Jacob All Trades #316
Oil Painted Selfies, Dog Park Drama, GOP in Drag, Facial Tracking, Pity City, Phantom BTS, and How To Raise Environmentalist Kids
Woof, I have been so busy! I’ve been finishing up some backyard/DIY-type projects and have been having pitch meetings for a project I’ve been working on for the last two years. I’ve also just realized I fully did an interview for this newsletter and forgot to release it – so that’s coming soon, too.
I’m also thinking a lot about the impending Writer’s Strike that may begin this week. The middle class in Hollywood has been disappearing and many people who work on successful shows are barely paying their rent while the CEOs of the media companies that crank out those shows are getting multi-million dollar bonuses.
Mainly, I took a chunk of time this week to dive into the world of art and media grants and started researching things I might apply to. It’s exciting, but also very intimidating. Does anyone reading this have experience with grant writing? Especially for art and/or film grants? If so, I’d love to chat with you…
Alright, here’s a newsletter. Enjoy!
CONSUMPTION JUNCTION
Three things I’ve seen, heard, or otherwise experienced recently that have been on my mind.
The Public Domain Review (which I highly recommend following on Instagram) recently published an article about Joseph Ducreux. Ducreux was a minor aristocrat born in France in 1735. Among other achievements (he drew the last portrait of Louis XVI before the king was guillotined) he painted eerily prescient self-portraits that basically look like modern selfies.
Dr. Eve L. Ewing is one of my favorite writers and people to follow on Instagram. She was recently a guest on one of my favorite podcasts, Normal Gossip, and it’s an all-timer. If you don’t (yet) listen, Normal Gossip is “juicy, utterly banal gossip about people you’ll never know” hosted by master storyteller Kelsey McKinney. This episode involves dog park drama and it is a real treat.
MOTHER HAS ARRIVED! Rupublicans is an Instagram account that uses AI and Photoshop to reimagine Republican bigots as drag queens. Honestly, it’s the best some of them have ever looked.
DO SOMETHING
Don’t just tweet there…
If you live in California, sign the ACLU’s petition to stop AB 642. AB 642 is police-backed facial tracking legislation that the ACLU argues will endanger “Black people, poor people, immigrants, activists, women, and LGBTQ people. It will lead to more abuse, imprisonment, deportations, and abortion prosecutions.”
THIS WEEK IN CORPORATE F*CKERY
Corporations and their leaders in the news, and how you can contact them if you feel inclined to give them a piece of your mind.
Andi Owen, the CEO of MillerKnoll (which owns Herman Miller and Eames brands) said some awful shit in a Q&A with staff that got leaked. The company’s fiscal year ends in May and, apparently, someone asked about bonuses. Her response (below) was leaked and went viral.
(It was hard for me to find the video bc most sources I’d originally seen were removed. Shady.)
In the rant Owen — who has a salary of $1 million and made nearly $4 million in bonuses last year — tells employees who ask about bonuses to focus on helping the company money and not stay in ‘Pity City’ worrying about their own income. Easy to say for someone who made $5M last year.
It’s a resonant example of CEOs who are out of touch with everyday workers. Especially as we head toward a Hollywood strike where the working class is fighting for basic protections against the heads of media conglomerates who make… a lot of money.
If you wanted to reach out to MillerKnoll for any reason here are some ways to do so:
MillerKnoll Phone Number: (616) 654-3000
media_relations@hermanmiller.com, press@knoll.com
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
After 35 years, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera is closing its Broadway run. I saw a touring production of Phantom as a kid that had a profound impact on me (so much that my grandparents once gifted me a framed show poster and I absolutely had a Phantom mask). While I never saw it on Broadway, I did see the touring production a few years ago and was blown away by how “80s Heavy Metal” the whole thing felt.
Point being: Phantom is a cultural phenomenon. Much has been written about it in the last few months — from NPR to the NYT op-ed by Webber himself — but, I lurk around some of the most niche corners of the Internet. Some recent spelunking down this rabbit hole discovered a series of behind-the-scenes videos from Phantom of the Opera understudy Jeremy Stolle.
Stolle was in 5067 performances of Phantom on Broadway and played Passarino, the Phantom, Raoul, and Piangi. He’s been posting a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes shots in the last few weeks including pyro tests, stunt rehearsals, how the ‘masquerade’ set folds up to hang above the actors, and more.
It’s a different look at Phantom and a fascinating one.
TAKE MY MONEY!
Parks Project is a purpose-driven brand advocating for people and parks. They make some of my favorite stuff and they’ve got a new batch of 70s-inspired National Parks shirts that I am really digging.
This gorgeous tool set from Character is exactly what I’d buy if I wanted to spend $300 on a bespoke set of tools. The toolbox is made from steel with silicon liners. It also comes with one year of unlimited “Expert Support” you can call when you’re working on projects. It’s bougie AF and marketed expertly. Is it worth it? Idk. Do I want one? Yes.
Okay, these look really silly and dumb but also… convenient? I want these badger gloves for gardening!
I MADE THIS FOR YOU
Well, technically I just showed up and someone else did all the work. But, I was invited to be a guest on The Family Room Podcast to talk about raising environmentalist kids. I think I was able to center the conversation on the corporations and fossil fuel stooges who are largely responsible for both the problem and the cover-up while also being positive and giving some fun tips for parents and non-parents alike. Here’s a link to the episode.
Alrighty, that’s it for this issue. Feel free to leave a comment or share the newsletter using the links below.
Party on,
Jacob
Again...loved every second. Well curated and varied info! PS...I got the gloves! Too big for my small hands but Winston likes them! Keep up these Jake! You keep my eyes on the pulse.