Monday Miscellany: The king of hearts does not have a mustache
Notes from the week of June 3 - 9
Good morning afternoon, and happy Monday! Settle in and get excited, because I’ve got a lot to talk about this week. I finished a few great books (two of which are in my top 10 of the year so far), I discovered one song that made me stank face and another that made me sob (ah yes, the two genders), and I might have snuck a brand new section into the newsletter for various and sundry things that don’t fit elsewhere (scroll down to find out if I did or didn’t). Here we go!
Currently reading
Tin House, one of my favorite publishers, kindly sent me a copy of The Language of Trees by Katie Holten last year, and what spurred me to pick it up recently was all of the tree facts in Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane, a book I mentioned in the first issue of Monday Miscellany a few weeks ago. The protagonist of that one is a botanist, and though the story is fictional, the famous trees she talks about and visits are real, and the internet rabbit holes I explored while reading were completely delightful. Did you know that Ginkgo biloba is such a tenacious species that several of them, located just one or two kilometers from the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima, not only survived the blast but are alive today?! Or that there’s a 5,000ish-year-old yew, one of the oldest known trees in Europe, still standing in the Fortingall village of Perthshire, Scotland?
But back to The Language of Trees. It’s an eclectic collection of nature writing, poetry, essays, and other works, from a wide range of contributors. Some names I recognized on the cover were Jorge Luis Borges, Ross Gay, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Ursula K. Le Guin, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Richard Powers, Radiohead, Zadie Smith, and Sojourner Truth—but there are so many others too: climate scientists, arborists, a design studio collective, mixed media artists, architects, abolitionists, activists, and more.
A few of the included excerpts were over my head with their technical language and detailed scientific concepts, and some were discouraging re: extinction and Earth’s warming, but the majority were informative and inspiring. My favorites included “Milleniums of Intervention” by Amy Harmon, about the assisted evolution of the orange as we know it in North America today; “We Are the ARK” by Mary Reynolds, about creating re-wilded spaces to encourage proliferation of native species and combat climate change; and “Palas por Pistolas” by Pedro Reyes, about an initiative in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico, where people turn in their guns, and shovels made from the melted-down metal of the firearms are then used to plant trees.
Speaking of trees! I was delighted to find an unexpected “old trees” connection in Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong. The narrator’s father is a California history professor, and he tells her that, “barring two exceptions, there is no such thing as a native California tree.” Those two exceptions are redwoods and “ancient bristlecone pines, the oldest trees in the world, which somehow live in California—in Bishop. The oldest one is five thousand years old, and its location is a Forest Service secret” (49). Welp, here I go adding Inyo National Forest and Kings Canyon National Park to the list of places I want to visit!
A few other interesting tidbits I picked up from this book:
Deficiencies of vitamin B-12 or folic acid can cause memory loss (mental-noting to increase my consumption of those since dementia runs in my family)
Cruciferous vegetables are called that because their flowers are cross-shaped
In a classic deck of cards, the king of hearts does not have a mustache, but the kings of diamonds, clubs, and spades do
Goodbye, Vitamin isn’t all about trees and fun facts, though. It’s the story of 30-year-old Ruth, who has just broken up with her fiancé and moved back to her parents’ house, only to find that her dad is starting to show symptoms of Alzheimer’s. She stays for the next year, helping with his care and attempting to mend some fraying family connections, and it’s sad, and poignant, and a little funny too. If you think I didn’t cry at the end, you must not know me well enough yet. Fellow lovers of complicated family stories, please read this book immediately.
Finally, a recent used bookstore find that came highly recommended from my bookstagram friend Casey: We Play Ourselves by Jen Silverman. It’s about Cass, a bisexual playwright who, on the heels of a mysterious incident within the theater community, has moved from New York to Los Angeles to escape public scrutiny and make a fresh start. In LA she gets involved with a filmmaker neighbor’s new project and things go a little haywire; along the way, we also find out more about what caused Cass to flee New York in the first place.
We Play Ourselves had me thinking about creativity and failure, longing and contentment, how it feels to get knocked down and to slowly rebuild. You’ll especially enjoy it if you like reading about messy protagonists, if you’re creative and/or queer, or if you (like me) are an elder millennial trying to figure out what’s next. As someone who was long ago labeled “gifted” and “promising,” and who now frequently second-guesses her path in life, I found it comforting and encouraging.
My father looks at me then, and I can see something in his eyes that is both a kindness and a sadness. “There are so many lives ahead of us all.” (302)
Currently listening
Hello and welcome to this garage rock cover of Ginuwine’s classic R&B slow jam banger “Pony!” Go ahead, blast it—I’ll wait! And if you need further enticement to watch the music video, I offer you a list of what’s in store:
Bubbles
Body glitter
Jewel tones
Balloons of both air and water varieties
Provocative posing on carousel horses
Mysterious opaque liquids
Gnarly guitar solo action
A sexy ghost??
