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lastweeksshirttonight · 8 months

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We're back with Strike Force Five episode two, which seems to have randomly dropped at some point after I went to bed on Saturday. I enjoy when podcasts just randomly drop episodes, honestly, makes the whole thing feel more authentically chaotic.

I started listening to this while trying to figure out how to draft for fantasy football. I am not a football fan. I don't follow football. I don't know how to do fantasy. I very much procrastinated on that by doing these notes. My team is graded C- by Yahoo btw, which is two full grades higher than I expected.

Notes under the cut y'all.

This episode opens with Fallon talking about how he forgot his show's shirts glow in the dark. Apparently Billy Crystal tried to sleep in one recently and discovered this; John also noted a time when he was trying to get his infant son to sleep while wearing one of Fallon's shirts and saying it glowed "too well".

The audience for this podcast is obviously 30-something office drones like me. I say this because Atlassian is now running ads during the podcast. They must sense that everyone listening to this has it open in tab one while having their task-overrun Jira boards open in tabs two through five. John also completely "ruins" this ad - which was very on the rails for a decent amount of time! - by suggesting that Atlassian sounds like "one of those plans G. Gordon Liddy had to relect Nixon". Fallon also claims Atlassian is the name of his Fortnite character. (I wonder how my boss feels about both of those lol)

Everyone opens by briefly talking about how many staff they have. Stephen has 210, Kimmel has about 180 + 13 writers + a bunch of crew, Fallon thinks he has 305, and John jokingly says he has 500 people before admitting he misses his legal and research staff. He's ready to say things he thinks are true, instead of "things that are legally defensible".

Stephen: "Would you guys be okay if I had a little Casamigos, I got a bottle right here...?" John: "It's 7:30 in the morning, why not?" Seth: "That's like a 24 ounce 7-11 cup..." I'm so glad this is all in an auditory medium.

John is going to continue shitting on whatever alcohol company he shat on last week, and called it "pond water". I am guessing it's somehow related to Bud Light but that doesn't really track with tequila advertising, so who knows. I have in a past life had Bud Light Margarita in a Bag once, maybe John also suffered that unique hell.

If it IS Bud Light John is talking about, I have no idea how Stephen talking about Budweiser wanting him to be the voice for a Budweiser energy drink/caffeinated beer called B to the E/B 2 the E didn't get cut. This was in about 2001-2002, so well before Four Loko, and the ad copy contained things like "your friends are heading home AND YOU'RE JUST GETTING STARTED!" (John is quietly dying in the background the entire fucking time before Googling if it ever came out. It did! Fallon is flatly like "that's illegal" in a completely baffled tone early on.)

We are 8 minutes into an hour-long podcast. Just informing you, in case you were wondering. Why yes I am obsessed/bad at football why do you ask

Kimmel insists that his early seasons - "for the first eight to eleven years" - were the worst of anyone's on the podcast. He said this after talking about, on his show, Mr. T and Jim Belushi hating each other and almost about to fight each other, his cousin doing pillow-fights early on and causing a catastrophe one episode by fighting Lennox Lewis culminating with Anna Nicole Smith falling into a cake, and another pillow fight with Tom Arnold ruining his suede jacket. I forget that Kimmel is partially of the Jerry Springer era, if not on his late-night show then from his other work, and this just really reminded me of that.

Mariah Carey wanted to be interviewed by Seth Meyers during Christmas in a functional sleigh. John tells a story about watching Watch What Happens Live where Andy Cohen, on live TV by himself, said that Mariah Carey was in the building but would not sit on the side where guests usually sit on his show and was desperately trying to fill time. Mariah seems fun.

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If I had to imagine Hell for Stephen Colbert, it would be "having to fill in for a guest on The Daily Show and turning down an advanced screening of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". That scenario seems tailor-made to completely destroy him.

I'm glad I remember that Ben and Jerry bit Stephen and Fallon are talking about. I would love to know what this whole explanation sounds like to someone who does not remember the whole "best friends" late night "wars" of the time. Here's the bit btw. (Your daily reminder that the CC website sucks ass.)

I forgot Fallon started his show two weeks before Seth. I must have completely blanked out how quickly all of those hosts changed in 2014 (and then John starting the same year).

I'm with John on this one, "Allen key" makes waaaaaay more sense than "Allen wrench". It's a fucking key! The amount of shit I've had to put together with those goddamn things, it's not a wrench at ALL.

One thing I learned today: chairs are very serious business for most of the hosts. Fallon keeps a chair backstage to see how someone will look in chairs on the set, and to confirm that's okay with the guests. Seth, meanwhile, had chairs that John feel like he was being interviewed to be on Seth's show. And Stephen has all different sizes of chairs, to make everyone feel comfortable when they're on the show. (This is where things go predictably off the rails, as Seth then claims he has chairs that get smaller and smaller to keep guests on their toes.)

John's guest are was the most expensive part of his set, and they never used it. Somehow that doesn't surprise me. I was shocked they have a guest booker, though. (Stephen: "Wow what a cushy gig!")

Kimmel's live show ceased being live when Thomas Jane said "fuck" nineteen times on air and affiliates/censors were mad. Apparently on network you CAN technically say anything past ten p.m., according to Kimmel, but that's not the reality of the situation.

Seth: "People forget about the early 2000s. If you were a sports fan, you would often say, 'I wonder who won the big game... let's watch the Kimmel monologue.'" This is exactly what the 2000s were like, kids.

Seth and Fallon both were told by SNL showrunner Lorne Michaels that it would take them 18 months to get comfortable with their shows and figure out how to use them. Seth definitely felt that was wrong and he'd only take 6 months... but the first time he started the show from behind his desk was almost 18 months to the day from his first episode.

Stephen has an unaired 3-minute opening credits sequence that he wants to show on his last episode if possible. John also had a longer title sequence that he loved, but that his producer said he'd be constantly going over for time and he'd need to cut it down, lest he get continually furious over not having enough time for his actual show.

Fallon talks about how his first interview was with notoriously reticent and quiet Robert DeNiro, who gave Fallon one-word answers for literally everything. John asks if anyone told him he was starting from a high difficulty degree, but is interrupted by Stephen remembering a Space Train sketch in the middle of Fallon's interview featuring DeNiro.

Stephen remembers more about Fallon's show than Fallon does, which is wild. Stephen probably remembers more about everyone's show than they do, based on the first two episodes.

Stephen calling The Colbert Report "a totally different beast and maybe doesn't even fit in this conversation" made me sad. Tell me all the Report gossip!!!

Stephen telling the story of how he made the Public Access Show for Monroe, Michigan prior to doing late night is incredible. I remember watching him and Eminem do that show the day the internet became aware of it, and it is just a fascinating bit of transitional Colbert work. Also, had no idea they took over a real show... or that they got almost 0 viewers for it, lol. Here's the link to the bit, for your viewing pleasure:

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Fallon must realize that John has said literally nothing for a while, because he asks how the first episode of Last Week Tonight went. John actually talks about hosting The Daily Show for three months. He says he'd never interviewed anyone before then (I'm guessing he means that as in "I've never interviewed someone seriously and with the eye of not taking the piss out of them", because he'd done MANY filmed interviews for correspondent pieces before then) and talks about the episode where the power was cut. They taped the episode on a camcorder and had to feed it to Comedy Central through Stephen's office.

Stephen then talks about how his first episode almost doesn't make it to air because it couldn't be exported from Avid. Everyone in the editing bay insists this is fine, and it did end up being fine, but the contrast between how CBS editing works and John having to go to another office to feed a show to Comedy Central is so interesting.

Stephen also kicked down a door after this. Please enjoy this mental image, you freaks.

John and Stephen sharing a bitter laugh over John's joke about Les Moonves in the background is fantastic.

John is the first person to bring up that Ryan Reynolds turned around Wrexham the team AND the city. I really should watch that show.

We now return to Last Week Tonight, which lawyers refused to allow to be live. (Knowing John's comedic sensibilities, I completely understand Legal's stance.) He acknowledges that they had too many ideas going together in the first episodes, including a pre-taped guest. The big thing they learned was that they were doing one show a week, which lead to research coming in throughout the week that undermined their segments, rewriting whole shows on Thursday, and the realization that doing the show that way was completely unsustainable. Having watched those early episodes recently (and I promise I'm still doing that in the background), this context totally explains the franticness and weird pacing early on. Of course things feel more didactic and surface level - they were writing full episodes in two days! The show completely restaffed and changed after year one, and John's "bones were as hollow as a sparrow". He also knew that anyone who didn't like episode one was going to hate episode two, because it was about the death penalty.

Seth's first guests were Amy Poehler and Joe Biden, because they'd been on Parks and Rec together and Biden gladly accepted being after Amy.

Seth's misplaced confidence in his pink eye sketch is very relatable.

Fallon texting everyone that he is basically dying of heat stroke in his room and is trying to leave to save himself is hilarious. Poor Jimmy, he's suffering and getting clowned so hard for it. AND THEN Stephen talks about the opening of Fallon's first episode and all the change he dumped on his desk and him. And Fallon had to run up to the roof with change falling out of his clothes. Again, all this while Fallon is having a heat episode. As John says, "we should rename this 'Asphyxiating Jimmy Fallon'."

Fallon is also vaguely losing his mind and forgets he can talk on a podcast, because he keeps texting the others his thoughts.

They actually address the hosting schedule! Next episode, Stephen is hosting. After that, it's John (I'm excited for the inevitable LMFAO retrospective and/or extensive discussion of penii on rooves), then "James Theodore Fallon".

Thank you for reading this ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE BLOCK OF TEXT I'm so sorry that this is apparently my niche right now, thousands of words on a 45 min to 1 hr podcast featuring five white guys. One day the John pictures will again outnumber my blatherings, I promise.

#strike force five #jimmy kimmel #jimmy fallon #stephen colbert #john oliver #seth meyers #lee has strong feelings about allen keys and wrenches #my gif #sang that in my head to the tune of my girl #my gif my gif my giiiiiif talkin boooout my giiiif (MYGIF!)#long post #Youtube

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majorbaby · 9 months

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actually we are both SO lucky because tumblr wouldnt let me send the ask initially—I had to copy an earlier version and try sending it to myself several times to figure out what the error was. so i DO have an earlier copy of the ask—it was less clean so I'll add more fun colors to make it less of a pain to read. ANYWAY, IT IS AS FOLLOWS:

"THE GEORGE EPISODE...sorry this is gonna be a long ask, I hope you don't mind! I love that ep for personal reasons that have almost nothing to do w/ the episode itself, which is, I agree, aside from the social message of "don't be a bigot" (AND TRAPPERS SINGINGGGG) kind of mid!

but. i was re-watching it recently. and the scene where George comes out and then Father Mulcahy interrupts w/ the football and Hawkeye does a really bad throw, kind of caught my attention oddly.

