Hey—it doesn’t get better than this. This is it, this is the thing to do. Eating good food, watching a movie, making music, going kayaking, playing a game—turns out life ain’t so damn complicated after all!
Holding Yourself to Something Arbitrary
Four years ago, I stopped drinking—not because I felt like I had a problem or anything, but just because it didn’t make me feel great and I was concerned about some health stuff. It’s kind of nice to just feel like I’m making some kind of active choice not to do something!
In a similar vein, continuing this profitless and borderline pointless weekly newsletter for 2+ years also feels like I’m holding myself to some arbitrary standard, (Why does it need to go out every Friday at noon?) but the choice to commit to it is the enjoyable bit.
I think this makes me sound inflexible. Maybe I am…
Last Year’s Recommendations
When we did this last year, it was actually pretty good. I think it’s good this year too. Here’s last year’s:
I am obsessed with creating the ideal sleep environment for my body in repose. The goal is to enter and exit sleep in the calmest possible atmosphere so that I can actually enjoy the process of slipping in and out of unconsciousness instead of finding it jarring and terrifying. I have blackout curtains for my window, but I thought recently I’d like to wake up to natural light, so I idiotically bought this curtain robot that just opens my curtains at a specific time. It’s kind of cute! I will never connect it to the internet; I don’t want it to know all the stuff on there. Imagine if it found this newsletter—yeesh.
Jess Sah Bi and Peter One
Amazing folk duo from Côte d’Ivoire. Beautiful production! This music will make you feel really good.
From Nabeel
Abuqir Seafood
To all the homies in NYC: here is The Best Restaurant. You could try to buy an NFT to get a reservation at Dame—which, admittedly, makes incredible food—or you could make a trip out to Astoria to indulge in the city’s greatest deal. On a recent trip, a group of four of us split: salad, dips, rice, sodas, grilled shrimp, fried shrimp and calamari, fried mackerels, a whole grilled fish. All for a total of $100, and all of it delicious.
Lucky Jim, by Kingsley Amis
A great book—possibly one of the funniest books ever. Funny books are hard to come by, so when they do come by, I love to “come and get them!” This is an all-time campus novel about a sad, unwittingly horny old man. Godspeed!
Making a shitton of rice on Sundays
I love white rice. Any kind—basmati, calrose, Kerala matta (the OG). If you make a big batch on Sunday, you essentially have half a meal for each meal you eat for the rest of the week. Every meal should include rice.
Living somewhere where you don’t need a car
I actually just found out about this: if you live somewhere where you don’t need a car, you don’t need to spend money on a car. And when you don’t need to spend money on a car, that includes down payments, monthly payments, repair payments, maintenance payments, etc. All of these things you can avoid when you live somewhere where you don’t need a car. I found this out recently, so I just wanted everyone to know.
From Jesse Aaronson
Hydrating
Personal Hygiene (showering, bathing, brushing teeth, changing underwear and socks)
Eating (a combinations of nutrients like protein, carbohydrates and fats)
Conversing with likeminded people
Bloodlettings
Supra Skate Shoes
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F****
SimpliSafe Home Security (use promo code LOWLIFTASK for $5 off your first purchase)
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Playing as Mario, Peach, and Luigi in NBA Street Vol. 3 for Gamecube
From Sid Menon
Over the last few years, graphic novels and comic books have transitioned out of their "we demand to be taken seriously" phase to the "adapt me! adapt me! adapt me!" phase. As media execs scour pull lists across the country to find the next Morbius, here are a few books that might not make their cut, but definitely made mine:
If you like fantasy with a strong emphasis on world-building, have binged through LOTR, GOT, Narnia, Wheel of Time, or just love dark/creepy European fantasy art, you need to read Phillip Kennedy Johnson's The Last God. Sure, it starts with a fairly generic premise, but each issue adds more and more threads to what ends up being one of the most inventive and unique fantasy worlds I've ever read.
If superhero-adjacent is more your speed, Rorschach is a mystery set in the Watchmen universe (the Alan Moore graphic novel, Zack Snyder movie, or Lindelof HBO series) that proudly wears its 70s-political-thriller inspiration on its sleeve. As an added plus, Tom King is one of those guys that is probably going to be attached to a really successful movie/series really soon, so here's your chance to get familiar with him before then.
