Explore "checkitout" with insightful episodes like "Chris Lovejoy Indiebnb 064", "Kalani Hubbard Indiebnb 063", "Anthony Church Indiebnb 062", "the moss Indiebnb 060" and "Infinitikiss Indiebnb 058" from podcasts like ""Indiebnb", "Indiebnb", "Indiebnb", "Indiebnb" and "Indiebnb"" and more!
Tash and I welcomed on Chris Lovejoy another star of the upcoming film Skye Hoshi Anime Girl! He said down and talked Skye Hoshi and his band Planet Mercury
Check out the film on April 21st! Live Premiere!
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Grant is joined by Kalani Hubbard the musical/theatrical mind behind Skye Hoshi Anime Girl. Kalani takes us through the film and his process with music!
This film is dropping April 21st 2023!
Kalani Hubbard is a guitarist, drummer, and all around music creator. He has released music with his band Rocketship Radio, Starship Stereo, and composed the Lily Darling Original motion Picture Soundtrack. For Skye Hoshi, he created several songs that are played by the band “Rare Candies” in the film including the track “Tamagotchi” and the Skye Hoshi Rap!
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Tash and Grant are joined by Anthony Church a producer and podcaster out of Ohio!
Check out his music by clicking his name above!
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Grant sat down with Tyke James of the moss a rock band out of Utah. We explore the bands origins and influences along with the song writing process. We break down their new ep Insomnia
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We sat down with the innovative Nic Jenkins aka Infinitikiss to discuss his ambient music record.
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We sat down with @koyal.official for a chat before their show at the Masquerade on February 24th!
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We sat down with @pacificorock ahead of their album release party on Saturday @smithsoldebar They will be performing with @perfectanimalband @tiny_banshee @kicksnarecrash and the show will be hosted by us! @indiebnb
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The @fantomenmuzik took a stop in the @indiebnb with Grant!
They are heading to play @smithsoldebar on Feb 25th in the Atlanta room check out their set!
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Tash and Grant sit down with Timothy Edward Carpenter out of Nashville
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See him 2/17 in Atlanta
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Tash and Grant sit down with Mackalie Davidson from Atlanta, GA
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Grant sits down with Arian guitarist from Guerilla Toss!
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Tash and Grant sit down with Nick Carpenter of Medium Build AGAIN!
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Let’s meet the baseball nut who sticks up for the guys behind the plate that every baseball fan loves to hate.
Yes, we’re talking about umpires.
In this episode of the Check It Out! podcast, host Ken Harvey talks to his friend Jason Becker, creator of the Umpire Inspire podcast.
“In my book, he’s a genius, and he’s producing a fascinating podcast for the officials behind America’s favorite round-ball sport. That’s baseball, and those are umpires,” Harvey said in introducing Becker. “Fans and players often disagree with what the umpire says and what the umpire does, which can make it a lonely job even when there are two of them on the field.”
Becker humanizes umpires. He explains why they love what they do, even when they don’t get paid to call balls and strikes and outs. They’re inspired to do it for the love of the game.
Becker’s podcast invites listeners to come in and hear a captivating conversation with an enthusiastic umpire who may be from anywhere on the planet.
“Baseball isn’t just American, it’s global, and these umpires consider their jobs to be a lot more than just calling balls and strikes,” Harvey said.
Becker said baseball has been his passion “for practically my entire life.” He started playing when he was 5 and continues to play today in a senior adult league.
“I've played since I was a kid, like a lot of people. Coached my boy all the way through Little League, and my girls for a couple years while they were playing,” he said.
About eight years ago, he grabbed a mask and tried umpiring.
“It was a need that I felt I could do some good with in our local Little League here in Mukilteo, and it turned out to be a really great fit,” Becker said. “Being out on a baseball field makes more sense to me than being just about anywhere else, so I've really enjoyed umpiring.”
He takes it seriously. He umpires Little League baseball and softball around Washington and umpires high school baseball in Snohomish County.
It took Becker a couple of years of umpiring before he could see the connection between his love for umpiring and his love for fascinating podcasts.
“There’s a lot of folks out there for whom umpiring means an awful lot, and they put a lot of their heart and their time into it, and it’s often not paid. Little League is an all-volunteer organization, for instance,” Becker said. “I found that umpires were generally just a really great group of people to hang around with because of their giving spirit, their commitment to public service... how umpiring is a public service for many of the friends that I have in the umpiring community.”
