FMG: Alexa, play "pete davidson" by Ariana Grande
+ I started rewatching an all-time fave TV show
Happy Friday!
Ever since I started writing this newsletter in late January 2024, it’s been one of my greatest sources of joy. It makes me feel grounded and connected to myself, and there is absolutely no better feeling than when someone reaches out to tell me they took one of my recommendations or that any part of a newsletter resonated with them. But as it turns out, this newsletter is more than just a vessel for my happiness and an exercise for honing my writing skills — it’s also a powerful manifestation tool (!?!).
You may recall that I wrote just last week about a movie I watched with my parents. Deep Cover stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, and Nick Mohammed, and I listed those three names out in last week’s newsy. A mere TWENTY-FOUR HOURS after writing that, I pressed the “up” button in an elevator bank, an elevator arrived, the doors opened, and Orlando Bloom himself stepped out. He went, “Lobby?,” I stared at him without answering, and he chuckled to himself and walked away. I liiiiiiiterally summoned him into my orbit with my words, and I’ve never felt more powerful. On a completely unrelated note, HarryStylesPaigeBueckersJonathanBaileyPeteDavidsonNiallHoranNoahCentineo.
Though that brief encounter was (obviously) the best part of my week (nay, year), there’s more to cover.
Books: Sooo many people have told me to read These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean, and I hesitate to say that I don’t yet get the hype. I’m only 11% into it, but those 11% have been a bit of a slog. I’m going to continue to give it a try, and I hope to have my mind changed. Stay tuned.
I also just finished listening to the audiobook version of I Didn’t Know I Needed This by Eli Rallo, and it was an easy, solid listen. I think Eli (writer/Internet personality) has consistently good takes and is VERY smart, but she wrote the book (a kind of dating how-to/20-something self-help hybrid) in her early 20s, so I didn’t 100% connect with much of it (I’m 31, which feels regrettably far from my early 20s). I listened to it over time while getting ready and commuting, and it was a perfect listen for that context. If you are a 20-something or have one in your life, I’d recommend it.
TV: Because I have a lot of time to fill between weekly episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty (Is Conrad not just getting hotter and hotter by the second?), I recently started a rewatch of one of my all-time favorite shows, Grace and Frankie. I’d honestly say that Grace and Frankie was one of Netflix’s worst-marketed shows ever, because it feels like very few people that I encounter have watched it or even know what it’s about. In Grace and Frankie, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin star as two women who are married to a pair of law partners, Robert and Sol (Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston). In the first five minutes of the first episode, the two women (who hate each other) learn that their husbands have been having a 20-year affair and are leaving them for each other. Both in their 70s, Grace and Frankie move full-time into the beach house shared by both families to pick up their lives (despite, again, hating each other). It’s easily some of the funniest TV writing of the past decade (I promise every single episode will make you laugh out loud), and the character/relationship development is top-tier. It’s the absolute perfect blend of funny and moving, and I wish it were 100 seasons long. Bonus fact: It was created by Marta Kauffman, who also co-created Friends.
One last note is that for almost all of season one, Jane Fonda wears the most fabulous little camel-colored cardigan. You’ll know it immediately.
Have a wonderful weekend! There are just six weeks until a new Taylor Swift album and 13 weeks until Wicked, Part Two. So much to look forward to!!!!
XOXO,
Gail
P.S. The title of today’s newsletter is a reference to an underrated song on my favorite Ariana album. The first lyrics of “pete davidson” are, “I thought you into my life / Whoa! Look at my mind!” I’m using this, of course, as a reference to Orlando Bloom entering MY life, and you can also take it as a sign to listen to Sweetener today. I myself have listened to “no tears left to cry” no less than one million times in my life — a song which was, coincidentally, co-produced by Max Martin, one of the co-producers of the forthcoming Taylor Swift album. It all comes back around!
P.P.S. Have you read or listened to news from a trusted source today? I’m begging you to! It’s a crazy, overwhelming, and stressful time in the world, and unbiased journalism is one of our best weapons in the fight against misinformation and oppression. It’s cool to care!!