Soul Forge Podcast

Mint versus Loose - 283

Mint versus loose. Which is better? How do you choose to present your collection? Is there really that much of a difference between mint and loose collecting? All that and more on this week's exciting episode of The Soul Forge Podcast!

But first, an update on my Hot Wheels collecting. I have been steadily on the hunt for new and unique die cast cars. YouTube has been a great source of information. People have different tastes in vehicles. It seems as though many collectors do not like the fantasy casts. Instead they prefer to only collect real-world models. This hobby can make one quite obsessive.

So, mint or loose? What terms do we need to be familiar with?

MOC : Mint on card
MIB : Mint in box
MIP : Mint in package

HTF : Hard to find
VHTF : Very hard to find

Carded : Figure is still on original backing card.
Boxed : Figure is still in original box.
Loose : Figure is no longer in it's original box or card.
Complete : Figure has all of its original accessories.
Punched : The hole used to hang the card on a peg in stores has been knocked out.
Unpunched : The hole used to hang the card on a peg in stores has not been knocked out.

There can be many reasons for why someone will keep their action figures MIB/MOC. Some people just like the way the packages look. Many action figures made today are highly detailed, but also are in detailed packages. Others like to keep them MIB/MOC because action figures are worth way more when they are in original packages. The better the condition of the packages, the better the price will be if you ever decide to resell your action figures.

Loose figures will allow you to take them out of the package and “play” with them. You can put your figures in different poses and post them online on blogs or forums. They take up way less storage space. The downside to loose figures is that they lose their values very fast.

The best option (if you can afford it) is to buy 2 of everything. This way, you can display your collection both way and never have to decide!

This week's podcast promo: Earth Station One

 

Searching For Joy - 282

Searching for joy is a necessary part of life. There are many day to day things that can bring you down. Sometimes you must actively seek out joy. On this week's episode of Soul Forge Podcast, Shawn and Amanda are doing their best to find the joy in the every day aspects of life.

What exactly is joy? According to the dictionary, joy is: the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation. However, in regards to the podcast, joy is simply the act of feeling good.

Origin of joy:

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English joy(e), from Old French joie, joye, from Late Latin gaudia, neuter plural (taken as feminine singular) of Latin gaudium “joy,” equivalent to gaud- (base of gaudēre “to be glad”) + -ium-ium

 

Amanda finds her joy through random acts of kindness. Making others feel good helps her to feel good too.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said the “surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.” New research published by a team of psychologists at the University of Missouri-Columbia suggests that King’s words are as true today as they were a half-century ago — that our own happiness is, in large part, influenced by the kindness and generosity we show to others. Amanda just might be onto something here.

We also talk about how our words can influence our moods. For instance, Shawn often says he is observing or describing. This is a more positive spin on the act of complaining or whining. Amanda thinks Shawn is actually whining, but he believes he is explaining or observing. What do you think?

 

This week's podcast promo: Earth Station Trek

Expectation Vs Reality - 281

Expectations are what we think will happen, while reality is what actually transpires. While we hope these two will match up, they often don't. This disparity of expectations vs. reality can often lead to feelings of discontentment and unhappiness. 

Expectations refer to the beliefs that you hold about the outcomes of events. While these expectations can play an important role in determining what happens and can contribute to goal-directed behavior, they can also lead to disappointment when reality does not match up to what you had hoped would happen. 

People are surprisingly bad at predicting what will make them happy. This means that your expectations might cause you to think that achieving certain goals will bring joy and contentment, but because these predictions are often wrong, you might pursue the wrong goals.

Your expectations can get the better of you when you expect more than what is realistic in a given situation. You might expect your partner to live up to what you see in romance films. You may expect your job to be an idealized version you dreamed about as a child, or even your life to match what you see on Instagram.

Expectations can create significant stress when they don't match up with reality. Also, consider how social media can greatly contribute to this. You compare our own worst moments (those not deemed to be shareable online) to others' best moments, which very often are filtered to seem perfect.

When you find that what is happening is not what you expected, actively look for the positives in what you have. You may find that once you get over the disappointment, you have something you didn't initially realize you wanted. This helps you to be more appreciative of what you have.

This week's podcast promo: Drinking with Authors

Hot Wheels - 280

Hot Wheels are my latest micro obsession. What is a micro obsession? Those who know me, are aware that my interests vary far and wide. You never know what might hit my radar and become my next mini obsession. Last year it was prepping for the end of the world. This year, it's Hot Wheels!

For more than five decades, Hot Wheels has provided adrenaline-fueled vehicle play that ignites the challenger spirit in every kid with the most outrageous and innovative cars and track systems. Hot Wheels was born when Mattel co-founder Elliot Handler challenged his design team to create a toy car that was cooler and performed better than anything on the market. They answered with the first-ever trackable toy car.

This episode details my early history with Hot Wheels. From smashing my brother's cars to buidling towns. The price was so reasonable every kid had a ton of cars. We used to call them Dinky Cars. However, Dinky was a completely separate brand.

Hot Wheels are my newest micro obsession. I have been learning all about the history of the toy line. I have also found out about treasure hunt and super treasure hunt vehicles. Thanks in large part to a slew of YouTube channels, I have gained just enough knowledge to be dangerous.

This week's podcast promo: Cosmic Pizza

You’re Gonna Die - 279

You're gonna die. I'm gonna die. We are all going to die. That is why it is important to think about end of life planning while you still can. You're gonna die. Therefore, it is up to you to plan how you wish to be taken care of.

