Welcome to March, 2023
Letters from African America
Hard to believe we’re already two months into 2023. It’s the awkward reckoning period for all of those resolutions we’ve made. Instead of losing ten pounds, you gained twenty. You thought you’d read more books, but instead you’re just skimming more subtitles. You told yourself you’d clear your inbox of spam and yet you’re still getting emails like this from artists desperate for your attention.
It’s a good time though. Because between your ideal self and your real self is what I can only describe as MEDIUM SELF. And Medium Self is pretty damn cool. Not a show off like ideal self or a pessimistic grump like real self. MEDIUM SELF is where it’s at!
This newsletter is the result of my own resolution to write more often outside of the confines of Facebook and Twitter. I hope you aren’t annoyed by how little has been released so far. And I assure you that there are more interviews, observations, and essays ahead.
One such thing is an additional substack I’ve launched called Alternate Timeline—which is dedicated to what I’m calling call topical speculative fiction.
It’s basically science fiction short stories that are strictly inspired by current events. Writing science fiction has always been a goal of mine, and this is my effort to dive further into that sphere. It will hopefully be my substitute for Twitter as well. I’ve been weening myself off of the app for a few months now, but I still have a love for finding an absurd, often sci-fi spin to what’s trending.
For instance, I saw this clip of Angela Davis on a recent episode of Finding Your Roots making the rounds.
It garnered a lot of attention on Twitter, revealing tons of inconsistent thinking that people of all races have about race. Weirdos on the right making jokes about Angela Davis now having to pay reparations and so on and so forth.
But my mind went to this surreal made-up scenario:
Can I effectively write science fiction stories that are longer than one sentence and aren’t simply building up to a one-note joke? There’s only one way to find out. New stories will be posted at Alternate Timeline on a semi-weekly basis starting on March 10. Much like this newsletter, all the stories are free, but you can choose to pay if you’d like bonus content like explainers on the writing process and things of that nature. And if you’ve already paid for a subscription to Letters from African America—the same bonus content will be available to you here so there’s no need to subscribe to two things from me (what am I, the Disney bundle?).
Felt a little awkward explaining all that. So, let’s cut to the chase.
Here’s the rundown:
FELT DEEP, MIGHT DELETE: Or, Why I Prefer My Television Cubed
Fellas, you ever notice how televisions these days be all shiny and flat? Out here looking like a robot that fell into a panini press. Talking about “Hi, I’m a flat screen. I have high definition.”
Who you trying to fool? You’re flat! You have the opposite of definition!
Whatever happened to real televisions?! The big boneded ones, made out of wood. You know what I’m talking about, fellas. Them TVs with child-bearing depth, and actual knobs. Myself, I like TVs that have some junk in the trunk and a little light bulb inside of it for rear projection.
Them cubed TVs keep it real, too. Talking about “Hey, baby. I can’t show anything in wide screen but that’s just because I like to be up close.”
Sorry, I had to write like a 90s club comic there for a second. It was the quickest way for me to get to the meat of the subject at hand, which is the fact that I… well… I really miss box shaped TVs.
They’re magical objects to me. And I’m sentimental about them because they’re the television sets of my youth. They represent a time of channels, and time slots, and commercials that I knew everyone was seeing at the same time. This is the TV set that first inspired me to write for television, and I can’t tell if my nostalgia for it is a problem.
I’m adjusting to the new media age that my generation helped birth. An age of “like” buttons, and short clips, and infinite options nestled into infinite apps. The more that those new things devour the old ones, the less connected I feel to the original spark that got me into the world of entertainment in the first place. It’s a disconnect that I’m actively trying to work my way out of.
I always assumed I’d have to be in my 40s to experience this—but here I am, a 34-year-old ready to buy a new bag of Werther's Original hard candies and rant about the good old days.
This has been Felt Deep, Might Delete.
THE CASE FOR SAVING YOUR MONEY
Last month, I performed on a show called Uptown Showdown at Symphony Space in Manhattan. The theme was “Save Vs. Spend” with Christian Finnegan, Ginny Hogan and Blythe Roberson defending spending money—and Gianmarco Soresi, Nathan Min, and myself defending saving money. I was up first and you can watch my segment here.
RECENT PODS
Mama Needs A Movie
I love it when a podcast gives me a reason to do something I’ve been trying to find a reason to do for years. In this case, the podcast is Mama Needs a Movie and that "something” is finally watching the magical film known as The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit. I only knew of this movie because of the commercials that would appear at the start of family friendly VHS tapes when I was a kid. And in the years since, The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit has haunted me as a film that I was never quite sure actually existed. My memory of the commercials was so hazy and surreal that it seemed entirely possible that I made it all up. It turns out the movie is real and has a long complicated history involving a Ray Bradbury, Roy Disney, Federico Fellini, and a host of other people with fun names to say out loud. I discussed it all here with my friends Ryan Perez and Anne Rieman.
CONSIDER CONSUMING
simpin' (josh's version)
Josh Nasser, who I recently interviewed in the inaugural edition of A [BLANK] Conversation With…, has released a new song! Which is a new version of one of his older songs! It’s brilliant and strange and will be stuck in your head all month. It’s also interesting to compare to the more rap-influenced original version.
CONSIDER SUPPORTING
Taylor & Co Books: https://www.taylorcobooks.com/policies
Last month, I shared an actual exchange between myself and a construction worker while walking my dog, Spock. Turns out Spock is the gift that keeps on giving. While walking him a few weeks ago with my fiancé, Spock quickly caught the attention of the owner of a new bookstore opening up in our neighborhood called Taylor & Co Books—which lead to her (my fiancé) being invited to paint one of the walls with her artwork. Andrew Colarusso opened this excellent bookstore with the help of people from the community. I highly recommend visiting it. And you can help out by pitching in to the Taylor & Co gofundme here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-new-bookstore-in-the-heart-of-brooklyn
You can also check out the art here!
UPCOMING SHOWS
“Citizenship Live” - MARCH 11th, 7PM @ Caveat (TICKETS)
“The 6th Annual One Liner Madness” - MARCH 23rd, 7:30PM @ The Bell House (TICKETS)
SOMETHING FROM THE VAULT
Naming Your Baby Yoda
Since season 3 of The Mandalorian starts this week, I thought it be nice to remind you that each Baby Yoda toy has a secret unique name.
That’s all for now. Until next time, remember that you don’t need to need glasses in order to wear them
