Friday Fourteen Issue 106
This week: No one cares about your resolutions so you might as well do something you enjoy, a great take on why the world needs Wordle right now, the houseplant of your dreams according to your star sign, a poignant essay on rejecting the cultural myths around coupledom, new apps to optimise your anxiety, cures for bad days, and more
Nobody cares what your new year resolutions are, so you might as well do something you enjoy (“This is not an argument for “self-care” or a statement against productivity culture or a stand against capitalism or anything like that. It’s an argument for self-honesty.”)
Cigarettes are making a comeback and of course the pandemic is to blame
A great take on why the world needs the Wordle fandom right now (and here’s two of the best ways to win, according to a crossword pro)
Slow productivity sounds pretty good right now
Jessica DeFino’s substack The Unpublishable is a new find here at Slice, and if you’re interested in what the beauty industry won’t tell you from a reporter on a mission to reform it, this is one to add to your inbox
As the sea of new year’s resolution content continues to flood our social feeds, there is some solace to be found in Katie Hawkins-Gaar’s essay on a cure for bad days because sometimes, good days are hard to come by
If you didn’t already have a crush on Tilda Swinton, you will now
The best houseplants to buy based on your star sign
A poignant essay on rejecting the cultural myths around coupledom
ICYMI, the music industry has thrown a spotlight on the NSW government’s controversial new singing and dancing restrictions, which has banned people from throwing shapes basically anywhere but in places of worship. As a direct dig at Hillsong Church, who were able to host a music festival amid the new no singing or dancing rules, beloved Sydney pub The Lord Gladstone has announced they’re rebranding as ‘The Lord Gladsong Hotel’ on Jan 23 for a special day of prayer. God bless 🙏🏼
For some lols → new apps to optimise your anxiety
Does TikTok’s algorithm really know you? (“While recommendation algorithms from Amazon to Netflix are designed to guess what you’d like to see next, TikTok can feel as if it’s showing you who you’ve always been. In the process, we are opening ourselves to the peril and promise of ‘outsourcing self-awareness to AI'.”)
Annnndd…. join us as we attempt to do cry January, a magical Word/PDF hack, this is SO every doctor, something magical happens when you crack an egg at the bottom of the ocean, unintentional sculpture analysis, what your current Twitter timeline was saying 14 years ago, you’ll never listen to Cotton Eye Joe in the same way again, somehow this TikTok is making us doubt our love for burrata now, the new app that everyone’s talking about, how hype men used to take over the songs in the 90’s and listening to a song that’s part of a TikTok trend be like…
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Charlotte, content coordinator —>
Reading: My favourite book over the break was Beirut 2020: The Collapse of a Civilization, a Journal by Charif Majdalani and translated by Ruth Driver. Journalist Majdalani writes about his experiences in Beirut as it crumbles around him; it blew me away and broke my heart. It’s short and wonderfully written, so it’s a great choice if you find yourself in a reading rut like I was!
Cooking: This chopped Mexican salad with cilantro dressing that’s summery, sweet and hits all the spots
Listening: I thought the podcast Sweet Bobby was fiction when I first started listening to it — that’s how farfetched the storyline is. It’s about an internet scam of epic proportions. I’m only a few episodes in but I’m extremely addicted!
Claire, copywriter & content producer —>Reading: I kicked off my year with a book trending on Tik Tok, The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, which I highly recommend if you’re looking for an easy read and like classic rom-com tropes (especially if you’ve had any experience in academia)
Listening: Loved reliving all the tiny details of how Taylor Swift rose, fell and rose again in Shameless podcast’s three part Scandal series. Kanye! Break ups!! Girl squads!
Watching: I tuned into Don’t Look Up on Netflix like the rest of the world, and found the whole movie deeply unsettling, but I guess that was pretty much the point
Lizzie, managing director —>
Listening: I was literally hooked on Hooked, a podcast about an American bank robber and America’s opioid epidemic
Grooving: My sister bought my partner the best of The Who on vinyl for Christmas. I have never really listened to The Who, but it's been on high rotation over the summer break and I’m a fan
Watching: A new Australian drama on Binge, Love Me. There are only six eps and I’d recommend having self control; I loved it so much and it was over too quicklyJesse, content coordinator —>
Listening: I can’t stop listening to Tape Notes. Each week they take a deep dive into an artist’s album and breakdown their creative process. The episode with Fred Again.. has been a recent fave, exploring his diaristic approach to songwriting and his complex yet club-ready album that turned despair into hope
Watching: Very behind the eight ball but I am finally watching Abstract: The Art of Design on Netflix (also available for free on YouTube) Loved the episode on stage designer Es Devlin and her incredibly creative ideas and innovations
Grooving: Just because we can’t go to the club doesn’t mean the club can’t come to us! Been moving and shaking constantly to Eris Drew’s Quivering in Time
Vanessa, content & strategy director —>Eating: This cucumber and avocado salad with every meal (hell, just on its own)
Reading: Oh William!, the last book in Elizabeth Strout’s Lucy Barton series. I am extremely jealous of anyone who gets to read these books for the first time; start with My Name is Lucy Barton, then read Anything is Possible, and then finish with Oh, William! So, so good. I would read a shopping list if Elizabeth Strout wrote one
Watching: Landscapers on Stan, a UK miniseries based on the real story of the murders of William and Patricia Wycherley and the couple who killed them. Olivia Colman plays the lead and as usual is perfection
