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Transcript
I always say, Johnny, you should switch this to write one zine for the month of October. But the trouble is that would abbreviate as to Na. Na Z. Rhymo. You don't want Nazi Rhymo to be your acronym.
Hello, and welcome to episode 172 of the erasable Podcast. I'm Tim Wasem on head hosting duties tonight, and I am joined by Andy and Johnny. Hey, guys.
Hey.
Hey.
And thank you for rehiring me. I appreciate.
Yeah, you were not the only one that applied.
You passed the test.
I appreciate a lot of grace. Yeah, you got your chance to get some other. Get some other candidates in there, and they all fell short, so it was not the same.
No dice.
Well, I appreciate the second chance.
All right.
We are also lucky enough tonight to be joined by Jamelia Hilfiger, our first friend from the Internet from our wonderful Facebook group. And it's so good to have her here, all the way from Norman, Oklahoma. We're going to be talking about NaNoWriMo, which has become a tradition here at Erase Bowl. But, Jamelia, thanks for coming and joining us on the podcast.
Hi. You failed to mention that I'm also from hr, which is.
Yes, she's here to keep an eye on you, Tim.
Good to know.
All right.
Yeah, the second chance isn't going to last long. I can tell.
Yeah.
But I also put in a good one.
Yeah, yeah.
It's for conflict resolution. All right.
Jamilia is an admin of our. Of our group, though, which is the HR of our racer.
That's true.
It's not a far cry.
That's funny. I didn't even giggling about that since he. He got rehired. I forgot.
Yeah, it's a big day for me.
Yeah, we'll get you a few pencils in the mail, too.
Hey, I appreciate that. I'm almost out number fours. Don't tell them about the number fours. They're not. We haven't told anybody about those yet. All right, before we get into talking about NaNoWriMo and about our daily 1,667 words, let's talk about our tools of the trade. And Jamelia, as our guest, why don't you go first?
Oh, hi. No. Okay. I am using. It's a Claire Fontaine.
Ooh.
Yeah.
I didn't know they. I didn't know they did steno pads.
Oh, really? This is the first clairefontaine product I've ever owned. I don't even know how many years I've had this. Probably seven or eight years. Yes, it's about. It looks like to be about a 5. I don't know why I don't know that. Something about it being a center pad makes the dimensions to me. I can't. It makes it harder. Yes. It's really nice. And I'm using a Palomino Blockly Natural at the moment. Yes. It's not very exciting. I love the extra firm and I love the pencil itself. I think it's fun, but it's just. I should have sharpened something new.
It's a good solid. No need.
That's what I'm using very much so. That's what I have in my hand.
They really are. I guess they're the same. What else is that? I guess that's really.
Yeah. Yeah.
Johnny, how about you?
So I've been watching too much tv and we watched that miniseries Midnight Mass by a Mike Flanagan of horror miniseries fame on Netflix. I don't know if you guys have seen that or you had a Catholic enough upbringing that you don't want to watch it.
I don't think I want to watch this.
It was so in the promotional image that's on Netflix, I thought it was Jon Hamm playing Father Paul. So I was like Jon Hannam as a crazy priest. Hell, yeah. But it was not Jon Hamm. But the guy. That guy's a really weird name. Like Leland Link later. I don't know. But he was really good. It was totally good, except for the fact the lady who is married to Mike Flanagan is unwatchable and she's in everything he does. So that she had a very big part in this one. So that was a downer. But yeah, it was good. And we're watching Baptiste, which is on Masterpiece, about a French. Oh, old cop guy who finds people and drinks coffee and he cries a lot. But yeah, that's interesting.
Now, is. Is Baptiste French for old cop guy?
Yes, I think. And that's what they told. That's what Google says. So I don't know if it's foolproof. Apparently it's a spin off of a show called the Missing, which I have never seen, and it's on Masterpiece on the PBS app. So they cut out all of the bad words, which. That's disappointing. And speaking of bad words, I'm almost finished a book called After Parties. It's a collection of stories by Anthony Vishna, so I hope I'm not butchering his name. People always conflate him and Ocean Vuong because they're both from neighboring Southeast Asian countries and both gay men. So I Don't know why that makes them the same because one's a poet and one's a novelist who writes really funny and obscene stuff. But yeah, it's a very good book with lots of drugs and alcohol and swearing and donuts.
Everything you need.
Yeah, I think he passed away not long ago and I think for a while his Twitter handle was like the Tall Dark Ocean Vuong or something like that. It was really funny. But he died last year of an accidental drug overdose. But they're gonna put out his unfinished novel, I think, so that'll be cool. Yeah, that's all on my plate. And I'm using the same pencils I was using last time, but it's much shorter. The CW pencils, baseball scoring pencil, and like a scrap of paper that's sitting on my desk because I don't know where the field notes went.
What kind of paper you.
Andy, what kind of paper? It's southworth fine paper, 24 pound wove finish.
Johnny always knows what paper.
Oh, it's like cream. I'm sorry, it's natural.
I would always know as well. But he just said scrap paper. Maybe he didn't. And I thought I was funny.
Especially scrap paper.
Yeah, it's just expensive. So when I have little scraps, I'm like, I guess I should write on it.
Yeah.
How about you, Laser writer?
Well, I. Yeah, I'm reading. I'm reading a book. I just started a book, it's called LaserWriter 2 and. Which is the name of an old Apple printer that they made in the 90s. And the book is really interesting because it is. It's a just like a short kind of novella length, like romance. But it takes place in an independent Apple computer repair store in the 90s, which is 100% my aesthetic. And I bought it specifically because the COVID looks like a test sheet from a Laser Writer 2, which I had a LaserWriter 2 when I was a kid. And I definitely like, remember that test sheet well. So I picked that up instantly because it was just like, like books and vintage Mac products, like Apple products and like. Yeah, it was just my jam. So very excited about it. Written by somebody named Tamara Shopshin, who I found out knows people who I know, which is pretty cool. So reading that, we've seen a couple of movies lately. I think last time we recorded, I had just seen the new James Bond movie. We went back to this theater, the Alamo Drafthouse, and saw a couple others since then. Last week we saw which is good. It was very big and epic and expensive. And Timothee Chalamet is just such a cute little guy. He's a good actor. He does a very good Paul Atreides, which in the David lynch version was Kyle McLaughlin. And Sting was not in this Dune movie, which was, I think, the biggest downside to it. But Sting played a character in the David lynch1 From 1984. 1982, from the 80s. From the early 80s.
