Buy my 2024 Diary Comix!

Also: assorted applause & distractions

Some sorta muse must’ve visited me on Halloween — let’s call her Delilah — because on Nov. 1 I woke up and wrote a short story, and I’ve been writing one new story per day (!) ever since. Is this my next TRUDY SELLOUT-style book? Perhaps, but for now I’d like to send you …

MY 2024 DIARY COMIX!

Hot dang! This is the fourth year that I’ve published a 32-page booklet of four-panel comics. If you’d like to add it to your collection, just send me $10 via Venmo (@whitneymatheson) or PayPal (whitmath@gmail.com). In the note, please include your mailing address and the person I should sign the comic to.

A couple images for the QR-inclined:

6 things I wanna pass along:

A short story: The other day I read “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. LeGuin, and now I want to dig deeper into her work. (Suggestions?) Without giving much away, just know that it’s a five-page work of speculative fiction that was published more than 50 years ago and remains very relevant. Skip the next thing on your to-do list and dive into this instead. (I’ll give you the first sentence: “With a clamor of bells that set the swallows soaring, the Festival of Summer came to the city Omelas, bright-towered by the sea.” Soaring swallows? Sign me up!)

A comic: In the early ‘80s, Adam Ant starred in a magnificent comic book, and you can read the whole thing here. Thanks to Dean for telling me about it. This year I wanted to dress up as Adam Ant for Halloween, but I couldn’t find the proper jacket. There’s a hefty goal for 2025.

A Kickstarter: Speaking of Dean and comics, he only has HOURS TO GO on his crowd-funding campaign for CHEST FACE, a comic about a standup comedian whose face is on his chest. You will be sorry if you don’t get your hands on this before Timothée Chalamet signs on to play CF in the adaptation.

A podcast: Our longtime pal Will Hodge recently launched the best idea for a podcast: UNPLUGGED REVISITED, which looks back on the seminal MTV series with amazing guests. His last two eps feature MC Lyte and Natalie Merchant, who gave one of my favorite Unplugged performances with 10,000 Maniacs in 1993. (She left the band that same year.) Congrats on the gently rockin’ show, Will!

A trailer: In the upcoming documentary RESYNATOR, director Alison Tavel sets out to learn more about the synthesizer invented by her father, Don Tavel. Musicians who join her on the journey include Peter Gabriel, Mark Ronson, Fred Armisen and more. The film is screening in several cities in November and December, including Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Tacoma & Beverly Hills.

A doc: I had to watch the Martha Stewart Netflix documentary because so many people were talking about it. I’m not sure what I can share that hasn’t been said, except if Star Trek were to concoct a spinoff about a planet where the alien leader welcomed visitors with lavish and emotionally distanced dinner parties, the star is obvious! (P.S. Did you know CNN released an even longer Martha docuseries earlier this year?)

Okay, time to run. Thanks for reading! I wish you a weekend free of physical and mental traffic.

your nosy neighbor,
mrs. poole
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