There are approximately 50 pied currawongs in my front and back gardens right now. They’re singing constantly at each other and it’s beautiful. They seem to have been attracted here by the ivy bushes along the back fence suddenly bursting into life with thousands of tiny black berries.
As always, if you’re enjoying Solidaritas, paid subscriptions are available for US$5/month or much much cheaper at US$40/year. Have a lovely weekend!
-Kate
Read
I found this NYT article on mitigation programs in Houston fascinating. Apparently there are efforts now to prioritise programs in low-income neighbourhoods which have tended to miss out in the past, despite being some of the worst hit by flooding. Predictably (unfortunately), people living in richer parts of Houston are not impressed.
Rebecca Traister took a look at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s calling out of sexist language and sexual harassment. She called it “a remarkable piece of oratory, clear and thoughtful about some of the knottiest dynamics of gendered power imbalance in political, public, and personal life.”
It’s a topic that gets explored quite a bit, but Sian Cain’s piece on why people are increasingly choosing to be child-free is really good. She particularly hones in on why we assume that parenthood is the default, and how we need to change how we think about childfreeness (not childlessness).
Sarah Weinman on why the true crime genre needs to change. She argues, and I agree, that “it’s time for true crime to move past white middlebrow comfort food”.
A short profile of Trump mimic Sarah Cooper and how she has become the only way through which many of us can stomach listening to Trump’s voice.
A war correspondent visits Florida’s DisneyLand during the pandemic.
Poynter looks at why more journalists are stepping back from Twitter.
Global Witness’s new annual report has revealed that 2019 saw the highest number of land and environmental defenders murdered on record in a single year. 212 people killed last year for peacefully defending their homes and standing up to the destruction of nature.
Maddison Stoff in Overland on Animal Crossing: New Horizons as utopia.
I’m sure most Australians at least have already heard about the emus banned from a Queensland pub, but if you haven’t, it’s good for a chuckle. Apparently they don’t clean up after themselves very well.
Watch/listen to
My partner and I started watching The Great. I’m loving it; Nicholas Hoult is hilarious and perfect for the role of Peter III. Simulatenous watching via Zoom is how we do things these days until we are finally reunited.
Cook
We made this roasted red capsicum sauce last night and had it with pasta. We threw chunks of crumbled feta into it when serving. Pretty good but I felt like it could have done with a bit more acid to balance out the sweetness of the roasted capsicums. We will experiment.
I also made terong balado (sauteed eggplants with chili and tomato) a few days ago and have been eating it for lunch every day. Terong balado is one of those dishes that I will always ALWAYS order at a warteg or a nasi Padang restaurant. It’s just so good.