Mentally Oddcast Transcript: Maddie

Audio version of this episode available here. 

00:00:02.15

wednesdayleefriday

Hi, friends. It's me, Wednesday, Lee Friday, and you are listening to The Mentally Oddcast. This week, we have Maddie, and Maddie defines herself by her dedication to learning new things and to personal growth. ah She is involved in drawing, painting, and sculpting and cooking. um But Maddie also lives with depression and anxiety, ADHD, and maybe even more than that. We'll we'll talk a lot about it. um

00:00:33.06

wednesdayleefriday

Now, you know, we've we've actually talked a lot about the show about how adult women are just now getting around to being diagnosed properly in their 30s and 40s, even though they should have been diagnosed in childhood. ah Like me, ah Maddie is also pretty confident that she has autism. And ah we'll talk more about that later. But unlike me, Maddie is not yet 25 years old. So she is like way ahead of me when it comes to figuring all that out. Hi, Maddie. Thanks for being here.

00:01:03.88

maddie

Hi, I'm happy to be here and helping you out. I'm happy that we could finally get it set up.

00:01:09.60

wednesdayleefriday

Yay, yep, yep, as with so many people, ah you know, we get busy and scheduling is tricky at best, at best, even though it's all remote.

00:01:18.69

maddie

Yeah, no.

00:01:20.80

wednesdayleefriday

So, um, okay, before we get into anything like heavy, the first thing that we like to talk about is the story of your first horror movie. So give it up. What's the story?

00:01:34.43

maddie

Okay, so I'm a little bit of a weenie. I won't lie. I like a lot of thrillers. I like a lot of like slasher stuff. But when I was really, really young, um my parents were super into like ghost scary movies. So the first scary movie that I ever saw was The Haunting in Connecticut. Absolutely terrifying. I remember I was like so scared pretty much for like a whole week and Something that I didn't realize until I was much older was that it was actually like triggering my anxiety response um I was kind of like

00:02:12.04

wednesdayleefriday

Okay.

00:02:14.69

maddie

I don't know I was I was kind of using the idea of ghost as like a way for my anxiety to come out in a way that I could understand it a little bit better because you know when you're when you're young you ah you kind of just feel all these feelings and you don't really understand well what's happening um but yeah so that was that was crazy it was uh it terrified me a lot but now um I'm a little bit better but I It's really funny actually my friend, I don't know if you know anything about the honey in Connecticut, but my, it takes place when a family moves into this like old timey house that has a dentist office underneath like in the basement.

00:02:45.28

wednesdayleefriday

Yep.

00:02:55.64

maddie

And my friend, one of my childhood friends. had a house like that where their basement was an old dentist office. And we would do sleepovers in there all the time. And I just remember like being absolutely terrified ah of of just that house in general. So yeah.

00:03:12.59

wednesdayleefriday

Yeah. Wow. um I actually think you hit on something really important, which is the way that people use horror, ah horror fans in particular, but I think it it goes outside of of hardcore horror fans, but as a way to manage anxiety. um I think also like rewatching things in general or the push toward watching. ah When I was a kid, I read a lot about serial killers. I read about like the Manson Family was was huge back then. People were were reading about you know all that. um and I was fascinated by it by just the abnormal psych aspect, but also

00:03:55.31

wednesdayleefriday

because it's a very safe way to acquaint yourself with things that you would not want to acquaint yourself with in real life. And horror fans do tend to rewatch a lot of horror over and over again because it's not going to hit you by surprise, but yet it still allows you to go through all the different emotions. especially when you're talking about people who have left abusive situations and are trying to like figure out what to do with all that like nervous energy, all that fear energy.

00:04:30.33

wednesdayleefriday

like It's all still there, but you're if you're not constantly frightened anymore, it ah yeah it kind it needs someplace to go, I guess.

00:04:34.43

maddie

right

00:04:41.44

maddie

You know, that that definitely makes sense to me. um I used to wonder when I was young, like, how did people do this? Like, how did people watch these scary movies all the time? And um as I've gotten older, it really just, actually, no, honestly, really just in my time starting therapy and analyzing how people feel feelings a bit more than I had really ever done so. um I kind of realized that it's really just, like almost instinct, like you you're you chase that that feeling or that emotion that you need to finally release. um So yeah, I definitely see how people, you know, they they crave that or or they know that they need to release the anxiety. They knew they need to release the fear, but having ah a safe way, in a safe, predictable way to do so could be very, very comforting.

00:05:38.22

wednesdayleefriday

Yes. Yep. Very much so. So what would you say is the place of horror as a genre in your life right now?

00:05:47.46

maddie

For me, it's a bit, it's a bit of litmus test. Going back to a little bit of what I was saying earlier, how I feel like the ghost, the ghost fear was a reaction of my anxiety. Um, it's actually really funny in my, in my friend group, my high school friend group, I was always known about, uh, of being like the weenie or like the scaredy cat. Um, obviously in a joking manner, nobody was ever taking it too seriously.

00:06:11.32

wednesdayleefriday

Mm

00:06:16.37

maddie

um But i I would frequently find myself not being able to sleep out of like this this fear of of ghosts that I didn't even think were real.

00:06:29.68

wednesdayleefriday

-hmm.

00:06:29.90

maddie

And I wouldn't even need to watch scary movies. I would just have to think about them. Like there's a very specific scene in um Insidious where they're sitting at the table and that that demon face suddenly pops behind the the lady and that specific scene

00:06:44.14

wednesdayleefriday

Mmhmm.

00:06:46.53

maddie

would just haunt me, it'd be 3 a.m. at night and it would terrify me. But now that I'm you know going on this this growth journey and in therapy and I'm i'm studying more of my anxiety reactions, um I realized that like this really was just unchecked anxiety because I didn't actually get diagnosed until I had had basically a mental breakdown. and 2023, like midway through 2023.

00:07:19.32

maddie

I had just this always assumed that this was just how life was. you know I assumed that everybody just felt this way.

00:07:24.19

wednesdayleefriday

Uh-huh. Yep.

00:07:26.33

maddie

And it got to a point where I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I couldn't do anything without thinking. um And for horror, it was so difficult to watch any horror movie towards the the peak of this anxiety because it was just such a big manifestation of what I couldn't control and um you know all of the threats that I'm always hyper vigilant for but now that I've begun you know therapy I've began my my medication journey um it's become easier for me to watch scary movies and um I actually really like a lot of you know the stuff that

00:08:11.77

maddie

Used to scare me stuff like zombie movies stuff like you know horror radio games um I still haven't breached the actual ghost genre yet out of You know still that that fear that's something I'm working towards but a lot of slasher movies um I actually I recently watched scream on the 4th of July um For the first time ever I'd never seen it even though it's a classic

00:08:34.00

wednesdayleefriday

Oh wow.

