May This'n'Thats
+ I want to hear from you re: summer book recs
Happy middle of May! Some minor housekeeping first: next week, just in time for Memorial Day, I am hoping to do a little Summer Reading Guide (in the style of the “Most Recommended Books of 2024 - by me and you, AND everyone we know”) - so, if you are game to help - please fill out this very breezy 3 question form by next Wednesday or so? Yeah? Amazing.
Otherwise, here is a casual run-up list of things that have been occupying my non-reading mind:
TV / MOVIES:
Saw: “Sinners” (cinema! Cinema! CINEMA!!!!), “For The Win” (NWSL playoffs docuseries on Prime, which I very much enjoyed until the last episode and the forced Prime product placement during the Trinity Rodman closing scenes), “Four Seasons” (AMAZING writing, great cast chemistry, inspiring outfits on Colman Domingo in every single scene, etc etc etc - though Netflix now has the original Alan Alda movie streaming as well and as a giant Alan Alda nerd I’d be remiss if I didn’t recommend it as a companion piece/origin story), “Poker Face S2” (still flawless, the first episode with Cynthia Erivo as a multiplied former child star was a masterclass, the 2nd one involved so many dutch angles I got dizzy). Also, this clip of Natasha Lyonne with Seth Myers is a personal favorite, because it gives me things (see through outfits, making fun of famous men without a care in the world, etc) to look forward to. #ThisIs46
Excited to see: “Overcompensating” is now on Prime and hopefully filling the “College Lives of Sex Girls” filled hole in my heart (Benito Skinner has been truly my #1 creator pitch to every cultural client we’ve had for the last 7 years and I am so excited to see him out of that era), “Sirens” feels just like the right soap-y, glamorous prestige-y trainwreck we all need, and on the movie front: “The Ugly Stepsister” (Cinderella meets Cronenberg! Looks STUNNING and GROSS) AND “The Wedding Banquet” (Bowen Yang! Lily Gladstone! Green Card sham marriages! IVF! Can’t wait to laugh about it all! I’m serious!) AND “A Nice Indian Boy” (I’ve been waiting for Karan Soni to become a BIG star since “Safety Not Guaranteed”, he’s truly the last cast member standing that isn’t!) are all streaming for rent or free, and I am THRILLED for myself and you. Plus, Criterion has a “Coastal Thrillers” collection which is going to get all sorts of queued up for Memorial Day Weekend.
CONSUMPTION:
It is Hot Tinned Fish Girl Summer? The internet merchandizing overlords have decided that tinned fish is no longer a food but a veritable lifestyle choice and, as someone that has been tin fishing for most of my life, I have been targeted with everything from: very expensive beaded bags (exhibit 1, 2 & 3) to very cheap make-up bags to candles to appetizer plates and napkins to oversized graphic t-shirts to undersized pearlized tiny fish necklaces (I did buy that one). What.Is.Happening?
ARTICLES:
NY Mag does it again with their “West Village Girls” break-down. And while I don’t approve fetishizing boring privilege, it is a good reminder that none of us have ever had a truly original experience AND I personally can’t wait to see how many of them are carrying STAUD tinned fish clutches when I’m in town in a few weeks.
Sort of related if you don’t mind playing 7 Degrees of NY: Lena Dunham on breaking up with New York
Earlybirds, a dance party started by two women, aged 45 and 49 (fully confirming my posit here), that is over by 10pm gets the NY Times treatment.
Everything or nothing - the eternal dilemma.
Plus, in case you missed it last week: My Mom talks about books!
I think that’s it? Please recommend things away to me, I want to not just be in my own echochamber, I want to be in OUR echochamber.
Also, end of newsletter follow-up reminder for SUMMER READING HALP! I am hoping to do a little Summer Reading Guide (in the style of the “Most Recommended Books of 2024 - by me and you, AND everyone we know”) - so, if you are game to help - please fill out this very breezy 3 question form by next Wednesday or so? Yeah? Amazing.
