Hivemind Times Issue #14

Welcome To The Hivemind Times!

Hey ya’ll, Graydon here bringing you another issue hot off the damn presses and jesus christ it’s been a week. As most of you might have seen, I was down pretty bad with a sickness the docs called “lizard”, and as I was excited to be a patient 0, I am more excited to be on the mend bringing you guys the content you so desire. 

We dropped Riley's feud with ol’ Benny boy this week which was so fun to shoot, always grateful when Quadinki gives us the pleasure of joining us in the studio. Also dropped the long awaited balls bracket on ya for the Unlimited fans out there. We have some really great stuff in the chamber that will be sure to invigorate your holiday season. Any who, the Cavs are still undefeated and this week's newsletter is packed with some goodies to enjoy. And try your best to be a good person.

Love ya’ll.

- Riley & Graydon

WEEKLY PLAYLIST

This playlist is for when you’re in that mode. You know what I mean.

- Riley

Movie Poll

TONY’S UPDATE

A Working Man’s Guide to the Thrift Store

What's up guys, fall time is here and lots of people are cleaning out their houses. That means it's finally time for a man like myself to hit the thrift. I'm going to lay out some sections I will definitely be keeping my eye on at the thrift this week. 

First and most important I will be heading straight to the back to see the electric and stuff section. We're looking out for those cheap film cameras for surreee. One of my fave cams we shoot with was actually found at the thrift. There most likely won't be any cams but maybe an old speaker or cheap amplifier? really the possibilities are endless over here. Maybe a desk clock? Fuck it. 

If there is one, the tools section will be very close by. This one really can change the whole game. Maybe you need a drill press? A wrench from an endlessly deep bucket of metal? Box of nails? Talk about saving money. The people at the thrift usually list this stuff wayyyy cheaper than anywhere else in town.

Next I'm going to be peeking at the comfy pants section on my way to the hats section. I always check the hats to see if I can find a good one for the boys. Someone's gotta find all those hats. 

Maybe I'm going to peek at the chains and rings for a needle in the thrift haystack. Once again you're probably not finding anything here either. 

Must look at every single white and black tee in the store. Material definitely matters more than the design here, but the design is what's going to help get them to the register. 

A quick but focused look through the sweaters and jackets. Maybe I'll find another 5x puff jacket? Who knows. This section can really change your whole personality. Don't mess it up. 

Finish it off with the shoes and another peek at the necklaces, bracelets, and shades section. Great work. At this point you get in the undeniably long line or go find your friend and follow them around commenting on everything they pick up. 

On to the next? Or maybe we won and it's time to go home? We're going to have to find out for ourselves.

- Tony

The Best Guitar Player OAT

ALBUM RECS

I discovered Ohio Motel 4 years ago after hearing one of his songs submitted to our livestream. I loved his sound so much I contacted him and made a trip to Akron, OH where he was living at the time to shoot a music video. When I first met him, he talked to me about an album he wanted to make: The Treasure is All Yours, and even had the cover art for the album already picked out and multiple demos under construction.

At the time, he was nervous to fully flesh it because he didn’t think he was good enough to do it justice. Since then, he’s improved drastically as an artist. We shot 3 music videos together, live together in Detroit, and I consider him my best friend. More importantly, the album that was once a concept is now a reality, and I watched him work 8-10 hour days creating it. With the help of a frequent collaborators, Ally Evenson and Ben Collins, they got it over the finish line. 

I know he’s very proud of it and I know you guys will love it too. 

Personal fav songs: Nov2nd (Birthday), The Treasure is All Yours, Xmas in Akron, Strike2

- Grant

SPORTS

Graydon Talks Detroit

OK, I have to write about the situation in Detroit from a sports perspective from where I’m sitting. This town is fucking electric. We’ll get to the Lions later. The Tigers ended the season on an improbable run to make it to the playoffs and even won their wildcard matchup against the dirty cheating Houston Astros, and although they ran into the Cleveland Guards and lost, their run was angels in the outfield type shit. 

The Pistons have begun the season under a new coaching regime, all familiar to me in JB Bickerstaff and man he’s got the guys playing harder than they have in the past four years. Already with four wins under their belt I would be surprised if they weren’t contending for a 7/8th seed in the Eastern conference. 

The Wings are probably the biggest disappointment in town but their expectations in my mind were a little high going into the season. I am no authority on hockey whatsoever but they are sitting at .500 and have about 70 games left to play -optimism is still very much on the menu. 

