Call It a Mid-Season Break

On taking a breather.

Don’t you hate it when you don’t realize you’re watching a finale until you get to the cliffhanger in the final moments? Me too. Sorry about this!

There will not be any regularly scheduled newsletters on the website for the next two months. In that time, I'll be reassessing my areas of expertise and passion,  prepping some fun future essays and reviews, and reimagining what this site - initially born out of a love for watercooler conversation, along with a sense of resistance to corporately-owned media and increasingly hellish social media  - can and should be. There may be periodic posts and newsletters in this time span, but if so, they will not be released on a set schedule.

In the past few months, I've found myself starting roughly twice as many posts as I finish, and some of my most interesting work hasn't seen the light of day because I've been in mental and creative survival mode for reasons both personal (ongoing medical treatment with tricky, time-consuming side effects) and global (a Presidential administration that's trying to sell the whole world for parts). I've found myself much more interested in facilitating community aid, learning about ways to resist authoritarianism, and taking depression naps than I have in sitting still long enough to watch dozens of movies and TV shows. I am okay, though, and I hope you are too.

I also admit that I’ve probably got a case of the yips. My writing world has shrunk exponentially in the 14 months or so as social media communities have dissolved, websites have dealt with slashed budgets and fewer review assignments to go around, and the outlet I called home for so long appears to have closed up shop. This is also an industry that relies on constant self-promotion, networking, and time-management, all of which I’ve put on hold while dealing with a whole lot of personal, physical, professional, geographical, and political changes. Journalism, especially pop culture criticism, is also a pretty unforgiving field even when you do come prepared and grind all hours of the day.

To be clear, I’m not stepping away from pop culture writing, and my day job is still as a writer. In some ways, I’m doing the opposite: giving myself some space with no expectations and no eyes on me, so I can try to go all in on some dream projects and wild ideas and see where they take me. Hopefully, I'll return with something great.

My attention span may currently be tapped out, but I know and believe that the visual arts have been responsible for some of the strongest political resistance, sharpest social commentary, and most empathetic human connections of the past century. If we want to get through this year and the years to come, we'll need to look towards and lean on pop culture – on performance, storytelling, informed interpretation, point-of-view, cultural exchange, historical awareness, and emotional truth – as much as anything else. Except, perhaps, for one another. I want to use all my resources and knowledge to make this little corner of the internet as well-informed, entertaining, and compassionate as possible, but it'll take some downtime and a few renovations to do that. If you do stick with me until the lights come back up, thank you. If you don't, thank you for reading so far.

Here’s what you need to know as a subscriber:

• Free subscribers don’t need to do anything. Sit tight!
• If someone signs up for a paid subscription right now, they’ll be given a 60-day free trial that should cover the off season period.
• Payments for existing paid subscribers are currently on a two-month pause, and are set to resume on April 22nd. You’re welcome to reach out to me via the site’s support email or on social media if this doesn’t work for you, or if you need a different pay date. You’re also welcome to cancel your subscription outright as needed - I’m a chronic unsubscriber and resubscriber myself!
• Some paid subscribers have requested that I not pause their payments. That’s a very kind sentiment, especially since this break falls into the “don’t have the spoons to write” category, not the “can afford time off” category. If you are one of these lovely people, you can always show support for the site by leaving a tip or donation in the meantime via this link.
• Any posts that do go up on the site between now and April 22, 2025 will be free for all readers.

Until next time: show up for each other, stay safe, keep learning, and watch The Pitt on (HBO) Max. Also, Severance on Apple TV+. Oh, and I’m really enjoying The White Lotus season 3. And have you seen Companion yet?! Okay, okay, I’ll stop now. See you soon!