The Lost Art of Writing Letters and Communicating with One Another?

ideacity On The Air Podcast:
Simon Garfield 

I wrote in my last post about listening to podcasts featuring Simon Garfield  -

Spooky Dog Tales for Cat Lovers?

and I found the above talk Simon gave in Canada about letter writing, which made me ironically think, with today being Halloween, about the poor Chinese guy who wrote a letter and placed it in a Halloween headstone box heading for Kmart -

The Brave New World of 1984?.

Letter from Chinese Laborer
 Pleading for Help

I'm also in the middle of reading Trent Dalton's novel 'All Our Shimmering Skies' about a gravedigger girl named Molly Hook, who when not digging graves helps mourners in what to write on their departed loved one's headstone.

And now I see Trent has a new book out, not about love letters, but 'Love Stories' which he bangs out the old-fashioned way on a typewriter.

Maybe I should tell Trent about my love for "synchromysticism" someday, but I'd be only wasting time maybe ... like writing love letters?-)

Mark (Not Charlie) Manson and Not Giving a F#ck?

I guess we all love a good story, whether, happy, sad or tragic ... and someone to read or listen to them?

Spooky Dog Tales for Cat Lovers?

Dog’s best friend: A brief history of an unbreakable bond

.

Big [Dumb?-] Ideas Podcast: 
Dog's best friend?

Timekeepers

Last Monday I thought I would do an Apple Podcast search for podcast episodes featuring the author of the 'Timekeepers' book that I'm currently reading.

And while I didn't find a podcast featuring him talking about his 'Timekeepers' book, I did find one featuring him talking about his dog book.

And even though I'm more of a cat person I gave it a listen, which probably made me more of a cat person when I had finished listening:-)

Hearing Simon talking about taking his dog to the local "dog cinema" to mingle with other dog owners made me wonder what movie you would take a dog to see?

Although 'Cujo' took no time at all springing to mind:-)

10 Halloween Dog Movies to Watch with your Dog?

Then I listened to the latest 'The Moth' podcast and it was a Halloween episode featuring a guy talking about dressing up as his dead dog to go trick or treating one year.

Well, I guess a moth is a symbol of transformation, much like a butterfly is?-)

Moth Verses Butterfly Symbolism

No wonder I'm starting to really swing to the side of the cat lovers lately;-) 

The Moth Podcast: 
2021 Halloween episode

As I'm mulling over how anyone in their right mind would think a "dog cinema" would be a good idea, the perfect doggy cinema movie pooped into my head ... 'Dumb AND Dumber TO';-)  

MEOW!!

I'll pass on Simon's dog book and stop wasting time on podcasts about dogs and their stupid owners and get back to reading his much more interesting 'Timekeepers' book;-) 

I would have thought Simon would have preferred a better watchdog to have around the home though:-)

At least the Big Ideas podcast tagged a talk on the end by Helen Brown about cats to bring some sanity to the episode -

Cleo

I guess 'Cleo' would be the dog lovers equivalent to 'Cujo' when it came to animal horror stories?

Time to stop making lame jokes about cats, dogs and dog owners, I guess?-)

Time Warps ... Again?

Frankenstein (The Movie) Turns 90?

UPDATE: October 31st, 2021

Dog's Best Friend by Simon Garfield,
 read by Julian Rhind-Tutt

I'm a glutton for punishment (much like a dog owner is I guess?-) and just had to have a listen to more podcasts I found in another Apple podcast search for episodes featuring Simon Garfield while I was trying to nod off to sleep last night.

Just My Type by Simon Garfield,
read by Julian Rhind-Tutt

Well, Simon sure isn't "TYPE CASTING" himself when it comes to writing books, by the looks and sounds of it:-)

DOG TYPES?-)

Ep 34 - Simon Garfield and his
new book, Dog’s Best Friend

I was surprised to hear in the above podcast episode the host say that the dog book is Simon's 20th book.

I heard the guys say that dogs originated from wolves, so I thought here is another movie for the dog cinema "Halloween" list that runs rings around all of those movies on the Top 10 list above ...

The Grey:-)

And 'The Grey' turns 10 this year according to its IMDB page, so I might have to pick this as my Halloween movie to watch tonight ... with no pets around me:-)

Plus, in my Australian state of Queensland it just happens to be Grandparent's Day, so what better movie to watch than 'The Grey' tonight I say?-)

Got Your Queensland Grandparents Day Pumpkin For Sunday October 31st Yet?

Ep 1 - Beverley Knight, MBE,
  From Fear To Rescue

I was curious to have a listen to episode #1 of 'A Dog's Best Friend' podcast as to hear the motivation for starting the podcast, and I was amused that the first guest Beverley Knight (who I hadn't heard of before now) was born in Wolverhampton and also had a role in the stage play 'CATS':-)

... that Beverley is a Cats person really:-)

Beverley Knight, MBE

Beverley Knight is a keen supporter of home city football club Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Once more into the fray ...
Live and die on this day?

Mick Fanning was Born the Day George Walsh Died?

June 13, 1981

Michael Eugene Fanning AO
  (born 13 June 1981)

I was reading an old post of mine about Mick Fanning's run in with a shark in 2015 and was wondering if this guy was unlucky or lucky being born on the 13th of June 1981 and thinking I should check to see if he wasn't born on a Friday -

Did Back to the Future 2 Predict Mick Fanning's Shark Attack?-)

George Walsh
(March 16, 1889 – June 13, 1981)

Turns out that Mick was born on a Saturday, but a lot of American websites that tell you what happened on certain days in history, and who was born and died on the day, don't even mention Mick being born on June 13th, 1981.

June Thirteenth, 
Nineteen Eighty-One

Top 1981 boy name Michael,
as in Michael J Fox?-)

Most mention a silent movie star named George Walsh departing this mortal coil on that day though, as well as actor Chris Evans being born on that day ... but not Mick.

Chris Evans

But I was surprised to find out that the actor who died the day Mick Fanning was born starred in a 1920 silent movie called 'The Shark'!?

The Shark (1920)

And it was made by Fox Studios.

As in Michael J. Fox:-)

I also noticed that Fox and Fanning are almost born exactly 20 years apart, with Fox being born on June 9, 1961 and Fanning June 13, 1981, meaning that Mick celebrated his 40th birthday this year, while Michael celebrated his 60th birthday this year.

George Walsh as Shark Rawley

Fate, or Just Dark Coincidence?

So, it’s a synchronicity combined 
with a tale of woe?

Hook Island and Sharks: A Geographic Synchronicity?

Why Woo-Woo Works ... and Sells Well, Too?-)

I listened to Dr. David Hamilton on the Guy Lawrence Podcast, after listening to the podcast I wrote a post about recently featuring Wayne Dyer's youngest daughter, Saje -

Not Knowing That May 11th, 2021 Was the 20th Anniversary of DNA's Passing?-)

Douglas Noel Adams 
(11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001)

The Guy Lawrence Podcast:
Why Woo-Woo Works - 
Dr David Hamilton

I had not heard of Dr David Hamilton (or have read any of his books) until listening to Guy's podcast interview with him, but I certainly will be buying a few books to read down the line ... if it should be my fate to do so, that is?-)

And there are a few others of David's that I'm KINDa interested in reading:-)

I think I'm feeling better already by just thinking about reading these books in the future, or am I just imagining that I am?-)