it’s frigid out there! this appears to be true across the board this week. it snowed in new york for the first time since i moved here nearly 2 years ago. most of it was a ‘wintry mix’ of freezing rain. gross! here are some good things to warm your freezing cold hearts.
1. the great lake jumper
this guy has been doing the sickest possible flips into lake michigan every single day since june 13, 2020. rain, snow, polar vortex be damned — he will be canon balling. i’m especially stunned by his commitment to the bit this week, when the morning air temp at the lake was -5 degrees. his name is daniel t. o’conor and he is an icon. they only make people like this in chicago!
2. on the media episode about israeli tv news
this was a thought-provoking listen about state of tv news in israel right now and how the war is being depicted there. plus, i loved hearing from masha gessen at the end, talking about their piece in the new yorker last year on the politics of memory. a really good read ICYMI: In the Shadow of the Holocaust
3. sour candy salad
i wish i was kidding when i say that i watched this video slack-jawed with drool running down my face. there is nothing more delicious than sour candy!!! i love each and every one of these types that she’s using to make a ‘candy salad’. what a perfect concept. i watched this twice and then tik tok kept serving me videos of a swedish candy store called bon bon in new york, which i now must make a pilgrimage to. if ingesting vast amounts of sugar this way is what kills me, so be it.
4. killers of the flower moon (apple tv+)
since this is 3.5 hours long and i have the attention span of the rat from that experiment that keeps getting shocked by the lever he’s pressing because he forgets that it will shock him, i watched this in a few separate chunks. very good film! i need some companion reading pieces though — i didn’t seek out enough context before watching and i wish i had.
5. true detective: night country premiere
it’s like that one joan didion quote says, ‘we watch prestige HBO limited series in order to live.’ people keep saying america is ‘more divided than ever,’ but i don’t think they are remembering the way we all come together to watch a show that comes out weekly on sunday nights. and i actually think the loss of this ritual via the streaming age is one of the reasons we’re all so fractured these days. ANYWAYS, episode one of the new season of true detective kicks off at a scientific research center in alaska, where the entire team disappears one night without a trace, aside from a rogue tongue that was ostensibly cut out of someone’s mouth. i don’t have even the slightest guess as to what is going on. is ferris bueller’s day off a clue? are they all faking it? what’s going on with dudley from harry potter’s mom? i can’t wait to see what happens.
6. search engine: when do you know it’s time to stop drinking?
another very good ep of search engine. they use dry january as the hook, but it’s really just a great conversation with writer a.j. daulerio about addiction and grace. daulerio is a fantastic storyteller, and pj a great interviewer, and the ~50 minute conversation had me fully sucked in. i’m sure there was editing involved but i’m continually impressed with the way this show balances narrative, multi-POV stories with simple, knockout two-ways.
7. clownlifeizzi on instagram
i love following this cartoonist on instagram. she makes lovely little comics that are very earnest and often make me choke up. kind of reminds me of roz chast. which also reminds me how much i love graphic novels. anyone got a good rec?
and now…
i present a new good things series called: good thing from a good person!
i know a lot of good people and i want to force them to share their good things with this newsletter. so i’m starting a new series at the end of each entry where i solicit one good thing from a reader.
up first: an entry from my brilliant big brother, tommy sullivan! if you’ve ever had the pleasure of reading anything tommy has written — even just a text — you know he has a way with words. i really think he should start his own newsletter. maybe this will light a fire under him! ok, here it is, the very first good thing from a good person:
hello there lucie fans! i am one of lucie's 3 older bros, my name is tom, and i've been invited to make a guest appearance on good things! i'm loving this lowercase writing already, what a thrill!
here's my good thing - frank's red hot buffalo wing sauce
i've tried all the buffalo sauces that mariano's or the jewels has to offer, and i've yet to taste one that beats frank's red bot buffalo wing sauce. sounds silly but it's truly the best. with the taylor swift-sponsored nfl playoffs in full swing, do yourself a favor and go get some, and then make yourself buffalo chicken dip in the instant pot. it's crazy simple, and you will be everyone's favorite person at the party. even the dads brads and chads that are complaining about taylor swift being at the game will have to shut up and eat the buffalo chicken dip. ("grrr!!! why is this woman interrupting my football game!! i tune in every week for 3 hours of commercials and 15 minutes of game action, and i cannot tolerate the shots of taylor swift after each incomplete screen pass! and by god if she acts like every single other fan in the stadium and starts cheering for her boyfriend, i'm turning this shit off!" - i'm guessing that's what brad/dad/chad is saying right now)
buffalo chicken dip in the instant pot:
- 1 lb chicken (get tenderloins since they're easier to shred)
- 1 cup of water
- 3/4 cup ranch
- 3/4 cup shredded colby jack, 3/4 cup shredded cheddar
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 stalks green onions, chopped
Add the water, chicken, buff sauce, and ranch to the instant pot and pressure cook for 10 minutes. After the 10 mins is up, let it naturally release for 5 min, and then release the valve. Remove the chicken and shred it, then add it back to the pot along with the cream cheese and shredded cheese, turn on saute mode, and stir it up until it's all good and mixed. Take it out, sprinkle more cheese, add the chopped green onion, and serve to dad/brad/chad.
that’s all this week! if you’d like to submit an entry for the good thing from a good person series, let me know. i’ll be soliciting the first few from some chosen ambassadors, but i’d love to get submissions. you can even write in proper caps!
xoxo
Valentine’s Day candy is superior to all other holiday candies I will be taking no questions at this time
frank's red hot buffalo wing sauce is the bomb haha. Tell your brother I agree.