Newsletter #97 is in the books; the writing continues to improve, our voice is becoming more comfortable, and the stories are stacking up. Today we bring you stories about a new Christmas App called LiST (fiction), a digital website to help you create bubble tea, Tom Cruise behind-the-scenes stunt spectacular, and a nice nod to Chronic Town.

As we head to the 100th published post this week, we are gathering up all 100 Jukebox Shuffle Tunes and will publish them as a playlist on both Apple Music and Spotify. Stay tuned for that as we put it all together.

We've been sitting on this big story for over a week as we tried to find the best way to describe it. Scott Hines writes a Substack newsletter called The Action Cookbook Newsletter. We aren't sure what it is, maybe cooking and some dad jokes; we will have to read more to figure it out.

This story about Brantwell Hask, the 28-year-old CEO who took over Christmas and moved the headquarters from the North Pole to Silicon Valley, is one of the most creative pieces we've read this year. Imagine if E. L. James decided to write about a tech mogul taking over a major holiday and write with all the descriptions to place you right there in the middle of it.

Read the story, we are looking forward to reading more Hines in 2023, and we can't wait to find the LiST app from PolarX in the app store!

In one of the year-end Substack stories we have been wading through, we found a cool story on how to make bubble tea, or "boba tea," as the kids call it. The best way to describe bubble tea is if you added the larva of Swedish fish to a super sweet tea drink. You know what we mean if you’ve had one; if you haven't, you need to try it.

This website walks you through all the different ways you can make your bubble tea. Once you pick a base, the page explodes with a graphic diagram of everything you can add. Step 1 pick base, Step 2 add toppings; Step 3 temp, Step 4 sweetness and Step 5 straw and bag. Step 5 was the most unusual; the rest was an interesting way to play with a digital builder and made us thirsty for an afternoon caffeine shot!

Tom Cruise is many things; in a memorable story told by Matt Damon in several interviews, he talks about a discussion with Cruise at an event. They discussed one of the stunts in one of the Mission Impossible movies, and Matt asked Cruise how he did it. Cruise said to Damon, "I asked the safety guy if I could do it, and the safety guy said no, so I got another safety guy!" Here's a link on YouTube; Matt explains it better than we did. Link to Safety Guy story.

Cruise sent out a new video on Twitter talking about the new stunts he is working on for the next Mission Impossible movie and takes you behind the scenes as he works through the process. At one point in the video, he has already completed 500 base jumps and 1,300 motocross jumps.

Cruise could be the last of the super stunt actors in a world of CGI.

The New York Stock Exchange began in the 1700s, and based on the nyse.com website, stock trading may have been done at coffee houses in the early days. The history of the NYSE is fascinating, and the walk-through is almost a mini explainer of how the stock trading system works.

You can't have a Ticker Tape Parade without ticker tape, although they seem to have been phased out in the 1960s as computers and trading stations made their way in.

Today is the Winter Solstice Eve, and tomorrow the planet tells us winter is here. The length of the darkness is noticeable, and after you have played around with blankets, fireplaces, and layers, it just feels dark. Margaret Renkl, a contributing writer for The New York Times, is trying to make peace with the long darkness.

The piece is descriptive and thoughtful; you can decide if telling your neighbors you will take their old pumpkins is a good idea, but Renkl's thoughts about the darkness, artificial light, and how we are losing our natural night vision are all worth exploring.

Puck News published the 2nd Annual Gift and Events Idea page for the curious mind. Everything from streaming and book recommendations to meals and unique gifts. This is not your everyday gift guide; this one comes with a lot of thought from many of the journalists at Puck News.

[Music Notes]

Music Notes, best of music news and notes for the day.

Words | Music | Art | Unknown

Chronic.

Click on the Apple Music image to listen to the song on Apple Music or on the Spotify Image to listen to Spotify.

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With A Shout newsletter is written by Johnny Christian with the support of a thousand idea bits and the help of many people.