Episode 92 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS wishes everyone a Gong Hei Fat Choy, as we help usher in The Year of The Water Rabbit. Not only will we talk about the Chinese calendar, zodiac, customs and celebrations, we will help you choose the right food on your Chinese take out menu to help bring good luck into your new year. We will also talk about what the Water Rabbit means in relation to good luck, fortune, health and wealth. BEDTIME STORIES FROM THE ACOUSTIC BOOKSHELF concludes with two very short ...
Jan 21, 2023•31 min•Season 3Ep. 92
Episode 91 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS talks about the revolutionary app called, ChatGPT. ChatGPT is AI (Artificial Intelligence), specifically the type that is known as a chatbot. It is an operational Large Language Model that chats with the user on a human conversational level. It is most often compared/contrasted with a Google Search Engine. With the search engine, you input data, and more data is returned as an answer - a result of shuffling through files on the internet. ChatGPT DOES NOT work ...
Jan 14, 2023•31 min•Season 3Ep. 91
Episode 90 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS updates its audience on this week's events concerning the Moscow, ID murder case of 4 University of Idaho students. Because the news surrounding the Probable Cause Affidavit (PCA) is so ubiquitous in the news right now, I will not rehash the details, as you are probably aware of them. Instead, I am presenting a timeline built from the PCA, other court documents, and other witnesses that make a rather damning case in front of a jury. Unless something out of the...
Jan 07, 2023•25 min•Season 3Ep. 90
Episode 89 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS highlights two diets - Veganism and Weganism, which is a Wild Game diet. Both diets consist of whole, organic foods. Both diets eschew processed food items. Both diets are ethical lifestyles. One diet is completely absent of animal meat and products, while the other's main feature is animal meat and products. We will talk about the health benefits of each, the potential risks of each, and how each argue that its diet and lifestyle are the healthiest, most ethi...
Jan 07, 2023•53 min•Season 3Ep. 89
MARS MESSINA PRESENTS wishes one and all a very Happy New Year with Episode 88. First up, we have bittersweet news - there has been an arrest made in the murders of 4 University of Idaho students in Moscow, ID. We will then proceed with a short and sweet New Year's Eve ritual - a short yoga session, a tea ceremony, and a burning ceremony. I invite you to gather the items you will need for the rituals in this recording, so that you can put it on pause and come right back with your items at the re...
Dec 31, 2022•49 min•Season 2Ep. 88
Episode 87 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS explains why the date of April 8 makes for a good Christmas story subject. We, here, at MARS MESSINA PRESENTS wish you and yours, one and all a very Merry Christmas! To send correspondence, email thisismarsmessina@gmail.com To donate to this podcast, Venmo @mdm773. Thank you.
Dec 24, 2022•17 min•Season 2Ep. 87
In Episode 86 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS, we learn that researchers have set the Doomsday Clock at 100 seconds to midnight in 2022 - the closest we have ever been to nuclear war. This is saying a lot, because October 27, 1962, is considered the most dangerous day humanity, as a whole, has ever experienced. We are going to talk about the Cuban Missile Crisis, a moment in time when the entire planet faced nuclear annihilation. Apparently, researchers and historians believe that today, with another s...
Dec 17, 2022•55 min•Season 2Ep. 86
Episode 85 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS asks, "What was in the water in Florence during the Renaissance?" At a time when humanity in all of Europe seemed to hit on all cylinders, Florence was the crowning jewel of this enlightened time, and engendered unparalleled genius. We will talk about the meaning of genius in terms of the Renaissance, and focus on - perhaps - the premiere genius of that place and time, Leonardo da Vinci. We will also discover that it is possible for each and every one of us to...
Dec 10, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 85
Episode 84 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS first opens with the latest on the Delphi Murder Case. We move on to the main subject of Super Agers - people aged 80+ who have superior cognition and better memories than the average person in their 50s or 60s. If we are not yet 80+, we can train our brains, now, so that we may be Super Agers when we grow up. There is no BEDTIME STORIES FROM THE ACOUSTIC BOOKSHELF this week, because Mars has a bit of laryngitis. To send correspondence, email thisismarsmessina...
Dec 03, 2022•30 min•Season 2Ep. 84
Episode 83 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS speaks about the recent 11/13/22 murders of 4 University of Idaho students while they slept in their residence near campus in Moscow, Idaho. There has been a lot of speculation connected to this horrific crime, and very few facts released by law enforcement, which includes Moscow Police, Idaho State Police, and the FBI. We'll try to parse the case and set up a factual timeline. To date, the crime remains unsolved. BEDTIME STORIES FROM THE ACOUSTIC BOOKSHELF fe...
