Idle Hands Lead To Email Newsletters
Hi!
I know, I know. I'm already doing so many blogs as it is, and you probably don't need to hear from me again. But I've been feeling pretty remote out here on the other side of the world, so I just keep writing hoping that we can stay connected. This week, I got this most delightful email from my gal pal Skyler from Austin, which featured the tale of her husband accidentally driving their Airstream down a one way Main Street in nowheresville, California, and it brought me great joy. So I hope starting this newsletter will encourage you to write me back whenever, because I'm sort of lonely here without you.
Anyway, with blogging replaced by Twitter and Facebook newsfeeds, email newsletters are all the rage these days. I've gotten really into a couple newsletters from people I like and admire — notably Ann Friedman's, Jamelle Bouie's and Sean Bonner's. So you should subscribe to them if you're into this kind of thing.
What I Wrote
I'm on leave so I'm not doing a ton of writing for work. That said, I hope you'll enjoy one of my last NPR pieces before I had a baby, on hard-core Korean hikers and how hiking links Korean immigrants to their ancestral homeland. I also wrote a bunch of answers for Cup of Jo, the popular lifestyle blog, about motherhood in South Korea. And if you haven't moseyed over there yet, I started a blog for two-week-old Isabel Rock, because it wasn't going to be fair that her sister has a Tumblr and I didn't do some sort of documenting for Isa.
What I Read
Korean Juliana Haahs on being shamed for her looks by her Korean family. Ann Friedman on how the Taylor Swift/Nicki Minaj Twitter tussle laid bare what happens when white people hear big picture critiques about system racism. Sheila Smith on the uproar in Japan over legislation that would allow the pacifist nation to better defend itself militarily. Andy Greenwald on why Masters of Sex is not as good this season. The Atlantic writers scathingly and deliciously diss True Detective each week and that's my favorite thing to read after my viewings. Choice example:
"Why, why, why, does Pizzolatto keep making Frank say thinks like, “It’s like blue balls. In your heart”? Poor guy’s got enough to deal with without it sounding like he’s doing pornographic slam poetry."
What I'm Still Reading
Book: Korea: The Impossible Country, by Daniel Tudor
The former Economist correspondent in Seoul explores the history, culture and ways of life here on the land I now call home. It's been dragging in a few parts but I'm learning a lot of fascinating tidbits so I'm working my way through.
What I'm Watching
Rectify is a quiet and sometimes lyrical show on Sundance Channel that I only recently discovered. The first season is only six episodes and available on Netflix or Amazon Prime streaming, so it's easy to get caught up. It's worth the investment if you enjoy character driven stories and can handle a more plodding pace. Not sure? Read Matt Zoller Seitz's review, which won't give much away.
Also: I'm hate-watching True Detective, of course.
Recommended
The Instagram account of Chriselle Lim: Chriselle Lim is a stylist and video blogger that once worked with the famous YouTube tycoon, Michelle Phan. I'll never have her glamour or togetherness so I lurk on her Instagram, instead. Also she has an adorable baby who is also already living a more stylish life than the rest of us.
That's it from me, for now. If you enjoyed this, please encourage folks to subscribe. Send me ideas/gifs/links you want to share, too.
Love from Seoul,
Elise