Welcome back! First thing’s first:
This Sunday: The Future of Cities After Covid-19
Featuring:
Sam Lubell, an architectural journalist for the New York Times and LA Times, and author of several books on design (books!)
Ed Krafcik, an urban planner and landscape architect, formerly with the “smart cities” startup Soofa
Your two Not the News authors—Charlie & Meital—and Jared Stein moderating!
Read
Your Favorite Art Museum…Is on TikTok?
I’m clearly a Millennial, not a Zoomer. Why? Well, in addition to my birthday, the fact that I don’t have a TikTok account. Do I really have to learn a new app? Maybe I’ll just leave it to the teens.
Well, I don’t really have that excuse anymore. Because museums are getting on TikTok now, and apparently the Galleria degli Uffizi—the hyper-prestigious Renaissance art museum in Florence, Italy—is making silly videos.
In lieu of a block quote, I think I’ll just share a photo from the New York Times article:
Yes, that’s Medusa turning the coronavirus to stone. (h/t Becky Haft for this story)
The Collapse of a Hot Weed Startup
The U.S. may be in the midst of a slow sea-change in its social and regulatory attitude toward cannabis. But some things never change: greed springs eternal.
Politico details how the formerly ascendant and cash-flush cannabis startup MedMen (amusingly close to “Mad Men”) crashed and burned—and what its fate reveals about the budding (pun intended) cannabis industry.
MedMen, cannabis insiders say, is just the most colorful illustration of what happens when a young industry groping toward the world of legitimate big business is forced to exist under an uncertain regulatory regime that no other sector has to contend with.
“Until you treat cannabis and regulate cannabis like every other business is regulated in the United States today, you will be creating opportunities for mischief.”
Juicy details and comparisons to Entourage at the link above.
Everyone Loves Dolly Parton
America is polarized across geographical, racial, and educational lines. The idea that we can transcend those divides seems fanciful—we write this newsletter so you don’t have to think about that.
But it’s possible; one person has done it. Her name: Dolly Parton.
The New York Times has this story about the unique appeal of this “saucy grandmother of social media.”
Like a vintage Hollywood studio head, she understands stardom as a kind of blank dream screen onto which people project their own stories and fantasies.
But she has also — long before social media — known the importance of the avatar, the fun that can be had in creating an exaggerated public caricature of oneself.
Watch
Insecure (HBO)
Binge-worthy show with 30-minute episodes (a big plus, personally) that depicts the life of a modern black woman in LA. 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Broadchurch (Netflix)
Yet another great British show that Netflix acquired the rights to. A crime drama focused on the effect of an 11-year-old boy’s death on a small town. Suspicion, intrigue, grief, rivalry…and 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Cook
Not one, not two—20 homemade pizza recipes
Because cheese and bread are the most comforting foods that exist.
Summer squash and basil pasta
All fresh herbs are wonderful, but basil has a particularly intense flavor. Add sweet squash and you have a delicious dish.
That’s it! Seriously.
Sadly, this will be the last edition of Not the News. It’s not that we no longer need great streaming recommendations, recipes, or stories that have nothing to do with pandemics or politics. It’s just that some very boring personal reasons will prevent one of your authors (me, so you know who to blame) from giving this newsletter the attention it deserves.
Thank you all for signing up to get another email in your inboxes every week, for continuing to read, and for your feedback. Putting this together for you all over the last few months has been a ton of fun, and really rewarding.
We’ll sign off as many emails recently have started:
We hope you’re staying healthy and sane,
Charlie & Meital