00:08:39.00

maddie

Um, and there, it was, it was one of those ones where I was just terrified of it, even though I didn't know like anything about it. So being able to see, uh, to finally go over that hurdle, it, it really did feel like I was finally getting a hang of, of just, you know, the, the general terror that you feel in life, you know,

00:09:05.21

wednesdayleefriday

Yep. Well, you've you've hit on so many important things there. um I think one of which is that people that live with a lot of anxiety tend to recognize each other. And those are going to be the people that you're more likely to gravitate to, especially like in a work or a school kind of situation, um, which in turn does make it seem like everyone is living with a high degree of anxiety because everyone, you know, has a lot of anxiety. Everybody's worried. Everybody feels powerless about what's going to happen. There's so much like,

00:09:44.66

wednesdayleefriday

misinformed anger out there that, like, i I don't go out a whole lot these days. A lot of my life has actually lived on the internet, and the internet is not a very friendly place right now. And people are furious about things that they don't even understand. I mean, all caps screaming commenters like calling me on my actual phone to scream at me because they think I'm like fine with kindergartners having sex change operations or just some insane like that doesn't happen in the world where where are you that you think this is happening and and I think seeing that it's enough to make you think the entire world has gone bug fuck nuts and you look around and

00:10:35.83

wednesdayleefriday

yeah it's It's like we're all making eye contact with each other and like doing the the crazy twirly finger motion. like what What is happening out there?

00:10:42.59

maddie

Oh, yeah.

00:10:46.00

wednesdayleefriday

But it is easy to forget that constant fear, constant anxiety, hypervigilance are not They may be more popular than ever, but they don't have to be a permanent state of affairs. It so pleases me to find out that you are in therapy now. i mean it's It sucks that so many people wait for a breaking point. you know I mean, I certainly did. I generally don't get back into therapy until things are just falling apart. and It's because it's hard. It's hard to get to therapy. It's hard to find a new therapist that takes your insurance, that's taking new patients, that's able to see you in a timely way. like All of it is just so, so difficult.

00:11:38.60

wednesdayleefriday

which I think is another reason I end up using horror movies because horror movies are right there. I'm surrounded by them. Was it difficult for you to get therapy once you decided that you needed it?

00:11:46.39

maddie

Yeah.

00:11:51.57

maddie

Um, I think that I, I really settled for getting my foot through the door, then finding the perfect person to be my therapist. Um, I actually went straight to my doctor and I'm very, very fortunate. I am. I'm one of the lucky people that can say I go to my doctor with this qualm. They believe me. And I am able to see, yeah, no, it's and it's very rare, because I have lots of friends and family that are struggling.

00:12:16.14

wednesdayleefriday

Nice.

00:12:22.96

maddie

um So you know i'm I'm definitely grateful for for their time and their attention. um But I took the recommendation from um my my doctor, and I let them refer me to a ah a a business that has um They have senior therapists and then they have people that are just graduating with their masters and still looking for their PhD So I'm actually still seeing a student Technically they are they are a student because they're still in school for their PhD but I am being my therapist is Kind of one of those ah Not temps, but she's she's still learning so we're it's a bit of a learning journey for for the both of us um and

00:12:51.15

wednesdayleefriday

right right

00:13:12.89

maddie

Yeah, it so i I'm happy that I got started.

00:13:15.65

wednesdayleefriday

Right, right.

00:13:16.56

maddie

I think that, you know, I might, I'm not sure much longer I have with her, um just realistically.

00:13:23.74

wednesdayleefriday

Mm hmm. Yeah, those are usually limited, right? It's like 10 sessions or something, right?

00:13:29.27

maddie

So it's not necessarily that it's limited, um like legally. It's just, I think that my needs are growing past what she's able to accommodate for, um especially as I am getting more serious with the idea of getting my aut autism diagnosis.

00:13:39.54

wednesdayleefriday

Uh huh.

00:13:46.69

maddie

um You know, we've talked about it briefly in the very beginning of our sessions, but she isn't knowledgeable enough to really help me in that way, which, you know, everybody has their specialty, I understand. no hard will for her. She's great. She tries her best. um But, you know, I'm perusing the ideas of finding a more inclusive therapist just because there are so many different intersecting issues that come up in my life.

00:14:02.09

wednesdayleefriday

Mmhmm.

00:14:15.26

maddie

And it's like, well, yes, it's my anxiety. Yes, it's my life. But it's also, this is just autism. This is just what happens when you have to perform under capitalism and you are disabled. um There are a lot of times where we're talking and I'm, you know, talking about burnout and it's not that she doesn't know what it is, but she doesn't get it in the same way that I feel like another autistic person will get, um, not that she isn't trying, but it is.

00:14:42.91

wednesdayleefriday

No, no, I fully appreciate that. I know that at one point I really needed therapy. I didn't have insurance. I think H and I were not married yet, so I didn't have his insurance yet. and so I saw you know at the local university, I i saw one of the psych students you know just to talk things through. and It's it is fine for some things but like if i'm sitting there. In my forties and you know some barely twenty year old student is telling me she understands what i'm going through when i'm like nearing a midlife crisis like i don't mean to be rude but no you you don't.

00:15:25.80

wednesdayleefriday

You know, you don't understand things like crushing poverty because you are affluent and you're young. So you haven't had to like, I mean, you you know, ah if people you need someone who gets it, which.

00:15:41.55

maddie

Yeah.

00:15:42.45

wednesdayleefriday

whether you're talking about like age things or, or like, you like you were saying, like a lot of intersectional issues, you know, you can read all about what it's like to be handicapped, but you don't know how it feels when you're standing at the bottom of a staircase knowing you can't go the hell up it. And, you know, you like ah some things have to be experienced to be fully understood. I think it's as simple as that sometimes.

00:16:12.33

maddie

Yeah. And that's not to say that you can't emphasize with, but that's why, you know, listening to people when they speak up is very important because, you know, that, that, that sense is true in a lot of different topics, not just being disabled. Um, but I'm sorry, booby up I had a point and now I'm ah trying to backtrack.

00:16:31.52

wednesdayleefriday

Well, we were talking about intersectionality and how it can apply to the search for a therapist, you know, and and just how ah you you need to find somebody with an understanding of your life experience, even if they haven't experienced it themselves.

00:16:36.93

maddie

Hmm. You know,

00:16:46.77

wednesdayleefriday

Cause yeah, I mean, it's, it's a tricky thing, but, but you did mention that you're looking for a different therapist. Is that how's that search going?

00:16:57.88

maddie

Um, so I haven't, I haven't really been looking recently just because of the, the burnout as, ah as, as the aforementioned, um, cause I just switched jobs.

00:17:08.32

wednesdayleefriday

Mm-hmm.

00:17:10.15

maddie

So now I am working at a car dealership, um, which is so very fun. Um, not to derail, not to derail the topic, but I always forget how just incredibly rude men are to women.

00:17:17.41

wednesdayleefriday

Are you in sales?

00:17:26.00

maddie

Uh, just normally until I worked at a car dealership and now I have at least two people a day, like just demanding to speak to a man because I answer, thank you for calling blah, blah, blah.

00:17:35.36

wednesdayleefriday

Yep.

00:17:38.87

maddie

How can I help you? And I think I'm an idiot who doesn't know what I'm talking about. Um, yeah.

00:17:45.53

wednesdayleefriday

Yeah, yeah, I would imagine that that is rampant when you're talking about cars my last day job was selling violins and there were people that would just give me this snide like Surely there's a gentleman I could speak to about this Like yeah, there is but he's gonna tell you the same friggin thing. I just told you yeah But yeah, that's that's one thing about the service industry is that

00:18:04.75

maddie

Yeah.

00:18:11.86

wednesdayleefriday

You get exposed to all kinds of people, and it's it's hard not to make sweeping generalizations about all of humanity when you see like the same six kinds of people being the same six kinds of rude every day.

00:18:28.04

maddie

Yeah.

