The Mark Hastings Experience Podcast *UPDATED*
Episode #26: “You” (TV series) – Season 1, a review
Episode #25: “Frankenstein” (1931 film)
My Poem “The Mark of New York”
Every time I am asked about where my favourite place in the world might be, I close my eyes, I smile, and I am instantly transported back to the metropolis of my dreams: the one and the only, New York City... no other city compares, no other place is more special in my heart, no other city do I remember every second of and every experience that I had while being there, no other place shines brighter - because to me it will always be an inspiring constellation of 8 million stars each with their own individual story to tell about how they choose to leave their mark. It's been 8 years since I was last in the city that never sleeps, but there isn't a day that goes by when I do not think about all that I saw and all that felt while I was visiting the city filled with so many buildings literally capable of scraping the sky... it's been a long time since I was walking down the various avenues and streets from one side of the island of Manhattan to the other, but I always find comfort in the fact that, though I am far away, I can return to New York City any time I want, in my mind - and when I am there I see things, I remember things, I see details, I remember people who make the "Big Apple" the place that it is: like no other, special, powerful, and one of a kind. I would love to go back to New York City one day... I would love nothing more than to wake up, to get dressed, to head to my favourite Starbucks cafe on Fifth Avenue - where I used to eat breakfast, lunch, and enjoy a late night caramel latte or a machiatto on a regular basis, and during the daytime, as well after dark - and also revisit the places that I love and feel like I know so well, which got under my skin from the instant that I saw them and I immediately found myself in awe. I would love to go back in time... I would to get back in that yellow taxi and once again return to the pools of rememberance that lie in the shadow of the Freedom Tower, and once again pay my respects to those who lost their lives on 9/11... I would love to go back to the place that I could never get enough of and rediscover and explore the things, the places, and the feeling of unbridled kinetic energy and electricity that New York City has that has the ability to gift to those who are lucky enough to be able to visit it, or call it home - because, take it from me, no other city on Earth leaves its mark upon you after you have been there like New York.
Episode #24: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986 film)
Episode #23: “Collateral” (2004 film)
My Poem “The Best of Us”
Each of us can find contentment doing things that make us happy... each of us can find hidden secrets about life, about people, about every day things or situations that can make us all take another look at the world, and at ourselves, and allow us to realise that there is more seemingly "small things" - simple gestures, simple tokens - that mean the most in the long run and down the line when a smile on a face is all that we crave. Each of us need things to explore... each of us need one another... each of us need both windows and doors... each of us need the feeling of being included and not excluded from what is going on in the world, in the galaxy, in the quest of humanity and all life everywhere to find the next check point on the journey that is their purpose - whether that is to be found in a forest, on a mountain top, above the clouds, or below the waves on the seafloor. Each of us can do extraordinary things - even if we might not innitially recognise our gifts for being as profound and as impactful as they are... each of us make mistakes, each of us do things that we regret, because each of us are human - and I believe our failings should not forever be considered mortal sins by some from which we can not move on from, learn from, and change as a result... each of us are a miracle, worts and all... each of us are soulful individuals who over our life will feel feelings and emotions from love to guilt - but, to me, the spectrum of what people are capable of symbolises everything about life that nobody can do anything about: some things just are what they are, just as each of us are who and what we are and have always been destined to be since birth - as were, and as will always be, the best of us.
Episode #22: “Steve Jobs” (2015 film)
Episode #21: “Lucifer” (TV series” – Season 6, a review
Episode #20: “Nobody” (2021 film)
My Poem “Forté”
Everything has a vibration... everyone knows if and when they are on solid ground... everything is what it is for a reason... everyone, whether they realise it, or not, has a sound: a gift to be able to break the barrier of distance and air between two points, just as unmistakable as the language of touch generated by making contact with a drum. Some people have an innate ear for what sounds right... some people have an observant eye for what looks out of place... some people have an natural ability to be able to pick up new things just as fast and just as easy as it was for them to learn how to ride a bike... some people have the skill to be able to never forget a face, while some people are better at remembering particular numbers and names. Some skills that we acquire are self taught, while other skills come over time and take a steady recurrence of repetition in order to assimilate the necessary muscle memory... some gifts are passed down from person to person, from generation to generation, as effortlessly as driftwood floating upon the surface of an ocean before finally coming to rest upon a sandy bay... some things are meant to be, while some things are not the right fit; however, all things and all people have a reason and a fate meant just for them: something that they are good above all else, which they might describe as being their forté.
