Iām Rachel Miller, a professional service/lifestyle writer, editor, and author based in Brooklyn. Just Good Shit is where I share practical, doable tips for taking care of yourself, your home, and your people. It's better living, less bullshit.
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Our neighborhood ānocs walks are continuing apace! Here are some of the birds weāve spotted in the past monthā¦
Male mallard
Male mallard
Female mallard
Brants
Starling
House sparrow
White-throated sparrow
White-throated sparrow
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: WNYC Transmitter Park š¤
Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit
Hi! Hereās what I was up to this weekā¦
I spent a lot of time working on this one and am really happy itās finally out in the world!
We Have The Right To Not Be Annoyed, Ijeoma Oluo: Behind the Book.
Indignity Vol. 2, No. 26: All Fools' Day, Indignity.
āThe joke is on everyone, all the time, and there's no way to get out from under it.ā (Related.)
How an Ivy League School Turned Against a Student, The New Yorker.
This is justā¦appalling.
āIām the Operatorā: 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. Floridaās 'Donāt Say Gay' Law Will Make It Worse., HuffPost.
The Biggest Lie About Floridaās āDonāt Say Gayā 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.
āSomething in my voice must have calmed him because instead of marching over looking for a fight, heād come waddling out, softly honking and purringābecause he would purr at you, you see, if he liked you, and Goo came to like me.ā
BuzzFeed Doesnāt Deserve Its Newsroom, The Nation.
How Two Best Friends Beat Amazon, NYT. (gift link)
Finally, some good news.
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! āØ
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Hello! Hereās what I had going on this weekā¦
And thereās a new episode of the podcast out this week!
Motivated Reasoning: Emily Osterās COVID Narratives and the Attack on Public Education, Protean Mag.
Why Ketanji Brown Jacksonās 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 Youāre Feeling Isnāt A Vibe Shift. Itās 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! āØ
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Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit
Hi, friends! Just a quick one for you tonightā¦
'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 Toadās Psychedelic Venom Is Booming. Some Warn Thatās Bad for the Toad., NYT.
$87.50 for 3 Minutes: Inside the Hot Market for Videos of Idling Trucks, NYT.
The Baby-Sitters Club Wasnāt Enough for Netflix Anymore, Vulture.
Want To Declutter Your Brain? Cross Something Off Your 'Needle List', HuffPost.
Have a good one! š¼
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Hi! Hope youāre 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.) Hereās what I got up to this weekā¦
āNocs walk ā01 (just a bunch of photos of birds I took today!)
And thereās a new episode of Oh, I Like That out! This week, we talked about games.
How Did This Many Deaths Become Normal?, The Atlantic.
How To Murder a Good Idea With Conventional Wisdom, In These Times.
āOne 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.ā
The Biden Administration Killed Americaās 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: āWe canāt do anything without optimismā, The Guardian.
Have a good one! š°
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My girlfriend and I made a goal for this month to go on at least one excursion with our binoculars ā a ānocs walk! ā every week. We actually did three this week, but todayās 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 š¦
Hello!
Iām 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 isā¦pretty much all we did! Woke up and soakedā¦did sunny midday soaksā¦soaked in the eveningā¦took out the binoculars to peep birds while soakingā¦looked at snow and trees and stars while soakingā¦ truly the best way to do nature! (I was also moved to re-read this extremely soothing and delightful 2016 NYT Magazine article about Icelandās 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 wasā¦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 Iām just so glad we got to take this trip.
Hereās what else Iāve been up toā¦
Right now we are just trying to survive, Welcome to Hell World.
Texasās Attorney General Is Laying the Groundwork to Separate Trans Kids From Their Families, The New Republic.
Who Should Be Allowed to Transition?, NYT.
Related: ācis people also get gender-affirming procedures but just donāt call it that.ā
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 youāve 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.
āWe must all care for one anotherāanything less is morally unacceptable.ā I confess I didnāt 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.
We started listening to Slateās Decoder Ring podcast last week in the Catskills and itās so good!! Think Youāre Wrong About meets This American Life. I think weāve listened to about 10 eps so far, and every one has been a banger. Itās hard to pick a fave but I really liked āTruck Nutzā and āGender Reveal Parties.ā
Have a good one! āØ
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I wasnāt 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 ā and certainly the best reality television ā Iāve 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 thereās ~150 guests and a prominently-displayed oil painting of the baby (Joey ā there are so many baby Joeys) wearing a tiny newsboy cap. The whole two-season arc is pure camp and Iām fully obsessed.
Hereās what else I got up to this weekā¦
The Millions of People Stuck in Pandemic Limbo, The Atlantic.
The Moral Danger of Declaring the Pandemic Over Too Soon, NYT. (gift link)
āThe lesson of the AIDS pandemic is that itās easy to leave people behind, even if it is at the cost of our collective peril.ā
27 Years in Solitary Confinement, Then Another Plea for Help in Texas, NYT. (gift link)
The Crankification Engine, Gawker.
How Bosco Sticks Became the Secret Weapon of Midwestern Cafeterias, Eater.
Have a great week! š
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Iāve been having such a cozy and relaxing Valentineās Day weekend, Iām not ready for it to be over! Here, in no particular order, are the corny/on-theme activities weāve 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 Yearās)
Hereās what else I had going on this weekā¦
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 āAccidentsā, 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 āOscars campaignā 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! š
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Iāve always loved Valentineās 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 thatās where you are this year), itās absolutely not too late to buy a little treat for yourself.
Here are some recs, based on things Iāve bought/loved recently.
This is part of a fundraiser for Trans Lifeline, and proceeds āgo directly toward life-saving commissary & bail funds for trans people in prison.ā Available in four shirt styles and four colors, sizes Sā4XL, ranging from $25ā$35. Get it from Bonfire.
Leuchtturm is finally ā FINALLY ā 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.
I received this cardinal as part of the bird patch monthly subscription, but you can buy it ā and several other cute bird patches ā individually. Get it from Bird Collective for $8.
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 itās super portable (and easy to learn), and the cards themselves are so cute IRL. While itās currently sold out (thereās a waiting list though!), itās absolutely worth poking around Button Shy, which has a lot more of these extremely cute āwallet games.ā (I also have Insurmountable, which is a one-player game ā always nice to come across those.)
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).
This was actually one of my girlfriendās Valentineās 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 ā non-greasy, with a no-fragrance version (along with several scented options). Get it from The Knitting Hole for $11. š
