Just Good Shit: 09.06.21

Image: KIyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hi, all. This was another sad week. I woke up on Thursday and learned via Twitter video (!) that our block had been fully flooded — like, cars floating, scary flooding — just a few hours earlier. We immediately got up and went to see what our neighborhood looked like, expecting that we might not even be able to go outside and, best case, that our car would be at least partially submerged. We got downstairs and…nothing. All the water had disappeared, the car was totally dry, and there was hardly any evidence of what had happened overnight (aside from one car that had floated onto the sidewalk). It was completely surreal. We had zero warning about this storm, and now dozens of people are dead. It’s really fucking sad and just so overwhelming.

Some further reading about the storm — and who was most affected by it — below…

Reading

Trapped in Basements and Cars, They Lost Their Lives in Savage Storm, NYT. (gift link)

Related must-read: Underground Lives: The Sunless World of Immigrants in Queens, NYT.

"No One Has Come": Queens Flood Victims Left To Fend For Themselves In Storm's Aftermath, Gothamist.

One Texas Woman Describes Her Abortion Hours Before the State's Six-Week Ban Went Into Effect, Jezebel.

Stop It With The Fucking Coat Hangers, Andrea Grimes.

This thread about abortion from @gracieminabox.

Death by a Thousand Words: COVID-19 and the Pandemic of Ableist Media, Refinery29.

Is It Allergies or a Breakthrough Infection?, The Cut.

Caring for the elderly has never been more expensive, exhausting, or invisible, Vox.

The Epic Family Feud Behind an Iconic American Weight-Loss Camp for Kids, Bloomberg.

How do I know if it's safe to be out at work ... and other questions about LGBTQ+ issues at work, Ask a Manager.

In the Kitchens of the Rich, Things Are Not as They Seem, NYT. (gift link)

He’s All That is a Hallmark movie for Gen Z, Vox.

And if you’re looking for a way to celebrate Labor Day, consider donating to Los Deliveristas Unidos' Workers Fund.

Have a good week.

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Just Good Shit: 08.29.21

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

It’s been a strange few days around these parts — if you haven’t heard, VICE did a round of layoffs on Thursday morning without any real warning. There was no all-staff morning email announcing what would be happening or anything like that; we just came online and heard through the grapevine, while many of us were still making our coffee, that our coworkers were being picked off. We had no idea how many people were being laid off or when it would be over. (It was over, apparently, when management sent out a 1,000-word email that led with congratulating several people on their promotions.)

My manager was one of the people who was let go, as were several people on a neighboring team. While I was one of the lucky ones this time, it was the third round of layoffs I’ve been through in as many years; it’s unsettling and upsetting to watch it happen over and over again. Every single time I am aghast at how poorly this process is executed, though I don’t think I will be next time because I’ll be used to it.

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

Writing

• I'm Vaxxed, I'm Socializing, Things Are Better... So Why Do I Feel Shitty?

I published this as the layoffs were happening because it was meant to go live on Thursday, and I was worried I was going to get laid off/lose access to the CMS before I had a chance to hit publish, and I had spent a lot of time working on it and also didn’t want to waste my sources’ time.

Reading

Ultra-Vaxxed Israel’s Crisis Is a Dire Warning to America, The Daily Beast.

The Vaccine-Booster Mistake, The Atlantic.

Georgia School Official Responds to COVID Crisis With ‘Tone Deaf’ Blue Jeans Proposal, The Daily Beast.
Every line of this article is somehow more outrageous than the one before it. Like…Jesus Christ.

The SAME DAMN lesson again., Nadia Bolz-Weber.

How to Work with Someone Who Creates Unnecessary Conflict, HBR.

Femme Fatale, Harper’s Bazaar.
“The straight women who want to be femmes—are they speaking out against homophobia, racism, transmisogyny, and violence against sex workers in their lives, or are they just happy to have a word that makes fashion and aesthetic choices political and less superficial?”

The Cotton Tote Crisis, NYT.

Knitting for Victory — World War II, HistoryLink.org.

Have a good one. 💛

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Just Good Shit: 08.22.21

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Good evening! I’ve been hunkered down literally all day thanks to Henri. We put on records and I did crosswords and made beans on toast while my girlfriend knit. It felt a bit like a preview of this coming fall/winter, given how bad Delta is. But it was a really nice day (and weekend!), and I was so happy to be offline all day.

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

Reading

Don’t Panic, But Breakthrough Cases May Be a Bigger Problem Than You’ve Been Told, NY Mag.

Seven People Tell Us What It's Like to Have Breakthrough COVID, VICE.

A New Variant of COVID Denialism Has Emerged, NY Mag.

My Kids’ School Won’t Reinstate Masks Despite a Recent Surge in COVID Cases. Here’s What I Chose to Do., ProPublica.