Did he still have his mullet back then?
Oh, it was. And it was bright red.
Wow.
Yeah. So. So this one was not like that. It's. It was. It's pretty good. I mean, we've talked before. I can't read Dune or much of, like, Frank Herbert's work. It was just. It's just too, like, thick for me. And. But, like, I like the story. I just like Frank Herbert's style. Just wasn't my thing. But I like the movie. I like the lore and, like, the storytelling behind it. So the movie works great. And it's something I did not realize when we went into it, is this is just. This is just the first. The first half, like, there's going to be two movies, the first half of the novel. So it definitely ended, and I'm just like, come on, where's the rest? But of course, it was two and a half hours later, so it was plenty long. So speaking of Timothy Chalamet, after we saw Dune, we saw the next. Later that week, yesterday, in fact, we saw the French Dispatch, which is the newest Wes Anderson movie. I will tell you that it is the most Wes Anderson movie ever to have in Wes Anderson. That's what I've heard. Really digs in on, like, the cinematography, the, like, very symmetrical cinematography and the little, like, vignettes and the. The kind of, like, thick dialogue that's said very quickly.
Very stuff going on in the background of, like, every scene has, like. I've heard that, like, as you're watching any scene, there's just, like, a million things in the background that you could pay attention to.
Like, where they've.
There's just, like, layered it and. Layered it.
Yeah. There's just no way I could possibly take in everything. Like, I'm Johnny. I think that you're gonna have to take, like, extra ADHD meds before you go see this thing, because it is time me down. It's so much happening. Yeah. So I'll definitely watch it again. I usually, like, don't get everything on the first go with Wes Anderson movies. So. Yeah, it was. It was really good. It's gorgeous. So beautiful. They did that thing that I really love, where I think he's done it before, where, like there's an airplane that's flying and they just do a cutaway of the plane and you can see all the little rooms within it. I just love that crap. But yeah, that is. That is the French dispatch. And then also we started a new HGTV show called in with the Old, which is a fairly brand new show that has come up that's people restoring old houses or old things into houses. And it just talks a lot about the history behind the house and the history behind the. Behind the manufacturer of it. Like they. They bought this old building in southern Utah that's made out of adobe, like just mud. And they talked to an expert who is like, at restoring, like old adobe houses. And it's really fascinating. If you have any of the HDTV properties, like on an app or cable or whatever, you should totally check it out. And as somebody who just bought an old house, I am. I hope that I won't have as many problems as the folks on this show has with that. I'm definitely not going to be trying to restore it as hard, but it's something I can. I have a new appreciation for. And I'm writing with my Musgrave Greenbelt in my new plottr notebook, which I think I talked about last time, which I'll talk more about in the future. That is it for me. How about you, Tim?
We just started watching this week, the New the Show with Steve Martin Short and Selena Gomez Only Murders in the Building, which is a pretty fun show. I mean, I love the prem. When I heard. Saw the premise, I just knew I'd fall in love with it. And I was only. I was a little. Like, a lot of people probably put off by the Selena Gomez part of it. It's like, how's that going to work? Works really well. Really?
I thought she's great.
No, she does. Yeah, she's fantastic. I just meant, like, when I saw her name on there, I was like, really? Okay.
Oh, yeah.
Like, that's. I'm saying, like what. I just didn't know what I was getting into. And then. No, she's. They're fantastic together and they're.
They.
I think it's a good, really good chemistry.
What I appreciate is that Martin Short is not too much Martin Short, which, like a little Martin Short goes a long way. But I thought he was pretty good in this.
He still has those moments, like the scene where he's standing on the. Like in his. It's sort of like that dreamscape where he's on the. The stage and he's choosing who's going to be the suspects. He still does his little, like, scream in your face, Martin Short. He's still Martin Short.
Yeah, a short goes a lot of the way too.
It's true. It's true.
And just listening to it and just. And just want to giggle and haven't even said much about him.
Yeah, we've been enjoying that. And I just about to finish. I got like literally two pages left of a book called Simple Twist of Fate, which is a book about the making of the album Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan, which was his kind of comeback after going into hiding for like almost. It was like half a decade or something and he was just living with his family and then he basically ended up with this big divorce and burst out with this new album. So it's classic album, but, you know, he went off and recorded it in New York City and then on a whim went back to Minnesota and recorded it with like, re. Recorded half the album with a bunch of unknown local musicians from the area. And half the songs were then replaced on the album using these just kind of random folks that his brother helped him round up. Which is. Which is a pretty cool story. And then it also goes in like a kind of a. A bummer direction because none of those guys ever got official recognition. They never got put on the album cover, like, or on the jacket or something. So, yeah, it's a really good story about a really good album. So I've been reading that and then listening to the album and also listening to the bootleg series of Blood on the Tracks, which is called More Blood More Tracks, which is sort of lame
Bloody Year and trackier.
Yeah, it has all the outtakes and stuff on it. So I've been listening to that a lot and got to give a shout out to the guys at Take Note who tipped me off to. I believe it was Ted. Tipped me off to a band called TK and the Holy Know Nothings, which are. They're from Portland, Oregon, and as far as I can tell, are kind of just starting out. Like, they haven't been around. They don't have a big. A big following. Doesn't seem like. But they're just this kind of fun Americana bar band kind of sound. And I've really been enjoying them and listening to that. Their album a lot. They have a new album that came out last week called the Impossible Heat Machine, which is really good.
Yeah.
And I am also writing with A Blackwing natural. And I am using this national brand narrow ruled IES subject notebook. IES as in eye E, dash E, a S E. Some sort of proprietary magic that's in these notebooks. So yeah, brother in law gave me one. They're pretty nice. Yeah, that's me. All right, now let's get into our fresh points. And Johnny, can you get us started?
Sure.
