December 20, 2022 • 48 mins
Skyline Drive has been selected as an Apple Podcasts Series Essential!
Michelle’s friends are desperate to get her a reading. But all she wants is a peek into her favorite band BTS’ future. Plus, we dig into baseball astrology, and discover why you might consider trading in your emeralds for bananas.
LINKS:
- Janelle Belgrave: our wonderful house astrologer for this series. You can reach her here.
- Dr. Divya: a caring numerologist who determines how your numbers match up with the stars and picks the ideal days for you to work, rest, and launch shows on (we have been following her timings!) Contact her here.
- To learn more about our baseball astrologers, you can read and listen to Andrea Mallis here and Cesar Love here.
- Dr. Rakesh Kumar: the astrologer who predicted my dad’s illness with eerie accuracy. Made another visit to him last week. Reach him here.
- For Alap Momin’s music label, check out Internet&Weed
Listen to the Skyline Drive mixtape Vol 1 and Vol 2.
Like what you hear? Follow us @kscope_nyc on Instagram and Twitter.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Warning.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
In this episode, you'll be hearing about my dad, talk
about astrology, baseball, K pop, heavy metal and hit us,
Halo and Stitch, and also growing up as an immigrant,
which I think is awesome. If you're down into it,
that's okay, but I hope you stick around.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
And devitiation.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I feel amazing Mbara breaking end of a Monday and
the recredation then killaborations in the attack team fifth that
it has been wrapping the affecting affecting.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
You know what that means, you know what, It's ridiculous.
My nemerologist told me that I should be eating bananas
every day and particularly on Wednesdays, and today is Wednesday.
So I've got these tiny, tiny bananas that are maybe
half the height of my palm. I'm gonna tear a
couple off and eat them and also press them into
(01:10):
my palm. Back when I began this show, doctor Kumar,
the astrologer I met in Queen's told me I should
consider buying an emerald.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
It would be a good idea if you were an emerald.
Speaker 5 (01:26):
Emberle is a gemstone for the planet Mercury to have
better communication, better connection.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Basically, it's a way of nudging the universe telling it
to boost the wearers communication skills. The truth is I
could use the help. I mean, I stutter and I mumble,
and I'm introverted, and here I am making a podcast.
So I'm very tempted by a quick fix.
Speaker 6 (01:51):
So let's see if this makes me more of a
leader and.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Better at communicating. I think gems are a big part
of Indian astrology. They're used as duct tape quick solutions
to strengthen the deficiencies in your birth chart. For example,
my mercury is weak, so an emerald can help compensate.
The problem is that many astrologers are known for having
a tie in with a jeweler and taking a commission
(02:17):
for referrals, which makes me suspicious. But also I live
in New York City and I'm kind of a cheapskate.
An emerald sounds pricey. That's why I was thrilled when
a different seer, doctor DV. Malhotra, who has a PhD
in numerology, told me to forget about jewelers and just
(02:39):
buy some bananas instead. Which is odd because.
Speaker 5 (02:44):
I'm born and brought up in a daily jeweller family
and married to a Mumbai based jeweller family.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Her house is filled with too many jewelers, and although
she's been surrounded by sparkly things all her life.
Speaker 5 (02:58):
I don't recommend my clients to wear any semi precious stones.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
To her, the magic isn't in the cut of the stone,
but in its color.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
I heal them with the remedies, and my remedies are
very simple. You can eat banana apple. Yes, that's called
the color therapy.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
She believes that fruit can do what gems do for
a fraction of the price. So, after this intense and
complicated numerical analysis of my birth times and dates, she
hands me a thick packet of information that describes my
personality fairly accurately, along with my many flaws, and then
(03:42):
she recommends the colors that'll improve my life.
Speaker 5 (03:45):
Green and sun colors. You can use sun colors in
your life, so if you will touch colors to your
skin on every Wednesday, that will also help you out.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Doctor Devia has no shortage of clients, but she has
a gripe with the way people seek help from her.
She tells me that people only come when they're desperate
for solutions.
Speaker 5 (04:07):
Basically, you know what I want to give awareness that
you go to any occult science healer. Don't go when
you are in pain, whether it's me or anybody else.
Speaker 6 (04:18):
Work in the.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
Present to secure your future. Don't come to me when
your present is worse to secure your future.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Her notion is why can't people treat in numerologists like
a doctor the same way you do wellness checks to
stay healthy, keep your life in balance.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
I can't give you the result overnight.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
I don't go to the gym anymore, so maybe a
regular banana holding on Sundays and Wednesdays is how I'll
stay on top of things. Doctor Davia tells me it'll
be three to four months of this by the time
I see results, which I guess isn't any weirder than
believing in the power of a shiny stone. But I
do feel silly because it is silly.
Speaker 6 (05:02):
So ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
I moved from holding the banana at chest level with
two hands to raising the banana up to the sky
like it's Simba from the Lion King, and then I
eat it. I don't normally neat breakfast, though happy about that.
(05:25):
Doctor Tavia is right about astrology and the moments we
turn to it. Right now. Michelle Fan, a prospective law
school student and then on a bashed BTS super fan
is in crisis because her favorite band is in crisis
just when she needs the most.
Speaker 7 (05:45):
All of a sudden, the members are crying, and then
I'm crying and I don't know what's going on. I'm
texting my friends. I thought like my life was flashing
before my eyes, because here are these people who have
always been so happy, and now they're being vulnerable with us,
and they're crying. They're talking about it like it's a breakup,
(06:06):
even though they're saying it's not a breakup.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Don't know.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
From Kaleidoscope and iHeart podcasts, I'm Mongish Hearticular. Welcome to
Skyland Drive Chapter one, T Shirts and boy Bands. Michelle,
(07:20):
why don't you say your full name for me and
just give me a little introduction about yourself.
Speaker 7 (07:25):
Yeah, sure, my name is Michelle Fan. I am currently
working full time in human rights, but right now, with
my free time, I've been devoting it all to traveling
and keeping up with BTS's activities.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
From the moment I start chatting with Michelle, I like her.
She has this bubbly energy and this incredible sweetness that
I'm not expecting, maybe because I know a little bit
about her circumstance. One of her friends, my colleague Viny,
is worried about her. Michelle is super smart, college Honor
(08:01):
Society aister elsat smart, but it's been a year since
she graduated, and she hasn't filled out her law school
applications yet. She's been pushing it off for some reason,
and her pals are wondering can astrology help, because maybe
you can give her the nuds she needs. But as
we talk, it's not clear to me how much Michelle
(08:22):
wants a reading for herself so much as she wants
it for BTS, the massive Korean pop group.
Speaker 7 (08:29):
I would like to know about their future families and
how many kids they're going to have, and how long
they're going to keep doing this for and what kind
of music they'll do when they're like gray and old,
and if they'll still perform or like get together and
do things like that.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Michelle's a BTS superfan or what's known as army.
Speaker 7 (08:48):
You can't be a casual army like. There's just something
that is so captivating about BTS. Once you're in it,
you're really in it, man, Like. Most of my closest
army friends are people that I already knew, and we
connected even more over this thing that we weren't really
embarrassed to like, but people wanted to make us embarrassed
(09:08):
to like.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
I feel guilty here because I'm technically anti boy band.
In third grade, my friends Zoe and I would rip
on new kids on the block and we were constantly
evangelizing how lame we thought they were. In high school,
I ribbed my little cousin because every time a Backstreet
Boys video came on, she screamed like it was Beatlemania
(09:31):
and it made no sense to me. But it wasn't
just the music that offended me, something about how manufactured
these groups always are, Like you've got to have the
bad boy and the sweetheart and the shy one and
the slightly older brother who seems a little too old
to be in the band. The groups are always perfectly
(09:52):
curated for mass consumption versus you know, outsiders who are
trying to express something real and authentic with their music
and aren't part of some assembly line anyway. What does
being a member of this fandom mean to you?
Speaker 7 (10:10):
What does it mean to me?
Speaker 6 (10:13):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (10:13):
Man, it means a lot. It's really nice to feel
like you're part of something that is genuinely just like
full of like kindness and love and family. I think
that they do a really good job of making Army
feel like they're part of their family.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Seeing BTS live was a transcendent experience for her.
Speaker 7 (10:35):
You just look around you. All you see are these
lightsticks that are waving around, and it really feels like
you're in a sea of stars. My friend and I
was that and bald after the concert was over because
we were like, we're never going to have that magical
experience again. I imagine that this is like what Disney adults
feel like every summer. I wish I could have that,
(10:57):
but I have to wait for the off chance that
bt US is going to announce performance in America for
me to experience that level of like etherealness.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
So Michelle spends her extra hours thinking about BTS and
interacting with fans, and luckily for Army, BTS has no
shortage of content. But as Michelle talks, it becomes clear
it isn't just about the music for her or the community,
which is powerful, It's also about seeing a Korean band
(11:29):
making it to the top of the American charts without
having to compromise their identity.
Speaker 7 (11:35):
I do feel like an additional connection to BTS because
it's been so nice to see Asian artists really fully
embrace their Asian news.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Michelle came to the States from China as a toddler.
Her dad brought the family over as he finished his PhD.
But even though they became upwardly mobile living in a
nice suburban community, life at home at times was turbulent.
Speaker 7 (12:03):
My dad was pretty abusive. He's really not a great guy.
He eventually left, which good riddance. My mom's here at home,
and my dad's in China, and my brother is here
with us too, So now it's just us three, and
I guess my cat.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Michelle doesn't dwell on the abuse or her absent dad.
It's just a speed bump. She happens to acknowledge as
we talk about her upbringing. But being there for her
mom and her brother, that's a big part of her identity,
and that caring doesn't stop with her family. Michelle stands
up for anyone who is wounded.
Speaker 7 (12:42):
Since middle school, I've wanted to go into human rights work.
