Category: Humor

Humor, Links

Weekend Links

Gather round for your batch of weekend reading, my Christmas goslings! I am currently still basking in the joy of seeing a really good movie (“Knives Out,” go see it!) and reading up on Instant Pot recipes after we went to dinner with friends from out of town last weekend and they convinced us to buy one. In other words, prime weekend activities. Let’s all cozy up and be lazy together, shall we?

 

Lisa Page’s professionally mandated silence is up and I’m pleased she’s speaking out against the institutional breakdown and gross misogyny she has faced.

Festivus is here with the airing of grievances. I joke to keep from screaming into a cushion.

How is she out and mediocre, old white men are still buying their way in? I’m actually angry…the only consolation is that she will be able to focus on the senate activity coming up and possibly be a contender for future cabinet positions. I’d be delighted to see her as Attorney General. (I type this pretty well convinced at this moment, grimly, that Mr. Trump will get re-elected if something big doesn’t happen.)

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A dual piece of good news: NPR has released their list of the best books of the year and HANNAH’S DEBUT IS ON IT. (How to find her first and pre-order new next novel here!)

It. Never. Went. Away.

I’m very curious, kittens: what changes, if any, are you making to your digital footprint as a result of data breaches, information on how personal information is used, your perception of social media, or other factors?

We wouldn’t believe this shit if it was scripted for TV…

Yes. I have seen the Peloton ad. Do we need to stage a rescue for this woman or what? (The Great and Good Mull breaks it down a bit more.)

Gotta hand it to Ryan Reynolds, though, this almost-immediate follow up ad was genius. I hope this actress rides (if you’ll pardon the pun) her fifteen seconds for all they are worth.

Go Miguel!

Diplomacy is going great, team…

Investigative journalism.

I’m always here for the podcast rankings, oversaturated as my beloved medium market may be.

Being a woman caught between nations is such a strange thing. I’m invested in so many elections in which I can’t participate, but which intimately affect my life. Both of “my” countries feel so deeply unmoored and subdivided right now. But I feel as though Britain–smaller, more internally diverse and multi-national in its own right–should serve for a lesson for the rest of the democratic west. This election feels like a bellwether.

Color me underwhelmed. (See what I did there? See?!)

I’m actually interested in this live action remake, what on earth is happening. (Editor’s note: Gong Li was what was happening. C. has had a crush on her for literal years.)

At this point this is the only famous person I still care about, and he still has much to teach us.

Wut.

Humor

December Moodboard

This month I’m going classic. I’m probably not going to break any moulds, but what I do give my time and efforts to, I’m going to try to do well. Already I’m looking ahead to 2020 and a few things that need to change or be shaken up, but for the moment I’m trying to find some pleasure and enjoyment in the traditional, tried and true.

Humor, Links

“Weekend” Links

Happy Monday-after-Thanksgiving, kittens! We spent a few days on break and hanging out with friends, blissfully ignorant to most of the world, and it was delightful. But I would never leave you totally defenseless to face the week…have a nice batch of reading to kick off December!

We’re all a lot more conscious of how our digital data is being used (which is a good thing!). If you want to have a bit more control over your data situation overall, this handy primer with links on how to “opt out” out of common data handlers is a useful read.

Small Dog Nation loves a heist.

We’re not ready for 2020, the latest episode.

So long, fare well, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!

An interesting change for Londoners, and interesting in the ongoing debates about the gig economy and related topics.

Not great.

You might think that e-books meant easier experiences for readers at libraries…but you’d be wrong! A fascinating dive into why e-books, which could theoretically democratize books in so many ways also suffer from some peculiar limitations.

What a pleasing project!

A perfectly seasonal and topically appropriate piece.

My fellow winter lovers, unite.

This planet is going to shake us off like a case of the fleas….

Ditto above, this time from the sea.

What the actual fuck is wrong with these people?!

This is such a Small Dog Nation catnip story.

