Do By Friday

Enthusiastic Horse

LINKS * Billy Preston: That's The Way God Planned It Official Trailer - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFWU_475o0c] * The Paragons - "The Tide Is High" - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQXqkiKXiHc] * Blondie - The Tide Is High - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAb8Q9X2xAc] * The Number Ones: Blondie's "The Tide Is High" (Stereogum) [https://stereogum.com/2081226/the-number-ones-blondies-the-tide-is-high/columns/the-number-ones] * I've Never Seen A USB-C Charger This Good! - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jAeEPHvDyA] * It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Chirping - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zoQfqPnMA8] * Off Menu_ podcast - Lucia Keskin [https://www.offmenupodcast.co.uk] * Linksys WRT54G: The Router That Accidentally Went Open Source (Tedium) [https://tedium.co/2021/01/13/linksys-wrt54g-router-history/] * Aldus Pagemaker - The Interface Experience: Bard Graduate Center [https://interface-experience.org/objects/aldus-pagemaker/] * Desktop Publishing: The PageMaker Revolution (Computer History Museum)https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/personal-computers/17/306 [https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/personal-computers/17/306] * Butterick's Practical Typography [https://practicaltypography.com/] * Library of Congress Classification - Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress_Classification] * MLA Style Center [https://style.mla.org/] * The Chicago Manual of Style [https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org] * The Remarkable Story of Roget's Thesaurus (Merriam-Webster) [https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/rogets-thesaurus] * Guardian style guide: A | Information | The Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-style-guide-a] * David Remnick [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Remnick] * David Remnick once suggested 'reconsidering' New Yorker's diaeresis! - The Washington Post [https://archive.is/P6xTc] * Eustace Tilley [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustace_Tilley] * The True History of Eustace Tilley (The Comics Journal) [https://www.tcj.com/the-true-history-of-eustace-tilley/] * The Elements of Style, by William Strunk--A Project Gutenberg eBook [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37134/37134-h/37134-h.htm] * The Elements of Style PDF [https://www.jlakes.org/ch/web/The-elements-of-style.pdf]

