Ways of seeing

Surprise me View in browser February 01, 2019 Alma Thomas    This week On the podcast, we talk about the power of images—particularly the hundreds that sail past our eyeballs every day on Instagram, and the anxiety they provoke. I interviewed my friend and collaborator Lara Shipley for a crash course in the history of amateur photography and why it can be so hard for our brains to understand that photos aren't just documenting reality, they are creating it.  I'm reading How a super-fast cyclist started robbing banks on his bike. What the right to an attorney looks like in practice. Americans aren't panicked about the real homegrown terrorism threat. How can we be sure the atrocities of the past will stay in the past? Unraveling the anti-Semitic plot against George Soros. Five people tell their stories of being caught up in conspiracy theories. Irin Carmon learns about memory and inheritance and fallibility while tracing her family roots in Morocco. Where's the outrage on behalf of trans women of color? Dayo Olopade on the omnishambles that is Brexit. The class disconnect of home-cooking how-to manuals. On being a housekeeper and a single mother. "As soon as black women could afford to buy mink coats, white society and white women said fur was all wrong, verboten, passé." The shinto roots of KonMari. Carl Sagan's essay on why smoking weed is good for your consciousness. Against the "10-year challenge." The making of a 9-year-old meme machine and the 19-year-old who makes the most-traffic Buzzfeed quizzes for free. How Instagram is changing book-cover design. Rethinking memorization, Valley Girls, and sunscreen. "Lately when my friends ask me for advice I keep telling them it doesn’t matter what they do." Members only Members see pie charts in this space. They also help me keep this whole operation afloat. I've got some newsletter goals for 2019, including a software upgrade, a redesign, and ~paying~ artists to license their work for the top illustration. And if that sounds excellent to you, you can support this endeavor by becoming a paying member for just $5/year. I'm looking & listening Both Fyre Fest documentaries. My controversial opinion is that the Netflix one is better than the Hulu one (despite being produced by the awful marketing company that also worked with Fyre) because ultimately it does a better job of explaining the human toll of this viral fiasco. Isn't it fun to be a critical consumer of competing narratives? On a related note, if you've never watched Ways of Seeing, the whole thing's on YouTube and I highly recommend it. I'm also loving Oprah and Gayle's advice series. John B. Keane on drinking. The polar vortex, animated. Code Switch on what definitions of beauty have to do with power. Kate Wolf interviews LA icon Angelyne. And KPCC's The Big One has all the earthquake details you probably shouldn't avoid if you live in Southern California. GIFspiration Live footage of me trying to send some warmth to everyone who is in double-digit-negative temperatures right now. I endorse Black History Month. In 1926, its founders chose February because it's the birth month of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two men who were already being celebrated for their historical importance. And this is more or less how I experienced Black History Month in school: An education in a few prominent people and their contributions to American society. But founder Carter G. Woodson believed that "history was made by the people, not simply or primarily by great men." And history is being made every single day. So I'm asking myself a few questions for Black History Month: What am I doing to support black artists, creators, and businesses? What am I doing to educate myself about the experience of being black in America, both in the past and now? What am I doing to dismantle anti-black racism that happens at a structural level? Here are a few of my answers so far: Helping to fund photographer Naima Green's Pur-suit, a playing-card deck featuring queer womxn, trans, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people. Making plans to go to the brand-new Bloom & Plume Coffee in L.A. Reading Tressie McMillan Cottom's new essay collection and, at long last, Pat Parker and Audre Lorde's letters to each other. Writing to my state legislators to support a bill that would restore voting rights to convicted felons in California—see The Sentencing Project for more about what this has to do with race. What are you doing this month? I'd love to know. You can tell me about it here. You endorse The View From Somewhere Podcast, Lewis Wallace's new podcast that grapples with the question of objectivity in journalism. "If you read about the South, chances are you've read Lewis Wallace. He brings a vital perspective on objectivity, representation, and transgender issues in journalism, and is now raising money to fund a podcast that centers people who’ve been excluded from journalism by racial and gender gate-keeping. His Kickstarter for the new show reached its funding goal in one day (!) and is now racing toward a stretch goal that will gather funds to hire artists, musicians, producers, and more." -Anonymous!  This is a space for reader endorsements! What do you want to recommend to all 35k subscribers of this newsletter? Submit a link here. IRL February 21, Kansas City: The aforementioned photo-genius Lara Shipley and I will be at the public library to discuss our audio/photo collaboration about migration in the rural Midwest. We'll be in conversation with immigration attorney Rekha Sharma-Crawford and muralist Jose Faus. The Classifieds The Snoozeletter is the nightly self-care newsletter to uplift and relax you right before bedtime. The Dessert Club is an 8-week course on how to have a happier, less stressful relationship with food + your body. Join us! Now's the time to write, women writers. A nonfiction writing workshop that will change your life starts Monday in Brooklyn. You got this. 80% of Ellevate Squads participants walked out more confident in their careers this year. Apply for yours now before applications close. Pop-Up Magazine—a night of new, true stories about the fascinating world around us. Use code ARTS5 for $5 off. I love my advertisers. And you can become one of them! Click for rates + info. Testimonials "I love @annfriedman's book suggestions and am so grateful she links directly to the publisher/indies rather than that big terrible behemoth that is the worst place to buy books!!" -Alexandra Natale. Thank you for noticing and appreciating! I try to buy most books from my beloved local indie, Skylight. "Finally bit the bullet and decided @annfriedman's newsletter is absolutely worth $5 a month. Went to buy a membership and y'all - it's $5 A YEAR. I am KICKING MYSELF for all the exclusive pie charts I missed!" -Christine Hennessey. Yes, but also think of all the exclusive pie that's in your future! This newsletter is looking closer. Forward it to someone who helps you see. AF WEEKLY Subscribe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Manage paid membership MORE ANN Email me About me Writing archive Public speaking Rent my brain Manage Preferences | Unsubscribe | Ladyswagger, Inc. PO Box 26932 | Los Angeles, CA 90026 © 2019