10 things I want to share with you
I want a landline! And have we looked the same since 2003? Snooping on Venmo, and other random internet finds.
Who is Flo from Progressive? And is she — the she behind the cat-eye — happy about being consumed by one of the most famous commercial characters ever?
An interesting piece in Dazed about why we’ve been stuck in a loop of recycled trends for the past two decades. I delved into some of my own thoughts on this in October, during the fashion series.
The Venmo feed. Every once in a while, I’ll need to make a transaction — pay my drum teacher when I forgot to get cash, reimburse a friend for a ride or meal — and get on Venmo. And each time, I’m surprised and delighted to see the name of some old classmate or friend-of-a-friend on the feed. Venmo is, I think (and this guy thinks), the last great social networking app. While there is always a little bit of pretense (straight guys sending each other payments labeled as something obscene, vague emoji) there’s not much, compared to other apps. That creates an opportunity for unparalleled intimacy — a peek inside the quotidian habits and exchanges of my peers — and therefore excellent snooping material.
A very cool subscription service, called Stack, that sends you a new indie magazines every month. I miss my monthly teenage ritual of reading magazines cover to cover, back when they were still pretty good quality and not digital.
Sheila E ripping in a performance with Prince. And again with Tito Puente.
Growing up, I was constantly trying to convince my parents to let me get an old-fashioned corded phone for my room. Lately I’ve been dreaming of a landline, of a straightforward way to communicate without the onslaught of texts, voice memos, etc. that are usually required to get in touch with someone. But I only really want this if I can have a pastel one with a curly phone cord (the customer reviews are hilarious).
Thank you, MacGuffin Magazine, for showing us what’s in people’s drawers.
Also thrilled to learn of this duo of books, Where Children Sleep. Not at all creepy and in fact very fine for me to be so interested in this!!! I love seeing how children inhabit space, and the ways they attempt to personalize their surroundings, often in the most whimsical of ways. As a kid, I took piano lessons with a striking Argentine woman who smelled of cigarettes and espresso, and who let her daughter be very free. In the backyard, the young daughter had created a wonderful village among the tree roots and weeds for visiting fairies.
I came across this invigorating Ross Gay poem in my camera roll the other day, while thinking of all the grief various loved ones have been experiencing lately, while thinking of our collective grief and confusion.
Take good care,
Isa