Weekly Bulletin #9: April 3rd, 2023
another week, another post
Here’s our weekly post—a few faves from the week! A healthy mix of music, film, TV, art, and gossip.
Maya
SMOTW (Succession Moment of the Week): Logan using Hammermill copy paper boxes as a podium for his Murdochian speech on the floor of ATN was unbeatable. He looked like, to quote Cousin Greg, “if Santa Claus was a hitman.” Also, Tom trying and failing to be his chief of staff/confidante makes me feel insane.
Wes Anderson's “Asteroid City” trailer (film): It was immediately jarring to see Tom Hanks’ face, expecting to see Bill Murray’s (not mad about it). I’m excited for the Wes-brand wackiness!
Megan Thee Pitcher (sports, it girls): Megan Thee Stallion threw the first pitch on Opening Day for her hometown team, the Houston Astros. It was admittedly a flop, but she looked so cute while doing it that I don’t care! That’s my girl fr!
"Brokeback Mountain" stage adaptation (theater): A play of “Brokeback Mountain” is set to debut in the West End this May, starring Mike Faist of “West Side Story” (2021) and one of my favorite A24 it boys (who hasn’t been in enough recently and who I’m excited to have an excuse to talk about again), Lucas Hedges. If anyone feels like funding my round-trip flight to London, my Venmo is @Maya-Mabern!
boygenius and That Leonard Cohen Lyric (music): Look, "the record" was good and I support women but that second verse is indefensible and should be made fun of! Separately, between this song and last night’s “Succession,” Leonard Cohen is really having a moment this week.
Brief Americana at Brand Memes Rebrand (Twitter, April Fools Day): For one day only, the beloved LA-based meme account rebranded to “Hillhurst and Vermont Ave Memes,” a central and storied intersection in the Los Feliz neighborhood. The Greek Theater traffic tweet was my personal favorite of the day. Read about the mastermind behind the account in this recent profile for KCRW!
Hannah
SMOTW (Succession Moment of the Week): Connor’s monologue* about not needing love, hands down. It’s always important to remember that Alan Ruck is a phenomenal actor, and I’m so glad he’s on this show. Connor’s wedding storyline makes my stomach hurt and my chest tight—he just wants to sing karaoke and spend time with his family! (As a bonus, at the bar when Shiv says, “A house red? Do I dare?” is pretty perfect.)
Jason Ritter on Drew Barrymore (talk show): Can Drew Barrymore be a tad annoying? Yes. Can she be overwhelming? Yes. Can she be cringey? Yes! But also, I cry more at her segments and interviews than at any other show. This is such a genuinely beautiful interview snippet, and I love how she creates a sincerely genuine space on the show by being almost excruciatingly open and vulnerable.
Nathan Lane on Sunday Today (talk show): I always love hearing another story about how good Robin Williams was.
Beckett’s Closing Party (new york news, art scenes): I am once again getting on my soapbox to say: save bohemian-style art spaces! Save them and treasure them! I’ve never been to Beckett’s, but it’s rare to have scenes like this! Like with reading Just Kids by Patti Smith and looking up where all of the landmarks are, only to realize maybe 60% of them (probably more) have been turned into TD Banks. Upsetting!
Trump Finally Being Indicted/Gwyneth Paltrow Being Innocent (justice): Huge day for the law! Trump being indicted for a relatively minor case is very Al Capone being indicted for tax fraud. Fox News was distraught! Finally, something decent happens in politics!
Love Is Blind in general (reality tv): Yes, of course, I’m watching Love is Blind! It’s a sickness! And now that International Women’s Month is over, I will say here and now: Irina is genuinely a bad person. She’s manipulative and mean and I don’t like her! When will they have normal people on this show? (Trick question! They can never have healthy people on the show because I will stop watching!)
*For Context: “The good thing about having a family that doesn’t love you is you learn how to live without it…If Willa doesn’t come back that’s fine. Because I don’t need love. It’s like a superpower. And if she comes back and doesn’t love me, that’s okay too. Because I don’t need it.”