15 things I consumed this week
ft. summer shoe recs
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
I have developed a theory on summer footwear - merging my Mediterranean upbringing and memories of days at the beach / scorching hot days with over a decade of British summer / summer in the city. And so it goes:
The ideal Summer shoes rotation includes:
1. A light pair of sneakers, ideally in a waterproof material. This usually comes in the running shoes section, or hiking one. Needs to be flashy / weird enough to look like a deliberate trendy sneaker choice if paired with a city outfit - but technical enough to be the perf choice of footwear on holiday walks / hikes / getting to rocky beaches. Can get wet and worn with or without socks (SCANDAL? Try wearing socks in Sicily and let me know). Mines are a pair of NiKe ACG TERRA GOBE. https://stockx.com/en-gb/nike-acg-react-terra-gobe-amarillo
2. A pair of Birkenstock Arizona. Ofc. I’m a child of normcore. They last a decade. They come in a variety of colours. There’s a vegan option. Best worn without socks but I won’t judge. They keep your feet cool and not sweaty. Good for any summer occasion other than anything that involves water or heavy physical activities: they’re chill shoes, and because they’re open at the back you can’t run to get a bus in them or hike in them either. They’re for relaxation. They’re the equivalent of an iced tea on a patio or a walk to get your morning iced coffee. Don’t wet them (especially not with salt water) unless you want to throw them away at the end of the season. I only bring mine to the beach on their last summer, before I throw them out and buy an identical pair in the sale to store until the following June.
3. A pair of Teva. They serve a very different purpose to Birkenstocks and I could write an all essay on why that is. First of all, they’re sandals and not sliders. So they can be worn with socks, and actually they look even better with socks. Without socks - in very hot weather, they make your feet sweaty and smelly and just not a good experience overall…unless: you’re at the beach! You can bring Tevas to beaches and pools and canals and frozen mountain streams all the activities involving WATER and they’ll be GREAT. Plus - they dry in a second (Birkenstocks take HOURS to dry up). Good for city outfits, perf for any active activity. I will argue the ones with the moulded sole are a bit better than the classic model.
4. A pair of mid-heeled, block heel sandals that are truly comfortable and can be worn with summer dresses or shorts and even at weddings. They need to strike the balance halfway between suburban auntie, italian nonna, cool European girl enjoying a stroll and a gelato in a coastal town. Good for evenings, but come in handy for anything remotely more formal during the day (like a job interview?). Mine are CAMPER KAROLINA and all my friends swear by them “I can walk in them for hours and forget I’m wearing a heel” is the overall feedback. https://www.camper.com/en_GB/women/shoes/karolina/
Thanks for coming to my TED talk. Been finessing this for years and it’s so annoying when you have the perfect answer but no one asks you the right question.
Saltwater Sandals. I have them in 4 colors. I can walk for a long time in them (somewhat surprisingly), all the colors, they hit the sweet spot for jeans from shorts to trousers, sun dresses and the beach. They can get wet - hence, Saltwater. They last.
https://mysaltwatersandals.com/