@theleftover-blog - Tumblr Blog

Edition 60

By Joe Difazio

Should I make a Pokemon Go joke? Brady v. the NFL, court case of the century? Trump picking a vp candidate, doubling down on alienating women and the LGBTQ community? Blink 182?

What a bummer summer.

Once in Louisiana I was in a car with two friends and we were pulled over by a cop. The cop comes up to the passenger window and pulls my friend out of the car and puts him in the cop car.

He then returns, I'm in the back seat and my friend Ryan C. is in the driver's seat. Through the open passenger side window he begins questioning us.

"You guys got any drugs?" he asks, thick Louisianan accent.

"No officer," in unison. "LSD, Acid, marijuana, meth, crack-cocaine, amphetamines, nuthin?"

"No officer," in unison.

"You in the back, you look like you smoke weed. You're telling me you have never smoked weed your entire life?"

I had pretty long hair and a scraggly beard.

"No officer." I said. Well I guess lied.

"Ever? Like not even one time just a tiny puff?"

"No sir."

At first I was scared, but now I wasn't sure if he was strictly fucking with us, which could also be scary. He already pulled my friend out the car on some highway in Louisiana where we knew no one.

"Alright, I'm going to go talk to your friend," he said. We waited in silence. Ryan C. and I exchanged some glances, but didn't know what to say about how surreal this was. He sauntered back.

"You guys have any weapons?"

"No officer," in unison.

"AK-47s, grenades, rocket launchers, kives machine guns, RPGs, pistols, shotguns, nuthin?"

"No officer," in unison.

"Where were you guys?"

"We went to New Orleans," Ryan C. answered.

"To party?"

"We went out," Ryan said.

"You get one of them grenade drinks?"

"Uh, yeah we did," Ryan offered.

"Pretty good huh?" He walked away and brought back our other friend.

"I'ma let you off, but I don't ever want to see you flick a cigarette butt on my highway again."

___________

I get to tell that story as a funny anecdote at parties. To others, that's a horrible regular occurrence, to be messed with, or even worse. Be nice to each other. __________

Here's what we got this week:

Ken Durango's ode to summer league

Another photo set by me.

We'll also feature some of last week's work.

As always, thanks for reading.

On the Menu: Edition 55 by Ken Durango

Hey wow sorry! We took a break and it was unannounced!

That's unprofessional of us. Luckily we're not the Boston Globe, so it really doesn't matter (yo but if John Henry wants to buy us, there's a price we can definitely come to). During our break we did a lot of soul searching and we've come to some very important conclusions.

PSYCHE! We got drunk and did dumb shit, what else.

But seriously, we've been around for a while and this is a labor of love and this is a good time online publication party that doesn't necessarily move the needle on the public discourse, but it's still fun to read and write and you can always join the team which has ballooned and shrunk and ballooned and shrunk as does all things that last over a course of time longer than a year.

So yeah, welcome back (shout out to Mase) and here is what is on the menu:

+I give you my thoughts on everything (apparently)

+Joe talks about a dumb tv report

#the leftover #john henry #parties

Here we are again. The Leftover! It's cold dark days. When you lose someone, it's not when they aren't around that you lose them. The real loss comes when you realize they are never coming back.

Anyhoo here's the menu for this week:

+We have an audio piece from me!

+ And from Ken we have a piece with words!

On The Menu: Christmas Edition by Joe Difazio

Merry Christmas all! Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays with the family, friends, or whoever you celebrate with. The holidays aren't always the best, but hopefully you can make the best out of them. Just put on Father Christmas by the Kinks.

This week we have

+A series of article by Ken Durango about the Holidays. 1, 2, 3.

+And I have an audio piece where I interviewed my Nana.

Edition 45

Hello Again, Happy Thanksgiving. We all have stuff to be thankful for. Be nice to the people you like and cherish them. It's hard out there and everyone has crosses to bear. Ask Questions! I had a long talk with my grandma about the grandfather I never met. He died when I was around 13. He took off on the family and was never really talked about. Never really mentioned. I hope to turn it to a radio piece eventually, but it was weird to learn about him. I wish I had met him before he died, but stories are all we are left with. As always thanks for reading and this is what we have this week: +I have a video piece about Red Wing Bay in Needham +Ken Durango thinks about the holidays

On The Menu: 40

It's been a long time. The Leftover has published 40 editions meaning we've been in operation for 80 weeks, essentially a year and a half. That's nuts. We hope you enjoy reading, as much as we enjoy presenting. Summer is pretty much over, so strap in for some more depressing stuff probably. Not trying to be apocalyptic, just honest. It's the year of the sad boy. Or soft boy. Or Fuck boy. I don't know. It's actually probably the year of the Kardashians or something. Anyways here we go and as always thanks for reading.