Nov 26, 2022•53 min•Season 2Ep. 83
Episode 82 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS revisits two controversial pranks that became legendary. Both occurred in Chicago: the Max Headroom Signal Hijacking (the cyberpunk takeover of two local TV stations, in the middle of broadcasting) and the promotional stunt at Comiskey Park, original home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team, known as Disco Demolition Night, in the middle of a doubleheader. On one hand, the stunts were serious enough to have potentially caused much more trouble than was orig...
Nov 19, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 82
Episode 81 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS aims to teach its listeners how to recognize and thwart the attacks of a manipulator. You will learn emotional and mental techniques that will protect you against someone who might try to use you or control you. Related to this, we will also speak somewhat concerning physical self defense. BEDTIME STORIES FROM THE ACOUSTIC BOOKSHELF closes today's episode with a reading from, NIGHT, by Elie Wiesel. To talk to us, email: thisismarsmessina@gmail.com To donate to...
Nov 12, 2022•50 min•Season 2Ep. 81
Episode 80 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS is a double feature. The subjects have nothing to do with each other. The first story is the latest update on the Delphi Murder case. After 5 and a half years, an arrest has been made in connection to the murders of teenagers Abigail Williams and Liberty German, of Delphi, Indiana. The next subject is Mars' report on a dating experiment to which I subjected myself. What if I went for four months and didn't turn down a date, no matter how unattracted - or even ...
Nov 05, 2022•44 min•Season 2Ep. 80
MARS MESSINA PRESENTS wishes one and all a Happy Halloween with Episode 79. Mars puts her own embellishments and colors and spins on this retelling of a favorite, old, classic, Chicago-style Urban Legend: The Eerie Tale of Resurrection Mary. Ghost story fans and Chicago history fans, alike, have heard the stories before: a young woman dressed in white walking up and down Archer Avenue. Cars swerve to avoid hitting her...and she disappears. In Mars' retelling, you will meet Mary's mother, Vivienn...
Oct 29, 2022•37 min•Season 2Ep. 79
Episode 78 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS procures the spirit of Voodou Queen, Madame Marie Laveau, to tell her story - of being a Creole woman and a Voodoo practitioner in a mixed race society. We explore a brief history of how the religion of Voodou arose in New Orleans. We learn that Laveau's story is interwoven with fact and fiction and has largely been colored by a white perspective. We attempt to get to her truth, as she truly experienced life...with a little spin and drawing Xs on the wall (not...
Oct 22, 2022•59 min•Season 2Ep. 78
Episode 77 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS features a real ghost story, as experienced by Mars' sister and the sister's friends when they were 11 years old. They somehow summoned spectral visitors from the Great Beyond and they were later to find out that the spirits were - or wanted the girls to think they were - martyred Christian saints, Perpetua and Felicity. BEDTIME STORIES FROM THE ACOUSTIC BOOKSHELF continues with our October spooky storytelling with a reading of "The Masque of The Red Death", b...
Oct 15, 2022•51 min•Season 2Ep. 77
Episode 76 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS conjures up a "true story" from North London, circa late 1960s-early 1970s. Neighbors walking in and around the Highgate Cemetary claimed to have witnessed a tall, dark spectral being who disappeared into thin air, hypnotized people, crawled out of graves, and killed animals. Dubbed "The Highgate Vampire" by the press and two prominent occultists, the spectre created a sensation around London, resulting in a riot at the cemetary: self-proclaimed "vampire hunte...
Oct 08, 2022•30 min•Season 2Ep. 76
Episode 75 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS ushers in the spooky month of October with a reading of the classic short horror story, THE MONKEY'S PAW, by W. W. Jacobs. To send correspondence, email thisismarsmessina@gmail.com. To donate to this podcast, Venmo @mdm773. Thank you.
Oct 01, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 75
Episode 74 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS has Professor Mars guiding The Inexperienced on their maiden voyage upon the seas of losing their virginity. We will discuss things like emotional intelligence, communication, and relaxing into your first experience. We will also be using anatomical names for sex organs, discussing positions and techniques, and funny bedroom mishaps, SO I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU A CONTENT WARNING, NOW. ***This program contains mature language and situations that is intended for p...
Sep 24, 2022•53 min•Season 2Ep. 74
Episode 73 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS briefly covers the EIGHT MAIN CAUSES OF WAR and gives a couple of examples of each cause. We further investigate why the United States of America (the self-proclaimed city on the hill and the shining light in the darkness and the free nation) continually chooses war even after a long and sobering history that teaches that war is nothing but hell - along with our genius advances in science, medicine, agriculture, and creating a proper society. Why haven't we be...
