena, Italy, and where the balsamic vinegar is from and, where he's from. And I got to go to the rehearsal, and I watched her perform the rehearsal, and she was fantastic. And then I got to watch the actual concert, and I've never seen. I've only seen a few people as charismatic, as professional, as wonderful, as powerful, as amazing, as, like, all the things you'd want and more. And she actually. I saw her save Pavarotti in that moment because he got off the lyrics like he didn't know where he was.
>> Daniel Krolek: Do you remember what they were singing?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they were singing, New York, New York, which I know she could sing.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, I have seen the video of this.
>> Marco Timpano: And he was just.
>> Daniel Krolek: He was just.
>> Marco Timpano: He didn't know where he was. And she was just like, don't worry, I got you. And she just picked him up and sang it and was like, I'm in control now.
>> Daniel Krolek: I mean, she is show business. When. When you think of. She's, ah, show business in the, in the most traditional sense, when people
>> Marco Timpano: say she's a star. It was in that moment that I knew she was a star. It was a performance I will never forget.
>> Daniel Krolek: There is on YouTube, you can watch an episode, for Oprah's final season.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: They did, like, a behind the scenes reality, show of what behind the scenes at Oprah's final season.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know this. I remember they went to Australia. That's all I really remember about the final season.
>> Daniel Krolek: But there's. You can watch the whole thing on YouTube. But there's an episode where, they have Liza on one of Oprah's final shows.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: And the entire episode is just PAs telling Liza not to smoke backstage.
>> Marco Timpano: That's great. That's great. It's something I have to tell you before we record. Sure. back to authors. Sorry, I took that little, Liza Back to authors.
>> Daniel Krolek: I recently purchased. I haven't read it yet. but a book that details. it's written by Lorna Luft, who is Liza's half sister. which is all about, the behind the scenes of the Judy Star is Born, which was a very fraught and difficult production.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Daniel Krolek: And I really look forward to reading it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. that was gonna bring me to my next question.
Sally Field's biography didn't resonate with me
Do you read autobiographies or biographies?
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, I mean, mostly showbiz stuff, but I do. No, Fair enough.
>> Marco Timpano: some that have resonated with you. Because I love listening to autobiographies or biographies, and I do love ones. I just listened to one that was a real disappointment.
>> Daniel Krolek: Which one?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even know if I should say it, but I will.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Trigger warning. Sally Field's biography made me m. Dislike a performer that I really like.
>> Daniel Krolek: Why?
>> Marco Timpano: It didn't resonate with me. She seemed like she. And I listened to her read it, and maybe if I would have read it off the page, it would have been different. She. She comes across to me as very complainy and whiny and ungrateful, and she. She glosses over a couple of things that I think were key, which was her Academy Award acceptance speech where she says, you like me. You really like. She glossed over it, she said, and I won an Academy Award and then went to the next thing. Her work with the people that she worked with in. What's that movie? It's not coming to me.
>> Daniel Krolek: Dolly Parton, Steel Magnolia.
>> Marco Timpano: Steel Magnolias. the movie she did now. It's not coming to me either, with Robin Williams, where he's Mrs. Doubtfire. She doesn't talk about those films at all, which were films that had impact.
>> Daniel Krolek: Does she talk about Soap dish?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I love soap dish. Well, there you go. So she talks about some films and then she goes into her life, of course. But I think she wrote the book more for herself than the people reading it, is all I'll say. But anyways, that's enough of me slamming Sally Field because she's such a wonderful performer. I don't want to give people the bad impression there. Read it for yourself.
>> Daniel Krolek: And she's also somebody who. The older she gets. I mean, I think this is true of all of us, but the older that she gets, the more interesting a performer she becomes.
>> Marco Timpano: Agreed.
Tell us about your favorite biographies and autobiographies
But tell me about your favorite.
>> Daniel Krolek: I'm going to talk about two great. One is, a biography, and one is an autobiography.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Daniel Krolek: The biography I'm going to talk about is. I think it's called. I read it a few years ago, being the Music, which is, the Madeline Kahn biography. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: I've heard someone else say it's great.
>> Daniel Krolek: And you know what? Bill, my co host Bill just read it. I read it a few years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: He said he just read it on your podcast. That's how I know it's really wonderful.
>> Daniel Krolek: And it really paints a very part. And the author, Madeleine. She passed away in 2000. Too soon.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Daniel Krolek: So. Too soon. so the author never met her, unfortunately. But he paints such a vivid picture of what she was like, and you really get a full, full sense of how special she was. and the other one is, the autobiography is Swoozie Curses Biography, which is.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell us, for those who don't know who she is. Give us a name.
>> Daniel Krolek: Ah, you would know her from the television show sisters in the 1990s. I mean, she's been in everything. She was on Pushing Daisies, she was in Dangerous Liaisons with Glenn.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't even know that.
>> Daniel Krolek: she was in Liar Liar with Jim Carrey.
>> Marco Timpano: She's a wonderful performer.
>> Daniel Krolek: Terrific Stanley and Iris, but she's also. She's somebody who I think we take for granted a little bit. And she's never had, like a defining career role, I guess. but the book is about. I mean, it covers her career very vividly. but it's also about her, becoming the caregiver of her mother.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. In her later years.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's great.
>> Daniel Krolek: And she's an only child, so some
>> Marco Timpano: of the biographies that I really appreciated. and here's the thing. I will listen to a biography. I love to listen to biographies on long drives. M. So I will just. If it's a biography and I don't even know or care that much about the person, I will pick it up and listen to it. So. And sometimes I find those to be the best ones. So. Judi Dench did a biography.
>> Daniel Krolek: I had no idea.
>> Marco Timpano: It's. I can't remember the name of something like. And then some. Or something like. It's not called that.
>> Daniel Krolek: It's.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm. Anyways, look up Judi Dench's biography. I think it's an autobiography because she does. She reads it herself. It is great. It is funny. And it made me appreciate her as a performer so much more after reading it.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, no way.
>> Marco Timpano: same with, Jane Fonda.
>> Daniel Krolek: I've heard so much about Jane Fonda's book.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought she. I thought, you know, as a performer, I enjoyed her or whatever. And then I read her book and I was like, oh, this is great. And then she read the book to me and I really enjoyed it. Yeah.
>> Daniel Krolek: Wow. I can tell you one that I was disappointed by, because, you know, you said you were disappointed by Sally's. I was disappointed. And she has two. And I only read the first one, but I was disappointed by Anjelica Huston's.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: I found it very indulgent.
>> Marco Timpano: She just wrote a new one, didn't she?
>> Daniel Krolek: Or she just wrote it. She wrote this. And the second part, I think is all the Hollywood stuff, the Jack Nicholson stuff, all of that. But the first one is mostly about her childhood and her teenage years. and I was let down by that.
Any classic writer that you're a fan of, what is classic
>> Marco Timpano: Any classic writer that you're a fan
>> Daniel Krolek: of, what is classic?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. like the big names like, Dickens and people like that.
>> Daniel Krolek: I haven't read a lot of Dickens. I read Great Expectations a few years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: I had to read that in school. I didn't enjoy it. I think all my school reading I never really enjoyed.
>> Daniel Krolek: I mean, it's not classic, but I have read a lot of Philip Roth.
>> Marco Timpano: Who.
>> Daniel Krolek: I, mean, he died, only a few years ago, but he's been prolific since, like, the 1960s. I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: I don't know if that constitutes a classic. I don't think it does.
>> Marco Timpano: What about playwrights?
>> Daniel Krolek: I mean, reading a play is not an experience for everybody.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: Because plays are meant to be heard and seen. but I mean, you could read something like Angels in America, which we talked about, which is so verbose and so literate, and you could read it like a novel. And it's. Again, the dialogue in something like Angels in America is so dense. So I think, it might even benefit from reading it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: You know, because there's so much happening, there's so much happening there. or even something like August Osage county by Tracy Letts, because it is so epic and there are so many characters, and I think something like that you might also benefit from reading. Or, I haven't seen it because I don't think it's been produced in Toronto. Is the Tom Stoppard plays, the coast of Utopia.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: Which I think it's two parts, about, Oh, God, it's been so long. Russian Revolutionaries. but again, something like that is so epic and so dense. So I think, you know, reading it, you. You absorb it in a different way.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a playwright whose work you will read? Like, you'll like. It'll come on. You're like, I've got to get the latest by this person. Or is there an author who, as soon as their work come out, comes out, you're like, I'm on it.
>> Daniel Krolek: authors. Authors, for sure. Like, you know, we talked about Jonathan Franzen, Zadie Smith. I really love the British author Zadie Smith. Again, I've only read two or three of her titles, and she has a lot of, Jennifer Egan, who wrote, A Visit from the Goon Squad, which I think I also gifted Amanda at one point. John Irving I've sort of fallen off with, but I would love to pick him back up again.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I love Bill Bryson as one of my favorite authors.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay. But you read nonfiction.
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Daniel Krolek: I do, and I don't. I read a little bit of nonfiction, but not. Not as much as I should probably.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you read what speaks to you. I love nonfiction. I don't know what it is about nonfiction, because on paper, you wouldn't necessarily say, oh, Marco's a nonfiction reader. But I do. I do love nonfiction. And in fact, if I were to do, record audiobooks, which is a goal of mine.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, mine too.
>> Marco Timpano: I would love to do non fiction.
>> Daniel Krolek: I recently had to make an audiobook demo, which was harder than I thought it would be.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. They're not easy. And recording, an audiobook can be quite grueling, I've been told. But it would be a passion of mine for certain.
Daniel: I love libraries. I love going in there without a goal
Daniel, we've come towards the end of this episode. I just want to say I love libraries. All the books that we've mentioned, you most probably can find in your library. What. What. What do you love about libraries?
>> Daniel Krolek: I love going in there without a goal. And I found several books that I've loved recently, that it was by an author that I wasn't familiar and I picked up because the title looked cool or the spine looked cool for whatever silly reason. but I found quite a few books that have really resonated with me just from, you know, killing. Killing time and just picking up something that I hadn't heard of.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing. Thank you. I want to send a special, heartfelt love to the Waterloo Public Library system. My favorite.
>> Daniel Krolek: Couldn't escape if I wanted to.
>> Marco Timpano: I love them. They had me in as a guest speaker, and I met such wonderful people in Waterloo who are part of that library system, and, you know, people who love libraries are great people, is how I'm going to end today's episode. Thank you, Daniel, once again, for being a part of the Insanity project.
>> Daniel Krolek: Anytime.
>> Marco Timpano: We hope you listen and sleep.
Rain
(Original airdate: July 19, 2020)
I'm your host, Marco Timpano and joining me is Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm here and we have a special guest today and that guest is rain.
>> Marco Timpano: You might hear it in the background. It's coming down quite, quite in large drops and just washing everything away and just putting a damper on the hot, hot weather we were receiving lately.
>> Amanda Barker: And it we thought we would record this sort of by the window pane that is, you know, completely soaked and dripping with rain. And we just thought we would record this next to that instead of at the studio today.
>> Marco Timpano: So you might hear the splish splosh sound of dripping rain or a gentle patter as it goes, sort of ebbs and flows.
>> Marco Timpano: As water will often do. It's also bringing much needed water to our basil.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true. Our basil was looking pretty wilted. All of our plants, I think have endured quite a heat wave and so I think they all could use a little soaking. A little. Everybody needs a bath from Mother Nature from time to time.
>> Marco Timpano: And I want to thank My listeners to the Insomnia Project because I just recently published a book and it would not have been, it would not have been possible without this journey that I've been on with all of you listeners. It's a podcasting book called 25 Things I Wish I Knew Before I started my podcast and talks about this podcast and the things that I uncovered, discovered, and dealt with just by putting it up. So I want to thank everyone who has patiently and, enjoyed listening because that book, would not have been possible.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe we should do an episode just on the process of what it took to publish the book. Not maybe today.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I'm sure that would certainly lull some listeners.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yes, for sure. Because it's an arduous, long and often boring process. So, yeah, maybe we will do that in the future.
Tell me about rain. Does it help you fall asleep or relax
But let's get back to rain.
>> Amanda Barker: I can hear the clap of some thunder in the distance right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about rain. Does it help you fall asleep or relax?
>> Amanda Barker: I have memories of my porch in Woodstock, New Brunswick. I spent a lot of my childhood growing up along the St. John river there, which is quite a big river. And our house was on a hill overlooking it. And, the porch was a great place to be because you'd get a little wet, but mostly you'd stay dry. And you could watch the lightning, making its way into the river. You could sort of count as children the lightning. The space between the lightning and the thunder clap. and so I just found it really soothing then. I'm sorry, I don't know if that was your.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, no, that's great. That's wonderful. I remember getting caught in the rain twice in my life. That was very significant and beautiful.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: One time was in Nice and my friend Loretto and I were walking around and all of a sudden the rain just. The skies opened up and rain just started falling. And we needed to find a place to get out of the rain. And so we were in search and search. And it just so happened there was this huge Canadian flag.
>> Marco Timpano: Under this covered canopy in front of a building. We said, let's go there. Maybe it's the embassy. And it was actually a school for Canadian students or something like that. So we kind of sat under the shadow of the Canadian flag under this canopy. And the headmaster came out and said, I'm sorry, you can't be sitting here. And we said, well, we're Canadian. That's a Canadian flag. And it's really raining. So we're taking shelter under it.
>> Amanda Barker: And what did he or she say?
>> Marco Timpano: He just kind of shrugged his shoulders and said, that's fine, and walked back in. He. I guess he couldn't argue with it. And we were, we were going to sit there no matter what. We were soaked. Right. So he's like, okay, as long as you don't disturb or do anything that is a bit, destructive. He didn't really.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: The other time I was a cycle tour guide in Europe.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was driving, I was driving, I was riding my bike and I was kind of left alone because all the guests that we were touring was with the other guide and they were being brought back to the hotel.
>> Marco Timpano: With our van because it was raining so much, but there wasn't enough room for me. So I stayed under an olive tree in an olive grove and just watched the rain as it came down.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. It was really beautiful.
I find a thunderstorm incredibly soothing. I'm gonna just say it
>> Amanda Barker: You also got caught in the rain in my hometown in Woodstock, New Brunswick. Did you not? Weren't you driving through and the skies opened up in August.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: So you actually got to experience that type of. And that was right on the St. John river where you were. I mean, we didn't know each other well, but you were actually walking distance from my house.
>> Marco Timpano: I was that close.
>> Amanda Barker: You were that close. Wow. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a lot. It was huge, huge drops. And the skies were this beautiful shade of gray and the water was green and.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It was really intense and wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And that's how I sort of remember those skies. There is something soothing. I mean, obviously this rain can be soothing, but I even find a thunderstorm incredibly soothing. If I'm going through a hard time.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I find that sometimes it's like I'm being honored. And like the sky guys see my pain.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And they honor it and they express their pain in a way. If. If you think a thunderstorm is pain, which I. I don't think you know, it's putting emotions onto a natural occurrence. But, I think there's something so cathartic if you're going through a hard time, you know, when you're crying, if you see rain, it's like the world is crying with you.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And suddenly you realize you're not alone.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's so many expressions associated with rain, like right as rain.
>> Amanda Barker: True. No rain, no gain.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I don't know that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Because it's not.
>> Marco Timpano: If you hear some creaking sound, it's because we're on antique chairs, because we're not in our studio. So every time I move you hear a little bit of a creak.
>> Amanda Barker: And actually this table is from Woodstock, my friend. Yeah, my next door neighbor who lived on that hill next door to us and witnessed many a thunderstorm in her life up there.
>> Marco Timpano: one of my favorite things is where, when we're. And once again, this is a. I'm gonna just say it because our listeners hear me talk about it all the time. But when we're at our cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: In one bedroom, we don't have, we just have.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: the roof. And there's no sort of ceiling tiles.
>> Amanda Barker: There's nothing between us and the weather.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just wood, wooden shingles and so you can hear the pitter patter of the rain.
>> Marco Timpano: On the roof when you're sleeping. And it lulls me to sleep right away.
>> Amanda Barker: That sound, it's a beautiful. There's something just fairly comforting and soothing. I think the comfort comes from knowing that you don't have to be out in it, that you're in a safe warmth.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's true.
>> Amanda Barker: And if, if a storm is, loud enough or gusty enough, then there's some comfort in knowing that you have, you know, that your only care in the world is that you have somewhere safe and warm and your own. Even if it's, you know, your own bed. Yes, we all prefer things a certain way, like groceries. If you want groceries just how you like them, you gotta try Instacart. They have a new preference picker that lets you pick how ripe or unripe you want your bananas. Shoppers can see your preferences upfront, helping guide their choices. Because when it comes to groceries, the details matter. Instacart. Get groceries just how you like.
>> Marco Timpano: I also remember a time when I got caught in, you know how some rain is very warm in the summer and depending where you are.
>> Marco Timpano: So I got caught in a rainstorm with Michelle Miracle, who was a guest on this show in Florida.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. I do remember that Florida has some incredible rain.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, tropical for sure. I remember that day. I remember a picture of the two of you completely soaked.
>> Marco Timpano: We were wearing just T shirts and shorts. It was supposed to be a lovely sunny day. We had no, no accoutrements one would want. No umbrella, no galoshes, no plastic, had no. What are those things called? Those plastic poncho type things? None of those things.
>> Amanda Barker: The skies just opened up. I mean, that tends to be what happens in warmer climates anyway. You know, you'll have like a 3 o' clock, rain, shower, but it never lasts very long, you know, so that's really typical of Florida, where my parents are and, and certainly of other spots in the Caribbean too.
Amanda: Every time I go to the uk, I get beautiful weather
>> Marco Timpano: We have a lot of listeners in the UK and I know they experience
>> Amanda Barker: rain, but do they have the same. I actually don't know this and I have spent some time in the uk, but not enough to know and not enough in the really hot summer months.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Although I sometimes wonder how hot their summer months get because I know this year they've had a pretty cool summer. From my friends that are there, I
>> Marco Timpano: can tell you this, every time I go to the uk, I get the most beautiful weather. I'm always anticipating rain. I always get sunny, beautiful weather. the people I've encountered have always been so pleasant.
>> Amanda Barker: When you and I were there last
>> Marco Timpano: and, they're gone, it was kind
>> Amanda Barker: of cool and gray actually, now that I think about it. We were wearing sweatshirts and that was June.
>> Marco Timpano: We were.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I loved it nonetheless. And I love the color of their grass and lawns and their gardens are all nourished with rain.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's why I wonder. I think it's more temperate. I don't know that they get these huge rambunctious thunderstorms. I mean, this one that we're sitting in right now, which by the way, seems to have passed, although there's still, there's still lots dripping out there, it's still very gray. But I don't know that they like we. This is a tornado warning actually that we're sitting in, which I don't think it's for us, but it's, you know. Now I should, I should comment that in Ontario a tornado warning is not
>> Marco Timpano: what it's like in other places.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's not like, hey, it's this, it's not Auntie M or whatever. But I don't think that they experience that kind of weather in, in the uk.
>> Marco Timpano: I think they get tornado. Well, no, I don't know about the tornadoes, but they certainly get stormy weather, especially by the sea. They're. They're surrounded by the sea.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And it rewards them with the most beautiful gardens and the most beautiful roses. I guess roses love rain, don't they?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think it's. Roses are tricky.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: They don't. It's not that they love rain, it's that they like temperate. I see. So a good amount of sun. Yes, a good amount of rain, but never too much of one.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: That's sort of. Roses are are tricky little creatures. And that's why here they're. They're not the easiest things to grow because we do get some blaring hot here. Humid sun and sunny day. So you need to grow them in something a bit more shady.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, my mother has roses in Florida, but they're. They only grow in February, you know, I remember roses in England in January blooming.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember being there for the millennium.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you sure?
>> Amanda Barker: 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I was there for the millennium. They had just put the. The big wheel up, which was supposed to be temporary but still there, I think. And, I was.
>> Marco Timpano: The Ferris wheel.
>> Amanda Barker: You're talking about the eye.
>> Marco Timpano: The eye, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: and I was walking to, I think, the Royal Museum.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that what it's called?
>> Marco Timpano: Makes sense to me.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of mummies there, I remember. But anyway, the person I was with was in school at that time. so I went by myself and I remember having this day and looking at roses and thinking to myself, can you believe it? There's roses in January here. Because it was the first week of January. So I. That's what I mean by temperate. I think they just have. At least in London, maybe not in, you know, northern Scotland.
>> Marco Timpano: But sure. I will say this. I have a confession to make. And that is.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's associated with rain in a way. I have a tendency to lose Amanda's umbrellas. And she has these beautiful umbrellas. And I'm going to.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, not anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. I'm going to admit it on this podcast, I've lost two or three, I think just two. Two beautiful umbrellas that she had.
Mauro: Vancouver experiences a lot of rain as well
So tell us about those umbrellas so that we can put this to rest once and for all.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember the second one. I think the first one I blocked that one out. But the. The. The one of note that I remember, I had an acting gig in Vancouver.
>> Marco Timpano: That Vancouver experiences a lot of rain as well.
>> Amanda Barker: It does, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so we set the scene for the umbrella in Vancouver.
>> Amanda Barker: So it was February in Vancouver, which is winter. And winter in Vancouver, if you've ever been, means rain. So I was there, I think, a week. It never stopped raining from the moment I got off the plane till the moment I got back on. Everything in my purse, I remember, and backpack was damp because it just. Everything was. You didn't. You couldn't go outside without getting wet. And so I had a, ah, slicker, as my mom would call it. A rain slicker.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Or raincoat, I guess. Yeah. And I had, ah, an umbrella. Actually I didn't have an umbrella. That's the thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I went for a walk with a bunch of actors. We went to Granville Island. There's a bridge that you walk to get to Granville Island. We were doing it all on foot. And for those who don't know or haven't been to Vancouver, Granville island is a really fun, artsy little part. Obviously it's an island, but you can get to it via bridge.
>> Marco Timpano: Kind of right in the city.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's one of the things about it. It's right there like in Vancouver. Yeah, it's right. It's really downtown almost. you know, it is downtown. It's.
>> Marco Timpano: It's really a gem.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: In a city that's so beautiful to start with.
>> Amanda Barker: Artists work. It's an island full of artist workshops and restaurants and all these wonderful things. So it's a great place to go sightseeing. Just sort of pal around for a while. So a bunch of us went for the afternoon. And I didn't have a rain slicker. No, I had a rain.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I didn't have an umbrella. that's what that's called. I was gonna say a rainbow, A rain device.
>> Marco Timpano: The shielder, the wetness.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway. And under the bridge. Somehow I just remember that it was under the bridge. And I don't know how I remember this.
>> Marco Timpano: I know exactly where you're.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I can pinpoint and visualize exactly what you're talking about.
>> Amanda Barker: I was there and there was this really nice umbrella and it actually kind of looked like my slicker and that it was polka dots and so it had little polka dots all over it.
>> Marco Timpano: Was this an umbrella person selling it on the side of the street or.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it was a store dedicated solely to umbrellas.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: So A, they know their market, they know their city and B, it was. They were nice umbrellas. They were thirty and forty dollar umbrellas. Not, not the the two dollar 299 jobby that. The clear piece of plastic that you get on the side of the street
>> Marco Timpano: last few, three minutes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but you got. Yeah, exactly. Not, you know, those ones you don't keep. This was a keeper and I really liked it. And I thought, well, this will be the one thing, you know, because I travel a lot and you don't want to accumulate a lot of stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's nice when it's something useful like a spoon rest or an umbrella. So I thought this will be my one thing I bring back from Vancouver and that'll be my little souvenir. So, I used it and enjoyed it. And then later that year we were in. And actually, I think it was. When I think about it, probably the next year we were in New Brunswick. Our driving to New Brunswick. You, me and your cousin. That's right, your cousin Mauro and his wife Stella, who are good friends of ours as well as family. And, so we drove out to New Brunswick, actually, to get things like this table. Oh, it's true. Yeah. Although this table is a slightly different. Had a slightly different path because it spent some time in Nashville first with my parents when they lived in Tennessee for 10 years. But anyway, to get a lot of the furniture that is now in this house. And so we, spent the night in Montreal. And so I remember you not. You were upset about something. I feel like we had a fun.
You lost your first umbrella when you went for a walk
>> Marco Timpano: No, it wasn't you and I. I was upset about something and I wanted to go for a walk. It was late at night.
>> Amanda Barker: You were. Had a lot to think about and something happened and you weren't happy. And I actually don't remember what it was. So you went for a walk and it might have rained. It was gonna maybe rain. So I said, here, you wanted to go by yourself and clear your head. So I said, here, take my umbrella.
>> Marco Timpano: I kept saying, no, I don't need
>> Amanda Barker: it, but it was gonna rain. And then when you came back, I don't know if you kept saying no. Yeah, you probably did. I said it once and I said, listen, it's got a rain.
>> Marco Timpano: Just.
>> Amanda Barker: Just hang on to it. Okay, fine. And you had a bag with you, so you put it in the bag, right? like a little sort of sack. Anyway, you came back about an hour later. Thank you so much for the umbrella. You said it did rain. And I said, okay, where is it? You said, oh, I. I left it in the, In the restaurant. I went in, got a slice of pizza, and I guess I left it there. And you said it like that.
>> Marco Timpano: And I was very dismissively, I must
>> Amanda Barker: say, you were very dismissive about it. And I said, that's my umbrella. And I was mad that you lost it to some degree. But listen, umbrellas do get lost. But I was more mad at the way you dismissed it.
>> Marco Timpano: My nonchalance.
>> Amanda Barker: I was like, whatever, you know, too bad. You're like, I think I left it there, or maybe somewhere else.
>> Marco Timpano: Must have been there thinking it was like an inexplicable, expensive umbrella.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. You didn't understand that it was my one suit, my forty dollar Souvenir that I got from Vancouver and, and not only what I spent on it, I mean I had it for a year or so, but just that it was, it was kind of had some meaning to me. And what color was it? It was polka dots. It was black with polka dots.
>> Marco Timpano: White polka dots?
>> Amanda Barker: No, multi colored polka dots. It was like a black umbrella I think with all these different color polka dots on it. Anyway, that's the story of the first umbrella. What's the second one that you lost on me? You said you had two.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you have like a Van Gogh umbrella? Like it had like
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I think sunflowers on it. Yeah, my mom gave it to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'm sure I lost that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Do we have it still?
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe it's in the car.
>> Marco Timpano: It might be in the car.
>> Amanda Barker: It's definitely not in the car. My mom does give me nice umbrellas so I think she had gotten that one like in Paris maybe or New York.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'll take you over an umbrella any day.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. I'll try to protect you over the rain. I'll. You know how people like will lift their jackets kind of when they get caught in the rain and they're wearing a jacket, they'll kind of shrug their shoulders up, pull the neck part of their. So you're gonna do this forward over their head and kind of wipe.
>> Amanda Barker: You're demonstrating this with just your own skin. Skin. Since you're not wearing a shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm trying to describe it. So our listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it sounds like to me it looks like you're gonna pull your skin over me.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm going to pull. There you go. Oh my goodness. It looks like the rain is almost lit up. But it's just You know what I love to do in the rain as well, besides fall asleep? I love to brew myself a nice Earl Grey tea.
>> Marco Timpano: Have a scone or a biscuit. Lemon, poppy seed, anything. Clotted cream, strawberry jam and just sit back with a book.
>> Amanda Barker: I have a box of cheddar biscuits and some sour cream that's gone off. So it might be clotted.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, no, I don't want that. My goodness. But that's one of the things I love to do when it rains.
What do you love to do when it rains? I like to watch TV
What do you love to do when it rains?
>> Amanda Barker: I like to watch tv.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I like to curl up under a duvet or an afghan and just watch a show that I can give my undivided attention to.
>> Marco Timpano: Does the show have to feature rain in it?
>> Amanda Barker: M. It's the show Rain.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, rain.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm joking.
>> Marco Timpano: R E I G N E.
>> Amanda Barker: no, the show does not have to. What kind of shows feature? Oh, I don't know, like you know my favorite. I watch the weather network.
>> Marco Timpano: One thing I love to do though, and we were talking about this with friends, is, you know, when you're in a hotel in a different city watching the local news of that place, it really is. Is one of my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: That has nothing to do with rain. But actually I love being in a hotel when it's raining though.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, do you?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. There's something really nice about that. You know what it is too. I think there's something in me being Canadian,
>> Marco Timpano: and American.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, I am both. But I am from climates that don't have some sun year round.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So I think one of the things I love about rain, particularly in the summer, is I don't feel that need or that inner voice telling me, you better go out and enjoy that sun sunny day because you don't know how many you'll get before it's gray and awful out there again. And that's something that plays in your head non stop as certainly as a Canadian I think, sure, that's a pretty universal experience. Although in Vancouver I guess it's a bit different. But. So when there's rain in the summer, I always feel like, well, the pressure's off, I can stay inside. And I don't hear my mother when I was a little kid saying, saying, you better go outside, it's a nice day out there. Don't spend it in the house.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, because we'd want to be on like video games or something.
>> Marco Timpano: I also like the feel of the atmosphere and sky and just the air after it rains.
>> Marco Timpano: When you go outside, the ground still being wet, but there's this different scent
>> Amanda Barker: or feeling in the air and the pressure changes sometimes too. Sometimes it's like mother nature had something that she wanted to get off her chest and then she got it off and it's cleared the air, you know, kind of like tears. I think there's that cleansing idea where sometimes you need, even if you don't know why, you just need to have a good cry and then afterwards you feel better, even though nothing much has changed, but you've allowed it to emerge from you in a physical way. So I think there's something to be said for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Cathartic about rain.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: You know when it rain showers and the sun is out, I don't know what that phenomena is called.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know that it has a name.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. But that always.
>> Amanda Barker: Sun shower.
>> Marco Timpano: A sun shower, sure. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: that always reminds me of my grandmother, whenever that happens. She had an expression that, in her dialect of Italian, which translates to when there's a sun shower. The expression is, the witches are combing their hair.
>> Amanda Barker: Can you say it in dialect?
>> Marco Timpano: lestrisa Si patina. Icheve is what it is.
>> Amanda Barker: The witches are combing their hair.
>> Marco Timpano: In other words, they comb their hair. I think I've said this on the podcast before. They comb their hair. And as they comb their hair, raindrops fall as they pull. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: It's always a weird thing because it's like, so are they the sun, then
>> Marco Timpano: they're in the sky. I don't know. Like. I don't know the intricacies of that expression. I just. My grandmother used to say it, and she just defined it like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But every time it happens, I remember that expression. I remember my grandmother saying it. So sun showers remind me of my grandmother.
>> Amanda Barker: That's nice.
In Cape Cod when I was a kid, I remember reading The Firm
>> Marco Timpano: were you ever on the ocean or on the sea when it rained?
>> Amanda Barker: Always. Yeah. In Cape Cod when I was a kid, before we moved to New Brunswick, we'd spent some time in the summer in Cape Cod, like everybody in New England. And I, love those rainy afternoons in that little cottage in Cape Cod. Reading, Book. I remember. I. I think. I don't know how I found it. I think it was in our house. Somehow I got my hands on a very old copy of the Crucible, of all things.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. While you're in New England.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I was, like, 11. I didn't know about. Like, there was a foreword about how it was about the McCarthy hearings, which I had no idea what that was because it was, like, 1987. But anyway, I remember reading the Crucible from. Maybe it was in the cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I just found it and read it. I don't know, but I remember reading it there. I also remember I went through a John Grisham phase.
>> Marco Timpano: Haven't we all?
>> Amanda Barker: So I remember reading, the Firm. I think the Firm. What's Tom Cruise?
>> Marco Timpano: Pelican Brief?
>> Amanda Barker: The Firm. Yeah, I think it was the Firm. And I think I also read, the one that Matthew McConaughey was in.
>> Marco Timpano: the. The Rainmaker.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it was,
>> Marco Timpano: I can't remember.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was. It was Southern. I don't remember. But, that's gonna bother me now. But anyway, I do remember reading the firm m there and being really engaged, which, you know, I was 12 probably when I read that, so, you know. But to a 12 year old, it's a very engaging book.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Well, this was a very engaging episode, at least on my part. I want to apologize once again for losing your umbrellas. I'll do better in the future.
>> Amanda Barker: I hope so.
>> Marco Timpano: And I hope, you enjoyed this episode about the rain.
>> Amanda Barker: I certainly did.
>> Marco Timpano: Until next time, we hope you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: July 19, 2020)
I'm your host, Marco Timpano and joining me is Amanda Barker.
>> Amanda Barker: I'm here and we have a special guest today and that guest is rain.
>> Marco Timpano: You might hear it in the background. It's coming down quite, quite in large drops and just washing everything away and just putting a damper on the hot, hot weather we were receiving lately.
>> Amanda Barker: And it we thought we would record this sort of by the window pane that is, you know, completely soaked and dripping with rain. And we just thought we would record this next to that instead of at the studio today.
>> Marco Timpano: So you might hear the splish splosh sound of dripping rain or a gentle patter as it goes, sort of ebbs and flows.
>> Marco Timpano: As water will often do. It's also bringing much needed water to our basil.
>> Amanda Barker: That's true. Our basil was looking pretty wilted. All of our plants, I think have endured quite a heat wave and so I think they all could use a little soaking. A little. Everybody needs a bath from Mother Nature from time to time.
>> Marco Timpano: And I want to thank My listeners to the Insomnia Project because I just recently published a book and it would not have been, it would not have been possible without this journey that I've been on with all of you listeners. It's a podcasting book called 25 Things I Wish I Knew Before I started my podcast and talks about this podcast and the things that I uncovered, discovered, and dealt with just by putting it up. So I want to thank everyone who has patiently and, enjoyed listening because that book, would not have been possible.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe we should do an episode just on the process of what it took to publish the book. Not maybe today.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Because I'm sure that would certainly lull some listeners.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yes, for sure. Because it's an arduous, long and often boring process. So, yeah, maybe we will do that in the future.
Tell me about rain. Does it help you fall asleep or relax
But let's get back to rain.
>> Amanda Barker: I can hear the clap of some thunder in the distance right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about rain. Does it help you fall asleep or relax?
>> Amanda Barker: I have memories of my porch in Woodstock, New Brunswick. I spent a lot of my childhood growing up along the St. John river there, which is quite a big river. And our house was on a hill overlooking it. And, the porch was a great place to be because you'd get a little wet, but mostly you'd stay dry. And you could watch the lightning, making its way into the river. You could sort of count as children the lightning. The space between the lightning and the thunder clap. and so I just found it really soothing then. I'm sorry, I don't know if that was your.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, no, that's great. That's wonderful. I remember getting caught in the rain twice in my life. That was very significant and beautiful.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: One time was in Nice and my friend Loretto and I were walking around and all of a sudden the rain just. The skies opened up and rain just started falling. And we needed to find a place to get out of the rain. And so we were in search and search. And it just so happened there was this huge Canadian flag.
>> Marco Timpano: Under this covered canopy in front of a building. We said, let's go there. Maybe it's the embassy. And it was actually a school for Canadian students or something like that. So we kind of sat under the shadow of the Canadian flag under this canopy. And the headmaster came out and said, I'm sorry, you can't be sitting here. And we said, well, we're Canadian. That's a Canadian flag. And it's really raining. So we're taking shelter under it.
>> Amanda Barker: And what did he or she say?
>> Marco Timpano: He just kind of shrugged his shoulders and said, that's fine, and walked back in. He. I guess he couldn't argue with it. And we were, we were going to sit there no matter what. We were soaked. Right. So he's like, okay, as long as you don't disturb or do anything that is a bit, destructive. He didn't really.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: The other time I was a cycle tour guide in Europe.
>> Marco Timpano: So I was driving, I was driving, I was riding my bike and I was kind of left alone because all the guests that we were touring was with the other guide and they were being brought back to the hotel.
>> Marco Timpano: With our van because it was raining so much, but there wasn't enough room for me. So I stayed under an olive tree in an olive grove and just watched the rain as it came down.
>> Amanda Barker: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. It was really beautiful.
I find a thunderstorm incredibly soothing. I'm gonna just say it
>> Amanda Barker: You also got caught in the rain in my hometown in Woodstock, New Brunswick. Did you not? Weren't you driving through and the skies opened up in August.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true.
>> Amanda Barker: So you actually got to experience that type of. And that was right on the St. John river where you were. I mean, we didn't know each other well, but you were actually walking distance from my house.
>> Marco Timpano: I was that close.
>> Amanda Barker: You were that close. Wow. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: It was a lot. It was huge, huge drops. And the skies were this beautiful shade of gray and the water was green and.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: It was really intense and wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And that's how I sort of remember those skies. There is something soothing. I mean, obviously this rain can be soothing, but I even find a thunderstorm incredibly soothing. If I'm going through a hard time.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I find that sometimes it's like I'm being honored. And like the sky guys see my pain.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And they honor it and they express their pain in a way. If. If you think a thunderstorm is pain, which I. I don't think you know, it's putting emotions onto a natural occurrence. But, I think there's something so cathartic if you're going through a hard time, you know, when you're crying, if you see rain, it's like the world is crying with you.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And suddenly you realize you're not alone.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's so many expressions associated with rain, like right as rain.
>> Amanda Barker: True. No rain, no gain.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I don't know that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Because it's not.
>> Marco Timpano: If you hear some creaking sound, it's because we're on antique chairs, because we're not in our studio. So every time I move you hear a little bit of a creak.
>> Amanda Barker: And actually this table is from Woodstock, my friend. Yeah, my next door neighbor who lived on that hill next door to us and witnessed many a thunderstorm in her life up there.
>> Marco Timpano: one of my favorite things is where, when we're. And once again, this is a. I'm gonna just say it because our listeners hear me talk about it all the time. But when we're at our cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: In one bedroom, we don't have, we just have.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: the roof. And there's no sort of ceiling tiles.
>> Amanda Barker: There's nothing between us and the weather.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just wood, wooden shingles and so you can hear the pitter patter of the rain.
>> Marco Timpano: On the roof when you're sleeping. And it lulls me to sleep right away.
>> Amanda Barker: That sound, it's a beautiful. There's something just fairly comforting and soothing. I think the comfort comes from knowing that you don't have to be out in it, that you're in a safe warmth.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's true.
>> Amanda Barker: And if, if a storm is, loud enough or gusty enough, then there's some comfort in knowing that you have, you know, that your only care in the world is that you have somewhere safe and warm and your own. Even if it's, you know, your own bed. Yes, we all prefer things a certain way, like groceries. If you want groceries just how you like them, you gotta try Instacart. They have a new preference picker that lets you pick how ripe or unripe you want your bananas. Shoppers can see your preferences upfront, helping guide their choices. Because when it comes to groceries, the details matter. Instacart. Get groceries just how you like.
>> Marco Timpano: I also remember a time when I got caught in, you know how some rain is very warm in the summer and depending where you are.
>> Marco Timpano: So I got caught in a rainstorm with Michelle Miracle, who was a guest on this show in Florida.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. I do remember that Florida has some incredible rain.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, tropical for sure. I remember that day. I remember a picture of the two of you completely soaked.
>> Marco Timpano: We were wearing just T shirts and shorts. It was supposed to be a lovely sunny day. We had no, no accoutrements one would want. No umbrella, no galoshes, no plastic, had no. What are those things called? Those plastic poncho type things? None of those things.
>> Amanda Barker: The skies just opened up. I mean, that tends to be what happens in warmer climates anyway. You know, you'll have like a 3 o' clock, rain, shower, but it never lasts very long, you know, so that's really typical of Florida, where my parents are and, and certainly of other spots in the Caribbean too.
Amanda: Every time I go to the uk, I get beautiful weather
>> Marco Timpano: We have a lot of listeners in the UK and I know they experience
>> Amanda Barker: rain, but do they have the same. I actually don't know this and I have spent some time in the uk, but not enough to know and not enough in the really hot summer months.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Although I sometimes wonder how hot their summer months get because I know this year they've had a pretty cool summer. From my friends that are there, I
>> Marco Timpano: can tell you this, every time I go to the uk, I get the most beautiful weather. I'm always anticipating rain. I always get sunny, beautiful weather. the people I've encountered have always been so pleasant.
>> Amanda Barker: When you and I were there last
>> Marco Timpano: and, they're gone, it was kind
>> Amanda Barker: of cool and gray actually, now that I think about it. We were wearing sweatshirts and that was June.
>> Marco Timpano: We were.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I loved it nonetheless. And I love the color of their grass and lawns and their gardens are all nourished with rain.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's why I wonder. I think it's more temperate. I don't know that they get these huge rambunctious thunderstorms. I mean, this one that we're sitting in right now, which by the way, seems to have passed, although there's still, there's still lots dripping out there, it's still very gray. But I don't know that they like we. This is a tornado warning actually that we're sitting in, which I don't think it's for us, but it's, you know. Now I should, I should comment that in Ontario a tornado warning is not
>> Marco Timpano: what it's like in other places.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's not like, hey, it's this, it's not Auntie M or whatever. But I don't think that they experience that kind of weather in, in the uk.
>> Marco Timpano: I think they get tornado. Well, no, I don't know about the tornadoes, but they certainly get stormy weather, especially by the sea. They're. They're surrounded by the sea.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And it rewards them with the most beautiful gardens and the most beautiful roses. I guess roses love rain, don't they?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think it's. Roses are tricky.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: They don't. It's not that they love rain, it's that they like temperate. I see. So a good amount of sun. Yes, a good amount of rain, but never too much of one.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: That's sort of. Roses are are tricky little creatures. And that's why here they're. They're not the easiest things to grow because we do get some blaring hot here. Humid sun and sunny day. So you need to grow them in something a bit more shady.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: Like, my mother has roses in Florida, but they're. They only grow in February, you know, I remember roses in England in January blooming.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: I remember being there for the millennium.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you sure?
>> Amanda Barker: 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I was there for the millennium. They had just put the. The big wheel up, which was supposed to be temporary but still there, I think. And, I was.
>> Marco Timpano: The Ferris wheel.
>> Amanda Barker: You're talking about the eye.
>> Marco Timpano: The eye, yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: and I was walking to, I think, the Royal Museum.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that what it's called?
>> Marco Timpano: Makes sense to me.
>> Amanda Barker: A lot of mummies there, I remember. But anyway, the person I was with was in school at that time. so I went by myself and I remember having this day and looking at roses and thinking to myself, can you believe it? There's roses in January here. Because it was the first week of January. So I. That's what I mean by temperate. I think they just have. At least in London, maybe not in, you know, northern Scotland.
>> Marco Timpano: But sure. I will say this. I have a confession to make. And that is.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, no.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's associated with rain in a way. I have a tendency to lose Amanda's umbrellas. And she has these beautiful umbrellas. And I'm going to.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, not anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. I'm going to admit it on this podcast, I've lost two or three, I think just two. Two beautiful umbrellas that she had.
Mauro: Vancouver experiences a lot of rain as well
So tell us about those umbrellas so that we can put this to rest once and for all.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't remember the second one. I think the first one I blocked that one out. But the. The. The one of note that I remember, I had an acting gig in Vancouver.
>> Marco Timpano: That Vancouver experiences a lot of rain as well.
>> Amanda Barker: It does, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And so we set the scene for the umbrella in Vancouver.
>> Amanda Barker: So it was February in Vancouver, which is winter. And winter in Vancouver, if you've ever been, means rain. So I was there, I think, a week. It never stopped raining from the moment I got off the plane till the moment I got back on. Everything in my purse, I remember, and backpack was damp because it just. Everything was. You didn't. You couldn't go outside without getting wet. And so I had a, ah, slicker, as my mom would call it. A rain slicker.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Or raincoat, I guess. Yeah. And I had, ah, an umbrella. Actually I didn't have an umbrella. That's the thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So I went for a walk with a bunch of actors. We went to Granville Island. There's a bridge that you walk to get to Granville Island. We were doing it all on foot. And for those who don't know or haven't been to Vancouver, Granville island is a really fun, artsy little part. Obviously it's an island, but you can get to it via bridge.
>> Marco Timpano: Kind of right in the city.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that's one of the things about it. It's right there like in Vancouver. Yeah, it's right. It's really downtown almost. you know, it is downtown. It's.
>> Marco Timpano: It's really a gem.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: In a city that's so beautiful to start with.
>> Amanda Barker: Artists work. It's an island full of artist workshops and restaurants and all these wonderful things. So it's a great place to go sightseeing. Just sort of pal around for a while. So a bunch of us went for the afternoon. And I didn't have a rain slicker. No, I had a rain.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: But I didn't have an umbrella. that's what that's called. I was gonna say a rainbow, A rain device.
>> Marco Timpano: The shielder, the wetness.
>> Amanda Barker: Anyway. And under the bridge. Somehow I just remember that it was under the bridge. And I don't know how I remember this.
>> Marco Timpano: I know exactly where you're.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I can pinpoint and visualize exactly what you're talking about.
>> Amanda Barker: I was there and there was this really nice umbrella and it actually kind of looked like my slicker and that it was polka dots and so it had little polka dots all over it.
>> Marco Timpano: Was this an umbrella person selling it on the side of the street or.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it was a store dedicated solely to umbrellas.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: So A, they know their market, they know their city and B, it was. They were nice umbrellas. They were thirty and forty dollar umbrellas. Not, not the the two dollar 299 jobby that. The clear piece of plastic that you get on the side of the street
>> Marco Timpano: last few, three minutes.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, but you got. Yeah, exactly. Not, you know, those ones you don't keep. This was a keeper and I really liked it. And I thought, well, this will be the one thing, you know, because I travel a lot and you don't want to accumulate a lot of stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But it's nice when it's something useful like a spoon rest or an umbrella. So I thought this will be my one thing I bring back from Vancouver and that'll be my little souvenir. So, I used it and enjoyed it. And then later that year we were in. And actually, I think it was. When I think about it, probably the next year we were in New Brunswick. Our driving to New Brunswick. You, me and your cousin. That's right, your cousin Mauro and his wife Stella, who are good friends of ours as well as family. And, so we drove out to New Brunswick, actually, to get things like this table. Oh, it's true. Yeah. Although this table is a slightly different. Had a slightly different path because it spent some time in Nashville first with my parents when they lived in Tennessee for 10 years. But anyway, to get a lot of the furniture that is now in this house. And so we, spent the night in Montreal. And so I remember you not. You were upset about something. I feel like we had a fun.
You lost your first umbrella when you went for a walk
>> Marco Timpano: No, it wasn't you and I. I was upset about something and I wanted to go for a walk. It was late at night.
>> Amanda Barker: You were. Had a lot to think about and something happened and you weren't happy. And I actually don't remember what it was. So you went for a walk and it might have rained. It was gonna maybe rain. So I said, here, you wanted to go by yourself and clear your head. So I said, here, take my umbrella.
>> Marco Timpano: I kept saying, no, I don't need
>> Amanda Barker: it, but it was gonna rain. And then when you came back, I don't know if you kept saying no. Yeah, you probably did. I said it once and I said, listen, it's got a rain.
>> Marco Timpano: Just.
>> Amanda Barker: Just hang on to it. Okay, fine. And you had a bag with you, so you put it in the bag, right? like a little sort of sack. Anyway, you came back about an hour later. Thank you so much for the umbrella. You said it did rain. And I said, okay, where is it? You said, oh, I. I left it in the, In the restaurant. I went in, got a slice of pizza, and I guess I left it there. And you said it like that.
>> Marco Timpano: And I was very dismissively, I must
>> Amanda Barker: say, you were very dismissive about it. And I said, that's my umbrella. And I was mad that you lost it to some degree. But listen, umbrellas do get lost. But I was more mad at the way you dismissed it.
>> Marco Timpano: My nonchalance.
>> Amanda Barker: I was like, whatever, you know, too bad. You're like, I think I left it there, or maybe somewhere else.
>> Marco Timpano: Must have been there thinking it was like an inexplicable, expensive umbrella.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. You didn't understand that it was my one suit, my forty dollar Souvenir that I got from Vancouver and, and not only what I spent on it, I mean I had it for a year or so, but just that it was, it was kind of had some meaning to me. And what color was it? It was polka dots. It was black with polka dots.
>> Marco Timpano: White polka dots?
>> Amanda Barker: No, multi colored polka dots. It was like a black umbrella I think with all these different color polka dots on it. Anyway, that's the story of the first umbrella. What's the second one that you lost on me? You said you had two.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you have like a Van Gogh umbrella? Like it had like
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I think sunflowers on it. Yeah, my mom gave it to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I'm sure I lost that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Do we have it still?
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe it's in the car.
>> Marco Timpano: It might be in the car.
>> Amanda Barker: It's definitely not in the car. My mom does give me nice umbrellas so I think she had gotten that one like in Paris maybe or New York.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, sorry.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'll take you over an umbrella any day.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. I'll try to protect you over the rain. I'll. You know how people like will lift their jackets kind of when they get caught in the rain and they're wearing a jacket, they'll kind of shrug their shoulders up, pull the neck part of their. So you're gonna do this forward over their head and kind of wipe.
>> Amanda Barker: You're demonstrating this with just your own skin. Skin. Since you're not wearing a shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm trying to describe it. So our listeners.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it sounds like to me it looks like you're gonna pull your skin over me.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I'm going to pull. There you go. Oh my goodness. It looks like the rain is almost lit up. But it's just You know what I love to do in the rain as well, besides fall asleep? I love to brew myself a nice Earl Grey tea.
>> Marco Timpano: Have a scone or a biscuit. Lemon, poppy seed, anything. Clotted cream, strawberry jam and just sit back with a book.
>> Amanda Barker: I have a box of cheddar biscuits and some sour cream that's gone off. So it might be clotted.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, no, I don't want that. My goodness. But that's one of the things I love to do when it rains.
What do you love to do when it rains? I like to watch TV
What do you love to do when it rains?
>> Amanda Barker: I like to watch tv.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: I like to curl up under a duvet or an afghan and just watch a show that I can give my undivided attention to.
>> Marco Timpano: Does the show have to feature rain in it?
>> Amanda Barker: M. It's the show Rain.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, rain.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm joking.
>> Marco Timpano: R E I G N E.
>> Amanda Barker: no, the show does not have to. What kind of shows feature? Oh, I don't know, like you know my favorite. I watch the weather network.
>> Marco Timpano: One thing I love to do though, and we were talking about this with friends, is, you know, when you're in a hotel in a different city watching the local news of that place, it really is. Is one of my favorite.
>> Amanda Barker: That has nothing to do with rain. But actually I love being in a hotel when it's raining though.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, do you?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. There's something really nice about that. You know what it is too. I think there's something in me being Canadian,
>> Marco Timpano: and American.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, I am both. But I am from climates that don't have some sun year round.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: So I think one of the things I love about rain, particularly in the summer, is I don't feel that need or that inner voice telling me, you better go out and enjoy that sun sunny day because you don't know how many you'll get before it's gray and awful out there again. And that's something that plays in your head non stop as certainly as a Canadian I think, sure, that's a pretty universal experience. Although in Vancouver I guess it's a bit different. But. So when there's rain in the summer, I always feel like, well, the pressure's off, I can stay inside. And I don't hear my mother when I was a little kid saying, saying, you better go outside, it's a nice day out there. Don't spend it in the house.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: You know, because we'd want to be on like video games or something.
>> Marco Timpano: I also like the feel of the atmosphere and sky and just the air after it rains.
>> Marco Timpano: When you go outside, the ground still being wet, but there's this different scent
>> Amanda Barker: or feeling in the air and the pressure changes sometimes too. Sometimes it's like mother nature had something that she wanted to get off her chest and then she got it off and it's cleared the air, you know, kind of like tears. I think there's that cleansing idea where sometimes you need, even if you don't know why, you just need to have a good cry and then afterwards you feel better, even though nothing much has changed, but you've allowed it to emerge from you in a physical way. So I think there's something to be said for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Cathartic about rain.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: You know when it rain showers and the sun is out, I don't know what that phenomena is called.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know that it has a name.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. But that always.
>> Amanda Barker: Sun shower.
>> Marco Timpano: A sun shower, sure. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: that always reminds me of my grandmother, whenever that happens. She had an expression that, in her dialect of Italian, which translates to when there's a sun shower. The expression is, the witches are combing their hair.
>> Amanda Barker: Can you say it in dialect?
>> Marco Timpano: lestrisa Si patina. Icheve is what it is.
>> Amanda Barker: The witches are combing their hair.
>> Marco Timpano: In other words, they comb their hair. I think I've said this on the podcast before. They comb their hair. And as they comb their hair, raindrops fall as they pull. I don't know.
>> Amanda Barker: It's always a weird thing because it's like, so are they the sun, then
>> Marco Timpano: they're in the sky. I don't know. Like. I don't know the intricacies of that expression. I just. My grandmother used to say it, and she just defined it like that.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But every time it happens, I remember that expression. I remember my grandmother saying it. So sun showers remind me of my grandmother.
>> Amanda Barker: That's nice.
In Cape Cod when I was a kid, I remember reading The Firm
>> Marco Timpano: were you ever on the ocean or on the sea when it rained?
>> Amanda Barker: Always. Yeah. In Cape Cod when I was a kid, before we moved to New Brunswick, we'd spent some time in the summer in Cape Cod, like everybody in New England. And I, love those rainy afternoons in that little cottage in Cape Cod. Reading, Book. I remember. I. I think. I don't know how I found it. I think it was in our house. Somehow I got my hands on a very old copy of the Crucible, of all things.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. While you're in New England.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I was, like, 11. I didn't know about. Like, there was a foreword about how it was about the McCarthy hearings, which I had no idea what that was because it was, like, 1987. But anyway, I remember reading the Crucible from. Maybe it was in the cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I just found it and read it. I don't know, but I remember reading it there. I also remember I went through a John Grisham phase.
>> Marco Timpano: Haven't we all?
>> Amanda Barker: So I remember reading, the Firm. I think the Firm. What's Tom Cruise?
>> Marco Timpano: Pelican Brief?
>> Amanda Barker: The Firm. Yeah, I think it was the Firm. And I think I also read, the one that Matthew McConaughey was in.
>> Marco Timpano: the. The Rainmaker.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it was,
>> Marco Timpano: I can't remember.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it was. It was Southern. I don't remember. But, that's gonna bother me now. But anyway, I do remember reading the firm m there and being really engaged, which, you know, I was 12 probably when I read that, so, you know. But to a 12 year old, it's a very engaging book.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Well, this was a very engaging episode, at least on my part. I want to apologize once again for losing your umbrellas. I'll do better in the future.
>> Amanda Barker: I hope so.
>> Marco Timpano: And I hope, you enjoyed this episode about the rain.
>> Amanda Barker: I certainly did.
>> Marco Timpano: Until next time, we hope you listen and sleep.
Tunnel Travel
(Original airdate: June 14, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about something mundane. I want to thank our listeners for. I've been getting some really great reviews lately and please, if you haven't reviewed the podcast yet, please do so. We appreciate it. Rate, review and subscribe. I am currently at my cottage and so you may hear some background cottage noises, like people driving past, the cottage, and, some hooligans on the street, let's say.
Danny Campolucci has some fond memories of fishing in southern Ontario
speaking of hooligans, I have the great fortune of having my eldest cousin, Danny Campolucci with me here on the podcast. I've wanted to have him on the podcast for a while. Welcome, Danny.
>> Danny Campolucci: Pleasure to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, Danny, one of my fondest memories with you happened not too far from where we are right now. So we're in the township of Tiny, and, that's the name of a rather large swath of area here in southern Ontario that encompasses part of Georgian Bay. So there's, you know, beaches in this area, and it also encompasses farmlands and it encompasses a marsh called Tiny Marsh. Now, do you remember way back when we went fishing in Tiny Marsh?
>> Danny Campolucci: I remember being there, yes. With your dad, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And do you remember that faithful day we went Fishing. It was me, you, my father, and your brother, your younger brother, Mauro. And I was the only one to catch a fish. I'll never forget that day for as long as I live.
>> Danny Campolucci: No, I don't remember that at all.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't?
>> Danny Campolucci: No.
>> Marco Timpano: But do you have any fishing memories, Danny?
>> Danny Campolucci: I remember going with your dad. You remember when you used to live in Malton? The dam. Remember that dam?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so Malton is an. Is a suburb of Toronto in an area called Mississauga. For our listeners who are wondering what Malton is.
>> Danny Campolucci: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And there was a dam not far, which is in Malton. Yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: Or it's right on. It's at the edge of Toronto and Mississauga.
>> Marco Timpano: But it is in Molton. Right.
>> Danny Campolucci: It is close by there. Anyways.
>> Marco Timpano: clear.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah, clear. Clearville.
>> Marco Timpano: Clairville. Clairville. Yeah, it's in Clairville. Right, Right. Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: I remember your dad taking us there using m. Our little pocket fisherman.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember those things? I wish we had them still. I remember that they were for listeners. They were like a fishing rod that was, collapsible, that would fold in itself, and you could open it up and it would just be like the size of a small saw. Like a small, drill, let's say. Or a large drill. Yeah, it was like a sawzall, probably.
>> Danny Campolucci: Maybe a couple of feet long.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, like a sawzall. Yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Not that that's a good reference point for people. They measure things in how big a sawzall is.
>> Danny Campolucci: Okay, so just to get an idea, maybe the size of, you know, your arm.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, not even.
>> Danny Campolucci: Even. Even smaller than that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. fair enough. Okay, so tell me more.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah, we used to go there with your dad, and I remember him putting up. We used to use as bait. Tripa. Tripe.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. We did use tripe. And we used corn. Corn from the can. You know, we'd get canned corn, and we just take the kernels and use them as bait. I. I've never heard of anyone doing that.
>> Danny Campolucci: But we never caught anything at the dam. I don't remember. And. Yeah, nothing we ever.
>> Marco Timpano: But I caught the trout that time. We caught the trout. I caught a, rainbow trout with the. That's Amanda coughing in the background. I caught a trout with corn that time. That faithful trip.
>> Danny Campolucci: I don't remember.
>> Marco Timpano: In Tiny Marsh. Yeah, I do.
Have you ever caught anything when you in fishing, Danny
So, have you had any other fishing experiences that you can.
>> Danny Campolucci: I remember going with again. With your dad. My brother. My father. Going to Lake Simcoe.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I don't remember. This was I. There.
>> Danny Campolucci: I don't know if you were there.
>> Marco Timpano: No, because I would have been very young.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah, you were, but I remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you catch anything?
>> Danny Campolucci: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever caught anything when you in fishing, Danny? Or is it just not your sport, let's say.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, I remember as a kid going with my dad to this place at the Holland Marsh Canal Road.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's not too far either. That's on the way to the cottage really.
>> Danny Campolucci: So while he was loading up the topsoil in his pickup, we'd be under the bridge and we would catch like with our famous pocket fishermen. Yeah, we caught so many of these little sunfish.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes. Those aren't good eating fish.
>> Danny Campolucci: but anyway, we brought them home anyways.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. That's great.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What are your. Some of your fond memories from the cottage when we were younger?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, as we talked earlier today, we used to go to the Bluebird Cottages.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Danny Campolucci: As a whole group.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Danny Campolucci: And we used to rent the whole whatever. I don't know how many. There was 10 cottages there.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Danny Campolucci: And that's what I remember.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember going to the drive in movie.
>> Danny Campolucci: Do you remember? Oh, yes, that was great.
>> Marco Timpano: I love going to the drive in.
>> Danny Campolucci: The drive in just down the street from here.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: Too bad it's shut down.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's shut down. I think it, they. They were, finding it difficult because the technology has changed and so to upgrade that technology. But I will say that there's a drive in not far from here in Midland. The Midland Drive in that we can go to.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, we should do that one day. When? Saturday, when the whole gang is up here like we used to do. Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the last drive in film you saw?
>> Danny Campolucci: No, but I remember we were all here. Even my kids were here.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Danny has three beautiful daughters.
>> Danny Campolucci: I, remember Stavros was with us.
>> Marco Timpano: That's my brother in law. Yeah. Steve.
>> Danny Campolucci: And we all went. I don't know what the movie was, but we were all there. And we would come back like a one, two in the morning.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. I remember as a kid so vividly going to the drive in. I would never stay up till the end. I would watch the first little bit and then fall asleep in the car. But I remember so fondly how much fun it was to go to the drive in. Now, you. You were a big help today. We cut down some trees, that were sort of. Some of them were rotting so they had to come down. And when they get.
>> Danny Campolucci: We're an Eyesore.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, and some were a bit of an eyesore. And we have so many trees. You kind of have to call them a bit too, because they can really take over the property.
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: And, you're quite skilled with a chainsaw, Danny.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, it's not matter of skill, it's just being safe that's the main thing.
>> Marco Timpano: So safety first.
>> Danny Campolucci: Safety is always number one.
Danny used to play ball hockey when he was a kid
>> Marco Timpano: So, Danny, what other hobbies do you have that you enjoy doing?
>> Danny Campolucci: well, I used to play a lot of ball hockey. Not anymore. I'm just too old for that.
>> Marco Timpano: So what's the difference for our listeners who are don't live in this country where we play a lot of ball hockey. What is ball hockey?
>> Danny Campolucci: Ball hockey is just playing hockey on the streets. Cement pad. And, in an arena with no ice. And you're running around like mad men.
>> Marco Timpano: But you're not using a puck.
>> Danny Campolucci: No, it's a ball.
>> Marco Timpano: It's an orange.
>> Danny Campolucci: It's an orange ball. Hard ball. And if you ever get hit by. Hurts. It hurts. Yeah. I've never.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know you were a ball hockey player.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: How often would you play ball hockey?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, we used to play when I was a kid.
>> Marco Timpano: M.
>> Danny Campolucci: That's. We would play two, three times a week in leagues.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. But also on the street. Right?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, it was in hockey arenas with no ice in the summer.
>> Marco Timpano: In the summer, yeah. It's more of a summer sport.
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, were you an ice hockey player?
>> Danny Campolucci: No.
>> Marco Timpano: No, never. Now, have you ever ice fished since we talked about fishing?
>> Danny Campolucci: Yes, I have.
>> Marco Timpano: I never have. Oh, tell me about that because I'm dying to go ice fishing. Okay, take us back.
>> Danny Campolucci: Okay. As you know, I used to work for a company called Lovett Tunnel where we built tunneling machines.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And you traveled all over the world? Yeah, tunneling.
>> Danny Campolucci: And for your British listeners, I've done work for Thames Water.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Danny Campolucci: I've done work all over London and I love England.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you have a good time while you were there?
>> Danny Campolucci: Mostly, work.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: But I worked up in Hull.
>> Marco Timpano: Hull. Hull.
>> Danny Campolucci: I forgot. That's. What. There's a whole name I forgot. But I just called it Hull.
>> Marco Timpano: H U, L, L. But not. You're not talking about Hull, Quebec, right?
>> Danny Campolucci: No, no, no. This is in the uk.
>> Marco Timpano: How long were you in the UK for?
>> Danny Campolucci: actually I was two months, I think. Two, three months in Portsmouth.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Portsmouth. What's that like? Great bands come out of Portsmouth.
>> Danny Campolucci: I loved it there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah. Anyways, so would you Go to pubs and drink.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah, well, they're the British when it comes to their beer, their ale. Oh, my God.
>> Marco Timpano: They know what they're doing.
>> Danny Campolucci: I'd have. I'd be on my first one, and they've already guzzled down, like 10. Yeah, they were amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: They're tasty. And you know what's great about having. And I don't have to tell this to my British listeners, but the thing that I love about having beer in a pub in Britain is that you're not gonna get skunky beer from their taps, because their taps are always being used.
>> Danny Campolucci: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So sometimes what will happen here is you'll get a beer that's poured from a tap in a pub or a bar, and it will have gone off because that tap hasn't been used. I've never found that in England.
>> Danny Campolucci: I wouldn't know. I wouldn't.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: But anyways, so we.
One of my working experiences was ice fishing on the Volga River
One of my working experiences was in Kazan, Russia, and the workers there took us ice fishing on the Volga River.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So tell me about that. This is the first time I've heard of it. You, fishing on the Volga River. Okay. So they would. So did they have the huts that I've seen? No. So explain it to us.
>> Danny Campolucci: It was just out on the river.
>> Marco Timpano: And did they have an auger to drill the hole?
>> Danny Campolucci: I don't remember.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: But I do remember the vodka. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: To keep you warm.
>> Danny Campolucci: Boy, did it keep us warm.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Did you catch anything, Danny?
>> Danny Campolucci: Not me personally, but some of the other guys did, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And would you remember what they caught?
>> Danny Campolucci: I don't know what type of fish it.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it large?
>> Danny Campolucci: it was.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe it wasn't sturgeon, right?
>> Danny Campolucci: No, no, no, no, Nothing like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Because this is. The Volga river is fresh water.
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: So that was, It was. I still remember it was a beautiful day.
>> Marco Timpano: Cold. Not too bad.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, it was a beautiful sunny day. And I know there was a couple of. One Russian in particular. He was fishing with no shirt on. Just.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: He was crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Danny Campolucci: Igor was his name.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Shout out to Igor.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. So, yeah, that was a hell of an experience.
Danny has been to Russia twice during Communism and after perestroika
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me more experiences that you had in the different locations you would go to tunneling with this company.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, one of the. I've been to Russia twice.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: Once during Communism, one after.
>> Marco Timpano: sure, it's still a communist country, but you're talking about perestroika, when there was more openness and.
>> Danny Campolucci: Of course. So the first time I went, it was in just the outside Of Moscow. A place called Pratvino.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: They were tunneling a particle accelerator.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. You're not giving away government secrets now, are you, Danny?
>> Danny Campolucci: I might be.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, all right.
>> Danny Campolucci: Anyways, all I remember is walking on the street, looking in the stores, and I remember particularly one shoe store that just had one type of shoe.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep.
>> Danny Campolucci: Like one size. That's it. That's all you can get. That struck me. That's what vividly, I remember.
>> Marco Timpano: I doubt it would be just one size that.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well without going in there. But anyway, it was just the one type of shoe.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so then going afterwards, you notice a difference.
>> Danny Campolucci: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Danny Campolucci: When I went to Kazan. Now you're looking at, you know, you can buy whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want. Right. And of one thing, that I do remember quite fondly about Kazan, that they had some beautiful women.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, Any. That's. This is not that podcast.
>> Danny Campolucci: Okay. Saying that the women were very beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, that's nice that you noticed that. Good, good. let me ask you this. Let's get off wherever that was gonna go. Okay?
>> Danny Campolucci: It would have went anywhere.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's all you just noticed. Lovely, lovely ladies. And you didn't notice lovely ladies in other places like the UK when you were in this town called Hull.
>> Danny Campolucci: They're beautiful women everywhere.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair. There you go now.
>> Danny Campolucci: And I'm not a player, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: I never said you were. And I. And I doubt if anyone saw what you look like right now, they would think that.
Danny, what would you do when you would go to these places for work
Okay, Danny, so. So, Danny, let me ask you this. What would you do when you would go to these places for work? You would help tunnel? You would help build tunnels?
>> Danny Campolucci: We would. Well, we would manufacture the tunneling machine here at our plant in Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: Test it all here, disassemble. It. Send it out to wherever it had to go. So we went back there to reassemble it and get it going.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you helped build. And we're not talking small tunnels either. We're talking really big tunnels. Right?
>> Danny Campolucci: Anywhere from, let's, say, five feet, all the way up to, like 30ft in diameter. Actually, what I do remember, when I went to the uk, one of our. The machines were being flown out there, which was unheard of, but it was being flown on what they call the Antonov, which was a huge Russian cargo plane, massive airplane. I've never seen anything like it in my life. Huge. And I just remember being stuck up in the airplane until we landed.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you were on the Plane with the equipment in this ginormous. yeah, airplane.
>> Danny Campolucci: The Antonov 124, it was called.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Danny Campolucci: Huge. Where the front opens up, the back opens up. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: like a military plane that. Oh, wow.
>> Danny Campolucci: But it was massive. It was probably one of the highlights of my tunneling career.
>> Marco Timpano: And, what are some other places you got to tunnel in?
>> Danny Campolucci: I've been to Iran a couple of times to Tehran.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, what did you do in Tehran?
>> Danny Campolucci: well, again with the tunneling machine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you were tough course, tunneling. Yeah, yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: I've been to Singapore. I've been to Taiwan. Egypt.
You lived in California for two years, working for tunneling company
>> Marco Timpano: You lived in California?
>> Danny Campolucci: California. A little. Beautiful place there. Los Angeles.
>> Marco Timpano: Were you living in la?
>> Danny Campolucci: Actually, I was living in a. Just south of Orange County. Huntington Beach. Beautiful, beautiful place.
>> Marco Timpano: And you. Were you tunneling there?
>> Danny Campolucci: Like, what were you.
>> Marco Timpano: What were you. Because you were there for a while. Right?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, when I left Lovett or Lovett Tunnel, I went to work in the States for someone who bought the machines.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you didn't. When you worked in California, you didn't work for that company, you worked for a new company?
>> Danny Campolucci: I worked for someone who did the tunneling work.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Danny Campolucci: Okay. So I was there for two years. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: do you miss it?
>> Danny Campolucci: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: What was your day like when you lived in California? We also have some great listeners in California.
>> Danny Campolucci: well, I mean, my day was like, you know, being at work by 6 and. But the weekend, you know, hit the beach.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you surf?
>> Danny Campolucci: No, I don't surf. I can't even swim.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, that's right. You're not a swimmer. Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: But, it was. I remember every Sunday because I had the family with me.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Danny Campolucci: We went to. For this brunch at a place called El Torito.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: And we would have the champagne breakfast.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you don't strike me as a champagne guy.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, not really, but.
>> Marco Timpano: But you would indulge at a brunch?
>> Danny Campolucci: I would indulge in.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And that's it. You just remember champagne brunch or is there more to that?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, no, there wasn't. Just.
>> Marco Timpano: I just remember that was something that you like to do. Yeah, that's right.
>> Danny Campolucci: Every Sunday.
>> Marco Timpano: But, did you live on the beach?
>> Danny Campolucci: We lived probably like maybe a kilometer away so you could smell the salt air and all that. It was beautiful. I loved it.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're not a swimmer, but you know who could teach you how to swim?
>> Danny Campolucci: Who's that?
>> Marco Timpano: It's Amanda, my wife. She's a very strong swimmer.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, my kids were Lifeguards.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Jessica, as was my sister. Yeah, that's right. and they never taught you your kids, my sister.
>> Danny Campolucci: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe Amanda's the one who has to be up for that challenge.
>> Danny Campolucci: All right. I mean, let's do it.
>> Marco Timpano: Stay tuned, friends. We'll see if my cousin Danny ends up learning how to swim. When Amanda goes swimming here, she goes out really far in the water, and she's like. Because it's very shallow, like.
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: The, the beaches here kind of, you know, dip and. And rise and dip. And so she goes out far, and it always seems like she's really far in, but she's like, look, I can stand up. I'm like, wow, I'm not that brave. I'm not a good swimmer either. I can barely swim. I went snorkeling once, and I saw squid in the water, like, I saw. And I was just like, oh, my God, look at all these calamati in the water.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. So California was great, but then once the job ended.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Danny Campolucci: I went to Columbus, Ohio.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know you went to
>> Danny Campolucci: Columbus for two years.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that when you would come back and forth?
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right. Okay. The family didn't come with me, so I would commute eight hours every day one way. Oh, no, no, sorry. On the weekends.
You would come home on the weekend, and then work Monday
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Danny Campolucci: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: You would come home on the weekend, and then for Monday you would get back to work. Oh, that's a lot of driving.
>> Danny Campolucci: It was.
>> Marco Timpano: What was the prettiest part of that drive?
>> Danny Campolucci: if I remember correctly, we'd be dry. I'd be driving by Lake Erie, so. By the shores there. That was a nice.
>> Marco Timpano: Beautiful.
>> Danny Campolucci: That was beautiful there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
We have a lot of listeners in Ohio, and I love Ohio
I, have been to Ohio many times, and we have a lot of listeners in Ohio. And I love. I just feel like I'm talking about all our listeners. but, we do have listeners in Ohio. I love Ohio.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. I would drive. I would go through sometimes. Toledo.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Danny Campolucci: Times through Cleveland. Depends on how I felt, which way.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know who was from Toledo, Ohio?
>> Danny Campolucci: No.
>> Marco Timpano: You know someone who used to watch on television from Toledo.
>> Danny Campolucci: Oh, Clinger.
>> Marco Timpano: Clinger.
Danny: MASH episodes with Trapper were the best for me
And I mentioned that because I know you're a big fan of mash, and I got into MASH because of you watching mash.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. But the best MASH episodes are the earlier ones with Trapper.
>> Marco Timpano: Trapper, yes.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. Those, for me, were the best ones.
>> Marco Timpano: But you watch the whole series.
>> Danny Campolucci: Oh, yeah, I know. them every episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Who's your favorite character?
>> Danny Campolucci: I loved Trapper. The Trapper was funny.
>> Marco Timpano: Wayne Rogers played Chopper. Did you ever watch Trapper, Maryland? The Spanish.
>> Danny Campolucci: I remember that. I remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. That was. That was his character. Right?
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: I met, Loretta Swit, who played Hot. Hot Lips Houlahan once. Yeah, she's a lot shorter than you would think, actually. Yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: Frank Burns is also very comical.
>> Marco Timpano: I know you. Larry Linville.
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: So if you ask my brother, he likes him, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I always liked Charles Emerson Winchester, and then I ended up. And he was from Boston, and I ended up marrying someone from Boston. So there you go. Have you ever been to Boston?
>> Danny Campolucci: You know what? I actually. We had a tunneling job in Washington.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that's not Boston.
>> Danny Campolucci: Right, I get that. But we did drive out to Boston one time. Or just the outskirts of Boston, because I don't think it's very far from Washington, if I'm not mistaken.
>> Marco Timpano: What are you talking about? Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. washington, D.C. i
>> Danny Campolucci: remember because one of the workers, one of the electricians there, was from Boston, and we went to his house for dinner. That I remember.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I don't think they're very close. Washington, D.C. and in M. Boston. So I just checked with my wife. It's eight to 10 hours.
>> Danny Campolucci: I stand corrected. maybe I meant maybe because the guy was from Boston. Okay, maybe that's what I'm trying.
>> Marco Timpano: You could have still drove from Boston to Washington.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah, I'm not gonna go to Washington to Boston for dinner.
>> Marco Timpano: Some people would. You drove eight hours from Ohio to Toronto from Columbus, every weekend.
>> Danny Campolucci: All right, but. Okay, you're right. Yeah. All right. I stand corrected.
>> Marco Timpano: And did you enjoy your time in Boston, if, in fact, you ended up in Boston, which we don't have many listeners from Boston?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, Washington, where this job was, was in a very seedy part of town.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: So we, just tried to keep our noses clean.
>> Marco Timpano: Good.
>> Danny Campolucci: We didn't. I was never troublemaker.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you were never troublemaker.
>> Danny Campolucci: Even when I was in Iran, I used to have. Do you remember? Used to have an earring in my ear. Remember?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I do.
>> Danny Campolucci: So what I did, I took it off.
>> Marco Timpano: Not the first thing I think of when I think of you, Danny.
>> Danny Campolucci: I took it off when I went there because I was afraid that I was going to be associated as being American. Because at that time, there was some.
>> Marco Timpano: There was a bit of trouble, and I.
>> Danny Campolucci: And I remember. I remember the Iranian people being very courteous to us Canadians, and they treated us very well.
>> Marco Timpano: Good. I'm glad you had a good Experience while you were there. I have a very good friend who is from Toronto.
>> Danny Campolucci: I've been there twice. I've been twice to Iran.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. I didn't realize you.
You traveled so much. You had a job that took you to many places
You traveled so much. I remember you going to places, but I don't remember.
>> Danny Campolucci: Like, I. I've been to, you know, South America, all over the States. Spain. Madrid was beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I never been to Madrid.
>> Danny Campolucci: France. Oh, you went in Paris. Toulouse Leon.
>> Marco Timpano: Leon was great.
>> Danny Campolucci: I've been to Perugia in Italy.
>> Marco Timpano: I lived. I studied in Perugia. What did you do in Perugia?
>> Danny Campolucci: Assembling tunneling machines.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you would just assemble them. You wouldn't tunnel. You would just go assemble it and then.
>> Danny Campolucci: And it depends what the contract stands stated.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Danny Campolucci: We might have to stay there for them for the machine to excavate. Let's say 100 meters.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And then you could go.
>> Danny Campolucci: Then we could go.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it would be working.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. And we fulfilled the contract and we left.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. So that's great. You had a job that. That took you to many different places, and now you have a job that you really enjoy, and that's in the waste water management department for the city of Toronto. Right? Or no, Did I get that right?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, not management. I'm just, one of the workers there.
>> Marco Timpano: But you work in wastewater.
>> Danny Campolucci: Wastewater treatment plant.
>> Marco Timpano: So we will have a further conversation about wastewater treatment on the Patreon page. Or the Patreon. It will be a Patreon episode. Because I don't know what you're gonna say with regards to wastewater. So we'll keep it for them. They, can handle a little bit more.
Danny Campolucci: One of the most memorable places was Tunisia
>> Danny Campolucci: By the way, one of the most memorable place I think I've ever been to was in Tunisia.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, tell me more. We really wanted to go to Tunisia.
>> Danny Campolucci: Beautiful. Yeah. We worked up in the mountains for a Spanish company.
>> Marco Timpano: Where were you? Like, were you in Chinese? You don't remember, but you were in Tunisia.
>> Danny Campolucci: In Tunisia. Up. We were up in the mountains, probably half an hour away from the Mediterranean.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Could you see it from where you were? No. Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: I do remember, you know, on the, Either on the Saturday nights, we worked for a Spanish company. They would bring us for dinner down at the Mediterranean. Lobsters, the works. It was just amazing. Right at the ocean. Wow. Fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: And you're not even a seafood person, are you?
>> Danny Campolucci: well, when it comes to shrimp or lobster, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you like shellfish? Yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah, it was unbelievable.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Danny Campolucci: I loved it. That was probably one of the best
>> Marco Timpano: places I've been to oh, that's amazing.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. Up in the mountains.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. Well, Danny, listen, thank you very much for being a part of the Insomnia Project. Thank you. I've been wanting to have you on. I know you have, for a bit. I hope my listeners got everything that they were expecting from having you on board.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, since it's the Insomnia Project, I don't know, did I put them to sleep?
>> Marco Timpano: There's only one person who would find that out, and that's the person on the other end of this podcast. And hopefully that's what we did do. Or at the very least, hopefully, we relaxed you. I have some listeners who say they find the topics far too interesting to fall asleep. And I try to pick the most mundane topic. I wouldn't say boring. Calm, mundane. not too interesting.
>> Danny Campolucci: The tunneling business is not boring or mundane. It is dangerous. And, you never know what you're gonna get.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Well, hopefully, you get a tunnel at the end of it, right?
>> Danny Campolucci: Maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, listen, we'll. We'll save that for another episode, folks. If you want to hear more from my cousin Danny Campolucci, just let me know, and I'll get him back on the show. And if you don't, let me know as well so I can let him know that, because I would. Nothing would make me happier than to let my cousin, my cousin, know, how my listeners react or how the podcast listeners react.
>> Danny Campolucci: Hopefully, you're gonna get your best readings ever now.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Well, so there's only one way to find out. We'll have to just give it time. And I hope you had a time listening. And I hope you had a chance to listen.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, thanks for inviting me up to your cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: You're welcome, Danny.
>> Danny Campolucci: And, I'm sure it won't be the last.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure it won't. And, Danny, I'm gonna end the show, so just let me finish by saying listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: June 14, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about something mundane. I want to thank our listeners for. I've been getting some really great reviews lately and please, if you haven't reviewed the podcast yet, please do so. We appreciate it. Rate, review and subscribe. I am currently at my cottage and so you may hear some background cottage noises, like people driving past, the cottage, and, some hooligans on the street, let's say.
Danny Campolucci has some fond memories of fishing in southern Ontario
speaking of hooligans, I have the great fortune of having my eldest cousin, Danny Campolucci with me here on the podcast. I've wanted to have him on the podcast for a while. Welcome, Danny.
>> Danny Campolucci: Pleasure to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, Danny, one of my fondest memories with you happened not too far from where we are right now. So we're in the township of Tiny, and, that's the name of a rather large swath of area here in southern Ontario that encompasses part of Georgian Bay. So there's, you know, beaches in this area, and it also encompasses farmlands and it encompasses a marsh called Tiny Marsh. Now, do you remember way back when we went fishing in Tiny Marsh?
>> Danny Campolucci: I remember being there, yes. With your dad, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And do you remember that faithful day we went Fishing. It was me, you, my father, and your brother, your younger brother, Mauro. And I was the only one to catch a fish. I'll never forget that day for as long as I live.
>> Danny Campolucci: No, I don't remember that at all.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't?
>> Danny Campolucci: No.
>> Marco Timpano: But do you have any fishing memories, Danny?
>> Danny Campolucci: I remember going with your dad. You remember when you used to live in Malton? The dam. Remember that dam?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so Malton is an. Is a suburb of Toronto in an area called Mississauga. For our listeners who are wondering what Malton is.
>> Danny Campolucci: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And there was a dam not far, which is in Malton. Yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: Or it's right on. It's at the edge of Toronto and Mississauga.
>> Marco Timpano: But it is in Molton. Right.
>> Danny Campolucci: It is close by there. Anyways.
>> Marco Timpano: clear.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah, clear. Clearville.
>> Marco Timpano: Clairville. Clairville. Yeah, it's in Clairville. Right, Right. Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: I remember your dad taking us there using m. Our little pocket fisherman.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember those things? I wish we had them still. I remember that they were for listeners. They were like a fishing rod that was, collapsible, that would fold in itself, and you could open it up and it would just be like the size of a small saw. Like a small, drill, let's say. Or a large drill. Yeah, it was like a sawzall, probably.
>> Danny Campolucci: Maybe a couple of feet long.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, like a sawzall. Yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Not that that's a good reference point for people. They measure things in how big a sawzall is.
>> Danny Campolucci: Okay, so just to get an idea, maybe the size of, you know, your arm.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, not even.
>> Danny Campolucci: Even. Even smaller than that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. fair enough. Okay, so tell me more.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah, we used to go there with your dad, and I remember him putting up. We used to use as bait. Tripa. Tripe.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. We did use tripe. And we used corn. Corn from the can. You know, we'd get canned corn, and we just take the kernels and use them as bait. I. I've never heard of anyone doing that.
>> Danny Campolucci: But we never caught anything at the dam. I don't remember. And. Yeah, nothing we ever.
>> Marco Timpano: But I caught the trout that time. We caught the trout. I caught a, rainbow trout with the. That's Amanda coughing in the background. I caught a trout with corn that time. That faithful trip.
>> Danny Campolucci: I don't remember.
>> Marco Timpano: In Tiny Marsh. Yeah, I do.
Have you ever caught anything when you in fishing, Danny
So, have you had any other fishing experiences that you can.
>> Danny Campolucci: I remember going with again. With your dad. My brother. My father. Going to Lake Simcoe.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I don't remember. This was I. There.
>> Danny Campolucci: I don't know if you were there.
>> Marco Timpano: No, because I would have been very young.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah, you were, but I remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you catch anything?
>> Danny Campolucci: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever caught anything when you in fishing, Danny? Or is it just not your sport, let's say.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, I remember as a kid going with my dad to this place at the Holland Marsh Canal Road.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's not too far either. That's on the way to the cottage really.
>> Danny Campolucci: So while he was loading up the topsoil in his pickup, we'd be under the bridge and we would catch like with our famous pocket fishermen. Yeah, we caught so many of these little sunfish.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes. Those aren't good eating fish.
>> Danny Campolucci: but anyway, we brought them home anyways.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. That's great.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What are your. Some of your fond memories from the cottage when we were younger?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, as we talked earlier today, we used to go to the Bluebird Cottages.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Danny Campolucci: As a whole group.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Danny Campolucci: And we used to rent the whole whatever. I don't know how many. There was 10 cottages there.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Danny Campolucci: And that's what I remember.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember going to the drive in movie.
>> Danny Campolucci: Do you remember? Oh, yes, that was great.
>> Marco Timpano: I love going to the drive in.
>> Danny Campolucci: The drive in just down the street from here.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: Too bad it's shut down.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's shut down. I think it, they. They were, finding it difficult because the technology has changed and so to upgrade that technology. But I will say that there's a drive in not far from here in Midland. The Midland Drive in that we can go to.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, we should do that one day. When? Saturday, when the whole gang is up here like we used to do. Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember the last drive in film you saw?
>> Danny Campolucci: No, but I remember we were all here. Even my kids were here.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Danny has three beautiful daughters.
>> Danny Campolucci: I, remember Stavros was with us.
>> Marco Timpano: That's my brother in law. Yeah. Steve.
>> Danny Campolucci: And we all went. I don't know what the movie was, but we were all there. And we would come back like a one, two in the morning.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. I remember as a kid so vividly going to the drive in. I would never stay up till the end. I would watch the first little bit and then fall asleep in the car. But I remember so fondly how much fun it was to go to the drive in. Now, you. You were a big help today. We cut down some trees, that were sort of. Some of them were rotting so they had to come down. And when they get.
>> Danny Campolucci: We're an Eyesore.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, and some were a bit of an eyesore. And we have so many trees. You kind of have to call them a bit too, because they can really take over the property.
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: And, you're quite skilled with a chainsaw, Danny.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, it's not matter of skill, it's just being safe that's the main thing.
>> Marco Timpano: So safety first.
>> Danny Campolucci: Safety is always number one.
Danny used to play ball hockey when he was a kid
>> Marco Timpano: So, Danny, what other hobbies do you have that you enjoy doing?
>> Danny Campolucci: well, I used to play a lot of ball hockey. Not anymore. I'm just too old for that.
>> Marco Timpano: So what's the difference for our listeners who are don't live in this country where we play a lot of ball hockey. What is ball hockey?
>> Danny Campolucci: Ball hockey is just playing hockey on the streets. Cement pad. And, in an arena with no ice. And you're running around like mad men.
>> Marco Timpano: But you're not using a puck.
>> Danny Campolucci: No, it's a ball.
>> Marco Timpano: It's an orange.
>> Danny Campolucci: It's an orange ball. Hard ball. And if you ever get hit by. Hurts. It hurts. Yeah. I've never.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know you were a ball hockey player.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: How often would you play ball hockey?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, we used to play when I was a kid.
>> Marco Timpano: M.
>> Danny Campolucci: That's. We would play two, three times a week in leagues.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. But also on the street. Right?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, it was in hockey arenas with no ice in the summer.
>> Marco Timpano: In the summer, yeah. It's more of a summer sport.
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, were you an ice hockey player?
>> Danny Campolucci: No.
>> Marco Timpano: No, never. Now, have you ever ice fished since we talked about fishing?
>> Danny Campolucci: Yes, I have.
>> Marco Timpano: I never have. Oh, tell me about that because I'm dying to go ice fishing. Okay, take us back.
>> Danny Campolucci: Okay. As you know, I used to work for a company called Lovett Tunnel where we built tunneling machines.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. And you traveled all over the world? Yeah, tunneling.
>> Danny Campolucci: And for your British listeners, I've done work for Thames Water.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Danny Campolucci: I've done work all over London and I love England.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you have a good time while you were there?
>> Danny Campolucci: Mostly, work.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: But I worked up in Hull.
>> Marco Timpano: Hull. Hull.
>> Danny Campolucci: I forgot. That's. What. There's a whole name I forgot. But I just called it Hull.
>> Marco Timpano: H U, L, L. But not. You're not talking about Hull, Quebec, right?
>> Danny Campolucci: No, no, no. This is in the uk.
>> Marco Timpano: How long were you in the UK for?
>> Danny Campolucci: actually I was two months, I think. Two, three months in Portsmouth.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Portsmouth. What's that like? Great bands come out of Portsmouth.
>> Danny Campolucci: I loved it there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah. Anyways, so would you Go to pubs and drink.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah, well, they're the British when it comes to their beer, their ale. Oh, my God.
>> Marco Timpano: They know what they're doing.
>> Danny Campolucci: I'd have. I'd be on my first one, and they've already guzzled down, like 10. Yeah, they were amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: They're tasty. And you know what's great about having. And I don't have to tell this to my British listeners, but the thing that I love about having beer in a pub in Britain is that you're not gonna get skunky beer from their taps, because their taps are always being used.
>> Danny Campolucci: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So sometimes what will happen here is you'll get a beer that's poured from a tap in a pub or a bar, and it will have gone off because that tap hasn't been used. I've never found that in England.
>> Danny Campolucci: I wouldn't know. I wouldn't.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: But anyways, so we.
One of my working experiences was ice fishing on the Volga River
One of my working experiences was in Kazan, Russia, and the workers there took us ice fishing on the Volga River.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So tell me about that. This is the first time I've heard of it. You, fishing on the Volga River. Okay. So they would. So did they have the huts that I've seen? No. So explain it to us.
>> Danny Campolucci: It was just out on the river.
>> Marco Timpano: And did they have an auger to drill the hole?
>> Danny Campolucci: I don't remember.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: But I do remember the vodka. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: To keep you warm.
>> Danny Campolucci: Boy, did it keep us warm.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Did you catch anything, Danny?
>> Danny Campolucci: Not me personally, but some of the other guys did, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And would you remember what they caught?
>> Danny Campolucci: I don't know what type of fish it.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it large?
>> Danny Campolucci: it was.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe it wasn't sturgeon, right?
>> Danny Campolucci: No, no, no, no, Nothing like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Because this is. The Volga river is fresh water.
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: So that was, It was. I still remember it was a beautiful day.
>> Marco Timpano: Cold. Not too bad.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, it was a beautiful sunny day. And I know there was a couple of. One Russian in particular. He was fishing with no shirt on. Just.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: He was crazy.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Danny Campolucci: Igor was his name.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Shout out to Igor.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. So, yeah, that was a hell of an experience.
Danny has been to Russia twice during Communism and after perestroika
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me more experiences that you had in the different locations you would go to tunneling with this company.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, one of the. I've been to Russia twice.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: Once during Communism, one after.
>> Marco Timpano: sure, it's still a communist country, but you're talking about perestroika, when there was more openness and.
>> Danny Campolucci: Of course. So the first time I went, it was in just the outside Of Moscow. A place called Pratvino.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: They were tunneling a particle accelerator.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. You're not giving away government secrets now, are you, Danny?
>> Danny Campolucci: I might be.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, all right.
>> Danny Campolucci: Anyways, all I remember is walking on the street, looking in the stores, and I remember particularly one shoe store that just had one type of shoe.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep.
>> Danny Campolucci: Like one size. That's it. That's all you can get. That struck me. That's what vividly, I remember.
>> Marco Timpano: I doubt it would be just one size that.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well without going in there. But anyway, it was just the one type of shoe.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so then going afterwards, you notice a difference.
>> Danny Campolucci: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Danny Campolucci: When I went to Kazan. Now you're looking at, you know, you can buy whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want. Right. And of one thing, that I do remember quite fondly about Kazan, that they had some beautiful women.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, Any. That's. This is not that podcast.
>> Danny Campolucci: Okay. Saying that the women were very beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, that's nice that you noticed that. Good, good. let me ask you this. Let's get off wherever that was gonna go. Okay?
>> Danny Campolucci: It would have went anywhere.
>> Marco Timpano: No, that's all you just noticed. Lovely, lovely ladies. And you didn't notice lovely ladies in other places like the UK when you were in this town called Hull.
>> Danny Campolucci: They're beautiful women everywhere.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair. There you go now.
>> Danny Campolucci: And I'm not a player, by the way.
>> Marco Timpano: I never said you were. And I. And I doubt if anyone saw what you look like right now, they would think that.
Danny, what would you do when you would go to these places for work
Okay, Danny, so. So, Danny, let me ask you this. What would you do when you would go to these places for work? You would help tunnel? You would help build tunnels?
>> Danny Campolucci: We would. Well, we would manufacture the tunneling machine here at our plant in Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: Test it all here, disassemble. It. Send it out to wherever it had to go. So we went back there to reassemble it and get it going.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you helped build. And we're not talking small tunnels either. We're talking really big tunnels. Right?
>> Danny Campolucci: Anywhere from, let's, say, five feet, all the way up to, like 30ft in diameter. Actually, what I do remember, when I went to the uk, one of our. The machines were being flown out there, which was unheard of, but it was being flown on what they call the Antonov, which was a huge Russian cargo plane, massive airplane. I've never seen anything like it in my life. Huge. And I just remember being stuck up in the airplane until we landed.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you were on the Plane with the equipment in this ginormous. yeah, airplane.
>> Danny Campolucci: The Antonov 124, it was called.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Danny Campolucci: Huge. Where the front opens up, the back opens up. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: like a military plane that. Oh, wow.
>> Danny Campolucci: But it was massive. It was probably one of the highlights of my tunneling career.
>> Marco Timpano: And, what are some other places you got to tunnel in?
>> Danny Campolucci: I've been to Iran a couple of times to Tehran.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, what did you do in Tehran?
>> Danny Campolucci: well, again with the tunneling machine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you were tough course, tunneling. Yeah, yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: I've been to Singapore. I've been to Taiwan. Egypt.
You lived in California for two years, working for tunneling company
>> Marco Timpano: You lived in California?
>> Danny Campolucci: California. A little. Beautiful place there. Los Angeles.
>> Marco Timpano: Were you living in la?
>> Danny Campolucci: Actually, I was living in a. Just south of Orange County. Huntington Beach. Beautiful, beautiful place.
>> Marco Timpano: And you. Were you tunneling there?
>> Danny Campolucci: Like, what were you.
>> Marco Timpano: What were you. Because you were there for a while. Right?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, when I left Lovett or Lovett Tunnel, I went to work in the States for someone who bought the machines.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you didn't. When you worked in California, you didn't work for that company, you worked for a new company?
>> Danny Campolucci: I worked for someone who did the tunneling work.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Danny Campolucci: Okay. So I was there for two years. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: do you miss it?
>> Danny Campolucci: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: What was your day like when you lived in California? We also have some great listeners in California.
>> Danny Campolucci: well, I mean, my day was like, you know, being at work by 6 and. But the weekend, you know, hit the beach.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you surf?
>> Danny Campolucci: No, I don't surf. I can't even swim.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah, that's right. You're not a swimmer. Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: But, it was. I remember every Sunday because I had the family with me.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Danny Campolucci: We went to. For this brunch at a place called El Torito.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: And we would have the champagne breakfast.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you don't strike me as a champagne guy.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, not really, but.
>> Marco Timpano: But you would indulge at a brunch?
>> Danny Campolucci: I would indulge in.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And that's it. You just remember champagne brunch or is there more to that?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, no, there wasn't. Just.
>> Marco Timpano: I just remember that was something that you like to do. Yeah, that's right.
>> Danny Campolucci: Every Sunday.
>> Marco Timpano: But, did you live on the beach?
>> Danny Campolucci: We lived probably like maybe a kilometer away so you could smell the salt air and all that. It was beautiful. I loved it.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're not a swimmer, but you know who could teach you how to swim?
>> Danny Campolucci: Who's that?
>> Marco Timpano: It's Amanda, my wife. She's a very strong swimmer.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, my kids were Lifeguards.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Jessica, as was my sister. Yeah, that's right. and they never taught you your kids, my sister.
>> Danny Campolucci: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe Amanda's the one who has to be up for that challenge.
>> Danny Campolucci: All right. I mean, let's do it.
>> Marco Timpano: Stay tuned, friends. We'll see if my cousin Danny ends up learning how to swim. When Amanda goes swimming here, she goes out really far in the water, and she's like. Because it's very shallow, like.
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: The, the beaches here kind of, you know, dip and. And rise and dip. And so she goes out far, and it always seems like she's really far in, but she's like, look, I can stand up. I'm like, wow, I'm not that brave. I'm not a good swimmer either. I can barely swim. I went snorkeling once, and I saw squid in the water, like, I saw. And I was just like, oh, my God, look at all these calamati in the water.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. So California was great, but then once the job ended.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Danny Campolucci: I went to Columbus, Ohio.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know you went to
>> Danny Campolucci: Columbus for two years.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that when you would come back and forth?
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right. Okay. The family didn't come with me, so I would commute eight hours every day one way. Oh, no, no, sorry. On the weekends.
You would come home on the weekend, and then work Monday
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Danny Campolucci: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: You would come home on the weekend, and then for Monday you would get back to work. Oh, that's a lot of driving.
>> Danny Campolucci: It was.
>> Marco Timpano: What was the prettiest part of that drive?
>> Danny Campolucci: if I remember correctly, we'd be dry. I'd be driving by Lake Erie, so. By the shores there. That was a nice.
>> Marco Timpano: Beautiful.
>> Danny Campolucci: That was beautiful there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
We have a lot of listeners in Ohio, and I love Ohio
I, have been to Ohio many times, and we have a lot of listeners in Ohio. And I love. I just feel like I'm talking about all our listeners. but, we do have listeners in Ohio. I love Ohio.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. I would drive. I would go through sometimes. Toledo.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Danny Campolucci: Times through Cleveland. Depends on how I felt, which way.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know who was from Toledo, Ohio?
>> Danny Campolucci: No.
>> Marco Timpano: You know someone who used to watch on television from Toledo.
>> Danny Campolucci: Oh, Clinger.
>> Marco Timpano: Clinger.
Danny: MASH episodes with Trapper were the best for me
And I mentioned that because I know you're a big fan of mash, and I got into MASH because of you watching mash.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. But the best MASH episodes are the earlier ones with Trapper.
>> Marco Timpano: Trapper, yes.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. Those, for me, were the best ones.
>> Marco Timpano: But you watch the whole series.
>> Danny Campolucci: Oh, yeah, I know. them every episode.
>> Marco Timpano: Who's your favorite character?
>> Danny Campolucci: I loved Trapper. The Trapper was funny.
>> Marco Timpano: Wayne Rogers played Chopper. Did you ever watch Trapper, Maryland? The Spanish.
>> Danny Campolucci: I remember that. I remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. That was. That was his character. Right?
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: I met, Loretta Swit, who played Hot. Hot Lips Houlahan once. Yeah, she's a lot shorter than you would think, actually. Yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: Frank Burns is also very comical.
>> Marco Timpano: I know you. Larry Linville.
>> Danny Campolucci: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: So if you ask my brother, he likes him, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I always liked Charles Emerson Winchester, and then I ended up. And he was from Boston, and I ended up marrying someone from Boston. So there you go. Have you ever been to Boston?
>> Danny Campolucci: You know what? I actually. We had a tunneling job in Washington.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, that's not Boston.
>> Danny Campolucci: Right, I get that. But we did drive out to Boston one time. Or just the outskirts of Boston, because I don't think it's very far from Washington, if I'm not mistaken.
>> Marco Timpano: What are you talking about? Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. washington, D.C. i
>> Danny Campolucci: remember because one of the workers, one of the electricians there, was from Boston, and we went to his house for dinner. That I remember.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I don't think they're very close. Washington, D.C. and in M. Boston. So I just checked with my wife. It's eight to 10 hours.
>> Danny Campolucci: I stand corrected. maybe I meant maybe because the guy was from Boston. Okay, maybe that's what I'm trying.
>> Marco Timpano: You could have still drove from Boston to Washington.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah, I'm not gonna go to Washington to Boston for dinner.
>> Marco Timpano: Some people would. You drove eight hours from Ohio to Toronto from Columbus, every weekend.
>> Danny Campolucci: All right, but. Okay, you're right. Yeah. All right. I stand corrected.
>> Marco Timpano: And did you enjoy your time in Boston, if, in fact, you ended up in Boston, which we don't have many listeners from Boston?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, Washington, where this job was, was in a very seedy part of town.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: So we, just tried to keep our noses clean.
>> Marco Timpano: Good.
>> Danny Campolucci: We didn't. I was never troublemaker.
>> Marco Timpano: No, you were never troublemaker.
>> Danny Campolucci: Even when I was in Iran, I used to have. Do you remember? Used to have an earring in my ear. Remember?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I do.
>> Danny Campolucci: So what I did, I took it off.
>> Marco Timpano: Not the first thing I think of when I think of you, Danny.
>> Danny Campolucci: I took it off when I went there because I was afraid that I was going to be associated as being American. Because at that time, there was some.
>> Marco Timpano: There was a bit of trouble, and I.
>> Danny Campolucci: And I remember. I remember the Iranian people being very courteous to us Canadians, and they treated us very well.
>> Marco Timpano: Good. I'm glad you had a good Experience while you were there. I have a very good friend who is from Toronto.
>> Danny Campolucci: I've been there twice. I've been twice to Iran.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. I didn't realize you.
You traveled so much. You had a job that took you to many places
You traveled so much. I remember you going to places, but I don't remember.
>> Danny Campolucci: Like, I. I've been to, you know, South America, all over the States. Spain. Madrid was beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I never been to Madrid.
>> Danny Campolucci: France. Oh, you went in Paris. Toulouse Leon.
>> Marco Timpano: Leon was great.
>> Danny Campolucci: I've been to Perugia in Italy.
>> Marco Timpano: I lived. I studied in Perugia. What did you do in Perugia?
>> Danny Campolucci: Assembling tunneling machines.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you would just assemble them. You wouldn't tunnel. You would just go assemble it and then.
>> Danny Campolucci: And it depends what the contract stands stated.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Danny Campolucci: We might have to stay there for them for the machine to excavate. Let's say 100 meters.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And then you could go.
>> Danny Campolucci: Then we could go.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it would be working.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. And we fulfilled the contract and we left.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow. So that's great. You had a job that. That took you to many different places, and now you have a job that you really enjoy, and that's in the waste water management department for the city of Toronto. Right? Or no, Did I get that right?
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, not management. I'm just, one of the workers there.
>> Marco Timpano: But you work in wastewater.
>> Danny Campolucci: Wastewater treatment plant.
>> Marco Timpano: So we will have a further conversation about wastewater treatment on the Patreon page. Or the Patreon. It will be a Patreon episode. Because I don't know what you're gonna say with regards to wastewater. So we'll keep it for them. They, can handle a little bit more.
Danny Campolucci: One of the most memorable places was Tunisia
>> Danny Campolucci: By the way, one of the most memorable place I think I've ever been to was in Tunisia.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, tell me more. We really wanted to go to Tunisia.
>> Danny Campolucci: Beautiful. Yeah. We worked up in the mountains for a Spanish company.
>> Marco Timpano: Where were you? Like, were you in Chinese? You don't remember, but you were in Tunisia.
>> Danny Campolucci: In Tunisia. Up. We were up in the mountains, probably half an hour away from the Mediterranean.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Could you see it from where you were? No. Okay.
>> Danny Campolucci: I do remember, you know, on the, Either on the Saturday nights, we worked for a Spanish company. They would bring us for dinner down at the Mediterranean. Lobsters, the works. It was just amazing. Right at the ocean. Wow. Fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: And you're not even a seafood person, are you?
>> Danny Campolucci: well, when it comes to shrimp or lobster, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so you like shellfish? Yeah.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah, it was unbelievable.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Danny Campolucci: I loved it. That was probably one of the best
>> Marco Timpano: places I've been to oh, that's amazing.
>> Danny Campolucci: Yeah. Up in the mountains.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. Well, Danny, listen, thank you very much for being a part of the Insomnia Project. Thank you. I've been wanting to have you on. I know you have, for a bit. I hope my listeners got everything that they were expecting from having you on board.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, since it's the Insomnia Project, I don't know, did I put them to sleep?
>> Marco Timpano: There's only one person who would find that out, and that's the person on the other end of this podcast. And hopefully that's what we did do. Or at the very least, hopefully, we relaxed you. I have some listeners who say they find the topics far too interesting to fall asleep. And I try to pick the most mundane topic. I wouldn't say boring. Calm, mundane. not too interesting.
>> Danny Campolucci: The tunneling business is not boring or mundane. It is dangerous. And, you never know what you're gonna get.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Well, hopefully, you get a tunnel at the end of it, right?
>> Danny Campolucci: Maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, listen, we'll. We'll save that for another episode, folks. If you want to hear more from my cousin Danny Campolucci, just let me know, and I'll get him back on the show. And if you don't, let me know as well so I can let him know that, because I would. Nothing would make me happier than to let my cousin, my cousin, know, how my listeners react or how the podcast listeners react.
>> Danny Campolucci: Hopefully, you're gonna get your best readings ever now.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Well, so there's only one way to find out. We'll have to just give it time. And I hope you had a time listening. And I hope you had a chance to listen.
>> Danny Campolucci: Well, thanks for inviting me up to your cottage.
>> Marco Timpano: You're welcome, Danny.
>> Danny Campolucci: And, I'm sure it won't be the last.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sure it won't. And, Danny, I'm gonna end the show, so just let me finish by saying listen and sleep.
Boxing
(Original airdate: June 10, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing that we can promise, or at least we hope to deliver, is a conversation that's less than fascinating so that you can drift off. I will, however, say that today's episode might. I just want to bring a little, attention to it and give a trigger warning because we are going to be talking about boxing and that might, you know, make you feel like, oh, I won't be able to sleep, but we're going to talk about the technical aspect of. Of boxing and really delving deep with that. but we will be talking about throwing punches. Just so you're aware. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me is a dear friend who's a great boxer. Welcome, Cloda Power.
>> Cloudagh Power: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: And what a great name for someone who's a boxer. The last name Power.
>> Cloudagh Power: Yeah, it's quite fitting.
>> Marco Timpano: That's not your stage name, that's your actual last name, correct?
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, yeah. it's from the Swedish. essentially, we came from the Vikings who moved to Northern France, then came to invade Ireland in 1169. Depair is what it translates to, which originally came from poor fishermen.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
You've boxed in Ireland and here in Canada
So, of course, that leads us to know that you're Irish and currently living in Canada.
>> Cloda Power: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: But you've lived in the States. You've lived everywhere. Have you boxed everywhere?
>> Cloda Power: I didn't box when I lived in Japan. They weren't too keen, on having me do any kind of full contact sport there. but New York, I was very interested in martial arts there, kickboxing, boxing, Muay Thai and MMA in Dublin and here in Canada as well.
>> Marco Timpano: And is the scene different? Do you find that the scene is different in all those countries, or are they very similar?
>> Cloda Power: Very different.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, very different. I. I, really got into it in New York, like, very invested in it, and that's what changed everything for me. and in. In Dublin, I found in New York there was a lot more women.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: In Dublin, until I started coaching. I found that in the classes and in the, the gyms that I was attending, there was very few. I would often be the only one I see. And then I coached and I found that more women came. And maybe it was because I was a female coach, but it was definitely a lot more, a lot more open.
>> Marco Timpano: And here in Canada.
>> Cloda Power: Here in Canada, it's very different, a different structure. I'm very interested in sparring in full contact, but you have to register with the Ontario, Boxing Association. There's a lot more paperwork here.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Oh, fascinating.
All right, let's delve in to boxing. Sure. My brother put me in kickboxing when I was young
All right, let's delve in to boxing.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. My, my brother put me in, his kickboxing coach in our little small town had actually been doing a, women's only class one weekend. And my brother knew, I was always trying to emulate, what I saw on tv. So he put me in and he was like, this is a good time for you. To learn how to fight, just in case anything ever comes up as you're a woman. Okay. he was progressive.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Cloda Power: And, and my mom didn't love it, so she kind of put, she kind of curved it until, I went to university and I couldn't be tamed. And, I signed up for every martial art, kickboxing, judo, kung fu. Wow. And then just years of different training, I found that Muay Thai and boxing were what I loved the most. and after a few small injuries here and there, boxing was, was something that I found that I was teaching as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
Let's talk about the technical aspect of boxing
Okay, so let me, let me unpack this first of all, for our listeners who are like, why are they doing an episode on boxing? That seems like an exciting, topic and I might not be able to sort of find my way to sleep. But the reason I want to talk, I want to talk about the technical aspect of this sport because a lot of people know it as this dramatic sort of thing that takes place in a ring and like a lot of fast movements. And so you think, why would this be a topic for insomnia? And I'm like, no, I want to talk about the technical and how complex it is. And I feel like that's going to be less dramatic than the actual sport when you watch it on television.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: But you said that your mom wanted you in Irish dancing. Did you take years of Irish dancing?
>> Cloda Power: No, I took about a month.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because I was gonna ask if that helped with your boxing at all, but
>> Cloda Power: no, I was a child. I did about a month of Irish dancing. I got the flu and I was like, I'm done.
>> Marco Timpano: So we found out how you got to boxing. Let's talk about the technical aspect of boxing. So have you never boxed before? What are some tips you would give to someone who is thinking of studying boxing?
>> Cloda Power: Slow down.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. Everyone comes in, they want to have fast hands and move and look really cool. They, The first thing I teach people is just how to stand still.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: where your feet are, just understanding where your body is. So it's very slow. I always tell people on your first class, you probably won't break a sweat.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: it's just simple things like when you learn how to step forward is something that people find really hard. When we walk, we go left. Right. When you're in boxing, you get in a stance and. And you keep that stance.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Cloda Power: So if you're right handed, then, you're left foot forward.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: I'm Left handed. So, my right leg is forward. My power shot comes from my backhand. So it's teaching people that you are going with the opposite way that you think you're going. So if a right handed person comes in, they think I should lead with my right hand. but you want to keep that in the back until you really need to like, break someone's face.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. So it reminds me of when you are, what's the term? When you're driving and you have. You're towing a. You're countersteering. So you have, let's say a hitch on the back of your car and you have to back. You have to back up or go in reverse. You're countersteering because your hitch might go the opposite way that you turn the wheel. So you have to sort of think, I've got to turn the wheel the opposite way that I think. So that the hitch or the thing you're towing, in my case, it was a trailer full of bikes when I was in Europe. I had to turn the wheel the opposite way so that the trailer would start turning the way I wanted it to. That's what this sounds like to me. So it's sort of retraining your brain to realize that the foot that you normally use coordinated with the hand are not necessarily the foot and hand you're going to use in the same manner in the rink. Is that fair to say?
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. when I'm teaching people, I usually try and tell them, with your left hand, which will be most people's weaker hand, you knock on the door gently, and then you use your right hand to break down the door.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Cloda Power: okay. The easiest way to explain it to someone. so your left hand, which would be where you jab.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Cloda Power: it's a fast, but it's a very important punch. But, it's usually a lighter punch. So. So you knock on the door, you don't get a response, then you break it down.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: And I guess being grounded in your feet and in your body is key. M. That's why the first lesson sort of teaches you that.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. So it's all about where your feet move and how you move your feet to channel your hips. Okay. so when you're throwing that power shot off your back hand, for most people, your right hand, you have to come up in the ball of your foot pivot so that your toes, knees and hips are facing the direction of where you want your power to go.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: So in your general stance, your back foot, which is going to be your power shot, that is facing just slightly out. So if it's your right foot, it's going to be facing at about 2:00'. Clock. And then when you're throwing your hand from that side, so your right foot, you, you're gonna Turn it to 12 o'.
>> Marco Timpano: Clock.
>> Cloda Power: I see. so that you're using your whole body to throw that punch. It never comes from your shoulder, it comes from your foot.
I spent a lot of time watching footwork in the ring
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. And who are some boxers that have great footwork, that you've seen them, in films or, ah, on video or even just boxers that you're like, this person has great footwork.
>> Cloda Power: I mean everyone talks about Muhammad Ali's feet. They were felt he was doing beautiful dancing in the ring. and it was what gave him his edge. a lot of the time you're seeing. I spent a lot of my time watching footwork in the ring. and a lot of people nowadays, you can see where they'll falter in their feet. Oh, really? Yeah. And it's also in your head, when you're in the ring, it's a lot of pressure. It's a lot of people suddenly watching you. It's a lot of money. A lot of the time, you know, and, you know, one false step and you lose everything. so a lot of time you can see and you can watch people. And I think also the heavier the person, the more they require their feet. Like Anthony, Joshua, who is, he's English, he's huge, huge guy. but he's very muscular. he faced off against, Ruiz, who's a Mexican guy. he's, he's not the physique of a boxer. He's a, he's a real hefty looking gentleman.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: one would m call him fat if you saw him walking down the street. It was an often joke. Anthony, Joshua is like an Adonis. He's gorgeous and sculpted and super tall. and Ruiz is just, a fat dude who, ah, beat Joshua. And for a guy to look the way he does, to be on his toes the way he was, it's a lot in your calves. So, you know, watching him move and you know, fully take down Anthony Joshua a few months ago during the summer, I think it was okay. and suddenly win all the belts, it was wild.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess that's the elegance of boxing, that a lot of people don't necessarily identify with the sport right away. M. That there is this sort of poetic Dance in the rink.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And that, that can lead someone to success where one might a m. Novice or someone who doesn't know the sport well thinks, oh, it's all just punches. But it sounds to me that there's a lot in the feet that people don't realize that's going on.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, I mean, people joke about, Mayweather, that he does laps around the ring. he's gonna tire you out. He's gonna keep his feet moving before he needs to use his hands. Right. and evasive techniques are. Avoiding a punch is just as important as throwing a punch. because if you get hit in the face because your feet are planted and flat, then you're not going anywhere. You're gonna get concussed.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Cloda Power: So lighten the feet.
When I have insomnia, I start to count my breathing
>> Marco Timpano: Now you said you talked about getting in your head, and I know that's something that for myself, when I have insomnia, I often get in my head. What do you or boxers do to get out of their head in the moment?
>> Cloda Power: For me, I, count. it's, ah, a weird thing I always had that calmed me. I start to count my breathing. So it's in, two, three, out, two, three. Okay. and it's something that I've found. I went skydiving a few years ago and it was the same thing. I had used it so much in boxing, in Muay Thai, when I'd get overwhelmed m by an opponent that I might hold my breath if, I'm getting punched or kicked a lot, and I would just slow it down, tighten my fists and start to count. and anytime that there was any panic, I found that, you know, counting as you were breathing was something that would help calm me down a lot because suddenly I wasn't focusing on, oh, God, oh, God, I need to get out of this corner or I need to get off the ropes. It was like, okay, I need to breathe. And as I would breathe, I would start to move in conjunction with that breath.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
Muay Thai is a Thai form of boxing. It's much faster than boxing
Now, you mentioned Muay Thai. Tell us some things about Muay Thai that the average person might not be aware of or things that you love about that sport.
>> Cloda Power: again, you were talking about the elegance of boxing. Muay Thai is even, it's even more about your feet because obviously you're using your legs, your knees, your elbows.
>> Marco Timpano: and this is a Thai form of boxing. Is that fair to say, or.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, it's. Yeah, Thai boxing is another phrase for it. But, it's the art of eight limbs.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: So you have punching with your hands, kicking, you have knees and you have elbows. Okay. so it's four of each on either side. So that's eight. there was a few films that came out in the early 2000s. Tony Xia would have been a very famous, actor portraying Muay Thai. Okay. and he's phenomenal. It's much faster than boxing, and it's not given as much attention, when you look at mma, you know, there's a lot of boxing and grappling. But, when I did mma, my base was Muay Thai. so it meant that a, lot of Muay Thai, you sweep, so you take someone down, right?
>> Marco Timpano: And that's that sort of, if you're familiar, that image where they get low to the ground and it almost looks like ballet moves. Like, you know when, Baryshnikov or someone is, like, jumping in the air and their legs go fully extended. But this is on the ground with a big sweep.
>> Cloda Power: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: It's from standing in a tall position.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, what am I thinking?
>> Cloda Power: you're thinking of, like a kung fu sweep.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, sorry.
>> Cloda Power: All right.
>> Cloda Power: It's very confusing.
>> Marco Timpano: Clearly, I don't get in the rink at all. But anyways, go on.
>> Cloda Power: so you would, you. You clinch in boxing, where you get really close. Often perceived as hugging, in Muay Thai, you actively attack your opponent in a clinch. So if you're essentially hugging them around the neck, and upper body, you use your knees to, try and get it into their body. Throw a knee into the ribs if you can. One of my favorites was kneeing someone in the side of the thigh so that you could give,
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Muay Thai can be very long distance if you have your legs
Go to Ocean. Go for the win.
>> Cloda Power: I'm a dead leg. Okay, and then from there, if you move your hips and you move your feet a little bit, you can, from a standing position, sweep your opponent and get, them on their back on the ground. so Muay Thai, can be very long distance if you have your legs and you're kicking them, keeping them out of your range. Or you can get incredibly close and, elbow, someone in the head.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah.
How has boxing, Muay Thai impacted your daily life in manners
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this. How has boxing, Muay Thai, and all the other, arts and sports that you know in this sort of area impacted your daily life in manners, which you wouldn't have anticipated?
>> Cloda Power: in terms of confidence, I do realize that the more advanced I got, the more competent and, just more skilled I became more confident in almost all aspects. I don't want to sound obnoxious, but I do think, you're more aware, of a lot of things. Like, even in the workplace, I found that my attention span improved. Oh. yeah. I think, because you focus so much on where your feet are and where your hands are, you think so much like, boxing is essentially like chess. It's very intellectually involved. I think that it tends to make you more alert in all aspects of your life. Walking down the street as a woman, I know chances are I can at least outrun someone.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: My cardio is pretty. Okay. and again, I have an awareness of my body and of someone else's body. If someone gets in close to me again, you have a sweep and clinch option if you're lucky and they don't have a knife, or ah, keep someone at a distance. You have an awareness of, how to ground your body so you don't get taken down if someone comes for you. I think it just makes you mentally more capable.
>> Marco Timpano: tell me more about this, intellectual aspect or this chess aspect of boxing.
>> Cloda Power: yeah, it's a lesson that a lot of the time when you're training, you do drills and it's repetition. And we count our punches. One is your lead hand. Two is your Backhand, three is a hook, and then four is often an uppercut. You've got five to the body, six to the body. and you'll shout like two, three, two. So you know that it's punch number two followed by number three, followed by number two. You have head movements. So, it's. When we train, we train a lot of repetition. But when you fight, you can't repeat
>> Marco Timpano: because your opponent will be able to predict your next move.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. So you can't have a pattern. And on top of it, you can't, you know, expect someone else to have a pattern. When I started sparring for the first time, I would use my patterns, I would use my repetition and I, I would use like two, three, two, you know, with a slip and a two. and, And yeah, it would be like my opponent, who would be much more skilled. Sure. would recognize it, would counter it, cut me off halfway.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Cloda Power: so you need to learn to adjust faster. You move around, you need to recognize, you need to keep an eye on their chest. If you keep an eye on the center of their body, you can see their feet and their shoulders through micro movements or just. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Cloda Power: Because the second you move your hips, you're gonna move. Your chest starts to adjust. If you're moving your shoulders, your chest is adjusting. So, I have a habit of always looking down when I'm walking. Okay. and so one of the things I had to relearn was to keep my eyes further up. So I would watch people's feet a lot. in the ring. Yeah, when I started, I was always looking down, always looking at people's feet. my coach was like, great, keep looking at my feet, I'm gonna keep hitting you in the face. Right. so it was a lesson to. He was like, if you wanna look down, look at my chest all the time. He, was like, you can see the whole world from the center. Wow. so, I mean, he was still brutal. And, I'm short sighted, okay. Like my vision. So once I take off my glasses, it's hard for me to see certain things. I would go by color. Okay. So thankfully everyone has bright colors when they fight. You know, you see the reds and the blues, so it's easier to see. But, I remember he made a joke one time. He said, you can't block what you can't see. He threw a punch at my face and then a kick at my face. And he was like, did you see either of those? I said, no, he was like, cause I'm too fast. I said, no, I'm short sighted. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: So how do you compensate for that?
>> Cloda Power: Color?
>> Marco Timpano: Just color?
>> Cloda Power: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: so you don't wear, like, contacts or anything like that.
>> Cloda Power: Contacts get knocked out.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Cloda Power: Ah, you take a few shots to the face and they're on the ground. So, for him, when he would be shouting at me, from a corner, he would, tell me warmer or colder when it came to if I was too far away from my opponent. so he would do the compensation for me a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Cloda Power: or, you know, he'd just shout closer, closer. because oftentimes I would be too far away from my opponent. I would overestimate, because I have long limbs. Right. So he would do the compensation for me unless he was training me and he decided to take full advantage.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: but, yeah, it's back to the original question, which was, you're using intellect in the fight. It is recognizing how other people move as well. So when we try and avoid patterns, there's only so much you can do. There's only so many combinations you can throw. and again, it's about figuring if your fighter is a close fighter or a distance fighter.
Boxing is about trickery as much as it is about understanding yourself
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Cloda Power: And it's about understanding people, engaging their, understanding of you. So it is about trickery as much as it is about, understanding yourself. It's about trying to be smarter than your opponent.
>> Marco Timpano: So can you. If you were to watch a boxer, let's say someone who's, who's really popular, do you sort of get a sense of what their moves will be?
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, you always kind of know there's, there's boxers out there who want to win on points, and there's boxers out there who want to decapitate their opponent. ah, there's a very famous Irish boxer called Katie Taylor. she's very popular. Ah, she's a sporting icon for us. She's our hero, the person we're most proud of. she's very aggressive. She's a lovely human being, very sweet. have you met her? No. She. In interviews. I've seen her, in person. She actually came to my small town.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wonderful.
>> Cloda Power: my mom surprised me with tickets, which was a very sweet thing to do after she took me out of training as a child. But, she sent me there. It's a very small town and you see Katie Taylor, after a fight, will stand around and greet some children and encourage them. Even you watch her on social media. She's always trying to tell little girls, like, you can do this. so, yeah, she's a very kind person. she's a very religious person. I see. She's all about, you know, thanking God for everything. Okay. And, then you see her in the ring. I remember watching her in Boston maybe two years ago. She gets very angry in the ring. she's very powerful punches. She's very fast. But, she gets very aggressive, and she starts to ignore her coach. and you become a different person when you're in the ring. Okay. You know, you think you're a certain way until someone punches you in the face. And it changes who you are on a cellular level almost. Wow. and I remember watching her. Her, her opponent was scared. To everyone in the audience, it looked like her. Her opponent was scared of her. So she lay back in the. On the ropes and said, hit me. Hit me. And dropped her hands. And for someone who's such a lovely person to see her essentially being disrespectful, she apologized. Afterwards, she says, I'm so sorry. That was like, she didn't know what came over her, but we all knew what came over her. You are a different person when you get in that ring and you cannot think of, I really want to thank my mom. You can only think of, I want
>> Marco Timpano: to beat my opponent.
>> Cloda Power: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Cloda Power: Either I want to take your head off, or I want to outclass you. Okay. She lost her class in that moment, and all she cared about was, hitting this woman as hard as she could in the face. I see. and I think that's, you can watch someone and you can think that she's going to be a very graceful fighter. She's a brutal puncher.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Cloda Power: and you're just a different person. so my mom was shocked. My very elegant lady mother was, quite shocked to see, you know, someone who. She had been like, she's such a lady, go in, kind of be rude.
From the female perspective, how would you encourage females about this sport
Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this, because you brought this up, and boxing has traditionally always been seen as a sport for men. M. What would you say to our listeners who are. Think. Our listeners who identify as female, who might be thinking of getting into this sport or thinking maybe their daughter or niece might enjoy the sport from a. From the female perspective, how would you encourage, females about this sport?
>> Cloda Power: I always, always encourage women to take up any kind of combat sport. Maybe boxing isn't for you. Maybe kung fu is. I think that the people like Katie Taylor have opened up the space for us so much more. I trained predominantly with men, in Ireland. It was a gym owned by Polish men mostly. My coach was one of the only Irish. I think there's only two Irish coaches there. and the respect that people have for you when you're a woman and you step in and you're always going to be a couple of pounds lighter and smaller than the guys across from you. I was a little different. I'm quite tall. and I was already training weights because of my brothers. But, it's a different level of respect. I've never once encountered sexism in martial arts. and once you start to tell, there's gonna be men who will challenge you and say, oh, you think you can fight? Could you knock me out? Chances are, yes. You wouldn't even have to learn how to fight to knock someone out. It's biology. There's a point in your jaw where the skull and your jawbone meet. One swift punch there, you can knock anyone out, regardless of their size. so it's not even about power. It's about knowledge and awareness of your body. But for a woman to take it, it's a graceful, beautiful sport, like we spoke, with your feet in that movement. It's also training your body and understanding how you move. I found that in my last few years as a coach, I've had more women than men take my class because I'm a female instructor. I think it was a two to one ratio we had when I was teaching in Dublin of women coming in and they wanted to learn. And they didn't just want to learn for fitness. They wanted to learn to fight. And I coached people. And I remember one woman in particular went in and had a fight within three months of starting training.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Cloda Power: She had never thrown a punch in her life. She just happened to be the same height and build as me. And I was like, I'm gonna teach you how to fight.
>> Marco Timpano: That's great.
>> Cloda Power: And, within three months, she went in, she won her fight.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, she won too?
>> Cloda Power: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's pretty impressive as well, right?
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. She went against a girl who had done, like, she'd been training. The other girl had been training for, like, a few years. that girl had also, she'd taken some white collar fights. So that's. I guess it's. White collar is not serious. It's not amateur. But, everyone was registered as an amateur boxer. my friend Claire, she was taller than her. Height matters.
>> Marco Timpano: It does in boxing.
>> Cloda Power: You get reach oh, of course. so we knew that her opponent was shorter than her. So for the weeks leading up to it, I put her with shorter men and women to train. And I said, they're going to attack your body and be like, you have to defend. They're not gonna hit your head, they're gonna hit you in the body. So she had to change up everything. When she would train with me, we were even right. When she would train with a shorter person, I was like, they're gonna hit you right in your, like your solar plexus. Okay. They're gonna take the air out of your lungs. You have to stop that and you have to keep them at a distance.
Cloda: I trained both left and right. I would start a fight right handed
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Cloda Power: And you have to change the game for them. So it was just about putting people into. Change everything for her, make her rethink her entire style. and yeah, she, she won, which was really cool. but again, she only had, I think, three months of training.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, that's impressive.
>> Marco Timpano: I love, I love the aspect of strategy that was put into place with regards to this particular fight. I didn't, you know, not that I didn't realize it, but you sort of breaking it down makes me realize how much strategy is involved in this sport.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. Once you know who you're against. Depends if they're left handed or right handed. As a left handed fighter, I wouldn't let them know I was left handed. I would train right handed and I would start a fight right handed. and then I would switch, I would switch my feet and I would switch my dominant hand. Because I trained both left and right. I see my, my jab when I was in my right handed stance was from my power hand. So I had a jab that was heavier and harder than it should have been.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: And my coach, who was also left handed, encouraged it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Cloda Power: He said when you step in that ring, you step in right handed. When you finish your opponent, you finish left handed.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. So it's, again, it's about trickery.
>> Marco Timpano: This is great, Cloda, thank you so much.
Cloda: I encourage everyone listening to learn about boxing. This is a great sport to get into
Now that we've, got to the real meat of boxing, we're also, towards the end of this episode, thank you for holding no punches and talking about boxing in this episode. And I encourage everyone listening that this is a sport of elegance, of strategy, of getting out of your head and of power. And I encourage anyone, as I'm sure
>> Cloda Power: you do all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: This is a great sport to get into.
>> Cloda Power: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you, Cloda. and thank you for listening to the insomnia Project. This episode was recorded in Toronto, Canada. Until next time.
(Original airdate: June 10, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing that we can promise, or at least we hope to deliver, is a conversation that's less than fascinating so that you can drift off. I will, however, say that today's episode might. I just want to bring a little, attention to it and give a trigger warning because we are going to be talking about boxing and that might, you know, make you feel like, oh, I won't be able to sleep, but we're going to talk about the technical aspect of. Of boxing and really delving deep with that. but we will be talking about throwing punches. Just so you're aware. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me is a dear friend who's a great boxer. Welcome, Cloda Power.
>> Cloudagh Power: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: And what a great name for someone who's a boxer. The last name Power.
>> Cloudagh Power: Yeah, it's quite fitting.
>> Marco Timpano: That's not your stage name, that's your actual last name, correct?
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, yeah. it's from the Swedish. essentially, we came from the Vikings who moved to Northern France, then came to invade Ireland in 1169. Depair is what it translates to, which originally came from poor fishermen.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
You've boxed in Ireland and here in Canada
So, of course, that leads us to know that you're Irish and currently living in Canada.
>> Cloda Power: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: But you've lived in the States. You've lived everywhere. Have you boxed everywhere?
>> Cloda Power: I didn't box when I lived in Japan. They weren't too keen, on having me do any kind of full contact sport there. but New York, I was very interested in martial arts there, kickboxing, boxing, Muay Thai and MMA in Dublin and here in Canada as well.
>> Marco Timpano: And is the scene different? Do you find that the scene is different in all those countries, or are they very similar?
>> Cloda Power: Very different.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, very different. I. I, really got into it in New York, like, very invested in it, and that's what changed everything for me. and in. In Dublin, I found in New York there was a lot more women.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: In Dublin, until I started coaching. I found that in the classes and in the, the gyms that I was attending, there was very few. I would often be the only one I see. And then I coached and I found that more women came. And maybe it was because I was a female coach, but it was definitely a lot more, a lot more open.
>> Marco Timpano: And here in Canada.
>> Cloda Power: Here in Canada, it's very different, a different structure. I'm very interested in sparring in full contact, but you have to register with the Ontario, Boxing Association. There's a lot more paperwork here.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Oh, fascinating.
All right, let's delve in to boxing. Sure. My brother put me in kickboxing when I was young
All right, let's delve in to boxing.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. My, my brother put me in, his kickboxing coach in our little small town had actually been doing a, women's only class one weekend. And my brother knew, I was always trying to emulate, what I saw on tv. So he put me in and he was like, this is a good time for you. To learn how to fight, just in case anything ever comes up as you're a woman. Okay. he was progressive.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Cloda Power: And, and my mom didn't love it, so she kind of put, she kind of curved it until, I went to university and I couldn't be tamed. And, I signed up for every martial art, kickboxing, judo, kung fu. Wow. And then just years of different training, I found that Muay Thai and boxing were what I loved the most. and after a few small injuries here and there, boxing was, was something that I found that I was teaching as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
Let's talk about the technical aspect of boxing
Okay, so let me, let me unpack this first of all, for our listeners who are like, why are they doing an episode on boxing? That seems like an exciting, topic and I might not be able to sort of find my way to sleep. But the reason I want to talk, I want to talk about the technical aspect of this sport because a lot of people know it as this dramatic sort of thing that takes place in a ring and like a lot of fast movements. And so you think, why would this be a topic for insomnia? And I'm like, no, I want to talk about the technical and how complex it is. And I feel like that's going to be less dramatic than the actual sport when you watch it on television.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: But you said that your mom wanted you in Irish dancing. Did you take years of Irish dancing?
>> Cloda Power: No, I took about a month.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because I was gonna ask if that helped with your boxing at all, but
>> Cloda Power: no, I was a child. I did about a month of Irish dancing. I got the flu and I was like, I'm done.
>> Marco Timpano: So we found out how you got to boxing. Let's talk about the technical aspect of boxing. So have you never boxed before? What are some tips you would give to someone who is thinking of studying boxing?
>> Cloda Power: Slow down.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. Everyone comes in, they want to have fast hands and move and look really cool. They, The first thing I teach people is just how to stand still.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: where your feet are, just understanding where your body is. So it's very slow. I always tell people on your first class, you probably won't break a sweat.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: it's just simple things like when you learn how to step forward is something that people find really hard. When we walk, we go left. Right. When you're in boxing, you get in a stance and. And you keep that stance.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Cloda Power: So if you're right handed, then, you're left foot forward.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: I'm Left handed. So, my right leg is forward. My power shot comes from my backhand. So it's teaching people that you are going with the opposite way that you think you're going. So if a right handed person comes in, they think I should lead with my right hand. but you want to keep that in the back until you really need to like, break someone's face.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. So it reminds me of when you are, what's the term? When you're driving and you have. You're towing a. You're countersteering. So you have, let's say a hitch on the back of your car and you have to back. You have to back up or go in reverse. You're countersteering because your hitch might go the opposite way that you turn the wheel. So you have to sort of think, I've got to turn the wheel the opposite way that I think. So that the hitch or the thing you're towing, in my case, it was a trailer full of bikes when I was in Europe. I had to turn the wheel the opposite way so that the trailer would start turning the way I wanted it to. That's what this sounds like to me. So it's sort of retraining your brain to realize that the foot that you normally use coordinated with the hand are not necessarily the foot and hand you're going to use in the same manner in the rink. Is that fair to say?
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. when I'm teaching people, I usually try and tell them, with your left hand, which will be most people's weaker hand, you knock on the door gently, and then you use your right hand to break down the door.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Cloda Power: okay. The easiest way to explain it to someone. so your left hand, which would be where you jab.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Cloda Power: it's a fast, but it's a very important punch. But, it's usually a lighter punch. So. So you knock on the door, you don't get a response, then you break it down.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, I see.
>> Marco Timpano: And I guess being grounded in your feet and in your body is key. M. That's why the first lesson sort of teaches you that.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. So it's all about where your feet move and how you move your feet to channel your hips. Okay. so when you're throwing that power shot off your back hand, for most people, your right hand, you have to come up in the ball of your foot pivot so that your toes, knees and hips are facing the direction of where you want your power to go.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: So in your general stance, your back foot, which is going to be your power shot, that is facing just slightly out. So if it's your right foot, it's going to be facing at about 2:00'. Clock. And then when you're throwing your hand from that side, so your right foot, you, you're gonna Turn it to 12 o'.
>> Marco Timpano: Clock.
>> Cloda Power: I see. so that you're using your whole body to throw that punch. It never comes from your shoulder, it comes from your foot.
I spent a lot of time watching footwork in the ring
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. And who are some boxers that have great footwork, that you've seen them, in films or, ah, on video or even just boxers that you're like, this person has great footwork.
>> Cloda Power: I mean everyone talks about Muhammad Ali's feet. They were felt he was doing beautiful dancing in the ring. and it was what gave him his edge. a lot of the time you're seeing. I spent a lot of my time watching footwork in the ring. and a lot of people nowadays, you can see where they'll falter in their feet. Oh, really? Yeah. And it's also in your head, when you're in the ring, it's a lot of pressure. It's a lot of people suddenly watching you. It's a lot of money. A lot of the time, you know, and, you know, one false step and you lose everything. so a lot of time you can see and you can watch people. And I think also the heavier the person, the more they require their feet. Like Anthony, Joshua, who is, he's English, he's huge, huge guy. but he's very muscular. he faced off against, Ruiz, who's a Mexican guy. he's, he's not the physique of a boxer. He's a, he's a real hefty looking gentleman.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: one would m call him fat if you saw him walking down the street. It was an often joke. Anthony, Joshua is like an Adonis. He's gorgeous and sculpted and super tall. and Ruiz is just, a fat dude who, ah, beat Joshua. And for a guy to look the way he does, to be on his toes the way he was, it's a lot in your calves. So, you know, watching him move and you know, fully take down Anthony Joshua a few months ago during the summer, I think it was okay. and suddenly win all the belts, it was wild.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess that's the elegance of boxing, that a lot of people don't necessarily identify with the sport right away. M. That there is this sort of poetic Dance in the rink.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And that, that can lead someone to success where one might a m. Novice or someone who doesn't know the sport well thinks, oh, it's all just punches. But it sounds to me that there's a lot in the feet that people don't realize that's going on.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, I mean, people joke about, Mayweather, that he does laps around the ring. he's gonna tire you out. He's gonna keep his feet moving before he needs to use his hands. Right. and evasive techniques are. Avoiding a punch is just as important as throwing a punch. because if you get hit in the face because your feet are planted and flat, then you're not going anywhere. You're gonna get concussed.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Cloda Power: So lighten the feet.
When I have insomnia, I start to count my breathing
>> Marco Timpano: Now you said you talked about getting in your head, and I know that's something that for myself, when I have insomnia, I often get in my head. What do you or boxers do to get out of their head in the moment?
>> Cloda Power: For me, I, count. it's, ah, a weird thing I always had that calmed me. I start to count my breathing. So it's in, two, three, out, two, three. Okay. and it's something that I've found. I went skydiving a few years ago and it was the same thing. I had used it so much in boxing, in Muay Thai, when I'd get overwhelmed m by an opponent that I might hold my breath if, I'm getting punched or kicked a lot, and I would just slow it down, tighten my fists and start to count. and anytime that there was any panic, I found that, you know, counting as you were breathing was something that would help calm me down a lot because suddenly I wasn't focusing on, oh, God, oh, God, I need to get out of this corner or I need to get off the ropes. It was like, okay, I need to breathe. And as I would breathe, I would start to move in conjunction with that breath.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
Muay Thai is a Thai form of boxing. It's much faster than boxing
Now, you mentioned Muay Thai. Tell us some things about Muay Thai that the average person might not be aware of or things that you love about that sport.
>> Cloda Power: again, you were talking about the elegance of boxing. Muay Thai is even, it's even more about your feet because obviously you're using your legs, your knees, your elbows.
>> Marco Timpano: and this is a Thai form of boxing. Is that fair to say, or.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, it's. Yeah, Thai boxing is another phrase for it. But, it's the art of eight limbs.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: So you have punching with your hands, kicking, you have knees and you have elbows. Okay. so it's four of each on either side. So that's eight. there was a few films that came out in the early 2000s. Tony Xia would have been a very famous, actor portraying Muay Thai. Okay. and he's phenomenal. It's much faster than boxing, and it's not given as much attention, when you look at mma, you know, there's a lot of boxing and grappling. But, when I did mma, my base was Muay Thai. so it meant that a, lot of Muay Thai, you sweep, so you take someone down, right?
>> Marco Timpano: And that's that sort of, if you're familiar, that image where they get low to the ground and it almost looks like ballet moves. Like, you know when, Baryshnikov or someone is, like, jumping in the air and their legs go fully extended. But this is on the ground with a big sweep.
>> Cloda Power: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: It's from standing in a tall position.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, what am I thinking?
>> Cloda Power: you're thinking of, like a kung fu sweep.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, sorry.
>> Cloda Power: All right.
>> Cloda Power: It's very confusing.
>> Marco Timpano: Clearly, I don't get in the rink at all. But anyways, go on.
>> Cloda Power: so you would, you. You clinch in boxing, where you get really close. Often perceived as hugging, in Muay Thai, you actively attack your opponent in a clinch. So if you're essentially hugging them around the neck, and upper body, you use your knees to, try and get it into their body. Throw a knee into the ribs if you can. One of my favorites was kneeing someone in the side of the thigh so that you could give,
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Muay Thai can be very long distance if you have your legs
Go to Ocean. Go for the win.
>> Cloda Power: I'm a dead leg. Okay, and then from there, if you move your hips and you move your feet a little bit, you can, from a standing position, sweep your opponent and get, them on their back on the ground. so Muay Thai, can be very long distance if you have your legs and you're kicking them, keeping them out of your range. Or you can get incredibly close and, elbow, someone in the head.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah.
How has boxing, Muay Thai impacted your daily life in manners
>> Marco Timpano: So let me ask you this. How has boxing, Muay Thai, and all the other, arts and sports that you know in this sort of area impacted your daily life in manners, which you wouldn't have anticipated?
>> Cloda Power: in terms of confidence, I do realize that the more advanced I got, the more competent and, just more skilled I became more confident in almost all aspects. I don't want to sound obnoxious, but I do think, you're more aware, of a lot of things. Like, even in the workplace, I found that my attention span improved. Oh. yeah. I think, because you focus so much on where your feet are and where your hands are, you think so much like, boxing is essentially like chess. It's very intellectually involved. I think that it tends to make you more alert in all aspects of your life. Walking down the street as a woman, I know chances are I can at least outrun someone.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: My cardio is pretty. Okay. and again, I have an awareness of my body and of someone else's body. If someone gets in close to me again, you have a sweep and clinch option if you're lucky and they don't have a knife, or ah, keep someone at a distance. You have an awareness of, how to ground your body so you don't get taken down if someone comes for you. I think it just makes you mentally more capable.
>> Marco Timpano: tell me more about this, intellectual aspect or this chess aspect of boxing.
>> Cloda Power: yeah, it's a lesson that a lot of the time when you're training, you do drills and it's repetition. And we count our punches. One is your lead hand. Two is your Backhand, three is a hook, and then four is often an uppercut. You've got five to the body, six to the body. and you'll shout like two, three, two. So you know that it's punch number two followed by number three, followed by number two. You have head movements. So, it's. When we train, we train a lot of repetition. But when you fight, you can't repeat
>> Marco Timpano: because your opponent will be able to predict your next move.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. So you can't have a pattern. And on top of it, you can't, you know, expect someone else to have a pattern. When I started sparring for the first time, I would use my patterns, I would use my repetition and I, I would use like two, three, two, you know, with a slip and a two. and, And yeah, it would be like my opponent, who would be much more skilled. Sure. would recognize it, would counter it, cut me off halfway.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Cloda Power: so you need to learn to adjust faster. You move around, you need to recognize, you need to keep an eye on their chest. If you keep an eye on the center of their body, you can see their feet and their shoulders through micro movements or just. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Cloda Power: Because the second you move your hips, you're gonna move. Your chest starts to adjust. If you're moving your shoulders, your chest is adjusting. So, I have a habit of always looking down when I'm walking. Okay. and so one of the things I had to relearn was to keep my eyes further up. So I would watch people's feet a lot. in the ring. Yeah, when I started, I was always looking down, always looking at people's feet. my coach was like, great, keep looking at my feet, I'm gonna keep hitting you in the face. Right. so it was a lesson to. He was like, if you wanna look down, look at my chest all the time. He, was like, you can see the whole world from the center. Wow. so, I mean, he was still brutal. And, I'm short sighted, okay. Like my vision. So once I take off my glasses, it's hard for me to see certain things. I would go by color. Okay. So thankfully everyone has bright colors when they fight. You know, you see the reds and the blues, so it's easier to see. But, I remember he made a joke one time. He said, you can't block what you can't see. He threw a punch at my face and then a kick at my face. And he was like, did you see either of those? I said, no, he was like, cause I'm too fast. I said, no, I'm short sighted. Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: So how do you compensate for that?
>> Cloda Power: Color?
>> Marco Timpano: Just color?
>> Cloda Power: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: so you don't wear, like, contacts or anything like that.
>> Cloda Power: Contacts get knocked out.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Cloda Power: Ah, you take a few shots to the face and they're on the ground. So, for him, when he would be shouting at me, from a corner, he would, tell me warmer or colder when it came to if I was too far away from my opponent. so he would do the compensation for me a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Cloda Power: or, you know, he'd just shout closer, closer. because oftentimes I would be too far away from my opponent. I would overestimate, because I have long limbs. Right. So he would do the compensation for me unless he was training me and he decided to take full advantage.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: but, yeah, it's back to the original question, which was, you're using intellect in the fight. It is recognizing how other people move as well. So when we try and avoid patterns, there's only so much you can do. There's only so many combinations you can throw. and again, it's about figuring if your fighter is a close fighter or a distance fighter.
Boxing is about trickery as much as it is about understanding yourself
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Cloda Power: And it's about understanding people, engaging their, understanding of you. So it is about trickery as much as it is about, understanding yourself. It's about trying to be smarter than your opponent.
>> Marco Timpano: So can you. If you were to watch a boxer, let's say someone who's, who's really popular, do you sort of get a sense of what their moves will be?
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, you always kind of know there's, there's boxers out there who want to win on points, and there's boxers out there who want to decapitate their opponent. ah, there's a very famous Irish boxer called Katie Taylor. she's very popular. Ah, she's a sporting icon for us. She's our hero, the person we're most proud of. she's very aggressive. She's a lovely human being, very sweet. have you met her? No. She. In interviews. I've seen her, in person. She actually came to my small town.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wonderful.
>> Cloda Power: my mom surprised me with tickets, which was a very sweet thing to do after she took me out of training as a child. But, she sent me there. It's a very small town and you see Katie Taylor, after a fight, will stand around and greet some children and encourage them. Even you watch her on social media. She's always trying to tell little girls, like, you can do this. so, yeah, she's a very kind person. she's a very religious person. I see. She's all about, you know, thanking God for everything. Okay. And, then you see her in the ring. I remember watching her in Boston maybe two years ago. She gets very angry in the ring. she's very powerful punches. She's very fast. But, she gets very aggressive, and she starts to ignore her coach. and you become a different person when you're in the ring. Okay. You know, you think you're a certain way until someone punches you in the face. And it changes who you are on a cellular level almost. Wow. and I remember watching her. Her, her opponent was scared. To everyone in the audience, it looked like her. Her opponent was scared of her. So she lay back in the. On the ropes and said, hit me. Hit me. And dropped her hands. And for someone who's such a lovely person to see her essentially being disrespectful, she apologized. Afterwards, she says, I'm so sorry. That was like, she didn't know what came over her, but we all knew what came over her. You are a different person when you get in that ring and you cannot think of, I really want to thank my mom. You can only think of, I want
>> Marco Timpano: to beat my opponent.
>> Cloda Power: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Cloda Power: Either I want to take your head off, or I want to outclass you. Okay. She lost her class in that moment, and all she cared about was, hitting this woman as hard as she could in the face. I see. and I think that's, you can watch someone and you can think that she's going to be a very graceful fighter. She's a brutal puncher.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Cloda Power: and you're just a different person. so my mom was shocked. My very elegant lady mother was, quite shocked to see, you know, someone who. She had been like, she's such a lady, go in, kind of be rude.
From the female perspective, how would you encourage females about this sport
Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this, because you brought this up, and boxing has traditionally always been seen as a sport for men. M. What would you say to our listeners who are. Think. Our listeners who identify as female, who might be thinking of getting into this sport or thinking maybe their daughter or niece might enjoy the sport from a. From the female perspective, how would you encourage, females about this sport?
>> Cloda Power: I always, always encourage women to take up any kind of combat sport. Maybe boxing isn't for you. Maybe kung fu is. I think that the people like Katie Taylor have opened up the space for us so much more. I trained predominantly with men, in Ireland. It was a gym owned by Polish men mostly. My coach was one of the only Irish. I think there's only two Irish coaches there. and the respect that people have for you when you're a woman and you step in and you're always going to be a couple of pounds lighter and smaller than the guys across from you. I was a little different. I'm quite tall. and I was already training weights because of my brothers. But, it's a different level of respect. I've never once encountered sexism in martial arts. and once you start to tell, there's gonna be men who will challenge you and say, oh, you think you can fight? Could you knock me out? Chances are, yes. You wouldn't even have to learn how to fight to knock someone out. It's biology. There's a point in your jaw where the skull and your jawbone meet. One swift punch there, you can knock anyone out, regardless of their size. so it's not even about power. It's about knowledge and awareness of your body. But for a woman to take it, it's a graceful, beautiful sport, like we spoke, with your feet in that movement. It's also training your body and understanding how you move. I found that in my last few years as a coach, I've had more women than men take my class because I'm a female instructor. I think it was a two to one ratio we had when I was teaching in Dublin of women coming in and they wanted to learn. And they didn't just want to learn for fitness. They wanted to learn to fight. And I coached people. And I remember one woman in particular went in and had a fight within three months of starting training.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Cloda Power: She had never thrown a punch in her life. She just happened to be the same height and build as me. And I was like, I'm gonna teach you how to fight.
>> Marco Timpano: That's great.
>> Cloda Power: And, within three months, she went in, she won her fight.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, she won too?
>> Cloda Power: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That's pretty impressive as well, right?
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. She went against a girl who had done, like, she'd been training. The other girl had been training for, like, a few years. that girl had also, she'd taken some white collar fights. So that's. I guess it's. White collar is not serious. It's not amateur. But, everyone was registered as an amateur boxer. my friend Claire, she was taller than her. Height matters.
>> Marco Timpano: It does in boxing.
>> Cloda Power: You get reach oh, of course. so we knew that her opponent was shorter than her. So for the weeks leading up to it, I put her with shorter men and women to train. And I said, they're going to attack your body and be like, you have to defend. They're not gonna hit your head, they're gonna hit you in the body. So she had to change up everything. When she would train with me, we were even right. When she would train with a shorter person, I was like, they're gonna hit you right in your, like your solar plexus. Okay. They're gonna take the air out of your lungs. You have to stop that and you have to keep them at a distance.
Cloda: I trained both left and right. I would start a fight right handed
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Cloda Power: And you have to change the game for them. So it was just about putting people into. Change everything for her, make her rethink her entire style. and yeah, she, she won, which was really cool. but again, she only had, I think, three months of training.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah, that's impressive.
>> Marco Timpano: I love, I love the aspect of strategy that was put into place with regards to this particular fight. I didn't, you know, not that I didn't realize it, but you sort of breaking it down makes me realize how much strategy is involved in this sport.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. Once you know who you're against. Depends if they're left handed or right handed. As a left handed fighter, I wouldn't let them know I was left handed. I would train right handed and I would start a fight right handed. and then I would switch, I would switch my feet and I would switch my dominant hand. Because I trained both left and right. I see my, my jab when I was in my right handed stance was from my power hand. So I had a jab that was heavier and harder than it should have been.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Cloda Power: And my coach, who was also left handed, encouraged it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Cloda Power: He said when you step in that ring, you step in right handed. When you finish your opponent, you finish left handed.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Cloda Power: Yeah. So it's, again, it's about trickery.
>> Marco Timpano: This is great, Cloda, thank you so much.
Cloda: I encourage everyone listening to learn about boxing. This is a great sport to get into
Now that we've, got to the real meat of boxing, we're also, towards the end of this episode, thank you for holding no punches and talking about boxing in this episode. And I encourage everyone listening that this is a sport of elegance, of strategy, of getting out of your head and of power. And I encourage anyone, as I'm sure
>> Cloda Power: you do all the time.
>> Marco Timpano: This is a great sport to get into.
>> Cloda Power: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you, Cloda. and thank you for listening to the insomnia Project. This episode was recorded in Toronto, Canada. Until next time.
Jewelry with Miracle
(Original airdate: June 24, 2020)
Michelle Miracle joins Insomnia Project to discuss mundane topics
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation on, hopefully a mundane topic for you. Some people get excited about some certain topics that we cover. I have a very special guest in the studio today and I have mentioned this person on the podcast in several other episodes. And I'm, so glad to be here with a dear friend of mine, someone I haven't seen in a couple of years, Michelle Miracle. And yes, that is her last name. Welcome, Michelle.
>> Speaker C: Thank you. It's so nice to be here after all of these years of listening to your podcast and loving, it from afar. It's very exciting to be inside the Insomnia Project.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
You're from Colorado and you are in the Rockies and here in Utah
Now you live in Los Angeles.
>> Speaker C: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: I live in Toronto.
>> Speaker C: You do.
>> Marco Timpano: But we are in Salt Lake City, Utah.
>> Speaker C: And, it's a long story.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. but we wanted to get together for your birthday.
>> Speaker C: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And we wanted to make it a surprise so your husband and me and my wife figure out a location we all had not been in before.
>> Speaker C: Very sneaky.
>> Marco Timpano: And we sneaked it all out and we all ended up here.
>> Speaker C: And I was very surprised and shocked and had no idea that you were going to surprise me at the airport. And, it has been a fun filled non boring. 72 hours in salt Lake City.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you think of Salt Lake?
>> Speaker C: I think it's beautiful. It's very clean and fresh and there's a lot of new construction and it seems very vibrant and the mountains are just gorgeous.
>> Marco Timpano: You're someone who can rate mountains because you're from Colorado and you are in the Rockies and here in Utah. These mountains for me are just stunning. And they're white capped and they're just, they feel like you can reach out your hand and touch them.
>> Speaker C: Yes. I am, a world class mountain connoisseur, if you will. And, in Colorado There are several 14,000 foot mountains.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: In fact, like people who are hiking enthusiasts, which I am not, I should say will make.
>> Marco Timpano: That's not true.
>> Marco Timpano: Because we hiked in Maine together and
>> Speaker C: you were like, we went on a walk in Maine.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I call that a hike. I call that a hike.
>> Speaker C: There are serious hikers in Colorado that will go on like a six hour hike.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Speaker C: And you know, pack with a backpack and they climb these 14,000ft, peaks. And they're part of the 14ers. They call themselves the 14er Club. So it's like once you get through, you know, if you, you've climbed all of the 14,000 foot peaks, then you're like a member of the 14er club or whatever. I don't know for sure if I'm, if I have all my facts straight, but needless to say, there are a lot of very tall mountains in Colorado. And when I see the mountains in Salt Lake, they are beautiful, great. But I don't think they're quite up to 14, 000 people.
>> Marco Timpano: No, they're not as majestic.
>> Speaker C: They're not as majestic.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're not as, skyscraping as when you're in Colorado. For me, anyways, my experience, stunning in a different way.
>> Speaker C: Right. But very similar climate here.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. The elevation, I should check the elevation.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: I'm not sure what it is here, but it feels very much like Colorado.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're ever going to a place that has a high elevation and you're not used to high elevations like me, you might suffer from a bit of altitude sickness. So my recommendation would be to get plenty of rest before you get there and drink plenty of water before and when you're there.
>> Speaker C: Right, right. Because for some reason the higher elevation dehydrates you. And when you get dehydrated in high elevation, I believe it causes a lot of headaches and it can cause dizziness.
>> Marco Timpano: and trouble breathing.
>> Speaker C: Trouble breathing. So a lot of times in these high mountain towns, you'll see people wearing oxygen or getting, you know, oxygen boosts. Especially, like, performers. Right. If they're on stage in Aspen or something, they'll have, like, oxygen off stage.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
What's your favorite mountain in Colorado? Do you have one
What's your favorite, mountain in Colorado? Do you have one?
>> Speaker C: You know, I should. I should have one. I believe Mount Albert is the highest mountain in Colorado. I don't even think I've ever been there.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: I'm just snobby because I'm from Colorado. So, I don't have, like, the favorite mountain.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Speaker C: But they're just bigger.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. What are some tips you would give someone who is going to hike in a mountain?
>> Speaker C: Bring lots of water. Bring lots of snacks. I went snowshoeing once in Snow in Steamboat.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Steamboat, Colorado.
>> Speaker C: And it was. I thought snowshoeing was going to be very physically challenging, and it was lovely. It was like. Because I'm not a very athletic person.
>> Marco Timpano: For our listeners who don't know what snowshoeing is, basically, when there's lots of snow on the ground and you want to go for a walk, you will sink into the snow. So there's these snowshoes that you put on the bottom of your shoes, and they kind of look like, for lack of a better term, a tennis racket. They're stringed, and it helps you stay on top of the snow and not sink down. So you can sort of walk your way across.
>> Speaker C: Right. And it's very inexpensive when it comes to outdoor winter sports, compared comparatively to
>> Marco Timpano: skiing, snowboarding, even hockey.
>> Speaker C: All the equipment you need to play hockey. This is like a $15 rental. And in Steamboat, there are several trails, so you just rent. Rent the snowshoes for a day, and then you take a walk in a very flat, beautiful, quiet mountain trail. And it was incredible. I couldn't believe how stunning and quiet it was.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker C: And I was with a friend, but it was just like walking in silence. And you just hear the crunching of the snow. Just like. It was amazing.
Did you see any wild animals while you were snowshoeing
>> Marco Timpano: Did you see any wild animals while you were snowshoeing?
>> Speaker C: we saw a lot of birds, and we saw tracks from, deer and several other things that I didn't identify.
>> Marco Timpano: We saw a sweet owl, my wife and I, not too long ago. And it was so beautiful.
>> Speaker C: And in Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: No, this was a bit north, so this was the. This was. We were heading to cottage country, so we were on our way. On our way up on Highway 50. If anyone cares. And all of a sudden we saw this white owl, and when it took off its wingspans and the way it looked, it was. It was wonderful.
