Telling your friends and family to subscribe to this newsletter is a radical act

Not everything you enjoy must be "an act of resistance."

Rest is a radical act. Cooking is a revolutionary act. Joy is an act of resistance. Savoring a pleasant moment is a radical act. Excellence is an act of resistance, but so is procrastination. Being thankful is — you guessed it — a radical act. Reading is a radical act. Ted Lasso is not, itself, a radical act, but it does provide “radical optimism,” which is almost as good. These are descriptions culled from a variety of sources, from Apartment Therapy to the New York Times. The verdict is in: the most radical thing you can do is probably the thing you were going to do already.

Thus it was with a skeptical eye that I read the headline of Rebecca Solnit’s recent interview at the New Yorker. “Rebecca Solnit on the Politics of Pleasure.” Here we go. The interview is really about promoting Solnit’s new book, Orwell’s Roses, which takes as its point of departure (not to shock you) that George Orwell once grew roses. “Somehow,” Solnit comments about her choice of subject, “caring about anti-racism or human rights or climate change means you can’t enjoy yourself or spend time on things that are not furthering the revolution.” The politics of pleasure, gestured at by the headline, have to do with celebrating a sensuality that is meant to be forbidden. One example is 1984, which is, to Solnit, about its hero Winston Smith “reclaiming all the things he’s not supposed to have and see and be and enjoy.… It’s not just about the need to destroy or resist Big Brother, but to do it in these very indirect ways, by being who they don’t want you to be.” Toward the end of the interview, she rephrases her takeaway: “There’s a way that people think of politics as always eating your spinach, when often it’s eating cream puffs and champagne.” Hence a book about Orwell (dour, impeccably political) and roses (beautiful, luxurious). Checkmate, ascetics — all four of you.

One area in which the British have us beat

Think of literally any famous person: I will be thinking about Megan Fox. Now imagine that person’s smile. Is it perfect? Do they have big, beautiful pearly whites, the kind that can only be achieved through the extensive work of someone with a DDS degree? They probably do, because most celebrities get their teeth fixed as soon as that first big check comes through.

It makes sense; having straight, perfect teeth has long been a class signifier. A “good” smile can make us believe that someone is beautiful, rich, and happy, even if they’re just a vacuous millionaire who hasn’t felt empathy in years.

Dr. Daniel Naysan, a dentist based in Beverly Hills (his website greets you with a quote from Paris Hilton declaring him “the only dentist I trust with my smile”) says that celebrities are drawn to veneers for the exact reason you’d expect: they want to look good.

“Celebs are very conscious of what they look like on film and are looking for perfection aesthetically. Not only just in their skin, or their face, or their body, but the smile plays a big role,” Dr. Naysan said, “You can have perfect skin, perfect body, but if your teeth don't match that then there's something off.”

Judging acceptability, from photo dumps to dump trucks.

Dumps are bigger than ever right now. Instagram photo dumps, Facebook document dumps, TikTok therapist trauma dumps. My god, we’re positively drowning in dumps. And while in certain cases referring to something with the word “dump” is acceptable behavior, in many cases it is not. So for the benefit of all, let’s comb through each of the various dumps and determine if the dump in question is acceptable, or if we collectively need to stop saying it forever starting immediately.

They watch shows there called ‘Mr. Corman’ and ‘Truth Be Told’

When I got a new iPhone last Spring, it came with a special treat: one full year of Apple TV+, Apple’s streaming service featuring their own original content. Who am I to say no to free content? I used it to watch a few episodes of The Morning Show and then the much talked-about Ted Lasso. Occasionally I check in to purchase seasons of my favorite television show, the History Channel’s Alone, and to rent films not available on other streaming services, like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man or the films of Tony Scott. I am a simple woman with simple needs.

Sometimes though, I go through all the streaming services I’m subscribed to or steal from friends, and I can’t think of anything to watch, so I remember to click on over to Apple TV+. And each time I go through their selections, I am newly shocked — do people know these shows exist? Or do they only exist in an alternate reality when I am bored and can’t find anything to watch?

Oh calm down

You’re walking down the street. About 10-15 minutes prior, you had popped a piece of gum in your mouth. It has now lost its flavor, it’s not chewing as well as it did when you started, and your jaw is tired. That means it’s time to spit out your gum. But oh no, there’s no trash can anywhere for some reason. What is a girl to do? Is she to spit her gum onto the street, surely setting up a trap for someone else to have a horrible day when they inevitably step in it? Is she to keep the piece of rapidly hardening gum in her mouth until she can find a trash can? The real answer is this: She can swallow the gum, it’s fine.

Apparently this is a contentious opinion. When the topic of swallowing your gum came up in Gawker’s Slack yesterday, the majority of staffers expressed disgust at the very thought of it. Only three of us were courageous enough to say that it is a perfectly fine thing to do from time to time.