Algorithm-Free Reco List, No. 21
Plus, the class I teach is back and maybe you should take it?!
Hello!
I’m back with another collection of things you mostly cannot purchase. The lone exception is at the end, where I shall hawk my wares (the class I teach, which is one of the great joys of my life).
I’m also still collecting contributors for future algo-free reco list guest editions, so please let me know if you’re interested. If you’ve already reached out, I’ll be in touch soon!
Alright, here come the recos:
“I Am So Fucking Tired of Listening To Women My Age Complain About Being Old and Washed”
This is good. So good!
is such a sharp critic and it’s worth diving into the full archives of if you don’t already subscribe.“When I witness a young woman who just turned thirty write a preening Instagram caption about being brave in the face of aging, I start to wonder what the fuck is going on with women and why they default to believing what the social forces that seek to keep them powerless dish out. When I witness women in my age group eager to be seen as cool by Gen Z and those coming up behind them, I wonder when exactly they lost their own sense of self—if they had one in the first place.”
New Vision Cat Club
A parade of incredible beasts and those who are obsessed with them. My fave is “fabulous curls” diva Georgia, but I still love learning about all the others.
“Pirates of the Ayahuasca”
You’re gonna need to carve out a solid hunk of time to read this, but it is worth every minute. Sarah Miller goes to Peru to do ayahuasca multiple days in a row and the result is like if you merged Rachel Aviv’s writing on mental illness with a top tier White Lotus episode.
GREEN PORNO
Recently, one of my pals was like, “You’ve totally seen those videos of Isabella Rossellini acting out the reproductive rituals of various critters, right?” First, there is no better feeling than being known in this way. And second, I hadn’t seen them. But now I have! Life-changing, to be honest. I love when an artist is fully in their freak. Full collection is here, but I’m partial to the praying mantis.
Trying a routine you thought was a no-go
I was doing my weekly journaling with The Fountain (highly endorse—it’s basically the same type of work you might do with a trauma-informed therapist, but specifically for your creative practice) this past week, and was encouraged to “question the stories” I tell myself about doing creative work. E.g. “I can’t write in the afternoon/evening” or “I can’t write with music on.” While the latter is still very true, it turns out I CAN write in the evening. And it might even be easier then? Going to be tinkering with this type of thing more, but I’ve noticed that once you start questioning one routine, it’s easy to poke at others and maybe even test drive something different for a few days. Spontaneity!
Jail Support LA
If you’re not in LA and watching some absolute G.I. Joe clownery happen from afar, you can support protestors who are being arrested for standing up for their neighbors here or Venmo directly here.
Dying For Sex (FX/Hulu)
The whole “woman with terminal cancer ditches her husband to fully explore her sexuality” premise could have easily slid into Eat, Pray, Love territory, but it does not! Dying For Sex is so much weirder and kinkier and more raw than that. It also really reinforces that the white Michelle Williams is an exceptional comedic actress and Robby Hoffman will steal any scene she’s in, without fail. (I did cry through both the pilot and the finale, so word of warning if that’s not your thing.)
“Have you heard the good news about cash?”
In her newsletter,
makes an impenetrable case for cash. I mean, just look at this chart:
Seems pretty clear to me!
Lemon-Tahini Slaw
My friend Emory made this a few weeks ago and I’ve been thinking about it since. Have I acquired capers and scallions to made it myself? Absolutely not! But should I ever decide to step outside of my “food you’d make for the eight year old you’re babysitting” culinary routine, this will be first on the list.
Cole Escola/Oh, Mary!
Devastated to report that I have not seen this play, which is about Mary Todd Lincoln’s yearning to be a cabaret performer while her husband is busy doing politics and using her as his beard. However, I have consumed every possible piece of related content. Cole Escola is a genius and seeing someone finally get their due for making the bizarro art only they could make will never not make me weepy. I could write 2,000 words about how inspiring it is! Make your weirdest shit and make it now!
✨The Launch S3✨
Speaking of which, the class/workshop/incubator I teach at Index is back. It’s six weeks of concepting, making, and launching a low-stakes, high-joy personal project—all with community accountability. People have made everything from a paper mache replica of a cactus to a dinner party where everyone eats and wears the same color to a zine about the Nars Orgasm collection.
You do not need to consider yourself an artist or have a project idea to sign up. In fact, the participants who grow the most are often those who feel stuck and come in with zero expectations besides an interest in trying something different. I sometimes joke that it’s like Perfectionists Anonymous, or kind of like The Artist’s Way (except you’ll actually finish and have a project and a bunch of new friends at the end).
If you want to take someone else’s word for it, you can check out some testimonials here. Pricing is sliding scale, and please feel free to reach out with any questions!
This newsletter brought to you by:
The Chinese Garden pavilion at Huntington Gardens.
Being trapped on the tarmac for so long at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport that the flight attendants did another snack service and finally brought out the good shit (the miniature graham crackers vs. those disgusting “maui monk” pretzels).
A screened-in porch in Tybee Island, Georgia.