Patreon Newsletter #45: July 2023! (Patreon)

From Adal:

As of today we’re halfway through 2023?! Honestly that’s bonkers. I feel like I have time blindness. Like I’ll make a note to get something done and then I’ll pick up that note and it’s 2 years later and I haven’t done the thing. Maybe I’m just bad at leaving myself notes. Let’s all please SLOW DOWN so I can catch up on stuff!

June was a delightful blur. Main fun activity was heading to NYC to catch up on some Broadway shows with Jemma. I think in order I’d rank them:

1. Parade (incredible but Jemma and I walked in completely blind, not knowing anything about the show and we were definitely in tears by the end)

2. Sweeney Todd (Annaleigh Ashford as Mrs. Lovett was one of my favorite performances I’ve ever seen. A perfect blend of physical comedy, timing and sheer willpower. I’ll definitely make a point to see anything she’s in from here on out)

3. Kimberly Akimbo (wonderfully funny and heartbreaking)

4. Some Like It Hot (Christian Borle is a dream in everything he does)

5. Shucked

Before seeing Some Like it Hot with our friends Stuart and Sharlene (check out the podcasts Flop House and I Know the Owner!); we went to grab dinner at Chez Josephine and were seated in the back in a small area right next to Ethan Hawke. Stuart and I then went through the motions of talking ‘normally’ as we both panicked. Before I could tell what happened, Ethan said hello to Jemma and then she started chatting about New Jersey with him (they’re from the same town and shared teachers in high school). I didn’t need to write this much about the encounter but it was an interesting phenomena to just be struck dumb by an unexpected celebrity inches from you. Stuart and I spent the walk to the theater just trying to list as many Hawke films as possible.

Just a few days ago I released a new podcast! It’s myself and two friends: Rob White and Brett Lyons (both Whirled News Tonight members as well!) The show is called The Word Association and (inspired by getting a suggestion at the top of an improv show) we each bring in one word to the episode to spark conversation and bits. We’ve got an absolute jam of a theme by Arne Parrott and we’re produced by the talented Julia WD Harrison. Episode 1 is out now and we’ll be releasing new ones every Tuesday and you can follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/TwApod) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/twapod/) or email us at twapod@gmail.com to recommend a word for us to use or even just to share some juicy gossip about someone you went to school with!

Here’s what I consumed in June:

TV:

• The Bear season 2 - I was delighted that in this season one character says ‘baybeee’ and another enters a room saying ‘Bing Bong!’. They also feature Kasama, Pequads, Margie’s, Avec and Ever which are all restaurants I love in the city. Outstanding show and reminds me of what a terrific food town Chicago is! No shots of Burger King though. Maybe next season?
• Detroiters season 2
• It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16
• Black Mirror season 6
• Secret Invasion
• Righteous Gemstones season 3
• The Tony Awards

Movies:

• Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse - Gorgeous movie. Loved every second of it and just found out that they released several different versions as a nod to the multiverse. I can’t wait to see it again in IMAX (Casey Sleepo Toney famously said 4DX is NOT for this one). I hope pt. 3 is coming soon but I'm willing to wait as long as I need for it to hold up to the first two.
• Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse - had to watch again to get pumped!
• 3 Amigos
• Creed 3

Music:

• Lana Del Rey - Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
• King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
• MGMT - Little Dark Age
• 100 gecs - 10,000 gecs
• Parannoul - After the Magic
• Ironsides - Changing Light
• The Microphones - The Glow Pt. 2
• Neutral Milk Hotel - Ferris Wheel on Fire
• Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
• Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin 2
• The Velvet Teen - Cum Laude
• Epic: The Odyssey Musical
• New Carly Rae Jepsen single Shy Boy
• Fall Out Boy - We Didn’t Start the Fire (don’t worry! In covering the top news of the last 30 years in this sequel to Billy Joel’s classic, Fall Out Boy absolutely mentions Tom DeLong being obsessed with aliens)

