Known As Belén

By B. R. Hansen

Stories about life and faith, opinions about books/movies/music, and hopefully a great deal of joy in a ridiculous world.

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Weird About Death: A Reflection on All Saints Day

Known As BelénNov 02, 2023

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Feb 26, 202310:05

Lectio Divina OR Turning Scripture Into Conversation

Want to go deeper in Scripture? Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) is a great way to push yourself from the noise of daily living to that deeper conversation with God. Come with me as we learn about the stages of this prayer (meditatio, oratio, contemplatio). And don’t forget VISIO Divina! *** If you’d like to learn more I recommend the Oriens Advent reflection book by Fr. Joel Sember (https://pilgrimpriest.us) or invite you to check back Sunday for a bonus prayer practicum podcast (try saying that five times fast!)

Feb 25, 202319:54

What’s In A Name?

As you know, I am not ACTUALLY known as Belén. Tonight, I tell you all about my true, given name, which is…

Feb 11, 202308:56

An Introduction to Prayer OR Have You Noticed That Both Prayer and Proper Hydration Are Difficult?

Back in my twenties, I asked God for advice in getting my life together, and the answer was “Prayer”. My response to THAT was “Yeah, okay, but SERIOUSLY, what should I be doing?” but I came around…eventually. My prayer journey has now arrived at this point where I am recording the first episode in a series all about prayer. This episode tells you why I care, and hopefully why you should too. Future episodes will explore prayer forms like Lectio Divina, Litanies, the Rosary, and the Mass (just to name a few).

Jan 28, 202320:10

Vegas III - 20Booksto50k 2022

In November 2022, I attended the 20Booksto50k conference in Las Vegas. Even though the conference was the beginning of health troubles that make the end of the year pretty rough, it was still a fantastic experience I would recommend for any author interested in independent publishing (who has good lungs). You can find some great free writing and publishing resources or find out more about the event here: youtube.com/@20Booksto50kRLiveEvents

Jan 14, 202317:14

Bonus: The Traditional Post-Christmas Poinsettia

Today is the Feast of Epiphany and the end of the Christmas season, and I have successfully acquired the post-Christmas poinsettia. This bonus episode is full of opinions on proper pronunciation, the story of Poin and Stella (my previous poinsettias), and random facts about poinsettias I learned JUST FOR YOU.

Jan 08, 202312:53

What to Expect from Known As Belén in 2023

Regular posting schedule (2nd and 4th Fridays of the month), longer episodes, and a long-running series about prayer are my plans for 2023. Is there anything else you’d like to see? Let me know with the Anchor Q&A or at https://baileyrhansen.com/contact/ .

Jan 08, 202304:11

Home for Christmas (the Art of Travel)

Are you going home for Christmas? Physically or in your dreams? In a lot of ways, for me, Christmas is about the act of traveling from one place to another, to see family or just because.

Dec 24, 202214:42

Life Update: December 2022

I’m not feeling great so this episode is…nothing in particular. And also late.

Dec 10, 202202:42

Thanksgiving in Spain

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite American holidays. No matter where you are, even in the heart of Spain (and completely incapable of making green bean casserole), you can celebrate good food, friend, family, and the turning of the seasons. And usually with a truly ridiculous number of side dish options.

Nov 26, 202207:48

Interview with Laura Rye - A Retrospective on Writing, Literature, and Friendship

In this episode I interview the wonderful Laura Rye, my co-author with the A Monster by Any Other Name series, about literature, love of writing, loathing for depressing 20th Century literature, and the absurdity of choosing your life path at the age of 18. Note: This episode has a couple swears and a lot of passionate discussions of our literary hatreds. No books were harmed in the making of this podcast.

The newest book in our A Monster By Any Other Name series, Fear, will be available December 1, 2022! You can learn more and pre-order here: https://books2read.com/fearfc

Also! I am now posting Starbound, an episodic love story about reaching for the stars, on Kindle Vella. First three episodes available to read for free here: https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B0B24CZB9H

Nov 12, 202241:14

Birthday 2022: Accomplishments, Grey Hairs, and Cake!

I celebrated another birthday recently, and this is a year that ends in 5. And you know what that means: a time to look back and a time to look forward.

Oct 28, 202207:57

WHAT DID YOU DO? Or, Three Authors I Have Stopped Reading Because of a Specific Plot Point

What do Madeleine L’Engle, Kim Harrison, and Virginia Woolf have on common? Well, in addition to being excellent female writers they KILL people. Well, okay, just that one person/character but THEY WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE. Listen to me rant about Arm of the Starfish, For a Few Demons More, and To the Lighthouse while commenting on writing choices and my personal desires as a reader. Includes lots of passion, which means this one is probably less soothing than usual, and ALMOST a swear word. (I also mention Serenity, Children of Men, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Game of Thrones, and Rogue One).