Goals, Humor

Year of Discipline: October and November

Hi kittens, I’m not dead. Read on for more info.

General Motivation

Some things have really helped me stay on track this month. I was finally able to hire for my department which has been a game changer in my work life. Simply having another set of hands has freed up my time and brain tremendously, which has in turn allowed me to focus and be more effective. In turn, this has allowed me to free up energy and time for other things, like continuing to order the house and prioritize health…

 

Health

The most important thing I’ve done for my health over the past couple of months is to finally tick off that major goal of setting up some mental health support via therapy. This is something that I should have done a long time ago, but like an idiot, I can see in retrospect how I was trying to muscle through some really challenging things and times thinking that because I wasn’t actively falling to pieces that I was fine. And the frustrating thing is that I KNOW this is bullshit! Had my experience been one of my friends or loved ones, I’d have pushed them to take advantage of therapy a long time ago. The ability alone to create mental space for and talk through the paths in my brain that have become entrenched and may need paving over has been game changing. I foresee there’s still a while to go in some of this work, but I’m grateful to have simply bitten the bullet and wondering again what took so long to do something that would have clearly been of benefit.

Anyway, if you think you may need therapy: seek it out. There are resources at most pricepoints (even though I know it remains a financial burden for way too many people…) and I don’t know a person alive who wouldn’t benefit from a check in with themselves at some point, guided by a professional.

 

Financial

This month I opened a new UK savings account and set up standing orders to pay into it. We made this a joint one to try and share the savings load a bit more than we have done to date. While this may seem odd and very basic, it’s been due to our unique banking situation over the past six years (both US and UK banking that we have to track meticulously, and US debt with UK income from separate jobs). I wasn’t actually eligible for a UK bank account when we first moved here and we had to develop a lot of work arounds, as well as phase my full financial set up in this country, which has taken years. Stemming from this, we have set up a probably too complex system with lots of joint collaboration on debt, but without enough household collaboration on savings. We have this is in our US banking, but didn’t in our UK one and it was good to change that up deliberately.

I also continued my culling project and sold multiple items. In fact, my personal moment of smugness this month was due to scoring a new winter coat–something I put off buying last year–by TRADING for it with a luxury consignment and vintage seller. I had another piece that I bought years ago, a classic case of shopping for a fantasy self rather my real self–which was still in pristine condition. Due to swapping, I effectively scored a brand new with tags, beautiful camel coat that would have cost me a few hundred pounds on its own for no cost, and got value out of something that otherwise was causing me a lot of unhelpful guilt. Second hand shopping, people!

 

Grooming

This year has been good for my hair (she admitted grudgingly). It’s taken literal months but I’ve finally found the combination of products that seems to produce a sleeker, shinier strand that I want and feels more professional.

On other fronts, this has also been a good year for my overall presentation skills…but perhaps more on that in the yearly wrap up?

 

Other

Completed another month of no/low buy challenges, continuing the slow but steady march towards the financial situation we want.

Deep cleaned the apartment and did some more settling and rearranging of stuff.

Read tons of books! I’d fallen a bit out of the habit and behind on my book goals, but more than made up for lost time over the past two months.

Began planning some 2020 travel. I’m sick of talking about it and not making it happen.

Did a small social media fast from Instagram.

 

Humor

Weekend Links

Sorry for the gap last week, kittens, but I didn’t want to leave you bereft for two weekends in a row. Enjoy!

Even by the standards of 2019, the changing justifications for Mr. Trump’s behaviour towards Ukraine have been ridiculous and annoying. The sheer audacity to move the goalposts this much, this blatantly is insulting.

Also even by 2019 standards, this is a bit thick on the irony and grimness.

This has been an odd story. On the one hand, we’ve known he’s racist for a very long time. He’s not been shy about his views at all. On the other, it’s darkly fascinating to see it laid out in such stark detail.

NINE NINE!

Limewire was probably the first website I have a distinct memory of when it comes to the internet of 20 years ago. I was never on MySpace or LiveJournal, so this was a big one.

