The Short List: This American Life

Saying This American Life is great is nothing new. It's probably the most listened to podcast in the world, to an audience of about 1.8 million listeners. It's a weekly radio/podcast show with stories on a theme, ranging from the everyday to the extraordinary. It's surprising, informative, devastating, relatable, and easily one of the best hours of my week. It's produced by Chicago Public Radio, distributed by NPR, and hosted by a total babely babe, Ira Glass.

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Spending a lunch hour plugged into my computer, streaming an archived episode off the website, and knitting away is one of my favourite ways to spend my break at work (you can stream off the iPhone app too). So I thought I'd share some of my favourite TAL episodes, a sort of primer if you're uninitiated, and a recommend list for those of you that are. So here they are, the very top seven of This American Life episodes, as decided by me, a random listener who has yet to listen to every episode.

1. 388: Rest Stop
I don't know what it is about this episode, but I just love it. They put nine producers at a rest stop for two days, and let them interview everyone they came across. You get the general manager with a competitive streak, you get parties with the international students working retail, you get romance and families and restaurant lunches. It's just a slice of American life, and holds true to the TAL belief that an average place can hold a surprising wealth of stories.

2. 423: The Invention of Money
This episode is just fascinating. In exploring the nature of money, TAL discovers it's just a fiction. Yep—and it's a fiction everyone needs to believe in for it to actually work. Along the way, they explain how ancient civilizations used currency, how governments create money, and how they can create a stabilized economy with little more than a rebranding campaign. A must listen, for sure.

3. 77: Pray
I'm a sucker for anything claiming to explore the divide between the secular and the religious, as it's something I've had to grapple with a lot in my life. And rather than digging deep into how these two groups can work together, this episode ends up focusing on producer Alix Spiegel's time in Colorado Springs. While she originally went to find out more about the 24-hour-a-day, 365-days-a-year "prayer shield" one parish keeps up, she ended up finding out the surprising true nature of their prayers, and maybe even drinking the Kool-Aid herself. It's an unsettling account, and while it's not one that had me converted, I definitely found myself dreaming about it a few days later.

4. 109: Notes on Camp
This one made me feel like a kid all over again. There's a real reverence and delight in the drama, the excitement, and the rituals of the experience. If you've ever been to sleepaway camp, you will LOVE this one.

5. 84: Harold
This tells the story of Chicago's first black mayor, Harold Washington, who held office from 1983 until his death in 1987. He was one hell of a guy and quite the speaker, addressing his audiences and his opponents as a real human being. He wasn't afraid to call a spade a spade, and seems such a refreshing breath of fresh air in political speeches, normally such a stuffy affair. He was apparently a big source of inspiration for Obama during his campaign – I can only hope more politicians choose to take his lead.

6. 418: Toxie
In this one, reporters from sister blog/podcast Planet Money pool their resources and buy a toxic asset (which they nickname Toxie), then root around inside. I dig this one so much, and I don't really know why. Maybe because it's the first time I've really understood why the recession happened. Maybe it's because nonsense terms like "toxic assets" and "mortgage fraud" finally have a bit of light shone on them. Maybe it's because this huge tumble finally has some humanity at its core. Whatever the reason, I found this to be a really delightful little episode, about some not so delightful things.

7. 374: Somewhere Out There
Let's end on a high note—this one's all about finding your soul mate out of 6 (now 7!) billon, and just a couple people who've fought the odds. One guy sings Chinese opera to anyone who'll listen, two little girls share a unique experience, and one guy who overlooks some red flags because he's found "the one". This one's a lot of fun.


Do you listen to TAL? Let me know what your favourite episodes are in the comments! I love having a short list of episodes to listen to.



PS. If you'd like to take them on the go with you, and won't be able to stream the archives (say, on a flight! Or without a smartphone!), you can also download the archived episodes by using this address:

http://audio.thisamericanlife.org/jomamashouse/ismymamashouse/SHOWNUMBER.mp3

And replacing SHOWNUMBER with the show's number. Aw shucks, that directory name just makes me love them even more. (Trick found via Misener.)

