Just Good Shit: 08.02.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hello again! This one is coming to you a bit late tonight because I was washing my hair.

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

Writing

• When You're Having a Rough Time, Let Friends Share Your Bad News for You

Reading

Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation, The New York Times.

Hygiene Theater Is a Huge Waste of Time, The Atlantic.

How Jared Kushner’s Secret Testing Plan “Went Poof Into Thin Air”, Vanity Fair.

I Went to Disney World, The Atlantic.

Does Taylor Swift Have to Be Queer for “folklore” to be a Lesbian Album?, Bitch.

‘My Boyfriend’s Roommate Is Asking Me for Rent Money’, The Cut.

Meet The Artist Behind Gigi Hadid’s Colorful Pasta Cabinets, Refinery29.
I lost my grip on reality reading this article!!

Watching

The Gigi Hadid apartment article above led to my watching a ton of Architectural Digest celeb home tour videos, which I highly recommend! My favorite was Cara Delevingne’s; other homes were so bad, we couldn’t even finish them. Honestly…perfect.

Have a good night! 🧖🏽‍♀️

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Just Good Shit: 07.26.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hello! Here’s what I was doing this week when I wasn’t listening to “betty” and “exile” on repeat.

Writing

I published A Beginner's Guide for 'Straight' Women Who Want to Act on Queer Feelings, which I started working on back in January (and then paused because of the pandemic), and am very excited to have out in the world!

My shit, elsewhere

I was on two podcasts this week: The Struggle Bus, talking to my friend Sally about reality TV, weddings, and boundaries, and Girl Gaze, talking about my career path.

Reading

There Is So Much More Than the Nuclear Family, Even Now, The Atlantic.

Getting Done Up When You’re Coming Undone, Ssense.

“This is a thread of fun times I had while enforcing the new company policy of required masks at the grocery store I work at.”

In 2000, ‘Cribs’ became a phenomenon. 20 years later, we’re all living in an accidental reboot., Washington Post.

God, I Miss Eavesdropping, The Cut.

Does Dunkin’ Donuts Really Keep Ben Affleck’s Coffee Order on File?, Vulture.

Another Dull Quarantine Weekend at Home, Target, Chipotle, Home Depot, and Our Niece’s Graduation Party, McSweeney’s.

Eating

These meatballs, which were great. And this year’s batch of my beloved McLeod Farm's peaches, which are as special as ever. (I think Chuck agrees.)

Have a good Sunday! ✨

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Just Good Shit: 07.19.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hi, friends! Here’s some stuff from my week…

Writing

• Here’s Precisely How to Talk to Your Friends Before a No-Mask Hangout

Reading

A Teenager Didn’t Do Her Online Schoolwork. So a Judge Sent Her to Juvenile Detention., ProPublica.

Seeing ‘Black Lives Matter’ Written in Chalk, One City Declares It a Crime, New York Times.

I’m a Bartender Who Had COVID-19. My Restaurant’s Owner Warned Me Not to Talk., Grub Street.

What Naya Rivera’s Glee ‘Songbird’ Performance Meant, Vulture.

The Surprisingly Innovative Design of New York’s Streateries, Curbed.

My coworker told me to stop flirting with a student employee, Ask a Manager.

Eating

Marinated tomatoes on BLTs — so, so good; Annie’s pancakes, which I highly recommend; and beef stew, even though it’s July.

Have a good Sunday! 🦀

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Just Good Shit: 07.12.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hello again! Here’s what I’ve been up to…

My shit, elsewhere

This week, Autostraddle ran an excerpt from The Art of Showing Up! This one is about actually accepting help when you need it.

Reading

A Better Fall Is Possible, The Atlantic.

'She just started blooming': the trans kids helped by a pioneering project, The Guardian.

How the NBA picked the barbers for the bubble, ESPN.

The TikTok Algorithm Knew I Was Bisexual Before I Did, Man Repeller.

Netflix's "The Baby-Sitters Club" Invites You to Say Hello to Your Friends All Over Again, Autostraddle.

