[THREAD] I don't got no shame left. That's my freedom...

I have not stopped listening to Kesha’s album all week. I have already listened a billion times and bought the album, but am still contemplating getting a signed digital version. I love it so much, y’all. It’s the best album I’ve heard since Halsey’s If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power.

There are so many great lyrics, and I think my favorite song is Peace and Quiet, but Only Love Can Save Us Now provided the title for this thread.

I probably can’t justify talking about Kesha for a third week in a row, so if you’ve listened to the album, let me know what you think in the comments.

There are two ways to interact with this post.

1 - If you don’t want to say anything, or bristle at identifying yourself, then you can reply with this nifty poll.

2 - If you’re feeling very brave, then reply below and tell us how you are doing right now on a scale from 1-5.

Right now, I think I’m a 1.5. I was riding high last week, pushed myself, and crashed. It’s becoming clear I have post-exertional malaise. What’s unclear is whether I have it from acute fatigue, chronic fatigue, Long COVID, or chronic fatigue syndrome. Either way, the treatment is the same. Only the chance for making a full recovery changes.

A new chapter of Magic launched this week. In this chapter, Ollie calculates her confidence in dodging a rocket launcher and a Gatling gun at the same time as she faces off against a pair of demons. All new chapters are free to read, but paid subscribers get access to our archive, along with over a dozen free novels, comics, and non-fiction books. 

This week I wrote a tutorial about using Substack sections to give more value to subscribers. At 6,500 words…it’s beefy.

A couple more posts went behind the paywall this week, but you can still read Kesha could break my nose and I would still listen to her new album on an infinite loop, You don't have to like me as long as you validate my existence and Is it even possible to be a writer AND happy at the same time? for free.

Of course, you can access all my previous posts by either getting a free trial or becoming a paid subscriber. You also get access to a bunch of free books and stories from my back catalog.

Here are some of my favorite Substacks from the week that you might like to read this weekend. You probably won’t read all 20+ of these like me, but I’d love to know if any resonate with where you are at the moment and why.

• The self-destructive gospel of the Passport Bros by explained that sex tourism by any other name is still sex tourism. A String of Documentaries Are Reckoning with Hollywood Misogyny by gives me a list of movies I’ll be watching this summer. Your Local Librarian Can Go to Jail Now by sounded an alarm that keeps getting louder every week. Beauty Culture is Hustle Culture by Culture Study surfaced the dark underbelly of South Korea’s beauty culture.

• When to push, when to pivot, when to coast, when to quit by shared four lovely vignettes about tried and true life advice. 'Never get off the wave. Keep surfing instead.' by showed me that I should love Toast. To have in common by took my brain on a pleasant stroll through reflection and if you need help finding your voice, maybe Shakespeare’s Plan for Personal Growth by can help.

• People Who Love Robot Baristas Don’t Get What Coffee Shops Are For by further cements my belief that nobody understands what anything is for in the future, while Get Ready to Pay More for Music by prepped me for my Amazon Music subscription to go up significantly very soon, and I’m okay with it if they just stop giving artists a raw deal.

• Did you know crypto is, by and large, run by shady grifters? sure did, and his piece The Scum Economy spilled the proverbial tea about just how shady that even made my cynical head spin. Plus, did you know we weren’t supposed to connect AI to the internet or teach it to code? and made my stomach drop with this one.

• won my heart this week by talking about monsters with Guillermo del Toro's Mystical Notes while is lying to himself if he doesn’t think he’s funny in Q: How Can I Be Funny Like You? explains What Can You Actually Do With A Still Mind? and seems just as frustrated as I am about why trust and profit seem perpetually at odds with each other in The Trust-Profit Paradox.

• This Is Dedicated To Anyone Who Ever Left by and A Divorce Fellowship for Mothers by show just how hard it is to leave a bad marriage.

• The hard part of being a follower by gave a first-hand account of how parasocial relationships affect us all. You Shouldn't Start a Community by explains all the reasons you should start a community. How Duolingo Grew Its TikTok to 6.6M Followers by gives a case study on how to interact with Tiktok as a brand. Are You Neglecting Your Writing in Favour of Growing a Following? by ponders whether you should even worry about any of this stuff.

That’s it for me. My wife is gone this weekend so I’ll probably be at the movies for the next 48 hours. If you’re looking for a fun read this weekend, paid subscribers have access to my alien invasion love story, Invasion. Aliens are invading. The Earth is doomed. The end of the world is a bad time to fall in love.