Hi, this is Jess here, and I hope these recommends make your February warmer, more interesting, and more delicious. (Image Credit: Instagram/youngertv)
Welcome To #RavsRecs, a look inside the lives (and minds) of your Ravishly staffers. Every week we’ll be coming to you with a list of things that are probably useless but definitely awesome. This week, your resident writer of all-things-political, Jess, shares how she plans to set February up for fabulousness.
To Watch:
If you haven’t seen TV Land’s series Younger, then I’m really happy for you, because it means now you get to watch the most binge-able show I’ve come across… mm, maybe in my life. Prepare for outfit and bicep envy, and pray with me that you also look young enough to pass for 26 when 40 is the reality.
To Listen:
I like to keep my movies & TV to a mostly duck-level of seriousness — floating up on the very top echelon of shallow — total viewing escapism. But with music, it’s the opposite. I love deep lyrics, complicated composition, orchestral arrangements that make me think & feel. Ergo, how much do I love Sufjan Stevens? Enough that his music will probably feature on any recommendations list I ever put together.
“I Shoulda Known Better” is part of Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell album, exploring the death of his mother & subsequent depth of his grief. This song takes a little turn for some kind of hopeful in the middle. It’s classic Sufjan, and it feels like February — gray/cold/depressing somehow gives way to a glimmer of meaning/sense of light.
To Eat:
Bison Tacos. To do this, just replace whatever you usually stuff into a taco with fried-up bison instead. Onions work well as an add-in; so does a salsa topping. But it’s straight-up weird how this particular meat source takes an already scrumptious Southwestern classic and makes it EVEN BETTER.
To Read:
The Road to Character by David Brooks examines the lives of several icons of the 20th century (and beyond), examining them through the (spit-upon, abandoned, mistrusted) lens of morality. I give David Brooks bonus points for bravery in writing such a book, particularly as someone who hangs out at The New York Times. But considering our current president, character as a thing might be coming back in vogue hardcore. And even if you don’t think the values of 20th century America are always to be admired (yeah, me too), the people in this book — Dorothy Day, Bayard Rustin, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Frances Perkins, George Eliot — certainly are.
