Hey y’all,

This newsletter marks one month of a weekly send-out but after today I’ll shift into more sporadic updates. Basically, I won’t be clogging up your inboxes. You can still catch me on social media all day, errrr’day!

Here’s a list of things I thought were worth sharing this week:

  1. After months of lockdown here in Sydney, we’re getting the word October 18 will mark when double vaccinated people can enjoy certain ‘freedoms’. Who else has booked in essentials like nails, hair and beauty therapy? Lord knows I have; shouts to Absolutely Fabulous.
  2. Last week I shared the news of being named to the 2021 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers’ longlist. I’m new to writing creative non-fiction, so the accolade is a humbling one. I’ve learned so much from paid subscription service MasterClass. I know it’s not for everyone and the price is quite steep, but there are so many incredible ‘masters’ on there sharing skills and know-how. Here’s a link to a 7-day free pass BUT be careful—you have to unsubscribe at the end of the week or they’ll start charging you.
  3. In a move toward the future, Australia’s biggest music award show The ARIAs has dumped gender-based categories.
  4. Facebook is launching a ‘lite’ version of Instagram for countries that don’t have the same access to cellular data and internet connection required to load many of the app’s features.
  5. I really enjoyed Seth Godin‘s breakdown of what the modern school curriculum should look like in 2021. Forget biology, chemistry, arithmetic, social studies et al: we should be looking at Statistics, Communication, History and Propaganda and more.
  6. “If some reports are to be believed, we will soon enter a post-Covid era of flamboyance and decadence reminiscent of the Roaring Twenties.” An interesting pitch for men to start investing in fine jewellery.
  7. I’m on Twitter all the time and I hadn’t heard of Super Follows till now, a subscription model to provide ‘super fans’ premium access to their fave celebs.
  8. The sale of crystals has surged during the past two years, with Google searches up 40 per cent and the global healing crystal market is estimated to be worth around $1.3 billion dollars.
  9. Nicki Minaj had a rough week. She’s far from an endearing person (I speak from personal experience), so her many detractors had quite the giggle with all the drama.
  10. Finally, this week we watched the 40th-anniversary show of the VMAs and the MET Gala. Both of them received an overwhelmingly negative response on social media and follow-up editorials, from the stale fashion, tired attempts at provocation and outdated tone. Has the cult of celebrity finally died? It appears in many ways, the answer is yes.

Thanks for reading.

This newsletter is free but not cheap. So you can help it keep going: forward it to someone who’d like it, hire me for your media and content needs, book me as a host, or work with me on your promotional events.

If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can read previous issues and subscribe here.

~Simone xo

Recommended Posts