I've always just cared a lot about what's fair and
what's not fair. I'm sure part of it also comes
from coming here as an immigrant and figuring out how
to fit in. Why do I have to chop off
all of these parts of myself to fit in to
this mold so that you can still not see me
(13:03):
as an equal? Like that doesn't seem.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Right, that tension of identity. I know what she means.
Speaker 7 (13:10):
I didn't want my parents to meet people. I didn't
want people to meet my grandparents. I was just very
ashamed of everything related to my family, and that didn't
really change until high school.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
My parents were never an embarrassment to me, but sometimes
my house could be like, do you really want to
invite people in just to explain the myths and religious
iconography on your walls? Again? Do you bring a tiffin
with delicious rice and doll and pickles to the school
cafeteria or do you beg your parents for a whitebread
(13:43):
peebie and j and a juice box because it just
makes life easier. There's a constant question of how you
bridge the person you are inside your home versus the
person you have to be outside it, and how you
explain and justify these two identities.
Speaker 7 (14:02):
It really helped that one summer we went back to China,
and that was when I was really aware that I
was like, oh, I didn't grow up in this country,
but I feel so at home here. Why is that.
Hearing my regional dialect spoken, having the food, seeing everybody
dry their beans outside, you know, all of these like
tiny little details reminded me that it was perfectly fine
(14:24):
for my family to be the way that it was,
and that there was nothing to be ashamed of. That
transitioned into a lot of pride.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
I think that's common too, or at least I hope
it is. That at some point you stop worrying about
the differences and just own them. But that doesn't always
mean the world accepts you. Back in two thousand and two,
(14:56):
not long after nine to eleven, I moved to Birmingham, Alabama.
The day I was leaving, my dad handed me a
T shirt with an American flag and an eagle on it.
I'd already packed the car and I'd come in to
give him a hug, and he just kind of handed
it to me like it was the short sleeve totem
that could let everyone know I was American too. I
(15:19):
knew his fears. I mean, in the weeks and months
after nine to eleven. I remember the looks I get,
the comments, the shoves, the ways people tried to instigate
fights with me, things I knew were only directed my
way because of the color of my skin. Still, I
tucked this T shirt in my bag and I never
(15:40):
actually wore it, but I was thinking about that shirt
again and my dad's idea of this weird form of
protection because Michelle started talking about this moment in time
from when COVID hit America forward, when anti Asian hate
became so prevalent and so visible, how the world inside
her suddenly felt so much warmer and comforting than the
(16:03):
one waiting outside her door.
Speaker 7 (16:05):
I also, like really didn't go out during COVID. Every
time I did go out, it did make me super
super paranoid. Even now, just like going on the subway,
like I still feel pretty anxious. I'll text my friends
so that they know where I am, but like now
it's not like a hym I'm in the you know,
I'm in the city, like keep an eye out for me.
It's like hope I don't get pushed off the platform.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
I'm not scared for myself these days, not really, but
I am scared for my friends, my Asian friends, my
friends who were women. In twenty twenty one, there were
two hundred and thirty three reported anti Asian hate crimes
in New York City alone. In New York City alone,
fifty five percent of those were against women. It's no
(16:51):
surprise that we cling to these totems for strength, because no,
I don't believe that clutching onto a bend or a
T shirt or a gem or a banana can protect you.
But in the face of so much unearned anger, maybe
that grip gives you the courage of particularly moving forward.
Speaker 5 (17:33):
Rob It's.
Speaker 6 (17:35):
And it's your class.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Much down with my recipes and the class it's been
color skating, never.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
Beato, looking at what's next chapter, choosing teams, Comma Team
and a family men of l blas.
Speaker 6 (17:51):
Now are we feel up with reality?
Speaker 3 (17:55):
It's funny to think about Michelle's incredible moment of transcendence
occurring in a stadium, because so many fans walk out
of arenas feeling the same way. The high of watching
your favorite team cheering in unison with a crowd. I mean,
there's nothing like it, and that's how Sazar love feels.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
The game is a portal into something else.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Seesar is a baseball astrologer.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
I'm coming from the West coast San San Francisco. I
am part of the tribe of Giants fans and also
part of the tribe of Oakland Athletics fans.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
He loved stats and history, but somewhere along the way
he got frustrated he couldn't understand why his beloved team
wasn't winning. I mean, they had an incredible lineup, so
out of curiosity, he wondered if astrology had an answer.
Could mercury be holding his team back from the success
(18:52):
they surely deserved.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
You couldn't understand the team by looking at the chart.
The Yankees have saturn in the first house. They have
this sense of tradition and that's sort of imposing intimidating quality.
So yes, it does come across.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
Sesar kept studying, he kept grasping for understanding, but it
just wasn't something he could be open about. Baseball astrology.
I mean it sounds nuts. But then he met Andrea Malice.
Speaker 8 (19:24):
I'm testing with mercury retrograde one, two three testing.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
I'm not quite sure if it was the nineties or
early two thousands, but I met her at a meeting
of the Society of American Baseball Research at the Oakland Coliseum.
She was sitting next to me, and she asked the
question to the general manager if they had ever used
astrology in their analysis. And I thought, oh my god,
(19:50):
this crowd is not going to be into this at all.
But Andrea, who just is a lot more abrazen about
these things that I am, didn't care.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
And when you talk to Andrea, you know exactly why.
Speaker 8 (20:00):
Here's the thing, I'm originally from New York. It takes
a lot to intimidate me.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Despite the fact that people might bok. She has an
impressive list of clients.
Speaker 8 (20:11):
I was the astrologer during the a's moneyball era. Obviously,
in terms of client confidentiality, I can't name names, but
I have players.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
When I first heard about the Venn diagram of baseball
and astrology, I was hoping we could get some predictions.
Speaker 8 (20:26):
You know, the sports astrology nitch is something I totally
believe in and see results from.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
With the World Series just around the corner, I wondered
if Andrea or Sazar knew who was going to win.
But when we actually approached the question, they were reluctant
to say.
Speaker 8 (20:44):
I'm a cosmic umpire, you know, it's cosmic intel. I
get most of the calls, right.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
I don't like to make those kind of predictions anymore.
I think that's a trap for astrologers. A lot of
them like to make predictions and feel like they're smart
and show to other people they're smart and say they're there.
I told you so. I'd rather just leave that, just
watch things unfold.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
So then how can they use their astrological knowledge practically?
For Andrea, it's about coaching players and teams through really
big decisions.
Speaker 8 (21:16):
Tim Linskam he was a pitcher for the Giants. That's
why his dad. Then he goes he's.
Speaker 9 (21:21):
Turning down five years one hundred million. Help, and I
like Palston. I go, Chris, what time was Tim Bourne?
And he told me what time he was born? And
I said, you know, he's a Gemini. He's restless. He's
having a sad and return between twenty eight and thirty.
When I explained it to Chris, who was sort of
a permission giver, I mean, he still didn't want him
(21:42):
to turn down five years one hundred million.
Speaker 8 (21:44):
But it's like, all right, he's a Gemini. He's a
little scattered. He wants to see what else is out there.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Andrew and Sizar know how to use statistics to reduce
the game to numbers and calculations and take the emotion
out of sporting decisions. They know how to use the
numbers of Estralla to that end too.
Speaker 8 (22:01):
I'll tell you I've got four planets in Virgo, and
on a good day, I'm a micromanaging, control free I
take a deep dive and I look at all the details.
I just can't watch a game and relax. I wish
I could, but you know, this is what makes me
happy as a Virgo.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
But for both of them, baseball is a link to
something grander.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
People don't realize this. Baseball actually began as a pagan
fertility ritual. You can study the archaeology of baseball and
it's not a uniquely American artifact. It's been played on
all continents for millennium. The game has sort of evolved
to where we have it now with the diamond with
ninety feet distances between bases, but its origins and its
(22:48):
history are as old as the hills.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Something courses through players and fans, connecting them not just
to one another, but to the universe. It's like a
certain type the thief.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
People go to a baseball game, they just feel good.
It's the way people feel when they go to the
beach and they know they're in the presence of something
awesome the ocean. There is something just profoundly spiritual happening
in the following of a baseball team. So I think
of each team as a spiritual community.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
There are found families, just like the BTS Army.
Speaker 6 (23:32):
Chapter three.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
It's not embarrassing. It's in your chart.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
God's groove of guys on my own soon learning no shit.
Speaker 8 (23:41):
It takes me back to my own school.
Speaker 6 (23:43):
Shit in me head. I take the knowledge.
Speaker 9 (23:45):
Oh who is this?
Speaker 8 (23:46):
Running around the world does end up and getting out
the dawns?
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Oh shoot, oh shoot.
Speaker 10 (23:51):
This is a chart that has a lot of ambition,
a lot of drive, and a lot of desire to achieve.
Speaker 8 (23:56):
There might be a I've got our.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
House astrologer Janelle Grave on the line here and I'm
just connecting her with Michelle pushed forward. They're doing it
over zoom because Michelle happens to be in Texas this week.
Speaker 8 (24:08):
I do like law for you.
Speaker 10 (24:11):
The night House traditionally has connections to the law, to philosophy,
to higher learning, to higher education, to international travel, putting
information out into the world and receiving information on a
grand scale.
Speaker 6 (24:25):
I don't know.
Speaker 7 (24:26):
I feel like you're really buttering me up with this
like international travel.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Talk, because I'm like, oh, girl, tell me more about that.
I don't want to hear more about where I'm going
to be. Michelle doesn't know if any of this is real,
but she's definitely game to hear it all. Her chart
shows innate leadership skills and troubleshooting skills. It's as she's
incredibly inquisitive in how she perceives and moves through the world.
Speaker 7 (24:48):
A lot of it rings true, very spooky.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
But even though the talk is flattering, there are these
moments when Michelle just disappears. She goes quiet, and I
can't tell what she's thinking. No, I think, But as
Janelle digs into family, Michelle reemerges.
Speaker 7 (25:09):
A lot of my interest in law is protecting cultures
that are at risk of pretty much being trampled over
or erased because of imperialism and globalization and authoritarianism.
