We're Totally (Not) OK

Actor and acting teacher Rachel Bailit not only gets generous with her time and expertise, she also helps us understand what generosity has to do with the work of an actor in our chat about demystifying method acting and how to balance the use of our own selves and memories in our work with the ability to let go and stay attentive in the moment. Pull out all your masks and shove this in their earholes and then go get the vaccine.

ONE COOL THINGS:

Rachel: Communicating through Ancient Greek vases.

Justin’s been taking on more responsibility with his new puppy; Cales showers then gets back into no bra forever howwillshemakeitbackoutinrealworlds; and thank goddesses for our guest who is the ever-delightful, brilliantly-witted, comically-inclined Dena Jackson. Friends, she’s a breath of fresh air and talking to her feels like talking to heart. Shove us in the tunnel tubes to your own heart and listen to Dena talk about comedy, reiki, and tiny egos with loud voices.

Also, it’s t bitty’s birthday (date recorded)! SO HAPPY BORN DAY TO THE QUEEN. 👑

COOL THINGS:

Dena: mindfulness showers

Cales: home herbs & mood mail forewarning!

Justin: wins it all again with puppy Aspen making a guest appearance! THAT FACE! 🥺

Dena Jackson:

Story’s all around us — selling us, buying us, moving us, halting us. But what the heck is it? How do advertisers and screenwriters and friends and fam use it? Gimme the basics, WTNOK!

New friend and long time Story Creator Rodrigo Portaro breaks Story down into basics. He also shares his own story about leaving a career that was making him sad and finding his new path in life, helping others tell stories. Shove us in your earholes to listen to the… story.

Rodrigo Portaro:

Don’t start here! Go one ep back! This is part 2 of 2 of our conversation with documentary filmmakers Omar Mouallem and Dylan Rhys Howard, creators of “Digging in the Dirt” — a documentary film about addiction, suicide, and men's mental health in the Alberta oil sands. Find it on CBC Gem, and listen on to hear them share views on things like:

How do we think about work? Is productivity worth more than life itself? Not sure anyone would openly conquer, but what does our economy’s last — oh, I don’t know — few hundred years reflect? How much of our identities are intrinsically tied into our occupational endeavours? Is work the epitome of our cultural values? Is there that much more of a culture of silence around men’s mental health, given our hegemonic ideologies about masculinity? Does reporting on suicide expose and curb paths that lead to them or encourage copycats? What kind of fear is good to have as a journalist? Emotionally, how does communication like texting or typing differ from speaking the words from your mouth?

So. Many. Questions.

They also open up about their own mental health whilst working on a documentary about suicide. Spoiler alert: one starts going to therapy, the other claims to have been going to therapy long before it was cool.

Let’s get deep and have fun about it.

E-book: Mindset: Reporting on Mental Health

We dive into the social, economical, and emotional expectations of men in the oil & gas culture with documentary filmmakers Omar Mouallem and Dylan Rhys Howard. Their film “Digging in the Dirt” (on CBC Gem) focuses on addiction, suicide, and men’s mental health in the Alberta oil sands. They explore the layers underneath the culture of silence that surround men’s mental health and how men are sometimes stoic to their own detriment.

The more they learned about men’s mental health, the more they were able to reflect on their own personal mental struggles and journeys. If the work didn’t begin personal, it certainly became so.

This was such a poignant and deep conversation that we kept Omar from his kids for an extra episode’s worth of discussion. So, here’s part 1 of 2.

“Digging in the Dirt” on CBC Gem:

Four ladies found each other after each losing their spouses. Their connection led them to start a business together — one that would help others learn how to handle life’s hardships or how to be there for others going through hard times.

Alexie and Shannon from Lost + Found (soon to be known as “Crying Out Loud”) join us for a beautiful convo and an even more lovely reminder that it’s totally OK to not feel OK.

Pause and have a cool little listen. It’s totally fine that you didn’t get everything done today. Be kind to yourself. You deserve it.

N.B.: Some details are intentionally left out to safeguard the wishes of associated individuals.

N.B.B.: Keep it shoved in your earholes ’til the very end for sneak peeks. ;)

insta: @lostandfoundto

TW: spirituality; therapy; reframing obstacles and pain as gifts and opportunities for growth (on a large scale); feeling 'crazy'; triggers in general.

We’re all about personal growth. Sometimes, therapy’s a part of that. For Cales, that means running, meditating, spending a third of her budget on crystals and soul-talk; for Justin, it’s pasta.

But what's in a soul? Has anyone ever been able to aptly describe a soul? Heck, nah. Does that stop us from trying to deconstruct it in this episode? Also, nah. We interview Naranjan Nota — a spiritual intuitive — to try to understand what it means to “get deeper” and learn common issues her clients are facing in their days of isolation.