00:18:28.07

wednesdayleefriday

You know, I don't want to necessarily say, Hey, I think church people are more rude than non church people, but 20 years in retail and customer service certainly bears that out. Like there would, if I were trying to prove such a thing, there would be a great deal of evidence backing me up.

00:18:46.37

maddie

just go to a diner on Sunday afternoon, see who tips.

00:18:49.68

wednesdayleefriday

Right.

00:18:51.73

maddie

You'll see.

00:18:51.81

wednesdayleefriday

Yep. Yep. Just go to the IHOP and keep your eyes open.

00:18:53.53

maddie

Yeah.

00:18:56.31

wednesdayleefriday

Definitely. um So let me ask now, if you have occasional depression and typical anxiety, how does that impact like your motivation and how much work you're able to do? Like creative work, I mean.

00:19:12.41

maddie

Yeah, so um I find that I will really, really use my creativity as my source of of healing. um I find that i it's a sign that I've begun to heal once I get back to the part of me that wants to make, wants to create things. um And I find that since starting therapy, I'm trying to add more creative endeavors into my life to kind of act as buffers for the burnout. so that, you know, all these tedious tasks, all of the, you know, the the rude people that demand to talk to a man, all of the, you know, frustrating conversations that I have with friends when they just don't understand that you can't change your plans the day of and then tell me to go to the bar by your house and you don't tell me where the bar is, like, you live in the city, there's 10 bars by your house.

00:20:05.13

wednesdayleefriday

yeah

00:20:07.13

maddie

Anyways, but bringing it in, finding the time,

00:20:08.15

wednesdayleefriday

Yeah.

00:20:11.28

maddie

um It's a lot of time management, um which sign kind of sounds kind of counterintuitive, um but because you know you you fall into depression, and you you get the sense of, i I don't want to do anything. I don't want to move. i don't want to You get this just feeling of, the last time I felt it, it was just it was just like like the

00:20:29.29

wednesdayleefriday

Yep. What?

00:20:42.03

maddie

the TV sound, you know, those old TVs when ah they had the big hulky backs and you would change the HDMI channel and it would just be the fuzzy screen and all the fuzzy screen sounds. Like I was thinking.

00:20:55.14

wednesdayleefriday

um I'm sorry, I need to point out that old TVs don't have HDMI signals. but um

00:21:03.92

maddie

um i I was trying to think of um what the what the channels are.

00:21:06.60

wednesdayleefriday

You mean that the rabbit ears? See, if an old TV didn't work right, you know what you did? You hit it. You smacked it right in the side.

00:21:13.63

maddie

He just kept hitting it.

00:21:15.56

wednesdayleefriday

We were a violent people in the 80s. um and And yeah, but no, I get it. I get it. And the thing is that like depression, it just makes everything heavy and dark and difficult. And while everything is heavy and dark and difficult, there doesn't seem to be a point. you know because that's for me at least the the most difficult thing isn't finding like time to to do something it's convincing myself that it's worth doing because when i'm depressed nothing seems worth doing nothing seems worth the effort like i'm hungry and i'm thirsty but what would be the point of going into the kitchen all it's gonna do is have water and food why would i even go in there like and

00:22:03.23

wednesdayleefriday

you know like a sane person would say what i don't understand your hungry go get something to eat. But I bet you get it when I'm like, no, that's so much work.

00:22:12.53

maddie

A hundred percent.

00:22:14.42

wednesdayleefriday

That's so much work. You know, it's, it's just more effort that I'm prepared to expend. And, you know, then you end up irresponsible because not hydrating and not consuming nutrients, of course, makes your body and your mind not work as well as it should. And then it's just this whole crazy cycle that eventually ends you up in a hospital or a therapist office or somewhere worse. you

00:22:40.61

maddie

Yep, yep, exactly. And I feel like that's why it's so hard for people who haven't been depressed to understand what we mean when we say when we say it's a cycle. Because you know I'm sure that my legs work. I'm sure that I could get up right now. But sometimes the shame of not doing anything is the only thing that can get me up out of my bed. um That is what I'm realizing is is a big motivator for me. um

00:23:09.80

wednesdayleefriday

Shame.

00:23:10.81

maddie

Yep, for from from my unhealthy coping mechanisms as a youngins.

00:23:15.37

wednesdayleefriday

Oh boo boo.

00:23:19.07

maddie

Yeah, yeah, I know it's not fun. It's one of those things I'm trying to tackle, but um I find that that was kind of how I i adjusted to living um because I never really had anybody pushing me to succeed, to do anything. um So, you know, it was almost like this is where it gets, it becomes very elaborate because my autism is kind of like, I see what is in the movies and I see that this is how life should be. So even though I know that my life, I should be doing XYZ, I will use that shame and say, I don't have XYZ, so I need to keep getting up, I need to keep doing. um Even though there's nobody behind me pushing me to do it, I just know internally that's something I have to do

00:24:08.16

maddie

to be successful, to fit in. It's almost like not it's almost like masking, but it's it's your life, you know?

00:24:17.46

wednesdayleefriday

Oh yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm a, I'm an adult person who didn't do any of the adult person things, you know, JD Vance would be mortified that I do not have children or cats by the way. Um, but you know, I didn't buy a house. I didn't like start a career and then grow and get like better at it. I mean, I kinda did cause I started writing professionally, but, uh, I mean, I do make money doing what I do, but if I didn't have a husband, I'd be living in a refrigerator box in someone's parking lot somewhere. you know i have never like Because I'm nuts and my my body don't work right. i've never actually It's funny because I had to sign up at the Social Security website because I'm old and everything. so I was checking that out.

00:25:04.95

wednesdayleefriday

And it's pretty stark when you look at how much money you've made in your entire life because it's not much. I mean, I was above the poverty level maybe three years in my life and I've always worked.

00:25:16.87

maddie

Yeah.

00:25:18.23

wednesdayleefriday

I've never like just, you know, oh, I'm not going to work or look for work. I mean, I've been, I had been like without a job. fervently trying to find one sometimes. But yeah, I mean, I was never like living a ah life of of ah unexamined luxury. And it's it's pretty stark because I think that's another thing that neurotypical people don't get. You know, like I'm fascinated at the concept of people like my old day job

00:25:50.42

wednesdayleefriday

My boss would like show up around nine, he'd leave around six, and that's what he did every single day. And then on the weekends he would like hang out and do things with his family, but it was this whole like, button-up shirt kind of life that was just the same over and over and over again. And he thought it was great. Like he loved it. It was just like, oh, this is what people do. And then they go do it. And like, I am aware of the concept that that's a popular thing to do, but I've never been able to do that. I mean, it it floors me that so many people are able to do that.

00:26:31.99

wednesdayleefriday

and yeah i'm kind of like rambly right now but um

00:26:35.14

maddie

No, no, you're fine. Um, I actually think that that is something that I've been very, very curious about, um, because I have that type of family.

00:26:36.92

wednesdayleefriday

but

00:26:46.46

maddie

I have that very normal, very well, um on, on some sides, they're very normal, very modern life. And, um, its It's a very interesting, what is the word I'm thinking of like dichotomy?

00:26:58.19

wednesdayleefriday

And yeah, I'm kind of like rambly right now, but, um, but

00:27:02.29

maddie

I don't know why I thought that, but it's a very interesting um thing to see. the different levels of of normalness under society because I am full-blown communist, liberal, like fuck the man. I'm not having kids. I'm not doing nothing. My mother's family, very, very like typical Democrat. like We have 2.5 kids. We have a dog. We have a house in our name, 401k, saving up for retirement. like

00:27:33.27

maddie

Joe Schmo exactly the person that you were just talking about.

