Yes, I Spent Too Much $$$ On A Kacey Musgraves + Boy Smells Candle For My New Apartment. And Yes, I'd One Hundred Percent Do It Again.
Lovelies! As we barrel towards the one year anniversary of the world shutting down, I’m sure my random thoughts and trite observations will inject themselves into these Missives, but I do want to point out that I am very caught between it feeling as if March 2020 never actually ended, and feeling as if I’ve lived a lifetime in the past twelve months. I vacillate between pride in the fact that I’m doing as well as can be (knowing I’m able to work from home, grateful to have a job, lucky to have avoided COVID and any major health scare) to abject fear of the unknown combined with mourning a lost year of gatherings and hugs and Odd Salons, to guilt around not writing King Lear, or producing two fantastic and absolutely timeless albums, or getting into the best shape of my life, or writing a novel, or, or, or, or...
ANYHOO. More on that in the days and weeks to come, I’m sure.
TO THE INTERNET!
Ed Zitron is a PR master and the author of the book This Is How You Pitch: How To Kick Ass In Your First Years of PR (which I often give to junior staff new to the profession) and his take on the ridiculous but frightening attacks on NYT internet culture reporter Taylor Lorenz is a must-read: Clubhouse Harassment, and Tech's Move from Enthusiast to Industrial Press. Come for the destruction of VC fanboy nonsense posturing, stay for the history of tech journalism.
I’ve spoken about it here, but the pandemic has basically destroyed my previously intricate systems of productivity and project management, with my beautifully laid out bullet journal passed aside for a series of post-it notes on the wall next to my bed. So I’m happy to read a project management expert who says The Tools Don't Matter. (Bring The Donuts)
This is what you love to see: sources tell The Washington Post that Biden’s about to announce an agreement in which Merck will produce Johnson & Johnson vaccines to make sure that J&J can keep up with their commitments. More big company cooperation for the greater good, please.
I am very glad that we’re tossing aside the weird Cuomo fandom:
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy (epic eye roll): Ted Cruz's Approval Rating Sees Double-Digit Decline Following Cancun Fiasco: Poll (Newsweek)
And finally, the recent wave of violence against Asian Americans reminds us that hatred against “the other” is frighteningly accelerated right now, and not relegated to one community. The San Francisco Chronicle has an overview of what’s happening nearby (“There’s been a surge of attacks against Asian Americans. Asians in the Bay Area say the hostility isn’t new.”) If you can, please donate to one of the organizations listed in this Strategist article: 50 Ways to Donate in Support of Asian Communities (I gave $100 to Asian Americans Advancing Justice.)
Have a lovely day, wear a mask, pet a friendly dog (with permission, and if you are able) and be kind to yourself, ok?
xoxo Amy
(and if you’re wondering what the candle was, it’s this one and it is magnificent.)