If you didn’t read this week’s post “How to sterilize a Thought Hippopotamus” I will read it to you, dramatically and enthusiastically, below. 👇
Reading commences as soon as you hit play. Enjoy!
Notes from the Captain
Wade out into your stream of consciousness my dearest and most beloved crew. Yes, there are Thought Hippopotami1 there, blobbing about in their bloats and sieges, ready to take you down. To stop your progression as a vibrant and magical being. But your mind, while susceptible to random, wild, and negative thoughts is also more than capable of squashing them.
This I believe. And I believe in you.
I enjoyed reading about Pablo Escobar’s “Cocaine Hippos” (the inspiration for Monday’s post), and being from a country where introduced species have caused so much damage, I get the need for the sterilization play. Still, it’s a bit of a bummer. They’re probably having a great time! But so are the cane toads in Australia. And the foxes. And the rabbits. And the prickly pear.
As I mentioned in Monday’s email, I will be taking all of December off. Do you know what that means, crew? You too have all of December off from my ramblings. Perhaps this fills you with joy, giving you that time you need to put up the decorations or plan a quick getaway with some Chrissy Pud? Mmm… I hope it’s hot with a nice custard made from scratch.
But if the thought of not being on deck and part of The Stream crew—out on the ocean of creativity and setting sail for ultimate jubilation—if missing that fills you with dread, remember this: all episodes of Behind the Streams are here if you need to catch up.
And on that note, I will see you on shore. Or rather, I won’t see you, but you can bet your salute I’ll be thinking about you.
Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Your Captain, Janeen 🫡
Thangs from this episode…
👩✈️ The Stars: Pablo’s Cocaine Hippos
Pablo Escobar’s Multiplying ‘Cocaine Hippos’ Will Be Sterilized in Colombia - Smithsonian Magazine
How a drugs lord's 'cocaine hippos' got out of control in Colombia - NPR (5-minute listen. “It was like a giant pig” is my favorite line.)
It’s a hot debate from the sounds of it. If the hippos should be sterilized, I mean.
👩✈️ Did Nero fiddle while Rome burned?
There were no fiddles back then. Lute? Harp? What a dick.
Here’s a post from the History Channel to answer just this question.
If you’re really into it, here’s a video 👇 It is… very… dry.
👩✈️ Always room for Chrissy Pud (aka Christmas Pudding)
This makes me miss Australia. Here’s something for the cultural gift exchange, just because I mentioned it above.
Australians are WEIRD and I’m proud to still be one. I might make a pud for Christmas… (and yes, I am acutely aware of the other meaning, but this is a wholesome and lovely cakey pudding with custard. Here’s Jamie Oliver making one.)
👩✈️ Musical delights from the video
This reminder to banish bad thoughts.
This is already part of the Stream on Rotation playlist, here 👇
I tried to find footage of X performing it and found this stripped-down version.
When I’m talking about cults, I flash up this. The only Cult worth joining.
And of course, Black Sabbath’s Paranoid.
Popcorn. A Moog breakthrough hit. I remember having to dance to this in Year 7 dance class. Interpretive? lol. I have never forgotten this song, and Swedish Chef grooving to it is class.
Blood Sweat & Tears (in the section where I was talking about the hippo’s “Blood Sweat" secretions.)
An incredible live version of Let’s Get It On
Oh, yeah. These guys.
And let’s wrap it up with The Clash. This video goes into Train in Vain as a nice bonus.
Thanks for listening/watching and sharing. If you want to chat about any of the concepts in this week’s post—or just in general—feel free to leave a comment for the Captain (it me.)
Do. Make. Be.
🫡
Shameless Podcast Plug
Listen to audio versions of early issues of The Stream on my podcast, Field of Streams, available on 👉 all major podcasting platforms 👈
Here’s Apple
I dug into this when I was writing the original post and hippopotami is not the preferred plural. It’s hippopotamuses. But Grammarly just changed it to that so I thought I’d point it out and leave it! AI auto grammar checks ain’t so up-to-date maybe?
Behind the Streams, Ep. 36: "Hippo"