How To Tickle Yourself

Eric Hirshberg is what you might call a renaissance man – an accomplished creative executive, he has worked in brand building, video game creation, design, marketing, storytelling, drawing, and music. He has earned awards for innovations in advertising during his years as leader of world-renowned ad agency Deutsch LA, and in his work overseeing development and marketing at video game giant Activision (the maker of Call of Duty and Guitar Hero).  These days, he is currently exploring his lifelong passion for music as a singer/songwriter/muti-instrumentalist — with live performances and two recorded albums of his work, 2021’s Spare Room and Second Hand Smoke, which is coming out in May.

Meet today’s guest, Mr. Wayne Magri Xuereb of Gozo, Malta. For those of you not in the know, Malta is an archipelago in the central Mediterranean between Sicily and the North African coast. It’s got a total population of just over half a million people. It’s also got Your Kombucha, Wayne’s brewery. We love anyone who brews kombucha here at How to Tickle Yourself. But Wayne doesn’t just make kombucha. Better yet, he’s also a kombucha educator, and through his SCOBY School, gives workshops and classes, teaching people how to brew themselves, all the while showing how Kombucha can be a gateway to our true selves. In other words, he is most certainly our kind of guy. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/273420577572186 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkombucha1/reels/ Website: https://yourkombucha.com.mt/products/your-kombucha-workshop

Today is a first for this show. While we do have a guest – the great Betty McKeon, astrologer, mother, and mother-in-law par excellence, we are not here to “interview” Betty in the typical manner. Instead, we have invited her on the show to talk about one of our favorite things, The Bhagavad Gita, and what it means to all of us. We talk to Betty about the Gita all the time. We figured it was time we shared some of those conversations with you.

We’ve got another first for you this week. It’s not Taylor Swift, but he’s going to be able to tell us about Taylor Swift. Specifically, tickets to Taylor Swift. Josh Baron is not a Taylor Swift expert, but he is a ticketing industry expert, and maybe he can tell us what the hell just happened during Taylor mania this past year. Josh is currently VP of business development for Project Admission, where he works with content owners to facilitate a more connected and integrated ticketing experience for fans and rights holders working across professional sports and live entertainment. Previously, he helped lead business development at Songkick, working closely with artists and management teams on direct-to-fan ticketing. He is also the co-author of Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped, widely regarded as the definitive source on the history of the live entertainment business in North America. For more than a decade, Baron served as editor of Relix Magazine, the jam band journalistic bible.

The founder of Shakti Yoga in Woodstock, Linda Winnick has been teaching yoga for more than 30 years. Equally important, she is a student and teacher of ayurvedic medicine as well. We decided last time she was on that we would have her on every quarter to talk to us about how the seasonal changes affect all of us, and what we can do about it – how to stay in balance when the balance is shifting. We were late then, but we are right on time now. Scratch that, the self is always on time.

Emma Levant is a professional ballet dancer and singer from Orange County, CA. She trained at the Long Beach Ballet Academy from the age of 6 until she graduated into the corps de ballet of California Ballet in San Diego at the age of 20. She’s had soloist and principal roles in various full-length ballet productions, including DewDrop and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Kitri in Don Quixote, Cygnets in Swan Lake. and the Autumn Fairy in Cinderella.But that’s not enough for Emma. She’s also been drawn towards the world of musical expression. She learned to sing by copying her favorite artists on the radio and participating in school choirs. She has delved into songwriting, and has begun creating original music. She has released one EP, a single, and multiple collaborations, and is currently working on her next EP slated for release in next year. Check her out on Spotify. She’s got a couple of gems on there, including one song called Gems. She’s also a big fan of the book TICKLED, which makes us a big fan of hers. What goes around comes around. All kidding aside, we love this woman for her refusal to let life tell her how it’s going to go. She’s doing it on her terms. Listen up, as she’s an inspiration.https://www.instagram.com/emmaxlevant/