Speaker 10 (25:24):
Maybe that's what's fueling you. You may come from a
lineage that has people who have served in the military
or have come from countries have experienced war. So where
is this story of origin kind of showing up for
you if any of these things are making sense so far?
Speaker 7 (25:39):
Yeah, I immigrated to the US when I was I
think three ish, maybe slightly younger than three. My family
being Chinese few generations ago lived through Japanese attacks on
like our villages and things like that.
Speaker 10 (25:57):
Okay, so even for you, maybe moving a young age
might have been disrupted.
Speaker 7 (26:01):
Right.
Speaker 10 (26:02):
Scorpio as a sign also deals a lot with rejection,
where you feel like you don't belong or you feel
like people are judging you or wanting you to be
different than what you are.
Speaker 7 (26:10):
Yes, that's definitely the classic immigrant story of like you
fit too much into the home culture that you left,
and so then you don't fit into the new culture.
And then you start assimilating as you get older, and
then you come back home and your parents are like,
what are they teaching you at school?
Speaker 4 (26:28):
Like what you know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (26:30):
So it is a classic story, the one Michelle and
I and even Janelle as a first gen Panamanian must
have felt. So the fact that it's typical it doesn't
make you feel any less.
Speaker 10 (26:45):
Here we are now in twenty twenty two. Your next
phase is going to be the balsamic moon.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Face balsamic. I'd never heard of a balsamic moon, which
sounds tasty, but in astrologics, it's actually the final sliver
you see of a moon before it begins a new phase.
And in sort of a poetic way, it relates to
your commitment to your destiny.
Speaker 10 (27:10):
If you're applying to schools and all that, I want
you to be very cognizant. All right, If I'm going
to be doing this next journey, what part of my
life do I really need to let go of right now?
Because you can't walk into your new chapter, you know, kind.
Speaker 7 (27:21):
Of raggedy, right, yes, So it's embarrassing that you could
sniff that out through my chart.
Speaker 6 (27:29):
That is embarrassing.
Speaker 7 (27:30):
It's not your chart, Like, no, I love it.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
I love it.
Speaker 10 (27:34):
You are Mars and Scorpio. You're supposed to face your fears,
all right. There's an element of your tret that says
you have to show up with courage and fire when
you feel frightened.
Speaker 7 (27:42):
All right.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Janelle is so clearly encouraging her to go ahead and apply.
She's used the stars to confirm that Michelle is built
to speak out on important issues and show up for
people who can't speak out for themselves. But there's still
something that's hindering Michelle, and I wonder what it is.
But before we get to that, so I.
Speaker 10 (28:05):
Think, let's move on to BTS.
Speaker 6 (28:07):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
Last summer, BTS released a strange video that sent shockwaves
through the fandom. They're usually sunny demeanor shifted and they
began talking about how exhausted they were, how something needed
to change. A few months later, news broke that they
would begin their compulsory service in the South Korean military,
enlisting in turns to serve two year stints. And even
(28:35):
though they'll have time for some solo work before they go,
fans knew this was the moment they'd been dreading as
a group.
Speaker 10 (28:42):
They are heading into a full moon phase, and their
full moon phase is going to be in July of
next year. So full moons, like I said, can be
like the culmination all the fruits of our labor ripe
on the vine, but also full moons can talk about
endings too. Knowing that this is the top of the
top for right now and after this we know the
decline is going to come because this is just moon phases, right.
Speaker 7 (29:03):
Yeah, I guess oh man I I oh my god,
my heart.
Speaker 5 (29:08):
M hmm.
Speaker 7 (29:09):
There's like a very selfish part of me that's like, no,
like I want you to keep making music. I want
you to stay together. But I think more than that,
I want to know that they are able to make
the choices that they need to make.
Speaker 10 (29:25):
This might be one of the things that you might
have to quote unquote let go during this balsamic phase. Right,
if this band decides that we're going to take a
hiatus or whatever the case is, you know, you may
not be as involved, but there's still going to be
part of your life.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
Right.
Speaker 10 (29:37):
They're still together after many years, but go off and
do their own thing and come back together every so
often to enjoy performing.
Speaker 7 (29:44):
Yes, BTS.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Grandpa's so about boy bands. Even though kpop is a
five billion dollar industry now ruled by three major corporations
and flooded with what the New Yorker referred to as
quote generous government support, Michelle's maybe realize that BTS is
(30:06):
actually different. The manager in charge of putting the band
together allowed BTS's members to write lyrics and suggest themes
to address their biggest concerns. So the band's first three
albums they speak to Korean youth, trying to comfort them
through the intense academic pressures that kids in the country
face and that theme of protection that's infused their entire vibe.
Speaker 10 (30:31):
So here's urinatal chart on the inside and on the
outside it's BTS.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
WHOA Janell doa something I was not expecting. She takes
the BTS birth chart and she layers it over Michelle's
chart to see the influence they'll have on one another.
Speaker 10 (30:47):
I love that mars Son and Jupiter and Jim and
I are in your eleventh house, so bringing in possibilities
for friendship and group and endeavors and collaborative things that
might come in through the groups. I don't know if
you have fan groups or fan fiction groups or whatever.
It is something about them makes you feel like I
can do this right if I just keep going, if
(31:09):
I listen to the song away, do my applications, it'll
be okay, like something.
Speaker 7 (31:13):
You know songs, but you know, I've been so emotional
lately that I can't. I can, like listen to some
of their songs where they use like older recordings and
then I'll start crying and I'm like, okay, I can't
do this application right now.
Speaker 10 (31:27):
I'm you emotional. Oh my god, that's okay, that's good, right,
It's good to cry. It makes space.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
Chapter four, Okay, the sound of metal, the newest city because.
Speaker 10 (31:54):
Someone's gone is the run though the numbers gonna be
saying is the sounds like I'm opendstands.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
The fun One of the things I've been thinking about
is how in every generation it's a little easier to
fit in where it should be.
Speaker 6 (32:07):
I mentioned to you, I've been in therapy for three years.
Speaker 11 (32:10):
It's another reason why it's funny you're doing the show
now because I can actually talk about a lot of
these things without getting emotional processed and healing.
Speaker 6 (32:18):
It's really nice.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
My cousin a lot is five years older than me,
and even though it's only five years, that America he
grew up in was so much harder than the one
I experienced.
Speaker 6 (32:29):
I remember they would literally say, oh, you're Indian. What
tribe are you? Navajo Cherokee?
Speaker 11 (32:33):
Yeah, you look at Indians in America now and we're
the top eleven CEOs of the biggest eleven.
Speaker 12 (32:39):
Companies or whatever, and everybody in America is doing yoga
and drinking chot Starbucks and there's never a problem knowing
like what tribe you are now?
Speaker 6 (32:49):
You know, I say, we're the tribe that took over
the world.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Bro a Lot once told me, half jokingly, I'm like
the coolest Indian you know, And he's right. I mean,
even his name is cool.
Speaker 11 (33:04):
Basically, the beginning of an Indian classical piece, the musicians
are warming up and they're just kind of vamping out
on the three or four notes that they're going to
be exploring in this piece.
Speaker 6 (33:16):
That section is called the Alap.
Speaker 11 (33:18):
It's strange that they knew I was going to go
into music, because it's basically like naming your kid improv
or something.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Ever since I've known him, he's been surrounded by tapes
and records, and by the time he was in college,
he was producing albums. His band dialect was kind of
like Public Enemy meets my Bloody Valentine. One time I
told a hip hop head that Alap was my cousin,
and he actually didn't believe me. I always just assumed
a lop had it easy.
Speaker 6 (33:47):
You don't want to.
Speaker 11 (33:48):
See I think as soon as I got to New
Jersey age six, nineteen eighty, and it was like a
light switch.
Speaker 6 (33:53):
The very first day of school it started. It was like,
I don't want to get.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
To graphic, but tell me because I because I want to.
I mean, I can always cut out shit.
Speaker 6 (34:02):
Sure, Okay, well you're gonna probably have to do some editing.
Speaker 11 (34:09):
From the age of basically six till about thirteen, I
can just remember every time I woke up in the morning,
I had dread.
Speaker 6 (34:18):
You know, I had a massive anxiety. But we're Indians.
We don't talk about it. We don't even know what
that is. In nineteen eighty, right, I'm six years old.
Speaker 11 (34:24):
And basically as soon as I opened the door, girls
are writing nick on my back.
Speaker 6 (34:30):
You know, I'm getting beat up.
Speaker 11 (34:32):
Girls would spit on me, make fun of my clothes,
make fun of my lunch. I would throw my lunch
out because my parents gave me tiffin boxes with Indian
food and these white people.
Speaker 6 (34:41):
Were eating balooni and cheese. And I literally would cry
every night.
Speaker 3 (34:46):
And as a lot, dug deeper into music, finding solace
and heavier and heavier sounds. It only gave the kids
at school another reason to pick on them.
Speaker 11 (34:56):
Heavy metal Hindu is what they used to say when
I would get on the bus because I think, like
age eleven, I started rocking. You know, I'd have like
a Metallica Master of Puppet shirt with a jean jacket,
but I would cut the sleeves off the jean jacket,
so I guess they wanted to clown me.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
You know, the abuse was intense. They'd pull it his
shirt until it ripped. They tell him metal wasn't for him,
that not only did he not belong in town, but
he didn't belong as a fan. They told him he
wasn't allowed to have music, the one thing he truly loved.
Speaker 11 (35:30):
That became a drive for me. And this is gonna
sound arrogant as hell, but it just gave me a catalyst.
I was like, you know what, I'm gonna do this
white boy shit harder than they can do it. I'm
gonna do it better, and I'm going to prove them
all wrong.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
Punk hip hop. These were outsider scenes. It wasn't just
that a lot had this knack of knowing what's next.
It's also that he felt safer in these places.
