Best Between The Gutters Podcasts (2025)

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The Oxford Circle 28:05

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2h ago28:05

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Send us a text "Before Narnia ever existed, C.S. Lewis had a secret weapon: a band of Oxford friends who argued, challenged, and inspired him—the Inklings." Think C.S. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia all by himself? Think again. Lewis was part of the Inklings, a group of Oxford professors, writers, and thinkers who met to read aloud, debate, a…

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Theater’s Dark Truth-Teller 29:13

1h ago29:13

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Send us a text =Eugene O'Neill's development as a playwright was deeply rooted in his turbulent personal life and a deliberate rejection of the popular theater of his time. He evolved from a young man adrift to become a revolutionary force in American drama. O'Neill's upbringing was steeped in theater, but not in a way that he admired. His father, …

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Between Glitter and Gutter 25:14

4h ago25:14

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Send us a text The subject of today's podcast, Oscar Wilde is extremely important because of his efforts in making wit an art form. His plays — such as The Importance of Being Earnest — are still laugh-out-loud funny more than a century later, which almost no other Victorian writer can claim. He exposed the hypocrisy and absurdity of his society wi…

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Tolstoy Unveiled 27:44

1d ago27:44

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Send us a text Leo Tolstoy is Russia’s other literary giant — a master of epic storytelling, moral inquiry, and psychological insight. His genius lies in observing the human soul with relentless curiosity, asking the questions every creative mind wrestles with: How do we live well? How do we understand ourselves and others? In Tolstoy, as in Dostoy…

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Facing the Firing Squad 28:33

2d ago28:33

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Send us a text In the previous episode, we walked with Walt Whitman down the open roads of America, hearing the chorus of ordinary lives. Now we cross continents and step into the narrow corridors of the human soul with Fedor Dostoevsky—where freedom and conscience wrestle in shadows. Whitman’s poetry celebrated the sweep of America, the chorus of …

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Leaves of Freedom 28:08

3d ago28:08

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Send us a text Walt Whitman’s writing helped to capture and define the spirit of the growing United States during the challenging 1800s. He had a bold and unusual way of writing that created a new artistic style for America. Whitman's importance comes from three big changes that he led: a new way of writing poetry, a new way of thinking about democ…

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The Quiet Radical 26:09

4d ago26:09

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Send us a text Within the past few days, this podcast has dealt with Victor Hugo, Jonathan Swift, and Edgar Allan Poe - all these individuals were giants who challenged the status quo, but in vastly different ways. Today I would like to add Henry David Thoreau to the mix for a hopefully a compelling contrast. He's often misunderstood, just like Poe…

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New Metalcore Albums Released This Summer | Are Video Games Hurting Your Progress In The Gym? 50:08

5d ago50:08

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Season 5 Episode 23 is live and in this episode continues to follow our new structure (for the most part) including the following segments: New Metalcore Albums: In this segment, we highlight the latest metalcore albums released, providing a brief overview of some of our favorite tracks within each album. Coaches Corner: This segment features healt…

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Les Miserables 32:16

5d ago32:16

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Send us a text First you might ask - why should I read Victor Hugo. Well I'm glad you asked. You see, Reading Victor Hugo is an immersive and profound experience. But before we deal into Les Miserables, I want to say a little bit about his earlier novels. You see, before his masterwork Les Misérables (1862), Victor Hugo wrote several other signific…

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Storytelling for Social Change 31:12

6d ago31:12

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Send us a text I can't believe it, but we are halfway through the list of writers. I have at least 13 of the 25 writers on the list finished - and today is Charles Dickens. Now, Charles Dickens was a brilliant storyteller, a powerful voice for social justice, and a master of crafting unforgettable characters. You could say that Charles Dickens was …

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Echoes Through the Lakes 25:36

7d ago25:36

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Send us a text Imagine this: William Wordsworth, in the early 1800s, walking the hills of England’s Lake District. He stops to watch a field of daffodils swaying in the breeze, and suddenly, the moment becomes eternal. For Wordsworth, nature is not just scenery — it is a teacher, a healer, even a kind of companion. The world outside reflects the li…

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Feeding the Rich! 27:36

8d ago27:36

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Send us a text What if I told you one of the most famous writers in history calmly suggested… eating babies? Here's the situation: You’re sitting down with a brand-new pamphlet in Dublin, 1729. The author, Jonathan Swift, is proposing a solution to poverty in Ireland. And here’s the solution: the Irish poor should sell their babies as food to the w…

