THE WEEKLY PAGE 📝 No. 218
Fourth of July in Denmark + what to read, watch, listen to and enjoy...
How was your Fourth of July? Mine is usually pretty anticlimactic since it’s (obviously) not a Holiday in Denmark.
However, imagine my surprise after arriving here six years ago when fireworks started going off on the night of July 4th?! I was so confused.
Turns out that Tivoli Gardens, an old amusement park nestled in the center of Copenhagen, has a 4th of July celebration every year — complete with pie, live music, and an American car show.
Sort of an annual schtick for the tourists and large American immigrant population.
I’ve never gone to it before, but last night our neighbors talked us into walking over and taking in the show.
It’s a small display by American standards, about 12 minutes long, and is a bit comical since our skies don’t really get dark here in the summer — this photo was taken at 11PM.
So I didn’t really want to go, but I’m glad I did. It was a momentary reminder that even in its darkest moments, so much of the world is still rooting for everything that’s good about the US.
📚 READ: To be perfectly honest with you — I’m currently at a loss for words with regard to the current situation. Which situation? I dunno, all of them I guess. Gaza. The Supreme Court. The US Presidential Race. BLERGH. So, rather than picking one thing to read, this week I’m rounding up a list of the best articles I’ve read recently:
How We Get Through This: Buckle Up Y’all, Shit’s About to Get Really Rough by
The Great Unconformity: On Heading to a Future with a Deleted Past by
“Wait, Is the World on Fire?!” What the Hell Do You Think We Were Trying to Warn You About? by Umair Haque
This Civilization is Deeply Unnatural by
What I Think Democrats Should Do In Just a Few Simple Steps by
Recap of The June 27th Presidential Debate Between Trump and Biden by
How Could I Ever Not Love America: This is My Country by
You’ll find that all but one of these are on Substack (Umair writes at Medium, but can also be found at his new publication, The Issue). If you find any of these articles helpful or insightful, I recommend subscribing as a way to diversify your news sources and stay connected, because things aren’t likely to calm down any time soon. If you can, become a paying subscriber so folks like this can keep doing the work they’re doing.
📺 WATCH: I know AI can do some pretty wild (and terrifying) things…and I haven’t yet decided which category this falls into, but the movie does look pretty great.
Here will debut this November, and follows one piece of land as it transforms over many thousands of years. It stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright (who starred together in 1994’s Forrest Gump) as a couple who lives in a house eventually built on that land. In the trailer, we can see that they portray their characters beginning in their early 20s through old age.
And with the power of AI — it was entirely possible to use old footage to effortlessly and realistically turn back the clock on these two stars. You gotta see it to believe it:
🎧 LISTEN: Were you ever a fan of the Pioneer Woman? I feel like she was one of the original big bloggers, and just seeing her name made me nostalgic for the 2013 internet.
Anyways, I came across this post the other day and definitely went down that rabbit hole. Turns out, the federal government pays her family $2M a year to “allow” a herd of wild horses to exist on “their land”. Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman, is married into a family that owns nearly 10% of land in Osage County. The area that was stolen from the Osage Nation — often through deception and murder — as was chronicled in the recent hit film, Killers of the Flower Moon.
Someone in the comments pointed out that there’s an entire podcast series called In Trust that chronicles how these wealthy white families stole land (more or less the plot of the movie, as well). You can listen to it here.
🧡 ENJOY: I got this hat recently and absolutely love it — and love that it supports a great cause! 🐾 15% of the net proceeds go to the 15/10 Foundation, which helps sponsor dogs with behavioral or medical issues that would otherwise have difficulty getting out of shelters. Get yourself one here.
HOW I CAN HELP! Use the code SUBSTACK to take 10% off purchases from the links below:
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Thank you for your work. I always love your newsletter but I especially loved the roundup of articles this week. Just added a whole bunch of new subscriptions to my account.
your newsletters are just phenomenal