bad vacation episode 2 – general temp check and a reflection on a question that’s come up in a couple conversations lately: “who or what can save journalism?”
not a new question. but it has a bit of a different flavor than it did a couple years ago. my perspective is definitely completely different.
mainline updates:
– sol underground summer takeover is beginning this month on mainline’s social media! big ups to sunny and their work focusing on afro-futurism. really grateful mainline’s platform can be used to elevate stories and art in this way. follow along on their patreon too if you’re not vibing on IG these days (i’m not; see below).
– senior music editor autumn james’ mini-music doc on former ATL indie rock staples Balkans is coming out on mainline this week! a teaser is up on IG for those who want to see it and the full version of part one (it’s a two-parter) will be out tomorrow. i’ll be interviewing autumn for this page once it’s out. the production on this doc is absolutely stellar and i highly recommend watching.
notes for the collective:
– “maybe i’m not depressed; maybe i’m just ascending.” a lot of folx have been telling me they’re feeling tired or what they might think are symptoms of depression, but it feels a bit different. ascension symptoms are running high right now and there’s a lot of upgrades happening, so take it easy.
– new self-care trick: having trouble silencing your inner capitalist or inner critic? here’s an idea: treat yourself the way the government treats cops 💯 take a page out of nyc mayor eric adams’ playbook and buy out some billboards slabbed with cute affirmations to cheer yourself up and *boost morale*. okay, that will be a bit heavy on the pocketbook, so maybe just put a post-it on your mirror or something (see my example below). just don’t feel like working today? pull the blu flu on yourself and take the day off and do nothing. the world will be okay! (okay maybe not *okay*, and the definition of “okay” might be subjective here, but like, the world will be what it is without you for a minute.)
personal temp check:
– i’m on an extended social media hiatus/detox. it is my latest personal social experiment. i’m 10 days or so in.
– this patreon was what some may call “content poor” last month because every time i went to record something, my brain shut down. i also lost my people-pleasing programs somewhere in the ether of the last month, so i didn’t make an apology post either. i’m currently experimenting with not forcing myself to do anything my body doesn’t want me to do. so a big THANK YOU to all our patreons who are sticking with me and mainline as we figure out what the next saga will be.
the 2019-early 2022 saga is dying and the paint isn’t dry on the new thing yet. we’re in between worlds right now, but there’s still bills in this world so thanks for helping us sustain ourselves. <3
