Quad God, Curling, And Doctor Storytime

The week felt like a sports movie that refused to stick to the script. An allegedly slushy Olympic rink turned figure skating into survival mode, where clean edges mattered more than big jumps and a single stumble reshaped the podium. We break down how ice quality can sabotage world-class technique, why Germany’s pairs team won gold by staying upright, and how Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Sheiderov captured gold through control, not spectacle. Along the way, we talk music choices on the ice—Bolero, Paint It Black, and a show-stealing Diva Dance—and why composure after a fall can change a career as much as a quad.

From the rink we glide into curling, that underdog of winter sports that thrives on angles, sweep rates, and quiet nerves. Strategy and patience become the stars, a needed counterweight to the high-velocity wipeouts. Then the spotlight swings to the Oscars, where Marty Supreme grabs us by the collar with a flawed lead you can’t help but root for. We dig into a fearless transformation at the center, Kevin O’Leary’s unexpectedly sharp and menacing turn, and a 90s-leaning soundtrack draped over a midcentury world that crackles with urgency. We also flag Secret Agent, a Brazilian political thriller with Cannes acclaim and historic awards momentum, as essential viewing.

The most intimate moment lands in a doctor’s office: an essential tremor, a neurologist with no filter, and a crash course in what separates tremor from Parkinson’s when the stakes feel personal. It’s messy, funny, and useful—proof that clarity can live inside chaos. We close with winter-weary small joys, a nod to the friends who keep us going, and a soft tribute to a beloved actor gone too soon.

If you enjoyed the ride—from bad ice to bold cinema—tap follow, share this with a friend who needs a good listen, and leave a quick review. Your notes help others find the show and keep these conversations rolling.

Find our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/447251562357065/

Transcript

Opening Banter And Station IDs

SPEAKER_01 0:03

I told the witch doctor I was in love with you. And then the witch doctor who told me what to do, he said.

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Hello. Welcome to the Anne Levine Show. It's Tuesday, February 17th, 2026. And of course, this ship is steered by none other than Michael over there.

SPEAKER_03 0:34

Hello.

SPEAKER_00 0:35

And he sounds especially commanding today.

SPEAKER_03 0:40

Don't I though? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Yeah. You do. Um, we all have our faith in you for this next hour. Uh, so yeah, hi everybody.

SPEAKER_03 0:53

Yeah, hello.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

We have all kinds of things to discuss today.

SPEAKER_03 1:00

Yeah, but first we want to remind you you're listening to 92.1 W O M R Provincetown, Massachusetts, and 91.3 FM. WFMR Orleans, and we are streaming worldwide at W O M R dot O-R-G. It's real people here.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

It is real people here. It is, it's all real. Um, and I feel it, I feel the streaming. It's streaming right through me right now.

SPEAKER_03 1:35

Is it? Yeah.

Setting The Stage: Olympic Week

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Yeah. Okay. I'm streaming. Yeah, oh yeah. Oh yeah, oh yeah. Um I don't even know where to start. Okay. It's been it's been quite a week. I think I'll start with the Olympics, though.

SPEAKER_03 1:52

Okay, yeah. That's a that's a big deal. That's been happening. It's about to wrap up here, right? Pretty soon, isn't it?

Figure Skating Falls And Bad Ice

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Well, there's one more it's this week. Yeah. So I guess Sunday is the closing ceremony, I'm guessing. Right. But Saturday or Sunday, probably.

SPEAKER_03 2:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Um, but there's a whole big thing going on with ice skating. And what's been going on is that everyone has been flaming out. Everyone has been, all of the competitors have been crashing and burning, falling down. I was watching the pair short program over the weekend. Every single one, except for the Germans.

SPEAKER_03 2:54

Right, except for only one pair. Didn't have a fall. Well, or uh a messed up jump or something.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

Well, a jump that got popped out. Yeah, some um some didn't actually hit the ice, but some big, some really big problem.

SPEAKER_03 3:13

Right, that lost the many points where they would have normally gotten it, including uh our hopeful gold medalist.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Ilya Malinan. Yep, who everyone assumed was gonna take the gold.

SPEAKER_03 3:29

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

And who is referred to as the Quad God by everyone, including himself.

SPEAKER_03 3:38

Right, yeah, he probably came up with that himself anyway.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

He walks around in this um tank top that says Quad God with a crown on it, and he's like this tall, blonde, blue-eyed, sort of uh I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 3:57

Yeah, one of the children of the corn. That's what I've always called him. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

But also this extraordinary, like he's really good at the skating thing, I'll tell you that. He's great at skating. I mean, he's got a program that has seven quads in it. He's the only guy or gal for that matter that's ever done that.

SPEAKER_03 4:23

He does a a four and a half.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

Right, and he's also doing a four and a half now. I remember last time we were talking about Olympic skating. I was saying that it's crazy because at some point someone's gonna do a five.

SPEAKER_03 4:44

Yeah, one of these days, but uh, and and they're getting there. He's already doing four and a half.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

Yeah, and how is this just gonna keep happening? I mean, are they gonna end up being like tops that that spin up to the ceiling or something?

