Discover more from Special Interests
I did social things with other humans twice this week (possibly thrice by tomorrow), which is more than I have for most of this year. I’ve been such a hermit since this pandemic started that I’m having to re-learn how to have conversations, which was never my strength to begin with!
I now use Facebook so sporadically that my algorithm is all fucked up - every time I open and refresh the app it still shows me posts from the last time I opened it, as though all of my friends and acquaintances have been frozen in social media time. Honestly, though, the only app that I use regularly is Twitter, where I mainly retweet things that make me laugh and things that make me wish I was on another planet.
Speaking of wishing I was on another planet, I’ve started writing a story about characters who escape to another planet.
Readings
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry wants New Orleans and its citizens to drown as punishment for not enforcing the state’s abortion ban.
I would say that between Make It Right settling the lawsuit against them by the people they sold unsafe homes to in the Lower 9th Ward and the media getting a hold of the FBI report on him terrorizing Angelina Jolie
and their children in the middle of the air for hours, this week has been a bad one for Brad Pitt. But he’s a rich white man who makes other rich white men even richer, and he and Johnny Depp apparently share a PR person so he’ll probably be fine.I’ve started subscribing to the COVID-19 Weather Report by the People’s CDC, because that other CDC is broken, and they know it. Except they’re still telling us that it’s safe to work in-person and send kids to school, meanwhile:
The agency’s massive complex outside Atlanta sits mostly empty, while employees, including Dr. Walensky, work remotely.
and:
I’ve been reading Divergent Mind by Jenara Nerenberg, and I’m about halfway through it. My current opinion is that it’s a light and introductory read on neurodivergence that would be good for someone who thinks that they might be neurodivergent but isn’t really sure what it looks and feels like, especially in women
. Specifically discussed are ADHD, autism, synesthesia, high sensitivity, and sensory processing disorder.The first section discusses the history of the medicalized treatment of anything deemed a mental health issue and the exclusion of women in the studies and research that have determined the criteria for diagnosis, which I imagine might be revelatory if you believe that psychiatrists and therapists are not as greedy or capable of bias and incompetence as other industries.
The book is way more anecdotal than I’d like, or maybe it’s that the anecdotes are all from upper middle to upper class cis white women who’ve found success in tech or academia. I would love to find one that’s similar in scope but talks about the experiences of working class people, particularly those of color, with getting diagnosed and figuring out how to thrive while being neurodivergent in a world that wasn’t made for you in multiple ways. Also, after reading the sections on high sensitivity and sensory processing disorder, they sound more like symptoms of ADHD and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder to me, instead of separate disorders. The author also uses terms like “Asperger’s” and “high/low functioning” that are already considered out-of-date or out-of-touch.
I’d still recommend reading at least Part 1, since Nerenberg names and quotes a lot of other books that are probably better for in depth reading about these specific issues.
Watchings
Prey is so fucking good. So is NOPE. I’ll probably re-watch one or both of them this weekend, and I do not usually re-watch movies so quickly. Bodies Bodies Bodies is fun and funny, but maybe not worth going to a theater for.
My current weekly shows are:
What We Do in the Shadows (I just want Guillermo to have everything he wants in life even though he rarely wants what’s best for himself)
Westworld (this season is so much better than the last, and Maeve is a robot icon)
and my animated favs, Harley Quinn and Tuca & Bertie.
Recently finished is Evil, which I can’t say is a good show but I can say is bizarre and entertaining enough that I was excited to see that it’s been renewed for a 4th season. I also just wrapped up Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, which was definitely not a good show but I was curious about how it would end (badly).
And within the next 90 days all three of my favorite fashion design competition shows will be releasing new seasons, and I cannot wait to go back to salivating over clothing that I cannot remotely afford. Making the Cut just released two episodes today that I will definitely be watching after work!
One of my first favorite actresses.
I don’t recall any mention of trans or nonbinary people yet so this book is, unfortunately, very cis-centric.