Hello and welcome to the 116th 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 Julian Assange! 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.
*Ghosting (March 2014), by Andrew O’Hagan for The London Review of Books – Okay, I was like, I really don’t feel like reading an epically long piece about Julian Assange. Then I started reading this piece and I was like, holy shit, THIS IS SO GOOD. Seriously you should read it.
The Playboy Interview: A Candid Conversation With Nick Denton (February 2014), by Jeff Bercovici for Playboy – Well, I disagree with most of his predictions for the future of journalism, but I always read Denton interviews because he built a blogging empire and is rich now and there were some educational aspects to this.
The Secret Life of Gitmo’s Women (February 2014), by Sarah Mirk and Lucy Bellwood for narrative.ly – “Two female Navy veterans pull back the curtain on Guantanamo Bay, where the war on terror meets a military culture rife with harassment and sexual assault.” It’s written graphic novel style.
The Unofficial Robert Ebert Primer on Addiction (February 2014), by Ted Pillow for The Morning News – This was great. “Those who have ventured into the darker corners of addiction know that one of its few consolations, once the fun has worn off, is the camaraderie with fellow practitioners. Substance abuse sets the user apart from the daily lives of ordinary people. No matter how well the addict may seem to be functioning, there is always the secret agenda, the knowledge that the drug of choice is more important than the mundane business at hand, such as friends, family, jobs, play and sex.”
What Men Find Beneath Female Masks (February 2014), by Luke Malone for The Atlantic – “Inside the increasingly common practice—and business—of female masking.”
Notes From Freedom County, by Joseph Osmundson for The Rumpus- There’e music in here, too. “The way I see myself depends on this place. It was rough where I grew up and we weren’t rich and a lot of folks were really poor. Arlington is way more important to me that I am to it. It lives in me. The kid that I was there is not quite dead. People move to New York to forget their past, to reinvent themselves. Small town kids seeking anonymity or fame. I never wanted to divorce myself from who I was back home. I might not love how that kid dressed, I might not be proud of all his self-effacing awkwardness, but I need him. Without him, I am simultaneously no one and everyone. Without him, I am generic. Without him, I am a white man in America. Without him, I am a subdivision and a Safeway and a McDonalds.”
The Endangered Art of The Movie Novelization (February 2014), by Will Sloan for Random House – A really interesting look at the process behind turning screenplays into novels, a practice most popular for sci-fi and fantasy films, and the business of it.
Who Killed Heather Brodus (February 2014), by Bojana Sandic for narrative.ly – “It’s been three and a half years since Nancy Smith’s daughter turned up dead on the streets of Long Beach. She’s canvassed the neighborhood and learned disturbing details of her daughter’s secret life. But she still has no answers.”
“Female masking” kind of creeps me out. I’d never heard of it and now I wish I hadn’t.
its weird reading about julian assange, the great power that he had available to him, the narcissism, and knowledge that his sanity will only depreciate the longer he’s on the run. i also shudder to think about how easy it is to become so unaware and thus so vulnerable/dangerous. wonder how long it would take to read through the leaks and put them into context. i mean, if nobody reads them its like they were never revealed in the first place
This from Heather Broadus’s mother hit me right in the feels:
“Everyone wants to preserve this image of their child as this great kid, as what they remember and love about their child. I get that. But at the same time, it’s dishonest. I don’t think it dishonors that person to be honest about who they were. If they were honest enough to live it and die it, then why try to paint this different picture?”
What an amazing woman. I hope she finds her answers, and I have so much respect for her unselfish love and strength.
*Roger Ebert. (not Robert).
Maybe add a trigger warning about trans phobia to the Female Masks article, esp for trans women.