No. 19: MD's Newsletter

I wanna find what can't be found

Dec 02, 2024

I don’t know how to start this email.

Maybe with a trigger warning. Maybe with an epitaph.

My father passed away in November after a long illness. While this not the space to delve into the specifics, it feels wrong to ignore the fact alone, when my brain space has been so occupied, when my family of origin is so mightily transformed. I’ll also add: We are so grateful for the thoughts, prayers and kindness we have received during this time. If you think what you say or do doesn’t matter when those around you are grieving, believe me: it does.

Grief is a shapeshifter. She can be a two-headed monster attacking from both sides, or a breeze that catches your breath. Per usual, I find comfort in Stoic teachings, the way others might look to the Bible or 12 Steps. As Marcus Aurelius states, “It is not death that a man should fear, but rather he should fear never beginning to live.”

I tend to follow a “live while you're alive” ethos, the kind that can easily turn into burning the candle at both ends. Some people find this off-putting, the fact that I am constantly doing and planning and plotting and strategizing. In this way, I am most definitely a Slytherin! But I don’t know any other way, and at this point, I can’t listen to any haters when the proof has gotten me this far. So, every day I will keep asking myself: how can I make the most of this most precious gift of time?

landscape photography of green leaf tree in — Photo by Elliott Engelmann on Unsplash

A labor of love, a community effort

This week marks the premier of The Desert Nutcracker, a full-length ballet adaptation of the holiday classic put on by the brilliant creatives of Dance Mojave. It’s been an honor to be a part of this project since its inception in July. And we’ve come so far — not only in the logistical sense of having systems and infrastructure and accounts and processors, but in a heart way. I have connected with new people and met so many wonderful families. We’ve gritted our teeth and figured shit out, together. And I cannot explain how terrifying and wonderful it feels to dance again, to use the physical medium for storytelling. It’s a welcome respite from the world of screens. And it’s fun as hell.

In the desert this week? Get tickets on Eventbrite, or contact me with any questions!

The world of retail

*sings* It’s the most consumption-driven time of the year…which means it’s very busy time to write about the world of retail! Due to the challenges I’ve had in my personal life I haven’t been as locked in/souring scoops as much as I’d like to be. But I’ve still had some excellent conversations with folks about the many changes to the way we shop. One of my favorite topics, mobile shopping, is huge this year. And the alternative payments world is likely going to see record revenue/transactions, since we’re all trying to budget better and things like Pay in 4 installments will come in handy.

I’ve also been getting some great feedback lately on my coverage of the “clean” marketing space — I specifically focus on household essentials and the companies looking to microplastics & other junk out of the products we used. I broke the news that Grove Co. is pulling its branded products out of stores (a move the markets applauded). And I looked at how companies are selling efficacy over sustainability, letting the latter be an added value or — as it should be — simply a given.

Closer to home

On the freelance front, I got a piece published I’ve been looking to do for weeks now — a look at the recycling laws changing in California. No more plastic bags in the produce aisle, rejoice! And I personally cannot wait til we have battery drop-offs in convenient locations. I think we’re all tired of the battery graveyard lurking in a drawer or jar somewhere. I also had the honor of doing a staff pick for Best of the Coachella Valley and I picked Bean Goods, a store and brand that gives me SO MUCH joy. Weenies & Martinis, anyone?!

One of my goals for 2025 will be to ratchet up my freelance work. I plan to keep focusing on policy solutions in California around housing, the environment and justice initiatives. But I also want to do more *fun stuff* - profiles of local business leaders, event recaps & nonprofit spotlights. Get at me if you’re a mover and shaker in the Coachella Valley or Morongo Basin with a story to tell!

Eyes and ears

I devoured “By Any Other Name” by Jodi Picoult. It was the kind of book where I missed the characters once I put it down — and though it required a certain amount of suspended belief, I liked how the story wove between the present and the past, touching on the same themes and struggles faced by women then and now. I think my re-entry in showbiz (see: Desert Nutcracker) made it a great escapist read for this busy and transformative season of life. Highly recommend if you’re a theater kid or literary junkie. Now I’m into The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley, I so love how breezy and thrilling her work manages to be simultaneously.

Musically, I can’t say much has changed since my October update — it’s been a mix of Guster/Noah Gunderson/Jason Isbell/Father John Misty pretty much constantly. Here’s a link to a Spotify playlist I’ve been curating. Since it’s holiday season and I’m baking a lot, that means lots of The War on Drugs or other quasi-jam bands that make for meaty kitchen listening. And of course, there will be multiple Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas. The soft jazz and sweet voices are so calming and warm, and it’s an exactly right compliment to the nights of cozying up at home by the glow of the tree.

