The Morning: Savoring the end of summer

If you love summer, you don't have to let it go. Not yet, at least.

View in browser|nytimes.com August 24, 2024 Good morning. Summer's coming to a close soon. Regardless of how you feel about the passage, you're still, to some extent, in control of how you spend the time. María Jesús Contreras Out of season You are going to encounter people this weekend who will tell you that there's one week left of summer. You don't have to believe them. You don't have to be one of them. You can join me and the other equinoctials (do you think this term could catch on?) who live by the almanac. We're not going gentle into our woolly cardigans until Sept. 22, the actual first day of fall. We're savoring every last tomato, still sentimental about late sunsets, weirdly fond of that residual itch in a fading mosquito bite. Every time summer turns to fall, I do this. I try to articulate to anyone who will indulge me why one time of year is better than another, to make a case for why light and warm is superior to dark and cold. It's a losing game: I'm burning whatever daylight is left arguing for why the earth should revolve differently, powerless against nature. I feel like Werner Herzog in "Burden of Dreams," railing at the jungle: "Even the stars up here in the sky look like a mess. There is no harmony in the universe." There is no harmony in the universe, so we try to create some with the calendar. Labor Day arrives and we shift gears, shift wardrobes and menus and mind-sets. Maybe our gaits get faster. Summer self is self-indulgent; fall self is all determination. Summer self puts things off and fall self gets things done. There's a harmony and a rhythm to our seasonal incarnations that keeps things interesting, divides existence intomovements: adagio, andante, allegro. "Transitions are hard," a colleague said to me today. She was joking around, being melodramatic about how she'd just arrived at the office and needed a minute to collect herself before a meeting began. But the transition from summer to fall, as anyone who's ever tried to get a child ready for the first day of school can tell you, can be a particularly challenging one. And it doesn't necessarily get better when you're decades removed from going to school yourself. Summer's all potential, all expectation. The end of summer is, inevitably, some of that potential unrealized, some of those expectations unmet. A little mourning might be appropriate. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Whether you believe that summer's finito in a week or that we've still got time, there's this weekend to exploit. This weekend, late August, 2024, wherever you find yourself, however you find yourself. Will you be stocking up on school supplies? Dropping someone off at college? Will you spend the weekend hunting down the perfect peach? Maybe you're working, or worrying, or lying in a hammock watching the clouds. What do you want to do? How do you want things to go? This weekend, like every weekend, you've got choices. For more How to cope with fall anxiety. "In August, I feel acutely how lucky I am to belong to a species for whom yearning has no season." Margaret Renkl on the end of summer. It's not too late to attend to your summer bucket list. THE WEEK IN CULTURE Film and TV Phil Donahue in 1973. via Everett Collection Phil Donahue, who died this week at 88, will be remembered as the king of daytime television. Here are three episodes that help explain his dominance. "Blink Twice," directed by Zoë Kravitz and starring her fiancé, Channing Tatum, is one of 10 movies our critics reviewed this week. "Rings of Power," the "Lord of the Rings" prequel series, returns on Amazon Prime next week. The second season has more creatures, and more evil. Wesley Morris became a film critic in 1999, a hallmark year for cinema. "Best. Movie. School. Ever," he writes. Read his retrospective. Lionsgate retracted a trailer for "Megalopolis," the new Francis Ford Coppola film, after a reporter at Vulture uncovered that it used fake quotations from critics. Chick-fil-A plans to present original family-friendly programming on its own streaming platform, Deadline reports. This season of "Love Island U.S.A." has been the franchise's most popular ever and has even outranked "The Bear" on streaming. Read takeaways from the reunion show. The film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's "It Ends With Us" depicts domestic abuse. Experts weighed in on the accuracy of its portrayal. Music Cash Cobain, right, in Coney Island. Andre D. Wagner for The New York Times With lusty rhymes and unorthodox samples, the rapper and producer Cash Cobain has become a central figure in the genre known as "sexy drill." Taylor Swift said she felt guilt and fear over canceling her shows in Vienna because of a terrorist plot. Charles Cross, a Seattle music writer who charted the rise of grunge and wrote acclaimed biographies of Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, died at 67. Other Culture Stories At the Edinburgh Fringe festival, the comedian Hannah Gadsby debuted a new stand-up show that leans into fears and mental health worries. Rick Steves, the popular travel guidebook writer, said he was being treated for prostate cancer. THE LATEST NEWS 2024 Election Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Arizona yesterday. Thomas Machowicz/Reuters Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Donald Trump. He said he was dropping off the ballot in battleground states to avoid helping Kamala Harris and campaigned with Trump in Arizona. At a Nevada event, Trump thanked Kennedy for his endorsement and repeated his claim that undocumented immigrants were taking "African-American jobs," adding, "A lot of those jobs are Hispanic jobs, too." Harris unleashed energy and joy at the Democratic convention, The Times's Peter Baker writes. But she and the party must now channel that into a sprint to Election Day. Trump, who has said he had "no regrets" about