Libsyn Directory

Episode 057: Teryl Rothery -- Actor, Stargate SG-1, Cedar Cove, Best in Show, The Good Doctor

Release Date: 09/26/2017

Episode 071: Dr. Russ Kennedy -- The Anxiety MD

What we cover: In this moment, we are safe. Today's guest is Dr Russ Kennedy – someone I have known since 2004, when I launched my brief stint into the stand up comedy world. Russ was a fellow comic, and I got to know him then, and I always really liked him. I eventually set that aside as I evolved as a writer and instead focused more on my foray into the world of one-woman shows – but Russ remained in my orbit because my brother Julien Dionne and his girlfriend Jennifer Grant are comics and so I continued to see Russ perform over the years. The thing I dug about Russ is that he wasn’t...

Episode 070: Stacey Shand -- Ultra-distance athlete and adventurer

What we cover: "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference." -- Robert Frost Today’s guest is Stacey Shand. If there is a woman more easy to have a Girl Crush on that Stacey Shand, I have yet to meet her. Stacey is an ultra-extreme endurance athlete and adventurer. She is affectionately known as ‘Racey Stacey’, and she has been keeping a promise she made to herself from her hospital bed following a near tragic auto accident a number of years ago. When she was faced with the realities of what could have been, she vowed never to take her physical abilities --...

Episode 069: Kevin Reynolds -- Olympic Figure Skater

What we cover: "Take the past for what it is. And then, focus on moving forward." -- Kevin Reynolds Today's guest is Kevin Reynolds. He is, of course, the Canadian figure skating super star who won silver at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, as part of the mixed team event. According to the official Olympics athlete site, he is the first skater in the world to ever land a quad-triple-triple combination, and in 2010 he became the first man ever to land two quadruple jumps in the short program – and we talk about all that goodness. But this is by no means just a talk about skating. You...

Episode 068: Sherry Strong -- Chef, Nutritionist, Food Philosopher

What we cover: “Addiction is the body’s way of telling you that you’re not listening to your soul.” – Sherry Strong Today's guest is Sherry Strong – and strong she is. She is a woman who, after 35-years of playing the “victim”, which so many of us are guilty of from time to time – and who also struggled with an addiction to sugar to numb the sadness, took a good look in the mirror and said enough is enough. She was, as she puts it: “sick, obese, tired, and wanted to die.” Today, she is a professional chef, a nutritionist, and a food philosopher – and she can fit...

Episode 067: Mary-Jo Dionne -- writer/speaker/performer/podcaster

What we cover: In the interest of full disclosure, I have been ridiculously spread thin – as we all can get from time to time – and completely run down, wrapping up deadlines before I shut the office down until the new year. I have been up late into the night with a sick 2-year-old. And I have been going through this incredibly heavy sadness on account of learning that someone I cared for very much in my high school life, died – but the thing of it all is that he died many years ago. Nearly 25, in fact. And I only just found out. Grieving after-the-fact is a strange and lonely...

Episode 066: Anna Rice -- Two-time Olympic badminton player

What we cover: “The most important things I’ve learned in life, I’ve learned on the badminton court.” – Anna Rice Today’s Guest Titan is two-time Olympian, Anna Rice – a woman who admits that, as far as life goes, everything she’s learned so far, she’s learned on the badminton court. This is a woman who is ripe with insights, and who possesses a calm wisdom that I found quite intoxicating, really. I know you’re going to love her. This isn’t really a conversation about badminton, so much as it is a conversation about our own thought processes, the stories we...

Episode 065: Mary-Jo Dionne -- host, Tea with a Titan

What we cover: "You have to lose sight of the shore, to discover new lands." -- Andre Gide, paraphrased For those of you who listen to the show on a regular basis, it’s not news that I am a huge proponent of perspective shifting. And of gear shifting. Of being adaptable and of having the ability to readjust as needed. As we were planning our recent trip to California, I had a couple leads with amazing LA-based Guest Titans, both of which didn’t end up panning out at the last minute. Because we couldn’t get schedules to align. At first I was a bit disappointed, but that...

Episode 064: Karin Fortin Jackson -- Part Two ("After") Triathlete / Weight loss success story

What we cover: "For temporary results, commit to temporary changes. For permanent results, commit to permanent ones." -- Karin Fortin Jackson, 3-time Ironman finisher, who lost 120 pounds In 18 months of conversations with people I admire, this might rank as my most favourite chat yet. And I say that with the full admission that I have loved every one of my Guest Titan encounters. Karin Fortin Jackson is so honest, so unassuming, so humble, so candid. She allows us a private peek inside her very personal journey – a journey that has a clear “before” and a clear...

Episode 063: Karin Fortin Jackson -- Triathlete / Weight loss success story (Part One: Before)

Episode 063: Karin Fortin Jackson -- Triathlete / Weight loss success story (Part One: Before)

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What we cover: “A fall doesn't have to be perceived as a fall. It can be a trip. Or a stumble." – Teryl Rothery

This week’s Guest Titan is flipping amazing. I first met Teryl Rothery, about 18 years ago – I’ll tell you how I know it was a long time ago – I was an ad copywriter at an agency here in Vancouver, and I’d written some radio scripts for a national telco. And the product we were advertising was – wait for it – the Yellow Pages. Like, the hard copy, yellow pages phone books. One of the voice actors, we hired for the scripts was Teryl Rothery. That’s how long ago I met Teryl – we were still in the days of advertising the arrival of phone books at our doorsteps, letting people know that they were on their way. And I am going to post that radio spot in the show notes – because why not?! Go to MJDionne.com, click on the podcaster tab, and you’ll see Teryl’s show notes banner there. Easy!

In between Seasons One and Two, I took the summer off from recording Tea with a Titan episodes. And it’s a good feeling to know you miss something, because I missed it. And I am so happy to be back. But one of the things I’m committed to doing is shortening my introductions, so that we can get right to the meat – or the tofu – of the episode. Which in today’s case, is my chat with Teryl. In a nutshell, to set the stage, Teryl played the role of Dr Janet Frasier for 7 seasons of Stargate SG-1. She was Grace Sherman alongside Andie MacDowell for 3 seasons of Cedar Cove, and truth told, her filmography on Wikipedia is – and I tell her this in our conversation – exhausting: X-Files, The Outer Limits, Super Natural, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, Best in Show with Christopher Guest, Arrow, and, she’s also part of ABC’s new medical drama, The Good Doctor – which premiers on September 25th, 2017. Which very well could be yesterday, if you’re listening to this on the day we post.

Teryl is instantly likeable, but more than that, she’s just got a wisdom to her that I’ve always admired. Acting is a profession that has a built-in level of “the unknown” to it – and no matter the field or path we each pursue, wrapping our heads around being okay with uncertainty is a skill that would do us all a fair bit of good.

The reason I started this series, is so that my two daughters, Majella (who we call JouJou) and Burgess (who we call Birdie) will have an inventory of inspiring conversations with paradigm-busters to draw upon for those times in their lives when they feel stuck. Each conversations give me the gift of at least one perspective shift – a new way of looking at the situation. And I want to thank Teryl for reminding me that a “fall” doesn’t have to be perceived as a “fall”. We can perceive it as a trip, or a stumble. How liberating is that?!

MJDionne.com

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