Micah's Read of the Week, Vol. 64 w/ Special Guest Editor Will deFries
Hello, and welcome to Micah’s Read of the Week.
This is a newsletter filled with things Micah Wiener finds interesting.
Check out the introduction post here and the entire archive of previous newsletters here.
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A word from the Guest Editor
Hello. I’m Will deFries — noted friend of Micah, host of The Sunday Scaries Podcast and Circling Back, as well as an avid reader of Micah’s Read of the Week. Micah invited me to guest edit for him this week because (spoiler alert) he got married on Friday. The ceremony was a delight, the new couple looked ravishing, and Micah’s karaoke performance was the cherry-on-top.
Now shall we settle in for some reading?
The Park Bench Is an Endangered Species
I’ve recently become a big fan of sitting on park benches, specifically the bench situated at the park next door to my apartment. It’s green with a large tree separating it from the other bench at the park — a nice slice of privacy if you’re lucky enough to get a front-row seat.
This week, Jonathan Lee of The New York Times writes about how “in a world that wants you to pay for everything, public seating is becoming a luxury.”
As a kid growing up in a gray suburb of London, I loved to go looking for the perfect park bench. We had only five in our local park, and one was broken. Some Sunday mornings, my dad could be persuaded to drive to new parks. We’d have a kick-around with a soccer ball, share a bag of Doritos and check out all the benches in the area, reading their dedications, inscriptions and graffiti.
I’m not a huge fan of Doritos but I am an avid supporter of English soccer. A little five-a-side down at the park sounds absolutely delightful.
A good park bench leaves me in a state perched somewhere between nostalgia and eager anticipation. Where once I was excited by the profanities engraved on wood, I now find, as a 40-year-old, that I’m more appreciative of each bench’s quiet stoicism, the way they’re willing to wait out their turn in every weather, remaining available to all-comers. Like a good book or piece of music, a park bench allows for a sense of solitude and community at the same time, a simultaneity that’s crucial to life in a great city.
*cues up Good Will Hunting and watches Robin Williams absolutely flame Matt Damon*
He goes on to say:
Maybe that’s the greatest power of the park bench: its capacity to retain and encourage the art of observation. A good bench catches us in our quietest, most vulnerable moments, when we may be open to imagining new narratives and revisiting old ones. Our masks are taken off, hung from the bench’s wrought iron. On other nearby benches, babies are being burped. Glances exchanged. Sandwiches eaten. Newspapers perused.
Lately, though, I’ve found myself sitting on a lot of cramped metal benches of the kind that don’t invite you to linger long, or harsh concrete ones that leave you cold. That’s because public seating is becoming an endangered species. If a park bench is not being removed, the backup plan is often to make it uncomfortable. “Hostile architecture” — an urban design strategy intended to impede “antisocial” behavior — is proliferating all over the world.
In 2014, The Guardian reported that at Yantai Park in China’s Shandong Province, “pay per sit” park benches with a coin-operated timer had been introduced — overstay your welcome, and small spikes would emerge to prod your posterior. A few years back, students at the London School of Economics protested against the conversion of benches in the United Kingdom into “heartless barriers”: Extra armrests had been installed at hip-width intervals to debar the possibility of lying down.
Next time you’re lucky enough to have the solitude of a park bench, make sure to spare a moment to be grateful for your spot. Just before the pandemic, I was sitting on a bench in San Francisco at The Palace of Fine Arts while drinking a smoothie we had gotten during our walk through The Marina. Had I known it would be my last time there for that long, I probably would’ve stuck around for a few extra minutes.
Adrien Brody Finds His Chill
Here’s a list of things I know about Adrien Brody:
He’s firmly in the Wes Anderson clique of actors.
He will be featured in season three of HBO’s Succession which premiered last night.
I have envy of how pointy everything about his appearance is, as I am the opposite of pointy.
GQ recently did a featured profile on him which gave me more insight than I knew I needed on a man who somewhat flies under the radar.
Some tidbits I enjoyed:
Brody comes by it all honestly. His mother, the photographer Sylvia Plachy, left Budapest for Vienna as a teenager, around the time of the Hungarian Revolution, and eventually arrived with her family in New York, where she would later begin shooting for the Village Voice. His mom's life and work gave her an ability to “see the complexity that most people miss, everywhere around them, and catch it. And immortalize it. And through that lens, I've seen the world,” he says. He was a sensitive kid, upset about that quality in himself until he realized that it could be a gift too. Performing opened up a new way of relating with the world, he says: “Fortunately, there were these outlets: There were wonderfully complex human beings to step into, that I could relate to in one way or another. And purge, I guess, or, participate in another human being's suffering, and not feel alone in my own. And then understand the universality of all of our suffering and joy, but embrace the moments of joy and honor the vast suffering that unfortunately is the pervasive underlayer.”
