Category Archives: Hedonism

Though it may have been her first acting role, we cant imagine anyone else but Hunter Schafer playing Jules in the HBO series about sex, drugs and high school hedonism, Euphoria. In fact, many fans felt as though the actress was robbed of a Golden Globe nomination after the first series, and particularly her role, was met with such acclaim. But in a newly released Divine Frequency podcast from A24 with Solar Power singer Lorde, Hunter shared that she almost turned down the role.

I had never acted before Euphoria, and it was not in my plan at all, Hunter tells Lorde in response to her question about how she got the role of the teen who sparks up a sweet romance with Zendayas Rue. I had never been in an audition before. And my agency said that these casting people had reached out and asked me to come in and read for this role for this HBO show. I didn't know what to think of it. And initially I was like, I don't think I want to do it, just because it wasn't my thing. I was supposed to go to school in a few months, in fashion. But they asked again and I think I ended up going in.

She went on to say that she often thinks about what Jules would have been like if another actress had taken on the role, a thought Lorde refuses to consider (same). I don't think about any other versions of Jules, Lorde protests. There are no other versions.

During the podcast Hunter also spoke about her first ever job as a contributor for Tavi Gevinsons fashion magazine, Rookie, co-writing the Jules special of Euphoria with showrunner Sam Levinson (we just started talking about it and got into it. And eventually, he was just like, This kind of sounds like dialogue. Should we do this together?"), and her love for Miu Miu and babydoll fashions growing up.

Meanwhile a vintage Prada wearing Lorde shared her own fashion favourites (I was a big Commes-head. Obsessed with Commes. A huge Phoebe Philo Celine fan), checking her friends dates astrological compatibility and her love for artists SOPHIE and ANOHNI, and the show Succession. Hunter added she personally struggles to separate TV from work but loves Fleabag and I May Destroy You.

For those of you hoping Lordes current album cycle isnt over yet, the artist also shared that she made six or seven music videos for her album Solar Power, all filmed over 10 days on the same beach from the video of the albums title track, and that more will be released in the coming weeks!

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Hunter Schafer almost turned down the role of Jules in Euphoria - i-D

The introduction to this piece contains mild spoilers for Euphoria season two.

Okay, youre hooked. We all are. A24s hit series Euphoria is back on our televisions new characters, new relationships, new plot lines unfurling and suddenly its summer 2019 again. Each week, were waiting with bated breath to see what happens with Rues unruly ties to addiction, her love for Jules, how Elliot, a new kid in town played by Dominic Fike, may or may not throw a spanner in the works. Nate, Maddy and Cassie (our new series MVP) are back, up to their old antics and seem certain to fuck up fairly swiftly. Kat is still kicking around, flitting between her bad bitch persona and crippling anxiety. Over the next few weeks, well be intoxicated by whats to come but what about the in between time? What if there were other movies and shows about the ramifications of high school hedonism to keep us on theme?

For those who find Euphorias vision of teenage life by turns stunning and morose, youre in luck: artists have been making fascinating screen works on a similar wavelength for decades. These seven are some of our favourites.

You might not know that Sam Levinson and Drakes hit show isnt an entirely new concept: it was based on a short-lived Israeli series that debuted back in 2012. Telling the story of a group of teenagers with seemingly no parental authority guiding them through life, the shows protagonists take drugs, drink and have sex to hedonistically waste the days away. There are a few differences to the US retelling, though: no adult faces are shown in the Israeli version, heightening this idea of reckless abandonment, and it was also set in the 90s, separating it from the very modern themes the 2019 versions deals with.

Nearly four decades separate Euphorias arrival and the release of Christiane F., a movie adapted from the gruelling biopic of a young girl in 70s Berlin navigating friendship, family and violent drug addiction. Its been an inspiration to many for decades now (Raf Simons loved it so much that it shaped his AW18 collection), and you can see the glimmers of its caustic grit and style in Euphoria, though the real-life stakes make this cult classic far more dismal.

Described upon release by ArtForum as Saved by the Bell on crystal meth, this was Gregg Arakis final part in his Teenage Apocalypse trilogy on disaffected youth. Released to extremely mixed reviews, its not necessarily a critical hit, but ticks all the boxes of what Euphoria offers only with a different kind of disbelief. Set over the course of a day, it follows a group of high schoolers meandering through Los Angeles, each with their own problems. Themes and motifs it reckons with stretch from bisexuality to S&M to sex toys (yes, its mostly about sex), but for lurid, fairly mindless viewing, its worth a watch.

Before she made Twilight, filmmaker Catherine Hardwick directed Thirteen, a story about off-the-rails LA kids on the cusp of teenhood. She pinned down the accuracy of that experience by writing the script with one of the films stars, 14-year-old Nikki Reed (aloof icon Rosalie in Twilight), transforming what could have easily been a gutless and apprehensive film about youth and drugs into one that felt fiery and interesting, even garnering controversy for explicitly showing hard drug use and underage sex. Today, the film remains one of the most talked-about movies on youth of the 21st century.

For a while in the late 00s, it felt like the world of British teenagers rested on the fate of the stars of Skins, a show that did Euphoria before Euphoria did Euphoria, albeit through the comparatively humdrum lens of English high school. If that HBO show combines the dirty and the glossy for ultimate evocative effect, then Skins felt far more grounded. The show made stars of many of its cast members (Dev Patel, Nicholas Hoult, Jack OConnell, Kaya Scodelario), and still resonates with teens today on TikTok. But more importantly, it felt like the first show for young people that truly stirred the pot in Britain; showing us everything from stories about suicide to hard drugs against a familiar backdrop to many.

At this stage, everybody knows everything about Larry Clarks Kids. His 1995 feature about joint-smoking, skateboarding teenagers having casual sex in 90s New York feels like the apex of torrid youth culture over 25 years on. It made a star of Chlo Sevigny, proved a then baby-faced Harmony Korine could write a killer movie script, and remains one of the most jaw-dropping and discomforting movies about American youth. Without something as sordid as this, maybe Euphoria wouldnt even exist.

