This Hell? At Least It's Fresh
Happy (???) New Year, Dames Nation.
Time? We don’t know her.
What do we even say at this point? This week was going to be weird and difficult pretty much no matter what; the week after Christmas always is. Re-entry is tough. Wednesday started off on a good note -- way to go, Raphael Warnock & Jon Ossoff, and a huge thank you to all of the organizers and volunteers who made your wins in Georgia possible! -- but then they went decidedly and horribly wrong.
We know most of our readers hail from the US, and are likely to be well acquainted with the images, headlines, and analysis of the attempted coup in our Capitol Building on Wednesday, but every time we experience a crisis, I think about our international readers. News here has a way of dominating international news, as well, and we wonder what people who live outside the US make of that, both as a general phenomenon, and in this specific case. It seems unfair, and yet we also know that major American political developments have a disproportionate impact everywhere else.
America is, for better and for considerably worse, a nation of optimists, but there is no silver lining to be found here, and every moment we try to find one is a moment wasted. That’s brain power and care that we need to spend not on turning the page or seeking some amorphous unity, but on using our understanding of the short-term occupation of the nation’s legislative spaces by armed white nationalists -- at the behest of our own President!!! -- to clarify what we’re really about so we’re ready for next time. It seems likely that there will be a next time, maybe as soon as mid-month around Inauguration Day, and we’ll need to summon resolve from our values and friends to help us fend it off.
It’s going to take more than this, but you can never go wrong starting with Julia Sugarbaker
What Dames Can Do About It: Substantial Frivolity
Receiving the above tweet this morning, I (Dame Margaret) felt… very seen and anchored in a hard and terrible week. Like, yup, there was an absolutely horrifying and somehow not at all surprising attempted military coup on Wednesday, I feel overwhelmed and useless and miserable and ill-equipped to accomplish any of the meaningful work the present moment seems to require but you know what? The defenders of democracy still wish to be snappily attired at affordable prices, and they still need someone to source their dresses for them. This is something I can do. The answers— provided by helpful people in my mentions!— are as follows:
The winningly subdued leopard print number on the left is from Ann Taylor and it’s presently on sale-- only $24 (XS-XL, and available in petite)!
The houndstooth number on the right with the flippy hem, meanwhile, is J. Crew Factory-- and also on sale for only $24 this weekend?? Available in size 2-20.
Am I going to be working over the next week to find more size inclusive equivalents, and maybe some corresponding options for people whose tastes run more to masc or androgynous options? You must know that I am.
I cannot do as much as I’d like to. But this? This I can do. I want all people who’d like to dress like heroic adult American Girl Dolls to be able to.
Our other scheme: we’re building a collection of guaranteed serotonin-boosting videos, ideally with all y’alls help. We have created a handy-dandy Google form where you can submit your favorite, ideally under-10-minute-long videos-- the ones you seek out to keep your head above water when the day has left you feeling absolutely defeated. We’ll go through your submissions and share them out a couple each issue. Because, if this first week of 2021 is any indication, we’re going to need all the help we can get keeping our heads’ above water. Here is a collection of Your Dames’ all-time favorites, to whet your appetite:
A Legendary Duet
Perhaps the most impressive thing about this video is that the banter between Judy and Barbra at the opening is just as fun to watch as truly spectacular duet that is the video’s centerpiece.
Stevie Nicks’s Irrepressible Spirit
Honestly just hard to feel entirely flat after watching Stevie belting her wild heart out in the middle of having her makeup done.
Miles Morales’s Leap of Faith
Two and half minutes of irresistible psyching up, from the greatest Marvel movie to date, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-verse.
6ABC Action News’s Theme Song
Like many Philadelphia-area kids, I grew up thinking this was the theme song for every ABC affiliate’s evening news program. I wish it were! Everyone deserves to have their nightly news kick off with such a jaunty tune!
Two Bossy Dames is brought to you by:
Ada Limon’s fusion of just-right imagery and implacable hope
A call-out we would call ice-cold and rude were it not undeniably accurate
The most adorable mockery ever committed to the screen
We appreciate you, readers of Dames Nation!
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