Tiago Di Mauro, the director who made the video for Ibibio Sound Machine’s “Protection from Evil,” called the track “methodically chaotic,” which I think is a good piece of lexicon to add to our lives. In this instance, it’s describing a dark, synthy, highly charged piece of dance pop from a big international crew that tends to blend West African funk and electronic bass into some supremely London tracks that are a little bit disco, a little bit Fela, and a healthy dose of electro. There’s more of all this on their new album, Electricity, so get in, stay in, and ward off whatever ails you.
Hope you’re tummy’s feeling fine, cause over at Eater, someone just let JJ Goode go long on how we’re always talking about food but never about the doo-doo, what’s with that! To save you a click (though it’s not an unworthy one), I think there are intuitive biological answers to “what’s with that,” which kind of boil down to the bacterial underpinnings of “don’t shit where you eat.” But I do think he’s right to explore the aversion to the butt and its inner workings, and I will recommend to him, and to you, Avery Trufelman’s Nice Try interview with our university president Michael Roth about bidets. “We’re afraid of our buttholes because they remind us of things we just can’t contain,” Roth says: poop, sure, but also love, wanting to be dominated, any desire we try to hold in but inevitably have to let go. It’s Protestantism at work! Don’t be into pleasure, whatever you do! So yeah, JJ, if you want to get philosophical about why we food discourse never includes the poo, let’s settle it here: we can’t hold too much pleasure at once.
If you like some poo in your food media, you’ll have found it in The Counter, which for years has been doing excellent reporting on issues like the unseen costs of food poisoning and the EPA letting hog waste into poor communities of color. And in a tragic turn this week, they announced they’re shutting down. The reason, of course, is money, which some are nonetheless finding hard to believe — Gawker just published a whole thing being like “but it LOOKS LIKE they still have millions in the bank,” which, look, who knows, but the detail that Gawker *was* able to surface is that The Counter had been running on significant funding from a single rich dude who… may or may have lost interest? We don’t know. If that is the case, it’s tragically unoriginal, and I bet The Counter’s PR person is not jazzed to be dealing with Gawker in the final hours of their job. But in media as in life, no one’s quite in charge of their destiny. (Except said rich dude. And maybe Joe Kahn.)
If you actually are looking to shape your future, you’ll want to know about Medley, a membership harnessing the power of small groups to work towards a shared intention. Whether you’re feeling stuck, figuring out how to to be a parent, or wanting clarity around what’s next in your career, sign up for an intro call and they’ll help place you in a group of other people going through similar things — and set you up with a certified professional coach — for perspective, accountability, and the celebratory support you deserve for working through this kind of stuff. You’ll be connecting with folks from every background, industry, and ethnicity in bi-weekly meetings with a custom curriculum designed specifically for your group (there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all). Plus, there are weekly workshops and a private slack channel help you connect with even more members from around the world.
Lastly, Medley knows what we’re all about in here, and they’re offering any new members from the Lorem squad $250 off their yearly price. (They also work on a sliding scale, so just reach out directly if you need financial support.) Check them out here — applications for the next cohort are open til 4/29!