If Only We’d Listened to Representative Barbara Lee, The Cut.

The US Carefully Documented Its Total Failure in Afghanistan for 12 Years, VICE.

Before a 4-year-old boy’s killing, authorities wavered on rescuing him, LA Times.

What Happens When All of Your Co-workers Quit?, The Cut.
This is so fucking bleak.

I'm a Frito-Lay Factory Worker. I Work 12-Hour Days, 7 Days a Week, VICE.

“A Smile With Sharp Teeth”: Mike Richards’s Rise to ‘Jeopardy!’ Host Sparks Questions About His Past, The Ringer.

The White Lotus Was Always Going to End This Way, Vanity Fair.

The White Lotus is as clueless about Native Hawaiians as its characters, Vox.

Are You Watching the New Gossip Girl?, GoFugYourself.

Why Doesn’t the New Gossip Girl Feel Fun?, Vanity Fair.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars Recap: Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like Silky, Vulture.
This week’s episode was one of the best ever imo — so joyful, and worth a watch even if you aren’t watching this season.

Strange Lessons in Sex and Power from ‘Saved By the Bell’, Catapult.

How a Board Game About Birds Became a Surprise Blockbuster, Slate.
I’m excited to get into this game this fall/winter!

Watching

A few recent faves: This Is Paris, Malice at the Palace (SO GOOD), RHOBH, and Rajiv Surendra’s inCREDIBLE apartment tour. And this mesmerizing watch restoration.

Have a good one! 🌧

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Just Good Shit: 08.15.21

This week, I went to the beach twice, which felt decadent! On Friday, my girlfriend and I made a spontaneous evening trip to Riis, which absolutely rocked. We saw the sunset and the moon, ate burgers and truly the best grilled cheese, and got a much-needed break from the city heat and humidity. We’ve also started planning a fall trip to Acadia, which I’m so so excited about. And after spending all day today on the beach I’m feeling pretty mellow and happy.

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

My shit

• How to Deal With a Friend Who Constantly Puts Their Partner Down ‘as a Joke’

And this week on the podcast, Sally and I talked about poems and poetry!

Reading

What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind, The Atlantic.

Families of High-Risk Children Despair Over Covid Resurgence, NYT.

How the Pandemic Now Ends, The Atlantic.

The Pain Was Unbearable. So Why Did Doctors Turn Her Away?, Wired.

The True Crime Junkies and the Curious Case of a Missing Husband, VICE.

I Took A Delta-8 Gummy Before Going On A Run. Things Got Weird — Really Weird, Refinery 29.

The intern who took over an office, the dragon pajamas, and other stories to cringe over/revel in, Ask a Manager.

Have a great week! ⛱

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Just Good Shit: 08.09.21

Hello! This post is coming to you a little later than usual because I was celebrating my birthday this weekend! On Saturday (my actual bday), my girlfriend organized a very lovely and mellow park hang with friends, which was perfect. Sunday we had a lazy day at home — we set up Supercouch, did a bunch of crossword puzzles, watched Gossip Girl, and ordered sushi. And today we booked a fall trip to Acadia National Park, which I am so, so excited about!

Here’s what else I had going on…

Reading

‘It has to be known what was done to us’: Natick couple harassed by eBay tell their story for the first time, Boston Globe.
This is wild.

I Was Part of the July Fourth Provincetown “Breakthrough” COVID Cluster. It’s Been a Sobering Experience., Slate.
“If being at the center of this latest chapter of the COVID story had chipped away at my trust in the CDC’s ever-evolving guidelines, it had also offered us gay men a glimpse of an important facet of our history, exemplified most powerfully in the legendary self-advocacy of ACT UP: playing armchair scientist when institutional and social knowledge isn’t there for us, when it breaks down.”

I went to a party with 14 other vaccinated people; 11 of us got COVID, The Baltimore Sun.

The Case Against Sticking The Landing, Defector.

­­The Olympic Gymnastics Event Finals Are Unsatisfying and Unsafe, Slate.

Who Owns Amanda Knox?, The Atlantic.

The $5,000 quest for the perfect butt, Vox.

The Woman Who Captured ‘Jaws,’ Then Worked to Undo the Damage, NYT. (gift link)

Goal Tending: The NBA Dropped the Ball with Two of Its New Head Coaches, Bitch.

The Best Smart Home Devices to Help Seniors Age in Place, Wirecutter.

The Parallel-Parking Job That Ignited the Internet, Curbed.

Have a good week! 🥳

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Just Good Shit: 08.01.21

Hello and happy August! (And happy Leo season to those who observe!) Here’s what I had going on this week…

My shit

• If One Person's Annoying Behavior Is Destroying Your Friend Group, Unionize

And the newest ep of Oh, I Like That is up!