Goodbye Pier 1, the Imperialist Fantasia Rendered in Wicker, Jezebel.

Tiffany D. Jackson's cheery thread about…Times Square.

Tough-Guy Things I Can Do Because I Don’t Wear a Face Mask, The New Yorker.

Watching

Palm Springs, Mucho Mucho Amor, and The Baby-Sitters’ Club!

Have a good Sunday night! ☀️

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Just Good Shit: 07.05.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

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

Writing

• How to Be Supportive When a Friend Comes Out to You

Reading

Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should, The Atlantic.

When You Are Paid 13 Hours for a 24-Hour Shift, The New York Times.

Why the term “BIPOC” is so complicated, explained by linguists, Vox.

How Mount Rushmore Became Mount Rushmore, The New York Times.

On Instagram, Ban.do Looked Like A Millennial Woman’s Paradise. In Reality, Employees Say They Were Miserable., BuzzFeed News.

Cult Classic “But I’m A Cheerleader” Championed Femme Lesbianism, BuzzFeed News.

Reading Anti-Racist Nonfiction Is a Start. But Don’t Underestimate the Power of Black Fiction, Time.

Why Cubbyhole Is the One New York Bar I Always Return To, Condé Nast Traveler.

Other shit

Yesterday, my girlfriend and I had a lovely at-home “beach” day. We wore our bathing suits and other beach clothes; lay on towels; read 28 Summers (not my fave Elin book, but still a very beachy beach read); made painkillers and grilled burgers; and listened to ocean waves (surprisingly effective) from one phone and Carly Rae Jepsen bops from the other. It was really mellow and dreamy, and I highly recommend something like this to anyone who needs something to look forward to/is a bit bored/misses summer fun.

Have a good Sunday night! 👙

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Just Good Shit: 06.28.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hello and happy Pride! If you’re looking for some good gay shit (which: who isn’t???), consider this reading list. Otherwise, here’s some other stuff from my week…

Writing

• The Best Tiny DIY Pride Floats Made by Our Readers

I also edited a few things: The Queer Haircuts of Quarantine; How Tumblr's 'Am I a Lesbian?' Google Doc Became Internet Canon; and How to Make More LGBTQ Friends. And my friend Gyan interviewed me for a Man Repeller article.

Reading

You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument, The New York Times.

My Family Saw a Police Car Hit a Kid on Halloween. Then I Learned How NYPD Impunity Works., ProPublica.

Want to wax eyebrows in Pennsylvania? You have to be a good person. This 'oppressive' law says so., NBC News.
This is outrageous.

How the Virus Won, The New York Times.

North Texas family shaken after 18 relatives test positive for COVID-19 following surprise birthday party, WFAA.

A Love Letter to My Mailman, and the Incomparable Camaraderie Between Black Strangers, Man Repeller.

Eating

This week, we had slow-roast gochujang chicken for the second time — it’s really good. And this slow cooker chipotle-honey chicken is amazing and so easy; I think it’s going to become a lunch staple.

Have a good Sunday! 🏳️‍🌈

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Just Good Shit: 06.21.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

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

My shit, elsewhere

I had a great conversation with Brittany Luse about The Art of Showing Up on Friday night via Politics and Prose and Girls’ Night In; if you’re interested, you can watch the whole event here. I also talked to Amy Robach for an ABC News segment on Thursday.

Also, I’ll be dropping by the Balanced Black Girl virtual book club on Monday, June 29; you can RSVP here.

Reading

Finding Black Joy in Times of Crisis, The Root.

The Nutcracker Hustle: Why Selling Bootleg Cocktails Just Got Harder, The New York Times.

New Yorkers Flattened the Curve. Now They’re Dropping Their Guard., The New York Times.

Dear Fuck-Up: My Close Friend Is Being Radicalized On the Internet and I Don’t Know What to Do, Jezebel.
This is so good.

