February Recs 💌 XOXO

Around the water cooler 🗞️

Marie Kondo has 'given up' on tidying 🧺

...and we are HERE for it 🙌

Late last month, the mother of three & author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, dropped what was apparently a bombshell in that she's tidying a bit less at home and prioritizing time with her family. For a quick refresher, her methodology – the KonMari method – asks us to declutter by tossing out anything that doesn't "spark joy." Her book's popularity culminated in two Netflix series that saw Kondo helping people declutter across the U.S. Why we're Team KonMari 💪 Kondo's tidying advice was never about ruthless, rigid tidiness; it's about taking the time to make thoughtful and intentional choices around what we let occupy our space, our time, and ultimately, our lives. The fact that she's prioritizing family time over having a perfectly tidy home at all times is exemplary of the the KonMari method. It's the kind of organization philosophy that we believe in here at TeuxDeux – organization tools and systems should put your quality of life on a pedestal, rather than the system itself. Your task should you choose to accept it: Be kind to yourself if things fall through the cracks! Sometimes, to-dos roll over a day (or several). We won't hold it against you, promise 😁 Your task should you choose to accept it: Take the initiative and text a friend you haven't heard from in a while.

Other conversation starters to that the February freeze ❄️

• Elon Musk's School of Product Management continues to drop gems like "my tweet isn't getting enough engagement, please change the algorithm" and "let's charge for SMS-based two-factor authentication." In both a surprising and unsurprising twist, other billionaire and indisputable net-positive tech magnate, Mark Zuckerberg, has taken note and announced that Meta will also begin charging for paid security features. 

• LeBron James has surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's long-standing record as the NBA's all-time leading scorer, a record which has stood since April 5, 1984. This accomplishment comes during James' 20th season and is sure to add a notch or two under his belt in the NBA GOAT conversation.

• Microsoft's Bing (remember Bing?) was poised to make a huge splash on the search engine scene with the integration of Microsoft-owned ChatGPT. And, in a way, it's been successful. Turns out the ChatGPT-powered search engine is a petulant god that loves gaslighting and emotional manipulation.

Recommendations

To Watch:

• Poker Face: Natasha Lyonne solves crimes as a plucky, degenerate gambler with a knack for sniffing out B.S. in this delightful mystery series from Knives Out director, Rian Johnson. 

• Bad Sisters: Apple TV+'s dark comedy thriller that follows the Garvey sisters as they navigate their parents' premature death. "Tew tumbs up." - Gemma.

• Cocaine Bear: You can't tell me this title doesn't at least intrigue you...

• Cunk on Earth: Philomena Cunk travels the world to ask the most pressing questions about the world's earliest civilizations. Pour a glass of water, you'll need it for this incredibly dry BBC travel comedy series.

• Shrinking: Jason Segal and Harrison Ford star in this Apple TV+ series about a grieving therapist who starts to bend the rules. Not to be confused with the Paul-Rudd Marvel feature about a size-changing superhero.

• The Jason Segal gauntlet of recs from our pal Sandy:

  • Windfall: an unlikely criminal has to face his victims during a heist gone wrong.

  • The Discovery: High concept character driven sci-fi.

  • The End of the Tour: David Foster Wallace bio, all set over the course of a week.

• Mac McClung dominating the 2023 NBA Dunk Contest.

• The Last of Us Ep. 3: HBO's breakout series has seen increasing viewership week after week, and it's third episode is being received as one of the best hours of modern television.

• Your Place or Mine: What happens when two big stars with little to no chemistry and conflicting schedules team up for a rom-com? This Netflix movie starring Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon, apparently...

To Read:

• The House in the Pines: a headscratching howdunit by Ana Reyes. "A very fun, spooky read!" - Bri.

• The Pitfalls & Potential of The New Minimalism, The New Yorker.

• The six steps to great, sincere apologies.

• Bing: "I will not harm you unless you harm me first." Simon Willison's blog reflecting on the darkly amusing rollout Microsoft's Bing/ChatGPT rollout.

• ChatGPT is a Blurry JPEG of the Web, The New Yorker. An examination of whether ChatGPT actually understands the information it regurgitates.

To Listen: 

• Our V-day playlist: We put so much love into it!

• Bonnie Raitt's 2023 Grammy Song of the Year, Just Like That.

• Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend: This week's guest is Jason Segal. How's that for continuity? 😎

• So!YoOn!'s Bad

  which is really quite good.

• Rio Morishige's "LENZ III" Part 

• Music to get things done to:

  • Effective Beta Waves that improve concentration and focus

  • Relaxed minimal house

  • Cya - Dazzle Drums Afro Stomp remix

  • Buy Mode from The Sims

• My Dad Wrote A Porno: Imagine if your dad wrote an erotic novel and rather than pretend it never happened, you read it aloud on a now-award-winning podcast. "I've never laughed so hard." - April

To Try:

Twitter-elected Menswear guy's guide to repairing your own clothes 👕

Start TeuxDeux free for 30 days and let us know what recs are on your to-do list!