Tara 0:17
Hey everyone, welcome to Queerly Recommended. I’m your host, Tara Scott and with me as always is Kris Bryant.
Kris 0:25
It’s Episode 12.
Tara 0:27
Can you believe it? The podcast is old enough to get a vaccine.
Kris 0:32
I love that.
Tara 0:35
So Kris have your last couple of weeks been?
Kris 0:38
They have been very good. I’ve had very good days and weekends. Last night, I had a concert for my Patreon page. I actually sang and my friend, Alisa Jefferson, who was a fantastic musician, a little rocker here in Kansas City. She came and- actually I went to her studio, and we recorded a little concert. And we did that last night, which was May 15th.
Tara 1:03
Yeah.
Kris 1:04
And it was it was very, it was a lot of fun. I had a lot of alcohol, I drank some lemon drops. They were trying to loosen me up so that I could do a live show and also sing. Like I never sing. I am not your person for a karaoke bar or anything like that, I never seen. And so they- she got me to see.
Tara 1:26
And how many lemon drops did you have? Like, how are you feeling this morning? Are you a hurting unit?
Kris 1:32
I’m doing well. It was just enough to just kind of let me chill and relax. I had two but it was in a short amount of time. It was one of those where I got there like 40 minutes before the show started. I was like lemon drop, lemon drop, pizza. So that was my evening and it was such a good- It was so much fun. I had so much fun. And it’s been a long time since I’ve had that much fun because didn’t have to wear masks. We’re all vaccinated. The four of us were vaccinated. And it was just a good time.
Tara 2:02
Oh, wait, wasn’t it because you had a birthday?
Kris 2:06
I did. I had a birthday.
Tara 2:07
Happy birthday. You’re 32, right?
Kris 2:11
I am 35.
Tara 2:13
You’re 35. That’s right. A mere baby.
Kris 2:16
A baby. That’s true. It was a good time. And it was fun because last year the celebration was like full body suits. I don’t know if you ever saw the video, my sister and I got hazmat suits, so we could hug our parents. So that was last year. And this year, we were able to actually hug since my whole family’s vaccinated. So it was a good time. Yeah.
Tara 2:43
That’s so good. Yeah, so on your birthday I actually suggested people either buy one of your books, because I mean, come on. They’re great. They should do that. And if they already have all of your books, they should donate to an animal shelter. And Diane on Twitter was like, “But I’m already donating an animal shelter. I already have all of Kris’s books”. So she chose something a little different and she decided to support the show by sending a payment through ko-fi. But-
Kris 3:11
Oh!
Tara 3:11
I got a little bone to pick with you because she left a note for you to share a piece of cake with me remotely. And it didn’t happen. There was no cake. There’s no cake, Kris.
Kris 3:20
There’s no cake left. I’m so sorry. There’s no cake left.
Tara 3:25
I can’t imagine. By the time it got here from your like partially dismantled USPS.
Kris 3:32
I know. You know, I sent something to Finnian Burnett. I think it was like friggin back in March, and it took over a month to get there. And it was first class mail.
Tara 3:44
No.
Kris 3:44
It was over a month. I was like “Yeah, that’s crazy. What’s up? Is it my fault? Is it your fault? Is it our fault? It’s just No, I don’t know”.
Tara 3:52
No I’m gonna buy my own cake.
Kris 3:54
Yeah. The cake would not last. It would not make it there, I’m so sorry.
Tara 3:58
No, but thank you, Diane, that was so sweet. We really appreciate it.
Kris 4:02
Yes. And Diane wasn’t the only person who supported us through Ko-fi. If you’re a new listener, and you don’t know what Ko-fi is. It’s kind of like a digital tip jar that lets you financially support content creators like us on a reoccurring basis. And we’re so grateful because it helps us with the cost of running the show. Alex says, “Thank you for sharing your recommendations”. So that was fantastic to hear or to read. Lisa says, “I just want to set a queer token of my appreciation”. So thank you, Alex and Lisa for supporting us. We appreciate it.
Tara 4:36
So lovely. And we also want to say thank you to the folks who have been leaving reviews and ratings with Apple podcasts. And I just want to read a couple of reviews because I gotta tell you, I feel like I can speak for Kris as well. I’m just so delighted whenever I see the reviews because not only do they help other folks find the podcast, which is fantastic, but it’s just so sweet. QuirkyR says, “It’s a joy to listen to Kris and Tara exchange the recommendations. I leave with more to seek out and wishing for more hours in each day to keep up”. That so cute.
Kris 5:15
Super sweet. Very nice, very nice.
Tara 5:17
And then Marie L said, “Tara and Kris have great co host chemistry. You would think they’ve been doing this together for years. This is definitely the spot for queer content recommendations. My to-be read and to-be watched lists are growing very nicely”.
Kris 5:34
Yes. Now, Tara, do you want to tell them how this happened? How we started this whole podcast and how this came about?
Tara 5:41
Yeah, it’s actually kind of funny. So I had a podcast for a little over four years. I don’t know if people know that. It was called Les Do Books. And it was on the Lesbian Talk Show Channel. That was run by Sheena who runs The Lesbian Review, one of the websites that I review at, and I kind of felt like I had done all that I could do there. I felt like I’m really proud of what I did. I talked to a lot of amazing authors, and I got to talk to authors that I never would have thought that I would talk to like I talked to Ann Bannon which is one, like- to me, that’s still one of the interviews that I think I’m the proudest of that I’ve ever done, like really getting to understand how she’s at the roots of what authors like you are doing today, you don’t get to do what you’re doing-
Kris 6:33
Pioneer.
Tara 6:34
Oh, my God, but then also in a similar vein, Katherine V. Forrest.
Kris 6:39
Exactly. They’re pioneers!
Tara 6:42
Like, Oh, my God, but then also getting to like, you were on the show a few times, like getting to talk to Georgia Beers and Melissa Braden and Rachel Spangler and other reviewers like I had, Anna on there, and other folks from the Lesbian Review, like April and whoever, but like, I don’t know, I just kind of felt like I was pretty close to done. And I was supposed to have a different author on for my second last episode. And that author wasn’t able to make it. They were having some health issues. And I was like, “Kris! Kris!” Cause you you’ve been on the show a couple times. And I knew that we had pretty good chemistry. And like, I had no concerns that we would have a good episode. And we did the episode and you said, “Hey, you ever want to do a podcast?” And I was like, “I don’t know that I ever want to do a podcast”. But like you came back later.
Kris 7:33
I did? I said, “Let’s do this. Let’s do this”.
Tara 7:37
And I’m really glad you did. So we started- When did we start planning? Was it November?
Kris 7:44
Yes, it was November because we planned- because the first episode we recorded like right after Christmas.
Tara 7:50
Mm hmm.
Kris 7:51
So because I was upset because I couldn’t talk about all the Christmas movies, but I’m saving them for this December.
Tara 7:57
Yeah, Y’all better be ready for all the Christmas movie recommendations that are coming your way.
Kris 8:02
Starting in August.
Tara 8:04
Oh, yeah. Kris is gonna be bringing them all.
I love them.
Except the happiest season.
Kris 8:10
Right. Well, you know what, we’ll still talk about it. I think it still needs, I think it warrants a discussion.
Tara 8:20
Mm hmm. Like a festivus?
Kris 8:22
Yes,
Tara 8:23
We need to have a festivus about Happiest Season.
Kris 8:26
We do.
