Well. What a week. 2021 came in….very hot. Hope you’re hanging in there, but it’s understandable if you’re not. I can’t even really segue here — how does one say, “anyway, we’re in a plague and also had a treasonous insurrection this week! Here’s some stuff to read!”? I guess just like that.
Here’s some stuff to read:
If you need some soft pants — and don’t we all? — I rounded some up for you.
We also talked about our most soothing binge watches.
And had a really nice and hopefully helpful conversation about how we’re managing our mental and emotional health right now.
And also discussed any New Year’s resolutions or goals we may have set for 2021.
At The New Yorker: Trump Must Be Held Accountable
This made my blood run cold. Wednesday was an absolute nightmare. At the New York Times: ‘Senate Being Locked Down’: Inside a Harrowing Day at the Capitol
Always read Evette Dionne, whose piece at The Cut this week is particularly great: American Amnesia.
At Vox: The fantasy-industrial complex gave us the Capitol Hill insurrection
This is an amazing piece, also the New York Times: Now It Can Be Told: How Neil Sheehan Got the Pentagon Papers
At Lainey: Are Harry Styles and Olivia Wild dating?!?!?!?!!? Do we think this is a real relationship? (I will say that I don’t think Harry Styles NEEDS a PR relationship.)
Good question, at NY Mag: How on Earth Are They Going to Pull Off the Olympics?
Deliciously logistics-y: Where the Superrich Store Their Art to Avoid Taxes [Town and Country]
Also providing great logistics is this fascinating interview with Bridgerton’s intimacy coordinator, at Vulture. (Spoilers for Bridgerton, which I have not yet watched, but I will get to it!)
An amazing long read about Zora Neale Hurston, at the Bitter Southerner
Super interesting, at the New York Times Magazine: ‘Bollywood Wives’ Is an Accidental Documentary About India’s Gilded Class
I sincerely agree with this, as I am currently writing this from my own bed, where I often work: Working From Bed Is Actually Great. [NYT]
This piece, at Grub Street, was so good: The very real, totally bizarre bucatini shortage of 2020.
We were recently talking about the fact that Hattie McDaniel should have a biopic, and I’m excited it’s happening: The Incredible Raven Goodwin Is Set To Star As Hattie McDaniel In Upcoming Biopic! [The Curvy Fashionista]
I’ve been waiting for this: Cassie’s Coats on The Flight Attendant, Ranked [Vulture]
I want to try ALL of these: Fort Worth’s Martin House Brewing Company Is Making the Weirdest Beer in Texas. Sour pickle beer!! [Texas Monthly]
Also at Lainey, this is a really interesting piece about Sia and her relationship with Maddie Ziegler, which definitely seems odd on Sia’s side.
No pun intended, but this was a hell of a ride: How SoulCycle lost its soul [Vox]
Ugh, this is awful: Designer Who Went Viral for Prison Fashion Show Punished With 9 Months of Solitary Confinement [Complex]
This is useful, over at Pajiba: 2021 Films Directed by Women to Look Out For
This is the kind of dumb-ass drama I need right now: Influencers Feuding After Both Naming Their Babies ‘Baby’ [The Cut]
Great, at The Ringer: The Nirvana of Ben Affleck
At The Daily Beast: Watching Alex Trebek’s Last ‘Jeopardy!’ as America Crumbles
This entire thing was wild. The latest, at Celebitchy: Hilaria Baldwin is starting to lose sponsorships because of her fake Spanish act
I’ll leave you with this, as it is cute: Imperial penguins hopping down the stairs is what we all need right now. [Socialite Life]
I’m also excited to start listening to The Costume Plot, a new podcast all about costume design. Sarah Timm, of one the hosts (and a Fug National), described it to me thusly: “My friend and I (she’s also a costumer) each pick a movie and present it to each other, discussing the costume design in it. Think My Favorite Murder but instead of true crime cases we talk costuming!” I AM IN.