Upsets: Germany And Kazakhstan Rise

SPEAKER_03 4:59

Maybe.

SPEAKER_00 5:00

I think that's what's in the future, could be what they're going for, yeah. Anyhow, there's a big, big controversy.

SPEAKER_03 5:11

Uh-oh.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Because of all this falling. And it's been happening in speed skating.

SPEAKER_03 5:18

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

All these people wiping out.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

So what are they and no one's saying any any of this is deliberate, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:26

This is no, it turns out that the quality of the ice is terrible.

SPEAKER_03 5:35

I see. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

And everyone has been complaining about it.

SPEAKER_03 5:40

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Um, and it they're saying it's too soft and like slushy almost.

SPEAKER_03 5:50

Oh, okay. Yeah, that's a problem.

SPEAKER_00 5:52

And so that's why everyone is wiping out.

SPEAKER_03 5:57

Yeah, you can't get your skates to bite on something that doesn't that exactly. It has to have no give or very little, you know. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

And the other thing is that the surface of the podium is destroying the blades of everyone's skates.

SPEAKER_03 6:19

Oh, no kidding.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Because they they go up on the podium on their skates.

SPEAKER_03 6:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

You know, not with skate guards, not with blade guards.

SPEAKER_03 6:28

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:29

So it's been a total mess. Yeah. Okay, I get that. The Olympics, whoever does, you know, this stuff have made an apology.

SPEAKER_03 6:46

I see, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Right. So it's like an official an official thing. Can you imagine being in an Olympics where things are so screwed up that the committee itself has to apologize for uh Well, and that your your performance, your athletic endeavor is ruined.

SPEAKER_03 7:14

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

Your your Olympics is ruined.

SPEAKER_03 7:17

Your your four years of solid training and effort to get there exactly gone. Because they couldn't do ice, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:29

They they couldn't do ice.

SPEAKER_03 7:32

Um and it's horrible now that I've everybody seems to be having a problem with ice. What is it?

SPEAKER_00 7:41

So what this has led to is some pretty bizarre results in the standings.

SPEAKER_03 7:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

Like, um, as I said, in the pairs short program, Germany ended up winning. Right. Now, Germany never Germany was never considered um as a team that was gonna do well in figure skating. I mean, they're competing, but no, no one said, okay, they're gonna be on the podium.

Music Choices On The Ice

SPEAKER_03 8:23

Oh, uh well, yeah, but that's not even I mean, you can see how that may be able to happen. You know? It gets a little cold around there, too. They've got a lot of frozen lakes and rivers and mountains and stuff. I'm not saying But Kazakhstan, on the other hand, you don't expect them to win a gold medal.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Well, that was a crazy thing that happened. Yeah. Uh and well, in the case of Germany, I'm gonna finish um what I was gonna say about that. Um they were the only the only pair that didn't fall down.

SPEAKER_03 9:14

They didn't have some kind of stumble, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Yeah. Um I mean it was hor and really crazy things were happening. Like this Japanese team that was expected to win, you know, they do these throw jumps.

SPEAKER_03 9:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Well, this, I mean, I hate to laugh, but this woman got thrown and she ended up on the ice. Oh no, yeah, because I missed that part. Oh, yeah, these this was one program after the other. Yeah. It was absolutely nuts. Um, so in the men's, what was it, short program or long program? Um, anyway, um the one that Ilya was absolutely expected to win. Right.

SPEAKER_03 10:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Um ended up being so Malinin fell twice.

SPEAKER_03 10:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Plus, he popped out of several jumps. Um, so where he was supposed to do quads, he did singles and doubles. Uh anyway.

SPEAKER_03 10:45

And Kazakhstan won the gold medal.

SPEAKER_00 10:49

Because, and look just like the German.

SPEAKER_03 10:52

He didn't fall down.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

This guy, Mikhail Scheiderov, yeah. Did not fall down. No. Good for him, too. Yeah, well, this guy was wearing some kind of crazy blue flame situation costume.

Curling: Strategy And Skill

SPEAKER_03 11:12

Yeah. Now he is the second guy in uh Kazakhstan's uh uh Winter Olympic history to win a gold medal since they've been competing as an independent country. Uh-huh. Because he won in uh 1994 when uh cross-country skier got a gold medal. But this guy, he's it. He's number two in the country for winning gold. Well, the second guy, he's tied with the first guy for number one spot in Kazakhstan for number of gold medals they've won. So that's pretty awesome.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

Well, this guy is such a sort of post-pubescent, which so many of these people are. I mean, so many of these athletes, you know, are too young to drive and too young to drink.

SPEAKER_03 12:12

I think the youngest competitor was 14.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

Something like that.

SPEAKER_03 12:16

And the oldest was 54.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

Yeah, well, that was a curling guy. Yeah, I think so. We'll get to that in a minute. But this guy was like a mouthful of braces, a really screwed-up hair situation, um, just, you know, dork, just dorky. You know, you can see this guy, he's a figure skating being bullied in school, um, and suddenly he's winning the gold medal. And no one in the world was more shocked about it than he was.