Tara 8:26
Oh no. Do I need to watch it for that? Maybe?
Kris 8:29
Yes.
Tara 8:30
Maybe I’ll get like super baked and then watch it.
Kris 8:33
Or- Yes. And do it in July. There’s a thing called Christmas in July.
Tara 8:37
That’s my birthday. Did you know my birthday is Christmas in July?
Kris 8:40
I did not know that. I knew it was in July, but I realized that that your birthday landed in Christmas in July.
Tara 8:45
Yeah, it’s July 25th. Get ready.
Kris 8:48
Okay.
Tara 8:49
Put some pants on. I don’t know. I don’t know what the appropriate slang for that is.
Kris 8:54
I think it’s too hot for pants.
Tara 8:56
Right. Oh, yeah, actually, yeah, it is often too hot for pants at that time of year depending on where you’re at.
Kris 9:03
Okay, in the Midwest, July 25th is horrific, especially with the humidity. And we are we usually hit 100 by that, which is horrible.
Tara 9:13
Do you have central air though, at least?
Kris 9:15
Oh, yeah. Oh my gosh, yeah. I need to have it. We have four seasons and Kansas City is right on the jet stream. So you might hear some thunder and lightning because it is storming here today. It will be for the next 10 days. So I’m gonna be miserable.
Tara 9:30
Mm hmm. Well, so when I- so I moved to Calgary 16 years ago. And what I was told was everybody was like, “No, no, no, it’s never hot enough. Nobody has central air here. And it’s not you. There’s only like two to three bad weeks a year”. And I basically like suffered until five years ago. It was awful. Now, it’s true that for most of the summer, it’s not quite that bad. But there are there’s like at least a month every summer that’s awful. And so when I got my job at the company where I work now, which shall remain unnamed I mean, because I don’t bring real life into the podcast very often.
Kris 10:08
Except your dog.
Tara 10:09
Except my dog, right? Yeah, no. Zadie gets to be on the podcast. Zadie and Neil get to be on the podcast. So my youngest was still, she, she was just starting to walk at that point. So I would still say, like, basically a baby at that point. But I got that job. And Neil and I were like, “Let’s treat ourselves.” And we got central air, and it was life changing. We’re the only people that sleep through the night in the summer in Calgary, and it’s the best.
Kris 10:39
I was gonna say that is so pioneer of you to not have air. That’s so- to me, it doesn’t even make sense. We actually have to, some of our schools don’t have air. So we have to do the schools at a certain time of year, so that the children don’t melt in the classrooms.
Tara 11:01
Oh, that’s disgusting.
Kris 11:03
But I think, I would think by now, I mean, this has been a while. Maybe I don’t know, like, 10 years or so. So maybe, since then, the schools have received, you know, the money in order to purchase central air because it’s horrible here. It’s horrible here. Yeah.
Tara 11:19
That’s disgusting. That’s disgusting. So we didn’t actually get new listener questions in this time. But we’re actually going to revisit an old listener question. Because remember how last time, we got those questions from Yurific about audible versus audible plus?
Kris 11:37
Right.
Tara 11:37
And you and I both basically said, “We don’t, we don’t know the answer.”
Kris 11:42
Right.
Tara 11:42
“And if anybody does know the answer, please let us know”. Well we have an answer that is fabulous and it’s from somebody who really really knows her stuff. Cuz it’s the kick ass lesbian author, Amanda Radley. And for people that don’t know, Amanda is now with you at Bold Strokes Books but she used to have her own publishing company for a while, I think it was called Heartsome. And so, before we get into Amanda’s answer, the questions were: Number one, does the author get paid when we listen to their audio book that is part of the Audible Plus catalog? Number two, what does the publisher/author get out of making a release, quote, unquote, audible exclusive? And number three, what are the motivations to put a book on Audible Plus versus full price?
And so Amanda said, “I can’t speak on behalf of Bold Strokes Books, specifically, because I don’t know if they’re enrolling their books in Audible Plus, but I can answer in general. Firstly, it’s important to know the difference between Audible Plus and Audible Premium. Audible Plus is a new Kindle unlimited style subscription service. This is where listeners pay a monthly subscription fee to listen to as much as they like, which is whatever is available in the plus catalogue. I believe it’s currently only available in the US with plus so that listeners can access audiobooks, podcasts and original content that is enrolled in the plus catalog, which is currently quite limited in comparison to the main catalog so that it’s only around 15,000 titles versus half a million titles.
When you cancel your membership you do not own or have access to anything you have listened to. Audible Premium is how Audible has historically worked, so that you earn credits each month and are able to purchase an audio book with that credit. When you cancel your account, you still retain access to the title and it is yours to keep. So to answer the first question, and I’m going to go back to, does the author get paid when we listen to their audio book that’s part of audible plus catalog? Yes, authors do get paid when audio books are listened to through the Audible Plus catalogue. At the moment, we are paid the same amount as when a book is purchased via a credit but I imagine this will change once the Audible Plus platform is properly rolled out and has more subscribers. In the case of Kindle Unlimited authors are paid far less for a book read through Kindle Unlimited instead of purchased outright. Most authors are happy with this as it’s good to attract new readers. Audible Plus will probably go through the same way over time. It’s worth pointing out that Audible is happy to give authors free money while they are building up their world dominance in this market”. I mean that’s fair, I think we know that Amazon is all about that world domination.
Kris 14:22
Right.
Tara 14:24
Like Jeff Bezos just looks like an evil villain right, at this point? Doesn’t he? I mean anyway that’s a whole ass aside. But back to her message, “In the past, but sadly, no more authors were paid for audio books listened to via free promo codes. So if a listener listened to a free audio book, the author would receive the same payment as if the book had been purchased despite no money ever being paid. Audible also provided these codes for free in their hundreds equals free money. But as I say, sadly, no more.
“In answer to the second question, which is What does the publisher/author get out of making a release audible exclusive? Yes, authors do get more for being exclusive to Audible. There are lots of ways to pay or not pay for production of an audio book. But if you choose a royalty share scheme between narrator and author, then you can choose a 40% royalty rate for being exclusive to Audible, meaning distribution through Audible Amazon and iTunes, or a 25% royalty rate for retaining your right to distribute elsewhere. As Audible and iTunes account for the majority of sales anyway, most people choose more royalty.”
Kris 15:33
Where else do you get audiobooks though?
Tara 15:36
You can get them through Spotify now. You can do audiobooks.com, you can get them through the library. Although if you get them through the library, obviously you can’t you don’t get to own them, you’re just borrowing them. That’s actually how I listened to most of mine. If I’m not listening to audiobooks for review, which either come to me, depending on who they’re coming from, like if it’s a book that is from Bold Strokes Books, or from Bywater Books, it’s usually coming through audible.com.
Kris 16:06
Okay,
Tara 16:06
If it’s from Ylva Publishing, because Ylva does all of there’s through Tantor. I believe it comes from audio books, and sometimes one other that I cannot remember. And then for me, if I’m going to buy one I’m probably gonna buy from Audible just because I have so many books on Audible anyway, like, it’s just so easy. But I do try to get through my library. I love the Libby app. I find it so easy. I don’t mind waiting. Because I always have an audio book on the go anyway, so that’s fine.
Kris 16:41
That’s good.
Tara 16:42
Yeah. So that’s a whole lot about audio books.
