Taking a break made social media fun again — I’m not real cute social media. I’m inconsistent on Insta and I might never make a TikTok video. My hashtag game is lackluster. Unlike other media workers that I follow, I don’t have a knack for those effortlessly cool tweets that are somehow equal parts office in-joke and the most…

Ponies, Shibus, and CryptoKitties—oh my! — I’ll admit to being a bit turned off by NFTs when I first started reading about them earlier this year. First, the word “fungible” is gross. So is someone paying bazillions so they can say they owned a stupid tweet, IMHO. After the initial vicarious sticker shock wore off, I…

Generational trends often marginalize people of color — For some reason, I can’t stop thinking about the Gen Z and millennial wars that kicked off in February when Gen Z canceled our skinny jeans and side parts. Initially, I thought my persistent annoyance came from being an Old who just can’t let things go, a distinct possibility given…

Here’s what I consumed this week — Things are… interesting here in Istanbul, where lockdown is starting to feel like its own superspreader event. First, there was the mass exodus from cities to rural areas before lockdown started. Those who stayed flocked to stores to stock up on food and alcohol, sales of which are banned during…

Accountability is important but so is decentering whiteness — Justin Bieber’s new dreadlock hairstyle went viral amid allegations of cultural appropriation this week. This isn’t the first time he fell into some peak whiteness and, Lord knows, it probably will not be the last. Let me spell it out ICYMI (and clearly many people have): a lot of Black…

Feline inspired self-care for sheltering in place — As vaccine-privileged folks are blowing up Instagram with maskless party pics and vacation photos, people in many parts of the world, including Turkey, where I live, are retreating back into lockdown. Despite my natural extroversion and frequent pre-pandemic travel, I’ve been OK in lockdown. Living and working overseas, I was…

So much gluten, so much sci-fi — Last week, I returned to Istanbul from a trip to the Republic of Georgia, a border run of sorts that turned out to be one of the least relaxing trips ever. I self-soothed with grains and a heavy dose of sci-fi. I succumbed to the demon of gluten Oh boy, did I fall off the no-grains wagon…

Lenten tacos, Black TikTok, and a side of conspiracy — When I was planning The Rag, I decided I wanted to have a weekly roundup of interesting recommendations, sort of à la “At Home” by The New York Times. Ideally, this would happen on a weekend but, well, it’s Wednesday and I’m doin’ it, soooo… I’ve been reading the The…

And a couple of things I liked — Content warning: This article discusses “I May Destroy You,” a BBC x HBO series that explicitly deals with rape, sexual assault, drug use, and trauma. There are also spoilers! This week I watched “I May Destroy You,” the critically acclaimed tour de force by Black British auteur, Michaela Coel. The…