Full Transcript
Um okay, I should probably so damn it. I was sort of on a roll.
David:
Um, did you lose your vibe or whatever?
Gavin:
Well, I don’t know. Uh like do I need to go back and say the entire thing again?
David:
Oh, please God, no.
Gavin:
And this is Gatriarchs.
David:
And we saw each other. Wait, wait, should we start off with the top news? Is that we saw each other? We were in real life together. I haven’t touched Gavin since we recorded episode one with Craig Ramsey. I have not seen him in real life since episode one, and we went into New York City like yesterday? The day before yesterday? Uh somewhere around there. Um, and we saw each other and we hung out and we did some things that we’ll talk to you about later. But like it was, it’s not like sexy things. We we recorded something. If only we recorded some sexy things. You don’t need to dumb it down. No, that’s true. But it was so fun to see you. Like I was like, oh yeah, this is what Gavin looks like in real life.
Gavin:
It was a reminder of when you work with somebody over Zoom constantly, as we know for the last couple of years, you forget, frankly, the humanity in the other person. Even though you and I definitely laugh. I mean, I know that you are human, but I think sometimes you think I’m a demon. And so I’m glad to know that you saw that I was not that I’m a demon and a human.
David:
So I was surprised you still used your walker, but it was good to see you regardless.
Gavin:
So speaking of walkers or not, uh, you know that tractor supply has brought on its own little bullshit recently, right? That they I do not know this. You do you really not? I don’t. We’re talking about tractor supply like the store, right? Yes. Yes. No, no idea. We probably read different news sites, frankly. But but so I’m gonna stop you on read news.
David:
I’m just gonna stop you right there.
Gavin:
Okay, so anyway, tractor supply recently got in a little bit of hot water, I suppose, with a certain side of the political sphere, because they have completely abandoned and overtly abandoned all of their DEI initiatives of what any kind. They’re like, we are no longer doing it. And by it, I am I’m I’m waving my arms frantically to say they’re not doing it, any of it. And they very publicly said, we’re not doing it anymore. We’re not doing the pronouns, we’re not doing pride parades, we’re not doing DEI, we are not doing quotas, we’re not doing any of that, right? Which has been like a lot of people feel away about it because they are obviously kowtowing to the political right. I mean, and hey, tractor supply, I suppose, like, listen, rural America and conservative America are, I would say, okay, I’m not gonna get on a political soapbox, but they are voting not in their own best interest.
David:
They never have, and it’s so frustrating. It’s so frustrating.
Gavin:
It’s so frustrating because of misinformation and cultural manipulation. Anyway, Tractor Supply has has dumped all of quote unquote it. Well, Harley Davidson is in the news a little bit now because they are also being targeted by this same campaign. But so far, Harley Davidson is essentially being like, fuck you. We love the dikes on bikes, we love the gay riders, and they’re, I mean, okay, I don’t think they’re taking any huge stands yet, but they’re like, we’re not gonna abandon this because these are our riders as well.
David:
This is well, there’s two sides to this coin, right? There’s the like, what do they actually think about it? And then there’s like the their company public position, which as we know are very much often in opposition. I have many gay friends who work for Target, but we all know that Target is not pro-gay unless it’s June. So it’s like that kind of stuff. But like, but it’s always shocking to me when a company decides they want to take a big swing like this in that direction. Yeah. Right? Like, I can understand if you’re quietly removing DEI stuff, but like, not that I understand it, but I could I could see a uh like a business uh motivation for that. But I’m always shocked, like, yeah, a lot of motorcycle riders are gay or dikes and bikes and stuff like that. But like, why take this position on going backwards? It seems so stupid.
Gavin:
Yep, yep, no, it’s entirely right. And I mean, uh, this is certainly this is certainly like a pendulum swinging, I suppose. Uh, and it’s it’s too bad, but listen, I mean, uh, it it progress is not a straight line. But and it is not a straight line because um the gays are not popular either with John Deere. So unfortunately, there is a pendulum of the John Deere Company is caving, and they are indeed dumping all of their DEI, everything, and they’re not doing it as I wave my arms to get round four.
David:
I feel like of all the companies that are gonna go the other direction, and it’s gonna be Tractor Supply and John Deere, I’m kind of like, okay, like you can have them. Like, it’s like you’re not taking away Taylor Swift from us. Like, so like, do I really need to hold on to tractor supply? Why don’t you guys have tractor supply and we’ll have free health care, you know what I mean? We’ll have all the other things.
Gavin:
If only, if only, if only, and let’s hope. So, uh, so yeah, I thought that was a kind of interesting uh gaze in the news. But then also there’s a little element of gaze in the news that I found utterly hilarious. There is a gay priest. Well, let’s not look at it.
David:
Of course there are.
Gavin:
There is a priest who used to be pretty high up in the archdiocese of wherever. I’m not Catholic, so I will butcher those terms, who is currently suing Grinder because of a data breach. He feels like they invaded his privacy. And the reason this came about is because he got caught by a right-wing uh publication called The Pillar, and they were able to geofence, track, locate, hack his phone, probably, and put two and two together that he was having threesomes on the side, thanks to Grinder. And so rather than suing the pillar for exposing his behavior, he’s suing Grindr because they didn’t protect his uh privacy enough, which I find endlessly hilarious.
David:
It’s just so like you see me like rolling my eyes over here and just like shaking my head. There’s so many parts of the story that I hate, and I’m gonna take all of the ones that you’ve heard a million times away. But it’s just always so funny how, like, the okay, let’s take everything away. But the the data part. Like, we all know this, and I think we have to be constantly reminded. We are just volunteering our information, our location, yeah, our our our eyeballs constantly to these free platforms.
Gavin:
And children also who are online, for instance, my kids who are on TikTok and everything, and I have to keep in mind, and they we need to be able to teach them. You are volunteering an awful lot of information. You just got to keep aware of that.
David:
Do you know the amount of people that have seen me naked in the world? My poor router just sends nonstop dick pics to every stranger within 100 miles. Um, but it’s also, and there’s a whole the like Catholic priest part of this who is again talking about voting against their own beliefs, doing all of that kind of shit.
SPEAKER_03:
Yep.
David:
Oh, it just enrages me. Do we have anything good to say this episode? We have started so terribly.
Gavin:
Thank you for letting me go down this political route that I love so much. It makes us so very, very turned on. It’s my gift to you. Can you see through the zoo? Yes. Anyway, that uh I I heard an interview today with governor of Minnesota, Tim Waltz, who made the statement that his political platform is essentially I want to have a state, uh I want Minnesota to be this best state to raise a kid. And that is what informs his policies on um housing reform and interest rates and health care and all the things, which you could say are a bunch of lefty liberal um policy platforms, but really he’s like, nope, I’m just trying to make it an easier place and an easier time in our very difficult lives to raise a kid. And isn’t that shouldn’t we all just move to Minnesota? Because what an excellent platform that is. It just takes the politicization out of it.
