Just Good Shit: 10.18.20

Image: Kiyana Salked / Just Good Shit

Hello! I’m currently taking a break from the hell that is trying to mount IKEA’s Svalnäs shelves. If anyone has successfully installed these (and put things on them without a catastrophic result), please DM me!!!! I have already talked about these shelves in therapy once and I would like to finish this project very soon.

Moving on! Here’s what else I was up to this week…

My shit, elsewhere

I talked to Sarah Galli of Andy’s Girls about RHOP this week! Listen here.

Reading

My Mustache, My Self, New York Times.
If you read one thing this week, make it this. Every single line is so good.

Who Keeps Us Safe?, The Baffler.

Last Exit From Autocracy, The Atlantic.

Safety Turducken, Emily Oster.

Don’t Grieve Alone. Reach Out., New York Times.

The Town That Went Feral, New Republic.

'Emily in Paris' Captures the Worst of American White Girls Abroad, VICE.

Circling The Block, Defector.
I was really stressed out reading this at first, but I was fully smiling by the end.

Have a good Sunday night! 🔨

Sign up to get these links each week in a newsletter.

🍑

Just Good Shit: 10.11.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

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

Writing

• 'RHOP' and the Hypocrisy of 'Your Behavior Is Bad for Black Women'

• Go Ahead and Break Up With a Friend During the Pandemic

Reading

Do DC Renters Who Are Evicted Know About Their Court Dates?, DCist.

‘What are we so afraid of?’ Tony Green, on dismissing, denying, contracting and spreading the coronavirus, Washington Post.

Two of These Mail Ballot Signatures Are by the Same Person. Which Ones?, The New York Times.

Three Supreme Court Justices Just Showed They’re Willing to Throw Out Mail-In Ballots, Slate.

There’s Never Been a Story Like Britney Spears’s, The Atlantic.

How “Am I the Asshole?” Created a Medium Place on the Internet, The Ringer.

The Real Housewives Versus Reality, Vulture.

I Think About ‘Act Ditzy, Lose Things’ a Lot, The Cut.

Cooking

I made my favorite ziti last Sunday night and it was, once again, perfect. Highly recommend!

Have a good Sunday night! 🌜

Sign up to get these links each week in a newsletter.

🍑

Just Good Shit: 10.04.20

Hello! Hope you’re all enjoying this absolutely chill and normal weekend!!! Here’s what I’ve been up to this week…

Writing

• How to Cope When Everything Feels Bad and Somehow It Keeps Getting Worse

I was also a guest on for NPR Life Kit, talking about preparing for the winter ahead. And they made a cute illustrated post to go with the episode!

Reading

I Lived Through Collapse. America Is Already There, Indi Samarajiva on Medium.

The Relentlessness of Black Grief, The Atlantic.

@DDDrewDaniel on lessons on sympathy during a pandemic that we can take from the AIDS crisis.

How the 6-Feet Rule Can Lead Us Astray, Slate.

No, The Government Did Not Break Up A Child Sex Trafficking Ring In Georgia, HuffPost.

Despite Documented Human Rights Abuses, De Blasio Refuses To Denounce NYPD's Mott Haven Beatdown, Gothamist.

The Women Making Conspiracy Theories Beautiful, The Atlantic.

How to Make the Most of Covid Winter, Bloomberg.
This article is more about city planning than personal changes, and I really enjoyed it.

Students Use TikTok to Document the Invasive Test-Taking Software Destroying Their Lives, Jezebel.
The fuck is wrong with these professors?

“Get Organized with The Home Edit” Is Infomercial Reality Television, The New Yorker.

Who Gets to Be an Equestrian?, ELLE.

Have a good one! 🍂

Sign up to get these links each week in a newsletter.

🍑

Just Good Shit: 09.27.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

This week was a lot and, once again, I’m not sure what there is to say. Breonna Taylor’s life mattered. Black women’s lives matter. We’ve been doing this same shit for years. No, really. Our opponent doesn’t have a conscience.

Here’s what else I’ve got tonight.

Writing

• 21 Non-Boring Ways to Celebrate Halloween During a Pandemic

• If You Miss Your Casual Friendships, Consider Starting a House Party Slack

Also wanted to re-up this one, from a couple of months ago: Self-Care Tips for Black People Who Are Really Going Through It Right Now.

Reading

The Election That Could Break America, The Atlantic.

The Prophecies of Q, The Atlantic.

What we can learn about QAnon from the Satanic Panic, Vox.

The N95 shortage America can’t seem to fix, Washington Post.

How We Survive the Winter, The Atlantic.

Amid the Outpouring for Ginsburg, a Hint of Backlash, The New York Times.

Her Lawyers Say She Was Coerced To Plead Guilty To A Crime That Never Happened, The Appeal.

This Is the Casual Racism That I Face at My Elite High School, The New York Times.

