Links we sent our friends #52
You're not the only one who hates jean shorts, making TTPD your own, and guest links from one of the funniest — and most talented — culture critics we know
Happy Monday, hi! Aliza here. This was the weekend I officially started developing a Birkenstocks tan on my feet. (Oops.)
Our guest contributor this week may sound familiar. Last fall, Aja sat down with to talk about going viral on TikTok (follow @colormeloverly) and why it’s serious to take pop culture seriously (most of the time).
Since then, we’ve become even bigger fans of Clara, and we’re excited to share her links with you today.
writes , a culture newsletter she started after feeling short-changed by the video ~content~ she was creating on other platforms. Her writing is eclectic, covering topics like consumerism (and Stanley cups), feminism (and Taylor Swift), influencer culture, and latest literary obsessions. We never miss an issue.
Clara’s Links:
So I moved last week, and one of the things I was most worried about was the removal of the wallpaper I had impulsively purchased and stuck to a small wall section (I got tired) five years ago. Imagine my joy when I bravely decided to try to unpeel it at 11pm on Wednesday night and it did! Easily! Without any paint stripping off! Anyway: I will be wallpapering the entirety of my next apartment with something like this.
I really loved this profile of Glen Powell, an actor I find disarmingly charming.
If you, like me, also saw a million and a half people reposting the AI-generated “All Eyes on Rafah” image on Instagram last week, you might find this piece from 404 Media interesting.
Last week, of published “Gmail will break your heart,” a wonderful essay about the long-forgotten emails in your inbox. Which led to me sobbing in an Aloft at 12 a.m. reading the long, rambling emails my (now dead) grandmother and I used to exchange circa 2005-2009. It made me long for correspondence.
Aliza’s Links:
The Birkenstocks I live in all summer, every summer. (Even if it means a bad foot tan.)
A gorgeous eulogy. We’ll miss you, Mrs. Robinson.
Rushed to the local bookstore to get a hard copy of this new book — that should interest other moms too.
If you’ve ever felt like it’s impossible to find both comfortable and well-fitting jean shorts, you’re (very much) not alone. That’s probably why I feel so passionately about my first Agolde pair. (Though I’d still recommend going up a couple of sizes for a comfortable fit!)
I’ve bookmarked this guide to effective kid-friendly hosting (from one of our previously featured newsletters, ).
Aja’s Links:
I loved this Switched On Pop episode exploring some of Cowboy Carter’s many layers and references.
Inviting people over so we have a reason to make this crushed olive dip + naked pizza combo. Aliza, you and Sam free? (Aliza: Duh.)
If you, like me, are a magnet for mosquitos… You need this gadget. And I do mean need: It makes every bite so much less irritating.
Not to make this a mosquito-themed newsletter, but we bought this for the backyard last year as a preventative device, which — when you remember to charge it — literally clears the air. (Aliza: This is important journalism at this moment in time!)
Newsletter we sent our friends:
This week’s newsletter & question sections looks a little different. Over dinner the other night, I called Aja “cool.” (Because, trust me, she is.) Almost immediately, she rejected it.
I’m not cool, she said… explaining that growing up as an awkward, books-obsessed kid has left her with a permanent identity as “nerd.”
Several nights later, I happened to come across — and proceed to send to Aja, as well as a few other friends — ’s gorgeous essay Death Of The Cool Girl. She writes, “Perhaps confidence isn’t something to be built; it's right under the surface when that heavy bulk of needing to be someone is lifted.”
Struck by this reframing, Aja reached out to other writers and folks we admire last week to ask them how they’d define cool. Their responses are so wonderful:
“There’s nothing more charming to me than a person who is beaming while talking about that specific thing that interests them most. I think it’s the passionate learner in me who is drawn to people like this — because we feel like-minded and excitable together.” - of
“I really love seeing someone earnest about their passions; talking loudly or using hand-gestures. I feel cool when my eagerness is met with openness. When I don't have to walk away from an interaction worried that I did too much. I can't turn myself into the cool girls I grew up watching, I'm just way too heartfelt for that.” - Kelly Williams of
“I think cool people are just masters of existing in uncertainty. The times I feel coolest are the times when I’m least anxious. When I’m wearing a big t-shirt with my hair on top of my head, pushing a lime into a Modelo, surrounded by my friends, mind free from self-inquiry or shame. Yeah, that’s the stuff.” - of
“If I can get a good belly laugh from a group of friends, the high from that will last a week. Laughing together is the absolute best form of connection on earth, and connection is the coolest.” - Kellyn of
The cool girl I aspire to be makes others feel seen. She drops a thoughtful card in the mail on the anniversary of your pup’s passing. She dresses for the occasion — fully embracing your ‘Scandinavian black tie’ wedding dress code even if she finds it a little silly. She hearts every Instagram post from your small business. She makes a point to introduce two people at a party she thinks might be friends.” - of
Question we asked our friends:
What do you think? How do you define cool — or, when’s the last time you felt cool?
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I love the reflections on “cool” and totally agree with them! Cool is being passionate and kind; the type of person who is genuinely curious, generous with their laughter (not in a mean way) and sees opportunities for connections.
I am in Miami for the next couple of months and *will* be taking the mosquito-related recs to *heart* !!!