Last week, I had the pleasure of moderating my friend Becky Chalsen’s book launch, for her sophomore novel, Serendipity. After a lovely little chit-chat — y’all know how I love to yap — an audience member asked: “What is a sensory experience, whether that be a song or a smell, that signals the start of summer for you?” (I’m paraphrasing/is there a word … ncG1vNJzZmihnZa7qa3Roqmio5mWe7TBwayrmpubY7CwuY6pZq2gkal6tbXMnmSiZaKWu26t1pqwZp6ipLputM6mnGasp56wpg%3D%3D

There’s a particularly virulent strand of column-publishing and Twitter/X debate happening right now which, if it continues, will require me to seek medical attention for perpetual eye roll. It consists of American and British people gleefully writing about America’s explosive economic growth at the moment, and comparing it to Europe’s sluggish post-Covid recovery. Everyone seems to have their own opinion explaining the difference, the most convincing of which I find the idea that the EU has stuck with conservative neoliberal orthodoxies for the economy while America has been quietly more flexible.

I missed a lot of these back in the day. I'll be giving them a try. Some of my favorites were: Spy Hunter, Load Runner, Jumpman, Spy vs Spy -- although I never got very far, Archon. I also liked Impossible Mission, but again, didn't get very far. Expand full comment ncG1vNJzZmikpaOxtrfEZ6qumqOprqS3jZympmegZMGpsYxqZ2aalajBbq%2FOpqSonJ%2Bnsm6Ck2aemqWVqHqmwsSrZpynnaKyr8DS

One of the first books on pirates came out in 1724 and was titled A General History of Pyrates. The book’s title had an interesting detail when you keep in mind that women were usually considered bad luck on a ship. (Blackbeard, for example, is known to have killed women just for being on his ship’s deck.) Here’s the full title: “A GENERAL HISTORY OF THE PYRATES, FROM Their first RISE and SETTLEMENT in the Island of Providence, to the present Time.

Welcome to It’s A Shanda, one Northeastern Jew’s quest to find a decent bagel in Seattle (and beyond). If you’re already subscribed, I hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription! Thank you for reading. When I think of Eli’s Hot Bagels, I have two competing memories from my teenage days. One takes place on a classic overcast New Jersey fall morning. I’m in my Sunday best. A worn-too-long Mets baseball cap with a frayed bill.