Judgement

Reader, no one ever takes my advice. But Desi did when we chatted earlier this year about the possibility of his gender-affirming top surgery. My sweet North Carolina friend, whom I socialize with every year at Dragon Con in Atlanta, posted on Instagram about trying to be brave in the face of reckoning that it just wouldn’t be in the cards for him.

Fargo Season 5 (Hulu) …Because they’re adapting and re-imagining the home invasion/kidnapping plot from the actual Fargo movie, with campy (but rock-solid) performances from Juno Temple and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Escaping Twin Flames(Max) …Because so far this real-life cult is still completely operational and has faced no federal charges, but this heartbreaking docuseries is stuffed with interviews from survivors which may actually turn the tide.

For paid subscribers only! Please enjoy this peek at all the cultural debris we’re currently rummaging through. From TB: As far as I’m concerned, Cole Escola’s draggy new special Our Home Out West is the only required holiday viewing this season. Imagined as the pilot of a fictionalized TV series from yesteryear, the 30-minute program feels like a worthy …

For paid subscribers only! Please enjoy this peek at all the cultural debris we’re currently rummaging through. From ES: Haven’t downloaded it yet, but I’m already obsessed with this Polish-made 1-bit retro video game, titled World of Horror. Inspired in equal parts by H.P. Lovecraft and Junji Ito, the hyper-minimalist interactive narrative tells the stor…

By T. Bloom For the reader’s comfort, what follows probably should’ve been veiled in fiction. However, this letter from Shirley (my paternal grandmother) to my parents upon the death of Mina (my maternal grandmother) seems worthy of being presented in its raw entirety, with as little commentary as possible. In fact, if you’d like to read it without knowing any more than this, go ahead and scroll down now. And then you can skip the rest, if you’d like.

For paid subscribers only! Please enjoy this peek at all the cultural debris we’re currently rummaging through. From TB: It’s that time of year when I remind people that this little Poe audiobook project exists — originally recorded to accompany a perfume launch. It holds up well, I’m still very proud of it! Anyway, you have been reminded.

By Eric Shorey Bushwig, the annual drag festival helmed by a pantheon of legendary figures in Brooklyn nightlife, has once again come and gone. The festivities this year took on a slightly more somber tone following the unexpected passing of Babes Trust, a Bushwig founder and local icon, whose spiritual presence could be felt throughout the joyful (and sometimes tearful) celebrations.

For paid subscribers only! Please enjoy this peek at all the cultural debris we’re currently rummaging through. From ES: Video games ain’t what they used to be… except for when they are deliberately attempting to be what they used to be: Sea of Stars, a new indie JRPG, is basically a Chrono Trigger remix that reinvigorates old-school, turn-based mechanics…

For paid subscribers only! Please enjoy this peek at all the cultural debris we’re currently rummaging through. • None SUMMER OF SEXYY RED! While everyone in NYC is rightly rocking to Ice Spice’s newest single, “Deli,” I’ve become increasingly obsessed with her filthier foil, SEXYY RED, whose latest EP garnered an impressive 8.0 from Pitchfork. Her late…

By Eric Shorey The lights dim and a spotlight appears on a stage and a very tall man says patiently into a mic “It is happening again…” as the ominous noise of an ethereal wind grows louder and louder until suddenly six women are standing in front of a green screen holding apples and smiling, arrogantly, menacingly… Yes, it’s an entirely rebooted Real Housewives of New York! Season 14 of the notoriously shallow reality show is back and more … uh … something than ever! Bravo retooled the...