Welcome to Hamden (+ some other stuff)
Heat waves and homecomings
Greetings from the B-Side Brewery! Hope you’ve all been enjoying the hottest summer of your life so far. But just think: it could be the coolest summer of the rest of your life!
Lucky for you, I know a guy (me) who knows a guy (me) who knows a thing or two about being cool (though not in the way I never was in high school). I recently chatted with The Atlantic about the rising popularity of neck fans (you’ve probably seen my face on that one, right?). I was one some iHeartRadio talk show talking about ACs, too, but I have no idea which one or how to find a link. But I did write some new advice on oversizing air conditioners for Wirecutter. And if you’re interested in a heat pump AC or heat pump water heater, I got you covered there, too.
I also tested out a new FDA-authorized video game designed to help treat ADHD. Yes, you read that right. I liked it better than I expected, too, though it’s unsurprisingly not the miracle treatment that it claims to be.
But now it’s time for the main event…
My hometown musical return!
Most of you probably know that I spent the first half of my life living in the lovely little town of Hamden, Connecticut—where, amongst other things, I helped to build up a music club called The Space in an old industrial lot. The Roland High Life played a few shows there in the summer of 2007, but that was the last time I ever performed live in the New Haven area (minus a few one-offs with the Backyard Committee).
So I guess it was only a matter of time before my triumphant hometown return: Friday, October 4 at the Cellar on Treadwell (in the space that was formerly, well, The Space). The Roland High Life will be headlining the evening, with support from local folk-punk songwriters Christian Marrone and Bobby Dyckman.
If you’re in Connecticut, please put this one on your calendar. The show should be over by 11pm, so you should be able to get to bed at a reasonable weekend hour, too.
(We will not, however, be playing “Homecoming King” at the show, ‘cause honestly it’s way too complicated and what the hell was I thinking writing a song like that?!)
Other cool stuff that you should check out
For those who don’t know, I regularly blog at BoingBoing.net where I basically just share random cool stuff I find and people dig it. I keep meaning to share a round-up of my favorite posts here. Except then I don’t. But now I will. So here’s somethings I’ve been enjoying that you might like as well:
A graphic novel adaptation of Thomas Piketty’s Capital & Ideology. What’s better than reading a 1000-page economic treatise on the sociology of intergenerational wealth inequality? A comic book that distills the argument down to 180 pages, obviously.
Similarly: this graphic novel adaptation of The Road was pretty great, too. Illustrator Manu Larcenet created this stunning graphic adaptation of the acclaimed Cormac McCarthy novel, which makes it feel like a French indie Walking Dead.
Also a graphic novel adaptation of Ibram X. Kendi’s STAMPED. I guess I’ve been reading a lot of graphic novel adaptations lately? Anyway, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America is a fascinating analysis of how racist ideas have proliferated throughout American history. And Joel Christian Gill’s graphic adaptation Stamped from the Beginning: A Graphic History of Racist Ideas in America makes it even more accessible. (And almost…fun? At moments? Kind of?)
Mary Tyler Moorehawk is not an adaptation but it is metafictional as hell (and awesome). Another graphic novel, this one by writer/illustrator Dave Baker, Mary Tyler Moorehawk is like Jonny Quest meets Infinite Jest by way of Jack Kirby—a comic book about a fictional TV show that’s also a history book from the future that brilliantly explores the past of pulp media. Highly recommended.
I read some prose, too, like this history book about the most famous drag artist of the early 20th century. It’s called Beautiful: The Story of Julian Eltinge, America's Greatest Female Impersonator, and the actual story of Eltinge’s life is much less interesting than the weirdly conservative social commentary around it—how a white guy made a fortune by wearing women’s clothing, but in a way that wasn’t subversive at all and in fact reinforced white patriarchal gender stereotypes. Which is probably why he was so successful! Oof, that’s depressing. But the book is fascinating, anyway!
I also went on a(nother) rant about gun stuff. This one was specifically about the complications surrounding so-called “Red Flag Laws,” a great idea that’s also depressingly difficult to implement.
You should also watch The People’s Joker, if you have a chance. It’s a DIY, low-budget, unauthorized movie about Batman. Except it’s also a trans coming of age story. It also might be the best superhero movie I’ve seen…possibly ever? It’s weird as hell, but also funny as hell, and strangely affecting and unexpected ways. It’s wild.
Relatedly, I Saw The TV Glow was also pretty awesome. A 90s-fueled thriller about two young queer kids who bond over a cult TV show that’s definitely not just a mashup of Buffy and Pete & Pete, and what happens when they reconnect in adulthood after one of them possibly travels to a parallel dimension inside of the television? I haven’t written a full review of this yet because it’s sort of still haunting me. But it’s good.
And finally, this Reddit drama involving a gnome who keeps fucking with the wifi. I never knew that real-life family drama around a supernatural Slavic creature who only drinks a specific kind of vodka could be so fascinating. Yet here we are. This is one of those things that you just sort of have to accept and let it wash over you. It’s also an important reminder: you should never, under any circumstances, fuck with the faeries.
Okay I think that’s it for now. Hopefully I will see you on October 4 (or otherwise)!