Initiate Operation Umbrella Drink
a little treat for Brian
Every year I take one week in the summer and go as offline as possible. It’s a nice way to reset the brain a little. It’s also a nice excuse to sit near a body of water and read a book while sipping a rum drink through a little straw. This year, this is that week. I’m already offline as you’re reading this. I’m writing this part on Wednesday of last week — which is, I guess, still this week for me — and then adding the links below later in the week before I shut it down. Hopefully, nothing happens between now (me typing) and, uh, now (you reading) that will make me look stupid.
What this means for our purposes here, in short:
— There will be no Five Spot newsletter this coming Friday.
— There will be no Sunday newsletter full of links to stuff I typed and clicked on next week because, well, I hope to not be typing or clicking on too many things between now and then.
— There will, however, still be a new House of the Dragon Scorecard going up at Vulture tonight (your tonight, Sunday) because I’m writing it up tomorrow (my tomorrow, Thursday) and it’ll go live over there right after the episode ends.
I hope that clears things up. I doubt it did. We really traveled through time a little bit there. I hope the future is cool.
One last thing before I split, though…
A few of you guys, god bless you all, have reached out since I started this newsletter to say very nice things to/about me and inquire about ways you can help me make this work. That’s been wonderful. Some of the notes made me a little emotional, actually. It’s always weird to type some words into some boxes in my living room and then try to wrap my head around other people I don’t even know reading them. I’m not saying that to be cutesy or self-deprecating, I swear. It’s… it’s just weird. But, like, good weird. Writing this newsletter over the last few months has driven that home for me much more efficiently than anything I’ve done in the last decade or so of writing online. It’s been rewarding and cool and I’ve been digging it a lot. Not just because you guys have been saying nice things to/about me. Although that’s been alright, too.
As far as what you can do to help, if you want, I mean, it’s silly and obvious but the best thing you can do is share this sucker with other people you know who might like it. Forward the emails to family and friends, post blogs you like on social media, plop links on Reddit or wherever if you think they’ll fit in with the general vibe, etc. That’s all. Help me reach more eyeballs. Here’s a little button to streamline the process.
But yeah, that’s it. From there, it’s my job to convince the people attached to those eyeballs to subscribe or upgrade to a paid account by doing blogs that are fun or at least do not stink. “Do not stink” is maybe not the highest goal to set but it’s still a noble pursuit. Maybe I’ll start putting it on t-shirts and selling merch.
So, there we go. Enjoy your week. Try to chill out if you can. Do NOT spoil the ending of Presumed Innocent for me because it comes out on Wednesday and I won’t be able to watch it until Friday. And then I’ll see you back here next week with another Five Spot and two weeks from today (your today, it’s still last Wednesday for me over here) with a new free Sunday newsletter.
Be good to each other. No parties while I’m gone. Please water the plants.
STUFF I TYPED
— my House of the Dragon Scorecard over at Vulture for last Sunday’s episode
— a second blog for Vulture, this one about Freddie Fox, who is really carving out a niche for himself as prestige television’s favorite unlikable snot
— my Five Spot newsletter, which opens with a section about the secret Prince documentary and includes a tangent about freakin’ Tommy Molto from Presumed Innocent
STUFF I CLICKED
— Mike Ryan has been doing incredible interviews for many years but it’s gonna be hard to top getting mom-bombed while talking to Glen Powell
— Kelsey McKinney remains a blast to read
— yes, I read the Method Man interview
— apparently Gen Z and the Millennials are fighting over the appropriate length of socks
— Bob Newhart died, which is a bummer, but he also lived 94 years and brought joy to millions of people around the world, so let’s go ahead and file this one under “celebration of a life well-lived”
— it would be extremely funny if John Stamos is the one who fixes local news
— “Chris Kattan lived in a haunted house once owned by Danny DeVito”
— a bunch of dorks review-bombed the Gladiator II trailer
— the Halle Berry Catwoman movie could’ve been, so much wilder if they had followed the original script
— Lenny Kravitz stopped a concert to take a FaceTime call from Denzel Washington, which is somehow so cool it’s depressing in a way that makes me want to go to bed
— I have seen this commercial for the Olympics featuring Sabrina Carpenter a few times now and I can’t get over the maniacal little cackle she does at the end
Okay, that’s it for this week. And, uh, next week, too. Please share and subscribe and try to chill out a little.