Opinions is now on sale and would make a wonderful holiday gift.
Our December book club selection is Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter. We will be in conversation with Lindsay on December 20th, and registration is open. You can watch our conversation with Ayana on YouTube.
In this week’s Work Friend, the etiquette of correcting someone’s spelling, how to handle an impersonal job rejection, freelancer boundaries, and how to navigate geopolitical issues at work. Oh the angry e-mails and other messages I’ve gotten this weekend. If you say anything in support of Israel, recognizing the horrors of October 7th, recognizing that hostages are still being held by Hamas, recognizing that Israeli people are not Netanyahu or the IDF, you’re accused of supporting genocide. If you acknowledge, in any way, that the war in Gaza is brutal and killing thousands and thousands of Palestinians, you are supporting Hamas. People don’t actually care about truth or valuing ALL human lives. Either you believe exactly what they do or you are persona non grata. How on earth do we find a way forward in this climate? How do we disagree without completely dismissing one another? I don’t know. I haven’t been writing about this because I honestly have no idea what to say. I know that is disappointing to some but it is the truth. (I also know my thoughts on all this are completely irrelevant,)
Israel’s campaign in Gaza continues, and they are now also bombarding areas where they told Palestinians to evacuate to.
The U.S. vetoed a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire. They were the only country to do so. The U.K. abstained which, frankly, is even worse.
Poet and writer Refaat Alareer and several members of his family were killed by a targeted Israeli bombing. He had made a satirical tweet about a grotesque incident with a baby that actually never happened and some people have acted like the death penalty is a proportional response from a world power. I shared a post about Refaat, whose loss is a tragedy, all of this is a tragedy, on Instagram and was accused of being antisemitic and pro-Hamas and then the person doing all this threw my dead brother into the mix. This is where people are at, I guess.
An angry white billionaire is trying to get Harvard’s president fired. He says she is a DEI hire, which is pathetic. Just a tired ass bullshit argument people love to trot out when they disapprove of someone with power.
An essay by Noah Rosenzweig about chest surgery, what we want for ourselves, living with imperfection and still wanting more.
Performance Space New York is having a year end celebration, BODYWORK, with performances by Kevin Aviance, Mykki Blanco and deejaying from DeSe and Fashion Labeija, and much more. Tickets start at $25. It will be an incredible night celebrating queer nightlife in NYC.
Joshua Jackson and Lupita N’yongo are maybe dating and wearing a lot of weird layers.
Jonathan Majors seems like a bad boyfriend, among many other things. Such a shame.
Kiese Laymon on the pleasures of his favorite restaurant that also served gas.
A review of Renaissance in The New Yorker. And a review of the film in Vulture. This one was quite good. I disagreed with a couple parts and thought the part about Uncle Johnny was out of pocket. An editor really should have addressed that. But this is great cultural criticism. It engages with culture. It asks provocative questions. It isn’t merely uncritical adoration. So…, why did people lose their minds over this review? Why did the author, Angelica Jade Bastièn, one of the most interesting cultural critics working today, receive threats and doxxing? I LOVE Beyoncé. I enjoy her music and her public persona. And this review doesn’t change that. It makes me think! I hope people can get more comfortable with being challenged. It’s good for us, I promise.
Eren Orbey on trying to make sense of her father’s murder.
An essay from Maggie Smith on learning independence after a painful divorce.
A deep dive into Brittney Griner’s arrest in Russia, being held in prison, and finally being freed.
A cute lil baseball player named Shohei Ohtani is going to play for Dodgers and he will be making $700 million over ten years. That seems like… quite a lot of money. I bet he’s pretty good at baseball. My favorite part of this story is that he won’t even be pitching for the team until 2025 as he recovers from an elbow surgery. Like, wow!
The public universities in Wisconsin are doing away with DEI and hiring a specialist in conservative thought. There are not enough eyerolls and anger for what state legislatures are doing to public education.
Maybe know the language before you get it permanently inked on your skin.
There is no oat milk in the Bronx (of course there is).
Sam Smith and a choir. This artist sure can put on a show.
A 17-year-old mass shooter in Michigan will receive life in prison without the possibility of parole.