Kris 16:48
But it’s it’s educational. I mean, I didn’t know this stuff. For sure. I just I see. “Oh, look, this my book made it to- You know, if you go to Amazon look, oh, this is an audio book now”. And so honestly, maybe it’s just me, but I never know when it’s gonna happen.
Tara 17:04
No.
Kris 17:04
If it happens, so I’m always surprised because there’s somebody who like goes through the- I think it’s Lesbian Audiobooks on Facebook, and they always post and tag people. I think it’s Stephanie Culpepper. She tags, people, “Oh, look, Fiona Riley, your books out on Audible now or look what’s available as an audio book”. So I usually get my information through that way unless I’m like constantly looking on Amazon. But I don’t that, so.
Tara 17:33
No. No. Thank you so much, Amanda, for sending that in. That is so helpful. I didn’t know any of that information. I personally feel educated. Yurific, I hope you feel like you have a better understanding of it now too.
Kris 17:47
Yeah, now we know.
Tara 17:49
Completely unrelated. Kris, as you have some very exciting book news coming, I feel like I’ve been waiting for this news for literally years.
Kris 18:00
Yes.
Tara 18:01
You want to tell us about it? What is it? What’s happening? What’s happening?
Kris 18:04
Okay, so I wrote my first full length erotica romance, and it’s called Not Guilty.
Tara 18:11
Oh, wait. You you wrote it? Who wrote it?
Kris 18:15
Oh, that’s right! Brit Ryder wrote it which is the pen name I use in order to write erotica.
Tara 18:26
So Not Guilty. Tell us about it.
Kris 18:31
Back in 2017 I wrote, just to try it out, I wrote a little novella called Shameless and it’s an erotica novella. 20,000 words maybe. And it deals with a kind of a meetup at a museum here in Kansas City. And this is interesting. I rarely put Kansas City as the actual, you know, place of my book. And so I did in Shameless. I put it at the museum. We have here at the Nelson Atkin Museum.
Tara 18:58
Is that a real museum?
Kris 19:00
That is a real museum.
Tara 19:00
Because I reread Shameless and I was like, “Wait, is this a real place?”
Kris 19:04
It is a real place. And they’re- all of that stuff is real. Like every little, like the Colonial Wing. It’s like super dark. And it has like a wooden path. And like, seriously, you could like murder somebody in that room it is so dark. It is so dark, and you wouldn’t find a body for days. But yeah, they have real lighting and they have like little plaques that are on the floor that you read. And so I just I said, “You know what? I’m just gonna actually use a real place that I’ve been to and I know about,” so I wrote it. I wrote Shameless about this hook up at a museum here in town. And a lot of people liked it. A lot of people like Shameless.
Tara 19:40
Including me. I loved it. Well when I read Shameless, I didn’t know you.
Kris 19:45
Right.
Tara 19:45
So this is like, I feel like I can gush as much as I want. Because we were not friends at the time.
Kris 19:45
You can still gush!
Tara 19:52
Yeah, I loved it. And actually, I think I reached out to you. I was like, “What else happens? Do they get a happry- What?”
Kris 20:01
I don’t know what happens,
Tara 20:02
Because it’s like, the ending is very, very much happy for now. like it’s, it’s, I would I don’t actually, I don’t even know that I would call that it is an optimistic ending, I think is what I would call it.
Kris 20:17
Right.
Tara 20:17
But it’s so good and with Not Guilty coming out. I mean we were texting while because I saw Not Guilty on Netgalley you were like, “Just get it.” So I did, cause I can’t- for people listening why we would even have that conversation. I can’t review Kris’s books anymore because we are friends now, we do this podcast. That’s not cool to review books written by your friends. That’s just not a thing you do. So but she’s just get it so you could read it. But she said, “Read Shameless again first”. And it’s like, okay, cool, because I actually haven’t read it since it first came out. And there’s a part of me that’s always a little bit afraid to go back and read books I haven’t read in a long time because it’s like, will I love it as much as I did the first time? But I did.
Kris 21:09
Yay. I think some reviews are coming in. And people are saying, “Reread Shameless”. Because there’s, there’s kind of a little bit of history and I had to go back to Shameless obviously, since Not Guilty takes place, during Shameless and after Shameless. So you’ll miss- so I had to go back and make sure the dialogue was correct. And just take it because it takes place from the other character’s point of view.
Tara 21:37
Yeah.
Kris 21:37
So it’s a softer side than Shameless. Shameless is as different perspective and this Not Guilty.
Let’s be honest. Shameless was just fucking.
Basically, yes, that’s what it is. It’s just people having sex. So and it happens. People have sex. I mean, that’s just the nature of humanity. I mean, people have sex. And so Not Guilty is Shameless’sperspective from the other person’s point of view. And then it goes on to to go on past Shameless. Months, months past Shameless. So you have the actual story. And so, you know, I think Shameless you’ll- a couple of reviewers missed very important things. So that’s why they’re like, “Okay, for sure, you have to reread Shameless, because you’ll miss things that are pretty important”. So the good thing about Shameless is there’s a twist. Well, there’s also twists in Not Guilty but if you don’t read Shameless, you’re going to kind of miss it. So anyway, yeah. So that’s coming out, that’s available on June 1 through the Bold Strokes Books, website. And then everywhere else, general releases June 15, on Amazon, and Barnes and Noble and everywhere else.
Tara 22:55
So if I can make a humble recommendation, read Shameless right now. Just go get it read it right now. Because I read them like literally back to back. I read Shameless one night, I read Not Guilty the next day. They’re both great, but I actually don’t recommend reading them that close together, because that’s actually too close together.
Kris 23:18
Right.
Tara 23:18
So if you can get that space of like two to three weeks, that’s going to be the absolute optimal way of doing it. And you’re going to have the best time.
Kris 23:28
Yay, sweet spot. So I’m excited about it. I’m excited to see how it’s received. Because so many people wanted to hear more about them. I probably have received more emails about the characters in Shameless than any other book I’ve ever written. And that was a novella. So I said, “Okay, I’m gonna do it.”
Tara 23:45
It’s still one of my favorite twists that I’ve ever read. And I’m so mad that we can’t talk about it.
Kris 23:51
I know. We can’t.
Tara 23:53
Because it’s literally like, it’s the twist that makes it special.
Kris 23:58
Yes, I think so.
Tara 24:00
And the thing that I love about Not Guilty is getting to- because you finish Shameless, and you’re like, “What?” You can’t see me but right now I’m like, just rubbing my hands across my head, which is a thing that I do cause head is shaved all the time. But like, it’s just that like, this twist happens you’re like, “Oh, my God.” But because Kris writes in the first person, you never get to see inside that other person’s perspective.
Kris 24:30
Right.
Tara 24:31
And when you do, and you finally get to see what that other, what was up with them and how it all came about. And so it was I found that incredibly satisfying.
Kris 24:42
Yay. Yay. Thank you. You know, I did write a prequel to Shameless. It was a short story in the Bold Strokes Books Erotica Travel Anthology. And so I just wrote a short story with Emery pre-Shameless. So there’s also that available which also has a twist. So apparently Britt Rider loves twists in books and stories.
Tara 25:07
There you go. That Brit Ryder. All right, how did you come up with the name Brit Ryder?
Kris 25:14
Brit Ryder, I blame KB Draper. She- and I bame Melissa Braden. So Melissa Braden and KB Draper.
Tara 25:22
Wait, did you name it after her dog?
