Martini Air Quotes
Earlier this week, I was listening to this song and— let me tell you.
After the first full week of sustained good weather and my first dose of the Moderna vaccine, the message that “we ain’t got far to go” HITS REAL DIFFERENT. I hope the light at the end of the tunnel is beginning to come through a little in your lives as well— there is still a lot to figure out but, for the first time in a minute, I feel more hopeful than not.
Substack Announcement
Depending on how online you are, you may or may not be aware that there is some ongoing controversy about Substack, its content moderation policies, and the writers they may or may not be paying to work on their platform— this piece from Vox gives a good sense of the big picture. Sophie and I are still deciding the best way to handle the whole situation but, while we figure it out, we are going to put our paid subscriptions on pause. Those of you who read for free will experience no change (other than being temporarily unable to upgrade to a paying subscription). Monthly subscribers will not be charged until we turn the subscriptions back on. Annual subscribers will find their year’s subscription extended by however much time we’re on pause for, so if you’re set to renew in April and we pause for two months, your annual subscription will last until June— one year plus two months. However, your access to paid content will remain exactly as it is now.
Dopamine Boost of the Week
This one came not from our Handy Dandy Google Form, but by way of a particular friend whose obsession with Pallas’s Cat has been a great source of joy for me in recent weeks— but never more so than with this video (SOUND ON, PLEASE):
BRB, going back in time to take the 2015 Academy Award for Best Film Editing from Whiplash and award it instead to this vastly more deserving YouTube video.
How you could summarize your quarantine accomplishments:
OR what you might accomplish instead:
The class, which will involve us watching Clueless (probably on my 36th birthday!), begins on THIS THURSDAY? But there’s still enough space for at least ten more students and I would love to have more Dames Nationals in the mix. When my Pride & Prejudice Pilgrimage went from being a real trip to England to a virtual experience this summer, I was crestfallen— I had been so excited to spend a week bonding with fellow Austen nerds and I really was not sure that a virtual experience would foster the same intimacy. But I was completely blown away by how emotionally substantive our conversations felt even after just three days of regular meetings. I do not think I’d be as mentally whole as I am right now, in this our thirteenth month of quarantine, if I had not had that half week of communal close-reading and personal reflection. I am so excited to see what ten weeks of similar engagement can produce— I think it’s going to be really special. I got to take over Harry Potter and the Sacred Text’s Instagram last week and talk for 1/2 an hour about Austen, Emma, and the trip, which can give you a little taste of what the class will be like:
If you have any questions about it, please @ me on Twitter or Instagram, and I hope I’ll get to pair some familiar names with new faces when the class kicks off next week.
They Say These Things Come in Threes…
But losing Jessica Walters, Larry McMurtry, and Beverly Cleary in single week seems frankly untoward. But having cause to revisit Walter’s greatest moments as Lucille Bluth (which I swear are a riot even if you’ve never seen Arrested Development), reflect on the unparalleled understanding of children’s emotions displayed in Beverly Cleary’s writing, and for Dame Sophie to share one of her dad’s extremely charming anecdotes— it’s not entirely unwelcome.
May their memory be a blessing. And for the grief nevertheless caused by their absence, there is only one salve…
Memes About the Boat Blocking the Suez Canal
And finally, the one that burned me so thoroughly all that is left of me is ashes and helpless laughter:
Two Bossy Dames is brought to you by:
L’il Naz X indirectly causing the new wave of good R&B,
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