00:27:36.64

wednesdayleefriday

Mmhmm.

00:27:36.72

maddie

But my parents are very different from either of us. They're in a very strange middle place where they are they are they are very, very conservative, very, very different from me. um But I see them trying to at attain this normal life. And it just doesn't work for them. And I see how miserable that they are at some points, just struggling to, I don't want to say fit in, but to to achieve the the American dream in quotation marks, I say, cause it's a lie.

00:28:13.35

wednesdayleefriday

Well, and it's not a thing even if, I mean, it never was a thing for everybody, but now it's getting to the point where, I mean, to be very blunt, even middle-class white people are feeling it. You know, like when it was just when, when crushing poverty was just a thing, like on the other side of the red line, people didn't care as much. But now, like. So many more people, an entire generation of people. It started with my generation, the Xers. There were some of us that just like couldn't quite catch up to what was happening. But now like wages are so low, expenses are so high, and the world just isn't what it used to be. And I love so much that the generations coming up are just looking around and saying, well, that doesn't make any sense. Why are you guys doing that?

00:29:04.21

wednesdayleefriday

and you know boomers are looking back like oh how dare you we've always done that like nah bitch no these things are not like people don't understand like oh why do marriages not stay together like they used to and it's because women couldn't leave you know you couldn't just get a divorce you couldn't just get a job and support yourself especially if you have kids people were allowed to say i'm not gonna hire you because you have children to to women, not to men. but

00:29:36.25

maddie

yeah.

00:29:36.56

wednesdayleefriday

you know in the world and it you know we We've gotten to the point where people say, oh, you know what? I'm just not going to work at your shitty fast food restaurant. How about that? How do you like them apples?

00:29:48.60

maddie

yeah.

00:29:49.89

wednesdayleefriday

I'm so in love with the idea of a universal basic income. If we had a UBI, People would still work. People would still do things, but corporation we wouldn't be at the mercy of corporations because Walmart and McDonald's and Yum Foods and Darden and all those places, they know that without a job, most of us will die. you know We'll be homeless.

00:30:14.96

maddie

It's very interesting.

00:30:15.71

wednesdayleefriday

We can't go to doctors. They they know that.

00:30:21.02

wednesdayleefriday

Yeah, please.

00:30:21.34

maddie

Yeah. No, I was going to say, it's very interesting that you brought up the UBI because that is one of my favorite talking points to bring up when I am having debates. um because there's a very specific situation that I always define it as. It's not technically a UBI, but going back to the pandemic times when we were getting the stimulus the stimulus checks, um I distinctly remember my sister got a stimulus. She was independent on her own. um You know, she thought she was going to be rolling the dough. She was very excited. But then,

00:31:01.44

maddie

Right before she could do anything with the stimulus, her car broke down. She was devastated. She couldn't, she was worried about how she was going to get to work, how she was going to get to school.

00:31:10.30

wednesdayleefriday

Mm hmm. Mm hmm.

00:31:11.15

maddie

And then she realized, I can use the stimulus check to buy a new car, maybe a shitty car, because, you know, the stimulus was only what, like 2K? Maybe probably less. um

00:31:24.07

wednesdayleefriday

Mm hmm.

00:31:25.35

maddie

But that really got me thinking, okay, this is what it means to have the government supporting you in daily life.

00:31:33.87

wednesdayleefriday

Yep.

00:31:34.27

maddie

Like she would have been set so many steps back if she hadn't had that resource to buy the car.

00:31:39.51

wednesdayleefriday

Mm hmm.

00:31:40.49

maddie

Cause you don't have the car. You can't go to work. You can't make money. You can't buy a car. You can't go to work.

00:31:44.45

wednesdayleefriday

Right.

00:31:45.43

maddie

You can't, the cycle continues.

00:31:46.49

wednesdayleefriday

Yep, yep.

00:31:47.13

maddie

And so I use that as the example when I am fighting for the UBI, cause it's like, That is what having that funds can help someone with. It's not gonna not going to save their lives, but it will be very, very useful and a huge asset, especially to the middle class, especially to people in poverty.

00:31:57.05

wednesdayleefriday

what and

00:32:05.56

wednesdayleefriday

You know what? it It can save lives. I don't know if you know about this guy, but there was a dude who was a friend of a friend. I did not know him personally. But he had set up a GoFundMe because his insulin costs were over $1,000 a month. And he was working full time, but he could not afford his insulin. And he was like, man, if I can just make it to Christmas, then I'll have money and I can get my insulin. So please help me out. And he died on December 22nd because he did not make enough money with his fundraiser to buy insulin.

00:32:42.76

wednesdayleefriday

And the fact that that would happen in the country that I live in, I mean, that should shame everyone anytime a person, I mean, I don't actually think people should have to work jobs to deserve.

00:32:57.93

maddie

to live.

00:32:58.38

wednesdayleefriday

Like the basics, exactly. but But even if we say that, ah a person with a job can't afford their life-saving medication, that is obscene. And if you're going to go around telling people, for example, that you are pro-life and that America is the land of freedom, you can't just sit idly by when people are dying of poverty.

00:33:22.01

maddie

It's so unreasonable to me that we we can live in ah in a not just a country but in a world where we have this technology to save people's lives and it's blocked behind a paywall especially like such a high one such a high one there's absolutely no reason that insulin should cost that much money absolutely no reason other than greed

00:33:33.16

wednesdayleefriday

Mm-hmm No, and the people that made insulin didn't want people to be charged for it at all, you know there there was no patent on it that's people buying it up and Making sure it's expensive and you hear these people from drug companies.

00:33:44.71

maddie

principle

00:33:57.08

wednesdayleefriday

They'll just say out loud Well, if people want to live they'll pay it

00:34:02.00

wednesdayleefriday

you know like three Maybe if they can, they will. but you know i we' We've talked about this on the show before that basically Richard Nixon boned every last one of us because until him, ah it was illegal to make a profit on healthcare.

00:34:18.95

maddie

Yep.

00:34:19.14

wednesdayleefriday

He was against the law and people act like That was not the case. It hasn't been very long. It's kind of like women being able to have their own bank accounts ah you know or any sort of like free protections. like It hasn't been very long. These things have not always been here and people forget their importance because they say, well, of course my boss can't fire me now for being pregnant. Well, they kind of can because that will employment laws mean they can fire you. They just can't tell you that that's why.

00:34:53.19

maddie

Yep.

00:34:53.67

wednesdayleefriday

So we're in this place now where we're fighting for rights that people seem to think that we already have. um it's it's just it's ah It's so scary. um And you know i'm ah I'm a cis white woman. I have a lot less to fear than a lot of people do. given what people are planning for our country if they get back in office. It's it's terrifying. I mean, just so just the fact that there's a guy that we know violently assaulted tween girls, like girls that were like 12 and 13, like we know that now. There there are court documents and and testimony, and yet people are still like, no, no, he'd be a good president because he doesn't like the same people that I don't like. Like, what?

00:35:42.83

wednesdayleefriday

what

00:35:44.29

maddie

Makes no sense, makes absolutely no sense. Okay, so i've I've been trying to, not to derail, but I've been trying to understand those people, not out of a sense of kindness, but because my parents are those people. um

00:36:00.60

wednesdayleefriday

Yeah, I've got those in my family too.

