WV uncommonplace

10/21/2025

Back for a limited engagement in Beckley, Charleston and Huntington, WV. Watch the true story of the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of MU's football team and fans, 55 years ago. Get your tickets here: https://bit.ly/4heJfxp

10/16/2025

In this heartfelt solo episode, Jr opens up about a lesson that reshaped his entire podcasting journey. After his first speaking engagement left him questioning what he’d been teaching, he realized he’d been following templates instead of truth.
He shares how chasing formulas, quick monetization, and the “perfect” structure nearly stripped the authenticity from his voice—and how he rebuilt his creative foundation by focusing on community, experimentation, and real human connection.
💡 Key Takeaways:
​Don’t copy templates—customize your structure and stay flexible.
​Monetization should fit your growth, not force it.
​Ignore one-size-fits-all hacks—build a system that works for your audience.
​Remember why you started, and never lose the human side of your show.
🔥 Quote of the Episode:
“Monetization should fit your growth, not force it.”
🎧 Listen if you’ve ever felt burned out, boxed in, or pressured to follow someone else’s path. This one’s about rediscovering your voice, your purpose, and your podcast’s heart.

10/16/2025

where it started ..

10/15/2025

Wow

10/15/2025

10/14/2025

Grave of the Fireflies (1988) is one of the most emotionally devastating animated films ever made — and one of Studio Ghibli’s most haunting works. Directed by Isao Takahata, the film is based on the semi-autobiographical short story by Akiyuki Nosaka, who wrote it as an apology to his younger sister who died during World War II.

🎬 Summary

Set in Japan during the final months of World War II, the film follows Seita and his little sister Setsuko after their home is destroyed in an air raid. Their mother dies from severe burns, and their father, a naval officer, is likely lost at sea. Left to fend for themselves, the siblings drift through a collapsing society — struggling for food, shelter, and dignity as the war consumes everything around them.

💔 Themes
• The cost of war on civilians – especially children who are innocent victims of national conflict.
• Pride and survival – Seita’s pride leads him to reject help from relatives, which tragically contributes to their downfall.
• Love and loss – the bond between brother and sister is tender and pure, making their suffering unbearable to watch.
• Social failure – Takahata subtly critiques how society abandons its most vulnerable during crises.

🎨 Animation & Tone

Unlike Miyazaki’s fantastical works, this film is grounded in realism. The animation captures post-war Japan with aching beauty — the glow of fireflies, the soot of bombed cities, the hollow look of hunger. The contrast between the visual beauty and the grim story creates a sense of quiet devastation.

🕯️ Legacy

Critics often call Grave of the Fireflies “the most beautiful anti-war film ever made.” It doesn’t show battles or politics — instead, it shows the human cost of war through two children’s eyes. Roger Ebert even included it in his “Great Movies” list, calling it “an emotional experience so powerful that it forces a rethinking of animation.”

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3FuLoPIYWPC9TM065TIsHd?si=5CaOeKAETTiwJTIp68NHeg

Sparrow's Under Review · Episode

10/14/2025

D’Angelo, the acclaimed neo-soul singer who found fame in the 1990s and early 2000s with an innovative and sensuous take on 1970s R&B, as well as with a risqué music video that briefly made him a pop culture phenomenon but drove him into nearly a decade of seclusion, died on Tuesday. He was 51.

His death was confirmed in a statement by his family, which did not say where he died but gave the cause as cancer.

In the years leading up to his triumph with the 2000 album “Voodoo,” D’Angelo, who was born Michael Eugene Archer, was a leading light of the era’s revolution in soul music, melding the sweetly seductive melodies of classic singers like Al Green and Marvin Gaye with the beats and urgency of hip-hop.

His biggest songs, like “Lady,” “Brown Sugar” and “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” were hailed as supreme examples of the trend, which sought not a revival of Black pop traditions but a transformation of them. Those tracks all became Top 10 hits on Billboard’s R&B chart, and D’Angelo was in heavy rotation on Black radio stations, along with artists like Erykah Badu, Mos Def and Common, with whom he collaborated as part of a loose collective known as the Soulquarians.
_Ben Susario

10/05/2025

The heart-pounding thrills of Bridge Day 2025 are powered by our Presenting Sponsor – Monster Energy

10/03/2025

This week, J.R. sits down with Jennifer Chase, founder of Rise Addiction Life Coaching — a woman who turned her story of struggle into a mission of hope.

Jennifer opens up about her journey through addiction, the generational impact it can have, and how she’s now helping others break free from the cycle. Her story is raw, real, and deeply inspiring — a reminder that healing is possible when we face our pain with purpose.

💬 Tune in for a conversation about resilience, recovery, and the power of transformation.

🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
👉 https://open.spotify.com/episode/3sgSQeJzSqpCkxcCAROG5w?si=lG_Q7pmrQyyh8VvHN2Jr-w

WV Uncommon Place · Episode