‘funny,’ not funny

We start by talking about what we like and don’t like about the band Cheekface. It’s mostly like. Then we talk about the novel Heavy Weather by P.G. Woodhouse. We talk about the line through Red Dwarf from that author and style of writing. We go on to discuss The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Nighttime by Mark Haddon and we discuss what we find dark and light about that novel. Lionel felt a lot of the influence of the band XTC in the story, which takes place in Swindon.We move on to discuss Charade and somehow find ourselves comparing movies in the 1960s landing on the hit musical Singing In The Rain, which Lionel has not seen but will watch in the future.We make plans to talk with film maker Andrew Silver to compare 3 treatments of the J. Robert Oppenheimer story.We try to end by slamming 2010: The Year We Make Contact but discuss a book retelling the making of the original film, The Making of 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stephanie Schwam.Jim says he started reading The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. and we agree to discuss in a future episode.Lionel says what he wants to do is complete a reading of Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. The conversation devolves into two old men kvetching about various health concerns and this episode croaks.

Julia Tenney joins us for what we are pretty sure is the 100th episode of our obscure podcast. Depending on how you count, considering that Jim forgot to press record on episode 2 of Season 1 (so, not counted) and there were some encore episodes (so, not counted) this one should be the actual 100th.We start by talking about Jim’s new apple watch and then veer perpendicularly headlong into Pokémon Go. Then we discuss the recent eclipse and all of our various vantage points. Julia says that she thinks the dawn of science must have coincided with experiences of eclipses, which is an opinion shared by PBS.We discuss The Midnight Library (referenced in a previous episode), as recommended by Julia, and the Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. (to be referenced in a future episode), which was also recommended by Julia, which links back to our eclipse discussion. Lionel mentions The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (which we will discuss in the very next episode). We talk about the TV show Resident Alien, and the refreshing way the show deals with Native American communities and characters.Julia talks about work she is doing for the Independent Film Festival, processing images for their website.Of the movies that are coming to the festival, Julia is most excited about Janet Planet, which is playing at the same time as The Road to Ruane, about a person that Jim says he saw all around the Boston rock scene of the 90s. Janet Planet triggers Julia’s memory of ushering for the Boston production of Sleep No More, and we talk about that for a good long while before Jim and Julia bash out the details surrounding Jim’s band playing on Julia’s porch for PorchFest in Somerville, MA, May 11 at 2pm.As if our conversation couldn’t get more self-involved, we shift deftly to discuss the merits of ice cream and beer. Then we hit again upon { feuilleton } and Johnathan Coulthart. In this way, we land on the topic of Optima, and other typefaces. We are reminded of the old press-type kits called Letraset, and long lost art of manual layout. At this point, over an hour in, we find our theme and play the intro music. Then we quibble and mumble on about waxers and typography until our 100th episode expends its final fuel and collapses in on itself.

This week we talk about The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Suggested by Julia Tenney, this book deals with regrets we've felt throughout life and wishing we could go back and fix things. Lionel contrasts this book with The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Nighttime by Mark Haddon. The conversation turns to a book Jim wants to write about acceptance and meditation. We finish up by talking about the recent total eclipse, and our two vantage points, and how unlikely and precious our earth and universe is. Short description this time, but this pretty much covers our conversation this week.

