Olympics Eve [#63]
Annyeonghaseyo,
The NPR Olympics coverage team is here and I tell ya, they don't call this the WINTER Olympics for nothing. We're facing a biting cold — 9 degrees Fahrenheit, and that's not accounting for the wind chill. I am going to have to do Korean sheet masks every night to keep my face from flaking off while I'm living out there in the Olympic Media Village. FACE MASK PARTY IN BUILDING BLOCK B, ERRYONE!
Reading
Facebook's blow to independent media in countries that desperately need independent media. Awl ends. Modern Republicanism and prion disease. Did despair drive the opioids epidemic, or was it because they were there? This is a longread about COPS, the TV show. How to condition mosquitoes to leave you alone. MeToo morphed into a more generalized revolution against patriarchy: that's the point! Korean beauty standards and writing about cultures that aren't your own. Um, I feel like this should go without saying but sex shouldn't physically hurt. That Mattress Firm store conspiracy. The most collaborative music genre is now America's most popular. Brad and Chad of white America. RIP Vince Maggio, who loved writing letters. Ursula Le Guin, gosh, she was just the best. Here's a Paris Review interview she gave that I enjoyed. Japan, you're too cute, even under 20cm of snow.
Work and Musings
Strains in the US-South Korea alliance. The robots working Pyeongchang. The Olympics preview podcast! Screwing around on the Settlers of Seoul podcast. Was followed around by Byron Harris for The Dallas Morning News, my hometown paper. (Or I guess it's technically The Plano Star-Courier? Is that still around?) Our 15-year-old cat, Cheese, died after a sudden illness. I keep feeling like he's still here and will show up any minute under my feet while I'm working.
Watching/Listening
Lovesick! Gaaaah Lovesick came back for a third season, which I devoured in one afternoon because it's just that delightful and hilarious and sweet. The weirdo Angus gets a lot more screen time this season and I think the show is better for it.
The Post. A touch too schmaltzy there, Steven Spielberg. But still worth watching.
"Pumping is like an Olympic sport, and I am an elite."
Recommendations
In this edition I will recommend socks, since layering up is really on my mind. To keep from losing feeling in my toes, my feet are wearing SmartWool socks throughout the Olympics. The really thick ones come in some wacky color combinations but honestly I don't care right now.
Stay cool (but keep warm),
E