#but you also say ‘in the name of hades epic and the song of achilles amen’

[spineless-lobster]

In the name of hades, tsoa and epic the musical amen 🙏

[dionysism]

okay fuck it tier list of every greek mythology or greek myth inspired musical i've listened to (so far)

with, if you care, short reviews for each below the cut. i'm like half asleep but take my poorly organized thoughts

paris the musical

this one is my all time favorite of all the ones listed here. the musical scores and vocals are just on another level. it's a rock opera so it's got guitar solos and the songs are so catchy. business is my favorite track i could loop it for weeks. i also love their patroclus characterization and i am obsessed with achilles in this unironically one of my top patroachilles adaptations of all time and the musical isn't even about them 😭😭 AND PARIS... the actual focus of the musical, i love this take on him too. it's kinda comical but also actually tragic at the same time. which i mean. paris is kinda comical but ultimately tragic in general so its fair 💀 things definitely go down differently in this than in the iliad though like agamemnon and the greeks are actually planning to invade troy before paris even shows up to take helen and ulysses (odysseus) is the only one who thinks this is stupid. he does manage to convince the rest of them to maybe Not, but then paris takes helen after what's supposed to be him going there to strike a trade deal. and agamemnon uses that as the perfect excuse to justify something he already wanted to do unprovoked anyway. also agamemnon and menelaus were going to violate xenia and kill paris in their home after making him a guest (again, before he does anything with helen) which was ?!?!!? but like similar to epic this is more like an au to me than a faithful iliad adaptation. i also love this helen characterization and the whole dynamic between hector paris and cassandra i wish i could put them all in my mouth and chew them up

ulysses dies at dawn

this is another great one. i will say this is the only album from the mechs i've listened to and the band itself has a whole ton of lore so there may be details i'm missing but i love it so much. this is definitely more of an inspired by tale—takes place in the future (i think?) on a planet that's entirely machine and metal and all animals and natural life is extinct. and all the characters are named after greek mythos characters and they have similar stories to their original counterparts but adapted to this futuristic universe and it's just so unbelievably cool. also ulysses nonbinary in this?! (the narrator says the records are lost to time and we can't be sure if ulysses was a "man, woman, both, or neither" and only refer to them with they/them pronouns) anyway i won't say too much on this one because the story tells itself and i don't want to spoil but GO LISTEN this album is fantastic

hadestown

this one i think is the most popular/well known on this list so most of you have probably heard of it but i'll still give my review. everything about this musical is incredible. i absolutely adore this take on orpheus and eurydice. and this is a take on persephone and hades i don't totally hate (because usually i do) and the way at times they paralleled orpheus to hades??? there was a quote i read from its wiki page once that sums it up pretty well, from todd osborne, "it is a musical both about how art can save us and how, especially in an apocalyptic world, hope might be the only thing we have left." just such a beautiful musical and beautiful story and the themes and messages like stop i could talk about this musical for hours let me stop

for epic i've already summed up most of my thoughts on it here

theseus the musical

um. i'm not going to lie there's multiple parts of this where i do not know what they are saying. i have auditory processing issues and i usually really need the lyrics and i cannot find any anywhere for this so i'm kinda just going on vibes. but the songs are catchy and i like the parts i do understand 😭 and well i love theseus. dearly. my little princess with a disorder my freakazoid i want to trap him in a jar like a bug and shake him around his enclosure. i'll kind of take literally anything i can get on him

penelope off broadway

full title is penelope or how the odyssey was really written and this is such a fun one. this is a comedy musical and the premise is that the epic poem, the odyssey, actually comes from fake letters penelope wrote to stall the suitors in odysseus' absence. so she's just making shit up like "umm... my men got turned into pigs so i'm gonna be late sorry babe :/" and signing it as odysseus. obviously not the most accurate characterizations but again its more of a comedy spinoff than a faithful retelling. telemachus also gets a cute little romance. (spoilers ahead if you care) they scared me for a second i thought they were having it that odysseus cheated penelope and she was gonna leave him but that's not the case and it has a happy ending so <3 this one is just so funky and silly like if you want a lighthearted not super serious musical you will love this it's really adorable and the woman who plays penelope's voice is incredible like omg some of the high notes she hits??? woah

