No. 17: Pen rage, witchy mermaids, Fyre flotsam & more
Fiddledeedee, the weekend's here!
How's life? Are you eating enough fiber? February is days away, and I'm afraid most of my New Year's resolutions have gone down the commode. I hereby declare we start anew Feb. 1 with a "resolution reset." (Don't know about you, but I do better with weekly/monthly goals anyway. Baby steps!)
Keep on scrollin' for recommendations, good cheer and references to Ethan Hawke films of yore ...
11 things I'm into this week ...
A sampling of what's toasting my bagel right now:
1. I loved Ron Funches' new comedy special, the aptly titled GIGGLE FIT. Ron has made me laugh for years, and right now he may be at the top of his game. In the special, he talks about his weight loss, fatherhood and his passion for THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW. (One of my favorite eps of the podcast THE SPORKFUL features an interview with Ron about making food for his autistic son.) Get GIGGLE FIT via Comedy Central or your favorite streaming platform.
2. I'm a forever fan of Dame Darcy, cartoonist/witchy mermaid/banjoist extraordinaire. Her Victorian gothic MEAT CAKE comics are like nothing you've ever seen, and I aspire to exist on her wildly imaginative plane. This week I started reading Darcy's new memoir, HI JAX & HI JINX: LIFE'S A PITCH -- AND THEN YOU LIVE FOREVER. It includes stories, photos, illustrations and Adam Ant references galore. It'll make you wanna dust of the fancy china, put on a mermaid's tail and dance in a graveyard.
3. The OXFORD AMERICAN's annual Southern Music Issue is out! This time around it focuses on the music of North Carolina. One highlight: Poet Tiana Clark writes a beautiful piece about her love of Nina Simone.
4. I've been to the Oscars a few times, which is exactly why I don't care very much about them now -- once you see the puppeteers behind these shenanigans, it kinda kills the magic. HOWEVER, I did love AT ETERNITY'S GATE and hope Willem Dafoe's recognition steers more folks toward it. It arrives digitally Jan. 29.
5. Shout-out to the WHO CHARTED? podcast for a particularly grand episode this week, in which Natasha Leggero and John Hodgman join Howard Kremer to discuss things like the Fyre Fest docs, Paul McCartney's bizarre auto-tuning and the perils of AQUAMAN. (Howard co-created MTV's AUSTIN STORIES back in the '90s. He's a national treasure.)
6. B-52's cover alert: Take a dance break and put on Ohmme's version of "Give Me Back My Man." Nice job, Ohmme!
7. Big Star is one of the best American rock bands of all time, and Magnet has an excerpt from a new book about Chris Bell. (Songs don't get more perfect than "Thirteen.")
8. 2019 marks 200 years since Walt Whitman's birth, and the Walt Whitman Initiative has events planned throughout the year. It's also working to have the poet's former Brooklyn home designated as a landmark. Head over there to sign a petition and see other ways to help and celebrate dear Walt!
9. Independent culture/news site Popula only has a few days left in its Kickstarter subscription drive. I'm loving all the comics they've been posting lately.
10. Yep, I've seen both Fyre Fest docs. For what it's worth, I thought the Hulu's FYRE FRAUD does a better job of explaining the whole disaster, though Netflix's FYRE sheds light on the workers who were treated terribly and never paid. (Or you can skip 'em both and go jump in a puddle. It's all cool.)
11. And finally, Chris sent me a link to this ambitious ranking of the 100 best pens. As you may know, I have some thoughts on the subject -- for instance, I don't use click pens because I don't think they're classy. The comments on this story are particularly entertaining and feature some serious PEN RAGE!*
* also the name of my new garage-punk band
My daughter is into creating her own planets these days. (Aren't we all?)
... and YOU recommend:
MUSIC: Several of you are listening to these new Vampire Weekend tunes. Herman says jangly Aussie band Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever reminds him of early R.E.M. Mitch wants us to hear Aaron Lee Tasjan, an artist he says "is channeling Tom Petty meets Lower East Side New Wave vibe." I can get into that!
TV: Christi is watching DERRY GIRLS on Netflix. We're all excited about the upcoming star-studded season of IFC's DOCUMENTARY NOW!.
MOVIES: You're intrigued by the trailer for the new Jean-Luc Godard film. Props to J-LG, who's 88 years young and still cranking 'em out.
BOOKS: Jerry digs Andrew Cartmel's THE VINYL DETECTIVE mystery novels, which sound intriguing. Leanne recommends LESS, Andrew Sean Greer's novel that won the Pulitzer, and she's currently reading the YA novel CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY by Karen Cushman.
NEWSLETTERS: Along with this magical newsletter, our friend Ricardo loves Dave Pell's NextDraft and Dan Lewis' Now I Know newsletter, which teaches subscribers something new every day. He also digs .
MISCELLANY: Julie visited the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, N.Y., and she says it was fantastic. "It's got amazing amazing artifacts, scripts and costumes, interactive exhibits and it covers every era and medium you can imagine. It's great for all ages -- we went back three times in three days!" (I think a road trip may be in order ...)
Got recommendations? Pleaseohplease email me (just hit reply) or leave a text/voicemail at 929-515-1988. Share what you like, and you may pop up in this newsletter next week!
Let's locomote ...
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I fought the law,
Clem Fandango
"To me, if you haven't been a rock chick, you haven't lived. I had some wonderful hair sprays." - Tori Amos
"I was a single mom with two kids. What else was I going to do? It was either be in a band or be a waitress." - Chrissie Hynde