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Spy with a Pen 29:59

9d ago29:59

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Send us a text Now, Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe, was a prolific and multi-talented English writer, journalist, and spy, whose life was as adventurous as his most famous characters. Born Daniel Foe around 1660 in London to a family of Dissenters (Protestants who did not conform to the Church of England), he later added the aristocrat…

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Darkness Visible 26:34

10d ago26:34

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Send us a text "Darkness visible — a phrase that captures the paradox of John Milton’s life: eventual blindness in body, yet vision without bounds in the mind.” "Imagine a world gone dark — yet in that darkness, a man named John Milton could see more clearly than anyone else." John Milton grew up with privilege, expectation, and a mind hungry for k…

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Death Be Not Proud 31:37

11d ago31:37

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Send us a text Well here no I don't wanna do this I don't wanna do this because when I start doing stuff like this screw up so I'm just showing you I've got a belt a few hundred more to hit how are your running since you changed your topic much much higher there's no comparison Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.…

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Greatest of Them All - Part 2 26:27

12d ago26:27

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - Episode 458 - The Greatest of Them All, Part Two “In Episode 1, we followed Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon to the bustling streets and theatres of London, watching him experiment with history, tragedy, and love. But the story doesn’t stop there. From these early works, Shakespeare climbed highe…

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Greatest of Them All - Part 1 25:49

13d ago25:49

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Send us a text The Greatest of Them All - Part 1 Now when I first decided to have a series of podcast episodes dealing with what I believe are the 25 most influential writers, it seemed easiest and most effective to have one episode for each writer. But I soon found that William Shakespeare easily deserved several episodes - so I'm going to devote …

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Chaucer - Not Just Paperwork 21:21

14d ago21:21

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - Chaucer -Not Just Paperwork Before Shakespeare, before Austen…even before Milton, there was Jeffrey Chaucer. Boldly writing in English when most of the literary world preferred Latin or French. Imagine that audacity!" Cue pause: 1 second, let the audience absorb “audacity.” “The English language just…

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Architect of the Afterlife 28:54

15d ago28:54

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Send us a text Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.By George Bartley

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Conversion, Contradiction, and Creativity 25:11

16d ago25:11

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Send us a text Today I'd like to talk about a unique individual from the New Testament first known as Saul, and after his conversion, was known as Paul Based on what we know, Paul’s voice and style can best be described as urgent, argumentative, and full of rhetorical questions and paradoxes. Compared to Moses and David, he’s much less about storie…

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David - The Poet King 22:18

17d ago22:18

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Send us a text “Hello, friends, and welcome to Celebrate Creativity! My name is George Bartley, and today we turn to one of the most influential writers of the ancient world — David, the poet-king. David is certainly famous as a king of Israel, but, as I am sure you most of you know, he is also remembered as a prolific writer of Psalms — songs and …

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Moses the Writer 25:27

18d ago25:27

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Send us a text “Hello, friends, and welcome to Celebrate Creativity! My name is George Bartley, and today we begin an extraordinary journey into one of the most influential storytellers in human history — Moses. Most listeners know the creation story, but did you know that tradition credits Moses as its author? That’s right — the words ‘In the begi…

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Natty or Not Debates, Have They Gone Too Far? | Sleeper Spotlight: Gutter King 40:35

19d ago40:35

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Season 5 Episode 22 is live and in this episode continues to follow our new structure (for the most part) including the following segments: Sleeper Spotlight: This segment features a spotlight/sharing of an album, band, and/or song that may have gone under your radar, exploring the overall sound, instrumentals, vocals, etc. This week's Sleeper Spot…

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My First Promo! 13:53

21d ago13:53

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - My name is George Bartley, and this is Episode 451 - only 49 more episodes to go until this podcast reaches 500 - anyway, What you're hearing is not a full length episode - I'm close to going over my limit. But I want to let you know about an exciting series that will be released September 6 at 12 o'…

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Poe’s Words of Hope 28:37

20d ago28:37

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity- Episode 450 - Poe’s Words of Hope When you hear the name of the 19th century writer, Edgar Allan Poe, what comes to mind? Perhaps you picture a somber, extremely unhappy man scribbling tales of madness and murder in a dimly lit room. In this episode, originally written for the voices through time seri…

