A hodgepodge of mudslush
I have been thinking about writing all week, but have done very little writing. I spent most of the weekend resting and recuperating, because life & Mercury retrograde and all that jazz. I’m not quite ready to skip a week just yet, and while I don’t have a lot of coherent thoughts, I have had fleeting thoughts about all sorts of things, so I’ve decided that’s what I’m going to share. Enjoy another edition of streams of consciousness!
View of Stifel Bank. Baltimore, MD. iPhone 13 through red sunglasses.
On The Woman King. Leave it to Viola Davis to give us strong Black woman realness AND vulnerability without skipping a beat. This woman is an Oscar, Emmy, and 2-time Tony award winner for a reason.
On HBO’s Industry. As a former industry professional, watching Myha’la Herrold play Harper, a high-flying, thrill-seeking, anxiety-ridden anti-hero is one of the most satisfying experiences I’ve gained from television this year.
On rejection. If you want to get more comfortable with rejection, become a writer! Eventually, you might start ranking your rejections and even celebrating some!
On the human condition. The impulse to tame a wild thing & control it is a god complex.
On The Woman King, again. There’s lots of discourse about the historical inaccuracies of the movie, which are all valid in their own ways, including the important point that the Dahomey people probably didn’t practice Ifa. But, as a Yoruba woman, and as someone who feels adamantly about destigmatizing African traditional religions, seeing elements of one of the largest diasporic religious and cultural practices was pretty significant for me.
On growing up. If being in my late 20s means all my favorite foods make my stomach hurt now, then I understand why Peter Pan didn’t want to grow up.
On Living Single. Late to the party and just now getting through this ‘90s classic, but wow, what a timeless show. Has Queen Latifah properly received her flowers for her cultural impact?
On writing. I am learning to be both mindful of my words and yet not so attached to them that I don’t utter any at all.
On style. Cowboy boots will be all the rage in no time soon. Cute school-girl scrunchies are making a comeback. The overly baggy, too-wide-leg denim look a la Zara is a post-pandemic response that we’ll look back and cringe over. Socks and Stocks > Crocs.
On music. Still playing Renaissance. Also on repeat: “Let Go” by Alewya & “Ego Killah” by Ezra Collective. Shout out to the diaspora.
On rest. This year has drained me energetically, mentally, & emotionally but spiritually, I am still full and I’m grateful for that.
That’s it. That’s all I’ve got. Until next week.