Hold up, you're not some rando NPC in an evil Broligarch's "simulation" 😂
You are alive. You have agency… And PIE!
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Hello, Lovelies. How are we holding up?
Feeling like an extra in a glitchy tech bro simulation? Trapped in an infinite loop of bureaucratic doom, starring as “Bystander #3” in someone else’s dystopian fever dream? You’re not alone. But don’t worry—we’ve got a game plan.
Now, I may be a writer, but I think in pictures (read: I have a soft spot for Venn diagrams). Below, you’ll find a lovely little visual representation of the latest HEAP of suppressive, regressive, and generally horrendous actions taken by the new regime—just in the past three weeks. And yes, it’s already outdated. Because tyranny moves fast, my friends.
Where these circles of despair overlap? That’s where the fascism gets extra spicy. That’s where we push back—with sabotage, subversion, or, at the very least, a well-placed bit of whimsy. Maybe even some shouting. I imagine a few of you feel like shouting. Just know that shouting is exhausting, and we need to pace ourselves—there’s a long season ahead, and this show will get canceled.
But here’s the thing… I know this is a full-blown trauma buffet—just Big Fascist Pie splattered across the face of democracy. But guess what? We don’t have to eat it. Not all of it. We can pick our battles, carve out the overlapping slices, and most importantly—we don’t have to comply. We have agency. The power to say, “No, thank you,” with the breezy confidence of someone passing on an unsolicited LinkedIn pitch. (They’re just corporate dick pics after all.) The right to feign strategic incompetence at just the perfect moment. And the wisdom to find delight in small, subversive joys—because resistance is necessary, but so is joy.
Joy can arrive in the form of even sillier branding…
I mean, why not? If we’re so busy being absurd. They’re a great band.
Or the Best Snacks EVER…
Here’s Cabal Sasser remembering to share things that delight us like the latest #new snacks and cereals he finds at the grocery store!!
And Where to Buy Trans Girl Scout Cookies!
Or How to Revel in Fresh Indie TV Projects!
and introduced me to this absolute gem of a project: $HARE, created by the formidable Katja Meier* of . Imagine Succession—if the Roys were midlife women with a moral compass. Enter Lena Corbyn (59), who inherits a third of a British-Swiss mining empire and decides to do the unthinkable: shut down a destructive coal mine in South Africa and give the workers a stake in the family business. Naturally, this sends her sister and niece into an existential tailspin because, heaven forbid, the help gets equity. Cue the sabotage, power struggles, and generational entitlement meltdown.Now, here’s where it gets even more interesting. When Hollywood predictably clutched its pearls and refused to take a chance on $HARE, showrunner Katja Meier said, “Fine, I’ll do it myself” and took the pilot to Olyn—a new platform that actually gives creators control and transparency. Revolutionary, right? It’s the perfect match because, like $HARE, Olyn exists to shake up the old boys’ club.
Here’s the deal: The pilot costs $8.95 to watch, with $5 going directly to the team after fees and taxes. Every view helps fund the rest of Season One. And people are showing up—so much so that the team launched a 500k challenge, encouraging viewers to pay it forward to support independent storytelling. Because let’s be real, we need more projects like this—and fewer decisions made by risk-averse dweebs named Chad.
*An earlier edition of this newsletter had a misprint of the showrunner’s last name—this is totally my bad—I knew it, but I am doing too much right now. Forgive me.
Plus, it gives me so much joy to see this!
Over on our sister Stack
. . . we are proud to have helped midlife debut novelist get to #1 on Amazon… Huzzah! If you haven’t ordered her book and need a midwinter vacay—this is IT!
And, if I were a gragillionnaire (I had to invent a new word)…
- reminds me that Olivia Laing is the kind of writer I want to underline FOREVER because in Crudo she asks questions like… Can we learn to love when the end of the world feels so close in sight?
I want to live in this dress from Lafayette 148 New York and wear it to dinner parties and the theater and glorious nights outside in Cote d’Azur because it’s just so me.
This is the preppy dream blazer of the year by Nili Lotan that makes every comfy pair of trousers into workwear… or an evening look into something even moderately dignified.
To get through these days, you need buttered toast and jam. This Stonewall Kitchen Strawberry Champagne Jam from Maine is the best jam in all the world. There’s this wonderful story of the poet Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes rewarding extra jam to the best-caffeinated breakfast conversationalist in his family each morning—I love this idea! Reward with jam, people.
Again,
FTW—these Comme Si Apple green silk boxer pants are heaven to work, emotional support bake, and play in!I love how soft this merino cardie turtleneck is, but also how this grumpy lady looks exactly how I feel about old, ossified white guys right now. Just look at her eyeballs!
Now that I am swimming as part of my badass J-Gar Elektra training, I am into one-piece swimsuits that make me feel less embarrassed about being old! I think this is also an Elyse find… but I claim brain fog if I’m wrong!
Lastly, these dopamine sneakers from Anthropologie will make your feet happy!
Not to be a bad influence…
The Vogue Wine and Eggs Diet from the 1970s always makes me laugh every time it resurfaces.
And then, there’s the joy of doing it!
Does midlife women’s pleasure matter?
Oh, MORE than you know! ICYMI, here’s us completely dorking out on Valentine’s Day about the preorder launch of
new book—from our new press! (If you’re new around here, here’s how we started.)And the joy of making midlife jobs!
From the author—herself!
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And then, some actual dorking…
More about Quickies: one hundred little lessons for living sexily ever after in midlife… and the exclusive preorder bonuses… including the secret marginalia draft. BTW, my right eye is starting finally to go from all the nerve damage, please weigh in when you all think I need to start wearing a pirate patch to look less weird! 😂🏴☠️
And, of course, music not to miss… Lou Donaldson
Plus, Brain Candy!
A new puzzle… See you in about three years?
One Button Four Lights
Use the button to turn on four lights. The button’s function changes with each level. If there are further instructions, we wouldn’t know—the whole website is in Japanese.
Click here to play
Lastly, a zinger from one of our faves:
That’s what I got this week. Yours in books! - xoxo - gotham girl
PS - I am a human typo. Amnesty appreciated.
Yay! Happy to see $HARE get love ❤️ here. The series is really reinforcing not just the final product (which is fabulous) but the HOW things get done impact which as I get more experienced with life I appreciate a lot more. It’s everything. Thank you Alisa for spreading the love and your encouragement of this work and my Stack! 🥰 can’t wait to check out your Empress work.
Darren Starr is a genius. Where has “Younger” been all these years? Best girlie addiction to date. The needle is in my arm…gleefully!!! Fuck Sex and the City reboot. Younger is the bomb