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Truman Capote 28:46

26d ago28:46

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Send us a text The final individual in this podcast miniseries about great literary figures who had a form of epilepsy deals with Truman Capote, and while he is listed among famous writers who had epilepsy, there's no indication that he depicted characters with epilepsy or seizures in his fictional works. As I hope you know by now, writers such as …

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What the Dickens! 24:25

29d ago24:25

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - Episode 447 - What the Dickens! Today I want to look at Charles Dickens - and no I could not find any reliable information that said Charles Dickens suffered from epilepsy, but his connection to epilepsy and neurology is extremely notable because of his descriptions of some of his characters having e…

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Is It More Challenging Starting Your Fitness Journey Overweight or "Skinny"? | Bodybuilding Banger: Jikan by Atlas//Below 37:18

29d ago37:18

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Season 5 Episode 21 is live and in this episode continues to follow our new structure (for the most part) including the following segments: Bodybuilding Banger: This segment features a spotlight/sharing of a song perfect for fueling an intense workout. We explore the song's meaning, lyrics, instrumentals, breakdowns, vocals, etc. This week's Bodybu…

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The Perfect Word 20:36

1M ago20:36

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - Episode 447 - The Perfect Word Welcome to this podcast episode. Today, get ready to hear more meet a writer who took being a perfectionist to a whole new level - possibly hear about him for the very first time. His name is Gustave Flaubert, and he's not just another author from history—he's a rebel w…

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Ultimate Freedom 21:18

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Send us a text Welcome to Episode 445 of Celebrate Creativity - Ultimate Freedom - This is the third and final episode devoted to characters with epilepsy from the writings of Fydor Dostoyevsky. In addition to Prince Myskin and Smerdyakov, there was another major character who has a relationship with epilepsy called Kirillov from dostoyevsky’s nove…

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A Multitude of Ways 23:55

1M ago23:55

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity – Episode 444 – A Multitude of Ways In this podcast series, I am delving into authors who had epilepsy. And there is probably no better example than Dostoyevsky. Now it is said that Fydor Dostoevsky's portrayal of epilepsy, especially in his character Prince Myshkin, is one of the most accurate and emp…

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Fate, Illness, or Deception? 31:10

1M ago31:10

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity – Episode 444 - Fate, illness, or Deception? This is the first podcast episode in a three part series dealing with a fascinating individual - the Russian writer Fydor Dostoevsky and his literary treatment of seizure disorders. His works are rich with recurring themes such as morality, free will, nihili…

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Was He Drunk? 29:35

1M ago29:35

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - Episode 442 Was He Drunk? I should hope that after you have listened to the preceding episode, the name of Dr. John Robertson should be familiar to you. In case it is not, Dr. John Robertson was a neurologist and an avid collector of Poe's works who, in his 1921 study "Edgar A. Poe: A Study," argued …

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Did Poe Have Epilepsy? 29:21

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity Episode 441 - Did Poe Have Epilepsy? As many of you know, I used to work at the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond Virginia - my favorite room in the entire museum, and one of my favorite places in the entire world, is the Virginia Poe room name for the mother of Edgar Allan Poe. Now this building cont…

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Crossing the Symbol 24:16

1M ago24:16

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Send us a text -Welcome to is Celebrate Creativity for episode 440 Crossing the Symbol -the second part of a look into Lord Byron. Making swimming even more difficult historically and even today it's a vital strategic waterway which means it was and still is a busy maritime passageway Now if you will excuse me, I wanna take a little aside and delve…

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An Uneasy Mind 27:08

1M ago27:08

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - Episode 439 - An Uneasy Mind Let me start with an example of my creative - if if that is what you wanna call it - approach to Gemini - I figured out what I wanted to say, my situation, and give Gemini a place to start with. I knew that Gustav Flaubert and Lord Byron lived approximately at the same ti…

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Epilepsy and Famous Writers 25:12

1M ago25:12

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - Episode 437 - Epilepsy and Famous Writers Today, Celebrate Creativity is beginning a new series, one that peels back the layers on a topic rarely discussed in the hallowed halls of literature. We're going to talk about famous writers who lived with epilepsy. Now I did not just randomly choose the top…

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Poe’s Creativity - Part Two 26:56