Theymaphrodite

LINKS * Marty Supreme | Official Trailer (A24) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9gSuKaKcqM] Josh Safdie's new film about a ping-pong hustler, starring Timothée Chalamet. * How A24 Created a Viral Marty Supreme Spectacle (Vogue) [https://www.voguehk.com/en/article/art-lifestyle/a24-marty-supreme-marketing-strategies/] The jacket drops, the Balenciaga collab, and the marketing machine behind the film. * Orlando (1992, Sally Potter) [https://sallypotter.com/film/1198/Orlando] Tilda Swinton as Virginia Woolf's time-traveling, gender-shifting nobleman — this week's mini-challenge. * Watch Orlando free on Tubi [https://tubitv.com/movies/674755/orlando] Go watch it. It's right here. * Quentin Crisp [https://crisperanto.org/] Plays Queen Elizabeth I in Orlando; Merlin imprinted on that image. * Tony Zhou, "Edgar Wright: How to Do Visual Comedy" (Every Frame a Painting) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FOzD4Sfgag] The video essay that made everyone realize Wright is doing something nobody else does. * The Wicker Man (1973) [https://www.rialtopictures.com/catalogue/the-wicker-man] The original folk horror — the thread connecting Hot Fuzz, Midsommar, and The Witch. * Off Menu podcast [https://www.offmenupodcast.co.uk] Florence Pugh's episode, in which she reveals she does not drink water. * Off Menu — Lucia Keskin (Chi With a C) [https://shows.acast.com/offmenu/episodes/lucia-keskin] BAFTA-winning comedian, discussed in the member show. "The quietest guest we've ever had." * Claire Foy had intestinal worms from filming The Crown (Yahoo News) [https://ca.news.yahoo.com/crown-star-reveals-truly-disgusting-161613980.html] The truly disgusting reason she no longer drinks caffeine. * Man throws shoes at Bush [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RFH7C3vkK4] They all throw their shoes. * Sarrasine — Balzac (Project Gutenberg) [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1826] The Balzac novella about a sculptor who falls in love with a castrato — the text Barthes famously dismantled. * S/Z — Roland Barthes [https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374521677/sz/] Barthes's semiotic disassembly of Sarrasine — Merlin's "oh fuck you, you should read Sarrasine" recommendation. * Gender: An Ethnomethodological Approach — Kessler & McKenna (U of Chicago Press) [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo3629888.html] The book that changed Merlin's life in a 1988 Gender Studies class: what if there weren't just two genders? * Gender Trouble — Judith Butler (PDF) [https://selforganizedseminar.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/butler-gender_trouble.pdf] The definitive text — Alex's rec that Merlin bought a beautiful copy of and still hasn't read. Here's a free one. * Who's Afraid of Gender? — Judith Butler (Bookshop.org) [https://bookshop.org/p/books/who-s-afraid-of-gender-judith-butler/19d09bc97a55a6d0?ean=9781250371911&next=t] Butler's newest book — the one Alex was actually talking about. Why are we weird about gender again? * "A Question and Three Answers" — Merlin Mann [https://merlin.ghost.io/a-question-and-three-answers/] Three perspectives on one question about being trans in America. * Claude Code (Anthropic) [https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code] Alex is getting into it and making $200; Merlin's teaching his to not watch Tommy read the paper. * Good Time (A24) [https://a24films.com/films/good-time] The Safdie Brothers' sweaty Robert Pattinson thriller — context for understanding what Safdie does. * Uncut Gems (A24) [https://a24films.com/films/uncut-gems] Adam Sandler in a diamond district panic attack — the other essential Safdie before Marty Supreme. * The Curse (Paramount+) [https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/the-curse/] Safdie and Nathan Fielder's deeply uncomfortable TV series. * Ricky Jay [https://rickyjay.com/] Magician, card sharp, actor, historian of the unusual — referenced during the shoe-throwing bit. * Baby Driver — Opening Titles / Coffee Run (feat. "Harlem Shuffle") [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYv2a_VF328] The scene that is its own argument. Edgar Wright syncing every footstep, every door, every beat. * Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, "Bellbottoms" [https://shoverecords.bandcamp.com/track/bellbottoms-2] The song that opens Baby Driver and never lets go. * Ayoade on Top — Richard Ayoade (Bookshop.org) [https://bookshop.org/p/books/ayoade-on-top-richard-ayoade/57a797b4c528c85e?ean=9780571339143&next=t] Ayoade wrote an entire book about the Gwyneth Paltrow movie View from the Top. It's called Ayoade on Top. Of course it is. * Olivia Colman is hooked on Ayoade's book premise | Graham Norton [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0BWXXM8Q9o&t=100s] The specific clip — Ayoade explaining View from the Top to a delighted Olivia Colman. Truly one of the great things. * Can I Ask You a Question? by Jennifer Venditti (A24 Shop) [https://shop.a24films.com/products/can-i-ask-you-a-question-by-jennifer-venditti] Venditti's casting book — the woman who found the faces for Good Time, Uncut Gems, and Marty Supreme. * Billy the Kid (2007, Jennifer Venditti) — watch free on Tubi [https://tubitv.com/movies/583900/billy-the-kid] The documentary that led to her casting work with the Safdies. * Defunctland, "Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTBB_QeKhcM] A feature-length orchestral documentary about EPCOT Center that has no business being this good. * Defunctland, "Disney's Animatronics: A Living History" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjNca1L6CUk] Bonus Defunctland for the curious. [https://bucket.contiguous.me/images/dbf/fatyeh-orange.jpg]

Your Session Crashed

LINKS * Patton Oswalt - KFC Famous Bowls - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfan5MacmsI] * Reconcilable Differences #279: I Promised Myself I Wasn't Going to Be Excited - Relay [https://www.relay.fm/rd/279] * Jeremy Renner Official - Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Renner_Official] * The Rock Diet - What Dwayne Johnson Eats in a Day [https://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/a38380193/the-rock-diet/] * Series 7, Episode 7 - 'The perfect stuff' | Full Episode | Taskmaster - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDnRoxgZhV0&list=PLC4Rx_vdLM97vihyLwXv6tnaJ6BFeNVU9&index=2] * Don't Blink! | Blink | Doctor Who - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwdbLu_x0gY] * Blink (Doctor Who) - Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blink_(Doctor_Who)] * "The Stallone Tangent" - Episode #133 - The Flop House Podcast - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV_AAZmsViM] * I Fifteen Love You | Do By Friday [https://dobyfriday.com/episodes/62] * DBF Episode 62: I Fifteen Love You : r/DoByFriday [https://www.reddit.com/r/DoByFriday/comments/7unam6/dbf_episode_62_i_fifteen_love_you/] * Merlin Mann’s Taskmaster Starter Episodes - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC4Rx_vdLM97vihyLwXv6tnaJ6BFeNVU9] * Prompt 3 [https://panic.com/prompt/] * iTerm2 - macOS Terminal Replacement [https://iterm2.com/index.html] * Drafts MCP Server for Claude/AI Integration - News & Updates - Drafts Community [https://forums.getdrafts.com/t/drafts-mcp-server-for-claude-ai-integration/16507] * Claw: macOS app for Claude Code [https://github.com/jamesrochabrun/Claw] * Synology [https://www.synology.com/] * CleanShot [https://cleanshot.com/] * MacWhisper [https://goodsnooze.gumroad.com/l/macwhisper] * Nora’s Wu-Tang Tattoo on The Leftovers: The Story Behind It [https://www.vulture.com/2017/04/nora-wu-tang-tattoo-the-leftovers.html#:~:text=The%20idea%20to%20have%20Nora%20cover%20up,W%20(which%20she%20mistakes%20for%20a%20phoenix)] * Chappelle's Show - Wu-Tang Financial (ft. RZA and GZA) - Uncensored - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhUnEg0he4A] * Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance (Official Music Video) - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBsjggc5jHM] * Robert Lowell, Setting the River on Fire: A Study of Genius, Mania, and Character, by Kay Redfield Jamison (Alfred A. Knopf) - The Pulitzer Prizes [https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/kay-redfield-jamison] * Robert Lowell, Setting the River on Fire a book by Kay Redfield Jamison - Bookshop.org US [https://bookshop.org/p/books/robert-lowell-setting-the-river-on-fire-a-study-of-genius-mania-and-character-kay-redfield-jamison/50b134aad1673628?ean=9780307744616&next=t] * U.S. Citizens Testify Against ICE Agents in Minneapolis - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xlsIrOUSZU] * Renee Good’s Brothers Give Emotional Testimony on DHS Tactics - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rbaEIK67YU] * Tubi - "Orlando" (1993) [https://tubitv.com/movies/674755/orlando] Next week's challenge: watch Orlando (1993)

