Hello, there!
By Randy Young, Editor-in-Chief
Monday, April 30, 2023
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poster for The Mister Lister Podcast.
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Mister Lister Ranks the Animated World: "The Mr. Lister Podcast" Premieres on Tuesday, May 16th
[Vancouver, Monday, May 1st, 2023] - Attention animators and animation fans: get ready for a delightful mix of information, entertainment, and chuckles with the premiere of "The Mr. Lister Podcast" on Tuesday, May 16th. Created by animators for animators, this one-of-a-kind podcast dives into the enchanting world of animation, exploring its hidden treasures and history through its hilarious and thought-provoking lists.
Each week, listeners will be treated to a fresh category and set of criteria, as the podcast's charismatic host, Randy Young, leads them through the various facets of the animation industry. "The Mr. Lister Podcast" strikes a delightful balance between informative and entertaining, ensuring that every episode is a captivating journey into the animated realm, peppered with Randy's signature humor.
The show’s lively approach and witty commentary will guide listeners through each list, providing valuable insights and sparking engaging discussions about the industry's most noteworthy moments and milestones. Whether you're an animator, a fan, or a historian who knows all there is to know about the medium, they're daring to take it a step further - they’re going to rank it! Every last part of it.
So, mark your calendars for Tuesday, May 16th, and prepare to embark on a fascinating and fun-filled adventure as "The Mr. Lister Podcast" makes its highly anticipated debut. Stay tuned for more information on how to tune in and subscribe to this amusing and captivating new podcast.
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-R 💚
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MR. LISTER PODCAST PREMIERE!
By Randy Young, Editor-in-Chief
Monday, April 30, 2023
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In today's fast-paced world, it's crucial to find new and engaging ways to educate and inspire the next generation of leaders. Green Ghost Media is stepping up to the challenge with their groundbreaking "Here For A Moment" micro-documentary series, which offers a unique blend of history, activism, and cutting-edge animation.
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Dedicated to their activist roots, Green Ghost Media is taking on important moments, events, and figures from history and exploring them through the innovative lens of animation. This bold approach not only distinguishes their studio as a progressive creative environment but also demonstrates their fearlessness in pushing the boundaries of traditional storytelling.
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"Here For A Moment" goes beyond entertainment by aiming to foster community and connection through education. The series is designed to inspire young people to collaborate and make a positive impact on their surroundings, starting with their neighborhoods and ultimately extending to the world at large.
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As a micro-documentary series, "Here For A Moment" presents history in easily digestible segments, making it an ideal tool for educators and parents alike. By leveraging the power of animation, Green Ghost Media brings the past to life, igniting the curiosity of viewers and encouraging them to delve deeper into historical events.
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As we anticipate the launch of "Here For A Moment," it's clear that Green Ghost Media is a trailblazer in the realm of educational content. Stay tuned for further developments on this innovative series that promises to reshape the way we engage with history and inspire future generations to create positive change in the world.
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-R 💚
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Merging History, Activism, and Animation
EMDR
By Randy Young, Editor-in-Chief
Monday, March 20, 2023
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I recently started EMDR therapy - EMDR stands for "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing." I've lived my entire adult life either in therapy or "therapizing" myself and let me tell you: it's rare that before the end of your first ANYTHING session, you FEEL the changes being made to your brain.
Let's keep it simple. You have a rotten tooth, they extract the infection. You have a traumatic memory, they CHANGE the memory into some other, more comforting version and it will never be exactly the same again.
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Here's a quick personal example, taken from my last appointment. I've always had a very specific memory, that is huge part of my traumatic emotional barriers as an adult man. It involves my mom being extremely unhappy and weeping in the dark, when I was somewhere between five and seven years old. I was as shocked as anyone could possibly be when by the end of my first EMDR session I was conflating a memory that I've had for forty years with the new memory I created sixty seconds ago. It was wild - and frankly, I can't wait to continue wading through all of the memories that I sit and perseverate over, as a way to waste my time, talent and mental health away. Imagine tweaking that incessant memory, that nags at you, boils your blood or puts doubt in your mind, into something that is so mundane and cookie-cutter that there isn't a reason to think back to it.
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A memory of my mother in a state of suffering became a joyous dance party and I'm shouting from the rooftops that it's a miracle. Artists in general and animators, in particular (especially with more remote work now than ever), can fall into long stretches of isolation, leaving their minds to their own devices. Devices of mass distraction and confidence disruption, that often times prolong tasks that should take moments into hours-long sagas, which just make our jobs more difficult. I once heard a fancy-pants celebrity say, on a fancy-pants podcast that "if your therapist isn't suggesting EMDR to you, they don't want you to get better" and I can now firmly say that I agree.
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This isn't advice, but it is a testimony - EMDR is magical. Take care of yourselves... you can't spell "EMDR" without "Dr. Me!"
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-R 💚
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The A+B Podcast: What To Expect
By Randy Young, Editor-in-Chief
Sunday, March 19, 2023
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Screenshot of Randy Young, recording a vlog, circa 2019.
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The express goal of The A+B Podcast, a.k.a. The Animation Battery Podcast, and the "A+B Community" is to foster an international EMOTIONAL SUPPORT system for animation industry artists and create a happy, fun, soft landing place for animators that covers all of the areas that our current sparse system of independent labour unions seems to miss. As an empath, I quickly realized that not only were people around me struggling at any given studio at any given time, but they had nowhere to vent at work. Animation is that unique industry where although so many of us grew up as emotional children, using art as therapy, as adults, it has become our white-collar jobs, where weakness is frowned upon and office politics abound.
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Last year, when my friend (and industry production professional) passed away from an aggressive cancer, I vowed to find a way to help people and attempt to make certain that I was a net POSITIVE to society. I don't want to be a cancer. I don't want to only take. In fact, my mortality revealed itself so much that I'm now convinced that unless I DO give back somehow, my successes literally don't have any real validity.
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To make a long story short: A+B will focus on turning y'all into the superstars that you are (before AI renders all of us obsolete) mental and physical health, wellness, navigating office politics, finding work, self-esteem, community questions and light industry news. Sometimes we'll have interviews, many times it'll just be me, not giving advice, but sharing my experiences in the industry and my journey of learning how to keep my Animation Battery fully charged.
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Welcome to this community and I hope to meet you one day in real life so we can exchange energy and marvel at how far we've come!
Cheers! See you soon!
-R 💚
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