It’s been over two months and 60 films since I’ve last graced your inbox.
I made a solemn blood oath to only do this newsletter when it was fun for me, and well, I guess it feels fun to do right now following a stirring dance workout themed to the Raucous, Rambunctious, Rad Tollywood film RRR, the most recent film that has given me joy.
If you missed me/this, it’s nice to hear that in the comments. Pretend you read ALL of the precious content nestled herein, like this post, comment a heart in the color that best represents your soul, and not only will I never know you’re a fraud, but you’ll help me get a bigger audience in the process.
And… now it’s time to catch you up on some of the work I’ve been doing.
The Naked Man Podcast
"Self-care is the opening towards a spiritual practice and the key to healing."
This week I'm joined by picture book writer-illustrator and oracle Priyanka Vashee (@gulabimagic) to talk about her spiritual journey, my spirit guides, the difficulty and power of shifting mindsets and our paths to finding picture books, and subsequently, each other.
We talk about Captain Bartlett, the leader of Andy's spirit council, and the joyful afterlife. We change roles, as the ever-caring, empathetic and understanding Priyanka plays host to a dose of Andy therapy.
Shop at Priyanka's Etsy shop!
Book a session with Priyanka or visit her website.
Priyanka crafted this accompanying Shufflemancy playlist. “Messages from Spirit” is like a Tarot Walk, with each song revealing a tarot card answering the question you’re pondering.
If you’ve been working through something, get out of the house and put this on…
When I went on my walk, a theme emerged – of Release & Advance – in regards to many of my personal and professional relationships, directing me toward which people to align myself with going forward.
Some songs that came up for me:
ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” reminded me not to be so serious, to be joyful. I’ve had dance parties with myself when I’ve been feeling anxious since (more on that to come).
COIN’s “Malibu 1992” felt nostalgic and wistful, of missing an old lover, and signaled me to move on from a person.
Sjowgren’s “Now & Then” brought young love back into my heart and the excitement that comes from learning about other people, directing me to the new connections in my life, Priyanka being a notable one of them.
MARO’s “saudade, saudade” brought with it grief and pain over who I’ve lost and who I will lose along the way.
Tony Kakkar’s “Dheeme Dheeme” is a flirty, romantic song but its title translates to “slowly, slowly,” preaching patience yet confidence in my direction.
For more of what came to me, follow the show on IG.
This week, I'm joined by actor-carpenter-podcaster-Movies with Friends alum David Marlowe (@dwmarlowe) of the Shudder Show to discuss his experiences and struggles with ADHD. Starting with an ADHD diagnosis in second grade, David chronicles a lifelong tale of stigmas and over-explaining that has necessitated a bushel of metaphors at his disposal. David relates a difficult college experience after he went off meds, how his walls are up when it comes to conversations revolving around mental health in a blue collar workplace and how South Park did ADHD a disservice. While "pills don't make skills," we also bemoan the heartbreaking travails with health insurance and the difficulties in getting Adderall.
And here is David Marlowe’s ADHD-inspired playlist:
Any mixtape that begins with Bo Burnham’s manic ode to the delights and (mostly) horrors of the internet, is a keeper. That energy seethes through this 7-song stampede.
“You're here to transform yourself.”
This week, Danny Santos (@santoscrystalvisions) of the Astro Daddy Podcast reads my astrological chart. Danny Santos is an archetypal astrologer on a mission to become an ayahuasca shaman. So yeah, he's rad. The result is a deeper dive into astrology that uncovers where I've been, what I'm good at, what I need to work on, and what my DESTINY is. It's a lot.
We learn why my soul can't develop any further through the Taurus perspective. How my Scorpio Rising indicates a need to go underneath, inward. We uncover my potent karma, to be the friggin' Grim Reaper of my bloodline on a mission to heal ancestral trauma. We uncover a wounded sense of boundaries that has been around early in life. I learn that I'm "an incredibly Venus-oriented person" and that I have a lot of healing/work to do in the fields of eroticism, sensuality and sexuality that has long been infected by shame. I start that work in this episode, revealing my primary wound.
Who was I in a past life? Why does travel help me? What are my destiny signs? Why the hell does improv come up? How is 'Daddy' part of my destiny?
Take a trip with Danny and I through the stars.
To celebrate Pisces season and to continue upon the way of water, Danny shared his breathwork playlist that works quite well as a guided meditation:
And now for today’s episode, which is the most vulnerable podcast I’ve made yet. My partner Lili just came in and said it was my best. If that doesn’t get you to listen, why are you here?
