A year ago today, I brought a cake to the hospital so my friend Chiara D’Agostino could celebrate her 48th birthday during her chemo appointment. Chiara died this August 4 of a complication of stage 4 triple negative metastatic breast cancer — leptomeningeal disease, in which the cancer invades the fluid around the brain and…
health
PSA: Tele-Health Links for New York City
New Yorkers! Right now, city officials are advising people to NOT go to a hospital unless it is a true emergency and you feel like you can’t breathe. The system is so overwhelmed that if you have mild or moderate COVID-19 symptoms (fever of over 100F, dry cough, fatigue, loss of sense of smell/taste), you…
Remembering the “Social Distancing” of AIDS
While I would have liked to spread some … … tonight, I just can’t. I’m as angry as an Italian mayor who sees people jogging and throwing house parties instead of staying in quarantine to slow the spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. Italian mayor addresses his citizens about their irresponsible behavior (in a very…
Practical Accessorizing: Tiaras and Shields
Quick! Look at your fingers right now. Are you wearing any rings? An engagement ring and/or wedding band? Take them off! To avoid the novel coronavirus, you should be washing your hands more than Lady MacBeth, and that kind of scrubbing isn’t good for your fine jewelry. I never wear my rings at home, and…
Blogging in the Time of Coronavirus
At the beginning of February, I was saying to other activists that no one would take the failures of the American social contract seriously until we disrupted commerce. It’s all about the money here. (And petty inconvenience. People do hate a traffic jam.) Then it was like someone flipped the switch, Drake-style. 𝗙𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵….
Happy Birthday, Chiara!
A very happy 48th birthday to my new — but already dear — friend Chiara! We celebrated during her chemo today, because we’re crazy that way! Chiara has been living large with triple negative metastatic breast cancer since 2016, after first being diagnosed with cancer in 2014. I just met her this summer, thanks to Instagram. I can’t…
The MTV VMAs and Newark’s Water Crisis
The MTV Video Music Awards are taking place tonight at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The city has warned residents to expect bad traffic … while assuring visiting celebrities that they won’t be affected by Newark’s Flint, Mich.-style water crisis. The Newark Visitors Bureau released this statement: “We are elated to welcome world-class celebrities, entertainers,…
Treat Yo Self While Supporting Abortion Rights
Shout-out to gorgeous customer Ali, whose ring order enabled me to make a $25 donation to Access Reproductive Care – Southeast today! Like I said yesterday, all people deserve freedom, choice, and sovereignty over their own bodies, and that includes abortion on demand for anyone who has a uterus. Ali was the first to person…
Still Life With Fibroids
I was MIA on the blog this week because I was recovering from a minimally invasive embolization procedure to treat fibroids. For those who don’t know, fibroids are benign tumors of the uterus. Most people with a uterus have fibroids at some point in their lives, but not everyone experiences symptoms like pain and excessive…
Put Lipslut’s Notorious RBG on Your Kisser!
I’m still trying to nail the formula for Wendy Brandes lipstick — yes, that’s a real project, in addition to my jewelry. The trouble is I’m as picky about lipstick as I am about jewelry, and getting a factory to make a large quantity of lip color that meets my standards is even more difficult…