Future Clowns of America

LINKS * The Nutty Professor (1963) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nutty_Professor_(1963_film)] Jerry Lewis as Professor Kelp / Buddy Love * Hank Azaria on Professor Frink [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paWsDhzeaN8] Based him on Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor * Tropic Thunder [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropic_Thunder] Simple Jack; "you went full [redacted]" * Be Kind Rewind [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNiolZNLiJplmCCzqk9-czQ] Video essays on women in film history * Stewart Lee [https://www.stewartlee.co.uk/] British comedian; Paul Nuttall of UKIP * Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Lee%27s_Comedy_Vehicle] BBC Two series (2009-2016) * Tailscale [https://tailscale.com/] Mesh VPN; part of the Iron Troika * Amphetamine [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/amphetamine/id937984704] macOS app to prevent sleep * AutoMounter [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/automounter/id1160435653?mt=12] Keeps network shares mounted * Synology [https://www.synology.com/] NAS; Merlin's home server setup * TP-Link Archer AX55 [https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/wifi-router/archer-ax55/] The router * NextDNS [https://nextdns.io/] DNS with ad blocking; Iron Troika member * Cloudflare [https://www.cloudflare.com/] Third member of the Iron Troika * DynDNS [https://account.dyn.com/] Dynamic DNS; the old way * Let's Encrypt [https://letsencrypt.org/] Free SSL certificates * Passkeys [https://fidoalliance.org/passkeys/] Passwordless authentication * Hide My Email [https://support.apple.com/guide/icloud/set-up-hide-my-email-mm9d9012c9e8/icloud] Apple's email aliasing * Linda Stone [https://lindastone.net/] Coined "email apnea" and "continuous partial attention" * "Are You Breathing? Do You Have Email Apnea?" [https://lindastone.net/2014/11/24/are-you-breathing-do-you-have-email-apnea/] Linda Stone's original article * Claude Code as elevator music [https://interconnected.org/home/2025/09/12/claude] Matt Webb on the contemplative rhythm of working with Claude Code * J. Edgar Hoover [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Edgar_Hoover#Sexuality] FBI director; Clyde Tolson * Cary Grant & Randolph Scott [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary_Grant#Relationships] Lived together; "Riding the Trails Alone" * The Carter Family [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_Family] First family of country music * Cowboy Carter [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_Carter] Beyoncé's country album * Country Music (Ken Burns) [https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/country-music] 2019 documentary series * Trypophobia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trypophobia] Lotus seed pods; a clown situation * Pansy Division [https://pansydivision.com/] Queercore band; pun on Panzer Division * Reformation Iconoclasm [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeldenstorm] Defacing religious art

