Consumer Report: March
What I did, saw, read, watched, listened to and ate in March
Consumer Report: March
What I did, saw, read, watched, listened to and ate in March
Jacqueline Novak’s Work in Progress at the Bell House: Live comedy is often a work in progress, which is most of the fun, especially when you have access to small and small-ish venues in a major city where comics work out their bits before going on tour. Jacqueline takes the comedic work in progress notion to such a meta degree I have to assume Work In Progress will be the final title of the hopefully inevitable special. More on this show when I see her perform the rest of her material this weekend. This is the first show I’ve been to at The Bell House since it was bought by Live nation, and so far the differences are few, besides a new sign by the side of the stage and the more expensive, less charming experience of not buying the tickets on Eventbrite.
Franklin Park Reading Series’ 16th Anniversary Party: This is a great series and an ideal venue and I don’t go often enough. Melissa Broder got me in the door, but Liza Monroy and Edgar Gomez also gave fantastic readings and I can’t wait to get their books.
The Affordable Art Fair: More on that here.
This fantastic installment of Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick’s The Trend Report with on the future of the food creator economy: Things are not looking good, folks.
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro: Well, the first half anyway. It was a busy month. Will report back in my semi-comprehensive survey of recent art about AI.
The Severance Season Two finale: I thought this season was pretty uneven, with a lot of side quests dragging down the middle episodes and separating our core cast, but I think the finale pulled it all together again in a way that makes me want to pick up the remote again when season three premiers sometime in the 2030’s.
Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney: I simply cannot believe this show is getting anything but raves. I love it. It is the natural successor to Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Give me more!
The Brutalist: Got this in just under the wire before the Oscars. This was a gorgeous film with a beautiful score and also so fucking bleak. Just when you think you’ve seen enough suffering, we go marble shopping! And this is all AFTER the concentration camp. Adrien Brody is very good in it and yet I think I hate him. Throwing his chewed gum at his girlfriend before his acceptance speech?! Hasn’t Georgina Chapman been through enough? (Or is this karma because she knew what Harvey was up to?)
Perpetual Motion People by Ezra Furman: I just got tickets to see her at Webster Hall in October and decided to add this album to my vinyl collection while I was at it. I’m still waiting on a copy of Twelve Nudes from Rough Trade. Does anyone know what’s going on over at Rough Trade these days, by the way? I’ve been waiting over a month and a couple weeks ago got an “update on my order” that said “We want to reassure you that your order is being processed and apologize for any delay caused. We are aware many are having difficulty accessing order details, including tracking information for shipped orders. Additionally, we want to clarify that while payments have been collected, this does not mean your order is immediately scheduled for shipment.” Weird, I thought when I paid for something, you sending it my way eventually was part of the deal.
Old Navy Linen Pants: Old Navy gets me with their linen pants every year. They’re all I want to wear in the summer, and I can lounge around in them while working from home and still feel like I got dressed. I think they’re especially good this season. The drawstring waste is thinner, the colors are good, and they’re longer than usual. So if you, like me, waffle between buying regular or tall, you can buy the regular (and you’ll have the full range of options that aren’t always available in tall sizes). They run kind of big this season, but they have historically tended to shrink in the wash, so I suspect they’ll come out of the first wash just perfect.
A shower curtain I had to cut in half: While boycotting both Amazon and Target (more on that odyssey next week), I’ve been rediscovering which items I got at either store for a reason other than convenience. One such item is a shower liner, which I just rediscover is impossible to find in-person in any other dimensions than 70” x 72”. Not every shower needs a wrap-around curtain! Fortunately, if you cut a 70” wide shower liner in half you get two 35” inch wide shower curtains, exactly the width I’m looking for. That’s savings! I’m a genius.
Vintage Scarves: The first law of thermodynamics tells us that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, but can only change form. Similarly, my desire to shop at Target cannot be destroyed, only converted into the desire to buy vintage accessories off Etsy. Hence: scarves.
White leather mini skirt: Etsy is also a good source for very specific clothing items that are somehow impossible to find at a regular store, like the white miniskirt I’ve been trying to find for literal years. I have bought and returned so many almost options. Then I found this seller that makes made to measure leather skirts, which is great if you have even slightly non-standard proportions, especially when buying a skirt in an unforgiving material.
Blonde highlights: I am very lucky to have a close friend who is really good at sussing out hairstylists who are good at blonde, because I am terrible at picking salons. When our old colorist moved upstate to work on a farm (the modern day American dream), she found us a new one based out of a salon in Gowanus that shares space with a private detective’s office and a theater group. Every time I ring the bell under the PI’s awning, with only a sticker on the door indicating that you could find a hair salon inside, I feel like I’m getting caught in a sting operation set up to catch a wanted criminal who badly needs a root touch up. Also, the under-the-radar signage is probably keeping the salon a secret in a way that makes it relatively easy to get an appointment. Yes, I am gatekeeping.
Winona’s: Rudie and I tried this BedStuy restaurant based on an Instagram I saw of their churro french toast. We went for brunch, which was delicious, and I’m eager to go back for dinner, even if they are located in that Broadway Triangle area that always feels inconvenient to travel to. The trout melt was amazing, and the aforementioned french toast was the perfect finish. Good cocktails, too.
Ichiran Veggie Ramen: For Rudie’s early birthday, we trekked to Bushwick on a no-G-train day for ramen and dessert. I’d heard Ichiran has the best veggie ramen in the city and I have to agree.
Win Son’s Mochi Donuts: This was the desert. Highly recommend. (They also do a great chocolate bao that’s like a cross between a chocolate babka and a pain au chocolat.)