Vol. 40 of Thursday Third Things ☕

Brain rot, Disney adults, & people brining turkeys in Great Salt Lake

For the newbies — welcome to The Third Thing! Every (most) Thursdays I send out a “Thursday Third Things” email full of things I’m reading, thinking about, listening to, watching, and sometimes buying. Enjoy!

Hey all — happy Thursday! I hope your little bellies are still nourished from Thanksgiving meals and your little brains got a break from the grind.

At the Grand Junction estate (aka the small townhouse I rent with my partner) I had the great pleasure of hosting a luscious smattering of friends for our American Southwest-themed meal.

Together, our gaggle made:

• Pozole

• Arepas

• Pork green chili

• Stuffed poblanos

• Decadent squash nachos

• Ceviche

• Orange-coffee flan

• Corn custard pie

• And probably a few other things I’m forgetting.

We plunked the kitchen table in the center of the living space, covered it in candles (an excellent guest’s addition to the night), and had a lovely evening together. And let me reiterate once again that it was NOT a Friendsgiving — it was a true, full-bodied THANKSGIVING.

I took the entire week off of work and returned to my desk Monday morning unable to remember the password to my work computer, which I take to be an indication of fully, wonderfully, checking out. (The password came back to me eventually…unfortunately.)

With Thanksgiving so late this year, however, I’ve only got two more weeks until ANOTHER break, which I’m deeply craving already. With a day job somewhat disgustingly anchored to the politics happening over in D.C., I’m feeling a tremendous urge to shove my laptop into the dump truck-sized leaf mulcher currently driving around our neighborhood.

Setting that shitshow aside for a moment though, these handful of dark months contrasted with the punchiness of the short, bright days of the desert make me very happy to be alive right here on this dumb spec of Big Bang dirt.

I hope you’re finding some solace on this space rock, too.

—Generation Franchise: Why Writers Are Forced to Become Brands

“The statement if your books aren’t successful, it’s because you failed to be an interesting public personality is only a hairsbreadth away from the statement if your books aren’t successful, it’s because you’re not a worthwhile person. Both imply the same thing: it’s really you, not your art, that’s being sold.”

—Some people treat Disney as sacred. Does that make it a religion?

I’m just going to come right out and say it: If you’re a disney adult, I think you’re weird as shit.

—Why ‘Brain Rot’ Is 2024’s Word of the Year

At least it wasn’t bed rot?

—A Radical Approach to Reclaiming Your Attention

Love this AND I also worry we’re beginning to create a “reclaim your attention” industrial complex.

—Utah Officials Tell People To Stop Brining Turkeys In The Great Salt Lake

C’mon. Fess up if this was you.

—Transgender Activists Question the Movement’s Confrontational Approach

Feels like I’m in the DANGER ZONE sharing this one but uhh, yeah, maybe the Left’s all or nothing rhetoric and vitriol doesn’t work. Just sayin’. “We have to make it OK for someone to change their minds. We cannot vilify them for not being on our side. No one wants to join that team.”

—You’ve Just Been Snackfished

All I’m saying is clear ketchup seems way more realistic than purple ketchup. And that was actually a thing. “His mum and grandma took him out for afternoon tea when he hit 200,000 followers.”

—I spent the last few weeks listening to Suzanne Scanlon read her newest book, Committed: On Meaning and Madwomen. Her approach was spectacular and deeply literary and made me feel like I was back in college in my first women’s lit course. Her ability to write a scene is impeccable. I also appreciate that she could have gone into many diatribes of lengthy exposition on the problems of the mental health system and instead chose to tell an actually compelling story.

—I am only a few chapters into American Bulk: Essays on Excess but I already know it’s a banger. Plus, I love a good essay collection because agents always tell people in writing workshops that no one publishes essay collections, yet, HERE ONE IS.

—In This House, We’re Angry When Government Fails
Ezra Klein just has such a way of breaking down why Democrats SUCKED SO HARD in this last election and encouraging them to do better. Love to see it.

—What is Jawmaxing?
If you’re not familiar with the term “Giga Chad” this episode of Search Engine is for you.

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