šø Lil Treasures #246: Dopamine, Frog Legs + Existential Crises
Plus some conversations about the patriarchy, reading smut and Catman
Itās Friday once again, my friends!
I canāt stop thinking about this essay by Celeste Davis about the men who like women and the men that donāt. My brain has not quit spinning since reading it! Without even realizing, Iāve been using Davisās words as a a way to categorize the men I encounter, like āoh yes, he is pro-womenā or āstay away, he is definitely not.ā I know there is always nuance to this conversation, but this is the game my brain has been playing over the last week. And this poem from Jordan Harrell only reinforced these thoughts (isnāt it so powerful, by the way?)
Anyway, I wrote a little bit about this concept that Celeste mentions, but with a faith spin (since so much of my life has been in faith-adjacent circles). You can read my thoughts on When Men Dislike Women in Faith Spaces by joining The Swipe Up+ (itās a paywalled post) or just simply shoot me an email and Iāll get you access.
But now for the reason we are all here: itās time to do the treasures. Letās go!
Thereās a lot of them so buckle up!
š« I am deeply engrossed in Shannon Evanās new book, The Mystics Would Like a Word and I just keep pausing every few pages and marveling over her writing. Itās taking me forever to read because I do not want it to end! If you need a little more convincing,
endorsed it as"the feminist reading of women mystics I've wanted for ages.ā Order it here on Amazon and you can read it this weekend!š„ Jordan Chiles finally received her medal (and more) this past week at the VMAās by none other than the legendary Flava-Flave.
āŖ For those of us carrying around any kind of church trauma, tell me this isnāt what itās like leaving any mega church worship service.
šŗ If you have the luxury of being a cat owner (we canāt due to allergies in my family) please, PLEASE do this one thing and transform your kitty into Catman.
š° The biggest delight in my feed this week was when Hever Castle (where Anne Boleyn lived in Kent) took the opportunity to use Gen Z language in their newest reel.
āļø Have you heard of the new Dopamine Menu trend on TikTok? I am obsessed with it! Itās all about helping us craft our own menu of things that give us a good dose of dopamine, and turning to those things (and not doom-scrolling, rewatching old shows, etc). Iām crafting my dopamine buffet now, let me know what some of your menu items are in the comments!
š The gold-medal winning, true lovinā Tara and Hunter Woodhall are my current Roman Empire (my fyp can confirm this). Hunter explaining how it means something to be a Woodhall and the reason behind his post-400m tribute to his late uncle got me feeling all the emotions.
š¢ Did you catch the debate this week featuring the smallest man who ever lived?
š Weāve been teasing it for a few weeks nowā¦.and this weekās episode of Faith Adjacent is finally here! Listen to my conversation with Jamie as we shoot our shot talking about Smutty Romance and the Christian Reader. If youāve dipped your toes (or fully submerged) into the world of smut in recent years, this episode is for you!
š„ø I would like to thank my theatre background for gifting me with the right tools as I frequently use different accents to help lessen tense situations.
š The legendary director Kenny Ortega (who directed High School Musical) will now be directing a new Disney+ version of the Phantom of the Opera! To say I am excited about this would be an understatement.
ā¤ļøāš©¹ Listen, you beautiful little group of kind helpers. Let me remind you today that itās not your responsibility to fix a bad vibe in the room. Did you know itās a trauma response to automatically assume you need to do something about it?
ā Okay, we have covered āhacking your cryā with the right video clips, movie scenes, etc. But what about finding a way to hack your joy in your normal, everyday life? Iām processing through how to do this in my own schedule to force myself (this is how I must do it) to take a different route or be a little late for the sake of delight.
šø Sitting here in wonder at this blind photographer at the Paralympics who is so amazing at his job.
š We are so lucky to have teachers in our education system like Jennifer Carter from Apalachee High School, although she shouldnāt have to be so well-prepared to shield her students. You can read her whole perspective on that terrifying day of the shooting here.
šÆ If this is what growing old with my friends is going to be like, sign me up.
š I appreciate everyone who is demure and mindful but unfortunately that is not me. Letās be honest, most of us are out here living in crisis mode.
š You mightāve heard the phrase āthe gun problem is just a sin problemā, and while that might have some truth to it, I think Ben Cremer does a good job of unpacking this concept in this recent post.
šø This chef cooking an entire meal inspired by the book of Exodus was so creative, and also made me incredibly hungry (even for frog legs). I hope he does more of these!
All aboard the meme train! š
I hope your week is filled with an array of dopamine-inducing activities! Reading your treasures happens to be one of my favorite things to do, so I am looking forward to that. See you in the comments, pals!
Love the idea of a dopamine menu! Mine includes iced coffee, YouTube videos, grown up coloring books, and wandering through a bookstore.
Something similar to the door happened to a bulletin board in my dorm freshman year. It originally said āNeed some extra cash? If soā¦ā and someone rearranged the letters so it said āNeed some extra a$$? If hoā¦ā It felt like we were checking something off the Essential College Experience list.