>> Speaker C: Wow. I remember being in Alaska once and seeing a baby bear, like up in a tree.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Speaker C: Like, not even like 15ft in the air. And of course, the worry is the mama bear is around, is around and nobody should interfere with this baby bear. But it was so cool to just see them existing, you know, and playing and enjoying the outdoors.
>> Marco Timpano: Bald eagles are really cool to see in the wild.
>> Speaker C: They're huge. They're huge.
>> Marco Timpano: They're. They're beautiful. It doesn't surprise me that they're the national symbol because it's such a beautiful looking animal.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's majestic, it's strong, it's powerful. It has so many qualities to it that make it an interesting bird to watch.
>> Speaker C: Very intimidating.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker C: seeing one up close, I remember I saw one also in Alaska that was being rehabilitated.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: And it, it had a mask on because apparently they get very scared. And I think it had a mask on so that it wouldn't like, be anxious around people or what. It was in a cage, but the talons on that thing were like 3 inches long and the beak is just massive and you can see how it can just rip your skin apart. Right. So it's huge. Right.
Michelle Miracle can spot whales from miles and miles away
>> Marco Timpano: So something that our listeners might not know about you, I don't think I ever mentioned it on the podcast, but one thing that I know that I try to do is you have a sort of. I don't know if love is the word, but you really enjoy photos of fire hydrants.
>> Speaker C: Yes, I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell us about that.
>> Speaker C: Well, it actually started around the time that I met you, which we worked.
>> Marco Timpano: we worked together on a cruise ship performing for the Second City.
>> Speaker C: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So we met in Chicago and we did a rehearsal and then we were on a boat for four months. And it was you, Amanda, who wasn't my wife at the time. Derek Shipman, who's a very close friend of ours. Hi, Derek. Ian McIntyre. And then Steven Yeun, who you might know from the Walking Dead, was on the ship with us and we all became fast friends.
>> Speaker C: He's a very famous man now.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, he certainly is. And a delightful person. I don't know if everyone knows now, one of the talents. We'll get back to fire hydrants in a second. One of the talents that Michelle Miracle has, beyond being funny and talented on stage, is she can spot a whale in the ocean from miles and miles. Away. So much so that we gave you the moniker of Whale Eye instead of Eagle Eye.
>> Speaker C: Speaking of eagles, instead of Eagle Eye Miracle, it became Whaleye Miracle.
>> Marco Timpano: And I remember you didn't appreciate that moniker, but you could spot the whales. You always could spot the whales.
>> Speaker C: I can. I can see the whale spray from the blowholes miles away.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever seen a whale closer? They're very majestic animals, too. We talk about majestic animals, but they're just so graceful for being such a large creature. The way they move in the water and their tails and what.
>> Speaker C: That's.
>> Marco Timpano: They're beautiful.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. I believe I've seen just, like, the back. Like, the ridge of their back of one of their backs, but just, you know, on blue Earth. That's the closest I gotten to an actual whale to see them.
Do you ever frame pictures of your fire hydrants
>> Marco Timpano: But let's get back to fire hydrants. So we. We explored that. We worked together on ships for four months.
>> Speaker C: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And, that's around that time you got into fire hydrants.
>> Speaker C: Right? Because one of our ports was Bermuda. And I remember going to this town
>> Marco Timpano: in Bermuda, Hamilton, St. George.
>> Speaker C: I don't remember what town it was, but it was. There was the most beautiful red fire hydrant with, like, two arms coming out on either side. Almost like a guy who was, like, surrendering, like, hey, okay, okay. And I took a picture of it, and I remember feeling like that is. I've never noticed a fire hydrant before, but that is the most beautiful fire hydrant, I think, that exists. And then from that point, every city or town or country we happen to be in, I started noticing fire hydrants. And it was just everyone was different. Every town, every country, they had a little different style to them. So I just started to become obsessed. And now this is 10 years later. I have, I don't know, probably a thousand pictures of different fire hydrants from all over the world.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker C: And now, because friends know that I am obsessed with them now, when they travel and see a fire hydrant in a different country, they'll send it to me or tag me on Facebook and say, like, hey, thinking of you.
>> Marco Timpano: So other people have gone on to love fire hydrants as well because of you.
>> Speaker C: I don't know if they love them, but because of how weirdly specific it is, now, they think of me when they see them.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: And if there's a funny one or a strange one or a particularly ugly dirty one, they'll take a picture of it and send me. And I have a friend who, travels all over the world. His wife is. Is. Has A very international business job. And he takes pictures all over the world. And he'll send me one from a random country in the Middle east to, you know, Malaysia and India and where's
>> Marco Timpano: the coolest place that you're like, wow, this is a really cool one. I know that we make a special point to find fire hydrants, take a photo and send it to you.
>> Speaker C: Honestly, sometimes it's about the composition of the photo. Oh. Rather than just the fire hydrant. And I believe you and your wife sent me one of my favorites. I have so many it's hard to pick just one. But you sent me one from Cuba, from Havana. And in the background is an old car.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: Because Cuba is filled with the old classic cars. And, because I believe that's when they stopped importing US cars. The 50s. Right. So it's like this time capsule of here's a present day fire hydrant, but with the. The frozen in time Cuban, wow. Culture. American influence on the Cuban culture.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Do you, do you ever frame pictures of your fire hydrants or are they just kept on your social media or in a file on your desktop?
>> Speaker C: Well, there are so many folders all over my digital libraries. I. I have printed quite a few and I. Funny you should ask that. I put them up in my bathroom.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a great place for them.
>> Speaker C: Because I think that's what people immediately think of is that fire hydrants equal urination of dogs for dogs. So that initial fire hydrant from Bermuda is blown up to a five by seven.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful.
>> Speaker C: And it's over my toilet.
>> Marco Timpano: That's great.
>> Speaker C: I have one that is. Someone spray painted it. It's from Denver.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: I'm from Denver originally. So it's from downtown Denver, which has a tendency to be a little more rough around the edges, you know, in some neighborhoods. And someone had painted. This is a fire hydrant. Only selfish pigs park in front of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, they're not wrong. Okay, fair enough.
>> Speaker C: But I just thought the work goes in, into that. So specifically, you know, spray painting letters.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: On tiny letters onto a fire hydrant. It's a lot of work.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's framed as well?
>> Speaker C: It is framed, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's fascinating and kind of neat that you have.
>> Speaker C: I'd like to publish a book.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that would be great.
>> Speaker C: That is my goal.
>> Marco Timpano: A coffee. A bathroom table book. Bathroom table instead of a coffee table.
>> Speaker C: Right, right. I should mention that my husband, who likes to surprise me, once took me on a trip to just outside of San Francisco and He wouldn't tell me where we were going. And it turns out he was taking me to a little town just north of Oakland, I believe, called Brisbane. And the most interesting thing about Brisbane, it's just an quaint little town, but the fire hydrants in that town are all painted like characters or.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you mean, characters? People or famous people or, like, Mickey
>> Speaker C: Mouse type, I believe. Yes. So any type of, like, storybook characters or cartoon, characters or. there's one that is, like, themed, like ocean animals or flowers or food. And apparently they have a fundraiser every couple of years that you can sponsor a fire hydrant, and you pay and it's a fundraiser, and then you get to paint it, and it gets to stay like that for a year or something like that.
Miracle's mission was to explore all the beautiful fountains in Rome
So you have to kind of submit your design and. And whatever. But I had no idea this existed. And it is impressive because on every corner is a different character or theme.
>> Marco Timpano: So you just spent the day walking and looking at fire hydrants.
>> Speaker C: I was my. I was like a kid in a candy store.
>> Marco Timpano: It's kind of fun to do that, to go somewhere and you're like, you're on a mission.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember.
>> Marco Timpano: So I've been to Rome many times. This is the episode where we just cover all four corners of the Earth. But I'd been wrong. I had been to Rome several times. And so for me, I had seen a lot of the places that one must see when they go to Rome. So I was going. And I was spending a bit of time in Rome. This particular time, I went out and I was like, all right, so now my goal is to just go and see the different fountains in the piazza and take pictures with as many fountains as I can see and eat and drink, have coffees and cappuccinos. And, I'm not going to spend any time worrying about going to the sites, but my mission was to explore all the beautiful fountains. And I got pictures with 21 fountains.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: all around Rome. And it was just wonderful. And I got to see areas of Rome I wouldn't have gone to see, because I just would go to these piazzas, and I'd be like, where's another fountain? I would just walk until I found a fountain, and it was just so much fun.
>> Speaker C: I had no idea there were that many fountains.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there's so many.
>> Speaker C: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: some were big, like the Trevi fountain. Great. And then a lot of them were just charming little fountains that kind of were. Were so small that you looked at them and said, but it's not the Trevi Fountain. But they were so beautiful that I was like, it doesn't matter that it's. I'm not going to compare it to anything else. It's beautiful on its own.
>> Speaker C: Right. And that's the thing about fire hydrants for me, was that there's something that people associate as dirty or gross, but they're also very important.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. They are very functional. They save lives.
>> Speaker C: Vital.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker C: in a fire. And different cities utilize them in different ways, but they're all, like, little gross, but a little beautiful. And because they're so different in every city or every town or every country, it's. It's interesting to me to see, like, how that vital tool looks right.
>> Marco Timpano: In different places, because it has to stand out, too.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's kind of a neat feature in every city in the world in that you've got this important element, and you have to find a way to make it stand out, because when it's needed, you need to find it fast.
>> Speaker C: Right. And. And funny you should mention. Mention Italy, because a friend of mine went to Italy and she could not find a fire hydrant. Oh. and another friend went to Korea or, I mean Japan and could not find a regular fire hydrant. So I'm so curious to know what they do in. In place of a fire hydrant there. You know, in countries that maybe the infrastructure wasn't there.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: Or maybe the. Maybe they have some sort of other plumbing or system. I don't. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll be honest with you. I don't remember what they were in Italy, but I'm most likely going this summer or this early summer, so I'll make sure I find out. I'll send you pictures, and then I'll let our listeners know. And if you have found photos of fire hydrants from your hometowns, please send us a photo on our Instagram account, the Insomnia Project. Or, tweet us at Listen and Sleep. I'd love to see the fire hydrants from your hometown. And we'll make sure that Miracle Michelle, who I call Miracle, gets to see them, and we'll get her feedback. You can. You can rate the.
>> Speaker C: I would love to. You can tag me in it as well, on Instagram, if you'd like.
>> Marco Timpano: What is your handle?
>> Speaker C: It's at Instagirical. Okay, Instagram.
>> Marco Timpano: And it'll be in our show notes in case.
>> Marco Timpano: So Instagiracle with a G. Okay.
>> Speaker C: Like Miracle with a G. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: it's so Funny, because I call you Miracle. amongst my friends who know you, but people who don't know you hear me talk about you and they think your first name is Miracle. And they'll be like, what a beautiful name. Her name is Miracle. I'm like, what are you talking about? That's her last name. And you're not the only friend that I, that I have that I talk about them in their last name. And people will be like, you even said with, with Christine, whose last name is Marques. When you first met her, you thought her name, her first name was Marque.
>> Speaker C: Right? Right. I don't understand.
>> Marco Timpano: Now you were on cruise ships.
What are some of your favorite ports, based on your limited experience
>> Marco Timpano: What are some of your favorite ports? Since we have talked about many different
>> Speaker C: areas of the world, I feel I don't have as much experience in Europe. I don't have any experience in Europe. So I, I, feel badly saying this, but my favorite ports were like either US or Mexico, of course, because that kind of my limited experience. But the. I think the one of the prettiest ports was Bar Harbor.
>> Marco Timpano: I was gonna say the same thing. I would have so much fun with you in Bar Harbor. That's in Maine, right? if. If you're not aware, but Bar Harbor,
>> Speaker C: Maine, it was a very cute little town. Little harbor town. There were like lobster rolls and ice cream shops and a little town park
>> Marco Timpano: and little jewelry stores.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. And then we went on hikes and we went on. We. I remember there's like a ski lift or something that went to the top of this national park.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: I feel. Oh, yeah. and Alaska too. Alaska was so beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: I haven't been there.
>> Speaker C: I thought it was going to be like a sleepy, boring place, but it was really incredibly beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Where was the port in Alaska?
>> Speaker C: A few of them. There was Ketchikan and
>> Marco Timpano: Oh,
>> Speaker C: Boy, I can't remember.
>> Marco Timpano: Skadway. Oh, man.
>> Speaker C: Skagway.
>> Marco Timpano: Skagway, was it? Yeah.
>> Speaker C: Ketchikan. Juno. Not Juno.
>> Marco Timpano: Anchorage.
>> Speaker C: Not.
>> Marco Timpano: They're not Anchorage. Not on the water.
>> Speaker C: I don't think it was further south anyway. Right. I would speak. Been a while, but they were all very interesting places too.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's so wonderful.
This podcast concludes with a hike. Thank you for taking this journey with us
So we started with a hike. We're ending with a hike. And it's been fun having you.
>> Speaker C: I'm so happy so much to have you on this. It's my. It's been a big goal of mine. So this is like a bucket list moment of. I've. I'm always a big fan of yours and your podcast and I have fallen asleep to this podcast several times, and I wish I could tell you which ones, but I fell asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: You would send me. we communicate with a. With a app that allows us to sort of record our voices and send it to each other, and it's called Voxer. If anybody's wondering. And you'll used to say to me, I'm sorry I didn't listen to the. I caught the beginning of this episode, but then I fell asleep and I
>> Speaker C: was like, that's perfect.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't ever be sorry. Just know that that's the purpose of this. And if you stay awake till the end, like some of you may be. Thank you for taking this journey with us.
>> Speaker C: Yes. Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: And I hope at the very least you feel calm and maybe it'll help you drift you to sleep.
>> Speaker C: Yes. Good night.
>> Marco Timpano: Good night. Thank you. And this episode was recorded in beautiful Salt. Salt Lake City, Utah, with a lot
>> Speaker C: of beautiful fire hydrants and wonderful mountains, right?
(Original airdate: June 24, 2020)
Michelle Miracle joins Insomnia Project to discuss mundane topics
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation on, hopefully a mundane topic for you. Some people get excited about some certain topics that we cover. I have a very special guest in the studio today and I have mentioned this person on the podcast in several other episodes. And I'm, so glad to be here with a dear friend of mine, someone I haven't seen in a couple of years, Michelle Miracle. And yes, that is her last name. Welcome, Michelle.
>> Speaker C: Thank you. It's so nice to be here after all of these years of listening to your podcast and loving, it from afar. It's very exciting to be inside the Insomnia Project.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you.
You're from Colorado and you are in the Rockies and here in Utah
Now you live in Los Angeles.
>> Speaker C: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: I live in Toronto.
>> Speaker C: You do.
>> Marco Timpano: But we are in Salt Lake City, Utah.
>> Speaker C: And, it's a long story.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. but we wanted to get together for your birthday.
>> Speaker C: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And we wanted to make it a surprise so your husband and me and my wife figure out a location we all had not been in before.
>> Speaker C: Very sneaky.
>> Marco Timpano: And we sneaked it all out and we all ended up here.
>> Speaker C: And I was very surprised and shocked and had no idea that you were going to surprise me at the airport. And, it has been a fun filled non boring. 72 hours in salt Lake City.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you think of Salt Lake?
>> Speaker C: I think it's beautiful. It's very clean and fresh and there's a lot of new construction and it seems very vibrant and the mountains are just gorgeous.
>> Marco Timpano: You're someone who can rate mountains because you're from Colorado and you are in the Rockies and here in Utah. These mountains for me are just stunning. And they're white capped and they're just, they feel like you can reach out your hand and touch them.
>> Speaker C: Yes. I am, a world class mountain connoisseur, if you will. And, in Colorado There are several 14,000 foot mountains.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: In fact, like people who are hiking enthusiasts, which I am not, I should say will make.
>> Marco Timpano: That's not true.
>> Marco Timpano: Because we hiked in Maine together and
>> Speaker C: you were like, we went on a walk in Maine.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I call that a hike. I call that a hike.
>> Speaker C: There are serious hikers in Colorado that will go on like a six hour hike.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, no.
>> Speaker C: And you know, pack with a backpack and they climb these 14,000ft, peaks. And they're part of the 14ers. They call themselves the 14er Club. So it's like once you get through, you know, if you, you've climbed all of the 14,000 foot peaks, then you're like a member of the 14er club or whatever. I don't know for sure if I'm, if I have all my facts straight, but needless to say, there are a lot of very tall mountains in Colorado. And when I see the mountains in Salt Lake, they are beautiful, great. But I don't think they're quite up to 14, 000 people.
>> Marco Timpano: No, they're not as majestic.
>> Speaker C: They're not as majestic.
>> Marco Timpano: And they're not as, skyscraping as when you're in Colorado. For me, anyways, my experience, stunning in a different way.
>> Speaker C: Right. But very similar climate here.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. The elevation, I should check the elevation.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: I'm not sure what it is here, but it feels very much like Colorado.
>> Marco Timpano: If you're ever going to a place that has a high elevation and you're not used to high elevations like me, you might suffer from a bit of altitude sickness. So my recommendation would be to get plenty of rest before you get there and drink plenty of water before and when you're there.
>> Speaker C: Right, right. Because for some reason the higher elevation dehydrates you. And when you get dehydrated in high elevation, I believe it causes a lot of headaches and it can cause dizziness.
>> Marco Timpano: and trouble breathing.
>> Speaker C: Trouble breathing. So a lot of times in these high mountain towns, you'll see people wearing oxygen or getting, you know, oxygen boosts. Especially, like, performers. Right. If they're on stage in Aspen or something, they'll have, like, oxygen off stage.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
What's your favorite mountain in Colorado? Do you have one
What's your favorite, mountain in Colorado? Do you have one?
>> Speaker C: You know, I should. I should have one. I believe Mount Albert is the highest mountain in Colorado. I don't even think I've ever been there.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: I'm just snobby because I'm from Colorado. So, I don't have, like, the favorite mountain.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Speaker C: But they're just bigger.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. What are some tips you would give someone who is going to hike in a mountain?
>> Speaker C: Bring lots of water. Bring lots of snacks. I went snowshoeing once in Snow in Steamboat.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Steamboat, Colorado.
>> Speaker C: And it was. I thought snowshoeing was going to be very physically challenging, and it was lovely. It was like. Because I'm not a very athletic person.
>> Marco Timpano: For our listeners who don't know what snowshoeing is, basically, when there's lots of snow on the ground and you want to go for a walk, you will sink into the snow. So there's these snowshoes that you put on the bottom of your shoes, and they kind of look like, for lack of a better term, a tennis racket. They're stringed, and it helps you stay on top of the snow and not sink down. So you can sort of walk your way across.
>> Speaker C: Right. And it's very inexpensive when it comes to outdoor winter sports, compared comparatively to
>> Marco Timpano: skiing, snowboarding, even hockey.
>> Speaker C: All the equipment you need to play hockey. This is like a $15 rental. And in Steamboat, there are several trails, so you just rent. Rent the snowshoes for a day, and then you take a walk in a very flat, beautiful, quiet mountain trail. And it was incredible. I couldn't believe how stunning and quiet it was.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker C: And I was with a friend, but it was just like walking in silence. And you just hear the crunching of the snow. Just like. It was amazing.
Did you see any wild animals while you were snowshoeing
>> Marco Timpano: Did you see any wild animals while you were snowshoeing?
>> Speaker C: we saw a lot of birds, and we saw tracks from, deer and several other things that I didn't identify.
>> Marco Timpano: We saw a sweet owl, my wife and I, not too long ago. And it was so beautiful.
>> Speaker C: And in Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: No, this was a bit north, so this was the. This was. We were heading to cottage country, so we were on our way. On our way up on Highway 50. If anyone cares. And all of a sudden we saw this white owl, and when it took off its wingspans and the way it looked, it was. It was wonderful.
>> Speaker C: Wow. I remember being in Alaska once and seeing a baby bear, like up in a tree.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Speaker C: Like, not even like 15ft in the air. And of course, the worry is the mama bear is around, is around and nobody should interfere with this baby bear. But it was so cool to just see them existing, you know, and playing and enjoying the outdoors.
>> Marco Timpano: Bald eagles are really cool to see in the wild.
>> Speaker C: They're huge. They're huge.
>> Marco Timpano: They're. They're beautiful. It doesn't surprise me that they're the national symbol because it's such a beautiful looking animal.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's majestic, it's strong, it's powerful. It has so many qualities to it that make it an interesting bird to watch.
>> Speaker C: Very intimidating.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker C: seeing one up close, I remember I saw one also in Alaska that was being rehabilitated.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: And it, it had a mask on because apparently they get very scared. And I think it had a mask on so that it wouldn't like, be anxious around people or what. It was in a cage, but the talons on that thing were like 3 inches long and the beak is just massive and you can see how it can just rip your skin apart. Right. So it's huge. Right.
Michelle Miracle can spot whales from miles and miles away
>> Marco Timpano: So something that our listeners might not know about you, I don't think I ever mentioned it on the podcast, but one thing that I know that I try to do is you have a sort of. I don't know if love is the word, but you really enjoy photos of fire hydrants.
>> Speaker C: Yes, I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell us about that.
>> Speaker C: Well, it actually started around the time that I met you, which we worked.
>> Marco Timpano: we worked together on a cruise ship performing for the Second City.
>> Speaker C: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So we met in Chicago and we did a rehearsal and then we were on a boat for four months. And it was you, Amanda, who wasn't my wife at the time. Derek Shipman, who's a very close friend of ours. Hi, Derek. Ian McIntyre. And then Steven Yeun, who you might know from the Walking Dead, was on the ship with us and we all became fast friends.
>> Speaker C: He's a very famous man now.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, he certainly is. And a delightful person. I don't know if everyone knows now, one of the talents. We'll get back to fire hydrants in a second. One of the talents that Michelle Miracle has, beyond being funny and talented on stage, is she can spot a whale in the ocean from miles and miles. Away. So much so that we gave you the moniker of Whale Eye instead of Eagle Eye.
>> Speaker C: Speaking of eagles, instead of Eagle Eye Miracle, it became Whaleye Miracle.
>> Marco Timpano: And I remember you didn't appreciate that moniker, but you could spot the whales. You always could spot the whales.
>> Speaker C: I can. I can see the whale spray from the blowholes miles away.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever seen a whale closer? They're very majestic animals, too. We talk about majestic animals, but they're just so graceful for being such a large creature. The way they move in the water and their tails and what.
>> Speaker C: That's.
>> Marco Timpano: They're beautiful.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. I believe I've seen just, like, the back. Like, the ridge of their back of one of their backs, but just, you know, on blue Earth. That's the closest I gotten to an actual whale to see them.
Do you ever frame pictures of your fire hydrants
>> Marco Timpano: But let's get back to fire hydrants. So we. We explored that. We worked together on ships for four months.
>> Speaker C: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And, that's around that time you got into fire hydrants.
>> Speaker C: Right? Because one of our ports was Bermuda. And I remember going to this town
>> Marco Timpano: in Bermuda, Hamilton, St. George.
>> Speaker C: I don't remember what town it was, but it was. There was the most beautiful red fire hydrant with, like, two arms coming out on either side. Almost like a guy who was, like, surrendering, like, hey, okay, okay. And I took a picture of it, and I remember feeling like that is. I've never noticed a fire hydrant before, but that is the most beautiful fire hydrant, I think, that exists. And then from that point, every city or town or country we happen to be in, I started noticing fire hydrants. And it was just everyone was different. Every town, every country, they had a little different style to them. So I just started to become obsessed. And now this is 10 years later. I have, I don't know, probably a thousand pictures of different fire hydrants from all over the world.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker C: And now, because friends know that I am obsessed with them now, when they travel and see a fire hydrant in a different country, they'll send it to me or tag me on Facebook and say, like, hey, thinking of you.
>> Marco Timpano: So other people have gone on to love fire hydrants as well because of you.
>> Speaker C: I don't know if they love them, but because of how weirdly specific it is, now, they think of me when they see them.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: And if there's a funny one or a strange one or a particularly ugly dirty one, they'll take a picture of it and send me. And I have a friend who, travels all over the world. His wife is. Is. Has A very international business job. And he takes pictures all over the world. And he'll send me one from a random country in the Middle east to, you know, Malaysia and India and where's
>> Marco Timpano: the coolest place that you're like, wow, this is a really cool one. I know that we make a special point to find fire hydrants, take a photo and send it to you.
>> Speaker C: Honestly, sometimes it's about the composition of the photo. Oh. Rather than just the fire hydrant. And I believe you and your wife sent me one of my favorites. I have so many it's hard to pick just one. But you sent me one from Cuba, from Havana. And in the background is an old car.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: Because Cuba is filled with the old classic cars. And, because I believe that's when they stopped importing US cars. The 50s. Right. So it's like this time capsule of here's a present day fire hydrant, but with the. The frozen in time Cuban, wow. Culture. American influence on the Cuban culture.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Do you, do you ever frame pictures of your fire hydrants or are they just kept on your social media or in a file on your desktop?
>> Speaker C: Well, there are so many folders all over my digital libraries. I. I have printed quite a few and I. Funny you should ask that. I put them up in my bathroom.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a great place for them.
>> Speaker C: Because I think that's what people immediately think of is that fire hydrants equal urination of dogs for dogs. So that initial fire hydrant from Bermuda is blown up to a five by seven.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful.
>> Speaker C: And it's over my toilet.
>> Marco Timpano: That's great.
>> Speaker C: I have one that is. Someone spray painted it. It's from Denver.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: I'm from Denver originally. So it's from downtown Denver, which has a tendency to be a little more rough around the edges, you know, in some neighborhoods. And someone had painted. This is a fire hydrant. Only selfish pigs park in front of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, they're not wrong. Okay, fair enough.
>> Speaker C: But I just thought the work goes in, into that. So specifically, you know, spray painting letters.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: On tiny letters onto a fire hydrant. It's a lot of work.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's framed as well?
>> Speaker C: It is framed, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, that's fascinating and kind of neat that you have.
>> Speaker C: I'd like to publish a book.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that would be great.
>> Speaker C: That is my goal.
>> Marco Timpano: A coffee. A bathroom table book. Bathroom table instead of a coffee table.
>> Speaker C: Right, right. I should mention that my husband, who likes to surprise me, once took me on a trip to just outside of San Francisco and He wouldn't tell me where we were going. And it turns out he was taking me to a little town just north of Oakland, I believe, called Brisbane. And the most interesting thing about Brisbane, it's just an quaint little town, but the fire hydrants in that town are all painted like characters or.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you mean, characters? People or famous people or, like, Mickey
>> Speaker C: Mouse type, I believe. Yes. So any type of, like, storybook characters or cartoon, characters or. there's one that is, like, themed, like ocean animals or flowers or food. And apparently they have a fundraiser every couple of years that you can sponsor a fire hydrant, and you pay and it's a fundraiser, and then you get to paint it, and it gets to stay like that for a year or something like that.
Miracle's mission was to explore all the beautiful fountains in Rome
So you have to kind of submit your design and. And whatever. But I had no idea this existed. And it is impressive because on every corner is a different character or theme.
>> Marco Timpano: So you just spent the day walking and looking at fire hydrants.
>> Speaker C: I was my. I was like a kid in a candy store.
>> Marco Timpano: It's kind of fun to do that, to go somewhere and you're like, you're on a mission.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember.
>> Marco Timpano: So I've been to Rome many times. This is the episode where we just cover all four corners of the Earth. But I'd been wrong. I had been to Rome several times. And so for me, I had seen a lot of the places that one must see when they go to Rome. So I was going. And I was spending a bit of time in Rome. This particular time, I went out and I was like, all right, so now my goal is to just go and see the different fountains in the piazza and take pictures with as many fountains as I can see and eat and drink, have coffees and cappuccinos. And, I'm not going to spend any time worrying about going to the sites, but my mission was to explore all the beautiful fountains. And I got pictures with 21 fountains.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: all around Rome. And it was just wonderful. And I got to see areas of Rome I wouldn't have gone to see, because I just would go to these piazzas, and I'd be like, where's another fountain? I would just walk until I found a fountain, and it was just so much fun.
>> Speaker C: I had no idea there were that many fountains.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there's so many.
>> Speaker C: Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: some were big, like the Trevi fountain. Great. And then a lot of them were just charming little fountains that kind of were. Were so small that you looked at them and said, but it's not the Trevi Fountain. But they were so beautiful that I was like, it doesn't matter that it's. I'm not going to compare it to anything else. It's beautiful on its own.
>> Speaker C: Right. And that's the thing about fire hydrants for me, was that there's something that people associate as dirty or gross, but they're also very important.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. They are very functional. They save lives.
>> Speaker C: Vital.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker C: in a fire. And different cities utilize them in different ways, but they're all, like, little gross, but a little beautiful. And because they're so different in every city or every town or every country, it's. It's interesting to me to see, like, how that vital tool looks right.
>> Marco Timpano: In different places, because it has to stand out, too.
>> Speaker C: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's kind of a neat feature in every city in the world in that you've got this important element, and you have to find a way to make it stand out, because when it's needed, you need to find it fast.
>> Speaker C: Right. And. And funny you should mention. Mention Italy, because a friend of mine went to Italy and she could not find a fire hydrant. Oh. and another friend went to Korea or, I mean Japan and could not find a regular fire hydrant. So I'm so curious to know what they do in. In place of a fire hydrant there. You know, in countries that maybe the infrastructure wasn't there.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: Or maybe the. Maybe they have some sort of other plumbing or system. I don't. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll be honest with you. I don't remember what they were in Italy, but I'm most likely going this summer or this early summer, so I'll make sure I find out. I'll send you pictures, and then I'll let our listeners know. And if you have found photos of fire hydrants from your hometowns, please send us a photo on our Instagram account, the Insomnia Project. Or, tweet us at Listen and Sleep. I'd love to see the fire hydrants from your hometown. And we'll make sure that Miracle Michelle, who I call Miracle, gets to see them, and we'll get her feedback. You can. You can rate the.
>> Speaker C: I would love to. You can tag me in it as well, on Instagram, if you'd like.
>> Marco Timpano: What is your handle?
>> Speaker C: It's at Instagirical. Okay, Instagram.
>> Marco Timpano: And it'll be in our show notes in case.
>> Marco Timpano: So Instagiracle with a G. Okay.
>> Speaker C: Like Miracle with a G. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: it's so Funny, because I call you Miracle. amongst my friends who know you, but people who don't know you hear me talk about you and they think your first name is Miracle. And they'll be like, what a beautiful name. Her name is Miracle. I'm like, what are you talking about? That's her last name. And you're not the only friend that I, that I have that I talk about them in their last name. And people will be like, you even said with, with Christine, whose last name is Marques. When you first met her, you thought her name, her first name was Marque.
>> Speaker C: Right? Right. I don't understand.
>> Marco Timpano: Now you were on cruise ships.
What are some of your favorite ports, based on your limited experience
>> Marco Timpano: What are some of your favorite ports? Since we have talked about many different
>> Speaker C: areas of the world, I feel I don't have as much experience in Europe. I don't have any experience in Europe. So I, I, feel badly saying this, but my favorite ports were like either US or Mexico, of course, because that kind of my limited experience. But the. I think the one of the prettiest ports was Bar Harbor.
>> Marco Timpano: I was gonna say the same thing. I would have so much fun with you in Bar Harbor. That's in Maine, right? if. If you're not aware, but Bar Harbor,
>> Speaker C: Maine, it was a very cute little town. Little harbor town. There were like lobster rolls and ice cream shops and a little town park
>> Marco Timpano: and little jewelry stores.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. And then we went on hikes and we went on. We. I remember there's like a ski lift or something that went to the top of this national park.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: I feel. Oh, yeah. and Alaska too. Alaska was so beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: I haven't been there.
>> Speaker C: I thought it was going to be like a sleepy, boring place, but it was really incredibly beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: Where was the port in Alaska?
>> Speaker C: A few of them. There was Ketchikan and
>> Marco Timpano: Oh,
>> Speaker C: Boy, I can't remember.
>> Marco Timpano: Skadway. Oh, man.
>> Speaker C: Skagway.
>> Marco Timpano: Skagway, was it? Yeah.
>> Speaker C: Ketchikan. Juno. Not Juno.
>> Marco Timpano: Anchorage.
>> Speaker C: Not.
>> Marco Timpano: They're not Anchorage. Not on the water.
>> Speaker C: I don't think it was further south anyway. Right. I would speak. Been a while, but they were all very interesting places too.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's so wonderful.
This podcast concludes with a hike. Thank you for taking this journey with us
So we started with a hike. We're ending with a hike. And it's been fun having you.
>> Speaker C: I'm so happy so much to have you on this. It's my. It's been a big goal of mine. So this is like a bucket list moment of. I've. I'm always a big fan of yours and your podcast and I have fallen asleep to this podcast several times, and I wish I could tell you which ones, but I fell asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: You would send me. we communicate with a. With a app that allows us to sort of record our voices and send it to each other, and it's called Voxer. If anybody's wondering. And you'll used to say to me, I'm sorry I didn't listen to the. I caught the beginning of this episode, but then I fell asleep and I
>> Speaker C: was like, that's perfect.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't ever be sorry. Just know that that's the purpose of this. And if you stay awake till the end, like some of you may be. Thank you for taking this journey with us.
>> Speaker C: Yes. Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: And I hope at the very least you feel calm and maybe it'll help you drift you to sleep.
>> Speaker C: Yes. Good night.
>> Marco Timpano: Good night. Thank you. And this episode was recorded in beautiful Salt. Salt Lake City, Utah, with a lot
>> Speaker C: of beautiful fire hydrants and wonderful mountains, right?
Provoke with Tessa Sharp
(Original airdate: May 20, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. We hope you will listen and sleep
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. Let's say one thing we can promise is that our conversation will hopefully be less than fascinating so that you can just drift off. I say that and it seems like such an affront to any of my guests, but really, it's a calm conversation that you can listen to and just chill and relax. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me is a dear friend and I'm so thrilled and proud and happy to have you in the studio. welcome Tess Sharp to the Insomnia Project.
>> Tess Sharp: Hi, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Tess, I've known you and worked with you, for years and years. I'VE traveled with you, and, it's a thrill. I just feel like I'm gushing right now.
You are one of the authors of a new leadership development book called Provoke
But in my hands, I hold quite a wonderful look, look and feel of a book called Provoke, which you are one of the authors of.
>> Tess Sharp: That's right, yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about the name. How did you get the name Provoked for this book?
>> Tess Sharp: Okay, so when we were thinking about the name for the book, there were a number of things that were flying around in our head. We work in the field of leadership development.
>> Marco Timpano: what does that mean?
>> Tess Sharp: It means that we work with senior executives of large global corporations around the world on developing their leadership skills, the. Their ability to be able to, work constructively and well with their team members, their colleagues, ah, in service of their organization. And, so if I think about the reason why we called the book Provoke, it was fundamentally to stir up the market a little bit, to start to encourage people to think about how so often businesses approach their leadership development work. And, it's become a very established norm. And we wanted to challenge the industry because we believe that there is so much more creativity and innovation that can be brought to the human agenda in business. and we wanted to kind of shake the market up a little bit to think about how we work in a way which is more humane. More humane both for our leaders and more humane for the staff that they work with, that they enable. so that was why we called it Provoke.
>> Marco Timpano: Provoke. Sounds like a book that would also inspire.
>> Tess Sharp: Well, I hope so.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. before we go any further and our listeners drift off, where can one find this book?
>> Tess Sharp: Okay, so you probably gather by my accent that, I am UK born and bred.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Tess Sharp: We live in the uk, my husband, Keith Jones and I. And, so the book is published and available on the UK branch of Amazon. It is available worldwide, but you need to go to ww.Amazon.co.uk and then put in a search for Provoke, the Art of Transformative Facilitation.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sorry, I didn't say the entire name M. Provoke. The Art of Transformative Facilitation.
>> Tess Sharp: That's right. Otherwise you're in danger of getting some shampoos and conditioners.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, Isn't that funny how one, you know, it could be one word that makes something unique and you type it in wrong and it's all over. And if, businesses are like, oh, we would love to have these authors come. Instruct, Talk, inspire. I understand you have a company. Can they go to your website and.
>> Tess Sharp: Yes, they can. So if Anybody wants to get in touch with us, our company name is Alchemy Worldwide. So if they want to come through to [email protected] www.com, they can get through and contact us there.
>> Marco Timpano: And don't worry if you don't have a pen or paper to write that down. Look in our show notes, and I will list all those places where you can find what we're talking about.
What provokes you in a positive manner doesn't have to be from your book
What provokes you in a positive manner doesn't have to be from your book, but what provokes Tess Sharp.
>> Tess Sharp: I think for me, it's when we, work with human beings in increasing their awareness about how humanity and goodwill makes a difference in life. and it sounds very ethereal, and esoteric, and it really isn't. It's at a very pragmatic level. You know, my past experience of working in large corporate businesses is that they can be very small, spiteful places. And there's a lot of what I would call playground behavior that comes out. A, lot of corridor conversations and backstabbing that goes on, particularly the more senior you get in business.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tess Sharp: And, you know, leaders have a really tough job. yes, they may get paid a lot of money, but actually they fundamentally have a tough job, and they have to prove their worth virtually every day. And part of their job is enabling and motivating those around them to work in service of the business. You know, an engagement and influencing positively is also a really tough call. And I think the more we're able to look at business as opportunistic and collaborative rather than territorial, and aggressive, there's far too much of that in business right now.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Tess Sharp: So that's something that really does turn me on, that I think is really important in today's age.
>> Marco Timpano: There's far too much of that in politics, in business, in daily interactions with individuals in your hometown or city. and making that shift or change would make certainly my area, my world, a better place.
>> Tess Sharp: Yeah. I mean, that's so true. You know, so many people talk to us about Brexit and about what's going on in the UK in terms of politics. And I think the behavior that we see from politicians is just so scary.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tess Sharp: You know, being able to have a sensible dialogue to build on each other's ideas rather than just tear each other apart. tear each other's ideas apart is such a key thing. you know, the answers are not straightforward and simple. It's a really, really complex landscape, and there are high emotions on both sides, both for staying in the EU and for leaving EU and all of that is completely understandable. But the way in which, you know, we all talk to each other to understand what the difference is about, to seek more understanding and to judge less is going to be such a key thing.
>> Marco Timpano: To see the value in the opposite opinion. Yeah, it's so often discounted or dismissed and so much can be gathered or learned or inspired from something that you don't agree with by not dismissing it. in my opinion, certainly when I looked at doing this podcast, I listened to different podcasts and I made sure that I looked at, I listened to what I really liked and I incorporated that. And what didn't work for me was as important.
You've reread your book. Did you learn anything from rereading it
>> Tess Sharp: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You've reread your book.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you learn anything from rereading your book?
>> Tess Sharp: I tell you what, it's so interesting with the book because I was talking about it the other day and it's as if, when you write the book, you give birth to this thing that takes on a personality of its own. And it's like watching a child grow. So each time I read the book, or we talk about the book, or we run a session in the methodology of the book, I learn something new. And, you know, it's kind of like as you explore the face of your baby for the first time, so you start to notice that, you know, they have a little pimple on their left cheek or that their hair curls in a particular way. and it's kind of like that with a book. It's taking on a personality of its own. And, it's so fascinating to hear how others are interpreting the work and the bits that turn them on.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tess Sharp: and sometimes it's, you know, it's kind of not what you think, or they say such amazingly nice things. I'm waiting for the one person who's going to hold up this book and say, hey, look, this has all been done before. Right. And that's not what people are saying.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
>> Tess Sharp: they're talking so much about the originality of the work, which is just really touching.
>> Marco Timpano: The nuggets or the chapters that resonate with people or things that resonate in a way you didn't expect. It still boggles my mind that one of our most popular episodes is the episode called the Citrus Episode, where we just talk about citrus fruit for 26 minutes and people. I get so many emails saying, oh, the citrus episode puts me to sleep every time.
Tell me about photography. Do you enjoy it? Yes, I do
Paige, I think 292. If I'm not mistaken is a photo that you took that's in the book. So tell me about photography. Do you enjoy it?
>> Tess Sharp: Yes, I do. And I never realized that I was a photographer, I think, until I was in my 50s. I've always known I'm a fairly visual person.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Tess Sharp: Ah. You know, I like colors to match and I like things to look right in my head. but through the medium of photography, I think the greatest, the greatest invention ever is my iPhone, because of course it's on my hip all the time, wherever I go. And, being a business owner, you're never disconnected from work.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tess Sharp: but it's always there to just capture in one moment. And if we look at that photograph on page 292, it's of a very good friend and colleague of ours, a guy called Sean Kelly. And, I snapped that shot. We were in between sessions, working for a global financial services business who are a client of ours in Hong Kong. And, their offices are in this great high rise. So we were up on the 29th floor. and I just captured Sean in this photograph for one moment during a break when he was just sat looking out of the window over Hong Kong Harbor. And, it just for me captures that moment of a stolen moment of peace. A, precious moment in our kind of busy lives when we just drift off for one second and I just caught him in that.
>> Marco Timpano: So, yeah, it's great. you could take photos and make a book of just your photography. A stolen moment of peace.
>> Tess Sharp: Yeah.
What is your favorite stolen moment of peace in your daily life
>> Marco Timpano: In your daily life, what is your favorite stolen moment of peace?
>> Tess Sharp: I think it's in the morning when I first wake up.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tess Sharp: And I do my best thinking first thing in the morning.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Tess Sharp: When, I'm kind of part asleep and part awake. And I think it's the time when my head is so uncluttered with stuff I see. and it has this habit of just wandering off into the most remarkable little corners. And I often will then kind of come around and come to smiling to myself at some complete piece of nonsense that I've just conjured up in my head.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
There is an element of artistry to this book that I love
So, yeah, ah, there is a element of artistry to this book that I love. From the COVID and from the photos inside to the colors. You actually use the three main colors in this book. is there art in business?
>> Tess Sharp: Absolutely, there is art in business. I think, one of the things that I just so love that writing of this book has surfaced is the, the possibility and creativity that exists in our. Just our day to day humanizing Together. I see it a lot in young entrepreneurial startup businesses where there is energy, and often the young founders are too naive to really know some of the risks or some of the challenges that they maybe face ahead. So they just have this incredible enthusiasm and openness and creativity of possibility around. And, I can't even remember what your original question was, but that's, where my head went.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I was asking if there's art in business and there's this beauty, in the young entrepreneur, a fearlessness, a not knowing what's over the horizon. So not to fear it is what I gathered from your answer there.
>> Tess Sharp: and it's so much. I mean, it's very much like the industry that you're in, the kind of, spontaneousness, the improvisational nature that exists in business. You know, so much of the history of business is about having regulated methodologies and having an analytic and a rational approach to business. And yet some of the most incredible things are created from that space of not knowing and that space of unpredictability and spontaneity and constructive reactivity to something unexpected that happens. And I think that's really, it's not appreciated or not recognized as such. Potential for business. Ah, so much change that happens left afield or in a surprising way that's not foreseen, often can be seen as a threat or a risk or something that needs to be closed down. And yet I think that that's where the incredible magic of business actually comes in. And it is very much an art form, being able to thrive with POSs. An environment where, you know, there's increasing levels of legislation and regulation and the interconnectivity and interdependency that happens across businesses now with the whole social media and technological age. But equally, there is so much possibility and so much magic that could be conjured up.
Is there an ideology that exists in business that does not resonate
>> Marco Timpano: Is there an ideology that exists in business that does not resonate? That you're like, this is so antiquated and yet so many businesses tend to hang their hat on this idea. In particular, when you're looking at the digital age, the global age that businesses face today, does one come to mind?
>> Tess Sharp: Yeah, I think for me, it's the hierarchical and bureaucratic, dictatorial, styles of leadership, which I think perhaps worked in the industrial age, but nowadays, I think to motivate young generations and have so many generations working in the workplace now as we do, I think it's suitable for a bygone age. But the whole concept of being a really bossy boss with very little regard for, the motivations and engagement and the goodwill of your staff is a key thing. You know, I think one of the younger generations now that we have in the workplace have grown up with a lot of children and a lot of aspiration and expectation. Ah, they have less loyalty in the businesses that they work for. And to keep those kind of people working for you with good grace and goodwill, I think it's really important that we treat them as individuals with their own choices, their own preferences. You know, there's one thing for me about businesses needing to work 9 to 5. I understand that there are certain businesses that have to operate within those constraints. And at the same time, some people don't work their best work working 8 hours non stop from 9 to 5. So if you have a business where you have flexibility and there doesn't need to be that degree of, strict regimen, I think it's important that we are able to offer the flex. So if someone works best by going to the gym at 2 o' clock in the afternoon and coming back and they feel empowered and engaged at that stage, then that works in service of the business. Not all businesses, I know, but, I think it's more about how we approach and respect the people that work for us.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's pretty, pretty awesome. I have to say, that certainly really resonated with me.
Shifting to your authorship and being an author, what was one of the biggest challenge
Shifting to your authorship and being an author, what was one of the things you found the biggest challenge in writing a book and something that you might have thought. Thought was a challenge that actually was fairly, I don't want to say easy, but came to you in a way that you didn't expect.
>> Tess Sharp: The book was a complete journey.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Tess Sharp: It took us four years. So I wrote it with my husband and business partner, Keith Jones, who you
>> Marco Timpano: will hear on a subsequent episode of the Insomnia Project.
>> Tess Sharp: Watch this space. Yes. Once heard, never forgotten. So, yes, I mean, the methodology that sits in the book is Keith's way of working. And I make no bones about that in the book. I think the magic of my involvement with it, and the thing that came as a surprise to me was the degree to which Keith struggled to access what he knew. And it was far more of an emotional rollercoaster for us both than I think we anticipated. So as soon as the methodology started to emerge, and that came to him in a dream, and it's a fascinating story, you must ask him about it. but as soon as the methodology came to him, I started to apply that methodology in facilitating his thinking to help surface what this work was all about. Because his way of working has been so ingrained and has been learned over 40 plus years of working with groups that actually he didn't know what he was doing. a sort of level of unconscious competence. And so one of the things he often talks about now is that he didn't realize in the process of writing the book how much he actually knew. And so we were rediscovering or discovering in some cases for the first time, stuff that he didn't realize that he knew. So it was a very magical process and at the same time an incredibly enduring process to stick with it to the point of those final two words, the end of the page, of the end, when we both burst into tears and just couldn't quite believe we'd got to the end.
Any advice you'd have for people who are contemplating writing a book
Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Any advice you'd have for people who are contemplating writing a book of any, of any topic, that you would give them?
>> Tess Sharp: Yes. Well, I do have. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What a great picture of you. I just turned to you.
>> Speaker A: I asked you a question.
>> Marco Timpano: Then I turned and I was like, oh, sorry.
>> Tess Sharp: Anyways, yeah. No. Well, as we're now going in to start to write our second book, we think we've got a series of five in our heads that we need to access before we're too old.
Tess: What would your counsel and words of advice be on writing
But, the words of advice based on m. What I witnessed in Keith struggling to write the book, and my words of advice to me, taking the lead authorship in this second book is to find your writer's rhythm.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Tess Sharp: You know, the biggest thing, that you're faced with as you write every day is the blank page of whiteness that just sits and faces you day after day after day. And you have to find a way from within yourself to populate that whiteness and to find the font of creativity that sits within you. And, you know, sitting down from nine in the morning till five in the afternoon with a blank screen in front of you is not the way most people write. And I think most authors would say, and certainly from my experience of working with Keith, on this book, has been to find your groove. So there will be times when you'll sit down to write and it's just not there. Okay. Take yourself to Starbucks, go find a coffee, go and find a park, go for a walk, do your laundry. It doesn't matter what. Just go and change state.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tess Sharp: Find something else to do, because the book will come to you in those moments when you stop seeking it, when you're consciously trying to reach for it, it's not there. But when you just allow the space of no thing for it to emerge and give it permission, then it starts to magically come into your head. It's a very odd process.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Tess Sharp: So I. I want to say just be kind to yourself and allow yourself days when the writing's just not there to just not write.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Don't fear that white page. Just chill. Just go for a walk. Do that. It'll come.
>> Tess Sharp: It will come.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't worry so much about the white page, because we've all been there, too. Because sometimes I imagine it. I mean, you wrote this with Keith, but it can still feel like a very lonely process, writing.
>> Tess Sharp: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, you must have done writing
>> Marco Timpano: in your time, without a doubt.
>> Tess Sharp: So, you know, what would your counsel and words of advice be?
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm, currently writing a book. It's going to be a book on podcasting, funny enough. And what I find for myself is with. With that white page that you talk about.
>> Tess Sharp: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Is just start writing. Just write what? It doesn't have to be about your book. It can even be. I don't know where to begin. And you just write that and then see what comes out. I learned this because the musician, songwriter, singer Prince, I heard this, and I don't know if it's true. From Provoke to Prince.
>> Tess Sharp: That's a great title.
>> Marco Timpano: he would write so many songs. He would write multiple songs daily, or he'd write at least a song a day. And he wouldn't necessarily use that writing to create a song. It would just be a song that he wrote. And he would then say he'd put it in his files or in his safe, let's say. And there might be one word or one line that he could take from that song he wrote on February 11 and put it into one of his songs, and he would just use it as a reference. So what I will do is I will write and hope that I know what I just wrote is not great. I know it's not what I want to be writing for this particular piece, whatever it might be. But if I can even get a combination of two words that I like that I can then take from and use in a subsequent chapter that I'm writing, then it will have been worth it. So I take that inspiration from Prince, who writes every day, not to publish that song, but to know it's there in case of an emergency, and that's what I use.
>> Tess Sharp: I think that's fantastic advice. I will use that when I start the Next book in January.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, there you go. Well, listen, Tess, and I know your name on the book is Tessa, but I know you as Tess. I wish you much success with Provoke.
>> Tess Sharp: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a great, awesome looking, feeling book. The content, which I flip through, jumps off the page. For me, I strongly, recommend that if you work in business, have a boss who needs, you know, some tools or you want the tools. Provoke the Art of Transformative Facilitation is definitely a book that you want to have in your personal library. Thank you so much.
>> Tess Sharp: Thank you, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope this ends up in libraries because I feel like I love libraries, but this on a shelf in the library,
>> Tess Sharp: it stands out.
>> Marco Timpano: Was there an aspect to the book design that you found, important because it's you. It's designed so well too, that for me, like, even just the spine, like that stands out.
>> Tess Sharp: Well, we have a massive bookshelf in our lounge and, trying to find particular books, you know, when you. When you own the book.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Tess Sharp: And you can't find it on the shelf.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the worst thing ever.
>> Tess Sharp: Drives you nuts. Drives you nuts. So we said we wanted a book where you can easily find it on a shelf of books. So it has a wide spine and a black cover with the large white words Provoke on the spine. So, easy to find. And it will be one of a series. So there's going to be a number of other words on spines of books for it to sit beside.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you don't like to tactile, hold a book in your hand, there's an E version of the book you
>> Tess Sharp: can get as well. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Tess, thank you so much for being part of the Insomnia Project today.
>> Tess Sharp: Thanks, Margot. My pleasure.
>> Marco Timpano: We hope you had an opportunity to listen, possibly sleep as always. The Insomnia Project is produced by Drumcast Productions and this episode was recorded in Toronto, Canada.
(Original airdate: May 20, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. We hope you will listen and sleep
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. Let's say one thing we can promise is that our conversation will hopefully be less than fascinating so that you can just drift off. I say that and it seems like such an affront to any of my guests, but really, it's a calm conversation that you can listen to and just chill and relax. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me is a dear friend and I'm so thrilled and proud and happy to have you in the studio. welcome Tess Sharp to the Insomnia Project.
>> Tess Sharp: Hi, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Tess, I've known you and worked with you, for years and years. I'VE traveled with you, and, it's a thrill. I just feel like I'm gushing right now.
You are one of the authors of a new leadership development book called Provoke
But in my hands, I hold quite a wonderful look, look and feel of a book called Provoke, which you are one of the authors of.
>> Tess Sharp: That's right, yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about the name. How did you get the name Provoked for this book?
>> Tess Sharp: Okay, so when we were thinking about the name for the book, there were a number of things that were flying around in our head. We work in the field of leadership development.
>> Marco Timpano: what does that mean?
>> Tess Sharp: It means that we work with senior executives of large global corporations around the world on developing their leadership skills, the. Their ability to be able to, work constructively and well with their team members, their colleagues, ah, in service of their organization. And, so if I think about the reason why we called the book Provoke, it was fundamentally to stir up the market a little bit, to start to encourage people to think about how so often businesses approach their leadership development work. And, it's become a very established norm. And we wanted to challenge the industry because we believe that there is so much more creativity and innovation that can be brought to the human agenda in business. and we wanted to kind of shake the market up a little bit to think about how we work in a way which is more humane. More humane both for our leaders and more humane for the staff that they work with, that they enable. so that was why we called it Provoke.
>> Marco Timpano: Provoke. Sounds like a book that would also inspire.
>> Tess Sharp: Well, I hope so.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. before we go any further and our listeners drift off, where can one find this book?
>> Tess Sharp: Okay, so you probably gather by my accent that, I am UK born and bred.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Tess Sharp: We live in the uk, my husband, Keith Jones and I. And, so the book is published and available on the UK branch of Amazon. It is available worldwide, but you need to go to ww.Amazon.co.uk and then put in a search for Provoke, the Art of Transformative Facilitation.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm sorry, I didn't say the entire name M. Provoke. The Art of Transformative Facilitation.
>> Tess Sharp: That's right. Otherwise you're in danger of getting some shampoos and conditioners.
>> Marco Timpano: All right, Isn't that funny how one, you know, it could be one word that makes something unique and you type it in wrong and it's all over. And if, businesses are like, oh, we would love to have these authors come. Instruct, Talk, inspire. I understand you have a company. Can they go to your website and.
>> Tess Sharp: Yes, they can. So if Anybody wants to get in touch with us, our company name is Alchemy Worldwide. So if they want to come through to [email protected] www.com, they can get through and contact us there.
>> Marco Timpano: And don't worry if you don't have a pen or paper to write that down. Look in our show notes, and I will list all those places where you can find what we're talking about.
What provokes you in a positive manner doesn't have to be from your book
What provokes you in a positive manner doesn't have to be from your book, but what provokes Tess Sharp.
>> Tess Sharp: I think for me, it's when we, work with human beings in increasing their awareness about how humanity and goodwill makes a difference in life. and it sounds very ethereal, and esoteric, and it really isn't. It's at a very pragmatic level. You know, my past experience of working in large corporate businesses is that they can be very small, spiteful places. And there's a lot of what I would call playground behavior that comes out. A, lot of corridor conversations and backstabbing that goes on, particularly the more senior you get in business.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tess Sharp: And, you know, leaders have a really tough job. yes, they may get paid a lot of money, but actually they fundamentally have a tough job, and they have to prove their worth virtually every day. And part of their job is enabling and motivating those around them to work in service of the business. You know, an engagement and influencing positively is also a really tough call. And I think the more we're able to look at business as opportunistic and collaborative rather than territorial, and aggressive, there's far too much of that in business right now.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Tess Sharp: So that's something that really does turn me on, that I think is really important in today's age.
>> Marco Timpano: There's far too much of that in politics, in business, in daily interactions with individuals in your hometown or city. and making that shift or change would make certainly my area, my world, a better place.
>> Tess Sharp: Yeah. I mean, that's so true. You know, so many people talk to us about Brexit and about what's going on in the UK in terms of politics. And I think the behavior that we see from politicians is just so scary.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tess Sharp: You know, being able to have a sensible dialogue to build on each other's ideas rather than just tear each other apart. tear each other's ideas apart is such a key thing. you know, the answers are not straightforward and simple. It's a really, really complex landscape, and there are high emotions on both sides, both for staying in the EU and for leaving EU and all of that is completely understandable. But the way in which, you know, we all talk to each other to understand what the difference is about, to seek more understanding and to judge less is going to be such a key thing.
>> Marco Timpano: To see the value in the opposite opinion. Yeah, it's so often discounted or dismissed and so much can be gathered or learned or inspired from something that you don't agree with by not dismissing it. in my opinion, certainly when I looked at doing this podcast, I listened to different podcasts and I made sure that I looked at, I listened to what I really liked and I incorporated that. And what didn't work for me was as important.
You've reread your book. Did you learn anything from rereading it
>> Tess Sharp: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: You've reread your book.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you learn anything from rereading your book?
>> Tess Sharp: I tell you what, it's so interesting with the book because I was talking about it the other day and it's as if, when you write the book, you give birth to this thing that takes on a personality of its own. And it's like watching a child grow. So each time I read the book, or we talk about the book, or we run a session in the methodology of the book, I learn something new. And, you know, it's kind of like as you explore the face of your baby for the first time, so you start to notice that, you know, they have a little pimple on their left cheek or that their hair curls in a particular way. and it's kind of like that with a book. It's taking on a personality of its own. And, it's so fascinating to hear how others are interpreting the work and the bits that turn them on.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tess Sharp: and sometimes it's, you know, it's kind of not what you think, or they say such amazingly nice things. I'm waiting for the one person who's going to hold up this book and say, hey, look, this has all been done before. Right. And that's not what people are saying.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
>> Tess Sharp: they're talking so much about the originality of the work, which is just really touching.
>> Marco Timpano: The nuggets or the chapters that resonate with people or things that resonate in a way you didn't expect. It still boggles my mind that one of our most popular episodes is the episode called the Citrus Episode, where we just talk about citrus fruit for 26 minutes and people. I get so many emails saying, oh, the citrus episode puts me to sleep every time.
Tell me about photography. Do you enjoy it? Yes, I do
Paige, I think 292. If I'm not mistaken is a photo that you took that's in the book. So tell me about photography. Do you enjoy it?
>> Tess Sharp: Yes, I do. And I never realized that I was a photographer, I think, until I was in my 50s. I've always known I'm a fairly visual person.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Tess Sharp: Ah. You know, I like colors to match and I like things to look right in my head. but through the medium of photography, I think the greatest, the greatest invention ever is my iPhone, because of course it's on my hip all the time, wherever I go. And, being a business owner, you're never disconnected from work.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Tess Sharp: but it's always there to just capture in one moment. And if we look at that photograph on page 292, it's of a very good friend and colleague of ours, a guy called Sean Kelly. And, I snapped that shot. We were in between sessions, working for a global financial services business who are a client of ours in Hong Kong. And, their offices are in this great high rise. So we were up on the 29th floor. and I just captured Sean in this photograph for one moment during a break when he was just sat looking out of the window over Hong Kong Harbor. And, it just for me captures that moment of a stolen moment of peace. A, precious moment in our kind of busy lives when we just drift off for one second and I just caught him in that.
>> Marco Timpano: So, yeah, it's great. you could take photos and make a book of just your photography. A stolen moment of peace.
>> Tess Sharp: Yeah.
What is your favorite stolen moment of peace in your daily life
>> Marco Timpano: In your daily life, what is your favorite stolen moment of peace?
>> Tess Sharp: I think it's in the morning when I first wake up.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Tess Sharp: And I do my best thinking first thing in the morning.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Tess Sharp: When, I'm kind of part asleep and part awake. And I think it's the time when my head is so uncluttered with stuff I see. and it has this habit of just wandering off into the most remarkable little corners. And I often will then kind of come around and come to smiling to myself at some complete piece of nonsense that I've just conjured up in my head.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
There is an element of artistry to this book that I love
So, yeah, ah, there is a element of artistry to this book that I love. From the COVID and from the photos inside to the colors. You actually use the three main colors in this book. is there art in business?
>> Tess Sharp: Absolutely, there is art in business. I think, one of the things that I just so love that writing of this book has surfaced is the, the possibility and creativity that exists in our. Just our day to day humanizing Together. I see it a lot in young entrepreneurial startup businesses where there is energy, and often the young founders are too naive to really know some of the risks or some of the challenges that they maybe face ahead. So they just have this incredible enthusiasm and openness and creativity of possibility around. And, I can't even remember what your original question was, but that's, where my head went.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I was asking if there's art in business and there's this beauty, in the young entrepreneur, a fearlessness, a not knowing what's over the horizon. So not to fear it is what I gathered from your answer there.
>> Tess Sharp: and it's so much. I mean, it's very much like the industry that you're in, the kind of, spontaneousness, the improvisational nature that exists in business. You know, so much of the history of business is about having regulated methodologies and having an analytic and a rational approach to business. And yet some of the most incredible things are created from that space of not knowing and that space of unpredictability and spontaneity and constructive reactivity to something unexpected that happens. And I think that's really, it's not appreciated or not recognized as such. Potential for business. Ah, so much change that happens left afield or in a surprising way that's not foreseen, often can be seen as a threat or a risk or something that needs to be closed down. And yet I think that that's where the incredible magic of business actually comes in. And it is very much an art form, being able to thrive with POSs. An environment where, you know, there's increasing levels of legislation and regulation and the interconnectivity and interdependency that happens across businesses now with the whole social media and technological age. But equally, there is so much possibility and so much magic that could be conjured up.
Is there an ideology that exists in business that does not resonate
>> Marco Timpano: Is there an ideology that exists in business that does not resonate? That you're like, this is so antiquated and yet so many businesses tend to hang their hat on this idea. In particular, when you're looking at the digital age, the global age that businesses face today, does one come to mind?
>> Tess Sharp: Yeah, I think for me, it's the hierarchical and bureaucratic, dictatorial, styles of leadership, which I think perhaps worked in the industrial age, but nowadays, I think to motivate young generations and have so many generations working in the workplace now as we do, I think it's suitable for a bygone age. But the whole concept of being a really bossy boss with very little regard for, the motivations and engagement and the goodwill of your staff is a key thing. You know, I think one of the younger generations now that we have in the workplace have grown up with a lot of children and a lot of aspiration and expectation. Ah, they have less loyalty in the businesses that they work for. And to keep those kind of people working for you with good grace and goodwill, I think it's really important that we treat them as individuals with their own choices, their own preferences. You know, there's one thing for me about businesses needing to work 9 to 5. I understand that there are certain businesses that have to operate within those constraints. And at the same time, some people don't work their best work working 8 hours non stop from 9 to 5. So if you have a business where you have flexibility and there doesn't need to be that degree of, strict regimen, I think it's important that we are able to offer the flex. So if someone works best by going to the gym at 2 o' clock in the afternoon and coming back and they feel empowered and engaged at that stage, then that works in service of the business. Not all businesses, I know, but, I think it's more about how we approach and respect the people that work for us.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow, that's pretty, pretty awesome. I have to say, that certainly really resonated with me.
Shifting to your authorship and being an author, what was one of the biggest challenge
Shifting to your authorship and being an author, what was one of the things you found the biggest challenge in writing a book and something that you might have thought. Thought was a challenge that actually was fairly, I don't want to say easy, but came to you in a way that you didn't expect.
>> Tess Sharp: The book was a complete journey.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Tess Sharp: It took us four years. So I wrote it with my husband and business partner, Keith Jones, who you
>> Marco Timpano: will hear on a subsequent episode of the Insomnia Project.
>> Tess Sharp: Watch this space. Yes. Once heard, never forgotten. So, yes, I mean, the methodology that sits in the book is Keith's way of working. And I make no bones about that in the book. I think the magic of my involvement with it, and the thing that came as a surprise to me was the degree to which Keith struggled to access what he knew. And it was far more of an emotional rollercoaster for us both than I think we anticipated. So as soon as the methodology started to emerge, and that came to him in a dream, and it's a fascinating story, you must ask him about it. but as soon as the methodology came to him, I started to apply that methodology in facilitating his thinking to help surface what this work was all about. Because his way of working has been so ingrained and has been learned over 40 plus years of working with groups that actually he didn't know what he was doing. a sort of level of unconscious competence. And so one of the things he often talks about now is that he didn't realize in the process of writing the book how much he actually knew. And so we were rediscovering or discovering in some cases for the first time, stuff that he didn't realize that he knew. So it was a very magical process and at the same time an incredibly enduring process to stick with it to the point of those final two words, the end of the page, of the end, when we both burst into tears and just couldn't quite believe we'd got to the end.
Any advice you'd have for people who are contemplating writing a book
Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Any advice you'd have for people who are contemplating writing a book of any, of any topic, that you would give them?
>> Tess Sharp: Yes. Well, I do have. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What a great picture of you. I just turned to you.
>> Speaker A: I asked you a question.
>> Marco Timpano: Then I turned and I was like, oh, sorry.
>> Tess Sharp: Anyways, yeah. No. Well, as we're now going in to start to write our second book, we think we've got a series of five in our heads that we need to access before we're too old.
Tess: What would your counsel and words of advice be on writing
But, the words of advice based on m. What I witnessed in Keith struggling to write the book, and my words of advice to me, taking the lead authorship in this second book is to find your writer's rhythm.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Tess Sharp: You know, the biggest thing, that you're faced with as you write every day is the blank page of whiteness that just sits and faces you day after day after day. And you have to find a way from within yourself to populate that whiteness and to find the font of creativity that sits within you. And, you know, sitting down from nine in the morning till five in the afternoon with a blank screen in front of you is not the way most people write. And I think most authors would say, and certainly from my experience of working with Keith, on this book, has been to find your groove. So there will be times when you'll sit down to write and it's just not there. Okay. Take yourself to Starbucks, go find a coffee, go and find a park, go for a walk, do your laundry. It doesn't matter what. Just go and change state.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Tess Sharp: Find something else to do, because the book will come to you in those moments when you stop seeking it, when you're consciously trying to reach for it, it's not there. But when you just allow the space of no thing for it to emerge and give it permission, then it starts to magically come into your head. It's a very odd process.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Tess Sharp: So I. I want to say just be kind to yourself and allow yourself days when the writing's just not there to just not write.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Don't fear that white page. Just chill. Just go for a walk. Do that. It'll come.
>> Tess Sharp: It will come.
>> Marco Timpano: Don't worry so much about the white page, because we've all been there, too. Because sometimes I imagine it. I mean, you wrote this with Keith, but it can still feel like a very lonely process, writing.
>> Tess Sharp: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, you must have done writing
>> Marco Timpano: in your time, without a doubt.
>> Tess Sharp: So, you know, what would your counsel and words of advice be?
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm, currently writing a book. It's going to be a book on podcasting, funny enough. And what I find for myself is with. With that white page that you talk about.
>> Tess Sharp: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Is just start writing. Just write what? It doesn't have to be about your book. It can even be. I don't know where to begin. And you just write that and then see what comes out. I learned this because the musician, songwriter, singer Prince, I heard this, and I don't know if it's true. From Provoke to Prince.
>> Tess Sharp: That's a great title.
>> Marco Timpano: he would write so many songs. He would write multiple songs daily, or he'd write at least a song a day. And he wouldn't necessarily use that writing to create a song. It would just be a song that he wrote. And he would then say he'd put it in his files or in his safe, let's say. And there might be one word or one line that he could take from that song he wrote on February 11 and put it into one of his songs, and he would just use it as a reference. So what I will do is I will write and hope that I know what I just wrote is not great. I know it's not what I want to be writing for this particular piece, whatever it might be. But if I can even get a combination of two words that I like that I can then take from and use in a subsequent chapter that I'm writing, then it will have been worth it. So I take that inspiration from Prince, who writes every day, not to publish that song, but to know it's there in case of an emergency, and that's what I use.
>> Tess Sharp: I think that's fantastic advice. I will use that when I start the Next book in January.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, there you go. Well, listen, Tess, and I know your name on the book is Tessa, but I know you as Tess. I wish you much success with Provoke.
>> Tess Sharp: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: It is a great, awesome looking, feeling book. The content, which I flip through, jumps off the page. For me, I strongly, recommend that if you work in business, have a boss who needs, you know, some tools or you want the tools. Provoke the Art of Transformative Facilitation is definitely a book that you want to have in your personal library. Thank you so much.
>> Tess Sharp: Thank you, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope this ends up in libraries because I feel like I love libraries, but this on a shelf in the library,
>> Tess Sharp: it stands out.
>> Marco Timpano: Was there an aspect to the book design that you found, important because it's you. It's designed so well too, that for me, like, even just the spine, like that stands out.
>> Tess Sharp: Well, we have a massive bookshelf in our lounge and, trying to find particular books, you know, when you. When you own the book.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Tess Sharp: And you can't find it on the shelf.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the worst thing ever.
>> Tess Sharp: Drives you nuts. Drives you nuts. So we said we wanted a book where you can easily find it on a shelf of books. So it has a wide spine and a black cover with the large white words Provoke on the spine. So, easy to find. And it will be one of a series. So there's going to be a number of other words on spines of books for it to sit beside.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you don't like to tactile, hold a book in your hand, there's an E version of the book you
>> Tess Sharp: can get as well. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Tess, thank you so much for being part of the Insomnia Project today.
>> Tess Sharp: Thanks, Margot. My pleasure.
>> Marco Timpano: We hope you had an opportunity to listen, possibly sleep as always. The Insomnia Project is produced by Drumcast Productions and this episode was recorded in Toronto, Canada.
Socks, T-shirts & Beautiful
(Original airdate: May 18, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing that we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off. You can feel free to listen to the entire episode if you'd like. You can feel free to rate us on itunes or stitcher or wherever you listen. But just feel free to listen and enjoy. Thank you for joining us. We do hope you will listen and sleep. I am your host, Marco Timpano. Joining me in the studio is a voice you may remember. It's my dear friend, Daniel Krolek. Daniel, welcome back.
>> Daniel Krolek: Hey, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you so much for coming in.
>> Daniel Krolek: Anytime.
>> Marco Timpano: And I know it's a cold one you came in.
>> Daniel Krolek: It's better today than it was a few days ago. So I think we're slowly acclimatizing to this early, early frost.
How important are your socks? They're pretty vital
>> Marco Timpano: One thing that warms a lot of people is our topic for today. And we're gonna talk about the sock. Or socks, I should say.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, they usually come in multiples. It's usually not the sock.
>> Marco Timpano: It depends how many feet you have, I guess.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, that's a good point. That's a very good point.
>> Marco Timpano: But, but, let me ask You. How important are your socks?
>> Daniel Krolek: They're pretty vital. And, to be honest, there are some pairs, because sometimes I splurge. sometimes you find yourself at a Winners or at a Bay, and you look and you say, oh, they're six men's socks for 12 bucks, and it's a good deal. And you snap them up. And sometimes you're at a specialty store, you're out of town, you're at a boutique, and you see this gorgeous, fun, funky pair of socks, and they're like, I don't know, 10 bucks or $50. And you're like, okay, I'm gonna treat myself. I'm gonna splurge. So often I'll be going through my sock drawer, and, I'll be throwing old socks away. And sometimes I'll come across a pair, and I'm like, I can't. I just can't.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
>> Daniel Krolek: But I can't even wear them. They'll be beyond wearing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: There's, one pair of that I bought years ago, when my dad came to visit me in Toronto to see a show. And we were walking along Queen west, and, we bought matching pairs of socks. And, they had, like, a big kraken on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Daniel Krolek: Like a kraken coming out of the water.
>> Marco Timpano: Like a. Like a Miss the Squid bead.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah. And I can't wear them anymore, but I don't want to throw them away.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: Because they're so thin and threadbare. But I can't because it's such, you know, it's such. They're so cool, and there's a little bit of an attachment.
>> Marco Timpano: Can you frame them?
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, I don't know. I mean, I could. You could frame anything, you know, But I don't know if I want people to come to my apartment and me having to go through this whole, magilla, as it were, of why I frame socks on my wall.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, here's the thing. You could frame it and put it in your closet so no one sees it but you.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It's kind of a closet appropriate.
>> Daniel Krolek: Sure. Kind of like what they did with the first wife in Jane Eyre, when there's, like, the crazy first wife in the attic.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. There you go.
>> Daniel Krolek: I, was in New York very briefly over the summer, and, every time I'm there, I go to this trained bookstore, which is sort of like the Broadway In, I think, 12th maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: And I just lose myself for a few hours in the bookstore, but when I was there, they had an entire wall of specialty socks. Oh, cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, specialty Broadway socks.
>> Daniel Krolek: Book themed. Oh, book themed. It's a massive bookstore. so they had a full wall of book themed socks. So, there I got a couple of pairs for myself, and they were obviously overpriced. And souvenir y.
>> Marco Timpano: Can you tell us what's on them?
>> Daniel Krolek: yeah, I got one of King Kong on the Empire State Building, and I was reading a book while the planes were flying around.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Daniel Krolek: and the other one, I got. And it had, like, the sampler font. Like, it looked like it was stitched on an old timey sampler and said, I am silently judgin your grandmother.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. for our listeners who are like, what's the bae? What's Winners? Those are stores.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, they're Canadian stores.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Daniel Krolek: Winners is on par with TJ Maxx, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: So I guess if you're in the U.S. t.J. Maxx would be, a equivalent, and Marks and Spencer's would be the equivalent to the bay in the UK, would you say?
>> Daniel Krolek: I, would say in the UK.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Marks and Spencer's in the UK
>> Daniel Krolek: or maybe like a. Do they still have JCPenney's in the States?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm thinking of my UK listeners.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: because you know what will often happen when you have a podcast is you make local references and then you make references to the next place, which is the US market. But you're like.
I look at my listeners, and they're all over the world
But I look at my listeners, and I've got them all over the world. Terrific. So I don't know what, the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand.
>> Daniel Krolek: But I would say the Bay, if you're listening, and if you're American. I said JCPenney, but I think I'm wrong. I would say maybe just amazes.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Yeah, sure.
Do you have sequin socks? No, I wish I did
What about your everyday socks?
>> Daniel Krolek: well, what am I wearing? I don't even know what I'm wearing.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, those are fancy.
>> Daniel Krolek: You know what? These I actually bought in TJ Maxx in Vermont.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Speaking of which.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, so I bought, I bought a bunch of pairs. I guess I was in Vermont, I don't know, maybe a year ago, so I bought a bunch of pairs. These might be Ben Sherman. I don't know how fancy they are.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, they've got a paisley design on them. I think they're kind of fancy. I. Okay, so I've got my everyday socks, which I usually buy at Costco. They're just like a gray tube sock. they're always great for everyday activities. And I do have some fancy socks. And when I say fancy socks, you know, they have designs on them. I have one with sequin.
>> Daniel Krolek: Do you have sequin socks? No, I wish I did.
>> Marco Timpano: Michael Jackson's sequin socks. How great would that be? But I don't think they'd be comfortable.
>> Daniel Krolek: Well, they'd be on the outside, so you wouldn't feel them against your skin.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess, I guess. But there aren't things made of sequins kind of rigid no matter how.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, I mean, you're talking to somebody who doesn't really wear much sequin. So I don't. I can't really speak from experience. and maybe that's on me. Maybe I should be wearing more.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I have a sweet sequence vest. Oh. That I took from a show that I was in.
>> Daniel Krolek: So it's. What show? Do you remember?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was Tony and Tina's wedding.
>> Daniel Krolek: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was the vest that one character wore. I shouldn't say this because any of my friends, we all kind of coveted this particular vest, but it's been closed for years. It's been closed for years. But it has a leopard, skin kind of design in sequence.
>> Daniel Krolek: You've been holding out.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I know. I'm gonna need it.
>> Daniel Krolek: Have you ever had occasion to wear it since you took it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but I've had people request it and I've told them no.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just too precious. Like, I've had somebody say, oh, can I just have it for my show? I'm like, no, yeah, no, I understand.
>> Daniel Krolek: I've lost things that way. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, you can't like certain things where it's like, I'm not gonna find a replacement for this. And I don't know if you're gonna treat it with the respect it deserves.
>> Daniel Krolek: Which was it the videographer character?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it was the, it was, the person who hosted the party at his establishment.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It was Vinny.
>> Daniel Krolek: So you ended up. Because I know you played multiple characters.
>> Marco Timpano: I played that for a while, but it actually was worn by a friend of mine much longer than it really should have gone to him.
>> Daniel Krolek: Do I know this friend? Yes, you do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: did your friend want it?
>> Marco Timpano: that. I don't know. It was never, I think it was gonna go into the wardrobe, whatever you call it. Storage. Right. I had a feeling it was gonna go to storage and I didn't think it would, storage would keep it for that long. So I was like, you know what? I'LL just take it until someone asks. Well, no one's asked. And now it's mine.
>> Daniel Krolek: I've done that. I've done that.
You've talked about taking your costumes to other places
the most recent, and I think now we might be on the topic of taking your costumes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: Which is something that I think, I don't know anybody who doesn't want to. Because, you know, if you're working on a professional production, you have somebody who is. Is custom fitting something for your frame. You know, actually, I did a play in Thunder Bay, going on two years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: And I took my socks from it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, I did. And, Thunder, Bay is not too far away, from Minnesota. So our costume designer went on a weekend to, Duluth, Minnesota, while we were in rehearsals. and apropos of nothing, we didn't even. Oh, I did wear mine in the show. she bought myself. And, the other actor in the show, she bought us both socks. And, I have these adorable rubber ducky socks from the run of my show.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool.
>> Daniel Krolek: And again, I'm not wearing them anymore because they're just starting to fray. So I'm sort of keeping them in my drawer.
>> Marco Timpano: Thunder Bay. What a great, great place. I love Thunder Bay. I love the art scene and I love the theater that they bring up there.
>> Daniel Krolek: You know what I do? I hope I'm back there. I had a really special time there. So I do hope that I'm back there. Now.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's something I did with. Because I had a lot of T shirts when I was traveling that I really adored, but I was no longer wearing. Or they had, you know, they just get to a point where you can't wear them anymore. But I couldn't get rid of them.
>> Daniel Krolek: I'm the same way.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like, what do I do with these T shirts? And they would have like, you know, a fun. Like I had one from Martha's Vineyard that had a mermaid on it, but it wasn't like. I know it sounds a little bit corny, but it was a cool looking mermaid emblem. Is this from your youth or is this from adulthood? No, this from my adulthood when I was working on ships and we would port in different cities. I would buy something and in. What's it, Martha? No, it was, Bar Harbor, Maine. And I love Bar Harbor.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, I've been to Bar harbor as a child.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I love Bar Harbor. I would love. Based on Bar Harbor. I would like to explore more of Maine. Have you been. Have you been to a lot of places in Maine?
>> Daniel Krolek: not a lot. I remember going to Algonquin as a child, but this summer, my family went to Old Orchard Beach.
>> Marco Timpano: And how was that's in Maine.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yes, it was, it's fun. It's very much just sort of like a midway boardwalk in town. So there's, And I say this with complete fondness.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: because it's just, you know, amusement park rides and fried food.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: Kitschy souvenir.
>> Marco Timpano: Totally.
>> Daniel Krolek: Totally. so in terms of, like, a classy, you know, a classy lobster dinner experience, it might not be the ideal location, but it has a gorgeous beach, very, walkable, tons and tons of families, a gorgeous boardwalk. culturally, there wasn't anything to sort
>> Marco Timpano: of pique your interest that you found?
>> Daniel Krolek: that I found. Yes. But, you know, there was a. There was a wonder. The best lobster place that we had was just the place that was geographically the closest to us. The best lobster rolls that we had on the street.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, man. And you value, like my wife Amanda, a good lobster?
>> Daniel Krolek: Well, that's the thing. I was raised, I wasn't raised strictly kosher, but I was raised in a house where we had, two sets of dishes, where we had a meat set and a dairy set. and my mother did not bring non kosher meat into the house.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
>> Daniel Krolek: when we would eat out, we would eat out non kosher. But I basically, I grew up not eating, pork or shellfish. and now that I'm left to my own devices, I will always default to some kind of seafood.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Daniel Krolek: Always. Always.
>> Marco Timpano: That's awesome.
I purchased this T shirt in Southern Italy at a laundromat
back to my sweater from Bar Harbor.
>> Daniel Krolek: Sure. Oh, sure.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not. Trust me. Weave and veer. And I'm the one who has to remember to go back. Otherwise, our listeners are like. But you started to.
>> Daniel Krolek: I can't wait to hear about your sweater.
>> Marco Timpano: So this mermaid.
>> Daniel Krolek: I feel like I've been waiting so long. So no matter what you're going to say is going to underwhelm, but go ahead.
>> Marco Timpano: I also had a T shirt. Let me just say this as well, because it's gonna involve these T shirts. I purchased this T shirt in Southern Italy at a laundromat. And the reason I.
>> Daniel Krolek: You bought the T shirt at a laundromat?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was a public laundromat and they had T shirts because the laundromat was called E. Jefferson's Laundromat Lavanderia.
>> Daniel Krolek: right. Was it a Jefferson's themed laundromat, like
>> Marco Timpano: the TV show But it was in reference to the Jeffersons, because if you remember, George Jefferson owned dry cleaners. Right, Right. So you had to sort of put these things together because if you saw the T shirt and didn't speak Italian, you would just think, oh, Jefferson's. It was something advertising Jefferson's. Right. But if you were Italian, the only way you'd understand the T shirt is if you watched the television show the Jeffersons in Italian to figure out that he owned a dry cleaning business. But this was a laundromat.
>> Daniel Krolek: But Sherman Helmsley wasn't on the T shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it just said E Jeffersons.
>> Daniel Krolek: That's so funny.
>> Marco Timpano: E meaning the letter I, which translates to the or plural Jeffersons. Right, Correct. Because George Jefferson was his name, but they called it E. Jefferson. So in other words, they called it the Jeffersons in Italian. So you had to make all these conclusions to figure out the meaning behind it.
>> Daniel Krolek: So, I mean I've never been to Italy, but like American TV shows made its way over and found.
>> Marco Timpano: So they would. The big television series, for example, the Bold and the Beautiful in Italy is huge, but they just call it Beautiful. So if you. It'd be 20 minutes in the afternoon when you're having lunch, Beautiful would air on Italian television. And because a lot of people go home for lunch, they would watch during their lunch Beautiful. Or as we know it, the Bold and the Beautiful.
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>> Marco Timpano: So when I would go to Italy to visit friends and family, they would ask me, marco, what's going on on Beautiful? And I'd be like, I don't understand what you mean. On the television show Beautiful. And I'm like, I don't think we have a show called Beautiful. And then I watched it with them and I'm like, oh, this is that soap opera. I think it's called the Bold and the Beautiful. But they would ask me specific questions because they knew we were four or five months in advance to what they were seeing by the time it got translated.
>> Daniel Krolek: Or dovetail and beautiful. I'm trying to. I know. It was a spinoff of Young and the Restless. I remember Ridge and Stephanie.
>> Marco Timpano: Sally. Sally was a big part of that show for Italian Sally. I wish I could remember her name. Sally Strick. I don't know. She owned the, I think they had fashion. Fashion conglomerate.
>> Daniel Krolek: It's funny that you bring that up.
Stissel is an Israeli drama about the ultra, ultra Orthodox community
I just finished watching a wonderful show on Netflix called Stissel, which is an Israeli drama about the ultra, ultra Orthodox community. Oh, wow. So it's this community that is completely sequestered, completely cut off from secular, culture. And in one of the plot threads, the main character's grandmother moves into a home, moves into a nursing home. But this is a woman who had. She's 80 something years old and her entire life has been very, cloistered, very orthodox. And she gets a TV in her room in the home and she starts watching the Bold and the Beautiful. But this is a woman who has never seen a television program in her life. Can't understand that these are actors reading dialogue. And, you know, so she becomes, embroiled in all of the drama and she starts praying for these people and praying for their struggles.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. I thought it was a documentary at first when you were describing it.
>> Daniel Krolek: no.
>> Marco Timpano: But then when this part came up, I can't wait to watch it. This sounds great.
>> Daniel Krolek: It's unlike. And it's funny. I just recorded an episode, of my own podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. I'm sorry. I didn't mention it.
>> Daniel Krolek: I'm sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: Please.
>> Daniel Krolek: No, you've talked about it before. and, I brought this television program up on, the episode that we were recording on last night.
>> Marco Timpano: That podcast, if you haven't, listened to it yet, is called Bad Gay Movies or Bitchy Gay Men bgm. And it is fantastic. I'm a huge fan of it and it is a podcast for everyone. Just, in case you're listening and saying, oh, it might not speak to me.
>> Daniel Krolek: It speaks to you. You don't need to be gay or bitchy. But it helps. But it helps.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm kidding. I love it.
You worked with someone who was on the show the Bold and the Beautiful
I wanted to say that years later, I worked with someone who was on the show the Bold and the Beautiful.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. Jeff Trachta.
>> Daniel Krolek: I can picture him. Okay. I totally know who he is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so he worked on the cruise
>> Daniel Krolek: ships with us as a performer.
>> Marco Timpano: As a performer. He had his own one man show.
>> Daniel Krolek: Did he sing or tell jokes? What did he do?
>> Marco Timpano: All of the above. It was kind of cabaret. it catered to a specific audience, but it was open to everyone. And, he was a lovely gentleman. I asked him, I said, what was it like for you on Bold and the Beautiful? And he's like, it was fantastic. And I said, did you know that you guys were huge in Italy? He goes, did we know we were so big in Italy that they moved the show there for a week? like, part of the. Part of the plot was they had to go to Italy for whatever, I guess a fashion thing. And he goes. And he goes, I have never been treated. He goes, it was like we were royalty. He goes, I can't even tell you.
>> Daniel Krolek: I think I remember these episodes from when I would watch it as maybe a, ah, high schooler. I think I remember those episodes.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't realize you watched it the
>> Daniel Krolek: Bold and the Beautiful. not frequently. I would watch Days of Our Lives pretty regularly in the mid-90s. a little bit of Young and the Restless and a little bit of Bold in the Beautiful, but not. I mean, if I had a day off from. If I had like a pedagogical day from school or if I was sick. so not with any regularity, but on occasion, wow. So I'm a little bit familiar with the characters and the stories.
>> Marco Timpano: You also know quite a bit about the world of television, film and books and whatnot. So it doesn't surprise me is what I'm trying to say. but he was just saying how well they were treated. He goes. And it was great because he goes, I love Italy. I love Italian food. And he goes. And I felt like I was a bit of a hero there.
Daniel did this with some key T shirts in his childhood home in Montreal
But back to my shirt. So this is what I did with these shirts. I love them, but I knew they were taking up too much room and I just had to part with them. So what I did was I took a photo of them and put them on my Facebook. So anytime I need to see them, I can go to Facebook and find them.
>> Daniel Krolek: That is what I did, in the house that I grew up in in Montreal. this was quite some years ago where I threw out, some old things. I threw out some old board games and some, magazines and some old things that I had from university that ended up at my mother's, of course. So I did take some pictures of the things that I was getting rid of, and I do have those on my phone.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Daniel Krolek: So, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's what I did. So anyone who needs to part with something and they don't Know how as Daniel did with the things in his childhood home in Montreal and as I did with some key T shirts, take photos and put them on someplace where he.
>> Daniel Krolek: That's a great idea, Marco.
Whether you have need or not, get yourself a pair of compression socks
>> Marco Timpano: Back to socks. Have you ever worn compression socks?
>> Daniel Krolek: No, I've never had the need so far. I probably will.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'm gonna tell you this. Whether you have the need or not, get yourself a pair of compression socks. Because if you go on a trip, an hour or two hours, whether it be in the car or on a plane, and you wear compression socks, when you get to your destination and remove them, your feet will feel amazing. That has been my experience.
>> Daniel Krolek: I had no idea.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I, my mother in law bought them for Christmas for me one year and I was like, okay, I guess she thinks I'm really old or she thinks I need compression socks. She's like, I wear them and I swear by them. And since she has, I wear them and I swear by them. And anyone who I've told who've purchased them will usually email me or let me know that they've been so great.
>> Daniel Krolek: I would never think of getting compression socks. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Because they're often associated with people who have an ailment that requires compression socks. But I think they're for anyone who is going to be traveling. I don't know what it does, but it keeps. I don't know what it does to make you feel better once you take them off. But I've noticed a huge difference when I travel with compression socks.
>> Daniel Krolek: Are they good if you're sightseeing and if you're spending the entire day on your feet?
>> Marco Timpano: Great question. So if I'm spending the entire day standing, let's say, especially on concrete.
>> Marco Timpano: I will wear them because I know my feet will be sore and tired afterwards. So I would say anytime you're going to be standing or using your feet, not in a sports type capacity because I don't know if they're good for. I don't know if they're good for physical activity. But for standing and not doing physical activity or sitting for long periods of time in particular on floors that are not that don't have give like wooden floors, I would recommend using interesting compression socks.
>> Daniel Krolek: That's good to know.
You wear ankle socks when you're doing physical activity
>> Marco Timpano: speaking of sports socks, what kind of sport socks do you like to use when you're doing physical activity?
>> Daniel Krolek: I wear ankle socks.
>> Marco Timpano: You wear ankle socks?
>> Daniel Krolek: Yes. Which reminds me, I do and I wear them. I'm not big on sandals or flip flops, so even during the summer I'll wear a pair of sneakers, with ankle socks. But if I do go to the gym, I'll wear ankle socks.
>> Marco Timpano: Ankle socks. I see their function, and I can appreciate it when it's really hot.
>> Daniel Krolek: And I. And I enjoy them aesthetically as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you do?
>> Daniel Krolek: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: They drive me a bit crazy.
>> Daniel Krolek: Why?
>> Marco Timpano: I find them hard to fold and keep in your closet so that they stay. Or in your drawers to stay together. I don't roll my socks into each other. I don't know if you do that.
>> Daniel Krolek: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I don't do that anymore.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I was told it wrecks the stretch of the. Oh, yeah. So I try to just place them together and give them the Marie Kondo roll. Oh, yeah.
>> Daniel Krolek: Maybe I should start doing that. Maybe the socks that I spoke of earlier that I'm sentimental about, maybe they would have lasted longer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because you'll stretch the elasticity of the part that. Oh, it has.
>> Daniel Krolek: It has a.
>> Marco Timpano: It has a name. Because I had someone on the show and she was telling us about when she knits socks and how you start with the heel or you start, the turn. There's a term for that part of the sock. I can't remember.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay. I, didn't know that. And I haven't seen the Marie Kondo special. I haven't watched her on that.
>> Marco Timpano: First. I read the book, and she talks. If I recall correctly, that your socks take such a beating every day from you wearing them.
>> Daniel Krolek: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Why not let them rest when you're not wearing them and not let them take a beating? So don't fold them in on you. Do what you want. You do what works for you. But that's what I've been doing.
There was a scene in A Star Is Born where an ankle sock offended
>> Daniel Krolek: I do want to bring up a scene in a movie from last year. This is on topic, from. You saw A Star Is Born?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I did.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. There was a scene in the movie where,
>> Marco Timpano: Is this a spoiler? Should we just say spoiler alert?
>> Daniel Krolek: I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: I don't think so. And the movie's been out for a long time now, where there was a young manager who came to visit, Ally, the Lady Gaga character.
>> Marco Timpano: And.
>> Daniel Krolek: And this was sort of on her ascent. And the Bradley Cooper character was on his way down, and he's awkwardly waiting in a room with, Bradley Cooper waiting to see, Ally. And they're making awkward small talk. And, the money manager is wearing ankle socks, or the hip manager is wearing ankle socks. And Bradley Cooper says, oh, I thought only women wore Those types of socks. And that's something that has irked me ever since I've seen the movie. And I don't think of ankle socks as being worn exclusively by women.
>> Marco Timpano: No, neither do I. I see them as, socks that are worn primarily when you're doing physical activity or when
>> Daniel Krolek: it's hot outside or if you're wearing shorts.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Daniel Krolek: Ah. but according to the Bradley Cooper character in A Star Is Born, ankle socks are a very feminine thing to wear.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Daniel Krolek: Which, personally, that has never occurred to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, all I'll say is, attitudes like that, much like the character in the
>> Daniel Krolek: movie, they just die.
>> Speaker C: They just die.
>> Daniel Krolek: well, that might be a spoiler for your audience, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry. Sorry about that if I ruined the movie for you. But it has had three incarnations, so, you know, I think that's been around.
You could do a Hanukkah, uh, Advent sock kind of thing
You know, one last sock thing before we end this episode is when you don't know what to give as a gift. A pair of fancy socks. Because I bought my wife last year an Advent calendar of socks. So that every. I don't.
>> Daniel Krolek: That's so cute.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah, I don't remember how Advent calendars work. I think it's, like, December 1st all the way to the 24th or something.
>> Daniel Krolek: You're asking the wrong person.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. But for Hanukkah, So it's what, eight days of Hanukkah, Right?
>> Daniel Krolek: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: You could do a Hanukkah, Advent sock kind of thing. I don't know what you. It wouldn't be called Advent, obviously, but what it was was, like, this wooden box, and every day, she would punch a hole in it and remove a pair of socks, and she'd have.
>> Daniel Krolek: She would punch a hole out of rage.
>> Marco Timpano: No. Well, no, you didn't have to punch a hole, but, like, you know, sometimes you. You kind of have to. It's perforated.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay. Because I'm just. Picture you making Amanda so angry for 24 days, and she just has no choice but, to punch a hole in the Advent calendar.
>> Marco Timpano: That might be a great business. You and I can start rage Socks, where you have, like, a thing of a wooden box, and you just punch a hole at the end of it. You get a pair of socks.
>> Daniel Krolek: I mean, they have. You know, they have the rage rooms where you can go into a padded room and just throw things around and get everything out of your system. So that's not a bad idea.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me know if you would purchase Crolic Tympano rage socks, because maybe we'll start that business up.
>> Daniel Krolek: So, okay, well, we'll, discuss the ball. We'll workshop. Sure. I, do want to.
Would you be disappointed if you received socks on your birthday or special occasion
Before we leave, I do also want to bring up the John Lovatt sketch from Saturday Night Live. Do you remember the Hanukkah Harry sketch?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Daniel Krolek: And the joke was, Hanukkah is not as exciting as Christmas. Sure. So Jon Lovitz bought these poor kids socks, like, eight socks to a pack. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. We could even theme it with something like that.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay. Okay. So when you talk about, getting socks for Christmas and holidays, I go. My mind goes to the, Hanukkahari character from Saturday Night Live.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. And the disappointment of receiving. Would you be disappointed if you received socks on your birthday or on a special occasion?
>> Daniel Krolek: But again, if they're special socks or customized socks, I would welcome it because. And again, like, I talked about going to the Strand earlier. Sure. And I had my friend Jonathan, who was feeding my cat while I was away, so I got him a few pairs of the special socks at the bookstore.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's unique. I wouldn't recommend getting kids socks for occasions because they're not going to appreciate it. I would have been upset as a kid if I got socks for Christmas.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. I mean, unless if they're particularly, you know, particularly artistic or particularly personal. but no, I think I would avoid that.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
Daniel: This sock episode was requested by one of our listeners
Well, Daniel, thank you so much for doing the sock episode with me. This has actually been an episode that was requested by one of our listeners.
>> Daniel Krolek: Now, anytime you want to sock it to me, I will sock it to you right back.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen for Daniel, because we're going to do an episode on Glenn Close, and we're going to do an episode on some of his favorite authors.
>> Daniel Krolek: Pardon me if I. If I get too excited during that one.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll try to keep it measured as best I can. Until then, we hope you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: May 18, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing that we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off. You can feel free to listen to the entire episode if you'd like. You can feel free to rate us on itunes or stitcher or wherever you listen. But just feel free to listen and enjoy. Thank you for joining us. We do hope you will listen and sleep. I am your host, Marco Timpano. Joining me in the studio is a voice you may remember. It's my dear friend, Daniel Krolek. Daniel, welcome back.
>> Daniel Krolek: Hey, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you so much for coming in.
>> Daniel Krolek: Anytime.
>> Marco Timpano: And I know it's a cold one you came in.
>> Daniel Krolek: It's better today than it was a few days ago. So I think we're slowly acclimatizing to this early, early frost.
How important are your socks? They're pretty vital
>> Marco Timpano: One thing that warms a lot of people is our topic for today. And we're gonna talk about the sock. Or socks, I should say.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, they usually come in multiples. It's usually not the sock.
>> Marco Timpano: It depends how many feet you have, I guess.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, that's a good point. That's a very good point.
>> Marco Timpano: But, but, let me ask You. How important are your socks?
>> Daniel Krolek: They're pretty vital. And, to be honest, there are some pairs, because sometimes I splurge. sometimes you find yourself at a Winners or at a Bay, and you look and you say, oh, they're six men's socks for 12 bucks, and it's a good deal. And you snap them up. And sometimes you're at a specialty store, you're out of town, you're at a boutique, and you see this gorgeous, fun, funky pair of socks, and they're like, I don't know, 10 bucks or $50. And you're like, okay, I'm gonna treat myself. I'm gonna splurge. So often I'll be going through my sock drawer, and, I'll be throwing old socks away. And sometimes I'll come across a pair, and I'm like, I can't. I just can't.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
>> Daniel Krolek: But I can't even wear them. They'll be beyond wearing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: There's, one pair of that I bought years ago, when my dad came to visit me in Toronto to see a show. And we were walking along Queen west, and, we bought matching pairs of socks. And, they had, like, a big kraken on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Daniel Krolek: Like a kraken coming out of the water.
>> Marco Timpano: Like a. Like a Miss the Squid bead.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah. And I can't wear them anymore, but I don't want to throw them away.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: Because they're so thin and threadbare. But I can't because it's such, you know, it's such. They're so cool, and there's a little bit of an attachment.
>> Marco Timpano: Can you frame them?
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, I don't know. I mean, I could. You could frame anything, you know, But I don't know if I want people to come to my apartment and me having to go through this whole, magilla, as it were, of why I frame socks on my wall.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, here's the thing. You could frame it and put it in your closet so no one sees it but you.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It's kind of a closet appropriate.
>> Daniel Krolek: Sure. Kind of like what they did with the first wife in Jane Eyre, when there's, like, the crazy first wife in the attic.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. There you go.
>> Daniel Krolek: I, was in New York very briefly over the summer, and, every time I'm there, I go to this trained bookstore, which is sort of like the Broadway In, I think, 12th maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: And I just lose myself for a few hours in the bookstore, but when I was there, they had an entire wall of specialty socks. Oh, cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, specialty Broadway socks.
>> Daniel Krolek: Book themed. Oh, book themed. It's a massive bookstore. so they had a full wall of book themed socks. So, there I got a couple of pairs for myself, and they were obviously overpriced. And souvenir y.
>> Marco Timpano: Can you tell us what's on them?
>> Daniel Krolek: yeah, I got one of King Kong on the Empire State Building, and I was reading a book while the planes were flying around.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Daniel Krolek: and the other one, I got. And it had, like, the sampler font. Like, it looked like it was stitched on an old timey sampler and said, I am silently judgin your grandmother.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So great. for our listeners who are like, what's the bae? What's Winners? Those are stores.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, they're Canadian stores.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Daniel Krolek: Winners is on par with TJ Maxx, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: So I guess if you're in the U.S. t.J. Maxx would be, a equivalent, and Marks and Spencer's would be the equivalent to the bay in the UK, would you say?
>> Daniel Krolek: I, would say in the UK.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Marks and Spencer's in the UK
>> Daniel Krolek: or maybe like a. Do they still have JCPenney's in the States?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm thinking of my UK listeners.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: because you know what will often happen when you have a podcast is you make local references and then you make references to the next place, which is the US market. But you're like.
I look at my listeners, and they're all over the world
But I look at my listeners, and I've got them all over the world. Terrific. So I don't know what, the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand.
>> Daniel Krolek: But I would say the Bay, if you're listening, and if you're American. I said JCPenney, but I think I'm wrong. I would say maybe just amazes.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Yeah, sure.
Do you have sequin socks? No, I wish I did
What about your everyday socks?
>> Daniel Krolek: well, what am I wearing? I don't even know what I'm wearing.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, those are fancy.
>> Daniel Krolek: You know what? These I actually bought in TJ Maxx in Vermont.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Speaking of which.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, so I bought, I bought a bunch of pairs. I guess I was in Vermont, I don't know, maybe a year ago, so I bought a bunch of pairs. These might be Ben Sherman. I don't know how fancy they are.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, they've got a paisley design on them. I think they're kind of fancy. I. Okay, so I've got my everyday socks, which I usually buy at Costco. They're just like a gray tube sock. they're always great for everyday activities. And I do have some fancy socks. And when I say fancy socks, you know, they have designs on them. I have one with sequin.
>> Daniel Krolek: Do you have sequin socks? No, I wish I did.
>> Marco Timpano: Michael Jackson's sequin socks. How great would that be? But I don't think they'd be comfortable.
>> Daniel Krolek: Well, they'd be on the outside, so you wouldn't feel them against your skin.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess, I guess. But there aren't things made of sequins kind of rigid no matter how.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, I mean, you're talking to somebody who doesn't really wear much sequin. So I don't. I can't really speak from experience. and maybe that's on me. Maybe I should be wearing more.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I have a sweet sequence vest. Oh. That I took from a show that I was in.
>> Daniel Krolek: So it's. What show? Do you remember?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was Tony and Tina's wedding.
>> Daniel Krolek: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was the vest that one character wore. I shouldn't say this because any of my friends, we all kind of coveted this particular vest, but it's been closed for years. It's been closed for years. But it has a leopard, skin kind of design in sequence.
>> Daniel Krolek: You've been holding out.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I know. I'm gonna need it.
>> Daniel Krolek: Have you ever had occasion to wear it since you took it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but I've had people request it and I've told them no.
>> Marco Timpano: It's just too precious. Like, I've had somebody say, oh, can I just have it for my show? I'm like, no, yeah, no, I understand.
>> Daniel Krolek: I've lost things that way. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, you can't like certain things where it's like, I'm not gonna find a replacement for this. And I don't know if you're gonna treat it with the respect it deserves.
>> Daniel Krolek: Which was it the videographer character?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it was the, it was, the person who hosted the party at his establishment.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: It was Vinny.
>> Daniel Krolek: So you ended up. Because I know you played multiple characters.
>> Marco Timpano: I played that for a while, but it actually was worn by a friend of mine much longer than it really should have gone to him.
>> Daniel Krolek: Do I know this friend? Yes, you do.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: did your friend want it?
>> Marco Timpano: that. I don't know. It was never, I think it was gonna go into the wardrobe, whatever you call it. Storage. Right. I had a feeling it was gonna go to storage and I didn't think it would, storage would keep it for that long. So I was like, you know what? I'LL just take it until someone asks. Well, no one's asked. And now it's mine.
>> Daniel Krolek: I've done that. I've done that.
You've talked about taking your costumes to other places
the most recent, and I think now we might be on the topic of taking your costumes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: Which is something that I think, I don't know anybody who doesn't want to. Because, you know, if you're working on a professional production, you have somebody who is. Is custom fitting something for your frame. You know, actually, I did a play in Thunder Bay, going on two years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: And I took my socks from it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah, I did. And, Thunder, Bay is not too far away, from Minnesota. So our costume designer went on a weekend to, Duluth, Minnesota, while we were in rehearsals. and apropos of nothing, we didn't even. Oh, I did wear mine in the show. she bought myself. And, the other actor in the show, she bought us both socks. And, I have these adorable rubber ducky socks from the run of my show.
>> Marco Timpano: Cool.
>> Daniel Krolek: And again, I'm not wearing them anymore because they're just starting to fray. So I'm sort of keeping them in my drawer.
>> Marco Timpano: Thunder Bay. What a great, great place. I love Thunder Bay. I love the art scene and I love the theater that they bring up there.
>> Daniel Krolek: You know what I do? I hope I'm back there. I had a really special time there. So I do hope that I'm back there. Now.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's something I did with. Because I had a lot of T shirts when I was traveling that I really adored, but I was no longer wearing. Or they had, you know, they just get to a point where you can't wear them anymore. But I couldn't get rid of them.
>> Daniel Krolek: I'm the same way.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like, what do I do with these T shirts? And they would have like, you know, a fun. Like I had one from Martha's Vineyard that had a mermaid on it, but it wasn't like. I know it sounds a little bit corny, but it was a cool looking mermaid emblem. Is this from your youth or is this from adulthood? No, this from my adulthood when I was working on ships and we would port in different cities. I would buy something and in. What's it, Martha? No, it was, Bar Harbor, Maine. And I love Bar Harbor.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, I've been to Bar harbor as a child.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I love Bar Harbor. I would love. Based on Bar Harbor. I would like to explore more of Maine. Have you been. Have you been to a lot of places in Maine?
>> Daniel Krolek: not a lot. I remember going to Algonquin as a child, but this summer, my family went to Old Orchard Beach.
>> Marco Timpano: And how was that's in Maine.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yes, it was, it's fun. It's very much just sort of like a midway boardwalk in town. So there's, And I say this with complete fondness.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: because it's just, you know, amusement park rides and fried food.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Daniel Krolek: Kitschy souvenir.
>> Marco Timpano: Totally.
>> Daniel Krolek: Totally. so in terms of, like, a classy, you know, a classy lobster dinner experience, it might not be the ideal location, but it has a gorgeous beach, very, walkable, tons and tons of families, a gorgeous boardwalk. culturally, there wasn't anything to sort
>> Marco Timpano: of pique your interest that you found?
>> Daniel Krolek: that I found. Yes. But, you know, there was a. There was a wonder. The best lobster place that we had was just the place that was geographically the closest to us. The best lobster rolls that we had on the street.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, man. And you value, like my wife Amanda, a good lobster?
>> Daniel Krolek: Well, that's the thing. I was raised, I wasn't raised strictly kosher, but I was raised in a house where we had, two sets of dishes, where we had a meat set and a dairy set. and my mother did not bring non kosher meat into the house.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
>> Daniel Krolek: when we would eat out, we would eat out non kosher. But I basically, I grew up not eating, pork or shellfish. and now that I'm left to my own devices, I will always default to some kind of seafood.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Daniel Krolek: Always. Always.
>> Marco Timpano: That's awesome.
I purchased this T shirt in Southern Italy at a laundromat
back to my sweater from Bar Harbor.
>> Daniel Krolek: Sure. Oh, sure.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not. Trust me. Weave and veer. And I'm the one who has to remember to go back. Otherwise, our listeners are like. But you started to.
>> Daniel Krolek: I can't wait to hear about your sweater.
>> Marco Timpano: So this mermaid.
>> Daniel Krolek: I feel like I've been waiting so long. So no matter what you're going to say is going to underwhelm, but go ahead.
>> Marco Timpano: I also had a T shirt. Let me just say this as well, because it's gonna involve these T shirts. I purchased this T shirt in Southern Italy at a laundromat. And the reason I.
>> Daniel Krolek: You bought the T shirt at a laundromat?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was a public laundromat and they had T shirts because the laundromat was called E. Jefferson's Laundromat Lavanderia.
>> Daniel Krolek: right. Was it a Jefferson's themed laundromat, like
>> Marco Timpano: the TV show But it was in reference to the Jeffersons, because if you remember, George Jefferson owned dry cleaners. Right, Right. So you had to sort of put these things together because if you saw the T shirt and didn't speak Italian, you would just think, oh, Jefferson's. It was something advertising Jefferson's. Right. But if you were Italian, the only way you'd understand the T shirt is if you watched the television show the Jeffersons in Italian to figure out that he owned a dry cleaning business. But this was a laundromat.
>> Daniel Krolek: But Sherman Helmsley wasn't on the T shirt.
>> Marco Timpano: No, it just said E Jeffersons.
>> Daniel Krolek: That's so funny.
>> Marco Timpano: E meaning the letter I, which translates to the or plural Jeffersons. Right, Correct. Because George Jefferson was his name, but they called it E. Jefferson. So in other words, they called it the Jeffersons in Italian. So you had to make all these conclusions to figure out the meaning behind it.
>> Daniel Krolek: So, I mean I've never been to Italy, but like American TV shows made its way over and found.
>> Marco Timpano: So they would. The big television series, for example, the Bold and the Beautiful in Italy is huge, but they just call it Beautiful. So if you. It'd be 20 minutes in the afternoon when you're having lunch, Beautiful would air on Italian television. And because a lot of people go home for lunch, they would watch during their lunch Beautiful. Or as we know it, the Bold and the Beautiful.
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>> Marco Timpano: So when I would go to Italy to visit friends and family, they would ask me, marco, what's going on on Beautiful? And I'd be like, I don't understand what you mean. On the television show Beautiful. And I'm like, I don't think we have a show called Beautiful. And then I watched it with them and I'm like, oh, this is that soap opera. I think it's called the Bold and the Beautiful. But they would ask me specific questions because they knew we were four or five months in advance to what they were seeing by the time it got translated.
>> Daniel Krolek: Or dovetail and beautiful. I'm trying to. I know. It was a spinoff of Young and the Restless. I remember Ridge and Stephanie.
>> Marco Timpano: Sally. Sally was a big part of that show for Italian Sally. I wish I could remember her name. Sally Strick. I don't know. She owned the, I think they had fashion. Fashion conglomerate.
>> Daniel Krolek: It's funny that you bring that up.
Stissel is an Israeli drama about the ultra, ultra Orthodox community
I just finished watching a wonderful show on Netflix called Stissel, which is an Israeli drama about the ultra, ultra Orthodox community. Oh, wow. So it's this community that is completely sequestered, completely cut off from secular, culture. And in one of the plot threads, the main character's grandmother moves into a home, moves into a nursing home. But this is a woman who had. She's 80 something years old and her entire life has been very, cloistered, very orthodox. And she gets a TV in her room in the home and she starts watching the Bold and the Beautiful. But this is a woman who has never seen a television program in her life. Can't understand that these are actors reading dialogue. And, you know, so she becomes, embroiled in all of the drama and she starts praying for these people and praying for their struggles.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. I thought it was a documentary at first when you were describing it.
>> Daniel Krolek: no.
>> Marco Timpano: But then when this part came up, I can't wait to watch it. This sounds great.
>> Daniel Krolek: It's unlike. And it's funny. I just recorded an episode, of my own podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's right. I'm sorry. I didn't mention it.
>> Daniel Krolek: I'm sorry.
>> Marco Timpano: Please.
>> Daniel Krolek: No, you've talked about it before. and, I brought this television program up on, the episode that we were recording on last night.
>> Marco Timpano: That podcast, if you haven't, listened to it yet, is called Bad Gay Movies or Bitchy Gay Men bgm. And it is fantastic. I'm a huge fan of it and it is a podcast for everyone. Just, in case you're listening and saying, oh, it might not speak to me.
>> Daniel Krolek: It speaks to you. You don't need to be gay or bitchy. But it helps. But it helps.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm kidding. I love it.
You worked with someone who was on the show the Bold and the Beautiful
I wanted to say that years later, I worked with someone who was on the show the Bold and the Beautiful.
>> Daniel Krolek: Oh, my goodness.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. Jeff Trachta.
>> Daniel Krolek: I can picture him. Okay. I totally know who he is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, so he worked on the cruise
>> Daniel Krolek: ships with us as a performer.
>> Marco Timpano: As a performer. He had his own one man show.
>> Daniel Krolek: Did he sing or tell jokes? What did he do?
>> Marco Timpano: All of the above. It was kind of cabaret. it catered to a specific audience, but it was open to everyone. And, he was a lovely gentleman. I asked him, I said, what was it like for you on Bold and the Beautiful? And he's like, it was fantastic. And I said, did you know that you guys were huge in Italy? He goes, did we know we were so big in Italy that they moved the show there for a week? like, part of the. Part of the plot was they had to go to Italy for whatever, I guess a fashion thing. And he goes. And he goes, I have never been treated. He goes, it was like we were royalty. He goes, I can't even tell you.
>> Daniel Krolek: I think I remember these episodes from when I would watch it as maybe a, ah, high schooler. I think I remember those episodes.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't realize you watched it the
>> Daniel Krolek: Bold and the Beautiful. not frequently. I would watch Days of Our Lives pretty regularly in the mid-90s. a little bit of Young and the Restless and a little bit of Bold in the Beautiful, but not. I mean, if I had a day off from. If I had like a pedagogical day from school or if I was sick. so not with any regularity, but on occasion, wow. So I'm a little bit familiar with the characters and the stories.
>> Marco Timpano: You also know quite a bit about the world of television, film and books and whatnot. So it doesn't surprise me is what I'm trying to say. but he was just saying how well they were treated. He goes. And it was great because he goes, I love Italy. I love Italian food. And he goes. And I felt like I was a bit of a hero there.
Daniel did this with some key T shirts in his childhood home in Montreal
But back to my shirt. So this is what I did with these shirts. I love them, but I knew they were taking up too much room and I just had to part with them. So what I did was I took a photo of them and put them on my Facebook. So anytime I need to see them, I can go to Facebook and find them.
>> Daniel Krolek: That is what I did, in the house that I grew up in in Montreal. this was quite some years ago where I threw out, some old things. I threw out some old board games and some, magazines and some old things that I had from university that ended up at my mother's, of course. So I did take some pictures of the things that I was getting rid of, and I do have those on my phone.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Daniel Krolek: So, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's what I did. So anyone who needs to part with something and they don't Know how as Daniel did with the things in his childhood home in Montreal and as I did with some key T shirts, take photos and put them on someplace where he.
>> Daniel Krolek: That's a great idea, Marco.
Whether you have need or not, get yourself a pair of compression socks
>> Marco Timpano: Back to socks. Have you ever worn compression socks?
>> Daniel Krolek: No, I've never had the need so far. I probably will.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'm gonna tell you this. Whether you have the need or not, get yourself a pair of compression socks. Because if you go on a trip, an hour or two hours, whether it be in the car or on a plane, and you wear compression socks, when you get to your destination and remove them, your feet will feel amazing. That has been my experience.
>> Daniel Krolek: I had no idea.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I, my mother in law bought them for Christmas for me one year and I was like, okay, I guess she thinks I'm really old or she thinks I need compression socks. She's like, I wear them and I swear by them. And since she has, I wear them and I swear by them. And anyone who I've told who've purchased them will usually email me or let me know that they've been so great.
>> Daniel Krolek: I would never think of getting compression socks. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Because they're often associated with people who have an ailment that requires compression socks. But I think they're for anyone who is going to be traveling. I don't know what it does, but it keeps. I don't know what it does to make you feel better once you take them off. But I've noticed a huge difference when I travel with compression socks.
>> Daniel Krolek: Are they good if you're sightseeing and if you're spending the entire day on your feet?
>> Marco Timpano: Great question. So if I'm spending the entire day standing, let's say, especially on concrete.
>> Marco Timpano: I will wear them because I know my feet will be sore and tired afterwards. So I would say anytime you're going to be standing or using your feet, not in a sports type capacity because I don't know if they're good for. I don't know if they're good for physical activity. But for standing and not doing physical activity or sitting for long periods of time in particular on floors that are not that don't have give like wooden floors, I would recommend using interesting compression socks.
>> Daniel Krolek: That's good to know.
You wear ankle socks when you're doing physical activity
>> Marco Timpano: speaking of sports socks, what kind of sport socks do you like to use when you're doing physical activity?
>> Daniel Krolek: I wear ankle socks.
>> Marco Timpano: You wear ankle socks?
>> Daniel Krolek: Yes. Which reminds me, I do and I wear them. I'm not big on sandals or flip flops, so even during the summer I'll wear a pair of sneakers, with ankle socks. But if I do go to the gym, I'll wear ankle socks.
>> Marco Timpano: Ankle socks. I see their function, and I can appreciate it when it's really hot.
>> Daniel Krolek: And I. And I enjoy them aesthetically as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you do?
>> Daniel Krolek: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: They drive me a bit crazy.
>> Daniel Krolek: Why?
>> Marco Timpano: I find them hard to fold and keep in your closet so that they stay. Or in your drawers to stay together. I don't roll my socks into each other. I don't know if you do that.
>> Daniel Krolek: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I don't do that anymore.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I was told it wrecks the stretch of the. Oh, yeah. So I try to just place them together and give them the Marie Kondo roll. Oh, yeah.
>> Daniel Krolek: Maybe I should start doing that. Maybe the socks that I spoke of earlier that I'm sentimental about, maybe they would have lasted longer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because you'll stretch the elasticity of the part that. Oh, it has.
>> Daniel Krolek: It has a.
>> Marco Timpano: It has a name. Because I had someone on the show and she was telling us about when she knits socks and how you start with the heel or you start, the turn. There's a term for that part of the sock. I can't remember.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay. I, didn't know that. And I haven't seen the Marie Kondo special. I haven't watched her on that.
>> Marco Timpano: First. I read the book, and she talks. If I recall correctly, that your socks take such a beating every day from you wearing them.
>> Daniel Krolek: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Why not let them rest when you're not wearing them and not let them take a beating? So don't fold them in on you. Do what you want. You do what works for you. But that's what I've been doing.
There was a scene in A Star Is Born where an ankle sock offended
>> Daniel Krolek: I do want to bring up a scene in a movie from last year. This is on topic, from. You saw A Star Is Born?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I did.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. There was a scene in the movie where,
>> Marco Timpano: Is this a spoiler? Should we just say spoiler alert?
>> Daniel Krolek: I don't think so.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Daniel Krolek: I don't think so. And the movie's been out for a long time now, where there was a young manager who came to visit, Ally, the Lady Gaga character.
>> Marco Timpano: And.
>> Daniel Krolek: And this was sort of on her ascent. And the Bradley Cooper character was on his way down, and he's awkwardly waiting in a room with, Bradley Cooper waiting to see, Ally. And they're making awkward small talk. And, the money manager is wearing ankle socks, or the hip manager is wearing ankle socks. And Bradley Cooper says, oh, I thought only women wore Those types of socks. And that's something that has irked me ever since I've seen the movie. And I don't think of ankle socks as being worn exclusively by women.
>> Marco Timpano: No, neither do I. I see them as, socks that are worn primarily when you're doing physical activity or when
>> Daniel Krolek: it's hot outside or if you're wearing shorts.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Daniel Krolek: Ah. but according to the Bradley Cooper character in A Star Is Born, ankle socks are a very feminine thing to wear.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Daniel Krolek: Which, personally, that has never occurred to me.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, all I'll say is, attitudes like that, much like the character in the
>> Daniel Krolek: movie, they just die.
>> Speaker C: They just die.
>> Daniel Krolek: well, that might be a spoiler for your audience, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry. Sorry about that if I ruined the movie for you. But it has had three incarnations, so, you know, I think that's been around.
You could do a Hanukkah, uh, Advent sock kind of thing
You know, one last sock thing before we end this episode is when you don't know what to give as a gift. A pair of fancy socks. Because I bought my wife last year an Advent calendar of socks. So that every. I don't.
>> Daniel Krolek: That's so cute.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah, I don't remember how Advent calendars work. I think it's, like, December 1st all the way to the 24th or something.
>> Daniel Krolek: You're asking the wrong person.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. But for Hanukkah, So it's what, eight days of Hanukkah, Right?
>> Daniel Krolek: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: You could do a Hanukkah, Advent sock kind of thing. I don't know what you. It wouldn't be called Advent, obviously, but what it was was, like, this wooden box, and every day, she would punch a hole in it and remove a pair of socks, and she'd have.
>> Daniel Krolek: She would punch a hole out of rage.
>> Marco Timpano: No. Well, no, you didn't have to punch a hole, but, like, you know, sometimes you. You kind of have to. It's perforated.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay. Because I'm just. Picture you making Amanda so angry for 24 days, and she just has no choice but, to punch a hole in the Advent calendar.
>> Marco Timpano: That might be a great business. You and I can start rage Socks, where you have, like, a thing of a wooden box, and you just punch a hole at the end of it. You get a pair of socks.
>> Daniel Krolek: I mean, they have. You know, they have the rage rooms where you can go into a padded room and just throw things around and get everything out of your system. So that's not a bad idea.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me know if you would purchase Crolic Tympano rage socks, because maybe we'll start that business up.
>> Daniel Krolek: So, okay, well, we'll, discuss the ball. We'll workshop. Sure. I, do want to.
Would you be disappointed if you received socks on your birthday or special occasion
Before we leave, I do also want to bring up the John Lovatt sketch from Saturday Night Live. Do you remember the Hanukkah Harry sketch?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Daniel Krolek: And the joke was, Hanukkah is not as exciting as Christmas. Sure. So Jon Lovitz bought these poor kids socks, like, eight socks to a pack. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. We could even theme it with something like that.
>> Daniel Krolek: Okay. Okay. So when you talk about, getting socks for Christmas and holidays, I go. My mind goes to the, Hanukkahari character from Saturday Night Live.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. And the disappointment of receiving. Would you be disappointed if you received socks on your birthday or on a special occasion?
>> Daniel Krolek: But again, if they're special socks or customized socks, I would welcome it because. And again, like, I talked about going to the Strand earlier. Sure. And I had my friend Jonathan, who was feeding my cat while I was away, so I got him a few pairs of the special socks at the bookstore.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's unique. I wouldn't recommend getting kids socks for occasions because they're not going to appreciate it. I would have been upset as a kid if I got socks for Christmas.
>> Daniel Krolek: Yeah. I mean, unless if they're particularly, you know, particularly artistic or particularly personal. but no, I think I would avoid that.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
Daniel: This sock episode was requested by one of our listeners
Well, Daniel, thank you so much for doing the sock episode with me. This has actually been an episode that was requested by one of our listeners.
>> Daniel Krolek: Now, anytime you want to sock it to me, I will sock it to you right back.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen for Daniel, because we're going to do an episode on Glenn Close, and we're going to do an episode on some of his favorite authors.
>> Daniel Krolek: Pardon me if I. If I get too excited during that one.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll try to keep it measured as best I can. Until then, we hope you listen and sleep.
Bergamot & Boots
(Original airdate May 25, 2020)
Welcome, Jenny, to the Insomnia Project.
>> Jenny Arena: Thank you, Marco. It's a pleasure to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: Jenny, you and I have known each other for years and we started or we met each other through an audio world, for lack of a better explanation.
>> Marco Timpano: do you want to fill the listeners in on how or where we met?
>> Jenny Arena: Yes. So Marco and I actually were part of a radio show on York University Radio. I'm going to say. Do I dare say how many years ago?
>> Marco Timpano: Marco, you can or you don't have to? Let's just say, you know, a few years back.
>> Jenny Arena: A few years back, York University Radio, Chry. the program was called Red Hot and Green, geared towards second and third generation Italian Canadians. So, I was actually introduced by someone who was already part of the program. she had me sit in and see what was going on. Thought I would be interested.
>> Marco Timpano: Who was that?
>> Jenny Arena: Carmelina.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Carmelina. Hello, Carmelina. I need to get her in the studio.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I need to get everyone from Red Hot and Green.
>> Jenny Arena: That would be great. Maybe a little Red Hot reunion.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. everyone knows who listens to this podcast. I will often reference my Italian background or my Italian culture, and I'm sure some of you roll your eyes, but that's how I got into
>> Jenny Arena: radio,
>> Marco Timpano: really was through my culture. And I have a love for my heritage, and so do you, and I hope our listeners have a love for theirs, whatever it may be.
Mark and Jenny both have roots in the same part of Italy
now, Jenny, one thing that's really fascinating is you and I have roots in the same part of Italy. Yes, let's talk a little bit about that.
>> Jenny Arena: For sure. So we are both from, the southern part of Italy. The toe of the boot, if you will, Calabria. and I believe it's your dad's side that we are, connected on in terms of the location. Correct, Mark.
>> Marco Timpano: You got it. And both your folks are from Calabria, right?
>> Jenny Arena: Yes, yes, both my parents.
>> Marco Timpano: And Calabria is the toe, and a little bit more than. Because if I say the toe, people just think that tip part, but it's also from the toe to just before you hit the sole.
>> Jenny Arena: Probably. Yeah, that's a good description. I would say that's a fair description.
>> Marco Timpano: Before the arch. I love talking about.
Speaking of boots, what do you value in a good boot? Comfort first and foremost
Speaking of boots, what do you value in a good boot?
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, comfort all the way. Comfort, first and foremost. Comfort. in fact, even comfort over fashion. I'm not gonna lie.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. But do you appreciate a leather boot or does that not leather?
>> Jenny Arena: Yes, absolutely. good quality leather, soft. similar to, I did actually pick up a pair of really nice boots in Tuscany, which they're known for their leather in that area of Italy. So. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Are they functional boots for our weather, is my question?
>> Jenny Arena: Probably not for our weather, no. very comfortable, very well made. but, yeah, probably not the most functional.
>> Marco Timpano: So what do you use? I know we're just on a tangent here.
>> Jenny Arena: That's all Right.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you use for our winter weather? Boot speaking, boot wise?
>> Jenny Arena: You know what? I'm a big fan of Timberlands.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Jenny Arena: I love the Timberland. Yes. they're comfortable, somewhat fashionable. Sure. and they're made to stand up to, you know, snow, sleet, slush, all that fun stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: For me, the tread is so important in our weather.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Because if you don't have a good deep tread, like in a snow tire, let's say it can be very slippery, especially if you hit, you know, when snow hits ice and you don't see it because it's covered with snow, and you just get that immediate slip.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That's when you need that traction.
>> Jenny Arena: For sure. For sure. Yes. Especially if you're wandering through streets like Montreal, where they don't even shovel the
>> Marco Timpano: sidewalks or the cobbles. You know, they have. Old Montreal has cobblestones. getting back to the boot of Italy after that tangent of what boots we like to wear.
This episode is going to be a little more exciting than usual
Tell me about. Let's talk about Calabria.
>> Jenny Arena: Okay. so I was actually born and raised here in Canada, however, very passionate about my parents Calabrese roots. grew up speaking, the Calabres dialect, actually before I was even, introduced to the proper Italian or the standard.
>> Marco Timpano: Standard Italian, which is spoken, you know, throughout all of Italy. Right. Or understood throughout all of Italy. and if you pardon me for.
>> Jenny Arena: No, no, not at all.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to mention your website. Jenny, along with being a great friend of mine, has a website, she's a food blogger, and that's called Fables and Focaccia. And that also sort of intersects with your southern Italian roots. Is that fair to say?
>> Jenny Arena: Yes, absolutely. just a quick segue into the name, Fables being stories. So I'm a storyteller and I love to the stories that go behind the food that I'm preparing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So we're going to talk about some of those stories. So it's going to be a little insomnia trigger warning that this episode might get a little bit more exciting than what you're used to when we talk about those stories. So I'm just giving you the heads up, in case you need to refer to another episode to fall asleep to. Some of our listeners like to just sort of use our podcast to ease anxiety or just enjoy their evening. So, I'm just giving you that heads up.
Jenny Marco: What would people recognize about Southern Italy from Calabria
So back to Calabria, back to Southern Italy. people might not be as familiar with Calabria as they are with Tuscany or with Rome or Milan or Venice. What would be something that people would recognize that comes out of that area that we both share as our heritage?
>> Jenny Arena: I would say one of the things is the history. one of the, discoveries was the bronze, statues. The Greek bronze statues, bronze di reiacci is, the translation, which, when the discovery was made, I believe in the 1970s, it was Pretty big to do, worldwide.
>> Marco Timpano: And the interesting part of the discovery is where they were found.
>> Jenny Arena: Absolutely. In the sea. They uncovered them in the sea. And it's funny because old Calabria, like some of the older towns, there's a town called Locri, which is actually built on old Greek ruins. So you can find a lot of the old kind of historic things in that town.
>> Marco Timpano: And parts of Calabria sort of, oscillated between being part of what eventually became Italy to what was Greece. So if I'm not mistaken, the Greek mathematician Pythagoras was born in what is now Calabria, which was formerly Greece.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's. I find that always so fascinating how countries, how places on the planet have oscillated between other places or other countries based on war or based on a whole bunch of other different, factors.
>> Jenny Arena: So Calabria, interestingly, like Sicily, much like Sicily, both being in the south, very, strong influences from the Greeks, from the Arabs. So you will find that in, some of the architecture. You'll find that in the food as well.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting that you picked the bronze statues as the signifier to what is Calabria for the world. Because if I may, I'll pick mine and see if we're close to on the same page. So think about what your number two would be and I'll tell you what my number one is.
>> Jenny Arena: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And that is bergamot.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So most of the world's bergamot comes from Calabria.
>> Jenny Arena: Absolutely, yes. They are actually probably the primary, grower of bergamot for all of Italy.
>> Marco Timpano: And a lot of times when you look at the source of bergamot. Now for our listeners who are like, what is bergamot? If you've ever had Earl Grey tea, it's bergamot. That gives it its distinct flavor.
>> Jenny Arena: So yes. And that is, a flavor that throughout Calabria, particularly in recent years, has been in the flavor profile, has been introduced in many components such as liqueurs, jams. So you're finding a lot more, bergamot product coming out of the area.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're still scratching your head and thinking to yourself, but Jenny Marco, I still don't know what bergamot is.
You mentioned what flavor is like and that it's used in products
You mentioned what flavor is like and that it's used in products. What is the actual food item? How would you describe it, Jenny?
>> Jenny Arena: I, think if I had to describe it, it's a cross between a lemon and a lime. Maybe some orange, kind of a really ugly looking lemon.
>> Marco Timpano: A citrus. Yeah, I would say it doesn't look spectacular. And unlike orange and lime, you can't necessarily just cut it and eat or like an orange, let's say, because you wouldn't do that with a lime and lemon. But it's definitely used for flavoring.
>> Jenny Arena: Absolutely, yes.
You're a huge proponent of no food waste. What's your favorite food waste story
>> Marco Timpano: Let's get into some other stories. You talked about fables and focaccia and how you talk about stories behind food. What's one of your favorite, stories?
>> Jenny Arena: You know what? For me, it's more of a. I would say more of a lifestyle than a story. But I love the fact that there's, you know, my parents growing up in a poorer area of the country, if you will, so they had to use up everything. nothing went to waste. And, that belief or that food waste, no food waste philosophy has stuck with me. to this day. I'm still a huge proponent of no food waste.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's actually come to light now, and it's part of, culinary culture. Those terms like from nose to tail cuisine and whatnot, where nothing gets wasted.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes. Every part of the animal, for example, gets used. and then a great example of this, is Massimo Bottura. He's like one of the Michelin star chefs in Italy. And he has actually taken it to a whole new level where he's even opened up a restaurant where they serve, leftovers, basically. So what is leftover from other restaurants or from grocery stores? They take it and they prepare incredible meals with it.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a leftover or is there a part of some food item that may get wasted in someone else's kitchen that doesn't get wasted in yours?
>> Jenny Arena: You know what? Bread, believe it or not.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, tell me about that.
>> Jenny Arena: A lot of people tend to just throw away bread after it goes stale, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Jenny Arena: You eat it when it's fresh. Yes. Nice and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.
>> Marco Timpano: hey, I'm guilty of that, too. So if you're listening, saying I do that, you know, listen, I'm on page with you. So tell me, what do you do with your bread when it's no longer freshly baked, let's say.
>> Jenny Arena: Okay, well, first of all, you can actually reconstitute it a bit. if you've had the bread for maybe just a couple of days, if you wrap it in foil, add just a little bit of water to it, put it in the oven, bake, it for a few minutes, maybe like 10 minutes on, like 350 degrees, it will actually come out tasting like fresh bread again.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, how you can reconstitute cheese, hard cheeses. Have you ever done that?
>> Jenny Arena: No.
>> Marco Timpano: So sometimes if you leave, let's say, a chunk of parmigiano out, it gets dry and, it no longer has that sort of, how can I describe it? That cheese, like, it becomes hard. It becomes hard and it almost has a, oiled coating over it. And it looks almost like it's a brick almost. At that point, it no longer looks like cheese. If you take a tea towel and wet it so that it's damp and wrap the cheese in the tea towel and put it in your fridge for a day or two, the loss of water from the cheese will get reabsorbed and it will become more like it once was.
>> Jenny Arena: That's good to know. I'll have to remember that next time. I've got some, cheese that's a little bit, on the harder side.
Bread makes great stuffing, and it makes great breadcrumbs
>> Marco Timpano: Back to bread.
>> Jenny Arena: back to bread. Okay, so, yes, you can reconstitute it. I, will make my own breadcrumbs from it. So I will toast it off in the oven, and then grind it up to make my own breadcrumbs or croutons for salads.
>> Marco Timpano: Simple enough.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes. also, it makes great stuffing. So, you know, chop it up, add, some other flavoring elements to it, and you've got yourself a stuffing. bread pudding is always a huge hit as well. not a very Italian dish. But you know what, I'm a mom and, my kids absolutely love it, so it's a nice treat. and I've made it both savory and sweet.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't realize you could have a savory bread pudding.
>> Jenny Arena: So, yeah, you could do for like a lunch with a salad. you know, again, it's your same base, like with eggs, like you make the custard with milk and eggs, but you would add savory elements like maybe some parmigiano cheese or, some sun dried tomatoes. I made a version of it once with, rapini, broccoli rabe, and some sausage. That was a great brunch dish.
>> Marco Timpano: So my wife will often make a dish called estrada, which I've never heard before. It's certainly not any area of Italy that I know, but that's what she calls it. And she'll take leftover bread and she'll rip it up in pieces and then incorporate it into a, egg dish that she then bakes. So, you know, egg, sausage, tomatoes, whatever is lying around mixed with this bread in A, I guess like a casserole dish with cheese, plenty of cheese. Whatever cheese she happens to have. So if it's mozzarella, it's mozzarella. If it's cheddar, it's cheddar. Whatever we have, that's a good melting cheese. And then she'll pop it in the oven and bake it and then slice it up and we'll have it for breakfast.
>> Jenny Arena: There you go. Yeah, similar. I would say it's probably similar to. Yeah, same idea as the savory bread pudding.
Dish by Blue Apron is the pre made meals of your dreams
>> Marco Timpano: Any story connected with food that you, that surprised you or you found humorous?
>> Jenny Arena: there's one. Oh. again, it kind of relates back to sort of the poor, the poor upbringing of people from the south. and how they would make other ingredients, try to resemble something that maybe, you know, a more noble family would have. So for example, and it's funny, speaking of breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs.
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McDonald's is offering a limited-time sale on its breakfast menu
>> Marco Timpano: Dear McDonald's, your breakfast menu fire, tens across the board. I could be happy with anything even though I order the same thing every time. Thanks for not judging me. I'll try something new next time.
>> Jenny Arena: Maybe score a two for five dollar
>> Marco Timpano: deal on a sausage McMuffin with egg and more. Limited time only. Price and participation may vary.
>> Jenny Arena: Cannot be combined with any other offer. Single item at regular price.
>> Jenny Arena: were often tossed with pasta, to resemble parmigiano. So they often refer to breadcrumbs on pasta as the poor man's parmigiano.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go. There you go.
>> Jenny Arena: So again it's making use of what you have. and then. Yeah. So that's something I found very interesting for Sure. Is sort of that reusing items and trying to turn them into something else.
What are three kitchen tools that get used the most often
>> Marco Timpano: I want to deviate here and talk about kitchen tools.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What are three of the tools in your kitchen that get used the most?
>> Jenny Arena: Definitely a good knife. I did invest in one of those nice willing, knives. and get it sharpened properly. because you can never, you know, you need a good sharp knife in the kitchen.
>> Marco Timpano: they say the most dangerous thing in the kitchen is a dull knife.
>> Jenny Arena: Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. the second thing I would say is probably a really good microplane because I use it for, again, you can use it for grating, cheese grating things, like nutmeg or cinnamon, grating chocolate for desserts. So it's a multipurpose tool for sure. And, you know what, the hands, believe it or not, the hands are the chef's or the cook's best friends. You can do so much with your hands. Kneading, mixing. Really, I think that's the key. That's the key piece of equipment, is the hands.
Do you have any secret advice that you discovered that you wish you knew
>> Marco Timpano: Now, do you have any secret advice that you discovered that you're like, I wish I knew this years ago. And now that I know it, it's my favorite thing. I'll give you an example so you can be like, okay, just to think for a moment. I discovered. And I've talked about it on the podcast before, Jenny, I talk about things and then I'll retalk about them in other episodes. So I can only imagine what listeners think when they hear me go on about certain things. But the best way to peel ginger is with a spoon.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, yes, I've heard that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So if you have to peel ginger and you use a knife, you're cutting off so much of the ginger, there's so much waste. But if you take a spoon, ginger is relatively soft and you just scrape it with the spoon, the skin from the ginger comes right off. and it is phenomenal. Another tip that I learned is if you're making hard boiled eggs, you know how it's difficult sometimes to take the shell off the hard boiled egg? Sometimes it'll stick to the actual egg and it'll be tricky. Put a little bit of vinegar in the water that you boil with. Yeah. And then cool them right away.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, my goodness, Marco, you taught me something new today. I'm always struggling with those hard boiled eggs.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So just, I don't even measure. So I'm boiling the water and then I'll just kind of white vinegar, pour it in as much as quanto basta, as much as you want. And then once they're done, put them under cold water right away and then peel them soon thereafter. Yeah.
>> Jenny Arena: Okay, I'm gonna try that and I'll let you know how it works for sure. let me think. Hang on. Hm. That's a tough question.
>> Marco Timpano: I gave you all that time to think that she was too wrapped in listening to What I had to say.
>> Jenny Arena: I like to absorb information, especially when it comes to cooking.
>> Marco Timpano: here's another tip. So do you make fresh pasta?
>> Jenny Arena: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you use the pasta, the pasta machine? Yeah.
>> Jenny Arena: It's like a little, like a hand crank almost.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. Because I don't want people to think it's like the one that you get with the. I'm making a hand gesture. You know that big machine.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, the KitchenAid mixer. Thank you. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Right now I'm just miming it. It's like we're playing charades and Jenny has to guess what I mean. but if you use the hand crank one, the one that sort of has, a vice grip to your surface, table, or whatever you're doing, never wash that. Never wash the inside because it'll rust.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Just dust it with a bit of flour and if you have a brush, just clean it out that way. But do not put that in the dishwasher especially. But do not wash it with water because if any water stays within the mechanisms, it will rust and there goes your machine.
Marco Bialetti uses stovetop mocha to make espresso coffee
>> Jenny Arena: Okay, well, actually, now on that vein, you reminded me of something. There you go. Okay. Speaking of equipment, so I'm old school and when I make my espresso coffee, I use the stovetop mocha, which is like a little pot. You brew the espresso on top of the stove. For anyone who may not know, Bialetti
>> Marco Timpano: being the quintessential maker of that stovetop coffee maker, which looks kind of like the Tin man from the wizard of Arts.
>> Jenny Arena: That's a great way to describe it actually, Marco. Yeah, if you had to describe it. The Tin Man. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: it's one of those things that if you have it or you know it, you can visualize it, but if you don't, you're like, what exactly are they talking about?
>> Jenny Arena: So the, mocha, much like a wok, needs to be seasoned. And so that's one thing that, I learned a little bit later in life that you're not supposed to get. Not supposed to wash it with soap and water. Yes, you do rinse it out with water. because you do have to get the coffee grinds out of the machine, but never use soap on it. it just needs to be seasoned much like a wok. So the more you use the mocha, the better your coffee ends up tasting.
>> Marco Timpano: In fact, you'll see in people's kitchens their mocha or their coffee pot maker from their grandparents or their parents, and it just looks like, it's been through everything. You're like, that's the ugliest kitchen equipment you've ever seen. And it will make the best espresso coffee. Because I have a fairly new one and I know it doesn't. I know it needs a few years before it really comes out. Wonderful. So for example, if I'm making you an espresso after this podcast, I will not be using that. I will be using one that the handle is burnt off, cracked. And you'll be like, and you know, anyone who knows they're espresso will never, won't even bat an eyelash if they see that because they know, oh, that's the coffee maker that makes the best coffee in the house.
>> Jenny Arena: I think basically anything that you see some wear, wear on. even for, baking stones, for example, I like to use stoneware in the kitchen, for baking. It gives you like a nice crisp, pizza dough, for example, if you're making pizza, bake it on stoneware and it's nice and crispy. Are you talking about those, like little, those pizza stones? Like the round? Yes, yes, Flat and round. And it looks, it literally looks like a piece of stone or a piece of clay. again, is it made of ceramic? No, it's like it's stone. I can't remember what stone it is exactly, but it's a stone. And again, that doesn't get washed with soap and water. It just gets rinsed off or brushed off. And the more you use it, and season it, then the uglier it looks. It turns like it looks like horribly burnt brown. But you will get the best pizza off that stone.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
What do you use to shape your gnocchi when making them
what do you use when you make gnocchi to shape your gnocco? That's a question of all questions of all time that you can ask an Italian and it'll take them a moment. What is the item that you use to make your gnocco shape when you're making gnocchi?
>> Jenny Arena: So I actually use a gnocchi paddle.
>> Marco Timpano: You do?
>> Jenny Arena: I do use a gnocchi paddle. So it's I don't know, how would you describe it? Almost like a mini washing board with a handle.
>> Marco Timpano: So picture an item the size of a computer mouse that is flat, made of wood and ridged with a small handle. Ridged like a washboard. But people don't know what a washboard is anymore.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes, that's true in this day and age.
>> Marco Timpano: corrugated, that.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, perfect. Yes, Marco, corrugated. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So you use That.
>> Jenny Arena: I do use that. However, I'm not gonna lie. In times of laziness, I will quickly roll it over a fork.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes. Because with the paddle, you do have to, you know, keep flouring it from time to time.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course you have to.
>> Jenny Arena: Yeah. So. But, when I'm really kind of whipping them out quickly, then I just kind of roll the dough over a fork.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. See, I. I have the, What do we just call it?
>> Jenny Arena: The gnocchi paddle.
>> Marco Timpano: The gnocchi paddle. I prefer them just cut, not even ridged.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, not even ridged.
>> Marco Timpano: No. I like them as pillow like as possible. That's my favorite. Although I do have the gnocchi paddle, and I know that's the. That's the classic or the, let's say, the proper way, because you're giving ridges to the gnocchi, which will soak up more sauce, but give it to me pillow like, and I'm happy as can be.
>> Jenny Arena: That's true. Actually, to go back to that, the real original tool, is a basket. So if you go through Italy and you see, like, a nonna or a grandmother, making gnocchi, she'll often have, like, a basket, and she rolls the gnocchi off the bottom of that basket to those ridges.
>> Marco Timpano: So those ridges come from the weave of the basket?
>> Jenny Arena: Of the basket.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that. I've seen pasta made with spokes from a bicycle.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes, that as well, too. in Italian, they call that the maccheroni alferro, with an iron is the literal transition.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. It might not actually be a spoke from a bicycle, but it has that steel, shape of a bicycle.
>> Jenny Arena: Yeah. Almost like a knitting needle, but thinner. A little bit thinner than a knitting needle, I would say. Yeah. So, yeah, the pasta dough gets rolled around that.
What's the surface that you use when you're baking or making dough
>> Marco Timpano: What's the surface that you use when you're baking or making dough?
>> Jenny Arena: So I actually had my father made for me a giant, wood board. So, like, think the most massive cutting board you've ever seen. and I like to use that. marble is a good surface, too, but I don't always have marble handy. Let's face it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's heavy too. Right?
>> Jenny Arena: And it's heavy to move. Yeah, like moving a piece of marble versus moving a piece of wood board.
>> Marco Timpano: But the beauty of marble, correct me if I'm wrong, because I've never used it to make anything, is, it stays cool, right?
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So when you're working the dough, your hands will heat. Heat it up, but the surface will Keep it cool.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes, the surface keeps it cool. And it doesn't stick either because I do have to heavily flour my wood surface for things not to stick.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes I need to make a correction because on a previous episode that I had with, Mirilla Wax, I talked about a Devonshire clanger. But what I meant to say was a Bedfordshire clanger. So I picked the wrong place and I'm sure my UK listeners were stomping their feet and very upset about it. So I'm correcting myself. It is not the Devonshire clanger, but the Bedford clanger.
>> Jenny Arena: Okay, Mark, will you care to explain what that is? Because I'm a little bit stumped right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, Jenny, I need you to make this item.
>> Jenny Arena: Okay?
>> Marco Timpano: You don't have to make it for me. I just need you to make it because I need to know someone who's made it. So will you do me this favor at some point? It doesn't have to be now, it can be months ahead, but you make this thing and then you report back to me. Okay? So the Bedfordshire clanger is a pastry dish that they make in. That they made in Bedfordshire for, the men who would go work in various, you know, various places where they had to like, I don't know if they have mines, so I don't want to say the mines, but they, they would go off to work and this would be their lunch, part of their lunch, and it's a pastry that they would fill. Now a clanger is just traditionally filled with, let's say, pork or you could make a sweeter, savory version of it. So you could make a, like an apple turnover type clanger or a meat filled pastry. But in Bedfordshire, this is what they did. They took the clanger and they did half with pork and half with apple and they would divide it, they'd put a little bit of the pastry in between so they wouldn't mix. So that if you, the person who was going off to work were having this, you could eat one side and that was your savory and then flip it over or get to the bottom and you would get to your dessert.
>> Jenny Arena: Wow, that is genius.
>> Marco Timpano: So I went online the other day to see if there's recipes on how to do it. And I'm going to try to do it. But since you are an expert in the kitchen, I just want you to do a clanger and, let me know.
>> Jenny Arena: I'm so on that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Jenny Arena: I love that idea. I think that's genius. Two in one.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Jenny: The UK is on my bucket list of places to visit
So, when I was talking with Marilla Wax, I was talking about it and I couldn't remember the name of it. And please forgive me because it's just my own lack of memory and whatnot. Because I really do love the United Kingdom and I love going there. And something about me, Jenny, that I don't know if you know because we share the same heritage, but there's something about British things that makes me so happy. So if I could eat a scone and drink a tea and have clotted cream and jam, you won't see me any happier than that.
>> Jenny Arena: That is, that is pretty much a picture of happiness right there. So the UK is actually on my bucket list of places to visit.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you not been?
>> Jenny Arena: I have not been. and I did swear that my next travel destination would be the uk, so hopefully I'll get around to it in the next year.
>> Marco Timpano: It's one of those places that every time I go, I love it more and more. And there's, other places on the globe that I really enjoy. And I always mention, you know, I love New Jersey. Every time I go to New Jersey, I just have a great time. Every time I go to Calgary, I have a fantastic time. And every time I go back to la, I love it more and more. So, those are the places that always resonate with me. And I wasn't a huge fan of LA the first time time or the second time I went, but now that I'm going more and more, it's like, oh, I really am starting to appreciate Los Angeles. So there you go.
>> Jenny Arena: That's great, Marco. So maybe I'll have to get some travel tips from you then next time I, make a trip. I did stop in Los Angeles once a few years ago, drove through, did, did the very touristy thing, of course, Hollywood Boulevard, you know, Universal Studios, that kind of thing. But, I'm sure there's much more to it than that.
>> Marco Timpano: There's nothing wrong with doing those things, especially if you have a limited time. Like, I mean, when you go to New York there's so much to do. But I feel like you have to cross off some of those classic things because you've seen them in film, TV and literature that you're like, I just got to see it with my own eyes. Whether it be the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Wall street, whatever it is. Right.
Marco: Thanks for listening to Insomnia Project. It's always a pleasure to have you
Anyways, that brings us to the end of the this podcast.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, wow, that was a quick time frame.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm telling you, Jenny, from talking about our boots to clangers and bergamot and everything in between.
>> Jenny Arena: That's amazing. Well, thank you, Marco, for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: It's always a pleasure to have you. And I do invite you back to the Insomnia Project anytime you want, but after you make the clanger so we can talk about that as well.
>> Jenny Arena: That sounds great. I will definitely do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. Please send us an email of, topics you'd like to see us cover and, if you have any tips with regards to food items or food tools that we can pass on to our listeners. We always appreciate that this episode was recorded in Toronto, Canada, and it was produced by drumcast Productions. We hope you listened and slept sa.
(Original airdate May 25, 2020)
Welcome, Jenny, to the Insomnia Project.
>> Jenny Arena: Thank you, Marco. It's a pleasure to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: Jenny, you and I have known each other for years and we started or we met each other through an audio world, for lack of a better explanation.
>> Marco Timpano: do you want to fill the listeners in on how or where we met?
>> Jenny Arena: Yes. So Marco and I actually were part of a radio show on York University Radio. I'm going to say. Do I dare say how many years ago?
>> Marco Timpano: Marco, you can or you don't have to? Let's just say, you know, a few years back.
>> Jenny Arena: A few years back, York University Radio, Chry. the program was called Red Hot and Green, geared towards second and third generation Italian Canadians. So, I was actually introduced by someone who was already part of the program. she had me sit in and see what was going on. Thought I would be interested.
>> Marco Timpano: Who was that?
>> Jenny Arena: Carmelina.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Carmelina. Hello, Carmelina. I need to get her in the studio.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I need to get everyone from Red Hot and Green.
>> Jenny Arena: That would be great. Maybe a little Red Hot reunion.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. everyone knows who listens to this podcast. I will often reference my Italian background or my Italian culture, and I'm sure some of you roll your eyes, but that's how I got into
>> Jenny Arena: radio,
>> Marco Timpano: really was through my culture. And I have a love for my heritage, and so do you, and I hope our listeners have a love for theirs, whatever it may be.
Mark and Jenny both have roots in the same part of Italy
now, Jenny, one thing that's really fascinating is you and I have roots in the same part of Italy. Yes, let's talk a little bit about that.
>> Jenny Arena: For sure. So we are both from, the southern part of Italy. The toe of the boot, if you will, Calabria. and I believe it's your dad's side that we are, connected on in terms of the location. Correct, Mark.
>> Marco Timpano: You got it. And both your folks are from Calabria, right?
>> Jenny Arena: Yes, yes, both my parents.
>> Marco Timpano: And Calabria is the toe, and a little bit more than. Because if I say the toe, people just think that tip part, but it's also from the toe to just before you hit the sole.
>> Jenny Arena: Probably. Yeah, that's a good description. I would say that's a fair description.
>> Marco Timpano: Before the arch. I love talking about.
Speaking of boots, what do you value in a good boot? Comfort first and foremost
Speaking of boots, what do you value in a good boot?
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, comfort all the way. Comfort, first and foremost. Comfort. in fact, even comfort over fashion. I'm not gonna lie.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. But do you appreciate a leather boot or does that not leather?
>> Jenny Arena: Yes, absolutely. good quality leather, soft. similar to, I did actually pick up a pair of really nice boots in Tuscany, which they're known for their leather in that area of Italy. So. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Are they functional boots for our weather, is my question?
>> Jenny Arena: Probably not for our weather, no. very comfortable, very well made. but, yeah, probably not the most functional.
>> Marco Timpano: So what do you use? I know we're just on a tangent here.
>> Jenny Arena: That's all Right.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you use for our winter weather? Boot speaking, boot wise?
>> Jenny Arena: You know what? I'm a big fan of Timberlands.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Jenny Arena: I love the Timberland. Yes. they're comfortable, somewhat fashionable. Sure. and they're made to stand up to, you know, snow, sleet, slush, all that fun stuff.
>> Marco Timpano: For me, the tread is so important in our weather.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, for sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Because if you don't have a good deep tread, like in a snow tire, let's say it can be very slippery, especially if you hit, you know, when snow hits ice and you don't see it because it's covered with snow, and you just get that immediate slip.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That's when you need that traction.
>> Jenny Arena: For sure. For sure. Yes. Especially if you're wandering through streets like Montreal, where they don't even shovel the
>> Marco Timpano: sidewalks or the cobbles. You know, they have. Old Montreal has cobblestones. getting back to the boot of Italy after that tangent of what boots we like to wear.
This episode is going to be a little more exciting than usual
Tell me about. Let's talk about Calabria.
>> Jenny Arena: Okay. so I was actually born and raised here in Canada, however, very passionate about my parents Calabrese roots. grew up speaking, the Calabres dialect, actually before I was even, introduced to the proper Italian or the standard.
>> Marco Timpano: Standard Italian, which is spoken, you know, throughout all of Italy. Right. Or understood throughout all of Italy. and if you pardon me for.
>> Jenny Arena: No, no, not at all.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to mention your website. Jenny, along with being a great friend of mine, has a website, she's a food blogger, and that's called Fables and Focaccia. And that also sort of intersects with your southern Italian roots. Is that fair to say?
>> Jenny Arena: Yes, absolutely. just a quick segue into the name, Fables being stories. So I'm a storyteller and I love to the stories that go behind the food that I'm preparing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So we're going to talk about some of those stories. So it's going to be a little insomnia trigger warning that this episode might get a little bit more exciting than what you're used to when we talk about those stories. So I'm just giving you the heads up, in case you need to refer to another episode to fall asleep to. Some of our listeners like to just sort of use our podcast to ease anxiety or just enjoy their evening. So, I'm just giving you that heads up.
Jenny Marco: What would people recognize about Southern Italy from Calabria
So back to Calabria, back to Southern Italy. people might not be as familiar with Calabria as they are with Tuscany or with Rome or Milan or Venice. What would be something that people would recognize that comes out of that area that we both share as our heritage?
>> Jenny Arena: I would say one of the things is the history. one of the, discoveries was the bronze, statues. The Greek bronze statues, bronze di reiacci is, the translation, which, when the discovery was made, I believe in the 1970s, it was Pretty big to do, worldwide.
>> Marco Timpano: And the interesting part of the discovery is where they were found.
>> Jenny Arena: Absolutely. In the sea. They uncovered them in the sea. And it's funny because old Calabria, like some of the older towns, there's a town called Locri, which is actually built on old Greek ruins. So you can find a lot of the old kind of historic things in that town.
>> Marco Timpano: And parts of Calabria sort of, oscillated between being part of what eventually became Italy to what was Greece. So if I'm not mistaken, the Greek mathematician Pythagoras was born in what is now Calabria, which was formerly Greece.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's. I find that always so fascinating how countries, how places on the planet have oscillated between other places or other countries based on war or based on a whole bunch of other different, factors.
>> Jenny Arena: So Calabria, interestingly, like Sicily, much like Sicily, both being in the south, very, strong influences from the Greeks, from the Arabs. So you will find that in, some of the architecture. You'll find that in the food as well.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting that you picked the bronze statues as the signifier to what is Calabria for the world. Because if I may, I'll pick mine and see if we're close to on the same page. So think about what your number two would be and I'll tell you what my number one is.
>> Jenny Arena: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And that is bergamot.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So most of the world's bergamot comes from Calabria.
>> Jenny Arena: Absolutely, yes. They are actually probably the primary, grower of bergamot for all of Italy.
>> Marco Timpano: And a lot of times when you look at the source of bergamot. Now for our listeners who are like, what is bergamot? If you've ever had Earl Grey tea, it's bergamot. That gives it its distinct flavor.
>> Jenny Arena: So yes. And that is, a flavor that throughout Calabria, particularly in recent years, has been in the flavor profile, has been introduced in many components such as liqueurs, jams. So you're finding a lot more, bergamot product coming out of the area.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're still scratching your head and thinking to yourself, but Jenny Marco, I still don't know what bergamot is.
You mentioned what flavor is like and that it's used in products
You mentioned what flavor is like and that it's used in products. What is the actual food item? How would you describe it, Jenny?
>> Jenny Arena: I, think if I had to describe it, it's a cross between a lemon and a lime. Maybe some orange, kind of a really ugly looking lemon.
>> Marco Timpano: A citrus. Yeah, I would say it doesn't look spectacular. And unlike orange and lime, you can't necessarily just cut it and eat or like an orange, let's say, because you wouldn't do that with a lime and lemon. But it's definitely used for flavoring.
>> Jenny Arena: Absolutely, yes.
You're a huge proponent of no food waste. What's your favorite food waste story
>> Marco Timpano: Let's get into some other stories. You talked about fables and focaccia and how you talk about stories behind food. What's one of your favorite, stories?
