Volume 02 Issue 07
February 08 - 14, 2021
If someone had told me that someday I would spend my time fighting cryptocurrency scammers on Twitter, I would have laughed in disbelief. But that’s what happened this week!! It is an embarrassment that so many Filipino ARMY accounts were susceptible to/complicit in the scheme. There’s a lot more info here laid out better than I could ever put it, but personally, even if I’m just a small account, I couldn’t stand by and not make noise about it. Toxic and annoying fans are one thing but when these “fan” accounts are actively endangering others, that’s not okay with me. Sometimes it feels like my ARMY life and my real life are two different spheres because it was strange to be caught up in this disgust/anger/rage and then have everyone else be super normal and oblivious.
Anyway, one of my ARMY group chats was talking about our all-time favorite BTS lyrics, and ARMY Twitter was celebrating this song so much yesterday; it feels apt to share this with you all:
This is from their song Trivia: Love, written by RM (translation by Muish). I just wanna crawl into his musical genius brain and live there. It’s worth watching this performance with English subtitles and very cool augmented reality effects, and reading the full lyrics on fan translation site Doolset Bangtan -- she adds a lot of context that international fans would appreciate -- along with this analysis from Fawzul Himaya Hareed.
Listening to Trivia: Love made me so emotional, I cried a little bit yesterday just from how profound the lyrics are. I am super excited to deep-dive into their lyrics this year once my albums arrive.
Earlier in the week I had seen a tweet from user @springrooove:
“I truly think that loving BTS makes you a better person. They unlock something in your heart, and it just makes your heart grow bigger. More space for love to live inside.”
It’s so true, and I am grateful every day that I found them/they found me. Happy Valentine’s Day, friends! <3
Shop Small, Love Local
I realized recently that my purchases have completely winnowed down to just scented candles and BTS merchandise. I have irrational anger for insta-famous candle shops that are twice the price of what smaller brands would normally charge. So this is my latest scented candle recommendation: I received the Kyoto candle from Somewhere Candle Co. for my birthday and was so impressed with the gift packaging that I turned around and immediately bought a few more for myself and as gifts. Great packaging, lovely smell, and -- for the size especially -- bang for your buck. My new candle warmer arrived also (PM me if you want the link, because I have more thoughts about this) and it’s been a whole Treat Yo’Self experience.
Currently…
Eating Hello Stranger’s brioche bomboloni with strawberry cremeux, oh my goodness. DELICIOUS. A few friends have been raving about the salmon dish and that she always gets sold out so fast, so I feel very lucky I was able to get on the list for these.
Watching the NYT documentary “Framing Britney” -- difficult to stomach but necessary viewing. I remembered some discourse about the #FreeBritney movement being about disability rights -- because it’s PWD that are often entered into conservatorships, who lose the right to have any say in their medical care and finances. I wish that had been covered more in the documentary. Still worth watching though, and I’m keeping an eye on the mental health aspect of the conversation around it.
Receiving a surprise from Alexa, who bought me, Rica and herself matching BTS keychains. BTS is enriching my life in many ways I have talked about already in this newsletter, but in this instance: through loving them, I am reconnecting with old friends and deepening our friendship and appreciation of each other.
Thinking about a compliment a colleague at work paid me a few days ago -- that I am “legendary” at our office. It was said in such a casual way, and maybe he exaggerated? But I am still pleased to have heard it. In general, I try to give as many compliments as I can, not in an insincere way; but any time I have a generous thought about someone I make sure to let them know it. Words matter; making people feel good matters. (Again, something I’m learning from BTS - they take time to acknowledge the hard work and good traits of their staff and people they work with.)
Crying over To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before: Always and Forever. The end of an era; I was so emotional watching the finale with Aia. This series means a lot to me and I’m really happy it got a satisfying ending. Peter Kavinsky, dream boyfriend! Lara Jean, my girl through and through. I am so thrilled for everyone involved in this series, most especially the author, Jenny Han. Aia’s newsletter about it is a must read for all our fellow Lara Jean Song Covey girls.
Longreads
Taylor Swift Misses the Old Taylor Swift, Too — Shirley Li, The Atlantic.
“This re-recording, she’s making vehemently clear, is not a simple throwback. It’s a shared appreciation: You know that old Taylor she once declared dead? She misses her too.”
Taylor Swift Was Always Going To Begin Her Rerecording Journey With “Love Story.” Here’s Why. — Ellie Bate, BuzzFeed.
“In short, with Fearless (Taylor’s Version), it feels like Taylor is re-creating the journey of releasing the original not only for herself, but for fans, too — and, during a moment when everything feels uncertain, the nostalgia that comes with it couldn’t be a more welcome comfort.”
Framing Britney and the Empathy of a Simple Timeline — Kathryn Van Arendonk, Vulture.
“At the height of ‘Oops, I Did It Again,’ she is simultaneously too young and too old, which is the spark of her appeal and the engine of most Spears controversy. She’s seen as having too much agency: She’s too powerful for men to resist, and she lures young kids into behaving as she does. And yet by the time Spears is actually an adult, a parent with her own children, she’s seen as an uncontrollable child.”
I was an MTV VJ during peak Britney. ‘Framing Britney Spears’ made me ashamed ... and hopeful — Dave Holmes, LA Times.
“Britney Spears always had to walk a tightrope in a heavy wind: She had to be beautiful for the boys but not beautiful enough to intimidate the girls, but also sexy for the men but not sexy enough to anger the women. The boy bands of the day, like Timberlake’s ’N Sync and Backstreet Boys, only had to stay in the world’s good graces *by not appearing gay.* Britney had to be everything to everyone, all by herself. And she was a teenager.”
The Secret, Essential Geography of the Office — Paul Ford, Wired.
“There are cardinal directions—elevatorward, kitchenward, bathroomward. Favored stalls. Better sinks. Teensy little geographies shared between humans.”
The Type of Love That Makes People Happiest — Arthur C. Brooks, The Atlantic.
“The important thing for well-being is relationship satisfaction, and that depends on what psychologists call ‘companionate love’ —love based less on passionate highs and lows and more on stable affection, mutual understanding, and commitment.”
How Park Jimin of BTS Helped Me Feel Seen in My Brown, Queer Body — Padya Paramita, Them.
“Jimin had proudly displayed his moves on a global stage that was live streamed by more than 10 million people. In his rejection of gender norms, in wearing whatever he wanted, he’d reminded me that my body was more than the object of ridicule.”
Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers — Joe Pinsker, The Atlantic.
“At one point in our interview, Russo referred to reading as a ‘private pleasure-delivery system,’ which seems like a key way to think about getting kids to read.”
Dear Fuck-Up: Can I Say I Told You So to a Friend Who Got Covid? — Brandy Jensen, Jezebel.
“That you told her this could happen makes you right but don’t let being right get in the way of being good.”
Feel free to share this newsletter, it’s open to the public. I always get excited any time people engage with me about things that I post, so please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts. Unless it’s mean or mansplainy: in that case, no thank you. <3 If this is your first time reading this, you can subscribe via the button below and then the next issues will land in your inbox.
Yours from afar,
Pinky