These Are, Uh, Five Of My Favorite Things

Ice cream, emojis, books, songs, & Jon Brion

Well, I got a little long-winded there, didn’t I? Essays about the flag, algorithms, relationships, Ozzy.

So let’s keep it (relatively) short this time. In an attempt to cultivate gratitude (and thus positivity) in my life during the height of the pandemic, I started periodically posting lists of Things Helping Keep Me Sane During The Pandemic via my Twitter account. In that spirit, here are some things that are really doing it for me recently.

1. Noona’s Ice Cream. I’m a Ben & Jerry’s Tonight Dough evangelist and I swear by the Salted Peanut Butter from Jeni’s. So it’s rare that I find new ice cream that really hits the spot like those go-to regulars. Enter Noona’s brand of Asian-inspired flavors. So far I’ve tried the Taro, Green Tea, Thai Iced Tea, and Turmeric Honeycomb. And they’ve all been lights-out good, not to mention a nice flavor profile zag from the typical rejiggering of the usual suspects (chocolate, vanilla, something with candy chunks).

2. The Weirdies by Michael Buckley. If you’ve ever listened to audiobooks with your kids, you know that they can be extremely hit-or-miss, whether it’s the actual writing or the great-or-abysmal voice talent. In this case, both hit. Buckley’s writing is sharp and sarcastic and dark. And it’s read convincingly by none other than Kate Winslet, who doesn’t phone it in at all. It makes bedtime just a little less dread-ridden for me. My kids laugh out loud (which maybe isn’t helping with the whole “fall asleep peacefully” thing). Here’s the book’s intro, which should help you gauge pretty quickly whether you’re in or out:

This is a very, very sad story. The characters suffer terrible tragedies. People die in unspeakable ways. Only a truly horrible person would be amused by their misfortune.

Nevertheless, it is kind of funny.

My advice is that you listen to this all by yourself. People can be judgy.

3. These emojis are brilliant. My favorites change by the day (today it’s “Sarcastic” which deserves a good zoom-in and “Pizza”) but they do so much with so little.

4. A Christmas music playlist. Everyone has one. And everyone’s take on Christmas is different. Some people love tradition. Some people want newness. Some people want it all happy. Some people double down on melancholy. Some people hate it altogether and just wanna grinch in peace. I find myself somewhere between tradition (Nat King Cole, Vince Guaraldi, Andy Williams) with sprinkles of newness (Khruangbin, Andrew Bird). Mostly it’s a nostalgia thing for me, so this playlist traffics heavily in nostalgia. And, no, it does NOT have Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” or WHAM’s “Last Christmas” because just no.

5. JUST ONE SONG. Since the early 00s, the only way to hear songwriter/producer/composer/genius Jon Brion’s album Meaningless was via compact disc. I purchased mine at one of the many Friday night Largo shows that my cousin and musical gateway Mark took me to. Twenty years later, the album is finally out on vinyl and streaming, which means you can listen to Brion’s airtight, pop Beatle-esque songs without even trying. My recommendation would be to start with “Ruin My Day” (a matter-of-fact look back at post-breakup heartache) and “Trouble.” (Crap, I said JUST ONE SONG, didn’t I? Oh well.). Brion is known for producing acts like Kanye, Mac Miller, Elliott Smith, Aimee Mann, and Fiona Apple, as well as scoring films like Lady Bird, Magnolia, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And he’s done incredible session work all over the place (Madonna? Springsteen? Beyonce? Katy Perry? David Byrne). But it’s his pop songwriting that has the teeth for me.

So, yeah, those are five things that happen to be doing it for me as of December 15, 2022.