Chris Gaelan is an old friend of Rockledge. Among other things, he is the man who pointed us to the defunct kombucha store out on Route 28 that’s now gone, the patronage of which led us to start making kombucha. So you might say we owe him everything. When he’s not helping change the direction of our lives, Chris is a singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer.  Last month he released his first music as a solo artist, a single entitled  “Just Another Love Song.’ But it’s not just another love song — rather, it is a grooving indie rock song reminiscent of early Blur, featuring a distorted driving post-punk bass sample over live drums and a Lou Reed-esque half-spoken vocal. The song draws influences from 90’s sample-delic artists such as Lemon Jelly with twangy dobro, guitar, and piano samples combined with Stonesy guitars and claps—mixing house music vibes with a nostalgic rock feel. Got it? In other words, it’s a great song. And Chris is a great guy. We are thrilled to share his insights on music and life with the rest of you. We hope it tickles. #chrisgaelan #musician #singersongwriter #justanotherlovesong #growth #tickled #howtotickleyourself #spirituality

Today marks yet another first for this show. It’s the first time we have ever had the sibling of a previous guest on the air. We set new records all the time at How to Tickle Yourself, and we’re doing it again right now. Susanne Langlois is a Canadian artist, based in Kingston, Ontario. She is sister to Paul Langlois, the musician, who we’ve recently had on this show. Sue has been painting for over 20 years and currently works in three distinct styles: abstract, still life botanicals, and contemporary landscape, featuring wind turbines. We have two of that last type in this house. Anyone listening right now, I encourage you to go check out her website before you continue. So you can, like, know what we’re talking about.  https://www.susannelanglois.com/

Dr. Jeffery D. Long is the Carl W. Zeigler Professor of Religion, Philosophy, and Asian Studies at Elizabethtown College, in central Pennsylvania. He has taught there since receiving his doctoral degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School in the year 2000. He is the author of several books, including Jainism: An Introduction and Hinduism in America: A Convergence of Worlds and Discovering Indian Philosophy: An Introduction to Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Thought, which will be released in February of next year. He has also published a wide array of articles and has spoken at a variety of venues, both national and international, including three talks at the United Nations. He received initiation into the Vedanta tradition of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda in 2005 and is a regular speaker at Vedanta Societies and Hindu temples across the US. But here’s where it gets really interesting. Dr. Long, like many of us, is a lifelong fan of the Beatles and George Harrison in particular.  His book on Jainism includes a section on George Harrison and he has given talks on the influence of Vedanta in Harrison’s music.  Fans of Harrison will know about the very obvious influences in Harrison’s legendary solo album All Things Must Pass. But there are hints of Harrison’s Hindu influences in many Beatles songs as well.  We are so excited to speak to him about so many things – Hinduism, George Harrison, Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, and the Bhagavad Gita, for starters.

We are super-excited for today’s guest.  She’s been on the show multiple times and is one of our absolute all time favorite yoga teachers, Linda Lalita Winnick.  She’s the founder of Woodstock’s Shakti Yoga, has been teaching yoga for over 30 years, and has a Masters Degree in Ayurvedic Medicine and Yoga Philosophy.  We don’t just love her for her yoga flows but also for her sense of humor AND all the nuggets of wisdom she drops during her classes. Today, we talk to Linda about the changing season and how we can use the insights of Ayurveda to stay in balance as the energy of summer dissipates.

Today’s guest, Margo Steines, is the author of the recently-released and captivatingly titled memoir Brutalities: A Love Story. A professor, creative coach, and editor on the faculty of the University of Arizona Writing Program, Margo teaches small-group creative nonfiction writing classes and seminars. As she describes them, they are the classes she wishes she had found when she was a fledgling writer: warm, generative, and trauma-informed, with value placed on process before product. So she’s helping people find their voice. We are very much in favor of that on this show.Trauma, as it turns out, is a central theme in Brutalities, her memoir of a couple of decades spent in parts of the world and of life that most of us have only heard about: a former professional dominatrix, Steines takes her readers on a journey through S&M parlors, mental institutions, hospital detox wards, antidepressants, and a couple of suicide attempts thrown in for good measure. It might seem a little counterintuitive to be discussing the memoir of a former dominatrix on this show, especially one that explores, in graphic detail, what it’s like to both give and receive (with consent) the most extreme kinds of physical pain imaginable. But Margo Steines finally found the tickle on the other side of all that suffering. She’s here to tell us all about it.

Duff McDonald and Joey Moss discuss the special things in life that bring them one step closer to the tickle of existence.

