Obama Loves Harry Too? 😍
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Angels!!! I've got the most painful wisdom tooth coming through right now (this might be TMI but they sometimes get ✨infected✨ and I feel like that's happening)... I really need to get them taken out I think. Ugh - life, there's always something!!!
This morning me & my smart pal Dunc (pictured below) are interviewing someone really cool for his podcast The Fold.
Then we have a full office 'speed dating' event (with the entire office we work in, not just the SYSCA team who I know pretty well already), and then I'm being interviewed by someone else for another podcast! The reason I'm telling you all of this is because it sounds like a lot of talking/ laughing/ smiling for someone with a VERY SORE MOUTH.
Anyway, boohoo Luce, I hope you all have a LOVELY day!!! xxx
Bel Chimes In: On how to dress for your ex
Tour de France Femmes!!!
The Millennial pause: And watching the internet move on
Barack Obama likes Harry Styles too
Can you separate the art from the artist?
Bel Chimes In: On how to dress for your ex
This section is written by my crush, the refreshing-as-a-house-chardonnay-on-a-steamy-day, Bel Hawkins. You should check out more of her beautiful words here.
Hello! Lots has happened since we last spoke, and, you guessed it, here is where you hear about it in a way I hope is relevant / funny / cute to you <3.
This week’s chime is all about resurrecting for that ~moment ~ you run into your ex and how to sail through it. Lots of people wrote back about the Perks of Being Single Chime so consider this your second edish!
It all started when over the weekend, Luce came to my apartment affectionately known as the treehouse, and we drank some fizzy wine (as discussed) and made our audacious plans for the future before heading to our friends’ bookstore party (where my former crush was meant to be) and onto our friend’s birthday where the theme was ‘dress for your ex’. Uncanny, I know.
Seeing your ex is always a shard of glass in the heart. It never ceases to astonish me how you go from knowing nearly everything about someone to pretending you’re strangers. Perhaps one of the most painful things that hangs in the balance is how naive the old you feels and how wise the new one is. My personal approach was to dress like a hedge fund manager and hope for the best. He didn't end up showing, but this is what I was thinking about:
In your vision, you're the best person you could possibly be. Hot. Tanned. Stylish. Your skin is dewy as it catches the light (as you laugh elegantly - ha ha ha), and in the movie that is your life, there is a quick montage of all the great, flawless, successful moments you’ve had in between being with them and now. In reality, you're PMSing, your phone’s dying, and you're in dire need of both a bobby pin and a holiday.
The best piece of advice I gave my friend for this moment, and one I eventually had to swallow myself, was that you need time to go away and make your own secrets and become your own whole self again. You need seasons to pass, nostalgia to wane, and new things to shape you that feel exclusively yours. In short, you need to build back your own mystery. And when you do, and your planets cross, you separate mind from body, be as graceful as possible, then slide out the back door, order a ride and drive into the next chapter of your own brilliant life.
Because I don’t think you ever find resolution with the other person. There is no out-of-body moment where the pain ascends out of you, and everything makes sense. You make that with yourself and the universe. And then life truly opens back up again. I promise. X
Tour de France Femmes!!!
This section is written by my big bro Squish (who you all know from The Shit Show!)
July is literally my favourite time of the year because the Tour De France is on, and it's my little ray of sunshine that brightens up the depths of winter here in NZ. Luce has told the story a few times about me having all my friends around to watch the race in the wee hours for basically the whole of July (European racing means midnight alarms, she’ll know what it's like now with her newfound Formula 1 obsession) [Luce note: Squish I already know what it’s like - One Direction used to drop their new music videos at all hours of the night…]
Sadly for me, the men's Tour de France finished earlier his week with Jonas Vingegaard taking le grand boucle from two-time winner Tadej Pogacar in one of the best tours I’ve ever watched. But this year, instead of going back to my usual winter routine of just enough sleep and seasonal depression, I can extend my yearly love affair with France for a wee while longer because this year is the first year of the Tour de France Femmes!
The Tour de France Femmes is an 8-day stage race around France, featuring the same iconic yellow jersey, champs Elysees finish, and infectious french vibes as the men's version. Even though it's the first year of running, it's already the biggest women's race in the world. At present, the current best cyclist in the world Marianne Vos (who has won just about everything else you can in cycling) is wearing the Maillot Jaune, and it just feels so right. Anyway, as cool as it is for women's sport in general, I'm selfishly still stoked I get some more bike racing to watch with my morning coffee this July!
The Millennial pause: And watching the internet move on
This piece from Embedded is just incredibly honest and incredibly true. It’s about that specific FOMO you get from watching the internet move on (and maybe become something built less for you and more for another generation) and making the decision to just let it happen.
I loved this quote from Kate, who wrote this edish:
The same way it’s too late for me to become fluent in a new language, I’ve passed the age when I can seamlessly adapt to the internet’s constant evolution. It requires a lot more work, and recently, I've felt like I’m watching the internet move on without me.
To be completely honest - I'm not there yet (which is lucky, coz it's kinda my whole job). I'm leaning into things like TikTok and BeReal - I'm even cautiously optimistic for the next phase of the internet (when/if web3 becomes anything more substantial I will let you know.) But I TOTALLY understand the initial knee-jerk reaction to the rise of a new platform/ way of doing things, and to be honest I respect the urge to dip out.
In saying that, let me demonstrate my 'leaning in' to TikTok:
buT wHy cAnT wE jUsT pRiNT mOrE mONeY? — www.tiktok.com
Barack Obama likes Harry Styles too
Every year Barack Obama releases his 'Summer Playlists' and to be honest... the man knows a banger. So you can imagine my elation when I saw that 'Music For A Sushi Restaurant' made the cut (along with Beyoncé and Maggie Rodgers might I add 👀)



Can you separate the art from the artist?
This is quite possibly the least mundane poll of all time (and most of you answered how I expected you to) but:
21% said yes
22% said no
57% said it's more complicated than that
If you want to help yourself unpack some of the weird feelings that come along with loving something deeply only to find out its creator is... not the bomb.com (praying this doesn't automatically hyperlink), you should listen to Liv & I yarn about it!
Can you separate the art and the artist? (Culture Vulture)
Is Beyoncé’s Latest Album Rollout (Gasp!) Conventional? (The New York Times)
Brittney Griner Testifies in Russian Court Amid Ongoing Trial (E News)
The inclusive Manly jersey is promoting a sin (The Spinoff)
Go plastic-free with me and switch to shampoo and conditioner bars!! Use our discount code ‘PLASTICISSHIT’ for 25% off all full-price items for the month of July!!! (Our partnership with Ethique)
Our Love Island Debrief (Culture Vulture)
Life In Plastic, It’s Not Fantastic (The Shit Show)
SYSCA playlist (✨Supporters only✨)
Our HUGE SYSCA reading list! (✨Supporters only✨)