My Current Special Interests

Because it's pride month, I'm tired, and this is my newsletter!

Welcome to Healing is My Special Interest, the newsletter at the intersection of late-diagnosed neurodivergence and healing from high control environments. Since it’s pride month and I get to DO WHAT I WANT I am taking this opportunity to share a few of my current special interests in the hopes that a few folks will want to chat with me about them :) Thank you all so much for the support, and for keeping this lil’ newsletter going!

Photo by Y Tsui on Unsplash (Dogs are not my special interest, but my particular dog IS.)

Hellooooooooo everyone.

The transition to summer here in Oregon is kicking my butt. I already knew in my heart that this was going to be “the summer of accommodations” for myself (I will be writing a lot about this in the next few weeks!) but here I screeching into summer with very few plans and two kids who NEED PLANS but who swear that they HATE SCHEDULES. Transitions suck for autistic people, and I know this, but it still always surprises me at how much both the heat and the changes really get to me.

So today I don’t have a ton of energy but I thought I would be bossy and share a few of my current special interests and see if anyone wanted to chat about them with me. Because it’s pride month, and last week’s essay really took it out of me, and I am also busy pouring my blood sweat and tears into taking down religious authoritarian parenting gurus over at STRONGWILLED. (BTW yesterday I put up my interview with the incredible Amber Cantorna-Wylde, who has some really important words about self-care and boundaries for queer folks (and everyone else) and I hope people can listen to her message).

Now, on to the special interests.

First, the biggest one:

This 4.5 hour Youtube video that is an excruciatingly detailed take-down of the Star Wars hotel and why it failed (on so many levels).

I love Disney and I also love to watch epic take-downs of Disney.¹ Probably because it reminds me of my relationship to the church? Something that I was programmed to love and that colors so many of my childhood memories, but that also exploits people for profit and power? Jenny is truly a delight to watch and is so funny, smart, and earnest. And in an age where folks complain that the younger people don’t have good attention spans, well . . . this video is 4.5 hours long and has nearly 8 million views. So . . . . . yeah. If anyone watches this and wants to chat about it, any part of it, let’s do it!!!! I especially thought her points about the sunk cost fallacy at the end were fascinating. And how companies can and do exploit passionate “nerdy” people.

Secondly, Bridgerton!

I am mostly holding this as a placeholder because the last 4 episodes of season 3 come out on June 13th (so, two days from me publishing this) but I already know this will be my favorite season/storyline because I love Polin. And in fact I will passionately make my case for why Colin is a simp and Penelope is an intense writer intent on exposing the sham that is rich society and why these types of couples make the best couples :) If you are watching season 3 let me know, and tell me all your thoughts! I have also read the book Season 3 is based of off, so we could chat about that as well.

Thirdly, music!

The folks who do the music for Bridgerton—The Vitamin String Quartet—are amazing and make for great writing/background music just FYI.

Bu here are a few albums/songs I could talk about at great length (if anyone wanted to watch the music videos and chat about them):

This song (and the whole album) by Joseph. Somebody in this band either grew up in a high control environment or was in a relationship with someone who was controlling!

This song by Candi Carpenter

(I like a lot of their songs and they also grew up the child of a pastor! Twinsies!!!)

This song by Creekbed Carter Hogan

(It’s so catchy and so infuriating and so funny)

This video/song by Cavetown

(my oldest child introduced me to Cavetown and I love this song so much!)

This song by the Decembrists about Joan of Arc (I will also just chat about Joan of Arc in general to anyone who has an interest in her). It’s 19 minutes and it isn’t a music video at all, but it is fascinating to me!!!!

Lastly, this amazing song put out by a bunch of Irish kids is perfect for all the folks getting in touch with their inner spark. :)

Fourthly anti-capitalist themes in kids movies from the 2000s-on. I just feel like this happened over and over again and it radicalized Gen Z and I would like to discuss it. The Lego Movie? The Little Prince? A Bug’s Life? It’s all there!!!!

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Disney. Bridgerton. Joan of Arc. Nervous systems. High Control Religions. Kids Movies that radicalized a generation. Let’s chat about it!!!!

In a few weeks we will be talking all about books and summer-ish books and romance books so I won’t chat about that today.

And on Friday, I will be asking paid subscribers to share what some of your current special interests are, and maybe you will find folks to geek out with you!

But for today, I want you to see what mine are, and interact with them if you want to :)

Thanks for being here, and I hope that the changing of the seasons is giving you a chance to be gentle with yourself during this time of transitions.

1. One of the other most infamous take-downs of Disney was this video on the fastpass system put out by defunctland. It is truly one of the best documentaries I have ever seen!!!!! I dream of buying a shirt from this creator someday.