David:
Yeah, I mean, yeah, I would say like I’ve gotten arguments with family members who are super, super right. And I’m like, well, tell me why you’re right, and they’ll list all the things. I’m like, those are liberal ideas. Yeah, they’re like, I don’t want the government to spend a bunch of money on stupid shit. And I’m like, that’s a liberal idea, babe. Your Republicans are the ones spending all the bullshit. Anyway, um, well, that’s nice. That’s kind of a nice thing to end your political rant on.
Gavin:
Thank you. Thank you for letting us go down that line. So, speaking of things that are also uplifting, uh, you know what else is?
David:
What else is?
Gavin:
Wait for it. Wait for it. There was so much judgment in your eyes when you said you just didn’t want to take that path.
David:
No, did you? Do it, do it. This is your this is baby, this is your show. This this has been your show. You started it, you have everything on the outline. I have literally written nothing. This is your guest this week. All right, guys. I don’t even know why I’m here.
Gavin:
Okay, let’s hear about your top three list.
David:
Gatriarchs, top three list, three, two, one. So this week is my list, and this week the list is the top three things you like to do by your fucking self. Um, we have kids, um, obviously, and um, we don’t get to do a lot of things by ourselves. So here are my top three favorite things to do by myself. Tell me. Number one, poop. I love pooping alone. I like to take my time, I like to watch TikToks, I like to just be by myself. I often, there’s always a knock at the door. There’s a daddy, can I have a? And man, when they are not home and I just get to poop by myself, chefs kiss. Number two, I like to eat popcorn by myself because the way I eat popcorn is like somebody who hasn’t had a drink of water and has been, you know, traversing through the desert in six weeks and they just see a big lake and they put their face in the water and they just scoop the waters up with their hands. That is how I eat popcorn, and it’s embarrassing and shameful, which is why I do it in the dark. And so, number two, eat popcorn. And number one, my favorite thing to do by myself, deal with a tantrum. Oh, because when you have another adult in the room, either a co-parent or your grandmother or a friend or whatever, there’s just the eyes. It’s not that there’s judgment, but there’s judgment. And I feel like every tantrum I get, and it’s just me in the driver’s seat, oh, I feel like I’m the best parent ever.
Gavin:
I wasn’t expecting that last one, but you’re exactly right. There are just some things that should be done alone. I completely agree with you. Completely agree. Um, so for me, number three, movies. I want to watch and go to a movie alone. I don’t want to take kids with me who are so entitled, they think that they need the$25 popcorn and a drink, and and uh they are double tasking it anyway, and I’m always afraid they’re gonna need to go to the bathroom and they’re not have they’re bored and whatnot. I just want to go to a movie alone. I don’t care if it’s G-rated or R-rated, I want to go alone. Number two, drive to Target and shop and return alone. That includes listening to NPR on the way there.
David:
Oh, you are such a cliche.
Gavin:
That includes getting my Starbucks. Oh my god. Walking the aisles. That includes driving home, listening to NPR on my own. That is uh the best. But it pales in comparison also to my number one thing that I love to be able to fucking do alone is Saturday mornings. I want to wake up when I want to wake up. I want to have my morning time, I want to have my coffee, I want to read. I don’t want to have to manage anybody else. I just want my Saturdays alone. There you go.
David:
Yeah. Well, someday you’ll be all alone when everyone leaves you. So that’s okay. Um, so next week, normally you would be choosing um our top three list. I would next week.
Gavin:
I normally I would be making up our next our next top three list on the top of my head.
David:
And we would probably have a cold open in the bank because you could not remember it.
Gavin:
Since this is since this is your improvisational show, you get to pass the buck.
David:
So next week is our very first special, a very special Gatriarchs episode. We’re gonna do a special back to school episode. One of our wonderful listeners um reached out and said, Hey, are you gonna do a back to school episode? And I was like, I I am, I don’t have school age kids yet. My son is going to kindergarten next year. And so experience, you’re I didn’t even think about back to school. And I went, I messaged the back and I was like, that’s a great idea. So we’re gonna do a special back to school episode, and we’re gonna have former guests come on and give us their top dad hacks or top parenting hacks for back to school. So get ready for that next week.
Gavin:
This was the best idea you’ve never had. Thanks. So our next guest is Above the Fray of the Mommy Blogosphere with a delicious perspective on all things, mommy and blogs and spheres. She is a regular writer at the intersections of parenting and race and gender and sexuality and economic status. Probably most importantly, though, she’s gonna bring an awful lot of pop culture knowledge to us at Gatriarchs, the finest American news source. But she’s an amazing queer mom with a son who recently stated, and she’ll correct me here, women’s basketball is better than men’s basketball. Please welcome the mommy with the most is Saida Shabazz. Tell us how has your kid driven you bonkers today?
SPEAKER_01:
Well, it’s still early. We live on the West Coast, so you know, it’s still morning time here, so there’s still a lot of day left. He actually hasn’t been to him to screw.
David:
I feel like they usually give you half a day of each, right? It can either be the second half or the first half. So he’s given you the first half of like a nice calm before the so far things are good.
SPEAKER_01:
Yeah, so far things are good. Um, so you know, I’m I’m grateful for that, but there’s still a lot of day left.
Gavin:
Yeah. And and how much of summer is left?
SPEAKER_01:
So we have about 10 days left before we go back to school. So we’re coming in on that tail end of summer vacation. And it, you know, I love my son. Uh-huh.
David:
Dot dot dot.
SPEAKER_01:
I do. I do. I love him so much.
Gavin:
And that is a universal ellipse for sure.
SPEAKER_01:
Yes. I’m really grateful for the summer that we get to like hang out because we don’t get to do that during the school year because of his extracurricular activity. Um, but he’s eating me out of house and home, y’all.
Gavin:
That’s a lot.
SPEAKER_01:
So I will be grateful just for that.
Gavin:
Um groceries are expensive. And he is how hard?
SPEAKER_01:
He is 10, he will be 11. Oh man.
David:
Oh, just imagine his body is just getting ready to just be disgusting and smelly and gross. Yeah.
Gavin:
And that’s already kind of but but and also he is you think he’s eating you out of house and home right now.
SPEAKER_01:
I mean he has been since he was four. Um the thing about I have he is tall for his age. I was trying to think of the most uh the nicest way to put that. Um so he is already probably about five foot, five foot one.
SPEAKER_03:
And he’s 10.