>> Jenny Arena: You know what? For me, it's more of a. I would say more of a lifestyle than a story. But I love the fact that there's, you know, my parents growing up in a poorer area of the country, if you will, so they had to use up everything. nothing went to waste. And, that belief or that food waste, no food waste philosophy has stuck with me. to this day. I'm still a huge proponent of no food waste.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's actually come to light now, and it's part of, culinary culture. Those terms like from nose to tail cuisine and whatnot, where nothing gets wasted.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes. Every part of the animal, for example, gets used. and then a great example of this, is Massimo Bottura. He's like one of the Michelin star chefs in Italy. And he has actually taken it to a whole new level where he's even opened up a restaurant where they serve, leftovers, basically. So what is leftover from other restaurants or from grocery stores? They take it and they prepare incredible meals with it.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a leftover or is there a part of some food item that may get wasted in someone else's kitchen that doesn't get wasted in yours?
>> Jenny Arena: You know what? Bread, believe it or not.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, tell me about that.
>> Jenny Arena: A lot of people tend to just throw away bread after it goes stale, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Jenny Arena: You eat it when it's fresh. Yes. Nice and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.
>> Marco Timpano: hey, I'm guilty of that, too. So if you're listening, saying I do that, you know, listen, I'm on page with you. So tell me, what do you do with your bread when it's no longer freshly baked, let's say.
>> Jenny Arena: Okay, well, first of all, you can actually reconstitute it a bit. if you've had the bread for maybe just a couple of days, if you wrap it in foil, add just a little bit of water to it, put it in the oven, bake, it for a few minutes, maybe like 10 minutes on, like 350 degrees, it will actually come out tasting like fresh bread again.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, how you can reconstitute cheese, hard cheeses. Have you ever done that?
>> Jenny Arena: No.
>> Marco Timpano: So sometimes if you leave, let's say, a chunk of parmigiano out, it gets dry and, it no longer has that sort of, how can I describe it? That cheese, like, it becomes hard. It becomes hard and it almost has a, oiled coating over it. And it looks almost like it's a brick almost. At that point, it no longer looks like cheese. If you take a tea towel and wet it so that it's damp and wrap the cheese in the tea towel and put it in your fridge for a day or two, the loss of water from the cheese will get reabsorbed and it will become more like it once was.
>> Jenny Arena: That's good to know. I'll have to remember that next time. I've got some, cheese that's a little bit, on the harder side.
Bread makes great stuffing, and it makes great breadcrumbs
>> Marco Timpano: Back to bread.
>> Jenny Arena: back to bread. Okay, so, yes, you can reconstitute it. I, will make my own breadcrumbs from it. So I will toast it off in the oven, and then grind it up to make my own breadcrumbs or croutons for salads.
>> Marco Timpano: Simple enough.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes. also, it makes great stuffing. So, you know, chop it up, add, some other flavoring elements to it, and you've got yourself a stuffing. bread pudding is always a huge hit as well. not a very Italian dish. But you know what, I'm a mom and, my kids absolutely love it, so it's a nice treat. and I've made it both savory and sweet.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't realize you could have a savory bread pudding.
>> Jenny Arena: So, yeah, you could do for like a lunch with a salad. you know, again, it's your same base, like with eggs, like you make the custard with milk and eggs, but you would add savory elements like maybe some parmigiano cheese or, some sun dried tomatoes. I made a version of it once with, rapini, broccoli rabe, and some sausage. That was a great brunch dish.
>> Marco Timpano: So my wife will often make a dish called estrada, which I've never heard before. It's certainly not any area of Italy that I know, but that's what she calls it. And she'll take leftover bread and she'll rip it up in pieces and then incorporate it into a, egg dish that she then bakes. So, you know, egg, sausage, tomatoes, whatever is lying around mixed with this bread in A, I guess like a casserole dish with cheese, plenty of cheese. Whatever cheese she happens to have. So if it's mozzarella, it's mozzarella. If it's cheddar, it's cheddar. Whatever we have, that's a good melting cheese. And then she'll pop it in the oven and bake it and then slice it up and we'll have it for breakfast.
>> Jenny Arena: There you go. Yeah, similar. I would say it's probably similar to. Yeah, same idea as the savory bread pudding.
Dish by Blue Apron is the pre made meals of your dreams
>> Marco Timpano: Any story connected with food that you, that surprised you or you found humorous?
>> Jenny Arena: there's one. Oh. again, it kind of relates back to sort of the poor, the poor upbringing of people from the south. and how they would make other ingredients, try to resemble something that maybe, you know, a more noble family would have. So for example, and it's funny, speaking of breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs.
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McDonald's is offering a limited-time sale on its breakfast menu
>> Marco Timpano: Dear McDonald's, your breakfast menu fire, tens across the board. I could be happy with anything even though I order the same thing every time. Thanks for not judging me. I'll try something new next time.
>> Jenny Arena: Maybe score a two for five dollar
>> Marco Timpano: deal on a sausage McMuffin with egg and more. Limited time only. Price and participation may vary.
>> Jenny Arena: Cannot be combined with any other offer. Single item at regular price.
>> Jenny Arena: were often tossed with pasta, to resemble parmigiano. So they often refer to breadcrumbs on pasta as the poor man's parmigiano.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go. There you go.
>> Jenny Arena: So again it's making use of what you have. and then. Yeah. So that's something I found very interesting for Sure. Is sort of that reusing items and trying to turn them into something else.
What are three kitchen tools that get used the most often
>> Marco Timpano: I want to deviate here and talk about kitchen tools.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What are three of the tools in your kitchen that get used the most?
>> Jenny Arena: Definitely a good knife. I did invest in one of those nice willing, knives. and get it sharpened properly. because you can never, you know, you need a good sharp knife in the kitchen.
>> Marco Timpano: they say the most dangerous thing in the kitchen is a dull knife.
>> Jenny Arena: Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. the second thing I would say is probably a really good microplane because I use it for, again, you can use it for grating, cheese grating things, like nutmeg or cinnamon, grating chocolate for desserts. So it's a multipurpose tool for sure. And, you know what, the hands, believe it or not, the hands are the chef's or the cook's best friends. You can do so much with your hands. Kneading, mixing. Really, I think that's the key. That's the key piece of equipment, is the hands.
Do you have any secret advice that you discovered that you wish you knew
>> Marco Timpano: Now, do you have any secret advice that you discovered that you're like, I wish I knew this years ago. And now that I know it, it's my favorite thing. I'll give you an example so you can be like, okay, just to think for a moment. I discovered. And I've talked about it on the podcast before, Jenny, I talk about things and then I'll retalk about them in other episodes. So I can only imagine what listeners think when they hear me go on about certain things. But the best way to peel ginger is with a spoon.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, yes, I've heard that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So if you have to peel ginger and you use a knife, you're cutting off so much of the ginger, there's so much waste. But if you take a spoon, ginger is relatively soft and you just scrape it with the spoon, the skin from the ginger comes right off. and it is phenomenal. Another tip that I learned is if you're making hard boiled eggs, you know how it's difficult sometimes to take the shell off the hard boiled egg? Sometimes it'll stick to the actual egg and it'll be tricky. Put a little bit of vinegar in the water that you boil with. Yeah. And then cool them right away.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, my goodness, Marco, you taught me something new today. I'm always struggling with those hard boiled eggs.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So just, I don't even measure. So I'm boiling the water and then I'll just kind of white vinegar, pour it in as much as quanto basta, as much as you want. And then once they're done, put them under cold water right away and then peel them soon thereafter. Yeah.
>> Jenny Arena: Okay, I'm gonna try that and I'll let you know how it works for sure. let me think. Hang on. Hm. That's a tough question.
>> Marco Timpano: I gave you all that time to think that she was too wrapped in listening to What I had to say.
>> Jenny Arena: I like to absorb information, especially when it comes to cooking.
>> Marco Timpano: here's another tip. So do you make fresh pasta?
>> Jenny Arena: I do.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you use the pasta, the pasta machine? Yeah.
>> Jenny Arena: It's like a little, like a hand crank almost.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you. Because I don't want people to think it's like the one that you get with the. I'm making a hand gesture. You know that big machine.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, the KitchenAid mixer. Thank you. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Right now I'm just miming it. It's like we're playing charades and Jenny has to guess what I mean. but if you use the hand crank one, the one that sort of has, a vice grip to your surface, table, or whatever you're doing, never wash that. Never wash the inside because it'll rust.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Just dust it with a bit of flour and if you have a brush, just clean it out that way. But do not put that in the dishwasher especially. But do not wash it with water because if any water stays within the mechanisms, it will rust and there goes your machine.
Marco Bialetti uses stovetop mocha to make espresso coffee
>> Jenny Arena: Okay, well, actually, now on that vein, you reminded me of something. There you go. Okay. Speaking of equipment, so I'm old school and when I make my espresso coffee, I use the stovetop mocha, which is like a little pot. You brew the espresso on top of the stove. For anyone who may not know, Bialetti
>> Marco Timpano: being the quintessential maker of that stovetop coffee maker, which looks kind of like the Tin man from the wizard of Arts.
>> Jenny Arena: That's a great way to describe it actually, Marco. Yeah, if you had to describe it. The Tin Man. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: it's one of those things that if you have it or you know it, you can visualize it, but if you don't, you're like, what exactly are they talking about?
>> Jenny Arena: So the, mocha, much like a wok, needs to be seasoned. And so that's one thing that, I learned a little bit later in life that you're not supposed to get. Not supposed to wash it with soap and water. Yes, you do rinse it out with water. because you do have to get the coffee grinds out of the machine, but never use soap on it. it just needs to be seasoned much like a wok. So the more you use the mocha, the better your coffee ends up tasting.
>> Marco Timpano: In fact, you'll see in people's kitchens their mocha or their coffee pot maker from their grandparents or their parents, and it just looks like, it's been through everything. You're like, that's the ugliest kitchen equipment you've ever seen. And it will make the best espresso coffee. Because I have a fairly new one and I know it doesn't. I know it needs a few years before it really comes out. Wonderful. So for example, if I'm making you an espresso after this podcast, I will not be using that. I will be using one that the handle is burnt off, cracked. And you'll be like, and you know, anyone who knows they're espresso will never, won't even bat an eyelash if they see that because they know, oh, that's the coffee maker that makes the best coffee in the house.
>> Jenny Arena: I think basically anything that you see some wear, wear on. even for, baking stones, for example, I like to use stoneware in the kitchen, for baking. It gives you like a nice crisp, pizza dough, for example, if you're making pizza, bake it on stoneware and it's nice and crispy. Are you talking about those, like little, those pizza stones? Like the round? Yes, yes, Flat and round. And it looks, it literally looks like a piece of stone or a piece of clay. again, is it made of ceramic? No, it's like it's stone. I can't remember what stone it is exactly, but it's a stone. And again, that doesn't get washed with soap and water. It just gets rinsed off or brushed off. And the more you use it, and season it, then the uglier it looks. It turns like it looks like horribly burnt brown. But you will get the best pizza off that stone.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
What do you use to shape your gnocchi when making them
what do you use when you make gnocchi to shape your gnocco? That's a question of all questions of all time that you can ask an Italian and it'll take them a moment. What is the item that you use to make your gnocco shape when you're making gnocchi?
>> Jenny Arena: So I actually use a gnocchi paddle.
>> Marco Timpano: You do?
>> Jenny Arena: I do use a gnocchi paddle. So it's I don't know, how would you describe it? Almost like a mini washing board with a handle.
>> Marco Timpano: So picture an item the size of a computer mouse that is flat, made of wood and ridged with a small handle. Ridged like a washboard. But people don't know what a washboard is anymore.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes, that's true in this day and age.
>> Marco Timpano: corrugated, that.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, perfect. Yes, Marco, corrugated. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So you use That.
>> Jenny Arena: I do use that. However, I'm not gonna lie. In times of laziness, I will quickly roll it over a fork.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes. Because with the paddle, you do have to, you know, keep flouring it from time to time.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course you have to.
>> Jenny Arena: Yeah. So. But, when I'm really kind of whipping them out quickly, then I just kind of roll the dough over a fork.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. See, I. I have the, What do we just call it?
>> Jenny Arena: The gnocchi paddle.
>> Marco Timpano: The gnocchi paddle. I prefer them just cut, not even ridged.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, not even ridged.
>> Marco Timpano: No. I like them as pillow like as possible. That's my favorite. Although I do have the gnocchi paddle, and I know that's the. That's the classic or the, let's say, the proper way, because you're giving ridges to the gnocchi, which will soak up more sauce, but give it to me pillow like, and I'm happy as can be.
>> Jenny Arena: That's true. Actually, to go back to that, the real original tool, is a basket. So if you go through Italy and you see, like, a nonna or a grandmother, making gnocchi, she'll often have, like, a basket, and she rolls the gnocchi off the bottom of that basket to those ridges.
>> Marco Timpano: So those ridges come from the weave of the basket?
>> Jenny Arena: Of the basket.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that. I've seen pasta made with spokes from a bicycle.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes, that as well, too. in Italian, they call that the maccheroni alferro, with an iron is the literal transition.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. It might not actually be a spoke from a bicycle, but it has that steel, shape of a bicycle.
>> Jenny Arena: Yeah. Almost like a knitting needle, but thinner. A little bit thinner than a knitting needle, I would say. Yeah. So, yeah, the pasta dough gets rolled around that.
What's the surface that you use when you're baking or making dough
>> Marco Timpano: What's the surface that you use when you're baking or making dough?
>> Jenny Arena: So I actually had my father made for me a giant, wood board. So, like, think the most massive cutting board you've ever seen. and I like to use that. marble is a good surface, too, but I don't always have marble handy. Let's face it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's heavy too. Right?
>> Jenny Arena: And it's heavy to move. Yeah, like moving a piece of marble versus moving a piece of wood board.
>> Marco Timpano: But the beauty of marble, correct me if I'm wrong, because I've never used it to make anything, is, it stays cool, right?
>> Jenny Arena: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So when you're working the dough, your hands will heat. Heat it up, but the surface will Keep it cool.
>> Jenny Arena: Yes, the surface keeps it cool. And it doesn't stick either because I do have to heavily flour my wood surface for things not to stick.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes I need to make a correction because on a previous episode that I had with, Mirilla Wax, I talked about a Devonshire clanger. But what I meant to say was a Bedfordshire clanger. So I picked the wrong place and I'm sure my UK listeners were stomping their feet and very upset about it. So I'm correcting myself. It is not the Devonshire clanger, but the Bedford clanger.
>> Jenny Arena: Okay, Mark, will you care to explain what that is? Because I'm a little bit stumped right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, Jenny, I need you to make this item.
>> Jenny Arena: Okay?
>> Marco Timpano: You don't have to make it for me. I just need you to make it because I need to know someone who's made it. So will you do me this favor at some point? It doesn't have to be now, it can be months ahead, but you make this thing and then you report back to me. Okay? So the Bedfordshire clanger is a pastry dish that they make in. That they made in Bedfordshire for, the men who would go work in various, you know, various places where they had to like, I don't know if they have mines, so I don't want to say the mines, but they, they would go off to work and this would be their lunch, part of their lunch, and it's a pastry that they would fill. Now a clanger is just traditionally filled with, let's say, pork or you could make a sweeter, savory version of it. So you could make a, like an apple turnover type clanger or a meat filled pastry. But in Bedfordshire, this is what they did. They took the clanger and they did half with pork and half with apple and they would divide it, they'd put a little bit of the pastry in between so they wouldn't mix. So that if you, the person who was going off to work were having this, you could eat one side and that was your savory and then flip it over or get to the bottom and you would get to your dessert.
>> Jenny Arena: Wow, that is genius.
>> Marco Timpano: So I went online the other day to see if there's recipes on how to do it. And I'm going to try to do it. But since you are an expert in the kitchen, I just want you to do a clanger and, let me know.
>> Jenny Arena: I'm so on that.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Jenny Arena: I love that idea. I think that's genius. Two in one.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Jenny: The UK is on my bucket list of places to visit
So, when I was talking with Marilla Wax, I was talking about it and I couldn't remember the name of it. And please forgive me because it's just my own lack of memory and whatnot. Because I really do love the United Kingdom and I love going there. And something about me, Jenny, that I don't know if you know because we share the same heritage, but there's something about British things that makes me so happy. So if I could eat a scone and drink a tea and have clotted cream and jam, you won't see me any happier than that.
>> Jenny Arena: That is, that is pretty much a picture of happiness right there. So the UK is actually on my bucket list of places to visit.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you not been?
>> Jenny Arena: I have not been. and I did swear that my next travel destination would be the uk, so hopefully I'll get around to it in the next year.
>> Marco Timpano: It's one of those places that every time I go, I love it more and more. And there's, other places on the globe that I really enjoy. And I always mention, you know, I love New Jersey. Every time I go to New Jersey, I just have a great time. Every time I go to Calgary, I have a fantastic time. And every time I go back to la, I love it more and more. So, those are the places that always resonate with me. And I wasn't a huge fan of LA the first time time or the second time I went, but now that I'm going more and more, it's like, oh, I really am starting to appreciate Los Angeles. So there you go.
>> Jenny Arena: That's great, Marco. So maybe I'll have to get some travel tips from you then next time I, make a trip. I did stop in Los Angeles once a few years ago, drove through, did, did the very touristy thing, of course, Hollywood Boulevard, you know, Universal Studios, that kind of thing. But, I'm sure there's much more to it than that.
>> Marco Timpano: There's nothing wrong with doing those things, especially if you have a limited time. Like, I mean, when you go to New York there's so much to do. But I feel like you have to cross off some of those classic things because you've seen them in film, TV and literature that you're like, I just got to see it with my own eyes. Whether it be the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Wall street, whatever it is. Right.
Marco: Thanks for listening to Insomnia Project. It's always a pleasure to have you
Anyways, that brings us to the end of the this podcast.
>> Jenny Arena: Oh, wow, that was a quick time frame.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm telling you, Jenny, from talking about our boots to clangers and bergamot and everything in between.
>> Jenny Arena: That's amazing. Well, thank you, Marco, for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: It's always a pleasure to have you. And I do invite you back to the Insomnia Project anytime you want, but after you make the clanger so we can talk about that as well.
>> Jenny Arena: That sounds great. I will definitely do that.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. Please send us an email of, topics you'd like to see us cover and, if you have any tips with regards to food items or food tools that we can pass on to our listeners. We always appreciate that this episode was recorded in Toronto, Canada, and it was produced by drumcast Productions. We hope you listened and slept sa.
Provoke with Keith Jones
(Original airdate: May 27, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. Well, maybe not the mundane. I hate to say the mundane because it always seems not nice for our guests, but a calm conversation. One thing we try to deliver is a conversation that is chill and easy for you to listen to. So feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, joining me in the studio.
Keith Jones: Welcome to the Insomnia Project
Keith Jones. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Keith Jones: Thank you very much. I'm pleased to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: I am so thrilled to have you.
>> Keith Jones: And likewise, likewise here.
>> Marco Timpano: I imagined this day, and it's here. I've known you and your wife Tess for years. We've worked together, we've traveled together.
>> Keith Jones: We have.
>> Marco Timpano: We've sat at bars and drank and philosophized incredible places. Yeah, and some dodgy places, too.
>> Keith Jones: And we have indeed.
Tess is genuinely excited about travel, she says
>> Marco Timpano: when you travel, what is the thing that you look forward to in a destination you may have not seen before?
>> Keith Jones: The main thing about travel, I'm just genuinely excited about travel.
>> Marco Timpano: You are?
>> Keith Jones: I'm genuinely excited about that moment when I close the front door, put the cases in the cab, and I know I'm heading off. And so that for me is always. That excitement has never left me over the past 20 years.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And then when you get to your
>> Keith Jones: destination, oh, sometimes it's just, oh, my God, here we are again. But. No but. And I think it would be fair to say that, there are some places now that are. I've been around the world. Singapore is classic where. I've been there so many times. it's just so familiar to me. I know exactly, you know, how stuff works and how you get stuff done. I know exactly how to do that. Places like Singapore.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. We spoke to Tess about Provoke the Art of Transformative Facilitation, which is a book that you wrote with her.
David Provoke's book about alchemy came to him in a dream
>> Keith Jones: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to ask you. The methodology came to you in a dream.
>> Keith Jones: Yes, it did.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about that, because Tess said, you must ask him. And I was like, oh, this is something.
>> Keith Jones: Oh, my gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: And I do want to mention that if you're listening to this episode and you want to know where to get Provoke, it's in our show notes. So just look on our show notes and you will see where you can get a copy of this book. And we'll talk about alchemy worldwide as well.
>> Keith Jones: Okay. well, the story of the methodology is, in many ways, is. Quite. Goes back a long time.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: Because it was largely about the m. Motivation to write the book was as much to do with getting to a point in my professional career where I thought to myself, do you know, I've got something to say about this stuff that I do?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Keith Jones: I've been. I've been in psychology and as a psychologist for 40 years of my life. I've seen a lot, practiced a lot, sat with thousands and thousands of people. And when I began, I really resisted writing this book.
>> Marco Timpano: You did?
>> Keith Jones: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Why is that?
>> Keith Jones: I resisted it because I didn't want to codify the magic that happens during people's, illumination of their own experience. You know, one of the things that. When I wrote that book, one of the things that I say in the acknowledgments is that it's dedicated to all of the people and their stories, the learners and their stories. They're the real crafts people. Okay. It's written around their experiences. But when I began to. To look at it, one of the things that became clear to me was that it had almost a natural evolution, the book. I think there's a cliche. There's often a cliche that's used, which is people often say, well, you know, this song wrote itself.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Keith Jones: And actually it's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Keith Jones: It really was. I had this incredible writing guide, which I ignored. Okay. And when writing the book, there are two things that happen. And then I'll get to answer your question. Sure. Is one. I had to learn how to write a book. You know, first thing you do, you go to Google. How do you write a book? Like, super quick. Okay, well, that didn't work. I like it.
>> Marco Timpano: I like super quick.
>> Keith Jones: Yeah, super, super quick ways to write a book. Well, that didn't happen. what I did find is that I could only write for a very short period of time and that the actual text, the words that were infused in this book came from a particular internal place that I hadn't known or recognized. And it sounds quite enigmatic. I don't mean it to be, but it came from a place where there was an intersection between my experience, my emotion, my thinking, my feeling and sensation. And I want to separate those three out. feeling, emotion and sensation, they're all different. They're not the same thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: The convergence of that particular state, if you like, was, was profound, highly moving, and I could only be there for probably two or three hours maximum. And then I was exhausted, completely exhausted.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Keith Jones: Yeah. So when I, when I started to write the book from, I must sit down and write because it was a rucksack that I carried on my back for four years, much of the stuff that I produced ended up just being discarded. So I wrote thousands and thousands of words that I get to the end of it and go, that's not it. Right. It's not it. And just discard it.
>> Marco Timpano: That reminds me of, you know, that, classic sort of attribution, that Michelangelo has when they asked him, how did you make the David? And his response was, I just took away what wasn't the David.
>> Keith Jones: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Would that be fair to say within this book?
>> Keith Jones: That was exactly right. I think that you summed it up brilliantly because one of the things that, people often don't get with the book is that it, although it came out of my experience, it was a discovery.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: It has always been there. Right. And it has a really weird quality about being able to immerse myself in a process that had its own illumination as part of it. Sure.
Marco Benedetti had a five week writing block for his new book
So when I, when I came to really begin to think about how I was going to put this together in a way that actually began to make sense to people, that was when the methodology really bugged me. And I had a five week tortuous writing block. Really Produce nothing. and you know, and as you know, Marco, that was in between of delivery and doing lots of other clients stuff. But there was a five week period of producing nothing.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a long time.
>> Keith Jones: It was a long time. And so the, the pain, the actual physical pain actually became quite intense. And I went to bed one Saturday evening. And the methodology that you see in the book.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Keith Jones: I saw in a dream as vivid, as bright, as real as I could imagine anything. And there it was.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Keith Jones: I Woke up at 5am it was a Sunday morning.
>> Marco Timpano: Is this five weeks plus a day?
>> Keith Jones: So this is five weeks plus a day.
>> Marco Timpano: So take us back. So you wake up. Did you say Sunday morning?
>> Keith Jones: It's a Sunday morning. Sunday morning, it's 5:00am I wake up with a start. I wake up Tessa and I say, you've got to come with me into your office. We went into her office where she's got a large whiteboard, and I drew up the model that you see in there. And I just stepped back and then I wrote solidly for five days.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Keith Jones: And so the rest of the description of the eight dimensions of transformation, how they synthesized the experience and provided the landscape that coalesced all of the richness of the experience of people's lives that came together in these eight dimensions.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Keith Jones: That was the first part. The most profound part of that, if that wasn't profound enough, is that it was actually a three dimensional model, not a one dimensional model.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you talking about when you're writing on the board you were drawing?
>> Keith Jones: I drew the thing out on the board and I looked at it and I said, but that. I saw that. But there were other parts to it. And so in order to reach the kind of depth of individuals, human experience within the context of learning, that's where the three dimensional component came into it, which is reflected in the book.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Keith Jones: And then literally, it literally poured out of me. I'm reminiscent of, I was listening to, a story that Paul Simon was speaking about about the writing of, Bridge Over Troubled Water. Okay. And it was quite remarkable because how he described that and how people like Paul McCartney described the writing of yesterday, which he saw in a dream or heard in a dream.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Keith Jones: Is that in some almost bizarre way, you become a conduit for something that is already there to just waiting to be born.
>> Marco Timpano: People often talk about this as out of body experiences completely.
>> Keith Jones: And I completely get that.
>> Marco Timpano: And you don't seem like the type of person to give credence. Credence to out of body experiences. let's say, when you're writing a book with regards to the art of facilitation, you're gonna have an out of body experience. If I had mentioned that to you the day before you started writing, you might have looked at me like I
>> Keith Jones: was probably like a. But I think, you know, once one of the things that certainly, all of my life's experiences have shown me with respect to this is that there is more to our experience. There is more to, the experience of living. I think this is one of the big lessons that has come out of the writing of this over the past four years. Is that just how much I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: All right. There is way, way more to this than, than you could possibly imagine. And even when I got to the end of the book, I thought, do you know, I could have. It's actually given birth to another seed. And interestingly, when we launched the book at the Royal Society, I don't know if your listeners are familiar with the Royal Society in London.
>> Marco Timpano: We have so many listeners in the uk, so many dedicated listeners and ah, so many people. I've got a great listener in Bristol who will often email me and let me know what they think of m. The episodes and ones they want to see. I love my British, my UK listeners. Thank you. So, yes, to answer your question, people will know.
The Royal Society has a coat of arms which is quite unique
>> Keith Jones: Okay, well, one of the things about the Royal Society which is quite unique is it has a coat of, arms, which is unique within heraldry, English heraldry, English coats of arms. And it's unique in this way is that the shield is divided into four, like many of them are. Only one quadrant of that shield has got anything in it really. Those have nothing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: And the reason is, is because the Royal Society's shield, all of empty quadrants, represents all of the knowledge yet to be discovered. And I thought that was just such an astonishingly beautiful, position to be in when we launched the book in the Royal Society itself.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that.
>> Keith Jones: It's wonderful. And I think, you know, to a large extent, I think that's really where, where the profound nature of writing such a thing based on the convergence of my life's experiences with thousands of people, has been both such a blessing and, such a gift.
Your worry prior to writing the book was that it would diminish learning experiences
Great. Actually, in my experience, was your worry
>> Marco Timpano: prior to writing the book, it would diminish the experience that you have in the room with those individuals because you had mentioned like, you know, I didn't want to write the book. There was something about writing this Book that didn't.
>> Keith Jones: Well, I do. You know, I'm going to go back to a, very early mentor of mine, someone who is, for some people, highly controversial.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So trigger warning for anyone.
>> Keith Jones: Trigger warning for anyone out there who may have, had the experience of this person. But I did in San Francisco many years ago, back in the late, early 70s. And that was a man called Werner Erhart, who was the founder of what became. Established the Landmark Forum.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: but the main thing that was interesting about that, particularly during my early days as a psychologist, a very young psychologist, is that the human experience that people have with respect to learning, when it goes through a process of interpretation and then is shared with another person, is not the experience. The words of. The interpretation of. Of something that is quite magical. It can give shape to the expression of experience, but it's not the experience. It is the interpretation of the experience that is shared. and the reason I say Werner Erhart, he wrote a very controversial piece many years ago, appeared in the San Francisco Globe, which was All I Can Ever Do Is Lie. Okay. And the provocative nature of that title was exactly about that point, that any description of experience is never the experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: And so I think, you know, even from my own development over many years, both in training as an analytical psychotherapist group and individual therapist, as well as psychologists, none of the. The mechanics, the context of that describes the actual experience of what happened. And it's the same with the learners, same with the people I work with. Their experience is unique and cannot be codified. And that's what I mean by that. I don't know if that's. If that answers your question at all.
>> Marco Timpano: It does.
>> Keith Jones: Or if we've gone off down another.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I love it. I love it. I just wanted to get insight in that. And I definitely, definitely have received insight.
So does that mean more books will follow? Because you mentioned how this sparked a seed
You said something earlier that really resonated with me, which was, in writing the book, you realize how much one doesn't know in the area that they're writing that particular book.
>> Keith Jones: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: That's how I feel about travel. Having been someone who's traveled quite a bit, I realize how much, you know, someone might look at all the travel that I've done and said, oh, you've seen so much. And I look at it as, oh, only in seeing what I have do I realize how much I have yet to see.
>> Keith Jones: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: So does that mean more books will follow? Because you mentioned how this really sparked a seed.
>> Keith Jones: It m. Most certainly has, I think, in. In the written word. We, We've got another. I think there's about another four books to be written. we start the next book in January in Marbella, southern Spain.
>> Marco Timpano: No Rest for the Wicked, it sounds like.
>> Keith Jones: Absolutely not. I mean, as far as, certainly the publishers have been concerned, the second book needs to be done in quick time.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: Needs to be the same quality. You know, there's nothing worse than what, you know, people really release a great album and then the second album is just like, what. So that I actually experienced quite a significant amount of pressure in terms of what I have to create. Because that one, there is. There is a uniqueness about that book which conveys something, about me. And it was frightening. Marco. Putting that book out was. Was, really frightening because, you know, you have something that is so personal, and then you hand it to the universe.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: And it will take its own journey.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Do what it will.
>> Keith Jones: And, people will react or not react or think it's good or not good or agree with it or disagree with it. But that is a part of me that gets put out into the world.
>> Marco Timpano: You mentioned books like albums. And the second album, oftentimes the third album of a band is where they go into. This is what we've always wanted to do. And it doesn't resonate with people like, what is this department? Why are they. Why is this heavy rock group now doing a jazz album? So what does that mean for your third book?
>> Keith Jones: Oh, my goodness gracious me. well, you know, I could imagine if I think about people that I adore in music, which Beatles? I'm a Brit, so it's the Beatles for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Nothing wrong with that.
>> Keith Jones: I think they stand the test of time. And if I think about the great shift in their music, actually was Rubber Soul for you, for me, rather than Pepper.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Keith Jones: Because Rubber Soul was one of those really strange albums where you put it on and you thought, this doesn't sound like the Beatles. However, you couldn't stop listening to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Keith Jones: And it had a really weird, captivating quality. So whether or not it turns out to be a book of poetry or something else, as yet unknown, I have no idea.
>> Marco Timpano: So. Great. I hate to call it a business book because I feel like it's much more.
Who is this book for? Um, the book is written for learners
And this is probably the question I should have led with, but who is this book for?
>> Keith Jones: the book is written for people who are lovers, of learning.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: Okay. So I would say that if I were to think about a higher order, it's people who love, the exploration of what Learning is and what learning can offer. If I go down a level, then it's for professional learners, it's for people who commission learning, it's for HR directors, learning and development professionals. But actually the higher order is people who are engaged in the business of living. The business of living in a way that transcends the mundane.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I look at this book, the Art of Transformative Facilitation, and I could, I could apply that to a family. Yes. So if you're, you know, the parents of a large family or a small family, or it's just a family of two and you want to communicate in, a manner which will facilitate a transformation within your family, within your lives, you could apply this to that.
>> Keith Jones: That's absolutely right. You know, one of the most bizarre things about that, is that when we put the book out to a whole range of professional readers that were both academic professors from business schools as well as senior practitioners, that was one of the first things that came back. And I remember one, one particular individual who is a very, senior staff member of a big technology company, said to me, said, do you realize, do you actually realize what you've written here? And I said, well, I know what I've written now. He said, do you really realize what you've written? Because this process that you have described both contextually, in terms of the dimensions as well as a process and its three dimensional nature makes this applicable to sales, to client value, to families. One person even came onto one of the programs and said, do you know that you've created the model of humanity? I said, how do you get there? And they said, let me describe to you how this thing has impacted me because the dimensions of this describe the dimensions of my life. And I thought, wow. Now that for me was both moving and beautiful because, one of the, one of the, key influences for me in writing this was from a position of generosity, was actually in a position of sharing something and saying, hey, does this fit for you? But it was also in such a way that it was not dogmatic to say, you have to do this this way.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Keith Jones: M. The methodology was written as a context to say, you know, Marco, you can imprint you on this and make this work in whatever way you are, and it will be that, wow, there is no delineation that say, you must go from point A to point B to point C. Absolutely not at all. So in that sense, the generosity is for the generosity of the exploration of the human spirit. That's so cool.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna sound pompous in a moment, and then in the flip side, I'm gonna sound really ignorant. So you speaking. What really resonated with me was there's a quote from Pablo Neruda, and this is where I sound pompous. But when I try to remember the quote, it's gonna sound like this guy doesn't know. But it's something like poetry is not for the artist, but for the person who needs it.
>> Keith Jones: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like, you know, you were faced with this fact that, oh, you wrote a book, you think you know what this book is, but really, this is how this book has affected me.
>> Keith Jones: That's it. That and, you know, Brian Sewell, one of the great art critics in the uk, when he was asked to comment on particular exhibitions at the Tate Modern, said, you know, there's only one thing about art, if you want to know what great art is. Does it move the observer emotionally?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: If it doesn't, it's not art for that person. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah.
>> Keith Jones: And I thought, that's it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. That's it. It's true.
>> Keith Jones: So that internal landscape, the internal, experience of the individual is so profound. It's so wonderful, it's so magical that, finding a way, as I've, attempted to do within this book, to find a way to navigate that process, through the use of the methodology that is outlined there. It's a map by which the facilitator can navigate that internal labyrinth.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Keith Jones: It's incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: They say, never judge a book by its cover.
Let's judge your book by the covers that you had to deal with
Let's talk about the COVID Good idea. we were talking earlier, and you told me that there was multiple covers.
>> Keith Jones: 50. 50 covers.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about what spoke to you about this cover. Tell me about the covers that you, speak to you. Like, tell me about. Let's judge your book by the covers that you had to deal with.
>> Keith Jones: Okay. Okay. and I think that, first of all, the. The name Provoke was a name that I came on, quite quickly.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: The original cover was a split of that name. So you had pr. You know, V. Ok. You know.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: It was a split. Sure. Much like many covers are today. And then we had covers where there were people's eyes behind the word provoke. And it looked like a Merida mystery story.
>> Marco Timpano: Like the two O's would have an eye.
>> Keith Jones: It's ridiculous. It's like, what are you thinking? And we went through all of these different iterations, but, one of the things that I wanted to do with this Cover was to draw attention very quickly and in the fastest way possible. And so that particular cover, in the way that it's put together, was designed by. For that. That was one portion of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: The other part was to do with the. What sits at the back of that, which is the Enzo, which is the Japanese, Japanese circle that's on there, which, sits as a backdrop to m. Pretty much why I would say, probably the last 38 years of my life. I became a Buddhist 38 years ago. And so the practice, the practice or the understanding of Zen has been an organizing principle in the way I live, the way I am with people, the way I choose to relate to the world. And so without becoming esoteric or overly spiritual, it has its presence there without explanation. And that's what you see on the COVID And so that every book tells, you know, every cover tells a story. And that that cover is strong, it's bold, it makes a statement. And interestingly, I didn't write the book to provoke the industry.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Keith Jones: Surprisingly, some people say, whoa, this is a real disruptor to the industry. You have redefined facilitation. Some people have said that, you know, if you look at instructional design and in, executive learning, what you've written here, turns it on its head in a way that is utterly compelling. I said, really? Actually, all I've done is state my truth.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Keith Jones: It just so happens that that is the consequence, but it was an unintended consequence of something, of a place that I'd come to in the exploration of my own journey. Provoke, therefore, is actually not a term about the industry, although some people have taken it that way.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah.
>> Keith Jones: Provoke is the vibration between not knowing and knowing.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
Keith Jones: We did not get to Alchemy, I'm afraid
Well, we've mentioned a few times in this conversation, journeys, and this has been a wonderful journey with you.
>> Keith Jones: Thank you. Likewise.
>> Marco Timpano: Keith Jones, thank you so much for being a part of the Insomnia Project. We did not get to Alchemy, I'm afraid.
>> Keith Jones: Absolutely fine for another day.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. But please look on our show notes and you'll find out more where you can find more about this book and Alchemy worldwide. It's been a pleasure.
>> Keith Jones: Thank you, Keith, and likewise. Thank you, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: You've been listening to the Insomnia Project. We hope you had the opportunity to listen and maybe sleep. As always, the Insomnia Project is produced by Drumcast Productions and was recorded today in Toronto, Canada.
(Original airdate: May 27, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. Well, maybe not the mundane. I hate to say the mundane because it always seems not nice for our guests, but a calm conversation. One thing we try to deliver is a conversation that is chill and easy for you to listen to. So feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, joining me in the studio.
Keith Jones: Welcome to the Insomnia Project
Keith Jones. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Keith Jones: Thank you very much. I'm pleased to be here.
>> Marco Timpano: I am so thrilled to have you.
>> Keith Jones: And likewise, likewise here.
>> Marco Timpano: I imagined this day, and it's here. I've known you and your wife Tess for years. We've worked together, we've traveled together.
>> Keith Jones: We have.
>> Marco Timpano: We've sat at bars and drank and philosophized incredible places. Yeah, and some dodgy places, too.
>> Keith Jones: And we have indeed.
Tess is genuinely excited about travel, she says
>> Marco Timpano: when you travel, what is the thing that you look forward to in a destination you may have not seen before?
>> Keith Jones: The main thing about travel, I'm just genuinely excited about travel.
>> Marco Timpano: You are?
>> Keith Jones: I'm genuinely excited about that moment when I close the front door, put the cases in the cab, and I know I'm heading off. And so that for me is always. That excitement has never left me over the past 20 years.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. And then when you get to your
>> Keith Jones: destination, oh, sometimes it's just, oh, my God, here we are again. But. No but. And I think it would be fair to say that, there are some places now that are. I've been around the world. Singapore is classic where. I've been there so many times. it's just so familiar to me. I know exactly, you know, how stuff works and how you get stuff done. I know exactly how to do that. Places like Singapore.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. We spoke to Tess about Provoke the Art of Transformative Facilitation, which is a book that you wrote with her.
David Provoke's book about alchemy came to him in a dream
>> Keith Jones: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to ask you. The methodology came to you in a dream.
>> Keith Jones: Yes, it did.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about that, because Tess said, you must ask him. And I was like, oh, this is something.
>> Keith Jones: Oh, my gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: And I do want to mention that if you're listening to this episode and you want to know where to get Provoke, it's in our show notes. So just look on our show notes and you will see where you can get a copy of this book. And we'll talk about alchemy worldwide as well.
>> Keith Jones: Okay. well, the story of the methodology is, in many ways, is. Quite. Goes back a long time.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: Because it was largely about the m. Motivation to write the book was as much to do with getting to a point in my professional career where I thought to myself, do you know, I've got something to say about this stuff that I do?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Keith Jones: I've been. I've been in psychology and as a psychologist for 40 years of my life. I've seen a lot, practiced a lot, sat with thousands and thousands of people. And when I began, I really resisted writing this book.
>> Marco Timpano: You did?
>> Keith Jones: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Why is that?
>> Keith Jones: I resisted it because I didn't want to codify the magic that happens during people's, illumination of their own experience. You know, one of the things that. When I wrote that book, one of the things that I say in the acknowledgments is that it's dedicated to all of the people and their stories, the learners and their stories. They're the real crafts people. Okay. It's written around their experiences. But when I began to. To look at it, one of the things that became clear to me was that it had almost a natural evolution, the book. I think there's a cliche. There's often a cliche that's used, which is people often say, well, you know, this song wrote itself.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Keith Jones: And actually it's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Keith Jones: It really was. I had this incredible writing guide, which I ignored. Okay. And when writing the book, there are two things that happen. And then I'll get to answer your question. Sure. Is one. I had to learn how to write a book. You know, first thing you do, you go to Google. How do you write a book? Like, super quick. Okay, well, that didn't work. I like it.
>> Marco Timpano: I like super quick.
>> Keith Jones: Yeah, super, super quick ways to write a book. Well, that didn't happen. what I did find is that I could only write for a very short period of time and that the actual text, the words that were infused in this book came from a particular internal place that I hadn't known or recognized. And it sounds quite enigmatic. I don't mean it to be, but it came from a place where there was an intersection between my experience, my emotion, my thinking, my feeling and sensation. And I want to separate those three out. feeling, emotion and sensation, they're all different. They're not the same thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: The convergence of that particular state, if you like, was, was profound, highly moving, and I could only be there for probably two or three hours maximum. And then I was exhausted, completely exhausted.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Keith Jones: Yeah. So when I, when I started to write the book from, I must sit down and write because it was a rucksack that I carried on my back for four years, much of the stuff that I produced ended up just being discarded. So I wrote thousands and thousands of words that I get to the end of it and go, that's not it. Right. It's not it. And just discard it.
>> Marco Timpano: That reminds me of, you know, that, classic sort of attribution, that Michelangelo has when they asked him, how did you make the David? And his response was, I just took away what wasn't the David.
>> Keith Jones: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Would that be fair to say within this book?
>> Keith Jones: That was exactly right. I think that you summed it up brilliantly because one of the things that, people often don't get with the book is that it, although it came out of my experience, it was a discovery.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: It has always been there. Right. And it has a really weird quality about being able to immerse myself in a process that had its own illumination as part of it. Sure.
Marco Benedetti had a five week writing block for his new book
So when I, when I came to really begin to think about how I was going to put this together in a way that actually began to make sense to people, that was when the methodology really bugged me. And I had a five week tortuous writing block. Really Produce nothing. and you know, and as you know, Marco, that was in between of delivery and doing lots of other clients stuff. But there was a five week period of producing nothing.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a long time.
>> Keith Jones: It was a long time. And so the, the pain, the actual physical pain actually became quite intense. And I went to bed one Saturday evening. And the methodology that you see in the book.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Keith Jones: I saw in a dream as vivid, as bright, as real as I could imagine anything. And there it was.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Keith Jones: I Woke up at 5am it was a Sunday morning.
>> Marco Timpano: Is this five weeks plus a day?
>> Keith Jones: So this is five weeks plus a day.
>> Marco Timpano: So take us back. So you wake up. Did you say Sunday morning?
>> Keith Jones: It's a Sunday morning. Sunday morning, it's 5:00am I wake up with a start. I wake up Tessa and I say, you've got to come with me into your office. We went into her office where she's got a large whiteboard, and I drew up the model that you see in there. And I just stepped back and then I wrote solidly for five days.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Keith Jones: And so the rest of the description of the eight dimensions of transformation, how they synthesized the experience and provided the landscape that coalesced all of the richness of the experience of people's lives that came together in these eight dimensions.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Keith Jones: That was the first part. The most profound part of that, if that wasn't profound enough, is that it was actually a three dimensional model, not a one dimensional model.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you talking about when you're writing on the board you were drawing?
>> Keith Jones: I drew the thing out on the board and I looked at it and I said, but that. I saw that. But there were other parts to it. And so in order to reach the kind of depth of individuals, human experience within the context of learning, that's where the three dimensional component came into it, which is reflected in the book.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Keith Jones: And then literally, it literally poured out of me. I'm reminiscent of, I was listening to, a story that Paul Simon was speaking about about the writing of, Bridge Over Troubled Water. Okay. And it was quite remarkable because how he described that and how people like Paul McCartney described the writing of yesterday, which he saw in a dream or heard in a dream.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Keith Jones: Is that in some almost bizarre way, you become a conduit for something that is already there to just waiting to be born.
>> Marco Timpano: People often talk about this as out of body experiences completely.
>> Keith Jones: And I completely get that.
>> Marco Timpano: And you don't seem like the type of person to give credence. Credence to out of body experiences. let's say, when you're writing a book with regards to the art of facilitation, you're gonna have an out of body experience. If I had mentioned that to you the day before you started writing, you might have looked at me like I
>> Keith Jones: was probably like a. But I think, you know, once one of the things that certainly, all of my life's experiences have shown me with respect to this is that there is more to our experience. There is more to, the experience of living. I think this is one of the big lessons that has come out of the writing of this over the past four years. Is that just how much I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: All right. There is way, way more to this than, than you could possibly imagine. And even when I got to the end of the book, I thought, do you know, I could have. It's actually given birth to another seed. And interestingly, when we launched the book at the Royal Society, I don't know if your listeners are familiar with the Royal Society in London.
>> Marco Timpano: We have so many listeners in the uk, so many dedicated listeners and ah, so many people. I've got a great listener in Bristol who will often email me and let me know what they think of m. The episodes and ones they want to see. I love my British, my UK listeners. Thank you. So, yes, to answer your question, people will know.
The Royal Society has a coat of arms which is quite unique
>> Keith Jones: Okay, well, one of the things about the Royal Society which is quite unique is it has a coat of, arms, which is unique within heraldry, English heraldry, English coats of arms. And it's unique in this way is that the shield is divided into four, like many of them are. Only one quadrant of that shield has got anything in it really. Those have nothing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: And the reason is, is because the Royal Society's shield, all of empty quadrants, represents all of the knowledge yet to be discovered. And I thought that was just such an astonishingly beautiful, position to be in when we launched the book in the Royal Society itself.
>> Marco Timpano: I love that.
>> Keith Jones: It's wonderful. And I think, you know, to a large extent, I think that's really where, where the profound nature of writing such a thing based on the convergence of my life's experiences with thousands of people, has been both such a blessing and, such a gift.
Your worry prior to writing the book was that it would diminish learning experiences
Great. Actually, in my experience, was your worry
>> Marco Timpano: prior to writing the book, it would diminish the experience that you have in the room with those individuals because you had mentioned like, you know, I didn't want to write the book. There was something about writing this Book that didn't.
>> Keith Jones: Well, I do. You know, I'm going to go back to a, very early mentor of mine, someone who is, for some people, highly controversial.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So trigger warning for anyone.
>> Keith Jones: Trigger warning for anyone out there who may have, had the experience of this person. But I did in San Francisco many years ago, back in the late, early 70s. And that was a man called Werner Erhart, who was the founder of what became. Established the Landmark Forum.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: but the main thing that was interesting about that, particularly during my early days as a psychologist, a very young psychologist, is that the human experience that people have with respect to learning, when it goes through a process of interpretation and then is shared with another person, is not the experience. The words of. The interpretation of. Of something that is quite magical. It can give shape to the expression of experience, but it's not the experience. It is the interpretation of the experience that is shared. and the reason I say Werner Erhart, he wrote a very controversial piece many years ago, appeared in the San Francisco Globe, which was All I Can Ever Do Is Lie. Okay. And the provocative nature of that title was exactly about that point, that any description of experience is never the experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: And so I think, you know, even from my own development over many years, both in training as an analytical psychotherapist group and individual therapist, as well as psychologists, none of the. The mechanics, the context of that describes the actual experience of what happened. And it's the same with the learners, same with the people I work with. Their experience is unique and cannot be codified. And that's what I mean by that. I don't know if that's. If that answers your question at all.
>> Marco Timpano: It does.
>> Keith Jones: Or if we've gone off down another.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I love it. I love it. I just wanted to get insight in that. And I definitely, definitely have received insight.
So does that mean more books will follow? Because you mentioned how this sparked a seed
You said something earlier that really resonated with me, which was, in writing the book, you realize how much one doesn't know in the area that they're writing that particular book.
>> Keith Jones: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: That's how I feel about travel. Having been someone who's traveled quite a bit, I realize how much, you know, someone might look at all the travel that I've done and said, oh, you've seen so much. And I look at it as, oh, only in seeing what I have do I realize how much I have yet to see.
>> Keith Jones: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: So does that mean more books will follow? Because you mentioned how this really sparked a seed.
>> Keith Jones: It m. Most certainly has, I think, in. In the written word. We, We've got another. I think there's about another four books to be written. we start the next book in January in Marbella, southern Spain.
>> Marco Timpano: No Rest for the Wicked, it sounds like.
>> Keith Jones: Absolutely not. I mean, as far as, certainly the publishers have been concerned, the second book needs to be done in quick time.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: Needs to be the same quality. You know, there's nothing worse than what, you know, people really release a great album and then the second album is just like, what. So that I actually experienced quite a significant amount of pressure in terms of what I have to create. Because that one, there is. There is a uniqueness about that book which conveys something, about me. And it was frightening. Marco. Putting that book out was. Was, really frightening because, you know, you have something that is so personal, and then you hand it to the universe.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: And it will take its own journey.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Do what it will.
>> Keith Jones: And, people will react or not react or think it's good or not good or agree with it or disagree with it. But that is a part of me that gets put out into the world.
>> Marco Timpano: You mentioned books like albums. And the second album, oftentimes the third album of a band is where they go into. This is what we've always wanted to do. And it doesn't resonate with people like, what is this department? Why are they. Why is this heavy rock group now doing a jazz album? So what does that mean for your third book?
>> Keith Jones: Oh, my goodness gracious me. well, you know, I could imagine if I think about people that I adore in music, which Beatles? I'm a Brit, so it's the Beatles for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Nothing wrong with that.
>> Keith Jones: I think they stand the test of time. And if I think about the great shift in their music, actually was Rubber Soul for you, for me, rather than Pepper.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Keith Jones: Because Rubber Soul was one of those really strange albums where you put it on and you thought, this doesn't sound like the Beatles. However, you couldn't stop listening to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Keith Jones: And it had a really weird, captivating quality. So whether or not it turns out to be a book of poetry or something else, as yet unknown, I have no idea.
>> Marco Timpano: So. Great. I hate to call it a business book because I feel like it's much more.
Who is this book for? Um, the book is written for learners
And this is probably the question I should have led with, but who is this book for?
>> Keith Jones: the book is written for people who are lovers, of learning.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: Okay. So I would say that if I were to think about a higher order, it's people who love, the exploration of what Learning is and what learning can offer. If I go down a level, then it's for professional learners, it's for people who commission learning, it's for HR directors, learning and development professionals. But actually the higher order is people who are engaged in the business of living. The business of living in a way that transcends the mundane.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I look at this book, the Art of Transformative Facilitation, and I could, I could apply that to a family. Yes. So if you're, you know, the parents of a large family or a small family, or it's just a family of two and you want to communicate in, a manner which will facilitate a transformation within your family, within your lives, you could apply this to that.
>> Keith Jones: That's absolutely right. You know, one of the most bizarre things about that, is that when we put the book out to a whole range of professional readers that were both academic professors from business schools as well as senior practitioners, that was one of the first things that came back. And I remember one, one particular individual who is a very, senior staff member of a big technology company, said to me, said, do you realize, do you actually realize what you've written here? And I said, well, I know what I've written now. He said, do you really realize what you've written? Because this process that you have described both contextually, in terms of the dimensions as well as a process and its three dimensional nature makes this applicable to sales, to client value, to families. One person even came onto one of the programs and said, do you know that you've created the model of humanity? I said, how do you get there? And they said, let me describe to you how this thing has impacted me because the dimensions of this describe the dimensions of my life. And I thought, wow. Now that for me was both moving and beautiful because, one of the, one of the, key influences for me in writing this was from a position of generosity, was actually in a position of sharing something and saying, hey, does this fit for you? But it was also in such a way that it was not dogmatic to say, you have to do this this way.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Keith Jones: M. The methodology was written as a context to say, you know, Marco, you can imprint you on this and make this work in whatever way you are, and it will be that, wow, there is no delineation that say, you must go from point A to point B to point C. Absolutely not at all. So in that sense, the generosity is for the generosity of the exploration of the human spirit. That's so cool.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna sound pompous in a moment, and then in the flip side, I'm gonna sound really ignorant. So you speaking. What really resonated with me was there's a quote from Pablo Neruda, and this is where I sound pompous. But when I try to remember the quote, it's gonna sound like this guy doesn't know. But it's something like poetry is not for the artist, but for the person who needs it.
>> Keith Jones: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like, you know, you were faced with this fact that, oh, you wrote a book, you think you know what this book is, but really, this is how this book has affected me.
>> Keith Jones: That's it. That and, you know, Brian Sewell, one of the great art critics in the uk, when he was asked to comment on particular exhibitions at the Tate Modern, said, you know, there's only one thing about art, if you want to know what great art is. Does it move the observer emotionally?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: If it doesn't, it's not art for that person. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Ah.
>> Keith Jones: And I thought, that's it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. That's it. It's true.
>> Keith Jones: So that internal landscape, the internal, experience of the individual is so profound. It's so wonderful, it's so magical that, finding a way, as I've, attempted to do within this book, to find a way to navigate that process, through the use of the methodology that is outlined there. It's a map by which the facilitator can navigate that internal labyrinth.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Keith Jones: It's incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: They say, never judge a book by its cover.
Let's judge your book by the covers that you had to deal with
Let's talk about the COVID Good idea. we were talking earlier, and you told me that there was multiple covers.
>> Keith Jones: 50. 50 covers.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about what spoke to you about this cover. Tell me about the covers that you, speak to you. Like, tell me about. Let's judge your book by the covers that you had to deal with.
>> Keith Jones: Okay. Okay. and I think that, first of all, the. The name Provoke was a name that I came on, quite quickly.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: The original cover was a split of that name. So you had pr. You know, V. Ok. You know.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Keith Jones: It was a split. Sure. Much like many covers are today. And then we had covers where there were people's eyes behind the word provoke. And it looked like a Merida mystery story.
>> Marco Timpano: Like the two O's would have an eye.
>> Keith Jones: It's ridiculous. It's like, what are you thinking? And we went through all of these different iterations, but, one of the things that I wanted to do with this Cover was to draw attention very quickly and in the fastest way possible. And so that particular cover, in the way that it's put together, was designed by. For that. That was one portion of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Keith Jones: The other part was to do with the. What sits at the back of that, which is the Enzo, which is the Japanese, Japanese circle that's on there, which, sits as a backdrop to m. Pretty much why I would say, probably the last 38 years of my life. I became a Buddhist 38 years ago. And so the practice, the practice or the understanding of Zen has been an organizing principle in the way I live, the way I am with people, the way I choose to relate to the world. And so without becoming esoteric or overly spiritual, it has its presence there without explanation. And that's what you see on the COVID And so that every book tells, you know, every cover tells a story. And that that cover is strong, it's bold, it makes a statement. And interestingly, I didn't write the book to provoke the industry.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Keith Jones: Surprisingly, some people say, whoa, this is a real disruptor to the industry. You have redefined facilitation. Some people have said that, you know, if you look at instructional design and in, executive learning, what you've written here, turns it on its head in a way that is utterly compelling. I said, really? Actually, all I've done is state my truth.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Keith Jones: It just so happens that that is the consequence, but it was an unintended consequence of something, of a place that I'd come to in the exploration of my own journey. Provoke, therefore, is actually not a term about the industry, although some people have taken it that way.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah.
>> Keith Jones: Provoke is the vibration between not knowing and knowing.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
Keith Jones: We did not get to Alchemy, I'm afraid
Well, we've mentioned a few times in this conversation, journeys, and this has been a wonderful journey with you.
>> Keith Jones: Thank you. Likewise.
>> Marco Timpano: Keith Jones, thank you so much for being a part of the Insomnia Project. We did not get to Alchemy, I'm afraid.
>> Keith Jones: Absolutely fine for another day.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. But please look on our show notes and you'll find out more where you can find more about this book and Alchemy worldwide. It's been a pleasure.
>> Keith Jones: Thank you, Keith, and likewise. Thank you, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: You've been listening to the Insomnia Project. We hope you had the opportunity to listen and maybe sleep. As always, the Insomnia Project is produced by Drumcast Productions and was recorded today in Toronto, Canada.
The Badminton Episode
(Original airdate: May 1, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. We hope you will listen and sleep
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen. As we have a conversation about the mundane, one thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to just drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Season four, Marco Timpano. Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. You can follow us on, Twitter, listen andsleep, on Instagram, the Insomnia Project, and of course on itunes, Stitcher, Radio Addict, Radio Public. Wherever you listen, ACAST is where our platform is, so feel free to listen there as well. In the studio with me today is a new friend. We have a mutual friend who said Desmond would be great for your podcast and I'm like, I want Desmond on my podcast. So, Desmond Nye, welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Desmond Nye: Thank you so much for having me.
Tell us how you got into badminton and where did it take you
>> Marco Timpano: Desmond, we have a love of travel, but I'm not going to get into travel because I feel like I talk so much about travel on this podcast that I want to start with something that you have a love for and something that I enjoy immensely, and that is badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: Oh, I absolutely adore badminton.
>> Marco Timpano: So tell us how you got into badminton. What was your entry into badminton, and where did that take you?
>> Desmond Nye: I, got into badminton, at the YMCA when I was maybe 11 or 12 years old, playing every now and then.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you just take a class or did friends or how did that come about?
>> Desmond Nye: Just me picking up a racket, no classes, no training, and just playing with a bunch of other kids.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. And it was only until grade nine, when they announced badminton team tryouts that I thought, I'd like to give this a shot.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So in your high school grade nine or the ninth grade, you were like, I'm going to take this a bit more serious than just a casual pickup game at the ymca.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, exactly. I figure it's the only sport that I could potentially do well at. Couldn't play basketball or any of the other more mainstream sports. So I thought, give this a shot. And I remember being super anxious about the tryout and whether I'd get in and everybody was better than me.
>> Marco Timpano: And then how did that develop? Did you increase your ability or did you plateau and stay at that same sort of level?
>> Desmond Nye: I increased my ability. So I got onto the team. I got onto the team as a grade nine student, and then I realized that in some of the tournaments that the people that I was playing against were super strong. And I was wondering, where do these kids come from? And I found out from my coach that they're club players. They play at private badminton clubs, and some of them compete all over the place. So that summer, I enrolled in badminton training program at a private badminton club, and my level, I guess, took off from there.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, and where did it get you to?
>> Desmond Nye: It got me to a silver medal at the tdca, championships. So it's the. I don't know if it's called that anymore, but it's the group of Catholic, high schools with some private high schools in there. So I played, I believe it was junior, boys singles, and I got a silver medal there. I got absolutely destroyed in the gold medal match.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but listen, a silver medal is nothing to snark at. Congratulations on that.
>> Desmond Nye: Thank you.
There are two kinds of badminton: singles and doubles
>> Marco Timpano: So, for listeners who don't know much about badminton, walk us through the game, the rules, how it's played, and any tips you might have with regards to badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: Sure. badminton. There's, Basically two kinds of badminton. There's singles and there's doubles. And they use different lines. So if you see the lines that are used in badminton, all of the lines, like the outermost lines are for doubles.
>> Marco Timpano: And you're talking about the lines on the court like a tennis. If you look at tennis, it has kind of like a rectangular, drawn out grid, let's say for lack of a better term.
>> Desmond Nye: That's right. It's drawn out there. It's usually in white. It's usually in white. And the outermost lines are used for doubles. The only difference for singles would be that the lines on the left and right are brought in a little bit more.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: I don't know if that's a good way of putting it, but there it's. They cut off the parts, they basically cut off parts of it that would be used for doubles. They say it's longer. Okay. It's not as wide. That's. That's the word. Okay, that's the word.
>> Marco Timpano: So the outer sort of thinner lines where you can have more play surface for a, doubles.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Gets sort of contracted inward, contracted slightly. Slightly. And then it just. The plain surface for the single is just deeper forward and back. Yes, exactly.
>> Desmond Nye: And then within doubles you have mixed, doubles and you have men's, doubles, women's doubles. And the rules are all the same. it used to be play up until 15 points, but they've found that you can only score points when you serve. So if someone else serves and you score, it didn't count. so that made for some super long games. So that all changed to the 21 point system. In the 21 point system, it doesn't matter if you're serving. If you get the point, the point counts towards you.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: It counts towards you. So they changed it to the 21 system. And they had experimented for a really long time, maybe changing it to the seven point system, having women's singles go to the 11 point system.
>> Marco Timpano: Did it get changed when badminton became an Olympic sport? I want to say in the 90s at some point, I think 92 it
>> Desmond Nye: became 1992 it became an Olympic sport. That's right. In 88 it was a test sport.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. So 92 officially became an Olympic sport. In Barcelona.
>> Marco Timpano: I was going to say, where was it? Okay. Barcelona.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, in Barcelona. So, that they've experimented with all kinds of formats to make the game more exciting, to make the game, easier to watch. And they did not want those long drawn out like Three hour matches. There was a match at, I believe the 1997 World Championships in the men's singles final where they just would not stop playing. It was until the Chinese player got a really bad cramp and that's what began the ending of the match.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was multiple hours, that game?
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. Wow. Yes. Between China and Denmark, in 1997. You still see those long games, but not as long. Not as long now. And the 21 point system seems to have stuck and done well.
>> Marco Timpano: Interesting.
You mentioned Denmark. I know that badminton is huge in Denmark
You mentioned Denmark. I know that badminton is huge in Denmark. It was one of the first places, certainly in Europe to really pick up the sport as a sport that they love.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely. The Danes have been very, very strong from a long time ago in picking that up. They've been contenders on the world stage for a long time. they've had Olympic gold medalists from there. They've had world champions from there. they recently, I believe it was maybe within the last five years, they won the Thomas cup, which is considered the world men's team World Championship.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that. The Thomas Cup.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. And they won the Thomas cup. And usually it's won by either China or Indonesia. Those are the two major superpowers when it comes to men's badminton.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because Asia also stronghold in this, you tend to think, but at least I tend to think Asia, really dominates when it comes to badminton. I never really think Denmark, but when I did a little bit of research, I was like, oh, Denmark's a major player in this sport too.
>> Desmond Nye: Denmark's a definite major player. They've had excellent players even as long as the Chinese have had excellent players. And other parts of Europe are learning and picking up on certain styles of badminton. because certain Asian players are retiring and going over there and coaching and imparting their wisdom too. That's not the only reason. But Europe has done a lot better. There's someone out of Spain. There's a women's singles player out of Spain who shocked the world a few years ago winning the world championship for women's singles. Then she won the Olympics. And this is someone that came out of nowhere.
>> Marco Timpano: I love those. You've got to love those, those stories.
Watching Denmark, China play badminton would be like watching hockey
Would it be safe to say now I'm gonna do what I always do and my listeners are probably gonna roll their eyes and I'm gonna bring a Canadian perspective to this. Would it be safe to say that watching Denmark, China play badminton would be like watching Canada, Russia play hockey? If you're into the sport of Badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: absolutely. they have a long and storied history.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: Like, some of their. Some of Denmark's players have. Could have won world championships had it not been for the Chinese players, and vice versa. Right. Like, 1996 men's singles. The gold medal went to Denmark, and he beat China in the final. And you go to 2000. China beat Denmark in the semifinals of the Olympics. It was a shocking upset victory. So they've been. They have been going back and forth. That's a big rivalry. I'd say that's the number two rivalry in badminton. And, maybe some badminton experts might disagree, but the original badminton rivalry was between Malaysia and Indonesia.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. So that's another match you want to see.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll be watching badminton from now on with a different perspective, and I do really want to see these four nations you mentioned battle it out, especially in the Olympics. I'll be keen on that for.
>> Desmond Nye: For sure. Absolutely. Like, if you look at some of the older Thomas cup matches, when Malaysia was playing Indonesia, the crowd was just so into it because the countries are situated so close together and they've had long, long, long rivalries. You can compare that to any sports rivalry in any sport. It's just like that.
Playing with the feathers is a different sport than playing with the plastic
>> Marco Timpano: Let's talk shuttlecock. And there's a great, phrase for you. I know it's often the butt of a joke, but the shuttlecock is. Is what is used to play in badminton. Whereas a ball or a puck or a something else might be used, to play, but it has its own name. So tell me about that.
>> Desmond Nye: as far as I know, it comes basically, they're little feathers. They're little feathers that are put into a piece of cork and that forms the shuttlecock.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're not playing professionally, it'll often be just a plastic sort of replica.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: But I'm told, and I've never played with a feather, that playing with the feathers is a different sport than playing with the plastic. Is that correct?
>> Desmond Nye: 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: How so? Because now I'm curious about that.
>> Desmond Nye: Sure. The feather one requires a lot more control. It requires a lot more technique. Whereas in the school system, in the high school system, we played with the plastic replicas. The plastic replicas are used a lot. And one of the reasons that it is used is because the feather ones could get damaged really easily.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Desmond Nye: So they go through so many feathers when they're playing, but with the plastic ones, you could smash it, and it could be a really great smash really fast.
>> Marco Timpano: And It'll still stand up.
>> Desmond Nye: it'll still be great. Whereas if you do it with a feather and your technique is a little bit off, that shuttle call can slow down, it can go different ways. It just, it brings out the best in the players. I actually prefer playing with feather.
>> Marco Timpano: You do?
>> Desmond Nye: Because I can navigate the shuttlecock within my control. At least this is what I used to be able to do before my body could no longer play the sport at an elite level.
>> Marco Timpano: So here's a curious thing I have. Does it make each shuttlecock unique? Because feathers are unique. Like snowflakes, you could say, right? No feather is the same versus a plastic shuttlecock, which you could make the same weight, diameter, and, and whatnot as the next. Right.
>> Desmond Nye: I've never thought of that. But I would not rule that out because no feather is unique. All the feathers, all the shuttlecocks look the same. They're built all the same. However, there's different companies, for example, that build different quality shuttlecocks as well. So there are definitely differences there. And I guess they try to control it internationally as much as possible. But like you said, it's not all created equal.
>> Marco Timpano: So, I mean, the discrepancy might be so minute that the player would not know or would automatically compensate for it.
>> Desmond Nye: Sure.
There are certain badminton rackets that suit different styles of play
>> Marco Timpano: but I'd like to talk about rackets, because you look at a badminton racket and you think, oh, it's like every other racket sport. And then you pick one up and it feels different. Let's talk badminton rackets.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely. It's very light. It is very, very light. And there's so many variations, with badminton rackets that you could have in terms of. There. It's just the way that the frame is built, it's the way the grip is and how the head of the badminton racket is built. There's certain badminton rackets that suit different styles of play.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, certain singles players will use certain rackets. Certain doubles players will use other kinds of rackets. And some players are more attacking style players. So they'll use rackets that are more conducive to attacking
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>> Desmond Nye: Whereas the other ones will use their defensive players. They win their matches through defense.
>> Marco Timpano: What does an attack racket look like versus a defensive racket?
>> Desmond Nye: As far as I can remember, the attack racket has a heavier head.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: So it's like there's more momentum, there's more inertia coming down.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. When you.
>> Desmond Nye: When the Smash is coming down. Whereas the. In order to play defense really well, you have to be quick and you have to know where you're putting the shuttle. You have to. It's like playing offense while playing defense.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: You just don't want to put the badminton racket back up. You want to be able to drive it somewhere. So the rackets are built differently, their frames are built differently. Some are heavier than others. And also the stringing.
>> Marco Timpano: The stringing. That's what I was going to ask you. So what's key in the stringing for a badminton racket or how do you like your racket string?
>> Desmond Nye: I like my. When I used to play, my rackets were strung really, really tightly. I see they were strung really tightly because I loved. I didn't want there to be too much give in terms of the string because I wanted to control where the shuttle was going. I wanted to play that style of badminton.
>> Marco Timpano: Does a tighter strung racket give you a larger sweet spot? There's a stumper.
>> Desmond Nye: That's a stumper. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: now for our listeners, and you can correct me while you're thinking, the sweet spot would be the ideal spot in the center of the racket where, when it makes a connection with your shuttlecock or if you're playing squash as I know it, you have the most control and, and the most ability to send it where you want. Is that fair to say?
>> Desmond Nye: That is fair to say. It's a little bit higher than the center.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it is.
>> Desmond Nye: It's not necessarily at the top of where the racket frame is, but it's a little bit higher than the center. And just the tight stringing, I don't think gives a larger sweet spot, but it just gives much more control, much more control of where you're putting the badminton racket. And you can play with a lot more deception.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: You can play a lot more deceptive moves to try to mix up your opponent. But the problem with that is that it breaks easily.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Strings break easily. And because they're strung at a certain tension, it puts pressure on the badminton Racket.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. It puts pressure on the badminton racket. And badminton rackets will break. Breaking strings happens all the time. And then you have to. You got to pay to get them strung up again. So I always had a battle with my parents. My parents would be saying, number one, why are you picking that quality of string? Number two, why are you stringing it so tightly? Whereas my dad, for example, would use a piece of string and he played for it for a couple years. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And how long would yours last?
>> Desmond Nye: Maybe month and a half.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Desmond Nye: So you see the very, very big difference. And because of that, badminton rackets can break too, because there's so much pressure and they're thin.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Like they're so much thinner than a, let's say a squash or tennis racket.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely.
Badminton is different from other racket sports in that it has fewer opportunities
>> Marco Timpano: When you said the quality of string, what does that mean? Like, you're picking a different type. Like an expensive string or.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, an expensive string. There's other. There's very durable strings, and then there are strings that are specialized for certain players that. And I'm not tooting my own horn here, but playing a certain style where there's a lot of control in the game. And it just depends how. I don't want to use the word refined, but how many nuances are in your game?
>> Marco Timpano: But what is the difference in the actual string, like the one you prefer versus, say, the one your dad. Are they both not nylon strings or are they.
>> Desmond Nye: They both are. in terms of the difference, the one that my dad would pick would be more durable and it would lead to less control of the badminton racket. And the differences are very small when you're playing the game. However, if you're playing in a competitive environment, they say about sports that it's a game of inches.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, especially with badminton, because, the thing I loved about playing badminton, and by no means have I played it like you did in a professional setting, but the opportunity to hit the shuttlecock, there's so many more. I found opportunities that if you miss it, you still might have the time to catch it before it touches the ground. Absolutely. So it's like this. It's this fast game with a slow moving shuttlecock. And it's fast, too, but it doesn't have the same sort of, I don't know, like other racket sports. I feel like you have one opportunity because once the ball goes, once the inertia of the ball goes, you have one swing and that's it.
>> Desmond Nye: Like tennis, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: Like tennis Right.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Whereas badminton, you have like, there's so much opportunity and skill and precision.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That it makes it such an enjoyable game to play.
>> Desmond Nye: You can save it. There's all kinds of moves that you can do with the badminton shuttlecock. So it's a fun game. It's definitely different than, the other racket sports. Sure, it's definitely different.
Getting good footwork is the most important thing in badminton
>> Marco Timpano: What are some tips you would give to our listeners who are interested or starting to play badminton?
>> Desmond Nye: I would say, and this might not be well received, but I would say that, sure, footwork, is the most important thing. So getting that footwork, right, because when you're in a situation where you are scrambling all over the court, your footwork is what will save you. And in most major sports it comes down to footwork.
>> Marco Timpano: I had the opportunity to interview Cloda Power about boxing and she said the same thing. She's like, the footwork is key. Start with the footwork and the rest will come. But if you don't have the footwork, you don't have a game.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, exactly. And that is why some players that wanted to do good in badminton would go to these private clubs and 90% of what they would work on is footwork and they'd go home and saying, why did I pay 300 bucks for a six week course when I'm just running around and taking steps all over the court? But it's super important because in such a fast game, if you're trying to hit the shuttlecock at the back of the court and the person drops it to the front, you better know how to get it. You can run up to it, you can run up to it, but the momentum, when you're done running up to it, you, you can't go to the back right away.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Because kill your knees. Right.
>> Desmond Nye: It'll totally kill your knees. So that's why when some coaches who are coaching, let's say high school badminton do not have a background in badminton, they just say to the students, get your feet moving.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: How do you get your feet moving? Right. Exactly what way? The feet are not moving because of the knees. Maybe there's tightness in the quad muscle or the hamstring.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Desmond Nye: Why is this student's feet not moving? So that's the number one thing. Close to number one is technique.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: You'd rather be a technician at the game than someone who can smash really well and someone who's got a lot of strength and power. Because technique is what will keep you in the game and it'll allow you to Control the shuttle to make up for your other shortcomings. So when I went off to school in the States, I studied law in St. Louis. I gained a bunch of weight. So when I came back to Toronto to play, it was technique that still allowed me to be relatively competitive at the ymca. It was technique because I knew where to put the shuttle. So I made up for my physical deficiencies by, being able to send the shuttle almost wherever I wanted to. And then that's how I played. So that's another reason why some people may not like going to these private clubs and training. Because, hey, I want to play games. I want to learn how to smash it as hard as an Olympic gold medalist. But there's so much technique involved. There's so much movement. It's like trying to say, let me jab like Floyd Mayweather.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. It's not going to happen unless you have everything else and tons of training under your belt. And body makeup, too.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely. Certain bodies play differently. The center of gravity is different. With much taller players in the strategy, playing against certain players is different if they're taller or shorter or depending on their strengths. Everybody, for example, thinks in boxing that the power of the punch comes from the hand, comes from the hip. Badminton, the power of the smash comes
>> Marco Timpano: from the hip, not your forearm or your wrist.
>> Desmond Nye: It definitely comes from that. But it's like the finishing part of the sequence of the Smash.
>> Marco Timpano: The follow through, if you will.
>> Desmond Nye: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Let's talk about how one gets points when playing badminton
so before we end the show.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's just quickly talk about points, how one gets points when playing badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: one gets points by playing badminton. Either when the other side, your opponents cannot pick up the badminton shuttlecock. Like the shuttlecock lands on the ground,
>> Marco Timpano: touches the ground, touches the ground.
>> Desmond Nye: So they cannot get points that way.
>> Marco Timpano: And how many points is that? If we're playing and I miss it and it touches the ground, you get one point.
>> Desmond Nye: That's right, yes. it's always one point. also, if the shuttlecock hits the net and it does not go over in the net, the other side gets a point.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you throw to me, it hits your side of the net, does not go over to mine. I get one point.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, that's correct. So there are sometimes examples where the shuttlecock will hit the net and then barely slide over. That's your point. And there's nothing your opponent can do about it. because it's just the way it goes. Exactly. There's no way you can possibly respond to that.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's players who can really, like, pinpoint that shuttlecock to just touch or graze or flip over the net.
>> Desmond Nye: Right. I can count them on both of my hands. There's not many of them, but the ones that can do it correctly are viciously good players. They or they know how to respond to those. They know how to. There was a player out of Indonesia who won the silver medal in 2000. He was known for his net play. Maybe about 5 foot 7, not the most imposing person, but he was, just known for his net play and his deception. Hendrawan. He went by one name, so it's. It's like. It's like calling someone like Lebron or something. You just know them by one name. so about the points, also, if you hit it out, if you hit it outside of the lines, it counts as a point to the other side.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, like in tennis, if those white lines that we mentioned, if it goes out of bounds, your, opponent receives the point.
>> Desmond Nye: That's right. And then also, there's service faults. There's faults. The judge will call you on certain faults. You cannot. When you're serving the badminton racket, you cannot have it above your waist.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. You cannot have it above your waist.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. Because if you have it above your waist, I can technically put the shuttlecock anywhere I want.
>> Marco Timpano: If I have my racket above my waist. Yes.
>> Desmond Nye: If I have it way above my waist, I can control it in a way. So it's a way to equalize the. It's a way to equalize it. So. So don't serve above your waist. That's a, fault. Another fault is once you bring the racket forward to begin to serve, you're not allowed to bring it back.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: You're not allowed to bring it back.
>> Marco Timpano: You have to follow through.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. There was a little bit of a controversy when I was playing grade nine badminton. These players, and I did not know the rules at the time. Sure. These players would keep on putting the racket back and forth. It was like they were trying to trick you. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you think, okay, they're about to hit it, so you're getting in position, but they don't exactly.
>> Desmond Nye: And your feet just freeze. So at, the competitive level, you can't play like that. There is none of that. Another way of getting a point is you are not allowed to hit the net with your racket.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because then you'll lose or your opponent will gain a point if you do that.
>> Desmond Nye: Exactly. You can't do that. And that has led to some controversies, because sometimes you can't prevent it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Desmond Nye: Of course, when you're coming in for the kill and you successfully get the kill and your badminton racket grazes the net just by a little bit, you will be called for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So if I'm approaching the net and I smash it down and the shuttlecock hits the floor on your side, but my racket hits the net.
>> Desmond Nye: That's the other person's point.
>> Marco Timpano: You get the point.
>> Desmond Nye: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. I didn't know that one.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. You cannot make contact with the net. Another one, too, is the net almost acts like a gigantic invisible wall.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: Because it means that not only can I not touch the net, I cannot put my racket into your side. So it's like if I know a shot is coming and then I take it and I smash it, but I smashed it while it was still on your side. That's a fault.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. See, these are not the rules.
Desmond Brown gives a master class on badminton on Insomnia Project
We play at the cottage when we play badminton. Yes. But thank you so much, Desmond, for this, you know, master class in badminton. I really do appreciate.
>> Desmond Nye: I think everyone should watch it. It's a fast sport. It's such a beautiful sport when it's played at the highest levels. And there are so many other countries that are getting involved in the sport now. This is the golden time for the sport. Fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: well, Desmond, thank you so much for all your insight into badminton. And thank you, listeners, for tuning in to the Insomnia Project. Project. Where's that from? I hope you had the opportunity to listen and hopefully sleep. And if not, we'll. We'll see you next time, or we'll hear you next time, or we'll talk to you next time on, the Insomnia Project. This episode was recorded in Toronto, Canada. Once again, Desmond and I thank you for being a part of our show.
>> Desmond Nye: Show. My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: Until the next time.
(Original airdate: May 1, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. We hope you will listen and sleep
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen. As we have a conversation about the mundane, one thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to just drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Season four, Marco Timpano. Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. You can follow us on, Twitter, listen andsleep, on Instagram, the Insomnia Project, and of course on itunes, Stitcher, Radio Addict, Radio Public. Wherever you listen, ACAST is where our platform is, so feel free to listen there as well. In the studio with me today is a new friend. We have a mutual friend who said Desmond would be great for your podcast and I'm like, I want Desmond on my podcast. So, Desmond Nye, welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Desmond Nye: Thank you so much for having me.
Tell us how you got into badminton and where did it take you
>> Marco Timpano: Desmond, we have a love of travel, but I'm not going to get into travel because I feel like I talk so much about travel on this podcast that I want to start with something that you have a love for and something that I enjoy immensely, and that is badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: Oh, I absolutely adore badminton.
>> Marco Timpano: So tell us how you got into badminton. What was your entry into badminton, and where did that take you?
>> Desmond Nye: I, got into badminton, at the YMCA when I was maybe 11 or 12 years old, playing every now and then.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you just take a class or did friends or how did that come about?
>> Desmond Nye: Just me picking up a racket, no classes, no training, and just playing with a bunch of other kids.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. And it was only until grade nine, when they announced badminton team tryouts that I thought, I'd like to give this a shot.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So in your high school grade nine or the ninth grade, you were like, I'm going to take this a bit more serious than just a casual pickup game at the ymca.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, exactly. I figure it's the only sport that I could potentially do well at. Couldn't play basketball or any of the other more mainstream sports. So I thought, give this a shot. And I remember being super anxious about the tryout and whether I'd get in and everybody was better than me.
>> Marco Timpano: And then how did that develop? Did you increase your ability or did you plateau and stay at that same sort of level?
>> Desmond Nye: I increased my ability. So I got onto the team. I got onto the team as a grade nine student, and then I realized that in some of the tournaments that the people that I was playing against were super strong. And I was wondering, where do these kids come from? And I found out from my coach that they're club players. They play at private badminton clubs, and some of them compete all over the place. So that summer, I enrolled in badminton training program at a private badminton club, and my level, I guess, took off from there.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, and where did it get you to?
>> Desmond Nye: It got me to a silver medal at the tdca, championships. So it's the. I don't know if it's called that anymore, but it's the group of Catholic, high schools with some private high schools in there. So I played, I believe it was junior, boys singles, and I got a silver medal there. I got absolutely destroyed in the gold medal match.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but listen, a silver medal is nothing to snark at. Congratulations on that.
>> Desmond Nye: Thank you.
There are two kinds of badminton: singles and doubles
>> Marco Timpano: So, for listeners who don't know much about badminton, walk us through the game, the rules, how it's played, and any tips you might have with regards to badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: Sure. badminton. There's, Basically two kinds of badminton. There's singles and there's doubles. And they use different lines. So if you see the lines that are used in badminton, all of the lines, like the outermost lines are for doubles.
>> Marco Timpano: And you're talking about the lines on the court like a tennis. If you look at tennis, it has kind of like a rectangular, drawn out grid, let's say for lack of a better term.
>> Desmond Nye: That's right. It's drawn out there. It's usually in white. It's usually in white. And the outermost lines are used for doubles. The only difference for singles would be that the lines on the left and right are brought in a little bit more.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: I don't know if that's a good way of putting it, but there it's. They cut off the parts, they basically cut off parts of it that would be used for doubles. They say it's longer. Okay. It's not as wide. That's. That's the word. Okay, that's the word.
>> Marco Timpano: So the outer sort of thinner lines where you can have more play surface for a, doubles.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Gets sort of contracted inward, contracted slightly. Slightly. And then it just. The plain surface for the single is just deeper forward and back. Yes, exactly.
>> Desmond Nye: And then within doubles you have mixed, doubles and you have men's, doubles, women's doubles. And the rules are all the same. it used to be play up until 15 points, but they've found that you can only score points when you serve. So if someone else serves and you score, it didn't count. so that made for some super long games. So that all changed to the 21 point system. In the 21 point system, it doesn't matter if you're serving. If you get the point, the point counts towards you.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: It counts towards you. So they changed it to the 21 system. And they had experimented for a really long time, maybe changing it to the seven point system, having women's singles go to the 11 point system.
>> Marco Timpano: Did it get changed when badminton became an Olympic sport? I want to say in the 90s at some point, I think 92 it
>> Desmond Nye: became 1992 it became an Olympic sport. That's right. In 88 it was a test sport.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. So 92 officially became an Olympic sport. In Barcelona.
>> Marco Timpano: I was going to say, where was it? Okay. Barcelona.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, in Barcelona. So, that they've experimented with all kinds of formats to make the game more exciting, to make the game, easier to watch. And they did not want those long drawn out like Three hour matches. There was a match at, I believe the 1997 World Championships in the men's singles final where they just would not stop playing. It was until the Chinese player got a really bad cramp and that's what began the ending of the match.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was multiple hours, that game?
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. Wow. Yes. Between China and Denmark, in 1997. You still see those long games, but not as long. Not as long now. And the 21 point system seems to have stuck and done well.
>> Marco Timpano: Interesting.
You mentioned Denmark. I know that badminton is huge in Denmark
You mentioned Denmark. I know that badminton is huge in Denmark. It was one of the first places, certainly in Europe to really pick up the sport as a sport that they love.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely. The Danes have been very, very strong from a long time ago in picking that up. They've been contenders on the world stage for a long time. they've had Olympic gold medalists from there. They've had world champions from there. they recently, I believe it was maybe within the last five years, they won the Thomas cup, which is considered the world men's team World Championship.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that. The Thomas Cup.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. And they won the Thomas cup. And usually it's won by either China or Indonesia. Those are the two major superpowers when it comes to men's badminton.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because Asia also stronghold in this, you tend to think, but at least I tend to think Asia, really dominates when it comes to badminton. I never really think Denmark, but when I did a little bit of research, I was like, oh, Denmark's a major player in this sport too.
>> Desmond Nye: Denmark's a definite major player. They've had excellent players even as long as the Chinese have had excellent players. And other parts of Europe are learning and picking up on certain styles of badminton. because certain Asian players are retiring and going over there and coaching and imparting their wisdom too. That's not the only reason. But Europe has done a lot better. There's someone out of Spain. There's a women's singles player out of Spain who shocked the world a few years ago winning the world championship for women's singles. Then she won the Olympics. And this is someone that came out of nowhere.
>> Marco Timpano: I love those. You've got to love those, those stories.
Watching Denmark, China play badminton would be like watching hockey
Would it be safe to say now I'm gonna do what I always do and my listeners are probably gonna roll their eyes and I'm gonna bring a Canadian perspective to this. Would it be safe to say that watching Denmark, China play badminton would be like watching Canada, Russia play hockey? If you're into the sport of Badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: absolutely. they have a long and storied history.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: Like, some of their. Some of Denmark's players have. Could have won world championships had it not been for the Chinese players, and vice versa. Right. Like, 1996 men's singles. The gold medal went to Denmark, and he beat China in the final. And you go to 2000. China beat Denmark in the semifinals of the Olympics. It was a shocking upset victory. So they've been. They have been going back and forth. That's a big rivalry. I'd say that's the number two rivalry in badminton. And, maybe some badminton experts might disagree, but the original badminton rivalry was between Malaysia and Indonesia.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. So that's another match you want to see.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll be watching badminton from now on with a different perspective, and I do really want to see these four nations you mentioned battle it out, especially in the Olympics. I'll be keen on that for.
>> Desmond Nye: For sure. Absolutely. Like, if you look at some of the older Thomas cup matches, when Malaysia was playing Indonesia, the crowd was just so into it because the countries are situated so close together and they've had long, long, long rivalries. You can compare that to any sports rivalry in any sport. It's just like that.
Playing with the feathers is a different sport than playing with the plastic
>> Marco Timpano: Let's talk shuttlecock. And there's a great, phrase for you. I know it's often the butt of a joke, but the shuttlecock is. Is what is used to play in badminton. Whereas a ball or a puck or a something else might be used, to play, but it has its own name. So tell me about that.
>> Desmond Nye: as far as I know, it comes basically, they're little feathers. They're little feathers that are put into a piece of cork and that forms the shuttlecock.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're not playing professionally, it'll often be just a plastic sort of replica.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: But I'm told, and I've never played with a feather, that playing with the feathers is a different sport than playing with the plastic. Is that correct?
>> Desmond Nye: 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: How so? Because now I'm curious about that.
>> Desmond Nye: Sure. The feather one requires a lot more control. It requires a lot more technique. Whereas in the school system, in the high school system, we played with the plastic replicas. The plastic replicas are used a lot. And one of the reasons that it is used is because the feather ones could get damaged really easily.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Desmond Nye: So they go through so many feathers when they're playing, but with the plastic ones, you could smash it, and it could be a really great smash really fast.
>> Marco Timpano: And It'll still stand up.
>> Desmond Nye: it'll still be great. Whereas if you do it with a feather and your technique is a little bit off, that shuttle call can slow down, it can go different ways. It just, it brings out the best in the players. I actually prefer playing with feather.
>> Marco Timpano: You do?
>> Desmond Nye: Because I can navigate the shuttlecock within my control. At least this is what I used to be able to do before my body could no longer play the sport at an elite level.
>> Marco Timpano: So here's a curious thing I have. Does it make each shuttlecock unique? Because feathers are unique. Like snowflakes, you could say, right? No feather is the same versus a plastic shuttlecock, which you could make the same weight, diameter, and, and whatnot as the next. Right.
>> Desmond Nye: I've never thought of that. But I would not rule that out because no feather is unique. All the feathers, all the shuttlecocks look the same. They're built all the same. However, there's different companies, for example, that build different quality shuttlecocks as well. So there are definitely differences there. And I guess they try to control it internationally as much as possible. But like you said, it's not all created equal.
>> Marco Timpano: So, I mean, the discrepancy might be so minute that the player would not know or would automatically compensate for it.
>> Desmond Nye: Sure.
There are certain badminton rackets that suit different styles of play
>> Marco Timpano: but I'd like to talk about rackets, because you look at a badminton racket and you think, oh, it's like every other racket sport. And then you pick one up and it feels different. Let's talk badminton rackets.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely. It's very light. It is very, very light. And there's so many variations, with badminton rackets that you could have in terms of. There. It's just the way that the frame is built, it's the way the grip is and how the head of the badminton racket is built. There's certain badminton rackets that suit different styles of play.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, certain singles players will use certain rackets. Certain doubles players will use other kinds of rackets. And some players are more attacking style players. So they'll use rackets that are more conducive to attacking
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>> Desmond Nye: Whereas the other ones will use their defensive players. They win their matches through defense.
>> Marco Timpano: What does an attack racket look like versus a defensive racket?
>> Desmond Nye: As far as I can remember, the attack racket has a heavier head.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: So it's like there's more momentum, there's more inertia coming down.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. When you.
>> Desmond Nye: When the Smash is coming down. Whereas the. In order to play defense really well, you have to be quick and you have to know where you're putting the shuttle. You have to. It's like playing offense while playing defense.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: You just don't want to put the badminton racket back up. You want to be able to drive it somewhere. So the rackets are built differently, their frames are built differently. Some are heavier than others. And also the stringing.
>> Marco Timpano: The stringing. That's what I was going to ask you. So what's key in the stringing for a badminton racket or how do you like your racket string?
>> Desmond Nye: I like my. When I used to play, my rackets were strung really, really tightly. I see they were strung really tightly because I loved. I didn't want there to be too much give in terms of the string because I wanted to control where the shuttle was going. I wanted to play that style of badminton.
>> Marco Timpano: Does a tighter strung racket give you a larger sweet spot? There's a stumper.
>> Desmond Nye: That's a stumper. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: now for our listeners, and you can correct me while you're thinking, the sweet spot would be the ideal spot in the center of the racket where, when it makes a connection with your shuttlecock or if you're playing squash as I know it, you have the most control and, and the most ability to send it where you want. Is that fair to say?
>> Desmond Nye: That is fair to say. It's a little bit higher than the center.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it is.
>> Desmond Nye: It's not necessarily at the top of where the racket frame is, but it's a little bit higher than the center. And just the tight stringing, I don't think gives a larger sweet spot, but it just gives much more control, much more control of where you're putting the badminton racket. And you can play with a lot more deception.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: You can play a lot more deceptive moves to try to mix up your opponent. But the problem with that is that it breaks easily.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Strings break easily. And because they're strung at a certain tension, it puts pressure on the badminton Racket.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. It puts pressure on the badminton racket. And badminton rackets will break. Breaking strings happens all the time. And then you have to. You got to pay to get them strung up again. So I always had a battle with my parents. My parents would be saying, number one, why are you picking that quality of string? Number two, why are you stringing it so tightly? Whereas my dad, for example, would use a piece of string and he played for it for a couple years. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And how long would yours last?
>> Desmond Nye: Maybe month and a half.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Desmond Nye: So you see the very, very big difference. And because of that, badminton rackets can break too, because there's so much pressure and they're thin.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Like they're so much thinner than a, let's say a squash or tennis racket.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely.
Badminton is different from other racket sports in that it has fewer opportunities
>> Marco Timpano: When you said the quality of string, what does that mean? Like, you're picking a different type. Like an expensive string or.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, an expensive string. There's other. There's very durable strings, and then there are strings that are specialized for certain players that. And I'm not tooting my own horn here, but playing a certain style where there's a lot of control in the game. And it just depends how. I don't want to use the word refined, but how many nuances are in your game?
>> Marco Timpano: But what is the difference in the actual string, like the one you prefer versus, say, the one your dad. Are they both not nylon strings or are they.
>> Desmond Nye: They both are. in terms of the difference, the one that my dad would pick would be more durable and it would lead to less control of the badminton racket. And the differences are very small when you're playing the game. However, if you're playing in a competitive environment, they say about sports that it's a game of inches.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, especially with badminton, because, the thing I loved about playing badminton, and by no means have I played it like you did in a professional setting, but the opportunity to hit the shuttlecock, there's so many more. I found opportunities that if you miss it, you still might have the time to catch it before it touches the ground. Absolutely. So it's like this. It's this fast game with a slow moving shuttlecock. And it's fast, too, but it doesn't have the same sort of, I don't know, like other racket sports. I feel like you have one opportunity because once the ball goes, once the inertia of the ball goes, you have one swing and that's it.
>> Desmond Nye: Like tennis, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: Like tennis Right.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Whereas badminton, you have like, there's so much opportunity and skill and precision.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That it makes it such an enjoyable game to play.
>> Desmond Nye: You can save it. There's all kinds of moves that you can do with the badminton shuttlecock. So it's a fun game. It's definitely different than, the other racket sports. Sure, it's definitely different.
Getting good footwork is the most important thing in badminton
>> Marco Timpano: What are some tips you would give to our listeners who are interested or starting to play badminton?
>> Desmond Nye: I would say, and this might not be well received, but I would say that, sure, footwork, is the most important thing. So getting that footwork, right, because when you're in a situation where you are scrambling all over the court, your footwork is what will save you. And in most major sports it comes down to footwork.
>> Marco Timpano: I had the opportunity to interview Cloda Power about boxing and she said the same thing. She's like, the footwork is key. Start with the footwork and the rest will come. But if you don't have the footwork, you don't have a game.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, exactly. And that is why some players that wanted to do good in badminton would go to these private clubs and 90% of what they would work on is footwork and they'd go home and saying, why did I pay 300 bucks for a six week course when I'm just running around and taking steps all over the court? But it's super important because in such a fast game, if you're trying to hit the shuttlecock at the back of the court and the person drops it to the front, you better know how to get it. You can run up to it, you can run up to it, but the momentum, when you're done running up to it, you, you can't go to the back right away.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Because kill your knees. Right.
>> Desmond Nye: It'll totally kill your knees. So that's why when some coaches who are coaching, let's say high school badminton do not have a background in badminton, they just say to the students, get your feet moving.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: How do you get your feet moving? Right. Exactly what way? The feet are not moving because of the knees. Maybe there's tightness in the quad muscle or the hamstring.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Desmond Nye: Why is this student's feet not moving? So that's the number one thing. Close to number one is technique.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: You'd rather be a technician at the game than someone who can smash really well and someone who's got a lot of strength and power. Because technique is what will keep you in the game and it'll allow you to Control the shuttle to make up for your other shortcomings. So when I went off to school in the States, I studied law in St. Louis. I gained a bunch of weight. So when I came back to Toronto to play, it was technique that still allowed me to be relatively competitive at the ymca. It was technique because I knew where to put the shuttle. So I made up for my physical deficiencies by, being able to send the shuttle almost wherever I wanted to. And then that's how I played. So that's another reason why some people may not like going to these private clubs and training. Because, hey, I want to play games. I want to learn how to smash it as hard as an Olympic gold medalist. But there's so much technique involved. There's so much movement. It's like trying to say, let me jab like Floyd Mayweather.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. It's not going to happen unless you have everything else and tons of training under your belt. And body makeup, too.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely. Certain bodies play differently. The center of gravity is different. With much taller players in the strategy, playing against certain players is different if they're taller or shorter or depending on their strengths. Everybody, for example, thinks in boxing that the power of the punch comes from the hand, comes from the hip. Badminton, the power of the smash comes
>> Marco Timpano: from the hip, not your forearm or your wrist.
>> Desmond Nye: It definitely comes from that. But it's like the finishing part of the sequence of the Smash.
>> Marco Timpano: The follow through, if you will.
>> Desmond Nye: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Let's talk about how one gets points when playing badminton
so before we end the show.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's just quickly talk about points, how one gets points when playing badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: one gets points by playing badminton. Either when the other side, your opponents cannot pick up the badminton shuttlecock. Like the shuttlecock lands on the ground,
>> Marco Timpano: touches the ground, touches the ground.
>> Desmond Nye: So they cannot get points that way.
>> Marco Timpano: And how many points is that? If we're playing and I miss it and it touches the ground, you get one point.
>> Desmond Nye: That's right, yes. it's always one point. also, if the shuttlecock hits the net and it does not go over in the net, the other side gets a point.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you throw to me, it hits your side of the net, does not go over to mine. I get one point.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, that's correct. So there are sometimes examples where the shuttlecock will hit the net and then barely slide over. That's your point. And there's nothing your opponent can do about it. because it's just the way it goes. Exactly. There's no way you can possibly respond to that.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's players who can really, like, pinpoint that shuttlecock to just touch or graze or flip over the net.
>> Desmond Nye: Right. I can count them on both of my hands. There's not many of them, but the ones that can do it correctly are viciously good players. They or they know how to respond to those. They know how to. There was a player out of Indonesia who won the silver medal in 2000. He was known for his net play. Maybe about 5 foot 7, not the most imposing person, but he was, just known for his net play and his deception. Hendrawan. He went by one name, so it's. It's like. It's like calling someone like Lebron or something. You just know them by one name. so about the points, also, if you hit it out, if you hit it outside of the lines, it counts as a point to the other side.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, like in tennis, if those white lines that we mentioned, if it goes out of bounds, your, opponent receives the point.
>> Desmond Nye: That's right. And then also, there's service faults. There's faults. The judge will call you on certain faults. You cannot. When you're serving the badminton racket, you cannot have it above your waist.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. You cannot have it above your waist.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. Because if you have it above your waist, I can technically put the shuttlecock anywhere I want.
>> Marco Timpano: If I have my racket above my waist. Yes.
>> Desmond Nye: If I have it way above my waist, I can control it in a way. So it's a way to equalize the. It's a way to equalize it. So. So don't serve above your waist. That's a, fault. Another fault is once you bring the racket forward to begin to serve, you're not allowed to bring it back.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: You're not allowed to bring it back.
>> Marco Timpano: You have to follow through.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. There was a little bit of a controversy when I was playing grade nine badminton. These players, and I did not know the rules at the time. Sure. These players would keep on putting the racket back and forth. It was like they were trying to trick you. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you think, okay, they're about to hit it, so you're getting in position, but they don't exactly.
>> Desmond Nye: And your feet just freeze. So at, the competitive level, you can't play like that. There is none of that. Another way of getting a point is you are not allowed to hit the net with your racket.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because then you'll lose or your opponent will gain a point if you do that.
>> Desmond Nye: Exactly. You can't do that. And that has led to some controversies, because sometimes you can't prevent it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Desmond Nye: Of course, when you're coming in for the kill and you successfully get the kill and your badminton racket grazes the net just by a little bit, you will be called for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So if I'm approaching the net and I smash it down and the shuttlecock hits the floor on your side, but my racket hits the net.
>> Desmond Nye: That's the other person's point.
>> Marco Timpano: You get the point.
>> Desmond Nye: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. I didn't know that one.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. You cannot make contact with the net. Another one, too, is the net almost acts like a gigantic invisible wall.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: Because it means that not only can I not touch the net, I cannot put my racket into your side. So it's like if I know a shot is coming and then I take it and I smash it, but I smashed it while it was still on your side. That's a fault.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. See, these are not the rules.
Desmond Brown gives a master class on badminton on Insomnia Project
We play at the cottage when we play badminton. Yes. But thank you so much, Desmond, for this, you know, master class in badminton. I really do appreciate.
>> Desmond Nye: I think everyone should watch it. It's a fast sport. It's such a beautiful sport when it's played at the highest levels. And there are so many other countries that are getting involved in the sport now. This is the golden time for the sport. Fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: well, Desmond, thank you so much for all your insight into badminton. And thank you, listeners, for tuning in to the Insomnia Project. Project. Where's that from? I hope you had the opportunity to listen and hopefully sleep. And if not, we'll. We'll see you next time, or we'll hear you next time, or we'll talk to you next time on, the Insomnia Project. This episode was recorded in Toronto, Canada. Once again, Desmond and I thank you for being a part of our show.
>> Desmond Nye: Show. My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: Until the next time.
Fonts with special guest Dani Stover
(Original airdate: May 13, 2020)
Marco Timpano welcomes Danny Stover to the Insomnia Project
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation to help you drift off. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I hope you listen and sleep. Joining me today is a guest who I really love following your social media. I love hearing what you do. Let me welcome Danny Stover to, the podcast.
>> Danny Stover: Thanks for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for joining the Insomnia Project. You do a podcast that is very Toronto centric and this podcast, the Insomnia Project, we're proud to be Canadian podcasters and to be from Toronto and we have a lot of listeners from overseas who I think have really learned a lot about Toronto by listening to this podcast. At least before they drift off. Your podcast is called Only in Toronto.
>> Danny Stover: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Or Only in Toronto, as I would say it.
>> Danny Stover: Yes. it's weird because I sometimes I just say the blog to podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: because you're also part of Blogtio. We'll talk about that in a moment.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah. so Only in Toronto is basically the opposite of this podcast. It's fast and dirty, and it's like a micropod. So it comes out Monday through Friday around 4:00', clock, in the afternoon. And it's 10 minutes of your kind of daily Toronto News, a new restaurant or a new business. and then some events that are coming up. So it's, it's really to the point. it's very Toronto centric. yeah. And it's. I don't. I can't compare it to anything else because I don't know of another podcast that's doing this kind of format.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like every city should have only in blank. Oh, yeah, because I. We're going to Salt Lake City at the end of this month, and I wish there was something that I could just listen even on the plane and be like, oh, I want to check this out. I want to check that out.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah, I think it's a good, it's a good model. And I think, it's helped me too, to kind of learn about, like, what's going on in my city.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's what has surprised you that you've learned by doing your podcast?
>> Danny Stover: I mean, it's funny because I come from a radio background, so there's a couple things at play here. The one thing is that radio is kind of, this thing that's just always been readily available and we all know what radio looks like and sounds like. and then there's also kind of that impending doom about radio.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Danny Stover: with podcasting, it's like, come on in, the water's fine, we're all here. so it's kind of a different headspace that I've had to get into. learning about the editorial world as well, just sometimes and seeing some of the vitriol that gets spit at certain things. So, like, for example, what comes up for me is Chair Girl. Here's this young woman who was drinking with friends and through a patio chair off a high rise condo in downtown Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: M. Never do this, listeners. It's very dangerous. And you will not be loved by anyone. No.
>> Danny Stover: and so she just. It was the perfect. I mean, it was the perfect crime in the sense that no one was hurt, thank God. but she's kind of become this villain.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Danny Stover: This Toronto villain. And so people love to hate her. And just. Even the moniker Chair Girl, it's just like we know exactly who you're talking about. And, and she's kind of this, like, very present person. She's on social media. She's like that girl. yeah. And so those types of stories that I'm like, really? People have a thirst for these stories. They hate them, but they interact with them. So it's just those kinds of things where people Are like, why are you covering this? And it's like, well, because you keep talking about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Only in Toronto is a daily podcast exploring cultural, food, news and events in the city.
>> Marco Timpano: And. And if you are coming to Toronto, I definitely suggest you check it out.
You went to a hoedown yesterday for a friend's birthday
we were talking earlier and you had mentioned that you went to a hoedown yesterday. I'd love to know more about that.
>> Danny Stover: M. It was so fun.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. so, yeah, what better person to speak to than the host of Only in Toronto, who also is part of Blogto to tell me about this. I'm so fortunate.
>> Danny Stover: It was a friend's birthday and she's like, yeah, we're doing this hoedown. And I'm like, okay, yeah, well, I'll get out of the house. so it's at Dover Court House, which is like Dover Court and Bloor.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are streets in Toronto for international listeners.
>> Danny Stover: I know, I forget I'm not talking to just Toronto people.
>> Marco Timpano: I always sort of. I always try to define for our international listeners. And then I have friends who are like, stop saying that. People will figure it out. They understand that Mississauga is a place just outside of Toronto is another place they can figure it out. I'm like, I know, but sometimes I listen to podcasts where I'm like, oh, I want to know what. What that is precisely. So I apologize if any of you gets frustrated with my definition of terms, especially for our Canadian listeners.
>> Danny Stover: No, but it's a good reminder for me. So, yeah, so it's kind of like this place, like a Legion type place, you know, those kind of like, it's basically staying alive because of the community people and they host all these random events. So I think once a month they do like, hoedowns, or they do swing, dancing, or they do blues dancing. So you pay like 20 bucks. There's a live band. you go in and there's a woman on the mic that's like, okay, find a partner and I'm gonna teach you the move. So it's like promenade, which is just walking with your partner, hand in hand. you know, the do si do. And she teaches you the basics and you pick them up pretty quickly. And you know, I love my favorite quality in anybody is like, earnest being earnest. And if you're going to a hoedown and you like, you're just handing yourself over, like, I'm gonna do this thing. I don't care if I look silly. Were having a great time. My face hurt. I was Smiling so hard. and yeah, so then you get. You kind of circle up. You. We went with a group of people, but you end up dancing with all kinds of people. There were, like, all ages of people there too. All different. Like, I'd never done a hoedown before, so I had no idea what I was doing. There were people who were pros. but it was like, just so much fun. Like, just a really nice way to spend a Friday night where you feel like you're kind of sweating, sweaty. Someone said I had a glow. I'm like, no, it's. It's hoedown, sweat.
>> Marco Timpano: Hoedown, glow.
Have you ever been to Nashville? I have not. I would definitely recommend it
Have you ever been to Nashville?
>> Danny Stover: I have not. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So my in laws used to live in Nashville, and we would go down and every time we went, we would go to the Wild Horse Tavern, I believe it's called. I Hope It's Right People from Nashville. but we would dance up a storm. And yeah, I would, I would make mistakes, but everybody was so accepting and. And you work up a sweat. You have a lot of fun and you're dancing, and it feels very communal in a way that other forms of dance don't.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I kind of love that.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah, it was so much fun. I would definitely. Hence, I would recommend it. And I would go back, and, yeah, it's funny, I, you know, when I was younger, I used to go dancing all the time, and I used to do it in heels, no less. Like now, you wouldn't catch me in a heel. but it's just, I forgot that kind of feeling of like, yeah, we're all kind of sweaty. We're all having fun. We're all jiving to the music, and we're not taking ourselves too seriously.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Put Nashville on your.
>> Danny Stover: I will. You know what I'm saying?
>> Marco Timpano: It's so wonderful. It is, really. I love Tennessee. It's one of my favorite states. And I just love Nashville. It's such a great, great place.
>> Danny Stover: Do you like Nashville, Hot chicken?
>> Marco Timpano: I do. Yeah, I do. And, oh, some of the places we ate there in Nashville was just out of this world.
Blogto is a blog that covers everything to do with Toronto
let's talk about Blanc Tea Oaks. We mentioned it, and I'm sure there's some listeners saying, what exactly is that? So tell us.
>> Danny Stover: blog to. they've been around for maybe 10 years, maybe even longer. They're just like, everything to do with Toronto. So it's, it's, it's your news. They do a lot of restaurant, reviews. They do a lot of video content. Their Instagram game is very strong. You know the social media stuff, they've got it on lock. but it's basically like you're all things Toronto. It's like, yeah, if you were coming to Toronto, you'd go to Blogto to see where to eat, or like what new events. Immersive, you know, so many. Immersive is the hot word. But like all these, you know, pop ups that are happening or different stores that are opening or things that are closing, so they're just like,
>> Marco Timpano: what was closing recently? I read an article. No, I know, it was. So I performed at Clinton's. It's around the corner from my house. It's, it's, it's got its own charm and beauty and it's like so heartbreaking. Right.
>> Danny Stover: It's really sad.
>> Marco Timpano: you know, I want to say that it's, it's a love letter to Toronto, but it's so much more blog to. I find it undiscriminating. In other words, they cover everything. And so some Toronto publications, whether it be digital or printed, can be a little bit snobby. In other words, this is the cool place to go. These are the top 10. This, you know, here's photos of all these fancy people at fancy, fancy parties. But I find Blogto really transcends, gender, race, what's it called, society, norms and almost like money. Like you can spend a lot, you can spend a little bit. This is our city. Bruises and all.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And all the things we do great and maybe not so great, but here's what's out there.
>> Danny Stover: It's very accessible.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so accessible. I think you guys do such a wonderful, you all do such a wonderful job.
>> Danny Stover: And it's a small team. Like it's, it's pretty small. I remember my first day being like, I'm going to walk into an office full of people busy away in their suits and stuff and it's like, oh, I know you. There's like six of us and really? Yeah, it's a, it's a pretty small and mighty team. It's growing. It's for sure growing. But yeah, I was kind of shocked when I walked in and I'm like, you don't have three different managers. Like radio seems a little convoluted sometimes. Time.
We haven't talked about fonts on this podcast yet
>> Marco Timpano: So there's something I love about Blog to and something I love about our city. It's the font, it's the font you guys use I think is wonderful.
>> Danny Stover: That's so funny. That you say that because I'm a big font person.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. We have, we haven't talked about fonts on this podcast yet, so let's dive into fonts.
>> Danny Stover: I mean, I don't know if I'm like, super, like, you know, learned, about.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you don't have to be.
>> Danny Stover: I feel the same way about vlog to you where I'm like this. I think it's Georgia, the font that they use.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Danny Stover: and it's a little bit gray and it's, it's a good size.
>> Marco Timpano: The size is perfect. Just so everyone knows.
>> Danny Stover: And you know, and they are very, purposeful about their paragraph breaking and stuff like that.
>> Marco Timpano: And that resonates with me. Resonates with me like you wouldn't believe.
>> Danny Stover: I love those short paragraphs. so, yeah, so I think you're right. That's a really fun, thing to clock because it's like, same thing. I think about that often when I see, when I do freelance or stuff like that, and I see the font that they end up using, and I'm like, I would never write in that font.
Can I tell you my favorite Toronto font, what it is
>> Marco Timpano: Can I tell you my favorite Toronto font, what it is?
>> Danny Stover: Oh, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: The font that, the city of Toronto uses on its subway platforms.
>> Danny Stover: Like the, like the Chester or the Broadview.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. The way it's engraved. And the look of that font is my favorite font. And I know it might sound biased cuz I live in the city and I've grown around it and it feels like a font from. It's. It's been years and years that it's been on our subway system, but that font is my favorite font of all fonts.
>> Danny Stover: can I tell you, a couple weeks ago, my friend posted, or my cousin posted a picture. She's like, oh, we're in Toronto for the day and there was like a sliver of mint green and like just the outline, subtle, like a little rubber. And I was like, oh, you're at Chester Station, aren't you? She's like, oh, my God. How did you know that? Yeah, I'm m. Like, well, I just know. because it is, it's very recognizable. That is a great font. I also like the City of Toronto font.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Yep, yep. Ontario.
>> Danny Stover: not so much.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Listen, there's some fonts that resonate. I used to like the old Ontario, the like 1960s kind of look that they had. It had like the trillium, which is our provincial flag flower in a very 60s kind of font. I used to like that one. What I love about the subway font is that it's so great to get selfies because you can take words out of the font. So, for example, Ozington, I was able to take sing.
>> Danny Stover: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I put sing when somebody was doing a song or a concert.
>> Danny Stover: Nice.
>> Marco Timpano: And Christie Station. My buddy Chris, it was his birthday and it happened to be here, so it took a picture of me with Chris and wished him a happy birthday. Birthday. But there's so many of those because of the font spacing, where you can really get that.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah.
Do you have a favorite subway station in Toronto
Do you have a favorite subway station? And again, we're getting really inside.
>> Marco Timpano: I love museum. I think museum is a beautiful station. It happens to be. If you're on the subway in Toronto and you get off that museum, you'll be near the Rom. And what they've done there is the Poles, they've made into some archetypes that you would find. I don't know if archetype is the right one word. But they made the impression of, like, a totem or, like an Egyptian, statue. And it's really. You really feel like you're going to the museum before you even enter into the Rom by just getting off the subway.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your favorite?
>> Danny Stover: Yeah, that one's super cool. I do love museum. I. I really love Dupont Station.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Danny Stover: So Dupont is like almost terracotta color. and it's all those tiny little, like, hexagon bricks.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Danny Stover: And it's color covered floor to ceiling, like, as soon as you walk in off the top. And again, what I like about it is it's kind of this domed escalator off the street.
>> Marco Timpano: 60s, kind of like, spaceship kind of look.
>> Danny Stover: You go into the dome, you go down this thing, and all of a sudden it opens up and it's this big, like, terracotta, like, feel like the inside of a belly almost. and then there's, like, beautiful stonework. And I'm just like. For something that's, you know, kind of dumpy, it's a subway, and it's meant to be dirty. This just looks very beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: What about the station? And I can't remember the name. And it's the one where you're walking into this. It almost looked like an old mansion that they didn't tear down the house. And they, made it into, like, you're walking through the front door, but you're not walking into a house. You're walking into. It's right near, Spadina Station. it's south of it. It's on the Bloor line. It is. oh, folks, I'm so sorry, I can't think on the Blur line. It's on the bluer line heading south.
>> Danny Stover: Well, the bluer line goes east to west.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry, it's on the young, line.
>> Danny Stover: Would it be college?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not college.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, we'll find out, folks. By the end of this podcast.
>> Danny Stover: I'm thinking now I'm just going through each and all of. Yeah, so this is the actual, the Spadina Station and it's, I guess the Norman B. Gash house. so, yeah, so they just basically built the entrance. Now I'm getting really, like caught on the mic and fast. They, built this entrance like in an old house and they actually kept the facade. A very Toronto thing, might I add.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Danny Stover: let's assign something heritage and then take out the insides and turn it into a condo or a subway platform.
>> Marco Timpano: 85 Spadina Road. And it was built in 1899 and I think, I'm sure they were going to tear it down because they needed a subway platform there. And they're like, somebody must have come in, whoever did to save it. Thank you so much. It's such a unique part of Toronto. I just couldn't remember it at the time. But I'm like, I drive by it all the time.
>> Danny Stover: Well, good for you for knowing Spadina. Spadina is weird too, because they do go both ways and there's that long hallway and it's very silly.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I, I said it was on the Blue Line. Clearly it's not. Anyways, thank you so much.
>> Danny Stover: So, I do like Queen Station because the Macaroni Man.
>> Marco Timpano: Macaroni Man.
>> Danny Stover: Is it Queen?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you might be right.
>> Danny Stover: I'm just not Queen and young. There's like just a picture. It's not the Macaroni Man. He actually like an actual figure. but he's got like an orange face and curly macaroni looking hair.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know this one. Ah, this is great.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah, Queen. I feel like it's Queen Station. Like you go to the Eaton center from there.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Stover: and they've just got like, it's very colorful, it's very bright. And yeah, the Macaroni man, it's bother. I feel like a phony because I don't know who he is. I feel like I want to listen.
>> Marco Timpano: I love Macaroni Man. That's, that's great for me. That's all I need.
What is your least favorite font? My least. I'm coming back around to Times New Roman
What is your least favorite font?
>> Danny Stover: My least. you know what? I really liked Arial For a while now, I can't stand.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you don't. You don't like Ariel?
>> Danny Stover: I just feel like it got overused. I think it was, like, my email font for a while, and now I just feel like, leave me alone, Ariel.
>> Marco Timpano: So what is your default? Are you Garamond?
>> Danny Stover: I am a Garamond.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't said it right.
>> Danny Stover: I know. I realized I've never said it out loud. Garamond. I like it. Georgia. I'm coming back around to Times New Roman.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's classic for a reason, right? Yeah.
>> Danny Stover: it's one of those ones I would never touch. Like, if I had a school project, I'd always do something different. But now I find myself coming back to it, and it just feels like home.
>> Marco Timpano: That's amazing.
Danny is a drag queen agent who runs Drag Queen story time
Danny, you are a radio host, as you mentioned, an improviser, producer, a writer, and I want to talk about something you're involved with that I think is just amazing. And that is Drag Queen story time. Can you tell us about that?
>> Danny Stover: Yeah, I've, So Obviously, drag and RuPaul's Drag Race is very much in the zeitgeist now. It's very mainstream. but it did come out, you know, 12 years ago, and I was like, I've watched it since. Since day one, and I love drag. For me, you know, I'm a straight cisgender woman. it kind of just gave me, like this, oh, my gosh. If I can see you being confident and you exploring your femininity and you being funny and campy and, embracing these things about you that might be strange or odd or kind of other, then it just kind of gave me this feeling of like, oh, my God, I love this energy, and I love this scene in this art form. And, so I was always just really into drag, and Toronto's, got an amazing drag scene. so just kind of being a fan of drag, I met this woman who had just had a kid, and she was like, I kind of want to put on this event where we have drag queens read to kids. I know you know a lot of drag queens, so can you help me organize it? So we put on this one event, and it was a great success. People loved it. I, don't get into drag. but sure, book the drag queens, and kind of do that side of it. So we did this one event. It was great. And then it just. With people were like, when's the next one? When's the next one? So it's been. I guess this will Be our third year. Pride. Is it like, June is the month?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. that's Pride in Toronto.
>> Danny Stover: Yes. So we get so many bookings. so I would say I'm basically like a drag queen agent.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Stover: But I only really book for these, like, family events. So we work with a lot of libraries, we work with a lot of schools in the Toronto.
Drag time is basically, story time with drag performers
>> Marco Timpano: so let's uncover this. you talked about how you got into it and you talked about. I love that you talked about drag as an art form. And I think that is a perspective of drag that I think it is wonderful and needs to be recognized. But what exactly is drag time? Storytelling.
>> Danny Stover: So basically, story time. Sorry, we go into. So it's funny, we have one today, actually two in Mississauga. and I've been getting pictures sent to me constantly. But it's, we'll have a one or two queens. and they get paid. So it's all, you know, we're funnel. We're getting money to the queens.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah. So that's. I was passionate about that. Like, we're not doing anything for free here. I do it for free. But the, queens get paid. so they'll come in, they'll read maybe four or five stories. They'll interact with the kids. They're all up in hair, makeup, dress, whatever. and they'll just read stories. And some of the stories. It's been a long time. I'm not a kid. I don't have kids. Since I've seen some of the books that are geared to children, and there's some beautiful stories about acceptance and gender identity and all different types of families and being yourself. And, you know, I'm a boy and I want to carry a purse. Like, there's just so many stories for kids now.
>> Marco Timpano: And are there stories that are just. Are classic kind of stories like that that aren't based in that as well? Like Goodnight Moon?
>> Danny Stover: We haven't really. I, do love Goodnight Moon, but. No, we kind of do. If anything, we do the ones like, just be who you are. Be yourself. I can't think of the author right now. but he's got a whole series of books that are very, like, you know, pretty iconic.
>> Marco Timpano: what I love about this, and I apologize for cutting you off, but it seems like drag artists tell a story with their drag just visually. Right. And having these artists and these performers read a story and get into a story that connects with kids is such a wonderful thing.
>> Danny Stover: Well, and it's. It's one of those Things where we think of, like, you know, Disney princesses, like, you know, we're not. This isn't too far off from costuming and embodying, like, a different person. And my favorite part of it is not seeing so much the kids, it's the adults. So, for example, like, we do. It's very different when you do a library versus a school. Libraries. It's like the kids. The parents are dragging the kids. They're looking for something to fill an hour at 10am on a Saturday. and I've learned a lot about attention spans of children through this. but when we go into the schools, I. I remember the first one we did, I got a little worried because I'm like, the kids aren't with their parents. They're all a little tooted up. And they're a little bit like, oh, this is a fun, exciting thing. Like, a drag queen's in our school. The drag queens walk through. They're like celebrities. Their pictures are up on the walls. The kids are like, whoa. So it's pretty fun. And I remember we did one where, a week earlier, we had done a bunch of little kids. And so the little kids are just like, oh, my God, like, you're wearing a wig and like, do you know Elsa? And like, it's just that kind of stuff. They're like, listen, the older kids really want you to come back, so can you come back next week with the older kids? And this is like grade six to eight or something. And I was like, yeah, sure. I was a little nervous. Just like, are they going to be respectful? Like, are they going to be. Are they going to get it? and so halfway through, kids were. You could hear a pin drop.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Danny Stover: Like, they were just so respectful. So wonderful. We did a question and answer segment, and their questions were just. I mean, hands down, the most popular question is, can you take off your wig? And I remember one like, how do you get so good at walking on your tippy toes? And these, like, how do you work? Wear those shoes? So they're very concerned with the physical stuff, but they're also like, you know, so you're a boy that dresses up as a girl. Like, why? And there's no filter, right? Like, there's no. They're respectful, but they. They're curious, and it's kind of wonderful. And so during this whole thing, this teacher comes up to me and she's an older woman, and she. Tears streaming down her face, and she just looks at me. She's like, this is beautiful. This would not have happened 10 years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Drag Queen at school fills kids' bucket with entertainment
>> Danny Stover: and then I had to have a little cry off in the gym ballroom. but I was just like, this. This is why we do it. Because it's like, it's not just the kids. The kids will go home and be like, mom, I saw Drag Queen at school. And, like, it's basically, we're literacy, we're gender identity and acceptance. Those are our three kind of like, ten tenants. but, like, it's the adults, too. And, like, we go to different places and libraries where people show up and they don't have kids.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Danny Stover: They just don't get the opportunity to see drag in Mississauga. Or, you know, we did Durham last year. We're like, in Scugog, and it's like, yeah, I've never seen a drag queen up close. Right. so those types of experiences that are wonderful, and the queens love it. They don't have to deal with drunk people.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, yeah. Because a lot of their performances are in bars late at night with rowdy crowds. And this is a different, venue for them as well.
>> Danny Stover: It fills their bucket. Like, it's. It's lovely.
Danny Stover: Where can people find Drag Queen Story Time online
>> Marco Timpano: Now, let me ask you this. If someone's in Toronto or someone's a local and they want to see Drag Queen Story Time, it's a bit of
>> Danny Stover: a clunky name, isn't it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I just wanted to make sure, because I wanted to. I don't want to get it wrong, but where would they go? Or how can they find out more?
>> Danny Stover: So we. We are on Facebook. We try. Like I said, it's basically me and another woman volunteering our time. So we. We try to keep that updated as much as possible. Toronto Drag Queen Storytime on Facebook. I believe we're Drag Queen Story Time on Instagram. so we're pretty easy to find that way. And we try to keep those updated as much as possible.
>> Marco Timpano: And does RuPaul know you're doing this?
>> Danny Stover: Like, no. I would be thrilled.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, RuPaul's a big fan of our podcast, so I'll make.
>> Danny Stover: Really.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope. We'll see.
>> Danny Stover: We'll see.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll tweet it out if you know RuPaul. And, you can ask Ru if, they know about this. And, connect Dani with Ru. That would be nice, wouldn't it?
>> Danny Stover: Wow. And RuPaul was on Saturday Night Live last week or two weeks ago, and they did a little reading thing, but it was very much Drag Queen reading, not, you know, story time. but I was like, oh, this this looks very much like what we do. And, yeah, I mean, I'm a huge fan of RuPaul. I'm almost afraid to meet Ru. I feel like it would be one of those you shouldn't meet your hero kind of people.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Danny Stover: but definitely. So much respect.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, yeah. What a wonderful thing Ru has done for the community for, just bringing that acceptance and bringing that to the forefront and out of, you know, cabarets at 1am in smaller areas of the city.
>> Danny Stover: It's incredible to me how much drag has changed and evolved and for the better in a lot of ways. Sometimes. I'm sure people would argue that for the worst in other ways, but, it's pretty incredible to see the trajectory of a lot of these careers that have been launched because of the show.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's great. Yeah. Thank you for bringing that to our city.
>> Danny Stover: It's a pleasure.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope people listen to this and decide to bring it to other areas of the world, because how great.
>> Danny Stover: You know, what it is we got the idea from. It certainly wasn't our original idea. They were doing it in New York. there is kind of a global drag queen story time, thing they do. Do it in la. Kind of like, you know, drag brunch became very popular. Drag Queen story time. Also, we're not the only game in town. Faye and Fluffy are another, duo of queens, and they do their own drag queen story time. So we kind of started off as East Toronto, and now we've kind of expanded. We do a lot of M, Mississauga and Durham and kind of surrounding areas. Fay and Fluffy are kind of the Glad Day Bookshop or the Gladstone Hotel. so they're also lovely people.
>> Marco Timpano: And shout out to Faye and Fluffy. That's wonderful. well, listen, we're coming to the end of this, episode. Danny Stover, thank you so much. Where can people follow you or your podcast?
>> Danny Stover: yeah, you can follow Only in Toronto or not follow, but you can subscribe to Only in Toronto is the name of the Blogtio podcast. Blogtio.com is where you'll find, you know, all that other great stuff, in Georgia, font 20 point. and you can follow me, Danny Gray, D A N I G R A Y on Twitter, Danny, Stover on Instagram, just to keep it interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Danny Stover: so, yeah, those are basically where you'll find me.
>> Marco Timpano: And for Drag Queen story time, go to Facebook and you can see what's going on.
>> Danny Stover: Toronto Drag Queen Storytime. Just search it and you'll find it. Our logo right now is like a weird like rainbow owl. so yeah you'll, you'll find it and you'll see everything we're doing there.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. Well Denny, thank you so much.
>> Danny Stover: Thanks for having me.
Our episode today was recorded at Ryerson University at Toronto podcamp
>> Marco Timpano: Our episode today was recorded at Ryerson University at Toronto podcamp where you just did a panel or workshop discussion. what was your discussion on?
>> Danny Stover: We did improv and podcasting and how it was basically about listening and. Yes. Anding and heightening and stuff like that. So it's very fun. We were all up on our feet doing exercises and. Yeah, very good.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. Well thank you so much for being a part of our podcast, the only Canadian sleep cast on your podcasting networks. Please give us a five star review or let us know what you think of our podcast until the next time. We hope you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: May 13, 2020)
Marco Timpano welcomes Danny Stover to the Insomnia Project
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation to help you drift off. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and I hope you listen and sleep. Joining me today is a guest who I really love following your social media. I love hearing what you do. Let me welcome Danny Stover to, the podcast.
>> Danny Stover: Thanks for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for joining the Insomnia Project. You do a podcast that is very Toronto centric and this podcast, the Insomnia Project, we're proud to be Canadian podcasters and to be from Toronto and we have a lot of listeners from overseas who I think have really learned a lot about Toronto by listening to this podcast. At least before they drift off. Your podcast is called Only in Toronto.
>> Danny Stover: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Or Only in Toronto, as I would say it.
>> Danny Stover: Yes. it's weird because I sometimes I just say the blog to podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: because you're also part of Blogtio. We'll talk about that in a moment.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah. so Only in Toronto is basically the opposite of this podcast. It's fast and dirty, and it's like a micropod. So it comes out Monday through Friday around 4:00', clock, in the afternoon. And it's 10 minutes of your kind of daily Toronto News, a new restaurant or a new business. and then some events that are coming up. So it's, it's really to the point. it's very Toronto centric. yeah. And it's. I don't. I can't compare it to anything else because I don't know of another podcast that's doing this kind of format.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel like every city should have only in blank. Oh, yeah, because I. We're going to Salt Lake City at the end of this month, and I wish there was something that I could just listen even on the plane and be like, oh, I want to check this out. I want to check that out.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah, I think it's a good, it's a good model. And I think, it's helped me too, to kind of learn about, like, what's going on in my city.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's what has surprised you that you've learned by doing your podcast?
>> Danny Stover: I mean, it's funny because I come from a radio background, so there's a couple things at play here. The one thing is that radio is kind of, this thing that's just always been readily available and we all know what radio looks like and sounds like. and then there's also kind of that impending doom about radio.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Danny Stover: with podcasting, it's like, come on in, the water's fine, we're all here. so it's kind of a different headspace that I've had to get into. learning about the editorial world as well, just sometimes and seeing some of the vitriol that gets spit at certain things. So, like, for example, what comes up for me is Chair Girl. Here's this young woman who was drinking with friends and through a patio chair off a high rise condo in downtown Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: M. Never do this, listeners. It's very dangerous. And you will not be loved by anyone. No.
>> Danny Stover: and so she just. It was the perfect. I mean, it was the perfect crime in the sense that no one was hurt, thank God. but she's kind of become this villain.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Danny Stover: This Toronto villain. And so people love to hate her. And just. Even the moniker Chair Girl, it's just like we know exactly who you're talking about. And, and she's kind of this, like, very present person. She's on social media. She's like that girl. yeah. And so those types of stories that I'm like, really? People have a thirst for these stories. They hate them, but they interact with them. So it's just those kinds of things where people Are like, why are you covering this? And it's like, well, because you keep talking about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Only in Toronto is a daily podcast exploring cultural, food, news and events in the city.
>> Marco Timpano: And. And if you are coming to Toronto, I definitely suggest you check it out.
You went to a hoedown yesterday for a friend's birthday
we were talking earlier and you had mentioned that you went to a hoedown yesterday. I'd love to know more about that.
>> Danny Stover: M. It was so fun.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness. so, yeah, what better person to speak to than the host of Only in Toronto, who also is part of Blogto to tell me about this. I'm so fortunate.
>> Danny Stover: It was a friend's birthday and she's like, yeah, we're doing this hoedown. And I'm like, okay, yeah, well, I'll get out of the house. so it's at Dover Court House, which is like Dover Court and Bloor.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are streets in Toronto for international listeners.
>> Danny Stover: I know, I forget I'm not talking to just Toronto people.
>> Marco Timpano: I always sort of. I always try to define for our international listeners. And then I have friends who are like, stop saying that. People will figure it out. They understand that Mississauga is a place just outside of Toronto is another place they can figure it out. I'm like, I know, but sometimes I listen to podcasts where I'm like, oh, I want to know what. What that is precisely. So I apologize if any of you gets frustrated with my definition of terms, especially for our Canadian listeners.
>> Danny Stover: No, but it's a good reminder for me. So, yeah, so it's kind of like this place, like a Legion type place, you know, those kind of like, it's basically staying alive because of the community people and they host all these random events. So I think once a month they do like, hoedowns, or they do swing, dancing, or they do blues dancing. So you pay like 20 bucks. There's a live band. you go in and there's a woman on the mic that's like, okay, find a partner and I'm gonna teach you the move. So it's like promenade, which is just walking with your partner, hand in hand. you know, the do si do. And she teaches you the basics and you pick them up pretty quickly. And you know, I love my favorite quality in anybody is like, earnest being earnest. And if you're going to a hoedown and you like, you're just handing yourself over, like, I'm gonna do this thing. I don't care if I look silly. Were having a great time. My face hurt. I was Smiling so hard. and yeah, so then you get. You kind of circle up. You. We went with a group of people, but you end up dancing with all kinds of people. There were, like, all ages of people there too. All different. Like, I'd never done a hoedown before, so I had no idea what I was doing. There were people who were pros. but it was like, just so much fun. Like, just a really nice way to spend a Friday night where you feel like you're kind of sweating, sweaty. Someone said I had a glow. I'm like, no, it's. It's hoedown, sweat.
>> Marco Timpano: Hoedown, glow.
Have you ever been to Nashville? I have not. I would definitely recommend it
Have you ever been to Nashville?
>> Danny Stover: I have not. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So my in laws used to live in Nashville, and we would go down and every time we went, we would go to the Wild Horse Tavern, I believe it's called. I Hope It's Right People from Nashville. but we would dance up a storm. And yeah, I would, I would make mistakes, but everybody was so accepting and. And you work up a sweat. You have a lot of fun and you're dancing, and it feels very communal in a way that other forms of dance don't.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I kind of love that.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah, it was so much fun. I would definitely. Hence, I would recommend it. And I would go back, and, yeah, it's funny, I, you know, when I was younger, I used to go dancing all the time, and I used to do it in heels, no less. Like now, you wouldn't catch me in a heel. but it's just, I forgot that kind of feeling of like, yeah, we're all kind of sweaty. We're all having fun. We're all jiving to the music, and we're not taking ourselves too seriously.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Put Nashville on your.
>> Danny Stover: I will. You know what I'm saying?
>> Marco Timpano: It's so wonderful. It is, really. I love Tennessee. It's one of my favorite states. And I just love Nashville. It's such a great, great place.
>> Danny Stover: Do you like Nashville, Hot chicken?
>> Marco Timpano: I do. Yeah, I do. And, oh, some of the places we ate there in Nashville was just out of this world.
Blogto is a blog that covers everything to do with Toronto
let's talk about Blanc Tea Oaks. We mentioned it, and I'm sure there's some listeners saying, what exactly is that? So tell us.
>> Danny Stover: blog to. they've been around for maybe 10 years, maybe even longer. They're just like, everything to do with Toronto. So it's, it's, it's your news. They do a lot of restaurant, reviews. They do a lot of video content. Their Instagram game is very strong. You know the social media stuff, they've got it on lock. but it's basically like you're all things Toronto. It's like, yeah, if you were coming to Toronto, you'd go to Blogto to see where to eat, or like what new events. Immersive, you know, so many. Immersive is the hot word. But like all these, you know, pop ups that are happening or different stores that are opening or things that are closing, so they're just like,
>> Marco Timpano: what was closing recently? I read an article. No, I know, it was. So I performed at Clinton's. It's around the corner from my house. It's, it's, it's got its own charm and beauty and it's like so heartbreaking. Right.
>> Danny Stover: It's really sad.
>> Marco Timpano: you know, I want to say that it's, it's a love letter to Toronto, but it's so much more blog to. I find it undiscriminating. In other words, they cover everything. And so some Toronto publications, whether it be digital or printed, can be a little bit snobby. In other words, this is the cool place to go. These are the top 10. This, you know, here's photos of all these fancy people at fancy, fancy parties. But I find Blogto really transcends, gender, race, what's it called, society, norms and almost like money. Like you can spend a lot, you can spend a little bit. This is our city. Bruises and all.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And all the things we do great and maybe not so great, but here's what's out there.
>> Danny Stover: It's very accessible.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so accessible. I think you guys do such a wonderful, you all do such a wonderful job.
>> Danny Stover: And it's a small team. Like it's, it's pretty small. I remember my first day being like, I'm going to walk into an office full of people busy away in their suits and stuff and it's like, oh, I know you. There's like six of us and really? Yeah, it's a, it's a pretty small and mighty team. It's growing. It's for sure growing. But yeah, I was kind of shocked when I walked in and I'm like, you don't have three different managers. Like radio seems a little convoluted sometimes. Time.
We haven't talked about fonts on this podcast yet
>> Marco Timpano: So there's something I love about Blog to and something I love about our city. It's the font, it's the font you guys use I think is wonderful.
>> Danny Stover: That's so funny. That you say that because I'm a big font person.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. We have, we haven't talked about fonts on this podcast yet, so let's dive into fonts.
>> Danny Stover: I mean, I don't know if I'm like, super, like, you know, learned, about.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you don't have to be.
>> Danny Stover: I feel the same way about vlog to you where I'm like this. I think it's Georgia, the font that they use.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Danny Stover: and it's a little bit gray and it's, it's a good size.
>> Marco Timpano: The size is perfect. Just so everyone knows.
>> Danny Stover: And you know, and they are very, purposeful about their paragraph breaking and stuff like that.
>> Marco Timpano: And that resonates with me. Resonates with me like you wouldn't believe.
>> Danny Stover: I love those short paragraphs. so, yeah, so I think you're right. That's a really fun, thing to clock because it's like, same thing. I think about that often when I see, when I do freelance or stuff like that, and I see the font that they end up using, and I'm like, I would never write in that font.
Can I tell you my favorite Toronto font, what it is
>> Marco Timpano: Can I tell you my favorite Toronto font, what it is?
>> Danny Stover: Oh, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: The font that, the city of Toronto uses on its subway platforms.
>> Danny Stover: Like the, like the Chester or the Broadview.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. The way it's engraved. And the look of that font is my favorite font. And I know it might sound biased cuz I live in the city and I've grown around it and it feels like a font from. It's. It's been years and years that it's been on our subway system, but that font is my favorite font of all fonts.
>> Danny Stover: can I tell you, a couple weeks ago, my friend posted, or my cousin posted a picture. She's like, oh, we're in Toronto for the day and there was like a sliver of mint green and like just the outline, subtle, like a little rubber. And I was like, oh, you're at Chester Station, aren't you? She's like, oh, my God. How did you know that? Yeah, I'm m. Like, well, I just know. because it is, it's very recognizable. That is a great font. I also like the City of Toronto font.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Yep, yep. Ontario.
>> Danny Stover: not so much.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Listen, there's some fonts that resonate. I used to like the old Ontario, the like 1960s kind of look that they had. It had like the trillium, which is our provincial flag flower in a very 60s kind of font. I used to like that one. What I love about the subway font is that it's so great to get selfies because you can take words out of the font. So, for example, Ozington, I was able to take sing.
>> Danny Stover: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I put sing when somebody was doing a song or a concert.
>> Danny Stover: Nice.
>> Marco Timpano: And Christie Station. My buddy Chris, it was his birthday and it happened to be here, so it took a picture of me with Chris and wished him a happy birthday. Birthday. But there's so many of those because of the font spacing, where you can really get that.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah.
Do you have a favorite subway station in Toronto
Do you have a favorite subway station? And again, we're getting really inside.
>> Marco Timpano: I love museum. I think museum is a beautiful station. It happens to be. If you're on the subway in Toronto and you get off that museum, you'll be near the Rom. And what they've done there is the Poles, they've made into some archetypes that you would find. I don't know if archetype is the right one word. But they made the impression of, like, a totem or, like an Egyptian, statue. And it's really. You really feel like you're going to the museum before you even enter into the Rom by just getting off the subway.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your favorite?
>> Danny Stover: Yeah, that one's super cool. I do love museum. I. I really love Dupont Station.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Danny Stover: So Dupont is like almost terracotta color. and it's all those tiny little, like, hexagon bricks.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Danny Stover: And it's color covered floor to ceiling, like, as soon as you walk in off the top. And again, what I like about it is it's kind of this domed escalator off the street.
>> Marco Timpano: 60s, kind of like, spaceship kind of look.
>> Danny Stover: You go into the dome, you go down this thing, and all of a sudden it opens up and it's this big, like, terracotta, like, feel like the inside of a belly almost. and then there's, like, beautiful stonework. And I'm just like. For something that's, you know, kind of dumpy, it's a subway, and it's meant to be dirty. This just looks very beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: What about the station? And I can't remember the name. And it's the one where you're walking into this. It almost looked like an old mansion that they didn't tear down the house. And they, made it into, like, you're walking through the front door, but you're not walking into a house. You're walking into. It's right near, Spadina Station. it's south of it. It's on the Bloor line. It is. oh, folks, I'm so sorry, I can't think on the Blur line. It's on the bluer line heading south.
>> Danny Stover: Well, the bluer line goes east to west.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry, it's on the young, line.
>> Danny Stover: Would it be college?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's not college.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, we'll find out, folks. By the end of this podcast.
>> Danny Stover: I'm thinking now I'm just going through each and all of. Yeah, so this is the actual, the Spadina Station and it's, I guess the Norman B. Gash house. so, yeah, so they just basically built the entrance. Now I'm getting really, like caught on the mic and fast. They, built this entrance like in an old house and they actually kept the facade. A very Toronto thing, might I add.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Danny Stover: let's assign something heritage and then take out the insides and turn it into a condo or a subway platform.
>> Marco Timpano: 85 Spadina Road. And it was built in 1899 and I think, I'm sure they were going to tear it down because they needed a subway platform there. And they're like, somebody must have come in, whoever did to save it. Thank you so much. It's such a unique part of Toronto. I just couldn't remember it at the time. But I'm like, I drive by it all the time.
>> Danny Stover: Well, good for you for knowing Spadina. Spadina is weird too, because they do go both ways and there's that long hallway and it's very silly.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I, I said it was on the Blue Line. Clearly it's not. Anyways, thank you so much.
>> Danny Stover: So, I do like Queen Station because the Macaroni Man.
>> Marco Timpano: Macaroni Man.
>> Danny Stover: Is it Queen?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you might be right.
>> Danny Stover: I'm just not Queen and young. There's like just a picture. It's not the Macaroni Man. He actually like an actual figure. but he's got like an orange face and curly macaroni looking hair.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know this one. Ah, this is great.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah, Queen. I feel like it's Queen Station. Like you go to the Eaton center from there.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Stover: and they've just got like, it's very colorful, it's very bright. And yeah, the Macaroni man, it's bother. I feel like a phony because I don't know who he is. I feel like I want to listen.
>> Marco Timpano: I love Macaroni Man. That's, that's great for me. That's all I need.
What is your least favorite font? My least. I'm coming back around to Times New Roman
What is your least favorite font?
>> Danny Stover: My least. you know what? I really liked Arial For a while now, I can't stand.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you don't. You don't like Ariel?
>> Danny Stover: I just feel like it got overused. I think it was, like, my email font for a while, and now I just feel like, leave me alone, Ariel.
>> Marco Timpano: So what is your default? Are you Garamond?
>> Danny Stover: I am a Garamond.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't said it right.
>> Danny Stover: I know. I realized I've never said it out loud. Garamond. I like it. Georgia. I'm coming back around to Times New Roman.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's classic for a reason, right? Yeah.
>> Danny Stover: it's one of those ones I would never touch. Like, if I had a school project, I'd always do something different. But now I find myself coming back to it, and it just feels like home.
>> Marco Timpano: That's amazing.
Danny is a drag queen agent who runs Drag Queen story time
Danny, you are a radio host, as you mentioned, an improviser, producer, a writer, and I want to talk about something you're involved with that I think is just amazing. And that is Drag Queen story time. Can you tell us about that?
>> Danny Stover: Yeah, I've, So Obviously, drag and RuPaul's Drag Race is very much in the zeitgeist now. It's very mainstream. but it did come out, you know, 12 years ago, and I was like, I've watched it since. Since day one, and I love drag. For me, you know, I'm a straight cisgender woman. it kind of just gave me, like this, oh, my gosh. If I can see you being confident and you exploring your femininity and you being funny and campy and, embracing these things about you that might be strange or odd or kind of other, then it just kind of gave me this feeling of like, oh, my God, I love this energy, and I love this scene in this art form. And, so I was always just really into drag, and Toronto's, got an amazing drag scene. so just kind of being a fan of drag, I met this woman who had just had a kid, and she was like, I kind of want to put on this event where we have drag queens read to kids. I know you know a lot of drag queens, so can you help me organize it? So we put on this one event, and it was a great success. People loved it. I, don't get into drag. but sure, book the drag queens, and kind of do that side of it. So we did this one event. It was great. And then it just. With people were like, when's the next one? When's the next one? So it's been. I guess this will Be our third year. Pride. Is it like, June is the month?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. that's Pride in Toronto.
>> Danny Stover: Yes. So we get so many bookings. so I would say I'm basically like a drag queen agent.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Danny Stover: But I only really book for these, like, family events. So we work with a lot of libraries, we work with a lot of schools in the Toronto.
Drag time is basically, story time with drag performers
>> Marco Timpano: so let's uncover this. you talked about how you got into it and you talked about. I love that you talked about drag as an art form. And I think that is a perspective of drag that I think it is wonderful and needs to be recognized. But what exactly is drag time? Storytelling.
>> Danny Stover: So basically, story time. Sorry, we go into. So it's funny, we have one today, actually two in Mississauga. and I've been getting pictures sent to me constantly. But it's, we'll have a one or two queens. and they get paid. So it's all, you know, we're funnel. We're getting money to the queens.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Danny Stover: Yeah. So that's. I was passionate about that. Like, we're not doing anything for free here. I do it for free. But the, queens get paid. so they'll come in, they'll read maybe four or five stories. They'll interact with the kids. They're all up in hair, makeup, dress, whatever. and they'll just read stories. And some of the stories. It's been a long time. I'm not a kid. I don't have kids. Since I've seen some of the books that are geared to children, and there's some beautiful stories about acceptance and gender identity and all different types of families and being yourself. And, you know, I'm a boy and I want to carry a purse. Like, there's just so many stories for kids now.
>> Marco Timpano: And are there stories that are just. Are classic kind of stories like that that aren't based in that as well? Like Goodnight Moon?
>> Danny Stover: We haven't really. I, do love Goodnight Moon, but. No, we kind of do. If anything, we do the ones like, just be who you are. Be yourself. I can't think of the author right now. but he's got a whole series of books that are very, like, you know, pretty iconic.
>> Marco Timpano: what I love about this, and I apologize for cutting you off, but it seems like drag artists tell a story with their drag just visually. Right. And having these artists and these performers read a story and get into a story that connects with kids is such a wonderful thing.
>> Danny Stover: Well, and it's. It's one of those Things where we think of, like, you know, Disney princesses, like, you know, we're not. This isn't too far off from costuming and embodying, like, a different person. And my favorite part of it is not seeing so much the kids, it's the adults. So, for example, like, we do. It's very different when you do a library versus a school. Libraries. It's like the kids. The parents are dragging the kids. They're looking for something to fill an hour at 10am on a Saturday. and I've learned a lot about attention spans of children through this. but when we go into the schools, I. I remember the first one we did, I got a little worried because I'm like, the kids aren't with their parents. They're all a little tooted up. And they're a little bit like, oh, this is a fun, exciting thing. Like, a drag queen's in our school. The drag queens walk through. They're like celebrities. Their pictures are up on the walls. The kids are like, whoa. So it's pretty fun. And I remember we did one where, a week earlier, we had done a bunch of little kids. And so the little kids are just like, oh, my God, like, you're wearing a wig and like, do you know Elsa? And like, it's just that kind of stuff. They're like, listen, the older kids really want you to come back, so can you come back next week with the older kids? And this is like grade six to eight or something. And I was like, yeah, sure. I was a little nervous. Just like, are they going to be respectful? Like, are they going to be. Are they going to get it? and so halfway through, kids were. You could hear a pin drop.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Danny Stover: Like, they were just so respectful. So wonderful. We did a question and answer segment, and their questions were just. I mean, hands down, the most popular question is, can you take off your wig? And I remember one like, how do you get so good at walking on your tippy toes? And these, like, how do you work? Wear those shoes? So they're very concerned with the physical stuff, but they're also like, you know, so you're a boy that dresses up as a girl. Like, why? And there's no filter, right? Like, there's no. They're respectful, but they. They're curious, and it's kind of wonderful. And so during this whole thing, this teacher comes up to me and she's an older woman, and she. Tears streaming down her face, and she just looks at me. She's like, this is beautiful. This would not have happened 10 years ago.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Drag Queen at school fills kids' bucket with entertainment
>> Danny Stover: and then I had to have a little cry off in the gym ballroom. but I was just like, this. This is why we do it. Because it's like, it's not just the kids. The kids will go home and be like, mom, I saw Drag Queen at school. And, like, it's basically, we're literacy, we're gender identity and acceptance. Those are our three kind of like, ten tenants. but, like, it's the adults, too. And, like, we go to different places and libraries where people show up and they don't have kids.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Danny Stover: They just don't get the opportunity to see drag in Mississauga. Or, you know, we did Durham last year. We're like, in Scugog, and it's like, yeah, I've never seen a drag queen up close. Right. so those types of experiences that are wonderful, and the queens love it. They don't have to deal with drunk people.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, yeah. Because a lot of their performances are in bars late at night with rowdy crowds. And this is a different, venue for them as well.
>> Danny Stover: It fills their bucket. Like, it's. It's lovely.
Danny Stover: Where can people find Drag Queen Story Time online
>> Marco Timpano: Now, let me ask you this. If someone's in Toronto or someone's a local and they want to see Drag Queen Story Time, it's a bit of
>> Danny Stover: a clunky name, isn't it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I just wanted to make sure, because I wanted to. I don't want to get it wrong, but where would they go? Or how can they find out more?
>> Danny Stover: So we. We are on Facebook. We try. Like I said, it's basically me and another woman volunteering our time. So we. We try to keep that updated as much as possible. Toronto Drag Queen Storytime on Facebook. I believe we're Drag Queen Story Time on Instagram. so we're pretty easy to find that way. And we try to keep those updated as much as possible.
>> Marco Timpano: And does RuPaul know you're doing this?
>> Danny Stover: Like, no. I would be thrilled.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, RuPaul's a big fan of our podcast, so I'll make.
>> Danny Stover: Really.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope. We'll see.
>> Danny Stover: We'll see.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll tweet it out if you know RuPaul. And, you can ask Ru if, they know about this. And, connect Dani with Ru. That would be nice, wouldn't it?
>> Danny Stover: Wow. And RuPaul was on Saturday Night Live last week or two weeks ago, and they did a little reading thing, but it was very much Drag Queen reading, not, you know, story time. but I was like, oh, this this looks very much like what we do. And, yeah, I mean, I'm a huge fan of RuPaul. I'm almost afraid to meet Ru. I feel like it would be one of those you shouldn't meet your hero kind of people.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Danny Stover: but definitely. So much respect.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, yeah, yeah. What a wonderful thing Ru has done for the community for, just bringing that acceptance and bringing that to the forefront and out of, you know, cabarets at 1am in smaller areas of the city.
>> Danny Stover: It's incredible to me how much drag has changed and evolved and for the better in a lot of ways. Sometimes. I'm sure people would argue that for the worst in other ways, but, it's pretty incredible to see the trajectory of a lot of these careers that have been launched because of the show.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's great. Yeah. Thank you for bringing that to our city.
>> Danny Stover: It's a pleasure.
>> Marco Timpano: I hope people listen to this and decide to bring it to other areas of the world, because how great.
>> Danny Stover: You know, what it is we got the idea from. It certainly wasn't our original idea. They were doing it in New York. there is kind of a global drag queen story time, thing they do. Do it in la. Kind of like, you know, drag brunch became very popular. Drag Queen story time. Also, we're not the only game in town. Faye and Fluffy are another, duo of queens, and they do their own drag queen story time. So we kind of started off as East Toronto, and now we've kind of expanded. We do a lot of M, Mississauga and Durham and kind of surrounding areas. Fay and Fluffy are kind of the Glad Day Bookshop or the Gladstone Hotel. so they're also lovely people.
>> Marco Timpano: And shout out to Faye and Fluffy. That's wonderful. well, listen, we're coming to the end of this, episode. Danny Stover, thank you so much. Where can people follow you or your podcast?
>> Danny Stover: yeah, you can follow Only in Toronto or not follow, but you can subscribe to Only in Toronto is the name of the Blogtio podcast. Blogtio.com is where you'll find, you know, all that other great stuff, in Georgia, font 20 point. and you can follow me, Danny Gray, D A N I G R A Y on Twitter, Danny, Stover on Instagram, just to keep it interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Amazing.
>> Danny Stover: so, yeah, those are basically where you'll find me.
>> Marco Timpano: And for Drag Queen story time, go to Facebook and you can see what's going on.
>> Danny Stover: Toronto Drag Queen Storytime. Just search it and you'll find it. Our logo right now is like a weird like rainbow owl. so yeah you'll, you'll find it and you'll see everything we're doing there.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. Well Denny, thank you so much.
>> Danny Stover: Thanks for having me.
Our episode today was recorded at Ryerson University at Toronto podcamp
>> Marco Timpano: Our episode today was recorded at Ryerson University at Toronto podcamp where you just did a panel or workshop discussion. what was your discussion on?
>> Danny Stover: We did improv and podcasting and how it was basically about listening and. Yes. Anding and heightening and stuff like that. So it's very fun. We were all up on our feet doing exercises and. Yeah, very good.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. Well thank you so much for being a part of our podcast, the only Canadian sleep cast on your podcasting networks. Please give us a five star review or let us know what you think of our podcast until the next time. We hope you listen and sleep.
Hot Tubs, Root Beer & Slushies
(Original airdate May 11. 2020)
Marco Timpano welcomes Chris Bond to the Insomnia Project
>> Speaker D: Foreign
>> Marco Timpano: welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane or at least a, relaxing topic, so you can just sort of drift off. I'm, your host, Marco Timpano, and we do hope that you listen and sleep. Joining me today is a dear friend. We've had him on the podcast before. We had him even on a Christmas episode. If you listen to those holiday episodes that we had around Christmas or in December, depending on the holiday that you celebrate. Chris Bond, welcome back to the Insomnia Project.
>> Speaker D: Thanks, Marco. it's fantastic to do a repeat visit to this beautiful, calm podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, Bondo, I call you. Your name is Chris Bond, but I call you as well as some of your friends, Bondo. Is it okay if I call you that during this show?
>> Speaker D: You can call me whatever you want, bud.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
My buddy Bondo has a delightful podcast called We Like Theme Parks
Ah, Chris Bond. My buddy Bondo, has a delightful podcast that I highly recommend called We Like Theme Parks. And you can catch that on itunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to this podcast. How is your podcast going, Bondo?
>> Speaker D: It's going really great. Thanks for asking, Marco. yeah, it's a unique podcast that really is all about theme parks. And if you are a Disney fan or a Universal Studios fan, we spend a lot of time talking about themes. Well, maybe a little less talking and more just having a good time and palling around, doing some fun, unique takes on information from the parks. And it's not just news or editorial stuff, really. It's more, dreaming, coming up with new ideas, talking about our favorite things, and just having a good time. We have a lot of original content, so if you're just looking for a funny, enjoyable place to have a laugh and talk about Disney parks or Universal parks, whatever is near and dear to you, you want to check out the We Like Theme Parks podcast, and we're everywhere that your podcasts are available, and
>> Marco Timpano: you'll find it in our show notes as well. I also want to add this, Chris, to that. If you just need a podcast that's just going to talk about light things and that's just going to be uplifting and you don't need to listen to anything that's going to take you down, I recommend We Like Theme Parks.
>> Speaker D: Well, thanks, Marco. We do keep things pretty positive in the same way you keep things very calm here. We like to keep things very up and bright on our show.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. I always love talking to podcaster, fellow podcasters because it's such a wonderful, inclusive community that supports one another. So I'm so happy. I've been a guest on your podcast, you're a guest on mine. We always look out for each other as podcasters, and of course, we always look out for our listeners.
>> Speaker D: So, Bondo, I'll be honest, Marco, you were kind of an inspiration for me getting into this podcasting community, so I thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I more than thank you. We have a love, Chris, for you and I Don't know. I don't know. A friend that likes cottage more than you. I feel like you and I are. I'm going to use the Italian term paisanos. I, use it. I'm going to say kismet. I'm going to say we're brothers, especially when it comes to cottagene.
Bondo: What is it about cottage that you love
So tell me, Bondo, what is it about cottage that you love?
>> Speaker D: I think there's three major things. Maybe four. Let's start with three. First of all, it's company. and it's the company you keep at the cottage that is so special. You don't just go to the cottage alone. Typically you're going if you have your own cottage. You're usually entertaining someone or bringing some guests or family, or some friends, what have you. And you're obviously bringing your top peeps to this cottage event. You're not bringing the bottom of your list. These are the friends you really care about. Because how many really good summer weekends do you have when you're cottaging in Canada?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker D: It's a finite number. Maybe let's call it 10. Like, you have 10 premium weekends, like May to September.
>> Marco Timpano: By the time the second week in September hits, even maybe if it's a good summer, you've got October up to October, but then it gets too cold. And if your cottage isn't winterized, you're closing it down for the season.
>> Speaker D: No, Absolutely. So this is why I say premium, because I think in June, it's still buggy and cool. Once you get into July and you get into August, there's your eight weekends there. And then maybe the first couple of weekends in September, I feel like those are your premium weekends, maybe even that last week of June. So let's call it 13 Weekends.
>> Marco Timpano: I agree with you 100% thus far, Chris.