jasper in deadland (tw suicide mention)

this one is also an inspired by/based on tale where jasper (orpheus) follows his friend agnes (eurydice) into deadland in an attempt to get her back from what was either an accident or a suicide attempt (but most likely suicide) he runs into various figures from greek norse and egyptian mythology and like it wasn't bad or anything really the songs just weren't catchy enough for me. i'm not gonna lie that's literally my only issue. i just cannot get into it and listen to it multiple times if it's not catchy enough. but the plot is cute!!

percy jackson the musical

i just don't personally care for percy jackson, sorry. never really did. you'd think as a greek mythology obsessed child i'd eat it up and i mean as a kid i did like it a little but i don't know it just never hooked me. i've tried to get back into it but it's even less enjoyable to me now unfortunately. the songs weren't catchy (to me) and i didn't like the lyrics either. it's not necessarily a bad musical. it's just not my thing

aristos the musical

sorry it just kinda felt like tsoa the musical to me and i immediately couldn't enjoy it 😭😭 that's literally all i have to say

[annualsurveyresults]

2017 Year End Survey Results

2017 Year End Survey!!!

Hi Friends…

Happy Valentine’s Day, we hope you’re all well and that love is in the air. 

This email is going out to the awesome ones who responded to the poll (51 out of approximately 150 recipients). It turns out it hit a lot of people’s spam folders, so next year we will do a better job of clarifying the subject, etc.

As the survey has grown, there are now too many answers for us to add comments and include links, so this year the answers are coming as filtered lists (we cut where necessary, to try to be useful and concise).

Thank you so much for your answers!

Section 1: What is Tickling Your Brain

Meaningful Books

Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman

Sapiens

Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

American Eclipse

Cryptocurrency

Seven Mysteries of Life

Owned: Property, Privacy, and the New Digital Serfdom

Tiffany Haddish The Last Black Unicorn.

Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad

Fourth State of Matter (New Yorker piece)

The President’s Devotional

Born a Crime

Creativity, Inc.

A Little Life

Hillbilly Elegy

Book of Joy by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu

Don Quixote

Oryx and Crake

All the Rivers

The Fifth Season

The Nix

Persepolis Rising

The Female Brain

The Undoing Project

Moonglow by Michael Chabon

The Girls on The Train

Underground Railroad

When Breath Becomes Air

Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace

The Innovators

Caine Mutiny

Pachinko

Beyond the Sky and the Earth

Saints for All Occasions

We Were 8 Years in Power

The Odyssey: A Father a Son & an Epic

Achilles in Vietnam

Zero to One

The Taste of Empire

May We Be Forgiven

Homegoing

Being Mortal

Born to Run

The Smartest Kids in the World

Groovy Song or Band (well known artists/songs were filtered out, focusing on discovery)

James Booker

“Sound of Silence” - Disturbed

Electrocutioner – Soraia

Flamingo

I’m The One

Sharkmuffin

Chicano Batman

Lord Echo

Jason Isbell

Hank 3

Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

Zodiac by Dave Douglas and friends

Static and Ben El Tavori

Ben Franklin’s Song (the Decembrists)

Kevin Morby

CHVRCHES

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

Secret Weapons

Squirrel Nut Zippers, Metropolitan Klezmer

Dr. Dog’s Abandoned Mansion

Old Crow Medicine Show

De La Soul

Despair

The XX

Favorite Apps or Websites (well known apps/sites were filtered out, focusing on discovery)

Autodesk Graphic, Robinhood

Kaggle

ParkNYC

Hades Star - game

Weather.gov - everyday weather

Strictly Dumpling Mike Chen Food Reviews on Youtube

overcast

TheRawStory.com

ThinkorSwim, Kerbal Space Program

Nextdoor

Design Home game, Monument Valley, Redbubble

childmind.org

Ars Technica

Duolingo, NPROne, Feedly.com

Remodelista

Verify (OCR receipts - expense tracking); Day One (journal)