In the in-between years of Skins and Euphorias English language success, a now-cult Norwegian series chronicled the life of high schoolers in Oslo, deftly navigating the thornier issues they faced. Skams characters had lives outside of the show, each of their stories fed through social media platforms as the show aired. Based in a real high school in the city, one famous for being attended by the countrys royal family, it used a series of characters, shifting in significance, to unpack stories of depression, sexual assault, queerness and religion. It was so popular that an American spin-off followed, but purists will demand you watch the original first.

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7 movies and TV shows that walked so Euphoria could run - i-D

It sounds like a pat narrative a grieving elderly widow discovers a new, thrilling version of herself in the wake of her husbands death, learning to indulge in the twilight of her life. The message implicit in such a tale usually goes something like this: society-bound elders, having spent most of their lives in a more broadly conservative social order, can, in our enlightened present, find the freedom to live unrestrainedly.

Rose, the tender finale to the New York Jewish Film Festival from French director, writer and composer Aurlie Saada, is nominally such a story. The festivals writeup introduces the film as a critique of ageist and sexist stereotypes, but that description makes the film seem narrower than it is. Rose is more than an account of an aging widow who gets a new lease on life; it is a treatise on pleasure, corporeal needs, physical satisfaction, and the tenuous relationship between social and therefore familial duty and personal, ephemeral indulgence.

Despite an evidently long and fulfilling marriage, Rose (Franoise Fabian) seems initially unable to forcefully engage with the pleasures of the present. In one especially moving scene, following the shiva meal for her recently-deceased husband, Phillippe (Bernard Murat), Rose unearths frozen poultry from the freezer. She attempts to enact an obscure ritual Jewish custom animal sacrifice, since Phillippe died on a Friday and, begging God to spare her son from legal punishment for a crime he has committed, hacks at the meat with a knife. She makes a few shallow cuts before melting tearfully into a chair.

It is fitting that Rose begins her journey through bereavement by stabbing futilely at a frozen animal carcass. Food, in this scene, is all concept; an offering in exchange for the familys security. There is little sense of its earthly value, or of the sensory delight it might provide.

Eventually, Roses grief tips into and out of a fugue state, and she begins an unsteady climb from the trenches of mourning into a newly tellurian life. It is moving to watch Rose struggle, not exactly to like her body the movie is too complex for that but to live in it.

Whats the point of pampering myself at my age, just to sit on the sofa watching Countdown? she asks miserably of Laurent (Pascal Elb) a suave bartender. Apoplectic with guilt following an attempt at indulgence that coincides with a family emergency, she sucks down a vodka with almonds, her late husbands drink of choice. Im stupid. Have you seen my skin, my arms, my hands, my face, my breasts? Why bother?

The movie is ready with an answer. Bother with the body because doing so feels nice. The camera seems captivated by Roses frame, following her feet and fingers and torso as they move through space. The attention seems less prurient than curious, and sometimes encouraging, as though goading Rose to take an interest in her physical form.

Lest the narrative risk adopting that overly simplified elderly woman breaks free from prescriptive lifestyle story, Rose uses Roses three middle-aged children to complicate its message. Just as Rose, at 78, tentatively entertains a prospect of new romance, so too does one of her sons; both, in different scenes, leaning over food and drink to admit with a deliberate coyness that they have not flirted with anyone besides their spouse in many years. Similarly, Rose and her daughter undergo romantic heartbreak in tandem.

In this movie, everyone sublimates desire. The emptiness Rose and her children evince isnt unique to the elderly; it is merely that Roses widowhood provides the catalyzing grief and liberating circumstances to seek recourse. The movie in this way compellingly raises questions not merely about this particular womans relation to aging, carnality, pleasure, and existential meaning, but about the universal struggle toward and away from material joy.

These themes about earthly pleasure and pain can occasionally feel a bit forced, such as in a moment when, in the middle of a tender dance break, two characters strike up a slightly contrived conversation about food, all the better to emphasize the theme of sensuality. But if the movie can seem occasionally slow or obvious, one can always simply home in on Fabians expressive face, which is always doing something eminently watchable.

Fabian, a legend of French screen, began her career in the 50s and broke out in the late 60s, working with directors such as Louis Malle (Le Voleur) and Luis Bunuel (Belle de Jour). She has acted almost without pause in subsequent decades, appearing in over 80 films. After a lifetime of presenting herself to a camera, she seems able to channel a deft awareness of the cruel judgments we wield toward womens aging bodies. In some moments she is heartbreakingly ingenuous; in others, she is gleeful and girlish, or else fearsomely self-possessed. Watch her look out through crooked glasses as the answering machine clicks on and her dead husbands voice plays. Watch her drive a car she hasnt handled for decades, sexy and cool and a little bit full of rage.

For all its interest in pleasure, the movie seems ambivalent about the moral attributes of hedonism. When Roses children object to her new lifestyle, neither Rose nor the movie seems completely convinced that their criticisms are misplaced. The characters appear to understand that indulgence and pleasure seem admirable in the abstract, but that in effect, physical joy is necessarily tempered by physical suffering.

Then again: a human life moves in only one direction, and inside one physical container. To hell with age, Laurent tells Rose, as music fills the bar she lives above, the bar she never once visited while her husband lived. Getting old is the best way to stay alive.

The New York Jewish Film Festival runs until Jan. 25.

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Finding pleasure in grief, an elderly Jewish widow discovers the best way to stay alive - Forward

Location: 1796 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, 857-285-6103, bagelsaurus.com

2. Ma Po Tofu

Where: The Baldwin Bar

Nothing warms the soul quite like tongue-tingling Sichuan cuisine, preferably washed down with a transportive tropical cocktail. Baldwin offers both: craggy, fried Chengdu chicken wings awash in chilies; crunchy pickled vegetables ideal for snacking absentmindedly on the couch; and a glossy, thick ma po tofu swirled with savory minced pork that tastes like a fiery hug. Tiki drinks incorporating unlikely ingredients, from miso butter to jackfruit, bring an extra layer of escapism to the proceedings.

Location: 2 Alfred Street, Woburn, 781-935-8488, thebaldwinbar.com

3. Honey-Glazed Biscuits

Where: Buttermilk & Bourbon

Buttermilk & Bourbon channels the food of New Orleans, offering a hedonism sorely needed these days. Creamy onion dip and fried chicken are caloric fun, but the sleeper hits are biscuits: Buttery and shiny as a toddlers chin, these soft, mountainous, honey-glazed carb bombs are more comforting than a nap (and they might make you sleepy). Drag them through a sweet cloud of whipped cinnamon butter and dream of good times ahead.