Speaker 11 (35:55):
We didn't have a community where we felt safe just
being our Indian Souf. You know, we felt safe at
the punk rock shows. We felt safe at the hip
hop spots, breakdancing, we felt safe with the skateboarders in
those scenes. Back then, you hung out with a bunch
of non Indians and figured out a way to survive.
Speaker 3 (36:13):
And as much as music gave him an outlet, it
was also a coping mechanism.
Speaker 6 (36:17):
I used to tour ten months of the year.
Speaker 11 (36:19):
I used to work twenty hours a day and never
stop because I didn't want to deal with my present.
So I became kind of a workholic and it fueled
my entire career until I was thirty five.
Speaker 6 (36:31):
So I started to notice my mind is present.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
I feel really good now I'm starting to e I can.
Speaker 11 (36:36):
Talk about these horrifying experiences and not even cry.
Speaker 6 (36:40):
I feel like the universe gets me. And I know
this sounds real.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
New ag or whatever, but I mean, it's an astrology podcast.
Speaker 7 (36:47):
So.
Speaker 11 (36:48):
All right, you're talking about all these things happen internally
as well as in the universe.
Speaker 6 (36:55):
It's really strange, you know. And then we're musicians, right,
so you're talking about repetition, petition, petition, petition, groops, groops.
I mean I grew up on hip hop club music.
Speaker 11 (37:05):
So you're talking about orbits here, orbits here, orbits you know,
you're talking about rythms.
Speaker 6 (37:09):
We're talking about vibrations. You know, shoved.
Speaker 11 (37:12):
The Hindu said it in the first element in creation,
when the Big bang happened.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
Bangen was sound, that primordial sound its own. Maybe you've
heard it chanted at a yoga class, or you've seen
it printed on a tea label, but that drone, it's
supposed to connect us to the divine, like a direct
line to the essence of the universe. Allop's music has
(37:42):
always built off this constant humming sound. However heavy the
music gets, that scaffolding always connects back. It's like a
subtle fu Like, how could anyone ever tell a lot
he doesn't belong in this scene when his music is
(38:03):
literally universal? Chapter five, This is how you belong waking
(38:25):
up when people sleep and sleep. Michelle and I are
chatting on zoom and I'm trying to gauge how the
reading struck her.
Speaker 7 (38:32):
I have always been like a super skeptic, but in
the moment, I was like, shoot man, Like I definitely
took everything to heart that she was saying. She started
talking about BTS going through a tough time.
Speaker 13 (38:44):
And I was like, oh no, no, what was she
saying about applying to schools and a possible WAW career.
Speaker 7 (38:53):
I mean part of it is, you know, we talked
about the potential of a jdphd program and kind of
gave me a little kick in the butt and was like, listen,
you need to be courageous because that is what your
chart was telling you to do. If it's right for you,
you just got to do it, even if it's like
nerve wracking.
Speaker 13 (39:10):
Prior to this, I know that when Vihania we're talking,
she had said that you are super smart, but were
like hesitant to apply to law school and everyone was
like you need to apply already, Like you have to
get on with the application.
Speaker 6 (39:25):
So what was going on? Then?
Speaker 7 (39:27):
Before I graduated college, I was a lot more sure about,
like law is the path that I'm going on. After
my cousin got really really sick with cancer, and then
my grandparents, who had been living with us, ended up
(39:47):
returning to China, and you know, we knew they would
be coming back, and then my brother was having a
really hard time with all of it.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Of course, Michelle couldn't focus on applying or even think
about moving on way. Michelle is all about family, She
lives her.
Speaker 13 (40:04):
Values, all of those things.
Speaker 7 (40:06):
Those ambitions felt so far away, while like all of
the really really like hard shit I had to like
witness every night.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Whatever quality is, Michelle sees an army, whatever solace she
gets from this community of fans beyond the music, this
feeling that BTS is looking out for her, that it's
a culture where everyone belongs, that there's an emphasis on
showing up and being kind. It brings out the best
in her.
Speaker 7 (40:34):
I think I needed the time to like grow and
figure out how to bring like all of these different
pieces of my life together.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
I'm thinking back on a story from when we first met.
She told me about this time she and her best
friend travel to la to attend a BTS concert, and
just as they walk into the venue, Michelle spots an
older woman a few sections over who looks petrified.
Speaker 7 (41:02):
Right, she very much look like an Asian granny. I
would help any granny, but like especially when it's an
Asian grandma who looks like my own grandma, I'm like,
oh my god, we have to go help her.
Speaker 3 (41:11):
They go over ask if she's all right, and she's like.
Speaker 7 (41:14):
My seats are up there. I came all by myself,
but I'm too scared to go up because I didn't
realize it would be so high.
Speaker 3 (41:20):
So Michelle, being Michelle, walks the sweet grandma all the
way up the steep staircase, and before she and her
friend leave, they make the woman a promise.
Speaker 7 (41:29):
At the end of the show, just sit in your spot,
hang out, and we'll walk you back down.
Speaker 3 (41:34):
Then they find their seats and enjoy the concert, or
try to. They can't stop worrying. Every few minutes they
look over to check on Grandma, and it turns out
there is no need.
Speaker 7 (41:48):
She was doing just fine.
Speaker 3 (41:49):
She is having the time of her life. She's vibing
and dancing and making friends with other armies.
Speaker 7 (41:58):
After the show, we all walked down together and were talking,
and she told us that she flew by herself from Vegas.
So I was like, oh my god, Grandma, to.
Speaker 3 (42:10):
Me, this is the opposite of a lop story. Michelle
spotted an older woman who is clearly a BTS fan,
and instead of saying you don't belong, she welcomed her.
Even if BTS doesn't stay together, they've already built something lasting.
Speaker 7 (42:29):
I still believe in my heart of hearts, BTS is
not going to pick up because they're not just a
group of their teams. Their family and family stay together,
Ohanna and everything.
Speaker 3 (42:40):
I don't get any of Michelle's boy band references, but
I do know o'hanna because I love that line in
Leelo and Stitch, where Leelo says o'hanna means family and
family means no one gets left behind. Because in a sense,
everything Michelle cares about is family. The little tribe she
(43:01):
has in her home, the much bigger one she has online.
Speaker 7 (43:06):
I think it comes out of just me wanting to
learn more about the world so that I can make
it suck a little bit less.
Speaker 3 (43:14):
Look, I haven't been recruited to army, but I'm still
glad BTS success. I mean, why wouldn't we want a
world full of BTS's of all kinds, reminding us that
we all matter, especially if we get a world full
of Michelle's out of it God uh ben Eyah.
Speaker 14 (43:58):
Guidh in Ia, Siva cony swoo, Shiva cony swoot.
Speaker 3 (44:12):
Thank you so much for listening. Before I let you go,
just a few housekeeping notes. One my friend Sybil listened
to the Reagan episode and then she sent me this
incredible quote from the New York Times which I just
have to share. It goes quote after mister Reagan divulged
Miss Quigley's astrological role, missus Reagan never spoke to her again.
(44:35):
Miss quigglely likened the slight to buying a Picasso, putting
it in your living room and putting tape over the signature,
which is incredible. And second, you know, I do not
believe in astrology, but our house astrologer, Janelle Belgrave predicted
this show would be delivered in two parts, and that's
exactly what's happening. My other astrologer, doctor Kamara, said things
(44:58):
will get way better for this show after January eighteenth.
So we are following the stars. We're taking a break
for the holidays, throwing you a few super fun bonus
episodes in between, and then we will be back with
the second half of Skyline Drive starting mid January. But
if you like the show, please please review it in
(45:20):
the Apple Store. It makes our moms and us and
our investors all very very happy. Okay, that's it for
the updates. Anna hit me with some new music. Nice
Skyline Drive is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeart Podcast.
(45:43):
This show is hosted and written by me Mongish Heatiku.
But this show would not have made it to your
ears if a whole bunch of people weren't carrying me.
Starting with Mary Philip Sandy, our supervising producer. I am
not going to join army, but if someone starts a
maryps fan club, you know I'm in Beatu Pinshahi is
our wonderful senior producer. Instead of so many of these interviews,
(46:04):
Mark Latto is the very best story editor who took
my jumbled mess of words and created a story out
of it, even though he edited out the bits about
Nickelodeon and Doubledare You can ask me about those later.
Speaker 6 (46:15):
This episode was.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
Also produced and mixed by the insanely talented Anna Rubinova,
with scoring as always from Botany. Check out his SoundCloud.
I need to thank my son Henry, who jumped on
the mic for the warning. He doesn't have a SoundCloud yet,
but look for a new year or two. It's coming.
My big cousin Alop is just the best. You can
check out all his latest work at Internet andweed dot com.
Speaker 6 (46:39):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (46:39):
His label is called Internet and Weed and the music
is dope. Speaking of incredible music, got to thank my
friends at Azadi Records, Mumba's hottest label, also my Palhens
and my sister Shantahtiguler for her budgets which she sang
on this as always will link to our mixtapes in
the show notes. Oh and I I'm also going to
(47:00):
link to all the astrologers in this broadcast, doctor Vivia
the numerologist. She was so kind and so wonderful and
she gave me so much of her time. Janelle Belgrave
who we love here, Sesar and Andrea, the incredible baseball astrologers,
and of course the delightful doctor Kumar. Additional production and
research support from the wonderful Drew of Chivarral, Lizzie Jacobs,
(47:23):
my beautiful wife someone the most talented person I know, Bukshie,
and my cousin Argin Buckshee. This show is executive produced
from iHeart On, my good pals, making Etour and Katrina Norvel.
Also got to thank my partners from Kaleidoscope who were
all okay with me taking this break, Oswa Lishan, Kate Osborne,
Costas Lina's and Vami Shoi. Special thanks to my friends
(47:46):
at iHeart, Shantan Soa, Rachel Strom, my family everywhere, and
as always a big thank you to my Amma and
my dad, Lalita and MJ who I thank my lucky
stars for. You have so many podcasts to choose from.
I just want to say thank you for listening.