I know the main purpose of the interaction is to wrap up the scene nicely, give Hawkeye a way to bounce off of George asking Hawk not to tell anybody abt him being A Homosexual. but it also directly connects Hawkeyes Comedic Sports Failure to George's Homosexuality and w/ the way that lack of aptitude in sports is considered a Gay Thing especially back in the day, the little voice in my head that loves looking for meaning in stories said: "This is a purposeful connection the writers are drawing between Hawkeye and George"

and then the rest of my brain kicked up and kicked in and kicked down the door and said "take a breather, you transexual bisexual. not everything is about intentional queercoding." and i was like yeah. fine. whatever. fine. alright.

and while I do kinda believe bisexual reading of Hawkeye is inevitable to any viewer who has ever given thoughtful consideration to how one man might want to touch another man, calling it coding in this scene might be a pretty dramatic stretch. i can't argue with that. sure.

BUT. i was working on a sewing project later and needed something light and easy to listen to, and i poked at the MASHMatters podcast and found they had an interview with one of the writers of that very episode—Gary Markowitz. [ep 71 if u want it]

AND. i have three interesting things to tell u i learned from that.

1) ORIGINALLY the ending of the episode was not going to be "Frank was hiding something embarrassing in HIS past TOO! He paid for his degree!" (Markowitz did not like this ending because he was like "are we really going to say that being gay is something in your past you Should be ashamed of?") but instead. Frank was going to get drunk and admit that there was an older family friend with a tattoo he really. really admired when he was younger. Admired the guy's muscles. Maybe. Sure, maybe he wanted to be him, but maybe...maybe he wanted...Something Else.

Obviously...I mean. I don't think I'd consider that a Diversity Win.

Honestly? In this one weird case maybe I agree with the censors that blackmailing Frank about paying for the answers to the test was kind of better. Esp with the idea that "the most homophobic people are the homosexuals themselves" being a particularly shitty trope.

and I think the explicit confirmation that Frank himself might have some homosexual tendencies might have overshadowed the single-ep-character, George, and come right around to being a "well its ok to bully the annoying homosexuals" message. which would already be a horrible message in an era where I think homosexuality itself was cause for disgust and irritation for many people. but. well. anyway.

2) MARKOWITZ MENTIONED THE RADAR AND HENRY BIT.

Markowitz said they intentionally included the monthly checkup bit to illustrate how, in a situation such as this, men are often very intimate with each other, putting themselves in vulnerable situations with other men, touching other men, already.

Like, sure the rest of the episode maybe you (a homophobic 1970s audience) are freaking out about a man wants to touch other men intimately, but you're totally okay and unbothered about this corporal getting so up in his C.O.'s business that he can see a little nativity scene in his ear?

He said they wanted to make it clear that homophobia is a silly stance to take when men are touching men for all sorts of reasons all the time in a setting like the military. Like. It is just naturally a kind of homosocial homosexual homoplatonic environment just on account of how homogenous the gender variance of any given environment is.

and I was like. whoa. hey. that's a lot more thought than I gave the writers credit for, and that's on me! I really like that scene even more now!

3) Apparently, when Markowitz and his writing partner (John W. Regier) submitted this (their first script to get accepted) idea to the usual MASH writers nobody was Thrilled about it. Like, it was Fine but they were in a friendly competition with All In The Family to tackle social issues, and so they were like "FINEEEEE i GUESSSS we'll talk about THE GAY ISSUE. since All In The Family Hasn't yet. WHATEVER."

which doesn't surprise me in the least given the show itself as well as the time it was made in, but does disappoint me a little.

ANYWAY!!!!!!!

So I took all this stuff and brought it with me when I started thinking about all the other little scenes in there—like when George pauses when Frank mentions The Pink Scourge before Frank clarifies that he means communists.

OR when Henry gets his nails done by the nurse he's sweet on—and asks with an easy familiarity for the buffing treatment. How she calls his hands beautiful, and he says he got them from his mother.

OR OR OR. the one where Hawkeye is painting that nurse's toes, and she says "wow you're really good at this" and then Radar comes over and ALSO says hawkeye is really good at painting toenails. and that scene is RIGHT before he throws the football really badly. and how THAT is followed by Mulcahy getting tackled by a bunch of other soldiers, so it's just a writhing mass of olive drab, men's bodies against men's bodies against men's bodies.

Perhaps it wasn't just to wrap up the scene, but also used just very very subtly reinforce that in some ways, Hawkeye is less of the Red Blooded American Icon of Masculinity than this Gay Soldier, who is begging to be sent back to the front lines to serve his country, despite being assaulted by his own unit—and then. maybe. Maybe the American Ideal Of Masculinity, commonly tied to football, to being in the military, etc, is itself...a little...Hm. You Know. Like when Radar opens the door to the shower while Hawk + Trap are in there, and a crowd outside starts clapping. I think that transexual bisexual impulse is getting the best of me maybe. anyway.

ANYWAY i hope this ask was enjoyable for you you and i thank you for reading it! Your analytical posts about MASH always give me a lot to think about and I find myself wanting to return some of that enjoyment back to you! "

postscript: thank u so much for posting ur thoughts despite the tumblr mayhem, i am eating them!!! slurping them up like a carton of noodles. packaging the rest in a little tupperware to save for later!!

ah thank you for re-submitting it! i couldn't remembering enough of it to summarize your points and do them justice.

... very very subtly reinforce that in some ways, Hawkeye is less of the Red Blooded American Icon of Masculinity than this Gay Soldier, who is begging to be sent back to the front lines to serve his country, despite being assaulted by his own unit—and then. maybe. Maybe the American Ideal Of Masculinity, commonly tied to football, to being in the military, etc, is itself...a little...Hm. You Know

I do think this is what is textually happening in several episodes of MASH, including in George. @marley-manson articulated it very well in a post that i am unable to locate at this time, where she stated that Hawkeye's "hmm" moments are about gender expression. moments that hold him up as something other than "Red Blooded American Icon of Masculinity."

there's lots of examples of this from early MASH but my favourite is this one from Yankee Doodle Doctor. runner up: Frank at some point @ HawkTrap "you-! you... guys!" HawkTrap: "we are notttt~"

totally valid to see that as lending itself well to a trans Hawkeye headcanon (although Trapper is the one following when they dance, not Hawkeye - and big lug that he is, Trapper also manages to subvert trad masculinity in his own masc way... ), but I really like it as is too - there's more than one way to be a man. you don't have to buy what traditional masculinity is selling you. you can be a lover, rather than a fighter.

#long post #re: mash

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art-of-manliness · 26 days

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Odds & Ends: April 5, 2024

Killers of the Flower Moon. I was really excited to watch Martin Scorsese’s epic film, Killers of the Flower Moon. Based on the bestselling book that recounts the murders of members of the Osage Nation here in northeast Oklahoma in the 1920s, the movie didn’t disappoint. Like all of Scorsese’s historical films, he does a great job of getting the details right. You feel like you’ve been transported to 1920s Oklahoma. The acting is top-notch. Robert De Niro plays a great bad guy, Leonardo DiCaprio plays the part of a feckless wiener whose lack of moral compass leads him to tragedy, and Lily Gladstone captures the heartache of an Osage woman watching her family die around her. It was cool to see parts of OK that we’ve explored appear in a movie. Osage country is absolutely beautiful. Love those big skies and green hills. This movie is long — 3 and 1/2 hours — but worth it! Ace sunglasses. A few years ago, MVMT watches sponsored the AoM podcast and sent me a watch to try. They also included a pair of their Ace sunglasses. They look like the aviator shades Paul Newman wore in the 1970s. They’re funky and not something I would have picked out on my own. But they’ve become the shades I wear when I’m driving our family’s 1996 Buick Roadmaster station wagon. Feels like appropriate eyewear for that whip. And because I take the station wagon to the flag football games I coach, you’ll typically find me wearing my Ace sunglasses along with my Walter Matthau Bad News Bears big collar polyester coach shirt on the sidelines. It’s such a solid fit. (Note: MVMNT did not sponsor this shoutout. I haven’t worked with them in a long time. Indeed, no individual or company has ever sponsored a shoutout in O&E; all recommendations are our own.) No Biological Free Lunches by Tim Ferriss. Tim Ferriss took a break from writing on his blog to focus on his podcast, so it was great to see him come back to articles with a piece on the overlooked costs of taking TRT or performance-enhancing drugs. Yes, exogenous hormones can have a place in improving overall health, but like any drug, there are downsides. TRT and growth hormones can help your muscles grow, but they can also make your liver and spleen grow and that can have bad consequences for your health. It can even make your head permanently bigger. Like most things in life, there are tradeoffs you need to consider before deciding to take exogenous hormones. Don’t be cavalier with this decision. Someday Is Today: 22 Simple, Actionable Ways to Propel Your Creative Life by Matthew Dicks. I read this book a couple of years ago in preparation for talking to its author, Matthew Dicks, on the podcast. I still think about the insights I gleaned from it. Matthew has worn a lot of hats at the same time: husband, dad, public school teacher, writer, storyteller, and corporate consultant. In Someday Is Today, he offers field-tested tactics to get more done even if you’re a regular busy guy. A few of my favorites: think in minutes and practice deliberate incuriosity. Be sure to listen to my conversation with Matthew. It’s one of my favorites. Quote of the Week He who saith there is no such thing as an honest man, you may be sure is himself a knave. —George Berkeley Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support! http://dlvr.it/T572vt

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chelscait · 2 months

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I know this is not football related, but I need help, I’m an italian student, I have to read an extract from James Joyce’s “Eveline” and I’m founding it so fucking hard💀

do y’all have any tips to help me with the pronunciation, like do you know any podcast that speaks clearly? my teacher gave me some videos but the narrator has like some very strong irish accent or something and I can’t understand a shit😭

thx a lot

that sucks that an english teacher has given u a book by an irish writer to study.. because audiobooks will probs be spoken with an irish accent😭

i say if you are learning english to help with pronunciation is just watch things like tik toks by english speakers or youtube videos.. there’s plenty of audiobooks that have clear english speaking people, maybe look up a book you’ve read already and listen to it instead?

i study spanish so i just watch spanish netflix series with spanish and english subtitles..

maybe ask other accounts who are foreign and fluent in english, because i grew up as an english speaker so not exactly sure on how to help..

however, u can write english very well as u have the slang down to a tee!

i hope i’ve taken this correctly and ur not asking me in relation to the book because idk about the book lol

#caits asks

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motherartistsmakingart · 4 months

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Hey MAMArtist* JENNY MERCEIN (she/her)

What are the ages of your child(ren), and where do you live?

My daughter is 7 and we live in New Orleans!

How do you describe your art practice?

