Ducklings, how are we all doing? I ask because we’re moving into month eight of some version of social restrictions here in the UK and staring down the barrel of an increasingly grim winter season as infections continue to rise. The States…well, I’m glad I live where I do. But yeah, 2020 continues to be A Lot.

I’m personally coming off two back to back weeks of significant work projects which were very satisfying to complete but rather stressful to get over the line. Not a small portion of my job involves media monitoring, prep, and response which – again, in 2020 – is not conducive to remaining calm or thoughtful.

And so, a casual reminder that it’s okay to not have all your shit together or an answer to the huge amount of complex issues we face as individuals and collectives. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed by work, isolation, family, boredom, economic anxiety, existential threats, and common everyday irritations. These are not normal times, it’s okay to have weird reactions or coping mechanisms.

Just remember that these times are not going away soon. It’s comforting to look at set deadlines like elections or year ends as some sort of arbitrary goal to be reached after which Things Will Be Different, but I’m convinced that’s a mistake. We need to be able to think about hard things and times in the long term, so we can build the resilience we need to navigate it. If you are lucky enough to have the time or money, donate to causes you care about and make a plan to stay involved in issues long after the media spotlight turns away from them. Stay engaged and informed in difficult topics. Stay prayed up, as the kids say.

And look out for everyone else trying to do the same

PS – If you’re American, VOTE GOD DAMN IT. Just don’t mistake November 3rd for some kind of endgame, regardless of the outcome. Our problems didn’t begin in 2016, and they’re not going to end in 2020.

Let them love!

While we’re in this mental space…

Good.

Hoo boy, this is a news story to watch for a lot of reasons.

What a dumb timeline this is.

IT’S. A. CULT. (…a super weird cult…)

The disinformation storm we live in frightens me. It frightens me more how many people I know believe actual conspiracy theories.

And while we’re being grim, it’s not going to get better if Mr. Trump loses. Do you think he’s just going to fade away? That his Twitter feed will go dark? That his scions won’t position themselves in the media or political landscape for the next election cycle? And as for the most cultish of his advocate, do you think they’re just going to vanish into the night? As much as I hope Trump loses, I don’t mistake that for actually fixing so many of the things that got him elected and allowed people to build an actual god damned mythology around him in the first place.

This is BIG religious news.

I cannot imagine the strength and grace that allowed him to arrive at this position.

MY BODY IS READY. (My wallet is not…)

How pleasing is this story of that rare thing: a perfectly harmless hobby!

So it’s worse than we thought. Great.

This whole news story is a trip. But it’s also also the stupidest thing imaginable. (ETA: IT GOT WORSE.)

RIP, you ridiculous, doomed idea.

If you’ve seen #endSARS trending and had to catch up on the topic, Marie Claire has a good piece for you.

Someday in the foreseeable future presidential debates will take place on Twitch and there will be nary an old white dude in sight. I’m looking forward to it. Unironically.

It’s the end of an era.

Natalie is here to deliver a lecture – on why Twitter isn’t real life, why “both sides are bad” discourse isn’t just unhelpful it’s not even correct, why we are not anywhere near socialism and everyone can calm down about that, why we need allies whether your goal is incremental change or violent uprising, and imperfect allies are all we’ve got. The hard right has a plan, and the hard left has a pipe dream. Vote accordingly.