That’s when the “two worlds” came together in Becker’s mind, and the idea of the Umpire Inspire podcast was born.
In late 2019, he decided it was time to make it happen.
“Now’s the time,” Becker said. “We’re going to take a swing. Hopefully, I’ll connect. Maybe I’ll miss, but it’s going to be an interesting journey, and it has definitely been such a joy and such a privilege, as I have completed this first go-around, and I’m just on the doorstep of getting my own season two underway, so it’s been great.”
The first episode of Umpire Inspire debuted on March 17, 2020, with minor league umpire Bobby Tassone, who works the Carolina League. Interviews with seven more umpires followed.
Season 2 started on Aug. 11. Among Becker’s interviews so far are umpires who work in Venezuela and the Czech Republic, and two women who call the game.
Some are professionals. Some are amateurs. They come in all shapes and sizes and range in age from 16 to 76. All have interesting stories to share.
“You’ve had an opportunity to have some conversations with some remarkable guests already,” Harvey said.
Harvey asked Becker when he, as a young player, first became aware of an umpire on the field.
“I don’t think anybody has asked me that question before,” Becker said. “I’m not sure I do remember, if I’m being honest. As a kid, you’re out there, you’re doing what you do with your buddies, and you’re playing the game and you’re having fun. I can’t recall a time where I do remember the umpire, but it does put a point on what the best volunteer umpires, or paid umpires... one of their best characteristics is they’re doing it for the game.”
Umpires don’t care who wins or loses the game, Becker explained.
“We are what we call the third team on the field,” he said. “In every baseball and softball game, there are three teams: there’s the home team, there’s the away team, and there’s the third team, the umpires, who, just like the players, are out there giving their best effort and trying to make every call correct. They want to do their best job, just like the players do. And maybe it makes a point that I don’t remember my umpires when I was a kid, but it doesn’t change the fact that they were out there giving their time away from their families, away from their work lives, so that I could play ball. Without an umpire, it’s just a scrimmage.”
Harvey recalled his time playing baseball as a youngster and coming to terms with the stranger behind the plate.
“I think that probably any of us who have stood on the field and gone to the home plate and swung, at some point in our lifetime, whatever age, we start to recognize that an umpire has a significant amount of power, but also a significant amount of knowledge about the game, and maybe even more than my coach does,” Harvey said.
He said he appreciated Becker’s ability to bring out the humanity and service that umpires bring to the sport and wanted to know, “At what point did you start to really recognize that about these umpires?”
It took Becker a while behind the plate to see the other stories in his umpire colleagues.
“My show is not about rules or field mechanics or instruction,” he said. “There are a thousand great websites and podcasts and sources that do a much better job with things like that than I do. My show is about the stories and the journeys and the heart of why we umpires do what we do. There is nothing an umpire loves more than to just get together with his or her partner after a game, share their experiences and their wins and their losses, and what they’ve learned; swap stories; tell tall tales; that is something that is common with every umpire at every level, all around the world.”
Harvey asked for an example.
“One of my favorite guests during this season one was Dale Scott,” Becker said. “He was a Major League umpire for 30-plus years until his retirement in 2017. There was so much good stuff there. He did point out ... if you went to your job every day not having any idea of what was going to happen that day, it might make you get up out of bed in the morning a little differently. It could light a little bit of a fire. That’s what it’s like every game for a baseball or a softball umpire. Some things are going to be consistent, but just about every game you see something and have to rule on something that you may never have seen before.”
That got Becker to tell the story of his own personal umpire hero.
“One thing that’s really interesting, Ken, is that a lot of the stories start exactly the same,” Becker said. “I’ve had the opportunity to speak with everyone from teenage youth umpires here in Snohomish County, all the way up to Major League Baseball umpires, and oftentimes, they have very similar stories. In fact, I was just re-listening the other day to one of my episodes, a conversation I had with a Major League umpire ... really, an umpire hero of mine named Tripp Gibson, who is one of many Major League umpires that live here in the Puget Sound area.
“He was telling us about his first game. Coach gets a little fired up, and in his very first game ever as an umpire, he has to toss the coach. The way Tripp described it, he says, ‘Yeah, so the gentleman, Pat, who brought me out, he met me after the game and gave me my check for 25 bucks and said, “Well, good try, kid.” Tripp said, ‘Good try? That was awesome! I’m coming back tomorrow!’”