What a ride this story is!

A fantastic piece on the role of our Queen and Saviour Beyoncé as an individual performer and her powerful role in black art in the 21st century. It also features the work of other pioneering performers of colour who are breaking moulds, and almost all of whom I love. What I most appreciate about this piece is its emphasis on the quantity and scale of work it has taken to achieve and sustain the success–a nice alternative to the flashy stories of easy genius far too many believe or hope for. An important aspect of my deep love for Beyoncé is that it’s known how hard the woman works. I don’t fetishize it, but I respect the hell out of it.  

Speaking of: GIVE LIZZO HER THINGS.

This is a reboot I’m wholly in favour of!

“The truth about me is not that I’m volatile and unstable, but that I’m really vibrant, and the color of my sorrow is just as bright as the stripes of my delight.” This interview actually made me tear up a bit.

Bill Gates has been in a bit of hot water regarding the mood towards taxation recently, and I think a lot of that criticism is deserved, but I also think his investment in disease prevention is very admirable and worthy as well. This latest project reveal is also something I was fascinated and pleased to read about.

Vive les canards!

Sometimes I’m crippled by imposter syndrome, convinced I’m bad at my job. And then I see what other communications or marketing people manage to churn out and I’m comforted.

Also, PR people! You don’t notice their worth until yours quits and you go on to do That Interview with predictable results.

This is the only explicitly political story I am sharing this week–not because I don’t think the news isn’t important (quite the reverse!) but because there is so much of it every single day that trying to recap it is a fools errand and there are actual pros doing that work for you. Which you should be reading, following and listening to. Anyway. It doesn’t surprise me at all to hear that the administration didn’t actually want an investigation into a political opponent so much as they wanted the show of one. Because that’s what they are: reality TV producers whose primary goal has always been crafting a narrative more than accomplishment. Anyone who says differently at this point is so obviously lying that it’s hardly worth arguing.

Emma is the best JA heroine. Do not @ me.

This is devastating…

Damn. I lied, I’m also sharing this story because Dr. Fiona Hill managed to cut through bullshit, disinformation, and bad faith with knife like precision and deserves recognition. She was polite in the face of monologuing, clear when others tried to obfuscate, and firm in her defense of her profession and its importance. Our world order doesn’t work without seasoned diplomats.

You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain….

The founder walked away with a billion dollars. With a B.

Speaking of, you don’t always expect comedians to make these point this calmly or pointedly, but Sacha Baron Cohen made a personal case for why six billionaires do and should not have the right to wield as much power as they do.

Speaking of again, the bullshit our mythologized rich people get away with never ceases to amaze me.

We’re not ready for 2020 and it’s going to be so ugly I can barely breathe thinking about it.

Reader, I cackled.

Humor, Links, News, Politics, Pop Culture

Weekend Links

Your weekend reading is here! And once again, mostly as an act of self care, it’s almost entirely politics free–ENJOY.

We talk a lot about the President’s use of Twitter, but this deep dive into the online world in which his Twitter feed operates and feeds itself is the first examination of that particular ecosystem that I’ve seen. And I think it’s long overdue.

Answers to one of the most consuming and awkward questions of my childhood!

What a harrowing story…

Something is definitely in the water (and by “water” I mean capitalism and social media).

So, media is changing all around us. What does this mean for one of the biggest names in magazine publishing, you ask? This is an engrossing read for anyone who is at all interested in the media landscape.

Also from The Intelligencer, this…opening line: “White nationalism has a branding problem.” It’s actually a good review of the state of several of those “influencer Nazis” that everyone gave platforms to because they dressed well and managed to be well-spoken. How’d that turn out for us all? Snark aside, this piece actually has some good points to make about respectability politics for horrible people.

This op ed is infuriating.

Meanwhile, this saga is charming. Let them look at the art!

Crissle West (one half of the EXCELLENT and popular podcast The Read), deserves every ounce of her success.