Speaker 1 (48:04):
Hold them demons in my head to take me over
to ity case sleeve away from this world.
Speaker 6 (48:09):
I hold my life gets back up by.
Speaker 1 (48:11):
Learned the lessons I was ye on my money way to.
Speaker 6 (48:14):
The face to take your hands.
Speaker 1 (48:16):
That's why I don't From my chophy stag to the guy,
told them demons in my head to take me over
toy case sleeve away from this world.
Speaker 6 (48:24):
I hold my life gets back o Bay
Warning.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
In this episode, you'll be hearing about my dad, talk
about astrology, baseball, K pop, heavy metal and hit us,
Halo and Stitch, and also growing up as an immigrant,
which I think is awesome. If you're down into it,
that's okay, but I hope you stick around.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
And devitiation.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I feel amazing Mbara breaking end of a Monday and
the recredation then killaborations in the attack team fifth that
it has been wrapping the affecting affecting.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
You know what that means, you know what, It's ridiculous.
My nemerologist told me that I should be eating bananas
every day and particularly on Wednesdays, and today is Wednesday.
So I've got these tiny, tiny bananas that are maybe
half the height of my palm. I'm gonna tear a
couple off and eat them and also press them into
(01:10):
my palm. Back when I began this show, doctor Kumar,
the astrologer I met in Queen's told me I should
consider buying an emerald.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
It would be a good idea if you were an emerald.
Speaker 5 (01:26):
Emberle is a gemstone for the planet Mercury to have
better communication, better connection.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Basically, it's a way of nudging the universe telling it
to boost the wearers communication skills. The truth is I
could use the help. I mean, I stutter and I mumble,
and I'm introverted, and here I am making a podcast.
So I'm very tempted by a quick fix.
Speaker 6 (01:51):
So let's see if this makes me more of a
leader and.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Better at communicating. I think gems are a big part
of Indian astrology. They're used as duct tape quick solutions
to strengthen the deficiencies in your birth chart. For example,
my mercury is weak, so an emerald can help compensate.
The problem is that many astrologers are known for having
a tie in with a jeweler and taking a commission
(02:17):
for referrals, which makes me suspicious. But also I live
in New York City and I'm kind of a cheapskate.
An emerald sounds pricey. That's why I was thrilled when
a different seer, doctor DV. Malhotra, who has a PhD
in numerology, told me to forget about jewelers and just
(02:39):
buy some bananas instead. Which is odd because.
Speaker 5 (02:44):
I'm born and brought up in a daily jeweller family
and married to a Mumbai based jeweller family.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Her house is filled with too many jewelers, and although
she's been surrounded by sparkly things all her life.
Speaker 5 (02:58):
I don't recommend my clients to wear any semi precious stones.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
To her, the magic isn't in the cut of the stone,
but in its color.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
I heal them with the remedies, and my remedies are
very simple. You can eat banana apple. Yes, that's called
the color therapy.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
She believes that fruit can do what gems do for
a fraction of the price. So, after this intense and
complicated numerical analysis of my birth times and dates, she
hands me a thick packet of information that describes my
personality fairly accurately, along with my many flaws, and then
(03:42):
she recommends the colors that'll improve my life.
Speaker 5 (03:45):
Green and sun colors. You can use sun colors in
your life, so if you will touch colors to your
skin on every Wednesday, that will also help you out.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Doctor Devia has no shortage of clients, but she has
a gripe with the way people seek help from her.
She tells me that people only come when they're desperate
for solutions.
Speaker 5 (04:07):
Basically, you know what I want to give awareness that
you go to any occult science healer. Don't go when
you are in pain, whether it's me or anybody else.
Speaker 6 (04:18):
Work in the.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
Present to secure your future. Don't come to me when
your present is worse to secure your future.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Her notion is why can't people treat in numerologists like
a doctor the same way you do wellness checks to
stay healthy, keep your life in balance.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
I can't give you the result overnight.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
I don't go to the gym anymore, so maybe a
regular banana holding on Sundays and Wednesdays is how I'll
stay on top of things. Doctor Davia tells me it'll
be three to four months of this by the time
I see results, which I guess isn't any weirder than
believing in the power of a shiny stone. But I
do feel silly because it is silly.
Speaker 6 (05:02):
So ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
I moved from holding the banana at chest level with
two hands to raising the banana up to the sky
like it's Simba from the Lion King, and then I
eat it. I don't normally neat breakfast, though happy about that.
(05:25):
Doctor Tavia is right about astrology and the moments we
turn to it. Right now. Michelle Fan, a prospective law
school student and then on a bashed BTS super fan
is in crisis because her favorite band is in crisis
just when she needs the most.
Speaker 7 (05:45):
All of a sudden, the members are crying, and then
I'm crying and I don't know what's going on. I'm
texting my friends. I thought like my life was flashing
before my eyes, because here are these people who have
always been so happy, and now they're being vulnerable with us,
and they're crying. They're talking about it like it's a breakup,
(06:06):
even though they're saying it's not a breakup.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Don't know.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
From Kaleidoscope and iHeart podcasts, I'm Mongish Hearticular. Welcome to
Skyland Drive Chapter one, T Shirts and boy Bands. Michelle,
(07:20):
why don't you say your full name for me and
just give me a little introduction about yourself.
Speaker 7 (07:25):
Yeah, sure, my name is Michelle Fan. I am currently
working full time in human rights, but right now, with
my free time, I've been devoting it all to traveling
and keeping up with BTS's activities.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
From the moment I start chatting with Michelle, I like her.
She has this bubbly energy and this incredible sweetness that
I'm not expecting, maybe because I know a little bit
about her circumstance. One of her friends, my colleague Viny,
is worried about her. Michelle is super smart, college Honor
(08:01):
Society aister elsat smart, but it's been a year since
she graduated, and she hasn't filled out her law school
applications yet. She's been pushing it off for some reason,
and her pals are wondering can astrology help, because maybe
you can give her the nuds she needs. But as
we talk, it's not clear to me how much Michelle
(08:22):
wants a reading for herself so much as she wants
it for BTS, the massive Korean pop group.
Speaker 7 (08:29):
I would like to know about their future families and
how many kids they're going to have, and how long
they're going to keep doing this for and what kind
of music they'll do when they're like gray and old,
and if they'll still perform or like get together and
do things like that.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Michelle's a BTS superfan or what's known as army.
Speaker 7 (08:48):
You can't be a casual army like. There's just something
that is so captivating about BTS. Once you're in it,
you're really in it, man, Like. Most of my closest
army friends are people that I already knew, and we
connected even more over this thing that we weren't really
embarrassed to like, but people wanted to make us embarrassed
(09:08):
to like.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
I feel guilty here because I'm technically anti boy band.
In third grade, my friends Zoe and I would rip
on new kids on the block and we were constantly
evangelizing how lame we thought they were. In high school,
I ribbed my little cousin because every time a Backstreet
Boys video came on, she screamed like it was Beatlemania
(09:31):
and it made no sense to me. But it wasn't
just the music that offended me, something about how manufactured
these groups always are, Like you've got to have the
bad boy and the sweetheart and the shy one and
the slightly older brother who seems a little too old
to be in the band. The groups are always perfectly
(09:52):
curated for mass consumption versus you know, outsiders who are
trying to express something real and authentic with their music
and aren't part of some assembly line anyway. What does
being a member of this fandom mean to you?
Speaker 7 (10:10):
What does it mean to me?
Speaker 6 (10:13):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (10:13):
Man, it means a lot. It's really nice to feel
like you're part of something that is genuinely just like
full of like kindness and love and family. I think
that they do a really good job of making Army
feel like they're part of their family.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Seeing BTS live was a transcendent experience for her.
Speaker 7 (10:35):
You just look around you. All you see are these
lightsticks that are waving around, and it really feels like
you're in a sea of stars. My friend and I
was that and bald after the concert was over because
we were like, we're never going to have that magical
experience again. I imagine that this is like what Disney adults
feel like every summer. I wish I could have that,
(10:57):
but I have to wait for the off chance that
bt US is going to announce performance in America for
me to experience that level of like etherealness.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
So Michelle spends her extra hours thinking about BTS and
interacting with fans, and luckily for Army, BTS has no
shortage of content. But as Michelle talks, it becomes clear
it isn't just about the music for her or the community,
which is powerful, It's also about seeing a Korean band
(11:29):
making it to the top of the American charts without
having to compromise their identity.
Speaker 7 (11:35):
I do feel like an additional connection to BTS because
it's been so nice to see Asian artists really fully
embrace their Asian news.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Michelle came to the States from China as a toddler.
Her dad brought the family over as he finished his PhD.
But even though they became upwardly mobile living in a
nice suburban community, life at home at times was turbulent.
Speaker 7 (12:03):
My dad was pretty abusive. He's really not a great guy.
He eventually left, which good riddance. My mom's here at home,
and my dad's in China, and my brother is here
with us too, So now it's just us three, and
I guess my cat.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Michelle doesn't dwell on the abuse or her absent dad.
It's just a speed bump. She happens to acknowledge as
we talk about her upbringing. But being there for her
mom and her brother, that's a big part of her identity,
and that caring doesn't stop with her family. Michelle stands
up for anyone who is wounded.
Speaker 7 (12:42):
Since middle school, I've wanted to go into human rights work.
I've always just cared a lot about what's fair and
what's not fair. I'm sure part of it also comes
from coming here as an immigrant and figuring out how
to fit in. Why do I have to chop off
all of these parts of myself to fit in to
this mold so that you can still not see me
(13:03):
as an equal? Like that doesn't seem.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Right, that tension of identity. I know what she means.
