Welcome. It’s a holiday weekend in the United States, another milestone, where we might pause and consider where we were one year ago. What’s changed? Take a minute this weekend to consider where you were, what you were feeling, what was happening, last Fourth of July. It’s raining here in New York, good weather for reflecting. Whether you’re at home or away this weekend, here are some of our best ideas for how to pass the time.
The At Home and Away Summer Playlist has grown and morphed into a pretty perfect holiday soundtrack. Give it a listen if you haven’t already, and try one of our previous reader-curated playlists.
Steven Soderbergh’s new heist film, “No Sudden Move,” is streaming on HBO Max. A.O. Scott says that it’s “for the most part a tight and twisty against-the-clock crime caper with an obvious debt to Elmore Leonard.” It stars Don Cheadle and Benicio Del Toro. Here’s the trailer. I’m in.
Questlove’s concert movie “Summer of Soul (… Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” premieres in theaters and on Hulu today. The concerts in question were part of a six-week outdoor series that took place in Harlem in the summer of 1969, the same year as Woodstock. The film features performances by Sly and the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Nina Simone and, as Wesley Morris puts it, “a 19-year-old, pre-imperial-era Stevie Wonder getting behind a drum kit and whomping away — sitting, standing, kicking, possessed.”
Plan your streaming schedule for the rest of the month. Here’s what’s on the way on Amazon, HBO and Hulu for July. (Season 2 of “Ted Lasso” arrives July 23.)
If you’re attending a cookout or barbecue, bring along an Asimov-endorsed dark rosé, Melissa Clark’s three-bean salad or Genevieve Ko’s take on the beloved Hawaiian dessert butter mochi.
Check out ten new books we recommend this week …
… and the stuff people impulse-bought after getting their vaccines in pharmacies.
Dreaming of travel? The Italian islands of Capri and Procida are preparing for tourists’s return. But don’t forget the sunscreen — or your passport.
You should definitely take a few minutes to read Andrew Leland’s story “Is There a Right Way to Act Blind?,” about his visit to the set of “In the Dark,” a CW series about a blind woman in her 20s.
“Why were we able to make the world virtually accessible only when it mattered for non-disabled people? Why can’t we do that all the time?” asks Emily Ladau, a disability rights activist in Long Island, N.Y., in this six-minute film highlighting the experience of people who are dreading a return to “normal” life. Watch it if you’re feeling any ambivalence yourself.
P.S.Tell us.
When you think back to what was happening a year ago, what’s changed? What’s continuing to change? And what hasn’t changed a bit? Write to us: [email protected] Include your full name and location and we might feature your contribution in a future newsletter. We’re At Home and Away. We’ll read every letter sent. More ideas for leading a full and cultured life, at home and away, appear below. I’ll see you next week.