SPEAKER_03 12:56

Yeah, I think that's probably true, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

And it's it's all about, well, if you don't fall on this ice, you get a gold medal. Yeah. There you go. Um, and so Malin was a hundred percent expected to win this. Um, and then there were two Japanese men who had skated really brilliantly at one point. I guess the ice was fluctuating in quality depending on the temperature, and I guess the temperature was low for the men's. I mean, when they say like it was kind of slushy, that that doesn't even sound possible.

SPEAKER_03 13:53

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

Anyway, what a disaster, really, the whole thing is, and I feel bad for this. By the way, this guy Scheider off was dancing to music called the Diva Dance.

SPEAKER_03 14:14

Oh, okay. Well, it wasn't painted black like everybody else, so I mean there was a lot of that going around.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

Oh, that was so weird. There were all these people skating to paint it black.

SPEAKER_03 14:31

Yeah, all different sort of versions of it, you know.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:37

Yeah, just it was really interesting.

SPEAKER_00 14:39

It was so weird, and there were a lot of like old rock songs that had been reconfigured for ice skating. Um, and then of course, every other person did bolero.

SPEAKER_03 14:56

Right, yeah, but that's all that's a common one.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Right.

SPEAKER_03 15:00

It has been for a long time, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

But still, there it was it was like, okay, it's either bolero, um, painted black, or diva dance.

SPEAKER_03 15:12

Yeah, okay, all right, yeah, all right. That's maybe maybe they've been told that's what they have to choose from. So you know, maybe the committee said, hey, here's here's your three songs.

SPEAKER_00 15:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:23

Pick one.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Well, lucky, lucky for Siderov, he picked Diva Dance.

SPEAKER_03 15:29

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

Um, yeah. Um one thing I've got to say about Malin and about the Quad God is that he was interviewed right after he had this disaster, and everyone was, you know, okay freaking out. Um and crying and the whole thing. And he was interviewed immediately. He was so composed, so calm, really eloquent, he he didn't show any sign of being disaster, you know, of having just survived a disaster.

SPEAKER_02 16:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:24

Where on the ice he had, you know, he had a moment where he kind of freaked out right after his program. But he pulled himself together instantly. And I've gotta say that was impressive because the ego and the situation with that guy was kind of over the top. I'm interested to see in the long program if they're able to improve the quality of the ice.

SPEAKER_03 16:57

Yeah. Um yeah, that's gonna be a that's gonna be a big deal.

Oscars Preview And Marty Supreme

SPEAKER_00 17:02

Yeah. Or if everyone's gonna be just, you know, tobogganing instead of ice skating. One of the things about the Winter Olympics that I really love is curling. And it's a it's a sport that people make fun of, that people don't understand, and that I don't think too many people watch.

SPEAKER_03 17:36

Well, no, uh let me uh let me tell you this. I I understand it. I still make fun of it.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:43

Yeah. No, I mean you know what I'm saying? Uh it's and it's it's just because that's the thing, that's the thing I'm making fun of. Not because the sport itself isn't fun, because it is. I have a lot of fun watching it. Um there's a lot of thought that goes into it. So it's you know, it's really very interesting to me. But uh, but yeah, it's you know, no one's gonna look at it and say, oh, this is a very athletic event.

SPEAKER_00 18:15

Well, it's got tons of strategy and skill. It's definitely not just some people, you know, pushing around.

SPEAKER_03 18:31

Yeah, sliding rocks down the ice. That's not it. There's there's a lot of thought that goes into it. Yeah. Yeah, and and it's every shot an enormous amount of mathematics, actually, goes on in their heads with the angles and right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

So it's um I I love it, and I love the fact that I love the countries that are involved in it. I love all the northern Europeans, the Americans, the Canadians. I love this group of sort of cold weather countries where they get together and do their curling, which is advertised as a very social game slash sport. Yeah. Um like as well as uh a physical endeavor.

SPEAKER_03 19:32

I mean I was comparing it to like bowling, right? To a bowling league, which is half bowling and half just hanging out with your friends, you know.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

Well, the thing about curling is it does require some physical acuity.

SPEAKER_03 19:50

I mean, you bowling does too.

SPEAKER_00 19:53

So well, I've seen bowlers that you know are smoking, drinking, and have huge guts.

SPEAKER_03 20:04

Yep. I've seen I've seen curlers with huge guts.

SPEAKER_00 20:08

Really? Yeah. Oh, I didn't see any. You'll have to point that out to me.

SPEAKER_03 20:12

Not in this particular Olympics, but this this is not the only curling that's going on in the world.

