In case you missed the inaugural edition of Friday Bitch & Brag, here’s the link with the back story. I should add that these B&Bs may not always be specific to a personal experience, but more of a “here’s what I love/hate" this week.”
Time to circle up, kids!
Bitch: In the last week I saw a job listing for a lifestyle feature writer for a website. The pay rate was 8 cents a word, and the article length would be from 2600-3000 words. The writer would claim a topic from a list of assignments, then they research, pitch and write the piece. Each article would have deadlines of anywhere between one day to one week turnaround. This means a writer (with at least one year's experience per their listing) would get paid, at maximum, $240. I have so many issues with this setup that I need a whole post to bitch about it, but will sum it up as this: if an editor asks a writer to turn around copy in one day, after the writer has already spent at least an hour researching and pitching, they need to pay way more than 8 cents an hour.
Brag: I had an awesome birthday on Wednesday. My good friend Johnny and his 12 year-old daughter joined me at the Baltimore Museum of Art for some wandering, then took me to lunch at one of my favorite spots, Busboys & Poets. I had a fabulous BLT and side salad, and lots of fun conversation.
Bitch: For as much as I love the BMA and what they are doing to diversify their collection, the museum is incredibly hard to navigate without a map. Where were the little wall plaques with a floor plan and YOU ARE HERE marker to show me where I was located? I felt like I was stuck in a MC Escher print, with twists & turns & stairs everywhere, and taking multiple elevators only to wind up in the same place. Maybe they had a map at the front desk and I missed asking for it. Or maybe, for a $200 donation, there was a bag of freakin’ breadcrumbs or huge ball of red yarn for patrons to use to find their way around.
Brag: I treat myself pretty well during my birthday celebrations. This year, I bought these gorgeous purple pencils from Musgrave Pencil Company, a 100+ year old pencil manufacturer based in Tennessee. I also got a bottle of one of my favorite perfumes, a red v-neck sweater (I had been on the hunt for months and finally found one on sale, whoo hoo!), and a set of hysterical Arna Miller cat notecards I’ve been wanting for a few years (thank you BMA Gift Shop for carrying these cards).
Bitch: All the controversy over Harry Styles winning Album of the Year. Is it fair for yet another white dude to win this award? No. Is the entertainment industry is ready, willing & able to be more inclusive and diverse? I think hope so. Does anyone really believe that all the social pressure from artists, actors, musicians AND consumers will lead to faster changes, if the majority of stakeholders continue to be rich old white people? Don’t answer that. (Some sources related to diversity in entertainment: film & TV, music.) Full disclosure: I really love Harry’s House - I have played it on repeat on Spotify and I’m listening to it now - AND I will be listening to the other nominees’s albums over the next few days. Maybe next week’s B&B will include who I think got robbed of any Grammy awards.
Brag: I am winning at dishwasher Tetris, the game we all play when loading the dishwasher, trying to fit in as many dishwasher-safe items as possible. Yes, sometimes the little plastic storage containers flip during washing and wind up full of water. Or there are spots on my little fry pan. That doesn’t matter. I STILL WIN.