00:36:02.65

maddie

Yeah, so real. um But I was reading this book, and it's called The Body Keeps the Score. I don't know if you've heard about it. it is

00:36:11.82

wednesdayleefriday

I'm not familiar with it.

00:36:13.47

maddie

It is kind of a controversial book because the author is, I mean, it's a very dated perspective on like psychology um and like the biology of the human body, the brain specifically, and like neurodevelopment, like your brain's function and development. um It's just controversial because he makes some some comments and some beliefs about veterans from the Vietnam from the war in Vietnam but they talk about this this concept and it is the concept or the idea that Your brain is protecting you your your brain will do anything to protect you from trauma so I'm I am at a point in my life where I I

00:37:05.24

maddie

I pretty much believe that a lot of conservatives at this point um to fully accept their role in the world we live in today would be a traumatizing act. And so it is hard for them to see the other side because to see reason would be traumatizing them.

00:37:27.79

wednesdayleefriday

No, you're you're absolutely right. it it A lot of that is a fear reaction. Because once you admit and realize that there are no guarantees, the world can fuck you over completely at any time, and you can do all the right things, you can work really hard and still wind up with nothing, that's terrifying. And it kind of goes hand in hand with the way that a lot of very wealthy people like to pretend that they came up from nothing.

00:37:58.07

maddie

Yep.

00:37:58.16

wednesdayleefriday

Like this whole thing with J.D. Vance. J.D. Vance did not grow up poor. He's not Appalachian. He grew up in a city. He was born out that way, but his life was bad because his mother was an addict. You know, that's like what what he, you know, quote unquote overcame. And it's so disingenuous because, yes, he acted out. he was ah He did a lot of stupid things and then he stopped doing stupid things and his life got better. And that's great.

00:38:29.54

wednesdayleefriday

But the thing is that if you're ah if you're poor and you do stupid things and somehow don't end up in prison, you don't get to stop doing stupid things and then suddenly there's money for you to go to Harvard. You know, that's that's not how that works.

00:38:44.00

maddie

Yep.

00:38:46.96

wednesdayleefriday

And when people say, oh, well, I made good choices and that's why I'm doing well today. Well, if your choices were to go work for the family business or go to college, whichever one you chose, you were probably going to be fine. You know, I mean, that's great that you stopped like being an a-hole, but that, you know, Kid Rock is the same way. He pretends he came up from nothing and I'm from the same part of the country as Kid Rock and he grew up. I mean, they had at least as much money as the Romneys, you know, they were wealthy people in a wealthy neighborhood who thought it might be funny and cool to pretend they're from trailer parks, you know, and it's like, first of all,

00:39:19.67

maddie

Yeah.

00:39:31.73

wednesdayleefriday

I mean, it's it's so inherently classist to be like, look at me in my trailer park. like Dude, people live in trailer parks because they can't afford real houses. It's it's not chic. It's kind of insulting to be like, you know I really want a house, but I'd also like it to tip over if it rains too hard. like No.

00:39:54.33

maddie

Yeah, it's crazy. It's really crazy. And two two separate thoughts of logic going on in my brain right now. I hope I don't forget the other one as I'm speaking. But um the first one, bringing up JD Vance and his mother. Now, I am very, very sympathetic. I have lots of friends who are dealing with addiction, who have overcome addiction. um It's hard, especially in America, where you know it seems like everything is pushing you towards some way to escape life.

00:40:26.49

wednesdayleefriday

Yep.

00:40:26.60

maddie

Life, work, your job, just society, climate, change, everything just scares you so much that you want to find any release. um I would 100% respect that part of of his story. If I could see any sort of policy that he is planning to do to help with the addiction problem and america

00:40:50.87

wednesdayleefriday

Yep.

00:40:51.56

maddie

what is his plan

00:40:51.67

wednesdayleefriday

Very much so.

00:40:52.92

maddie

because you cannot you know use that as a springboard for your your career basically because who even heard of this man before before he was he was but You cannot use that way that that that pain that that woman was feeling as a springboard for your career and not have a Solution because that's the first thing that people like me liberals. Um well, I don't know liberals very term right now, but Progressive there we go Yeah

00:41:23.42

wednesdayleefriday

I like the term progressive, actually, because it just, you know, let's move forward together and be better.

00:41:30.25

maddie

But like, so what are you going to be doing to address these issues? Because she didn't fall out of a coconut tree. e You know, something caused her to become this way. So what is the issues? What are we going to be doing to help with women's mental health? What are we going to be doing to help fighting addiction? What are we going to be doing to help address the reasons people are falling into addiction? I live near Kensington.

00:41:56.97

wednesdayleefriday

Well,

00:41:58.29

maddie

It's the fucking drug capital of the world. No, maybe, maybe the USA. But it is so, so bad. And I understand. I 100% completely understand what drives these people to becoming addicts. But I don't understand using I can't justify using addiction as as his springboard and not having any solutions. That's just what has always stuck with me.

00:42:30.25

maddie

I know this has been a long rant, me just complaining about it, but it's just

00:42:33.13

wednesdayleefriday

No, no, that's it's so valid because we get that a lot from the right. like All the people that don't want to do anything about guns and think everybody should just have whatever gun they want, they insist that the real problem is mental illness. So we say, okay, great, let's test everyone to see if they're mentally ill before they get a gun. Oh, no, no, no, no, we can't do that. Okay, well, let's make it really easy and not stigmatized to to let everybody get the mental health treatment they want. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, we can't do that either. Why should we have to pay for other people's mental health treatment?

00:43:07.66

wednesdayleefriday

And that whole like, why should we, you know, XYZ, like that's, that's a big conservative thing. It's like, well, do you want to live in a society or don't you, but we we only covered one of your things.

00:43:17.81

maddie

Yeah.

00:43:19.86

wednesdayleefriday

You said the JD Vance, like, you know, that, but what, what was the other thing?

00:43:24.90

maddie

Yes, I'm trying to. I'm trying to pull it from my brain. What were we talking about? We were talking about him. We were talking about him. We were talking about my classism. God, I lost it.

00:43:35.25

wednesdayleefriday

ahha and And just how how disingenuous you know the whole thing is with Vance.

00:43:36.10

maddie

I lost it.

00:43:41.35

wednesdayleefriday

And pretending that you came from nothing when in fact you had everything. Because it it really does set people up two to think. it It helps you dismiss the people who don't make it. The people that are still struggling despite working hard.

00:43:54.19

maddie

Yeah.

00:43:56.91

wednesdayleefriday

Because if you can look at them and say, well, that guy had a mom who was an addict and he went to Harvard. You know, well, yeah, there's, there's more, there's more to it than that, you know, because that's the reason you've heard of those people, because what they do is astronomically against the odds.

00:44:03.32

maddie

So why didn't you do it?

00:44:08.62

maddie

Yeah.

00:44:15.33

wednesdayleefriday

But again, also JD Vance's family is rich. So that, that makes all the difference.

00:44:19.49

maddie

Yeah. so i

00:44:23.44

maddie

Yep. I definitely lost it, but talking about the American dream, I feel like he's trying to portray himself as like this, this true American because he's achieved the American dream. And it's just like, it's so much easier when you have money to be successful in every single way. And I'm just very tired of this, this concept of the American dream because it doesn't exist.

00:44:43.01

wednesdayleefriday

Of course.

00:44:50.12

maddie

It's a sham. It has always been a lie that was sold to you to convince you.

