Overthought, A Podcast

So many performing artists find themselves sharing their lives with people from outside the artsy career pool. Coincidence? For Chris and Isaiah, two strong proponents of this odd-couple lifestyle, the benefits are manifold. Are there drawbacks? And what goes ON in the minds of these Citizens of the Real World, drawn like masochistic moths to people in the grip of the greedy artist life? This episode (featuring a dramatic sound-quality upgrade that occurs mid-cast) was inspired by a suggestion from celebrity Schmopera-blogger Jenna Douglas. You can suggest too! -=- Show notes -=- Twitter - Jenna Douglas https://twitter.com/jennamariepiano Schmopera http://www.schmopera.com/ What Three Words http://what3words.com/ IMDb - Dark Victory (1939) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031210/ YouTube - Clip from Dark Victory-Judy becomes blind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZeIpxAyaxs Website - xkcd - ( https://xkcd.com/859/ Website - Cornell Astronomy - Ask an Astronomer http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/physics/81-the-universe/stars-and-star-clusters/stargazing/373-why-is-it-easier-to-see-a-star-if-you-look-slightly-to-the-side-intermediate Website - Reddit - LPT:When trying to see an object in the dark dont look straight at it but slightly next to it, itll be way easier to see. https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/3npg1p/lptwhen_trying_to_see_an_object_in_the_dark_dont/ YouTube - Codenames (Board Game) - How To Play https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8RWBooJivg © Copyright 2016, Isaiah Bell & Chris Mayell

Life is crazy, OK? The ups. The downs! Even the middles... are crazy. And everything is exaggerated under the microscope of performance pressure. So it's healthy to try to keep an even keel when possible, yes? Honestly? We don't know. Is it false and unhelpful to force "balance" in the face of the vicissitudes of life? For those of us whose ultimate Saturday night involves peace, quiet, and an early bedtime, adrenaline and nerves are hard to embrace. But what if life just Isn't about feeling normal? Things get very real very quickly in this episode, and the whole discussion is capped off by what could possibly be the most depressing Benjamin Button tagline ever imagined. Remember: we know nothing. -=- Show notes -=- Video - Our (unused!) Acceptance Speech for the 2016 Podcast Awards #pc2016 https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Foverthought%2Fvideos%2F1740566242853698%2F Website - Daniel Taylor, Countertenor - 'Four Thousand Winter' CD http://www.danieltaylor.ca/four-thousand-winter/ Book - 'The Cambridge Companion to Monteverdi', by John Whenham, Richard Wistreich https://books.google.ca/books?id=MvW1CPh84MwC Website - Dan Benjamin, host of Back to Work http://benjamin.org/ Article - 'Ontario funeral business dissolves the dead, drains liquid into sewer system', by http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.3643765/ontario-funeral-business-dissolves-the-dead-drains-liquid-into-sewer-system-1.3643771 Image - 'My Childhood Punishments' http://www.overthoughtpodcast.com/images/My_Childhood_Punishments.png Book - 'Tale of Genji' http://www.taleofgenji.org/summary.html YouTube - 'Gattaca' - Never saved anything for the swim back https://youtu.be/GM-znjDGubE?t=3m14s

It took two false starts (Episode 35 and "The Bad One") and an 11th-hour data-loss scare before our discussion of Boundaries could be unleashed upon the world. [But aren't boundaries always difficult to establish? ...*sage nodding*...]

Chris can find himself going WAY beyond the call of duty in his dealings with certain hard-to-please clients... But is it keen business acumen, or poorly defined boundaries?

Meanwhile Isaiah reveals a shocking and unfortunate default mindset (another one?!) - a sort of evil twin to "innocent until proven guilty". Do we people-pleasers actually look for excuses to enable other people to take advantage of us? And are we just vulnerable to other people's problems because we're Sensitive Artistes?

This episode features our first attempt at introducing ourselves and "who we are today" at the top of the show. Because even we get our voices confused sometimes. For serious. -=- Show notes -=- Website - Car2go http://car2go.com/ Website - IMDb - Lady Dynamite (TV Series, 2016-) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4789300/ Website - Instagram - MaximumMabel (Isaiah's dog) http://instagram.com/maximummabel Article - 'Why Don't You Respond to My Awesome Email Messages?', by Merlin Mann http://www.merlinmann.com/faqs/merlin-connectedness-and-the-so-called-s/why-dont-you-respond-to-my-awesome-email-messages.html Article - Bring Versus Take http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/bring-versus-take Article - 'Are You a People Pleaser?', by Sherry Pagoto Ph.D. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shrink/201210/are-you-people-pleaser Article - '21 Tips to Stop Being a People Pleaser', by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. http://psychcentral.com/lib/21-tips-to-stop-being-a-people-pleaser/ YouTube - Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross, "Always Be Closing" Full Speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4PE2hSqVnk Featured Image - 'three-fifty-six/three-sixty-five', by Laura Bittner https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfsavard/5835640388 Modified to include Show Title and Overthought 'O-style' Logo

