Happy Friday!
Oh my god, are we there yet?
If the US election feels interminable to you, imagine life for Quartz reporter Hanna Kozlowska, who has been covering the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump for over a year. Last week, she got a brief, welcome reprieve to attend a Gilmore Girls fan festival, in the Connecticut town that inspired the television show. Gilmore Girls, for the uninitiated, was a one-hour TV series that ran between 2000 and 2007 and focused on the relationship between Rory, a bookish teenager, and Lorelai, her loving and sardonic single mom. Now, its cult of dedicated fans is going nuts in anticipation of a Nov. 25 Netflix revival.
Hanna attributes some of the show’s appeal to its “meticulously mapped world.” Sort of like a sci-fi series, Gilmore Girls has a specific sense of a place with its own rules. It’s just that these are the rules of a small Connecticut town, where the fantasy includes a handsome counter guy at the diner, kindly admonishing his customers about their caffeine intake.
“It’s an intensely reassuring, comfort-food kind of series,” writes Hanna. “The stakes of each episode, devoted to town-hall meetings, school plays, and slowly unfolding love triangles, are mundanely low.”
Hunkering down to watch (or re-watch) Gilmore Girls might be just the thing to soothe the anxiety many of us are feeling right now. And if getting through all seven seasons between now and the revival seems ambitious, The Hollywood Reporter has selected some key episodes.
On a delightful episode of Radio Cherry Bombe, the genius baker Dorie Greenspan convinced me of the need for cocktail cookies: crisp little savories designed to be devoured with drinks. (Two rights make a right!) There’s a whole section devoted to this category in her new book, Dorie’s Cookies. I think I’ll probably start with this smoked gouda-and-cayenne variety. Like Greenspan’s world-altering chocolate and sea-salt cookies, she says this dough can be rolled into logs and frozen, then sliced and baked at will. (I’ll sleep better with these in my freezer.)
If the prospect of old-fashioned, pretension-free finger foods and bar snacks inspires you, you might enjoy Gabrielle Hamilton’s recent essay about a domestic cocktail hour renaissance that started with gin-and-tonics and sour-cream-and-onion Pringles, and snowballed fabulously into toasts piled with blue cheese and shaved celery and fennel. (Also see: Cher’s menu-planning in Mermaids!)
Maybe sip a Mexican Firing Squad with those snacks? Quartz reader Margie Balfour from Tucson, Arizona emailed me with a modification of my Nasty Woman cocktail recipe: “If you add a few dashes of Angostura bitters, not only does it add depth, but then the recipe is very similar to an old classic called the Mexican Firing Squad,” she wrote, adding that she plans to serve it on Tuesday night. “This seems appropriate.”
Speaking of election night, this week Cassie Werber, from the epicenter of Brexit aftermath at Quartz London, reminded us just how devastating waking up to an undesired result could be.
So, in the run-up to election day, let’s do like the Cubbies in the wee hours of Thursday morning, after “10 innings, a blown three-run lead, a case of managerial overreaching, a short rain delay and a late Indians comeback.” Let’s leave it all on the field.
Here are some ways to make a difference between now and Tuesday:
Make some calls to voters in swing states, to make sure they’re going to get out and vote. You can do this from anywhere, but if you’d like to experience a little camaraderie, HillaryClinton.com will show you local events where you can work with other volunteers.
Join carpools and bus trips to swing states, where you can canvas door-to-door with other volunteers.
The website SwingVoterGo—a collaboration between video game designer and author Jane McGonigal and MoveOn—shows you your Facebook friends in swing states, and even gives you a script you can use to be like, go vote! (It’s fascinating. You probably have friends you didn’t even realize had moved to Iowa or Arizona.)
And of course, if you are eligible, VOTE! Make a plan, and help your friends and family members do the same. Depending on where you live, you might even be able to vote early this weekend. Cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago allow voters to cast their ballots between now and November 8, and don’t require any excuse for it. Click here to find your polling place, and see if early voting is available.
We’re almost there. Have a great weekend!
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If you’re in New York and in need of laughs this weekend, the New York Comedy Festival is in town! I’m going to see Marc Maron at Carnegie Hall tonight (There are still tickets!), and comedians including Hannibal Buress, Fred Armisen, Jenny Slate, and Jay Pharoah will be performing around the city too.