Locations: 160 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 617-266-1122; 100 Arsenal Yard Blvd., Watertown, 857-760-7128; buttermilkbourbon.com

4. Chicken and Waffles

Where: Brassica Kitchen + Cafe

Known for its wildly creative, wildly delicious dinner menus, this JP gem also serves a winning weekend brunch. Dinnertimes flaky, crispy fried chicken gets matched with waffles, maple syrup, and hot sauce, a perfect sweet-salty-spicy dish to fuel you for outdoor cavorting or taking it easy at home. While youre ordering, dont miss the breakfast sandwiches, doughnut French toast, and ever-changing pancake flavors like five-spice buttercream and apples poached in maple syrup.

Location: 3710 Washington Street, Jamaica Plain, 617-477-4519, brassicakitchen.com

5. Chocolate Chunk Cookie

Where: Clear Flour Bread

Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to execute. Take the chocolate chunk cookie, which is often too sweet or not sweet enough, too doughy or too crunchy, too thick or too thin. But at Clear Flour, its always just right: crisp at the edges, substantial, with the perfect ratio of dough to chocolate a mixture of smaller semisweet and larger dark pieces. Dont miss the bakerys World Peace cookies, either. (Or its gorgeous loaves of bread, assorted croissants, morning buns, and much more, all of it excellent.)

Location: 178 Thorndike Street, Brookline, 617-739-0060, clearflourbread.com

6. Fried Chicken

Where: The Coast Cafe

This Cambridge takeout spot is all comfort food, all the time: Its tagline is Food From the Soul. Accurate. The fried chicken has a justified reputation for being one of the best versions in town, and its available in every permutation: Just thighs, wings, or breast meat, or a mix; boneless fingers; BBQ, Buffalo, jerk, or hot wings. Add mac and cheese, candied yams, and collard greens with smoked turkey and you dont just have comfort food you have a comfort feast.

Location: 233 River Street, Cambridge, 617-354-7644, coastsoulcafe.com

7. Cheese Dip

Where: Condesa Restaurante Mexicano

A friendly surprise tucked inside the Arsenal Yards complex, with two other locations in Rhode Island, Condesa specializes in authentic dishes created by the Len family, which hails from Jalisco and Mexico City. The chilies en nogada, a poblano pepper piped with savory ground beef and fruit, and topped with creamy walnut sauce, is a soul-warming treat hard to find in these parts. But the smooth, tangy cheese dip a shamelessly American movie-theater classic is worth driving for. Served with warm, salty chips, its just right with a night of Netflix.

Locations: 80 Arsenal Yards Blvd., Watertown, 617-402-5315; 970 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, Rhode Island, 401-349-3935; 721 Quaker Lane, West Warwick, Rhode Island, 401-828-1005; condesarestaurant.com

8. Spaghetti Carbonara

Where: Coppa

Carbonara unto itself would be enough: Coppas al dente spaghetti, rich with egg yolk, pancetta, and Parmesan. But the South End enoteca adds in Maine uni, and the result is a briny, funky, unctuous, umami-laden dish that will make you swoon. Its just one hit on a full album of pasta bangers here, from rigatoni with spicy tomato vodka sauce to tagliatelle Bolognese to cacio e pepe bucatini with red kuri squash.

Location: 253 Shawmut Avenue, South End, 617-391-0902, coppaboston.com

9. Nine-Hour French Onion Soup

Where: Deuxave

Nestled on the menu among lobster gnocchi fricassee, spiced duck breast, and other sophisticated elegance is this onion soup, wherein Deuxave distills the essence of comfort directly into a crock. Piping hot, slow-cooked, deeply beefy broth is topped with nutty, stretchy melted Comte for that perfect cheese pull. Breathe in the steam and the fragrance; this dish is a whole cozy mood.

Location: 371 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 617-517-5915, deuxave.com

10. Ropa Vieja

Where: El Oriental de Cuba

Since 1994, this beloved JP restaurant has been serving up some of the citys best Cuban sandwiches, along with homey soups, plates of roast pork and oxtail, tropical fruit shakes, Cuban coffee, and more. For simple solace in a complicated world, try the ropa vieja, tender braised, shredded beef in a savory sauce of tomato, onions, and peppers, with rice and beans and fried plantains on the side. Proprietor Nobel Garca, a pillar of the community, passed away in November. His welcoming spirit still feels very present at El Oriental.

Location: 416 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, 617-524-6464, elorientaldecuba.net

11. Thin Crust Pizza

Where: Florina Pizzeria & Paninoteca

This below-the-radar hideaway on the edge of Beacon Hill serves thin-crust pizza dabbed with sweet tomato sauce, pooling in the middle with oil the kind of floppy, foldable triangle that New Yorkers dream about (and cant usually find here). Charred, sooty, with burbles of crisp dough dotted like savory mini-volcanoes throughout, this is a hand-held wedge of simple satisfaction. Florina has all your favorite toppings, but the straightforward margherita lets its perfect dough shine. As of this writing, Florina is temporarily closed for repairs, so call before heading out its worth the wait until reopening.

Location: 16 Derne Street, Beacon Hill, 617-936-4494, florinapizza.com

12. Ramen

Where: Ganko Ittetsu Ramen

There are plenty of ramen variations around town: minimalist and maximalist, traditional and experimental, brawny pork power chords and serene vegan tone poems. Ganko Ittetsus Sapporo-style ramen hits the dishs sweet spot, impressing without showing off. The spicy, hearty Gankara miso, laden with tender chashu pork, bean sprouts, egg, and more, is an excellent, warming choice. But every bowl at these two restaurants, from the soy sauce flavored Gantetsu shoyu (pictured) to the sesame-infused tan-tan, is made with attentive care (and Japans excellent Nishiyama noodles).

