✉️: Welcome to February (2025)

36 And Thinking About John Henry, Top Jokes Of January, Podcasts, Interviews, and Recommendations!

— This is a longer post than usual, so if you’re reading this via email, you might want to hop on over the web version here to read the full thing! —

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Table of Contents:

• February Letter From African America:

  • 36 And Thinking About John Henry

• Last Month Right Now!

• Stuff You Might’ve Missed:

  • A Presidential Transcript, You Are The Genre & Your Favorite Jokes From 2024

• Current Obsessions

• Somethin’ Else

• Song of the Month

  • “Fire Coming Out” by The Gorillaz

Letter From African America (February, 2025)

Dear readers,

While The Brutalist is a stunningly beautiful film, I was left far too conflicted by its ending to give it a five-star rating. I type this with the recently cemented knowledge that I no longer rate things with numbers and symbols. It’s just too much damn work to think that way and I have too many failed stops and starts at tracking my movie consumption on Letterboxd — an app with a missing “e” in its title that I find bothersome. Movies are best discussed immediately after over a meal with another human being. Second best is what I do here: typing to you in this monthly letter as a log of what stands out to me and why.

I’ve had a full range of feelings surrounding this ritual. The letters began with experimental excitement. On occasion, I’ve poured more emotion into an entry than I’ve ever expressed out loud, and there were many months last year when it felt more like a chore. But there’s something to sticking with it. Often, chores lead to discoveries, and these days it feels less like an attempt at something and more like a thing I simply do. Also, chores keep your house clean and there ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.

A friend invited me to see The Brutalist with him in what resulted in my first experience watching a film at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It’s a beautiful space, inside and out, that makes movies feel like magic (dare I say, “again”). I arrived late due to construction chaos clogging the train system on weekends, but I loved the adrenaline rush of it all. Dashing in during a dark opening scene in a nearly packed house, darting to one of the few available spots in the second row, and sitting at an odd angle the required the straining of the neck to witness anything. We caught up during intermission, sat together during the second half, and wandered the streets of Brooklyn in shock that a movie about someone who felt so real is totally made up.

I turned 36 in January. It’s a heavy age, but at least my significant-significant other got me this cool hobbit-themed cake from Sugarpop Bakeshop:

January was an entire year packed into four weeks (an element of Trump’s first term that I’d forgotten about until now).

There was a gathering of friends the weekend ahead of my actual birthday on the 13th, and on said actual day I had a pleasant solo adventure, stepping out to see Nosferatu in a Manhattan theater. Seeing a movie by myself is one of my favorite experiences. It takes me back to some of those summer days when I was allowed to go outside and walk a few blocks to see a flick at the long-gone University Village 3 in Los Angeles, which I’m sure has been replaced by apartments. I thoroughly enjoyed the film. However, there was something about this experience that I found just as troubling as the missing “e” in Letterboxd.

As someone who has worked in movie theaters (and famously broke up a blowjob during a screening of Guardians of Ga'Hoole), I know firsthand that weekdays (especially Mondays) are slow, but for the entire experience at this Manhattan theater, I interacted with a total of two people. There was no one in the actual box office. Instead, on the window, was at taped sign directing me to purchase my ticket from a kiosk inside. Foolishly, I imagined one of the kiosks you used to see in the mall (or do those still exist?) operated by a human being, but instead the kiosk in question was a touch-screen device through which I could not only purchase my ticket but also my food and drink to be picked up steps away. The human being staring at me press these buttons had the singular task of tearing my ticket. I refused to purchase my popcorn from the machine, so instead approached the person behind the concessions stand to place my order out loud. All the while, this employee seemed confused as to why I did not silently place my order from the robot near the entrance, clearly angling for her job. After the film (which I thoroughly enjoyed), I stood up and looked at the projector booth. There was once I time when such an act would result in the sight of a mysterious shadow figure tasked with operating and monitoring the flickering images, but instead, it was just the machine. Is it the 36 of it all that has me so filled with nostalgic longing, or warranted fear?

The new Roy Wood Jr. special is a refreshing exploration of such anxieties, with Roy constantly circling back to the lack of and need for connection. Even though I love solo experiences, I miss the small bursts of connection that used to come along with them.

