"The Man Behind the Comic that Finally Got Sex Right," by Laura Hudson for Wired. Sex Criminals, by Matt Fraction, is one of my favorite new comics, not just from Image but on the market in general. This well-done interview covers Fraction's impulse to write a comic where sex is not so much for titillation as it is for discussion. While most sex in comics has to do with women in spandex, Fraction has written a well developed heroine and a frank discussion of sexuality and pleasure that reflects a more modern view than classic superheros. "It’s a comedy that deals with how embarrassing, scary, and awesome sex can be for both men and women—as told through the eyes of a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde with a Masters-and-Johnson getaway tactic."
"Pharrell Williams is Finally Happy," by Zach Baron for GQ. An interesting profile on one of the busiest producers in hip hop and pop, whose own success at headlining has been hit or miss in the past. I always enjoy reading about innovators in their field, and Williams has been on the credits of countless chart toppers. This piece follows his roots-- hanging out with Timbaland in Virginia Beach, through his crazy early/mid 2000s success, to the present day cultural savant he has become. "The boy who worshipped pop culture as a kid basically becomes it." Also, have you seen Williams cry while watching people dance to his song "Happy" on Oprah Prime?
"A Black Crip's Perspective on Fashion and Embodied Resistance," by Eddie Ndopu for The Feminist Wire. Ndopu expresses a sentiment that I have read elsewhere: that ableism enforces certain stereotypes against the chronically ill and disabled, including how they dress. Ndopu's commitment to fashion forward self presentation is an act of dissent against ableist culture. There is subversion in fashion and presentation. "... a visibly disabled body clad in sweats and lounging-around-at-home clothing invokes a longstanding and recycled representation of Crips as the objects of deprivation and targets of charity."
"Forget Shorter Showers," by Derrick Jensen for Orion. I'm not arguing that you should give up on the effort to be "green," but I agree with Jensen that your weekly recycling drop off is not saving the environment. I do believe personal investment in environmental efforts will be reflected in voting and lawmaking, but it calls for a more proactive call for representation and action. Consciousness raising must be answered with actual political change. "Consumer culture and the capitalist mindset have taught us to substitute acts of personal consumption (or enlightenment) for organized political resistance."
"Jennifer Lawrence and the History of Cool Girls," by Anne Helen Petersen for Buzzfeed. Gillian Flynn wrote about 'cool girls' in her novel Gone Girl, and I think many women raised their eyebrows in recognition. Many women understand the ideal of being 'not one of the girls,' still hot but above all that petty girl stuff (because femininity is so weak and degrading, hello, internalized misogyny!). Petersen accounts for the Cool Girls of pop culture history, from flapper Clara Bow to Barbarella space queen and frank talking Jane Fonda. "Cool Girls have been proof positive that a woman could be liberated and progressive and yet pleasing to men, both in appearance and in action."
"The Volcano that Changed the Course of History," by Gillen D'Arcy Wood for Slate. I recently slept through a volcanic eruption on my home island of Java! The ramifications were in no way comparable with the impact of Tambora, a volcano that erupted on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa in 1815. This eruption directly caused 100,000 deaths, and the toll it took on humanity from resulting tsunamis, droughts, floods, and the weather - not to mention blotting out the sun for a week and causing a new strain of cholera - are only now being studied. "Tambora stands today as a harrowing case study of what the human costs and global reach might be from runaway climate change."
"I love Outkast. I hate misogyny," by Mychal Denzel Smith for Feministing. Smith captures what so many feminists struggle with: when the music, films, or pop culture they love lets them down. We're vast, we contain multitudes, and we can both enjoy misogynistic rap lyrics, or the sparse landscape of male dominated True Detectives, and be conscious that not all is right with the media we consume. Being a feminist doesn't mean cutting oneself off from anything that isn't Ani DiFranco, but being conscientious consumers and, in my opinion, being conscientious in what media we financially support. "This stratified womanhood, in which “lady” is the pinnacle and everything that is good, is an intellectual fallacy that a good number of men have convinced themselves exist in order to justify their misogyny."
"Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Art of Fiction No. 69," by Peter H. Stone for Paris Review. Gabriel Garcia Marquez recently passed away, and we've lost one of the greatest minds in modern literature, in my opinion. This interview comes from 1981, and while today GGM might be known best for his novels, he was originally a journalist. He reflects on the differences in novels and journalism, learning to write short fiction, and the art of translating. It's like a tiny primer on literary theory. "I don’t think you can write a book that’s worth anything without extraordinary discipline."
Bonus: "Light is Like Water," by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Read this wonderful short story that encapsulates the magic and beauty GGM crafted in his work. Truly, literature is a little less magical without his presence.
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