Today, we bring you back to one of the most important topics in the history of mankind: Bob Dylan. Specifically, the massive and astounding and beautiful new book that is being released this month: Bob Dylan: Mixing up the Medicine. This gem of a publication comes to us courtesy of Callaway Arts & Entertainment and the Bob Dylan Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a beast, more than 600 pages with over 1,100 photographs by 90 photographers and filmmakers, as well as 30 original essays by writers and artists focusing on unseen treasures from the Bob Dylan Archive. And I can say, uncategorically, that this is the most ambitious, comprehensive, and beautifully constructed book ever published about the man. And today’s guests, these two fine gentlemen, are who we have to thank for it: Mark Davidson, and Parker Fishel.

Andrew Faust is the founder and director of Center for BioRegional Living and a permaculture designer, teacher, and activist.  Andrew is known for his dynamic teaching style and his ability to inspire people to take action and make positive changes in their communities. He’s also an advocate for social and environmental justice. He believes that permaculture can play a crucial role in addressing issues such as climate change, food insecurity, and social inequality by promoting sustainable and regenerative practices.  It all might sound very serious but believe me, it’s very ticklish stuff as you’ll hear.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mandara Cromwell is the author of the book Soundflower: The Journey to Marry Science and Spirit. A veteran entrepreneur, Mandara has been on a lifelong mission to prove via science what she has always known to be true in her heart. And that is that sound, the essence of the universe, has the power to heal. To that end, she has spent several decades refining what she calls cymatherapy – healing using sound frequency with an understanding of the energetic meridians of the human body. She believes that love is a vibration and can heal all maladies. We do not disagree.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s episode is going to be a family affair. Back by popular acclaim, one of our first guests way back in Season 2 of this podcast, is Betty McKeon, who holds the triple crown of top mother (to Joey), top mother-in-law (to me), and astrologer non-pareil. Many of our listeners have had a reading from Betty. Those who haven’t should book with haste. She’s at BettyMcKeon.Net.So what are we going to talk about today? We’re going to start with a high-level discussion about some astrological changes that affect all of us. Then we’re going to do a reading. But not a reading for me. Nor a reading for Joey. We are going to get a reading for one of the patron saints of How to Tickle Yourself – Bob Dylan. Betty’s got his chart, and she’s going to tell us what makes him tick and what he’s got in store.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shawn Wickens is a New York City-based futurist, casual stoner, and comedian. He co-produces Stoned Laughs, a monthly 420-friendly comedy show in Midtown Manhattan.    His most audacious work yet, “Time Machine Blueprints, 1st Edition,” is available on Amazon. It is a work of pure genius.   All of his good friends, the ones who have his private phone number, can tell you that he doesn’t like being harassed.   But we’re not here to harass him. We are here to have him tell us how to bend the space-time continuum. And some other stuff.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s not every day that you get to interview the guitarist for one of your favorite bands of all time. But the goal of this podcast is to tickle ourselves, so a few months ago, we decided to see if we could make it happen. We succeeded. Paul Langlois is a founding member of Canada’s seminal rock band, The Tragically Hip. He’s also the leader of the newly-constituted Paul Langlois Band, who just released their debut album (and his third solo album), Guess What, this past summer. Humble, thoughtful, genuine, and downright funny, Langlois shares stories about how he got his start in music, his decades playing with The Hip, as well as the challenges of moving from the side to the front of the stage. He also reveals a thing or two about songwriting in the clutch. It’s all very ticklish stuff. Listen up!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we speak to Dan Tomasulo, the academic director of The Spirituality Mind Body Institute at Columbia University’s Teachers College. But that’s only one of his many talents. Dan is the author of the bestselling books Learned Hopefulness: The Power of Positivity to Overcome Depression and The Positivity Effect, among others. He’s got a PhD in psychology, an MFA in writing, and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. When he’s not running schools or writing books, he edits scholarly journals about psychology. He’s also pretty damn funny, but you can judge the quality of his jokes yourself. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rich Cohen, Duffs favorite writer, is back with a new book called When the Game Was War: The NBA’s Greatest Season. He’s talking about 1987. He tells the story of that season through the prism of four of the greatest players in NBA history: Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, and Michael Jordan. And he does it with his usual craft, insight, and wonderful writing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.