Filing a Restraining Order Against David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

Sirs, please stay 10 feet away from IP at all times

Hello sweet subs,

Today: reading + listening suggestions and assorted musings. I hope you are all doing well-ish. First, some evergreen toons from 2020:

Suggested Listening:

Friend of the pod (as in Please Clap, The Newsletter) Jon directed this music video. Great job Jon! If you’re wondering how those band boys got into such PERFECT formation for their INCREDIBLE dancing…it was me yelling at them. They did so good + the video turned out great, stream below!

Suggested Concert To Attend:

ANOTHER talented friend of the pod Al Menne going on tour! Catch them in a city NEAR YOU + listen below:

Suggested reading, books:

• My man Vernor Vinge just died, so once again suggest you read “A Deepness in the Sky,” one of the best sci-books (I think) of all time. ALL TIME!

• I love everything Lucy Sante writes, but this memoir of her transitioning in her 70s is super beautiful, funny, heartbreaking, smart. Loved this.

Suggested reading:

Some of these are a bit older, just FYI, but all still germane.

• Incarcerated New Yorkers Want to See the Eclipse. The State Has Responded With a Lockdown

• AIPAC of Lies - The Baffler

• The Koch Network Is Killing Rail Safety

• On Palestine And The Worthlessness Of The Western Liberal - Caitlin Johnstone

• Why Did Aaron Bushnell Burn? — defector

• How the Western Media Helped Build the Case for Genocide in Gaza

• Sally Rooney: Killing in Gaza has been supported by Ireland’s ‘good friend’ in the White House

• The first step toward disintegrating Israel’s settler machine

• Germany next up to face Gaza genocide charges in The Hague. For a “what the fuck is going on in Germany” primer, the new TrueAnon (two parts) does a great job.

• AI is taking water from the desert

• The Black Women of Gee’s Bend Work Hard and Easy

• The CDC’s new, relaxed Covid isolation guidance makes perfect sense - STAT

• Understanding Sleep Problems and Long COVID

• Thousands of disabled people died after ‘Covid treatment withheld’, inquiry to probe

• The Long Haul - Switchyard

• My Long Covid Isn’t a Burden on My Wife

• Women are getting off birth control amid misinformation explosion

• Jacob’s Dream - Harper’s

• The viral ‘bloodbath’ clip and the rise of the liberal video influencer

• Through the Psychedelic Looking Glass

• A.S. Hamrah Oscar Movie Review

• Behind F1's Velvet Curtain - Kate Wagner

• Related: Road & Track EIC Tries To Explain Why He Deleted An Article About Formula 1 Power Dynamics

• Andrew Huberman’s Mechanisms of Control

• A Bullshit Genius​ | On Walter Isaacson’s Biographical Project

Can’t stop thinking about, good news edition:

First of all please don't talk to me about my Apple News and do not tell me to charge my phone. I am aware of the egregiousness of both crimes. Anyways. WHICH STAR CLIENT DEMANDED A MEDIUM SIZED DOG IN THEIR HOTEL ROOMS, AND DO YOU THINK CLEM WOULD MAKE THE CUT????

Is this a medium sized dog? Look at my beautiful, wise, greying beagle-pit. Look at her! She’s so delicate…and yet so sturdy…

I watched 3 Body Problem so you didn’t have to:

Me watching and reading 3 Body Problem is extremely:

I read the first two books of the popular sci-fi trilogy by Liu Cixin and I really enjoyed them, but then I gave up. The books are a little technical for my feeble brain, but maybe I’ll try again someday…

I did watch the new Netflix series, which was helmed by these Game of Thronesmen (I drew this is 2019 unsure why):

Here’s a forum started by a Chinese viewer who found the show “weird” and more elaboration on why. My takeaway is that I will be watching the Chinese adaptation called Three-Body, which is supposedly very good and sticks closer to the books.

My main qualms with the Benioff + co version was that 1. these guys can’t stop taking iconic IP and kneading it into a little ball of mush that is redeemed almost entirely by their allegiance to SIR Jonathan Pryce 2. the show seems to want to retain some of the cultural and historical elements of the book while also recasting the lead characters to be “global,” which doesn’t really make sense with the history shown and global here seems to mean “LONDON” so not really sure why…any of that…happens 3. It condenses too much of the books (that I remember) in order to move plot along, but we sacrifice the immensity and scale of the problems at hand which makes for pretty flat storytelling and character building. 4. why the fuck isn’t there more of them playing the video game, that was the most compelling part. 5. WHY IS EVERYONE SO HOT YOU’RE TELLING ME THESE ARE SCIENTISTS? ALL OF THEM? NO OFFENSE BUT LOL NO !!! no.

Anyways. We’re bugs, etc, thank you Benioff + D.B. Weiss for NOTHING!!!

—

Lastly, we have a mystery bird on our hands. It’s not a sparrow, NOT a pigeon. It’s very small. And quite round. I took a really clear, professional photo of it to help you identify it:

That should help!

Much love, thanks for keeping with my sporadic newsletters as I try to heal my body, mind, spirit and pussy (kidding, or am I) — love love love to you all. xx
shelby + clem