SPEAKER_01:
Wow. Yeah, and he wears men’s shoes already. He’s a big, he’s a big kid for his, you know, for his age. So he eats a lot to have to like maintain the constant upward growth. Um, I went grocery shopping yesterday, and you know, I spent a lot of money on very little, but also grocery prices in America are banana pans. So I was we were like, what should we buy that we spent all this money? Um, and so it’s a lot of me just being like, hey, can you make these things stretch? Like he loves fruit, which is amazing because people are always like, How do you get your kid to like eat fruits and vegetables?
David:
I was like, I don’t know, I just got lucky because it’s expensive, so he loves it.
SPEAKER_01:
Exactly. But that’s exactly it.
David:
He likes caviar and and pineapple and gold plated this, and yeah, as well.
SPEAKER_01:
Yes, he loves blueberries, and so those have been one of those things that have gotten increasingly more expensive very quickly. So I have to remind him like, hey, we have to stretch these out. We can’t eat the whole 18-ounce container in a day.
David:
Are you guys executive Costco members?
SPEAKER_01:
Yeah, we should be.
David:
You should be. I mean, the cotton the fruit there is amazing, just to keep up with him.
SPEAKER_01:
Um, he’s also, I’ve created a bit of a monster, and he like has now taken to a daily smoothie.
David:
Oh fancy.
SPEAKER_01:
No, we use frozen, but even frozen fruit is still pricey when you’re going through it that often. And he likes his I cut it half apple juice, half water. So we’re also going through apple juice like crazy.
Gavin:
That’s a lot. That’s a lot. So okay, so I wanna, I mean, you’re already kind of getting to part of uh one of your favorite topics, I have a feeling, which is about like socioeconomics, right? And talking about like the price of living. Yes. But I’m curious, will you just tell us how your family came to be?
SPEAKER_01:
Oh, okay, of course. So I had my son through a previous relationship with a man. Um I used to identify as bisexual and now identify as a lesbian. Um, and so we had our son and me split up pretty like shortly thereafter. So I was a single mom for six and a half years.
SPEAKER_03:
Wow.
SPEAKER_01:
Yeah, it was it was a challenge, but we got through it, like thank God for my parents, because we lived with them for a few years. Um while we kind of got, you know, I kind of got my footing under myself and got my career started. So I had been trying to be a writer for some time, but like digital media was just kind of coming up as I was a single mom, and so the two things coincided, and so that was great. Um, I officially came out, I guess, in 2017 and started like exclusively dating women. And in February of 2020, I met my now wife. Um yeah.
Gavin:
Which good timing there was a lot of people.
SPEAKER_01:
Then we met, you know, online like everyone else does. And, you know, we were we did the it’s we’re just gonna like be casual, and that lasted for about five minutes.
David:
It’s in your blood. Just the lesbian.
Gavin:
You’re a lesbian. Exactly, exactly. Just because of lesbianism, but also, oh, remember there was an international people might recall.
SPEAKER_01:
Yeah, there was a little thing, yes, but no, it was the the stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason. Um that was we made things official, I think, about two weeks before the lockdown. Wow. Um I will never forget because I have I remember we my son was in kindergarten at the time, and so he had a medical emergency that required us to go to the hospital. We found out that he has allergy-induced asthma. So imagine that at the time where there’s rumblings of a respiratory going around. So I was like, this is great. Um, but it turned out that it was something very specific. That was at the beginning of the week. The end of the week, he had a day off from school. He was in school for like two days that week. The day the last Friday of that week, he had the day off from school. We got a message from school saying that school would be closed for three weeks while they sorted out all this COVID stuff.
David:
A quick three weeks, we’ll go back to normal. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:
Yeah, or at very least, we’ll know what’s you know, we’ll we’ll know what’s going on. And he did not go back to school for a year and a half in person.
Gavin:
So familiar home.
SPEAKER_01:
Yeah. So we did all of first, he did the second half of kindergarten and all of first grade virtually. And I would not have survived without my wife. Um she became like she just stepped up to the plate almost immediately. She um just was amazing and was all in from like the very beginning. Like it was great. I mean, during the worst of lockdown, we’d spend she’d spend like two or three days at our house with us, and then two or three days at her own place. She had two cats and she still has residual guilt about yeah, I know the stereotypes are two cats.
David:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:
Um she still has residual guilt.
David:
I like women’s figure skating. Stereotypes are okay here. This is a point.
Gavin:
We’re all about bring on, bring on.
SPEAKER_01:
I’m a dog, you know, it’s what happens when a dog lesbian and a cat lesbian get together. Um but you know, so she would spend like three days on, three days off for a couple of months, and then again, the stereotypes are true. She moved in about three months later. Uh we were engaged by the end of that year.
Gavin:
Wow. She had a pretty sweet head um uh setup, I though, I would say, for a little while though, that she kind of got a little break from like she got to still live in her world for a little while and not be completely immersed.
SPEAKER_01:
But it’s also that you got totally together in the world. But she knew, you know, that she was all in. It was just like, how do we, you know, we would have only known each other for like a month. So it’s like, how do you temper that? You were being reached.
David:
I don’t know how you parents dealt with because my son, I have two kids now, but like at the time at when COVID happened, I had a six-month-old boy. That was it. I had nothing else. So, COVID, to me, as far as my kids were concerned, it didn’t really affect them as far as schools up. But you all who had school age children, these poor kids who lost out on their junior, senior years, kindergarten, first grade. This is like a huge, huge deal. I watched my sister-in-law like have to tutor her kids full-time, watch them as they’re doing online learning, as she’s trying to have a full-time job. I bet I I don’t know how you all did it.
SPEAKER_01:
I always say that school-aged parents had the worst, had like school, the parents of school-aged kids had it the worst. I mean, I get it. I under, I understand it’s like hard to be isolated with a baby, but also there’s a good chance you’re gonna self-isolate anyway. I know that. 100%. I know that from having a kid. Like, I was like, I didn’t want to go out half the time and have to schlep him and things and all the stuff when they’re that little. But it was fucking brutal.
David:
Yeah, yeah. Please don’t curse on this podcast. This is a very, very buttoned-up podcast.
Gavin:
Please never so speaking of bullshit, fucking bullshit. You are you are a writer. I am, and you call out a lot of bullshit in your life. I tried in all of your writing, right? Yes. And so I’m curious, you’ve written about a lot of different topics. Can you just first of all tell us what’s your favorite piece you’ve written?
SPEAKER_01:
Oh my god. I’ve written so much over the years. I’ve been free, like, I’ve been writing since 2016. So I’ve written a lot.
Gavin:
Yeah. Um but also isn’t that sort of are you considered like second generation not blogosphere, but opinion writing? Like, you’re not from an early era of blogging. I’m not.