Locations: 318 Harvard Street, Unit 4, Brookline, 617-730-8100; 215 Thayer Street, Providence, 401-808-6383; gankoramen.com

13. Hand-Pulled Noodles

Where: Genes Chinese Flatbread Cafe

Strappy, chewy hand-pulled noodles based in tongue-twirling hot oil: Genes will clear your sinuses and fill your belly with its thick, spicy (and easily shareable) soups, cut with garlic and cilantro. Friendly owner Gene Wu, originally from Xian, the capital of Chinas Shaanxi province, lovingly re-creates his grandfathers recipes which also include flatbreads stuffed with cumin-laced morsels of lamb and pork belly.

Locations: 86 Bedford Street, Boston, 617-482-1888; 466 Main Street, Woburn, 781-938-6888; 175 Littleton Road, Westford, 978-692-3406; genescafe.com

14. HK Double Cheeseburger

Where: Highland Kitchen

Since opening in 2007, Highland Kitchen has been doing so many things well: mixing balanced cocktails, stocking Somervilles best jukebox, making pitch-perfect dishes worth returning for. Come here for the HK Double Cheeseburger and youll see what we mean. Its a glorious, saucy tower with two beef patties, melted cheese, and caramelized onions, with fries and pickles. Of course you can add bacon; why wouldnt you, at this point? For a smaller dose of comfort, dont miss the ricotta and mozzarella fritters, golden, crisp, and pillowy, to be dipped in spicy honey.

Location: 150 Highland Avenue, Somerville, 617-625-1131, highlandkitchen.com

15. Silken Tofu Stew

Where: Kaju Tofu House

Behind a nondescript storefront in Allston, Kaju Tofu House serves up piping-hot bowls of the Korean favorite sundubu jjigae or silken tofu stew. Featuring delicate tofu swimming in deeply-flavored broth, the stews arrive bubbling in stone pots, along with vegetable side dishes and rice. While known for its spicy food, the restaurant offers varying levels of heat, including a mild version. If youre extra hungry, order up a sizzling plate of Korean grilled meat, such as kalbi (beef short rib) or bulgogi (thinly sliced, marinated beef) to round out your meal.

Location: 58 Harvard Avenue, Allston, 617-208-8540

16. Beef Massaman

Where: Mahaniyom Thai Tapas Bar

At American Thai restaurants, massaman is often the insipid curry on the menu, sweet and earnestly stocked with root vegetables, subordinate to its vibrant green and red counterparts. At Mahaniyom, run by Thai expats in Brookline, the massaman is an entirely different story. Made with tender beef shank; rich, spicy, and complex in flavor; and served with a stack of flaky roti, it will win you over. To really warm your heart, add the gorgeous crab curry to your order, too.

Location: 236 Washington Street, Brookline, 617-487-5986, mahaniyomboston.com

17. Pastrami Reuben

Where: Mamalehs Delicatessen Restaurant

For Jewish soul food, the delis where its at. When friends are going through a difficult time, have a platter of Mamalehs smoked fish and bagels delivered. When youre sick, order up some matzoh ball soup. But when its ... any average day during a pandemic, and you want to treat yo self, Mamalehs pastrami Reuben hits the spot. The deli piles seeded rye with pastrami, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and a schmear of Russian dressing. Doc, it aint good for the cholesterol, but I swear it boosts the old serotonin. Bites of half-sour pickle and sips of Dr. Browns Cel-Ray soda help cut the richness.

Location: 1659 Beacon Street, Brookline; 15 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, 617-958-3354; mamalehs.com

18. Nutella and Strawberry French Toast

Where: Milkweed

Milkweed, specializing in creative takes on comfort food, does us the solid of serving breakfast until 4 p.m. This means more Nutella French toast for everyone. Take an already delightful, traditional version of French toast, smear it with the chocolate-hazelnut spread, and garnish it amply with sliced strawberries and powdered sugar. Its a Valentines Day-worthy indulgence available year-round. If for some reason that doesnt tickle your fancy, theres always the Lucky Charms pancakes.

Location: 1508 Tremont Street, Boston, 617-516-8913, eatatmilkweed.com

19. Tater Tot Poutine

Where: Moonshine 152

Tater tot poutine. The end. Good night. Need you hear more? Or are you already putting on your coat to head to this neighborhood joint par excellence in Southie? Ill tell you the golden potato nuggets are topped with red-eye gravy, Chinese sausage, and melty bites of cheese, and that theyre on the brunch menu but if you show up at another time, you can have party tots, served with kimchi butter, sweet chili, and truffled teriyaki sauce, so nothing lost. Its hard to single out an item from a menu that includes jalapeo crab rangoon with honey sambal sauce, the creamiest Hungarian mushroom bisque, short-rib grilled cheese with spicy tomato soup, and a pulled pork and scallion pancake quesadilla inspired by Ron Swanson of Parks and Rec. But: Tater tot poutine.

Location: 152 Dorchester Avenue, South Boston, 617-752-4191, moonshine152.com

20. Haitian Spaghetti

Where: Neighborhood Kitchen

If only there were a Neighborhood Kitchen on every street corner, a haven for Asian-Haitian comfort food with swagger. Throw caution to the wind with mac-and-cheese topped with lobster, or red velvet waffles with fried chicken and maple cream syrup, or maybe even the fried ice cream sundae. True gluttons should request the Haitian spaghetti, pasta slicked with spicy tomato sauce mixed with onions, peppers, discs of kielbasa, and sliced hard-boiled eggs. Too much? Definitely. Delicious, even eaten cold first thing in the morning before work? You bet.

Location: 84 Spring Street, Medford, 781-391-9000, nkboston.com

21. Oasis Ginger Bomb Juice

Where: Oasis Vegan Veggie Parlor

The flavorful cooking is the main attraction at this plant-based restaurant in Dorchesters Four Corners. But youll need something to drink alongside your grain bowl, exuberantly spiced lentils, veggie stew, and vegan mac n cheese pie. And Oasis Vegan Veggie Parlors juices and smoothies are worth a trip on their own. The Oasis Ginger Bomb Juice a magical potion of fresh-squeezed ginger root, apple juice, and cayenne will cure whatever ails you via a little extra hydration and sinus-clearing heat.