How a Marriage Survives a Cult, The Cut.

The Long Golden Age of Useless, American Crap, LitHub.

Guess I Gotta Write This Goddamn Diversity Article Again, Transom.

Is It Okay to Have Hope?, ¡Hola Papi!.

Donating

This week, I donated to Movement Voter Project, Forward Majority, and Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. I’m also writing letters for Vote Forward.

Have a good one. ❤️

Sign up to get these links each week in a newsletter.

🍑

Just Good Shit: 09.20.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hi, friends. I wish I had something eloquent or helpful to say about RBG’s passing but I’m kind of at a loss for words. But I’ve re-read Rebecca Traister’s latest piece for The Cut a few times now, and I have been thinking a lot about this sentiment in particular:

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg matters, now as much as she ever has, but her survival alone couldn’t have saved us, any more than getting rid of Donald Trump will save us. We are facing something far larger: a desperate, life-or-death fight to rebuild, reimagine, reform (and in some cases raze) enormous apparatuses, including our criminal justice, electoral, health-care, and education systems, labor and capitalism, education, housing, the courts themselves, and, most urgently, the health of our planet. It will call on us to fight as fiercely and with as much determination as Ginsburg herself fought, through her life and career.”

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

Reading

A pandemic, a motel without power and a potentially terrifying glimpse of Orlando’s future, Washington Post.

We Could Lose Roe v. Wade Next Year. What Now?, The Cut.

Housekeepers Face a Disaster Generations in the Making, The New York Times.

Buying Myself Back, The Cut.

What Happened Inside Ed Buck’s Apartment?, The New York Times.

How to track your ballot like a UPS package, Washington Post.

It Took Divorce to Make My Marriage Equal, Glamour.

The Consequences of Your Actions, Design Mom.
Go OFF, Design Mom!! I loved this.

Watching

Becoming on Netflix; The Source Family on Amazon Prime (just OK imo, though three people I trust spoke very highly of it); and more Real Housewives of Potomac.

Donating

This week, I donated to Jaime Harrison, who is running against Lindsey Graham in South Carolina, and Mike Espy, who is running for Senate in Mississippi (where he’d be the first Black senator since 1881). I also have recurring monthly donations set up for Sister District, along with Black and Pink and Food Bank for New York City.

Have a good one. 🤍

Sign up to get these links each week in a newsletter.

🍑

Just Good Shit: 09.13.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

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

Writing

• If You’re Already Dreading Winter, Here Are Some Small Ways to Prepare Now

• How to Talk to a Friend Who 'Doesn't See the Point' in Voting This Year

I also contributed to this guide to voting by mail in all 50 states.

Reading

I’m currently reading The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness.

Also:

America Is Trapped in a Pandemic Spiral, The Atlantic.

They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why Won’t Anybody Listen?, ProPublica.

“9/11 changed my family forever. I'd like to tell you about that day from my family's perspective.”

‘May rent. June rent. Late fees. Penalties.’ Tusdae Barr, on being evicted from her home during the coronavirus crisis, The Washington Post.

The Electoral College Will Destroy America, The New York Times.

Every COVID-19 Death Has Devastated a Family, Slate.

I’m Unemployed and Trans. Getting the Help I Need Has Been a Nightmare, them.

N.Y. Will Move Homeless Men From Liberal Neighborhood After Backlash, The New York Times.
This makes me so fucking angry.

Coronavirus, Charity, and the Trolley Problem, Crooked.
This funny and moving essay about donating bone marrow during a pandemic is one of the best things I’ve read in recent memory.

The DMV Reviewed Thousands of Hilarious Vanity Plate Applications Last Year. These Are Our Favorites, Los Angeles Magazine.

Watching & listening to

We’ve been watching The Vow and Real Housewives of Potomac (starting with Season 2 — it’s so funny and fun to watch). I also highly recommend You’re Wrong About’s Tuskegee syphilis study episode.

Other shit

• I recently got a lap desk ($40 from Amazon) and am thrilled with this purchase; I wish I’d had this ages ago. (Bonus: this one is wide enough that I can actually use my mouse with it!!)

• I’m transitioning to fall with this cozy blue sweatshirt ($29.90 at Uniqlo).

• We’ve been doing this beginner bodyweight workout for the past two weeks and it’s just what I needed in a home workout — challenging but doable, and fairly quick.

Have a good night! ✨

Sign up to get these links each week in a newsletter.

🍑

Just Good Shit: 09.06.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hi! Here’s what’s new around here this week…

Writing

• The Biggest Sorority Insurer Made a COVID Waiver for Members to Sign

On the blog

• Important: pumpkin butterscotch cookies

I was also quoted in a New York Times article about being there for a friend who just lost their job.

Reading

The Rent Eats First, Even During a Pandemic, The New York Times.

The Eco–Yogi Slumlords of Brooklyn, The Cut.