This week, we welcomed Bing Broderick as our guest.Bing Broderick comes to justBook-ish after years in marketing, community organizing, and nonprofit management. Early in his career, he marketed and sold music into niche outlets across the country (including bookstores) as Director of Special Marketing for the Cambridge-based record label, Rounder Records. Mid-career, Broderick shifted his focus to food justice, arriving at the Boston-based nonprofit Haley House to manage the newly launched social enterprise Haley House Bakery Café. Located in Nubian Square, Roxbury, the Café; provided hearty heathy food, a vital community space, and a workplace for men and women who faced significant barriers to employment. In December 2013, Broderick succeeded Haley House‘s founder as Executive Director of the non-profit organization, stewarding (in addition to the cafe) its soup kitchen, food pantry, housing, farm and educational programs. Bing transitioned out of this role in April 2022, having welcomed Haley House‘s new Executive Director, Reggie Jean. He will be opening justBook-ish in Dorchester with co-founder, Porsha Olayiwola, in Summer 2024.We talk about his past and present projects, the history of Haley House, poetry slams, the business of running a bookstore, and his experience at Rounder Records.For books, we discuss Bing’s reading of Morgenthau: Power, Privilege, and the Rise of an American Dynasty by Andrew Meier.Lionel talks about reading Ulysses S. Grant: A Biography by Robert P. Broadwater and The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss by Edmund de WaalWe touch on Oppenheimer and Maestro, which Lionel asserts are variations on the same movie.Bing says he read In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson.In our discussion of Rounder Records, we mention a startup called Hear Music. The Wikipedia article omits most of its early history, but it was originally a music catalog that was eventually bought out by Starbucks.During his time at Rounder, Bing met Iris Dement who was on the label for a number of years.We end with a discussion of the summertime opening of justBook-ish in Fields Corner in Dorchester, MA.

Lionel talks about The Three Body Problem, both the novels by Liu Cixin and the Netflix series. We contrast the style of this series with our recent reads. Lionel contrasts the tv show with Red Queen on Prime. Back to The 3 Body Problem again, we discuss the ideas of Alastair Reynolds (not Ian) and killer alien traps.We then launch into an enervating discussion of doing taxes and finding a general practitioner. This only lasts 12 minutes, so you might want to fast forward.We talk about the different styles of writing in Science Fiction and the origins in pulp fiction started by writers like Asimov and evolving to present day fiction.

Dar joins the pod to tell us about her experience writing What I Found In A Thousand Towns, her songwriting and creative process, her experience in Beacon New York with Roger Ailes, the remarkable Jaimie Raskin, our relationship to art, the environment, and each other, Active Citizenship, and so much more.I could not find the live performance of The Mark Rothko song. If someone knows where it is, please send an email so I can post it here.Dar's WebsiteWriting A Song That Matters (her retreat)ReferencesAll song clips included with permission from Dar Williams.

Lionel and Jim start by inexplicably talking about oat and almond milk. Lionel talks about how he considers upstate New York New England as per American Nations by Colin Woodard. We run through some of the "Nations" again. They touch quickly on tax season before Jim talks about his read of Burn Book: A Tech Love Story by Kara Swisher. Naturally, this leads us to Calvinism in America. Jim asserts with no real authority, that John Calvin was a kind of logician who was a religious writer. His point is that Americans tend to imbue the rich with knowledge and wisdom they may not actually possess. Lionel mentions the PBS series Triumph (not revenge) of the Nerds and talks about how luck figures prominently into the story of success of most tech billionaires. We touch on our impressions of The Social Network again and Jim talks about the Winklevoss twins and their role or non-role in the creation of Facebook as well as other supporting characters in that story. Naturally, we discuss the dawn of file sharing apps like Napster and Kazaa.Jim returns to Burn Book and Kara Swisher’s writing and speaking style, highlighting her writings on Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. They contrast their two approaches to the dawn of personal computing. Jim mentions the print ads his father worked on for Apple. He also talks about working on the Xerox computer that was the inspiration for the MacIntosh.Jim moves on to talk about MacKenzie Scott, misrepresenting her original pile of money which was 40 Billion, not 100 Billion, touching back on Kara Swisher's book. Lionel talks about the possible origins of the nature of the philosophy of wealth in the USA.Jim talks about the dangers of allowing for the creation of billionaires. Lionel says the interesting issue is that of inheritance.Lionel and Jim have both read Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel and both really liked it. Lionel talks first about the tone of the novel and they both move on to talking about elements of the plot they liked. Lionel wonders of St. John Mandel was thinking about the book Blackout by Connie Willis, seeing parallels between that book and Sea of Tranquility. And yes, of course, Lionel mentions Piranesi by Suzanna Clarke. They talk about the autobiographical notes that pop up in Sea of Tranquility.Lionel talks about watching Resident Alien with Alan Tudyk. Jim talks about watching The Gentlemen by Guy Ritchie. Lionel mentions watching Tenet which he found exasperating and inexplicable. Jim brings up the movie Primer, which he says is way more cryptic. Lionel says he finds time travel movies and books a bit exhausting, but loves William Gibson’s approach in his later novels. Jim reminds Lionel of Timebomb by Scott K. Andrews, and Scott’s meticulous approach to overlapping timelines. Sea of Tranquility doesn’t aggravate Lionel in the same way as these other novels. Jim talks about how science fiction is becoming elevated in status lately with advances in tech.They veer into the breakdown lane and lurch to a stop.