Lastly let's get to one of two long standing franchises that has never reached the superbowl, the Lions. As a fan of both of those historically unsuccessful teams, I am filled with absolute jubilance with the prospect of this team having everything it takes to reach that summit. Now will I be happy if they make the run and ultimately lose, of course not, but I am happy to see all of my friends and acquaintances and bartenders and random old folks around the city boosted with a new found confidence that their team just kicks ass week in and week out. Most importantly, they’ve embraced the identity of the city I’ve come to love so dearly and it makes me proud to be here as it's all unfolding. Sports are dumb as fuck sometimes but man they can be really cool.

Viva Detroit but it’s always go B’s.

- Graydon

CRONK’S UPDATE

Little Cronk Life Update of the Week

Dear Diary,

My life is getting darker. Each passing day feels more like a slow death than a living thing. It’s been months since I last saw another soul, and each night the silence of the wilderness presses down on me like a suffocating weight. The trees loom like ancient watchers, their branches twisting into shapes that mock the memory of the men I once knew. brave, bold, reckless. They’re gone now. All of them. The jungle swallowed them whole and me with it. It seems all of a sudden I just snapped. I couldn’t stand listening to Jacob's moan about wanting to go home or Buck telling me to get back in my hole. So I took matters into my own hands. I shot them all. All 7 of them. I’ve Taken their lives as though it were my right, my duty. I’ve been here too long.The poisonous sounds of the helicopters flying by. The smell of napalm immolating everything in its path. The sharp stabbing hunger has turned me into something not human.The land is not mine to take anymore. I’ve trespassed too far. The jungle remembers. And now it wants something back.

The sun burns too hot during the day, and the nights bite too cold. My bones ache, and every muscle feels like it’s been pulled tight, ready to tear. I don’t remember the last time I ate. The VC has disappeared from the area, or maybe we just failed at finding them. No, I know what it is. I’m failing. I’m failing at everything. I can feel my stomach shrinking into itself, the emptiness gnawing like a beast, hollow and vicious. Sometimes I hear things in the dark—scratching noises, soft growls, the rustle of something unseen. I hear my own mother telling me to come home. It feels like the jungle is trying to tell me something.

The men back in Da Nang, the ones who sent me out here, won't come. They think I’m dead, or worse, they don’t care. I’ve been forgotten. I’ll die out here, alone, nothing but bones and a faded memory, if even that. I’ll be just another whisper in the wind, a box hidden by the red white and blue. A tale told to warn the next fool who thinks he can conquer what’s already been lost.

Sometimes I wonder if that’s what I am, lost. I thought that this war was something to give me meaning. But now, all I want is to sink into the earth and be swallowed up by it, disappear without a trace. 

I dream of home sometimes. The salty ocean breeze misting on the boardwalks of Atlantic city. The blonde hair beach bums laying their surfboards in the sand. A cold ice cream cone dripping down on my hands. But those dreams are just ghosts, fleeting shadows that evaporate when I wake up, leaving only the taste of dust and blood in my mouth. Home was never a place. I see that now. 

I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. The hunger is wearing me thin, but it's not just the body that's weakening. My mind... it's breaking, piece by piece. The paranoia is eating me alive. I don't trust anything out here. Not even the stars, those cold, distant things that look down on me like I’m already dead.

I hear the helicopters sometimes. Far away. Maybe they’re not real. Maybe they’re the echo of my own heartbeat, pounding louder the closer I get to the edge. 

If I don’t make it out, let this be my last word. Let it be the last sound anyone ever hears of me. I was nothing more than a shadow in this land. A fool who thought he could tame it, 

This worthless existence.

Goodbye,  

- Anthony Cronk

RECIPES

Graydon Makes a Hundred Dollar Italian Sandwich for Cousin Dave - not a recipe but an experience.

So I was hosting my deadbeat Cousin Dave and he requested an Italian sub night so being the family man I am, I was happy to accommodate. I can never just make a casual sandwich.

I went to the best market in town and struck up an unwarranted conversation with the deli man. Next thing you know I was leaving with a quarter lb of mortadella, capicola, salami, and Iberian chorizo…oh and a whole pound of prosciutto. Snagged me a baguette as well as some smoked mozzarella and provolone. Heirloom tomato, arugula, and red onion for the veg. And naturally balsamic glaze and olive oil to keep that thing slippery.

This isn’t so much a recipe as it is a flex. Here's some pics of assembly and outcome.

- Graydon

MERCH