Hi! You're reading a monthly newsletter in which I, perpetual opinion-haver Laura Reineke, share with you some Stuff that I endorse. Got stuff you think *I* Should? Reply to this email or holler at me on Twitter @ohonestly. Thx for reading. Love u.
👋 Know About Me
Earlier this month, I left my job at A+E Networks. I barely recognize the person I was when I started there nearly six years ago, when I was still relatively new to NYC, before the tattoos and the bigger glasses and the all-black wardrobe, before Toast, before my apartment. Barack Obama hadn't won his second term yet! I couldn't even tell the members of One Direction apart! It was EONS ago, is what I'm saying.
Anyway, I'm in the middle of a nice break before starting my new gig (stay tuned for more on that). I bopped over to Portland and Seattle last week - both lovely and welcoming, very bright, and filled with tasty food - and this week I'll be adventuring around New York a lil bit. Just checking in to let y'all know that I feel the most ME I've ever felt, in a good way, and that I'm excited for what's ahead. In fact I don't think 2012 me would recognize 2018 me, either.
Pike Place Market, Seattle
🔗 Read Online
The Male Glance - As a people, we don’t know how to read women. No wonder we are so woefully bad at reading women’s work. A hefty but worthwhile piece about perspectives, and intention, and True Detective. (Lili Loofbourow/VQR)
The Overwhelming Emotion of Hearing Toto’s "Africa" Remixed to Sound Like It’s Playing in an Empty Mall- "It’s nice to think of a handful of young people playing around on Ableton on their laptops, in their bedrooms, trying to reintroduce a sense of physical space into a listening environment of digital isolation." (Jia Tolentino/The New Yorker)
The Last Conversation You’ll Ever Need to Have About Eating Right- The thing about food that I’ve learned - that I’m still learning - is that it’s only as complicated as you want it to be. (Mark Bittman & Dr. David L. Katz/Grub Street)
Analyzing the Crazy, Complicated Credits of "Avengers: Infinity War"- How does a studio working with a seemingly never-ending list of famous names and a limited number of promo poster column inches decide who gets top billing? (Kyle Buchanan/Vulture)
Not Everything Is A Side Hustle- For anyone who’s ever had a hobby that you felt pressured to monetize. (Ann Friedman/The Cut)
The Man Who Knew Too Little- A well-off white guy decides after Donald Trump‘s election that he‘s had enough. He doesn’t wanna hear about politics anymore! So he builds a new life in which he never has to. It takes some kinda privilege to fully divorce yourself from the real world. (Sam Dolnick/NYT)
"Day Before Planting" by Jonas Wood, 2007. Colored pencil on paper, 22 x 30 in.
🗣️ Quote
“Beauty is, in some way, boring. Even if its concept changes through the ages… a beautiful object must always follow certain rules. A beautiful nose shouldn’t be longer than that or shorter than that, on the contrary, an ugly nose can be as long as the one of Pinocchio, or as big as the trunk of an elephant, or like the beak of an eagle, and so ugliness is unpredictable, and offers an infinite range of possibility. Beauty is finite, ugliness is infinite like God.” - Umberto Eco, "On Ugliness"
👍 Follow
What's Going On With My Sims? - Ariel Karlin talks mental health and role-playing games in these super funny check-ins with her customized video game characters.
The Black Cardigan Edit- Carrie Frye enthuses about literary topics like the usefulness of Harriet the Spy's notebooks and the truly terrible writing advice given to Sylvia Plath.
~*Internet boyfriends*~ - My witty, incisive pal Alex Levy recaps her true-life tale of early-aughts Internet access, Neopets, and boyfriends (real and not-so). Read all ten parts in chronological order!
🎧 Listen To
You Can't Do That: A Hockey Podcast - I do not like sports, as a rule, and I certainly know very little about hockey. BUT my new podcast* features four exceptionally smart and funny ladies chatting about exactly that! I promise that if I can enjoy it (and I do), then you will, too. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Google Play, or stream it directly on our site. (*Co-produced with my partner in crime from the Project Runway Recap Podcast, Danielle Savoy.)
BTS, "Love Yourself: Her" - K-pop boyband BTS has been everywhere in the U.S. lately, so I turned on their latest album during a fit of hyper-caffeinated productivity to like, give them a fair shot, I guess? It's a smooth, catchy mix of bilingual rap and electronic tracks that really worked for me.
🗣️ Quote
“Our roots are in the dark; the earth is our country. Why did we look up for blessing — instead of around, and down? What hope we have lies there.” - Ursula K. Le Guin, “A Left-Handed Commencement Address," Mills College, 1983
It’s a metaphor!!
☀️ My Forecast
New job! And whatever else I can tuck in around the edges of that.
Til next month,
xo Laura