To get bad news out of the way first, there was another stationary related closure announcement. Nocco, run by our friend Brad, is closing up shop.
Such a bummer.
Yeah, they have like a 50 off sale, so most of the stuff is sold out. But I went in like a vulture and ordered a Hightower because I've always wanted one and I'm looking at it right now. The Hightower is still there in both colors for 1250. So if you ever wanted one, jump on there. Sad face. Because I like Cordura and I don't know why I never bought one before. I'm just.
I think I've been using a Notco case pretty much every day for like several years. I don't think I've like, ever without one.
I always wanted one of those seed A5 cases and I just didn't like the colors, so I never pulled the trigger. An ugly green case is better than no case. Sam face. And also on sadness. So my, my dad took a trip to Arlington National Cemetery, which is not too far from here this weekend, and he brought me some dead people pencils.
All right.
It's like a triangular box full of pencils that reference.
Reference.
They reference monuments to dead people that are down there. Like the John F. Kennedy one that references his tomb, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, like are the Challenger shuttle Memorial. And they're, they're paper wrapped pencils, but they're pretty decent. And like, I don't know, I like that my dad brought me creepy pencils back. I appreciate that.
I thought it was gonna be even creepier. I was expecting something in the context of like the wood pulp to be like.
The graphite is compressed carbon from when they were.
If you read my zine, that's something in an Uncle Homer column that's coming up. And so for my last fresh point, which is not sad, um, Field Notes did a collaboration with All Trails, which is a, an app and a network of like trail listings for the entire country. And they're so pretty. I don't usually chase all the field notes, but these were really lovely. They. I don't know what the COVID is made of. It feels plasticky and they sort of hit it with this, like, reflective stamp of, like, a mountain. And the paper is really nice. They're just very swell. So the notes, the. The link is in there and they're. They're still on sale and the shipping was, like, really cheap and really fast. So if you like mountains and field notes, jump on them and that's it.
I think last time we recorded, I had talked about how I placed a couple CW pencils orders, and I. I just got one of them earlier this week, and I was going to just follow up on that a little bit. One of them is just now that I have it in hand, I got in a few of those CW pencil advertising pencils, the ones that Tim Dilger designed.
So.
Wow. Such a good job. It's interesting because advertising pencils are just cheap, right? Like, that's the point of them, is they're inexpensive and they purvey this. And he just does such a good job of capturing sounds awful. But it's meant as a compliment. He's really good at capturing sort of that authentic cheapness. Like this thing. It has, like, just a couple. Just a blue and a red color. And the typography is just very simple. I just. Yeah, it just looks super authentic. It looks like it's straight out of, like the mid-60s or something. Even the white barrel, like, the white paint is just like off white, so it feels like it's faded a little bit. So huge kudos to the Dilgers for that looks. So I also got in something that is on the complete opposite end of that particular sort of design spectrum. I got my first ever Emilio Braga notebook. I ordered. Yeah, so. So I ordered the finale, which is that one that has all the different covers on it, colors on it, and over. While we were recording last time, Johnny, you talked me into ordering the regular cloud notebook, so that one is still coming.
Which color did you get?
Well, I wanted the blue. I got the orange because it was lined.
I got the blue one.
Yeah. Jamila, do you have a. Do you have an Emilio Braga notebook?
I don't have.
Yeah, you have multiple Emilio Braga notebooks. Well, that is. All right. I. Yeah. And Johnny, I know you've had them. And Tim, do you have one of these guys?
Tim, My mute button was not working. I kept hitting it. No, I do not have one.
Okay. No, it's so. I am. Yeah, just many.
Okay.
Yeah. I'm just extremely impressed with this guy. Like, it's just. It's gorgeous and the paper is really nice. There's so Many really good just details in here. I just never really thought about him that much. And now that, I mean the trouble. I'm sure I can get these notebooks elsewhere. But now the trouble is the main supplier of these notebooks that I would consider is closing. So Greer has them. Oh, Greer does.
Yeah. But the one I want is sold out. I'm just looked at it. Which one is the yellow and black and white one?
Looks like a classic composition, like comp notebook.
Yeah.
It's been a long time since I got a notebook that's so nice. Or I'm like, ooh, I don't want to write in this. But mine just came today and I opened it. It's like, oh my God, no one touched this. It's mine.
Well, in this finale notebook, I got the 194th out of 200. So it's. They must be scraping the bottom of the barrel. Yeah. But big fan of it. It's just absolutely gorgeous. And what's cool, it's. It's blank. So you can use it on with like the orange side facing out and. Or the pink side facing out. But what's nice that I didn't even realize is it comes with one of those little liners that has like really thick lines on it so you can still put it behind. And I can't write in a straight line if I don't have a line. So I am appreciative that this exists. So I'm excited about my Emilio Braga notebook. And I'm sorry it took me this long, Caroline to discover it.
The line. The guides are really nice too. They're thick. It's cardstock.
Yeah.
Where it won't wear out too fast. And that is a nice. The Swede. If you get a blanket, it's okay because I have that aligned. I. I find that I prefer that it makes a little more versatile to totally.
That's a really. That's a really good point. Yeah. So that is. That is my CW pencils order follow up. I think I'm getting a couple more things I'm hoping later this week. I hope it comes soon because pretty soon I won't be at this address anymore. But speaking of which, I'm starting to think about getting. So I'm going to have a slightly bigger room that will be an office slash work area. And I have a blank wall that I can put bookshelves on. And I would love to know if anybody here has recommendations for nice like wall to wall bookshelves that are not fancy but also not like super cheap or cardboardy. And it's something that like is. Can just, you know, easily hold cigar boxes full of pencils, but then also lots of books because I'm absolutely going to have too many book books to put on it. Any bookshelf. Anybody have bookshelves here that they really love?
Nope.
I wish I did. But.
Yeah, in the world of Ikea is. We're all familiar with it, but it's the place to go in the Billy bookcase.
Yeah, I have those.
Okay.
No, but I have the. Apparently they've redone them. Mine are crappy, but they're the old
kind of their ikea. But yeah, I mean, they can hold up, but after some time. I mean, I have plenty of ideas up. So I. I think those are good because you can do a lot with them. You can put glass doors on them if you wanted to, right?
