Welcome to the debut of The Junk Drawer!

We’ll sometimes call it TJD for short.

The first thing you all should know before you go on is that I have a natural pronunciation of the word “drawer,” that sounds like “draw.” Really. My sisters do too. I blame my parents, who both grew up in New York City, for passing this along to us.

Music

• I’m not sure I can speak about music without mentioning the awful assault against Rapper Megan Thee Stallion. The story is unfolding as we speak, but be sure to listen to Knowsy Pod to hear three intelligent women unpack the significance of the event. What’s most curious about the situation is how it’s progressed. It started off as reports of shots fired in the air and Megan stepping on glass, (many news outlets said she was arrested, which was incorrect, TMZ is NOT on it) to a specific intent to harm on behalf of Tory Lanez. Megan herself tweeted that she has experienced trauma from the event. In the tweet she also wrote, “Black women are so unprotected & we hold so many things in to protect the feelings of others w/o considering our own.” I couldn’t agree more. She’s since fired back at a specific social media personality for joking about the shooting. I have a feeling that the situation will be clarified in the coming weeks to bring her the justice and healing she so clearly deserves. Also, Tory Lanez is scum.

• This week, I’m listening to James Blake’s quarantine made song, “Are You Even Real?” I know it came out July 8th, but I’m listening to it this week, and it’s my blog so I make the rules. James’ song brings up something I love dreaming about, which is the idea that I am dreamed about. He previously dedicated his album, Assume Form, to his girlfriend, actress and activist Jameela Jamil. I listened to that album a lot during first semester finals in the library, and would get super bummed/jealous because I wanted someone to dedicate their creativity to capturing my essence. The last song on “Assume Form” is called “Lullaby For An Insomniac” – am I not supposed to imagine that’s about me? Not much work got done, as you may suspect. And is the bar on the floor for boyfriends? Perhaps… He brought up that Jameela Jamil is often credited as his muse, when she had a much more active role in the making of the album, and was even included in the credits. James and Jameela expressed that muses are a way to idolize women without actually acknowledging the role they have in the art. “Are You Even Real?” ignites my stubborn desire to be a muse and maybe just date a creative, nonetheless. He sings, “I spend the day/dreaming of connection/just to feel how you feel.” The gag is, I think he’s right that the title of muse is a cheap way of saying thank you to someone who has, in essence, made the art possible. Alas, I still want to be one. Is it that I secretly want to be captured and held, pinned down by words, or brush strokes, or lilting harmonies? Is it that I want to know that my energy is so expansive that it merits rumination? Every attempt at singing about me; close, but a near miss at replicating my sound. A charcoal sketch of my face, there but not quite. Perhaps a freckle misplaced. Maybe in that miss, the gap between the art and its intended subject, the muse is free. If you have any thoughts on muses and their role in art, please tell me. I find this endlessly fascinating.

• FloMilli’s debut album, “Ho, Why Is You Here” was released this week. I’m just now listening as I write this, in awe of how FloMilli makes me feel too good for anyone. In “Pussycat Doll,” she raps in sing-song voice, “Your boyfriend kiss and tell/treat me like a wishing well.” Yes. Very good.

Celebrity

• Kanye, Kanye, Kanye… I almost didn’t want to mention this. His Twitter rant had me staring at my phone screen vacantly for far too long. Kim insinuated that Kanye was in a manic state due to his bipolar disorder, which fans and media outlets have also surmised. He is so clearly in a place where he needs help. Telling the details of your wife’s almost-abortion to millions of people also isn’t great. And I’m holding those two things together at once because this situation is pretty complex, and mostly sad.

• Britney Spears and conservatorship! I don’t generally follow the “Toxic” crooner (great song), but I have spent some time on Spears’ social media and I find it…strange. Remember when she burned down her home gym? #FreeBritney has been trending on social media and supporters of the movement have been protesting at hearings. What is conservatorship? After a series of public breakdowns in 2008, Britney’s manager and father gained legal control over her financial assets, estate, and personal assets. It’s sort of like getting state sanctioned authority over these parts of someone’s life, when they’re thought to be ill equipped to manage it themselves. The #FreeBritney movement claims that she is controlled by her lawyer and father. Sounds strange, but the plot thickens, because Britney’s tween son went on a tirade against his grandfather on Instagram live recently. Britney herself hasn’t said anything about the status of her conservatorship and seems to be having fun, burning gyms down notwithstanding. All in all, not sure what ANY of this means, nor do I have an opinion on whether or not the conservatorship needs to be dissolved. Whatever happens, I hope she continues to dance her heart out.

