Hi friends! I’m back with my monthly newsletter only 6 months late! If you’re reading this, I hope you are safe, warm, well-fed, and have something, even something small, you’re looking forward to.
I have spent the last many months trying to get fresh air, safely socialize, biking, and more recently *hibernating*. Like, Emily Dickinson-level hibernating! But I have also written a few things, shared below.
Getting to the Meaning of Mariah Carey. In my third(!)-ever piece about my favorite diva, I dug into her years of misrepresentation and feeling misunderstood, which she’s sought to rectify through her delicious new memoir. Which is hilarious. Especially on audiobook. Highly recommend.
60 Songs That Explain the 90s: “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Now a certifiable Mariah expert, I was a guest on Rob Harvilla’s Ringer podcast to talk about her most famous, most seasonally ubiquitous song—and even coined the term “Mariah Justice Warrior”—a thing I am not (yet). You can listen on Spotify!! I start talking around 28:20.
I interviewed Alua Arthur, a death doula whose work has become evermore important in the pandemic. We talked about the importance of having a death education and a “death plan,” a.k.a., an end-of-life plan. In our short conversation she helped alleviate some of my squeamishness in talking about death. Maybe she can help yours?
I made a spreadsheet of everyone I’ve ever dated because why not? I like to be organized, and it’s also way easier to see how many Aquarians have passed through your life when you can click ‘sort.’ I wrote about this little project for Forge Magazine. Please try at home!
Now listening: this saucy cover of Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love” by my favorite blue-eyed soul lady, Gretchen Parlato.
Looking forward to: the day when it will be safe to randomly kiss a stranger.