Question time

Surprise me View in browser March 29, 2019 Sometimes you find yourself standing on a floor that matches your newsletter link color.    This week I have a favor to ask: Would you take a few minutes to fill out this subscriber survey? The last time I asked all of you some questions it was 2016, aka an internet epoch ago. I would really love to update my ideas about who you are and what you think about this newsletter. At the end, you'll be asked to your email address if you'd like to be entered to win a thank-you gift. I'll be randomly giving away 10 free classified ads and 5 care packages—yes, like a classic sent-through-the-mail package including my favorite snacks, a book I love, and a hand-drawn pie chart. I spend many hours on this newsletter every week, so I'd love 10 minutes of your time in return, if you can spare it. Thanks! Here's that survey link again. I'm reading What one lawyer saw during a week at an immigrant detention facility in Texas, and how trans women navigate the border. The teen girls who fought back when their classmates ranked them by looks. Students have turned Google Docs into a chat app. What happens when a frequent traveler develops a fear of flying? The obstruction of justice conversation we should be having. The Beijing park where seniors look for love. Influencers flock to California's superbloom sites. A life-changing kayaking trip. The relationship between humans and mountains. Is it possible to give up plastic? Interviews with stylist Karla Welch, writer Damon Young, novelist Sally Rooney (I'm deep in Normal People right now), and sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom. All the data is based on men, so no wonder women are constantly misdiagnosed. Trans-inclusive language is an innovation—not a restriction. Maybe men should email like women! Members only I'm not even gonna ask you to become a paying member! I'm just gonna ask for a few minutes of your time on this survey. I'm looking & listening Elizabeth Warren running—literally. A blissful 22 seconds of Catherine O'Hara saying "bebe." Inside a New York Times printing plant. What you look like to other people when you're writing. GIFspiration Here's something that brought me a lot of joy: This story about Keanu chartering a van after an emergency plane landing in central California and reading the Bakersfield wikipedia page aloud on the ride to L.A. (I'll take any excuse for a Keanu gif, really.) I endorse Doing nothing and asking questions. I'll confess that I feel the best at the end of a day when I can say I've been productive, so this interview with artist Jenny Odell (whose work I love) was revelatory. She interrogates the value we assign to productivity, and suggests asking yourself at the end of the day: Was there a time in the day when I was fully aware of the fact that I was alive? Were there even five or ten minutes where I was able to drop out of the stream of productive time? It reminded me of this John O'Donahue poem of questions for the day, which I found through Courtney Martin's excellent newsletter: What dreams did I create last night? Where did my eyes linger today? Where was I blind? Where was I hurt without anyone noticing? What did I learn today? What did I read? What new thoughts visited me? What differences did I notice in those closest to me? Whom did I neglect? Where did I neglect myself? What did I begin today that might endure? How were my conversations? What did I do today for the poor and the excluded? Did I remember the dead today? When could I have exposed myself to the risk of something different? Where did I allow myself to receive love? With whom today did I feel most myself? What reached me today? How did it imprint? Who saw me today? What visitations had I from the past and from the future? What did I avoid today? From the evidence – why was I given this day? Here are some of my own: What gave me pleasure today? What did I notice about my body today? How did I challenge myself today? What surprised me today? True to journalistic form, I love a good question, even—or especially—when I'm posing it to myself. These make great journal prompts. You endorse Be My Eyes -- it's an app that connects sighted volunteers with folks who are blind and low-vision to provide support with whatever they might need. "A good friend of mine who is blind told me about this app last year and I immediately downloaded it! It's a great way to provide concrete allyship to people who are blind and low-vision. I've gotten BME calls to provide support with everything from putting *only* the mermaid stickers on a dad's card to his daughter to matching up socks while folding laundry to reading a meat thermometer." -Liz G. What do you endorse? Submit a link or suggestion here. The Classifieds LEATHER TRAVEL & WORK BAGS by women-owned Kámen Road committed to natural materials and American artisan and small scale production. Want to start a podcast? Learn how to write, record, and launch your next hit in a brand-new online class, only on Skillshare! The class is free with a one month free trial. Sign up here to start watching today. THE WHAT LIST is an eclectic weekly newsletter from Amy + Gina, two entrepreneurs who explore everything from books to bottles of wine, wellness trends, music, and more. Subscribe. Work presentation, TedX, or speech got you nervous? In this interactive, one-day workshop, public speaking strategist Barbara Tannenbaum shows you how to refine and deepen your ability to successfully express yourself. Join us in NYC. Bird + Stone is a jewelry company that supports women's health, women in politics, girls' education and more. Check out their 30% site-wide sale. Do you love looking at the moon? Want to learn more about it? Get weekly moon ceremonies and poems delivered to your inbox! Skeptics welcome. 90% of my advertisers are also newsletter subscribers! Support your peers by clicking on these ads. And support yours truly by purchasing one. Testimonials "Every week, I learn so much from your relentless work" -Kathleen. It really does feel relentless some weeks. ".⁦@annfriedman⁩ is bringing the double-annotation-inspiring heat in her newsletter this week" -Emily Mauter. The coveted highlight-and-underline endorsement!  This newsletter has lots of questions. Forward it to someone who's looking for answers. 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