I’m not sure when I became a fan of Mike Birbiglia, but looking back at his IMDB profile it seems that the first thing I saw him in might have been Going the Distance with Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, who very cutely dated for three years back in the earlier 2000s. I don’t think I knew who he was back then, but going back and watching it again, I remember his character as the waiter (I’ve had this movie on my DVR since 2019, and it was a bit of serendipity that I had it at my fingertips).

The next thing I might know him from is Orange is the New Black, where he played prison Activities Director Danny Pearson for two seasons. Not sure if he registered then. But after his appearance in Orange, and subsequent small roles in Cedar Rapids, Trainwreck, Broad City, and Girls, all that I’ve seen and liked, he must have sunk into my brain somehow. So, when he appeared as Oscar Langstraat, the quicky “venture philanthropist” in Billions, there was just enough of him already imbedded in my brain that made it so easy to find him ambiguously familiar and so likable in that role. Ever since, I’ve always had my eye out for him, so when I saw he had produced a stage show called The Old Man & the Pool, I put it on my list of want-to-dos.

I was looking for things to do over the wonderful, quiet week that is the week between Christmas and the New Year, I decided to take a day to myself and go see two shows that I wanted to see, Old Man and A Strange Loop, the Pulitzer Prize-winning show about an author at war with himself.

I always love that week. It’s usually quiet work-wise, and after the race to the finish that is Christmas Eve, for the last few years I have enjoyed Christmas day as a pajamas, leftovers, and TV day. So, on Christmas day, I took a look at my calendar and Broadway.com, and booked January 8 for a matinee for the pool, and evening performance for the loop.

I’m not one to make new years resolutions. What I am one to do, and especially wont to do this year, is to be more mindful of my time, and the decisions I make around what and whom I give my time to. I once had a therapist point out to me that in times of stress, I tend to hoard time. That was an interesting concept to me because it was something I never thought about, and having my actions explained in that manner was truly helpful. I became more aware of my actions and tried to balance them better when I was in a hoarding phase.

Thanks for reading and listening to this installment of “The Enchant Me Podcast” on kimchantment. You can subscribe for free to receive new posts.

But now, years later and with more life under my belt, time has become a primary currency. None of us knows how much time we have left, and in a way, I’ve not only accepted my time hoarding inclinations, I’ve decided to lean into them.

So, off I went to the Hamilton Train Station on the morning of the 8th. I left early because it was a nice day for January and wanted to see what else there might be to do before the first show, and I wanted to walk.

And walk I did. From Penn Station all the way up to Columbus Circle (and back!). I made two stops before the show: the first one intentional to Breads Bakery on Broadway at W. 62nd for a delicious chocolate babka for me to take home and then an unintentional one at the American Folk Art Museum on Columbus at W. 66th.

The AFAM was a great find an even greater surprise to find there was free admission. It celebrates art done by the self-taught and the exhibition that day, Morris Hirshfield Rediscovered, was awesome and inspiring.

Before I knew it, it was time to head to the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. I don’t always like to know what a show is about. Sometimes you can’t avoid it, but I even managed to avoid even one Hamilton song before I saw it.

Now, I’m not going to go into each story that he told, especially since the show has closed. Perhaps it will be made into a special on a streamer - and it would definitely be worth the time to do that. The stage was minimally set, with just a blue wave-shaped structure that was lit to resemble a pool.

What I will say about the show is that it starts with him retelling what happened at a recent doctor visit. What follows is one harrowing health-care tale after the other, told in a way that is all at the same time self-deprecating, funny, touching, and slightly sardonic. It was excellent, and he is a great storyteller and narrator of his own highs and lows. I left the show with an even bigger appreciation for him. And for time.

Yes, in a way the show came full-circle to one of the exact reasons I decided to take myself on a date to NYC: Time. Hearing scary and unexpected things from doctors is something that Mike dealt with in his show, and something that most of us will hear at some point in our lives.

I left the theater and headed back into the cold, ready to head back downtown for my second show. A quick check of my phone showed a text that the evening performance of A Strange Loop had been cancelled for unexpected reasons.

