explain to me the leaves, the private lives of trees

Good evening, everyone. I'm here and I've brought some things with me. Things you can read and things you can listen to. Things where you can help and things you can watch. Things you can do, of course. Ten things total. Let's dig into 'em.

• A friend and neighbor and Toomer parent is going through some tough times right now. Send her a few bucks if you can, and please share with others who are in a place to do the same.
• Mildred is a band that "consists of an environmental lawyer, an atomic physicist, an architect, and an affordable-housing advocate; they seem to play because they have something to share, not because they are speculating on careers." I'm obsessed with their recently released debut full-length, Fenceline. RIYL: David Berman, CSNY, MJ Lenderman, Bill Callahan
• While it's been a minute since I've been on the sandwich beat, I am, of course, still regularly enjoying sandwiches. While a lot of them recently have been tomato-based, I did finally visit Sammy's in Adair Park with my buddy Platlanta the other week. Folks, that place is so cute and the sandwiches are so good and you really gotta get over there. I can't wait to taste my way through the rest of the menu.
• You don't need me to tell you to watch Widow's Bay because everyone has already told you to watch Widow's Bay, but I will say that the person who posted somewhere (???) that it was like Stephen King meets Parks and Recreation was right. Do with that what you will. Also, you should google it and read the "did you mean" line up top because that's just a great bit right there.
• Nobody is writing the super-long and wildly reported music profile these days like Grayson Haver Currin. Shoutout to him and shoutout to GQ for paying him to drop 13,000-word tomes on interesting bands. His latest is about Modest Mouse, and it's funny and fascinating and complex and a little scary in parts.
• Move your body around, don't make it complicated, just do it and don't be too hard on yourself, and then do it again and again, at least a few times a week, and things will get better. I've been doing more of this lately and it's great. See also: Metamucil.
• I'm working on something right now and could use some additional perspectives. If you're in touch with any members of the band Deerhunter, could you reply to this email, please? Thanks!

• Listen, I lived multiple decades without eating the wonderful delicacy known as crab claws. Learn from my mistake! I've now enjoyed this perfect food exactly two (2) times while in Florida, and both times, at the end of the meal, I started thinking about the next time I was going to scarf some crab claws. Crab claws!
• ICYMI: I wrote a quick guide to the music of Sturgill Simpson.
• I'll leave you with this. I've been writing a regular newsletter now for [squints at The Wayback Machine] 12 years, first with The Georgia Brewsletter (RIP, TinyLetter, you were SO ahead of your time), and then with How I'd Fix Atlanta. Both started as very specific things and eventually began to evolve with time. I don't know exactly where HIFA is going, but I appreciate that you're here with me as I figure it out. The legends Holly Anderson and Spencer Hall have been bouncing around internet properties longer than I have, and if you've read anything I've written, you know that I adore Channel 6. In a recent newsletter celebrating the 5th anniversary of their storytelling platform, they wrote this, which I think is pertinent to the way a lot of folks—myself included—create things these days: "The power rankings of streaming television cast members, book reviews, random bits of foolishness, and occasional longform or interview are not distractions. They are an important part of a balanced ecosystem for content-producing ultramarathoners and their supporters, and essential for the longevity and freshness of the product in general." As always, I hope you enjoyed the things above.

talk soon,
austie