Speaker 7 (13:10):
I didn't want my parents to meet people. I didn't
want people to meet my grandparents. I was just very
ashamed of everything related to my family, and that didn't
really change until high school.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
My parents were never an embarrassment to me, but sometimes
my house could be like, do you really want to
invite people in just to explain the myths and religious
iconography on your walls? Again? Do you bring a tiffin
with delicious rice and doll and pickles to the school
cafeteria or do you beg your parents for a whitebread
(13:43):
peebie and j and a juice box because it just
makes life easier. There's a constant question of how you
bridge the person you are inside your home versus the
person you have to be outside it, and how you
explain and justify these two identities.
Speaker 7 (14:02):
It really helped that one summer we went back to China,
and that was when I was really aware that I
was like, oh, I didn't grow up in this country,
but I feel so at home here. Why is that.
Hearing my regional dialect spoken, having the food, seeing everybody
dry their beans outside, you know, all of these like
tiny little details reminded me that it was perfectly fine
(14:24):
for my family to be the way that it was,
and that there was nothing to be ashamed of. That
transitioned into a lot of pride.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
I think that's common too, or at least I hope
it is. That at some point you stop worrying about
the differences and just own them. But that doesn't always
mean the world accepts you. Back in two thousand and two,
(14:56):
not long after nine to eleven, I moved to Birmingham, Alabama.
The day I was leaving, my dad handed me a
T shirt with an American flag and an eagle on it.
I'd already packed the car and I'd come in to
give him a hug, and he just kind of handed
it to me like it was the short sleeve totem
that could let everyone know I was American too. I
(15:19):
knew his fears. I mean, in the weeks and months
after nine to eleven. I remember the looks I get,
the comments, the shoves, the ways people tried to instigate
fights with me, things I knew were only directed my
way because of the color of my skin. Still, I
tucked this T shirt in my bag and I never
(15:40):
actually wore it, but I was thinking about that shirt
again and my dad's idea of this weird form of
protection because Michelle started talking about this moment in time
from when COVID hit America forward, when anti Asian hate
became so prevalent and so visible, how the world inside
her suddenly felt so much warmer and comforting than the
(16:03):
one waiting outside her door.
Speaker 7 (16:05):
I also, like really didn't go out during COVID. Every
time I did go out, it did make me super
super paranoid. Even now, just like going on the subway,
like I still feel pretty anxious. I'll text my friends
so that they know where I am, but like now
it's not like a hym I'm in the you know,
I'm in the city, like keep an eye out for me.
It's like hope I don't get pushed off the platform.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
I'm not scared for myself these days, not really, but
I am scared for my friends, my Asian friends, my
friends who were women. In twenty twenty one, there were
two hundred and thirty three reported anti Asian hate crimes
in New York City alone. In New York City alone,
fifty five percent of those were against women. It's no
(16:51):
surprise that we cling to these totems for strength, because no,
I don't believe that clutching onto a bend or a
T shirt or a gem or a banana can protect you.
But in the face of so much unearned anger, maybe
that grip gives you the courage of particularly moving forward.
Speaker 5 (17:33):
Rob It's.
Speaker 6 (17:35):
And it's your class.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Much down with my recipes and the class it's been
color skating, never.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
Beato, looking at what's next chapter, choosing teams, Comma Team
and a family men of l blas.
Speaker 6 (17:51):
Now are we feel up with reality?
Speaker 3 (17:55):
It's funny to think about Michelle's incredible moment of transcendence
occurring in a stadium, because so many fans walk out
of arenas feeling the same way. The high of watching
your favorite team cheering in unison with a crowd. I mean,
there's nothing like it, and that's how Sazar love feels.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
The game is a portal into something else.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Seesar is a baseball astrologer.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
I'm coming from the West coast San San Francisco. I
am part of the tribe of Giants fans and also
part of the tribe of Oakland Athletics fans.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
He loved stats and history, but somewhere along the way
he got frustrated he couldn't understand why his beloved team
wasn't winning. I mean, they had an incredible lineup, so
out of curiosity, he wondered if astrology had an answer.
Could mercury be holding his team back from the success
(18:52):
they surely deserved.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
You couldn't understand the team by looking at the chart.
The Yankees have saturn in the first house. They have
this sense of tradition and that's sort of imposing intimidating quality.
So yes, it does come across.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
Sesar kept studying, he kept grasping for understanding, but it
just wasn't something he could be open about. Baseball astrology.
I mean it sounds nuts. But then he met Andrea Malice.
Speaker 8 (19:24):
I'm testing with mercury retrograde one, two three testing.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
I'm not quite sure if it was the nineties or
early two thousands, but I met her at a meeting
of the Society of American Baseball Research at the Oakland Coliseum.
She was sitting next to me, and she asked the
question to the general manager if they had ever used
astrology in their analysis. And I thought, oh my god,
(19:50):
this crowd is not going to be into this at all.
But Andrea, who just is a lot more abrazen about
these things that I am, didn't care.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
And when you talk to Andrea, you know exactly why.
Speaker 8 (20:00):
Here's the thing, I'm originally from New York. It takes
a lot to intimidate me.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Despite the fact that people might bok. She has an
impressive list of clients.
Speaker 8 (20:11):
I was the astrologer during the a's moneyball era. Obviously,
in terms of client confidentiality, I can't name names, but
I have players.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
When I first heard about the Venn diagram of baseball
and astrology, I was hoping we could get some predictions.
Speaker 8 (20:26):
You know, the sports astrology nitch is something I totally
believe in and see results from.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
With the World Series just around the corner, I wondered
if Andrea or Sazar knew who was going to win.
But when we actually approached the question, they were reluctant
to say.
Speaker 8 (20:44):
I'm a cosmic umpire, you know, it's cosmic intel. I
get most of the calls, right.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
I don't like to make those kind of predictions anymore.
I think that's a trap for astrologers. A lot of
them like to make predictions and feel like they're smart
and show to other people they're smart and say they're there.
I told you so. I'd rather just leave that, just
watch things unfold.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
So then how can they use their astrological knowledge practically?
For Andrea, it's about coaching players and teams through really
big decisions.
Speaker 8 (21:16):
Tim Linskam he was a pitcher for the Giants. That's
why his dad. Then he goes he's.
Speaker 9 (21:21):
Turning down five years one hundred million. Help, and I
like Palston. I go, Chris, what time was Tim Bourne?
And he told me what time he was born? And
I said, you know, he's a Gemini. He's restless. He's
having a sad and return between twenty eight and thirty.
When I explained it to Chris, who was sort of
a permission giver, I mean, he still didn't want him
(21:42):
to turn down five years one hundred million.
Speaker 8 (21:44):
But it's like, all right, he's a Gemini. He's a
little scattered. He wants to see what else is out there.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Andrew and Sizar know how to use statistics to reduce
the game to numbers and calculations and take the emotion
out of sporting decisions. They know how to use the
numbers of Estralla to that end too.
Speaker 8 (22:01):
I'll tell you I've got four planets in Virgo, and
on a good day, I'm a micromanaging, control free I
take a deep dive and I look at all the details.
I just can't watch a game and relax. I wish
I could, but you know, this is what makes me
happy as a Virgo.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
But for both of them, baseball is a link to
something grander.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
People don't realize this. Baseball actually began as a pagan
fertility ritual. You can study the archaeology of baseball and
it's not a uniquely American artifact. It's been played on
all continents for millennium. The game has sort of evolved
to where we have it now with the diamond with
ninety feet distances between bases, but its origins and its
(22:48):
history are as old as the hills.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Something courses through players and fans, connecting them not just
to one another, but to the universe. It's like a
certain type the thief.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
People go to a baseball game, they just feel good.
It's the way people feel when they go to the
beach and they know they're in the presence of something
awesome the ocean. There is something just profoundly spiritual happening
in the following of a baseball team. So I think
of each team as a spiritual community.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
There are found families, just like the BTS Army.
Speaker 6 (23:32):
Chapter three.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
It's not embarrassing. It's in your chart.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
God's groove of guys on my own soon learning no shit.
Speaker 8 (23:41):
It takes me back to my own school.
Speaker 6 (23:43):
Shit in me head. I take the knowledge.
Speaker 9 (23:45):
Oh who is this?
Speaker 8 (23:46):
Running around the world does end up and getting out
the dawns?
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Oh shoot, oh shoot.
Speaker 10 (23:51):
This is a chart that has a lot of ambition,
a lot of drive, and a lot of desire to achieve.
Speaker 8 (23:56):
There might be a I've got our.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
House astrologer Janelle Grave on the line here and I'm
just connecting her with Michelle pushed forward. They're doing it
over zoom because Michelle happens to be in Texas this week.
Speaker 8 (24:08):
I do like law for you.
Speaker 10 (24:11):
The night House traditionally has connections to the law, to philosophy,
to higher learning, to higher education, to international travel, putting
information out into the world and receiving information on a
grand scale.
Speaker 6 (24:25):
I don't know.
Speaker 7 (24:26):
I feel like you're really buttering me up with this
like international travel.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Talk, because I'm like, oh, girl, tell me more about that.
I don't want to hear more about where I'm going
to be. Michelle doesn't know if any of this is real,
but she's definitely game to hear it all. Her chart
shows innate leadership skills and troubleshooting skills. It's as she's
incredibly inquisitive in how she perceives and moves through the world.
Speaker 7 (24:48):
A lot of it rings true, very spooky.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
But even though the talk is flattering, there are these
moments when Michelle just disappears. She goes quiet, and I
can't tell what she's thinking. No, I think, But as
Janelle digs into family, Michelle reemerges.
Speaker 7 (25:09):
A lot of my interest in law is protecting cultures
that are at risk of pretty much being trampled over
or erased because of imperialism and globalization and authoritarianism.
Speaker 10 (25:24):
Maybe that's what's fueling you. You may come from a
lineage that has people who have served in the military
or have come from countries have experienced war. So where
is this story of origin kind of showing up for
you if any of these things are making sense so far?
Speaker 7 (25:39):
Yeah, I immigrated to the US when I was I
think three ish, maybe slightly younger than three. My family
being Chinese few generations ago lived through Japanese attacks on
like our villages and things like that.
