Food for thought

This feels like a no-prelude kind of week, so I'm just gonna dive in.

Let's amuse that bouche:

1. If you find yourself aching for more art and beauty in this deeply upsetting world, I hear you. If you find yourself wanting to learn new things and celebrate the softer side of being human, roger that. Specifically, if you want to immerse yourself in some instruction on, I don't know... photography with an actual camera, or the psychology of creativity, or the history of art heists or avant-garde movements, here’s good news: you can do that without spending a dime or leaving the house. Enjoy.
2. If you get even half as psyched as I do about heirloom tomato sandwich (or toast) season—that's July/August for the uninitiated—this recipe from Sohla El-Waylly will separate your soul from your body. Crispy onions, bouillon powder, and chili oil? Say less. I love you. You had me at hello.
3. There's this place in Texas called Korea House: a small, locally-owned restaurant that, for years now, has set aside the first Wednesday of every month to serve lunch and dinner for free to anyone who needs fed. It started doing this in 2023 and has, to date, dished out 15,ooo meals entirely on the house. It hasn't been an easy endeavor or a cheap one, but the proprietors have pledged to keep going. "Everyone is struggling with something," one of the co-owners recently told a local reporter. "I just want whoever comes to the restaurant, after they taste our food, I want them to be filled up spiritually."
4. World Central Kitchen has resumed its work in Gaza, and if you'd like to help them keep going, here's how you can do that.
5. This week, I went with my friend Sarah (hi Sarah!) to a screening of Young Adult—a movie from 2011 that I'd already seen three times and liked so much, I didn't mind making it four—at Hyperreal Film Club, which is a community microcinema, which is a term I wasn't familiar with until I was standing inside of one. Hyperreal is a single-screen theater in a building that may or may not have once housed a strip club, and it's run almost entirely by volunteers, all of whom clearly love movies and/or hanging out with people who love movies. It's funded entirely by a Kickstarter campaign and a bunch of subscribers who pay $2, $5, or $10 a month; its founders set it up as a nonprofit and refer to it as "less a business and more like a giant community art project." Take the concept of an arthouse theater, expand its definition to make it a lot more accessible, and that's what this thing is. They're throwing a Pee-wee Herman birthday celebration next month, complete with a "Tequila" dance-off. More of this, please, always and forever.
6. Part of the problem of doing creative things for a living, as most people who do creative things for a living will tell you, is how hard it is to make a living doing creative things. Money only seems to grow on trees in rich people’s backyards, and as more and more of us are realizing, a lot of them are hoarders. But also, there's this apartment building known as The Candy Factory, and it feels like a great model for anyone with a fat bank account and half a heart to get inspired by. So, I guess if you know any rich people, send them this short film and give them a nudge to get them moving.
7. And on the dual topic(s) of creativity and folks doing good things with their resources: I've yet to find anything not to love about Hayley Williams, and now the people's princess has up 'n' done it again. Shortly after the feds ripped away funding for NPR and PBS earlier this month, she released a new song exclusively for public radio*—not so much as a drop for corporate radio giants or streaming services. Following that, she released 17 new tracks for free on her website this week. They were only available for a day or two, and while I didn't get a chance to listen to them all, what I did hear sounded like a blend of middle fingers to all the things we ought to be giving middle fingers to and big hugs for those of us who need one.

Til next week or thereabouts, m'dears.

*To quote the poet-philosopher Montell Jordan: this is how we do it.

"If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food, it's a plus for everybody."

—Anthony Bourdain

31 July 2025

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