Location: 340 Washington Street, Dorchester, 617-237-9033, oasisveganveggieparlor.com

22. Ph' Dac Biet

Where: Ph' Ha Restaurant

When you want ph', go to a specialist. This longtime Fields Corner restaurant serves stellar Vietnamese noodle soups. Ph' Dac Biet is a perfect choice for those who love texture or are simply indecisive. A bowl includes a half-dozen kinds of beef: eye round steak, brisket, flank, fatty flank, tendon, and tripe. But whatever variety you get from ph' bo vien, with beef meatballs, to ph' ga, the chicken-based version the indicator of excellence is the aromatic broth. At Ph' Ha, it is clean, balanced, and restorative. So are garnishes of plentiful fresh herbs, lime, and chilies.

Location: 1370 Dorchester Avenue, Boston, 617-287-9746, phohoarestaurant.com

23. Stewed Oxtail

Where: Pikliz International Kitchen

Always order oxtail. But especially at Pikliz International Kitchen, where even on a menu filled with fresh, flavorful Caribbean classics such as Haitian patties, jerk chicken, and fried goat the stewed oxtail stands out. The meat is braised into unctuous tenderness with onion, garlic, chilies, green herbs, and coconut. Order it with savory black djon djon rice, Creole macaroni au gratin, sauteed okra, or fried plantains.

Location: 288 Broadway, Somerville, 617-625-6255, piklizint.com

24. Ice Cream Sundaes

Where: The Scoop N Scootery

What snow? Seasons dont matter when desserts can be delivered to your door thanks to The Scoop N Scootery, which specializes in colossal sundaes topped with old-time favorites (rivulets of gooey hot fudge, towers of homemade whipped cream) or treats you might not find anywhere else (apple pie, cannoli shells). In a world where so little is in our control, its nice to engineer a wildly creative sundae. And while the rich, creamy ice cream is excellent (its Richardsons), the endless toppings and speedy home delivery are icing on the cake German chocolate cake ice cream, that is.

Locations: 112 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, 781-777-2830; 75 Linden Street, Allston, 617-208-8016; 360 Washington Street, Brighton, 617-208-8101; thescoopnscootery.com

25. Shakshuka

Where: Sofra Bakery & Cafe

At this sunny oasis on Cambridges fringes with lines down the block, James Beard semifinalist Maura Kilpatrick and James Beard winner Ana Sortun craft inventive Middle Eastern sweets and savories, from syrupy cinnamon baklava with golden flakes to buttery hummus the color of honey. Its all lovely, but for maximum solace, tuck into the shakshuka: runny poached eggs swimming in a stewed tomato broth with hints of coriander and cumin, topped with spicy green zhoug brightened with cilantro. Sop the yolk with a pita and exhale.

Location: 1 Belmont Street, Cambridge, 617-661-3161, sofrabakery.com

26. Goat Cheese Croquettes

Where: Tashan

Tashan specializes in elevated Indian dishes that go beyond standard curries (though familiar standards like gingery saag paneer and a cumin-forward lamb biryani make an ideal weekend meal). Of note: velvety goat cheese croquettes coated in semolina crust, crunchy on the outside and smooth within. Theyre satisfying enough on their own, but swirled in an onion cream sauce with threads of crispy red chilies on top, its the perfect combination of richness and heat, ideally sponged up with buttery, garlicky naan.

Visit link:

The 30 best comfort foods youll find at Boston area restaurants - The Boston Globe

For 23-year-old Jordan Taylor, doom-scrolling through Instagrams explore page was the perfect coping mechanism to fight lockdown blues. Back in summer 2020, the Newcastle-based student set up his Instagram account Tough Luck, a platform spotlighting analogue photography of illegal raves, house parties and early hours hedonism.

I basically wanted to share the work of film photographers I like, says Taylor about the early beginnings of his page. It just snowballed into what it is today. What started as a Tumblr-esque collection of personal memories evolved into a remarkable archive of youth and rave culture from around the world. Scrolling through Tough Lucks Instagram profile feels like attending one big party everyone is having the time of their lives, drinking, dancing, and losing all sense of time and space.

This account isnt really about me personally, explains Taylor. Im just happy to share it with the world. Over the years, Tough Luck grew into a submission-based platform featuring up-and-coming photographers from all around the world. There are thousands of them, he adds, especially now that people can get their hands on a film camera so easily.

But treasuring and collecting all of these images on the internet wasnt enough for Taylor, whos heavily involved in Newcastles rave scene. Three weeks ago, he launched the very first Tough Luck booklet, Nowt Daft, featuring long-term collaborators from England to France and beyond. I always wished to have a physical version of the page, so I can give it to my mates, says the founder, uncovering the reason for taking the project IRL.

For Dublin-based photographer Isabel Farrington, whose work is featured in Tough Lucks first-ever booklet, dedication makes the perfect party. The best raves are those where everyone is part of a greater idea, whether it be a particular sound, scene or style, says the 21-year-old. According to Manchester-based photographer Charles Hall, whos also part of the publication, a good rave is one full of people on the same wavelength, who are truly lost in the moment. In his work, the 21-year-old captures pure happiness and emotion by catching peoples expressions off guard.

The same goes for photographer Wesley Triber, 24, who mostly captures Paris nightlife. I want people to feel the present moment, he says about his personal work. For him, its more than just taking photos of young people having fun. Youth culture is the culture of tomorrow; the one that must fight for itself in order to leave a trace of our passage and give meaning to our existence, he says.

This idea of creating something for the next generation to look back on is the driving force behind Tough Lucks new booklet. In the future, Taylor is not only on the lookout for new talent offering a fresh take on the scene, but also wants to create more zines dedicated to the freedom of rave culture around the world. Having a good time, being with your friends and not really thinking about anything else, thats freedom to me, he says. In the end, it doesnt matter where the party takes place the feeling always stays the same.

Nowt Daft is available to buy through Tough Lucks website and at KINDRED record shop in London.

Link:

The photography platform taking you inside the worlds best raves - Dazed

The first sight that greets you on entering my flat is a print by the Brooklyn-based satirical illustrator Julie Houts titled On Death, Friday Night, My Wasted Youth. It depicts two Friday nights those of a 23-year-old and a 29-year-old. The former wears a black mini-dress and throws back her long blonde hair while quaffing champagne and flicking ash from a cigarette. Alongside her are phrases such as, Lol I forgot to eat today!!! and, Money isnt real!!!. The latter hunches over a laptop in her pants, hair tied in a messy bun, skin daubed in a green face mask and cradling a slice of pizza as though it is all she has left in the world. The accompanying note reads: It is important to take small bites so you dont choke & die alone.

