Saturday Night's Alright for Writing
Happy new year!
The first music video I remember seeing was Tom Cochrane's "Life is a Highway" in the summer of '92 with Counselor Joe, one of the most gentle adults I knew at Mansfield. Some things just stick with you. I am sure I had seen MTV or VH-1 some other times, but this is the first specific video I remember. Is, as the song goes, life a highway? Sure, it's some kind of road. Not necessarily a smooth one you can go fast on all the time, with well-planned, executed, maintained straightaways. And it sure can be lonely on it, whether or not you're alone. The pavement speaks volumes: a reminder of human persistence, ingenuity, a desire to beat nature and create shortcuts.
In writing this up, I was surprised to find what Tom Cochrane had, at one point, intended the song to be about: famine and poverty. That was... unexpected.
More on all this below. Here's what you've come to expect from this series!
Reading
Whoooooppsss, didn't finish any books in December. I spent more time than I should admit watching trashy Christmas romcoms, and while I can't find much evidence now, I definitely read my fair share of thinkpieces about this strange genre. Kelsey discovered that I express surprise at Hallmark movies' "obvious twists and turns." I feel like I read dozens of articles about fundraising generally, Giving Tuesday specifically, and the value of journalism. Here's a selection, all pretty breezy int he grand scheme of things, and if you're interested in talking about them (particularly if you're not professionally related to these topics) I'd love to chat:
A Question Every Fundraising Email Should Answer
It's Time to Make Journalism a Field that Supports and Respects Women
Giving Thanks for Local Journalism
Also, in my journal, the only note I have from December regarding the Reading category was "Gina 6 weeks." Please tell me if you have an idea what I meant by that... I know only one Gina and have no idea if this relates to her.
Eating
The holidays, which, oh yeah, were a wild ride of professional and personal experiences, certainly had an impact on my eating. Strap in: A friend went to Argentina and brought back several tubs of dulce de leche. I consumed less than one tub. For one holiday party, I made vegan dan dan noodles that required I visit four supermarkets and they were 100% worth it. For another party, I cranked out Ree Drummond's stuffed shells. And for yet another party, I made scallion pancakes. I also, for the first time in years, have homemade instant chai on hand. At some point, a college friend shared a Washington Post article to re-create Maryland's wonderful Berger Cookies. I made a batch in tandem over Skype with a friend, and while I fudged it a bit (unintentional pun!) the results were... quite good. Not quite Berger knockoffs, I'll say, but very very tasty.
At home over Christmas, Jay and I made buttermilk chicken, Sicilian pizza, a yogurt cake with an apricot compote. All were instant favorites. Below, drool over a Rocco's hot sausage sandwich from the South Philly Home Depot, my first from a Rocco's.
Beating
Neutral Milk Hotel's 'In the Aeroplane Over the Sea' is almost 22 years old and it still sounds fresh.
Meeting
I'm going light on performances for a while, at least through February and March, in favor of making some art at home without deadlines and in favor of other events, like Broad Street Review panel discussions. That said, I'll be in the debut show of Geoff Jackson's Clever Sausage at Good Good Comedy on 1/23 and in The N Crowd show at PHIT on 1/24. You can also find me at various One Book One Philadelphia events and at least attending The Story Hole.
Deleting
I donated some old dress shirts that no longer serve me well, finally. And we recycled some busted USB cables that'd been clogging up the house, as well as our kitchen stash of plastic grocery bags. Seriously, dump those old cables and ex-phone chargers at Best Buy.
Retreating
For complicated reasons, I was staying in a hotel over Christmas and you know what's nice? Taking a solo swim in an indoor pool at 7am on Christmas morning. And I joke about it in my standup act, but diphenhydramine sleep is the best.
Right, that wraps all that up. I promised you above a few more sentences about whatever it was up at the tippy top. I recently became acquainted with the Drexel Writers Room, a community space that welcomes all with an interest in being there, regardless of affiliation. They hosted a workshop this week about responding to visual art. One of the prompts made me think of the song "Life Is A Highway" and it sparked a memory that for ages, I've thought about how funny it is that that's the first music video I remember seeing. The writing exercise evolved into largely what I wrote at the intro to this letter. I can only name a handful of other videos I remember seeing before about 1994.
Also, I have no other place for this, but we've been watching The Crown a lot recently. Who knew the British Royal Family was so full of scandal, intrigue, and dirty laundry?
