Hello, friends!
Happy holidays! Here’s Bob Dylan singing “Must Be Santa” in case you need some extra cheer. Below are some of my favorite pop culture highlights of 2022 and please feel free to drop your own in the comments section. It’s been lovely sharing my Sundays with ya’ll and I’m sending extra love to you and yours.
Xo,
Toby
The Most Ideal Time To Be Very Online
There was that one glorious moment in time back in late summer, early fall when we all came together to watch the ongoing drama surrounding Don’t Worry Darling, which culminated in Nora Ephron’s salad dressing recipe. This is why the Internet was invented. (Vox)
The Movie I Will Corner You At A Party And Talk Your Ear Off About
Drop everything you’re doing and watch Fire of Love, a documentary about two French volcanologists narrated by Miranda July. A charming pair of volcano-obsessed scientists find each other and fall in love: “After their 1966 honeymoon, they decide they will not have children. From here on out their life will only be volcanoes, volcanoes, volcanoes.” Everything about the couple is sooo French and you’ll instantly be sucked into their weirdness. I only wish I caught this one on the big screen because the shots are stunning, especially for 70s/80s camera technology. (Disney+)
The Best Album That Wasn’t Renaissance
For a few different reasons, I listened to a ton of new music this year: I started writing for my local alt weekly + I literally live in Music City + going to concerts gives me life. Despite all that, my second favorite album of the year was Bjork’s Fossora. I know this is nothing groundbreaking—please don’t revoke my blogger license. Maybe I’ve officially reached the age (40) where I gravitate toward music I discovered in high school/college? Do all people of a certain age (40) feel this way? (Apple Music)
The Most Shared Meme In My Group Chats
Easy. (Twitter)
The Best Book To Revive Book Club
I’m polyamorous when it comes to book club, and am currently a member of three clubs across the nation. So I can report that the pandemic really did a number on everyone’s reading and we’re all just now starting to recover. If you’re in the same boat, you’ll want to put this book in your library queue: Girls They Write Songs About by Carlene Bauer. It led to the most lively discussion I participated in this year and resonated with every woman in the group, whether they were single or a mom or whatever. Also, in the last third of the book, Bauer wrote a beautiful analogy of feminism that I won’t begin to butcher here. Go ahead and read it for yourself then share with your book group. (Bookshop)
The Recipe That Made Me A Cookie Convert
Look, I know this isn’t the crowd for the confession I’m about to make but here it goes: I’m not a cookie person. Like, obviously I respect a good cookie (obviously!) but it’d never be my first choice when it comes to dessert. That is, until I happened to try Joy’s Easy 4-ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies last winter. The recipe is non-fussy and delicious, and it made me change my mind on the whole cookie front. I’m excited to dive deeper into her cookie archive in 2023 and have even bookmarked this recipe for winter break. (Joy the Baker)
The Concert That Doubled As Cardio
A girlfriend and I went to see Florence + the Machine play in the middle of a heat wave and the show was explosive. We danced so hard, I clocked 11,000 steps. That’s not even a humble brag. It’s a plain brag! (Spotify)
The Celeb Who Deserves To Be Seen
Give Keke Palmer all the attention. She’s super charismatic, has been in the biz forever, and her performance in Nope is the most accurate representation of kid sister energy I’ve ever seen. I loved spotting her on all media fronts this year, from TV to TikTok to YouTube. And I’m especially pumped for her podcast. (Amazon)
The Book That Needs A Screen Adaptation
Back in April, I had coffee with a friend who works in publishing. It was a social call but also my version of insider trading. I’m always hungry for her tips because she reads all the books when they’re little newborn manuscripts. So I was intrigued when she told me about Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. My informant told me to imagine if Ready Player One was written by Sally Rooney, and she was spot-on. Now I’m thrilled to see its cover every time I open my social feeds. It’s so ripe for a movie or TV adaptation, let’s hope it’s in development somewhere. (Bookshop)
The Best Show To Watch When You Have C0vid
I finally caught the bug in August and had everything under control until I was hit by a coughing fit. Then I chugged the one thing I had on hand: half a bottle of Children’s Robitussin. Grape flavored. After that, I was blitzed out and in a prime position to binge This Fool, which made me laugh like a…fool. The show about a 30-year-old in South Central L.A. is so light and funny, it’s perfect for when you need something that goes down easy. (Hulu)
Joy
Love these! I have mixed feelings about a screen adaptation of Tomorrow…but I can’t wait to watch Fire of Love now!
Barbara
Just made Joy’s peanut butter cookies dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with honey roasted peanuts.. Fabulous!
toby
oh, wow, that sounds incredible. definitely doing a chocolate dip next time!
Kim
I finally watched DWD and it was good but nowhere as good as the drama!
toby
ha yup. felt like a really pretty, really long Black Mirror. but it didn’t have nora’s salad dressing!
rita marlowe
Ha! What an absolute hoot! That CANNOT actually be Dylan. First time I saw him in concert was in the late 60’s.
Pam
Loved it! Am a big Bob fan, saw him in Spokane past may. He’s having fun in this video!?
Leigh
Yes, Keke is the best!
Winny
Herewith my playlist with cozy winter songs for the last two weeks of this year. Have a nice Sunday! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Yq7JuUIRGNGTftP7GFpvT?si=02cef29e38154aab
Rhonda
Thx for sharing, Winny!
toby
Wings, yes yes yes. love this, winny, thank you! no Amy, though?? she literally invented the genre!
Kim
Well this is a lovely gift! Thank you for sharing.
Danielle
Oh no. Bob’s cover of “Must Be Santa” is the bane of my family’s existence. Our dad is Dylan’s biggest fan (he’s seen him live 13 times as of June of this year). You can imagine Dad’s excitement when that Christmas album came out years ago! But, oh, that is just NOT the relaxed Christmas morning energy the rest of us crave! The rest of the album is pretty good.
toby
haha your dad sounds awesome