SPEAKER_01:
No, I came in on like the sh like I came in, I think, kind of at the tail end of the boom, if you know, if I’m thinking of it in that kind of perspective, because it was just around the time where the shift was happening from like had already happened from blogs to websites that were made and geared towards parents, but or moms more specifically. But it was just about to start making the shift into influencer culture. So we hadn’t quite made the shift to like the Instagram social media influencer mommy just yet. It was still in that space where like writing was still kind of the go-to for that time, um, where like you had the space to really write. Um, I had a lot of opinions.
David:
I I I’m a little I I’m too young to understand. What is a website? What is that, Gavin? Gavin to expensive.
Gavin:
Uh Nana’s here.
David:
Nana’s here. She’s logging into her AOL.
SPEAKER_01:
Uh hey, I still have the same AOL. I don’t use it for professional purposes, but I still have the same AOL email that I’ve had since I was.
David:
That’s a historic artifact. Keep that forever.
SPEAKER_01:
I use it for like store emails and like all of those things. So that it’s like become a junk mail. Yeah, it’s like your burner email.
David:
Yeah, totally. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:
Yeah, so that’s where all that goes. But hey, yes, I’ve had it for a long time.
Gavin:
So, what does come to mind as your favorite piece that you’ve written of late?
SPEAKER_01:
Of late. Um, ooh, that’s still a tough one. Um, I actually I’m gonna cheat a little bit. So I do write, you know, for money. Um, so I wrote a lot of different websites.
SPEAKER_03:
I hope so.
SPEAKER_01:
Yes.
SPEAKER_03:
I hope so.
SPEAKER_01:
But I do also still do write for fun. It is, you know, a thing that I enjoy doing. So I have a newsletter on Substack.
Gavin:
Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01:
And I where do we find that, by the way?
Gavin:
Little plug there.
SPEAKER_01:
Oh, yeah. It’s I think it’s just Saitashabazz.substack.com. Okay. Um it’s called This Must Be Pop. Um, I write mostly about 90s and early aughts pop culture. I’ve got a I’m an elder. I’m an elder millennial. I hate that term, but that’s I guess that’s what it is. Like I am a person who is approaching her 40s. Um and I can’t believe that 2000 was 24 years ago. We’re all in general denial about that. Um so that was kind of like the time where I was a teenager, and you know, pop culture was like the best. It was like a really interesting time. So I re-examine a lot of what happened back then through like current context, or you know, I just will examine it through like my own personal experiences. Like, I don’t I don’t write as regularly as I should because real life and bills get in the way. But um, like for June, I wrote a post called Angelina Jolie Made Me Gay. Um because that was my you know sexual awakening at the age of 12.
David:
Um her other half is definitely what made us gay, that’s for sure. My gay sexual awakening was Ty Pennington. Do you remember who Ty Pennington was?
SPEAKER_01:
I do from what was that, Trading Spaces?
David:
Trading Spaces, and he was the head carpenter on Extreme Makeover Homa District. Extreme Makeover, yeah, yeah. He came out with a book called like Ty’s Tricks, and it was like a like how to like renovate your home. But there were like photos of him shirtless, like with a hammer. And I remember being like something has changed within me.
SPEAKER_01:
Something is not the same. We’re tired of playing by the rules of someone else’s game.
David:
That’s my dream role, by the way. Still fingers crossed on that one. Um, no, but that was my sexual awakening. So yours was Angelina Jolia. I love it. Gavin, what was yours? Like Clark Gable or what was it?
Gavin:
Oh, Jesus. Charlie Chaplin. Wait, this is a good one. Is there Richard Deer or something like that? I’m gonna bring it back to an episode of about uh, I don’t know, eight episodes ago. We were very lucky to have David Marshall Grant on the show. David Marshall Grant is a writer-producer, but also as an actor, and he was in the movie with Kevin Costner called American Flyer, and it was a biking movie. Now, this isn’t what made me gay, but there I was a young enough kid where I was watching this scene that was an implied, I suppose, sex scene where a dude is in bed, takes off his underwear, tosses it as the girl comes out of the bathroom, and they’re uh it’s just like wink, wink, nudge, nudge. And I was like, I wonder what he did underneath the covers and what’s going on there. And he took his undies off and what and I was able to confess to him just a couple of episodes ago, David and Marshall Grant, I think you made me gay. Yeah. I love it. That was a good one. I know that’s very uh that’s a deep cut, but anyway. That’s niche.
SPEAKER_00:
I like that though.
Gavin:
I like it. So you said just now, you said I have some opinions. I have opinions about the parenting digital media space, but I do what it’s changed. What what are your opinions? Bring them.
SPEAKER_01:
I think that obviously like media has to change to keep up with tastes. I also think that like they chase money naturally, um, but that doesn’t always lead to conducive work. I think I’m one of those people who’s like, bring back patronage and like when we all when artists got paid to do the things that they like, and you know, whatever. Um but I think that money has become the first thought and everything else is an afterthought, and so content has had to shift to keep up with that, um, which is you know a choice. I think that there’s been a homogenization of parenting writing, if you will, or parenting digital media, um, because pretty much all of the main, like the big sites that get pushed are owned by the same people.
SPEAKER_03:
Oh really?
SPEAKER_01:
Yeah. Okay. So, you know, there’s like there’s a bit of a monopoly on the industry. Um I worked for five years at Scary Mommy, which was like the best five years and such a great way to like really kickstart my career. I got to do some really cool things there. Um but they got bought by another company, and it was pretty almost instantaneous that things were changing. Um, we couldn’t talk about the same kind of things that we were talking about before, or at least we couldn’t in the same ways. Um things got censored and started to shift and change in that way.
Gavin:
So, did those megalopolies that have taken over all of this content, is it is it just catering to like white women in Ohio still? Is that what you mean by homogenization?
SPEAKER_01:
I don’t know if it’s necessarily white women in Ohio. I think that it’s definitely white women. I don’t I think that there was a shift that was starting to happen where, you know, especially at Scary Mommy, but at other places too, where writers of color, writers who were queer, like there started to be kind of an opening for us to have space to tell our stories. Yeah. And I think that that shift kind of started to go backwards a little bit. Um, I mean, I could be wrong. Admittedly, once I left Scary Mommy, I had an excuse to not have to engage with that world anymore. And so I did, I don’t. Um, also, I have a kid who’s older. It’s not really a space that I feel like is for me. Um, we’re in that still like in that in-between, like tween thing. And I think I, you know, parenting influencer culture is something that’s very different. So those are those like picture, you know, it’s an Instagram post of a black and white, like tired looking mom with her top knot and the hairs coming out, and she writes this like 3,000-word like diatribe about nothing, really. Like, and then it’s like, oh, and the kids and the dog, and this is the face of a tired mama who’s just doing her best, and then at the end, it’s like, if you’re like me, you’ve got this, mama. We can do it.
