MalonE-Mail No. 20: Hello from Miserablist HQ!
Oh, readers, my friends, you've caught me at such a good time. One thing I say a lot when asked about freelancing by those looking to diving in is that instability and extreme swings of fortune are pretty much guaranteed in this game. It's pretty easy for me to tell you all this right now, because I'm lucky to be in an upswing of sorts for the moment. It can be hard, as a self-employed person, to enjoy success when you're waiting for the next dry spell — for an editor to start ignoring your emails, for the next parade of pitches to get rejected over and over, for your train of thought to get muddy and awkward and uninteresting again. Because that shit happens. A lot. And when you work for yourself, by yourself, every day, it's only a matter of time before it comes back around.
But right now, as I said, I'm on an upswing, so I'm really trying to recognize it, to say it out loud as much as possible and make sure I see it for what it is. That way, when I slide back down the garbage chute to hell again (which, hello January, will be soon), I can hold onto some of this sunshiny stuff when I go. GUYS, DESPITE THIS MONTH BEING HOT GARBAGE IN THE LARGER SCHEME OF THINGS, I HAD A LOT OF GOOD STUFF HAPPEN TO ME AND I'D LIKE TO TELL SOME OF THEM TO YOU. HERE THEY ARE.
What I wrote:
A six-month reporting odyssey into hip-hop history finally brought me to write this Vanity Fair profile of Lydia Harris, the heretofore unrecognized HBIC behind Death Row Records and the closest thing we have to the real-life Cookie Lyon. This was a really special experience, and I'm extremely proud of having been able to tell Lydia's (incredible) story.
I found and interviewed David Mattingly, the illustrator responsible for those iconic Animorphs book covers, for VICE. People seemed to really like this, way more than I thought they would! Even Animorphs author K.A. Applegate liked it! Interviews like this, where readers tell me they learned a lot from it, are why I don't regret the crazy lump of student debt still dragging behind me.
A trip to New York brought me to know Khalif Diouf, better known as the incendiary rapper Le1f, and profile him ahead of his debut record for The Verge. We talked a lot about X-Men, and he told me he's trying to collect stuffed animals of all 152 original Pokémon.
So there's this new newsletter (a newsletter inside a newsletter, how meta!) called MEL. It's pretty awesome, so I wrote this feature about the rise of digital hoarding (yes it's a thing) for it. (You should also subscribe to MEL.)
For reasons, I wrote about Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan and their pledge to donate their wealth to charity, and how billionaire philanthropy is complicated and capitalism sucks, for the Guardian. Some dude on Twitter said it was the most "miserablist" piece of writing he'd ever read, which is actually a great way to characterize my career, to be honest.
Also, because I know you all really care about this, but I wrapped the fall recap seasons of Heroes Reborn and Minority Report, the latter of which I did my best to send off with as much dignity as possible.
What I read:
...was much more insightful than what I wrote, to be honest. Doreen St. Felix's piece about the racist history of copyright law and coopting the intellectual property of black teenagers is required reading, you should get on that right meow. Jelani Cobb took a beautiful (and sad) look at race and "free speech" during the Mizzou protests. Bijan Stephen's profile of Killer Mike is a great primer on the best dude in rap. If you're white and interested in social justice, read this essay about the concept of debt when it comes to racial privilege. In the wake of Laquan McDonald's death, Britt Julious wrote a beautiful essay about the world finally acknowledging, in some way, the violence and injustice that she and other native Chicagoans have always lived with. Speaking of Chicago, Ijeoma Oluo said Chiraq sucked and I hella believe her.
Guess what? Talking robots are still terrifying. Germline gene editing is a phrase you should read up about, because as of an international summit earlier this month, the future of designer DNA is upon us. Lili Loofbourow, one of my favorite writers, wrote about my favorite new show, Jessica Jones, and its depiction of addiction and trauma.
And two older ones to look back on...
Apparently American Girl recently introduced a new historical doll, a blonde white girl from the 1950s, which inspired me to reread this incredible essay by Brit Bennett about Addy Walker. And if, baby, it's cold outside, why aren't you rereading Jenna Wortham's classic essay about the Norwegian concept of koselig (pronounced kush-lee, means "cozy," among other things)?
What I listened to:
HAMILTON, OKAY? I FINALLY LISTENED TO THE HAMILTON SOUNDTRACK AND YOU WERE ALL RIGHT AND IT'S AMAZING AND I CAN'T STOP LISTENING TO IT, I HOPE YOU'RE ALL HAPPY NOW
What I watched:
Here are some shows you need to mainline this holiday break, snuggled deep under the covers in fluffy socks and maybe a nice luxurious robe:
Jessica Jones (obviously)
The 100 (which is incredibly underrated and comes back for a third season in January)
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (it's about a badass lady in 1920s Australia who has a bunch of inherited money and does whatever she wants including solve crimes)
Broadchurch (Speaking of British people and murders, looks like season 2 is up on Netflix now!)
The X-Files (OBVIOUSLY)
P.S. (Parting Shot):
I don't want to get your hopes up or anything, but if I'm lucky and things work out, the next MalonE-Mail might end up being really exciting. Also, it's my birthday on the 22nd. Tell the Birthday Santa I want — nay, NEED — a Soda Stream. (In other words, pray 4 Devon.)