I am an actor, a writer, a director, a producer, a storyteller, and a teacher. I am interested in creating socially relevant theater that speaks to contemporary issues. My plays are not didactic, but hopefully they inspire meaningful post-show conversations (and also make you laugh along the way!). I always tell my students: I don't believe theater can change the world but I do think it can spark conversation that can lead to positive social change. An example of this is ROLEPLAY, a feature length documentary I am producing. It follows a diverse group of college students as they use theater to confront sexual violence on campus -- grappling with questions about sex, consent, identity, and power on their path to adulthood. We are in the final stages of fundraising for this film. I truly believe it will be a catalyst for game-changing conversations on high school and college campuses across the country.

Who is your artistic crush?

As a solo performer, I fell in love with the form via the solo plays of Wendy Weiner, an amazing writer and performer who I met when I first moved to NYC in the mid-90's. Wendy has a new show called The Mystery House which recently played in Edinburgh. I hope it has a long life! I also must add Heidi Schreck. I've been a huge fan of her work since I was in grad school in Seattle 2000-2003. I loved her first as an actor, then as a writer. The fact that many people have compared my show TWO ELIZAS to "What the Constitution Means to Me" is the highest compliment to me!

What is a superpower Mother+Artists have?

Probably not an original answer, but we can multitask!

You have something exciting coming up! PLEASE SAY MORE ABOUT IT! My solo show TWO ELIZAS explores motherhood, women's rights, and intergenerational resilience. I will be bringing TWO ELIZAS to the Whitefire Solofest in Los Angeles on January 12th, 2024!! I am so excited to share this piece with West Coast audiences.

How did motherhood directly, indirectly, oppositionally or integrally influence this project? TWO ELIZAS is 100% influenced by my experience of motherhood. The entire show was born out of the experience of becoming a mom. The play explores the true story of my ancestor Eliza Mercein Barry and her landmark 1847 U.S. Supreme Court case Barry v. Mercein which established a woman's right to retain custody of her child. Eliza's story is juxtaposed with my own complicated journey to motherhood, which included fertility struggles and mental health challenges. The play affords me the opportunity to share the anxiety I faced as a 40 year old woman feeling enormous pressure (societal, familial, and internal) to marry and procreate, as well as to talk candidly about my IVF journey and my experience with miscarriage. I am grateful to be able to openly discuss topics that are sadly still shrouded in silence and shame. The story of my ancestor is also an incredibly inspiring story of resilience, and of the US Supreme Court upholding a woman's bodily autonomy... which unfortunately highlights the ways in which the courts no longer seem interested in supporting the rights of mothers.

What are you currently reading or listening to that is giving you thoughts, feelings and reactions?

I absolutely adored Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, which explores motherhood and theater. And I just listened to a deeply disturbing episode of the podcast The Daily about CTE in young football players. I collaborated with KJ Sanchez on a docudrama called X's and O's that centered on the role of football in our society, so the piece impacted me profoundly.

Any message for Mother+Artists reading this?

It is never too late. Give yourself grace. Every moment you spend raising your child(ren) is giving you life experience that will ultimately serve your art. By the same token, don't feel guilty when you leave your child to do your work. If you are lucky enough to have childcare, a supportive family member, or other resources that enable you to step away to practice your craft, DO IT! You are being an exceptional role model for your kid(s), showing them that pursuing your passion is worth devoting time and energy. And time away/ time spent on your craft rejuvenates you as a parent. But again, it's never too late. If you need to pause, pause. If you need to step away to focus on family, step away. You will always be an artist.

BEST LINKS to find you and your work!

TWO ELIZAS in Los Angeles at the Whitefire Solofest on January 12, 2024 Information about ROLEPLAY, the feature documentary about love, sex, power, and consent on college campuses www.JennyMercein.com

*Each month The MAMAs features a Mother+Artist and their work in the world. Thank you Jenny!

#themamas #motherartistsmakingart #TWOELIZAS

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ear-worthy · 7 months

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Notes On Loving Podcast: The Ethics Of Loving & The Choice To Be Loved

There's a lot to love about a new British podcast called Notes On Loving.

This podcast "looks at perspectives of implementing love into your everyday life for Black people in Britain." I love that intention. So many podcasts are afraid to define their audience for fear that it will limit their audience. I think this podcast is fearless. It is what it is.

The podcast is hosted by self-proclaimed "lover gyal, (her words, not mine)," curator, and director Aliyah Hasinah. I'm not entirely sure what that description means, but it doesn't matter because Hasinah's audience gets it.

About the podcast, Hasinah says, "Following the Black radical feminist tradition of looking to embody and practice an ethic of loving, as an active choice and lifestyle, over this season we’ll talk about all the types of love and how we can embody this as babes based in the belly of the beast aka Babylon Britain."

I've listened to the trailer and the first episode, and it's obvious to me that Hasinah knows her audience. From the soft, pleasing organ background music that made me feel like I was at a spa to Hasinah's supple, pliable, and creamy voice, Notes On Loving works hard -- and succeeds --to create a vibe for its listeners.

Her interviewing skills are sharp without being sharp-edged. She's an excellent listener, and it shows with her adept follow-up questions.

I am from a different generation (older if you must know), a different nation, and a different race than Hasinah, yet I found myself connecting with her concepts, her vibe, her insights, and those of her guests.

Hasinah describes herself this way: "My name is Aliyah. I’m a curator, writer and filmmaker whose work focuses on decolonial approaches to history and the present day. I curate exhibitions, produce events, festivals, creative strategies, consult on campaigns/projects as well as making films and writing poetry, scripts, and shit captions. I also facilitate and public speak, basically if I enjoy it, I do it."

Now, that's a self-description you don't hear often. But, I love it. Hasinah isn't giving you a summary of her LinkedIn profile like most podcast hosts. She's offering her listeners a wide-open, unfiltered view of her as a person and a host. When talking about love and the central topic of the podcast, Hasinah observes, "It’s important to me that love and care are at the center of my practice, so we can envision and awake new possibilities for ourselves and others, I believe that’s where the true innovation lives. This sometimes means hard conversations are had, but having them enriches the work and understanding further. I will always speak my mind, as I have no business speaking everyone else’s minds."

Notes On Loving is an exploration about love, relationships, and choices. It is definitely not one of those relationship shows where the host and guests discuss such routine activities as, "My boyfriend doesn't pair his socks" or "My girlfriend won't let me watch football."

No, there's more going on here. For example, in the trailer, a guest observes,"When we just seek pleasure, we just find pain."

That's cutting through the morass of loving with penetrating simplicity.

Here are some notes on upcoming episodes:

October 2 -- Guest Alex Holmes - Clinical hypnotherapist, and author of “Time to Talk: How Men Think About Love, Belonging and Connection” "Alex is a master at getting people to the core of themselves, he works supporting men through fatherhood, boyhood and the transitional moments we need to learn to love."

October 10 - Guest Melz Owuzu - Hasinah explores their love within academia, and as a form of spirituality and interpersonal relationships. Founder of the Free Black University, Melz’s practice is informed by their lived experience as a Black queer transgender neurodiverse working-class individual deeply connected to community.

October 30 -- Guests Tania & Haja - Aliyah chats to Tania and Haja about growing through love and surviving London. Tania is an actor, director, poet and co-founder of Black in the Day; a submission based photo archive documenting the lives and experiences of Black people in the UK, hosting events, talks and exhibitions.

November 11 Guest IGGY LDN - Exploring the process and portrayal of love in his work, Hasinah speaks with award-winning filmmaker, artist and writer IGGYLDN. Emerging at the height of the post-Moonlight cultural zeitgeist, IGGYLDN’s films are emotionally dense and touch on themes of identity, community and coming of age.

Notes On Loving is produced by Transmission Roundhouse podcasts, which announces that it is "powered by young people for curious minds."

Here's what great about podcasting. You don't have to be Black, British, or young to enjoy Notes on Loving. Hey, relationships and love are concepts that transcend national and racial boundaries. Host Aliyah Hasinah has a specific audience in mind for her show, but I'm sure she welcomes listeners from all backgrounds and locations.

After all, writer Henry Miller once said of loving: "The only thing we never get enough of is love; and the only thing we never give enough of is love."

#podcast #podcasting #love #relationship #great britain

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allwaswell16 · 2 months

Text

All the One Direction fics I read and enjoyed in February 2024. You can listen to my podcast to hear me talk about each of these fics as well as an overview of what was posted on ao3 including the fics on this month’s fic roundup which you can find here! Please let the writers know if you liked the fics by leaving kudos and comments! Happy reading!

Fanfictional Podcast #59 | ko-fi | fic recs

- Louis/Harry -

🩷 with venom on your tongue by wildestdreams / @thelavendrhaze

(E, 91k, enemies to lovers) a boarding school AU where Harry and Louis are academic rivals until they realize they’re more similar than they thought

🩷 another dream but always you by you_explode / @nobodymoves

(M, 60k, superpowers) Harry is a Dreamwalker; he has the ability to visit people in their dreams and help put them on the right path. He's assigned to Louis, who's struggling after the break-up of his band.

🩷 through walls of trees by @ineverateakiwi

(T, 41k, fantasy) Elesdon is a country divided into five kingdoms and had long been considered peaceful. After a coup in the heart of the country, Lady Sulia ascended to the throne and imprisoned the four courts, stripping them of their powers. With the exception of King Louis Tomlinson, who submitted to her favors.

🩷 Get Out Of My Head (and I'll get out of yours) by Imogenlee / @imogenleewriter

(E, 29k, exes) “You really that desperate, are you?” Despite it being a shitty thing to say, Harry didn’t mind too much, as the bitterness in Louis’ tone sounded like music to Harry’s ears. Harry was winning tonight. “Can’t find anyone new to be interested in you, so you try to hit on Zayn.”

🩷 this love is alive by @stylinsonwritingpalace

(E, 10k, writer Louis) When Louis's favorite fictional character, Harry Styles, comes to life, it's up to him to decide if he should stay.

🩷 Pretty and Preposterous by @brightlyharry

(NR, 5k, neighbors) Harry donates a copy of Pride and Prejudice to his little free library. He never expects what comes next.

🩷 In Jest by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup

(T, 4k, soulmates) Louis, who smiles at Harry as he reclines in his chair. Louis, whose soulmark is visible thanks to his low-cut top. Louis, Harry’s soulmate, who seems to either be blissfully ignorant of that fact or maliciously ignoring it.

🩷 All This Time (I was Waiting for You) by @ohharold

(E, 4k, vampire/fae) Harry and Louis have always been destined for each other. Some time apart has Harry reminiscent of their first meeting.

🩷 Jealousy Looks Good On You, Baby by cigarettesbeforesex

(M, 4k, pwp) A flirtatious stranger wanted to entice Louis by buying him a drink from the bar. The handsome 29-year-old tavern manager with curly hair, who Louis (often) flirts with, is currently working on shift...Poor Curly, because he's the one that has to deliver the drink to him.