David:
And it’s like vomit. No, thank you.
SPEAKER_00:
Yeah, basically, I’m like, what the fuck? Like, this is a like seriously. It’s just so ridiculous.
David:
It’s so tired. You know what? And it’s like what you’re saying about the blog story. I know nothing about blogs. Uh, you say the word blog, and I have like no idea what you’re talking about. But the same is happening in theater and film and TV, where it’s the to me, it’s the risk tolerance, right? It’s like they’ve all they’ve always wanted, they’ve always wanted money, right? That’s always been the point. Right, there is no risk tolerance. They were like, let me invest in the top. Let me hire the best writers, the best directors, and then invest in the great VPs of development who understand culture and content and let them do their shit and create content. Now they’re like, all right, let’s measure. I mean, this this I mean, Gavin, you can attest to this. They will say, before an actor is hired, what is their Instagram following? What they they want to prove that their ticket work.
SPEAKER_01:
I know my wife used to work in casting. So yes, I yeah. I’m I mean, I am a writer now. I have a theater degree.
David:
So you know, pretty good. We all share that baggage. I think we all have a theater creator.
SPEAKER_01:
Sure, do you think that I always jokingly say that I came of age before Hamilton, so there were no roles for me. And that’s why I left theater. Um like, what do you mean? I was like, well, I’m black and I’m five foot nine. Like, there are no roles for me.
Gavin:
Well, yeah, that’s yes, you were.
SPEAKER_01:
I created my own destiny, guys, and went into a lot of debt.
Gavin:
I am curious, real quick, in terms of the mommy influencers who are like, This is the this is the picture of a tired mommy, would you prefer that versus the airbrushed sense of goop fabulosity that, oh, parenting is just so parenting is a handbag. Yeah. If if you’re if you just if you just try harder, we know you’re tired, but I mean, like that fabulosity versus the the pr the performative, we’re all suffering through this together.
David:
But isn’t it all performative? Is it the performance it’s performative from both angles? One’s performative with makeup, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:
It’s one of those things where like there is always a modicum of authenticity in there somewhere, but when you’re playing for the algorithm, you have like that’s what it is. Like you’re basically playing for the algorithm. So you’re creating and you’re using these hashtags, and you’re like, you know, we went from the blogging era was like radical honesty at a time where radical honesty was a shock.
Gavin:
Yep.
SPEAKER_01:
Then you had the rise of parenting digital media where we were being radically honest, but also I wasn’t just talking about parenting, I talked about so many other things. Like I got my kid got to an age where I was like, he’s not interesting anymore. He’s potty trained, he’s you know, he’s in kindergarten, like we’ve gone through a lot of the major stresses, if you will. And so I wasn’t breastfeeding anymore. Like, there is no I can’t mail him for content his entire life. So where does that shift? You know, so then I was really writing more about myself, my experiences, like being a low-income parent, being a single parent, coming out. Like those were kind of I wrote a lot about politics. I pissed off a lot of white women in my life.
David:
Yes. Uh-huh. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:
Um, it’s my favorite, it is kind of one of my favorite things. It’s exhausting and has gotten me in trouble. So now I just don’t. Um, you know, after 2020, it was uh, I’m protecting my piece. I was like, you know, if we’re gonna to borrow from the over borrowed uh Taylor Swift, I’m in my protecting my piece era, if you will. Oh no, I probably will be forever because it’s exhausting. But I do like dip my toes in every once in a while and kind of like sometimes you like to shake the hornets dust a little bit just to watch him buzz around.
David:
And then you’re like, okay, I’m gonna go back and sign it.
SPEAKER_01:
Yeah, like I did for my Substack a couple months ago, I wrote a piece about the less it was called Justin Timberlake taught me a lesson in white feminism.
Gavin:
Nice.
SPEAKER_01:
Um, so because again, like what I like to do is make like old pop culture topical again, or like I jump on a moment if it is topical. Sure. Um and after the release of Britney Spears’ book, like there was a lot of conversation. And so I was like, oh my god, remember that time when Justin Timberlake performed at the halftime show at the Super Bowl in 2018? Sure. And white women lost their minds because they still were like justice for Janet Jackson, even though like that had already been put to bed, and she’s like, I’ve moved on, and these moved on, and we’re like, white men suck! And I’m like, okay, that’s weird. Okay, like it’s a weird take. Like, most of you were 12 when this like at most, how many of us were? I was a senior in high school, so I was 17 when Nifflegate happened. So I’m like, most of us were teenagers. You cannot tell me you were socially conscious at 17 because we hadn’t been taught to be socially conscious because we lived in a post-racial, pre-Obama America. Like uh we were not having these thoughts or conversations, and it’s okay to let it go.
David:
And also, I think the the context that I think a lot of people forget, and we were the last generation, not you, Gavin, sorry. We were the last generation to have this, which is where we grew up in a time pre-iPhone. I think that’s the big thing because we got to experience Britney Spears and O Town and Baxter Boys and all that kind of stuff at one-to-one. They would perform a number on TV, and that was the maximum we got from them. We did not have a parasitical relationship. Now I know when JC Chazi farts every day. I know when he farts. I could I could log into a live cam of his toilet at any point I want. I it is it is a different experience.
SPEAKER_01:
So we have, and it’s weird because we as adults like forget like there’s a level of reversion back, but also with this like adult knowledge and it creates a really messy parasocial relationship. I’m like, listen, that is a person I do not know. I am not in his bed, you know, R.I.P. You know, 12-year-old me would have really enjoyed that, but you know, we’re not. Like, I don’t know him. He does not owe us anything because we don’t know each other. You are a celebrity, you get paid to make music, you get paid to perform. I don’t care if you apparently cheated on your wife or you asked your 19-year-old girlfriend to have an abortion, which is a smart thing to do. Also, like, really weird people got really weird about that. And I was like, do we forget how old they were at the time?
David:
Like, you think that like this is a 19-year-old You’re a 19-year-old beautiful, rich pop star. You be fucking like what else is there to say?
SPEAKER_01:
Like there was when this when it finally came out and she was like, He ruined my life. I was like, hi, I was there at the time. I was 15-ish. You could not tell me at that age that they were not having sex.
SPEAKER_03:
Right.
SPEAKER_01:
I was like, I’ve seen what they look like.
SPEAKER_03:
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:
If I at my young age was like, I would I would tap that if given the opportunity. Why would they not at their ages also be tapping?
David:
I would tap that. I feel like that phrase maybe ages you perfectly. Like if you had just said with the screen black, I’d tap that, I’d be like, she’s an elder millennial. Boom.