Strava, belfastcommunityradio.org, All Trails app

Wirecutter

The RealReal, Pickett of London

Citymapper

cupofjo.com

.alltop.com/photography

goodguide.com

blinkist, farnamstreetblog, bothsidesofthetable

Podcasts (well known podcasts retained, focusing on reinforcing quality)

Chapo Trap House, Intercepted, Archaeological Fantasies

Fresh Air, RadioLab, Terrible -Thanks for Asking

The Daily, On Being, Radiolab

Planet Money, Pod Save America, Radiolab

Real Vision, The Moth

99% Invisible

S-Town

Kalaidocast

The Daily, Pod Save America, Lovitt or Leave It

Imaginary Worlds, Jay + Miles X-Plain the X-Men, Blank Check with Griffin and David

Slow Burn; Pod Save America; RadioLab More Perfect

Slate’s The Gist; MSNBC Rachel Maddow; Week in the Knees

Wow in the World, Deadpod, Dope Queens

The Daily, S*Town, How I Built This

Splendid Table, Pod Save America

Busy Phillips podcast

Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me; It’s Been a Minute; This American Life

NPR 1 (for Terry Gross), Global Politico, Preet Bharara’s new podcast

HBR Idea Cast, a16z, Tim Ferris Show

Adventures in Finance, Bloomberg Surveillance, The Moth Radio Hour

In Our Time, This American Life, Fresh Air

S-town, Revisionist History, Rachel Maddow

Section 2:  Soul - Feeling Better

What Makes You Happy (answers filtered based on broad applicability and usefulness)

Silence

drawing

Puzzle Mania 😀

Beer and wine

The possibility of reducing work to three days a week

family time / family vacation

Salty food and walking the local golf course with my dog off leash

Tennis

My SodaStream

My dogs

Exercise

Los Angeles

Sleep

Freedom

Skiing

Jogging

Civic Engagement

Reconnecting

Reading

Learning about self-compassion

Robert Mueller

yoga and Bulgarian yogurt

Stress Relief (answers filtered based on broad applicability and usefulness)

Drawing cartoons on my iPad.

Crossfit & Krav

Table Tennis

Quiet Places

luna & larry’s coconut bliss dark chocolate ice cream

Running

Hot shower on the weekends

Building Stuff

Citibike

Tennis

Swimming/hot tub

Mindless computer games like solitaire

Long Walks

Making Art

yoga and Tango Dancing

Reading and Writing Poetry

Transcendental Meditation

Kickboxing

Skiing

Needlepoint

Stop Taking Things So Seriously.

Being organized to that I actually get the piles of papers/bills/etc off my “To Do List”

SLT (strengthen lengthen tone) UWS

Mindfulness practices & class (meditation, writing prompts)

Biking

Cooking

vodka or tequila mixed with club soda with a squeeze of lime

Meaningful Not-For-Profit Organization (no filtering, if you named it, it’s in here…)

Sleeping Giants

Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition

misophonia research causes

Yvote

Israeli Venture Network

Humane Society of NY

International Refugee Assistance Project

Courageous Parents Network, helping families parent children with serious illness

The Bronx Freedom Fund

Goddard Riverside

IBD Support Foundation

Village Health Works

I just discovered the store BoxLunch, Badass Brooklyn Dog rescue is cool, also Tennessee Elephant Sanctuary is an amazing Group.

Hadassah hospital.

Jewish Funders Network

Child Mind Institute

CASA - court appointed special advocates for foster care children

EFF

The Trevor Project

Run For Something

Apex for Youth

Hazon

Indivisible, Hadassah

Child Mind Institute, Planned Parenthood

Mercy Corps

Harlem Children’s Zone

Indivisible

Second Harvest

City Step

Center for Justice and Democracy

Karuna Foundation

Speak Up Africa - helping mothers and newborns stay healthy

God’s Love We Deliver

Amani Global Works

Biblioburro

Gabby Giffords antigun PAC (giffords PAC) is fighting the right fight

AGW & WEACT (We Act for Environmental Justice)

ADL

Coney Island Prep

Polaris Project

American Cancer Society

Charity Water

Climate Reality Project

Inspiring Politician (no filtering, if you wrote it, it’s in here…)

No One/LOL (8)

Elizabeth Warren (5)

Donald Trump (“he inspired me to be active”) (3)

Tarana Burke (2) (#MeToo)

Kirsten Gillibrand (2)

Danica Roem (2)

Bernie Sanders (2)

Sally Yates (2)

John McCain

Jimmy Kimmel

Angela Merkel - her face says what I feel about American politics.

