good things 04.02.26
neighbors, coke zero addiction, northern sky
hope you weren’t an april fool yesterday!
1. the inaugural good things salon
i’ve never thought of myself as a “natural” gatherer. i’ve always been more of a devoted attendee / captain of the vibes committee type. i thought i didn’t like hosting, but it turns out what i actually don’t like is LOGISTICS. i don’t like figuring out where to go, how to divide up groups, how much time to spend on each question, enforcing the run of show, etc. all of that task-related work is very unappealing to me. but the more creative work — what we should talk about, how a party should feel, what makes for the best combination of people, what the goal of the night is — that’s very enjoyable to me. and hosting is a delicate balance between the two! as i am learning.
that being said, i think the first salon was a success! i was a little stressed, but i had so much fun and i think the fabulous and brave attendees did too. prima was a perfect venue, it was a breezy 70 degree spring night, and we had some great conversations about what happens when we gather in groups. i was afraid it would be too meta but it ended up being the perfect topic for the first one. and i’m planning to do it again at the end of april! if you were too chicken to come to the first one, you should grow up and get to Prima. topic TBD — suggestions welcome! and thank you again to the inaugural cohort ❤️ feedback from you all VERY welcome!
2. neighbors (HBO)
this is, without question, the most batshit television show ever made. each episode is so much crazier than the last that by the time you get to the finale, the pilot seems like child’s play. things are certainly not looking good for america and its citizens. everyone wants to kill each other with a gun (and might) over two square inches of grass. but thank god we have RING CAMERAS so that americans can film their neighbors endlessly and then upload the content onto social media in hopes of monetizing their disputes. it’s actually… so incredibly dark. however, the complete crash out that the guy in the final episode has over his crush not answering his texts is the most accurate depiction of that feeling in the history of culture.
3. an ice cold can of coke zero
i have talked about this before but i’m going to repeat myself: i’ve never understood diet coke addicts. cracking open a can of pop at 9 in the morning? are you out of your mind? the answer, i’ve come to find out, is NO! they’re not out of their minds. and i could only come to this conclusion after becoming an addict myself. coke zero tastes exactly like regular coke, something i don’t allow myself to drink because i’m not a child and i don’t want diabetes, but there’s zero anything in it. aside from some kind of poison, of course. anyways, i feel itchy just writing this. i love you coca cola ce ce ce cerooooo
4. seeing greta gerwig walking down 5th ave
i was having one of those days where i felt like a big fat failure creatively and was judging every thought that came into my mind at work as the dumbest thing that anyone’s ever conjured. so when later that day, by chance, i saw greta gerwig walking a dog with what i assume was her assistant, my reaction was to shout ‘oh my god’ and then burst into tears. i wish i was kidding; i’m unfortunately a caricature. in my four years living in new york, i’ve not been brazen enough to ask a celebrity for a selfie. but if i’d had my wits about me, i would’ve made an exception here. i’d go: “GRETA I JUST WATCHED MAGGIE’S PLAN!!! YOU ARE MY ICON!!!! PLEASE TAKE A PICTURE WITH ME!”
5. “Could the Girls of Camp Mystic Have Been Saved?” by Kerry Howley (New York Magazine)
taking quite a turn here but if there’s one thing you read that i’ve recommended in the last few months — please let it be this. it’s among the most affecting pieces of journalism i have ever read. the haunting, enraging, and gutting story of the texas girls camp that flooded last summer and the parents grappling with the loss of their children. how do you deal with the fact that something so unimaginably awful just didn’t have to happen? this story really illuminates the answer to that. there are a couple lines in here — particularly about one dad, matthew childress — that i’ll never be able to forget.
“It became clear early on that not all the parents would move through their pain in the same way. There would be parents who could not get out of bed. There would be parents who turned to religion. Matthew’s grief was directed outward. He wanted information. He wanted to know. He learned that he had sent his daughter to a camp situated on a 100-mile stretch of land with thin, rocky soil and bedrock that did not absorb rising water; he learned that this stretch was called “flash-flood alley.” He learned that the camp itself was situated at the confluence of the Guadalupe River and Cypress Creek, making it particularly susceptible; he learned that cabins were washed away when it flooded in 1932 and that it had weathered major floods in 1978 and 1987, when ten children died evacuating from a neighboring camp. He learned that in 1984, because of flooding to which everyone had apparently become accustomed, Tweety was airlifted from the property so she could give birth to Edward, her fourth son; for years, Edward was called, as a result, “Chopper.” Matthew learned with a growing sense of horror that Camp Mystic had appealed to FEMA in 2013, 2019, and 2020 to reclassify 30 structures listed as lying in a floodplain. FEMA granted the appeals.”
6. gap pajama shorts
the concept of sleeping in a pair of pants makes about as much sense to me as using a rock for a pillow. why would someone choose such discomfort? there’s no limit to the number of pajama shorts i can and will buy, and nobody does it like the gap. my favorite ones are on sale right now too.
7. northern sky by nick drake
northern sky by nick drake randomly came on shuffle the other day and it stopped me in my tracks, not just because it’s a great song (it is), but because it immediately evokes serendipity and the iconic final scene. this song puts me in some kind of trance and i have to spend the next three minutes and forty two seconds doing the most pathological yearning known to mankind.