Gavin:
I well, I’m so fascinated by all of this though, in part because it seems to me it’s old? Yeah, one because I’m old, because I’m using you both as a sociological study because I’m 72 years old, but also because is some a lot of your MO just saying, would everybody just please calm the fuck down? Yes. Okay. Yes.
SPEAKER_01:
That is that is the gist of most of my work. I mean, yes, I, you know, to kind of bring it all back to where we started. Um, yeah, that is the gist of a lot of my work, is like this is just like what are we all doing? But also I keep it like I try to keep it as real as I can.
David:
I’m like, you know, you’re home, baby. This is it. Gateriarchs, you’re home. This is where this is where we get it all out. But you know what we can get overhyped about? Let’s talk about the Olympics. Because I see on my little thing that you’re a big Olympics fan. So are you are you a summer? Are you a winter? Are you kind of are you bi-Olimpic? Like, what are you?
SPEAKER_01:
I am mostly a summer who dabbles in winter. You’re like winter curious.
David:
Got it.
SPEAKER_01:
Yeah, I like I’ll I’ll check in. I will tap like I’ll check in and be like, what are we doing today? Like, what’s happening? But I’m not I’m overinvested. Um, if this was the 90s though, my ass was sat for the winter Olympics.
David:
Oh my god. 90s, Winter Olympics were everything. Figure skating was oh, the Brian’s, Brian Boitano, Brian Orser, that whole thing.
SPEAKER_01:
Yes, I was Michelle Kwan, Nancy Carrihan, uh Sharia Bonaly.
David:
Saria Bonaly with a backflip because she was like, fuck you with a flood.
Gavin:
Yes, yes, yes, but she but she was never allowed to do it in competition because she was.
SPEAKER_01:
She was my bitch, like she was.
Gavin:
Because nobody else could do it, so they’re like, we don’t want you doing it. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01:
She was like the Simone Biles of figure skating, but figure skating wasn’t ready to catch up.
Gavin:
Oh my god. Totally. So that is a name that I have not thought about in a long time.
SPEAKER_01:
Oh, I love she pops up every once in a while in my consciousness. And so, you know, but yes, so I am very much a summer Olympics girl. Okay, like sat ready like Friday last. Week, I was like, it’s time, we’re doing this, you’re thriving.
Gavin:
I believe you’ve been watching in real time, right? You aren’t even waiting for prime time.
SPEAKER_01:
Yes. I try to watch as much of it in real time as I can.
Gavin:
Is this so you can write about it before everybody else knows about it?
SPEAKER_01:
And then no, it’s because I’m chronically online.
Gavin:
Okay.
SPEAKER_01:
And if I don’t watch it in real time, I’m gonna get spoiled when I go on Twitter.
SPEAKER_03:
Yeah, it’s true.
SPEAKER_01:
So I might as well, or Facebook, but like mostly Twitter. So like I need to watch it in real time because if not, Twitter’s gonna tell me who won. But I will catch up in prime time. Like I missed the beginning of the women’s all around yesterday morning because I was still asleep. Um this is my week off, so I’ve been sleeping in.
Gavin:
Um thank you for taking time from your weekend.
David:
I don’t know. I don’t you guys with older kids, like I just when you say, like, oh, I slept in, and my first thought was like, Where are your toddlers up at 6 a.m.? Because I have a two and a four-year-old. So, like, there’s no sleeping in regardless.
SPEAKER_01:
Like, there’s nobody sleeps in this house. What are you talking about? No, my kiddo usually is up around like seven-ish, give or take, but he’s 10.
David:
He can just get up and do his own shit.
SPEAKER_01:
Yeah, he watches TV, like during school, he’ll get up at like 6 15, 6 30. He gets up like 45 minutes before he needs to. When I come out, when I roll my lazy ass out of bed at 7 o’clock, he’s dressed, he’s been fed, he’s fed up.
Gavin:
Sounds like a magic future. That is well, you know what it is? It’s not a magic future. That is good parenting. That is good.
David:
Well, you’re not welcome here if you’re a good parent. This is not a place from that.
SPEAKER_00:
I’m a mediocre at best.
David:
Then now you’re welcome back. Now if you can come back.
SPEAKER_01:
I am the okayest parent, but like he’s so funny because I, like I said, Olympics sport, like, we’re set, we’re ready. Yeah, he’s been watching it with me a lot and my wife when she’s home.
Gavin:
Like I was gonna say, your wife loves it too, hopefully.
SPEAKER_01:
She does. She’s very she’s not quite as like, I love everything. Like, I, when the summer Olympics starts, I will watch a little bit of everything. So I’m always sat for gymnastics. Like, that’s my absolute favorite.
David:
That’s the top of the button.
SPEAKER_01:
But I will be like, ooh, equestrian is on, ooh, rifling is on, ooh, break dancing now. Break dancing now. Yeah, break dancing. I watched Badminton the other day. So, like, I watch a little bit of everything where she’s like, she’ll watch gymnastics with me, she’ll watch swimming with me. She’s more into volleyball and soccer. So those are like the two things that she has to like see. Um, whereas I’m like, I want to watch it all.
Gavin:
She was never bisexual, always a lesbian.
David:
She’s like, I’m into equestrian, I’m into cat.
Gavin:
No, let me ask this one question. So, but it’s taking it back, another topic is that your general approach to writing is everybody needs to calm down. But I’m curious, since 2020, do you feel like things have shifted in a way that you’re um being seen the way you hope to and being able to write about the things that you hope to, or has the pendulum of societal shifting shifted back and you’re like, this is all bullshit, but let’s uh everybody calm down?
SPEAKER_01:
I think that there was like, that’s a great question. I think in 2020 there was definitely like a boom. Sure. Um, I always jokingly say the summer of 2020 was like, I worked harder than I have ever worked in my life because everybody was like, talk to us, write something for us. Can you, you know? And so I was doing a lot.
Gavin:
Big time, I bet.
SPEAKER_01:
Yes, I was collecting a lot of chicks, so I was not mad about it.
Gavin:
That’s good.
SPEAKER_01:
Um, definitely was not, yeah, it was like yes, please listen. Is there any mobile depositing? You’re just like, Yeah, basically, if there is one thing I will do, it is cash in on my guilt.
David:
Oh, please, please do it. Because we’re only gonna be guilty for so long. Yeah, do you know what I mean? Guilty? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:
Yeah, no, I will absolutely cash in on my guilt. There is no doubt in my mind. I’m like, you feel bad? Yes, I will.
David:
Venmo me. Here’s my cash app. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:
Yes, yeah. There was like one Juneteenth where I was like, if you have the day off, you should like Venmo your black friends and like a bunch of people send me money.
David:
Amazing. Cash in.
SPEAKER_00:
It wasn’t even it wasn’t self-motivated, but like good for me. Like, I think we had, I was like, we’re door dashing tonight.
