Midlifing

Send us Fan Mail This week's episode begins with a failure, descends into a very boring discussion of airline seating before being warmed up by Lee's new heating system. In other words, Simon and Lee are united in the same timezone (physically, not psychically). Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): economy 7 (refers to the num...

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee dig into Lee's gallbladder before thinking through Simon's NZ buffer between being home and, well, being home home.  Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Simon's glamorous podcasting setup: https://www.skellis.net/midlifing/setup adventure racing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_raci...

Send us Fan Mail A hypothetical drunken situation (and necessary use of the subjunctive) forms the basis of some spoonerisms and a conversation about death cleaning and things that matter. Also, Simon talks to a newly deaf chocolate bunny. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Swedish death cleaning: https://www.realhomes.com/advice/swed...

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee talk about instability, letting go of cynicism, and being profligate with love. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): casket vs coffin: https://www.legacy.com/advice/what-is-the-difference-between-a-coffin-and-a-casket/ pīwakawaka (fantail): https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/fant...

Send us Fan Mail This is a strange one. Simon and Lee talk about the death of Simon's mother Gabrielle, eulogies, and racism. These things are not connected. Also, Simon's recording crackles in sadness (or something went wrong with his setup). Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): King Lear and Cordelia (more than words can wie...

Send us Fan Mail Simon thinks he might be losing his sense of humour. Lee comes to the rescue. One of them cries into his beer. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Aotearoa Pale Ale: https://www.tuatarabrewing.co.nz/beer/aotearoa-pale-ale/ Jenny Morris "Aotearoa": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phJ1kOBhQfM The Three Marriage...

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee talk about a shaky landing, get lost in a sea of terrible old movies, then discuss apologies. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Text message from Air New Zealand regarding the weather: http://skellis.net/midlifing/weather Video of airplanes landing at Wellington airport (not for the fainthearted): https...

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee talk tattoos and shame. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): demob: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demob ASMR: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASMR mukbang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukbang Simon's waffle podcast setup: http://skellis.net/midlifing/waffle shame: https://en.wikipedia.org...

Send us Fan Mail Introducing Lear B. Miller. Simon and Lee try to have a regular conversation but Simon's state of disrepair gets in the way. Eventually they talk about his blue wrist band of freedom. Confused? Yes, so are they. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Frances Haugen (Facebook whistleblower): https://en.wikipedia.org/w...

Send us Fan Mail Simon leaves the Wild West and Lee leaves a party: COVID, isolation, and panic attacks. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Feijoa Frenzy: https://www.newworld.co.nz/shop/product/5012429_ea_000nw MIQ: https://www.miq.govt.nz ET: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial ET lockdown scene (MIQ in NZ is no...

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee talk about being caught between bureaucracy and grief when a previously imagined scenario becomes real. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Rosemary Lee (choreographer): https://www.artsadmin.co.uk/profiles/rosemary-lee/ Raymond Tallis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Tallis MIQ: https://www.miq.gov...

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee are asked to talk about conspiracy theories but take a long time to get to them, and then realise they have very little skin in the game (but for very different reasons). They end up at self-consciousness and not changing anything. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): sonhos: http://portuguesediner.com/tia...

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee try to talk about food and what food means. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Curious about the Queen tweeting bit?: https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/1436820368514338818 Food poverty in the UK: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/food-poverty.html La cucina povera: http://www.scordo.com/food/la-cucina...

Send us Fan Mail Lee and Simon talk about attitudes and habits towards the body in decline. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): winnowing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnowing picked up the ball and ran with it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Webb_Ellis gender theory: https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-a...

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee struggle with a question about who carries other people's emotions, who doesn't, and why this is so. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Steve Jobs' 2005 commencement speech at Stanford (not his resignation letter): https://news.stanford.edu/2005/06/14/jobs-061505/ Succession (TV Series): h...

Send us Fan Mail Simon and Lee talk about making things with love. Recorded using Simon's 52 year old mouth and listened to with his 53 year old ears. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Pet Shop Boys 'West End Girls': https://youtu.be/p3j2NYZ8FKs Superman logo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_logo Michael Sandel...

Send us Fan Mail Lee and Simon decide to run for parliament and spend the episode sorting out their political manifesto. Vote here. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Source of the Thames: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Head dogs are barking: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dogs%20are%20barking wicked problem: ht...

Send us Fan Mail Lee and Simon have a hypothetical and very real conversation about being with loved ones. Recorded 1 August 2021. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Latin in UK schools (a few of them): https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jul/31/latin-introduced-40-state-secondaries-england Dawn Butler thrown out of chamber for...

Send us Fan Mail Prompted by some listener feedback in which Lee and Simon are accused of nearly jumping the shark, they decide to come clean about their ambitions and reach out to you, yes you, their listeners. Also, who are we kidding, these show notes are not written by someone else. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): jumping the s...

Send us Fan Mail Lee expresses some concerns about the UK's "Freedom Day" and has an excellent strategy to prevent people dropping by. They touch on the 1976 film Logan's Run which leads to a conversation about assisted dying. We also find out if Simon's nephew Finn is polite or just not a glutton. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and...

Send us Fan Mail Our fearlessly absurd friends find themselves in the land of musicals until Simon reveals that he did his long overdue Suspiria watching homework. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Sweet Caroline (don't watch it, you'll never get it out of your head): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty1dwBCR6D0 Michael Jack...

Send us Fan Mail Part 2 of 2 of Overdue begins with three sneezes and then extends last week's conversation into difficult ideas to do with sexuality and otherness. Please note that Lee and Simon briefly discuss suicidal ideation . Here's a list of international suicide hotlines: http://www.suicide.org/hotlines/international-suicide-hotlines.html Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@m...

Send us Fan Mail Part 1 of 2 of Overdue has Lee and Simon talking about protests, diverse crowds, trust in institutions and feeling out of place. Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): white power symbol and ok gesture: https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/764728163/the-ok-hand-gesture-is-now-listed-as-a-symbol-of-hate boiled egg hack: https://...

Send us Fan Mail Lee and Simon become agony aunts (or uncomfortable uncles) for one episode. Perhaps this is the start of a dramatic rise into the top 1% of all podcasts? Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net . Related links (and necessary corrections): Sourdough starter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sourdough#Starter Bobby Baker: http://bobbybaker.com/ Shattered Anatomies: https:...

Send us Fan Mail Simon holds a sports quiz for Lee (without beer). What could possibly go wrong? Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net. Related links (and necessary corrections): Kinsey scale (0-6): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinsey_scale Cristiano Ronaldo and water: https://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2021/jun/16/drink-water-ronaldos-coca-cola-snub-costs-company-billions...