Second star to the right and straight on to the links! 

"Twitter was always a vehicle for billionaire cash," remarks Edward Ongweso Jr. Odious rich men essentially own the entire internet. Meanwhile, Justine Calma reports on the mega-warehouses that support our online shopping habits: "Behind every $1 billion in online sales is an estimated 1.25 million square feet of warehouse space."

Porochista Khakpour on being shaped by Los Angeles, leaving and returning and leaving again: "L.A. was the first place to teach me that sometimes, sadly, love is like that, too — as heavy and dull and bleak and indifferent and sprawling as it is, you might barely feel it but it’s there, it has you."

"Who am I," asks Alicia Kennedy, "if I’m doing domesticity, as work and as an expression of love?" This really resonated with me, a person who gets joy from some traditional domestic acts like cooking and sewing. It's a blurry line between a labor of love and labor-labor, and it's hard not to want to draw that line brighter if you're a woman. 

A handful of new shows conflate Black excellence with Black affluence, writes Tanisha C. Ford.

Dan Piepenbring on the politics of camping in America, and how sleeping outside has been embraced or condemned, depending on who’s doing it. And a reminder that unhoused people are ... people. With loved ones. With histories. With futures.

Jesus Rodriguez on getting his immigration papers after a decade of living in the US without them: "I realized I am no longer the person the work permit reflects."

And in the latest installment of Dream Interpretation for Dummies, Autumn Fourkiller goes subconscious-spelunking for "the deep-seated something that weighs you down."

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Some excellent photo projects: The haunting history of a huckster's "cancer cure" hotel. OUR ROOTS "explores the complexities of the Asian-American identity." Facing Life follows eight formerly incarcerated people as they rebuild their lives [via California Sun]. And Nancy A. Scherl's moving portraits, one of which is reprinted above, of people dining alone. 

...which means it's emotionally already October. Merry Christmas, I guess? (Why does time feel like this?!!)

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As this newsletter's audience grows, I paradoxically get fewer and fewer replies. I hate that! So I have an invitation: Please tell me about something that's bringing you joy, calming you down, helping you feel connected lately. I want to hear about it.