As usual I have some recommendations on stuff to read, watch, listen to, and eat.
Joy in the Trenches: Trevor Noah Standup Special This is unsurprisingly very good, a perfect blend of personal anecdotes and larger truths, mixed with a musing refrain who will you be when history calls. I like very much the trend of standup comedians telling longer stories and building their comedy around a single narrative, with tangents and sidequests. This isn’t quite that, but it’s close.
Wishing Moon: New Wintersleep Album This one is maybe a little more surprising, since it’s the seventh studio album from a band who has been around 25 years and who you might have forgotten exists. To me, Wintersleep has been perfectly consistent since I discovered them (at the same time everyone else did, in 2008 with Welcome to the Night Sky)—weird, funny, edgy, propulsive. The new album still is, and I love it. I saw them live a few weeks ago and while they look very old and somewhat tired, they have kept whatever it is that keeps them weird and fun to listen to.
Living Expenses by Teri Vlassopoulos This novel is about a woman struggling with infertility but it’s also about her whole, richly imagined world—her sister, her mother, her job, her history with her husband, her career aspirations past and present, her weird feelings about her dad, and flirtations with guys of the past…and present. I am not super-interested in infertility treatments as a topic but this never felt like a topic novel—just a life lived, in all its rich and complicated detail. When I finished I had the feeling of a book with a detailed setting, of having actually gone someplace, but the place I had been was actually the internet—the characters live on the internet in realistic human ways you rarely see represented well in books. The protagonist has a blog, her husband has a podcast, her sister is working on a new app, their mom tries online dating, and all of them use these things to express themselves and connect with people in meaningful ways. It’s really engaging and lovely and fun to read.
Miss Vickie’s Black Truffle and Parmesan Chips I have only had these glorious, pungent chips twice—once from No Frills, once from Dollarama—and then once I realized I was hooked, they disappeared from everywhere. They are so very umami, which is a terrible way to describe anything but there you go. I have been on the hunt for them ever since—the link above indicates they might be at Metro, a store that is both inconveniently located for me and too expensive, but I might be desperate enough to try it. If you can get these, try them—so good!! There is a PC version available that is almost as good, and you can buy them where sane thrifty people shop (No Frills). SO GOOD!
Not so much as usual, I have some answers to occasional questions we receive here at Rose-coloured HQ. I see bigger-deal newsletters run these type of FAQ things occasionally when there have been some new subscribers so seems like I should too!
Q: Can I reply to your to your newsletter?
A: Absolutely, I would love that. You can do it one of two ways: publicly, by clicking “read online” and then commenting below the post (as if it were a blog) or privately, by just hitting “reply” from your inbox, as it were an email. Responses come to me either way, but in the first instance others can see it too. I very much appreciate all responses and they make me feel less lonely. Also if you “read online” you can just click the little heart for a like, if you enjoyed the post and want to let me know but don’t have anything in particular to say.
Q: You have referenced a photo in the text, but I can’t see the photo—where is it?
A: You have to click the “read online” option in the top right of the email to see the photos. No, I don’t know why, and i’m sorry. I recognize this is not optimal—I hope at least some of the photos are worth it though!
Q: I think your newsletter is great and I would like to support it—what should I do?
A: Any of a number things—comments and likes on the posts are good for my place in the algorithm (I think). There are also buttons in the email and on the online version that will allow you to share a particularly relevant post in the social platform of your choosing. You can also just forward to a friend you think would like it.
Q: I think your newsletter is not that great and I would like to stop receiving it—what should I do?
A: There is an unsubscribe button at the bottom of each email and you can be done with this experience in a couple clicks!
Q: I have an idea for a guest post for Rose-coloured—how about that?
A: Sounds exciting—hit me up! Favoured content for guest posts includes what your pets are up to, talking to people on the street, general light-hearted ephemera, ideally well-written.
Q: I have a book I want you to review—how about that?
A: Probably not. I just don’t review many books. Even books I buy myself that I very much want to read them take me ages to get to—Living Expenses came out last year! And there are many books that I just don’t get around to, or do read and think are fine but don’t have a strong enough opinion on to review. I do not think that is worth someone spending money to send me something. That said, I obviously do review some books—if you have one that you are extremely certain is exactly my thing, please let me know!
Q: Which is the most charismatic Muppet?
A: Animal. We talk about this a lot at the Sampsenblums and there are other contenders but no other possible winner, really.
In other news:
At Simon’s
MS (drifts to a stop in front of a display of Panama hats)
RR (nudges him) No! You are not in your Panama hat years.
MS: I’m not?
RR: Not yet!! Not for a while!
MS (moves along) Ok, well, you just let me know when I hit them.
RR: Ok.
MS: You can just wake me up at 2am someday. “Mark, Mark, it’s time! Panama hat time!”
