Welcome to Perfectly Imperfect #54 👋

If you’re new here after Helen Levi, Saeed Akil Ferguson, or Rachel Karten— welcome! Perfectly Imperfect is a 2x/week newsletter featuring good ol’ fashioned curated recommendations from real people. Check out the archive for more and as always, join the Perfectly Imperfect Discord to keep the conversation going.

~ Alex jumping in here with a quick life update from the wife and me - on Feb 24th we were blessed with our first child, a healthy little girl named Liliana 💕 that is all, enjoy the recs ~

Without further ado

Tyler Bainbridge (instagram, letterboxd, last.fm)

🇺🇸 🎥 American Movie (1999)

I gotta be up front here, American Movie is my favorite documentary of all time. It follows filmmaker Mark Borchardt on his journey to make a horror film and it’s one of the most authentic, hilarious, and inspiring films I've ever seen— you really can feel the sincerity & ambition in Mark and it's contagious. It's a true American slice-of-life with a fascinating cast of characters, just watch the trailer and I promise you'll be sold.

🎵 Danny L Harle - Harlecore (2021)

Huge Danny further proves that he's one of the best producers in the biz on this one, the man has range whether it's the shiny & lush production all over Caroline Polachek's Pang or the absolutely nuts hardcore trance on Boing Beat. This thing is jam packed with adrenaline-fueled EDM bangers, what more could you want?

🎵 Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978)

It's not as talked about as Remain in Light, Fear of Music, or Speaking in Tongues, but More Songs About Buildings and Food is the Talking Heads record I reach for most. This LP is an energetic frenzy that's filled with some of the most rhythmic, sharp, and dance-y tracks in their entire catalog and marks the first of many collaborations with Brian Eno who is on his A-game here. It also has one of the best covers of all time, Take Me to the River (Al Green). Great record.

🌿 😴 CBD Gummies from Upstate Elevator Supply

I'll be honest, I've been taking these gummies for many months now & I'm still a bit of a CBD skeptic lol, that being said, these gummies seem to actually help my anxiety & get me tired before bed whether it's the placebo effect or not. I buy the 50 pack, but they also sell them in a 10 pack if you just want to try em out.

👖 Stussy Uniform Pants

I was on the market for simple pair of off-white pants & these checked all the boxes (see banner pic for fit). They’re a nice & comfortable straight fit w/ v subtle branding (for Stussy), just a very solid well-made basic pant, not much else to say. Between these guys and their Double Knee work pants, they’ve been really killing the low-key pant game.

🍊 Sumo Oranges

We're in peak Sumo Orange season baby!! On the surface these guys don't look like much, just a wrinkly orange with a big ol' bump on the top, however they're super easy to peal (very important) and full of flavor which makes them one of my favorite winter snacks. The clock is ticking! Go get some Sumos!

❗ But wait, there’s more!

The Ion Pack Podcast, Shiva Baby (2020), Metropolitan (1990), and this dog picking and eating a tomato from a garden

Alex Cushing (instagram, twitter, last.fm, goodreads)

🎵 📕 Spotify Audiobook Classics

Recently, Spotify dropped some "podcasts", that are clean and crisp well-narrated classics. I listened to Cane, and then listened to an excellent breakdown of this mixed genre classic. Now I can eagerly dive into another, knowing I have a meticulous breakdown and deep dive waiting for me on the other end. I love to see Spotify putting the effort into getting some great books on here, some A+ tier narration, and even then a solid podcast episode focusing on the details in the books and influencing stories surrounding them. I look forward to whatever may come in the future in the same vein 👀

📕 Outlawed

In this extremely refreshing take on a "western", Ada is a young newly married girl, in a time where being barren was seen as witchcraft. Without going past what you can gather from the back of the book, Ada is quickly forced to leave her town and husband where she joins up with a good ol' fashioned band of barren and rejected outlaws. Check this out for a fun, scrappy, adventurous, and easily digestible read.

🍸 Mark Twain Cocktail

Basically a scotch old fashioned mashed with a whiskey sour, the Mark Twain is a deliciously tart and refreshing drink to mix things up when you’re sick of your more typical sours. To make the MT even cooler, it's named after a legendary author, with a story dating back to a letter Twain wrote his wife, talking about his love for this cocktail — drinking it regularly 3 times a day while in London (perhaps this is some insight into his creative process? You tell me…).
I'd recommend going with freshly squeezed lemons, 2 oz of scotch, a little lighter on the simple syrup (a quick squeeze) and a little heavier on the bitters (~6 - 8 dashes for me) for the pi approved ratio™.

🍳 Baking Steel Skinny Griddle

I pre-ordered one of these a few months back, after being influenced by Kenji. After months of waiting and anticipation, I can finally report that the baking steel is truly worth the wait and steep price. While competing griddle options come in a bit cheaper, and probably a bit less heavy, this griddle is q u a l i t y. It's a massive 23lbs, fits over 2 burners at once, cooks several grilled cheeses simultaneously with room to spare, and cleans easily with a bench scraper. In just the first week of owning it, the wife and I have found a reason to use it at least once (usually more) per day, and I don't see us slowing down.

📣 Shoutouts

Reese Cooper Biker Jacket

Serey Morm (instagram, twitter, vsco)

💨 Nippon Kodo Incense & Incense Holders

Happy one year of quarantine. Shout out to my scented candles and diffuser oils for getting me this far, but I need something stronger. Growing up Bhuddist, incense were everywhere, and I hated them because they always irritated my eyes. I gave Nippon Kodo's Kayuragi incense a shot because they don't have a wooden core, so it's a much cleaner burn. Morning meditations has been extra lax. Shopping for incense has been fun, but you know what’s more fun? Shopping for incense holders. Whole different ball game for decor.

👟 New Balance Tokyo Design Studio

Tokyo Design Studio (TDS) is New Balance's international, Japan-based studio focused solely on simple and honest aesthetics. I really like this subsidiary of New Balance because they pride themselves in getting designs out, rather than refining it to perfection. Their steel grey Niobium Concept boots was what set me off on a wild research tangent for days. Boots? Check. Mule? Check. Slippers? aaand check. All in one design 🤯 . They recently opened a physical retail space to house their pieces called the T-House, I highly recommend following their Instagram page to keep a tab on them!

🎵 SAFE

I'm not sure how relevant this is, but there is a ton of dancehall inspired R&B/Hip-hop from the Toronto music scene. I had a phase where that was all I listened to. It all started when Drake covered Ramriddlz's Sweeterman, and the rest was history. SAFE was one of the Toronto-based artists I found through Soundcloud from that era. He has been putting out consistent tracks throughout the years, I highly recommend listening to any of his albums he has put out, mainly because they're very similar in terms of production and vibe. His new track Trap Smarter has been on repeat for me these last few weeks, and it’s bringing back the 2017 nostalgia.

🍔 Homemade Burger Buns

Probably one of the best things I've baked so far this year are burger buns. This specific recipe from Joshua Weissman(dope cooking channel btw) creates a half-brioche, half-Japanese milkbread that's suuuper good when toasted with some butter. I combined these buns with his fried chicken recipe, and hot take? It might be better than Popeyes AND Chic-fil-A 🤷‍♀️

🗞  Extra! Extra!

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 friendswithanimals(fwa) — fun new brand, basics dropping March 6

Follow Tyler, Alex, & Serey on Instagram for more.

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