What's IN/OUT this week

Today’s INS/OUTS feature a couple of great quotes, because I finally caught up on 300 newsletters that had been mocking me for weeks. My inner demon retaliated by opening 60 new tabs in Chrome.

IN: Sourdough. Specifically, the sourdough made by a stranger near the lake house I stayed at last weekend. Our faceless, nameless baker places loaves of fresh bread in a cooler at the end of her driveway, and you slip $10 into a little lockbox or send through Venmo. I’ve been eating it all week and have maybe two slices remaining. I will be left absolutely bereft. OUT: Pajamas. Also last weekend, I was reminded of how many people have actual pajamas. As in, matching sets or at least not just tops and bottoms that once served other purposes, like celebrating family reunions or running 5Ks. I just don’t understand sleepwear in general. If I’m in my own home, the blankets are on the bed specifically to keep me warm. Why am I adding a shirt that I’ll get tangled up in, and pants that are going to hike up past my knees? If I’m sharing a room with friends, I’ll throw on an old Steelers shirt and bike shorts for bedtime. But I’m not going to like it.

IN: The process. From J Wortham’s newsletter, Channeling: “Meanderings for meaning are not aimless; they are essential data-collecting missions, especially if you are trying to reveal a process rather than trying to produce a product." Considering my “having a routine” allergy, I never spend much time thinking about the process — and I certainly never considered the role of meandering in that. Good thing I have a day of bopping around ahead of me tomorrow to chew on this. OUT: The prediction markets. I hate that I even know what this is (If you don’t: It’s where people buy and sell shares based on the outcome of real-world events, like elections, the Academy Awards, or even whether a social media post will go viral). The gambling economy is so deeply foreign to me. I played the slots maybe twice in my life and I was immediately disappointed that I put dollars in and didn’t receive a little treat in return. Please, please, just go outside for like 15 minutes instead of placing money on (checks Polymarket) Scream 7’s Rotten Tomatoes score.

IN: Going back for what caught your eye. I found this incredible gold lamé clutch a couple of weeks ago at a vintage shop, but hemmed and hawed too long and chose not to buy it. Of course, I could not stop thinking about it after. I returned to the store, beelined it to the bin — and it was still there. The stars were right: This is Scorpios’ lucky year. (The bar is so low.) OUT: Quick buys. Earlier this month I stumbled on a red dress that I quickly purchased. I was so jazzed to find a second-hand item in my size that I didn’t spend the appropriate amount of time considering use cases. There must be a sweet spot between my flash-bang decisions and two-week agonizing. I’ll never learn, though!

IN: The Scold. In a recent issue of Delia Cai’s newsletter, she explains that “you’re only ever like 3 clicks away from five archetypes that seem to have a grip on the culture right now: Perverts (that gooning story), Voyeurs (Meta glasses and Ring cameras), Gamblers (see above: prediction markets), Scammers (remember the woman who handed over $50k in a shoebox??), or Maxxers (you know, the proteinmaxxer, sleepmaxxer, etc.). “But then I also think we may need to expand with the addition of a sixth archetype — the Scold,” Cai writes. “Someone’s gotta stand here and wring their hands at all the objectively wrong ways to engage with reality. It’s only life if I can tell you how you’re doing it wrong!” Lmao, got my ass. OUT: THIS PROMOTION!!!! You can get a 25% discount on an annual subscription to the Hater’s Guide through tomorrow. Don’t sleep on it!

Tell me what you hated this week!