AJ Feuerman

Publicist | Social Media Strategist | Brunch Fanatic

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What’s In My Pocket Friday

July 11, 2016 By AJ Leave a Comment

What’s In My Pocket, Friday? The best of…. something.

This was meant for Friday, but I did not have the will to finish it on Friday. Today I decided I needed it.

While I’ve not posted here or in my other blog in a rather embarrassing amount of time, it suddenly seemed important to me to put something out into the world that wasn’t… dark. I’m overwhelmingly sickened by the state of the world right now and if you thought I was laughing before, I’m downright hysterical now.

So here are things I’ve saved in my “pocket” that, hopefully, will make us all feel a little better — even if only for a short while.

What's In My Pocket Friday

If you don’t know who Justin Tranter is, you probably know his music. He’s responsible for Gwen Stefani’s new album, most of Selena Gomez’s, a lot of Britney, a lot of Bieber… I know Justin because we share a mutual friend dating back to college when we saw him play with his band, Semi Precious Weapons, at the coffee shop at the Virgin Megastore in Union Square. (His former bassist, Cole Whittle, now plays for DNCE.)

Anyway, the day after a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 at Pulse in Orlando last month, Justin got on a plane. He lent a hand wherever he could but he wanted to do more. The result is “Hands,” a track released earlier this week that features Selena Gomez, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Mary J. Blige, Pink, Juanes, Kacey Musgraves, Adam Lambert and many more. Proceeds from the song, available exclusively on iTunes, will benefit Equality Florida, the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida and Glaad.

Similarly, the Broadway community came together on an episode of “Maya and Marty” to sing their iTunes single for charity. It’s rather beautiful:

Music brings me a lot of peace and joy. So do puppies. My friend Lisa got a new puppy and I love each and every photo she shares of her on Instagram. And since I absolutely refuse to sit on the internet all day reading the news at this point, I choose to have the puppy cam on.

This post on Facebook made me laugh:

 And I thought this video Rufus Wainwright posted on Facebook was beautiful:

If you just need a good, great, gut-busting laugh? Well then you should click over to Buzzfeed for some hilarious tweets about kids!

 

3yo (in bathroom): Mummy, can I put this sticker on Daddy’s card?
Me (in bed): Yes.
3yo: Will he love it?
Me: Yes. pic.twitter.com/TJepUORQwH

— Sarah Dempster (@Dempster2000) June 21, 2015

This quote also struck me as rather serene and I wanted to conclude with it:

What's In My Pocket Friday

Filed Under: Pocket Fridays Tagged With: Buzzfeed, Hallelujah, Hands, Justin Tranter, Maya and Marty, Music, Orlando, Puppies, Rufus Wainwright

All of the Reasons I’m Laughing Today

June 13, 2016 By AJ 2 Comments

Love Wins. Suck it.

I don’t really consider myself an eloquent writer. Mind you, I have no problem expressing myself but when I think about the word “eloquence” in relation to blogging, good friends like Jessica Gottlieb and Chloe Jeffreys come to mind. These are fearless, heartfelt blogs that I dare not consider myself in the same league with. And to be clear, I’m not saying that to beg for compliments. I am quite secure in my writing talent, it’s just that I know my limits and strengths well and so I know that being so powerfully poignant and acutely impassioned in blogging is not my style.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve really settled into a few things, too. For example, I find I know more often than not at this point when to keep my mouth shut. When to keep politics off social media. When to refrain from commenting in certain forums. Sometimes I can’t help myself and in those moments, I am proud that I excel at keeping my feelings concise and unprovoked and un-baited. When you do this thing – when you choose to be a blogger or some kind of social media influencer – a lot of people think they know you and I think the funny thing about me is, unless you know me in real life, you probably cannot say you know me well from following me on social media. Or maybe you know me a little but not very well. And that is all by purposeful construct.

I’ve also accepted imperfection. Sometimes you just gotta toss out that “zero fucks” card, roll up your sleeves and get into it. Sometimes you gotta roll down the window and tell the idiot who’s double parked and screwing up the flow of traffic he’s an idiot (yes, I did that recently). Sometimes you have to tell your friend they’re wrong. Sometimes being silent is not power, it’s insanity.

This post is already a million miles away from what I thought it was going to be when I began. I apologize. Like I said, eloquence is not my thing. I guess it’s just that I haven’t been able to stop laughing today and I was trying to understand why. It feels out of place and sort of deranged that I keep laughing. To myself, in the car, at home alone, out with friends…. I just keep laughing. I think about things and I just start giggling like a dimwitted fool.

Best I can tell, having gotten all this out, here’s why:

  • This terrible kid tried to rape a girl at a college party. He took photos of her and texted them to his friends. A misogynistic judge sentenced him to three months in jail. His father cried out that his son should not be punished so severely for 20 minutes of poor life choices.
  • 128 people were killed in gunfire and explosions last year at an Eagles of Death Metal concert in Paris.
  • A talented 21 year old pop singer was shot at point blank range by a mentally ill person who came to her autograph signing session with more than one gun in tow.
  • The Republican nominee for President of the United States is a former reality TV star who wants to build a wall along our Southern border to keep Mexicans out of America. He wants their country to pay for it, too. He also wants to exile Muslims and openly mocks women, disabled people and the poor.
  • Last night, a young man who has a documented history of mental instability, walked into an Orlando gay dance club with an AR15 Assault Rifle and killed 50 people. He injured 53 more.
  • After this shooting, believe it or not, some people celebrated that God was finally coming after “the gays.”
  • In some places in America, people I know would not be allowed to pee in the bathroom they identified with because some ignorant twats have decided they are child molesters.
  • In December, 14 people were killed and 22 were injured in San Bernadino by a similarly minded gunman.
  • Sandy Hook, Columbine, Virginia Tech

I guess, in short, I laugh because, if I don’t, I’ll probably just cry. Or stab myself in the leg with a fork to dull the pain.

I laugh because frankly, I don’t know what else to do and it’s easier to laugh than to be angry and mean. Laughter is a release.

I laugh because you know what? Fuck them. 

All of the Reasons I'm Laughing Today - Love Wins

Filed Under: Pop Culture Tagged With: Love Wins, Orlando, Trump

"Today I will be classy and elegant. Or, I will spill on my shirt and trip over things."

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