The title is from Anaïs Godard's An Open Letter to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Who Thinks My Daughter is a Tragedy.
She won’t make your podium more sympathetic or your policies more tragic. She’s not yours to pity. She’s mine to marvel at.
You should read it.
I read dozens of scientific papers—about a mother dingo who carried her dead pup for days, elephants who appear to bury their dead, dolphins who would not let a deceased podmate sink—and debates about how those behaviors should be interpreted. I often did so while cradling my cat Maya, then dying from kidney disease, and thought sometimes of Ingmar, my cat who died last winter from cancer. On the final night of her life, her body hollowed, she summoned the energy to visit her favorite spots, as if paying them a last visit. I thought often about the inevitable death of those I love, which troubles me constantly. I thought sometimes about my own death, which for now is less of a concern. I attended the passing of a goat named Caramel at the sanctuary where I volunteer. Goats have very large pupils, and near the end, as he lay on his side, they were like galaxies.
As someone living with a dog in her end-days, I found this piece in Natilus, How Animals Understand Death, to be well worth a read.
The Nightly pegs itself as Sad. Old. Radio. Pretty accurate:
The Nightly is a music appreciation society disguised as a radio station, specializing in the old, the gloomy, and the obscure.
TaskMaster aired the first episode of its 19th (!) Series today. Strong episode.
I've been a fan of Stevie Martin since seeing this:
For the very few of you who have not seen this Markobi magic act:
At about 7:42 he says, "This is your life," which may seem odd. He's quoting fellow magician and friend Dani DaOrtiz. These two men are clearly among the greatest sleight-of-hand magicians ever and their clumsy schlub routines are equal parts charming and controlled.
When I first saw these videos a while ago, I went down a DaOrtiz rabbit hole and saw a video of his that I found rather sexist/offensive, so I suggest you just watch the two videos above and be amazed and let it go at that.
My powerbar of choice is the RX Bar. I tried my first one in Santa Monica in the late 2010s, drawn to it by the blunt and bold packaging. Today, I learned that that packaging was created by Nicole and Mike McQuade. Their work is consistently striking.
Much more at TheMcQuades.com.
Nice little short documentary about Bill Marsh, a swim teacher who helps children manage their fears and discover their own power when submerged in an overwhelming unknown. Directed by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack.
Via Nag On the Lake.
Lloyd Stellar's browser-based recreation of the legendary Roland TR-808 drum machine. Dead-simple to use.
Vania Heymann's done a bunch of commercials for Apple and other brands, but it's his music videos that are particularly delightful.
This one for Roy Kafri's Mayokero is 10 years old and, but I don't recall seeing it before. Wonderfully done and a treat for anyone who loves album art.
His most recent video is for A$AP Rocky's Tailor Swif and is co-directed by Gal Muggia:
You're gonna watch it again, aren't you?
