Hey!
Bit hungover today which is the price I pay for attending the Drift party last night. Don’t be fooled on Twitter btw—attending the Drift party isn’t a brag. Anyone can go! Half the people in attendance were just tourists who happened to be staying at the hotel! The drinks were $20 💀 The actual brag is that I walked in at the same time as Cat Marnell… (then sat in a corner the whole night talking to the two friends I came with). Excited to read Issue 7!!
“I Should Be Able to Mute America,” an incredible essay about how America is ruining the internet by (Australian) Patrick Marlborough for Gawker. I agree that he should not have to know who Pete Buttigieg is. I don’t even want to know and I live here!
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Very good and very sad.
This Top Gun review which I completely believe without having seen the stupid movie.
The writing app Scrivener, which I’m finally using for an article I’m working on and it is heaven on earth!!! Never scrolling through a messy Google doc again.
“The Fight to Hold Pornhub Accountable,” by Sheelah Kolhatkar for The New Yorker, featuring a bunch of nightmare guys who live in mansions.
A bunch of Cadbury candy from a British snack store in the West Village called Myers of Keswick, but especially a Cadbury Crunchie, the best candy bar.
The definition of the word sophistry, which means “the use of fallacious arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving.” As in: Bari Weiss’s newsletter is pure sophistry.
“Universal Health Care Could Have Saved More Than 330,000 U.S. Lives during COVID,” by Rachel Nuwer for Scientific American. Disturbing and enraging a.k.a classic American fare.
This XXL hot fudge sundae, split with my friend Laura on the Bongos patio. Made me realize how long it had been since I ordered dessert at a restaurant…welcoming it back into my life.
The shameless superiority that surged through me after cleaning out my email inboxes the other day, disregarding the shameful months of neglect that preceded the act.
My latest conviction:
“The Artist in CSULB’s New Exhibit Is a Major Donor. That’s Bad, and So Is the Art,” a brutal review by Christopher Knight for the LA Times. Made me laugh out loud.
Contrapoints’s new video, “The Hunger,” which is not her typical video essay but something much more personal and intimate.
“Our Restaurant Critic Says Good-bye,” by Adam Platt for New York Magazine about the strange career of food criticism.
Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese, revisited because Avi had never heard it. Naturally it continues to hit.
Rec of the week: Best summer shoes?
I’ve had a few people ask me for summer shoe recs and I don’t think my answers are as interesting as yours will be collectively! What do you think are the best summer shoes? For me the criteria is: good for walking, good for outfits. My recs right now are Tevas (with socks), classic black GH Bass Weejuns (with socks), and New Balance sneakers (with socks). What are yours? What’s the secret:
I hope you have a nice weekend! Maybe Baby #104 is about Red Scare, finding writing inspiration, and America’s hero fetish. I also want to add that my cat Bug is currently laying on my AirPods case as if hatching it like an egg.
Haley
Commenting on this thread like 6 months later because these recommendations saved me over the summer. I believe in the power of this comment section to deliver us all some awesome winter shoe/boot recs as well if you're willing to open up the floor for that <3
P.S. the Camper Karolina sandals are truly the best and I am thankful to the commenters who suggested them!
How about slip-on vans?