“What to do with that unexpected time?” I wondered.

I decided to just keep walking south.

Thanks for stopping by. This episode of “The Enchant Me Podcast” is free, so feel free to share it.

Enjoying kimchantment? You can also share the full site with others.

Join The 19 Club for access to subscriber-only content.

© 2024 Kim Selby, The Enchant Me Podcast, Enchant Me Productions & Storm Your Brain, LLC. All rights reserved. All photography © Kim Selby unless otherwise credited.

Click here to access all of “The Enchant Me Podcast” episodes.

Follow kimchantment on Instagram.

Once again, I attempt to restart and reinvigorate something I started a long time ago.

This time, it’s The Enchant Me Podcast.

I started this podcast back in 2018 when podcasts were gaining popularity as a medium, but before they exploded and everyone and their grandmother had one. Come to think of it, if my grandmother was still around, I would love to have had the chance to podcast with her. She was a hoot.

I remember sitting with two friends in a restaurant in Austin, Texas in April 2018 when I got the email from Apple Podcasts that my show had been approved and posted. It was a huge thrill, and I think they thought I was nuts because I am prone to getting very excited and very into new topics and then losing interest when something else catches my attention. Back then I had a folder full of ideas and a head full of new inspirations.

Thanks for reading and listening to this installment of “The Enchant Me Podcast” on kimchantment. You can subscribe for free to receive new posts.

Fast forward, and here I am again, planning to restart something that I lost sight of, but never forgot about. Here’s what I originally wrote about the show and where the idea came from, and here’s what I wrote about myself as the host. I’m feeling pretty rusty and self-conscious talking into a mic again, and my ears hurt when I re-listen to those first half-a-dozen or so episodes. But, no pain, no gain, right?

This episode is just a short wave hello again. I’m looking forward to taking myself on more artist dates and posting more recordings.

Thanks for stopping by. This episode of The Enchant Me Podcast is free, so feel free to share it.

Enjoying kimchantment? You can also share the full site with others.

Join The 19 Club for access to subscriber-only content.

© 2024 Kim Selby, The Enchant Me Podcast, Enchant Me Productions & Storm Your Brain, LLC. All rights reserved. All photography © Kim Selby unless otherwise credited.

Photo credit: Vika Strawberrika, Unsplash.com.

Click here to access all of the The Enchant Me Podcast episodes.

Follow kimchantment on Instagram.

Writing and publishing a book is no small feat, so when my friend announced that he was doing a book signing for a novel he had written, I knew that not only would I go to show support for his accomplishment, it was also a perfect artist date to take myself on. 

A book can be many things to many people, and this book is the tangible result of a writer setting a creative goal and sticking to it. Not only did I enjoy the book – which, by the way, is a page-turning modern gothic mystery – I was so proud and happy for him for being successful in his journey to finish it.

I’m even happier to let you know that he was gracious enough to agree to my request when I asked him to record an excerpt for this episode. So, without further ado, please take a listen above to the full episode and the excerpt.

Buy Grayscale: a novel on Amazon.

Read more about T. Reilly, the author.

Visit T.’s Substack.

A transcript of Episode 106: “Grayscale: a novel” Book Signing can be downloaded here. The episode was originally published on September 11, 2018.

Thanks for reading and listening to this installment of “The Enchant Me Podcast” on kimchantment. You can subscribe for free to receive new posts.

© 2023 Kim Selby, The Enchant Me Podcast, Enchant Me Productions & Storm Your Brain, LLC. All rights reserved. All photography © Kim Selby unless otherwise credited.

Click here to access all of the The Enchant Me Podcast episodes.

Revisiting the past can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Reminiscing about the good old days is something we all do, but what if your “good old days” weren’t so good? Are our memories an accurate representation of what really happened, or do they, over time, become the stories that we’ve told ourselves so many times that they’ve become our reality?

