Hi Dear Readers,
First: update on this post. I found the medallion! It was under a pile of bed sheets! The universe is funny sometime.
Second: I recently posted a Tweet on Instagram from someone that starts with, “I want a soft life.” Someone in the comments said, “That’s not very guerrilla.” So, I want to take a moment to discuss this, because to me, it is, in fact, very guerrilla.
To me, “guerrilla” means radical and rest/softness in a capitalist world is indeed radical. How could it not be? It’s going against the status quo of work work work. To want OUT of “hustle culture,” is radical. To resist society telling you to care more about your work than your health is radical. I have the phrase “Radical Softness” by Lora Mathis tattooed on my thighs for the same reason. Rest is radical. Softness is radical. In a world that prioritizes all the wrong things, going against the grain is most always radical. It’s most always “guerrilla.” Perhaps I’ll write a longer essay about this, because it’s not the first time someone has questioned what “guerrilla” or what “radical” means.
In other news: I am, like many of us, trying to live in a world that is constantly burning. I am trying to take my little walks, do my little crafts, etc. All we can do right now is “made do and mend.”
Also: I, along with some colleagues, am speaking at this free, virtual event. Check it out if you want!
Enjoy this week’s Leftovers,
xL<3
Reading List 🔖
A researcher's avatar was sexually assaulted on a metaverse platform owned by Meta, making her the latest victim of sexual abuse on Meta's platforms, watchdog says - Weilun Soon
This is horrifying. CN: sexual violence: Even though it happened in virtual reality, the incident left the researcher "disoriented," she said in the report. The researcher noted her controller vibrated when the male avatars touched her, resulting in a physical sensation that was a result of what she was experiencing online.
Queering the Archive, Tracing One’s History - Vanessa Holyoak
To acknowledge these histories, to queer this archive by way of artistic representation, is to point to the lasting repercussions of colonial trauma on Asian-American bodies — and to begin to overcome it.
Finding My Authentic Voice as a Late-Diagnosed Autistic Writer - Aisling Walsh
It was a relief to know there was finally an explanation for all the ways I had believed I was simply wrong and broken.
The Memeification of Amber Heard - Jessica Valenti
What I can’t stop thinking about, though, is the overwhelming cultural reaction to the trial. The hashtags and videos, the tweets and the memes. The online response to the trial was not about domestic violence or free speech. It wasn’t about male victims of violence or the stigma against them. It was about misogyny—and making Amber Heard a completely dehumanized stand-in for all the hate people have towards women but can’t find a way to justify.
The Almighty Gun - Rafia Zakaria
The unfettered freedom to carry assault weapons, American society has deemed, is so necessary and so important that sacrificing ten, twenty, or thirty children a year is a good bargain.
Books of Note 📚
Kink: Stories - Garth Greenwell (Editor), R. O. Kwon (Editor) (nonfiction)
Siren Queen - Nghi Vo (fiction)
Bitter - Akwaeke Emezi (young adult)
Anansi and the Golden Pot - Taiye Selasi (children’s book)
Love Poems in Quarantine - Sarah Ruhl (poetry)
Toxic Positivity: Keeping It Real in a World Obsessed with Being Happy - Whitney Goodman (self-help)
[If you order any of the books above or any listed on my Bookshop site, a percentage goes to local bookstores and I get a small commission. Thank you for not ordering from Amazon!]
Playlist 🎵
“Company” - Sir Chloe
”Choreomania” - Florence + The Machine
”Angel of Business” - Grace Ives
”Sunburn” - Sylvan Esso
”Mirror” - Kendrick Lamar
Mood Board 💓
Self-Care + Good Things ☕
This poem “Snow Theory” by Ocean Vuong. Fiber arts outside. Somatic self support exercises. Using Duolingo to keep up with my Italian and French, and also using it to learn Spanish and Danish.