Oh, yeah.
You can make it, you know, a little bit more and then you. It seems pretty versatile with that. I don't know what colors they have. I know white is definitely one that they keep. Yeah, I like. I don't remember if this is the old name or the new name, but. Calyx.
Yeah, I have some Calyx.
Yeah, those are those. Okay.
Those are the ones with like the squares, right. That you can put little like shelves in or. Yeah, you have a couple of Calyx. That's where I have all my pencils. But yeah, the. Yeah, the bookshelf. Sir Billy's a good point. I didn't even think about that.
Which is more bookshelf than Kallax is. But even a two by four of those, I have one turned on, which is not bookshelf related, but have it turned where it's four by two. And I made a board for ironing with plywood and batting and fabric and all that. And yeah. Hefty staplers. But yes, I put that on top of the case and it's a whole thing. So when I'm sewing or something like that. But I also like ironing clothes.
Yeah.
Not the same thing, but it's still. There's some of their stuff is versatile.
That's a really good point. Yeah. Oh, man. I have to go to Kia and look at this. Like, I know they have not just like your standard old bookshelf, but they have like. Yeah. Things with glass doors. And it looks like they have like super skinny versions too that you can break things up with. That's a good. That's a good call.
Yes. And since they have different sizes too, in width, that makes it Easy.
Yeah.
Yep. That's the first thing that comes to mind. But I guess too many options you'll get.
Yeah. If anybody listening has ideas here, feel free to comment. Or if you're in the Facebook group, post there. I would love to hear some ideas. I've also been looking at. There's a really great one called Bookshelf from Crate and Barrel, called Beckett, um, and Barrel Becket.
And it's.
The trouble is it's. It's a bit more expensive than I was hoping. So I'm guessing maybe there's a knockoff in the world that exists that I was looking for. But yeah, the Billy system. Yeah. Seems also like a really good. Really good call. Yeah. I'm gonna do some measuring this weekend.
Too bad we just missed blue dot. 20% off they have annually, which. Yeah, that. 20 off. But blue dot.
Yeah, we have a blue dot here. That's a good.
I was thinking you probably did.
Yeah.
In CB2. It might be great to look for, as you mentioned, Crate and Barrel, they're younger.
Oh, I didn't know that. Okay.
Oh, yes. And it's a little less expensive than Craton Barrel and still nice. Very nice things. Have some table or some desks from there.
Yeah. I'll go check out their site. That's a great idea. Yeah. Cool. Thank you.
You're welcome.
That is it for my fresh points, Tim.
I don't have a whole lot to bring to the table this week besides this. Just delightful little detail that I was going through my school the other day and I had walked from my room through another room because we have like an open format. So that's why I'm not like wandering through people's classrooms. It's just like I was going through different sections of the school and I counted four black wings on my way across the school. So I know two of those are by influence of this guy right here. But yeah, I saw four of them in student hands and that was delightful.
I was going to ask you, were they like on the floor?
No. Yeah, I just had dropped them as I was walking around.
No.
And then I also have one. One kid who, like, I think it was like three or four weeks ago who needed a pencil and like, I gave him a forest choice. It's not the kind of person you would have expected to pay attention, like, keep track of it, but it's like four weeks later and I think I'm the only class that he has to use a pencil in. And he like, digs through his bag until he finds it and he's like, got it. Got that pencil still. This is the only one that I'll use. So that's really all I have to share with you guys. I don't have much in the news department, but that was just delightful to walk through the house. It's like, oh, blackwing natural. Nice. Oh, yep. 602 over here. Yeah, it felt like. Yeah, I felt like I was in the right place. Like, I felt like a generous friend had, like, planted those around the. The schools to make me happy as I walked through.
But.
Yeah.
Happy Monday, Tim.
Yay.
You are appreciated.
Jamilia, how about you? Would you like. Do you have anything you wanted to share with us?
Yes, I want to go back for a second and share a book because sometimes I read. I make time as two books that I'm reading and a list. I'm not going to go over the list that I want to also start reading, but. Jacqueline Woodson.
Oh, yeah, she.
Yeah. Okay. I figured Kim maybe have mentioned her before.
Interrupt.
Oh, no, that's perfect because again, I figured you would know who she was. I'm reading one of her older books, and after Tupac and Dee Foster, I always have to check the title because as a parent, I say whatever I want to, and you just have to know what I'm talking about and to make sure I. It's not disrespect, obviously. It's just. We just get to do that. We can just say the Tupac book, whatever. But that was. It was actually given to my daughter as a gift from a friend. And I had no idea this book existed. And I love. I still love Tupac Shakur. And it's about three girls. They're preteen in the mid to late 90s, just following their lives and their. They are following Tupac Shakur. They like his music and his videos. They're just, you know, him in. In the media and. Yes. And. And stuff going on in their lives, too. And it just. It's hard to put in the words, but I just. I feel so. It's definitely enamored, but also just feel enmeshed in the book because it's about the time how old I was, I guess, when I. That these characters are. When I first noticed Tupac in It's. I should have finished it by now, but I just put it down and pick it back up and I'm just. I'm really pleased with just. Even the writing. She. Jacqueline Woodson's great. I think she. I believe she writes poetry.
I knew about. I was familiar With Miracles Boys. I wasn't familiar with her name, but. Yeah, that's a.
Okay.
I know one of her famous books. That was really good.
Okay. Yes. And we have a few other. I think it's Red to the Bone and sometimes. Right. Like I'm just not coming to mind more for things. But we have a few more and so I'm enjoying that. But I am watching An American Saga, another.
Oh yeah.
Rap based, I guess media, but not the music. Yes. It's really good. I don't know when the second season started. Back up this fall sometime, but I'll watch a couple episodes over the weekend. And Insecure is starting. Well, I guess it actually started last night. It's on hbo.
I can't wait. We've. I think we're going to be watching it tonight. I love that show.
Okay. I'm good. Yeah, I'm going to watch it tonight too. So a few friends send me messages like, what did you think of it? I'm like, I didn't, I didn't watch it yet. But I am excited.