SPEAKER_00 20:17

Well, what these well, of course not. But what these guys are doing, and and I say guys, but there are of course women curlers, um, you know, all that all that uh moving around on the ice, that's not nothing. You know, they're gliding around. Um and especially when they're actually curling, when they're with the broom stuff, you know, you can't just, I don't think you can just step onto the ice and curl without some physical ability. I think it would be really hard to be good at it. But I don't know. What do I know? Nothing. Um, so the Winter Olympics has been um crazy. I love when I see the Swedes, I'm half Swedish, um, which is something that I rarely mention, and I honestly that I rarely think of, um, until I see a Swedish team. So I feel like if Sweden or the United States wins, those are sort of my teams. I've even been having cravings for ginger snaps lately, which I found out are called popper cock.

SPEAKER_03 22:02

Uh paprika. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:04

And oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 22:06

I've actually heard that word, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:08

Yeah. So crazy. I wanted to play what would Brian Boitano do um today. I just that suddenly started going through my head. Did you remember that, Michael?

SPEAKER_03 22:25

The song? Yeah. I'm I mean, I remember hearing it when it came out. I couldn't I wouldn't recognize it if it was playing now, probably.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

Well, it's from South Park, uh-huh. Which I didn't remember. And it's loaded with expletives. So that's why we couldn't play it.

SPEAKER_03 22:45

Yeah, that's probably a pretty good reason why we can't.

SPEAKER_00 22:47

We couldn't I would I was positive. I was positive I was gonna use it, and then I thought, well, let me listen to it the whole way through, and it's just not safe for radio or for work. Um anyway, it's been fun having the Olympics.

SPEAKER_03 23:12

Yeah, I've been having fun with it, it's cool.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

And then the next thing we have coming up is the Oscars.

SPEAKER_03 23:21

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:23

And I am pretty pumped about the Oscars this year because I've managed to watch a lot of the films that are nominated.

SPEAKER_03 23:37

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

And they're really good. And the one that I watched over this last week is Marty Supreme. Right.

SPEAKER_03 23:54

And I've got to say The new movie that Timothy Chalamet is supposed to be in.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

And yeah, exactly. But you can't find him.

SPEAKER_03 24:06

No, he's he oh my god, he looks amazing and nothing like, you know, nothing like the He looks nothing like himself. No, it's great. And it's it's very brave, I think. Because it's it's not an attractive look.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

No, it's not an attractive look. But it's also it's it's about a really conflicted person. I mean, this is a person who does some pretty awful things. Um, but does some wonderful things. I mean, it's weird because you're seeing someone who's constantly um, I don't even know what you call it, like a flim flam kind of guy. A confidence.

SPEAKER_03 24:57

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

What do you call those confidence?

SPEAKER_03 25:00

You call them a con man.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

Right, a con man, um, and a brilliantly, a brilliant one. Um, but you're rooting for him the whole time.

SPEAKER_03 25:16

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

So there's this cognitive dissonance it puts you in, where you see these terrible things that he does, and they're not all terrible, but certainly they're not above board, let's put it that way.

SPEAKER_03 25:35

Right, okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:36

Um, not recommended for the general public, right, and a lot of it's you know, criminal, um not violent, you know, um, but still he's not a great person, but you are in love with this guy and you can't stop rooting for him. Yeah. Now there are some very interesting casting choices in this film, and one of them is Kevin O'Leary. Oh my goodness, yes. From Shark Tank.

SPEAKER_03 26:15

Yeah, Mr. Wonderful from the Shark Tank show.

Soundtrack And Safty Style

SPEAKER_00 26:19

He is fantastic. He was really something, wasn't he? I could not believe it. He was so good. I can't imagine how he ended up being cast in this film.

SPEAKER_03 26:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

In any film.

SPEAKER_03 26:37

Well, you know, someone just said he he was kind of being himself, so you know, that sort of made sense, right?

SPEAKER_00 26:46

Well, no, it was much. I mean, he did play, you know, the head of a huge company. Yeah. But no, a lot going on. I mean, when you talk about stuff wrong, and he had one of the most intense scenes in the movie, actually. Um, and one where you wanted to cover your eyes was him.

SPEAKER_03 27:15

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

To-Watch List And Secret Agent

SPEAKER_00 27:16

He was the the pivot point of it, and he had to get really intense and really dark and nasty, and in a way certainly that you would never see on Shark Tank. Um, this was like several levels down from that. Uh, but he also it was very nuanced, it was a very nuanced performance. And I don't know how the heck he pulled together acting chops. Um, oh, I guess partly from being on television. I mean, he knew where the camera was, he knew how to get in the light. You know, he he really knew what he was doing as far as handling, you know, being on a set, being in makeup, being in lights, you know, being seen through a camera lens. Right. And then there were these other amazing people. There's this young woman called Odessa Atsion, who is a I I did sort of a dive into her because I was like, where did she come from? She was amazing. And she played this girl, Rachel, who was Marty's girlfriend, um, sort of. Oh god, he was a bad boy. He really Marty Supreme is a bad boy, but he's supreme.

SPEAKER_03 29:04

Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:05

And then there's the whole ping pong situation.

SPEAKER_03 29:08

Right. Yeah, that's basically the uh the uh backdrop for the whole story.

