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Good morning, folks!
It’s that time again. Here are five positive things that’ll hopefully make you smile, make you laugh, and make you think. And in case you missed it, check out last week’s edition.
1. Tom Junod’s 1998 Esquire Profile of Fred Rogers
I’m going way back for this one because it’s so damn good. In 1968, Rev. Fred Rogers, better known as Mister Rogers, launched his iconic program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which ran for 33 seasons and captured the hearts of several generations along the way. Five years before his death, he was covered by journalist Tom Junod for Esquire in what is widely considered one of the best celebrity profiles ever written. Every now and again, I go back and read it and marvel at Mister Roger’s approach to life and the gorgeous and moving way in which Junod captures it on the page. It’s the kind of piece that dares you to have a bit more faith in humanity, my favorite genre. It was also the basis for the 2019 feature film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks.
2. David Mack’s Interview With a Disgruntled Oompa Loompa
A few weeks ago, a disastrous “Willy Wonka chocolate factory experience” in Glasgow, Scotland went viral for being, hands down, one of the funniest and most intriguing public failures in recent memory. It was so bad that the whole thing was shut down within hours of opening after pissed off parents called the police and demanded refunds. This may sound pretty negative, but trust me: it’s definitely the laugh you need. David Mack of Vulture landed an exclusive interview with Kirsty Paterson, a very poorly paid actor who played an Oompa Loompa and went viral for an iconic photo of her agonizing role in the production.
3. WaPo Columnist Monica Hesse Takes On Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s Brand
So, I have a cardinal rule that I follow pretty zealously: I don’t mock or criticize anyone’s personal appearance, even people I may find particularly unsavory, because how someone looks is, I believe, immaterial to their character. If someone sucks as a human being, aren’t there valid reasons to criticize them without resorting to personal appearance? That said, I also don’t like hypocrisy, and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the retiring senior senator from Arizona, has a fairly solid claim to the Biggest Hypocrite on Capitol Hill. Part of that hypocrisy is the way in which she intentionally uses clothing to code as an open and enlightened elected official while holding political positions that are anything but open and enlightened. It’s quite a frustrating dynamic, and fortunately, Washington Post columnist Monica Hesse has delivered a humorous nugget of an essay getting to the heart of the matter.
4. Saturday Night Live + ScarJo Brilliantly Parody Sen. Katie Britt
This past week, Pres. Biden delivered his State of the Union address to considerable praise from journalists and voters alike. The GOP response was delivered by Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, and it kinda did the exact opposite. Not only was it widely panned across the political spectrum—Republican politicos called it a “disaster”—but it was revealed the next day by reporter Jonathan M. Katz that Sen. Britt had blatantly lied about a key anecdote involving the horrific trauma experienced by a migrant woman. Pretty nasty business. Fortunately, Saturday Night Live tapped Scarlett Johansson for a hilarious cold open parody of Sen. Britt’s response. It may not be close to the consequences the Senator deserves for her exploitative and cruel nonsense, but it’ll make you laugh.
5. Ryan Gosling Steals the Show at Last Night’s Oscars
This year’s edition of the Academy Awards was pretty damn good. From host Jimmy Kimmel nailing Trump with a particularly biting zinger to Billie Eilish delivering an exquisite live performance of “What Was I Made For?” to John Cena appearing in nothing but Birkenstocks and a placard onstage, there was fun for everyone. But it was Ryan Gosling’s phenomenal performance of “I’m Just Ken” that broke the internet, proving that, once again, there is seemingly nothing Ryan Gosling can’t do that won’t make you root for him.
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