Three very different things

I've been trying to figure out if life feels more overwhelming lately because of personal hormonal shifts, the natural process of aging, or the never-ending crush of dystopian fascism that surrounds us. Good morning!

But seriously, am I the only one who's developed a numbing outer shell that is automatically summoned when reading headlines? My brain can barely process that Tom Cruise interview, much less a thinkpiece like, "The American Age is Over". That's probably why, at the end of every evening, I spend about 20 minutes in my YouTube algorithm (one of the best in the biz, by the way), watching clips of awards show speeches, late-night talk show interviews, and 1970s Christmas commercials. It's my odd melange of a security blanket and I won't give it up. I hope that your version comforts you equally, whatever it looks like.

📖 American War
Maybe I need a security blanket because I keep reading books like this. But I am a sucker for post-apocalyptic, new world order stories. This one's set far in the future after a second civil war, plague, and the disappearance of coastal cities. Something for everyone! It has a queer bad-ass female at its center though, which makes it extra good.

🎥 Miss Juneteenth (Kanopy)
The joy and pain of seeing your children become their own people is explored beautifully in this little gem. It's also a wonderful depiction of the everyday lives of Black people trying to thrive in America, something we don't get nearly enough of. A reminder that Kanopy is a free app you only need your local library card number to use and it has excellent stuff on it.

🎥 Spun (Hulu)
And now for something completely different. This is a ride and not for the faint of heart. But it is so perfectly done, I gave the damn thing 5 stars on Letterboxd. A very real depiction of meth addicts - WAIT don't leave yet - it is also hilarious and engrossing from frame one. And check out this cast: John Leguizamo, Mickey Rourke, Jason Schwartzman, Mena Suvari, and Brittany Murphy (RIP sweet lady) all acting their freaking faces off. When you want to think about something else for 2 hours, give this a shot.

Today's free museum day in Austin so I'm going to go look at art. You should too! Art is good and we need more of it. Take care of yourselves, friends.

xoxo,
Carla