SPEAKER_00 29:13

And he that was incredible. I mean, I I guess that uh Timothy spent months learning about how to play the game um, you know, at an Olympic level, speaking of the Olympics.

SPEAKER_03 29:30

Right.

SPEAKER_00 29:30

Um, and just extraordinary. I'm not certain what parts of this were based in truth and what weren't. I think this was partially based on an actual person.

SPEAKER_03 29:47

Yeah, I believe it is.

SPEAKER_00 29:48

Uh oh, Fran Dresher? Oh, right, yeah. She was superb. Sandra Bernhardt had a very small role. She was only in one or two scenes, but she was great. Everyone in the film was terrific. And um Gwyneth Paltrow? Oh! I forgot to mention.

SPEAKER_03 30:15

Yeah, I thought she was retired too, but no, she's in this one.

SPEAKER_00 30:19

Well, I've gotta say, I have never been a fan of Gwyneth Paltrow. And I loved her in Shakespeare in Love.

SPEAKER_03 30:30

I thought that was I thought that was great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:32

And she was 18, I think. Oh, yeah. And won the Oscar. And I'll never forget the dress she was wearing at the Oscars. She was in a Ralph Lauren gown that was like two sizes too big. Oh, okay. Anyone who's interested, I'm looking at you, Silver Lake. She was uh, yeah, go John Baker. I want you to look up Gwyneth Paltrow's acceptance speech and tell me about the fit of the bodice of that Ralph Lauren pink princess dress. Um, I think this might be one of those things where she was fitted for the dress, say, I don't know how long before.

SPEAKER_03 31:21

Then she lost and then she lost 30 pounds. Yeah, I was gonna say, all in her boobs.

Winter Blues, Dogs, And Visitors

SPEAKER_00 31:26

Well, for her, yeah, 10 pounds would be like a huge percentage of her total weight. At any rate, she was superb in this film. She played a sort of over-the-hill actress, um, movie star, slightly over the hill, past her prime, and she and Marty end up having an affair. And that was wild too, because you're seeing um Timothy's like 30, and Gwyneth's gotta be, I don't know, close to 60.

SPEAKER_03 32:13

Uh 53 or something like that.

SPEAKER_00 32:17

So there's this, you know, big age difference.

SPEAKER_03 32:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

And you don't usually see some young, hot guy going after a woman that's 25, his senior. Right. And they had chemistry like you wouldn't believe. Timothy Chalamet absolutely deserves to win the Oscar for Best Actor.

SPEAKER_03 32:48

So uh I I got something else about the about this dress. Uh-huh. Um in 2023, Gwyneth did a a commercial for Goop. Right. For her company Goop, uh Macy's commercial. She wore the same dress in that commercial. Uh-huh. Just saying, you know, it's 20 years later or 30 years later.

SPEAKER_00 33:13

And it probably fits her now.

SPEAKER_03 33:15

Yeah. Yeah.

Time Flying And Spring Plans

SPEAKER_00 33:16

Yeah. No, she, it was definitely several sizes too large. Yeah. I couldn't. That's what I remember most about that whole thing was watching the Oscars, seeing her sitting there in that dress while they were announcing the nominees and just saying, Oh, I can't believe she's in that dress. What stylist would let her? Anyway, that's me. Uh, so Gwyneth Paltro and everyone else in that cast, I'm probably forgetting other mean people, but Kevin O'Leary had a big role. It wasn't like he was in one or two scenes. Yeah. He was a key, and he is not nominated for Best Supporting Actor, which I think is a shame. Um he really was amazing. And the soundtrack was really cool. Uh-huh. Um, this took place in, I think in the 30s. Or in no, maybe it was like the 40s. The late 40s. Um and or early 50s. That had to be what it was, late 40s, early 50s. And uh the soundtrack they used was 90s.

SPEAKER_03 34:48

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 34:49

Like um, they used Peter Gabriel at one point. They used just some really interesting choices in the sound at soundtrack. This was a Josh Safty movie. And the Safty brothers, if you don't know, are uh they make movies. Yeah. And they make they make movies that lots of people like to watch. So they're a big deal.

SPEAKER_03 35:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 35:23

So yeah, we had the uh the Marty Supreme. Marty Supreme, yep. Can't recommend it highly enough. Um and I don't know what else I need to watch. I saw Hamnet, I saw um Sinners. Sinners. Um I saw one problem after another.

SPEAKER_03 35:49

One battle after another. It's a battle? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:52

I that I cannot remember the name of that movie. One battle after another. Sinners.

SPEAKER_03 36:00

Uh, there was another movie. Party Supreme.

The Neurologist Story Begins

SPEAKER_00 36:02

Now, oh, Sentimental Value. There you go. Uh Gotta Watch Secret Agent.

SPEAKER_03 36:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 36:12

That's the other big one. I don't do you know anything about that movie, Mike?

SPEAKER_03 36:17

I do not know.

SPEAKER_00 36:18

So I don't know anything about it. I don't know who's in it.

