the predatory wasp of the palisades is out to get us!
What a weeeeek(s)!!!!! Sorry I disappeared again. We went back and forth to the cabin and then my mom and brother came last weekend and I was too caught up in work to sit and write. My boss is in town this week, and we met at General Assembly yesterday. While we were leaving, they asked me if I wanted to stay and be a part of the marketing photos they were about to do. It was a whole thing and I know I’ll be ALLLLLL lips in those pictures. I will update you all when they are live lol.
🧢 Batting practice at Yankee Stadium - Everytime I’ve explained this story I have to put my arms and hands out to brace people. “So… My sister’s son’s baseball coach’s WIFE is COUSINS with GERRIT COLE (pitcher for the Yankees), and she was able to connect with him and get us BATTING PRACTICE access for the Yankees x Dodgers game…”
So, last Friday, we got to the game early and waited at the Gate 2 checkpoint to be checked in. There were other groups of anxious white baseball dads who thought they were the only people who were fortunate enough to be on a guest list and tried to CUT in front of us (and my mom had to check a few of them). Anyway, we finally made it inside, took the elevator down to the basement area, and got to walk down the catacombs of Yankee Stadium past the locker rooms and onto the field. It was all very thrilling, but the best part was how excited my mom was. It was endearing to watch her stand as close to the barriers as she could, shouting the Dodgers coach’s name so she could get a good picture of him.
The following day, my brother came to town to go to the second game of the series. He also got to go on the field beforehand and saw DEREK JETER AND A-ROD!!!!
On Sunday morning, the four of us went to The Odeon for lunch, and when we got back home, Alex threw up. We had all planned to go to game 3 of the series together afterward, but I stayed back with Alex because we thought he would feel better after napping for an hour. I ended up taking the train to Yankee Stadium by myself and because of train delays and me getting lost in the stadium (lol) I didn’t get to the seats until the 6th inning. By the time I got to my mom and brother, they were already lit and friends with all the people in the surrounding seats. When my mom went to the bathroom, my brother got into a screaming match with the man in front of him (arguing about which team is better and who has more World Series rings ) but they eventually hugged it out when the game ended.
I can’t imagine ever arguing to the point of screaming with a stranger about literally anything I care about but the Sufjan Stevens musical I talk about next could be that thing that I’m now passionate enough about.
🩰 Illinoise a Broadway musical with music and lyrics from Sufjan Stevens’ album Illinois - WOOOOOOWWWWW!!!!! I don’t even know where to start with this one. Last week, when my mom was here, we all went to see Back to the Future: The Musical. It was mid and didn’t need to be made (I didn’t hate it but even the edible we all took beforehand couldn’t get us to say we enjoyed it). I think I even said when we were walking home from it, “I really could go the rest of my life without seeing another Broadway show.” Oh my GOD, was I WRONG!!!!!!!!!! On Wednesday night, we went and saw Illinoise with Cassie and Gerry and I fr left that theater a changed man. After having seen five (lol) Broadway and “Off-Broadway” shows within the past year-ish, I was confident it just wasn’t for me. Illinoise broke all those misconceptions and now has me looking for any excuse to see it again. If you’re familiar with and a fan of Sufjan Stevens, I think it’s IMPERATIVE you go and see this show. Like, I need you to start making plans and buy tickets NOW and I’m so deadass!!! I will go with you……
But yeah, the show is amazing. It was created, directed, and choreographed by Justin Peck (which like damn) using Sufjan’s 2005 album Illinois as its source material, music for the show, and story (and damn did it all just WORK). The only way I can think to compare the show to is when you go to a restaurant, and all the food and drinks are bomb, the decor is good, the service is amazing, and there’s music playing that you love, and it all just melds into a brilliant experience. There were several points in the show where I felt overwhelmed with emotions, and I had to keep reminding myself to close my mouth because my jaw was on the floor.
The show explores themes around love, loss, shame, death, friendship, and more, with an overall story focused on storytelling. Compared to the more “legacy” shows like Moulin Rouge! and The Phantom of the Opera, Illinoise is a total breath of fresh air and unlike the other, maybe “stuffy”, Broadway shows we’ve seen. I cried several times during it, and Sufjan’s latest album, Javelin, makes the autobiographical exposition of the show that much more tragic.