So this is the jumping on point for an entire series, it's probably going to be adapted to streaming soon, and it's about a world where gods are pop stars and pop stars are gods. There's music, mystery, romance, drama, and murder with a great cast of characters and cool worldbuilding.
If you haven't read this already, you probably should drop everything else and do it now.
From Alex Senti
Smoothie and a Walk
i recommend that people stop smoking weed and instead just order an expensive tasty smoothie and go on a nice walk.
this is a much better “high” than lighting up weed and inhaling it out of a “bong”. a refreshing smoothie that costs $11-$14 will have you feeling so good and refreshed and if you pair that with a beautiful walk around the park and/or beach and/or city you are sure to have one of the best afternoons of your life.
please trust me and please give it a shot next time you are craving a nice joint/dab/rip of a bubbler.
From Michael Kandel
Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke
A man lives alone in the House, a world of endless museum halls. An ocean soaks the bottom floor, and clouds cover the upper level. Rich splendors lie within. Things are not as they seem. Mysteries unfurl. I read Piranesi in two sittings, over a 24-hour period, and most people I recommended it to did the same. It's a rare feat when a book this good creates such a frictionless reading experience. They call that a page-turner in the biz. Give it a try.
From Charlie Sosnick
Texting Someone A Picture of Animals Kissing and Saying “Us”
When I was young, I often Googled things like “how to talk to your crush” and “how to get girls to like you.” The late-bloomers, bookworms, space cadets, pizzafaces, four-eyes, mama’s boys, and truffle shufflers reading this will relate, and recall reading Wikihow articles on this very subject.
Credit given where credit is due to the Wikihow SEO professionals who shot those articles to the top of the results, long before you could hire a guy in Estonia on Fiverr to do it for you. But they were useless. Loaded with vague platitudes like “Be Yourself,” “Show Interest,” and “Make Her Laugh.” If you’re reading the article, you need real tips. Something Actionable. Concrete. Foolproof.
Like: Text Them A Photo Of Two Animals Kissing And Say “Us”
This is a solid, executable, low-risk high-payoff strategy that anyone can use.
(Note: this method works best if you’ve already locked lips with your target. But we are not in middle school anymore. If you can’t make that happen by now, it’s time to close the email, do some crunches, buy the minoxidil, volunteer at the community garden, do a little nose candy and hit the town with the kind of confidence that shines in a nightlife setting, or whatever else you need to do to get in the game. I can’t teach you everything.)
This tip is extremely powerful with people you are already seeing. It’s a high ROI, low-lift way to get your daily touches in without having to be vulnerable, listen, or connect in any way. This strategy is a tactical solution to the dreaded “Dating For A Couple Months But Can’t Drop the L Bomb” situation. Rather than peppering the chat with clumsy, “I really really like you” messages, simply send two animals kissing and say “Us”.
This powerful method is self-explanatory, but there are a few additional tips that make it even more effective.
Animal choice matters
The animals in question should be wrinkly, lumpy, and strange. This suggests compassion and open-ness — an ability to find the beauty in all things. Babies are always better. However, you should stay within the bounds of typical mammalian cuteness; select for plump physiques and large eye-to-face ratios. Steer clear of insects, fish, corals, and other distant phyla and orders, as well as vermin. (Birds are risky, but still in play.) Do not use human food animals, as they distract the recipient with larger ethical questions. No cats or dogs either: they are for cubicle workers and touch-my-butt-and-buy-me-tacos-my-guilty-pleasure-is-Bob’s-Burgers people, respectively.
Don’t freestyle
Just say “Us.” Don’t remix the template. You are not Ovid. Altering the method in any way voids your warranty.
No pictures from the timeline
Never underestimate Big Algorithm. Statistically, the person you are talking to has broad similarities across age, geography, income, socioeconomic background, interests, VALS profile, and more. That means similar content is being shoved down your feeding tube. If you’re seeing it, assume her buff yoga instructor with kind eyes already showed it to her. Do your own research.
Here are a few of my most powerful kissing animal images to get you started. Happy texting, and love wins.