Kris 25:24
Yeah! So they both got a dog on the same day named Ryder. But here’s the funny thing so Ryder is spelled R-Y-D-E-R but it’s also kind of a play on writer, W-R-I-T-E-R. So that’s kind of that and Brit came about because Kathy Creedon and CF Frizzell. They’re married and they’re two of my best friends. And Kathy and I always speak in British accents. Like when we get together, we either do British or Southern, like Southern belle accents.
Tara 25:56
Okay, give us a Southern belle accent.
Kris 25:59
No I can’t.
Tara 25:59
Tell the next part of the story in a Southern Belle accent.
Kris 26:03
That’s just too, that’s too stressful. It’s like karaoke. Like, you can’t tell me to sing, you can’t tell me to do this accent. I’ll just like slip into it
Tara 26:11
Disappointing but fine.
Kris 26:12
I’m so sorry. But yeah, so that’s why so Britt was because the British accent that I like to do. And it’s horrible. And it’s so much fun though. Ryder was because Melissa Brayden and KB Draper for their dogs. And it was a kind of a play on the whole word. So that’s how Ryder came about.
Tara 26:28
That is hilarious. Oh my god. All right, Kris, what have you been- I don’t know that you’ve been reading because you’ve been in a- you’ve been in more of a writing place lately, if I recall correctly. So what have you been watching?
Kris 26:45
Okay, so I actually have been reading because everything’s turned in. And I’m getting ready to do another episode of Drunk Lesfic. And I’m gonna ask you on air to moderate for us.
Tara 26:58
Hurray. Sure.
Kris 27:00
So I’m reading Swipe Right.
Tara 27:02
Is it good?
Kris 27:03
It really is.
Tara 27:04
Yes. Oh, I was so hoping- I feel like it’s unfair to ask you that while we’re literally recording. Although I suppose we could just edit that out but I really want that book to be good because I read the blurb and was like, “Holy shit. That sounds adorable”. And so I am totally planning on reading it. We- tell me later when you’re planning on doing it. I will read that in advance.
Kris 27:23
Okay. Yeah, I will. We’re gonna do it. I want to say next weekend. Maybe?
Tara 27:30
Okay. Okay, well, we need to talk about that. Because I need to talk to my other co parent.
Kris 27:38
That’s right. You need to find out if that’s even possible.
Tara 27:40
Correct.
Kris 27:42
I mean, worst case scenario, we can probably you know, Tegan and I can probably push through it ourselves.
Tara 27:48
No, no, I’m sure we can figure it out.
Kris 27:50
We said it was like herding cats with the Rey and I doing it, so…
Tara 27:55
One of you is gonna forget to hit the recorder or something.
Kris 27:58
Right. And we’re just gonna drink martinis all night and just talk about our books.
Tara 28:03
You’re gonna be- You’re gonna be hurtin’.
Kris 28:06
I know. So, so I have been reading but what I started watching, I started watching Pride on Hulu. And what it is, it’s a six part documentary series. And it just kind of talks about the struggles of LGBTQ civil rights in America. And it starts off in the 50s. And it goes all the way through to the the 2000s. But it’s different. There’s like this episodes, I’ve only watched the first episode. And it’s it’s just pretty much heavy history and how we always hear about the bad in our history, but we never hear about the good. And so a lot of it focuses on the good. Like it wasn’t nearly as bad as you think. Yeah, there was like extortion. And there are other things. But it was kind of interesting, because they talked a lot about- I never even thought about this, like in the military. Most kids, I say kids, I don’t mean kids, I mean young adults who actually had to join or signed up to join the war, it was the first time they left their home.
And so you put people who are queer, you put them in an environment, a same sex environment, and they are going to have relationships, they’re going to find people just like them. They talked about how that happened in the Army and the Navy, and then also in the nurses organization, and also in the workforce, women in the workforce, because all the men were gone. So the women, you know, stepped up and did the jobs that needed to be done. And so there was a lot of relationships that came out of just being in same sex environments. And you know, not an all sexual but this was focusing strictly on sexual relationships, of course, so I never thought of it. I was like, I never thought that most people never left their home towns unless it were for something super big because this is what the 40. It wasn’t like, “Hey, let’s go road trip”, you know, and “let’s go to California or New York or whatever” . And so that like, yeah, they discussed, like entrapment by the police, how they did try to catch gay people, by entrapment. And then they also talked about lots of people of color who transitioned during this time. That was a big thing. And I didn’t know about it. Like in the 50s. See?
Tara 30:23
This sounds fabulous.
Kris 30:24
It is. Yeah, I know. I know. I’m gonna recommend this one when I’m done with all seven episodes. So but that’s what I’m watching now.
Tara 30:33
I’m going to see if I can find it in Canada.
Kris 30:35
Yeah, I’m still doing- well, if you have Hulu, do you have Hulu?
Tara 30:38
No.
Kris 30:39
Okay.
Tara 30:40
No, which I think is very rude. Hulu. come to Canada. We want you.
Kris 30:43
Right, I’m sure you’ll be able to find it. Because I think it’s also on I think somebody else actually made it. And I can’t think of who it was.
Tara 30:51
Was it Showtime? We get that. Dammit.
Kris 30:56
I know. I’m sorry. But yeah, so look for it, Pride. I’ll look for and send you the link and see if there’s- or I’ll look to see if it’s available anywhere else through a ny other but it’s really really good. I think I’m gonna recommend it. Now even on episode one.
Tara 31:11
Very good. Very good.
Kris 31:14
Yeah. And so I’m also torturing myself by watching, continually watching Handmaid’s Tale and Cruel Summer.
Tara 31:20
Why? Why?
Kris 31:21
I have to say she has to win. Hope. It’s hope.
Tara 31:26
Yeah, but like does she has to do it this season? Have they announced that it’s the final season?
Kris 31:31
They have not announced that it was the final season.
Tara 31:33
Then she’s definitely not going to win the season.
Kris 31:36
But maybe she’ll come close. You know, maybe-
Tara 31:38
I’m trying to remember if she even- does she even win in the book? I haven’t read the book in 20 years.
Kris 31:43
Okay, so the book has- basically what’s happening is the TV show is just kind of making this up. But in the end, and from the book, the end, it’s a positive ending. But it’s not, it doesn’t talk about everything that’s happening now. This is kind of like what they made up for the show. At least that’s what I heard. That’s what I heard. I just had a dinner date. And we talked about that.
Tara 32:08
Oh, so is it like they they started at relatively faithful to the book.
Kris 32:11
Right, exactly.
Tara 32:12
The middle they’re gonna do kind of whatever they want.
Kris 32:14
Exactly.
Tara 32:15
For as long as they want and then kind of when when they hear this is the final season, then they’ll like wrap it up true to the book.
Kris 32:21
Exactly. I think that’s what’s gonna happen. So yeah, I’m torturing myself with that. And I’m still watching Cruel Summer. I hate Tiffany. I told her. I went to work. And I said, “Hey, I talked about you and I hate you. And you can say, and she just loved it. She’s laughed”. She’s like, “Great.”
Tara 32:35
She’s famous. She’s famous for being hated. She put the sign up in the window at work. Do you want to tell the people that don’t follow you on social media, but are listening to this episode. Do you want to explain what that means?