We start by talking about the possible death of TikTok in the USA and move on to introduce Julia Tenney and marvel over her pysanky eggs, the methods for their creation, and their Ukrainian and eastern European roots. Lionel discusses the historical Piranesi and his sketches. This leads us to talk about dreams and their origins and consequences. We launch into a discussion of Dune, the books by Frank Herbert, and a little about the first recent movie. None of us had seen the second. Lionel mentions his enjoyment of the movie Bullet Train, directed by David Leitch, not Guy Ritchie with Brad Pitt.We talk a bit about The Fifth Element and Valerian and the City of A Thousand Planets which Lionel says taps into the aesthetic of the artist Moebius.Julia recommends a book called House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski which must be enjoyed physically as a printed book. She is also reading S. (Dorst) (Ship of Theseus) by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams which is also full of printed marginalia. Finally, she says she read The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland which is about time travel and witchcraft. Julia also mentions The Midnight Library by Matt Haig about someone with regrets who moves into the multiverse to experience alternate timelines.Jim mentions that he has some Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz books to return to Julia. Jim is a regular listener to their podcast Our Opinions Are Correct. Julia mentions, correctly, that she was responsible for our podcast’s name.We finally get down to the “Theme” which is Julia’s quantum daydreaming. She talked about going back to Pennsic Warwhich is a medieval reenactment festival in Western Pennsylvania. She found out recently that her ex, who fought for her in Crown Tournaments, is dying from something fatal and painful. So, she’s been thinking about quantum reality and doing meditations on it via The 3AM Reading and the Reality Shifting Reddit. We talk about lucid dreaming and meditation practices involving dreams. Jim quotes the title of a John Cougaralbum and Lionel quotes Miller from The Expanse. Lionel also mentions the German TV series Counterpart, where there are 2 Berlins superimposed upon each other. Jim brings up Robert Downey Junior today vs in the 80s and talks about his own past decisions.Jim says he wants to see a fanfic erotic love story written about the podcast. We act out a little of what it would be like. Lionel says his fantasy is to make a porn movie with all the sex cut out. Jim says he wrote that song and Julia remembers him doing a mashup of Porno Plot with Meanies, sung in a Christopher Walken voice.We agree to talk more about Vampires in our next meeting and Julia says it wasn’t Anne Rice who brought Dracula back but the Broadway Show and the movie with Frank Langela. Jim wonders why vampires are so sexy. Lionel contrasts the characters of Dracula and Frankenstein and says he wants to see the movie The Master and Margarita.In closing, Julia plugs her website where you can view and buy her pysanky eggs, and Jim and she talk about their original meeting in Syracuse and Utica.