Should you not hear from me before the end of the calendar year, thank you for reading my stuff this year, and giving me the time & feedback that means so much to writers everywhere.

Let’s keep the conversations going — about living under these broken systems, about preserving the environment, about cultivating community through expression and experiences and the arts. I’m wishing you health and peace for the New Year, and all the strength you need to get where you’re going.

Until next time,

MD

No. 18: MD's Newsletter

Reassembled to fit perfectly in view

Nov 04, 2024

By this time next week —

People will still be paying too much for housing and healthcare.

People still won’t trust the media, government or other institutions.

People will still struggle to find justice, whether they’re victims of crime, beat down by capitalism, or perpetually oppressed by entrenched systems.

And we’ll all be dealing with the fallout of the outcome of this election. We’ll be sorting out what it means for us and our families and our communities and our country.

But immediately, will any of the fundamental struggles of our time fade?

Not with just an election. And certainly not one that stands to leave us as divided as we’ve ever been.

I want to be hopeful. But it feels foolish to be hopeful when there is so much hate and fear coursing through the bones of ordinary people. It is hard to be hopeful when I see good people saying or doing things against are against their self-interest. It is hard to be hopeful when most of us are more likely to believe a meme made of pixels than the truth of our neighbor.

Sometimes I wonder, what will it take to remind us that we are all in this together? If terrorist attacks, school shootings and global pandemic aren’t enough? Maybe we are past that kind of thinking, and we have to accept that there will always be division and extremism plaguing our discourse. I don’t think most ordinary people want our politics to stay this way, though. I think we’re all tired of it. I just don’t know how you get the hate out of the way to the clear path for actual empathy and respectful disagreement.

For me, I am going to make an active choice to have extra compassion in the coming weeks. I am going to try to not be reactionary. Even if it’s hard. Even if I’m tired. Even if I have to humble myself. That way, when the time and opportunity comes, I can remember what it is to talk to someone about what we believe and why, and try to find some common ground.

Onto the links.

A big update

I will write more on this in the coming weeks, but this season I’m thrilled to be a part of a new performance company in the desert called Dance Mojave. We’re putting on our first-ever production of The Desert Nutcracker, an entirely original performance with 60+ cast members that I’ve been helping to coordinate since August.

My brilliant husband will be painting murals. We’re designing the program together. I’m in two pieces, and have It feels wonderful to use my brain and heart and body together in this way — not to mention the amazing relationships we’re creating as a community over a shared passion. The cup overflows.

You can order tickets here.

Can’t come to the desert? Support us anyway! Here’s our Donobox link, or send us a Venmo @dancemojave.

Journalism-ings

I took an extended, unexpected absence from Modern Retail in October due to a need to travel to care for an ill family member. I’m not quite ready to write about that yet, but I will reiterate what I said on LinkedIn — I have a newfound appreciation for the rote annoyances that make up a normal day; routine is a privilege compared to the chaos that can otherwise unfold when you're of the sandwich generation.

Upon my return, I got back in the saddle quickly. The direct-to-consumer health world continues to fascinate me, and I wrote this week about how postpartum products are seeing mainstream retail adoption. I also published an explainer on WTF is going on with the future of telehealth prescriptions — if you are someone who relies on controlled substances for mental, hormonal or addiction help, you’ll want to read this.

With elections on the brain, I’m bumping my story from the October issue of CV Independent on how some activists in the Coachella Valley are trying get more people who have felony charges on their records registered to vote. The county — by law — is supposed to send these folks information when they’re released from prison. But it’s unclear if those letters are being received, so the notification falls to concerned community advocates. As I wrote in the piece:

In lieu of a system that does not revokes someone’s right to vote in the first place, advocates need to inform the community as part of broader get-out-the-vote efforts.

Arguably, we could all be doing more to make sure ALL of our neighbors are voting — but that’s a story for another day.

MD

No. 17 MD's Newsletter

Age is a traitor

Sep 21, 2024

The other night, I watched the moon rise over the expanse of the Mojave Desert. At first there was just an orange glow half circle hovering above the mountains. Then a sliver of sphere appeared, growing larger until its full form rose above the fenceposts and into the sky.

I entered this evening outdoor retreat knowing the would be a moonrise. This happens every night! But the reveal somehow still felt exciting and anticipatory. Probably because that was the only thing in front of me to do. Instead of hurrying around with nighttime chores and bedtime routines, I was gazing up, surrounded by horses and other meditators. A sound healer played her bowls, while Raven the Frisian and Cocoa the Shetland pony nosed the instruments with curiosity. Another attendee remarked how ancient it felt, to have our feet covered in dirt, standing next to horses, watching the most original of performances, the most reliable of universal routines.

