Algorithm-Free Reco List, No. 20

Sowing, growing, driving, etc.

Hello!

No preamble today, as this is my current headspace:

The precise nature of “big things” remains to be seen, but they are indeed coming.

So let’s get right into a collection of things and ideas I am into lately.

My friend Emory modeling a low-key death wish bib at a combination birthday party-crawfish boil

Watching a cat pick out a toy

There is nothing quite like the specific joy I get witnessing my cat digging through his little toy basket to select his plaything of the moment. It’s even more exciting when he chooses one of our handmade options. He has specific taste and I love that said taste cannot be influenced by anything except his own raw desire. An inspiration!

Yes, I am likely anthropomorphizing here, but there is certainly something that guides him, even if it’s a drive/sense humans can’t fully understand.

The Studio (Apple TV+, 2025)

If you aren’t into Curb Your Enthusiasm style social discomfort, you will hate this! Every episode is basically Uncut Gems-level stressful, except instead of Adam Sandler and his transition lenses, it’s Seth Rogen and his small interpersonal decisions that snowball until they’re full scale disaster, made even worse by a shot clock. There are fun cameos, too.

“The Age of the Double Sellout”

Here, W. David Marx defines double sellouts as “creators who produce market-friendly content to achieve fame — and then use that fame to pursue even more commerce-for-commerce's-sake.” Obviously, this is terrible for culture at large, and arguably encourages the continued enshittification/sloppification of everything.

Purely Elizabeth Cookie Granola

I love when a food fully embraces its nature. Sure, this granola boasts “whole grain” and “coconut oil” and “fiber,” but the number one message is clear: TASTES LIKE COOKIE. The clusters are big. The chocolate chips (or raisins in the oatmeal flavor) are plentiful. It’s the best granola I’ve found to eat straight from the bag. Because if you think for a second I’m using any breakfast aisle item to top yogurt or a smoothie bowl, this is a failure of my personal branding and I promise to do better in the future.

The comfort of misery vs. the pain of change

Your choice, boss!

For the record, I am currently at an all-you-can-eat buffet of the latter option and perusing so much stuff like this to remind myself that it’s all going to be okay.

Trap (2024)

An absolutely baffling film that is basically "you're doing amazing sweetie", but with a $30M budget (for the uninitiated, the director basically wrote/directed an entire thriller as a container for his daughter to perform 90+ minutes of original songs).

I have so many questions about the titular trap, my largest being how they were screening an entire arena full of potential serial killers when all they had to go off of was “man who is maybe old or maybe young, but definitely has mommy issues.” This master manipulator murderer could surely lie his way through! There wasn’t even biometric data! Ludicrous.

However, watching this did encourage my partner and I to begin a grand tour of M. Night Shyamalan’s filmography, which has been fruitful to say the least. By my count, his best skills are (1) being a good dad and (2) premises. Worst are (1) dialogue and (2) logical reasoning.

“Growing Beyond the Computer”

Really loved this interview with Cortney Cassidy about leaving her tech job to become a full-time gardener at the High Line. Even moreso, I loved the short film referenced in the interview, “Can I Be An Artist Here?” It’s so cool to see someone’s thinking evolve over time as they further live their values and re-imagine what’s actually possible for them.

Making grilled cheese with mayonnaise

A friend made me one of these recently and I promptly ate it as a hyperfixation meal for weeks after. It’s so much nicer to not have to scrape cold butter against bread, tearing it to hell and back. You don’t need a recipe, but in case you’re unsure, here's the technique I’m talking about.

This reminder

source

Carvell Wallace in 100 Days of Creative Resistance

This entire project has been excellent, but I saved at least 70% of Carvell Wallace’s contribution. Even now, I’m tempted to paste his whole list right here. Beyond clear-eyed directives about AI, suggestions around divesting from “anti-christ” corporations, and a prompt to “[ask] yourself in the privacy of your honest soul, what it is that you can walk away from but have been reluctant to?”, I keep coming back to these:

“...I swear to god, people need to stop acting like some hero/leader/daddy/mommy is going to come swooping in, because baby, I don’t think they are. Let us, instead, question the limitations of the heroic leader model, question how far that really gets us. Divesting from this means no longer believing that just because someone who seems halfway decent rises to prominence means that it’s all gonna be fine now and we can go back to shopping. It’s not and it doesn’t.”

and

“Try imagining that there is no end. There is just action and counter action. There is just protecting life and love and/or destroying life and love. That’s it. Once you are relieved from the feeling that you are going to figure out how to vanquish your enemy, then a whole new world of possibilities opens up to you. You don’t have to be discouraged thinking “this won’t work, that won’t work.” because it won’t defeat the bad guys once and for all. Nothing will. The point is that everything works if you do it. All of life works if enough of us protect it. That’s the one thing I’ll never be cynical enough to stop believing.”

Philosophers on “Driving”

I bought a car last month (UGH, but also 3.5 years overdue as a Los Angeles resident), then promptly listened to Overthink’s episode on Driving. I was not smart enough for some of the consciousness discussion in the middle section, but was glad I stuck around for the conversation about self-driving cars at the end. I also endorse this podcast, generally. Pick a few topics that interest you and go to town.

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy

Not exaggerating when I say this changed my life. I might write about it more in the future, but for now, anything I attempt feels very “xoJane: It Happened To Me”. In the meantime, feel free to directly respond to this if you’re curious.

This newsletter brought to you by:

• Going on a walk even when it’s grey and cold and misty outside.

• The return of Taskmaster (favorites so far are Fatiha El-Ghorri and Jason Mantzoukas).

• A momentary switch from creamy to crunchy peanut butter in my daily breakfast routine, thrilling stuff I know.