Hey friends, Employee Numero Uno, Jon Sklaroff, unexpectedly in your inbox today to spread some good news, because a lot of cool things happened this week.

For one, it was a great week politically that featured a mayoral race that had the eyes of the world watching, and it turned out as probably everyone reading this would’ve hoped. That’s right, our friend, Nigel in Kenmore, won his City Council re-election bid. My political take is this: more Tens in office.

Another cool thing this week was that I saw the new Yorgos Lanthimos film, Bugonia. I won’t say anything about it because it is WILD, and I don’t want to spoil anything, but my friends and I really enjoyed it. If you like weird thrillers that are at times very funny, then you should check it out.

Oh, we also refreshed the TBTL merch store so if you’re looking to pick up something for you or your favorite Ten - or your favorite Eleven that you’re trying to convert into a full-fledged Ten and you know that if you buy them a shirt they’ll feel obligated to listen to the show - then now’s your chance to pick up some sweet new swag.

Now, this is the part of the email where I emphasize a point that Andrew insisted I make (he’s right for doing so): THIS IS NOT A FUNDRAISING EMAIL. I’m simply stating the fact that there are new items at tbtl.net/shop, and if you felt so inclined to purchase something, then that’d be cool. But it’s also totally cool if you don’t. Listener support, not merch sales, keeps TBTL going, and we only ask for donations during the Thon. If we were to make a million dollars or five dollars in the merch store, it wouldn’t impact how we operate as a business. Although, if we did make a million on merch, then Luke & Andrew would never see me again unless they traveled to … (furiously googles “countries with no extradition treaties”) … Moldova. I gotta be honest, the results of that search were not very exciting for me.

Anyway, the new merch features two new designs. One, the fan favorite TBTL Chipmunks artwork created by listener Max in Brooklyn for the Thon. We got so much great feedback from Tens that we had to make the design more widely available on shirts and hoodies.

The other new merch features our official TBTL Badlands design, available on shirts, hoodies, a coffee mug, and a new water bottle in case you ever find yourself hiking in the actual Badlands.

We’re thrilled with how this came out, and the park ranger vibe of it all, and GQ even called it “Simple, yet elegant, and a lot of fun.” (A totally real guy I know, George Quinn, said that and not the magazine, so they can’t sue us.) 

We still have fan favorite “No Mountain Too Tall” and our “Tall Ships” swag available, too. Take a look at tbtl.net/shop if you feel so inclined. And if you’re looking to purchase something as a holiday gift, I encourage you to do it sooner rather than later. You’ll likely be fine if you order something by the end of November, but my anxiety would never let me get away with that. Do with that information what you will, and act today. Or don’t.

Thanks and have a great weekend!
Jon

P.S. I hear that pictures of cute pets can encourage people to purchase swag, and if you’ve read this far then you deserve this brief series titled “Benny after licking the yogurt container”.