Discussion of Bram Stoker’s Dracula starts with Jim trying to do a Boston Brahmin accent, and talks about his daughter’s inexplicable accent when she was younger. They move on to talk about xenophobia in the book, alongside the treatment of the other in Frankenstein. We return to Mary Shelley’s work repeatedly to compare and contrast. Lionel mentions all the new technology occurring in Bram Stoker’s book. Jim compares the book favorably to the movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula with Gary Oldman. Lionel mentions the film Renfield with Nicholas Cage. Jim maintains that the book is really about the fear associated with rampant colonialism by Victorian England, Lionel is skeptical about this notion. They touch on the predecessors to Stoker’s book, including The Vampyre by John William Polidori, writing alongside Mary Shelley’s book.Jim goes further out on a limb by suggesting the book can be read as a fear of aristocratic power, and ultra-wealth, pointing out that the story centers around a real-estate deal. We talk about Stoker’s treatment of the Romani people, and implicit bigotry there. We note the attitude to the lost Byzantine empire in the text as well.Lionel talks about how improvements to quality of life in England feature prominently in Bram Stoker’s book. He wonders why this book is the leading vampire novel, rather than Carmilla or The Vampyre, or Nosferatu.In the middle of this discussion, Lionel wonders why so many Phillip K. Dick stories were turned into films, rather than Samuel R. Delaney or other authors. Jim mis-titles Dahlgren as Grendal. Jim says that he used to go to Blade Runner over and over in the Theater when he was younger, and explains why he found it so deep. In Blade Runner, we find our modern tie-in to Frankenstein. We talk about Vangelis, and his important role in the film. Lionel mentions a documentary about him as well as Dangerous Days, which is the account of the creation of the movie. They talk about The Ladd Company and Sir Run Run Shaw. We poo-poo the sequel and the edits. Lionel mentions the deleted scenes he found on youtube.The talk about how these two kings of the bad guys (Frankenstein and Dracula) continue to live on and be relevant to our modern minds.Not knowing when to leave well enough alone, Jim continues back to his comparison to billionaires as vampires, contrasting The Lost Boys to Anne Rice, saying that some Dracula stories are replete with money-porn (his term, not colloquial). Lionel continues to resist this idea that fear of extreme wealth is an intrinsic part of the narrative.Jim lists the Erratica from the last episode, as the life from this episode drains away.

Jim opens with a thread sent regarding the previous episode on Frankenstein. They incongruously launch into a debate about artificial sweeteners. We get back on track discussing the Transcendentalist movement and what came after, as written about in The Metaphysical Club. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. is one of the main characters. Lionel asserts that he is  the father of legal positivism, but that was  Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.Lionel mentions another character, Charles Sanders Peirce (aka Chauncy), who handled a disputed will in a large whaling industry family with the case of a forged signature.Lionel mentions that he re-read The Difference Engine by William Gibson & Bruce Sterling. He found it to be “rollicking good fun.” Jim snatches the conversation back and reads the weekly “Erratica,” a list of errors from the previous episode. Jim mentions that he re-watched Kung Fu Hustle, and Defending Your Life, with his kids with high marks for both. He mentions that he is currently reading Volume 2 of P.G. Wodehouse’s The Blandings Collection, on audio book, read by Stephen Fry, and enjoying it very much.Lionel says he bought three books recently and says he struck out on all three. One was Soulless by Gail Carriger, which he described as romance mixed with Anne Rice. He also tried to read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab. This falls into the impossible Manhattan lifestyle series of entertainments and money porn.We resolve to discuss Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandell and Dracula by Bram Stoker. Lionel and Jim return to the after effects of Piranesi by Suzanna Clarke. Lionel feels like the world in that book stays with him the way the game Myst did.We talk about the vampire genre and its grip on the public and then talk about what makes zombie movies appealing. Jim brings up The Walking Dead, which Lionel hasn't seen. We also touch lightly on Dawn of the Dead by George A. Romero. Jim wonders if zombie movies started with Omega Man. We wonder if the precursor to the empty world trope is Mary Shelley’s The Last Man. Lionel wonders about the effect of Nuclear War, AIDs, and dementia. Jim mentions The Day of The Triffids as a possible analog, but it doesn't match.Jim describes his recent trip and walk along the Farmington Canal, where he sent a photo of a plaque to Lionel to read, tying into our discussion of the Erie Canal. His father in law is working on a bike trail that will run the length of the Farmington Canal through Bristol.Lionel says he tried to watch the live action version of Avatar the Last Airbender and was not alone in hating it. Jim mentions that his daughters are currently enjoying Gilmore Girls. They talk about what it's like for kids to watch shows that are so much older than them and how changes in the way we enjoy entertainment has changed our watching habits. Lionel says his life was changed by Monty Python. Jim wonders where all the family sit-coms have gone and we bumble to a close.