Chloe Cullen's Blog, page 9

The Chloe Digest (July 15, 2024)

this month’s things:

texting about the NYT Best Books of the 21st Century list (not to flex, I read 25 of 100, can somebody match my freak)

also accidentally spoiling ACOTAR over text with my sisters (girls who do both)

two stunning weddings, two engagements for people we love, a couples shower with an olive oil infusion station (three weddings left for…

Read more

Self-Taught: How Do You Get Into Poetry?

One summer between college courses, I picked up a collection of Emily Dickinson poems. Since I compulsively collect these reputable artists like snow globes on an interior shelf, this felt like Someone I Had To Know (TM).

But my body repelled her poetry like a teething kid trying broccoli for the first time.

I flipped through the pages, organized by thematic emotions (like “love” or something, who knows). Nothing sparked. “Poetry must not be for me,” I thought with a quiet thrum of panic. The sh...

the bruh summer recs thread

This week, I threw all my summer recommendations for TV & books & philosophies at you…but I want to see what you all recommend!

What thing—really, anything—are you looking forward to consuming/making/enjoying this summer?

Or, what have you loved that you can’t stop thinking or talking about?

Hit me! Judgement-free zone.

my cat, Walter

A June Goody Bag

Summer has crawled its way back to us, and I have left my keys under the mat for it to shack up in my apartment.

In some senses, this means I feel sunnier, optimistic, colorful.

In other ways, I anticipate the hot pink slashes of sunburn on underarms, the constant mouth-mirage of ice cream as the trucks idle on the sidewalks across from Central Park, and the sweet tang of worn-in sunscreen and armpits.

chloeisawriter A post shared by @chloeisawriter

I announced via socials that I will enroll in Te...

John Mulaney Made Late Night Sexy

On Wednesdays, I’ll send out posts on something I noticed, watched, or read that brought me joy. It’s hard to find a name for this that isn’t cheesy…Wednesday Wonders? Little Joys?…Oy. Audience participation is welcome to rename.

John Mulaney’s post-rehab freedom has made him incredibly sexy.

This has nothing to do with the new hair or his colored suits. Though he looks great.

It’s more about how well he has adapted his audience to navigate his new reputation after his rehabilitation for drug an...

Taylor Swift & Sarah J. Maas's Market-Breaking Intersection

Disclaimer: I’m not a Swiftie.

Having to disclose that ethos at the top says plenty about the tricky lines of Taylor Swift’s fans and their reputation. They are willing to go to the ends of the earth, online and in person, no matter the social or financial cost.

My history with Taylor, for context, is this: I listen to the albums on their release days. I have a couple of Swift-specific text threads for same-day song reactions. In middle school, I played the Fearless CD in my bedroom during playda...

CIVIL WAR Is A Tale Of Sound And Fury

Alex Garland’s newest release, CIVIL WAR, has people tying themselves in knots.

Its trailer suggests an apocalyptic America after Texas and California secede. Beige military vehicles race across empty roads. The most memorable image to distill this movie’s conflict is a man in red sunglasses and military fatigues (Jesse Plemons) who responds to the group’s pleas of claiming American brotherhood with a bloody-fingered face scratch and a callous “Ok, what kind of American are you?”

Before the movi...

Review: CIVIL WAR Is A Tale Of Sound And Fury

Alex Garland’s newest release, CIVIL WAR, has people tying themselves in knots.

Its trailer suggests an apocalyptic America after Texas and California secede. Beige military vehicles race across empty roads. The most memorable image to distill this movie’s conflict is a man in red sunglasses and military fatigues (Jesse Plemons) who responds to the group’s pleas of claiming American brotherhood with a bloody-fingered face scratch and a callous “Ok, what kind of American are you?”

Before the movi...

My Favorite Cooks Whose Food I've Never Tasted

I’m still coming down from the endorphins of teaching myself to cook. Part of this means recalibrating expectations to a regular weeknight meal. Fat tuna steaks, a spontaneous bolognese, or deep-frying tofu for the first time? Off the table. Those adventures exist for the weekends.

Since my Self-Taught series, I’m more adventurous choosing odd vegetables I wouldn’t have bought before (…broccoli rabe, radishes…not that wild…), but the cooking routine is pretty copy and paste with that sweet sauté...

At The 2024 Oscars, Women Are Blank Slates Or Murder Suspects

With the 2024 Oscars in the rearview and the Best Picture award safely delivered to Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer team from an out-of-body Al Pacino, the other nominees have fossilized in the amber sap of 2023.

Each year’s nominees stand as a time capsule, and this year’s nominees boasted a proud range of genres. A Christmas feel-good. An indie darling. A lush biopic. Laugh-out-loud comedies. Summer blockbusters. French- and German-speaking films about global and personal tragedies. And, of co...