Kris 32:49
Yes. So I have to- I have a team we rotate in and out because of COVID. So there’s a skeleton team. So we go in for two days. And then we work outside of the office for the following four work days. And then we go back in for two days. So I work with Sam and Tiffany. And Sam. I always tell her because Sam is she’s she’s a little Spitfire. She’s like fierce, little, you know, she’s tough. And I tell her my- I walk at lunch when the weather’s accommodating, I will walk on my lunch hour and I tell her how I’m walking. I said, here’s my routine. It was a two and a half mile walk. And so I walked by some really shady areas, because of where my work is, it’s kind of by the river. And so there’s a lot of like homeless camps. So on my walk, you’ll see like, I will see thrown mattresses and box springs and like, by the side of the road, like, what am I doing? Why am I walking here? Oh, yeah, cuz I need exercise. So, so I always yell I said, “Okay, I’m gonna go on my walk, Sam, you know my path”. So she knows that if I don’t show up in 40 minutes or whatever, then she needs to come look for me. So what she did was on the way back, she printed off this huge sign and it says, “I’m glad you’re alive. Dirty books aren’t going to write themselves”. And I was like, and I’m on the second floor. So like, covered her window. And so I took a picture of it. And I posted it on social media because I thought it was hilarious.
Tara 33:15
And that’s love. That is love.
Kris 34:17
Yeah, exactly.
Tara 34:20
Do any of your co-workers- like has she read any of your books?
Kris 34:22
Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Like, you know, it’s it’s nice when you have straight friends who support you, but some of them you just don’t want to read your books. And so like Sam for sure, I don’t want her to read my books. And and she has lesbian friends. Like I think one of her best friend she she went to a wedding not too long ago because one of her best friends was getting married to a woman, but she doesn’t strike me- I mean, she’s like, super sweet and everything. She doesn’t strike me as, like she’s gonna go to the parades for us and like, hold up signs. She’s got a kid. She’s like, we’re just like totally different. And I’m like, ‘You don’t have time to read my books and I don’t want you to”. It’s like, “You fall under the family category. Do not read my books”.
So no, she doesn’t read my books. Nobody at work. At least I’ve told everybody work not to read my stuff.
Tara 35:12
Okay, so is that everything that you’ve been-
Kris 35:14
Yes. Oh, oh, so here’s what I thought of you. I thought of you because you love drag queens. And so I started this show, and I forgot the name of the show. It really didn’t suck me in, but they had two of the best drag queen names. And I laughed out loud and like if I’m watching something, and it makes me laugh out loud that I know it’s hilarious. I mean, it’s just one of those words. And so I’m gonna run these two names. One will be perfectly acceptable for the show. The second one Neil will have to bleep out but I still want you to hear it. I want to see your reaction to it.
Tara 35:49
Okay. Okay.
Kris 35:51
The first one is Paddington Bareback.
Tara 35:55
Oh my god!
Kris 35:58
Padding Bareback? I thought it was super cute.
Tara 36:02
Wholesome fun for the whole family.
Kris 36:04
Right. Paddington Bareback, I loved it. I just so I kind of laughed at that one. So the second one is, let me see if I pronounce it right….(Price is Right Sad Trombone sound effect)
Tara 36:16
No, no. Oh, that person’s going right to hell. Oh, my goodness.
Kris 36:27
Yes.
Tara 36:30
Very bad.
Kris 36:32
Very bad one. I’m like that is too soon. Like it will never be okay.
Tara 36:37
No, no, it will never- you know what that’s actually making me think of- So, in the last episode, we talked about how I’m watching Drag Race Australia. You know what, let’s transition this into what I’ve been watching- what I’ve been watching and read.
Kris 36:51
Yes.
Tara 36:52
So I’ve been watching. Drag Race Australia. I gotta say, like, I’m not really loving the season. It’s not the best one, but I’m gonna keep watching it because it’s Drag Race.
Kris 37:01
Right.
Tara 37:02
It’s a part of the rhythm of the week now. And they did- there’s this thing that happens every single season, does not matter which franchise and they call it Snatch Game, which is kind of like a play on the Match Game. And so the drag queens all do celebrity impersonations. And it’s supposed to be kind of like the old Match Game show, which the only reason I know about it is because of this because I was I feel like you and I are both too young to have ever actually seen that. Like we saw it maybe on old clip shows from TV shows but whatever. And so there’s this like 22 year old queen from somewhere in Australia, who decided to do Lindy Chamberlain. Do you know who that is?
Kris 37:49
Yes.
Tara 37:50
Yeah. Yeah. Who is the woman who turns out a dingo did eat her baby. And it was kind of one of those even even Ru Paul like as as Ru Paul was finding out that that’s who this queen was doing was kind of laughing but said flat just said straight up, “We’re gonna go to hell for this” and right like, yep. And even to have the queens on the show was like, “That’s not okay. Her baby died. She’s still alive”. And it’s like, seeing some other commentary online about it has been really interesting because there are some people who are of the belief that like, “It’s drag you can- like nothing is beyond the pale for drag”, but it turns out, some things are.
Kris 38:37
Right and I feel like that one is…
Tara 38:40
Mmmmhmm. Well, and I wonder if it’s different because in the case of Lindy Chamberlain, and I mean, I when did her thing happen? Like it was the early 80s. Right?
Kris 38:54
It’s been a long time because I believe, didn’t Meryl Streep play in the movie?
Tara 38:57
She did. So I think I was like, I definitely missed all of it. Like when the court case was happening and all that, like I was probably a toddler at the time. But like she was dragged through the courts.
Kris 39:09
Right. I do remember that.
Tara 39:10
Yeah, her life was basically ruined. And it’s like yeah, there really, there really are limits. And so I think for me, it was really interesting seeing that conversation happen about like, what is too far and what is not too far because like, back in season six Adore Delano played a coked out Anna Nicole Smith. And like that was perfectly cool. But I mean, that’s also who Anna Nicole Smith kind of was.
Kris 39:42
Yeah.
Tara 39:43
Like, yeah, I just I don’t know. I thought it was a really- I thought it was really interesting.
Kris 39:48
It was 1980 I just googled it.
Tara 39:50
Oh, no, I was a literal baby. Okay.
Kris 39:54
Yeah, me too. I was a literal baby.
Tara 39:56
Yeah, yes. Yes, you were you were you You were not even born.
Kris 40:01
I wasn’t even born. I wasn’t born.
Tara 40:03
Not possible. I was a baby. You were not born. In terms of what I’m reading?
Kris 40:12
Yes. What are you reading?
Tara 40:15
I feel like I might end up giving a bit of a preview into what could very well be an actual rec next week. But I am reading. I also feel bad because I’m going to do the thing where I’m giving a preview into a book that’s not released yet. It’s not being released until June 1. But get ready with your pre-order finger go pre-order it. It’s called Satisfaction Guaranteed it is by Karelia Stetz-Waters. Think this is her first book that she is publishing with Forever, whoever that publishing company is. Oh my god, Kris.
Kris 40:48
What?
Tara 40:48
It’s so funny. This book is so fucking funny. It’s a romantic comedy. It opens at a funeral from the perspective of this very straight laced, workaholic type person. And everyone around her is wearing gold.
She is wearing black. They’re all wearing gold. And it is because she is from like a family- She’s basically from a family of hippies. Her aunt died, her aunt had like nudist tendencies. Her aunt ran like a feminist sex toy shop. And her aunt wanted a party for her funeral. But she still shows up in black because she is who she is an even at this funeral. Her parents talk about how they think she was switched at birth from an accountant’s family.
