Friday news
And a happy birthday to George Washington
The exam I mentioned last week is delayed due to bureaucratic hurdles so I’ve been enjoying this additional week of “freedom.” It’s currently pouring rain, which is kind of romantic and cathartic. Happy President’s day weekend to my American readers (all but one of you)—I hope you get a three-day weekend out of it.
LOCAL NEWS
We drove up to DC to hang with a few California friends who were there for work. One of them is working on the NASA project to send astronauts back to the moon. I can only assume this is the project my friend is engineering:
On Monday, we tried to walk through the zoo but it closes earlier than anticipated; instead, we found ourselves wandering in Rock Creek Park. Rock Creek Park is an urban park administered by the National Park Service that covers over 2000 acres. An estimated 2 million people visit the park annually. Despite these statistics, Neal (literally) ran into a jogging coworker from UCLA who he had never met in person, only on Zoom. We ended up arranging to meet her for drinks the next night. Coincidences like this are so mindblowing—what are the odds? Below is some important documentation of our romantic valentine’s day date at Ben’s Chili Bowl (we followed this meal with $18 cocktails at another location). I continue to be susceptible to the charms of DC.
The UNC social work department sent me my official academic headshots. I honestly prefer the photo Neal took on my cellphone last year but I suppose this expensive portrait will do the trick. Would you hire this person?
CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT
Neal and I watched Stolen Youth, Hulu’s three-part docu-series about the cult started at Sarah Lawrence College by a dad who moved into his daughter’s dorm in 2010. I had already read a few media articles about the situation and I was hesitant to watch the series, in part because I expected it would feel depressingly exploitative. I was wrong. The series didn’t feel too exploitative—in fact, the folks they interviewed seemed eager to share their traumatic story on their own terms. I’ve always found cults and “mind control” to be fascinating topics from a psychology perspective but this series included a surprising amount of firsthand footage (the guy was obsessed with documenting everything) and that footage was more shocking than anything my wildest imagination could have conjured on its own. I don’t necessarily recommend this one unless you think your soul can endure extra heartbreak right now. For me, it was too much. I felt emotionally disturbed and had nightmares for days. That said, if you do end up watching it (despite my warnings), let me know because I would love to debrief.
In last week’s newsletter, I got pretentious about great American singer-songwriters so it's time to confess that I actually listen to this techno dance pop mix for roughly six hours a day. My favorite genre is essentially “crying on the dance floor”: club music with sad girl lyrics.
Last week, we watched the new Pamela Anderson documentary on Netflix (Pamela, a Love Story) and it is worth watching if you [think you] know anything about Pamela.
Can’t relate My friend Alison invited me to see Angel Olsen at the historic Carolina Theatre on the last night of her tour. Great venue, great music, great company.
BIRTH NOTICES
Welcome to the world, Bing AI chatbot. Only a few days ago, the hype was all about the fact that this search engine might finally top Google. Now the bot is professing its love for a reporter and declaring fantasies of sentience and violence. It sounds like something out of science fiction…Oh, right, that’s because this algorithm is trained on those very sci-fi films and books we know and love. (It also weirdly feels like Bing did this on purpose for the free advertising).
Rihanna is pregnant again but the actual winner of the Super Bowl was the ASL interpreter. (Ed. note: I did not watch the Super Bowl and I actually do not know who won).
IN MEMORIAM
RIP many New York Times subscriptions (I am on the fence about my own). On Wednesday, 120+ organizations and leaders sent a letter to the Times about their biased reporting on trans people—including a calculated 15,000 words of front page coverage debating medical care for trans children in the last 8 months. The letter is incredibly crafted, IMO, and has since been co-signed by 20,000+ subscribers and readers. The Times responded by saying they are proud of their reporting and, subsequently, printed an opinion piece entitled “In Defense of JK Rowling.” Womp womp.
On the way home from DC, we stopped to say hi to my friend in Richmond, VA. I ran in to use her bathroom and ended up leaving my wallet and keys in her house. Farewell to my gas budget for this month as I’ll be driving back to get those tomorrow.
Getting literal with this subheading for once: I love a good obituary. I didn’t know Linda Weide but this obit, written by her husband (Curb Your Enthusiasm director, Robert B. Weide), is excellent.
If you must die, try to do it in the arms of someone who loves you.
COMICS
Thanks for reading <3
Claire