Gone Fishing

UPDATE: We're going to take a short break to attend to life, catch some fish, and watch some soccer. We'll be back this fall in some form or another. Until then, happy adventuring!

June: Here It Comes...

I admit: I am more than a little interested in the game of soccer. I’ve had to leave baseball behind to make sufficient time for the Premier League games I want to watch, but I’m not just a fan: I also play (a lot): 7v7s at Immaculate Heart

MAY: Funny Stuff

I have an extremely unpleasant commute that plays a large role in my daily life. It goes like this: every morning, after dropping my kids off at school (we live in Highland Park; they school in Silverlake), I plow headlong into rush hour traffic and meander my way to Culver

APRIL: Finding a New Current

I’m about to have a baby, which means I’m about to jump into a cultural abyss. Though it’s my second time through the postpartum tunnel, it feels wholly different this time around. The first time was fall 2020, and we were all in a shared isolation. It

MARCH: Monster Truck Memories

It’s hard to avoid the lure of the familiar, don’t you think? Even in doing the research for our monthly list, I tend to rely on a lot of the same old places. And with good reason! What’s a rut if not an old groove? But yeah,

FEBRUARY: Valentine Street Day

For a year now I’ve wanted to cover the question: is LA a romantic city? When I think of romance of the urban variety, I think of walking along the quai of the Seine river in Paris (obviously), I think dining solo in New York, I think wandering the

JANUARY: Pleasure is Personal

Earlier this month, we asked you to share some thoughts about what gives you pleasure. It seemed innocuous enough at the time, but in retrospect, we might have stumbled into something a bit more fraught — but also revealing. Because when we started reflecting on what pleasure looks like in our

A Plea For Pleasure

We loved getting your cultural recommendations in May and it's arguably the best newsletter we put out this year. So we are yet again soliciting suggestions for a future Loose Land newsletter this time on the theme of ~ p l e a s u r e ~ What'

DECEMBER: Twice-Baked Pies and Other Holiday Mistakes

This is my favorite time of year—not just because of the highly marathon-able movie options, but also because of the feasts. When it comes to multi-course meals I probably max out at about three quality dishes (maybe 3.5), but that will never stop me from pushing

NOVEMBER: If Stars Fall

I’m not a planner. I have other good qualities, don’t get me wrong. I just have a hard time pulling the trigger when it comes to, say, buying a plane ticket - or buying any ticket, really, as evidenced last week when I bought a ticket to Rilo Kiley

A very short survey

Dear Readers, In case you missed it, we’ve put together a very short survey, and it would mean the world to us if you could take the time (a very short time, we swear!) to fill it out so we can learn a bit more about what is working

OCTOBER: Dear Reader

We’ve been at this for over a year now. We kept our eyes peeled for things to share, stuck to a format, and sent the newsletter out by the first of the month with an almost perfect record. We’ve also gotten some feedback from subscribers, which is always

SEPTEMBER: Soccer Watch: 2025

We’ve all got our little things, haven’t we? For Betsy, it’s the whales of instagram (and their ability to potentially crush her during spawning season); for Meredith, it’s berets, full stop; and for me, it’s the United States Men's National Team (the one

AUGUST: Plot Loss

Summer breeds anarchy, especially in hotter climates. Especially here.  I’m not just talking about huddling in the shade; I’m talking about sun-brellas, loose-fitting garments that create their own breezeways, bath-towels as sweat-guards, and ice-packs in people’s pockets. When I go to pick

JULY: Go West, Young Person

I recently started a new job in Venice. Venice, California, I mean. (Though the commute from Atwater Village to Venice, Italy might be shorter.)  After working from home for five years, the full-time job and constant driving has been a shock. Likewise, as a longtime East Sider, having a

JUNE: Leaning Into Summer

Summer break is almost here, and I remember that feeling on an almost cellular level: that sense that you’re floating upon a current of unstructured time, where your grasp of what month it is loosens, and days are judged by the number of swims and sweets that you can

MAY: Mouthwords

Recommendations, plugs endorsements — call ‘em what you want, the tips that travel person-to-person carry a certain je ne sais quoi. Or, actually, I DO sais quoi, and it’s (pardon my French) cache. Secret mall apartments know what I’m talking about, but so do speakeasies, midnight movies,

APRIL: Magical Thinking

I’ve been thinking a lot about magic lately. Maybe it’s a survival mechanism because the times feel so dismal; maybe it’s because everyone I know is listening to The Telepathy Tapes and is equally buoyed and mystified by the idea of unknowable things; or maybe it’s

MARCH: Some Months Just Happen

We take turns writing the monthly introductions for Loose Land. Sometimes that means we can focus on a month/phenomenon that really speaks to us on a personal level; other times, it’s just March. Because March is the month of… what, exactly? Walks, maybe? Penguins, the Ides? (How can

FEBRUARY: Between Two Worlds

We had planned a romantic theme for our February newsletter, and then the city started burning. It feels like we are between two worlds: things have fundamentally shifted with these fires, but the path forward remains unclear. Some of us are facing incalculable losses, and even those of us with

JANUARY: Cultural Intentions

It’s an annual tradition: new year, older me! But honestly, I love looking back at my year, not in a sentimental haze but as an archeologist sifting through the debris, looking for clues about who I am, or who I might be becoming. I am a mystery to myself

Best Plates of the Year: 2024

I genuinely appreciate year-end lists as an opportunity to find new things to enjoy. I get gift ideas from NPR’s Book Concierge (now called “Books We Love”); I keep the spirit of the 90s alive via “best music video” compilations (formerly via Pitchfork); and I rediscover my belief

DECEMBER: Desert Snows

For the past 17 years I’ve hosted an annual Christmas Movie Marathon party (full list of films here for those interested). It began as an intimate gathering of turtle doves in a narrow Crown Heights apartment, then graduated to something like an actual holiday party, before mutating briefly into

NOVEMBER: Waking Up

My sister and I both say that we moved around as adults because we moved around as kids (the product of my parents chasing the best life for their family from Brooklyn to upstate New York, to eventually, Detroit). I’m not kidding: there was a time in my adult