My recommendation is gratitude!! Lately I’ve been saying out loud (when I drive or am in the ocean or something) “I love my life I love my friends I love my body…etc” and at first it felt forced and embarrassing but over time it has become true. I love my life and the more I love it the more the universe sends me that makes me love it more. Idk maybe I’m manic (we’ll see in about 2 months if I’m still singing this tune) but I really believe cherishing even the smallest good things helps you prepare for whatever big things are coming your way
I have long been fascinated by how, even in a time of cultural agony over whether having children in a climate-change ravaged world is ethical, there’s been a glut of popular millennial literary fiction centered on the redeeming potential of childbearing and parenthood. (I think, in particular, of Beautiful World Where Are You by Sally Rooney, No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood, Severance by Ling Ma.) Now, Ben Lerner—who is the celebrated author of The Topeka School, 10:04, and Leaving the Atocha Station as well as the first person I expect to run into at the Park Slope Food Coop if I ever get around to joining—has gone full dad mode too. And, in characteristic fashion, the king of autofiction has made even the most well trod of subjects seem revelatory. What are the stakes of potentially dying a humiliating and avoidable death from choking on a piece of steak when everything you do is bound to leave an impact on your progeny? Few but Lerner could explore the question in a manner so simultaneously hilarious and beautiful.
“Gorgeous” by Taylor Swift
Sometimes when I’m on a run this comes on and I think to myself, “No one ever talks about this song.” So I’m talking about it. When Taylor decides to make fun of herself in an acerbic fashion, the results can range from disastrous (“This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” “You Need to Calm Down”) to absolutely brilliant (“Blank Space.”) I’d like to humbly suggest that “Gorgeous,” a mostly forgotten Reputation-era single, be placed in the win column. This catchy pop tune is about the absolute humiliation of having a crush; the abject powerlessness that comes with knowing another person is making you have uncontrollable FEELINGS. ("I feel like I might sink and drown and die,” she sings before a bell rings and the chorus explodes.) There’s not much lyrical sophistication here, but Swift sells it with the vocal delivery, sounding alternately flippant, pissed off, and earnest. You didn’t hear it from me, but in my opinion she sells the idea of encountering someone so hot they’re hurting your feelings more than Caroline Polachek ever did.
From Carolyn Gearig
Going To The Beach 15 Times in One Summer
i went to the beach 15 times this summer not including trips to brighton beach and coney island where i “hung out” instead of going swimming. by the end of the weeknd i hope to have upped that number to anywhere from 16 to 18 trips to the beach. i of course kept track of all my beach trips on a handy notes doc where i noted the beach i went to, the date, who i was with, and any extra notes about my time at the beach such as the condition of the waves, what music i listened to, what my beach snacks where and my mode of transportation. i just really recommend going to the beach.
From Jessica Yung
Neko Atsume
I recommend this phone game called Neko Atsume. It’s not really a game…you’re just leaving out treats and toys to attract different cats and then taking photos of them and putting them in an album to look at…that sounds really stupid, but I guess I think it’s cute idk
From Rebecca Lerner
Cutting off the dead/broken parts of your plants
plants have somehow figured out how to turn sunlight into energy but they have not figured out how to stop sending energy to areas that don’t need it and can’t use it. Cut off the dead bits so they can focus on growing what can actually thrive!! And yes this is a metaphor! what of it!!
From Noah Mathis
The Dentist
The dentist. If you’re like me, then when Covid started, you said to yourself there is no way I’m letting some sniffly dentist get all up close and personal with my vulnerable mucus membranes. And not only was this not gross, you were celebrated for helping #Flattenthecurve! Then you got a new job and you’re not even sure if you have dental insurance anymore but your mom asks you every month if you’ve made a dentist appointment yet and you keep having to make up some new excuse why you still haven’t done it. Well guess what buster! Covid is over! No more excuses, suck it up and get your chompers checked!
My recommendation? It’s gonna go ahead and be a movie. And it’s also gonna go ahead and not be for the faint of heart. It’s got an insane amount of blood and guts, but even scarier is the fact that it’s a movie musical where almost everyone kind of sucks a liiiiiittle bit of ass at singing. None of this deters me one bit, but several friends I’ve inflicted this film upon have remarked “well, that was definitely a movie.” The film in question? Repo! The Genetic Opera, girlina.
