Greetings Kids!
I know this is a quick turnaround from my usual sloth-like dissemination of this newsletter, but after some threatening nudging from a cherished loved one, I decided to pick up the slack, as it were, on sharing content with you all! BUT…in a twist, the famous Maribel Colorado will be at the helm of this post! Enjoy!
Dear reader,
Pleased to make your acquaintance! I’m M, Adam’s older sibling. I like a lot of things (film, podcasts, crafting, 90’s culture) and I tend to write about them in my Substack,
. I also have a podcast, @realitycheck1212, in the works about the phenomenon that is the aging millennial. I hope you enjoy what I have gathered up for you today. Thanks so much for reading and I hope to see you around the Substackverse.Stay golden,
M
Thing One
I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon the lesser known (at least to an aging millennial like myself) Cameron Crowe film, Singles (1992). Between the iconic boom box holding John Cusack and Crowe’s critically acclaimed autobiographical film, he made a really rad movie set to the soundscape of early 90’s grunge.
Singles takes place in the mythical Seattle, WA, where now legendary bands such as Nirvana held court but a mere 30 years ago. And because I was too young to have experienced the grunge movement firsthand, this movie feels like a documentary.
Weaving the personal ups and downs of a group of early twentysomethings, you get a feel for the flannel, the rock club scene, and the music that helped co-create their idyllic early 90’s existence. Get ready for no cell phones, old-school dating agencies, casually attending an Alice in Chains performance (yes, you can watch Layne Staley in a Hollywood-produced movie), and lots of coffee shop scenes. And if that doesn’t sell you, you can watch 3 founding members of Pearl Jam play members of a earnest fake band struggling to “make it” while balancing day jobs delivering flower arrangements across town. Do yourself a favor and go watch Singles for free on YouTube today!
Thing Two
I hate-read something this week.
I’m not proud of myself. Why? Mostly because of the subject matter of it.
But at the same time, when I find something as wild and wily as this, I have to share it.
And I have no shame - so here we go!
In the not-too-distant past, our modern-day Lady of the Lake herself, Gwyneth Paltrow, and her infamous “wellness” business, GOOP, hosted a GOOP cruise around the Mediterranean.
Stay with me, now! Just hear me out.
Look, I don’t really keep tabs on this kind of stuff but before I knew it, I had the Harper’s page wide open and I was hooked. It took me a few intermissions but I did it. I read every inch of it.
Written by the acerbic, chain-smoking Lauren Oyler, I cannot recommend enough this finely composed piece of journalism to you. (Oyler even manages to blend her personal issues related to her throuple in this opus. And it is nothing short of an opus.) Don’t have the time to delve into the deep waters? Read just a portion of this behemoth of a piece so lovingly titled, “I Really Didn’t Want to Go.” It will still leave you just, just.
On a positive note, journalism is not dead and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Thing Three
So, I’m going on a trip this summer. Texas will be on the itinerary. And America’s favorite beaver, his beaver nuggets, and the place where you can find all of his trademark apparel, has been officially saved in my Google Maps. A southern institution that I think we all can enjoy, Buc-ee’s chain of combo store and gas stations have been serving customers since 1982 but I only learned about them last year.
‘Tis a bit random like? you may ask. But Buc-ee’s made the wish list ever since I watched 2 Brits fawn over their merch, their food, and their Texan hospitality whilst visiting the biggest Buc-ee’s built to date. (Jolly is a delight of a YouTube channel, by the way. Just to sneak in another Thing into this post!)
My impression is that the closest thing, conceptually and geographically, we have to a Buc-ee’s in New England is a Wawa. (And according to their website, the closest Wawa to us is in New Jersey!) There is a kind of crazy eyes, cult-like devotion associated with both of these gas stations that seems odd and at the same time, very American.
I’m excited. Hopeful. Hungry.
I’ll be sure to bring you an update later this summer!
Thanks so much again for reading this week’s edition of Las Tres Cosas!
And as we say over at
, building a flock one post at a time,M