Let's all write more this year, to ourselves and to each other,
Neil
The first music video I remember seeing was Tom Cochrane's "Life is a Highway" in the summer of '92 with Counselor Joe, one of the most gentle adults I knew at Mansfield. Some things just stick with you. I am sure I had seen MTV or VH-1 some other times, but this is the first specific video I remember. Is, as the song goes, life a highway? Sure, it's some kind of road. Not necessarily a smooth one you can go fast on all the time, with well-planned, executed, maintained straightaways. And it sure can be lonely on it, whether or not you're alone. The pavement speaks volumes: a reminder of human persistence, ingenuity, a desire to beat nature and create shortcuts.
In writing this up, I was surprised to find what Tom Cochrane had, at one point, intended the song to be about: famine and poverty. That was... unexpected.
More on all this below. Here's what you've come to expect from this series!
Reading
Whoooooppsss, didn't finish any books in December. I spent more time than I should admit watching trashy Christmas romcoms, and while I can't find much evidence now, I definitely read my fair share of thinkpieces about this strange genre. Kelsey discovered that I express surprise at Hallmark movies' "obvious twists and turns." I feel like I read dozens of articles about fundraising generally, Giving Tuesday specifically, and the value of journalism. Here's a selection, all pretty breezy int he grand scheme of things, and if you're interested in talking about them (particularly if you're not professionally related to these topics) I'd love to chat:
A Question Every Fundraising Email Should Answer
It's Time to Make Journalism a Field that Supports and Respects Women
Giving Thanks for Local Journalism
Also, in my journal, the only note I have from December regarding the Reading category was "Gina 6 weeks." Please tell me if you have an idea what I meant by that... I know only one Gina and have no idea if this relates to her.
Eating
The holidays, which, oh yeah, were a wild ride of professional and personal experiences, certainly had an impact on my eating. Strap in: A friend went to Argentina and brought back several tubs of dulce de leche. I consumed less than one tub. For one holiday party, I made vegan dan dan noodles that required I visit four supermarkets and they were 100% worth it. For another party, I cranked out Ree Drummond's stuffed shells. And for yet another party, I made scallion pancakes. I also, for the first time in years, have homemade instant chai on hand. At some point, a college friend shared a Washington Post article to re-create Maryland's wonderful Berger Cookies. I made a batch in tandem over Skype with a friend, and while I fudged it a bit (unintentional pun!) the results were... quite good. Not quite Berger knockoffs, I'll say, but very very tasty.
At home over Christmas, Jay and I made buttermilk chicken, Sicilian pizza, a yogurt cake with an apricot compote. All were instant favorites. Below, drool over a Rocco's hot sausage sandwich from the South Philly Home Depot, my first from a Rocco's.
Beating
Neutral Milk Hotel's 'In the Aeroplane Over the Sea' is almost 22 years old and it still sounds fresh.
Meeting
I'm going light on performances for a while, at least through February and March, in favor of making some art at home without deadlines and in favor of other events, like Broad Street Review panel discussions. That said, I'll be in the debut show of Geoff Jackson's Clever Sausage at Good Good Comedy on 1/23 and in The N Crowd show at PHIT on 1/24. You can also find me at various One Book One Philadelphia events and at least attending The Story Hole.
Deleting
I donated some old dress shirts that no longer serve me well, finally. And we recycled some busted USB cables that'd been clogging up the house, as well as our kitchen stash of plastic grocery bags. Seriously, dump those old cables and ex-phone chargers at Best Buy.
Retreating
For complicated reasons, I was staying in a hotel over Christmas and you know what's nice? Taking a solo swim in an indoor pool at 7am on Christmas morning. And I joke about it in my standup act, but diphenhydramine sleep is the best.
Right, that wraps all that up. I promised you above a few more sentences about whatever it was up at the tippy top. I recently became acquainted with the Drexel Writers Room, a community space that welcomes all with an interest in being there, regardless of affiliation. They hosted a workshop this week about responding to visual art. One of the prompts made me think of the song "Life Is A Highway" and it sparked a memory that for ages, I've thought about how funny it is that that's the first music video I remember seeing. The writing exercise evolved into largely what I wrote at the intro to this letter. I can only name a handful of other videos I remember seeing before about 1994.
Also, I have no other place for this, but we've been watching The Crown a lot recently. Who knew the British Royal Family was so full of scandal, intrigue, and dirty laundry?
Let's all write more this year, to ourselves and to each other,
Neil
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