No deodorant, plenty of Pez. 👀
Forget TV, I just wanna see A STRANGER'S NOSE.
How are you? Have you found a suitable mask? Fortunately, I have masks aplenty, though I'm still getting used to seeing them on everybody else. Man, I miss noses and mouths. I feel like I never fully appreciated them before. I bet lipstick sales are way down.
But hey! This week I have a fresh bunch of cultural distractions. I sorted them by category because, hey, sorting can give one an electric thrill in chaotic times:
TV:
- BETTER THINGS. I finished the season, and it was perfect. Get Hulu and cram it in your veins.
- STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. I swear I'll stop gushing about this show, but I finally finished Season 2 and am dying for new episodes. Not only is it smart and cool and cathartic, it occupies an exciting space in the Trek universe.
- UPLOAD. Longtime reader Paul W. recommends this new Amazon series, which he says is "fun and dark in all the right places."
MOVIES:
- SATANIC PANIC. Mel spent her birthday watching this "very silly, but wildly entertaining, comedy-horror movie." Watch the trailer. It features Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell and Ruby Modine (who, yes, is the daughter of Matthew Modine).
- RABID. Nelson recommends this 1977 David Cronenberg movie for those with a dark sense of humor. "It's about a viral outbreak that causes people to vampirically attack people." And it stars Marilyn Chambers.
- STOP MAKING SENSE. Norm rewatched the film on Amazon Prime this week. "I think my favorite portion is 'What a Day That Was' with the lighting and shadow silhouettes," he says.
- BACK TO THE FUTURE. The whole trilogy is on Netflix! I'm trying to convince my daughter to watch it with me.
PODCASTS:
- DOUBLE THREAT. When Tom Scharpling told Julie Klausner that the person who should play him in a movie is "Danny DeVito 30 years from now," I laughed 'til I cried. I'm still laughing just typing it!
- THE PLOT THICKENS. The latest ep of TCM's Peter Bogdanovich podcast features a chat with Cybill Shepherd. The only downside is it's too dang short.
- HEAVYWEIGHT. Jonathan Goldstein's quarantine check-in episodes are sweet and honest. Recently he interviewed a kid who has been staying home alone every day during quarantine while his parents go to work. It broke my heart in half.
- PENPALS. Speaking of straight-from-the-heart podcasts, this week Rory Scovel and Daniel Van Kirk departed from the usual format so Rory could share a personal story about how he's trying to mourn while in quarantine.
COMEDY:
- THEMES AND VARIATIONS. I've been listening to David Sedaris read his latest essay about book tours. It's free to read or hear on Amazon.
- SF Sketchfest. The fest is releasing "Live from the Archive" comedy videos, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity.
MUSIC:
- Robert Fripp. The King Crimson founder/producer started a YouTube channel and has been posting "music for quiet moments."
- Record Store Day. It'll be three days this year, starting in August.
- Katheen Hanna/Kathy Valentine. On May 12 the musicians will have a live conversation on Crowdcast.
- Mother's Day concert. Billy Bragg, the Indigo Girls, The Mountain Goats, Richard Thompson and our pal Joseph Arthur are among those on the star-studded lineup for Sunday's show, which starts at 5 p.m. ET.
BOOKS:
- John L. recommends Leana Niemand's travel books. "One day she woke up and wasn't satisfied with her life, so she sold everything and started riding her bike all over the world," he says.
KIDS:
- My daughter has made a bunch of crafts on the San Diego Zoo kids' website. Most of them require stuff you already have at home, like toilet paper rolls.
- She's also super-into the MR. LEMONCELLO'S LIBRARY series of books. Book 4 comes out on May 12.
MISCELLANY:
- Please tell me you read Taffy Brodesser-Akner's profile of Val Kilmer.
- Thanks to Natasha for sending me this '80s marshmallow ad featuring Juliette Binoche.
- Quick: Gimme three creative uses for this floating pool coffin.
- Several of you asked where I got my birthday kimono*. Answer: Kim + Ono!
HEY, NORM:
- Recently Norm asked us to think of any examples of something being popular as a book, film and TV series, a la HIGH FIDELITY on Hulu (which I loved). Brannon S. came up with three: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, SEX AND THE CITY and CLUELESS.
A NEW QUESTION!
- The other day my friend Dean challenged me to name a piece of art from the last five years that affected me as strongly as something I loved when I was a kid/teenager. It can be a song, book, movie, anything. I'll share some thoughts next week, and I'd love to hear yours, too.
*Birthday Kimono=also the name of my performance art project. It involves lots of mayonnaise and rope.
I wear a size LARGE in disposable gloves.*
Let's do this again, OK? Holler anytime at whitmath@gmail.com, 929-515-1988, Twitter, Instagram or bedazzled megaphone.
Your masked bandit,
Chester Cheetah
*By the way, my kid made this sign and hung it on our front door. I couldn't agree more.
“I live out of cans a lot. But I try to indulge in only healthy canned food.”