Just A Peck 0002 // Codebreaker, Shakespeare, Atrium Party

7/20/25

Welcome to the second issue of Just A Peck. I’m glad you’re here! New issues come out most Sundays. Unsubscribe at any time. If you’d rather subscribe via your feedreader, the rss feed is here.

What I’m Excited About This Week
Quick Links
Journal
Memories.

WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS WEEK

I'm a huge fan of Andy and Katy as improvisors, sketch writers, and theater makers. Also, Andy was a part of the team that created some of my favorite escape rooms of all time. So, I'm really, really excited that their new novel, Codebreaker, finally releases this week! If you haven't already pre-ordered, what are you waiting for?

The Zeitgeist Atrium (aka "Duluth's Living Room") has gotten a facelift! That's a great reason for a party! Appetizers, drinks, music, good vibes, and all the people you want to hang with. Hope to see you there!

QUICK LINKS

There's a new Commodore 64?!
An ASMR video of Defrag running in MS-DOS 6.22
You probably aren't ready for what icebergs look like when they're flipped over
A great profile of Kevin Kelly
An overview of the treasures in the NASA Ames Research Center Archives
Infinity of Ships is a TTRPG resource that is giving me strong nostalgia for the Terran Trade Authority books from the 80s.

JOURNAL

Last Sunday we went to the Director’s Circle talkback for Waitress at the Playhouse, and we got a close-up look at the incredible pies that the Prop Designer built for the show.

I took Friday off so Jody and I could do a road trip to the Great River Shakespeare Festival. On the way, we stopped by the BigBadToyStore headquarters for a quick tour. I’ve been working at BBTS for thirteen years and Jody had never been inside. It’s a significantly larger operation now than it was when I started.

Great River was working with a smaller company this year. They managed to pull off an 80s-themed Comedy of Errors (with a Max Headroom Duke played on a vintage television/VHS combo) and a Romeo and Juliet told as a memory play from the perspective of the nurse, both with a company of only nine people! The apprentice company did a seven-person version of Two Gentleman of Verona in a local brewery, and I really loved it. (I’m obsessed with pub Shakespeare.) And, of course, no trip to Winona is complete without a stop at Bloedow’s.

I definitely didn’t want to miss the Maya Deren Project at the Zinema, so we got back to Duluth as quickly as we could. It didn’t disappoint. If you have an opportunity to see this (or one of Ten Thousand Lakes other live music/cinema projects) and you aren’t allergic to avant garde film or low-fi ambient electronica, it’s a killer evening.

What I watched:

Pee Wee as Himself (2025). A fascinating portrait of a prickly genius.
Scarecrow (1973). Hackman and Pacino in two all-time performances.
Shanghai Express (1932). Dietrich, Von Sternberg, Anna May Wong, and some gorgeous cinematography.
The Maya Deren Project which consisted of the shorts At Land (1944), Ritual in Transfigured Tiem (1946), The Very Eye of Night (1958), Meshes of the Afternoon (1943). Brilliant.

What I’m reading:

MEMORIES

Ten Years Ago:

Our amazing Theatre in the Woods family threw us a surprise going away party. It was a bittersweet close to a decade of art and community with some of our closest friends.

Fifteen Years Ago:

We were watching Alex march in the Rodeo Parade for the last time as a student. (We didn't know then that he would march again in the alumni band years later.)

Twenty Years Ago:

Jody and I were on our first trip to Chicago with our friends, Tim and Lisa. We've been back countless times since, but I don't think we ever got a hotel room with a better view of the skyline.

That’s it for this week. Stay safe, friends. Thanks for reading!

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