Tom Hanks is just as nice as you think he is
What it feels like to live in a once-pregnant body after loss, when there’s no baby to show for it (“I was going through body dysmorphia. I had an empty body because of the loss of my son, and all I wanted was to look as non-pregnant as possible.”)
There’s some excellent advice for surviving a break-up in this Twitter thread
If you like small, beautiful things, listen to this audio piece by Neena Pathak. Guaranteed to break your heart in four minutes or less
The power of letting yourself being photographed (“As it turns out, I am grateful for the images. They show the white of my thighs, the round of my stomach. They show me willing to take off my clothes on a mountaintop, to touch cold water and let it touch me. They show me thirty-two and certainly not fearless, but trying very, very hard to be less afraid. They show me. And they let me show myself to others in more and less flattering lights.”)
Confused about the impeachment hearings? This is a great, concise explanation of what's going on by an intrepid (and incredibly young) New York Times reporter
Swimming through writer’s block at an Icelandic public pool (“I was emotional and tired and uncomfortable. So when I was accepted for a month-long residency at an art centre in Iceland, I fantasised that it might solve my growing problem. I’d work all day on my germ of a novel—no audience, no editors—and I’d sleep beneath the fuzzy, spectral glow of the Northern Lights. Somehow, I told myself, I’d write a way out of this miserable funk.”)
Vanessa made these easy peasy black bean burgers last night and can attest that they’re the perfect midweek meal
Phoebe Waller-Bridge keeps her ideas in a draft email
Is sure the worst way to say yes? (“Not to be confused with ‘sure thing’ (folksy, casual) or ‘for sure’ (loose, stoned), sure is a word that makes my skin prick, my eye twitch. Sure is used as ‘yes’, though it never means ‘yes’. Sure is a thumbs up to your face, and a jerkoff motion behind your back. Sure says ‘if I must’. Sure is the Mars Rover of passive aggression — an envoy to see how far you can really go before the other person snaps and says, ‘You know what, you’re being an asshole’.”)
Here’s a YouTube channel where you can watch Italian nonnas make pasta and just generally be adorable. (Our fave is 100-year-old Letizia make tagliarini pasta)
Meet the man behind the meme
Check your prejudice at the door: this video interview with Emma Watson and trans activist Paris Lees is so much more than all that ‘self partnership’ crap that the tabloids picked up and ran with. Emma speaks with warmth and compassion, and has totally changed our mind about what celebrity activism can achieve
We’ve been listening to King Princess’ new album Cheap Queen on repeat this week. Start with Cheap Queen and Ain’t Together and you’ll get what we mean…
