Hi Darling Ones,

Today was an unexpected slow work day in what in the midst of these busy summer months. I’m in that lull where I’ve gone as far as I can on all my projects and am now waiting for feedback. It’s most welcome because I slept like garbage last night and woke up on the furious side of the bed this morning.

Because I don’t feel like thinking about the tyranny of this specific moment in history, here’s an abridged list of things I’ve been thinking about instead.

1. How I really want someone to make a 6-season animated TV series based on the Scott Pilgrim books by Bryan Lee O’Malley. The movie is fine and all, and I say this as someone who gets a little stirred up by Michael Cera, but it doesn’t do the characters or the story any justice. They reboot and remake all the Batmans and the Star Wars and all the other kinds of bullshit I do not care about, and I would just really like the entertainment industry to cater to my very specific tastes. It’s not too much to ask for.
2. I’m reading The Secret History of Home Economics, and mostly I’ve been thinking about how during the World Wars American people were all, sure I’ll stop eating butter and plant a Victory garden and do my part and how now we can’t even get them to wear a mask or take a free vaccine.
3. I’m also thinking about how right after WWII women got the shaft (and that is not a metaphor for getting laid).
4. And another thing? The author mentioned how Hamburger Helper was derived from, and I quote, “Minnesota’s hotdish casserole.”
5. For the record, Minnesota’s hotdish IS casserole. It comes in all kinds of varieties: tuna, tator tot, hamburger, wild rice chicken and broccoli. . . the possibilities really are endless.
6. Liz Phair & anger. I’ve been listening to Liz Phair’s music pretty much nonstop since Friday when my bodily autonomy was removed from my being by SCotUS. Mostly I’ve been thinking about how I was always asked why I was so angry in the 90s. I was often called bitter and jaded. One of my nicknames was the Bitter Arts Goddess/Minotaur. I’m still pondering all this anger, but mostly I keep thinking, “Wow, 20something Jodi did not know anger.”
7. Liz Phair also makes me think about sex, which has been on my mind, and my sexuality. I don’t think I have much more to say about this at the moment, but you should just know I’m still thinking about it.
8. Tacos. I’m gonna make tacos sometime this week and I’m kind of excited. Ever since the plague started in 2020 I’ve had this antagonistic attitude about dinner. The fact that I have to think about dinner every god damn day for the rest of my life is the worst. The worst of the worst is thinking about dinner in the midst of a sticky, hot Minnesota summer when the only thing that sounds good is being a robot who only needs a squirt of oil to keep on going. So, when anything strikes me as “sounding good” I get really excited about it. I might even make guacamole if avocados don’t cost as much as my mortgage (I am actively trying not to think about inflation and how expensive food is because it makes me really very anxious in ways I do not like).
9. The other thing I’ve been thinking about is whether the universe will be able to handle how many gigawatts of smugness I’ll be kicking out when this who Jan 6 political theater comes to an end and zero things happen to anyone involved. This is a pessimistic view, but I believe in my heart that no republican will ever be called to account for the atrocities they inflict on people. I would very much enjoy being wrong about this.
10. How I need to finish doing laundry. I haven’t done laundry in nearly a fortnight because I hurt my back, I own a lot of underpants, and I only change my t-shirt and pants when I shower. I’m feral and unsuitable for other humans. However, I’ve gone through my usual line up for pants and today I had to wear my least favorite pair. These pants are supposed to be for tall and fat women, and while they have ample room for my hips & thighs, every time I sit down they become knickers, which I hate.

How are you distracting yourself form the tyranny?
Jodi