Director's Notes: 242 - The New Branch (Patreon)

No central theme to this post, just a couple of fun notes about putting this episode together.

First, there are a series of fake book titles scattered throughout. I took these from a Twitter thread made by Joseph Fink back in 2017. You should definitely read through all these novel titles he made. They're incredible. Honestly, I cannot imagine a better title than "One Last Swing for the Tuesday Boys." Please someone write this book. 

Second, another appearance by Harrison Kip, though brief. I've been touring consistently with the Night Vale live show since Sept '22, and my regular part has been Harrison Kip. He's a hell of a fun character to portray, and over this time, I've gotten to understand him more, not only as an actor but as a writer, too. I'm not sure where his story is heading. He might just remain in the background for the rest of time, but there may also be something else to mine from him too. 

Third, idk why, but I felt the need to throw Jonathan Franzen into this episode. Franzen represents, to me, the out-of-touch-ness of the literary elite. Of any kind of elite, really. I've never met the man, but almost everything I read about him or hear him say in an interview is just bonkers. So rather that quote him directly, let's bring it back to one of the greatest tweets of all time (via @TriciaLockwood)

Finally, the middle schoolers Alejandra, Ronnie, & Nanako - a real FOX FORCE FIVE (or three, I guess). As I approach 50, I think a lot about aging, though to be honest, I've been thinking a lot about aging since i was 20. Some of it is worry about health and longevity and all of that crap. But mostly when I think about growing older, I think about culture, how quickly we age out of relevance. This is more extreme at younger ages, of course (i.e. the difference in interests between 19 and 14 year olds is so much more vast than 49 and 44 year olds.) 

I do remember being just out of college, roughly Tamika Flynn's current age, and feeling left behind by contemporary music and fashion. This wasn't true. I was still very young, but it's hard to not glance down at the next age tier and think, oh shit, I've been replaced. I am old and no one cares. This persists throughout life, which is one of the reasons older generations will always complain about younger generations... sheer defensiveness. 

I was with a friend in his early/mid 30s this week. I met this guy when he was in his early 20s. He has always seemed like the cutting edge of youth culture. Anyway, he started complaining about Gen Z kids, and I laughed. How quickly we become grandpas on porches shouting at children and clouds. So, hence, a new generation of library heroes has arrived!

-Jeffrey Cranor
Feb 15, 2024