The TueDo List: Go-Go’s + Gen-X Variety Show!
THIS WEEK
Go go go watch the Go-Go's documentary! Then check out their brand-new single. There will be entire dissertations written about the imagery in Beyoncé’s “ALREADY” video. Why we’re gardening and baking so much. (Don’t plant the seeds!) I am not my hair. Netflix for insomnia: Restflix. Hard pass on KFC flavored lipstick and mustard-flavored beer. Add to cart: TueNighter Crystal Durant on a shirt! A great interview with Alanis Morisette, who recently performed with her daughter. On letting your facial hair grow in during quarantine. My midlife crisis as a Russian sailor. A podcast about yacht rock. Sign us up for fake male assistants. Breonna Taylor on the cover of Oprah’s magazine. The perils of dating in middle age. High five, MacKenzie Scott. Tomorrow: Storytelling while Black and female.
(Photo: The A.V. Club, Ginger Canzoneri/Showtime)
AUGUST THEME: SLEEP
Editor's Note: This month, we’ll be talking about how we’re sleeping and not sleeping in this pandemic, what the stars tell us about dreams, how sleep wear/ work clothes have become one comfy lewk, and we’re even hosting a Slumber Party (see below!) First, get ready to nap it out:
An Astrologer Tells Us Why We Need to Take a Nap Right Now — And Start Dreaming
By Karrie Myers Taylor
“Neptune is in Retrograde right now, which means all your illusions are being stripped away. Now, you have the space to dream big, without the limits of money, patriarchy, racism or age-ism. But you can’t dream if you don’t sleep.”
(Psst: Want to write for us? Pitch us here!)
GEN-X VARIETY SHOW: SLUMBER PARTY
This one is guaranteed to be a real snooze fest. No really. We’re throwing a virtual slumber party, y’all, so put on your PJs/caftans and BYO cocktail as we party together in the clouds, er Cloud.
Our guests for this edition are fabulous, too:
Author Ada Calhoun will read from Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis.
Our own Deesha Philyaw, who wrote the forthcoming Secret Lives of Church Ladies, will talk about those prank calls we made at sleepovers.
Astrologer Karrie Myers Taylor on why we should be napping + dreaming.
Divorce doula Jenny Douglas who will tell us why — and how — she is getting the best sleep of her life.
LaFrae Sci will be soothing us with her magical, musical dreamscapes sending us off into a good night’s rest.
A portion of the evening's proceeds will go to Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls which provides music education and mentoring that empowers cisgender and trans girls, women and/or gender non-binary youth and adults.
**Tickets are $15 but TueNighters get an early bird 20% off with the code “tnnews” - ends August 11, midnight**
TueNight 10: Margaret Crandall
(Margaret with her neighbors’ dog, Daisy)
Age: 48
Basic bio: Margaret Crandall is TueNight’s new newsletter editor, a native East Coaster who has lived in San Francisco for almost 20 years. Her roommate is a silver mannequin named Svetlana.
Beyond the bio: I keep coming back to the words “achieve” and “contribute.” I spent most of my life thinking I was supposed to achieve, but finally realized I’m happiest and at my best when I contribute to larger efforts from behind the scenes.
What makes you a grown-ass lady? Recognizing how much I still have to learn (and being excited to learn it).
1. On the nightstand: Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires, a box of Kleenex, my glasses, and Emerita Pro-Gest and Phytoestrogen creams, which someone insisted I try, but I don’t notice any difference re: mood/energy level.
2. Can't stop/won't stop: Browsing Etsy for the perfect vintage caftan. (I just ordered a 70s “summer house coat” for the TueNight Slumber Party!)
3. Jam of the minute: I mostly listen to old reggae and rocksteady on Pandora. Stuff like Delroy Wilson’s “Better Must Come.”
4. Thing I miss: My dog. She died a year ago. The neighbors think I’m taking care of Daisy (above) two days a week, but really it’s the other way around.
5. ’80s crush: Don Johnson. I even went to Miami to look for him.
6. Current crush: Billy Porter, for his talent, his confidence, his voice. I would listen to him read the dictionary. #THECATEGORYIS
7. Latest fave find: The Kristoff candle from Lita+Ro which reminds me of Christmas as a kid and doesn’t overpower my apartment, and these Monrow linen blend jogger pants when they were on sale. I wear them all day and sleep in them too. They are basically pajamas you can wear outside.
8. Last thing I lost: My reading glasses, which were, of course, on top of my head.
9. Best thing that happened recently: After a 33-year break, I started playing tennis again. I’m back at a beginner level, but it’s so fun I don’t care if I hit the ball over the fence.
10. Looking forward to: A COVID-19 vaccine, seeing East Coast family and friends, and getting my hair cut.
FOLLOW: Isa Watson
Dance like all your bras are in the wash, TueNighters!