Issa Rae is just one of the just best actors out there right now.
She is. She's so funny.
Yeah.
Funny takes like that requires talent. She's just so good at that. In that Awkward, which I know she's like not saying that's an act, but still the way she portrays it on tv. She's so Katie.
And I have Katie. I've maintained that Kelly from Insecure. I'm trying to remember who the actor is. She's the. Natasha Rothwell is one of the funniest human beings and we just so want her to have like a spin off.
Yeah.
She's just like, yeah. Just one of the most hilarious people ever.
I love Kelly. I can't now. I'm like, okay, I'm watching it tonight. Really missing them. Kelly is funny. There's so many things, but probably her at Coachella that I guess it was the second.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
She just got tased
before they went in. Yeah, it's, it's, it's such a good show. So I'm excited. It's the last season that they're doing. So not excited about that. But it's okay. Anyways. Okay. So my fresh points, I have to say I didn't know that Knox is closing. I guess I just haven't been paying attention to stuff over the past few. Even CW with them closing. That's been really sad. I wanted to order a couple of things which I get anxious to look like it's Like a mad frenzy. Things that she carried. But you know, like, okay, I got to. But I do. And I'll make sure to do this before. But like the editor. I love that pencil and I don't feel like anybody. Anyone else carries that particular combo.
Yeah.
Okay.
I think you're right. I know that there's a store out here called Postscript where the owner of it is, I think friends with Caroline and she carries some of the CW pencil branded stuff. But I imagine they're not going to after CW pencil closes. Right? Like, I guess. I don't know. That's an interesting question for Caroline.
Yes, I was wondering that too.
Do they carry the baseball pencils?
Yeah. And do they carry Futurist too? I think I know the shop that you're talking about.
I think she does. Next. Next time I'm up there, which is next Friday, I will take a look and let you all know.
Okay. You think if there's anything else you can really just rehash what you all spoke on the Death Row records and.
Oh yeah, the collaboration. Blackwing collaboration with Death Row Records.
Those are quite some.
Speaking of Tupac.
Yes, I know. Which. That also made me laugh.
Who was it? Was it Jay Newton, one of our favorite punsters who asked me. He was like, do you think people are going to get one pack or two pack?
It's perfect.
It was the obvious answer is too. Oh, and he had another one. He said when they sell out it and people want one, are they going to have to snoop around too? A couple of the pencils. I found that I was entertained. I didn't really get a good look at the design. I know that they put the logo near the. Like you're gonna sharpen that off pretty quickly. But I mean it didn't matter. I have to have those. So. Yeah. And I guess the black and gold. I don't know. Those things don't. I don't care because it's Death Row Records. I guess I thought that was interesting. What is it? I think it's celebrating their 30th, so I'm excited to have that. And I just poked around and there that some cassette tape if you all are interested in that. I don't know. Seems like something Tim might like.
Yeah.
Do you have any cassettes, Tim?
I do. I don't listen to them, but I do.
Yes, I. And of course they have some vinyl too. But the cassettes, I thought that was fun.
Yeah.
I don't know.
I got super. I got super excited about cassettes a few years ago because I had a. This, like, ancient Subaru and it had a tape deck. And I was like, oh, man, I'm gonna make my own Grateful Dead tape. Like an old school, like, bootleg Grateful Dead. And so I went on, like, archive.org and downloaded, like, a Dead show, like, bootleg, and then used a boombox and copied it onto the tape player or, like, onto the tape and, like, made it just, like, the same way. And then the tape deck didn't work, so never got to listen to it. But I had a fun time, like, going through that whole nerdy process of, like, simulating something that I was actually too young to have experienced the first time around anyways. But I got real excited for, like, about five hours there that day.
So it's about the journey.
Yes, that's true.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Now I feel better.
Yes. That. That all seems fun. I was scared that it was gonna, like, eat the not film. I don't know, whatever it's called. But I was afraid that it was gonna tear it up. But, yeah, it just didn't work, which is a little safer. We'll get you. Look at you. Something you can install in your trunk. So I was enjoying just seeing, I guess, this stuff with that collaboration and trying to think if there's any new paper. But, no, I guess not, because I just haven't been. It's just been taking care of a bunch of other things. So. I talk a lot, but it seems like I don't have any. Like, all of a sudden, I don't have anything to say say.
I mean, I go blank. I have to write everything down.
Yeah. Remember it now. Yeah. All right, well, do you guys want to talk about NaNoWriMo?
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
That was reassuring.
Let's do it. Yeah. Yes, we do. So, yeah, it's that time of year again. I feel like we all know someone, or we are ourselves getting ready to take part in NaNoWriMo and try to write an incredible 50,000 words in one month. And so we're here to talk about that. It's become a yearly tradition for us to talk about this at least once a year, actually, because I think we've talked about the camp nanowrimos before as well. But, yeah, so let's dive in. We've got a list of topics and questions to go through, like. Like a group lightning round or something, just to see what we're thinking about for this year, whether we're doing the. Whether we're going to take on the challenge, how we're going to do it and what experiences have been like in the past. So, Stu, start things off. Who's doing NaNoWriMo this year? Let's just start there.
Raising hand.
Andy's raising or Johnny's raising his hand.
I'm raising my hand as well.
Yay.
I regret to inform you that this year, as with other years, I am not doing.
Still not doing it. And I, like I have before, am sort of half assed doing it, which
is, yeah, the only way to do things.
But I am not touching that 50,000 word goal. There's no way. I just don't. I don't have time. But I am going to. I do like to turn November into a chance to set some challenges for myself, so. It's such an insane event. So what makes you want to do it? So let me. We'll start with our guest, Jamilia. What makes you want to try NaNoWriMo? And then, Johnny, you tell us the same. After the number of years that you've submitted yourself to this insanity, why do
you two hate yourself so much?
Why are you so angry?
That's a complicated question.
Yes. There are some things in common there that it's like, why not take on another thing? So, yeah, neurodivergent is probably to blame. I never really thought about that. Now, as Tim mentioned, the. It's a good time to just challenge or take on that challenge. And in RSVP Facebook group there was discussion of it and I was like, yes, I'm going to do it, which means I won't. And even just reconsidering that helped me feel like, okay, I guess I felt overwhelmed and I still like the idea of it and still wanted to do it. And I haven't necessarily changed what my goal will be with it. I'll just let it and just see where I go. But I, I still want to try to use that goal.
