Hopped off the plane at LAX

Wishing I had brought a warmer cardigan

Oct 29, 2023

Hi all,

I am in California visiting family and friends for Spooky Season so I intended to make this a short one but somehow got on a roll.

This week, concerning the horrors happening in Palestine, I’ve made an effort to extract myself from the rapid-fire content wheel of Instagram, which somehow convinces me that we have a moral imperative to share snappy, digestible content rather than a moral imperative to bear witness and take action. I’ve been trying to turn to longer-form writing—e.g., this beautifully written New York Times opinion piece and this book by Ilan Pappé and Noam Chomsky. If you have any pieces you recommend, please send them my way. I’ve also been calling my representatives with the assistance of the app 5 Calls. I highly recommend the app as makes calling your reps so easy and provides suggested scripts (for a variety of topics), in case you get phone anxiety.

LOCAL NEWS

Spooky Season in California is treating us well. Neal’s stepdad goes all-in for Halloween and the front yard has been made into a pirate ship complete with an ominous green Kracken tentacle. After dark, the lights and fog machines make the whole scene come alive. Last night, we went to Neal’s dad’s bar, which had a line of 50+ people waiting outside all night, the vast majority of whom were dressed as creepy or goth clowns. We enjoyed the VIP treatment and sauntered right in wearing a Fantastic Mr. Fox Costume (Neal) and a “space cadet” outfit (me), like total nerds. Tonight’s plan involves haunted corn mazes and I’m already scared. I am also spending some much-needed time with the most important young people in my life—my niece, nephew, and fairy godchildren—and I plan to trick-or-treat in multiple neighborhoods on Tuesday. It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Neal’s dad’s bar

CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT

On my 800-hour, unnecessarily frigid flight from North Carolina to LAX, I listened to the audiobook of Really Good, Actually (laughed in the beginning and then became incredibly bored) and the Normal Gossip episode featuring Josie Duffy Rice (I am a relatively new convert to the podcast but always love Josie Duffy Rice’s perspective so this was fun).
The NBA season has begun and (as a newly certified NBA fan), I am happy to report that the Nuggets remain undefeated. I loved the post-game interview with Jokic on Tuesday in which he told Shaq that he *may or may not* have taken a month or two off basketball in preparation for this season. This is the work-life balance to which we should all aspire. (This man seems more passionate about spikeball than basketball and I love it).
I really loved the chemistry between Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez on Vanity Fair’s lie detector test series. I don’t even know what show they are doing publicity for. I watched most of the clips on TikTok multiple times, but the whole thing is also posted on YouTube.
Alanis Morisette discussed getting her butt kicked by “cruel” linguistic people on the Kelly Clarkson show (a show I only know exists thanks to TikTok). This clip felt timely for me because I spent the summer listening to Jagged Little Pill on repeat and decided it may be one of the best albums ever made—lyrical grammar problems and all.
@kellyclarksonshow Isn't it ironic... 🎶 #AlanisMorissette #KellyClarkson #Duet
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BIRTH NOTICES

This very sad picture of Zaxby I took when I dropped him off at the cat hotel (my sister-in-law said he looks possessed).

This timely French bedbug costume.
Britney Spears’ newly released memoir, which I nearly bought for $35 at the airport yesterday (it was the very last available copy which made it even more tempting). Sadly, I saved my money and read other folks’ summaries instead. Bad time to be Justin Timberlake!

IN MEMORIAM

RIP Matthew Perry, who said he didn’t want to be remembered for Friends as much as he wanted to be remembered for helping people deal with the disease of addiction.