This week’s (belated) snack comes with a little announcement: we will be taking a break from content for the rest of the week, while the mostly Texas-based POME editorial team defrosts and unravels from a hellish winter storm! But in the meantime, please enjoy some of the little tidbits that lit up our screens in the long, dark week.
One of the most surprising results of the winter storm that endangered the entire state of Texas was the interactions we and loved ones had with our neighbors: doing our best to help each other survive, while getting to know one another sometimes for the first time. We want to pass that energy on, to help a POME contributor and friend, Scotty, whose mom recently passed away unexpectedly.
Scotty is in the final week of a t-shirt sale campaign to help raise money for his mom’s funeral: in the spirit of mutual aid and solidarity, please share and contribute to the best of your ability!
Being forced to be offline can sometimes be a treat, in that you can catch up on the discourse of the day after the face. Writing for Bitch Media, Jordan McDonald really put her finger on the source of the dread and shame that can come from being Online all the time in her essay, “Why The Gorilla Glue Discourse Took Hold.”
In a society shaped by capitalism, surveillance, and neoliberal investments in individualism, monitoring and consumption are constant; self-branding merely allows us to shape how we will be monitored and how we wish to be consumed. This being said, the work of self-branding is often more communal than we acknowledge. Sometimes, it’s so communal that it may not even be consensual. Regardless of our intentions when posting online, online audiences determine the social capital we can accrue and how the content we share will be categorized by the masses.
Tonight (February 24, 2021) brings us a rare treat: A Celebration of Octavia Butler, one of SFF’s brightest and most beloved stars! From Tor.com: “Hosted by New York’s Symphony Space, the event features playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (An Octoroon) hosting a discussion with writers N. K. Jemisin (How Long ’til Black Future Month?), Walter Mosley (The Awkward Black Man), and Imani Perry (Breathe: A Letter to My Sons),” among other! Follow the link to get your virtual tickets for what promises to be a beautiful event.
Even if Film Twitter isn’t your thing, we cannot recommend highly enough Martin Scorsese’s recent essay in Harper’s, “Il Maestro: Federico Fellini and the lost magic of cinema.” Though of course it tells the story of Fellini’s incredible career, it also strikes a chord that anyone who grapples with the question of making art in deeply troubling times could resonate with.
Sometimes, a thing comes along that was made Just For You, and that’s how we feel about Mangasplaining, a new podcast by POME faves Deb Aoki, David Brothers, Christopher Butcher, and Chip Zdarsky. They’re only two episodes in so far, but have helpfully provided a list of the manga they’re discussing in the first handful of episodes, so that listeners can read along!
One of the best things about our small, niche community is being able to say with confidence: If you’re reading this, we are probably thinking of and missing you, dear POMEs. Take care of yourselves and each other until we meet again next week!