Micah's Read of the Week, Vol. 105
Micah's Yoga Club, Lizzo, Bill Russell, New Yorker Cartoon of the Week, & Recipe Corner.
Hello, and welcome to Micah’s Read of the Week.
This is a newsletter filled with things Micah Wiener finds interesting. Check out the archive of previous newsletters here.
Micah’s Yoga Club
An exciting announcement: the first-ever edition of Micah’s Yoga Club is happening this Sunday. 9 AM at Meanwhile Brewing in Austin. It’s free. And best of all, I will buy the first round (beer or coffee)! There’s no catch. No RSVP needed. Just come say “hi.”
Come join us for a 1 hour full body, feel good flow appropriate for all levels. This class will be lead at a steady pace that allows you to fully connect breath with movement so you can feel the benefits of each pose by being present in your body.
Please bring your own yoga mat & water bottle.
Namaste.
Songs In The Key Of Lizzo
Three Grammys, a critically acclaimed TV show and a revolutionary new shapewear line into her career, Lizzo’s album is her biggest mission yet. She tells Kenya Hunt about the loves, the lows and the many lessons that got her here
How can you not like Lizzo? This profile from Elle takes a look at the artist at a seminal point in her career. And she seems to have a pretty good handle on who she is and the spot where she now finds herself.
‘For every artist who goes mainstream, it’s like AD and BC, right? As in before and after your breakout moment,’ she says. ‘It’s a very peaceful place for me to be in now because I feel like all my projects before this were not in pursuit of fame, but in pursuit of telling my story, and finding my voice and then, eventually, helping people,’ she says. This sense of advocacy is a point that Lizzo returns to frequently throughout our time together. ‘If my journey was like, “I’m making these albums until I make it big.” Well, then what? “You won three Grammys, now what? Critically acclaimed, number one. Now what?” I think I would feel a lot of pressure. Because what is that? I can tell my story and share my music and help people. And it’s great because I can now do it without having to explain who I am. I never have to go, “Hi, my name is Lizzo,” ever again. Nah, y’all know who I am. So just enjoy the music. Enjoy the ride.’
Lizzo began imagining a life as a singer when she was a young girl, named Melissa Viviane Jefferson. She then moved to Houston, Texas, at the age of 10.
It was there that she had her first encounter with one Beyoncé Giselle Knowles. ‘Growing up in Houston, the impact that Destiny’s Child had on me making a decision to become an artist was incredible, mostly because I felt like we were so close to it. Everyone had their, “I saw Beyonce when…” or, “I saw Destiny’s Child at this party…” stories. And that made it seem more accessible. Like, “Oh, maybe I can do this too, if I worked hard enough and had the right people around me.”’ And then, she saw them perform. ‘They had an album-signing event at a Wal-Mart and I skipped school to go see them. I listened to them sing their gospel medley. I’ve seen Beyoncé maybe up to 10 times live now, and she continues to give me that feeling,’ Lizzo says, with her eyes wide.
When she was starting out as a young singer and rapper, she found her comfort zone performing in girl groups, rather than as a solo act, because she felt awkward about her weight.
‘I think it was more of, like, an insecurity. Nearly every star I saw on stage was thinner and light-skinned. And they didn’t look like me. Sure, there were women like Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah. But they were the exception to the rule. And so I always felt like, even if the song is great, people wouldn’t want to hear it coming from me. So I thought, if I have other people on stage, too, that will take the focus off me a little bit.’
So, she decided to change that. ‘And I did,’ she says simply.
Time for some life lessons from Lizzo:
Lizzo credits the people around her as being the making of her. ‘In doing the fake it till you make it method, I began attracting a lot of people who thought I was beautiful.’ Suddenly, Lizzo wasn’t faking it anymore. She continues, ‘I was like, “Oh no, my [beauty] is real.” And I think that’s an important thing. You start attracting people who see you the way you see yourself. Anyone around you is going to notice you how you view yourself.’
Lizzo admits she’s come a long way in her relationship with social media, but adds that growing up in the generation before Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (she is 34) has helped.
‘I think I have a very healthy relationship with the way that I view the digital world. I was born before it was everywhere you go, before it was the official news source, and before it was an obligatory or a necessity in your career. I grew up right before it was able to harass you in schools and get you cyberbullied in class. I just missed that mark.’
Today, her views are much more resolute. ‘I don’t need social media, social media needs me. Social media literally needs people to function. I don’t need to go on the internet and feel better about stuff anymore. I have a therapist. I have best friends. I have an amazing team around me who I can talk to. I got love.’
Time to talk about the music. And it’s hard to talk about Lizzo’s music without talking about her commitment to advocacy.
She was thinking about social justice (‘the rights of Black people is what I’ve been focused on since the beginning’), climate change and the growing population of people struggling with mental-health issues. ‘It seems like, every week, we are hit with traumatic events. And one doesn’t outrank the other. They’re all equally as tragic, equally as terrifying, equally as traumatic,’ she says.
