martinimade

"I am acutely aware of the fact I could spend seven years on a project that opens and closes in a night. That's the reality of my business. And I've had shows that've had nice long runs [In the Heights]. I've had shows that have closed within six months and moved on [Bring It On]. And so you have to have a reason that can't be success. Success is the gravy. Success is if everything goes well, wonderful. But you have to have a reason where if it opens and closes in a night, you go, "Well, I learned a lot, and I wouldn't trade it for the world." I think one of my biggest fears is regret. I would hate to spend seven years on something, and you did it for the wrong reasons."

- Lin Manuel-Miranda in his G.Q. interview.

• Tardigrades, man.
• I really want to go to the Earth Room.
• The Washington Post's annotations of political speeches and TV appearances are keeping me sane.
• *snerk*
• The U.S. really needs to up its stamp game.
• All of these are true, especially the Frosty one.
• Trump should smile more. Related.
• Wait. This was a prank?

Priebus is a busy man, holding the party of Lincoln together and all, and I thanked him yet again for taking more time out of his packed schedule. Before concluding this Tuesday with Reince, I sought one final morsel of wisdom — something that might carry us forward into our next session.

He paused. “Don’t light fireworks that spark on a patio,” he said. Why? “Because they leave black marks that you can’t get off when you’re done.”

What does that mean?

“That’s for New York Times readers to figure out,” Priebus said, before vanishing back into the delirium. “It’s almost like a puzzle mystery.”

-- Tuesdays with Reince, Episode 1

It's alive! My latest column for Another Mother Runner is alive! And it's right here: Under the Tuscan Run.

I'm back from an a-maze-ing trip to Italy. Re-entry has been rough but we will all fuel the process with wonderful memories, a few of which will be shared once I recall which way up is. Until then:

• What People Expect Women to Look Like.
• Read this when you are stuck.
• I was so fortunate to learn about the Culture of Generosity when I was in the theater community in Austin in the 1990s. Here's why.
• What $805 a night gets you.
• Fascinating.
• On scavengers and Chelsea. Related.
• XKCD uses data to explain global warming and the result is delightful (and terrifying). Related.

• Duck Soup, meglomaniacs, and the presidential campaign. Additionally, this might be my favorite Marx Brothers' movie.
• I vote that we all wear this to work next Tuesday.
•  The. Worst. People.
• Chandra deserved better. (Also: while scores of movies/TV shows with female journalists show said journalists falling into bed with a source/subject, this former female journalist would like to re-iterated that that is a thing that almost never happens. 

This week's Dry Martini column at AMR, in which I channel my inner grouch and dive deep into TMI.