PicoBlog

Collecting watches can be a thrilling hobby, with the need to make quick decisions based on limited information, or the requirement to exercise patience for extended periods with no guarantee of success. It's a hobby that tests one's patience, persistence, and true passion. Here is the story of my four-year pursuit of the foundational piece in the iconic Audemars Piguet (AP) Royal Oak family. After searching my email archive, I confirmed that I started bombarding AP boutiques with inquiries in February 2019.

I’ll admit it. This was a pinch-me moment. Getting to interview Guy Raz—host of the top podcasts “How I Built This” and “Wow in the World” and one of the pioneers of podcasting? Count me in. This conversation went in a bunch of unexpected directions. And that’s what’s so fun about it. After all, podcasting is all about bringing audio back and turning learning into leisure. And the question Guy and his partner Mindy Thomas asked a while back was: Why not bring kids in on the fun?

I’m not gonna lie, the news out of Washington, D.C., this morning has me questioning the frivolity of sending out a post about classic movie stars when the SCOTUS is preparing to send us all back to the era in which classic movie stars lived. But the piece was written yesterday and I’ll go ahead and post it as a reminder that grace can exist on earth and to remember a woman whose political activism as UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador centered around helping children who were wanted, are here, and are suffering.

Note: This newsletter is supported by Rohrbach Brewing Co., a pioneering craft brewery in the city of Rochester. After opening a brewery in 2016, Mark Grimaldi and Joe Shelton admitted they didn’t get really serious about the project until four years later. Since the start of the pandemic, Aurora Brewing, located in King Ferry, Cayuga County, has been reborn after opening a new taproom, finding a recognizable visual identity through labels designed by artist Tony Walker, embracing hazy IPAs, and constructing a bigger kitchen.

The Dakota Scout By The Dakota Scout South Dakota’s leading alternative, independent and locally owned newspaper focusing on culture and politics in the Mount Rushmore State. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @TheDakotaScout and on Facebook www.facebook.com/TheDakotaScout ncG1vNJzZmirpZfAta3CpGWcp51kjaLB0q2gp5%2BfqMA%3D

In this issue, I interview Austin Winery CEO and co-founder Ross Mclauchlan, based in, you guessed it, Austin, Texas. The state grows some of the USA’s most exciting and diverse range of grapes—over 42 species of grapes grow in Texas. As CEO, Ross has led The Austin Winery (an urban winery in the heart of Austin) for ten years, building relationships with local growers, introducing a new generation of Texans to natural wine, and fostering a strong community that values local agriculture.

I used to mouth off online a lot. I’d see something getting traction, often something dunking on someone, and I’d think, “Lemme get in on this.” It was fun and it was easy. A muscle gay would post a video of himself at the gym with some kind of caption about experiencing “body dystopia” and with the consistency of a G-train delay, I’d screenshot it accompanied by my then-signature Meryl Streep screaming in Big Little Lies.

From the time I was 10, I’ve been obsessed with what it means to grow older. I’m curious about what it means to others, of all ages, and so I invite them to take “The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire.”Here, celebrated bestselling author responds. -Sari BottonP.S. A reminder that in my book, everyone who is alive and aging is considered an Oldster, and that every contributor to this magazine is the oldest they have ever been, which is interesting new territory for them—and interesting to me, the 58-year-old who publishes this.

Prachi’svital, heartbreaking, radical memoir, “They Called Us Exceptional”, is one that will stay with me for a long, long time. The bravery with which she pens the most intimate details of her life is astounding — and the writing itself is stunning, to boot. To read this book is to push at the edges of our own understanding. To interrupt the stories that we’ve been told -- about our culture, our identity, our understanding of love.