FAVORITE DIVERSIONS FROM 2024
Expressing gratitude. Looking for glimmers. Regulating my nervous system.
Some of these 12 tips are free (if you have Wi-Fi) but others may require ingenuity. By the way, this is a good time of year to ask for a subscription as a gift.
The Atlantic Magazine. Perhaps because it is partially owned by billionairess Lorene Powell Jobs, this publication is one of the only news sources I experience as unbiased, or at least non-reactive. Its writing is superb, and subject matter unfailingly relevant. The antidote to hysteria, The Atlantic is gaining readers so quickly it has expanded its print run from ten months per year to twelve.
Joep Beving, Dutch composer and pianist. Wikipedia quotes him describing his compositions as "accessible music for complex emotions". His songs are sweeping, tinkly, and beautiful, evoking a vibe like Debussy or Satie. They float me away to someplace water colored and cloudy. The few lyrics are in Dutch, but words like “Gucci”, “Sushi” and “New York” in the song De Leven give enough of the gist. I wish Beving would tour in the US.
Dune: Prophecy on HBO. I rarely watch HBO these days, so I was shocked by how beautifully this prequel is done. An origin story about the rise of the Bene Gesserit, its’ epic power struggles and imaginative world building are as ambitious as those in Game of Thrones. Paced much more quickly than the books or films, it bears similar faintly psychedelic overtones, the sparkly malevolent mysteries of Spice, the dystopic designer spacecraft and weaponry, and whatever horrible supernatural forces fuel the nuns. Plus, Shai-Hulud, the sandworm of Arrakis, never far from our hearts. Excellent fun.
Hard Fork Podcast. Hosted by New York Times reporter Kevin Roose (famous for making AI Sidney publicly hallucinate, starting the moral panic around the coming Singularity) and Platformer’s Casey Newton, Hard Fork is the most entertaining current events podcast I know of. The host provide irreverent, quit-witted commentary on tech’s looming effects on all our lives. But is their true subject simply the indignities of modern life? Their episode on Casey’s numerous non-helpful AI companions is side-splittingly funny. When the androids come to squash us, Kevin and Casey will be the canaries who warn me.
How to Renovate a Chateau (Without Killing Your Partner) YouTube channel. Anna and Philip are a young couple who have been renovating a manor house in Normandy for five years. Anna was a designer for Balmain, and Philip a filmmaker, so their combined aesthetic is elegant, sophisticated and aspirational, even though they do most of the work themselves. Their videos are wholesome and inspiring, a combination of hard DIY labor, tips on design, decoration, and gardening, and an endless quest for handmade beauty. Don’t miss their sailing trip in Sweden.
The Employees a novel by Danish Poet and Novelist Olga Ravn. I discovered this slim volume when a friend gave it to me as a gift. Rarely have I been perceived so perfectly. I am sad not to be able to buy Ravn’s 2015 Chap book Mean Girl, which consisted of blank pages with glitter and cutouts. (Like me, a poet who experiments with form!) The Employees is beyond description, or even genre, a workplace horror that unfolds like a poem.
Youtuber Hannah Louise Poston is so much more than a beauty influencer. An award-winning poet, a life-affirming social commentator, and cunning critic of makeup and clothing trends, she is like a loving friend softly musing in her closet as you both get dressed. She gives excellent advice on careful consumption, self-acceptance and self-care. Frivolity elevated to an artform, as it should be. A poet can be fabulous, as I have been saying for years.
Roasted potato disks. Big in my house this year. A recipe from the most impoverished days of my youth, few foods are more comforting or easier to make. Pre-heat your oven to 400F, use a mandoline slicer (mine is OXO, priced under $20.00) to make very thin slices of potato. Any variety will do, but waxy yellow are the best. Toss with your favorite seasoning blend, a ton of salt, and generous quantities of olive oil. Place on a sheet pan in a more-or-less single layer, and roast until crispy and brown at the edges. Five minutes? Ten? Keep an eye on them. They will be thicker and softer than chips, thinner and more caramelized than fries. Eat immediately. Why don’t more people cook potatoes this way? I have no idea.
Victoria Smith, sfgirlbybay on Instagram. A longtime blogger, author and style maven, Victoria’s feed has evolved into a gentle, beautiful meditation on intentional living. As aspirations go, I want to be Victoria, with her washed-out Italian travel photos, pink sky ocean views, and simple thrifted decor. She has put me onto memorable travel destinations I would never otherwise have found. A crisp-white-shirt evangelist like me, we have evolved into being mutuals. She is a genuinely good egg, whose influence is a pleasure.
Ann Patchett. This one is likely known to you already, but if not, go get your hands on The Dutch House. Patchett’s writing is masterful, spinning small family tales into suspenseful arcs, with the kind of low stakes that make a reader relax into her hands. The audio book is read by Tom Hanks, a perfect voice for it. Her BookTok channel is lovely, as well.
TikToker Hanna E Johnson. This Ontario-based creator defies categorization, somewhere between a magazine editor and a style alchemist, she presents "niche aesthetics” like The Metallic Maiden or Lady of the Chateau (Marmont) using a montage of images and well-researched historical tidbits. The categories she invents feel instantly inevitable, as if they already existed and she just happened to connect the dots. Irreverent and insightful, she makes fashion’s obscurest archives feel immediately relevant. Genius in perfect red lipstick. The long-sought after replacement for Elsa Klensch.
Shrinking, on Apple+. This warm-hearted comedy about therapists in private practice has generated a ton of press. But like with Ted Lasso (also produced by Brett Goldstein) I was slow to give it a chance. I’m so glad I did. The “therapy” is nonsense, but shines light into dark places. The characters are fresh and endearing. My definition of great writing is if the beats are paid off in a satisfying way, and Shrinking delivers. I laughed so hard at a party scene I had to pause the TV. I bestow upon it however many stars is all of them. Four? Five? I can’t do math.