How many times have you done NaNoWriMo?
Yes.
All of them.
No, I haven't. I'm trying to remember last year was the only time I even entertained going at like trying to.
It's good to observe once in a while. I've tried a couple times. It's just good to watch. Watch everybody else.
I felt over.
Yeah.
Yes, yes. I felt overwhelmed, but I. But yeah, yeah, that helped me. I definitely want to do it and I want. Oh, I know we haven't started yet, but it's okay because I'm going to. I want to make sure I do it again.
Johnny, how are you preparing for the event?
I just ordered three pounds of coffee online.
But are you handwriting? Are you writing on a computer? I know that you've had some years where you've done one or the other.
If I do it, I'm going to write by hand because otherwise I don't remember what I did. But as it's getting closer and I have no idea what to write about, I'm like, oh, but usually, I mean, that. That happens every year that I do it. So who knows? I bailed last year. I didn't even try because 2020.
Yeah.
So I could say the same thing this year. But now my kids are at school, like, most of the time, most days.
So, Jamila, do you think you'll. Do you think you're doing it longhand, or do you think you're writing on the computer?
I'm doing it longhand. I have to write every year. I can't even imagine what I would. Where I'd start and what I'd end up with in a sitting if I did it. If I typed it. I just. I have to write.
Yeah.
Like. And I wanted to ask Johnny, since he's doing that, do you know what you're using?
I was thinking of using my new Parker 51 with the gold nib and just, like, black ink. But I guess it's like pencils. It's gonna be really hard to pick something, so I'll just have to just not fix something or just, like, put everything away. Be like, use this one damn pen. Here's some blue ink.
Shut up.
Do it.
I like it.
There's no shame in switching back and forth, right?
Like, oh, I mean, not switching back and forth. Just, like, scribbling. I'll try this one. I'll try this one. And, like. Oh, crap. An hour went by.
Yeah.
It's three in the morning.
Yeah.
You do really have to. I get that. That's why. Also why I asked. Or do you. Do you. The abound Odd loose lease.
I've been making books, so I'm gonna make a Coptic stitch book to do it in this year if I can find time.
Yeah, there's. We have some time. I mean.
Yeah.
You said 3am you have time.
Yeah, I've been sleeping like a human lately. It's really weird. It's like, days are short, but I'm not falling over. That's a plus.
Yeah, I slept too, last night, and it's like, oh, I got things done today.
Tim, do you have a plan for NaNoWriMo? Are you writing shorthand or longhand? Or are you writing on a computer?
So I'm just. I'm Basically just using NaNoWriMo as a excuse to set another over the top writing like goal that not actually fiction this year. I've talked about it all throughout this year, but I've been writing songs and writing them with a friend of mine and he had challenged me in January to do a song a week, which I think I've probably. I've not stuck to. I haven't gotten every single week a new song written, but I've probably written somewhere around 20 to 25 songs. That is a lot over the course of the year. So my goal, I was thinking that I would just kind of double my pace for the month of November and just. And try to write two songs a week for the month of November of which I will definitely be doing by hand. I've got a. What do you call it? What are those cool looking composition notebooks that have the hardcovers with the. Come on, Johnny. I bought like 17 of them that one time. What were. What are those things called? Oh, the ones that decomposition notebooks you told me about. Like you showed me one. You're like, hey, you might like this one. I was like, you're right. And then I ordered six, like other top. Like six other designs and like two of you. I've got one of those and I've just covered it in stickers of Bob Dylan and all this kind of stuff. Little muse stickers all over it. So I'm gonna. I'll just be using that. Yeah, I think I'm gonna try to just basically double my songwriting pace for the month and see if I can.
If you're gonna write like so much it like I need the songs to be like, oh, this is Jerry from Tom and Jerry, his uncle. No.
Wait, what?
Anyone? I don't think he was from New Orleans or I don't know but he. I'm nice.
I'm definitely going to be googling this. I don't. Yeah. I'm so curious.
I wish. Yeah. Oh, okay. Never. Never mind. It's good stuff. You will know if you look it up.
So. So it sounds like the three of you are. Are planning on writing something longhand. Love to know if you've, you know, ever written anything. And Jamila, let's start with you. Have you ever written anything this long by hand? And if so, how does that experience differ from typing up your words? Kind of like at the speed of. Of thought. Right? Like, like what's going to be different for you about this, do you think?
I haven't written anything this for that long and all. And how it differs is that I will be able to read it because it will be spelled correctly. And I can type. And I don't. For some reason, I don't think my typing can keep up with what's going on in my brain. So for some reason, I can use that a lot faster by writing.
Yeah.
Right. Yeah.
So that's interesting. I'm the opposite, right? Like, I. I type. I can type very quickly, and I. You. And you can read my typing rather than my handwriting, which, like, after a certain amount of time just gets just, like, a disaster. So. Yeah, that's really interesting.
Yeah.
I wonder what. Johnny, you look up Jerry? No.
Uncle Picos. Uncle Picos. I found him.
Yeah.
He's got the hat pulled over his eyes. I totally know.
Oh, my God.
Yeah, I put a picture in the Google Doc of this Little boots. Yeah.
Okay. Yeah, some of your songs are gonna.
Yeah, I'll write a cowboy song for Uncle Picos. Here.
Tim Lawson.
Yes.
Yes.
Coming soon. Amber, you gotta find some videos of him now.
Yeah. I'm gonna make a. I want to make a note of what you said, Andy. I mean, I guess I could. I still want to make it. Right now, I'm wondering the difference between people and. Because I know many more people feel like definitely type well.
And a lot of it is just because I. Like, over the years, typing has just taken over so much more in my life of, like, of the act of writing. Right. Like, I write to take notes. I write to make lists. Like, stuff just for me, but, like, for the. What feels to me like capital W writing. Right. Like, I feel like that happens on the computer and for me. And also, like, I just have really poor penmanship or pencilmanship. Pencil personship. I just feel like.
