The Hello Calgary Podcast

The Prophet Esau, Infectious and Easy Evan ignite this new season of conversation over a blazing fire in our newly renovated outdoor studio. From familiar discussions about wine and poetry to the range of topics introduced in our new format for season 2 entitled "going public", we encourage you to speak your mind and join us on the streets of Calgary if you see our sign. Freedom of voice!

In this final episode of our inaugural season, the Prophet Esau is joined by "Unknown Guest" to discuss throw-away dogs, anonymity, branding, politics, leadership, (cough covid vaccines cough), global governance, and most importantly (according to UG), taking a break from our devices.

I'd like to thank all of the guests who anonymously shared their insights,opinions and humour. Looking forward to season 2, 2022, and more conversations in the greatest city North of the 49th. 

Over our final bottles of cabernet merlot, we ponder love, life and tattoos over Infectious' retelling of the Shakespeare classic Hamlet. We give the censor free reign as we expose our souls and calf muscles, over a medley of recitation and national anthems. 

This is the final installment of this epic cast, many thanks to Infectious and Easy Evan for helping me conclude and declare that "Teaching is dead. Long live teaching!"

The discussion continues with the TIDLLT crew, with Infectious, Easy Evan and the Prophet Esau delving into their first days on the job as new teachers.  They reminisce about the greatest and worst moments in their careers, relating stories from their time teaching together at the same school and how they have evolved with experience.  We touch on a range of topics in this lengthy, epic segment of the "teaching is dead" recording, including curriculum, relationships, memorable moments in teaching and alternative professions.

Hosted collectively by current/former teachers Easy Evan, Infectious and the Prophet Esau, the PIDLLP crew has another fireside wine tasting and discussion that shines a light on the profession of teaching from the inside.  What is the purpose of education?  What pandemic education look like?  Are we teaching the kids the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to survive or thrive in tomorrow's world?  Do we teach subjects or students?

Over a few bottles of beaujolais and Copper Moon, we tell "generalized specific" stories of our shared teaching experience to elucidate our opinions on this profound profession.

On this pet companionship episode we talk to Peter, "Mom" and C-Dawg, three animal lovers who voice their experiences and opinions on their furry friends. From donkeys to ducks,and more traditional pets like dogs and cats, we discuss what makes the best animal companions, pet peeves, domestication and animal consumption, but most importantly,why we keep bringing these special creatures into our lives.

Ricky B joins BMW and I to introduce an ongoing topic on the Podcast: All things 80s. In this episode we dive into the evolution of video games from the original Pong and Magnavox console to the multiplatform games we play today. 

We reminisce on BMW's porch, smoking our pipes in our rocking chairs, naming off the best games all time.  What makes a great game? What's the criteria now? We list our top 5 games of all time while also touching on topics including hockey, the slow death of rock'n'roll and our collective yearning for the return of outdoor concerts.

Freedom of voice (or freedom to shut the f*ck up)... A discussion with the PIDLLP crew (poetry is dead long live poetry) about the importance of voice: 

-having A voice, defining YOUR voice, honing, maintaining and not canceling but educating, reconciling, redefining, valuing and sharing

. blacklisting Charlie Chaplin (cancelled him based on the perspective of the day, should we not be more evolved in our approach to engaging voices)

-What's the difference between irony, parody, spoofs and satire? Are these important to circumventing cancel culture 

I explore these questions with Easy Evan and Infectious, as well as a loose critique of grapes during the 2nd fire and wine session.

A continuation of the conversation on poetry with Infectious and Easy Evan. Topics include poetry content vs performance, international wine comparisons and hipster bars in Boston.

In this episode, I'm joined by Easy Evan and local poet "Infectious" to discuss poetry while conducting a backyard wine tasting of local and international vintages. We will debate the relevance of poetry in the modern age and whether it is the writing or the reader that makes a poem interesting. 

This discussion is broken into 2 parts, the 2nd half dropping soon.