>> Speaker D: Well, great. I'm glad we're on the same page.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: I would say number two is food. I think we both like to eat. And when you cottage, I feel you make a bit of a spectacle out of the food that you're bringing up. It might be something that you don't typically eat. you're going to have your regular cottage food, your hamburgers, your hot dogs, but then there's always that spectacle meal when you might be doing a lobster or some kind of seafood or some kind of. I'm having guests over. I want to wow them with this cottage food. And these are the marquee meals. so there's a lot of preparation, there's a lot of love and Care that goes into those m. Those meals.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: And, and of course, as a guest, if your host provides this beautiful meal at a cottage, there's nothing better, especially if you get a chance to enjoy it outside. That just double downs on the enjoyment of that meal. Yes. So those are two line items. The third one, I would say after food and company, is, sunshine. Having an opportunity to just soak up that vitamin D, in quiet and calm. And not just like Marco, you and I both live in the city. Right. So I mean, we can get that sun, but it's that atmosphere that's lost.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: and it's just something that you can't understand unless you live in the city and you go out of the city to experience the calmness, the tranquility, and just the warmth of having that very small community, experience. So I think those are kind of the three hallmarks for me. But also the fourth thing is just the activity. You'll be doing some things that you don't typically get to do in your day to day because you have the time to. Whether it's to just even play a board game with your friends or you're going to take out that. What do you call that thing you stand? A paddle board. You're going to take out that paddle board for the first time and enjoy it. These are things you don't get to do in your day to day. They're things to look forward to. So that would be the fourth slot would be activity. So all of those things are things that love and I know that you enjoy them as well.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, one of the things that I have to say is going to the cottage with you, Chris. you know, we hang out in the city. We do very sort of city things and we've lived busy lifestyles in the city. And there's something about being on the beach, at the cottage in a folding chair with, you know, beverages or snacks and an umbrella shading us and just sitting there and just talking about whatever. Like there's no, like you said, there's nowhere to be. And there's something about being in the water with friends, different location, splashing around, swimming, playing Frisbee or whatever water type games that we might have. there's just something so beautiful about that.
>> Speaker D: Well, Marco, you just mentioned all four of my cottage food groups. Okay. Company food, environment and activity, all in your storytelling moment just now. So, yeah, obviously there is a connection with relaxation, a connection with, fun food. But more importantly, you got to be surrounded by the right People that really kind of take, that experience to the next level. And it's because we've all had that same environment. You're in the water, having that same frosty cocktail with the sun shining, doing that cool activity with someone from. That's a friend of your wife's you don't know very well. Totally changes the experience 100%. Yeah. you got to be four for four.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I will spend any day of the week, any time of the year with you in a cottage because you do it right.
>> Speaker D: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: And I just have a great time with you. So I implore our listeners to find that perfect cottage or camping or, hanging out with Buddy. to be with.
You love hot tubs. Tell me about that, because I don't know about you
I want to talk to you about hot tubs. Going from the beach to hot tubs. You love hot tubs.
>> Speaker D: I am a hot tub guy. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about that, because I don't know that about you. My wife is a hot tub person as well. But I want to know why you love it.
>> Speaker D: I'm a fairly large person, and so relaxation is something that I really enjoy. You know, I have pretty rough knees. I have some lower back pain from time to time. And just comfort on another kind of level of comfort is something that I really enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And a hot tub isn't something that I have access to. I mean, I have a tub, and I do live in a condo, but our condo does not have a hot tub.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay?
>> Speaker D: So a hot tub is almost like that special treat, that special thing that you. You come up upon every blue moon. whether it's at a fancy hotel or some kind of vacation experience that has a hot tub. Maybe you have that friend who has the cottage with the hot tub. Now you're. Now it's a fifth food group. and it's all about that relaxation. But again, it's the company and the conversation. You be with good people. you're gonna have a really comfortable conversation. Because if you want to find somebody at their most open, it is when they're being just stewed to a nice simmer in a beautiful hot tub, completely relaxed, ready to talk about anything and just let those cares just float away.
>> Marco Timpano: Jets or no jets in the hot tub for you?
>> Speaker D: I like jets. I like very hot. Okay. Very hot is important because there's. There's. You can get new in a hot tub that is not too hot or hot enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker D: And it's. It just limits the experience. If you can just walk in and not be affected, then it's not a good hot tub. You have to ease in and be like, oh, yeah. Then you know, you're in. You're in a good place. That might mean that you can't stay in there as long. Sure, that's okay. If you are at a cottage, there is nothing more refreshing and just invigorating for your body. Then the hot tub, and then the cold plunge, and then back into the hot tub. Rinse and repeat.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I think they're called hot tubs for a reason and not lukewarm tubs. So I think you got something going on.
>> Speaker D: I agree.
Chris: Let's talk root beer. All right, so I need to tell our listeners this
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so I need to tell our listeners this. before we started today's episode, I had texted Chris, and I said, chris, would you be a guest on my podcast? Because a, you're a great guest. You're a good friend. And, Chris, you texted me back, what are we gonna talk? Something a lot of my listeners will talk about, especially people who are funny or will text me about people who are funny and understand that this podcast is about a chill, calm conversation. And so you gave me a bunch of things, and they were very revealing because I didn't know that we shared so many commonalities and things that we liked. And this next thing is something I really like. And I'm so glad to have a brother who, like you, who loves root beer.
>> Speaker D: Oh, my God.
>> Marco Timpano: Because that was one of the things you texted me. So let's talk. This is the first time we've ever done this. Let's talk root beer.
>> Speaker D: I can't wait. Let's get into it.
What is your preferred brand of root beer? Because I think this is important
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so first of all, what is your preferred brand of root beer? Because I think this is important presently.
>> Speaker D: Well, when you go to the store.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: There's not a lot of options. You have an AMW option or a barks option, possibly, or a mug option.
>> Marco Timpano: You're right.
>> Speaker D: Now I'm again, we're giving you very Canadian flavors, and I'm sure in the US There might be different brands. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: There's dads, too. Every once in a while, you'll find a dad's.
>> Speaker D: Dad's is more like a premium experience. Yes, it is. To have a dad's root beer, it's a little more creamy. but so I prefer if I'm looking for a middleman, if I can't get through Dad's.
>> Marco Timpano: Because Dad's is also pricier, too.
>> Speaker D: It is far more expensive, and they're
>> Marco Timpano: in glass bottles, and they've got more of a. A beer or ale feel to them. Right.
>> Speaker D: Oh, it's definitely nose in the air. Kind of root beer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: You know where a six pack of this root beer is going to run you? $12. 15. It's not a dollar something for a 2 liter, which I'll happily work with. I'll happily buy A and W. I think you get them right around a creaminess and richness in an A and W. But if you want the full experience, yes, Dad's is the way to go. there's some other ones, some other kind of seltzers and things that dabble in root beer. the pop shop is, was always had a really nice root beer. I'm being too Canadian again.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's fine.
>> Speaker D: and then recently in the past, I would say three or four years. Marco, I don't know if you've like dabbled in this. They've had alcoholic beverages with root beer that was available in the liquor store and that has become a hallmark of my cottage experience was really alcoholic root beer and even some alcoholic cream sodas. I guess I like the sweet stuff, but sure. Root beer with without a doubt a nice creamy, rich root beer with, just enough alcohol to, you know, give you that, that zest, that spike. definitely a part of my, cottage experience. But you have to be careful because obviously root beer, a lot of sugar.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course.
>> Speaker D: It's not the kind of thing where you can sit there and power back light beer all day long. This is kind of a topper drink. Maybe the end of the night you have one or two.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker D: This isn't something you can be just drinking all day long because sure, you're going to have, it's going to be funky for your body. So.
>> Marco Timpano: But yeah, of the middle, level root beers, I think I cut you off before you told us which one is your preference.
>> Speaker D: Oh, well, I was, I was saying is, I think A and W is the. Is the one that. Although you would group it with barks and mug.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: I mean, you could also buy a no name brand like a PC brand that's.
>> Marco Timpano: They're not the same. They're just. It's not the same.
>> Speaker D: Quality is definitely poor. Yeah. you can also try a root beer with a soda stream. I've not dabbled in soda beer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: And it's not. I don't find it to be as good as A and W. Hires is another great root beer. It's a little more vintage.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: But recently Hires came out with an alcoholic root beer. Very popular and one of my favorites also. you know, there's a bit of nostalgia There I grew up as a kid. There wasn't barks and mug. There was a W and Hires and that's it. And so having the hires experience again is great. But A and W, if you go to the burger joint, a W and yes. Which I love, having the root beer in the frosty mug just makes it taste better. And I. Marco, I have the frosty mug. I have it. Oh, you have it. I'm a root beer connoisseur.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Speaker D: I have the frosty mug. You throw it in the freezer, you put it, pull it out, you, you pour the thing in. And if you want to add ice too, and really double down on the cold, that's up to you. But if you put the just a regular temperature root beer, A and W root beer into that frosty mug, it is ice cold and delicious. just a really nice way. Not only esthetically and kind of socially like, look at this experience I'm having. The taste is crisp and very refreshing.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. for our listeners who are wondering, what is this A and W we're talking about? so A and is the brand of root beer, and they also have a W burger joints. I don't know how else to describe a fast food chain, that uses high quality meats, in their products and their veggie, burgers. Out of this world. I don't know why I'm right now doing an ad for A and W. But, if you order a root beer to dine in, they will serve it in a frosted mug. And it's free refills with new frosted mugs. And for me, that's, you know, they won me at that.
>> Speaker D: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Even though I like Barq's better, A and W, because of what they do in their restaurants has really brought me over to their side. So good on them.
Marco says Barq's root beer is an acquired taste
>> Speaker D: Thank you for bringing that up, Marco, because Barq's does have. I know obviously the marketing is Barq's has bite. It does have a nice kick of a. There's a spice there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: It's unique to Barq's and it is really tasty. Barq's is even dabbled with some cream sodas, some unique creams, and they're very good too. but it is and is an acquired taste, I think. I wouldn't call it a traditional root beer.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: But it is definitely good. And so if you are willing to dabble and kind of get outside of the regular root beer box, Barq's is really nice. But again, I always Circle back to the dads, the pop shops, the right, the premium carriers when you want to have especially a cottage experience. Oh, boy, that's, that's, that's a treat. That's really nice and it's just so refreshing.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's what I'm going to say to you, Chris. You might want to buy when you go. The next time you come to my
>> Speaker D: cottage, please, please invite me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, for sure. Come with a 6 pack or 12 pack of the dad's bottled root beer. And then what we'll do is we will just use some dark rum and make our own adult version of the root beer. Because I feel like by adding your own liquor, you can determine how strong or how weak it's going to be. And you know, if you have your premium root beer there, while other people might be drinking their beers or their ales, you can just make yours to the taste. And we both will like that. And I know you like dark rum and I like dark rum, so I think that's going to be our cottage drink this year.
>> Speaker D: Well, I mean, for a show that I'm supposed to remain calm, you're getting me very excited. So.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
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Have you ever had home root beer made in a bar that's on draft
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever had a home root beer made in a bar that's on the draft?
>> Speaker D: No, I did not.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there's a place not far from my house we went to one time and, you know, we said, oh, what's on draft? And they went through a list of different ales and lagers and then they said, oh, and that's our root beer, our homemade root beer. And I said, oh, is there alcohol in that? And they're like, no, we use 40 different botanicals to make our own root beer. And they poured me a draft of their homemade root beer. It was out of this world. Probably the best I've ever had. Yeah.
>> Speaker D: Oh, wow. So I'm definitely interested. Please.
I want to dive into slushies because it seems like you're big fan
>> Marco Timpano: Now, from root beer, I want to dive into slushies because it seems like you're a big fan of slushies, and I'm not such a connoisseur, but I'd like to hear your take on. On slushies.
>> Speaker D: Slushies. I feel there's a bit of a, maybe a journey with slushies throughout the years. when you first think of slushie, I think your first instinct is the original Slush Puppy. I think we all remember this machine from the 80s with the little, the hound dog. And it was a. It's just, sugared slush with a couple squirts of red or blue or purple.
>> Marco Timpano: Syrup.
>> Speaker D: Syrup. And it is delicious. It was fantastic. In so much that when as a kid, and if you can believe this, there was a kid on my block that had a slushy machine in his garage and used to sell the slushie out of his garage all summer long. He was a. Wow. Yeah. His dad was giving him a kind of an entrepreneurial experience. So he said, son, I'm gonna buy you this slushy machine. And kids would be knocking on his garage door all day long, coming in for a slushie, a quarter for a medium, 50 cents for a large. I mean, this was in the 80s. Get a sense of the pricing. It's changed since then. And then I think the next step in Slushydom was the 711 experience, the big Gulp, the very large experience. And now it was. It wasn't kind of fruit tastes. It was sodas, and it was a Coke or a Sprite. These, kind of slushies. and then I think the experience where you started to swamp these slushies. Swamp meaning combine the tastes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that was the term.
>> Speaker D: Yeah. To swamp, it would. Which would mean to take. You take your. Your cherry Coke and then put some Sprite in it too. Now you've made a swamp mix is what you see.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And that was something, because when you would go to 7 11, there would be so many variety of flavors, you would be really enticed into trying that swamp. Whereas in the Slush Puppy, you were kind of limited to just a, you know, the handful of fruit flavors that were available. so it was a fantastic Experience. So having also, there's the connection as a child that I had. I was as, a young kid, I played a lot of hockey. And depending on how well I played that day would determine if I got a slushy that game. So I scored a goal or got an assist or just made a really good play that really helped the team defensively or, you know, like I jumped in front of a shot or something like that, or made a big hit, I would get a slushie. That was kind of the rule. So every day after the game, I'd go to my dad and I'd say, is it a slushy day? And he would say, yep, two points. so I would always look forward to enjoying a slushie with my dad after playing hockey. So there was also just that it makes me think of my dad having a slushy. and nowadays when I have adult beverages, because I grew up with slushies, they're such a big part of my childhood.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: When I am having an alcoholic drink, I am usually reaching if it's available for the blender drink. Okay. Strawberry daiquiri. a margarita.
>> Marco Timpano: Margarita, sure.
>> Speaker D: These are all of my favorite things because it's just more slushies, but alcoholic slushies, does it get more refreshing than having a slushed ice blended beverage? I would argue no. I would argue no. and you can, the way you're not gulping this thing down. Slushies have always been a sipper and a sampler, a scooper. There's so many different ways to do it, and it's every. Everyone has a unique approach to enjoying their slushy. And again, if you're into swamping it, making your own slushy.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you swamp your slushy?
>> Speaker D: I do not. I'm a purist. I'm a slushy purist. Without a doubt.
Your flavors, your top three flavors. Cream soda number one. Ah, Tahiti treat would be number two
>> Marco Timpano: Your flavors, your top three flavors.
>> Speaker D: Cream soda number one. so pink cream soda, to be clear, because there's different ones, there.
>> Marco Timpano: If it's not pink cream soda, there's a white.
>> Speaker D: There's a white kind of white.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, Original.
>> Speaker D: even sometimes it's like almost a cola, Like a very bright brown. Like a caramel almost. Okay. I. So that's number one. Ah, Tahiti treat would be number two, which is very similar to a cream soda, but it has, say, unique tropical taste. that would be number two. And, I'm always in for good old fashioned cherry Coke. Cherry Coke is delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker D: But, nothing normal like I don't like Coke or Sprite or. It needs to be flavored. It needs to have that extra sweetness. oh, Coke with lime is also something I really enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but you don't swamp your slushies.
>> Speaker D: No, because then I think we're losing the authenticity of the taste of that cream soda. Like, if you take a cream soda and mash it with a Tahiti Treat, it's not even tastes like a lot of sweet. And I think I'm having a hard time kind of getting those notes, those flavors. I don't mean to literally compare it to wine, but I do enjoy the flavor. And now you're creating a new flavor creation. But some people really like that, and I don't want to judge or discourage. I, was listening to your eat and drink podcast recently, and you were talking about your quarantining, about mixing up drinks, not being afraid to just go to your bar and try out a few things. And I feel the same way about slushies. If you feel like, having some inspiration and just trying some different things on for size, I think you go for it.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. And what about the container? Is the container important to you? Like, what are. Like, I imagine you want the slush particles to be cold but drinkable. So they need to be small enough to go through the straw, but not so cold that they freeze together that it still has a liquid or, a, liquid viscosity to it in your slushie.
>> Speaker D: Well, that's a great point, Marco. We should think about when you are enjoying one.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: I, mean, are you a slushie guy yourself?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I'll tell you this. On the right day, at the right time, I enjoy a slushie. That said, I do love a properly made frozen margarita type drink or a frozen daiquiri if it's done.
Chris: Marco introduced me to the Coco Loco at your wedding
Well, now, when we were at your wedding in the Dominican Republic, they had a drink there, and I don't even know if you were with us because you had so many things you had to do, but do you remember the Bahama Mama?
>> Speaker D: Oh, no. What was that?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it was so good.
>> Speaker D: Chris, what were the flavors?
>> Marco Timpano: It was coconut, ah, based, so it was coconut cinnamon. And you could get it with rum, dark rum, or you could get it as is coconut, with a blend of, I want to say coconut milk. It had a coconutty.
>> Speaker D: Are you cinnamon? Yeah, this with the Coco Loco.
>> Marco Timpano: I am. You're 100% right.
>> Speaker D: Yes. I think is something different. And I definitely indulged in many Coca Locos. Okay, well, thank you for.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for correcting me on that. because I was totally going in the wrong direction. But you're right. Yeah. It was the Coco Loco, and I had so many at your wedding. Did you like it, by the way? Because that was my favorite of all the. Of all the slushy drinks. The Coco Loco is my favorite.
>> Speaker D: I feel like that wedding week, which was obviously two of the greatest weeks of my life. And thank you so much for traveling to Punta Cana, Marco. It was. You were a fantastic guest.
>> Marco Timpano: Happy anniversary. Because it was just last week.
>> Speaker D: Just last week. Yeah. Thank you. I'll let my wife know that you've extended that courtesy.
>> Marco Timpano: We.
>> Speaker D: I felt like leading, up to the wedding. We didn't do too much. Like, we did some drinking, but we weren't making it a big thing. And once the wedding was over, we really hit the bar pretty hard and said, let's kind of really extend this party. And that's when I believe you and your wife introduced me to the Coca Loco.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And that became the signature beverage for the rest of my vacation.
>> Marco Timpano: It was so great, Chris. This was so great. And I have so many more topics I want to talk to you about from your list, so perhaps you and I can continue this for the Patreon, listeners that I have. We'll do a longer episodes where we continue. Continue doing this. Check out our Patreon page if you want to hear more with Chris. But for now, we've come to the end of this podcast episode.
>> Speaker D: Well, Marco, thank you so much for having me. It was a blast.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say this. you are like a fine, icy root beer in a frosted glass. You make me happy. You are satisfying, and you're just great to be around. So, Chris, thank you so much for doing this episode with us.
>> Speaker D: It was my pleasure, Marco. Thank you so much.
>> Marco Timpano: Please check out Chris's podcast. We like theme parks. I will say this. You don't have to be an expert in Disney or Universal, because I certainly am not to enjoy that podcast. Chris, thanks once again, and to all of you. We hope that you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate May 11. 2020)
Marco Timpano welcomes Chris Bond to the Insomnia Project
>> Speaker D: Foreign
>> Marco Timpano: welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane or at least a, relaxing topic, so you can just sort of drift off. I'm, your host, Marco Timpano, and we do hope that you listen and sleep. Joining me today is a dear friend. We've had him on the podcast before. We had him even on a Christmas episode. If you listen to those holiday episodes that we had around Christmas or in December, depending on the holiday that you celebrate. Chris Bond, welcome back to the Insomnia Project.
>> Speaker D: Thanks, Marco. it's fantastic to do a repeat visit to this beautiful, calm podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, Bondo, I call you. Your name is Chris Bond, but I call you as well as some of your friends, Bondo. Is it okay if I call you that during this show?
>> Speaker D: You can call me whatever you want, bud.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
My buddy Bondo has a delightful podcast called We Like Theme Parks
Ah, Chris Bond. My buddy Bondo, has a delightful podcast that I highly recommend called We Like Theme Parks. And you can catch that on itunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to this podcast. How is your podcast going, Bondo?
>> Speaker D: It's going really great. Thanks for asking, Marco. yeah, it's a unique podcast that really is all about theme parks. And if you are a Disney fan or a Universal Studios fan, we spend a lot of time talking about themes. Well, maybe a little less talking and more just having a good time and palling around, doing some fun, unique takes on information from the parks. And it's not just news or editorial stuff, really. It's more, dreaming, coming up with new ideas, talking about our favorite things, and just having a good time. We have a lot of original content, so if you're just looking for a funny, enjoyable place to have a laugh and talk about Disney parks or Universal parks, whatever is near and dear to you, you want to check out the We Like Theme Parks podcast, and we're everywhere that your podcasts are available, and
>> Marco Timpano: you'll find it in our show notes as well. I also want to add this, Chris, to that. If you just need a podcast that's just going to talk about light things and that's just going to be uplifting and you don't need to listen to anything that's going to take you down, I recommend We Like Theme Parks.
>> Speaker D: Well, thanks, Marco. We do keep things pretty positive in the same way you keep things very calm here. We like to keep things very up and bright on our show.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. I always love talking to podcaster, fellow podcasters because it's such a wonderful, inclusive community that supports one another. So I'm so happy. I've been a guest on your podcast, you're a guest on mine. We always look out for each other as podcasters, and of course, we always look out for our listeners.
>> Speaker D: So, Bondo, I'll be honest, Marco, you were kind of an inspiration for me getting into this podcasting community, so I thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I more than thank you. We have a love, Chris, for you and I Don't know. I don't know. A friend that likes cottage more than you. I feel like you and I are. I'm going to use the Italian term paisanos. I, use it. I'm going to say kismet. I'm going to say we're brothers, especially when it comes to cottagene.
Bondo: What is it about cottage that you love
So tell me, Bondo, what is it about cottage that you love?
>> Speaker D: I think there's three major things. Maybe four. Let's start with three. First of all, it's company. and it's the company you keep at the cottage that is so special. You don't just go to the cottage alone. Typically you're going if you have your own cottage. You're usually entertaining someone or bringing some guests or family, or some friends, what have you. And you're obviously bringing your top peeps to this cottage event. You're not bringing the bottom of your list. These are the friends you really care about. Because how many really good summer weekends do you have when you're cottaging in Canada?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker D: It's a finite number. Maybe let's call it 10. Like, you have 10 premium weekends, like May to September.
>> Marco Timpano: By the time the second week in September hits, even maybe if it's a good summer, you've got October up to October, but then it gets too cold. And if your cottage isn't winterized, you're closing it down for the season.
>> Speaker D: No, Absolutely. So this is why I say premium, because I think in June, it's still buggy and cool. Once you get into July and you get into August, there's your eight weekends there. And then maybe the first couple of weekends in September, I feel like those are your premium weekends, maybe even that last week of June. So let's call it 13 Weekends.
>> Marco Timpano: I agree with you 100% thus far, Chris.
>> Speaker D: Well, great. I'm glad we're on the same page.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: I would say number two is food. I think we both like to eat. And when you cottage, I feel you make a bit of a spectacle out of the food that you're bringing up. It might be something that you don't typically eat. you're going to have your regular cottage food, your hamburgers, your hot dogs, but then there's always that spectacle meal when you might be doing a lobster or some kind of seafood or some kind of. I'm having guests over. I want to wow them with this cottage food. And these are the marquee meals. so there's a lot of preparation, there's a lot of love and Care that goes into those m. Those meals.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: And, and of course, as a guest, if your host provides this beautiful meal at a cottage, there's nothing better, especially if you get a chance to enjoy it outside. That just double downs on the enjoyment of that meal. Yes. So those are two line items. The third one, I would say after food and company, is, sunshine. Having an opportunity to just soak up that vitamin D, in quiet and calm. And not just like Marco, you and I both live in the city. Right. So I mean, we can get that sun, but it's that atmosphere that's lost.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: and it's just something that you can't understand unless you live in the city and you go out of the city to experience the calmness, the tranquility, and just the warmth of having that very small community, experience. So I think those are kind of the three hallmarks for me. But also the fourth thing is just the activity. You'll be doing some things that you don't typically get to do in your day to day because you have the time to. Whether it's to just even play a board game with your friends or you're going to take out that. What do you call that thing you stand? A paddle board. You're going to take out that paddle board for the first time and enjoy it. These are things you don't get to do in your day to day. They're things to look forward to. So that would be the fourth slot would be activity. So all of those things are things that love and I know that you enjoy them as well.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, one of the things that I have to say is going to the cottage with you, Chris. you know, we hang out in the city. We do very sort of city things and we've lived busy lifestyles in the city. And there's something about being on the beach, at the cottage in a folding chair with, you know, beverages or snacks and an umbrella shading us and just sitting there and just talking about whatever. Like there's no, like you said, there's nowhere to be. And there's something about being in the water with friends, different location, splashing around, swimming, playing Frisbee or whatever water type games that we might have. there's just something so beautiful about that.
>> Speaker D: Well, Marco, you just mentioned all four of my cottage food groups. Okay. Company food, environment and activity, all in your storytelling moment just now. So, yeah, obviously there is a connection with relaxation, a connection with, fun food. But more importantly, you got to be surrounded by the right People that really kind of take, that experience to the next level. And it's because we've all had that same environment. You're in the water, having that same frosty cocktail with the sun shining, doing that cool activity with someone from. That's a friend of your wife's you don't know very well. Totally changes the experience 100%. Yeah. you got to be four for four.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I will spend any day of the week, any time of the year with you in a cottage because you do it right.
>> Speaker D: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: And I just have a great time with you. So I implore our listeners to find that perfect cottage or camping or, hanging out with Buddy. to be with.
You love hot tubs. Tell me about that, because I don't know about you
I want to talk to you about hot tubs. Going from the beach to hot tubs. You love hot tubs.
>> Speaker D: I am a hot tub guy. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about that, because I don't know that about you. My wife is a hot tub person as well. But I want to know why you love it.
>> Speaker D: I'm a fairly large person, and so relaxation is something that I really enjoy. You know, I have pretty rough knees. I have some lower back pain from time to time. And just comfort on another kind of level of comfort is something that I really enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And a hot tub isn't something that I have access to. I mean, I have a tub, and I do live in a condo, but our condo does not have a hot tub.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay?
>> Speaker D: So a hot tub is almost like that special treat, that special thing that you. You come up upon every blue moon. whether it's at a fancy hotel or some kind of vacation experience that has a hot tub. Maybe you have that friend who has the cottage with the hot tub. Now you're. Now it's a fifth food group. and it's all about that relaxation. But again, it's the company and the conversation. You be with good people. you're gonna have a really comfortable conversation. Because if you want to find somebody at their most open, it is when they're being just stewed to a nice simmer in a beautiful hot tub, completely relaxed, ready to talk about anything and just let those cares just float away.
>> Marco Timpano: Jets or no jets in the hot tub for you?
>> Speaker D: I like jets. I like very hot. Okay. Very hot is important because there's. There's. You can get new in a hot tub that is not too hot or hot enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker D: And it's. It just limits the experience. If you can just walk in and not be affected, then it's not a good hot tub. You have to ease in and be like, oh, yeah. Then you know, you're in. You're in a good place. That might mean that you can't stay in there as long. Sure, that's okay. If you are at a cottage, there is nothing more refreshing and just invigorating for your body. Then the hot tub, and then the cold plunge, and then back into the hot tub. Rinse and repeat.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I think they're called hot tubs for a reason and not lukewarm tubs. So I think you got something going on.
>> Speaker D: I agree.
Chris: Let's talk root beer. All right, so I need to tell our listeners this
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so I need to tell our listeners this. before we started today's episode, I had texted Chris, and I said, chris, would you be a guest on my podcast? Because a, you're a great guest. You're a good friend. And, Chris, you texted me back, what are we gonna talk? Something a lot of my listeners will talk about, especially people who are funny or will text me about people who are funny and understand that this podcast is about a chill, calm conversation. And so you gave me a bunch of things, and they were very revealing because I didn't know that we shared so many commonalities and things that we liked. And this next thing is something I really like. And I'm so glad to have a brother who, like you, who loves root beer.
>> Speaker D: Oh, my God.
>> Marco Timpano: Because that was one of the things you texted me. So let's talk. This is the first time we've ever done this. Let's talk root beer.
>> Speaker D: I can't wait. Let's get into it.
What is your preferred brand of root beer? Because I think this is important
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so first of all, what is your preferred brand of root beer? Because I think this is important presently.
>> Speaker D: Well, when you go to the store.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: There's not a lot of options. You have an AMW option or a barks option, possibly, or a mug option.
>> Marco Timpano: You're right.
>> Speaker D: Now I'm again, we're giving you very Canadian flavors, and I'm sure in the US There might be different brands. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: There's dads, too. Every once in a while, you'll find a dad's.
>> Speaker D: Dad's is more like a premium experience. Yes, it is. To have a dad's root beer, it's a little more creamy. but so I prefer if I'm looking for a middleman, if I can't get through Dad's.
>> Marco Timpano: Because Dad's is also pricier, too.
>> Speaker D: It is far more expensive, and they're
>> Marco Timpano: in glass bottles, and they've got more of a. A beer or ale feel to them. Right.
>> Speaker D: Oh, it's definitely nose in the air. Kind of root beer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: You know where a six pack of this root beer is going to run you? $12. 15. It's not a dollar something for a 2 liter, which I'll happily work with. I'll happily buy A and W. I think you get them right around a creaminess and richness in an A and W. But if you want the full experience, yes, Dad's is the way to go. there's some other ones, some other kind of seltzers and things that dabble in root beer. the pop shop is, was always had a really nice root beer. I'm being too Canadian again.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's fine.
>> Speaker D: and then recently in the past, I would say three or four years. Marco, I don't know if you've like dabbled in this. They've had alcoholic beverages with root beer that was available in the liquor store and that has become a hallmark of my cottage experience was really alcoholic root beer and even some alcoholic cream sodas. I guess I like the sweet stuff, but sure. Root beer with without a doubt a nice creamy, rich root beer with, just enough alcohol to, you know, give you that, that zest, that spike. definitely a part of my, cottage experience. But you have to be careful because obviously root beer, a lot of sugar.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course.
>> Speaker D: It's not the kind of thing where you can sit there and power back light beer all day long. This is kind of a topper drink. Maybe the end of the night you have one or two.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker D: This isn't something you can be just drinking all day long because sure, you're going to have, it's going to be funky for your body. So.
>> Marco Timpano: But yeah, of the middle, level root beers, I think I cut you off before you told us which one is your preference.
>> Speaker D: Oh, well, I was, I was saying is, I think A and W is the. Is the one that. Although you would group it with barks and mug.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: I mean, you could also buy a no name brand like a PC brand that's.
>> Marco Timpano: They're not the same. They're just. It's not the same.
>> Speaker D: Quality is definitely poor. Yeah. you can also try a root beer with a soda stream. I've not dabbled in soda beer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: And it's not. I don't find it to be as good as A and W. Hires is another great root beer. It's a little more vintage.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: But recently Hires came out with an alcoholic root beer. Very popular and one of my favorites also. you know, there's a bit of nostalgia There I grew up as a kid. There wasn't barks and mug. There was a W and Hires and that's it. And so having the hires experience again is great. But A and W, if you go to the burger joint, a W and yes. Which I love, having the root beer in the frosty mug just makes it taste better. And I. Marco, I have the frosty mug. I have it. Oh, you have it. I'm a root beer connoisseur.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Speaker D: I have the frosty mug. You throw it in the freezer, you put it, pull it out, you, you pour the thing in. And if you want to add ice too, and really double down on the cold, that's up to you. But if you put the just a regular temperature root beer, A and W root beer into that frosty mug, it is ice cold and delicious. just a really nice way. Not only esthetically and kind of socially like, look at this experience I'm having. The taste is crisp and very refreshing.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. for our listeners who are wondering, what is this A and W we're talking about? so A and is the brand of root beer, and they also have a W burger joints. I don't know how else to describe a fast food chain, that uses high quality meats, in their products and their veggie, burgers. Out of this world. I don't know why I'm right now doing an ad for A and W. But, if you order a root beer to dine in, they will serve it in a frosted mug. And it's free refills with new frosted mugs. And for me, that's, you know, they won me at that.
>> Speaker D: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Even though I like Barq's better, A and W, because of what they do in their restaurants has really brought me over to their side. So good on them.
Marco says Barq's root beer is an acquired taste
>> Speaker D: Thank you for bringing that up, Marco, because Barq's does have. I know obviously the marketing is Barq's has bite. It does have a nice kick of a. There's a spice there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: It's unique to Barq's and it is really tasty. Barq's is even dabbled with some cream sodas, some unique creams, and they're very good too. but it is and is an acquired taste, I think. I wouldn't call it a traditional root beer.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: But it is definitely good. And so if you are willing to dabble and kind of get outside of the regular root beer box, Barq's is really nice. But again, I always Circle back to the dads, the pop shops, the right, the premium carriers when you want to have especially a cottage experience. Oh, boy, that's, that's, that's a treat. That's really nice and it's just so refreshing.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's what I'm going to say to you, Chris. You might want to buy when you go. The next time you come to my
>> Speaker D: cottage, please, please invite me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, for sure. Come with a 6 pack or 12 pack of the dad's bottled root beer. And then what we'll do is we will just use some dark rum and make our own adult version of the root beer. Because I feel like by adding your own liquor, you can determine how strong or how weak it's going to be. And you know, if you have your premium root beer there, while other people might be drinking their beers or their ales, you can just make yours to the taste. And we both will like that. And I know you like dark rum and I like dark rum, so I think that's going to be our cottage drink this year.
>> Speaker D: Well, I mean, for a show that I'm supposed to remain calm, you're getting me very excited. So.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
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Have you ever had home root beer made in a bar that's on draft
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever had a home root beer made in a bar that's on the draft?
>> Speaker D: No, I did not.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there's a place not far from my house we went to one time and, you know, we said, oh, what's on draft? And they went through a list of different ales and lagers and then they said, oh, and that's our root beer, our homemade root beer. And I said, oh, is there alcohol in that? And they're like, no, we use 40 different botanicals to make our own root beer. And they poured me a draft of their homemade root beer. It was out of this world. Probably the best I've ever had. Yeah.
>> Speaker D: Oh, wow. So I'm definitely interested. Please.
I want to dive into slushies because it seems like you're big fan
>> Marco Timpano: Now, from root beer, I want to dive into slushies because it seems like you're a big fan of slushies, and I'm not such a connoisseur, but I'd like to hear your take on. On slushies.
>> Speaker D: Slushies. I feel there's a bit of a, maybe a journey with slushies throughout the years. when you first think of slushie, I think your first instinct is the original Slush Puppy. I think we all remember this machine from the 80s with the little, the hound dog. And it was a. It's just, sugared slush with a couple squirts of red or blue or purple.
>> Marco Timpano: Syrup.
>> Speaker D: Syrup. And it is delicious. It was fantastic. In so much that when as a kid, and if you can believe this, there was a kid on my block that had a slushy machine in his garage and used to sell the slushie out of his garage all summer long. He was a. Wow. Yeah. His dad was giving him a kind of an entrepreneurial experience. So he said, son, I'm gonna buy you this slushy machine. And kids would be knocking on his garage door all day long, coming in for a slushie, a quarter for a medium, 50 cents for a large. I mean, this was in the 80s. Get a sense of the pricing. It's changed since then. And then I think the next step in Slushydom was the 711 experience, the big Gulp, the very large experience. And now it was. It wasn't kind of fruit tastes. It was sodas, and it was a Coke or a Sprite. These, kind of slushies. and then I think the experience where you started to swamp these slushies. Swamp meaning combine the tastes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that was the term.
>> Speaker D: Yeah. To swamp, it would. Which would mean to take. You take your. Your cherry Coke and then put some Sprite in it too. Now you've made a swamp mix is what you see.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And that was something, because when you would go to 7 11, there would be so many variety of flavors, you would be really enticed into trying that swamp. Whereas in the Slush Puppy, you were kind of limited to just a, you know, the handful of fruit flavors that were available. so it was a fantastic Experience. So having also, there's the connection as a child that I had. I was as, a young kid, I played a lot of hockey. And depending on how well I played that day would determine if I got a slushy that game. So I scored a goal or got an assist or just made a really good play that really helped the team defensively or, you know, like I jumped in front of a shot or something like that, or made a big hit, I would get a slushie. That was kind of the rule. So every day after the game, I'd go to my dad and I'd say, is it a slushy day? And he would say, yep, two points. so I would always look forward to enjoying a slushie with my dad after playing hockey. So there was also just that it makes me think of my dad having a slushy. and nowadays when I have adult beverages, because I grew up with slushies, they're such a big part of my childhood.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: When I am having an alcoholic drink, I am usually reaching if it's available for the blender drink. Okay. Strawberry daiquiri. a margarita.
>> Marco Timpano: Margarita, sure.
>> Speaker D: These are all of my favorite things because it's just more slushies, but alcoholic slushies, does it get more refreshing than having a slushed ice blended beverage? I would argue no. I would argue no. and you can, the way you're not gulping this thing down. Slushies have always been a sipper and a sampler, a scooper. There's so many different ways to do it, and it's every. Everyone has a unique approach to enjoying their slushy. And again, if you're into swamping it, making your own slushy.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you swamp your slushy?
>> Speaker D: I do not. I'm a purist. I'm a slushy purist. Without a doubt.
Your flavors, your top three flavors. Cream soda number one. Ah, Tahiti treat would be number two
>> Marco Timpano: Your flavors, your top three flavors.
>> Speaker D: Cream soda number one. so pink cream soda, to be clear, because there's different ones, there.
>> Marco Timpano: If it's not pink cream soda, there's a white.
>> Speaker D: There's a white kind of white.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, Original.
>> Speaker D: even sometimes it's like almost a cola, Like a very bright brown. Like a caramel almost. Okay. I. So that's number one. Ah, Tahiti treat would be number two, which is very similar to a cream soda, but it has, say, unique tropical taste. that would be number two. And, I'm always in for good old fashioned cherry Coke. Cherry Coke is delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker D: But, nothing normal like I don't like Coke or Sprite or. It needs to be flavored. It needs to have that extra sweetness. oh, Coke with lime is also something I really enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but you don't swamp your slushies.
>> Speaker D: No, because then I think we're losing the authenticity of the taste of that cream soda. Like, if you take a cream soda and mash it with a Tahiti Treat, it's not even tastes like a lot of sweet. And I think I'm having a hard time kind of getting those notes, those flavors. I don't mean to literally compare it to wine, but I do enjoy the flavor. And now you're creating a new flavor creation. But some people really like that, and I don't want to judge or discourage. I, was listening to your eat and drink podcast recently, and you were talking about your quarantining, about mixing up drinks, not being afraid to just go to your bar and try out a few things. And I feel the same way about slushies. If you feel like, having some inspiration and just trying some different things on for size, I think you go for it.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. And what about the container? Is the container important to you? Like, what are. Like, I imagine you want the slush particles to be cold but drinkable. So they need to be small enough to go through the straw, but not so cold that they freeze together that it still has a liquid or, a, liquid viscosity to it in your slushie.
>> Speaker D: Well, that's a great point, Marco. We should think about when you are enjoying one.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: I, mean, are you a slushie guy yourself?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I'll tell you this. On the right day, at the right time, I enjoy a slushie. That said, I do love a properly made frozen margarita type drink or a frozen daiquiri if it's done.
Chris: Marco introduced me to the Coco Loco at your wedding
Well, now, when we were at your wedding in the Dominican Republic, they had a drink there, and I don't even know if you were with us because you had so many things you had to do, but do you remember the Bahama Mama?
>> Speaker D: Oh, no. What was that?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it was so good.
>> Speaker D: Chris, what were the flavors?
>> Marco Timpano: It was coconut, ah, based, so it was coconut cinnamon. And you could get it with rum, dark rum, or you could get it as is coconut, with a blend of, I want to say coconut milk. It had a coconutty.
>> Speaker D: Are you cinnamon? Yeah, this with the Coco Loco.
>> Marco Timpano: I am. You're 100% right.
>> Speaker D: Yes. I think is something different. And I definitely indulged in many Coca Locos. Okay, well, thank you for.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for correcting me on that. because I was totally going in the wrong direction. But you're right. Yeah. It was the Coco Loco, and I had so many at your wedding. Did you like it, by the way? Because that was my favorite of all the. Of all the slushy drinks. The Coco Loco is my favorite.
>> Speaker D: I feel like that wedding week, which was obviously two of the greatest weeks of my life. And thank you so much for traveling to Punta Cana, Marco. It was. You were a fantastic guest.
>> Marco Timpano: Happy anniversary. Because it was just last week.
>> Speaker D: Just last week. Yeah. Thank you. I'll let my wife know that you've extended that courtesy.
>> Marco Timpano: We.
>> Speaker D: I felt like leading, up to the wedding. We didn't do too much. Like, we did some drinking, but we weren't making it a big thing. And once the wedding was over, we really hit the bar pretty hard and said, let's kind of really extend this party. And that's when I believe you and your wife introduced me to the Coca Loco.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And that became the signature beverage for the rest of my vacation.
>> Marco Timpano: It was so great, Chris. This was so great. And I have so many more topics I want to talk to you about from your list, so perhaps you and I can continue this for the Patreon, listeners that I have. We'll do a longer episodes where we continue. Continue doing this. Check out our Patreon page if you want to hear more with Chris. But for now, we've come to the end of this podcast episode.
>> Speaker D: Well, Marco, thank you so much for having me. It was a blast.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say this. you are like a fine, icy root beer in a frosted glass. You make me happy. You are satisfying, and you're just great to be around. So, Chris, thank you so much for doing this episode with us.
>> Speaker D: It was my pleasure, Marco. Thank you so much.
>> Marco Timpano: Please check out Chris's podcast. We like theme parks. I will say this. You don't have to be an expert in Disney or Universal, because I certainly am not to enjoy that podcast. Chris, thanks once again, and to all of you. We hope that you were able to listen and sleep.
Watching Paint and Stain Dry
I am your host, Marco Timpano, and I know this one is coming in a little bit late. Usually I like to post the Monday shows earlier, but I've been doing some things and those things have been some, work around my cottage. I know I'm often talking about my cottage and I apologize to anyone who's sort of. I guess bored isn't the right word because if you're bored of it, then it's working. But, it sounds a bit pretentious. I realize that. some people call them cabins, some people call them lake houses. It's just a little place that we have near a beach called Georgian Bay, which is fed from Lake Huron and is about an hour and a half away from my home in the city. And because I, have some time on my hands, I've been up there doing a bunch of work. So I wanted to talk and I have no guests in the studio with me today, as you may have noticed. I m just figured this might be an episode where it's best that I just speak. You know, when they say it's like watching paint dry, well, that's what this episode is going to be like, because I'm going to be talking about stains, which is a type of covering for your deck. So I spent the last two days dealing with my wooden deck, and there was two decks I had to address. So the first thing we realized is that we needed to strip the deck or clean the deck of mildew and some old stains that might still be on that aren't really repaired. Repelling water and keeping the wooden deck healthy, I guess you could say, or at least keeping the wood as pristine or as new as possible. The more it's exposed to the elements, including the sun, the UV rays that will affect the wood will dry out the wood and cause it to, I guess, crack or cause the grains to sort of open up. I also want to say, full disclosure, I am not a deck expert. So I'm the type of person who does some reading, goes to a hardware store, the big box stores. I usually go to one or two. I'll ask questions, I'll figure out the type of work I need to do and the best way to go about it. Within my budget, of course. So let's start with the large deck. So the large deck is not at my cottage, but it's at a neighboring cottage that belongs to my mom. And I needed to address her back deck because the stain that we put on two years ago no longer was viable, let's say it was no longer working in the way that we, we want it to work. In other words, when it rained, the rain water did not bead off the deck. Now, with that deck, because the wood was placed fairly recently, it had a newer sort of look. And because we took care of that deck and have been staining it for the last 10 years, every second year, let's say second or third year, that deck's condition was not bad. Let's say it was in decent condition. So my sister, she wanted me to use a product that she knew to work very well. And it's an oil. So it's an oil that penetrates the wood, conditions the wood, weatherproofs the wood. And in this case, we went with a natural look. So it wasn't tinted. It just sort of brought forward the look of the wood. So that's great. But before we could do that, we needed to remove, as I mentioned, the mildew, the built up stains from previous years, clean up any dark spots. And what you do is you get a wood cleaner or conditioner and some you have to mix with water. And the one that we chose, you didn't you just have to use a tool that looks like a hard brush. A hard brush, a hard bristled broom, let's say. But the actual brooms width is the size of one standard plank of wood that would be used on a deck. So you need to wet the wood. Then you need to put on this solution with this deck broom, let's say bristly broom, and really give it a good scrub. At that point, you allow that conditioning solution to work its magic and penetrate the wood. And then you take a hose, much like the hose, the exact hose, to be exact, that I used to wet the wood prior to put this conditioning solution on, and you wash away this solution. That part of getting the deck ready is the most laborious part, it's the most tedious part, and it is the part that requires the most amount of effort. And so we did that. You need to let it dry for 48 hours before you can apply the stain. So in the meantime, I was also dealing with the small front deck at my cottage. And because the condition of that wood, it was an older deck, it hadn't been maintained when we purchased it and then purchased the cottage, I should say. And then we were maintaining it, but perhaps we weren't as regular, so we weren't conditioning it every two to three years. Perhaps it lapsed to, four or five years over the last 20 years. So it's seen better days, let's say. But nonetheless, we used this solution, same solution, to really bring it back to as near its original state as we could. And in fact, after we did do that, we scrubbed it and we washed it, it, the wood looked great. It really looked almost brand new. Oftentimes leaves will fall on the deck and over the, over the late fall to spring, those leaves will remain on the deck and they'll stain the deck. They'll stain it with a dark color. And because it's leaf on top of leaf on top of leaf, it tends to be a mound of darkness and with the occasional one leaf imprint. And so it looks a little bit dingy, shall we say. So we lighten up. We were able to get all that darkness out as well. Now it's time to pick the stains. So as I mentioned, there was a stain that my sister recommended which was an oil for the large deck. And we oiled that large deck. And fortunately, my oldest cousin Danny happened to be helping us up there. And he had mentioned to me, because he knew we were going to be staining the deck, that there is this brush that I could Use to stain the deck. Now, previously, my sister and I would use a deck brush, much like a paintbrush to paint the deck. But that took a lot of time. That took a lot of patience. That had us on the deck sort of painting as we went. So I was in search of this mysterious pad brush that my cousin had told me about. And lo and behold, after the third hardware store I went to, they had this pad brush. And what it was was a sponge type brush that had two parts that were longer on either side of it. So picture a, catfish's whiskers kind of had that look to it. So that when you submerged the sponge brush and it would be on the end of a broom handle or some long handle, you would submerge this sponge brush with the whisker hanging parts into the stain. And it was once again the width of a standard plank of wood that you would use for a deck. The whiskery sponge would go between the deck, so would go between the plank so that it would coat the sides of the deck that are, How would I describe this? The plank that has a bit of space between the next plank. Those whiskers would go in and paint the wood that's between. Paint the planks between each other. So where the space is, that little whisker would go in and it would paint. And we could, we could really execute this particular job in a fraction of the time that it takes to go on your hands and knees and paint the deck. And so I was very fortunate. I considered myself so fortunate, and I'm so grateful to my cousin, who you will be hearing on an upcoming episode, because I had the opportunity to actually record a podcast episode with him up at the cottage. And, I don't know how you'll feel about it by the time you hear the end of it, but I was grateful that he told me about this brush. So we did that this morning, and it didn't take us. I thought it would take us four hours, and it maybe took us an hour total to do the whole thing. And I was so impressed. I was so pleased.
Small deck that had more weathered wood needed more color than just oil
Now cut to the small deck, which is the deck that I had mentioned, that had more weathered wood, that is at my cottage. So that particular deck, the wood, whereas I got it to its bright, white look, it needed more than just an oil. An oil wasn't going to cut it at this point. We had oiled it in the past and, you know, it worked, but at this point, it needed a little bit more. So I went to one of These big box hardware stores. And I spoke to this wonderful, woman who worked at the paint counter. And I said to her, okay, so this deck we're going to address, the wood isn't great. It's got some cracks in it or some, I hate to say cracks, because you think that's breaking apart, but it has some separation, where the grains of wood lie. And she said, okay, there's a few things you could do. You could use deck paint, which is a paint, but once you start painting it, that's it. It's paint. It will kind of chip or wear down, and you'll just be painting on top of it. You can't go back to oil if you go with paint. And that, of course, makes total sense. So then she said, you want to make sure that you use something oil based and not necessarily water based. That was her opinion. She said, you could use whatever you want, of course, but oil sort of soaks into the grain of wood and helps preserve, conserve, and keep it looking its best. That was her opinion, and I saw some logic in that. So she said, but if you want to give your deck some color. Because I felt like at this point the deck needed some color. And I didn't want to commit to paint, but I didn't think oil, which just brings out the natural color of the wood. And I should mention that my momswood is kind of blonde with a hint of red in it. So I don't know if that's auburn. Is that auburn? I'm going to say auburn. It might not be auburn, but it has a really golden, reddish hue to it. It's not cedar. Because of course, if somebody was to describe a reddish wood, I would immediately lean towards cedar. But as you may know, cedar tends to be a more pricey wood. And of course, a deck looks beautiful in cedar. I know we did not purchase cedar wood planks when we built that deck many years ago. So it's your standard poplar or pine. I don't think it's pine. Pine's too soft for a deck. It's your standard inexpensive treated wood. And it had a golden red hue to it. I'm sure someone who deals with wood would be able to identify the exact type of wood. And if that's you, feel free to let me know what that is. So that's. And that deck ended up looking marvelous. And one of the great things about this oil that my sister recommended, because there's a few different ones you could purchase, is that it only really requires one coat. You can put a second coat on, depending on the condition of the wood. So if you feel the wood needs more, certainly you can add another coat to it. But it says that this particular brand, this particular oil, only requires one coat. And in fact, when you put it on, you can see that it only requires one coat. Because I have used other brands and where they may be a little less expensive, you end up using so much more of it. You need to do two coats that oftentimes you spend more because you need to purchase another gallon to finish the job. So my sister was right. I, rarely say that she was right in this case.
Marco wanted to lighten up his small deck with a gray color
So back to my deck. So the paint salesperson at the big box store that I had gone to, this lovely woman named Claire, Actually, Claire, if you're listening, you probably won't remember me or the questions I asked, but I'm very grateful. Claire said I might want to try a semi transparent stain. And so it has some color in it, but it's not so opaque as a actual paint. And it's not clear like a stain. It's sort of this in between. And she said, if you really like the look of it, then the following two years you might want to go ahead and paint. But it's sort of this nice in between. So my cottage is a brown, let's say a chestnut brown. But for years now I wanted to lighten it up. And I own it with my sister. I co own it with my sister. So it's always a question of, you know, coming to an agreement on what we both would like. And so I was like, how do I tell my sister that I want a gray, almost Cape Cod looking color? and we'll get back to Cape Cod in a moment. So my sister and my wife Amanda, went for a walk and they saw a bunch of cottages that are in the area. And my sister said to Amanda, oh, that color looks really nice. And it was a gray. And Amanda said, oh, that's actually the color that Marco likes too. So I looked through a sample chart of different colors, and I had picked more of a tan color at first. And then I opened the pamphlet larger because there was quite a few, and I noticed a light gray that I really liked. And it was called Cape Cod. The color was called Cape Cod. So I circled it and I said to my sister, these are the three colors I like. Actually, I said, these are the three I liked which were in the tan colors. And then later on I saw the Cape Cod and I circled it. So I said to her, do you Care what color I go with. And she said, no. And I said, I circled a different one that I like best. And she goes, I'm fine with it. I go, it's more in the gray. She goes, no, I'm fine with it. I want it lightened up. So I got the Cape Cod, and at this point, I didn't have that brush that I had talked about that had the catfish whiskers. So I used an actual paintbrush to paint the first coat on the deck. And I had to use it because that deck has a railing. And I don't know if you could have used that whisker brush. I'm gonna just call it whisker brush from now on. It has a name, but I can't think of it. so it's a small deck. So I did it with a single paintbrush in my hands, and I really worked on getting every little nook and cranny covered in paint or in semi, semi stain. Semi tinted stain. Now, I don't remember what it's called. A semi tainted. A semi tinted stain. Yeah. And, as I'm putting it on, I'm thinking, oh, this is very light. Oh, no, this might be too light. And I'm painting and I'm painting, and the more I'm painting, the more I'm thinking, did I go too light? My sister's not here to give me her counsel on it, whether she likes it or not. No one was around, really. Amanda wasn't around, My mother wasn't around. But I just continued to paint. I was listening to podcasts and painting and painting and painting. And then when I got almost the last little stitch of paint, I was actually sort of cleaning up. I was taking some debris away, and I just had a couple of smaller spots to attend to. These people happened to, be walking by, and the gentleman said, I was cutting the grass yesterday at your neighbor's cottage. I've been doing some work there. I said, yes, I did see you. And he goes, and I saw you stripping the deck. And I said, yes. And he goes, and I think you're staying. And what you did looks amazing. So I got some validation from a stranger who had actually seen the work that I had been doing. And then my mother came by and said it looked great. And then Amanda, looked at it and loved it. Of course, Amanda's from Massachusetts, and she used to summer in Cape Cod. So for her, that look is something that really reminds her of her youth and home. And now the big test was my sister, who was not at the cottage. She was back home. So I was like, I hope she likes it. Now, the stunning thing about this particular color is that it makes the flowers we chose really stand out. So we have little planter boxes with flowers. I seem to always go back to flowers on this podcast. Flowers, books and Paints, to be quite honest with you. And these flowers really stand out. Now, I think I will post a photo of the newly painted deck with the flowers on Instagram, in case you're curious to know what it looks like. Might not be your cup of tea, but it certainly is mine, so I like it anyways.
With stain and paint and whatnot, you want to let it cure
So that is the stain. Now, here's some interesting things. With stain and paint and whatnot, you want to let it cure. So you don't want to put anything on the deck for at least a good 24 hours. While it might be dry to the touch, if you put something heavy on and then you remove it, the stain or paint or anything that you put might adhere to the bottom of, let's say, a chair that you put on it. And so then you'll have to deal with that. So it's best to let it cure, including if you paint your home, the walls in your home, I was always told you should let it cure for a week before you put pictures on the wall. let the paint dry to its fullest extent and expression before you do things to that wall. Something I read or learned, not always easy. Oftentimes you want to put your treasured photos and pictures in a painting on the wall. So I understand that as well. And of course, if you're gonna put a nail, try to find the stud. If you don't know what the stud is, it is the piece of wood that sort of is, you know, six. I think they're six inches apart that frame the wall. And once, the nails in there, it's very secure. Make sure you have nails that can hold the weight of whatever you're going to be putting on it. So let's say you have a framed glass photo and it's £50. That's 5, 0. You want to make sure that your nail that you put in the wall can support the weight of 50 pounds. Actually, you probably want it to be able to support more than £50, but at the very minimum, £50. Then I washed the brushes. Oh, here's a tip. This is actually something I learned from my sister, who, I will say that during the recording of this podcast, called me because she happened to go to the cottage this evening and she just saw it and Said both decks looked fantastic. So she was, very pleased. So I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that she is happy with the work and the color choices that were made. I will say this, though. If you're painting with a brush and you're going to go back to that work, so let's say you are going to do a second coat, but you're not going to get to it till the following day. And you don't want to rinse out your brush because you're just going to submerge it in that paint again. Here's a little tip that I learned. Take your plastic wrap, your Saran wrap, whatever you call it, that plastic sheet wrap that you use to sort of COVID food, to put it in the fridge and wrap your brush with that. And then put it in the refrigerator. Of course, make sure that there's no paint that's leaking out, that it's covered, completely so you don't stain the inside of your fridge. I would hate for you to do that. But if you do that, the paint that's on that brush will not dry. And you can then use it the next day or two days later and it will stay fresh and ready to use. Or you could just wash the brush and dry it and make sure that it's ready for its next use for certain. But if you're going to do it the next day, that's a little tip. And I did that because I. Whoops. That was a paper that I just touched. and that's what I did because I was gonna do some touch ups the next day. and I did and I used it and I was very happy for that.
Marco Timpano talks about paint drying, stain drying on decks
Well, that's the end of this episode where I talk essentially about paint drying, stain drying, application of those products on decks. I hope you did enjoy it. Hope you did enjoy this episode and I really hope you did fall asleep, manage to just chill and find your way there. you know, I'm always asking for suggestions for topic ideas and I always welcome that. So please, as always, I love reviews, five star reviews in particular. And if you haven't done it and you're enjoying this podcast and you remember the next day to do so, that would be great. And if you don't, that's great too. We're just happy to have you until the next time, actually, until Wednesday. I hope you have a great first part of your week. I'm Marco Timpano. This is the Insomnia Project.
I am your host, Marco Timpano, and I know this one is coming in a little bit late. Usually I like to post the Monday shows earlier, but I've been doing some things and those things have been some, work around my cottage. I know I'm often talking about my cottage and I apologize to anyone who's sort of. I guess bored isn't the right word because if you're bored of it, then it's working. But, it sounds a bit pretentious. I realize that. some people call them cabins, some people call them lake houses. It's just a little place that we have near a beach called Georgian Bay, which is fed from Lake Huron and is about an hour and a half away from my home in the city. And because I, have some time on my hands, I've been up there doing a bunch of work. So I wanted to talk and I have no guests in the studio with me today, as you may have noticed. I m just figured this might be an episode where it's best that I just speak. You know, when they say it's like watching paint dry, well, that's what this episode is going to be like, because I'm going to be talking about stains, which is a type of covering for your deck. So I spent the last two days dealing with my wooden deck, and there was two decks I had to address. So the first thing we realized is that we needed to strip the deck or clean the deck of mildew and some old stains that might still be on that aren't really repaired. Repelling water and keeping the wooden deck healthy, I guess you could say, or at least keeping the wood as pristine or as new as possible. The more it's exposed to the elements, including the sun, the UV rays that will affect the wood will dry out the wood and cause it to, I guess, crack or cause the grains to sort of open up. I also want to say, full disclosure, I am not a deck expert. So I'm the type of person who does some reading, goes to a hardware store, the big box stores. I usually go to one or two. I'll ask questions, I'll figure out the type of work I need to do and the best way to go about it. Within my budget, of course. So let's start with the large deck. So the large deck is not at my cottage, but it's at a neighboring cottage that belongs to my mom. And I needed to address her back deck because the stain that we put on two years ago no longer was viable, let's say it was no longer working in the way that we, we want it to work. In other words, when it rained, the rain water did not bead off the deck. Now, with that deck, because the wood was placed fairly recently, it had a newer sort of look. And because we took care of that deck and have been staining it for the last 10 years, every second year, let's say second or third year, that deck's condition was not bad. Let's say it was in decent condition. So my sister, she wanted me to use a product that she knew to work very well. And it's an oil. So it's an oil that penetrates the wood, conditions the wood, weatherproofs the wood. And in this case, we went with a natural look. So it wasn't tinted. It just sort of brought forward the look of the wood. So that's great. But before we could do that, we needed to remove, as I mentioned, the mildew, the built up stains from previous years, clean up any dark spots. And what you do is you get a wood cleaner or conditioner and some you have to mix with water. And the one that we chose, you didn't you just have to use a tool that looks like a hard brush. A hard brush, a hard bristled broom, let's say. But the actual brooms width is the size of one standard plank of wood that would be used on a deck. So you need to wet the wood. Then you need to put on this solution with this deck broom, let's say bristly broom, and really give it a good scrub. At that point, you allow that conditioning solution to work its magic and penetrate the wood. And then you take a hose, much like the hose, the exact hose, to be exact, that I used to wet the wood prior to put this conditioning solution on, and you wash away this solution. That part of getting the deck ready is the most laborious part, it's the most tedious part, and it is the part that requires the most amount of effort. And so we did that. You need to let it dry for 48 hours before you can apply the stain. So in the meantime, I was also dealing with the small front deck at my cottage. And because the condition of that wood, it was an older deck, it hadn't been maintained when we purchased it and then purchased the cottage, I should say. And then we were maintaining it, but perhaps we weren't as regular, so we weren't conditioning it every two to three years. Perhaps it lapsed to, four or five years over the last 20 years. So it's seen better days, let's say. But nonetheless, we used this solution, same solution, to really bring it back to as near its original state as we could. And in fact, after we did do that, we scrubbed it and we washed it, it, the wood looked great. It really looked almost brand new. Oftentimes leaves will fall on the deck and over the, over the late fall to spring, those leaves will remain on the deck and they'll stain the deck. They'll stain it with a dark color. And because it's leaf on top of leaf on top of leaf, it tends to be a mound of darkness and with the occasional one leaf imprint. And so it looks a little bit dingy, shall we say. So we lighten up. We were able to get all that darkness out as well. Now it's time to pick the stains. So as I mentioned, there was a stain that my sister recommended which was an oil for the large deck. And we oiled that large deck. And fortunately, my oldest cousin Danny happened to be helping us up there. And he had mentioned to me, because he knew we were going to be staining the deck, that there is this brush that I could Use to stain the deck. Now, previously, my sister and I would use a deck brush, much like a paintbrush to paint the deck. But that took a lot of time. That took a lot of patience. That had us on the deck sort of painting as we went. So I was in search of this mysterious pad brush that my cousin had told me about. And lo and behold, after the third hardware store I went to, they had this pad brush. And what it was was a sponge type brush that had two parts that were longer on either side of it. So picture a, catfish's whiskers kind of had that look to it. So that when you submerged the sponge brush and it would be on the end of a broom handle or some long handle, you would submerge this sponge brush with the whisker hanging parts into the stain. And it was once again the width of a standard plank of wood that you would use for a deck. The whiskery sponge would go between the deck, so would go between the plank so that it would coat the sides of the deck that are, How would I describe this? The plank that has a bit of space between the next plank. Those whiskers would go in and paint the wood that's between. Paint the planks between each other. So where the space is, that little whisker would go in and it would paint. And we could, we could really execute this particular job in a fraction of the time that it takes to go on your hands and knees and paint the deck. And so I was very fortunate. I considered myself so fortunate, and I'm so grateful to my cousin, who you will be hearing on an upcoming episode, because I had the opportunity to actually record a podcast episode with him up at the cottage. And, I don't know how you'll feel about it by the time you hear the end of it, but I was grateful that he told me about this brush. So we did that this morning, and it didn't take us. I thought it would take us four hours, and it maybe took us an hour total to do the whole thing. And I was so impressed. I was so pleased.
Small deck that had more weathered wood needed more color than just oil
Now cut to the small deck, which is the deck that I had mentioned, that had more weathered wood, that is at my cottage. So that particular deck, the wood, whereas I got it to its bright, white look, it needed more than just an oil. An oil wasn't going to cut it at this point. We had oiled it in the past and, you know, it worked, but at this point, it needed a little bit more. So I went to one of These big box hardware stores. And I spoke to this wonderful, woman who worked at the paint counter. And I said to her, okay, so this deck we're going to address, the wood isn't great. It's got some cracks in it or some, I hate to say cracks, because you think that's breaking apart, but it has some separation, where the grains of wood lie. And she said, okay, there's a few things you could do. You could use deck paint, which is a paint, but once you start painting it, that's it. It's paint. It will kind of chip or wear down, and you'll just be painting on top of it. You can't go back to oil if you go with paint. And that, of course, makes total sense. So then she said, you want to make sure that you use something oil based and not necessarily water based. That was her opinion. She said, you could use whatever you want, of course, but oil sort of soaks into the grain of wood and helps preserve, conserve, and keep it looking its best. That was her opinion, and I saw some logic in that. So she said, but if you want to give your deck some color. Because I felt like at this point the deck needed some color. And I didn't want to commit to paint, but I didn't think oil, which just brings out the natural color of the wood. And I should mention that my momswood is kind of blonde with a hint of red in it. So I don't know if that's auburn. Is that auburn? I'm going to say auburn. It might not be auburn, but it has a really golden, reddish hue to it. It's not cedar. Because of course, if somebody was to describe a reddish wood, I would immediately lean towards cedar. But as you may know, cedar tends to be a more pricey wood. And of course, a deck looks beautiful in cedar. I know we did not purchase cedar wood planks when we built that deck many years ago. So it's your standard poplar or pine. I don't think it's pine. Pine's too soft for a deck. It's your standard inexpensive treated wood. And it had a golden red hue to it. I'm sure someone who deals with wood would be able to identify the exact type of wood. And if that's you, feel free to let me know what that is. So that's. And that deck ended up looking marvelous. And one of the great things about this oil that my sister recommended, because there's a few different ones you could purchase, is that it only really requires one coat. You can put a second coat on, depending on the condition of the wood. So if you feel the wood needs more, certainly you can add another coat to it. But it says that this particular brand, this particular oil, only requires one coat. And in fact, when you put it on, you can see that it only requires one coat. Because I have used other brands and where they may be a little less expensive, you end up using so much more of it. You need to do two coats that oftentimes you spend more because you need to purchase another gallon to finish the job. So my sister was right. I, rarely say that she was right in this case.
Marco wanted to lighten up his small deck with a gray color
So back to my deck. So the paint salesperson at the big box store that I had gone to, this lovely woman named Claire, Actually, Claire, if you're listening, you probably won't remember me or the questions I asked, but I'm very grateful. Claire said I might want to try a semi transparent stain. And so it has some color in it, but it's not so opaque as a actual paint. And it's not clear like a stain. It's sort of this in between. And she said, if you really like the look of it, then the following two years you might want to go ahead and paint. But it's sort of this nice in between. So my cottage is a brown, let's say a chestnut brown. But for years now I wanted to lighten it up. And I own it with my sister. I co own it with my sister. So it's always a question of, you know, coming to an agreement on what we both would like. And so I was like, how do I tell my sister that I want a gray, almost Cape Cod looking color? and we'll get back to Cape Cod in a moment. So my sister and my wife Amanda, went for a walk and they saw a bunch of cottages that are in the area. And my sister said to Amanda, oh, that color looks really nice. And it was a gray. And Amanda said, oh, that's actually the color that Marco likes too. So I looked through a sample chart of different colors, and I had picked more of a tan color at first. And then I opened the pamphlet larger because there was quite a few, and I noticed a light gray that I really liked. And it was called Cape Cod. The color was called Cape Cod. So I circled it and I said to my sister, these are the three colors I like. Actually, I said, these are the three I liked which were in the tan colors. And then later on I saw the Cape Cod and I circled it. So I said to her, do you Care what color I go with. And she said, no. And I said, I circled a different one that I like best. And she goes, I'm fine with it. I go, it's more in the gray. She goes, no, I'm fine with it. I want it lightened up. So I got the Cape Cod, and at this point, I didn't have that brush that I had talked about that had the catfish whiskers. So I used an actual paintbrush to paint the first coat on the deck. And I had to use it because that deck has a railing. And I don't know if you could have used that whisker brush. I'm gonna just call it whisker brush from now on. It has a name, but I can't think of it. so it's a small deck. So I did it with a single paintbrush in my hands, and I really worked on getting every little nook and cranny covered in paint or in semi, semi stain. Semi tinted stain. Now, I don't remember what it's called. A semi tainted. A semi tinted stain. Yeah. And, as I'm putting it on, I'm thinking, oh, this is very light. Oh, no, this might be too light. And I'm painting and I'm painting, and the more I'm painting, the more I'm thinking, did I go too light? My sister's not here to give me her counsel on it, whether she likes it or not. No one was around, really. Amanda wasn't around, My mother wasn't around. But I just continued to paint. I was listening to podcasts and painting and painting and painting. And then when I got almost the last little stitch of paint, I was actually sort of cleaning up. I was taking some debris away, and I just had a couple of smaller spots to attend to. These people happened to, be walking by, and the gentleman said, I was cutting the grass yesterday at your neighbor's cottage. I've been doing some work there. I said, yes, I did see you. And he goes, and I saw you stripping the deck. And I said, yes. And he goes, and I think you're staying. And what you did looks amazing. So I got some validation from a stranger who had actually seen the work that I had been doing. And then my mother came by and said it looked great. And then Amanda, looked at it and loved it. Of course, Amanda's from Massachusetts, and she used to summer in Cape Cod. So for her, that look is something that really reminds her of her youth and home. And now the big test was my sister, who was not at the cottage. She was back home. So I was like, I hope she likes it. Now, the stunning thing about this particular color is that it makes the flowers we chose really stand out. So we have little planter boxes with flowers. I seem to always go back to flowers on this podcast. Flowers, books and Paints, to be quite honest with you. And these flowers really stand out. Now, I think I will post a photo of the newly painted deck with the flowers on Instagram, in case you're curious to know what it looks like. Might not be your cup of tea, but it certainly is mine, so I like it anyways.
With stain and paint and whatnot, you want to let it cure
So that is the stain. Now, here's some interesting things. With stain and paint and whatnot, you want to let it cure. So you don't want to put anything on the deck for at least a good 24 hours. While it might be dry to the touch, if you put something heavy on and then you remove it, the stain or paint or anything that you put might adhere to the bottom of, let's say, a chair that you put on it. And so then you'll have to deal with that. So it's best to let it cure, including if you paint your home, the walls in your home, I was always told you should let it cure for a week before you put pictures on the wall. let the paint dry to its fullest extent and expression before you do things to that wall. Something I read or learned, not always easy. Oftentimes you want to put your treasured photos and pictures in a painting on the wall. So I understand that as well. And of course, if you're gonna put a nail, try to find the stud. If you don't know what the stud is, it is the piece of wood that sort of is, you know, six. I think they're six inches apart that frame the wall. And once, the nails in there, it's very secure. Make sure you have nails that can hold the weight of whatever you're going to be putting on it. So let's say you have a framed glass photo and it's £50. That's 5, 0. You want to make sure that your nail that you put in the wall can support the weight of 50 pounds. Actually, you probably want it to be able to support more than £50, but at the very minimum, £50. Then I washed the brushes. Oh, here's a tip. This is actually something I learned from my sister, who, I will say that during the recording of this podcast, called me because she happened to go to the cottage this evening and she just saw it and Said both decks looked fantastic. So she was, very pleased. So I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that she is happy with the work and the color choices that were made. I will say this, though. If you're painting with a brush and you're going to go back to that work, so let's say you are going to do a second coat, but you're not going to get to it till the following day. And you don't want to rinse out your brush because you're just going to submerge it in that paint again. Here's a little tip that I learned. Take your plastic wrap, your Saran wrap, whatever you call it, that plastic sheet wrap that you use to sort of COVID food, to put it in the fridge and wrap your brush with that. And then put it in the refrigerator. Of course, make sure that there's no paint that's leaking out, that it's covered, completely so you don't stain the inside of your fridge. I would hate for you to do that. But if you do that, the paint that's on that brush will not dry. And you can then use it the next day or two days later and it will stay fresh and ready to use. Or you could just wash the brush and dry it and make sure that it's ready for its next use for certain. But if you're going to do it the next day, that's a little tip. And I did that because I. Whoops. That was a paper that I just touched. and that's what I did because I was gonna do some touch ups the next day. and I did and I used it and I was very happy for that.
Marco Timpano talks about paint drying, stain drying on decks
Well, that's the end of this episode where I talk essentially about paint drying, stain drying, application of those products on decks. I hope you did enjoy it. Hope you did enjoy this episode and I really hope you did fall asleep, manage to just chill and find your way there. you know, I'm always asking for suggestions for topic ideas and I always welcome that. So please, as always, I love reviews, five star reviews in particular. And if you haven't done it and you're enjoying this podcast and you remember the next day to do so, that would be great. And if you don't, that's great too. We're just happy to have you until the next time, actually, until Wednesday. I hope you have a great first part of your week. I'm Marco Timpano. This is the Insomnia Project.
Calendars & Mugs
The Insomnia Project is a podcast aimed at new mothers trying to sleep
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about the mundane. One thing that we promise is that our conversation will, will be less than fascinating so that you can just feel free, feel free to drift off. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: And joining him yet again, it's me, Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, people have been saying, or I've been reading a lot of things that people are saying about our show and that sometimes they don't find it so relaxing, they find the topics in interesting.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I can't help what I am, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: of course we just try to have a calm conversation. Hopefully it will at the very least relax you. And if it keeps you up because you find it interesting, what can I say? There's gotta be something that's in our library of, ah, episodes that'll put you to sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: How many episodes roughly are in that library? At this point?
>> Marco Timpano: Over 200. Amanda. Yeah, so there's gotta be one.
>> Amanda Barker: for me, I go back to chess every time.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda. So one. You know, it's interesting who listens to this podcast and who discovers it, but never in a million years would I have suspected that this podcast called the Insomnia Project would speak to new mothers. But we have so many new mothers who listen and enjoy this podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: That makes complete, complete sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Does it?
>> Amanda Barker: Of course, you need, as a new mom, you know, you need help, any help that you can get. It takes a, village to get any sleep, really. It takes a village to do a lot of things, but certainly to get any shut eye. And of course, everybody, especially the generation before us, they always say, well, just sleep when the baby sleeps. Right. It's not always possible.
>> Marco Timpano: No, just like insomnia, people can tell you a million things and it doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna work for you. That said, if you know a new mother, feel, free to mention our podcast to them. But I wanna say a special hello to Emily, who just had twins, who listens to our podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Twins Emily. Oh, my gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: She started listening with her first child and then had twins and said, I'm still listening to your podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: She has the twins?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, she just had the twins and she started listening a couple years back, I think in 2018 when she had her first kid. Now, Emily has mentioned a few topics for us to discuss, and I haven't told you yet, I have no
>> Amanda Barker: idea what these are, but I am here for you, Emily, and anyone else who's a new mom trying to get some sleep or not. So, new mom trying to get some sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
Let's explore your take on any type of calendar wall handheld
Let's begin with calendars.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, you know that I have a daytimer that's very important to me, and I like to write things in a daytimer versus using a calendar on a phone. But let's explore your take on any type of calendar wall handheld.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, fascinating. Yeah. You know, I have gone through different phases in the world of calendars. I grew up with a mother who always had a wall calendar and always wrote every single thing into those squares, into those boxes, from dentist appointments and soccer practice to, birthdays. Well, yeah, she usually, she remembered them, but yeah, birthdays or phone calls or parties, I mean, it all went in there. So that was sort of something. When I kind of, you know, began my journey into adulthood, that was sort of the model for me. Get a big 12 month calendar with some nice pictures. Commit to it. You're going to put it on the wall.
>> Marco Timpano: What pictures or what is your preferred themed photo or pictured calendar? So in other words, every month is a different. I know you once bought one that was ships for your dad.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I buy one, not every Christmas, probably every other Christmas for my father. that are ships, of course. My father, who's been a guest on this program many, many times. But, he loves boats, ships. He always has. it's in his blood. And, I always get the Mystic Seaport calendar for him. So if you don't know Mystic Seaport, it's a beautiful little town, and obviously it's a seaport on the water in Connecticut. it's most famous because that's where Mystic Pizza, the movie that launched Julia Roberts career. that's where it's set. So, the ship's there. As a child, we used to go there. my parents spent their honeymoon there. Of course, it wasn't very far. And, so I always get that because I always think of him and think of them with Mystic Seaport because they love it there. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Now I love a calendar that allows me to write several things on the date that I need.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I like a. Would you call them a daytimer calendar? Like a book form calendar, a planner,
>> Amanda Barker: a daytimer, that kind of thing. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I like to see the whole month.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you still do that?
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you?
>> Marco Timpano: I do. Sometimes I fall out of it, and sometimes I fall out of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I feel like. Not to call you out too much, but I feel like you go through phases with them.
>> Marco Timpano: like phases of the moon, which you can find on calendars as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Like phases of Marcos deciding to write things down in a day planner versus not right now. it depends on what's going on in your life. I think the busier you are, the more you probably have need for some type of agenda. which I think is another word for it. But, whether it's in your phone, on the wall, in a book, which do you use? It's interesting. It's been a journey for me. So I did start with those calendars. I kind of stopped buying them just because they're big.
>> Marco Timpano: And did you like photos of kittens in watering cans and a bird on a string?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to remember. Back in my 20s, I would always get them for my office at work, but. But I'm trying to remember what pictures were in the travel ones. That was it. I got travel calendars. Lonely Planet. I don't know if they still do, but they used to put out, a calendar. So I would get the Lonely Planet calendar, of course. So that's what I started with. And then I moved into the agenda book phase.
Do you prefer your week to start on Monday or on Sunday
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: That you're so committed to most days.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a bit of a dig in there.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it wasn't meant to be. I said, you're so committed to. I should have said that you're sometimes committed. and then I, from various jobs had to be on a Google calendar. And because my jobs made me be on the Google calendar, I started just throwing things up just for myself to see appointments, etc. So. Yeah. But I have to say, it's a weird thing. I don't keep one anymore. I started getting superstitious about them.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Let me ask you this. Do you prefer your week on a calendar to start on Monday or on Sunday?
>> Amanda Barker: Ah, Sunday. And it drives me nuts that my iPhone calendar always starts the week on Monday. It always throws me. I always think my Mondays are Sundays.
>> Marco Timpano: I love, a Monday.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you?
>> Marco Timpano: Beginning calendar.
>> Amanda Barker: Interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: For me, the week begins Monday, not Sunday.
>> Marco Timpano: Because the weekend is Saturday and Sunday.
>> Amanda Barker: But Sunday is the fresh start of a new week and you get a day to kind of lean into it.
>> Marco Timpano: Monday is the start of a new week and you don't get any freshness to start. Lean into it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I could see the argument for both.
Alright, let's go to the next topic. We're just gonna bounce. Sure. All right. Well, the Monday, I guess my
>> Marco Timpano: Alright, let's go to the next topic.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: We're just gonna bounce.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I could have kept going
>> Marco Timpano: with calendars, but we can if you want to.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the Monday, I guess my thing is with auditions. As an actor, I really actually started getting superstitious because I used to put auditions in a calendar or when I've booked something, when I'm shooting.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And as crazy as I thought, I think this is. If you had told me 20 years ago that I would do this. I don't write them anymore. I just remember them, which I can't believe I'm saying that out loud. If it's. If things start to get busy, then I do start to write them down, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll segue into the next one.
You like to have nail polish in your car. Yeah. Um, okay, so I wasn't expecting you to say that one
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's a question.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it applies to both of us, but I'll pose it to you.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: What's in your car?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, gosh. Well, you know, in terms of things that I make sure are in there.
>> Marco Timpano: Doesn't say.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, I'll start with the good stuff. The stuff that I make sure I always have in the car. Do you want me to guess for you and you guess for me?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So what's something, so for you, you always want to have in the car. Wipes. Yes, wipes. Like cleaning Lysol or a disinfectant wipe. That's something that you, since the day I've met you, make sure you have in your Car.
>> Marco Timpano: You like to have nail polish in your car. And oftentimes the cap isn't quite as tight as it should be.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, okay. All right. Well, since we've gone here, let me, explain, defend myself. I don't stock all my nail polish in the car. It's not like I'm like, oh, I got a new nail polish, I'm gonna put it in the car. Not at all. What happens.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Is you see, you would know this if you wore nail polish. But when you do wear nail polish, the only. There's only. Really, there isn't much time where you can just sit and not use your hands or toes. Especially your hands in the summer. Obviously toes, if they're exposed, but there isn't, you don't have a half an hour to sit and watch paint dry. No one does. But when you're in the car, if you paint them, not while you're driving, obviously, but before you set out, right at the last minute, as you put your hands on the wheel, if you give them a quick touch up or paint, then by the time you arrive at your destination, if it's a half an hour or more, then they're dry. So that's why I like, I happen to have some for touch ups in the car or if they're chipped, then I like to touch it up.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I guess the nice thing about that is you're not gonna have anything touch your nails while you're driving. So they're not gonna get, smudged or.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Are you just realizing this? Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, yeah, I like to use your nail polish to paint my keys. So I know which key goes to
>> Amanda Barker: which or to mark things, to put an initial or a check mark or. Yeah, you do use it for those. Yeah, you do use it for painting. Now sometimes I forget to take the nail polish out. The heat rises. I always put the cap on tight, but it does sometimes if they're upside down or something, they might leak out a little bit. okay, so I wasn't expecting you to say that one, but, fair enough. You usually have a sleeve of old CDs in your car.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That we never listen to. And a lot of them are Christmas ones that happen to be there.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Dolly Parton, Leonard Cohen and Christmas, some of which are now cracked, I think. Yeah. Okay. What else do I have on my car?
>> Marco Timpano: You like to have. For sure, 100%. This is something that Amanda, has in the car, which I do appreciate. She has several of these items in the car and they Are lip balms.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, that is essential. Essential to have lip balms in the car. And I like to have one on each side. One for the driver, one for the passenger. Essentially one for me if I'm the driver, or one for me if I'm the passenger and you're driving. But I always like to have lip balm in the car. Especially in the winter. But in the summer too. The only problem with that is in the summer they can get smushy, right? Yeah. But I do appreciate having them in there because my lips are always dry. Okay, let me think of one more for you. other than the obvious, other than, you know, your registration and things like that, I, guess you always like to have a pen in the car.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true, I do like to have a pen. And a pencil. Because sometimes if it's cold.
>> Marco Timpano: The pens might not work in the wintertime. So a pencil will always work as long as it's not broken. But I do like to have that.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. And one, more for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Last one for you. You like to have.
>> Amanda Barker: There's something I always make sure I don't leave the house without before I get in the car.
>> Marco Timpano: Water? Yep, there's always water in the car when Amanda's driving.
>> Amanda Barker: there's always reusable water bottles, Sig bottles rolling around. Sometimes four or five of them. But I always make sure I have fresh water before I head out.
If you want groceries just how you like them, try Instacart
>> Marco Timpano: Let us know what you have in your car, because we just shared what we have in our car. Our car sounds like quite a ramshackle of things I have to say.
>> Amanda Barker: Also old coffee cups, et cetera.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure,
>> Amanda Barker: we all prefer things a certain way, like groceries. If you want groceries just how you like them, you gotta try Instacart. They have a new preference picker that lets you pick how ripe or unripe you want your bananas. Shoppers can see your preferences upfront, helping guide their choices. Because when it comes to groceries, the details matter. Instacart. Get groceries just how you like.
Which toe is the piggy that didn't have roast beef
>> Marco Timpano: this isn't something that was brought to my attention by Emily, but I wanted to ask you which is your favorite little piggy? The piggy who stayed home. The piggy that went to market. The piggy that you know, when you do that little.
>> Amanda Barker: I understand you're talking about toes. I just didn't think that this was a topic.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not. But it came to me as we were talking that nursery rhyme.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I always felt bad for the piggy that didn't get the Roast beef. Like, the only thing defined by that piggy was that he didn't have roast beef without looking.
>> Marco Timpano: Which toe is the piggy that didn't have roast beef?
>> Amanda Barker: Can I think about it?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I mean, I'm just. Okay, well, if you're doing that, it's the fourth toe.
>> Amanda Barker: It's the fourth toe. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I like that you had to recite that in your head.
>> Amanda Barker: I do. And same with the Alphabet. I can't. I can't tell you what letter comes after R. I have to go through the entire Alphabet. Okay, well, good to know. The only ones I know for some reason together are S and T. T comes after S. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: ST. Yep. A comes after.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's the only two that I know. Or ab. I would know, but that's it. I have to go through the entire Alphabet to know what would the next letter be?
>> Marco Timpano: That's interesting.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you? No, not really. I always thought it was everyone, but I don't think it is.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: like L. What comes after L? M?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, M. Okay. What comes after O?
>> Marco Timpano: P?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh. What comes after Q? R?
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, those are easy ones.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. What comes after E? F?
>> Marco Timpano: This is actually quite easy. I doubt people want to listen to us play the.
>> Amanda Barker: They might not want to listen to us. And hopefully they're fast asleep.
Mugs are a thing that people bring into our relationship
>> Marco Timpano: All right, the next topic I want
>> Amanda Barker: to bring to your Alphabet piggies, where this is things you talk to a toddler about. This is our new mom's edition, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: mugs and cups. And this is a really great topic for us because we do have a lot of mugs.
>> Amanda Barker: We really don't have a lot of mugs.
>> Marco Timpano: We have so many mugs.
>> Amanda Barker: We really don't. We have enough mugs.
>> Marco Timpano: We have some strange mugs. So here are my favorite mugs.
>> Amanda Barker: Here we go.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't think so?
>> Amanda Barker: No. We have all of your mugs that you brought into the. So mugs are a thing that people bring into our relationship. They become mementos or memories are associated with mugs. So I brought my mugs into this relationship. You brought your mugs. And I will say we got rid of a lot of those communal mugs. Mostly mine, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: But I love a mug just like the next person.
>> Amanda Barker: So are you going to describe some of our weird, quote unquote mugs?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Let's just say our favorite mugs that we have, because we have some favorites and maybe mugs that we'd like to see leave our house. So you know this. And, I Don't know if our listeners. I don't like to drink out of a dark mug.
>> Amanda Barker: No, he does not. And I'll take it one step further. Actually, I'll take it two steps further. He won't drink out of a dark mug. So a black mug or a brown mug, he won't drink out of it.
>> Marco Timpano: A light brown mug I'll drink out of. Like the one, we have at the cottage. That is fiesta ware. I don't mind drinking out of that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay. I didn't know that. Okay. But he also won't eat off of a dark plate. Like, I used to have purple plates. They had to go.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not. I won't eat off of it.
>> Amanda Barker: You really don't like it and you don't enjoy it. And you tell me that you don't like it and don't enjoy. What am I going to do?
>> Marco Timpano: I sound really terrible in this episode. People are going to be like, wow, I thought Marco was a nice guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, he's a nice guy. He's a particular guy. And he won't eat or drink off of things that are too thick. So you don't like a mug if it's thick. You don't like a plate if it's thick. It has to be fine. When we picked out our wedding china, he went through the entire. And it was a massive, massive store. for those in Canada, it's a William Ashley, but it doesn't matter. It was just a huge store of every pattern under the sun at that point. So hundreds. And he went through the entire store holding the weight. He didn't really care so much about the design, although he had opinions about that, too. But you would hold. Do you remember you held the weight of every single plate.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to cop to it. I totally did. I was being very snickety. I will.
>> Amanda Barker: And everything was too heavy. Not fine. You and your mom will say refined. It's refined. It's something you say a lot. And when you say refined, what you mean by that isn't necessarily refined. What you mean by that is usually neat and thin. That's what you mean by that. So in plates, you mean thin.
>> Marco Timpano: Usually I mean fine. So I like a fine china. Finely, not necessarily thin, because I like them.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you like it thick? No.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't. I don't. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And then in terms you're refined, you will say, like, if a gift is wrapped, and something's a little cockeyed or a little loose, that's not refined.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, it's true. But I don't like to drink out of dark mugs. Because if I'm drinking coffee, which is primarily what I drink out of the mug, I can't see the coffee or tea in the mug. And so I don't love that.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. Okay.
Are you afraid there's a fly and you just can't see it
Are you afraid there's a fly and you just can't see it?
>> Marco Timpano: Not at all.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I just like to. I don't know. I don't. Let me know listeners if you have the same sort of, I don't know what you would call it, but, that sort of.
So you were gonna segue into mugs. Here are my top mugs currently have
>> Amanda Barker: So you were gonna segue into mugs. You don't like that we have those.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so let me just say this. Here are my top mugs that we currently have. I love the mug that has a lobster design on it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that was yours. You bought that in Pier 1, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I believe so.
>> Amanda Barker: We used to have another one that I bought you that said Connecticut on it. When I was doing a show there. There's a lot of Connecticut talk with
>> Marco Timpano: the lobster on it.
>> Amanda Barker: What happened to that one? It broke. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I like that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's gone.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. No use crying over cracked mugs unless
>> Amanda Barker: we took it to the cottage, but I don't think we did. I think it broke and it's gone.
>> Marco Timpano: I like the one that says my name in Russian with a Russian design.
>> Amanda Barker: I love that mug. And you know what I don't like about that mug?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you don't like this mug?
>> Amanda Barker: Three spots inside that mug. And for 10 years, I'm always trying to clean it out because it looks like the dishwasher has left something I see in it. Have you never noticed that?
>> Marco Timpano: It's just a fault in the mug.
>> Amanda Barker: And it always drives me nuts.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, those are my favorite. All right, so which one?
>> Amanda Barker: What are the ones you don't like? You don't like my black ones that I get. So I do work with the CBC once a year where I do a year end wrap up on a show called the Current. And, they every year give me a mug. One year it was a travel mug, which I loved. Another year it was a small dark one. And then the last three years it's been a bigger black one with a sort of turquoise rim. So I have three of those, and I will. I don't want to get rid of them because I'm proud of my work. I do.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't want you to get rid of them.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I know you don't like Them.
>> Marco Timpano: I will never drink out of them. It's the only thing. and then there's one that has.
>> Amanda Barker: There's one you hate. Yeah, there's a few you hate, but there's one you really hate. It says over the river and through the woods on it. And it's a cast photo that with every time it goes in the dishwasher becomes more smeared and faded of a show that I did, in probably 2002.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's not my favorite. Yeah, I feel like it should have never gone in the dishwasher.
>> Amanda Barker: Now it shouldn't have.
>> Marco Timpano: And now that it's all kind of smeary, I don't think it's healthy for us to drink out of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, we're not drinking the smear part. It's on the outside.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
M. M. asks what are your favorite and least favorite mugs
Anyway, so let's talk about.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you like the mug that says call your mother? That my mother gave us?
>> Marco Timpano: do I love it? No. Do I think it's funny? Yes. it's just a funny little reminder anyway. And I think mugs are a very personal thing. So oftentimes you're gifted mugs.
>> Marco Timpano: And for me, that's not a gift I necessarily want.
>> Amanda Barker: It's true.
>> Marco Timpano: But. Okay. What are your favorite and least favorite mugs?
>> Amanda Barker: Mugs? Yeah, there's one that I got in Portugal from a vendor in Portugal, that has a quote on it that says, something like, what matters most? It doesn't matter if you're alive. It matters if you're creating or something like that. It's a translation anyway. But it says it in Portuguese and then in English.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's all yellow on the inside.
>> Amanda Barker: It is all yellow on the inside.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's kind of cool. But that one has a couple of faults inside it too.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's starting to crack. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. It's a pretty mug.
>> Amanda Barker: M. It's cracking the way China, like old China does. Like it's still fine. It just sort of has hairline sort of marks in it. and then there's one we got in Detroit.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's like an aqua mug, with, It's a Detroit symbol, but I don't know. It's a man sitting cross legged, holding. It almost looks like the planets in each hand. And that's a symbol you see a lot in Detroit downtown.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a statue they have downtown.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I can't remember. It's the emblem of that statue because
>> Marco Timpano: we went to Detroit and what a Great.
>> Amanda Barker: A few times, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What a great city.
>> Amanda Barker: We did an anniversary in Detroit. I don't remember which one.
>> Marco Timpano: For anyone who thinks Detroit is not a place to go to, I think it's a great place. And I love. I love Detroit. I love our listeners from Michigan.
>> Marco Timpano: I love our listeners from upstate New York. I love going to upstate New York, you know that. I always love going to upstate. Yeah, I always do.
>> Amanda Barker: Have we been together? Did we go to Woodstock together?
>> Marco Timpano: We did, yeah, we did.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah. I was doing shows up there.
>> Marco Timpano: Even places like, I love going to Buffalo, Syracuse, Ithaca, like any of those places.
>> Amanda Barker: I did shows in Ithaca too, at suny.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, what was that like?
>> Amanda Barker: with Duffelback Theater. I did kids shows there. It was lovely. Really, really lovely. Yeah, gorgeous. Really beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: So great.
>> Amanda Barker: Ithaca's great. that said, I didn't get to see a lot of it. I remember just sort of seeing the college university there. Pretty.
>> Marco Timpano: I always like college towns. Yeah, there's something about a college town.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And that's the thing. People forget how much of New York is just that beautiful collegiate towns, once you sort of get out of the city with great restaurants and lovely people.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, we're fortunate because we're not far from Michigan or upstate New York, so we get to see those places. tell us the places that you get to see that are close to where you live. I love it. I love hearing from our listeners.
Amanda did one role for free in Toronto; it was a roll
Well, we're coming to the end. Any last mug thoughts, Amanda, before we end?
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, I'll say this. At the end of the summer, we'll get rid of that. Over the river and through the woods One.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, listen, like I said, if you like that mug, I have no problem keeping that.
>> Amanda Barker: I have nice memories attached to that mug. It was a roll. It's the only role I ever did for free in Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I probably have done more for free now, but when I moved to Toronto, I wanted to be an actor. And my only rule was I wasn't gonna work for free. But then I changed that rule because it was a great part in, a play that I knew I would never get cast in because it's a show about Italians and I was the outsider playing an Irish girl.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And I knew I would never get cast as that, even though the role was important to me. That, Because I don't look Irish, I look Italian.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I have no problems keeping that mug, especially if that's why I like it. You didn't get paid, but it sounds like you got paid in mug.
>> Amanda Barker: I got paid in mug. Everybody was really lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so great in that show.
>> Amanda Barker: And it was a good time. It was a good experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Good show too.
>> Amanda Barker: It is a good show. It's a beautiful show about, generations. It's a bittersweet, it's a sweet show. It's a sad, but also beautiful show because it's about an Italian man and his grandparents.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that written by Joe Di Pietro? Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Well, there you go.
Michelle: Canadians generally call cupboard where you put your cups
>> Marco Timpano: So that's our journey into calendars. What's in our car and our mug. Our cupboard.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess you could say our mug collection. Our cupboard. Or if you're in the States, our cabinet.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, they don't call it cupboard.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe some do, but Canadians generally say
>> Marco Timpano: cupboard for where you put your cups.
>> Amanda Barker: Or cupboard. but in the States we always said cabinet. Kitchen cabinets.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Not kitchen cupboards. So I think it's American versus Canadian, but I'm not entirely sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Where did we get that one mug that looks like it's hand? Hand.
>> Amanda Barker: You hate that mug. So that you don't know where we got it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: The one that has a campfire on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. That was given to me fairly recently by my best friend Wade's mom.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And, it meant so much to her that I was visiting him,
>> Marco Timpano: that she gave you a nugget mug.
>> Amanda Barker: She gave me? Yeah, she gave me. And, your travel companion. Yeah, Michelle. She gave us both, mugs. And Michelle, would be great to have on the show.
>> Marco Timpano: I should have Michelle on the show.
>> Amanda Barker: She's lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: You also got the most beautiful scarf was given to you.
>> Amanda Barker: Gorgeous Gucci scarf. Yeah, really beautiful. I haven't had a chance to wear it yet, but anyway, she gave us each mug one of our trips and so I hang on to it because it makes me think of her.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, there you go. Whatever mug you drink out of, I hope that your cup always runneth over. Amanda, will have to do an episode on your scarf collection.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe I'll have you and Melissa do an episode where you guys talk about your scarves.
>> Amanda Barker: That might be too exciting for, our, bleary eyed listeners.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go. Well, thank you for listening once again. You can follow us on, social media, the insomnia project on Twitter istenandsleep. and of course, listen to us on Acast, Apple, iTunes, Stitcher, wherever you listen. Thank you so much, and we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
The Insomnia Project is a podcast aimed at new mothers trying to sleep
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about the mundane. One thing that we promise is that our conversation will, will be less than fascinating so that you can just feel free, feel free to drift off. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Amanda Barker: And joining him yet again, it's me, Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, people have been saying, or I've been reading a lot of things that people are saying about our show and that sometimes they don't find it so relaxing, they find the topics in interesting.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I can't help what I am, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: of course we just try to have a calm conversation. Hopefully it will at the very least relax you. And if it keeps you up because you find it interesting, what can I say? There's gotta be something that's in our library of, ah, episodes that'll put you to sleep.
>> Amanda Barker: How many episodes roughly are in that library? At this point?
>> Marco Timpano: Over 200. Amanda. Yeah, so there's gotta be one.
>> Amanda Barker: for me, I go back to chess every time.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda. So one. You know, it's interesting who listens to this podcast and who discovers it, but never in a million years would I have suspected that this podcast called the Insomnia Project would speak to new mothers. But we have so many new mothers who listen and enjoy this podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: That makes complete, complete sense.
>> Marco Timpano: Does it?
>> Amanda Barker: Of course, you need, as a new mom, you know, you need help, any help that you can get. It takes a, village to get any sleep, really. It takes a village to do a lot of things, but certainly to get any shut eye. And of course, everybody, especially the generation before us, they always say, well, just sleep when the baby sleeps. Right. It's not always possible.
>> Marco Timpano: No, just like insomnia, people can tell you a million things and it doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna work for you. That said, if you know a new mother, feel, free to mention our podcast to them. But I wanna say a special hello to Emily, who just had twins, who listens to our podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: Twins Emily. Oh, my gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: She started listening with her first child and then had twins and said, I'm still listening to your podcast.
>> Amanda Barker: She has the twins?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, she just had the twins and she started listening a couple years back, I think in 2018 when she had her first kid. Now, Emily has mentioned a few topics for us to discuss, and I haven't told you yet, I have no
>> Amanda Barker: idea what these are, but I am here for you, Emily, and anyone else who's a new mom trying to get some sleep or not. So, new mom trying to get some sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair.
Let's explore your take on any type of calendar wall handheld
Let's begin with calendars.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: So, Amanda, you know that I have a daytimer that's very important to me, and I like to write things in a daytimer versus using a calendar on a phone. But let's explore your take on any type of calendar wall handheld.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, fascinating. Yeah. You know, I have gone through different phases in the world of calendars. I grew up with a mother who always had a wall calendar and always wrote every single thing into those squares, into those boxes, from dentist appointments and soccer practice to, birthdays. Well, yeah, she usually, she remembered them, but yeah, birthdays or phone calls or parties, I mean, it all went in there. So that was sort of something. When I kind of, you know, began my journey into adulthood, that was sort of the model for me. Get a big 12 month calendar with some nice pictures. Commit to it. You're going to put it on the wall.
>> Marco Timpano: What pictures or what is your preferred themed photo or pictured calendar? So in other words, every month is a different. I know you once bought one that was ships for your dad.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I buy one, not every Christmas, probably every other Christmas for my father. that are ships, of course. My father, who's been a guest on this program many, many times. But, he loves boats, ships. He always has. it's in his blood. And, I always get the Mystic Seaport calendar for him. So if you don't know Mystic Seaport, it's a beautiful little town, and obviously it's a seaport on the water in Connecticut. it's most famous because that's where Mystic Pizza, the movie that launched Julia Roberts career. that's where it's set. So, the ship's there. As a child, we used to go there. my parents spent their honeymoon there. Of course, it wasn't very far. And, so I always get that because I always think of him and think of them with Mystic Seaport because they love it there. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Now I love a calendar that allows me to write several things on the date that I need.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I like a. Would you call them a daytimer calendar? Like a book form calendar, a planner,
>> Amanda Barker: a daytimer, that kind of thing. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So I like to see the whole month.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you still do that?
>> Marco Timpano: I do.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you?
>> Marco Timpano: I do. Sometimes I fall out of it, and sometimes I fall out of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. I feel like. Not to call you out too much, but I feel like you go through phases with them.
>> Marco Timpano: like phases of the moon, which you can find on calendars as well.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Like phases of Marcos deciding to write things down in a day planner versus not right now. it depends on what's going on in your life. I think the busier you are, the more you probably have need for some type of agenda. which I think is another word for it. But, whether it's in your phone, on the wall, in a book, which do you use? It's interesting. It's been a journey for me. So I did start with those calendars. I kind of stopped buying them just because they're big.
>> Marco Timpano: And did you like photos of kittens in watering cans and a bird on a string?
>> Amanda Barker: I'm trying to remember. Back in my 20s, I would always get them for my office at work, but. But I'm trying to remember what pictures were in the travel ones. That was it. I got travel calendars. Lonely Planet. I don't know if they still do, but they used to put out, a calendar. So I would get the Lonely Planet calendar, of course. So that's what I started with. And then I moved into the agenda book phase.
Do you prefer your week to start on Monday or on Sunday
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: That you're so committed to most days.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a bit of a dig in there.
>> Amanda Barker: No, it wasn't meant to be. I said, you're so committed to. I should have said that you're sometimes committed. and then I, from various jobs had to be on a Google calendar. And because my jobs made me be on the Google calendar, I started just throwing things up just for myself to see appointments, etc. So. Yeah. But I have to say, it's a weird thing. I don't keep one anymore. I started getting superstitious about them.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Let me ask you this. Do you prefer your week on a calendar to start on Monday or on Sunday?
>> Amanda Barker: Ah, Sunday. And it drives me nuts that my iPhone calendar always starts the week on Monday. It always throws me. I always think my Mondays are Sundays.
>> Marco Timpano: I love, a Monday.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you?
>> Marco Timpano: Beginning calendar.
>> Amanda Barker: Interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: For me, the week begins Monday, not Sunday.
>> Marco Timpano: Because the weekend is Saturday and Sunday.
>> Amanda Barker: But Sunday is the fresh start of a new week and you get a day to kind of lean into it.
>> Marco Timpano: Monday is the start of a new week and you don't get any freshness to start. Lean into it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I could see the argument for both.
Alright, let's go to the next topic. We're just gonna bounce. Sure. All right. Well, the Monday, I guess my
>> Marco Timpano: Alright, let's go to the next topic.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: We're just gonna bounce.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I could have kept going
>> Marco Timpano: with calendars, but we can if you want to.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the Monday, I guess my thing is with auditions. As an actor, I really actually started getting superstitious because I used to put auditions in a calendar or when I've booked something, when I'm shooting.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And as crazy as I thought, I think this is. If you had told me 20 years ago that I would do this. I don't write them anymore. I just remember them, which I can't believe I'm saying that out loud. If it's. If things start to get busy, then I do start to write them down, but.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: All right.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll segue into the next one.
You like to have nail polish in your car. Yeah. Um, okay, so I wasn't expecting you to say that one
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's a question.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it applies to both of us, but I'll pose it to you.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: What's in your car?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, gosh. Well, you know, in terms of things that I make sure are in there.
>> Marco Timpano: Doesn't say.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, well, I'll start with the good stuff. The stuff that I make sure I always have in the car. Do you want me to guess for you and you guess for me?
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: So what's something, so for you, you always want to have in the car. Wipes. Yes, wipes. Like cleaning Lysol or a disinfectant wipe. That's something that you, since the day I've met you, make sure you have in your Car.
>> Marco Timpano: You like to have nail polish in your car. And oftentimes the cap isn't quite as tight as it should be.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, okay. All right. Well, since we've gone here, let me, explain, defend myself. I don't stock all my nail polish in the car. It's not like I'm like, oh, I got a new nail polish, I'm gonna put it in the car. Not at all. What happens.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Is you see, you would know this if you wore nail polish. But when you do wear nail polish, the only. There's only. Really, there isn't much time where you can just sit and not use your hands or toes. Especially your hands in the summer. Obviously toes, if they're exposed, but there isn't, you don't have a half an hour to sit and watch paint dry. No one does. But when you're in the car, if you paint them, not while you're driving, obviously, but before you set out, right at the last minute, as you put your hands on the wheel, if you give them a quick touch up or paint, then by the time you arrive at your destination, if it's a half an hour or more, then they're dry. So that's why I like, I happen to have some for touch ups in the car or if they're chipped, then I like to touch it up.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I guess the nice thing about that is you're not gonna have anything touch your nails while you're driving. So they're not gonna get, smudged or.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes. Are you just realizing this? Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, yeah, I like to use your nail polish to paint my keys. So I know which key goes to
>> Amanda Barker: which or to mark things, to put an initial or a check mark or. Yeah, you do use it for those. Yeah, you do use it for painting. Now sometimes I forget to take the nail polish out. The heat rises. I always put the cap on tight, but it does sometimes if they're upside down or something, they might leak out a little bit. okay, so I wasn't expecting you to say that one, but, fair enough. You usually have a sleeve of old CDs in your car.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That we never listen to. And a lot of them are Christmas ones that happen to be there.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Dolly Parton, Leonard Cohen and Christmas, some of which are now cracked, I think. Yeah. Okay. What else do I have on my car?
>> Marco Timpano: You like to have. For sure, 100%. This is something that Amanda, has in the car, which I do appreciate. She has several of these items in the car and they Are lip balms.
>> Amanda Barker: Yes, that is essential. Essential to have lip balms in the car. And I like to have one on each side. One for the driver, one for the passenger. Essentially one for me if I'm the driver, or one for me if I'm the passenger and you're driving. But I always like to have lip balm in the car. Especially in the winter. But in the summer too. The only problem with that is in the summer they can get smushy, right? Yeah. But I do appreciate having them in there because my lips are always dry. Okay, let me think of one more for you. other than the obvious, other than, you know, your registration and things like that, I, guess you always like to have a pen in the car.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true, I do like to have a pen. And a pencil. Because sometimes if it's cold.
>> Marco Timpano: The pens might not work in the wintertime. So a pencil will always work as long as it's not broken. But I do like to have that.
>> Amanda Barker: Right. And one, more for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Last one for you. You like to have.
>> Amanda Barker: There's something I always make sure I don't leave the house without before I get in the car.
>> Marco Timpano: Water? Yep, there's always water in the car when Amanda's driving.
>> Amanda Barker: there's always reusable water bottles, Sig bottles rolling around. Sometimes four or five of them. But I always make sure I have fresh water before I head out.
If you want groceries just how you like them, try Instacart
>> Marco Timpano: Let us know what you have in your car, because we just shared what we have in our car. Our car sounds like quite a ramshackle of things I have to say.
>> Amanda Barker: Also old coffee cups, et cetera.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure,
>> Amanda Barker: we all prefer things a certain way, like groceries. If you want groceries just how you like them, you gotta try Instacart. They have a new preference picker that lets you pick how ripe or unripe you want your bananas. Shoppers can see your preferences upfront, helping guide their choices. Because when it comes to groceries, the details matter. Instacart. Get groceries just how you like.
Which toe is the piggy that didn't have roast beef
>> Marco Timpano: this isn't something that was brought to my attention by Emily, but I wanted to ask you which is your favorite little piggy? The piggy who stayed home. The piggy that went to market. The piggy that you know, when you do that little.
>> Amanda Barker: I understand you're talking about toes. I just didn't think that this was a topic.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not. But it came to me as we were talking that nursery rhyme.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I always felt bad for the piggy that didn't get the Roast beef. Like, the only thing defined by that piggy was that he didn't have roast beef without looking.
>> Marco Timpano: Which toe is the piggy that didn't have roast beef?
>> Amanda Barker: Can I think about it?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I mean, I'm just. Okay, well, if you're doing that, it's the fourth toe.
>> Amanda Barker: It's the fourth toe. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I like that you had to recite that in your head.
>> Amanda Barker: I do. And same with the Alphabet. I can't. I can't tell you what letter comes after R. I have to go through the entire Alphabet. Okay, well, good to know. The only ones I know for some reason together are S and T. T comes after S. Right?
>> Marco Timpano: ST. Yep. A comes after.
>> Amanda Barker: So that's the only two that I know. Or ab. I would know, but that's it. I have to go through the entire Alphabet to know what would the next letter be?
>> Marco Timpano: That's interesting.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you? No, not really. I always thought it was everyone, but I don't think it is.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Amanda Barker: like L. What comes after L? M?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, M. Okay. What comes after O?
>> Marco Timpano: P?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, my gosh. What comes after Q? R?
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, those are easy ones.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. What comes after E? F?
>> Marco Timpano: This is actually quite easy. I doubt people want to listen to us play the.
>> Amanda Barker: They might not want to listen to us. And hopefully they're fast asleep.
Mugs are a thing that people bring into our relationship
>> Marco Timpano: All right, the next topic I want
>> Amanda Barker: to bring to your Alphabet piggies, where this is things you talk to a toddler about. This is our new mom's edition, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: mugs and cups. And this is a really great topic for us because we do have a lot of mugs.
>> Amanda Barker: We really don't have a lot of mugs.
>> Marco Timpano: We have so many mugs.
>> Amanda Barker: We really don't. We have enough mugs.
>> Marco Timpano: We have some strange mugs. So here are my favorite mugs.
>> Amanda Barker: Here we go.
>> Marco Timpano: You don't think so?
>> Amanda Barker: No. We have all of your mugs that you brought into the. So mugs are a thing that people bring into our relationship. They become mementos or memories are associated with mugs. So I brought my mugs into this relationship. You brought your mugs. And I will say we got rid of a lot of those communal mugs. Mostly mine, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: But I love a mug just like the next person.
>> Amanda Barker: So are you going to describe some of our weird, quote unquote mugs?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Let's just say our favorite mugs that we have, because we have some favorites and maybe mugs that we'd like to see leave our house. So you know this. And, I Don't know if our listeners. I don't like to drink out of a dark mug.
>> Amanda Barker: No, he does not. And I'll take it one step further. Actually, I'll take it two steps further. He won't drink out of a dark mug. So a black mug or a brown mug, he won't drink out of it.
>> Marco Timpano: A light brown mug I'll drink out of. Like the one, we have at the cottage. That is fiesta ware. I don't mind drinking out of that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, okay. I didn't know that. Okay. But he also won't eat off of a dark plate. Like, I used to have purple plates. They had to go.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not. I won't eat off of it.
>> Amanda Barker: You really don't like it and you don't enjoy it. And you tell me that you don't like it and don't enjoy. What am I going to do?
>> Marco Timpano: I sound really terrible in this episode. People are going to be like, wow, I thought Marco was a nice guy.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, he's a nice guy. He's a particular guy. And he won't eat or drink off of things that are too thick. So you don't like a mug if it's thick. You don't like a plate if it's thick. It has to be fine. When we picked out our wedding china, he went through the entire. And it was a massive, massive store. for those in Canada, it's a William Ashley, but it doesn't matter. It was just a huge store of every pattern under the sun at that point. So hundreds. And he went through the entire store holding the weight. He didn't really care so much about the design, although he had opinions about that, too. But you would hold. Do you remember you held the weight of every single plate.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm going to cop to it. I totally did. I was being very snickety. I will.
>> Amanda Barker: And everything was too heavy. Not fine. You and your mom will say refined. It's refined. It's something you say a lot. And when you say refined, what you mean by that isn't necessarily refined. What you mean by that is usually neat and thin. That's what you mean by that. So in plates, you mean thin.
>> Marco Timpano: Usually I mean fine. So I like a fine china. Finely, not necessarily thin, because I like them.
>> Amanda Barker: Did you like it thick? No.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't. I don't. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And then in terms you're refined, you will say, like, if a gift is wrapped, and something's a little cockeyed or a little loose, that's not refined.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, it's true. But I don't like to drink out of dark mugs. Because if I'm drinking coffee, which is primarily what I drink out of the mug, I can't see the coffee or tea in the mug. And so I don't love that.
>> Amanda Barker: I don't. Okay.
Are you afraid there's a fly and you just can't see it
Are you afraid there's a fly and you just can't see it?
>> Marco Timpano: Not at all.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I just like to. I don't know. I don't. Let me know listeners if you have the same sort of, I don't know what you would call it, but, that sort of.
So you were gonna segue into mugs. Here are my top mugs currently have
>> Amanda Barker: So you were gonna segue into mugs. You don't like that we have those.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so let me just say this. Here are my top mugs that we currently have. I love the mug that has a lobster design on it.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, that was yours. You bought that in Pier 1, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I believe so.
>> Amanda Barker: We used to have another one that I bought you that said Connecticut on it. When I was doing a show there. There's a lot of Connecticut talk with
>> Marco Timpano: the lobster on it.
>> Amanda Barker: What happened to that one? It broke. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I like that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's gone.
>> Marco Timpano: All right. No use crying over cracked mugs unless
>> Amanda Barker: we took it to the cottage, but I don't think we did. I think it broke and it's gone.
>> Marco Timpano: I like the one that says my name in Russian with a Russian design.
>> Amanda Barker: I love that mug. And you know what I don't like about that mug?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you don't like this mug?
>> Amanda Barker: Three spots inside that mug. And for 10 years, I'm always trying to clean it out because it looks like the dishwasher has left something I see in it. Have you never noticed that?
>> Marco Timpano: It's just a fault in the mug.
>> Amanda Barker: And it always drives me nuts.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, those are my favorite. All right, so which one?
>> Amanda Barker: What are the ones you don't like? You don't like my black ones that I get. So I do work with the CBC once a year where I do a year end wrap up on a show called the Current. And, they every year give me a mug. One year it was a travel mug, which I loved. Another year it was a small dark one. And then the last three years it's been a bigger black one with a sort of turquoise rim. So I have three of those, and I will. I don't want to get rid of them because I'm proud of my work. I do.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't want you to get rid of them.
>> Amanda Barker: No, I know you don't like Them.
>> Marco Timpano: I will never drink out of them. It's the only thing. and then there's one that has.
>> Amanda Barker: There's one you hate. Yeah, there's a few you hate, but there's one you really hate. It says over the river and through the woods on it. And it's a cast photo that with every time it goes in the dishwasher becomes more smeared and faded of a show that I did, in probably 2002.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's not my favorite. Yeah, I feel like it should have never gone in the dishwasher.
>> Amanda Barker: Now it shouldn't have.
>> Marco Timpano: And now that it's all kind of smeary, I don't think it's healthy for us to drink out of it.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, we're not drinking the smear part. It's on the outside.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
M. M. asks what are your favorite and least favorite mugs
Anyway, so let's talk about.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you like the mug that says call your mother? That my mother gave us?
>> Marco Timpano: do I love it? No. Do I think it's funny? Yes. it's just a funny little reminder anyway. And I think mugs are a very personal thing. So oftentimes you're gifted mugs.
>> Marco Timpano: And for me, that's not a gift I necessarily want.
>> Amanda Barker: It's true.
>> Marco Timpano: But. Okay. What are your favorite and least favorite mugs?
>> Amanda Barker: Mugs? Yeah, there's one that I got in Portugal from a vendor in Portugal, that has a quote on it that says, something like, what matters most? It doesn't matter if you're alive. It matters if you're creating or something like that. It's a translation anyway. But it says it in Portuguese and then in English.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's all yellow on the inside.
>> Amanda Barker: It is all yellow on the inside.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's kind of cool. But that one has a couple of faults inside it too.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, it's starting to crack. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay. It's a pretty mug.
>> Amanda Barker: M. It's cracking the way China, like old China does. Like it's still fine. It just sort of has hairline sort of marks in it. and then there's one we got in Detroit.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I love that one.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's like an aqua mug, with, It's a Detroit symbol, but I don't know. It's a man sitting cross legged, holding. It almost looks like the planets in each hand. And that's a symbol you see a lot in Detroit downtown.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a statue they have downtown.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I can't remember. It's the emblem of that statue because
>> Marco Timpano: we went to Detroit and what a Great.
>> Amanda Barker: A few times, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What a great city.
>> Amanda Barker: We did an anniversary in Detroit. I don't remember which one.
>> Marco Timpano: For anyone who thinks Detroit is not a place to go to, I think it's a great place. And I love. I love Detroit. I love our listeners from Michigan.
>> Marco Timpano: I love our listeners from upstate New York. I love going to upstate New York, you know that. I always love going to upstate. Yeah, I always do.
>> Amanda Barker: Have we been together? Did we go to Woodstock together?
>> Marco Timpano: We did, yeah, we did.
>> Amanda Barker: Ah. I was doing shows up there.
>> Marco Timpano: Even places like, I love going to Buffalo, Syracuse, Ithaca, like any of those places.
>> Amanda Barker: I did shows in Ithaca too, at suny.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, what was that like?
>> Amanda Barker: with Duffelback Theater. I did kids shows there. It was lovely. Really, really lovely. Yeah, gorgeous. Really beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: So great.
>> Amanda Barker: Ithaca's great. that said, I didn't get to see a lot of it. I remember just sort of seeing the college university there. Pretty.
>> Marco Timpano: I always like college towns. Yeah, there's something about a college town.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And that's the thing. People forget how much of New York is just that beautiful collegiate towns, once you sort of get out of the city with great restaurants and lovely people.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, we're fortunate because we're not far from Michigan or upstate New York, so we get to see those places. tell us the places that you get to see that are close to where you live. I love it. I love hearing from our listeners.
Amanda did one role for free in Toronto; it was a roll
Well, we're coming to the end. Any last mug thoughts, Amanda, before we end?
>> Amanda Barker: Okay, I'll say this. At the end of the summer, we'll get rid of that. Over the river and through the woods One.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, listen, like I said, if you like that mug, I have no problem keeping that.
>> Amanda Barker: I have nice memories attached to that mug. It was a roll. It's the only role I ever did for free in Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: I mean, I probably have done more for free now, but when I moved to Toronto, I wanted to be an actor. And my only rule was I wasn't gonna work for free. But then I changed that rule because it was a great part in, a play that I knew I would never get cast in because it's a show about Italians and I was the outsider playing an Irish girl.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: And I knew I would never get cast as that, even though the role was important to me. That, Because I don't look Irish, I look Italian.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I have no problems keeping that mug, especially if that's why I like it. You didn't get paid, but it sounds like you got paid in mug.
>> Amanda Barker: I got paid in mug. Everybody was really lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so great in that show.
>> Amanda Barker: And it was a good time. It was a good experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Good show too.
>> Amanda Barker: It is a good show. It's a beautiful show about, generations. It's a bittersweet, it's a sweet show. It's a sad, but also beautiful show because it's about an Italian man and his grandparents.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that written by Joe Di Pietro? Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. Well, there you go.
Michelle: Canadians generally call cupboard where you put your cups
>> Marco Timpano: So that's our journey into calendars. What's in our car and our mug. Our cupboard.
>> Amanda Barker: I guess you could say our mug collection. Our cupboard. Or if you're in the States, our cabinet.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, they don't call it cupboard.
>> Amanda Barker: Maybe some do, but Canadians generally say
>> Marco Timpano: cupboard for where you put your cups.
>> Amanda Barker: Or cupboard. but in the States we always said cabinet. Kitchen cabinets.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Not kitchen cupboards. So I think it's American versus Canadian, but I'm not entirely sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Where did we get that one mug that looks like it's hand? Hand.
>> Amanda Barker: You hate that mug. So that you don't know where we got it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I don't.
>> Amanda Barker: The one that has a campfire on it.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's right.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. That was given to me fairly recently by my best friend Wade's mom.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And, it meant so much to her that I was visiting him,
>> Marco Timpano: that she gave you a nugget mug.
>> Amanda Barker: She gave me? Yeah, she gave me. And, your travel companion. Yeah, Michelle. She gave us both, mugs. And Michelle, would be great to have on the show.
>> Marco Timpano: I should have Michelle on the show.
>> Amanda Barker: She's lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: You also got the most beautiful scarf was given to you.
>> Amanda Barker: Gorgeous Gucci scarf. Yeah, really beautiful. I haven't had a chance to wear it yet, but anyway, she gave us each mug one of our trips and so I hang on to it because it makes me think of her.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, well, there you go. Whatever mug you drink out of, I hope that your cup always runneth over. Amanda, will have to do an episode on your scarf collection.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe I'll have you and Melissa do an episode where you guys talk about your scarves.
>> Amanda Barker: That might be too exciting for, our, bleary eyed listeners.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there you go. Well, thank you for listening once again. You can follow us on, social media, the insomnia project on Twitter istenandsleep. and of course, listen to us on Acast, Apple, iTunes, Stitcher, wherever you listen. Thank you so much, and we hope you were able to listen and sleep.
Hot Tubs, Root Beer & Slushies
(Original airdate May 11. 2020)
Marco Timpano welcomes Chris Bond to the Insomnia Project
>> Speaker D: Foreign
>> Marco Timpano: welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane or at least a, relaxing topic, so you can just sort of drift off. I'm, your host, Marco Timpano, and we do hope that you listen and sleep. Joining me today is a dear friend. We've had him on the podcast before. We had him even on a Christmas episode. If you listen to those holiday episodes that we had around Christmas or in December, depending on the holiday that you celebrate. Chris Bond, welcome back to the Insomnia Project.
>> Speaker D: Thanks, Marco. it's fantastic to do a repeat visit to this beautiful, calm podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, Bondo, I call you. Your name is Chris Bond, but I call you as well as some of your friends, Bondo. Is it okay if I call you that during this show?
>> Speaker D: You can call me whatever you want, bud.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
My buddy Bondo has a delightful podcast called We Like Theme Parks
Ah, Chris Bond. My buddy Bondo, has a delightful podcast that I highly recommend called We Like Theme Parks. And you can catch that on itunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to this podcast. How is your podcast going, Bondo?
>> Speaker D: It's going really great. Thanks for asking, Marco. yeah, it's a unique podcast that really is all about theme parks. And if you are a Disney fan or a Universal Studios fan, we spend a lot of time talking about themes. Well, maybe a little less talking and more just having a good time and palling around, doing some fun, unique takes on information from the parks. And it's not just news or editorial stuff, really. It's more, dreaming, coming up with new ideas, talking about our favorite things, and just having a good time. We have a lot of original content, so if you're just looking for a funny, enjoyable place to have a laugh and talk about Disney parks or Universal parks, whatever is near and dear to you, you want to check out the We Like Theme Parks podcast, and we're everywhere that your podcasts are available, and
>> Marco Timpano: you'll find it in our show notes as well. I also want to add this, Chris, to that. If you just need a podcast that's just going to talk about light things and that's just going to be uplifting and you don't need to listen to anything that's going to take you down, I recommend We Like Theme Parks.
>> Speaker D: Well, thanks, Marco. We do keep things pretty positive in the same way you keep things very calm here. We like to keep things very up and bright on our show.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. I always love talking to podcaster, fellow podcasters because it's such a wonderful, inclusive community that supports one another. So I'm so happy. I've been a guest on your podcast, you're a guest on mine. We always look out for each other as podcasters, and of course, we always look out for our listeners.
>> Speaker D: So, Bondo, I'll be honest, Marco, you were kind of an inspiration for me getting into this podcasting community, so I thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I more than thank you. We have a love, Chris, for you and I Don't know. I don't know. A friend that likes cottage more than you. I feel like you and I are. I'm going to use the Italian term paisanos. I, use it. I'm going to say kismet. I'm going to say we're brothers, especially when it comes to cottagene.
Bondo: What is it about cottage that you love
So tell me, Bondo, what is it about cottage that you love?
>> Speaker D: I think there's three major things. Maybe four. Let's start with three. First of all, it's company. and it's the company you keep at the cottage that is so special. You don't just go to the cottage alone. Typically you're going if you have your own cottage. You're usually entertaining someone or bringing some guests or family, or some friends, what have you. And you're obviously bringing your top peeps to this cottage event. You're not bringing the bottom of your list. These are the friends you really care about. Because how many really good summer weekends do you have when you're cottaging in Canada?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker D: It's a finite number. Maybe let's call it 10. Like, you have 10 premium weekends, like May to September.
>> Marco Timpano: By the time the second week in September hits, even maybe if it's a good summer, you've got October up to October, but then it gets too cold. And if your cottage isn't winterized, you're closing it down for the season.
>> Speaker D: No, Absolutely. So this is why I say premium, because I think in June, it's still buggy and cool. Once you get into July and you get into August, there's your eight weekends there. And then maybe the first couple of weekends in September, I feel like those are your premium weekends, maybe even that last week of June. So let's call it 13 Weekends.
>> Marco Timpano: I agree with you 100% thus far, Chris.
>> Speaker D: Well, great. I'm glad we're on the same page.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: I would say number two is food. I think we both like to eat. And when you cottage, I feel you make a bit of a spectacle out of the food that you're bringing up. It might be something that you don't typically eat. you're going to have your regular cottage food, your hamburgers, your hot dogs, but then there's always that spectacle meal when you might be doing a lobster or some kind of seafood or some kind of. I'm having guests over. I want to wow them with this cottage food. And these are the marquee meals. so there's a lot of preparation, there's a lot of love and Care that goes into those m. Those meals.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: And, and of course, as a guest, if your host provides this beautiful meal at a cottage, there's nothing better, especially if you get a chance to enjoy it outside. That just double downs on the enjoyment of that meal. Yes. So those are two line items. The third one, I would say after food and company, is, sunshine. Having an opportunity to just soak up that vitamin D, in quiet and calm. And not just like Marco, you and I both live in the city. Right. So I mean, we can get that sun, but it's that atmosphere that's lost.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: and it's just something that you can't understand unless you live in the city and you go out of the city to experience the calmness, the tranquility, and just the warmth of having that very small community, experience. So I think those are kind of the three hallmarks for me. But also the fourth thing is just the activity. You'll be doing some things that you don't typically get to do in your day to day because you have the time to. Whether it's to just even play a board game with your friends or you're going to take out that. What do you call that thing you stand? A paddle board. You're going to take out that paddle board for the first time and enjoy it. These are things you don't get to do in your day to day. They're things to look forward to. So that would be the fourth slot would be activity. So all of those things are things that love and I know that you enjoy them as well.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, one of the things that I have to say is going to the cottage with you, Chris. you know, we hang out in the city. We do very sort of city things and we've lived busy lifestyles in the city. And there's something about being on the beach, at the cottage in a folding chair with, you know, beverages or snacks and an umbrella shading us and just sitting there and just talking about whatever. Like there's no, like you said, there's nowhere to be. And there's something about being in the water with friends, different location, splashing around, swimming, playing Frisbee or whatever water type games that we might have. there's just something so beautiful about that.
>> Speaker D: Well, Marco, you just mentioned all four of my cottage food groups. Okay. Company food, environment and activity, all in your storytelling moment just now. So, yeah, obviously there is a connection with relaxation, a connection with, fun food. But more importantly, you got to be surrounded by the right People that really kind of take, that experience to the next level. And it's because we've all had that same environment. You're in the water, having that same frosty cocktail with the sun shining, doing that cool activity with someone from. That's a friend of your wife's you don't know very well. Totally changes the experience 100%. Yeah. you got to be four for four.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I will spend any day of the week, any time of the year with you in a cottage because you do it right.
>> Speaker D: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: And I just have a great time with you. So I implore our listeners to find that perfect cottage or camping or, hanging out with Buddy. to be with.
You love hot tubs. Tell me about that, because I don't know about you
I want to talk to you about hot tubs. Going from the beach to hot tubs. You love hot tubs.
>> Speaker D: I am a hot tub guy. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about that, because I don't know that about you. My wife is a hot tub person as well. But I want to know why you love it.
>> Speaker D: I'm a fairly large person, and so relaxation is something that I really enjoy. You know, I have pretty rough knees. I have some lower back pain from time to time. And just comfort on another kind of level of comfort is something that I really enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And a hot tub isn't something that I have access to. I mean, I have a tub, and I do live in a condo, but our condo does not have a hot tub.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay?
>> Speaker D: So a hot tub is almost like that special treat, that special thing that you. You come up upon every blue moon. whether it's at a fancy hotel or some kind of vacation experience that has a hot tub. Maybe you have that friend who has the cottage with the hot tub. Now you're. Now it's a fifth food group. and it's all about that relaxation. But again, it's the company and the conversation. You be with good people. you're gonna have a really comfortable conversation. Because if you want to find somebody at their most open, it is when they're being just stewed to a nice simmer in a beautiful hot tub, completely relaxed, ready to talk about anything and just let those cares just float away.
>> Marco Timpano: Jets or no jets in the hot tub for you?
>> Speaker D: I like jets. I like very hot. Okay. Very hot is important because there's. There's. You can get new in a hot tub that is not too hot or hot enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker D: And it's. It just limits the experience. If you can just walk in and not be affected, then it's not a good hot tub. You have to ease in and be like, oh, yeah. Then you know, you're in. You're in a good place. That might mean that you can't stay in there as long. Sure, that's okay. If you are at a cottage, there is nothing more refreshing and just invigorating for your body. Then the hot tub, and then the cold plunge, and then back into the hot tub. Rinse and repeat.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I think they're called hot tubs for a reason and not lukewarm tubs. So I think you got something going on.
>> Speaker D: I agree.
Chris: Let's talk root beer. All right, so I need to tell our listeners this
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so I need to tell our listeners this. before we started today's episode, I had texted Chris, and I said, chris, would you be a guest on my podcast? Because a, you're a great guest. You're a good friend. And, Chris, you texted me back, what are we gonna talk? Something a lot of my listeners will talk about, especially people who are funny or will text me about people who are funny and understand that this podcast is about a chill, calm conversation. And so you gave me a bunch of things, and they were very revealing because I didn't know that we shared so many commonalities and things that we liked. And this next thing is something I really like. And I'm so glad to have a brother who, like you, who loves root beer.
>> Speaker D: Oh, my God.
>> Marco Timpano: Because that was one of the things you texted me. So let's talk. This is the first time we've ever done this. Let's talk root beer.
>> Speaker D: I can't wait. Let's get into it.
What is your preferred brand of root beer? Because I think this is important
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so first of all, what is your preferred brand of root beer? Because I think this is important presently.
>> Speaker D: Well, when you go to the store.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: There's not a lot of options. You have an AMW option or a barks option, possibly, or a mug option.
>> Marco Timpano: You're right.
>> Speaker D: Now I'm again, we're giving you very Canadian flavors, and I'm sure in the US There might be different brands. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: There's dads, too. Every once in a while, you'll find a dad's.
>> Speaker D: Dad's is more like a premium experience. Yes, it is. To have a dad's root beer, it's a little more creamy. but so I prefer if I'm looking for a middleman, if I can't get through Dad's.
>> Marco Timpano: Because Dad's is also pricier, too.
>> Speaker D: It is far more expensive, and they're
>> Marco Timpano: in glass bottles, and they've got more of a. A beer or ale feel to them. Right.
>> Speaker D: Oh, it's definitely nose in the air. Kind of root beer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: You know where a six pack of this root beer is going to run you? $12. 15. It's not a dollar something for a 2 liter, which I'll happily work with. I'll happily buy A and W. I think you get them right around a creaminess and richness in an A and W. But if you want the full experience, yes, Dad's is the way to go. there's some other ones, some other kind of seltzers and things that dabble in root beer. the pop shop is, was always had a really nice root beer. I'm being too Canadian again.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's fine.
>> Speaker D: and then recently in the past, I would say three or four years. Marco, I don't know if you've like dabbled in this. They've had alcoholic beverages with root beer that was available in the liquor store and that has become a hallmark of my cottage experience was really alcoholic root beer and even some alcoholic cream sodas. I guess I like the sweet stuff, but sure. Root beer with without a doubt a nice creamy, rich root beer with, just enough alcohol to, you know, give you that, that zest, that spike. definitely a part of my, cottage experience. But you have to be careful because obviously root beer, a lot of sugar.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course.
>> Speaker D: It's not the kind of thing where you can sit there and power back light beer all day long. This is kind of a topper drink. Maybe the end of the night you have one or two.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker D: This isn't something you can be just drinking all day long because sure, you're going to have, it's going to be funky for your body. So.
>> Marco Timpano: But yeah, of the middle, level root beers, I think I cut you off before you told us which one is your preference.
>> Speaker D: Oh, well, I was, I was saying is, I think A and W is the. Is the one that. Although you would group it with barks and mug.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: I mean, you could also buy a no name brand like a PC brand that's.
>> Marco Timpano: They're not the same. They're just. It's not the same.
>> Speaker D: Quality is definitely poor. Yeah. you can also try a root beer with a soda stream. I've not dabbled in soda beer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: And it's not. I don't find it to be as good as A and W. Hires is another great root beer. It's a little more vintage.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: But recently Hires came out with an alcoholic root beer. Very popular and one of my favorites also. you know, there's a bit of nostalgia There I grew up as a kid. There wasn't barks and mug. There was a W and Hires and that's it. And so having the hires experience again is great. But A and W, if you go to the burger joint, a W and yes. Which I love, having the root beer in the frosty mug just makes it taste better. And I. Marco, I have the frosty mug. I have it. Oh, you have it. I'm a root beer connoisseur.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Speaker D: I have the frosty mug. You throw it in the freezer, you put it, pull it out, you, you pour the thing in. And if you want to add ice too, and really double down on the cold, that's up to you. But if you put the just a regular temperature root beer, A and W root beer into that frosty mug, it is ice cold and delicious. just a really nice way. Not only esthetically and kind of socially like, look at this experience I'm having. The taste is crisp and very refreshing.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. for our listeners who are wondering, what is this A and W we're talking about? so A and is the brand of root beer, and they also have a W burger joints. I don't know how else to describe a fast food chain, that uses high quality meats, in their products and their veggie, burgers. Out of this world. I don't know why I'm right now doing an ad for A and W. But, if you order a root beer to dine in, they will serve it in a frosted mug. And it's free refills with new frosted mugs. And for me, that's, you know, they won me at that.
>> Speaker D: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Even though I like Barq's better, A and W, because of what they do in their restaurants has really brought me over to their side. So good on them.
Marco says Barq's root beer is an acquired taste
>> Speaker D: Thank you for bringing that up, Marco, because Barq's does have. I know obviously the marketing is Barq's has bite. It does have a nice kick of a. There's a spice there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: It's unique to Barq's and it is really tasty. Barq's is even dabbled with some cream sodas, some unique creams, and they're very good too. but it is and is an acquired taste, I think. I wouldn't call it a traditional root beer.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: But it is definitely good. And so if you are willing to dabble and kind of get outside of the regular root beer box, Barq's is really nice. But again, I always Circle back to the dads, the pop shops, the right, the premium carriers when you want to have especially a cottage experience. Oh, boy, that's, that's, that's a treat. That's really nice and it's just so refreshing.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's what I'm going to say to you, Chris. You might want to buy when you go. The next time you come to my
>> Speaker D: cottage, please, please invite me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, for sure. Come with a 6 pack or 12 pack of the dad's bottled root beer. And then what we'll do is we will just use some dark rum and make our own adult version of the root beer. Because I feel like by adding your own liquor, you can determine how strong or how weak it's going to be. And you know, if you have your premium root beer there, while other people might be drinking their beers or their ales, you can just make yours to the taste. And we both will like that. And I know you like dark rum and I like dark rum, so I think that's going to be our cottage drink this year.
>> Speaker D: Well, I mean, for a show that I'm supposed to remain calm, you're getting me very excited. So.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
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Have you ever had home root beer made in a bar that's on draft
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever had a home root beer made in a bar that's on the draft?
>> Speaker D: No, I did not.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there's a place not far from my house we went to one time and, you know, we said, oh, what's on draft? And they went through a list of different ales and lagers and then they said, oh, and that's our root beer, our homemade root beer. And I said, oh, is there alcohol in that? And they're like, no, we use 40 different botanicals to make our own root beer. And they poured me a draft of their homemade root beer. It was out of this world. Probably the best I've ever had. Yeah.
>> Speaker D: Oh, wow. So I'm definitely interested. Please.
I want to dive into slushies because it seems like you're big fan
>> Marco Timpano: Now, from root beer, I want to dive into slushies because it seems like you're a big fan of slushies, and I'm not such a connoisseur, but I'd like to hear your take on. On slushies.
>> Speaker D: Slushies. I feel there's a bit of a, maybe a journey with slushies throughout the years. when you first think of slushie, I think your first instinct is the original Slush Puppy. I think we all remember this machine from the 80s with the little, the hound dog. And it was a. It's just, sugared slush with a couple squirts of red or blue or purple.
>> Marco Timpano: Syrup.
>> Speaker D: Syrup. And it is delicious. It was fantastic. In so much that when as a kid, and if you can believe this, there was a kid on my block that had a slushy machine in his garage and used to sell the slushie out of his garage all summer long. He was a. Wow. Yeah. His dad was giving him a kind of an entrepreneurial experience. So he said, son, I'm gonna buy you this slushy machine. And kids would be knocking on his garage door all day long, coming in for a slushie, a quarter for a medium, 50 cents for a large. I mean, this was in the 80s. Get a sense of the pricing. It's changed since then. And then I think the next step in Slushydom was the 711 experience, the big Gulp, the very large experience. And now it was. It wasn't kind of fruit tastes. It was sodas, and it was a Coke or a Sprite. These, kind of slushies. and then I think the experience where you started to swamp these slushies. Swamp meaning combine the tastes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that was the term.
>> Speaker D: Yeah. To swamp, it would. Which would mean to take. You take your. Your cherry Coke and then put some Sprite in it too. Now you've made a swamp mix is what you see.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And that was something, because when you would go to 7 11, there would be so many variety of flavors, you would be really enticed into trying that swamp. Whereas in the Slush Puppy, you were kind of limited to just a, you know, the handful of fruit flavors that were available. so it was a fantastic Experience. So having also, there's the connection as a child that I had. I was as, a young kid, I played a lot of hockey. And depending on how well I played that day would determine if I got a slushy that game. So I scored a goal or got an assist or just made a really good play that really helped the team defensively or, you know, like I jumped in front of a shot or something like that, or made a big hit, I would get a slushie. That was kind of the rule. So every day after the game, I'd go to my dad and I'd say, is it a slushy day? And he would say, yep, two points. so I would always look forward to enjoying a slushie with my dad after playing hockey. So there was also just that it makes me think of my dad having a slushy. and nowadays when I have adult beverages, because I grew up with slushies, they're such a big part of my childhood.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: When I am having an alcoholic drink, I am usually reaching if it's available for the blender drink. Okay. Strawberry daiquiri. a margarita.
>> Marco Timpano: Margarita, sure.
>> Speaker D: These are all of my favorite things because it's just more slushies, but alcoholic slushies, does it get more refreshing than having a slushed ice blended beverage? I would argue no. I would argue no. and you can, the way you're not gulping this thing down. Slushies have always been a sipper and a sampler, a scooper. There's so many different ways to do it, and it's every. Everyone has a unique approach to enjoying their slushy. And again, if you're into swamping it, making your own slushy.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you swamp your slushy?
>> Speaker D: I do not. I'm a purist. I'm a slushy purist. Without a doubt.
Your flavors, your top three flavors. Cream soda number one. Ah, Tahiti treat would be number two
>> Marco Timpano: Your flavors, your top three flavors.
>> Speaker D: Cream soda number one. so pink cream soda, to be clear, because there's different ones, there.
>> Marco Timpano: If it's not pink cream soda, there's a white.
>> Speaker D: There's a white kind of white.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, Original.
>> Speaker D: even sometimes it's like almost a cola, Like a very bright brown. Like a caramel almost. Okay. I. So that's number one. Ah, Tahiti treat would be number two, which is very similar to a cream soda, but it has, say, unique tropical taste. that would be number two. And, I'm always in for good old fashioned cherry Coke. Cherry Coke is delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker D: But, nothing normal like I don't like Coke or Sprite or. It needs to be flavored. It needs to have that extra sweetness. oh, Coke with lime is also something I really enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but you don't swamp your slushies.
>> Speaker D: No, because then I think we're losing the authenticity of the taste of that cream soda. Like, if you take a cream soda and mash it with a Tahiti Treat, it's not even tastes like a lot of sweet. And I think I'm having a hard time kind of getting those notes, those flavors. I don't mean to literally compare it to wine, but I do enjoy the flavor. And now you're creating a new flavor creation. But some people really like that, and I don't want to judge or discourage. I, was listening to your eat and drink podcast recently, and you were talking about your quarantining, about mixing up drinks, not being afraid to just go to your bar and try out a few things. And I feel the same way about slushies. If you feel like, having some inspiration and just trying some different things on for size, I think you go for it.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. And what about the container? Is the container important to you? Like, what are. Like, I imagine you want the slush particles to be cold but drinkable. So they need to be small enough to go through the straw, but not so cold that they freeze together that it still has a liquid or, a, liquid viscosity to it in your slushie.
>> Speaker D: Well, that's a great point, Marco. We should think about when you are enjoying one.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: I, mean, are you a slushie guy yourself?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I'll tell you this. On the right day, at the right time, I enjoy a slushie. That said, I do love a properly made frozen margarita type drink or a frozen daiquiri if it's done.
Chris: Marco introduced me to the Coco Loco at your wedding
Well, now, when we were at your wedding in the Dominican Republic, they had a drink there, and I don't even know if you were with us because you had so many things you had to do, but do you remember the Bahama Mama?
>> Speaker D: Oh, no. What was that?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it was so good.
>> Speaker D: Chris, what were the flavors?
>> Marco Timpano: It was coconut, ah, based, so it was coconut cinnamon. And you could get it with rum, dark rum, or you could get it as is coconut, with a blend of, I want to say coconut milk. It had a coconutty.
>> Speaker D: Are you cinnamon? Yeah, this with the Coco Loco.
>> Marco Timpano: I am. You're 100% right.
>> Speaker D: Yes. I think is something different. And I definitely indulged in many Coca Locos. Okay, well, thank you for.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for correcting me on that. because I was totally going in the wrong direction. But you're right. Yeah. It was the Coco Loco, and I had so many at your wedding. Did you like it, by the way? Because that was my favorite of all the. Of all the slushy drinks. The Coco Loco is my favorite.
>> Speaker D: I feel like that wedding week, which was obviously two of the greatest weeks of my life. And thank you so much for traveling to Punta Cana, Marco. It was. You were a fantastic guest.
>> Marco Timpano: Happy anniversary. Because it was just last week.
>> Speaker D: Just last week. Yeah. Thank you. I'll let my wife know that you've extended that courtesy.
>> Marco Timpano: We.
>> Speaker D: I felt like leading, up to the wedding. We didn't do too much. Like, we did some drinking, but we weren't making it a big thing. And once the wedding was over, we really hit the bar pretty hard and said, let's kind of really extend this party. And that's when I believe you and your wife introduced me to the Coca Loco.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And that became the signature beverage for the rest of my vacation.
>> Marco Timpano: It was so great, Chris. This was so great. And I have so many more topics I want to talk to you about from your list, so perhaps you and I can continue this for the Patreon, listeners that I have. We'll do a longer episodes where we continue. Continue doing this. Check out our Patreon page if you want to hear more with Chris. But for now, we've come to the end of this podcast episode.
>> Speaker D: Well, Marco, thank you so much for having me. It was a blast.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say this. you are like a fine, icy root beer in a frosted glass. You make me happy. You are satisfying, and you're just great to be around. So, Chris, thank you so much for doing this episode with us.
>> Speaker D: It was my pleasure, Marco. Thank you so much.
>> Marco Timpano: Please check out Chris's podcast. We like theme parks. I will say this. You don't have to be an expert in Disney or Universal, because I certainly am not to enjoy that podcast. Chris, thanks once again, and to all of you. We hope that you were able to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate May 11. 2020)
Marco Timpano welcomes Chris Bond to the Insomnia Project
>> Speaker D: Foreign
>> Marco Timpano: welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane or at least a, relaxing topic, so you can just sort of drift off. I'm, your host, Marco Timpano, and we do hope that you listen and sleep. Joining me today is a dear friend. We've had him on the podcast before. We had him even on a Christmas episode. If you listen to those holiday episodes that we had around Christmas or in December, depending on the holiday that you celebrate. Chris Bond, welcome back to the Insomnia Project.
>> Speaker D: Thanks, Marco. it's fantastic to do a repeat visit to this beautiful, calm podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, Bondo, I call you. Your name is Chris Bond, but I call you as well as some of your friends, Bondo. Is it okay if I call you that during this show?
>> Speaker D: You can call me whatever you want, bud.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
My buddy Bondo has a delightful podcast called We Like Theme Parks
Ah, Chris Bond. My buddy Bondo, has a delightful podcast that I highly recommend called We Like Theme Parks. And you can catch that on itunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to this podcast. How is your podcast going, Bondo?
>> Speaker D: It's going really great. Thanks for asking, Marco. yeah, it's a unique podcast that really is all about theme parks. And if you are a Disney fan or a Universal Studios fan, we spend a lot of time talking about themes. Well, maybe a little less talking and more just having a good time and palling around, doing some fun, unique takes on information from the parks. And it's not just news or editorial stuff, really. It's more, dreaming, coming up with new ideas, talking about our favorite things, and just having a good time. We have a lot of original content, so if you're just looking for a funny, enjoyable place to have a laugh and talk about Disney parks or Universal parks, whatever is near and dear to you, you want to check out the We Like Theme Parks podcast, and we're everywhere that your podcasts are available, and
>> Marco Timpano: you'll find it in our show notes as well. I also want to add this, Chris, to that. If you just need a podcast that's just going to talk about light things and that's just going to be uplifting and you don't need to listen to anything that's going to take you down, I recommend We Like Theme Parks.
>> Speaker D: Well, thanks, Marco. We do keep things pretty positive in the same way you keep things very calm here. We like to keep things very up and bright on our show.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. I always love talking to podcaster, fellow podcasters because it's such a wonderful, inclusive community that supports one another. So I'm so happy. I've been a guest on your podcast, you're a guest on mine. We always look out for each other as podcasters, and of course, we always look out for our listeners.
>> Speaker D: So, Bondo, I'll be honest, Marco, you were kind of an inspiration for me getting into this podcasting community, so I thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I more than thank you. We have a love, Chris, for you and I Don't know. I don't know. A friend that likes cottage more than you. I feel like you and I are. I'm going to use the Italian term paisanos. I, use it. I'm going to say kismet. I'm going to say we're brothers, especially when it comes to cottagene.
Bondo: What is it about cottage that you love
So tell me, Bondo, what is it about cottage that you love?
>> Speaker D: I think there's three major things. Maybe four. Let's start with three. First of all, it's company. and it's the company you keep at the cottage that is so special. You don't just go to the cottage alone. Typically you're going if you have your own cottage. You're usually entertaining someone or bringing some guests or family, or some friends, what have you. And you're obviously bringing your top peeps to this cottage event. You're not bringing the bottom of your list. These are the friends you really care about. Because how many really good summer weekends do you have when you're cottaging in Canada?
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker D: It's a finite number. Maybe let's call it 10. Like, you have 10 premium weekends, like May to September.
>> Marco Timpano: By the time the second week in September hits, even maybe if it's a good summer, you've got October up to October, but then it gets too cold. And if your cottage isn't winterized, you're closing it down for the season.
>> Speaker D: No, Absolutely. So this is why I say premium, because I think in June, it's still buggy and cool. Once you get into July and you get into August, there's your eight weekends there. And then maybe the first couple of weekends in September, I feel like those are your premium weekends, maybe even that last week of June. So let's call it 13 Weekends.
>> Marco Timpano: I agree with you 100% thus far, Chris.
>> Speaker D: Well, great. I'm glad we're on the same page.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: I would say number two is food. I think we both like to eat. And when you cottage, I feel you make a bit of a spectacle out of the food that you're bringing up. It might be something that you don't typically eat. you're going to have your regular cottage food, your hamburgers, your hot dogs, but then there's always that spectacle meal when you might be doing a lobster or some kind of seafood or some kind of. I'm having guests over. I want to wow them with this cottage food. And these are the marquee meals. so there's a lot of preparation, there's a lot of love and Care that goes into those m. Those meals.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: And, and of course, as a guest, if your host provides this beautiful meal at a cottage, there's nothing better, especially if you get a chance to enjoy it outside. That just double downs on the enjoyment of that meal. Yes. So those are two line items. The third one, I would say after food and company, is, sunshine. Having an opportunity to just soak up that vitamin D, in quiet and calm. And not just like Marco, you and I both live in the city. Right. So I mean, we can get that sun, but it's that atmosphere that's lost.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: and it's just something that you can't understand unless you live in the city and you go out of the city to experience the calmness, the tranquility, and just the warmth of having that very small community, experience. So I think those are kind of the three hallmarks for me. But also the fourth thing is just the activity. You'll be doing some things that you don't typically get to do in your day to day because you have the time to. Whether it's to just even play a board game with your friends or you're going to take out that. What do you call that thing you stand? A paddle board. You're going to take out that paddle board for the first time and enjoy it. These are things you don't get to do in your day to day. They're things to look forward to. So that would be the fourth slot would be activity. So all of those things are things that love and I know that you enjoy them as well.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, one of the things that I have to say is going to the cottage with you, Chris. you know, we hang out in the city. We do very sort of city things and we've lived busy lifestyles in the city. And there's something about being on the beach, at the cottage in a folding chair with, you know, beverages or snacks and an umbrella shading us and just sitting there and just talking about whatever. Like there's no, like you said, there's nowhere to be. And there's something about being in the water with friends, different location, splashing around, swimming, playing Frisbee or whatever water type games that we might have. there's just something so beautiful about that.
>> Speaker D: Well, Marco, you just mentioned all four of my cottage food groups. Okay. Company food, environment and activity, all in your storytelling moment just now. So, yeah, obviously there is a connection with relaxation, a connection with, fun food. But more importantly, you got to be surrounded by the right People that really kind of take, that experience to the next level. And it's because we've all had that same environment. You're in the water, having that same frosty cocktail with the sun shining, doing that cool activity with someone from. That's a friend of your wife's you don't know very well. Totally changes the experience 100%. Yeah. you got to be four for four.
>> Marco Timpano: Listen, I will spend any day of the week, any time of the year with you in a cottage because you do it right.
>> Speaker D: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: And I just have a great time with you. So I implore our listeners to find that perfect cottage or camping or, hanging out with Buddy. to be with.
You love hot tubs. Tell me about that, because I don't know about you
I want to talk to you about hot tubs. Going from the beach to hot tubs. You love hot tubs.
>> Speaker D: I am a hot tub guy. Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Tell me about that, because I don't know that about you. My wife is a hot tub person as well. But I want to know why you love it.
>> Speaker D: I'm a fairly large person, and so relaxation is something that I really enjoy. You know, I have pretty rough knees. I have some lower back pain from time to time. And just comfort on another kind of level of comfort is something that I really enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And a hot tub isn't something that I have access to. I mean, I have a tub, and I do live in a condo, but our condo does not have a hot tub.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay?
>> Speaker D: So a hot tub is almost like that special treat, that special thing that you. You come up upon every blue moon. whether it's at a fancy hotel or some kind of vacation experience that has a hot tub. Maybe you have that friend who has the cottage with the hot tub. Now you're. Now it's a fifth food group. and it's all about that relaxation. But again, it's the company and the conversation. You be with good people. you're gonna have a really comfortable conversation. Because if you want to find somebody at their most open, it is when they're being just stewed to a nice simmer in a beautiful hot tub, completely relaxed, ready to talk about anything and just let those cares just float away.
>> Marco Timpano: Jets or no jets in the hot tub for you?
>> Speaker D: I like jets. I like very hot. Okay. Very hot is important because there's. There's. You can get new in a hot tub that is not too hot or hot enough.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker D: And it's. It just limits the experience. If you can just walk in and not be affected, then it's not a good hot tub. You have to ease in and be like, oh, yeah. Then you know, you're in. You're in a good place. That might mean that you can't stay in there as long. Sure, that's okay. If you are at a cottage, there is nothing more refreshing and just invigorating for your body. Then the hot tub, and then the cold plunge, and then back into the hot tub. Rinse and repeat.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, listen, I think they're called hot tubs for a reason and not lukewarm tubs. So I think you got something going on.
>> Speaker D: I agree.
Chris: Let's talk root beer. All right, so I need to tell our listeners this
>> Marco Timpano: All right, so I need to tell our listeners this. before we started today's episode, I had texted Chris, and I said, chris, would you be a guest on my podcast? Because a, you're a great guest. You're a good friend. And, Chris, you texted me back, what are we gonna talk? Something a lot of my listeners will talk about, especially people who are funny or will text me about people who are funny and understand that this podcast is about a chill, calm conversation. And so you gave me a bunch of things, and they were very revealing because I didn't know that we shared so many commonalities and things that we liked. And this next thing is something I really like. And I'm so glad to have a brother who, like you, who loves root beer.
>> Speaker D: Oh, my God.
>> Marco Timpano: Because that was one of the things you texted me. So let's talk. This is the first time we've ever done this. Let's talk root beer.
>> Speaker D: I can't wait. Let's get into it.
What is your preferred brand of root beer? Because I think this is important
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so first of all, what is your preferred brand of root beer? Because I think this is important presently.
>> Speaker D: Well, when you go to the store.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: There's not a lot of options. You have an AMW option or a barks option, possibly, or a mug option.
>> Marco Timpano: You're right.
>> Speaker D: Now I'm again, we're giving you very Canadian flavors, and I'm sure in the US There might be different brands. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: There's dads, too. Every once in a while, you'll find a dad's.
>> Speaker D: Dad's is more like a premium experience. Yes, it is. To have a dad's root beer, it's a little more creamy. but so I prefer if I'm looking for a middleman, if I can't get through Dad's.
>> Marco Timpano: Because Dad's is also pricier, too.
>> Speaker D: It is far more expensive, and they're
>> Marco Timpano: in glass bottles, and they've got more of a. A beer or ale feel to them. Right.
>> Speaker D: Oh, it's definitely nose in the air. Kind of root beer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: You know where a six pack of this root beer is going to run you? $12. 15. It's not a dollar something for a 2 liter, which I'll happily work with. I'll happily buy A and W. I think you get them right around a creaminess and richness in an A and W. But if you want the full experience, yes, Dad's is the way to go. there's some other ones, some other kind of seltzers and things that dabble in root beer. the pop shop is, was always had a really nice root beer. I'm being too Canadian again.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it's fine.
>> Speaker D: and then recently in the past, I would say three or four years. Marco, I don't know if you've like dabbled in this. They've had alcoholic beverages with root beer that was available in the liquor store and that has become a hallmark of my cottage experience was really alcoholic root beer and even some alcoholic cream sodas. I guess I like the sweet stuff, but sure. Root beer with without a doubt a nice creamy, rich root beer with, just enough alcohol to, you know, give you that, that zest, that spike. definitely a part of my, cottage experience. But you have to be careful because obviously root beer, a lot of sugar.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course.
>> Speaker D: It's not the kind of thing where you can sit there and power back light beer all day long. This is kind of a topper drink. Maybe the end of the night you have one or two.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker D: This isn't something you can be just drinking all day long because sure, you're going to have, it's going to be funky for your body. So.
>> Marco Timpano: But yeah, of the middle, level root beers, I think I cut you off before you told us which one is your preference.
>> Speaker D: Oh, well, I was, I was saying is, I think A and W is the. Is the one that. Although you would group it with barks and mug.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: I mean, you could also buy a no name brand like a PC brand that's.
>> Marco Timpano: They're not the same. They're just. It's not the same.
>> Speaker D: Quality is definitely poor. Yeah. you can also try a root beer with a soda stream. I've not dabbled in soda beer.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: And it's not. I don't find it to be as good as A and W. Hires is another great root beer. It's a little more vintage.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: But recently Hires came out with an alcoholic root beer. Very popular and one of my favorites also. you know, there's a bit of nostalgia There I grew up as a kid. There wasn't barks and mug. There was a W and Hires and that's it. And so having the hires experience again is great. But A and W, if you go to the burger joint, a W and yes. Which I love, having the root beer in the frosty mug just makes it taste better. And I. Marco, I have the frosty mug. I have it. Oh, you have it. I'm a root beer connoisseur.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Speaker D: I have the frosty mug. You throw it in the freezer, you put it, pull it out, you, you pour the thing in. And if you want to add ice too, and really double down on the cold, that's up to you. But if you put the just a regular temperature root beer, A and W root beer into that frosty mug, it is ice cold and delicious. just a really nice way. Not only esthetically and kind of socially like, look at this experience I'm having. The taste is crisp and very refreshing.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. for our listeners who are wondering, what is this A and W we're talking about? so A and is the brand of root beer, and they also have a W burger joints. I don't know how else to describe a fast food chain, that uses high quality meats, in their products and their veggie, burgers. Out of this world. I don't know why I'm right now doing an ad for A and W. But, if you order a root beer to dine in, they will serve it in a frosted mug. And it's free refills with new frosted mugs. And for me, that's, you know, they won me at that.
>> Speaker D: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Even though I like Barq's better, A and W, because of what they do in their restaurants has really brought me over to their side. So good on them.
Marco says Barq's root beer is an acquired taste
>> Speaker D: Thank you for bringing that up, Marco, because Barq's does have. I know obviously the marketing is Barq's has bite. It does have a nice kick of a. There's a spice there.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker D: It's unique to Barq's and it is really tasty. Barq's is even dabbled with some cream sodas, some unique creams, and they're very good too. but it is and is an acquired taste, I think. I wouldn't call it a traditional root beer.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: But it is definitely good. And so if you are willing to dabble and kind of get outside of the regular root beer box, Barq's is really nice. But again, I always Circle back to the dads, the pop shops, the right, the premium carriers when you want to have especially a cottage experience. Oh, boy, that's, that's, that's a treat. That's really nice and it's just so refreshing.
