The Matchbook | 12.22.23

HOT DIGGITY, Lady G and I are back with a whole new slew of links hot out the oven like a bun you didn’t know you baked. We’re having a blast shooting these, and I hope you’re digging watching them each Friday morning. Think of it as the new weekly tradition you didn’t know you needed. If ever you feel like rewarding us for our hard work, you can do so easily by joining this sweet little community by clicking the button below. We’d love to have you and it truly does keep the lights on here.

Got an extra 14 cents a day you don’t mind dropping in our offering bowl? Here’s how to join us:

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Here’s the scoop, kids:

Lord G’s Finds:

1. Ahead App - I don’t often recommend things that keep us on our screens even more than we’re already on them, but this one just might be worth it. Dubbed the “Duolingo for your emotional intelligence” it helps you get your emotions in check and helps you feel better about a number of hurdles in a number of ways. From controlling your anger response, to being more confident, less procrastination prone, they help by first having you take a self-awareness test, then they customize your training plan based on those responses. Genius. Here’s to shouting obscenities far less in traffic!

2. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F Trailer - When I was a youngster, I cannot impart properly unto you how much I loved the Beverly Hills Cop movies. There was something so fresh, so funny, so action packed and wonderful about them, and I watched them a LOT. To say I’m excited that there is going to be another installment, and to say that it looks like Eddie Murphy is back in a role he was born to play and not just doing weird kids movies, is an understatement. Looks like the whole gang is back too, which is just unbelievably rad. I’m in.

3. Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming by Feist - My #1 favorite holiday song, by a long shot. I don’t know what it is, if it’s the haunting little muted trumpet (or is it a sax) in the background that makes it feel like a lonely New Years Eve, or her gentle voice, but everytime I listen to it I get teary and it just feels RIGHT. Just right. Second favorite, if forced to pick, Winter Song by Sara Bareillis and Ingrid Michaelson.

4. Santa Claus: The Movie - We’re sticking with the holiday theme right here in the middle of the lists today, so my #4 is my all-time favorite Christmas movie, and it is, was, and always will be, Santa Claus: The Movie, starring Dudley Moore and John Lithgow. Something about this movie, the way the North Pole was depicted, just slaps me upside the noggin with nostalgia and joy and mystery, and I love it so much. This is my go-to in my brain when I think favorite. Second, clearly, Die Hard.

5. Best Science Images of 2023 - If you know me at all you know two things with a certain clarity: 1) I love science. B) I love photography. If those two things combine, watch OUT folks, WATCH OUT. Here are the best science images of 2023, and there are some absolute doozies. These are stunning, and show us our universe, big or small, in such stunning ways. Here’s a fave, called the “Space Monet” it’s the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, which happens to be the closest place to Earth where new stars are being born:

   

   Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (STScI) Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

6. Our Damn Calendars ARE AMAZING - Last but not least, our damn calendars, which we still have some stock left and we STILL have time to get them to you before January 1st kicks off. They are amazing, they are 30% off, and everyone should buy one. There are 11,000 of you people here, we shoulda sold them all by now. :) ANYWAY, if you’re still needing a cool gift for someone, and don’t mind it being given a few days after (more fun that way!) this would fit the bill. Snag one before it’s too late! OOOH ALSO everyone who buys one from today until Christmas, gets a free ORIGINAL Haiku tossed in. Free. Handwritten, hand-signed, the only one in existence. Yep.

   

Lady G’s Finds (in her own words!):

1. Sabbat Series Pagan Holiday Books - Our beautiful friend Kate Belew, the word witch, turned me onto these via Tamed Wild, and we’ve had an absolute blast learning more about every single holiday. Clearly, we’re in Yule now, and so last night for the solstice, we had a bath, lit some candles, pulled some Tarot, made some soup with warming spices, and it just so happened to be Tyler’s massage night. Perfect way to celebrate the longest night. If you’re new to these holidays and want to get into it, the books are amazing leaps in. Do you have any rituals you love for these stunning holidays? Let us know!

   1. Massage Table! - Seriously, if you’re in a relationship, buy a massage table, dedicate one night a week or every two weeks to each other, only one person per week, and focus all your love, energy, and healing on them. It’s cheaper than paying for a single real massage, and it brings you both so much closer. Our table is just like this one and it’s already lasted 7 years.

2. Journal Prompts For Any Emotion - Even if you don't love writing, journaling in any form can be an amazing way to sort, handle, and even overcome some pretty intense emotions. I started doing this in my own way, incorporating little paintings and sketches, and looking back over the journals I’ve already done makes me realize how badly I need to continue this. This article helps by providing prompts to help you journal through any emotion. Amazing. For those who want to use the little journal inserts I do, I love the Dotted Journal Refills for the Voyager notebooks, click the links to get the ones I use!

   

3. Santa Clause is Coming To Town by Bruce Springsteen - Plain and simple, this is, and always will be my favorite Christmas song. It just makes me feel like being a kid again, and brings back so many good memories from my childhood. Something about the joy in his voice. Gets me every time. What’s YOUR favorite Christmas Song?

4. Scrooged - All time favorite Christmas movie, it’s not even close to close. Bill Murray is my favorite, and the end scene in this movie is one of the all time greats. I can recite this movie start to finish, and I’ll still watch it every single year. This is one tradition I’ll never give up on.

   The song at the end, while not a “traditional” Christmas song, should be. It’s this:

5. Head Regal - I mentioned this earlier in the video, but Amber and Head Regal deserve their own space down here. Amber is a mermaid witch from Malibu, and in addition to making literally the best blankets in the entire world (they are Heirlooms they are so nice), she also happens to be the most generous soul alive. We’re so proud to call her friend, and family, and we miss her terribly.

   

6. BONUS ONE! Technicolor Cookies from NYT - These are AMAZING, cardamom, orange zest, and some strange royal icing that isn’t even that sweet and the cookies look like a psychedelic acid trip of deliciousness. YES. Oh and DOUBLE bonus, the Tea we mentioned in the beginning, Pukka Peppermint Licorice tea. Mmmmm.

   We love you all. Be good.