On Witness and Respair: A Personal Tragedy Followed by Pandemic, Vanity Fair.

Dolezal 2.0 — The Audacity of Cosplaying as Black, Bitch.

Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Slide, Texas Monthly.
A horrifying longread from a couple of years ago that I’d never read.

Off the Rack (comic), The Nib.

Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy Answer Every Question We Have About Best in Show, Vulture.

Watching & listening to

Class Action Park on HBO, which is absolutely worth a watch — I gasped so many times. Also this CNN segment about evictions in Houston. And I really enjoyed the Stepford Wives episode of You’re Wrong About.

Have a good evening! 🍪

🍑

Just Good Shit: 08.30.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

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

On the blog

• Go on, live a little — get yourself the giant pasta-shaped garlic peeler

Writing

• How to Talk to a Friend Whose Posts Have You Worried

Reading

This week, I put down the galley of The Lying Life of Adults so I could read Finding Freedom, the new book about Meghan and Harry. The heart wants what the heart wants!! Finding Freedom reads like an Elin Hildebrand novel (in a good way) and while the book, like, absolutely needs to calm down in some places, I really liked it overall.

Also:

What if It All Goes Wrong?, Slate.
Election worst-case scenarios.

We’ve Seen New York’s White Flight Before, The Atlantic.

‘How is this possible? What are the odds?’ The Graveson family, on what the coronavirus has done to them, Washington Post.

Your ‘Surge Capacity’ Is Depleted — It’s Why You Feel Awful, Elemental.

Tune in, drop out, Rest of World.
“What constitutes being ‘alone’ can be fuzzy, but it ultimately comes down to the physical and psychological boundaries one draws around oneself. Honjok might partake in leisure activities alone, maintain a single-person household, avoid a workplace or office setting, limit social circles, abstain from sex or romantic relationships, or reject marriage or children.”

Dear Fuck-Up: I Think I Ruined My Ex's Life, Jezebel.
”There are certain relationships in which one person holds so much sway over the other that the obligation to do the right thing lies solely with that party.”

15 California Getaways, Design Love Fest.
If you want to play make-believe.

A Reminder to Enfold Yourself in Small Comforts, The New York Times.

Also! If you’ve been wanting to learn to knit, you should pre-order my friend Alanna’s new book Knit a Hat: A Beginner's Guide to Knitting, which will be out September 8.

Have a good evening! 🧶

Sign up to receive these links each week in an email.

🍑

Just Good Shit: 08.23.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Heyoh! Here’s what I’ve been up to this week…

On the blog

• My favorite cloth face masks

Reading

‘I’m sorry, but it’s a fantasy’ — Jeff Gregorich, superintendent, on trying to reopen his schools safely, The Washington Post.

I had COVID-19, and these are the things nobody tells you, LA Times.

This Terrifying Economic Crisis Will Make Cities Better, In These Times.

This hed is not great; the article is actually about how rich people fleeing NYC isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The Look Book Goes to the Jamaica Post Office, The Cut.

I Added One Tiny (Free) Thing to My Closet and Instantly Started Decluttering My Clothes, Apartment Therapy.

This Amazingly Simple Google Docs Hack Is a Game-Changer, Mental Floss.

Have a good Sunday! 🍒

Sign up to receive these links each week in an email.

🍑

Just Good Shit: 08.16.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hi! Here’s what I have for you this week…

On the blog

• I've finally achieved my lifelong dream of owning a postal scale

• My beach birthday in quarantine

Writing

• What to Say if a Kid Asks You What 'WAP' Means

• The Workplace Behavior on 'Selling Sunset' Is Not OK, Right? (Collab with Alison Green of Ask a Manager!)

Reading

The Scramble to Pluck 24 Billion Cherries in Eight Weeks, The New York Times.

The Plan That Could Give Us Our Lives Back, The Atlantic.

The Afflictions of the Comfortable, The American Prospect.

Sweatpants Forever: How the Fashion Industry Collapsed, The New York Times.

We Asked a Gyno About ‘WAP’, Vulture.

Watching & listening to

My friend Sally recommended Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (on Hulu), which is horrifying but incredibly compelling. I also listened to the “Wayfair and Human Trafficking Statistics” episode of You’re Wrong About, which is a good companion to the NYT cherries story I linked to. And I loved listening to my friends Alisha and Caroline chat in the most recent episode of Gee Thanks, Just Bought It!

Eating

We had Summer Shrimp Scampi With Tomatoes and Corn from NYT Cooking, and really liked it. (We used canned corn, and it was actually great.) I’m also looking forward to turning some summer tomatoes into Nora Ephron’s cold tomato sauce soon. Also, two grocery purchases/treats that I highly recommend: Pillsbury cinnamon rolls (the little five-count is nice) and frozen mozzarella sticks.

Have a good Sunday! 🦞

Sign up to receive these links each week in an email.

🍑