>> Marco Timpano: Here's what I'm going to say to you, Chris. You might want to buy when you go. The next time you come to my
>> Speaker D: cottage, please, please invite me.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, for sure. Come with a 6 pack or 12 pack of the dad's bottled root beer. And then what we'll do is we will just use some dark rum and make our own adult version of the root beer. Because I feel like by adding your own liquor, you can determine how strong or how weak it's going to be. And you know, if you have your premium root beer there, while other people might be drinking their beers or their ales, you can just make yours to the taste. And we both will like that. And I know you like dark rum and I like dark rum, so I think that's going to be our cottage drink this year.
>> Speaker D: Well, I mean, for a show that I'm supposed to remain calm, you're getting me very excited. So.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
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Have you ever had home root beer made in a bar that's on draft
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever had a home root beer made in a bar that's on the draft?
>> Speaker D: No, I did not.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, there's a place not far from my house we went to one time and, you know, we said, oh, what's on draft? And they went through a list of different ales and lagers and then they said, oh, and that's our root beer, our homemade root beer. And I said, oh, is there alcohol in that? And they're like, no, we use 40 different botanicals to make our own root beer. And they poured me a draft of their homemade root beer. It was out of this world. Probably the best I've ever had. Yeah.
>> Speaker D: Oh, wow. So I'm definitely interested. Please.
I want to dive into slushies because it seems like you're big fan
>> Marco Timpano: Now, from root beer, I want to dive into slushies because it seems like you're a big fan of slushies, and I'm not such a connoisseur, but I'd like to hear your take on. On slushies.
>> Speaker D: Slushies. I feel there's a bit of a, maybe a journey with slushies throughout the years. when you first think of slushie, I think your first instinct is the original Slush Puppy. I think we all remember this machine from the 80s with the little, the hound dog. And it was a. It's just, sugared slush with a couple squirts of red or blue or purple.
>> Marco Timpano: Syrup.
>> Speaker D: Syrup. And it is delicious. It was fantastic. In so much that when as a kid, and if you can believe this, there was a kid on my block that had a slushy machine in his garage and used to sell the slushie out of his garage all summer long. He was a. Wow. Yeah. His dad was giving him a kind of an entrepreneurial experience. So he said, son, I'm gonna buy you this slushy machine. And kids would be knocking on his garage door all day long, coming in for a slushie, a quarter for a medium, 50 cents for a large. I mean, this was in the 80s. Get a sense of the pricing. It's changed since then. And then I think the next step in Slushydom was the 711 experience, the big Gulp, the very large experience. And now it was. It wasn't kind of fruit tastes. It was sodas, and it was a Coke or a Sprite. These, kind of slushies. and then I think the experience where you started to swamp these slushies. Swamp meaning combine the tastes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that was the term.
>> Speaker D: Yeah. To swamp, it would. Which would mean to take. You take your. Your cherry Coke and then put some Sprite in it too. Now you've made a swamp mix is what you see.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And that was something, because when you would go to 7 11, there would be so many variety of flavors, you would be really enticed into trying that swamp. Whereas in the Slush Puppy, you were kind of limited to just a, you know, the handful of fruit flavors that were available. so it was a fantastic Experience. So having also, there's the connection as a child that I had. I was as, a young kid, I played a lot of hockey. And depending on how well I played that day would determine if I got a slushy that game. So I scored a goal or got an assist or just made a really good play that really helped the team defensively or, you know, like I jumped in front of a shot or something like that, or made a big hit, I would get a slushie. That was kind of the rule. So every day after the game, I'd go to my dad and I'd say, is it a slushy day? And he would say, yep, two points. so I would always look forward to enjoying a slushie with my dad after playing hockey. So there was also just that it makes me think of my dad having a slushy. and nowadays when I have adult beverages, because I grew up with slushies, they're such a big part of my childhood.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker D: When I am having an alcoholic drink, I am usually reaching if it's available for the blender drink. Okay. Strawberry daiquiri. a margarita.
>> Marco Timpano: Margarita, sure.
>> Speaker D: These are all of my favorite things because it's just more slushies, but alcoholic slushies, does it get more refreshing than having a slushed ice blended beverage? I would argue no. I would argue no. and you can, the way you're not gulping this thing down. Slushies have always been a sipper and a sampler, a scooper. There's so many different ways to do it, and it's every. Everyone has a unique approach to enjoying their slushy. And again, if you're into swamping it, making your own slushy.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you swamp your slushy?
>> Speaker D: I do not. I'm a purist. I'm a slushy purist. Without a doubt.
Your flavors, your top three flavors. Cream soda number one. Ah, Tahiti treat would be number two
>> Marco Timpano: Your flavors, your top three flavors.
>> Speaker D: Cream soda number one. so pink cream soda, to be clear, because there's different ones, there.
>> Marco Timpano: If it's not pink cream soda, there's a white.
>> Speaker D: There's a white kind of white.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, Original.
>> Speaker D: even sometimes it's like almost a cola, Like a very bright brown. Like a caramel almost. Okay. I. So that's number one. Ah, Tahiti treat would be number two, which is very similar to a cream soda, but it has, say, unique tropical taste. that would be number two. And, I'm always in for good old fashioned cherry Coke. Cherry Coke is delicious.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Speaker D: But, nothing normal like I don't like Coke or Sprite or. It needs to be flavored. It needs to have that extra sweetness. oh, Coke with lime is also something I really enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but you don't swamp your slushies.
>> Speaker D: No, because then I think we're losing the authenticity of the taste of that cream soda. Like, if you take a cream soda and mash it with a Tahiti Treat, it's not even tastes like a lot of sweet. And I think I'm having a hard time kind of getting those notes, those flavors. I don't mean to literally compare it to wine, but I do enjoy the flavor. And now you're creating a new flavor creation. But some people really like that, and I don't want to judge or discourage. I, was listening to your eat and drink podcast recently, and you were talking about your quarantining, about mixing up drinks, not being afraid to just go to your bar and try out a few things. And I feel the same way about slushies. If you feel like, having some inspiration and just trying some different things on for size, I think you go for it.
>> Marco Timpano: Fantastic. And what about the container? Is the container important to you? Like, what are. Like, I imagine you want the slush particles to be cold but drinkable. So they need to be small enough to go through the straw, but not so cold that they freeze together that it still has a liquid or, a, liquid viscosity to it in your slushie.
>> Speaker D: Well, that's a great point, Marco. We should think about when you are enjoying one.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Speaker D: I, mean, are you a slushie guy yourself?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, I'll tell you this. On the right day, at the right time, I enjoy a slushie. That said, I do love a properly made frozen margarita type drink or a frozen daiquiri if it's done.
Chris: Marco introduced me to the Coco Loco at your wedding
Well, now, when we were at your wedding in the Dominican Republic, they had a drink there, and I don't even know if you were with us because you had so many things you had to do, but do you remember the Bahama Mama?
>> Speaker D: Oh, no. What was that?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it was so good.
>> Speaker D: Chris, what were the flavors?
>> Marco Timpano: It was coconut, ah, based, so it was coconut cinnamon. And you could get it with rum, dark rum, or you could get it as is coconut, with a blend of, I want to say coconut milk. It had a coconutty.
>> Speaker D: Are you cinnamon? Yeah, this with the Coco Loco.
>> Marco Timpano: I am. You're 100% right.
>> Speaker D: Yes. I think is something different. And I definitely indulged in many Coca Locos. Okay, well, thank you for.
>> Marco Timpano: Thank you for correcting me on that. because I was totally going in the wrong direction. But you're right. Yeah. It was the Coco Loco, and I had so many at your wedding. Did you like it, by the way? Because that was my favorite of all the. Of all the slushy drinks. The Coco Loco is my favorite.
>> Speaker D: I feel like that wedding week, which was obviously two of the greatest weeks of my life. And thank you so much for traveling to Punta Cana, Marco. It was. You were a fantastic guest.
>> Marco Timpano: Happy anniversary. Because it was just last week.
>> Speaker D: Just last week. Yeah. Thank you. I'll let my wife know that you've extended that courtesy.
>> Marco Timpano: We.
>> Speaker D: I felt like leading, up to the wedding. We didn't do too much. Like, we did some drinking, but we weren't making it a big thing. And once the wedding was over, we really hit the bar pretty hard and said, let's kind of really extend this party. And that's when I believe you and your wife introduced me to the Coca Loco.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker D: And that became the signature beverage for the rest of my vacation.
>> Marco Timpano: It was so great, Chris. This was so great. And I have so many more topics I want to talk to you about from your list, so perhaps you and I can continue this for the Patreon, listeners that I have. We'll do a longer episodes where we continue. Continue doing this. Check out our Patreon page if you want to hear more with Chris. But for now, we've come to the end of this podcast episode.
>> Speaker D: Well, Marco, thank you so much for having me. It was a blast.
>> Marco Timpano: I want to say this. you are like a fine, icy root beer in a frosted glass. You make me happy. You are satisfying, and you're just great to be around. So, Chris, thank you so much for doing this episode with us.
>> Speaker D: It was my pleasure, Marco. Thank you so much.
>> Marco Timpano: Please check out Chris's podcast. We like theme parks. I will say this. You don't have to be an expert in Disney or Universal, because I certainly am not to enjoy that podcast. Chris, thanks once again, and to all of you. We hope that you were able to listen and sleep.
Music Nerds
(Original airdate: May 6, 2020)
I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and joining me in the studio is Rylan Wilkie. Did I get that right?
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, fantastic. I got Kevin's name. I just obliterated it.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I felt bad because I've known Kevin for years and years and years and I've just really formally met you even though we were together but, Rylan, I'm quite excited to have you. Thank you for joining us.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, I'm happy to be here.
Is there an artist that you enjoy that would surprise some of your friends
>> Marco Timpano: Rylan, you are a self proclaimed music nerd. You just told me that.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, I am a music nerd.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so let me ask you this. Is there an artist that you enjoy that would surprise some of your friends or family?
>> Speaker C: That would surprise them.
>> Marco Timpano: So, for example, I've been a huge fan of Dolly Parton for years and years and years. And growing up, a lot of people would kind of look at me and, you know, say snide comments. It's only been in, the last five years that people have really embraced her.
>> Speaker C: She's cool now. Yeah. But I love hipsters.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, exactly. But I loved her since I was a kid.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, she's great.
>> Marco Timpano: She is great. And we have a whole episode where I talk to Shannon, McDonough about, Dolly. So I want to know who is that person for you? Who is that sort of secret?
>> Speaker C: I'm trying to think of someone off the top, but it's funny because I was just listening the other day to Islands, in the Stream with Kenny Rogers and Dolly. And I still remember that, from when I was a kid. And I was like, this is a really good song. And I think I knew that as a kid. But it wasn't cool to like Dolly or Kenny Rogers. But I remember my mom having a lot of Kenny Rogers, on vinyl.
>> Marco Timpano: He was huge. He was huge.
>> Speaker C: And I loved him. You know who's. Yeah, that's somebody who I really love, that people might find surprising. But I think maybe he's cool now. But it's Neil Diamond. Okay. Like, I love Neil Diamond. Sure. Like, I just think he's so catchy. His songwriting is amazing. And, you know, I just, you know, I think it was never cool. I don't even think it's cool now to like Neil Diamond. But I love Neil Diamond.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever seen him in concert?
>> Speaker C: No, but I'd love to. My mom has.
>> Marco Timpano: I bet he'd be amazing.
>> Speaker C: I bet he would be, too. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: There's certain artists who are just those people who have performed all over.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, totally.
>> Marco Timpano: You get them on stage and it's like, this is where I belong.
>> Speaker C: Well, and he wrote a lot of songs for people too. Right. that he never like him and Carole King and. Yeah. So you know Neil Diamond. Who else? I don't know. Like, there's probably a lot of. Yeah, sure.
>> Marco Timpano: If they come up, just mention it.
Do you still buy vinyl? I recently started buying vinyl
But let me ask you this. Do you still buy vinyl.
>> Speaker C: I recently started buying vinyl, because I think I resisted it for a long time. And then I moved and I moved and I kind of got rid of a stereo. And then recently I was like, I really miss having a stereo. So I was doing a show with a musician and he suggested certain vinyl setups. and I'm kind of into it now. I don't buy a lot of vinyl. I just kind of buy the ones that I really, you know, want to hear on vinyl.
>> Marco Timpano: Is there an LP? So this is one of the things about LPs for me, even when I was a kid and buying them, that you'd buy them and only certain ones would have great songs all on one side that you could just play and not have to change.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, one of those is David Bowie's album. I want to say Modern Love. yeah.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Which is like, just great. You just play one side and it's like every song is just great. Is there a vinyl that you're like. I just love playing this from start to finish.
>> Speaker C: Because I'm kind of new to the whole vinyl experience. But I. I feel like that I try to buy, you know, try to buy vinyl, that I will only really love hearing the whole thing because it's that whole thing too. Right. It's like you have to change it. Right. And I think that's why I went out and bought it, is because, like, I love. I always loved album artwork and, like, lyrics and lyric sheets and all that stuff. So now I can actually just put on a record and force myself to sort of sit there and listen to an album. Whereas, you know, now, because I have Apple Music or Spotify or whatever, you just find yourself not really actually listening to albums in the same way. So, But I'm trying to think, like, I recently bought like, ah, the War on Drugs. Do you know them?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Speaker C: They're amazing. Okay. I can put any of their albums on and I just let them play and it's. I don't have to change it, you know, it's just always sort of there. Yeah, so I'd say that. War on Drugs. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: There's something very tactile about holding vinyl and having that music physically in your hand. And the smell of it coming out
>> Speaker C: of the smell, like opening it, you know, take like. I think I missed all those things, like taking the packaging off, like opening it. The smell of the record. You know what I mean? Like, there is something and feeling like you own it, you know, and that you have Bought it. You know, hopefully mostly supporting the record label, but also supporting the artist. a fragility to it too.
>> Marco Timpano: Cause you're like, I hold this music in my hand and if I'm not careful, I could scratch it and not be able to hear one or two of those songs.
>> Speaker C: Exactly. And versus, you know, with digital or, you know, Spotify or whatever, you have a million songs. It's great, but it's like you're sort of crippled by choice. It's like, I don't even know what to listen to. Whereas this sort of forces you to just. I'm just gonna listen to this album from. Or this side of this album. Although I heard some recent thing that someone said, most people that buy vinyl now just buy it to buy it. Some of them don't even open it. A lot of it just goes unopened. Cause it's just a cool thing. Or it's a collector thing. But, yeah, I resisted the vinyl thing for a while because I was like, I don't know. Really? Are we going back to vinyl? Because I was compact disc kid, or it's just CDs. CDs.
>> Marco Timpano: CDs.
>> Speaker C: But, yeah, you know, the other thing I miss is like, talking to a friend who's also a music nerd recently. Like, I miss going to, you know, like, Sam the Record man on Yonge street or something. And you had those guys that worked there, you know, and that's. Those were like your influencers. Or they were the ones who were like, have you heard this? Oh, you like that? Then you should listen to this. You know, it was like, you know, now you get at some computer algorithm telling you you like David Bowie and War on Drugs. So you should listen to this person. This person. It's like, I liked it when it was the guy who was like, you know, he's like in his 60s with like a mustache and had gone to all the shows and had seen all the bands. And he was like, you gotta check these guys out. Yeah, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Or if you went there, if you frequented that place, they'd be like, oh, this just came in from Europe or from England. Have you heard of them?
>> Speaker C: Totally. Ye. Or they would like, withhold stuff. Like, I don't know if you're ready for this. That's my favorite. I know, like, you're into this, but, this might be too. you're like, no, give it to me, give it to me. And you can see, like, music nerds, like, in music stores, like, they literally get that glazed over look in their Eyes.
>> Marco Timpano: I remember buying like extended 12 inch remakes, of like one song where they would just do extended versions of those songs on vinyl. And that was my favorite thing.
You could buy extended versions of songs on cassette for two bucks
It'd be like, you'd like a song and you can go and you'd see if there was an extended version of that song.
>> Speaker C: Like, who were the artists that would do that?
>> Marco Timpano: It was a lot of pop stuff like Abba or. No, more like Madonna or like. I'm trying to think of some other. It was always like one hit wonders that would do.
>> Speaker C: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: An extended version of their song.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, they had that on cassette too for a while. Right. Where they would have like, on one side they'd have the, hit single. On the other side they'd have the extended version. And they were like, you could buy them for like two bucks.
>> Marco Timpano: Casingles, I think.
>> Speaker C: Casingals.
Do you enjoy attending concerts? I do. Um, I used to enjoy them more
>> Marco Timpano: What about concerts? Do you enjoy attending concerts?
>> Speaker C: I do. I used to enjoy them more. I think I should go to more concerts, I guess. Or should. You know, I recently thought about that. I was like, why don't I go to more concerts? And I think that I don't really like crowds.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: I think that's what I realized was like, I've always felt kind of like, I mean, I've been to concerts that have been amazing, but I've often gone and been like, oh, this venue sucks. Or you know, like, you know, you gotta stand there for a long time. And I also like, just. Yeah. Sometimes you feel too, like. I have a friend who's like 6 foot 5 and he's always like, I hate being the tall guy at the concert. Gotta sit in the back. And so I feel like I. Yeah. I mean, it has to be like
>> Marco Timpano: more of an intimate thing.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. I used to go to a lot more live shows, but I don't really. I don't go to as many anymore. Although I always have a great time, usually. It's amazing. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Where do you listen to your music primarily?
>> Speaker C: I'd say driving, probably.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Or, you know, often if I'm at home just doing dishes or painting or doing something, I'll just put on my headphones and, you know, just listen. Yeah.
Is there an artist whose music resonates with you today more than when first discovered them
>> Marco Timpano: Is there an artist whose music resonates with you today more so than when you first discovered them?
>> Speaker C: M. Yeah. I mean, there are those artists who sort of, you know, they kind of sneak up on you or you go, oh, I wasn't really into them. I didn't really get it when I first heard that, you know, What? I mean, sure. Like, I think of Patti Smith.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Speaker C: Or like, you know, bands that. You're like, I don't really understand this, but now. Oh, I kind of get it now. Like, Brian Eno or like, those. You know, even David Bowie. I mean, some of his stuff is so out there. And I think growing up, I was kind of like, I don't know if I'm really into this. But then you're like, oh, wow, this is really cool stuff, you know? Or I get why, like that. You know what? The whole New wave thing, I'm kind of new to because I was born in 77, so I was kind of missed that whole. Like, I was too young for, like, you know, Devo. And, I saw Devo in concert kind of by accident in whistler in, like, 2010, and I was like, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: This is amazing. You know, like, I just didn't. I just had missed the whole kind of that new wave, you know, Bryant, Devo, and, Yeah. So, I mean, that kind of stuff kind of snuck up on me. Or even the Cars.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. You know, because the lead singer just passed away.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, he just passed away. So I feel like there's a lot of people. It's being played a lot. And I'm like, oh, right. I forgot how great this is, too. early 80s, kind of like late 70s, early 80s talking heads, which I kind of was. I've always kind of been into. But going back and listening to that stuff too, I'm like, wow, it sounds like so much of the stuff that's coming out now. Right. You know, everybody thinks everything is new and it's not. It's just recycled, you know, like every 20 year old thinks they're like, right now, the big thing is like sort of early 90s grungy, not grunge sound, but that kind of Sonic Youth, Nirvana kind of sound and, like, younger bands coming out doing that. And you're like, well, I already lived through this. Like, I'm starting to see it. Sure. Yeah. I can go on and on. No, no, it's great.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting. When you were talking about new wave, I kind of caught the middle of the new wave movement, let's say.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But there was a band that I never really followed when I. When that was actually happening, that when I listen to their music now, I'm like, oh, man, I really wish I could go back in time and be a fan and listen.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: When the Specials were the Specials.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I listened to their music, I'M like, I dig this. so much.
>> Speaker C: Total or Crowded House.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: Like, they're. He's so good. Neil Finn. Anyway. Yeah. Bands like that, that I didn't. You know, I just was. I was like in elementary school, so I was listening to Michael Jackson, Thriller. Sure. You know, Madonna, huge album. Cyndi Lauper. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Those came and it was really had an impact on.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, they were huge. I mean, Thriller was like. That was the biggest thing, you know. You know that. That album was so. It was just everywhere.
>> Marco Timpano: It was epic.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, yeah. That was the first concert I ever saw. Was like, really?
>> Speaker C: It was.
>> Marco Timpano: Michael Jackson and his brothers did a tour called the Victory Tour.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, I remember.
>> Marco Timpano: And I was like 85, something like that. Because I was. I was. I was just.
>> Speaker C: Maybe it was earlier.
>> Marco Timpano: It was around that time for sure.
>> Speaker C: And like. Yeah. I remember seeing the album cover.
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Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And my neighbors were going. Were taking their daughter. Their daughter was older. And they said,
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Marco says his first concert was hall and Oates
>> Marco Timpano: Does Marco want to go? They asked my mom. And I remember I wasn't a huge Michael Jackson fan, but it was just epic at that time. And my mom's like, yeah, he'll go. And I was like, I don't know. And I remember the tickets being like, expensive. They were like $46. This is really expensive. But I remember just being like, wow, it was incredible. Even. Even though I wasn't the hugest fan, it was like, this is. This concert is just incredible.
>> Speaker C: I know. It's such a. It's such a sad story, really. I mean, I don't know. I can't even bring myself to watch, the documentary. But, He just was so. I mean, if you go back and watch some of those videos of him performing, there's just nothing like it. I mean, there's. He was incredible. And yeah. I'm trying to think my first concert. Yeah. What was your first concert was, hall and Oates. Oh, hey. That's a band that. I love that people that. It's kind of cool now, like I feel like they're kind of cool now, but, like, there's a period, a long period where hall and Oates were not cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Hall and Oates is one of those bands that is easy to laugh at or shrug off, but if you listen, they have so many hits.
>> Speaker C: I know.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, people don't realize, like, when you listen to hits, you're like, that's hollow notes. Oh, and that's.
>> Speaker C: That's hollow notes. Totally. Ah, yeah, yeah. Like, there are artists like that, right? Like Neil Diamond. Hollow notes. you know, Billy Joel's like that too. Like, I've never been a big fan, but so many hits. Actually, you know what? We went to a concert. Like, it wasn't even a concert. It was at a pub where they had an Elton John tribute band. Although I think he was recently in Toronto. I'd love to see Elton John.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
>> Speaker C: So this. They were great. This guy, you know, he sounded like Elton John. But that night, I remember thinking it was like 40 songs and they were all hits. Like, I knew all of them and I was like, I forgot. Like, he's just a hit machine. Yeah. You know, Elton John's incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: I am not a huge Elton John fan, but I saw him in concert. I saw him as a part of. He was one of the people performing in this particular concert. And he was spectacular.
>> Speaker C: I bet.
>> Marco Timpano: Spectacular in a way that only certain artists can be.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And you're like, this person just on stage is.
>> Speaker C: He's just magic. Yeah, yeah. He's Elton John.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like Celine Dion, too. Once again, not someone I would ever, you know, go and see, but I
>> Speaker C: would go see her for sure. If I was like, you know, in Vegas or wherever I saw her, she
>> Marco Timpano: was doing, our version, the Canadian version of the Grammys, let's say.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The Juno's at the time. So she was one of the people performing at the Juno's way back when. And she. She wasn't the megastar she is today. She was. She was popular and big and once again, not somebody would have on my radar. And I just remember sitting there and listening to her voice and being like this person.
>> Speaker C: Shocking is incredible.
>> Marco Timpano: Just like, Sarah McLachlan when you hear her live.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, I bet she's.
>> Marco Timpano: She's. She's better live.
>> Speaker C: Totally.
>> Marco Timpano: Sade was like that too, where it
>> Speaker C: was like, well, there's something about that confidence too, of just like, that's just who they are, you know, and they can't, you know. when I saw Spirit of the West I felt the same thing. You know, John Mann just passed away and I, I wasn't a huge fan but I saw them open for Blue Rodeo in like the 90s.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: And he was so electric.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
I mean he was just on fire. And his voice and you could tell he just loved what he was doing
>> Speaker C: I mean he was just on fire. And you were like, wow. And his voice and you could tell he just loved what he was doing, you know. And there's something just infectious about that. You can't deny that, you know, it was just incredible. yeah, like Celine Dunn's probably the same, right. Like she's just great at what she does and she just owns it.
>> Marco Timpano: Totally.
Is there a style of music that you enjoy listening to that's unusual
Is there a style or genre of music that you enjoy listening to that's a little bit unusual? So for example, for me, I. Could listen to people yodel all day long.
>> Speaker C: Oh yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I just love it. I just think it's such joyous.
>> Speaker C: That is so funny that you say that.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's like every once in a while a country, an old country artist will have a bit of yodeling in their song and I just love it.
>> Speaker C: That's funny you say that because that actually just But yeah, there's something about that folk music that's really. When I was at theater school, I can't even remember this. There's a Alan, what's his name? Anyway, this musical historian from the Smithsonian went around and recorded all this folk music early. Mostly American, but all around the world. He would go to small villages, whether it's in Italy or in Maine, and he would record people just singing either in churches or in town squares or like local choirs or folk songs. Right. And they are the most beautiful things you've ever hear. And yeah, that's an unusual thing to like, but I feel the same way about yodeling. Like we. I did a show in Blythe where it was about farming and farm families. And we met all these dairy farmers from around Blyth. And most of them were of Swiss and German descent.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Speaker C: And you know, they were quite like, you know, very stoic German Swiss dairy farmers, these big sort of burly, gruff guys. And one of the guys said to us at one point, well, we have a choir, me and some of the other farmers. And we said, oh really? He said, well, would you like, you know, we kind of got to know him a bit better. He said, well, would you like to come to one of our rehearsals? Well, it was a yodeling choir.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Speaker C: I had no idea what to expect. Right. I'm thinking a yodeling choir. So here I am with the director and about five or six other actors. And they invite us. It's like a. Late at night, we're on like, this tiny church community hall in the middle of nowhere. There aren't like any towns around. And all of these trucks start pulling up and these farmers start getting out. And we go in and it's mostly men, I think there are a couple women. And they start singing. Have you ever heard of yodeling choir?
>> Marco Timpano: No, I haven't.
>> Speaker C: But we were all crying. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. I think just partially their vulnerability and able to express themselves. But it was. For them, it was a community thing. They were getting together and they would eat and they would yodel. And I was like, this is incredible. So, yeah, I guess that answers the question. Is there. I think I'm really into like that kind of, folk. Folk music.
>> Marco Timpano: That's.
>> Speaker C: Yeah. Have you heard any, like, any of that stuff? Like field recordings of, He would go down to the south too. I'm trying to remember his name now. Alan.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting, you know, I travel quite a bit. And when you're in different places, you'll often hear, you know, like in the town square, people who are from there singing in the language that is of the. Of the nation. And they'll sing folk songs or things you've never heard of and sounds. You're like, this is so beautiful.
>> Speaker C: Or like a style of singing that, like, how did that happen? You know, that, you know, everyone. It just. That's just who they are or that speaks to their culture or whatever. I'm sure in Italy too, there's like, you go to places where they have, you know, singing in the squares or not even choirs. I don't even know what they'd be called. Often with these recordings, it's often people at work. So it's like they're fishermen, or whatever. And this is the song they sing when they're. You know what I mean? I love the organic nature of that.
>> Marco Timpano: I was recently in a high school in Newmarket, Ontario, and I was there to do, a workshop. And it was an art school. And I remember walking through the halls to get to the class where I was going to go.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And there was the music department. They were just singing, like rehearsing and practicing. And it wasn't anything meant to be listened to, but it was so tremendous to hear these young voices singing and stopping and then restarting and getting instruction.
>> Speaker C: I grew up singing in choirs too, and I feel Like, I mean, I also grew up going to church and, you know, United Church, so it wasn't, like, really religious.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Speaker C: But, one thing I do miss is, like, that people, strangers getting together to sing. Yeah. You know, I think, you know, people don't really go to church anymore. They don't go to sing, with other people. There's something really beautiful about that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, there certainly is. And there's something really nostalgic about singing in a place of worship that you
>> Speaker C: may have gone to, where.
>> Marco Timpano: I know sometimes we'll be in a church and I will just. And they'll start singing one of the hymns, and it'll just come out of my mouth.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
I love listening to world music and hearing different songs
Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: My wife will turn to me and say, how do you know this song?
>> Speaker C: And I'm like, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I think I learned it in high school or in grade school.
>> Speaker C: 14. I was just watching a movie the other day, and my wife's Catholic, and, a song came on and she started singing it too. And I was like, oh, how do you know that song? Song? She's like, oh, I just, you know. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a couple of Latin songs where it's like, I know some of the words.
>> Speaker C: She's like, how do you know?
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm like, I think we sang it for someone's communion or something. We learned this song, so it's really funny.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: When that. I always find it humorous when that happens.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But I do love listening to world music and hearing different songs.
>> Speaker C: Yeah, totally. Or just. Yeah. I mean, I won't say I'm like, a world music fan, but I know that those recordings, those folklore sort of folk song recordings I find really cool, and I think. Yeah, it's, There's something really cool about just hearing untrained voices sing, too, you know?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I've never been a fan of karaoke.
>> Speaker C: No, me neither.
>> Marco Timpano: That's not been my thing.
>> Speaker C: No. But people really get into it, don't they? They really.
>> Marco Timpano: And every once in a while you hear something, you're like, oh, that's amazing.
>> Speaker C: yeah. Yeah. The worst is going with actors, too, who are, like, really into it, because you always feel like they're, like, showing. Or this is, like, my audition piece or something. Living their dream. But then there are the people who just go. And like. I remember one of the first times I went to karaoke was in Toronto at, Remember there was a place called Healy's? Jeff Healy. Oh, it was in the basement. They'd have karaoke night, and I don't know why. I think a friend was doing a show at the Factory or something, and we went there. But, like, I was surprised at how serious people took it. Like, it wasn't. They didn't like actors getting up and making fun of.
>> Marco Timpano: No, of course not.
>> Speaker C: They wanted it to be like, no, no. This is a serious, serious thing.
>> Marco Timpano: I met Jeff Healey a couple of times.
>> Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Such a lovely person.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And I remember talking to somebody who worked closely with him. And for those of you who don't know who, Jeff Healey, was a fantastic blues artist. And, he. He was blind. And one of the things that the person who worked with him said that he had an extensive, going back to vinyl, an extensive vinyl collection. And he could pick up a record and then just feel the grooves with his hands and tell you what. And I was, like, always floored by that. And they said he's got a musical knowledge, like, especially with jazz and blues that no one else has.
>> Speaker C: He was incredible. A guitar player. Like, that's another guy that, like, I feel like I didn't. I think I saw him open for someone and he was incredible, but I didn't, you know, like, at the time I was kind of like, oh, I don't really know Jeff Healy, but I bet if I went back and listened to those records.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yeah.
>> Speaker C: Incredible guitar player.
>> Marco Timpano: And such a. My encounters with him. He was a, wonderful and lovely individual, I have to say. Very kind. I didn't have many interactions with him, but the ones I had were very memorable.
>> Speaker C: I wonder what's there now. Like, it was in the basement below,
>> Marco Timpano: What was it?
>> Speaker C: The paddock.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the paddock, which is on Bathurst street, if you're ever in Toronto.
>> Speaker C: Bathurst and Queen. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was a fun place. other places I remember. I remember going to. And I don't know if you lived in Toronto at this time, but there is a club across the street that's now a furniture store called the Big Bop.
>> Speaker C: And I remember you going there.
>> Marco Timpano: There are these clubs that no longer exist.
>> Speaker C: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Even in New York, I remember going to the Limelight, and now it's a, clothing store or something.
>> Speaker C: Although, like, even in Toronto, like, a lot of the venues are just. Those classic venues are gone, aren't they?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, they're disappearing.
I don't think there's any clubs there or concert venues anymore
>> Speaker C: Like, I talked to friends who went and saw, like, the Clash or, like, the Ramones at some. I don't even know what the name. Sure. Some. Some venue in the East End, you know, like Parliament and. Yeah, I'm like, I don't think there's any clubs there or, like, you know, concert venues there anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: It's insane. Yeah, it's insane.
This episode did not put me to sleep, but I really enjoyed it
well, that brings us towards the end of this, great episode. Rylan, thank you so much for coming on the Insomnia Project and sharing your enthusiasm for music. I know for some people, they will have been this. This episode did not put me to sleep, but I really enjoyed it. So I hope if you're not asleep at this point, you at the very least enjoyed this episode on music. as always, the Insomnia Project is produced by drumcast Producer Productions, and this particular episode, as you may have guessed by listening to it, was recorded in Toronto, Canada. we hope you listen and sleep.
Tumble Dry & New Brunswick
(Original airdate: May 4, 2020)
The Insomnia Project is a conversation that's less than fascinating
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about the mundane. One thing that we try to deliver is a conversation that's less than fascinating so that you can feel free to just drift off. Thank you for joining Us, we hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Tympano, and with
>> Amanda Barker: him, here I am again, Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, if people are listening and they hear a tumbling sound, that's the soothing
>> Amanda Barker: tumbling sound of towels in our dryer.
>> Marco Timpano: I love the sound of things in the dryer. I always have.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I always find it calming and just watching, I guess just being able to watch the things tumble.
>> Marco Timpano: I find relaxing as well. I've always loved doing laundry. There's something about it that I find very relaxing. There's something about putting drinks, laundry in and then taking it out. And then the warm feeling of dry laundry from the dryer is a feeling that just relaxes, me always has.
>> Amanda Barker: There's something really satisfying too about taking warm clothing out of the dryer because you have this feeling like everything is warm and dry and clean. It's almost that same kind of or reminiscent of that feeling like when you come out of the pool or a day swimming at the lake, or that type of thing where you come out of somewhere maybe a little dirty, little cold, a little wet, and then you put on something comforting and warm and dry and clean and just have that wonderful feeling like you're ready for a beautiful long nap.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. I love, I love that warm sort of feeling of nostalgia and of just fun, easygoing times.
>> Amanda Barker: I love the sound as well of the dishwasher. Not everyone has a dishwasher, but I had one growing up, I have one now. And I love it. And it was one of the first things I bought when I started making a little bit of money as an actor. And that sound at night of the swishing and I think it's a similar idea. It's that monotony, the humming monotony, the comforting thing that something's being taken care of for you that you don't have anything to do but just sort of snuggle in and listen to that sound. I love the sound of the dishwasher at night.
>> Marco Timpano: I love doing dishes after a big party and everyone's gone.
>> Marco Timpano: There's something about actually doing the dishes because some of the dishes we have when we have people over, you can't put in the dishwasher.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: We have certain glassware that has fine
>> Amanda Barker: china or good wine glasses, crystal, that kind of thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And so there's something I love about washing those dishes by hand once everyone is gone and just taking my time with it and just enjoying the party that was just had. And the conversation and the laughs. The food.
>> Marco Timpano: The wine as you mentioned. There's something about that sort of, after a nice time breath that one gives.
>> Amanda Barker: Wrapping up all that food and then putting it in the fridge and knowing that everything's been taken care of. There's nothing to do, there's nowhere to be. It's almost like. I know that feeling that you're mentioning. It's almost that feeling of having a really good long laugh and then the sort of sigh that comes after it.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It is a great feeling. Really great feeling. My sister loves to do dishes as well. She finds it very comforting. She said she'll never get a dishwasher because she loves the comforting feeling of getting them done until she gets a dishwasher.
>> Marco Timpano: And m. She'll love the comforting sounds of the dishwasher while she does other things.
>> Amanda Barker: So dishes can be comforting whether you are getting machine to wish them around or if you're doing them by hand or like most of us. Maybe a little bit of both, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But there's so many sounds like that humming sounds. Ah, the sound of a vacuum. For a lot of people it's really, really comforting. I know we have an automated roomba
>> Marco Timpano: vacuum, those disc vacuums that sort of march around the house vacuuming things up.
>> Amanda Barker: And I know it's one o' clock because that's the time that you've set for it to zip around the living room.
>> Marco Timpano: except for Thursdays.
>> Amanda Barker: Thursdays it happens at 1am so just as we're drifting off to sleep, we'll hear this sort of distant hum. And then my sleepy brain usually registers, oh, this is the night that he
>> Marco Timpano: mistakenly put the wrong time for it to go off as opposed to going off at one in the afternoon. On Thursdays it goes off at one
>> Amanda Barker: a.m. but it's a little bit of a blessing because we always wake up on Friday with an extra clean house. So there's something really comforting and nice about that too.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to love to vacuum my parents shag carpet.
>> Amanda Barker: What? Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I did when I was a kid. Because with shag carpet, or with longer fiber carpet, I should say, you'll see the lines that the vacuum makes as it goes forward and comes back. So I used to love to try to make it perfect. Almost like, like you know, when people do things like an etching or coloring in and just getting it all completed, maybe even a puzzle. But there was something I found very rel about getting all the lines as straight as I Could on the carpet.
>> Amanda Barker: I felt that way about, lawn mowing. Of course, I used to do the strip with the push lawnmower. That was one of my chores. And I used to push it all the way, one way so it would make a real strip in the grass and then line it up as you turn around and then push it back. So the grass was sort of in that kind of checkerboard almost pattern, you know, where it's swishing one way in one line and then swishing the other way and the other line. yeah, really, there is something really satisfying. And of course, there's always that little patch that you miss. Right. So then you go back and get those little bits. Same as vacuuming, I think, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Same as in the fall when you rake the leaves. And you know, at that point in the fall, the grass tends to be its most verdant, its most deepest. Its lusciousness.
>> Marco Timpano: And so when it's covered by fallen leaves, that beautiful green gets covered. But the minute you start raking and you reveal this luscious grass underneath.
>> Marco Timpano: That's quite, Quite a lovely feeling too.
Dandelions can be picked when it's wild or in clean fields
>> Amanda Barker: I was thinking about mowing the lawn. A friend posted a picture of her daughter laying down in the grass, looking up at the sun and. And there were dandelion, blossoms all around those little yellow dots in the grass.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I was thinking about it and saying, you know, it might be time for us to go and pick the cicoria with your mom.
>> Marco Timpano: Dandelion greens.
>> Marco Timpano: Or chicory and radicchio can, be picked when it's wild.
>> Marco Timpano: In clean fields. And that's something that we will do. And one of the things we love to collect in particular is purslane.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right. And sandy grass, which your mom calls sclopide.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that dialect or is that Italian?
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's dialect for purslane. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But, cicoria is, really popular in Italian cuisine. And in those farm fields there's all those springs. And the best time to pick the chacoria is before the dandelion has blossomed. So if you see those little yellow bulbs, it's probably not tender enough that you want to go there. Your mom taught me that. So in the spring and early summer, if you can catch it just on the right moment, you can go out and fill, as we used to do, fill garbage bags with cicoria. I'm hoping we do it this year. And then clean them and clean them and steam them down.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Cleaning Them is the big sort of challenge because they're often with a lot of sand and soil and you really want to clean them well.
>> Amanda Barker: versus getting them from like a yard. You want to get them from like a farmer's field. Then you'll have the best Cicoria.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Rhubarb is something that is reminiscent of British baking
The other thing I love, picking. I don't know if picking is the right word for it, but snapping is the rhubarb when it's ready and you sort of pull at the stalk and it makes a crisp snap. And I know that, we have a lot of listeners based in the UK and rhubarb is something that is so reminiscent for me of the
>> Amanda Barker: UK and of British baking. Isn't it like a strawberry rhubarb torte or cake or coffee cake.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if it's British per se, but they do it so well and m. So that's why I associate it because when we were there.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think rhubarb, when you think of where rhubarb grows or where you've experienced a really great rhubarb themed dessert, it would be in colder climates. So, Britain for sure. The UK I would think probably France as well. But you wouldn't have rhubarb in a tropical climate, right?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I think it's something that needs a, a mild to cool and crisp climate.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm no arborist, but that's what I'm gonna go with. But there's something about rhubarb, strawberry cream, clotted cream, scones, tea.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: That. Any of that.
>> Amanda Barker: The comfort of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the combination of that. You, you know, I love. And I've always loved the taste of rhubarb and even the color. There's something so beautiful about that particular pale greeny shade of red that makes me feel relaxed.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a pink really, isn't it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it goes from green to red when you cook rhubarb. Yes, it's pink, but I'm talking about the actual rhubarb itself.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the leaf is green. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But it has striations that go from green to red. The stalk does.
>> Marco Timpano: At least that's my perception of it. And so there's something about rhubarb red.
>> Amanda Barker: It's sort of. Yeah. Like it starts white. Maybe there's green at the root and then it's that white bulb y kind of base. And then as it grows up, it gets a little pinker and pinker until you have that deep hue in the tender rhubarb, you want to pick it around the same time as you would pick chacoria, like in that early summer time. and usually with a rhubarb plant, you can pick it twice. So if you pick it at the beginning of the summer and get those tender little stems, then you can go back in August and get some more.
>> Marco Timpano: We always had as late as August,
>> Amanda Barker: you can pick it again the second round. In New Brunswick, we had it and it would grow along our shed. So we had big rhubarb patches that would grow along our shed. Beautiful and sweet. I would pick it and just chew it.
Amanda says New Brunswick is famous for picking and eating fiddleheads
>> Marco Timpano: Actually, Amanda, you know, you will often mention New Brunswick, where you lived for a portion of your life. And some of our listeners would probably want to know more about New Brunswick, the province of New Brunswick in Canada.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: What can you tell us that one who isn't familiar with it might not know?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I have spring on the brain, I think, right now, and picking things and foraging things on the brain right now. So one of the things that we would do in the early summer months and spring months would be picking and eating fiddleheads. So that's a fiddlehead fern, the little tender baby curled up shoots of the fern. We were quite famous, actually. We're fiddlehead country. We'd pick our fiddleheads. You could buy them many times at stands on the side of the road. Big sandy bags of fiddleheads, same as the dandelion greens. Take them home and clean them well and then you saute them with whatever your fancy. A lot of times people have them with vinegar, but I just like them with oil and butter, maybe a bit of garlic and lemon.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, there's a caperness to fiddleheads, I find.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, in that they're like capers are unflowered buds and fiddleheads are ferns that have not furled. And they can often get pickled or used with a vinegar, let's say.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never had a pickled fiddlehead. No, I believe you, but I've just never had them. We always had them fresh and that was the way to have them. And it was one of those rare greens because they're not so widely eaten around the world. Although that is changing, that it really was a thing that you could only get at a certain time of the year. So there was always the association of the freshness, the first buds of those first warm days and the comfort of that. So, it would just feel wrong to have a fiddlehead in November. Right. Even if you Froze it. And there is something to be said about that type of seasonal eating. Right. So Fiddlehead certainly being one of them. you know, now we have so much that's available to us in any time. Actually, asparagus was like that for us, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: because we get those first tender shoots around the same time.
>> Marco Timpano: I love asparagus.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
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New Brunswick is a bigger province than people realize
>> Marco Timpano: but tell us more about New Brunswick, the province.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, well, New Brunswick is bigger than people realize. It's a bigger province. so it spans quite a distance. I don't have exact numbers.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: there's sort of three or four, I guess, arguably four major sort of hubs. Cities. I think they're all cities or qualifying as cities. Now, there's Moncton, which is, I believe, the biggest city.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Moncton is. It's bigger than Fredericton.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't realize that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, much bigger. Moncton, St. John.
>> Marco Timpano: Beautiful city by the water.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you find it beautiful?
>> Marco Timpano: I thought it was wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Saint Johners would argue it with you. They like to do that. But it is actually a really beautiful city. Rustic, rustically beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's on the water and there's ships and there's something very seafaring about it.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: yeah, the seafood there is fantastic. And the. I want to say the old town, but I don't know if that's the right word for that.
>> Amanda Barker: I think, honestly, it's the downtown that you.
>> Marco Timpano: The downtown is just wonderful to stroll in. And it's really pretty.
>> Amanda Barker: It's beautiful. Yeah. I've always loved St. John. It knows what it is. And that's the thing I always loved about it. Miramichi is a city that I have not spent much time in. and Miramichi is an interesting one because it wasn't considered a city for a long time. It was more of a hub. And I think what they did was amalgamate a few of the little towns to now refer to it as Miramichi. I hope I've got that right.
Amanda loves being underwater. I do. When I was a child, we had a pool
And then Fredericton would be the other city, as you Mentioned now, Fredericton. I know the most about Fredericton because I lived an hour from Fredericton, and I was a tour guide in the city of Fredericton. So I know a lot of its old histories.
>> Marco Timpano: And tell us one fascinating thing, story, history that you recall.
>> Amanda Barker: And maybe, I mean, we can do a whole episode on Frederton if you want, later on. one story about Fredericton. Well, it wasn't big enough, in fact, back in the day, to have an Anglican church, which back in the old Loyalist days was what you needed, to sort of establish yourself. So you had to have at least 10,000 people for the Queen of England, who was Queen Victoria at the time, to be a city, to be considered a city. But she granted, Fredericton city status under 10,000 people so that they could have a beautiful Anglican cathedral. And, so people do always think. The reason I bring that up is because people always think Fredericton is actually a much bigger city than it is. That said, it is a very beautiful city. it is the capital city, city of New Brunswick. And there's a lot of, There's a lot of professors that live there. There's two universities there.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And a few colleges as well. There's an art college, some community colleges. and then there's the biggest, which is University of New Brunswick, which is a very big university, and a smaller university, which is St. Thomas University.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The Bay of Fundy is in New Brunswick.
>> Amanda Barker: It is in New Brunswick, and it claims to have the warmest tidal waters north of the Carolinas. Apparently. it's quite a bay. I've swum in it. It did not feel warm to me when I was at it.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda. Everyone should know that Amanda will swim in just about any temperature of water because she loves to swim so much.
>> Amanda Barker: I do. I love to be in water. Absolutely. It is my happy, comforting, wonderful place. yeah. When I was a child, we had a pool, and it was my place to go where I could kind of be alone in a way. And it was my place where I could dream. And actually, it was my place where I could find quiet. So that's why I would love being underwater and being in the pool.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna veer away from New Brunswick. Maybe we'll get back to it. Maybe we'll have another episode on Fredericton.
What are your top three beaches that you have ever swum in
But sticking to the water theme, what are your top three beaches that you have ever swum in or swam in? Swim or swum?
>> Amanda Barker: Top three beaches.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Because there's so many places that I shop.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. But I pick beaches. To make the list of places you have dipped your toes and swam in smaller.
>> Amanda Barker: the bay in Koh Phi Phi, which is in Thailand. In Thailand, off of the island of Phuket. one of the smaller islands. it's actually two islands together. Phi Phi Lee and Phi Phi Don. most people stay on Phi Phi Lee. I believe I've got that right. one is very tall and sharp, and one is very flat and beautiful and has an incredibly deep bay. So swimming in that bay is gorgeous. and those waters, when you say
>> Marco Timpano: deep, you mean it falls into a deep. Like, you walk out a bit and then it gets deep?
>> Amanda Barker: No, no, that's not what I mean. I mean, it's actually shallow for quite a long time because it's a. I don't know, receded quite a bit at the bay. Like when the tide goes in versus coming out. It's a very big difference in the water.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Yeah. so Koh Phi Phi, I think maybe in first would be one of the first ones. the second would be the waters at our cottage, which is Woodland beach, which is Georgian Bay, on Lake Huron. And that is one of my favorite go to places. The water is typically pretty warm towards the middle to end of the summer, but even when it's not, it's very shallow and clean, and I love it. There's, And clear. Very clear. When people think of Canadian water, they think of Black Lake water.
>> Marco Timpano: Murky water.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Which, to be honest, I also love. But, this isn't that. It's sort of a clear, bluey green, beautiful water. So Georgian Bay. And then, we'll do an episode
>> Marco Timpano: on Georgian Bay because it's a place that we both love, you and I. And, it is really quite spectacular.
>> Amanda Barker: And then I think my third would have to be the waters of Cape Cod. Of course, I grew up swimming there as a child. when we weren't in the pool, we were on the Cape. And, you know, I was lucky as a kid to have access to water in a few different ways because I found it, I connected with it in so many ways. But the water on the Cape, the water of Cape Cod is. It's warm and green and there's a salty greenness that, honestly, I have such fond memories of it. And when I got back into it when I was much older, back when you and I were going to Martha's Vineyard every week on a cruise ship that we worked on. I realized that it was exactly the same as I remembered it and that I had remembered it correctly. There's something very small special about the waters of Cape Cod. The warmth, the buoyancy of the salt in the water, the taste of the water, the greenness of the water, the way the waves are, it is its own place. There's nowhere else quite like it. And so my heart's there.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the first place I saw a horseshoe crab on the beach was on the Cape.
>> Amanda Barker: It's funny you say horseshoe crab. I had a friend, I have a friend who's living in New York right now and she was walking along the beach this morning and didn't realize, saw this thing and didn't realize what it was. And then the water came up and it receded and it started to move and it scared her. She's from ah, an Anishinaabe nation up very north in Ontario. So she'd never seen it before. So I had identified it to her this morning as a horseshoe crab and, and she was like, good to know. I had no idea. Because it has that long kind of stinger.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a silly, funny, ancient looking m animal. And when you see one they are remarkable and that's why you take notice of them because they're really like nothing else and they're fascinating to look at and enjoy.
>> Amanda Barker: I grew up with them so I never really paid them much mind. Paid them much mind. When you grow up seeing there were certain things we always got to see, like those and then there were things we never got to see. Like a starfish would have been the coolest thing in the world, but that wasn't really. You don't see that in Cape Cod.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting how we will see things that might really sort of widen the eyes of people who aren't from places. And the same goes for us when we travel. For example, I used to be a tour guide in this city, Toronto. And one of the things that the guests who are on the bus I was on would all like, everything would stop when they saw a black squirrel.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So Toronto is one of these few cities that have in an abundance of black, jet black squirrels.
>> Marco Timpano: And for many people that's not how they know squirrels. So when they would see these black squirrels they would, they were stopped in their track.
>> Amanda Barker: When I first came to Ontario the very first time, which would have been 1993, that fall, I remember being in a building in Kingston looking up and looking down at the bushes and the trees. I was probably 10, 12 stories up and looking at these black furry things running around the grass and in the leaves, and I was like, what are those? They look like big rats to me. I'd never seen anything like it. I'd never seen squirrels that big. I'd never seen squirrels that color. and there were so many of them, too. I was really taken aback by them.
>> Marco Timpano: It's incredible.
What everyday sounds make people feel comforting, according to ASMR expert
And, let us know what animal or what plant or what is in your hometown that other people might not have in their place that you see all the time, but might be interesting and fascinating for the rest of the people, who visit.
>> Amanda Barker: I would also love to know, just to, hearken back to what we were talking about earlier. What sounds, what everyday sounds, people feel comforting. Dishwasher, dryer. For some people, the crinkle of paper, the crinkle of a newspaper, would have a really sweet, comforting sound.
>> Marco Timpano: We're getting to ASMR territory with those kind of sounds. I'll tell you. A comforting sound that once again, is associated with where we're from here, that other people might find to be a little bit bizarre, because it is a bizarre sort of sound. But the sound of loons calling, they have a very distant call.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're not familiar with the sound of a loon, which is a bird, aquatic bird, it might strike you as odd, but I find that sound very relaxing because it's always indicative of a beautiful lake or river in Ontario or in Canada. And, just the sounds of the loon echoing amongst the nature loons are a beautiful sound.
>> Amanda Barker: That loon call is just so comforting with, like, a sunset in the summer, the loons on the lake. I actually also find the sounds of doves or even pigeons cooing. Yeah, I know that people don't love pigeons, but when you have one sort of nesting nearby, if you live in the city, that sort of cooing, roosting almost sound, there's like a comforting kind of cooing with that that I also really love.
The Globe and Mail recently published a piece on soothing podcasts
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Amanda, this brings us towards the end of our podcast episode.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there is one more thing I think we wanted to just let everybody know, for those people who read the Globe and Mail in Toronto, or even if you're not in Toronto, I'm sure you can find it online. Yeah, they did a wonderful piece, on soothing podcasts, and other kinds of podcasts and just podcasts that people are finding really helpful right now. And, they focused on three wonderful podcasts, including this one. So we just really want to thank our friends at the Globe and Mail for tuning in and for listening.
>> Marco Timpano: It was quite a surprise because I had no idea they would be doing that. They didn't reach out to us per se, but they just sort of listed us as one of the three. And that was quite a lovely honor to be in the paper. So thank you to whoever is listening at the Globe and Mail.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's this week's Globe and Mail, so you can go ahead and find it or just type in the Insomnia Project, Globe and Mail. And I'm sure that little mention will come up if you'd like to read it and share it. We would love it if you did.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll also put it on our Twitter feed at Listen and Sleep so you'll be able to catch it there. Amanda, it's always a pleasure to sit opposite you in this booth.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. And thank you for taking me down all those beautiful memories. I'm going to sleep well tonight and
>> Marco Timpano: for the rest of you, we hope you have already dozed off, but if you haven't, we hope you get to listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: May 4, 2020)
The Insomnia Project is a conversation that's less than fascinating
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about the mundane. One thing that we try to deliver is a conversation that's less than fascinating so that you can feel free to just drift off. Thank you for joining Us, we hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Tympano, and with
>> Amanda Barker: him, here I am again, Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, if people are listening and they hear a tumbling sound, that's the soothing
>> Amanda Barker: tumbling sound of towels in our dryer.
>> Marco Timpano: I love the sound of things in the dryer. I always have.
>> Amanda Barker: Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I always find it calming and just watching, I guess just being able to watch the things tumble.
>> Marco Timpano: I find relaxing as well. I've always loved doing laundry. There's something about it that I find very relaxing. There's something about putting drinks, laundry in and then taking it out. And then the warm feeling of dry laundry from the dryer is a feeling that just relaxes, me always has.
>> Amanda Barker: There's something really satisfying too about taking warm clothing out of the dryer because you have this feeling like everything is warm and dry and clean. It's almost that same kind of or reminiscent of that feeling like when you come out of the pool or a day swimming at the lake, or that type of thing where you come out of somewhere maybe a little dirty, little cold, a little wet, and then you put on something comforting and warm and dry and clean and just have that wonderful feeling like you're ready for a beautiful long nap.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. I love, I love that warm sort of feeling of nostalgia and of just fun, easygoing times.
>> Amanda Barker: I love the sound as well of the dishwasher. Not everyone has a dishwasher, but I had one growing up, I have one now. And I love it. And it was one of the first things I bought when I started making a little bit of money as an actor. And that sound at night of the swishing and I think it's a similar idea. It's that monotony, the humming monotony, the comforting thing that something's being taken care of for you that you don't have anything to do but just sort of snuggle in and listen to that sound. I love the sound of the dishwasher at night.
>> Marco Timpano: I love doing dishes after a big party and everyone's gone.
>> Marco Timpano: There's something about actually doing the dishes because some of the dishes we have when we have people over, you can't put in the dishwasher.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: We have certain glassware that has fine
>> Amanda Barker: china or good wine glasses, crystal, that kind of thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And so there's something I love about washing those dishes by hand once everyone is gone and just taking my time with it and just enjoying the party that was just had. And the conversation and the laughs. The food.
>> Marco Timpano: The wine as you mentioned. There's something about that sort of, after a nice time breath that one gives.
>> Amanda Barker: Wrapping up all that food and then putting it in the fridge and knowing that everything's been taken care of. There's nothing to do, there's nowhere to be. It's almost like. I know that feeling that you're mentioning. It's almost that feeling of having a really good long laugh and then the sort of sigh that comes after it.
>> Marco Timpano: Exactly.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. It is a great feeling. Really great feeling. My sister loves to do dishes as well. She finds it very comforting. She said she'll never get a dishwasher because she loves the comforting feeling of getting them done until she gets a dishwasher.
>> Marco Timpano: And m. She'll love the comforting sounds of the dishwasher while she does other things.
>> Amanda Barker: So dishes can be comforting whether you are getting machine to wish them around or if you're doing them by hand or like most of us. Maybe a little bit of both, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. But there's so many sounds like that humming sounds. Ah, the sound of a vacuum. For a lot of people it's really, really comforting. I know we have an automated roomba
>> Marco Timpano: vacuum, those disc vacuums that sort of march around the house vacuuming things up.
>> Amanda Barker: And I know it's one o' clock because that's the time that you've set for it to zip around the living room.
>> Marco Timpano: except for Thursdays.
>> Amanda Barker: Thursdays it happens at 1am so just as we're drifting off to sleep, we'll hear this sort of distant hum. And then my sleepy brain usually registers, oh, this is the night that he
>> Marco Timpano: mistakenly put the wrong time for it to go off as opposed to going off at one in the afternoon. On Thursdays it goes off at one
>> Amanda Barker: a.m. but it's a little bit of a blessing because we always wake up on Friday with an extra clean house. So there's something really comforting and nice about that too.
>> Marco Timpano: I used to love to vacuum my parents shag carpet.
>> Amanda Barker: What? Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I did when I was a kid. Because with shag carpet, or with longer fiber carpet, I should say, you'll see the lines that the vacuum makes as it goes forward and comes back. So I used to love to try to make it perfect. Almost like, like you know, when people do things like an etching or coloring in and just getting it all completed, maybe even a puzzle. But there was something I found very rel about getting all the lines as straight as I Could on the carpet.
>> Amanda Barker: I felt that way about, lawn mowing. Of course, I used to do the strip with the push lawnmower. That was one of my chores. And I used to push it all the way, one way so it would make a real strip in the grass and then line it up as you turn around and then push it back. So the grass was sort of in that kind of checkerboard almost pattern, you know, where it's swishing one way in one line and then swishing the other way and the other line. yeah, really, there is something really satisfying. And of course, there's always that little patch that you miss. Right. So then you go back and get those little bits. Same as vacuuming, I think, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Same as in the fall when you rake the leaves. And you know, at that point in the fall, the grass tends to be its most verdant, its most deepest. Its lusciousness.
>> Marco Timpano: And so when it's covered by fallen leaves, that beautiful green gets covered. But the minute you start raking and you reveal this luscious grass underneath.
>> Marco Timpano: That's quite, Quite a lovely feeling too.
Dandelions can be picked when it's wild or in clean fields
>> Amanda Barker: I was thinking about mowing the lawn. A friend posted a picture of her daughter laying down in the grass, looking up at the sun and. And there were dandelion, blossoms all around those little yellow dots in the grass.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: And I was thinking about it and saying, you know, it might be time for us to go and pick the cicoria with your mom.
>> Marco Timpano: Dandelion greens.
>> Marco Timpano: Or chicory and radicchio can, be picked when it's wild.
>> Marco Timpano: In clean fields. And that's something that we will do. And one of the things we love to collect in particular is purslane.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right. And sandy grass, which your mom calls sclopide.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep.
>> Amanda Barker: Is that dialect or is that Italian?
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's dialect for purslane. Yeah.
>> Amanda Barker: But, cicoria is, really popular in Italian cuisine. And in those farm fields there's all those springs. And the best time to pick the chacoria is before the dandelion has blossomed. So if you see those little yellow bulbs, it's probably not tender enough that you want to go there. Your mom taught me that. So in the spring and early summer, if you can catch it just on the right moment, you can go out and fill, as we used to do, fill garbage bags with cicoria. I'm hoping we do it this year. And then clean them and clean them and steam them down.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Cleaning Them is the big sort of challenge because they're often with a lot of sand and soil and you really want to clean them well.
>> Amanda Barker: versus getting them from like a yard. You want to get them from like a farmer's field. Then you'll have the best Cicoria.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Rhubarb is something that is reminiscent of British baking
The other thing I love, picking. I don't know if picking is the right word for it, but snapping is the rhubarb when it's ready and you sort of pull at the stalk and it makes a crisp snap. And I know that, we have a lot of listeners based in the UK and rhubarb is something that is so reminiscent for me of the
>> Amanda Barker: UK and of British baking. Isn't it like a strawberry rhubarb torte or cake or coffee cake.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if it's British per se, but they do it so well and m. So that's why I associate it because when we were there.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I think rhubarb, when you think of where rhubarb grows or where you've experienced a really great rhubarb themed dessert, it would be in colder climates. So, Britain for sure. The UK I would think probably France as well. But you wouldn't have rhubarb in a tropical climate, right?
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, I think it's something that needs a, a mild to cool and crisp climate.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm no arborist, but that's what I'm gonna go with. But there's something about rhubarb, strawberry cream, clotted cream, scones, tea.
>> Amanda Barker: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: That. Any of that.
>> Amanda Barker: The comfort of that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, the combination of that. You, you know, I love. And I've always loved the taste of rhubarb and even the color. There's something so beautiful about that particular pale greeny shade of red that makes me feel relaxed.
>> Amanda Barker: It's a pink really, isn't it?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it goes from green to red when you cook rhubarb. Yes, it's pink, but I'm talking about the actual rhubarb itself.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, the leaf is green. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: But it has striations that go from green to red. The stalk does.
>> Marco Timpano: At least that's my perception of it. And so there's something about rhubarb red.
>> Amanda Barker: It's sort of. Yeah. Like it starts white. Maybe there's green at the root and then it's that white bulb y kind of base. And then as it grows up, it gets a little pinker and pinker until you have that deep hue in the tender rhubarb, you want to pick it around the same time as you would pick chacoria, like in that early summer time. and usually with a rhubarb plant, you can pick it twice. So if you pick it at the beginning of the summer and get those tender little stems, then you can go back in August and get some more.
>> Marco Timpano: We always had as late as August,
>> Amanda Barker: you can pick it again the second round. In New Brunswick, we had it and it would grow along our shed. So we had big rhubarb patches that would grow along our shed. Beautiful and sweet. I would pick it and just chew it.
Amanda says New Brunswick is famous for picking and eating fiddleheads
>> Marco Timpano: Actually, Amanda, you know, you will often mention New Brunswick, where you lived for a portion of your life. And some of our listeners would probably want to know more about New Brunswick, the province of New Brunswick in Canada.
>> Amanda Barker: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: What can you tell us that one who isn't familiar with it might not know?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I have spring on the brain, I think, right now, and picking things and foraging things on the brain right now. So one of the things that we would do in the early summer months and spring months would be picking and eating fiddleheads. So that's a fiddlehead fern, the little tender baby curled up shoots of the fern. We were quite famous, actually. We're fiddlehead country. We'd pick our fiddleheads. You could buy them many times at stands on the side of the road. Big sandy bags of fiddleheads, same as the dandelion greens. Take them home and clean them well and then you saute them with whatever your fancy. A lot of times people have them with vinegar, but I just like them with oil and butter, maybe a bit of garlic and lemon.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, there's a caperness to fiddleheads, I find.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, really?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, in that they're like capers are unflowered buds and fiddleheads are ferns that have not furled. And they can often get pickled or used with a vinegar, let's say.
>> Amanda Barker: I've never had a pickled fiddlehead. No, I believe you, but I've just never had them. We always had them fresh and that was the way to have them. And it was one of those rare greens because they're not so widely eaten around the world. Although that is changing, that it really was a thing that you could only get at a certain time of the year. So there was always the association of the freshness, the first buds of those first warm days and the comfort of that. So, it would just feel wrong to have a fiddlehead in November. Right. Even if you Froze it. And there is something to be said about that type of seasonal eating. Right. So Fiddlehead certainly being one of them. you know, now we have so much that's available to us in any time. Actually, asparagus was like that for us, too.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: because we get those first tender shoots around the same time.
>> Marco Timpano: I love asparagus.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
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New Brunswick is a bigger province than people realize
>> Marco Timpano: but tell us more about New Brunswick, the province.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, well, New Brunswick is bigger than people realize. It's a bigger province. so it spans quite a distance. I don't have exact numbers.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: there's sort of three or four, I guess, arguably four major sort of hubs. Cities. I think they're all cities or qualifying as cities. Now, there's Moncton, which is, I believe, the biggest city.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Moncton is. It's bigger than Fredericton.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't realize that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, much bigger. Moncton, St. John.
>> Marco Timpano: Beautiful city by the water.
>> Amanda Barker: Do you find it beautiful?
>> Marco Timpano: I thought it was wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Saint Johners would argue it with you. They like to do that. But it is actually a really beautiful city. Rustic, rustically beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's on the water and there's ships and there's something very seafaring about it.
>> Amanda Barker: Absolutely, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: yeah, the seafood there is fantastic. And the. I want to say the old town, but I don't know if that's the right word for that.
>> Amanda Barker: I think, honestly, it's the downtown that you.
>> Marco Timpano: The downtown is just wonderful to stroll in. And it's really pretty.
>> Amanda Barker: It's beautiful. Yeah. I've always loved St. John. It knows what it is. And that's the thing I always loved about it. Miramichi is a city that I have not spent much time in. and Miramichi is an interesting one because it wasn't considered a city for a long time. It was more of a hub. And I think what they did was amalgamate a few of the little towns to now refer to it as Miramichi. I hope I've got that right.
Amanda loves being underwater. I do. When I was a child, we had a pool
And then Fredericton would be the other city, as you Mentioned now, Fredericton. I know the most about Fredericton because I lived an hour from Fredericton, and I was a tour guide in the city of Fredericton. So I know a lot of its old histories.
>> Marco Timpano: And tell us one fascinating thing, story, history that you recall.
>> Amanda Barker: And maybe, I mean, we can do a whole episode on Frederton if you want, later on. one story about Fredericton. Well, it wasn't big enough, in fact, back in the day, to have an Anglican church, which back in the old Loyalist days was what you needed, to sort of establish yourself. So you had to have at least 10,000 people for the Queen of England, who was Queen Victoria at the time, to be a city, to be considered a city. But she granted, Fredericton city status under 10,000 people so that they could have a beautiful Anglican cathedral. And, so people do always think. The reason I bring that up is because people always think Fredericton is actually a much bigger city than it is. That said, it is a very beautiful city. it is the capital city, city of New Brunswick. And there's a lot of, There's a lot of professors that live there. There's two universities there.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And a few colleges as well. There's an art college, some community colleges. and then there's the biggest, which is University of New Brunswick, which is a very big university, and a smaller university, which is St. Thomas University.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The Bay of Fundy is in New Brunswick.
>> Amanda Barker: It is in New Brunswick, and it claims to have the warmest tidal waters north of the Carolinas. Apparently. it's quite a bay. I've swum in it. It did not feel warm to me when I was at it.
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda. Everyone should know that Amanda will swim in just about any temperature of water because she loves to swim so much.
>> Amanda Barker: I do. I love to be in water. Absolutely. It is my happy, comforting, wonderful place. yeah. When I was a child, we had a pool, and it was my place to go where I could kind of be alone in a way. And it was my place where I could dream. And actually, it was my place where I could find quiet. So that's why I would love being underwater and being in the pool.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna veer away from New Brunswick. Maybe we'll get back to it. Maybe we'll have another episode on Fredericton.
What are your top three beaches that you have ever swum in
But sticking to the water theme, what are your top three beaches that you have ever swum in or swam in? Swim or swum?
>> Amanda Barker: Top three beaches.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Because there's so many places that I shop.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. But I pick beaches. To make the list of places you have dipped your toes and swam in smaller.
>> Amanda Barker: the bay in Koh Phi Phi, which is in Thailand. In Thailand, off of the island of Phuket. one of the smaller islands. it's actually two islands together. Phi Phi Lee and Phi Phi Don. most people stay on Phi Phi Lee. I believe I've got that right. one is very tall and sharp, and one is very flat and beautiful and has an incredibly deep bay. So swimming in that bay is gorgeous. and those waters, when you say
>> Marco Timpano: deep, you mean it falls into a deep. Like, you walk out a bit and then it gets deep?
>> Amanda Barker: No, no, that's not what I mean. I mean, it's actually shallow for quite a long time because it's a. I don't know, receded quite a bit at the bay. Like when the tide goes in versus coming out. It's a very big difference in the water.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay. Yeah. so Koh Phi Phi, I think maybe in first would be one of the first ones. the second would be the waters at our cottage, which is Woodland beach, which is Georgian Bay, on Lake Huron. And that is one of my favorite go to places. The water is typically pretty warm towards the middle to end of the summer, but even when it's not, it's very shallow and clean, and I love it. There's, And clear. Very clear. When people think of Canadian water, they think of Black Lake water.
>> Marco Timpano: Murky water.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. Which, to be honest, I also love. But, this isn't that. It's sort of a clear, bluey green, beautiful water. So Georgian Bay. And then, we'll do an episode
>> Marco Timpano: on Georgian Bay because it's a place that we both love, you and I. And, it is really quite spectacular.
>> Amanda Barker: And then I think my third would have to be the waters of Cape Cod. Of course, I grew up swimming there as a child. when we weren't in the pool, we were on the Cape. And, you know, I was lucky as a kid to have access to water in a few different ways because I found it, I connected with it in so many ways. But the water on the Cape, the water of Cape Cod is. It's warm and green and there's a salty greenness that, honestly, I have such fond memories of it. And when I got back into it when I was much older, back when you and I were going to Martha's Vineyard every week on a cruise ship that we worked on. I realized that it was exactly the same as I remembered it and that I had remembered it correctly. There's something very small special about the waters of Cape Cod. The warmth, the buoyancy of the salt in the water, the taste of the water, the greenness of the water, the way the waves are, it is its own place. There's nowhere else quite like it. And so my heart's there.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the first place I saw a horseshoe crab on the beach was on the Cape.
>> Amanda Barker: It's funny you say horseshoe crab. I had a friend, I have a friend who's living in New York right now and she was walking along the beach this morning and didn't realize, saw this thing and didn't realize what it was. And then the water came up and it receded and it started to move and it scared her. She's from ah, an Anishinaabe nation up very north in Ontario. So she'd never seen it before. So I had identified it to her this morning as a horseshoe crab and, and she was like, good to know. I had no idea. Because it has that long kind of stinger.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's a silly, funny, ancient looking m animal. And when you see one they are remarkable and that's why you take notice of them because they're really like nothing else and they're fascinating to look at and enjoy.
>> Amanda Barker: I grew up with them so I never really paid them much mind. Paid them much mind. When you grow up seeing there were certain things we always got to see, like those and then there were things we never got to see. Like a starfish would have been the coolest thing in the world, but that wasn't really. You don't see that in Cape Cod.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting how we will see things that might really sort of widen the eyes of people who aren't from places. And the same goes for us when we travel. For example, I used to be a tour guide in this city, Toronto. And one of the things that the guests who are on the bus I was on would all like, everything would stop when they saw a black squirrel.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So Toronto is one of these few cities that have in an abundance of black, jet black squirrels.
>> Marco Timpano: And for many people that's not how they know squirrels. So when they would see these black squirrels they would, they were stopped in their track.
>> Amanda Barker: When I first came to Ontario the very first time, which would have been 1993, that fall, I remember being in a building in Kingston looking up and looking down at the bushes and the trees. I was probably 10, 12 stories up and looking at these black furry things running around the grass and in the leaves, and I was like, what are those? They look like big rats to me. I'd never seen anything like it. I'd never seen squirrels that big. I'd never seen squirrels that color. and there were so many of them, too. I was really taken aback by them.
>> Marco Timpano: It's incredible.
What everyday sounds make people feel comforting, according to ASMR expert
And, let us know what animal or what plant or what is in your hometown that other people might not have in their place that you see all the time, but might be interesting and fascinating for the rest of the people, who visit.
>> Amanda Barker: I would also love to know, just to, hearken back to what we were talking about earlier. What sounds, what everyday sounds, people feel comforting. Dishwasher, dryer. For some people, the crinkle of paper, the crinkle of a newspaper, would have a really sweet, comforting sound.
>> Marco Timpano: We're getting to ASMR territory with those kind of sounds. I'll tell you. A comforting sound that once again, is associated with where we're from here, that other people might find to be a little bit bizarre, because it is a bizarre sort of sound. But the sound of loons calling, they have a very distant call.
>> Amanda Barker: Hm.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're not familiar with the sound of a loon, which is a bird, aquatic bird, it might strike you as odd, but I find that sound very relaxing because it's always indicative of a beautiful lake or river in Ontario or in Canada. And, just the sounds of the loon echoing amongst the nature loons are a beautiful sound.
>> Amanda Barker: That loon call is just so comforting with, like, a sunset in the summer, the loons on the lake. I actually also find the sounds of doves or even pigeons cooing. Yeah, I know that people don't love pigeons, but when you have one sort of nesting nearby, if you live in the city, that sort of cooing, roosting almost sound, there's like a comforting kind of cooing with that that I also really love.
The Globe and Mail recently published a piece on soothing podcasts
>> Marco Timpano: Well, Amanda, this brings us towards the end of our podcast episode.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, there is one more thing I think we wanted to just let everybody know, for those people who read the Globe and Mail in Toronto, or even if you're not in Toronto, I'm sure you can find it online. Yeah, they did a wonderful piece, on soothing podcasts, and other kinds of podcasts and just podcasts that people are finding really helpful right now. And, they focused on three wonderful podcasts, including this one. So we just really want to thank our friends at the Globe and Mail for tuning in and for listening.
>> Marco Timpano: It was quite a surprise because I had no idea they would be doing that. They didn't reach out to us per se, but they just sort of listed us as one of the three. And that was quite a lovely honor to be in the paper. So thank you to whoever is listening at the Globe and Mail.
>> Amanda Barker: And it's this week's Globe and Mail, so you can go ahead and find it or just type in the Insomnia Project, Globe and Mail. And I'm sure that little mention will come up if you'd like to read it and share it. We would love it if you did.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll also put it on our Twitter feed at Listen and Sleep so you'll be able to catch it there. Amanda, it's always a pleasure to sit opposite you in this booth.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you. And thank you for taking me down all those beautiful memories. I'm going to sleep well tonight and
>> Marco Timpano: for the rest of you, we hope you have already dozed off, but if you haven't, we hope you get to listen and sleep.
The Badminton Episode
(Original airdate: May 1, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. We hope you will listen and sleep
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen. As we have a conversation about the mundane, one thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to just drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Season four, Marco Timpano. Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. You can follow us on, Twitter, listen andsleep, on Instagram, the Insomnia Project, and of course on itunes, Stitcher, Radio Addict, Radio Public. Wherever you listen, ACAST is where our platform is, so feel free to listen there as well. In the studio with me today is a new friend. We have a mutual friend who said Desmond would be great for your podcast and I'm like, I want Desmond on my podcast. So, Desmond Nye, welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Desmond Nye: Thank you so much for having me.
Tell us how you got into badminton and where did it take you
>> Marco Timpano: Desmond, we have a love of travel, but I'm not going to get into travel because I feel like I talk so much about travel on this podcast that I want to start with something that you have a love for and something that I enjoy immensely, and that is badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: Oh, I absolutely adore badminton.
>> Marco Timpano: So tell us how you got into badminton. What was your entry into badminton, and where did that take you?
>> Desmond Nye: I, got into badminton, at the YMCA when I was maybe 11 or 12 years old, playing every now and then.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you just take a class or did friends or how did that come about?
>> Desmond Nye: Just me picking up a racket, no classes, no training, and just playing with a bunch of other kids.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. And it was only until grade nine, when they announced badminton team tryouts that I thought, I'd like to give this a shot.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So in your high school grade nine or the ninth grade, you were like, I'm going to take this a bit more serious than just a casual pickup game at the ymca.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, exactly. I figure it's the only sport that I could potentially do well at. Couldn't play basketball or any of the other more mainstream sports. So I thought, give this a shot. And I remember being super anxious about the tryout and whether I'd get in and everybody was better than me.
>> Marco Timpano: And then how did that develop? Did you increase your ability or did you plateau and stay at that same sort of level?
>> Desmond Nye: I increased my ability. So I got onto the team. I got onto the team as a grade nine student, and then I realized that in some of the tournaments that the people that I was playing against were super strong. And I was wondering, where do these kids come from? And I found out from my coach that they're club players. They play at private badminton clubs, and some of them compete all over the place. So that summer, I enrolled in badminton training program at a private badminton club, and my level, I guess, took off from there.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, and where did it get you to?
>> Desmond Nye: It got me to a silver medal at the tdca, championships. So it's the. I don't know if it's called that anymore, but it's the group of Catholic, high schools with some private high schools in there. So I played, I believe it was junior, boys singles, and I got a silver medal there. I got absolutely destroyed in the gold medal match.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but listen, a silver medal is nothing to snark at. Congratulations on that.
>> Desmond Nye: Thank you.
There are two kinds of badminton: singles and doubles
>> Marco Timpano: So, for listeners who don't know much about badminton, walk us through the game, the rules, how it's played, and any tips you might have with regards to badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: Sure. badminton. There's, Basically two kinds of badminton. There's singles and there's doubles. And they use different lines. So if you see the lines that are used in badminton, all of the lines, like the outermost lines are for doubles.
>> Marco Timpano: And you're talking about the lines on the court like a tennis. If you look at tennis, it has kind of like a rectangular, drawn out grid, let's say for lack of a better term.
>> Desmond Nye: That's right. It's drawn out there. It's usually in white. It's usually in white. And the outermost lines are used for doubles. The only difference for singles would be that the lines on the left and right are brought in a little bit more.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: I don't know if that's a good way of putting it, but there it's. They cut off the parts, they basically cut off parts of it that would be used for doubles. They say it's longer. Okay. It's not as wide. That's. That's the word. Okay, that's the word.
>> Marco Timpano: So the outer sort of thinner lines where you can have more play surface for a, doubles.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Gets sort of contracted inward, contracted slightly. Slightly. And then it just. The plain surface for the single is just deeper forward and back. Yes, exactly.
>> Desmond Nye: And then within doubles you have mixed, doubles and you have men's, doubles, women's doubles. And the rules are all the same. it used to be play up until 15 points, but they've found that you can only score points when you serve. So if someone else serves and you score, it didn't count. so that made for some super long games. So that all changed to the 21 point system. In the 21 point system, it doesn't matter if you're serving. If you get the point, the point counts towards you.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: It counts towards you. So they changed it to the 21 system. And they had experimented for a really long time, maybe changing it to the seven point system, having women's singles go to the 11 point system.
>> Marco Timpano: Did it get changed when badminton became an Olympic sport? I want to say in the 90s at some point, I think 92 it
>> Desmond Nye: became 1992 it became an Olympic sport. That's right. In 88 it was a test sport.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. So 92 officially became an Olympic sport. In Barcelona.
>> Marco Timpano: I was going to say, where was it? Okay. Barcelona.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, in Barcelona. So, that they've experimented with all kinds of formats to make the game more exciting, to make the game, easier to watch. And they did not want those long drawn out like Three hour matches. There was a match at, I believe the 1997 World Championships in the men's singles final where they just would not stop playing. It was until the Chinese player got a really bad cramp and that's what began the ending of the match.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was multiple hours, that game?
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. Wow. Yes. Between China and Denmark, in 1997. You still see those long games, but not as long. Not as long now. And the 21 point system seems to have stuck and done well.
>> Marco Timpano: Interesting.
You mentioned Denmark. I know that badminton is huge in Denmark
You mentioned Denmark. I know that badminton is huge in Denmark. It was one of the first places, certainly in Europe to really pick up the sport as a sport that they love.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely. The Danes have been very, very strong from a long time ago in picking that up. They've been contenders on the world stage for a long time. they've had Olympic gold medalists from there. They've had world champions from there. they recently, I believe it was maybe within the last five years, they won the Thomas cup, which is considered the world men's team World Championship.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that. The Thomas Cup.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. And they won the Thomas cup. And usually it's won by either China or Indonesia. Those are the two major superpowers when it comes to men's badminton.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because Asia also stronghold in this, you tend to think, but at least I tend to think Asia, really dominates when it comes to badminton. I never really think Denmark, but when I did a little bit of research, I was like, oh, Denmark's a major player in this sport too.
>> Desmond Nye: Denmark's a definite major player. They've had excellent players even as long as the Chinese have had excellent players. And other parts of Europe are learning and picking up on certain styles of badminton. because certain Asian players are retiring and going over there and coaching and imparting their wisdom too. That's not the only reason. But Europe has done a lot better. There's someone out of Spain. There's a women's singles player out of Spain who shocked the world a few years ago winning the world championship for women's singles. Then she won the Olympics. And this is someone that came out of nowhere.
>> Marco Timpano: I love those. You've got to love those, those stories.
Watching Denmark, China play badminton would be like watching hockey
Would it be safe to say now I'm gonna do what I always do and my listeners are probably gonna roll their eyes and I'm gonna bring a Canadian perspective to this. Would it be safe to say that watching Denmark, China play badminton would be like watching Canada, Russia play hockey? If you're into the sport of Badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: absolutely. they have a long and storied history.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: Like, some of their. Some of Denmark's players have. Could have won world championships had it not been for the Chinese players, and vice versa. Right. Like, 1996 men's singles. The gold medal went to Denmark, and he beat China in the final. And you go to 2000. China beat Denmark in the semifinals of the Olympics. It was a shocking upset victory. So they've been. They have been going back and forth. That's a big rivalry. I'd say that's the number two rivalry in badminton. And, maybe some badminton experts might disagree, but the original badminton rivalry was between Malaysia and Indonesia.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. So that's another match you want to see.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll be watching badminton from now on with a different perspective, and I do really want to see these four nations you mentioned battle it out, especially in the Olympics. I'll be keen on that for.
>> Desmond Nye: For sure. Absolutely. Like, if you look at some of the older Thomas cup matches, when Malaysia was playing Indonesia, the crowd was just so into it because the countries are situated so close together and they've had long, long, long rivalries. You can compare that to any sports rivalry in any sport. It's just like that.
Playing with the feathers is a different sport than playing with the plastic
>> Marco Timpano: Let's talk shuttlecock. And there's a great, phrase for you. I know it's often the butt of a joke, but the shuttlecock is. Is what is used to play in badminton. Whereas a ball or a puck or a something else might be used, to play, but it has its own name. So tell me about that.
>> Desmond Nye: as far as I know, it comes basically, they're little feathers. They're little feathers that are put into a piece of cork and that forms the shuttlecock.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're not playing professionally, it'll often be just a plastic sort of replica.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: But I'm told, and I've never played with a feather, that playing with the feathers is a different sport than playing with the plastic. Is that correct?
>> Desmond Nye: 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: How so? Because now I'm curious about that.
>> Desmond Nye: Sure. The feather one requires a lot more control. It requires a lot more technique. Whereas in the school system, in the high school system, we played with the plastic replicas. The plastic replicas are used a lot. And one of the reasons that it is used is because the feather ones could get damaged really easily.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Desmond Nye: So they go through so many feathers when they're playing, but with the plastic ones, you could smash it, and it could be a really great smash really fast.
>> Marco Timpano: And It'll still stand up.
>> Desmond Nye: it'll still be great. Whereas if you do it with a feather and your technique is a little bit off, that shuttle call can slow down, it can go different ways. It just, it brings out the best in the players. I actually prefer playing with feather.
>> Marco Timpano: You do?
>> Desmond Nye: Because I can navigate the shuttlecock within my control. At least this is what I used to be able to do before my body could no longer play the sport at an elite level.
>> Marco Timpano: So here's a curious thing I have. Does it make each shuttlecock unique? Because feathers are unique. Like snowflakes, you could say, right? No feather is the same versus a plastic shuttlecock, which you could make the same weight, diameter, and, and whatnot as the next. Right.
>> Desmond Nye: I've never thought of that. But I would not rule that out because no feather is unique. All the feathers, all the shuttlecocks look the same. They're built all the same. However, there's different companies, for example, that build different quality shuttlecocks as well. So there are definitely differences there. And I guess they try to control it internationally as much as possible. But like you said, it's not all created equal.
>> Marco Timpano: So, I mean, the discrepancy might be so minute that the player would not know or would automatically compensate for it.
>> Desmond Nye: Sure.
There are certain badminton rackets that suit different styles of play
>> Marco Timpano: but I'd like to talk about rackets, because you look at a badminton racket and you think, oh, it's like every other racket sport. And then you pick one up and it feels different. Let's talk badminton rackets.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely. It's very light. It is very, very light. And there's so many variations, with badminton rackets that you could have in terms of. There. It's just the way that the frame is built, it's the way the grip is and how the head of the badminton racket is built. There's certain badminton rackets that suit different styles of play.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, certain singles players will use certain rackets. Certain doubles players will use other kinds of rackets. And some players are more attacking style players. So they'll use rackets that are more conducive to attacking
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>> Desmond Nye: Whereas the other ones will use their defensive players. They win their matches through defense.
>> Marco Timpano: What does an attack racket look like versus a defensive racket?
>> Desmond Nye: As far as I can remember, the attack racket has a heavier head.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: So it's like there's more momentum, there's more inertia coming down.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. When you.
>> Desmond Nye: When the Smash is coming down. Whereas the. In order to play defense really well, you have to be quick and you have to know where you're putting the shuttle. You have to. It's like playing offense while playing defense.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: You just don't want to put the badminton racket back up. You want to be able to drive it somewhere. So the rackets are built differently, their frames are built differently. Some are heavier than others. And also the stringing.
>> Marco Timpano: The stringing. That's what I was going to ask you. So what's key in the stringing for a badminton racket or how do you like your racket string?
>> Desmond Nye: I like my. When I used to play, my rackets were strung really, really tightly. I see they were strung really tightly because I loved. I didn't want there to be too much give in terms of the string because I wanted to control where the shuttle was going. I wanted to play that style of badminton.
>> Marco Timpano: Does a tighter strung racket give you a larger sweet spot? There's a stumper.
>> Desmond Nye: That's a stumper. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: now for our listeners, and you can correct me while you're thinking, the sweet spot would be the ideal spot in the center of the racket where, when it makes a connection with your shuttlecock or if you're playing squash as I know it, you have the most control and, and the most ability to send it where you want. Is that fair to say?
>> Desmond Nye: That is fair to say. It's a little bit higher than the center.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it is.
>> Desmond Nye: It's not necessarily at the top of where the racket frame is, but it's a little bit higher than the center. And just the tight stringing, I don't think gives a larger sweet spot, but it just gives much more control, much more control of where you're putting the badminton racket. And you can play with a lot more deception.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: You can play a lot more deceptive moves to try to mix up your opponent. But the problem with that is that it breaks easily.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Strings break easily. And because they're strung at a certain tension, it puts pressure on the badminton Racket.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. It puts pressure on the badminton racket. And badminton rackets will break. Breaking strings happens all the time. And then you have to. You got to pay to get them strung up again. So I always had a battle with my parents. My parents would be saying, number one, why are you picking that quality of string? Number two, why are you stringing it so tightly? Whereas my dad, for example, would use a piece of string and he played for it for a couple years. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And how long would yours last?
>> Desmond Nye: Maybe month and a half.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Desmond Nye: So you see the very, very big difference. And because of that, badminton rackets can break too, because there's so much pressure and they're thin.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Like they're so much thinner than a, let's say a squash or tennis racket.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely.
Badminton is different from other racket sports in that it has fewer opportunities
>> Marco Timpano: When you said the quality of string, what does that mean? Like, you're picking a different type. Like an expensive string or.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, an expensive string. There's other. There's very durable strings, and then there are strings that are specialized for certain players that. And I'm not tooting my own horn here, but playing a certain style where there's a lot of control in the game. And it just depends how. I don't want to use the word refined, but how many nuances are in your game?
>> Marco Timpano: But what is the difference in the actual string, like the one you prefer versus, say, the one your dad. Are they both not nylon strings or are they.
>> Desmond Nye: They both are. in terms of the difference, the one that my dad would pick would be more durable and it would lead to less control of the badminton racket. And the differences are very small when you're playing the game. However, if you're playing in a competitive environment, they say about sports that it's a game of inches.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, especially with badminton, because, the thing I loved about playing badminton, and by no means have I played it like you did in a professional setting, but the opportunity to hit the shuttlecock, there's so many more. I found opportunities that if you miss it, you still might have the time to catch it before it touches the ground. Absolutely. So it's like this. It's this fast game with a slow moving shuttlecock. And it's fast, too, but it doesn't have the same sort of, I don't know, like other racket sports. I feel like you have one opportunity because once the ball goes, once the inertia of the ball goes, you have one swing and that's it.
>> Desmond Nye: Like tennis, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: Like tennis Right.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Whereas badminton, you have like, there's so much opportunity and skill and precision.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That it makes it such an enjoyable game to play.
>> Desmond Nye: You can save it. There's all kinds of moves that you can do with the badminton shuttlecock. So it's a fun game. It's definitely different than, the other racket sports. Sure, it's definitely different.
Getting good footwork is the most important thing in badminton
>> Marco Timpano: What are some tips you would give to our listeners who are interested or starting to play badminton?
>> Desmond Nye: I would say, and this might not be well received, but I would say that, sure, footwork, is the most important thing. So getting that footwork, right, because when you're in a situation where you are scrambling all over the court, your footwork is what will save you. And in most major sports it comes down to footwork.
>> Marco Timpano: I had the opportunity to interview Cloda Power about boxing and she said the same thing. She's like, the footwork is key. Start with the footwork and the rest will come. But if you don't have the footwork, you don't have a game.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, exactly. And that is why some players that wanted to do good in badminton would go to these private clubs and 90% of what they would work on is footwork and they'd go home and saying, why did I pay 300 bucks for a six week course when I'm just running around and taking steps all over the court? But it's super important because in such a fast game, if you're trying to hit the shuttlecock at the back of the court and the person drops it to the front, you better know how to get it. You can run up to it, you can run up to it, but the momentum, when you're done running up to it, you, you can't go to the back right away.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Because kill your knees. Right.
>> Desmond Nye: It'll totally kill your knees. So that's why when some coaches who are coaching, let's say high school badminton do not have a background in badminton, they just say to the students, get your feet moving.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: How do you get your feet moving? Right. Exactly what way? The feet are not moving because of the knees. Maybe there's tightness in the quad muscle or the hamstring.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Desmond Nye: Why is this student's feet not moving? So that's the number one thing. Close to number one is technique.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: You'd rather be a technician at the game than someone who can smash really well and someone who's got a lot of strength and power. Because technique is what will keep you in the game and it'll allow you to Control the shuttle to make up for your other shortcomings. So when I went off to school in the States, I studied law in St. Louis. I gained a bunch of weight. So when I came back to Toronto to play, it was technique that still allowed me to be relatively competitive at the ymca. It was technique because I knew where to put the shuttle. So I made up for my physical deficiencies by, being able to send the shuttle almost wherever I wanted to. And then that's how I played. So that's another reason why some people may not like going to these private clubs and training. Because, hey, I want to play games. I want to learn how to smash it as hard as an Olympic gold medalist. But there's so much technique involved. There's so much movement. It's like trying to say, let me jab like Floyd Mayweather.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. It's not going to happen unless you have everything else and tons of training under your belt. And body makeup, too.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely. Certain bodies play differently. The center of gravity is different. With much taller players in the strategy, playing against certain players is different if they're taller or shorter or depending on their strengths. Everybody, for example, thinks in boxing that the power of the punch comes from the hand, comes from the hip. Badminton, the power of the smash comes
>> Marco Timpano: from the hip, not your forearm or your wrist.
>> Desmond Nye: It definitely comes from that. But it's like the finishing part of the sequence of the Smash.
>> Marco Timpano: The follow through, if you will.
>> Desmond Nye: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Let's talk about how one gets points when playing badminton
so before we end the show.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's just quickly talk about points, how one gets points when playing badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: one gets points by playing badminton. Either when the other side, your opponents cannot pick up the badminton shuttlecock. Like the shuttlecock lands on the ground,
>> Marco Timpano: touches the ground, touches the ground.
>> Desmond Nye: So they cannot get points that way.
>> Marco Timpano: And how many points is that? If we're playing and I miss it and it touches the ground, you get one point.
>> Desmond Nye: That's right, yes. it's always one point. also, if the shuttlecock hits the net and it does not go over in the net, the other side gets a point.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you throw to me, it hits your side of the net, does not go over to mine. I get one point.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, that's correct. So there are sometimes examples where the shuttlecock will hit the net and then barely slide over. That's your point. And there's nothing your opponent can do about it. because it's just the way it goes. Exactly. There's no way you can possibly respond to that.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's players who can really, like, pinpoint that shuttlecock to just touch or graze or flip over the net.
>> Desmond Nye: Right. I can count them on both of my hands. There's not many of them, but the ones that can do it correctly are viciously good players. They or they know how to respond to those. They know how to. There was a player out of Indonesia who won the silver medal in 2000. He was known for his net play. Maybe about 5 foot 7, not the most imposing person, but he was, just known for his net play and his deception. Hendrawan. He went by one name, so it's. It's like. It's like calling someone like Lebron or something. You just know them by one name. so about the points, also, if you hit it out, if you hit it outside of the lines, it counts as a point to the other side.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, like in tennis, if those white lines that we mentioned, if it goes out of bounds, your, opponent receives the point.
>> Desmond Nye: That's right. And then also, there's service faults. There's faults. The judge will call you on certain faults. You cannot. When you're serving the badminton racket, you cannot have it above your waist.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. You cannot have it above your waist.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. Because if you have it above your waist, I can technically put the shuttlecock anywhere I want.
>> Marco Timpano: If I have my racket above my waist. Yes.
>> Desmond Nye: If I have it way above my waist, I can control it in a way. So it's a way to equalize the. It's a way to equalize it. So. So don't serve above your waist. That's a, fault. Another fault is once you bring the racket forward to begin to serve, you're not allowed to bring it back.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: You're not allowed to bring it back.
>> Marco Timpano: You have to follow through.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. There was a little bit of a controversy when I was playing grade nine badminton. These players, and I did not know the rules at the time. Sure. These players would keep on putting the racket back and forth. It was like they were trying to trick you. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you think, okay, they're about to hit it, so you're getting in position, but they don't exactly.
>> Desmond Nye: And your feet just freeze. So at, the competitive level, you can't play like that. There is none of that. Another way of getting a point is you are not allowed to hit the net with your racket.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because then you'll lose or your opponent will gain a point if you do that.
>> Desmond Nye: Exactly. You can't do that. And that has led to some controversies, because sometimes you can't prevent it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Desmond Nye: Of course, when you're coming in for the kill and you successfully get the kill and your badminton racket grazes the net just by a little bit, you will be called for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So if I'm approaching the net and I smash it down and the shuttlecock hits the floor on your side, but my racket hits the net.
>> Desmond Nye: That's the other person's point.
>> Marco Timpano: You get the point.
>> Desmond Nye: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. I didn't know that one.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. You cannot make contact with the net. Another one, too, is the net almost acts like a gigantic invisible wall.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: Because it means that not only can I not touch the net, I cannot put my racket into your side. So it's like if I know a shot is coming and then I take it and I smash it, but I smashed it while it was still on your side. That's a fault.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. See, these are not the rules.
Desmond Brown gives a master class on badminton on Insomnia Project
We play at the cottage when we play badminton. Yes. But thank you so much, Desmond, for this, you know, master class in badminton. I really do appreciate.
>> Desmond Nye: I think everyone should watch it. It's a fast sport. It's such a beautiful sport when it's played at the highest levels. And there are so many other countries that are getting involved in the sport now. This is the golden time for the sport. Fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: well, Desmond, thank you so much for all your insight into badminton. And thank you, listeners, for tuning in to the Insomnia Project. Project. Where's that from? I hope you had the opportunity to listen and hopefully sleep. And if not, we'll. We'll see you next time, or we'll hear you next time, or we'll talk to you next time on, the Insomnia Project. This episode was recorded in Toronto, Canada. Once again, Desmond and I thank you for being a part of our show.
>> Desmond Nye: Show. My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: Until the next time.
(Original airdate: May 1, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. We hope you will listen and sleep
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen. As we have a conversation about the mundane, one thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to just drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Season four, Marco Timpano. Thank you for listening to the Insomnia Project. You can follow us on, Twitter, listen andsleep, on Instagram, the Insomnia Project, and of course on itunes, Stitcher, Radio Addict, Radio Public. Wherever you listen, ACAST is where our platform is, so feel free to listen there as well. In the studio with me today is a new friend. We have a mutual friend who said Desmond would be great for your podcast and I'm like, I want Desmond on my podcast. So, Desmond Nye, welcome to the Insomnia Project.
>> Desmond Nye: Thank you so much for having me.
Tell us how you got into badminton and where did it take you
>> Marco Timpano: Desmond, we have a love of travel, but I'm not going to get into travel because I feel like I talk so much about travel on this podcast that I want to start with something that you have a love for and something that I enjoy immensely, and that is badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: Oh, I absolutely adore badminton.
>> Marco Timpano: So tell us how you got into badminton. What was your entry into badminton, and where did that take you?
>> Desmond Nye: I, got into badminton, at the YMCA when I was maybe 11 or 12 years old, playing every now and then.
>> Marco Timpano: Did you just take a class or did friends or how did that come about?
>> Desmond Nye: Just me picking up a racket, no classes, no training, and just playing with a bunch of other kids.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. And it was only until grade nine, when they announced badminton team tryouts that I thought, I'd like to give this a shot.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So in your high school grade nine or the ninth grade, you were like, I'm going to take this a bit more serious than just a casual pickup game at the ymca.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, exactly. I figure it's the only sport that I could potentially do well at. Couldn't play basketball or any of the other more mainstream sports. So I thought, give this a shot. And I remember being super anxious about the tryout and whether I'd get in and everybody was better than me.
>> Marco Timpano: And then how did that develop? Did you increase your ability or did you plateau and stay at that same sort of level?
>> Desmond Nye: I increased my ability. So I got onto the team. I got onto the team as a grade nine student, and then I realized that in some of the tournaments that the people that I was playing against were super strong. And I was wondering, where do these kids come from? And I found out from my coach that they're club players. They play at private badminton clubs, and some of them compete all over the place. So that summer, I enrolled in badminton training program at a private badminton club, and my level, I guess, took off from there.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, and where did it get you to?
>> Desmond Nye: It got me to a silver medal at the tdca, championships. So it's the. I don't know if it's called that anymore, but it's the group of Catholic, high schools with some private high schools in there. So I played, I believe it was junior, boys singles, and I got a silver medal there. I got absolutely destroyed in the gold medal match.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, but listen, a silver medal is nothing to snark at. Congratulations on that.
>> Desmond Nye: Thank you.
There are two kinds of badminton: singles and doubles
>> Marco Timpano: So, for listeners who don't know much about badminton, walk us through the game, the rules, how it's played, and any tips you might have with regards to badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: Sure. badminton. There's, Basically two kinds of badminton. There's singles and there's doubles. And they use different lines. So if you see the lines that are used in badminton, all of the lines, like the outermost lines are for doubles.
>> Marco Timpano: And you're talking about the lines on the court like a tennis. If you look at tennis, it has kind of like a rectangular, drawn out grid, let's say for lack of a better term.
>> Desmond Nye: That's right. It's drawn out there. It's usually in white. It's usually in white. And the outermost lines are used for doubles. The only difference for singles would be that the lines on the left and right are brought in a little bit more.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: I don't know if that's a good way of putting it, but there it's. They cut off the parts, they basically cut off parts of it that would be used for doubles. They say it's longer. Okay. It's not as wide. That's. That's the word. Okay, that's the word.
>> Marco Timpano: So the outer sort of thinner lines where you can have more play surface for a, doubles.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Gets sort of contracted inward, contracted slightly. Slightly. And then it just. The plain surface for the single is just deeper forward and back. Yes, exactly.
>> Desmond Nye: And then within doubles you have mixed, doubles and you have men's, doubles, women's doubles. And the rules are all the same. it used to be play up until 15 points, but they've found that you can only score points when you serve. So if someone else serves and you score, it didn't count. so that made for some super long games. So that all changed to the 21 point system. In the 21 point system, it doesn't matter if you're serving. If you get the point, the point counts towards you.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: It counts towards you. So they changed it to the 21 system. And they had experimented for a really long time, maybe changing it to the seven point system, having women's singles go to the 11 point system.
>> Marco Timpano: Did it get changed when badminton became an Olympic sport? I want to say in the 90s at some point, I think 92 it
>> Desmond Nye: became 1992 it became an Olympic sport. That's right. In 88 it was a test sport.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. So 92 officially became an Olympic sport. In Barcelona.
>> Marco Timpano: I was going to say, where was it? Okay. Barcelona.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, in Barcelona. So, that they've experimented with all kinds of formats to make the game more exciting, to make the game, easier to watch. And they did not want those long drawn out like Three hour matches. There was a match at, I believe the 1997 World Championships in the men's singles final where they just would not stop playing. It was until the Chinese player got a really bad cramp and that's what began the ending of the match.
>> Marco Timpano: So it was multiple hours, that game?
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. Wow. Yes. Between China and Denmark, in 1997. You still see those long games, but not as long. Not as long now. And the 21 point system seems to have stuck and done well.
>> Marco Timpano: Interesting.
You mentioned Denmark. I know that badminton is huge in Denmark
You mentioned Denmark. I know that badminton is huge in Denmark. It was one of the first places, certainly in Europe to really pick up the sport as a sport that they love.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely. The Danes have been very, very strong from a long time ago in picking that up. They've been contenders on the world stage for a long time. they've had Olympic gold medalists from there. They've had world champions from there. they recently, I believe it was maybe within the last five years, they won the Thomas cup, which is considered the world men's team World Championship.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that. The Thomas Cup.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. And they won the Thomas cup. And usually it's won by either China or Indonesia. Those are the two major superpowers when it comes to men's badminton.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Because Asia also stronghold in this, you tend to think, but at least I tend to think Asia, really dominates when it comes to badminton. I never really think Denmark, but when I did a little bit of research, I was like, oh, Denmark's a major player in this sport too.
>> Desmond Nye: Denmark's a definite major player. They've had excellent players even as long as the Chinese have had excellent players. And other parts of Europe are learning and picking up on certain styles of badminton. because certain Asian players are retiring and going over there and coaching and imparting their wisdom too. That's not the only reason. But Europe has done a lot better. There's someone out of Spain. There's a women's singles player out of Spain who shocked the world a few years ago winning the world championship for women's singles. Then she won the Olympics. And this is someone that came out of nowhere.
>> Marco Timpano: I love those. You've got to love those, those stories.
Watching Denmark, China play badminton would be like watching hockey
Would it be safe to say now I'm gonna do what I always do and my listeners are probably gonna roll their eyes and I'm gonna bring a Canadian perspective to this. Would it be safe to say that watching Denmark, China play badminton would be like watching Canada, Russia play hockey? If you're into the sport of Badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: absolutely. they have a long and storied history.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: Like, some of their. Some of Denmark's players have. Could have won world championships had it not been for the Chinese players, and vice versa. Right. Like, 1996 men's singles. The gold medal went to Denmark, and he beat China in the final. And you go to 2000. China beat Denmark in the semifinals of the Olympics. It was a shocking upset victory. So they've been. They have been going back and forth. That's a big rivalry. I'd say that's the number two rivalry in badminton. And, maybe some badminton experts might disagree, but the original badminton rivalry was between Malaysia and Indonesia.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. So that's another match you want to see.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll be watching badminton from now on with a different perspective, and I do really want to see these four nations you mentioned battle it out, especially in the Olympics. I'll be keen on that for.
>> Desmond Nye: For sure. Absolutely. Like, if you look at some of the older Thomas cup matches, when Malaysia was playing Indonesia, the crowd was just so into it because the countries are situated so close together and they've had long, long, long rivalries. You can compare that to any sports rivalry in any sport. It's just like that.
Playing with the feathers is a different sport than playing with the plastic
>> Marco Timpano: Let's talk shuttlecock. And there's a great, phrase for you. I know it's often the butt of a joke, but the shuttlecock is. Is what is used to play in badminton. Whereas a ball or a puck or a something else might be used, to play, but it has its own name. So tell me about that.
>> Desmond Nye: as far as I know, it comes basically, they're little feathers. They're little feathers that are put into a piece of cork and that forms the shuttlecock.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you're not playing professionally, it'll often be just a plastic sort of replica.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: But I'm told, and I've never played with a feather, that playing with the feathers is a different sport than playing with the plastic. Is that correct?
>> Desmond Nye: 100%.
>> Marco Timpano: How so? Because now I'm curious about that.
>> Desmond Nye: Sure. The feather one requires a lot more control. It requires a lot more technique. Whereas in the school system, in the high school system, we played with the plastic replicas. The plastic replicas are used a lot. And one of the reasons that it is used is because the feather ones could get damaged really easily.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Desmond Nye: So they go through so many feathers when they're playing, but with the plastic ones, you could smash it, and it could be a really great smash really fast.
>> Marco Timpano: And It'll still stand up.
>> Desmond Nye: it'll still be great. Whereas if you do it with a feather and your technique is a little bit off, that shuttle call can slow down, it can go different ways. It just, it brings out the best in the players. I actually prefer playing with feather.
>> Marco Timpano: You do?
>> Desmond Nye: Because I can navigate the shuttlecock within my control. At least this is what I used to be able to do before my body could no longer play the sport at an elite level.
>> Marco Timpano: So here's a curious thing I have. Does it make each shuttlecock unique? Because feathers are unique. Like snowflakes, you could say, right? No feather is the same versus a plastic shuttlecock, which you could make the same weight, diameter, and, and whatnot as the next. Right.
>> Desmond Nye: I've never thought of that. But I would not rule that out because no feather is unique. All the feathers, all the shuttlecocks look the same. They're built all the same. However, there's different companies, for example, that build different quality shuttlecocks as well. So there are definitely differences there. And I guess they try to control it internationally as much as possible. But like you said, it's not all created equal.
>> Marco Timpano: So, I mean, the discrepancy might be so minute that the player would not know or would automatically compensate for it.
>> Desmond Nye: Sure.
There are certain badminton rackets that suit different styles of play
>> Marco Timpano: but I'd like to talk about rackets, because you look at a badminton racket and you think, oh, it's like every other racket sport. And then you pick one up and it feels different. Let's talk badminton rackets.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely. It's very light. It is very, very light. And there's so many variations, with badminton rackets that you could have in terms of. There. It's just the way that the frame is built, it's the way the grip is and how the head of the badminton racket is built. There's certain badminton rackets that suit different styles of play.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, certain singles players will use certain rackets. Certain doubles players will use other kinds of rackets. And some players are more attacking style players. So they'll use rackets that are more conducive to attacking
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>> Desmond Nye: Whereas the other ones will use their defensive players. They win their matches through defense.
>> Marco Timpano: What does an attack racket look like versus a defensive racket?
>> Desmond Nye: As far as I can remember, the attack racket has a heavier head.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: So it's like there's more momentum, there's more inertia coming down.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. When you.
>> Desmond Nye: When the Smash is coming down. Whereas the. In order to play defense really well, you have to be quick and you have to know where you're putting the shuttle. You have to. It's like playing offense while playing defense.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: You just don't want to put the badminton racket back up. You want to be able to drive it somewhere. So the rackets are built differently, their frames are built differently. Some are heavier than others. And also the stringing.
>> Marco Timpano: The stringing. That's what I was going to ask you. So what's key in the stringing for a badminton racket or how do you like your racket string?
>> Desmond Nye: I like my. When I used to play, my rackets were strung really, really tightly. I see they were strung really tightly because I loved. I didn't want there to be too much give in terms of the string because I wanted to control where the shuttle was going. I wanted to play that style of badminton.
>> Marco Timpano: Does a tighter strung racket give you a larger sweet spot? There's a stumper.
>> Desmond Nye: That's a stumper. Wow.
>> Marco Timpano: now for our listeners, and you can correct me while you're thinking, the sweet spot would be the ideal spot in the center of the racket where, when it makes a connection with your shuttlecock or if you're playing squash as I know it, you have the most control and, and the most ability to send it where you want. Is that fair to say?
>> Desmond Nye: That is fair to say. It's a little bit higher than the center.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, it is.
>> Desmond Nye: It's not necessarily at the top of where the racket frame is, but it's a little bit higher than the center. And just the tight stringing, I don't think gives a larger sweet spot, but it just gives much more control, much more control of where you're putting the badminton racket. And you can play with a lot more deception.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: You can play a lot more deceptive moves to try to mix up your opponent. But the problem with that is that it breaks easily.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Strings break easily. And because they're strung at a certain tension, it puts pressure on the badminton Racket.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. It puts pressure on the badminton racket. And badminton rackets will break. Breaking strings happens all the time. And then you have to. You got to pay to get them strung up again. So I always had a battle with my parents. My parents would be saying, number one, why are you picking that quality of string? Number two, why are you stringing it so tightly? Whereas my dad, for example, would use a piece of string and he played for it for a couple years. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And how long would yours last?
>> Desmond Nye: Maybe month and a half.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Desmond Nye: So you see the very, very big difference. And because of that, badminton rackets can break too, because there's so much pressure and they're thin.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Like they're so much thinner than a, let's say a squash or tennis racket.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely.
Badminton is different from other racket sports in that it has fewer opportunities
>> Marco Timpano: When you said the quality of string, what does that mean? Like, you're picking a different type. Like an expensive string or.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, an expensive string. There's other. There's very durable strings, and then there are strings that are specialized for certain players that. And I'm not tooting my own horn here, but playing a certain style where there's a lot of control in the game. And it just depends how. I don't want to use the word refined, but how many nuances are in your game?
>> Marco Timpano: But what is the difference in the actual string, like the one you prefer versus, say, the one your dad. Are they both not nylon strings or are they.
>> Desmond Nye: They both are. in terms of the difference, the one that my dad would pick would be more durable and it would lead to less control of the badminton racket. And the differences are very small when you're playing the game. However, if you're playing in a competitive environment, they say about sports that it's a game of inches.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, especially with badminton, because, the thing I loved about playing badminton, and by no means have I played it like you did in a professional setting, but the opportunity to hit the shuttlecock, there's so many more. I found opportunities that if you miss it, you still might have the time to catch it before it touches the ground. Absolutely. So it's like this. It's this fast game with a slow moving shuttlecock. And it's fast, too, but it doesn't have the same sort of, I don't know, like other racket sports. I feel like you have one opportunity because once the ball goes, once the inertia of the ball goes, you have one swing and that's it.
>> Desmond Nye: Like tennis, for example.
>> Marco Timpano: Like tennis Right.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Whereas badminton, you have like, there's so much opportunity and skill and precision.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That it makes it such an enjoyable game to play.
>> Desmond Nye: You can save it. There's all kinds of moves that you can do with the badminton shuttlecock. So it's a fun game. It's definitely different than, the other racket sports. Sure, it's definitely different.
Getting good footwork is the most important thing in badminton
>> Marco Timpano: What are some tips you would give to our listeners who are interested or starting to play badminton?
>> Desmond Nye: I would say, and this might not be well received, but I would say that, sure, footwork, is the most important thing. So getting that footwork, right, because when you're in a situation where you are scrambling all over the court, your footwork is what will save you. And in most major sports it comes down to footwork.
>> Marco Timpano: I had the opportunity to interview Cloda Power about boxing and she said the same thing. She's like, the footwork is key. Start with the footwork and the rest will come. But if you don't have the footwork, you don't have a game.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, exactly. And that is why some players that wanted to do good in badminton would go to these private clubs and 90% of what they would work on is footwork and they'd go home and saying, why did I pay 300 bucks for a six week course when I'm just running around and taking steps all over the court? But it's super important because in such a fast game, if you're trying to hit the shuttlecock at the back of the court and the person drops it to the front, you better know how to get it. You can run up to it, you can run up to it, but the momentum, when you're done running up to it, you, you can't go to the back right away.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Because kill your knees. Right.
>> Desmond Nye: It'll totally kill your knees. So that's why when some coaches who are coaching, let's say high school badminton do not have a background in badminton, they just say to the students, get your feet moving.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Desmond Nye: How do you get your feet moving? Right. Exactly what way? The feet are not moving because of the knees. Maybe there's tightness in the quad muscle or the hamstring.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Desmond Nye: Why is this student's feet not moving? So that's the number one thing. Close to number one is technique.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: You'd rather be a technician at the game than someone who can smash really well and someone who's got a lot of strength and power. Because technique is what will keep you in the game and it'll allow you to Control the shuttle to make up for your other shortcomings. So when I went off to school in the States, I studied law in St. Louis. I gained a bunch of weight. So when I came back to Toronto to play, it was technique that still allowed me to be relatively competitive at the ymca. It was technique because I knew where to put the shuttle. So I made up for my physical deficiencies by, being able to send the shuttle almost wherever I wanted to. And then that's how I played. So that's another reason why some people may not like going to these private clubs and training. Because, hey, I want to play games. I want to learn how to smash it as hard as an Olympic gold medalist. But there's so much technique involved. There's so much movement. It's like trying to say, let me jab like Floyd Mayweather.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. It's not going to happen unless you have everything else and tons of training under your belt. And body makeup, too.
>> Desmond Nye: Absolutely. Certain bodies play differently. The center of gravity is different. With much taller players in the strategy, playing against certain players is different if they're taller or shorter or depending on their strengths. Everybody, for example, thinks in boxing that the power of the punch comes from the hand, comes from the hip. Badminton, the power of the smash comes
>> Marco Timpano: from the hip, not your forearm or your wrist.
>> Desmond Nye: It definitely comes from that. But it's like the finishing part of the sequence of the Smash.
>> Marco Timpano: The follow through, if you will.
>> Desmond Nye: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah.
Let's talk about how one gets points when playing badminton
so before we end the show.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Let's just quickly talk about points, how one gets points when playing badminton.
>> Desmond Nye: one gets points by playing badminton. Either when the other side, your opponents cannot pick up the badminton shuttlecock. Like the shuttlecock lands on the ground,
>> Marco Timpano: touches the ground, touches the ground.
>> Desmond Nye: So they cannot get points that way.
>> Marco Timpano: And how many points is that? If we're playing and I miss it and it touches the ground, you get one point.
>> Desmond Nye: That's right, yes. it's always one point. also, if the shuttlecock hits the net and it does not go over in the net, the other side gets a point.
>> Marco Timpano: So if you throw to me, it hits your side of the net, does not go over to mine. I get one point.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes, that's correct. So there are sometimes examples where the shuttlecock will hit the net and then barely slide over. That's your point. And there's nothing your opponent can do about it. because it's just the way it goes. Exactly. There's no way you can possibly respond to that.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's players who can really, like, pinpoint that shuttlecock to just touch or graze or flip over the net.
>> Desmond Nye: Right. I can count them on both of my hands. There's not many of them, but the ones that can do it correctly are viciously good players. They or they know how to respond to those. They know how to. There was a player out of Indonesia who won the silver medal in 2000. He was known for his net play. Maybe about 5 foot 7, not the most imposing person, but he was, just known for his net play and his deception. Hendrawan. He went by one name, so it's. It's like. It's like calling someone like Lebron or something. You just know them by one name. so about the points, also, if you hit it out, if you hit it outside of the lines, it counts as a point to the other side.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, like in tennis, if those white lines that we mentioned, if it goes out of bounds, your, opponent receives the point.
>> Desmond Nye: That's right. And then also, there's service faults. There's faults. The judge will call you on certain faults. You cannot. When you're serving the badminton racket, you cannot have it above your waist.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. You cannot have it above your waist.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. Because if you have it above your waist, I can technically put the shuttlecock anywhere I want.
>> Marco Timpano: If I have my racket above my waist. Yes.
>> Desmond Nye: If I have it way above my waist, I can control it in a way. So it's a way to equalize the. It's a way to equalize it. So. So don't serve above your waist. That's a, fault. Another fault is once you bring the racket forward to begin to serve, you're not allowed to bring it back.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: You're not allowed to bring it back.
>> Marco Timpano: You have to follow through.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. There was a little bit of a controversy when I was playing grade nine badminton. These players, and I did not know the rules at the time. Sure. These players would keep on putting the racket back and forth. It was like they were trying to trick you. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: Because you think, okay, they're about to hit it, so you're getting in position, but they don't exactly.
>> Desmond Nye: And your feet just freeze. So at, the competitive level, you can't play like that. There is none of that. Another way of getting a point is you are not allowed to hit the net with your racket.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Because then you'll lose or your opponent will gain a point if you do that.
>> Desmond Nye: Exactly. You can't do that. And that has led to some controversies, because sometimes you can't prevent it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Desmond Nye: Of course, when you're coming in for the kill and you successfully get the kill and your badminton racket grazes the net just by a little bit, you will be called for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So if I'm approaching the net and I smash it down and the shuttlecock hits the floor on your side, but my racket hits the net.
>> Desmond Nye: That's the other person's point.
>> Marco Timpano: You get the point.
>> Desmond Nye: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. I didn't know that one.
>> Desmond Nye: Yes. You cannot make contact with the net. Another one, too, is the net almost acts like a gigantic invisible wall.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Desmond Nye: Because it means that not only can I not touch the net, I cannot put my racket into your side. So it's like if I know a shot is coming and then I take it and I smash it, but I smashed it while it was still on your side. That's a fault.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. See, these are not the rules.
Desmond Brown gives a master class on badminton on Insomnia Project
We play at the cottage when we play badminton. Yes. But thank you so much, Desmond, for this, you know, master class in badminton. I really do appreciate.
>> Desmond Nye: I think everyone should watch it. It's a fast sport. It's such a beautiful sport when it's played at the highest levels. And there are so many other countries that are getting involved in the sport now. This is the golden time for the sport. Fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: well, Desmond, thank you so much for all your insight into badminton. And thank you, listeners, for tuning in to the Insomnia Project. Project. Where's that from? I hope you had the opportunity to listen and hopefully sleep. And if not, we'll. We'll see you next time, or we'll hear you next time, or we'll talk to you next time on, the Insomnia Project. This episode was recorded in Toronto, Canada. Once again, Desmond and I thank you for being a part of our show.
>> Desmond Nye: Show. My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.
>> Marco Timpano: Until the next time.
Socks & Slippers
(Original airdate: April 27, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation. Hopefully it's mundane enough for you to find your way to sleep. If it's not, well, then I hope you enjoy the journey you take to the end of this episode. I am your host, Marco Timpano, and
>> Amanda Barker: joining me is me, Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: This is a special episode because it is the first episode of our now bi weekly podcast and we're doing this for a very special reason.
>> Amanda Barker: What's that, Marco?
>> Marco Timpano: We were just awarded best sleep podcast 2020. And, that's from Tuck.
>> Amanda Barker: Tuck.comt u c k dot com.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right, Tuck. And they awarded us with this wonderful award for best sleep podcast 2020 and we decided to Give more content for people because people are home now and they need, to turn to certain podcasts and ours happens to be one of them. So we are going to provide extra content for all of you and we're really happy to be doing that. We, won the award, or we were awarded the award for the best podcasts for relaxing sounds, which is wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's really what we aim to do.
>> Marco Timpano: And this is how they describe it, Amanda. soft drizzle on the sidewalk, chirping birds, light conversation in coffee shops. For many, ambient noise is the most soothing choice for bedtime listening. Check out these podcasts for a wide range of relaxing rhythms and sleep inducing sounds. So that's us, the Insania Project. Welcome.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you again for, all the hard work that you've put in over the years to make this the comforting, good feeling, easy listening podcast that it's become.
>> Marco Timpano: And you'll be getting it twice a week. Who knows, maybe three times a week. Right now we're gonna just try with twice a week and see how that goes.
Less Stuff, Less Waste recommended some topics for this podcast
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, I wanted to talk to you about a couple of topics that were suggested by one of the patrons on our Patreon account.
>> Amanda Barker: And thank you so much for all of those people who do support us through Patreon.
>> Marco Timpano: This is from Less Stuff, Less Waste.
>> Amanda Barker: Love that.
>> Marco Timpano: You are a big proponent of that, aren't you?
>> Amanda Barker: I am. I could easily spend a show talking about textile waste and minimalism in that industry.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe we will, but not on this time because there's a few topics I want to speak to you that Less Stuff, Less Waste recommended. So thank you once again, Less Stuff. I don't like to mention people's names unless they give me permission to do so. So this is a handle that this person is using.
>> Amanda Barker: Lmlw. M. There you go. LM LS also that okay, Less muff.
>> Marco Timpano: less muff, less waste.
Amanda loves slippers and socks. What do you love about a good slipper
All right, Amanda, let's talk socks and slippers.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't see. So for those of you who are listening, I did not know what we would be talking about today. So, we're gonna be off the cuff here and I really needed some slippers or some socks today. My feet were cold.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you love about a good slipper and what makes a good slipper for you?
>> Amanda Barker: I love slippers.
>> Marco Timpano: I know you do.
>> Amanda Barker: I. They have multiplied in this house. my first pair of slippers, my gateway slippers, were given to me by Stella, who is married to your cousin
>> Marco Timpano: Mauro, who she is my Cousin now to our cousin now.
>> Marco Timpano: And I went to high school in the 9th grade or grade 9 as we say in Canada. Her locker was next to mine.
>> Amanda Barker: We love Stella. You were friends with her in high school. She married your cousin. Now she's part of our family and we're forever grateful for that. And one year for Christmas, just as a little. We don't tend to give each other Christmas gifts as cousins. But one year she had brought just some easy little slip on slippers and said, oh, I live in these in the house. The ones she gave me are zebra striped.
>> Marco Timpano: Those ones? Those are, yes, I see you wearing those.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're still my favorite. They're zebra striped. They have a little pink bow on them. And when she gave them to me, I was like, okay, great. You know, slippers, I'm sure that'll be useful. That was probably eight years ago. I still have them. They can go in the washer. They have some tread still on the bottom. So they're kind of just perfect for around the house.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even think Stella knows. I just want to. If Stella's listening, you clearly gave an awesome gift. If eight years later my wife is still trapezing around the house in them.
>> Amanda Barker: And that inspired me in fact to buy more slippers. So I started a slipper. Actually, she started a slipper revolution in this house. So, we bought slippers for the guests of this show. That's right, we did, and your other podcasts as well. And just because we are downstairs, there's a tile floor, so it can get cooler here in the winter months. So slippers are always a good idea. And I, was wearing those as well. Then I started buying them. Actually, I started buying them at Value Village and other secondhand shops, but I would get them new at second hand shops. Sometimes they would sell them new, but they would get an overstock, you know, like a box or something donated. So I made sure they had the tags and all that on them. So I bought some of those and I had your mother knit me some slippers as well. And I love the feel of those on my feet.
>> Marco Timpano: What makes a good slipper, Amanda, for you?
>> Amanda Barker: warmth is the number one thing. If it's fur lined, all the better. And I really do love a slipper that has a bit of texture to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Texture on the outside or texture on the inside?
>> Amanda Barker: Either or.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Texture on the outside is great because if you are on slippery hardwood or tile, then you're not going to do a face Plant if you have them. A little bit of grip is nice, but I also prefer having a little texture just because I think it feels good on my feet with those knit ones. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: I like a slipper that goes on easy and comes off easy. I don't want to be trapped in my slipper and I want to be able to. I want it also to be warm but not too hot. I don't want my foot to be boiling in the slipper. So it needs to be able to really, really regulate. And I find that natural fabrics do that better than synthetics.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, those are the types of slippers I like. I also prefer a sandal to a slipper. So I like to wear a sandal more than I do a slipper. But when it's really cold, I'll wear a slipper.
>> Amanda Barker: A certain kind of sandal though. An orthopedic sandal inside.
>> Marco Timpano: You're right. Yeah, I prefer. That's my preference.
>> Amanda Barker: Not like a gladiator sandal. Just so we're clear.
>> Marco Timpano: you know, maybe if we were in Rome, I'd wear that gladiator.
>> Amanda Barker: I would love it if you wore gladiator sandals throughout the year. Only in our house. I think that'd be amazing.
Let's shift to socks. What makes a good or great sock for you
>> Marco Timpano: Let's shift to socks. What makes a good or great sock for you?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I have a love hate relationship with socks. So maybe you can start us off with the type of sock that you enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: So I have a sock, a pair of socks to end all socks. And it was given to me by you years ago. And it was a real big surprise because I remember saying something to you. Actually, you'll remember better than I did. I do. that I wanted cashmere socks. Do you remember this?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: How did it come about? Because I need a reminder.
>> Amanda Barker: I think you're hard to buy for. And that was our first year dating.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And I remember you quoting somebody else who said, you're the type of guy that would love cashmere socks. And you said, I am the type of guy who would love cashmere socks. I would love a pair of cashmere socks. I just think that would be so great. So off I went into the world searching for a pair of cashmere socks for you. And. And this would have been 2007. Six or seven. so maybe 2006. Even that Christmas. So, it wasn't really a time you couldn't order them online like you could now. And I was. Yeah, it would have been then because I would have been at work and on my lunch at work. The office I worked at at the time was downtown Toronto. And so I went to a store. Can I say the name of the store?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course you can.
>> Amanda Barker: So I went to a place that people in Toronto know, Holt Renfrew.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's more of a luxury type store.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's a really high end store with high end pricing and labels. And so that was the only place that I could find them. And they had two pairs.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, so I picked a pair, spent the most I will ever spend on one pair of socks.
>> Marco Timpano: How much was that, do you remember?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean it was over 100.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't remember. I mean it wasn't like it was under 200. but still, that's a lot of money for a pair of socks. I could use that money now.
>> Marco Timpano: I love those socks and I wear them now. I wear them only on important cold moments in my life. So. Because they're, they're the type when I was talking about m how natural fibers can self regulate those socks keep my feet toasty, but not anything more than toasty. So for me, toasty feet that aren't boiling, they're the perfect sock, whatever, socks, whatever you paid for them, I've enjoyed m that amount and so much more. And I keep them by my bedside table in a Ziploc bag so that, you know, if the odd moth would get to them, they can't get through the Ziploc and I only take them out when I really need them and I love them every time I wear them.
>> Amanda Barker: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So great gift.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you're welcome. So then I don't have to get you anything this year.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, fair enough.
>> Speaker D: We all prefer things a certain way, like groceries. If you want groceries just how you like them, you gotta try Instacart. They have a new preference picker that lets you pick how ripe or unripe you want your bananas. Shoppers can see your preferences upfront, helping guide their choices. Because when it comes to groceries, the details matter. Instacart get groceries just how you like. Mom, I saw Dylan's dad make dinner, like actually cook and it was straight fire. He said it was was Blue Apron assemble and Bake. All the ingredients showed up pre chopped and he just laid it out on a baking sheet and no cap. Dinner was on the table in like 25 minutes. Apparently it's chef design and it has like over 40 grams of protein. That's a lot, right? So maybe we try it just Saying you can be the next Dylan's dad.
Bill has a love hate relationship with socks. What's your sock? Favorite sock
>> Amanda Barker: Blue Apron.
>> Speaker D: Get $50 off your first two orders plus free shipping with code Stir50 Terms and conditions apply. Visit BlueApron.com terms for more.
>> Marco Timpano: over 90 of the top 100 US accounting firms trust Bill to simplify and secure bill pay. That's proven financial infrastructure built on over a trillion dollars of secure payments. Visit bill.com proven for a special offer.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What's your sock? Favorite sock? You said you have a love hate relationship with socks.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I prefer not to have socks on. In my dream world, I don't own any socks or I only own the little ones that I can wear in, like, my tennis shoes. That's it for me. I don't love wearing them. But I do live in Canada, so it is a necessity for me. I'm actually superstitious with my socks.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know this.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't know this?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think so.
>> Amanda Barker: So when I want to get what I believe is a little bit of extra insurance that I'll have a good day, I wear black socks. True story. So I feel like I won't have as good a day if I'm wearing white socks.
>> Marco Timpano: Why black socks?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. It's just something.
>> Amanda Barker: Ever since I was like maybe 13, 14, maybe 14, I liked black socks and I thought I'd have a better day if I wore them. I don't know where that got into my head and how that happened. but it's something that has stuck with me and so I like having black socks. Now. It's challenging because when you pair them up, I'm very particular with that. So I don't want any old black sock paired with any old black sock if they have a slightly different feel or length. So I'm very particular with them and it makes it challenging.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. So you want the proper pair of black socks to stay together.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I absolutely could not wear mismatched socks. I know that's trendy with, you know, tweens and kids wearing just whatever socks they find. I have great respect for those kids that can do that because to me, that feels very brazen and brave.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But I couldn't do it if I had mismatched socks on. I would feel awful.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm looking at your feet right now. No socks on you.
>> Amanda Barker: I have shoes on and no socks.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: That's my favorite way of being.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you had mentioned you bought my socks from a very luxurious store. M. Yeah, One of less stuff's less waste.
Bun asks what are some luxurious things that you love
Favorite episodes was a luxury episode we did. So I want to ask you what are some luxurious things that you love? And they don't have to be expensive, but what's something luxurious or that you find luxurious?
>> Amanda Barker: To me, one of the greatest luxuries I have three all at once. So for me, a, luxurious moment, a thing that fills me with this feeling of luxury and comfort and also worth and excitement even, is a beautifully drawn warm bath, a brand new magazine to read in that bath, and an iced coffee drink of some sort sitting on the edge of that tub.
>> Marco Timpano: And what gets used first, the magazine or the coffee based drink?
>> Amanda Barker: I take a little sip of the coffee. I usually have my phone there. So the challenge in the last year or so has been to not take the phone in. But because I do an Italian lesson every day, I often start the bath with that, get that out of the way. And then as a reward, I love to open up, particularly like a style magazine. So house and home style at home, one of those.
>> Marco Timpano: And since you're a proponent of less stuff and less waste, what do you do with your magazines when you're done with it? I know, but I think people would love to hear.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's why it's a luxury. Because a bath uses more water than a shower. An iced coffee just feels like a luxury drink, especially if I haven't made it and I bought it from somewhere. That's a true luxury.
>> Marco Timpano: But you tend to also use coffee that we haven't drank. We don't pour it out. You then make an iced version using the coffee that is no longer hot,
>> Amanda Barker: that is leftover at the end of the day. I'm incredibly free.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I just am. So, I don't like things going to waste, so I would sooner use it than throw it out. but I would prefer a fresh drink that someone else has prepared for me. That is true luxury to me. Haven't had one in a while, but that to me is luxury. And then the magazine. this is how I'm answering your question here. The magazine is true luxury because yes, I could absolutely read articles on an iPad, a phone, a tablet. But I like the magazine. I like that it lives in the pages. I love that I can open the pages and take my time with it. So I usually have a few subscriptions on the go and once a year. And it doesn't always line up, to the same time of year, but usually actually around this time of year, I kind of review what magazine subscriptions do I really enjoy and want to make sure that I keep them coming. Which ones have I not really read or skimmed through that maybe I could lose? What are some that I haven't had that I really would love?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: or one that I bought from a stand.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And, so I do. After I go through all my subscriptions and curate them, I do end up monthly with a solid pile of magazines. So what do I do with them? there's a few things. One, if I'm going to Florida, I'll bring some for my mom. And she, I've inherited this love, of magazines. So I take a bunch from her. We trade them, but more normally.
>> Marco Timpano: And your mom, I should mention, tends to get southern magazines which are so fun to read and look at because they represent the southern US where she lives.
>> Amanda Barker: Southern Living is her favorite magazine. And if you have a love of things Southern, you know, the cuisine, the road trips, the way of life, there's a. Every episode or every, issue issue. Every issue has like a country veterinarian. So it's like how to deal with my cows shaped teats and stuff like that. So that's how country it is. But then it's also things like what to do with your mason jars and how to reuse barn board. So it's really crafty and fun and just a fun magazine.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so fun to have in our home here in Canada a bunch of Southern Living magazines. And people always kind of look quizzically at them when they're in our house and they'll flip through them and think they're so special.
>> Amanda Barker: I was going to get a subscription to Southern Living, but I didn't. I think I'll let it be the special luxury of just getting it once in a while from my mom. But anyway, I take a pile of magazines monthly. I have an ongoing post up on the app Bunz. Bunz or Bunz in Canada. I'm part of that app. I'm not trading them right now, but I then trade them, and I'll trade them for various things. So the last few magazine trades I had, I've gotten plants for magazines, I've gotten candles for magazines, I've gotten brand new, lip balms for magazines.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, these sound like luxurious items.
>> Amanda Barker: They are.
>> Marco Timpano: Certainly candles can be luxurious. Certainly. Plants.
Amanda says she trades magazines for plants, candles and wine
What plant did you get for your magazines?
>> Amanda Barker: I got. Let me think.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's your favorite little plant thing that you mentioned on other show, which was that little house with the plants next to the Bed?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm trying to think. All of my plants are buns. Plants pretty much at this point, that I've traded other things to have clippings of plants. So I, think my spider plant
>> Marco Timpano: is a magazine trade.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So, candles, plants, consumables. I've traded also them for a bottle of wine. I got once a really nice bottle, actually. some tall cans of which I like just as much as a good bottle of wine. So, I trade for consumables, basically.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And which is your own personal, luxurious magazine. The one that, in your curation, is tops, that you love, that you wouldn't let the subscriptions, lapse.
>> Amanda Barker: I love house and home. I don't have just one. I love Chatelaine. I've always, always love Chatelaine. And I feel like I'm more the demographic Chatelaine now than I was in my early 20s, but I've always loved it. I've been a contributor a few times to Chatelaine. I, love Toronto life.
>> Marco Timpano: wait. Aren't you in this month's issue of Chatelaine? Oh, that's so funny.
>> Amanda Barker: I am. Both myself and my writing partner, Dale Boyer, who's been a guest on this program a bunch of times.
>> Marco Timpano: What's a luxurious thing you like to do with Dale Boyer? Or Boyer?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: Cause I'll tell you what I like to do with her husband, Trevor Martin, who's also been a guest on this show. That's kind of luxurious. And then you can tell us what you like to do with Dale.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So one of my favorite things to do with Trevor is I love going to eating establishments with him and picking items that maybe you and his wife, who are with us most of the time when we dine, aren't gonna love. And he and I will just enjoy and talk about. And for me, a luxurious conversation about fine dining or just dining in general with Trevor Martin is a luxurious thing I love.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, this is how frugal Dale and I are. Our biggest luxury is to attend or host a clothing swap. And it really, truly is. And, if we host it, of course, we're making a big batch of hors d' oeuvres and food and cocktails. And actually, that's what she and I talk about in this month's Chatelaine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, isn't that funny?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So it's an article on sustainability in clothing. I think it's called how to Create a Sustainable Wardrobe or something along those lines. It just Came out six days ago.
>> Marco Timpano: And I didn't plan this. It just came to me.
>> Amanda Barker: I happened to just be looking at it too. And, we are number eight in the top 10 things you can do to. To help your wardrobe. And she and I are the sort of experts on clothing swaps. And so they ask us a bunch of questions about what makes a good clothing swap. And the reason I wanted to mention that, is because.
>> Marco Timpano: Less waste, Less stuff, less waste.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. And that's the whole mission of clothing swaps in general. so I was just tying it back to that idea of less is more.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go, Amanda.
Let's talk hot water bottles and electric blankets
We're going to round off this episode with one of the last things that less stuff, less waste wanted to know about, and that is hot water bottles, electric blankets.
>> Amanda Barker: Just something to discuss.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, A topic of discussion. So let's talk hot water bottles and your trick when there's not a hot water bottle around, but you might need
>> Amanda Barker: one, you know, you have to create the hot water bottle that you need even when you don't have one. So be the hot water bottle that you need to see in the world. To paraphrase Gandhi, who probably in India didn't need a hot water bottle. But, there is a particular room, bedroom, that is very freezing. Not an our house, thankfully, but in my sister's house, it's very cold in the winter. Halifax has, you know, those, those bone chilling breezes and winds that come in from the shore. So, it can get really cold there on the. On any particular night. So knowing that, I was given the advice by a cast member of mine in a show to just take regular old, plastic water bottles and fill them with the hottest water you can. Now, boiling might melt them. So you just want to get the tap really, really hot. So the hottest version of tap water, basically, and fill those water bottles and make sure, obviously, that you screw them on really tight because you don't want to leak in the bed. But any particularly good water bottle, if you have access to one, will do this and then just have it in bed with you. So I filled both of those up. because the thing is about a hot water bottle, it's only in one area. So this way you can kind of have one for each foot or hip or leg or however you need to do it.
>> Marco Timpano: And, you could also use, say, a wine bottle. Just make sure that the cork goes in nice and tight. The glass is a good conductor.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it depends. I don't know that I'd want a wine bottle like A big piece of glass in bed with me. There's plastic I think is a little less precarious.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
Amanda, what makes a good electric blanket for you
What about the electric blanket? Are you a fan? Are you not a fan? What makes a good electric blanket for you?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'd like to turn that question back to you since I had so much to say about the hot water bottle experience, which, by the way, did we ever do that together? Was that just me?
>> Marco Timpano: That was just you. I feel like I'm your hot water bottle.
>> Amanda Barker: That is true.
>> Marco Timpano: So, I like an electric blanket. I don't like it cranked to the hottest. But I certainly don't love how frustrated you get with electric blankets when we use them because you hate the cord.
>> Amanda Barker: So this is meant to be a calming and soothing discussion. So, I don't want to dwell too long on my frustration with an electric blanket. But a cordless electric blanket, I don't know if that's a thing, but if someone could invent it, I would certainly buy it. because as much as I love an electric blanket, I have one that's not. Or we have one. I think we got rid of it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, we still have it.
>> Amanda Barker: We do? Yeah. I don't think it works anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Then maybe we don't have it.
>> Amanda Barker: No, we got rid of it anyway. or it's in the car, still. Might be in the car, actually. But, it has a cord running through it. So that cord plugs to an outlet in the wall, which is fine, except that I go to sleep with a cord draped over me. Because I think the truth is we need a bigger blanket.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: We need a bigger boat and a
>> Marco Timpano: bigger blanket, don't we all?
>> Amanda Barker: Because it's a small blanket that I end up with. I'll inevitably wake up with a cord around half my body, which is not a fun experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Well, listen, if you do invent a cordless electric blanket, you can send 10% of your gross sales to, the Insomnia Project. We'll happily give, that idea to you for almost free.
>> Amanda Barker: I will. I will buy it and I'll invest in it.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Amanda, thank you so much for doing this. I don't want to say bonus episode, but this extra, episode. Added episode to our curation of the Insomnia Project.
>> Marco Timpano: We also want to thank Less Stuff and Less Waste for their suggestions that we use today. And I want to say congratulations to Kristen Zaza, whose podcast has also been awarded a, best sleep podcast from tuck.com amazing. And her, category that she was awarded was for Best Bedtime Stories Podcast because her podcast, which is called On a Dark Cold Night is her telling stories that she's written.
>> Amanda Barker: Amazing. Congrats to her as well and thank
>> Marco Timpano: you all for listening and for helping to make this podcast the best sleep podcast for 2020. We will see you in a couple of days with our Wednesday episode.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you again to tuck.com and everyone. Hope you have a nice tuck in and enjoy your night.
(Original airdate: April 27, 2020)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation. Hopefully it's mundane enough for you to find your way to sleep. If it's not, well, then I hope you enjoy the journey you take to the end of this episode. I am your host, Marco Timpano, and
>> Amanda Barker: joining me is me, Amanda Barker.
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome, Amanda.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: This is a special episode because it is the first episode of our now bi weekly podcast and we're doing this for a very special reason.
>> Amanda Barker: What's that, Marco?
>> Marco Timpano: We were just awarded best sleep podcast 2020. And, that's from Tuck.
>> Amanda Barker: Tuck.comt u c k dot com.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right, Tuck. And they awarded us with this wonderful award for best sleep podcast 2020 and we decided to Give more content for people because people are home now and they need, to turn to certain podcasts and ours happens to be one of them. So we are going to provide extra content for all of you and we're really happy to be doing that. We, won the award, or we were awarded the award for the best podcasts for relaxing sounds, which is wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: And that's really what we aim to do.
>> Marco Timpano: And this is how they describe it, Amanda. soft drizzle on the sidewalk, chirping birds, light conversation in coffee shops. For many, ambient noise is the most soothing choice for bedtime listening. Check out these podcasts for a wide range of relaxing rhythms and sleep inducing sounds. So that's us, the Insania Project. Welcome.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you again for, all the hard work that you've put in over the years to make this the comforting, good feeling, easy listening podcast that it's become.
>> Marco Timpano: And you'll be getting it twice a week. Who knows, maybe three times a week. Right now we're gonna just try with twice a week and see how that goes.
Less Stuff, Less Waste recommended some topics for this podcast
>> Marco Timpano: Amanda, I wanted to talk to you about a couple of topics that were suggested by one of the patrons on our Patreon account.
>> Amanda Barker: And thank you so much for all of those people who do support us through Patreon.
>> Marco Timpano: This is from Less Stuff, Less Waste.
>> Amanda Barker: Love that.
>> Marco Timpano: You are a big proponent of that, aren't you?
>> Amanda Barker: I am. I could easily spend a show talking about textile waste and minimalism in that industry.
>> Marco Timpano: Maybe we will, but not on this time because there's a few topics I want to speak to you that Less Stuff, Less Waste recommended. So thank you once again, Less Stuff. I don't like to mention people's names unless they give me permission to do so. So this is a handle that this person is using.
>> Amanda Barker: Lmlw. M. There you go. LM LS also that okay, Less muff.
>> Marco Timpano: less muff, less waste.
Amanda loves slippers and socks. What do you love about a good slipper
All right, Amanda, let's talk socks and slippers.
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, I didn't see. So for those of you who are listening, I did not know what we would be talking about today. So, we're gonna be off the cuff here and I really needed some slippers or some socks today. My feet were cold.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you love about a good slipper and what makes a good slipper for you?
>> Amanda Barker: I love slippers.
>> Marco Timpano: I know you do.
>> Amanda Barker: I. They have multiplied in this house. my first pair of slippers, my gateway slippers, were given to me by Stella, who is married to your cousin
>> Marco Timpano: Mauro, who she is my Cousin now to our cousin now.
>> Marco Timpano: And I went to high school in the 9th grade or grade 9 as we say in Canada. Her locker was next to mine.
>> Amanda Barker: We love Stella. You were friends with her in high school. She married your cousin. Now she's part of our family and we're forever grateful for that. And one year for Christmas, just as a little. We don't tend to give each other Christmas gifts as cousins. But one year she had brought just some easy little slip on slippers and said, oh, I live in these in the house. The ones she gave me are zebra striped.
>> Marco Timpano: Those ones? Those are, yes, I see you wearing those.
>> Amanda Barker: And they're still my favorite. They're zebra striped. They have a little pink bow on them. And when she gave them to me, I was like, okay, great. You know, slippers, I'm sure that'll be useful. That was probably eight years ago. I still have them. They can go in the washer. They have some tread still on the bottom. So they're kind of just perfect for around the house.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't even think Stella knows. I just want to. If Stella's listening, you clearly gave an awesome gift. If eight years later my wife is still trapezing around the house in them.
>> Amanda Barker: And that inspired me in fact to buy more slippers. So I started a slipper. Actually, she started a slipper revolution in this house. So, we bought slippers for the guests of this show. That's right, we did, and your other podcasts as well. And just because we are downstairs, there's a tile floor, so it can get cooler here in the winter months. So slippers are always a good idea. And I, was wearing those as well. Then I started buying them. Actually, I started buying them at Value Village and other secondhand shops, but I would get them new at second hand shops. Sometimes they would sell them new, but they would get an overstock, you know, like a box or something donated. So I made sure they had the tags and all that on them. So I bought some of those and I had your mother knit me some slippers as well. And I love the feel of those on my feet.
>> Marco Timpano: What makes a good slipper, Amanda, for you?
>> Amanda Barker: warmth is the number one thing. If it's fur lined, all the better. And I really do love a slipper that has a bit of texture to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Texture on the outside or texture on the inside?
>> Amanda Barker: Either or.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Texture on the outside is great because if you are on slippery hardwood or tile, then you're not going to do a face Plant if you have them. A little bit of grip is nice, but I also prefer having a little texture just because I think it feels good on my feet with those knit ones. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: I like a slipper that goes on easy and comes off easy. I don't want to be trapped in my slipper and I want to be able to. I want it also to be warm but not too hot. I don't want my foot to be boiling in the slipper. So it needs to be able to really, really regulate. And I find that natural fabrics do that better than synthetics.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, those are the types of slippers I like. I also prefer a sandal to a slipper. So I like to wear a sandal more than I do a slipper. But when it's really cold, I'll wear a slipper.
>> Amanda Barker: A certain kind of sandal though. An orthopedic sandal inside.
>> Marco Timpano: You're right. Yeah, I prefer. That's my preference.
>> Amanda Barker: Not like a gladiator sandal. Just so we're clear.
>> Marco Timpano: you know, maybe if we were in Rome, I'd wear that gladiator.
>> Amanda Barker: I would love it if you wore gladiator sandals throughout the year. Only in our house. I think that'd be amazing.
Let's shift to socks. What makes a good or great sock for you
>> Marco Timpano: Let's shift to socks. What makes a good or great sock for you?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know. I have a love hate relationship with socks. So maybe you can start us off with the type of sock that you enjoy.
>> Marco Timpano: So I have a sock, a pair of socks to end all socks. And it was given to me by you years ago. And it was a real big surprise because I remember saying something to you. Actually, you'll remember better than I did. I do. that I wanted cashmere socks. Do you remember this?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh, yeah, absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: How did it come about? Because I need a reminder.
>> Amanda Barker: I think you're hard to buy for. And that was our first year dating.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: And I remember you quoting somebody else who said, you're the type of guy that would love cashmere socks. And you said, I am the type of guy who would love cashmere socks. I would love a pair of cashmere socks. I just think that would be so great. So off I went into the world searching for a pair of cashmere socks for you. And. And this would have been 2007. Six or seven. so maybe 2006. Even that Christmas. So, it wasn't really a time you couldn't order them online like you could now. And I was. Yeah, it would have been then because I would have been at work and on my lunch at work. The office I worked at at the time was downtown Toronto. And so I went to a store. Can I say the name of the store?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course you can.
>> Amanda Barker: So I went to a place that people in Toronto know, Holt Renfrew.
>> Marco Timpano: And that's more of a luxury type store.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it's a really high end store with high end pricing and labels. And so that was the only place that I could find them. And they had two pairs.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, so I picked a pair, spent the most I will ever spend on one pair of socks.
>> Marco Timpano: How much was that, do you remember?
>> Amanda Barker: I mean it was over 100.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, I don't remember. I mean it wasn't like it was under 200. but still, that's a lot of money for a pair of socks. I could use that money now.
>> Marco Timpano: I love those socks and I wear them now. I wear them only on important cold moments in my life. So. Because they're, they're the type when I was talking about m how natural fibers can self regulate those socks keep my feet toasty, but not anything more than toasty. So for me, toasty feet that aren't boiling, they're the perfect sock, whatever, socks, whatever you paid for them, I've enjoyed m that amount and so much more. And I keep them by my bedside table in a Ziploc bag so that, you know, if the odd moth would get to them, they can't get through the Ziploc and I only take them out when I really need them and I love them every time I wear them.
>> Amanda Barker: Great.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So great gift.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, you're welcome. So then I don't have to get you anything this year.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, fair enough.
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Bill has a love hate relationship with socks. What's your sock? Favorite sock
>> Amanda Barker: Blue Apron.
>> Speaker D: Get $50 off your first two orders plus free shipping with code Stir50 Terms and conditions apply. Visit BlueApron.com terms for more.
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>> Marco Timpano: Okay. What's your sock? Favorite sock? You said you have a love hate relationship with socks.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I prefer not to have socks on. In my dream world, I don't own any socks or I only own the little ones that I can wear in, like, my tennis shoes. That's it for me. I don't love wearing them. But I do live in Canada, so it is a necessity for me. I'm actually superstitious with my socks.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know this.
>> Amanda Barker: You didn't know this?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't think so.
>> Amanda Barker: So when I want to get what I believe is a little bit of extra insurance that I'll have a good day, I wear black socks. True story. So I feel like I won't have as good a day if I'm wearing white socks.
>> Marco Timpano: Why black socks?
>> Amanda Barker: I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. It's just something.
>> Amanda Barker: Ever since I was like maybe 13, 14, maybe 14, I liked black socks and I thought I'd have a better day if I wore them. I don't know where that got into my head and how that happened. but it's something that has stuck with me and so I like having black socks. Now. It's challenging because when you pair them up, I'm very particular with that. So I don't want any old black sock paired with any old black sock if they have a slightly different feel or length. So I'm very particular with them and it makes it challenging.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. So you want the proper pair of black socks to stay together.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. And I absolutely could not wear mismatched socks. I know that's trendy with, you know, tweens and kids wearing just whatever socks they find. I have great respect for those kids that can do that because to me, that feels very brazen and brave.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: But I couldn't do it if I had mismatched socks on. I would feel awful.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I'm looking at your feet right now. No socks on you.
>> Amanda Barker: I have shoes on and no socks.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Amanda Barker: That's my favorite way of being.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, you had mentioned you bought my socks from a very luxurious store. M. Yeah, One of less stuff's less waste.
Bun asks what are some luxurious things that you love
Favorite episodes was a luxury episode we did. So I want to ask you what are some luxurious things that you love? And they don't have to be expensive, but what's something luxurious or that you find luxurious?
>> Amanda Barker: To me, one of the greatest luxuries I have three all at once. So for me, a, luxurious moment, a thing that fills me with this feeling of luxury and comfort and also worth and excitement even, is a beautifully drawn warm bath, a brand new magazine to read in that bath, and an iced coffee drink of some sort sitting on the edge of that tub.
>> Marco Timpano: And what gets used first, the magazine or the coffee based drink?
>> Amanda Barker: I take a little sip of the coffee. I usually have my phone there. So the challenge in the last year or so has been to not take the phone in. But because I do an Italian lesson every day, I often start the bath with that, get that out of the way. And then as a reward, I love to open up, particularly like a style magazine. So house and home style at home, one of those.
>> Marco Timpano: And since you're a proponent of less stuff and less waste, what do you do with your magazines when you're done with it? I know, but I think people would love to hear.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, that's why it's a luxury. Because a bath uses more water than a shower. An iced coffee just feels like a luxury drink, especially if I haven't made it and I bought it from somewhere. That's a true luxury.
>> Marco Timpano: But you tend to also use coffee that we haven't drank. We don't pour it out. You then make an iced version using the coffee that is no longer hot,
>> Amanda Barker: that is leftover at the end of the day. I'm incredibly free.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: I just am. So, I don't like things going to waste, so I would sooner use it than throw it out. but I would prefer a fresh drink that someone else has prepared for me. That is true luxury to me. Haven't had one in a while, but that to me is luxury. And then the magazine. this is how I'm answering your question here. The magazine is true luxury because yes, I could absolutely read articles on an iPad, a phone, a tablet. But I like the magazine. I like that it lives in the pages. I love that I can open the pages and take my time with it. So I usually have a few subscriptions on the go and once a year. And it doesn't always line up, to the same time of year, but usually actually around this time of year, I kind of review what magazine subscriptions do I really enjoy and want to make sure that I keep them coming. Which ones have I not really read or skimmed through that maybe I could lose? What are some that I haven't had that I really would love?
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Amanda Barker: or one that I bought from a stand.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Amanda Barker: And, so I do. After I go through all my subscriptions and curate them, I do end up monthly with a solid pile of magazines. So what do I do with them? there's a few things. One, if I'm going to Florida, I'll bring some for my mom. And she, I've inherited this love, of magazines. So I take a bunch from her. We trade them, but more normally.
>> Marco Timpano: And your mom, I should mention, tends to get southern magazines which are so fun to read and look at because they represent the southern US where she lives.
>> Amanda Barker: Southern Living is her favorite magazine. And if you have a love of things Southern, you know, the cuisine, the road trips, the way of life, there's a. Every episode or every, issue issue. Every issue has like a country veterinarian. So it's like how to deal with my cows shaped teats and stuff like that. So that's how country it is. But then it's also things like what to do with your mason jars and how to reuse barn board. So it's really crafty and fun and just a fun magazine.
>> Marco Timpano: It's so fun to have in our home here in Canada a bunch of Southern Living magazines. And people always kind of look quizzically at them when they're in our house and they'll flip through them and think they're so special.
>> Amanda Barker: I was going to get a subscription to Southern Living, but I didn't. I think I'll let it be the special luxury of just getting it once in a while from my mom. But anyway, I take a pile of magazines monthly. I have an ongoing post up on the app Bunz. Bunz or Bunz in Canada. I'm part of that app. I'm not trading them right now, but I then trade them, and I'll trade them for various things. So the last few magazine trades I had, I've gotten plants for magazines, I've gotten candles for magazines, I've gotten brand new, lip balms for magazines.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, these sound like luxurious items.
>> Amanda Barker: They are.
>> Marco Timpano: Certainly candles can be luxurious. Certainly. Plants.
Amanda says she trades magazines for plants, candles and wine
What plant did you get for your magazines?
>> Amanda Barker: I got. Let me think.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's your favorite little plant thing that you mentioned on other show, which was that little house with the plants next to the Bed?
>> Amanda Barker: No, I'm trying to think. All of my plants are buns. Plants pretty much at this point, that I've traded other things to have clippings of plants. So I, think my spider plant
>> Marco Timpano: is a magazine trade.
>> Amanda Barker: That's right.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So, candles, plants, consumables. I've traded also them for a bottle of wine. I got once a really nice bottle, actually. some tall cans of which I like just as much as a good bottle of wine. So, I trade for consumables, basically.
>> Marco Timpano: Wonderful.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And which is your own personal, luxurious magazine. The one that, in your curation, is tops, that you love, that you wouldn't let the subscriptions, lapse.
>> Amanda Barker: I love house and home. I don't have just one. I love Chatelaine. I've always, always love Chatelaine. And I feel like I'm more the demographic Chatelaine now than I was in my early 20s, but I've always loved it. I've been a contributor a few times to Chatelaine. I, love Toronto life.
>> Marco Timpano: wait. Aren't you in this month's issue of Chatelaine? Oh, that's so funny.
>> Amanda Barker: I am. Both myself and my writing partner, Dale Boyer, who's been a guest on this program a bunch of times.
>> Marco Timpano: What's a luxurious thing you like to do with Dale Boyer? Or Boyer?
>> Amanda Barker: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: Cause I'll tell you what I like to do with her husband, Trevor Martin, who's also been a guest on this show. That's kind of luxurious. And then you can tell us what you like to do with Dale.
>> Amanda Barker: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So one of my favorite things to do with Trevor is I love going to eating establishments with him and picking items that maybe you and his wife, who are with us most of the time when we dine, aren't gonna love. And he and I will just enjoy and talk about. And for me, a luxurious conversation about fine dining or just dining in general with Trevor Martin is a luxurious thing I love.
>> Amanda Barker: Well, this is how frugal Dale and I are. Our biggest luxury is to attend or host a clothing swap. And it really, truly is. And, if we host it, of course, we're making a big batch of hors d' oeuvres and food and cocktails. And actually, that's what she and I talk about in this month's Chatelaine.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, isn't that funny?
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah. So it's an article on sustainability in clothing. I think it's called how to Create a Sustainable Wardrobe or something along those lines. It just Came out six days ago.
>> Marco Timpano: And I didn't plan this. It just came to me.
>> Amanda Barker: I happened to just be looking at it too. And, we are number eight in the top 10 things you can do to. To help your wardrobe. And she and I are the sort of experts on clothing swaps. And so they ask us a bunch of questions about what makes a good clothing swap. And the reason I wanted to mention that, is because.
>> Marco Timpano: Less waste, Less stuff, less waste.
>> Amanda Barker: Exactly. And that's the whole mission of clothing swaps in general. so I was just tying it back to that idea of less is more.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go, Amanda.
Let's talk hot water bottles and electric blankets
We're going to round off this episode with one of the last things that less stuff, less waste wanted to know about, and that is hot water bottles, electric blankets.
