Deborah’s newsletter this week includes, among many other delights—crayon drawings of summer fruit, her favorite paleta recipe book, and extended journal spreads with lots of details from our life—a scan of her handwritten copy of her (excellent) personal adjustments for the Scarlett’s Tuna Salad recipe i mentioned recently

I Love Boosters is down to $5.99 to stream and well worth it! Sorry to Bother You was a movie i built up too much hype around before seeing and then didn’t really hit the way i wanted it to, but i loved this: so handmade and trippy and funny and colorful and full of ideas. fun as praxis; as a director, Boots Riley is kind of like if you crossed Michel Gondry with Bong Joon Ho.

there’s a new album out today from Erykah Badu and The Alchemist, Before The World Blows, which includes a feature from Earl. i haven’t listened yet but i don’t think i’ve ever been disappointed by Erykah Badu music, so i still feel comfortable making the recommendation. (bonus track: interview with her from last year on my favorite podcast)

two choruses that have been on repeat for me this week: “SAME SH!T” by Isaiah Rashad (the relentless cadence, the gravel grain of his voice, the wailing soprano off in the distance as the beat rolls forward) and “Pink Blush” by Dolly Babe (once you hear it you’ll probably recognize it from Reels, but i just love the nonsense words and all the filigrees and spin with which she strings them together; the bubble gum aesthetic of the video also has some kinship with I Love Boosters)

The Yahoo Boys by Carlos Barragán is probably the most surprising book i read this year. it’s the story of a Spanish journalist whose mother is contacted by a scammer pretending to be an American solider and promising to send her gold and how her son, the author, decides to go to Lagos to embed long term with the young men trying to survive by participating in these “romance scams.” you won’t be able to put it down.

Nubby’s Number Factory is a numbers go up phone game which, paired with podcasts, helped me amiably pass the time during the last set of extended travel delays i experienced. if you find the aesthetic of it too garish, you can get the same kind of game feel in a prettier package from Peglin, but I think NNN feels more immediate, addictive, and suited to the size of a phone.