SPEAKER_03 36:24

Um, so I've gotta give that a Wagner Mura is his name, the guy who plays the uh the lead role. Most of these names I don't know except for uh Udo Kierr, who plays a guy named Hans, and he always plays uh bad guys. So he's he's in a lot of things. Uh but other than that, I really don't know who any of these people in this movie are.

SPEAKER_00 36:50

What's the name of that Brit that always plays the really bad guys? I don't know. I'm gonna come and beat you to a pulp. That guy.

SPEAKER_03 37:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:03

You don't know who I mean.

SPEAKER_03 37:04

I don't know. You're talking about Jason Statham? I mean that's that was the voice you were almost doing. Yeah. He doesn't play bad guys, though, usually. He plays good guys who beats up a lot of bad guys.

SPEAKER_00 37:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 37:16

Yeah. I mean, he usually is in the good guy role. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:19

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 37:20

Um Well. But that was a pretty good Jason State. I under I knew who you were doing from your voice. That was that was amazing, pretty, pretty much.

SPEAKER_00 37:33

That's one yeah, one of my best.

SPEAKER_03 37:36

Yeah, I agree. I agree. Yes, certainly one of your better ones. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 37:42

I never thought in a million years that I'd be good at doing a Jason Statham. Yeah, how about that? It turns out that I am. You sure are. So I need to see Secret Agent. I have no idea what it's about. Is it like uh uh cat's mouse?

SPEAKER_03 38:06

I'll I'll give you the very the nutshell. It follows Armando, a former professor caught in the political turmoil in uh in the midst of a Brazilian military dis dictatorship. Oh, cool. Attempting to flee persecution and resist the regime.

SPEAKER_00 38:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 38:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:28

Um It received widespread acclaim at Cannes.

SPEAKER_03 38:34

Yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:35

And oh, Best Actor went to Mora at Cannes.

SPEAKER_03 38:41

So Also, first Brazilian film nominated for Best Picture.

SPEAKER_00 38:47

Well, exact that's what's so interesting, too. The fact that we have I'm definitely gonna watch that. Um that's not what I thought that film was gonna be, and I'm glad you told me. Um the uh sentimental value. We've got a Norwegian film. Oh, right, yeah. In the category.

Tremor vs Parkinson’s Explained

SPEAKER_03 39:10

Oh, wait a minute. It was it it was up for Best Picture at the Globes. It's best foreign language film nominated for the Oscars. So well, Sentimental It's been nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Casting, and Best International Feature Film.

SPEAKER_00 39:27

Mm-hmm. So well I am definitely um interested in seeing I I have a lot of problems with the Academy Awards. With all the awards shows, they really bum me out um to a large degree. But this year I've seen almost everything, and if I haven't, I'm gonna catch up on it. It's not till the end of March. I keep thinking you know, that time is running out, but I'm gonna watch everything.

SPEAKER_03 40:07

And then uh and then you know what happens after March? Oh ten more tennis. Oh and Garrow, right, in in the beginning of May. Yeah. So excited. Yeah, me too.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

You know, it's it's we're in the middle of this sort of what's getting kind of exhausting, this endless snowscape. Yeah, it's getting uh that we've been it's getting tiring. Yeah. It's been what, two weeks, three weeks, or I'm done with it. Yeah. Yeah, I'm all done. That we've had a thick layer of snow.

SPEAKER_03 40:45

Yep. Stupid winter. Come on. We're not supposed to have winter around here.

SPEAKER_00 40:50

Well we're Cape Cod. Winter, but this this just cold that that no break from the cold. I think this week they're supposed to be a few days above 40. Okay. Which sounds like, you know, tropical at this point. Yep. Might even have some rain, actually. So I just want some of the snow to melt. Yeah. I mean, even for the poor dogs, our dogs are like they hate. Is there still grass? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:23

Is there still exactly they're going out to try to find stuff to sniff, and it's like it's just snow. They got nothing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:30

It's getting a little better. I mean, some of it is melted. Um, like where we had it plowed. But other than that, uh, but they're, you know, they're still happy to be out there.

Doctor’s Tangents And Treatment Talk

SPEAKER_00 41:41

We had the best weekend. Our last weekend, our friend Nell came to visit us, and that was delightful. Yeah. It was great having company. It's been so dreary. Um, it definitely was a boost. I mean, between this horrible cold and snow and hospital and all this stuff that's been going on, um illness and and it was a very bright spot. I also want to say that we have voted, uh, Michael and I have, and for this month, certainly, the best friend awards go to John Baker, Silver Lake, and Nal Hanley, yeah, who is of Stuyvesant. So that's delightful. And we are looking forward to, I'm starting to hear that uh different people, people are starting to like make the reservations. I was talking to a friend of mine in London yesterday who told me um he wants to come in April. And I thought, well, that sounds far. He said, Is there any time that you're unavailable? And so I went and I said, Well, the only thing I can think of really is Passover, and went and looked it up. It's April 1st, it's Passover. So he was saying, okay, well, sometime in the middle of the month, like the 7th, the 15th, something like that. And I'm realizing how soon that is. And it's, I don't know, time is going a little. Too quickly. I probably say that constantly.