Reading

This week I read Make It Nice, Dorinda Medley’s upcoming memoir, and found it interesting/charming! Also:

Your Vaccinated Immune System Is Ready for Breakthroughs, The Atlantic.

If We Must Wear Masks Again, We Need a Smart Approach, NYT. (gift link)
I found this article reassuring/informative after the news about Delta last week.

Simone Biles and the Weight of Perfection, NYT. (gift link)

Simone Biles and 'the twisties': How fear affects the mental health and physical safety of gymnasts, CNN.
“Gymnastics is obviously physically demanding with a high injury rate. But it is extremely difficult psychologically as well. Many of the skills could kill you.”

Was the Olympic Skateboarding Really as Unimpressive as It Seemed?, Slate.
The framing of this article is weirdly aggressive and annoying, BUT the info from the expert is genuinely interesting and useful if you watched skateboarding and had questions!

The Cursed Trick That Almost Cost Suni Lee a Gold Medal, Slate.

My Gender is Maximalism, Autostraddle.

The worst money we’ve ever spent, Vox.

How Berkeley Bowl cashiers memorize literally everything in their legendary produce department, SFGate.

‘Look at Me Like a Human Boy!’ An Oral History of Clifford, Vulture.
I loved this movie so so much as a kid and felt like no one else had ever even heard of it, so I was absolutely delighted to see this.

Watching

Along with the Olympics, I watched Zola and loved it. I followed it up with a profile about the woman behind the Twitter thread and a profile of the director (gift link).

Have a good week! 🌻

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Just Good Shit: 07.25.21

Hi! This week I made an incredible fruit crisp, got to see Sally in person for the first time since 2019, did my best to watch the Olympics (despite NBC’s seeming disinterest in me actually finding the stuff I want to watch????), and dyed my girlfriend’s armpit hair pink! Really good stuff all around. Here’s what else I had going on…

Reading

In line with my SATC rewatch, I read Sex and the City and Us: How Four Single Women Changed the Way We Think, Live, and Love, which is just a very fun/fascinating behind-the-scenes kind of book, with lots of things I didn’t know (and I know a decent amount because I owned Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell). This book was very, like, E! True Hollywood Story (and I mean that in a good way).

Also:

America Is Getting Unvaccinated People All Wrong, The Atlantic.

They Waited, They Worried, They Stalled. This Week, They Got the Shot., NYT. (gift link)

‘I’m sorry, but it’s too late’: Alabama doctor on treating unvaccinated, dying COVID patients, AL.com.

Meet the Young Adults Sneaking Behind Their Parents’ Backs to Get Vaccinated, Slate.

The Jessica Simulation: Love and loss in the age of A.I., San Francisco Chronicle.

“In 1934, My Life Snapped”, Slate.
Really tragic story of how a conservatorship was abused 90 years ago.

The Board Games That Ask You to Reenact Colonialism, The Atlantic.

If You Really Want A Dog, You Can Get A Damn Dog, Defector.

Among Mormon Women, Frank Talk About Sacred Underclothes, NYT. (gift link)

Alex Cooper Takes All, Bustle.

Welcome to the Queerest Olympics Ever, VICE.

I Will Explain This New Olympic Sport To You: Skateboarding, Defector.

First gay wedding day in N.Y., CBS News.
10 years ago today!

“Frog and Toad”: An Amphibious Celebration of Same-Sex Love, The New Yorker.

Have a good week! 🥇

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Just Good Shit: 07.18.21

Hi! Another late one; this was a nice full weekend with a spontaneous beach trip, rooftop friend hang, and mah jongg tutorial from Terri. Here’s what else I had going on this week…

My shit

• Good summer hostess gifts (or, a mid-year just-because mini gift guide)

• How to Have a Great Summer if You Hate Summer

Reading

Flooding in Europe, in Pictures, NYT.

How Life Looks Through My ‘Whale Eyes’, NYT.

The Ethics of a Deepfake Anthony Bourdain Voice, The New Yorker.

How to Gracefully Turn Down Plans You Can’t Afford, The Cut.

Grossy's Guide to Being a Vacation House Mom, Grossy Pelosi.
I bought the smiley spoons and the juicer from this, and both are great. (The juicer works astonishingly well compared to our old one.)

How Coffin Flop’s Coffins Got Flopped, Vulture.

