Just Good Shit: 04.03.22

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hi! Here’s what I was up to this week…

Writing

• Covid-19 safety doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Here’s how to think about it going forward.

I spent a lot of time working on this one and am really happy it’s finally out in the world!

Reading

We Have The Right To Not Be Annoyed, Ijeoma Oluo: Behind the Book.

Indignity Vol. 2, No. 26: All Fools' Day, Indignity.
“The joke is on everyone, all the time, and there's no way to get out from under it.” (Related.)

How an Ivy League School Turned Against a Student, The New Yorker.
This is just…appalling.

‘I’m the Operator’: The Aftermath of a Self-Driving Tragedy, Wired.

The Cruel Theater of Encampment Sweeps, Curbed.

Did Sweden beat the pandemic by refusing to lock down? No, its record is disastrous, LA Times.

LGBTQ Students Are Being Terrorized. Florida’s 'Don’t Say Gay' Law Will Make It Worse., HuffPost.

The Biggest Lie About Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill Erases One Crucial Word, Slate.

The FDA made mail-order abortion pills legal. Access is still a nightmare., Vox.

The QAnon Style of Politics Is Taking Over America, TNR.

My Friend Goo, The Paris Review.
“Something in my voice must have calmed him because instead of marching over looking for a fight, he’d come waddling out, softly honking and purring—because he would purr at you, you see, if he liked you, and Goo came to like me.”

BuzzFeed Doesn’t Deserve Its Newsroom, The Nation.

How Two Best Friends Beat Amazon, NYT. (gift link)
Finally, some good news.

Listening to

Disorientation on audiobook. The Great Mattress Conspiracy: Why Are There So Many Mattress Firm Stores? and the new season of Fiasco.

Have a good one! ✨

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Just Good Shit: 03.27.22

Hello! Here’s what I had going on this week…

Writing

• How to forgive someone who isn’t sorry

And there’s a new episode of the podcast out this week!

Reading

Motivated Reasoning: Emily Oster’s COVID Narratives and the Attack on Public Education, Protean Mag.

Why Ketanji Brown Jackson’s time as a public defender matters, Vox.

The Disillusionment of a Rikers Island Doctor, The New Yorker.

Madeleine Albright Was a Killer, Jacobin.

What White Men Say in Our Absence, The Cut.

What You’re Feeling Isn’t A Vibe Shift. It’s Permanent Change., BuzzFeed News.

The time to panic about anti-trans legislation is now, Vox.

When Debts Become Unpayable They Should Be Forgiven, Jacobin.

The Cut Confronts Its Spon-Con Standards, Gawker.

The Color of Dog Poop, and 9 Other Things That Changed Without You Noticing, Lifehacker.

Have a good one! ✨

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Just Good Shit: 03.20.22

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hi, friends! Just a quick one for you tonight…

Reading

'Why? Why? Why?' Ukraine's Mariupol descends into despair, AP.

In a World on Fire, Stop Burning Things, New Yorker.

When will one-way masking be safe enough for everyone?, Jeremy Faust.

The Case That Killed #MeToo in Sweden, NYT.

Demand for This Toad’s Psychedelic Venom Is Booming. Some Warn That’s Bad for the Toad., NYT.

$87.50 for 3 Minutes: Inside the Hot Market for Videos of Idling Trucks, NYT.

The Baby-Sitters Club Wasn’t Enough for Netflix Anymore, Vulture.

Want To Declutter Your Brain? Cross Something Off Your 'Needle List', HuffPost.

Have a good one! 🌼

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Just Good Shit: 03.13.22

Hi! Hope you’re weathering the start of Daylight Saving Time okay. (I, for one, hate it and will be complaining about it for at least two more days.) Here’s what I got up to this week…

My shit:

• ‘Nocs walk ‘01 (just a bunch of photos of birds I took today!)

And there’s a new episode of Oh, I Like That out! This week, we talked about games.

Reading

How Did This Many Deaths Become Normal?, The Atlantic.

How To Murder a Good Idea With Conventional Wisdom, In These Times.

“One year after the biggest protest movement in American history demanded police reform, we now find ourselves in the ludicrous position of being told by all of the shallowest professional political savants that defunding the police is a toxic position that is poison to Democrats.”

The Biden Administration Killed America’s Collective Pandemic Approach, The Atlantic.

Here's Why Pandemic Fatigue Is (Still) So Draining, SELF.

A Poem (and a Painting) About the Suffering That Hides in Plain Sight, NYT. (gift link)

Angela Davis on the power of protest: ‘We can’t do anything without optimism’, The Guardian.

Have a good one! 🕰

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'Nocs walk 01

My girlfriend and I made a goal for this month to go on at least one excursion with our binoculars — a ‘nocs walk! — every week. We actually did three this week, but today’s was the first one where I had the pre-owned telephoto lens I bought last week. Here are some of the birds we saw:

Red-tailed hawk

American robin

Female house sparrow

Male house sparrow

Male house sparrow

White-throated sparrow

House sparrow

Rock pigeon

Camera/lens: Nikon D3000 + Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED lens

Nocs: Pentax UP 10x21 pink binoculars (hers) and Carson VP series full sized or compact waterproof high definition binoculars (mine)

Location: McCarren Park 🐦

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Just Good Shit: 03.06.22

Hello!

I’m back in Brooklyn after a trip to the Catskills last week. My girlfriend and I stayed in a rental with a fireplace and hot tub, and that is…pretty much all we did! Woke up and soaked…did sunny midday soaks…soaked in the evening…took out the binoculars to peep birds while soaking…looked at snow and trees and stars while soaking… truly the best way to do nature! (I was also moved to re-read this extremely soothing and delightful 2016 NYT Magazine article about Iceland’s public baths.)

We also knit by the fire, worked on a puzzle, made ziti, got takeout from Phoenicia Diner, drove to Ashokan Reservoir, and made a stop at Woodbury Commons. On Friday, we went birding in Prospect Park, which was…incredible?! We saw so many birds, including cardinals, blue jays, downy woodpeckers, a shitload of robins, and, right before we left, a throuple of wood ducks. (Next on my to-do list: Getting my nice camera repaired so I can properly capture them.) It was a really lovely time, and I’m just so glad we got to take this trip.

Here’s what else I’ve been up to…

Reading

Right now we are just trying to survive, Welcome to Hell World.

Texas’s Attorney General Is Laying the Groundwork to Separate Trans Kids From Their Families, The New Republic.

Who Should Be Allowed to Transition?, NYT.
Related: “cis people also get gender-affirming procedures but just don’t call it that.”

So, Just Making Sure That We Agree: It's OK To Seize Oligarchs' Stuff Now, Forever Wars.

Justice According to Letitia James, NY Mag.

If you’ve rented a car from Hertz, there could be a warrant out for your arrest, Yahoo.
I hate Hertz. Hate!!!

The Endless Cycle of Opinion Havers, Men Yell at Me.

The Euphoria Problem, All in Her Head.

Paul Farmer Invented a New Way of Caring for One Another, The Atlantic.
“We must all care for one another—anything less is morally unacceptable.” I confess I didn’t know who Paul Farmer was before reading this obituary, but I still found it incredibly moving and inspiring.

A gripping yarn: inside the Knitting.com drama, Input.

Listening to

We started listening to Slate’s Decoder Ring podcast last week in the Catskills and it’s so good!! Think You’re Wrong About meets This American Life. I think we’ve listened to about 10 eps so far, and every one has been a banger. It’s hard to pick a fave but I really liked “Truck Nutz” and “Gender Reveal Parties.”

Have a good one! ✨

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Just Good Shit: 02.21.22

I wasn’t feeling well over this three-day weekend, so I spent most of it knitting and watching Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 4, which, combined with Season 3, is truly some of the best television — and certainly the best reality television — I’ve ever seen. The drama feels real, the brawls feel earned, and every goddamn line is a banger. I thought Succession was the best example of modern-day Shakespeare, but RHONJ certainly feels like one of his lesser-known plays. Season 3 opens with a brawl at christening (!!), where there’s ~150 guests and a prominently-displayed oil painting of the baby (Joey — there are so many baby Joeys) wearing a tiny newsboy cap. The whole two-season arc is pure camp and I’m fully obsessed.

Here’s what else I got up to this week…

Reading

The Millions of People Stuck in Pandemic Limbo, The Atlantic.

The Moral Danger of Declaring the Pandemic Over Too Soon, NYT. (gift link)

“The lesson of the AIDS pandemic is that it’s easy to leave people behind, even if it is at the cost of our collective peril.”

27 Years in Solitary Confinement, Then Another Plea for Help in Texas, NYT. (gift link)

We are deeply and profoundly sorry: For decades, The Baltimore Sun promoted policies that oppressed Black Marylanders; we are working to make amends, Baltimore Sun.

The Crankification Engine, Gawker.

How Bosco Sticks Became the Secret Weapon of Midwestern Cafeterias, Eater.

Have a great week! 🍝

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Just Good Shit: 02.13.22

I’ve been having such a cozy and relaxing Valentine’s Day weekend, I’m not ready for it to be over! Here, in no particular order, are the corny/on-theme activities we’ve gotten up to:

• Wearing pink, lavender, and/or red loungewear all weekend

• Buying roses from the grocery store

• Making boxed brownies, then topping with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup (very chain restaurant molten lava)

• Playing a little flower card game

• Listening to Slut Pop, the new Kim Petras album

• Watching Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 3 (thanks to a rec on the podcast from Caroline Moss), which is truly incredible television

• Eating bread and brie plus strawberries with chocolate and whipped cream and, later, hot chocolate

• Doing red/pink mani-pedis in bed

• Making Don Angie pinwheel lasagna (from the frozen extras we made for New Year’s)

Here’s what else I had going on this week…

My shit

• Valentine’s Day gifts to self

Reading

What Do Masks Do to Kids?, The New Republic.

Boston University epidemiologist Dr. Eleanor Murray speaks on COVID-19 and endemicity Part 1 and Part 2, WSWS.

Stop Calling Them ‘Accidents’, NYT. (gift link)

Artificial snow is nothing like the real stuff, Vox.

How to win an Oscar, Vox.
This is a fascinating breakdown of what an “Oscars campaign” actually entails.

Was It Me? Or My Teeth?, NYT. (gift link)

'Goodnight Moon' and the Queer Love Story of the Great Green Room, Lambda Literary.

Have a good week! 💘

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Valentine’s Day gifts to self

I’ve always loved Valentine’s Day, thanks to its indomitable color palette, embrace of kitsch, and overall message: Let someone know you care about them! While it might be a a little late to buy something for your Valentine (though I do have a list of last-minute Valentine's Day gift ideas for the discerning but procrastinating drugstore shopper if that’s where you are this year), it’s absolutely not too late to buy a little treat for yourself.

Here are some recs, based on things I’ve bought/loved recently.

Until We’re All Free sweatshirt

This is part of a fundraiser for Trans Lifeline, and proceeds “go directly toward life-saving commissary & bail funds for trans people in prison.” Available in four shirt styles and four colors, sizes S–4XL, ranging from $25–$35. Get it from Bonfire.

Leuchtturm1917 Smooth Colours notebook

Leuchtturm is finally — FINALLY — making my beloved dot grid notebook in beautiful pastels. Available in four colors, four page styles, and either hard or softcover. Get it for $21 from Leuchtturm or Amazon.

Cardinal patch

I received this cardinal as part of the bird patch monthly subscription, but you can buy it — and several other cute bird patches — individually. Get it from Bird Collective for $8.

Tussie Mussie

This game, which was designed by Wingspan designer Elizabeth Hargrave, is based on the Victorian tradition of giving flowers to friends and romantic loves. There are only 18 cards, so it’s super portable (and easy to learn), and the cards themselves are so cute IRL. While it’s currently sold out (there’s a waiting list though!), it’s absolutely worth poking around Button Shy, which has a lot more of these extremely cute “wallet games.” (I also have Insurmountable, which is a one-player game — always nice to come across those.)

Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey

I am so excited that the author of my beloved Nature Fix is back with a new book! You can read an excerpt, and get a copy from Bookshop ($27.60) or Amazon ($21.05).

Knitter’s Hand Balm

This was actually one of my girlfriend’s Valentine’s gifts to me and I love it! The tube is just a little bigger than a tube of chapstick (perfect for a knitting bag or fanny pack) and the product itself is really good — non-greasy, with a no-fragrance version (along with several scented options). Get it from The Knitting Hole for $11. 💝

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Just Good Shit: 02.06.21

Hi and happy February! This week, I finished knitting this mallard duck (pattern from DotPebblesknits on Etsy), watched biathlon (extremely underrated Olympic sport imo), and listened to the newest Serial podcast (which I thought was very well done). Here’s what else I had going on…

Reading

Why Wishful Thinking on Covid Remains As Dangerous as Ever, The Nation.

The American sickness, Indignity.
I also paid $6 to subscribe to this newsletter/access this related article (about masking in schools), and it was extremely worth it.

Working parents with little kids: how can your coworkers help you?, Ask a Manager.

What Scares the World’s Most Daring Olympians, NYT.
Loved this package.

Fuck Noom, Lifehacker.

Why Spotify Will Win, Slate.

To Find the History of African American Women, Look to Their Handiwork, The Atlantic.
Related: I just bought this book.

Sex With An X: The Perils Of Performative Spelling, Autostraddle.

Glorified Electric Golf Carts For All, VICE.

One Good Thing: A soothing tabletop game about birds, Vox.

How the Sausage Gets Made: Inside Hollywood's Prosthetic Penis Craze, Thrillist.

Have a nice week! 🦆

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