Happy July. I hope you get some time off of whatever you need time off from this week. Perhaps it’s a break from our shitstorm of a democracy? At the very least, I hope you get to eat some pie and/or herby potato salad (recipe below), enjoy a body of water, and watch some fireworks. I’ll be taking my kids to see “Despicable Me 4,” watching Wimbledon, and eating popsicles. Here’s the latest assortment of recs:
To watch: The show we’re still slow-savoring is Hacks (we are late in Season 2), and everything else has been pretty subpar. As a result, I’ve been on a Hannah Einbinder bender, and recommend this interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air, as well as this episode with her on Las Culturistas. (Looking forward to watching her comedy special).
If you’re looking for a bike: After a decade-long hiatus, I got a bike, the Trek FX1 Stagger Gen 4. It’s extremely functional, boring-looking, and reliable—like the Subaru of bikes. 10000% what I wanted and its been a game-changer. If anyone has a basket / storage rec would love one.
To read: I regret what’s in my camera roll: a great piece reflecting on how we take photos with our cameras, and what that says about us, our memories, and the gap between photos of life and life itself
To read: Molly Wizenberg’s conversation with Catherine Newman, surrounding the release of her new book, Sandwich, which I can’t stop recommending. I loved this convo so much.
Tennis shorts: I am not really into mixing skirts and athletics, so I purely wear pocketed shorts to play tennis and my favorites are the Wilson Bowery Court Shorts.
To cook: These Alison Roman crushed baby potatoes with herbs, celery, and sardines. I didn’t have sardines, so skipped and delightful nonetheless. Perfect for a bbq, picnic, or any meal for non-mayo lovers.
Currently Reading: The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise, by Olivia Laing because summer does nothing if not inspire one to interrogate the deep desire to have a flower garden. I’ve also picked up the new Rachel Cusk, Parade.
Newsletter alert: Catskill Crew, about all the happenings in the Hudson Valley/Catskills area, where we head for a good chunk of the summer.
To enjoy: Photographs that make me think of summer: Gregory Crewdson’s firefly photos, always and forever. Mike Sinclair’s midwestern fairgrounds. Joel Meyerowitz’s photos from the Cape.
To do: A New York Liberty game. Breanna Stewart is insane! An extremely fun 2 hours!
Did you know: You can now pre-order Sally Rooney’s forthcoming novel, Intermezzo?
For the kids:
Ada graduated size-wise from the knock-off Target waterproof fake-instocks to the waterproof Birkenstock Milanos. I like that the back-strap has a clasp rather than velcro, which doesn’t wear down with water. Both are great options.
The kids are really into assisting with cooking—or, “Cooking,” and they marked up a bunch of recipes in Priya’s Kitchen Adventures: A Cookbook for Kids. It’s structured to take you through foods from cuisines all around the world and the right mix of adventurous and not-so-laborious for a kid to really get into.
Follow-ups to my last newsletter about Jonathan Haidt’s Anxious Generation:
This podcast episode on You’re Wrong About with Taylor Lorenz, Phones Are Good, Actually, provides some helpful context on how we got to this place with phones / social media and kids, and some of the political motivations that may lie behind it.
Caveat 1: The number of times they say “moral panic” in this episode is out of control. Need to tone it down.
Caveat 2: I don’t agree with some of Lorenz’ comments about the media more broadly.
I also loved this comment, from reader, Ellen Dollar:
Parent of older teens/young adults here. You know what’s making our kids anxious and depressed? Climate change. Gun violence. Systemic inequality. Being dismissed as whiny self-absorbed brats when they organize on their campuses to protest state-funded violence and genocide. Having two bumbling old white men, one of them a treasonous pathological liar, as our presidential candidates. Not that technology and social media play no part in their/our mental health. Of course they do. We’re all exposed 24/7 to a constant barrage of bad news. It’s easy to question one’s own life choices when we are continually exposed to unrealistically shiny and curated versions of other people’s lives. But my God, these kids feel like they’re growing up into a world that is already doomed, and it’s easy for them to feel powerless about it. If that’s not a recipe for poor mental health, I don’t know what is. One of the things I most love and admire about my own kids is that they are clear-eyed about the horrible realities of our world… and they continue nevertheless to make art, to seek learning, to choose career and school trajectories that are focused on creating a better world. They are also smarter about tech usage than my middle-aged peers. They understand that they’re being marketed to and sold a shallow and unrealistic view of the world. They also have better phone etiquette than older generations. When a phone ring tone loudly interrupts a theater production or church service, you can be sure that phone belongs to someone over the age of 40. I’m so tired of technology and the kids’ use of technology getting blamed for everything when it’s really the same old capitalist, individualistic, racist, misogynist, violent societal norms that are the real culprits and that should be the focus of our reforms.
Lastly: recs, please:
I just watched Closer (2005), the Mike Nichols film starring Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owen, and Julia Roberts in an intermingling of fate and jealousy, and thoroughly enjoyed. So, what are the other movies from the early aughts - 2014 that I should go back and watch? ( I didn’t have a TV for most of those years! ) Drama, Comedy, Romance, or some combo thereof.
Who are some young, contemporary painters and photographers you think making great work nowadays? I used to be so on top of art blogs/emerging artists, but would love some recs.
I went back and watched all the early Luca Guadagnino films recently after seeing Challengers. A Bigger Splash!!! Gorgeous, complex & absurdly hilarious movie with all-time great performances by Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes
Art - sophie treppendahl seems so cool and maybe up your alley