Cornbread wishes, butter bean dreams 💌
Should we talk about the weather? NOPE.
There's no time to be boring anymore, so let's dive in:
1. I just marathoned FARGO Season 2, which for some reason I missed the first time around. (Actually, I'm pretty sure I didn't watch it then because I was busy chasing a toddler.) Catch up on Hulu -- the cast is phenomenal, and it's probably Kirsten Dunst's best role.
2. THE BEST SHOW is back! Tom Scharpling took time off to write a book, but now his weekly podcast is back on track for our holiday enjoyment.
3. I bought some color-changing remote control lights to jazz up the place and highly recommend them!Â
4. I added to my Spotify playlist, including new tunes from Bleachers (featuring Bruce Springsteen!), Dan Mangan (covering Neutral Milk Hotel), Nashville crooner Brit Taylor, Steve Earle (singing a song written by his son, the late Justin Townes Earle), TRZTN (featuring Interpol's Paul Banks) and UK singer Julia Bardo (covering Silver Jews).
5. I finished reading THE NAO OF BROWN, Glyn Dillon's beautiful graphic novel that touches on love, obsession, collectible toys, Buddhism and washing machines. Surely at least one of those things strikes a familiar chord.Â
6. My friend Natasha told me about Vintage Obscura Radio, which plays the top-rated tracks from the /r/vintageobscure sub-reddit. "All tracks must have fewer than 30,000 views for the artist on YouTube and have to have been recorded/released at least 25 years ago." I've been listening to this all week -- THANK YOU, NATASHA!Â
7. I enjoyed the movie RAINY DAY IN NEW YORK, which was filmed in 2017 and just released digitally. Technically, it stars Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning, but the best performances come from the supporting cast: Cherry Jones, Liev Schreiber, Diego Luna and Jude Law.Â
8. The podcast U TALKIN' TALKING HEADS TO MY TALKING HEAD has been hitting a high note with me lately. This week Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig talked to hosts Adam Scott and Scott Aukerman about TRUE STORIES.
9. Just a heads-up that Patti Smith is doing a livestream on Nov. 27.
10. Chances are, you know someone who'd enjoy a massive Dolly Parton box setÂ
11. And all hail The Rock n Roll Frogs, a rock band made up of cool kids who just released a video EPÂ that lifted my spirits, especially when they sing a song presumably titled "It's the N00b."
And now for my latest comic about something many parents can relate to ...
WHAT YOU'RE INTO RIGHT NOW:
- Carlo, our longtime reader in Amsterdam, wants to make sure we saw this list of 62 films that shaped the art of documentary filmmaking.
- Amy P., our trusted source for all livestreams, loved this new Herb Alpert documentary. "I've always loved his music, and I learned so many things (like I didn't know that the A in A&M Records stood for Alpert)."
- If you want a great read, Elizabeth C. recommends recent memoirs by Colin Jost and Bess Kalb.
- And finally, Dean passed along a link to an essential vintage episode of FAMILY FEUD: It's GILLIGAN'S ISLAND vs. BATMAN!
WHAT MY KID IS READING: My 8-year-old daughter can't get enough of COTTONS: THE WHITE CARROT, the latest in the series of graphic novels by writer Jim Pascoe and artist Heidi Arnhold.
See ya soon! Reach out and touch me at whitmath@gmail.com. You are precious cargo.
Here I go again,
Tawny Kitaen
"Life is not just one thing; it's so many things, and sometimes so many things all together."
DON'T FORGETÂ NESSIE!
Check out REALLY WEIRD MYSTERIES: LOCH NESS MONSTER, a book I wrote that's now on Epic. (Most kids have Epic accounts through their school, but you can also subscribe.) Thanks for reading!
Reach out! Find me on Twitter, Instagram and at whitmath@gmail.com.