Cruel compendium #17 🤠

A caving obsession, a talking dog, and the Sopranos for Joe Biden

Welcome new subscribers! And hello to all my babes. Before we begin:

1. ICYMI: Last week I wrote about traveling alone and trusting my intuition.

2. You may have noticed I’ve been publishing here less often. I’m doing my best to stay offline and in the moment while I’m traveling. Thanks for understanding this temporary change. I’m most active right now on Instagram and would love if you followed me there!

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I’m reading

What’s “dirty self-care,” and why doesn’t it work? by Catherine Andrews at her newsletter, The Sunday Soother. Catherine outlines the four kinds of self-care (shame-driven, band-aid, rebellion, and numbing) and how we employ them, plus an excellent list of questions to ask yourself before engaging in self-care, including “Is the goal of this to nourish me as I am, or punish me for not being something or someone else?”

Can you be a good person if you don’t read the news? by Leah Finnegan

The biggest risk in business right now is grief by Maria Aspan

Baby wasps by Julianne Smolinski in her newsletter, The Minimizer

In the ¡Hola Papi! newsletter, John Paul Brammer answers: How do I stop living in the past? and How do I grieve?

On grief by Alicia Kennedy in her newsletter, From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy

In praise of wholesome activities by Lauren Larson. Drinking less in quarantine.

If I felt safer in a bar atmosphere, all my plans would still be bar plans: I want nothing more than to stick my tongue in a bar stranger’s mouth and swab it around like I’m taking his DNA; I want to bum a cigarette on the sidewalk and say “one a year!” even though it is my third that night; I want to hover a couple inches over the toilet seat in a dive bar bathroom.

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I’m listening to

The Cut podcast: I guess it’s time to move? 
Yes, everyone is moving.

Endless Thread podcast: Tight Squeeze: The Claustrophobia-Inducing World Of Caving Yields Epic Rewards
This episode of the Reddit-based podcast terrified me, and introduced me to the popular extreme sport of caving. Now, my long car rides are filled with episodes of The Caving Podcast, which I inexplicably cannot get enough of though I have never stepped foot in a cave and likely never will. I love caving, okay!!!

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Questionable self-care advice

anna borges @annabroges

my friend texted a recent random hookup and i’m in awe of everyone involved

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Support I got that you might need to hear

thepattern

💫
🎨: @courtneysonnerdesign

September 23, 2020

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Vision board

tinycactus

2020

October 1, 2020

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You should know about

• The Ritual Life Planner, “a guidebook and annual planner to help you identify, organize, and embrace your ritual life so you can deepen your experience of joyful belonging.” (h/t Girls Night In)

• 50 ways to spend your next mental health day

• These brackets that protect your lipstick from your mask (h/t 5 Smart Reads)

• Tik Toks: This! Dog! Talks! and Sex and the City scenes recreated with a cat as Samantha

• Priya Prizzem @BillyRubinCyrus

  When I tell y’all I’m losing it

  

• This truly uplifting adoption tale:

  The Dodo @dodo

  Tiny stray kitten follows guy home and becomes his gym buddy ❤️

  

• This delightful Blink 182-ified version of “Semi Charmed Life” (h/t Maybe Baby)

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Minerva moment

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Anthem

“Rot in Pieces” by Hero

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This cheered me up

maya kosoff @mekosoff

for @VanityFair, i interviewed michael imperioli about the thing we've all been dying to know more about: why he's using his instagram to change the sopranos canon and rewrite it with pro-joe biden fanfic

vanityfair.comDo The Sopranos Love Joe Biden? Just Ask Michael ImperioliThe man formerly known as Christopher Moltisanti explains his cheeky new project: writing fervent pro-Biden Sopranos fan fiction on Instagram.

Christopher forever <3

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Mood

Skeleton 💀 Anthony @jillathrilla

Me in Denver

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Cruel compliments

Thanks so much to Nicola Slawson for the wonderful CSBC shoutout in her newsletter, The Single Supplement:

This newsletter by Jillian Anthony is one of my favourites. She decided recently to spend a year travelling around the US and is now writing about her experiences. In this edition, she talks about a man making a comment that they couldn’t believe she wanted to travel on her own. She writes: “His response is expected and predictable, one I’m certain I will hear many times from many people as I travel. People are afraid of being alone. They think a woman over 30 spending time alone is dreadfully sad. That women shouldn’t travel alone because it’s unsafe. Many people will never travel alone, explore their own cities alone, see a movie alone or even dine alone. I’ve done all of those things for most of my adult life. I am not afraid. Nor will I wait for a partner to pursue the things I most want to experience.”

Tiffany Philippou recommended CSBC in her fab newsletter, The Tiff Weekly:

📰 I adored this chilling true story about trusting your intuition from one of my favourite newsletters.

Tiffany Philippou @tiffphilippou

“Maybe you should be careful about who you share your plans with,” she said. “You need to guard the energy you let into your life carefully.” HARD AGREE Single woman by @jillathrilla

cruelsummerbookclub.substack.comSingle womanHow my intuition is teaching me to save myself

Gigi Engle @GigiEngle

Of you’re not following @jillathrilla and @ZacharyZane_ ‘s newsletters yet - these are must reads. Jilian will make you strong and Zach will make you horny 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

@jillathrilla I really enjoyed reading this! I'm glad that you went also!

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