Monday, September 28, 2015

Bullets

  • Pumpkin spice lattes are problematic now because... whatever.
  • Quote from Coming Of Age on Zoloft: "So when I think about experimenting with going off (antidepressant) medications, the chance of writing anxiety is more worrisome to me than depression. Even on the best days I don't find writing easy. Can I really risk making it harder?" This was attributed to a writer named Emily, one of the many young interviewees in the book. Look, I'm not anti-medication or even anti-psychiatry, but I find this insulting. Writing is hard! Finding writing jobs, particularly for young women who want to make a name for themselves outside the typical "lady issues" parameters is hard. A pill isn't going to change that.
  • Speaking of which, I started jotting down some notes for NaNo. I don't have a real plan right now, just a semi-interesting character. I haven't in some time, but I'm pantsing it this year. Results may vary. Results are generally shitty. But it's a fun way to get out of your head.
  • This is a great example of why I hate when critical arguments are made within ideological boundaries. Taylor Swift, last time I checked, garners a fair amount of critical acclaim (maybe not Beyonce level, who by this point, has achieved untouchable status). The indie rock critic who derides all pop music as insipid and insincere in 2015 is an object of mockery. Even if it were true that covering songs is akin to "mansplaining," what's so wrong with being an elitist? Or ironic? Those used to be good things. Myself, I've never been a fan of girly pop music, even as a kid, and I refuse to deconstruct that simply as a facet of "internalized misogyny." I didn't like Madonna or Debbie Gibson or whomever was popular at the time, so it makes sense that I'd turn my nose up at Taylor Swift. (Plus I'm old enough to be her mother.) I did like a lot of the foo-foo metal bands, which, let's face it, were pop, and some harder metal then eventually punk. I only began to appreciate current pop music when I was getting paid to write about it.