1M ago26:56

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Send us a text Welcome to celebrate creativity - my name is George Bartley and this is episode 437 - the Second of a two part series - Poe’s Creativity - Part Two Mr. Poe - you know I I'm very curious about your writing - and the effects you attempted to generate - Would you say that you were a stylist? Indeed, Mr. Bartley, I would say that I am a …

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Poe’s Creativity - Part One 30:38

1M ago30:38

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - my name is George Bartley and this is episode 436 - the first of a two part series - Poe’s Creativity - Part One First I have a confession to make - her somehow got the last two audio files, their titles, and numbers mixed up - it's very easy to do - I will definitely be sure to do all that I can to …

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Walt's Cloak 26:19

1M ago26:19

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Send us a text Welcome to celebrate creativity. My name is George Bartley, and this is episode 435 - Walt’s Cloak It seems that the best way to get useful information from an ai is by using clear and thorough prompts. In other words, the best way to get an answer that is useful is to spend time thinking how to communicate clearly what you want to s…

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A Fierce Undeniable Attraction 20:52

1M ago20:52

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate. Creativity - This is Episode 434 - A Fierce Undeniable Attraction Walt Whitman’s words about the female form is the subject of the first section of this episode. Section 4 This is the female form, A divine nimbus exhales from it from head to foot, It attracts with fierce undeniable attraction, I am drawn by its …

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Cataloging the Sensual 27:50

1M ago27:50

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - Episode 433 - Cataloging the Sensual I left off talking about Whitman's use of free verse, and now I'd like to say a little bit more. about his technique of cataloging - away in which you might say that he glorified the common place. In his catalogues, such as the one in "I Hear America Singing," Whi…

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Flowing and Swelling 27:13

1M ago27:13

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - My name is George Bartley and this is episode 432 - Flowing and Swelling This episode is the second in a series of podcast episodes about Walt Whitman’s unique approach to free verse. Now a good example of Walt Whitman's free verse - one that celebrates the messy, vibrant, and expansive reality of th…

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A Patient Spider 25:17

2M ago25:17

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 431 - A Patient Spider From a week of Shakespeare to a series of podcast episodes about Walt Whitman - not as big jump as you might think. You see, Walt Whitman and William Shakespeare are two of the most influential poets in the English language, and while they lived in different eras and had vastl…

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Yesterday and Tomorrow 28:51

2M ago28:51

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - Episode 431 - Yesterday and Tomorrow I mentioned that it was necessary to have a list of name signs when signing a play by William Shakespeare in an earlier podcast episode. And I want to say a final note about that here. What I always did when interpreting a play at the black fires Playhouse, I prin…

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Episode 233: Superman: Birthright #5 by Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu 1:23:12

2M ago1:23:12

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In this episode, we discuss the fifth issue of Birthright! As the story finally gives us a proper introduction to Lex Luthor, we spend a chunk of the conversation discussing the character in general. Somehow, despite the fact that we're only covering a single 22-page comic book issue, we always find things to talk about. At the time of this recordi…

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Playing with Language 25:52

2M ago25:52

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity Episode 429 Playing with Language Snce the auditory characteristics of a Shakespearean play (such as puns and meter) are outside the frame of reference of a Deaf audience, puns can be shown in “plays on signs,” instead of “plays on words.” Meter can be communicated though smooth and regular signs – the…

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How to Say No 29:22

2M ago29:22

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - Episode 429 _ How to Say No Name Signs as Clarifiers: Which Side Is He On? One common practice when interpreting a play is for t when mythological references are used the interpreter needs well needs to be able to be creative yes be creative add to avoid finger spelling and therefore breaking the met…

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3 Ways to Accelerate Your Progress In The Gym | Between The Lies EP by Memphis May Fire 40:51

2M ago40:51

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Season 5 Episode 20 is live and in this episode continues to follow our new structure (for the most part) including the following segments: Sleeper Album Spotlight: This segment features a spotlight/sharing of an album that may have gone under your radar, exploring the overall sound, favorite tracks, instrumentals, vocals, etc. This week's Sleeper …

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Yesterday and Tomorrow 32:41

2M ago32:41

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Send us a text Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - Episode 427 - Yesterday and Tomorrow Let's get back to a brief look at American Sign Language - remember American Sign Language or ASL is the natural language of the deaf. It might be a good idea to review the five parameters of American Sign Language. Asl They are Location: Where on the body the sig…