🩷 the "Falling" series by we_are_the_same / @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed

(T, 4k, exes to lovers) Harry looks like he wants to say something but thinks better of it, and just nods, putting the CD in a box that’s filled with all kinds of knick knacks from their bedroom. Or, no. Louis supposes it is his bedroom now. Or will be, after today.

🩷 spring in your eyes by @nouies

(NR, 3k, fake relationship) “Just Go with It” inspired AU where plastic surgeon Harry pretends to be married to his assistant Louis to avoid unwanted attention.

🩷 Dirty Diana by yeah_alright / @uhoh-but-yeah-alright

(E, 3k, epistolary) In the month leading up to his 30th birthday, Harry writes to his confidante Diana every day, sharing his fantasies about Louis.

🩷 From the Dining Table by @littleroverlouis

(E, 3k, established relationship) Harry's thirtieth birthday hasn't gone as expected. Things start looking up from the dining table.

🩷 You Could Give That Aspirin the Headache of Its Life by LetTheMusicMoveYou / @letthemusicmoveyou28

(M, 3k, exes) the one where Louis is a football player who gets stuck on a flight with his ex-boyfriend Harry. The universe might be conspiring against him, or is it?

🩷 What’s in a Name by @hellolovers13

(T, 2k, soulmates au) Louis had always known Harry was his soulmate. The name on his arm disagreed. But what did his soulmark know about true love anyway.

🩷 miles away from seeing you by LiveLaughLoveLarry / @loveislarryislove

(T, 1k, social media) Harry is in his final year studying marine biology, and is doing an international exchange at the University of Auckland. His boyfriend Louis stays behind in England, but they keep in touch regularly through texts, snapchats, video calls, and more.

- Rare Pairs -

🩷 Can You Feel Where the Wind Is by @fallinglikethis

(M, 3k, Zayn/Liam) He remembers arguing that he had no real power over anything, so no one would care about him, let alone try to hurt him. But that assessment had proven to be untrue today.

🩷 Skin on My Skin by Layne Faire / @laynefaire

(E, 2k, Zayn/Liam) Let me touch you where you like it Let me do it for ya

🩷 Stray by @haztobegood

(E, 1k, Zayn/Harry, Harry/Louis) Finally, Louis catches a glimpse of familiar curls weaving through the crowd. The man’s arm is firm around Harry’s waist until they stop in front of the booth. “I found this stray wandering around. I believe he’s yours.”

#28th appreciation #1dficvillage #trackinghome #trackinghappily #hlcreators #hljournal #hltracks #ficsfor4am #ficrec

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the-reality-revolution · 1 year

Video

youtube

Three Magic Words By U.S. Andersen (Unabridged Audiobook)

Audiobook Friday is back! Clocking in at 10 hours and 45 minutes let me read you one of the greatest books ever written. This book is very special to me. As my mom died I read this to her on the phone, totally crying as she was dying. It felt like we shared a moment of powerful recognition of the oneness of all things and our place in a vast infinite universal mind that is the key to unlock the power of all things. Listening to this automatically gives you a complete energetic upgrade in the way create your reality. I have shared some amazing books by US Andersen previously on the podcast including the profoundly wonderful travelogue he wrote called the secret of the pyramids. He was an amazing teacher, football player, navy man who was an incredible writer. You will find this completely different than any other book. It is simple, it is powerful and when read together as a single book it unlocks your true god mind and your true god power. It is all contained in the realization of three magic words.

Three Magic Words is a ground-breaking book about the greatest idea in the world-a secret revealed in just three words-an idea so simple, so startling, so wonderful that it can start you on an adventure that will forever change the way you see yourself, others, and life. Knowing the secret opens up a whole new world of contentment, fulfillment, joy and abundance.

"In the pages of this book, you will learn of the unlimited power that is yours. You will learn how you can turn this power to work for you, here on earth, to make your life majestic and overflowing with good.

This is not a religion or a sect or a society. In its entirety it is a series of essays aimed at revealing to you your power over all things.

You will learn that there is only one mover in all creation and that mover is thought. You will learn that there is only one creator and that creator is the Universal Subconscious Mind, or God.

You will learn that this creator creates for you exactly what you think, and you will be shown how you can control your thoughts, not only to obtain answers to your problems but to create in your experience exactly what you desire. You will not do this in a day or a week or even a month; but do it you will if you keep heart and keep faith.

It requires only a few minutes of your time each day, a few minutes that will reward you with greater vistas in life, greater hope and promise than has ever been dreamed. There is a cause! There is a reason! There is a power greater than you are, which you are a part of, which you can use to make your life good and great and vigorous and full of abundance! If thou canst but believe; All things are possible to him who believes." - Uell Andersen

#youtube

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notgreat-notterrible · 1 year

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#5. Wanna be our friend?

I know it’s unhealthy to think of media personalities as your friends, even if that is the image that they create in being inviting, approachable, inside-jokey. It cuts both ways and members from a comedy Youtube channel I watch (and whose podcast I listen to), Funhaus, have more than once addressed the parasocial relationship that inevitably forms between them and their own fanbase. Much of their brand is based on a fun and friendly friend-group dynamic that plays video games together and riff Mystery Science Theatre 3000-style. Wanting to step into the role of producer for our own podcast we’re about to start, I have been thinking about the format and tone of this hypothetical show, and unfortunately, the image of presenting yourself this way is one I would still strive for. It creates a sense of community and yes, cults are bad, but devoted followings are something any content creator would kill to have.

Wanna be our friend?

For how much I listen to podcasts, making my own seems daunting. It is the freedom and open-endedness of it. I have a habit of getting in my own way most of the time when it comes to overthinking things. What qualifications do I have that somebody would want to listen to me? In the same way, why would anybody choose to read my writing? I mean, they don’t on this blog, but they do elsewhere. I like to think that my style draws readers in somehow. Maybe podcasting is the same way.

Thinking about all the podcasts I do listen to, few are actually experts. Well, experts in the way that I think of nuclear physicists or neuro-surgeons (science is hard, okay) who appear on news segments, but you could make a pretty compelling case that long-time industry vets of games or sports journalism are experts too, certainly of their craft, but they’re more likely to be the ones sitting across from and interviewing the “experts.” I tune in for podcast hosts’ personalities, chiefly. Any amount of expertise they may bring to the table is welcomed but secondary. Sometimes the fan take on things is more listenable than a group of overly qualified people who just have no presence or ear for radio.

My favourite podcasters tend to be specifically some kind of journalist or creative at the producer level. Usually not just actors, or just performers, or just athletes. While they may have interesting experiences, they can’t carry a podcast for me. If I’m subscribing to a podcast I’m in it for the long haul. There needs to be something or someone I’m coming back for each week. I specify at a producer level because if you take, for example, The Always Sunny Podcast—my newest obsession—while the hosts are the actors, they’re also the creators, writers, and producers of the FX sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

They bring in an incredible amount of depth about the creative process and their choices (and obstacles!) in the writers' room and on set and off. It also helps that they are incredibly funny and polished storytellers (and performers). Even though they are more prolific and successful now (Charlie Day is becoming a household name, Rob McElhenney co-owns an English football team with Ryan Reynolds) they’ve always maintained a close-knit, indie rock band vibe. Doubly so when they look back at their early seasons of the show where they had to do almost everything themselves. Most fans of the show know that it basically started with the three guys and a $100 budget. That it’s still going is a huge success story, and now we’ve been able to watch their podcast grow and get better with help from their producer (TV writer and producer Megan Ganz) as they continue to experiment with its format. In the last year they’ve added special guest episodes, did fan call-in shows, and even turned it into a video podcast and film on a gorgeous, specially-created set. Not all podcasts benefit from having video but their on-screen presence is undeniable and elevates their work. Charlie and Glenn Howerton excel at physical comedy and being able to watch the bits they launch into is a treat.

Podcasting, to me, is about presentation. And not even visual presentation. Journalists are naturally used to presenting information to an audience and strengthening their stories with different sources and background research, and it helps if they also have something interesting to say because they don’t necessarily need to be objective here. One site in particular comes to mind: Giant Bomb, arguably the driving force of the overall shift to personality-driven games media in 2008, where you had viewers tuning in specifically to find out what its hosts thought of new (and retro) video games in the forms of long-form videos (40+ minute Quick Looks), video and written reviews, and scheduled live-stream productions (all pre-Twitch and Youtube Live). There were no staff writers and editors like in traditional games media outlets and the brand itself took a backseat in favour of the name-recognition and popularity of its main, audience-facing personalities.

I followed Giant Bomb’s podcast The Giant Bombcast for decades, and even its many side projects or off-shoots as its founders and employees moved locations or left over the years: Screened.com, Giant Bomb East’s The Beastcast, a Formula 1 podcast Alt+F1 (which later changed to Shift+F1 when its hosts left the company and continued the show), the breakaway media company Nextlander and its podcast, and most recently The Jeff Gerstmann Show. While they are now mostly separate groups, they share the same DNA: they all have a similar style and sound and have comparable levels of industry knowledge.

Shift+F1 is a staple in my podcast diet and it’s an interesting case because none of the hosts are F1 journalists, just fans, yet all come from a games journalism background and the show is well-researched and comprehensive as a result. Anything else they add is infectious fan excitement and speculation. And the hosts being who they are (having listened to them talk about video games before) made the transition to talking about speedy racecars that much easier and the more attractive option, rather than having to listen to a bunch of random podcasts until I found a group that I liked.

The Poscast is one of two baseball podcasts I listen to (the other being Effectively Wild—pure journalism) and it is hosted by Joe Posnanski (sportswriter and journalist) and Michael Schur (television producer/writer responsible for shows like Parks and Recreation and The Good Place, and an avid sports fan). This dynamic combines the deep journalistic knowledge of the game as well as the way-more-than-average sports fan’s knowledge all wrapped up in comedic banter to keep things engaging and personable.

There seems to be no one right way of doing it, and what I like is completely different to the next person. The only thing I can do now is sit down and start recording and take it from there. As Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo once said after a ballsy overtake, sometimes you just gotta lick the stamp and send it. So that’s where I’m at with things. I can think this thing to death and never get it off the ground or just go for it. It’s going to be sports related with a focus on storytelling, playing to our strengths. We don’t have the benefit of having known each other for years, sadly, and can’t rely on easygoing conversation to drive the podcast. But with any luck it’ll be a project we can continue working on long after and maybe eventually we will have that dynamic.

Check us out on Twitter?