And it’s kind of one of those things where like, it’s funny, but it’s also really poignant, because you can see that those comments hurt her. She doesn’t feel like she belongs. Her parents own this very famous art gallery in New York City. And you can tell that the reason why it is so successful is because she is the one who runs it. She acquires the art, she does the marketing, she does everything. Her parents are bananas. They talk about how they want to- they want to get alpacas. I’m like, ‘What the fuck?” And then the other lead is somebody who works at her aunt’s store and lives on her aunt’s property. And she had been in art school, had started having an affair with one of her professors who was a woman who was married. And her professor seems like kind of a sociopath. But basically, when they broke up, she burned all of her paintings, dropped out of school, ended up living on her friend’s couch, her friend hooked her up with the other character’s aunt, and so she started working in the shop.
And so when the aunt dies, everybody’s kind of hauled into the lawyer’s office. And the will says that the aunt is living… living? leaving the answer. Leaving, she’s not living, she’s dead.
Kris 42:55
I thought she died.
Tara 42:56
She very died. She very, very much died. But the aunt has left the store and the house to the niece, and this employee, and she wants them to kind of figure it out. But the store is in so much debt.
They basically have a month to turn it around. It’s like what are they going to do? And there’s attraction there. But like, the, the niece, this is the other thing that I think is really interesting. So the, I can’t remember either of their names because I put the book down for a little while- not because not- it’s very, very good. It’s not that it’s like a particularly put downable book. It’s more because of my like reading for review deadline management problem.
So the one who’s the employee, also when she was going through her bad period, dealt with her. She basically like whenever she was feeling bad, she would deal with it with sex. And so she has taken a vow of celibacy until she gets her shit together. And then there’s the niece, who has only ever had sex six times. And it sounds like it’s with like six different people but okay, but has never had an orgasm. And she’s, and she’s 29
Kris 44:17
Oh my gosh.
Tara 44:19
Yeah.
Kris 44:20
Wow.
Tara 44:20
So the point at which I am in the story, she still has not had an orgasm. But I expect that it’s going to happen for her.
Kris 44:28
I’m thinking by the end it should happen. It will happen.
Tara 44:32
So I will come back to everybody. I am so I so want this book to stick the landing. It’s so delightful. I’m loving it so much. It’s adorable. It makes me laugh out loud. All of time, it has so many hilarious parts. And if it does turn into a full on actual recommendation in a future episode I will come back with funny quotes.
Kris 44:56
Oh good, I love quotes.
Tara 44:58
A blurb with names, with my own personal shit together, I will come back with all of these things. And then a game! I also have what I am playing, the Mass Effect Legendary Edition came out. So the Mass Effect series is my all time favorite game series. The first game came out either in 2007, or 2008. The last game came out, I believe in 2012, or 2013. And at the time, it was huge. It’s one of those games, I mean Bioware is kind of known for having these series where there’s very strong story, very strong romance options. They also do the Dragon Age series, they’ve had a number of other games, but in this particular one, you’re kind of playing like a space marine. And you’re going out with your space friends and some of them are humans and some of them are aliens. And you get to bang some of them if you want to, and you get to kill a lot of things. Yeah, the Legendary Edition dropped, so this episode is airing a week and a half after we record this, but as of this recording I started playing it yesterday, and I may have played seven hours. And it just- I played that first game probably four or five times over the years. And there are some things that don’t hold up for me anymore especially now in 2021 which is why I almost made it my official recommendation. There is a character named Joker who has some kind of a disability around- he has like a brittle bone disease and the the conversation that like your character and he have about it is so unacceptable that like I wanted to peel all my skin off my body. There’s another- there’s a side character right at the kind of the first mission where he has some kind of a mental illness. And his boss talks about the fine line between madness and genius. And I’m like, “What the fuck?”
Like, yeah, there are certain things like I feel like we’ve advanced so many-
Kris 47:05
Right.
Tara 47:06
The way we talk about so many things, and that doesn’t mean that it was even okay at that time.
Kris 47:12
Right.
Tara 47:12
I just think that there is so much more of an awareness of what’s not okay now and especially in the context of the workplace, because I don’t care if it is a spaceship. You are the captain of this spaceship, and the pilot of the spaceship is your employee and you don’t be an asshole about his brittle bone disease. Like you just don’t. But my space girlfriend is there now. Although that’s the other thing I find is interesting. So the way I always played it that it’s very obvious that the game wants you whether you are playing as- so no matter what your character’s last name is Shepherd, you get to choose the first name. And then there’s like the male Shepherd or what everybody lovingly refers to as FemShep. I am playing as FemShep. I love the voice actor Jennifer Hale, she does a phenomenal job. I love the base model for it, although you can modify it if you like. And there are male options, if you want. And there is one that the voice actor is female. And so I always thought of Liara- and Liara is the character that the game is like, “This is the best romance option”.
Kris 48:18
Wow.
Tara 48:19
“This is the one that like it’s it’s the most like, yes, you can romance all these other people. But like this is the optimal, we poured our heart and soul into this one. Go get it.”
Kris 48:29
Oh.
Tara 48:29
And so that’s the one that I always like, that’s the one that I invested in. But I don’t know if it’s because of my own relationship with my gender changing so much since I played it. Because I was like, full and bought into the idea of myself as like a fully cisgendered woman when I played before, whereas now I feel like I kind of slide along the binary, but I paid much more attention to when Liara said “My race does not have genders”. I was like “Oh. Shit”. Oh, this character is not female. The voice actor who voices is female. But Liara is not female. This is not a lesbian couple. It can it’s definitely you can I think you can make an argument that it’s a queer couple. But so I found that really interesting. But yeah, I’m playing that game like it’s my job.
Kris 49:35
It’s seven hours. Yeah. sleep pattern. It’s a sleep cycle.
Tara 49:41
So yeah, it has problems with there’s so much about it that I still love. And it’s just like it let me relax in a way. It’s like going back to an old- you know, like when you go back to an old favorite book for comfort reading.
Kris 49:57
Yes.
Tara 49:58
It’s like that.
Kris 49:59
Good.
Tara 50:00
I love it.
Kris 50:01
Yeah.
Tara 50:02
So Kris, what is your official recommendation for this week?
Kris 50:07
My official recommendation this week is a movie called Someone Great. And it came out in 2019 and it was directed by Jennifer Katyn Robinson. And I was like, “Okay, I need a funny movie about relationships”. And I wanted it to focus around women, because most of the time I go back and forth, you know, I review a gay movie, I review a lesbian movie, I review, you know, a queer movie, so I wanted to find a movie. You know, like I said, a funny one that made it’s gonna make me laugh. And so I watched this trailer and I loved the trailer so much, and the cast, it has an incredible cast. So let me read you the synopsis. After a devastating breakup on the eve of her cross country move, Jenny enjoys one last New York City adventure with her two best pals. Someone Great is a romantic comedy about love, loss, growth and the everlasting bond of female friendship. So it is a journey of three friends. Two are straight, and one is gay.
Tara 51:12
I’ve seen this movie!
Kris 51:13
Shut up. You saw this movie?
Tara 51:15
I did. Holy shit. I was like, sorry, I didn’t mean to cut you off. But for once I was like, “Wait, wait. Why does this name sound familiar?”
Kris 51:23
Yes.
Tara 51:23
And it was bugging to me the, whole time we’ve been talking because we we have an outline and the whole time we’ve been talking I was like, “This name sounds familiar. And then as you started talking about and describing it as like, I have seen this movie!”