Watching

I regret to inform you that I binged all but two episodes of Selling Sunset on Netflix this weekend. It’s SO bad and yet it’s…all I can think about?

Have a good Sunday! ☀️

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Just Good Shit: 06.14.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hi! Just a quick one for you tonight…

Writing

• 11 Tiny Pride Floats to Help You Celebrate This Year

I also edited How to Celebrate Pride Quietly When You Aren't Totally Out.

My shit, elsewhere

I was a guest on Radio Times last week, talking about the pandemic, Black Lives Matter, and setting boundaries.

Also, reminder that I’m doing a virtual book event with Politics & Prose and Girls’ Night In this Friday night! Brittany Luse will be leading it.

Reading

Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police, The New York Times.

Bon Appétit's editor in chief just resigned — but staffers of color say there's a 'toxic' culture of microaggressions and exclusion that runs far deeper than one man, Business Insider.

“This is how I, a 45-year-old white woman and mother of 6, currently at her peak Karen power, went from assuming police work was a necessary part of functional communities, to becoming a passionate advocate for #abolishthepolice #defundthepolice, over the course of one week.”

An Interview With the Man Who Told the LAPD, 'Suck My Dick and Choke On it, I Yield My Time, Fuck You', Jezebel.

Have a good night! ✨

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Just Good Shit: 06.07.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hi, friends. Here’s what I had going on this week…

Writing

• How to Talk to Relatives Who Care More About Looting Than Black Lives

Reading

The End of Policing. (The ebook is currently free, btw!)

Also:

The no-knock warrant for Breonna Taylor was illegal, Washington Post.

Tear Gas Doesn’t Deploy Itself, The New Republic.

No More Cop Unions, The New Republic.

Sarah Fathallah on the problem with the #8Can’tWait campaign.

It Does Not Matter If You Are Good, ELLE.

You Should Be Feeling Miserable, The Atlantic.

Brave: Corporations Stand In Solidarity With the Communities They Exploit, VICE.

Fast-Food Companies Still Don’t Care, Grub Street.

Why We Need to Stop Saying ‘People of Color’ When We Mean ‘Black People’, Joshua Adams on Medium.

Honestly, Very Respectfully, Mr. Mayor, Suck My Dick, Jezebel.

Have a good night. ✊🏽

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Just Good Shit: 05.31.20

Illustration by Ashley Lukashevsky

Hi. I’m tired and sad and angry. Just…tapped out. Here’s what I have for you this week.

Writing

• Self-Care Tips for Black People Who Are Struggling With This Very Painful Week

• 40 Non-Boring Ideas for Celebrating Pride Without Leaving Your House

From the archives: The best writing on race, white supremacy, and anti-Black racism in America and Here's How To Raise Race-Conscious Children (I edited this one).

My shit, elsewhere

I talked to Alison Stewart about showing up for friends right now on WNYC’s All Of It on Tuesday. And I was interviewed by Bitch magazine; you can read it here: There Is an Art to Showing up—and Rachel Wilkerson Miller Has Mastered It.

Reading

This Is What You Get, Jezebel.

Millions of Amy Coopers, The Cut.

First Came The Pandemic, Then Came the Raw Sewage, The Marshall Project.

Fearing for his life, The Verge.

How Many Black People Can You Mourn In One Week?, BuzzFeed.

How to respond to “riots never solve anything!”, So Let’s Talk About.

Save the Tears: White Woman's Guide, Tatiana Mac.

Your Black Colleagues May Look Like They’re Okay — Chances Are They’re Not, Refinery29.

Maintaining Professionalism In The Age of Black Death Is….A Lot, Shenequa Golding on Medium.

And a thread of bail funds across the country.

Watching

This excellent video from Danielle Henderson, and this one by Danielle Prescod, both of which I feel like summed up what I’m thinking and experiencing. Also: this joyful hometown parade for Friday night’s Drag Race winner. And Centerpiece on Quibi — the exact kind of Black exuberance and beauty that I needed this morning.

Have a good night.

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🖤