twenty years later
Well, the last time I blogged season 2 of The Circle was just released and here we are, months later with a 3rd season of The Circle that I’m equally obsessed with. Here to talk Blue Michelle vs. Orange Michelle anytime with any other viewers — a brilliant choice by producers to keep coming up with new twists!
Apologies for not posting regularly, I realized I wasn’t fully vaccinated yet the last time I posted and then I got vaccinated and started to have real plans again! And less time for staying up to date on the many other newsletters/emails I now get — was telling myself I’d write a post once I caught up on my email but I have not yet caught up on my email.
I (like everyone) have been thinking a lot about Afghanistan & 9/11. I was pretty young (8 years old) when 9/11 happened and living in suburban Maryland so I don’t think I quite understood the full extent of what happened until much later. It’s been weird talking to my coworkers about it — one of us was in college, one was 2, and I was in 4th grade) — and it’s been interesting to talk about how we all experienced it differently.
I thought this piece: After 9/11, the U.S. Got Almost Everything Wrong, by Garrett Graff — did a really good job of showing how America went in the direction it did — and it raises the depressing question of what could’ve gone differently:
As we approach the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Saturday, I cannot escape this sad conclusion: The United States—as both a government and a nation—got nearly everything about our response wrong, on the big issues and the little ones. The GWOT yielded two crucial triumphs: The core al-Qaeda group never again attacked the American homeland, and bin Laden, its leader, was hunted down and killed in a stunningly successful secret mission a decade after the attacks. But the U.S. defined its goals far more expansively, and by almost any other measure, the War on Terror has weakened the nation—leaving Americans more afraid, less free, more morally compromised, and more alone in the world. A day that initially created an unparalleled sense of unity among Americans has become the backdrop for ever-widening political polarization.
I also liked this piece — The Other Afghan Women — by Anand Gopal. It’s a look at how women in rural parts of Afghanistan — which is much of the country — experienced the last 40 years of war (counting the Soviet occupation). It also shed a light on how poorly America handled the past 20 years in Afghanistan.
Entire branches of Shakira’s family tree, from the uncles who used to tell her stories to the cousins who played with her in the caves, vanished.
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On average, I found, each family lost ten to twelve civilians in what locals call the American War.
This scale of suffering was unknown in a bustling metropolis like Kabul, where citizens enjoyed relative security. But in countryside enclaves like Sangin the ceaseless killings of civilians led many Afghans to gravitate toward the Taliban.
what i’ve been listening to:
It’s been a fantastic year for music. Here is a long list of my favorites this spring/summer:
albums:
Julia Michaels: Not In Chronological Order
Claire George: The Land Beyond The Light
Olivia Rodrigo: SOUR
Japanese Breakfast: Jubilee
MARINA: Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
Against The Current: fever
Billie Eilish: Happier Than Ever
Kississippi: Mood Ring
Lorde: Solar Power
Halsey: If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power
Maisie Peters: You Signed Up For This
CHVRCHES: Screen Violence
Kacey Musgraves: star-crossed
EPs
Madeline The Person: Chapter One: The Longing
Fickle Friends: Weird Years (Season 2)
KALI: Circles
Zoe Wees: Golden Wings
renforshort: off saint dominique EP
PRONOUN: OMG I MADE IT
Simone: Love Lessons
Hey Violet: Problems
Beabadoobee: Our Extended Play
Lexi Jayde: a teenage diary
Samia: Scout
Sycco: Sycco’s First EP
OSTON: Am I Talking Too Much?
Hope everyone had a great summer even with everything going on and I will try to write these more often!