Adam Schiff

Samantha Bee

John McCain

Scott Stringer

Jeff Flake

Chris Murphy

Joe Kahn

Cory Booker

Michelle Obama

Jon Ossoff

Hillary Clinton

Bob Ferguson - Washington State Attorney General

Best Restaurant Experience This Year (no filtering, if you wrote it, it’s in here…)

PABU Izakaya in SF

Blanca

Berns Steakhouse in Tampa, FL

Breakfast Burrito from Frank’s on Fairfax

Sushi Nakazawa

Los Angeles Tatsu Ramen, Pork Bao on Melrose.

Asiate

Boulud Sud

Tomahawk steak at Gelso & Grand has changed me as a person

Park Avenue Summer

Pokeworks at lunch

Azurmendi ½ hour outside Bilbao Spain

The Modern (2)

Atlantic Grill

Candle Cafe

Barbuzzo (Philadelphia)

ABC Kitchen

Here’s Looking at You (LA)

Excellent Dumpling House in Chelsea

Burma Superstar

Blue Ribbon Brasserie, SoHo

Eataly

Quality Italian

Sate Kampar, Philadelphia

Shalom Y'all

Nix

Azurmende (in Bilbao)

Breakfast at Hyatt Kathmandu

Vietnam on First Avenue NYC

Maison Pickle

Jeni’s Ice Cream (ATL)

Sushi Takeshima in Kanazawa, Japan

Mastros

Picco Larkspur, CA

The Old Rose in the Jane Hotel

Souley Vegan - Oakland

Four Seasons Jackson Hole

Chris Aerni’s is the chef/owner of the Rosemont Inn in New Brunswick, Canada

Bite Into Maine - Lobster Roll

Sushi Inoue

Best Purchase Under $500 (answers filtered based on broad applicability and usefulness)

Allbirds runners

Samsung 4K HDR Monitor

Adidas Ultra Boost running shoes

Netgear orbi

Airpods (4)

5 nights of babysitting

SodaStream

InstantPot!

Deluxe Ninja blender

Salomon hiking boots

Brookes walking shoes

Western Mountaineering Sleeping Bag

Amope Electronic Foot File

Contigo hot cup for on-the-go. Really does keep my tea warm for 4hrs!

Madewell Jeans

Wrinkle-free shirts from LL Bean

Amazon Echo

Bombas socks (honeycomb support structure rocks)

We designed a glass vase and had it blown for us by Lexington Glassworks in Asheville, NC

Smart Light Bulbs

F2C Indoor Exercise Bike Stand trainer W/ 8 Levels of Resistance

Dream “Off The Beaten Path” Vacation (filtered to focus on discovery)

Northern India

Hill Tribes of India

The Color wars in India

Jacmel, Haiti

Rocky Mountain National Park

Lake Louise

Azores (3)

Portugal (4)

Mississippi

Namibia, Africa

Morocco

Aran Islands, Ireland

Northern Scandinavia

Lamu, Kenya

Palau

Iceland - Fire and Ice experiences

Cuba

Health Products or Insights (not filtered - you were all very interesting on this one)

Sleep more

ClassPass - yoga once a week

Pull-up bar that pops in above door

Stretches learned during physical therapy, amazing. Better posture while standing. Using a standing desk that can move up and down.

Switched from Eucerin face cream to Rose Hip and Hibiscus Moisturizer, skin feels much better.

