Time to Numb the Mind, Again
Black Cake, Euphoria, Our Flag Means Death, Japanese street photography & more.
Hello there,
Well, here we are! There’s a new, horrific war raging as we cross the two-year mark of coronavirus fully arriving in the US. Globally, there’s still seemingly no real end in sight to the pandemic as the virus hits some island nations for the first time. I’ve been finding it harder to cope with the new onslaught of news, so here’s what I’ve been using as a distraction.
Watch
I only recently got into Euphoria on HBO, because the premise sounded so unappealing: a bunch of problematic, drug-addled California teenagers navigating high school. It’s not a perfect show; it’s written by a white dude with reportedly no writers room, so most of the women are oversexualized, there’s far too much nudity and too many graphic scenes, and the characters of color aren’t as fleshed out as they could be. That said, all of the actors are wonderful, especially Zendaya, who’s a revelation; after every episode I’d think: “I can’t wait for her to EGOT.” And the script, while incredibly dark and sometimes a little preachy, is also compelling. The second season just ended, so you can do a full binge. I guarantee it will keep you distracted.
I just started watching Our Flag Means Death, also on HBO, because I will watch everything that Taika Waititi does and also will watch anything that has to do with pirates. It’s a comedy loosely based on the true story of the so-called Gentleman Pirate and his crew. It’s light, funny, and sweet with a bunch of fun cameos — just what the doctor ordered.
And while I can’t exactly say I’d recommend doing this, I’ve been watching all three versions of Love is Blind on Netflix when I’ve been feeling so depleted by the news that I need to actually fry my brain cells. There’s the new second season in the US, the Brazilian version, and the Japanese version. All of the shows are very dumb, and what they mostly drive home is that there’s a reason some hot people have trouble finding love — they have terrible personalities. But it’s really interesting to see the big cultural differences in the three countries, especially Japan, and I enjoyed being able to continue to pick up vocabulary watching the Japanese version.
Read
I just finished Charmaine Wilkerson's debut novel Black Cake, a wonderful multigenerational tale that takes place in Jamaica, the UK, and California. There’s a lot of family mystery and intrigue that unwinds at a steady pace, and the short chapters actually kept me hooked for longer stretches. It’s a compelling, fast read that will also make you crave cake.
See the full list of recommendations of things to watch and read.
Follow
Instagram has been suggesting lots of Japanese photography accounts to me recently, and I’ve enjoyed following photographer Chihiro Asai’s bright, saturated city scenes and Shun the sunset photographer’s light-soaked urban shots.
Do
I’ve almost entirely whittled down my citrus surplus by making lemon juice ice cubes, freezing lemon zest, poorly attempting to preserve a few lemons, and by making a whole bunch of Smitten Kitchen’s grapefruit olive oil cakes. I used the recipe from one of her books, but this recipe she has on her site is fairly similar. I make it with the syrup, but without the glaze, so it’s slightly healthier.
Until next time,
Rachel