How was your week, friends? It was a hard, sad week here in the Twin Cities. On Wednesday afternoon, in a sleepy suburb of St. Paul, a policeman shot and killed a black man in front of his girlfriend and daughter. Philando Castile had been pulled over for a broken taillight and was reaching for his ID when he was shot four times.
We all want to believe ‘that can’t happen here,’ and yet, here we are.
Like most people, I feel heartbroken and unsure how I can help. Here’s a great post filled with Concrete Ways to Be an Actual Ally to Black People
Other – honestly, much less important – links for you.
It’s happened to all of us, myself very much included. How to deal when you project doesn’t ‘take off.’
Maybe your “reward” won’t be “a bestselling title.” Maybe, instead, your “reward” will be a deeper bond with your clients and business community, a deeper bond with your family, a deeper understanding of yourself, a new curriculum for a class, a new business model, or a surprise “thank you” letter from a teenage girl that you’ve never met.
The joy of single-tasking! Yes.
After my big Facebook Live experiment, several people asked about my makeup bag. Aren’t you sweet?!
- I use this $6 BB cream
- this $5 mascar
- this $5 eyebrow pencil (if I haven’t dyed my eyebrows with Just For Men beard gel lately!)
- this $7 lipgloss in ‘Bare Attraction.’
- I also splurge and spend $22 on this eyeliner and IT IS 100% WORTH IT. 2,887 4.5 star reviews!
Also worth noting? I belatedly discovered that the Facebook Live app automatically sets your camera to ‘face beauty,’ smoothing out all the wrinkles and imperfections. SO I’M PROBABLY NOT AS CUTE AS YOU THOUGHT, GUYS.
How our collective girlfriend/hero Dolly Parton writes her songs.
I end every summer convinced I “didn’t summer correctly” (here are 39 things I’m trying to do this summer), so I loved this post about how to sloooooow summer down.
Related: an amazing summer recipe – broiled raspberry brulee. You only need three ingredients!
I get really emotionally involved in the lives of bloggers I’ve been reading for a long time. When Orlando went through a bad break up a few years ago I straight went on his Facebook page and left him an awkwardly long pep talk. Samantha recently got married and I loved her typically hilarious write up.
I went on amazon and made a registry, but i am a child, so i basically filled it with garbage. things i fear are gauche but i put on the registry anyway: flonase, chuckles jelly candy, a badminton set for the back yard, a bluetooth speaker, the new nick jonas cd, five unscented sticks of dove deodorant, some iphone chargers, and a jar of first aid beauty repair cream. Mavis got embarrassed about people from her job seeing that she was marrying a dumbass so we made a crate & barrel one full of adult stuff like shower curtains and a mandoline, but i just got an email that someone just got that see’s peanut brittle i wanted so i am already a winner.
Ooooh, I love me a savory waffle. Let’s discuss soyrizo and spinach hashbrown waffles with sriracha syrup.
To-do lists are pretty much my favorite. Shannon created a free, online community completely devoted to clearing your list each month!
I loooove getting a deal and I’m so proud of myself for saving money or spending it wisely (I paid off 50k of school debt five years ahead of time!) That being said, I also love travel, massages, pedicures, and nice bedding. In Defense Of The Fun Budget.
So funny and good it gives me writing envy: An open letter to the female, hat-wearing dog in ‘Go Dog Go.’
Can you make waves by doing less?
Thanks for reading and making Yes & Yes a part of your online life, friends. Here’s hoping this week will be better than the last.
I am a long time reader of your blog and love it, although I am very disappointed in this Web Time Wasters. Most of what you are writing about in regards to the tragic shooting of Philando Castile is accurate except for the statement about him reaching for his wallet. No one knows what he was reaching for. It was reported by his girlfriend that he informed the police officer that he had a weapon in the car, no one know what he was reaching for. We can only assume that he was reaching for his wallet but it wasn’t included in the video taken by his girlfriend.
Your post regarding the case reads that the police officer knew that he was reaching for his wallet. No one knows if this is true or not.
Irresponsible reporting like this is leading to more violence, fear and hate. Yes, we have a problem in this country and it needs to be addressed and resolved but it needs to be done in a peaceful way. No more people need to be injured or needlessly murdered. People need to know all of the true facts and need to make informed decisions, this is the only way that we can start to heal.
Hi Stephanie,
From everything I’ve read:
* Philando did not have a history of violence. As far as I’ve read and heard, he’d never pulled a gun on anyone, so it seems unlikely that his first violent altercation would be with a police officer. If anything, he was more hardworking and kind than the average human. My stepsons attended the school where he worked. The 9-year-old remembers ‘Mr. Phil’ handing out candy on Valentine’s Day.
* Philando’s child and fiance were in the car. I don’t think many fathers or partners would want to introduce a gun into that situation.
* The police officer was already pointing a gun at him. Who would want to draw a gun on a cop who already had a gun pointed at you?
* The police officer asked him to produce his id. To me, it makes sense that he’d be following those directions.
* He’d been pulled over many times, without a record to resisting. I don’t know why he’d do that now, especially with his family in the car and a gun pointed at him.
* His partner said he was reaching for his id. Her word is exactly as valid as the police officer’s.
Of course, this is just my opinion, based on what I’ve read, heard, and watched. I was not there in the car when Philando was killed. You are entitled to your own opinion and your own interpretation of the facts.
Sarah, thank you so much for your intro and your comment. I hate that black men and women need their innocence defended when they’re killed for doing things that are part of everyday life for white people. Thank you also for posting your usual links this week – it feels like I was still heartbroken over Orlando, and then this terrible week happened. Some lightness is needed in this otherwise gloomy time.
Thank YOU for reading, Kelly. <3
I agree that fun stuff is sometimes needed when life is so dark and hard. I too love The Ugly Volvo – she manages to be hilarious and heartwretching depending on the piece and sometimes both at the same time.
Useful,
Thanks Kelly 🙂