He was 27 when Roman Polanski gave him the chance to put his thoughts about acting and suffering to the test. In The Pianist, a true story of endurance and devastation, he played the title character, Władysław Szpilman, a Jewish musician who survived the Nazi occupation of Warsaw. To prepare, Brody carved his life down to the bone. He sold his car and disconnected his phones. He gave up his apartment and put his things into storage. He spent his days alone in hotel rooms in Germany and Poland, practicing the piano.
“It was an enormous responsibility, and it changed me,” he says. Physically, the shoot was a nightmare. He was depressed for a year after production wrapped, and unhappy with a body ravaged by a crash diet that got him down to 130 pounds. The whole thing left him with a sadness that lingers still. “But I had no idea what was coming,” he says. “I had no idea.”
He especially loved tangling with Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong while making Succession's third season. “Here I am jumping in with these big sharks really in their element, their ocean,” Brody says. "And then I have to jump in and bite back. I like the thrill of that.” He knows a couple of guys like his character, he says, billionaire hotshots. I ask if he's hit them up to pick their brains on the finer points of the executive lifestyle. “No, no, I don't even need to,” he says, smiling like he's just completed his own piece of corporate dealsmanship. “I've already picked it! I already own it!” Brody says he's enjoyed operating in the show's raw, funny register. “I tend to harp on a lot of the heavy things that I see in life,” he says. “But there's a lot of humor in even the not-so-nice qualities of people that you know. Certain things that come out and you go, ‘That was odd,’ or ‘That was a little offensive.’”
And because I’m writing this on a Sunday morning before the actual premiere of Succession, yeah, I think this just got me infinitely more excited.
Yesterday’s episode of The Sunday Scaries Podcast
Yesterday, I had the absolute delight of interviewing New Yorker cartoonist Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell about her upcoming graphic novel, Murder Book (pre-order here).
We discussed all things murder, her book coming out on November 9th, what goes into creating a graphic novel, Frasier, the ups and downs of being a creative in New York City, and so much more.
You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other place podcasts can be found.
The unstoppable dreams of USMNT prodigy Ricardo Pepi
Remember when I said I enjoyed some soccer? Well, I knew I had to include a soccer-driven story just so Micah would regret asking me to guest edit.
Despite my affinity for the English Premier League, I have yet to truly develop a deeper connection with the U.S. Men’s National Team. Perhaps its their recent shortcomings, perhaps it’s the lack of identity within the United States, or maybe I just don’t love international soccer as much as I should.
Ricardo Pepi is an 18-year-old from El Paso, Texas who was recently featured by ESPN. If this profile didn’t increase my stake in the USMNT, I’m not sure what will.
EL PASO IS about 83% Latino, most of that of Mexican descent. But decades ago, the city was a lot whiter. And back in those days, Alameda Avenue was a sort of dividing line. If you were white, you likely lived north of that street. If Mexican, you stayed south. Between that avenue and the Rio Grande, on the eastern part of El Paso County where land is cheaper and it becomes clear that this is life deep in the Chihuahuan Desert, is San Elizario.
San Eli is what everyone here calls it. That's where Ricardo's childhood home stands about a mile south of Alameda Avenue and double that distance north of the Rio Grande and the rust-colored border wall that scars the soul of this place. The overgrown weeds, the still-hanging Christmas lights, the empty rooms and the white car with deflating tires parked in the back, make it feel like the home was hastily abandoned. As if an opportunity came up that couldn't be passed.
Like many houses in this neighborhood, the Pepis' former home looks like it's still in the process of being constructed. Good enough to live in -- the doors and windows lock, the water and electricity work, the roof doesn't leak -- but still unfinished.
"I built it," Daniel, Ricardo's father, says in Spanish. Whenever extra money came in, it went to the house. Little by little, working on the weekends and after long weekdays doing construction, Daniel built this with his hands.
An inspiring story of a family that dreamt for more, and a son who turned those dreams into a reality.
Four years ago, the entire Pepi family -- father, mother, brother and sister -- moved to a suburb north of Dallas. Ricardo left his host family and moved in too. And just like it had in their old house in San Eli, their life revolved around soccer. When they weren't at games, or at school, or Daniel at some construction site, or Annette cleaning another office, they'd watch Liga MX. And, as always, because the Pepis are "Américanistas de corazón," they'd cheer for Club América, just like they'd always done.