Oh, and if you are interested in contributing reach out! We would love to peep your work.

Thanks Joe Difazio (for The Leftover)

On the menu this week:

+Ken is in full sad boy swing already and previews the WWE's Night of Champions

+ I talk about being a dumb kid after Columbine

On the Menu: Edition 38

Hi all,

Welcome to a happy edition of The Leftover! This one is barely even about depression and sadness and feeling like nothing makes sense in the world. It's mostly about wrestling and music. Let's be honest, this is the last few weeks of summer and we're not trying to be pale alt rock kids. No need to ramble on, there's plenty to read this week.

Okay here's the goods this week:

+ Ken Durango wrote about WRESTLING for the first time in a while.

+ Joe wrote about the SONG OF THE SUMMER.

Are we in the dog days of summer? Is that technically what August is? I’ve always hated this month. The excitement for summer is gone as the finish line is quickly approaching. All the plans you had and things you meant to do are quickly becoming dreams never realized, love unrequited. September is nice, the start of the fall, the true zenith of summer. Any pretense of doing ‘summer things’ falls away.

Personally, I’ll be starting graduate school, which is strange. Going back to school is not nearly as exciting as the first time. There is no dream of the parties, just staring down the barrel of a heavy course load while working as much as you can to stay above water. Joe Difazio bringing the sad as always.

On a brighter note, YOU STILL HAVE TIME. You have almost a full month to squeeze in all the beach, shandy, and brunch you can. Grab “summer” by the balls and wring it’s neck for all its worth. There is no time like the present.

This week we have :

+A lament on the bizarre expectations of summer and New Year’s eve by myself

+ A scene from an office by Ken Durango

ON THE MENU: EDITION 36 BY KEN DURANGO

Welcome to the “Sad Dad” issue of The Leftover. Man oh man, what is going on? Did Nic Pizzolatto become the Editor-in-chief or something? It’s not as sad as that dive bar Ray Velcoro decides to have all of his meetings at, but still. Edition 38 is mostly just a reflection on how much we hate ourselves. But you can read all that for yourself. For now, I’m going to talk about the Celtics. R.J. Hunter, Terry Rozier and Jordan Mickey will be the new big 3! R.J. Hunter is Steph Curry adjace, maybe a little bit more Klay than Steph, but still, that dude has unlimited range. Hunter is going to fill that Ray Allen role. Terry Rozier is probably going to average a double double in a year. Rozier seems like the fastest member of the Celtics and probably will have some crazy highlight plays. Jordan Mickey is going to be a real rebounding machine who can probably score 20 points a game. I don’t know, I’m probably too over excited for the season. Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley are basically shut down defenders at this point. Brad Stevens is one of the top 5 best coaches in the NBA and if somehow one of the following: Sully, Olynyk, Amir Johnson, Cody Zeller or David Lee find a way to protect the rim, the Celtics could be a top defensive team. Not to mention Jae Crowder (probably going for 6th Man of the Year) and the Swedish Larry Bird (Jonas Jerebko) are probably gonna be threats from long range this year and could be great together on a TV show a mismatched pair of cops. Anyways here are the links to the stories: Joe’s story about NYC Ken’s fake letter to potential girlfriends An episode of WEMF’s “You’re Not Weird” starring Eric and Joe!

McDonald’s Lobster Roll Review

By Joe Difazio

So when these were first announced I saw a deep think piece along the lines of ‘You can’t get the full lobster roll experience at McDonald’s.’ As if McDonald’s would be going after the crowd that has a house on Nantucket or summers in Maine or uses the word ‘summers’ as a verb. Middle Class white people, you will still have your genuine ‘New England’ experience; McDonald’s isn’t trying to ruin your idyllic memories of summer in Massachusetts by tricking your kids into having a fast food lobster roll instead of waiting for you and your seersucker shorts to hand them their first one on some park bench down the Cape.

As I already have had my first lobster roll in life, I had no memories to ruin. To be honest I was nervous more about eating seafood at McDonald’s and I don’t really like mayo. I could never understand why anyone would consciously buy a Filet O Fish. Nothing about that seems like a good choice. You’re at McDonald’s, so you’ve already made the decision to compromise certain aspects of your life. Why compound the poor decision by adding fish to the equation? My Dad gets the Filet O Fish, but I’ve seen him dip pizza in chocolate sauce and get a mouth full of gasoline while syphoning a car, so he’s a different breed.

Also the sandwich is $8 (higher than the federal minimum wage btw). And for a meal its like $11! Granted I assume you are only buying this as a joke, but that’s expensive for anything branded with the golden arches.

