The Fools’ Errands

I feel like the up top has been full of Horrors lately, and honestly - fuck that. This month I’d like to encourage you to sit in the sun like a cat for 15 minutes. Maybe run yourself a nice bath if that’s something you can do. Perhaps go to a movie by yourself. I’ve included more Links 4 U than usual this month so there are actionable, informational, and comforting items.

Per usual we've included things coming in the upcoming month, and a look at what's happening on our Patreon (which you can join for ~as little as a dollar~) & Discord which is open to all!

Shifting into Feelings Mode:

STELLA:

April! WOW! Crazy times. I can’t believe I have a five month old. Are you sick of me talking about being a mom? Well get used to it cuz I’m post partum forever and it’s everyone’s problem! I wish we lived in a world that wasn’t run by ai, data generation and pedophiles because my kid is cute as hell and I wanna show him off! Big bummer for you tbh. 

I’m a huge comic book reader as you all know and I have one question: are Spider-Man fans ok? Like I fundamentally believe you can’t be a Spider-Man fan and an X-men fan in terms of weekly pulls because there are too many of each category and as an X-Idiot who is sick of my little guys being tortured yall are out here so happy Mr Peter Parker Spider-Man is sad again. I read Life Story for book club and it was sad! I watched the trailer for the new movie and it was sad! You are sickos! 

Been shopping my bookshelf still which has lead to me reading a lot of mid books. Which is so funny to me. You mean I carried this book around for years only for it to be meh as hell? Open Books Chicago is about to get a lot of donations lol. But I do recommend it. It’s been really fun to read what I own? Shocking. Worst book I read off my shelf Paradise Rot. Such a metal title. Such a boring useless book. Thank god it was short. Best book off my shelf I read this month Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema. It’s so funny. Such an easy read. Highly recommend for fans of movies and books of essays. But maybe don’t google Lindy West right now because there is A LOT of stupid discourse about her new book. 

I’m just so fucking happy Chris Fleming is everywhere right now. Talk about a comic that deserves it! His new special is very funny. Even the young hat salesman and Lin-Manuel Miranda agree. 

Still slowly on my quest to watch all of Star Wars chronologically, and on my quest to read all of The New 52. Season 4 of Clone Wars SLAPS. Volume one of Green Arrow is maybe the worst comic I’ve ever read? TBD.  

This Charlie XCX sound is all over Instagram and TikTok but have you seen the video? It’s so good! 

Finally, it’s time we fire all streamers and bring back cable.  I’m tired of it! I just want to watch Women’s basketball what do you mean I need like three different streamers to do that??? I may have trouble watching but shout out to the WNBA players who didn’t back down and got new contracts! The people hold the power. Don’t let the corps control things!

ERIN:

Hello friends. I’m in a strange place where I’m experiencing a manic episode that makes me feel euphoria while simultaneously living through all of The Horrors. Which, as we know, are fucking awful. I thought at first I was experiencing a “mini” mania but jkjk I’m fully in the climb. I feel guilty for feeling so up while the entire world feels like it’s collapsing.

I’ve mentioned journaling many times in the past and I’m finding myself leaning on that again. This time though! I’ve been doing almost exclusively micro-journaling. I set a prompt at the beginning of the notebook (“How are you doing?”) and use it for every entry. I have a dedicated notebook that I partitioned off the pages into thirds to emphasize the “micro” part. I don’t do it every day, just when I remember. It takes all the pressure off “I have to do this.” It took me about 9 months to finish the last notebook and it was really helpful to look back and be able to track the depressive episode I finally emerged from. Who could have guessed that examining your moods and feelings is Good, Actually.

PRODUCER BOBBY:

As I sat down to write this my door buzzer rang with packages for me. Inside of them were fancy tinned fish and an emergency first-aid kit for my backpack. That’s the vibe check. 

Last month I had a bit of a hobby explosion, probably an energy shift or maybe attempts at coping with grief or like both and a secret third thing. 

So for a bit now I’ve been taking this online bass guitar course at bassbuzz.com. I was skeptical at first about taking an online music course but the creator/instructor is overall quite charming and I LOVE his teaching method. The course focuses on physical practice before getting into any music theory and is structured in a way that actually makes me excited for the next lesson. I had taken in-person lessons in the past that just didn’t click so I’m really happy with all the course materials and videos. 

