THURSDAY! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS THURSDAY?! Well, Mike the virtual Yooper is coming today, so why not go shopping early so we can get better food for his visit? Plus, I mean really, Pernod and root beer. Isabelle bought some percussion thing. You will hear her playing it. Isabelle hasn’t forgotten about her art podcast. Oh, MMPR this year is July 17-19. What’t the deal with those Canada Post outlets? 

Broca's Area

Broken Area - Episode 314 - Everybody Not Kowing Anything

A little late today. Isabelle went beading. I went to a talk. There’s lots going on in the world. It’s an exciting time to be alive I guess. Isabelle has found a cool artists residency she might apply for. I got free vermouth! 

Broken Area - Episode 313 - Gold and Dollar Soup

So, another Friday. It’s cooler, almost the correct temperature for the season. Isabelle had some issues making a deposit for her grant, and had to switch banks. Our bank eventually apologized, and said they were in the wrong, which they were….. Isabelle has been watching a documentary series on Netflix about the opiate crisis. I have a university senate meeting today! (I’m not actually that excited about it). We’re having our friend David over today, we’ll eat burgers and play Clue. 

Broken Area - Episode 312 - Making a Deposit

So I had a dental appointment today. My dentist is quite close to the grocery store, so we shopped today. The dental office is much more relaxed than it used to be. Jon has been home this week as it is exam week at school. Jon is excited about the Super Bowl. I honestly don’t care, but I like the enthusiasm. Isabelle got her grant money for her upcoming project. Dan didn’t win a Grammy, that sucks. Then again, as Dan noted to me, he has a job and all… 

Broken Area - Episode 311 - Fourcophones

So, this week we’re shopping on Saturday. We’re probably going to do the same thing next week, so be forewarned. Isabelle went to the screening of that documentary on the Sault language crisis that happened 30 years ago. This morning we’re off for her to be interviewed about it, and then shopping! The language crisis was a topic of discussion again. Turns out, people here were pretty cool with admitting to being freaking racists 30 years ago. Cool cool. So my brother is up for a Grammy tomorrow. As you can see in the picture, the London Free Press made sure to mention me. Hey the new oven came! It hooks up to the internet. So, I get push notifications when it’s done preheating. We saw a dumb sign. Then we talked about dumb signs. I had some comedy gold in there, as I often do. Good luck Dan! 

Broken Area - Episode 310 - Food is Central to the Brodbeck Life

Another Friday. Our oven comes tomorrow! Nobody noticed my new glasses. There’s a premiere of a documentary coming out about the language Crisis in Sault Ste. Marie 30 years ago. Also, Picard is coming out! We await people complaining that the show has ruined their childhood. Why are people jerks on the internet? Why are there comments on news stories? People might not have pheromones, the evidence is equivocal. 

Broken Area - Episode 309- Inundated With Scrolling Content

Friday afternoon shopping, different, but the same. I got new glasses. We need a new oven. We bought a new oven. ISABELLE GOT THE GRANT!!! Isabelle has another article coming out. People are entitled assholes. 

Broken Area - Episode 308 - Maybe Dave Misses His Old Glasses

Our first grocery cast of 2020! We’re all either in the grips of, or coming down with, a cold. We had a couple of nice messages about the clip show, thanks! We don’t talk about it, but I got a vacuum sealer for Christmas from my Mom and it is great. It’s funny how where we are in our drive seems to drive what we talk about. Isabelle will be busier now that she’s not teaching, which may seem counterintuitive, but it’s true. Don’t reuse passwords! 