"I was raised watching Mexican soccer," Daniel says. "And that's how I raised my children."
So much Mexican soccer -- the league, yes, but also El Tri -- that as a young boy, Ricardo said something his father still remembers.
"Hey dad," Ricardo told Daniel while watching El Tri play.
Maybe they were playing at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Or maybe the Mexican national team was playing in the United States, where they're this country's most popular team. Who knows?
"Imagine when I'm playing there," Ricardo said.
Thankfully, he chose the U.S. for his international duties.
Then in late August, a day after Ricardo scored the game-winning penalty for the MLS All-Stars to beat the Liga MX All Stars, the USMNT announced its roster for World Cup qualifying. They'd called up Ricardo and he said yes. When he announced his decision, Ricardo said that even though he'd chosen the United States, he was proud of being a Mexican American and that "will never be taken away from me, no matter what national team I play for."
Recipe: Mark Bittman’s Gnocchi Gratin
As of late, I’ve been making an effort to drastically reduce the amount of meat I’m eating. This isn’t for political or health reasons — if anything, it’s allowed me to discover a whole crop of new foods that I never would have tried otherwise.
Mark Bittman is a chef I always seem to gravitate toward when I’m looking for meal inspiration. With a ton of recipes (both meat-filled and vegetarian), he’s been featured numerous times by The New York Times in their cooking section.
But the best part about Mark? A lot of his recipes can be found for free on his personal website. And he doesn’t tell his life story before each recipe. Chef’s kiss, indeed.
Here we have his Gnocchi Gratin recipe:
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ pounds starchy potatoes (like russets), scrubbed
Salt and pepper
½ to ¾ cup flour, or more as needed
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
16 or more small whole sage leaves
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
½ cup grated or chopped high-quality melting cheese (like Taleggio or Gruyère), about 2 ounces
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Put the potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the skin hardens into a shell but the potato is tender when pierced at the center, about 1 hour. Immediately split them open to let the steam escape. Carefully scoop out the flesh and discard the skins.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Working in batches, pass the potato flesh through a ricer or food mill. (You could also use a potato masher, but not a food processor, which will make the potatoes gummy.) Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Sprinkle about half the flour on a clean counter or cutting board, and gently knead it into the potatoes, sprinkling in more flour a little at a time, until the dough just comes together. Don’t overwork the dough; it’s better to have too little flour than too much at this point. Pinch off a piece of dough, and drop it in the boiling water. If it holds its shape, you’ve added enough flour. If it disintegrates in the water, knead in a bit more flour, and try again; the gnocchi won’t be perfectly smooth and will float to the top when ready. Repeat with as many test dumplings as necessary.
3. Roll the dough into one or several ropes about ½-inch thick, then cut into ½-inch pieces. Make grooves in each gnocchi by gently rolling it along the back tines of a fork; as each piece is ready, put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper; do not allow the gnocchi to touch one another.
4. Adjust the heat so the water barely bubbles. Add a few gnocchi and stir gently. Cook, adjusting the heat so the water doesn’t boil too vigorously, until they float to the top. Wait a few seconds, then remove them with a slotted spoon or mesh strainer to a wide, shallow oven-safe baking dish. Cook the remaining gnocchi in the same manner.
5. Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a small plate with paper towels. Put the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is golden brown and smells nutty. Remove from the heat immediately and add the sage leaves. Stir; when you can smell the sage and the leaves start to crisp around the edges, transfer them with a slotted spoon to the towels and drizzle the butter onto the gnocchi.
6. Sprinkle the cheese over the gnocchi and bake until the cheese is melted and browned in spots, 10 to 12 minutes. Garnish with the crisped sage leaves and serve right away.
Some other vegetarian dishes that I’ve been gravitating to since my foray into the meatless? Kashmiri Kofta Korma from Clay Pit, the Space Cowboy taco from Taco Deli, and the Mushroom pie from Bufalina.
If you’re interested in making today your first ever Meatless Monday, welcome! Tomorrow we can all eat steak and forget this ever happened.
Where else can I find Micah content?
Wedding Registry: caitlinandmicah.com
Podcasts: Mind of Micah, Back Door Cover, Too Much Dip
Twitter: @micahwiener & @producermicah (Why two twitters? It’s a long story)
Mortgage Inquiries: savewithmicah.com
Instagram: @micahwiener
LinkedIn: @micahwiener
Peloton: #badboysofpelly @micahwiener
Email: micahwiener@me.com
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