Letters, Let This Radicalize You and My Old Ass

Like I mentioned before, with a baby on the way, I’m going to transition to letter writing for the foreseeable future. This week, I’m going to send one making the public-health case for increased government funding for cultivated-meat research. If you want to write your own letters, give this a look: https://slaughterfreeamerica.substack.com/p/how-to-write-letters-to-newspapers-6eb

Anyway, let’s do (Cell) Culture Talk. Here’s what I’ve been reading, watching and playing recently.

Book — Let This Radicalize You by Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba. As you may have gleaned from my solo protests, I’m not much of an organizer! Fundamentally, I don’t have the temperament to inspire and coordinate other activists. That said, this is an engaging text on the subject, which everyone could learn something from. It’s packed with helpful anecdotes.

Movie — My Old Ass. Maisey Stella stars in a funny-but-sweet film, written and directed by Megan Park. After taking hallucinogenic mushrooms, Stella’s character gets in touch with an older version of herself, played by Aubrey Plaza, who warns her to stay away from a potential love interest, played by Percy Haynes White. Plaza’s role is smaller than the marketing would suggest.

Game — The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It’s been about five years since I’ve played the 1998 title. Last go around, I was using an emulator, a laptop, and a knock-off Nintendo 64 controller. This time, I’ve found an application, called Delta, which allows me to play the game on my iPad. The touchscreen controls take some getting used to, but it’s doable.

Sports — Knicks beat Denver, 145-118. After a discouraging loss to Utah, New York looked much better in the Mile High City. The Knicks tied a franchise record in assists. OG Anunoby, who has a predominately defensive reputation, led New York in scoring. He had a career-high 40 points. It was the most fun I’ve had watching the Knicks so far this season.