PicoBlog

Given that this newsletter usually focuses on popular music in all its various forms, it’s no surprise that Taylor Swift comes up somewhat frequently. As of October 2023, the one-time country starlet is synonymous with “pop music”. Her current tour has been such a success that it grew local economies enough for the Federal Reserve to note it in a report. Her budding romance with Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce led to a 400% spike in his jersey sales.

In tonight’s nerve-scrapingly raw newsletter…! Robert Downey Jr.’s The Judge became briefly hot on Netflix, like a slew of box office bombs and forgotten programmers before it, a decade after its release. Bad Boys Ride or Die is agreeable, but significant character beats seem like Will Smith doing damage control akin to Tom Cruise’s third Mission: Impossible flick. Is Pixar abandoning culturally specific originals in favor of endless I.P., or is this another variation on the now-13-year-old “Pixar slump” narrative?

Hello how are you what have you been up to? I have been picking up my book-writing pace lately. I just finished a chapter that clocked in at 12,541 words (woof), and am 2,172 words into the next one. So, before I fall back into a writing hole, I thought I’d have some fun with today’s Thing That’s Distracting Me From Actual Work Because I Have Absolutely No Willpower To Not Check The Internet Compulsively.

Grief is a rollercoaster. Some days, pain. Other days, joy. At times, it’s both—or nothing. At grief’s origin, we participate in somber public rituals, like a funeral, to acknowledge the events. But afterwards, grief becomes private, awkward. People don’t want to ask if you’re sad, and you’re not sure if you want them to ask. Sometimes you want to punch a wall. Sometimes you want to yell. Sometimes you wish someone would just put their hand on your shoulder for a moment and ask “are you okay?

You write great music. You have a good pace of releasing new music. You are doing your promo pitch just in time to increase your shots of getting into Spotify’s editorial playlists. You’re submitting your music to independent playlisters. Yet nothing happens. A few thousand streams, mainly connected with your promo efforts. No retention in monthly listeners, only a handful of followers and organic playlist adds. And then, at some point, magic happens.

Hi, guys! Over the years, we’ve discussed replacing or shrinking the lawn quite a bit in this space. But, aside from using clover, my focus has been primarily on replacing turf grasses with an ever-expanding perennial bed, preferably one packed with native plants. I’ve only barely touched on other groundcovers. That’s why I’ve brought Kathy Jentz here with me today. Kathy is editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine, host of the popular GardenDC podcast (on which I was fortunate to be a guest twice, here and here) and winner of too many awards to detail.

This week in History Club we talked about the best-selling book, A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn. A People's History of the United States is arguably the most influential history book of the past 40 years. It’s sold more than 2 million copies and inspired the Zinn Education Project, which has shaped history curricula in high schools and colleges across the U.S. Zinn’s work and ideas have also been at the heart of the American culture wars, lauded by Progressives activists and Hollywood icons (such as Matt Damon), and criticized by Conservative pundits and politicians (including former President Donald Trump).

Royal Families were our first celebrities. From Belgium, Spain and to the UK, these families have won our attentions through their works, fashion and best of all, drama. Please subscribe for gossip and stay for the discussion! By Lady Sinclair · Launched a year agoNo thanksncG1vNJzZmikkZnGtLXNnKOaoaJjwLau0q2YnKNemLyuew%3D%3D

Hugh Latimer (c.1487 – ) is a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. Summer, 1531. Cranmer and Latimer, arm in arm in Cromwell’s garden at Austin Friars. The priests of Anne’s household discuss theology beneath Halley’s Comet. Cromwell thinks: “Give them a season’s respite from Thomas More, and they will fall to persecuting each other.” “The mercy of God operates for Hugh. The Lord walks with him, and steps with him into a wherry, to disembark under the shadow of the Tower; this being so, there is no need for Thomas Cromwell.