It was released in 2008 (a fact that made me sprout a three foot long, snow-white wizard beard when I googled it) and babe, I’m pretty damn sure it never had a theater release, despite its absolutely randomsauce™️ but lowkey electric cast. Paris Hilton is in it, girl. Alexa Vega (miss Spy Kids) is the lead. Paul Sorvino is also in it (may he rest), and so is Phantom of the Opera’s very first Christine, Sarah Brightman. Joan Jett has a 30-second, silent cameo. This shit is nonstop, balls-to-the-wall insane nonsense. Maybe my friends and I did write a 100+ page fan fiction about this movie when we were in middle school. There’s no proof and you can’t prove it. [Ok, Sabina, enough insider baseball. Leave ‘em with a crumb of plot!] So I shall. Basically, it’s a post-apocalyptic vibe where everybody’s organs are failing so this big ol’ company (GeneCo) takes everything over and loans everyone artificial organs- slay. But most people? Cannot afford these organs (ok, commentary on the healthcare system!) so the titular “Repo” man comes and snatches ‘em out and leaves them for dead. And then? Everybody sings about it. There’s more shit, but just go watch it. All else aside, you cannot deny that it is definitely a movie.
From Annabel Meschke
Shudder
My Shudder subscription has changed my entire ass life. I believe in the folk custom of charging subscriptions to a credit card (fake money) to live one’s best life, so I actively don’t know how much it costs, BUT I know that I still have a roof over my head AND my spookies.
Shudder is like, a horror movie streaming platform thing hosted through Amazon Prime somehow (shut up, I’m not a doctor) and judging by the quality of some of the ‘movies’ I’ve seen on there, anyone can just upload something. HOWEVER, I have also discovered my favorite horror movie on there, another facet to this gorgeous recommendation diamond, The Sadness. It’s a Taiwanese horror film inexplicably directed by a quirked up canadian man that answers the question “What if zombies wanted to fuck?”
It’s not THAT simple, but it’s a zombie-esque film the likes and extremes of which I’ve never seen. If you want less body horror and more emotions while not sacrificing any valuable zombie time, I’d recommend Train to Busan. And if you don’t like spookies at all? I recommend getting back in touch with Bologna as a meat. I’ve been doing that while home in Florida. Ok, BYE, watch the Sadness and let me know what you think! Like all things I recommend, I recommend being high for it.
Want to learn how capitalism actually started in the first place? And maybe how to end it? Take this class. Whew.
From Sahir Jaggi
Looking at the Ground
This week I found both a $10 and a $100 dollar bill on the ground, just randomly on the street while walking. It was particularly nice since I also lost a $10 bill this week. I only found these bc I was looking for something else I thought I lost, so the lesson here is to stop looking around you and start looking at the ground.
From Alex Brown
Start using words based on how they sound, not how they mean
Sensemaking’s for lizards! Here are some words whose sound will delight:
Visage. Sardinia. Saoirse Ronan. “sustain a subconcussive impact”. Eulogize micromobility. clunk clunk clunk. Condom (British). Intractable. Milieu. The Poor! The Wretched! The Papacy! Inordinate, orthogonal, cataclysmic. Thundering cache; venal, vital sublimation. Passive annihilation. Rascal. A partner in oblivion. A Modern Man and a Modern Woman. Gurgling intimations. Shrieks! Murmurations, sussurations, big-fat-ass. Sun-drunk Angus. My sweet, mi amor, my canker sore. My alabaster sapling. Bohemian chiclet. Eschew (soft). Mmm, calico, carcinogen, a gilded sylvan. Hidden lily, the Chunnel, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch.
From Joe Miciak
Visiting the Beautiful City of Vancouver, Canada
I’ve been to Canada twice this year. My first trip was to the awful Winnipeg in January. The locals call in Winter-peg, and they never fucking talked about anything fucking else. After two weeks of temperatures reaching -20 degrees Fahrenheit, I sort of got used to the cold, but I never got used to how Winnipeggers (their official Demonym... c’mon) would incessantly compare this winter to previous winters, or how each conversation would start with “you picked a bad time of year to come, eh?” My trip truly peaked when I unwittingly joined a massive trucker convoy protesting mask mandates. To escape I had to cut off an angry man in a pickup truck who proceeded to follow me to my hotel with his horn blaring. I relished the brief moment I thought I might be murdered and spared one more waking second in that horrible freezer they call a city.
