Time
My wife and I celebrated 21 years of marriage this week. This poem was inspired by something my wife said to me in relation to that chunk of time.
April 2024
Life Interrupted, the Comfort of the Familiar, and the Dangerous Habits of Avoidance – Episode 153
In this episode, Dara is reflecting on the overnight passing of two of the animal members of the Hashtag Blessed family. It reminds him of a key moment from the iconic TV show The Sopranos which centred on the idea of a changing world that couldn’t be controlled. The idea of chaos and disorder prompting a desire for control feels like a very present concern.
How To Make a Raspberry Cheesecake – From the Kitchen to a Religious Sect to 90s Hollywood Misogyny – Episode 152
Dara begins this episode by sharing his go-to recipe for making cheesecake, raspberry cheesecake, specifically. Don’t ask why – it just felt like the right thing to do. Perhaps he was trying to flaunt his ‘new man’ credentials in advance of discussing male attitudes to high-profile, successful women in the not-so-distant past.
Intentionality, Clarity, Self-Care, and The Belief in Positive Change – Episode 151
In this episode, Dara is doing what he thinks he should have done last week; namely, reflect on the throughline of one hundred and fifty episodes of the podcast. His mission statement from the original blog iteration of The ClearOut in 2013 remains just as relevant over 10 years later – Decluttering. Clarifying. Connecting. Those three imperatives continue to assert themselves on the weekly attempt to offer something of use to the listener. They, attached to an eye-rolling scepticism about toxic positivity, are at the heart of the podcast’s subheading – Wellness with Attitude.
Intentionality, Clarity, Self-Care, and The Belief in Positive Change – Episode 151 Read More »
40 Years of Winning and Grinning – The Tom Cruise Episode! – Episode 150
In this 150th episode, Dara decides not to lean into what makes the show what it is, but rather opts for the easy entertainment of the career of Tom Cruise. A recent rewatch of Top Gun Maverick prompted the question – what is it about Tom Cruise that audiences continue to buy? What is it about that smile, and that ever-young body?
40 Years of Winning and Grinning – The Tom Cruise Episode! – Episode 150 Read More »