Thomas M Dickinson Has Still Got A Newsletter: Jan 2021 edition

NOTE: This post was originally sent via my old TinyLetter newsletter. It's been backdated here to reflect the date it was sent.

Hi friends.

Long time no write! It’s been about a year and a half since my last missive. I hope you all had a great year in 2020, and that you achieved all your goals, and that there were no significant disruptions to your life. I really do hope this. I know it’s a false hope, but to quote Emily Dickinson (no relation):

The abdication of BeliefMakes the Behavior small —Better an ignis fatuusThan no illume at all —

A lot has happened since last we corresponded. At the time, the President of the United States hadn't been impeached. Now, we barely remember that happening. Also none of us had met Baby Yoda. Astonishing! Was there truly a time in which we didn't yet love the infant puppet? Yes, there was. And it was then that I wrote you last. On a more personal level, I had hair then, but I don't now. If you can’t imagine what that looks like, try going to nowwearealltom.com and you will see what it looks like, so you won’t have to imagine it.

Social Distance Warriors

Oh, how have I been, you ask? Thanks for asking that. Well, ups and downs really. If you want to know more about that, my friend Rachel and I have been talking about our lives over on our (relatively) new podcast, Social Distance Warriors.

Nominally, it’s a podcast about the experience of living through a global pandemic. More generally, it’s kind of just a podcast about how we are doing, not just with regard to how we are dealing with the pandemic, but also all the other weird bullshit that we just have to live through now.

It’s become kind of sporadic in its release and recording schedule of late, and there are two episodes which have been recorded that I have shamefully failed to edit and release so far, but those are coming soonish. So go subscribe to that if you want to keep up with what’s up with me. And also what’s up with Rachel. She’s cool. Worth keeping up with IMO.

Doctor Who: The Moment

Originally, I was hoping to have a brand new thirteen-episode season of my other podcast, Doctor Who: The Moment, starting in summer of 2020. That did not happen, for a variety of reasons. The pandemic has kept me largely confined to my apartment, which is of course where The Moment is recorded and edited, and so you might think that this would make it easier for me to work on the new season. But no. As it turns out, living through a global pandemic has made it more challenging for me to invest my brainpower and heartpower into the intense editing process that The Moment demands.

Also, during the pandemic I have kind of been less interested in Doctor Who. Weird. I know some fans who have had the exact opposite response during the pandemic, binge-rewatching favorite seasons of the show or in some cases checking out the entire classic series for the first time. But for my part, I've felt this inclination to avoid Doctor Who in all its forms: watching it, thinking about it, and listening to or making podcasts about it. However, sometime around November (the anniversary month for Doctor Who), the pendulum kind of swung in the other direction and lit a fire under me. Because it is a fiery pendulum, I guess.

Anyhow. In recent weeks, I’ve been toiling away, and so a shortened 6-episode Season 3 of The Moment will be dropping weekly, starting January 6 (yikes, that’s soon!) You can listen to the trailer here.

I think that’s all for now. Please like and subscribe.

Tom