Hi! We are Jay, Josey, + Collin and we are three friends, writers, creators, husbands, fathers, entrepreneurs, and busy people who think it’s important to be as involved as you can in the world around you, but also believe that people deserve to take a damn break every once in a while. That’s why we started this newsletter. Each week, we’ll give you some words on a few of our favorite things from the past week as well as some of our favorite things in general.
Oh, we don’t have an editor for this newsletter so if you find a typo or something just like.. be cool.
A WELLNESS THING FROM JOSEY
When I was a kid I loved eating cereal, but as an adult I've stayed away from it. All of the classics are loaded with sugar and are generally unhealthy. Recently, I discovered a new cereal called Magic Spoon and I figured I'd give it a try. After all, they market themselves as a "Childlike Cereal For Grown Ups".
Well, let me tell you its actually amazing. It tastes so good it's hard to believe that its low carb, high protein, grain free, gluten free, and zero sugar. It should be impossible for a cereal that checks all of those boxes to taste this good, but it does.
A MUSIC THING FROM JAY
The story goes something like this: a kid grows up with dreams of making music, and playing their songs on stage every night in-front of a frenzied, sold out crowd. Then, one day, it actually happens. They slogged their way through the shitty dive-bars, the shows with 5 people who are only there because of the free drinks, and maybe having to replace a founding member or two.
They made it.. Despite all the odds they actually made it.
Then the spiral happens. The money, drugs, groupies, and everything else that fits in the "rockstar lifestyle" brings their world to a screeching halt.
While many of these rock-and-roll tales have the same premise, they all have their own intricacies and details that are dying to be brought back into the light.
That's what Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield helped do when he published his list of The 50 Greatest Rock Memoirs. He also helped make my bank account shudder at the thought of me buying so many more books. I'm going to prioritize this list in my own way based off of my favorite musicians which means I'll probably start with David Bowie: ‘Moonage Daydream: The Life and Times of Ziggy Stardust’ (or at least trying to find a copy of it as it seems impossible) and then move through the rest of the list. I'm also going to go back and listen to their albums during reading breaks to get the full experience.
View The 50 Greatest Rock Memoirs List
A MOVIE/SHOW THING FROM JAY
Have you ever tried Magic Mushrooms? or LSD? or Acid?
I, for one, have totally never done them. Nope, not me. Wouldn’t touch the stuff. I don’t want to tell you to do psychedelics, but I do want to tell you to watch other people talk about doing psychedelics.
Adam Scott plays host in the After School Special style documentary Have A Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics that is scheduled to release on Netflix on May 11th.
Have A Good Trip explores the pros, cons, science, history, future, pop cultural impact, and cosmic possibilities of hallucinogens. The film tackles the big questions: Can psychedelics have a powerful role in treating depression, addiction, and helping us confront our own mortality? Are we all made of the same stuff? Is love really all we need? Can trees talk? Cast members include Adam Scott, Nick Offerman, Sarah Silverman, Ad-Rock, Rosie Perez, A$AP Rocky, Paul Scheer, Nick Kroll, and Rob Corddry to name a few. Written and directed by Donick Cary. Produced by Mike Rosenstein, Sunset Rose Pictures, and Sugarshack 2000.
I think my favorite part is when A$AP Rocky adds, “No lie, a rainbow shout out of my dick.”
A TRAVEL THING FROM JOSEY
I'll keep this one short and sweet. If you ever wanted to chill in a cabin that's floating on a beautiful lake, then the Lily Pad is the spot for you. One day, when this COVID-19 nightmare is behind us, we will be able to fulfill that sense of adventure again. I hope you'll add this to your bucket list.
Check Out The Lilypad Floating Villa
SOMETHING ELSE FROM JAY
I recently came across something that I now consider some of my absolute favorite writing and it comes from Vulture staff writer Hunter Harris. Her series "This One Line Plays On A Loop In My Head” only has 4 pieces posted so far, but I’ve read each one multiple times and they are all fantastic. I like to pretend I’m a writer as well as a movie nerd and watching Hunter nail a film down to a single line and then flawlessly weave her thoughts around it not only makes me sit on edge waiting for the next edition, but also makes me jealous that she is better at writing AND movies than I am. This series is a perfect example of a writer taking something (movies) that has endless content pouring onto the internet every second and finding their own route to cut directly though all the noise and do something special.
SOMETHING ELSE FROM JOSEY
If you're looking for an entertaining story, that's filled with humor and is incredibly quotable, then read Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins.
Here's a few quotes from the book:
“The unhappy person resents it when you try to cheer him up, because that means he has to stop dwelling on himself and start paying attention to the universe. Unhappiness is the ultimate form of self-indulgence. When you're unhappy, you get to pay a lot of attention to yourself. You get to take yourself oh so very seriously.”
“Never underestimate how much assistance, how much satisfaction, how much comfort, how much soul and transcendence there might be in a well-made taco and a cold bottle of beer.”
“If you lack the iron and the fuzz to take control of your own life, if you insist on leaving your fate to the gods, then the gods will repay your weakness by having a grin or two at your expense. Should you fail to pilot your own ship, don't be surprised at what inappropriate port you find yourself docked. The dull and prosaic will be granted adventures that will dice their central nervous systems like an onion, romantic dreamers will end up in the rope yard. You may protest that it is too much to ask of an uneducated fifteen-year-old girl that she defy her family, her society, her weighty cultural and religious heritage in order to pursue a dream that she doesn't really understand. Of course it is asking too much. The price of self-destiny is never cheap, and in certain situations it is unthinkable. But to achieve the marvelous, it is precisely the unthinkable that must be thought.”
SOMETHING ELSE FROM COLLIN
By now, you should be 2 months (at least) into a self imposed, if not government mandated “shelter in place” due to the Covid-19 pandemic. If you’re reading this and for some reason have decided this is “just like the flu” or “it’s more important to get my dumbass haircut”, then skip ahead to the end where I tell you to fuck yourself, because this piece isn’t for you.
For everyone else, here are my suggestions how to stay sane while social distancing:
TURN THE MUSIC UP
There are a LOT of dishes to do. And laundry to clean. And dogs to walk. And children to entertain. And grass to be mowed. etc. etc… The funny (it’s actually not funny) thing is that it’s the same exact amount of chores you’ve always had to deal with, but you don’t have the luxury of escaping and procrastinating anymore. So, make sure you blast some music no matter the time of day/task/chore. That new Bad Bunny will slap so hard you will forget you are washing the same spoon for the 1,000th time.
Alexa, turn that shit up.
FIND THOSE OLD PICTURES
It’s a tedious process, but you have nothing but time. Find that old box of photos, search your iPhoto maps, bust out that thumb drive full of nudes. Whatever the case, take a trip down memory lane if for no other reason then to remind yourself of the life you’ve lived that led you here.
Plus, it will help provide fodder for the next suggestion, which is to -
GO HARD IN YOUR GROUP CHATS
We all have them. Whether it's your iMessages, Instagram DMs or whatever you call a Whatsapp group, now's your chance to communicate with the homies. If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent your whole life struggling to manage your interpersonal relationships with the people you love, but aren’t in close proximity to.
Well, now you're in luck! Nobody is in close proximity with each other anymore! Or at least, they shouldn't be. Regardless, fire up the group chat and be as present as you can be for those you probably won’t see for the foreseeable future.
DON’T FEEL GUILTY
This is a tough one, but perhaps the most important. We cannot change the things we cannot control, and the current social situation proves as much. Do NOT beat yourself up for doing whatever it takes to make it out of this pandemic. If you end up with any sort of regret for binging Vanderpump Rules on a Monday or jacking-off one million times a day, just remind yourself that you can’t regret anything if you’re dead. So don’t waste your precious time punishing yourself for doing whatever you need to do to get through each day.
GROW SOMETHING
If this whole situation has made anything clear, it's this: whatever way of life you have grown accustomed to is over. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we will NEVER “go back to the way things were”. The sooner you realize, understand, and accept that fact the better off you will be for whatever comes next. And once you get past that harsh reality, you begin to understand how self-sufficient you either are or need to be. This applies not only to growing your own fruits, vegetables, or sustainable food, but also nurturing your emotional output.
So commit to watering the seeds of your own survival and grow something that will sustain you until the end of this goddamn quarantine and beyond.
We want y̶o̶u̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶j̶o̶b̶s̶ to hear from you! Write us a little something about an article you thought was cool, or about some band from your hometown, or send us a joke.. We don’t really care. Stop making us do your work for you. Each week, we’ll pick our favorite thing and post it here. We’ll always be sure to give you credit and link to whatever you want to promote yourself.
No one.. yet. It might be one day though and when that day comes we want it to be all out in the open.
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