January 21, 2021

How’s everyone doing? I’m going to be honest, I’m not as up and at ‘em energized as I thought I would be today. I mean, I feel a hell of a lot better than I did this time four years ago, but truthfully I’m exhausted. Anyways, on y va…

1.

I’ve been on a major NYC high lately. It started with the Fran Lebowitz Netflix series, “Pretend It’s a City,” and still going strong, thanks largely to my friend Kelly, whose own enthusiasm for this spectacular town is the best kind of contagious. We have some fun plans for geeky explorations in the near future, but in the meantime, she sent me this list of fascinating city secrets. Did you guys know you can go into the Washington Square Park arch? And there’s a special landing strip at JFK airport reserved for NASA space shuttles? Neither did I. Also featured on the list: the massive architectural panorama model that appears in “Pretend It’s a City.”

2.

Instead of watching yesterday’s inauguration proceedings in one real-time stretch, I’ve been micro-dosing on particular moments and speeches. Whether you saw it live, or after the fact, the inauguration poem by National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman is well worth reading and savoring again (and maybe printing out and framing). I tried to find a particular passage or excerpt to quote, but they’re all just so magnificent and perfect for this moment.

3.

Speaking of the inauguration, don’t forget to exit through the “virtual gift shop!” If the February issue of Vogue featuring Vice President Harris on the cover doesn’t strike you as much of a collectible, then something from this impressive assortment of merch might.

4.

My best friend Caroline has been known to say, “These are the days…” when it comes to recognizing life’s fleeting moments. It always reminds me to pause, reflect, and see the poignancy in even the most ordinary-seeming times. More often than not, those are the times I find myself missing the most as life changes courses. This recent memoir-essay by Ann Patchett conjures up all those feelings, with a heavy dose of meta, too: Tom Hanks, Covid, Tom Hanks with Covid, cancer, lockdowns, finding normalcy in the utterly abnormal, and not knowing how the story will end—because it’s still going on.

5.

Earlier this week, I tried a wine that teased me with a hint of effervescence, and then just as quickly the sensation disappeared. I deemed it vesper-vescent. My friend, a professional sommelier and wine purveyor, told me she’s never heard this term used before, so there you go— I’m trademarking it! And if you want a perfect example of what I’m talking about, try this delicious, lip-smacking Valdiguié by Cali-based Cruse Wine Co.

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