welcome back to ‘mini dives’. if you’re new here, these are not quite deep dives, but mini dives into a singular focus whether that be one artist or an entire genre, one book or articles covering a singular topic, one brand or an overarching product category….you get the “mini dives” idea.
things i’m listening to: surf punk
when we think of surf music, the beach boys likely automatically comes to mind (fair. they did popularize the term surfing with surfin usa), but surf punk (which maybe lends itself more to crowd surfing…a favorite activity of mine first done by none other than iggy pop) has become more popular since it began in the 70s.
i was surprised when i went to a wolfmother concert in 2014 and half the venue seemed to be filled with surfers. i shouldn’t have been…their song dimension was featured in the surf film fair bits in 2005 and on the playlist “psyched: the soundtrack to your surfing life” in 2015”.
now, bands like fidlar, wavves, the strange boys, and one of my personal favorites melody’s echo chamber are probably more commonly found on a surfer’s playlist (or, let’s be real, someone who likes the idea of surfing).
things i’m reading: people’s summer bucket lists
i started making summer bucket lists in high school and….actually never stopped. i found that making a summer bucket list (even though i never finished everything on them), has always made me feel like i really embraced summer. not in an accomplished or productive way….some of the things in my summer bucket lists have included low-lift activities like “go coning” (summer 2011) “tie dye socks” (summer 2012) and “slip-n-slide” (summer 2014).
i recently saw a tiktok (rightfully) claiming that summer doesn’t hit the same because we stopped making summer bucket lists then olipop posted some summer bucket list inspo…as someone who never stopped (but whose lists got only slightly less embarrassing…debatable) and summer solstice right around the corner, i think we need some strata bites summer bucket list inspo?
watch an outdoor movie because it’s the ultimate summer activity even though
slatesome people are haterspizza parties at school/as a kid were the best. why did they stop? corporate america made us hate them. my vote? bring them back — in a mary kate & ashley kind of way only.
here are some photos of your favorite celebrities eating pizza to get you ~ inspired ~
go to an observatory. there’s a star wars inspired one in cyprus. some of the most beautiful ones (according to AD) are in barcelona, sydney and….our very own griffith obervatory in los angeles (she’s also a movie star and has been in transformers, rebel without a cause, la la land, etc.).
things in my cart: a lot of green things!
the eye catching green raffia bag from cos we chatted about earlier this week
soft services’ green banana buffing bar (in case you haven’t heard me rave about this one enough)
nette x tata harper’s into the forest candle
a pair of saturday’s green swim trunks
the knotty ones green cotton shorts <3
in other green bottoms, donni’s pistachio green petal pusher pants (and new linen crop stripe pant) seem incredibly approachable to wear for a green pant.
sofie pavitt face micellar cleansing pads (these are my current hyperfixation product)
a green pitcher for hosting, staying hydrated while reading on the patio, etc.
dôen’s chartreuse claire dress i’m looking for an excuse to wear.
the green bikini from triangl i know i’ll look terrible in (the last item on here feels like a great place to share i actually look terrible in green), but am going to wear anyways.
things to make: friends
last week’s mini dives we talked about friendship, but if it left you wondering how to make friends after we’ve moved on from dorms, keg stands and organized activities (a question the nyt has been asking since 2012, maybe before) you’re not alone:
let’s start with chess club (maybe a humbling experience in my case, but still great)
go to a dinner party full of strangers
we’re rooting for intergenerational friendships always. vox says to meet through shared interests (see chess club above).
the cut says a major rule is to “be shameless” (or be intro’d by a mutual friend)
refinery29 says that book clubs might be the answer to loneliness (here for this)
things to *swoon* over: more stripes. specifically red ones.
follow along socially on @stratabites; have a pitch? email stratabites@substack.com