The To-Watch Before 2011 List

Not only is it time to be catching up on preparing for the holidays (23 and counting, eeep!), but it's time to be catching up for the end of the year (29 and counting, eeep!). Yep, it's end of the year list o'clock, guys. They're coming soon. And I LOVE end of the year lists. I'm either recommended things I didn't catch the first time around, or my picks are validated, or I get in impassioned debates over choices. I'm a big fan of all these things. And my chief topic is movies—we watch a lot of films in our household, and I'm pretty opinionated about what I like. I'm a polarized high-low kinda gal, in that I like 'em so good or so bad-so-they're-good.

But there are some movies that came out this year I didn't see the first time around, or that haven't come out yet. So it's time to get my game face on, and get down to the business of catching up. And these are at the top of my list.

1. The Skin I Live In

I've only just started watching Almodóvar's films, and I'm really digging him. Daniel saw this movie and promptly got us on a viewing bender, and now I've seen Talk to Her and Volver, both of which I really enjoyed. I really like that he seems to have fun making his films, and delivers really multi-dimensional, likeable characters. Which is why Antonio Banderas as a deranged plastic surgeon sounds pretty sweet. Not to mention how awesome the trailer is – best music choice and most bewildering trailer of the year. Filmmakers out to surprise you and not play their hand too soon? I love it. Got plans to see this one next week, and I can hardly wait.

2. Martha Marcy May Marlene
I've heard such good things about this one. Who hasn't, right? This was one of the buzziest movies around TIFF time, and it's been getting a lot of attention because of Elizabeth Olsen's performance (and celebrity siblings). Olsen plays a PTSD former cult member who's trying to piece together her life after escaping the compound, and everyone who's seen it has gushed about it. It looks like a tense, taught psychological thriller, so yeah, it's on the list.




3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Yeah, the Fincher, Hollywood version. No, I didn't see the Swedish one, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not really fussed about trying to. A lot of people are bristling that the actress from that first adaptation (Noomi Rapace) wasn't used in this second adaptation (now played by Rooney Mara), but I'm more impressed with the transformation. I can hardly believe this is the same girl from that first bit of The Social Network:

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BEFORE

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AFTER

Crazy, right? Good on her, for trying to break out of pretty girl roles, and for Fincher taking a chance on her. And to anyone who is not excited about this movie, did you SEE that teaser trailer? It looks like a goddamn Kubrick film! Even if you've seen the regular trailer, watch this. Pump it up to 1080p, go full screen and play it loud. I can't even imagine how cool it would have been seeing this in theatres. I'll be there on opening night for sure.

4. Beginners
Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, a scruffy little dog, I'm sold. I'll curl up with this one on an evening when I need renewed faith in humanity, I think.




5. Final Destination 5
Everyone has their vices, and the Final Destination movies are one of mine. I love the campy horror, I love the constant one upsmanship, and I love that they started doing these in 3D. Sadly, I missed this one in theatres so no 3D for me, but I heard there's a scene with Lasik gone wrong and I just can't handle that, guys. I'm a freak about my eyes. They work poorly, but they're all I got. And getting Lasik might be something I do one day, so I can't ever see a DEATH by Lasik. If I could watch a cut with that scene removed, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Final Destination, cutting to the heart of your deepest fears!

(Note: this trailer starts off with the Lasik scene and I nearly died just watching it. How embarrassing would death by trailer be? SO embarrassing. And SO possible. Just wanted to warn you in case you have similar hangups.)




6. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Hey, it's a spy thriller with Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. No idea how grounbreaking it'll be, but the players are good, the story is promising, the trailer is decent, and at the very least, it's a better choice than Sherlock Holmes 2: Electric Boogaloo.

So what's on your to-watch list? Got any other recommendations for me?

Get a Good Food Box!

Coming from a girl who would eat Korean take-out or Indian roti every night if she could, (and one who has a fast-food column that gives her an excuse to eat good/bad food every week) I have taken a big adult step into the world of eating fruits and vegetables. And I feel so great about it.

Dan and I just got our first Good Food box, and I want to share with everyone just how awesome it is. If you live in Toronto (and certainly there are other locally run places that do this in other cities) you should really consider signing up the food box from Foodshare. If you’re like us, and don’t live anywhere close to Kensington or the St. Lawrence market, it’s hard to get a good amount of fresh and mostly local fruits and veggies. Yes, there are farmer’s markets, which I love, but those tend to be on the expensive side, and (lazy as I am) I kind of love having my decisions made for me.

