Linky Links: June 2020
One of the amazing things about 2020 is the euphoric, charmingly unexpected surprise that comes with receiving good news. Yes, the world is one giant trash can on fire, but neighbors are still buying each other groceries and SCOTUS is passing landmark rulings left and right(!!!). I’m so used to things going from bad to worse that when good things occasionally happen they stand out like little precious gemstones. Sure, you might have to dig deep for them, and probably get a wee spot of carbon monoxide poisoning in the process, but the returns are good!
Here’s a list of things I liked so far in June:
Halloweens’s “Rock Bottom Rock” from their album “Morning Kiss at The Acropolis” is the undisputed quarantine anthem of 2020. The entire album is a banger, but lyrics like “Go running for an hour and then I take a shower / I moisturize before I face my demons” just really sum up the present moment. They are the moment.
The Korean soap “Crash Landing Into You” I apologize if you’re my friend and I’ve spent the last week harassing you about watching this show but it is the best thing I have watched all month. The premise of this soap is so insane it belongs on the pedestal they reserve for bonkers shows like “Jane the Virgin”: a successful but vapid South Korean businesswoman goes paragliding in a storm and ends up in North Korea, where she has to take refuge in a soldier’s village to avoid capture by the literal North Korean secret police. This show is dramatic as hell, but somehow manages to portray every single romantic trope I love to watch? I’m talking multiple fake and arranged marriages. Star-crossed lovers (literally)! Succession-esque family squabbles! Surprisingly informative historical context on a complicated global dispute! A dude playing a piano by a lake! I cried twice!! Please cry with me!
Speaking of dudes and lakes, I love a reimagined Arthurian legend. The trailer for A24’s The Green Knight, complete with a deranged Dev Patel making his way through medieval England, seems creepily designed just for me.
Half the world is entering Yellow Phase even though the mere idea of eating at a restaurant right now makes me want to break out in hives. However, this piece from the New York Times about writers reflecting on their favorite meals out was strangely touching.
Did you know John Berger’s Ways of Seeing is on YouTube? If you’re British, congratulations, but if you’re not: “Ways of Seeing” was this amazing art history BBC series led by Berger, an art historian who shows us how even centuries-old art reflects contemporary ideas of capitalism, colonialism, and gender to the light. John Berger is the coolest dude. I lost my mind at the publicity episode.
I love Nicole Byer and I love Star Wars and the podcast Newcomers has both! Lucky me! Listen in as Nicole and Lauren Lapkus try to make sense of the entire Star Wars canon for the first time, with help from some professional Star Wards nerds. If you ever wondered what my two last brain cells sounded like when I watched Star Wars for the first time as a 26 year old, this podcast is basically it.
Good things are coming, I think.