Soul Forge Podcast

Let's Put On A Show! presents Meteor Shower by Steve Martin. There is a new theatre company in Sault Ste. Marie and their first play will be a comedy written by Steve Martin. Leah Frost and RJ Renner are directing Meteor Shower. You can see the show from October 21st to the 23rd. There will be three showings. On this episode of Soul Forge, Shawn talks to Leah and RJ about their theatrical origins and the origins of the new theatre company. We learn about where the company name comes from, and the need for community involvement in this new endeavour. Let's Put On A Show! will be doing more traditional comedies and dramas, as opposed to musicals. They chose this particular play for its humour as well as its more modern setting. About the play: Corky and Norm are excited to host Gerald and Laura at their home in the valley outside Los Angeles to watch a once-in-a-lifetime meteor shower. But as the stars come out and the conversation gets rolling, it becomes clear that Gerald and Laura might not be all that they appear to be. Over the course of a crazy, starlit dinner party, the wildly unexpected occurs. The couples begin to flirt and insanity reigns. Martin, using his trademark absurdist humor, bends the fluid nature of time and reality to create a surprising and unforgettably funny new play.  Get your tickets at: https://lets-put-on-a-show-108707.square.site/?fbclid=IwAR3SfxpMrFXSlLAkLcfxJ-y6jzaOs3IvzhthfeelMVULrJCpPasE80GaXxQ Let's Put On A Show! would like to thank Mom's Kitchen, Stephanie's Joy, Sault College and The Tech. This week's podcast promo: Best Saturdays of Our Lives

Climb that damn mountain. Do the things you have always been too afraid to do or try. This is the message behind this episode of the podcast. Amanda returns to talk about her recent knee surgery. Her main message or take away, is that if you want to do something, just do it. Climb that mountain. Take that trip. Start that business. Get the surgery that will allow you to live your best life. Amanda takes time out of her recovery to share her recent experiences with us. For most of the summer she visited friends and family in Thunder Bay. That is roughly 8 hours from home. Like most of us, she needed a mental health break - a vacation from her every day life. Why did Amanda get knee replacement surgery? Why was she awake and aware for the procedure? You will find out those answers and more in this exciting episode of the Soul Forge Podcast.  Knee replacement, also called knee arthroplasty or total knee replacement, is a surgical procedure to resurface a knee damaged by arthritis. Metal and plastic parts are used to cap the ends of the bones that form the knee joint, along with the kneecap. This surgery may be considered for someone who has severe arthritis or a severe knee injury. Various types of arthritis may affect the knee joint. Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease that affects mostly middle-aged and older adults, may cause the breakdown of joint cartilage and adjacent bone in the knees. Rheumatoid arthritis, which causes inflammation of the synovial membrane and results in excessive synovial fluid, can lead to pain and stiffness. Traumatic arthritis, arthritis due to injury, may cause damage to the cartilage of the knee. The goal of knee replacement surgery is to resurface the parts of the knee joint that have been damaged and to relieve knee pain that cannot be controlled by other treatments.  This week's podcast promo: The 42 Cast

If wishes were fishes, we would all cast our nets in the sea. This week's episode is a bit of a mixed bag. We are talking about my recent birthday weekend, but this episode includes a part of our eighth show. Labour Day weekend is always my birthday celebration time. Most years, people are busy and my special day gets overlooked. However, this year, I had the best celebration in recent memory. My lady and I went to the USA (across the river) and got some tattoos. We did some sight-seeing and a lot of talking. The second day was spent with her family at the Kinross County Fair. She gave me a replica of the Sword of Omens from Thundercats. Pop culture is briefly mentioned in this episode. The show is coming out on September 8th, which is Star Trek Day! I have been watching She-Hulk, The Orville, Lower Decks, House of the Dragon and Rings of Power. Finally, the episode finishes up with a re-use of our 8th show. In that one, I talked about what I would wish for if I were given 3 wishes. I figured this topic was appropriate as it was my birthday weekend, and everyone gets to wish for something during that time. This week's podcast promo: Thunder Talk

