This week we watched this video of a mother whale protecting her baby whale oh, about one gazillion times, and we have a pretty strong feeling you might like it too
We recently subscribed to Anti-Racism Daily, a newsletter that raises awareness around racial justice issues. It also includes daily actions – both small and big – that everyone can do to help dismantle white supremacy. Highly, highly recommend
Is it okay to have a child? (“The polar icecaps are melting. Is it OK to have a child? Australia is on fire. Is it OK to have a child? My house is flooded, my crops have failed, my community is fleeing. Is it OK to have a child? It is, in a sense, an impossible question. With her careful rhetorical shift from the intimate ‘should I’ to the more theoretical ‘Is it OK to still have a child?’)
Miss long haul travel? A grounded Israeli airline has started selling airplane food to the masses as a tactic to stay afloat during the pandemic
With listening to podcasts while commuting to work a distant memory, putting on a podcast while cooking has become the next best thing. Here’s an excellent list of 12 food podcasts to listen to while you’re chopping, stirring and kneading, including some old faves (Home Cooking, our friends at Highly Enthused!) and some new finds. There’s also handy ideas for what to cook while listening to each rec
We all need something to look forward to
This disapproval matrix by Ann Friedman is PERFECTION
This is an oldie but a goodie and, we feel, extremely relevant right now: Are you emotionally stable enough to get a fringe right now?
Instead of asking people ‘how are you?’ ask 'what are you eating?’ (“What are you eating? is How are you? with fewer implications. Mulling over giving an honest answer to How are you? or Are you okay? can set a cycle of anxiety into motion: an anxiety of making others anxious. I know I feel it daily. By asking what my loved ones are eating, I can tell if my brother’s swamped with work, since he’s getting a burrito bowl instead of experimenting in his kitchen.”)
Trump interviewing himself is chaos
This love letter to the art of running late was like poetry to Vanessa’s ears (“Life before lockdown was short on thrills, and running late was my cheapest. People say life’s a marathon not a sprint, but those people underestimate the ecstasy toboggan of lateness. Running late is a drug, and I microdose myself behind schedule in pursuit of the next fix.”)
From washing disposable masks to using reusable coffee cups, here’s some helpful tips for being sustainable during a pandemic
An increasing number of people suffering from debilitating and long-lasting Covid-19 symptoms (aka ‘Long Covids’) are coming forward with their stories, and this piece and this piece in particular really haunted us this week (“Over the past 131 days, I’ve intermittently lost all feeling in my arms and hands, had essential tremors, extreme back, kidney and rib pain, phantom smells (like someone BBQing bad meat), tinnitus, difficulty reading text, difficulty understanding people in conversations, difficulty following movie and TV plots and sensitivity to noise and light.”)
If you haven’t already, we recommend you spend your Friday evening binge watching the docu-series Indian Matchmaking on Netflix (and then read this excellent piece that unpacks the show from the perspective of four South Asian women)