Sep 17, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 73
For Episode 72 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS, we will talk about the dying of the summer and the coming of the fall, and how our lifestyles and diets should reflect that change, so that we can be functionally healthier. Ayurveda is an ancient system of wellness that points us towards longevity. Just as we have unique, internal natures, the seasons also have unique natures. Autumn is a Vata season - Vata, meaning cool, airy, dry, and ungrounded. The foods we should eat during vata season should be war...
Sep 10, 2022•47 min•Season 2Ep. 72
Episode 71 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS addresses one feature of the fragmented US health care system. Concierge Medicine is a health care model enjoyed by the wealthiest Americans. If one can afford the big price tag, one can secure the services of a doctor who acts more like a financial asset manager, who expedites the health care process for the client and provides them top of the line medical care and in a timely manner. However, compared to the rest of the first-world nations, the United States...
Sep 03, 2022•35 min•Season 2Ep. 71
Episode 70 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS talks about a type of camping in which Mars was once hardly interested. "Glamping" was a barely passable concept. According to professional survivalists who run survivalist - or minimalist, or wilderness - camps, they've seen a 60% increase in enrollment this year over several previous years. Why? There are two major reasons: 1) the fear of climate change and 2) the fear of the end of the world. We will talk about the basics of both wilderness and urban surviv...
Aug 27, 2022•50 min•Season 2Ep. 70
Episode 69 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS addresses the subject of Acupuncture, the traditional Chinese medical practice of penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles in order to bring dynamic balance to a person's energy flow, thereby restoring good health. Acupuncture is an effective technique and a tool in the arsenal of one's systemic health care. Instead of addressing one ailment, one organ, one body part, acupuncture addressed the entire system to ease the ailment and to restore who...
Aug 20, 2022•44 min•Season 2Ep. 69
For Episode 68 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS, Mars takes the audience through a YOGA NIDRA session. Yoga Nidra is a Sanskrit term meaning "yogic sleep". It is a deep relaxation technique and a form of meditation. It is an ancient technique where the practitioner enters the deep states of conscious relaxation. It is a systematic practice of moving awareness from our external world to the inner world. It brings us to a state of conscious sleep where our senses, intellect, and mind relax. We become free...
Aug 13, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 68
Episode 67 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS picks up from where we left off from Episode 66, in which we talked about the origins of the political movement, QAnon, and its birthplace, the imageboard website, 4chan. In this episode, we further explore how anonymously posted stories, pranks, trolls, and bamboozles have been taken literally by internet users who stumble across these posts, who believe them to be real news leaks, and react to them in the real world. BEDTIME STORIES FROM THE ACOUSTIC BOOKSHE...
Aug 06, 2022•56 min•Season 2Ep. 67
Episode 66 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS answers the question - in a nutshell - "What is QAnon?" You've heard and read about this group in the news but may not know much about them, other than their activities during the January 6, 2021 breach of the US Capitol. I am going to talk about how QAnon started and how it has become what it is, today. One cannot discuss QAnon without talking about where it originated. There is a website called, 4chan. This is where QAnon came into existence and where it "li...
Jul 30, 2022•55 min
Episode 65 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS spotlights the farming practice known as Regenerative Agriculture, aka Regen Ag. Its main objective is to keep carbon sequestered in the soil through the most organic, natural and hands-off means necessary. In short, the practices that regen ag farmers employ are ancient, derived from the tens-of-thousands years long practices of indigenous peoples. The Anishinaabe people teach that we are currently living in a time known as The Seventh Fire, which is a hinge ...
Jul 23, 2022•52 min•Season 2Ep. 65
Episode 64 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS focuses on the disappearance of a 15 year old citizen of Vatican City, whose father was a Vatican official. Did the girl run away, or was she kidnapped? Circumstantial evidence points to a variety of potential kidnappers: a Turkish nationalist group, the Mafia, and even the Vatican, itself. The only thing that seems to be certain is that the Vatican has played its cards close to the chest since 1983, concerning the case. While there is no concrete evidence to ...
Jul 09, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 64
Episode 63 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS begins with sage TRAVEL TIPS from a worker in the airline industry concerning flying during a time of lower pandemic restrictions, with the resultant full flights...but with half the flight staff and ground crews. If you are planning to fly anytime soon, please listen to this episode. We will also give further travel pointers to make your trip more successful. BEDTIME STORIES FROM THE ACOUSTIC BOOKSHELF concludes Episode 63 with a reading of TRAVEL, by Edna St...
Jun 25, 2022•51 min•Season 2Ep. 63
