EPISODE 411: SHORT AND SWEET
POP CULTURE SPIRIT WOW
Just a quick Hey this week, as I’m back on the road, this time in Boston -- always a great place to be but why does it have to be so cold? It’s March 28thfor God’s sake. In the words of Richard Dawson, Show Me Spring.
I’m working on something big and fun and special for you for next week. HINT:
(This is such a deep cut, if you email me and guess right I will send you a prize.)
In the meantime, here’s a couple things I’ve really loved this week. It goes without saying none of them mentions Barbra Streisand, Brexit, Apple TV, live action Disney films or Robert Mueller.
In New Jersey No One Can Hear You Scream: A New Jersey high school does Alien for its school play, and it is freaking amazing.
These kids came to play!
My Mom’s Second Painting is The World I Long For: A person posts their mother’s second ever painting, which is pretty great and yet the mother thinks no one will like it. And what happens then…is the Internet.
I Don’t Think That Means What You Think It Means: The true story of the writer of the Gen X classic Reality Bites, who has been pretty much totally forgotten by everyone who has ever loved the film, including the people who made the film with her. (Shocker: She’s a woman; meanwhile everyone attributes everything to the director, who is just by coincidence a man.) Also we’ve all misunderstood the title and it pretty much figures.
Today in Men are Garbage: Last weekend I saw an older man sit down across from a young woman at a Starbucks and pretty much totally ruin her day by out of the blue telling her he was attracted to her and then just sit there looking at her. You know, like you do.
I was horrified and unsure how to help. I said something, he ignored me, it wasn’t really clear whether going further was going to make things better or worse. And then she left.
Afterwards I tweeted out looking for some advice on what might have helped. I got some really helpful and some devastating responses. And also this song, which pretty much broke me.
(And on a similar topic, I can’t recommend this week’s Grey’s Anatomy strongly enough. A searing look into the kinds of trauma women experience. Truly unbelievable.)
This was pretty much a live feed of me the whole episode.
Pigpen, Queer/Slob Hero: Fascinating piece from The New Yorker about Peppermint Patty, Pigpen, Marcie and the Quest to Accept Ourselves for who we are, warts/dirt piles and all. (Honestly, I could have read another 3000 words just about Marcie and Peppermint Patty; SO MUCH TO UNPACK.)
It is Important For Us All To Eat More Candy: A great article about paying attention to the flavors that go into the creation of candies, which I think provides conclusive evidence that fasting from candy during Lent is a sin.
Torschlusspanik and Its Discontents: I love learning new words. And this has a bunch of them. (Torschlusspanik, btw=Medieval FOMO but with an extra sprinkle of death and regret. Yummy!)
And finally, Carly Rae Jepsen, Existential Crisis Remix: Here is one of the great pop songs of 2013. And here it is today, slowed down 1000%. Because 2019.
Okay, see you next week, whose topic I am definitely looking forward to, and which I may have hinted at in another way in this episode...
Meantime, remember, you're the only of you there is, and believe it or not you're pretty much the world's special sauce. So make sure to look after yourself.