February 2026 Grab Bag

Hello from the snow kingdom NYC has become these past few weeks! Writing to you when the weather is a “balmy” forty degrees and soaking up every warm moment of it. The second it hits fifty I’ll be out there in shorts and sunglasses. Does anyone have good spring-feeling movies/tv shows/books? I’m trying to manifest sunshine here.

1. Recently watched Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can and was delighted by its combination of being charming, light on its feet and still feeling grand in scope. It has the sentimentality I love about Steven’s work without getting bogged down in it
2. Speaking of movies that have to do with planes…I recently was on a plane and these were my perfectly selected movies that I watched on my journey: Game Night (the ultimate best movie to watch on a plane, imo) and Theater Camp (a new addition to my plane movie rotation and I think it’s very promising!)
3. When I wasn’t watching movies I was absolutely devouring The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett – the first in a fantasy mystery series. I loved the plant and monster elements of the worldbuilding and how seamlessly that blended with the central crime that had to be solved. Immediately bought the second book after finishing the first
4. I’ve been trying to listen to whole albums more this year and like the true trendsetter I am, I decided to listen to Beyonce’s Lemonade for the first time…turns out it’s very good! As a secret lover of country music I am now obsessed with Daddy Lessons

5. One of my favorite writers, Kate Wagner (of McMansion Hell fame), wrote an amazing reflection on internet surveillance and how it’s impacted our sense of privacy and encouraged self policing  
6. I didn’t review Taylor Swift’s latest album because frankly it committed the sin of being boring enough that I had nothing to say about it. However YouTuber mothcub did a wonderful song by song breakdown of what went wrong with it. I have different opinions on some of the individual songs (I think Father Figure is better than The Man…sue me!!) but completely agree with the overall thesis 

7. I love the podcast 5-4, that covers “how the supreme court sucks” but often find it (surprise, surprise) extremely depressing. Arguably their recent two part series on the Rise and Fall of the Voting Rights Act is equally as depressing as their other episodes but still I found some small comforts in looking back at the history of our country to understand how we got to the place we are in now. Especially appreciated the sentiment that even in very dark times there are always victories, even small or temporary ones, that are worth celebrating and acknowledging
8. Alice Bolin’s previous essay collection Dead Girls is maybe my favorite book of cultural criticism ever…except she’s also just released a new collection called Culture Creep which I think is just as good. She explores a variety of aspects of culture, from Star Trek to Animal Crossing to Playboy magazine. I just love how her mind works in synthesizing modern trends and understanding how they weave together
9. Had fun with these often whimsical writing prompts. I especially liked the “snail’s story” idea of writing extremely slowly 
10. This past Valentine’s Day my partner and I were greeted by a pair of mourning doves snuggling together on our windowsill – how quaint! How thematically appropriate! Our dog didn’t even bark at them when he noticed them sitting there. A Valentine’s Day miracle! 

Let me know what you’ve been enjoying this past month, especially if it would (spiritually) help melt the snow that’s still piled up on the streets.

Each month I highlight an organization that’s important to me. I encourage people to check out the cool work they do, and also to find causes within their community to support as well.

Today I’m linking the Community Action Center in Minneapolis