Hi lovelies! I was so tickled to receive so many '“oh I didn’t pay” emails when some of you mistakenly got some paying content, you are self-narcs and I celebrate you!
I want to talk a little bit about American Horror Story, but then I’ll say other things, so go ahead and scroll down a bit if you’re not interested. I am a big Ryan Murphy person, in that I always get it and I think that he’s a lot better than people think. I love AHS, even the seasons that are kinda gross or offensive, and this new season (Apocalypse!) is really starting to gel. That third ep? B A N G E R!
If you haven’t seen Murphy’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” the miniseries following the rise and fall of serial killer Andrew Cunanan, please do. It’s got plenty of high camp, like everything he touches, but it is also a brilliant and moving depiction of gay life, closeted and otherwise, in the 1990s, and is anchored by some splendid performances. It’s changed the way I watch everything he does, like he’s got a secret and muscles he doesn’t always choose to flex. Check it out!
As for American Horror Story, I cannot rank them by quality, but in terms of which seasons are my PERSONAL favs, I have to go with Coven, Murder House, Hotel, and Roanoke. If you are starting from the beginning, Murder House IS the scariest, so if you’re just white-knuckling it, don’t worry, relief is coming.
I’m going to the cabin this weekend, because things are terrible. In a tribute to my belief that sometimes a little retail therapy helps, I have commissioned two Victorian silk lampshades from Annamarie Tendler Mulaney (John Mulaney’s wife, but an amazing stylist and craftswoman in her own right), and it’s made me feel…a little better? Kinda? Will report back when they’re finished.
Also, because everything is wretched, I’ve decided that something I can do to work on myself is be about a million times more serious about my own environmental footprint, which I am…really bad about? It’s terrible. I recycle and everything but that’s been it, and I feel like I have way too much food waste, so I’m buckling down and really trying to buy less (NOT THE LAMPSHADES, HOWEVER) and conserve more and USE the crisper vegetables in a timely fashion, etc. I would love your favourite ways of making small differences in the world, because even though giving money to good stuff is fine, I just want to feel it, physically, more. I want it to hurt a little, if that doesn’t sound crazy?
Love you guys, stay tough this weekend. We’ll do something funny for Monday’s edition, I promise.
"THIS WEEK," As I Said...a Few Days Ago
Assuming you aren't talking regular volunteer gigs, I'd recommend picking a few of the following: eating less meat, finding a one-off day of service to plant trees/pick up trash (not only is it helpful, I think it makes the biggest impression on your own psyche, because it is so tangible), writing politicians (right now the Land and Water Conservation Fund needs re-upping, so contacting your law-makers would be great, especially because Utah has a great tradition of open lands), use reusable containers, especially for water and shopping bags, install low-flow shower-heads/toilets, compost (if your local trash company doesn't), support businesses that serve locally grown food/locally made items, buy energy-star appliances, check your foods to be sure they are are seafood watch/rainforest alliance/etc. approved, recycle your electronics (so they don't mine coltan for new cell phones where mountain gorillas live). Don't buy products with microbeads - microplastic is terrible for the oceans! One of the absolute BEST things you can do is not buy palm oil, to protect the rainforests and orangutans in southeast Asia. Even the sustainable kind is iffy, from what my friends with connections in Indonesia have told me. Also, as I work in non-profit conservation, I'd be remiss to point out that money does help. You can buy carbon offsets, plant trees, find a project that speaks to you, etc. Also, if you shop at certain retailers such as Amazon's smile, Brown Paper Tickets, or Backcountry, they will often give the option of donating to an environmental group.
Whatever you pick, thank you for working to make the world a better place. I started volunteering at my local zoo after the 2016 election, and it's made such a huge difference mentally to be giving back to the community when so much is a raging trash fire.
This is excellent! I'm trying to buy less (especially online). In the middle of October, I'm training at my local Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) where they take paint, hard plastics, light bulbs, fertilizers, pesticides, medicines, etc, and send them to companies that recycle or incinerate things properly. There are centers like this all over the country, and they can have a drastic impact on the local waterways. As for food waste, if I notice that I'm not eating leftovers or something is rotting before I can get to it, the next time I'm at the store I try either not buying it or buying one less zucchini. It sounds stupid, but I haven't "needed" the thing I didn't buy.