I am hardly the first or last person to take spiritual solace and artistic inspiration in the landscape of the desert. I think it’s why many of us locals chose to settle here, because we crave that feeling of being clear and grounded when we look up and look around.

But the daily grind can separate us from nature and its rhythms. Sometimes we have to get very still and quiet to reconnect. It isn’t as daunting as it sounds. And if we forget, there will be another chance tomorrow night.

Onto the links.

The local takes

I’ve really enjoyed getting back into writing for CV Independent, where I’m highlight local businesses in the high desert as well as problem-solving public policies and movements. Most recently, I published a story on the incredible work going on at the Mojave Desert Land Trust’s seed bank, which is doing painstaking work to preserve native species.

I also dived into the world of school lunches, checking in on how the universal free meals program in California is playing out. It’s proving to become a national topic thanks to VP candidate Gov. Tim Walz's work on the issue. But California was the first statewide program in 2022. Lessons learned from our community? “When everybody is free, we can focus on the food.”

On the consumerism beat

You can take the journalist off the politics beat, but you can’t take the potliics out of the journalist — or something like that. Over at Modern Retail, I’ve really enjoyed sinking my teeth into the knotty intersection of influencers, politics and branding.

Companies like Linktree are increasing their get-out-the-vote efforts
Influencers are poised to play a powerful role in the 2024 election season, and some brands are along for the ride.

I’m also increasing covering the nexus of health care and retail, a space I hope to continue to examine. As long as we’re doing the whole privatized-health-care thing I see massive potential for brands to do better than private equity owned health care and insurance companies.

How telehealth birth control companies are reaching women in southern states amid restrictive care laws.
MISTR is giving away free HIV test kits at select Georgia Walmart stores

I’m also still attempting to work the sustainability beat from a solutions lens, and looking at the challenges brands are running into as they work to clean up their environmental footprint. Can we make profits without killing the planet? Sources say yes, but we’re far from that as universal reality. But there simple solutions abound, like paper instead of plastic for your single-serve snacks.

In my ears and eyes

I shouldn’t wait too long to publish a newsletter because I tend to forget all the great music I listened to last month. But this week I really enjoyed the new Miranda Lambert album “Postcards from Texas,” it’s down-home and warm in a way that fits right in for the close of a desert summer. “Way Too Good at Breaking My Heart” and “No Man’s Land” are my favorites so far. In a complete different genre, I finally got around to the new Foxing record and fell all over myself at the gym about it. I forgot how deep they go. And I would be lying if I didn’t admit that Sabrina Carpenter’s “Taste” and Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe” weren’t damn fine earworms defining the summer of 2024.

I’m back into my turntable in a big way, due in part to a magnificent discovery of DJ Shadow’s “Entroducing” at the esteemed White Label Vinyl in 29Palms. I’ve dug out my copy of Keith Jarret’s “The Köln Concert” which also makes for pretty inspired morning listening. We have some Apex Twin, and I got a random early 00s house record from a recent stay at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club, and it all makes the morning feel moody and exciting.

On the reading front, I am three-quarters of the way through Julia Quinn’s “The Smythe-Smith Quartet and is everything I need in regency romances. Currently making my way through “The Bee Sting” by Paul Murray, which is one of those books where I’m not entirely sure where it’s going but has sharp enough narrative to make the journey worthwhile. On the journalism front, I recently devoured Ian Cohen’s Japandroids profile in Stereogum before their final album. It’s rare I make time to read longford music piece but this drew me in, brought me back & filled my culture cup. As I start to think about my own creative future, this quote from Brian King sticks with me: “My dream is to return as a new and improved version of myself, to take everything I’ve been through and make some meaningful music out of it. I’ve watched other artists do it, so I know it can be done.”

Until next time,

No. 16: MD Newsletter

False prophets and profits

Jul 11, 2024

So, about the future of democracy…

Just kidding. I have no idea what’s in store. And maybe don’t trust anyone who says they do.

But even without the gift of prophecy, I’ve had many conversations this past week or so about what the future of the United States. And so far, the only possible antidote I can find to counteract the current state of sociopolitical upheaval and dissatisfaction and oppression is community. Whether in person or virtual, whether in passing or around your dinner table. Maybe it’s your neighbors, your friends, your church, or your internet brethren in the comment trenches. Maybe it’s your school district, or a sports fandom. Maybe it’s your fellow direct action protestors tying themselves to the front doors of Acme HQ or whatever. Wherever our values intersect with others is where we find our community. And there, maybe we can find some hope that not all is lost, and that we know what it is like to come together to solve problems in the name of the greater good. Or maybe I am a tragic optimist.