That’s the answer I was after when I decided to attend a realtor Open House at the house where I spent my teen years. Decades later, I categorize that time as the most challenging time of my life, so why would I want to go back? What would I find? What could I possibly find that could be considered inspiring?

As it turns out, maybe our memories are a bit faulty.

Stories, the ones we tell each other and the ones we tell ourselves are powerful. Can they be reshaped with a little distance and a little wisdom? Take a listen at the link above to find out.

Learn more about Steven Pressfield here.

View the Zillow Listing here. (I can’t guarantee how long this link will stay active).

A transcript of Episode 105: Open House can be downloaded here. The episode was originally published on August 15, 2018.

Thanks for reading and listening to this installment of “The Enchant Me Podcast” on kimchantment. You can subscribe for free to receive new posts.

© 2023 Kim Selby, The Enchant Me Podcast, Enchant Me Productions & Storm Your Brain, LLC. All rights reserved. All photography © Kim Selby unless otherwise credited.

House photo credit: Zillow

Tucked on West 28th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues lives something special. I went looking for inspiration for color and DIY ideas where everyone “in the know” goes for anything floral or greenery-related. I spent the morning among florists, wedding and event planners, anxious hosts, excited brides-to-be and helpful shopkeepers all with one goal in mind: to explore the thousands of species of flowers and plants to find just the perfect flower. Perfect shade of pink and purple. Perfect blooms for the perfect event.

Here are some of the links that were mentioned in the episode if you’s like to learn more:

Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York

Fast Company’s “A Beautiful Ode to NYC’s Dwindling Flower District”

The New York Times‘ “A Spin Through the Flower District with Susan Orlean”

The New York Times’ “War of the Roses”

A transcript of Episode 104: Hidden Beauty on West 28th Street can be downloaded here. The episode was originally published on August 3, 2018.

Thanks for reading and listening to this installment of “The Enchant Me Podcast” on kimchantment. You can subscribe for free to receive new posts.

© 2023 Kim Selby, The Enchant Me Podcast, Enchant Me Productions & Storm Your Brain, LLC. All rights reserved. All photography © Kim Selby unless otherwise credited.

Click here to access all of the The Enchant Me Podcast episodes.

In this episode I decided to try something a little different than most of the artist dates I had lined up to escape the cold winter weather that we’d been experiencing. As the title of this post gives away, our time today was spent in a Chair Yoga class with a very interesting and mysterious octogenarian, Carolyn.

So take a listen, and hear how I was reminded to keep always keep our minds open to new experiences and people. You never know what you might find.

A transcript of Episode 103: Chair Yoga with Carolyn can be downloaded here. The episode was originally published on April 23, 2018.

Thanks for reading and listening to this installment of “The Enchant Me Podcast” on kimchantment. You can subscribe for free to receive new posts.

© 2023 Kim Selby, The Enchant Me Podcast, Enchant Me Productions & Storm Your Brain, LLC. All rights reserved. All photography © Kim Selby unless otherwise credited.

Photo credit: Melina Kiefer, Unsplash.com

Click here to access all of the The Enchant Me Podcast episodes.

One of the unexpected benefits of this little adventure into podcasting has been happening since I have started chronicling my artist dates. Being a bit of a planner, it’s been interesting to see how many cool things there are to do in just a couple of hours and that was definitely the case with this episode.

I’m no stranger to Philadelphia’s The Barnes Foundation, but I was a stranger to Slow Art Day, which as it turns out, is a real thing. It seems we now have a “day” for everything: National Chocolate Cake Day (January 27), National Postage Stamp Day (July 1), even the appropriately-time National Doorbell Day (October 31).

But Slow Art Day was new to me. According to the Slow Art Day website, their mission is simple: to help more people discover for themselves the joy of looking at and loving art. The rules are also simple: sing up at a local museum or gallery, attend and look at four pieces of art slowly, discuss your experience with the host.

Turns out, going slow has some real advantages, when looking at art, and when doing other things too. The Barnes Foundation has a wonderful collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Modernist artworks. A trick to making the most of its many rooms and numerous sights to see: go slow…

Click on the link above to listen to the full episode.