One big meal a day

Citibike

under desk bike, apple watch

Yoga

I have begun Pilates this year and it really seems to work with my body. I am hoping I can join a studio to work with the machines next year. Also the foam roller will change your life ! I roll my back daily and it helps soooo much!

Not eating 5 or more hours before going to bed

Started tai-chi

Drink water

Cycling

doing at least a little bit of yoga or stretching every single day

intermittent fasting

alkali water

Flotation

TM

Mindfulness in every-day moments

You can do a lot in one day rather than spread it out over 5-6 days

More mindful breathing.

Hiking with walking sticks really helps the knees.

Still searching for something that I will stick with

SLT and retinol nightly

Yoga. And stretching.

I had some imaging done on my heart. Does that count?

Feldenkrais

hot yoga (I know, it’s so 10 years ago)

Stretching!

Marula facial oil and MCT oil in coffee aka bulletproof coffee

Float tanks

Eating low carb

Insight: Dry Fasting as implemented by Dr. Sergei Filonov in Siberia – cured my friend’s debilitating Lyme disease with six weeks of treatment.

Magnesium Taurate (back pain)

Milk thistle

How often do you meditate?

3+ times per week:             6.1%

1 or 2 times per week:     18.4%

1 or 2 times per month:   12.2%

rarely:                               22.4%

never:                              40.8%

Prediction: Bitcoin price at the end of 2018

>$25,000                                        22.0%

Between $25,000 and $2,500       63.4%

<$2,500                                         14.6%

Prediction: Senate after 2018 Elections

Republicans gain seats (>51 seats):        6.4%

51 Rep / 49 Dem (stays the same):         4.3%

50 / 50:                                                  23.4%

Democrats gain control:                       66.0%

Prediction: Who will win the World Cup

“I don’t care”:           53.1%

Germany:                 14.3%

Brazil:                       10.2%

Spain:                        6.1%

Argentina:                  6.1%

All other choices too low to bother with…

Favorite Life Hack (light filtering for usefulness)

Always be kind to your wife

Make a daily list of three things each day for which you are grateful.

Rely on the experts. They’re generally right

Better to “get over it” quickly

Using binder clips to hold loose wires to back of desk

Gowanus is as cool of a neighborhood as it is ugly.

Seek out comedy and laugh as much as possible. Recent interests Tiffany Haddish and Judd Apatow has a few good laughs on his special.

You don’t control your circumstances, you can control how you deal with them

Ink + Volt Planner

shave only once a week

Practice patience…

This is probably common knowledge to everyone, but it turns out there’s an arrow near the gas display that tells you which side of the car has the gas tank.

I learned about living an aloha life and while it is not super easy in NYC it is always a conscious decision that has not failed to make me feel better

“Books make my bed dirty, and alas, I ain’t got no transcendental eyeglasses”

Technology is not my friend

I should’ve spent more time with the Gottliebs in 2017. Will not make that mistake again.

Less social media. Facebook / twitter / insta can be bad for you.

overnight steel cut oats

Voters need to show up

Gmail allows variations to your address that include inserting a “.” anywhere or adding +“whatever you want” before the “@”. Generally logins require both you’re email address and your password. Half of that equation (your email address) is publicly available. For painless added security, when creating logins to sites, consider adding “+whatever you want” to the email address. A hacker would require both your password and this variation on your email address, which no one but you would have knowledge of. Incoming messages can also be filtered into folders by variations of this kind if you like (so “+secure”; “+junk”; “+temp”; “+important”).

Stop watching the news.

TM

It’s not as bad as it appears

To help kids be independent, we need to trust them.

Most damage can be repaired.

Be kind as often as you can because it will come back to you in spades

Book called subtle art of not giving a bleep….very good life advice

Take chances and try to be happy. Life is too short not to do so.

We need to regain a more equal distribution of income and the belief that we should take care of each other.

bidet

Getting old sucks

Growing old is good and becoming invisible has distinct advantages.

It’s not a new one, but work/life balance is CRUCIAL

Life is short.

When I say “yes” to something, what I am saying “no” to?

Electric power consumption will increase steadily over time notwithstanding efficiency gains in products that consume electricity