My son Bishop comes for a visit! Five months ago, in April, I moved from Timmins back to my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie. This move was 19 years in the making. Fear held me back. Due to a severe bout of depression I made an impulsive decision and moved back home. I hadn't seen my son since I lelt town. At the beginning of August, I picked him up so he could stay and visit with me. Since I made the move to come back home, I have been living my best life. Whether that is due to my living situation, or because I'm on depression pills I can't really say. All I know is that I'm going to enjoy it. I wanted Bishop to see the state of my happiness. He enjoyed his visit so much, he extended his stay from 2 to 3 weeks. He would have stayed longer if he didn't need to go home to prepare for the upcoming school year. We had a great visit. For a boy who rarely walks anywhere, he sure did a lot of it. His cousin Trinity lives about 5 blocks away and he walked there nearly every day. He was able to touch a chipmunk for the first time. We walked the Soo Locks at Whitefish Island. We played at the park and ate lots of ice cream. I learned how chatty he is with his online friends. Many discussions were had about the future. Bishop knows he does not want to live alone. He knows he needs to finish high school in order to set himself up for success. Adulthood is a realm of fear for my son. However, after many long talks we feel as though we now have a handle on some things. This week's podcast promos: The Epsilon Three Podcast and the Overtired Podcast

Should we stop being polite? Is the act of being polite something that binds society together and allows civilization to function? Those are heady questions we do not have answers to in a 20 minute podcast. However, we will be conducting an exciting discussion into the nature of politeness. You may get more done with a little gratitude and polite conversation, but this behavior can bring you down. It can force you into a toxic relationship detrimental to your emotional and physical well-being. Polite, thoughtful reactions and responses to everyday interactions can mean the difference between acceptance and frustration from the other party. So, as you can see, being polite has its ups and its downs. So, how do we stop being polite? Useless chatter can eat up our day and reduce our productivity. It can also just be really boring. We have all had conversations we wished to exit. Try this next time you find yourself trapped: After a few minutes, excuse yourself by saying something like, “I'm sorry. I'd really like to give you my full attention but I have to finish up before the end of the day.” Offer an apologetic smile as you say it, or use a smiley emoticon if you're dashing off a quick email or text message. This week's podcast promo: Monster Sci-Fi Show

Everything you want is on the other side of fear. There are a few things I have learned after podcasting about myself for the last 5 years. When you take a good hard look at your life, you should see areas where you can improve; areas where you are doing great, and areas in between. This is the 5 year podcast anniversary episode. Join me as I take a look back, and think about the future. The first half of this special episode is looking backwards at what has come before. The early history of the show is filled with rambling and doubt. Eventually I found a voice and a way forward. At first I spoke about myself. Then I covered random topics like happiness, decision making and fatherhood. Then I got into more personal territory such as love and loss. After a time I realized I did not have the life experience to cover every topic. I began to interview people with different backgrounds. Learning about other people's experiences allowed me to develop a better understanding and to teach my podcast listeners about other ways of living. Throughout the podcast's run certain themes began to emerge. Mental health is a huge topic that is often covered in various ways. Other topics include love and confidence. But the main theme has been fear and the desire for home. Send comments to soulforgepodcast@gmail.com Donate at www.ko-fi.com/rustedsoul This week's podcast promo: Modern Musicology

The need for rest is something we often forget about. The need for rest is more important than we give it credit for. Recent research has revealed that people perform better at work and in life if we practice strategic renewal. If you’re rundown you’re more susceptible to getting sick and miss days from work. You need to get more sleep during the week, scheduling daytime workouts, eat healthy foods, and enjoy rest and relaxation away from the office with your team members whenever possible. Humans aren’t designed to run on high level without having a period of rest and relaxation. You need a time for renewal. It allows you to relax and rejuvenate your mind and body. The human body is built to thrive in a series of short sprints. This is why taking a break—even only for a few minutes—can offer you the refresh you need to persevere through your day. Breaks are brief cessations to work, physical exertion, or emotional stress. They promote mental health, boost creativity, increase productivity, promote well-being, reduce stress, improve mood, and strengthen relationships.  The amount of rest required depends on your individual needs. If you didn't sleep well, feel angry, or stressed, you may require more frequent breaks.  Adequate rest helps your body activate its inner healing cascade and return to a state of homeostasis. This is when your body can repair and recover. This week's podcast promo: Monster Attack

Self-worth and self-value are two related terms that are often used interchangeably. Having a sense of self-worth means that you value yourself, and having a sense of self-value means that you are worthy. The differences between the two are minimal enough that both terms can be used to describe the same general concept. There’s self-esteem, self-compassion, self-acceptance, self-respect, self-confidence, self-love, self-care, and so on. There are so many words to describe how we feel about ourselves, how we think about ourselves, and how we act toward ourselves. It’s understandable if they all start to blend together for you; however, they are indeed different concepts with unique meanings, findings, and purposes. Realizing our self-worth and putting ourselves first is difficult. Many of us start out with a self-love deficit, whether it be caused by our own thoughts or outside forces. The media is constantly bombarding with advertising. We are told we aren't good enough, thin enough, smart enough, and so on. Body image issues primarily affect girls but even boys are beginning to feel bad about themselves. Also in this episode, we talk about the more wholesome images and messages we got in the 1970s and 1980s. From Fat Albert to GI Joe's PSAs and a host of other sources, the kids of the 70s and 80s were given so many positive ways to look at themselves. Self-hatred is a terrific way to sabotage yourself. We must pay attention to our thoughts and feelings. If you feel as though you don't deserve good things, that is your lack of self-worth lying to you. The mind creates its reality. Pay attention to your thoughts. This week's podcast promo: Flopcast

An interview with Mike, owner of Vintage Games and Junque. We are talking about the upcoming Steel City NerdCon being held this July 2 at the Bushplane Museum in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Mike and his wife Beth have been in the pop culture business for about 7 years. Approximately 5 years ago they decided the town needed some excitement. They organized the first NerdCon and held it in the back of their building. It was a huge success. With the exception of Covid, there has been an event every year since. Vendors come from all over Ontario to sell their items. This year there are people coming from Quebec. The event gets bigger and better each year. Usually NerdCon is held in September or October. To try something new, the Vintage Games crew decided to try a summer event. They don't know how it's going to go over, especially because it's the Canada Day long weekend. However, the event is occurring at the same time as Poutine Fest. Multiple poutine vendors will be selling their delicious food only a block from the NerdCon space. Cross promotion is on everyone's mind. Also in this little chat, Mike talks about his store. Vintage Games and Junque started out in a 400 square foot space. They next year they expanded into an 800 square foot location. For the past 5 years they have been at their current 3500 square foot building at 165 Queen Street East. Mike describes the shop as a really expensive thrift store. Yet, walking in, it does not have that thrift store feel. You can see how everything is curated and placed with care. Items range from antiques, video games and comics to classic toys, comic books, signs and so much more. Find Mike and Vintage games on all the social media sites by searching Vintage Games and Junque. This week's podcast promo: Earth Station Who

Captain Distraction strikes again. And appears when you least expect it. Short attention span theatre is a real thing, but also a fun name for this episode. It is our theory that attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Shawn believes attention spans have been getting worse, while Amanda thinks they have always been pretty bad. What is the truth of the matter....the world may never know! As a species, humans have always been distracted by the next big thing. Focusing on one thing at a time is quite difficult. You don't want to miss out on something, but you still want to pay attention to the current thing, but that rock is really shiny, and that animal looks so weird, but what is that noise in the background and hey, what are you eating right now! What competes for our attention? How do we stay on track? We have television, books, video games, texting, phone calls, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, magazines, Snapchat, movies, friends and so many more things to contend with. And in the past there may not have been as many things, but humans still found ways to be distracted. Before digital technology, we had newspapers, radio, Walkmans, drugs and so many other things as well. Many of us suffer from big screen syndrome. We lose focus. We can't pay attention with so many things going on in the background. Being alert and mindful may be the only way to ground ourselves. This week's podcast promo: ESDCU