On top of that I am now learning Bitwig Studio, a digital audio workstation with some really cool grid noisemaking features that I don’t understand yet. But it’s fun to tinker with, they have native Linux support, and I was able to get my Arturia Minilab 3 and some plugins working with it on Linux without too much trouble. 

Also, remember that DJ videogame Fuser? It was a fun music maker that crashed and burned due to licensing and timing, but nerds will now let you download it for free and it has a bonkers modding community that is still making custom tracks of current songs for it! Instructions here. It’s just so fun and also probably fucking obnoxious for anyone not you. But like give yourself that every once in a while. 

I ALSO fell into the rabbit hole of long range radio hardware being used as no cellular network, no wi-fi text and GPS communication and found Chicago has its own Meshcore communications relay network. It is impossible to talk about this without sounding like a c R a Z y P e R s O n but I legit just think the tech is cool and potentially useful for camping and alsomaybetheendoftheworld OK moving on! 

R E C S

Cry count for Project Hail Mary was 4.5. I always challenge any move that’s longer than 90 minutes to prove that extra time is necessary and I want to see the original 3 hour cut of this one like today. It’s beautiful. Space is fucking beautiful. 

It’s also weird. Check out this video on the evolving disagreement of how quickly our universe is expanding, discrepancies in its age, and also the nature of dark matter. 

Music? How about Dhyana, buddhist meditative doom metal. A solo project that absolutely nails its described vibe. A wealth of music has been released for this project since 2021, and the new album Amata is another solid volume of slow-paced vibrational walls of sound.   

 These were all two huge paragraphs initially! I must like you.

This month’s Links 4 U:

• Pre-Ordering Books Makes You More of a Citizen of Literature

• Women inside the “correctional” facilities want you to join the fight for abolition 

• How Pixar’s Open Sexism Ruined My Dream Job - excellent column about what it was like living through employment at Pixar as a woman

• in this edition of AI is bullshit: Kenyan workers talk about their role in an extractive technology that relies on the brutal labor of underpaid workers around the world.

• Support artists and leave a public comment telling the government it should leave artists the fuck alone - comments close on April 27th

  • Summarized advice from the FSC (from their lobbyists) was that you should tell your story/explain why the issue is important to you, and – most importantly – clearly say what you want the Fed to do about it. In this case, eliminating "reputation risk" from the Board's supervisory programs

And some good news? There are little free libraries opening in bodegas across NYC! They are taking donations if you'd like to contribute

Enjoy this wonderful article about Harlow, a trans nightlife icon

If you like fashion commentary i cannot recommend this account enough. His knowledge and sharp eye really help you understand the tone of collections and history of red carpet appearances

Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to stop funding NPR and PBS is “unlawful and unenforceable,” a federal judge ruled! You can read the whole opinion here 

Things coming this month:

• New Not Your Demo! Only on Patreon!

• Instagram, still, sigh: @nydproductions you can get show announcements, hilarious clips, a truly unhinged array of reposts, and general revelry. (Upscroll? Erin is squatting her name)

• Schrödinger’s Tumblr!

• Someone needs the keys to the kingdom on Bluesky @nydproductions

Exclusive to our Patreon (it's only a dollar!) and open for all Discord!

• Join the book club in April! Discord has all the (virtual, do not worry) meetup information! We’re reading Remarkably Bright Creatures if you have particularly strong opinions on that one.

• Xtras on the Patreon include:

  • All of the Erin’s Not Your Demo After Darks are available 

  • Unofficial Channels archive is there 4 u

  • Outtakes from X-treks

And in the Discord, let’s hang out! We’ve got lots of cool little internet rooms.

• Memes that are truly out of control. They bleed into every part of the Discord so pick your poison!

• Want to talk about all the goodwill the Men’s Olympic Hockey Team pissed away in the wake of Heated Rivalry? Interested in discussing the amazing WNBA and how baller all those women are? Need to mourn the White Sox/literally any MLB team? We do occasionally talk sports!  

• Erin had been on a hiatus but will be back in April with liveposting fanfic in Stella’s Link Lounge! She’s also documenting it on our Instagram highlights. She still needs Peggy/Stan Mad Men fic (It’s gotta be out there, they literally don’t get together until the last minutes of the show!). But is also looking for Sex Pollen entryways. The time has come.

Ope