I’ve also been reading the OG Candace Bushnell Sex and the City essay book from 1996, because my girlfriend and I have been watching the HBO series. (She’s never seen it; I have, but I remember very little outside of Season 4, which I owned on DVD in college.) We’re currently in Season 3, and it’s all just…bleak! The book is similarly bleak. The writing is 25+ years old, so it makes sense that it feels really dated, but I was reading it at Riis yesterday and had this moment of, like, I can’t believe I’m reading this flatly homophobic text on the gay beach!!! Anyway, watching SATC, it’s helpful to me to remember that Candace Bushnell ran in the same circles as some of the women on Real Housewives of New York, and when you view them (and all these men) as part of the same universe, things start to make a lot more sense. Also, John Slattery as the piss politician was great and it’s so fucking funny that Carrie was so weird and dramatic about it!!!!!!!!

Have a good one! 🌃

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Just Good Shit: 07.11.21

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hello and happy July! I took last weekend off because my family was visiting and it was a holiday. Here’s what else I’ve got for you this week…

My shit

• Some of the Dumbest Things That Happened During Pride Month 2021

• A Few Small Tips for Throwing a Great Party This Summer

• Tomatoes!

And the latest ep of Oh, I Like That, “Queer Faves Grab Bag,” is live! (But FYI there will not be a new episode this upcoming week.)

Reading

I read Plain Bad Heroines on my Kindle and loved it so much that I immediately bought the hardcover version and am now re-reading it — that’s how much I enjoyed it! I also finished Something to Talk About, and now I’m reading We Are the Baby-Sitters Club: Essays and Artwork from Grown-Up Readers.

Also:

The Horror of Surfside, Slate.

Donald Rumsfeld, Killer of 400,000 People, Dies Peacefully, The Daily Beast.

How Twitter can ruin a life, Vox.

The Police Called It An Accident. She Turned to 1-800-Autopsy., NYT.

When Implicit Bias Training Antagonizes the Workers It’s Supposed to Help, VICE.

Where Jobless Benefits Were Cut, Jobs Are Still Hard to Fill, NYT.

‘I was drowning inside’: How the sports world failed when 3 Black women needed help, The 19th.

Is There a Right Way to Act Blind?, NYT Magazine.

How Vlogging Is Empowering a New Generation of Stutterers, Catapult.

Can I Sit Here? | Let's Chat About Seating for Fat Folks, Marielle Elizabeth.

What happens when we die, Sick Note.

This Moth’s Name Is a Slur. Scientists Won’t Use It Anymore., NYT.

The Subversive Joy of Lil Nas X’s Gay Pop Stardom, NYT.

The Lesbian Strippers Changing the Game of Male Exotic Dancing, Slate.

Note: All NYT links are “gift links,” which means they will not count against your 10-articles-a-month total.

Watching

I Think You Should Leave, the first episode of which had me fully crying laughing. The Coney Island episode of Defunctland, which was great, especially because we watched it right before going to Coney Island. And 9 to 5, which I’ve somehow never seen before and is… not a movie about unionizing (at least not in the traditional sense), as I’d always assumed!!!

Have a good one! 🍦

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Just Good Shit: 06.27.21

It was another great week! I love being vaccinated!! We managed to get super last-minute tickets to NightGowns, Sasha Velour’s fantastic drag show; went to Drag n Drive; hung out with friends on our rooftop; visited a newish very cute/gay grocery store; went to the gay beach; made new friends; saw old friends…really just 10s across the board!

That said, the cops are literally pepper spraying and arresting people celebrating Pride in Washington Square Park as I write this (!!!!), so…there’s still a long way to go in this fight.

Here’s what else I had going on…

Reading

I finished another Ann Bannon novel (which I didn’t love as much as Beebo) and am now reading the rom-com Something to Talk About.

Also:

Rachel Lindsay Has No Roses Left to Burn, NY Mag.

Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away, Bloomberg.
TBH, I was kind of already out on Airbnb, at least for traveling alone with my gf, after our last few trips, when I felt very freaked out and vulnerable, and this article made me feel like that’s probably the right move.

The mRNA Vaccines Are Extraordinary, but Novavax Is Even Better, The Atlantic.

How to Organize Your Fridge, Wirecutter.

‘I Don’t Drink, But My Friends Still Want to Split the Bill!’, The Cut.

Drag March Kicks Off Pride Weekend In Spectacular Style, Gothamist.

‘We Really Don't Have Time to Waste’ — Coming Out in a Pandemic, NYT.

19 Unforgettable Ways to Make Up for Lost Time With Friends This Summer, VICE.

A few other recs from this week…

Wig, a documentary about NYC drag on HBO.

NYT Cooking’s Creamy Chive Pasta With Lemon recipe —remarkably simple/fast to make, and really delicious.

A bunch of mesh pouches + a pack of carabiners, which gave me the beach bag organization I’ve been craving.

Queer Crosswords, which is great, and also has a comprehensive list of LGBTQ charities worth your time and money, if you’re looking for a nice way to honor Pride before June ends.

Have a nice night! 🧚🏽‍♀️

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