Dinner at Sera's, vol. 8
Don't let me get me.
Happy May Day!
In Germany, May 1st is a public holiday and is celebrated with a number of traditions, but in Berlin is most famous for its Labor Day demonstrations in Kreuzberg - which are (of course) accompanied by open-air parties and raves all around the city.
Since I live on the edge of Kreuzberg and also have my master’s thesis due in eight days, I will have my windows shut, my noise canceling headphones on, and will not be getting up from my little writing workshop at my dining table, but I truly hope everyone experiences only the most raucous of celebrations.
Also wishing a very Iyi Bayramlar/Eid Mubarak to all who celebrate!
To cancel or not to cancel, that is the question
Let’s dive right into the big controversy of the past week - Tinx’s old Tweets. If you don’t know who Tinx (legally known as Christina Najjar) is, congratulations, your screen time is certainly much lower than mine.
I don’t personally think retweeting Don Jr. and Eric Trump’s commentary on some (pretty entertaining) Donald Trump quotes makes someone known for dating advice, parody videos, and kitschy merchandise worthy of “cancelation”. Even if it did, one very cursory look into her Twitter would show she far more frequently liked and retweeted liberal politicians, at least in the US. Somewhat confusingly, her extensive defense of Theresa May and Boris Johnson would indicate she likely identifies as conservative in the UK, which I still don’t see as grounds to get out the pitchforks and torches.*
What I am actually surprised by is the extreme pedestal so many people seem to have put her on. I think when you feel so deeply offended by the actions of an internet personality, especially someone who has frequently referred to her not-so-distant “mean girl” past, it may be time to look into what compelled you to have such great expectations from someone you’ll likely never know personally in the first place.
I am also surprised that the (at least) three-person team she employs never scrubbed her Twitter.
*Lest this all be used against me one day during my own cancelation, let it be publicly known that I have voted in every single midterm and general US election since 2010 (verifiable online), and I have never once voted for a Republican candidate.
Speaking of Twitter, I still don’t quite understand why Elon Musk even wanted to buy the entire platform (other than for the mere fact that he can), but I guess we’ll just have to see what happens next. I do find it extremely funny that this means Donald Trump still won’t be back on Twitter, which Elon is apparently devastated by.
“The bane of my existence and the object of all my desires”
I know I’m very late to the game, but I am completely obsessed with season two of Bridgerton. I thought season one was so cheesy and unwatchable when it first came out (I stopped after the third episode), but after seeing countless Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) montages on my TikTok, I decided to give the show another try. I started with season two and have not looked back. I have two episodes left and will be devastated once I finish them.
Have you played…
Now that Wordle and its various spinoffs have become, at least for me, passé, might I present to you my latest obsession, Semantle!
You have an unlimited number of tries to guess the target word, chosen based on increasing semantic similarity, but it can be pretty challenging. This is all made possible via word embeddings, which form the foundation of my thesis, so naturally, I was instantly hooked.
Remember to bathe the donkeys
My friend Kelsey, who I believe is singlehandedly keeping print publishing alive with her various home and lifestyle magazine subscriptions, sent me the (incredibly delightful) below image from the May 2022 issue of Martha Stewart Living. I think we should all aspire to experience a May like Martha’s at least once in our lives. I can think of no greater joy than to clip lilacs or even edge the carriage roads (Bridgerton’s influence continues to resonate).
I used to work for Meredith Corporation, the publisher of Martha Stewart Living, and I sat next to their sales team, so it’s heartwarming to see someone still enjoying the fruits of their labor in 2022. As Kelsey puts it, “each page is a gem wrapped in silk,” which is a lovely way to look at the product of an industry that, as I like to put it, is “one foot and four toes in the grave.”
On the wishlist
I have somehow been lucky my entire life to experience the blessings of conventionally “good” skin *knock on wood*, however, if I have so much as a sip of alcohol (which I am known to do, especially as spritz season draws ever closer), I will turn bright red, in a very patchy and unfortunate way.
I saw a TikTok of how good Rare Beauty’s tinted moisturizer is, and I’m dying to try it.
Song of the week
“Spring 1” - Max Richter, Daniel Hope, Konzerthaus Kammerochester Berlin, André Ridder (Vivaldi Recomposition)
Now for a bit of housekeeping, there will be no newsletter next Sunday, May 8th.
This is due to the fact that after almost 30 years of having to continuously face the consequences of my own actions, I can quite reasonably predict that I will be in a state of unparalleled frenzy preparing to submit my master’s thesis, which is due on the 9th.
Because of this, I wanted to wish everyone an early Happy Mothers’ Day, especially to my own mother who just completed her 500 Hour Yoga Teacher Training (!) and is the coolest person I have ever known.
See you all again on Sunday, May 15th!