The whole trip made me hate Canada for what I thought would be forever, but now I’m in Vancouver, and it slaps. They have a lot of solid restaurants, there are beaches, and the people are interesting. And they film so many movies and television shows here, it feels like a quaint and less glamorous Hollywood. I met a magnificent himbo in the elevator the other day, guitar case slung around his shoulder, denim shirt barely containing his chest, who gave me the firmest fist bump I’ve ever received. He told me he was about to go star in an upcoming Christmas romantic comedy airing on CBS, where he plays “the main guy.” As I watched him exit the lobby, cut ahead of a family, and hop into a waiting taxi, I realized that Vancouver is a place where dreams come true. You should visit.
Book Micro-Club
Read a book with only one friend or loved one. You can still talk about the book and it doesn’t have to be a whole “club.” Benefits include higher accountability to actually finish the book, and you only have to work around two schedules for a meet-up.
This shirt
I don’t really get compliments on my clothes, but this shirt I bought from an artist at a random pop-up in Brooklyn changed that. I’ve been averaging 1 compliment per 2 wearings (I’ve worn it 4 times). And these are “stranger-compliments,” (high-value) not from friends (absolutely worthless). I’m still learning how to react to my newfound fame.
STRANGER: Nice shirt.
ME: Sorry, I can’t remember where I got it.
STRANGER (kind of angry): Okay? I didn’t say I wanted to buy it.
ME: Haha.
STRANGER #2: I like your shirt.
ME: I like your shirt.
STRANGER #2 (kind of angry): You don’t have to say that. I don’t even like this shirt.
ME: Haha.
If I ever get another compliment, I am going to just say “Thank you” normally :)
From Corey Popowski
Artificial Tears
My eye doctor recommended these to me because I love to stare at screens most of my days and it makes my eyes very dry. Feels so good to wet those puppies and doesn’t have any of the chemical crap into anti-redness drops. Also as someone who has a hard time crying for real, it’s a nice simulation. It’s always a melodrama using them at work, both not wanting my coworkers to see the tears stream down my face, but mostly hoping they’ll ask me what’s wrong.
C&F Seasonal Support Drops
A floral, subtly minty throat coat to drop in a glass of room temp or cold water. The fix you need when you don’t want to make tea, but need to scratch that itch in your throat or for when you just want to make a bland cup of water edible.
Boiled Peanuts
I didn’t know these were a regional food until I left the South for college. I went to a Red Sox game and on the way there told the friend who took me how I was mostly just excited to snack on some boiled peanuts. He broke the news to me that these are not a delicacy anywhere else in America (though they are popular in China). When I’m back home in Charleston I eat these like a horse eats hay. To suck the salty juice out a peanut shell is one of life’s simplest joys. The oysters of legumes.
Finasteride & Prep
My morning cocktail that allows me to do 2 of the things I love most: keep my hair and not get AIDS.
Rippers
I’ve recently decided this is my happiest place in New York. A juicy burger and some graciously seasoned fries on the Rockaway’s boardwalk quenches your sun baked hunger like nothing else. There’s usually a DJ or a band playing, packed with people at picnic tables with their worries 1,000,000+ miles away. This place is summer in the movies.
This guy should be famous. WTF. He makes cosmic, Queer country that’s current and not just riffing on Country, but authentically so. Quasi Fleetwood Mac twangy etherealness.
I saw this 70 (?!) year old man DJ at Coyote Club once and I have never heard someone play a set that was so universal. There was something for everyone and people were moving and shaking their bodies uninhibitedly. Deep techno cuts one second, Rihanna the next. He’s an inspiration.
