No. 37: A little song, a little dance, a little hummus on your pants.
Mekka lekka hi,
What's new with you? I just spilled hummus on my black jeans. I've also been working on my list of 99 favorite graphic novels, which will land in your inbox if you support me on Patreon for $5. No pressure!
Moving on, did you know Bill Murray's family has a line of golf clothing? Also, here are the first five minutes of MR. MIKE'S MONDO VIDEO, which turns 40 this year. Holy cats!
What I'm into right now:
A few things screeching my weasel:
MOVIES: I loved THE RAFT, a new documentary about the 1973 social experiment that put a bunch of strangers on a raft across the Atlantic. At the time, many publications called it a "sex raft" or "raft of passion," but — spoiler alert — this film is like 5% sex, 95% raft. Honestly, I left inspired by all the kickass women involved (including the captain, the raft doctor and a deep-sea diver). The doc reunites the surviving members aboard a reconstruction of the teeny-tiny vessel.
NETFLIX: The Miley Cyrus ep of BLACK MIRROR made me happy, even if the story isn't revolutionary. And I'm only a couple episodes into TALES OF THE CITY, which isn't bad, though it mainly just makes me wanna rewatch Paul Gross in SLINGS & ARROWS, which was such a wonderful and underrated show.
HBO: Streep is pretty much gonna rule this season of BIG LITTLE LIES, isn't she? I'm fine with that, though I'd also love to see Parker Posey join the cast as a Sinister PTA Mom and go head-to-head with Laura Dern.
MUSIC: I'm digging the new Ride song, "Future Love" — and I say this as someone who often sidesteps "the new material" from my fave '80s/'90s bands. Don't call it shoegaze, because it's a bit cheerier. Waistgaze, maybe.
READING: I thought Vanessa Grigoriadis wrote a mighty fine Madonna profile, and I'm forever her admirer (and I'm talking about VANESSA, though Madge is nice, too). And ooh, the New York Times also profiled Betty Bloomerz, a sword swallower I wrote about like 12 years ago because she's so dang magical. And hey, Jazzercize is 50!
KIDS' STUFF: Shout-out to George O'Connor, whose amazing OLYMPIANS books are my daughter's current obsession. Each book in the graphic-novel series profiles a different figure in Greek mythology, from Zeus to Poseidon to Aphrodite. I took her to a book-signing event the other day, and I was stunned/impressed to discover how much she knew about Medusa! O'Connor's latest book, OLYMPIANS: HEPHAISTOS, is on sale now.
MISCELLANY: Our pal Dame Darcy has a new makeup line called GOTH Mermaid. It's vegan, cruelty-free and looks good enough to eat (but don't).
Meet NICO BRAVO, the star of the latest kids' graphic novel by Mike Cavallaro. Mike and George O'Connor (mentioned above) have been doing some fun events lately where they talk, draw and get kids super-excited about Greek mythology and (of course) BOOKS.
And YOU recommend:
MOVIES: Chris lets us know that ALWAYS AMAZING, a documentary about comedian The Amazing Johnathan, is streaming on YouTube for free.
TV: Nelson says he's "loving THE NAME OF THE ROSE series on Sundance. ... John Turturro continues to amaze me with his acting skill. It is an absolute crime that he has not yet been nominated or has won an Academy Award!" You can watch the first episode for free.
MUSIC: Alex gives us a heads-up that King Crimson's music is finally available via streaming services and the band finally "ended their longstanding streaming holdout."
BOOKS: Laremy is into Terry Hayes' I AM PILGRIM, though he warns us that it's pretty dark. Hayes is also a screenwriter, with movies like THE ROAD WARRIOR, MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME and DEAD CALM on his resume.
MISCELLANY: Gail sent me this baseball/dance video, and it put a smile on my face. ... Also, "Abe Vigoda" called the hotline this week to tell me my Wikipedia page is out of date. Get on it, Abe!
