When my eyes are open, I’m working.
I fell asleep at a birthday dinner last weekend.
Today’s letter is free to all readers because it’s sponsored by Brooklinen.
On Saturday night, I fell asleep at a new friend’s birthday dinner. It was actually my fiancé’s friend from college. The dinner was in a gorgeous private dining room at a restaurant in the West Village, and by course four at 11pm, I felt myself dozing off in a room full of strangers. We left before dessert.
In the morning I texted a few friends to cancel dinners and drinks for this week. Sorry guys. I realized that the night prior, I had hit a wall. I wasn’t sleeping enough — early trains to D.C. for controversial party reporting, late-nights scrolling to read commentary about said party reporting which undoubtedly messed up my circadian rhythm, saying yes to every weekend plan regardless of the borough, plus a mild but noteworthy addiction to my YMCA.
I’d rather not fall asleep at any more birthday dinners this year. So I’m trying to get a little better being awake, which I think is doable if I ask for help and think about which routines and habits are worth keeping vs. changing. My motto for the last few months has been, “When my eyes are open, I’m working.” To some of you this might sound wack, but I think some entrepreneurs will know exactly what I mean.
When Brooklinen reached out to see if there was a way to work with Feed Me (although if you scroll back to old Feed Me selfies, you’ll see I’ve been a customer), I was excited to invite you all into my bedroom and talk about how their mossy-green sheets have hidden my coffee spills and made my bed feel luxuriously cozy (returning to my room after traveling and hotel stays is euphoric). I wanted to talk about how the waffle blanket comes with me around my apartment from my bed to my coffee machine to my couch. But I don’t think you read Feed Me to hear about home decor — I think there are writers far better at writing about that than me. Based on past Q+A’s and the emails I receive from readers, I think you want to read about how to build a newsletter business and plan a wedding and have a social life and keep an apartment clean and see your family and also…sleep. Brooklinen bedding isn’t just set dressing — their linens and blanket have created a bedroom in which I’m happier, and a bed in which I sleep deeper.
Later this week, I’m going to record a more in-depth audio newsletter about this topic, so if you have questions or reactions or methods of your own to prioritize rest, leave them in the comment section.
J.Crew and Gossier’s social teams have been commissioning artists to get extra attention around recent campaigns. J.Crew has been doing a ton of promotion around their Black Cherry products, and this week they posted a photo of an other-worldly cherry cake which was constructed by Brooklyn-based baker, Yip Studio. Over on J.Crew’s Instagram, collage artist María Rec created some scrapbook-y paper reconstructions of J.Crew’s newest sweaters and accessories. I feel like a few years ago, you’d only get a project like this greenlit if there was a way to use these assets beyond the Instagram feed, like on the site or in emails. But now teams are able to track the value of being served creativity, instead of being sold products… at least for a few posts.
Kanye West has the same gym playlist as your boyfriend did in high school!
It’s no surprise that everyone’s favorite hot Instagram chef, Pierce Abernathy, has become a movie star. “A trans woman goes on three consecutive dates with straight men. As the men grapple with their fragile masculinity, their sexual identities unravel in frantic monologues ironically delivered to the object of their desires.” The film, Sweet Talkin’ Guy, is already getting great reception. If you have dreams of making it to Hollywood, just keep posting those Reels of yourself making fried kohlrabi with braised leeks!
This conversation between Interview Magazine’s Mel Ottenberg and Bryan Johnson is pretty incredible. Mel visited Bryan’s weird mansion to try out his gadgets and talk to him about boners and magnesium.
“White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt just announced that creators, podcasters, and others reporting news outside of traditional media outlets can apply to sit in the briefing room.” I applied, don’t worry guys.
’s baby nursery is on Arch Digest!!! This is the kind of traffic-driving story that will create baby nursery obsessions for people who can’t even get a response on Hinge. Would love to see which other chic pregnant people are getting emails from the AD team this week.