Backpack Full of Stones

LINKS * TLC - "Waterfalls" [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterfalls_(TLC_song)] Alex was four. * No Such Thing as a Fish [https://www.nosuchthingasafish.com/] QI researchers' podcast; Merlin's been listening for years * No Such Thing As Debreadtion — No Such Thing As A Fish — Overcast [https://overcast.fm/+LJPAysoUs] The episode Merlin mentioned * Ken Burns' Jazz [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_(miniseries)] Episode 9 "The Adventure." * TLC - "Unpretty" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2gy1Evb1Kg] Merlin's favorite TLC song. * Dead Drop [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_drop] Spycraft term for passing info without meeting * Ken Burns' Baseball [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_(TV_series)] Source of the Lincoln "tiredest" quote * A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Knight_of_the_Seven_Kingdoms_(TV_series)] New Game of Thrones spinoff * Why Are Icelandic Horses Not Called Ponies? (Iceland Mag) [https://icelandmag.is/article/why-are-icelandic-horses-not-called-ponies-all-you-need-know-about-icelandic-horse] Pony-sized but Iceland said it's a horse * Ship of Theseus (Khan Academy video) [https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/wi-phi/wiphi-metaphysics-epistemology/wiphi-metaphysics/v/ship-of-theseus] The philosophical paradox behind "Thesean Horse" * Saint John Coltrane Church (KQED) [https://www.kqed.org/news/12070415/inside-the-san-francisco-church-where-john-coltrane-is-a-saint] Yes, there's literally a church for this album * John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (1965) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMCHDC2Lurk&list=PLMZ-Il3Xj6UHN214o-sj__7tn0h2wkw0m] The album that inspired the church * "Is he quare?" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHR5Ly3TrwM] Comedy repetition reference * Harry Enfield [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Enfield] British comedian; "Is he queer?" sketch * Paul Whitehouse [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Whitehouse] The other half of the old men in the club * I Spy books (Walter Wick Studio) [http://www.walterwick.com/books/i-spy] Merlin's analogy for how Claude Code sees things * "40, 45 Years" - Stewart Lee [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9IJnmbneLc] The callback king * Claude Code (Anthropic) [https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code] The AI tool Merlin won't shut up about * Rik Mayall: Lord of Misrule [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3RXXWBLy2Y] 2014 BBC tribute documentary; narrated by Simon Callow * The Young Ones (IMDb) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083505/] What you most likely know Rik Mayall from * The Young Ones - "Bambi" / University Challenge (YouTube) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3HvchF49AM] Fry, Laurie, Thompson vs. the lads * Nell (1994) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nell_(film)] Merlin's first memory of Liam Neeson as a lead * Nell (1994) Trailer [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMdq4zNOGF8] "Can't abide a canna peas," is a line Merlin feels like he remembers Jodie Foster's Nell saying * Scotiabank Saddledome: Building Design [https://www.scotiabanksaddledome.com/building-design/] Say it soft, and it's almost like praying. * Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortimer_%26_Whitehouse:_Gone_Fishing] Bob and Paul's fishing show * Game of Thrones - "Fire and Blood" (Fandom) [https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Fire_and_Blood] Season 1 finale; Daenerys and the dragon eggs * Lucy Liu on the "Dragon Lady" Stereotype (NextShark) [https://nextshark.com/lucy-liu-interview-dragon-lady-stereotypes] "I could have been wearing a tuxedo and a blond wig" * The Slop Hash [https://theslophash.com] Merlin's project to get you excited about making something cool. * "I never said she stole my money" has 7 different meanings [https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/sh2y00/i_never_said_she_stole_my_money_has_7_different/] Stress a different word, get a different sentence. * The Butterfield Diet Plan (YouTube) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NjTWvl8x-U] "The results have been increbidle" * The Night Left Eye Burned Down Andre Rison's Mansion (Investigation Discovery) [https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/celebrity/the-night-lisa-left-eye-lopes-burned-down-her-boyfriends-mansion] It started with sneakers in a fiberglass bathtub * Memento Mori [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_mori] "Remember you will die" * Anterograde Amnesia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anterograde_amnesia] The condition from Memento — can't form new memories * One Hundred Years of Solitude [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Hundred_Years_of_Solitude] García Márquez's masterpiece * Kieran's very good post [https://mastodon.social/@kjhealy/115936018587051570] "Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father was discovered and taken by ICE." * Hammer [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer] A tool so durable it works across time * Cottaging: History of the Term (Idiom Origins) [https://idiomorigins.org/origin/cottaging] How they got John Gielgud, Wilfrid Brambell, and poor Brian Epstein. * Brian Epstein (Beatles Bible) [https://www.beatlesbible.com/people/brian-epstein/] Beatles manager; arrested 1957, blackmailed for years, died a month before decriminalization * Clarke's Three Laws [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke%27s_three_laws] "Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" * Ducking Stool [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ducking_stool] Chair on a stick for dunking witches and scolds * Roget's Thesaurus (Project Gutenberg) [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22] Category 1: Existence * 12 Facts About Taking of Pelham 123 (Mental Floss) [https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/taking-of-pelham-one-two-three-facts] They fictionalized the dead man's switch to foil copycats * The 36-Hour Day (Johns Hopkins Press) [https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12151/36-hour-day] Read it before someone you love has dementia ---------------------------------------- > Some folks I love and admire do come off sounding a little like the same people who loudly hated Little Richard and disco music. > > Honestly, sometimes it's legit difficult to notice when we've gotten more emotionally invested than we'd realized in seeming right. > > And that shit is a LOT to decide to carry forever. 🐘 [https://mastodon.social/@hotdogsladies/115941968073309400]