Notes on Nothingness

Prompt No. 55: Format Changes Loading, Jennifer Tilly, British Status Anxiety, S/S Cashmere

“The bitch has some good shit.” - Erika Jayne

It took two unproductive days to realize how frenetic things have felt. Since Friday, I have done nothing but binge watch television, graze on whatever I could find in the kitchen, scroll through What Goes Around Comes Around, and otherwise relax. That might seem indulgent in the midst of such chaos, but recall last week’s edition: humans elevate their status position through either fear and coercion (dominance) or respect and persuasion (prestige). As a Black woman, I have no desire to stand in the gap for a country that has doubled-down on its ills. However, I will utilize normalcy as a form of resistance. Actually, that’s not accurate. Normalcy implies there has been no change when recent events have forced me to reconsider just how cheap my consumption has been outside of clothing. Almost every enterprise that has bribed or eagerly cowered to this nonsense has one thing in common: passive consumption. As I canceled accounts I realized how little I would miss what these companies offered: cheap shit that requires absolutely no thought or effort. That sort of flies in the face of a lot of what I discuss here, no?

That said, I have made a few personal changes that will influence A Sunday Journal. Following the election, I shared that I needed to reconsider some of the sources I included in Acquisitions, and as a result, the section has made infrequent appearances. It got me thinking that perhaps this should be a standalone feature that ties into the long reads, like a sort of cultural bibliography. I think this will help contextualize some of the theory while still introducing new writers, artists, musicians, and designers.

If curious, I will avoid including the following:

The New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Paramount, and Disney. I have removed Target links from As Frequently Seen.

I will continue to post here on Substack and on Instagram, though. There is no “safe” social media. Surrendering public spaces, even online, is short-sighted and ineffectual — especially at a time when diverse intellectual thought is needed. Attempting to outrun bigotry by fleeing platforms is not only a waste of time and effort, but woefully inadequate and naïve. Avoidance is a luxury many of us do not have, and I would caution readers against further legitimizing this act of “negative peace” at the behest of benighted white moderates.

With that, the new and improved Acquisitions will start Sunday, February 23 for paid subscribers. I cannot wait to share!

Now, on to the post…