D&F 1-17-21

2021 is wild so far! Between people I know actually getting vaccines, an incredibly scary coup attempt, and a few blessed days of rain I’m not sure what to do with it. This week promises to be momentous, but I hope it’s largely boring. I’m not a big fan of Biden, and think we need a way stronger left wing party than the very pro-corporate Democrats, but even I plan to breathe a sigh of relief as he gets sworn in.

A long-read for you this month as you think about the permission and space you need to step-away and think, read, and write. I love this essay and its look at both Bob Dylan and the distance we may need from the internet in order to synthesize and digest everything we’ve already consumed. If you really like Craig’s work, you might consider supporting it.

Speaking of my beloved wing, noted far-left publication CNN (kidding) comes out swinging with this report on a study that shows left-wing protestors are treated differently than off-duty and on-duty white supremacist cops. Imagine that! So many folks I know around the US have dealt with the death cult’s police their whole lives, but it’s heartening that more people are realizing how dangerous it is to give these murderers free rein. I really hope in the next decade we can rethink community safety and accountability.

Did you read the NYMag story on the largely speculative origin story of Covid-19 by Nicholas Carr? Surprising few, it wasn’t very well researched and leaned on a lot of fears and racism towards the Chinese government. I still hope at some point we narrow down the vectors for diseases like these so that we can prevent more of them, but that ain’t it.

In other major news from the globe, the very lorry drivers who were so excited to do an racism that they pretty thoroughly hobbled their entire country’s economy are now being punished where it hurts: their ham sandwiches. I feel sad for the millions of Brits who knew that staying in the EU was the right decision, but I will laugh and laugh at the dinguses and their floppy-haired lord, Boris. What would happen if the ardently “red states” decided to leave the United States, then while trying to attempt treaties and trade ended-up with a significantly worse deal for their citizens? I mean, at least the UK didn’t fight a war with the EU during this whole thing.

And now for something sexy and fun! Imagine the wildest sexual adventures you’ve ever had… OK, got them pictured? They’re for certain nowhere near as bonkers as these wild clams.

“…insemination can even be simultaneous, with one shipworm shoehorning its sperm into a second shipworm with one of its siphons, while its other siphon receives a gob of sperm from a different shipworm neighbor.”

Yea, these worms are nasty. Bless them.

Look, you might not be able to have a constant orgy around the world on a ship like some clams we know, but you can at least perpetually rent a lifestyle you can’t afford to own using things like Rent the Runway. Tangential to this story is the idea of leasing a car, which has always confused me a bit. What makes me the most anxious about this rental economy is the idea that it is in any way more environmentally friendly to get used to a high pace of consumption. I know that individual consumption is not the lynchpin for longer-term environmental effect, but we should avoid deluding ourselves that we’re even doing that. As the previous article links, there are a number of studies that suggest “buying green” might even act as a salve for other negative behavior. Even still, perhaps it’s a good idea to take stock of how you’re doing. There are lots of guides on how to change our behaviors to be more environmentally-friendly even if the largest changes need to come from corporations.

If you’re reading the previous links and saying “a plant-based diet? But I love IKEA meatballs!” then you, my friend, are in luck! IKEA has 100% Swedish meatballs that are Vegan, and in fact they’re even more Swedish than traditional Swedish meatballs because they were designed by a Swedish chef.

No, not that Swedish chef.

Finally, for my banking pals who were saddened by Simple’s announcement of its closing down as part of an acquisition of BBVA US by PNC, here is a useful resource listing the features of comparable banks. I’m currently test-driving both Varo and One while continuing to use Wealthfront. Savings rates are pretty terrible with most banks these days, but finding a place to put one’s money where we can have both kind support folks, and a decent interface is challenging.

Links

Two things to watch this week, with the caveat that they might both be upsetting:

• Promising Young Woman is an interesting take on the revenge genre with a fantastic cast headed-up by Carey Mulligan. She’s one of my favorite actresses, so I’ve eagerly anticipated the release of this movie. I got to watch it a little early because of my work with the Women’s Foundation of Oregon.
• The Flight Attendant is one of the best looks at alcoholism and trauma I’ve seen in a while, wrapped-up in a jet-setting murder mystery. A great cast, with excellent cinematography and a story that moves pretty briskly meant I thoroughly enjoyed this show. If you have HBO Max, it’s worth a watch.

Some things to buy:

• A Hinoki wood bathmat to step on when you leave the shower. I have two of these now, and they smell wonderful and have replaced my cloth bathmat. Mold? Stains? No problem for my bathroom anymore. Once I realized how silly it was to constantly step on a floor towel that was a pain to clean, switching felt easy.
• I recently bought this small coffee bottle from Snow Peak and was even more charmed by it once it arrived. I love that it’s vaguely reminiscent of a restaurant Kikkoman soy sauce bottle

SHOW ME, SHOW YOU, KIKKKKOOOOOOMANNNNNNN

Closing

This week’s newsletter is a little longer than usual because I’m still playing with the format a bit. On the advice of friend of the letter Drew, I hopefully provided more context for the links scattered in the body of text above. It’s less-easy to skim for links than the early incarnation of Dill & Fennel, but gives you a bit more reason to click and maybe even brings a smile to your face. I really appreciate those of you who’ve reached out to tell me the parts of this newsletter you’ve enjoyed. Writing this every Saturday is a fun practice for me, and something I look forward to while I read the news and idly surf during the week. Thanks again for coming along with me through the cyberhighways and byways. Keep thinking big, space cowgirls~