#SundayReads 02.04.23
Read #1. DNA confirms oral history of Swahili people.
Read #2. The story behind the iconic Columbia Pictures photoshoot.
Read #3. How a polio outbreak in Copenhagen led to the invention of the ventilator
Read #4. Djimon Hounsou on the Oscars, poor pay days, stardom and struggle
Read #5. On grief and loss.
Fine, though. That did the trick. Without fail, it injected the right amount of menthol and honey for someone to suck on, soothing their burning curiosity without coming on too strong. Its effectiveness, I’ve learned, is conditioned on its malleability. It’s what I classify a beige term, words like “terrier,” “follow-up,” or “economy plus.” It’s khaki, buff, sand, granola, fawn, shortbread; different shades of the same thing that no one really clamors for yet, at the same time, no one purposely tries to avoid. It’s just enough. There’s plenty to go around. So much so, in fact, that the more comfortable I became using it, the easier it was to give away. The sentiment was a lie, of course, no more sterling than a counterfeit bill. But, because of its illegitimacy, there was little remorse in spending it. Before long, I was papering the town like a seasoned money launderer.