This week my kid started middle school, and I’ve never lied harder as a parent in my life. Each time I say “You’ll have a great time!” or “Change is exciting!” or “You never know, gym class might be kinda fun!” I flash back to the flaming horror show that was my own junior high experience. You couldn’t pay me to relive those years of begging for a bathroom pass and dodging mean girls in the locker room. But I guess it made me stronger? (And now I’m lying again.)
Some shared appetizers:
sam shepard and johnny dark
I just saw Shepard & Dark and am dying to get in a car and go anywhere, though I guess I need a license first. The doc follows the late, great Sam Shepard and his friend of more than 40 years (also a writer), Johnny Dark, as they look back on hundreds of letters they’ve exchanged. You can read those letters in the wonderful book Two Prospectors.
Shepard & Dark was released 10 years ago, and Oscilloscope is celebrating with a new hardcover book/Blu-ray combo. The film also prompted me to get Jack Kerouac’s Book of Sketches, which isn’t drawings but spontaneous prose poems he wrote while roaming the streets. I gotta try that.
cheap projector
I bought a projector on Amazon for 40 bucks, so now I can watch movies on walls. Here’s a link to mine, but you could probably do better if you don’t spontaneously buy it at 2 a.m. like I did.
It reminds me of in the ‘80s when one of my friends had a “front projector TV” in her house, which seemed just as luxurious as another friend whose parents had a waterbed. And don’t even talk to me about families with skylights, sunrooms, sunroofs — light was status back then. Which household items will my kid laugh about in 35 years? This projector will be one of them.
fermented rye chocolate cookie
There’s a bakery in Brooklyn that will sell this incredible cookie today from 4-7 p.m., although they’ll probably run out by 5. I live for this cookie. I set an alarm for 10 minutes before it goes on sale so I can race outside to get it. There’s also a liquor store down the block that gives free samples on Fridays at 5, so if I time it right, I can score a cookie and a shot of something for four bucks flat.
More:
R.I.P., Dave Vinson, aka “Dave from Knoxville.” I never met Dave, but I felt like I knew him through his fantastic calls to The Best Show over the years.
Speaking of The Best Show, host Tom Scharpling is daring to do another star-studded 24-hour marathon on Sept. 12. It’s gonna be incredible, and I’m preparing for little sleep. You should be able to catch it live at thebestshow.net and Twitch.
The Stitcher podcast app shut down, and I still haven’t recovered. I switched to Overcast, but let me know if you found a better alternative.
A couple people have asked me if I’ve had the U.S. Open cocktail, which didn’t interest me until I learned it has a honeydew “tennis ball” garnish.
If you’re at Baltimore Comic-Con this weekend, say hi to my best pal/frequent collaborator Dean Haspiel, who’s there with THREE new comics: Covid Cop, Billy Dogma & Chest Face. He has a new Etsy store if you wanna drop your pennies there.
Ah, September!
Gotta go floss. Say hi at whitmath@gmail.com.
87% cacao and 13% concern,
whit
I miss Sam Shepard and really loved reading "Two Prospectors", which the Shepard/Dark doc was based upon. I loved Sam's voice, both on the page and as he read his work, Kerouac's, Patti's, etc. Thanks for reminding me the documentary exists. Gonna seek it out.
OMG, middle school. Wendy Morgan — who was the sister of Vince Morgan, every girl's crush... blonde feathered hair, no-fucks-to-give attitude, excellent roller skater (what?! it was 1982) — cornered me in the locker room and threatened to cut off my long blonde hair with a pocket knife. Simply because I existed. Good times. Did it make me tougher? No. Did it make me avoid locker rooms for 20+ years? OF COURSE IT DID. Hope your little nugget fares better. XO.