July 2025

Links/books/etc. from the month that passed

1. The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich. Some books are classics for a reason.

2. Lovers Always Lose by Boys Go to Jupiter (H/T New Bands for Old Heads)

3. Angel by Elizabeth Taylor (no, not that one), a novel about a fifteen-year-old girl who writes extravagant, imaginative self-insert fiction and becomes successful both in spite of, and because of, her lack of talent. I enjoyed the subject matter, and the writing. (H/T Backlisted)

4. A Jewish hat was “a cone-shape pointed hat, often white or yellow, worn by Jews in Medieval Europe.” An illustration, from the Wikipedia page:

   

   The rightmost figure wears a Jewish cap—depicted is Jewish poet Süsskind von Trimberg

5. Mothership by Alexandra Savoir (and her full discography)

A dispatch from under the local rock

I was sick this month, so the local rock was extra large. Nevertheless, some news items I overheard, in the order I encountered them:

There will be a New York City mayoral race in November, and the candidate predicted to win is a polarizing socialist named Mamdani. (I didn’t catch his first name.)

There was a bad storm in Texas, US.

A CEO and HR manager had an affair, which wouldn’t normally be newsworthy, except they got caught in a public display of affection on a kiss cam at a concert. Instead of kissing, which ultimately would’ve gotten them into less trouble, both looked horrified—the man ducked and the woman turned away. The video went viral, resulting in the two becoming the subjects of vast amounts of online hate.

There is a new tariff agreement between the US and EU, in which the US tariff rate on EU goods will be 15%.