Super Recs

Good morning. It is the most America-est day of the year, in which we gather in front of the television to watch commercials while eating ultra-processed foods and drinking alcohol. You would be hard-pressed to find a more orgiastic display of capitalism elsewhere in the world. Maybe a Russian oligarch's yacht in the summer. Anyway, blessings to those who celebrate!

🎥 The Holdovers (Peacock. (Sorry.))
Nominated for Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, and
Film Editing
So delightful and heartwarming, it’s like someone hugging you for an hour and a half. The first 30 minutes is a bit harsher, perhaps to put you in actual need of a hug. The story centers on 3 people - a teacher, a student, and the head cook - stuck at a boarding school over winter break. It does exactly what you expect it to, in exactly the manner you think it will, and that's why it works. It's hilarious, well-written comfort food and god knows we all need more of that these days.

🎥 Rustin (Netflix)
Nominated for Best Actor
This is a funny little movie, in that it often feels like something you're being forced to watch in social studies class. The directing is very dry, with dialogue that sounds like it was copied directly from a textbook. When I saw in the credits that the Obamas produced it, I said out loud, "AH." If you've read any of his books, you know what I mean. ANYWAY, I'm recommending it for Colman Domingo's performance, which is goddamn phenomenal. If he doesn't win the Oscar, I'm going to... be really annoyed for about 10 minutes.

📖 Lot
A friend and I went to happy hour the other day (for Austin friends, Aviary has half off wine all night on Mondays), and the bartender recommended Bryan Washington to another customer, reminding me that I love this author. He writes regularly for the New Yorker and had an excellent food column in the NYT Magazine. Really, read anything he writes and you'll love it. But this short story collection, centered on the melting pot of his hometown of Houston, is a great place to start.

I'm going to go try meal prepping for the week, which I really don't want to do, but I will need to atone for all the horrible food I'm going to eat tonight. Enjoy your week!

Super Friends are getting their own playlist this week, as well as deep dive into the death of journalism and what it's like to pick tobacco in the American South.