More things I can't stop thinking about
Oh Messy Life #36
Welcome to Human Pursuits, the column that features need-to-know names and stories in media and other creative spaces. Today, my thoughts on omakase, “David”, gaining weight, and updates from Friends of the Newsletter, including King Isis, Taylor Lorenz, Alyssa Vingan, and more.
You can find previous TICSTAs here, here, and here.
I weighed myself for the first time in many years on Saturday, and learned I’ve gained almost 15 pounds. I considered developing a complex about it, until I remembered that one of my goals for 2025 was to put on weight. Still, there’s something unsettling about the ways you can be surprised by your own body.
Related: I am in desperate need of a new fitness routine. I’ve been running a lot now that it’s summer, but my interest in lifting any sort of weight is at an all-time low. Part of this, I think, stems from the fact that my current gym is less than chic. It might be time for a change of scenery.
Yesterday, Lorde confirmed her song “David” was inspired by Michelangelo’s sculpture of the same name. I find this somewhat baffling, if only because it seemed obvious? That anyone felt this confirmation was necessary reflects what I think is a broader trend of fans interpreting work hyper-literally. I worry about our inability to approach art with a sense of ambiguity. We spend so much time considering an artist’s intention that we fail to consider how a work affects us directly. We lose touch with life’s requisite wonder. Seeing Michelangelo’s David up close was one of the most inspiring moments of my entire life, in part because I simply could not comprehend how he did it. I think about that statue, and how it made me feel, constantly.
This weekend, Kevin and Shomas hosted a little housewarming party. Their friend Nate was wearing a really nice pair of jeans, and I asked him where they were from. To my surprise, he said the Levi’s store at Park Royal Shopping Centre. They were 578s, which I had never heard of before. Baggy but still flattering.
On Monday, I treated Leah to omakase for her birthday. Before the first course arrived, she mentioned that she didn’t like uni as much as other people seemed to. Surprise, surprise, four or five courses featured uni in a variety of presentations.
Oh Messy Life
ICYMI: Last week’s interview was with musician King Isis. We discussed their new EP ‘SIRENITY’, leaving L.A., overcoming introversion, the Northern Lights, and collaborating with Bartees Strange.
This week’s reading included on northern Michigan’s “Lynchian underbelly” and telling that she’s tired of pivoting to video.
We the best: has launched a new podcast with . It’s called Vanish Mode. I enjoyed their recent episode on DJ Khaled and Bob Vylan and how expressing your political views might affect your career.
Oh, and is in the new issue of DVEIGHT Magazine, which you can purchase here.
Proper Chune
It’s somehow both hot and rainy in Vancouver today. This song by Mansions embodies that feeling exactly.
My next guest is…
Podcaster and producer to the stars Dylan Tupper Rupert. Her new podcast, Music Person (Talkhouse Podcast Network), captures portraits of the music life today, as told to Dylan by the people who are living it. I’ve listened to the first three episodes; it’s wonderful.
Meme Machine