Oct 15, 202224:20

Joy, Joy, Joy (A Reflection on Church Music)

There's a lot of bad church music in the world. I should know. I've been singing in choirs and cantoring for half my life, and sometimes I'm part of the problem, and sometimes part of the solution. But a retreat this last weekend left me with several ear worm songs and a reminder that, when done well, music can be a way to bring a community together and also praise the Lord. When we lift our voices together, that can be a little taste of heaven.

Featuring "I've Got the Joy" a praise song by George W. Cooke and arranged and sung by me.

Sep 23, 202216:34

Booyah! It's a Kermis!

Summer is the season for church picnics. Labor Day Weekend, I ended up at the delightful Kermis Festival in Brussels WI. This is a very a very Belgian variety of the traditional church picnic, featuring some somewhat unique dishes.

Sep 10, 202205:49

Destination: South Dakota

When people ask me my favorite place to travel as a kid I usually say Las Vegas, but that’s just because THE ENTIRE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA just doesn’t have the same ring to it. This episode tells you my tourist traps, with a special thought about Wall Drug (that ridiculous triumph of advertising).

Aug 27, 202215:52

Adventuring at AirVenture aka Oshkosh aka the EAA

The last full weekend of July was the annual EAA fly-in event. Part museum, part trade show, part learning opportunity, 100% party, this annual event in Oshkosh is a little bit of everything. Or maybe a LOT of everything.

Aug 13, 202207:58

Some Jobs Are Accidents, Others Are Passions

Jobs are interesting. We need them, but don't always love them. And then there are some people who end up in a weird little job fueled 100% by a weird little passion.

Jul 22, 202205:22

Chicory: My Favorite Flower

Chicory is honestly such a weed of a plant. It grows by the highway in summer, and is kind of spiky. And it's my favorite flower.

Jul 08, 202205:56

Some Weather We've Been Having OR A Reflection on a Thunderstorm

Talking about the weather is Wisconsin Smalltalk 101. Which means that when you ask how I'm doing, I'm going to tell you about this gorgeous thunderstorm...

Jun 25, 202207:48

Motivation Circa May ‘22 = MISSING

This episode is brought to you (late) by motivation. Or rather, the complete lack thereof in my life in the last month and a half. (It’s brought to you without background music because of terrible internet…rough times all the way around).

Jun 11, 202202:44

Through the Night Watches (A Reflection on Psalm 63)

Since childhood I have been reading through the Bible one bit at a time and in college I read the Psalms. My favorite, Psalm 63 (NOT 23), reminds me that at all times, in insomnia and against enemies, we are able to find joy and comfort in God.

May 28, 202208:49

Welcome to Freak Camp

So, you may or may not know this, but as of March 1, 2022, I am a published author! My novel, Freak Camp, was co-written with Laura Rye (aka my best friend from college). It is the first book in the A Monster By Any Other Name series and is available anywhere ebooks are sold. I struggle sometimes to talk about what this book means to me, and why I have had to take a secondary role. This podcast will be my attempt.

books2read.com/freakcamp

May 14, 202213:12

Is the Snail Dead? A MYSTERY.

In this episode I share with you everything I have learned about snails (aquatic) in the last week since being gifted surprise Easter snails. It’s a lot. Thank you, Google!

Apr 23, 202210:28

Viva Las Vegas Part 2: Adulthood

Even when my friend and I were planning this trip, I thought of it as the nostalgia tour. Vegas as an adult was just as fantastical, just as imaginative as I remembered, but definitely an introverts nightmare. The thing that struck me is that Vegas is far more REAL than I ever expected it to be.

Apr 09, 202212:56

Viva Las Vegas Part 1: Childhood

I used to tell people that Las Vegas, Nevada was my favorite place to visit. While most of the attractions I adored in my childhood have since closed, I still love remembering them, and love, in many way, the fanciful dream that is Las Vegas.

Mar 25, 202208:40

BONUS: Three Ringtones OR Experimenting with Anchor’s Music Options

Episodes with music are only available on Spotify.

In this bonus episode I’m playing with adding music to an episode, and sharing my love for Tank!, Wellerman, and Supemassive Black Hole, three songs united only in how I got them all as a ringtone recently.

Mar 22, 202210:17

You Duped Me, O Lord! (A Reflection on Jeremiah 20:7-9)

I feel lucky to have learned two things from this passage when fairly young: 1) that it is okay sometimes to be angry at God and 2) what a vocation feels like.

Mar 12, 202210:08

Hello Lent 2022! Here We Come

Last year for Lent, instead of giving something up I asked myself, “What do I NEED to better follow of Christ?” (Psst, the answer is prayer). It was a wonderfully selfish year. For ANYONE I would recommend taking dedicated, daily time to remember who they are called to be.

Feb 26, 202207:24

The Fine Art of Putting Food in a Pot and Cooking It Until It’s Done

My main method of cooking can best be described as “putting food in a pot and cooking it until it’s done”. In this episode I want to tell you about two VERY different dishes: borscht and bamya.

Borscht Recipe: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/borscht/

Bamya Recipe: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/mediterranean-one-skillet-okra-and-tomatoes-recipe/

Feb 12, 202208:59