A Holiday Feast: Pleasurable Encounters

Pleasurable Recommendations by Yours, Truly

Welcome to the brand-new Pleasurable Encounters series, a way to share some recent Pleasures I’ve experienced, and a recommendation guide of sorts for Pleasure-seeking. I hope some of these Pleasures provide inspiration for you to go out and gather some of your own Pleasure, and guide you towards a closer encounter with personal joy. I hope to make these recommendations part of paid subscriptions in the future, so please do subscribe and upgrade as to not miss out.

These Encounters range the gamut Ω —from experienced Pleasure, to select objects that provide tangible Pleasure, to brushes with the the austere and the ostentatious. Some weeks may lean more practical i.e. things you can commodify and replicate, other weeks more personal, i.e. a peek into my diary, a moment shared. Let me know your thoughts, your Pleasures and more below. Just in time for the holiday season, I’ve curated a collection of the most pleasurable encounters I’ve experienced in the last few weeks.

This Week’s Pleasurable Encounters:

• An interview with Sophie Calle in which the following quote comes to life:

“It’s not up to me to determine my category. I don’t really give a damn!” — Sophie Calle

Sophie Calle’s work The Sleepers | Les Dormeurs, 1979.

• I am completely and absolutely enthralled with the movie Maria starring Angelina Jolie. I went in to the iconic Angelika Theater at 4pm for a late afternoon screening, surrounded by old people and the smell of buttered popcorn. I left at dark, city lights twinkling, sauntering through the streets of quiet SoHo absolutely enthralled. You best believe I played the opera soundtrack blasting at full volume in my apartment the next day.

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  A post shared by @nytstyle

Like many peers I surveyed later that week, Maria Callas’ name is and was oddly unknown to a lot of my people my age (unless you are an opera aficionado or grew up cultured). I was first introduced to Maria Callas through a book I read and loved while in grad school, The Queen's Throat by Wayne Koestenbaum, which I highly recommend checking out. The film was the first time I actually heard Callas’ voice and music, an intoxicating, spellbinding aural sensation that snakes around and wraps you up with its bewitching melody.

• The Craft Feast at Stissing House (

  Stissing World
  ) with
  Clare de Boer
  of
  The Best Bit
  . A truly sumptuous, magnificent feast filled with artists selling the most beautiful ceramics, wooden spoons, handmade textiles like my friend Josie’s brilliant Studio Ford, a six-foot long basket of Clare’s famous Chewy Ginger cake and holiday celebrations to the umpteenth degree. I don’t know that another holiday gathering will ever trump the festive spirit of this two-day event.
  studio_ford

  

  A post shared by @studio_ford

  

  _gazoz

  

  A post shared by @_gazoz

marthastewart48

A post shared by @marthastewart48

clare.deboer

A post shared by @clare.deboer

• A Sagittarius birthday dinner at Borgo in NYC where I had cakes aplenty

• BOOKS! In no particular order, here’s my list of books I’ve read in the last 6 months:

  

Some I loved, some I hated, but you’ll have to message me to find out which is which.

So, what are your Pleasures, experienced and found? Do let me know below.

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Coming Soon: Pleasurable Prescriptions…

…A new advice column in which I provide an Rx Prescription for those in need of Pleasure. Are you Weary, Lethargic, Lacking Vigor? Drop me your Pleasure queries below, and I’ll write a prescription to boost your Pleasure in forthcoming installations.

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In Case You Missed It:

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Pleasures, Curated

Each week a member from The Pleasure Lists community curates a selection of their Pleasures, along with a Q&A about what makes them tick. Become a paid subscriber so you don’t miss out!

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Why submit a list?

Pleasure Lists are a summary of what you need, want, or have, or see at a particular moment in time. They are a survey, an overview, a summary of the crucial facts of the state of one aspect of your life. It’s a kind of blueprint that can be a guide to the future. 

Mull it over and if you’re moved to, send me a list.

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Join the chat below to connect with other members of the Pleasure List community:

Questions? Comments? Send any recommendations or suggestions for what you’d like to see in these newsletters my way. I’d love to hear more about what you’re currently finding Pleasure in.

Please share this newsletter! The Pleasure Lists is meant to be a collaborative project that calls people from all over to write, read, and share their pleasures — a global community of artists, writers, and pondering minds alike.