top of mind

“Everyone's itching for a revolution/sometimes I’m afraid we’ll be happy” writes the Argentine poet Juana Bignozzi, evoking the yearning and terror and fantasy of starting anew. In these early days of January, resolutions are all anyone seems to talk about. Regardless of the glaring fact that we are the same people we were before, the newness of the year gives the impression that we, too, are starting fresh in some way. What most of our resolutions bypass, though, is the scale of change. Although the new year promises a reset, rebuilding from zero isn’t so much a solo endeavor but a chance for collective redemption.  

If the new year is about starting fresh, it’s also about acknowledging the work--often not solely our own--that it took to get to this position of choice. As the philosopher, Elsa Dorlin points out, “The chain of dependency is massive…I think about it in terms of who works to make me live and who depends on me to do the same.” This week, the scale of our chain of dependency comes into focus as 7,000 nurses in New York go on strike over unsafe staffing ratios and low compensation… What does starting fresh mean in this context? Strikes at hospitals, railway yards, Starbucks, universities, Amazon, and workplaces all across the country propose a new beginning, one we can only find collectively and on the other side of our fear.

open tabs

1. You can find ways to support striking workers across the U.S. by going to Cornell University’s Labor Action Tracker, which includes a list of strike funds to donate to, and picket lines and protests to join.

2. For our next bookclub, passerby is reading Alice Wong’s Year of the Tiger. Wong weaves together a multi-media reflection on her life as a disabled Asian-American organizer and disability justice advocate. Disability activist and artist Jen White-Johnson will lead our conversation on February 2nd (RSVP here).

3. Still catching up on end-of-year lists? passerby’s Best of 2022 and Favorite Tracks of 2022 Spotify Playlist cover it all. The New Yorker’s Best Books of 2022 has your next snowy day read. Film Comment compiled critics’ best recommendations and reviews for your next night in. Lastly, try the mother of all lists: Year End Lists, a compilation of best-ofs from across the internet.

4. Knee-high black boots are trend-proof and non-descript enough that they go with everything always. Finding the right pair, though, is shockingly exasperating. The thick heel and rounded toe on these Jil Sander boots hit hard. These boots from By Far and Carel are also a perennial favorite.

5. Rue Blanche makes a soft sweater the color of the northeast winter sea, warm enough for an evening walk. More water’s edge, this color-blocked sweater from the Uniqlo and Marni collaboration doubles as a reminder of the temperate days to come.

6. Brooklyn Institute for Social Research’s “Ecofeminism and Xenofeminism” with Sophie Lewis offers an in-depth introduction to current debates on climate justice and feminist politics. Classes begin in February, and passerby club members receive 20% off when they sign up. 

7. Between winter and moisture-sapping hobbies, avoiding ashy (at best) and chapped, broken skin (at worst) requires a combination of heavy-duty hitters: a think salve and a pair of cotton gloves to keep the moisture in.

8. On Mubi’s Notebook blog, Darcy Parquet, translator of Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave**, talks about dialogue as sculpture, and her conversations with the director about carving those forms out in a new language.

9. What’s the deal with all the fervor for natural wine? Our NYC Guide to Low Intervention Wines spells out the basics, but if you’re looking for deeper cuts, check out this wine share or this ice cream parlor/wine bar that just opened. For wine-interested community, visit the thirstythirsty discord and passerby’s dedicated wine channel on our private discord server.

10. The conveniences of Big Tech come at a price—an almost total lack of privacy in our online activities, business and personal alike. Below Radar has created a list of resources to help share files, manage projects, level the playing field, and avoid corporate surveillance.

from the founder

In 2023, I’m thinking about unlearning productivity anxiety. When you are socially conditioned to be productive and tie your sense of worth to work, it can be a struggle to develop a new relationship with what you do to make money. Having a conversation about work-related stress without sounding like you are glorifying burnout or trying to trauma bond requires a new vocabulary. Establishing boundaries--no emails after 6 pm, over the weekend, never on holidays--feels more like having to build an off switch from scratch than just powering down. Let’s be honest, most emails are never that time-sensitive anyway… And for those that are, most browsers and email servers provide add-ons and instructions to schedule send. My biggest recommendation this year is to let it go, and let it send itself.

Now, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, I usually use my holidays for catching up on emails and making lists. I’ve been making my own lists since 2012 and probably won’t ever stop, considering how much I relish looking back on the year through the best music or films I’ve experienced. One of my favorite films of 2022 was Pawel Łoziński’s The Balcony Movie. I keep coming back to the little interactions between passers-by that he films from his Warsaw apartment balcony. The way he uses these brief conversations to characterize contemporary life brings me back to the founding ethos of passerby taking time to hear about a stranger’s everyday life. 

I don’t think hot water bottles get enough love. They are great at lowering your heating bills and can soothe period cramps, stomach aches, or pain in general. I’ve been looking for an upgrade to the bare plastic of my bottle after accidentally burning myself. I’ve seen this Toast cover being recommended, but if anyone has cheaper recs, I’m all ears.

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january book recs

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*Join our private discord server through our passerby club membership here.

This newsletter was curated for you by the passerby team
Anayvelyse, Clémence, Claire B, Claire DR, Sydney, and Clio

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