Genuinely interesting election news–because it’s about process not personalities. Like unto other social experiments, I want to see a decent ranked voting case study in action. It strikes me as much more likely than first-past-the-post to engender a consensus agreement on the results of an election rather than the partisan bitterness we see so much of now.

The revolution will be sloganized.

If there’s one thing we at Small Dog Nation can’t get enough of, it’s a good archeology or excavation story!

Here for the clap back!

The THIRST.

Notorious PWB.

Obviously I have a deep appreciation for the role of “Mormon mommy bloggers” and the role they played in internet culture. Whilst not a mum, Mormon blogging has been a big part of my writing background and personal story, so I still feel weirdly protective about some of the OG characters of the genre.

Weirdly fascinating!

 

Humor

Weekend Links

Hey kittens, still going through it and so another quick intro just to kick off your weekend reading. Next to no politics this week because I am sick to the teeth of trying to keep up with it all. Instead, have a lovingly curated batch of links on the future of the internet user experience, good journalism on nicely odd topics, and pleasing whimsy. Enjoy!

Why DO people hate vegans so much? My experience with vegans is that I have seen many more people whinge, rant, or engage in outright verbal hostility towards them for “a sense of victimhood or self righteousness,” than I have ever seen or heard vegans themselves claim victimhood or be self righteous. It’s a very strange culture war from an outside perspective.

Bet you didn’t know Britain had a native wild cat!

What say you, Small Dog Nation, shall we all move to Italy?

Once more for the cheap seats in the back: millions of people are being displaced and will be displaced in our lifetimes. Walls won’t stop movement of people, language and borders are no longer barriers. This is coming, whether sooner or later. We need to think about it and plan for it now.

“Stick to sports.” NO. (Also, a reminder that Deadspin published one of the most prescient pieces on the then-state of and future of culture ever written).

Conspiracy theories and bad science will kill us all…

On the other hand, kindness, respect, and generosity of spirit may yet save us if we’re lucky.

Vote for your favorite books of 2019.

Facebook employees have written an open letter, disagreeing with the policies and procedures the business has implemented regarding what information they will and will not regulate. This is not an easy debate, but needs to happen. Facebook has more users than any single nation on earth has citizens. They may not wish to be in the position to make some ethical calls of this nature…but we’re well past the point where doing nothing is acceptable. The stakes are too high now, trying desperately to avoid the responsibility that is now yours by default isn’t going to fly.

What a pleasing bit of scientific nerdery!

Everything is stupid but we are getting some Grade A metaphors.

An interestingly enough, Twitter is trying something rather bold. Curious to see how this works out (or not) in 2020 and if any other platform will follow. Also curious to see how the meme farms and trolls will find a way to get around this..

Memes matter and are short ways to convey a lot of meaning. In this case, intergenerational exasperation and anger.

JUST LET THEM READ.

Bennoff and Weiss finally admit what we suspected for a long time: they didn’t know what they were doing and were badly out of their depth. (The original source thread is bonkers.)

Florida Man, meme becomes life.

An excellent reported piece!

This is genuinely fascinating (if scary) and I think things are trending in this direction more generally. Consider streaming services: briefly the solution to cable TV, each network is now launching its own service which you have to pay for separately in order to access its special content. In other words…cable. There are different versions of the internet, depending on which platforms you frequent and use. Someone was going to be the first to attempt to make this official…

And finally, in honor of Halloween: DAFUQ?!

Humor

Weekend Links

A flying drop in of links for your reading delectation, my ducklings. I’m still semi absent, but I’m also still finding you things to help us all distract ourselves from the general…er…everything…

Never not interested in antique jewels!

Also never not into the women who make other powerful people (especially women), well, powerful.

Reupping this story from last week, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex continued to be candid and vulnerable in powerful ways. I’m more convinced than ever that she (and likely he) did not understand the ugliness she was going to face and I think this interview speaks to that. “I never thought it would be easy,” she said of tabloid newspaper coverage, “but I thought it would be fair.”