When I bought the print, aged 24, it seemed amusing especially as my life already better resembled the higher age bracket. I had never been one for hedonism or irresponsibility though I am no stranger to short skirts (just ask the teacher who regularly told me off for rolling mine up at school). Now, having just turned 30, I am debating employing a little Tipp-Ex and amending the ages to 33 and 39.

[See also: I have compiled a new playlist for 2022 Songs you cant feel sad to]

I began my week of celebrations (yes, a week; I approach my birthday with unseemly seriousness) with a surprise weekend away in the countryside organised by two of my closest friends. We drank wine and slept in, went on long, muddy walks and had philosophical conversations late into the night. On the Saturday morning I curled up under a blanket in front of the fire with my knitting and marvelled that I was not, despite appearances, approaching 80. The only suggestion of youth about the scene was the Nirvana T-shirt I was wearing as a pyjama top though, as the rather lovely American man Ive been seeing (Grandma, Ill call you later) remarked, the original Kurt Cobain fans are in their fifties now.

Whenever I mention this latest birthday, I do so in anticipation of the inevitable sympathetic grimace, the How are you feeling about it? question. I know I am supposed to be, at the very least, uneasy; to mourn the younger, freer days left behind. But the reality is that I feel just fine, thank you very much. If anything, Im a little surprised to find I am still so young as people often are when they learn my age. I have felt 30 by which I suppose I mean I have felt like an established, put-together adult since my mid-twenties.

[See also: After six months of public grief, I can admit it: I still miss him]

I have long been old for my age. As a child I was so keen to learn to read and write that I insisted my mother taught me the alphabet before I started school. The resulting stories about hamsun prinss (handsome princes), sgwiruls (squirrels) and parrots who cudnd cip qiyt (couldnt keep quiet) are funnier than anything Ive written since. I was so desperate to be an adult that I insisted on helping my mother unpack the food shopping, breaking as many eggs as I managed to store safely in the fridge door. And an oft-quoted line among my family is the time I turned to a friend while in a shopping centre, aged three, and precociously said: Rachel, this music sounds rather familiar.

But I was likely not, my therapist would remind me, entirely born this way. I am the eldest sibling of a childhood divorce, inevitably and inescapably altered; the responsibility assumed, the emotional burden shouldered too young. I wonder, sometimes, about who I might have grown to be had family life gone a little differently for me: would I still feel others struggles as if they are my own, would I take myself less seriously? Would I be surprised to turn 30 because I felt too young for it, rather than too old?

I have been assured many times in the past week that your thirties are the best decade because you know who you are, what you want as if I did not understand deeply, long fervently before; as if I am now unchanging, immovable. I do not know who I will be by the end of this next decade, but I hope they will be playful years, more irresponsible. That by the end of them, I might be a little less grown up.

[See also: Our words for describing the climate are changing can they spur us to action?]

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I have just turned 30 and am rather surprised to find I am still so young - The New Statesman

Around about the same time last year, Bicep released their second album Isles in the midst of yet another lost-count lockdown.

Although their self-titled debut had been wall-to-wall bangers, its follow-up was more austere, subtly architected for consumption wherever the listener wanted it.

This conscious ambiguity reflected that dance music, for want of a better term, with its purpose of fueling shared joy and collective hedonism has been impacted more at an experiential level by events than almost any other kind; if you cant feel it in your ears, gut, and brain, is it really there?

As Bonobo, Simon Green is a veteran with a catalogue going back over 20 years but whose understated success came in appealing to a diverse bunch of the movements often cliquey tribes; its critically evidenced by 3 Grammy nominations, commercially so by a Top 5 spot for 2017s Migration.

For some years an LA resident, hes declared Fragments the most emotionally intense record hes ever created, one he felt compelled to make.

The motivation for that is the same that forced him, Bicep, and many other artists of a similar path to recalibrate; the purpose of his and their music is essentially communal and optimistic and being cut off from seeing how it lands with an audience was discombobulating in the extreme.

Fragments is a reaction to that, the creative genesis of which lay in a set of bold collaborations which included classical harpist Lara Somogyi, singers like Jamila Woods, Joji, Kadhja Bonet, producer OFlynn and fellow City of Angels resident Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, who contributed the albums majestic string arrangements.

Fusing cinematic tones, bass sounds, 2-Step, rave and even a Bulgarian choir, its a work which thematically addresses the times but isnt daunted by them; Shadows, with its refrain Save me from the unknown, is warm in its uncertainty, whilst the wispy house of Rosewood pushes the BPM to the red zone; this is made to make bodies move, to be embraced.

Its a statement, a call which finds a response is the haunted garage beats of Sapien and Closers urgent pickup, whilst From You echoes the trippy futuristic R&B of Frank Ocean, and Counterpart bubbles with the vogueish shades of acid house.

Green himself sees the main chapters as Tides with Jamila Woods calm and sensual vocals giving the track a deep sense of profoundness and aching melancholy and Otomo, complete with its sampled choristers, may be one of Bonobos finest tracks ever, as the old and the new meld together to a point from which the latter picks up the torch. Its a stunning track where that phrase is so often contemporarily overused.

In many ways, Fragments charts the redemptory, soul-searching journey which every serious player in this field has had to make in the last two years.

For Green, the personal catharsis began whilst on an unofficial pilgrimage to himself in the vast, overheated deserts of Utah, one from which he returned with a renewed sense of perspective.

With this behind him and many others a more sympathetic and durable kind of music is emerging, one with an awareness of people and places and a need to mean more than one thing to an audience searching for answers to new questions.

Fragments is a record that embraces this change, made by someone who didnt choose the role of pioneer but has accepted it anyway and in doing so has shifted the needle, wherever fates dial is now going to point to.

