May 2023: The Strange Files Newsletter
It's the Merry Month of May. What's so merry about it? Here at the Get Smart Newsletter, we asked ourselves that question, and here are the results of our rigorous research.
At first, we wondered: Is it because Mother's Day falls in May (Sunday, May 14)?
Or because May the Fourth presents this irresistible Star Wars pun?
Or could it be because of all the unusual May celebrations. The month is home to Lumpy Rug Day, World Goth Day, Lost Sock Memorial Day, and Frog Jumping Day to name a few.
Interesting, for sure. Amusing, yes. But merry?
We decided to dig deeper, starting by asking how May got its name in the first place. According to the never-wrong internet, it's generally believed May is named for the Roman goddess Maia among whose jobs it was to oversee the growth of plants. An important task, without question, but merry?
Farmers do the same thing, right? But nobody talks about merry old soybean growers.
So we probed ever deeper into history and discovered that the earliest reference originates in 16th century England (yes, Merry Old England), in a poem entitled The Merry Month of May by Thomas Dekker. It was included in his play The Shoemaker's Holiday. The first stanza is:
O the month of May, the merry month of May,
So frolic, so gay, and so green, so green, so green!
O, and then did I unto my true love say:
"Sweet Peg, thou shalt be my summer's queen!
Cheers, Thomas. Jolly good. But did you coin the phrase yourself, or was it already in circulation back in your day?
If only we could ask him. But for that, we'd need a time machine -- say a souped-up Delorean with a flux capacitor. While we're asking Michael J. Fox if we can borrow his car, here's what you need to know about the fifth month of the year....
MAY MILESTONES
The MTV Movie & TV Awards ceremony will be broadcast on May 7, the latest installment in the glutted entertainment awards season, which this month also includes the Tony Awards nominations (May 2), the Academy of Country Music Awards (May 11), and the Cannes Film Festival (May 16-27).
What I like best about the MTV Awards are some of the zany categories, such as Best Hero, Best Villain, Best Kiss, Best Fight, Most Frightened Performance, Best Kick-Ass Cast, among others.
I'm rooting for Brad Pitt vs. Bad Bunny for Best Fight in Bullet Train only because the idea of duking it out with somebody named Bunny is hilarious. Elizabeth Olsen is my pick for Best Villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness even though she's not really a villain, she just has issues. And Pedro Pascal gets my pick for Best Hero as the Mandalorian even though he's actually nominated for his role in The Last of Us.
Other categories that should be included (but aren't) and nominees I would vote for include Grogu for best puppet space alien in The Mandalorian, Patrick Stewart for oldest starship captain (Picard), Brendan Fraser for best robot (Doom Patrol), and a special award to the entire cast of Succession for the most incomplete sentences in a dramatic series. Ever.
Here's a list of the actual nominees. The ceremony, hosted by Drew Barrymore, airs live at 8 p.m. ET. on MTV.
Mother's Day is always celebrated on the second Sunday in May.
What's the best gift for Mom on her special day?
A recent poll found that 58 percent of moms said they just want a day off.
Forty-two percent said they'd like to read a book (see Mystery Month suggestion below). Watching TV scored a whopping 44 percent, followed by 30 percent who said they'd like time for their favorite hobby.
Some Mother's Day trivia you can use to impress your friends:
Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for phone calls. About 122 million calls, in fact.
If you sell flowers and plants for a living, you love Mother's Day. It's the third highest sales day of the year.
One of the earliest celebrations of moms took place in ancient Greece which honored Rhea the goddess of fertility and motherhood.
Where does the word "mom" come from? The "ma" sound is one of the earliest babies can vocalize, which explains why the word for mother begins with the letter M in so many languages.
May is National Mystery Month. And what's the best way to celebrate? By reading a good mystery, of course. Need some help selecting the very best book to get into the swing of things? Check out the award-winning Strange Files series, winners of Gold and Silver Medals from the Royal Palm Literary Awards and the Florida Authors and Publishers Association. Find them here.
