8.06 - dog days of summer
Happy Thursday! It’s been a fairly slow week, but I have no doubt the news cycle will pick up soon as we wait for Biden’s vice presidential selection (expected next week), final decisions on fall sports are outstanding, and we wait to see if Ellen’s show is cancelled given serious allegations of workplace misconduct (somewhat jk on that last one…does anyone watch Ellen?)
So, what’s new in washington d.c.?
In the shopping mood? Support local businesses by scoping out DC Dog Days, a weekend of sales by a wide variety of local businesses, including clothing, restaurants, beauty, and wellness spots. While the event is usually concentrated to shops near 14th and U, this year the event has expanded to businesses across D.C. (both in person and online).
Rent a cabana and watch a movie over the water on a floating screen. On Thursday nights, The Wharf is playing outdoor movies from the social distanced safety of cabanas. Tonight’s pick? Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2.
Union Market is hosting a cookout tomorrow from 4 PM - 11 PM. They’re offering BBQ and drinks, plus a chance to hang out on their recently developed roof with some great views of Northeast D.C.
let’s talk food
RASA, a bomb fast-casual Indian spot, just opened a second location in Mt. Vernon Triangle. The restaurant’s specialty is crafting Indian bowls with creative names - my personal fav is the sweet potato tikki one, Aloo Need Is Love.
what’s on our minds?
One of summer’s unsung pleasures - the waft of butter in the air as you step into a heavily air conditioned movie theater to watch the latest summer blockbuster - is lost this year. And, there are fears theaters could shutter for good. AMC Theaters was nearing bankruptcy about a month ago and revenue reports are, unsurprisingly, dismal for other large chains (not to mention smaller arthouse theaters). Many of this summer’s potential blockbusters, such as Christopher Nolan’s Tenet have delayed release dates. While some smaller films have been released video on demand, few heavily anticipated movies have done so. That changed this week when Disney announced that the live-action remake of Mulan will air on Disney+ on September 4th - for $30. Time will tell if video on demand releases have staying power or fade into the background as a pandemic-era necessity.
While by most accounts, “normalcy” by fall is merely a pipe dream, football is (for now) one glaring exception. The NFL is proceeding with a standard fall season (albeit without fans in most cases), whereas college football is taking a less standardized approach. The majority of major conferences are planning to play conference-only schedules, while independent schools (such as Connecticut) and Division II and III schools are cancelling. As schools and cities (including my hometown of Lincoln, NE) grapple with the economic reality of lost revenue from cancelled seasons, players across the country - even without the majority of students on campus - keep getting sick (In this week’s news, 37 students in the University of North Carolina’s athletic department tested positive and Colorado State is dealing with an attempted cover-up of positive cases). Sixteen schools thus far have cancelled or paused workouts because of COVID, and many athletes are expressing concern for their safety. As CBS News put it, “a revolution is brewing” as nearly 1,400 athletes from the Big Ten and Pac-12 signed manifestos with demands for their safety.
Quick links to other weekly #goodreads:
How the Pandemic Defeated America - per The Atlantic, “Despite its epochal effects, COVID‑19 is merely a harbinger of worse plagues to come. The U.S. cannot prepare for these inevitable crises if it returns to normal, as many of its people ache to do. Normal led to this. Normal was a world ever more prone to a pandemic but ever less ready for one. To avert another catastrophe, the U.S. needs to grapple with all the ways normal failed us. It needs a full accounting of every recent misstep and foundational sin, every unattended weakness and unheeded warning, every festering wound and reopened scar.”
Simone Biles Would Like to Thank Herself - per Vice, “There are few certainties in sports; for the last eight years, Simone Biles has been one of them. You always knew she was going to make the 2020 U.S. women's gymnastics team and that she was going to win Olympic gold unless some act of God intervened.”
The Restaurant Group Behind Rose’s Luxury Set Out To Take Care Of Its Staff. Employees Say They Failed- per dcist, “In its nascency, Rose’s Luxury — the first of three eateries in a restaurant group led by James Beard Award-winning chef Aaron Silverman — positioned itself as a game-changer in the upscale-dining industry…But the “revelation in dining” lauded by Bon Appetit ultimately failed its original mission, say several people who worked for the company.”
what are we watching?
Buffaloed on Hulu. This funky comedy stars Zoey Deutch as Peg in a riveting performance as a young hustler making her way in Buffalo. After a series of unfortunate events, Peg becomes a debt collector whose moxie and zingers both get her in and out of all sorts of trouble.
The Speed Cubers on Netflix. In a list of things I wouldn’t have expected to happen in 2020 (it’s a long list), tearing up at a documentary about speed Rubik’s Cube solvers (speedcubers) would be near the top. But, it happened. This compelling, 40 minute, documentary follows some of the world’s fastest speedcubers as they prepare for the world championships. But, the real draw of the documentary is the uniquely poignant friendship between two of the top solver.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed, please share with your friends. Or, if you have any thoughts or want to say hey, just respond to this email.
‘til next time -courtney