SPEAKER_03 44:04

We kind of all do.

SPEAKER_00 44:06

But I just feel like as much as I'm ready for spring and for warm weather and sunshine and all of it, I also feel like let's take a breath.

SPEAKER_03 44:22

Okay, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:23

Let's slow it on down.

SPEAKER_03 44:25

I think we might want to do that a little bit. Yeah, yeah.

Closing Reflections And Tribute Song

SPEAKER_00 44:28

Yeah. Well, I had a very special, speaking of hospitals, a very special doctor's that I feel I need to tell you about, and which accounts for the music we played at top of the show, The Witch Doctor. Was definitely written by Dr. Bruce Bellaflora, a specialist in Boston and neurology. Now, in addition to all my other woes, um, I have what's called an essential tremor that I just developed. And it runs in my family a little bit. Um, so it's fun that I got to participate too. Oh yeah. Um but I have a little tremor. My hands are a little shaky, and my head's a little shaky, and so I thought, all right, this is getting to be kind of it started in the summer a little bit, and then it started to be like, wait a second, this is going on all the time. It's getting a little worrisome. Right. So I did all the things, I had the MRI of the brain to rule out brain tumor and stroke. Well, that was nice. Yeah. And then, long story short, it came down to all right, you need to go to a neurologist. You probably either got essential tremor or Parkinson's.

SPEAKER_03 46:13

Right. That's basically what it comes down to. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:17

So anyway, I went to Dr. Bellaflora. And he walked into the room. Michael and I were seated next to each other, waiting for the doctor to enter the room. And quite late, by the way.

SPEAKER_03 46:35

But yeah, that's he?

SPEAKER_00 46:37

Yeah. Okay. I didn't I didn't notice that. Um, but anyway, it doesn't surprise me in the least bit. So this guy, like a like a tornado, like the Tasmanian devil.

SPEAKER_03 46:54

Yeah, oh yeah, very much like that.

SPEAKER_00 46:56

Came whirling spinning through the into the room, and laser focuses on Michael and starts with, hi, oh, I'm Dr. Bella Flora. Hey, it's nice to meet you. How are you? Oh, I see your armed forces. What were you? Army, Navy, and and Michael was wearing uh an Air Force. An Air Force, right, so uh they get into this whole conversation, um, and he's saying, Oh yeah, well, and and he said he says, and thank you for your service. And I was like, that's the first time I've heard that in a doctor's office. Now, meanwhile, I'm the patient. Right, yeah, and he has not looked at me, he has not got a chance. No, just having just having a little chit-chat with your husband. Yep, and he's totally going into this deep dive with Michael, and then he turns to the computer and he types in a couple of things and he says, Okay now. And at that point he looks at me and he says, Ann! Oh, Ann! Like he suddenly realizes I'm the patient.

SPEAKER_03 48:27

It's really very funny, too, because I have not even the slightest tiniest mention of a tremor anywhere. But you're you're sitting there doing a little shaking, and and he's he walked in the door, he saw both of us, but no, he looks at me. It it was the guy who's sitting there like a chunk of granite who's about to go to sleep.

SPEAKER_00 48:53

Right. And he comes in to wake you up. Yeah. And I'm I'm thinking, well, what is this? Is this This is very funny.

SPEAKER_03 49:04

Is this a case of like misogyny or like I said, I think he's just a very well scattered guy who who does not have a lot of internal thought processes.

SPEAKER_00 49:19

Oh, this guy has no filter.

SPEAKER_03 49:23

They all come out on the outside. His thinking is all external. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:28

Yeah. No, this guy has no filter, and it's all coming out. And so everything I'm thinking is coming out right now. Right now.

SPEAKER_03 49:39

Right, exactly. Yeah. So So you don't have Parkinson's. That was one of the first things he said.

SPEAKER_00 49:46

One of the first things is he says, all right, put your hand on your thigh. All right, you don't have Parkinson's. Yeah. And I'm like, huh? And he explains, if you had your hand on a surface and you were and the you were still shaking, yeah, that would be an indication maybe of Parkinson's.

SPEAKER_03 50:10

Right. It you would be leaning more in that direction. But since he's looking at your hand is on a table and it's not moving at all, he can kind of rule it out.

SPEAKER_00 50:21

Right. And at that point he's saying, okay, move your head this way. Move he starts to actually, you know.

SPEAKER_03 50:29

He's investigating, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:30

Look at that.

SPEAKER_03 50:31

He's doctoring, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:33

Um and did he ask me one question about myself? Uh like what do I do? You know, he got into the whole armed forces with you. Did he? Right. I don't think he did. He didn't ask me any. Yeah, that's really interesting. Um, which is so bizarre. Yeah. Well, so then he's going on about now, you know, let's talk about tremors. I have a tremor. My job is a little bit of a. Everyone has a little tremor. And I'm gonna demonstrate it by putting this paper towel first on my own hand. Right. And you can see the paper towel is trembling a little bit. Yeah. And now we'll put it on Michael's hand, and that's not trembling at all.