The sandwich itself was surprisingly (thankfully) light on the mayonnaise (what a weird and hard to spell word) and didn’t look like utter garbage. It did look like it was preformed at a factory, which, while unappealing to some who eat more ‘naturally’, was oddly reassuring to me. Also I’m not sure what it is about McDonald’s, but it always activates this weird Hunger Games part of my brain and I ended up ordering chicken nuggets and a burger in addition to the lobster roll meal. I’m a garbage human.

The lobster roll isn’t disgusting, but I am for eating it.

Final Verdict:

Did you know lobster was so plentiful in early American history it was fed to slaves?

In the year 1619 the first slaves were brought to America. 20 Africans were brought ashore to the British Colony in Jamestown, Virginia by a Dutch ship. By 1860 there were almost 4 million black slaves in the United States. Many of these slaves were American, with the African slave trade being banned in the United States in 1808. The 13th Amendment officially abolishing slavery was adopted in 1865, but was a far cry from establishing Black Americans as fully accepted citizens. When people of color have been systematically oppressed by a society for its entire existence, how are we surprised there are disparities? How can we blame the disparities on the people on the wrong side of the power balance? Here is where to vote in each state , a privilege most were not afforded until far after white men were. Vote for representatives who see people as people and not problems.

I think deep down you’ve pretty much already decided whether you’re going to get the McDonald’s lobster roll or not. Long before you set eyes on this article, a decision in your primordial goo was made. Honestly, would probably maybe repeat, but again I am a garbage human.

#lobster #lobster roll #McDonald's #McDonald's lobster roll #garbage human #register to vote

On The Menu: Edition 34

In 1640 in Cambridge Massachusetts the very first book in published British America came to be. It was crudely translated psalm book. 375 years later, not far from Cambridge, I can publish poop jokes instantaneously and without any real skills. How far we've come.

Summer is in full bloom and that means its 40 season. And beach season. And the perfect time to try your hand at writing. Have you ever done some creative writing either fiction or non and wanted to do something with it? Have you ever cobbled together some poems? What about drawings or photography? Talk to us! We are looking for fresh voices and contributors. Help us help you accomplish your dreams of being published.

Alright here we go with this week's edition:

+Some Fiction I wrote about being a bad guy

+ Also a photo series I've been working on with old technology

+ Ken Durango with some thoughts on summer

+ And an oldie, but goodie from Dennis Lynch, a republishing of his story about bullfighting

For The Leftover,

Joe Difazio.

And thanks as always for reading.

On the Menu: Edition 33

I put my AC in the window last night, marking the official beginning of the Complain About How Hot It Is season, sometimes referred to as Time After Memorial Day but most commonly called Summer. The occasion brings to an end the comfortable days of Spring and the particularly pleasant Late Spring, and will assuredly result in mystery water dripping from buildings, sidewalks so hot you could fry an egg, and no improvement in the traffic. We at The Leftover wish you a very merry Summer, politely reminding you to wear sunscreen and watch out for bikers and squirrels.

Joe's youngest brother graduated from college recently (congrats Flex). Joe has some recommendations for improving the graduation experience.

Ken takes us on a nostalgia-fueled thrill ride as he details his emotional break-up with Linkin Park, in 2003.

Austin was hyped on Mad Max (I still am) and explains why we get hyped about movies, sometimes against our best efforts.

On behalf of The Leftover, thanks for reading. I'm Dennis Lynch.

On the Menu: Edition 32 "Tom Brady Week"

By, Joe Difazio

There's a thing going on in the NFL regarding deflated balls, Tom Brady, the New England Patriots and defiance. You may have heard of it. We here at The Leftover decided to cash in on the controversy and have Tom Brady week. You will not be reading an analysis of the Wells Report, nor a defense for Tom Brady. You will be reading several essays about what the NFL and the game of football means and whether we should even continue to watch. Ours, I feel, is the first generation to in a meaningful and large way reconsider what it means to be a sports fan, and whether its even worth it.

To be fair, I like Tom Brady. Not in a he seems like a good guy way, but because he's good at a job, and is rich and handsome and loosely associates himself with my geographic region. I like to watch hime play. I like creamsicles too, because they taste good. I won't argue the merits of either.

So read on, hope you enjoy. Also its the weekend, get some side work done or go out and party. One thing Brady never said on his way to the top was "but, I'm tired." So grab every day by the balls.

If you're bored then you're boring. Thanks for reading.

Love,

The Leftover

Here we go:

+Don't have Heroes By Joe Difazio

+Father's Son by Austin Hall

+It doesn't matter what you think of the NFL by Ken Durango

#the leftover

On the Menu: Edition 31 by Ken Durango

Am I “incredible”?

