(Disclaimer: This will BY FAR be the longest newsletter. In the future, you can expect just the numbered bits).
Hey there!
For those of you who don’t know/remember me, I’m Billy.
Over the past decade, I’ve had a less-than-normal work life. I’ve made a living illustrating posters, building brands, laying out websites, designing apps, writing articles, facilitating workshops, throwing summer camps, starting companies, and pretty much everything else in-between. I've even been paid to make weird sounds with my mouth while five other guys sing. True story.1
Now, I mainly write about working in tech, but you can read that stuff on Medium.
The thing is, we’re not here for random work chit chat - let’s save that ish Microsoft Teams and LinkedIn broems.
I rebooted this newsletter because I realized something: I consume a lot of stuff.
Starting as a wee little kid, I would binge-watch an endless amount of cartoons. Every Saturday morning, I would wake up at the butt crack of dawn, run downstairs, and watch my favorites until I couldn’t see straight.
Once I morphed into an awkward teen, it was any and all comics.
Now as an adult (lol), my palate has matured (lol) and I now tear through books, movies, shows, video games, podcasts, Twitter threads, snacks, and pretty much anything else I can get my grubby little hands on. Yes…this 100% still means cartoons.
My excuse is that most of it helps get the creative juices flowing (ew), but let’s be honest - I have zero self control and like everyone else right now, I’m constantly looking for a way to escape the harsh hellscape that is the real world.
This is why every Saturday morning, I want to share everything I consume and some things I create, because let’s face it - there’s no such thing as a free newsletter. I’ll try not to be too spammy or salesy, I promise!
So, put on those footy pajamas, pour yourself a big ‘ol bowl of Fruit Loops, and let’s get into it!
Here’s what I have for you this morning:
A few weeks ago, I saw both Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Everything Everywhere All At Once. As a huge comic fan, I couldn’t resist geeking out over the newest Marvel behemoth, but I was surprised to say I enjoyed A24’s genre-bending take on the multiverse even more. Just get ready for some straight up weirdness (i.e. Hot dog fingers and eating chapstick).
I just read Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem and I’ll admit, some of her essays went over my head. My favorites were her takes on San Francisco and New York - the way she captured the vibe of each city was nothing short of magic. It makes me want to get better at paying more attention whenever I travel to places, like Europe…or Trader Joe’s.
Thanks to getting COVID and more peer pressure than all of TikTok, I finally started playing Elden Ring for PS5. This game is a lot like Lord of the Rings…if a giant dragon came out of nowhere and brutally murdered Frodo every five minutes. Did I mention George R. R. Martin helped create it? Now I know why he still hasn’t finished the last Game of Thrones book - he’s a sadist who’s been busy creating one of the largest words I’ve ever galloped across in a video game.
Speaking of COVID, my symptoms were so bad, the only thing I could do was be a big ‘ol baby and watch an obscene amount of TV in bed. What was the best thing I watched you ask? If you haven’t seen Severance on Apple TV+, set your Teams to “Do Not Disturb,”2 binge it, and then hit me up on Twitter. It’s basically The Office meets Black Mirror, but with Zach Cherry bringing the funny. Bonus: it stars Adam Scott, which was exactly what I needed after finishing Parks & Rec and Party Down.
During a road trip last year to New Orleans, my friend Paul played a podcast and it changed my life. Off Menu combines two things I freaking love: food and comedy. In each episode, British comedians James Acaster and Ed Gamble interview people via their dream restaurant. Each guest chooses still or sparkling water, poppadoms or bread (it’s a British thing), and then their dream starter, main dish, side dish, dessert, and drink. Plot twist! If the guest mentions the secret ingredient, they kick them out and end the episode. Nothing like some high-stakes podcasting to get your blood pumping!
I’ve been working in tech for a while now and as someone who made the leap without learning how to code, I want to help others do it, too. That’s why I started a publication were I interview people who have already made the leap. I’m guessing this will quickly turn into a podcast because it’s 2022 and everybody has one. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering, “How the heck do you get into tech?” this might be for you.
After reading Austin Kleon’s newsletter on the concept of W.A.I.T., I couldn’t help but share my two cents on Medium for all of the other opinionated white guys out there. We’ll see how much pushback I get (Spoiler alert: I’ve already had another white dude say women also talk to much). Cue the collective eyeroll and groan.
Remember my friend Paul? Well, he and his wife recently got back from Ireland and as a thank you for keeping his birds alive, he brought me Ballymaloe Tomato Relish among a few other dope sauces (I love sauces so much, we had a table of over 50 of my favorites at my wedding). I’ve been putting this stuff on literally everything. Think McDonald’s sweet ketchup…but from Ireland.
Thanks to Jeremy Utley’s newsletter, I was introduced to killedbygoogle.com, an online graveyard for all of the ideas, projects, and apps Google has discontinued (Google+ anyone?) I love the idea of celebrating failure so much, I’m considering creating a similar page on my website. Yeah…I’ve had a ton of bad ideas in the past.
In case you haven’t spent longer than five minutes online, there is still a critical mass of tech bros ranting about crypto. Here’s a little piece I wrote about what I would rather do instead of listening to them.
You made it to the end! As a bonus, I’ll leave you with this.
Cheers,
Billy
As you can tell, I’m not a fan of Teams…