Hello out there, in the darkness! It’s definitely late fall (despite the oddly warm weather) and I’m starting to feel like I should take stock of 2026—its surprises and strange confusions and small victories—and start planning for the new year. Too soon?
Anyway:
Reading: I just tore through The Plot and The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz, two very well-written psychological thrillers with a side of literary-world satire.
Art: Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is sublime. (Thanks to SJ for the special access!)
Video: The release of the fully restored version of Ken Russell’s The Devils has been the talk of the town (at least, my little corner of it) and I caught it at IFC with KJK. Disturbing, yes, but also hilarious, visually gorgeous, and basically just fantastic. Also, The Women with A, at Film Forum. I’d never seen it on the big screen before!
Drinks: Lately, a coffee blend from East Iceland Coffee Company.
(Tr)eats: Confession: I am still making the very occasional stop at Madison Fare to get frozen yogurt when I’m in the neighborhood and there’s no line.
Beauty Products: ‘Tis the season for purple nail polish (a sparkly limited edition one from Anna Sui x Hello Kitty, and Fig Jelly from Cirque). The new hair mousse from RŌZ—truly unusual and worth every penny.
Fragrances: I recently did some really focused smelling of a few scents from Universal Flowering (as opposed to sniffing them on pre-sprayed ceramic discs in a store) and now I understand why they deserve the hype. Another good-smelling thing: Keap’s Light Through the Leaves candle, a bracing seasonal blend of eucalpytus and hinoki leaf.
Garb: A funny new pair of black mary janes with lots of buckles. A replacement Cure FAITH sweatshirt for the one I somehow seem to have lost, alas.
Pleasures: Sleeping with the window open to let in the autumn air. Getting my photo taken by my talented friend Alice Teeple. Going to see Rasputina in concert for the first time since 2019.
Up Next: I know I sound like a broken record: rustling up more freelance work and scheduling more talks. Working on my new website (!) and figuring out how to copyright (trademark?) a name. Adjusting to the time change and “earlier” sunsets!
What have you been up to lately? Tell us!
Image: Bernard Sleigh, October from The Faery Calendar, 1920. Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
