Nov. 21: Is playing around working?
What's on DNTO: Nov. 21
Are we at our most productive when we're playing? This week, we talk to people who might convince you that we are.
So a radio host walks out on to the street with a couple of pillows... Will Sook-Yin be able to convince anyone to engage in a little playful pillow fight?
How could walking into a restaurant, talking like a pirate, go wrong? Tim Norris, a.k.a. comedian Big Daddy Tazz, will explain how. Yaaaaar!
If work met play at a cocktail party, one of them would end up with a drink in their face. Clare Lawlor examines the ethical and psychological battle between work and play and stumbles across a diplomatic solution.
Is your workplace a little drab? Joyless, even? A few Tiger Beat posters will take care of that problem. Seth Sazant will tell us how he went undercover to make his office a little more playful.
Do you ever look at a group of kids playing, and think "I'd sure like to be doing that"? Like going back to kindergarten... or summer camp...? Writer Robin Hemley looked back at his youth, and decided there were certain things he'd like to "do-over." So he did. He'll tell us what he learned about "play" by going back to his childhood... literally.
Play isn't all fun and games... it can have a very powerful effect in very dark situations. Sedick Isaacs was locked up and tortured in South Africa's infamous Robben Island prison for 13 years, alongside other anti-apartheid prisoners like Nelson Mandela and current president Jacob Zuma. One of the things that helped them survive those years was running and playing in a prisoner football league. He'll tell us how.
Grown-ups often just aren't as good at playing as kids. So how has your idea of "play" changed since you were young? Sook-Yin takes her mic to the street to find out.
Playing can be fun. Playing can be great stress relief. Playing can also be an excellent tool for revenge. Lisa Schwartzman will explain how.
Play can also be a way to make a statement. Sook-Yin will talk with Shamez Amlani from Streets Are for People! about delivering a message through play... and find out just how much fun you can have in an empty parking spot.
Music is something that we "play" - but some bands are more playful than others. We'll hear from Duplex!, a Vancouver band where adults and kids play together. The big kids and little kids will drop by the studio to talk about making music, and to play us a song.
Most kids play pretty natrually. But if you weren't a "player" as a kid, can you learn how it works as an adult? Vincent Champagne will tell us his story.
And here's this week's playlist:
Todd Rundgren - "Bang the Drum All Day"
Bobby Valentin - "Use It Before You Lose It"
Everything All the Time - "Lazy Days"
Fun - "At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)"
K'Naan - "Wavin' Flag (Celebration Mix)"
A.M. - "Boom Snap Clap"
Lederhosen Lucil - "Doin' the Ganglion"
Parachute Club - "Rise Up"
The Mohawk Lodge - "Making Music"
Duplex! - "That's How We Make a Sandwich" (live in studio)
Come play with DNTO
Hey DNTO players,
Sook-Yin Lee here. Coming up this week on Definitely Not the Opera, we get down to some serious playing.
Now the thing is, there's a tendency to equate play with childhood, that somehow the under twelve crowd are the only ones who can indulge in fun, silly, frivolous play. When you behave that way as an adult, you're often considered immature, or people say you're acting like a kid, or (like how often I'm described) "child-like". It seems strange to me, because a great deal of my childhood was spent in terror and confusion. I have no desire to return to the horrors of my childhood, but I have maintained a playful spirit throughout my life.
See, playing is not just for kids. As adults we play all the time in subtle ways that make our lives so much more enjoyable.
Like lately when I go for a walk, I have a lot of fun interacting with buildings. A torn down construction site, graffiti on the walls, or a giant billboard advertising a local Chinatown hardware store are all potential playgrounds.
Here are some photos my pal Adam and I took of each other while playing.
Adam with bow.
Sook-Yin with Brick.
Adam with lady.
Sook-Yin with lady.
Be sure to tune into our "Play Time!" episode of DNTO this Saturday, Nov. 21st at 2PM on CBC Radio 1, or check out the podcast available here first thing Saturday morning!
Listen to DNTO: Nov. 14 (Big Talk on "Small Talk")
What's on DNTO: Nov. 14
So... how are you? Nice weather we're having, huh? Yep... everyone hates "small talk." But what if we told you small talk could SAVE YOUR LIFE? And what if we proved it? Sounds like a good idea for a show, doesn't it? Here's what's coming up...
Believe it or not, small talk really did save Annamarie Ausnes' life. We'll hear from her and her "small talk hero" - Sandie Andersen.
Small talk isn't just a way to kill time during your working day. It may be a big part of the key to your success. Clare Lawlor talk to actor Stuart Knight and others to find out why.
When Laura Mayer asks "How are you doing?" she really, really wants to know the answer. We'll talk with the creator of the "How Are You Doing?" Project.
Grant Lawrence is not a fan of small talk. Or at least, he wasn't... until it gave him a chance to hob-nob with Hollywood stars on Broadway. He'll tell us how it happened.