>> Amanda Barker: Just something to discuss.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, A topic of discussion. So let's talk hot water bottles and your trick when there's not a hot water bottle around, but you might need
>> Amanda Barker: one, you know, you have to create the hot water bottle that you need even when you don't have one. So be the hot water bottle that you need to see in the world. To paraphrase Gandhi, who probably in India didn't need a hot water bottle. But, there is a particular room, bedroom, that is very freezing. Not an our house, thankfully, but in my sister's house, it's very cold in the winter. Halifax has, you know, those, those bone chilling breezes and winds that come in from the shore. So, it can get really cold there on the. On any particular night. So knowing that, I was given the advice by a cast member of mine in a show to just take regular old, plastic water bottles and fill them with the hottest water you can. Now, boiling might melt them. So you just want to get the tap really, really hot. So the hottest version of tap water, basically, and fill those water bottles and make sure, obviously, that you screw them on really tight because you don't want to leak in the bed. But any particularly good water bottle, if you have access to one, will do this and then just have it in bed with you. So I filled both of those up. because the thing is about a hot water bottle, it's only in one area. So this way you can kind of have one for each foot or hip or leg or however you need to do it.
>> Marco Timpano: And, you could also use, say, a wine bottle. Just make sure that the cork goes in nice and tight. The glass is a good conductor.
>> Amanda Barker: Yeah, it depends. I don't know that I'd want a wine bottle like A big piece of glass in bed with me. There's plastic I think is a little less precarious.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough.
Amanda, what makes a good electric blanket for you
What about the electric blanket? Are you a fan? Are you not a fan? What makes a good electric blanket for you?
>> Amanda Barker: Well, I'd like to turn that question back to you since I had so much to say about the hot water bottle experience, which, by the way, did we ever do that together? Was that just me?
>> Marco Timpano: That was just you. I feel like I'm your hot water bottle.
>> Amanda Barker: That is true.
>> Marco Timpano: So, I like an electric blanket. I don't like it cranked to the hottest. But I certainly don't love how frustrated you get with electric blankets when we use them because you hate the cord.
>> Amanda Barker: So this is meant to be a calming and soothing discussion. So, I don't want to dwell too long on my frustration with an electric blanket. But a cordless electric blanket, I don't know if that's a thing, but if someone could invent it, I would certainly buy it. because as much as I love an electric blanket, I have one that's not. Or we have one. I think we got rid of it.
>> Marco Timpano: No, we still have it.
>> Amanda Barker: We do? Yeah. I don't think it works anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Then maybe we don't have it.
>> Amanda Barker: No, we got rid of it anyway. or it's in the car, still. Might be in the car, actually. But, it has a cord running through it. So that cord plugs to an outlet in the wall, which is fine, except that I go to sleep with a cord draped over me. Because I think the truth is we need a bigger blanket.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Amanda Barker: We need a bigger boat and a
>> Marco Timpano: bigger blanket, don't we all?
>> Amanda Barker: Because it's a small blanket that I end up with. I'll inevitably wake up with a cord around half my body, which is not a fun experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair enough. Well, listen, if you do invent a cordless electric blanket, you can send 10% of your gross sales to, the Insomnia Project. We'll happily give, that idea to you for almost free.
>> Amanda Barker: I will. I will buy it and I'll invest in it.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Amanda, thank you so much for doing this. I don't want to say bonus episode, but this extra, episode. Added episode to our curation of the Insomnia Project.
>> Marco Timpano: We also want to thank Less Stuff and Less Waste for their suggestions that we use today. And I want to say congratulations to Kristen Zaza, whose podcast has also been awarded a, best sleep podcast from tuck.com amazing. And her, category that she was awarded was for Best Bedtime Stories Podcast because her podcast, which is called On a Dark Cold Night is her telling stories that she's written.
>> Amanda Barker: Amazing. Congrats to her as well and thank
>> Marco Timpano: you all for listening and for helping to make this podcast the best sleep podcast for 2020. We will see you in a couple of days with our Wednesday episode.
>> Amanda Barker: Thank you again to tuck.com and everyone. Hope you have a nice tuck in and enjoy your night.
Math, Indexing & Nail Care
originally recorded: Feb 10, 2016
>> Marco Timpano: This is the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as Nidhi and I have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating, so you can feel free to just drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhikana Marco. I got a bit of feedback from a colleague of mine who was listening to our podcast while traveling lately, right? And she was listening while she was on the plane and she said that she has trouble falling asleep when she's on a plane and she had a. She was traveling for business and it was really important that she got a nap. So she put on our podcast and actually fell asleep. So I was very, very happy about that.
>> Marco Timpano: I never, I never thought of this podcast being a podcast for travel, but it would be a nice thing to have to listen to when you're on a flight and you need a distraction if you worry when you're on flights or if you can't sleep on flights because of the noise of the flight attendants or the person next to you if they're moving around or, you know,
>> Nidhi Khanna: bumping your elbow or all those noises that happen on the plane.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Or, you know, when you're in the air and you know, you're trying to get comfortable, the lights are dim. If you're going on a long, long flight and everyone's kind of sleeping and whatnot, and you're sitting next to the person who has the light on and they're clicking away, click, click, click on their computer and you're like, I just need a distraction. And you can't listen to the music that's on the plane anymore or watch any more movies because they're just going to keep you up. Well, then listen and sleep with us. The Insomnia Project. So that's so wonderful to hear that your colleague or your friend was able to use us as a means of sleep. We should mention that if you do have any comments like that, of course you could tell us directly, or you can go to our Twitter handle senandsleep and let us know how you use our podcast.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I want to talk about nail care for a second. Nail care traditionally has been something that I think has been more towards the female segment of the population.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Filing your nails, going for a manicure, of course. But you yourself are a hand model and so you have a very elaborate nail care regime that you go through. You could say that, yeah. Particularly when you're booking a. A hand gig.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. We should just state there because a lot of people are going to think perhaps we're pulling their leg. But in fact, I have and I continue to do hand work for both print and television. And I've worked with some large organizations from a cola company that I'm sure you're well acquainted with, to a furniture company. Furniture company, to a paint product company, to a fast food chain. I've done hand work for all those people. So it's true. I am a hand model.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I think what we will do is maybe post a picture of your hands on social media so people can see what we're talking about. Because when I first saw your hands, I wasn't thinking immediately, oh, he must be a hand model.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's interesting you should say that. I've always, and I say this to friends of mine and people say, how did you get into hand modeling or hand work? And I've always disliked my hands.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Really.
>> Marco Timpano: I have. My dad has really big hands, so really big workers hands. And I always thought as a child I would have big worker hands. And I don't. My hands are pretty.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, they're not dainty by any means.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but they're not, they're, they're not. You wouldn't look at my hands and think, oh, those are strong hands that, okay. Do construction or work the land.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right, right. So I think that's because of your elaborate nail.
>> Marco Timpano: Perhaps it is. But when I was shooting a commercial one day, the director liked my hands and sent the hand model home. And the crew said, you have very steady hands, which is a trait that one needs if you're holding a product and they're doing a close up, for example, on a tablet for headaches that I did. They got an extreme close up of my hand and they had to, you know, show the product in my hand. So as a result of that, I do have an extreme nail regime, our hand regime, I should say. I make sure that my nails are kept nice and trim, but not too trim because they like to see a little bit of white around the nail or, yeah, the top of the nail, I guess you could say. And I make sure that my cuticle is well moisturized so that it is never dry and crackling. And I use a bunch of different products for my hands. And you would think, what would you think that the product I use, I'm
>> Nidhi Khanna: going to say that you use some sort of, you know, very expensive moisturizing hand repair lotion of some sort.
>> Marco Timpano: I do not. What I found that works best on my hand is products that is you, that are used for livestock. So for example, for my nails, I use a cream that they use on horses hooves to keep them strong. But to keep my hands really moisturized, I use this product called Bag Balm, which is a product that dairy farmers will use on the udders of their dairy cows. Because the milking machine will be very abrasive on the udders and as a result they can get little scratches and whatnot and they can get chafed. And so they use this product on their cows to make sure that the udders are supple and soft and if there's any sort of cut gets repaired. And so at night I will use this product called Bag Balm on my hands. And I'm telling you, the next day my hands are soft and supple and really quite lovely.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so do you have to use any sort of protective, like gloves on top of that?
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes I'll wear gloves. If I'm. If I know I have something that I'm filming and I'm leaving the home, I will make sure that I have gloves on, which is fine. During the winter it looks very normal, but in warmer months, wearing gloves outside Seems a little strange, but injuries to hands will happen. The majority of injuries that happen to hands will be knives in the sink or with doors. You don't realize that because you open doors all the time, but there's always a door that is either stuck or opens too fast, and you cut your hand or you crush your hand, or you nick your hand and people on the street might bump into you. I had a cyclist run into me one day when I had a hand commercial. I was filming the next day, and luckily it was in the summertime. I had gloves on and nothing happened. And I remember people looking at me strange because I had gloves on. But I was so grateful that day that I was wearing gloves when the cyclist who shouldn't have been on the sidewalk ran into me. What is your hand regime or your nail care regime?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I'm a little embarrassed to say it now, Marco, after that, but I have a very simple hand care regime. I. I mean, I would go for a manicure, pedicure every once in a while, but for me nails, particularly my fingernails, I don't like having very long fingernails.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, your fingernails are actually very short.
>> Nidhi Khanna: They have a really nice shape, like they're naturally round, which I like. And so I have minimal filing needs. I could probably use a bit of the cuticle oil that you use, but I like kind of a. I hardly ever wear nail polish on my fingernails. I. I prefer to focus on my feet with regards to any sort of nail care, but I'm very, very low maintenance with them.
>> Marco Timpano: Why don't you wear any polish on your nails?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I find it cumbersome because after a few days it'll start chipping and my nails actually grow incredibly fast. And so even if I were to put. So I had gel nails for a really long time.
>> Marco Timpano: What is a gel nail? I don't even know what that is.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So a gel nail is. Was kind of all the rage before they had this whole shellac movement. Which shellac is nail polish that essentially the material that it's made out of lasts quite long on your. On your nails.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's a very strong sort of polish.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Safe to say.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Correct. But before that, a lot of people used to get gel nails, and those nails would last a long time as well, but it would go over under a UV light.
>> Marco Timpano: But is that a fake nail or
>> Nidhi Khanna: is that your actual nails onto your actual nail?
>> Marco Timpano: So it's like a fake nail that gets glued to your nail? Is that correct?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's not a fake nail the way. I mean, yes, I guess Sort of. So it's not a fake nail in the way that you'll see sort of those peel off nails, those press on nails. Exactly. It is like a coating that goes onto your nails that they put under UV lights to kind of melt it into your nail. For lack of a better word, polish
>> Marco Timpano: or melt of whatever. That's plastic nail.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's not a plastic nail. It's like a gel.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so a gel type nail that will harden when you do that. I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Correct. So I used to get that done very long for a really long time. But what I noticed was my nails would grow so quickly that I would have to continuously get them re gelled and filled over and over on too frequent a basis. And so it would really ruin my nails. And when I took off my gel nails for the last time, it took me a few months for my nails to get back to their normal state, I guess, healthy state. So I no longer do that. And similar to that in with shellac. The problem is my nails grow so quickly that by the time I'm a week or so in, like, it's very noticeable. And I have to constantly go back to the nail technician to, oh, I see. Get them redone. And I just don't have time for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. There you go. That's Nidhi's nail care regime.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. And minimalist nail care.
>> Marco Timpano: I really dislike going to the manicurist. And I'll have to go every once in a while when I book a gig and they're like, go see a manicure or a manicurist and get a manicure. Because they often want to shape my nails in not the half moon shape that they're in, but more in a longer or square shape. And that's not what they want on camera. So I'm often really coarse when I'm talking these people who are doing my nails and saying, no, no, don't do it like that. And so it's often I go to get my nails done at a manicure shop and it is not a good time for me. And sometimes I'll go with Amanda. So my wife will. My wife will come with me to get my nails done and I will. She usually finds it very relaxing and therapeutic. But when she goes with me, she gets stressed because she's like, you're always so tense when they're doing your nails.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's funny that you should mention your wife, Amanda. We've done a few episodes now, and one of the recurring themes that we seem to run into is talking about your wife, who is not only your wife, but a very close friend of mine.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm thinking that next episode. Marco, we should really have her on here to co host an episode because I think our listeners would be interested in hearing a bit more about this mysterious, ethereal Amanda that we continually talk about.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, I think it'd be great. She's often making us tea while we're on. Or last week she. She was making us coconut banana bread as we were recording our episode. She's like, by the time you're done, you'll have some of this delicious bread, which we did have, it's true. So we'll ask her and we'll see if we can get her on for the next episode.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So stay tuned for that, folks.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, Nidhi, you and I were thinking about how people index books and magazines because when I was growing up, we had to learn the Dewey Decimal system. And I remember mentioning it to a younger friend of mine and they were like, I don't know what you're talking about. And I was saying, well, when you go to the library and you. And he's like, no, now we just type in the computer. But there was a time where you would look in index cards for. For the book that you wanted, and it was called the Dewey Decimal System of indexing. How they used to index those books. Do you remember that at all?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do, Marco. I remember using that in the library for grade school projects and even for high school projects, even though I think by the time I graduated high school, they were starting to get more and more into indexing on computers, essentially. But I do remember, and it was a very complicated system. I remember it not being very intuitive in terms of looking for what you needed to get.
>> Marco Timpano: I think there was a series of numbers that represented different subjects. So, for example, if you wanted something in science with the Dewey Decimal System, it would be under a category of numbers, which of course, I don't know at this moment. But it's amazing how that has sort of disappeared. It's probably still used within the library system. But now if I want a book from my library, I just go online, I type in the book that I want and I can have it delivered to my. To the closest library near my home. And they will either call or send me an email when the book is there for pickup.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm curious, you know, now I'm curious to hear from some librarians about if the Dewey decibel system is currently being used and if so, how it's being used is it something that they're completely. Has it been completely phased out from reference libraries, etc. Or is it something that has kind of taken on a different form? I don't know. That would be an interesting, interesting conversation.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it'd be interesting to find out from a librarian. So if there's a librarian listening who would like to sort of give us insight or perhaps come on our podcast, send us a tweet at Listen and Sleep and we'll figure out the. What happened to the Dewey Decimal system? Now, Nidhi, how do you index things in your home, like magazines or books that you have that you currently have?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am usually, you know what I have to say when it comes to books. I don't have a particular indexing system.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I'm not.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have a shelf that you put them on or is that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do have a shelf, but it's kind of a mishmash.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm not a very good indexer that way. Like, I won't look at my bookshelf and say, okay, I'll. Magazines like it. Like a magazine subscription doesn't have to go from January, February, like in. In sequential order, where I don't necessarily put my books by author or topic.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm a little bit more abstract that way. But I do notice that I index things on my computer.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: If things are not sorted in the right. Right files. And I think you're a bit like this too. I feel like it gets cluttered and it really bothers me.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting you should say that. I've become much more organized after watching how you organize your computer system. And I find that I am a bit of a folder or like a mini tab wiz, if you will. And I think I get that from you. With regards to magazines, we try in our home after a certain amount of months to get rid of our magazines by not throwing them out. But what we'll do is we'll often take them to the doctor's office or there's a nursing home near us and we'll go and donate them. The only thing I recommend for anyone who might be donating magazines, if you get a subscription to a magazine, oftentimes it'll have your address on a little tab of some sort or like on a sticky that's on this. The actual magazine or some magazines will print your address. And what I recommend is if you have a black permanent marker to go over it a few times so that it saturates the address until it. It's blacked Out.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's really interesting. Marco. Marco, tell me about a time when you really looked at like that moment where you're like, oh, this is complicated math.
>> Marco Timpano: Outside of school, would you say either or? Okay, I've never been really strong at math. But, you know, sometimes when you're figuring out your accounting for tax purposes and you're looking at various, you know, things you can claim and whatnot, oftentimes here in Canada, we have to pay hst and I have an HST number. So with the HST number, which is a harmonized sales tax that is on some of our goods for people who are listening outside of Canada. And I'll have to figure out the HST for my taxes so that whatever HST that I pay, pay for business can then come back to me. And sometimes that can get a little bit complicated. I find that accounting for taxes. I enjoy that math and I enjoy doing it. I have a very interesting system where I file in an accordion folder and I put all my receipts and I separate them and then I'll separate the receipts between business expenses and non business expenses expenses. And from there I have another book that I transfer all those numbers together, add them up, I meet with my accountant and then go forward from there. How about yourself? What's your accounting system or a time when you found math to be really tricky?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I actually ended up doing health sciences up until university.
>> Marco Timpano: I did not know that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, yeah. So I did stats and I did advanced calculus. And I couldn't do that again today because I do not remember most of what those classes were about. But I remember thinking, this math is quite difficult, especially when I was doing calculus two and things like that. Derivative.
>> Marco Timpano: And is that like on the calculator where there's all those little buttons that you never use if you have a mathematical calculator? Like cosine and whatnot are those things you would use in those classes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So the sine, cosine, etc. I think that's trigonometry.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So that's, I think high school, first year, you know, I think it's high school. And that's all about angles and about like triangles and kind of is developed from the Pythagorean theory. Exactly, if I remember correctly. But calculus was really about like breaking down a formula and trying to find like what the root of that form formula was about. You needed to do it in order to get into medical school, etc.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that something you were thinking of getting into?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I was. I was thinking of being a doctor.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so interesting because if you. If you speak to Amanda and I, we often this debate. When I was thinking of going to university, I was thinking of going in for medicine. Medicine as well. Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, not at all. No. So I think after taking calculus and quite frankly after taking organic chemistry, I think once I took organic chemistry, I said, I don't think this whole medicine thing is for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. So had both of us gone into medicine, we would probably not be doing this podcast today. So it's very good fortune for our listeners who enjoy insomnia.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Although we might be actually looking at the medical side of insomnia.
>> Marco Timpano: I was hoping to get into cardiothoracics. That's what I. That was sort of my goal was cardiothoracic. And then my life turned a different direction and I got into the arts and I enjoyed that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it's funny how we both wanted to be in medicine and then we both ended up going for the arts.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, what's funny, and we talked about it this off the top of the show, is that I have very steady hands. And so I don't remember if that played into why I wanted to go become. Go, go into medicine and possibly become a surgeon, but that, you know, would play into whether or not I could become a surgeon.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Have you ever played in your. As an. As an entertainer, as an actor, have you ever, ever played a role like a medical role before?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a great question. I once played the second officer who was the second officer who was an engineer flying a blimp. So that was the closest to. And I don't know if this. This was an actual person who flew this blimp and I was the second in command in flying a blimp. That was the closest I've come to any sort of. Any sort of medicine.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Medicine or engineering.
>> Marco Timpano: But one of my dream roles would be that of a surgeon.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, I remember I used to watch that show, er, as a kid.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In university.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the one that. That sort of put George Clooney on the map.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, yes. And I used to love it because I thought I was going to be a doctor, emergency room doctor like. And that wasn't to be. However, I quite enjoy my life right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Well, there you go. At least you're not sort of in a, er, no. Dealing with the patients there. Instead you're using math. And using math, which you. You didn't really enjoy, it seems.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, I was. I had a friend who became an actuarial math person mathematician. And I still have no clue what that really is.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's funny, I have two friends who are actuaries, and I don't know what they do either, but I know it involves a lot of math.
>> Nidhi Khanna: A lot of math, a lot of exams. They had to take like seven or eight exams to become an actuarial mathematician.
>> Marco Timpano: And I know there's really busy times for them because when I talk to them, it's like, oh, this is a very busy time for my actuarial services.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, you know, we've talked about getting a librarian on the show. Maybe we need to get an actuarial mathematician to break this down for us a little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: That wouldn't be a bad idea. If you know an actuarial mathematician, feel free to direct them to us. And we hope that this episode has brought you to a very lovely slumber. And if not. And you stayed to the end of this episode with us, we want to thank you, welcome you, and invite you to subscribe to the Insomnia Project on itunes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As usual, we're broadcasting from Toronto and you can find us online at Listen and Sleep. It's been our pleasure to host this podcast for you and next week we will have Amanda Barker joining us to to discuss all sorts of things to put you off into a slumber. Sa.
originally recorded: Feb 10, 2016
>> Marco Timpano: This is the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as Nidhi and I have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating, so you can feel free to just drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhikana Marco. I got a bit of feedback from a colleague of mine who was listening to our podcast while traveling lately, right? And she was listening while she was on the plane and she said that she has trouble falling asleep when she's on a plane and she had a. She was traveling for business and it was really important that she got a nap. So she put on our podcast and actually fell asleep. So I was very, very happy about that.
>> Marco Timpano: I never, I never thought of this podcast being a podcast for travel, but it would be a nice thing to have to listen to when you're on a flight and you need a distraction if you worry when you're on flights or if you can't sleep on flights because of the noise of the flight attendants or the person next to you if they're moving around or, you know,
>> Nidhi Khanna: bumping your elbow or all those noises that happen on the plane.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Or, you know, when you're in the air and you know, you're trying to get comfortable, the lights are dim. If you're going on a long, long flight and everyone's kind of sleeping and whatnot, and you're sitting next to the person who has the light on and they're clicking away, click, click, click on their computer and you're like, I just need a distraction. And you can't listen to the music that's on the plane anymore or watch any more movies because they're just going to keep you up. Well, then listen and sleep with us. The Insomnia Project. So that's so wonderful to hear that your colleague or your friend was able to use us as a means of sleep. We should mention that if you do have any comments like that, of course you could tell us directly, or you can go to our Twitter handle senandsleep and let us know how you use our podcast.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I want to talk about nail care for a second. Nail care traditionally has been something that I think has been more towards the female segment of the population.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Filing your nails, going for a manicure, of course. But you yourself are a hand model and so you have a very elaborate nail care regime that you go through. You could say that, yeah. Particularly when you're booking a. A hand gig.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. We should just state there because a lot of people are going to think perhaps we're pulling their leg. But in fact, I have and I continue to do hand work for both print and television. And I've worked with some large organizations from a cola company that I'm sure you're well acquainted with, to a furniture company. Furniture company, to a paint product company, to a fast food chain. I've done hand work for all those people. So it's true. I am a hand model.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I think what we will do is maybe post a picture of your hands on social media so people can see what we're talking about. Because when I first saw your hands, I wasn't thinking immediately, oh, he must be a hand model.
>> Marco Timpano: But it's interesting you should say that. I've always, and I say this to friends of mine and people say, how did you get into hand modeling or hand work? And I've always disliked my hands.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Really.
>> Marco Timpano: I have. My dad has really big hands, so really big workers hands. And I always thought as a child I would have big worker hands. And I don't. My hands are pretty.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, they're not dainty by any means.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but they're not, they're, they're not. You wouldn't look at my hands and think, oh, those are strong hands that, okay. Do construction or work the land.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right, right. So I think that's because of your elaborate nail.
>> Marco Timpano: Perhaps it is. But when I was shooting a commercial one day, the director liked my hands and sent the hand model home. And the crew said, you have very steady hands, which is a trait that one needs if you're holding a product and they're doing a close up, for example, on a tablet for headaches that I did. They got an extreme close up of my hand and they had to, you know, show the product in my hand. So as a result of that, I do have an extreme nail regime, our hand regime, I should say. I make sure that my nails are kept nice and trim, but not too trim because they like to see a little bit of white around the nail or, yeah, the top of the nail, I guess you could say. And I make sure that my cuticle is well moisturized so that it is never dry and crackling. And I use a bunch of different products for my hands. And you would think, what would you think that the product I use, I'm
>> Nidhi Khanna: going to say that you use some sort of, you know, very expensive moisturizing hand repair lotion of some sort.
>> Marco Timpano: I do not. What I found that works best on my hand is products that is you, that are used for livestock. So for example, for my nails, I use a cream that they use on horses hooves to keep them strong. But to keep my hands really moisturized, I use this product called Bag Balm, which is a product that dairy farmers will use on the udders of their dairy cows. Because the milking machine will be very abrasive on the udders and as a result they can get little scratches and whatnot and they can get chafed. And so they use this product on their cows to make sure that the udders are supple and soft and if there's any sort of cut gets repaired. And so at night I will use this product called Bag Balm on my hands. And I'm telling you, the next day my hands are soft and supple and really quite lovely.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so do you have to use any sort of protective, like gloves on top of that?
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes I'll wear gloves. If I'm. If I know I have something that I'm filming and I'm leaving the home, I will make sure that I have gloves on, which is fine. During the winter it looks very normal, but in warmer months, wearing gloves outside Seems a little strange, but injuries to hands will happen. The majority of injuries that happen to hands will be knives in the sink or with doors. You don't realize that because you open doors all the time, but there's always a door that is either stuck or opens too fast, and you cut your hand or you crush your hand, or you nick your hand and people on the street might bump into you. I had a cyclist run into me one day when I had a hand commercial. I was filming the next day, and luckily it was in the summertime. I had gloves on and nothing happened. And I remember people looking at me strange because I had gloves on. But I was so grateful that day that I was wearing gloves when the cyclist who shouldn't have been on the sidewalk ran into me. What is your hand regime or your nail care regime?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I'm a little embarrassed to say it now, Marco, after that, but I have a very simple hand care regime. I. I mean, I would go for a manicure, pedicure every once in a while, but for me nails, particularly my fingernails, I don't like having very long fingernails.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, your fingernails are actually very short.
>> Nidhi Khanna: They have a really nice shape, like they're naturally round, which I like. And so I have minimal filing needs. I could probably use a bit of the cuticle oil that you use, but I like kind of a. I hardly ever wear nail polish on my fingernails. I. I prefer to focus on my feet with regards to any sort of nail care, but I'm very, very low maintenance with them.
>> Marco Timpano: Why don't you wear any polish on your nails?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I find it cumbersome because after a few days it'll start chipping and my nails actually grow incredibly fast. And so even if I were to put. So I had gel nails for a really long time.
>> Marco Timpano: What is a gel nail? I don't even know what that is.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So a gel nail is. Was kind of all the rage before they had this whole shellac movement. Which shellac is nail polish that essentially the material that it's made out of lasts quite long on your. On your nails.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's a very strong sort of polish.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Safe to say.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Correct. But before that, a lot of people used to get gel nails, and those nails would last a long time as well, but it would go over under a UV light.
>> Marco Timpano: But is that a fake nail or
>> Nidhi Khanna: is that your actual nails onto your actual nail?
>> Marco Timpano: So it's like a fake nail that gets glued to your nail? Is that correct?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's not a fake nail the way. I mean, yes, I guess Sort of. So it's not a fake nail in the way that you'll see sort of those peel off nails, those press on nails. Exactly. It is like a coating that goes onto your nails that they put under UV lights to kind of melt it into your nail. For lack of a better word, polish
>> Marco Timpano: or melt of whatever. That's plastic nail.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's not a plastic nail. It's like a gel.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, so a gel type nail that will harden when you do that. I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Correct. So I used to get that done very long for a really long time. But what I noticed was my nails would grow so quickly that I would have to continuously get them re gelled and filled over and over on too frequent a basis. And so it would really ruin my nails. And when I took off my gel nails for the last time, it took me a few months for my nails to get back to their normal state, I guess, healthy state. So I no longer do that. And similar to that in with shellac. The problem is my nails grow so quickly that by the time I'm a week or so in, like, it's very noticeable. And I have to constantly go back to the nail technician to, oh, I see. Get them redone. And I just don't have time for that.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. There you go. That's Nidhi's nail care regime.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. And minimalist nail care.
>> Marco Timpano: I really dislike going to the manicurist. And I'll have to go every once in a while when I book a gig and they're like, go see a manicure or a manicurist and get a manicure. Because they often want to shape my nails in not the half moon shape that they're in, but more in a longer or square shape. And that's not what they want on camera. So I'm often really coarse when I'm talking these people who are doing my nails and saying, no, no, don't do it like that. And so it's often I go to get my nails done at a manicure shop and it is not a good time for me. And sometimes I'll go with Amanda. So my wife will. My wife will come with me to get my nails done and I will. She usually finds it very relaxing and therapeutic. But when she goes with me, she gets stressed because she's like, you're always so tense when they're doing your nails.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's funny that you should mention your wife, Amanda. We've done a few episodes now, and one of the recurring themes that we seem to run into is talking about your wife, who is not only your wife, but a very close friend of mine.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm thinking that next episode. Marco, we should really have her on here to co host an episode because I think our listeners would be interested in hearing a bit more about this mysterious, ethereal Amanda that we continually talk about.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, I think it'd be great. She's often making us tea while we're on. Or last week she. She was making us coconut banana bread as we were recording our episode. She's like, by the time you're done, you'll have some of this delicious bread, which we did have, it's true. So we'll ask her and we'll see if we can get her on for the next episode.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So stay tuned for that, folks.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, Nidhi, you and I were thinking about how people index books and magazines because when I was growing up, we had to learn the Dewey Decimal system. And I remember mentioning it to a younger friend of mine and they were like, I don't know what you're talking about. And I was saying, well, when you go to the library and you. And he's like, no, now we just type in the computer. But there was a time where you would look in index cards for. For the book that you wanted, and it was called the Dewey Decimal System of indexing. How they used to index those books. Do you remember that at all?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do, Marco. I remember using that in the library for grade school projects and even for high school projects, even though I think by the time I graduated high school, they were starting to get more and more into indexing on computers, essentially. But I do remember, and it was a very complicated system. I remember it not being very intuitive in terms of looking for what you needed to get.
>> Marco Timpano: I think there was a series of numbers that represented different subjects. So, for example, if you wanted something in science with the Dewey Decimal System, it would be under a category of numbers, which of course, I don't know at this moment. But it's amazing how that has sort of disappeared. It's probably still used within the library system. But now if I want a book from my library, I just go online, I type in the book that I want and I can have it delivered to my. To the closest library near my home. And they will either call or send me an email when the book is there for pickup.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm curious, you know, now I'm curious to hear from some librarians about if the Dewey decibel system is currently being used and if so, how it's being used is it something that they're completely. Has it been completely phased out from reference libraries, etc. Or is it something that has kind of taken on a different form? I don't know. That would be an interesting, interesting conversation.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it'd be interesting to find out from a librarian. So if there's a librarian listening who would like to sort of give us insight or perhaps come on our podcast, send us a tweet at Listen and Sleep and we'll figure out the. What happened to the Dewey Decimal system? Now, Nidhi, how do you index things in your home, like magazines or books that you have that you currently have?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am usually, you know what I have to say when it comes to books. I don't have a particular indexing system.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I'm not.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you have a shelf that you put them on or is that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do have a shelf, but it's kind of a mishmash.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm not a very good indexer that way. Like, I won't look at my bookshelf and say, okay, I'll. Magazines like it. Like a magazine subscription doesn't have to go from January, February, like in. In sequential order, where I don't necessarily put my books by author or topic.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm a little bit more abstract that way. But I do notice that I index things on my computer.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: If things are not sorted in the right. Right files. And I think you're a bit like this too. I feel like it gets cluttered and it really bothers me.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting you should say that. I've become much more organized after watching how you organize your computer system. And I find that I am a bit of a folder or like a mini tab wiz, if you will. And I think I get that from you. With regards to magazines, we try in our home after a certain amount of months to get rid of our magazines by not throwing them out. But what we'll do is we'll often take them to the doctor's office or there's a nursing home near us and we'll go and donate them. The only thing I recommend for anyone who might be donating magazines, if you get a subscription to a magazine, oftentimes it'll have your address on a little tab of some sort or like on a sticky that's on this. The actual magazine or some magazines will print your address. And what I recommend is if you have a black permanent marker to go over it a few times so that it saturates the address until it. It's blacked Out.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's really interesting. Marco. Marco, tell me about a time when you really looked at like that moment where you're like, oh, this is complicated math.
>> Marco Timpano: Outside of school, would you say either or? Okay, I've never been really strong at math. But, you know, sometimes when you're figuring out your accounting for tax purposes and you're looking at various, you know, things you can claim and whatnot, oftentimes here in Canada, we have to pay hst and I have an HST number. So with the HST number, which is a harmonized sales tax that is on some of our goods for people who are listening outside of Canada. And I'll have to figure out the HST for my taxes so that whatever HST that I pay, pay for business can then come back to me. And sometimes that can get a little bit complicated. I find that accounting for taxes. I enjoy that math and I enjoy doing it. I have a very interesting system where I file in an accordion folder and I put all my receipts and I separate them and then I'll separate the receipts between business expenses and non business expenses expenses. And from there I have another book that I transfer all those numbers together, add them up, I meet with my accountant and then go forward from there. How about yourself? What's your accounting system or a time when you found math to be really tricky?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I actually ended up doing health sciences up until university.
>> Marco Timpano: I did not know that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, yeah. So I did stats and I did advanced calculus. And I couldn't do that again today because I do not remember most of what those classes were about. But I remember thinking, this math is quite difficult, especially when I was doing calculus two and things like that. Derivative.
>> Marco Timpano: And is that like on the calculator where there's all those little buttons that you never use if you have a mathematical calculator? Like cosine and whatnot are those things you would use in those classes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So the sine, cosine, etc. I think that's trigonometry.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So that's, I think high school, first year, you know, I think it's high school. And that's all about angles and about like triangles and kind of is developed from the Pythagorean theory. Exactly, if I remember correctly. But calculus was really about like breaking down a formula and trying to find like what the root of that form formula was about. You needed to do it in order to get into medical school, etc.
>> Marco Timpano: Is that something you were thinking of getting into?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I was. I was thinking of being a doctor.
>> Marco Timpano: That's so interesting because if you. If you speak to Amanda and I, we often this debate. When I was thinking of going to university, I was thinking of going in for medicine. Medicine as well. Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, not at all. No. So I think after taking calculus and quite frankly after taking organic chemistry, I think once I took organic chemistry, I said, I don't think this whole medicine thing is for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there you go. So had both of us gone into medicine, we would probably not be doing this podcast today. So it's very good fortune for our listeners who enjoy insomnia.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Although we might be actually looking at the medical side of insomnia.
>> Marco Timpano: I was hoping to get into cardiothoracics. That's what I. That was sort of my goal was cardiothoracic. And then my life turned a different direction and I got into the arts and I enjoyed that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it's funny how we both wanted to be in medicine and then we both ended up going for the arts.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, what's funny, and we talked about it this off the top of the show, is that I have very steady hands. And so I don't remember if that played into why I wanted to go become. Go, go into medicine and possibly become a surgeon, but that, you know, would play into whether or not I could become a surgeon.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Have you ever played in your. As an. As an entertainer, as an actor, have you ever, ever played a role like a medical role before?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's a great question. I once played the second officer who was the second officer who was an engineer flying a blimp. So that was the closest to. And I don't know if this. This was an actual person who flew this blimp and I was the second in command in flying a blimp. That was the closest I've come to any sort of. Any sort of medicine.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Medicine or engineering.
>> Marco Timpano: But one of my dream roles would be that of a surgeon.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, I remember I used to watch that show, er, as a kid.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In university.
>> Marco Timpano: That's the one that. That sort of put George Clooney on the map.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, yes. And I used to love it because I thought I was going to be a doctor, emergency room doctor like. And that wasn't to be. However, I quite enjoy my life right now.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Well, there you go. At least you're not sort of in a, er, no. Dealing with the patients there. Instead you're using math. And using math, which you. You didn't really enjoy, it seems.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, I was. I had a friend who became an actuarial math person mathematician. And I still have no clue what that really is.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's funny, I have two friends who are actuaries, and I don't know what they do either, but I know it involves a lot of math.
>> Nidhi Khanna: A lot of math, a lot of exams. They had to take like seven or eight exams to become an actuarial mathematician.
>> Marco Timpano: And I know there's really busy times for them because when I talk to them, it's like, oh, this is a very busy time for my actuarial services.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, you know, we've talked about getting a librarian on the show. Maybe we need to get an actuarial mathematician to break this down for us a little bit.
>> Marco Timpano: That wouldn't be a bad idea. If you know an actuarial mathematician, feel free to direct them to us. And we hope that this episode has brought you to a very lovely slumber. And if not. And you stayed to the end of this episode with us, we want to thank you, welcome you, and invite you to subscribe to the Insomnia Project on itunes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As usual, we're broadcasting from Toronto and you can find us online at Listen and Sleep. It's been our pleasure to host this podcast for you and next week we will have Amanda Barker joining us to to discuss all sorts of things to put you off into a slumber. Sa.
Handshake Houseplants, The Cookie and its Official City Status
original airdate: Feb 7, 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise you is that our conversation will be less than fascinating. So you can feel free to just drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna. Marco. Last week on our show we talked briefly about the official cookie for the city or the town of Red Deer in Alberta.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. And I know why you're bringing this up, okay. Because right now in the background we have baking in the oven, a coconut banana bread for us when we're done. So by the time we finish this podcast, our bread will be ready. And so we were talking about baking and stuff, and last week we did mention. Do you remember the cookie?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It was, I believe, I think it was a salted caramel or salted. It was salted something. Pretty sure it was salted caramel.
>> Marco Timpano: And that was the official cookie of Red Deer, Alberta.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Correct. And so we decided we would look into the official cookie for the city of Toronto where we broadcast. And unfortunately, it doesn't look like the city of Toronto has an official cookie.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's a pretty widespread dilemma that we have in our city this evening with this discovery. So at the end of this podcast, while you and I are enjoying the coconut banana bread, we're also going to tweet the mayor and demand that Toronto gets an official cookie.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's controversial, but I like where it's going.
>> Marco Timpano: I like where it's going to. Now, let me ask you this nitty, if you were to nominate a cookie to represent our fair city of Toronto, what would your cookie be?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco? So when I think about the city of Toronto, I think about all its diversity and about how literally every language and every nation is represented in some form in this city. And I think that that's what makes it so magnificent. So I would like to see a cookie that is almost all Encompassing. So sure. There is this cookie, like do it yourself cookie shop that used to. Well, I think it still exists on. In the High park area where I used to live. It's called Sweet flour.
>> Marco Timpano: Flour is in flour that you bake with.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And you can go in there and they have all these ingredients and they have the dough that they make the cookie. Like you basically you choose your dough, whether it's oatmeal or peanut butter or just a regular cookie base, a sugar cookie or something. And then you choose your ingredients and they have tons of ingredients to choose from. However, it's not just your regular sort of traditional cookie ingredients. So I mean, you have your chocolate chips and Your M&M's and your other little bits, but you also have potato chips, you have pretzels, you have.
>> Marco Timpano: So you could do a traditional cookie if you wanted, or you could jazz it up with a non traditional item, say jelly beans or, I don't know, licorice nibs.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. So I find it. That's what I would like to see as the official cookie is something that is almost like a do it yourself melange of like different mixes of ingredients.
>> Marco Timpano: So you don't have a specific cookie, what you want is a mix. So like Toronto's mixed bag cookie.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: The official cookie.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I almost feel like it should be like every time you go to pick up the official cookie, wherever it is, like whenever you go to buy it, you don't know what, what you're gonna get. It should change every single time.
>> Marco Timpano: So for you, the cookie would just have a name. Say the mixed bag.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And then you don't know what you're gonna get. Hopefully you don't have some sort of allergy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I haven't thought this through in terms of the logistics, but that's what I would like to see. And if you ever wanna make your own cookie, I suggest going down to this cookie shop called Sweet Flour, which is on Bloor, near Runnymede. I think you can find it online, actually.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds really like an awesome place. Now, if it was for me, if it was my decision.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: On what the official cookie for the city of Toronto would be. I would have to go with a ginger molasses.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Why ginger? I love ginger molasses.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. The reason. The reason ginger molasses. And I gave it some thought. I didn't just say, let's throw everything in a cookie and call it. I'm not saying. I'm not saying that's what you did, but You.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I guess I am, in a weird sort of way. But what I was thinking was this. So Toronto has a spice to it. Like you said, different cultures, different feels. It's got a hot under, underground sort of scene going on. And Ginger can have that sort of heat and that pepperiness and that. That spice. But it's also a city that moves. And it's a city that you have to sort of work hard and play hard, and it. It takes a lot of movement and momentum.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It kind of feels like you are moving through molasses.
>> Marco Timpano: At times it can feel like you're, you know, taking two steps forward and one step back. And so that, to me, is represented by molasses.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I feel like that you're talking about the TTC there, perhaps.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I don't know if I'm gonna, you know, disparage any, make remarks about our transit system, but I will say a transit system that works in a city is a great thing. That's all I'll say. So for me, ginger molasses would be the cookie that I'm going to let the mayor of Toronto know should be our official cookie. So pay attention to our tweets at Listen and Sleep as we tweet the mayor, encouraging him or her to get our official cookie status recognized. Because I think that's important after the discovery we made on last week's episode. Now, let me ask you this, Didi. What is your favorite flavor to use when you bake?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, coconut is up there. The smell that we're. Actually, the aroma that we're smelling right now is. Is one of my favorites. I love the texture and the gooeyness of it and the sweetness of coconut, and I love the smell of it.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever had a coffee made with coconut milk? Because I know that's a. That's a thing. What do you think of that?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm getting used to it. I'm not usually a big fan of milk in my coffee.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. I didn't know that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay. Latte person. I used to be. Not anymore. But I do like coconut milk.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm. I'm still not sold on it as a coffee beverage.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As a substitute to milk. Yeah. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I love coconut milk and I particularly love curries and whatnot that have coconut milk. For me, coconut milk is lush, it's rich, it's tasty, it's good for you. There's even a beauty in the color, at how white coconut milk can be in my coffee. Much like you. It's it's not a compliment to a coffee. That really speaks to me. I much prefer a milk or a buffalo milk. Have you ever had coffee made with buffalo milk?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I've had buffalo milk before, but I haven't had coffee.
>> Marco Timpano: So buffalo milk is very, very creamy. Creamy, but it's not heavy like cow's milk. And so if you can have a coffee made with buffalo milk, it's out of this world. Now, having said that, I've never had goat milk in my coffee, but people say that it has a similar sort of quality to it. But if I was to pick something that I love using when I bake, I would have to say that it would be vanilla. I know it sounds boring. I know. Oftentimes vanilla is used as a reference for something that's boring.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Love vanilla.
>> Marco Timpano: But there's something about the flavor and the smell of good vanilla or vanilla bourbon that just I love.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I also enjoy cinnamon in my baking. Oh, cinnamon. Like ginger. All those warming spices.
>> Marco Timpano: So maybe if you and I put our heads together, we should add cinnamon to the ginger molasses cinnamon cookie.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. Now we're talking.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I need to write this down.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think we need to start experimenting with some of the baking for the official cookie.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. So I'm going to invite any listener who hasn't fallen asleep if they have a good ginger molasses recipe that they could add cinnamon to and it still have a great taste to represent our city, to tweet us the recipe at Listen and Sleep or go to our website and let us know now. I wanted to ask Nidhi. We were recently in a store where we were talking to people and we were giving handshakes out, as you do when you meet someone. What do you think a quality of a good handshake is?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, Marco, I think there has to be a firmness to a handshake, but it can't be too firm. It can't be crushing. But a handshake that's too limp. Limp, sure, to me, does not signify someone who's engaged and actually present. So it's funny because I think, you know, maybe the way of the handshake is sort of gone in this day and age because people are handshaking less and less.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: If you notice. I mean, some people are like, ooh, health concerns. I. I don't want to shake someone's hand. But in our society, it's almost like, you know, you don't see as many handshakes, I would say. What do you think?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's Interesting you should say that. I think there's less and less of it happening more and more as people tend to hide behind computers and their cell phones and don't get out as much. Especially for business. A lot of businesses done transactionally through the Internet. I can tell you this. I like a handshake where the crooks of your hand, so from your. The part that is from your index finger as you go down to your thumb, you know, this little sort of webbed part of your hand. I forget what you would call that. But where that part meets another person's inner index thumb area, where it meets and you get a nice grip that's not too crushing. And I like maybe two up and down motions, maybe three at the most. I don't like a handshake that goes on forever. I don't mind a person who puts their other non handshaking hand on top. On top of my
>> Nidhi Khanna: knuckles.
>> Marco Timpano: Knuckles or like where that part of your hand is sort of giving you a grasp there. I know some people don't like that, but for me, I think it's actually quite lovely when someone holds the other. The opposite side of your hand as they shake your hand kind of shows that they, you know, what do you
>> Nidhi Khanna: think of people who. When you care. Yeah, they care, right. If they give a good handshake.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And what about the eye contact?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, that's a great question. I think a lot of people. People don't give enough credit to the eye contact. When a handshake is when someone shakes your hand. I think it's important, it's important to give that handshake even if it's someone that you know well and you're giving them a handshake because you haven't seen them in a while or you know, you're meeting them. I think it's important to give them because it's. Give them that eye contact because I think it shows a definite sign of respect.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree, I agree, Marco. It's. It's in fact quite intimate, the handshake in a way. A little bit more so because it happens less and less in a social situation. I think when you see people giving a handshake, it's actually quite almost jarring because it's so not done anymore.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. Or it's done less and less. You know what's interesting, you should say that. Who knows, 20 years from now if the handshake will just go out of fashion. And there's another way to greet someone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, being from. From Montreal like we always did. The. The two kisses.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's a very European, very European way of doing it. Right. And so I never. But you also don't see it, as you say, in the professional life as much, as much anymore as you were saying.
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>> Marco Timpano: That brings me to something we were discussing earlier and that has to do with plants. Houseplants. How many houseplants do you have in your home right now?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm not the best with plants.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I have very few houseplants. I have a money tree.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I believe you have a money tree as well too right there. I find it difficult. I accidentally.
>> Marco Timpano: They say that a money tree is is supposed to be given to you. You should Never buy your own money tree. Yeah, yeah, sorry, you were saying?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, I was saying that I once killed a cactus.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm not quite sure how one does that.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's funny, cactus or cacti can be very finicky. And people. There's this sort of thing out there that it's like, oh, a cactus is a very easy plant to take care of. You don't have to water it. Just put it in a corner where there's light. And a lot of people say that about certain plants. It's like, oh, just, just put it in a corner where it's gonna get a little bit of light and it'll be fine. That's not true. And I think there's a misinformation out there I think there's misinformation out there with regard to cacti because it's true they don't require water, but they do require care. And I really like cacti because they come in so many different sort of shapes and sizes and prickliness, if you will. Even like a Christmas cactus is so far different than a rounded cactus. I don't know what you'd call them or like the saguaro cactus of the Arizona desert. Everything looks so different. And they had. Their flowers are very different too, which is really unique. And, you know, there's something beautiful about a foreign looking plant. I know that the spider plant is a great plant to have in your house for bringing in good oxygen and whatnot for the plant, for the, for the home itself. And they say that you should have plants in your home. I've been really curious about these. I don't. I think they're called air plants. It's the plants that don't require any soil and they sort of change. Just they live in like seashells or in little glass vases that you hang. They're like hanging plants from, I want to say, a tropical country. And you'll see them in like malls and stuff that people are starting to sell them. Sometimes on a piece of driftwood you'll put one of these little plants. And they're not huge, but they're little plants that sort of get their nutrients from the moisture that's in the air. So they're great for bathrooms.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow. That is the first time that I've heard of air plants. And I'm just looking at a photo right now and I see what you're saying now. There's no actual soil in the glass vase that they're in. I Feel like I can maybe do something with that type of plant.
>> Marco Timpano: What is the plant that represents your birth month? You know how every plant has a bird month? Mine is. And I'll say the plant, and I'll see if you can guess what month I was born based on the plant.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Mine is the poinsettia.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, definitely December.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Marco Timpano: It's such a giveaway. My. My plant. And it's funny because poinsettias are like, the ultimate disposable plant. And I hate to say that, but everyone gets a poinsettia for, you know, Christmas and whatnot, or the Christmas season, let's say. And then they'll have it till January. Come February, you might see the odd one in a person's home if they're able to. To, you know, keep it alive. And then, boom, they're gone by the wayside. And it's sad. And I think it's because poinsettias are not an easy plant to take care of. And if I'm not mistaken, they're a tropical plant. And they can grow really. Yeah, they can grow really large. Yeah. And that's why they're a December plant, because I feel like they. They are, like, native to Australia and places like that where December is part of their summer, and so they come out. I could be wrong, of course, but I. I know it's not a North American plant. And, you know, right now you can see. Or, you know, lately I've seen a lot of different color poinsettia. So not just the white, the pink, and the red, but like a blend of those colors, and they're spotted and whatnot. And they. They're really quite wonderful. And that is my birth month's plant.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I just Looking here, and I'm seeing. Oh, see, I don't see a birth plant, but I see a birth flower. And I was born in June. So mine is the rose.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And yours is the narcissus for December. Yeah. Or the holly.
>> Marco Timpano: I thought poinsettia. I always thought it was poinsettia. Or at least the. The source that I used was poinsettia, but it makes sense. Holly and narcissist. Narcissist. That's the one that grows on a long stem. Is it just that one? Oh, no. I think I'm thinking of amaranth maybe. Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know. Well, it's funny. You're not a narcissist at all.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you know, I have my moments. I will. I know that may is the month of May is lily of the valley, which is a very small plant. But have you ever. Have you ever noticed the scent of a lily of the valley? It's very strong. It's a very strong. It's often used in perfumes, but it's a very, very strong scent.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm not. I'm not very big on plants. Now, can I ask you, when you and your wife were planning your wedding, was the type of flower really important?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And my wife, for her bouquet, just wanted all of one flower of just a really, really big bouquet of one type of flower with one flower that represented her grandmother amongst all those flowers. So she got a. We. We were married in May, May 1. And she got a large bouquet of tulips as her bouquet flower. And that was the flower. And with a. With a yellow rose to represent her grandmother within those white tulips. Those were. That was her flower. And it's funny you should say that because there was a flower that I spotted, I guess, in a magazine that I said, oh, you know, for the men's boutonniere, which would be the flower that men wear on their lapel at special occasions like weddings. So our florist was like, what flower would you ideally like on your lapel? And I said, I would love a. And I'm probably going to say this wrong, but a Stephanopoulos plant, like George Stephanopolis? No, I think I'm getting it wrong. I'll have to look it up. But it's this plant that is a little four. It's a white flowered plant that has four little petals and has a beautiful scent to it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's one of those plants that if I show you a picture of it, you'll be like, oh, yes, I've seen that plant. But the funny thing was, my florist was like, they're not in season. I won't be able to get it for you. I'm like, oh, it's fine. Right? But you could see I was disappointed. But unbeknownst to me, she was sourcing that for me and wanted to surprise me on. On my wedding day. And.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And she found them.
>> Marco Timpano: She did. She's a great florist. Her name is Bella.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And she was able to get those.
>> Marco Timpano: She was able to get it. She actually did such a great job. And we were talking about, you know, how calla lies were very popular and stuff, and how all the ushers would have calla lilies. But we were kind of like, you know, a lot of calla Lilies are like. It's so overdone. So she said, what if I get calla lily, like callalies that are kind of mistakes or like, oh, with a
>> Nidhi Khanna: little bit of a defect.
>> Marco Timpano: A defect.
>> Marco Timpano: Or it's not even a defect, but it's a. It's a calla that is kind of misshapen, not the traditional calla shape.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And we incorporate that in an interesting sort of way. And I said, let's do it. Or my wife said, let's do it. And we did and we were really happy about it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's, you know, flowers to me, I never really got into them in terms of understanding the different flowers and what each one means, etc, etc. And I think that until you get to a stage where you are planning a wedding, for example, there's so much about flowers that you really just don't know. It's kind of like, you know, when you're buying your first car, there's a ton of us out there who didn't know anything about cars until you buy your first car. Or even mortgages and owning a house until you actually go through that process, there's so many things that you don't know about it. And I feel like flowers for me are really like that. I love getting flowers. I am lost when I'm in a floral shop. But I could not tell you which one is. I couldn't place flowers or name them.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I can tell you now that the name of that flower is actually Stephanotis.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, Stephanopoulos.
>> Marco Timpano: Stephanotis. Yeah. It's not Stephanopoulos, but it's Stephanotis. And the best known species of the Stephanotis is Madagascar jasmine.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sounds lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: So there you go.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It sounds like it smells amazing. Madagascar Jack.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And so, you know, that was what I had on my boutonniere.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, that's really nice.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And it's interesting because I think our, our bridesmaids had, and I had never heard this expression before, nosegays. A nosegay is like a little tiny bouquet that you carry versus a corsage. They had little nose gaze and they were used, I want to say, in Victorian times because the streets of London did not smell like. Did not smell it pleasant at all. So ladies of a certain part of society class, let's say, would, when they were traveling London would have nose gaze that they could then if they were in an area that did that smelled malodorous, they could smell their nose gay and be on their way and be happy as pie. So that's an Interesting.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That is an interesting tidbat. Now, Marco, you had mentioned Madagascar and you had also mentioned vanilla right at the top of the show. And Madagascar vanilla is a big thing.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the best. Vanilla is from Madagascar. Those vanilla beans, which are really long, and you sort of take a knife and you. You sort of make a slit down the middle and then scoop out the tiny, tiny seeds and you incorporate them into your baking.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I feel like maybe somehow, and maybe we need vanilla in. In this whole. We talked about vanilla. Did we talk about adding vanilla to the official cookie?
>> Marco Timpano: So, as it stands, Nidhi, we have a cinnamon vanilla ginger molasses cookie. And I think we hit the nail on the head with that because you wanted a lot of ingredients, I wanted a bit of spice. We've got the ginger and the cinnamon, the vanilla, which just blends out those flavors with the molasses. I think that is going to be the cookie that we present in our tweet to the Mayor of the City of Toronto. So we invite and invite you to join us if you haven't fallen asleep at this point, to help us get the City of Toronto name an official cookie. I'm going to leave you with that and hope you have a pleasant dream while I take a bite into some coconut banana bread.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And if you have any other suggestions, suggestions for ingredients that you would like to see in the official cookie, please do Tweet us at. ListenAndSleep. The Insomnia Project is produced by Drum Cass Productions. Thank you so much for listening. We hope that you are in a wonderful state of slumber and if not, we will speak to you next time.
Stamps, Pillows and Salt & Pepper Shakers
original airdate: Feb 3, 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the Mundane. One thing that we can promise you on our podcast is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will Listen and Sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhikhanna. Marco. We received a really nice tweet last week in response to our last show and I just want to read it aloud. It's from the guys out at It's a show Podcast from Red Deer and they said the following. Thanks for the follow from Toronto. Listen and sleep. Any more mellow and you'll be a blend of coffee. The Melatonin of podcasting.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I kind of love that. The Melatonin of podcasting has a nice ring to it. I actually got a chance to listen to their podcast, which is called It's a Show Podcast and they're quite the opposite of that. So I do want to send a shout out to Greg, Sparky and Peaker for sending us that lovely tweet. What a lovely tweet. And you can tweet us, of course, our listeners at Listen and Sleep tweet us. Let us know if you have a topic that you'd like us to talk about. Now, Nidhi, you did mention that they were from Red Deer. For our listeners who aren't familiar, we should mention that that's in Alberta, Canada. And what an interesting place. I've never been to Red Deer, but I will be going to Edmonton very soon and hopefully be able to do a couple podcasts next month from Edmonton. And who knows, maybe I'll bump into Greg, Sparky and Peaker while I'm in Alberta and we could do a joint podcast, if you will. So, folks, I'll be heading out to Alberta, but I've always wondered what Red Deer is like. What do you imagine Red Deer would be like?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, Marco, that's a great question. I was going to ask you the same thing in terms of if you'd ever been to Red Deer. And you know, I don't know, I. I always think of Alberta definitely having this cowboy element to it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Which is definitely there. I feel like Red Deer, I don't know, a bit of small town charm. It's hard to compare because we're out in Toronto, which is kind of this sprawling metropolis. I kind of think that Red Deer must be beautiful, natural, like you can see the stars at night.
>> Marco Timpano: We'll have to invite our listeners from Red Deer to let us know if we're on point with that for me, I always picture there must be some connection to deer. I was raised in a town called Woodbridge, and so it is kind of a suburb of Toronto. And as you would imagine, as a lot of suburbs are, there's a lot. There's a mall nearby, there's a lot of strip malls. There's, you know, cafes and places to hang out if you're a teen. And, you know, people ask where. Where did it get. Get its name? And in fact, there was a bridge made of wood years and years ago that got washed away, and now they just have. In its place near the. Is just a regular little street bridge. It doesn't even go over like it. The river. I'm guessing it's a river. Looks more like a creek, if anything. And so you kind of look and you. You don't even realize sometimes you're crossing over a street bridge. It just feels like road. So what a way not to honor its name by putting a street bridge in place of what I'm assuming was a beautiful bridge that got washed away. Well, I don't even know how many years ago, I want to say in the 40s, I knew someone whose father rescued people in a canoe when the bridge washed away in that particular flood. And the gentleman I knew was already fairly old, so his father must have been old when he rescued people. There you go.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, speaking of fun facts about town. So I'm just looking at the city of Red Deer's website right now.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And they have some fun facts and trivia about Red Deer. So it was incorporated as a town in 1901. So it's. It's just over 100 years old. 110. Almost 120 years old, I guess. And. And it has. Let's see, let's see. There are three railways in Red Deer.
>> Marco Timpano: Wow. So that makes it kind of happening back in the day.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. Their official cookie is the caramel surprise.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. Oh, yes. Now, there is something.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think it's remarkable that they have an official cookie.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, you're right. I don't know any other cities that have an official cookie. And I wonder if Toronto, where we're broadcasting from, has an official cookie and what that cookie would be. But I love that the city has an official cookie because you often hear about cities or places that have an official flower or an official bird or state bird, but you don't hear about an official cookie.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, I think that's wonderful. Now, they also have. It says here that Mickey the Beaver appeared in a movie. Now, I'm not quite sure the significance of Mickey the Beaver, but I'm assuming that he must be big in Red Deer or was or was at some point and he clearly appeared in a movie. And I think that that's fascinating.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Listen. Hey. A shout out to Mickey the Beaver as well. Long may you be remembered, let's say. I'm sure. Remember, Mickey the Beaver isn't. Or may. May not be around today. But I don't know what the average lifespan of a beaver would be. But if you do know, let us know and we'll. We'll talk about it. I wanted to ask you, Nidhi, do you have any collections? Do you collect anything?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I. When I was a kid, I had a stamp collection.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. You know what you call a stamp collector?
>> Nidhi Khanna: What's that?
>> Marco Timpano: I can't remember, but there's a, there's a name for it. Like, you know, a beekeeper has a special name. It's escaping me and stamp. We'll find out before the end of the show what.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What a stamp collector is called. So I was sort of a pseudo stamp collector, I think. I just received a stamp book and a bunch of stamps for a birthday one year and called myself a stamp collector.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you remember any of the stamps were your favorite?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I remember one stamp that I gave away to a friend of mine because we used to get together and trade stamps.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And
>> Nidhi Khanna: the stamp that I gave away, I didn't know was from a country that no longer existed. So I kind of messed up there.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you what the stamp looked like and then what that country was.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So the stamp was some kind of bluish stamp. I don't really remember what building was on it, but it was a building of some kind. I can't remember if it was courthouse or, or something and the town itself or the country? Sorry, not the town, the country. I'm not quite sure. I can't remember. But I remember it being in almost Russian, that Cyrillic type font, so. Or language. So it must be sort of an Eastern bloc nation that I think is probably no longer in existence.
>> Marco Timpano: It could have been a substate of the former Soviet Union if it had this Cyrillic Roman writing or Alphabet.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. So what about you, Marco? Did you have any major collections?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, before we go to that, I also collected stamps. No, you did. You know, I think it was one of those things that it was a gift that people would give you. It would be a stamp book and then the starter kit for stamps. I don't know. Did you have the stamp collecting tools? That being the stamp tongs or the magnifying glass. They used to have these little.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think I had the tongs. I'm pretty sure I had the tongs. I'm pretty sure I had the tongs. The magnifying glass, I don't believe I had.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I had this really interesting note. Let me see if you remember this. As a fellow stamp collector, and when we say that, we say novice stamp collectors because we don't even know what a stamp collector, what the proper name for stamp collector is. But in my kit, let's say there were these little green, I want to say stickers, but they weren't even quite stickers. They were little green pieces of paper that were semi translucent. And what you would do was fold these little pieces of paper, I want to say about 3 millimeters long. No, let's say 4 millimeters long and 2 millimeters wide. And you would fold them in half and you would lick one side of it and it would be tacky. It wouldn't even be sticky like a stamp would be. It would be tacky and you would lick the other tacky end and you'd put one tacky end of this semi translucent paper onto the stamp. So it would tack onto the stamp and then you would put that tacky
>> Marco Timpano: end,
>> Marco Timpano: other layer that you lick onto the stamp book, the collecting stamp book. And that's how the stamp would adhere to your book. So you weren't actually like gluing the stamp onto your book, which would make it lose its value, but instead you would use this. And I'm. And I bet that this translucent paper has a name to it too. But that was the only thing I had in my collection. So you would lick one end, lick the other, the stamp on one end, and put that little tacky piece of translucent paper that I don't have a name for onto the stamp book.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, so interesting because my stamp book really had. I remember the translucent paper, but we didn't. The stamps actually went into kind of a. There was like a piece of plastic, kind of like a plastic shelf, I guess. And you would put the stamp stamp in the shelf or plastic divider, and that's what would hold the stamp. And then you would have this translucent page that went over the entire thing to protect it. So you didn't have to actually stick. Well, for lack of a better word, stick the stamp onto anything. You didn't have to worry about it adhering to it. Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: You got it. If I'm not mistaking mistaken, rather, a stamp collector is a philatelist Am I saying that right? So let's see if that's right. If there's any philatelists who are currently listening to the Insomnia Project, let us know if we're pronouncing that right. But you can see that we weren't great philatelists if we barely remember that. I think my favorite stamp there was. I had these numbered stamps that my mother's cousin's daughter. So it would be my. I'm gonna say third cousin.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Your mother's cousin's daughter.
>> Marco Timpano: My mother's first cousins.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yep. So your second cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. No, because my mother's cousin would be my second cousin.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay. So here's an interesting thing, because I consider in my family. So my mother's cousin's daughter is my second cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay?
>> Nidhi Khanna: But I know that that's not the way it is in many places. I think that that is me being very generous about my family ties. Maybe.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know. I always picture. I always think of it like this. Your first cousin is your first cousin. So in this case, my mother's first cousin. Then if your first cousin has a child, they become your second cousin. So I would be the second cousin to my mother's first cousin, and her daughter would be my mother's second cousin. And as a consequence, we would be third cousins to each other.
>> Nidhi Khanna: See, I would think that you're. So if my cousin had a child, they would consider me an aunt.
>> Marco Timpano: No, because you're not. You can't be an aunt to a cousin's child unless your cousin is also your sister or brother. Because you become an aunt through your brother or sisters. Children.
>> Nidhi Khanna: See, I call my mother's. So maybe this is.
>> Marco Timpano: No, but it's.
>> Marco Timpano: That's.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I call my mother's cousin.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: My aunt.
>> Marco Timpano: Like, they're older, she's older. And it's a sign of respect, for sure. You have, like, I know that I have my friends, kids will call me uncle, even though I'm not officially. It's a term of endearment and respect. And that's cross cultural, too, because I'll often see my sister say to my niece, and she'll say, you know, I'm my niece's uncle. So in Italian, she calls me Zio. And I'll see my sister say to people who aren't in our family, oh, that's your Zio, Danny, let's say.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: But I get upset because it's. No, I'm her uncle. I'm the only Zeo that she has on your side.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Taking away from your.
>> Marco Timpano: It's like. No, no, there's a certain. There's a certain sort of like, you know, merit that you get being the sibling of and your sibling having a child. But back to that original stamp that I was telling you about that I got from my mother's cousin's daughter, let's say, for lack of a better word, well, you know, designation of what cousin they are. But it was a series of two stamps of these Greek bronze statues that were found in the ocean, I want to say, in the Ionic Sea. They were found years and they were like really old statues that were found in the sea. They must have, you know, been in a ship that was going from Greece to Italy and it sank and everything got disintegrated except for these bronze statues that were found then made into stamps. So the stamp wasn't particularly interesting as a child, as you can imagine. It's a old bronze statue. But it was numbered. So it was signed and numbered. And I should. I. I will dig it up one day and I will show it to you because I'm sure it's in the recesses of my other collections in my basement. And most recent, my most recent collection was salt and sugar salt and pepper shakers.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Really? Salt and pepper shakers. Now, did you collect fun ones? Was there like a theme that you were going for when you were collecting, or was it like the most unique salt and pepper shakers or something that was art deco? What was it that you would try and collect?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's a. Interesting. It. I fell upon salt and pepper shaker collections by fluke. I went into this beautiful store that sells furniture and clothes and things that are, you know, from different eras. And I'll show it to you what I have. We'll take a photo and put it on on our Twitter feed. It is a tangerine salt and pepper shaker. And I saw it and it caught my eye in the store. And they were selling it for $25, which I thought was quite expensive. So I was like, I'm not spending $25 on a salt and pepper shaker that I don't really need. Cut to a week later, all that I could think about was this salt and pepper shaker. So I went back and I said, what if I offer you $20? And I think. I think I got it for $20. So I got this really awesome looking salt and pepper shaker for $20. And I really like them. There was something about it. They looked really real to me and they had a uniqueness and a funness about it. And so as a result of that, I started to think, oh, I should collect more salt and pepper shakers. There's something fun about it. And then I went to a one of these stores that sells, you know, donated clothing and items and they happen to have a collection of salt and pepper shakers that they were selling the whole collection. So you could, it was like a silent auction. You could write your name next to it. And I think for $18 I got let's say 15 different salt and pepper shakers, most of which were kind of not great in that they weren't old and they were made in China and they paint was, they were probably lead and paint was chipping off and they were nice. But there was like a collection of maybe three or four in that collection that were really unique and neat, two of which were flat cats. So one side of the it wasn't three dimensional, it had a flat side where a cat was on it and a rounded back. And another one was a salt and pepper shaker for left handed people. And another one was so wait, can
>> Nidhi Khanna: we go back to that? So a salt and pepper shaker for left handed people.
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>> Nidhi Khanna: Now. Most salt and pepper shakers are kind of uni.
>> Marco Timpano: Uni, uni.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, exactly. What was special about, I think it
>> Marco Timpano: was the cuteness of it was that it was for left handed people. And so it was like a jug, let's say. So the handle was on the other
>> Nidhi Khanna: side and I okay, I am.
>> Marco Timpano: So that was my latest collection. But I vowed that I was going to stop collecting salt and pepper shakers because once, once someone finds out you're a collector of things, that's all they give you. That's all they give you. And so I started to get a ton of salt and pepper shakers and I realized I didn't love collecting salt and pepper shakers. I just liked the first one that I got.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And did you use them?
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: So I put them on a shelf and there they sat on a shelf in my basement that I never looked at. And I started to think, I don't need salt and pepper shakers. I don't want any more salt and pepper shakers. I did get a cool shark fin salt and pepper shaker from a friend of mine, Dale, for my birthday, which I really liked. And I got a blue suede shoe Elvis salt and pepper shaker from Memphis or Graceland, I can't remember, from my friend who's from Jackson, Tennessee for a wedding present which was kind of neat and those I still hold dear. But the rest I've all tried to get rid of.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So what kind of salt and pepper shaker is currently on your kitchen table?
>> Marco Timpano: None. I have the tangerine ones in my kitchen as well as the shark and the blue suede shoes one in my kitchen. And then I actually use for salt a ten dollar salt shaker that grinds Himalayan salt on my food. So, so that's what I use for salt. The rest are for decoration. Except the tangerines have cayenne pepper in it and cinnamon in the other. So neither salt. I use it for those things. But I wanted to ask you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What kind of pillow do you currently use? Because I know you're sitting on a meditation pillow and it's wonderful.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The alignment in my back right now is actually quite delightful. I love using different pillows. Now I have a sort of a twin, I think a twin bed, queen size bed maybe. And I have four large pillows on that bed and two of them are very good to. Now I sleep on my side, Marco. So they're kind of side sleeper pillows and two of them are these round body pillows that I like to sort of use to almost prop myself up when I'm sleeping. Because for me a pillow is very important. But what I have to say is that halfway through the night, somehow in my sleep I get rid of all the pillows because every morning when I wake up, I'm not sleeping on any pillows. And so I'm not sure if that's. I think it might be me. I think it might be also my dog who sleeps in my bed. And if any of our listeners sleep with dogs in their bed, they know that the position that you fall asleep in, the position that you wake up in is dictated. Dictated by the dog's mood and activity during the evening, during the night. And so sometimes my dog will take over my pillows. So I will wake up in the morning and she will have propped herself onto all the pillows. However, for me, a pillow like a nice comfy. I like pillows that are sort of semi firm, so they can't be too thick.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And too firm and they can't be too soft. I'm kind of like, you know that children's. What's that? Children's nursery rhyme? Not nursery rhyme, that fairy tale. The porridge with the porridge. Too hot, too cold.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's the three. Three bears.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Three bears.
>> Marco Timpano: Goldie. Goldilocks.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Goldilocks. That's it. I'm kind of like that, but with pillows it can't be.
>> Marco Timpano: Which one are you? Are you Papa Bear who likes it hard? Mama Bear, who likes a softer bed and pillow, or Baby bear who likes it in between?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm Baby Bear.
>> Marco Timpano: Baby bear.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm Baby Bear. Yeah. Yeah. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: I think I'm a balance of Papa Bear and Mama Bear. I like a firm mattress, but my pillows, I like them to be soft. But I got body pillow one time and they're really long.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. And I think.
>> Marco Timpano: I think my wife got it, to be fair. And I was like, oh, this is going to be great. This giant, awesome, lovely, giant pillow. And I tried and I hated it. I couldn't sleep. It was too long. It was too in my face. I also sleep on my side or no, I sleep on my stomach. But I do like to have a pillow to hold with my legs and I have a soft pillow. I do like having pillows near me, but I hate a bed that has many pillows on it. And our bed, my wife likes to have other pillows, decorative pillows. So we have a long roundy one and two smaller ones and then three regular pillows. And so that's the pillow situation in our household. But I do like. I, I wish I had found. I. How do I describe this? I would love to find the perfect travel pillow pillow and I feel like the travel pillows, you know those kind of half moon ones that you put on the neck pillows, they do nothing for me really.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I love those.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What is it that you like about them and how do you use them?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, so there's two different ways that I do it. So one is when it's around your neck. I like it because it provides sort of extra support I find for the neck because I find that sometimes when you're sleeping in an airplane, when you put your neck backwards because you're sleeping upright, there's a gap that comes into your neck and I feel that the neck pillow can, can close that gap. I also like to take it and not necessarily put it around my neck but actually use it as a pillow and it's thick enough for me to be able to make like especially if you're on the window side of the plane to make a comfortable pillow to lean against. So those are the two ways I use it. And then sometimes I'll even use it for my lower back if my lower back for a long haul flight. If my lower back is starting to get tender, I'll put it there and I find it really makes a difference.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, here's hoping our listeners have found a comfortable position pillow and have drifted off to sleep. If you haven't and you've listened to us till the end, we want to thank you. We also want to say check out our website insomniaproject.com or tweet us at. Listen and sleep till next episode.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We are broadcasting live from Toronto Live. I guess this is recorded but live for us record right now from Toronto, Canada. And the Insomnia product is produced by Drumcast Productions. So thanks for listening and continue to listen and sleep.
Our first episode:
TEA, SOCKS & the "Moment Before"
original airdate: Jan 25, 2016
>> Speaker A: Why choose a Sleep Number Smart bed Can I make my site softer?
recorded on January 24 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, listen and we'll have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise you is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off. Thank you. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm Your host, Marco Timpano, and I'm
>> Nidhi Khanna: your co host, Nidhi Khanna. Feel free to check us out [email protected] or tweet us at Listen and sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Nidhi, how's your day going?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So far so good, Marco. It's been a bit of a lazy afternoon, which I sort of like. You need one of those every once in a while where you just curl up with a blanket, a little bit of Netflix or a book, whatever you want in this day and age. And a cup of tea.
>> Marco Timpano: What tea are you drinking these days?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm always a big fan of a chai, so I like to make my own chai.
>> Marco Timpano: Really? So tell me about your chai and how you make it. Because if I understand correctly, everyone makes in India makes their own chai, correct?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Most of the time, yeah. You don't really have chai lattes or anything like that.
>> Marco Timpano: So what is a chai then? For people who aren't exactly sure what a chai is, other than the chai lattes that they get at various coffee houses.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So a chai really is a tea that has been spiced, essentially. It is the Hindi word for tea.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, chay is.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So it's a bit of. It's a bit redundant to say a
>> Marco Timpano: chai tea because you're basically saying tea tea, but two languages, you got it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I usually have in my mixture of chai, you know, cloves and cardamom and ginger. I love ginger tea, so I put a lot of ginger, some sea cinnamon and some nutmeg sometimes. So really depends on if you want something that's a bit more sweet or something that's a bit more earthy and bitter, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. So you like these different spices, I guess you could say, and flavorings like ginger in your tea, in your chai, I should say. Do you add milk to it?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do. So that's one of the big things about Indian tea is that you always add milk to. And I really enjoy it with, you know, a thicker milk. I don't, I don't particularly like it with skim milk. It has to be like 1% or 2% milk. And then you usually have it with sugar, even if it's just a tiny bit of sugar, just to taste. And that's how I like it. I love the spices because I find it very warming and very soothing, as opposed to, for example, an Earl Grey, which I find a little too light, not robust enough for me.
>> Marco Timpano: You were recently in England. Now, did you partake in tea time over there?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I did, Marco. I'm a big fan of tea time. And, of course, the English do their tea time in the most spectacular way, and they have so many different types of tea. If you go to all these different retailers or even what you get in the grocery store is pretty good tea in comparison to what you might get over here. But I very, very much enjoy sort of the scones and the cookies and the little cucumber sandwiches that might come along with the tea. So how about you? What's your favorite tea?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting. I have different teas for different times of day, so I like a breakfast tea for breakfast. I know that sounds very boring, but there's just something about a nice black tea that's not infused with too much. Like, for example, an Earl Grey has that wonderful essence of bergamot that I really enjoy. It's just in the morning, I want it to be very subtle, let's say. Right. And I like to add milk myself. I like a milky tea. And either honey or sugar. I'm trying to get off sugar, so I'm using more honeys. And I know with my coffee, I've been actually using condensed milk, so I'm not using any additional sweetener other than the condensed milk, which is a sweet milk. Right. So I think Vietnamese coffee tends to be coffee that where they use condensed milk. And I had it once in a Vietnamese restaurant, so I've incorporated it into my coffee drinking. And then later in the day, I'll be more. More inclined to have a Earl Grey tea or a flavored tea of some sort. One of my favorite teas, which is really difficult to find, is a tea that's been infused with rose petals. I love the flavor of rose petals. I know, it's. It's a weird sort of flavor to really resonate with someone like myself. I never would have thought I would enjoy the taste of roses, but there's something about a subtle flavor of rose in my tea that I really enjoy. And so I've tried to replicate it with a bit of rose water. For people who aren't familiar, rose water is a water that's been flavored with rose petals and is used, I believe, in a lot of Middle Eastern sweets. So, like, Turkish Delight, I think, is often infused with that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. And there's some Lebanese sweets, I believe, that also have rose water. In India, it's used quite frequently.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is it? Yeah. In desserts.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In desserts and in drinks. So some Sort of dessert type drinks will also have rose water. Yeah, it's, it's a pretty common ingredient I guess you can say. So I very much enjoy rose water as well. So I am not surprised by that. But I understand that some of our listeners might be thinking we're a little bit off the wall with our rose rose water.
>> Marco Timpano: I know and it's funny, different times of the year spark different resonance with teas that I enjoy. So for example, I love a rooibos tea in the summertime and I love to chill or ice a rooibos tea. And rooibos teas are teas that are made, I think it's a plant, a rooibos plant. So it's not quite. Or it's kind of like a spiny bush. And so the leaves of that bush are such that they can never be over steeped. And if you've ever over steeped a tea, it becomes very rich in tannins. And some people like a really strongly steeped tea. I don't. And therefore the rooibos tea in the summertime and it makes the tea a little bit more on the orange side versus on the, you know, brownie kind of tea, tea stained, I guess, tea colored side. So I love a rooibos tea in the warm, in the, in the warmer months and, and I like to ice it. I'm not a huge fan of green teas. How do you feel about green teas?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, green teas can be a bit difficult. I don't know, I have a little bit of a love hate relationship with them because I think their health properties and their oxidization properties are really, really wonderful. However, I find it a little bit too bitter for my taste. And again, cause I'm so used to putting milk in my tea, I find it a little difficult to have that.
>> Marco Timpano: For me green teas have a very fishy fishiness about them. So it reminds me a little bit of miso and I don't know, there's something about green teas that is a little bit off putting. I can't quite figure figure out what it is about green teas that doesn't work for me. And I've tried matcha teas and I've tried, you know, a green tea kind of. I don't know if it's a ceremony or what they call it, but when you whisk the tea like when there's a, there's they have this little bamboo whisker and they'll take a bit of the green tea and when I Say they. It's been at specialty tea shops where they'll do this for you and they'll. They'll sort of whip the green tea powder with warm water until it's frothy, and then they'll serve it to you that way. And. And I've tried to like it. I've added a bit of sweetener to it, and it just. It just isn't my preferred tea. It's not that I dislike it, it's just not the tea I would go for. Same with white teas. I prefer a black tea over a white tea and over an herbal tea, unless I'm feeling a little under the weather.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Can we go back to Rooibos for a moment?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course. Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I noticed that you called it Rooibos. I've heard it pronounced different ways. Do you know the exact pronunciation?
>> Marco Timpano: I always thought it was Rooibos. I thought because. And I could be wrong. Rooibos. T is a South African tea.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: So I don't know if it comes from a South African word or. But it's. It's. When you look at Rooibos, when you look at the actual word, it has a really unique sort of spelling because it has so many O's and O's in it as R, O, O, I, B, O, O, S, I believe, is how it's spelled. So it's really quite interesting to see that T when you see the name of it, because you're like, wow, this has a lot of vowels in it, a lot of O's in it, and it's like, how do I pronounce Rooibos now? I think I saw it phonetically spelled, and that's why I say. Some people say Roy Bose Brobos, but I think it's. I think it's Rooibos.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, I agree. Speaking of South Africa, have you ever been to South Africa?
>> Marco Timpano: I haven't been to South Africa. It's one of the countries that I would really love to visit because having had friends go to South Africa, when they come back, they're like, Marco, you know, South Africa is not only very beautiful, but it has a real distinct quality to it. And I don't know if you've been to countries where it's like, oh, this place is so uniquely Venice. For example, when you're in Venice, you're like, okay, there's no other place like Venice. Unless you're in Las Vegas and you see, you know, the Venetian Hotel, and you're like, okay, this is kind of replicating Vegas. But yet again, when you're in Vegas, it's like, okay, this is Vegas. There's no other place like Vegas. But you could be in a city like Toronto, where we're recording from. And people will say it often reminds them of Chicago or other cities, cities, Northeastern North American cities. And there's some places, and I was told Johannesburg in South Africa is very much like that, where it's like, okay, you are in South Africa, you're in Johannesburg. It's very unique. Have you been?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not been. I actually have a friend of mine, a very close friend of mine who was born there, and then she was adopted and moved to Canada, but she went back, and she still goes back, I believe. So it's one of those places that I would love to go back with her because she. I think she grew up there for a few years before they moved to Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: It's always great to go to a city with someone who knows it well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: You experience it in such a different light. I don't know if that was a recent experience of yours in England and if you have any examples of.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Of that. Well, England's a little bit different for me because I used to live there.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So. But that being said, because I still have friends there, it's very easy for me to go to, you know, the newer, more interesting restaurants or if there is a very cool exhibit or a piece of theater. They just know what's happening in the city. So I don't have to rely on a concierge or third party. Third party is telling me what might be interesting. Like, they know who I am and they know what I like. So it really makes it a fuller experience, especially when it comes to food, because I find food to be a very important part of my traveling experiences. And so that has been my experience with some of those places, but with a lot of places, actually, because I'm fortunate enough to have people that I know in those areas already. So, as you say, it really does change the experience.
>> Marco Timpano: We were talking before we actually started recording, about the moment before and talking about the moment before a certain event and what the feeling you have the moment before, let's say a doctor's appointment, when they're gonna call you in, or the moment before you are in a line at the. You know, getting your license renewed and just being in that moment before, or the moment before you get on the bus when you're waiting for the bus, or the moment before you, you know, are checked in at a grocery store. I wanted to ask you about the Moment before seeing a theatrical play in England versus seeing the moment before seeing a theatrical play in North America. If there is a difference, what was the moment before for you when you went to see a play in England?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I think England is an interesting place to see a theatrical presentation because the moment before is very different from other places in the world because it really is the birthplace of sort of our understanding of how we write a play in this modern world, at least from a North American perspective or a, like a Western perspective and an English perspective, English language perspective. So to see, to see, you know, Dame Judi Dench on stage and Kenneth Branagh on stage and to see them work together is very different than seeing a fringe show or seeing a Mirvis production. Because there's an anticipation. There's an anticipation. You have these icons of acting and both film and stage performance that you're actually able to witness live. I think it's similar probably to some of the shows that might be seen on Broadway or New York, but I still think it's a little bit different just because it's a different type of show that I think you are more likely to see see on the London stage. Like the amount of Shakespeare that's just everyday playing and that people go to.
>> Marco Timpano: I wonder how much that is a difference of, you know, when you go see something in your own city versus going to see something in another city, if the moment before is impacted by the location of where you are. Because, for example, in England you are. Are sort of on vacation. You're not. That's not the city where you work, right? Absolutely. So you have more of a relaxed attitude, I guess you could say, or you have a little bit less of a. I live here, so you've got to impress me because, you know, this is where I live and I may know or may encounter you, the performer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So you're right. You know what? You. You're a bit kinder or a bit more open to what you're about to see versus maybe the city that you're. You're in.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That you live in. That's. That's an interesting perspective. I never thought about that, but that's. That's very true. How about you? What is, what is. Do you, do you see a lot of theater when you're traveling?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting. I will see depending on the city that I'm in. So if I'm in a place like London or New York, I really try to, to go see some theater because, you know, it's going to be some of the best that you'll encounter, if not through the performance, at the very least with the sort of set, the backdrop or the quality of the actual piece. But when I go to other countries, I try to see what they do well. So for example, when we were in Spain, we we really wanted to sort of see the architecture in Barcelona because of, you know, all the Gaudi architecture that's there. We made that and food a priority. And then we also saw a bunch of different art as well. So we would go to the various galleries and whatnot. Depending on the city that we're in. We try to, or at least I try to reflect that in what we're going to see.
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>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this. When you travel, do you have any rituals you do on the plane prior to takeoff?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know Margo, that's an interesting question. I do have some rituals. I used to be a very nervous flier and I was really proud because in this most recent trip I was not anxious at all. And I think part of that was my mindset going in and I read up a lot about on like planes and the mechanics and you know, particularly about turbulence, etc. To calm my mind. And then while on the plane I always have a ritual where I need to take out of my purse my iPhone, my iPhone, the headset. I need to like the magazines that I have with me. Like anything that I feel I'm gonna be using on the journey needs to be in the front pocket and readily accessible. And then I always look and see what movies are gonna be playing. And I have usually my movies laid out so that I have an itinerary of what I will be viewing and in what order. And then I just like to sit back and relax.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. I. I love to have a book when I fly because I feel it's a very easy way to get hypnotized into the words on the page when you can't sleep on a plane. What I do is I'll. I'll be the only person, you know, that one person who has the light on them reading a book and everyone else sort of in dark. Yeah, that's my experience as well, of course. So I usually like to have my book somewhere nearby, whether it be in the front pocket or I'll usually put it right beside me on the seat, sort of between me and the person who's sitting next to me so that I always have it accessible. I know that my wife has a ritual that she has a knitted hat that she has. So kind of like. I don't know what you would say, almost like a toque, but a knitted hat that I think her sister knit her. And she will bring a scarf with her. And even if it's summertime, she has this knitted hat and scarf. And what she'll do is she'll take the scarf and she'll put it inside the hat and she'll use that as a pillow. And the interesting thing about that is a hat and a scarf are very easy things to travel with because when the weather is, you know, not extremely warm, you can put the hat and have the scarf on. When the weather is warm in the summertime, she'll stuff it in the pocket of her jacket or in the front of her purse, let's say it doesn't take up much room. And there you go. And she has her little pillow for her on the plane. And she'll always say to me, do you want me to bring a hat and a scarf for you? I say, no. And then she's like, because you're not going to use mine. And sure enough, when we go on the plane, and I'll say to her, can I borrow your hat and scarf? And that's sort of another ritual that I do on the plane when I travel with my wife.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you. Do you do anything with socks? Like some people have plain socks?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you know, I. I would love to have plain socks or plain slippers, because one of the things that drives me a little crazy is when you go through customs or when you go through security, I should say, and you've got a tail, take off your shoes if they have laces. I've often said to myself, I just need a pair of travel shoes that slip on and off very easily. And I remember flying with an airline and they gave me a little kit where I could. Where in the kit you had like the eye mask, you had lotion, lotion earphones, and they had plain sauce, plain slippers or plain socks. And it was plain socks, actually. And I thought this was, this is such a great idea. And I loved putting on those plain socks and just having them. And I said, I always bring this little kit with me. It's upstairs in my room somewhere. And I never bring it with me. But I do travel with compression socks. So when I'm on a plane, I always travel with compression socks. My mother in law was the one who introduced me to these compression socks. And it's funny because talking to a friend of mine, I say, I never travel on a plane without compression socks. They said to me, marco, you sound like you're 80 years old. And I'm like, no. When you fly with compression socks, it's the world of difference. Now, do you own a pair of compression socks?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: What they do is they really snugly hug your calf and leg, like however long mine are, like just under the knee the sock will go. So it'll really tightly sort of squeeze or hug your calf and your foot. And it's great to. In avoiding blood clots. You know how on long plane rides they say to walk around?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, compression socks help to diminish that. And what they do for me is when I get off the plane. So let's say it's a five or seven hour plane ride and I get to my hotel room, the minute I take off my socks, my feet feel relaxed and refreshed. They don't feel tired, they don't, they don't feel bloated, they don't feel heavy. They feel like as if I was home. And I just, you know, put on a pair of runners.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's, you know what, I'm gonna, I'm gonna take that advice next time because I did find that this time when I was traveling that, yeah, my feet started to get a little bit sore.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it's the first time that that's happened.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I recommend compression socks. Now. There are different types of compression socks that are better than others. So, you know, depending on the type that you want, some work can be really tight and the thing about compression socks that I will say is when you fold your socks. First of all, let me ask, how do you fold your socks?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I. And I know that this is controversial because it's probably not the best way, but I bunch them up.
>> Marco Timpano: You turn them inside out?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, I turn them inside out. You got it.
>> Marco Timpano: I do, too.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But I've been reading the book by Maria Kondo or Marie Kondo. Everyone's sort of talking about. About tidying. 1. She said you should have respect for your socks and you should never turn them inside out.
>> Nidhi Khanna: How are you supposed to fold them then?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you're supposed to. And I had to actually watch a video on how she folded them because I was like, if you fold socks and you put them in your drawer, they're gonna fall apart and get mixed up, and then you're not gonna. You know how you're always moving, missing a sock, and it's like, is it in the laundry? Did it get dry? Where did it go? And then it'll turn up somewhere else, and you're like, where's its match? And the most logical way to deal with this is to turn it inside out.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it.
>> Marco Timpano: But it stretches. It stretches the elastic, the elastic of the. Of the sock. And that happens with compression socks. And you don't want to do that. So what I do with my compression socks is I'll either tie them together or. Or I have a little plastic. I don't even know what you would call it, but it's a sock holder that I kind of put them. I kind of put both socks through it. It's almost like, you know, when you get a bag of milk and the. And what's interesting is our listeners might be a bag of milk, who gets magnet, of course. But in Canada, we have our milk in little bags, and I invite you to check that out online so you can see exactly what we're talking about. But it's sort of like the little tab that holds the bag that the milk bags come in.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What would you call that little plasticky thing?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there's no word for it. So that little plasticky thing that holds, you know, it's the same thing that if you get bread in a bag, it holds the bag together and it'll save the day.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's like a twist tie, but it's not. It's like.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a plastic twist tie is the best way to describe it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, listen, I want to thank. Thank our listeners who have joined us today. On the Insomnia Project.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We hope you've, you know, drifted off into a slumber.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you haven't, thank you for listening to our conversation. We do invite you to tell us what you'd like to hear us talk about, so feel free to tweet us at listenandsleep. Check us [email protected] and tune in next next time on our next podcast.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We look forward to
>> Marco Timpano: conversing and having you listen. And we're the only podcast that, as producers and hosts, we hope you never get to the end of. So we know we've done a good job if this podcast just plays and sort of ends and goes to the next podcast episode, and you wake up at some point having had restful sleep till then. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I am your co host, Nidhina.
>> Marco Timpano: And we hope you listen and sleep.
TEA, SOCKS & the "Moment Before"
original airdate: Jan 25, 2016
>> Speaker A: Why choose a Sleep Number Smart bed Can I make my site softer?
recorded on January 24 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, listen and we'll have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise you is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off. Thank you. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm Your host, Marco Timpano, and I'm
>> Nidhi Khanna: your co host, Nidhi Khanna. Feel free to check us out [email protected] or tweet us at Listen and sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Nidhi, how's your day going?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So far so good, Marco. It's been a bit of a lazy afternoon, which I sort of like. You need one of those every once in a while where you just curl up with a blanket, a little bit of Netflix or a book, whatever you want in this day and age. And a cup of tea.
>> Marco Timpano: What tea are you drinking these days?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm always a big fan of a chai, so I like to make my own chai.
>> Marco Timpano: Really? So tell me about your chai and how you make it. Because if I understand correctly, everyone makes in India makes their own chai, correct?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Most of the time, yeah. You don't really have chai lattes or anything like that.
>> Marco Timpano: So what is a chai then? For people who aren't exactly sure what a chai is, other than the chai lattes that they get at various coffee houses.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So a chai really is a tea that has been spiced, essentially. It is the Hindi word for tea.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, chay is.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So it's a bit of. It's a bit redundant to say a
>> Marco Timpano: chai tea because you're basically saying tea tea, but two languages, you got it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I usually have in my mixture of chai, you know, cloves and cardamom and ginger. I love ginger tea, so I put a lot of ginger, some sea cinnamon and some nutmeg sometimes. So really depends on if you want something that's a bit more sweet or something that's a bit more earthy and bitter, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. So you like these different spices, I guess you could say, and flavorings like ginger in your tea, in your chai, I should say. Do you add milk to it?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do. So that's one of the big things about Indian tea is that you always add milk to. And I really enjoy it with, you know, a thicker milk. I don't, I don't particularly like it with skim milk. It has to be like 1% or 2% milk. And then you usually have it with sugar, even if it's just a tiny bit of sugar, just to taste. And that's how I like it. I love the spices because I find it very warming and very soothing, as opposed to, for example, an Earl Grey, which I find a little too light, not robust enough for me.
>> Marco Timpano: You were recently in England. Now, did you partake in tea time over there?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I did, Marco. I'm a big fan of tea time. And, of course, the English do their tea time in the most spectacular way, and they have so many different types of tea. If you go to all these different retailers or even what you get in the grocery store is pretty good tea in comparison to what you might get over here. But I very, very much enjoy sort of the scones and the cookies and the little cucumber sandwiches that might come along with the tea. So how about you? What's your favorite tea?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting. I have different teas for different times of day, so I like a breakfast tea for breakfast. I know that sounds very boring, but there's just something about a nice black tea that's not infused with too much. Like, for example, an Earl Grey has that wonderful essence of bergamot that I really enjoy. It's just in the morning, I want it to be very subtle, let's say. Right. And I like to add milk myself. I like a milky tea. And either honey or sugar. I'm trying to get off sugar, so I'm using more honeys. And I know with my coffee, I've been actually using condensed milk, so I'm not using any additional sweetener other than the condensed milk, which is a sweet milk. Right. So I think Vietnamese coffee tends to be coffee that where they use condensed milk. And I had it once in a Vietnamese restaurant, so I've incorporated it into my coffee drinking. And then later in the day, I'll be more. More inclined to have a Earl Grey tea or a flavored tea of some sort. One of my favorite teas, which is really difficult to find, is a tea that's been infused with rose petals. I love the flavor of rose petals. I know, it's. It's a weird sort of flavor to really resonate with someone like myself. I never would have thought I would enjoy the taste of roses, but there's something about a subtle flavor of rose in my tea that I really enjoy. And so I've tried to replicate it with a bit of rose water. For people who aren't familiar, rose water is a water that's been flavored with rose petals and is used, I believe, in a lot of Middle Eastern sweets. So, like, Turkish Delight, I think, is often infused with that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. And there's some Lebanese sweets, I believe, that also have rose water. In India, it's used quite frequently.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is it? Yeah. In desserts.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In desserts and in drinks. So some Sort of dessert type drinks will also have rose water. Yeah, it's, it's a pretty common ingredient I guess you can say. So I very much enjoy rose water as well. So I am not surprised by that. But I understand that some of our listeners might be thinking we're a little bit off the wall with our rose rose water.
>> Marco Timpano: I know and it's funny, different times of the year spark different resonance with teas that I enjoy. So for example, I love a rooibos tea in the summertime and I love to chill or ice a rooibos tea. And rooibos teas are teas that are made, I think it's a plant, a rooibos plant. So it's not quite. Or it's kind of like a spiny bush. And so the leaves of that bush are such that they can never be over steeped. And if you've ever over steeped a tea, it becomes very rich in tannins. And some people like a really strongly steeped tea. I don't. And therefore the rooibos tea in the summertime and it makes the tea a little bit more on the orange side versus on the, you know, brownie kind of tea, tea stained, I guess, tea colored side. So I love a rooibos tea in the warm, in the, in the warmer months and, and I like to ice it. I'm not a huge fan of green teas. How do you feel about green teas?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, green teas can be a bit difficult. I don't know, I have a little bit of a love hate relationship with them because I think their health properties and their oxidization properties are really, really wonderful. However, I find it a little bit too bitter for my taste. And again, cause I'm so used to putting milk in my tea, I find it a little difficult to have that.
>> Marco Timpano: For me green teas have a very fishy fishiness about them. So it reminds me a little bit of miso and I don't know, there's something about green teas that is a little bit off putting. I can't quite figure figure out what it is about green teas that doesn't work for me. And I've tried matcha teas and I've tried, you know, a green tea kind of. I don't know if it's a ceremony or what they call it, but when you whisk the tea like when there's a, there's they have this little bamboo whisker and they'll take a bit of the green tea and when I Say they. It's been at specialty tea shops where they'll do this for you and they'll. They'll sort of whip the green tea powder with warm water until it's frothy, and then they'll serve it to you that way. And. And I've tried to like it. I've added a bit of sweetener to it, and it just. It just isn't my preferred tea. It's not that I dislike it, it's just not the tea I would go for. Same with white teas. I prefer a black tea over a white tea and over an herbal tea, unless I'm feeling a little under the weather.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Can we go back to Rooibos for a moment?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, of course. Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I noticed that you called it Rooibos. I've heard it pronounced different ways. Do you know the exact pronunciation?
>> Marco Timpano: I always thought it was Rooibos. I thought because. And I could be wrong. Rooibos. T is a South African tea.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: So I don't know if it comes from a South African word or. But it's. It's. When you look at Rooibos, when you look at the actual word, it has a really unique sort of spelling because it has so many O's and O's in it as R, O, O, I, B, O, O, S, I believe, is how it's spelled. So it's really quite interesting to see that T when you see the name of it, because you're like, wow, this has a lot of vowels in it, a lot of O's in it, and it's like, how do I pronounce Rooibos now? I think I saw it phonetically spelled, and that's why I say. Some people say Roy Bose Brobos, but I think it's. I think it's Rooibos.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, I agree. Speaking of South Africa, have you ever been to South Africa?
>> Marco Timpano: I haven't been to South Africa. It's one of the countries that I would really love to visit because having had friends go to South Africa, when they come back, they're like, Marco, you know, South Africa is not only very beautiful, but it has a real distinct quality to it. And I don't know if you've been to countries where it's like, oh, this place is so uniquely Venice. For example, when you're in Venice, you're like, okay, there's no other place like Venice. Unless you're in Las Vegas and you see, you know, the Venetian Hotel, and you're like, okay, this is kind of replicating Vegas. But yet again, when you're in Vegas, it's like, okay, this is Vegas. There's no other place like Vegas. But you could be in a city like Toronto, where we're recording from. And people will say it often reminds them of Chicago or other cities, cities, Northeastern North American cities. And there's some places, and I was told Johannesburg in South Africa is very much like that, where it's like, okay, you are in South Africa, you're in Johannesburg. It's very unique. Have you been?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not been. I actually have a friend of mine, a very close friend of mine who was born there, and then she was adopted and moved to Canada, but she went back, and she still goes back, I believe. So it's one of those places that I would love to go back with her because she. I think she grew up there for a few years before they moved to Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: It's always great to go to a city with someone who knows it well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: You experience it in such a different light. I don't know if that was a recent experience of yours in England and if you have any examples of.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Of that. Well, England's a little bit different for me because I used to live there.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So. But that being said, because I still have friends there, it's very easy for me to go to, you know, the newer, more interesting restaurants or if there is a very cool exhibit or a piece of theater. They just know what's happening in the city. So I don't have to rely on a concierge or third party. Third party is telling me what might be interesting. Like, they know who I am and they know what I like. So it really makes it a fuller experience, especially when it comes to food, because I find food to be a very important part of my traveling experiences. And so that has been my experience with some of those places, but with a lot of places, actually, because I'm fortunate enough to have people that I know in those areas already. So, as you say, it really does change the experience.
>> Marco Timpano: We were talking before we actually started recording, about the moment before and talking about the moment before a certain event and what the feeling you have the moment before, let's say a doctor's appointment, when they're gonna call you in, or the moment before you are in a line at the. You know, getting your license renewed and just being in that moment before, or the moment before you get on the bus when you're waiting for the bus, or the moment before you, you know, are checked in at a grocery store. I wanted to ask you about the Moment before seeing a theatrical play in England versus seeing the moment before seeing a theatrical play in North America. If there is a difference, what was the moment before for you when you went to see a play in England?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I think England is an interesting place to see a theatrical presentation because the moment before is very different from other places in the world because it really is the birthplace of sort of our understanding of how we write a play in this modern world, at least from a North American perspective or a, like a Western perspective and an English perspective, English language perspective. So to see, to see, you know, Dame Judi Dench on stage and Kenneth Branagh on stage and to see them work together is very different than seeing a fringe show or seeing a Mirvis production. Because there's an anticipation. There's an anticipation. You have these icons of acting and both film and stage performance that you're actually able to witness live. I think it's similar probably to some of the shows that might be seen on Broadway or New York, but I still think it's a little bit different just because it's a different type of show that I think you are more likely to see see on the London stage. Like the amount of Shakespeare that's just everyday playing and that people go to.
>> Marco Timpano: I wonder how much that is a difference of, you know, when you go see something in your own city versus going to see something in another city, if the moment before is impacted by the location of where you are. Because, for example, in England you are. Are sort of on vacation. You're not. That's not the city where you work, right? Absolutely. So you have more of a relaxed attitude, I guess you could say, or you have a little bit less of a. I live here, so you've got to impress me because, you know, this is where I live and I may know or may encounter you, the performer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So you're right. You know what? You. You're a bit kinder or a bit more open to what you're about to see versus maybe the city that you're. You're in.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That you live in. That's. That's an interesting perspective. I never thought about that, but that's. That's very true. How about you? What is, what is. Do you, do you see a lot of theater when you're traveling?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting. I will see depending on the city that I'm in. So if I'm in a place like London or New York, I really try to, to go see some theater because, you know, it's going to be some of the best that you'll encounter, if not through the performance, at the very least with the sort of set, the backdrop or the quality of the actual piece. But when I go to other countries, I try to see what they do well. So for example, when we were in Spain, we we really wanted to sort of see the architecture in Barcelona because of, you know, all the Gaudi architecture that's there. We made that and food a priority. And then we also saw a bunch of different art as well. So we would go to the various galleries and whatnot. Depending on the city that we're in. We try to, or at least I try to reflect that in what we're going to see.
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>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you this. When you travel, do you have any rituals you do on the plane prior to takeoff?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know Margo, that's an interesting question. I do have some rituals. I used to be a very nervous flier and I was really proud because in this most recent trip I was not anxious at all. And I think part of that was my mindset going in and I read up a lot about on like planes and the mechanics and you know, particularly about turbulence, etc. To calm my mind. And then while on the plane I always have a ritual where I need to take out of my purse my iPhone, my iPhone, the headset. I need to like the magazines that I have with me. Like anything that I feel I'm gonna be using on the journey needs to be in the front pocket and readily accessible. And then I always look and see what movies are gonna be playing. And I have usually my movies laid out so that I have an itinerary of what I will be viewing and in what order. And then I just like to sit back and relax.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. I. I love to have a book when I fly because I feel it's a very easy way to get hypnotized into the words on the page when you can't sleep on a plane. What I do is I'll. I'll be the only person, you know, that one person who has the light on them reading a book and everyone else sort of in dark. Yeah, that's my experience as well, of course. So I usually like to have my book somewhere nearby, whether it be in the front pocket or I'll usually put it right beside me on the seat, sort of between me and the person who's sitting next to me so that I always have it accessible. I know that my wife has a ritual that she has a knitted hat that she has. So kind of like. I don't know what you would say, almost like a toque, but a knitted hat that I think her sister knit her. And she will bring a scarf with her. And even if it's summertime, she has this knitted hat and scarf. And what she'll do is she'll take the scarf and she'll put it inside the hat and she'll use that as a pillow. And the interesting thing about that is a hat and a scarf are very easy things to travel with because when the weather is, you know, not extremely warm, you can put the hat and have the scarf on. When the weather is warm in the summertime, she'll stuff it in the pocket of her jacket or in the front of her purse, let's say it doesn't take up much room. And there you go. And she has her little pillow for her on the plane. And she'll always say to me, do you want me to bring a hat and a scarf for you? I say, no. And then she's like, because you're not going to use mine. And sure enough, when we go on the plane, and I'll say to her, can I borrow your hat and scarf? And that's sort of another ritual that I do on the plane when I travel with my wife.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you. Do you do anything with socks? Like some people have plain socks?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, you know, I. I would love to have plain socks or plain slippers, because one of the things that drives me a little crazy is when you go through customs or when you go through security, I should say, and you've got a tail, take off your shoes if they have laces. I've often said to myself, I just need a pair of travel shoes that slip on and off very easily. And I remember flying with an airline and they gave me a little kit where I could. Where in the kit you had like the eye mask, you had lotion, lotion earphones, and they had plain sauce, plain slippers or plain socks. And it was plain socks, actually. And I thought this was, this is such a great idea. And I loved putting on those plain socks and just having them. And I said, I always bring this little kit with me. It's upstairs in my room somewhere. And I never bring it with me. But I do travel with compression socks. So when I'm on a plane, I always travel with compression socks. My mother in law was the one who introduced me to these compression socks. And it's funny because talking to a friend of mine, I say, I never travel on a plane without compression socks. They said to me, marco, you sound like you're 80 years old. And I'm like, no. When you fly with compression socks, it's the world of difference. Now, do you own a pair of compression socks?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: What they do is they really snugly hug your calf and leg, like however long mine are, like just under the knee the sock will go. So it'll really tightly sort of squeeze or hug your calf and your foot. And it's great to. In avoiding blood clots. You know how on long plane rides they say to walk around?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, compression socks help to diminish that. And what they do for me is when I get off the plane. So let's say it's a five or seven hour plane ride and I get to my hotel room, the minute I take off my socks, my feet feel relaxed and refreshed. They don't feel tired, they don't, they don't feel bloated, they don't feel heavy. They feel like as if I was home. And I just, you know, put on a pair of runners.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's, you know what, I'm gonna, I'm gonna take that advice next time because I did find that this time when I was traveling that, yeah, my feet started to get a little bit sore.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it's the first time that that's happened.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. I recommend compression socks. Now. There are different types of compression socks that are better than others. So, you know, depending on the type that you want, some work can be really tight and the thing about compression socks that I will say is when you fold your socks. First of all, let me ask, how do you fold your socks?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I. And I know that this is controversial because it's probably not the best way, but I bunch them up.
>> Marco Timpano: You turn them inside out?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, I turn them inside out. You got it.
>> Marco Timpano: I do, too.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: But I've been reading the book by Maria Kondo or Marie Kondo. Everyone's sort of talking about. About tidying. 1. She said you should have respect for your socks and you should never turn them inside out.
>> Nidhi Khanna: How are you supposed to fold them then?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you're supposed to. And I had to actually watch a video on how she folded them because I was like, if you fold socks and you put them in your drawer, they're gonna fall apart and get mixed up, and then you're not gonna. You know how you're always moving, missing a sock, and it's like, is it in the laundry? Did it get dry? Where did it go? And then it'll turn up somewhere else, and you're like, where's its match? And the most logical way to deal with this is to turn it inside out.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it.
>> Marco Timpano: But it stretches. It stretches the elastic, the elastic of the. Of the sock. And that happens with compression socks. And you don't want to do that. So what I do with my compression socks is I'll either tie them together or. Or I have a little plastic. I don't even know what you would call it, but it's a sock holder that I kind of put them. I kind of put both socks through it. It's almost like, you know, when you get a bag of milk and the. And what's interesting is our listeners might be a bag of milk, who gets magnet, of course. But in Canada, we have our milk in little bags, and I invite you to check that out online so you can see exactly what we're talking about. But it's sort of like the little tab that holds the bag that the milk bags come in.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What would you call that little plasticky thing?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, gosh.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, there's no word for it. So that little plasticky thing that holds, you know, it's the same thing that if you get bread in a bag, it holds the bag together and it'll save the day.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's like a twist tie, but it's not. It's like.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a plastic twist tie is the best way to describe it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: So anyways, listen, I want to thank. Thank our listeners who have joined us today. On the Insomnia Project.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We hope you've, you know, drifted off into a slumber.
>> Marco Timpano: And if you haven't, thank you for listening to our conversation. We do invite you to tell us what you'd like to hear us talk about, so feel free to tweet us at listenandsleep. Check us [email protected] and tune in next next time on our next podcast.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We look forward to
>> Marco Timpano: conversing and having you listen. And we're the only podcast that, as producers and hosts, we hope you never get to the end of. So we know we've done a good job if this podcast just plays and sort of ends and goes to the next podcast episode, and you wake up at some point having had restful sleep till then. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I am your co host, Nidhina.
>> Marco Timpano: And we hope you listen and sleep.
Eggs, A Good Swim & Background Noise | Insomnia Project
originally airdate: Jan 31 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise you is that our conversation will be less than fascinating. So you can feel free to to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna. Find us [email protected] or tweet us at Listen and Sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to start today's podcast, Nidhi talking to you about eggs. We just finished having a quiche for dinner. Yeah, and it's a popular thing to have breakfast for dinner and I was just fascinated because we were having the conversation how this particular quiche didn't have too much in it to distract from the flavor of the eggs and what a unique thing an egg is. You know, they come in different colors. In the carton you can get white ones or brown ones. And I don't know if you've ever seen a. A hen that makes green or kind of blue eggs. Have you ever seen a blue egg?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No.
>> Marco Timpano: A lot of sort of those particular hens, I forget what they call them, but like show hens or certain types of hens will lay different color eggs. So some will be a little bit off white. And I've seen blue, not quite like a robin's egg, but it's still in that blue and kind of green color.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you know why eggs have different colors? Like when I go to the store and I see white eggs and brown eggs, is that. Do you know why?
>> Marco Timpano: I think it has a lot to the hens diet. So if they're eating corn versus, let's say grass and whatever else hens eat, like worms and other grains, I think that informs the color of the egg. Because I know in Europe, for example, you tend to see more brown eggs versus in North America, we tend to see the white egg. And we're talking, of course, about the shell. So before you even crack the egg, the color, the color that it is. Now, I know a ducks. A duck egg is longer, if you will, so it's a. It's a bigger egg, but it actually has more of a longness to the oval shape that it has.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And its sort of content is a lot richer, let's say, even when you cook with a duck's egg.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So recently, Marco, you know, I went to a restaurant with some friends of ours and we had duck egg based dishes. Yes, it was the first time that I had ever had duck eggs in my breakfast repertoire. I enjoyed it. Yeah, I didn't think I would. But what were you expecting?
>> Marco Timpano: Because that's always, that's always a good question. Because, you know, it's often the unknown that you sort of question. You have a sort of preconceived idea and then when you actually encounter it, it can often be different in a pleasant way compared to what you thought it would be.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I. You know what, to be honest, I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting. I knew I wasn't expecting it to be, as you say, as rich or as creamy as the consistency was. So that was surprising to me. Yeah, I guess that was about it. I just don't associate anything other than a hen's egg with breakfast.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. What about a quail's egg? Have you ever had a. Now, a quail's egg is. I don't know if you've ever seen it. They're obviously small, like, because it's. A quail is a small, small fowl speckled and brown. It's actually really pretty when you look at a quail egg. And oftentimes in. In certain places, they'll, like, fry a quail egg and they'll put it on top of something. And it's really kind of cute because it looks like a miniature version of the hen's egg that we're all used to seeing.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And it is. Also has a nice little flavor to it as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not tried a quail's egg, but when you say speckled in its color in the shell, it's funny because it reminds me of when I was growing up and in school we had. I had a Ukrainian classmate, and she used to bring around Easter time the Ukrainian Pinsky. Oh, is that what they're called?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, who can do pinsky?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Who's that? Myself, Yours truly. Are you kidding?
>> Marco Timpano: I've done it. I wouldn't say I'm a master at it, but when I was young, about five or seven, they used to do these commercials or these public service announcements, and I couldn't even tell you what it. What it was for. I don't think it was even a public service announcement announcement. I think it was a Canadian heritage moment. And because there's a lot of people in Saskatchewan from the Ukraine, they were focusing on these Pinskis and these Ukrainian eggs that are multicolored and black being a lot of the base of these colors that as a child, I always wanted to do those Easter eggs or those Pinsky as Easter eggs. But when you're a child, you just get the dyes that are different colors so you can color your egg maybe blue, maybe purple, and some of them might allow you to do little specks of other colors, but that was it. And I always remember being disappointed about that. And so, years and years later, I happen to be walking on Queen street, which happens to be a pretty interesting street here in Toronto from where we broadcast. And I noticed that they had a Pinsky kit. So I purchased a book and I purchased the various colors that I wanted to dye the eggs. Now, do you have any idea what goes into making one of those eggs?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know the specifics of it, but I can imagine that it would be quite Quite laborious.
>> Marco Timpano: It took me about an hour each egg. So what you do is you create the dyes. And in this particular case, we had little tablets that I would put in different water with a bit of, I want to say, vinegar. And then you have. And I'm afraid I don't remember the name of the instrument, but if our listeners do know the name of the instrument and they want to put it on our Twitter, you can do that at Listen and Sleep. And you can remind me what the name of the instrument is. It kind of looks like a little wooden peg, let's say, with a copper funnel on the end. And what you do is you heat up wax and you take this little funnel and you dip it in the wax. So the wax is in the funnel. Then you take your egg, and with the wax, you color the design that you want to appear on the egg. So, for example, if you want, let's say, white lines to circle your egg, you would take the wax and cover the white egg with those lines. Then you would take the egg and you would dip it in the next color that you want to appear on the egg. So let's say you go from white to yellow because you have to go from lighter colors to the darkest color. Once the egg is dyed, you remove it from the yellow dye. You take your. Your wax once again and you color in whatever or you cover with wax, whatever you want to remain yellow. So now your egg has a bit of wax where the white would be, a little wax where the yellow would be. You dip it in red dye, let's say. So now we've dipped it in red dye. You make further designs with the wax on the egg, constantly sort of scribbling with this little funnel of wax onto the color of red that you want covered by wax. You then take the egg, you place it in another color, let's say purple. This point now you're making swirls and dots in purple with the wax. You take it and then you put in the darkest color, black. And there's so many colors you can choose from that it doesn't have to be in that order, but I was just going in order of colors that tend to be darker. Now the. Now the egg is bean dyed black. You remove the egg, and now the egg has all this wax on it, so you can't really see the colors because there's a bit of the black dye that's gone on the wax. What you now have to do is have a candle hold the egg to the candle close so that the wax that has been on the candle will now melt, and with another sort of paper towel, you remove the wax as it melts to reveal the egg, which is now colored. And it is a long, laborious way to make a pinsky Easter egg. But the result is really, really beautiful.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's fascinating in its own right.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. You know, it's funny because I haven't spoken about doing this egg, and it must have been easily 10 years ago that I did it, and I never did it after because it took so long and it would take hours, and I made maybe a dozen eggs. And you have to hollow out the egg, too, by making a hole in either side and blowing out the content. So that was not easy. But definitely I do have respect for those eggs. Whenever I see them and they're selling them for $25, I think to myself, that is a bargain, because I could not sell mine for less than 100. After an hour, sometimes two hours working on one egg and just melting the wax away and trying not to burn the egg by putting it too close to the candle really goes to show
>> Nidhi Khanna: how handcrafted goods these days really don't get the recognition they deserve. Right? Because that was just one hour.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Nidhi Khanna: On this egg.
>> Marco Timpano: I will say this. You know, it's funny because now with Etsy and whatnot, we're seeing a lot more of that come to the surface, where people are making their own items. I have a friend who makes her own little furniture pieces that she sells on Etsy, and I look at them, and I think to myself, wow, it's absolutely gorgeous what. What. What she's doing. I don't know if you can hear in the background a little bit of a buzzing sound. That's our computer. It's interesting. We were talking about background noise on podcasts and just background noises in general.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, Marco, when you were talking about the Ukrainian eggs, the Pinskis, I was a little bit distracted by that background noise. And it's interesting to me because background noises are kind of a funny thing. You don't really realize they're there until you have a moment where you can focus on them, because even right now, we're talking, but in the back of my mind, or some auditory part of my mind, I can hear this buzzing in the room, which I think is from a lamp.
>> Marco Timpano: An ambient sound from. From a lamp, of course.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So it's really interesting that we can have all these different sounds kind of being around us, but yet we're focused on our voices right now, and we're kind of split in our mind, like our auditory sense is sort of split between all these things. But it's funny because when we started recording, I hadn't heard the fan. But the minute I became focused on it, now I can't stop hearing it.
>> Speaker A: To tip off this NBA season on FanDuel, you can choose your own rewards, which means you can play your game any way you want.
>> Marco Timpano: I get to choose my rewards?
>> Speaker A: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Great. Now excuse me while I lock in all customers.
>> Speaker A: Choose your own reward right now in the FanDuel app 21 in present in select states, 18 in Kentucky. Opt in required rewards are non withdrawn. Restrictions apply including bonus and token expiration, leg requirement and max wager amount. See full [email protected] sportsbook gambling problem. Call 1-800-G GAMBLER
>> Marco Timpano: you know, it's interesting. Like I have a tendency to have a pen in my hand and I'm always kind of jotting things down. And as we're talking, sometimes I don't want to forget a thought, so I'll quickly jot it down. But as you witnessed on the previous episode, I will sometimes drop my pen
>> Nidhi Khanna: and I will always take it away from you. And then he'll go and get another pen.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I have a bout. I have about 15, 15 different color pens at my reach. And even though my argument has always been once again, our listeners can chime in on Twitter or send us an email with regards to this. I can test that even if I drop my pen and listen closely because I'll be dropping my pen right now just to make that that point. So that's me dropping my pen and that's from a height. This will be more how I drop it. Like if I'm writing it and it drops. So that's the sound of my dropping pen. In my opinion, those sounds in a podcast are actually welcome. Because the difference for me between a podcast and let's say a radio transmission is that it's the lesser amount of polish that's on a podcast that makes it very listenable and more intimate with the listener. So you could be walking to your bus, let's say, listening to the podcast. In our case, you could be lying, lying hopefully in bed or on a plane, let's say trying to relax, trying to fall asleep and you're listening and it sort of connects you with the host better.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure, sure, it gives it a bit of a character, different character than you would might get on a radio. But see, we're gonna hear some ambient sound now too. And I wonder if the listeners will be able to hear this, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. You know, it's interesting. When you're doing a podcast from Studio versus from your home studio, every little thing that you hear in the background, you think, oh, will that pick up on the microphone? Lights being turned on and off or neighbors opening their doors or whatnot? So we have a great microphone, and hopefully it won't pick that up, but it picks us up. But it's. It's interesting that we got on this topic of background noise, because background noise, I think, can really add to an experience. Whether you're, let's say, watching a theatrical production or film. What's going on that background or what a Foley artist does can really make. Make your production stand out or make it feel lacking.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I think it's those. It's the things that you're not noticing, so. Or that you're not focused on that in a movie situation or in a theater, really, the subconscious is picking that up and is making it real for you. So I think the experience is a lot more in depth or robust when you have sort of that ambient sound in the background.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What do you think, Marco, about white noise?
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting. White noise doesn't do much for me. I know some people swear by it. I know for children, a lot of parents will say white noise really helped them because it would relax their kids or help them fall asleep and whatnot. My fear with white noise is getting used to it. And then what happens when the white noise isn't there?
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I never thought about that.
>> Marco Timpano: I. I hesitate with white noise because what necessary what may relax you or put you in a state of relaxation might not relax me. I was in a room once with someone who had some, like, thunderstorm white noises, and I was like, this would not relax me at all. But I guess it's how you associate
>> Nidhi Khanna: yourself with that sound. It's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Running water or the sounds of a lapping ocean. Like, if you are not a good swimmer or scared of the ocean, it might not be what works for you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: True. Or if, like yourself, you haven't learned to swim.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. It's interesting because my sister is a lifeguard.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is she really?
>> Marco Timpano: My wife is a very accomplished swimmer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you a good swimmer?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am a good swimmer.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your favorite stroke to do?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think breaststroke.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. I think I found it manageable. Easy. I haven't. I swim off and on now, but when I was younger, I was. I think I had my first certification to be a lifeguard. And so I really did enjoy swimming. So for me, I don't know that breaststroke is just something that you would do in the ocean, something that you do in the lake. It has. It evokes very good memories for me.
>> Marco Timpano: What would be your least favorite stroke?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, I have to say I'm not the biggest fan of, like, your regular fast stroke that you normally do. So you're just your regular swimmer stroke. That's the first one that you learn how to do. I think it's because, for me, swimming is always very recreational and leisurely, but I find that stroke just becomes very competitive because it's what you use. Like, it's what competitive swimmers use. And you're constantly racing with someone. So I like the backstroke. I like the side stroke. I like these more melodic strokes.
>> Marco Timpano: If you will tell me about a time when you had a great swimming experience.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Or a very memorable one.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So we swam with dolphins in India when I was a kid.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. So we just happened to be swimming in the oceans, and thank goodness that it was dolphins that came up to us and not sharks. But, yeah, that was a really cool experience.
>> Marco Timpano: So what happened? You were. Explain to me what you were doing.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So we were.
>> Marco Timpano: Where were you?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So we were in Goa.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Not like Juhu Beach.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, not Juror Beach.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we were on a friend's boat and we happened to be swimming in the ocean and these dolphins sort of came nearby, and I don't remember too much, but I remember the vividness of the ocean, of it being incredibly blue. I remember the sun being incredibly bright and warm and inviting, and I just remember happiness. I don't remember. I don't remember the exact moment of the experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Who spotted the dolphins first?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think it must have been my dad.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So we were all in the water, and I think it was that moment of like, what are. Wait, are these dolphins or are these. But once they realized that, what's it
>> Marco Timpano: like swimming with dolphins for, you know, for everyone? It's sort of like the one thing that you think it's calm and peaceful.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I think, you know, because I was so, like, because I was young, it was exciting, right? Because dolphins are these seemingly cute, fun, protective animals, right? Or mammals, I should say. And so they were. They were. They had that dolphin laugh, for lack of a better word. You know, they have that.
>> Marco Timpano: You could hear that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course, the do. The sound of the dolphin.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The sound of the dolphin, essentially. But, yeah, it was really extraordinary because it was just a really soothing, beautiful moment.
>> Marco Timpano: I Swam once, and I got to see squid in the water. Oh, I. I was snorkeling in,
>> Nidhi Khanna: I
>> Marco Timpano: want to say, the British Virgin Islands, and we're snorkeling, and I'm not a strong swimmer, as you know, where you were talking about different strokes. I'm lucky if I can just doggy paddle my way sure to shore. But when you snorkel, you don't necessarily have to be in deep water. And all I know is I look ahead of me and I can see these things sort of, like moving, sort of. It almost seemed like they would take one swim, beat forward and two back, and then one forward, and when I say forward away from me. So it looked like they were in front of me, but they were constantly sort of bobbing back and forth, back and forth and getting further away. And you look at it and you're like, what's that? And you're like, that's strange. And you're like, oh, my goodness, it's squid. And then you think, what am I gonna have for dinner? And all I wanted was kalamati for dinner because I saw them in the ocean.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But.
>> Marco Timpano: But that is my encounter with. With sea life.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So speaking of sort of these moments that. Well, at least for me, in terms of swimming with the dolphins that were a bit calm and. And serene in a way, I also find that, like, driving can be that way.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Driving on a highway, driving in the country, just that long open road when you're driving. I feel like that can also evoke, like, a sense of just serenity in a way.
>> Marco Timpano: I know that when I was driving through New Brunswick in particular, it had a bit of a hypnotic effect where you're driving and you're encountering trees upon trees and you're doing a similar sort of turn downhill. You turn a corner, you're going downhill, or you're going up, uphill, and you're surrounded by dreams. It can get very sort of hypnotic and lovely depending on the time of the year that you're driving. Or it could. It could also, like, sort of. You've got to be cautious because it could lull you into sleep driving in those conditions. But I find, you know, there is that sort of quality of relaxation when you're on a highway and you're driving and you've got a long, long stretch to drive.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I often drive. There's a stretch of highway between Toronto, where we're broadcasting from, and Montreal, where I was born and raised. I often do that stretch of highway back and forth quite often, and it's It's. It's a pretty boring drive, people would say, because it's just a stretch of road and it's, as you say, the trees. And there's not a lot of channels, changes in elevation or scenery or landscape. So it's one of those drives that could, as you say, put you in that hypnotic state. And, you know, when you have sort of like the soothing music playing or when you have even someone sleeping next to you in the car, it can really be, as you say, something that you have to watch out for. But I always find, though, when I'm a passenger, I can fall asleep in a car in a second.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think I'm just one of those people who can fall asleep. Like, I can't fall asleep on a plane or.
>> Marco Timpano: But in a car you can.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But in a car, I can fall asleep in a second. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I wish I could. I know that, you know, you talking about driving to Montreal reminds me of when I was in Italy last year and we would drive on the highway and one of the things we look so forward to was, once again, you're on these highways and you're driving and you're seeing towns that, you know, you've heard of or you've read about, and you're like, oh, I wonder what it would be to get off in Verona or wherever. And one of the joys about driving in Europe and in Italy in this particular case is you would drive and you would pull over to what they call an auto stop, an auto stop off, and you would get yourself a wonderful coffee, whether it be an espresso or cappuccino, and, you know, touching back with background noise. The sound of the espresso machine grinding the beans, the whoosh sound of the coffee of the milk being frothed and the clicking sound of the handle full of coffee being put into the machine. Machine. That sound alone, for me, evokes the time when we were having these wonderful roadside coffees or cappuccinos. As we were driving through the beautiful hillsides and towns of Italy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It becomes a ritual, doesn't it?
>> Marco Timpano: It does become a ritual.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Part of the ritual.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny. It's funny because I do have rituals when I'm driving to different destinations, whether it be in Canada, in the US or in Europe. Course in Italy, pulling over to have an espresso and whatnot. And in other towns, you know, pulling over when you have gas and picking the town where you're going to. I know when I'm driving in Ontario, I'LL often hit a the odometer counter, the trip counter. So I know how far it is from one road stop to the next.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, it's funny you say that, because as you know, at least once a year or twice in the summer at least, I tend to do a road trip with your wife randomly. We do these little day trips to the country close by.
>> Marco Timpano: I think you guys picked up a wardrobe or something.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We end up antiquing, etc. And there's something very serene about it to be able to just be with the open road and the sky and the beautiful landscape. So.
>> Marco Timpano: So here. Hoping that your open road tonight brought you to some sleep. We've often said this. We hope this is the podcast that you don't get to the end to, but if you did, thank you for traveling with us to this end of the podcast. Our podcast, we should mention, is under 30 minutes, because the ideal time of a short nap is between 26 and 28 minutes. And so we keep our podcast under 30 minutes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We're broadcasting from Toronto, Canada, and the ensemble new project is produced by drumcast Productions. So on behalf of Marco and myself, thanks for listening. Or better yet, thanks for falling asleep.
originally airdate: Jan 31 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise you is that our conversation will be less than fascinating. So you can feel free to to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna. Find us [email protected] or tweet us at Listen and Sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: I wanted to start today's podcast, Nidhi talking to you about eggs. We just finished having a quiche for dinner. Yeah, and it's a popular thing to have breakfast for dinner and I was just fascinated because we were having the conversation how this particular quiche didn't have too much in it to distract from the flavor of the eggs and what a unique thing an egg is. You know, they come in different colors. In the carton you can get white ones or brown ones. And I don't know if you've ever seen a. A hen that makes green or kind of blue eggs. Have you ever seen a blue egg?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No.
>> Marco Timpano: A lot of sort of those particular hens, I forget what they call them, but like show hens or certain types of hens will lay different color eggs. So some will be a little bit off white. And I've seen blue, not quite like a robin's egg, but it's still in that blue and kind of green color.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you know why eggs have different colors? Like when I go to the store and I see white eggs and brown eggs, is that. Do you know why?
>> Marco Timpano: I think it has a lot to the hens diet. So if they're eating corn versus, let's say grass and whatever else hens eat, like worms and other grains, I think that informs the color of the egg. Because I know in Europe, for example, you tend to see more brown eggs versus in North America, we tend to see the white egg. And we're talking, of course, about the shell. So before you even crack the egg, the color, the color that it is. Now, I know a ducks. A duck egg is longer, if you will, so it's a. It's a bigger egg, but it actually has more of a longness to the oval shape that it has.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And its sort of content is a lot richer, let's say, even when you cook with a duck's egg.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So recently, Marco, you know, I went to a restaurant with some friends of ours and we had duck egg based dishes. Yes, it was the first time that I had ever had duck eggs in my breakfast repertoire. I enjoyed it. Yeah, I didn't think I would. But what were you expecting?
>> Marco Timpano: Because that's always, that's always a good question. Because, you know, it's often the unknown that you sort of question. You have a sort of preconceived idea and then when you actually encounter it, it can often be different in a pleasant way compared to what you thought it would be.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I. You know what, to be honest, I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting. I knew I wasn't expecting it to be, as you say, as rich or as creamy as the consistency was. So that was surprising to me. Yeah, I guess that was about it. I just don't associate anything other than a hen's egg with breakfast.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure. What about a quail's egg? Have you ever had a. Now, a quail's egg is. I don't know if you've ever seen it. They're obviously small, like, because it's. A quail is a small, small fowl speckled and brown. It's actually really pretty when you look at a quail egg. And oftentimes in. In certain places, they'll, like, fry a quail egg and they'll put it on top of something. And it's really kind of cute because it looks like a miniature version of the hen's egg that we're all used to seeing.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And it is. Also has a nice little flavor to it as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not tried a quail's egg, but when you say speckled in its color in the shell, it's funny because it reminds me of when I was growing up and in school we had. I had a Ukrainian classmate, and she used to bring around Easter time the Ukrainian Pinsky. Oh, is that what they're called?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, who can do pinsky?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Who's that? Myself, Yours truly. Are you kidding?
>> Marco Timpano: I've done it. I wouldn't say I'm a master at it, but when I was young, about five or seven, they used to do these commercials or these public service announcements, and I couldn't even tell you what it. What it was for. I don't think it was even a public service announcement announcement. I think it was a Canadian heritage moment. And because there's a lot of people in Saskatchewan from the Ukraine, they were focusing on these Pinskis and these Ukrainian eggs that are multicolored and black being a lot of the base of these colors that as a child, I always wanted to do those Easter eggs or those Pinsky as Easter eggs. But when you're a child, you just get the dyes that are different colors so you can color your egg maybe blue, maybe purple, and some of them might allow you to do little specks of other colors, but that was it. And I always remember being disappointed about that. And so, years and years later, I happen to be walking on Queen street, which happens to be a pretty interesting street here in Toronto from where we broadcast. And I noticed that they had a Pinsky kit. So I purchased a book and I purchased the various colors that I wanted to dye the eggs. Now, do you have any idea what goes into making one of those eggs?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know the specifics of it, but I can imagine that it would be quite Quite laborious.
>> Marco Timpano: It took me about an hour each egg. So what you do is you create the dyes. And in this particular case, we had little tablets that I would put in different water with a bit of, I want to say, vinegar. And then you have. And I'm afraid I don't remember the name of the instrument, but if our listeners do know the name of the instrument and they want to put it on our Twitter, you can do that at Listen and Sleep. And you can remind me what the name of the instrument is. It kind of looks like a little wooden peg, let's say, with a copper funnel on the end. And what you do is you heat up wax and you take this little funnel and you dip it in the wax. So the wax is in the funnel. Then you take your egg, and with the wax, you color the design that you want to appear on the egg. So, for example, if you want, let's say, white lines to circle your egg, you would take the wax and cover the white egg with those lines. Then you would take the egg and you would dip it in the next color that you want to appear on the egg. So let's say you go from white to yellow because you have to go from lighter colors to the darkest color. Once the egg is dyed, you remove it from the yellow dye. You take your. Your wax once again and you color in whatever or you cover with wax, whatever you want to remain yellow. So now your egg has a bit of wax where the white would be, a little wax where the yellow would be. You dip it in red dye, let's say. So now we've dipped it in red dye. You make further designs with the wax on the egg, constantly sort of scribbling with this little funnel of wax onto the color of red that you want covered by wax. You then take the egg, you place it in another color, let's say purple. This point now you're making swirls and dots in purple with the wax. You take it and then you put in the darkest color, black. And there's so many colors you can choose from that it doesn't have to be in that order, but I was just going in order of colors that tend to be darker. Now the. Now the egg is bean dyed black. You remove the egg, and now the egg has all this wax on it, so you can't really see the colors because there's a bit of the black dye that's gone on the wax. What you now have to do is have a candle hold the egg to the candle close so that the wax that has been on the candle will now melt, and with another sort of paper towel, you remove the wax as it melts to reveal the egg, which is now colored. And it is a long, laborious way to make a pinsky Easter egg. But the result is really, really beautiful.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's fascinating in its own right.
>> Marco Timpano: And there you go. You know, it's funny because I haven't spoken about doing this egg, and it must have been easily 10 years ago that I did it, and I never did it after because it took so long and it would take hours, and I made maybe a dozen eggs. And you have to hollow out the egg, too, by making a hole in either side and blowing out the content. So that was not easy. But definitely I do have respect for those eggs. Whenever I see them and they're selling them for $25, I think to myself, that is a bargain, because I could not sell mine for less than 100. After an hour, sometimes two hours working on one egg and just melting the wax away and trying not to burn the egg by putting it too close to the candle really goes to show
>> Nidhi Khanna: how handcrafted goods these days really don't get the recognition they deserve. Right? Because that was just one hour.
>> Marco Timpano: I know.
>> Nidhi Khanna: On this egg.
>> Marco Timpano: I will say this. You know, it's funny because now with Etsy and whatnot, we're seeing a lot more of that come to the surface, where people are making their own items. I have a friend who makes her own little furniture pieces that she sells on Etsy, and I look at them, and I think to myself, wow, it's absolutely gorgeous what. What. What she's doing. I don't know if you can hear in the background a little bit of a buzzing sound. That's our computer. It's interesting. We were talking about background noise on podcasts and just background noises in general.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, Marco, when you were talking about the Ukrainian eggs, the Pinskis, I was a little bit distracted by that background noise. And it's interesting to me because background noises are kind of a funny thing. You don't really realize they're there until you have a moment where you can focus on them, because even right now, we're talking, but in the back of my mind, or some auditory part of my mind, I can hear this buzzing in the room, which I think is from a lamp.
>> Marco Timpano: An ambient sound from. From a lamp, of course.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So it's really interesting that we can have all these different sounds kind of being around us, but yet we're focused on our voices right now, and we're kind of split in our mind, like our auditory sense is sort of split between all these things. But it's funny because when we started recording, I hadn't heard the fan. But the minute I became focused on it, now I can't stop hearing it.
>> Speaker A: To tip off this NBA season on FanDuel, you can choose your own rewards, which means you can play your game any way you want.
>> Marco Timpano: I get to choose my rewards?
>> Speaker A: Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Great. Now excuse me while I lock in all customers.
>> Speaker A: Choose your own reward right now in the FanDuel app 21 in present in select states, 18 in Kentucky. Opt in required rewards are non withdrawn. Restrictions apply including bonus and token expiration, leg requirement and max wager amount. See full [email protected] sportsbook gambling problem. Call 1-800-G GAMBLER
>> Marco Timpano: you know, it's interesting. Like I have a tendency to have a pen in my hand and I'm always kind of jotting things down. And as we're talking, sometimes I don't want to forget a thought, so I'll quickly jot it down. But as you witnessed on the previous episode, I will sometimes drop my pen
>> Nidhi Khanna: and I will always take it away from you. And then he'll go and get another pen.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I have a bout. I have about 15, 15 different color pens at my reach. And even though my argument has always been once again, our listeners can chime in on Twitter or send us an email with regards to this. I can test that even if I drop my pen and listen closely because I'll be dropping my pen right now just to make that that point. So that's me dropping my pen and that's from a height. This will be more how I drop it. Like if I'm writing it and it drops. So that's the sound of my dropping pen. In my opinion, those sounds in a podcast are actually welcome. Because the difference for me between a podcast and let's say a radio transmission is that it's the lesser amount of polish that's on a podcast that makes it very listenable and more intimate with the listener. So you could be walking to your bus, let's say, listening to the podcast. In our case, you could be lying, lying hopefully in bed or on a plane, let's say trying to relax, trying to fall asleep and you're listening and it sort of connects you with the host better.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure, sure, it gives it a bit of a character, different character than you would might get on a radio. But see, we're gonna hear some ambient sound now too. And I wonder if the listeners will be able to hear this, right?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. You know, it's interesting. When you're doing a podcast from Studio versus from your home studio, every little thing that you hear in the background, you think, oh, will that pick up on the microphone? Lights being turned on and off or neighbors opening their doors or whatnot? So we have a great microphone, and hopefully it won't pick that up, but it picks us up. But it's. It's interesting that we got on this topic of background noise, because background noise, I think, can really add to an experience. Whether you're, let's say, watching a theatrical production or film. What's going on that background or what a Foley artist does can really make. Make your production stand out or make it feel lacking.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I think it's those. It's the things that you're not noticing, so. Or that you're not focused on that in a movie situation or in a theater, really, the subconscious is picking that up and is making it real for you. So I think the experience is a lot more in depth or robust when you have sort of that ambient sound in the background.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What do you think, Marco, about white noise?
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting. White noise doesn't do much for me. I know some people swear by it. I know for children, a lot of parents will say white noise really helped them because it would relax their kids or help them fall asleep and whatnot. My fear with white noise is getting used to it. And then what happens when the white noise isn't there?
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I never thought about that.
>> Marco Timpano: I. I hesitate with white noise because what necessary what may relax you or put you in a state of relaxation might not relax me. I was in a room once with someone who had some, like, thunderstorm white noises, and I was like, this would not relax me at all. But I guess it's how you associate
>> Nidhi Khanna: yourself with that sound. It's true.
>> Marco Timpano: Running water or the sounds of a lapping ocean. Like, if you are not a good swimmer or scared of the ocean, it might not be what works for you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: True. Or if, like yourself, you haven't learned to swim.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. It's interesting because my sister is a lifeguard.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is she really?
>> Marco Timpano: My wife is a very accomplished swimmer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Are you a good swimmer?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am a good swimmer.
>> Marco Timpano: What's your favorite stroke to do?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think breaststroke.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. I think I found it manageable. Easy. I haven't. I swim off and on now, but when I was younger, I was. I think I had my first certification to be a lifeguard. And so I really did enjoy swimming. So for me, I don't know that breaststroke is just something that you would do in the ocean, something that you do in the lake. It has. It evokes very good memories for me.
>> Marco Timpano: What would be your least favorite stroke?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, I have to say I'm not the biggest fan of, like, your regular fast stroke that you normally do. So you're just your regular swimmer stroke. That's the first one that you learn how to do. I think it's because, for me, swimming is always very recreational and leisurely, but I find that stroke just becomes very competitive because it's what you use. Like, it's what competitive swimmers use. And you're constantly racing with someone. So I like the backstroke. I like the side stroke. I like these more melodic strokes.
>> Marco Timpano: If you will tell me about a time when you had a great swimming experience.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Or a very memorable one.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So we swam with dolphins in India when I was a kid.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know. So we just happened to be swimming in the oceans, and thank goodness that it was dolphins that came up to us and not sharks. But, yeah, that was a really cool experience.
>> Marco Timpano: So what happened? You were. Explain to me what you were doing.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So we were.
>> Marco Timpano: Where were you?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So we were in Goa.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Not like Juhu Beach.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, not Juror Beach.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we were on a friend's boat and we happened to be swimming in the ocean and these dolphins sort of came nearby, and I don't remember too much, but I remember the vividness of the ocean, of it being incredibly blue. I remember the sun being incredibly bright and warm and inviting, and I just remember happiness. I don't remember. I don't remember the exact moment of the experience.
>> Marco Timpano: Who spotted the dolphins first?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think it must have been my dad.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So we were all in the water, and I think it was that moment of like, what are. Wait, are these dolphins or are these. But once they realized that, what's it
>> Marco Timpano: like swimming with dolphins for, you know, for everyone? It's sort of like the one thing that you think it's calm and peaceful.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I think, you know, because I was so, like, because I was young, it was exciting, right? Because dolphins are these seemingly cute, fun, protective animals, right? Or mammals, I should say. And so they were. They were. They had that dolphin laugh, for lack of a better word. You know, they have that.
>> Marco Timpano: You could hear that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, of course, the do. The sound of the dolphin.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The sound of the dolphin, essentially. But, yeah, it was really extraordinary because it was just a really soothing, beautiful moment.
>> Marco Timpano: I Swam once, and I got to see squid in the water. Oh, I. I was snorkeling in,
>> Nidhi Khanna: I
>> Marco Timpano: want to say, the British Virgin Islands, and we're snorkeling, and I'm not a strong swimmer, as you know, where you were talking about different strokes. I'm lucky if I can just doggy paddle my way sure to shore. But when you snorkel, you don't necessarily have to be in deep water. And all I know is I look ahead of me and I can see these things sort of, like moving, sort of. It almost seemed like they would take one swim, beat forward and two back, and then one forward, and when I say forward away from me. So it looked like they were in front of me, but they were constantly sort of bobbing back and forth, back and forth and getting further away. And you look at it and you're like, what's that? And you're like, that's strange. And you're like, oh, my goodness, it's squid. And then you think, what am I gonna have for dinner? And all I wanted was kalamati for dinner because I saw them in the ocean.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But.
>> Marco Timpano: But that is my encounter with. With sea life.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So speaking of sort of these moments that. Well, at least for me, in terms of swimming with the dolphins that were a bit calm and. And serene in a way, I also find that, like, driving can be that way.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Driving on a highway, driving in the country, just that long open road when you're driving. I feel like that can also evoke, like, a sense of just serenity in a way.
>> Marco Timpano: I know that when I was driving through New Brunswick in particular, it had a bit of a hypnotic effect where you're driving and you're encountering trees upon trees and you're doing a similar sort of turn downhill. You turn a corner, you're going downhill, or you're going up, uphill, and you're surrounded by dreams. It can get very sort of hypnotic and lovely depending on the time of the year that you're driving. Or it could. It could also, like, sort of. You've got to be cautious because it could lull you into sleep driving in those conditions. But I find, you know, there is that sort of quality of relaxation when you're on a highway and you're driving and you've got a long, long stretch to drive.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I often drive. There's a stretch of highway between Toronto, where we're broadcasting from, and Montreal, where I was born and raised. I often do that stretch of highway back and forth quite often, and it's It's. It's a pretty boring drive, people would say, because it's just a stretch of road and it's, as you say, the trees. And there's not a lot of channels, changes in elevation or scenery or landscape. So it's one of those drives that could, as you say, put you in that hypnotic state. And, you know, when you have sort of like the soothing music playing or when you have even someone sleeping next to you in the car, it can really be, as you say, something that you have to watch out for. But I always find, though, when I'm a passenger, I can fall asleep in a car in a second.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think I'm just one of those people who can fall asleep. Like, I can't fall asleep on a plane or.
>> Marco Timpano: But in a car you can.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But in a car, I can fall asleep in a second. I don't know.
>> Marco Timpano: I wish I could. I know that, you know, you talking about driving to Montreal reminds me of when I was in Italy last year and we would drive on the highway and one of the things we look so forward to was, once again, you're on these highways and you're driving and you're seeing towns that, you know, you've heard of or you've read about, and you're like, oh, I wonder what it would be to get off in Verona or wherever. And one of the joys about driving in Europe and in Italy in this particular case is you would drive and you would pull over to what they call an auto stop, an auto stop off, and you would get yourself a wonderful coffee, whether it be an espresso or cappuccino, and, you know, touching back with background noise. The sound of the espresso machine grinding the beans, the whoosh sound of the coffee of the milk being frothed and the clicking sound of the handle full of coffee being put into the machine. Machine. That sound alone, for me, evokes the time when we were having these wonderful roadside coffees or cappuccinos. As we were driving through the beautiful hillsides and towns of Italy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It becomes a ritual, doesn't it?
>> Marco Timpano: It does become a ritual.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Part of the ritual.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny. It's funny because I do have rituals when I'm driving to different destinations, whether it be in Canada, in the US or in Europe. Course in Italy, pulling over to have an espresso and whatnot. And in other towns, you know, pulling over when you have gas and picking the town where you're going to. I know when I'm driving in Ontario, I'LL often hit a the odometer counter, the trip counter. So I know how far it is from one road stop to the next.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, it's funny you say that, because as you know, at least once a year or twice in the summer at least, I tend to do a road trip with your wife randomly. We do these little day trips to the country close by.
>> Marco Timpano: I think you guys picked up a wardrobe or something.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We end up antiquing, etc. And there's something very serene about it to be able to just be with the open road and the sky and the beautiful landscape. So.
>> Marco Timpano: So here. Hoping that your open road tonight brought you to some sleep. We've often said this. We hope this is the podcast that you don't get to the end to, but if you did, thank you for traveling with us to this end of the podcast. Our podcast, we should mention, is under 30 minutes, because the ideal time of a short nap is between 26 and 28 minutes. And so we keep our podcast under 30 minutes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We're broadcasting from Toronto, Canada, and the ensemble new project is produced by drumcast Productions. So on behalf of Marco and myself, thanks for listening. Or better yet, thanks for falling asleep.
Furniture, Pine Cones & Traffic Signs
original airdate: Feb 24, 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise you is that our conversation will be less than fascinating, so you can feel free to just drift off. Thank you for joining us and we hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna.
>> Marco Timpano: Nidhi, I noticed something very interesting, a response from one of our listeners who actually listens to our show as they're getting ready for work in the morning.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, now that's interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Whilst our show was designed for people to hopefully sort of drift off to sleep, she finds it very pleasant to wake up to and eases her into the morning, which is.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's a little different. I would have never thought about the reverse effect that it would have on people, but I'm glad to know that this listener. What's her name? Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Carrie. She also mentions that the Dewey Decimal System, which we mentioned in a previous episode, is in fact still used in libraries and that it was the Library of Congress's classification system.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, Carrie, thank you for your feedback and for listening to us in the morning as you're getting your day started.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We want to welcome all listeners from Halifax and any listener that listens to our podcast in a different or unusual manner, please let us know at Listen and Sleep, because we were surprised by this, and it was quite a pleasant surprise. I found a pine cone in my sofa.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In your sofa?
>> Marco Timpano: In my sofa. And it must have been on a candle or something. It was like a decorative pine cone or in a potpourri type craft pine cone. Yeah. And you know when you're. You're sort of taking the pillows away and you're cleaning, you find odd things usually change. Maybe a hairpin. I found a pine cone and I thought to myself, what an interesting item made by a tree but used in so many different ways.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you know much about pine cones, Marco? Because I have some interesting facts that I never knew about pine cones.
>> Marco Timpano: All I can tell you about pine cones that I know is that they come in different shapes and sizes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: And I believe the redwood tree has the biggest pine cone. And I've seen really, really big pine cones used decoratively. That's all I can tell you that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I did not know that. The couple of fun facts that I have about pine cones tell us. So did you know that it's actually an organ on plants? Sorry, that was my reaction. So now I'm quoting Wikipedia. So this could be controversial for our listeners. I don't know if Wikipedia is the best source, but I'm gonna read it anyway. So a cone is an organ on plants in the division pinophyta that contains the reproductive structure. So the familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds, and the male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous, even at full maturity.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that. But I know that if you take a pinecone and sort of lift up the prongs or the parts that jet out, the little wooden, spiky things underneath, you'll often find seeds. And I believe that, you know, pine nuts are the seed that are found in a certain type of pine cone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: I believe so. I believe so. And I. I love food that has pine nuts in it. Pesto, of course, means perhaps the most famous of foods that incorporate pine nuts. Pine nuts, or pinoli, as they're often known in the culinary world.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, that would make sense, I guess, as to why squirrels, for example, gravitate towards pine cones, don't they?
>> Marco Timpano: For the seeds.
>> Nidhi Khanna: For the seeds.
>> Marco Timpano: And they'll take them and you'll see them scurrying off with a pine cone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Some dogs also are very obsessed with pine cones.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sure, they're the perfect shape for a dog. I know that pine cones are a great way to start fire. So if you. You're making, let's say, a campfire.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Or if you have a fire burning stove and you need to light paper and the larger pieces of wood, you can start off by gathering a multitude of pine cones that are dry. Of course, you don't want to ever ignite wet wood and pine. Pine cones are woody. And you start off by lighting pine cones and it'll help ignite your fire.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is that true? So that. So you would ignite the pine cone itself.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Because. Because they're woody and they're very. They're not thick and big and bulky. They tend to light quickly.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: So they're a great fire starter for your campfires and whatnot. So that's a little tip as well. I mean, they're often used in decorations, both for seasonal items or smaller ones in potpourri.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do enjoy the smell of potpourri with pine cones in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you?
>> Nidhi Khanna: There's something about that aroma.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Very comforting and relaxing and warm. There's a very warm scent that comes from that type of potpourri.
>> Marco Timpano: I know a lot of teas and medicinal herbs or medicinal syrups and stuff often use pine needles in it. So I know that if you've ever had, you know, that po product called Buckley's for when you have like a sore throat or congestion and whatnot, it has a very strong pine flavor to it. And I believe they use pine oil and perhaps pine needles in it. And so it's an interesting ingredient that people use. Not to mention or not to forget, a lot of furniture is made with pine. And you can spot pine as one of the wood furnitures because of its lightness in color and its lightness of weight. So if you lift up a pine chair versus let's say an oak chair, the pine chair is so much lighter.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That makes sense. That makes a lot of sense. Marco, speaking of furniture, do you have a particular furniture style that appeals to you? Are you more modernist or traditional wood, as you said, pine or oak, or that type of furniture appeals to you? Do you like it to be handcrafted, or would you rather have something that is, you know, one of a kind and very unique?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's such a. Such a tough one, because I like all different styles. Styles. I know that I have a Eames reproduction chair in ottoman. And we'll attach a photo of what that looks like to one of our tweets for our listeners and It's a really stylized chair. Once you see what it looks like, you'll be like, oh yes, I've seen this in magazines or whatnot. And I found that at a second hand store and I got it for next to nothing like $40. And it turns out they're worth quite a bit of money. But it's such a comfortable chair and it's not all wooden, but it has that sort of sculpted or bent sort of wood shape to it. Now I love that particular chair as well. I love antique furniture pieces especially like if you look at a table that, that has. And some. Some chairs have it too. Like claw feet cloth. Yeah. You can tell certain antique furnitures because they'll have like a bear claw carved in the bottom of the foot or like an eagle talon.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's some I've seen. I think my mother in law has a piece that is an eagle's talent that is holding a crystal ball. Like it has like a crystal ball or glass ball the actual wood is holding. Or perhaps it's just a wooden ball. I can't remember correctly at this moment. But it's usually when you notice that it denotes that the piece of furniture is older or antique, I believe. Of course, there's a bunch of reproductions that mimic this style too. But you can really spot it when you see an antique piece and you notice the clawed foot, whether it be some sort of animal claw or some sort of bird's talon.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. And I'm looking right here, Marco, at an image and I believe that sometimes those are referred to as Queen Anne style style or Chippendale style. There's I. I prefer more rustic antique type. Well, actually more maybe more rustic type furniture. I'm not a big modernist.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't. Or a minimalist. Although I do like my furniture to be functional. But I do enjoy kind of evoking a sense of feeling like you're at a. In at your cabin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That Norwegian, Danish kind of.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Clean lines, but not too modern.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. What about things made with driftwood? So this would be wood that sort of. The sea has taken and carried it out and drifted it around for weeks, months, years. Washes on shore. And some artisan then takes that piece of wood and forms it into to. Whether it be a table or a. A lot of times you'll see dredge wood that is hanging like a. What do you call those things that sort of hang in the wind like a wind chime or like a chime of some sort. Or they incorporate it into chairs. And tables and whatnot to make it look very nautical.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think that's beautiful. And you. Unique. That's what I like about it. But it's funny because I say unique and yet I could also go very much for some Ikea functional IKEA furniture,
>> Marco Timpano: much of which is pine. That's the sound of my glass hitting another glass. As we enjoy our tea here today on the Insomnia project. Another thing that I. I love, I love the warmth of wood. So even like hardwood floors, I know they're so expensive, but there's something just so beautiful about seeing great hardwood floors or even putting your bare feet on a natural fiber, natural material like wood.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think I prefer wooden floors to carpeted ones, Even though carpeted ones have their benefits, of course. Particularly if it's cold.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: However, I agree with you. There's something also about the creakiness of wooden floors that just evokes in my memory very pleasant moments. Because the house that I grew up in was a. I guess 18. You was an 18th. Not 18th century. Sorry, it was built in the 1800s.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sort of 19th century, turn of the century home.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. So it was quite nice. And large ceilings, but very much wood paneling and wood banisters. And that old feeling, that traditional turn of the century home.
>> Marco Timpano: So warm.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Warm. And fireplaces in every room.
>> Marco Timpano: Characteristic.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Charming.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a friend, or I have a friend, his name is Jeff, who was replacing his hardwood floors. So in his home he had these beautiful hardwood floors and one area got a little spotted from some water that had leaked. So he was having them replaced through his insurance company. And I said to him, would you mind if I took this hardwood floor? And he's like, I don't see why not. Let me just call the insurance company to make sure it's copacetic with them. And they said, you're doing us a favor by removing them. And so I had a couple of cousins go to Jeff's house and with special crowbars, we carefully removed this hardwood floor and then we put it in a van and drove it an hour and a half north to my cottage. And we put this hardwood floor. So we recycled basically this beautiful material that was going to get tossed out, put it in our cottage, and like you said, it adds a warmth,
>> Nidhi Khanna: a
>> Marco Timpano: charm, a feel of family and friendliness and nature in your home that I don't think carpet or ceramic does as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree with you, Marco. That's a great story. And I'm happy To hear that you were able to recycle Jeff's hardwood floor, because that would be a shame otherwise, to just have thrown that hardwood floor out.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's very expensive. The more, you know, these natural resources, you know, get utilized and used and what. There's an expense, of course, involved, and, you know, it takes a while for them to be replenished. It takes a while for a tree to grow and whatnot. And it's just nice to know that you're recycling a bit of mother nature and something that's taken a while to develop and grow and use it in your home in a way that you really appreciate. And we certainly do appreciate the floors. And it has the benefit of being easy to clean so that if you come back from the beach and your feet are a bit sandy, unlike a carpet that would absorb the grains of sand, you can sweep or vacuum the hardwood floor in the cottage much easier, as you would be able to do in the home.
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>> Nidhi Khanna: How do you feel, Marco, about dark floors? Like, dark hardwood? So I have a dog, for example. Dark dog. My dog sheds. And so. So I had an apartment once where I had dark flooring, and I found it very cumbersome because I would have to sweep or mop pretty much every day.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I didn't know because you could see the.
>> Marco Timpano: The hair.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The hair or the dust would be very evident if you saw any dust on it. So I prefer lighter wood on my flooring. However, I do find the darker hardwood to be quite beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting because this is quite A debate when people are selecting flooring, what color to go with. I love the natural look of the wood. So if it's a cherry wood, I love that there's a bit of red in it. If there's an orange oak, I like that it's dark. Or a walnut, it's that sort of dark walnut color. I don't know if I have a preference, to be honest with you, because I have hardwood floors in my home that are, let's say, honey color that I'd love to strip or sand down and give it another life with a different color. Yeah. But it's interesting because you mentioned creaking and these hardwood floors as you go to. Towards the stairs, right at the foot of the stairs, I guess that's an area that receives a lot of impact. That's where you'll find a little bit of creaking in my heart of forms. And there is a bit of a charm to it. There is a bit of a nod to the flexibility of a natural substance like wood.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's very true. It's very true.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I wanted to talk to you about traffic signs, especially traffic signs that you find in other countries or other places that are different than say,
>> Nidhi Khanna: the
>> Marco Timpano: traffic lights that are green, yellow and red that we have here in North America. Or, you know, symbols and signs that we see on traffic signs that are very identifiable for us.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco. That's an interesting topic of conversation because I recently came back from a trip in the UK visiting some friends in London and their traffic signals. Of course, there's the red, green and yellow.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And they have similar looking traffic structures. However, they use yellow twice. So they use yellow before the traffic is about to turn green.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We use the yellow light before traffic is about to stop as a signal to tell you to slow down, yield. So they use it to tell you that it's time to change your gear. Because there's so many standard vehicles that the traffic's about to go again.
>> Marco Timpano: And the manual transmission.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Manual transmission. And because there's so many roundabouts and things like that, I guess they use it to make sure that the flow of traffic is ready to start up again. At least that was my assumption.
>> Marco Timpano: That's. That's fascinating. I know when we were in England last year, there was so many roundabouts and you just get on these roundabouts and some of them are like part of a highway and they're really quick and have many lanes to it. And for someone who's not as used to a roundabout, it can get a little Bit tricky. But that said, it does allow for movement in the traffic. I know that I'm always fascinated when I leave my province of Ontario and head into Quebec and see how their traffic lights, whilst they still have the green, yellow and red, they have different shapes to them and they have sort of a different place where you stop in front of the. Those traffic lights. So I feel like in Quebec you tend to stop closer to the light, whereas in Ontario tend to stop further back from the lights. And I know that in Montreal a lot of the lights are more. More modern.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: In look.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's funny, Marco, because as you know, I'm from Montreal originally. However, I never really noticed the traffic lights. Of course, next time I go back to visit family and friends, I'm definitely going to take a look at that. And also I agree the. The traffic in Montreal does tend to stop closer to the light. I also found it very interesting when I first moved here to Toronto, because in Quebec I find there's less likelihood of someone stopping at a yellow. It's sort of. There's less of that. We need to slow down now. I think there's also what I noticed in Quebec, sometimes people will block the intersection, whereas over here people get very irate by that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. It's interesting. You know, even the lines on the road are different from place to place that you go.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's true.
