saturday scroll + 25% off
something to read, something to sip, something to DO
I’ve reached over 1,000 subscribers on here. Sorry, what? It still feels like a trick, but I’ve communicated with enough of you to know that you are very real, amazing people who I am honored to have in this community. To celebrate, I’m offering 25% off for the next couple days. Let’s normalize supporting the media we love.
Happy Saturday.
I escaped the city to Connecticut for the long weekend, ready to lounge on rocky sand and force one more chilly swim to the buoys as September begins its overture. Labor Day doesn’t mark the official end of summer for me, just the end of summer at its peak. It’s the last weekend that we hear the steady clinking of tricycle bells, the metronomic clip-clopping of flip flops, the nostalgically patriotic ditties from the carousel down the block. As I try to remind myself, they will all be back soon.
I’m taking it easy on this transitory weekend, not expecting more from myself than reading a few chapters of my book and venturing out for a sandy walk between rows of coastal traditional architecture.
And in the spirit of calmness, here is a slow scroll for your Saturday — with something to read, something to drink, and something to do.
Something to read.
This morning, I came across a short article in the New York Times called A Playlist to Remember. It’s about using music as a memory archive — rather than collecting photos for an album or thoughts for the page, you curate songs of a time in your life, so you can listen back and elicit the memories in a visceral way.
If you’re not a NYT subscriber, here are some of my favorite quotes.
When I hear these songs in the future, they’ll trigger memories from this summer. I’ll be back by the lake where a duck walked right out of the water and stood by my beach chair. I’ll be sitting on the screened-in porch drinking iced coffee while the rain blows in. By making a playlist of the season, I’m delineating a chapter of my life. I’m engineering a mechanism to induce nostalgia in the future.
A recipe for nostalgia. Just add memories.
My Summer 2024 playlist is not meant to be listened to during the Summer of 2024. It’s for the Winter of 2024, or some far-off day in 2035, when I want to evoke this period of time.
I love the idea of preparing for your future self with the medicine of music.
Read more from the journalist, Melissa Kirsch, here.
Something to sip.
Non-alcoholic drinks are all the rage. I’ve increasingly withdrawn from alcohol recently, not liking the effect more than one (or sometimes, even one) drink has on me mentally and physically.
I am a taste person — going out for drinks? Meh. Slurping up $1 oysters? Ice cream? Kombucha? I’m THERE. And because of that, an actually tasty NA drink is right up my alley.
My favorite NA spirit so far has been Almave non-alcoholic tequila (this isn’t an ad, btw, I just really love it). It’s the brain child of Lewis Hamilton, the greatest F1 driver of all time and my idol. If you don’t know that much about him, look him up.
I tried the Almave Ámbar, which comes in a dark honey hued bottle worthy of flower vase repurposing. The palate description is spot on:
Notes of brown sugar, toasted wood and allspice with subtle hints of cacao. Balanced with agave, acidity, subtle sharpness and a touch of bitterness.
The taste is so delightful I always want to have a second glass (and luckily, I can!).
Get yourself a bottle ASAP.
Something to do.
Michelle Obama’s speech at the DNC invigorated millions of Americans who don’t want to see this country fall into the tiny hands of a wannabe dictator. And her mantra, “do something,” has thrummed through the very core of this country, manifesting in calls and canvassing and letters.
I know this is a very creative community, so I wanted to let you all know about an opportunity to help the Harris campaign using your skills. I’m part of Creatives For Harris, which is mobilizing creatives (mainly in the advertising world, but also beyond) to create campaigns in support of Harris/Walz. There have already been several awesome initiatives released over the last few weeks, including Blank For Harris, Insults For Good, and Horrors of Project 2025.
We are 1,000 strong, but can always use more people — particularly if you have experience in PR and web development.
Learn more and sign up here.
That’s all for now. Once again, I’m so happy to have over 1,000 of you here. It means more than you know.
Yeah, music is such a direct conduit to memory. Very cool idea.
You gotta try Ghia too (NA brand!)