lend me your eyes #103
on newsletters, nostalgic tv, and an aubergine recipe
hello friends,
i’m keeping this intro uncharacteristically short because i did some big admin earlier and it has used up all my brain energy. i hope you’re having a nice end to the week, wherever this dispatch finds you.
enjoy – and see you next time!
things i’ve enjoyed reading lately
“appropriately humble in name, tinyletter was light on features and heavy on focus. the canvas was a blank text box; the platform itself the most bare-bones way to send a bunch of emails. publishing on tinyletter meant stories would never be loud, go viral, or make any money. but this quietness was a strength, and for a brief era — i’d estimate 2012 to early 2016 — tinyletter was where some of the most compelling writing was happening on the internet.”
the desperate of the instagram photo dump.
“we follow platforms’ unwritten and ever-shifting rules, and we are rewarded with more attention; we attempt to counteract the overflow of content by putting out an overflow of our own. in the long term, the platform wins, and we’re left forcing new formats to fit our old goal of interacting with friends.”
remembering one of the uk’s unlikeliest number ones.
“despite the song’s success, things are pretty similar to how they’ve always been: he’s still unable to find a female singer for a synth pop project (he’s been looking since the 90s), he still lives in derby, still produces music in a home studio, he’s still active as white town, and he’s still just as radical in his political beliefs (“we should be out on the streets punching nazis every day,” he laughs over the phone).”
the marvellous misery of monk.
“the real beauty of monk comes from its defining creative decision: let monk be miserable.”
this week, make: grilled aubergine and soba noodle salad with nearly nước chấm.
so good you’ll want to eat it several days in a row. in fact, i did just that last week.
footnotes
i find myself back in my wordle era, but i’ve also become borderline obsessed with the nyt mini crossword and, occasionally, connections. i’ve recently discovered that, weirdly, linkedin has got into… well, the game. crossclimb is my fave though i’ve been enjoying queens too
halloween and diwali are on the same day this year……
more fun social media stuff: this oslo tourism ad
i’ve been getting into early noughties tv shows again; i think it’s the mix of the darker evenings coupled with the comforting feeling of having something that feels light and non-threatening playing in the background. i’ve wended my way through ugly betty, and am variously dropping in on monk, psych and desperate housewives when time allows
liner notes
a track that’s been on repeat lately