Costco Vacations and Costco Pants [#104]
My "cruise on land" was already excellent, then Sheng Wang started talking about Kirkland brand pants
Last month I got $200 in Costco gift cards in the mail, as part of the already ridiculous all-inclusive Costco vacation package we bought in the summer for a trip to Playa del Carmen and its eco theme park, Xcaret. As if I wasn’t sold on Costco already, this was like finding money in your pants when they come out of the dryer!
Speaking of pants, Taiwanese-American comedian Sheng Wang’s Netflix comedy special is out, and he opens with a bit about Costco’s Kirkland brand attire and I will say no more. Please go watch it.
Reading
Will Putin actually use “tactical” nuclear weapons? It turns out cops are killing a bunch of people with their CARS, too. Elon Musk has too much power. I enjoyed all the dragging of “Wife Guys,” dudes who put their wives on a pedestal but fail to see them as actual people.
On my nightstand is Our Missing Hearts, Celeste Ng’s latest. And as a companion I read this, on the mixed race Asian as a metaphor in books. Relevant to my interests: The best and worst drive-thrus, according to data science. Also relevant: The benefits of doing absolutely nothing. Forget Fat Bear week, let’s search for the best mullet in America.
Werk Werk Werk
A conversation with parenting whisperer, Dr. Becky, about connection-first parenting. (We also did an Insta-live together with audience questions.) How NPR’s Tiny Desk became a surprisingly great curator of hip hop music. What’s up with therapy speak becoming part of everyday language? A rerun of a conversation about NOT assimilating, and the costs of trying to do so.
Watch and/or Listen
Shankar Vendantam’s TED Talk, which just came out. This talk happens to be about my strongest-held belief: That the people we were 10 years ago are strangers to us, and similarly, the people we will be in 10 years are just as foreign, making it impossible to know what our future selves will want. A related TED talk I also love: Dan Gilbert on the psychology of your future self.
Korean cooking guru Maangchi! This woman is a delight. (h/t Friend Sarah)
The Sheng Wang Netflix special, natch.
As always, send your comments, complaints, quips and recommendations anytime!
I’m off to Costco,
E