The Wednesday List
What a week.
Like many of you, I’m continuing to read and learn, and I hope we can all do better than what the author of this Washington Post article, When black people are in pain, white people just join books clubs, expects of us.
I am appalled that I never learned about The Tulsa Race Massacre, Ax Handle Saturday or Juneteenth — which is this Friday, June 19, and which should become a national holiday.
If you don’t believe one person can make a difference, check out this young woman whose request to Merriam-Webster Dictionary resulted in the changing of an important definition. And, by the way, you may want to follow Merriam-Webster on Twitter, where they tweet clever and fascinating facts that prove words matter. They’ve also been known to subtly and cleverly troll this administration.
The cast of Schitt’s Creek (be still my heart!) reunited for Dear Class of 2020, and got quite the surprise of their own. Oh, how I miss the Rose family! They are simply the best!
I’m also missing theater. Michael and I are huge fans of North Coast Rep, and they’re presenting their latest play, Human Error by Eric Pfeffinger, online. It is EXCELLENT, and other theater companies should take note of this creative way of presenting shows. The story revolves around two couples – one liberal, one conservative – who are forced together over a medical mix-up. It’s thought-provoking, timely, funny and surprising. We watched it Monday night and are still talking about it. Tickets (links) are just $10, but it’s only running until June 29 so don’t wait. This is a great way to spend an evening at home, and I hope it will be a word of mouth hit that encourages North Coast Rep to do more of these.
While I’ve been stuffing my face with sweets during this pandemic, many of my friends have actually been baking up a storm. I don’t bake (or cook) but I do relate to the rage part of Rage Baking: The Transformative Power of Flour, Fury, and Women’s Voices by Kathy Gunst and Katherine Alford. A combination of recipes and essays, this book will make you angry — then give you a delicious way to express yourself. Mouth-watering photos will motivate you to make treats like Katherine’s Not Taking Any More “Sheet” Cake, Virginia Willis’s Im-peach-ment Upside-Down Cake and Katherine’s (Don’t Call Me) Honey Cakes. Trust me, you knead this book.
You also need to watch (or at least listen to) Live with Carnegie Hall, featuring Rosanne Cash’s gorgeous, curated program of protest songs, including her own powerful version of Bob Dylan’s License to Kill. There are old and new performances by Elvis Costello, Brandi Carlile, Nina Simone, Marc Cohn and more. It’s a really powerful hour of music.
One of my friends recently surprised me with a box of goodies from Sugarwish, which was so sweet – literally. If you’re looking for a little pick me up to brighten up someone’s day, that’s it.
Have you watched The Great on Hulu? It’s, well, great!
Thanks so much for all your nice notes about the first issue of The Wednesday List last week! Please share these with your friends, and encourage them to subscribe here. If there’s anything in particular you’d like to see, know more about or need suggestions for, just email me. And take a minute to think about this.
Until next week,
Lois
xo
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