21 things I consumed last week

I'm alive!

Hello. It’s me. Rising from the dead to bring you content.

I missed my last two newsletters! Friday and Sunday. A first. Hope you can forgive me…I was crying in a bathtub. Turns out having Covid-19 can feel pretty bad. Shocked to learn this?

Here is my list of things I consumed last week, some before I got sick, most* after. Sharing with everyone, free and paid, to make up for my absence.

I’m currently drinking an oat latte and wearing jeans. This is huge because I’ve been bed-ridden for a week. Who knows how long the jeans will last and the latte tastes like burnt black coffee due to my fucked up taste buds, but it’s fine. I would have given up a lot more to feel better!

*all the TV…so much TV…

1. “Notes on One War,” by Lina Romanukha for Spike Art Magazine, a collection of her diary entries from the first days of the Ukraine war.

2. Orange chicken from Lucky House Kitchen in Bedstuy. If you can handle the chaos of calling your order into Lucky House and manage to not get your number blocked because you hesitated or asked too many questions, you will be rewarded.

3. This laptop stand from Etsy, my latest attempt to fix my neck. I appreciate how it comes apart like a kid’s toy you’d find in a doctor’s waiting room.

4. “I Lived the #VanLife. It Wasn’t Pretty,” by Caity Weaver for New York Times Magazine. Pretty much exactly what you’d expect and yet still worth the read.

5. The entirety of Severance (i.e. its first and only season) on Apple TV+. At first I was laughing about my friend saying it was “so so bangin” because it’s kind of slow and plodding and the description felt off. But then by the end I was like, okay, that was so so bangin.

6. The Twitter advanced-search function “filter:follows,” which you can add to whatever you’re searching if you only want tweet results from people you follow. I don’t know how relevant this is to other people but this solves so many problems for me!

7. “I Bought 6 Things at Martha Stewart’s Tag Sale,” by Choire Sicha for Curbed. So well-written it made me jealous.

8. Papa:

   Zhang Meifang张美芳 @CGMeifangZhang

   Introducing Papa, one of the most popular stray cats living in the Palace Museum in Beijing. Our feline friend is easily recognizable for its plump but agile orange-colored body. Make sure you to say hello when you visit the Forbidden City! #PalaceMuseum #ForbiddenCity #Beijing

9. The Batman, which is now streaming on HBO. I thought it was…okay. If you’re going to watch I would like to recommend you not get high first as you’ll be very confused throughout the film.

10. This tofu recipe, which is the first Google hit for “crispy tofu recipe.” I’ve now used it multiple times and it’s the first tofu I’ve made that I consistently like. Avi and I laugh a lot about the SEO power of the aughts-era mommy/cooking blog. We’re always using recipes from websites we’ve never heard of called like “Julie’s Crazy Kitchen!” Sometimes they really hit.

11. This TikTok about a new thing to do with your body after you die (lol trend cycle never sleeps): terramation, “the gentle transformation of human remains into soil.” Sounds nice? Then you can plant something in it 🥲

12. “We Need the Eggs: On Annie Hall, Love, and Delusion,” a transcribed discussion between Shiela Heti and some friends for The Paris Review. It’s pretty intellectually circle-jerky at times but I enjoyed it against all odds.

13. Bring It On, which is not streaming anywhere (conspiracy?) so I had to watch it on YouTube. The toothbrushing scene is forever burned into my teen memory. Something about the way she hides her spit?

14. Once again, my love for this ugly little heating pad that I regularly microwave and put on my body. Really helped with the body aches last week.

15. The final season of Search Party, which was so bonkers I don’t even know what to say. If nothing else watch for my one true love John Early. So many good cameos too.

16. The Cat Returns on HBO, one of the last Studio Ghibli movies I hadn’t seen. Really good stuff…the king looks like Bug.

    

17. Season 8 of Alone, which I somehow hadn’t seen yet. My hot take is they need to drop the survivalists in less harsh climates and let us watch them thrive instead of starve. (Still loved it though.)

18. Shows shows more shows. I watched the entire first seasons of two half-hour British comedies, both on HBO: Sally4Ever (patently insane, at times genuinely unnerving) and Starstruck (very sweet). I can’t tell if I love British comedies or can’t stand the fact that all the storylines turn on the characters’ complete inability to say what they mean. Drives me nuts. But admittedly the jokes are good, I was laughing out loud at times which I never do.

19. The Stanley Parable, an indie concept video game that’s part-troll-part-commentary. Avi got it for me because he loved it when it first came out and I have to say I begrudgingly came to love it too.

20. Lonelygirl15 anyone??? Saw someone mention her on TikTok and experienced the craziest memory-unlock. I couldn’t even get through this entire video but feel obligated to share for anyone else who was as online as I was in 2006.

21. And finally:

You never forget your first 💘

Rec of the week: Best hand soap?

I’m out of mine (it was Aesop, overrated). What’s the move? I love Byredo (I’ve tried Suede and Vetyver) but it’s sooo expensive I feel irresponsible buying it. As I’ve mentioned I fuck with Meyer’s (Snowdrop, Basil) for the kitchen but I don’t really want Meyer’s in my bathroom for some reason…is that elitist? If you love your hand soap set it free in the comments. I want to know! You really pulled through when I needed body soap. My only note is I don’t really like exfoliating hand soaps because I wash my hands too frequently to go whole hog like that every time.

(Click to view comments as well.)

Okay that’s all! If you’re a free subscriber and have never seen this sort of email, I normally send it out on Fridays at noon to paid subs only. Not sure this one was the most representative but it’s a peek nonetheless.

Typically I end this by hinting at the time and topic of my next newsletter but my brain still feels like a smoothie and I’m committed to taking it slow, so can’t say I know.

Hope you have a nice week. Stay healthy!
Haley