#BCITstorytelling #BCITradioarts

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oatmilkovich · 2 years

Note

i didn't ask for your thoughts on the football date, but i am so glad you wrote them 🥰 yesterday i listened to some podcast with edvin and he said he spent a lot of time mapping out wilhelm in his head to make him as nuanced as possible. i know we think in this other fandom that the actors know their characters better than some writers ( i wholeheartedly agree and i'm sure you do too), but for edvin to improvise the other football field scene as a 17yo and be so accurate? that scene is pure magic tbh. like wilhelm's life must really seem like it's all fake, he needed to lie to the entire nation about the reasons why he went to hillerska and erik (😭😭😭) also told him to just pretend to be someone else on the days the parents visited. his whole life has probably been full of similar situations. and edvin made up the perfect lines for when wilhelm finally found something that wasn't fake and that was JUST REAL. Just. !!!!! kdjfjdkdjs.

have a safe trip tomorrow and enjoy! 😊

i'm very glad you didn't mind me dumping my thoughts on you (i always feel a little bad when i can't just simplify what i want to say into a sentence or two) 😘❤️

but this is exactly it! easily the biggest thing – in my personal opinion (from my training and experience) – that will help your performance be the most authentic and grounded in the moment is your preparation and character work prior to do absolutely anything in the scene, on screen or on stage. filling in every single detail and mapping out your character's nuance is they key. you're supposed to be yourself under your character's circumstances, so you truly need to be able to exist within those circumstances and understand them in great detail. the effort you put into mapping out and colouring in the details of your character's different relationships, childhood, hopes, dreams, fears, wants and needs etc – literally everything – will 100% pay off, tenfold. nuance is everything! nuance is the micro-expressions and the look behind the eyes that tell us more than the things they say. nuance allows you to react truthfully in the scene and not just follow a plan – and that's why edvin's moments of improvisation worked so well for wilhelm, why they feel like the absolute perfect thing for him to say in that moment (because it was! because it came from the circumstances in the moment!).

i could definitely go into this in greater detail but it truly doesn't surprise me that edvin put such an effort into mapping out wilhelm in great detail because you can really tell. the detail is there in all of wilhelm's relationships, in his feelings towards hillerska, the royal family. you can feel his desperation for something real, anything authentic, in practically everything that wilhelm interacts with. the royal family is fake, his relationship with august is fake, hillerska is all fake. that's why his connection with simon is so real – because simon isn't fake. simon doesn't pretend to give a shit about the royal family or anything like the stuff wille has been dealing with his entire life. that's why it all pours out during the football field, because wille finally, finally has the moment (and well, he's inebriated) to let himself say what he truly believes. and that all comes from edvin's preparation work – that's why it's such an impactful moment of improvisation. why it's so perfect and why none of us could possibly ever come up with anything else that would fit that moment.

i hope you don't mind me rambling again lol! and thank you so so much, have a lovely lovely day anon! ❤️

#once again said too much but #there's so much to the nuance and detail #it's why noel is so good at acting #because he puts that detail in the scenes and you can tell #young royals #edvin ryding #and thanks for the well wishes about my trip #i've been waiting for tomorrow for the last 2 years and i cannot actually believe it's happening #<3 ily #willa's acting thoughts #actingasks

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astrovian · 3 years

Audio

Richard Armitage interviews Harlan Coben for the Win audiobook (released 18/03/21)

Full transcript under cut

RA: Hi, I’m Richard Armitage. I played Adam Price in the Netflix series The Stranger, which was adapted from Harlan Coben’s novel of the same name. With me is the man himself, Harlan Coben, number one New York Times bestseller, the author of over thirty novels, including the one you’ve just listened to. I’m delighted to be talking to Harlan about his book, Win.

Okay Harlan, thanks for taking the time to chat about your audiobook and thanks for sending me a copy of the book. Um, it was so nice I ended up wrapping it up and giving it to my brother for Christmas.

HC: *laugh* You’re supposed to read it first, but okay, thanks Richard.

RA: No, I got the electronic version so uh, so I’ve had a good read. Congratulations, a great story. Brilliant, brilliant central character. I mean the first question I’m gonna ask is – because people listening to this have just been listening to the audiobook – are you, um, a big audiobook listener yourself?

HC: I – I go through stages, um, because my mind wanders, I sometimes have trouble focusing. But when I’m in a car, um, that’s most of the time that I’m- that I really love to use the audiobooks because it does make the ride just fly by. However, I’ve set up my life that I don’t have to commute to work every day, so I don’t have it steadily – it’s usually when I’m doing a nice long ride, I get a really good audiobook and time just flies by.

RA: And have you- have you got any favourite audiobooks that you’ve listened to recently, or any podcasts or what is it that floats your boat?

HC: You know, it’s funny. I still remember when I was a working man, way back when, when audiobooks were really first starting out and we had them on cassette tapes, I listened to the entire Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, um, it was about thirty hours long, going back and forth to work for almost a month. And I still have memories of that experience, and it’s probably, well god, it’s probably 1990 I did that, 1989, something like that.

RA: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean I’ve got a- I’ve got a few journeys up and back from Manchester this year, we’re about to start working on Stay Close, so I’ll happily – I’m happy to take any recommendations of any good books, so maybe I’ll listen to Bonfire of the Vanitites.

HC: Well I tell ya, a lot of people – first of all, it’s a brilliant book, it’s maybe a bit dated, but I doubt that, um. I think Richard, I get more people telling me to listen to any book that you read.

RA: *laugh*

HC: I said, “Hey, I spend a lot of time with this guy, I’m about to do my second television show that stars Richard Armitage. No one I think has starred in two shows that I’ve done ever, so I get a lot of him anyway.” *laugh*

RA: You don’t need my voice in your head when you’re driving, that’s – that’s torture.

HC: That’s right, I’ll be hearing notes on, on scripts in my head if I hear you going. For those who don’t know who are listening, y’know, Richard starred in The Stranger, um, and now is going to be starring in Stay Close, uh, based off two of my novels which I’m sure you can get on audiobook.

RA: And on that note, what um, you’ve had so many adaptations now that have moved from page to screen – what is it like when you go through that process? When you’re – ‘cause you’re very hands on in the way that you kind of collaborate with not just the actors, but with the producers and y’know, the writers. I mean, you’re – you’re writing it yourself. Um, what is it like through, through that whole process, from starting to developing to seeing it kind of realised on screen?

HC: I think the key for me is not to be slavishly devoted to the novel. I think that’s a mistake that a lot of people who are trying to make an adaptation make. So, I go into it, ‘what is the best TV series we can make?’, if it’s true to the book, great. If it’s not true to the book, also great. Um, so I move my stories to various countries, we’ve changed characters around, we’ve changed motivations. Because they’re two very different mediums – a book is a book, and a TV series is a TV series. They should not be the same. One is a visual medium, one is not. Even, even um, audiobooks are slightly different um, than what you read. And they should be. Um, y’know, there’s a performance involved.

Also, because I’ve spent most of my life alone in a room coming up with writing a book, um, where I am just everything – I’m writer, director, actor, key grip. I don’t even know what a key grip is, but I’m that. Um, it’s really nice to collaborate. So um, you’ve worked with me, I hope you agree – I like to collaborate, I like to hear the opinions of other people and um, I really enjoy that aspect of it. I look at it like I’m – like I get to be captain of a World Cup football team, rather than being a tennis player where I’m standing there on my own, which is what happens with a novel.

RA: Yeah, and actually it’s the same when I get to narrate an audiobook, like you say – you get to be director, you get to be the cinematographer to an extent ‘cause you’re setting the scene, but one thing that I’ve – I really appreciated about working with you was having read your, your books and sometimes you’ll pass by a character that is useful to the, to the narrative that you’re telling, but when that comes to developed for TV or film you’ll take a bit more time to investigate that character, and you’re very open to treading those paths, which makes for a very kind of dense narrative with the screenwriter.

HC: Well that’s what I think we’re trying to do. If you think about The Stranger, um, y’know in the book the Stranger is a sort of nerdy teenage male.

RA: Mm-hmm.

HC: And that just – we even tried out some people, and that just didn’t work. And it was really my idea – and I don’t say it in a bragging way, I say it as a way to show how open we all are – to change the character from being male to being female. And once I saw Hannah John-Kamen do it, then I pictured her in a room with you in that first great scene in the bar, um, or at the club when she tells you the big secret, it just worked. Um, you have to be willing to, to sort of stretch your imagination all over again and re-think your story. Which is also fun.

RA: Yeah, and also I suppose because y’know, as much as we love a faithful adaptation of a novel, um what you don’t wanna do is just deliver the novel in screenplay. You want to, for everyone that has read it it’s a new and exciting surprise, and for everyone that hasn’t it’s, y’know, it’s gonna be the same. So, um, it’s nice to kind of have a, to have your audience ready for people who have read a lot of your work, and there were, y’know, a guaranteed audience of people that had, had looked at The Stranger but what you gave them was something really surprising.

HC: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. A lot of fun. And Stay Close, there’s a change in the ending to that which will hopefully shock everybody but especially the people who have already read the book, who will smugly think they know exactly what’s going on.

RA: *laugh* And me, probably. I haven’t read it yet. Um, so when you’re writing – I’m gonna double up on this question now, so when you’re writing, do you write in silence? Do you have any music playing in the background or are you – do you have like a, a kind of sacred writing space?

HC: Um, my routine is not to have a routine. Uh I, I do whatever works until it stops working and then I change up. It’s like I’m riding a horse really fast, and then the horse dies so I gotta find a new horse. So most writers will tell you ‘yes, I use this space, I do it at this time’. Um in the days before Covid, I would go to different coffee shops all the time, I would try out different… any place. Y’know, my favourite example is the end of – when I was writing The Stranger, um with about three weeks left to finish it, I had to take an Uber for the first time. This was a number of years ago. I had to take an Uber in New York City, and I felt really guilty about spending the money on an Uber and trying to justify it, so I was sitting in the back of the Uber and I was writing down notes, and I start writing really well. So for three weeks, I took Ubers wherever I went just so I could finish the book *laugh*

RA: ‘Cause that was the magic formula.

HC: Yeah, that worked! Then that stops working and then I have to find the new, a new place. So my routine is not to have a routine. If you’re trying to write out there, the key to anything is ‘does it make me write more?’ – if the answer is yes, it’s good. If the answer is no, it’s bad. It really is that simple.

RA: I’m gonna make a note of that for when I start writing myself. Um, do you – do you speak any of your characters out loud, your dialogue or your prose passages, do you say it out loud?

HC: The very last stage um, of editing. Okay first of all, no writer gets it right the first time. I know a million writers, I don’t know any writer who doesn’t re-write and re-write a lot. Well, I know one but he’s the guy none of us wanna hang out with, you know what I mean?

RA: *laugh*

HC: So um, the last stage that I do, and it’s usually after I’ve done all the editing with my editor and everything like that, we’re ready to go. I will sit in a room and I read the entire novel out loud to myself. Um, because what happens is, it’s a little bit like a musical score. Where you can – if you read it out loud, I can detect false notes that I may have missed along the way. Um, I can hear them. So the last step is that. I rarely y’know, I’m not – I’m not crazy, I’m not sitting there maybe talking out loud to myself, I’m maybe testing out lines by doing that, and I do that a lot when I’m helping with the screenplays on our shows. But um, for the most part that’s how I do it.