While most players get to take a field break every half inning and between plate appearances, umpires never leave the field.
“I would love for listeners of this show to maybe start thinking about umpires in a little different way,” Becker said. “The home team and the away team, they get to go in the dugout and relax every half inning. But the umpires stay out there every pitch, every inning, every game, and for the Major League guys, six to eight months in a row.”
“That’s got to be really tough,” Harvey said. “Especially when the weather conditions aren’t prime for something like that.”
Despite the difficult working conditions and tension that comes from making calls, umpires just want to do their job right and enhance the game, Becker said.
“One thing that umpires like to hang their hat on is, if they can get through a game and nobody notices that they were even there, they had a pretty good game, right?” he said. “Because it’s not our job to get in the way. It’s not our game. We are there to serve. We’re there to go to work and enable and enhance that game that we’re working at, and if we get that done, it’s been a pretty good day at the office.”
Part 2: Self-Help Shelf
“This is Sarri Gilman with the Self-Help Shelf for Sno-Isle Libraries. The book I have for you today is ‘Eight Dates,’ by Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman. Oh yes, they’re married, and they once ran the famous Love Lab where they researched couples and communication. Together, they now have the Gottman Institute in Seattle, where they share years of research on how to make marriage work and what predicts divorce.
“During COVID-19, not too many couples were having romantic dates, and your closeness and intimacy may feel like it was just lost in the pandemic, or maybe it was lost even before that. If you’re married or dating, ‘Eight Dates’ is for you. The book gives you a guide on things to think about before each date, and you literally make a plan to go on eight dates together, and each date, you’re given a different topic with a whole different set of questions to ask each other. You practice listening and learning about each other, and even if you’ve been together for decades, I think you’re going to get a lot out of this book, especially if you feel like your relationship needs attention and you wish you were closer.
“Since we're in a pandemic, you’re going to need to bring a little bit of creativity to your dates with your partner. Maybe it’s a beach picnic or a date at home; it really doesn't matter where you are, because each date is a full discussion on a topic picked by the Gottmans, with a guide to support you.
“I do recommend that you each read a copy of the book so that you have some of the background material to think about before your date, or you could even read out loud to each other to prepare for your date.
“One of my favorite lines from the book is this one: ‘The goal of conflict is not to win or convince the other person that you’re right. In creating compromise, we have to understand each other’s core needs on the issues we are discussing, as well as each other’s areas of flexibility. The goal is not to become identical; the goal is to understand each other.’
“This book is also going to help you get a better understanding of each other's core needs. By going on the eight dates, you will have a much deeper understanding of each other, and you’re going to get tips that you can practice for each date, and my hope is that you just continue going on these deeper dive discussion dates in the future.
“’Eight Dates,’ by Doctors John and Julie Gottman, is available digitally from the Sno-Isle Libraries. Take good care of you, and remember, some books are almost as good as therapy.”
In Episode 62 of Sno-Isle Libraries Check It Out podcast, co-hosts Ken Harvey and Tricia Lee talk to local author Stewart Tolnay and learn how he has used his study of American racial history to create interesting fiction and nonfiction.
Tolnay is a Ph.D. professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Washington. His first fiction novel, “Less Than Righteous,” features a Black Vietnam War veteran, his white girlfriend and the struggles they face as an interracial couple in Everett in 1969.
Tolnay is also the author or co-author of nonfiction works that include “The Bottom Rung: An African-American Family Life on Southern Farms”; “A Festival of Violence,” which analyzes Southern lynchings from 1882 to 1930; and “Lynched,” which studies the victims of Southern mob violence.
Tolnay’s work resonated with Harvey, the Director of Communications for Sno-Isle Libraries. Harvey is Black. He grew up in Mississippi at the dawn of the civil rights movement when white supremacists killed Black people with near impunity. Lee, the Director of Inclusion, Equity and Development for Sno-Isle Libraries, wanted to know more about Tolnay’s work and research and how it dovetails with the library district’s goals and objectives.
Tolnay said it took him years of his own academic work and encouragement from his wife before he could sit down and “write a novel.”
“Actually, it had been brewing in my mind for years as I was doing my academic research and realized there are some really important stories, interesting stories here, that might take us into dark corners of the American past that many people aren't familiar with,” Tolnay said. “That’s what got me motivated to try my hand at fiction.”
Harvey wanted to know which writing was harder: creative fiction or academic nonfiction?