May TV and Movie Premiers
White House Plumbers, HBO's May 1 retelling of the Watergate break-in, leads the lineup of new TV series premiering in May.
Other programs I'll be watching include Silo, Apple TV's adaptation of the Hugh Howey dystopian novel (begins May 5), and Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, which, as the title implies, is a biopic of the amazing actor (our favorite time traveler) and his struggle with Parkinson's disease (May 12, Apple).
On the silver screen, the big May event is the opening of the next episode in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, to be released May 5.
There are dozens of other films coming out this month including Fast and Furious 10, White Men Can't Jump, The Little Mermaid, and many more.
Here's the complete cinematic lineup.
Other May Milestones and Events
May Day is May 1. Internationally, it is the equivalent of our Labor Day, which we celebrate in September. Many people consider the arrival of May the beginning of summer (April's showers bring May's flowers and all that).
National Teacher Day is May 2. Teacher Appreciation Week will be celebrated May 8-12.
World Press Freedom Day is May 3. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the U.N. General Assembly's decision to proclaim a day honoring the role of a free press in society. President Biden's free press message at White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Lumpy Rug Day is on May 3. What's that about? It's the day you shove unwanted facts under the rug until you have gigantic lumps that you can't hide anymore. Might also be called Denial of Reality Day, and, yes, all you election deniers, flat Earthers, and anti-vaxxers, we're talking about you.
Cinco de Mayo. On May 5, 1862, Napoleon III was defeated by outmanned and outgunned Mexican troops at the Battle of Puebla. The date has been recognized ever since, especially in the United States, as a time to celebrate Mexican-American culture.
The Kentucky Derby -- often called the fastest two minutes in sports -- will be run on May 6. Post time is 6:57 p.m. Fun Facts: The first Kentucky Derby was run in 1875. Since its inception, nearly 2,000 horses have started the race. Most winning horses were born in Kentucky. The race will be broadcast on NBC.
The other two legs of horse racing's Triple Crown will be run later in May and in June. The Preakness Stakes on May 20, and the Belmont Stakes on June 10.
Lost Sock Memorial Day is May 9. Where do lost socks go? Detectives for Third Eye Investigators have been working this case for years, but so far they are clueless.
National Frog Jumping Day is May 13. It celebrates Mark Twain's short story entitled Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog.
World Goth Day is celebrated on May 22. What's it about? It started in Great Britain as a joke between DJs Cruel Britannia and Martin Oldgoth. Despite rumors to the contrary, goths are not immortal. Although Dracula is.
National Alligator Day is May 29. If you're an alligator, every day is Eat a Human Day if you don't watch your step in the Everglades.
We close out May with Memorial Day on May 29, a day to honor the sacrifices of the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. It is a federal holiday.
Our Place in Space
Days before Japan's Hakuto-R lunar lander apparently crashed into the moon's surface on April 25, it snapped a truly gorgeous picture of our planet. The image, which is reminiscent of Apollo 8's iconic "Earthrise" photo, shows our planet sitting on top of the lunar horizon like a perfect blue marble. The moon's shadow can be seen passing over Australia, which was experiencing a total solar eclipse at the time. (Source: LiveScience)
For a complete list of other space-events in May including moon phases, meteor showers, and rocket launches click here.
And speaking of stunning images from outer space, check out this view of the Martian moon Deimos, shot by the United Arab Emirates Space Agency's Hope Mars Mission. If only Edgar Rice Burroughs were still alive to see one of these "hurtling moons of Barsoom."
By the way, May 5 is National Space Day, created to inspire all of us in the pursuit of knowledge and progress. Think of it as the counterpoint to Lumpy Rug Day.
May Sports Events
May is a busy month for sports. In addition to the Triple Crown horseracing events mentioned earlier in the newsletter, the National Basketball Association playoffs continue through the entire month. The NBA finals will be in early June. Here's the schedule of games.