appointing Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, claimed on social media that his administration will be "great" for women's reproductive rights. The Secret Service reassigned five agents, including one from Trump's personal detail, over security failures that led to the assassination attempt against him. Nebraska voters will decide between two abortion-related ballot measures in November — one to protect abortion rights, the other to limit them. Other Big Stories Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, strongly signaled that the Fed would cut interest rates next month. "The time has come for policy to adjust," he said, citing falling inflation and rising unemployment. Texas and 15 other Republican-led states sued to halt a Biden administration program aimed at giving citizenship to undocumented immigrants married to Americans. Negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza will continue next week. Israel's desire to maintain a military presence along the Egypt-Gaza border after the war is among the sticking points. The Justice Department and several states filed an antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, alleging that the real estate company's software let landlords collude to raise rents. Italian divers recovered the body of the British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch's daughter, ending the search for survivors after Lynch's yacht sank in a storm. Subscribe Today The Morning highlights a small portion of the journalism that The New York Times offers. To access all of it, become a subscriber with this introductory offer. CULTURE CALENDAR By Desiree Ibekwe 🎸 Short 'n' Sweet (Out now): Sabrina Carpenter became pretty famous this year. Her song "Espresso" was near ubiquitous, so much so that it started a conspiracy theory about why Spotify seemed to be recommending it to everyone, no matter their taste. Carpenter also supported Taylor Swift on tour, and social media buzzed about her relationship with the "Saltburn" star Barry Keoghan. Given her sudden ubiquity, it might be surprising learn that this is Carpenter's sixth album. Her star has been a slow burner. She was, as Shaad D'Souza wrote in The Times, formerly a member of "pop's middle class": internet favorites whose celebrity outmatched their commercial success. This album — and her tour, which begins next month — will likely solidify her pop ascendancy. RECIPE OF THE WEEK Christopher Simpson for The New York Times By Melissa Clark Sweet Corn Pudding It's been an excellent corn season here in the Northeast, with the ears in green-husked profusion at farmers' markets everywhere. I like to spend the first few weeks of corn season devouring them simply, just boiled, buttered and salted. But a month in, it's time to branch out and add juicy kernels to salads, sautés, sheet-pan meals and even dessert. Eric Kim's sweet corn pudding is a mild, creamy custard based on majarete, a popular treat in parts of Latin America. It's made by simmering corn cobs in milk, then using the infused liquid as the base of a cornstarch-thickened pudding scented with vanilla. As an added bonus, the cook gets to nibble on the milk-poached corn on the cob, a delicious byproduct that gives you something to snack on while waiting for the custard to chill. REAL ESTATE Alane Kruk Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times The Hunt: A retired schoolteacher sought a new start in Southern California with less than $800,000. Which home did she choose? Play our game. What you get for $3 million: A 1911 Arts and Crafts estate in Portland, Ore.; a four-bed, four-bath in Charlotte, N.C.; or an 1870 brick townhouse in Boston. LIVING Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Maggie Shannon for The New York Times Relationships: The breakup of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck shows the risks of rekindling a romance. Here are four questions to ask before reuniting with an ex. Calm spaces: Airlines and hotels are working to ease the challenges of neurodivergent travelers. Letter of Recommendation: "I kept failing to learn French. This is what finally worked." Mental health: Matthew Perry's death has shone a harsh light on the use of ketamine to treat depression. Dreaded drops: Do you really need dilation at every eye exam? Here's what the evidence suggests. ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER Good drugstore beauty products Wirecutter's beauty editors have kissed a lot of frogs: sticky lip glosses, chalky foundations, noxious shampoos … the list goes on. They've also learned that hidden among the thousands of beauty items crowding drugstore shelves are some stellar standouts, like cheap-but-effective skin care, great hair tools and makeup dupes for much pricier brands. They've compiled the best finds in this guide to the best drugstore beauty products. A good drugstore product is not only inexpensive and readily available, but it's also one you find yourself buying again and again. — Hannah Morrill GAME OF THE WEEK Japan's Taiyo Honryo facing Venezuela on Thursday. Tom E. Puskar/Associated Press Little League World Series: Four teams of kids are competing for youth sports glory this weekend in Williamsport, Pa., and the rest of us get to enjoy some nostalgic fun. This is for anyone who took part in Little League, or cheered for a sibling in left field, or rode their bike down to the park to hang out and eat junk food while a game played out nearby. Taoyuan City, Taiwan, plays Barquisimeto, Venezuela, in the international final today at 12:30 p.m. Eastern. The U.S. final — Boerne, Texas, vs. Lake Mary, Fla. — follows at 3:30 p.m. The winners play in the championship tomorrow. All games on ABC NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangrams were potable and tabletop. Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week's headlines. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. — Melissa Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Need help? 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