David:
Yeah, we need we need to do that for queer guilt. We need to do some sort of like in June, you must Venmo your gay friends by 30 days.
SPEAKER_01:
You would think, but we’ve become ex- I feel like gay friends have become like have become even more accessorized than gay men were in the 90s. I suppose. So like now everyone’s like, but I’ve got a lesbian friend or my friend’s like it doesn’t matter.
David:
We’re not special anymore. Everyone’s gay now. It’s so annoying. Ugh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:
It is. Fucking Gen Z really like made it difficult for everyone because they’re like, well, everyone’s gay.
Gavin:
So is the White Guilt over?
SPEAKER_01:
And so are you uh so yes, the White Guild is I mean, maybe not on a micro level, but on a macro level it is. So, like, I mean, you know, not to get too deep into it, but a lot of companies in the last like six months, years-ish have slashed DEI practices. Like they’ve laid off entire, you know, sections.
Gavin:
We were referencing that. I mean, if you’re listening to this now in real time, we were referencing that earlier in the episode, actually, that there the slashing of DEI is shocking to say the least. Shocking. Yeah. And yet not surprising? I don’t know.
SPEAKER_01:
No, I mean, it’s always it’s just like we were saying before about you know, the mom influencer, the goop mom. It’s all performative.
SPEAKER_03:
Yeah, it’s totally.
SPEAKER_01:
So everything white people does do does is in service of looking like allies without actually having to do the work. So, or they do the work, but when it gets hard, they do it.
David:
When it’s fundamental, when it’s systematic to their lives, then it stops.
SPEAKER_01:
Yes, then it’s like, no, no, you know, we can’t do that. Sorry. It’s you know, you’re great, but like not that great. Um, you know, like during my time, especially during my time in parenting digital media in like 2017, 2018, like, you know, in the Trump era, if you will, I feel like it’s just easier to say it that way. The Trump era.
Gavin:
Sure.
SPEAKER_01:
I was the only consist for at least my first year, maybe year and a half at Scary Mommy, I was the only consistent black writer, which is great. Like, I loved being the fiance of the group. Like, I jokingly said it all the time. I was like, because it gave me like I knew that I had a consistency of work coming through, but also like I don’t mind. I grew up being the only black girl in my social circle, like it is very comfortable for me. That’s normal. Um but it was also during the pink pussy hat era, and so I had to hand hold a lot of white women through trying to figure things out, and it got old and exhausting really quickly, and I started to see inklings of behaviors, and I was like, okay, I’m clocking you, you know, and then it all kind of came to a head one day, and I called him out. Oh and I called out a very popular white Christian liberal mommy blogger who had been a a friend, and things had to quickly turned, and she turned on me pretty hard and turned like she made this lengthy like Facebook video about how when she was a waitress, when she was in her 20s, there was a person who came into the place where she waitressed who she pushed the this woman telling the story, insisted that this customer eat have banana pudding for dessert, even though this woman said she didn’t like banana pudding. And in the end, the woman was like, I don’t like banana pudding and I don’t like you. And she was like, Sometimes you’re just gonna be banana pudding and not everyone’s gonna like you, and was talking about me. And I was like, No, because I did like you. And then you started acting shady and I called you out multiple times, and instead of course correcting, you kept doubling down, clearly doubled down to get that banana pudding shoved out in all. And so it’s become like an inside joke in my social circles. Like if we joke about banana pudding, like everybody knows what we’re talking about. Um, I cannot believe I just put that out there, but like whatever it was years ago, I don’t care. Um, she’s still popular and she’s still singing her little sad songs all over social media. My goodness. Um but it was a whole thing, and so it was the time, like it was an interesting time. It was interesting to see in real time how white women will turn on you when you make them uncomfortable. Um and so I was like, and now I see why you all voted for Trump. Yeah, you got uncomfortable. Yeah. So like this is a perfect example of why, you know, why we are where we are. Because as soon as, especially I’m very curious because I saw that like white women’s for Kamala, like crash Zoom, and I’m like, yeah, okay, we’ll see what happens in November. Um, it’s real cute now. Yeah, we’ll you know, we’ll see what happens in a few months. Or if she does become if she does become resident, we’ll see what happens like once February 2028, six, whatever yeah, whatever like next year rolls around. Like we’ll see if that energy is still the same.
Gavin:
So I would uh I would also say that that’s gonna correspond with the Olympics of Los Angeles 2028, actually, huh? So there will be oh so much to monitor and write about then. And we’ll have you back in 2028 so we can talk about the performatively because we can have the Beyonce Beyonce of all things intersectional writing um back on the show.
SPEAKER_01:
Yes, and I will be hiding in my house because people are like, what are you gonna do when the Olympics comes to LA? And I’m like, not leave the house.
David:
Airbnb my house for a billion dollars. Can you do that?
SPEAKER_01:
Yeah, I mean, I will go to the Olympics because oh my god, the idea of getting to see Olympic gymnasts in person. Like so cool, you know, I was 10 years old for the 96 Atlanta Olympics and it changed like watching that team changed my life in like fundamental ways. Um, I still get all like overwhelmed when I like just think about it or talk about it. Um, so last night when Simone Biles won the gold, or yesterday afternoon when Simone Biles won the gold all around and SUNY Lee won the bronze, and Rebecca Andrade won silver, and it was the first time I had seen three women of color on a podium accepting gold medals for gymnastics. I started and knowing that they all came back from some sort of adversity, I was like crying. It was my son was like, Are you crying? But it’s you know, because he’s 10 and he will take any opportunity to you know rest.
Gavin:
Of course he will.
SPEAKER_01:
Um especially if tears are being shed. So he’s like, Are you crying? And I was like, it’s just I’m really proud of them, and you know, it’s really hard. And Simone Files is like, if you ask them, she’s like a skelet skeleton and she’s you know on her last legs because she’s 27 and she’s geriatric, you know.
Gavin:
There’s she’s definitely an elder gymnast, not just an elder gym.
SPEAKER_01:
It’s so funny to watch, you know. If you ever want to feel bad about like being old, like just watch the Olympics sports, but especially the Olympics, because they’re like, and here comes this fossil at 24 years old in the pool, and I’m like my 38-year-old self shoveling the chips into her mouth while she’s watching it. It’s like, ow, I pulled my neck because I sneeze too hard. You know, it makes you feel real real good about yourself.
Gavin:
So speaking of feeling good about yourself, we love to be able to um uh end uh wrap this up with a bow in hearing about your stories of parenting where I will never forget the time when dot dot dot are our famous ellipses.
David:
I will never forget the time when parenting trauma, like we’re talking how do you earn your parenting merit badge?