Yeah.
So. So writing anything longer than, like, maybe a page at a time, my hand just hurts afterwards and my handwriting just gets beyond recognition.
I've never had trouble reading anything that you've written.
Okay, well, that's because I try to go extra slow for you. Yeah. Johnny, you're. I know that you're a seasoned veteran at this, but do you. Do you prepare your hands? Do you do exercises or take some Senate leave or something?
No, I should. No, I find if you switch up your writing instrument every day or two, that helps. Yeah, it's like the way you hold it or how soft the lid is or whatever kind of nib. Like, just that little change usually helps a lot.
Yeah.
But. Yeah, other than that, just, like, your hands is going to hurt like hell until Christmas.
Well, you make it sound so appealing.
Yeah. It's gotten so bad before. I've pulled out a bit Crystal, because this is. That was more comfortable than like, how my hand felt that day. And I'm like, this is sad. I'm hurting myself.
Yeah.
But, you know, I'm not an athlete, so this is a. That's an interesting experience to be sore from accomplishing something.
Yeah.
But think of those perks post nanowrimo. I have to. I have PT getting hand massage. Oh, my.
I have a bunch of Amazon points saved up and I want to get myself an expensive pen if I finish. So now, like I said it out loud. Don't have to do it.
Okay. What pin do you want?
Waterman. Karine.
Oh, okay.
So pretty.
Okay. That's a good. I like having a reward.
Oh, yeah. Having a goal.
Yeah.
Are either of you or anybody in this room able and willing to share very broadly what you think, what you think your novel will be about? And if you don't want to share and if you don't know, that's perfectly fine. Jamila.
No, I'm still laying around with some things, but I feel like based on anything else I've answered today, it needs to be about rap. Yeah.
Hell yeah. I feel like whenever we talk to like, Les about this, Les is always like, oh, I'm going to be writing about this and this is going to happen and this is going to happen. It's going to be in this genre. And everybody else is just like, I think it's sort of going to. You about this.
It might be in Chicago. And usually what my stories start with, I'm like, that's all I got.
And it's like, well, then they moved. Like if you decided to switch up. Yeah. And I'm. I don't know what. Just if an idea comes to me, then it's easier to just on that then. And usually the closer to an event taking place is when I have.
Yeah.
Better ideas. And it's always when I am drifting off or about to wake up. I really have come up with some good ideas for things that way. Yeah. So. But now, seriously, I'm actually writing that down.
May need to be for my song project. I. One thing I've been thinking about that I had started to do, it was probably in the spring or something that I'd like to revisit for this, which is using either published journals by people that I like or oral histories on subjects that I like as, like, inspiration. So I've got two picked out that I'LL probably use some more next month. One is, I might have talked to him. I've talked about them before. But Studs Terkel, we talked about him.
I know who he is, but I don't know if we've talked about him.
Okay, well, he does. Yeah, he does all these. He interviews, like, hundreds of people on a topic, and then he makes a book of all these just, like, long oral history, talking about whatever the topic is. And one, the one that I have is I have one about working that he did, like, in the 70s. And so he just talks to people about their jobs. And it's, like, really awesome to look through and see the accidentally poetic things that people say all the time when they're just talking off the cuff and just talking about things they're familiar with. And then the other one is, I have the. The collected journals of Thomas Merton, who's a Christian mystic, poet, writer that is. Has a really amazing brain. And so I have his journal. So I was, like, thinking about using one of those for at least part of it and just writing all of them inspired by lines and things that I just catch throughout these oral histories. That's all I've got as far as ideas go. Besides, I need to write a hat. Besides the fact that I just. I need to write a happy song once in a while.
Yeah.
My friends who hear my songs and hear me talk about them, they know who they are and they'll know what I'm talking about. But I. I am capable of.
Maybe you can do some genre bending and write a happy cowboy song.
Hey, happy cowboy song. Those are great songs. I like happy cowboy songs. I do. I got a Marty Robbins record upstairs. He's got some sad ones, too.
Yeah. All right, well, what. Just to jump to the last question so we can start to wrap things up, which I think is the best here, is can each of you to just give it. Just give a short pep talk to those adventurous souls who are going to be starting this challenge on Monday. And. Yeah. Jamilia, do you want to give our listeners a short pep talk about this?
Yes. It will be things that I have to hear.
Yeah. Give yourself a pep talk as well as everybody else.
Yeah. So, yeah, it would just be me pulling from things others have said. Even what I mentioned earlier about just a changing, altering your goal for the project, even if it's to write one word or just sit down wherever, however you make your plan, which is a good thing to do, is to have, like, a basic routine in mind. But it's okay that you don't stick to that either, but just have plans on how you want to do it to be easy on yourself about it. And if you decide to just switch the whole thing up, maybe you wanted to do this particular thing and then you switch to, like, Tim's doing song writing songs, like, just wherever in the process. It's just. You're like, we're allowed to change our mind. And I think that's a good thing to keep in mind, too, for ourselves, and it may help us continue on the way we may want to go.
Give yourself permission to change your mind.
Yes. Thank you. Yes. Give yourself permission to change your mind. Yeah. And just. Yeah. Keep a little. I think it's also a good idea just to keep a list of even. Okay. Like, ideas, even if you already have what you want to do. I still think it's a good idea to just still take notes, even for that. And take notes for how you felt that day. Like, almost document. Not necessarily documenting it where you're making another big project for yourself. But maybe the particular utensil you used that day was. Maybe it was lovely and it's like, oh, this just glides across the paper. Or this was too harsh and it just felt cramped up the rest of the day or whatever. I think it's a good idea to just help yourself make it as. Make the process as comfortable as possible. Like, it is a. It's a challenge.
It's fun for your brain or for your hand.
Yeah. You don't need to make it or suffer or anything like that. So whatever you can do to make it a good and positive experience, even if that means not doing it one day or. I mean, I know we're about to gear up for this, but if you have to just stop and then pick it back up later. But just to be gentle with yourself, too, in the process. I guess one more tip would be to talk about it with someone. Just if there. If you can find someone who else is doing it, that'd be like, accountability or just to share or just you. Again, just speak on that, too. That, you know, just reporting what you're doing, even if they don't have a clue.