Every conversation I have with friends and strangers these days circle back to similar anxieties. There is a bubbling fear around what technology is doing to our lives. More and more, the mythic figure that comes to mind when I consider such concerns is John Henry. I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes a more prominent symbol in the days to come.

An aspect of The Brutalist that I identified with is the required intensity for any creative endeavor. The greatest pieces of work I’ve ever developed is in all likeliness coming to you this summer, and its been a whopping four years in the making. The logical part of my brain knows that what I’m about to type isn’t true, but here it is: It also feels like my last true iron in the entertainment industry fire. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I just can’t wait for people to experience it and if it turns out to be the end of a certain path in my life, that’s fine by me.

The chore or writing these letters, processing the months, interviewing creative people, and interrogating the news items swirling around us, and channeling my own technological fears into a series of stories at Alternate Timeline has helped me find what my faithful mom would deem “a peach which surpasses all understanding.” I simply do. No real need for explanation. No desperate search for approval or reward. Pure action.

I hope you all find a similar peace with your own work.

Best,

-Tim

last month right now! (best jokes)

Each weekday, I email five jokes and subscribers vote on the ones that make them laugh the most! Here are your favorite jokes from January 2025!

THURSDAY: 1-9-2025

• All 5 living presidents attended Jimmy Carter's National Cathedral funeral. Sorry, one moment… unlike Facebook,

  Letters From African America has an actual internal fact checking system… Okay, yes, I see… Thank you. Let’s start again. While all 5 living presidents attended Jimmy Carter's National Cathedral funeral—none of them are technically alive inside.

  

[read the other jokes from that week here]

THURSDAY: 1-16-2025

• Joe Biden’s final address to the nation struck an ominous tone, warning of the growing power of America’s ultra-wealthy and cautioning that an emerging oligarchy threatens the foundations of US democracy. It all makes sense once you consider his last-minute replacement for the cue card guy:

  

  Jokes aside — I, for one, commend the president for not saying “malarchigarchy.” We all know you wanted to, and yet you resisted.

[read the other jokes from that week here]

TUESDAY: 1-14-2025

• Josh Gad says he was denied a role in ‘Avatar’ because he looked like a ‘Tall Overweight Smurf’ as a Na’vi — but, clearly, James Cameron is missing out on the economic potential of a spinoff series titled Avatar Plus.

[read the other jokes from that week here]

The results of January’s final week are technically still coming in, but here’s my favorite so far:

MONDAY: 1-27-2024

• Much needed rain gave relief from ongoing L.A. wildfires, but officials warn of resulting hazardous waste, toxic ash runoff and mudslides. Bright side: We have a new group of superheroes called the Mid-Level Mutant TV Writers.

[read the other jokes from that week here]

stuff you might’ve missed

• POST: (TEXT SKETCH) LIP READING TRANSCRIPT: Barack Obama & Donald Trump @ Jimmy Carter’s Funeral

  Another example of January being long as hell, Jimmy Carter’s funeral feels like it happened four years ago. But no, it was merely the second week in, and I took some time to pontificate on what Barack and Donald may have been laughing about…

• PODCAST: You Are The Genre

  The You Are The Genre podcast is back! Here are the episodes that we released in January!

  • I spoke with comedian and TV writer Rae Sanni about the impact entertainers with flair, from world wrestling to 80s/90s standup.

    [Rae Sanni] Is The Genre

  • Comedian/TV writer Mamoudou N'Diaye joined me to discuss his early passions for mystery, science fiction, and fight sequences.

    [Mamoudou N'Diaye] Is The Genre

  • And the Center for Brooklyn History’s chief historian, Dominique Jean-Louis about her early love of libraries bridged into her career as a historian!

