Few Things of Note #81 - The Comeback Edition

It's been a while since #80. A while that became a year, that became something longer. I've been bookmarking things the whole time, sending links to friends who probably wished I'd stop, realizing eventually that the pile had grown into something worth publishing.

Welcome back to Few Things of Note. This is #81.

01 - DANCE

Mr. Gaga (2015), the documentary about Ohad Naharin.

If you think you don't care about dance, watch the first fifteen minutes of this film and report back. Naharin built a movement language called Gaga that dissolves the boundary between technique and feeling - and the documentary captures his creative process with a rare kind of intimacy. The last twenty minutes will stay with you for days.

Watch on Netflix: netflix.com/title/80104706

02 - WINE

The Jura.

If you've been curious about natural wine but found the world impenetrable, the Jura region of eastern France is the gentlest entry point. Slightly oxidative whites, savagnin grapes, a very particular terroir. Look for Domaine de la Pinte or Tissot. Walk into a good wine shop, say the word 'Jura,' and let the person behind the counter take it from there.

Domaine de la Pinte: lapinte.fr

03 - TO EAT (NEW YORK)

Via Carota, Grove Street, West Village.

If you ever have one dinner in New York - one - make it here. Jody Williams and Rita Sodi built the most honest Italian restaurant I've sat in outside of Italy. The carciofi alla giudia. The tonno. The fact that it looks exactly the same at 6pm and at midnight. Reservations are nearly impossible. The bar takes walk-ins. Worth every minute of the wait.

Reservations: viacarota.com

04 - READING

Maigret Sets a Trap by Georges Simenon.

Short, precise, completely Parisian. Each novella in the Maigret series is less a crime story than a mood study - the city as atmosphere, the case almost incidental. Perfect for the kind of reading you do in an hour with a good coffee.

Buy: penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554839

05 - FASHION

The Gentlewoman magazine.

Biannual, beautifully designed, constitutionally allergic to trend-chasing. Each issue profiles women with a clear individual relationship to how they move through the world. The interviews are as good as the fashion photography - sometimes better. Worth subscribing, worth keeping.

Subscribe: thegentlewoman.com

06 - APP

Polarsteps.

It maps your travels automatically and lets you add notes and photos as you go. I used it through France last year and now have something that feels like a real document of a real trip - not a gallery of location-tagged photos but an actual record of where I went and what I noticed.

Download: polarsteps.com

07 - THE GOOD LIFE

Offscreen Magazine.

Published twice a year. Printed. Made to be held. The premise is that some things are worth slowing down for - that a long piece about how one person makes one thing is worth your afternoon. It's the antidote to the feed, and the best reminder I know that what we choose to pay attention to is also a design decision.

Subscribe: offscreenmag.com

That's #81. More soon. The gap between editions is getting shorter.

If something here lands for you, send it to someone. That's always the point of these.