2020 is going to be so ugly I can’t think about it without feeling panicky.

What a week for journalism! Not only did McKay Coppins drop another brilliant profile this week, Ashley Feinberg did her usual investigative brilliance and discovered Senator Romney’s secret Twitter feed within hours of learning of its existence! “C’est moi!”

We need to talk more about menstrual cups.

People are going to have to move. Millions of them. And anyone who doesn’t like that fact now is in for a world of hurt and anger in the foreseeable human future.

Messaging matters. It’s why I have a career, and you don’t always notice it until you notice its absence.

Long live Bilbo the cat.

This feels like it should be a much bigger story in the wider conversations we’re having about money, citizenship, capitalism, and culture. We already pay a literal cost to participate in society, it’s called taxes. To be in a position to have to pay in ORDER to pay for taxes is mad.

On the one hand, he’s right. On the other hand, I was personally awash in thirst in most of the films in some way or another.

I’m not proud of the fact that I follow at least two astrology meme social media accounts. I don’t believe in it…and yet…

I spend a lot of time thinking about collective anger. Everyone is angry right now–*I’m* angry. And a lot of interested parties (irrespective of faction) have spent years whipping up anger to suit their own ends. I think a lot of those interested parties have badly misjudged how much control they will have over that anger in the long term.

Such malicious enjoyment I felt reading this!

Why it’s wrong to dismiss the power and draw of online communities and the very real value they give.

Why journalism failed the Brexit debate (and elsewhere).

Just when you’re convinced 2019 could not get any dumber: butt dialling.

Something I think a lot about and I suspect Small Dog Nation does too.

An excellent piece on how our collective perceptions of time and experience have changed in the last decade. It’s flattened. Our experiences have become performative. Privacy is mostly a delusion. We’re going to have to do some real psychological work as a culture to figure out what to do and where to go next as a result.

Because it’s witch season, let’s indulge in a bit of history on the subject, shall we?

…this story…I just…the poodles?!

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Facts.

Humor

Weekend Links

A short intro this week, ducklings. I actually may have to take a blog break for a bit, life has simply overtaken me of late, but here’s some weekend reading to get you through until then. Sending you good vibes for the week ahead.

This is quite the romantic tale…

Journalist Spencer Ackerman put it best this week, “If you read Comey’s memoir, the story that he doesn’t realize he’s telling you is a story about a man so convinced of his own heroism that he constantly searches for opportunities to intervene and ends up making things worse. An extremely American story.” It was in relation to this profile.

…I want them. I want them all. (I mean, except the Nazi and Confederate ones and their various deplorable associates. Yikes, people!)

I laughed with Mr. Gowdy was announced, and reader I chortled to read the update.

This is vile and if I never hear another pearl-clutching diatribe about civility in the public square again it will be too soon. (For those who try to pull the “whataboutism” card of how satirists and political adversaries have also produced graphic depictions of violence towards political leaders, the important differences are context and power. A comedian acting in bad taste is just that. Boycott or shrug as you wish. A president or his supporters showing a violent targeting of enemies, at an event designed to garner support, is wielding power. One of these has an actual army under their command, the other doesn’t.)

Reality TV is all he understands.

This week in Mormon news: it’s not great.

Here have something slightly better: a deep dive into the wacky, wonderful world of the Utah film industry!

Ho’ boy. Seems fraud-y.

Caption this.

I found this article about a fan “breaking up” with a star incredible poingnant. It’s a silly topic on the surface, but surprisingly deep. It resonated with me and my experience breaking up with not just my religion, but specific cultural aspects of my old faith. I got to a point where I was reading and participating in the activism and blogosphere and personalities in the feminist Mormon community so much that it had taken over my life is highly negative ways. I defined almost everything in my life by my relationship to these communities! I had to choose to to assign my attention and time in fundamentally different ways–which impacts identity, priorities, and any number of other things–and it was not easy.

