Hacks, bare knees & talking cats 🐦
Photo by Dean Haspiel
Oh, how I have missed your face!
It's been great to see some bare noses 'n' chins on the streets this week. (The weather even allowed for a few bare knees, which is almost too scandalous to handle.)
Here are a few things I've been soaking my eyes and ears in lately:
1. I got a free trial of Peacock so I could binge GIRLS 5EVA, the Tina Fey-produced comedy about a '90s girl band. Paula Pell can half-raise an eyebrow, and I'll laugh my pants off. The first season is only eight half-hour eps, and I expect it'll get renewed for a second.
2. I'm digging HACKS, which stars Jean Smart as a mega-rich Vegas comedian. Here's a trailer; the first six eps are on HBOMax.
3. Speaking of Vegas, I watched the first 25 minutes of ARMY OF THE DEAD on Netflix (and only stopped because I was too much of a real zombie to keep my eyelids open any longer). Zack Snyder is a master of the opening credits sequence!
4. I've always said that one person I'd love to interview is Johnny Knoxville. Sam Schube talks to him for GQ.
5. Tom Scharpling delivered two top-notch podcasts this week: On DOUBLE THREAT, he and Julie Klausner pay tribute to Charles Grodin with special guests Martin Short, Elayne Boosler and Merrill Markoe. On THE BEST SHOW, he has Chris Gethard and more of his top 50 snacks of all time. (Also, Tom has a book coming out in July. Get a signed bookplate when you pre-order via tomwroteabook.com. I can't wait to read it!)
6. Congrats to our friend Karl Stevens, who has a new graphic novel out called PENNY! It follows the deep, philosophical inner life of his cat.
7. This week our friend Dean Haspiel is on the CINEMENTAL podcast talkin' bout a Liz Taylor/Marlon Brando film that leaves quite an impression, REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE. And Amy Sedaris makes a charming appearance on the SMARTLESS podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett.
8. I finally saw WONDER WOMAN 1984 (which is back on HBOMax), which I expected to dislike but wound up really liking! If Pedro Pascal could grant *me* a wish, it would be that people would stop trashing movies on social media and hype the ones they love instead.
9. Shout-out to my friend Olivia for telling me about CountryQueer.com, a site dedicated to "lifting up LGBTQ+ voices in country and Americana." Peruse it for music recs, interviews, events and more.
10. There are some sweet-lookin' book clubs on Literati, including a bunch for kids and grown-up ones curated by Atlas Obscura, Austin Kleon, Susan Orlean and others.
11. And finally, I'm still updating my playlist of favorite songs from 2021. Recent adds include a Roxy Music cover by Angel Olsen, The Felice Brothers and Modest Mouse.
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Well, I gotta go swat some flies and conjure a salad. Have a great week, everybody! Keep on livin'!
*gives you a Vegemite sandwich*
Polly Pocket
"Everybody's constantly being destroyed and rebuilding themselves, some more drastically than others."
- Michael Shannon
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