tiny cocktails and mushy peas
I traveled to Brighton for work last week. On the plane rides there and back I finished Mary Roach’s Gulp and made a respectable dent in Antkind, a book by Charlie Kaufman that Francis Ford Coppola shared on his Instagram a few weeks back. I’m loving it so far.
I also watched 3 films on the 2 flights: Priscilla, Napoleon, and Poor Things. I was really looking forward to Priscilla, huge Sofia Coppola fan that I am, and let’s just say it wasn’t my favorite Sofia Coppola movie. I couldn’t stop thinking about Elvis Presley’s GI woes as included in one chapter of Gulp, which I’d just finished. So maybe that was partly it. I enjoyed Napoleon and loved Poor Things (not surprising, considering how much I enjoyed The Lobster).
Other than work stuff, I enjoyed so much yummy vegan food in Brighton—still my favorite city for vegan food, with Seattle a close second—and was charmed, and slightly intoxicated, by the tiny cocktail.
Speaking of vegan food, back home this past long weekend, I finally made it to IKEA’s Saluhall in San Francisco and tried all the vegan options (Casa Borinquena, which I enjoyed for the first time at the Mindful Eating Film & Food Festival 3 summers ago, La Venganza, and Snoberg).
The trailer for Nightbitch dropped a couple of days ago. I cannot wait to (read and) see it. Went down a bit of a Rachel Yoder rabbit hole after watching the trailer and, if you’re into the themes of this newsletter, you’ll probably dig what she says in this interview about underachieving as well (this is pretty good, too, although I’m not sure how I feel about the idea that Millenials aren’t experiencing the “trope” of midlife crisis in the same way previous generations did…midlife is long, give it time, I say).
Spotted another example of the mobile business model on the way to an adventure ride of sorts a couple of weekends ago, this one for cocktails and such at weddings and other events. I love this idea and still think it might one day be a way for me to run a cafe/gallery/reading room without the insane overhead of a brick & mortar storefront.
New foster alert! This is Otto. He was found in an auto body shop here in Oakland. After nearly 6 days in our care, he’s done with his URI meds and gaining confidence every day. He’s a super sweet little guy.
Speaking of shelter animals, Oakland Animal Services just kicked off Bad Art 5! For a donation of $50 you can get a digital pet portrait (for $125 you can get a physical artwork). I’m not participating this year—alas, so stupid busy—but I had a blast last year and look forward to seeing what this year’s “bad” artists come up with.
Speaking of animals more generally, I’m happy to report that the greatest show on earth is even better without the use of circus animals. I took my daughter and a friend (my first visit to the Oakland Arena…not sure how that’s possible after living here so long) this past weekend and other than the overpriced lemonade and popcorn, had a blast.
Finally this week, Mike Monteiro, cofounder and design director at interactive design studio Mule Design, answered a question on his newsletter last week that also serves as a nice follow-up to the comfort zone topic I pondered in my last newsletter update: how to enjoy sucking at things.
“Children cannot draw for shit. And yet… they do not care. Which is what makes their drawings amazing.”
What do you enjoy sucking at these days?