00:44:56.64

wednesdayleefriday

Well, and if you're a poor person, it kind of feels like a practical joke. You know, I grew up middle class.

00:45:01.03

maddie

Yeah.

00:45:02.84

wednesdayleefriday

I did not like want for things as as a child, really. Like I didn't see doctors, but there were other reasons that that that happened. So like my health, my health suffered because of like ignorance and ah and abuse, but.

00:45:10.12

maddie

Yeah.

00:45:16.15

wednesdayleefriday

Overall, like we had clothes, we had food. kind i like It was bachelor food. We didn't eat like proper food. We drank a lot of soda and just like junk, but we weren't homeless.

00:45:23.74

maddie

Yeah.

00:45:29.17

wednesdayleefriday

you know we didn't we we Our electricity wasn't getting shut off. i mean you know Stuff like that. We we lived ah in a civilized way, but when it came time for When it came time for college, for example, there was no money for college. like I worked full-time my senior year of high school. I had two jobs the whole time I was an undergrad, and then another job in the summer. like I worked and worked and worked and worked, and I did a double major in four years, got out of college, and not only were there no jobs, but the city of Detroit, like I was a journalism major. All the newspapers were on strike.

00:46:10.62

wednesdayleefriday

My other major was theater.

00:46:10.73

maddie

Yeah.

00:46:12.02

wednesdayleefriday

I got a job in theater. I was there maybe two months. My paychecks literally bounced. so I really felt like I had worked very hard and done all the right things. and Before I knew it, I was living in my parents' basement, back managing for McDonald's, the same freaking job I had when I was in high school because I needed a job right away because I needed to live. and When you have people telling you that all you have to do is make good decisions, you feel like a huge fucking failure, even though all your decisions were solid.

00:46:49.67

wednesdayleefriday

Because what I didn't have was somebody to say, well, here, let me buy you a car in a business wardrobe, and then we'll get you a resume and you can you know start applying for office.

00:46:49.72

maddie

Yep.

00:47:00.26

wednesdayleefriday

joe I didn't have any of that. you know So, and and people, you know, I'm not trying to say, oh, boo hoo, poor me. I didn't have that, but. People act like everyone has access to those things and that you must have screwed up if you don't.

00:47:11.15

maddie

It's true.

00:47:17.39

wednesdayleefriday

And that's the part that I object to. Just admit that life is hard and you didn't get where you are just by being a smart cookie. You had advantages that other people don't have. Because few things infuriate me as the whole, well, if I can do it, anyone can do it. You know, even writers say that they say that to each other. Well, if I can write a book, you can write a book to someone that has is like a single mom or something, you know, like.

00:47:46.66

maddie

It's a very different level of of capabilities. The 24 hours in the day is not same for everyone. um

00:47:53.81

wednesdayleefriday

Certainly, certainly, whether that's kids or neurodivergence, or you just have a job that saps you.

00:47:54.97

maddie

aye

00:47:59.77

wednesdayleefriday

I mean, you know, you and I have a mutual friend who comes home for work and finds herself emotionally exhausted. Just, you know,

00:48:08.54

maddie

And it's true. It's so true. I feel the same way and I don't have a job that's nearly, nearly stressful or strenuous. um I will, I've described it many times as like coming up, like showing up for the coming to a race. But while everybody else is getting in position, you're sewing your shoes together.

00:48:30.16

wednesdayleefriday

Mm hmm.

00:48:30.25

maddie

So like we're still sewing our shoes together. Everybody else is at the start line. They're getting ready to go. The whistle blows off. They're they're running. They're going. And you're still like actually tying your shoes now. And now though they're already halfway down. They're 50 meters into the 100 meter dash. And you're just getting lined up because you had to make your shoes. They had someone to buy them for them.

00:48:53.42

wednesdayleefriday

Yep, yep.

00:48:54.17

maddie

That's how i that's how i'll I'll try to explain it.

00:48:57.78

wednesdayleefriday

Yeah, well, and I think that makes a lot of sense. so So given your passion for sociopolitical issues, what kind of activism are you involved in?

00:49:09.90

maddie

um So right now, um something that I am doing most frequently, it is being vocal when I can to the people around me. These, like I said, I have, I have very conservative family members. Um, they can be very, very difficult. So i I find myself frequently being, I don't want to say the voice of reason, but the person to, to come up with the, the counter argument, they think this and that I show up as the

00:49:39.22

wednesdayleefriday

Haha.

00:49:49.57

maddie

the real person in their life that is dealing with the issues, that they they only see it as crazy Twitter people or crazy liberals. i I spend a lot of time being the real human that is behind the transgender issues, that is behind the the queer, I use quotation marks, you can't see it, the queer agenda. um A lot of times

00:50:12.31

wednesdayleefriday

Well, MAGA people are so, because because so much of the philosophy is fear-based, it's so easy to lead those people. You know, you show them a picture of ah a trans person, and they're willing to believe almost any Nazi-esque thing that they're told about them. I mean, there used to be people that thought Obama supporters literally ate babies. like consume the flesh of children.

00:50:36.56

maddie

It's crazy.

00:50:38.46

wednesdayleefriday

People thought that was a thing that was happening. Well, like now people think that like people think that there are liberal parents who if their kid plays dress up once they rush them off to the doctor to have sex change surgery. Like, people think that's a real thing that happens.

00:50:52.58

maddie

yeah

00:50:54.97

wednesdayleefriday

And when you say, dude, that is ridiculous, they'll point you to like, you know, eagle dot.gun.woke or something and and just these ridiculous propagandist websites. you know I got that whole but issue with with Don Jr. that I like pay attention to the things he says and does.

00:51:12.33

maddie

Yeah.

00:51:14.37

wednesdayleefriday

It's awful. um But you know he he spreads a lot of that propaganda and then you know takes no responsibility when it leads to violence. But that's like a whole other issue that like we could certainly spend another hour on is the whole like what propaganda leads to and why people don't take responsibility for it.

00:51:30.86

maddie

Yeah.

00:51:37.02

wednesdayleefriday

Because if you know that the country has a gun problem, and you know that like the political environment is incendiary, and then you amp people up in that way, and then just say, oh, well, how did we know that was going to happen? Well, what the hell else did you think was going to happen? like This is what you were trying to do, and now you pretend that you're not doing it.

00:51:59.02

maddie

Yep, it's the whole, oh no, everybody can have guns and, you know, you definitely, we all need to stand up and take arms and then separately saying, okay, look at how these evil trans people are kidnapping children and turn in, you know, forcing sex changes on them. It's like, okay, I know you said them all in separate sentences, but these are all connecting somehow and it's connecting in violence against um oppressed minorities. That's how it's connecting. Um, but yeah,

00:52:27.81

wednesdayleefriday

Well, if these people really cared about protecting children, they would not be Trump supporters. I mean, come on, you know, who who are we kidding with that? You know?

00:52:37.39

maddie

I think that they just do whatever they have to to to get by in life. But that's why I try to, i say that I say that from my parents' point of view, I'm really thinking of them. I think that a lot of people, they just, not to not to humanize them, because that's not what I'm trying to do. but It's just a lot of people just go by the motions and they will do whatever is easiest for them personally. And that's why I try to be that that person that that is speaking up, that's giving the other side.

00:53:09.98

maddie

um Because a lot of times it does help to have that that small little conversation at work, at the water hole, at the ah the water fountain, the water jug.

