> 185: Run them through butter
Science is absolutely knocking me out lately. Did you hear they’ve made it possible to prevent HIV with a twice-yearly shot? I have such a core memory of sitting in one of the small auditoriums of my high school in the ‘90s—on risers that were carpeted, for some reason—listening to guest speakers with HIV or AIDS and thinking, this person is inescapably going to die soon. It was a death sentence for so, so long. And now it’s absolutely not. Also: a new blood test is 100% accurate at predicting breast cancer’s return before a full relapse, making more treatment options available. And there’s that breakthrough new cystic fibrosis treatment I’ve mentioned in this newsletter before. Science! Hot damn.
Here's some art, internet, and ideas for you:
Season three of Hacks was maybe my favorite yet. Hannah Einbinder in particular does next-level work. Only complaint: Could use more Megan Stalter (as could most things).
“I always wanted to tell you to quit your job. Negotiate for the salary you deserve. Stand up for yourself. Challenge authority. Tell your rude co-worker to shut up. Report your boss to everyone and anyone who will listen. Consult a lawyer. Did I mention quit your job? Go back to graduate school. Leave some deodorant and mouthwash on your smelly co-worker’s desk. Send that angry email to your undermining colleague. Call out your boss when he makes a wildly inappropriate comment. No, your boss should not force you to work out of her kitchen. Mind your own business about your colleague’s weird hobby. Mind your own business, in general. Blow the damn whistle on your employer’s cutting corners and putting people’s lives in danger. Tell the irresponsible dog owner to learn how to properly care for the dog. No, you don’t owe your employer anything beyond doing your job well in exchange for compensation.” Roxane Gay signs off as Work Friend.
Hydrant Directory: The color of a fire hydrant tells you something about how much water can traverse it.
A reflection on what Martin Luther King, Jr. actually did: Not just speeches and marches and seats on the bus. “He ended the terror of living as a Black person, especially in the South.”
We’re getting a Practical Magic sequel (infinite exclamation points). Do Center Stage next.
“For me, ‘Man or Bear’ is not hypothetical. I’m literally a woman who left mankind behind to live in nature with bears. This is my actual life.”
Speaking of: there’s a new Julia Phillips novel (she’s the author of the excellent Disappearing Earth, about two sisters who vanish on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula); The Bear is back TODAY.
New favorite drink: The L&T from David Lebovitz’s Drinking French. Here’s how to make one serving:
1 ½ ounces (45 ml) Lillet blanc
3 ounces (90 ml) cold tonic water
Half an orange wheel or a slice of cucumber, for garnish
Pour the Lillet and tonic water into a large goblet or tumbler. Add a handful of ice cubes and stir briefly. Garnish with the orange wheel half. (My extra suggestion: use a blood orange wheel to make it feel extra fancy.)My work piles up,
I falter with disease.
Time rushes toward me—
it has no brakes. Still,
the radishes are good this year.
Run them through butter,
add a little salt.
—Jim Harrison, “Zona”
Laura
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