SPEAKER_01:
There’s so many, but I think because to kind of keep in line with the conversation that we’ve been having, um, like I said, pop culture is like such a big thing for me. Obviously. Um, it’s basically like my whole life. And my son has become indoctrinated by proxy because it’s you know, he’s the only kid in the house. There’s no choice. Sometimes it’s just him and I, and it was just him and I for a long time. So I think the first time he was probably about six, he looked dead in my face and went, it’s gonna bang bang. I was like, I’ve done it!
David:
I did it. I did it, I did it, I made it happen.
SPEAKER_01:
He and he knew not only did he know it couldn’t like he knew, but he knew who it was. He can like point out, he now, thanks to trolls for trolls four, yes, hello, I see you. He’s right off screen. Hey buddy! Um, so right after thanks to trolls four, um, he’s become a little in sync fan.
David:
Nice, yeah, and now Deadpool, like the opening of Deadpool, if you does bye-bye bye as he’s murdering people. It’s fantastic.
SPEAKER_01:
We love to see it. I know that four of the five members were at the premiere and there was a big controversy because everyone’s like, where’s Justin? I’m like, he’s in Poland. I don’t understand how you think he could be in two places at once. Like, he hates the band.
Gavin:
And I’m like, that’s not true. He was busy. He was busy.
SPEAKER_01:
He’s literally in Poland on the the world tour. He’s got the world tour, the world tour. You know, if you’re a social, if you’re chronically online like I am, it did not ruin the tour. Um, but there was, you know, like he just has this like love and appreciation for something that was like so fundamental to me, and like he knows who’s who and can like recognize them, and is like, you know, we went to see just we went to see Justin Timberlake in May, the three of us. He fell asleep during the concert, but we still had a good time. It was a long day. He had had a long day in school.
David:
So like I remember seeing Britney Spears in Vegas when she had her Vegas residency, and like everyone was sitting. I wanted to. Everyone was sitting, and I was like, Yeah, because we’re all in our 30s. We don’t stand at concerts anymore.
SPEAKER_01:
Sorry, but I mean you do, and then you sit.
David:
Yeah, like you stand up in the opening, yep, she does oops, and then she moves on to I’m not a girl, and everyone sits down, and then that’s it. We’re down for the rest of the day.
SPEAKER_01:
And then you’re down, you’re you’re satin seated. But yeah, it was like getting to see him like experience pop culture things from like when I was a teenager that like mean a lot to me, I think is my biggest parenting win. He also um knows the words to get low by little John Lee Sky Boys. So he’ll be like, from the wit to the window, to the windows, to the sweet sweat drop down my balls, proud parent. He’s self-censored, so he doesn’t say bitches. So I was like, you could use the censored version and say females if that makes you feel better. He’s all like, down, these females crawl down, skeet, skeet, skeet, skeet, you know, like this is you like you’re so proud when they take their first steps and they say their first words and all that other shit. But really, it’s when they get you at the cloud.
David:
When they say when the sweat drips down my balls. That’s when you really are like, I’ve made it as a parent.
Gavin:
But I was like, I did it, you know. Uh Saida, thank you for demeaning yourself and being on this stupid podcast.
SPEAKER_01:
We thank you for having me.
Gavin:
We are thrilled. Uh thank you, thank you, thank you. It was a total delight.
SPEAKER_01:
No, thank you for having me. I’ve never gotten to do a podcast where I wasn’t having to like tell my sob stories.
Gavin:
Not here, babe. Ain’t got no time for that. No, no, no, no. Thank you so much. Thank you, Saida.
SPEAKER_01:
You’re so welcome.
David:
So, something great for me this week. I got to see a Broadway show yesterday. I know. That talk about something you want to do about just I never get to see Broadway shows anymore. It’s a super expensive, not even the the the tickets, it’s just the babysitters and all that kind of stuff. So, um, anyway, we had some friends in town. They were like, hey, you want to see a matinee in the middle of the week? And we were like, fuck yeah, we do. And we went and saw the outsiders. Oh, yeah. Um now, it is based off a movie which I have never seen. I have literally never seen the movie. So I love going to see Broadway musicals. Um, totally cult. I don’t want to know anything about it. I don’t want to see the preview. I don’t want to see the logo. I just want to walk into that theater and sit down. Anyway, I uh loved it. The the the story, which is from the movie and then obviously from the book, um, you know, it’s Romeo and Juliet, it’s West Side Story. It’s you know, two rival gangs and somebody gets murdered or whatever. But what I got, my my something great was not just seeing the show, but the directing and the lighting and the sound were so good in a way that I was like, this makes me feel hopeful about the future of theater because it’s not just stupid fucking fabric drops flying in while they change a set behind them and then chorus girls kicking their legs. It was really beautiful. There’s if you know the movie, which I didn’t, but there’s a lot of like fighting, like fist fighting in the show, and that can kind of look hokey on stage generally. Totally. And they did it in this wonderful way where they’re playing with time and the lighting and the sound, it was all working together. It was the whole stage was dirt, like real dirt. It was so great, and it felt like ah, live theater is make is is is continuing to be relevant and interesting. And I just I really loved watching that part of the show. Um, and that was my something great.
Gavin:
Well, along those lines, in terms of entertainment and being taken out of your everyday, I gotta give a shout out to the Olympics because oh my god, I love the Olympics. And something great for me is it isn’t about necessarily about the competition in the sports, although that’s very, very exciting. But I am a sucker for all of the not the heartwarming stories, but the like sense of everybody everybody coming together. Furthermore, I work, my day job is working for arts advocacy, and I love how much they’re highlighting the arts and dancing, frankly. There’s so many videos of all these athletes dancing all the time. What do you do when you’re having fun? I mean, sure, they swim and do backflips and run and everything, but also just to be silly and bring joy and do something great is they dance. And uh that reminds me every single day that we all need to dance some more. So my something great is frankly dancing at the Olympics.
David:
But also those bodies, those boys, those gymnast boys and their little packages and their giant arms and those legs, giant shoulders. I just it is I am such a perverted monster watching that stuff. I don’t care how high.
Gavin:
Well, they know they know exactly they, meaning NBC and Comcast and the And their socials.
David:
I tell you what, those social media accounts, they know what they’re doing. They know exactly what they’re doing. They know what they’re selling, unlike us who have no idea what are doing, unlike the show where we have no idea what we’re doing. And I apologize, but that is our show. If you have any comments, suggestions, or general compliments, you can email us at katriarchspodcast at gmail.com.
Gavin:
Or you can DM us on Instagram. We are at Gatriarchspodcast. On the internet, David is at DavidFM VaughnEverywhere, and Gavin is at GavinLodge at Tractor Supply.
David:
Please leave us a glowing five star review wherever you get your tractors.
Gavin:
Thanks, and we’ll palm a horse you next time on another episode of Gatriarchs.