Issue 021: The Blue Wave, Fire Relief, Illustrators To Follow & Board Games as Books

                        
                            What a week! I had every intention of getting this out last week, but got spent the four days leading up to the election non-stop calling and canvassing (k, fair - I did take a break to see the Backstreet Boys w/VIP passes... which was wild.) Hope you're well, and thanks for reading.

Oh, I put up a little webpage where I'll be collecting archives of this newsletter at jacoballtrades.net – spread the word!

                        
                            My Wishlist Of 13 Action-Items To Reboot The Democratic Party. I started writing something for the newsletter, but it got too long so I wrote a Medium piece. Please check it out!
                        

                        TRAILER: The Orange Years

This upcoming documentary about the birth and early years of Nickelodeon looks great.

                        UNCIVIL RETURNS

One of my favorite podcasts is BACK. Uncivil upends and investigates everything we think we know about the Civil War and it is fascinating.

                        Break Shot: Will Choi Interviews Eugene Cordero

Will Choi's always great NBC digital series Break Shot profiles up-and-coming Asian American comedians and this episode features my former UCB Harold team coach Eugene Cordero.

                        
                            Donate to California fire relief – but, be specific about how you do it. I've seen a lot of posts asking to bring things to firefighters, which they are actively against. They don't have the resources or time to go through them. Also, beware of The Red Cross' mismanagement and bungling of aid. Here are some great ways to help:

A list of local business/bank led relief funds for individuals, hospitals, and caregivers in hyperlocal communities.
Register as a volunteer with Caring Choices and they'll put you to work physically helping people.
The LAFD Donation is raising money directly for firefighters
For medical aid, Direct Relief is a great org that is very highly rated by Charity Navigator.
And of course, all the animals need help too. Give directly to the Humane Society of Ventura County and the LA County Animal Care Foundation.

                        
                            Do you love descriptor? Descriptor? Descriptor? Something leading up to the word Instaporn. Category is: ILLUSTRATORS.
                        

                        
                            ⬆️ @vienna.pitts – Sinbad, aka 'Vienna Pitts,' depicts LA's sleazy underbelly with a joy it deserves. I love his style.
                        

                        
                            ⬆️ @merylrowin – Meryl is the go-to hand-drawn illustrator for Vulture, Refinery29, and the G-D New York Times. I love her work and so will you.
                        

                        
                            ⬆️ @beardedmaladies – Ilan and I did improv together in High School and he's one of those dudes who is just talented at a lot of different stuff. I love his line drawings. (Also I feel like he'd want me to mention the Bill Murray was a warm up sketch)
                        

            Seattle's Union Station as pictured by Instagram account @AccidentallyWesAnderson. It's at one end of Amtrak's Coast Starlight, which goes between LA and Seattle and is one of the most beautiful train routes in the United States.
        

Every single one of these helmets and bicycle gloves from Thousand looks dope. They're also made in CA and do 1% for the planet.

I got served this as an Instagram ad and THEY GOT ME. I am the target audience for this phone case that doubles as a retro gaming console. If only it had Gameboy games...

I love the design and functionality of these classic board games disguised as books. Storing board games is always a little clunky and I wish more interesting board games came with this option.

Thanks for reading! I'd love to get your feedback. Favorite segment? What's working? What's not working? What do you want to see more of?