Sook-Yin will tell us her story of "small talk terror" at the hands of two giants on Canadian culture... Michael Ondaatje and Stuart McLean. And then she'll turn it over to you, to find out how you break the ice.
It's impossible to have a meaningful conversation with strangers in an elevator. But Sook-Yin loves a challenge. So she'll attempt some "big talk" on her local lift.
Fred Eaglesmith comes from a long tradition of singer/songwriters where the stories between songs are often as important as the songs themselves. So what's it like bantering with a crowd? We'll ask Fred, when he visits the DNTO studio to play us a tune.
Sometimes we start out with best small talk intentions... but what happens when you hit a conversational dead end? Johan Hultqvist of Toronto band Mr. Something Something made an attempt to break through to the other side that didn't go as planned. He'll tell us his story.
Although it may sometimes be awkward, small talk is harmless enough, right? Maybe not. We'll talk with Nathanael Fast, a research who's uncovered a dark side to chit-chat.
Dawn Dumont found out the hard way that something as simple as "How are you doing?" can be a very loaded question. She'll tell us what happened.
How do you make small talk with a Beatle? Or Bob Dylan? Chris O'Dell's job put her in those kind of situations all the time. She'll tell us how she handled it.
And here's this week's playlist:
Tegan and Sara - "Alligator"
Land of Talk - "Some Are Lakes"
Hannah Georgas - "Let's Talk"
Hot Hot Heat - "Talk To Me, Dance With Me"
Reid Jamieson - "End of the World Small Talk"
Immaculate Machine - "Small Talk"
Fred Eaglesmith - "Careless" (live in studio)
Mr. Something Something - "Sound the Alarm"
Buck 65 - "Indestructible Sam"
R.E.M. - "Pop Song 89"
George Harrison - Miss O'Dell
Listen to DNTO: Nov. 7
If you didn't get a chance to listen to our "listening" episode, check it out below (or right here, along with past episodes of the DNTO podcast).
Thanks for listening!
What's on DNTO: Nov. 7
Shhhh... listen... How often do we stop to do that? And when we're supposed to be listening, are we? This week, we look at the "lost art" of listening. Here's what's coming up:
Men are from Mars, women are from Venus... and apparently, "listening" means two different things on those planets. Tori Allen explores the battle of the sexes for our ears.
It's a language only a mother (of father) could love... or at least understand. How do parents figure out what their toddlers are saying? DNTO dad-in-residence Nick Purdon finds the answer.
Sometimes, we don't listen well. Other times, we listen too well. Sook-Yin takes her mic to the street to find out when you got busted eavesdropping.
Listening for fun and profit! Well, mostly profit. Stephen Hunt tells us how he became a "professional listener."
Justin Rutledge is used to playing for big, appreciative crowds. But what happens when we ask people to listen to him outside the normal concert environment? Sook-Yin and Justin go busking to find out.
Fourteen-year-old Michael Moloney has managed to turn his keen ability to listen - and mimic - into a burgeoning career. He'll tell us how.
Sook-Yin will visit award-winning CBC documentarian Steve Wadhams for something you usually see a doctor for... an ear cleaning. But this ain't no fancy new-age candle wax thing. Listen in to find out what Steve's ear-cleaning involves.
A sound is a sound is a sound... right? Maybe not. Sook-Yin heads out with a mysterious noise to try a little "audio Rorschach test" on unsuspecting strangers.
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a conversation and suddenly realized you're actually listening to a way, way more interesting conversation that's happening halfway around the room? You're not alone. Clare Lawlor looks into the "cocktail party phenomenon."
Going to a classical music performance isn't just about looking at nicely-dressed people. Toronto Symphony Orchestra musical director Peter Oundjian tells us what we should really be listening for in classical music... and shares some illuminating examples.
One of the worst things that could happen to a musician is losing his hearing. Randy Rutherford will tell us how he's dealt with it.
How is talking with a teenager like negotiating with a terrorist? Sook-Yin will find out when she talks with Dr. Mark Goulston about the power of really, truly listening.
It's a wee bit socially awkward when a conversation that really, really wasn't supposed to be overheard is... by the person you're talking about. Denis Grignon will explain how listening turned around to bite him.
And here's this week's playlist:
Julian Casablancas - "Out of the Blue"
Circle Research - "Stop, Look... Listen To Your Heart"
char2d2 - "Take and Send"
MCJ and Cool G - "So Listen"
Justin Rutledge - "Jack of Diamonds"
Hockey - "Song Away"
The Beatles - "A Hard Day's Night"
Gonzales - "Oregano"
Rae Spoon - "I Can't Wait To Hear the Noise"
Suzanne Vega - "Tom's Diner"
Listen to DNTO: Oct. 31
In case you missed the sheer terror of our "when did you frighten someone else?" episode, take a listen to it right here.
That episode, and older episodes, are always available on our podcast page. And if you're a fan of pictures, chapters, and the like, you can download our "enhanced" podcast from iTunes.
Happy listening!
Videos
Please download the latest version of Flash Player to view this content.
- Sort By:
- Latest
- Most Viewed