Preplanning your final arrangements can save your family and friends from having to make decisions at a difficult time. It also gives you time to make the right choices.

The person you name in your will to handle your affairs (for example, your estate trustee) can change your plans at the time of your death, so it is important to discuss your wishes with him or her and your family members or friends.

This week on the podcast, Amanda is here to remind us all that we are going to die. She pre-planned her and her husband's funerals. Because she knows you're gonna die, she has much to say on this topic. The main take away is that pre-planning your funeral arrangements saves those left behind from having to do it during their grief. It also ensures you get what you want.

Remember to keep all important documents in a safe place where your legal representative(s) can find them easily and give a copy to the person who will likely make the arrangements. Keep in mind that your representative may not be able to have a safety deposit box opened until after the funeral.

At death, your legal representative should take your pre-arrangement documents to your chosen provider and any receipts or other evidence of payment.

The service provider will review the contract with your legal representative and let him or her know if there are any extra costs to be paid at that time.

This week's podcast promo: Cigar Nerds

Not Every One Is A Winner - 278

It's a mixed bag of topics this week. There is no theme holding all the thoughts together. What will Shawn say on this week's episode? No one knows--not even him! Prepare yourself for a cosmic adventure to nowhere!

Valentine's Day was this week. How did you spend the day? Is it Single Awareness Day? Did you go to a fancy restaurant? I spent the day at work, followed by an evening of watching TV, eating chocolate and relaxing. Melissa went to Mexico with her family. We celebrated earlier in the week.

Television and movies are fun. I used to host a podcast all about pop culture and movies and toys. I am currently enjoying The Last Of Us. We are only 5 episodes into the series and it is really great so far. I haven't played the video game it is based on, but that doesn't seem to matter. The third and final season of Star Trek: Picard premieres this week. I have been eagerly anticipating seeing the reunion of the Next Generation crew. My brother Robin and I are going to see Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania on Thursday. Who doesn't love Paul Rudd?

The situation with my dad has improved recently. Things had been tense for quite some time. He recently reached out. We have been doing coffee and having visits. All in all, it has been quite pleasant so far.

Check out Rusted Robot Toys. It's my pop culture shop on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/RustedRobotToys

This week's podcast promo: But First, Let's Talk Nerdy

Let The Nukes Fly - 277

Love? Loss? Heartache? Anger? Sadness? Brother Robin visits the Soul Forge to celebrate his 37th birthday. Robin has a few things to talk about. Is he ready for the end of society, or can he turn his attitude around?

Seasonal depression might be to blame for Robin's sadness. It could, perhaps, be his recently ended situationship. Right now, he is on a 2 forked road. Sharing memes about healing while waiting for the world to end.

Most things in Robin's life are actually fairly positive. He has a place to live; family and friends who love him; a new vehicle, and a decent job. Money problems have always been an issue for Robin, but things are looking up. His job at Best Buy appears secure for the foreseeable future.

Why is Robin ready to let the nukes fly? This mainly seems to stem from his recent breakup. He was not in a fully fledged relationship, but it seemed to be heading that way. This was the girl of his dreams. When she called it off, he was devastated. He is doing everything possible to feel better and move on.

Robin is ready to let the nukes fly, but he is also trying to heal. Much like I felt after the breakup of my marriage, Robin is sharing memes about positivity, inspiration and healing. He knows he will get through the tough times, and yet he is tired of getting through the tough times.

Tiktok is Robin's release valve. He has been seeing angel numbers and a ton of Tarot videos. Recently, he has turned to making his own videos. There are several methods Robin is using to heal and cope with life. Find him on TikTok under the name Robino Heat.

This week's podcast promos: Metal Geeks, Best Saturdays of our Lives

I Went Viral - 276

I went viral this past week. I walked into Walmart and saw that they were adding coin receptacles to their shopping carts. Pulling out my phone, I made a quick Tiktok video. After uploading the video to the service, I thought nothing more about it. Somehow, it attracted a lot of attention from the Tiktok community. Three days after I posted the video, it had 5 million views. A week after posting the video, it had amassed 10.5 million views and more than thirty thousand comments.

Going viral is an online phenomenon that any active Internet user is most likely already familiar with, at least to some extent. When the word viral is used to describe a video, it doesn’t refer to the type of content but rather to the way in which it gains popularity. A video goes viral by quickly amassing millions of views due to social media users sharing it with their friends and/or followers. And the more people share, the higher the number of views.

In short, a viral video is a video spread by users who share and like it, thus increasing its number of views and making it reach viewers outside the original target audience group. Due to the fact that sharing is a key element of creating viral content, it’s mainly encountered within the world of social media. When you manage to make your video go viral, there are really no limits as to how many people can actually watch it. A sensible assumption would be that the potential audience could even consist of as many people as there are users of a particular platform. This is, of course, only a theoretical scenario, but still, it’s not exactly accurate because viral posts and videos tend to travel between different social media platforms.

My viral video: https://www.tiktok.com/@soulforgepodcast/video/7192661184481430790

The Daily Dot article: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/walmart-dollar-shopping-cart/?fbclid=IwAR1oWtz6eZq9WblRCq8hDIP6VOHiVMAYoOZQeP3nFUCqoHySbeWfc7ssTJQ

Support the podcast: https://ko-fi.com/rustedsoul

This week's podcast promo: The 42 Cast