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The Twist Podcast #220: Liquid Peanut Butter, Kayaking in Peru, and Best Jersey Beaches for the End Times
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we join the great peanut butter debate, recommend some documentaries and movies, list the best Jersey beaches for the apocalypse, and check out crazy sports teams mascots. Plus more heinous headlines!
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On Dreamshaping: The Empty-Handed Life
Hands aren’t only for holding and grasping—they’re also for teaching us what it’s like to surrender, palms up, empty-handed. The nothing we find there is often the something we need.
It’s hard to let go of our many identities. Getting up and writing has been ‘who I am’ for forty years or so. The fear we all have is that when something leaves our lives, whether it’s a job, or a creative activity, or a person, we won’t know who we are without it. This is acutely present with caregivers: taking care of someone becomes our identity, and when that person is gone, the loss is compounded by losing the sense of self it gave us: what am I going to do now? How will I spend my days or nights? What will define me?
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The Twist Podcast #219: ‘Swarm’ Stings the Senses, Top Grocery Store Grooves, and a Chat with San Antonio’s Queen Fantasia Wood
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we buzz about the brilliant ‘Swarm,’ find out Rachel’s top grocery store shopping tunes, and listen to a conversation with San Antonio’s ferocious Queen Fantasia Wood.
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Complimentary Audiobooks for New Subscribers!
New at BookFunnel: select audiobooks for email subscribers. Click on any of these and receive the audiobook edition with an email sign up!
Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery
Narrated by Sean RheadIt’s been several years since Kyle Callahan sought the help of a New York City therapist to overcome the trauma of his encounter with a serial killer, and just as long since his investigation into a teenage girl’s murder brought down the Manhattan District Attorney. He and his husband Danny Durban have decided to move away, to start a new life in the idyllic river city of Lambertville, New Jersey. They have friends there. They’ll have peace and quiet. They can leave the hustle and bustle and stresses of America’s biggest metropolis behind. They open a bed and breakfast, and soon discover that murder and mayhem are waiting to check in. There’s a writers conference in town, with big names and big egos heading for a clash—and a killing—of titans. No sooner has the ink dried on the guest registry than Kyle finds himself pursuing another murderer, this one closer to home than they’ve ever come. He enlists the help of his old friend and local resident Linda Sikorsky, once a detective on the New Hope, Pennsylvania, police force. The two of them follow one lead after another in a race against time until the shocking truth is exposed.
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The Return of the Dreamshaping Podcast
I’m still writing my Dreamshaping posts, and I’ve decided to start putting out the podcast again. It never went away, it was just resting! I’m going to aim for at least one a week, preferably two. It will also motivate me to keep writing. This is a project 18+ years in the making, and it’s time to ‘make it so!’
These podcasts, like the blog posts and book chapters, are intended to be short, life-affirming podcasts people can listen to when they have an extra five minutes to make their dreams come to fruition. And the dream begins …
This is the podcast edition of my recent ‘Seeds of Doubt‘ blog post.
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Dreamshaping: Mark the Dreamshaper Dreams of Vegetables (VIDEO)
I set up this raised-bed garden several years ago when we moved to our Jersey house full-time. It’s one of my proudest home achievements, but it’s made with inexpensive wood and I need to shore it up and/or make some replacements. We also want to expand it. So … stay tuned, there will be more as the garden takes shape. It will be fabulous.
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Dreamshaping: Mark the Dreamshaper Dreams of Deer (VIDEO)
Welcome to my Dreamshaping videos. Because … why not? It’s all a dream, we’re the dreamers. Play, create, explore, do what you want to do while you’re in this dream.
In this video I’m raring for spring to get going – just a few days away. I’m excited and renewed. These are also on TikTok.
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Cat Talk Radio with Molly DeVoss and Dewery Vaughn: Why Is My Cat Always Hungry?
Do cats get food obsessions? What types of behaviors do cats exhibit when obsessed with food? What can I do to get my cat to stop pestering me for food?
