The Mark Hastings Experience – Episode #8: “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” (TV series) – Episodes 14-16: a review

In this episode Mark talks about episodes 14, 15 and 16 – the penultimate episodes of Season One – of the animated Disney+ television series “Star Wars: The Bad Batch”. *Spoilers*

The Mark Hastings Experience – Episode #7: “Jolt” (2021 film)

In this episode Mark talks about the 2021 film “Jolt” directed by Tanya Wexler and starring Kate Beckinsale, Bobby Cannavale, Laverne Cox, Stanley Tucci, and Jai Courtney. The story of film centres around Lindy Lewis (played by Kate Beckinsale), a young woman afflicted with the intermittent explosive disorder – which causes her to react with violent rage at the slightest transgression – who finds herself on a road of revenge, while also inadvertently finding herself and her disorder being used for a nefarious purpose without her realising. Mark also talks about the everyday experiences and encounters when some people find themselves being manipulated or compelled to make an emotional or a physical outburst.

My Poem “Same Language”

The language of thought
is the same as the language of light...
the language of stars
is the same as the language of life...
the language of music
is the same as the language of the soul...
the language of dance
is the same as the language
of the natural world...
the language of a sunrise
is the same as the language of eternity...
the language of a sunset
is the same as the language of gravity...
the language of connection
is the same as the language of purpose...
the language of love
is the same as the language of trust...
the truth is that there will always
be a universal language:
the language of touch -
which is more complex than
any other language in the universe
but which is inherently every other language
combined into one.

The Mark The Poet Experience – Special Episode: “Ten Years in the Life of a Poet”

To celebrate the one year anniversary of the first episode of “Mark The Poet – The Podcast”, in this episode Mark takes a poetic trip down memory lane and recites eight poems from seven of his books, including his poems: “Back to the Spark”, “The Journey”, “Through Your Fingers”, “Heart to Heart”, “Balloons”, “Light of your life”, “Words Enough and Time”, “Memento Vitae”. And Mark also reminisces about the last ten years of his journey as a writer/poet/author. You can check out hundreds of Mark’s poems, both published and unpublished, on his website: http://MarkThePoet.Me

My Poem “Gone”

No matter how much
you try to hold on to something
sometimes you lose things,
sometimes you lose people,
sometimes you lose time;
however, one day you unearth
a piece of your past
and you look at it for the first time in years,
and, to your amazement,
it does not not mean to you
what it once meant -
where before you would have
done anything to not be parted
from a particular thing,
now, all the feelings that you
once felt for something, you discover,
seem to have evaporated,
seem to have become lost,
seem to have left without you knowing -
and though, before, you might have
told yourself that you could
never live without that
particular thing in your life,
you come to find that time appears to have
helped you more than you realize
to get passed what might
have been holding you back,
because now you find it easy
to walk away from what was never meant to be,
because what once was is now gone.

The Mark Hastings Experience – Episode #6: “Cool Runnings” (1993 film)

In this episode Mark talks about one of his favourite films: the 1993 American comedy sports drama “Cool Runnings” directed by Jon Turteltaub and starring John Candy, Leon Robinson, Doug E. Doug, Rawle D. Lewis, and Malik Yoba. The story of the film is loosely based on the true story of the first Jamaican Bobsled Team’s debut debut at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

My Poem “Soak it up”

Moments of contentment -
a time to breathe, a time to be...
moments of reverence -
a time to look, a time to listen,
a time to think and not to speak...
moments of openess, moments of exposure -
a time to dream, a time to imagine...
moments of both stillness and complexity -
a time without a worry in the world,
a time without four walls around you
that can at times feel like those of a prison...
moments of me, myself, and I -
a time to close to my eyes,
a time to find a treasure within my mind
that I know will transform the more
that I give it my time and my attention...
moments of heart pounding exhilaration -
a time that feels infinite,
a time that feels enough
to see all that I need to see,
to hear all that I need to hear,
to do all that I need to do
to fulfill my heart and my soul
before my last day on Earth is through -
and it is because I feel such energy
in every moment of time
that I always choose, whenever I can,
to take the time gifted to me to smile
at the light of the shining sun,
to open my arms high and wide,
and soak it up.

The Mark Hastings – Episode #5: “First Thoughts”

In this episode Mark talks about “first thoughts” – meaning the first thing that instantly comes to mind when we are asked a particular question, such as: what is your favourite film? What is your favourite book? And Mark talks about why it is also important to sometimes revisit certain things because as we live our lives our perspective on certain things can change in unforeseen ways.

The Mark Hastings Experience – Season 3, Episode #4: “Life + Death”

In this episode Mark talks about about life, death, meaning, and why it is important to talk to people – because nobody lives in a vacuum and sometimes everybody needs someone to give them a reason to carry on, especially when things can come to seem unbearable. There is always hope. No one is ever truly alone.

The Mark Hastings – Season 3, Episode #3: “Django Unchained” (2012 film)

In this episode Mark talks about one of his favourite films: the 2012 American revisionist Western film “Django Unchained” written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson.