Reading List: Sexy Weasels, Proper Recipe Provenance, and Cray Cray Hippie Soap
The internet can be a difficult place, especially if you are a zombie raccoon (thank you Mum for that submission,) or a woman like myself rabid with rage over the slate of anti-woman bills being pushed through southern legislatures. This wave of restrictive abortion bills should scare you. So if you’re looking for a way to direct your anger in a constructive manner, friend of the Missive Brendan Lewis has collected a huge list of organizations who will use your money to to help fight these ALEC-concocted legislative horror shows.
So if you are a person who’s ever personally benefitted from access to contraception and abortion (have you had sex? or known anyone who was able to pursue their live on their terms because they had full body autonomy and were able to make their own reproductive choices? Oh, then hey you’ve benefitted, friends) get mad and open those wallets.
Let’s get to the reading before I toss my computer out a window, mmmkay?
Keiran Dahl, How a decades-old hippie soap brand became a touchstone of wellness culture (Vox) - Did you know you needed an insanely long backgrounder on the history of that crazy bottle of Dr. Bronner’s you probably have in your shower? Well, you do. Also, key quote: “It goes without saying that he smokes weed.“
Joseph Bernstein, YouTube’s Newest Far-Right, Foul-Mouthed, Red-Pilling Star Is A 14-Year-Old Girl (BuzzFeed News) - The internet is a foul place where acting-out teens can amass followings with performative rabid racism. And we need to know that.
Sexy weasels in Renaissance art (The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things) - Sometimes FotM Colin JUST. GETS. ME. This submission gets ALL of the high fives. Why? Partially because of this fantastic quote that he pointed out in an amazingly excited email, “In the Renaissance, it was widely believed that weasels conceived through their ears and gave birth through their mouth. This ‘miraculous’ method of conception was thought to parallel the Annunciation of Christ, who was conceived when God’s angel whispered into the ear of the Virgin Mary.” Heck yea, sexy weasels, heck yea.
Liz Weil, Kamala Harris Takes Her Shot (The Atlantic) - Kamala Harris deserves more features. And Liz Weil writes the best features.
Alex Mayyasi, The Dirty Secret of ‘Secret Family Recipes’ (Atlas Obscura) - FotM Tanya sent in this gem from last year about how those treasured gastronomic connections to our family may instead be straight off a label (see: anyone who makes good matzoh balls. Just admit you use the recipe on the side of the matzoh meal package already.) The writer collected submissions from hundreds of readers telling how they found out that Grandma’s delightful chocolate cake was off a box of Duncan Hines, and turned it into a fascinating exploration of the evolution of popular cooking.
Be kind to each other (by preserving a woman’s right to choose her own destiny.) And have a good weekend.
Xoxo Amy