Cat Talk Radio is all about cats, what makes them do what they do, why they occasionally misbehave and what cat guardians can do to fix it. We educate you on how to modify unwanted cat behavior by providing the proper environment and stimulation, enabling cats to express their natural behaviors in ways that are preferable for both the humans and cats. You will learn how to have fun with your cat, fascinating cat facts and be inspired to try new things, which will lead to a happier relationship and closer bond with your cat. We’ll also call attention to the plight of cats in our country, feel compassion for their challenges and share the message.
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Dreamshaping: Seeds of Doubt
Enjoy an audio small plate. Her name is Bella, and she’ll be your server today.
It’s never too early to doubt yourself. While that’s unlikely to be spoken by the most advanced two-year-old, it seems to be one of the earliest concepts we learn. We teeter on our tiny feet, attempting to walk for the first time. The giants in our lives encourage us, cheering us on to put one foot in front of the other, and then … we tumble. Our faces scrunch up. We probably cry. We wait awhile, looking for signs of approval, and we try again.
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It Never Gets Old: ‘Final Audition: A Marshall James Thriller’ Hits the Amazon Best Seller List – Twice!
In case you wonder why I do book giveaways … Final Audition: A Marshall James Thriller, hit #2 in Gay Fiction free, and #15 in Crime Thrillers free. Kaboom!
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Banned in Tennessee? Peter and the Starcatcher Shocks the Senseless
We saw a production of the delightful Peter and the Starcatcher at Music Mountain Theatre yesterday. Several children were in attendance and appeared to be having as good a time as the rest of us.Then … to my shock … the actors who played pirates were in two scenes dressed as mermaids. Also, there was another pirate who, donning an apron, played the part of a cook/maid. It was a ship filled with men, but somebody had to do it! Or did they?It occurred to several of us that this play, as child-friendly and comical as it is, could not be performed in Tennessee, or soon to be Florida (add to the list as the days go by). There are many, many plays and musicals in the theatrical canon going back hundreds of years, including the original Shakespearean actors who played women’s parts because women weren’t allowed on stage (are we there yet?).If the overlords of censorship and suffocation want to drag us (pun intended) back to a godawful 1940s (and even the people back then had Vaudeville, where crossdressing was common on stage), they CANNOT make exceptions for entertainment they approve of for their children. No “prosthetics breasts” means what it says. Period. Having decided what the rest of us can see, and what we can take our children to see, they cannot be given an out. I’m also of the opinion that book bans must include the Bible, as bloodthirsty and incestuous as it is, and most books in general where heterosexuality is portrayed in any way. Sexuality is sexuality. Cut the crap or stop passing these laws to try and smother our spirits. You will fail.In the meantime, please enjoy this hysterical show. The young boys with their parents in the row in front of us had a great time. -
WondervoxAI Offers Voices to Choose From (Including Your Own!)
WondervoxAI offers an array of voice options to choose from. You can listen to some of them below (there are more, just ask). Or, let us clone your voice! Sound strange? Once you’ve heard an AI clone of your voice, you’ll be amazed at the technology. And you won’t be concerned. Your voice is your voice. WondervoxAI will never use it for anything you haven’t approved, and it will never be shared outside the work we do for you. So check out these voices, and imagine them speaking for your blogs, podcast inserts, articles, columns, or any other narration needs you have. We also do audio mixing! Sound effects, music under the narration, splicing … you ask for it, we provide in most cases.
Anthony
Josh
Rachel
Bella
Mark (that’s me!)
And here’s the text they’re narrating …
Life as we experience it is the ultimate lucid dream—those dreams in which we become aware that we’re dreaming. We look around us in the dream we’re having, and we understand within the dream that we have the power to create it, frame by frame.
What is the shape of your dream, its landscape? What are the things you want in your dream, and, just as importantly, what are the things you want out of it? The toxins, habits and obstacles that limit what you imagine for yourself? The objective is not to reach the end of it—for all dreams end—but to experience it while we’re dreaming, and to know we are not powerless. We’re the set designer! The casting director. The author, the publisher, the camera operator, the conductor. All of it.
All things are of the substance of dreams. Feel the substance in your hands. Shape it to your liking.
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The Twist #218: Combat Queens, Monks in Heels, and the Latest in Resistance Wear
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose we catch fire stoking the resistance, chat about regional foods, salute the combat queens, and scan the heinous headlines.