Featuring: more music than usual!

BRAT, Charli XCX - Listen, Charli is someone I should have been listening to for years now but I didn’t until a comedian mentioned brat girl summer and I was like, yes, I should listen to that album. And then a week later Kamala claimed it (briefly? I don’t think they’re running with that anymore?) and my obsession went into overdrive. I love it. It’s delightfully Eurotrashy and dancey and too much in the best ways.

Lady music, generally - thinking about having a party and making a playlist that only has women such as Charli, Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, Carly Rae Jepsen, Beyonce, Robyn, what am I missing?!

Switched on Pop (podcast): I don’t subscribe to this one but I do occasionally find episodes of music I know and I very much loved the recent ones on both BRAT and Chappell Roan.

MOVIES ON PLANES, SPEED REVIEW EDITION

Reading Rainbow Documentary - oh my god, must watch! A

The Hit Man - charming, weird ending, made me appreciate Glen Powell just enough but not too much, sent me down a weird rabbit hole of Richard Linklater’s obsession with Texas Monthly articles. B+

Babes - fun and mostly forgettable! The perfect plane movie, though people may wonder why you’re laughing so much. B

Nyad (not on a plane, but while I had Covid, so felt similar?) - This movie excelled in both highlighting Diane Nyad’s accomplishments in open water swimming and also showing how much of an asshole she is. It wasn’t very good and I still teared up at the end? Honestly would rather see a movie about why she lies so much, that is a story!! C

OTHER STUFF, INCLUDING FOOD

• Made a cauliflower / chickpea / farro salad thing with green goddess herby dressing (paywalled recipe here, though the only part you’d really need is the dressing recipe, if you want it message me!). The dressing has tahini and I generally regret putting tahini in ANYTHING but something about the mix of the farro (cooked in better than bouillion instead of water) and dressing made it SO GOOD.

• (Those veggies were supposed to be roasted and I had to saute them because I think our oven is broken? COOL another dumb thing to deal with)

• Made a scuttlebutt sandwich (non paywalled recipe) using focaccia from here and it was worth the effort but only cause I was making it for a lot of people who hella appreciated it. You should put more pickled things on fresh bread. You’re welcome.

• This Everything Bagel Casserole is always a winner. Kind of want to make it this weekend with different cheeses. Worried the oven doesn’t work.

• THE DNC CONVENTION - I did not watch, unless you count watching on social media as something, which I do. I don’t like speeches! I don’t need to analyze them! Tim Walz was talking about how he’ll sleep when he’s dead and reader, I was SLEEPING. Sleep is great. I DID watch the last part of the last night because I thought BEYONCE would be there but instead I had to half-watch Kamala talk about how lethal our military will be while people chanted USA and it was…not my favorite look of hers! Not to mention completely shutting out the Uncommitted Group of Voters, which is not a small group of people in a contentious election.

• Hacks, Season 3: this show is good, the end. You should watch it.

• Station Eleven, the novel and the series: I read the book on vacation and it was great, though different, so then I had to watch the show again and I think they made good changes for the most part!

POTENTIAL FUTURE WRITINGS

• On having a body that likes to run

• School choice is a minefield / my baby is starting kindergarten and I have feelings about the system

• On noticing small pieces of art everywhere

• On budgeting vacation time

• On hanging on by a thread because you don’t have time to do all the things

• Tips on How to Panic Buy New Appliances (actually, can one of you write this and send it to me)

TWO OF THESE IN A MONTH, I promise it won’t happen again!!