kinda feel like “woe to those who are weak on crime” wasn’t in the beatitudes.

And the well meaning people who all want to bring soup when it's 90 degrees outside. It's cancer, not the flu.

If you've got a friend going through cancer, as well meaning as you might be, cooking for them without first asking what they can actually eat is a mistake. A lot of food tastes like shit and sawdust during chemo. Send along a gift card instead. Or just say hello.

Source: I went through chemo.

Well I always said Gen X doesn't exist so there! Writers from Gen X DEFINITELY do not exist.

a close up of a stuffed monkey wearing a green shirt and blue overalls . ALT: a close up of a stuffed monkey wearing a green shirt and blue overalls .

This doesn't bode well for my ongoing existential crisis.

Finally some explanation for why I'm 5'10" when my family are mostly hobbit sized.

You and me both!

Bummer. Most magazines don’t survive that long these days. Just my luck.

For books rights revert to the author after 7 years. I think for some magazines it’s 3.

When I've had surgery the anesthesia went in through a hand vein and I had a bruise like that for a while. When I had chemo it went in through an arm vein but the nurses said some meds destroy veins so they have to "get creative." Also, hi, this is a random response.

It certainly looks amazing, but instead of being able to see it for the price of a movie ticket, now it requires the price of a concert ticket. That's the part that makes me mad as a broke person.

My neighbor has one that just reads I EAT SAND.

Berkeley gonna Berkeley

A pilgrim and a stranger On trying to find a church

Since November I've visited a dozen or so churches of varying denominations, trying to find one that doesn't smother newcomers but doesn't completely ignore us either. This... has not happened. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Honestly I'm more insulted being called "prof" than being called dumb or dangerous. I'm a senior lecturer!

A question i've been thinking about a lot lately, and couldn't think of a better person than kaya to tackle it: what would repentance look like for trump supporters?

Thanks again for asking!

hell yeah

The only thing more Oakland than Alyssa Liu mouthing "that's what I'm fucking talking about" at the camera would be skating a routine to Mac Dre and ghostriding the whip in the Olympic Village parking lot.

What Lent Asks of Christians Rethinking Trump Christians shouldn't shame people trying to leave Trump. But in the spirit of Lent, they should call them to repent.

Thanks @tylerhuckabee.bsky.social and @sojo.net for asking me to write about how the MAGA movement might learn something about repentance during Lent. sojo.net/articles/opi...

Very belatedly catching up with this news. Congrats!

Thanks, you too.

What I am saying is not that it is okay to fail, but that failure is going to happen and that your life still matters and still has meaning whether you published 75 essays this year or zero. Ultimately, your Guggenheim and your New York Times best sellers and your Substack checkmark and your CV and your lists of publications and your social media followers will not go with you into the grave. They will not offer any comfort in the chemo chair or in the dialysis clinic or in the surgical suite. What will matter is how you lived your life.

This essay from last year seemed to be helpful to quite a few people, so, here it is again. kayaoakes.substack.com/p/against-am...

Like I said, it's *very* raunchy!

The Ghosts of Media Past Three new books on the rise and fall of glossy magazines, alt weeklies, and gilded journalism.

"The age of gilded journalism was mostly smoke and mirrors, a magic show with no one behind the curtain."

@kayaoakes.bsky.social recommends books on the ghosts of media past:
www.commonwealmagazine.org/ghosts-media...

And I never had to think about RFK Jr in a sexual sorry I had to go vomit repeatedly

And the wigs are shit

The good thing is that the local progressive Christian community is pretty small, so chances are I know someone who knows someone there. But it's always intimidating starting all over again.

The thing is as a lefty Catholic with bad knees this was a worst case scenario moment for me