Oh the Summer Nights [#142]
Travel hacks, a thing that brings me dread, and a thing that brings me joy.
Hey, so anything going on lately? [insert eyes emoji]
We’ve got a politics heavy edition of the Hu’s Letter today, so scroll down past the Reading section if you want to avoid it.
Welp. We witnessed two men forcefully arguing about who was better at golf. One of them has long been incoherent, the other, while accomplishing a lot during his presidency, seems to deny he’s sundowning. I find the Biden administration’s denialism of what we saw with our eyes, and all the polling following his catastrophic debate, troubling at best. If our very democracy is at risk of falling into the hands of an aspiring despot, one whose Supreme Court justices have already made tremendous, generations-changing impact, then the greatest risk for the opposing party is to do nothing about it.
Reading
A landslide for the Labour Party in the UK, and every time there’s a change of power there, I’m stunned by its swiftness. A funny take on the new PM, Keir “Fifty Shades of Beige” Starmer. The differences between US and UK newsrooms can partly explain why the Washington Post is being roiled. Biden pardoned LGBTQ veterans convicted under the gay-sex ban. A helpful explainer of our AI haunted world. Abercrombie has somehow become cool again, by unbranding itself. On my nightstand: Toward Eternity, a debut novel by the award-winning literary translator Anton Hur.
Werk and Musings
A conversation with author Glynnis MacNichol about her liberating time of sex with strangers and eating whatever she wanted in France, and we dive deep into a non-pageant pageant for American girls with Shima Oliaee.
And I weighed in with my favorite travel gear, as well as travel tips, for
by . What I wear for days of planes, trains and automobiles, and how I pack for me and the three daughters into two carry-ons, all the link below.What I’m enjoying most about co-hosting Forever 35 is actually the lowest lift — the casual chats. In the latest one, we discuss my old nicknames and figure out why Doree’s been waking up in the middle of the night. Join our Patreon for $5/month for bonus episodes, monthly pop culture recs, and obviously — the weekly casual chats.
Watch and/or Listen
As an elder millennial whose perpetual outrage is boomers who won’t just retire or share any wealth, I’m very excited about this new six-part “true crime” podcast called Boom! It unpacks how the Boomer generation blew up American politics.
This is a thing that brought me a lot of joy. A couple friends of mine sing in the Angel City Chorale, and I learned this group went pretty far in America’s Got Talent several years back. Their rendition of Toto’s Africa slaps.
Recommendations
These lightweight folding chairs from Big Lots for picnics, the sidelines of soccer games, or the beach.
If you’re holding a potluck, there’s a site to organize it! Who knew? Not me, until last week. Perfect Potluck.
We’ve made it past the summer solstice now and are firmly in Cancer season, so happy birthday to all the Cancer crabbies, including my besties Sarah and Dr. Jenn, our middle daughter Isa, and one of my fave people, Hot Rob.
Until next time,
E
I'm so afraid Biden is going to RBG us into Trump 2.0 unless some adult children sit him down for the brutal conversation about why he can't have the car keys anymore. Happy Final Fourth!