The WNBA regular season begins on May 19. The PGA Championship runs from May 15-21 at the Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. The Indy 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be run on May 28. Sometime in May we can also anticipate the Cincinnati Reds moving up from last place on their steady march to the 2023 World Series. You read it here first. More here.
Now You Know...
May is National Hamburger Month. Last year at this time, the Get Smart Newsletter asked it's thousands of readers to name the nation's best burger. As you might imagine, opinions varied and it finally came down to the editors to decide. In so doing, we relied heavily on statisticians from the accounting firm of Dewey, Scruham & Howe, the latest artificially intelligent chat bots, and a coin flip. The winner: Juicy's Hamburgers of Longview, Texas.
What I'm
Reading and Watching
Bluebird, Bluebird. By Attica Locke.
Attica Locke won the 2016 Harper Lee prize for her earlier book, Pleasantville, and has won or been nominated for numerous other literary awards including the Edgar, which is the Pulitzer for mysteries. A native of Houston, when she's not writing novels she's penning screenplays (credits include the Fox drama Empire). Bluebird, Bluebird takes us to deep East Texas (where I lived for two years). It explores racism, small-town corruption, roiling emotional conflicts, all through the eyes of an African-American Texas Ranger who struggles to reconcile his duty to his badge and his friends and his family. It's beautifully crafted, will resonate with authenticity for anyone who has spent time in this rural corner of the Lone Star State. It's a solid mystery, with deeply drawn characters. Five stars.
Just started watching The Diplomat, Netflix's latest geopolitical drama, and loving it. Here's what The Atlantic says about it: "The pleasure of The Diplomat ... is how enticingly it ties together tropes and tricks from shows gone by, a TV bouquet that’s undeniably familiar and yet still seems fresh. The premise—an American diplomat is reluctantly conscripted during a crisis into the role of ambassador to the United Kingdom—borrows equally from fish-out-of-water comedies and intense political thrillers."
They Said It ...
"Man who invented the hamburger was smart; man who invented the cheeseburger was genius."
--Matthew McConaughey
"Hamburgers! The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast."
--Quentin Tarantino
"I had a dream last night that a hamburger was eating me.."
--Jerry Seinfeld
Readers Write...
Dear J.C.
Is the follow-up to Mister Manners out yet? I miss Alex.
Becky Rife
Thanks for asking! The next book in the Strange Files series is in the hands of beta readers right now. The production draft is finished at 76,000 words, somewhat shorter than the usual 90,000-word length for each of my first five novels. I'll review the critiques then run it through the metaphorical typewriter again.
Dear J.C.
So what's it about, this new book of yours?
L. Rivers
It's a departure from my earlier books in that it incorporates a mysterious message our protagonist, Alexander Strange, receives from the future about a dire threat to someone he loves.
Dear J.C.
I'm friends with one of your early readers and she tells me that Mona the mannequin plays a key role in the book. Is that true?
I cannot tell a lie, based on the notes that Alexander Strange delivered to me from which I constructed this next book, Mona is, indeed, a central character.
Dear J.C.
So, do you have a title for your next masterpiece yet?
B. Wolfson
I have a working title, The Strange Squad, but I'm not head-over-heels in love with it. My wife, Sandy, posted on TikTok asking for suggestions. I'm kind of liking one of them, Angel of Time. But we'll see.
Dear J.C.
Is it true that you mention my pal Daniel Suarez in your next book?
M. Meyerson
Like most writers, I'm heavily influence by authors I admire, and I enjoy paying homage to my faves. There are several references to authors in this next book, and yes, Daniel Suarez is among them, and deservedly so. His description of neutrino streams and the quantum realm (in Critical Mass) is an inspiration.
Vital Questions That Demand Answers
Q. If Pedro Pascal were to borrow Michael J. Fox's car from Back to the Future, what would we have?
A. A Mandalorian in a Delorean.
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Parting Shot
J.C. Bruce is the author of The Strange Files series of mystery and adventure novels (available on Amazon and other fine online booksellers). He also writes this free monthly newsletter. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and Florida.