Yeah. Something to check in with. Yeah.
Yes. Yes.
That's great. Yeah. Thank you. Tim, how about you?
Yeah, I mean, that was all really good advice. I think my. My advice, which you guys might see coming, is if you're typing do it in Comic Sans, the only option that there is, and just don't take yourself too seriously and just let it be messy and just have Fun with it. Sorry. It's easy to be a perfectionist, but that's the joke with Comic Sans is I can never take myself seriously writing with Comic Sans. So do anything you can. It is cute, but it's. But it just don't make it look like a book. That's what I'm saying. So anything you can do to make it feel. Yeah, just more of an experiment. So if you're writing by hand, don't feel like it has to be in the fanciest notebook that you own with the nicest pen that you have. Whatever it can be. And that's totally cool if it is. Just have fun with it. Use whatever makes you happy and helps you not take yourself too seriously. Johnny.
Oh, man. So my advice is the opposite that.
Take yourself extremely seriously. Yeah, Only we're like, wear a suit
every time you sit down to write.
If I have to not swear when I say this. If you go easy on yourself, like, it won't happen. Like, at least for me. Especially if you're writing by hand, like, it's freaking hard. And the only way you're gonna do do it is to never get behind, drink a lot of coffee and just like, hurt yourself. But it's only a month, so.
Johnny, you make this sound so much fun. It is.
I mean, I think it's fun. Like, even without quite as much coffee as I drink, like, the whole thing is like a month of a mad rush. And I enjoy that. Or at least I enjoy it for most of the month. And some days you're like, I'm going to die if I pick up a pen. My most important piece of advice is don't get behind. Because it's really hard to catch up. Because, like, if you skip one day, it's like the next day, like 3,300 words you have to write. Like, that's a lot.
And you cannot get behind if you change what. I'm sorry, I'm totally going against what you just gave us. If you have to move this scale to not get behind.
Johnny gives terrible advice. I think he should definitely contradict.
Yeah, I think this is like, reflective of my Catholic upbringing.
But are we joining the military? Like, get up at 4:30, you get outside.
A lot of us, our usual life is that we don't hurt ourselves intentionally. So for a month it's okay. I guess, like, as Americans also, we don't like to be happy. So maybe for a month be happy.
For a month be miserable.
What did you say, Andy, about Johnny's advice?
It's Great. It's great advice.
Yeah.
I mean, I'll listen to Johnny.
I write zines, so don't take writing advice for me.
Well, but you write. Not but. And you write. You write a lot of them, though, and it's great. But I. And I wonder how. And I guess it's because you're like.
I would say. I would say, Johnny, you should switch this to write one zine for the month of October. But the trouble is that would abbreviate as to na. Nazi Rhymo. You don't want. You don't want Nazi Rhymo to be your acronym.
I don't think I.
The different pronunciation. I was like, how.
That's kind of.
Oh, no. Okay.
Nazi Rhymo.
Own.
Do a single sheet a day for a month. Oh, God.
Yeah.
That would kill me.
All right, everybody, we should probably button this up, make sure we're not running too long. Jamilia, it's been a pleasure. Thank you so much for being with us and for talking through this.
Thank you for having me on. I hope I have been of help or entertainment at the very least.
Yeah, it's been great, actually.
Thank you.
This was a lot of fun.
Where can people find you on the Internet if you would indeed like them to find you on the Internet?
It's so easy. Which I haven't posted in a while and I don't. It's just whatever. On Instagram. It's my first name. When things are created, I can have my name. Yeah. So it's Jamelia. I haven't posted in months, but usually it's me baking or cooking or it's usually creating. Maybe I will post about NaNoWriMo and let me see. I guess that's really it. And just around here and there on Facebook, if you're in the group, you probably know.
Yeah,
probably run away. But yeah, I did fire up a lot with the death row. That was a lot of fun.
Cool.
Yeah, I guess that's good.
Gotcha. Cool. Thank you. And Johnny, how about you? How do people find you on the Internet?
You can find me@pencilrevolution.com and on social media at Pensolution.
You can find me on Twitter imwassum. And I'm on Instagram @timothywassum.
Very nice. And I'm Andy. I'm on Twitter and Instagram is at awealthly. And you can find my website at Andy, wtf? This is the Erasable Podcast. I was trying to figure out where we left off. We are on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, all as Rasable Podcast. You can come join our Facebook group which is a fun place to be@facebook.com groups. Erasable um, you can find this episode 172@erasable.us 172. We have show notes, we have a recording of the show. Eventually we'll have a transcript that you can read instead of listen to there as well. And then we also on Patreon we often have extra content on Patreon. Johnny sends out regular quarterly zines. We have an irregular pen podcast that we do over there. You can find that at erasable us patreon. And we want to thank all of our $10 a month supporters for their, for their support and just keeping this, keeping the lights on the show, keeping us in graphite, making sure this can happen. So I'd like to thank Tara Whittle, Ida First, David Johnson, Phil Munson, Nathan Rayback, Donnie Pierce, Bill Black, Miriam Burkout, Diana Oakley, Tom Keakley, Andre Torres, Kyle Paul Moorhead, Ali Sarah Some amazing person named Jamelia Stephen Fansale, Aaron Willard, KP Millie Blackwell, Chris L. Hunter McCain, Michael Diallosa, Jacqueline Myers, Tana Feliz, Ann Sipe Joe Crace Married excuse me, Measured Twice Michael Hagen, Chris Metzkus, Bill Clow Random Thinks Jason Dill, Dave McDonald, Mary Collis, Alex Jonathan Brown, Andre Prevost, Kathleen Rogers, Bobby Lutzinger, Fourth Letter Kelton Wiens, Scott Hayes, Dr. Hans Noodleman, Jay Newton, Dave Tubman, Chris Jones and John Wood. Thank you all so much. That is an amazing group of people. Really appreciate your support. We will catch you in a couple weeks. We'll just maybe do a mid month check in on NaNoWriMo and see how things are going and we will talk
to you all soon. Thank you so much.
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