This Week
Well met, newsletter friends. I hope you’re staying safe and looking ahead with bright eyes.
Quick note: while life is settling down, I’m still catching up on email and messages. If you’re expecting something from me, you’ll get it soon. You might get something even if you’re not expecting it. Just to keep you on your toes.
Hey, if you’re looking for a place to put some holiday donation money, might I suggest this Target wishlist put together by Moms United Against Violence and Incarceration? All gifts go to incarcerated mothers and their kids, and it’s extra satisfying to pick specific items to send to those who can make good use of them.
Links
Elliot Page and the year in anti-trans bigotry.
“The collective understanding of Appalachia, all our positive and negative stereotypes, and of course the ways we have been taught to view ourselves, have been made in the male image, suited to fit the male gaze.” Readjusting our view of Appalachian culture to include the contributions of women.
What explains the decline of serial killers?
The life and death of the Instagram influencer who never was.
The obsessive life and mysterious death of the fisherman who discovered the Loch Ness Monster.
Exploring the intersection of folk horror and noir.
A short documentary about a female tattoo artist in Korea, where tattooing is not technically, but effectively, illegal.
“Diner coffee’s joy is its consistency. The same every time, it fulfills the minimum requirements expected from every single cup of coffee on earth: It is hot, it is black, and it delivers caffeine. I ask no more of it, and the only decision diner coffee demands of me is which diner to enjoy it in.” An ode to one of my favorite things, an endless cup of black diner coffee.
Reading/Watching/Listening
I do not particularly recommend Mank, but you can read what I (briefly) thought about it on Letterboxd.
My recent television binge has been all of Veep, which I inexplicably never watched before and which occasionally hits a little too close to current events to be entirely comfortable, but its lighthearted cynicism provides an otherwise comforting buffer.
In other Hugh Laurie news, I also watched his new Masterpiece series Roadkill, which, frankly, is not great, but if you’re the sort of person who likes Hugh Laurie and is apt to watch any halfway decent British drama (I do and I am), there you go.
On the reading front, I’m filling in a big noir fiction gap by starting to work my way through Jim Thompson. The Getaway looks to be $0.99 on most ebook platforms if you want to join in.
Find whatever source of warmth you can.
Love,
Jen
Connections
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This week’s quote is from Percy Bysshe Shelley.