Love, Heartbreak & Poetry - 135

Love and heartbreak both lead to poetry. This week, we take a little trip down memory lane. I'm going through my archives and sharing some of my poetry with you. We will be thinking about love, happiness, longing, anger, acceptance, and so many other emotions.

First though, there is some feedback to share. And I have a self-help book to recommend, although I do not agree with the term 'self-help'

Sit back and relax. It is time to be nostalgic about love and heartbreak through poetry.

The 14 poems are as follows:

Acceptance?

Bitter Aftertaste

Blank Page

Cherry

Encounter at the Terminal

Everyday

Idealization

Love's Resurgence

Still

The Lone Essential Truth of Human Existence

The Muse

I'm So Happy!

Truth to Tell

The Site of our First Kiss

This week's podcast promos: the Flopcast, ESO Patreon

A Father and Son Chat - 134

My son stops by for a quick father and son chat.

What does Bishop want to do with his life? What are his thoughts about the future? We discuss what he has been learning in school. Is he actually learning anything? Well, it's hard to tell from what he says, but it does appear some things are getting through to him.

We talk about my education, my dreams of opening a bar, and what it would be like if I could start my life over. Bishop gives a definition of what success means to him, and he tells us about the kind of power he would like to have.

We round out our discussion by talking about movies and pop culture. I have been trying to round out his classic movie education, and for the most part, he has been enjoying my efforts.

This week's podcast promo: Earth Station DCU

2020 Vision - 133

Radical honesty and the future of the Soul Forge Podcast.

So we all have an idea of what our lives are supposed to be; a vision for what we want, what we need, and how we wish to be seen. This year, I've put a lot of thought into who I am, who I am becoming, and my 2020 vision for the podcast.

The plan is to focus on success stories. Past episodes have focused on mental health. That is all well and good, but this year I want to take a look at people who are already where they want to be. Not all episodes will have this focus however. There will still be the usual kinds of shows. Sprinkling success stories every few episodes will be a nice change of pace where we can all see the good that is in the world.

I am also embracing who I am. Radical honesty is a new concept for me. Previously, I have been concerned with not rocking the boat. Well, those days are limited. It is time for me to be who I really am. This may involve swearing more, showing my cynical side and who knows what else. We are all in this ride together. So get ready for a year of unexpected diversions into everything real! This is my 2020 vision.

This week's podcast promo: Earth Station Who

Unapologetically Me - 132

2019 taught me a lot about myself. In fact, this has probably been the most progress I have made in a year since 2015. So this episode will detail some of the realizations I have come to. Also, this episode is filled with all kinds of media clips. I have tried to even out the sound levels and think I have mostly succeeded. My apologies if it is not perfect. However, none of us are.

Some topics included in this episode are fear, love, relationships, being an introvert and my new found knowledge that I am, and have always been, an empath. Using various clips from music and pop culture, I try to highlight these topics in an amusing, yet poignant way.

Alternate titles for this episode could have been:

1. Laws, Lessons and Revelations
2. This Is Who I Am
3. 47 Minutes of Bullshit

This week's podcast promo: Earth Station One

Robin’s Rambling Rant

Brother Robin opens up about his struggle with mental health. He lights up a fancy cigarette and unloads many years worth of thoughts. This is Robin's rambling rant!

Robin moved in with his eldest brother about 6 months ago. This was an attempt to get his life back on track. More and more, he has been focusing on his mental well-being. As a cab driver, he often speaks with his clients and tells them about his life and his reasons for moving to Timmins. This is not a proper therapy session, but does allow him to release some of his pent up feelings.

A big part of our conversation deals with his depression and suicidal thoughts. Robin tells us just how close to came to ending everything. He details a horrible childhood, and talks about trying to overcome his limitations. Robin also talks about how he used alcohol as a coping mechanism. There is also some talk about marijuana.

Other topics include losing family members, seasonal depression and his feelings of failure. A main throughline in this rambling rant, is his superhero persona. Brother Robin would often emulate Spider-Man in order to cope with life. While not perfect, sometimes his spider sense saved him from trouble.

This week's podcast promo: Double Edged Double Bill

Mister Rogers & Children’s Television - 130

Mister Rogers is played by Tom Hanks in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Where are the television shows for kids these days that are similar? They simply do not exist. Having gone to the theatre to see the movie, it got me thinking about my own childhood and the shows I grew up on. In this episode, I give a quick review of the movie, and then go through the list of similar shows that I was brought up on. 

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was originally misterrogers in Canada. Therefore, Fred Rogers played a version of himself from 1962 until 2001.

Mr. Dressup was played by Ernie Coombs. The series ran from 1967 until 1996. The show was similar to Mr Rogers in that the host spoke directly to the child watching. Both shows included songs and stories, arts and crafts and imagination games.

Captain Kangaroo ran from 1955 - 1984.

The Friendly Giant which aired from 1958 to 1985 included puppets and had a go slow, gentle nature.

Fred Penner's Place succeeded The Friendly Giant and ran from 1985 to 1997. This was a musical show that educated kids in various subjects.

Sesame Street debuted in 1969 and is still going.

Polka Dot Door 1971 - 1993

Today's Special 1981 - 1987

Under The Umbrella Tree 1986 - 1993

There are likely many other regional shows that never came to national attention. One thing that the most popular shows had in common was that they treated children as individuals with value. Sure, most were hosted by middle-age white men, but that is a product of television history.

This week's podcast promo: Cigar Nerds Podcast

Masturbation: A Handy Guide - 129

An open discussion between 2 men and 2 women on the nature of masturbation.

It's normal, it's natural and it's been around since the beginning of time. Not always an easy discussion, yet most people do it. Masturbation has been depicted in art since prehistoric times, and is both mentioned and discussed in very early writings.

On this episode, your 4 co-hosts cover a wide range of topics having to do with masturbation. This episode is probably not safe for work, and you may not want to listen with your kids. At least not until after you have had a chance to listen first.

Men and women have vastly different experiences when in comes to masturbation. Boys generally talk or joke about it from an early age. Most women do not discuss it until much later. Also, the age when pleasuring oneself is discovered can vary as well.

Guilt and shame are often experienced by both genders. A lot of this may have to do with religious prohibition on such matters. Getting caught is also a consideration.

We also discuss frequency of masturbation, techniques, dangerous situations, games, toys, and places in which to do it. What's the deal with porn and imagination?

All this and more on episode 29 of the Soul Forge Podcast. Stay tuned to the end for a fun scene lifted from the movie I Love You, Man.

This week's podcast promo: CasterQuest

Home Again! Home Again? - 128

Can we go home again?

This week we explore the idea of returning to our roots. The idea of going home again can be very powerful and intoxicating. We must realize, of course, that we are not the people we once were. As time moves on people change. Our homes, even if our family is still living there, are not the same. The structure may be identical, but everyone involved has grown, matured, or changed in some way. So yes, you can go home again, but you need to be aware that everything is different. Your experiences will not be the ones you had before.

The episode is a flow of consciousness type of experiment. Shawn looks back at his life to see how far he has come. There is speculation on what life would be like if Shawn were to return to his home town. Many factors come into play when deciding to make a major life change. Some of these include career path, leaving friends and family, as well as where to live, and the logistics of moving hours away from your base of operations.

Home again! Home again? There are no right answers, however, Shawn has realized he cannot let fear control his decision making any longer.

This week's podcast promos: 42 Cast, ESO Patreon

Marc Maron’s Cats - 127

Random updates, general thoughts, and feedback.

This week Shawn is here to provide you with some much needed updates. He figured it was time to just check it on the situation and fill you in. General chit-chat is never a bad idea!

We start the episode with a mini tribute to Shawn's uncle Frank who recently passed away at the age of 84. You will get a brief background on Frank and the Vanderloo clan.

Shawn will then talk a bit about work. How is he coping with the recent changes? Does he enjoy his new route? All this and more!

Feedback! The feedback section is the largest part of this week's episode. You will find out about Marc Maron and his cats. Listeners were really affected by the clip we played of Marc talking about his cats on WTF episode 993.

The Ghosting episode also inspired a lot of people. We received feedback from Karen, Jarman and Richard. Shawn reads those comments and responds to them. And these comments lead to a discussion about podcasts in general, Jarman's podcast A Play On Nerds, and Shawn's former podcast, Sci-Fi Waffle.

This week's podcast promo: ESDCU

Jokes, Comedians, Laughter - 126

Laughter really is the best medicine. Jokes, comedians and laughter are on the agenda for this week's Soul Forge Podcast. Shawn and Tracy are telling jokes, and trying to make each other laugh. They are discussing some of their favourite comedians. Movies that they find funny are also mentioned.

Shawn's brother Robin has dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian. Or at the very least, going up on stage and giving it a try. If this actually happens, you can be sure we will have a recording on an upcoming episode!

On the topic of comedians and comedy, we talk a bit about comedy specials on Netflix. Some of the comedians we mention in this episode include: Trevor Noah, Jeff Dunham, Marc Maron, Amy Schumer, Arsenio Hall and Ricky Gervais. But there are more discussed.

Tell us about your favourite jokes or stand-up comedians. You can always email the show via soulforgepodcast@gmail.com

Jokes, comedians and laughter! Shawn's favourite comedian made him cry.

This week's podcast promo: Nerdlanta