Cry me a damn river. I’m pretty well convinced this guy’s goal is to try and become president some day, and I will be delighted if his ambitions collapse. There are plenty of principled conservatives who could be elected whose policies I’ll cheerfully complain about, confident that they aren’t implicated in corrupt schemes.

The letter itself is insane and the response was just about as reassuring.

I.Con.Ic. Paint it in oils and hang it high.

Why the Young Folks are mad, exhibit 2,604.

“If the most effective form of propaganda in the digital age is to overwhelm the public with so much bullshit that they stop believing anything, then that puts people like me in a near-impossible position because we’re no longer debating what’s true and false; instead, the question of truth is off the table, and politics is purely about aesthetics and cultural identity.”

A little seasonal witchiness for you.

Good, this is exactly a time where it needs to be tested and people need to make decisions. It’s a worthy debate to have in good faith, regardless on where you land on an answer.

One of the blogging OG’s reflects on the effects of social media on her self.

Rest in power.

Brexit slogs on. Johnson does as well.

GUYS, NO. This is how we die!

I’m kind of over the Joker discourse, but still enjoyed this take on why Jared Leto’s Joker in Suicide Squad (an objectively bad film) simply didn’t work.

Important cookie content.

The Duchess of Sussex did something quietly revolutionary this week: she told people how she felt. I’ve seen both American and British responses to her choice to be so vulnerable, but I don’t think most American realize that what she’s doing is completely outside the norms and expectations for her role. I applaud her. The virulent racism and misogyny she has been subjected to is next level and, I personally believe, she did not really comprehend what she was getting into. Even being a celebrity is no apprenticeship for being a royal. The scrutiny she was going to face was always going to be horrible, always. But I don’t think she (or probably her husband) realized it would be this ugly. Meanwhile, the role of the royal family is not to be human; it is to be a group of living, breathing symbols and ciphers for other people’s patriotism, criticism, pride, and anger. She is choosing to be a person. I cannot say enough how much I admire that, but she has unquestionably chosen the hard route. She will pave the way for many women, both in the public and private sphere who will find inspiration in her example, but I cringe to think how much more abuse she will be subjected to as a result of her bold choices.

The impeachment news this week is too much to try and summarize myself, so here’s a summary of updates from the week as well as a couple of new podcast resources (this one from WYNC is hosted by Brian Lehrer, this one is from Vox). It’s been interspersed with the ridiculously corrupt news that the administration (aka the President) effectively awarded a government contract to himself, in announcing that one of his resorts would host the next G7 summit. He walked it back days later on Twitter because of the backlash. I suspect it’s like a genuine attempt to drive money towards a business that the ProPublica and Washington Post teams have compiled enough evidence to confirm is wildly under-performing, wrapped a test case for what his party will and will not protect him from.

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Humor, Links, News, Politics, Pop Culture

Weekend Links: WAGatha Christie and Wagging the Dog

“The glory which is built upon a lie soon becomes a most unpleasant incumbrance. …  How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and how hard it is to undo that work again!”
– Mark Twain

This week has been NUTS. We’ve got footballers wives doing a better job that national security apparatuses, the Ukraine scandal spiraling into new depths, and ursine QUEENS. This is an extra hefty dose of links to help you process the *waves hands at general state of things.*

It’s going to be a very normal and calm week, I see…

Super normal.

What BULLSHIT. This is what toxic gender roles mean for everyone: loneliness and disdain for all involved, unless we all participate in a system which requires a hierarchy with winners and losers. Imagine the world we could build if we dedicating one tenth of the energy we put towards reinforcing unequal systems to building better ones that rewarded different many different kinds of success instead of a designated few.

We’ve been playing the “horrible goose” game for a week, this might be next.

…I’ve fled that country…

Words cannot express how much I love Caitlin Moran and her writing. Her last column in the Sunday Times is short but nails the appeal of chaos to so many right now–particularly those who should, theoretically, be most opposed to it.

