Welcome back to MIDC! On my end, it’s been a week of listening to folklore on repeat, playing Azul, and falling into the dog days of summer.
So, what’s new in washington d.c.?
Is listening to tswift’s folklore on repeat giving you fall vibes? Another way to make it feel like fall - binging scary movies. The DC Shorts Summer Chills 2020 offers viewers nine spooky international horror and thriller shorts from six countries. Watch them all through Sunday for $12.
With public (and many apartment) pools closed, it’s particularly challenging to find a place to swim and beat the heat in d.c. this summer. Enter Swimply - an Airbnb-style concept that allows individuals or small groups to rent a private pool by the hour. There are currently 45 pools available for rent in the d.c. area, ranging from $15-$200 per hour.
let’s talk food
It’s a tough time for restaurants right now, but there are still intrepid businesses launching in the d.c. area. Looking to find a new favorite spot? Washingtonian published a list of fifteen new restaurants and concepts that opened in July, including outdoor wine bars (Barkada Wine Bar at 12th and U), Japanese restaurants (Shibuya Eatery in Adams Morgan), and casual Georgian food (Tabla in Park View - it’s a sister restaurant of Supra in Shaw). And, starting next week, check out a new Jewish deli in Shaw - Delikatessen.
what’s on our minds?
Unsurprisingly, COVID-19 is affecting many Americans’ mental health - with an estimated 45% of individuals noting that pandemic-related stress has negatively impacted their mental health. One science-backed way to support your mental health? Volunteering. A recent study finds that people who volunteer (regardless of their starting levels of mental health) become happier over time, with greater mental health benefits for those who volunteer most frequently. Looking for a place to start in d.c.? Check out this list of options.
Restaurants and other businesses are, in many ways, left to their own devices on ways to keep themselves and customers safe during this pandemic. Washington City Paper profiled local favorite Soupergirl on the challenges of operating at this moment in history. Chief among them are the delays in testing - the restaurant is spending $800 a week to test all employees for COVID-19, but not receiving results back for 15 days, rendering any positive results too delayed to be useful to protect staff and customers.
Have you also been listening to Taylor Swift’s stripped down folklore on repeat? The surprise album drop last Friday (pettily and perfectly swiping Kanye’s planned album release) has received almost universal acclaim, with Rolling Stone calling it “her greatest album - so far.” Vulture published an article interpreting the meaning of each song, including the perspective each song is written from, while Slate explains every proper noun used in the album. lmk your current fav songs - I’m digging exile (ft. Bon Iver) and august at the moment.
Quick links to other weekly #goodreads:
Pollution Is Killing Black Americans. This Community Fought Back. - per The New York Times, “African-Americans are 75 percent more likely than others to live near facilities that produce hazardous waste. Can a grass-roots environmental-justice movement make a difference?”
How Ben & Jerry’s Perfected the Delicate Recipe for Corporate Activism - per Bloomberg Businessweek, “Other companies tried to align themselves with the Black Lives Matter protests and failed. The Vermont creamery kept doing what it’s always done.”
Can the No-Tipping Movement Survive? - per Grubstreet, “This is a time of reckoning within the restaurant industry, which has been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic and left owners and workers alike to wonder where things go from here…For proponents of the no-tipping movement — widely seen to be a system that is more equitable for workers and simpler for customers, but which remains unpopular — this would seem to be an ideal time to bolster their case for fair salaries. Instead, one of no-tipping’s highest-profile advocates just announced he would reinstate gratuities at his restaurants. So, where does this leave the operators who still believe in tip-free dining?”
what are we watching?
Last Chance U on Netflix. The acclaimed documentary series is back for a final season, this time following the Laney College football team as they play in the increasingly gentrifying Oakland, California area. With sports in complex flux and falls’s college football looking increasingly less likely to move forward, it is a bit of a whiplash to watch a documentary of contact sports (all the germs!). But, unlike previous seasons of Last Chance U where players had housing and scholarships, this season particularly highlights the intense financial hardships faced by many community college students and athletes.
Coherence on Amazon Prime. This isn’t a new movie (released in 2014), but it is an under the radar film I hadn’t heard of until deeply scrolling the catalogs of streaming services’ top movies. This science fiction film amps up the creepiness as it follows eight friends and acquaintances as they attend a dinner party. Midway through dinner, a comet passes through the atmosphere, affecting the individuals’ sense of reality and pumping up the paranoia.
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‘til next time -courtney
Loving folklore, too. Lots of exile and betty, but love them all.