Lorraine Boissoneault

Hot-tober On unseasonal temps, illegal raids, and violence as propaganda

Things are pretty terrible in Chicago right now and I wrote about just a little bit of it. And because I must always be *on brand* I included a little bit about our unseasonal weather, too.

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My husband was detained by ICE today

Juan Muñoz, an American citizen, father of 2, and local government official, was peacefully protesting w. other elected officials. He was assaulted and taken away

I have had zero contact or updates since

#SOS
@duckworth.senate.gov @durbin.senate.gov

My current thoughts on this book coming out:

AAAHHHHHHHHHH EEEEEEE YAYYYYY!

I’m such an eloquent writer.

What a cool program!!

I also want to reiterate how grateful I am for the support from @columbiajournalism.bsky.social for the Lukas Prize. It really helped me make my book the best it could be. And the Lukas Prizes are open for submissions again! journalism.columbia.edu/lukas

Applying for Awards, Grants, and Residencies in the Worst of Times On winning, losing, and the value of art under authoritarianism

I'm not sure I've come to fully coherent thoughts on cuts to the NEA, NEH, and CPB. But I'm seeing the effects within my communities, and they're scary. Art matters. Journalism matters. History matters. We need to find ways to sustain it.
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Must-Reads and the Fascist Fantasies We Refuse to Live In "It is up to us, as everyday people, to decide who we are, and who we are to each other, in the face of these attacks."

Here's my weekly must-reads list and some thoughts about Trump's AI slop post declaring war against Chicago. Trump is attempting to blur the line between reality and his fascist, annihilatory fantasies of control and domination. That means we, and the truth, must break free.

Hard to say. I also have SD (a different kind than RFK Jr.) and one of the treatments for it is botox injections into the muscles around the vocal cords. Because it weakens the muscles that open and close your larynx, it can cause shortness of breath, but usually that happens with exertion.

Ooo I love this, can’t wait to see what you find. My response to them as someone with so many autoimmune diseases is fuck right off with your seed oil and vaccine phobia / misinformation.

Can you share when/where it will be published? Would love to read!

What's the Point of Summer Reading? On beach reads, library programs, and what counts as "fun" reading

I am not at the beach and I am probably not going to the beach this weekend, but that doesn't mean I can't read things that count as "beach reads!"

My list of some favorites from this summer, and a little on the strange history of beach books.

open.substack.com/pub/loboisso...

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups On Canadian wildfires, autoimmune disease, and the air we share

There's been a lot of wildfire smoke in Chicago this year, coming down from Canada (worse, ofc, for the folks who live nearby in Canada). I'm always puzzled/annoyed by the phrasing "unhealthy for sensitive groups" so I decided to write about it.

open.substack.com/pub/loboisso...

I have been so tempted to do this for my 19-year-old cat. But he has a long history of LOATHING all other cats, so I’m just like, well you enjoy your 21 hours of sleeping a day in your dotage.

My interview also includes action items for how to get involved. The more people we have acting on this, the better!

Protecting the Right to Mask in Illinois: Q&A with Megan Doherty On banning mask bans and community-led legislative efforts

Calling all Illinois #Covid-cautious people! Organizers are trying to get a bill into the state legislature that would protect the right to wear medical masks (and prevent future attempts at banning them). I interviewed one of those organizers here: open.substack.com/pub/loboisso...

Lessons on Disability Learned from My Ancient Cat On living well with multiple chronic conditions, whether you're a cat or a human

Was this an excuse to write about my cat? Yes. But do I also think of him as a disability teacher? Yes. And I love his scruffy little face.

open.substack.com/pub/loboisso...

Oh hey look, cute braces for exactly the joints I have that most need support!

This is truly wild. And reallly makes me grateful for my editor, whose comments were all about pushing deeper into the difficult emotions. I’m so sorry you had this response. I wish there were more disabled editors.

Deaf schools, Alexander Graham Bell, and True Biz On learning ASL and imagining a more inclusive world

This week’s newsletter is about ASL, deaf schools, and Alexander Graham Bell. All inspired by things I’ve learned from my Queer ASL class, one of my favorite weekly activities! open.substack.com/pub/loboisso...

This kind of story makes me so sad. It’s the same sort of thing that fuels the sale of spurious supplements for people who are legitimately dealing with degenerative or terminal illnesses. Which I have seen firsthand.

Loved this book and it offered a lot of inspiration while writing my own book on weather and chronic illness!

By the numbers, this Senate bill:
➡️adds $3.3 trillion to the national debt, according to estimates.
➡️could cut up to 12 million people off of their health care coverage.
➡️provides $114 billion in tax cuts to the top one percent.

@garrisonhayes.bsky.social breaks it down.

So far everything about this administration seems aimed at killing and immiserating the largest number of people possible.

Back on the Hamster Wheel On never ending rounds of physical therapy

Alright, I finally did it. I have a newsletter, where I'm writing about chronic illness, disability, the environment, and writing. First post was an introduction, this one is all about going to physical therapy again and again and again ad nauseam. Give it a read?
open.substack.com/pub/loboisso...

Tellinid shells assemblage, representing a horse or a donkey. 125 - 100 avant J.-C. © Loïc Damelet, Centre Camille Jullian, Aix-en-Provence / Site archéologique Lattara-musée Henri Prades

A unique features of the late Iron Age Lattara site in southern France : the presence of shell decorations on the dirt floors.

The best-preserved example depicts a galloping equine (donkey or horse), made from tellins (a small marine shell common along the Languedoc coast).

#MolluscMonday

If you are arrested today protesting the Trump administration in Illinois, I can represent you pro bono. Email me at sheryl@weikallaw.com.

You've been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are trying to rescue you. Who is coming to save you?

(Is the ransom in dollar-bucks?)

This is such a cool project/bit of history. Anyone want to learn Esperanto with me and open an anti-fascist gluten-free bakery? I already did a little Esperanto on Duolingo (not that it got me very far).

These movies are fun (and the STUNTS), but woof, the gender dynamics.

Saw the new Mission Impossible movie over the weekend. (Small spoiler incoming) Partner joked that in this franchise, resuscitating Ethan Hunt from near death is basically the equivalent of having sex, since it's always the ladies who do it. 😅