Broken Area - Episode 307 - Big Sea of Wolves

New Year’s Day is a time of rest and reflection. I listened to randomly selected clips from 6 days of our lives. In 2019, we have posted 57 episodes of Broken Area. I am not sure if these selected clips have anything specific in common but they all make me smile because“ they’re so us.” We talk about seemingly random, boring, non-consequential things: paintings, using technology, a rude cashier, potholes, Madeleine’s trip to Japan. Our Saturday or Friday grocery trip is always the same: leaving home, going to the grocery store, going to the LCBO and returning home. Dave adds: “sometimes we return bottles.” What’s weird is that we can’t seem to stop wanting to do it and people appear to like knowing we’re here too. Our presence I think is felt and reinforced by these seemingly small inconsequential events and by our listeners having become used to Dave’s matter-of-fact storytelling and my emotional rantings. The combination of our opposite personalities and outlooks on the surface but very similar stance on things that matter is probably what has led to our continued listenership. To me, our podcast is a string of life events that can be described as a microcosm within a microcosm of a small bordertown, in Northern Ontario. Kind of the opposite of “in a galaxy far far away.” Thanks for listening and Happy New Year 2020 ! 

Broken Area - Episode 306 - 2019 Compilation

So this should be our last episode before Christmas. We’re shopping a day early to avoid, hopefully, the horribleness of a Saturday before Christmas outing. We’ve not left yet, but I’m hoping. OK, turns out it really wasn’t that bad at all. Oh, umm, a truck was beside us that had the Beatles on the side of it. I cashed in my PC points too. Now, the LCBO, it was packed. Hey, Isabelle is a published citizen journalist! Merry Christmas from us! 

Broken Area - Episode 304 - My Neurons Take a More Convoluted Path

Well I hope everyone had a nice Christmas or whatever you do or don’t celebrate. As an aside, we got a nice e card from Rachel, thanks! So Christmas itself was excellent. Christmas Eve dinner was great. Jon really loved the stuff he got from everyone, but especially the stuff that Doug Slater sent him. Really out, you made his day. The letter was really nice too. Then Maddie got sick, which sorta sucks. Isabelle’s sister has a toy store, so this is her busy time. We’re both sorta out of it, it’s that time of year. I got Isabelle a scroll saw for Christmas because I’m awesome. 

Broken Area - Epiosde 305 - After Christmas Torpor

The title refers to a thing Isabelle said that we lost sadly, so today’s is about 25 minutes shorter than usual. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Well, in that the calendar is approaching the 25th anyway. Nasty weather just above freezing, roads are awful. We went to the work Christmas party yesterday. Free Wings! We hung out with a couple of women we really like, Laurie and Jenn. Isabelle also met some new people, which was cool. I thought I’d lost my earbuds, but they were in the car. 

Broken Area - Episode 303 - Outside of Playing the Spoons

Some traditions are dumb. Others, like us recording our annual search for a Christmas tree, actually make the world a safer place and bring together people from across the globe. Also we talked about lots of stuff, because, well, because where we thought we could get a tree had no trees. However, I went on to facebook, and, lo and behold, it had a use. Someone suggested a place and we went there. 

Broken Area - Episode 302 - Christmas Tree Special 2019

I’m in bed typing this on my phone before getting up. I love the future!! It’s actually the seventh anniversary of us rebooting Broca’s Area. We’re both almost done the term. Maddie is on her way back from Japan, where she was awesome as expected. Also she had great food. Jon had friends over yesterday so that’s why we’re on a Saturday. Next week there’s a work party on Friday, so, we’ll again be on Saturday. We talked about that banana art thing, it’s dumb. Our yearly Christmas Tree Special is coming up soon! 

Broken Area - Episode 301 - Powered On Christmas Needles

Hey, it’s Canadian National Day of Podcasting! or #CNDOP. In that spirit, even though we already recorded this week, we thought we’d do a bonus episode for CNDOP. Maddie is on her way to the Japans, so there is some texting with her during the episode. We mostly talked about why we do the podcast. about how podcasting and technology have changed over the time we’ve been doing these things, and about the many friends that we have met over the years. We hope you like the episode! Happy #CNDOP! 

Broken Area - Episode 300 - Marginals

Dave and Isabelle, a married couple in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada discuss various topics

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