>> Marco Timpano: And I love, I love things that are unique to certain places. So for example, obviously in Canada we have icy and snowy conditions, so you'll often see signs that have slippery, slippery or little snow, snowflakes on the worst. Whereas when you go to Florida or somewhere warm, you don't see those. And so you see other things that are kind of unique and neat. And one thing I, if I was to pick a traffic signal or sign that I appreciate the most, it would be the green left turn arrow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That is often found in trickier sort of intersections. But I find that particular traffic signal sign to be A, my favorite and B, the most useful in allowing for traffic to flow. And I wish we had more of those as well as the roundabout that you mentioned earlier.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I find it interesting, Marco, because we're very organized, for lack of a better word, with regards to our traffic signals here in Canada and I guess in North America in general, if you don't obey the traffic signs, you get ticketed.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: However, there parts of the world, for example, when I go to India to visit family, or if you've been to Southeast Asia, for example, where the traffic signals are more of a guideline rather than a strict set of rules. And so it's interesting because you take a different approach to maneuvering in traffic. So I remember once when. When I was visiting India and we went to Delhi, which has quite a bit of traffic, I had asked the person I was driving with, how do you. Who had actually. That person had actually lived in Canada for many, many years. And so I asked her, how do you adjust your driving style to the Indian environment, which is different, completely different. And she said something interesting. She said, over here in India, you have to take your car and make it about protecting your car at all costs. So you have to be a very defensive driver, so you can't be nice and let people in. You have to put your car first to ensure that you get where you need to go because of how much traffic there is. Whereas here in North America, there is an expectation that you obey the traffic rules first.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In order to get where you need to go.
>> Marco Timpano: I know when I'm driving in Rome, yes, I put on my Self to drive like a Roman. I always think myself, you're in Rome, you need to drive like a Roman. And so I tend to be a little bit speedier, but a little bit more diligent, a little bit more aware, and it works for me. We certainly hope that this episode has worked for you and we invite you to follow us and subscribe to the Insomnia Project.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As always, we're broadcasting from Toronto and the Insomnia Project is produced by Drumcast Productions. We want to thank you for being a part of our show and listening, and we will see you next time.
original airdate: Feb 24, 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise you is that our conversation will be less than fascinating, so you can feel free to just drift off. Thank you for joining us and we hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna.
>> Marco Timpano: Nidhi, I noticed something very interesting, a response from one of our listeners who actually listens to our show as they're getting ready for work in the morning.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, now that's interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: Whilst our show was designed for people to hopefully sort of drift off to sleep, she finds it very pleasant to wake up to and eases her into the morning, which is.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's a little different. I would have never thought about the reverse effect that it would have on people, but I'm glad to know that this listener. What's her name? Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: Carrie. She also mentions that the Dewey Decimal System, which we mentioned in a previous episode, is in fact still used in libraries and that it was the Library of Congress's classification system.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, Carrie, thank you for your feedback and for listening to us in the morning as you're getting your day started.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We want to welcome all listeners from Halifax and any listener that listens to our podcast in a different or unusual manner, please let us know at Listen and Sleep, because we were surprised by this, and it was quite a pleasant surprise. I found a pine cone in my sofa.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In your sofa?
>> Marco Timpano: In my sofa. And it must have been on a candle or something. It was like a decorative pine cone or in a potpourri type craft pine cone. Yeah. And you know when you're. You're sort of taking the pillows away and you're cleaning, you find odd things usually change. Maybe a hairpin. I found a pine cone and I thought to myself, what an interesting item made by a tree but used in so many different ways.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you know much about pine cones, Marco? Because I have some interesting facts that I never knew about pine cones.
>> Marco Timpano: All I can tell you about pine cones that I know is that they come in different shapes and sizes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Correct.
>> Marco Timpano: And I believe the redwood tree has the biggest pine cone. And I've seen really, really big pine cones used decoratively. That's all I can tell you that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I did not know that. The couple of fun facts that I have about pine cones tell us. So did you know that it's actually an organ on plants? Sorry, that was my reaction. So now I'm quoting Wikipedia. So this could be controversial for our listeners. I don't know if Wikipedia is the best source, but I'm gonna read it anyway. So a cone is an organ on plants in the division pinophyta that contains the reproductive structure. So the familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds, and the male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous, even at full maturity.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that. But I know that if you take a pinecone and sort of lift up the prongs or the parts that jet out, the little wooden, spiky things underneath, you'll often find seeds. And I believe that, you know, pine nuts are the seed that are found in a certain type of pine cone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: I believe so. I believe so. And I. I love food that has pine nuts in it. Pesto, of course, means perhaps the most famous of foods that incorporate pine nuts. Pine nuts, or pinoli, as they're often known in the culinary world.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, that would make sense, I guess, as to why squirrels, for example, gravitate towards pine cones, don't they?
>> Marco Timpano: For the seeds.
>> Nidhi Khanna: For the seeds.
>> Marco Timpano: And they'll take them and you'll see them scurrying off with a pine cone.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Some dogs also are very obsessed with pine cones.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, sure, they're the perfect shape for a dog. I know that pine cones are a great way to start fire. So if you. You're making, let's say, a campfire.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Or if you have a fire burning stove and you need to light paper and the larger pieces of wood, you can start off by gathering a multitude of pine cones that are dry. Of course, you don't want to ever ignite wet wood and pine. Pine cones are woody. And you start off by lighting pine cones and it'll help ignite your fire.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is that true? So that. So you would ignite the pine cone itself.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Because. Because they're woody and they're very. They're not thick and big and bulky. They tend to light quickly.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, that makes sense.
>> Marco Timpano: So they're a great fire starter for your campfires and whatnot. So that's a little tip as well. I mean, they're often used in decorations, both for seasonal items or smaller ones in potpourri.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do enjoy the smell of potpourri with pine cones in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you?
>> Nidhi Khanna: There's something about that aroma.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Very comforting and relaxing and warm. There's a very warm scent that comes from that type of potpourri.
>> Marco Timpano: I know a lot of teas and medicinal herbs or medicinal syrups and stuff often use pine needles in it. So I know that if you've ever had, you know, that po product called Buckley's for when you have like a sore throat or congestion and whatnot, it has a very strong pine flavor to it. And I believe they use pine oil and perhaps pine needles in it. And so it's an interesting ingredient that people use. Not to mention or not to forget, a lot of furniture is made with pine. And you can spot pine as one of the wood furnitures because of its lightness in color and its lightness of weight. So if you lift up a pine chair versus let's say an oak chair, the pine chair is so much lighter.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That makes sense. That makes a lot of sense. Marco, speaking of furniture, do you have a particular furniture style that appeals to you? Are you more modernist or traditional wood, as you said, pine or oak, or that type of furniture appeals to you? Do you like it to be handcrafted, or would you rather have something that is, you know, one of a kind and very unique?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's such a. Such a tough one, because I like all different styles. Styles. I know that I have a Eames reproduction chair in ottoman. And we'll attach a photo of what that looks like to one of our tweets for our listeners and It's a really stylized chair. Once you see what it looks like, you'll be like, oh yes, I've seen this in magazines or whatnot. And I found that at a second hand store and I got it for next to nothing like $40. And it turns out they're worth quite a bit of money. But it's such a comfortable chair and it's not all wooden, but it has that sort of sculpted or bent sort of wood shape to it. Now I love that particular chair as well. I love antique furniture pieces especially like if you look at a table that, that has. And some. Some chairs have it too. Like claw feet cloth. Yeah. You can tell certain antique furnitures because they'll have like a bear claw carved in the bottom of the foot or like an eagle talon.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's some I've seen. I think my mother in law has a piece that is an eagle's talent that is holding a crystal ball. Like it has like a crystal ball or glass ball the actual wood is holding. Or perhaps it's just a wooden ball. I can't remember correctly at this moment. But it's usually when you notice that it denotes that the piece of furniture is older or antique, I believe. Of course, there's a bunch of reproductions that mimic this style too. But you can really spot it when you see an antique piece and you notice the clawed foot, whether it be some sort of animal claw or some sort of bird's talon.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. And I'm looking right here, Marco, at an image and I believe that sometimes those are referred to as Queen Anne style style or Chippendale style. There's I. I prefer more rustic antique type. Well, actually more maybe more rustic type furniture. I'm not a big modernist.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't. Or a minimalist. Although I do like my furniture to be functional. But I do enjoy kind of evoking a sense of feeling like you're at a. In at your cabin.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That Norwegian, Danish kind of.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Clean lines, but not too modern.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. What about things made with driftwood? So this would be wood that sort of. The sea has taken and carried it out and drifted it around for weeks, months, years. Washes on shore. And some artisan then takes that piece of wood and forms it into to. Whether it be a table or a. A lot of times you'll see dredge wood that is hanging like a. What do you call those things that sort of hang in the wind like a wind chime or like a chime of some sort. Or they incorporate it into chairs. And tables and whatnot to make it look very nautical.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think that's beautiful. And you. Unique. That's what I like about it. But it's funny because I say unique and yet I could also go very much for some Ikea functional IKEA furniture,
>> Marco Timpano: much of which is pine. That's the sound of my glass hitting another glass. As we enjoy our tea here today on the Insomnia project. Another thing that I. I love, I love the warmth of wood. So even like hardwood floors, I know they're so expensive, but there's something just so beautiful about seeing great hardwood floors or even putting your bare feet on a natural fiber, natural material like wood.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think I prefer wooden floors to carpeted ones, Even though carpeted ones have their benefits, of course. Particularly if it's cold.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: However, I agree with you. There's something also about the creakiness of wooden floors that just evokes in my memory very pleasant moments. Because the house that I grew up in was a. I guess 18. You was an 18th. Not 18th century. Sorry, it was built in the 1800s.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sort of 19th century, turn of the century home.
>> Marco Timpano: I didn't know that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. So it was quite nice. And large ceilings, but very much wood paneling and wood banisters. And that old feeling, that traditional turn of the century home.
>> Marco Timpano: So warm.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Warm. And fireplaces in every room.
>> Marco Timpano: Characteristic.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Charming.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: I had a friend, or I have a friend, his name is Jeff, who was replacing his hardwood floors. So in his home he had these beautiful hardwood floors and one area got a little spotted from some water that had leaked. So he was having them replaced through his insurance company. And I said to him, would you mind if I took this hardwood floor? And he's like, I don't see why not. Let me just call the insurance company to make sure it's copacetic with them. And they said, you're doing us a favor by removing them. And so I had a couple of cousins go to Jeff's house and with special crowbars, we carefully removed this hardwood floor and then we put it in a van and drove it an hour and a half north to my cottage. And we put this hardwood floor. So we recycled basically this beautiful material that was going to get tossed out, put it in our cottage, and like you said, it adds a warmth,
>> Nidhi Khanna: a
>> Marco Timpano: charm, a feel of family and friendliness and nature in your home that I don't think carpet or ceramic does as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree with you, Marco. That's a great story. And I'm happy To hear that you were able to recycle Jeff's hardwood floor, because that would be a shame otherwise, to just have thrown that hardwood floor out.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's very expensive. The more, you know, these natural resources, you know, get utilized and used and what. There's an expense, of course, involved, and, you know, it takes a while for them to be replenished. It takes a while for a tree to grow and whatnot. And it's just nice to know that you're recycling a bit of mother nature and something that's taken a while to develop and grow and use it in your home in a way that you really appreciate. And we certainly do appreciate the floors. And it has the benefit of being easy to clean so that if you come back from the beach and your feet are a bit sandy, unlike a carpet that would absorb the grains of sand, you can sweep or vacuum the hardwood floor in the cottage much easier, as you would be able to do in the home.
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>> Nidhi Khanna: How do you feel, Marco, about dark floors? Like, dark hardwood? So I have a dog, for example. Dark dog. My dog sheds. And so. So I had an apartment once where I had dark flooring, and I found it very cumbersome because I would have to sweep or mop pretty much every day.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I didn't know because you could see the.
>> Marco Timpano: The hair.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The hair or the dust would be very evident if you saw any dust on it. So I prefer lighter wood on my flooring. However, I do find the darker hardwood to be quite beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting because this is quite A debate when people are selecting flooring, what color to go with. I love the natural look of the wood. So if it's a cherry wood, I love that there's a bit of red in it. If there's an orange oak, I like that it's dark. Or a walnut, it's that sort of dark walnut color. I don't know if I have a preference, to be honest with you, because I have hardwood floors in my home that are, let's say, honey color that I'd love to strip or sand down and give it another life with a different color. Yeah. But it's interesting because you mentioned creaking and these hardwood floors as you go to. Towards the stairs, right at the foot of the stairs, I guess that's an area that receives a lot of impact. That's where you'll find a little bit of creaking in my heart of forms. And there is a bit of a charm to it. There is a bit of a nod to the flexibility of a natural substance like wood.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's very true. It's very true.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, I wanted to talk to you about traffic signs, especially traffic signs that you find in other countries or other places that are different than say,
>> Nidhi Khanna: the
>> Marco Timpano: traffic lights that are green, yellow and red that we have here in North America. Or, you know, symbols and signs that we see on traffic signs that are very identifiable for us.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco. That's an interesting topic of conversation because I recently came back from a trip in the UK visiting some friends in London and their traffic signals. Of course, there's the red, green and yellow.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And they have similar looking traffic structures. However, they use yellow twice. So they use yellow before the traffic is about to turn green.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We use the yellow light before traffic is about to stop as a signal to tell you to slow down, yield. So they use it to tell you that it's time to change your gear. Because there's so many standard vehicles that the traffic's about to go again.
>> Marco Timpano: And the manual transmission.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Manual transmission. And because there's so many roundabouts and things like that, I guess they use it to make sure that the flow of traffic is ready to start up again. At least that was my assumption.
>> Marco Timpano: That's. That's fascinating. I know when we were in England last year, there was so many roundabouts and you just get on these roundabouts and some of them are like part of a highway and they're really quick and have many lanes to it. And for someone who's not as used to a roundabout, it can get a little Bit tricky. But that said, it does allow for movement in the traffic. I know that I'm always fascinated when I leave my province of Ontario and head into Quebec and see how their traffic lights, whilst they still have the green, yellow and red, they have different shapes to them and they have sort of a different place where you stop in front of the. Those traffic lights. So I feel like in Quebec you tend to stop closer to the light, whereas in Ontario tend to stop further back from the lights. And I know that in Montreal a lot of the lights are more. More modern.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: In look.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's funny, Marco, because as you know, I'm from Montreal originally. However, I never really noticed the traffic lights. Of course, next time I go back to visit family and friends, I'm definitely going to take a look at that. And also I agree the. The traffic in Montreal does tend to stop closer to the light. I also found it very interesting when I first moved here to Toronto, because in Quebec I find there's less likelihood of someone stopping at a yellow. It's sort of. There's less of that. We need to slow down now. I think there's also what I noticed in Quebec, sometimes people will block the intersection, whereas over here people get very irate by that.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. It's interesting. You know, even the lines on the road are different from place to place that you go.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's true.
>> Marco Timpano: And I love, I love things that are unique to certain places. So for example, obviously in Canada we have icy and snowy conditions, so you'll often see signs that have slippery, slippery or little snow, snowflakes on the worst. Whereas when you go to Florida or somewhere warm, you don't see those. And so you see other things that are kind of unique and neat. And one thing I, if I was to pick a traffic signal or sign that I appreciate the most, it would be the green left turn arrow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That is often found in trickier sort of intersections. But I find that particular traffic signal sign to be A, my favorite and B, the most useful in allowing for traffic to flow. And I wish we had more of those as well as the roundabout that you mentioned earlier.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I find it interesting, Marco, because we're very organized, for lack of a better word, with regards to our traffic signals here in Canada and I guess in North America in general, if you don't obey the traffic signs, you get ticketed.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: However, there parts of the world, for example, when I go to India to visit family, or if you've been to Southeast Asia, for example, where the traffic signals are more of a guideline rather than a strict set of rules. And so it's interesting because you take a different approach to maneuvering in traffic. So I remember once when. When I was visiting India and we went to Delhi, which has quite a bit of traffic, I had asked the person I was driving with, how do you. Who had actually. That person had actually lived in Canada for many, many years. And so I asked her, how do you adjust your driving style to the Indian environment, which is different, completely different. And she said something interesting. She said, over here in India, you have to take your car and make it about protecting your car at all costs. So you have to be a very defensive driver, so you can't be nice and let people in. You have to put your car first to ensure that you get where you need to go because of how much traffic there is. Whereas here in North America, there is an expectation that you obey the traffic rules first.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In order to get where you need to go.
>> Marco Timpano: I know when I'm driving in Rome, yes, I put on my Self to drive like a Roman. I always think myself, you're in Rome, you need to drive like a Roman. And so I tend to be a little bit speedier, but a little bit more diligent, a little bit more aware, and it works for me. We certainly hope that this episode has worked for you and we invite you to follow us and subscribe to the Insomnia Project.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As always, we're broadcasting from Toronto and the Insomnia Project is produced by Drumcast Productions. We want to thank you for being a part of our show and listening, and we will see you next time.
Trains, Wallpaper & Office Supplies
(Original airdate: March 3, 2016)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise you is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to listen and sleep. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your Co host Nidhi Khanna Marco We've sat in a number of rooms lately that have had pretty eclectic wallpaper.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What are your thoughts on wallpaper? Is it something that you gravitate towards or do you prefer just a painted room?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting that you should mention wallpaper because there's that expression watching wallpaper paste dry or is it watching paint dry?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I believe it's watching paint dry.
>> Marco Timpano: O for me, I prefer a painted wall to a wallpapered wall. That said, there's some pretty outstanding looking wallpaper, some wallpaper that makes you feel like it's marble or whatever sort of aesthetic it's trying to be. I know that we wallpapered a wall in our house and there's a lot that goes behind or that goes into wallpapering a wall.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Tell me about that. How do you wallpaper a wall?
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever wallpapered?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not. I used to have wallpaper in my childhood home. However, since then I haven't really been in a place that has wallpaper. It's usually painted walls.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So please do tell.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I can tell you that, you know, there's a lot of different tools one would use when they wallpaper and different types of wallpaper require different sort of techniques. So if you go to your local say hardware store or paint store and purchase an easy to do wallpaper, you, the adhesive will be right on the back of the wallpaper. You, you would then put it into a tray of warm water or lukewarm water and the glue would activate. And there's a bunch of different tools one could use when you're putting the wallpaper on the wall. So there's kind of like rollers and sponges that allow you to sort of sponge out all the moisture from the wallpaper. And then there's a tool that sort of looks like a squeegee that allows you to get all the air bubbles out of the wallpaper because have you ever seen wallpaper that wasn't done correctly that has air pockets in it?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I, I have noticed that before, yes. I remember my cousin tried to wallpaper her bedroom when she was younger and it ended up exactly how you just described it with a bunch of sort of air bubbles sticking out from the wallpaper?
>> Marco Timpano: So it can be very tricky, especially when you're doing corners or you're trying to do an area that has like a cutout in it. So for example, around a window or if there's a sort of a feature in the room that you're working on that you want to wallpaper around or incorporate into the room that you're wallpapering. So it can be quite tricky. And I know that getting those air bubbles out of the wallpaper is one of the hardest aspects of wallpapering. Now the other part that becomes difficult is some wallpapers will have certain patterns. And so from one leaf of the wallpaper you've got to match up the continuous. If there's like a striation or let's say there's a, a snowflake that you're trying to match up or a branch of a tree that continues, you've got to line them up perfectly because if you're off each even just a little bit, your eye, when you walk in that room will catch that imperfection or that non lining up of the wallpaper.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Of course, it's sort of it, it is an art in a way.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, without a doubt. And the other thing about wallpaper is that wallpaper can be dated. So.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. I found that when I was looking at apartments recently to live in, some of the apartments had wallpaper and you can tell right away what era the wallpaper sort of comes from. And you're absolutely right. Wallpaper from the 80s, for example, can really make a beautiful space seem very dated because it's so different from the wallpaper patterns that we would put up today.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you know what's interesting, my grandmother had wallpaper in her house from the 60s and it had like a velvety texture to it. So there was like little designs in it that were raised and when you touch them, they felt soft, like velvet.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That actually sounds very luscious.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting because now it would be quite in our own vogue because it's something so unique and interesting or retrospective.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, at the top of the show a few shows ago, our listeners will remember that we talked quite extensively about the official cookie for the city of Calgary and not the city of Calgary,
>> Marco Timpano: excuse me, for Red Deer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The. Yes, of Red Deer. And we then said we were going
>> Marco Timpano: to join the Caramel surprise.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Caramel surprise. You got it. We then said that we were going to contact our mayor in the city of Toronto, that's right, John Tory, and ask him about perhaps developing a city of Toronto official cookie. Do you want to update our listeners about the progress we've made about that?
>> Marco Timpano: So we've had a couple of people contact us or we've had a couple of our listeners ask what's going on with regards to the official cookie of Toronto. As you can imagine, when you're trying to do something like this. It's a process and it doesn't happen overnight. But we were happy because the email that we sent to our mayor's office did in fact receive a response. And it looks like they were inquiring with regards to this and that they want to set something up perhaps to see what the public thinks about an official cookie for the city of Toronto where we broadcast from. And so as it stands, the wheels are in motion. Of course, we'll keep our listeners updated with regards to. Regards to that. It looks quite promising.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It does. It's exciting. It's almost a little too exciting even for the Insomnia project.
>> Marco Timpano: But we'll see what happens. We'll keep our listeners informed and, and as we said previously, if you have any idea for a cookie that you would like to see represent this city of ours, drop us a line. You can go to our Twitter or you can tweet us at Listen and Sleep.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, when was the last time you were on a train?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's funny you should say that, because this past weekend I actually took the train to go to London, Ontario, and I was there for about four days for work because I decided to take the train so that I could free up the car for use by my wife. And I said I'll just take the train to London. And I hadn't been on a train in quite some time and I realized how much I enjoyed traveling by train.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah. What, what part of the journey, when you're on a train do you enjoy the most?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting. The thing that I liked about or the thing that I do appreciate about train travel is that it's forced time for yourself. Whereas if I was driving those two hours, plus that I would be in a car driving and, you know, keeping, keeping aware of what's around me and what lies ahead. I was able to use for whatever I wanted to on the train. So I was able to read, surf the Internet because I had there's wi fi on the train. It was a real pleasurable experience and the seats were quite comfortable and roomy, unlike a lot of plane travel. And it was nice seeing all the little towns that we were passing as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I quite enjoy train travel as well. And similarly to you, I find it's one, one of the few times that you can really zone out because you're not worried about where's your passport, did you, are you going to be able to get your luggage out of the carousel when you arrive, etc. Etc. It's really a different experience, particularly when you're going those shorter distances, like from Toronto to London, Ontario.
>> Marco Timpano: I once traveled first class to Montreal on VIA Rail.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was outstanding. It was one of the most civilized things I have done in a long while. It actually felt like plane travel from many years ago in that, like you said, you just got on quick, all your stuff was there, they served you food and water. It was really large. You. The time just went by so quickly and, you know, it was just so wonderful. You saw. You saw the large windows. There was plenty of room to walk around. There was a dining cart. So you really got to explore the train. And.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And the view is quite nice as well, because when you're driving from Toronto to Montreal, it's not that scenic of a route.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As compared to some other places.
>> Marco Timpano: You're on the highway, so.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. However, when you're on the train, you do get a glimpse of the. Of the lake. So it's. It's quite a different experience. It's. It's a nice, relaxing experience, really.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. A lot of the seats will fold out completely. So you could actually lie on the train as well. Yeah, some of them. Yeah. I. It didn't seem like. And then we said, let's see how far back these seats recline and they reclined quite a bit, that you could actually comfortably fall asleep or just rest and.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was really quite wonderful. I have to say that, you know what would be really neat is if we broadcasted one of our podcasts or recorded one of our. One of our podcasts on a train, on a VIA train, say, to Montreal.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, that would be fun.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And let our listeners really get the experience of being on the train and feeling the sounds of the train. Because even the motions of the train, which is a monotonous sort of forward moving motion that just keeps on sort of rolling forward. And rolling forward can be quite relaxing. And whereas I cannot drift off on a plane, I can certainly drift off on a train.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree completely. I find I very easily fall asleep on a train. I'm the type of person who will fall asleep in the passenger seat of a car.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But I'm usually the driver. Right. On trips. And so there's something very nice and calming and soothing for me to be able to just fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Where's the furthest you've ever traveled from point A to point B on a train?
>> Nidhi Khanna: On it. Oh, on a train.
>> Marco Timpano: Anywhere in the world.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I want to say that's a really good question. I'm not quite sure. I've been across Europe in trains.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I've taken the Eurostar, for example. I used to live in Italy for a while, so I took a lot of trains there. I also lived in France for a bit, so that's also another train country. And then I've also taken the train in India.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so I'm guessing actually probably in India. I've had some pretty long trips on the, on the train. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: I know that we took a train from St. Petersburg to Moscow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: It was an overnight train and this was many years ago and it was a pretty long destination. It was one of these older trains. But when I say older trains, I mean like 1920s train because everything was kind of wooden and lacquered and you could just tell that everything on the train was made really well and sturdy and not out of new materials that you're used to seeing. We had little berths too. And even the way they folded down, they were. You could tell that they were older.
>> Nidhi Khanna: When you describe trains like that, Margo, I get two images, sure. In my head. One is of course, the Hogwarts Express.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, of course, yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But the other one is the Agatha Christie book.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Murder on the Orient Express. I always think of that when I'm imagining sort of the 1920s training experience. Although I highly doubt there were that many murders.
>> Marco Timpano: No, there wasn't. Not on that particular trip. But it wasn't as elegant. So it wasn't, you know, it was a Russian train and it wasn't designed for high end travel, at least not the one that I was on.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: At that time. But it was quite an experience. And I have traveled far distances in Europe as well. I think I did Paris to, I want to say Rome or something in one stint.
>> Speaker A: Oh, wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I've never done an overnight on a train. I feel like that must be a different experience as well.
>> Marco Timpano: It is. I mean, certainly know having a place to lie down while the vehicle or the transportation you're traveling in is going so quick. It's. It's definitely something that's. Takes a little getting used to. But once you're there, like, it can really lull you into a state of relaxation. And that's certainly what happens to me when I'm on trains. I think perhaps that's why I love train travel because with that mode of transportation I find it easiest to relax and drift off. Whereas car, plane and boat, to a lesser extent, it's much more trickier for me Fair enough. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'd love to go on those trains that they have through the Rockies where the roof of the train is glass so that you can have a wonderfully picturesque and natural escape, really, through this train experience.
>> Marco Timpano: They say it's one of the most beautiful ways or one of the most beautiful places to see is going through the Rockies on the train. And it's certainly one of the things that I have on my bucket list would be to do that and see the Rockies by trade.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What else is on your bucket list?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you know, Niddy, that's a great question. I haven't given it too much thought, to be honest with you, but certainly I would love to travel to Africa and, you know, do some sort of safari expedition. I've never sort of done that. How about yourself?
>> Nidhi Khanna: For me, travel is definitely on there, But I think also just some smaller. Not smaller. That's not true. But some more basic bucket list goals would be to have, you know, either a cottage or to have a home in. In a warm climate that I could go to, or to be able to get a tattoo. That's on a bucket list.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But you've never wanted to, you know, skydive or do anything.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, nothing. Nothing with heights will work for me still.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Same here.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's not on my list. Scuba diving has always been something that I've been curious about. I would love to. I'd love to go into one of those tanks or one of those. What do you call them there, like, cages and being your great white sharks and just see that kind of stuff. Yeah, but you. I think you need to be able to scuba dive to do that, and so one would precede the other. But, yeah, if we're talking bucket list, that would probably be one of the things on it. I also love going to restaurants, like, great restaurants, especially of great chefs, or just like places that are renowned for their food.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree. Food for me is an experience when I'm traveling. If I need to have a unique food experience in order for it to be a successful trip or adventure, really,
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's part of the adventure when you travel in particular, is to go to various restaurants and try the local cuisine and stuff, then you wouldn't get in a restaurant in your own hometown.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely. Absolutely. I agree. Marco, we're currently recording from an area that has a lot of office supplies around it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you have a particular office supply that you can't do without?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this is such a great question. I. First of all, I love office equipment. And I just recently bought a staple remover. Because my staple remover, I used it so much over the years that the teeth of the staple remover have gotten, I don't want to say dull, but they sort of, they've sort of warped. And therefore the staple remover was no longer great at removing the staples. It would chew up the paper. So I recently bought a staple remover to replace that one. But I think my number one office tool or office equipment would be the stapler itself. I love having a good stapler. I don't have a good stapler. It often will jam. So I'm on the lookout for a great stapler, one that can go through papers, many papers and make a nice seal. What about for yourself? What would be your number one office equipment?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I have a dual purpose pen where it's a pen on one side and a highlighter in the cap.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think you were using it actually before and I never thought that I needed a pen with a highlighter in the cap. However, now that I have it, I need to have that as my only pen because. Yeah, because I find, particularly if I'm looking through a report or a script, I'll make my notes in pen. But then I have the added bonus of being able to highlight particular sentences or words that I find I need to highlight. So for me, that wonderful pen has really changed my outlook on office supplies.
>> Marco Timpano: That's pretty excellent. I mean, I love pension and I often am given pens. I recently received a seven year pen. Have you ever heard of the seven year pen?
>> Nidhi Khanna: What's that?
>> Marco Timpano: I hadn't either, but this Christmas I received a seven year pen. And what it is, is it's a pen that the ink will last seven years. So the pen should last you seven years before it runs out.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's sort of like an astronaut's pen.
>> Marco Timpano: Kind of. Kind of. It's. It's a really interesting looking pen. I'll show it to you after and we'll take a photo and we'll put it on our Twitter so that you can see what it looks like. But one interesting thing about me is I like blue ink in my pens. I don't like black ink in my pencils.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Why is that?
>> Marco Timpano: I. I don't know why that is. I just prefer blue ink to black ink, I think because oftentimes lines are black and so it's black on top of black. And I like the, I guess the delineation of the two colors on the page.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: How about yourself? Do you prefer black ink or Blue ink?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, that's a great question. You know, I actually think I prefer black ink.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do. I do. I find. Find black ink. There's something a little bit more elegant.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: With it, and it's a little less jarring. I definitely don't like anything other than black or blue ink. So when I see. Obviously red ink is, you know, makes you feel like there's all these errors on the page. But I'm not a big fan of the green ink or the purple ink or all these new ink fads that people have. I like to keep it classic.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't mind those colors, but I certainly wouldn't, you know, sign documents in. In anything other than blue or black. But my preference is definitely blue. And I don't like a thick, heavy pen. And oftentimes when you're gifted pen pens, they're the bigger, the thicker. Like a Mont Blanc pen. It's the last pen I would ever want. I don't like the way they feel in my hand. I don't like the weight of them. And I know they're, you know, very expensive pens, but I. That's not the pen for me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, that's good to know, Marco, because next Christmas, you won't be getting a Montblanc pen from me. However, I have to disagree with you with regards to the thickness of the pen.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I prefer a chunkier pen.
>> Marco Timpano: So then I need to find you a chunky pen that has a highlighter on the opposite end.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we hope we helped you find some relaxation on today's podcast. I just want to welcome our new Substance subscribers and wish you a pleasant night, as always.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We're broadcasting from Toronto, and the Insomnia Project is produced by drumcast Productions, Sa.
(Original airdate: March 3, 2016)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise you is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to listen and sleep. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your Co host Nidhi Khanna Marco We've sat in a number of rooms lately that have had pretty eclectic wallpaper.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What are your thoughts on wallpaper? Is it something that you gravitate towards or do you prefer just a painted room?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting that you should mention wallpaper because there's that expression watching wallpaper paste dry or is it watching paint dry?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I believe it's watching paint dry.
>> Marco Timpano: O for me, I prefer a painted wall to a wallpapered wall. That said, there's some pretty outstanding looking wallpaper, some wallpaper that makes you feel like it's marble or whatever sort of aesthetic it's trying to be. I know that we wallpapered a wall in our house and there's a lot that goes behind or that goes into wallpapering a wall.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Tell me about that. How do you wallpaper a wall?
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever wallpapered?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not. I used to have wallpaper in my childhood home. However, since then I haven't really been in a place that has wallpaper. It's usually painted walls.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So please do tell.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I can tell you that, you know, there's a lot of different tools one would use when they wallpaper and different types of wallpaper require different sort of techniques. So if you go to your local say hardware store or paint store and purchase an easy to do wallpaper, you, the adhesive will be right on the back of the wallpaper. You, you would then put it into a tray of warm water or lukewarm water and the glue would activate. And there's a bunch of different tools one could use when you're putting the wallpaper on the wall. So there's kind of like rollers and sponges that allow you to sort of sponge out all the moisture from the wallpaper. And then there's a tool that sort of looks like a squeegee that allows you to get all the air bubbles out of the wallpaper because have you ever seen wallpaper that wasn't done correctly that has air pockets in it?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I, I have noticed that before, yes. I remember my cousin tried to wallpaper her bedroom when she was younger and it ended up exactly how you just described it with a bunch of sort of air bubbles sticking out from the wallpaper?
>> Marco Timpano: So it can be very tricky, especially when you're doing corners or you're trying to do an area that has like a cutout in it. So for example, around a window or if there's a sort of a feature in the room that you're working on that you want to wallpaper around or incorporate into the room that you're wallpapering. So it can be quite tricky. And I know that getting those air bubbles out of the wallpaper is one of the hardest aspects of wallpapering. Now the other part that becomes difficult is some wallpapers will have certain patterns. And so from one leaf of the wallpaper you've got to match up the continuous. If there's like a striation or let's say there's a, a snowflake that you're trying to match up or a branch of a tree that continues, you've got to line them up perfectly because if you're off each even just a little bit, your eye, when you walk in that room will catch that imperfection or that non lining up of the wallpaper.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Of course, it's sort of it, it is an art in a way.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, without a doubt. And the other thing about wallpaper is that wallpaper can be dated. So.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. I found that when I was looking at apartments recently to live in, some of the apartments had wallpaper and you can tell right away what era the wallpaper sort of comes from. And you're absolutely right. Wallpaper from the 80s, for example, can really make a beautiful space seem very dated because it's so different from the wallpaper patterns that we would put up today.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you know what's interesting, my grandmother had wallpaper in her house from the 60s and it had like a velvety texture to it. So there was like little designs in it that were raised and when you touch them, they felt soft, like velvet.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That actually sounds very luscious.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting because now it would be quite in our own vogue because it's something so unique and interesting or retrospective.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, at the top of the show a few shows ago, our listeners will remember that we talked quite extensively about the official cookie for the city of Calgary and not the city of Calgary,
>> Marco Timpano: excuse me, for Red Deer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The. Yes, of Red Deer. And we then said we were going
>> Marco Timpano: to join the Caramel surprise.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Caramel surprise. You got it. We then said that we were going to contact our mayor in the city of Toronto, that's right, John Tory, and ask him about perhaps developing a city of Toronto official cookie. Do you want to update our listeners about the progress we've made about that?
>> Marco Timpano: So we've had a couple of people contact us or we've had a couple of our listeners ask what's going on with regards to the official cookie of Toronto. As you can imagine, when you're trying to do something like this. It's a process and it doesn't happen overnight. But we were happy because the email that we sent to our mayor's office did in fact receive a response. And it looks like they were inquiring with regards to this and that they want to set something up perhaps to see what the public thinks about an official cookie for the city of Toronto where we broadcast from. And so as it stands, the wheels are in motion. Of course, we'll keep our listeners updated with regards to. Regards to that. It looks quite promising.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It does. It's exciting. It's almost a little too exciting even for the Insomnia project.
>> Marco Timpano: But we'll see what happens. We'll keep our listeners informed and, and as we said previously, if you have any idea for a cookie that you would like to see represent this city of ours, drop us a line. You can go to our Twitter or you can tweet us at Listen and Sleep.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, when was the last time you were on a train?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's funny you should say that, because this past weekend I actually took the train to go to London, Ontario, and I was there for about four days for work because I decided to take the train so that I could free up the car for use by my wife. And I said I'll just take the train to London. And I hadn't been on a train in quite some time and I realized how much I enjoyed traveling by train.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah. What, what part of the journey, when you're on a train do you enjoy the most?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting. The thing that I liked about or the thing that I do appreciate about train travel is that it's forced time for yourself. Whereas if I was driving those two hours, plus that I would be in a car driving and, you know, keeping, keeping aware of what's around me and what lies ahead. I was able to use for whatever I wanted to on the train. So I was able to read, surf the Internet because I had there's wi fi on the train. It was a real pleasurable experience and the seats were quite comfortable and roomy, unlike a lot of plane travel. And it was nice seeing all the little towns that we were passing as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I quite enjoy train travel as well. And similarly to you, I find it's one, one of the few times that you can really zone out because you're not worried about where's your passport, did you, are you going to be able to get your luggage out of the carousel when you arrive, etc. Etc. It's really a different experience, particularly when you're going those shorter distances, like from Toronto to London, Ontario.
>> Marco Timpano: I once traveled first class to Montreal on VIA Rail.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: And it was outstanding. It was one of the most civilized things I have done in a long while. It actually felt like plane travel from many years ago in that, like you said, you just got on quick, all your stuff was there, they served you food and water. It was really large. You. The time just went by so quickly and, you know, it was just so wonderful. You saw. You saw the large windows. There was plenty of room to walk around. There was a dining cart. So you really got to explore the train. And.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And the view is quite nice as well, because when you're driving from Toronto to Montreal, it's not that scenic of a route.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As compared to some other places.
>> Marco Timpano: You're on the highway, so.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. However, when you're on the train, you do get a glimpse of the. Of the lake. So it's. It's quite a different experience. It's. It's a nice, relaxing experience, really.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. A lot of the seats will fold out completely. So you could actually lie on the train as well. Yeah, some of them. Yeah. I. It didn't seem like. And then we said, let's see how far back these seats recline and they reclined quite a bit, that you could actually comfortably fall asleep or just rest and.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, I didn't know that.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it was really quite wonderful. I have to say that, you know what would be really neat is if we broadcasted one of our podcasts or recorded one of our. One of our podcasts on a train, on a VIA train, say, to Montreal.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, that would be fun.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And let our listeners really get the experience of being on the train and feeling the sounds of the train. Because even the motions of the train, which is a monotonous sort of forward moving motion that just keeps on sort of rolling forward. And rolling forward can be quite relaxing. And whereas I cannot drift off on a plane, I can certainly drift off on a train.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree completely. I find I very easily fall asleep on a train. I'm the type of person who will fall asleep in the passenger seat of a car.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But I'm usually the driver. Right. On trips. And so there's something very nice and calming and soothing for me to be able to just fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Where's the furthest you've ever traveled from point A to point B on a train?
>> Nidhi Khanna: On it. Oh, on a train.
>> Marco Timpano: Anywhere in the world.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I want to say that's a really good question. I'm not quite sure. I've been across Europe in trains.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I've taken the Eurostar, for example. I used to live in Italy for a while, so I took a lot of trains there. I also lived in France for a bit, so that's also another train country. And then I've also taken the train in India.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so I'm guessing actually probably in India. I've had some pretty long trips on the, on the train. How about you?
>> Marco Timpano: I know that we took a train from St. Petersburg to Moscow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: It was an overnight train and this was many years ago and it was a pretty long destination. It was one of these older trains. But when I say older trains, I mean like 1920s train because everything was kind of wooden and lacquered and you could just tell that everything on the train was made really well and sturdy and not out of new materials that you're used to seeing. We had little berths too. And even the way they folded down, they were. You could tell that they were older.
>> Nidhi Khanna: When you describe trains like that, Margo, I get two images, sure. In my head. One is of course, the Hogwarts Express.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, of course, yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But the other one is the Agatha Christie book.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Murder on the Orient Express. I always think of that when I'm imagining sort of the 1920s training experience. Although I highly doubt there were that many murders.
>> Marco Timpano: No, there wasn't. Not on that particular trip. But it wasn't as elegant. So it wasn't, you know, it was a Russian train and it wasn't designed for high end travel, at least not the one that I was on.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: At that time. But it was quite an experience. And I have traveled far distances in Europe as well. I think I did Paris to, I want to say Rome or something in one stint.
>> Speaker A: Oh, wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I've never done an overnight on a train. I feel like that must be a different experience as well.
>> Marco Timpano: It is. I mean, certainly know having a place to lie down while the vehicle or the transportation you're traveling in is going so quick. It's. It's definitely something that's. Takes a little getting used to. But once you're there, like, it can really lull you into a state of relaxation. And that's certainly what happens to me when I'm on trains. I think perhaps that's why I love train travel because with that mode of transportation I find it easiest to relax and drift off. Whereas car, plane and boat, to a lesser extent, it's much more trickier for me Fair enough. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'd love to go on those trains that they have through the Rockies where the roof of the train is glass so that you can have a wonderfully picturesque and natural escape, really, through this train experience.
>> Marco Timpano: They say it's one of the most beautiful ways or one of the most beautiful places to see is going through the Rockies on the train. And it's certainly one of the things that I have on my bucket list would be to do that and see the Rockies by trade.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What else is on your bucket list?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you know, Niddy, that's a great question. I haven't given it too much thought, to be honest with you, but certainly I would love to travel to Africa and, you know, do some sort of safari expedition. I've never sort of done that. How about yourself?
>> Nidhi Khanna: For me, travel is definitely on there, But I think also just some smaller. Not smaller. That's not true. But some more basic bucket list goals would be to have, you know, either a cottage or to have a home in. In a warm climate that I could go to, or to be able to get a tattoo. That's on a bucket list.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But you've never wanted to, you know, skydive or do anything.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, nothing. Nothing with heights will work for me still.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Same here.
>> Marco Timpano: So that's not on my list. Scuba diving has always been something that I've been curious about. I would love to. I'd love to go into one of those tanks or one of those. What do you call them there, like, cages and being your great white sharks and just see that kind of stuff. Yeah, but you. I think you need to be able to scuba dive to do that, and so one would precede the other. But, yeah, if we're talking bucket list, that would probably be one of the things on it. I also love going to restaurants, like, great restaurants, especially of great chefs, or just like places that are renowned for their food.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree. Food for me is an experience when I'm traveling. If I need to have a unique food experience in order for it to be a successful trip or adventure, really,
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's part of the adventure when you travel in particular, is to go to various restaurants and try the local cuisine and stuff, then you wouldn't get in a restaurant in your own hometown.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely. Absolutely. I agree. Marco, we're currently recording from an area that has a lot of office supplies around it.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you have a particular office supply that you can't do without?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this is such a great question. I. First of all, I love office equipment. And I just recently bought a staple remover. Because my staple remover, I used it so much over the years that the teeth of the staple remover have gotten, I don't want to say dull, but they sort of, they've sort of warped. And therefore the staple remover was no longer great at removing the staples. It would chew up the paper. So I recently bought a staple remover to replace that one. But I think my number one office tool or office equipment would be the stapler itself. I love having a good stapler. I don't have a good stapler. It often will jam. So I'm on the lookout for a great stapler, one that can go through papers, many papers and make a nice seal. What about for yourself? What would be your number one office equipment?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I have a dual purpose pen where it's a pen on one side and a highlighter in the cap.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think you were using it actually before and I never thought that I needed a pen with a highlighter in the cap. However, now that I have it, I need to have that as my only pen because. Yeah, because I find, particularly if I'm looking through a report or a script, I'll make my notes in pen. But then I have the added bonus of being able to highlight particular sentences or words that I find I need to highlight. So for me, that wonderful pen has really changed my outlook on office supplies.
>> Marco Timpano: That's pretty excellent. I mean, I love pension and I often am given pens. I recently received a seven year pen. Have you ever heard of the seven year pen?
>> Nidhi Khanna: What's that?
>> Marco Timpano: I hadn't either, but this Christmas I received a seven year pen. And what it is, is it's a pen that the ink will last seven years. So the pen should last you seven years before it runs out.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's sort of like an astronaut's pen.
>> Marco Timpano: Kind of. Kind of. It's. It's a really interesting looking pen. I'll show it to you after and we'll take a photo and we'll put it on our Twitter so that you can see what it looks like. But one interesting thing about me is I like blue ink in my pens. I don't like black ink in my pencils.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Why is that?
>> Marco Timpano: I. I don't know why that is. I just prefer blue ink to black ink, I think because oftentimes lines are black and so it's black on top of black. And I like the, I guess the delineation of the two colors on the page.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: How about yourself? Do you prefer black ink or Blue ink?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, that's a great question. You know, I actually think I prefer black ink.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do. I do. I find. Find black ink. There's something a little bit more elegant.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: With it, and it's a little less jarring. I definitely don't like anything other than black or blue ink. So when I see. Obviously red ink is, you know, makes you feel like there's all these errors on the page. But I'm not a big fan of the green ink or the purple ink or all these new ink fads that people have. I like to keep it classic.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't mind those colors, but I certainly wouldn't, you know, sign documents in. In anything other than blue or black. But my preference is definitely blue. And I don't like a thick, heavy pen. And oftentimes when you're gifted pen pens, they're the bigger, the thicker. Like a Mont Blanc pen. It's the last pen I would ever want. I don't like the way they feel in my hand. I don't like the weight of them. And I know they're, you know, very expensive pens, but I. That's not the pen for me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, that's good to know, Marco, because next Christmas, you won't be getting a Montblanc pen from me. However, I have to disagree with you with regards to the thickness of the pen.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I prefer a chunkier pen.
>> Marco Timpano: So then I need to find you a chunky pen that has a highlighter on the opposite end.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we hope we helped you find some relaxation on today's podcast. I just want to welcome our new Substance subscribers and wish you a pleasant night, as always.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We're broadcasting from Toronto, and the Insomnia Project is produced by drumcast Productions, Sa.
Sweaters, Sewing & Waiting In Lines
Original airdate: Feb 28, 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about everyday things. One thing we can promise you is that our light conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to listen or drift off and fall asleep. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host Nidhi Khanna. As always, you can connect with us online by tweeting, Isten and Sleep. We'd be happy to see what you have to say about our program and topics of conversation.
>> Marco Timpano: And thank you to everyone who subscribed to our podcast that we air twice a week on Wednesdays and on Sundays. For you,
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, the other day I was at getting my driver's license renewed
>> Marco Timpano: at the Ministry of Transportation or the DMV in the us.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it. And the lineups, no matter what time of day you go, always seem to be quite long.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it made me start to think what as I'm standing in this 45 minute line.
>> Marco Timpano: Oftentimes there's a line to get into the line so people will line up prior to it being open and then when the door is open you go from an outdoor line to an indoor
>> Nidhi Khanna: line and there's tickets and then you have to.
>> Marco Timpano: You were sane. Sorry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's okay. It made me think about what do others think about? Or how do they get themselves preoccupied during this waiting time.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, people have different sort of. I don't want to say protocols, but different sort of ceremonies or different sort of things. Rituals that they do when they're in a long lineup, whether it be at the Department of Motor Vehicles or Passports, passport offices, or even sometimes in a grocery line.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, it could feel quite like an eternity.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting you should say that. I know for myself it's a great time for me to check text messages or I'm often listening to podcasts now and it makes the time go by. I don't want to say quicker, but I get less angry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's true. Because there's something about the act of waiting that can be very frustrating. However, with the right tools, I can find some enjoyment in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Tell me more.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I think waiting in line is actually the only time that you can really. You have zero to do. There's nothing you can do. And as such, you can kind of
>> Marco Timpano: just enjoy not having a million things going on.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: And just sort of being with yourself or taking that moment to just breathe, relax, look around, see what's going on.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I find other people fascinating watching other people and their interactions with one another. It's a good time to catch up on some reading.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Oh, I love. I love forced time for yourself.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, that time and sometimes it involves waiting in a line, but more often than not it's being on the streetcar or on a bus where you're going somewhere, there's nothing you can do until you get there and you just pull a book out from your backpack or your bag, your rucksack, whatnot, and start to read. And you've got anywhere from five minutes, so a quick paragraph or chapter to a half hour ride where you can get a nice dent into your book and it allows you to tune out. Or it allows me, I should say, to tune out everyone around me and how packed this mode of transportation can be, or how cold or warm or hot it is outside and just focus on the words that are on the page.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree. Marco, I agree. I find it's also a time where probably before the Internet and before our mobile technology, I'm sure people used to start talking in lines with one another and it would be good opportunity to communicate with your fellow man.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. You know, I love how in the UK you notice this a lot more than you do in North America how they call lines cues?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. Why did they do that?
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great, great question. I love the way Q is spelt. There's something about its spelling that always makes me. And it's. I'm gonna get you to spell it because I know I'll mess it up. But it's an interesting spelling of a word and a word that has lost or never really had a strong significance. Significance here in North America. But in Britain and parts of the English speaking world that's tied to the United Kingdom, they continue to use that word.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And the word Q is actually spelled Q U, E, U, e. So it's
>> Marco Timpano: got a plenitude of vowels in there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It does.
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's one of the reasons I love it, because only the Q is a non vowel in that whole word.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You're absolutely right. It's one of those words that you would expect to show up on some sort of standardized testing or crossword puzzle. Yes. It's a trick word, really, because you could also spell Q as C U,
>> Marco Timpano: E as in a Q that you give someone who is on stage or
>> Nidhi Khanna: in front of a camera or a billiard cue.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. So there you go. It's interesting to find out the etymology of Q as it pertains to a lineup. And interesting how those other spellings of Q, that being a Q for a person to go on, or a Q as in. In billiards doesn't have the letter Q in it, whereas Q to indicate a lineup does have the letter Q in it. I find that aspect of linguistics to be quite fascinating.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know the word Q, Marco, in
>> Marco Timpano: reference to a lineup?
>> Nidhi Khanna: A lineup actually comes from the French word oh, coo. That means tail.
>> Marco Timpano: I had no idea.
>> Nidhi Khanna: How fascinating is that?
>> Marco Timpano: That's great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So.
>> Marco Timpano: And what's interesting is I know in Italian you often refer to a lineup as a coda, which means a tail, or can mean tail as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: See, that makes a lot of sense. Now I think we've cracked.
>> Marco Timpano: We've cracked that mystery etymological code of that particular word. I wouldn't say I enjoy being in queues or lineups, but I also have found it best to just ease into it and not get stressed. And it may not go quicker, but it certainly won't feel as long as if you're perturbed in the lineup.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's very true. Marco, I'd like to know you're wearing today a very comfortable and cozy looking sweater.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Are sweaters a staple part of your wardrobe? Is it Something. Do you gravitate towards a sweater when you're looking through your closet and figuring out what you want to wear in the morning? Or is it something that you just throw on because you have to, because, you know, it might be a little chilly at some point?
>> Marco Timpano: I love sweaters.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I love wearing sweaters. I certainly love when I can solely wear a sweater to go out and not have to put a jacket on it, which is. Which happens in parts of the. Parts of the. The year. You know, they say there are sweater people and there are people who don't like sweaters. I really love sweaters. I love wool sweaters. I know a lot of people fly, find wool sweaters to be itchy. And I even like turtleneck sweaters. I like sweaters that are thin. I like. I like to even wear sweaters in the summertime. A light cotton white sweater when you're going out.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: There's something about a sweater that I've always found that I like. It makes me feel very comfortable. I do have sweaters that I have that I love. I have one particular sweater that I have that's over 20 years old.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a Benetton sweater. And it's one of those sweaters that gets better with age. So the more I wear it. It was a black cable knit sweater that I purchased years and years ago. And I think. I don't know if it's the quality of the wool or the cotton, I should say, but as it aged, it faded in such a way that it looks better. It's got a little fraying around the sleeve, but it frayed in a perfect way as if I purchased it to have that little touch of fray to it. It's softer and much more comfortable. When I originally bought it, which I loved when I. It was a beautiful, rich, dark black when I bought it, and now it's a charcoal gray black. And I'll wear it. And it immediately puts me in a good mood. I'm nostalgic when I wear it. It's a cable knit sweater, so it's never really gotten out of style.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And it is one of my absolute, absolute favorite things that you will find in my wardrobe. How about you, Nihi? Are you a sweater person?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am a sweater person. I like very big, oversized sweaters.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I enjoy wearing leggings, particularly in the winter.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so I like having leggings with a very, very oversized, chunky, very warm sweater that to me, is very comforting, relaxing, and I like them to be very thick sweaters. That I can, even on a cold day, just wear the sweater over a bundle of layers of clothing and feel really warm.
>> Marco Timpano: Warm. Yeah. I think in colder climates like Canada, one gets an appreciation for a warm sweater. That said, I received one of my favorite sweaters from my mother in law, Valerie, and it was a beautiful cashmere sweater. And I loved this sweater. It just felt so wonderful, luxurious. It just, it was never too hot or too cold. It always seemed to regulate my temperature perfectly. And we had some moths.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, no, I know where this is going.
>> Marco Timpano: And they had a little feast on the sweater. I guess cashmere is something that moths love. And so when I put it on, there was a bunch of holes in it. And I was so, so sad because I had worn it, I had worn it a good amount of time. So I didn't feel that the sweater, as my good friend Dale says, owed me anything. But I, I love that sweater. So my wife Amanda told her mother Valerie that it was damaged by these insects. And so the following Christmas, I received a beautiful black cashmere sweater.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: And this Christmas, I received another beautiful sweater. And so I make a point of putting it in a Ziploc bag after every use.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And do you put some mothballs?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't, I don't because I don't like the smell, the smell of mothballs. And I find if I put it on it, put it in the bag once I've finished wearing it or once it's been cleaned, I have no troubles with moths. I'm wondering if there's any tricks or tools that our listeners have with regards to keeping your sweater safe from moths and things that ruin your sweaters. If they do feel, feel free to give us those tips and we'll share them with our listeners at Listen and Sleep. I do have a cardigan that I love that the moth ate a little hole where the button is. So my button came out. But I feel like if I stitch it properly, you won't see I'm not a good sewer, is my problem. Are you a good sewer?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, I learned sewing and sew at a very young age in school.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Randomly.
>> Marco Timpano: In grade school.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In grade school.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We did a sewing project. And I believe. Well, my mother and I were actually sorting out some old boxes from years ago, some storage boxes. And I found this little sewing project that I did when I must have been in grade two or three.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it was a pillowcase.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That we had sewed with. I mean, it was terrible sewing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But grade two. So I guess I was not very old.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So it was a very thick, like long stitch. And for years I never sewed. Sort of growing up. Like I never hemmed my own clothing or repaired my own clothing by sewing. However, recently I have started doing that again.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: With a very basic stitch, just a cross stitch. And it made me feel like I would be interested in learning how to make clothes because really that's a huge trend in Toronto and fashion right now. It's the do it yourself clothing phenomenon. And so they have a lot of these pop up stores or that where you can reserve a time slot with some friends. And some of these places are licensed with alcohol and so you can enjoy a drink and learn how to make some clothes. So that would be something fascinating.
>> Marco Timpano: I had no idea.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know.
>> Marco Timpano: That there were such sewing bars. What would you call them?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know. Yeah, I guess so. Sewing parties.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I would love to make my own clothes because I think that I would be able to do that now. However, I have never used a sewing machine.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I know how to handle, sew or repair piece an article of clothing through a hand stitch. However, I think if I were to make my own clothes, you would have to be able to use a sewing machine.
>> Marco Timpano: I would think it would certainly make things faster.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It would be.
>> Marco Timpano: I know that just the other day I was looking for black thread in order to sew this button because you know, oftentimes you'll get a little sewing kit from a hotel or wherever you happen to be and it only gives you so much black thread. And generally speaking, that's the thread that I use and go through. And so I realized I need black thread for this cardigan that has a hole in it. But I wanted to get a good quality thread.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And I was at one of these dollar store type places and I could tell that the thread was not, was not gonna do. It just wasn't good quality. Too thin and too like it had little piles in it too. So you can tell the thread isn't of a standard that you would like and especially for a color that you will, you know, you will use again and again. So I'm like, where does one go to get a good quality thread thread? And I was thinking there must be some threads that are better than others that professional tailors and seamstresses and people who are in the fashion world like to use. And so now I'm on a bit of a quest, nitty to find a good quality black thread spool because that's what you call the little item that the thread is on for those people who have never had occasion to use or buy thread. So I'm on a mission to find a good quality spool of thread.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I believe that those type of threads might be available in like a fashion district area.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know that I've gotten threads from Fabricland before, which is a Canadian retailer. I believe it's Canadian. Maybe it exists in the States as well, where you can buy tons of fabric and different types of fabric for all uses. And there they have sewing thread as well. So I've bought good quality thread from there. But I think you do need to go to some sort of specialty store within a fashion context, I guess, fashion area, perhaps, to get the latest and greatest, of course, of threads.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, we were talking about collections a few episodes back, and I know a lot of people. I think it was episode three. We talked about my former salt and pepper collection. Of course, I know there was a time or it probably still exists, where people were collecting thimbles. Oh, have you ever heard of that? So you'd go to different cities in different countries, and rather than get a spoon, you would get a thimble. You can get a thimble with that, with that country or city's name on it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, I know that my brother used to have a collection of shot glasses from different cities, but never thimbles.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, thimbles. And you know, it's funny because you don't really hear that word even being used very much. Strange word anymore. And I'm sure there's people who've never even seen or used a thimble. So it's, It's. It's quite interesting to see these items that are used for a specific task that are kind of, you know, leaving. Leaving their once predominant impression on the world that you don't see them anymore. Do you remember my mom had one of these things. It was a little. Oh, I wish I knew what you'd call it. But a little thing you would put. A pin cushion. That's what I'm trying to say. Yes, a pin cushion. And it looked like a tomato. Have you ever seen this, Ben?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Christian, I know exactly what you're talking about.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we'll have to put up a picture of this on our, on our Twitter. Twitter feed. And it was a tomato that had a little, little tomato or a little pepper attached to it. And you would just put your pins in this pin cushion. And it was one of those things that you see, see as a kid and you're like, oh, that looks like a cute little thing that you want to play with or whatnot. And of course, it has pins in it. So you're not allowed to play with this pin cushion. But gone by the wayside is the pin cushion and the thimble. I would say it's true.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Although that's what we said about the Dewey decibel system.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. And turns out, thanks to Carrie in Halifax, that it is classification system that is used by the Library of Congress. So it may just. May just be, you know, not in the common practice, but it's still very useful. And I'm sure if you speak to various people who work in tailoring, they'll tell you that both the thimble and the pincushion are vital tools that they have in their arsenal and that they use every day as they make wonderful clothes for all of us to wear.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I have friends who are now knitting.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And knitting has become something that's trending again. I. I see that you are actually.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm actually grabbing a sweater that was hand knit because as nit. He said that I have a sweater that was just behind me that was hand knit, and it's a beautiful brown sweater. I'm just gonna let you feel it. And it's a cable knit as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Who knit this for you?
>> Marco Timpano: Because my mother knit me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Your mother knit this for you? That's.
>> Marco Timpano: She's really talented when it comes to knitting and needlework and anything to do with this kind of.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I find it very interesting because knitting is something I also learned.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, did you really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know how to do it anymore. I learned many things as a child.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sounds like you no longer have much place for. However, it's interesting because, like, they have those clothing. Learn how to clothe and make clothes places. They have a ton of knitting places now, too, where people just come and knit. And it's kind of like knitting clubs.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And you can learn how to knit something relatively simple, like a scarf, let's say. And then the more you do it, the better you are at it. And that's when you can go on to other challenges, whether it be a toque or a. A different kind of hat, let's say. And then you could move on to sweaters and whatnot.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, the most original thing that I received from a friend, my friend Diana knit me a cozy to put onto my coffee cup.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Because I have one of those coffee cups that you can take to the cafe. And she knit me one of those cozy.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Individual 1. So thank you Diana.
>> Marco Timpano: I know that my sister in law, Becca also is a avid knitter and she's knit quite a few things that we lovingly received from her. So to all our knitters out there, we want to thank you for knitting, especially knitting for people like Nidhi, and for listening on our podcast or to
>> Nidhi Khanna: our podcast as always. We are broadcasting from Toronto and our show is produced by drumcast Productions. Thank you for listening. Until the next time.
Original airdate: Feb 28, 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about everyday things. One thing we can promise you is that our light conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to listen or drift off and fall asleep. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host Nidhi Khanna. As always, you can connect with us online by tweeting, Isten and Sleep. We'd be happy to see what you have to say about our program and topics of conversation.
>> Marco Timpano: And thank you to everyone who subscribed to our podcast that we air twice a week on Wednesdays and on Sundays. For you,
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, the other day I was at getting my driver's license renewed
>> Marco Timpano: at the Ministry of Transportation or the DMV in the us.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it. And the lineups, no matter what time of day you go, always seem to be quite long.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it made me start to think what as I'm standing in this 45 minute line.
>> Marco Timpano: Oftentimes there's a line to get into the line so people will line up prior to it being open and then when the door is open you go from an outdoor line to an indoor
>> Nidhi Khanna: line and there's tickets and then you have to.
>> Marco Timpano: You were sane. Sorry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's okay. It made me think about what do others think about? Or how do they get themselves preoccupied during this waiting time.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, people have different sort of. I don't want to say protocols, but different sort of ceremonies or different sort of things. Rituals that they do when they're in a long lineup, whether it be at the Department of Motor Vehicles or Passports, passport offices, or even sometimes in a grocery line.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, it could feel quite like an eternity.
>> Marco Timpano: It's interesting you should say that. I know for myself it's a great time for me to check text messages or I'm often listening to podcasts now and it makes the time go by. I don't want to say quicker, but I get less angry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's true. Because there's something about the act of waiting that can be very frustrating. However, with the right tools, I can find some enjoyment in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Tell me more.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I think waiting in line is actually the only time that you can really. You have zero to do. There's nothing you can do. And as such, you can kind of
>> Marco Timpano: just enjoy not having a million things going on.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: And just sort of being with yourself or taking that moment to just breathe, relax, look around, see what's going on.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I find other people fascinating watching other people and their interactions with one another. It's a good time to catch up on some reading.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Oh, I love. I love forced time for yourself.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So for me, that time and sometimes it involves waiting in a line, but more often than not it's being on the streetcar or on a bus where you're going somewhere, there's nothing you can do until you get there and you just pull a book out from your backpack or your bag, your rucksack, whatnot, and start to read. And you've got anywhere from five minutes, so a quick paragraph or chapter to a half hour ride where you can get a nice dent into your book and it allows you to tune out. Or it allows me, I should say, to tune out everyone around me and how packed this mode of transportation can be, or how cold or warm or hot it is outside and just focus on the words that are on the page.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree. Marco, I agree. I find it's also a time where probably before the Internet and before our mobile technology, I'm sure people used to start talking in lines with one another and it would be good opportunity to communicate with your fellow man.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. You know, I love how in the UK you notice this a lot more than you do in North America how they call lines cues?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. Why did they do that?
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great, great question. I love the way Q is spelt. There's something about its spelling that always makes me. And it's. I'm gonna get you to spell it because I know I'll mess it up. But it's an interesting spelling of a word and a word that has lost or never really had a strong significance. Significance here in North America. But in Britain and parts of the English speaking world that's tied to the United Kingdom, they continue to use that word.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And the word Q is actually spelled Q U, E, U, e. So it's
>> Marco Timpano: got a plenitude of vowels in there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It does.
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's one of the reasons I love it, because only the Q is a non vowel in that whole word.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You're absolutely right. It's one of those words that you would expect to show up on some sort of standardized testing or crossword puzzle. Yes. It's a trick word, really, because you could also spell Q as C U,
>> Marco Timpano: E as in a Q that you give someone who is on stage or
>> Nidhi Khanna: in front of a camera or a billiard cue.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, right. So there you go. It's interesting to find out the etymology of Q as it pertains to a lineup. And interesting how those other spellings of Q, that being a Q for a person to go on, or a Q as in. In billiards doesn't have the letter Q in it, whereas Q to indicate a lineup does have the letter Q in it. I find that aspect of linguistics to be quite fascinating.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know the word Q, Marco, in
>> Marco Timpano: reference to a lineup?
>> Nidhi Khanna: A lineup actually comes from the French word oh, coo. That means tail.
>> Marco Timpano: I had no idea.
>> Nidhi Khanna: How fascinating is that?
>> Marco Timpano: That's great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So.
>> Marco Timpano: And what's interesting is I know in Italian you often refer to a lineup as a coda, which means a tail, or can mean tail as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: See, that makes a lot of sense. Now I think we've cracked.
>> Marco Timpano: We've cracked that mystery etymological code of that particular word. I wouldn't say I enjoy being in queues or lineups, but I also have found it best to just ease into it and not get stressed. And it may not go quicker, but it certainly won't feel as long as if you're perturbed in the lineup.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's very true. Marco, I'd like to know you're wearing today a very comfortable and cozy looking sweater.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Are sweaters a staple part of your wardrobe? Is it Something. Do you gravitate towards a sweater when you're looking through your closet and figuring out what you want to wear in the morning? Or is it something that you just throw on because you have to, because, you know, it might be a little chilly at some point?
>> Marco Timpano: I love sweaters.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: I love wearing sweaters. I certainly love when I can solely wear a sweater to go out and not have to put a jacket on it, which is. Which happens in parts of the. Parts of the. The year. You know, they say there are sweater people and there are people who don't like sweaters. I really love sweaters. I love wool sweaters. I know a lot of people fly, find wool sweaters to be itchy. And I even like turtleneck sweaters. I like sweaters that are thin. I like. I like to even wear sweaters in the summertime. A light cotton white sweater when you're going out.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: There's something about a sweater that I've always found that I like. It makes me feel very comfortable. I do have sweaters that I have that I love. I have one particular sweater that I have that's over 20 years old.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a Benetton sweater. And it's one of those sweaters that gets better with age. So the more I wear it. It was a black cable knit sweater that I purchased years and years ago. And I think. I don't know if it's the quality of the wool or the cotton, I should say, but as it aged, it faded in such a way that it looks better. It's got a little fraying around the sleeve, but it frayed in a perfect way as if I purchased it to have that little touch of fray to it. It's softer and much more comfortable. When I originally bought it, which I loved when I. It was a beautiful, rich, dark black when I bought it, and now it's a charcoal gray black. And I'll wear it. And it immediately puts me in a good mood. I'm nostalgic when I wear it. It's a cable knit sweater, so it's never really gotten out of style.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And it is one of my absolute, absolute favorite things that you will find in my wardrobe. How about you, Nihi? Are you a sweater person?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am a sweater person. I like very big, oversized sweaters.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I enjoy wearing leggings, particularly in the winter.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so I like having leggings with a very, very oversized, chunky, very warm sweater that to me, is very comforting, relaxing, and I like them to be very thick sweaters. That I can, even on a cold day, just wear the sweater over a bundle of layers of clothing and feel really warm.
>> Marco Timpano: Warm. Yeah. I think in colder climates like Canada, one gets an appreciation for a warm sweater. That said, I received one of my favorite sweaters from my mother in law, Valerie, and it was a beautiful cashmere sweater. And I loved this sweater. It just felt so wonderful, luxurious. It just, it was never too hot or too cold. It always seemed to regulate my temperature perfectly. And we had some moths.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, no, I know where this is going.
>> Marco Timpano: And they had a little feast on the sweater. I guess cashmere is something that moths love. And so when I put it on, there was a bunch of holes in it. And I was so, so sad because I had worn it, I had worn it a good amount of time. So I didn't feel that the sweater, as my good friend Dale says, owed me anything. But I, I love that sweater. So my wife Amanda told her mother Valerie that it was damaged by these insects. And so the following Christmas, I received a beautiful black cashmere sweater.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wonderful.
>> Marco Timpano: And this Christmas, I received another beautiful sweater. And so I make a point of putting it in a Ziploc bag after every use.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And do you put some mothballs?
>> Marco Timpano: I don't, I don't because I don't like the smell, the smell of mothballs. And I find if I put it on it, put it in the bag once I've finished wearing it or once it's been cleaned, I have no troubles with moths. I'm wondering if there's any tricks or tools that our listeners have with regards to keeping your sweater safe from moths and things that ruin your sweaters. If they do feel, feel free to give us those tips and we'll share them with our listeners at Listen and Sleep. I do have a cardigan that I love that the moth ate a little hole where the button is. So my button came out. But I feel like if I stitch it properly, you won't see I'm not a good sewer, is my problem. Are you a good sewer?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, I learned sewing and sew at a very young age in school.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Randomly.
>> Marco Timpano: In grade school.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In grade school.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We did a sewing project. And I believe. Well, my mother and I were actually sorting out some old boxes from years ago, some storage boxes. And I found this little sewing project that I did when I must have been in grade two or three.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it was a pillowcase.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That we had sewed with. I mean, it was terrible sewing.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But grade two. So I guess I was not very old.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So it was a very thick, like long stitch. And for years I never sewed. Sort of growing up. Like I never hemmed my own clothing or repaired my own clothing by sewing. However, recently I have started doing that again.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: With a very basic stitch, just a cross stitch. And it made me feel like I would be interested in learning how to make clothes because really that's a huge trend in Toronto and fashion right now. It's the do it yourself clothing phenomenon. And so they have a lot of these pop up stores or that where you can reserve a time slot with some friends. And some of these places are licensed with alcohol and so you can enjoy a drink and learn how to make some clothes. So that would be something fascinating.
>> Marco Timpano: I had no idea.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know.
>> Marco Timpano: That there were such sewing bars. What would you call them?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know. Yeah, I guess so. Sewing parties.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I would love to make my own clothes because I think that I would be able to do that now. However, I have never used a sewing machine.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I know how to handle, sew or repair piece an article of clothing through a hand stitch. However, I think if I were to make my own clothes, you would have to be able to use a sewing machine.
>> Marco Timpano: I would think it would certainly make things faster.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It would be.
>> Marco Timpano: I know that just the other day I was looking for black thread in order to sew this button because you know, oftentimes you'll get a little sewing kit from a hotel or wherever you happen to be and it only gives you so much black thread. And generally speaking, that's the thread that I use and go through. And so I realized I need black thread for this cardigan that has a hole in it. But I wanted to get a good quality thread.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And I was at one of these dollar store type places and I could tell that the thread was not, was not gonna do. It just wasn't good quality. Too thin and too like it had little piles in it too. So you can tell the thread isn't of a standard that you would like and especially for a color that you will, you know, you will use again and again. So I'm like, where does one go to get a good quality thread thread? And I was thinking there must be some threads that are better than others that professional tailors and seamstresses and people who are in the fashion world like to use. And so now I'm on a bit of a quest, nitty to find a good quality black thread spool because that's what you call the little item that the thread is on for those people who have never had occasion to use or buy thread. So I'm on a mission to find a good quality spool of thread.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I believe that those type of threads might be available in like a fashion district area.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know that I've gotten threads from Fabricland before, which is a Canadian retailer. I believe it's Canadian. Maybe it exists in the States as well, where you can buy tons of fabric and different types of fabric for all uses. And there they have sewing thread as well. So I've bought good quality thread from there. But I think you do need to go to some sort of specialty store within a fashion context, I guess, fashion area, perhaps, to get the latest and greatest, of course, of threads.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, we were talking about collections a few episodes back, and I know a lot of people. I think it was episode three. We talked about my former salt and pepper collection. Of course, I know there was a time or it probably still exists, where people were collecting thimbles. Oh, have you ever heard of that? So you'd go to different cities in different countries, and rather than get a spoon, you would get a thimble. You can get a thimble with that, with that country or city's name on it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, I know that my brother used to have a collection of shot glasses from different cities, but never thimbles.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, thimbles. And you know, it's funny because you don't really hear that word even being used very much. Strange word anymore. And I'm sure there's people who've never even seen or used a thimble. So it's, It's. It's quite interesting to see these items that are used for a specific task that are kind of, you know, leaving. Leaving their once predominant impression on the world that you don't see them anymore. Do you remember my mom had one of these things. It was a little. Oh, I wish I knew what you'd call it. But a little thing you would put. A pin cushion. That's what I'm trying to say. Yes, a pin cushion. And it looked like a tomato. Have you ever seen this, Ben?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Christian, I know exactly what you're talking about.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we'll have to put up a picture of this on our, on our Twitter. Twitter feed. And it was a tomato that had a little, little tomato or a little pepper attached to it. And you would just put your pins in this pin cushion. And it was one of those things that you see, see as a kid and you're like, oh, that looks like a cute little thing that you want to play with or whatnot. And of course, it has pins in it. So you're not allowed to play with this pin cushion. But gone by the wayside is the pin cushion and the thimble. I would say it's true.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Although that's what we said about the Dewey decibel system.
>> Marco Timpano: That's true. And turns out, thanks to Carrie in Halifax, that it is classification system that is used by the Library of Congress. So it may just. May just be, you know, not in the common practice, but it's still very useful. And I'm sure if you speak to various people who work in tailoring, they'll tell you that both the thimble and the pincushion are vital tools that they have in their arsenal and that they use every day as they make wonderful clothes for all of us to wear.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I have friends who are now knitting.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And knitting has become something that's trending again. I. I see that you are actually.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm actually grabbing a sweater that was hand knit because as nit. He said that I have a sweater that was just behind me that was hand knit, and it's a beautiful brown sweater. I'm just gonna let you feel it. And it's a cable knit as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Who knit this for you?
>> Marco Timpano: Because my mother knit me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Your mother knit this for you? That's.
>> Marco Timpano: She's really talented when it comes to knitting and needlework and anything to do with this kind of.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I find it very interesting because knitting is something I also learned.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, did you really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know how to do it anymore. I learned many things as a child.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sounds like you no longer have much place for. However, it's interesting because, like, they have those clothing. Learn how to clothe and make clothes places. They have a ton of knitting places now, too, where people just come and knit. And it's kind of like knitting clubs.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. And you can learn how to knit something relatively simple, like a scarf, let's say. And then the more you do it, the better you are at it. And that's when you can go on to other challenges, whether it be a toque or a. A different kind of hat, let's say. And then you could move on to sweaters and whatnot.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, the most original thing that I received from a friend, my friend Diana knit me a cozy to put onto my coffee cup.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Because I have one of those coffee cups that you can take to the cafe. And she knit me one of those cozy.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's wonderful.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Individual 1. So thank you Diana.
>> Marco Timpano: I know that my sister in law, Becca also is a avid knitter and she's knit quite a few things that we lovingly received from her. So to all our knitters out there, we want to thank you for knitting, especially knitting for people like Nidhi, and for listening on our podcast or to
>> Nidhi Khanna: our podcast as always. We are broadcasting from Toronto and our show is produced by drumcast Productions. Thank you for listening. Until the next time.
Brunch, Clouds & Pumpkins
original airdate: 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a light conversation about the mundane. One thing that we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna. Feel free to tweet ustenandsleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Subscribe to us on itunes and you can find out exactly when we have our posting our newest episodes that you can listen to and fall asleep too.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I received some feedback about a previous episode from a friend of mine who was listening, who is of Ukrainian origin, and she was listening to our episode on eggs, which I believe was episode two, if I'm not mistaken, where we talked about the Ukrainian artistry of decorating eggs and she mentioned that we mispronounced the technique.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I was calling it
>> Nidhi Khanna: Pisanki.
>> Marco Timpano: Pisanki. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it was actually. It's actually called Pisanque.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know if I botched that again. Perhaps I did. But I thank Mila for her feedback and we apologize for any mistaken pronunciation on the Insomnia Project.
>> Marco Timpano: We do our best and I know that I really enjoyed making those Easter eggs back in the day. And speaking of eggs, I have a friend who is a chef, and he works at a very popular brunch place in the city. It's a popular place, but on the weekends they do brunch. And Ben was mentioning to me, this is the chef. Chef Ben was saying that he listens to our podcast when he comes home after a night of work. He said a lot of times, chefs will be very wound up after an evening service that has been very busy, and it's very tricky or difficult for them to wind down and fall asleep. And he. He had mentioned that he enjoys our podcast because unlike watching television, there's no light that that keeps him up either. He'll just play the podcast in the back and have it on a sort of continuous episode after episode after episode. And he said he fell asleep and had a restful night's sleep, thanks to us. So I want to send a little shout out to all the chefs out there who may be listening to the Insomnia Project. Thank you for listening and thank you for cooking for us when we go to restaurants and whatnot.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, thank you to Chef Ben for that. And as you say, all the chefs out there. Marco, you touched upon a topic that is very close to my heart there, which is brunch. Oh, I am a big fan of brunch. I am someone who brunches regularly. Yes, I do find Toronto, the city that we're broadcasting from, is very brunch friendly.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, there's a lot of cities out there that brunch becomes a not only a meal to have, but a thing to do in those cities. I know in California, when I've been there, I've gone out for brunch. I know that Seattle is also a brunch capital, if you will. I love brunch as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: There's something about it when you wake up on a Sunday morning and
>> Marco Timpano: you
>> Nidhi Khanna: get to get dressed up and go meet some people, there's something about that experience. It becomes an event, a tradition, a bonding exercise between friends. And I think it's quite special. It's very different from dinner, without a doubt.
>> Marco Timpano: I think one of the great things about brunch is you sort of know going into brunch what some staples are going to be that you're going to see on the menu. And it sort of puts you in the mood, whether you're in the mood for, say, an egg dish or pancakes or some sort of sweet or sweet and savory dish, crepes. Perhaps. Or waffles. Waffles. Usually there's some sort of warm beverage, whether it be a coffee, a tea and some sort of juice. Orange or grapefruit, or a mix of both, or perhaps even some more exotic fruit juices. What is a typical thing that you enjoy having at brunch?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I'm a big fan of the eggs at brunch, but you touched on sweet and savory, which I find interesting. I also find that we're seeing people experiment with these traditional items in brunch. So there's a bit of experimentation, but there's also this interesting way of bringing in different traditions and culture and how they brunch differently from your own. Right. So I recently went for Egyptian brunch, which was quite amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: What. What would one find at an Egyptian brunch?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So there was a very specific Egyptian bread that you had, which was quite lovely. And the eggs add a bit of that savory and sweet spice or seasoning to it, similar to what you would find, I think, in a Israeli brunch, which I've had as well. The Middle Eastern brunches in general tend to have a bit of rose water. There's pistachio, usually. So I love taking these very typical basic ingredients or items such as eggs and adding a twist. I find that to be a spectacular brunch experience.
>> Marco Timpano: When I'm brunching, I love a traditional North American brunch. So for me, the ideal brunch is eggs Benedict, side of bacon, home fries, glass of juice, and a tea.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's very North American. Now, Italian brunch, is that closer to what you would find in your typical North American brunch, or has it got distinctness in its own right?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting because Italian cuisine is so regional. Things are done differently from region to region. What is sort of a linking aspect to what Italians would have for breakfast? They don't necessarily have brunch, but if you were to do, let's say an Italian brunch would be using Italian cheeses with the eggs, some spice versus having bacon. Prosciutto would be probably its substitute. And I know that many different fruit juices are consumed in Italy. In particular, they have a ABC drink.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What's that?
>> Marco Timpano: So it would be. Oh, I hope I remember this now, albicoque. So like a nectarine. Oh, I'm gonna have to look this up. Carote would be the C, and the B is. Oh, it just escapes me. But we'll look it up and. But it's a mixture of three different juices that you'll often see in little drink boxes and whatnot.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is the bee beetroot by any chance? No. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: No, because it's orange in color.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, is it?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Well, look it up. I know that for myself, I've always been fan of. One thing about my brunch experience is that I don't like when too many things on my plate touch. So especially the sweet let's. If I'm having eggs and a pancake, I want my pancake on a separate plate because I don't like. I like my eggs runny, and if it runs onto my pancake, it's something that I don't enjoy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's interesting because I agree in some respects. So runny eggs on pancakes, to me, is not an ideal situation. However, I do enjoy, you know, a bit of the mixing of, let's say, some toast with the baked beans or those type of complementary components. But I think pancakes are one of those dishes that really does need to be separated from the rest of the plate components. So I agree with you in that respect.
>> Marco Timpano: I know that you like spice with your food, so you. I oftentimes, when we go out, do you like spice with your brunch?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely, Marco. For me, I need. So, for example, I need more than just Tabasco sauce when I'm having my eggs. You know, I like a little bit of sriracha, for example, I do enjoy going for Mexican or South American brunch because I usually can get hot sauce that is homemade or quite spicy. I do enjoy Italian brunch because I can get sort of those, especially the southern Italian hot peppers. Those are quite enjoyable to me. But for me, in general, I like to have hot peppers or hot sauce on most of my food. At least with each meal, I need to have that as a little bit of a condiment.
>> Marco Timpano: Yum.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is quite nice.
>> Marco Timpano: We were driving the other day and we noticed these big clouds in the sky. And I remember you pointing out and saying, look at that particular cloud there. It has a very interesting sort of shape to it. One thing about clouds is I love to see clouds in paintings. I feel like they really sort of bring out a landscape. In particular, the Group of Seven's work, if you've ever seen it, there's a lot of clouds in their particular paintings, and I've been a huge fan of the Group of Seven and the McMichael Gallery that houses a lot of their works. And clouds are just such an interesting thing to see. They're always. They're Often in the sky and you don't notice them. But when you do notice them, they can be very impressive
>> Nidhi Khanna: clouds. I used to play that game where you would look at a cloud and see what it was shaped like.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: On long drives with my family, that's something that we used to do, play that little game. And depending on the cloud, you could all. It was such a subjective game because really it depends on what each person sees in their mind's eye. I also remember quite distinctly learning about clouds in our grade 10 science class because we had to memorize a list of many, many cloud names, scientific names. And the only one I remember right now, I think, is cumulus nimbus or nimbulus, something like that. But I found it fascinating because there was a theory, I'm not sure if it still applies, that depending on the shape of the cloud determines what the weather is going to be like. And most of the cloud shapes actually refer to bad weather or whether that was going to be rainy or stormy. And there was only one cloud shape that actually predicted more sunny weather. Kind of the fluffy clouds. Sure. I'm not sure if I can recall the name. Maybe that was cumulus nimbus, and that's why it stuck out in my brain. However, clouds in general were quite. I didn't realize there were so many different clouds. And I just enjoy also being on a plane and.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, and flying above the clouds.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. Because I find it quite fascinating to see above the clouds and the layer of cloud, like, well, the clouds in the atmosphere. I think it's quite exhilarating and really gives you some perspective on the fact that we're in these plains and can be above the clouds. Quite a special feeling.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, you know, you see clouds and you think, oh, what must it be like to be in a cloud? And I don't know if you've ever had an experience where you've, let's say, walked up a mountain or been in an area where you're in the clouds, but it's very wet, it's a very misty experience, like in the sky. They seem to have, you know, this white fluffiness that you could almost see. See yourself sitting on. I think there's so many iconographic images of angels on clouds and people sitting on clouds and things like that. But when you're amongst a cloud, whether you be in a. Let's say, on a mountain or in a gondola, that takes you up above the clouds.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes even if you go skiing, the gondola will take you through cloudy patches of the mountain of the ski lift wheel. It's very interesting in that it's very cool and misty and you end up getting quite wet being amongst the clouds, which is something you don't really realize when you're just looking at clouds in the sky.
>> Nidhi Khanna: To tip off this NBA season on FanDuel, you can choose your own rewards, which means you can play your game any way you want. I get to choose my rewards? Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now excuse me while I lock in customers. Choose your own reward right now in the FanDuel app 21+ and present in select states. 18+ in Kentucky. Opt in required rewards are non withdrawable. Restrictions apply including bonus and token expiration, leg requirement and max wager amount. See full [email protected] sportsbook gambling problem. Call 1-800-G GAMBLER
>> Marco Timpano: I did look up the juice that I was trying to think of earlier and actually it's not abc, it's a C, E. Oh, well, so it spells ace if you look at it in English, but it actually represents the vitamins that are in that particular juice. And the base of that juice is arancha, which is A, and that's why I thought it denoted the types of fruit. So orange in Italian. It also has C carote, which would be carrots. So I know its base is always orange and carrot. Oftentimes they'll add lemon and sometimes they'll add passion fruit. And the reason I know this is that I have an allergy to passion fruit.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, do you?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I have to be careful. It's not a severe allergy, but it is something that will cause my lips to tingle and whatnot. So it's one of those items that you don't often see. But for me, I've got to be a little careful of it. And getting back to brunch, what is the fun fruit that you enjoy most on your brunch plate?
>> Nidhi Khanna: The fruit that I enjoy the most? That's a great question. I have to say I'm a big fan of watermelon. So I quite enjoy when I get a nice slice of watermelon on my plate, I find it refreshing. I find it changes the taste so that you really feel like, okay, brunch has come to an end. I've finished all the food on my plate and here is the little almost dessert like part of the plate that I can top off.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you feel about watermelon seeds? There are so many seedless watermelons that now oftentimes you won't even see those precious black watermelon seeds that you once saw, and I kind of miss them.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you? What is it about them that appeals to you?
>> Marco Timpano: There's something nostalgic about watermelon seeds from when I was a kid and they were often. You'd often have watermelon that had seeds in it. And then, you know, it's been very popular now to have seedless watermelons.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: But there's something charming about spitting out those seeds and going for distance or picking them out with a knife. And there's something beautiful about cutting a watermelon and seeing that beautiful bright red flesh with those speckles of black.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's very true. That's very true. There is something quite artistic about it. Did you as a kid, child ever try and plant the watermelon seed, or any fruit for that matter, try and plant the seed to see if it would grow?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Niddy. This will have to be conversation for another podcast because I have quite a story. Well, I have quite a story about planting seeds in our garden. My family is a family that gardens quite a bit and has a very large vegetable garden.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I think we do have a little bit of time if you'd like to get into it a little bit. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had a fascination with planting things in the garden and I remember thinking to myself, I want to plant watermelon. But I was told watermelon won't grow in Canada so you won't have any watermelon. But I was determined. So I grabbed some seeds from a random watermelon and planted. Planted them in my parents garden. Sure enough, watermelon grew. They weren't very big really. And you see more of them now. They're like little sugar melons.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: The size of a small.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Smaller than a football.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, like a small. I don't want to say bowling ball, but a small.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, that's a good analogy.
>> Marco Timpano: A small ball. Anyways. And everyone was kind of impressed that I was able to grow watermelon. And so then it became a sort of challenge for me. So what I did was I bought packets of giant pumpkin seeds.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: So a giant pumpkin seed is probably about the size of your thumbnail when you take the packet out. And I planted them in the garden on the little sloping side of the ravine where the garden ended. And I would water them every day and surely you would see these vines start to grow. And they're really big, hearty vines with thorns on them too. So all of a sudden my parents garden was inundated with these vines and these flowers would start to bloom. And my dad said, listen, if you want the watermelon to grow big, you have to remove some of the flowers and only allow for, you know, the nutrients to go to one or two pumpkins. And so I did what he said. I plucked some of the flowers off the vine and allowed for two or three to grow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Two or three pumpkins, actually, I think
>> Marco Timpano: I had two vines and I allowed one pumpkin on each.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: In my parents garden. But I forgotten that I planted some. Some on the slope of the ravine that was in my parents backyard that just kind of sloped into a grassy field. And so as fall approaches and the grasses turn yellow and die and whatnot, we would see these giant orange bulbs or these big things in the ravine.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You created a pumpkin patch, and the
>> Marco Timpano: ravine created a pumpkin patch. And what was funny was the pumpkins that I planted in the garden didn't grow so big. And I don't know if it was because my dad was constantly shifting them out of the way of his zucchini and peppers and whatnot.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fair.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I had to then climb down into the ravine. And the ravine was quite steep, so I actually used the vine kind of like a makeshift Tarzan on a swinging vine from a. From a tree in the jungle. And I would lower myself into the ravine until I got to the actual pumpkin that was hanging on this slope. And of course, they were giant pumpkins. So once I got there, they were really large and heavy to bring up the ravine to the backyard so we could have them. And they were different shapes and different sizes. So some of them were really long and up long and, you know, weighed about 25 pounds or so. And yeah, so that's. That was my seed experience. And what I would often do in my mom's garden is I would take random flower packets that she had no idea or wanted in her garden, and I would just sew them all along. So she would all of a sudden have brown eyed Susans. And he'd be like, how did I get these flowers? And I wouldn't tell her, you are a rebel there. I was a little bit mischievous. And when my wife found out about this, she then told my mother that I had gone and planted all these random and odd seeds in her garden. And then we got to talking about the pumpkins that we grew. So I had these giant pumpkins. And they weren't easy to carve either, because you think, you know, you're used to carving Jack o' Lantern pumpkins which.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, that is my. When you say pumpkins, I think about the round orange jack O lanterns that you see during Halloween. And your story evoked a bit of the. The Charlie Brown.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Movie. A little bit of a cross of Indiana Jones with the vines and the Tarzan like.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting because these giant pumpkins aren't necessarily that bright orange. Some of them were like a paler kind of yellow orange and some of them were like a rusty orange.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Did you eat them?
>> Marco Timpano: I took the seeds out cuz like I said, the seeds are the size of your thumb. And we roasted quite a bit and I would keep, I would keep the seeds to plant them the following year so that we would have, you know, a bunch of giant pumpkins to plant. But after a while my folks were like you, you can't be planting all these pumpkins down the ravine. So I had a dedicated area where I could plant my giant pumpkins and they weren't giant by giant standards. So people who professionally plant these or they really enjoy, you know, a giant pumpkin. So as a result, I had for about a good four years giant pumpkins all over my parents garden. And there you go. That's the story.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's great, Marco. Well, thank you for telling that to us and thank you to our listeners who are a constant support for this show, the Insomnia Project. We broadcast from Toronto and we are produced by drumcast Productions.
>> Marco Timpano: And speaking of clouds, I want to mention that you can listen to our podcast on SoundCloud or download it on itunes. Till next time, we hope you listen and sleep.
original airdate: 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a light conversation about the mundane. One thing that we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna. Feel free to tweet ustenandsleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Subscribe to us on itunes and you can find out exactly when we have our posting our newest episodes that you can listen to and fall asleep too.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I received some feedback about a previous episode from a friend of mine who was listening, who is of Ukrainian origin, and she was listening to our episode on eggs, which I believe was episode two, if I'm not mistaken, where we talked about the Ukrainian artistry of decorating eggs and she mentioned that we mispronounced the technique.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, I was calling it
>> Nidhi Khanna: Pisanki.
>> Marco Timpano: Pisanki. Yeah.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it was actually. It's actually called Pisanque.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know if I botched that again. Perhaps I did. But I thank Mila for her feedback and we apologize for any mistaken pronunciation on the Insomnia Project.
>> Marco Timpano: We do our best and I know that I really enjoyed making those Easter eggs back in the day. And speaking of eggs, I have a friend who is a chef, and he works at a very popular brunch place in the city. It's a popular place, but on the weekends they do brunch. And Ben was mentioning to me, this is the chef. Chef Ben was saying that he listens to our podcast when he comes home after a night of work. He said a lot of times, chefs will be very wound up after an evening service that has been very busy, and it's very tricky or difficult for them to wind down and fall asleep. And he. He had mentioned that he enjoys our podcast because unlike watching television, there's no light that that keeps him up either. He'll just play the podcast in the back and have it on a sort of continuous episode after episode after episode. And he said he fell asleep and had a restful night's sleep, thanks to us. So I want to send a little shout out to all the chefs out there who may be listening to the Insomnia Project. Thank you for listening and thank you for cooking for us when we go to restaurants and whatnot.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, thank you to Chef Ben for that. And as you say, all the chefs out there. Marco, you touched upon a topic that is very close to my heart there, which is brunch. Oh, I am a big fan of brunch. I am someone who brunches regularly. Yes, I do find Toronto, the city that we're broadcasting from, is very brunch friendly.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, there's a lot of cities out there that brunch becomes a not only a meal to have, but a thing to do in those cities. I know in California, when I've been there, I've gone out for brunch. I know that Seattle is also a brunch capital, if you will. I love brunch as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: There's something about it when you wake up on a Sunday morning and
>> Marco Timpano: you
>> Nidhi Khanna: get to get dressed up and go meet some people, there's something about that experience. It becomes an event, a tradition, a bonding exercise between friends. And I think it's quite special. It's very different from dinner, without a doubt.
>> Marco Timpano: I think one of the great things about brunch is you sort of know going into brunch what some staples are going to be that you're going to see on the menu. And it sort of puts you in the mood, whether you're in the mood for, say, an egg dish or pancakes or some sort of sweet or sweet and savory dish, crepes. Perhaps. Or waffles. Waffles. Usually there's some sort of warm beverage, whether it be a coffee, a tea and some sort of juice. Orange or grapefruit, or a mix of both, or perhaps even some more exotic fruit juices. What is a typical thing that you enjoy having at brunch?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I'm a big fan of the eggs at brunch, but you touched on sweet and savory, which I find interesting. I also find that we're seeing people experiment with these traditional items in brunch. So there's a bit of experimentation, but there's also this interesting way of bringing in different traditions and culture and how they brunch differently from your own. Right. So I recently went for Egyptian brunch, which was quite amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: What. What would one find at an Egyptian brunch?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So there was a very specific Egyptian bread that you had, which was quite lovely. And the eggs add a bit of that savory and sweet spice or seasoning to it, similar to what you would find, I think, in a Israeli brunch, which I've had as well. The Middle Eastern brunches in general tend to have a bit of rose water. There's pistachio, usually. So I love taking these very typical basic ingredients or items such as eggs and adding a twist. I find that to be a spectacular brunch experience.
>> Marco Timpano: When I'm brunching, I love a traditional North American brunch. So for me, the ideal brunch is eggs Benedict, side of bacon, home fries, glass of juice, and a tea.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's very North American. Now, Italian brunch, is that closer to what you would find in your typical North American brunch, or has it got distinctness in its own right?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting because Italian cuisine is so regional. Things are done differently from region to region. What is sort of a linking aspect to what Italians would have for breakfast? They don't necessarily have brunch, but if you were to do, let's say an Italian brunch would be using Italian cheeses with the eggs, some spice versus having bacon. Prosciutto would be probably its substitute. And I know that many different fruit juices are consumed in Italy. In particular, they have a ABC drink.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What's that?
>> Marco Timpano: So it would be. Oh, I hope I remember this now, albicoque. So like a nectarine. Oh, I'm gonna have to look this up. Carote would be the C, and the B is. Oh, it just escapes me. But we'll look it up and. But it's a mixture of three different juices that you'll often see in little drink boxes and whatnot.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Is the bee beetroot by any chance? No. Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: No, because it's orange in color.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, is it?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Well, look it up. I know that for myself, I've always been fan of. One thing about my brunch experience is that I don't like when too many things on my plate touch. So especially the sweet let's. If I'm having eggs and a pancake, I want my pancake on a separate plate because I don't like. I like my eggs runny, and if it runs onto my pancake, it's something that I don't enjoy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's interesting because I agree in some respects. So runny eggs on pancakes, to me, is not an ideal situation. However, I do enjoy, you know, a bit of the mixing of, let's say, some toast with the baked beans or those type of complementary components. But I think pancakes are one of those dishes that really does need to be separated from the rest of the plate components. So I agree with you in that respect.
>> Marco Timpano: I know that you like spice with your food, so you. I oftentimes, when we go out, do you like spice with your brunch?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely, Marco. For me, I need. So, for example, I need more than just Tabasco sauce when I'm having my eggs. You know, I like a little bit of sriracha, for example, I do enjoy going for Mexican or South American brunch because I usually can get hot sauce that is homemade or quite spicy. I do enjoy Italian brunch because I can get sort of those, especially the southern Italian hot peppers. Those are quite enjoyable to me. But for me, in general, I like to have hot peppers or hot sauce on most of my food. At least with each meal, I need to have that as a little bit of a condiment.
>> Marco Timpano: Yum.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is quite nice.
>> Marco Timpano: We were driving the other day and we noticed these big clouds in the sky. And I remember you pointing out and saying, look at that particular cloud there. It has a very interesting sort of shape to it. One thing about clouds is I love to see clouds in paintings. I feel like they really sort of bring out a landscape. In particular, the Group of Seven's work, if you've ever seen it, there's a lot of clouds in their particular paintings, and I've been a huge fan of the Group of Seven and the McMichael Gallery that houses a lot of their works. And clouds are just such an interesting thing to see. They're always. They're Often in the sky and you don't notice them. But when you do notice them, they can be very impressive
>> Nidhi Khanna: clouds. I used to play that game where you would look at a cloud and see what it was shaped like.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: On long drives with my family, that's something that we used to do, play that little game. And depending on the cloud, you could all. It was such a subjective game because really it depends on what each person sees in their mind's eye. I also remember quite distinctly learning about clouds in our grade 10 science class because we had to memorize a list of many, many cloud names, scientific names. And the only one I remember right now, I think, is cumulus nimbus or nimbulus, something like that. But I found it fascinating because there was a theory, I'm not sure if it still applies, that depending on the shape of the cloud determines what the weather is going to be like. And most of the cloud shapes actually refer to bad weather or whether that was going to be rainy or stormy. And there was only one cloud shape that actually predicted more sunny weather. Kind of the fluffy clouds. Sure. I'm not sure if I can recall the name. Maybe that was cumulus nimbus, and that's why it stuck out in my brain. However, clouds in general were quite. I didn't realize there were so many different clouds. And I just enjoy also being on a plane and.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, and flying above the clouds.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. Because I find it quite fascinating to see above the clouds and the layer of cloud, like, well, the clouds in the atmosphere. I think it's quite exhilarating and really gives you some perspective on the fact that we're in these plains and can be above the clouds. Quite a special feeling.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, you know, you see clouds and you think, oh, what must it be like to be in a cloud? And I don't know if you've ever had an experience where you've, let's say, walked up a mountain or been in an area where you're in the clouds, but it's very wet, it's a very misty experience, like in the sky. They seem to have, you know, this white fluffiness that you could almost see. See yourself sitting on. I think there's so many iconographic images of angels on clouds and people sitting on clouds and things like that. But when you're amongst a cloud, whether you be in a. Let's say, on a mountain or in a gondola, that takes you up above the clouds.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Sometimes even if you go skiing, the gondola will take you through cloudy patches of the mountain of the ski lift wheel. It's very interesting in that it's very cool and misty and you end up getting quite wet being amongst the clouds, which is something you don't really realize when you're just looking at clouds in the sky.
>> Nidhi Khanna: To tip off this NBA season on FanDuel, you can choose your own rewards, which means you can play your game any way you want. I get to choose my rewards? Yep.
>> Marco Timpano: Great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now excuse me while I lock in customers. Choose your own reward right now in the FanDuel app 21+ and present in select states. 18+ in Kentucky. Opt in required rewards are non withdrawable. Restrictions apply including bonus and token expiration, leg requirement and max wager amount. See full [email protected] sportsbook gambling problem. Call 1-800-G GAMBLER
>> Marco Timpano: I did look up the juice that I was trying to think of earlier and actually it's not abc, it's a C, E. Oh, well, so it spells ace if you look at it in English, but it actually represents the vitamins that are in that particular juice. And the base of that juice is arancha, which is A, and that's why I thought it denoted the types of fruit. So orange in Italian. It also has C carote, which would be carrots. So I know its base is always orange and carrot. Oftentimes they'll add lemon and sometimes they'll add passion fruit. And the reason I know this is that I have an allergy to passion fruit.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, do you?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. So I have to be careful. It's not a severe allergy, but it is something that will cause my lips to tingle and whatnot. So it's one of those items that you don't often see. But for me, I've got to be a little careful of it. And getting back to brunch, what is the fun fruit that you enjoy most on your brunch plate?
>> Nidhi Khanna: The fruit that I enjoy the most? That's a great question. I have to say I'm a big fan of watermelon. So I quite enjoy when I get a nice slice of watermelon on my plate, I find it refreshing. I find it changes the taste so that you really feel like, okay, brunch has come to an end. I've finished all the food on my plate and here is the little almost dessert like part of the plate that I can top off.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you feel about watermelon seeds? There are so many seedless watermelons that now oftentimes you won't even see those precious black watermelon seeds that you once saw, and I kind of miss them.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you? What is it about them that appeals to you?
>> Marco Timpano: There's something nostalgic about watermelon seeds from when I was a kid and they were often. You'd often have watermelon that had seeds in it. And then, you know, it's been very popular now to have seedless watermelons.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: But there's something charming about spitting out those seeds and going for distance or picking them out with a knife. And there's something beautiful about cutting a watermelon and seeing that beautiful bright red flesh with those speckles of black.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's very true. That's very true. There is something quite artistic about it. Did you as a kid, child ever try and plant the watermelon seed, or any fruit for that matter, try and plant the seed to see if it would grow?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, Niddy. This will have to be conversation for another podcast because I have quite a story. Well, I have quite a story about planting seeds in our garden. My family is a family that gardens quite a bit and has a very large vegetable garden.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I think we do have a little bit of time if you'd like to get into it a little bit. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this.
>> Marco Timpano: So I had a fascination with planting things in the garden and I remember thinking to myself, I want to plant watermelon. But I was told watermelon won't grow in Canada so you won't have any watermelon. But I was determined. So I grabbed some seeds from a random watermelon and planted. Planted them in my parents garden. Sure enough, watermelon grew. They weren't very big really. And you see more of them now. They're like little sugar melons.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: The size of a small.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Smaller than a football.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, like a small. I don't want to say bowling ball, but a small.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, that's a good analogy.
>> Marco Timpano: A small ball. Anyways. And everyone was kind of impressed that I was able to grow watermelon. And so then it became a sort of challenge for me. So what I did was I bought packets of giant pumpkin seeds.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: So a giant pumpkin seed is probably about the size of your thumbnail when you take the packet out. And I planted them in the garden on the little sloping side of the ravine where the garden ended. And I would water them every day and surely you would see these vines start to grow. And they're really big, hearty vines with thorns on them too. So all of a sudden my parents garden was inundated with these vines and these flowers would start to bloom. And my dad said, listen, if you want the watermelon to grow big, you have to remove some of the flowers and only allow for, you know, the nutrients to go to one or two pumpkins. And so I did what he said. I plucked some of the flowers off the vine and allowed for two or three to grow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Two or three pumpkins, actually, I think
>> Marco Timpano: I had two vines and I allowed one pumpkin on each.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: In my parents garden. But I forgotten that I planted some. Some on the slope of the ravine that was in my parents backyard that just kind of sloped into a grassy field. And so as fall approaches and the grasses turn yellow and die and whatnot, we would see these giant orange bulbs or these big things in the ravine.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You created a pumpkin patch, and the
>> Marco Timpano: ravine created a pumpkin patch. And what was funny was the pumpkins that I planted in the garden didn't grow so big. And I don't know if it was because my dad was constantly shifting them out of the way of his zucchini and peppers and whatnot.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fair.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I had to then climb down into the ravine. And the ravine was quite steep, so I actually used the vine kind of like a makeshift Tarzan on a swinging vine from a. From a tree in the jungle. And I would lower myself into the ravine until I got to the actual pumpkin that was hanging on this slope. And of course, they were giant pumpkins. So once I got there, they were really large and heavy to bring up the ravine to the backyard so we could have them. And they were different shapes and different sizes. So some of them were really long and up long and, you know, weighed about 25 pounds or so. And yeah, so that's. That was my seed experience. And what I would often do in my mom's garden is I would take random flower packets that she had no idea or wanted in her garden, and I would just sew them all along. So she would all of a sudden have brown eyed Susans. And he'd be like, how did I get these flowers? And I wouldn't tell her, you are a rebel there. I was a little bit mischievous. And when my wife found out about this, she then told my mother that I had gone and planted all these random and odd seeds in her garden. And then we got to talking about the pumpkins that we grew. So I had these giant pumpkins. And they weren't easy to carve either, because you think, you know, you're used to carving Jack o' Lantern pumpkins which.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, that is my. When you say pumpkins, I think about the round orange jack O lanterns that you see during Halloween. And your story evoked a bit of the. The Charlie Brown.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Movie. A little bit of a cross of Indiana Jones with the vines and the Tarzan like.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting because these giant pumpkins aren't necessarily that bright orange. Some of them were like a paler kind of yellow orange and some of them were like a rusty orange.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Did you eat them?
>> Marco Timpano: I took the seeds out cuz like I said, the seeds are the size of your thumb. And we roasted quite a bit and I would keep, I would keep the seeds to plant them the following year so that we would have, you know, a bunch of giant pumpkins to plant. But after a while my folks were like you, you can't be planting all these pumpkins down the ravine. So I had a dedicated area where I could plant my giant pumpkins and they weren't giant by giant standards. So people who professionally plant these or they really enjoy, you know, a giant pumpkin. So as a result, I had for about a good four years giant pumpkins all over my parents garden. And there you go. That's the story.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's great, Marco. Well, thank you for telling that to us and thank you to our listeners who are a constant support for this show, the Insomnia Project. We broadcast from Toronto and we are produced by drumcast Productions.
>> Marco Timpano: And speaking of clouds, I want to mention that you can listen to our podcast on SoundCloud or download it on itunes. Till next time, we hope you listen and sleep.
The History Of The Insomnia Project
original airdate: March 13, 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, maybe even lie down and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane, the ordinary, some would say the boring. We can certainly promise that this conversation is going to be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna. Marco, Today we wanted to take this opportunity to talk a bit about the Insomnia Project and how we developed this idea and this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: We had mentioned it on our last podcast, our last episode, that we were going to talk about it because we realized, thanks to one of our listeners, that they didn't know what the genesis of this podcast was and why it came to be. So I had mentioned that both you and I are insomniacs. We suffer from insomnia. Now, I'm going to ask you, what is your insomnia like? Before we get into the genesis of
>> Nidhi Khanna: our show, I tend to go through phases. So I will be fine for a period of time and sleeping well, and then it'll shift and I'll have. I'll fall asleep, but I will wake up in the middle of the night and then not be able to fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you will have been sleeping awake and then your insomnia appears?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, I have. It takes me a long time to fall asleep, so it takes me a good couple of hours, and I need to have the TV on or this podcast on.
>> Marco Timpano: I, on the other hand, will not fall asleep. I will be up thinking, I'm going to be able to sleep, and then the hours will click by and I'll be like, if I fall asleep now, I can get a good four hours. And that just makes it worse and worse and worse. And so the reason we are letting you know the type of insomnia we have is to let you know that you are not alone out there. And we started to discuss how we both had insomnia. And we said we knew what didn't work for us.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And we knew what worked for us. And we knew that listening to people talk about a subject matter that wasn't so fascinating or exciting that we couldn't drift off would at the very least relax us, hopefully allow us to sleep. And so we discussed what we knew would help us as insomniacs.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, Marco, when we first started discussing our various bouts of insomnia, you had mentioned to me that the only thing that helps you fall asleep was to listen to old episodes of the TV show the Golden Girls.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That's 100% for me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I had to listen to old episodes of the Simpsons, and it always had to be old episodes, because the point is that you were not engaged and you weren't actually listening to the plotline. But there was something about the voices from the television just speaking that helped.
>> Marco Timpano: Originally, it was the Martha Stewart show.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yes, that's the first show.
>> Marco Timpano: And I had recorded a bunch of tape episodes on the PVR that Amanda said, we need to get rid of these episodes. You can record other episodes. And then her show went off the air, or at least it went to a channel that I don't get, and that's what brought me to the Golden Girls. And because I had seen all those episodes many times over and there's. They talk with a very sort of even tone. They really don't shout or yell in that show. And it would help me fall asleep. Because ultimately I knew how the episode ended. I knew everything about the episode. And so should I drift off, I wasn't missing anything. And that's how we came together with this concept, which then morphed into a art installation.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So that's a fascinating development that we had through the course of this concept. We had the opportunity to create an installation for Toronto, Nuit Blanche. And for those of our listeners who don't know what Nuit Blanche is, it's a very popular art festival in Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: In other parts of the world as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In other parts of the world. It originated in Paris, and during Nuit Blanche, the city stays up from sundown to sunset. So all night long. And art installations are sundown to sunrise. Sorry, yes. Sundown to sun rise.
>> Marco Timpano: And Nuit Blanche means white, white night.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: You're up all night. Or so things are happening all night. Correct.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. And so there's all these art installations throughout the city that people can go and see.
>> Marco Timpano: And just to back up a little bit, you had been involved in Nuit Blanche for years before working it, and
>> Nidhi Khanna: yes, in various capacities, working in the art field, just with different curators, not
>> Marco Timpano: to mention enjoying it as a spectator, because prior to that I had never even heard of Nuit Blanche. So it was you who sort of introduced me to it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely. So it was something that I participated in and enjoyed. And so we developed, we sort of adapted our podcast idea into a live installation that had both the podcast component and a video element.
>> Marco Timpano: And that was thanks to. To Daniela Fascalik, who was doing a cabaret show. And we had told her about our podcast concept and she said, I want you to do it at my cabaret. And I said, well, it's a podcast concept. And she said, I think it would be great live. And so we did it live for a fundraising cabaret show that she was doing. And the response from that was tremendous. In fact, we had an agent come up to us, remember Nidhi? At the end of the, at the end of the cabaret show, we had an agent come up to us and I wish I could remember her name, but she was from a very well known agency in Toronto. And she said she thought it was great and we should talk to her when we get it up. So we need to find out who that agent was and Perhaps get representation, but we're just going through the history of what is now in the Insomnia project. So that takes us from the idea to the live show that we did, part of that, that cabaret and that
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, was a 12 hour live podcast that.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, not, not the cabaret we did.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, sorry. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That brings us to. We're going through the history of it. Yes, certainly if this doesn't put you to sleep, I don't know what will. But we. Then that brings us to Nuit Blanche. And the idea behind Nuit Blanche was an art installation that incorporated both the visual and the audio. So we decided to. And make it participatory. We decided to have this art installation whereby we had scheduled guests as well as people who were enjoying the Nuit Blanche art installation experience, could sit with me and we would do a conversation that was less than fascinating on topics that we would pull from a jar, or in this case they were fish bowls, one that represented sunrise and one that represented sunset, all of which were random topics that spectators could write on various pieces of paper that would then be put into either the Sunrise bowl or the Sunset Bowl. And when the guests sat across from me, they could decide whether or not they wanted to pick from the Sunrise or the Sunset Bowl. And we would start the conversation from there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And Marco, we broadcast this installation from the beautiful Hotel Le Germain in Toronto, which had these beautiful wall to see ceiling windows in their lobby. And so we were able to put up projection screen.
>> Marco Timpano: And here comes the visual element to this particular art installation.
>> Nidhi Khanna: While people were talking with Marco, we
>> Marco Timpano: had our projectionist and his assistant, or his. I wouldn't say assistant because you was as important to the projection. We'll get through all the names of people who participated, but we had our
>> Nidhi Khanna: projectionists, yes, our projectionists and cinematographer, really, Matt Campagna and Melissa. And Melissa d', Agostino, who would display video and photos of what was being done discussed at the same time with you. So, for example, if we were to be doing that installation right now, we would be showing pictures of a microphone or video of two people talking. But what was very interesting about that component was that as the images were being displayed, you were able to take inspiration from the video element to inform the conversation that was taking place one on one.
>> Marco Timpano: And spectators could also sit next to Melissa or Matt and tell them a topic that then would be projected, which we could see as we were having this conversation. And we could continue being informed by the visual. So it was a experience where the audio was affected by the Visual. And the visual was affected by the audio. And that was the Insomnia project at the Nuit Blanche in Toronto.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we stayed up almost 24 hours.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Developing well during the course of that evening.
>> Marco Timpano: And that was probably the only time Insomnia helped us.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. You went on a plane to Malaysia, right?
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That's right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I believe that this topic is clearly more fascinating for you and me, of course, than it would be for our listeners. However, I really would like to take this opportunity to thank the big team that was involved in making this all happen.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Because to. To put on a art installation for 12 hours really takes such a large amount of people from the city of Toronto that sponsors this wonderful evening to our venue, which was the Hotel Le Germain, which was a fantastic venue for Nuit Blanche in particular that year, because it was so cold that people loved coming in. And it was great. That we should mention is that there were couches, because it was in a lot. It wasn't kind of in the lobby of a hotel, would you say? It was a lobby, was kind of like a lounge area and people were falling asleep on the couches throughout the evening. So they'd come watch and listen. They'd fall asleep, they'd get up and they'd leave. So we definitely want to start by thanking the city of Toronto, the hotelers remain, and the staff at both places. But then the people who really helped us put on our installation. And this is in no particular order,
>> Nidhi Khanna: we had Eve Middleton who helped us with audio.
>> Marco Timpano: We had Jim Kim who helped us. And this is another aspect that we didn't mention. We were broadcasting live streaming.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So Eve, not Eve, Jim took care of all of the live streaming aspects and making sure. Made sure that we continued to be live streaming throughout the course of the evening.
>> Marco Timpano: And because we broadcast for 12 hours, Jim was at his apartment, which was almost across the street from the Hotelier Germain, and we could go refuel at Jim Kim's apartment. And he had a fridge full of food and you would just go there, open the fridge, and I just remember it was full of salads.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if you remember that ninny was like just. You'd open the fridge and it was like all these little packages of salad. Because the Insomnia Cafe in Toronto actually
>> Nidhi Khanna: sponsored the food for us because there was such a great alignment there.
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>> Nidhi Khanna: Great.
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>> Nidhi Khanna: we also want to thank, as we said, Melissa De Gastino and Matt Campena, who are projectionists.
>> Marco Timpano: And they were up the entire time furiously calling up images from the Internet as well as images that they had in their stock of images because they're both cinematographers and directors and they were able to pull from that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And then there was of course, the always wonderful Jen Parsons, who at that time was Jen Vians, she's now Jen Parsons, who helped us with all the front of house component, and her fiance at the time, Brendan Parsons, who both of them came from Montreal to help us with this evening.
>> Marco Timpano: Just for that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Just for that evening.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, someone we mention frequently on the Insomnia project, Amanda Barker, my wife was involved.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: She wore many different hats.
>> Nidhi Khanna: She did. And then we had. Remember, Marco, she actually went out on your scooter to go get the food.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. Because the Insomnia Cafe that sponsored our. Is it the Insomnia Cafe?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That sponsored our installation was very far from the location where we were broadcasting it from. And because the city was closed off, no cars could come in and out. So the only way we could get food to everyone who was involved was to send Amanda on a scooter, because a scooter could come in and out to get the food.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So it took us about four hours
>> Marco Timpano: to get the food, but we got it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But we got it in the end. And of course, Irene Kloma, who did all of our social media, she was, she was a wonderful addition to the team.
>> Marco Timpano: And we needed speakers. And remember, we were desperate for speakers. And I was fortunate because a good friend of mine was dating or was, sorry, was engaged to Phil Da Costa and Phil da Costa and my good friend Christine Marchese, who is now Christine DaCosta, rescued us with their speakers. And I have to say that now, thanks to Christine Marchese, Phil DaCosta is a great friend of mine. And of course, we have a bunch of people that we knew who were scheduled guests and we want to thank all of them. And, and I want to mention one guest in particular, if I may.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: So Nug, who is a brilliant improviser, comedian and actor in Toronto was one of our guests. And I wish I could remember the topic that him and I discussed because it was. I remember having such a good time speaking with him. But I want to mention Nug in particular because he has a podcast called Illusionoid and he is a great supporter of our podcast. And so the Insomnia Project is a great supporter of his podcast, Illusionoid, and it's a bi weekly improvised comedy podcast in the style of an old time radio show. And Nidhi, it's pretty much the opposite of the Insomnia Project because we're, we're designed to make you relax and drift off. Theirs is designed and does successfully, makes you laugh, engages you. And if you love sci fi, improv or just funny podcasts, check out Illusionoid Marco.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That brings us to where we are now with the Insomnia Project. So after Nuit Blanche was over, we decided that this, obviously this concept had legs and we had a lot of
>> Marco Timpano: people ask, when are we going to be able to see the Insomnia Project in its next form?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. So we didn't mention before that prior to this version of the Insomnia Project that people are currently listening to, you were the host and we would bring in guests to come in to speak to you.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we decided that. And then I would be producing it and this iteration of it, we decided that you and I had such a great conversation with one another that wouldn't be great if we did it as co host.
>> Marco Timpano: And we thought anytime we want to have a guest, we can always incorporate that into an episode. But because both you and I are Insomniacs, it made sense. It made sense. And thus we bring you what you're listening today. The Insomnia Project. Sorry, I should have said that at the same time as you because that would have made things much more seamless. But the other thing about the Insomnia Project is that it's not meant to be seamless. It's meant to put you in a state of relaxation and hopefully sleep. But what's interesting, Niddy, is that, well, that's the goal of this podcast. What we've been finding from the various tweets and emails we've been receiving is that some people listen to it to help them get over the fear of flying. So when they're on the plane, during those moments that they find quite a bit of anxiety, they will listen to us talk about our various topics and it'll help distract them from their flights as well. We have a listener who enjoys listening in the morning when she wakes up in order to get her morning started without an abrupt feel.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So it's been great feedback and it's always good to know when people and how people are enjoying the podcast. We've mentioned before that a lot of people in the restaurant industry seem to enjoy unwinding in the evening after a long shift because it tends to be 2, 3 o' clock in the morning when they get home, and it seems to be hard, difficult to unwind. And so they turn on our part podcast. Which is great. I myself have used the podcast to help with my insomnia, which has been interesting because you wouldn't normally think that listening to the sound of your own voice would be helpful to help you fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: But for some reason, your voice is boring enough.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. And our conversation is mundane enough that it helps me, me fall asleep on those nights when I'm really just at my wit's end.
>> Marco Timpano: So I have yet to try that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You should.
>> Marco Timpano: But I will. And thankfully, since we've started the insomnia project, I have not had a serious bout of insomnia. So there you go. Maybe it's doing the podcast itself that's been helping me. I wanted to ask you, Ni, do you have a favorite expression that you use or that you like or that resonates with you? I know that I have one, Marco.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What's yours? Why don't you go first?
>> Marco Timpano: My favorite. So I've got a couple. Because I love expressions and sayings and things like that. One of my favorite expressions is actually in Italian, which is. Which is between, which I'll translate in the way I translate, which may not be the official translation of this expression, but it's between sane and doing. There's half the sea, which means, you know, there's so many.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Or.
>> Marco Timpano: Which I take to mean there's so many people who say, oh, I could do a better job. Job, or they should do it this way. For example, our podcast, I'm sure there's a lot of people who would say, you should do it this way. I could do a better job. And what I say is between saying and doing, there's half the c. Oh, interesting. In other words, the English version of that would be put your money where your mouth is.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. Interesting. Okay. I just, you know, I like more my favorite expressions are a bit more mundane.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, you know, Jack of all trades, master of none.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Because I feel like sometimes that's a good description of me.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I kind of have my hands in all these different areas. And I'm adequate at all of them. But I can't say that there's one specific thing that I am the master of.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But I also like the chicken and the egg, because I find I use that a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Especially what came first.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. What came first, the chicken or the egg?
>> Marco Timpano: What do you think came first?
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's a good question, Marco. I think that's the question to end all questions, really.
>> Marco Timpano: I love the expression be the change you want to see in the world of. Yeah, I think that's attributed to Gandhi. Gandhi or Buddha. Is it Buddha or is it Gandhi?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It could be Buddha first and then Gandhi just took it. Now we call it a Gandhi because
>> Marco Timpano: I hear it in yoga classes. I think that's why maybe I'm thinking, and who knows, maybe it was a yogi who came up with it. I also, like, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him think.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, drink.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is it drink?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. But I guess you can't make him think either.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, you certainly can. But you also can't make him drink the water that you've led him to.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. That's another good one. I also like the one about teach. You can teach a person to fish and you can. I don't know the entire expression.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's. I think it's give a person a fish and a slice of lemon and they'll eat really well. But teach them to fish and they'll eat forever.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, I think it's the Italian version of that phrase. I think it's give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's a Chinese proverb.
>> Marco Timpano: I love this one. Which is a Polish proverb. Polish. Pardon me. A Polish proverb. Which is not my circuit. Sorry. Not my circus, not my monkeys. And I'll leave you with that. Thank you for listening to this podcast and hearing the history of the Insomnia Project.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As always, we're broadcasting from Toronto, and the Insomnia Project is produced by drumcast Productions. Thank you so much for listening. Sa.
original airdate: March 13, 2016
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, maybe even lie down and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane, the ordinary, some would say the boring. We can certainly promise that this conversation is going to be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna. Marco, Today we wanted to take this opportunity to talk a bit about the Insomnia Project and how we developed this idea and this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: We had mentioned it on our last podcast, our last episode, that we were going to talk about it because we realized, thanks to one of our listeners, that they didn't know what the genesis of this podcast was and why it came to be. So I had mentioned that both you and I are insomniacs. We suffer from insomnia. Now, I'm going to ask you, what is your insomnia like? Before we get into the genesis of
>> Nidhi Khanna: our show, I tend to go through phases. So I will be fine for a period of time and sleeping well, and then it'll shift and I'll have. I'll fall asleep, but I will wake up in the middle of the night and then not be able to fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you will have been sleeping awake and then your insomnia appears?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, I have. It takes me a long time to fall asleep, so it takes me a good couple of hours, and I need to have the TV on or this podcast on.
>> Marco Timpano: I, on the other hand, will not fall asleep. I will be up thinking, I'm going to be able to sleep, and then the hours will click by and I'll be like, if I fall asleep now, I can get a good four hours. And that just makes it worse and worse and worse. And so the reason we are letting you know the type of insomnia we have is to let you know that you are not alone out there. And we started to discuss how we both had insomnia. And we said we knew what didn't work for us.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And we knew what worked for us. And we knew that listening to people talk about a subject matter that wasn't so fascinating or exciting that we couldn't drift off would at the very least relax us, hopefully allow us to sleep. And so we discussed what we knew would help us as insomniacs.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, Marco, when we first started discussing our various bouts of insomnia, you had mentioned to me that the only thing that helps you fall asleep was to listen to old episodes of the TV show the Golden Girls.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That's 100% for me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I had to listen to old episodes of the Simpsons, and it always had to be old episodes, because the point is that you were not engaged and you weren't actually listening to the plotline. But there was something about the voices from the television just speaking that helped.
>> Marco Timpano: Originally, it was the Martha Stewart show.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yes, that's the first show.
>> Marco Timpano: And I had recorded a bunch of tape episodes on the PVR that Amanda said, we need to get rid of these episodes. You can record other episodes. And then her show went off the air, or at least it went to a channel that I don't get, and that's what brought me to the Golden Girls. And because I had seen all those episodes many times over and there's. They talk with a very sort of even tone. They really don't shout or yell in that show. And it would help me fall asleep. Because ultimately I knew how the episode ended. I knew everything about the episode. And so should I drift off, I wasn't missing anything. And that's how we came together with this concept, which then morphed into a art installation.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So that's a fascinating development that we had through the course of this concept. We had the opportunity to create an installation for Toronto, Nuit Blanche. And for those of our listeners who don't know what Nuit Blanche is, it's a very popular art festival in Toronto.
>> Marco Timpano: In other parts of the world as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: In other parts of the world. It originated in Paris, and during Nuit Blanche, the city stays up from sundown to sunset. So all night long. And art installations are sundown to sunrise. Sorry, yes. Sundown to sun rise.
>> Marco Timpano: And Nuit Blanche means white, white night.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: You're up all night. Or so things are happening all night. Correct.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. And so there's all these art installations throughout the city that people can go and see.
>> Marco Timpano: And just to back up a little bit, you had been involved in Nuit Blanche for years before working it, and
>> Nidhi Khanna: yes, in various capacities, working in the art field, just with different curators, not
>> Marco Timpano: to mention enjoying it as a spectator, because prior to that I had never even heard of Nuit Blanche. So it was you who sort of introduced me to it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely. So it was something that I participated in and enjoyed. And so we developed, we sort of adapted our podcast idea into a live installation that had both the podcast component and a video element.
>> Marco Timpano: And that was thanks to. To Daniela Fascalik, who was doing a cabaret show. And we had told her about our podcast concept and she said, I want you to do it at my cabaret. And I said, well, it's a podcast concept. And she said, I think it would be great live. And so we did it live for a fundraising cabaret show that she was doing. And the response from that was tremendous. In fact, we had an agent come up to us, remember Nidhi? At the end of the, at the end of the cabaret show, we had an agent come up to us and I wish I could remember her name, but she was from a very well known agency in Toronto. And she said she thought it was great and we should talk to her when we get it up. So we need to find out who that agent was and Perhaps get representation, but we're just going through the history of what is now in the Insomnia project. So that takes us from the idea to the live show that we did, part of that, that cabaret and that
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, was a 12 hour live podcast that.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, not, not the cabaret we did.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, sorry. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: That brings us to. We're going through the history of it. Yes, certainly if this doesn't put you to sleep, I don't know what will. But we. Then that brings us to Nuit Blanche. And the idea behind Nuit Blanche was an art installation that incorporated both the visual and the audio. So we decided to. And make it participatory. We decided to have this art installation whereby we had scheduled guests as well as people who were enjoying the Nuit Blanche art installation experience, could sit with me and we would do a conversation that was less than fascinating on topics that we would pull from a jar, or in this case they were fish bowls, one that represented sunrise and one that represented sunset, all of which were random topics that spectators could write on various pieces of paper that would then be put into either the Sunrise bowl or the Sunset Bowl. And when the guests sat across from me, they could decide whether or not they wanted to pick from the Sunrise or the Sunset Bowl. And we would start the conversation from there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And Marco, we broadcast this installation from the beautiful Hotel Le Germain in Toronto, which had these beautiful wall to see ceiling windows in their lobby. And so we were able to put up projection screen.
>> Marco Timpano: And here comes the visual element to this particular art installation.
>> Nidhi Khanna: While people were talking with Marco, we
>> Marco Timpano: had our projectionist and his assistant, or his. I wouldn't say assistant because you was as important to the projection. We'll get through all the names of people who participated, but we had our
>> Nidhi Khanna: projectionists, yes, our projectionists and cinematographer, really, Matt Campagna and Melissa. And Melissa d', Agostino, who would display video and photos of what was being done discussed at the same time with you. So, for example, if we were to be doing that installation right now, we would be showing pictures of a microphone or video of two people talking. But what was very interesting about that component was that as the images were being displayed, you were able to take inspiration from the video element to inform the conversation that was taking place one on one.
>> Marco Timpano: And spectators could also sit next to Melissa or Matt and tell them a topic that then would be projected, which we could see as we were having this conversation. And we could continue being informed by the visual. So it was a experience where the audio was affected by the Visual. And the visual was affected by the audio. And that was the Insomnia project at the Nuit Blanche in Toronto.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we stayed up almost 24 hours.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Developing well during the course of that evening.
>> Marco Timpano: And that was probably the only time Insomnia helped us.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. You went on a plane to Malaysia, right?
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. That's right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I believe that this topic is clearly more fascinating for you and me, of course, than it would be for our listeners. However, I really would like to take this opportunity to thank the big team that was involved in making this all happen.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. Because to. To put on a art installation for 12 hours really takes such a large amount of people from the city of Toronto that sponsors this wonderful evening to our venue, which was the Hotel Le Germain, which was a fantastic venue for Nuit Blanche in particular that year, because it was so cold that people loved coming in. And it was great. That we should mention is that there were couches, because it was in a lot. It wasn't kind of in the lobby of a hotel, would you say? It was a lobby, was kind of like a lounge area and people were falling asleep on the couches throughout the evening. So they'd come watch and listen. They'd fall asleep, they'd get up and they'd leave. So we definitely want to start by thanking the city of Toronto, the hotelers remain, and the staff at both places. But then the people who really helped us put on our installation. And this is in no particular order,
>> Nidhi Khanna: we had Eve Middleton who helped us with audio.
>> Marco Timpano: We had Jim Kim who helped us. And this is another aspect that we didn't mention. We were broadcasting live streaming.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So Eve, not Eve, Jim took care of all of the live streaming aspects and making sure. Made sure that we continued to be live streaming throughout the course of the evening.
>> Marco Timpano: And because we broadcast for 12 hours, Jim was at his apartment, which was almost across the street from the Hotelier Germain, and we could go refuel at Jim Kim's apartment. And he had a fridge full of food and you would just go there, open the fridge, and I just remember it was full of salads.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I don't know if you remember that ninny was like just. You'd open the fridge and it was like all these little packages of salad. Because the Insomnia Cafe in Toronto actually
>> Nidhi Khanna: sponsored the food for us because there was such a great alignment there.
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>> Nidhi Khanna: we also want to thank, as we said, Melissa De Gastino and Matt Campena, who are projectionists.
>> Marco Timpano: And they were up the entire time furiously calling up images from the Internet as well as images that they had in their stock of images because they're both cinematographers and directors and they were able to pull from that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And then there was of course, the always wonderful Jen Parsons, who at that time was Jen Vians, she's now Jen Parsons, who helped us with all the front of house component, and her fiance at the time, Brendan Parsons, who both of them came from Montreal to help us with this evening.
>> Marco Timpano: Just for that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Just for that evening.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, someone we mention frequently on the Insomnia project, Amanda Barker, my wife was involved.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: She wore many different hats.
>> Nidhi Khanna: She did. And then we had. Remember, Marco, she actually went out on your scooter to go get the food.
>> Marco Timpano: That's right. Because the Insomnia Cafe that sponsored our. Is it the Insomnia Cafe?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That sponsored our installation was very far from the location where we were broadcasting it from. And because the city was closed off, no cars could come in and out. So the only way we could get food to everyone who was involved was to send Amanda on a scooter, because a scooter could come in and out to get the food.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So it took us about four hours
>> Marco Timpano: to get the food, but we got it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But we got it in the end. And of course, Irene Kloma, who did all of our social media, she was, she was a wonderful addition to the team.
>> Marco Timpano: And we needed speakers. And remember, we were desperate for speakers. And I was fortunate because a good friend of mine was dating or was, sorry, was engaged to Phil Da Costa and Phil da Costa and my good friend Christine Marchese, who is now Christine DaCosta, rescued us with their speakers. And I have to say that now, thanks to Christine Marchese, Phil DaCosta is a great friend of mine. And of course, we have a bunch of people that we knew who were scheduled guests and we want to thank all of them. And, and I want to mention one guest in particular, if I may.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: So Nug, who is a brilliant improviser, comedian and actor in Toronto was one of our guests. And I wish I could remember the topic that him and I discussed because it was. I remember having such a good time speaking with him. But I want to mention Nug in particular because he has a podcast called Illusionoid and he is a great supporter of our podcast. And so the Insomnia Project is a great supporter of his podcast, Illusionoid, and it's a bi weekly improvised comedy podcast in the style of an old time radio show. And Nidhi, it's pretty much the opposite of the Insomnia Project because we're, we're designed to make you relax and drift off. Theirs is designed and does successfully, makes you laugh, engages you. And if you love sci fi, improv or just funny podcasts, check out Illusionoid Marco.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That brings us to where we are now with the Insomnia Project. So after Nuit Blanche was over, we decided that this, obviously this concept had legs and we had a lot of
>> Marco Timpano: people ask, when are we going to be able to see the Insomnia Project in its next form?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. So we didn't mention before that prior to this version of the Insomnia Project that people are currently listening to, you were the host and we would bring in guests to come in to speak to you.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we decided that. And then I would be producing it and this iteration of it, we decided that you and I had such a great conversation with one another that wouldn't be great if we did it as co host.
>> Marco Timpano: And we thought anytime we want to have a guest, we can always incorporate that into an episode. But because both you and I are Insomniacs, it made sense. It made sense. And thus we bring you what you're listening today. The Insomnia Project. Sorry, I should have said that at the same time as you because that would have made things much more seamless. But the other thing about the Insomnia Project is that it's not meant to be seamless. It's meant to put you in a state of relaxation and hopefully sleep. But what's interesting, Niddy, is that, well, that's the goal of this podcast. What we've been finding from the various tweets and emails we've been receiving is that some people listen to it to help them get over the fear of flying. So when they're on the plane, during those moments that they find quite a bit of anxiety, they will listen to us talk about our various topics and it'll help distract them from their flights as well. We have a listener who enjoys listening in the morning when she wakes up in order to get her morning started without an abrupt feel.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So it's been great feedback and it's always good to know when people and how people are enjoying the podcast. We've mentioned before that a lot of people in the restaurant industry seem to enjoy unwinding in the evening after a long shift because it tends to be 2, 3 o' clock in the morning when they get home, and it seems to be hard, difficult to unwind. And so they turn on our part podcast. Which is great. I myself have used the podcast to help with my insomnia, which has been interesting because you wouldn't normally think that listening to the sound of your own voice would be helpful to help you fall asleep.
>> Marco Timpano: But for some reason, your voice is boring enough.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. And our conversation is mundane enough that it helps me, me fall asleep on those nights when I'm really just at my wit's end.
>> Marco Timpano: So I have yet to try that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You should.
>> Marco Timpano: But I will. And thankfully, since we've started the insomnia project, I have not had a serious bout of insomnia. So there you go. Maybe it's doing the podcast itself that's been helping me. I wanted to ask you, Ni, do you have a favorite expression that you use or that you like or that resonates with you? I know that I have one, Marco.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What's yours? Why don't you go first?
>> Marco Timpano: My favorite. So I've got a couple. Because I love expressions and sayings and things like that. One of my favorite expressions is actually in Italian, which is. Which is between, which I'll translate in the way I translate, which may not be the official translation of this expression, but it's between sane and doing. There's half the sea, which means, you know, there's so many.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Or.
>> Marco Timpano: Which I take to mean there's so many people who say, oh, I could do a better job. Job, or they should do it this way. For example, our podcast, I'm sure there's a lot of people who would say, you should do it this way. I could do a better job. And what I say is between saying and doing, there's half the c. Oh, interesting. In other words, the English version of that would be put your money where your mouth is.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. Interesting. Okay. I just, you know, I like more my favorite expressions are a bit more mundane.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, you know, Jack of all trades, master of none.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Because I feel like sometimes that's a good description of me.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure, sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I kind of have my hands in all these different areas. And I'm adequate at all of them. But I can't say that there's one specific thing that I am the master of.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But I also like the chicken and the egg, because I find I use that a lot.
>> Marco Timpano: Especially what came first.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. What came first, the chicken or the egg?
>> Marco Timpano: What do you think came first?
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's a good question, Marco. I think that's the question to end all questions, really.
>> Marco Timpano: I love the expression be the change you want to see in the world of. Yeah, I think that's attributed to Gandhi. Gandhi or Buddha. Is it Buddha or is it Gandhi?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It could be Buddha first and then Gandhi just took it. Now we call it a Gandhi because
>> Marco Timpano: I hear it in yoga classes. I think that's why maybe I'm thinking, and who knows, maybe it was a yogi who came up with it. I also, like, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him think.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, drink.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, is it drink?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. But I guess you can't make him think either.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, you certainly can. But you also can't make him drink the water that you've led him to.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. That's another good one. I also like the one about teach. You can teach a person to fish and you can. I don't know the entire expression.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's. I think it's give a person a fish and a slice of lemon and they'll eat really well. But teach them to fish and they'll eat forever.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, I think it's the Italian version of that phrase. I think it's give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's a Chinese proverb.
>> Marco Timpano: I love this one. Which is a Polish proverb. Polish. Pardon me. A Polish proverb. Which is not my circuit. Sorry. Not my circus, not my monkeys. And I'll leave you with that. Thank you for listening to this podcast and hearing the history of the Insomnia Project.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As always, we're broadcasting from Toronto, and the Insomnia Project is produced by drumcast Productions. Thank you so much for listening. Sa.
Bagels, Breads & Ann Arbor
(Original airdate: March 10,2016)
>> Marco Timpano: You're listening to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane, the ordinary. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than interesting so that you can drift up and hopefully catch some shut eye. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna. Marco, I wanted to talk about Ann
>> Marco Timpano: Arbor, Michigan today because we have a lot of listeners from Ann Arbor. Absolutely, Michigan. We want to send a special shout out to them and thank our listeners for subscribing. Before we get into Ann Arbor talks, I wanted to let our listeners know that both you and I are wearing blue topaz.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. And so last time on our podcast we had a fascinating conversation about crystals and we went into depth about some of the crystals that we both gravitate
>> Marco Timpano: towards and the fun fact that blue topaz is the crystal that deals with communication and expressing oneself both in written and spoken form.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So we thought we would wear some blue topaz today to see if there was any difference in our communication style on today's podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're wearing a blue topaz ring?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am. And you have a blue topaz little necklace and so we'd like to thank your wife, Amanda Barker, who's currently not
>> Marco Timpano: here and unaware that we're.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Unaware that we are wearing her jewelry. So thank you, Amanda. Now to get back to Ann Arbor,
>> Marco Timpano: which is in Michigan.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Which is in Michigan. Close to Detroit. Michigan. Well, relatively close, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know. To be quite honest.
>> Marco Timpano: I've never. I think it's closer to Toledo. I've actually been to Ann Arbor. I. I've always heard of Ann Arbor for some reason. And when we were driving through Michigan, I said we need to pull over to Ann Arbor because I've heard so much about it. And all I remember about Ann Arbor nitty was it's a beautiful, beautiful place. I remember it being very green. I remember the homes being really gorgeous as we drove by them. And I remember we went to. I don't know, maybe you'll be able to help me. Like a main little area or square. And I just remember the shops were really great and we had like an ice cream or something sweet. And I really enjoyed it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It really does, sort of. When you picture your American town, I think Ann Arbor is one of those towns that really comes to mind in terms of its picturesque quality. It's a university town because the University of Michigan actually is in Ann Arbor. And so you really do have that type of feel to it. Ann Arbor was actually only founded in 1824 and it was found founded by two land speculators. I believe that's what they're called when they surveyed land.
>> Marco Timpano: I'd love to be a land speculator.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I would do. And they founded Ann Arbor and named it based on their wives names because both their wives were named Ann. So that's where the Ann comes from. And the arbor Arbor component comes from the stands of the bur oak tree. And Ann Arbor is very well known for its luscious treescape. Really?
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So that's where the name Ann Arbor comes from.
>> Marco Timpano: So Arbor comes from the word of. Sorry, the.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The bur oak. It's I guess, a type of tree.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it comes from the state stands of the bur oak. Amazing, right? So a little fun fact for you also. Domino's Pizza head office in Ann Arbor.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, well, what a. What a lovely place to have a head office. I know so many, you know, head offices tend to be in like. I shouldn't say, but they tend to be collected in areas that are not as picturesque as Ann Arbor is, based on my experience.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. And the people of Ann Arbor. Maybe you experience this, Marco, are incredibly lovely. And I wonder if that has anything to do with its very lax marijuana laws.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, interesting. I didn't. I didn't know that. Yes, certainly we had a great time in Ann Arbor, but we just kind of stopped by as we were driving through. But I guess another reason to love Ann Arbor.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely. And I guess because perhaps of its lax marijuana laws, they came up with a. I wouldn't call it a dessert, but a treat, a delicate delicacy.
>> Marco Timpano: I love treats. I love delicacy. You need to.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That is called the fragal.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I've never heard of.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What do you think, Marco? The fragal could be.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the fragal. I would guess that the fragal would be something. Okay. Because it's in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I'm gonna assume that it involves maple. And I'm not saying that because I'm Canadian. I love maple sweets. I'm just saying that because Ann Arbor would have those kind of trees. Maple trees. You mentioned the burl oak tree. You know, those are deciduous trees in the northern part of North America. So I'm going to assume it has maple in it. I'm going to assume it's frozen. It's some sort of frozen maple tree. Because of the fray part of the dessert nature. That's my guess.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, you would be incorrect with that guess. However, I will tell you what a fragle is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And just like Red Deer, Alberta, has
>> Marco Timpano: their official cookie, the caramel surprise.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Caramel surprise. I believe the fragil is sort of the official. It's not a cookie, but the official treat of Ann Arbor. And so what it is is a deep fried.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this sounds great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Raisin bagel that has been rolled in cinnamon sugar.
>> Marco Timpano: When you didn't think it could get any better, they rolled it in cinnamon sugar.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely. And you know how much we love cinnamon, you and I. I have to
>> Marco Timpano: say that if the beauty of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan wasn't enough to bring me back to that picturesque city in the US the fragal will seal the deal.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I feel like we need to do a road trip to Ann Arbor to try this fragal.
>> Marco Timpano: We need to let the mayor of Ann Arbor know that we need to go to Ann Arbor, record the podcast with him or her, and eat food as we do.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I think that's a plan for this upcoming summer.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of bagels, you're from Montreal.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am.
>> Marco Timpano: And if there's one thing you Montrealers know how to do, it's make a bagel.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it, Marco. So bagels Are a topic that are very close to my. That is very close to my heart.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. I am very particular. Particular about my bagel consumption.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Montreal bagels have spoiled my ability to eat anything else. I enjoy the Montreal bagel because it's almost honey dipped.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We should explain that the Montreal bagel,
>> Nidhi Khanna: it's a wood oven bagel and it's
>> Marco Timpano: boiled in honey, honey water prior to its baking.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it.
>> Marco Timpano: And for anyone who hasn't tried a Montreal bagel. So I, I don't know how easy they are to get outside of Canada. I know that here in Toronto there are some places that make the Montreal bagel. I'll. I'll let you know when I go to Vancouver this month if I find Montreal style bagels. But it's a sweeter, denser bagel. Would you say, Nidhi?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Denser but not thicker.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So whereas a New York style bagel is very thick and voluminous. Yes. And so it really does feel very bready in a traditional sense. The Montreal bagel is less voluminous. More. It's sweeter. It's a bit. It's. When you toast it, it has this incredible way of being toasty on the outside, but the inside component of the bagel is still soft. And so it has a delicious chewiness
>> Marco Timpano: to it without being gummy. Does that make sense?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, that's exactly, exactly it. You described it very eloquently. So clearly the blue topaz is working.
>> Marco Timpano: I would say so. I also love the Montreal bagel. I do. It's my favorite bagel. That's not to discredit the regular bagel or the New York style bagel. I heard that there's a Detroit style bagel that we will need to investigate. Poppy seed, sesame seed or plain poppy
>> Nidhi Khanna: seed all the way? Without a doubt, poppy seed with butter.
>> Marco Timpano: Yum.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't even need the cream cheese if it's a Montreal style bagel. Right. But I'm thinking, Marco, that if we were to go to Ann Arbor, we would need to bring a Montreal style raisin bagel and have them make a
>> Marco Timpano: fragal out of the. So then if they take the Montreal bagel and they make it a fragal, I think they'll have to put an accent on the e on the last e of the fragal to make it the Montreal. Because doesn't Montreal have an accent? You know, I do my best to sort of work it out so that
>> Nidhi Khanna: like your grade 10 French came out there.
>> Marco Timpano: Grade 9, actually. But yes, it, it would be great now when we're talking about bagels, I can tell you that I am not a fan. Sesame seeds in particular. You will ruin my bagel experience if you put sesame seeds anywhere near my bagel, including, you know, when they do an all. Like a. What do you call it when you put all things in a. In. They call it an all. All season bagel or an all.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yes. It's kind of like they do everything and everything.
>> Marco Timpano: That's it. The everything bagel. If there's a pot, if there's a sesame seed on that, I am not happy. I too, love the poppy seed or the plain. And I don't mind a swirl of cinnamon raisin in my bagel at all.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. So, Marco, I just did a little check, and I don't know if there's actually the Detroit bagel, but there is the Detroit Institute of Bagels, which is a restaurant, cafe type place. Now, bagels are one bread item. However, if you were to ask. Ask me to choose.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: A bread type item.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Snack item.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna ask you to choose a bread type snack item that is your favorite.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's a difficult, difficult choice. So I am a fan of Artist.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel that this is a difficult choice, But I think you have to remove bagels from. From it because bagels are their own thing.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I would also say the same about croissants, because I feel like croissants are also in their own category. You've got the almond croissant, the chocolate
>> Marco Timpano: croissant, and I'm gonna say cakes are out of this category as well. So, for example, a panettone, which I love, which is a bread like Italian Christmas cake.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Or the Pandora. We're going to remove that. Okay, so now that we know what the playing field is.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Nitty. What is your favorite bread type item?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, so there is a bakery in Montreal called Premier Moissant. They don't.
>> Marco Timpano: What does that mean? Because you said it. You said it very quickly. And for people who are listening who may not speak French, I'd like to
>> Nidhi Khanna: just like myself means anything. Or if it's the name of someone. But Premiere is like, first I'll find out. But they do like a hazelnut bread that I just adore any bread that has sort of specialty nuts in it or something like that that I can then put a little bit of butter on, toast it up, put a little bit of butter on. That is. That's. That's perfect.
>> Marco Timpano: Or ghee.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Butter. Never ghee.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Not for. Not for this type of bread. Okay. Yeah, that. I think that would be up there. There's a beautiful bread that I had recently that's actually got cranberries and white chocolate in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Which was a nice treat, of course. But it was a bread. It wasn't a cake.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It was a bread. Those would be, I think, my top. How about. I would love.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, I would love. One of my favorite breads is the challah bread.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it's eggy and it's sweet and I even love the way it looks because it's sort of, I think when they make challah bread, they braid it because it's got different sort of bumps and lumps in it. And you could leave me on a desert island with challah bread and Nutella and I would be pretty happy for. For a while. Certainly those are things that make me happy in the bread department. Now, do you like your bread fluffy or do you like it more dense?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I like fluffy bread.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I prefer fluffy bread. So that's why I kind of like naan bread.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, naan bread is wonderful. For those of you who aren't familiar with naan bread, it's a Indian or south East Asian bread that you'll often get as a side that is flat, almost like a pita bread. But I feel like it is stone baked, if I'm not mistaken. And so it has a bit of charring. Sometimes you'll have it and it's very chewy and delicious and fantastic to rip and put into different sauces and accompaniments with your. The dishes you may be eating. In this case, various curries.
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>> Nidhi Khanna: Burlington deals, brands. Wow. Once again, Marco, I really do believe the blue topaz is working today because that was a wonderful description of naan bread and the various ways that you can eat it.
>> Marco Timpano: I love, I love naan. So I don't know if it's the blue topaz or just my love for Indian cuisine and I guess Jewish cuisine too because I love both. The bagel, challah bread, artichokes that are done in the style of Trastevere, which is a area of Rome where the Jewish kettles were located. So they'll fry, they'll deep fry artichokes and it's out of this world.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now you mentioned panettone before. I have to say I'm not the biggest fan of panettone.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know if it's because I haven't tasted the right one, but it's not my, it's not my favorite. However. Sorry, sorry, go ahead.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, no. Please finish your statement.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I was gonna ask you of the Italian bread family because there is so much of it bread based or wheat based products. What you're afraid what, what your favorite would be? However, I'd like to first hear about your panettone comments.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna give you the lowdown on panettone. Panettone is the traditional panettone. Tell me, is a sweet bread that is available around Christmas time and it generally has. Or the traditional style of panettone has raisins and candied fruit. And so I feel like the North American palate isn't one that enjoys candied fruit. And I'm a traditionalist, so I love the traditional panettone. Now is that the one that you've had?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I've had panettone with, you know, those little gummy type fruit that you would find.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are the can, those are the candy fruit.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. That with that. And it's not my favorite thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Now they've got a bunch of new, new panettona that has chocolate chips or lemon cream in it. They've got various different things that you can get in your panettone. Now I will say this. If you're not a fan of panettone, which a lot of people aren't, my Recommendation is to take the panettone, or if you have panettone that's gone a little bit stale, because panettone is the type of dessert bread that once you cut it, you sort of need to eat it within a day or two because it'll go stale very quickly. Use the panettone to make French toast. If you use the panettone to make French toast, I guarantee you will change your mind with regards to panettone. Panettone is also a perfect sweet bread to accompany a coffee. In particular a cafe latte, because it is the perfect thing. Once again, should your panettone go stale, don't panic. Dip it into the latte. Latte macchiato in this case, so you know a lot of macchiato, which is espresso and warmed milk. It will sop up a third of your latte right away. So be quick about it and it'll be the most delicious wet, sweet bread you will have.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I think you are making me turn the tide on my panettone experience. And so I'm gonna have to try both those things. French toast and using it as an accompaniment to my latte.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Now you are going to let us know about that bakery, I believe it was.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. So it doesn't tell me what it means, so I need to do a bit more digging.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Perhaps I need to talk to some of my friends whose French is much better than mine.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I think your French is great. We were in Montreal a few years back.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And you were navigating the streets quite well. And I remember you. We asked for directions or we. Someone stopped us. And you spoke to the gentleman entirely in French and I was very impressed.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, it helps growing up there, that's for sure. It's definitely not where it used to be, given that I now live here in Toronto, which for our friends who might not be Canadian, might not realize that in Montreal and the province of Quebec, it's a predominantly French speaking province in Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: However, here in Toronto, in the province of Ontario and most of the rest
>> Marco Timpano: of Canada, with the exception of New Brunswick. And because Amanda's not here, I have to mention that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: She's from there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: She is from there. Most of it is English speaking.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so although French and English are both official languages in Canada, you find it more predominantly French speaking in Quebec.
>> Marco Timpano: We are going to go to a town. I know we're mentioning a lot of cities in this particular podcast, but we are going to go to a town called La Fontaine in Ontario. And we're going to record a show and it'll be in a couple of months. Cuz I'm going to take you there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: La Fontaine. And that is a very French town in Ontario, about an hour and 30 minutes away from Toronto. It's near my cottage. That's why I say I'm going to take you there and we're going to record a show there. I would love to. We're going to see how great your French actually is in that town.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, okay, so explain a bit. Can you tell me a bit about La Fox?
>> Marco Timpano: We will. When we get closer to that episode. All I know La Fontaine is that it's on Georgian Bay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's right by this beautiful bay of this beautiful beach. Beach area of Ontario. And that they have the Festival de Loop. So it's a festival with regards. Yeah, the Wolf. And we'll get more into that later on. So that's just a little tiny tidbit because I don't want to overwhelm tonight today's podcast with too many places.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fair enough. And I think that there's obviously a lot that we can discuss once we get to La Fontaine.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And Ann Arbor, Montreal, Detroit. We have all these places we need to visit.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think we need to do a tour, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: I would say so.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We even need to go up to Red Team to see our friends there.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. Well, we want to thank our listeners. And if you wish to connect with us, you can tweet us at Listen and Sleep. And of course you can subscribe to us on itunes and follow us on SoundCloud. Include us in your favorite podcast on your, whether it be a smartphone or iPad or tablet of some sort. And Nidhi, before this evening's over, what bread product will you be digesting?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, that's a good one, Marco. Well, now I'm kind of in the mood for Indian food, so I think we might have to go get a roti or a naan or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Hey, that works perfectly for me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As always. We are recording from Toronto and we'd like to thank you for being a part of our podcast and listening as always. We're produced by drumcast Productions.
>> Marco Timpano: Both of us have insomnia and that's how this podcast has come about. And we'll tell you more about why and how we decided to. To make such a podcast. And we hope that this helps you solve your insomnia issues. And if it doesn't, we hope it at least relaxes you as you try to get out of that state and into a state of restfulness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Until the next time, we hope you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: March 10,2016)
>> Marco Timpano: You're listening to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane, the ordinary. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than interesting so that you can drift up and hopefully catch some shut eye. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna. Marco, I wanted to talk about Ann
>> Marco Timpano: Arbor, Michigan today because we have a lot of listeners from Ann Arbor. Absolutely, Michigan. We want to send a special shout out to them and thank our listeners for subscribing. Before we get into Ann Arbor talks, I wanted to let our listeners know that both you and I are wearing blue topaz.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. And so last time on our podcast we had a fascinating conversation about crystals and we went into depth about some of the crystals that we both gravitate
>> Marco Timpano: towards and the fun fact that blue topaz is the crystal that deals with communication and expressing oneself both in written and spoken form.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So we thought we would wear some blue topaz today to see if there was any difference in our communication style on today's podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: So you're wearing a blue topaz ring?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am. And you have a blue topaz little necklace and so we'd like to thank your wife, Amanda Barker, who's currently not
>> Marco Timpano: here and unaware that we're.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Unaware that we are wearing her jewelry. So thank you, Amanda. Now to get back to Ann Arbor,
>> Marco Timpano: which is in Michigan.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Which is in Michigan. Close to Detroit. Michigan. Well, relatively close, I guess.
>> Marco Timpano: Is it?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know. To be quite honest.
>> Marco Timpano: I've never. I think it's closer to Toledo. I've actually been to Ann Arbor. I. I've always heard of Ann Arbor for some reason. And when we were driving through Michigan, I said we need to pull over to Ann Arbor because I've heard so much about it. And all I remember about Ann Arbor nitty was it's a beautiful, beautiful place. I remember it being very green. I remember the homes being really gorgeous as we drove by them. And I remember we went to. I don't know, maybe you'll be able to help me. Like a main little area or square. And I just remember the shops were really great and we had like an ice cream or something sweet. And I really enjoyed it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It really does, sort of. When you picture your American town, I think Ann Arbor is one of those towns that really comes to mind in terms of its picturesque quality. It's a university town because the University of Michigan actually is in Ann Arbor. And so you really do have that type of feel to it. Ann Arbor was actually only founded in 1824 and it was found founded by two land speculators. I believe that's what they're called when they surveyed land.
>> Marco Timpano: I'd love to be a land speculator.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I would do. And they founded Ann Arbor and named it based on their wives names because both their wives were named Ann. So that's where the Ann comes from. And the arbor Arbor component comes from the stands of the bur oak tree. And Ann Arbor is very well known for its luscious treescape. Really?
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So that's where the name Ann Arbor comes from.
>> Marco Timpano: So Arbor comes from the word of. Sorry, the.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The bur oak. It's I guess, a type of tree.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And it comes from the state stands of the bur oak. Amazing, right? So a little fun fact for you also. Domino's Pizza head office in Ann Arbor.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, well, what a. What a lovely place to have a head office. I know so many, you know, head offices tend to be in like. I shouldn't say, but they tend to be collected in areas that are not as picturesque as Ann Arbor is, based on my experience.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. And the people of Ann Arbor. Maybe you experience this, Marco, are incredibly lovely. And I wonder if that has anything to do with its very lax marijuana laws.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, interesting. I didn't. I didn't know that. Yes, certainly we had a great time in Ann Arbor, but we just kind of stopped by as we were driving through. But I guess another reason to love Ann Arbor.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely. And I guess because perhaps of its lax marijuana laws, they came up with a. I wouldn't call it a dessert, but a treat, a delicate delicacy.
>> Marco Timpano: I love treats. I love delicacy. You need to.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That is called the fragal.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I've never heard of.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What do you think, Marco? The fragal could be.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, the fragal. I would guess that the fragal would be something. Okay. Because it's in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I'm gonna assume that it involves maple. And I'm not saying that because I'm Canadian. I love maple sweets. I'm just saying that because Ann Arbor would have those kind of trees. Maple trees. You mentioned the burl oak tree. You know, those are deciduous trees in the northern part of North America. So I'm going to assume it has maple in it. I'm going to assume it's frozen. It's some sort of frozen maple tree. Because of the fray part of the dessert nature. That's my guess.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, you would be incorrect with that guess. However, I will tell you what a fragle is.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And just like Red Deer, Alberta, has
>> Marco Timpano: their official cookie, the caramel surprise.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Caramel surprise. I believe the fragil is sort of the official. It's not a cookie, but the official treat of Ann Arbor. And so what it is is a deep fried.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, this sounds great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Raisin bagel that has been rolled in cinnamon sugar.
>> Marco Timpano: When you didn't think it could get any better, they rolled it in cinnamon sugar.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely. And you know how much we love cinnamon, you and I. I have to
>> Marco Timpano: say that if the beauty of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan wasn't enough to bring me back to that picturesque city in the US the fragal will seal the deal.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I feel like we need to do a road trip to Ann Arbor to try this fragal.
>> Marco Timpano: We need to let the mayor of Ann Arbor know that we need to go to Ann Arbor, record the podcast with him or her, and eat food as we do.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I think that's a plan for this upcoming summer.
>> Marco Timpano: Speaking of bagels, you're from Montreal.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am.
>> Marco Timpano: And if there's one thing you Montrealers know how to do, it's make a bagel.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it, Marco. So bagels Are a topic that are very close to my. That is very close to my heart.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. I am very particular. Particular about my bagel consumption.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Montreal bagels have spoiled my ability to eat anything else. I enjoy the Montreal bagel because it's almost honey dipped.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. We should explain that the Montreal bagel,
>> Nidhi Khanna: it's a wood oven bagel and it's
>> Marco Timpano: boiled in honey, honey water prior to its baking.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it.
>> Marco Timpano: And for anyone who hasn't tried a Montreal bagel. So I, I don't know how easy they are to get outside of Canada. I know that here in Toronto there are some places that make the Montreal bagel. I'll. I'll let you know when I go to Vancouver this month if I find Montreal style bagels. But it's a sweeter, denser bagel. Would you say, Nidhi?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Denser but not thicker.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So whereas a New York style bagel is very thick and voluminous. Yes. And so it really does feel very bready in a traditional sense. The Montreal bagel is less voluminous. More. It's sweeter. It's a bit. It's. When you toast it, it has this incredible way of being toasty on the outside, but the inside component of the bagel is still soft. And so it has a delicious chewiness
>> Marco Timpano: to it without being gummy. Does that make sense?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, that's exactly, exactly it. You described it very eloquently. So clearly the blue topaz is working.
>> Marco Timpano: I would say so. I also love the Montreal bagel. I do. It's my favorite bagel. That's not to discredit the regular bagel or the New York style bagel. I heard that there's a Detroit style bagel that we will need to investigate. Poppy seed, sesame seed or plain poppy
>> Nidhi Khanna: seed all the way? Without a doubt, poppy seed with butter.
>> Marco Timpano: Yum.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't even need the cream cheese if it's a Montreal style bagel. Right. But I'm thinking, Marco, that if we were to go to Ann Arbor, we would need to bring a Montreal style raisin bagel and have them make a
>> Marco Timpano: fragal out of the. So then if they take the Montreal bagel and they make it a fragal, I think they'll have to put an accent on the e on the last e of the fragal to make it the Montreal. Because doesn't Montreal have an accent? You know, I do my best to sort of work it out so that
>> Nidhi Khanna: like your grade 10 French came out there.
>> Marco Timpano: Grade 9, actually. But yes, it, it would be great now when we're talking about bagels, I can tell you that I am not a fan. Sesame seeds in particular. You will ruin my bagel experience if you put sesame seeds anywhere near my bagel, including, you know, when they do an all. Like a. What do you call it when you put all things in a. In. They call it an all. All season bagel or an all.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yes. It's kind of like they do everything and everything.
>> Marco Timpano: That's it. The everything bagel. If there's a pot, if there's a sesame seed on that, I am not happy. I too, love the poppy seed or the plain. And I don't mind a swirl of cinnamon raisin in my bagel at all.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. So, Marco, I just did a little check, and I don't know if there's actually the Detroit bagel, but there is the Detroit Institute of Bagels, which is a restaurant, cafe type place. Now, bagels are one bread item. However, if you were to ask. Ask me to choose.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: A bread type item.
>> Marco Timpano: Let me ask you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Snack item.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna ask you to choose a bread type snack item that is your favorite.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's a difficult, difficult choice. So I am a fan of Artist.
>> Marco Timpano: I feel that this is a difficult choice, But I think you have to remove bagels from. From it because bagels are their own thing.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I would also say the same about croissants, because I feel like croissants are also in their own category. You've got the almond croissant, the chocolate
>> Marco Timpano: croissant, and I'm gonna say cakes are out of this category as well. So, for example, a panettone, which I love, which is a bread like Italian Christmas cake.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Or the Pandora. We're going to remove that. Okay, so now that we know what the playing field is.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Nitty. What is your favorite bread type item?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, so there is a bakery in Montreal called Premier Moissant. They don't.
>> Marco Timpano: What does that mean? Because you said it. You said it very quickly. And for people who are listening who may not speak French, I'd like to
>> Nidhi Khanna: just like myself means anything. Or if it's the name of someone. But Premiere is like, first I'll find out. But they do like a hazelnut bread that I just adore any bread that has sort of specialty nuts in it or something like that that I can then put a little bit of butter on, toast it up, put a little bit of butter on. That is. That's. That's perfect.
>> Marco Timpano: Or ghee.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Butter. Never ghee.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Not for. Not for this type of bread. Okay. Yeah, that. I think that would be up there. There's a beautiful bread that I had recently that's actually got cranberries and white chocolate in it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Which was a nice treat, of course. But it was a bread. It wasn't a cake.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It was a bread. Those would be, I think, my top. How about. I would love.
>> Marco Timpano: I mean, I would love. One of my favorite breads is the challah bread.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Because it's eggy and it's sweet and I even love the way it looks because it's sort of, I think when they make challah bread, they braid it because it's got different sort of bumps and lumps in it. And you could leave me on a desert island with challah bread and Nutella and I would be pretty happy for. For a while. Certainly those are things that make me happy in the bread department. Now, do you like your bread fluffy or do you like it more dense?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I like fluffy bread.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I prefer fluffy bread. So that's why I kind of like naan bread.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, naan bread is wonderful. For those of you who aren't familiar with naan bread, it's a Indian or south East Asian bread that you'll often get as a side that is flat, almost like a pita bread. But I feel like it is stone baked, if I'm not mistaken. And so it has a bit of charring. Sometimes you'll have it and it's very chewy and delicious and fantastic to rip and put into different sauces and accompaniments with your. The dishes you may be eating. In this case, various curries.
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>> Nidhi Khanna: Burlington deals, brands. Wow. Once again, Marco, I really do believe the blue topaz is working today because that was a wonderful description of naan bread and the various ways that you can eat it.
>> Marco Timpano: I love, I love naan. So I don't know if it's the blue topaz or just my love for Indian cuisine and I guess Jewish cuisine too because I love both. The bagel, challah bread, artichokes that are done in the style of Trastevere, which is a area of Rome where the Jewish kettles were located. So they'll fry, they'll deep fry artichokes and it's out of this world.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now you mentioned panettone before. I have to say I'm not the biggest fan of panettone.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't know if it's because I haven't tasted the right one, but it's not my, it's not my favorite. However. Sorry, sorry, go ahead.
>> Marco Timpano: No, no, no. Please finish your statement.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I was gonna ask you of the Italian bread family because there is so much of it bread based or wheat based products. What you're afraid what, what your favorite would be? However, I'd like to first hear about your panettone comments.
>> Marco Timpano: I'm gonna give you the lowdown on panettone. Panettone is the traditional panettone. Tell me, is a sweet bread that is available around Christmas time and it generally has. Or the traditional style of panettone has raisins and candied fruit. And so I feel like the North American palate isn't one that enjoys candied fruit. And I'm a traditionalist, so I love the traditional panettone. Now is that the one that you've had?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I've had panettone with, you know, those little gummy type fruit that you would find.
>> Marco Timpano: Those are the can, those are the candy fruit.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. That with that. And it's not my favorite thing.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay. Now they've got a bunch of new, new panettona that has chocolate chips or lemon cream in it. They've got various different things that you can get in your panettone. Now I will say this. If you're not a fan of panettone, which a lot of people aren't, my Recommendation is to take the panettone, or if you have panettone that's gone a little bit stale, because panettone is the type of dessert bread that once you cut it, you sort of need to eat it within a day or two because it'll go stale very quickly. Use the panettone to make French toast. If you use the panettone to make French toast, I guarantee you will change your mind with regards to panettone. Panettone is also a perfect sweet bread to accompany a coffee. In particular a cafe latte, because it is the perfect thing. Once again, should your panettone go stale, don't panic. Dip it into the latte. Latte macchiato in this case, so you know a lot of macchiato, which is espresso and warmed milk. It will sop up a third of your latte right away. So be quick about it and it'll be the most delicious wet, sweet bread you will have.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I think you are making me turn the tide on my panettone experience. And so I'm gonna have to try both those things. French toast and using it as an accompaniment to my latte.
>> Marco Timpano: There you go. Now you are going to let us know about that bakery, I believe it was.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. So it doesn't tell me what it means, so I need to do a bit more digging.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, fair enough.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Perhaps I need to talk to some of my friends whose French is much better than mine.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I think your French is great. We were in Montreal a few years back.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And you were navigating the streets quite well. And I remember you. We asked for directions or we. Someone stopped us. And you spoke to the gentleman entirely in French and I was very impressed.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, it helps growing up there, that's for sure. It's definitely not where it used to be, given that I now live here in Toronto, which for our friends who might not be Canadian, might not realize that in Montreal and the province of Quebec, it's a predominantly French speaking province in Canada.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: However, here in Toronto, in the province of Ontario and most of the rest
>> Marco Timpano: of Canada, with the exception of New Brunswick. And because Amanda's not here, I have to mention that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: She's from there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: She is from there. Most of it is English speaking.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so although French and English are both official languages in Canada, you find it more predominantly French speaking in Quebec.
>> Marco Timpano: We are going to go to a town. I know we're mentioning a lot of cities in this particular podcast, but we are going to go to a town called La Fontaine in Ontario. And we're going to record a show and it'll be in a couple of months. Cuz I'm going to take you there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: La Fontaine. And that is a very French town in Ontario, about an hour and 30 minutes away from Toronto. It's near my cottage. That's why I say I'm going to take you there and we're going to record a show there. I would love to. We're going to see how great your French actually is in that town.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, okay, so explain a bit. Can you tell me a bit about La Fox?
>> Marco Timpano: We will. When we get closer to that episode. All I know La Fontaine is that it's on Georgian Bay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's right by this beautiful bay of this beautiful beach. Beach area of Ontario. And that they have the Festival de Loop. So it's a festival with regards. Yeah, the Wolf. And we'll get more into that later on. So that's just a little tiny tidbit because I don't want to overwhelm tonight today's podcast with too many places.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fair enough. And I think that there's obviously a lot that we can discuss once we get to La Fontaine.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. And Ann Arbor, Montreal, Detroit. We have all these places we need to visit.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think we need to do a tour, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: I would say so.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We even need to go up to Red Team to see our friends there.
>> Marco Timpano: It's true. Well, we want to thank our listeners. And if you wish to connect with us, you can tweet us at Listen and Sleep. And of course you can subscribe to us on itunes and follow us on SoundCloud. Include us in your favorite podcast on your, whether it be a smartphone or iPad or tablet of some sort. And Nidhi, before this evening's over, what bread product will you be digesting?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, that's a good one, Marco. Well, now I'm kind of in the mood for Indian food, so I think we might have to go get a roti or a naan or something.
>> Marco Timpano: Hey, that works perfectly for me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As always. We are recording from Toronto and we'd like to thank you for being a part of our podcast and listening as always. We're produced by drumcast Productions.
>> Marco Timpano: Both of us have insomnia and that's how this podcast has come about. And we'll tell you more about why and how we decided to. To make such a podcast. And we hope that this helps you solve your insomnia issues. And if it doesn't, we hope it at least relaxes you as you try to get out of that state and into a state of restfulness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Until the next time, we hope you listen and sleep.
Duty Free, Olives & Coconut Oil
(Original airdate: March 18, 2016)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane, the ordinary, sometimes even the strange. One thing we can promise you is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you. Well, you can feel free. You can feel free. That is to drift off. Thank you for joining us and we hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host Nidhi Khanna.
>> Marco Timpano: You know Nizzy, we were talking about about duty frees and how much we enjoy perusing a duty free in different airports and whatnot. Let me ask you, I know for myself the first thing I do when I walk into a duty free is I like to See what the local items are they have in the duty free. So for example, if you go to a duty free in Canada, you're likely to find various maple products. So like maple fudge or maple maple syrup in a fancy bottle or maple cookies.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ice wine.
>> Marco Timpano: Ice wine. Some moose.
>> Nidhi Khanna: They're called moose droppings, I think.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I was thinking of the chocolates. I was thinking of like moose plush toys. Ah yes, or of course, or RCMP plush toys or moose dressed as RCMP or beavers dressed as RCMP officers. If you're in the Maritimes you're likely to find a lobster wearing a southwestern, which is that sort of raincoat that fishermen wear out there sometimes. You'll find certainly if you're in western Canada, say in V in Vancouver, British Columbia or anywhere in British Columbia for that matter, you'll find various types of totem poles that they'll have at the
>> Nidhi Khanna: duty freight shooks as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Without a doubt. And so that's the first place I go to. So different countries and different cities will have different sort of local duty free items in it. So I remember when I was in Italy last year, went into the duty free and there was a fantastic bottle of Amato which is a liquor that's made of various herbs. So it's very bitter that I can't get here. And so I was very happy to see that I bought two really large bottles of that. When you go to a duty free, what is it that you source or look for?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco? I enjoy perusing the cosmetics in duty freeze. So I think for any person who wears makeup or perfume or anything like that, that duty freeze freezer ideal places to, to to get to pick up those type of items and, and have a look. So I enjoy the London Heathrow duty free.
>> Marco Timpano: It is, it is huge and ample and interesting thing about the London Heathrow is that there's a duty free and then you walk for seven minutes and there's another duty free and then you walk to the food court and there's an additional duty free. It's at as if they don't want you to miss your opportunity. And I loved when I was in London they had sampling of various liquors, scotches and let me tell you, they were great expensive scotches. There's nothing like an arduous trip you're going to take that's going to take you know, 12 hours. And before you go on the plane you've had some great scotch. But you were saying sorry before.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, that's Scotch is also one of those that when People hear that you're traveling, there's always someone who's hoping that you can pick them up a bottle of expensive scotch from the duty free.
>> Marco Timpano: I tend to buy rums, I love to get rums. I, I love dark rums. And so that's the thing that I buy at duty freeze.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I don't tend to buy alcohol from duty freeze usually because I'm traveling to and from Europe.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And as a result there's always an exchange rate issue. However, that being said, whenever I leave Canada, I always pick up my maximum allowable alcohol, whether that be vodka or rum or any other liquor because it's so much cheaper in Canadian dollars than let's say in British pounds. So.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I get to enjoy with. Because I'm usually traveling to Europe to visit friends, I get to enjoy that part of our trip together with them.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting you mentioned that you know, you buy your maximum allowance. I'm always very, very strict with that. For some reason I don't like to ignore exceed it. I make sure that it is within regulations. Cuz I always feel that that's the one area where customs could stop you and, and in my case would be able to figure out whether or not I exceeded the limit. So I'm always very strict.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And have you ever been stopped by customs?
>> Marco Timpano: Oh not for, no, for that. No. I actually have. No, I haven't been stopped in any, in any place for customs which is great. But back to duty free. What's the strangest thing you've ever bought at duty free?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, good question, Marco, Good question. I'm. I have to say I'm a pretty boring duty free shopper. I remember actually I lucked out one year because as I said I. Well, I don't know if I mentioned it but I used to live in the uk, right. And so I would travel back home, home during the holidays and one year for Christmas I happened to be traveling around the time that they had sales at duty free. And the London Heathrow duty free sales can be really good if you get in at the right time.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I managed to pick up I think three high end perfumes for dirt cheap because they were all on sale and that was my best duty free find. But other than that I'm not a big duty free shopper. I remember actually when we used to travel to India as children you would have the duty free component obviously on the plane, which they still have.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But we used to to always fly through Switzerland and we would be able to get the swatch watches.
>> Marco Timpano: Ah, yes, of course.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And that was the big, big highlight of our trip to or from India would be the excitement of looking through the catalog and then picking out the swatch watch that you wanted and being able to purchase that. It was always very exciting.
>> Marco Timpano: I have purchased marzipan.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah.
>> Marco Timpano: Sunglasses. Okay. Olive oil, like I said, lots of alcohol. Hand creams. Toys for children, including wooden toys. Toys from like the Czech Republic. So hand carved wooden toys.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Pillows filled with seeds or beans or something like that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, like a relaxation pillow.
>> Marco Timpano: Something like that I picked up in India. There was some sort of. I don't know if it. What's inside of it, but it feels like a. A bean type thing. And it's supposed to help you remember your dreams or something like that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And you put it. Do you put it. Is it kind of like an eye pillow that you put on?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it's bigger than that, I think. I feel like it's a. This might sound strange, but put it under your pillow and you'll remember your dreams. Something strange like that. I think that's the strangest thing I
>> Nidhi Khanna: do you find that that works?
>> Marco Timpano: No, it didn't. But I bought it and I think I bought it as a gift for someone and I forgot to give it to them. You know how sometimes you'll pick up something and then you'll put it in a safe spot and you'll search high and low. You'll go upstairs, you'll go downstairs, every closet, every cupboard, you'll open, you can't find it. And then one day you'll be like, oh, you know, I should really get another bar of soap. And then boom, here it is. Why did I have it with the soap? And at the time you were putting it away, you were like, this is the best spot for it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That happens to me quite frequently. Marco, before you mentioned that you had purchased olive oil as one of your transactional items during your duty free escapades. What kind of olive oil did you choose from a duty free?
>> Marco Timpano: Well, it's interesting. It was olive oil from Spain because I was coming from Spain and it was just a really great quality olive oil. Now I love olive oil. Actually, I love olive oils. But olive oil in particular, I love. Here's a little something I like to do with olive oil. I have sort of an affinity for olive oil and I'll tell you why. But if you have wooden spoons or spatulas in the house, you know how they can get almost like a white film on them? It's Especially if the wood that those tools or utensils are made of is olive wood. You should oil it with olive oil.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What do you mean, olive wood? Like olive wood from like olive.
>> Marco Timpano: An olive tree? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I have a couple of pieces I'll show you later. Maybe we'll take a photo and put it up online.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That would be great.
>> Marco Timpano: And all of wood. Loves to have, love to be, loves to be oiled. And so does wood in general. You know how they say you should oil furniture and whatnot? Same. Same is true for wooden utensils. And so once every three weeks, let's say I'll make sure that I oil my utensils. But if you're in the kitchen and you're cooking with olive oil, I love to put a little on my hands. If you're going to paint, say you're going to paint a room. It's wise to. Unless you're wearing gloves, put olive oil on your hands, rub it in till your hands are not oily anymore, till they're dry. You can even use a paper towel to wipe the excess olive oil off so that when you paint any little spots, splashes of paint that hit your hand will easily come off because you have a very thin layer of olive oil on your hands before the paint hit it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Olive oil is one of those oils that just has such a soothing, almost medicinal property to it when it comes to cracked skin or dry skin even. You can even put it in your hair.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I put coconut oil. Oh, coconut oil.
>> Marco Timpano: Coconut oil is such a fantastic oil because I love how in cooler months it solidifies and in warmer months it stays very oily in a jar.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Coconut oil supposedly has so many great properties for the skin, the hair, even for your digestive system. System. So you use it on your. On your skin?
>> Nidhi Khanna: On my hair. On your hair. My skin. So as I used it as. For two reasons. One, as a makeup remover. Oh yes, all natural makeup remover. Which is great.
>> Marco Timpano: And it works.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It works wonderfully. So you just have to.
>> Marco Timpano: What exactly does it do? Like different than say, other forms of makeup remover, whether they be chemical or whatnot.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Good question, Marco. I have incredibly sensitive skin and so I don't particularly like using your over the counter makeup removers with a whole lot of chemicals. I find it very harsh for my skin.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And olive oil, Sorry, not olive oil, the coconut oil for me. Really, there's an immediacy to it you don't need a lot of. Also acts as a moisturizer. So I have Very dry skin. So I find in the winter months it's particularly helpful because it both acts as has the moisturizing component and also the makeup removing component to it. I usually use olive oil oil in my hair as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Olive or coconut?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sorry? Coconut oil.
>> Marco Timpano: I keep talking because you can use olive oil in your hair as well. Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, you can. It's very popular for, I think anyone in the South Asian community to use coconut oil in their hair.
>> Marco Timpano: I know that Amanda, we mentioned at least once every part podcast puts a bit of coconut oil when she takes a bath and it softens her skin.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yep, absolutely. It's very moisturizing and very cleansing. And I also find that it helps with scarring.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I didn't know that. So you would apply it to a scar and it would help to lessen or lighten or heal it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. Now, whether or not that's true or that's just. Just my perception of what coconut oil does, that part I'm not too sure.
>> Marco Timpano: Certainly can't harm.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, it can't.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. I used to work as a guide in Italy, and part of the trips we would do in an area, a region of Italy called Puglia, is we would go to olive groves to see how olive oil was made.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And can you describe a bit of how olive oil is made?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting because the olives are collected from the tree, and many different groves have different methods in which they collect it. So some will climb on ladders and use like a rake to collect the olives off the tree. Others will use a mechanical instrument, kind of like a forklift to shake the tree. And then they lay down a net so that the olives would fall onto the net and they would collect them from the net. And then a lot of places will bring. So a lot of farmers have olive groves, but they don't have an olive press on site. So they would take it to an olive press and the olives would be pressed, some in traditional manners, some in more modern manners.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And is it like squashing the grapes in wine?
>> Marco Timpano: No, not exactly. No. It would be more like. It's more intensive than that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I. I have also seen how they squash grapes for wine.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And that's another.
>> Marco Timpano: Another process altogether, but interesting nonetheless. So the interesting thing about olives is that the best time to squish, let's say, on olive is as soon as it comes off the tree. So you want to bring it to the press as. As soon, soon as you can from it being collected, you will get the best oil the oil is going to be the freshest. You don't want to squish old olives.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now when the olives come off the tree, do they look like they do the olives that we see in this, in a store that you would have in a restaurant? Just. Is that what they look like when they come off the tree?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, that's a, that's a very interesting question. So I've taken olives off the tree and put them in my mouth to eat them. And they're extremely bitter, Extremely bitter. They're, they're. You can't, you couldn't eat olives. I mean, I guess you could, but it's really unpleasant. It was for me to eat an olive right off the tree. That said some of the, the finest olives I had were from these various groves that were making olive oil. And then they were making so many products with the oil that was collected. So you would have olive oil soaps and olive oil face and makeup products and olive oil tinctures and digestive aids and as well as, you know, fine, fine olive oil. It's very important when you're purchasing olive oil to ensure that you purchase it from a company that does not cut the olive oil. Because that's a big problem that's happening in some places in Europe in particular, where the olive oil that they sell in the home country, country will be pure olive oil, but the olive oil that they export to other countries will be cut with other lesser quality oils like rape seed oil. And you know, and so you're not having pure olive oil, even though the bottle may say extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil oil. So I, I'm very careful with the olive oil I purchase and I make sure that it's from a country that I know it has very high standards. Israel, for example, California. Those are two areas of the world that generally speaking, they do not. There hasn't been a problem with olive oil being cut with other oils.
>> Nidhi Khanna: See? See, now that's funny because that's a bit counterintuitive in the sense that when you think of olive oil, obviously you automatically think of Italy because it's sort of the stereotypical place of where you would think olives would come from. However, that Mediterranean climate really does extend to other places like Israel and California where they would be cutting olive oil
>> Marco Timpano: or would they be pressing all, not cutting, cutting, or you would hope they wouldn't be cutting. You don't want a mix of other lesser or poor quality oils mixed. When you purchase olive oil, you want pure olive Oil. So that's just something to. To be aware of. Now, there's other oils. I don't know if you've ever cooked with avocado oil or walnut oil or grapeseed oil.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So funny that you should say that, Margot, because as he was talking I was thinking about avocado oil because that's an oil that I really would like to try in the very near future. But I haven't.
>> Marco Timpano: Which one?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Avocado oil. I haven't really experimented with oils in my cooking regimen in that capacity before, so I won't experiment with walnut oil. I'm not even sure what one bring. But I can see that you have some olive oil for me to try.
>> Marco Timpano: I went to grab a little bit of the olive oil that we have in our house for you to sample that oil to see what it's like.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And sorry, we keep saying olive oil, but I'm actually going to be sampling some avocado oil.
>> Marco Timpano: We're talking so much about different oils that it gets a little bit confusing. So you can see, Nudie, that the color of the avocado oil is not very light with a slight hint of green. It's kind of more.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Almost like a lime green, really.
>> Marco Timpano: Almost bordering on a yellow. Yellow green.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, it's. And it's. It seems to be the consistency a little bit less viscosity than olive oil, let's say.
>> Marco Timpano: And I wouldn't drink that whole. Just taste it because you might not.
>> Nidhi Khanna: There's not really a smell to it.
>> Marco Timpano: No.
>> Nidhi Khanna: All right, here we go.
>> Marco Timpano: There we go. Nidhi and her first taste of avocado oil.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's actually quite nice.
>> Marco Timpano: You like it?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I do. Have a little taste of it, please. It's, as you say, very light, very. Not as avocado y. As I. I thought you would guess. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: What do you think we use this amac oil for?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So if I were using it, I would probably use it on a salad of some sort.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, we have it for our salads because it's a light oil. It doesn't. It's not heavy. The viscosity isn't so harsh. So you can mix it with other items.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: It has a pleasant. A pleasant feel and taste to it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's not bitter.
>> Marco Timpano: It also allows the. You can impart flavors with the olive oil and it. With the. I'm sorry, avocado oil. And it has a lot of excellent nutrients and vitamins that. That are associated with. With avocado oil.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, you mentioned walnut oil before. Have you ever used a walnut oil?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, it's another great oil for salads. The thing with walnut oils or any sort of nut oils, whether they be hazelnut oils or even pumpkin seed oils, is they can go rancid very quickly. And that's why I believe they sell them in smaller bottles. If you've ever purchased them, they tend to be in smaller quantities. Quantities. And they're expensive, too, because. Because, you know, you need to have so many walnuts, like a great amount of walnuts to create that much oil versus, you know, compare the size of the walnut seed or the inside of a walnut to a olive or a avocado or coconut, it'll yield a lot more of the oil compared to a nut or, say, a pumpkin seed.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure. Now, when you're having these walnut or the avocado oil, do you mix it with any vinegar the way you would have olive oil and balsamic vinegar?
>> Marco Timpano: You can. You can. Another nice thing to do is if you have a avocado and you slice it in half, you drizzle a bit of avocado oil, a bit of fine salt, pepper, and then there you go. You could have it just like that as a. As a sort of snack versus putting in a salad or a guacamole or whatnot. It's really nice to. Really nice to have. Complements the avocado of fruit or vegetables.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I believe it's a fruit because it has a seed.
>> Marco Timpano: I see, I see. So it complements its fruit very well. And I think that's true with olive oil, too. You'll often find olives in olive oil.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, Marco, I have a good friend of my mom's in Montreal who actually has an olive oil store.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: And they have drums of olive oil and vinegars. And their name. Well, the name of the store is Olive en Folies, which transfer.
>> Marco Timpano: Translates for people who don't speak French.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Olives in folly or. Yeah, like in. I don't know how to describe it. Maybe joy olives and celebration olives. And they have all sorts of different flavored olive oil. So you can have a garlic olive oil or. The one that I really like is lemongrass and basil olive oil that you can just put on stir fry. They have champagne balsamic vinegar. They have lavender olive oil. Really interesting flavors. So I enjoy going there and getting to sample the different olive oils. And so there are certain things that you can experiment with. But that is for another day.
>> Marco Timpano: Hopefully, I'll try that out. We'd like to thank you for listening to our podcast. As always, we broadcast from Toronto and The Insomnia project is produced by drumcast Productions.
Scents, Dental Floss & The Nebulizer
(Original airdate: March 20. 2016)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Relax, Lay back. Listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing that we strive for is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off or relax and listen. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host Nidhi Khanna.
>> Marco Timpano: Nidhi, I want to talk to you about a store I happened to walk into in London, Ontario last week.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh wow.
>> Marco Timpano: So I happen to be at the Masonville Mall in London, Ontario and I walked into this store called Sage and I walked in Because I had a little bit of a headache. And as you know, Nidhi, I am prone to migraines and headaches. So I walked into the store, and unlike so many stores, like soap and bath bomb stores or stores that sell body creams and candles, I wasn't assaulted by scents. Rather, the scent that was in that store was very pleasant, and I can describe it as mild. And so I ended up buying a nebulizer, a nebulizer which I have on right now. And I said to you, I have this nebulizer, Niddy. Do you mind if I put it on? And you said exactly what you said a moment ago.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so it's funny, Marco, because when you use the word nebulizer for the first time, my head went to Star Trek or Stargate or one of those type of TV shows because it sounds very science fiction, but it's actually. I'm going to try and describe it here. It's a contraption that almost looks like a mini humidifier.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. I got the small one for traveling. So that's a travel size one. But they come in different sizes. But yes, it's a smaller one, like a humidifier.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so I see that you have a bottle of water turned upside down that is used to, I guess, pour water into this contraption that then makes it steam. And I believe you put a little bit of basil. Not basil, sage.
>> Marco Timpano: This. No, this actually was lavender. So what I did was this is a travel nebulizer that was purchased for me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: This Christmas. And what I did was when I walked in the store, I noticed that they had all their nebulizers.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I asked them about the various scents. So a nebulizer, basically, unlike a humidifier, that. And you can hear it bubbling there. Yeah. Unlike the humidifier, which makes hot steam come out. And you could put whatever sort of scent you want with a humidifier. A lot of people will use, like a Vicks Vapor sort of thing with their humidifier when you're sick. Nebulizer causes a fine spray of water, which you can hit inhale. And if you put your hand over the mist that's coming out, you can see it's actually cool and not hot. And so I put in a couple of drops of pure lavender into the water, and it is being distributed through the nebulizer into the air as well as this cool mist, not only giving the air
>> Nidhi Khanna: more
>> Marco Timpano: water in the air, I don't know what you'd call that, but allowing that scent in the air that you could inhale.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'M looking, Marco, on the stock for this store, Sage that you went to. I'm just looking at it online. And they have all sorts of nebulizers of different shapes and sizes and they look very modern, almost like you wouldn't know it was a nebulizer.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. You could just have it somewhere in the room and.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. Which is very different from the one that we have here. And I think we'll take a photo of this.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Yeah, of course. And what's nice about this nebulizer or the reason I have this is, you know, nitty. When you go into a hotel room.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And you go from hotel room to hotel room to hotel rooms and they have a odd sort of scent to them or they never feel homey, a little musty, or they're very dry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So you wake up with dry eyes or your. Your nasal cavity feels very dry. Well, the purpose of this was to have it in your hotel room. And what it does, you can feel that the air is lightly scented with, in this case, lavender, which is a relaxing scent and allows you to sort of fall asleep. So I put this in the hotel room. I let it go when I come back after I've unpacked. Doesn't have that musty or dry feel the room. It feels a lot more calm, relaxing and homey.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And how long can this one travel nebulizer last in terms of the water capacity?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's really interesting. So I have a 500 milliliter water bottle.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That I put on this particular nebulizer and I've turned it to full blast. But you can see n here if, if I crank it down, it slows it down. Yes. But this 500 milliliter bottle at full tilt will last five hours.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I've put it on, I've gone out, I've come back after a day of sightseeing or work and it's towards the bottom and I just refill it and let it go and you know, it works really nicely. And what's nice about a nice nebulizer or in the hotel room versus a candle, Is that a candle? A, you shouldn't leave unattended. This you can. And B, some hotel rooms, if you light a match in your hotel room, they will charge you the smoking fee. That if you smoke in a hotel room, which could be 300 to 700 depending on where you are. So. So you want to be careful of that, of using candles in a hotel room. But with this contraption, that's not the case. But what was great about that particular store, Sage, that I went into is, as I mentioned, I ended up going in with a headache and leaving with a bunch of products. But, and it's so funny, has that ever happened to you where you walk into a store going in on a, on a whim and you walk out having spent much more than you would have expected?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely, that happens to me. And sometimes, you know, you get a bit of buyer's remorse. But you asked me to test a couple of the products that you bought from there. And I have to be honest, at first I was a little skeptical because I've been down this path of trying these type of products before and to no real result. However.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Whatever it is that you gave me to help with the headache that I was having is phenomenal.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I ended up buying this little kit called a pocket pharmacy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Because if you purchased a certain amount of product, I think it was $30, you could get this for half price price. So I was like, I need a scent for my nebulizer. I end up buying some soap because that's another thing I like to do when I'm in a hotel room for a week or more. I'll buy my own personal soap.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Which is more of a bar of soap than the little free bars that they give you in the hotel room. And sometimes they're just.
>> Nidhi Khanna: They make your skin very dry.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I purchased because I love the smell of orange. It's a very invigorating smell.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I picked, purchased some sort of orange ginger soap.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: So I purchased that, I purchased the lavender. And then because I made it to the amount that you could get, I got this pocket pharmacy which has four different. I'm just going to open it up here. Four different, or, sorry, five different. I don't know what you would call it. Nitty, like little roll on, vials of roll on combination of scents.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I see you have now and it's in this beautiful case.
>> Marco Timpano: You think they were a sponsor? You would think that this company was a sponsor of our show that we were talking about. It's just that I discovered it and it's been working out really well for me. And I just was starting to talk to you when you're like, hang on, you're talking about an epilator. Put it on. Let's record a podcast. And so that's what we're doing. And so Nidhi was saying she had a headache. So I took one of these vials and it's called Halo. And its essence is Peppermint. And I said, rub this around your head and I encourage you to rub it on your back. Back. Because you said your, your back was sore.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, I think I might do that.
>> Marco Timpano: And a few minutes later you can feel the sort of tingling effect of the peppermint and it sort of, for me, eases the tension of my headache. Now what are you experiencing with your headache?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I am definitely feeling the coolness and the tingling now, Marco, we should let people know that before I put, put it on. You did warn me and say you only need a dab of this stuff. And I went ahead and slopped it on myself.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, because I was like, Nidhi, it's not like an underarm deodorant with a roll on that. You really have to go back and forth. It's, it's just do it lightly. I don't know if it's going to be too intense or it's not going to be to your liking, but nitty full force like, you know, as usual, I just disregarded any sort of warning and she just went for it. And you gotta respect that. And I'm glad that it's working out for you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is. And now I'm gonna try, I think the tension reducing remedy the stress release.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, perfect.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Because that smells really well.
>> Marco Timpano: Excellent.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Nice. So.
>> Marco Timpano: So there you go. So she's gonna try that not on your. Oh, I thought you were gonna put it on.
>> Speaker A: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, don't worry, I'm not gonna ruin your brain than I do by the end of the podcast and then we'll check in again and see how I'm doing with my stress relief.
>> Speaker A: Taste the Mediterranean at Whole Foods Market with a vibrant selection that captures the flavors of the region. Shop coastal favorites like responsibly farmed whole bronzini and jumbo white shrimp and pair them with specialty pastas, robust olive oils and aromatic sauces directly sourced from the Mediterranean. Want a fast and easy dinner? Grab refreshing, refreshing Greek salads and tortellini from the prepared foods department. Taste the Mediterranean now at Whole Foods Market with VRBoCare. Help is always ready before, during and after your stay.
>> Marco Timpano: We've planned for the plot twists, so
>> Speaker A: support is always available. Because a great trip starts with peace of mind. Open the door to spring. Explore vibrant scents inspired by places you love, designed to reflect, refresh your home and how it feels every day. Follow your nose. Let your space feel lighter. Discover the spring [email protected].
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a scent, Nidhi that you particularly like or dislike? So, for example, okay, I just did it again.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Did I?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you do. You rolled on it. Hey, listen, if you like more of an intense experience, you can really roll it on like that. But like, for example, I love the smell of sandalwood. Like I said, orange, lavender. These are scents I like. Scents like gardenia, jasmine are too intense, too floral for me. Tobacco, I don't like the smell of tobacco. Is there any scent that you are, you are drawn to?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I love the scent of neroli. It's a.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry, what?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Neroli oil. I guess a Moroccan or African flower.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't it a fruit as well? Is it the flower?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, it could be.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll find out why you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know it only because I have a Moroccan friend and she introduced me to that scent along with the scent of argan oil. Sort of. It was infused together.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny, the neroli is. The scent that they derive is from the blossom of a bitter. From the blossom of a bitter orange tree. So it's interesting because I love the smell of orange. So I'm gonna have to look into this neroli because it's, it's supposedly a sweet and honeyed and somewhat metallic and a green spicy notes to it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yep. It's actually quite lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'm gonna now tell you to relax because she's taking all of the little roll ons and she's putting them. Did you just put on your back? Yes. Okay, you're going a little bit crazy. I, I get that you're enjoying it, but let's just. I don't want you to overwhelm yourself just because you're having a good experience with it. But I love, I love certain scents and I, I do, I do like to wear some cologne.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And, and you know, it's interesting. I like to wear different colognes for different seasons. I know some, some men and women like to wear different standard or they like to wear different colognes for different days of the week or they'll wear one occasion that's their signature cologne. I like a spring cologne that has grassy and notes to it. Grassy and say citrusy notes to them. And in the fall, I like to wear a cologne that has more of a sandalwood, leathery kind of scent to it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, I, I like, I, I actually go by sort of a daytime perfume versus a nighttime perfume.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I like to have more brighter, fresher, florally scents during the day. However, if I'm going out for the evening, I will have something that's a little bit more spicier. A little bit. Yeah. I guess spicy would actually be the correct terminology.
>> Marco Timpano: Something bolder, reflective of the night that you're. You may have.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: So what about toothpaste? Is there a toothpaste flavor you like or dislike? And same with mouthwash toothpaste.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I like it to be mint or peppermint. Similar to mouthwash.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I like it to be. I like it when my mouthwash is strong and fierce. I know not many people like it that way. I do. I don't enjoy the baking soda type.
>> Marco Timpano: I see toothpaste. Right. That's very popular, though.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: There's even, I think, a sort of mouthwash that uses baking soda as well. I love cinnamon. I love cinnamon gum. Of course. I like cinnamon toothpaste. Or I like a plain mint. Mint, like just a mint that's not too strong.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, did you say cinnamon toothpaste?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think they're. Yeah. Have you never had cinnamon toothpick? I don't have any upstairs for you to try because it seems like the last couple of podcasts I've just sort of run into the cupboards and whatnot and brought you. I think we had. I had you taste avocado oil last time.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And then we also rated Amanda's closet for some blue topaz. But.
>> Marco Timpano: So I don't have cinnamon toothpaste. But there, for example, do you know that toothpaste that has a white, green, and red skin? So that that particular toothpaste would have cinnamon, mint, and peppermint?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think. Yeah, I like that one. There's also a toothpaste that you get at. In an Indian grocery store. South Asian grocery store store, or obviously in. In those countries themselves. But it's called neem toothpaste.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes, Neem. Yeah, I've seen it. Yeah. N E, E M. Correct.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, you got it. So it's a plant. I want to say. Okay, maybe we need to look that up, because I don't want to say the wrong thing with regards to the neem plant, but it has a lot of medicinal properties to it, and it's put into toothpaste to help with, I think, teeth that are particularly sensitive.
>> Marco Timpano: It's from a tree, a tree in the mahogany family. Malia sees, I think, is the way you say it. And so it's native to India, and so that's why you would find it in products from India, I guess. And I'm gonna have to buy myself some. Does it have a strong flavor?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It does. It's very minty, but not peppermint.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I think peppermint is the flavor that we're used to in a North American context when we think of mint. This is more on the more, for lack of a better word, I guess, bitter side of mint. It's. It's not even really minty. I don't know how to describe it correctly. It's something that I think you just need to taste in order to understand. But it is a bit more bitter.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, then I'm gonna have to. You're gonna have to get me a. A neem toothpaste. And I'm going to try it, and then I will let our listeners know what that feels like. For me, anyway, supposedly it is effective in reducing plaque and gingival inflammation.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And I am very proud to say, Nidhi, that this year for my New Year's resolution, because I've never been great at A, making New Year's resolutions and B, sticking to New Year's resolutions.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fair enough.
>> Marco Timpano: And I think because there's so much pressure to come up with a great or stoic resolution that you can then say, I've decided to do this and better myself and better the world. And a lot of pressure, you know. And I decided rather than say, I'm not going to have any New Year's resolution, I'm gonna do something that's simple, that's good for me, and that I should be doing. And so I decided my New Year's resolution this year was to floss every day. And so far, I have to say I've been sticking to this New Year's resolution. And as we come to, you know, the end of the year, I will let you, you know, if I've stuck to it every day thus far. I have. And I know it's not a big thing to floss every day, but for me, because sometimes you might like, oh, I'm not. I'll just brush. I'm not going to floss today. Or like, you know, you always go to the dentist and they're always like, do you floss? Do you floss every day? Do you know how to floss? Shall I floss? And it's like, I get it. We're supposed to be flossy every day. And so I have been. And I'm curious to see if my. Speaking of gingivitis, if my hygienist. My hygienist will notice that I have been flossing. I'm not going to say anything. When she asks, do you floss? I'm gonna say, you tell me and have him or her let me know. If they can notice a difference or is it just something they tell us to sell? Dental floss.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I floss every day, Marco. And I actually used to hate flossing because I don't like the actual dental floss strands, however.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I like where this is going.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I found they have those almost like flosser picks.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. They're kind of like with a small
>> Nidhi Khanna: thread of floss on it that you can you hold the pick and then you floss that way. That's what I use to floss and it's a game changer for me. It's a game changer.
>> Marco Timpano: So. So that has made the difference, right? I think the end that you hold.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So the handle of that little instrument has a little sharp point. So you can use it like a toothpick, if I'm not mistaken.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, Nitty, I am very particular with my dental floss as well. I prefer a flat floss. So you know how the strings, you could have one that's very much like string and then you can have some that are kind of like a ribbon. I personally prefer my dental floss to be a ribbon. Mint flavored floss.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know, it's funny because you were mentioning Neem from India. I have toothpicks from India that are cinnamon. They taste like cinnamon and it's really. Oh, wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, look at that.
>> Marco Timpano: Really quite. It's interesting. You know, we started the podcast talking about scents and how many items that we use daily that are scented, like toothpaste, dental floss, toothpicks, anything else that comes to mind that is scented that isn't necessarily, you know, cologne that's meant
>> Nidhi Khanna: to be scented and not a candle or anything like that, we. Oh, that's a great question. Even things that are. That are flavored, though, you know, whether it's like your cough syrup or whether.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what. I don't know if we mentioned this on the show, but I'll mention it again. Nidhi. When I make coffee, I like to put a little cinnamon in the grounds so it flavors the. The coffee ever so slightly with cinnamon. I know some people will add salt to their coffee grounds to sort of take away the bitterness. But we discovered this when we went to a restaurant that we like to go to for brunch and they add cinnamon to their coffee.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we were like, why are we not doing this?
>> Marco Timpano: What is this delicious coffee? And they said we add cinnamon to the ground. So I would invite our little listeners to add cinnamon to their coffee grounds when they brew their coffee. And to tweet us their experience at Listen and Sleep.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And Marco, there's a restaurant that you have worked at that has ginger in their coffee as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yeah, like a gin. Yeah, that's right. It's a ginger syrup that they add to their cappuccinos. And what they'll do is they'll add the ginger syrup to the coffee, whether it be an espresso or a latte, and then they'll put grated cinnamon on top and they'll.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a big difference. Nidhi, I don't know if you, you could attest to this because I know you, you've mentioned it to cinnamon that's been pre. Pre ground. And putting that on your coffee versus one that you take like a. It's like a little rasp, like a food rasp, I guess, or like a mini grate and you grate from a cinnamon stick. You've noticed the difference of that, right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. Same thing with ginger. Because ground ginger versus ginger that you would grate fresh ginger has a completely different zing to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Love ginger. Do you know that you can peel a ginger, what do you call it, ginger root with a spoon? If you use a spoon, it's the perfect device to peel it clean if you don't want that beigey kind of skin on it for whatever purposes you might be using.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I did not know that, but that's a wonderful tip. And on that note, I'd like to thank everybody, everyone for joining us today on our episode about all sorts of sage like products.
>> Marco Timpano: Before we go, you said you were gonna let us know how that. Oh, yeah, pain reliefer is working and
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have to say it's working very well. Okay, Stress release.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, stress release.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right, Beautiful. And the peppermint that I put on my back is now, now quite nice, although quite cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Now I know what to get you for a special occasion.
>> Nidhi Khanna: There you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we hope you enjoyed this episode and as always, we broadcast from Toronto and the Insomnia Project is produced by drumcast Productions.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Until the next time, we hope that you listen and sleep.
>> Speaker A: Sa.
>> Marco Timpano: Foreign.
(Original airdate: March 20. 2016)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Relax, Lay back. Listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing that we strive for is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off or relax and listen. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host Nidhi Khanna.
>> Marco Timpano: Nidhi, I want to talk to you about a store I happened to walk into in London, Ontario last week.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh wow.
>> Marco Timpano: So I happen to be at the Masonville Mall in London, Ontario and I walked into this store called Sage and I walked in Because I had a little bit of a headache. And as you know, Nidhi, I am prone to migraines and headaches. So I walked into the store, and unlike so many stores, like soap and bath bomb stores or stores that sell body creams and candles, I wasn't assaulted by scents. Rather, the scent that was in that store was very pleasant, and I can describe it as mild. And so I ended up buying a nebulizer, a nebulizer which I have on right now. And I said to you, I have this nebulizer, Niddy. Do you mind if I put it on? And you said exactly what you said a moment ago.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so it's funny, Marco, because when you use the word nebulizer for the first time, my head went to Star Trek or Stargate or one of those type of TV shows because it sounds very science fiction, but it's actually. I'm going to try and describe it here. It's a contraption that almost looks like a mini humidifier.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. I got the small one for traveling. So that's a travel size one. But they come in different sizes. But yes, it's a smaller one, like a humidifier.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And so I see that you have a bottle of water turned upside down that is used to, I guess, pour water into this contraption that then makes it steam. And I believe you put a little bit of basil. Not basil, sage.
>> Marco Timpano: This. No, this actually was lavender. So what I did was this is a travel nebulizer that was purchased for me.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: This Christmas. And what I did was when I walked in the store, I noticed that they had all their nebulizers.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And so I asked them about the various scents. So a nebulizer, basically, unlike a humidifier, that. And you can hear it bubbling there. Yeah. Unlike the humidifier, which makes hot steam come out. And you could put whatever sort of scent you want with a humidifier. A lot of people will use, like a Vicks Vapor sort of thing with their humidifier when you're sick. Nebulizer causes a fine spray of water, which you can hit inhale. And if you put your hand over the mist that's coming out, you can see it's actually cool and not hot. And so I put in a couple of drops of pure lavender into the water, and it is being distributed through the nebulizer into the air as well as this cool mist, not only giving the air
>> Nidhi Khanna: more
>> Marco Timpano: water in the air, I don't know what you'd call that, but allowing that scent in the air that you could inhale.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'M looking, Marco, on the stock for this store, Sage that you went to. I'm just looking at it online. And they have all sorts of nebulizers of different shapes and sizes and they look very modern, almost like you wouldn't know it was a nebulizer.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. You could just have it somewhere in the room and.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Exactly. Which is very different from the one that we have here. And I think we'll take a photo of this.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. Yeah, of course. And what's nice about this nebulizer or the reason I have this is, you know, nitty. When you go into a hotel room.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And you go from hotel room to hotel room to hotel rooms and they have a odd sort of scent to them or they never feel homey, a little musty, or they're very dry.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So you wake up with dry eyes or your. Your nasal cavity feels very dry. Well, the purpose of this was to have it in your hotel room. And what it does, you can feel that the air is lightly scented with, in this case, lavender, which is a relaxing scent and allows you to sort of fall asleep. So I put this in the hotel room. I let it go when I come back after I've unpacked. Doesn't have that musty or dry feel the room. It feels a lot more calm, relaxing and homey.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And how long can this one travel nebulizer last in terms of the water capacity?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's really interesting. So I have a 500 milliliter water bottle.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That I put on this particular nebulizer and I've turned it to full blast. But you can see n here if, if I crank it down, it slows it down. Yes. But this 500 milliliter bottle at full tilt will last five hours.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, wow.
>> Marco Timpano: Because I've put it on, I've gone out, I've come back after a day of sightseeing or work and it's towards the bottom and I just refill it and let it go and you know, it works really nicely. And what's nice about a nice nebulizer or in the hotel room versus a candle, Is that a candle? A, you shouldn't leave unattended. This you can. And B, some hotel rooms, if you light a match in your hotel room, they will charge you the smoking fee. That if you smoke in a hotel room, which could be 300 to 700 depending on where you are. So. So you want to be careful of that, of using candles in a hotel room. But with this contraption, that's not the case. But what was great about that particular store, Sage, that I went into is, as I mentioned, I ended up going in with a headache and leaving with a bunch of products. But, and it's so funny, has that ever happened to you where you walk into a store going in on a, on a whim and you walk out having spent much more than you would have expected?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely, that happens to me. And sometimes, you know, you get a bit of buyer's remorse. But you asked me to test a couple of the products that you bought from there. And I have to be honest, at first I was a little skeptical because I've been down this path of trying these type of products before and to no real result. However.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Whatever it is that you gave me to help with the headache that I was having is phenomenal.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I ended up buying this little kit called a pocket pharmacy.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: Because if you purchased a certain amount of product, I think it was $30, you could get this for half price price. So I was like, I need a scent for my nebulizer. I end up buying some soap because that's another thing I like to do when I'm in a hotel room for a week or more. I'll buy my own personal soap.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Which is more of a bar of soap than the little free bars that they give you in the hotel room. And sometimes they're just.
>> Nidhi Khanna: They make your skin very dry.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So I purchased because I love the smell of orange. It's a very invigorating smell.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I picked, purchased some sort of orange ginger soap.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: So I purchased that, I purchased the lavender. And then because I made it to the amount that you could get, I got this pocket pharmacy which has four different. I'm just going to open it up here. Four different, or, sorry, five different. I don't know what you would call it. Nitty, like little roll on, vials of roll on combination of scents.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I see you have now and it's in this beautiful case.
>> Marco Timpano: You think they were a sponsor? You would think that this company was a sponsor of our show that we were talking about. It's just that I discovered it and it's been working out really well for me. And I just was starting to talk to you when you're like, hang on, you're talking about an epilator. Put it on. Let's record a podcast. And so that's what we're doing. And so Nidhi was saying she had a headache. So I took one of these vials and it's called Halo. And its essence is Peppermint. And I said, rub this around your head and I encourage you to rub it on your back. Back. Because you said your, your back was sore.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, I think I might do that.
>> Marco Timpano: And a few minutes later you can feel the sort of tingling effect of the peppermint and it sort of, for me, eases the tension of my headache. Now what are you experiencing with your headache?
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I am definitely feeling the coolness and the tingling now, Marco, we should let people know that before I put, put it on. You did warn me and say you only need a dab of this stuff. And I went ahead and slopped it on myself.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, because I was like, Nidhi, it's not like an underarm deodorant with a roll on that. You really have to go back and forth. It's, it's just do it lightly. I don't know if it's going to be too intense or it's not going to be to your liking, but nitty full force like, you know, as usual, I just disregarded any sort of warning and she just went for it. And you gotta respect that. And I'm glad that it's working out for you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is. And now I'm gonna try, I think the tension reducing remedy the stress release.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, perfect.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Because that smells really well.
>> Marco Timpano: Excellent.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Nice. So.
>> Marco Timpano: So there you go. So she's gonna try that not on your. Oh, I thought you were gonna put it on.
>> Speaker A: No.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, don't worry, I'm not gonna ruin your brain than I do by the end of the podcast and then we'll check in again and see how I'm doing with my stress relief.
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>> Marco Timpano: We've planned for the plot twists, so
>> Speaker A: support is always available. Because a great trip starts with peace of mind. Open the door to spring. Explore vibrant scents inspired by places you love, designed to reflect, refresh your home and how it feels every day. Follow your nose. Let your space feel lighter. Discover the spring [email protected].
>> Marco Timpano: Is there a scent, Nidhi that you particularly like or dislike? So, for example, okay, I just did it again.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Did I?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, you do. You rolled on it. Hey, listen, if you like more of an intense experience, you can really roll it on like that. But like, for example, I love the smell of sandalwood. Like I said, orange, lavender. These are scents I like. Scents like gardenia, jasmine are too intense, too floral for me. Tobacco, I don't like the smell of tobacco. Is there any scent that you are, you are drawn to?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I love the scent of neroli. It's a.
>> Marco Timpano: Sorry, what?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Neroli oil. I guess a Moroccan or African flower.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't it a fruit as well? Is it the flower?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, it could be.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll find out why you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know it only because I have a Moroccan friend and she introduced me to that scent along with the scent of argan oil. Sort of. It was infused together.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny, the neroli is. The scent that they derive is from the blossom of a bitter. From the blossom of a bitter orange tree. So it's interesting because I love the smell of orange. So I'm gonna have to look into this neroli because it's, it's supposedly a sweet and honeyed and somewhat metallic and a green spicy notes to it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yep. It's actually quite lovely.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I'm gonna now tell you to relax because she's taking all of the little roll ons and she's putting them. Did you just put on your back? Yes. Okay, you're going a little bit crazy. I, I get that you're enjoying it, but let's just. I don't want you to overwhelm yourself just because you're having a good experience with it. But I love, I love certain scents and I, I do, I do like to wear some cologne.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And, and you know, it's interesting. I like to wear different colognes for different seasons. I know some, some men and women like to wear different standard or they like to wear different colognes for different days of the week or they'll wear one occasion that's their signature cologne. I like a spring cologne that has grassy and notes to it. Grassy and say citrusy notes to them. And in the fall, I like to wear a cologne that has more of a sandalwood, leathery kind of scent to it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, I, I like, I, I actually go by sort of a daytime perfume versus a nighttime perfume.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I like to have more brighter, fresher, florally scents during the day. However, if I'm going out for the evening, I will have something that's a little bit more spicier. A little bit. Yeah. I guess spicy would actually be the correct terminology.
>> Marco Timpano: Something bolder, reflective of the night that you're. You may have.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, exactly.
>> Marco Timpano: So what about toothpaste? Is there a toothpaste flavor you like or dislike? And same with mouthwash toothpaste.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I like it to be mint or peppermint. Similar to mouthwash.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I like it to be. I like it when my mouthwash is strong and fierce. I know not many people like it that way. I do. I don't enjoy the baking soda type.
>> Marco Timpano: I see toothpaste. Right. That's very popular, though.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: There's even, I think, a sort of mouthwash that uses baking soda as well. I love cinnamon. I love cinnamon gum. Of course. I like cinnamon toothpaste. Or I like a plain mint. Mint, like just a mint that's not too strong.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, did you say cinnamon toothpaste?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think they're. Yeah. Have you never had cinnamon toothpick? I don't have any upstairs for you to try because it seems like the last couple of podcasts I've just sort of run into the cupboards and whatnot and brought you. I think we had. I had you taste avocado oil last time.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And then we also rated Amanda's closet for some blue topaz. But.
>> Marco Timpano: So I don't have cinnamon toothpaste. But there, for example, do you know that toothpaste that has a white, green, and red skin? So that that particular toothpaste would have cinnamon, mint, and peppermint?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think. Yeah, I like that one. There's also a toothpaste that you get at. In an Indian grocery store. South Asian grocery store store, or obviously in. In those countries themselves. But it's called neem toothpaste.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, yes, Neem. Yeah, I've seen it. Yeah. N E, E M. Correct.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, you got it. So it's a plant. I want to say. Okay, maybe we need to look that up, because I don't want to say the wrong thing with regards to the neem plant, but it has a lot of medicinal properties to it, and it's put into toothpaste to help with, I think, teeth that are particularly sensitive.
>> Marco Timpano: It's from a tree, a tree in the mahogany family. Malia sees, I think, is the way you say it. And so it's native to India, and so that's why you would find it in products from India, I guess. And I'm gonna have to buy myself some. Does it have a strong flavor?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It does. It's very minty, but not peppermint.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I think peppermint is the flavor that we're used to in a North American context when we think of mint. This is more on the more, for lack of a better word, I guess, bitter side of mint. It's. It's not even really minty. I don't know how to describe it correctly. It's something that I think you just need to taste in order to understand. But it is a bit more bitter.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, then I'm gonna have to. You're gonna have to get me a. A neem toothpaste. And I'm going to try it, and then I will let our listeners know what that feels like. For me, anyway, supposedly it is effective in reducing plaque and gingival inflammation.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And I am very proud to say, Nidhi, that this year for my New Year's resolution, because I've never been great at A, making New Year's resolutions and B, sticking to New Year's resolutions.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fair enough.
>> Marco Timpano: And I think because there's so much pressure to come up with a great or stoic resolution that you can then say, I've decided to do this and better myself and better the world. And a lot of pressure, you know. And I decided rather than say, I'm not going to have any New Year's resolution, I'm gonna do something that's simple, that's good for me, and that I should be doing. And so I decided my New Year's resolution this year was to floss every day. And so far, I have to say I've been sticking to this New Year's resolution. And as we come to, you know, the end of the year, I will let you, you know, if I've stuck to it every day thus far. I have. And I know it's not a big thing to floss every day, but for me, because sometimes you might like, oh, I'm not. I'll just brush. I'm not going to floss today. Or like, you know, you always go to the dentist and they're always like, do you floss? Do you floss every day? Do you know how to floss? Shall I floss? And it's like, I get it. We're supposed to be flossy every day. And so I have been. And I'm curious to see if my. Speaking of gingivitis, if my hygienist. My hygienist will notice that I have been flossing. I'm not going to say anything. When she asks, do you floss? I'm gonna say, you tell me and have him or her let me know. If they can notice a difference or is it just something they tell us to sell? Dental floss.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I floss every day, Marco. And I actually used to hate flossing because I don't like the actual dental floss strands, however.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay, I like where this is going.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I found they have those almost like flosser picks.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. They're kind of like with a small
>> Nidhi Khanna: thread of floss on it that you can you hold the pick and then you floss that way. That's what I use to floss and it's a game changer for me. It's a game changer.
>> Marco Timpano: So. So that has made the difference, right? I think the end that you hold.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: So the handle of that little instrument has a little sharp point. So you can use it like a toothpick, if I'm not mistaken.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, Nitty, I am very particular with my dental floss as well. I prefer a flat floss. So you know how the strings, you could have one that's very much like string and then you can have some that are kind of like a ribbon. I personally prefer my dental floss to be a ribbon. Mint flavored floss.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And you know, it's funny because you were mentioning Neem from India. I have toothpicks from India that are cinnamon. They taste like cinnamon and it's really. Oh, wow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, look at that.
>> Marco Timpano: Really quite. It's interesting. You know, we started the podcast talking about scents and how many items that we use daily that are scented, like toothpaste, dental floss, toothpicks, anything else that comes to mind that is scented that isn't necessarily, you know, cologne that's meant
>> Nidhi Khanna: to be scented and not a candle or anything like that, we. Oh, that's a great question. Even things that are. That are flavored, though, you know, whether it's like your cough syrup or whether.
>> Marco Timpano: You know what. I don't know if we mentioned this on the show, but I'll mention it again. Nidhi. When I make coffee, I like to put a little cinnamon in the grounds so it flavors the. The coffee ever so slightly with cinnamon. I know some people will add salt to their coffee grounds to sort of take away the bitterness. But we discovered this when we went to a restaurant that we like to go to for brunch and they add cinnamon to their coffee.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we were like, why are we not doing this?
>> Marco Timpano: What is this delicious coffee? And they said we add cinnamon to the ground. So I would invite our little listeners to add cinnamon to their coffee grounds when they brew their coffee. And to tweet us their experience at Listen and Sleep.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And Marco, there's a restaurant that you have worked at that has ginger in their coffee as well.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh yeah, like a gin. Yeah, that's right. It's a ginger syrup that they add to their cappuccinos. And what they'll do is they'll add the ginger syrup to the coffee, whether it be an espresso or a latte, and then they'll put grated cinnamon on top and they'll.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: There's a big difference. Nidhi, I don't know if you, you could attest to this because I know you, you've mentioned it to cinnamon that's been pre. Pre ground. And putting that on your coffee versus one that you take like a. It's like a little rasp, like a food rasp, I guess, or like a mini grate and you grate from a cinnamon stick. You've noticed the difference of that, right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. Same thing with ginger. Because ground ginger versus ginger that you would grate fresh ginger has a completely different zing to it.
>> Marco Timpano: Love ginger. Do you know that you can peel a ginger, what do you call it, ginger root with a spoon? If you use a spoon, it's the perfect device to peel it clean if you don't want that beigey kind of skin on it for whatever purposes you might be using.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I did not know that, but that's a wonderful tip. And on that note, I'd like to thank everybody, everyone for joining us today on our episode about all sorts of sage like products.
>> Marco Timpano: Before we go, you said you were gonna let us know how that. Oh, yeah, pain reliefer is working and
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have to say it's working very well. Okay, Stress release.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, stress release.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right, Beautiful. And the peppermint that I put on my back is now, now quite nice, although quite cool.
>> Marco Timpano: Now I know what to get you for a special occasion.
>> Nidhi Khanna: There you go.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we hope you enjoyed this episode and as always, we broadcast from Toronto and the Insomnia Project is produced by drumcast Productions.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Until the next time, we hope that you listen and sleep.
>> Speaker A: Sa.
>> Marco Timpano: Foreign.
Pillows, Sheets & Mattresses
(Original airdate: March 27, 2016)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off, maybe snooze. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host Nidhi Khanna. Marco, what makes a good mattress? That's something that I've been thinking about lately.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny you should mention that because I just flipped my mattress yesterday. You know how you're supposed to flip the mattress so that it evens out on the other side or that you don't have dipping. I know there's some mattresses that you don't need to flip. I know that firmness is important for a lot of people with regards to the type of mattress they. They get. And for me, I like a firm mattress, but I do like it to be soft on the top, if that makes any sense to you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think I know what you're saying. You like it to be firm so that you feel supported.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yet have some give or flexibility so it doesn't feel rock hard.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, Right. And, you know, I wonder if there's a difference culturally with regards to the mattress that people sleep on. So, for example, do North Americans prefer a certain type of mattress versus Europeans or people in Asia and whatnot?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know what, Marco? I think so, because I remember the last time I was in India, which was about 10 or 12 years ago, and I remember distinctly having to adjust to the mattresses because they were so hard.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I remember having trouble getting over my jet leg because I couldn't sleep properly on the mattresses. I prefer something with a bit more give.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Tell me about the mattress that you. The mattress type you prefer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, it's funny you say that, Marco, because I'm currently searching for a new mattress.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I've been trying to figure out what I really enjoy in a mattress, and I have. I tend to get lower back issues.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So a mattress is key for someone like yourself?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is. And of course, being an insomniac, having the right tools, let's say, with a good mattress and a good pillow, is key to my ability to get a good night's sleep. I enjoy mattresses that, like, you have, make me feel supported, but I do need there to be a softness to it. I love large mattresses in luxury hotel rooms where you walk into the room and you lay down on the bed, and between the mattress and the pillows and the large duvet, you feel like you're almost sinking or floating onto a cloud. Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever been in a hotel where you could dial in the firmness of your mattress or the person sleeping next to you could be one firmness and the other person could be another firmness. Have you ever had that experience?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I personally have not taken advantage of that, but I have been in a hotel where you can request a certain type of mattress.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. In luxury hotels, five star hotels, you can do that. And if they're able to Accommodate that request. It is something that they would do.
>> Marco Timpano: See, I was in a hotel where you could dial your firmness into the. The mattress in that hotel room, but it was busted. And so you couldn't dial in the firmness you wanted. You were stuck. It was stuck to a firmness that I did not like. So it ended up being not something that I enjoyed in that particular hotel. No, of course, that's no fault of the mattress company, but rather it's the fault of the hotel that allowed for this busted mattress to be in. In the. In the hotel room. Now, of course, sleeping on a comfortable mattress. You know, sometimes you go into a store and you just lie down, you're like, this is the most comfortable mattress. And it seems that every year companies come out with more and more luxurious and easy to sleep. I know that you can get a. All sort of sponge mattress. Have you heard of this? Like, it's.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It.
>> Marco Timpano: Rather than it being. Rather than it being springs like a traditional mattress. You know how sometimes you can get a top pad that is all sponge? It is a mattress that is entirely sponge so that there are no springs. But rather it's a. And I don't even know if it's a sponge. I'm just calling it a sponge. So, you know, if our listeners are out there know the exact term, please let us know. But it sort of allows for your contours to be.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Are you talking about memory foam?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Thank you. I knew it wasn't sponge. I don't know why, but it's a foam. It's definitely. It's an all foam foam mattress that has a sponginess to it that will sort of mold to your body shape and where you're the. Where you exert more pressure. I think that's how that works. I think it'd be interesting to invite the various mattress companies to answer this question. What is the perfect mattress for an insomniac?
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's a great question, Marco, because what would you look for?
>> Marco Timpano: What exactly would help one fall asleep? So I invite Sleep Country, Canada, Sealy Mattress, Serta Mattress, Posturepedic Mattress. I can't think of any other mattress companies, but those are the ones that come to mind. To answer the question, what is the perfect mattress for an insomniac?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I would love to hear that answer. I think especially because right now I'm looking for a mattress. It would be perfect for me, Marco. When I was a kid.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep.
>> Nidhi Khanna: My parents had a waterbed.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I know. Those were Popular back in the day?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, back in the 80s, sort of early 90s, it was the thing to have. And it was sort of pre memory foam and all that technology. It was supposed to be really good for people who had back problems and things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely not.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Because you would get into the waterbed, but it was like you're floating in a pool and so it would only really be comfortable on your back.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you, you were forced to sleep on your back?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, yeah, I would never enjoy sleeping on my side or on my stomach.
>> Marco Timpano: I sleep on my stomach. So I sleep forward on my stomach.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So do I. Oh, I see. So these water beds were just a disaster. I remember as a kid and I remember I had an aunt come and stay and my parents gave their bed to my aunt and she had mobility issues. And so getting on and off of
>> Marco Timpano: the water bed was difficult.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Was difficult because there's no firmness for you to leverage to push yourself.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So it's one of those fads that sort of drifted away and was never to be seen again because nobody now has a waterbed.
>> Marco Timpano: They weren't inexpensive either, were they? They were.
>> Nidhi Khanna: They were expensive. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And did they have, please correct me if I'm wrong, did they have like a heating control because you needed the water to be heated?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, they did.
>> Marco Timpano: So not only were you, you know, you were constantly paying for this mattress to be warm because you had to heat it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it.
>> Marco Timpano: And what would happen if the power would go out?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, then you better hope that you have a really nice comforter that you could put on.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. Because top it would get cold, I guess. Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I don't think it would be freezing to the point.
>> Marco Timpano: No fair.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But I think the whole point of having these mattresses was to be able to heat and relax you in the bed.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Now let me ask you this. Have you ever used a heating pad?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you mean a heating pad like a hot water bottle?
>> Marco Timpano: No, more like a heating, I want to say a heating blanket. A heating.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, I haven't. Have you?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but we purchased one for our brother in law and sister in law or Amanda's sister and my brother in law and sister in law. And they seem to really love it. So I'm kind of like, it's, I'm trying to say an electric blanket, but I'm calling it a heating pad. So let me ask you again, did you, have you ever used an electric bank blanket?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not used an electric blanket
>> Marco Timpano: nor a heating pad nor a Heating pad.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have used a hot water bottle.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And my dog is a bit of a heating element as well.
>> Marco Timpano: So there you go. You know, if you're ever stuck and you are in a cold bed and you don't have a water bottle to heat it up, or a electric blanket or a heating pad, you can take a bottle. So let's say a wine bottle with a cork or a water bottle, fill it with hot water, make sure the lid, the cap or cork or whatnot is secure in there so it won't leak. And bring it into bed with you, and it will heat up the inside of the bed so you can fall asleep.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, Marco, you're always full of random facts, and I always learn something new on this she show when speaking with you. This is actually what you've just described is something. A technique that they would use in the old pioneer days as well. They would warm up water and put it in a. I guess a metal or steel. I don't know how they.
>> Marco Timpano: Like a vessel of some sort of.
>> Nidhi Khanna: A vessel of some sort of. But it would be cast iron, so it would be so hot that you would put it in, but you would have to take it out, otherwise you would burn yourself.
>> Marco Timpano: You put coals in this. It almost. If I'm not mistaken, have you ever seen the instrument they use to cook chestnuts? So a chestnut roaster.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: You would put it in the fire pit and then roast the chestnuts. It was kind of like that. You'd put coals on, would clamp down, so cover almost like a clamshell.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And you would almost iron the inside of the sheet so that the person who was getting in went into a warm bed. Talk about luxury back in the day.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll tell you one thing that I find very luxurious. And I don't know if you've ever experienced this, but have you ever had an opportunity to sleep in fleece sheets, Marco?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not. However, this sounds quite luxurious, so please describe it.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's not even luxurious like silk sheets would be, but we ran into fleece sheets at one of those big box stores and they were on sale, and I thought to myself, let's just buy it and see what it's like. So we bought these fleece sheets and one winter we put them on our bed. You know when it gets. When it's so bitterly cold outside, you come into a warm house, but you still feel that chill and you're like, will I ever get warm? Well, we had these fleece sheets on the bed. And we just jumped in, Amanda, my wife and I. And they warm you up so quickly and so well that we now have
>> Nidhi Khanna: a
>> Marco Timpano: few sets of fleece sheets and we use them in the winter and I recommend them. I actually bought a. A set for my sister because I enjoyed them. And we have a set at the cottage for the winter as well. Now we recently. Speaking of sheets, I think I'm just going to talk about sheets for a moment here.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Please do.
>> Marco Timpano: We bought these sheets or I bought this set of sheets where the flat sheet is attached to the fitted sheet at the bottom.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: So that. So it's a little bit strange to put it on. So. So imagine that where your feet would be. So the bottom end of the fitted sheet. So that's the sheet that goes around the mattress that sort of snugly hugs around the mattress for anyone who isn't familiar. And the flat sheet would be the sheet that is your. Your cover, I guess, is how you like the sheet that goes on top of you. Right. So it is attached or sewn on to the bottom of the fitted sheet. And the nice thing about this knitting and I don't know if this is ever a problem for you, but it keeps the sheet in place so it doesn't bunch away from you. So you know how sometimes your, your. The person you're sleeping with may pull the sheet away from you or it may get lost somewhere down. So you've only got the blanket on you. Well, now the sheet is attached to the fitted sheet so you never sort of lose it in your bed.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Which also makes it. Marco. Easier to do the bed in the morning, to make the bed 100%. That's fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm really sad because I only bought one set of this. I don't even know what you'd call it. Flat fitted joint conjoined sheet set. And I haven't been able to find another set like that, but it really is excellent.
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>> Marco Timpano: now. What about silk sheets? Have you ever slept on silk sheets?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I believe I've slept on silk sheets once before.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And again, quite decadent. Luxurious, but cooling. So you either need. I. I like to be very warm in bed.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I like also the weight of my duvet on me. And so as long as the duvet is substantial. Substantial. I think silk sheets are always nice.
>> Marco Timpano: However, they say that silk pillowcases are better for your skin because they don't pull.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: But you were saying something that I cut you off yours.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Like.
>> Marco Timpano: However.
>> Nidhi Khanna: However, I personally prefer microfiber sheets.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, tell me more.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, it's just got. I prefer sheets that are comfy.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I like to feel very kind of like I'm in. I don't know. I don't know what it is. I need to have the feeling of comfort and almost like you can be lounge like. Like you're in lounge pants, but in bed.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's what I want.
>> Marco Timpano: My sheets.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. And casual. I'm a casual sheet person. But warm.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I find that the microfiber sheets really evoke that for me. So I find that. That my favorite sheet. But let's talk a bit about pillows.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, since we spoke about mattresses.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And we invited all those companies to get back to us, and we spoke about jeans. It's only natural to go on to pillows and pillows. That's where everyone's personal style and signature really comes to the forefront of your bed.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree, Marco. For me, I need two types of pillows.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I am. Throughout the night, I will sleep. Sleep a bit on my stomach, a bit on my side. And depending on how I'm feeling, sometimes I might even sleep on my back. So I'm kind of all over the place. I need one pillow that's firm for a side sleeper, that protects my neck.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And is a little bit thicker. And then I also need a flatter thinner in case I would like to sleep on my stomach. I have something That I can hold now. I also have a body pillow or a longer oblong pillow.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: When I'm sleeping on my side so that I can prop my knees up and have a good back posture while I'm sleeping. So I need lots of pillows.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like it. I'm wondering, and once again, I could be wrong. I'm wondering if the mattress isn't right for you and that's why you have the need for all these pillows. Because I feel like you're not being supported. And once again, you know, I'm not an expert in this and we certainly invite those cut. Those companies that we mentioned. Sleep country Canada, Sealy, Serta, Posturepedic, any of those mattress companies to let us know if that perhaps your issue. And the reason why you need so many diverse pillows is because your mattress is not where it needs to be. I prefer a foam, not sponge. I don't know why I wanted to say sponge before, but a foam pillow that allows me to sort of sink into it, but not all the way down. I used to have a buckwheat husk pillow. Have you ever heard of those?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No. Tell me about that. Sounds like a breakfast item.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you think? I think in the event of an emergency, I could have probably cut that pillow open and ate the buckwheat husks. But it was the buckwheat husks in a pillow. So similar to like a bean bag, you would put your head on them and supposedly the buckwheat kept you cool, would allow you to sort of relax and sink into the pillow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I was just gonna say it seems like the type of material that would have been in, you know, an eye pillow or something like that where you can. The grains would allow you to be slightly supported. But you know what, sort of like a bean bag chair.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, exactly. The idea was it would contour to your face.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's. That sounds. Now where would you get a buckwheat pillow?
>> Marco Timpano: You know how you said that the waterbed mattress was a fan? I think it was a fad because once again, peanut insomniac. I tend to watch late night infomercials and it was one of these people on the infomercial websites hawking this buckwheat husk pillows. And the worst thing is when you can't sleep and you're watching these things and you end up taking out your credit card. And I bought.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: I bought two.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We've all been victim to that.
>> Marco Timpano: And funny story is, do you want to know where it ended up?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I Do Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: It was stolen.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Stolen.
>> Marco Timpano: So my friend was going on a trip across. Across Canada, actually, on train. And I said to her, take this pillow. It'll help you sleep. Don't use it. Because I hate. I don't know if you have this problem. I hate using pillows in hotels because they're never the firmness of my pillows. They're too hard or too soft, and I can't sleep. And the idea of sleeping on a pillow that a lot of people slept on is not something that I enjoy the thought of. That said, I travel with a pillowcase that has a barrier. So that I don't know if you know this about me, I purchased a pillowcase that allows you the item that's in the pillowcase, never. It comes out. So like anybody who slept on that pillow and any saliva or whatnot that may have gone under that pillow, it will not come through the pillowcase. So it's kind of a freaking forget what it's called. Once again.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not. It's not coming to me. But I purchased a pillowcase like that. I took a marker that's meant to be an unwashable or a fabric marker, and I wrote, do not remove property of Marco tin panel. So that when it's in the hotel room, should the maid come, they know not to remove that pillowcase. But back to that buckwheat husk pillow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I let my friend borrow it. She had her luggage. She was at the hotel getting ready to go on the train and all their luggage was in a. In a pile because it was a big group traveling and her luggage got stolen. Stolen out of the hotel lobby. And with it went my buckwheat husk.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, that's so unfortunate.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, we spoke about mattresses. We spoke about sheets, pillows. What do you like on top of your sheets? What kind of blanket?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, duvet all the way.
>> Marco Timpano: Me too.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. There's nothing else.
>> Marco Timpano: A really nice goose. Goose feather duvet is what I love. Some people can't because they have allergies.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: But I don't. And I'm glad to say I really enjoy sleeping with a goose down duvet.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco. I couldn't agree more. I couldn't agree more.
>> Marco Timpano: I think we covered the bed, didn't we?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think we did.
>> Marco Timpano: We covered all aspects. Now, accoutrements to the bed. Do you use a sheet spray or have you heard of sheet sprays? You know, we've been talking about scents in the last few podcasts.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't use a particular sheets for you But I have to say that feeling and that scent when you change the sheets on your bed, I don't think there's anything more spectacular.
>> Marco Timpano: Without a doubt, a freshly laundered sheet that has been allowed to dry on a clothesline outside.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: And snapped into place on your bed. And you get in there. There's nothing quite like that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, there's nothing. And if you can add lavender to like a lavender scent to your face, that's the sheets.
>> Marco Timpano: That's one of the scents that you would find on a sheet. Sheet spray. But are you talking about when you launder the sheets?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, I think I was talking about, as you mentioned, a sheet spray. I just don't call it that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: A little bit of lavender. Or even if you have lavender, it doesn't have to be a spray, but anywhere near the bed, it just helps you.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. With a restful even like a lavender filled eye pillow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we hope that you're sleeping comfortably
>> Nidhi Khanna: on your mattress or your sheets or
>> Marco Timpano: your pillow or tucked in with your duvet or whatever blanket you use to bring you to your slumber.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As always, the Insomnia Project is recorded from Toronto and is produced by drumcast Productions. We hope that you listen and sleep.
(Original airdate: March 27, 2016)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off, maybe snooze. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host Nidhi Khanna. Marco, what makes a good mattress? That's something that I've been thinking about lately.
>> Marco Timpano: It's funny you should mention that because I just flipped my mattress yesterday. You know how you're supposed to flip the mattress so that it evens out on the other side or that you don't have dipping. I know there's some mattresses that you don't need to flip. I know that firmness is important for a lot of people with regards to the type of mattress they. They get. And for me, I like a firm mattress, but I do like it to be soft on the top, if that makes any sense to you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think I know what you're saying. You like it to be firm so that you feel supported.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yet have some give or flexibility so it doesn't feel rock hard.
>> Marco Timpano: Right, Right. And, you know, I wonder if there's a difference culturally with regards to the mattress that people sleep on. So, for example, do North Americans prefer a certain type of mattress versus Europeans or people in Asia and whatnot?
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know what, Marco? I think so, because I remember the last time I was in India, which was about 10 or 12 years ago, and I remember distinctly having to adjust to the mattresses because they were so hard.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I remember having trouble getting over my jet leg because I couldn't sleep properly on the mattresses. I prefer something with a bit more give.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. Tell me about the mattress that you. The mattress type you prefer.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, it's funny you say that, Marco, because I'm currently searching for a new mattress.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I've been trying to figure out what I really enjoy in a mattress, and I have. I tend to get lower back issues.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. So a mattress is key for someone like yourself?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is. And of course, being an insomniac, having the right tools, let's say, with a good mattress and a good pillow, is key to my ability to get a good night's sleep. I enjoy mattresses that, like, you have, make me feel supported, but I do need there to be a softness to it. I love large mattresses in luxury hotel rooms where you walk into the room and you lay down on the bed, and between the mattress and the pillows and the large duvet, you feel like you're almost sinking or floating onto a cloud. Really?
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever been in a hotel where you could dial in the firmness of your mattress or the person sleeping next to you could be one firmness and the other person could be another firmness. Have you ever had that experience?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I personally have not taken advantage of that, but I have been in a hotel where you can request a certain type of mattress.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. In luxury hotels, five star hotels, you can do that. And if they're able to Accommodate that request. It is something that they would do.
>> Marco Timpano: See, I was in a hotel where you could dial your firmness into the. The mattress in that hotel room, but it was busted. And so you couldn't dial in the firmness you wanted. You were stuck. It was stuck to a firmness that I did not like. So it ended up being not something that I enjoyed in that particular hotel. No, of course, that's no fault of the mattress company, but rather it's the fault of the hotel that allowed for this busted mattress to be in. In the. In the hotel room. Now, of course, sleeping on a comfortable mattress. You know, sometimes you go into a store and you just lie down, you're like, this is the most comfortable mattress. And it seems that every year companies come out with more and more luxurious and easy to sleep. I know that you can get a. All sort of sponge mattress. Have you heard of this? Like, it's.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It.
>> Marco Timpano: Rather than it being. Rather than it being springs like a traditional mattress. You know how sometimes you can get a top pad that is all sponge? It is a mattress that is entirely sponge so that there are no springs. But rather it's a. And I don't even know if it's a sponge. I'm just calling it a sponge. So, you know, if our listeners are out there know the exact term, please let us know. But it sort of allows for your contours to be.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Are you talking about memory foam?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Thank you. I knew it wasn't sponge. I don't know why, but it's a foam. It's definitely. It's an all foam foam mattress that has a sponginess to it that will sort of mold to your body shape and where you're the. Where you exert more pressure. I think that's how that works. I think it'd be interesting to invite the various mattress companies to answer this question. What is the perfect mattress for an insomniac?
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's a great question, Marco, because what would you look for?
>> Marco Timpano: What exactly would help one fall asleep? So I invite Sleep Country, Canada, Sealy Mattress, Serta Mattress, Posturepedic Mattress. I can't think of any other mattress companies, but those are the ones that come to mind. To answer the question, what is the perfect mattress for an insomniac?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I would love to hear that answer. I think especially because right now I'm looking for a mattress. It would be perfect for me, Marco. When I was a kid.
>> Marco Timpano: Yep.
>> Nidhi Khanna: My parents had a waterbed.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I know. Those were Popular back in the day?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah, back in the 80s, sort of early 90s, it was the thing to have. And it was sort of pre memory foam and all that technology. It was supposed to be really good for people who had back problems and things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: Was it?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely not.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Because you would get into the waterbed, but it was like you're floating in a pool and so it would only really be comfortable on your back.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, so you, you were forced to sleep on your back?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, yeah, I would never enjoy sleeping on my side or on my stomach.
>> Marco Timpano: I sleep on my stomach. So I sleep forward on my stomach.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So do I. Oh, I see. So these water beds were just a disaster. I remember as a kid and I remember I had an aunt come and stay and my parents gave their bed to my aunt and she had mobility issues. And so getting on and off of
>> Marco Timpano: the water bed was difficult.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Was difficult because there's no firmness for you to leverage to push yourself.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So it's one of those fads that sort of drifted away and was never to be seen again because nobody now has a waterbed.
>> Marco Timpano: They weren't inexpensive either, were they? They were.
>> Nidhi Khanna: They were expensive. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And did they have, please correct me if I'm wrong, did they have like a heating control because you needed the water to be heated?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, they did.
>> Marco Timpano: So not only were you, you know, you were constantly paying for this mattress to be warm because you had to heat it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it.
>> Marco Timpano: And what would happen if the power would go out?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, then you better hope that you have a really nice comforter that you could put on.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh. Because top it would get cold, I guess. Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I don't think it would be freezing to the point.
>> Marco Timpano: No fair.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But I think the whole point of having these mattresses was to be able to heat and relax you in the bed.
>> Marco Timpano: Right. Now let me ask you this. Have you ever used a heating pad?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you mean a heating pad like a hot water bottle?
>> Marco Timpano: No, more like a heating, I want to say a heating blanket. A heating.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, I haven't. Have you?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but we purchased one for our brother in law and sister in law or Amanda's sister and my brother in law and sister in law. And they seem to really love it. So I'm kind of like, it's, I'm trying to say an electric blanket, but I'm calling it a heating pad. So let me ask you again, did you, have you ever used an electric bank blanket?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not used an electric blanket
>> Marco Timpano: nor a heating pad nor a Heating pad.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have used a hot water bottle.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And my dog is a bit of a heating element as well.
>> Marco Timpano: So there you go. You know, if you're ever stuck and you are in a cold bed and you don't have a water bottle to heat it up, or a electric blanket or a heating pad, you can take a bottle. So let's say a wine bottle with a cork or a water bottle, fill it with hot water, make sure the lid, the cap or cork or whatnot is secure in there so it won't leak. And bring it into bed with you, and it will heat up the inside of the bed so you can fall asleep.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now, Marco, you're always full of random facts, and I always learn something new on this she show when speaking with you. This is actually what you've just described is something. A technique that they would use in the old pioneer days as well. They would warm up water and put it in a. I guess a metal or steel. I don't know how they.
>> Marco Timpano: Like a vessel of some sort of.
>> Nidhi Khanna: A vessel of some sort of. But it would be cast iron, so it would be so hot that you would put it in, but you would have to take it out, otherwise you would burn yourself.
>> Marco Timpano: You put coals in this. It almost. If I'm not mistaken, have you ever seen the instrument they use to cook chestnuts? So a chestnut roaster.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: You would put it in the fire pit and then roast the chestnuts. It was kind of like that. You'd put coals on, would clamp down, so cover almost like a clamshell.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: And you would almost iron the inside of the sheet so that the person who was getting in went into a warm bed. Talk about luxury back in the day.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true.
>> Marco Timpano: I'll tell you one thing that I find very luxurious. And I don't know if you've ever experienced this, but have you ever had an opportunity to sleep in fleece sheets, Marco?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I have not. However, this sounds quite luxurious, so please describe it.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's not even luxurious like silk sheets would be, but we ran into fleece sheets at one of those big box stores and they were on sale, and I thought to myself, let's just buy it and see what it's like. So we bought these fleece sheets and one winter we put them on our bed. You know when it gets. When it's so bitterly cold outside, you come into a warm house, but you still feel that chill and you're like, will I ever get warm? Well, we had these fleece sheets on the bed. And we just jumped in, Amanda, my wife and I. And they warm you up so quickly and so well that we now have
>> Nidhi Khanna: a
>> Marco Timpano: few sets of fleece sheets and we use them in the winter and I recommend them. I actually bought a. A set for my sister because I enjoyed them. And we have a set at the cottage for the winter as well. Now we recently. Speaking of sheets, I think I'm just going to talk about sheets for a moment here.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Please do.
>> Marco Timpano: We bought these sheets or I bought this set of sheets where the flat sheet is attached to the fitted sheet at the bottom.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh.
>> Marco Timpano: So that. So it's a little bit strange to put it on. So. So imagine that where your feet would be. So the bottom end of the fitted sheet. So that's the sheet that goes around the mattress that sort of snugly hugs around the mattress for anyone who isn't familiar. And the flat sheet would be the sheet that is your. Your cover, I guess, is how you like the sheet that goes on top of you. Right. So it is attached or sewn on to the bottom of the fitted sheet. And the nice thing about this knitting and I don't know if this is ever a problem for you, but it keeps the sheet in place so it doesn't bunch away from you. So you know how sometimes your, your. The person you're sleeping with may pull the sheet away from you or it may get lost somewhere down. So you've only got the blanket on you. Well, now the sheet is attached to the fitted sheet so you never sort of lose it in your bed.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Which also makes it. Marco. Easier to do the bed in the morning, to make the bed 100%. That's fantastic.
>> Marco Timpano: And I'm really sad because I only bought one set of this. I don't even know what you'd call it. Flat fitted joint conjoined sheet set. And I haven't been able to find another set like that, but it really is excellent.
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>> Marco Timpano: now. What about silk sheets? Have you ever slept on silk sheets?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I believe I've slept on silk sheets once before.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And again, quite decadent. Luxurious, but cooling. So you either need. I. I like to be very warm in bed.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I like also the weight of my duvet on me. And so as long as the duvet is substantial. Substantial. I think silk sheets are always nice.
>> Marco Timpano: However, they say that silk pillowcases are better for your skin because they don't pull.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, interesting.
>> Marco Timpano: But you were saying something that I cut you off yours.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Like.
>> Marco Timpano: However.
>> Nidhi Khanna: However, I personally prefer microfiber sheets.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, tell me more.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, it's just got. I prefer sheets that are comfy.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I like to feel very kind of like I'm in. I don't know. I don't know what it is. I need to have the feeling of comfort and almost like you can be lounge like. Like you're in lounge pants, but in bed.
>> Marco Timpano: I see. Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's what I want.
>> Marco Timpano: My sheets.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. And casual. I'm a casual sheet person. But warm.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I find that the microfiber sheets really evoke that for me. So I find that. That my favorite sheet. But let's talk a bit about pillows.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, since we spoke about mattresses.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: And we invited all those companies to get back to us, and we spoke about jeans. It's only natural to go on to pillows and pillows. That's where everyone's personal style and signature really comes to the forefront of your bed.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree, Marco. For me, I need two types of pillows.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I am. Throughout the night, I will sleep. Sleep a bit on my stomach, a bit on my side. And depending on how I'm feeling, sometimes I might even sleep on my back. So I'm kind of all over the place. I need one pillow that's firm for a side sleeper, that protects my neck.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And is a little bit thicker. And then I also need a flatter thinner in case I would like to sleep on my stomach. I have something That I can hold now. I also have a body pillow or a longer oblong pillow.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: When I'm sleeping on my side so that I can prop my knees up and have a good back posture while I'm sleeping. So I need lots of pillows.
>> Marco Timpano: It sounds like it. I'm wondering, and once again, I could be wrong. I'm wondering if the mattress isn't right for you and that's why you have the need for all these pillows. Because I feel like you're not being supported. And once again, you know, I'm not an expert in this and we certainly invite those cut. Those companies that we mentioned. Sleep country Canada, Sealy, Serta, Posturepedic, any of those mattress companies to let us know if that perhaps your issue. And the reason why you need so many diverse pillows is because your mattress is not where it needs to be. I prefer a foam, not sponge. I don't know why I wanted to say sponge before, but a foam pillow that allows me to sort of sink into it, but not all the way down. I used to have a buckwheat husk pillow. Have you ever heard of those?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No. Tell me about that. Sounds like a breakfast item.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you think? I think in the event of an emergency, I could have probably cut that pillow open and ate the buckwheat husks. But it was the buckwheat husks in a pillow. So similar to like a bean bag, you would put your head on them and supposedly the buckwheat kept you cool, would allow you to sort of relax and sink into the pillow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I was just gonna say it seems like the type of material that would have been in, you know, an eye pillow or something like that where you can. The grains would allow you to be slightly supported. But you know what, sort of like a bean bag chair.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes, exactly. The idea was it would contour to your face.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's. That sounds. Now where would you get a buckwheat pillow?
>> Marco Timpano: You know how you said that the waterbed mattress was a fan? I think it was a fad because once again, peanut insomniac. I tend to watch late night infomercials and it was one of these people on the infomercial websites hawking this buckwheat husk pillows. And the worst thing is when you can't sleep and you're watching these things and you end up taking out your credit card. And I bought.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: I bought two.
>> Nidhi Khanna: We've all been victim to that.
>> Marco Timpano: And funny story is, do you want to know where it ended up?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I Do Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: It was stolen.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Stolen.
>> Marco Timpano: So my friend was going on a trip across. Across Canada, actually, on train. And I said to her, take this pillow. It'll help you sleep. Don't use it. Because I hate. I don't know if you have this problem. I hate using pillows in hotels because they're never the firmness of my pillows. They're too hard or too soft, and I can't sleep. And the idea of sleeping on a pillow that a lot of people slept on is not something that I enjoy the thought of. That said, I travel with a pillowcase that has a barrier. So that I don't know if you know this about me, I purchased a pillowcase that allows you the item that's in the pillowcase, never. It comes out. So like anybody who slept on that pillow and any saliva or whatnot that may have gone under that pillow, it will not come through the pillowcase. So it's kind of a freaking forget what it's called. Once again.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It.
>> Marco Timpano: It's not. It's not coming to me. But I purchased a pillowcase like that. I took a marker that's meant to be an unwashable or a fabric marker, and I wrote, do not remove property of Marco tin panel. So that when it's in the hotel room, should the maid come, they know not to remove that pillowcase. But back to that buckwheat husk pillow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: I let my friend borrow it. She had her luggage. She was at the hotel getting ready to go on the train and all their luggage was in a. In a pile because it was a big group traveling and her luggage got stolen. Stolen out of the hotel lobby. And with it went my buckwheat husk.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, that's so unfortunate.
>> Marco Timpano: Now, we spoke about mattresses. We spoke about sheets, pillows. What do you like on top of your sheets? What kind of blanket?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, duvet all the way.
>> Marco Timpano: Me too.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yeah. There's nothing else.
>> Marco Timpano: A really nice goose. Goose feather duvet is what I love. Some people can't because they have allergies.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: But I don't. And I'm glad to say I really enjoy sleeping with a goose down duvet.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco. I couldn't agree more. I couldn't agree more.
>> Marco Timpano: I think we covered the bed, didn't we?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think we did.
>> Marco Timpano: We covered all aspects. Now, accoutrements to the bed. Do you use a sheet spray or have you heard of sheet sprays? You know, we've been talking about scents in the last few podcasts.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't use a particular sheets for you But I have to say that feeling and that scent when you change the sheets on your bed, I don't think there's anything more spectacular.
>> Marco Timpano: Without a doubt, a freshly laundered sheet that has been allowed to dry on a clothesline outside.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, beautiful.
>> Marco Timpano: And snapped into place on your bed. And you get in there. There's nothing quite like that.
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, there's nothing. And if you can add lavender to like a lavender scent to your face, that's the sheets.
>> Marco Timpano: That's one of the scents that you would find on a sheet. Sheet spray. But are you talking about when you launder the sheets?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No, I think I was talking about, as you mentioned, a sheet spray. I just don't call it that.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: A little bit of lavender. Or even if you have lavender, it doesn't have to be a spray, but anywhere near the bed, it just helps you.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see. With a restful even like a lavender filled eye pillow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You got it.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, we hope that you're sleeping comfortably
>> Nidhi Khanna: on your mattress or your sheets or
>> Marco Timpano: your pillow or tucked in with your duvet or whatever blanket you use to bring you to your slumber.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As always, the Insomnia Project is recorded from Toronto and is produced by drumcast Productions. We hope that you listen and sleep.
Ghost Signs, Political Process & The Snout Of The Dog
(Original airdate: March 23, 2016)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing that we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us and we hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna.
>> Marco Timpano: And Nidhi, I think we should talk about political processes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah yes, Marco. Now politically we have three, I think main bodies of government in Canada, right? You have the municipal government, the provincial government, and then of course the federal federal government. Do you know anything about political processes within these three areas?
>> Marco Timpano: I. I don't know very much on that. On that front. I know that decisions that are made by our politicians can have outcomes that affect individuals like me and where you can't always be up on every thing that goes before whichever council. For example, I recently went to fight a parking ticket.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That I had received to find out that the municipal politicians had decided that you can no longer fight a parking ticket and have the justice of the peace reduce the amount of the fine so that if you were to plead guilty, you would be paying the same amount that you would, that is that appears on your ticket in order to discourage people like myself or yourself to go to court to fight the ticket. So you can fight, fight and say not guilty. But the chances of you getting off if the officer is there are very slim. And previously you could plead guilty, but the depending on the circumstances, because everybody has or many people have a circumstance where they could be parking in a situation where they didn't get the meter for whatever reason or they parked in a zone that they weren't aware was a non parking zone. You could plead your case to the justice of the Peace and they could determine whether or not that fine should be reduced or if that ticket should be thrown out of court. But thanks to the municipal politicians who wanted to do a cash grab in our city of Toronto, they have not allowed citizens like myself to appear in front of a Justice of the Peace and plead my case. So needless to say, I wasn't pleased.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I can see that it's a bit of a sore spot for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Certainly is $30 later for a ticket that I received.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know that there are a lot of different committees and places or not places really, I guess just committees. I was going to say groups, but it really is committees of council.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: With. And each committee either has city councilors on it and citizen members, or in the case of like a committee of Adjustment, it has, I think, only citizen members. So, Committee of Adjustment. Marco, I think you told us a story on a previous episode about you going to Committee of Adjustment or a town hall or something like that. The Committee of Adjustment is where you can go and plead your case about if you want some sort of change or renovation done to the structure of your home.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So let's say you wanted to add a story to your home or an addition. An addition. Or if you wanted to make your driveway bigger, you would have to. If it was denied for any reason, you would have to go to Committee of Adjustment and ask for permission to do that.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And that can Be a very long process in terms of the number of people who go and ask for variances to their property, for example. But I know circumstances. City councils really do have a multitude of different committees that deal with everything from diversity and inclusion, for example, to budget to even advertising standards.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So there's a committee in city hall for many, many different things. And again, some of these committees you can actually apply to be a citizen member of and have play a role in the decisions that are made at these committees and ultimately the recommendations that are determined at the committee level then go up to city council, where it's voted on.
>> Marco Timpano: If there could be a committee on parking tickets that I as a citizen could be on with, let's say a citizen who's like minded with me, in this case, my wife or my best friend Jeff, or, you know, people. My neighbor on the left side of me, even though she doesn't drive a car, is sympathetic to my car needs. And we could talk about what we want with regards to parking violations in the city. You know, it's always disheartening when you go to a meter that is busted and you want to use your credit card to. To put a parking ticket on your car and you cannot do so, but you need to park in that area because you have an appointment, whether it be a medical appointment or a work related appointment. And you cannot put a parking ticket on your car.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You mean the rights. So you can't pay for your parking.
>> Marco Timpano: Parking. That's what I meant. Thank you. And then you receive a parking ticket from a perhaps lovely meter officer. I don't like to use the word meter maid because it's just gender and there's a lot of different people who work in that job. But that's a committee that I certainly would welcome to be on and voice my opinion. Opinion.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I'm trying to see what type of committee, that type of issue would be dealt with in which committee. I'm looking here and I'm thinking that maybe something in the licensing and standards committee.
>> Marco Timpano: Mm, I don't know. That sounds fair.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, there's so many different committees in a city council that it's really difficult to figure out which one would actually pertain to parking issues.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair. Tell me about a moment where you were around such a committee or you may have heard how they vocalize their opinions.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am. That's a good question.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever been around committees where people have had to sort of voice their opinion or seen them maybe? Have you ever seen on television C Span?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, you know where. Where citizens want to speak their mind with regards to certain situations. I know that I would love to be able to speak with regards to the naming of streets and parks and whatnot, because I feel like a lot of times they get named after political figures and I feel like that shouldn't be the case because politicians, that's your job. It doesn't mean you deserve to have something named after yourself because you do your job. Because if that was the case, then you would think schools would be named after a teacher who taught there or hospitals named after a doctor who worked there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. It's almost like that's. You're right, that's your job. So why should it be that way?
>> Marco Timpano: Warned you. Having public recognition for something you're paid
>> Nidhi Khanna: to do, you never see. Well, maybe you do. Like you never really see. Mother Teresa Lane or.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think. I think you will see. And that's my point, actually. You're making my point. It should go to someone who accomplished something. So you could be a politician who accomplished something. Something great. And not merely because you were in politics for many years, but because you did something that affected a large number of people in a positive way and you'll be remembered. Mother Teresa, perhaps a author. Margaret Atwood Lane.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure. I like that. Do you think there would be a Marco Timpano? Would you be a street, an avenue?
>> Marco Timpano: I'd be a boulevard.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You'd be a boulevard?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think I'd be a boulevard. How about you? A nitty kind of way. A nitty kind of crescent.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think Crescent.
>> Marco Timpano: Crescent. I see it as a terrace. Nitty kind of terrace. That's where I'd like to go. Now let's talk about store signs.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What strikes you when you see a store sign?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think a good store sign is
>> Speaker E: clean.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Like there's a. And when I mean clean. It's the font size, the. The design of the font. There's. It's easily legible. I like it to be modern. I like it. So I don't particularly like signs that you can tell. Have been there since, you know, the 60s. And the sign has never changed for whatever reason. There is a store in Toronto called Honest Ed's.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. That has sadly.
>> Speaker A: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And sadly it's. It's going to be knocked down. However, it has huge signs and very, very garish. Garish and well known. Faintly. It's. It's almost. It is a land.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a landmark for certain. And. And I think the fact that it was. It had a lot of not neon lights, but actual light bulbs that would illuminate the signage. And it had a lot of sort of in your face kind of verbiage. And it's something that was sort of a landmark in the city. I have to say that, you know, the signs that I love the most are actually ghost signs. Are you familiar with ghost signs? No.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What are those?
>> Marco Timpano: So a ghost sign is a sign that was, let's say, painted on a
>> Nidhi Khanna: wall
>> Marco Timpano: years, many, many years ago, and then they had, let's say, papered signs on top of it and papered signs on top of it, and then those paper signs come off, and what's remaining but the original ghost sign, or perhaps it was obstructed by another building that was built years later, and that building gets torn down, and then you see the sign that was once there back in the 1900s or the 1930s or the 1960s. And so these ghost signs will appear, and they'll be for products that you've never really heard of or out of existence. Existence and whatnot. So I know that there was a ghost sign not too far from here for, I want to say, Birmingham cigarettes. And you'll see these ghost signs as more buildings get torn down or. Or modernized or. Or, you know, restructured. You'll. These ghost designs will appear, and. And so it's really quite an interesting thing. So I've always been fascinated by ghost signs, but unlike yourself, I love a sign that's old that has remained and might have incongruent messaging. For example, there was two signs in particular that I loved in Toronto that are no longer. One was for a old p**** theater called the Metro P**** Theater that is now being made into a climbing gym. But it was. You could see that this was a p**** theater from the 19, I want to say, 60s, because it had a woman in a bikini that was kind of painted on the. On the glass sign. And it. She had, like, an odd look on her face. It was supposed to be, I guess, sexy, but it certainly wasn't. But it was just an interesting sign that always struck me. And the other sign is. Or was for Mama's Bakery. And Mama's Bakery had a woman in a kimono holding bread in her hand as she bowed, which seemed very odd.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That is quite incongruous, as you say.
>> Marco Timpano: And I just love those old signs that have, you know, interesting character. Character to them.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I like those on, like, actual signs. I guess when I meant modern and fun. When I was thinking about that, I was talking about storefronts so being able to actually read the sign on the top of the store versus signs that you might find as advertising or things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you feel about neon signs?
>> Nidhi Khanna: If it's done right, it could be fun.
>> Marco Timpano: See, I like it if it's done wrong because then it's, it's even more fun when a sign is meant to portray something but rather doesn't fails a sign. Fail, if you will.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure. I feel like Las Vegas is one big sign fail.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you know, you can go to the Las Vegas sign. I think it's called sign graveyard and it has in it all the old casinos that are no longer. They're. They're old neon and, and dramatic signs. And it has like the lady slipper, I believe. And there was a cowboy, a giant cowboy that was there. And you can walk amongst the. The neon sized graveyard or the. The outdoor sign sort of museum, I guess. I don't know, for lack of a. A better term of it. And you could see the various old signs that are just kind of sitting there. The Stardust I think is one.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think it's called the Neon museum and it, it's a place for collecting, preserving all the old Los Angeles signs.
>> Marco Timpano: Las Vegas signs.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Las Vegas signs. Sorry. Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: I think there's one in Los Angeles too.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's why I'm sure there is.
>> Speaker A: Taste the Mediterranean at Whole Foods Market. With a vibrant selection that captures the flavors of the region. Shop coastal favorites like responsibly farmed whole bronzini and jumbo white shrimp. And pair them with specialty pastas, robust olive oils and aromatic sauces directly sourced from the Mediterranean. Want a fast and easy dinner? Grab refreshing Greek salads and tortellini from the prepared food. Taste the Mediterranean now at Whole Foods Market.
>> Marco Timpano: Carvana is so easy. Just a click and we've got ourselves a car. See so many cars. That's a clicktastic inventory. And check out the financing options payments to fit our budget. I mean, that's Clickonomics101 delivery to our door. Just a hop, skip and a click away. And bought. No better feeling than when everything just clicks. Buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply.
>> Speaker E: You know what they say. Early bird gets the ultimate vacation home. Book early and save over $120 with VRBO because early gets you closer to the action, whether it's waves lapping at the shore or snoozing in a hammock that overlooks. Well, whatever you want it to so you can all enjoy the payoff come summer with Verpo's early booking deals. Rise and shine. Average savings, $141. Select homes only.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Have you ever been there?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but every time I go to Vegas, that's one of the places that I want to go to that I never get a chance to see for some reason, because I don't think it's. You have to sort of drive there. I don't think it's right on the street trip.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's one of those things that it's always like. I mean, to go and we end up watching a show or we end up going to a restaurant instead. But the next time I go to Vegas, and perhaps the Neon Museum will fly us there, you and I, so that we can record a podcast amongst the various signage that's there. Wouldn't that be the Boneyard view? Oh, is that what it's called?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great. The Boneyard. You know, Nidhi, I find that people who are. Who don't have an interest to go to Las Vegas, and I'm sorry to interrupt, are the ones who end up loving it more.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's funny you say that, because I have a feeling that that could very well be me.
>> Marco Timpano: But you're not a gambler, right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm not a gambler, but. But I am into shows.
>> Marco Timpano: And are you a fan of Kenny Rogers? The Gambler, if you will?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I can't say that I am particularly a fan. However, I'm not a hater either.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know when to hold them and know when to fold them? Know when to walk away and know when to run?
>> Nidhi Khanna: That I can say, Margot, definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: I know then you would fare very well in Las Vegas. But it would be a lot of fun to go to the. Is it the Neon Sign Museum or the.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, that's what it's called. And Marco, actually, I found the ghost sign that you were talking about earlier,
>> Marco Timpano: I think was cigarettes, Right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Buckingham cigarettes.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's at Birmingham. So. Buckingham Cigarettes, Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we'll post a photo of that on. On our Twitter at Listen Sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. If you'd like to check out our Twitter, follow us at listenandsleep and subscribe to this podcast. It'll help you relax at the very least. You know, Nidhi, it's interesting. Remember how we said that this podcast, while its intention is to help people who have insomnia or people fall asleep, we're finding that a lot of people are listening to it for different reasons. A good friend of mine, Zach, had said that his girlfriend had a bad hangover. And so to help her get over that hangover and relax in bed, he put our podcast on so that she could listen and sleep and sleep and get over her hangover.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So did it work?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not saying that this podcast is a cure for pain, for hang. For hangovers. Sounds like I have one, but it certainly can hurt.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, Marco, that's a wonderful use of our podcast. I think. I, I'm. I'm really excited to hear that. And I hope that anytime anyone is ahead. Hangover, that listening to us would help them be cured of that. How would you know?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting, we would have to think of a term because I know that the hair of the dog.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Is a term that they use for a drink that you would have to help you with a hangover. We would have to be. If that's the hair of the dog, I think our podcast would. Would be the snout of the dog. And so we'd be the other end, where you don't have to take a concoction for the hair of the dog. I don't know exactly what it would be, what the hair of the dog is, but.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I think it's any, Any libation that you might consume to help you.
>> Marco Timpano: To help you get over the hanging. Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But it has to be an alcoholic beverage. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So whereas we're not a libation, we would be a. Auditory sort of assistance for a hangover. We would be the snout of the dog, perhaps the ears of the dog. But I like the word snout better.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Snout is a good word, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, the snout of a pig and the snout of the dog help them find truffles. Oftentimes, truffle hunters will use dogs and pigs to help them. Them find truffles. And it's because they have a very sensitive snout that they're able to find a scent.
>> Nidhi Khanna: For dogs, the scent, like their sense of smell, is their primary sense, whereas for us, it's more, I think, the eyes. For dogs, like my dog, it's all about the scent first. So if a dog is healthy, they will always sniff. Sometimes you can even see them sniff the air.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Before you even know what's going on, they're sniffing the air.
>> Marco Timpano: So, you know, it's interesting, a dog's nose, when they're healthy, it was really cold to the touch, right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is. And wet.
>> Marco Timpano: Whereas when our noses are wet, it's a whole other. It's a different thing altogether, Right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true. It's very true.
>> Marco Timpano: I, I read something that said that A mother can tell their baby by the scent. And like a newborn baby, like a few days old, the mother was given different babies and blindfolded she was able to tell her baby based on the scent. I know for my niece they did something interesting at her school when it was a parent teacher night. My sister went to the school with her husband. So my brother in law, my sister went to the school and they showed photos of all the children's hands to see if the parents. I think it was just a fun little exercise to see if the parents could pick out the hands of their children.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now did your sister get it right?
>> Marco Timpano: My sister did, but my brother in law did not. So it's just. And my sister's. Like my sister said, I mean it was, she said it was obvious to me those were my daughter's hands. So it's just interesting. My sister sort of said of humor and the way she, the way she dealt with that was quite funny.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And you're very close to your niece so do you think you would be able to pick out her hands?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. It's interesting. As you know, I'm a hand model, so hands are something that I notice. I actually will notice when the person has nice hands.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And when a person does not have nice hands or I'll notice if this, the hand has a wart or a callus or a scar or a.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true because I recently had an injury on my hand.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And you noticed it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: See, I remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a weird, It's a weird sort of thing that just comes into my consciousness, I guess. Speaking of consciousness, is that the correct term?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Consciousnesses? I don't know consciousnesses or conscious or just the, the consciousness.
>> Marco Timpano: There's words that don't have. That are singular and plural all in the same. Like fish. One fish. Or many fish.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Or shrimp.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fish. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't. Or shrimp. One shrimp or many shrimp.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sheep.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, oh. A flock of sheep versus a.
>> Nidhi Khanna: There's no such thing as sheeps.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't, I didn't know that. Well, we hope you're counting sheeps at this point and you've been listening to the Insomnia Project with us.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Or at least that we've alleviated you from having to count sheeps. Sheep as always. We are broadcasting from Toronto and the Insomnia Project is produced by drumcast Productions. Until the next time, we hope you listen and sleep. Sa.
(Original airdate: March 23, 2016)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing that we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating so that you can feel free to drift off. Thank you for joining us and we hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna.
>> Marco Timpano: And Nidhi, I think we should talk about political processes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah yes, Marco. Now politically we have three, I think main bodies of government in Canada, right? You have the municipal government, the provincial government, and then of course the federal federal government. Do you know anything about political processes within these three areas?
>> Marco Timpano: I. I don't know very much on that. On that front. I know that decisions that are made by our politicians can have outcomes that affect individuals like me and where you can't always be up on every thing that goes before whichever council. For example, I recently went to fight a parking ticket.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Ah yes.
>> Marco Timpano: That I had received to find out that the municipal politicians had decided that you can no longer fight a parking ticket and have the justice of the peace reduce the amount of the fine so that if you were to plead guilty, you would be paying the same amount that you would, that is that appears on your ticket in order to discourage people like myself or yourself to go to court to fight the ticket. So you can fight, fight and say not guilty. But the chances of you getting off if the officer is there are very slim. And previously you could plead guilty, but the depending on the circumstances, because everybody has or many people have a circumstance where they could be parking in a situation where they didn't get the meter for whatever reason or they parked in a zone that they weren't aware was a non parking zone. You could plead your case to the justice of the Peace and they could determine whether or not that fine should be reduced or if that ticket should be thrown out of court. But thanks to the municipal politicians who wanted to do a cash grab in our city of Toronto, they have not allowed citizens like myself to appear in front of a Justice of the Peace and plead my case. So needless to say, I wasn't pleased.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I can see that it's a bit of a sore spot for me.
>> Marco Timpano: Certainly is $30 later for a ticket that I received.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I know that there are a lot of different committees and places or not places really, I guess just committees. I was going to say groups, but it really is committees of council.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: With. And each committee either has city councilors on it and citizen members, or in the case of like a committee of Adjustment, it has, I think, only citizen members. So, Committee of Adjustment. Marco, I think you told us a story on a previous episode about you going to Committee of Adjustment or a town hall or something like that. The Committee of Adjustment is where you can go and plead your case about if you want some sort of change or renovation done to the structure of your home.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So let's say you wanted to add a story to your home or an addition. An addition. Or if you wanted to make your driveway bigger, you would have to. If it was denied for any reason, you would have to go to Committee of Adjustment and ask for permission to do that.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And that can Be a very long process in terms of the number of people who go and ask for variances to their property, for example. But I know circumstances. City councils really do have a multitude of different committees that deal with everything from diversity and inclusion, for example, to budget to even advertising standards.
>> Marco Timpano: I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So there's a committee in city hall for many, many different things. And again, some of these committees you can actually apply to be a citizen member of and have play a role in the decisions that are made at these committees and ultimately the recommendations that are determined at the committee level then go up to city council, where it's voted on.
>> Marco Timpano: If there could be a committee on parking tickets that I as a citizen could be on with, let's say a citizen who's like minded with me, in this case, my wife or my best friend Jeff, or, you know, people. My neighbor on the left side of me, even though she doesn't drive a car, is sympathetic to my car needs. And we could talk about what we want with regards to parking violations in the city. You know, it's always disheartening when you go to a meter that is busted and you want to use your credit card to. To put a parking ticket on your car and you cannot do so, but you need to park in that area because you have an appointment, whether it be a medical appointment or a work related appointment. And you cannot put a parking ticket on your car.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You mean the rights. So you can't pay for your parking.
>> Marco Timpano: Parking. That's what I meant. Thank you. And then you receive a parking ticket from a perhaps lovely meter officer. I don't like to use the word meter maid because it's just gender and there's a lot of different people who work in that job. But that's a committee that I certainly would welcome to be on and voice my opinion. Opinion.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I'm trying to see what type of committee, that type of issue would be dealt with in which committee. I'm looking here and I'm thinking that maybe something in the licensing and standards committee.
>> Marco Timpano: Mm, I don't know. That sounds fair.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, there's so many different committees in a city council that it's really difficult to figure out which one would actually pertain to parking issues.
>> Marco Timpano: Fair. Tell me about a moment where you were around such a committee or you may have heard how they vocalize their opinions.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I am. That's a good question.
>> Marco Timpano: Have you ever been around committees where people have had to sort of voice their opinion or seen them maybe? Have you ever seen on television C Span?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Of course, you know where. Where citizens want to speak their mind with regards to certain situations. I know that I would love to be able to speak with regards to the naming of streets and parks and whatnot, because I feel like a lot of times they get named after political figures and I feel like that shouldn't be the case because politicians, that's your job. It doesn't mean you deserve to have something named after yourself because you do your job. Because if that was the case, then you would think schools would be named after a teacher who taught there or hospitals named after a doctor who worked there.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right. It's almost like that's. You're right, that's your job. So why should it be that way?
>> Marco Timpano: Warned you. Having public recognition for something you're paid
>> Nidhi Khanna: to do, you never see. Well, maybe you do. Like you never really see. Mother Teresa Lane or.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I think. I think you will see. And that's my point, actually. You're making my point. It should go to someone who accomplished something. So you could be a politician who accomplished something. Something great. And not merely because you were in politics for many years, but because you did something that affected a large number of people in a positive way and you'll be remembered. Mother Teresa, perhaps a author. Margaret Atwood Lane.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure. I like that. Do you think there would be a Marco Timpano? Would you be a street, an avenue?
>> Marco Timpano: I'd be a boulevard.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You'd be a boulevard?
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah, I think I'd be a boulevard. How about you? A nitty kind of way. A nitty kind of crescent.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think Crescent.
>> Marco Timpano: Crescent. I see it as a terrace. Nitty kind of terrace. That's where I'd like to go. Now let's talk about store signs.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: What strikes you when you see a store sign?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think a good store sign is
>> Speaker E: clean.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Like there's a. And when I mean clean. It's the font size, the. The design of the font. There's. It's easily legible. I like it to be modern. I like it. So I don't particularly like signs that you can tell. Have been there since, you know, the 60s. And the sign has never changed for whatever reason. There is a store in Toronto called Honest Ed's.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. That has sadly.
>> Speaker A: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And sadly it's. It's going to be knocked down. However, it has huge signs and very, very garish. Garish and well known. Faintly. It's. It's almost. It is a land.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a landmark for certain. And. And I think the fact that it was. It had a lot of not neon lights, but actual light bulbs that would illuminate the signage. And it had a lot of sort of in your face kind of verbiage. And it's something that was sort of a landmark in the city. I have to say that, you know, the signs that I love the most are actually ghost signs. Are you familiar with ghost signs? No.
>> Nidhi Khanna: What are those?
>> Marco Timpano: So a ghost sign is a sign that was, let's say, painted on a
>> Nidhi Khanna: wall
>> Marco Timpano: years, many, many years ago, and then they had, let's say, papered signs on top of it and papered signs on top of it, and then those paper signs come off, and what's remaining but the original ghost sign, or perhaps it was obstructed by another building that was built years later, and that building gets torn down, and then you see the sign that was once there back in the 1900s or the 1930s or the 1960s. And so these ghost signs will appear, and they'll be for products that you've never really heard of or out of existence. Existence and whatnot. So I know that there was a ghost sign not too far from here for, I want to say, Birmingham cigarettes. And you'll see these ghost signs as more buildings get torn down or. Or modernized or. Or, you know, restructured. You'll. These ghost designs will appear, and. And so it's really quite an interesting thing. So I've always been fascinated by ghost signs, but unlike yourself, I love a sign that's old that has remained and might have incongruent messaging. For example, there was two signs in particular that I loved in Toronto that are no longer. One was for a old p**** theater called the Metro P**** Theater that is now being made into a climbing gym. But it was. You could see that this was a p**** theater from the 19, I want to say, 60s, because it had a woman in a bikini that was kind of painted on the. On the glass sign. And it. She had, like, an odd look on her face. It was supposed to be, I guess, sexy, but it certainly wasn't. But it was just an interesting sign that always struck me. And the other sign is. Or was for Mama's Bakery. And Mama's Bakery had a woman in a kimono holding bread in her hand as she bowed, which seemed very odd.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That is quite incongruous, as you say.
>> Marco Timpano: And I just love those old signs that have, you know, interesting character. Character to them.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I like those on, like, actual signs. I guess when I meant modern and fun. When I was thinking about that, I was talking about storefronts so being able to actually read the sign on the top of the store versus signs that you might find as advertising or things like that.
>> Marco Timpano: How do you feel about neon signs?
>> Nidhi Khanna: If it's done right, it could be fun.
>> Marco Timpano: See, I like it if it's done wrong because then it's, it's even more fun when a sign is meant to portray something but rather doesn't fails a sign. Fail, if you will.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sure. I feel like Las Vegas is one big sign fail.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, you know, you can go to the Las Vegas sign. I think it's called sign graveyard and it has in it all the old casinos that are no longer. They're. They're old neon and, and dramatic signs. And it has like the lady slipper, I believe. And there was a cowboy, a giant cowboy that was there. And you can walk amongst the. The neon sized graveyard or the. The outdoor sign sort of museum, I guess. I don't know, for lack of a. A better term of it. And you could see the various old signs that are just kind of sitting there. The Stardust I think is one.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I think it's called the Neon museum and it, it's a place for collecting, preserving all the old Los Angeles signs.
>> Marco Timpano: Las Vegas signs.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Las Vegas signs. Sorry. Thank you.
>> Marco Timpano: I think there's one in Los Angeles too.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That's why I'm sure there is.
>> Speaker A: Taste the Mediterranean at Whole Foods Market. With a vibrant selection that captures the flavors of the region. Shop coastal favorites like responsibly farmed whole bronzini and jumbo white shrimp. And pair them with specialty pastas, robust olive oils and aromatic sauces directly sourced from the Mediterranean. Want a fast and easy dinner? Grab refreshing Greek salads and tortellini from the prepared food. Taste the Mediterranean now at Whole Foods Market.
>> Marco Timpano: Carvana is so easy. Just a click and we've got ourselves a car. See so many cars. That's a clicktastic inventory. And check out the financing options payments to fit our budget. I mean, that's Clickonomics101 delivery to our door. Just a hop, skip and a click away. And bought. No better feeling than when everything just clicks. Buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply.
>> Speaker E: You know what they say. Early bird gets the ultimate vacation home. Book early and save over $120 with VRBO because early gets you closer to the action, whether it's waves lapping at the shore or snoozing in a hammock that overlooks. Well, whatever you want it to so you can all enjoy the payoff come summer with Verpo's early booking deals. Rise and shine. Average savings, $141. Select homes only.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Have you ever been there?
>> Marco Timpano: No, but every time I go to Vegas, that's one of the places that I want to go to that I never get a chance to see for some reason, because I don't think it's. You have to sort of drive there. I don't think it's right on the street trip.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So it's one of those things that it's always like. I mean, to go and we end up watching a show or we end up going to a restaurant instead. But the next time I go to Vegas, and perhaps the Neon Museum will fly us there, you and I, so that we can record a podcast amongst the various signage that's there. Wouldn't that be the Boneyard view? Oh, is that what it's called?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, that's great. The Boneyard. You know, Nidhi, I find that people who are. Who don't have an interest to go to Las Vegas, and I'm sorry to interrupt, are the ones who end up loving it more.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's funny you say that, because I have a feeling that that could very well be me.
>> Marco Timpano: But you're not a gambler, right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I'm not a gambler, but. But I am into shows.
>> Marco Timpano: And are you a fan of Kenny Rogers? The Gambler, if you will?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I can't say that I am particularly a fan. However, I'm not a hater either.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you know when to hold them and know when to fold them? Know when to walk away and know when to run?
>> Nidhi Khanna: That I can say, Margot, definitely.
>> Marco Timpano: I know then you would fare very well in Las Vegas. But it would be a lot of fun to go to the. Is it the Neon Sign Museum or the.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes, that's what it's called. And Marco, actually, I found the ghost sign that you were talking about earlier,
>> Marco Timpano: I think was cigarettes, Right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Buckingham cigarettes.
>> Marco Timpano: I think it's at Birmingham. So. Buckingham Cigarettes, Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we'll post a photo of that on. On our Twitter at Listen Sleep.
>> Marco Timpano: Yeah. If you'd like to check out our Twitter, follow us at listenandsleep and subscribe to this podcast. It'll help you relax at the very least. You know, Nidhi, it's interesting. Remember how we said that this podcast, while its intention is to help people who have insomnia or people fall asleep, we're finding that a lot of people are listening to it for different reasons. A good friend of mine, Zach, had said that his girlfriend had a bad hangover. And so to help her get over that hangover and relax in bed, he put our podcast on so that she could listen and sleep and sleep and get over her hangover.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So did it work?
>> Marco Timpano: I'm not saying that this podcast is a cure for pain, for hang. For hangovers. Sounds like I have one, but it certainly can hurt.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You know, Marco, that's a wonderful use of our podcast. I think. I, I'm. I'm really excited to hear that. And I hope that anytime anyone is ahead. Hangover, that listening to us would help them be cured of that. How would you know?
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's interesting, we would have to think of a term because I know that the hair of the dog.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Is a term that they use for a drink that you would have to help you with a hangover. We would have to be. If that's the hair of the dog, I think our podcast would. Would be the snout of the dog. And so we'd be the other end, where you don't have to take a concoction for the hair of the dog. I don't know exactly what it would be, what the hair of the dog is, but.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Well, I think it's any, Any libation that you might consume to help you.
>> Marco Timpano: To help you get over the hanging. Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But it has to be an alcoholic beverage. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: So whereas we're not a libation, we would be a. Auditory sort of assistance for a hangover. We would be the snout of the dog, perhaps the ears of the dog. But I like the word snout better.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Snout is a good word, Marco.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, the snout of a pig and the snout of the dog help them find truffles. Oftentimes, truffle hunters will use dogs and pigs to help them. Them find truffles. And it's because they have a very sensitive snout that they're able to find a scent.
>> Nidhi Khanna: For dogs, the scent, like their sense of smell, is their primary sense, whereas for us, it's more, I think, the eyes. For dogs, like my dog, it's all about the scent first. So if a dog is healthy, they will always sniff. Sometimes you can even see them sniff the air.
>> Marco Timpano: Right.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Before you even know what's going on, they're sniffing the air.
>> Marco Timpano: So, you know, it's interesting, a dog's nose, when they're healthy, it was really cold to the touch, right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is. And wet.
>> Marco Timpano: Whereas when our noses are wet, it's a whole other. It's a different thing altogether, Right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true. It's very true.
>> Marco Timpano: I, I read something that said that A mother can tell their baby by the scent. And like a newborn baby, like a few days old, the mother was given different babies and blindfolded she was able to tell her baby based on the scent. I know for my niece they did something interesting at her school when it was a parent teacher night. My sister went to the school with her husband. So my brother in law, my sister went to the school and they showed photos of all the children's hands to see if the parents. I think it was just a fun little exercise to see if the parents could pick out the hands of their children.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Now did your sister get it right?
>> Marco Timpano: My sister did, but my brother in law did not. So it's just. And my sister's. Like my sister said, I mean it was, she said it was obvious to me those were my daughter's hands. So it's just interesting. My sister sort of said of humor and the way she, the way she dealt with that was quite funny.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And you're very close to your niece so do you think you would be able to pick out her hands?
>> Marco Timpano: I think so. It's interesting. As you know, I'm a hand model, so hands are something that I notice. I actually will notice when the person has nice hands.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Right.
>> Marco Timpano: And when a person does not have nice hands or I'll notice if this, the hand has a wart or a callus or a scar or a.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true because I recently had an injury on my hand.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh my goodness.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And you noticed it.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, I see.
>> Nidhi Khanna: See, I remember that.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a weird, It's a weird sort of thing that just comes into my consciousness, I guess. Speaking of consciousness, is that the correct term?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Consciousnesses? I don't know consciousnesses or conscious or just the, the consciousness.
>> Marco Timpano: There's words that don't have. That are singular and plural all in the same. Like fish. One fish. Or many fish.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Or shrimp.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Fish. Yeah.
>> Marco Timpano: Isn't. Or shrimp. One shrimp or many shrimp.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Sheep.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, oh. A flock of sheep versus a.
>> Nidhi Khanna: There's no such thing as sheeps.
>> Marco Timpano: No, I didn't, I didn't know that. Well, we hope you're counting sheeps at this point and you've been listening to the Insomnia Project with us.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Or at least that we've alleviated you from having to count sheeps. Sheep as always. We are broadcasting from Toronto and the Insomnia Project is produced by drumcast Productions. Until the next time, we hope you listen and sleep. Sa.
The Apple, Snow & Kites
(Original airdate: April 1, 2016)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating. So you can feel free to listen and drift off, or drift off and then listen again. Maybe listen to our episodes back to back until you fall asleep or you relax. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. My name is Marco Timpano and I'm your host.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna Marco. We received some feedback from one of our listeners who had trouble sleeping and her daughter actually recommended our podcast. So I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Denise from Pembroke for her email to us. And I'd like to also invite any of our other listeners who might have some feedback or suggestions about a topic that we could speak about in this. On this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Feel free to tweet us listenandsleep or
>> Nidhi Khanna: you could contact us through our website,
>> Marco Timpano: theinsomniaproject.com we welcome your feedback in your comments. Of course, we love to hear what you like to listen to our podcast more. We've been discussing that through the different episodes as we hear from people. Nidhi, let's talk about the humble apple.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Please. Let's.
>> Marco Timpano: My favorite apple is the northern spy apple. It's also called the spy apple or the king apple. And we're very fortunate to live in Canada, which produces fantastic apples. In fact, I believe the Macintosh apple is a Canadian apple.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is, Marco, you're correct.
>> Marco Timpano: And the northern spy apple, I think, is a apple from upstate New York. So it stands to reason that we would have that apple in Ontario. It would be a commonplace apple. I know out west in British Columbia, they have fantastic apples as well in the Maritimes. Great apples. I mean, I. I love apples. I love things that you make with apple, from apple cider to apple strudels. And I have cousins who have apple orchards in northern Italy. And so they're apple people, I guess you could say.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I did not realize that apple orchards. I don't know. I just never assumed that Italy would be a place for apple growing. But can you tell me a bit more about the apple orchard or anything that you may remember from your time there?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. My cousins live in the Alps, in Trento.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's a particular. Particular valley, Val di Non, which is famous in Europe for it's apples. And my cousin married a gentleman whose family is apple growers, and they have apple orchards and they have pickers, and they. They are surrounded by the beauty of the Alps and apples. So it's very interesting because when I was a child and I first went to see my cousins, I saw, as we were driving by an orchard, glass bottles hanging off branches of apple trees. Yeah. And I couldn't understand what it was. And then my uncle told me, actually, he showed me that what they do is they put these. And this was just one particular apple orchard. Not everyone does this, but they put these bottles on the branches where the apples are growing so that the apple will grow into the bottle. And so what they do is they will then close off the bottom of the bottle and fill the bottle with alcohol. And so the mystery is you have this bottle with an apple in it, and there's no way that you could put the apple in from the small top of the bottle. And so it's The. This mystery. And it was really, really neat to both see bottles on trees and then to see the product that was made from it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That is quite unique. Marco, I. I enjoy apple picking.
>> Marco Timpano: Who doesn't?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I find that apple picking is almost like a rite of passage here in our Canadian landscape. Sure. The act of going to a farm and usually do it with family or friends. So it's a very communal activity.
>> Marco Timpano: I love apple picking. I love everything about apple picking, from, you know, marching in the crisp autumn and air, to climbing on the ladders, to plucking the apple from the tree and that little bit of resistance you get from the branch as you pull on that apple, to the baskets that you put the apples in, to seeing all those beautiful, round, bulbous apples sitting next to each other in the basket, to the apple cider that these farms will provide, to biting into an apple that you just plucked off a tree, to the soreness you feel the next day from using your arms in ways that you haven't used in a while.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You don't think about it as a strenuous, strenuous activity, but it is. I also particularly enjoy the apple piece.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, who doesn't?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Some ice cream,
>> Marco Timpano: you know. Have you ever heard of this dessert called the apple snow?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No. Tell me about this.
>> Marco Timpano: First of all, did you mention what your favorite apple was?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I did not. My favorite apple, Marco, is the gala apple.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, tell me about the gala apple.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The gala apple is actually. Actually, I think it originated in New Zealand, if I'm not mistaken.
>> Marco Timpano: It's an importance.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. It's an import. But I believe that there's gala apples that come from Chile, maybe even the United States. But I like it because it's a bit of a milder flavor. It's definitely sweeter as compared to, let's say a Granny Smith or a Macintosh or a Red Delicious. I find it a lot better crunchier to bite into. I prefer it to any of my other apple choices out there.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I love both green and red apples.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I can't do the green.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No. Unless I'm cooking, I find that green apples are a little too sour for my taste. I do enjoy yellow apples. The. Are they Fiji apples or Fuji apples?
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's the Asian apple. Is the Fuji. Fuji, I'm not sure, but I love. Have you ever had the ambrosia apple? I believe that's an apple from British Columbia, because, as we said, British Columbia has fantastic apples. The ambrosia apple is exactly what its name would suggest. Then there's the Spartan apple I think is from out. Out west as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You mentioned the apple snow. The snow apple. What was this?
>> Marco Timpano: It's so interesting because there is a apple varietal from Quebec called the snow apple.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's like a. If I'm not mistaken, it's a really orange, old, old apple. Like, we're talking hundreds of years old. Have you ever heard of the snow apple?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No.
>> Marco Timpano: It is, once again, one of these apples that grows in colder climates. So Quebec would be the best, you know, one of the best places to have it. And I've had it, like, a few times. And every time I have the snow apple, I think to myself, I love this apple. I once had a purple apple.
>> Nidhi Khanna: A purple apple?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. I know it sounds bizarre.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Was it something wrong with it?
>> Marco Timpano: We were at a farmer's market in California, and all of a sudden I see these really, really dark. Because you know how the. I think it's the delicious apple. Is it the Delicious?
>> Nidhi Khanna: The Red Delicious?
>> Marco Timpano: The Red Delicious can be really dark.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Like. Like almost a maroon color.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: It reminded me of this, but it was purple. It was so dark. It was like the darkest red, almost purple color I've ever seen. So I was like, I need to have this apple. As you can tell, I'm a big fan of apples. And so I bought three of them. Nitty. When I bit into it, it was like biting into a piece of wood. It was very, very woody. I don't think it was an apple that was meant to be eaten. It was more meant to be cooked with, I guess. So it's one of those things that it's kind of like, you know, a really interesting apple. I wish I could remember the name of the purple apple, but it was. It was. It was an interesting and funny, funny experience. But to get to the apple snow, not the snow apple from Quebec, but the apple snow. It's a dessert that is from the uk, so you may not have heard of it, although our listeners from the UK might be like, how did you never hear of the apple snow? And it's essentially what it is, is you cook apples in water, sugar, cinnamon, clove vanilla. So you already know you're starting off
>> Nidhi Khanna: that sounds great in a positive way.
>> Marco Timpano: And then you mix it with egg whites that have been beaten. So you mix the cold mixture so you let. You allow it to cool, and you mix it in with egg whites. And so you have this light, fluffy, sweet apple dessert that just melts in your mouth.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Wow, that sounds. That sounds amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, Nidhi, it's a pretty easy. It's a pretty easy dessert to make. At least I feel it. It doesn't involve a lot of, you know, its degree of difficulty, I think isn't that high. So I will make you an apple snow. I'm not promising to make it, you know, next week, but one day I will make you apple snow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco. I would indeed enjoy that. And I'll be happy to tell our listeners the outcome of your apple snow recipe. Snow is an interesting, I don't want to say phenomenon, but it's an interesting natural occurring process, I guess. Condition. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: As Canadians, we're surrounded by it. We're well accustomed to snow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you prefer. See, there's nothing like a soft snowfall. I enjoy a soft snowfall because I feel like there's something very magical about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But then the skier snowboarder in me loves the compact snow that you can ski on. Do you have a preference to the type of snow?
>> Marco Timpano: I do. I like that thick, fluffy, clumpy snow that comes to the ground like, comes from the sky to the ground. And when it hits your like eyelashes, doesn't melt, it stays there for a little bit.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You can make snowballs out of it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's light and fluffy and there's just something about as it falls in the night snow sky. If you haven't experienced that, I can tell you firsthand that it is magical. There's something about a light, clumpy, fluffy snow drifting from the sky, a darkened sky onto the ground, onto your eyelashes, onto your cheeks, onto your warm woolen mittens that is like nothing else out there. And what I love about snow is that. Have you ever seen photos up close, photos of snow that shows you that no two snowflakes are the same?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: I believe they're all six sided. But it's just interesting to see the various patterns of snow when you look at it up close.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is one of those magical things really that makes you think, right here's this stuff that came from these fluffy clouds and not one of them is the same. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: There's also a calmness about watching snow fall and drift.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree.
>> Marco Timpano: When you're warm, of course, but there's something really beautiful about it, especially the whiteness of the snow in a dark night.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And when the. Especially if you can be out in the country on one of those nights, I find it really, as you say, relaxing, calming. I also find just going back to the country the days after there has been a large snowfall, there's this beautiful nighttime quality where you have the stars that are so brilliant in the sky and the reflection of the snow that is so white that provides this glowing atmosphere. And there's something that is so, so serene about it.
>> Marco Timpano: There's nothing like crunching in fresh, un unmarked or unstepped in snow with your boots. There's a certain sound and there's a certain feel. And I'm certain that we have listeners from parts of the world that don't receive snow who have never experienced this sort of, you know, you can even feel it in your feet as you step on that snow and it makes a certain crunch and then you lift your boot off that snow and your boot will leave a perfect impression in the snow. And in fact, a lot of boots or a lot of Canadian boots, there's many different makers of Canadian boots. Sorel is one, for example. They specifically design the bottom of the boot so that it makes an impression in the snow that you can, you can then see. It's pretty. It's really fascinating snow and snow culture and just what snow feels like.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Have you ever been Marco snowshoeing? Because growing up in Montreal, we were always so close to the mountains. And so in the winter we would do school trips up north and you would do cross country skiing or sledding or snowshoeing, for example, which again, some of our listeners might not be familiar with an activity that originated with the indigenous population of Canada. And you take these.
>> Marco Timpano: It almost looks like wooden, wooden tennis rackets, webbed wooden instruments. They don't look like shoes, per se. In fact, I think your shoe kind of connects with the snow shoe.
>> Nidhi Khanna: They're much larger. Larger than your shoe.
>> Marco Timpano: I did snowshoe in Quebec as a child on field trips. So it's funny you should say that. And it was, you know, it's, it's a lot of work.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is a lot of work.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a lot less work when there's a lot of snow to snowshoe than if you didn't have.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I guess we should have mentioned that the point of having the snowshoe is because you. On the crunchy snow that you were describing earlier. So when we walk through that country, that crunchy snow, without a snowshoe, you
>> Marco Timpano: sink if it's deep snow, you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: If it's deep in snow. So with a snowshoe, you're able to just not sink as much into the snow, making it easier to walk, especially way back when when you had to walk through plains of snow.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's funny, you just reminded me of something the first time I Ever went snowshoeing was in Quebec. And the first time I ever flew a kite, it was in Quebec as well. Yes. Now let me ask you, have you ever flown a kite or ever made a kite?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I believe I made a kite in an arts and crafts camp when I was a kid. It was either camp or school. I can't remember one of them. And we did try and fly a kite.
>> Marco Timpano: However. Was it a kite shaped kite?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It was that diamond shape. However, I don't think I was successful with it.
>> Marco Timpano: I never find, or I've never found that those kite shaped kites would ever take off or stay up. I always wanted to fly one of those box. Have you ever seen those box shaped kites?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No. Tell me about that.
>> Marco Timpano: They're kind of. They're kind of like two sort of. Oh, I wish I could describe this. It's going to be sort of so, so tricky. But it's like two boxes that are connected with, I want to say like balsam wood. And on either end is a. I know there's. I know that my sister in law has probably made these box kites and she'll be like, that's not what it's called. She'll know exactly what I'm. What I'm trying to say. But it's kind of like two boxes on either end and they're connected with some sort of metal, some sort of rod, whether it be wooden, plastic or metal. And it takes flight. And when, when it's in the air, it's really quite spectacular to see. And I, I believe I flew one once and it really had pull to it. Like you could really feel the pull on the other end of the string. But generally speaking, as a child you would fly those kites that were kind of triangular. I remember there was one called the Bat or the Black Bat. I think it was called the Black Bat and it was all black and it had two, I'm gonna say bright orange or bright yellow eyes. And it was meant to look scary in the sky. But yeah, I remember flying the black bat kite.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That seems like it would be great around Halloween time or if you wanted to have a little bit of a Batman type moment.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Flying a kite.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I think it got its name because of the shape of that kite. Is more of a triangular. Triangular kind of.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, I see what you're saying.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the one I'm trying to like.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's not the traditional diamond shape. I.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you enjoy flying kites?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Really not a big thing. You know What? That's actually not an accurate statement. I've never really been successful at doing it, but I can't say that I've spent more than maybe one or two times trying to fly a kite. I never understood the spooling, because you know how you have to spool.
>> Marco Timpano: It's certainly a skill. Yeah, I. I couldn't tell you because I don't think I'm a good spooler, if I can use that term. But. But, you know, it's interesting because I find I see a lot of people flying kites on the beach, and it reminds me of those people who sail with the wind. Like, they. They use like a. Almost like a surfboard, but not really. I. I don't know if you know the term or what it is.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I. I don't know the term, but when you talked about people on the beach flying a kite, it made me think about the expression, go fly a kite.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we spoke, I think, a few episodes ago about expressions.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I wonder, Marco, how do you feel about that expression, go fly a kite? Maybe we should explain it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great question, because for different people, it's gonna resonate in different ways. So if you don't like flight, flying a kite, and I tell you to go fly a kite, it can be taken in a pejorative way, but if I tell someone who is an avid kite flyer to go fly a kite, it would be like, oh, awesome. You want me to go do something that I enjoy doing. So I think, as they say, perspective is everything, right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true. It's very true.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm not exactly sure the etymology of that. Of that particular saying, but I certainly have both heard it and used it, if that. That makes any difference.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree. I agree. I've. As you say, it is all a matter of perspective. I have not used that expression in a really long time, which makes me think that it has probably been replaced with some other expression to basically say to tell someone to leave a situation because they're being bothersome, which I think is the dictionary definition of what that expression gofundme a kite means.
>> Marco Timpano: I can tell you that based on some research that I just did, that the phrase go fly a kite is. Has to do with the stock market crash. It referred to the useless bits of paper being tossed out the window after the crash. So I don't know how accurate that is, but certainly something to think about. As always, we want to thank. Thank you for listening.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As we mentioned before, you can always tweet us listen and sleep. The Insomnia Project is broadcast from Toronto and produced by drumcast Productions. Until the next time.
(Original airdate: April 1, 2016)
>> Marco Timpano: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing we can promise is that our conversation will be less than fascinating. So you can feel free to listen and drift off, or drift off and then listen again. Maybe listen to our episodes back to back until you fall asleep or you relax. Thank you for joining us. We hope you will listen and sleep. My name is Marco Timpano and I'm your host.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna Marco. We received some feedback from one of our listeners who had trouble sleeping and her daughter actually recommended our podcast. So I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Denise from Pembroke for her email to us. And I'd like to also invite any of our other listeners who might have some feedback or suggestions about a topic that we could speak about in this. On this podcast.
>> Marco Timpano: Feel free to tweet us listenandsleep or
>> Nidhi Khanna: you could contact us through our website,
>> Marco Timpano: theinsomniaproject.com we welcome your feedback in your comments. Of course, we love to hear what you like to listen to our podcast more. We've been discussing that through the different episodes as we hear from people. Nidhi, let's talk about the humble apple.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Please. Let's.
>> Marco Timpano: My favorite apple is the northern spy apple. It's also called the spy apple or the king apple. And we're very fortunate to live in Canada, which produces fantastic apples. In fact, I believe the Macintosh apple is a Canadian apple.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is, Marco, you're correct.
>> Marco Timpano: And the northern spy apple, I think, is a apple from upstate New York. So it stands to reason that we would have that apple in Ontario. It would be a commonplace apple. I know out west in British Columbia, they have fantastic apples as well in the Maritimes. Great apples. I mean, I. I love apples. I love things that you make with apple, from apple cider to apple strudels. And I have cousins who have apple orchards in northern Italy. And so they're apple people, I guess you could say.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco, I did not realize that apple orchards. I don't know. I just never assumed that Italy would be a place for apple growing. But can you tell me a bit more about the apple orchard or anything that you may remember from your time there?
>> Marco Timpano: Of course. My cousins live in the Alps, in Trento.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And there's a particular. Particular valley, Val di Non, which is famous in Europe for it's apples. And my cousin married a gentleman whose family is apple growers, and they have apple orchards and they have pickers, and they. They are surrounded by the beauty of the Alps and apples. So it's very interesting because when I was a child and I first went to see my cousins, I saw, as we were driving by an orchard, glass bottles hanging off branches of apple trees. Yeah. And I couldn't understand what it was. And then my uncle told me, actually, he showed me that what they do is they put these. And this was just one particular apple orchard. Not everyone does this, but they put these bottles on the branches where the apples are growing so that the apple will grow into the bottle. And so what they do is they will then close off the bottom of the bottle and fill the bottle with alcohol. And so the mystery is you have this bottle with an apple in it, and there's no way that you could put the apple in from the small top of the bottle. And so it's The. This mystery. And it was really, really neat to both see bottles on trees and then to see the product that was made from it.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That is quite unique. Marco, I. I enjoy apple picking.
>> Marco Timpano: Who doesn't?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I find that apple picking is almost like a rite of passage here in our Canadian landscape. Sure. The act of going to a farm and usually do it with family or friends. So it's a very communal activity.
>> Marco Timpano: I love apple picking. I love everything about apple picking, from, you know, marching in the crisp autumn and air, to climbing on the ladders, to plucking the apple from the tree and that little bit of resistance you get from the branch as you pull on that apple, to the baskets that you put the apples in, to seeing all those beautiful, round, bulbous apples sitting next to each other in the basket, to the apple cider that these farms will provide, to biting into an apple that you just plucked off a tree, to the soreness you feel the next day from using your arms in ways that you haven't used in a while.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You don't think about it as a strenuous, strenuous activity, but it is. I also particularly enjoy the apple piece.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, who doesn't?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Some ice cream,
>> Marco Timpano: you know. Have you ever heard of this dessert called the apple snow?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No. Tell me about this.
>> Marco Timpano: First of all, did you mention what your favorite apple was?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I did not. My favorite apple, Marco, is the gala apple.
>> Marco Timpano: Oh, tell me about the gala apple.
>> Nidhi Khanna: The gala apple is actually. Actually, I think it originated in New Zealand, if I'm not mistaken.
>> Marco Timpano: It's an importance.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes. It's an import. But I believe that there's gala apples that come from Chile, maybe even the United States. But I like it because it's a bit of a milder flavor. It's definitely sweeter as compared to, let's say a Granny Smith or a Macintosh or a Red Delicious. I find it a lot better crunchier to bite into. I prefer it to any of my other apple choices out there.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure. I love both green and red apples.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I can't do the green.
>> Marco Timpano: Really?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No. Unless I'm cooking, I find that green apples are a little too sour for my taste. I do enjoy yellow apples. The. Are they Fiji apples or Fuji apples?
>> Marco Timpano: I think that's the Asian apple. Is the Fuji. Fuji, I'm not sure, but I love. Have you ever had the ambrosia apple? I believe that's an apple from British Columbia, because, as we said, British Columbia has fantastic apples. The ambrosia apple is exactly what its name would suggest. Then there's the Spartan apple I think is from out. Out west as well.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You mentioned the apple snow. The snow apple. What was this?
>> Marco Timpano: It's so interesting because there is a apple varietal from Quebec called the snow apple.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Oh, okay.
>> Marco Timpano: And it's like a. If I'm not mistaken, it's a really orange, old, old apple. Like, we're talking hundreds of years old. Have you ever heard of the snow apple?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No.
>> Marco Timpano: It is, once again, one of these apples that grows in colder climates. So Quebec would be the best, you know, one of the best places to have it. And I've had it, like, a few times. And every time I have the snow apple, I think to myself, I love this apple. I once had a purple apple.
>> Nidhi Khanna: A purple apple?
>> Marco Timpano: Yes. I know it sounds bizarre.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Was it something wrong with it?
>> Marco Timpano: We were at a farmer's market in California, and all of a sudden I see these really, really dark. Because you know how the. I think it's the delicious apple. Is it the Delicious?
>> Nidhi Khanna: The Red Delicious?
>> Marco Timpano: The Red Delicious can be really dark.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: Like. Like almost a maroon color.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Yes.
>> Marco Timpano: It reminded me of this, but it was purple. It was so dark. It was like the darkest red, almost purple color I've ever seen. So I was like, I need to have this apple. As you can tell, I'm a big fan of apples. And so I bought three of them. Nitty. When I bit into it, it was like biting into a piece of wood. It was very, very woody. I don't think it was an apple that was meant to be eaten. It was more meant to be cooked with, I guess. So it's one of those things that it's kind of like, you know, a really interesting apple. I wish I could remember the name of the purple apple, but it was. It was. It was an interesting and funny, funny experience. But to get to the apple snow, not the snow apple from Quebec, but the apple snow. It's a dessert that is from the uk, so you may not have heard of it, although our listeners from the UK might be like, how did you never hear of the apple snow? And it's essentially what it is, is you cook apples in water, sugar, cinnamon, clove vanilla. So you already know you're starting off
>> Nidhi Khanna: that sounds great in a positive way.
>> Marco Timpano: And then you mix it with egg whites that have been beaten. So you mix the cold mixture so you let. You allow it to cool, and you mix it in with egg whites. And so you have this light, fluffy, sweet apple dessert that just melts in your mouth.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Wow, that sounds. That sounds amazing.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, Nidhi, it's a pretty easy. It's a pretty easy dessert to make. At least I feel it. It doesn't involve a lot of, you know, its degree of difficulty, I think isn't that high. So I will make you an apple snow. I'm not promising to make it, you know, next week, but one day I will make you apple snow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Marco. I would indeed enjoy that. And I'll be happy to tell our listeners the outcome of your apple snow recipe. Snow is an interesting, I don't want to say phenomenon, but it's an interesting natural occurring process, I guess. Condition. Sure.
>> Marco Timpano: As Canadians, we're surrounded by it. We're well accustomed to snow.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Do you prefer. See, there's nothing like a soft snowfall. I enjoy a soft snowfall because I feel like there's something very magical about it.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: But then the skier snowboarder in me loves the compact snow that you can ski on. Do you have a preference to the type of snow?
>> Marco Timpano: I do. I like that thick, fluffy, clumpy snow that comes to the ground like, comes from the sky to the ground. And when it hits your like eyelashes, doesn't melt, it stays there for a little bit.
>> Nidhi Khanna: You can make snowballs out of it.
>> Marco Timpano: It's light and fluffy and there's just something about as it falls in the night snow sky. If you haven't experienced that, I can tell you firsthand that it is magical. There's something about a light, clumpy, fluffy snow drifting from the sky, a darkened sky onto the ground, onto your eyelashes, onto your cheeks, onto your warm woolen mittens that is like nothing else out there. And what I love about snow is that. Have you ever seen photos up close, photos of snow that shows you that no two snowflakes are the same?
>> Nidhi Khanna: Absolutely.
>> Marco Timpano: I believe they're all six sided. But it's just interesting to see the various patterns of snow when you look at it up close.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is one of those magical things really that makes you think, right here's this stuff that came from these fluffy clouds and not one of them is the same. Right.
>> Marco Timpano: There's also a calmness about watching snow fall and drift.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree.
>> Marco Timpano: When you're warm, of course, but there's something really beautiful about it, especially the whiteness of the snow in a dark night.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And when the. Especially if you can be out in the country on one of those nights, I find it really, as you say, relaxing, calming. I also find just going back to the country the days after there has been a large snowfall, there's this beautiful nighttime quality where you have the stars that are so brilliant in the sky and the reflection of the snow that is so white that provides this glowing atmosphere. And there's something that is so, so serene about it.
>> Marco Timpano: There's nothing like crunching in fresh, un unmarked or unstepped in snow with your boots. There's a certain sound and there's a certain feel. And I'm certain that we have listeners from parts of the world that don't receive snow who have never experienced this sort of, you know, you can even feel it in your feet as you step on that snow and it makes a certain crunch and then you lift your boot off that snow and your boot will leave a perfect impression in the snow. And in fact, a lot of boots or a lot of Canadian boots, there's many different makers of Canadian boots. Sorel is one, for example. They specifically design the bottom of the boot so that it makes an impression in the snow that you can, you can then see. It's pretty. It's really fascinating snow and snow culture and just what snow feels like.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Have you ever been Marco snowshoeing? Because growing up in Montreal, we were always so close to the mountains. And so in the winter we would do school trips up north and you would do cross country skiing or sledding or snowshoeing, for example, which again, some of our listeners might not be familiar with an activity that originated with the indigenous population of Canada. And you take these.
>> Marco Timpano: It almost looks like wooden, wooden tennis rackets, webbed wooden instruments. They don't look like shoes, per se. In fact, I think your shoe kind of connects with the snow shoe.
>> Nidhi Khanna: They're much larger. Larger than your shoe.
>> Marco Timpano: I did snowshoe in Quebec as a child on field trips. So it's funny you should say that. And it was, you know, it's, it's a lot of work.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It is a lot of work.
>> Marco Timpano: It's a lot less work when there's a lot of snow to snowshoe than if you didn't have.
>> Nidhi Khanna: So I guess we should have mentioned that the point of having the snowshoe is because you. On the crunchy snow that you were describing earlier. So when we walk through that country, that crunchy snow, without a snowshoe, you
>> Marco Timpano: sink if it's deep snow, you.
>> Nidhi Khanna: If it's deep in snow. So with a snowshoe, you're able to just not sink as much into the snow, making it easier to walk, especially way back when when you had to walk through plains of snow.
>> Marco Timpano: You know, it's funny, you just reminded me of something the first time I Ever went snowshoeing was in Quebec. And the first time I ever flew a kite, it was in Quebec as well. Yes. Now let me ask you, have you ever flown a kite or ever made a kite?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I believe I made a kite in an arts and crafts camp when I was a kid. It was either camp or school. I can't remember one of them. And we did try and fly a kite.
>> Marco Timpano: However. Was it a kite shaped kite?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It was that diamond shape. However, I don't think I was successful with it.
>> Marco Timpano: I never find, or I've never found that those kite shaped kites would ever take off or stay up. I always wanted to fly one of those box. Have you ever seen those box shaped kites?
>> Nidhi Khanna: No. Tell me about that.
>> Marco Timpano: They're kind of. They're kind of like two sort of. Oh, I wish I could describe this. It's going to be sort of so, so tricky. But it's like two boxes that are connected with, I want to say like balsam wood. And on either end is a. I know there's. I know that my sister in law has probably made these box kites and she'll be like, that's not what it's called. She'll know exactly what I'm. What I'm trying to say. But it's kind of like two boxes on either end and they're connected with some sort of metal, some sort of rod, whether it be wooden, plastic or metal. And it takes flight. And when, when it's in the air, it's really quite spectacular to see. And I, I believe I flew one once and it really had pull to it. Like you could really feel the pull on the other end of the string. But generally speaking, as a child you would fly those kites that were kind of triangular. I remember there was one called the Bat or the Black Bat. I think it was called the Black Bat and it was all black and it had two, I'm gonna say bright orange or bright yellow eyes. And it was meant to look scary in the sky. But yeah, I remember flying the black bat kite.
>> Nidhi Khanna: That seems like it would be great around Halloween time or if you wanted to have a little bit of a Batman type moment.
>> Marco Timpano: Sure.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Flying a kite.
>> Marco Timpano: Well, I think it got its name because of the shape of that kite. Is more of a triangular. Triangular kind of.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Okay, I see what you're saying.
>> Marco Timpano: It's the one I'm trying to like.
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's not the traditional diamond shape. I.
>> Marco Timpano: Do you enjoy flying kites?
>> Nidhi Khanna: I don't.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: Really not a big thing. You know What? That's actually not an accurate statement. I've never really been successful at doing it, but I can't say that I've spent more than maybe one or two times trying to fly a kite. I never understood the spooling, because you know how you have to spool.
>> Marco Timpano: It's certainly a skill. Yeah, I. I couldn't tell you because I don't think I'm a good spooler, if I can use that term. But. But, you know, it's interesting because I find I see a lot of people flying kites on the beach, and it reminds me of those people who sail with the wind. Like, they. They use like a. Almost like a surfboard, but not really. I. I don't know if you know the term or what it is.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I. I don't know the term, but when you talked about people on the beach flying a kite, it made me think about the expression, go fly a kite.
>> Marco Timpano: Okay.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And we spoke, I think, a few episodes ago about expressions.
>> Marco Timpano: Yes.
>> Nidhi Khanna: And I wonder, Marco, how do you feel about that expression, go fly a kite? Maybe we should explain it.
>> Marco Timpano: That's a great question, because for different people, it's gonna resonate in different ways. So if you don't like flight, flying a kite, and I tell you to go fly a kite, it can be taken in a pejorative way, but if I tell someone who is an avid kite flyer to go fly a kite, it would be like, oh, awesome. You want me to go do something that I enjoy doing. So I think, as they say, perspective is everything, right?
>> Nidhi Khanna: It's true. It's very true.
>> Marco Timpano: So I'm not exactly sure the etymology of that. Of that particular saying, but I certainly have both heard it and used it, if that. That makes any difference.
>> Nidhi Khanna: I agree. I agree. I've. As you say, it is all a matter of perspective. I have not used that expression in a really long time, which makes me think that it has probably been replaced with some other expression to basically say to tell someone to leave a situation because they're being bothersome, which I think is the dictionary definition of what that expression gofundme a kite means.
>> Marco Timpano: I can tell you that based on some research that I just did, that the phrase go fly a kite is. Has to do with the stock market crash. It referred to the useless bits of paper being tossed out the window after the crash. So I don't know how accurate that is, but certainly something to think about. As always, we want to thank. Thank you for listening.
>> Nidhi Khanna: As we mentioned before, you can always tweet us listen and sleep. The Insomnia Project is broadcast from Toronto and produced by drumcast Productions. Until the next time.