Here are all your choices! Call and order one anytime, and you can pick it up the next week.

There are households all around the city that distribute good food boxes—there’s likely one with a few blocks of where you live. You can get them as often or as little as you want, and there are many choices in what you can get. The boxes are always a little bit different, and vary from season to season, which I love. You get to experiment with food that you’ve never eaten of cooked before (Swiss chard! Omg!) and expand your horizons a little bit.

This chart includes a typical haul from a large food box in May, so what we got is obviously a lot different. A close inventory in the winter is going to be: potatoes, rainbow carrots, oranges, apples, many, many pears, tomatoes, kale, bananas, chard, more that I'm sure I'm forgetting. And all this for $18! It's well worth it, and great when you're trying to save money by regulating and planning out your meals a bit more.

One warning: when you are ordering the box, you'll probably have to make a couple phone calls. Like many community programs, this doesn't always run super smoothly and it might take a while to get a hold of them. It's well worth the effort.

Self Help Shelf – three books to consider when you're down

November's been a bit of a rough month. A bit down in the dumps, a bit overwhelmed easily, a bit antisocial. Maybe I'm still coming down from Disney. Maybe I'm just not dealing well with these early dark evenings. But it happens, and it's fine. It's just part of the highs and lows of life.

But it's probably why I've been reading so many "self help" books lately. I say "self help" instead of just self help because I'm not entirely comfortable with this category of reading. It feels too Oprah or New Age-y or something. But I'm a big believer that the unexamined life is not worth living, so I think gaining some perspective, seeing a new take on the things you're feeling is never a bad thing. So I've been reading a lot of non-fiction.

Maybe if you're feeling similarly blue, you can queue up these books in your library holds list too.

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My boyfriend was pretty horrified to come home from a NYC jaunt to find me reading Spousonomics: Using Economics to Master Love, Marriage and Dirty Dishes by Paula Szuchman and Jenny Anderson. But he shouldn't have been—this book is helpful for any relationship, not just for unhappy couples.

Every relationship, whether it be with your partner, family members, friends or coworkers, needs give and take, and this book helps navigate the strategies to smooth that tension. It shows you why splitting things (like chores) down the middle can cause more friction than less, using the economic principle of comparative advantage. It shows why bartering can be an effective motivator for easing destructive patterns. And it does this with a thorough and good-humoured explanation of the economics at work, and three examples from real couples to illustrate good solutions.

I originally picked up this book because while my relationship is ticking along pretty nicely, we have hiccups like everyone. My goal was to recognize the warning signs and to have some resolution tactics in place for when problems inevitably crop up. What I found instead was a new perspective on how to evaluate the difficulties faced in every relationship, and how looking at the situation with some objectivity can help create a happier, better solution for all parties involved. It's one of those books I might end up buying even though I borrowed it to read, because I think it'll be helpful for reference when I'm facing an issue.

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I've been curious to read some Eckhart Tolle for a while, so I put A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose in my queue a couple weeks ago and forgot about it until my library hold notice came through.

You get a strange sense reading this book—the voice is drowsy, somewhat clinical, a little too distant. There's a lot of circular speaking and then bam, a big idea distilled neatly into a paragraph. It feels what I'd imagine drinking the Kool-Aid of a calm, charismatic cult leader would feel like—I found myself being drawn to read it even though I knew it was boring. And say! That's kinda what this is.

Much of A New Earth is about the ego and how it causes suffering, which yeah, he sold me on. I believe we base our identity on thoughts. I believe that consumerism and unhealthy habits ramp up when we are feeling most vulnerable. I believe that our easily offended ego is responsible for a lot of social anxiety and self-loathing. I believe it. What makes me uncomfortable is the idea of striving for ego death, which much of this book seems to be lauding. I think desire can be a really good thing, especially as a creative person. I think taking pride in yourself and pushing yourself to try harder when you're disappointed can be good in small doses. I think the absence of the ego sounds really deadened and numb.