Speaker 10 (25:57):
Okay, so even for you, maybe moving a young age
might have been disrupted.
Speaker 7 (26:01):
Right.
Speaker 10 (26:02):
Scorpio as a sign also deals a lot with rejection,
where you feel like you don't belong or you feel
like people are judging you or wanting you to be
different than what you are.
Speaker 7 (26:10):
Yes, that's definitely the classic immigrant story of like you
fit too much into the home culture that you left,
and so then you don't fit into the new culture.
And then you start assimilating as you get older, and
then you come back home and your parents are like,
what are they teaching you at school?
Speaker 4 (26:28):
Like what you know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (26:30):
So it is a classic story, the one Michelle and
I and even Janelle as a first gen Panamanian must
have felt. So the fact that it's typical it doesn't
make you feel any less.
Speaker 10 (26:45):
Here we are now in twenty twenty two. Your next
phase is going to be the balsamic moon.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Face balsamic. I'd never heard of a balsamic moon, which
sounds tasty, but in astrologics, it's actually the final sliver
you see of a moon before it begins a new phase.
And in sort of a poetic way, it relates to
your commitment to your destiny.
Speaker 10 (27:10):
If you're applying to schools and all that, I want
you to be very cognizant. All right, If I'm going
to be doing this next journey, what part of my
life do I really need to let go of right now?
Because you can't walk into your new chapter, you know, kind.
Speaker 7 (27:21):
Of raggedy, right, yes, So it's embarrassing that you could
sniff that out through my chart.
Speaker 6 (27:29):
That is embarrassing.
Speaker 7 (27:30):
It's not your chart, Like, no, I love it.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
I love it.
Speaker 10 (27:34):
You are Mars and Scorpio. You're supposed to face your fears,
all right. There's an element of your tret that says
you have to show up with courage and fire when
you feel frightened.
Speaker 7 (27:42):
All right.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Janelle is so clearly encouraging her to go ahead and apply.
She's used the stars to confirm that Michelle is built
to speak out on important issues and show up for
people who can't speak out for themselves. But there's still
something that's hindering Michelle, and I wonder what it is.
But before we get to that, so I.
Speaker 10 (28:05):
Think, let's move on to BTS.
Speaker 6 (28:07):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
Last summer, BTS released a strange video that sent shockwaves
through the fandom. They're usually sunny demeanor shifted and they
began talking about how exhausted they were, how something needed
to change. A few months later, news broke that they
would begin their compulsory service in the South Korean military,
enlisting in turns to serve two year stints. And even
(28:35):
though they'll have time for some solo work before they go,
fans knew this was the moment they'd been dreading as
a group.
Speaker 10 (28:42):
They are heading into a full moon phase, and their
full moon phase is going to be in July of
next year. So full moons, like I said, can be
like the culmination all the fruits of our labor ripe
on the vine, but also full moons can talk about
endings too. Knowing that this is the top of the
top for right now and after this we know the
decline is going to come because this is just moon phases, right.
Speaker 7 (29:03):
Yeah, I guess oh man I I oh my god,
my heart.
Speaker 5 (29:08):
M hmm.
Speaker 7 (29:09):
There's like a very selfish part of me that's like, no,
like I want you to keep making music. I want
you to stay together. But I think more than that,
I want to know that they are able to make
the choices that they need to make.
Speaker 10 (29:25):
This might be one of the things that you might
have to quote unquote let go during this balsamic phase. Right,
if this band decides that we're going to take a
hiatus or whatever the case is, you know, you may
not be as involved, but there's still going to be
part of your life.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
Right.
Speaker 10 (29:37):
They're still together after many years, but go off and
do their own thing and come back together every so
often to enjoy performing.
Speaker 7 (29:44):
Yes, BTS.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Grandpa's so about boy bands. Even though kpop is a
five billion dollar industry now ruled by three major corporations
and flooded with what the New Yorker referred to as
quote generous government support, Michelle's maybe realize that BTS is
(30:06):
actually different. The manager in charge of putting the band
together allowed BTS's members to write lyrics and suggest themes
to address their biggest concerns. So the band's first three
albums they speak to Korean youth, trying to comfort them
through the intense academic pressures that kids in the country
face and that theme of protection that's infused their entire vibe.
Speaker 10 (30:31):
So here's urinatal chart on the inside and on the
outside it's BTS.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
WHOA Janell doa something I was not expecting. She takes
the BTS birth chart and she layers it over Michelle's
chart to see the influence they'll have on one another.
Speaker 10 (30:47):
I love that mars Son and Jupiter and Jim and
I are in your eleventh house, so bringing in possibilities
for friendship and group and endeavors and collaborative things that
might come in through the groups. I don't know if
you have fan groups or fan fiction groups or whatever.
It is something about them makes you feel like I
can do this right if I just keep going, if
(31:09):
I listen to the song away, do my applications, it'll
be okay, like something.
Speaker 7 (31:13):
You know songs, but you know, I've been so emotional
lately that I can't. I can, like listen to some
of their songs where they use like older recordings and
then I'll start crying and I'm like, okay, I can't
do this application right now.
Speaker 10 (31:27):
I'm you emotional. Oh my god, that's okay, that's good, right,
It's good to cry. It makes space.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
Chapter four, Okay, the sound of metal, the newest city because.
Speaker 10 (31:54):
Someone's gone is the run though the numbers gonna be
saying is the sounds like I'm opendstands.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
The fun One of the things I've been thinking about
is how in every generation it's a little easier to
fit in where it should be.
Speaker 6 (32:07):
I mentioned to you, I've been in therapy for three years.
Speaker 11 (32:10):
It's another reason why it's funny you're doing the show
now because I can actually talk about a lot of
these things without getting emotional processed and healing.
Speaker 6 (32:18):
It's really nice.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
My cousin a lot is five years older than me,
and even though it's only five years, that America he
grew up in was so much harder than the one
I experienced.
Speaker 6 (32:29):
I remember they would literally say, oh, you're Indian. What
tribe are you? Navajo Cherokee?
Speaker 11 (32:33):
Yeah, you look at Indians in America now and we're
the top eleven CEOs of the biggest eleven.
Speaker 12 (32:39):
Companies or whatever, and everybody in America is doing yoga
and drinking chot Starbucks and there's never a problem knowing
like what tribe you are now?
Speaker 6 (32:49):
You know, I say, we're the tribe that took over
the world.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Bro a Lot once told me, half jokingly, I'm like
the coolest Indian you know, And he's right. I mean,
even his name is cool.
Speaker 11 (33:04):
Basically, the beginning of an Indian classical piece, the musicians
are warming up and they're just kind of vamping out
on the three or four notes that they're going to
be exploring in this piece.
Speaker 6 (33:16):
That section is called the Alap.
Speaker 11 (33:18):
It's strange that they knew I was going to go
into music, because it's basically like naming your kid improv
or something.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Ever since I've known him, he's been surrounded by tapes
and records, and by the time he was in college,
he was producing albums. His band dialect was kind of
like Public Enemy meets my Bloody Valentine. One time I
told a hip hop head that Alap was my cousin,
and he actually didn't believe me. I always just assumed
a lop had it easy.
Speaker 6 (33:47):
You don't want to.
Speaker 11 (33:48):
See I think as soon as I got to New
Jersey age six, nineteen eighty, and it was like a
light switch.
Speaker 6 (33:53):
The very first day of school it started. It was like,
I don't want to get.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
To graphic, but tell me because I because I want to.
I mean, I can always cut out shit.
Speaker 6 (34:02):
Sure, Okay, well you're gonna probably have to do some editing.
Speaker 11 (34:09):
From the age of basically six till about thirteen, I
can just remember every time I woke up in the morning,
I had dread.
Speaker 6 (34:18):
You know, I had a massive anxiety. But we're Indians.
We don't talk about it. We don't even know what
that is. In nineteen eighty, right, I'm six years old.
Speaker 11 (34:24):
And basically as soon as I opened the door, girls
are writing nick on my back.
Speaker 6 (34:30):
You know, I'm getting beat up.
Speaker 11 (34:32):
Girls would spit on me, make fun of my clothes,
make fun of my lunch. I would throw my lunch
out because my parents gave me tiffin boxes with Indian
food and these white people.
Speaker 6 (34:41):
Were eating balooni and cheese. And I literally would cry
every night.
Speaker 3 (34:46):
And as a lot, dug deeper into music, finding solace
and heavier and heavier sounds. It only gave the kids
at school another reason to pick on them.
Speaker 11 (34:56):
Heavy metal Hindu is what they used to say when
I would get on the bus because I think, like
age eleven, I started rocking. You know, I'd have like
a Metallica Master of Puppet shirt with a jean jacket,
but I would cut the sleeves off the jean jacket,
so I guess they wanted to clown me.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
You know, the abuse was intense. They'd pull it his
shirt until it ripped. They tell him metal wasn't for him,
that not only did he not belong in town, but
he didn't belong as a fan. They told him he
wasn't allowed to have music, the one thing he truly loved.
Speaker 11 (35:30):
That became a drive for me. And this is gonna
sound arrogant as hell, but it just gave me a catalyst.
I was like, you know what, I'm gonna do this
white boy shit harder than they can do it. I'm
gonna do it better, and I'm going to prove them
all wrong.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
Punk hip hop. These were outsider scenes. It wasn't just
that a lot had this knack of knowing what's next.
It's also that he felt safer in these places.
Speaker 11 (35:55):
We didn't have a community where we felt safe just
being our Indian Souf. You know, we felt safe at
the punk rock shows. We felt safe at the hip
hop spots, breakdancing, we felt safe with the skateboarders in
those scenes. Back then, you hung out with a bunch
of non Indians and figured out a way to survive.
Speaker 3 (36:13):
And as much as music gave him an outlet, it
was also a coping mechanism.
Speaker 6 (36:17):
I used to tour ten months of the year.
Speaker 11 (36:19):
I used to work twenty hours a day and never
stop because I didn't want to deal with my present.
