Piggybacking through an alien invasion

On a normal day, Victoria Beckham is unstoppable. But piggybacking on David's back as she left her 50th birthday party this weekend, she appeared invincible.

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Imagine we’re in the midst of an alien invasion, running for cover and trying desperately to avoid being sucked up by a slimy creature. It’s apocalyptic chaos. What do you do? In a panic, maybe you’d try to call the police (futile, they’re running too). Or you’d call the taxman and declare, finally, you’d underpaid and were ready to do time as long as they’d keep you safe inside a minimum security prison (too late, he never had mercy on you and he certainly won’t start now. He’s saving himself). Maybe you’re ready to leave Earth and gleefully exclaim: “Beam me up, Scotty!” My method of escape would be to shut my eyes really tight and wish to be whisked away to safety as if I were Victoria Beckham on David’s back. Exactly like this, and preferably in these shoes:

That’s how I would hope to spend my final moments before being snatched skyward. 

Welcome to Quality Sheet! Let’s dive in.

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“Now, strangers will just tell my dog he’s an asshole,” Bindu Bansinath writes in The Cut, about her observations of increased hostility towards dogs and their owners in her Brooklyn neighbourhood. With more than 600,000 dogs in New York City, she notes a few dwellers are tired of seeing them everywhere.

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Pet rocks are reportedly all the rage in South Korea, where some people are rehoming pebbles to help deal with loneliness and burnout. Stones are attractive because “they don’t change and give people a sense of stability,” a professor at Korea University tells the Wall Street Journal. The playful trend is reminiscent of a 70s fad and is apparently proving lucrative for savvy entrepreneurs. Still, for some, even an inanimate object is too much work. “Wouldn’t it be easier to have an imaginary friend?” one person commented under the story.

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In today’s installment of ‘questions a child once asked you that you unfortunately didn’t have the answers to,’ we’re wondering: Why do giraffes have long necks? Atmos compiles a few theories behind the evolution of the “strange beast.” Related: A 2022 study of fossil evidence suggests the animal evolved this way to optimise eating and fighting.

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I’m working my way through T Magazine’s study of the birth, persistence, death and rebirth of a creative life. If there’s one thing you read from today’s selection, make it this! 

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Parental regret is a taboo exemplified by the fact that R. O. Kwon, who wrote about the topic in Time this week, could not find people willing to go on the record with their experiences of it. But a few did talk to Kwon—with names changed—about their complex feelings around parenthood, not having anyone to talk to about their regret, and coming to terms with the irreversibility of the decision. “I love [my daughters]. I just don't love the choice I made,” one parent says.

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Sonja Morgan, everyone’s favourite townhouse owner on the Upper East Side, spills to Interview Magazine about where her sense of humour comes from and her new improv comedy show. Will will the former RHONY star be on the next season of The Traitors? Which Beverly Hills Housewife is she closest with? She’s almost mentioning it all. In the artiste’s own words: “Life is not a cabaret, but it can be Caburlesque.”

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On that note, thank you for reading. Share to sweeten someone’s day—and have a lovely rest of your week!

Isabel :)

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