Saturday was one of those rare days where I actually did the things I had to do - I went for a run and cleaned the entire flat by midday! - which means today is one of those even rarer days where everything is clean and tidy, I don’t have any outstanding work and I’ve made no plans because I’m in hermit mode. I got really good at Sundays during the pandemic (I was eating a baked camembert a week, hello? I was living), but I haven’t had a clear, stress-free one in a long ass time now. Today I’m gonna do a little yoga, make a banging omelette and then last night I got the most intense craving for mithai, so I might take an early afternoon walk to get some. I started Succession last night, and I’m not quite sure what I think of it yet, but I’ll probably watch another couple episodes tonight and then round my week out with my first play of the new ABBA album.
Anyway, as usual I have started something without really thinking about it and as such I don’t have a super clear idea about how these Sunday updates are going to be formatted. This week I have shared three things I’ve been into this week, but like… who knows, next week it might be five things, or ten things. Another week, it might only be one. I dunno, I’m just seeing where the current takes me.
Something to watch…
Saturday afternoons at home call for the type of silly, nonsensical, light-hearted comedy movie that it doesn’t take too many neurons firing to get into. I watched Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar yesterday and it was a classic of the genre, honestly. No one needs to be in any rush to see this film, but when you find yourself on low energy, clicking around the various streaming services you share passwords to, looking for something uncomplicated to pass the time with and feeling overwhelmed by the shedloads of mediocrity on offer, just remember I told you that this one was above average. It also stars Jamie Dornan, who takes his shirt off, and Damon Wayans Jr who sadly keeps his shirt on.
Something to listen to…
No one is talking enough about the most recent NAO album for my liking. I’m getting to the point where I’m starting to think about my end of year rankings and - spoiler alert - I’m pretty sure And Then Life Was Beautiful will end up somewhere in the top 5. ‘Burn Out’ has truly been my anthem recently, but the whole record is like a luxurious stretch in the sun. Get it going over breakfast, set your day off right.
Something to read…
I’m lowkey obsessed with cults. Jonestown, Heaven’s Gate, NIXVM, Scientology, Swifties… the psychology is endlessly fascinating, and in no small part frightening too. This is a super longread about Love Has Won, the cult that kept the mummified corpse of their leader on a shrine until it was discovered a month later during a welfare check. It’s a very crazy, very sad story which also dips into the ongoing problem of conspiratorial thinking being increasingly spread via social media.