-Goodbye to All That

If you’re a Joan Didion fan, this subhead may give you a clue as to what’s coming. If not, this is my not so subtle way of telling you goodbye. For now. You may still see me round these parts here and there, but I’m stepping back from the regular rotation. 

Joy and I have been friends for a long time and when she asked me back in 2021 to start writing these guest posts, I was thrilled. I’ve loved writing for you over the past two years. I was out shopping recently and someone came up to me and said they look forward to my posts every month because between work and childcare, they don’t have time to keep up with everything going on and they know that I’ll cover whatever they missed. 

That’s what I’ve tried to do here. Bring my own unique voice and perspective to this space, and remind you about all the stuff on the internet that you saw and didn’t have time to read, or that’s just a tiny bit outside of your radar. 

For those of you who enjoyed my posts, who commented, who saw me out and about in Nashville and stopped me to talk about something I linked to, thank you. If you’d like to stay in touch, I’m primarily on Instagram these days.

I’ve got one last roundup of links for you. Take what you need and have a relaxing rest of the day. I’ll see you on the internet.

Xoxo,

Kim

• I remember a few years ago Michael Hobbes wrote this great piece for HuffPost on how social media and disinformation is hurting an entire generation. Now there’s a new article and it’s by Maud Newton. In her piece for Slate, Maud writes about learning that her 80+ year old parents are getting all of their news from the Victory Channel. It’s a great article on aging parents, misinformation and so much more.

• I’m a big stand-up comedian fan and one of my all-time faves is Maria Bamford. You probably already know who she is from either the infamous Target commercials or her Netflix show Lady Dynamite. If you ever get the chance to see her perform live, please do. I’ve seen her a few times now and it’s so worth it. She has a new memoir called Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult. Do what I’m doing and listen to the audiobook so you can hear Maria read it, and so you can hear the hilarious sound effects they added for all the content warnings (don’t worry, it’s meant to be funny). (Bookshop, Libro.fm)

• Speaking of books, I finished the new R. Eric Thomas book, Congratulations, the Best Is Over! I saw R. Eric on tour for this book and he warned us that this is about his pandemic depression. But having followed his writing for years, I didn’t believe him. Turns out, he was telling the truth! This is a tender, sweet, sad and funny book that I couldn’t put down. If you’re a writer and you’re funny, write about your depression, please! Seriously, I saw myself so much in this book. I loved it, and I want more. (Bookshop)

• When your job is reading the news and the comments, things can get a little dark up in the old noggin. I have to be very diligent about keeping some kind of balance in my brain. Recently, there was a special legislative session in Tennessee to address the school shooting that happened here in March and to pass meaningful gun reform legislation. For two weeks, my brain was so dark, all I could do when I got home was watch episodes of Heartstopper on Netflix. It helped. (Netflix)

• The fun thing about perimenopause is nothing. Except this McSweeney’s piece by Kathryn Baecht titled “Welcome To Your Menopausal Vagina.” I’m seriously considering a tattoo that says, “sagging tube of terror.” (McSweeny’s)

• I have loved John Waters for as long as I can remember. I have a soft spot for weirdos with a heart of gold. For The New Yorker, Michael Schulman profiled him and it’s such a great read. I might be in L.A. in October and if so, I’m going to try to get tickets to the John Waters exhibit at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. 

• Julia Turshen is back from summer break with a full roster of fall cooking classes. As you may remember, I am Julia’s #1 fan. I’ve taken so many of these classes and I’ve loved every one. Class descriptions and signup info here. (Julia Turshen)

• Speaking of cooking, are you sure you know how to read a recipe? Because I thought I did and then I read Joy’s recent post and learned so much about the importance of commas in recipes! If you missed this one, or you just skimmed it, go back and read it again, slowly. (Joy the Baker)

• I’m teaching my social media for writers workshop in Nashville. If you’re local and worried about how to start promoting your writing more on Instagram and less on Twitter, I’d love to see you there. (The Porch TN)

• An argument for Fathers and Co. (TikTok)