Monday Morning Peaches!
Some sunshine to start off the week.
Hello and happy day! I hope you have been doing fabulously and that the sun is shining where you are.
Memes!
Featured Creator!
This issue’s featured artist is Ryan Drost, the writer and creator behind the comic book Stealth Hammer. Inspired by his wife’s real-life nickname, the story is a superhero adventure in a world of high-tech gadgetry and supernatural mythology. Issue #1 of the comic was the main character’s origin while issue #2 was her discovering her legacy. Issue #3 is discovering how an elf named Ari helped make it all happen and is available to support on Kickstarter.
What do you look back on with the most nostalgia?
I was a child of the 1980s, so I grew up with all the best toys, movies, and TV shows, like Star Wars, G.I. Joe, the Muppets. I am so nostalgic for the things I grew up with in the 1980s that I started a podcast 14 years ago called Star Joes. Through the podcast, I made lifelong friendships with people who also have the same nostalgia for these things. I never would have known these people if I hadn’t put my nostalgia out there.
What day would you relive again and again if you could?
The day I proposed to my wife. I had arranged to propose to her in Shamu Stadium at SeaWorld, when there was still one here in Ohio. We arrived at the park with my parents, who knew what was happening that day. We went to the dolphin cove area where you have the opportunity to pet a dolphin if they come close enough. For as many times as we had been there, we never were able to pet a dolphin…until this day. My soon-to-be wife, Jami, was able to reach out and pet a dolphin that came up to her. The SeaWorld staff got a picture of it. My dad, trying to help me out, said that he would wait with Jami for the photo while my mom and I went ahead to pick out seats at the stadium. We went ahead.
I had prearranged the proposal with the staff, so I went to the control booth to let them know where we were sitting. I returned to my seat just before my dad and Jami arrived. Before the show, they did sea life trivia and would scan the crowd to put them on the big screen. The camera was heading in our direction. Jami said, “Oh, we might get on the big screen.” I replied, “Yeah, we might.”
The camera finally reached us and we were up on the jumbo screen. One of the staff members handed me a microphone. In all our times there, never once did someone get handed a microphone for the trivia portion, but Jami said, “Oh, Ryan, you’re going to have to answer the question!” Which I replied to saying, “Actually, you’re going to have to answer the question.” I stood up and that is when Jami realized what was happening. I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me.
It was the most perfect day after that as the whole rest of the day we had people coming up to congratulate us. We felt like the most special people in the park. I would relive every moment of it again every day of my life if I could.
What song makes you the happiest?
My favorite song of all time is “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. It helps me re-center myself when life is feeling challenging. It makes you take a step back and look at the good things in your life.
Is there a pop culture figure that makes you light up just seeing them?
Absolutely any of the Muppets will have that effect on me. I grew up loving anything that Jim Henson did, but especially the Muppets. I would watch The Muppet Show with my family, which became a really fun time together. It’s tough for me to contain my excitement whenever I see those characters.
What’s your comfort movie?
My comfort movie would have to be any of the Star Wars movies. When it comes to entertainment for me, there is Star Wars and then there is everything else. The very first movie I saw in the theaters was a re-release in 1979 of the original Star Wars movie. My dad took me to go see it. He said he knew I was going to be a fan because when the movie started, my mouth opened wide and I stayed like that until the very end. If I need to escape reality for a while, there is no better way than to go to a galaxy far, far away.
Has a line in a movie or show ever made you spit out your drink and/or made you cry from laughing?
I have a very vivid memory of seeing The Wedding Singer with my wife (who was my girlfriend at the time) and when Adam Sandler started singing at an audition after having his heart broken, I was doubled over laughing because it was so unexpected. My wife was laughing super hard also, but she was laughing at me laughing.
What do you think had the most impact on how you experience joy or happiness in your life?
One hundred percent it was my parents. They raised my sister and myself to try different things. If we had an interest in anything, they encouraged it. It’s because of this that I have such a wide range of interests. As a kid, I played a wide variety of sports, learned to play the organ, went to local stage productions, went camping, practiced drawing, etc. This exposure to so many things taught me to enjoy so many things in my adult life.
What part of the creative process do you derive the most joy from?
My favorite part of the process is creating new characters. I love researching mythologies and history, and those often play a part in creating a character. I will read or see something that inspires me and then I begin researching various things to flesh the character out from their personality to their purpose in the story.
Where is your happy place?
My happy place is my seat on the couch with a stack of comic books next to me to read, my wife sitting in her chair doing a word puzzle, and our pup curled up next to one of us. It’s the cozy moments like that which make me the happiest.
Stealth Hammer Issue #3 is live on Kickstarter now, and you can get the previous two issues through the campaign, as well!
Seven Happy Things!
Seven things that have brought me joy over the last couple of weeks.
After I sent out a last-minute call for help when the marching band was short several thousand dollars for the trip to perform at Disney, people rose up and donated over $3,000 to help cover the gap (on top of the fundraising I’d already been doing) which, along with other outside efforts, was enough to fund the trip! I am so deeply grateful and thrilled (and also will be busy sending out thank you letters and stickers and fulfilling requests for a very long time!).
This teacher making good on a promise to host his students for the eclipse.
SO happy and relieved that the Sesame Street writers were able to get a contract that worked for them and got to avoid the stress of a strike.
Our family favorite Bluey released its final few episodes for the season, including a mega-sized episode, and they were bittersweet and wonderful, particulary since the show is going on a well-deserved hiatus.
The fine folks at Libro.FM hooked me up with an early copy of Emily Henry’s Funny Story (out tomorrow!) which was the perfect low-stakes listening I needed during an absurdly busy week.
The announcement that Will Poulter will be back on this season of The Bear! Now if we could just get another glimpse of Olivia Colman.
That’s it for today’s issue! I hope you’ve cracked a smile or two and that your week will be smooth sailing.
<3
Tara
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