Lounging with lozenges

Links + Sontag + summertime stillness

Hello! Last week I told you all about my latest project, Lengthy Respiratory Illness. This week I’m following it up with … Covid! How retro.

Because of this dumb ol’ disease, I haven’t gotten out much lately. In fact, I have become, dare I say, BORING.

Nevertheless, a few links and things for your hourly amusement:

Taking the dirty staircase. (Photo by Dean Haspiel)

sempre susan

A few months ago I read Sigrid Nunez’s What Are You Going Through, and I liked it as much as I dug the movie it sparked, The Room Next Door (starring Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore and a sexy country house).

For my next Nunez, I selected Sempre Susan, the 2011 memoir of her friendship with Susan Sontag, first working for her and then dating Sontag’s son/living in their apartment. At 140 pages, it’s a salty whisper of a book and speaks lovingly/honestly of the writer/thinker, who no doubt would’ve terrified me if I’d encountered her face-to-face.

I love the idea of a friendship memoir — poet Ron Padgett has written books about several of his friends, including Joe Brainard and Dick Gallup. What I’m trying to say here is that if you are my friend, there is a decent chance I will write a book about you someday. I already have at least five in mind.

In bed with Sontag.

the frick

Recently I visited the restored Frick Museum but took zero photos, because photos and children are forbidden at the Frick. (What is permitted is perfume — lots of smells and sneezes wafting through those rooms.)

It’s fun to wander an old mansion in the heart of New York City, although it was so crowded I thought for sure I’d witness a broken chair moment. (Why is priceless porcelain kept in a claustrophobic hallway?) Anyway, I love an air-conditioned artspace in the summertime, and as soon as I’m well I wanna see the new Jane Austen exhibit at the Morgan Library.

Relatable panel from the manga Bungo Stray Dogs.

links

• Variety reunited Felicity stars Keri Russell and Scott Speedman.

• The Hollywood Reporter picks the 10 best films of 2025 (so far), and I have some catching up to do.

• The New Yorker wants to know “What’s happening to reading?” Will A.I. turn us into illiterate slime puffs? Stay tuned!

• The Mysterious Bookshop has been named the best indie bookstore in the country by my former lover, USA Today.

• Times are so tough that the future is even uncertain for Doctor Who.

• Jinkx Monsoon is putting on the Oh, Mary! curls.

• Molly Gordon (The Bear, Theater Camp) stars in OH, HI!, which looks like a comedic Millennial Misery:

• Nate Bargatze talks about words that are tough to say with a Tennessee accent. (My kid still says “hair” as “hay-yerr,” and I hope that never changes.)

• One of the most beautiful restaurants in the world has maybe the worst restaurant name I’ve ever heard: Beefbar.

• Autostraddle and the New York Times and a bunch of other folks are hyping the lesbian vampire novel Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, so perhaps I’ve found my perfect summer read.

• Happy 61st to the ravishing Tabitha from Bewitched.

• The sons of John, Paul and Ringo came together to record some music.

• Time for new orthotic inserts — Devo and the B-52’s are going on tour!

I hope you stay healthy and buy a new hat this weekend. ‘Til next time!

*twitches her nose*
The 16th Doctor
no. 2 | binoculars | incisors

An incredibly flattering photo of myself taken by my child.