From Russell Katz
Canada Dry
Canada Dry 1 and 2 liter bottles are bubbly as fuck (first sip hurts a little thank G-d) and if you close them right they stay bubbly for days
From Som-Mai Nguyen
March in Chicago
I recommend walking in the very cold alongside someone with whom you're deliriously in love, perhaps to a restaurant reservation you've been looking forward to for weeks — because the food is supposed to be excellent but also because you get to sit across from that particular person who lives 800 miles away. It’s nice, for instance, to hurry from the Ashland CTA stop to Girl & the Goat, both bundled up but wearing nice, impractical shoes. The food really was amazing, like some of the best I've ever tasted, but I mostly remember his face and how happy I am to get to see it all the time now.
From Jack Sneeringer
Watch Professional Cycling
It feels like the whole universe has gotten into Formula One thanks to some Netflix documentary I will never see. I’m here to tell you they’re all fucking up. They (and you) should be watching professional cycling instead. What makes cycling so great? Races are long and sometimes plodding affairs, but at any moment a well timed attack or inopportune mechanical problem can cause all hell to break loose. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the race is on and you better not blink.
Over time, as you begin to understand the tactics, small and seemingly insignificant things start to take on new meaning. You begin to see the race not as a mad dash to the finish, but as the ultimate culmination of carefully timed efforts, burned domestiques, and even a little bit of luck. The peloton ceases to be a group of riders who all happen to be in the same part of the race at the same time. Rather, it appears more like a fluid, expanding and contracting in width and length as conditions demand, often forming a long tendril out front as opportunistic riders try to escape its clutches only to be reclaimed by like minded efforts from behind.
Individual riders will slowly reveal themselves too. Primož Roglič, Remco Evenepoel, and Mark Cavendish aren’t just funny sounding names that appear occasionally on the TV broadcast. Every rider brings their own skill set and accompanying expectations to the race. Often they’re laden with baggage of past losses (Roglič), the hopes of an entire cycling obsessed country (Evenepoel), or the uncertainty of future contracts (Cavendish). Prior successes are no guarantee of future opportunity. Cavendish won the Green Jersey and 4 stages of the 2021 Tour de France and was still left out of the tour this season.
Cycling is, at its core, an unforgiving sport. Crashes, flats, bad days, and even wrong turns (more often than you might expect) mean that while every race comes with the promise of greatness there is ample potential for calamity, suffering, and heartbreak. Sometimes there’s even poetic justice, like when noted racist and bike thrower Gianni Moscon lost the 2021 Paris-Roubaix in agonizing fashion after a flat and a replacement bike with incorrect tire pressure saw him slowly reeled in by the chase group just before the final velodrome laps. To quote McMansion Hell creator Kate Wagner, “Never has there been a sport that is so literary, engaging with themes like man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. nature, man vs. machine.” This sounds corny as hell, but I assure you it’s true!
If you have Peacock, throw on stage 11 of this year’s Tour de France and treat yourself to one of the best days of racing in recent memory. Alternatively, mark your calendar for September 25th when two time UCI World Champion and all time goatee haver Julian Alaphilippe tries for his third successive victory.
If you still need convincing here are some classic cycling moments to pique your interest:
Keeping your chain clean sucks. It’s time consuming, messy, and a lot of bike lubes aren’t actually very good. You should dip your chain in hot wax instead. Wax attracts much less dirt, it won’t stain your clothes, and each waxing lasts 300 miles or so unless you get it really wet (which isn’t a problem for Californians lol please rain this winter). Here are my patented steps to chain wax success:
Buy a cheap old pot with a top from goodwill for $4.
Buy hot melt wax like those offered by Silca or Molten Speed Wax
Purchase a brand new chain with a power link (if you’re not a bike maintenance person I recommend buying a new chain from a nearby bike shop and they will cut it to length for you)
Strip the factory grease from the new chain with alternating 20 min baths in degreaser and 90% isopropyl alcohol. Shake the mason jar you put the chain in periodically. When you touch a clean chain it shouldn’t leave any residue on your finger.
Melt the hot wax. I typically place the pot over boiling water like melting chocolate to prevent burning.
Tie a long string or wire through a few links of the chain and submerge in the wax. Agitate a few times until all air bubbles come out. Let rest in hot wax for 15 minutes. Wax temperature should be ~200 degrees. I usually stick a food thermometer in the water below as an OK approximation.
