Long Weekend, Longer Lines
Julia Rose Eng is wondering how we're all ending up at the same spots every weekend. Are we too beholden to the algorithm?
Dearest readers,
We’re back. Last weekend was the best weekend ever. Who doesn’t want to play Never Have I Ever with their girls and new grads at Time Again, then book it back home to jump into the pool?
Memorial Day weekend is nearly here, which (I am told) is the unofficial beginning of summer. It appears that April has arrived late, and we’re in for a wet weekend of showers, drizzles, sprinkles, etc. I wish I could report the state of the city to you, but I’m back where I started: my childhood bedroom in the Jersey suburbs, where my parents inexplicably let me hang a poster of Kate Moss, nude, above my record player when I was fifteen.
This week, there’s a dress code at the Cannes Film Festival, a Jackson Pollock painting sells for $181.2 million, and the CEO of Barnes & Noble says yes to AI-generated books. In other not-so-news, my friends and I are discussing whether dining, and maybe even living, in New York City has become a little too algorithmic.
Congratulations to all who graduated this week, if we have any class of ‘26 readers! Hopefully, your commencement speakers weren’t too boring, and you’re celebrating hard.
Suburban-ly yours,
Julia
Culture Notes
Do we ever really know what’s going on in Cannes? I don’t (sorry). What I do know is that they implemented a strict no-nudity policy on the red carpet in 2025. Despite this, the naked dress refuses to die. Kristen Stewart wore sheer Chanel with sneakers. Bella Hadid wore a tight-fitting Jane Birkin-inspired Schiaparelli gown. And John Travolta’s wearing a lot of berets. If you’re longing for some beautiful views and quippy commentary on the French Riviera, watch Agnes Varda’s 1958 short film, Along the Coast.
A big week for the art world: a Jackson Pollock “drip” painting from 1948 sells for $181.2 million at a Sotheby’s auction. This puts the painting up there in the rarified air of works of art sold at the nine-figure mark. I didn’t understand Pollock until I read Greenberg and Rosenberg’s essays on his work, which are both fascinating if you want to understand contemporary art. In the same auction, a Brancusi sculpture sold for $107.6 million. Frieze New York and TEFAF also took place this week, at the Shed and the Armory, respectively.
B&N CEO James Daunt sat down with Today’s Jenna Hager on Monday and told her that they’d stock AI-generated books, but only if readers wanted them. I have a sneaking suspicion that they won’t—if you wanted to read AI-generated books, you generate them yourself! Endless supply = zero demand. In the same vein, an allegedly AI-generated short story has won a prize from Granta, and 7 million people were fooled into criticizing an AI-generated “Monet” painting…that was actually a real Monet. Strange, strange times.
New York City is becoming too algorithmic and performative for some. This tweet about the NYC froyo ‘epidemic’ got me thinking about how we choose where we eat, drink, and spend time in the city. A lot of it is see-and-be-seen, sure. I love a cheeky evening at Le Dive too. But there’s also something to be said about desiring the things that others desire. I could say something about Girardian theories on mimetic desire, but I’ll leave it at that. Maybe part of the product is waiting in line and having a wonderful conversation. You could also just not think too hard about it and enjoy the froyo, the spritz, whatever it may be.
Latest from Us
“An Art Fair the Size of a City” by Gutes Guterman. At CONDO, there’s no convention center, no booths, no badges. Just a city full of galleries opening their doors.
“200 Words with Owen Lang” by Owen Lang. Notes on emojis: our culture’s contemporary hieroglyphics.
What We’re Doing this Weekend
SOME HAPPENINGS FROM OUR TEAM AND FRIENDS:
JULIA: Writing, reading, and then writing more. Praying for the sun to come out so I can take myself on a little hike or swim in Jersey before I head back into the city to see my sorority big sister, Dora. We’re having dinner at Pastis, which will no doubt pale in comparison to what she’s been eating for the past few months.
GUTES: It’s a long weekend, and we’re approaching a print deadline (you heard it here first, folks…OUT OF BODY COMING TO A NEWSSTAND NEAR YOU SOON), which means I’ll be locked into a computer for the most part and making it everyone else’s problem!
MEG: As I write this, I am sitting at Gem Home and enjoying some coconut curry soup and flying by the seat of my pants, toggling between projects. This is exactly what I intend to do all weekend long. Everyone knows the best time to be in Manhattan is when everyone leaves, so I’m staying put. I’d like to walk to Books Are Magic and find my next conquest. I have essays to edit for our Out of Body issue. We’re going to do an hours-long power session at Miss Madeline Montoya’s house. If I’m lucky, I’ll find time to jump into the water at Rockaway, hopefully early and before the crowds arrive.
Our Out of Body Issue arrives next month! In the meantime, stay up to date with us at bylinebyline.com.