Sitting in her house in 2020, she found solace in the music-making, an experience she also felt conflicted about. ‘It was hard for me to find meaning, being an entertainer, while people were dying at a high rate,’ she says. ‘I had to remember, when we come out of lockdown, people are going to be coming out of a depression. And the end of lockdown does not signify the end of their mental-health struggles. So I wanted to make music that people can use as a soundtrack to survive. That was the driver for this album.’ The music is undeniably upbeat, and dance challenge-friendly. But the lyrics have a depth and honesty that seem to draw from years of therapy. ‘All of these incredible songs are giving people the language to express themselves and to have a release after everything they’ve experienced.’
R.I.P. Bill Russell
The ultimate champion. Rest in peace.
New Yorker Cartoon of the Week
Aren’t we all?
Recipe Corner
Grilled Chicken with Marinated Tomatoes and Onions
You know we’re grilling again this week. And taking advantage of peak tomato szn.
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
6 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 small garlic clove, grated
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
¾ teaspoon black pepper, divided
12 ounces small heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges (about 2 cups)
8 ounces cherry tomatoes and grape tomatoes, halved (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 medium-size red onion, thinly sliced crosswise into rings (about 2 cups)
8 (4-ounce)s chicken breast cutlets
Crusty bread, for serving
Whisk together oil, vinegar, oregano, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl or baking dish. Add tomatoes and onion; toss well. Let marinate at room temperature, tossing occasionally, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat a grill to medium-high (400°F to 450°F). Brush chicken with oil, and season with remaining 11/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken on oiled grates; grill, uncovered, until cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Transfer chicken to a cutting board; let rest 5 minutes. Slice as desired, or leave whole. Transfer chicken to a serving platter; spoon tomato mixture and any remaining marinade in bowl over chicken. Serve with crusty bread.
Plum and Radicchio Salad
Here’s the most interesting salad you can bring to a potluck this summer.
1/2 cup unsweetened, plain coconut yogurt
2 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, finely grated or pressed
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground sumac
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Water, as needed
For the salad
1 small head red radicchio (8 ounces), cored and finely shredded
4 firm red or black plums (12 ounces total), pitted and sliced
1/2 cup raw walnuts, chopped
3 large Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped or thinly sliced into ribbons
Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, sugar, sumac and red pepper flakes. If the dressing is too thick, add a little water to loosen.
Make the salad: In a serving bowl, toss the radicchio with half of the dressing. Layer the plums, walnuts, dates and mint on top. Drizzle on the remaining dressing, or serve it on the side.
The Best Potato Salad Ever
Who am I to argue? If you have enough confidence to call your potato salad the best ever, the least I can do is give it a try.
4 shallots, peeled and finely diced
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
Kosher salt
4 pounds medium Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pint full-fat yogurt (Straus is best)
1 cup aioli (classic recipe will do, or store-bought)
1 cup capers, drained
1 bunch parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
1 bunch cilantro leaves and stems, coarsely chopped
8 large eggs
Flaky salt or fleur de sel, for garnish
1 handful tarragon, leaves picked but not chopped, for garnish
1 handful dill, leaves picked but not chopped, for garnish
Fresh coriander seeds, for sprinkling (optional)
Finely dice the shallots, place in a small bowl and cover with the vinegar and 1½ tablespoons salt.
Place the potatoes in a pot filled with super-salty water. Boil gently until the water is cloudy and the potatoes are fork-tender. Strain the potatoes in a colander, drain off the water, then let cool on a sheet pan.
When the potatoes are cool enough to touch, peel and discard the skins. Once peeled, use your hands to break the potatoes into smaller pieces.
Drain the vinegar from the shallots over the potatoes and drizzle generously with the oil. Add the drained shallots. Gently mix with your hands. sprinkle heavily with the pepper and add more oil. Spoon large dollops of yogurt and aioli in each corner. Add the capers. Sprinkle the parsley and cilantro on top.
Gently mix with your hands or a large spoon, being careful to leave each element intact and distinct.
meantime, bring water to boil in a small Dutch oven. Just before the water boils, crack a few eggs in the water, making sure to ever so gently swirl the water. Poach the eggs until the yolks are set but soft, keeping the water below a simmer. Retrieve the eggs from the water and lightly dry on a towel. Season each egg with fleur de sel and oil. Let cool.
Place the eggs atop the potato salad. Using a spoon, cut a few into halves and some into quarters. Ever so gently, with your hands, incorporate the eggs into the salad. You want to show off the yolks, but you also want some of the eggs nestled in the potatoes.
Spoon the salad onto a serving dish, drizzle with additional oil, and season with more black pepper and the fleur de sel. Garnish with the tarragon and dill. If in season, sprinkle fresh coriander seeds on top as well. Enjoy!
Did Micah practice yoga this weekend?
No. Saving it all up for Micah’s Yoga Club Sunday. Please join us.
That’s 27 in-person weekend classes in 30 weeks this year.
More Micah
Homebuying consultations: savewithmicah.com
Podcasts: Mind of Micah & Back Door Cover
Twitter: @micahwiener & @producermicah (Why two twitter accounts? It’s a long story)
Instagram: @micahwiener
LinkedIn: @micahwiener
TikTok: @mortgagemicah
Peloton: #badboysofpelly @micahwiener
Email: micahwiener@me.com
NMLS #2090158, equal housing lender.
Until next time, buh-bye.
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Micah’s yoga club?!? You had me at club. Im in.