Kris 51:36
Cause there’s a scene in there that I want to talk to you about, but I’m not there yet. Because through the characters first. Okay, so Gina Rodriguez, she stars and she produces in this movie, and she’s kind of like the main friend that the story is about. She’s Jenny, whose boyfriend breaks up with her after nine years because she got a job, her dream job with Rolling Stone magazine out in California. And he wants to stay in New York City. So you know, she’s truly devastated. And so her friends say, “Okay, we’re gonna like have one last hurrah. Let’s just get together. We’re going to kick- we’re going to take you out of work”, you know, the friends go and get one of the other friends out of work. And so they’re gonna make this huge day. They’re gonna they’re gonna have a huge day, afternoon, evening morning. It’s gonna be a huge celebratory last hurrah of best friends before Jenny leaves for California.
Tara 52:28
Yeah.
Kris 52:29
Brittany Snow’s in it. And we remember Brittany from Pitch Perfect.
Tara 52:33
Yes.
Kris 52:34
She’s kind of the responsible friend out of the three. And, you know, she has a very credible job. She’s very much she’s always the friend that people go to, you know, to help. I need help. You know, she’s, like I said, she’s a responsible friend. And her relationship with her boyfriend who was one of the characters in Saturday Live. It is like- her relationship is horrible. And so like, during this time, her friends are like, “When are you going to break up with him?” You know, cuz he’s just awful.
Tara 53:04
Yeah.
Kris 53:05
Like, he’s, he’s, he’s not awful. Like, in a bad way. He’s just annoying.
Tara 53:10
Yeah.
Kris 53:11
It’s just it’s so weird. So I won’t give that relationship away. But the one I really loved was a character Erin played by DeWanda Wise. She’s the lesbian who doesn’t want a relationship, but has one and she fights it every. She fights the fact that she’s in a relationship. And she gets called out. Like, Brittany, I can’t remember what Brittany’s character’s name is. And this- I’m sorry to call Britney because I just noticed Brittany.
Tara 53:37
Yeah.
Kris 53:38
So like, one of the quotes i thought was great was she tells Erin, “I think it’s very cute that you have a girlfriend. You guys have been together for like four months now, right?” So Erin responds, “I don’t have a girlfriend, Leah. It’s just a girl who’s my friend who I see on consecutive nights, and whose company I enjoy more than anyone else in the entire world”. And so you can see it. Finally it’s clicking like, “Oh my god”, and she’s like, “Whatever. Kindly leave your heteronormative labels in a motherfucking box to the motherfucking left Thank you”. She’s like, she fights it like she fights it. And so Brittany’s like, “You love her”. It’s super cute to watch her finally realize, you know, I really do love this person. And she sits down with her. And she’s like, because after like they like it’s like, they do drugs. They like drink a lot of alcohol. I mean, it’s like a true party. And so she finally goes to this woman’s house to tell her how she feels and she’s like, “I lo-”
She’s like, “Why is this so hard to say?” And the girlfriend’s like, “Because you’ve never said it before”. So it was like that whole, that whole relationship was just adorable. And I loved it. And so they have so many other people in this movie. Rosario Dawson in it, she plays the ex boyfriends cousin and they kind of run into her. But the thing that I loved was the character Hype. Who was RuPaul Do you remember that?
Tara 55:08
See, I haven’t seen it since it came out.
Kris 55:12
Oh, wait. RuPaul is a drug dealer who has a really small role of this movie, but he has chihuahuas and it’s like the whole thing. It’s not exactly you know, when you think drug dealer you don’t think posh life, little cute dogs you hug your drug dealer they know that you’re not okay.
Tara 55:31
Oh, yeah.
Kris 55:31
So I was like, “Oh my god, this is great. I can’t wait to tell Tara this.” And then at the very beginning it has- and this is I think this is also in the trailer and this is what made me watch it. It has Michelle Buteau and I never know if I’m pronouncing her name right. She’s from other movies that I’ve recommended, Almost Love and Always Be My Maybe.
Tara 55:32
Yes.
Kris 55:32
Yeah. So she she’s sitting there at the very beginning like like she’s sitting with Jenny on the on a bench down in the subway, New York City subway. They’re sitting there and they have like a two minute conversation and it is great and she’s just absolutely she’s like, “I’m done with you.” That like she’s in this movie is so funny. So I mean, it’s it’s super cute. It’s got a you know, it’s good, because, you know, I don’t want to tell people the ending but it’s a really good ending. And I really enjoyed this movie, and I highly recommend it. If you want that comedy, the romantic comedy with straights and queers. So that is my big recommendation this week.
Tara 56:36
I was also pleasantly surprised because when, who’s the main character again, is it Jenny?
Kris 56:41
Jenny.
Tara 56:42
Yeah, so when Jenny gets in the car with that guy, and I was like, “Oh my god, that guy’s gonna sexually assault her cuz she’s fucked up”. And it’s like, “He’s gonna sexually assault her”. And he doesn’t, sexually assault her.
Kris 56:53
He’s, he ends up being, you know, it’s somebody she dated in college, and ends up being a pretty cool, dude.
Tara 56:59
Yeah, he’s decent. Like, I feel like that, in and of itself is a pretty sad commentary on media in general, that, like, I just, I just don’t trust. It’s like, but no, it’s like, it’s a super safe, sweet, lovely, funny. Everybody’s great. The guy that plays her boyfriend that breaks up with her, also wonderful.
Kris 57:22
Yeah.
Tara 57:22
I thought he was great. He- what is his name.
Kris 57:26
In the show or in real life. Nick, is it Nick? Nick? Maybe?
Tara 57:31
I think it is Nick in the show. I’ve seen him in a few things, though. And he’s fantastic. I really like him as an actor, like everybody in it is great.
Kris 57:40
Yeah, I mean, I think and the whole breakup, like why they really broke up is truth. You know it happens and people don’t want to face it. And it finally got down to: okay, this is the final decision. I’m moving to California. And then it came out. So it’s very truthful.
Tara 58:00
And she made the decision without him, didn’t she?
Kris 58:02
Yeah, 100% she did.
Tara 58:04
Yeah. Which is also the like, yeah, that’s a problem.
Kris 58:08
Right. And like, see, that’s the thing I have with, with like, commitments and relationships is like, I feel like a lot of times it holds people back from doing their truth, like what they want to do with their life. You know, I- my whole life. I’ve wanted to be a writer and I’ve finally become writer. So but I wouldn’t want anybody to take that away from me, or for me to compromise my dreams for somebody else.
Tara 58:34
No.
Kris 58:37
So I liked this movie, because she followed her heart and followed her truth. And good for her.
Tara 58:43
Fabulous recommendation, Kris.
Kris 58:45
So- thank you. Good. And so what about your big recommendation this week? What have you got?
Tara 58:50
My recommendation is a reality show. And it is called Glow Up. And it is a reality show that is makeup artists. And they get I think it’s 10 per season. The new season is on right now. And I am super grumpy because I can’t get access to it. It’s airing in the UK. I want it. Give it to me, please. I want to see it, but I devour it. So actually. So the first season I watched over the course of probably two or three weeks. I watched like a few episodes a weekend. And then the second season I watched all of last weekend. I just devoured the whole thing.
Kris 59:34
Oh wow. Good for you.
Tara 59:36
And some of the looks are sometimes kind of glam. Some of the looks are sometimes it’s just all sorts of different things, like sometimes they’re doing they’re like working with prosthetics to do all that like monster type looks. Sometimes they’re doing alien type looks or like optical illusions. It’s so cool to see the artistry that can happen. And I love that it’s a blend of like some of the people are straight. Some of them are queer. There’s one character from the first season who I- Character? These are people, they’re not characters.
