10 more things I can't stop thinking about
Oh Messy Life #26
Welcome to Human Pursuits, the column that features need-to-know names and stories in media and other creative spaces. Today, more things I can’t stop thinking about, and some more updates from Friends of the Newsletter.
You can find previous TICSTAs here and here.
Last week’s conversation with got me thinking about which new media brands have the most growth potential. There are some obvious contenders, but my money is on Roll For Sandwich. He’s one of the few TikTokers I watch from start to finish, and he’s inspired a slew of copycats (Roll For BBQ? Roll for Soda? Get a grip!). You could even expand the format to include celebrities who then eat the final product, ala Hot Ones.
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Leah and I made Matthew McConaughey’s tuna salad recipe last week, and it actually lived up to the hype. I noticed some people use jalapeno-flavoured potato chips in theirs. This is wrong. You need crispy jalapenos like these ones I found at No Frills. A small change that makes a world of difference.
It’s probably a recession indicator, but I’m interested in growing my own potatoes using a vertical tower made of wire. I have done nothing to action this (yet).
Also, a few days ago, Leah and I watched a TikTok about creeping bellflower — a perennial with purple-blue flowers that is super invasive and actually considered a weed. They are everywhere in our neighborhood. It got me thinking about the distinction between flowers and weeds. “How and why and where we classify plants as undesirable is part of the story of our ceaseless attempts to draw boundaries between nature and culture,” wrote Richard Mabey in 2010. “How intelligently and generously we draw those lines determines the character of most of the green spaces of the planet.”
Anyone telling you Substack or some other website is the new Tumblr should be treated with some derision. We don’t need a new Tumblr because Tumblr still exists. You can join right now. I use it almost every day. It’s great.
My early 2000s pop-rock renaissance is still going strong. I’m obsessed with the All-American Rejects’ first album and, frankly, how strange it is. It contains a lot of sounds (electronic drums, bells) which were not conventional for the time. ‘Swing, Swing’ is also one of this century’s most efficient pop songs. Three choruses, a bridge, and a guitar solo, in less than four minutes.
I’m very behind on my reading this year. I hoped to finish Ted Chiang’s Exhalation before Leah and I depart for Paris this weekend, but it’s not looking good.
What is looking good? The newsletter’s branding, which I updated on Saturday. A couple of people have told me they like the colours. Fun fact: they’re the same ones used in the cover art for Algernon Cadwallader’s Parrot Flies.
I miss Newfoundland and Labrador. The high in St. John’s today? A balmy 11°C.
And, it’s my dad’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Tom!
Oh Messy Life
ICYMI: Last week’s interview was with writer and journalist Delia Cai. We talked about journalism power dynamics and loving to hate things, and playing the algorithmic lottery, among other things.
Hot pods: discussed the Summer House girls on Gabbing with Gib, and Max Tani chatted with Ezra Klein about ‘Trump, Sanity, and Podcasting’.
Kevin Nguyen’s book, Mỹ Documents, was included in The New Yorker’s best books round-up.
I enjoyed ’s latest video, particularly her thoughts at the end about the steady drumbeat of creativity and sharing our inner magic.
While I’ve never listened to Everclear, I also enjoyed ’s reflections on Sparkle and Fade. He writes:
The 90s are back but the way the decade is remembered is all wrong. It would be cool if young people wanted to revive Gen X’s hatred of rampant consumerism. Or its devotion to authenticity and disdain for selling out. But instead they just want the t-shirts.
Cloud Nothings are opening for emo-legends Sunny Day Real Estate on some of their upcoming tour dates.
Licking the plate clean: I want to go to Olive Garden with PUP.
Proper Chune
Samia’s new album is quite good. One thing about me: if you name your song ‘Lizard’, I’m gonna like it.
My next guest is…
Award-winning producer, storyteller, and podcast host Zach Mack. His latest series, NPR Embedded: Alternate Realities, offers a brave look at personal beliefs and how they affect the people around us.
The three-episode series captures Zach and his father at a crucial inflection point. He thinks his dad has gone all in on conspiracy theories, while his father thinks that Zach is the one being brainwashed. Can one family live in two realities?
Meme machine
so little time, so many dreams
Love the new branding 👏
Let’s gooooo branding!! Happy birthday Tom!!