Blood Harmony Vol. 55: Vacation Thoughts

Hello Blood Harmonists,

I was on vacation and now I’m back, baby! It was a long journey home from New England (ferry→car→plane to Detroit→plane to North Carolina→stop at Trader Joe’s near the airport→car→home).

Some travel thoughts:

I hit the ying and the yang of Delta on this trip. First, I was on a Bombardier Regional Jet 900 which felt old and cramped. This makes sense because the internet tells me that my plane was most likely made 25 years ago.¹ Then I got an Airbus 319 and it felt like LUXURY. I watched Blade Runner 2049 on a very well-functioning screen! The air conditioning looked straight out of a ride in Galaxy’s Edge! No one brought me snacks or a drink but maybe I was supposed to ring for one?

During my Detroit layover, I had a delicious salad from a Farmer’s Fridge. I’ve only ever seen one of these before in the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. I wish they were in every airport in the U.S.

I spent my vacation out on Block Island, Rhode Island with my husband’s family. We’ve been lucky enough to go there in the summer for many years but this was the first time I finally went to the Block Island Historical Society. It’s a tiny but mighty museum in a beautiful old house. I loved seeing the pictures of previous islanders.²

I also finally made it to the Island Free Library which is possibly the coolest place on Block Island. It is also small but mighty with a community fridge, free backpacks with naturalist supplies, a very large children’s section and furnishings that include historical paintings and furniture scavenged from shipwrecks.

This lady kept an eye on me as I read about grief rituals in the silent section.

In terms of my groceries-on-the-way-home Trader Joe’s outing, I’d like to recommend these Liège waffles which remind me of the ones at Curio Coffee in Cambridge, MA. Whenever I stay with my wonderful friends Drew and Anna in Cambridge, I make them take me there for breakfast.³

Cartoon

Books

Does everyone know that Dua Lipa has a newsletter and now a book club? The newsletter is a lot of fun and I really enjoyed her first book club pick, Widow Basquiat by Jennifer Clement. Per the newsletter: Widow Basquiat is a love story for the ages; an unorthodox dissection of one of modern history’s greatest artists, Jean-Michel Basquiat, as recounted by his muse, Suzanne Mallouk. This book broke my brain open a little bit with its strange form and structure. And Suzanne…what a life!

Movies

Re-watching Blade Runner 2049 on the plane⁴, I was struck again by Villenueve’s use of silence and space. The movie is so gorgeous and bleak. I love it. I love how for as much as Gosling’s character is the protagonist and Harrison Ford’s character is the connective tissue between the original and the sequel, the female characters are far more interesting and dynamic. Sylvia Hoeks as Luv is terrifying⁵, Robin Wright plays a Humphrey Bogart role with aplomb, Carla Juri is so soulful and intriguing and you can’t take your eyes off of Mackenzie Davis and Ana de Armas whenever they are onscreen⁶. Plus, there are tons of interesting ideas about oppression, capitalism, nature, etc. A++

The Criterion Closet knew that I needed something to live for this week and gave me both Rob Delaney⁷ AND Ryan Coogler in the closet! Delaney’s was the first time I’ve ever seen all of the movies mentioned, which I’m pretty sure means we are meant to be best friends.

The preview for Jeremy Allen White’s Springsteen biopic is out and it looks solid. But I really included it here because I’m 100% certain that David Krumholtz is now trolling the world. First, he played a record exec in Ray. Then, he parodied his role by playing a record exec in one of the top five greatest musical biopic satires ever made, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.⁸ Now he’s back playing another record exec in a serious film? Incredible!

I plan on seeing both 28 Years Later⁹ and Materialists this weekend. Will report back.

Cookies

There are a lot of new babies in my world! Congrats to my friends Anna, Andrea and Suze! As part of an upcoming meal train contribution, I made these really good, really unique cookies. This is one of those fun recipes that asks you to slam the cookie sheet down on the counter to make the cookies flat.

Honey Miso Sesame Cookies

I didn’t have a huge supply of white sesame seeds so I used a combo of black and white.

Pods/Newsletters

Depressing but extremely interesting

Beth Bentley

on how corporations get you to consume.

UNCERTAIN PEOPLE BUY MORE STUFF

The Dream on why life feels so tenuous all the time.

More inspiring than depressing

Yes & Yes

on hosting anti-facist craft nights.

I've Been Hosting Anti-Facist Craft Nights & It's Healing My Soul

Michelle Albanes-Davis

on how Mussolini tried to get Italians to stop eating pasta.

Feeding Fascism

Power Broker Audiobook Update: 42 hours, 47 minutes remaining.

Thanks for reading! I’m so glad you’re here!

This issue is light on music so please check out my B sides playlist which is ever-expanding and now clocks in at 24+ hours in length.

Made by Beth Spencer over at Introvert Drawing Club

1. I don’t know anything about planes, btw. I learned what kind of plane I was on from my Delta app. My friend Craig and my dad always know what kind of plane they’re on and that ability blows my mind every time.

2. The picture on the right is actually a daguerrotype from 1875 of a carpenter named Lemuel B. Rose.

3. Obviously, the Trader Joe’s ones aren’t as good as the freshly made ones at Curio BUT they are quite delicious and easier to obtain.

4. And then finishing it at home because it’s basically three hours long.

5. Scarier even than Jared Leto!

6. And particularly when they merge into one fantasy lady to end them all!

7. His book about his son: sob.

8. Some people (me) argue that maybe no one should make a straight-ahead music biopic again since Walk Hard skewered all of them so effectively. Also in the top five: A Mighty Wind, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, This is Spinal Tap and Josie and the Pussycats.

9. Hold me!