Rec Center #4: November

Four things I recommend this month

Nov 26, 2024

Welcome to the November edition of Rec Center! See previous recommendations from October, September, and August. The world may be going to hell in a hand basket around us, but at least there are four things this month that I can vouch for. Drop a comment if you try any of these recs!

Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

Photo from thewoksoflife.com because I forgot to take a picture of mine!

Still looking for a last-minute, show-stopping Thanksgiving dessert to bring on Thursday? Look no further. I made this pumpkin tres leches cake from The Woks of Life (my go-to Chinese recipe website) for a Friendsgiving meal a couple of weeks ago, and it was such a hit that I’m making it again this week for the big day.

In my house, we love tres leches cake, and the multiple Mexican and Salvadoran bakeries in our neighborhood make it a dangerous obsession. My only quibble about the bakery versions is that they are usually cloyingly sweet. I had a hunch that the Woks of Life version would be not too sweet—the highest praise for an Asian dessert. Happily, I was right. It’s topped with lightly sweetened cinnamon whipped cream, which brings out the warm pumpkin and milk flavors better than a sugary frosting would. I made only one modification to the recipe: no need to turn out the cake onto a platter when it’s done baking— I just kept it in the baking dish to soak in the milk mixture and finish it with the spiced whipped cream.

Just know that it needs to chill in the fridge overnight to let the milks soak into the cake, so start baking on Wednesday.

Revolutions Podcast, Season 11 - The Martian Revolution

The current season of Mike Duncan’s Revolutions podcast is something different. Duncan is one of the OG podcasters, starting with the History of Rome podcast in 2007-2012 and then producing ten seasons of the Revolutions podcast, covering (you guessed it) a granular history of revolutions all over the globe. The last season ended two years ago and covered the Russian Revolutions in exquisite and engaging detail.

Now the show is back, but this time Duncan is applying his signature well-researched yet conversational style to a future history of the Martian Revolution. Speaking from a vantage point several hundred years in the future, he recounts all the twists and turns of the Earth-Mars relationship and the rise of corporate interplanetary overlords in pedantic detail, citing primary and secondary sources with sometimes conflicting interpretations of these future events.

It’s brilliant. A sci-fi future history podcast about Mars is so far up my alley it’s like he made it for me. The premise is A+ and so far (five episodes in) the execution is flawless. It’s funny but not overly jokey. If you’re an info-tainment junkie like me, you’ll love it. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever.

I happen to be writing a novel about an uprising on Mars. Luckily, Duncan seems to be taking things in a different direction, so I don’t have to scrap the ~260 pages I’ve written so far.

The Penguin (HBO/Max)

If you’re sick like me, when the world is bleak you turn to even bleaker media to unwind. The Penguin is a worthy distraction in this category. Set in a ruined Gotham after the events of the movie The Batman (2022), The Penguin charts the rise of classic Batman villain Penguin, played by a near-unrecognizable Colin Farrell. If you have selective Batman amnesia and remember nothing about the DC Comics canon (like me), or never engaged with Batman in any way, you can still watch and enjoy the show as a twist on classic organized crime dramas. If you’ve been reading Batman comics since you were five and have seen every show and movie, I’m told there are some Easter eggs for you to enjoy.

I’m not sure what possessed Colin Farrell’s agents to agree to have him spend hours every day in makeup to be transformed from the Irish heartthrob we all know him to be into a heavyset, cleft-lipped, club-footed, balding, repulsive schlub, but the gamble paid off and he delivered a powerful and convincing performance as a psychopathic loser with just enough sick charm and pathos to make you question your sympathies. Even stronger was Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, heiress to the reigning Italian crime family in Gotham, whose transformation from villain to victim to avenging angel plays out in her incredibly large and expressive eyes.

Sofia Falcone’s flawless, deranged eyeliner in The Penguin. Copyright HBO or Max or whatever it’s called these days.

I’d like to linger a moment on Sofia Falcone’s appearance. Her chic, edgy wardrobe and makeup are impeccable. If I were rich, I’d dress like Sofia Falcone every day. And I’d do my makeup like her just to let the world know I’m an unhinged bitch. Her eyeliner is a revelation. I’ve been a liquid eyeliner girlie for the last 12 years, notwithstanding an unfortunate pandemic-era lapse in judgment when I switched to smudgy brown pencil eyeliner, and I feel most like myself with a pair of sharp, jet-black cat-eye wings. Sofia Falcone’s eyeliner challenges me to level up my look. (Eyeliner rec: Stila Stay-All-Day Liquid Eyeliner pen, Black. Forever and always. If they ever discontinue this product, I’ll retire from makeup.)

There are a few plot holes and little stupid mistakes that big budget shows like this seem contractually obligated to make— e.g. you’re telling me that the savvy crime boss didn’t smell the gasoline as soon as they walked in?!— but in general, the characters make logical choices that are consistent with their personalities and histories. In other words, the show is (mostly) internally coherent, which is how I judge these things. Worth a watch.

Sona Wang

The author and her mom at the National Portrait Gallery for the centennial celebration of women’s suffrage.

My mother’s name is Sona Wang.

The author and her mom at Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, 2024.

It’s my mom’s birthday this week, and after 31 years of experience as her daughter, I can confidently say that I recommend the experience of having her as my mother without reservation. My Umma is a brilliant, savvy, powerful, fierce, beautiful, stylish woman. Her dedication to her family is awesome in the classical sense of the word. I owe all of my audacity to her. And all the best pieces in my wardrobe.

Sona Wang in Cincinnati, late 1980s. What a casual, sporty babe!

From post-war Seoul to the slums of Los Angeles to Stanford Engineering to the Windy City, my mom has embodied the American Dream, never taking anything for granted and yet always hungry for more. I aspire to be half as driven about anything as she is about everything that she pursues.

Sona Wang, style icon, and future husband, mid-1980s.

I’m very sorry for the all but one of you who cannot take up my recommendation of having Sona Wang as your mother. Maybe if you are very good in this life, you can be reborn as her child in the next life.