RA: So, in that case, would you ever narrate one of your own audiobooks?

HC: I did narrate one, uh, many years ago called Promise Me. What had happened is we had - my Myron Bolitar series we did seven with the same reader and he retired. I hadn’t written um, I didn’t write Myron for about five or six years it was. And so they said, ‘hey, why don’t you do it?’ which was a huge mistake in many ways. One, I’m not a professional. But two, the people who were fans of Myron Bolitar liked the first guy, and it felt to them liked they had tuned into their favourite TV show and every actor had changed.

RA: *laugh*

HC: It’s really difficult to re-do or start a series, uh, when people know the- the old reader. So um, I also figure- it was also, Richard you know this of course, so for people who don’t know, it’s a lot of work. I’m a guy from New Jersey. I speak very quickly, which does not go over well in audio. I don’t do voices. I would have to sit with a pillow on my stomach because uh, my stomach would sometimes grumble and that would be picked up- *laugh*

RA: Oh, yeah!

HC: By the microphone. And it took me um, a week to record it because – and I don’t know if this is still the case – but back then, the abridged version wasn’t just a cut up version of the unabridged, I had to do a whole different reading for it. So um, it was – it was a lot of work. Um, and it’s a skill that I’m not sure I’m best to do.

RA: Yeah, it does take a lot of stamina. I mean what’s interesting is, having gotten to know you, and when I, when I now read your work, I can hear your delivery, I can hear your voice. And there’s humour in the dialogue, and there’s humour in the as well, and I – it’s an instant ‘in’ for me, so I – ‘cause, ‘cause often I read and I speak aloud when I’m reading alone in the dark, I say things out loud but I think people approach it differently. But I definitely hear your voice in, in these characters. And I think particularly in Windsor Horne Lockwood.

HC: That’s so interesting because Win, I think of my heroes that I’ve had, Win is probably the least like me. I mean um, when you think about Adam-

RA: *laughing* You have to say that! You have to say that because he’s such a badly behaved person, isn’t he?

HC: *laughing* Yeah! ‘Cause I usually like to think of myself as more of like Adam in The Stranger, who you played, or some of the other characters that – the ‘I’m a father or four’ or those kind of guys. What I love about getting into Win of course is that Win is something of an anti-hero. Um, he sort of says and does things that are not necessarily prudent or appropriate, and he can get away with that. Um, so I really loved – I loved getting in his head, it was really an interesting experience. But on the surface anyway, he’s probably the least like me of any uh, main character that I’ve ever written.

RA: Yeah, I mean I- I relate to that totally. It’s a little bit like- it’s probably a side of you, you daren’t investigate, but- but when you get the chance to do it in a fiction um, you can tap into those things that we’re not allowed to do or say in your, in your regular day. But um, where did that character spring from? What was the seed that germinated into his story do you think?

HC: Rarely is this the case, but um, Win is actually – y’know, he’s the sidekick in my Myron Bolitar series but um, when I first created him I based him off my best friend in college roommate, who has a name equally obnoxious as Windsor Horne Lockwood the Third-

RA: *laugh*

HC: Very good looking, blonde guy who used to say before he would go out to parties when we were in college, he would look in the mirror and say, “It must suck to be ugly”. And so I took him and I tweaked him and made him more dangerous, uh and that’s how I, I kind of came up with Win.

RA: And does this person know that you’ve based this character on him?

HC: Oh yes! In fact, some people know who he is, he uses it. He’s still a-

RA: Oh, really?

HC: Owner of all these fancy golf clubs, he’s president of one of the most famous golf clubs, um, in the world right now. He looks the part. In fact, he one time came to one of my books signings years ago and um, he’s sitting in the back, and I tell people the story of how I created Win, and I say, “I’m not gonna tell you who, but Win is actually in this room right now”. It took the crowd about four seconds to figure out who he was, and he had a longer line to sign books that I did *laugh*

RA: Amazing. I mean I have to say, it’s- you, you start reading the story and thinking, ‘I don’t know if I’m gonna like this guy’ but he really grows on you, warts and all. I wonder how many people are gonna go into Saks on Fifth Avenue and go looking for the vault.

HC: *laugh* Yeah, no, I made that up. But there is place in Saks-

RA: I know, so brilliant!

HC: -but the rest of it is completely made up, this involves an app that you’ll read about when you- hopefully when you, when you read book. But yeah, it was fun to do an anti-hero where he makes decisions and does things that you don’t like, and yet you still wanna hang around with him. I always think the key to a fascinating character is not um, that he’s likeable necessarily, but that you wanna spend time with him. Not that he’s a nice guy, but if you were at a bar and you could sit with somebody and have a conversation with them and learn about their life, would this be a person you’d wanna do that with? And that’s sort of the test whenever I do a character. And Win, I think, passes that with flying colours. There are people who love Win and wanna be just like him and there are people who loathe him! But everybody, or I hope many people, are fascinated by him and his life.

RA: Well, also you’ve given him such an incredible kind of tool kit, like a skill set. I mean, I think everybody would look at that character and wish they could do the things he does, maybe not in the way that he does them, but I mean he’s- he’s exactly the kind of character that you’d hone in on, certainly from an acting point of view. I look at that and if I was, y’know, like fifteen years younger, I’d be leaping on that character to play. Which is, it means – it means he’s sort of relatable or aspirational in a kind of anti-hero way.

HC: I’ve heard this a lot, and I think it’s one of the most flattering things that I hear from my actor friends – I think everybody would want to play Win. I mean, I think the- it’s an interesting challenge, um, for a lot of actors. More so than even Myron Bolitar who is my lead series character. Um, everybody kind of wants to play win and kind of wonders who would play Win. Uh, and I take that as a – as a compliment.

RA: Are we gonna see more of him? Is he ge- are you writing more stories for him?

HC: My guess is the answer’s yes. I plan each book as it comes, so I never know until I’ve started. Is it gonna be a stand alone? Is it going to be a Myron Bolitar? Is it gonna be a young adult? Mickey Bolitar is now going to be a Win, and I don’t know until I – each book, y’know when I finish a book, I’m like a boxer who’s just gone fifteen rounds and can’t even lift my, my arms anymore, I gave it everything I had, I can’t even imagine fighting again or writing another novel. So I don’t know is the answer. Probably? I do wanna see Win again, separately or at least back with Myron, so I do think we will see Win again. But the book I’m writing right now is a sequel to The Boy From the Woods, which is the book that came out in 2020, so that’s what I’m writing now. Will I return to Win? Maybe. Maybe. We’ll see how- we’ll also see how people react. Not that I would work necessarily off of commercial interest, but it people really love this book, y’know, we don’t live in vacuum, that would probably somewhat influence what I do.

RA: Right. I mean, because so many of your- your books are being developed and being snapped up to be turned into film or television – I mean, Myron Bolitar is, is a recurring series waiting to happen, and then you’ve got your spin off of Win – I, I- I wonder if, y’know when your first ever, uh novel, did you write with kind of cinema television in your head? Is that something that as modern storytellers we can even avoid? Um, did you ever dream that these would ever turn into sort of film and TV?

HC: Well, everybody dreams, but there’s sort of two answers to it. The first answer is when I’m writing a book, I never ever, ever, not for one second do I think ‘Ooh, this would make a really good movie’ or ‘Ooh, this would make a really good TV series’ because that’s the kiss of death for a book. It really is. It’s, it’s- it’s just a disastrous thought, and if you’re out there writing really don’t try it, because it’s, it’s a big mistake. At the same time, to be realistic and honest, I grew up watching TV. Who didn’t? That’s my – I mean this is what we grew up with. To pretend you’re only influences – y’know you ask a writer ‘What’s your influences?’ “Oh, Shakespeare and Proust and Yeats” – come on. You watched TV growing up. And so that’s an influence on how you tell a story. To deny that is silly. So writers today do think in terms of cinema more just because they grew up with it. Where writers of a different generation did not, so they wouldn’t have that influence.

RA: Yeah, I mean I- I think this all the time – it’s impossible to even de-program your brain not to imagine scenarios in terms of cinema. I mean I- I often think about sort of Victorian novelists that didn’t have y’know TV, and their trying to describe something that they’ve never seen or experienced. And we have references for so many things – I mean it’s almost impossible not to, we’re- we are and will always be influenced by one or the other, especially in the written word. But I- I find that it means that you can kind of uh, put aside the investigation and just get on with the storytelling. And maybe go even a little bit further. It’s like instant access. Y’know, I know exactly the world that you’re talking about when you’re y’know at the beginning of Win, but- but y’know at the same time I felt there was something very Agatha Christie like about the um, the backstory of uh, of this book, I really liked the fact that there was a historic event that was really informing what was happening right now.

HC: Well, y’know when I start a book, there’s- I’m always- I have a bunch of ideas and I’m trying to think which ones are going to go in the story, and it ends up being several. So for example, in this book, I wanted – I’ve always wanted to do an art heist. Y’know, like the Gardner Museum Heist, where they still haven’t found the paintings that were stolen, the Vermeers and the Picassos that were stolen in that particular – I can’t remember if it’s Picasso now, I know it was a Vermeer – um, stolen in that- that, heist in Boston years ago, I wanted to write a book about 60’s radicals – the Weather Underground and what would happen to people who were involved in that so many years later. I also wanted to write something about a kind of Patty Hearst-type character who was a famous kidnapping here in the 70s. So those were like three of the things that I wanted to like – to delve into. And I ended up delving into all three *laugh* which sometimes happens.

Oh, and the last one I wanted to do – I always wanted to do um, a hoarder that was actually someone famous. There was actually um, something of a case of this in New York City where somebody died who was living in a top floor of an Upper West Side building, and it ended up being the missing son – not really missing, but had just kind of gone off the rails – of a very famous American war hero. And so, I took all of these aspects, which would seem to make three or four different novels, and I make it into one novel if I can. It’s not that different from – again, I’m referencing um, um – The Stranger y’know, because you’re here and provably a number of the people listening to us have seen The Stranger on Netflix, but it’s the same thing with The Stranger a little bit, where I had a lot of ideas for secrets that could be revealed by the Stranger, and each one could have been a separate novel. And instead, the challenge is put them all in one story and find a way to hook them together.

RA: Yeah. I mean, it’s rich in a way that when I- I’m reading it and the producer head in me is saying ‘gosh, this is gonna be a great TV show’ ‘cause you know, you’ve got the present day, you’ve got the near-past and the um, the heist story, which uh, is kind of crying out for – you just want more of it, which is brilliant in a book. When you’re – you’re leaving the reader wanting to know more and wanting to, to know more about that family and what happens to them. It’s – it’s the perfect recipe, really.