For the first time ever, Chris and Isaiah are podcasting simultaneously from the very same room!? To mark this momentous occasion, and the arrival of Episode Number Lucky 37, we're talking about Good Things! Positivity! Optimism! For one thing: why is it so much easier to focus on the negative? Perhaps we learn more from bad experiences - but is life appreciation a skill we can actually acquire? And is there some universal truth behind "The Secret" or is optimism naïve? We also bid goodbye — for now — to our omnivorous Disclaimer (with a duet recitation!). Episode 38 will herald somewhat of a new dawn in our format, but don't worry - if circuitous navel-gazing is what you've come for, circuitous navel-gazing you shall have. -=- Show notes -=- Website - Schmopera http://www.schmopera.com/ YouTube - Lemur Requires To Scratch His Back https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Znh2WNem8I YouTube - Viral Video UK: Monkey loves to be groomed! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y21LdIwXk4c Website - Instagram - Mabel The Dog https://www.instagram.com/maximummabel/ Website - Classical Classroom, with host Dacia Clay | Houston Public Radio https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/shows/classical-classroom/ YouTube - 'Travelling Companion', by David Wilcox https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jecs8ZUgw7U YouTube - 'Louis CK - about airplane Wi-Fi' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFsOUbZ0Lr0 Featured Image - 'Cocoa Avocado Brownies' by Janet Hudson https://www.flickr.com/photos/veganfeast/4677146181 Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0); modified to include episode title and 'Overthought' 'O-style' logo/ © Copyright 2016, Isaiah Bell & Chris Mayell All Rights Reserved

Dear Overthought Podcast Subscribers: This is not a drill. Things went seriously wrong this week, and, well, we didn't have time to make good. It's not that we didn't record. We did. It's just... Well, we all have off days — right?? Anyway. There are those among you with a macabre fascination for the depths of human neurosis. To you, and you alone, we offer up — with this caveat — a tangled, halting, and perversely meta cri de coeur uncomfortably reminiscent of an improvised open-mic homage to "Synecdoche, New York" performed by a pair of jet-lagged preteens with crippling social anxiety. Sure, there's a compelling misquote or two. Yes, if you listen through to the end there's some pretty badass 1000-year old poetry juxtaposed against haiku that just couldn't be fresher (composed in real time, you guys). Aching to hear Mrs. Dalloway analyzed at length by someone who hasn't read it since college? Look no further. But, let us reiterate: it's no good. (Not Mrs. Dalloway — that stuff is gold... If memory serves.) We literally could not even get through the disclaimer, which was eventually abandoned on the wayside like a malfunctioning disposable camera. But we'll make it up to you! Next week is Episode Number Lucky 37 and, for the first time ever, Chris and Isaiah will be recording In The Same Room. There's even a rumour it will be a Double Episode. Double Rainbow!! It's always darkest before the dawn? -=- Show notes -=- Book - The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/189048.The_Ink_Dark_Moon Book - The Collapse of Western Civilization, by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K33E4J2/ Website - IMDb - The Hours http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274558/ Book - 'The Hours', by Michael Cunningham http://www.amazon.com/Hours-Novel-Michael-Cunningham/dp/0312243022 Featured Music: Sousa - With Pleasure (Dance Hilarious) - United States Marine Band, via MusOpen https://musopen.org/music/445/john-philip-sousa/with-pleasure-dance-hilarious/ Theme Music: Slyvius Leopold Weiss's Preludio in E Major, played by Jeff Carter https://musopen.org/music/181/sylvius-leopold-weiss/ponce-preludio-in-e-major/ © Copyright 2016, Isaiah Bell & Chris Mayell All Rights Reserved

