High Five Hiatus

A peek behind the curtain

The Fly was the most disturbing movie I’d ever seen when I was 10. Naturally, I watched it on repeat. 20th Century Fox

This week I recorded a Goonies podcast with my friend

Sheila Moeschen

. A not-insubstantial part of the conversation was about how well the movie captures what adolescence felt like in the 80s. Our bikes really were avenues to adventure.

Life looks different now. My kids’ childhood did not in any way reflect my own far-flung youth, nor the cinematic equivalent of it. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise that the end of their childhood has also been wildly different from mine. And yet.

My daughter is heading off to college in less than 2 weeks. I don’t remember asking my parents for anything for college other than bedsheets and money. My daughter’s list is substantially greater, a catalog that’s still somehow incomplete despite its immensity and the limited confines of her dorm; the fulfillment of her wish-list has become rather all-consuming. She’s not asking for anything outrageous. You just don’t realize how much someone requires to comfortably populate a living space until you’re forced to reckon with it. Bath mats and pot holders and pasta strainers, oh my.

She’s led the charge and has bought much of it herself. But as zero hour rapidly approaches, the online shopping and price checking and review reading has reached a frenzied peak. Two nights this week were sacrificed on that altar. That wasn’t how I anticipated spending those evenings. But the three of us sitting on our bed, chatting while the shopping was done—a task I played no role in because a dad’s opinion means little in this arena—was really great. She hung out with us for 3.5 hours one night. It’s a long goodbye that’s already begun.

All this is a roundabout way of saying there won’t be a High 5 this week. In fact, I’m putting the High 5 on timeout through the end of August. As they say, this is a busy season for us: college, our wedding anniversary, fantasy football weekend. Though to be completely transparent, I’m planning on using this pause to rethink the utility of the High 5 and its ongoing validity.

I know that among my biggest fans, the High 5 is a beloved institution (is it weird to call it that?). But I actually kinda hate writing it. Each post takes 3-4 hours, which frankly I’d rather put into a deep dive on something else. I find it way harder to write about 5 separate things (6 counting the party in the back section) than to write deeply about 1 thing. I also just find the deep dives more fun. Half the time I’m surprised and delighted by what I discover in my own subconscious. (The other half I’m horrified by what I find lurking there, an absolute wasteland of dick jokes and Star Wars references; often the two are fused together like Jeff Goldblum in The Fly.)

I usually have enough bandwidth to produce 2 lengthy articles a week, and it kills my soul a bit that one of those efforts is spent on a quasi-disposable list of recommendations. I’ve played with the format a bit, and have considered just doing a few sentences on each. But I know myself. I write long. That’s just the way it is.

I’m not completely decided on this. I’m just sharing where my head’s at. Maybe after this time off, I’ll realize how much I miss the High 5. It’s typically the one place where I’m less about pop culture and more about me, if that makes sense. Maybe some of you find that enjoyable, or at least interesting from an anthropological perspective.

The format and function of the High 5 has changed several times over the last 2 years, but I’ve never really stopped to reconsider the half-formed notion that gave rise to it. In an ideal world, I’d just do everything. But since my time is limited, I want to spend it on things that have long-lasting value. Something that will be just as relevant in 10 years. The expiration date on a High 5 is generally one week.

A ton of people read this newsletter. But the relationship is mostly one-sided. I’m a guy that’s clambered onto an empty stage and started spouting off crazy bullshit. People have steadily wandered in, perhaps just for the spectacle. I could take the size of the crowd as encouragement, but it could also be that the unsubscribe option is really hard to find.

In closing, some programming news. Below is everything I’m working on and/or planning to publish in August, sans the High 5. This isn’t 100% conclusive. I’m considering a Conan the Barbarian piece, and another Fantasy Football podcast with my brother, if he’s up for it.

• Publishing next week: The No Holds Barred piece

• Publishing 8/13: Goonies podcast

• Publish date TBD: Goonies companion article

• Publish date TBD: Deadwood, S1, E2

• Publish date TBD: Back to the Future 40th anniversary piece

I’m also working on an unannounced project I hope to unveil soon. :)

If you have strong feelings about the High 5, one way or the other, I’d love to hear it. Here’s a few polls to help this along. The comments are open. You can also respond to this via email, just hit reply.