LOL to the entire idea that Perry is the criminal mastermind. Also, the internal logic continues to impress me. This “perfect” phone call that is entirely above board was also totally this guy’s fault. Let me be clear, I completely am onboard with the idea that Rick Perry is involved in this mess (and so do other people, given he’s been subpoenaed), but you will have a hard time convincing me that the Oops Guy is responsible for it all.

I need to print out this list and post it. It’s nominally about writing, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the advice is multi faceted.

A rather interesting case progressed this week, wherein the President tried to keep his personal financial records hidden via a rather extraordinary set of circumstances and claims that his office grants him immunity from any kind of criminal prosecution–which would have been a deeply problematic ruling to enshrine in precedent.

This shift in policy is not just bad and last minute on it’s face, it puts one of our most stalwart allies in the fight against ISIS in direct harm’s way, thereby breaking promises and diminishing the likelihood that we are seen as a trusted partner to our own friends the world over. (ETA, two days later…)

TikTok makes me feel very old.

Ooh, someone running the social experiment I want follow!

Ronan Farrow’s latest book exposes a lot more about the shadowy world of private protection and security that the wealthy move in to safeguard them against reputational damage. He’s released excerpts with The New Yorker and they are not fucking around! Part I, Part II, Part III.

Related to the previous, what happens after, you ask?

…who’s in for the next pony party?

I don’t like this weird dystopia.

Meanwhile, Holly is a goddamn icon as far as I’m concerned!

SOMEBODY BUY THIS CAPE RIGHT NOW.

We’ve had to go through a lot of pain to realize that this should have been the take from the jump as a society, but I stan a sassy delivery of truth any day of the week.

Also, Elizabeth Warren is extremely good at this.

What a mess this is going to be…on Tuesday the White House sent a rather sloppy legal letter advising the House that they aren’t going to participate in the investigation into their behavior. This is either ridiculous gaslighting or they don’t understand how an investigation works. Likely both. Now is when we are going to see if our constitutional checks and balances actually work: will the House be able to serve and enforce subpoenas, or is the president above the law? Regardless of your politics, this has huge implications for American politics.

On Wednesday, the prominent legal scholar Noah Feldman summed up the impasse are barreling towards.

Also, greater insight into how a fairly small outfit (all things considered) is destabilizing nations and events around the world.

Something I honestly think about a lot: will Jeff and I ever really be able to retire?

A tragic and difficult read, about individual pain and community trauma.

I love fall!

The kerfuffle with the NBA and China, explained.

How did you survive the WAG War of 2019? Anything that gets the term “Wagatha Christie” trending will absolutely command my attention.

How handy! A new list of things to read, all of which tickle my fancy!

Another week, another great Amanda Mull piece.

It’s leather jacket season!

Thursday. Welp. (A tiny reminder of how deeply incestuous all of this world is, and a quick summary. Another tiny nugget/reminder that their companies are called Fraud Guarantee and Mafia Rave. Seriously.)

“…the best people…”

Reminder: to understand the Ukraine shenanigans, you have to understand the world of conspiracy theories. It’s also increasingly likely that some of the most powerful men (and they are mostly men) in the world, actually DO believe these.

On the flip side, here’s a succinct timeline of the Ukrainian situation as it actually happened. In other words, Mr. Guiliani was not “looking for dirt”

All the AOC haircut “scandal” has made clear to me is that most men don’t realize how expensive it is to be a woman.

Hey, that Webtoon I shared on a previous monthly favorites post has some great news!

Friday. The role of the Supreme Court really is the Chekov’s Gun in the Trump presidency.

Also Friday.

Also also Friday. (Her statement is not messing about.)

And did sweet f a about it, apparently.

Fuck.

Extremely relevant to my interests and past professional life. This change will affect how money flows across this entire planet!

SHAMELESS PLUG OF THE WEEK. I’m so bloody proud of her I could burst! Enjoy this pleasing tease of the British version of her upcoming book and sharpen your knives in anticipation.

Welp, this baby made me cry.