Best Thing I Read Last Week

“In order to engage in meaningful dialogue we must come to the table respecting all participants equally and then we must do something that is quite difficult indeed: we must ourselves become as empty vessels, ready and available to receive. If we can’t do this, we might as well not enter into discussion at all. To do so is only pretense.”

Jan Willis

The Sun Magazine : A Review

For my birthday this year my grandmother gifted me a subscription to The Sun magazine, along with a copy she had previously read. She had recommended the magazine to me a few weeks earlier and I had been intrigued by the website but hadn’t found any readings online.

Eventually, that initial gifted copy was slated as next in my reading rotation. I read the full issue in only a few days; only stopping in an attempt to savor the remaining pages for the days to come. I wasn’t sure when the next issue would arrive and it was good, like very good. I found the fiction to be impressive, the poetry insightful and the political perspective refreshingly candid.

Best Thing I Read Last Week

“We are driven to do this. We are determined to go on with the agitation. We are in honor bound to do so until we win. Just as it was the duty of our forefathers to do it for you.”

Emmeline Pankhurst

Ways to Celebrate Halloween in Quarantine

With all the disruptions of this year, it’s impossible to predict what Halloween in 2020 will look like; if it will look like much of anything at all. Since it’s my favorite holiday, I wanted to be sure to brainstorm some ways to celebrate that can be implemented around the social distance regulations.

Best Thing I Read Last Week

“Our political and social evils are remediable, if only all of us who want a change for the better just get up and work for it, all the time, with as much knowledge and intelligence as we can muster for it. Half the wrongs of human life exist because of the inertia of people who simply will not use their energies in fighting for what they believe in.”

Katherine Anne Porter

Dreaming of Europe

As the months of lockdown slowly pass, I find myself increasingly wondering about when the next travel opportunity will present itself. Although it’s been frustrating to have our visible perspective limited, it’s important to remember the necessity of the restrictions and new requirements. While I wait, I’ve found some ways to slowly satiate my travel urges, some of which I’ll share below.

Best Thing I Read Last Week

“Compared with the average wealthy nation, America spends nearly twice as much of its national wealth on health care, about a quarter of which is wasted on inefficient care., unnecessary treatments, and administrative chicanery. The U.S. gets little bang of its exorbitant buck. It has the lowest life-expectancy rate of comparable countries, the highest rates of chronic disease, and the fewest doctors per person. This profit-driven system has scant incentive to invest in spare beds, stockpiled supplies, peacetime drills, and layered contingency plans— the essence of pandemic preparedness.America’s hospitals have been pruned and stretched by market forces to run close to full capacity, with little ability to adapt in a crisis.”

Ed Yong, “Anatomy of an American Failure,” The Atlantic

Image sourced from:https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ATlTNEcmFB54PN3f8pFhRTFaKZLkb0gaq0tomlX5TiU3JUqOEBsyxdc/ Artist: Charlotte Ager

Netflix Finds

After the six month mark of quarantine, I found myself in a show hole, believing I had finally seen everything worth watching on Netflix. This month I revisited the site, with a new sense of exploration in mind. Here’s some of gems that I’ve uncovered; conveniently sorted into categories to best direct you towards your next potential favorite viewing experience.

Best Thing I Read Last Week

“Fashion is a moment of introspection as we radically reimagine what we mean by luxury, high fashion, high art. Because part of the old definitions of fashion was about being exclusive– and about excluding certain populations who have been making the work.

Vogue US : September Issue

This September the much anticipated Vogue September issue features a global collaboration; all iterations of the magazine have united under a single theme: Hope. Each issue is graced with a diverse array of hopeful stories, thoughtful insights, and initiatives for the future. The US issue features two alternate covers: both paintings, a rare departure from Vogue’s typical airbrushed photoshoot. The stunning rippling blue and black dominant pieces by Jordan Casteel and Kerry James Marshall, respectively, create an impactful message of Vogue’s intentions for the future.