On 'Traitors,' 'Possession,' pizza, Richard Simmons

aka the four food groups

Excuse my rustic appearance, but you’ve caught me in the middle of a frantic goal — I’m hoping to finish a draft of this book I’ve been writing by Feb. 15. (That will mark exactly one year since the day I started it.) If I make it, everyone gets a new Nissan Sentra!

A few non-work thoughts:

traitors

I ingest little to no reality television, but I’ve heard so many people talking about Traitors on Peacock — including a friend who I didn’t think even owned a TV — that I decided to dip in. Remember when Survivor was new and we all hated Richard Hatch because he was so conniving and strategic? (Geez, was that really almost 25 years ago??) Well, this has a castle full of Hatches and Alan Cumming in kilts. Also, I’m pretty sure they all get their makeup done before eating breakfast on camera, which is a good life if you can get it.

Anyway, Season 2 is on Peacock and includes a couple people who were on The Real World more than 20 years ago. It’s my meditation practice.

possession

I knew nothing about the 1981 cult film Possession before I watched it the other night — at first I thought it was so bad it was great, and now I think it’s just great. Stars Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani are Really Going For It as a married couple with insane secrets/obsessions and way too many breakables in their apartment.

Possession is currently streaming on horror platform Shudder, which has like 20 classic and cheesy movies I wanna see. Hello, Chopping Mall!

splinter

Congrats to Marc Bernardin on his directorial debut, a short film about a mysterious boy, an airplane and a bunch of rad women played by Tricia Helfer, Yetide Badaki, Moon Bloodgood, Tiffany Smith and Yvette Nicole Brown.

Marc and I go way back to when we were both journalists at large companies that laid us off. In the years since, he has been very busy writing for TV, making comics, co-hosting a Batman podcast with Kevin Smith and probably working on 30 other screenplays we haven’t heard about yet.

Watch Marc’s 15-minute thriller on Vimeo:

richard simmons

It’s 2024, and Pauly Shore is playing Richard Simmons. This is how we live now. But the real star of this short is Jesse Heiman, a veteran background actor with dozens of uncredited non-speaking appearances. The video already has more than 1 million views; perhaps it will spin Heiman’s career in an exciting new direction.

kitchen table

Our longtime friend Brett Warnock left publishing to start his own dream project: a non-boring food magazine called Kitchen Table that mixes essays, interviews and fantastic art.

Brett is crowdfunding the new pizza-themed issue. Throw him a few bucks, then squeal with delight when you open your mailbox and there’s actually something in there. (The delectable art below comes from Betty Turbo.)

las culturistas

Tina Fey appears on this week’s Las Culturistas podcast with Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers. I’m sticking the video below, but you can just add it to your podcast platform of choice. They talk about SNL, Mean Girls, AXE Body Spray, etc. etc.

dean’s comix consultations

My dear friend and studio mate Dean Haspiel just launched his own comics classes and consultations. I’ve seen dozens of experienced, up-and-coming and hopeful cartoonists learn from and be inspired by Dean. The 1,000+ diary comics I’ve made wouldn’t exist without him, nor would most of the other creative projects and collaborations I’ve shared with you over the years.

If you’re interested in having Dean look at your portfolio or have him walk you through how to transform an idea into a finished real-deal comic, reach out (and please tell him I sent you).

skatersocks

How am I just discovering SkaterSocks? They’re tall, clingy and full of spunk, just like me. This is not an ad, I just honestly adore my new socks.

teen handwriting workbook

My kid has atrocious handwriting — most do these days — so I bought this handwriting workbook for older kids and adults where you can practice writing about inspiring historical figures instead of like, “Nat has a fat cat.” Will it work? No clue, but all we can do in this life is try.

cold plunge

Lately I’m seeing all these photos of people doing “cold plunges” in bone-chilling water. While I think that sounds terrifying, I will share what I have done every day for years: At the end of my morning shower, I stand under cold water for like 10-15 seconds. It wakes me up, gets the blood flowing and has given me the power of teleportation.

OK! Back to the world. Thank you for reading, and save me a slice.

never a traitor,
ann jillian

whitmath@gmail.com | venmo | instagram | patreon | norman fell