Good morning!
Welcome to Issue 8.2 of Digestable, your daily mouthful of real things happening in the world, minus alarmist pandemic news.
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Today’s news, fermented:
I worked really hard yesterday. With such focus, in fact, that I barely got to read the news.
When I finally did, I saw some really awful stuff: that things are going to get much worse (warning, scary content at that link). I thought, as I have so many times in these last eight weeks: who is even in charge here?
I know this is not just something I’m thinking. People all over the planet are looking for leadership, guidance, affirmation that there is light at the end of the tunnel. The thing I think is scaring us as a species is that there is so little good leadership present amid this crisis, and lots of bad leadership that’s so bad you can’t even call it leadership.
Let’s not waste our time on the staggering idiocy of the one person who is definitely, not because we want it or believe it is right, but legally obligated to be in charge. He’s worthless and dangerous—but we knew that before all pandemic business started.
Readers in New York know things are bad when Andrew Cuomo looks good. And all of you know, I’m sure, one person who would be a more competent decision-maker than the “president,” many of whom are under ten years old.
I did a little reading about other American leadership, and wanted to report back.
First, there’s the Amazon VP who resigned out of frustration at the corporation’s retaliation against workers. Certainly a laudable move, especially because he called Amazon “chickenshit.” Let me tell you, just about a year ago I was having some of my first encounters with chickenshit, and not only is it slimy and gross, the producers of said waste do like to peck at you as you try to clean it. Sounds like a great description for an evil corporation that makes itself indispensable, forces its underpaid workers to toil on the front lines of a crisis, underpays them, then fires them for speaking up, all while continuing to profit.
Then, there’s people in various positions of power, from mayors to governors to aides of the “president,” who are crying on the job like we’ve never seen before in the long storied history of toxic American masculinity. I actually think this is a good thing, and crying is important; public vulnerability, especially on the part of powerful people, is really important; and gosh, if you made me spend time every day with the whiny murderous humanchild at the helm of our great nation, I’d shed a few tears, sure as all get out.
Also, who isn’t sad right now? Nobody, except for corporations, which are not people. I rest my case.
And then we have the Democratic party, which has so long disgraced its name that I don’t know why it still made me sad to read this article, the subheading of which is “it looks like there are two Republican parties.” The piece discusses the cancellation of New York’s Democratic primary, Andrew Cuomo’s $10 billion in suggested state budget cuts, Biden’s burying of Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegations, and the old aphorism that Democrats “hate their base.” There is also a mention of Stacey Abrams, the one person who could make me feel less than nauseous about voting for Joe Biden, defending him.
I read it and was disappointed, but then I realized that this is politics. And unfortunately, this is how so many people get to be leaders: by appeasing the right people who are already in leadership. It’s ok, Stacey, I forgive you.
All that said, I think we have a lot to learn (surprise) from these friends at the Denver Zoo, who walk nicely in a group and encounter unknown other friends without judgment or harm. (Sound on, it’s worth it.)
![Twitter avatar for @TheRstott](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/TheRstott.jpg)
*Hot Goss*
Brought to you by the superb Latifah Azlan.
Is it just me or has both so much AND so little happened already in 2020? I can’t tell what’s up from down anymore, and the days have all blended into one giant never ending day, but I still find it hard to believe that a new month is upon us and we’re rapidly approaching the halfway mark of the start of this new decade.
One of the things I’ll remember best about this year was just the sheer amount of bread baked and Instagrammed every week. Bread baking has become one of the most popular quarantinevities since lockdown began and while I personally do not have the skill nor patience for such an endeavor, I am living vicariously through friends and acquaintances who have been diligently cultivating starters and baking all types of bread for weeks now. Well, count Jake Gyllenhaal as one of ya’ll. The handsome leading lad was on a virtual episode of the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert recently, where he discussed his newfound penchant for bread-baking. His loaf of choice? A sourdough, of course, which was resting during his interview with Colbert.
Here is my bi-weekly Timothée Chalamet update: he recently broke up with Lily-Rose Depp and is now AVAILABLE. Yes, that is right – this pigeon-like Victorian orphan is now single and available, and I am most definitely dusting off my good silks to make the trek down to Manhattan for our premeditated meet cute. Will update in the next round of the Chalamet Communiqué.
And since we’re missing out on the Met Gala this year, what better way to close today’s ~*Hot Goss*~ than to take a trip back to galas past and relive Rihanna’s sartorial slay all over again? My personal favorite was her absolutely to-die-for 2017 look to honor Rei Kawakubo and Comme des Garçons. Enjoy!