I'm Too Tired to be Clever + What Caught My Eye (No. 68)

Reader, I am tired. If you can forgive me for a boring introduction, the reward (if you can call it that) is a list of ten things that caught my eye this week. You see, I’ve been up since 12:40 am last night, trying (and failing) to comfort a restless, sick Milo on the downstairs sofa. I would hold him in my hands and his body would relax only long enough for a leg to kick, a cough to putter out, and the occasional bit of spit-up to inevitably follow. By 3:00 am I was in the car on my way to the emergency vet. 5:00 am was bloodwork. 8:00 am was a tearful sonogram to see if there was an obstruction in his lower intestines. 9:00 am an untouched cup of coffee while I left him for additional X-rays. At 10:00 am I was taken to a small private room to rest for a bit, where they had already taken Milo and had queued up Mickey Mouse cartoons on an iPad to keep him company — even the technicians could see that Milo, at ten-years-old, has never had an interest in growing up.

And at 11:30 am, a parking ticket, and an exorbitant veterinary bill later, and both Milo and a bag of medicine were packed into the front seat of the Porsche. We have both been in a daze since, too tired to do much but sit but if I fall asleep now then the rest of my night is surely fucked.

So, I must apologize if I’m not in top form, but I hope I am forgiven this one time. And while I am, in a word, exhausted, I still needed something to pass the time and I can only sweat out my exhaustion in the bathtub for so long. I’m sure we’ll chat again midweek. But for now, some white rice is boiling pleasantly on the hob — a scoop for Milo to settle his stomach and a scoop for me to go with some gochujang-marinated chicken I threw together. What a strange and awful ending to this weekend.

Cheers

Millennium Miniseries

While I can recite nearly any car dealership jingle in the tri-state area from my childhood, and occasionally will watch old Real Housewives of New York clips on YouTube, I wouldn’t classify myself as a “television person” anymore. Like smoking, I have found that never giving up cold turkey means I want it less and less as the years go on.

Still, I do like to watch a bit of something after dinner and when my writing is done for the day. With Widow’s Bay having concluded, Millennium, was queued up next. This is the Swedish-language miniseries based on Stieg Larsson’s book series of the same name, including The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. Lucky for me, I’ve forgotten most of the 2011 American version, so I’m watching with semi-fresh eyes and a bit of embarrassment at how bad my Swedish actually is after multiple lessons with a private instructor.

Rohmer’s Élisabeth & His Six Moral Tales Screening at the Metrograph

My Rohmer Summer of Love continues with this exciting (to me at least) screening of Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales hexalogy at the Metrograph, to celebrate the release of the French filmmaker’s only novel Élisabeth. Done in partnership with McNally Editions, the movie theatre will show The Bakery Girl of Monceau, Suzanne’s Career, My Night at Maud’s, La Collectionneuse, Claire’s Knee, and Love in the Afternoon through the month of July. Sadly for me, I’m in New York from July 27 onwards and will be missing this entirely. Quelle tristesse !

New Music for Summer

This isn’t so much a thing that’s caught my eye, necessarily, but a plea for help. I am very bad at listening to new music, but one can only take so many podcasts in a day (my current rotation being a diet of Monocle’s The Briefing, The Daily, and The Globalist, along with The Ancients, Coffee Break French, and Chatham House’s Independent Thinking). I’ve queued up Nu Genea, SHĀHERI, Requin Chagrin, and Mind Enterprise, so I’m fairly open to anything I can throw on when I’m making dinner.

Oh, but do send me podcast recommendations, too, I suppose. I’ll even take a meaty true crime now and then. Or if I’m missing anything from BBC and the like. I don’t like “funny” podcasts and most menswear podcasts are awful and vaguely homophobic, so no need to include those.

Espadrilles

As we continue to pack up the house for an eventual move (which has been derailed a bit due to all the Life Stuff™ happening right now), I realize how many shoes I have. Why do I need so many? I don’t go anywhere. I pack like two pairs when I travel — and they’re always the same pair of trainers from Asics and boots from Prada. Who am I trying to impress? And why am I not investing that money in better-fitting jeans or perhaps a bespoke suit or a haircut that actually fits my face shape?