Recently, I realized that this is the only question I am trying to answer at this point in my life. Am I extraordinary? If I’m not extraordinary, I feel like I should fall into complacency. I need to know if I truly am going to be “something”, if not, I’ll just fall into place as a drone in corporate America. Right? I might just be ordinary, and that’s fine, I just want to know.

Anyways, this is a short newsletter. I hope you are enjoying the onset of summer and I hope you enjoy our articles this week.

IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION:

Joe’s amazing interview with Ben Katzman

Lyndon’s amazing meditation on flash games

Ken’s stupid summer tips

On The Menu: Edition 30

Crazy right? 30 editions. We've been hard at work on various projects and it's unbelievable that our small online magazine of random and idiosyncratic stories and art has had this sort of longevity. Well we hope you enjoy reading The Leftover as much as we've enjoyed producing it. Thanks for all the continued support! This edition we have a variety of great stuff you to check out:

+Editing guru and writer Austin Hall brings you a preview of the NBA Playoffs

+Ken Durango knocks out an editorial on Record Store Day

+In honor of the weather warming up, I bring you a short story about summer days

+Dennis Lynch has a short story set during World War II

On the Menu Edition 29

Edition 29!

I went to a fly fishing film screening last night, at The Greatest Bar, of all places. They screened maybe seven to ten films with an average length of fifteen to twenty minutes ranging from fishing for bonefish (bonefishing, for those in the know) in the Caribbean to catching taimen in Mongolia to brown trout in the American West and even catching carp for some reason. This variety of landscapes and locations and fish made for some beautiful cinematography and made me wish I fished more (or lived somewhere prettier), so, new New Year's resolution. The fishing buddies featured in the films came from all around the world, from the South African and his Southern Californian friend paddle surf fishing off Catalina to an old red-faced bearded guy fishing for salmon with a younger, also bearded guy in Alaska, brought together by their love of pulling things out of the water and putting them back in. Oh! I found the link to the site. Niice.

We have some scrumptious leftovers for you this week, in case you didn't come here for a link to fly fishing videos. Leftover photographer and fishing film hater Joe put together a photo set of the places we're from expertly shot on 35mm.

Ken thinks he's Craig Biggio. He thinks he's a lot of things though, so I'm not too concerned yet.

I had an encounter with a swan and it literally changed my life.

And! You're Not Weird! Premiering for the first time with its debut on the Leftover!

As always, thanks for reading.

On the Menu: Edition 28

Hello everyone,

My name is Ken Durango. I am watching overtime of the VCU versus Ohio State basketball game. It is a first round game in the March Madness tournament. I just saw a beer commercial starring an actress who looks just like a “girl I know but probably will never see again”.

If I was a basketball player I would be sad playing in the NCAA Tournament. It’s the conclusion of everything you worked hard for. The players are literally playing to prolong their time together as a team. They know that a loss means never being with this specific group of people ever again.

I don’t know, maybe that’s not so sad. It’s fun to watch people really care about something. I’m starting to learn what it’s like to really care about things. It’s hard to seperate really caring about people from really caring about literal “things” (like basketball or radio). In my mind I know that people are integral parts of the things I really care about, but I just want to make sure I care about the essence of the thing and not just the people involved.

Anyways, how’s it going? We have an edition this week that really shows off our ability to diversify our assets. An article about clickbait? HUGE CHECK MARK. An article about music from kind of a long time ago? GIGANTIC CHECK MARK. An excellent story by Joe? AN ENORMOUS CHECK MARK! Plus, pictures of a famous band and something about bocce.

IN THIS EDITION:

+ Joe received all of your letters demanding for a part two of Living Amongst Rats and finally the Money Man is answering the call. I present to you: Living Amongst Rats Part 2

+ Devin Connor used to be my roommate. He used to be a bartender at a chain seafood restaurant. Classic example of Boston holding down a great artist (shout out to Amanda Palmer). Now he’s out in Portland Oregon just straight killing it. Check out his amazing pictures.

+ What can be said about Austin Hall that hasn’t already been said? JUST KIDDING, the book of Austin Hall is still unwritten. Like that song Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield…. whoa…. speaking of music, check out what A-Hall wrote.

+ When I heard Lyndon Seitz was gonna start writing for us, I thought, “whoa cool the namesake for Lyndon State College is going to start writing for us!” Turns out that’s not how names or family works. Who know!? Anyways, I’m pretty sure Paul Simon pitched the first clickbait article, 50 ways to leave your lover, are you kidding me?

+ Dennis wrote about bocce. I don’t know what to say about that. I used to play bocce with my grandparents and then years later I got drunk and played bocce again with friends. Both times were “fine”.

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs