**resend: please excuse the poor formatting in the first!** the immaculate mailing list - year end lists

things that brought me joy

happy solstice, and welcome to a collection of lists of things i enjoyed this year. not all of them were created or released this year, but they are all things that i enjoyed in 2020. some things i explain a bit, maybe throw a blurb or a riyl at ya, some i don't. it's my newsletter!

                            ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

in any case, these are all things that i would enjoy talking to you about! this is also a solicitation for recommendations! what did you enjoy this year? the next 1000+ words should give you a decent idea of what i've been into, but, despite this being my newsletter, i want to hear from you too.

* nothing on these lists is in any order, nor does a lack of inclusion mean i didn't enjoy something (though it's definitely possible). *

things that i read (i got something out of these, not necessarily joy)

web articles and essays

• the tyranny of structureless - jo freeman aka joreen
• to Deaf or not to deaf: that is the question - kimberly k. pudans-smith, katrina r. cue, ju-lee a. wolsey, m. diane clark
• the deep sea - neal agarwal
• the return of john brown: white race-traitors in the 2020 uprising - shemon & arturo
• capital and covid: why the left needs disability liberation - m.k. anderson
• rethinking the apocalypse: and indigenous anti-futurist manifesto - admin of indigenous action dot org
• the map and the territory: national borders have colonized our imagination - yásnaya elena aguilar gil
• the hidden cost of digital consumption - halden lin, aishwarya nirmal, shobhit hathi, lilian liang
• by reconnecting with soil, we heal the planet and ourselves - leah penniman
• climate change will force a new american migration - abrahm lustgarten
• socialism's diy computer - michael eby
• the unforgettable life of prison rebel martin sostre - william c. anderson
• a history of punctuation - florence hazrat
• the rise of black counter-insurgency - shemon
• unnatural disasters - ann neumann
• decolonizing ecology - jade delisle
• beyond smart rocks: it's time to reimagine what a computer could be - claire l. evans
• a band-aid on a gunshot wound? sign language interpreting and the illusion of inclusion - maartje de meulder and hilde haualand
• 101 notes on the la tenants union - tracy jeanne rosenthal
• can the internet survive climate change? - kevin lozano
• what's lost when a language disappears - nick martin
• under the weather - ash sanders
• meet the anarchists making their own medicine - daniel oberhaus

books

• the edible woman - margaret atwood
• the seas - samantha hunt
• a mercy - toni morrison
• giovanni's room - james baldwin
• the woman lit by fireflies - jim harrison
• the spook who sat by the door - sam greenlee
• american indian stories - zitkála-sá
• taking sides: revolutionary solidarity and the poverty of liberalism - cindy milstein
• in the dream house - carmen maria machado

on the screen

movies

these are all movies i watched for the first time this year, and would watch again!

• sound of metal (2020)
• junebug (2005)
• the wicker man (1973)
• if beale street could talk (2018)
• just mercy (2019)
• the master (2012)
• alien (1979)

tv-esque

some of these are first time watches, some aren't, but they are all things i intentionally sought out with regularity!

• great british bake off
• the big flower fight
• the queen's gambit
• house hunters
• old bon appetit test kitchen videos, which i will not link

things!

• the two pairs of running shorts i bought in april! very nice for running and for lounging.
• slippers that kat's parents gave me for christmas like 4 years ago! i wear them all the time when i'm home (which is a bunch).
• a variety of masks! very grateful to my friends hailey and shannon who made masks that i wore regularly until i started only wearing kn95s to work.
• the couch and loveseat that kat and i got off of facebook marketplace in june (a vast improvement to the many years old futon that we had before). also they're orange!
• my bike! it has served me well over the last decade, and has been my main form of transportation for years.
• my headphones! one of my favorite experiences is listening to an album and reading the liner notes/lyrics at the same time.
• my fanny pack! there are a variety of little things i like to always have on me, and the fanny pack allows me to do so!
• mouthwash! i just like the tingly feeling.
• the vacuum that kat's mom sent us as a wedding gift! it rules.

podcasts!

• the lit review podcast - like spark notes for revolutionary texts, but with a focus on local chicago movements and politics
• citations needed - a political news podcasts that provides a bunch of context
• a way with words - a call-in show about linguistics. "hello, you've got a way with words!"
• car talk - i still listen every week, and various references from the show have made their way into online handles over the years
• you're wrong about - i love deep dives into historical events!
• reply all - i've been listening to this since it was tldr years ago. it's just a nice show!!
• meet the composer - really indepth discussions with interesting music makers! it's been off the air since 2017, but the archive is still worth exploring.
• movement memos - kelly hayes is a person that i respect the hell out of, and these weekly dispatches have been must-listens since the get-go.
• life's work: a podcast about laura steveson's 'sit resist' - i love laura stevenson, and i love learning how pieces of art were made. this scratched a lot of itches

albums

these are all albums i sought out to listen to with intention multiple times this year. when possible, i’ve linked to bandcamp pages, but spotify links fill the rest.

• i shall die here - the body
• canciónes intactas - miguel noya // riyl: synths, pleasing sounds
• discography - alex g. // riyl: beautiful chord progressions && melodies
• spirituality and distortion - igorrr // riyl: ecclectic instrumentals, song structures, vocals, etc, etc
• pop songs 2020 - bumper // riyl: sideprojects, japanese breakfast, synthpop
• l's - hype williams // riyl: sparse electronic music, british people
• come to my garden - minnie riperton // riyl: 70's pop, the way stevie wonder writes songs, love songs
• someone new - helena deland // riyl: indie pop/rock, the band now, now rainy day driving music
• houses - steve spacek // riyl: subtle grooves, british electronic music
• those once loyal - bolt thrower // riyl: british death metal, world war one, riffs
• thought for food - the books // riyl: sound collages, music that makes coffee shop customers uneasy
• what's your pleasure? - jessie ware // riyl: 80s booty shaking pop music
• likewise - frances quinlan // riyl: freak pop, hop along, solo projects
• aporia - sufjan stevens && lowell brams // riyl: could-be movie scores, father-son relationships, peace
• less is moor - zebra katz // riyl: rhythm, identity obsession
• disco jazz - rupa // riyl: cool albums, dancing, cult favorites
• web content - american monoxide // riyl: amateur planetarium music, slacker techno, and alternative atmospherics from a home recording hobbyist
• s/t - buck meek // riyl: the lead guitar playing in big thief, countryish music, storytelling
• once upon a passion - bella boo // riyl: dance tracks, house music, sparseness
• this is how you smile - helado negro // riyl: synthfolk, metaphors, soundscapes
• code girl - mary halvorson // riyl: jazz, loops, harmonic exploration
• first - yMusic // riyl: chamber music, composers, strings
• s/t - john prine // riyl: folk music, leftists, storytelling
• music for 18 musicians - steve reich // riyl: minimalism, lots of people, psycho-acoustics
• congotronics - konono no. 1 // riyl: mbiras, a bunch of people dancing, grooves
• remain in light - talking heads // riyl: the talking heads
• chaos is me - orchid // riyl: screamo, french song titles, flowers
• discography - rilo kiley // riyl: pretty perfect pop rock
• being you is great, i wish i could be you more often - quelle chris // riyl: self-affirmations, people in detroit, bringing yourself flowers
• s/t - victor jara // riyl: communist folk songs
• visions - sun ra && walt dickerson // riyl: vibes, xylophones
• synchromysticism - yowie // riyl: spastic guitars
• discography - laura stevenson // riyl: songs about depression, beautiful vocals, charm
• follow the rattle of the afghan guitar - weatherbox // riyl: pop punk songs that are fun to listen to
• II - makthaverskan // riyl: new wave, soaring vocals, righteous anger
• tilde - ana roxanne // riyl: soundscapes, floating

experiences

• three and a half months of not having to do wage labor! did not realize how much further i could have been radicalized against wage labor. despite a pandemic raging, i had time and energy to connect and build relationships with other people in my communities that were founded on care and solidarity.
• getting married!! kat is a wonderful person, and i thank ian siporin everyday for reblogging her selfies into my life.
• having a desk for the first time in a decade! i like having drawers, what can i say??
• moving to a place that feels like a home! this place rules. we live with the presence of a woman who lived here for 90 years, the kitchen walls are lime green, and we're on the top floor.
• watching kat continually create! i am constantly wowed by the way her brain works, and how dedicated and skilled she is. truly a wonderous human being. (you can check out her stuff and commission some treats at her new website!!
• seeing this video of petunia napping:

xoxo josh