Link Party: 1/23-1/27

Paper monsteras.
Paper monsteras.

This was a really, really, really tough week on many levels. I hope that you’re taking care of yourself and working towards finding your own sense of balance. Do not feel guilty about taking breaks to do the things you enjoy. “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

Here’s what I read this week:

1. The extraordinary stories of the White House mailroom staff, Obama’s 10 letters a day and the people who wrote them.

2. This is what it’s like to come to the United States as a refugee.

— Before you get to the rest of the links, it’s imperative you read the first two. They are required reading. —

3. What Roxane Gay is reading.

4. The story of David Bowie’s secret final project.

5. “Self-care” is not the same as “treating yourself.”

And a bonus: How to begin again.

Have a great week. I believe in you.

Link Party: 1/16-1/20

Participating in the Los Angeles Women’s March on Washington with 750,000 people and millions more around the world was an incredible experience that I will never forget. I am proud that I exercised my civic duty in support of protecting basic human rights for all. Today is the first day of the next four years, and it’s time to get to work.

Here’s what I read this week:

1. Buying feminist merchandise is not political action.

2. President Obama‘s memorable parting words.

3. Malia and Sasha Obama‘s post-White House lives.

4. We need to protect the street vendors of Los Angeles.

5. Inside the weird, industry-shaking world of Donald Glover.

And a bonus: The poem “Interview,” by Dorothy Parker:

The ladies men admire, I’ve heard,
Would shudder at a wicked word.
Their candle gives a single light;
They’d rather stay at home at night.
They do not keep awake till three,
Nor read erotic poetry.
They never sanction the impure,
Nor recognize an overture.
They shrink from powders and from paints …
So far, I’ve had no complaints.
Have a great week.

Link Party: 12/12-12/16

California in bloom, by Rifle Paper Co.
California in bloom, by Rifle Paper Co.

Here’s what I’ve read lately:

1. “My President Was Black,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This is essential reading.

2. I love Instagram poet Cleo Wade‘s posts.

3. The meme of the year was emails.

4. The history behind octopi wearing top hats.

5. The greatness of Teen Vogue.

Have a great week.

Link Party: 10/29-11/20

My favorite daily reminder.
My favorite daily reminder.

There hasn’t been much Link Partying around here lately. I need to fix that, and I promise to be more consistent in the last few weeks of 2016 and into 2017.

Here’s a party to last you all week. Take your pick:

1. An interview with Frank Ocean.

2. Zadie Smith on the dancers that inspire her. (I can’t wait to read Swing Time.)

3. An American journalist spends 10 years abroad and comes back to his homeland.

4. Hillary Clinton and the glass ceiling.

5. Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam‘s collaboration.

6. The barnacle queens of Galicia.

7. Instagram geotagging is ruining nature.

8. Yet another brilliant conversation with Elena Ferrante.

9. The wave of all-women art exhibitions.

10. The preserved shipwrecks in the Black Sea.

11. President Obama on his legacy and America’s future.

12. Behind the scenes at the Butterball turkey hotline.

Have a great week.

Link Party: 10/3-10/7

Fridaze.
Fridaze.

Here’s what I read this week:

1. Ruth Bader Ginsburg gives the best advice.

2. Barack Obama on five days that shaped his presidency.

3. A letter of complaint for Cards Against Humanity.

4. Elena Ferrante and the myth that female artists owe us something more than just their work.

5. An excerpt from a book about haunted places in America, which I’m planning to pick up.

And a bonus: Bruce Springsteen on NPR’s Fresh Air.

Enjoy your weekend.

Link Party: 6/27-7/1

Saturday was wonderful.
Saturday was wonderful.

Here’s what I read last week:

1. I will really, really miss The Toast.

2. Bill Cunningham was a rare gem and I was very sorry to hear of his death. Because I really, really think you should know about him, here are two articles.

3. The present and future of the Washington Post, courtesy of Jeff Bezos.

4. What President Barack Obama does during the evenings.

5. An investigative journalist returns from an undercover mission in North Korea — only to face her critics.

And a bonus: I need to use it more often, but I love the idea behind This. — a social media network where you can only share one link per day. I get a daily newsletter sharing links from my network and the editor’s top picks. Sign up, find me and we can turn up the Link Party.

Have a great holiday weekend.

Link Party: 1/4-1/8

El Niño skies.
El Niño skies.

Here’s what I read this week:

1. An abridged history of red lipstick.

2. I did not know that private, off-the-record briefings between Barack Obama and media members were a thing, but now I’m glad I do.

3. The parallels between web design and architecture.

4. The deep space of digital reading.

5. The second-season title cards of “Mozart in the Jungle.” (I wrote about the first season here.)

And a bonus: Kanye West’s American Idol audition is golden.

Have a great weekend.

Link Party: 6/22-6/26

I did a quick series of sketchbook papers on words I use frequently. This was my favorite one.
I did a quick series of sketchbook papers on words I use frequently. This was my favorite one.

I used my laptop a grand total of two times this week, and I gotta say, a digital detox beyond my phone felt really great. Granted, I still read articles and surfed Facebook / Twitter on my phone. But baby steps, right? Back to your regularly scheduled programming next week. And now to the party:

1. If you’re curious, this is what being a zookeeper is like.

2. Elaine Benes was truly the best part of Seinfeld.

3. I wholeheartedly appreciate Rashida Jones’s advice on happiness at work.

4. Man Repeller nails (as always) an analysis of what the Gmail undo send button really means.

A twofer 5. Claudia Rankine on the condition of African American life being one of mourning and Roxane Gay on why she can’t forgive Dylann Roof.

And a bonus: Everyone was talking about it earlier this week, but Marc Maron’s podcast with Barack Obama is definitely worth listening to.

Have a fantastic weekend.