10 Things: Lindsay's Back
A barrage of things to do, think about, read, watch, buy, subscribe to, and dive into, from the inimitable Lindsay Pugh
Hi There!
By far my favorite thing that I’ve published in the past year is Lindsay Pugh’s Ten Things. Lindsay is my own personal favorite internet writer, and so getting to find out what she’s into is sublime. I have put this off long enough — Lindsay mentions in her note that it’s March, and now it’s April, so you can see that I’ve held onto this for myself for an irresponsible amount of time.
First four are free (an extra free one because you deserve it), the rest are below The Wall.
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Hello, friends of Sophie!
It’s Lindsay Pugh from Woman in Revolt, comin’ atcha with another ten things (I also wrote one in December). Lucky for you, I spent most of winter in bed at 7 p.m., consuming content in an attempt to stave off seasonal depression, so I still have some recommendations up my sleeve.
As Sylvia Plath once wrote in a letter to her mother, “In March I’ll be rested, caught up and human.” Now that it’s well into March1 and my hibernation is coming to an end, I once again feel ready to grab life by the ping pongs. Here’s to the shit that got me through and will surely keep me going during the cold/gloomy spells that are yet to come.
GO: Fly a kite
When my now-husband and I were first dating in 2015, he lived in Hershey, PA and I lived in Brooklyn, NY. I took Amtrak 3.5 hours to go see him every-other-week-ish. Neither of us had much disposable income (he was in med school, I worked in publishing), so we mostly did free stuff outside. After exhausting all the best hikes in the area, we got really into flying kites in the field behind his soulless housing development. I have a fond memory of being there on a brutally cold, windy day in March with frozen fingers, absolutely delighting in the haphazard bobbing of a black shark kite that has since been accidentally destroyed c/o our car trunk (RIP).
I was just talking to my friend, Sydney, who has recently taken up disc golf, about how much effort it takes to get outside as an adult when the weather is gross. As a kid, I had many beloved outdoor activities that rain, snow, and seasonal allergies were powerless to alter. Now, the wind blows a little too hard and I’m like, “Better stay inside forever.” Well, no more! I bought myself a parafoil kite and made a vow to fly it as much as possible. And, on the days when there’s not enough wind, my runner-up activity is garage darts.
The tl;dr is that you should find a low-stakes, enjoyable activity that forces you outside even in subpar weather and requires enough focus that you can’t multitask on your phone while doing it. I promise it will give you a noticeable mental health boost even though it sounds kind of lame.
FOLLOW: Cinema Spells on Instagram
I have been searching for the (admittedly ugly) tapestry coat that Rory can’t stop wearing in S6 of Gilmore Girls for the past ~19 years; it is my white whale. I’ve found shorter versions of it on Poshmark, but the only place I’ve seen the full-length version, complete with Sheila E. rhinestone buttons, is on this Instagram account that hunts down pieces from popular Y2K TV series, like Friends, Sex and the City, and Gossip Girl. Of course, I wasn’t following them when the coat was actually available so some other lucky bastard snagged it. If/when it turns up again, I’ll be ready. And even if I never buy anything, which is the likeliest scenario, I’ll always enjoy lovingly shit talking the fashion of yore.
Like many millennials, I have extreme nostalgia for early aughts style and follow several accounts that document it, like Discontinued Makeup, Y2K Magazines, and F Yeah Nostalgic Beauty. It’s not that I want “butt-crack baring jeans” and frosted eyeshadow to come back in vogue, I think I just miss the days when trends skewed more batshit. I would love it if a friend showed up to lunch wearing a mini skirt emblazoned with a giant cat face or a printed pair of shortalls sans shirt. I realize this is contrary to everything I’ve ever written about Lorelai Gilmore’s wardrobe, but what can I say… I contain multitudes. Also, please see my previous early midlife crisis comment.
DEEP DIVE: An artist’s entire filmography
Despite my many to-watch lists, I often get paralyzed with indecision and end up scrolling aimlessly instead of just committing to something. In order to break this habit, I’ve been devoting myself to one actor, writer, or director and working my way through their cinematic oeuvre. It’s an interesting way to chart an artist’s development, especially actors who began as child stars, like Jodie Foster and Natasha Lyonne.
I’ve recently completed this odyssey with Diablo Cody, Elaine May (in preparation for Carrie Courogen’s upcoming Elaine May biography), and Jonathan Demme. Next up is Kelly Bishop, who I can’t wait to see again in An Unmarried Woman, my underrated favorite. I’ll even suffer through Private Parts for a glimpse of her as Howard Stern’s mom. (Fun fact: she thought Stern was an asshole and only agreed to take the role when she heard that Allison Janney was involved.) I need to bone up on Bishop’s career so that I can fully appreciate The Third Gilmore Girl, her memoir due this September.
You could do this with books and music, too. Why not go through Beyonce’s discography in preparation for Act II: Cowboy Carter or reread Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels before the last season of the show drops on HBO?
COOK: Bodega beans
When it comes to cooking, I’d rather not. I enjoy baking and will happily make a loaf of sourdough or even something tedious like croissants, I just don’t want to contend with the routine “What’s for dinner?” thought loop. If left to my own devices, I’ll make a giant batch of something easy, like Rachel Wharton’s bodega beans, and eat them all week. To me, nothing tastes better than minimal effort, but honestly, these beans are excellent and I could probably eat them for a solid week without diminished enjoyment.
You don’t need to follow a strict recipe, simply do some version of the following:
Find a white bean. Butter or cannellini are best, but pintos and chickpeas work if that’s what you have on hand and going to the store sounds awful. If they’re canned, drain and rinse them. If they’re dried, you’ve already made your life too hard and I can’t help you. Jk, I assume you know how to deal with that whole rigamarole.
If you eat meat, cook some bacon.
After the bacon is done, saute an onion and garlic in the fat. For no meat, use olive oil.
Add whatever veggies you have in your fridge - carrots, celery, tomatoes, cabbage.
When the veggies have some color, add the beans, another drizzle of olive oil, and cook until everything is warmed through.
Season (salt, red pepper flakes) and top with Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese.
These beans are great alone, on toast, tucked inside a roasted acorn squash... The possibilities are endless and best of all, they require almost zero brain power at the end of a long day.
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