There was a mass shooting at UNLV.
On violence in federal prisons.
A woman in Atlanta tried to burn down MLKs home… smh.
Taylor Swift’s Era Tour has grossed over a billion dollars. She is also Time’s person of the year. Interesting choice this year.
How MacKenzie Scott spent $2.1 billion this year.
An interview with Charles Melton who was by far the best part of the very good film May December.
Smile Direct Club has gone out of business… sorry to all those people waiting on their next lil mouth device.
RIP to Ryan O’Neal. He was talented and handsome. RIP to Normal Lear who created a lot of excellent television.
I love Lear’s work, but I also came across the story of Eric Monte and… whew.
Another day, another lawsuit being lodged against Diddy. As Joel Anderson writes, all of this has been a long time coming.
There is a reggaeton lawsuit brewing. And Daddy Yankee is… retiring and becoming evangelical?
The new SAG/AFTRA contract has been ratified.
A starred review for The Cleaner by Brandi Wells, out in January, and you should all read it.
Every holiday movie, ever.
A Texas woman had to petition the courts to get a medically necessary abortion. She was granted permission. Ken Paxton, a man, decided to go to the higher courts to stop her and they’ve stayed the lower court order so the higher court can deliberate. Over a woman and her personal medical care. Everything is fucking disgusting.
Kevin McCarthy is leaving Congress.
After blocking military confirmations for months, Tommy Tuberville is finally releasing his holds on… most of them. But not all. Asshole.
A federal judge has prohibited separating families at the border for eight years. So, I guess in nine years, that inhumane practice will be okay.
There was a weird, truly weird Goodreads scandal this week.
The fifth loko….Panera lemonade.
Oxford University Press says the word of the year is “rizz.” I actually know what this word means because my nephew used it in a sentence the other day and I secretly looked it up so I could respond appropriately.
An elegant READ.
Heh. Scissors.
The EU has developed the world’s first laws for regulating AI. Good luck with that.
TV execs realize viewers do actually enjoy 22-episode seasons and fun, scripted TV shows. But why aren’t any deals being made? (Ask me about all my canceled projects!)
Funny how often men ask for an open relationship and then find out their wives are actually widely desirable while they… aren’t.
Fantasia has been around for a minute.
A conversation with Adele! I am such a fan. And this is just plain funny (IYKYK!).
A sexy meet cute. Meet sexy?
Mario Batali is trying to find his way back.
Did you know there is no grocery store in Atlantic City?
Why are millennials dreading motherhood?
A few evenings at Los Angeles’s last porn theater.
Amy Robach and TJ Holmes’s exes are… dating. Amazing amazing amazing. Very Shania.
You know how you’re watching the credits of a movie and see that Will Ferrell produced it?
Ashanti and Nelly are having a baby. The nineties are back!
Spotify is laying off 17% of its staff. Spotify is also canceling two of their best, most critically acclaimed podcasts. They (Spotify) seem bad at podcasts, tbh.
A profile of André 3000.
Glen Hansard and Lisa O’Neill playing Fairytale of New York.
So much in this Roundup..
- Thanks for the words on the middle east. Many of us, seeing the tragedy on both sides of the conflict, find it difficult to express without offending.
- Thanks for the Kiese Laymon essay. I am now going to get his memoir 'cause that essay put a smile on my face and me wanting more of that!.
- Thanks for the Eric Monte/Norman Lear throw-down. Hit me like a brilliant flash of the obvious!
- Texas, Texas just makes me mad. I don't live there and don't plan on it. Even if that woman gets the care she needs other Texas laws can then kick in and she, and anyone who is involved in her health, can get sued. It is unbelievable to me.
- Thanks for Sam Smith, I'm not even sure I'm a fan, but whenever I see him performing I just can't NOT watch (double negs on purpose)!
- From the open relationships, to Fantasia, to Robin Thede on Adele to meet sexy.....These twitter (errr, X) pearls always make my week.
Just THANKS Roxane!
I wrote this piece about the attacks on Dr. Claudine Gay and made it a blog post on my website. https://www.prinzdocumentary.org/new-blog/2023/12/12/the-new-gate-will-be-open