Remove chain and hang to dry above the pot.
Once the wax cools, put the top on the pot and store until the next use.
This whole process takes about an hour and a half, but trust me: it is life changing. Anytime you need to re-wax the chain, just remove the power link and dip the chain back in the melted wax and let sit for 15 more minutes. The small amount of accumulated dirt diffuses through the pot and the chain is effectively like new. You get 5-7 waxes before too much dirt accumulates. If you’re that concerned, you can run the dirty chain under some hot water and then put it in a quick isopropyl bath to make the wax pot last a bit longer.
I never used to know what to make for desert when gluten free is a requirement. These rip.
From Casey Jong
Hocking Loogies
I was getting really bad tummy aches for years. We’re talking out of the blue nausea that could ruin my life for 30 minutes to an hour. It turns out that if you snort up all your snot and swallow it too much, your tummy can hurt! Little kids throw up from it sometimes! Now technically this issue can also be solved by blowing your nose but we don’t all just have a tissue with us all the time. Please don’t pretend you’ve never snorted and swallowed your snot. Just hock a loogie. It makes people think you are from New York (right?) and it’s better for your sinuses and your little tum.
Domestika is like Masterclass-$$+Arts & Crafts+Language Learning, I love it! Two years ago I scrolled into a handsome Colombian man pitching his sketchbook creation for beginners class and I was hooked. At the time it was mostly a Spanish language platform, but now it has people from all over the world teaching stuff from all along the practical—whimsical continuum. I particularly like the "illustration" and "writing" categories. It’s even fun to just browse for potential hobbies.
From Cristian Uriostegui
Nick and Sons
Nick & Sons — I’m currently at war with Nick and Son’s for the same reason Reddit incels think they’re at war with women: because they’re beautiful and they can’t have them. This Williamsburg bakery has some of the best croissants I’ve ever had in my life but has hours of operation that make me want to plant a car bomb. Thursday to Sunday. 9AM-1PM. Hopefully you’re an acrobat because this is your window for croissants. Also they have an Almond croissant (incredible) but it always sells out by 9:02 AM and they never think to make more?? Recently I gave them a 1-star Google Review because they took the almond croissant off the menu entirely so I lambasted them for that and said they’re using child labor. 2 days later the almond croissant is back. Democracy works.
Note from Ritam: Back when Nabeel and I lived in this neighborhood (2018-2020) we would get Nick and Sons every Saturday morning. It’s incredible… but TikTok came for it during the pandemic and now it’s ruined by its own popularity.
I don’t have time to do Three Women but basically my assessment is that it’s dope as hell!
From Victoria Pandeirada
Energy Fuel on Fulton
where do I begin? Its jarring logo, window covered in photos of smoothies… dark interior. I would’ve never thought a pair like us would get along. But after many nights of not wanting to cook but still feel “healthy,” I’ve found respite in this mediocre “health” food and smoothie spot minutes from my house. There is never a line, everything is under $15 and no one is selling you a tote bag! muah!
From Shiva Kilaru
Stop Motion Woodworking by omozoc
I've dabbled in woodworking as a hobby for about 10 years, and in that time I've tried to maintain it as a purely offline activity (in contrast to the myriad other screen-addled activities I do for "fun"). That means no looking up project inspiration on Pinterest; no following of "workshop influencers" on Instagram; no looking up technique tutorials on YouTube. As you might imagine, my projects are pretty crude and uninspired. But I was blissfully ignorant of any expectations of how they could be better.
Until recently. Somehow, the Algorithm sniffed out my hidden hobby and is now recommending all sorts of Idealized Visions of how much better my woodworking could be. Which brings us to omozoc, a YouTube channel that popped up in my feed recently. This person's work is almost perfectly designed to maximize the insecurity I have with my own hobby: they use immaculate stop-motion filmmaking to show the process of woodworking from a creative, seemingly impossible angle (e.g. using kitchen silverware to build a milk crate). Perfect videos, perfect woodworking. I can't figure out how they do it. I hate it so much.
Anyway, if you're not like me and don't suffer from crippling self-doubt whenever you see someone else make something you can't, these videos are probably very fun to watch over a cup of tea in the afternoon or something!
