QUICK HITTERS:

Holy cow! About a month ago I started this journey all by myself. It is so cool that you’ve joined me - thanks! Friends, family, and people I’ve never met in person…what an incredible combination. Exciting things coming, make sure to check it out in the GOING DEEP section below.
All is currently right in the world: Christmas music, snow falling, and the Cowboys & Jets both suck.
This week’s book recommendation is in honor of tomorrow’s solemn anniversary of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor:
Some of you may know the story of the USS Indianapolis, and some of you may not. But I bet most of you will remember this. Still gives me chills….
College Football bet of the week: Oregon (-175) over Penn State. James Franklin comes up short again against another Top 5 opponent.
Must eat for the week: Double B’s BBQ in West Allis, WI. Only about a 15 minute drive from the Milwaukee Airport for those of you visiting. I had the burnt end appetizer and the brisket. Platter came with coleslaw, fries, & (amazing) cornbread.
The Carolina sauce was surprisingly the best of the four sauce choices.
A few weeks ago I wrote about my penchant for stealing high-quality pens
https://hennyhiemenz.substack.com/p/generational-trauma.
Unfortunately this week I was reminded both of a current stealing tendency as well as a former one. Formerly, in college my housemates and I would often steal rolls of toilet paper from local businesses. I was reminded of this while in a public restroom this week. The toilet paper at this particular establishment was behind lock and key. Smart. Currently, I seem to like to pilfer napkins from places like Chipotle. This I noticed when the stash I lifted the other day would not fit in the glove compartment of my car because it was already chock full of them. The struggle is real.
Goodbye to our sweet foster pup, Nobles. We returned her to the Wisconsin Humane Society in Milwaukee earlier this week. She has subsequently been spayed and is now up for adoption. Check her out at wihumane.org.

GOING DEEP:

Henny Was Wrong (Again)

In one of last week’s quick hitters I made an off-hand comment about not liking podcasts. Even more than not liking them, I am perplexed by their popularity and ubiquity. While I wrote about several other things in that same post…the podcast bit was the one I got messaged about the most. Strange, I thought.

Also strange, several hours after posting about my disdain for podcasts I was made aware of a podcast I might actually like. More on that later…

The popularity of podcasts is unquestionable. A quick google* search tells me that over 70% of podcasts are more thirty minutes long. About 25% of all podcasts are in the 45-60 minute timeframe.

(*Yes, as a proper noun google should be capitalized. And no, I don’t intend to do so.)

That is an awful lot of listening for such a busy society. Are you like me in the fact that seemingly every adult human you interact with is exceedingly busy? Or at least, wants to tell you that?

Trying to coordinate a friendly get-together during the holiday season.

So, we’ve got two incontrovertible facts:

Podcasts are hugely popular.
People are very busy.

So what gives? Where are all those busy people finding time to listen to these podcasts? Again, I look to google for the answer. Here are the most common activities people are participating in while listening to podcasts:

Commuting / Doing chores / Working out / Relaxing / Walking / Running errands / Waiting in line / Shopping

I read that list and had a revelation. Ah yes, that is what all those people in earbuds walking around in public are doing: listening to podcasts. I would join you folks (with the earbuds, not the podcasts) but I can’t. Alas, I have yet to find an earbud that will fit in my comically tiny ears.

(If you are considering googling the words “tiny ears” here’s a tip….don’t.)

Another interesting fact about podcasts: Additional online research informed me that many of you listen to podcasts where people that are not your friends talk about television shows you’ve already watched. I don’t understand this. This would be like watching a TV show where people you don’t know talk about sports games you’ve already watched. OK wait, never mind.

I had a discussion recently with a good friend about starting a podcast together. He lives far away, we always have good conversations, and people might find said conversations interesting. Except, no. No you wouldn’t find them interesting.

Case in point: one of our recent tangents was about the everlasting greatness of Mike Alstott. These conversations lasted for weeks and led to the purchase and gifting of this…

Dear Mike: You may never understand the shelf of reverence upon which you have been placed. Go Bombers!

(Shout out to my man Travis at Robbins Rehabilitation in the Lehigh Valley (PA) for procuring this bad boy at a local yard sale. Visit him and his kick-a** team at robbinsptwest.com for all your Physical Therapy needs!)

Ok I’m back. Sorry, any mention of Mike Alstott causes me to cease all activities and immediately pull out my phone and watch Mike Alstott highlights. Glorious. In case you want to imbibe….

___________________

I told you at the beginning of this piece about a podcast I was recently turned on to. I follow Michael Ian Black (the actor) on Substack because he is a really good writer. He recommended a podcast called “The Telepathy Tapes” and I was super intrigued by the premise. So against my better judgment I decided to give it a try. If it sucked I’d just bail. Like I’ve done so many other times with podcasts.

Boy howdy* did it not suck (*this is a dated colloquialism that I’ve always wanted to shoehorn into something). Taken from The Telepathy Tapes website it is about “the profound abilities of non-speakers with autism - individuals who have long been misunderstood and underestimated.”

It continues, “These silent communicators possess gifts that defy conventional understanding, from telepathy to otherworldly perceptions, challenging the limits of what we believe to be real.”

This podcast has ten episodes, nine of which have already been released. I just finished the penultimate episode the other day and I cannot believe how excited I am to listen to the last episode when it is released.

So excited in fact that next week’s GOING DEEP will be devoted entirely to The Telepathy Tapes podcast. In my first “I can’t believe it” moment as a writer, Ky Dickens, the creator and director of The Telepathy Tapes, has graciously agreed to an interview with me to be featured in next week’s newsletter. Exciting times!

Ky is an amazing filmmaker and documentarian whose list of Best Director awards would make Steven Spielberg blush. And she’s a native Midwesterner to boot!

If you are a podcast aficionado you must at the very least listen to the first episode before then. And if you are like me I’m guessing you’ll be hooked. Leave a comment and let everyone know what you think!

If you are liking the content of these newsletters please consider subscribing. And, if you’ve already subscribed please consider sharing with a like-minded friend. I’m hoping to continue to do interesting things with this and, quite frankly, the more subscribers I have the more people (like Ky) will be willing to be a part of it. Thank you!!!

Empty Calories & Male Curiosity, #2