“I am gender nonconforming.”
I wrote those words down in my notebook sometime last June. Nearly 9 months later, after tons of work on myself, I’m ready to share them outloud.
I realized that almost every moment I’ve been hurt or that I’ve hurt others has come when I was trying to act like a man or how I thought a man was supposed to act, or when I was acting differently than a man “should.” Almost all the shame I have comes from gender.
No thanks. No more.
This year in addition to hiking or walking or playing softball, my main form of exercise has been dancing in the living room to the following playlist, which feels as appropriate a companion to this episode any:
This is almost as intimate as the podcast, as it highlights all of my quirks. Put it on shuffle and dance away the angst.
The Dragh: A Worry Monster Worth Your Worry
Whispers of the dragh, an infectious, ethereal worry monster, found fertile enough territory to wend their way into written history and legend around 250 AE.
Before trade with the Salavasters was established, the Spice Bazaar but a distant dream, Empress Xisuthros sent many explorers across what was then a more vacant map to search for salts and herbs to refill her ever-growing city’s ever-emptying pantries and cellars.
One of the most famed adventurers of that uncertain time of fledgling imperialism was Commodore Ásbjörn Margeirsson, a daring foreigner from across the Mede Sea.
She went on many illustrious voyages that are not in this author’s purview to describe (see Maeloc Nance’s sedulous history, The Horn of Ásbjörn), save for one: her last. The following is assembled from ship’s logs recovered from Margeirsson’s own quarters…
To read the rest of the anxiety monster’s origin story, visit my favorite Substack, Ballads of the Distant Reaches, an online fantasy world where I’m a regular contributor:
Andyventures: The Huntington Library
Visit The Huntington Library with your friend Jen, because that’s always a great idea.
Decision Masters Podcast: What’s it like having a decision coach?
The one I relate my experience over the past year working with my decision coach Kirsten Parker. We recently wrapped up our final session and I haven’t mentally grieved yet, even when I know it feels more like a graduation than a goodbye.
For the year I worked with Kirsten Parker, there were times when she was the person I wanted to talk to the most in the world. Our weekly 1-on-1 sessions were invaluable progress reports / generous business meetings that helped train my mind and body to take things one step at a time and trust the process, trust myself, all while acknowledging the wins and the challenges along the way, practicing a self-love I sorely lacked. Kirsten helped me focus my vision, my core value, my goals, which eliminated a lot of hand-wringing around making decisions.
Sign up for a coaching membership with Kirsten, or book an hour to test the process out.
Andyventures: Descanso Gardens
While I’ve made the conscious decision of taking less weed edibles because I realized they don’t relax me at all, but only amp up my creative brain and that’s exhausting, I am more intentional about taking them. I took them on this excursion, which might explain my “Faces in the Wood” photo series. Like, you can see them too, right?
In case you think I only took pictures of enigmatic bark, here’s Part 2 that features two photos of flowers that aren’t even taken at Descanso Gardens. It made sense at the time:
COMING SOON…
If you want to hear the story behind this neat short film I wrote (!!) with some current Billboard Hot 100 Andy friends, this is a good place to start:
Harsh Wilderness is a short Western starring Lauren Olipra (Devious Maids) and Liesel Hlista (Maximum Foodie), with cinematography by Rodolphe Portier (Insane) edited by Johnny Turco (WandaVision) and directed by the Emmy nominated Ashley Maria (Pioneers in Skirts).
And yeah, I wrote it and included all of my favorite swear words.
Deadline reports that a trailer is coming shortly, hopefully featuring at least one of those swear words.
Lastly, A Note
For all of the above work and fun (with so much more not included), I was paid $30. Am I bad at capitalism? Not the right question, or certainly not a kind one. Is capitalism not an accurate or effective measuring stick for someone’s value to society? Is money an accurate or effective measuring stick for a human being’s value?
No.
If you want to help me make art, 100% of the money you donate to Be Greene Productions will go to present and future film projects.
If you’d like to work with me, there’s an email for that.
NEXT TIME
I share my new VO demo reel and the accompanying eight spots written and produced by Austen Moret (Netflix’s Troll). It includes perhaps the best acting I’ve ever done: believing Subway makes anything resembling quality sandwiches.
First off, I *love* RRR and am so glad to hear you’ve finally enjoyed it yourself. And—le gasp!—new voiceover reel?! I cannot wait!