We are Simone Biles. And Simone Biles is us. A day after the Olympian announced her withdrawal from the women’s gymnastics team final — and later the individual all-around — the Internet devolved into ridiculous chatter about the star athlete’s “toughness.” (Jesus, the woman has four gold medals.) Stepping back instantly re-ignited the debate over whether Tokyo 2020–2021 should have even happened — is the world ready? Are the athletes prepared? Should we be doing this yet? It also made Biles the poster girl of a very acute American identity crisis that is playing out all over the nation —…

FRIDAY FREELANCING

Freelance friends, independent contractors, dear digital nomads, and any of you who became a work-from-home warrior in the last year. Welcome back to my weekly series, “Friday Freelancing.” Right here on Medium, I’ll come to you on Friday afternoons with advice on how to make working for yourself — or by yourself — actually, well…work. I’ve been doing it for nearly 20 years and am happy to share tips, tricks, secrets, strategies, and best practices. Be sure to follow for guidance on getting business, growing business, and managing finance, projects, clients, and your desk. …

POLITICS

Well, that was a mildly interesting but overall uneventful evening. If you could get past the odd and constant reminders by the president that he was “not kidding, “not joking,” and “not being facetious” — we know, Joe, you’re not kidding! — there were some important takeaways from last night’s CNN Town Hall with President Biden. (If you missed it, you can watch Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 online.) Immediately, there was a deluge of criticism from Trumpland, the right, and the Mean Girls on Twitter, who mostly lambasted CNN for the town hall being too softball and…

THE ECONOMY

This morning, in a very sweet effort to help me lose my extra pandemic poundage, my boyfriend suggested a morning pre-work walk around New York City. At 8am, coffees in hand, we took to the High Line. For those outside the city, the High Line is a beautiful elevated park that was built from, well…a leftover freight track that ran up-and-down the city’s west side. …

POLITICS

There are wars of all kinds. In the history of Western Civilization, the physical wars are what we use to track the success, downfall and/or triumphs of peoples and of leaders. In physical wars, people die. What is at stake are the lives of generations of young people who put on a uniform and fight with a gun, a tank, or musket, sword or bow-and-arrow. (I’m working backwards.) For much of our American history, the physical wars were the hallmarks of our national story. Right or wrong, they equal our history. They were also a point of pride, because, well…

FRIDAY FREELANCING

Freelance friends, independent contractors, and dear digital nomads! Welcome back to my weekly series, “Friday Freelancing.” Right here on Medium, I’ll come to you each Friday afternoon with advice on how to make working for yourself actually, well…work. I’ve been doing it for nearly 20 years and am happy to share tips, tricks, secrets, strategies, and best practices. Be sure to follow for guidance on getting business, growing business, and managing finance, projects, clients, and your desk. Basically, how to make money and not go absolutely nuts.

In the last six weeks, I introduced you to Freelance Heaven, where clients…

ADVICE

Last night, I held the first of what I intend to be many Zoom open houses for creatives all across my network. The event was a special but informal event meant to gather aspiring actors, writers, directors, producers, and the like, so that I can make myself available as a resource to friends, colleagues, and my larger circle, and so that those entering — or working in — the film and television industry can learn from one another.

I was asked a pretty standard question for a Zoom Q+A: “What are the three things you would do to kick off…