Academic writing is “kind of formulaic almost, a template of here’s the research question, here’s the evidence, here’s my interpretation of the evidence, here’s my conclusion,” Tolnay said.
It’s nothing like writing fiction.
“You start with a blank slate,” he said. “You have ideas about plot and characters in your head, but you somehow have to bring order to that chaos. I understand some authors begin with a very detailed outline of their novels. That didn’t work for me, so I had to kind of search and find my way along this story as I went from chapter to chapter.”
Lee wanted to know how Tolnay translated “some very heavy topics” on racial violence into fiction. “Are there things that you found you couldn't express fully in nonfiction that you can express at a whole different level in fiction?” she asked.
“The academics, especially those like me who typically do highly statistical, quantitative work can be sometimes accused of, ‘Well, you’re leaving the people out of this.’ We’re talking about patterns and trends and data, and where are the people? Where are the personal emotional experiences behind this?” Tolnay said. “That’s what writing ‘Less Than Righteous’ allowed me to do, is to take those conclusions that I had drawn from my nonfiction writing and research and bring it down to a personal level, to try to highlight it in a way that is really more accessible to most readers I think.”
Tolnay knew he had to tread carefully as he wrote the novel. He’s white and privileged, and he didn’t want to be accused of cultural appropriation by telling a story of an oppressed social group. That happened to “American Dirt” author Jeanine Cummins earlier this year.
“I will admit, I’d be a fool not to, that I don't know intimately the African American culture. I don’t know what it’s like to experience the fears, concerns and discrimination and prejudice of the African American population. That’s just a deficit,” he said. “But I spent 36 years trying to familiarize myself with the African American historical experience in my non-fiction books and my journal articles. I don’t know how else I could compensate for that deficit other than by what I’ve tried to do over the last 36 years.”
“Less Than Righteous” also has stories of working-class whites based on his own family experience, and white supremacists that are not his experience.
“I think it is acceptable to write about social groups to which you don’t belong, with two important caveats,” Tolnay said. “The first is that you recognize the potential risks and limitations of your work because of that deficit, and I do. The second would be that you’d make a serious, intense effort to educate yourself about the group’s experience, which I have.”
Tolnay’s fictional story of the Booker family’s move from rural Georgia to the Pacific Northwest has historical roots in the second Great Migration of Black Americans from the South after World War II. Tolnay set the Bookers in Everett, where he was born and graduated from high school and community college during the height of the Vietnam War protests.
“I wanted to include an experience from the Great Migration in the story, and so (Booker patriarch) Mose had to go somewhere from Oconee County, Georgia. And the most likely place for him to go, based on my own experience, was the Pacific Northwest,” Tolnay said. “You often hear that writers should write about what they know. I think that's very true of ‘Less Than Righteous’ with the setting in Everett. It’s also true with respect to the content of the story, and as (Lee) mentioned, this is a dark story. The disturbing scenes, many of them, are drawn from actual events.”
While the South has struggled with racial equality for centuries, the Pacific Northwest isn't innocent, Tolnay said.
“The original Oregon State Constitution written in 1851 actually prohibited ‘Blacks and mulattoes’ from moving into the state,” he said. “But it wasn't actually repealed until 1926. In 2002, when the words were removed from the Constitution of Oregon, 30 percent of Oregon voters chose to retain the language. We can try to sit on our high horse and be very judgmental about the ignorant, racist Southerners, but it’s important to look closer to home as well.”
Tolnay has seen that kind of discrimination here. In 2014, he moved to a Shoreline neighborhood that was developed by William Boeing in the 1940s. In 2005, the homeowners’ association rejected an amendment to the original covenant that prevented “people of the non-Caucasian races and Jews” from living there. The racial restriction was removed in 2006 because it was unenforceable.
“Now, that's not that all that uncommon,” Tolnay said. “There were racial restrictive covenants for many, many neighborhoods in Seattle and elsewhere. So, it’s something that strikes very close to home and something that I think it behooves Pacific Northwesterners to be aware of.”
Lee concurred.
“It doesn’t surprise me, and I think it is a nice reminder that these things, they’re still things today,” she said. “I think a lot of the things that we’re hearing today in the news and elsewhere, it’s a direct correlation to the history. It’s a deep wound that's a hard one to fill and a hard one for us to reconcile our history as a nation and the impacts it has long term on the communities that were targeted with these policies. We sometimes forget about that. Or it wasn’t in history books. I think it wasn’t until I went to college and spent some time in the African American studies department that I was like, ‘Whoa! There’s this whole history that we were never taught and didn't realize.’”
