Reading List: In Determining Which Cookies To Make This Holiday, Remember That Raisins In Anything Are For Anarchists.
Lovelies! It’s Friday, and I am up in the frozen north, where it is -24 degrees Celsius and -12 degrees American. That’s right, my homeland is freaking cold, challenging my Bay Area-softened sensibilities. Luckily, my pampered California pooch seems to have taken to the snow like a husky, and zooms in it compulsively until her wee toe beans can’t take it anymore. And yes, I have purchased tiny little puppy snow boots for it as a result, fully revealing the financial impact of my child-free elder millennial divorcee lifestyle. But before you call me soft, it should be known that Canadian cousin and Friend of the Missive Laura has them for her doggo, so I shall not be taking any grief at this time.
TO THE LONGREADS
Kaivan Shroff, Men like me benefit from safe abortion access (WBUR) - THIS: “Too often, male engagement with the pro-choice movement has been articulated solely through the lens of female empowerment… However, in viewing women as the only beneficiaries of safe abortion access, many men conveniently side-step defending a policy they have long taken for granted.” So yea, to the menfolk out there: perhaps reflect on the impact reproductive freedom has had on yours and get to freaking work.
Sam Biddle, Startup Pitched Tasing Migrants From Drones, Video Reveals (The Intercept) - Wow. Just… wow. Between this and the Boston Dynamics robots, the Terminator-like future seems a helluva lot less distant. Also, PR tip from a pro: stating the sentence “we won’t build a dystopia” doesn’t do what you think it does.
Jennifer Maloney, Molson Coors Decided to Reopen Its Offices. Things Got Complicated. (The Wall Street Journal) - A thoughtful look at the myriad challenges facing companies as they navigate getting their employees back into offices, this piece speaks to every single HR person out there attempting to keep everyone happy and safe. Spoiler alert: it’s super freaking hard.
Stephanie McNeal, I Went To LuLaRoe’s Top Seller Convention. Here’s What I Learned. (BuzzFeed) - Appreciate how McNeal explores the emotional reasons why people get sucked into MLMs and how “that’s what makes them so painful for those who fail.”
Tien Le, Experts crack the secret to last letter of Mary, Queen of Scots before her execution (NPR) - This was shared to Odd Salon’s Something Weird page by none other than Odd Salon co-founder and FotM Tre, and if you’re into British history and/or origami and/or privacy and security and/or academic nerdery, you too may find it fascinating! Go read the original paper here.
You’re fabulous. Have a great weekend, stay warm, and be kind to yourself, won’t you?
xoxo Amy