PicoBlog

Hello everyone, First a few updates. Last Thursday was action packed and I have you to partly thank for it. I thought had enough inventory to satisfy everyone, but within hours of the shop reopening, everything was spoken for. Most of the purchases were made by PTFS subscribers. You get first dibs because you are here! My work schedule is getting full and I’m unsure about reordering. Please help me gauge demand.

When we talk about technological innovations, the last thing that pops into people’s heads is Medieval peasants in Europe. Compared to today, Medieval peasants struggled in the mud working with primitive technology and working excruciatingly hard just to survive. The only changes in their lives were the periodic bad events: famines, drought, and war. The best that a Medieval peasant could hope for was to avoid those three events for their lifetime.

What’s up Palumbros? I’m on the road, currently in Salt Lake City, where I had to switch hotels because I was getting some real stabby vibes from the Motel 6 I had booked in advance. Currently, I’m laid up at a Comfort Inn near the airport. Everything smells like bleach and I’m sure many people here are cheating on their wives. If you knew my childhood, you’d know that I feel real comfortable right about now.

There has long been a disconnect with originals in FAST. Many assume originals can only be scripted, or that FAST simply cannot sustain any originals. As I noted in Variety VIP+’s Life in The FAST Lane report in December 2022 and again in August 2023 in this commentary, FAST originals have existed for quite some time and continue to grow in number, mostly in unscripted categories. Trusted Media Brands has been one of the pioneers in the space, and it was a pleasure to sit down recently with TMBI’s Chief Business Officer Cameron Saless and TV-turned-FAST star Scott McGillivray to discuss both the launch of Scott’s Income Property show on At Home with Family Handyman as well as the potential that FAST offers.

Ælfgif-who? provides short biographies of early medieval English women. Click on the podcast player if you’d like to hear this newsletter read aloud in my appealing Yorkshire accent. The first ever Ælfgif-who? newsletter was about one of my favourite lesser-known medieval queens: Cynethryth, who was the queen of the kingdom of Mercia and flourished in the period 770-98. Today’s Ælfgif-who? newsletter revisits Cynethryth’s story, after an exciting new discovery has changed the way we think about her and one of her contemporaries - Fastrada, the wife of Charlemagne.

This week, I’ve been feeling reflective. Perhaps it’s because, as an elder millennial, I’ve finally joined Tiktok haha! And so now I’m being introduced to a whole new raft of fat joyful folks and content creators, which of course is wonderful. But it got me thinking of what my first fat influences were, and my first memories of fat people in culture. And it got me thinking of one character in particular.

After 32 years, a staple diet of modern European footballing tradition concludes this midweek. Starting out as two 4 team groups where both top-placed sides made the inaugural final back in 1992/93, the final-ever Champions League group stages are played on December 12th/13th 2023. Actually present since 1991/92, the old European Cup’s final season before its Champions League rebranding, current fans across age group varying from teenagers to 35-45 years old grew up with such a familiar format.

When I arrived at the brand new TV channel in Birmingham 26 years ago, I was given the green light to go “wall to wall” during any tornado warning for any part of our viewing area. In fact, we made that part of our promise in 1996. If there is a tornado warning for a county in our DMA (Designated Market Area), we WILL be there. At any hour of the day or night, no matter what program is scheduled.

“Come here; part the bets!” So enters Dolokhov into our story, that “notorious gambler and duellist” with “clear blue eyes.” He bets an Englishman fifty imperials he can drink a whole bottle of rum while sitting on the outer windowsill. And, of course, he wins and is happy to let Pierre try his luck after him. Dolokhov is a 25-year-old infantry officer of “small means and no connections” who lives at great expense to Anatole, who looks up to him.