So I took this one with a heap of salt. Keep your ego in check, but don't kill it entirely. Be aware of its power and how much unhappiness it can cause, but only so you can get to a happy point again. Sure, you may be more at peace with a dead ego, but whatever—I'd rather have peace when I'm dead.*

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I'm actually still in the middle of this last read, but it's probably the most effective so far. Called The How of Happiness, author Sonja Lyubomirsky uses scientific studies and insights to explain how to cultivate more happiness in your life. The core of her theory is the 40 percent of happiness that is affected by behaviour.

So, used to blaming your unhappiness on your job? Your singledom? Your lack of finances? Your situation only accounts for 10 percent of your total happiness. Your upbringing, inherited traits and any chemical imbalances account for 50 percent (your set happiness point). The only thing you can truly effect is that remaining 40, behavioural percent, and Lyubomirsky suggests 12 activities that are proven to be a) the habits of naturally happier people and b) effective when adopted by the less smile endowed. She even has all kinds of quizzes to figure out how you're truly feeling, what methods are best for you, and how to track your progress.

The changes aren't huge—things like have gratitude in your everyday, dedicate time to "flow" activities (the ones you lose yourself in)—but her dedication to finding the strategies that best suit you is admirable. Keeping a gratitude journal isn't something I'd likely maintain (or even start—that just reeks of sentimentality to me), and she admits as such. She admits that all tactics won't work for everyone (and even quotes that exact reaction as her own!), and I like that. The activities I'll be trying are making time for "flow" activities, avoiding overthinking, and developing strategies for coping.


So there you have it. Three books, three different approaches to problem-solving when life gets you down. Have you guys read any of these? Have any book recommendation you think I might enjoy?


*Note: this review was obviously written by Amanda's ego.

5 Quick Tips to Brighten Your Monday

Happy Monday morning, friends. If you didn't notice, Amanda has been posting solo the past little while, because I've had to deal with some annoying shit with our apartment (which I promise I'll tell you about when I've separated myself a bit more from the situation). But I'm back in full swing, and ready to share with you the 5 things that are making my Monday morning not a total drag.

1. This Queen music video. I want this like once a day, mostly in the morning, and it lifts my spirits. It helps if you dance along to it, seriously.

2. The possibility of W.E. being good. It looks beautiful, and despite the more modern day aspect that we could probably all do without, could be a real winner. Yes, even though it's from Madonna. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

3. The Woody Allen documentary on PBS (or that you can download illegally, like I plan to do). Amanda saw part I and said that it's incredible.

4. This packing list, compiled by Joan Didion in her busiest reporting days, of the essentials she would need if she had to fly out the door and stay out for a few days. It seems so simple doesn't it?

5. These beautiful calendars made by Geoff and Anabela of Fieldguided. These have become annual must-haves for me.


So cheer up! It's only 5 more days until the weekend.

Playing Catch Up

I just can't help myself, the list of things to make grows ever longer. For Christmas, may I have another set of hands please?

These Paint Pail Mittens from the Purl Bee are so cute I could puke.

After making one to give away, Park & Cube has inspired me to make more of these bow know scarves. Fine gauge, super soft yarn and a larger size? Yes please. (This is the pattern I originally used.)

via Maiya Mayhem

I've never handpainted yarn before but I've always been curious to try. This method is so smart – mix up your dye (aka Kool-Aid) and freeze in an ice cube tray, and simply let 'em melt. Brilliant, and easy enough that I might actually get to this sometime soon.
(On a very much related note, any Canadians/Torontonians have a good source for Kool-Aid with no sugar added? I've heard it's difficult to find.)

via The Pioneer Woman

Americans, please stop making me so hungry for turkey. It's not fair, you know? I could eat only this panini from The Pioneer Woman using leftover turkey and cranberry sauce 4 daze.

via Hungry Girl Por Vida

I'll probably end up making these herbed turkey burgers with cranberry sauce and goat cheese instead to satisfy my craving (though I won't be making the buns. Seriously, who bakes the buns?)

via Steamy Kitchen

I'm really excited for this pan-fried pumpkin gnocci for a few reasons: 1. it features a brown butter and sage sauce, 2. the ingredients are inexpensive and easy to find, 3. the instructions look really doable. God, Steamy Kitchen, you make it look so easy.

Here's hoping for a wonderful weekend, filled with making good stuff,

meeting good folk, eating good foods.