See the rest here:

Bonobo - Fragments | Album Review - Live4ever

Departure City

Albany, Ny [ALB]Albuquerque, Nm [ABQ]Allentown, Pa [ABE]Amarillo, Tx [AMA]Anchorage, Ak [ANC]Appleton, Mn [AQP]Arcata, Ca [ACV]Asheville, Nc [AVL]Aspen, Co [ASE]Atlanta, Ga [ATL]Atlantic City, Nj [ACY]Austin, Tx [AUS]Baltimore, Md [BWI]Bangor, Me [BGR]Beaumont, Tx [BPT]Bethel, Ak [BET]Billings, Mt [BIL]Binghamton, Ny [BGM]Birmingham, Al [BHM]Bismarck, Nd [BIS]Bloomington, Il [BMI]Boise, Id [BOI]Boston, Ma [BOS]Brownsville, Tx [BRO]Brunswick, Ga [BQK]Buffalo, Ny [BUF]Burbank, Ca [BUR]Burlington, Vt [BTV]Calgary [YYC]Cedar Rapids, Ia [CID]Charleston, Sc [CHS]Charleston, Wv [CRW]Charlotte, Nc [CLT]Charlottesville, Va [CHO]Chicago (Midway), Il [MDW]Chicago (O'Hare), Il [ORD]Cincinnati, Oh [CVG]Cleveland, Oh [CLE]College Station, Tx [CLL]Colorado Springs, Co [COS]Columbia, Mo [COU]Columbia, Sc [CAE]Columbus, Oh [CMH]Cordova, Ak [CDV]Corpus Christi, Tx [CRP]Dallas Love Field, Tx [DAL]Dallas/Fort Worth, Tx [DFW]Dayton, Oh [DAY]Denver, Co [DEN]Des Moines, Ia [DSM]Detroit, Mi [DTW]Duluth, Mn [DLH]Durango, Co [DRO]Edmonton Intntl [YEG]Eastern Iowa, Ia [CID]El Paso, Tx [ELP]Erie, Pa [ERI]Eugene, Or [EUG]Eureka, Ca [EKA]Fairbanks, Ak [FAI]Fargo, Nd [FAR]Flint, Mi [FNT]Fresno, Ca [FAT]Ft. Lauderdale, Fl [FLL]Ft. Myers, Fl [RSW]Ft. Walton/Okaloosa [VPS]Ft. Wayne, In [FWA]Gainesville, Fl [GNV]Grand Forks, Nd [GFK]Grand Rapids, Mi [GRR]Great Falls, Mt [GTF]Green Bay, Wi [GRB]Greensboro, Nc [GSO]Greenville, Sc [GSP]Gulfport, Ms [GPT]Halifax Intntl [YHZ]Harlingen [HRL]Harrisburg, Pa [MDT]Hartford, Ct [BDL]Helena, Mt [HLN]Hilo, Hi [ITO]Hilton Head, Sc [HHH]Honolulu, Hi [HNL]Houston Hobby, Tx [HOU]Houston Busch, Tx [IAH]Huntington, Wv [HTS]Huntsville Intl, Al [HSV]Idaho Falls, Id [IDA]Indianapolis, In [IND]Islip, Ny [ISP]Ithaca, Ny [ITH]Jackson Hole, Wy [JAC]Jackson Int'L, Ms [JAN]Jacksonville, Fl [JAX]Juneau, Ak [JNU]Kahului, Hi [OGG]Kansas City, Mo [MCI]Kapalua, Hi [JHM]Kauai, Hi [LIH]Key West, Fl [EYW]Knoxville, Tn [TYS]Kona, Hi [KOA]Lanai, Hi [LNY]Lansing, Mi [LAN]Las Vegas, Nv [LAS]Lexington, Ky [LEX]Lincoln, Ne [LNK]Little Rock, Ar [LIT]Long Beach, Ca [LGB]Los Angeles, Ca [LAX]Louisville, Ky [SDF]Lubbock, Tx [LBB]Lynchburg, Va [LYH]Montreal Mirabel [YMX]Montreal Trudeau [YUL]Madison, Wi [MSN]Manchester, Nh [MHT]Maui, Hi [OGG]Mcallen, Tx [MFE]Medford, Or [MFR]Melbourne, Fl [MLB]Memphis, Tn [MEM]Miami, Fl [MIA]Midland/Odessa, Tx [MAF]Milwaukee, Wi [MKE]Minneapolis/St. Paul [MSP]Missoula, Mt [MSO]Mobile Regional, Al [MOB]Molokai, Hi [MKK]Monterey, Ca [MRY]Montgomery, Al [MGM]Myrtle Beach, Sc [MYR]Naples, Fl [APF]Nashville, Tn [BNA]New Braunfels, Tx [BAZ]New Orleans, La [MSY]New York Kennedy, Ny [JFK]New York Laguardia [LGA]Newark, Nj [EWR]Norfolk, Va [ORF]Ottawa Mcdonald [YOW]Oakland, Ca [OAK]Oklahoma City, Ok [OKC]Omaha, Ne [OMA]Ontario, Ca [ONT]Orange County, Ca [SNA]Orlando, Fl [MCO]Palm Springs, Ca [PSP]Panama City, Fl [PFN]Pensacola, Fl [PNS]Peoria, Il [PIA]Philadelphia, Pa [PHL]Phoenix, Az [PHX]Pittsburgh, Pa [PIT]Port Angeles, Wa [CLM]Portland Intl, Or [PDX] Portland, Me [PWM]Providence, Ri [PVD]Quebec Intntl [YQB]Raleigh/Durham, Nc [RDU]Rapid City, Sd [RAP]Redmond, Or [RDM]Reno, Nv [RNO]Richmond, Va [RIC]Roanoke, Va [ROA]Rochester, Ny [ROC]Rockford, Il [RFD]Sacramento, Ca [SMF]Saginaw, Mi [MBS]Salem, Or [SLE]Salt Lake City, Ut [SLC]San Antonio, Tx [SAT]San Diego, Ca [SAN]San Francisco, Ca [SFO]San Jose, Ca [SJC]Santa Barbara, Ca [SBA]Santa Rosa, Ca [STS]Sarasota/Bradenton [SRQ]Savannah, Ga [SAV]Seattle/Tacoma, Wa [SEA]Shreveport, La [SHV]Sioux City, Ia [SUX]Sioux Falls, Sd [FSD]Spokane, Wa [GEG]Springfield, Il [SPI]Springfield, Mo [SGF]St. Louis, Mo [STL]St. Petersburg, Fl [PIE]Syracuse, Ny [SYR]Toronto Pearson [YYZ]Tallahassee, Fl [TLH]Tampa, Fl [TPA]Traverse City, Mi [TVC]Tucson, Az [TUS]Tulsa, Ok [TUL] Vancouver Intntl [YVR]Victoria Intntl [YYJ]Winnipeg Intntl [YWG]Washington Natl, Dc [DCA]Washington/Dulles, Dc [IAD]Wenatchee, Wa [EAT]West Palm Beach, Fl [PBI]White Plains, Ny [HPN]Wichita, Ks [ICT]Wilkes-Barre/Scranton [AVP]

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Resort Activities | Hedonism II

SUMMARY: Amanda discovers black pussy; hubby black cock.

