Weekly Zephyr #23: November 2nd, 2017

Felix Vallotton, First Rays, 1921

Good morning, team. This week's newsletter is going to be not so much preamble from me and instead lots of linky gifts for you.

My appendix ruptured on Monday morning (TERRIFYING) and I had an appendectomy Monday evening (AMAZINGLY CINCHY) and I am abed taking it easy.

How are you all? Have you had bumpy weeks? I feel like I've clocked a number of tough times amongst my friends and acquaintances in the past stretch, so I'm just going to set down a bundle of cozy things for us all and then retreat into an oxycodone mist.

1. Burnt Toast Soup

I haven't made this yet, I can't vouch for it, but it's made with sourdough toast and milk and bacon and it looks very important. (Well, it's from The New York Times, so it must be important.)

  2.

I learned about this book when my friend Jonah and I went to go listen to Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket talk about writing at Hugo House here in Seattle. Daniel Handler rescued this book from publishing obscurity for which I am grateful. Please get yourself one. It's dark, you might as well know, but it's bears so it goes down well. Now's a good time to let bears be dark for us, I think. I'm only partway through—though I've had my copy for quite a while—because I never want to run out. (I've turned it into more of a talisman, maybe?) As soon as you read the character descriptions, you'll know that you've done the right thing.

  3. A Re-enactment of a Wealthy Woman Getting Dressed in 18th-Century England

Hypnotic, soothing. I was taken aback by the pocket situation. You'll see what I mean.

  4 & 5. Netflix things

4 = Our Souls at Night

Jane Fonda and Robert Redford are so good. Old hands, so easy and truthful. No sharp edges in here. When I say that it's like watching really great banana bread, please know that it's a compliment.

5 = The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

Illustration by João Fazenda from the New Yorker review

I loved this film. Adam Sandler is brilliant when he gets to dial it way down (a la Punch Drunk Love) and the whole cast is en fuego. I was going to give a special shout-out to the funny little run Dustin Hoffman created for his character, but I don't want to anymore. There's a fresh batch of particularly gross sexual harassment stories that came out yesterday about him and now I'm forced to love the movie despite his presence in it, effective as it is. His bullshit apology, all, "These things that I did are in no way reflective of who I am." WELL, NOW, THEY ARE, THOUGH. THEY ARE DIRECTLY REFLECTIVE OF WHO YOU ARE.

*the longest sigh*

And finally *SIX* the best way to fold a paper bag  which happens to be the way my mom always did it and now it's how I do it it gives you a little handle it's really good