SPEAKER_03 51:25

It wasn't trembling at all, but okay.

SPEAKER_00 51:27

But he said, Well, that's just a tiny tremor. And then he put it on mine, and it was all over the place. Yeah, you were and he said, now I'm gonna explain to you what a tremor is. So this morning I get into my car. Yep. And he he has an electric car, I assume, because he uh well, who knows what he was describing. He says, so I get in my car and I push the button and I hear uh and that was it. Then I push it again, uh I push it a third time, uh and it starts going. Now, and somehow that's this is a demonstration of tremor, um, in in some way or another. Um I still don't quite get it.

SPEAKER_03 52:27

I don't I don't know where the whole car thing fit into any sort of explanation.

SPEAKER_00 52:32

But the car thing was there.

SPEAKER_03 52:34

Yeah, oh yeah, it was there do what I just said. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 52:38

Yeah I know none of this sounds and then he choked you. Well, that was another thing. He says, well, well, first he says, now there was one time, because I do have a little tremor myself, one time I was going to give a big speech at Havid. And I'm thinking, seriously? Yeah, well someone hired you to give a speech? Wow. Um he is talkative, so you know it makes sense. And he says, and I was nervous as could be. I've never been so nervous in my life. So, like I said, my daughter has a tremor. So I took one of her ACE inhibitors, yeah, and I took that. And so at that point, I'm hitting the brakes.

SPEAKER_03 53:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:35

You took one of your daughters' pills.

SPEAKER_03 53:38

Yeah, that you know what fine. Uh, you know what? Kind of a lot of people do that.

SPEAKER_00 53:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:45

If I if I have a lot of pain and I don't have any pain pills around, you know, the heavy duty ones, I'm gonna ask you for. Uh, you know, can I I I'm I'm I'm having a lot of pain. And uh and w we're good, right? But uh but I'm not a doctor telling it to a patient.

SPEAKER_00 54:03

Well, that he takes his daughters.

SPEAKER_03 54:05

Right.

SPEAKER_00 54:06

And that's I don't think it's illegal, like, woo gonna call the cops. I think it's very ill-advised. I mean, it's considered a big no-no, right?

SPEAKER_02 54:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:21

And so the doctor himself is saying, so I had to give this big speech at Havid, and I took one of my daughter's ACE inhibitors.

SPEAKER_03 54:30

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:30

And then I get up there and I'm too calm. And I all I can think is, Jesus, you should be taking ten of these a day. If if we have found something to calm you down, yeah. Oh, so then uh and at this point, I so he's saying, now we could give you that, but the oh oh no, I didn't even get to talk about his double vision.

SPEAKER_03 55:03

Oh, I'm sorry, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 55:04

Then he tells us he has double vision.

SPEAKER_03 55:10

And he says, now what we can do for you is give you uh Botox to deal with some of the muscles in your maybe sp like spasming and causing this.

SPEAKER_00 55:26

That's where the uh the tremor, the head tremor is coming from.

SPEAKER_03 55:33

Yeah, you won't be able to do anything for your hands.

SPEAKER_00 55:36

All I could think was So here's a guy who's a lunatic and has double vision and a tremor.

SPEAKER_03 55:45

Yep, and he wants to stick you with a needle.

SPEAKER_00 55:48

Right, inject Botox.

SPEAKER_03 55:49

In your neck.

SPEAKER_00 55:50

In my neck. Uh-huh. And I'm like, alright, whatever. This world is too crazy. It took me forever to get this appointment.

SPEAKER_03 55:59

That that is true, yeah. You know, I took you since the summer.

SPEAKER_00 56:02

I don't know that I'm gonna start.

SPEAKER_03 56:05

And you weren't even supposed to have it yet. You were still you were scheduled for like the middle of next month or something.

SPEAKER_00 56:11

That's right. No, in May.

SPEAKER_03 56:12

Oh, in May, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 56:14

May 15th.

SPEAKER_03 56:15

Yeah, so uh, but we saw it. I gotta cancel it, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 56:21

Anyhow. Anyway, yeah. Um well this has been another fabulous week here in our world, and we've been delighted to share it with you. And we certainly look forward to what will be coming up in the next seven days, and uh we'll get together with you again. We're hearing uh Paula Cole, one of my favorite singers, and I didn't know that she did this song. I didn't either that this was the Dawson's Creek theme. Right. Or is the Dawson's Creek theme, which we are playing for uh a beloved actor, uh whom we lost this week.

SPEAKER_03 57:17

48 years old, man.

SPEAKER_00 57:19

And colorectal cancer. I'm telling you, cancer is one of the scourges of this planet. Um but for James Vanderbeek, please put a light on.

SPEAKER_01 57:41

Oh, so do the little more deep all we have is this very bow. And I don't wanna do his father, it's father, it's bothered, I don't wanna be light, stay a little bread for light, you know that if we are to stay alive, stay the bee and I don't wanna wait to be over. I don't want to wait to be over. You know that we are just too late, see the love and