Real News

• “It will probably unfortunately get worse before it gets better,” Trump said, at a press conference this last Tuesday about the pandemic. To which I say, did we not do the “worse” part, already? I’ve been in NYC since the pandemic hit in March. Watching my home be violently ravaged by this virus was pretty traumatic and mentally exhausting, and I finally feel like we are beginning to recover. I know that rates in the rest of the country are skyrocketing, so the idea that things are going to get worse is… dark. Trump so clearly couldn’t be less bothered. I read that he gets multiple covid tests a day, and I genuinely hope each test is more painful than the last. Especially because I remember him complaining about getting tested before it was even widely available the people who needed it most. I was denied testing in March because I wasn’t symptomatic enough. I finally got one done recently, and it was very ok. Extremely bearable. He’s a racist, mysogynistic, narcissist, and to top it all off; a wuss.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took the House floor to speak about old, white republican man, Representative Yoho. Rep. Yoho accosted her on the Capitol steps, hurling insults at her and calling her “a fucking bitch.” He also called her dangerous, which is true. AOC has shined a light on how pathetically poor of character some our most prominent leaders are. She doesn’t have to do much either, these men expose themselves. AOC condemned Yoho’s actions in a searing speech made in congress, “Having a daughter does not make a man decent. Having a wife does not make a decent man. Treating people with dignity and respect makes a decent man,” and later, “I am someone’s daughter too.” I love that AOC took the time to address Yoho’s reprehensible behavior, but sometimes I get sad that women have to humanize themselves so much. I’M SOMEONE’S DAUGHTER. A GIRLFRIEND. A WIFE. I’M PLAYING A ROLE, I PROMISE. We can’t take at face value and as self evident, that AOC’s feelings matter. Bums me out. This comment has no reflection on AOC; I adore her, and was moved by her words. She couldn’t just say, “F*#k you, Yoho,” although that would’ve been iconic. Fun Fact: I met AOC while I was doing public health survey work and some Spanish translation in an outdoor market in Jackson Heights, Queens last summer. It was incredibly hot, and I was incredibly tired, and my day became infinitely better because I got a picture with her. I cried, which really surprised me! We love to see Puerto Rican, city women excelling. Watch AOC’s speech here.

TV & Movies

• The ONLY thing I want is for HBO show Succession to start filming again, now that shooting is possible in New York City. Succession is my favorite show. Biting. Funny. Absurdly pretentious. Why do I enjoy seeing white, rich people argue over problems I pray to be important enough to have one day? Seeing families who are snippy with each other tickles me, maybe because my own is so notoriously gossipy and bad at resolving conflict. Gotta love em’ though! And most importantly, you have to laugh, as I often do in my own life. I also laugh at the characters in Succession, who find themselves in ridiculous situations, while still rubbing against one another in familiar, familial ways. Consider this brilliant exchange where Tom (older dude) dismisses Greg’s (younger dude) scruples. Greg doesn’t want to work at the family news channel, (imagine, if you will, a liberal working at Fox) because of his principles.

It’s so good, y’all. And this isn’t a particularly hot take, I think the show won an Emmy? Maybe you all have already watched, in which case let’s do a big group text about how good it is.

Miscellaneous & Me

• It’s Leo season. Every day we stray further from Gemini’s light.

• I made peanut brittle that was awful. It got stuck to the pan, so I just threw the whole pan away I know my dad will not notice a missing cookie sheet.

Word Of The Week

• Visiogenic: appropriate for broadcast on television. Ex. Sen. Yoho’s “apology” to AOC wasn’t visiogenic. I don’t know if that sentence makes sense, but in plain words, the apology was incredibly boring because it was devoid of any human feeling at all.