First Draft Theater

On this All Hallow's Eve Eve, I'm diving into the history of Halloween—specifically its ties to social inversion, political action, and contradictions—to investigate why it is that gay people seem to love Halloween so much.

Also, holy bad audio, Batman. I got a new mixer and did a terrible job adjusting the levels. If I weren't trying to get this episode out in time for Halloween, I would've re-recorded to save your ears. So thanks for bearing with me on this one.

Links mentioned:

Get the full works cited at http://patreon.com/jacksonbird

One of several wonderful obituaries of David J. Skal https://archive.ph/ADZm0

David J. Skal's books https://www.librarything.com/author/skaldavidj

My latest appearance on Harry Potter and the Sacred Text https://www.harrypottersacredtext.com/episodes/every-once-in-a-while-we-like-to-take-step-back-

Everything I've said to condemn Harry Potter https://www.jacksonbird.cool/single-post/almost-everything-i-ve-said-publicly-about-harry-potter-and-the-author-who-torched-her-legacy

Join my Stitch Streams on Mondays at 6 PM ET http://twitch.tv./jackisnotabird

Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound. They're an amazing resource for creators. Want in? Use my referral link to sign up and I'll get a li'l kick back: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/37uu44

How to experience the joy of missing out.

L I N K S M E N T I O N E D

JOMO proliferations:

- First book: https://bookshop.org/a/826/9780865717671

- App: https://jomo.so/

- Song by Eric Hutchinson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQFhOQHCaUM

- Movement: https://experiencejomo.com/

- Comic: https://www.leunig.com.au/works/recent-cartoons/769-jomo

JOMO citations:

- https://health.clevelandclinic.org/jomo-the-joy-of-missing-out

- https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/01/04/fomo-jomo-joy-missing-out/

- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0033294120980970

Other:

- https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/08/same-sex-couples-geographic-variation.html

- ‘How to Read a Book’: https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-read-a-book-revised-and-updated-mortimer-j-adler/1408400?ean=9780671212094&next=t&affiliate=826

- ‘Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2’ Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vQPPEka0ls

- Type 2 Fun: https://www.rei.com/blog/climb/fun-scale

- “What is Trans JOMO?” by Flint Del Sol: https://substack.com/@justflintisfine/p-160260900

- Trans day of Staying In and Having a Nice Snack: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNEx3k1BHUl/?hl=en

End Notes:

- ‘The Sirens’ Call’ by Chris Hayes: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-sirens-call-how-attention-became-the-world-s-most-endangered-resource-chris-hayes/21744711?ean=9780593653111&next=t&affiliate=826

- ‘Slow Productivity’ by Cal Newport: https://bookshop.org/p/books/slow-productivity-the-lost-art-of-accomplishment-without-burnout-cal-newport/20143790?ean=9780593544853&next=t&affiliate=826

- ‘The Power of Ritual’ by Casper ter Kuile: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-power-of-ritual-turning-everyday-activities-into-soulful-practices-casper-ter-kuile/18996866?ean=9780062881823&next=t&affiliate=826

- Many resources on tech shabbats by Tiffany Shlain: https://www.tiffanyshlain.com/tech-shabbat

- “An Obituary for Reading the Internet” by Anne Helen Peterson: https://annehelen.substack.com/p/an-obituary-for-reading-the-internet

- Mozilla’s announcement about shutting down Pocket: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/future-of-pocket

Jack of All Trades:

- SciShow Tangents Poetry Collection’: **https://complexly.store/products/tangents-poetry-collection

- My short video about what I learned my first winter in New England: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xa851HYV3vc

- My long video about why I left NYC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCtjoE7jAD0&feature=youtu.be

- Get in touch with my speaking bureau: https://www.freshspeakers.com/speakers/jackson-bird/

- Or email me directly at [email protected]

Follow me:

- http://firstdrafttheater.substack.com

- http://jacksonbird.cool

- http://youtube.com/jackisnotabird

- http://instagram.com/jackisnotabird

- https://bsky.app/profile/jackisnotabird.cool

- http://twitch.tv/jackisnotabird

Post-election thoughts on coping and not waiting for permission

Links:

Transgender History: The Roots of Today's Revolution by Susan Stryker: https://bookshop.org/p/books/transgender-history-the-roots-of-today-s-revolution-susan-stryker/7605046?ean=9781580056892

Loren Rex Cameron tribute service: https://vimeo.com/854714199

Body Alchemy by Loren Rex Cameron https://archive.org/details/2023-07-24-64becdf-6d-94be-transsexualportraitsfull-compressed

Recommendations:

The reFRESH newsletter on Substack: https://refreshnewsletter.substack.com/

FRESH Labs' The Green Room podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/freshlabsthegreenroom/episodes/Episode-3--Shannon-Watts---How-your-flaws-can-be-your-superpower-e2pi10f

Ahsante Bean's democracy video series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqUsmlaOefY

Shakespeare In a Divided America by James Shapiro: https://bookshop.org/p/books/shakespeare-in-a-divided-america-what-his-plays-tell-us-about-our-past-and-future-james-shapiro/12077112?ean=9780525522317

Small excerpt of the chapter I mentioned: https://lithub.com/shakespeare-and-the-culture-wars-on-the-movement-for-color-blind-casting/

What I've Been Up To:

My latest video, about moving and big life changes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCtjoE7jAD0

Selected short-form videos:

- My 2023 Twilight phase (Instagram version)

- The unexpected hobby I took up after the podcast ended (Instagram version)

- This top-recommended Halloween destination is also one of my favorites to visit for Christmas (Instagram version)

- A fun way to track the books you read in a year (Instagram version)

- A 2-for-1 Ghostbusters travel recommendation (Instagram version)

If you, like me, think my book ‘Sorted’ could use an update, I have a recommendation for you.

Links:

My first book, Sorted: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Sorted/Jackson-Bird/9781982130770

Blog post about everything I've said about Harry Potter and the Author Who Torched Her Legacy: https://www.jacksonbird.cool/single-post/almost-everything-i-ve-said-publicly-about-harry-potter-and-the-author-who-torched-her-legacy

The episode of How do you like it so far? that I was on: https://www.howdoyoulikeitsofar.org/1325-2/

Timestamps for How do you like it so far?:

0:00 - Origin story

10:45 - TERF Talk

38:00 - HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series

46:20 - What I’ve been up to in recent years, and what I think about making art for different mediums as well as on topics beyond HP / trans stuff

Recommendations:

Material Girls podcast: https://www.ohwitchplease.ca/material-girls

Rachel Maddow on Seth Meyers: https://youtu.be/oNnyTqae-zM?si=pGzv-k6sjT0Hcg66&t=30

Cher's new Christmas album: https://open.spotify.com/album/4Eeeg4yMb5qtMEm0lk6lDM?si=nnIE1aMHTCmztlHP97rpVw

Earth, Wind, and Fire's 2014 Christmas album: https://open.spotify.com/album/2clJOOkMz707eU2OnHgS0z?si=9z3KliFmSoW9RM5KLFE55A

Chris Daily's latest Christmas album: https://chrisdaily.bandcamp.com/album/seasonal-sounds

Paul DeGeorge's Christmas mixes: http://pauldegeorge.com/index.php/xmas-mixes/

Resource document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZWq5PwfCMRd54Ovs61Jtr8Mxfhqp1tvaiu5sy1b_LsM/edit?usp=sharing

What I've Been Up To:

See me in The Infinite Wrench: https://www.nyneofuturists.org/tiw

Donate to our 20th anniversary fundraiser: https://pages.donately.com/newyorkneofuturists/fundraiser/jack-s-ny-neo-futurist-20th-anniversary-fundraising-page

Latest episode of Harry Potter and the Sacred Text that I guest hosted: https://www.harrypottersacredtext.com/episodes/this-week-vanessa-and-jackson-bird-explore-the-theme-of-possibility-in-chapter-eighteen-of-harry-potter-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix-they-discuss-the-room-of-requirement-dobbys-newly-free-life-and-umbridges-stifling-oversight-throughout-the-episode-we-consider-the-question-how-do-we-discern-what-kinds-of-change-are-possible-in-our-current-stage-of-life--next-week-were-looking-at-the-entire-series-through-the-theme-of-intellectual-humility

My latest YouTube video: https://youtu.be/H433bjjxR0A

Some notes on Substack Notes, a few (unintentionally queer) recommendations, and updates from my projects.

Links:

The first episode of Techmeme Ride Home I guest hosted this week, which includes more on the Substack vs. Twitter beef https://art19.com/shows/techmeme-ridehome/episodes/e7ac2988-631f-4ddb-a848-02837c8dbaaa

Everything to know about using Notes https://on.substack.com/p/notes-faq

Why I'm ehhhh on Substack generally https://mashable.com/article/substack-writers-leaving-misinformation

Framing Agnes trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYnzUodIl14

Sharing Space from The Trevor Project, episode one featuring Daniel Radcliffe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBFvppAL48U

The Northern Boys' "Give It To Me" music video (audio NSFW) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zljDDcTnTG0

My Cool Stuff Ride Home segment on the Northern Boys https://art19.com/shows/coronavirus-daily-briefing/episodes/ece9b8a8-dbd4-4181-96a8-84841991f629

The Gender Friend by Oakley Rae Phoenix https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-gender-friend-a-102-guide-to-gender-identity-oakley-phoenix/18491568?ean=9781839973574

Tickets for The Infinite Wrench https://www.nyneofuturists.org/tiw

Plus corn cob crust pizza and an update on the Internet Archive.

