#KAMALA2020
Hey, Hello, Whats Up ?
If you peeped last week's newsletter, you would know that Kamala Harris and I are birthday twins and that I like her. I alluded to the fact that the word on the street was that she was running for president, and now, on Martin Luther King Day she formally announced that she was running.
*Harlem Shake*
*Diddy Bop*
*Cupid Shuffle*
Really just all the dances. I'm very excited. This time around, it seems like we have some really good candidates representing for the Democrats and yes, I'm all here for #KAMALAHARRIS2020.
In other non-related news, I'm always here for the story of a good internet scam. Not the Facebook chains where you send money to someone's baby mama in a foreign country, but the ones that are thought of and are ludicrous stories like my favorite with the faux-Saudi Prince, or the Nuns who were stealing money, or the story of Anna Delvey which is getting made into a movie I heard. This weekend though, I heard two stories that left me bothered, annoyed and kind of mad. The one that made me mad was the Fyre Festival scandal which is now a documentary on Netflix (I watched) and on Hulu. The story behind the Fyre Frestival was crazy, and all the people who are still experiencing issues from the festival (one of the lady's who was interview tells her story which made me sad) I feel really bad for. Yes, the boy Billy got arrested but I don't doubt after his six years in jail he'll create another scam.
Another scamming story that annoyed me is the story of Instagram Influencer Caroline Calloway. I'm always skeptical of the Instagram Iyanla Vanzant's. The ones who can tell you how to fix your life or work on some solution for this fee--we don't believe you, we need more people. Caroline was supposed to be doing a tour, and moved the destination after ALL these people gave her money. It's a long saga, read it here.
I say all this to say. Don't scam people--it's not a good thing. If you chose to however, make it something where people don't get hurt. Say you're Catherine the Cat Whisperer from Chico. Or that you're Taylor, the heir to a Sake throne. Let me know if you need any more suggestions .
CURRENTLY LISTENING
For my music section, I'm going to try something a little bit different starting this week. I will still highlight new music that I'm loving like the new Toro Y Moi album, but will start creating a ten track playlist that I will add to each week of my favorite songs of the week. For this week's newsletter, since I mentioned them, of course I'm going to include Toro.Their new album, Outer Peace is so good. Perhaps it's because I saw them not too long ago, performing some of the songs from this album, it just makes me think of vibrant colors, the need to wear sparkly spandex and dance hella fast. Kind of like the way Carlton Banks danced when he collapsed at the dance after taking speed.
Also, I had to add a few songs from the James Blake album. Let me be honest, I have never liked James Blake. I thought he either sounded the way lo-fi wifi sounds OR like he was singing up a hollow tree. His voice was boring to me, and the songs made me want to hit my head with a chicken drumstick. Nonetheless, I'm actually really enjoying his new album, Assume Form, so that's on the list too.
Another song that's on the playlist this week is such a flashback. Have you ever listened to Tiron and Ayomari's Ketchup or Mustard? Both came out lightyears ago, but one of my favorite songs by them was "Sydney." My bestie Bionca and I would rap this song all the time with all the adlibs. I lost this song as my days as a bootlegger disappeared but over the weekend, I found out that it was on Spotify. The hell? I've added to so many streams over the last few days but yeah.
CURRENTLY READING
We've all heard of Marie Kondo's "Tidying Up" which was first a book, and now a series on Netflix. The idea behind it is getting rid of the things that no longer bring you joy. This idea can be used in multiple areas of your life shown with this article a friend shared with me about how to use the concept for your job. I assume if no areas of your job bring you joy, you hate your job. Speaking of working, here's a relatable read on how burnout feels for black millennials. I read this article on the train and had many, yep sis I feel you moments. But these two parts struck a cord with me:
“43 percent of all American millennials are non-White. But the discussion about millennials and their ideas of ‘success’ are often deeply rooted in the experiences of privileged White men and women — think more Lena Dunham than Issa Rae.” If the stakes and obstacles to the elusive American dream are different for black millennials, then isn’t it reasonable to assume that our brand of burnout would be different, too? So many of us are weary and worn down."
"So how does a black woman combat burnout? Black girl magic, right?! I love this phrase. I use and repeat it often. I love the song by Janelle Monáe that repeats this phrase even more. But I can’t stop honing in on that word, “magic” — the idea that black women have had to subsist on their mystical powers to persist. Black women have had to rely on wizardry to make it through this tumultuous life. We must harness magic to succeed and thrive through this bullshit. After all burnout for black millennials is not just tiresome, but deadly."
Other reads I enjoyed this week are down below: