Jan 22

Jan 22 Weekly Roundup #12: Marches and shutdowns

I volunteered at the Women's March in NYC this past Saturday. I worked near the stage and was able to hear every word from every inspiring speaker, and I was so moved. Halsey wrote a stunning poem to recite, Whoopi was phenomenal, Sulma Arzu-Brown was a powerhouse and MILCK performing “Quiet” with Yoko Ono was something I’m proud to be able to say I was there. And there were so many more. Of course this is just the beginning, the beginning of another year of fighting, of a lifetime of progress and change, and I, for one, am so ready to get started.

Reading

Sweetbitter, Stephanie Danler. I've been wanting to read this FOR. EV. ER., but never got around to buying it for some reason, so I'm super excited to finally be holding a copy.

Pop Goes the Weasel (DI Helen Grace Thriller Book 2), M.J. Arlidge. I accidentally picked up the third book at one of those $5 tables, not realizing it was a series. So I’ve now gone back to the first and second books on my Kindle to read whenever I don’t have an actual book on my commute.

Government Shutdown Goes Into Monday as Senate Inches Toward Deal, New York Times. You may correct me on these if I've heard wrong, but I've read that this is the first government shutdown to take place at a time when one party controls the White House and Congress, the first shutdown on the first inauguration anniversary and the earliest shutdown ever.

On Trump’s First Anniversary, a Government Shutdown, The New Yorker.

Trump's had some very different views on government shutdowns over the years, USA Today. Someone's hypocrite is showing...

One After Another, Women Face Larry Nassar and Recount Sexual Abuse, New York Times. Revolting. I traded up while reading this. Thank you to all the women out there who chose to speak, your bravery is so admirable. To McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman, thank you for not being silenced.

How French electronic group Her are finding hope in the wake of tragedy, Fader. Achingly beautiful, especiallg knowing the story behind it.

Ellen Pompeo, TV's $20 Million Woman, Reveals Her Behind-the-Scenes Fight for "What I Deserve," The Hollywood Reporter. I've never been a fan of Grey's Anatomy, but, man, is this a great read. Go Ellen!

Off Message, USA Today. Tiny hands do not do well on large keyboards.

Men Are Not Victims Of The #MeToo Movement, Nylon. Thank you, Sarah Beauchamp. She vocalized what I was trying to say below, just much more clearly and concisely.

Do you work more than 39 hours a week? Your job could be killing you, The Guardian. Can we just skip all the debate and start having six hour work days? Or four day weeks and three day weekends? It's been proven we're only productive for about four hours a day and my coworkers and I can vouch for that. I'm working more than twice that, plus a three-hour commute every single work day. No wonder I'm always exhausted and have terrible under-eye circles.

Dylan Farrow Details Allegations Against Woody Allen In First TV Interview, Nylon. I have yet to see a Woody Allen film because my mom has been telling me how gross he is for my entire life. When I was old enough to research the claims against him myself, I was thoroughly disgusted. So despite wanting to see his films on occasion, I have never given in. Sure, I've always wanted to see Annie Hall, and I was curious about Midnight in Paris a few years ago, but A Bug's Life over Antz any day. So thank you, Mom, because I stand by these decisions even more today.

Larry Nassar complains it’s too hard to listen to victim stories, NBC. L. O. L. You poor thing. After reading Nassar's letter aloud in court, "I suspect you have watched too much television," Aquilina said. "It's delusional. You need to talk about these issues with a therapist and that's not me." Yas kweeen!!

Congress Changed 529 College Savings Plans, And Now States Are Nervous, NPR. Another win for the high-income bracket and hit to lower earners from the current administration.

How to see a memory, Nature. I don't really have the intelligence to even discuss this...just read it, it's fascinating.

The Women Who Took on the Mafia, The New Yorker. The strength of these women...the prosecutor, the wives, mind-blowing.

The Network Uber Drivers Built, Fast Company. Interesting inside look at what drivers deal with and how Uber has tried to keep them separate.

Cat Person, The New Yorker. Great short story if you want a little fiction break after the exhaustion of our daily news. A skillful inside look at the intricacies of dating with technology and especially as a young (heterosexual, at least, I can't speak for all sexualities) female.

The Humiliation of Aziz Ansari, The Atlantic. From writer Caitlin Flanagan: "Eventually, overcome by her emotions at the way the night was going, she told him, 'You guys are all the fucking same,' and left crying. I thought it was the most significant line in the story: This has happened to her many times before. What led her to believe that this time would be different?" ...are you fucking KIDDING?? She's blaming "Grace" off a spur-of-the-moment comment wrought out of her disbelief in her situation, for believing that not all guys are capable of sexual assault or harassment?? For thinking that just maybe there are good guys out there (there are)?? You've got to be joking, Caitlin. That's so cruel and out-of-touch. She then goes on to say how different dating, relationships and sex are today from her day. It's not THAT fucking different. Yeah, there are different terms, sex may happen earlier or there are now more moves in the whole game. However, what hasn't changed is that there are good guys and there are shitty guys and you're blaming a victim for wanting to believe she was with one of the former. I get that people don't want to believe a "woke" dude like Ansari did what this girl is saying, but, honestly, I really don't think his career will be affected much. He gave the basic excuse of misreading the situation and people will be happy enough to take that and let him go about his day because he is, typically, a guy who respects women, who talks about the issues and tries to not be the guy he's now been accused of being. Sure, maybe this will turn out to be a lie, I hope for my love of Aziz that it is, but for the greater love of believing the victim and not disparaging real victims' bravery in speaking up, I hope it's not.

How the Aziz Ansari Allegations Opened Up a New Frontier in the #MeToo Conversation, Glamour. I honestly don't understand how this is any different than any of the other reports, except that Ansari actually came out with a statement that corroborates events, though his side is that he "misread" the situation. As I said last week and above, I love Aziz Ansari, so this is heartbreaking, but I still believe the victim. What would be the benefit for her? If it really was a "revenge story," Ansari's statement would have read much more equivocally "I DID NOT do this." I think lying about this types of stories is despicable and disgusting, but I just don't think this is a UVA/"A Rape on Campus" situation. I want to believe Ansari isn't like this, but I would hate to see another lie spread around as truth, belittling real assaults.

The Least Racist People We’ve Ever Interviewed, The Atlantic. Great story off of Trump's claims that he is "the least racist person you have ever interviewed." (Dude, how are you still going with the hyperboles??) One example is "very young children," because, yes, racism is taught, you're not born a racist.

CVS promotes truth-in-advertising for beauty products, CBS. Slow clap for CVS, because...finally.

Teens are eating laundry detergent for the "Tide Pod Challenge," CBS. Why. Why why WHY. "Nineteen-year-old Marc Pagan, who did it on a dare, told CBS News he knew better but did it anyway. 'A lot of people were just saying how stupid I was or how – why would I be willing to do that,' he said. 'No one should be putting anything like that in their mouths, you know?' " Yes, we do know. And yes, you are stupid.

Speech Sounds, Octavia E. Butler. Just a random little read from the "grand dame of science fiction" and the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Fellowship.

Listening

Lizzo. "Good as Hell" is a anthem for all women everywhere. And if you hear "Water Me" once, you'll hear it a million times, because you'll be hitting repeat all day. And these are just recent hits. Lizzobangers is full of, well, Lizzo bangers.

Watching

Black Mirror, Netflix. Last year, I watched a bunch of my roommate's favorite episodes with them, but my boyfriend and I started at the beginning so I finally saw the infamous pig episode. There's so much to say about every single episode in this anthology. I cried constantly through the entire episode of "Be Right Back," Daniel Kaluuya's episode has stuck with me, "White Bear" made me feel a lot of things and who can forget "White Christmas?" Ugh. This episode is next on our list. And "The Entire History of You" is terrifying because I can see that happening within the next ten years. I'm just looking forward to when we get to "San Junipero" for a tad happier episode.

NFL. As a Packers fan and a person with many Eagles fan friends, I was rooting for the Birds yesterday. I was also, like most people, cheering on the Jaguars. I can't take another year of Patriots fans shoving their stupid memes in my face. I can't take another year of Brady. Stupid, cocky Brady. But. Here we are. So, FLY, EAGLES, FLY!!! All the way home with a Super Bowl win!!