June 6 2022 Journal

At last, a productive week. Nowhere and Back Again last week, Human Bondage yesterday, and a piece on Rhosgobel and Dol Guldur later this week. Turns out not second-guessing myself is good for writing. So enjoy the next three Mirkwood pieces this month.

I've also been doing some reading during my stay in Providence. Was recently underwhelmed by Madeline Miller's Circe, a girlbossification of Greek mythology that left me cold with its turgid prose and misery porn. So far I'm fonder of Slaughterhouse-Five, my first time reading Kurt Vonnegut (I know).

Lately listening to a lot of country and folk music has gotten me playing guitar more, learning some scales, and trying my hand at songwriting. You'll never hear those songs, but you should listen to some of the stuff I've been going through. Brandi Carlile is still a favorite, and Willie Nelson's latest album A Beautiful Time is a joy. Also give a listen to Brittany Howard's Jaime, a Black lesbian's deeply personal and weird p-funk/Americana record about her sister.

Fewer stories this story, but that's probably for the best. Heavy content warnings for this section, so if you'd like to leave with some fun country music, stop here.

• ICIJ is showing leaked photos of the Chinese government's genocide of Uyghurs.

• Ex-CIA director Gina Haspel personally oversaw waterboarding at a black site.

• The Nation has a good piece on the Depp/Heard stuff.

Y'all got any happier stories to share? Ain't all news can be bad.