AND YOU? What are you digging right now? Share via email (just hit reply) or text/voicemail at 929-515-1988. I'll put you in a future newsletter!
COMING UP: What to watch/read this week
TV/STREAMING:
- I'm psyched to see the trippy comedy LOS ESPOOKYS (HBO, June 14);
- JESSICA JONES returns (Netflix, June 14);
- The series TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG arrives from Nicolas Winding Refn and Ed Brubaker (!), stars John Hawkes and looks positively mesmerizing (Amazon, June 14);
- Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston lead MURDER MYSTERY (Netflix, June 14);
- Carla Gugino and Giancarlo Esposito star in the crime thriller series JETT (Cinemax, June 14);
- EUPHORIA stars Zendaya, is produced by Drake and I feel too old to complete this sentence (HBO, June 15);
- ALL THAT returns to Nickelodeon (June 15);
- MTV airs its MOVIE & TV AWARDS (June 16);
- Hulu debuts the miniseries DAS BOOT, and Lizzy Caplan is in it (June 17);
- Arturo Castro (BROAD CITY) gets his own sketch comedy show, ALTERNATINO (June 18);
- Adam Devine a Netflix comedy special (June 18);
- DRUNK HISTORY returns (Comedy Central, June 18);
- PBS airs THE LAVENDER SCARE (June 18);
- WIG explores the art of drag (HBO, June 18);
- Anthony Anderson and Uzo Aduba star in the hip-hop drama BEATS (Netflix, June 19);
- HOLEY MOLEY is a mini-golf game show hosted by Rob Riggle (ABC, June 20).
IN THEATERS (OUT JUNE 14):
- Count me in for Jim Jarmusch's THE DEAD DON'T DIE;
- SHAFT's back;
- MEN IN BLACK goes INTERNATIONAL;
- HAMPSTEAD stars the luminous Diane Keaton.
BOOKS (ON SALE JUNE 18):
- M. Keith Booker explores THE COEN BROS.' AMERICA
- Taffy Brodesser-Akner tells us FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE;
- Ebony Flowers has a HOT COMB.
BIRTHDAY COOLNESS:
June 14: Marla Gibbs, Boy George, Diablo Cody
June 15: Neal Adams, Jim Belushi, Julie Hagerty, Helen Hunt, Courteney Cox, Ice Cube, Neil Patrick Harris
June 16: Joyce Carol Oates, Laurie Metcalf
June 17: Barry Manilow, Mark Linn-Baker, Jello Biafra, Jason Patric, Will Forte, Michael Showalter, Venus Williams, Kendrick Lamar
June 18: Paul McCartney, Carol Kane, Isabella Rossellini, Alison Moyet
June 19: Gena Rowlands (pictured), Phylicia Rashad, Ann Wilson, Kathleen Turner, Robin Tunney, Zoe Saldana, Paul Dano (Also, film critic Pauline Kael would've been 100 today.)
June 20: Olympia Dukakis, Brian Wilson, Lionel Richie, John Goodman, John Taylor, Nicole Kidman, Robert Rodriguez
I appreciate you!
Reach out and touch me via email (whitmath@gmail) or text/call 929-515-1988. Please email if you wanna send me things, advertise or hire me as a writer/editor/speaker. , and follow/tag me on Twitter and Instagram. (If this email is landing in spam/junk, try adding me to your address book or doing these things.)
Your Sassiest Boy in America,
whatamidoingwithmylife.pizza
"I started picking up trash on the street. If it's right next to me, I pick it up and put it in the trash. It's a little thing, but it makes me feel like a citizen."
- Bill Murray
"Trash has given us an appetite for art."
- Pauline Kael
Ooh, I wrote a kids' book! In WE MAKE COMICS, I talk to folks behind some of today's most popular graphic novels. Illustrated by Genevieve Kote, it's exclusively on the kids' digital library getepic.com, which is available via subscription and for free in schools/libraries. (Use the code SUMMER19, and you can get a three-month subscription for $3.)