No Matter Where You Go . . .

. . . there you are.

The author and Andrew Maiorano at the Rehoboth Beach International Film Festival earlier this month.

dictated but not read

Being from Delaware is an odd beast.

For many of my friends, I am the only person they know from the First State. And they often ask questions about how small it is and do I know every famous person from the Small Wonder. And I often demur that even though I have met Joe Biden, that doesn’t mean the Diamond State is that small. It’s not like we all know each other.

However . . .

This assertion is constantly undercut by my real life. Because every single time I meet someone else from Delaware for the first time, we have at least one other friend in common (more if they grew up in Wilmington).

So two weeks ago, The Ferberizing of Coral was screening at the Rehoboth Beach International Film Festival and was lucky enough to win the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film. Before our screening, I got to chatting with one of the Festival’s producers, Andrew Maiorano (aka: Andy Plex, pictured above). Andy mentioned he was interested in my film because he knew Mitzi Akaha’s boyfriend: Wilmington, DE native John Gallagher, Jr.

And so do I.

That’s how I met and cast Mitzi in the film in the first place.

In fact, he had just played a show in DC at Songbyrd and Kelley & I (along with our friends Kenny & Nicole) went along to see him.

Kelley, the author, JGJ, Kenny Neal, & Nicole Hertvick at Songbyrd last month.

So, immediately, we’re talking about mutual friends and places and where we went to high school and all that stuff.

And when I relayed this story to Kelley, she simply said: “Of course. You were at an arts event in Delaware. What did you expect to happen?”

And I wanted to argue with her.

But I kinda couldn’t.

Because no matter how far I travel from Delaware, it always finds me again. Especially when I go back to it. And that’s kind of lovely.

But, seriously, it’s not like we all know each other.

- Patrick, 11/19/25

p.s. The song above is by Hannah Winkler who is both a member of John Gallagher, Jr.’s touring band and a solo artist in her own right. Her debut, eponymously-titled album is out now. Go and totally buy it: Hannah Winkler at Grandphony Dot Com.

coming soon

The Ferberizing of Coral

Finished the year strong with the aforementioned Audience Choice Award at RBIFF. Looking forward to more in 2026!

now playing

Talk to You Later

Our penultimate draws to a close! Only twenty-three (23) episodes remain for every Monday-Friday from now until December 19th (nineteenth) on all of these fine platforms:

• TikTok: @unkn0wnp3ngu1n

• Instagram: @unknownpenguin

• YouTube: @unknownpenguin

friends of the unknown penguin

Goodbye or Something

So while we’re talking JGJ, you should also go and totally buy his new album Goodbye or Something and see him play live when he comes to your town. He’s the cat’s pyjamas, and you can find all his music and tour dates and the whatnot at his website John Gallagher Junior Dot Net.

live on stage

David Johnson & Rebecca Ballinger in the world premiere of The Ferberizing of Coral at CulturalDC’s Source Festival, 2016.

Tinker Bell

available through Dramatic Publishing

DeSales University (Center Valley, PA) - March 17-April 7, 2026

The Velveteen Rabbit: A Toy Story

available through Theatrical Rights Worldwide

Lindhurst High School (Olivehurst, CA) - November 19-21

from the vault

Intermission: Travelling Music - The Original Cast (22 Nov 2017)

I posted this last year around Thanksgiving but, seriously, I love this so much. This is a special little Thanksgiving episode dropped eight years ago and contains timelessly good advice for those long car trips to the family that may or may not be thrilled about making. Click on the pic to listen.

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