Part 2: Self-Help Shelf
“This is Sarri Gilman with the Self-Help Shelf for Sno-Isle Libraries. The book I have for you today is a children's book for ages 4-7 years old, “Amazing Grace” by Mary Hoffman and illustrated by Caroline Binch.
“The illustrations in this book are timeless. And though the book was written more than 25 years ago, the words and pictures are completely relevant today as many of us are having conversations about racism. This is a book to bring your child into those conversations.
“The book is about a girl named Grace who likes to dress up and play different parts from movie and book characters. Grace is in costumes on several of the pages, and your children are going to recognize many of these costumes.
“She tries out for the school play and is told by another child that she can't play Peter Pan in the school play because she’s a girl and because she’s Black. I recommend this book for boys and girls and for children of all colors. I think all children will be challenged by the questions raised in this book, and it’ll allow for a really good conversation.
“I love the illustrations in this book. They are large and they’re focused on Grace and her creativity. You can see Grace’s imagination and genius in these illustrations. Grace could be friends with any child.
“ ‘Amazing Grace’ is available digitally from Sno-Isle Libraries. Take good care of you and remember: Some books are almost as good as therapy.”
Part 1: You Don’t Wanna Be a Rock-and-Roll Star
Chris Ballew lived the rock-and-roll life.
As frontman for the late, great Presidents of the United States of America, he wrote infectious, goofy, catchy hits about “Peaches” and a “Dune Buggy” when heavy grunge dominated Seattle’s FM radio waves. He toured all over the world. He played to packed arenas and stadiums. He even won a Grammy award.
But that’s the old Chris Ballew.
Today, Ballew is a genial, funny everyman who now can laugh about his discomfort with his “Presidents” fame. He’s still well-known and beloved in the Seattle music scene. He still makes infectious, goofy, catchy music that his fans love.
And those are fans of Caspar Babypants.
Yes, Chris Ballew has become a children’s musician. He loves it. Little kids love it. And the kids’ parents, who grew up listening to the Presidents of the Unites States of America, they love it, too.
We told a friend about our Check It Out! podcast interview with Ballew.
“Caspar Babypants, you mean the guy from The Presidents of the USA? COOL!!”
Yes, Check It Out! podcast hosts Kurt Batdorf and Paul Pitkin found it very cool to talk about music and creativity with the one and only Caspar Babypants.
When Ballew decided he’d had enough of rock-and-roll and hopped off the “pony that was (making) gold bricks,” it wasn’t a big musical leap for him to change things up. It’s easy to hear similarities between “Peaches” of 25 years ago and the current “Noodles and Butter,” or between “Dune Buggy” and “Butterfly Driving a Truck.”
They’re all goofy and funny and infectious. And as Ballew says, “That’s just the sound I make, and I’ve been making that sound my whole life, really.”
When the Presidents became a thing in Seattle music in the early 1990s, it was a matter of good timing, Ballew said.
“The music scene at the time was ‘heavy,’ and not bad, but it just had a very visceral, kind of heavy, grungy vibe,” he said. “And I think people were really enjoying it, but they also wanted just some candy, you know, something really fun and bouncy.”
The Presidents satisfied that craving at the right time. And now, Caspar Babypants satisfies Ballew’s innate “childlike” nature.
“As Caspar Babypants, people ask me like, ‘How do you make this music for children?’ and I tell them, ‘I really don’t make it for children, I make it for myself, number one,’” Ballew said. “And I am just childlike. I live my life like a child. It happens to resonate with kids, but it’s really pleasing me. So, I think that’s how it kind of works. So, yeah. I was just pleasing myself, and it turned out to please a whole bunch of other people too.”
The Presidents of the United States of America released three studio recordings, but Caspar Babypants has been much more prolific: 18 albums released between 2009 and 2019.
Ballew has “thousands and thousands of little recordings” constantly running through his head as part of his creative process. He’ll play something for a few minutes and sing a little melody.
“You never know what it might grow into,” he said. “So, I record it. In that sense, I’m always kind of allowing myself to just make a little mess, and not try to make sense of it. And then, maybe later, I’ll figure out what it is, after forgetting about the initial, sort of moment of creation. I’m constantly recording tiny little bits.”
It means Ballew has a lot of material to draw from, and a lot of songs ready to go. His laptop is full of songs in various states of the recording process.
