HELLO and welcome to the 195th installment of Things I Read That I Love, wherein I share with you some of the longer-form journalism/essays I’ve read recently so that you can read them too and we can all know more about Thinx! This “column” is less feminist/queer focused than the rest of the site because when something is feminist/queer focused, I put it on the rest of the site. Here is where the other things are.
The title of this feature is inspired by the title of Emily Gould’s tumblr, Things I Ate That I Love.
Lights, Camera, Love, by Tiffany Yannetta for Racked, February 2016
There is a lot of information about “Singled Out” in this look at online dating shows, which’s important as we watched that like lunatics at sleepovers in the ’90s. I’m really loving the feature stories they do on Racked, they always seem to be catered to my precise interests.
A Country Breaking Down, by Elizabeth Drew for The New York Review of Books, February 2016
This will be highly appreciated by high-speed rail advocates! But you know, the jist of it is that our bridges and train tracks and roads are in really piss-poor shape, behind many less-wealthy countries, and the government should do something about this, and a lot of people have written books about it.
Miki Agrawal’s Panty Raid, by Noreen Malone for New York Magazine, February 2016
Uh…. your mileage may vary. This is about the woman who made Thinx, the underwear that won’t leak when you’re on your period.
96 Minutes, by Pamela Coloff for The Texas Monthly, August 2006
This is the story of the first mass murder in a public place in America, which happened at The University of Texas-Austin in 1966. It’s in the style of an oral history
Winona, Forever, by Soraya Roberts for Hazlitt, February 2016
I cannot ever read enough about Winona Ryder, because I love her. This was a nice long journey into the world of Winona, I enjoyed every minute of it.
PeeWee’s Big Comeback, by Jonah Weiner for The New York Times, February 2016
Real talk I loved PeeWee’s Playhouse. I loved PeeWee’s Great Adventure and his breakfast machine. My Mom hated getting brand-name stuff or licensed merchandise for us but my brother had PeeWee pajamas and would do the PeeWee dance. In retrospect, man, that show was so weird and subversive! Also kd lang was on it once, she wore a prairie skirt. Anyhow this is about his past and his new project and everything that’s happened since everything fell apart.
I Made Less Than $13 An Hour To Serve $13 Bud Lights at the Super Bowl, by Gabriel Thompson for Slate w/The Investigative Fund, February 2016
Sadly, he was lucky to get paid at all — apparently volunteers fuel much of the game’s labor. But this is also about the overall underpaid labor situation at football games in Levi’s Stadium in general. Apparently this is part of a series they’re doing about the labor conditions behind some of our “most cherished annual traditions.” I look forward to future installments!
The Life and Lies of a Professional Imposter, by James C. McKinley Jr & Rick Rojas for The New York Times, January 2016
He’s inspired comparisons to legendary con-man Frank Abagnale. This guy is terrible!
TV: The Shame of Wisconsin, by Lorrie Moore for The New York Review Of Books, February 2016
She talks about the beauty of the midwest so wonderfully, and also the pain, and Making a Murderer.
“Nonetheless, a feeling of overlookedness and isolation can be said to persist in America’s dairyland, and the idea that no one is watching can create a sense of invisibility that leads to the secrets and labors that the unseen are prone to: deviance and corruption as well as utopian projects, untested idealism, daydreaming, provincial grandiosity, meekness, flight, far-fetched yard decor, and sexting. “