In the most extreme occurrence of invasive OUTBREED (Overthought Unrelated Tangent Based on Recent Experience, Event, or Discovery) ever recorded, Chris and Isaiah set out to discuss one topic and end up spending the entire hour on a very different one. While Chris contemplates wading into a new market (NEW! YORK! CITY!), Isaiah confronts old anxieties in the audition room. What would happen if every bad thing we're secretly afraid of actually came true? Are risks and investments wasted if we can't show our best selves when it matters most? How can we convince that tender little turtle of creative individuality to stick out his head in a hostile environment? Startling Admissions! Shocking Techniques! Real World Tales In Gritty, Unflinching Detail! Begin befriending your own inner child today, with the help of our combined sixty-four (64!) years of life experience.... -=- Show notes -=- YouTube - Katamari Damacy - Full HD gameplay on PCSX2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVVW41iAu5A Article - 'The Weight Watchers: Candid photos taken by an obese woman reveal how strangers REALLY react to her on the street - from disapproving smirks to looks of disgust', by Siofra Brennan http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3385085 YouTube - David Wilcox performs "Start with the ending" at WDVX https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKauiG9TRRs Wikipedia - Sky Gilbert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Gilbert Joel Klein Music - Maria Toilette http://jkleinmusic.wix.com/mariatoilette#!work/cjg9 Book - The Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant: Madame Husson's "Rosier" (Le Rosier de Madame Husson) https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/maupassant/guy/madame-husson-s-rosier/ Website - ImDB - Friends - 'The One with the Fake Monica' http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583603/ Image - Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs, but with WiFi http://www.overthoughtpodcast.com/images/maslow-but-with-wifi.jpg Featured Image: 'Reese Loves Pizza', by Donnie Ray Jones, (Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)) - cropped, and modified to include show logo and show title https://www.flickr.com/photos/donnieray/16700520875 Featured Music: Sousa - With Pleasure (Dance Hilarious) - United States Marine Band, via MusOpen https://musopen.org/music/445/john-philip-sousa/with-pleasure-dance-hilarious/ © Copyright 2016, Isaiah Bell & Chris Mayell All Rights Reserved

and it opens the door for us to fully realize our creative potential. Right? ........riiiiiight. The course of uvulas never did run smooth, as Shakespeare probably once said. Singers so regularly hear that technique is our bedrock and our safety net that it seems obvious (to those of us living inside or own heads) that the path to consistency lies in closely monitoring and controlling the actions of our bodies. But singing is infinitely more than just the mechanics of bellows, reed, and resonance. And believing we can always achieve the desired results with just this limited view of "technique" is a recipe for frustration. But can an overthinker ever learn to trust the less concrete forces that shape our art??? In this episode, the fellas spend an unprecedented amount of time on Highly Relevant tangents and preamble BEFORE even launching into the central theme, so if you hate fun, fast forward to 23:44! -=- Show notes -=- Clemance Hall Creative https://www.facebook.com/clemancehallcreative/ WebMD - EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/emdr-what-is-it Article - 'The surprisingly easy way to reduce your anxiety', by Amy Ellis Nutt https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/04/07/the-surprisingly-easy-way-to-reduce-your-anxiety-thank-you-very-much/ Website - Altschmerz - Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/101336431208/altschmerz YouTube - Schmopera - On Opera Singers and Recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKN27ZVONRQ Image - A Guide for Walking from Chris' Place to Isaiah's Place http://www.overthoughtpodcast.com/images/chris-walks-to-isaiah.jpg YouTube - Natalie Dessay - Amor (Richard Strauss Opera Scenes & Lieder) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke7AU5NbHDE Article - 'Use Interval Training to Hit Your 5K and 10K Potential', by Greg Hitchcock http://www.active.com/running/articles/use-interval-training-to-hit-your-5k-and-10k-potential Article - Wikipedia - Matsuo Basho https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsuo_Bash%C5%8D Featured Image: 'Rubik's Cube Solution', by Patrizio Custico, via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/kirtaph/2919026200 Featured Music: Sousa - With Pleasure (Dance Hilarious) - United States Marine Band, via MusOpen https://musopen.org/music/445/john-philip-sousa/with-pleasure-dance-hilarious/ © Copyright 2016, Isaiah Bell & Chris Mayell All Rights Reserved

"It's 4 p.m. and I haven't been a useful member of society yet," says Chris at the top of the show. When schedules are self-directed, the pressure to make our time count can be at its worst. Which could be fine, were it simply to motivate us and then dissipate. Unfoooortunately, the feeling that we're not getting enough done often persists after - and even during - productive periods. In addition to causing general discomfort, this can interfere with our ability to recharge and with our capacity to enjoy the non-work side of life. Ironically, it can also actually impede creativity and productivity, leaving us skipping restlessly from one thing to the next in a vicious cycle of dissatisfaction. Why? Ask our pioneer ancestors, I guess. Chris and Isaiah peel back the layers in what is likely an ongoing exploration of what drives us to be driven. PLUS EXCITING SPECIAL BONUS: stay tuned til the end for a mini-preview of one thing our productivity is producing these days — a show written by Isaiah and starring Chris (alongside a cornucopia of other Canadian talent) next January! -=- Show notes -=- Image - Screen capture of Chris' daily step count http://www.overthoughtpodcast.com/images/Chris_209steps.jpg IMDb - 'The Entire History of You', Black Mirror http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2089050/ 'When You Die, Your "In Basket" Won't Be Empty', by Richard Carlson https://simplifime.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/when-you-die-your-%E2%80%9Cin-basket%E2%80%9D-won%E2%80%99t-be-empty/ Book - 'Don't Sweat the Small Stuff', by Dr. Richard Carlson http://dontsweat.com/ Book - 'Getting Things Done®', by David Allen http://gettingthingsdone.com/ Book - 'Mindfulness with Breathing: A Manual for Serious Beginners', by Ajahn Buddhadasa Bhikkhu https://books.google.com/books?id=9OEsCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT27&lpg=PT27 YouTube - Cricothyroid Joint movement stretching the vocal folds of the larynx Melissa Largent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HczwMpcyXSs YouTube - Dog of Wisdom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-UmfqFjpl0 YouTube - Family Guy, Season 13 - Scary Stuff, LUNCH! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZeZ3770uvA Featured Image: 'Bamboo' by Rob King, via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/photobyrk/5641360963 Featured Music: Sousa - with_pleasure (dance hilarious) - United States Marine Band, via MusOpen https://musopen.org/music/445/john-philip-sousa/with-pleasure-dance-hilarious/ © Copyright 2016, Isaiah Bell & Chris Mayell All Rights Reserved