00:53:19.89

wednesdayleefriday

Oh, I talk to manga people a lot, oh always with the hope that I am gonna hear something that, not that changes my mind, but something that makes sense of some of that.

00:53:20.43

maddie

you know Yeah. Yeah.

00:53:32.96

wednesdayleefriday

um A lot of it I find is just people that are misinformed, but some people really don't care about things that I care about, like someone's history of of violence and assaults, you know, because

00:53:36.98

maddie

Yeah.

00:53:48.82

wednesdayleefriday

like Clarence Thomas, for example, people are so surprised. Oh no, he accepted bribes. He's so dishonest. Who saw that coming? Oh yeah, we knew he treated women badly, but we didn't know that. Well, people that abuse their power to treat other people badly rarely do that in just one way.

00:54:08.27

maddie

Yeah, it's all connected.

00:54:08.72

wednesdayleefriday

you know It is typically just a sign that they're not a good person, they're not a trustworthy person. I don't know who originally said this, but there is a saying that if no women like someone, they're not a good person. You know, like if, I mean, I don't mean for like media, like obviously women don't like the three stooges, but, but beyond that, like if you're talking about like when every woman says no, Andrew Tate is full of shit.

00:54:26.31

maddie

It's definitely true.

00:54:39.70

wednesdayleefriday

You know, Jordan Peterson is, is messed up. and People want to argue that, but like no women like them.

00:54:43.74

maddie

Yeah.

00:54:47.69

wednesdayleefriday

That means they're bad because women have to pay attention and we have to be more on our guard around other people than men do as a rule. you know Don't at me with ah exceptions. but women spend their lives on the defensive from men, you know? And so we have we will have a keener sense of when someone is bad or dangerous or dishonest.

00:55:08.39

maddie

Yeah.

00:55:14.94

wednesdayleefriday

And so, yeah, listen to women when they tell you someone is awful or that they pick the bear. There there are reasons for that.

00:55:20.94

maddie

Yep.

00:55:23.15

wednesdayleefriday

um we're We're kind of getting towards an hour, and I really want to talk more about your work.

00:55:23.22

maddie

Yeah.

00:55:30.17

wednesdayleefriday

um Now you create in a lot of different mediums. um So how exactly do you know what medium is the appropriate one for the statement that you're trying to make?

00:55:43.06

maddie

That's a great question. Um, I think that, Hmm. I think it really depends on really determining the purpose, especially because I do a lot of 3D materials. The intention and what it's going to be used for is a really important thing to be focusing on. um It's also the recipient. like who is Who is going to be receiving this this gift, this painting, this this work?

00:56:14.97

maddie

um so I will generally determine who's going to be happiest from this, who's going to be happiest from from making this. I do a lot of gifts. um So if I'm using leather and fabric and sewing and I'm making a really heartfelt collar, um I'm choosing my materials based off of what they like, what i what reminds me of them. um And also there's a lot of, if I'm going towards like paintings, um it's a really about honing in on the message. What are you trying to say? Because all of it is connected. Modern art isn't necessarily just a banana that's been taped on the wall. There's a lot of there's a lot of meaning going on ah underneath the, on the underneath of the of the paint.

00:57:12.17

maddie

um Something that I am hoping to work on soon is actually a series of paintings that are inspired by math because I am, for the first time in in quite a while, ah hopefully going to be diving deep into um like mathematics and and calculus and and physics and um rediscovering my love for that because it was something that I struggled with a lot in middle school, high school as a disabled individual. It was very hard to find a teacher that could teach the concepts to me. It was very hard to find tutors that would be patient enough for me. um So I went on this journey of understanding you know mathematics and the the basics, the fundamentals of mathematics in a way that um became easier for me to understand. So the painting series that I want to make is

00:58:12.71

maddie

talking about different mathematical ideas, like what is a point? What is a line? um what is a What is a shape? What is a two-dimensional object? And it's all going to be happening on the plane, which is like you know you think of an XYZ graph. That is like the plane. um And it's going to be mathematical um terminology to represent relationships because relationships are also another thing that I'm really struggling with right now, struggling to understand um as a disabled individual who also is overcoming some um some sexual and emotional trauma.

00:59:01.71

maddie

So um I'll let you know when it comes out, but it'll make a lot more sense, which you can see it, but it's essentially

00:59:07.86

wednesdayleefriday

Okay. Well, it's, it's interesting because when I think about math and art, I'm, I'm more ah ah prone to think of music because music is like inherently mathematical. So I'm intrigued by this idea. I know there, there are, uh, math concepts in art, like the, uh, the golden ratio and, uh, You know, the the whole Fibonacci swirl thingy.

00:59:32.02

maddie

Spiral yeah Yeah, it is definitely um I I because people always talk about creativity and Like logical numbers as opposites that a lot of times especially in nature it is it is the

00:59:32.52

wednesdayleefriday

This is a spiral, yeah. So so yeah, that's that's really interesting, conceptually.

00:59:54.15

maddie

accumulation of both of those things coming together. they're both in They are both intertwined. um Exactly. The Fibonacci spiral is is the perfect example for something to look good. you know that That's the idea behind the Fibonacci spiral. The painting is going to look good if it is going to follow that pattern. And throughout art history, there's a lot of mathematics involved in you know making a painting like you know, Michelangelo's, I forget where it's at, but that painting on the ceiling, I don't sound very intellectual right now, but there's so much math.

01:00:30.88

wednesdayleefriday

The Sistine Chapel?

01:00:32.82

maddie

There we go, there we go. There's so much math involved in um a lot of the um Renaissance time paintings.

01:00:40.48

wednesdayleefriday

h

01:00:42.55

maddie

And I just hope to not obviously not create recreate that that work, but to kind of find a way to to visualize feelings and relationships for people that have a more mathematically inclined brain, if that makes sense.

01:00:59.25

wednesdayleefriday

Mmhmm.

01:01:05.32

maddie

Because I feel like a lot of the people who have trouble understanding relationships are people who are more logical or people who

01:01:05.44

wednesdayleefriday

Yeah.

01:01:13.65

maddie

I mean, a lot of men who, not not the same men are more logical, but a lot of like engineers, a lot of of the men in the different STEAM careers, they have a very hard time understanding relationships.

01:01:17.31

wednesdayleefriday

Thank you.

01:01:29.36

maddie

And I'm hoping that you know by intersecting these two worlds, I can help you know my friends, because a lot of my friends or these people understand themselves and their relationships better by representing them in a way that

01:01:45.04

maddie

they are used to?

01:01:48.70

wednesdayleefriday

Okay. Yeah. I ah feel that. So in your in ah the visual art field, like whose work would you say you admire the most or that that you would emulate in your own work?

01:02:03.32

maddie

Hmm. That's a good question. Um, I mean, This is a little bit of the opposite direction, but I love a lot of abstract work and I love a lot of modern work. So Keith Haring, very, very inspirational. um Really, really like him and his work and his his message and just his his use of color and line art. It looks so simple, but it's so pleasing to the eye. And it's just, it's so amazing.

01:02:38.96

maddie

and In terms of 3D art um i'm actually looking it up Rina banner G. Have you ever heard of her.

01:02:47.62

wednesdayleefriday

No, no, I just hear you typing.