From the top left to right, the four works viewed during International Slow Art Day: Edouard Manet’s Laundry, Jules Pascin’s Cuban Hospitality, Henri Rousseau’s Scouts Attacked by a Tiger and Henri Matisse’s Dishes and Melon.  Details of each of the four paintings, and a portrait of Dr. Albert C. Barnes by Giorgio de Chirico. All paintings are oil on canvas.

UPDATE : In what I would rationally call a fortuitous coincidence and irrationally call some kind of sign, I learned later in the evening of the day I posted this, January 2, 2023, that Albert Barnes’s birthday is January 2. He would have turned 151 today.

Read the ARTnews article about the beginning of International Slow Art Day.

A transcript of Episode 102: Going Slow at The Barnes Foundation can be downloaded here. The episode was originally published on April 8, 2018.

Thanks for reading and listening to this installment of “The Enchant Me Podcast” on kimchantment. You can subscribe for free to receive new posts.

© 2023 Kim Selby, The Enchant Me Podcast, Enchant Me Productions & Storm Your Brain, LLC. All rights reserved. All photography © Kim Selby unless otherwise credited.

Click here to access all of the The Enchant Me Podcast episodes.

The Enchant Me Podcast was born from the concept of the ‘artist date’ which is one of the tools for increasing creative capacity and inspiration found in the well-known book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. Basically, the idea is to take yourself each week on a one or two-hour ‘artist date’. The date can be any activity that interests you, or better yet, any activity that enchants you. In each episode we’ll talk about a different date, why we picked it, whether or not it enchanted, and what ideas or inspirations it might have sparked.

Artist dates don’t have to be something traditionally ‘artistic’ like visiting a museum or a gallery. It’s really all about feeding your curiosity, your imagination and your creative spirit. It can be something as simple as visiting a new park or outdoor space, having lunch in a restaurant you’ve always wanted to try but never get around to, or going through that box of old family photos. Artist dates are referred to as “assigned play” in the book and if you approach it from that angle, it makes it easier to come up with different idea each week.

Artist dates are traditionally a solo event. No pets, no friends or family. S-O-L-O. While an Artist Way purist may disapprove, the dates and activities we talk about here sometimes include others.

The book itself is designed to give you tools and techniques to restore and maintain creativity in your life regardless of how that creativity is expressed. It’s worth a read, and there’s a reason it’s maintained relevance since its initial publication more than two decades ago.

About the image: I’ve been lucky enough to have been able to travel to some great places, and Paris is by far my favorite. I feel like if I ever had to choose only one place on Earth to travel to, Paris would be it.

I took this photo of the Salvador Dali mural at the highly recognizable Stravinsky Fountain in the summer of 2016. You can find it at the Place Igor Stravinsky within the historic Beaubourg district of Paris. Situated right next to the Centre Pompidou, one of the city’s most famous museum destinations, it’s definitely worth a visit. Bring a book, a sketch pad, or just sit a people watch for a while. It’s a great place to spend an hour or two.

The fountain has been featured in a number of movies, including one of my favorites, Sabrina, starring Julia Ormond and Harrison Ford.

Thanks for reading kimchantment! You can subscribe for free to receive new posts.

© 2022 Kim Selby, The Enchant Me Podcast, Enchant Me Productions & Storm Your Brain, LLC. All rights reserved. All photography © Kim Selby unless otherwise credited.

Click here to access all of the The Enchant Me Podcast episodes.

This was the very first episode of The Enchant Me Podcast that was released in March of 2018.

The episode takes us back to post-Edwardian England as my mom and I visited a live exhibition of the beloved PBS show, Downton Abbey. We day-tripped to New York City to experience the Downton Abbey: The Exhibition.

Part museum, part memory lane, and all dramatic enjoyment, the exhibit showcased many aspects of the show including sets, costumes and behind-the-scenes info and trivia that is sure to delight the many, many fans the show collected over its six year run.

A transcript of the episode can be found here.