This is the last Friday newsletter for a little while, because we’re switching to Mondays. And it just so happens we have a very big announcement set for our next newsletter, coming out June 1. So be sure to start your week off with that one!
Show updates!
Judge John Hodgman won a Webby!!! Thank you so much to everyone who voted and who spread the word about their nomination, and thanks to everyone who has been a fan these past TEN years. Watch Monica Lewinsky present John with his Webby award for Comedy Podcasts and enjoy Hodgman’s 5-word acceptance speech on Webby’s site. He has an important message.
This week, I’m only talking about our podcasts that have been around for ten years. Everyone’s favorite Canadian duo – Dave Shumka and Graham Clark of Stop Podcasting Yourself – guested on Jordan, Jesse, Go! Both shows have been around for more than a decade and this is the first time they’d had a full crossover with all hosts! If you haven’t listened to these shows, please give yourself the gift of listening to this episode.
Bullseye with Jesse Thorn – which has been around for a decade if you count the time when it was still called The Sound of Young America – just released an episode the people have literally been asking about for years! Tina Fey is on the show! With Robert Carlock! The co-creators of 30 Rock and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt discuss those shows, two upcoming projects and more! Go check it out!
Livestreams!
On Saturday May 30, the crew of Mission to Zyxx is going to perform a FULL JUCKING LIVE SHOW as part of PodUKGoes Digital! And they’ve got a great time slot so it should be watchable for folks in the US and UK: 11am PT/ 2pm ET/ 7pm BT. PodUK is fundraising for Birmingham Community Health Care Charity, so it’s for a good cause and you’ll get to watch sound designer Shane O’Connell work his magic in real time! Go to podcastconvention.uk for more details and spread this HOT GOSS to your pals!
This past week:
Who Shot Ya? Avengers Watchalong
Clint McElroy Stories from Your Gaffer
John Hodgman’s Get Your Pets
Coming up next:
Today:
John Hodgman’s Get Your Pets
Clint McElroy’s Stories From Your Gaffer
Saturday, May 23:
Mark Gagliardi, Hal Lublin, Janet Varney, and Ben Blacker in The Thrillng Adventure Hour Live
Sunday, May 24
Reading Glasses Isolation Book Club
Saturday, May 30
Mission to Zyxx FULL JUCKING LIVE SHOW
Remember you can sync the MaxFun events calendar to your own so you can get notifications for when stuff is about to happen!
Looking for some podcast listening activities?
Podcasts are a great thing to listen to while your hands and eyes are doing something else, which is why podcasts are perfect for keeping your commute interesting. But now, with so many schools, stores, and offices shut down, many people no longer have anywhere to commute to. While plenty of folks like sitting down and focusing on nothing but a podcast, we figure a lot of people have been wondering what they can do to keep their hands and eyes occupied while their ears are busy listening to their favorite show. So, here are some suggestions from our staff for activities that go great with listening to podcasts:
Art & Crafts: Drawing, photography, painting, coloring books, knitting or crocheting, pottery/working with clay, embroidering, sewing, anything goes! Some tips from our team:
- You don’t need anything fancy to have fun drawing! A #2 or mechanical pencil is just fine for sketching, ballpoint pens can give you great lines, and you can find sketchbooks in the $6-10 range online. Or just use whatever you already have in your house!
- While your local craft stores may be closed down, your favorite grocery store might have a small art supplies section.
- If you’re working with clay and can’t/ don’t want to bake your creations, look for air dry clay.
Exercising: Walking, jogging, biking, in particular.
- See if any trails near you are open or walk around your neighborhood. Just be sure to stay at least 6 ft./2 m. away from anyone you pass, and wear a mask if you live in a place that requires it.
- If you’re biking, just be sure your volume is low enough that you can still hear traffic noises.
Cooking or baking: You need to eat – why not sizzle it up with Taako?
Cleaning, laundry, general chores: Stuff’s gotta get done, make it more fun!
Other hobbies like gardening, playing video games that aren’t story-based, etc.
If something on that list looks interesting to you but you haven’t done it before, we encourage you to give it a try! Pick up some supplies on your next grocery run (or order from your favorite online store), find some tutorials online, and let loose! You might just come out this with a new hobby! If you do and you’d like to share it with us, email april@maximumfun.org with your photos and stories so we can add it to the blog post that we are continually updating with fun stuff MaxFunsters are doing.
Here’s what MaxFun staff members are up to!
April Pendergraft, Director of Development and Membership
Look, I’m honestly not big on babies, but April’s baby is one of the cutest babies I’ve seen, and this little baby smiling as it gets sung to is really going to fill your heart for a second.
“Our baby Arwen was born a month before quarantine started, so we’ve been figuring out how to sleep, eat, work, and live around the clock with just the three of us. It’s challenging at times, but my partner and I are musicians, so we spend a lot of time singing to her together. Singing is a great way to change your mood. It works on babies and adults.”
Remember you can update your email frequency preferences at any time. See you and your inboxes on Monday, June 1 for what I’d call Pretty Big News!
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