Kris 1:00:19
Contestants.
Tara 1:00:19
Contestants, yes. In particular, in the first season, there are a few that I love. But there was one Elliot who I really loved hearing his story because he talks about how he thought for a while that he might have been a trans woman. And it was when he discovered makeup that he realized he wasn’t trans, he just wanted another way to express himself. And that makeup gave him the medium and the opportunity to do that. And I thought it was really beautiful and really lovely. And so now you know, I follow him on Instagram, and I see some of the the drag looks that he does. And then in the second season, they actually have a drag artist who’s Irish who, James, who is also phenomenal. And it was really- I think the other thing I love about this show is that it really crystallized for me what types of reality shows that I love and it’s the same. It’s part of why I love Drag Race so much. And it’s that I love the shows where you start off with a group of contestants. And it narrows its way down to one winner. I like that much better than because there’s also a different type of reality show. And it might be you know, like Cupcake Wars, or Nailed It o even I think American Ninja Warrior was kind of like that to any of those like, I think Wipe Out we tried-
Oh my God, we try watching Wipe Out yesterday because it showed up on Crave TV as a recommendation. Crave TV is one of those services in Canada. I was like “Neil, Neil look. It’s a show and it’s hosted by Nicole Byer and John Cena”. And they could have hooked us with just one of them. But like putting both of them together.
We love Nicole Byer. We love John Cena. And I think we made it three minutes. And we were absolutely not because it was so scripted and like painfully so we’re like no, but like with those shows, it’s like you get your two or three contestants per episode. I don’t invest in those people, I do not give a shit. That’s that’s fine for like, put it in the background while you’re doing something else. I want to invest in people. And I want to invest in their journey. And so shows like Drag Race and Glow Up lets me do that. So that yes, in the first episode, I don’t know who any of these people are and I’m not particularly invested. But like with Glow Up, I was so happy when I saw who won. Both seasons. I was so happy cuz I felt like I really invested in their journey and seeing how much they grew as artists and grew in there. Because when you show up for something like that, it’s something you’re really passionate about. And so that’s the I think that’s the other axis for me is that it needs to be tied to some kind of artistry or talent or performance.
So like Survivor is not that interesting to me. Like yes, you can get to know the people. It’s like, what kind of talent are you growing?
Kris 1:03:21
Right. See, and for me, I watched Face Off. I’ve seen several seasons of that.
Tara 1:03:27
What’s that?
Kris 1:03:27
Same thing. Same thing, like when you were mentioning when you were talking about I was like, “I wonder if this is like Face Off?” what I’ve like seen several episodes and I’m following one of the- she didn’t win but she came really close to winning. So I’m following her because her makeup is spot on. It was beautiful makeup. And yeah, so same thing. You get invested in these artists and you see them progress and how they get better. And you see when they shine and when they you know don’t shine and you’re worried they’ll get voted off because their makeup wasn’t like smooth, right? But it knows. Yes, so I like those shows too. So Glow Up is a great recommendation. I’m gonna look into it, because that’s my jam.
Tara 1:04:09
Well, and I like- I also ended up I ended up really liking the host too. So they have Val Garland, who’s the head of something to do with something important and fancy at L’Oreal, and she’s done a lot of like runway makeup and she’s done makeup for like Lady Gaga and some other people yeah, and then also Dominic somebody or other who’s the head of something else fancy for Mac cosmetics. And so Val Garland has a catchphrase where like, what she really, really like something she will say ding dong, which I think- when I started watching it, I was like, “Well, that’s stupid”. I would turn some times Neil was there and it’s like, “I really hate that. She says ding dong. I think it’s annoying”. And then by the end of the second season, I was like “Yes, I also agree. Ding dong darling. Absolutely. Ding dong. That’s a great look”
Kris 1:05:02
You know what? So maybe I have- Yes. So this is so weird because that sounds familiar to me. So I wonder if I wonder, I’m gonna have to check into this because either I’m watching your show.
Tara 1:05:16
Did they rebrand? Did they give is a new name?
Kris 1:05:19
Because you said ding dong. I’m like, “Okay, my person said that too”. So I’m looking now. And it says Ve Neill.
Oh, weird.
So yeah, I don’t know this. I’m gonna have to do some digging on this.
Tara 1:05:32
You might have to, and then I want half- Not all, but I want like half of the shirts that Dominic wears, maybe you just want. All right. Maybe that’s like my style. I just want to look like a gay man. Is that? Is that a thing? I don’t know. It could be.
Kris 1:05:46
It could be. Well, let’s see. So, yeah. Next time we get together, we’ll figure that I’ll have it figured out by then. Because, yeah, or maybe I’m watching. I don’t know. Maybe I’ve watched both. Because I like it so much. You know, cuz I’ll do that. I’ll keep something on the TV and like, and it’s been a while since I’ve seen it like a year since I’ve watched any of the season. So maybe I’ve been watching the same thing. I don’t know. Maybe, let us know.
Because they do have a lot of queer contestants. So
Tara 1:06:18
Oh, yeah. Oh, definitely. Yeah. And there’s some like, there are some looks that are so spooky and gross that I’m like, “No….thank you”. In the second season, there was a look where it It looked like there were eyeballs and maggots coming out of somebody’s face. And I was not into it. But at the same time. I didn’t skip the episode.
Kris 1:06:42
Because it was still kind of cool. I mean, if that was the assignment, you know, yeah.
Tara 1:06:47
Yeah. I mean, they didn’t all do it. It was a it was a particular interpretation. That one, and she- all of her looks were creepy. To a certain extent. But she did this one look, that was so gorgeous, where the whole face and neck was just like black, black, black. And then she did an illusion. So it looked like white curtains down the sides of the face. Like white sheer curtains with like a white moon on the forehead. It was stunning. Wow, it was spectacular. But yeah, that’s my recommendation. If you want TV to just like sink into and hide away from the world for a while. That’s what this is perfect for.
Kris 1:07:29
That sounds perfect, especially today when it’s like pouring down rain.
Tara 1:07:33
Mm hmm. So that is all for this episode. Thank you so much for joining us. If you’ve enjoyed the show, please subscribe, wherever you listen to your podcasts. And if you feel inclined to leave a review on Apple podcasts, we would so appreciate it and again, thank you so much to the folks who have been leaving reviews and ratings. You’re helping other people find the show and we just love it and really, really appreciate it.
Kris 1:07:58
Right And as always, you can connect with us on your favorite social media sites. Just search for @queerlyrecommended on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or email us at podcast@queerlyrecommended.com.
Tara 1:08:11
Bye everybody.
Kris 1:08:12
Bye.
Tara 1:08:53
I am your host Tara Scott and with me as always is Kris Bryant.
Kris 1:08:58
We’re on episode 11. No, fuck. Episode 12, it’s right there. Oh god.
Tara 1:09:07
You’re a disaster.
Kris 1:09:08
I am. See, this is what happens when you hit record like something inside of me just freaks out. Okay, one more time last time.
Tara 1:09:15
I hope that one makes it into the outtakes because that’s my favorite.
Kris 1:09:23
Read it. It’s right there. Kris read it in front of you.
Tara 1:09:26
You got it.
Kris 1:09:27
Okay, this last one.
Tara 1:09:29
All right.