7/18 - are seashells the new labubus?
Friday’s Newsletter: freak in the sheets, frat flicking at good room, and satc merch
Damn, I’m angry today.
I woke up to a push notification warning the cost of ACA coverage could rise over 75%.
Congress just clawed back $9 billion for public media that was previously approved.
The passing of the BBB means “22.3 million families will lose some or all of their SNAP benefits.”
It costs so much money to exist in this country.
I teared up at an essay Cassandra read last night about giving up the Sisyphean instinct of ambition, but I woke up in a stranglehold of Capitalism! We all did!
Selling plasma to survive. Black market kidneys. The American dream is cutting off our limbs to spite our face.
Mercury in retrograde is not helping the rage. There’s a reason why “mercury must be in retrograde” morphed into a common colloquialism: we all feel it. Things break, plans alter, and what hasn’t been working comes to a sudden halt.
And there’s so much that hasn’t been working.
Sometimes it feels futile to write about my anger. All of these words, but where’s the change? Where’s the impact?
I’ll still do it. I’ll channel this vitriol onto a page.
This retrograde will be loud (thanks Leo!). Ask yourself how you want to use your voice during this moment. Mercury is all about communication, how it connects us to each other.
Write that shit down until it makes sense.
Until you know what to do with it.
I’m hosting a froyo meetup every two weeks, the next one is July 28th, 6 pm - RSVP!
If you want to get in on Wishlist Offline, the new project I’m launching, please fill out this form. More to come on this bbs 🫶
: )
Thought Starters
With the defunding of public media, I wanted to bring you a couple stories from those organizations.
Buried treasure a subway tunnel
*article*
This Gothamist article covers piles of hog bones and a spooky staircase recently discovered in the bowels of New York during a massive construction project to build new tunnels under the Hudson that connect Penn Station to New Jersey. I feel like a kid when I read about things like this. It’s haunting and fills me with a morbid curiosity.
“The scans identified a mysterious underground two-story staircase, whose origin remains unknown to Gateway engineers. They also found heaps of pig bones, likely leftover from a bygone era when the Meatpacking District lived up to its name. Besides the bygone stairway to hog heaven, the scans also revealed the foundation of what was once a soap factory.”
“Engle compared digging through the landfill to building a sand castle at the beach. Once the sand gets wet, it hardens, making it easier to dig out. The new tubes, which will serve NJ Transit and Amtrak trains, aren’t expected to open for service until 2035. The project will then move to rehabilitate the existing, aging Hudson River train tunnels, with a scheduled completion date of 2038.”
An Alex Jones explainer
*podcast*
This is the best crash course into Alex Jones that I’ve ever encountered. I first listened to it when I was making the 3 hour drive from Austin to Dallas back in 2019. It covers a parent battling crazed conspiracy theorists after his child was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting. The people harassing him and other families entangled in this tragedy, don’t believe the shooting actually happened and most of them are spurred on by the rhetoric from Alex Jones. The second half of the podcast dives into Jones’s origin story, much of it taking place in Rockwall, the town over from where I grew up. While this is an older story, it’s stuck with me. It’s made me think a lot about the concept of truth and why for some, it’s too big a pill to swallow.
Things to do
Anish Kumar at Good Room
When: July 19th, 10 pm
Where: Good Room, 98 Meserole Ave
What: If you’re like me and have the itch to go out, this is a great spot to hit up this weekend. This song gives you a taste of the vibe 💕
Polyester: Bed Issue Party
When: July 24th, 6 - 9 pm
Where: Susan Alexandra, 33 Orchard St
What: This feminist magazine is getting freaky in the sheets. They’re promising treats, a bead bar, and intriguing performances!
Products
Carrie and Charlotte Shirt
*apparel*
I have a strawberry dress from Omighty and I love it so much that I had to browse their site to see if they had something else I could scoop up. This. This is it. It’s perfect.
What is it? Carrie and Charlotte Shirt
How much? $65
Shell's Jewel Highlighter Balm
*beauty*
It’s a highlighter that you can use to accessorize your bag. Honestly, Flower Knows’ packaging is god tier and their palettes can double as decor for your vanity.
What is it? Shell's Jewel Highlighter Balm
How much? $20