This track comes from Slothrust’s most recent release, an EP called I Promise (2023). “Pony” is the opener, but there are three others (“Maybe Maybe” is my favorite), all of which are perfect for turning up LOUD in the car with the windows down this summer. The last track is an instrumental cover of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” that goes incredibly hard, and then there are a few alternate versions of “Pony,” including a 14-minute-long extended version if you’re extra nasty.
And now, in a jarring leap to the other end of my personality and musical taste spectrum, let us discuss the completely gorgeous and wistful sad girl album All for Something (2024) by Tiny Habits. Are you a sensitive soul who feels things (too) deeply? Have you been personally victimized in the past by perfectly-written lyrics that seem suspiciously targeted? Do you lose your mind over tight, melodically interesting vocal harmonies? If you answered “yes” to one or more of the above questions, please put these songs in your headphones now and commence staring out the window, thinking longingly about your younger days. Bonus points if it’s rainy (optimal) or at least overcast (acceptable) outside while you’re listening.
Fellow recovering people pleasers and overthinkers out there, if “Wishes” makes you cry uncontrollably, don’t say I didn’t warn you. I was cleaning my bathroom when I heard this one for the first time, and before I even realized what was going on, I was surprise-weeping into the sink. I mean, goddamn:
I wish I didn’t linger on every thought reshaping every moment to the point of losing touch Wish I was in my body instead of hovering above I wish that I was smarter and I wish I could communicate a thought without being misunderstood But it’s better keeping quiet, yeah, it’s easy staying put
The refrain, also:
I wish I didn’t feel like a burden all the time
OW, my feelings.
“People Always Change” is my other current favorite on the album—it has more of those lush three-part vocals, and a really breezy groove to it. But the whole thing is fantastic, no skips. These kids have beautiful voices. The last thing I’ll say about Tiny Habits: please check out the band’s insta and watch their reels, some of which are pretty impressive collabs (Noah Kahan, Ingrid Michaelson, etc).
In recent release news, Charli XCX put out her new album Brat last week, and while I haven’t listened to it enough to talk about it yet (stay tuned), I have been looping “360” ever since my friend Caleb sent the music video to our group chat a few weeks ago (hi Caleb! thank you!). “I would say it’s about being really hot, in like, a scary way.” How dare a song be so catchy.
And another thing
I’m very into this “Oxford Comma Preservation Society” t-shirt. There’s also an “Anti Oxford Comma Club” one for those of you who enjoy being wrong.
McKay’s Used Books is turning 50 this year and doing a buckwild giveaway promotion to people who roadtrip to all five of their NC/TN locations in a single day. A few friends and I might be planning to rent a minivan and go for it…
If you’re looking for organizations that need donations this Pride month, consider the Queer Liberation Library, a nonprofit digital collection that makes LGBTQIA+ materials and information available for free to members all over the United States.
Sister Act 2 is somehow 30 years old?! Whoopi Goldberg reunited with cast members for a performance of “Joyful, Joyful” on The View and it’s SO good.
Haiku round-up
Being a person remains hard, the planet continues to heat up, and there’s still a horrible genocide going on (to say nothing of other wars and atrocities). In many ways, I feel powerless, discouraged, and scared. And yet, I’ve also noticed glimmers of possibility and mirth rising in my ribcage like tiny bubbles in a champagne flute, and I’m holding on to them with everything I’ve got.
Monday, June 3
Overlooked again, but adamantly hopeful My time is coming
Tuesday, June 4
Who can explain it, the feeling of weight lifted, delight bubbling up?
Wednesday, June 5
A day from the past, of wandering with no plan, of discovering
Thursday, June 6
This is why I stay: for excitement on faces coming through the door
Friday, June 7
The path is still there, miles of pavement just waiting to welcome you back
Saturday, June 8
A bench in the shade and a walk through the village— Saturday well spent
Sunday, June 9
Over and over: high five, giggle, proud applause My redheaded king
Until next time
Something that’s been on my mind lately is the persistent urge to share—an experience, a meme, a photo of something weird or funny spotted during a normal day—and where that comes from. I am a documenter by nature: I’ve kept a journal for as long as I can remember, I’m always snapping pictures, and I have quote lists in my Notes app for all my closest friends. Why? I have some suspicions, but it feels like they might take more than a short paragraph’s space to unwind, so for now I’ll just say (watch as I seamlessly incorporate the above photo of Phoebe napping): no one besides you has to witness your life for it to be real and to matter. It’s okay to lie in the sun, enjoy its warmth on your face, and not tell anyone at all about it.
Wishing you a private moment of contentment and satisfaction this week that’s all yours and no one else’s.
See you next time, and until then, would you look here at this new pup?
What you wrote at the end "no one besides you has to witness your life for it to be real and to matter" is still with me dayssssss later.