PicoBlog

Waiting in the takeout line for my order of General Tso’s chicken, I noticed the woman behind the counter of Peking Quick One handing a different menu to the Chinese youngsters with University at Buffalo sweatshirts. As she ran my card, I asked to see the other menu. It’s in Chinese, she said apologetically, showing me the page.  ncG1vNJzZmien6q%2Fo7XTnqpnq6WXwLWtwqRlnKedZL1wvsSvoJ6vXWZ9bq%2FHoqWeq5Viuaa%2F0qilrGWkna61ec%2BeoqKmlw%3D%3D

Will we see you at our first workshop on Jan. 31st? Register to reflect on a timely topic: Define Your Values.When we share common experiences and feel connected to each other, communities form around us. That’s why employee groups matter even more at work — they are important for individual experiences, culture and the organization. In Harvard Business Review, The Value of Belonging at Work, Evan W. Carr,  Andrew Reece,  Gabriella Rosen Kellerman and Alexi Robichaux wrote:

Hi friends, Today, I wanted to share a few new breath prayers that I’ve been working through over the past month or two. Breath prayer remains an integral part of my own spiritual practice because it hits on something to do with embodiment and quiet that I sorely need in my life. I’ve found that this form of prayer is a real low barrier for those of us wh… ncG1vNJzZmirkaeuqa7ErKqesV6owqO%2F05qapGaTpLpwvI5qZ2amlax6o77EmquhZaCnrrqx0aw%3D

Following up on my guide to “10 photographers you should follow in 2023 working in Black and White”, below is a list of 10 photographers you should follow in 2023, working in color. A personal list of some of my favorite photographers, in no particular order. I am a sucker for Black and White photography but sometimes color just hits my sweet spot. Check out my previous guide “10 photographers you should follow in 2023 working in Black and White”.

Last Thursday, I was on a date with my husband at Middle Child Clubhouse, and in between bites of tricked out latkes and sips of a cheeky “vodka cran” made with smoked black tea and beets, I was pleasantly distracted by a very adorable, bald baby being passed around the booth behind us. It reminded me of a time in my life, more than a decade ago, when we would often bring our first daughter Benny out to eat in our Brooklyn neighborhood.

Happy New Year to all readers of Make Believe Melodies! Here’s hoping for a good and upbeat 2024 for all…and for a year where Japanese music and greater pop culture enjoys greater attention on the global stage. Which I think will definitely happen over the next 12 months. NewsPicks asked me to write an article about 10 things to look out for in regards to the intersection of Japanese pop culture and the rest of the world as part of their year-end packages, which you can read in Japanese here (eternal shout out to Jun Morikawa for handling the translation of these pieces, otherwise it would read like a pre-schooler trying to write about soft power).

#10. Zodiac (2007) Sound the alarms. We are in the top ten. This is the cream of the crop of my film preference and I think it’s perfect. In the number 10 slot on the list of my 100 Favorite Films of All Time is the 2007 mystery thriller film, Zodiac. Zodiac was directed by David Fincher and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr. with supporting performances from Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elia Koteas, John Carroll Lynch, Philip Baker Hall, and Chloe Sevigny.

Nothing makes me happier than a new book from my friend and fabulous baker, Sarah Kieffer. You all know her from her gorgeous Instagram account and her runaway success of a cookie book, 100 Cookies. Now she’s brought us 100 Morning Treats! I have had the great pleasure of getting an advanced copy and baked these seriously delicious Cruffins. They are part muffin (the shape) and mostly croissant (the flakey, buttery, crusty goodness), baked into the breakfast of my dreams.

I choke on the word pandemic as I write it, because oh how I wish I could put it behind me, but here I am. I reference the pandemic because not since it disrupted our reality in 2020 has life felt so utterly upside down. With 2023 coming to a close, I can safely say things haven’t felt this “pandemic-y” since we shuttered our doors and disinfected our groceries. And no, I’m not referencing getting sick, which funny enough is what I am as I write this, my first great cold of the cold season.