“When it’s time to make a record, I listen to all of them, and I just cherry-pick the most developed, the clearest, the most successful 20, and make it into an album," he said. “I’m always working on a giant amount. And then, as a record comes due, I focus on the ones that just need the extra push, to kind of be perfect.”
It also means some of Ballew’s songs don’t see the light of day for a long time.
“I have this new song that I’m very excited about. I don’t think it will come out until 2022,” he said. “I’ve got three records almost ready for the next three years. It’s called ‘Live Like a Baby.’ And it's about how I, as an adult, just want to live like a baby.”
Not with the downsides of being a baby though.
“I mean, the freedom, and the way of experiencing the world as a purely energetic playpen. That's kind of my attitude,” Ballew said.
He usually plays a three-string acoustic guitar as Caspar Babypants, similar to the stripped-down two-string bass he usually played with the Presidents.
“It creates a really interesting sound,” Pitkin said. “It’s unusual, it makes its own sound.”
Ballew said it makes him play guitar more like a bass player.
“It sounds more rhythmic and chunky,” he said. “I kind of think about early Johnny Cash when I’m playing a lot.”
The simpler, rhythmic sound is easier for Ballew to play by himself.
“And kids respond to that,” he said. “They respond to the rhythm. And they want to get up, and dance, and move around.”
That feeds his soul now, and Caspar Babypants has brought Ballew full circle.
“When the President' started out, we were this goofy little band of dorks that were trying to rock. And in trying to rock, I think we endeared ourselves to our audience. They were like, ‘Oh, those poor little guys on stage. Look at them trying to play a Led Zeppelin song,’” Ballew said.
“I love it, because I’m back to being a dorky little guy, trying to rock. Because I’m by myself, I think the empathetic reaction from the crowd is even more intense. If I ask for call and response, I definitely get it. Because I’m this tiny little guy on stage, trying to pull something off. And the crowd’s like, ‘Yes, we want to help.’”
Part 2: Help with grief from the Self-Help Shelf
If you’re dealing with grief, Sarri Gilman recommends “Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief” by David Kessler for the Self-Help Shelf.
“David is considered one of the world's leading experts on grief,” Gilman said of Kessler. “He’s written several books on the subject. And this book, ‘Finding Meaning,’ is my favorite of his books.”
In this book, Kessler focuses on the traumatic loss of a loved one. Losing loved ones is a journey through many feelings.
“Traumatic grief has some layers of feelings that can be hard to navigate, because we may not have experienced them before,” Gilman said. “And traumatic grief is particularly hard to do alone. This book is truly a helpful companion. It feels like David is in the room with you, reviewing stories of traumatic grief, and how people have carried those losses.”
Kessler’s words and pacing are careful and thoughtful, which makes it easily readable in the grieving process. He writes about his own traumatic grief sensitively, the same way he writes about other people’s traumatic losses. He talks about the feelings we carry when we’re grieving, and it is coupled with a trauma.
“I think if you have experienced this kind of loss, you’re going to feel understood,” Gilman said. “You’ll realize that you are not alone.”
During the coronavirus pandemic, you may feel even more loss and grief unrelated to a death.
“Although this book was written to support people who experienced a death, I think it applies to many losses,” Gilman said.” Traumatic grief can also come up from other kinds of losses like a divorce where there was abuse, loss of a child to addiction. I think this book is actually going to be very helpful, if you have traumatic grief for other kinds of reasons.”
It doesn't have to be a recent loss. Often with traumatic grief, it could take a few years to process feelings.
“During COVID-19, other losses that you had previously may be brought to the surface,” Gilman said. “And you may be feeling the trauma and grief, all over again, because COVID-19 has brought up a lot of loss and grief.”
If this is your experience, “Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief” will be very helpful. It’s available digitally from Sno-Isle Libraries.
On July 31, 2018, the first Check It Out! podcast aired was posted.
In this episode, co-hosts Ken Harvey and Jim Hills, along with podcast producer Debie Murchie, take a look in the rear-view mirror. Together, they share how the podcast came about, remind each other of the growing pains along the way and reminisce about their favorite moments over more than 30 episodes.
“Some of our guests are really community heroes,” Harvey says adding that some are celebrities in their communities, some are community leaders and regional leaders. “Coming in, everyone thinks that no one will be interested in me as a person. Maybe what I do or have done, but not me.”
