Category Archives: Shorter Posts

What I Post — And Where I Post It

SUBSTACK: This is where I post posted my random musings. (I’m Doyle Harcavy.) It’s like a written podcast — news-y stuff and current trends and observations. It’s also a bit like pages from a diary — I sprinkle in details about my own reactions to current events.

MEDIUM: This is where I post essays about being a young woman, about living in the South, and about family history.

THREADS and BLUESKY: Quippy stuff. These are half-formed thoughts.

SUBSTACK NOTES: Too long to be a Thread, too short to be in the newsletter — that’s where these thoughts go. I’m probably not going to be using Substack in 2024, though.

TIKTOK: I’ve posted a few video essays — but only very short ones. I tend to stick to a three-to-five minute framework. Like I’m in a public speaking class.

WATTPAD: I used to post poems on Wattpad — and on AO3. Roses are red, violets are blue, be glad that I don’t inflict my poems on you.

JAMAIS MAYVILLE: This is where I post silly little thoughts, silly big thoughts, and a little bit of everything.

Facebook’s Agony Aunties

One of the worst things about social media is all of the advice-giving. Relationship advice from codependent people. Parenting advice from twenty-two-year-olds who have only been married two years, with only a tiny infant to cull experience from. “Sage” life lessons from a seventeen-year-old who has a podcast microphone.

I don’t like to be down on (most) other people — but I often roll my eyes at this Digital Creator/Expert cottage industry.

As much as I dislike it, I’ve decided to just keep doing what I’m doing — which is not taking their advice. None of the advice applies or makes sense, so the best thing to do (in the short term) is to simply ignore the foolishness.

That’s just my advice, though. 😘

If I Were A Rich Girl

I listened to a podcast the other day, where they said that J.D. Vance — a particularly loathsome fellow — is an elitist who still pretends to be an “aw, shucks” country boy.

As someone who’s an “aw, shucks” country girl from Kentucky — Authentically Country, because I’m descended from coal miners, sorghum farmers, sharecroppers, and maids — I can tell you that I don’t try to act like I’m impressed by silverware, senators, or Vetements.

None of it phases me. I can watch children in dirty diapers run out into the street in front of the trailer park, chasing Meemaw’s boyfriend’s pit bull. I could also watch a member of Congress snort cocaína off a $50,000 dinner plate without batting an eye.

None of it would shock me. Not because I know everything — but because I know that just about anything, good or horrible or funny, is possible in this world.

Thoughts On Music: Western Swing and Punk Rock

Bob Wills did for country music what Joe Strummer did for punk rock.

A blend of genres, styles, flavors — the process of amalgamation and unending blending defined the work of both musicians. Strummer and The Clash made reggae-punk-ska-world-disco hits, and western swing was a honky-tonk heaven with pianos, big-band trumpets, and quirky, silly ad-libs. (The same way that Young Thug uses his voice as an instrument, Bob Wills did something innovative with his corny (but fun!) quips.)

These artists both tried something fresh and different, something fun and enduring. Is Western swing the punk rock of country? That’s a question for a musicologist or a music theorist. In the meantime, I’m just enjoying some really, really great songs.

Main Villain Syndrome

Back in 2020, I wrote a thread over on The Dead Bird about how a lot of people have Main Character Syndrome or Main Villain Syndrome. And some people have both, because they’ll do anything to be in the spotlight.

To sum up what I wrote, I said that these people basically want to be cruel to make themselves relevant, to be talked about, to be raked over the coals on nighttime talk shows.

That seems like what’s happening with a certain tech CEO, a certain rapper-turned-fashionisto-turned-preacher-turned-charter-school-operator, and certain infamous influencers.

They think that their bad behavior will be forgivable if they can establish themselves as “fashion geniuses” or “automotive geniuses” — even though their employees and assistants are the ones who are doing all of the hard work.

The only thing they work hard at is performing. When you realize that they’re performing — and that they don’t even have the stones to be good performers — it’s a bit easier to realize that these people are struggling and stunted.

Being the Main Character isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. It’s hardly ever fun. These folks are grinding unnecessarily instead of grinning merrily.

For my part, I would rather be part of the supporting cast — and I would spend my offscreen time doing whatever it is that I want to do.

4

Sometimes, when I can’t sleep, I make the number 4.

I do this with my legs. I put one foot under my knee, in an attempt to warm my feet — which in turn (usually) helps me fall back asleep.

Just throwing this out there, in case it helps anyone else who’s struggling with falling asleep. Melatonin probably works better — but making-a-4 is free!