Part of the reason I became a journalist is because I wanted to be a part of what could hold our systems accountable to our society. I still believe this is a critical function, and one I aim to perform to my very best every day. But there is a feeling of sticking your finger in the hole of the dam while a wrecking ball hovers overhead. Fatalism, though, will get you nowhere, and so I press onward. I wear my figurative heart on my sleeve when interviewing others or reaching out to connect about topics that interest me. I try to find topics and insights that will get people who are running our economy doing it a little better, a little safer, a little more thoughtful. I like to ask people about the things they’re passionate about improving for the benefit of others. I relish these interactions, because they remind me that we are — whether we like each other or not — all in this together.

On the capitalism beat

There’s always something interesting happening in the world of retail, and in my work I really try go beyond the “sell, sell, sell” of the thing. Obviously companies are trying to make money. Obviously they want you to buy things that you (or the planet) probably don’t really need. But short of the entire economy pivoting to the degrowth movement, this is the only game in town, and I like to see if we’re at all changing the norms.

Parachute is among the first-ever home brands to launch a take-back program. You may have seen this for clothes — drop off your old stuff to get a coupon — but doing it with linens is interesting because a) they’re way bigger than apparel b) the resale or reuse value isn’t as high. I also got to fangirl with the SuperCircle team who are doing pretty fascinating things in the recycling world.
Hoka opened up its NYC flagship store this summer, and I spoke to president Robin Greene about how even though their core audience may be runners they’ve been able to capture the attention of many other shoppers. I don’t really run anymore (unless I am chasing a small human) but I love watching this brand grow. As I reported, expect more from them on the apparel side soon.
My latest labor story looked at how REI agreed to an informal settlement after workers in its NYC repair shop raised concerns about how respirators were used while melting plastic. This was a tricky piece to report because I had a document to go off of and only one side would get on the phone with me. But it underscores a greater issue in retail that I am reporting more and more about — workers don’t really feel safe.
More at Modern Retail

Elsewhere

Over at the Coachella Valley Independent, I’m looking for new ideas to play with over the next few months. If you are a hi-dez business owner, get in touch! Also looking for more Civic Solutions ideas. I firmly believe our communities are only as thriving as we invest in them to be. That requires more than just paying your taxes and hoping for the best from the powers that be. It means getting involved, whether that’s responding to the natural world, helping care for others, or creating a space for free.

Here’s my latest:

The Morongo Basin has a new artist collective and they just opened their first-ever community art gallery in Yucca Valley! We went to the opening last week and were so impressed by the works on display, and just genuinely stoked about how enthusiastic attendees were. I love where I live and the other wonderful eccentric people who call this place home.
My latest Civic Solutions piece looked at how The Joslyn Center became the country’s first-ever certified autism-trained senior center. That means their staff knows what to look for in autistic adults, something that will become more important as populations age.
This is from late May, but I’m super proud of this story about how Riverside County tapped animal rescue groups for its largest-ever removal operation of 80+ horses and a couple dozen dogs. The details on the site were scant, because the investigation is ongoing, but I am super grateful to All Things Hooved and the county for sharing thier stories with me. I am seeing that more and more of the rescued horses are finding homes, and I hope they thrive wherever they land.

Tunes & tales

My Kindle continues to be the closet thing I have to a child’s security blanket. Like my son’s favorite stuffed puppy, I don’t want to go sleep without it. Sometimes in the morning I find it on my husband’s nightstand instead of my own, because I fell asleep with it in my hand sprawled across his side of our bed.

As far as the contents, I’m all about the cozy mystery lately. I finished the third of the Thursday Murder Club series and PHEW what a treat! Those books really make me laugh out loud and have some great mastery twists, but are also really touching in a humanistic sense. Absolutely stoked about a potential film treatment. I am also devouring anything from Lucy Foley, I love the characters she creates and the interesting settings (The Hunting Party in particular is a great place to start). I also had a spate of trying to get into the Robert Greene works (48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction) but honestly never got in a groove so sent them back to the San Bernardino County Library System. A spell for another day, perhaps

On the music front, I’m getting back into Tom Petty in a big way thanks to the “Ways to Be Wicked” cover from the beguiling badass Margot Price. Diving into older catalogs is a really fun exercise, because there’s something satisfying about hearing new songs from an artist you’re already very familiar with. The new Zach Bryan album is everything I wanted it to be, as in something to play loud while driving into the sunset around JT. I also really like that new Sabrina Carpenter song “Please Please Please” a lot, even if it reminds me that I am basically older than dirt, and I’m excited to see what she does next. And the other day on KCRW I heard a dog called “John Lee Hooker for President” by Ry Cooder and I’ve probably listened to it another dozen times as I get into the rest of his work. In Cooder’s words; I want everybody to know I'm strictly copacetic.

Thanks, as always, for reading,

MD

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