The same procedure as *every* year
This was going to be a New Year’s post, then I didn’t get around to writing it, then the Things happened, so let’s just revert to the 1st and start over, shall we?
*sigh*
So uh, as we all remember in the last newsletter I promised it was the end of Christmas links, but since we’ve all decided that Christmas just happened I can’t help including this adorable thread of an outsider’s perspective:
I like holidays that get to be whatever you make of them. For New Year’s you can get blasted the night before with friends, you can get up early the day of for a special annual family hike, etc etc etc. I know at least one North Carolinian who eats black eyed peas on the first for luck, but are there any other New Year’s specific traditions? Not really, but here are mine.
I like watching this:
I like watching this:
However, the weirdest thing is a German tradition I learned about while studying the language in college. There is an old ass English, um, short film, I guess, that isn’t popular anywhere else but Germany and they specifically watch it on New Years even though it has nothing to do with that. It’s called Dinner for One, in which Miss Sophie invites over her friends for a wine-paired multi-course dinner to celebrate her birthday. But Miss Sophie is old as fuuuuuuck and all her friends are dead, so her butler toasts her for each friend, while impersonating each friend, and gets drunker and drunker with each course. It’s incredibly dated humor, but sometimes things are funny because someone else thinks they are. I don’t know if that’s the case here. Germans liking it makes it interesting at the very least, not sure if I can give it more than that. But maybe you’ll like it!
It’s super beloved (possibly because it’s an Englishman acting stupid) to the point that it has a commemorative stamp. Skål!
We were rewatching Derry Girls because why start anything new when you can just wind up the same old binge favs again is this ever going to end, and the baller soundtrack used this song, and I was reminded of when they used it on Fresh Prince with the original Aunt Viv:
Which reminded me of when they gently pranked the dad from Family Matters:
Were I more clever I would have a way to bring this all back to Derry Girls, but instead here’s just my favorite clip from when the gang hangs out with the cool English substitute and Clare gets drunk:
Is she the gal from Bridgerton? She is absolutely the gal from Bridgerton here is now a block of Bridgerton content:
This poll…Do You Like The Same "Bridgerton" Characters As Everyone Else?
…that inspired this comment:
It’s true! Maybe the prince will get a fair shake in season 2.
And lastly, this gif of our beloved Eloise:
From reddit: a better way to enjoy Van Gogh's painting "The Starry Night" 1.- Look at the spiral for 20 seconds without looking away . 2.- Look at the painting fixedly
Who needs drugs? (Me. I do. Pls to send.)
I laughed. Did you laugh?
Warhol with a box of Lou Reed Corn Flakes. Did he design it? Was it actually on the shelves? Some things are better with no context which is why I have no idea. Go look it up yourself if you want to ruin it.
Mary Kate Korner
One time in high school Mary Kate came over and we watched the inimitable Anne of Green Gables, and I “joked” that if anyone at school asked how we spent our weekend we would say we’d watched Rambo and porn. I miss nothing less than being a self-loathing teen too afraid to like the things I liked. And on that:
Charity of the newsletter is the ACLU. Going broad!
Okay. Signing off. There’s a lot of stress in the air so if you want my advice (of course you do), maybe hold off a week acting on how you feel about things in your life. They might clear up if and when things ever get calmer. You might not want to move or quit your job so much as you want to escape and those are things you can actually control. Just throwing that out there from my own experience. Much love til next time.
<3