Hi, I'm Mike. I'm from the Internet. I like loud music, whiskey on the rocks, soft pretzels, and your mom.
Summertime is officially here, vaccines are up (but not by enough) and things are returning to "normal" whether we want them to or not - whether we're ready or not. Ali and I have been out to see a couple of movies, ate dinner at actual restaurants
This time of year is one of my favorite times of the year, the weather is nice - not too cold and it's just before it gets too hot outside. One of the benefits of living in Texas is that the weather warms up earlier in the spring, so
April was a hell of a month for the Rastiello's. First off, we started the month fully vaccinated. We celebrated with family in Houston and it felt so good to see our Texas niece and nephews. They were so happy to see and hug us - it was great
While prepping for this month's newsletter I had the horrifying realization that the formative albums of my adolescence will start hitting 30 years old in rapid succession over the next few years. Some of the first big albums for me that turn 30 in 2021 are: * Ten by
What a long year February was. Woof. It started out normally, as normal as can be that is, and then Texas was hit with a freak storm that led to a week of power and water outages for a lot of the state, including many of our friends and family.
Every January brings new changes - or at least the promise of them. New Year's resolutions, promises all in the name of trying to better yourself. But, resolutions don't need to be about correcting behavior - stop smoking or drinking, lose weight, etc. A few years I gave
December's playlist and newsletter bring two monumental things to a close: 1. This hugely shittastic year. 2. The conclusion of the first year of Downbeat.fm. I don't want to dwell on the first point, because we all know what has happened. What I will say
A lot has happened since we've spoken last - notably, Joe Biden was elected to be our next President which provided a huge sign of relief for many Americans - and surely even more around the world. I also launched a major project at work that was months in the
I don't have much to say in this intro other than I hope everyone is safe and has already voted or intends to do so on Election Day. This gets said every year, but every year it's more and more true - this is the most important
We're now six months into this pandemic and quarantine in the US, and we still aren't heading in the right direction. I feel like this newsletter intro is the same every month, but it's just...everywhere and almost all I can think about. Six
This has been a busy month for me and this newsletter. You may have noticed that the July newsletter looked a little different than the previous versions, well that's because I moved it from TinyLetter to Mailchimp which gives me a little more creative freedom with the templates
I feel like every month this newsletter starts out the same - disbelief with how far we are into this year while simultaneously not knowing how we got here. By this point this year I should have seen (at least - I can't remember the whole list) Tennis, Brian Fallon,