Cool Things:

Cales’:

Disconnecting from social media (hypocritically, of course)

Justin’s:

Beautiful homemade postcards

Connect with Naranjan:

From a young age, Erin envisioned her future self as a blooming Bettie Page. Today, you can not only catch her in stunning pin-up photos, she’s on-stage, behind the camera, and regularly on the mic with her own Sonar Network podcast The Bed Post Podcast. This past weekend, you may have caught Cales and Justin guesting over there. Now, we give you the other half of our conversation about sex, kink, comedy and more with Toronto performer, producer, sex worker Erin Pim. We learn Beyoncé is the answer to protecting your sex vids, BBC doesn’t always stand for the British Broadcasting Corporation, and that you can catch a supportive community of Toronto doms getting their park on some weekends to play with their non-human dogs.

One Cool Things

Erin’s:

Sex worker support network  

comeasyouare.com

Cales’:

Man in Polyester, 1980 by Mapplethorpe Penis

Did we interview one of Caleigh’s exes? Did we shove a joke-a-minute into this new favourite episode? Is this one big sponsored ad for Whirlpool? MOSTLY, NO. ONE-AND-A-HALF YESES. (But actually sponsored by the dating app, Hiii.)

We’ve been holding out on you — David Elmaleh stopped by near the beginning of this year and we kept him all to ourselves all this time because HE’S SO FAHKING GREAT. But, like, fine. We’ll share.

David opens up about depression, taking pills, crossing lines with comedy and entertains ALL 👏🏽 DAY 👏🏽 LONG 👏🏽. It also warms our hearts because there is no mention of the coronavirus… oops, until just that then there now. Meh! This’ll distract you! (But then go educate yourself and wear an effing mask.)

SHOVE IT IN YER EARHOLES.

Cool Things:

Justin’s:

Cheese Chocolate? Whatever you enjoy, DO IT. HAVE IT. LIVE IT.

Cales’:

The world is a freaky place. Like REALLY freaky. Instead of spending half an hour adding to your Covid anxiety, we're talking about another reason to lock your doors and say goodbye to the sun: stalkers. Much like Covid, you'd rather not have it, and if that means social isolation for a few weeks, then so be it. How do we behave with social media? Or when your place of work is listed on a public linked in? Learn about some of our creepy experiences and the takeaways (along with professional advice) that you should probably know. Just in case. 

Meh. Life’s short. 😳🤷🏻‍♀️

Professional Resources:

Canadian Resource Centre For Victims of Crime

Call: 1-877-232-2610

Text: 1-613-208-0747

N.B.: This episode was recorded on an earlier date.

The superbly delightful Sarah Ney joins us in-studio to talk about Wildlings — an educational camp for kids, providing authentic outdoor experiences and equal access to programs by children in all areas of The Georgian Triangle. Sarah shares her vision for Wildlings, her joy for nature, and a personal story that brought her to where she is with it all.

Please note, we talk about some sensitive stories, which may have the potential to be trigger-some — things such as PTSD, suicide. We also talk about those moments we say, “I’m fine,” how it’s OK to go to therapy, take medication, or cancel plans.

A girl who rarely spoke as a kid, Sarah opens up and runs our hearts over with love, for her, for our younger generations, for each other, for this world.

Supports the passions of kids at the Wildlings by sending a child to camp or donating here:

We all have struggles, right? Maybe not. Sharadha’s just not a believer that life has to be a struggle. It’s all about POV, baby. And my-oh-my, does she not only have us believing in the potential of positivity, she leaves ya with a feeling of blissful inspiration.

Sharadha is a former (let’s not lie, a soon-to-be-re-emerging) producer, stylist, and obsessive sewist. She opens up about kicking off her producing dreams at the ripe age of 16, leaving TV, building clothes, her relationship with her modern audience, meditation, and taking responsibility rather than blaming other.

We also learn the ONE thing Justin’s not good at. And while this episode’s supposed to be all about Sharadha, we spend a LOT of time complimenting Justin — which he does 👏🏽 not 👏🏽 like 👏🏽.

Don’t worry, we also reveal the most exciting thing in life: getting back to yourself.

Oh, and why you should watch Bollywood films specifically for teeth.

#millennialsewing

#sewcial

ONE COOL THINGS

Cales’

Dream journaling

Learn what stage of sleep we dream in here:

Well firstly: Welcome to Season Two!  

We've got lots of exciting news to share this season, with a lineup of awesome guests and interesting people. BUT BEFORE WE DO THAT; Let's spend a bit of time getting to know Tanya 2.0 (AKA Justin!). 

From theatre, to interior design, and beyond, Justin sits down and shares a little bit of his experience including how he and Cales met! It's a doozy.  We also talk about SIM Card boys, traveling the globe, and much much more.  While it's bitter sweet to say goodbye to Tanya, it's time to say hello to Justin.