Jake Shane is going on quite the tour. And his announcement video must’ve had QUITE the budget! 36 shows (including Radio City, Austin during SXSW, and New Orleans during Mardi Gras), special guests, and I’m sure plenty of press along the way. Putting Shane’s business plans next to his friend Alex Cooper’s is an interesting comparison — one is going on a traditional tour, inviting his super fans, sponsors and friends into his world. The other has headlines every week about additions to her growing business. This morning, Marie Claire announced Cooper as their cover star for The Mogul Issue. In the interview, she outlined why Unwell is launching Unwell Music (“I like to pregame with my friends to music. When you're working out, when you're in college, when I was studying for a test, I was a music person.”) and a dial-in radio show. These projects in addition to all the new characters joining the Unwell universe are a lot. I hope Cooper’s hiring well.
Me as hell. New York restaurants want in on an influx of NoLa tourists during the Super Bowl. Brooklyn-based (and Amagansett-based..) pizzeria Fini Pizza and Rao’s are heading down to New Orleans for a pop-up from February 3-9. It’s made possible by Fiserv, one of the world’s biggest payment processors, and Clover, which is their owned and operated Square competitor.
ICE's new quota for agents in New York and New Jersey is 75 arrests per day. “New York state is home to an estimated 672,000 immigrants without legal status as of 2022, including 412,000 in New York City. The majority, 52%, of those immigrants have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade.” This administration has been monstrous so far. We’re in the “before courts and lawmakers can stop us,” phase — these people are coming in hot with all these changes faster than people can respond.
Does anyone know what went wrong with the Chanel beauty store in Soho? Friend of the letter Gracie Wiener posted this on her Instagram Story. I really liked walking around that store. They also had that cool back room for 1:1 fragrance consultations. But they didn’t do much marketing around the store and their services!
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It makes me sick to read about immigration quotas. What makes me most sick is these people don't have a moral objection to immigration, to those who are undocumented. Under the guise of "protecting Americans," "putting Americans first," and "asking people to follow the law" is nothing more than a big fat $.
From a recent Forbes article that is actually good:
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When Trump was declared the projected winner of the 2024 presidential election, the stock price of Geo Group and CoreCivic, two of the largest for-profit operators of prisons and immigration detention centers in the U.S., shot up 74% and 55% respectively. Shortly after the election, during CoreCivic’s quarterly earnings conference call with its investors, its president and chief operating officer, Damon Hininger, commented on the election results:
“First, I want to just give a few observations on the state side and then talk a little bit about the federal side. But let me just first say I've had the good fortune to be with the company well over 32 years. We have seen during that period of time significant events during that history where elections have kind of changed the course on policy and sentiment on certain issues. And it feels like with the election this year, we're heading into an era that we really haven’t seen, maybe only once or twice in the company's history, where the value proposition of the private sector for both our state partners and our federal partners are going to be not only strong today but even stronger as we go into the next couple of years. So, I want to start with that.”
Article link — https://www.forbes.com/sites/michellembekeani/2025/01/12/will-mass-deportation-be-a-moneymaker-for-private-prisons/
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I do not believe there is an idealistic element to the mind-boggling increase in raids and deportations. Any materialist glance shows a system in which a handful of companies successfully lobbied for a second Trump presidency in hopes of monopolizing/profiting off government contracts with no regard for the material effects this has on people's lives.
I think all people, but New Yorkers especially, need to really reflect on the role of immigration in this brilliant city and how these changes are going to not only threaten a place we love and enjoy, but have dire consequences for hundreds of thousands of people just trying to make a life here like the rest of us–all so that a handful of already rich people can get richer.
I am pretty obsessed with Brian Johnson, but in a low-key way (I don't follow him on any platform, but if I see his content I'll usually watch...). In this era of great grifters, he is my favorite grifter. I love how he is obsessed with his boners and yet, seems entirely uninterested in using them... Incredible! I don't get his haters... let him do his thing. FWIW, I think Mel looks better? Brian Johnson has crossed into uncanny valley territory. He looks like when they put make up on corpses for open casket funerals. But I support his efforts... boys with toys!
I did read a Reddit thread that investigated how his supplements don't have what they say in them... which sounds about right. Last summer, in a moment of "why the hell not?" I bought his cocoa powder. It tastes like shit. Probably the worst I've had. I need to figure out what to do with it.