Weekend links, January 7
Try it, you'll like it.
As promised, here’s my short, sweet, and hopefully enjoyable weekend links post, where I’ll recommend (about) five things to read or listen to or eat or whatever, and then also provide links to what I’ve been up to. (This week’s is a little longer because I’m catching up.)
Five for the weekend
Read: Zadie Smith on Tár, which happens to be my favorite film of the year, and especially the Gen X-ness of Lydia Tár, the titular (anti)heroine. Smith is essential and this piece is so good.
Also read: I haven’t quite finished it yet, but I’ve been engrossed in Alison Bechdel’s The Secret to Superhuman Strength, a graphic memoir (from the author of Fun Home) about her lifelong obsession with athleticism and fitness — but also about using physical activity to outrun your emotions, and about historical people who dovetail with her story.
If you’re doing Dry January, or even if you’re not: As a lover of Bitter Things, I quite like Ghia, the bitter-orange non-alcoholic “aperitif” that I like to splash into soda water or whatever for a bit of zhuzh. But a while ago I bought some cans of Ghia Spritz (kind of a pre-mixed non-alcoholic cocktail), and the Lime and Salt one has been a big hit around here. Sometimes you just want something fun and fancy, right?
Eat: Rancho Gordo corona beans.
Crush: Garlic, that is. Tom got me this Gracula Garlic Twist Crusher for Christmas and I used it for the first time recently and it was splendid. No parts to break, hilarious vampire design.
What I’ve been up to (most of December edition)
Explained Noah Baumbach’s kooky but a little baffling White Noise adaptation, which is now on Netflix.
Wrote about Damien Chazelle’s go-for-broke Babylon.
Talked to some comedy legends and asked what happens if comedies fall out of favor at the movie theater.
Was pleased that Avatar: The Way of Water, which is … fine … is also a blockbuster that remembers that film is a visual medium.
Asked why Hallmark-adjacent Christmas movies are all about “magic” and “miracles” but don’t really contain any.
Implored you to watch the newly crowned Greatest Movie of All Time, and also not to know anything going in (except maybe the runtime).
Picked the best movies of 2022.
Talked with Today, Explained about why you should just stop watching movie trailers already.
Guest-hosted Vox’s The Gray Area podcast and talked with my friend Katelyn Beaty about the trouble with Christian celebrities.
While we are here, may I once again plug my book Salty: Lessons on Eating, Drinking, and Living from Revolutionary Women?
Enjoyed this? If you’re feeling it, I won’t object if you buy me a cup of coffee. Writers need fuel.