HC: And so much of it does come from your life in ways that you don’t expect – right now, maybe a lot of people are watching this uh, the Aaron Sorkin movie about the Chicago Trials from the 70s, Abbie Hoffman, who is played by uh, I think Sacha Baron Cohen played him in, in the movie. When I was in college at Amherst, Abbie Hoffman was on the run, um, but he still showed up one day at our college and gave a speech, then disappeared again. And boy, that stuck in my head always. Man, I’d love to write a character that’s kind of like Abbie Hoffman. ‘Cause he had that charisma even then, y’know on stage he was funny as heck, I must have been eighteen or nineteen um, when I – when I heard him speak. And so that – I never consciously back then, I didn’t think that, but every once in a while those experiences come to head and you wanna write about it.

RA: Mm-hmm. You’ve been writing for quite a few years now-

HC: *Laugh*

RA: -you’re – I don’t know if you can even remember what it was like when you first stated your very first book. Um, and some people have said that books are like children in a way, you sort of rear them and then the more you do, the more familiar you are with that process. But would you – I mean, it’s difficult for you to answer this, but would you say you have a favourite book that you’ve written?

HC: I don’t have a favourite book that I’ve written. Um, this – this sounds self-serving, but it’s usually the book, the most recent book, that I like the best. Um, it’s a little bit like – and the way I try to explain this is – maybe you wrote a paper, an essay when you were in college which you thought was brilliant. You remember that moment in school and you wrote a paper and you thought it was brilliant and you find it now and you re-read it and you go, ‘wow, this wasn’t good after all’. It’s not that it’s not very good, it’s just that you have sort of moved on and you’re not that sort of person and so you see all the flaws. So in the older books, which I don’t re-read, I see all of the flaws. I always think, y’know even if you think of yourself, what you thought ten or fifteen years ago – you sort of go ‘ugh, what did I know back then, I’m so much smarter now’. So the same thing a little bit with books, where I think I’m learning more and the current book is better. One of the interesting experiences of working on these adaptation is having to go back and read a book – in some cases we’re doing one, the next one I think uh comes out in France for example, is Gone for Good, which I think was released in 2002! Or 2003. So I wrote it twenty years ago. And to have to go back and read it now, I’m always kind of cringing at some of the stuff-

RA: Mm-hmm.

HC: -some of the stuff I’m kind of thrilled with, like ‘wow, that’s an interesting twist. You don’t have that kind of ending anymore’ and some of it I’m like, ‘wow, why’d you go there?’ so it’s an interesting experience.

RA: Yeah, I feel the same. I very – I, uh, very early on in my career I would watch my work back in quite a lot of detail, thinking ‘I’m gonna learn something’ and then as I got older it was – it was almost unbearable to just do that. And I actually haven’t been able to do that, but it’s because when you’re – when you’re first starting out you throw everything you’ve got into that first breakout role that you do, and then your realise that you’re always in danger of repeating yourself and you think – ‘gosh, people are gonna suss me out that I’m only capable of doing one or two things’, but you live in hope that you can, y’know, find that one thing that you can completely reinvent. Y’know I still hope for that.

HC: I still think that everyone who I’ve ever met who is successful at what they do has imposter syndrome. If you don’t um, you’re prob- you have a false bravado and you’re in trouble. I always say, “only bad writers think they’re good”. The rest of us really suffer with that, and really questioning and always think we’re gonna be sussed out. And I can tell you, um, Stephen King sent me a book not that long ago because he’d nicely put my name in it and wanted my reaction. But even Steve, after all his success and whatever else, he still worries about the reaction, that he’s as good as he used to be, that people will still like it, he’s – I know him. He still worries about it. And when you stop, that’s when you’re in trouble I think as an artist, when you’re starting to doubt what it- when you don’t have the doubts, you start having an overconfidence that you sort of got this. It’s a little bit like my golf game, frankly.

RA: *laugh*

HC: There’s moment’s when I’m about to swing, y’know, I’m gonna be okay and then you get out there and you stink all over again. So-

RA: Yep

HC: -you’re constantly trying to get better and so I imagine it must be difficult to look at your old roles and you – you’re kinda cringing, right? You see all the mistakes you’re making. You see through you so to speak, right?

RA: Yep. Absolutely.

HC: And then someone will come up to you, right, and they’ll say, “Oh, my favourite thing you ever did was-“ and then they’ll list something you did twenty years ago, and you want them to pay attention to what you’re doing now *laugh*

RA: Yep. Yep. Seeing through you is, is one of the things that is quite haunting because I do, I see through me. I can’t shake myself off, if you know what I mean.

HC: Well, you are very cool, you don’t watch any of it until it’s all over. Uh, that’s correct right? You never watched any of our rushes or I remember trying to tell you that you’re doing great and all that-

RA: No, I watched, I watched the first shot-

HC: -and you had not seen any of it and I watch you every day when you’re on set working on our shows and I’ll comment if I see something or whatever, to either you directly or the director, uh, and most of the time I’m – I’m complimenting you, but you don’t – you don’t know either, because you’re not watching, you’re not getting lost in that.

RA: Yeah, I don’t like to watch or be somebody that studies myself to much, I don’t think that’s my job. I think my job is to be inside the character looking out, rather than the other way around. I leave that to the experts like you and the director.

HC: Also, I think it’s- I think if you start worrying about what – you’re right – and also you don’t have the distance. This is always an issue when I – I first start watching the cuts of the first episodes, and I read the book while I’m editing it, while I try to take time between my writing it and then seeing it, I have to sort of put myself in the position of being somebody who knows nothing about this, and doesn’t come in knowing the story already that I’ve already read or seen a thousand time. How do I keep it fresh in my head when I’m trying to be objective and watching it so we can make edits. Uh, both on the screen or on the page.

RA: Mm-hmm. What draws you to crime/thriller? What – I mean is that – I, I can’t often imagine you writing a romantic novel, but what is it that draws you to this particular genre?

HC: Well, y’know to me it’s uh, not really a genre. It’s more like – it’s a form. It’s more like saying it’s a haiku or a sonata.

RA: Mm-hmm.

HC: And within that form I can, and hopefully have, done everything. Um, I think The Stranger for example is more a story about family, uh, and the secrets we try to hide, rather than it is about who killed who – y’know, the mystery angle of it.

RA: Yeah.

HC: One of my most, uh well-known books, my first bestseller, was a book called Tell No One which was made into a French film starring François Cluze, and that’s really a love story, it’s about a man who’s madly in love with his wife and eight years earlier, she was murdered. And then eight years passed, he gets an email, he clicks the hyperlink, he sees a webcam and his dead wife walks by, still alive., And the pursuit, the wanting to get back, the hope for full redemption is really what drives the story more than ‘who killed who’.

RA: Mmm-hmm.

HC: So different stories do different things. But the great thing about the form of crime fiction is that it compels me to tell a story. I’m not getting lost in the beauty of my own genius, my own kind of navel-gazing. I have to continue to tell a story and entertain you. So any of the themes that I wanna tell, any of the things I wanna discuss, has to be slave to that story. And I think that’s probably a rich tradition. If you think about Dumas really, wasn’t that all crime fiction? Even Shakespeare is mostly crime fiction.

RA: Yeah.

HC: Most great stories, if I ask you to name a favourite novel that’s over a hundred years old, Dostoevsky, whoever, you will find that there’s almost always a crime in it. There’s almost always a crime story.

RA: I mean it’s one of the things that I get very excited about, um, I mean obviously I haven’t read your entire canon but I – there’s a signature, or a theme that you love to play on which is this idea that – that um, the people you know aren’t telling you everything about themselves, or that there’s something to hide and that in our modern world, with technology, we have this sort of ability to – to sort of lead multiple lives of truths or lies. And it’s something which I think we immediately recognise. ‘Cause I think we – we’re living that, that reality, and it’s a theme that I really enjoy about your writing.

HC: Well, first of all, thanks. Second, um, there’s a lot of things we’ve heard about the human condition. One of my favourites about the human condition that I used to write, is that we all believe that we are uniquely complex and no one knows the inside of us. And yet we think we read everybody else pretty well. We all think we are uniquely complex and the person across from us, we can kind of figure out. They’re not quite like us. Um, and that’s something I love to play with when I write. Because you’ve gotta remember that everybody is uniquely complex and on a humanity level, and on an empathy level, I raise my kids and I’m always teaching them that every person you see, the richest, the poorest, the happiest, the saddest – everybody has hopes and dreams. Just think that, when you see a stranger on the street, when you’re going to interact with somebody, when you’re getting angry at somebody, whatever it is – just remember, they have hope and dreams. Um, small little thought, but it helps me create a character as well.

RA: There’s also a- a kind of very strong level of self-deception involved, which I think can be quite surprising. Because you always read a character and go, ‘I’m not like that’ or ‘I would never do that’ and then if you really think about it, we – there’s a truth we tell ourselves about ourselves which isn’t always honest.

HC: Well, exactly. It’s really come to fruition in the world the last few years, where I kind of joked that I’ve been working too hard on making my villains sympathetic, the villains in today’s world don’t seem to be very – very complex at all.

RA: *laugh*

HC: But for the most part, people don’t think they’re bad guys. Even the bad guys don’t think they’re bad guys.

RA: Yeah.

HC: They have some way of, of justifying. It’s one of the great things about human beings, or one of the most prevailing thing about a human being, is we all have the ability to self-rationalise, to self-justify. Um, and so I’ve always tried with my villains, and I hope that I did it in everything that we’ve done together, to try to make even the villain – you may not like the villain, but you get them. I don’t really write books – I don’t write books where the serial killer is hacking up people for no reason, that doesn’t really interest me. I prefer the crimes where you can say, ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t have done it maybe, but I can see why that happened. I can see if I was put in that position, um, where I may have done something similar’. That to me is a much more interesting villain than somebody who’s just cruel and evil.

RA: Yeah. Um, final question actually, is – I mean, as a listener/reader yourself – are there any other authors whose books you love and just go back – I mean, you’ve mentioned Stephen King, um I’m with you on that one – but are there any other authors who really kind of inspire you and, and y’know, like a little guilty pleasure reading for yourself and not for work?

HC: Yeah, well the problem always is that I start listing authors, and then someone will say, ‘well, what about so-and-so who’s a friend of mine’, and then I say ‘oh shoot, I forgot – I forgot that one’.