🪓 In A Violent Nature (2024) directed by Chris Nash - In A Violent Nature is an experimental horror movie that I would only maybe recommend if you’re into that sorta stuff. This movie's schtick is the camera is behind the slasher/killer the entire time, and you only see his back POV. He rises from the ground after you hear teens take a necklace on the site of a mass murder, and it all goes pretty textbook slasher movie from there (the only difference is you are in the killer’s POV). The best part about seeing this in a theater was the man behind us shouting the entire time that it was the worst movie he’d ever seen. Did this movie need to be made? Yes. Was I glad it was made? Yes. Do I think you would like it? No.
🥘 Lil' Deb's Oasis in Hudson, NY - Lil’ Deb’s Oasis is a gay Latin (important distinction) restaurant in Hudson that is actually right next to our other favorite gay restaurant Cafe Muton. We went a few weeks ago when we were up at the cabin and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. We got the pork belly tostada, llapingacho (potato and cheese pancake topped with an egg), the soft shell crab on a bed of polenta and some sort of verde something, and the whole fried fish.
It’s the best gay Latin food I’ve ever had and idk what they’re putting in the water on Columbia Street but those queers (non-derogatorily)(both Cafe Muton and Lil’ Deb’s are lesbian-owned) can C-O-O-K!!!!
🐰 Matilda in Hensonville, NY - Chef Fabian (Wildair) opened another restaurant (second to Day June Luncheonette) in Hensonville, and we had no choice but to eat there. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t my favorite of his, however, the duck was the best we’ve ever had, and the desserts were worth the drive. We got the prawns wrapped in perilla leaves, dauphine potatoes with prosciutto, the morel and nettle stuffed cannelloni topped with egg yolk, the roasted onions in a broth with sourdough breadcrumbs, and the duck on a bed of pureed beets and red shisos. For dessert we got the Matilda Sundae (milk ice cream with herb sabayon, herb oil, and berries) and the chocolate mousse (with candied hazel and maple caramel crunch). It was all very decadent and lux and I was moaning after every bite.
This is from a review of the restaurant in Curbed:
And I’m sorry but I’M that customer!!!!!
💚 The Green Ray (1986) directed by Éric Rohmer - This movie is the typa shit I’m on this summer (complaining of emptiness inside, crying for no reason, depressed, etc.). The Green Ray is another Rohmer, French New Wave movie that I loved every minute of. It’s only our third Rohmer movie, but it’s what has solidified me wanting to watch his 50+ movie filmography.
I also recently discovered the Instagram rohmerfits, which is the best style mood board on Instagram if you’re feeling uninspired.
🟩 brat by Charli XCX - I don’t have much to say about this album that hasn’t already been said. I wasn’t that much of a Charli XCX fan before this but it’s been on repeat in its entirety since I listened to it on Monday. Charli is a popstar who’s actually COOL, and that, combined with this album being so vulnerable and honest, makes it all just feel really authentic and genuine. 10/10 and honestly maybe AOTY!!!!
🥐 Sohla El-Waylly’s croissant of the week at Rafs - Raf’s is doing this sort of “croissant club” thing this summer where they’re collabing with different chefs and restaurants for a week. We got one of the Sohla’s spice potato croissants and obviously it was a dream.
I ordered that, some sort of caramelized onion puff pastry thing, and an iced latte, and the bartender only charged me $5 (which had to have been wrong), but it made everything that much better. I’m also looking forward to their Thai Diner croissant in September.
And finally, our first Airbnb review for the cabin -
When my mom was here, and we were walking home from getting tacos, I found this wallet in the street.
I found the guy on Instagram and by the time he responded, Alex was already falling asleep from melatonin, and my mom was in her pajamas so I had to go by MYSELF to a bar in SoHo to give it to him. It was my nightmare but I’m hoping the karma stays with me.
What are you doing this weekend? Happy birthday, Gig!!! I think we’re going to the beach on Saturday morning. I’m not ready for 90º New York weather yet. Miles is here now and I think we’re going to Coney Island on Sunday. Karina comes on Tuesday and then we’re heading up to the cabin on Wednesday so I will most likely skip next week’s thots, I’m sorry.
Alright, I have to finish work before my 3 o’clock meeting.
Have a good weekend, I love you, and stay cool 😎