Are you an artist? Have you ever heard someone innocently say something like "Keep following your dreams!" and had an irrational attack of irritability? (If not, DO keep following your dreams! Passion gives your soul wings. #blessed). We know being a professional in the arts is a privileged position, but clichés about the magic and whimsy of the artist's life can still touch a nerve. Is it because we'll always be hungry to be taken seriously? Or does that free spirit from the TV commercials just bear no relation to our real lives? Chris and Isaiah unpack the reasonable and less-than-reasonable elements of this knee-jerk reaction, and in the process Chris composes a topical haiku - ON THE SPOT, you guys! -=- Show notes -=- YouTube - Leo Reisman Casino Royal Orchestra - Katie Went To Haiti 1939 Cole Porter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6RavpanzGc Schmopera - 'The Business of Passion' by Isaiah Bell http://www.schmopera.com/the-business-of-passion/ Schmopera - 'Performers: unwilling players of mind games', by Jenna Douglas http://www.schmopera.com/performers-unwilling-players-of-mind-games/ Webpage - Tom Diamond, director http://www.pov.bc.ca/bios/diamond.html Featured Music: Sousa - with_pleasure (dance hilarious) - United States Marine Band, via MusOpen https://musopen.org/music/445/john-philip-sousa/with-pleasure-dance-hilarious/ © Copyright 2016, Isaiah Bell & Chris Mayell All Rights Reserved

We're all familiar with that sickest of grown-up burns: I'mnotmad, I'm just disappointed. Well, we're all grown-ups now; howdowe cope when life disappoints us? With personal failure wecanalways turn our focus to trying to do better next time, butwhatabout when things just don't go out way through no fault ofourown? Do we get mad? Or do we somehow try to stay Zen? Like, doweliterally read half a book called "The Zen Way to MartialArts"[Penguin, 1992] and then try to convince everyone that wenowpractice The Way? Only one thing is certain: Overthoughtepisodesnow feature a wicked haiku sign-off.-=- Show notes -=-Bengal Spice Herbal Tea, by Celestial Seasoningshttp://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/herbal/bengal-spice-herbal-teaYouTube - Lean Startup Lessons: Changing Course on a BusinessIdeaWithout Giving Uphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO5ttpuIuvgBook - 'The Lean Startup', by Eric Rieshttp://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0307887898/IMDb - Black Mirrorhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt2085059/Wikipedia - Be Right Back (Black Mirror), Episode ofBlackMirrorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be_Right_Back_%28Black_Mirror%29'Microsoft silences its new A.I. bot Tay, after Twitter usersteachit racism' [Updated], by Sarah Perez | TechCrunch:http://techcrunch.com/2016/03/24/microsoft-silences-its-new-a-i-bot-tay-after-twitter-users-teach-it-racism/Book - 'The Zen Way to the Martial Arts', by Taisen Deshimaruhttp://www.amazon.com/Zen-Way-Martial-Arts-Japanese/dp/0140193448'Mozart's movements and behaviour: a case of Tourette'ssyndrome?',by Aidin Ashoori and Joseph Jankovichttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2117611/Book - 'The Inner Game of Music', by Barry Green, W.TimothyGallweyhttp://www.goodreads.com/book/show/848522.The_Inner_Game_of_MusicBook - 'The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to theMentalSide of Peak Performance', by W. Timothy Gallweyhttp://www.goodreads.com/book/show/905.The_Inner_Game_of_Tennis?from_search=true&search_version=serviceTwitter - @depressionarmy, Depression Army™https://twitter.com/depressionarmyFeatured Music: Sousa - with_pleasure (dance hilarious) -UnitedStates Marine Band, via MusOpenhttps://musopen.org/music/445/john-philip-sousa/with-pleasure-dance-hilarious/© Copyright 2016, Isaiah Bell & Chris MayellAll Rights Reserved