I tried to start this newsletter on Super Tuesday but the internet was such a pit of despair then that I could not bring myself to. Even before Super Tuesday my political joy was low—it looked like a safe injection site was going to open up in my neighborhood but immediate backlash from neighbors meant that it’s currently stalled. Kensington is the face of opioid addiction but Philadelphia in general has the highest opioid death rate of any major US city.
Other countries successfully use safe injection sites; a SIS is the next step after giving clean needles to avoid spreading infections. I can’t believe how many people I know who view those struggling with addiction as criminal, or even disposable.
My partner is currently trying to stop me from buying gallons of water because The Daily yesterday freaked me out about Coronavirus—especially ridiculous since I have approximately three kinds of dried beans (not including lentils) and two whole frozen chickens in my freezer.
I am also sad about Elizabeth Warren dropping out of the race—she wasn’t perfect but I liked a lot of how she was! It’s Bernie or bust fully now folks [I will vote for whoever the dem nominee is but I really am hoping for a progressive candidate!!].
This feels like a bit of a bummer (elections! addictions! infections!) because it is but I’ll say I’m very excited for Spring and I turned a few teapots of mine into planters and went for a run this morning and that is all very good.
On Repeat:
Courtney Barnett speaks to my Scorpio soul.
Ask Polly (my fave advice column!) is going from weekly in The Cut to bi-monthly but Heather Havrilesky is starting a substack and you should sign up for it!
I saw Birds of Prey and it was great! 10/10
I have a sweatshirt that I really love that is four years old and I thought it had a particular smell because it’s just older now but I washed it and the smell was gone so I guess I just hadn’t washed it in a long long time??
The Coronavirus quarantine as class warfare.
When I sent the last newsletter I was between many lovely visitors and (of course) got a lil bby cold so I watched the new High Fidelity series on Hulu and as a fan of both the book and movie I recommend it!! Zoe Kravitz is great and it’s a little baffling to watch something that centered masculinity and whiteness being dismantled.
Feeling too old for the body positive movement.
I finished The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia which can easily be pigeonholed as a true crime book. It’s about a double murder that took place in 1980 but I felt the best parts were when the author describes the beauty and struggle of living in a rural Appalachian community, particularly in regards to gender roles.
I also finished Arbitrary Stupid Goal which was a perfect foil to The Third Rainbow girl because it’s silly and fun but still worth thinking about!
NPR’s new series 20|20, which looks at twenty albums twenty years after their release is very fun (I don’t like Dashboard Confessional but I love Hanif Abdurraqib). This one in particular about Shakira’s breakout album and her MTV Unplugged performance is great.
Last night I convinced my spouse to buy the Josie and The Pussycats movie and we watched it together. It’s not perfect (…a lot of weird weight comments) but the branding feels more self-aware than I think it did initially. Anyway listen to the perfect 2001 time capsule song Three Small Words.
My friend just introduced me to Valerie June and I love her and especially this song.
Articles:
What Coronavirus means for Asian-Americans. Tampon wars. Greta Gerwig and women’s authorship. Early days of Gawker. The trope of high-achieving women acting like their life is in shambles. Returning to Japanese internment camps. Naomi Fry on the Weinstein trial and the myth of the perfect victim. The new book Rage Baking and the woman of color who was excluded from it. Susan Collins’ legacy. When Jim Crow continued for soldiers in Nazi Germany. Share what your salary is with your coworkers! Why are women still taking their husbands last names? My boyfriend, his best friend and me. Black families leaving generations after the Great Migration. Rebecca Solnit on the verdict for Harvey Weinstein. Money dysmorphia.
Food:
Our obsession with *crispy*.
Sometimes when I go into a grocery store I encounter a kind of blackout experience where I end up at home with a box of graham crackers, twenty limes and sweetened condensed milk so I made key lime pie last week with a meringue topping and it was very good! I’ve never done a meringue pie topping before (usually I use fresh whipped cream) and it was delicious.
Roxane Gay on her beloved KitchenAid standmixer.
I’m making homemade pizza dough for the fourth time in three weeks using Joe Beddia’s recipe through this website. Yes it requires time thinking ahead (24+ hours) but it is so much easier than any other bread I have made and then it’s PIZZA.
Food waste is the problem with a bigger failing system.
I made this Kadhi for lunch (without asafetida) and it was as good as promised. It’s not low key because you do have to stir a lot but it’s very very cozy. I threw some spinach in the same bowl because I worry I don’t eat enough greens.
New plants by the window
Stay particular,
Margaret