The Morning: Winning streaks
Good morning. Establishing a streak is a low-pressure way to generate feelings of pride and self-respect around the things you're already doing in your everyday life.
Best practicesEvery app I use is trying to get me to start a streak. My Kindle praises me when I read a few days in a row. The New York Times Games app gives me gold stars if I do the crossword puzzle every morning. The clothing resale site Poshmark offers me a vague promise of "rewards" if I keep listing my old pants at a regular cadence. I like to think of myself as a person who can't be swayed by shallow blandishments, but I am attracted to these incentives. I'm a pleaser. If there's a good grade to be gotten, I want the A. In her recent Times story about the benefits of streaks, Nell McShane Wulfhart humbly admits that she has run at least a mile a day for seven years and counting. I read this with a combination of awe and self-recrimination. She even ran her mile when she had Covid! She once ran it naked in a hotel room! This commitment to consistency and fitness seems noble, almost heroic. What am I doing with my life (besides selling my old pants)? Well, I am flossing my teeth. I haven't flossed every single day for seven years, but I have flossed every day since the last time I went to the dentist, which was several months ago, and the pride I feel in this streak is completely out of proportion with the size of the achievement. I wouldn't dare miss a day at this point, not because I'm worried about tartar buildup, but because of how wildly good it feels, at the end of even the worst day, to be able to say, "Well, at least I have my flossing streak." I'm aware this sounds pathetic, but it works for me. Once you're on a roll, each day that you add to your streak feels like a prize, an economist told Wulfhart. Of course you want to continue — there's so little in life that offers regular, guaranteed wins. Then there's the loss-aversion motivator: "Research shows that once you're on a streak, the fear of losing it is stronger than the motivating power of just gaining another day," Wulfhart writes. Yes, it feels good to tick off another day of flossing, but the idea of losing my months of perfect performance, the disappointment I'd feel in myself if I went back to being a mere mortal with no special dental regimen, keeps me at it. We learn to love streaks as children, when good habits are gamified and there's no feeling so pleasurable as seeing the accumulation of metallic star stickers on a chart. Do we ever outgrow this? It's tempting to observe the patterns of one's life and think, Where might I start a streak? You're looking for things you're already doing that you could continue to do regularly. You're actively identifying things you can do that will make you proud of you. Streaks are really just rituals dressed up in the language of self-optimization. A meditation streak is the same as a meditation practice, only with different framing. Whether we call the activity a streak or a practice, a ritual or a ceremony, it's serving a similar purpose: adding structure, purpose, predictability, meaning to our days.
Politics
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The New York Knicks play the Indiana Pacers tonight at 8 p.m. in Game 6 of the N.B.A.'s Eastern Conference finals. It's do-or-die for the Knicks, with the Pacers leading the best-of-seven series 3-2 after New York's 111-94 victory Thursday night. Sam Dolnick, our deputy managing editor and a die-hard fan, has some feelings. When the Knicks are winning, New York feels different. Strangers high-five at the bodega; Manhattan avenues transform into St. Peter's Square. And if the Knicks win tonight, they will somehow, shockingly, sit one victory away from the N.B.A. finals for the first time since 1999. And if they lose, well, that will be the end of another heartbreaking season. It's that double helix — joy and despair, woven together — that characterizes the Knicks right now. That there's any joy at all is a glorious change, since the Knicks have overdosed on despair for the last 25 years. (I happen to have moved to New York 26 years ago. You can send me condolence baskets.) The Knicks have been on an intoxicating run for weeks now, and blue-and-orange caps are sprouting on city sidewalks like spring flowers. Through six weeks of playoffs, the city has rejoiced in the team's stunning comebacks and did-you-see-that?!! heroics. But this Knicks team is also deeply maddening. We'll be groaning for years about that fourth quarter when they fell asleep on the court and gave up a 14-point lead in three minutes. Intoxicating and maddening, both. Doesn't that characterize life in New York, too? There is no place more electric; there is no place more grueling. It wouldn't make sense for New York basketball fans to back a team that makes winning look easy because nothing is easy here. Watching these Knicks can feel like taking a long, hard look in the mirror. Sometimes you like what you see. Sometimes you don't. If the Knicks manage to beat the Pacers, it will almost certainly be thanks to their everyman superstar, Jalen Brunson. If most N.B.A. heroes look like Hercules in a tank top, Brunson, at 6-foot-2, could be just another commuter on the A train. His herky-jerky style of play is maddening for opponents. And it's intoxicating for us. Go Knicks. Read The Athletic's N.B.A. coverage.
Art
Film and TV
More Culture
🎸🎬 "Pavements" (in theaters nationwide on Friday): Even the movies about musicians tend to be hagiographies. "Pavements" is the antidote. It is, centrally, a documentary about Pavement, a band that made some of the best rock music of the 1990s. But it's so much more, and so much stranger. Part of the movie is a jukebox musical, like Green Day's "American Idiot." Another part is a glossy, melodramatic Hollywood biopic. And another is a feature on a pop-up museum exhibition about the band. All three of these elements are parodies, spoofing the silly ways we mythologize the music of our youth; all three also evoke genuine emotion. Pavement's music is a tangle of irony and sincerity, of incredible effort and cool detachment. It's fitting that the movie about them is the very same. Here is our review of the film and an interview with its director. And if you want to listen to some Pavement, here's a primer with a few of the band's best songs.
Skillet Greens With Runny EggsLooking for a colorful dish that can be both a laid-back dinner and a hearty, healthful brunch? Try my skillet greens with runny eggs, peas and pancetta. It's a bit like shakshuka, but in place of the usual saucy mix of tomatoes and peppers, I use a verdant combination of scallions (or young spring onions) and a big leafy bunch of chard — including its succulent, often overlooked stems. Be sure to serve this with buttered toast (brunch) or a torn-up baguette (dinner) to catch all the runny bits of yolk.
The Hunt: After 50 years in the same rental, an Upper West Sider looked for a place to buy with up to $600,000. Which home did she choose? Play our game. What you get for $650,000: A Streamline Moderne-style house in Denver, a condo in a former cotton mill in Atlanta, or a bungalow in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Fake My Run: A man built a website that lets users trick Strava with fake workouts. He's trying to make a point. High desert beauty: An insider's guide to visiting Taos, N.M., which remains a beacon for artists. He does it all: Homes, hotels, candles and caviar sets: If you can build it, Ken Fulk wants to design it. Celibacy: A memoirist swore off sex for a year. Here's what she learned about love. Stressors: As the government tries to persuade women to have more babies, a new study finds that the mental health of mothers is in decline.
How to find a swimsuit you really loveLounging poolside and frolicking in the surf are among life's greatest pleasures. Swimsuit shopping? That one's not so high on the list. To find a suit you actually love, Wirecutter's experts have some tips. A great fit is essential for looking and feeling your best (and for preventing wardrobe malfunctions). Swimsuits that offer more customization — such as adjustable straps and bra bands — can be a good place to start. To find suits with staying power, rather than one-season wonders, look for substantial fabrics and neat, well-executed construction. If you're in need of some inspiration, we tested more than 50 one-pieces, bikini sets and rash guards to find our 19 favorite swimsuits. — Zoe Vanderweide
Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was obedience. 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.
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