Links I mentioned:

Kate Erbland's review of A Good Person https://www.indiewire.com/2023/03/a-good-person-zach-braff-manic-pixie-dream-girl-1234821853/

Nathan Rabin's review of Elizabethtown https://www.avclub.com/the-bataan-death-march-of-whimsy-case-file-1-elizabet-1798210595

Joseph Goron-Levitt addressing 500 Days of Summer https://www.teenvogue.com/story/joseph-gordon-levitt-tweets-500-days-of-summer

John Green addressing Looking for Alaska https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r4S9iTje0s

Cool Stuff Ride Home episode about "goblin mode" being the OED's 2022 Word of the Year https://www.ridehome.info/show/kottke-ride-home/mon-1205-will-sherlock-holmes-go-goblin-mode/

My "Manic Pixie Dream Wannabe" play https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e2Iz0Fcs4s

Lady Charles' "Manic Pixie Dream Boy" music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5Ayoo8yiT0

Lady Charles' "Godx" music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7icDShiwoew

Little Caesars' Corncob crust pizza https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/little-caesars-new-corncob-pizza-crust-has-the-internet-split-2092465/

Pretzel crust announcement https://www.tiktok.com/@littlecaesarspizza/video/7215210227950636334

Trans Legislation Tracker https://translegislation.com/

The Trans Week project https://www.trans-week.com/

The Gender Friend by Oakley Phoenix* https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-gender-friend-a-102-guide-to-gender-identity-oakley-phoenix/18491568?ean=9781839973574

Oakley's book launch https://events.willamette.edu/event/memoir-writing-workshop--book-launch-party-1/

The Infinite Wrench https://www.nyneofuturists.org/tiw

Online registration for the Moving Trans History Forward conference https://www.uvic.ca/mthf2023/registration/index.php

University of Victoria's Trans Archive https://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/

*If you use this Bookshop.org link, I'll get a little kickback

About Those New Moon Suits… Plus, soapy chicken, Blackberry, and SUPER BLOOM.

Links I mentioned:

Axiom/NASA moonsuit announcement livestream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KnOtI4fS3U

NYT fashion critic on the moon suits https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/15/style/nasa-axiom-new-spacesuit.html

Astounding by Alec-Nevala Lee https://bookshop.org/a/826/9780062571953

Moonrise podcast https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/moonrise/introducing-moonrise/

Paul Rudd asks NASA about the quantum realm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZp5-TFTlIY

The For All Mankind companion podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-all-mankind-the-official-podcast/id1552072013

More on the NYT's irresponsible and sloppy reporting on trans issues https://www.glaad.org/new-york-times-sign-on-letter-from-lgtbq-allied-leaders-and-organizations

The video I shot of the Super Bloom https://youtube.com/shorts/nL0EXEiBRiE?feature=share

The CIA's old policy of not hiring gay people https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2018/may/11/cia-polygraph/

The CIA now cruises at SXSW https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/what-is-the-cia-doing-at-sxsw/

Blackberry trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXL_HDzBQsM

One of my favorite ProZD videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUrRsx-F_bs

Soapy Costco chicken https://www.bonappetit.com/story/why-costco-rotisserie-chicken-taste-soapy

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin https://bookshop.org/a/826/9781250794642

The Gender Friend by Oakley Phoenix https://bookshop.org/a/826/9781839973574

Oakley's book launch that I'll be at https://events.willamette.edu/event/memoir-writing-workshop--book-launch-party-1/

The Infinite Wrench, which I'll be performing in this spring https://www.nyneofuturists.org/tiw

Follow me on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok at jackisnotabird

If you use the above links to purchase any of the books I mentioned, I'll get a little kickback.

In this introductory episode, I explain the meaning behind the name of this newsletter and give the podcasting feature a test drive.

Subscribe on Substack: http://firstdrafttheater.substack.com

Watch on YouTube: http://youtube.com/jackisnotabird

Links I mentioned:

Please Report Your Bug Here by Josh Riedel* https://bookshop.org/p/books/please-report-your-bug-here-josh-riedel/18396148?ean=9781250813794

Almond milk is milk! https://apnews.com/article/us-food-and-drug-administration-business-health-nutrition-ed2acef14a014eef30a0fd24f98be07b

David Bowie impersonating other popular musicians https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrtXFTw2ico

Which generation controls the Senate? https://www.wcd.fyi/features/senate-generations/

My guest spot on Harry Potter and the Sacred Text https://www.harrypottersacredtext.com/episodes/vulnerability-the-house-elf-liberation-front-book

The summer camp-style retreat hosted by Not Sorry https://notsorryworks.com/calling-all-magnificent-people

Everything I've said about JKR https://www.jacksonbird.cool/single-post/almost-everything-i-ve-said-publicly-about-harry-potter-and-the-author-who-torched-her-legacy

Tickets for The Infinite Wrench https://www.nyneofuturists.org/tiw

The Neo-Futurists’ Instagram to check for show updates https://www.instagram.com/nyneofuturists/ 

The music you heard was “Trumpet Man” by Timothy Infinite, available on Epidemic Sound. Want access to tons of really great tracks? Use my ambassador link: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/37uu44

*If you use this Bookshop.Org link, I’ll get a little kickback