Patreon Newsletter #39: January 2022! (Patreon)

From Adal:

Hey Future Lizards!

Had a wonderful time in late December as I took my family to Galena, IL (one of the few places in the state that can legally be called ‘beautiful’). My mom implemented a new Christmas rule that the only gifts given would be a book from each person. Just what I needed! So I’m excited to dig into my new bedside stack of books and one day catch up with the other stacks. We left a day early from Galena because of the looming snowstorm which was a bummer; but ultimately it was a delightful time. The same storm kept us from going to Vermont to see Jemma’s family but we hope to make it over there soon.

It was an absolute joy to do the Magic Tavern Winter Solstice show in Chicago after having not done a local show in about 3 years. What a boost of serotonin to see everyone who came out and made it a magical night! Thanks to everyone who was there for being so kind, energized and involved!

I have to admit New Years Eve is my least favorite day of every year. If pressed I think it just makes me sad to reflect on the year with an overly sensitive brain. There’s a feeling of regret over everything I didn’t accomplish; a feeling of dread of what I might lose in the coming year and a sense of having missed out. Nevertheless we’re a few days into 2023 and I’m feeling hopeful it will be a good one full of friends, creative endeavors, Shrek memes, Borat bits and buying new plaid shirts that look like all my other ones; a big annoyance to MY WIIIIFE!

I’m looking forward to going to upcoming trips to Atlanta, London (to go see The Burnt City a few more times), Dallas and San Francisco!

Here’s what I consumed in December:

TV:

• Atlanta seasons 1 through 4: I don’t know why I haven’t watched this show sooner but goddamn it’s fantastic. I’ve never experienced a tv show that had such an experimental approach episode to episode. It’
• The Circle season 5
• Love Island UK season 3: Becca Barish (the reality tv sommelier) suggested I start watching….which led to…
• Love Island UK season 4
• 1923
• Wednesday
• Branson

Movies:

• One Magic Christmas: a very odd, slow and fairly sad Christmas movie but I remember as a kid there’s one seen with Santa taking a shoebox of aged letters/ephemera down from a shelf and I have pin-pointed this moment as to why I’m obsessed with notepads and pens.
• Grease: Greasemas baby!! Got a visit from SANDY Claus
• Pinocchio by Guillermo Del Toro: dark and charming.
• Glass Onion
• Matilda: The Musical
• Bullet Train
• Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure: Jemma had never seen this and it’s one of my the more formative movies of my childhood…as well as..
• Neverending Story: but not…
• Neverending Story 2

Other Stuffs:

• I was a recent guest on Botched: A D&D Podcast! My episode is out January 16th
• Jemma and I were fuel injected with the holiday spirit by the Jinkx Monsoon & Ben DeLaCreme Holiday live show in Chicago
• Started reading the book Educated by Tara Westover
• Listened to the albums Long Season by Fishman, The Chinese Album by Spacehog  and Ladies and Gentleman We Are Floating in Space by Spiritualized (ultimately I’ve been stretching back to the 90’s for some hidden gem albums. If you have any please let me know!)
• Finished God of War: Ragnarok and just started Tunic on PS5 based on how much Matt Young liked it. So far it’s delightful!

Please let me know what you’ve been enjoying!

Love

Adal

7:17pm

From Erin:

Right after Christmas is the first bit of downtime I’ve had in a long time so all my suggestions are probably things you’ve watched/listened to/read 2 years ago

Islander-The musical

This has been recommended to me so many times I stubbornly was avoiding it. Scottish accents and lady harmonies that’ll make you feel pure serotonin? Why was I avoiding this? It takes about two listens and figuring out the story and then a switch will flip in your head and you’ll be addicted to this-TRUST ME! Then message me telling me I was so right.

https://open.spotify.com/album/2il28BuwT8P2Y8usQtl0Q6?si=i9zOxhmETJGNjuXy4UYIPg

Daisy Jones & The Six

I know you’ve probably already read this(I’d give it a 7/10) but it’s a Perfect airplane book because it’s a fake oral history. I’m always on the hunt for perfect airplane books so if you need one here it is.

Pinocchio

(The good one not the hellish one)

Guillermo del Toro also made a very scary Pinocchio but it’s worth it because it’s so so so beautiful looking! Check it out!

Emily in Paris season 3

Every choice they make is wrong and I watched the whole season in one sitting. I hate love it so much.

The Lost Kitchen season 3

Erin French is my hero and the new season is so good. 90% of the texts between me and my mom involve how badly we want to eat the food on this show.

Matilda

I mean I love the book and Tim Minchin and I SOBBED the whole time.

- Erin

From JPC:

Hey Riddiots -

December was a very busy month. Not because I was doing anything, going anywhere, or seeing people, but because Mariah and I decided to foster 3 puppies. It was a lot of work! We worked with a local organization called One Tail at a Time and I'm happy to report that all 3 pups were adopted and are now in their forever homes. We hadn't taken care of a puppy since we got Spaghetti and three is a whole hell of a lot of different from one. They were very cute and great cuddlers, but they were also little monsters. It got to the point where they always had to be supervised because they all loved chewing holes in the walls and chewing baseboards. And at first we were letting them play in the backyard off leash until they all developed an appetite for mulch. And did you know that puppies have no concept of "the weekend?" They just wake up screaming for food at 6am every day! So that was fun. But luckily we were able to end December by catching up on some sleep and I can hit you with 2, that's right, 2 big recommendations!

1. Glass Onion. It was a lot of fun! If you liked Knives Out, you'll probably like this one. Wish we were covering it on Review Crew. Maybe we will one day!

2. Avatar: The Way of Water. Look, Mariah and I put off seeing this for like a week because of how long it is, but honestly, it felt pretty well paced. In contrast, I thought that new Black Panther movie was an interminable slog and Avatar was actually shorter.

Oh and one plug. Whirled News Tonight is back at iO Chicago. I'll be doing most of the shows in Jan/Feb. Saturday at 8pm. If you are in Chicago and want to check one out, please do! The website doesn't have a "show landing page" so buying tickets can be kind of a pain, but here's an example of this Saturday's show: https://wl.seetickets.us/event/Whirled-NewsTonight/524580?afflky=TheiOTheater

I really enjoyed making that WDSTF 2022 parody and maybe that'll be a yearly thing that I do! If you noticed how half of the song was the last 2 months of the year, it's because remembering things is really hard! Maybe I should write things down this year? Probably won't!

As always, thank you for all of your support!

-JPC

HRR Updates/News

1. For January our Review Crew episode will be reviewing ORANGE SODA I GUESS. That episode should be out on Monday January 9th if we’re not all sick or in hell.
2. The January Review Crew Live Stream will be Tuesday January 10th from 7pm to 8pm CT!
3. We have an upcoming live show in San Francisco as part of the 2023 SF Sketchfest! We’ll be performing Sunday January 22nd at 4pm with our 4th host Janet Varney! We’d love to see you there! Tickets and more info about the show and festival here

Love you all!

Adal, Erin & JPC