NOTE: Thanks to the amazing Alison Hale for adapting my original story and creating the images that follow. This has been an amazing experience to collaborate on such a story. A fantasy many women like me have dep inside us.

NOTE 2: This is the fourth chapter of one woman's (and to a lesser extent man's) journey to all things BBC and JBC (juicy black cunt). To see what has happened so far:

Read Hedonism Island: A BBC Discovery to learn how Amanda learns of such an island from her sister and how during a massage she gets her first taste of BBC, while her husband discovers the surprisingly humiliating joys of pegging at his massage.

Read part 2 Hedonism Island: A Gloryhole Heaven where Amanda gets as much chocolate dessert in the form of BBC she can handle while her unknowingly he is being cucked husband watches in shock and confusing awe.

.

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Is that Jasmine Walker?

Hmmmmmm.... Coming someday.

Part 4: Hedonism Island: Gangbang Girls

Excerpt from:

Hedonism Island: Chocolate Pussy - Illustrated ...

Novelty comes annually to wine, the release of each new vintage bringing, in effect, the release of a new product every year. It means no winemaker can release the same wine two years in succession, even if they wanted to. No matter how obsessively they might try to control all the other variables (same vines, same tanks, same yeasts, same winemaker, same bottle, same label), the years weather will always have its say.

Of course, the release of some new vintages is more anticipated than others. Right now, in London, the top end of the Burgundy wine trade is showing off the soon-to-be-released wines of the regions 2020 vintage, which, by all insider accounts Ive heard, has brought some beautiful wines into the world, as indeed it seems to have done all over France.

The 2020 wines will feel all the more precious given the viticultural disaster that was 2021 not just in France but across Europe, where late spring frosts, hail and, further south, forest fires, among other Biblical factors, combined to bring the smallest European vintage in 30 years. When I visited the Loire back in November, I came across the sorry sight of empty barrels everywhere, inevitable when producers were facing the loss of up to 80% of their annual crop.

The cycle of vintages isnt the only source of the new in wine. The frenzy of planting and site-discovery that was such a feature of the previous half century in wine outside Europe when countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile and the USA were establishing themselves as peers to France and Italy may have calmed. Exciting new vineyards are still emerging all over the so-called New World, whether its the tiny but extraordinarily promising Place of Changing Winds in the Macedon Ranges region of Victoria in Australia, or the Domaines Barons de Rothschilds attempt to make a Chinese answer to Chteau Lafite in the Qiu Shan valley of Shandong province.

In Europe, much of what I think of as new is really a return to the old. Many of the most exciting new wines I tasted last year, for example, came from winemakers working rediscovered very old vineyards in places such as the Gredos mountains near Madrid or Mt Etna in Sicily, while others are the result of British merchants rediscovery of the joys of eastern European wine culture, from Slovenia and Croatia, to Bulgaria and Romania.

In the same spirit, the use of the original, ancient winemaking vessel, the clay amphora, has become increasingly widely and deftly used, while one of the styles associated with these clay pots wines made from white grapes that have spent so long macerating with their skins the colour has turned orange has made ever deeper progress into the mainstream. Much to the annoyance of the small-scale producers responsible for the styles development, the mass-produced orange wine, often made in somewhat more industrial stainless steel tanks rather than amphorae, is one of the biggest of wines new old things.

Rigal Vin OrangeVin de France (10, Morrisons)One of the best of the new supermarket breed of high-production orange wines, this southern French effort is made using the tangy Gascon gros manseng grape. The extra time in contact with the skins brings an intense nutty-herbal twang and touch of chewy texture to the exotic fruit.

Kvalitetno Vino Croatica GrasevinaCroatia 2020 (9.95, tanners-wines.co.uk)Theres nothing new about Croatian wines, but there has been a change of attitude towards them among British wine importers. Thats good news for fans of juicy, fresh, aromatically vivacious white wines such as this, made from the grasevina grape (AKA welsch riesling).

Cave de Lugny Chardonnay Mcon-VillagesBurgundy, France 2020 (11.95, Waitrose)Burgundys smartest domaines are only just revealing the quality of their 2020s. There are already numerous examples of this vintage out in the wild from bigger producers, with this white showing bountiful ripe rounded fruitiness, honey and luminous brightness.

COS Pithos Rosso di VittoriaSicily, Italy 2019 (from 24.10, hedonism.co.uk; lescaves.co.uk; josephbarneswines.com)A blend of Sicilian local varieties frappato and nero davola, this wine is from a small biodynamic producer in southeastern Sicily. Its distinctive sweet-savoury-sour-cherry-plum forms a seductive argument for using terracotta amphorae to make red wine.

Chteau le Roc RocAmbulle Pet Nat NegretteFronton, France 2020 (from 15.40, montywines.co.uk; forestwines.com)Another very old winemaking method enjoying a modern renaissance, pet nat sparklers are made by bottling the wine before its finished fermenting, with the CO2 remaining in the bottle. This is a lovely, lively example from vineyards near Toulouse, all sweetly easy-drinking cherry-berry fun.

BEST BUY4 Monos GR10, Vinos de Madrid, Spain 2018 (12.67, justerinis.com)A brilliant entry point for the delicately beautiful infusions of sun-baked hillside herbs, warm earth and red fruit that are the very old vine garnacha-based wines of the Gredos mountains near Madrid. This is filled with fresh wild strawberry succulence.

Go here to read the rest:

New wines for a new year and old ones enjoying a renaissance - The Guardian