Murchie shares that one of her favorite episodes was with Sarri Gilman.
“It was about finding your boundaries,” Murchie says. “Being able to say ‘No,’ and knowing when to put yourself first. Yes, help when you can, but sometime need to take a step back.”
Hills notes that while in some ways the podcast is an extension of the idea behind the well-received TEDxSnoIsleLibraries series which focused on interesting and accomplished individuals from the community.
“I wondered how deep the well would be (for podcast guests),” Hills says. “Now that we’ve done this for a year, I see that the well will never run dry.”
Episode length - 43:59
Episode links
For many people, their first experience with a library came as they stepped on to a bookmobile.
For Sherry Stevens, the longtime manager of the Sno-Isle Libraries Library on Wheels service, that means she is connected to thousands of these memorable moments.
In this episode, “Check It Out!” podcast co-hosts Ken Harvey, Cindy Tingley and Paul Pitkin chat with Stevens and share their own takeaways from the conversation such as:
Stevens also tells a heartwarming story of a customer of Chinese background who was all smiles when he realized Bookmobile staff made a special effort to bring books in Chinese for him.
Chapter 1 Introduction
Check It Out! reporter Abe Martinez chats with podcast co-hosts Ken Harvey and Jim Hills about the experience of interviewing Andre Feriante. Length: 06:41
Chapter 1 – Andre Feriante
Italian-born and trained in classic flamenco guitar, Andre Feriante talks about his artistic and personal journey. Now a Whidbey Island resident, Feriante is exploring poetry and other creative outlets that are coming together in a fusion of many influences. The process is also opening an awareness of the healing aspects of music. For Feriante, it’s all connected in a profound way that he feels compelled to share with others.
Chapter 1 links
Chapter length: 05:38
Chapter 2 Introduction
Check It Out! reporter Abe Martinez, co-hosts Ken Harvey and Jim Hills talk about their experiences and connections with Selma Bonham. Length: 06:21
Chapter 2 – Selma Bonham
This is a reprise, but well worth a listen.
At 93, Selma Bonham has seen a few things.
Majoring in geology, she graduated from Penn State University and then earned a Master’s from Stanford in 1949. After 20 successful years in a male-dominated profession, Bonham retired and moved from the East Coast to Mill Creek and became involved with the Friends of the Mill Creek Library.
Bonham says her awareness of civil rights began early when her father began hiring persons of color for skilled jobs in the department store where he worked.
Later, at Mill Creek, Bonham organized a flash mob at the library to sing in honor of African American Month.
Chapter 2 links
Chapter 2 length: 04:33
Chapter 3 – Book Notes with Brian Haight
Brian Haight is a librarian at the Coupeville Library and member of the Sno-Isle Libraries Readers’ Services Team. Haight and other team members create a variety of book lists as suggestions for library customers.
In this Book Notes, Haight talks about “The Driver in the Driverless Car: How Our Technology Choices Will Create the Future,” by Vivek Wadwha.
Haight describes a future that may see car drivers becoming car riders. He points out that the book is about far more than driverless cars and delves into other implications of new technology.
Haight also points out that he found this book on the “new books” shelf at the Coupeville Library, but anyone can go to the online catalog and search for titles published in 2019 and new to the Sno-Isle Libraries collection in the past week, 30 days or more.
Chapter length: 04:27
She comes from a small town in Ohio known for the lack of a discernible accent by its residents.
Allison Warren-Barbour is finding other ways to stand out as she leads United Way of Snohomish County on a new path to help families escape the traps of poverty.
Now in her third year as President & Chief Executive Officer, Warren-Barbour brings experience, education and personal commitment to her role. She earned a Business Management degree from Miami University, a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton and worked for United Way in Atlanta and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. before coming to Snohomish County.
Warren-Barbour says she is seeing United Way organizations across the country evolve away from the traditional “community chest” model as the needs of communities are changing. “In Atlanta and Greater Triangle (in Raleigh-Durham), we were having these conversations,” Warren-Barbour says.
In Snohomish County, former CEO Dennis Smith was also leading the organization and community in similar ways. Warren-Barbour says her role is to continue the transition to targeting resources at specific populations and measuring outcomes.
To get there, United Way of Snohomish County has adopted the CORE model, which stands for “creating open roads to equity.”
“We’re trying to utilize the funding in a way that can really produce a different type of change,” Warren-Barbour says. “If we want different results, we can’t act in the same way.”
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