Still holding out hope for the unified scene

So while the world is literally on fire and the president of the country I live in is indescribably bat-shit bonkers, I am trying, TRYING, to stay a little bit positive. I try to hold space to stay angry, but it’s the smaller joys that allow me to do that.

So in between drawing koalas to benefit wildlife rescue (more on that later) and general existential panic, I’m trying to focus some energy on things that give me faith in humanity. A teeny tiny bit of faith in humanity.

One of those things is the new show Work In Progress. I thought I was excited about The L Word reboot, but it turns out it was all about this show that airs AFTER The L Word. Abby McEnany created this 30-minute semi-autobiographical comedy series and it gives me life. Take everything you think about The L Word and make it 200% more queer with 99% fewer power lesbians.

I can and will go on a more lengthy explanation of why I think this show is important right now (hello, paid-only content!), but the way in which this show illustrates a very real and messy look at life for the main character’s self-proclaimed “fat, queer dyke” identity is commendable. I see a lot of myself in her and I think a lot of other fellow queer, gender-weird, awkward dorks will too. The show embraces how complicated any identity label can be and I really really appreciate that.

Work In Progress tackles a lot of relatable content, along with managing your mental health, living with OCD, and more. I appreciate the way they show the learning curve involved in understanding the gender spectrum, queerness, trans life, etc. and I know that some people might disagree with me but you should totally sound off in the comments, and I will gladly talk more about that with you. I think the discussions created by shows like this are the most important part of it.

While I’m over here breaking out all my queer theory books going hard on futurity and queer melancholy, just go enjoy the five episodes that have aired so far!

Another thing that cheers me up without fail are Marie Forleo videos. She’s a business/life coach personality and an Italian-American Jersey Girl who very often curses like a sailor. She’s silly and this is arguably not very rock ‘n’ roll or whatever but I think she has a lot of really valuable things to share about goals and business things and just generally getting your shit together, so it’s on-topic here. I’m currently reading her book Everything Is Figureoutable and she actively affirms the gender spectrum and acknowledges privilege and it almost made me cry.

This time of year, there’s a ton of worthless productivity hacks and and people selling snake oil about making a million dollars. January is the time of year that they accumulate and my eyes roll right out of my head at them. But I think this Marie Forleo video is honestly very helpful and practical and explains things I’d personally recommend doing.

She mentions her program B-school at the end, which I’m not endorsing because I’ve never done it, so just FYI I’m not secretly pitching that to you. Nothing in this newsletter is an affiliate link and I get zero dollars from anyone else’s work that I link here.

In an effort to not only stay positive but also feel like I’m actually doing something, I’m going to be doing a hand-full of koala drawings and selling them with 100% of the sales going to WIRES Wildlife Rescue in Australia. I’ll be posting things to my Instagram feed and stories, so follow my art account to see when that happens! It was a true privilege to get to visit Australia on tour a couple years ago, and getting to meet koalas, kangaroos, and other Australian-specific wildlife was a highlight of my life. Please also consider donating to them directly.

Speaking of benefits, in a smaller capacity, $1 from every pre-sale of our new record goes to Tiny Changes, a mental health charity focused on young people, in memory of Scott Hutchison from Frightened Rabbit. You can find pre-orders here.

Until next week, here’s a photo of me with a few super chill koalas.