♡good thing from a good person♡
it’s a great day because we have a GOOD THING FROM A GOOD PERSON for the first time in way too long. this one is from my dear friend and one of the smartest people i know, sophie crane. i’m in the market for a new phone and this is REALLY swaying me toward a dumbphone…
Exceedingly excited to be writing something that will go in my favorite newsletter (thank you, Lucie!!!). Even more excited to tell you all about the thing I can’t stop telling everyone about. And in newsletter form, I can’t see everyone rolling their eyes! So at the risk of sounding incredibly sanctimonious, I would like to introduce you to my new phone, the Mudita Kompakt.
Like everyone else I’ve had iPhones forever. Every time one broke or it was time to upgrade, I just...did it. I never really thought about it, and I always liked it. But recently there has been so. much. bad. news. about smartphones. Social media addiction. Mental health issues. The algorithm stealing from you. All the research on body image. The end of local news. Misinformation. Cyberbullying. Revenge porn. Clavicular (which, I know, not really a smartphone thing but also YES A SMARTPHONE THING). The fact that some little boys are now watching porn as early as age 7 because of smartphone access?!!? Maybe this is overblowing it, but I dunno, I just started to get really fed up. To me, at least, having a smartphone is starting to feel like smoking cigarettes. Everyone used to smoke cigarettes! And it was fun and social and cool! But then it turned out it was really, really dangerous. Now we don’t do it so much except maybe after a party when you’re a little drunk every once in a blue moon. For me, at least, that’s where I am with smartphones. I have a toddler, and I want him to grow up knowing that even without a smartphone a happy, full life is possible.
But I also work on the internet for a living. I make podcasts (that’s how I know Lucie, one of my all time favorite people to work). And I did need SOME basic functionality, so I felt like I couldn’t go full flip-phone. But I just couldn’t stomach shelling out $1,000+ to Apple yet again.
Enter the Mudita Kompakt. It’s made by a clock and watch design company in Poland, and it’s really, really beautiful. It feels good in your hand, and it looks like a little Kindle. It’s about the size of an iPhone mini, with an e-ink screen. It can text, it can call, and it has a few apps: alarm, calculator, chess, meditation, notes, voice recorder, music player, weather, maps, a kind of terrible camera, etc. I also added a podcast app! The thing I like the best is that it has a lovely little e-reader, where you can download e-books and read them. Now whenever I find myself pulling out my phone to kill time or because I can’t sleep, instead of scrolling social media endlessly I just...read! It’s great! I’ve read way more books in the last few months than I had in the past few years. Also, my phone bill is $10/mo. TEN DOLLARS! It used to be SEVENTY. Think about how many more firetruck related toys I can buy for my firetruck obsessed two year old. (Also I want to be clear: for me this isn’t an anti-screen thing. I love Top Chef and my two year old loves Thomas The Tank Engine and we both still watch those on the TV and I don’t feel guilty or conflicted about that in the least. I’m not a luddite!)
There are a few downsides, but I think there are fairly easy work-arounds:
1 - Camera. The Mudita camera is not a good one. I use it for taking pictures of receipts I need to get reimbursed for at work, but that’s about all it’s good for.
2 - Maps. Google Maps is a truly great app. I miss having it readily accessible.
3 - Uber/Lyft. Sometimes you need to Uber!
4 - Travel. Airports are stressful enough on their own, don’t want to add any additional friction by not being able to surf the internet and rebook flights, etc.
5 - Banking. My bank needs a smartphone for things like depositing checks. Plus, venmo.
Workarounds:
Camera: my husband bought me a little point and shoot that he got on eBay for a couple hundred dollars and the photo quality is SO MUCH BETTER than the iPhone. Also it takes photos underwater! I had no idea what I was missing out on, but it’s so fun, and my toddler loves it, and it seems to be indestructible, and it makes taking photos feel way more special.
Maps/Uber/Air Travel/Banking: These are the few things that really do require a smartphone. My workaround is a tiny, cheap Android phone (a Jelly Star) that I keep without a SIM card and use only when I need it. It has Google Maps, Uber, and my banking apps, and works on WiFi. I mostly keep it in my car with downloaded maps for driving, and grab it when I’m traveling or need to do something like deposit a check. The Mudita can hotspot if I need connection on the go, so between the two devices, everything works, it just takes a tiny bit more intention. Easy.
Basically everything can also be done on your computer. I still have social media and all the rest, I need it for work! And sometimes for fun! It’s just on my computer. And honestly, it’s helped separate my working time from the rest of my life, because now I’m not constantly carrying around my work in my pocket. Annoying sometimes, but on the whole, wonderful. I feel so much more present than I used to, especially when I’m with my kid.
So yes, I now have three devices, and if you add up the cost, we’re probably getting closer to an iPhone. And yeah, my life is slightly less convenient than it was in my smartphone days. And my husband is probably sick of hearing me talk about it. But every time I use my Mudita it feels like a bit of a middle finger to social media / smartphone culture and all the rest, and that feeling is priceless.
see you next week!!! i’m feeling really good about april guys.
dumb phone is very interesting!