This weeks’ podcast was conducted on video, over zoom. (Click HERE to watch on YOUTUBE). Why? Because this week’s guest, Claude Taylor is also known as the Room Rater - he rates the zoom backgrounds of pundits working from home. I felt it was appropriate to be one of his “rated”. (Note: I passed!). If you listen to the podcast, you’ll notice that the audio is not quite what you’re used to.
I am back in New York, and though I miss my exhibits ™ dearly (having left them yesterday), I am happy to be reinstalled in my own apartment. (My partner already misses the larger sized rooms in our California house. And the swimming pool.) I enjoy having real sidewalks everywhere and seeing masks on every person walking in my neighborhood.
I’m back in my actual office, which means business. I felt the days blurred in LA and I barely knew the date. Of course, I saw our stay there as a vacation, not as a real-life experiment. Should we ever move west, it would feel very different.
Anyway, I haven’t opened my mail or paid my bills so I have a lot to do this week, but as the news slithers out of Washington and as we mourn Ruth Bader Ginsberg, it feels odd to try to feel optimistic. To be perfectly honest, I do not feel optimistic at the moment, but I do feel grateful. I think you’ll understand why in a sec.
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Claude Taylor and Lisa Birnbach
My guest is Claude Taylor, who has turned resistance and his anger towards Trump and his enablers into witty billboards and wonderful merch at MadDogPac. Then, as we were isolating and pundits had to work from home, he and his fiancée started the Twitter account called Room Rater, which now has over 312,000 followers.
Here are my five things that made my life better this week:
1. My partner and I spent a whole month away in California, to see my kids and g----son. It was all wonderful, after we quarantined and tested negative. We had a house with a pool, which was fantastic. Swimming with the baby was a pleasure I never imagined.
2. We had four distanced meals at friends’ gardens or restaurants. Each one was so special; a chance to practice our social skills. (Mine are rusty. Zoom just isn’t the same.) I apologize to Jamie, Laurie, Kath, Claudia & Shelly, and Mitch and MJ if I ate with my mouth open or interrupted you. I was just too excited to see you.
3. The baby. He never stops moving. He ricochets around the house like a bug captured in a jar. My friend Janis and her family had us over for a playdate and the kid never paused even for a snack. Whoah. Thanks to them for a great time.
4. Our residency overlapped with my birthday. Unlike many, I got to celebrate with my family. All I can say is I’m very grateful. And a few pounds heavier.
5. The beach. Longtime devotees of this podcast know that being on a beach – almost any beach—makes me insanely happy. We went to the beach in Santa Monica on our very last day in Los Angeles. It was a gorgeous day. It was perfect in every way. Again. Grateful.
Claude Taylor’s 5 Things:
1. His kids
2. His dog, Pipper
3. His friends
4. His Twitter friends
5. His fiancée, Jessie
More About Claude Taylor:
Website: www.maddogpac.com
Twitter @TrueFactsStated
Instagram: @MadDogPac
Facebook: @MadDogPoliticalActionCommittee
YouTube Claude Taylor.
Room Rater
Twitter @ratemyskyperoom.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020
The 5 Things That Make Life Better podcast is recorded and produced at The Field in NYC https://thefieldtv.com
My team is Shpresa Oruci, Michael Porte, Sam Haft and Boco Haft.