01:02:51.04

maddie

So Rina banner G she's an American artist and sculptor and I was actually working at papa in 2019 into 2020 and she had her art. um on display while I was working there and I got to meet her. And she is a retired um plastics engineer. And the whole concept, the whole idea behind a lot of her work is she wanted to turn her heard her degree, her job, which is creating a plastic, creating filth that would be in the world forever.

01:03:28.22

maddie

in a negative way in repurposing it into something that can explain her identity and you know the way that she sees life and the way that humans can just vibe with the world and something that can last and stay and have a have a purpose. um She I don't know she's just very very good at making meaningful work and when you when you see it you're just blown away.

01:04:02.57

maddie

um My favorite piece by her it is a re- she remade the Taj Mahal out of like saran wrap and it was just so inventive and you got to go inside and and like it was it was so big that you could walk inside of it and

01:04:12.35

wednesdayleefriday

Wow. Dang.

01:04:27.09

maddie

almost like see the world through rose-tinted glasses. And if you ever look up her work, she she has this, just this air of crazy whimsical colors that just combined.

01:04:43.58

wednesdayleefriday

Well, you would have to to go that high concept.

01:04:43.89

maddie

And that's in.

01:04:46.06

wednesdayleefriday

I mean, that's such an audacious thing to do.

01:04:52.37

maddie

Yeah.

01:04:52.71

wednesdayleefriday

you You would need such confidence.

01:04:53.11

maddie

and And she has it, she has it. And you know, she is, I think, you know, probably one of the best 3D sculptors that are alive right now. um In my opinion, just because, you know, she just, yeah you would have to see her at work. I'll send you some later.

01:05:18.10

wednesdayleefriday

Please, please do. um So before we actually get to the Mad Lib, I like to ask our guests if they have any questions for me.

01:05:27.74

maddie

OK.

01:05:30.74

maddie

Questions for you? um how How's the cat?

01:05:35.89

wednesdayleefriday

It's okay if you don't, I'm not that interesting. ah our ah Maxine lives with our friends now that have children and do not live in an apartment.

01:05:43.11

maddie

Oh, OK, lovely. OK, I just I hadn't heard ah any updates from honor.

01:05:49.64

wednesdayleefriday

Yeah, ah yeah we we did have a cat named Maxine for a while. She's very rambunctious kitten and ah got into a few situations that had I not been here to intervene probably would have caused her demise because The thing is, as much as I want to be the childless cat lady that JD Vance wants me to be, um we we just are not equipped for a cat in this apartment. It's too small now. It's too crowded. We're trying to run a business out of the kitchen.

01:06:21.97

wednesdayleefriday

so it uh we had to find her a good home and we did she lives with children now and and other cats so she gets tons and tons of attention and affection she's doing very well but ah you know we're we we're just down to the lizards now we have the tank of lesbian lizards uh which are getting on very well i'm not even sure how many i have now because the fact that they're all girls does not stop them from breeding like mad

01:06:28.42

maddie

Yay!

01:06:51.16

maddie

That's funny.

01:06:51.39

wednesdayleefriday

Take that, fascists! So yeah, so the last thing that we get to is is the madlib. Are you ready for the madlib?

01:07:01.68

maddie

Yeah, I was raised to ever be.

01:07:04.30

wednesdayleefriday

Okay, cool. Whoops. Microphone drop. That wasn't supposed to be a mic drop, it just dropped. um Okay, so one, two, three, four, five singular nouns.

01:07:20.56

maddie

Okay, so explain to me how the Mad Lib works.

01:07:25.84

wednesdayleefriday

Well, I tell you different parts of speech and how many words I need and you give them to me. And then I write them down in the book and it makes a story. And then I read the story at the end.

01:07:34.21

maddie

Okay. So six nouns, he said.

01:07:37.64

wednesdayleefriday

Yep. huh

01:07:38.72

maddie

Okay. um Maddie is the first noun.

01:07:45.41

maddie

Cats is the second noun. um who Can we do...

01:07:54.92

wednesdayleefriday

Well, you know what we need? Okay. I did cat singular because these are the singular nouns. We're going to need plural ones in a minute. So we need one, two, three more singular nouns.

01:08:01.71

maddie

Okay.

01:08:06.27

maddie

OK, can we do countries as the plural noun?

01:08:10.04

wednesdayleefriday

Uh-huh.

01:08:11.67

maddie

And then you said how many more singular nouns?

01:08:13.92

wednesdayleefriday

Well, three.

01:08:15.81

maddie

OK. Can we do state as a singular noun?

01:08:22.08

maddie

Can we do book as a singular noun? And can we do trying to think of unicorn as the other so the last singular noun?

01:08:36.25

wednesdayleefriday

Okay. One plural noun.

01:08:38.97

maddie

One more plural noun.

01:08:40.58

wednesdayleefriday

Nope. I lied two more.

01:08:42.46

maddie

Okay, can I do plushies? And can I do tools?

01:08:55.48

wednesdayleefriday

I need an adjective.

01:08:57.95

maddie

Can we do swimmingly?

01:09:02.55

wednesdayleefriday

Uh, well, yes. I think that's an adverb technically. So we'll use swimming as a, wait, wait, actually we need a verb ending in ing, so I'm gonna put that there. And so give me another adjective.

01:09:23.66

maddie

um

01:09:26.88

maddie

Another adjective. Run.

01:09:32.79

wednesdayleefriday

ah No, adjective is a describing word.

01:09:35.60

maddie

Oh, my bad. I know that too. That's that's crazy. um Can we do a describing word? Happily.

01:09:50.96

wednesdayleefriday

Well, we'll say happy and then we need a color.

01:09:53.59

maddie

Okay.

01:09:56.85

maddie

Orange.

01:09:59.27

wednesdayleefriday

And finally, a part of the body plural.

01:10:03.88

maddie

Fingers.

01:10:07.48

wednesdayleefriday

All right. This is called a famous quote from the American Revolution.

01:10:11.47

maddie

Hmm.

01:10:16.28

wednesdayleefriday

Nathan Hale said, I regret that I have but one Maddie to give for my cat. That should probably go on a shirt. William Prescott said, don't fire until you see the orange of their fingers. Patrick Henry said, give me liberty or give me book.

01:10:39.44

maddie

Hehehehe.

01:10:39.79

wednesdayleefriday

Paul Revere said, wait, I can't read my own handwriting. The countries are swimming. John Hancock said, I wrote my unicorn so large the king could read it without his plushies. ah And Thomas Jefferson said, all tools are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain happy rights. Among them, life, liberty, and the pursuit of state. Wow, that actually kind of works. um So yes, so that is Mad Libs, wildly irreverent. um I don't even know if I'm allowed to do those, but Mad Libs hasn't said anything to me about it. So I'm going to do them until they make me stop.

01:11:26.98

maddie

Or they could, or, or they could sponsor you.

01:11:30.96

wednesdayleefriday

They could. They could.

01:11:32.69

maddie

Maybe.

01:11:33.69

wednesdayleefriday

Hear that, Mad Libs? um yeah So, you know, ah we here at the Mentally Oddcast are sponsored by sometimes hilarious horror magazine. Y'all can find us on Ko-fi. Thank you so much for being here, Maddie. It was lovely to have you.

01:11:52.04

maddie

Yeah, I loved being here. Thank you for giving me the opportunity. And it was lovely to pick your brain as well.

01:11:58.79

wednesdayleefriday

All right on. So hey ah listeners, we will see everybody next week. Find us on Ko-fi and show us some love. Bye.

01:12:07.50

maddie

Bye.