RA: *laugh*

HC: Y’know I saw recently that it’s the eleventh anniversary of the death of Robert B. Parker, who wrote the Spencer novels, if by any chance you haven’t found the Spencer novels, and I don’t know how popular they are overseas – they’re fantastic, wonderful detective series. Um, so that’s one guy I would go back in time and try to find for audio. But I actually like Philip Roth a lot on audio, even though he doesn’t do crime fiction. I’m a big Michael Connelly fan and I like Lee Child, um and Laura Lippman. Y’know, I could sit here just naming um, people all day. I’m always curious also – who is reading – who does it because of the reader and who does it because of the writer. I know there’s a number of people who will listen to anything you read, Richard, because it’s you. Um, which is really quite nice, but it’s interesting the combination of the audio reader. I have Steven Weber, he’s been reading most of my novels, though I’ve had a female lead – a woman named January LaVoy who’s fantastic – and I think Weber captures my voice. He sounds a little bit like me, we both have a similar background, similar sense of humour, so part of it with the audio is also the match you end up making.

RA: Yeah. It’s interesting, isn’t it? Because I certainly find I don’t often get to read something which is purely my choice, I have a stack of things that are work-related, or that I’m about to record. So I don’t think I’ve – I’ve chosen a book recently which is just been- I don’t know how I would pick something, it’s usually a recommendation, so I’ll certainly have a look at the Spencer novels, they sound – they sound brilliant.

HC: Yeah, and they’re fun – there was a TV series in America for a while called ‘Spencer for Hire’ – this is s or going back to the, I guess the 70s or 80s I think. Um, those were not great, but the novels themselves were sort of – Raymond Chandler to Robert B. Parker to the guys who are working now. So he’s a huge – he was a tremendous influence on most of your favourite crime writers. I said in his obituary eleven years ago, I said, “90% of writers admit that Robert B. Parker was an influence and 10% lie about it”. So um, if you can find Robert B. Parker Spencer novels that would be a good clue for everybody out there.

RA: Brilliant. Well, that just about wraps it up. And uh, thanks for talking to me. I really enjoyed the book and no doubt it will be another best-seller and fingers crossed it ends up as a TV series.

HC: Well, thanks Richard, and I look forward to seeing you work on uh, Stay Close. I know that uh, Armitage Army out there *laugh* that – your, your loud uh supporters and fans who just adore you are going to go gaga cause you get to play somebody quite different from Adam in The Stranger. Um, it’s-

RA: Yeah. Looking forward to it.

HC: Yeah, it’ll be a lot of fun. Thanks very much.

#this was actually more interesting that I thought it would be #sorry the audio ain't great I had to compress it a lot #it is longgg #richard armitage #harlan coben #win

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florianwirtz · 3 years

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2020 is coming to an end and honestly I don’t really believe it. I still feel like I’m processing events happening in May. But I wanna say that I’m proud that you made it through that year and hope many good things will come to you in 2021. It was an awful situation for all of us and I hope you are not too harsh on yourself if you didn’t achieve want you wanted due to what is going on right now.

I want to take the time and say thank you for making the majority of my time a good one. Regardless of what is going on sometimes, I’m glad I got to meet so many cool people here, friends I wanna keep for life and started to treasure. I’ve been keeping myself lowkey the past month but I hope you know that I still appreciate and love you.

now my list of special people in my heart. I hope we will see us in 2021 again and thank you for everything. ❤️

@modricmio - we haven’t been in much contact lately but I hope you are well! I know I can always count on you and I love you. After all these years, I’m still grateful that I get to call you my friend. <3

@trentalexanders - milaa! Although we’ve been knowing us for quite a long time already, I feel like this year we grew particularly close! I feel like we have the perfect banter rivalry friendship where we can have a mix of banter and serious talk! It’s always so fun to talk with you and push my James Justin propaganda (I’m sorry for being quiet for a while but I hope you know it’s always gonna be him) 😘 #teamjj

@dancefaeries - I’m still mad that your first association with me is probably that Harvey Barnes pic 🙃 because I associate you with Boilerman and I think that’s waaaay cooler (we probably should do a rate the mascot list one day) Also your awfully bland taste in men. Regardless, it’s always good to see you on my dash even if most posts consists of complaining about how you’re much older than all of us and we’re all babies 😂

@footballffbarbiex - Amy, I hope you are well and didn’t forget me! It’s been an awfully long time since the last time we talked to each other but I haven’t forgotten you! I’m still sorry for never turning in my piece for the writing challenge (maybe one day I can make it up to you 😬) but I hope you know that you are still one of the most talented writers out there! I also enjoy our talks about how salad should be eaten and tomatoes shouldn’t exist. Because having good food opinions automatically makes you the best!

@stydiaherondale - Meliiii my love! Oder sollte ich sagen Jadon’s love? 😂 ich erinnere mich immer noch gern an den Moment zurück als du mich einfach mal angeschrieben hast und ich finde immer noch, dass es einer der besten Momente war. Weil wir zusammen gerade versuchen Erwachsensein zu meistern und beide iwie keinen Plan davon haben. Auch wenn du gefühlt 80.000 Clubs supportest, für mich bleibst du der einzige Dortmundfan den ich akzeptiere. 💕

@neckarinselstrand - es ist immer wieder schön dich hier wiederzusehen! Lia, ich hoffe du hast 2020 gut überstanden und wir werden wieder tolle Konversationen in Spanisch haben nächstes Jahr 😁 Theoretisch sollte meins ja besser sein, aber ich muss sagen, ich kann immer noch nicht viel mehr 😂

@theweatha - we haven’t been much in contact lately but I hope you know that I still appreciate you! I’m proud of you going through with that idea of the podcast as it’s always a pleasure listening to you and Liz. I hope 2020 wasn’t too messed up for you and I hope you are well xo. May we talk more in 2021 again!

@julianbrandtrelated - Ich weiß du nutzt kein tumblr mehr (ohne dich ists nicht dasselbe) aber ich will trotzdem sagen, dass du einer der coolsten Menschen bist, die ich hier getroffen haben (man findet echt selten Leute, die 100% immer das Gleiche fühlen wie man selbst haha). Ich hoffe, dir gehts gut und wir reden mal wieder öfter demnächst ❤️

@ehrenbrandt - was soll ich noch zu dir sagen haha? Mein Tag wär nicht mehr derselbe ohne den content den du mir jeden Tag schickst oder unsere täglichen Zusammenbrüche und Jubel über Leverkusen. Auch wie du immer wieder mein liveblogging über United tolerierst, ist einfach das Beste und ohne dich Fußball zu gucken, ist seltsam! Dass du mich am Anfang des Jahres noch besuchen konntest, war eines der besten Dinge in diesem Jahr ❤️ allein die unzähligen Insider, die währenddessen passiert sind, werd ich nie wieder vergessen hahaha! auf das wir uns hoffentlich bald wiedersehen <3

@tottenhamsstuff - you’re a weirdo. In a good way because so am I. Will I ever tolerate your taste in men? no - but if we’d agree on everything, it wouldn’t be the same between us, so I’m fine with that. I hope you are doing well with the situation going on at your country right now and I am sorry for not reaching out sooner. I’m glad I got to know you 🤍

@danieljamesmufc - my favourite welsh ❤️ the reason why I always have an eye on the Welsh nt and I am an honorary fan! I’m glad I got to know you and although you rep a shit footballer, I think that’s fine. Also us sharing the same bland taste in men and knowing it never gets old. Grateful for our endless chats this year and hopefully one day we do will see each other, regardless if it’s in Germany or Wales. I hope you are doing well X

@zalimaaa - so actually I have no words for you because I feel like I’ve already said everything I ever wanted to say to you. But I will never stop saying how much I actually love you, the way you always care about me and help me out of every life situation, it’s hard to imagine what I would do without you. The first time we facetimed or when we rant about life or literally everything else, it feels like we’ve known each other for an eternity. I’m always here for you and the day we meet each other will be one of the best in my life. You always know how to make me the happiest, thank you for everything in 2020 <3

@emwritesfootball - you know what you’re annoying but in a good way. Annoying because you will never stop to take that name from the chipmunk out of your mouth. Regardless of that, you made time during lockdown bearable and I will never forget the fun chats we used to have but also the rather serious ones! I’m grateful that I got to know you and hope 2021 has something better for you in mind! Also you’re one hell of a writer and thank you for dedicating so many pieces to me (even those with the wrong person 😘), I always feel honored to be a source of inspo haha.

@shockintha - Alice!! With you, everything is fun and positive and I feel like everyone needs a person like you in life. I feel like I already said what I always wanted to say to you on your birthday but I will say once again how much I appreciate you. I know I can always turn to you about literally every topic because we either absolutely agree with each other or have a vastly different opinion about it. And I feel like these dynamics are what makes our friendship so wonderful. Thanks for always seeing the positive things in life when no one else does. I love you and hopefully we will see each other soon! <3

@idiotsfc - Alicia!! Nothing will beat your weird taste in men but since it’s so amusing and making my day, I’m fine with it 😂 thank you for always sending me lovely messages in my inbox, I love and appreciate you so much and hope you are doing well 💕

@magicmartinelli - I know you don’t like sappy texts so I will try to keep myself short. I think it’s super cool that you like my taste in music and literally every song I send to you and how you started liking CHVRCHES because of me ☺️ the way we are secretly both sore losers and get mad about our clubs is what connects us. See ya in 2021 and congrats for avoiding relegation so far!

@donnyvandered - I feel like I’m repeating myself but it’s true that getting to know you was one of my highlights this year too. I have so much love to you and I feel like we are always on the same wave length when talking. Together with Radia we just vibe so well and I feel like if we’d ever do a triple meeting we’d get along so well. Facetiming with you both was so fun and hopefully we can repeat this much more often next year. I love you and I hope you are doing well. Thank you for everything and see you in 2021 ❤️

@duckysweater - seeing you in my inbox every time I’m here, makes me so happy and I hope you know that I have so much love for you although I don’t say it very often! You deserve the world and more, with you it’s never a bad day here, thank you for everything you do! <3

@kingkepaff - Lily you are a very sweet person and I hope you know that you are loved! You are always brightening my day when I see you on my dash and it makes me happy that you’re always in my notifications and thoughts. Love you lots!

Other blogs I like a lot (give them a follow too):

@fredtheredsarmy @tierneystescobag @jackiexxgroenen @lucystani4th @giirlinterrupted @footballerimaginess @felltoabove @yonceutd @dioogoo @inlovewithamess @barkleysbabe @turtlelightwood @songofachillespdf @leahwilliamson @joytayloranya @danieljamesthighs @skb7 @lea-schuller @ansu--fatsi @elleeceunknown @ivanafuso @farmers-league

I also wanna say thank you to those mutuals who unfortunately deactivated or are inactive. You are always in my thoughts and I hope you are doing well.

Another special shoutout to my arsenal anon and german learning anon. I don’t know what you are up to but I hope you’re having a great time, it’s always good to have you in my inbox!

Also any other reoccurring anon who is always making my day or simply needs to rant, you make it worth leaving the anon feature turned on!

In the end, I love all of you very much. Thanks for making my tumblr experience the way it is

over and out, Liv XO

#mutuals tag

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