What I’m Digging This Week

A few things that have been bringing me joy, despite it all.

2026 – Year of the Fire Horse

If you haven’t heard the news, the Lunar New Year of 2026 started on February 17. This year is important in Asian astrology, as it is the first year of a new 60-year cycle. The year is represented by the Fire Horse, significant in Asian astrology for bringing passion, swift changes, and forward-moving energy. The Fire Horse year is being ushered in by a number of astronomical events, including a solar eclipse and other celestial alignments. Big transformations are predicted, including the beginning of the collapse of the current political system, and a shift toward humanitarianism. The changes will affect everyone, but most of all those of us who are born in a Fire Horse year. Us Fire Horses have been waiting since our birth year of 1966, and it is coming in strong!

Wear red to amplify the Fire Horse energy, and buckle your seat belts!

Mayor Zohran Mamdani

Assuming the office of mayor on January 1, 2026, Zohran Mamdani has done more for New York City than his corrupt predecessor, Eric Adams, did in four years. His decisions are already improving the lives of New Yorkers.

For the snowstorm that hit the Northeast last week, Mamdani announced on social media that New York City was offering snow removal jobs at $30/hour for any able-bodied citizen needing work. This resulted in snow removal that was three times faster than the snowstorm two weeks ago – his administration learns fast. New York was back on track in record time, because Mamdani used the old democratic way of mobilizing the people. Mamdani also announced that Monday, February 23 was a snow day for all students. Since the pandemic, there have been no snow days. Remote learning was demanded on any day considered too snowy to commute to school, meaning students had to stay indoors and stare at a computer screen for six hours instead of being outside. Mamdani’s administration tacitly acknowledged what families have been struggling with since 2020: remote learning is unhealthy and does not work.

Zohran Mamdani has also added thousands of jobs to NYC’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). This means there will be a summer job available, paid for by New York City, for every student between 14-21 who wants to work. The students gain work experience while being employed in either the public or private sector. SYEP pays more than other summer jobs for youth, such as camp counseling. My teenage son has been guaranteed work this summer, a total relief.

Mamdani has been working his ass off without complaint, despite the fact that it is now Ramadan, and as a Muslim, he is not permitted to eat or drink all day.

We are hoping the work Mamdani is putting into place will inspire other cities and states to adopt this type of governance. Well done, Zohran!

White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter by Lana Del Rey

The new single by Lana Del Rey came out on February 17, the first day of Lunar New Year. I’ve had this complex and compelling song on repeat. LDR uses a backing sample from a film noir soundtrack by Johnny Mercer, making it one of the most atmospheric pop singles I’ve heard in a while. It’s giving fairy tale noir. Only Lana could make a lyric like “Whoopsie-daisy, yoo hoo” sound deliciously spooky. The murky accompanying video incorporates vintage footage and harkens back to LDR’s homemade music videos from the beginning of her career; these self-defined her cinematic, sadcore persona. The production by Jack Antonoff has much of the sinister flair of some of their previous collaborations.

I have no doubt LDR will draw criticism for the song’s content. On the surface, White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter will be interpreted as a love song for her magical, macho new husband, who she puts on a pedestal. On a deeper level, the song questions the role of the wifey who lives to fulfill her husband’s needs. In the self-made video, as she sings about cooking for her husband, Lana cooks badly, eating what appears to be Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and opening a stove in a garage that’s not even hooked up. Later, in high glam, she sticks her head in the oven like a parody of the suicide of Sylvia Plath, who was driven mad by domestic life and the demoralizing expectations of a woman in marriage. Like the commentary on dysfunctional romantic relationships that define much of LDR’s oeuvre, White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter confronts the patriarchal convention of “wife,” and the surrender – both good and bad- that such a role suggests.

This eerie, passionate, and ambiguous pop song has already been added to my soundtrack for the dramatic shift that will define the Fire Horse Year.

White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter Video