Hello there,
Globally, things continue to be so uniquely terrible that I’m considering taking push alerts off my phone. Some silver linings this week: COVID vaccines were approved in the US for children five and younger, people are using pee to replace chemical fertilizers, and a promising monsoon season has begun in the drought-stricken Southwest. We got a thunderstorm today after weeks of oven-like weather and I nearly wept with joy as it swept through.
Watch
Aside from the new season of Borgen that I’ve been slowly savoring, I feel like I’ve been scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as things to watch.
So when I found Navalny on HBO and decided to give it a go, I was surprised by what an incredibly wild ride it was, including a significant guest appearance from a well-known forensic journalist. I was skeptical it was going to be a hagiography of a questionable politician who just happens to be one of very few outspoken Russian opposition figures. And to be honest, some of it is. But it’s legitimately fascinating, and there was a scene that had me screaming at the TV it seemed so unreal.
Read
Butter Honey Pig Bread is a quick and really satisfying read that had me in tears multiple times. It’s the story of a rift between Nigerian twin sisters who move abroad and end up back home with their troubled mother. It’s beautifully written with a thread of magical realism throughout. It’s a debut novel from a small printer, and I wish more people would read it. The only thing I didn’t love was the title, which combines the book’s section titles.
See the full list of recommendations here.
Follow
I may have mentioned before that I for some reason love screaming huskies, and may have at some point shared the Dumb Huskies account. Through that account, I found Moon the Husky, who has seemingly full conversations with his humans. It’s weird and delightful.
Do
A large number of people I know who managed to avoid COVID so far — or got it really early on in the pandemic — are getting it now. I had a really bad headache this time around that lasted for days, so I really recommend getting a freezable eye mask. They’re pretty inexpensive and you can get them on Amazon and from the big box stores.
If you’re looking for a meaty Sunday read, this story about Houston’s collaborative approach to reducing homelessness is really good. One of the main takeaways goes beyond housing: if governments and organizations and businesses figured out better ways to cooperate, imagine what might be possible.
Until next time,
Rachel