Other Stuffs:

• Had my favorite Blood on the Clocktower night yet! All 3 games went down to the final night including a game where I was a demon, Arnie was one of my minions and I had to off myself the first night in order to stave off suspicion and Arnie brought it home. It was a game so tense that at the end Arnie did something I’ve never seen outside of tv & film which was he took off his glasses, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose due to the immense relief of pulling it all off. Rush and Pad ran an outstanding night of BOTC.
• I bought a Ninja Creami and I’m really digging it. Having some fun concocting some different ice cream flavors and mixes. If you have any recipes please send them my way!
• Enjoyed the book If Cats Disappeared From the World by Genki Kawamura
• Saw West Side Story at the Lyric Opera here in Chicago
• Loved hearing Erin Keif crush on the new episode Comedy Bang Bang!
• Just got back from Door County again. This time to see my sister perform in a new play; she was amazing as always! Stopped by The White Full Inn for breakfast and had some cherry french toast that put a pep in my step and a jitter in my knee (it was 99% sugar).
• I don’t know if I mentioned this already but for my birthday this year JPC got me one of those cartoonishly large restaurant peppermills. I’m very excited for the bits I can do with it and even just to appear next to dinner guests with it. I think I will be bringing it on the road with me.
• It was announced last week that The Burnt City is closing so Jemma and I are making a trip back to London to see it a few more times before it closes. If you live in the area I can’t recommend it enough. It’s closing for good September 24th.
• Made plans to go visit the new Meow Wolf in Grapevine, TX with some friends this month
• Officially snagged a ticket for Burning Man in August. Jemma has been several times before but it’s my first time. I’m equal parts terrified of being overwhelmed by guys named Hush or Omega who want me to watch them do the devil sticks AND also excited to see what it’s all about and take in all the art installations. If I expire in the desert please know my final wishes are for JP Riddles and Coco Cashmire to adopt Puzzbot and start a family.

Please let me know what you’ve been enjoying!

Adal

7:17pm

From JPC:

Hey Riddiots -

So a couple of months ago I had the brilliant idea to start reaching out to randomly selected Patrons to see if they had something they wanted to share in the Newsletter. Last month, it did not go well. I reached out to two people but didn't get any response. This month, I started way earlier and reached out to a total of 5 people and...did not get any responses. So I'm thinking the whole "randomly select a patron" can't be the best way to find someone who actually wants to participate. Or look, maybe this idea was better as an idea and doesn't actually work in practice. That could be! Either way, know that I didn't forget about the idea, I just need to re-imagine it. More coming soon.

In the meantime, a little about me. I got Diablo IV this month. Big mistake. Really a huge misstep by the old JPCster. This is what I get for giving in to peer pressure. So my big recommendation this month is telling your friends to fuck off. If you've got a friend out there who says "hey, why don't we do (fill in the blank) together?" Go ahead and tell them to kick rocks. Pound sand. GTFOOH. Friends will only ever lead you to destruction. Cut them all out of your life now and you'll be the happier for it.

Okay, so you've cut out all your friends and loved ones and now you're looking for something to do with all your free time. Well, why not pick up Diablo IV? It looks fun. Generally good reviews, cool graphics. Why not give it a try? That was a test. And guess what? You failed. Big time. Don't get Diablo IV, dummy.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I want to wish a happy winter to all of our Australian listeners. Happy holidays, dudes.

-JPC

HRR Updates/News

• Our July Review Crew (reviewing why Olive Garden exists) will come out on Monday July 17th.

• The July Review Crew Livestream will be on Tuesday July 18th from 7:30pm to 8:30pm Central U.S. time.

• Did you know that you can still see the recordings of ALL of our Dynasty Typewriter LA live shows here? https://www.dynastytypewriter.com/video-vault (just scroll about halfway down the page)

Love you all!

Adal, Erin & JPC