In any case, I’m now on the hunt for espadrilles (a shoe I last wore when I lived in Rome and got in trouble for wearing while attending a dinner at the Vatican). Having never been a fan of exerting more effort than I’ve needed to, I like a shoe I can slip on and go — see also my desire for these mules by G.H. Bass and for an unbranded pair of thin-thonged flip-flops. I also think espadrilles will look best beat up and a bit stained from the grass. I like when I can wear things that I don’t have to be precious about.

I found this pair on Mr. Porter from Castañer that’s quite nice, but so are these from Aldo and these from Viscata. I don’t think there’s much difference in quality between price points here, if I’m being honest, but feel free to send a recommendation my way if I’m missing anything. Just please don’t recommend me TOMS or I might just have to end it all.

KUOE Kyoto Old Smith

While I continue to write about watches for both GQ and Worn & Wound (where I also have a weekly column, if you didn’t already know), I’ve been a bit lax on my collecting lately. In fact, I’ve been wearing an Apple Watch more and more as I continue on my ~fitness journey~ with a personal trainer (plus, a slime mold has a better sense of direction than me and I have to wear it for Apple Maps whenever I’m in a city).

Nonetheless, I may just bite the bullet on the the Old Smith by Japanese watchmakers, KUOE. It’s the perfect size at 35mm and has a very unassuming profile and design that suits my taste just fine. I also find it a bit chic to wear a watch from a Japanese microbrand, so my reason is equal parts vanity and style.

ATM Anthony Thomas Melillo Judo Pants

At 5’9”, I get most of my clothing tailored or hemmed to fit better. Otherwise, I absolutely swim in anything that’s even a bit oversized. Even so, I was recently sent a press email from the brand ATM and think these Judo pants are quite nice. The looser fit, integrated drawstring, and ever-important elastic waist are just enough details to make these a bit more interesting than a similar pant one could find at, like, Zara (and why I asked the PR manager for one in ever color, I’m not ashamed to say).

Ranger Station Tennessee Tomato Candle

I popped into Ranger Station’s brick-and-mortar when I was in the West Village a few weeks ago to get out of a little drizzle and I’m very glad I did because I picked up this tomato-scented candle while drying off. Unfortunately, I had to keep with my hotel’s reception while I went off to Finland and London — along with an entire tote bag full of dirty laundry — and had them ship it all home for me upon my return to the States. It came in the mail this week and it’s better than I remember, perfectly spicy and seasonal (though I only light in the evenings because even seeing a flame during the day in this heatwave is enough for beads of sweaty to start pouring down my forehead).

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Folio Society Edition

It’s been absolute ages since I last read this book and with recent changes to my professional work, I thought it would be a good time to revisit The Little Prince. My goodness, so much of what makes this book so wonderful was lost on me as a kid — and I do believe that’s the merit of a perfect children’s book (see also: the Moomins novels and why I have a tattoo of the boy from The Giving Tree on my arm). I think this edition by Folio Society is so charming, and a step up from the copy I flipped through at the library and the PDF version I have saved on my iPad, that’s for sure.

Stacked Skincare High-Frequency Wand

The last time I was at Glowbar in May, the aesthetician recommended that I get a high-frequency wand to help with some of the stubborn areas around my jaw where I still occasionally break out from shaving. While it’s only been a couple of weeks (and also around the time I began using this mask from Mito Red Light), I do feel like it has to be doing something. I mean, for Christ’s sakes, considering it literally is zapping my skin with a bolt of concentrated electricity. The flip-side to vanity is, of course, being absolutely terrified twice a week for just-okay skin. God, I hate being gay sometimes.

Donating to Venezuela Earthquake Relief

I’m not going to make light of this with little jokes and I’m going to keep it brief. What happened in Venezuela last week is nightmarish and the death toll continues to rise (at present, it’s around 3,000 confirmed deaths). I urge you to donate to relief efforts if you can and here are a few charities if you don’t know where to start: Direct Relief, IFRC, and UNICEF.