    [Dominique Jean-Louis] Is The Genre

• POST: (TEXT SKETCH) Joe Biden Wakes Up In The 'Severance' Conference Room

  Like most cool people, I’m loving this long awaited second season of Severance. And, in preparation for plot twists and curiosity about what happens the moment after the transition of presidential power, I decided to fuse those two topics in the following text sketch…

current obsessions

SOUNDS

• ALBUM: “Demon Days” by The Gorillaz

  As I explain later, I’ve been diving back into certain shows like Samurai Jack lately, and that journey inspired me to start listening to The Gorillaz again. Just the early stuff, really. I wasn’t sure if they’re one of those groups that gets embarrassing as time goes on, but the work simply holds up and was clearly tapping into the cross-genre aesthetic that’s now ever-present.

• ALBUM: “Science Fiction” by Ornette Coleman

  Trippy, fun, weird, perfect.

• PODCAST: MUBI Podcast: SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK — Charlie Kaufman’s movie of a lifetime

  One of the best movie theatre experiences of my life was seeing Charlie Kaufman’s SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK. I’m glad I’m not the only one who felt that way. This podcast dissects how it was the last of a certain kind of movie.

• PODCAST: Valley Heat

  Wow. I truly didn’t know podcasts could be this funny.

• PODCAST: The Severance Podcast

  I love behind the scenes everything! Sure, my preference is an hour-long documentary on DVD, but podcasts are fine too.

• Audiobook: John Henry by Julius Lester - pictures by Jerry Pinkney

  

  This book cover brings back so many fond childhood memories. Feels like it was always there, in the elementary school library, and simply gives me that warm “home” feeling. While searching through the Libby app, I found the audiobook version of this specific version of the John Henry legend a lo’ and behold, the great Samuel L. Jackson is reading it! Great work all around.

• PODCAST: Steel Drivin’ Man - Bonus Chapter 2: Unraveling The John Henryism Phenomenon

  Another part of my January dive into John Henry involved this podcast associated with the book Steel Drivin’ Man which explores the real man who inspired the myth. The John Henryism phenomenon rings true to many aspects of my own life. Certainly something more Black people should know about!

SIGHTS:

• DOCUMENTARY: Kim’s Video

  A friend staying with us in the early pat of January graciously lent us his Criterion Channel and Mubi passwords and I’m grateful for this, as it allowed me to watch this mind blowing documentary about the famous departure and return of the New York video store, Kim’s Video.

• TV: The Drew Carey Show

  I rant and rave about PlutoTV so often that I wis they’d employ me. It’s free and brings back the feeling of time locked channels with ads. There is also an on-demand element, which is how I’ve been watching the long unstreamable The Drew Carey Show.

• STANDUP: Drew Carey’s Debut Tonight Show Performance

  Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show (which, mind you, also has its own PlutoTV channel) was the ultimate symbol of mass appeal for standup comics. Watching The Drew Carey Show and wondering How the hell did this come into existence?.. took me down a deep dive into his life and career, including this legendary performance heralded by all comedians at the time. Check out some of Drew’s rare podcast interviews and you’ll learn the winding road that led up to this moment and how it skyrocketed his career.

• FILM: NOSFERATU

• TV: Severance (Season 2)

  This show is my everything right now. Big fan of the world building and creative leaps so far this season.

• TV: Mythic Quest (Season 4)

  There’s a heart to this show that I really appreciate.

• TV: Samurai Jack

  A post from

  Animation Obsessive Staff
  influenced me to watch Samurai Jack for the first time in decades. I forgot how stunning this show was. Really soothing to watch before bed and every frame is a legitimate work of art.

  

• YOUTUBE: How Billionaires Became Our Gods: The Rise of Billionaire Worship in America by Dasia Sade

  News and philosophical breakdowns are best delivered by Dasia Sade while she makes tea.

somethin’ else

A reminder of why I email five jokes a day.

Why I Email Five Jokes A Day

song of the month

Seeing as how much of my January was spent concocting the parameters of my ongoing

Alternate Timeline

fiction series, I really appreciated the narrative nature of “Fire Coming Out” by The Gorillaz. An awesome beat mixed with captivating lyrics. At the end of the day, storytelling is what everything is about.

🎶 And as the Strangefolk / Mined deeper and deeper into the mountain, holes began to appear / Bringing with them a cold and bitter wind…🎶

Until next time, remember YOU ARE THE GENRE!

✉️(PAST LETTERS)✉️