You guys! It’s the WEEKEND!
– It’s been a very surreal week in Los Angeles in the wake of Kobe Bryant’s death. Many people seem to be having a mini-life-crisis, and I cannot blame them, simply because it was so sudden, so shocking, so heartbreaking for so many people, and simply not the way any of us thought his story would end. (As I said to the people in my life, I had very complicated feelings about Kobe and I still felt shell-shocked and stunned. I saw multiple newscasters cry on air in Los Angeles on Sunday, which I’d never seen before in my entire life.) There has been a lot of writing grappling with the complicated issue of eulogizing a man who meant a lot to so many people, for different reasons and in different ways, who did good things, who was a superstar, who meant a great deal to a city, and whose life story also includes a rape accusation. I thought Charles Pierce’s piece at Esquire was worth a read, primarily because Pierce is an excellent writer; I also found this piece in Slate, which is an interview with Lindsay Gibbs, who writes often about sexism in sports, to be interesting and more concrete. I also recommend this piece at The Undefeated by J.A. Adande. I am sure I’ve missed other worthwhile pieces; please feel free to share in the comments, as always.
– In a massive tonal segue: Do you need a new weekend bag? I rounded some up.
– Also, we got to go to the press preview for the Oscars Governor’s Ball this morning — that’s the official afterparty — and it was interesting and fun! It’s in stories in our Insta at the moment!
– This was a really interesting (and sad) piece about the recent fire at New York’s Museum of Chinese in America.
– At Lainey, they’re NOT pulling their punches with GOOP: The Goop Lab is mercenary and cynical snake oil.
–At WaPo: Inside the messy, awkward, occasionally successful dating scene on the campaign trail. There is AT LEAST one novel in this.
– Semi-related, at the NYT: A Classic Midwestern Dish Becomes a Talking Point in Iowa
– Also at Lainey, I’m always here for NEW ROMANTICAL CELEBRITY DRAMA, like: Lena Waithe…and Cynthia Erivo?! (The body language in those pics does seem telling, to me.)
– Over at Celebitchy, this headline does seem true: Jessica Simpson kissed Justin Timberlake in 2006 & he was a douche about it. (She’s amusing in the story and WHAT IS SHE WEARING?!)
– This is so interesting, at Texas Monthly (my favorite magazine? Despite being a Californian): The Secret Oil Patch Roots of ‘Summer Breeze’
– Vulture wonders: What Happens in the Mirror Universe Where Nicole Kidman Wins Best Actress for Moulin Rouge?
– At Socialite Life, it’s very sweet to me that Brad Pitt wore his name tag at the Oscars luncheon.
– At Londonist: Medieval Cesspit Discovered Beneath The Courtauld Gallery At Somerset House. (“You’re a medieval cesspit” is a great insult. Also I feel like I JUST realized that a “cesspit” is a literal thing and not just an evocative turn of phrase.)
