June roundup
Monthly -ings
June felt like it was over before it even started. Summer weather is here and I have all week off. Can’t wait to laze about and not talk about “ingesting data sources” and “sentence case or title case?” for a few days. But that’s later. For now, the roundup…
Reading
Books / audiobooks
Night of the Gun, David Carr. People remember what they can live with more often than how they lived. Glad I finally caught up with this. Funny, grim, and relentless.
Alphabetical Diaries, Sheila Heti. So down for this kind of experiment and have been chewing on the idea that our lives only really orbit about 3 or 4 things.
The Late Americans, Brandon Taylor. I’m a fan of his writing in general. He prompts me to be both a more generous and a more critical / engaged reader. This took me right back to those anxious final days in the bubble of academia.
Blue Ruin, Hari Kunzru. I got this after listening to the Shakespeare & Co podcast episode on it (if you listen, you’ll be rewarded / punished with the horrific way British people pronounce “urinal”). Half way through and liking it so far.
Articles
A couple essays on the bittersweet dance scene in All That Jazz and the (hopeful?) ending of I Saw the TV Glow.
Strength Training (The Point Magazine) Us meatheads are deeper than you think! Finitude is not much to trade for the privilege of existing on this planet, and a little solid effort in the gym is just enough to remind you that you are, for now, alive, alongside all your bros.
Embracing the other I am; Or, how Walt Whitman saved my life (The Millions).
The meme-ification of Anthony Bourdain (NY Times).
Becoming American (Portland Review).
Substack
- () on research as leisure activity.
- ’s ode to veganism and her journey in, out, and beyond the label.
- () with some Great Lakes representation.
- () on a breakup and the way certain songs find you when you need them to.
Watching / Rewatching
Chime. It took me a few tries to rent this (via blockchain? I think? I’m still not sure how I even did it…) after reading about it in
. Kurosawa always leaves me feeling like Benoit Blanc.
Punch-Drunk Love. A fav. This gets funnier and sadder on every rewatch.
Eileen. Who wouldn’t go a little crazy if Anne Hathaway looked at you like that?
Z. Amazing to me there hasn’t been a terrible American remake of this.
The Hitcher. The first line in this movie is “My mom told me never to do this” and you know what…listen to your mother!
Copenhagen Cowboy. OBSESSED. Obsessed. The outfits, the cheekbones, the neon, the decor, the vibes. 6 episodes of neon gothic fairytale scandi noir. It’s like it was made specifically for me. So of course there will be no second season.
Listening
In the Doldrums with Bernie Harberts. Atlas Obscura podcast. Anyone wanna rent a boat and get after it?
Loved this
two-parter on Berghain (or the Berghain) and ended up listening to this playlist for like 24 hours straight. Do I think I could get in? Am I delusional? Yes and yes.Why Lawd? NxWorries. All the reviews are like, oh so moody and sophisticated and dark, but it’s like…fun summer sounds.
Our Endless Numbered Days, Iron & Wine. My ease-into-the-day album lately.
News of the Universe, La Luz. My bop-around-town album lately.
Mood Swings, IDLES. A three-fer of a cover, delightful.
Surfing
This is the type of silly, purposeless website we need more of.
Writing
God I miss smoking — (from April) A lot of celebs caught looking cool smoking lately. But fr, don’t start smoking (…unless you wanna split one…?)
Otis of the month
(ignore the half set up state of my office, I haven’t figured out how to work with this murphy bed yet)
That’s all! Until next week 🫡