11 April 2025
good morning.
BOO
Soulja Boy hopped up out the bed and was found liable for assault and sexual battery of his former assistant. he has to pay her $4m.. yeahh gettin’ money OH.
NYC clubs are closing, according to this NYTimes piece, because of high rent and insurance premiums, but I can’t help but wonder what the legalization of weed and cultural decline in alcohol consumption has to do with it.
YESS
jellyeuro.com is 50% off everything with a free keychain on purchases over €40 to celebrate 25 years. try to exercise restraint and ask yourself the hard questions: do you really need a frowning storm cloud ?
in the ballet footwear vein, skinny, flat sneakers in bright hues are the shoe of the spring.
one casualty of the trade war that might not be so bad ? Shein…
MONEY
yesterday, Trump called the market madness “transition problems.” his top trade adviser Pete Navarro said it was “no big deal.” call it what you want as long as you know the rally on 9 April (after Trump’s 90 day pause on tariffs announcement) was short lived. markets yesterday took a nosedive:
in the US the Dow closed down 2.5%, the S&P 500 3.46%, and the NASDAQ down 4.3%. it’s a reaction to the punitive 145% tariff on Chinese goods entering the US: without the domestic infrastructure to replace those imports with American substitutes, importers are paying those taxes and passing the incurred cost onto their consumers. this morning China announced a 125% tariff on American imports which it says it will not increase.
Euro Stoxx 50 closed down by about 94 points from the beginning of the day and down over 5% in the last two days.
you might be wondering why exactly Wall Street has been so volatile, instead of decisively down or up. I’d suggest it has to do with the fact markets run on instinct, on confidence: how can investors be confident when the very cost of living is in the hands of someone who’s acting cagey about his next move ? at a press conference yesterday, a reporter asked Trump a yes or no question: would he extend the 90-day pause for countries in negotiation of a deal ? he replied “we’ll have to see what happens.” uncertainty is bad. generating it is worse.
Trump called this a great time to “buy” leading critics to question whether Trump is manipulating markets on behalf of his supporters or family. the WH quickly dispelled the rumors.
LIT
“thrilled” is an understatement to describe how I felt when I learned Sayaka Murata was profiled by Elif Batuman in The New Yorker. I admire the obvious patience that Batuman approaches writing with, and think her’s is the perfect voice to examine Murata’s eclectic, almost alien way of seeing the world.
MIAM
last night for dinner I had this one pot situation which reminded me of the bowls from Life Alive, a restaurant with a distinctly 2015 wellness vibe about it that I lived across the street from my senior year of college. I recommend this meal. avocado might be a fun addition and if I knew where to find these toppings in France I’d have sprinkled nutritional yeast and liquid aminos on it.
20% off Graza this weekend.
these are the best butters to buy now. yes, Maison Bordier is right up there and I swear to God, WSJ, I am going to come after you if I arrive to the butter cooler at la Grande Épicerie and my beautiful baby is sold out because you’ve been shouting her name from the town square.
BOP
“Henry, Come On” by Lana del Rey. I must ask how this woman has the creative mind to influence generations but truly zero artistic eye when it comes to album covers.
“My Crazy Ways” featuring Harmony Korine by Eyedress.
“Arrêter les Temps” by Vendredi sur Mer and Sofiane Pamart.
“There’s a Rhythmn” (sic, LOL sorry I’m an asshole) by Bon Iver.
Vegyn’s Blue Moon Safari remixes.
SCREENS
already greenlit for its second installment, the season finale of The Pitt aired on Max last night. I must admit I haven’t yet watched it, but you can expect my thoughts in the coming days.
FRIDAY FUNNY SWEEP
here is where I usually add a gallery of a couple things I laughed at, but I’m not going to today because my dusty corner of the internet was largely unfunny this week, save for a Whisper I saw that said “waterboarding at Guantanamo Bay sounds like it would be awesome if you didn’t know what either of those things are.”
have a good day ★
