The conversation starter
Oh Messy Life #25 ☕
Welcome to Human Pursuits, the column that features need-to-know names and stories in media and other creative spaces. Today, a note on my most discussed possession, and some more updates from Friends of the Newsletter.
Once a day, without fail, somebody at my office comments on my Aeropress coffee maker.
They step into the kitchen and find me brewing single-origin beans from my local roaster. They ask me what I’m doing. They ask me what I’m working with.
They’ve been doing this for months. They show no sign of stopping. They find it fascinating. And who can blame them?
By corporate standards, it’s a striking piece of paraphernalia: a plastic chamber filled with coffee beans and hot water, which are then plunged through a paper filter to make a single cup of coffee. From a distance, the Aeropress bears a striking resemblance to a gravity bong. The sort of third-wave Java contraption that could kill a Victorian child.
In other words, it’s a conversation starter par excellence. Right up there with The Pitt or whatever news is coming out of Washington. It cuts the tension. Or, I guess, plunges it.
Of course, I find these exchanges somewhat embarrassing. The idea that my co-workers might see me as a coffee guy — as someone who actually gives a shit about beans and brew times — gives me pause. I’ve used this device since 2015. I do not think it is cool or interesting. It has always been a means to an end, a way to ensure caffeination without having to purchase coffee or prepare more than I need. But they don’t know that, and I don’t think I can tell them.
Because I know their comments, questions, and queries are not about the coffee or the contraption. It’s about finding a small crack in the capitalist facade to let a little life in.
With so many people working from home or freelancing, the idea of embracing office culture feels somewhat outdated. And, to a certain extent, it is. Anyone paying attention knows that buying into the system won’t increase your chances of getting paid out. It’s tempting to approach the extractive system with extractive solutions, to embrace the absolute bare minimum and avoid engaging in pleasantries.
But there’s a cost to that, too. In my experience, sitting in the office kitchen, scrolling TikTok, and ignoring your coworkers is chill until you’re the person on the other side of the interaction. Then it’s just rude. I’m hardly an expert in corporate diplomacy but I can tell you this: better to be known for your weird coffee routine than for being a dick (for you and for them).
Oh Messy Life
ICYMI: Last week’s interview was with Trevor Powers from Youth Lagoon. We talked about Golden Goose sneakers, staying in the present, and that time he maybe encountered a spirit in a Detroit motel room.
Welcome New Garde: I notice a few of you have recently discovered Human Pursuits via and The New Garde podcast. Happy to have you on board. On the off chance you haven’t read it already, here’s our interview from last year.
This week’s reading included talking ticket prices in THE FADER, in conversation with the Summer House gals, and on Addison Rae’s new single.
Here comes the bride: Speaking of… recently tied the knot at city hall! She writes that the couple still plans on throwing “an entire wedding,” but still, a big congrats!
and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk have apparently secured the Skull Candy bag. I hope he taught her how to 900.
One cup, please: It was ’s birthday on Sunday. Finally, a reason to celebrate 4/20.
Oh, and it was Laura Cappe’s birthday yesterday!
Proper Chune
I think it’s going to be an Addison Rae summer. I would recommend “Headphones On” but I assume you’ve already heard it, so let’s go with The Beaches.
My next guest is…
The writer and journalist . Along with her popular newsletter, Deez Links, she is the managing editor of . She writes (and edits) things people want to read. Some recent heaters include a Hate Read on Letterboxd, and her analysis on the death of the media dream job.