Not much to say here by way of introduction. I haven’t been reading or writing all that much, as I’ve been struggling to focus. But I’m still finding things to enjoy! Here are a few of them:
Grand Tour (2024)
Beginning in 1917 Rangoon, a man named Edward traverses across Asia, pursued by his incorrigible fiancée Molly, who he feels unready to marry. Expositional conversations and smaller character interactions happen in stagey, period-accurate rooms and claustrophobic jungle clearings; Larger-scale public scenes occur against modern backdrops and through dreamy present-day documentary footage, which flutters over the story like a gauzy curtain, fading in and out, mixing and melding with the past. Directed and co-written by Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes — he won Best Director at Cannes last year for it — this is a beautiful, playful, oddly meditative and very moving work which left me thinking about what is possible in art. It’s currently available to stream on Mubi.
Hermes - L’Ombre des Merveilles
I blind bought this from Mercari because the seller immediately accepted my insultingly low offer. I find Hermes fragrances to be exceptionally beautiful and wearable across the board — as opposed to say, Prada or Gucci or YSL which have a high likelihood of being heavy and nauseating and the sort of thing that people are thinking of when they implement scent-free workplaces. Black tea-and-tonka-forward L’Ombre des Merveilles unsurprisingly shares some amber-y and almond-y DNA with its sister, Elixir des Merveilles, one of my favorite winter scents. Elixir is, however, all cozy candied orange and creamy sandalwood incense, whereas L’Ombre is for after you’ve put the Christmas tree out on the curb. Smells great in the recent persistent grey and rainy weather.
Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up (2025)
It was actually somewhat challenging to catch this on the big screen, as it wasn’t playing at my local Regal, and never after 12pm, but knowing that Johnny Ryan was one of the writers was motivation enough. In the end it was just me and another middle aged freak at the weekday 11:50am showing, each of us laughing uproariously from our separate corners of the theater. Probably the best movie I’ll see all year.
Cat Power - Covers
I listened to this a lot when it came out in 2022. It’s been back in heavy rotation lately and I’ve been paying closer attention. I’ve written about Chan Marshall’s Dylan covers, and maintain that she’s among the very best, and certainly boldest song interpreters of our time. Who else out there is paying exquisite homage to Ryan Gosling’s band?
Coco Mademoiselle
A few years ago a friend of mine, in the midst of a divorce and in the process of moving out of her place, gave me bags and bags of clothing and shoes, all nice, expensive brands, most of which simply did not suit my personality. Long, loose-knit, light-colored sweaters; expensive yoga pants with prints that could get me accused of cultural appropriation; a straw fedora. Things I could get away with wearing only if I faked my own death and started my life over in a remote part of the world. There was some perfume; some typically pleasant Hermes flankers, Jo Malone Bluebell (yuck!) and Mademoiselle. I gave most of the others away, but I fell mildly in love with Mademoiselle for its inoffensive beauty, it’s peachy-colored juice smelling sort of non-specifically of citrus and flowers, with a bit of musk deepening it to something acceptably adult. It, like those beautiful high-end clothes, is not really “me,” but it’s great for when I want to smell good in a really basic way.
Jenny Hval - Iris Silver Mist
Hval is an artist I associate strongly with scent, or the idea of scent, be it the decaying apples in her novel Paradise Rot, or the metallic tang of bodily fluids referenced throughout 2016’s vampire-themed Blood Bitch. The good and bad, the beautiful and the acrid, all flow together in a sensual expression of feminine experience. So naturally I was validated that her new record, Iris Silver Mist, shares a name with a Serge Lutens perfume. I haven’t personally sniffed ISM as it’s tough to get a sample and it’s like $300+ a bottle, but by all accounts it’s as raw and earthy and dank and vegetal and dreamy as Hval’s music.
Vicarious living through Patricia Highsmith characters
Highsmith’s characters are, of course, always getting themselves into unenviable high-stress criminal situations, but I’m slightly obsessed with the indulgences they enjoy along the way: Endless cigarettes, cocktails from the ever-present bar cart, picnics of cold chicken and good, chilled white wine, high-quality clothing worn in European villas, rented with other people’s money.
Faces in the films of Michael Roemer
RIP Michael Roemer! He packed his films with so many incredible faces. The Plot Against Harry (1969), Nothing But a Man (1964), and Vengeance is Mine (1984) are all currently available to stream on the Criterion Channel, so you don’t have to take my word for it.
Sounds fabulous! And i love the story of how you found it! I have Eau des Marveilles (also rich and musky) which i liked for a second, then E at age 6 over sprayed it in the apt which i think affected my feelings about it.