So I became kind of a workholic and it fueled
my entire career until I was thirty five.
Speaker 6 (36:31):
So I started to notice my mind is present.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
I feel really good now I'm starting to e I can.
Speaker 11 (36:36):
Talk about these horrifying experiences and not even cry.
Speaker 6 (36:40):
I feel like the universe gets me. And I know
this sounds real.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
New ag or whatever, but I mean, it's an astrology podcast.
Speaker 7 (36:47):
So.
Speaker 11 (36:48):
All right, you're talking about all these things happen internally
as well as in the universe.
Speaker 6 (36:55):
It's really strange, you know. And then we're musicians, right,
so you're talking about repetition, petition, petition, petition, groops, groops.
I mean I grew up on hip hop club music.
Speaker 11 (37:05):
So you're talking about orbits here, orbits here, orbits you know,
you're talking about rythms.
Speaker 6 (37:09):
We're talking about vibrations. You know, shoved.
Speaker 11 (37:12):
The Hindu said it in the first element in creation,
when the Big bang happened.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
Bangen was sound, that primordial sound its own. Maybe you've
heard it chanted at a yoga class, or you've seen
it printed on a tea label, but that drone, it's
supposed to connect us to the divine, like a direct
line to the essence of the universe. Allop's music has
(37:42):
always built off this constant humming sound. However heavy the
music gets, that scaffolding always connects back. It's like a
subtle fu Like, how could anyone ever tell a lot
he doesn't belong in this scene when his music is
(38:03):
literally universal? Chapter five, This is how you belong waking
(38:25):
up when people sleep and sleep. Michelle and I are
chatting on zoom and I'm trying to gauge how the
reading struck her.
Speaker 7 (38:32):
I have always been like a super skeptic, but in
the moment, I was like, shoot man, Like I definitely
took everything to heart that she was saying. She started
talking about BTS going through a tough time.
Speaker 13 (38:44):
And I was like, oh no, no, what was she
saying about applying to schools and a possible WAW career.
Speaker 7 (38:53):
I mean part of it is, you know, we talked
about the potential of a jdphd program and kind of
gave me a little kick in the butt and was like, listen,
you need to be courageous because that is what your
chart was telling you to do. If it's right for you,
you just got to do it, even if it's like
nerve wracking.
Speaker 13 (39:10):
Prior to this, I know that when Vihania we're talking,
she had said that you are super smart, but were
like hesitant to apply to law school and everyone was
like you need to apply already, Like you have to
get on with the application.
Speaker 6 (39:25):
So what was going on? Then?
Speaker 7 (39:27):
Before I graduated college, I was a lot more sure about,
like law is the path that I'm going on. After
my cousin got really really sick with cancer, and then
my grandparents, who had been living with us, ended up
(39:47):
returning to China, and you know, we knew they would
be coming back, and then my brother was having a
really hard time with all of it.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Of course, Michelle couldn't focus on applying or even think
about moving on way. Michelle is all about family, She
lives her.
Speaker 13 (40:04):
Values, all of those things.
Speaker 7 (40:06):
Those ambitions felt so far away, while like all of
the really really like hard shit I had to like
witness every night.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Whatever quality is, Michelle sees an army, whatever solace she
gets from this community of fans beyond the music, this
feeling that BTS is looking out for her, that it's
a culture where everyone belongs, that there's an emphasis on
showing up and being kind. It brings out the best
in her.
Speaker 7 (40:34):
I think I needed the time to like grow and
figure out how to bring like all of these different
pieces of my life together.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
I'm thinking back on a story from when we first met.
She told me about this time she and her best
friend travel to la to attend a BTS concert, and
just as they walk into the venue, Michelle spots an
older woman a few sections over who looks petrified.
Speaker 7 (41:02):
Right, she very much look like an Asian granny. I
would help any granny, but like especially when it's an
Asian grandma who looks like my own grandma, I'm like,
oh my god, we have to go help her.
Speaker 3 (41:11):
They go over ask if she's all right, and she's like.
Speaker 7 (41:14):
My seats are up there. I came all by myself,
but I'm too scared to go up because I didn't
realize it would be so high.
Speaker 3 (41:20):
So Michelle, being Michelle, walks the sweet grandma all the
way up the steep staircase, and before she and her
friend leave, they make the woman a promise.
Speaker 7 (41:29):
At the end of the show, just sit in your spot,
hang out, and we'll walk you back down.
Speaker 3 (41:34):
Then they find their seats and enjoy the concert, or
try to. They can't stop worrying. Every few minutes they
look over to check on Grandma, and it turns out
there is no need.
Speaker 7 (41:48):
She was doing just fine.
Speaker 3 (41:49):
She is having the time of her life. She's vibing
and dancing and making friends with other armies.
Speaker 7 (41:58):
After the show, we all walked down together and were talking,
and she told us that she flew by herself from Vegas.
So I was like, oh my god, Grandma, to.
Speaker 3 (42:10):
Me, this is the opposite of a lop story. Michelle
spotted an older woman who is clearly a BTS fan,
and instead of saying you don't belong, she welcomed her.
Even if BTS doesn't stay together, they've already built something lasting.
Speaker 7 (42:29):
I still believe in my heart of hearts, BTS is
not going to pick up because they're not just a
group of their teams. Their family and family stay together,
Ohanna and everything.
Speaker 3 (42:40):
I don't get any of Michelle's boy band references, but
I do know o'hanna because I love that line in
Leelo and Stitch, where Leelo says o'hanna means family and
family means no one gets left behind. Because in a sense,
everything Michelle cares about is family. The little tribe she
(43:01):
has in her home, the much bigger one she has online.
Speaker 7 (43:06):
I think it comes out of just me wanting to
learn more about the world so that I can make
it suck a little bit less.
Speaker 3 (43:14):
Look, I haven't been recruited to army, but I'm still
glad BTS success. I mean, why wouldn't we want a
world full of BTS's of all kinds, reminding us that
we all matter, especially if we get a world full
of Michelle's out of it God uh ben Eyah.
Speaker 14 (43:58):
Guidh in Ia, Siva cony swoo, Shiva cony swoot.
Speaker 3 (44:12):
Thank you so much for listening. Before I let you go,
just a few housekeeping notes. One my friend Sybil listened
to the Reagan episode and then she sent me this
incredible quote from the New York Times which I just
have to share. It goes quote after mister Reagan divulged
Miss Quigley's astrological role, missus Reagan never spoke to her again.
(44:35):
Miss quigglely likened the slight to buying a Picasso, putting
it in your living room and putting tape over the signature,
which is incredible. And second, you know, I do not
believe in astrology, but our house astrologer, Janelle Belgrave predicted
this show would be delivered in two parts, and that's
exactly what's happening. My other astrologer, doctor Kamara, said things
(44:58):
will get way better for this show after January eighteenth.
So we are following the stars. We're taking a break
for the holidays, throwing you a few super fun bonus
episodes in between, and then we will be back with
the second half of Skyline Drive starting mid January. But
if you like the show, please please review it in
(45:20):
the Apple Store. It makes our moms and us and
our investors all very very happy. Okay, that's it for
the updates. Anna hit me with some new music. Nice
Skyline Drive is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeart Podcast.
(45:43):
This show is hosted and written by me Mongish Heatiku.
But this show would not have made it to your
ears if a whole bunch of people weren't carrying me.
Starting with Mary Philip Sandy, our supervising producer. I am
not going to join army, but if someone starts a
maryps fan club, you know I'm in Beatu Pinshahi is
our wonderful senior producer. Instead of so many of these interviews,
(46:04):
Mark Latto is the very best story editor who took
my jumbled mess of words and created a story out
of it, even though he edited out the bits about
Nickelodeon and Doubledare You can ask me about those later.
Speaker 6 (46:15):
This episode was.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
Also produced and mixed by the insanely talented Anna Rubinova,
with scoring as always from Botany. Check out his SoundCloud.
I need to thank my son Henry, who jumped on
the mic for the warning. He doesn't have a SoundCloud yet,
but look for a new year or two. It's coming.
My big cousin Alop is just the best. You can
check out all his latest work at Internet andweed dot com.
Speaker 6 (46:39):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (46:39):
His label is called Internet and Weed and the music
is dope. Speaking of incredible music, got to thank my
friends at Azadi Records, Mumba's hottest label, also my Palhens
and my sister Shantahtiguler for her budgets which she sang
on this as always will link to our mixtapes in
the show notes. Oh and I I'm also going to
(47:00):
link to all the astrologers in this broadcast, doctor Vivia
the numerologist. She was so kind and so wonderful and
she gave me so much of her time. Janelle Belgrave
who we love here, Sesar and Andrea, the incredible baseball astrologers,
and of course the delightful doctor Kumar. Additional production and
research support from the wonderful Drew of Chivarral, Lizzie Jacobs,
(47:23):
my beautiful wife someone the most talented person I know, Bukshie,
and my cousin Argin Buckshee. This show is executive produced
from iHeart On, my good pals, making Etour and Katrina Norvel.
Also got to thank my partners from Kaleidoscope who were
all okay with me taking this break, Oswa Lishan, Kate Osborne,
Costas Lina's and Vami Shoi. Special thanks to my friends
(47:46):
at iHeart, Shantan Soa, Rachel Strom, my family everywhere, and
as always a big thank you to my Amma and
my dad, Lalita and MJ who I thank my lucky
stars for. You have so many podcasts to choose from.
I just want to say thank you for listening.
Speaker 1 (48:04):
Hold them demons in my head to take me over
to ity case sleeve away from this world.
Speaker 6 (48:09):
I hold my life gets back up by.
Speaker 1 (48:11):
Learned the lessons I was ye on my money way to.
Speaker 6 (48:14):
The face to take your hands.
Speaker 1 (48:16):
That's why I don't From my chophy stag to the guy,
told them demons in my head to take me over
toy case sleeve away from this world.
Speaker 6 (48:24):
I hold my life gets back o Bay
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