Throwing the Confetti
HAPPY OCTOBER!
Today is October 1st which means my birthday is officially 19 days away. I’ll be 31-years-old, and yes, I acknowledge I look very youthful and beautiful for my age thanks to lack of stress, going to sleep early, having a cute boyfriend and drinking good coffee.
I’m blessed and too blessed to be stressed. This line has nothing to do with anything but I’m going to just roll with it.
This is the first year I don’t have a huge list of things that I want – I will still take books and gel tip pens if you want to give them to me, but my biggest birthday wish is that you help this little newsletter flourish and invite forward to your friends to have them subscribe sharing this with the world. That’s all, and here’s the link to do so.
I’m also hopeful that Corinne Bailey Rae and Lianne La Havas hear my birthday is coming and decide to announce and/or release new music – I think it’s only right and it’s about time. Am I right? Am I right? Nonetheless, here are a few of my reads and listens that I think you should check out this week:
I’m here for a good scam always, which is why I was super excited to borrow my friend’s copy of My Friend Anna by Rachel DeLoache Williams. If you don’t know the story of Anna Delvey, get your life here, but this book was a decent read. I found the book to be juicy in parts, WTF in other parts, and ultimately, I ended the book think Rachel was naïve and overly pressed. Nonetheless, I suggest adding it to your list.
I realize I never mentioned the new album from Sinead Harnett Lessons in Love, in a newsletter and I apologize. This album is great and as always, Sinead was singing to my heart. Her voice is beautiful, and this album just flows beautifully.
How I Built This Live with Tristan Walker / I loved this podcast episode with Tristan Walker—such a great episode. Very inspiring, and he’s quirky which I like. It’s always good to hear his story too and I enjoyed listening to how he got into Target. Hint: it’s paying attention to who is saying things about you and your company.
Loving Siaira Shawn's new EP, Tender. Also loving DaBaby’s new album Kirk. I thought it was an album paying homage to Kirk Franklin initially—don’t judge me, I think I fell victim to an internet rumor but it’s good. I’m also finally diving into Young M.A’s debut album, Herstory in the Making.
Why It Matters That ‘Emily Doe’ in The Brock Turner Case in Asian-American / “Ms. Miller writes: “I’m not Brock Turner’s victim. I am not his anything. I don’t belong to him. I am also half Chinese. My Chinese name is Zhang Xiao Xia, which translates to Little Summer.”
I read this article and instantly felt happy. I love to see a woman of color leading and doing the damn thing—shout out to Rosalind Brewer.
The “Cancel Culture” Con / “Perhaps this is too flippant a dismissal. “Cancel culture,” after all, is phrase deployed widely outside the widely outside the world of comedy to describe an all-consuming, social media-fueled client of outrage—a dark cloud hanging over not only comics, but also a wide range of public figures and entities, some of who where helpfully named by a New York Times.
Other Reads:
Michelle Phan Was YouTube’s Biggest Beauty Star. Then She Vanished.
Celebrity Book Clubs Are Actually Selling Books
Older Americans Are Starting More Businesses Than Ever
How TikTok Holds Our Attention
‘Close Friends,’ for a Monthly Fee
The Sterile, Efficient Life of a Millennial
What Makes Ambition Come and Go?