Circle Time // 1.15.26

Figure skating, the basket of deplorables known as ICE, great TV to disassociate to, the serum making me look alive, and thoughts on PWMOV!

credit: @earthlywhatsnext

15 days into January, and this seems to be the collective mood! Once again, this is another packed issue (lots of great TV to also disassociate to, after reading Stay in the Loop).

Wishing you all a weekend that brings some calm and connectedness, to counteract the chaos out there. Minnesota, you are heavy on my mind.

• Puzzles have worked their way back into my days, largely motivated by my goal to be on screens less and exercise my mind in different ways. My short-term memory has never been great, but I’ve noticed a decline even more after my Covid infection last year and increased screen time never helps. Physical puzzles, crosswords, and sudokus have been helpful for combatting brain rot and being nice to my nervous system.

• This perfect wrapping paper (and gifts) from my mother-in-law.

• ‘Tis Olympic year! And as a retired figure skater, I naturally tuned into the U.S. Nationals (the qualifying event for the Olympic team for figure skating) this last week. Ilia Malinin (a great time to be a Russian boy named Ilia/Ilya here in America!) is truly the Quad God, an athlete so far ahead of the rest of the field and the favorite for Olympic Gold, and Alyssa Liu and Amber Glenn are our leading favorites for medal contenders at the Olympics— my favorite programs had to be Amber’s short program to Madonna’s Like a Prayer (with a triple axel, rare for a women’s short program!), and Alyssa’s free skate to Lady Gaga (her dress was ridiculously perfect and her joy is infectious).

• I really enjoyed Nikki Glaser’s opening monologue at the Golden Globes last weekend, she’s an excellent roaster! Wanda Sykes was also delightful, crushing Bill Maher and Ricky Gervais succinctly and incisively. Mark Ruffalo was humanity’s champion, using every mic he was given on the red carpet to speak up about ICE and this administrations crimes.

This section is long this week, due to well, everything.

• The basket of deplorables, known as ICE:

  • If there is ONE longer article you take the time to read out of this whole newsletter today, I urge you to read this report from independent journalist Laura Jadeed, shared on Slate on how she was somehow hired for ICE despite barely participating in the hiring process, submitting a drug test she knew she’d fail, and being granted background and medical clearance despite submitting none of that information.