Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Misty Copeland & Degas

“With a boom and a thud befitting of his sinewy legs for days, enter the sparkly-eyed, pink-lipped RUBEUS HAGRID. He was once a sought-after sex god, but his many years as groundskeeper of a large boarding school have taken their toll. Nevertheless, his capable manhood hasn’t shrunk a bit.”
I’ve thought about getting rid of my cellphone many times. It’s impractical for me, however, I love the idea of being unreachable. Throughout the year, I’ll have cellphone free days, where I purposefully leave my cell at home and have a me day.
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I realize this is a sarcastic article but I wish it were true for the Obama’s and for many American families. I want to live in a world where it’s just as normal for a husband to put his wife’s career first. 
POEMLesbihonest
“My desires do not walk 
hand in hand with your 
stereyotypes and expectations
of what I should look like
so this is
an open letter to my grandmother
who cringes at the lesbian couple on doctor who”

Friday, February 12, 2016

This Week in Writing: Chugging Along

Total Pieces Written: 8                                                                                              Total Pieces Published: 2                                                                                           Total Pitches Sent: 0     
I don’t have much to say in this week’s roundup. I’m chugging along, working more on playwriting than this blog at the moment. But also living my life in a lovely way. This week week there isn’t really an update.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

On Pandering & Exclusivity

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“It is easier to complain about the power you don’t have than to think about how you are exerting the power you do have. And fighting for your own rights is not the same as fighting for equality.”
This is a beautiful yet unsettling Stockholm Syndrome version of Beauty and the Beast. It takes the story out of the fairy tale land and brings it closer to reality.
“The library is yours.
The books are mine.
Your eyes are your own.
What you read is up to me.”
I use social media a lot but I still have my criticisms. Casey Neistat’s piece about facebook is spot on. I use facebook as an extension of my email now and not as a social gathering place any longer. I want the status updates back. I want to know what’s happening in my friends’ lives. I don’t care about buzzfeed articles or quizzes. 
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Roots is a book by Alex Haley that follows the life of slave, Kunta Kinte and subsequent generations. The 1970s miniseries adaptation was smash hit and spawned really important discussions about race and American history. British remake is in the works with Malachi Kirby playing the title character. LeVar Burton originated the role.
 “Females prepare ourselves enough to know we will never be prepared, so every decision and choice we make about our body is always the right one.”

Friday, February 5, 2016

This Week in Writing: Setting Goals

Total Pieces Written: 3                                                                                             Total Pieces Published: 3                                                                                         Total Pitches Sent: 1     
I was really down on myself at the end of last week until I wrote my January wrap up. It was really helpful seeing the numbers in black and white. I wrote almost daily and send out a few pitches. Progress was made, even if it didn’t feel like it. Social media management lagged. I didn’t post much nor did I do any work towards gaining any clients. So yesterday, I set clearer goals. I am giving myself six months to see some progress. By progress I mean having some pitches accepted, getting paid for those articles, and acquiring a new client as a social media manager. At the six month mark if nothing has changed, I will reevaluate. Part of the problem was unactionable goals. No one can expect to see huge changes in the span of a few weeks. With these new goals, I hope to have a clearer idea of where I'm going.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

It's Off to Work We Go

Happy February! Happy Black History Month! This newsletter mentions dismissive doctors, youtube and black history month and Mallory Ortberg. In case you missed it, I posted a January wrap up post earlier this week.
This article on femsplain really described me this week. The female author talks about how dismissive doctors can be, especially about period problems. I sent in a complaint about my Dr. and he emailed me super defensive and bewildered by my sudden rash showing of emotion. I tried called him multiple times before sending in the complaint but he never called me back. Then he accused me of overreacting. If you think something is wrong trust your gut. If you don’t like this Dr, try and find a new one if you can. You shouldn’t be talked down to when you’re coming to someone for help. You should never feel dismissed. 
Do good work and the money will follow may not apply anymore. I would add have good connections, be willing to hustle, have a backup plan (ie wealthy parents, a dowry...). Doing good work doesn’t equal earning a living. Doing good work doesn’t equal recognition. Doing good work means you did good work.
Last year Akilah Hughes called out Youtube for not promoting youtubers of color, especially during black history month. “I decided to count how often they promoted black talent with their 49-million-follower Twitter feed. Through the whole month, YouTube sent out 15 tweets promoting black creators...all but five of the promoted black creators were Grammy award-winning musicians. Basically just a handful of not-already-famous black people got a helping hand. In the same month, YouTube sent out 167 tweets promoting white creators, many with smaller, more niche followings.”
This is a super funny and honest speech by Mallory Ortberg about starting the feminist site The Toast. She uses real numbers and points out many of their mistakes when starting out. This is a longer video at 24 min but well worth it.

Monday, February 1, 2016

January 2016 Wrap Up

Total Pieces Written: 17                                                                                               Total Pieces Published: 12                                                                                        Total Pitches Sent: 3                                                                                                 Total Pitches Accepted: 0
This will be a monthly wrap up discussing what I’ve learned, how the month went and how much I wrote. Expect these posts in the first few days of a new month. Below is a link to everything I wrote in January.
I'm really pleased with myself. I wrote more this month than I did all of last year and sent out three pitches. These last few months is the most connected I’ve felt online. I’m interacting with people and receiving thoughtful responses in return. I have re-fallen in love with the internet again and writing. I’m bursting with ideas.
THIS WEEK IN WRITING posts were about choosing a path, feeling good, self promotion and linkedin. I have chosen to be on this path and now I am figuring out how to take things to the next level. That means finding clients. I struggle with in person networking events so I’m trying to find ways of marketing myself without attending events. Is that possible? I don’t know. But I know me and how I work best.
THINGS I LEARNED: Gifs are awesome and can really add humor/visual interest to your writing. I had never used them before but now I love them. TIP: You can copy and paste a gif from tumblr into blogspot. 
Newsletter: Heavy
This Week in Writing: Choosing a Path
This Week in Writing: Feeling Good
This Week in Writing: Self-Promotion
Newsletter: The Fuck Off Fund
This Week in Writing: LinkedIn