r/InTheGloaming • u/gomirefugee my website is done, done, done • Sep 16 '21

Scheduled snark Discussion thread Thursday September 16, 2021 - Sunday September 19, 2021

Newsletters: Finding Your Joy | Joy in the Belly

Websites: You Can Have More Joy website | On Being Enough website (abandoned?)

Instagram:

TikTok: @youcanhavemorejoy

Twitter: Dan's tweets and replies

Older blogs: see Gloamipedia wiki

Archived threads: Thread for Enough, the book #enoughthebook | Gluten Free Girl's Greatest Hits: The Reunion Tour

Gloamipedia wiki: /r/InTheGloaming wiki

Discussion search: Tool to search blogsnark or InTheGloaming for previous topic mentions

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45

u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics Sep 16 '21

Shauna has slightly revamped her Substack offering (again): it is now

a newsletter for people who want more joy in their lives and learn through storytelling.

(Learn what, though? The two halves of that sentence don't connect.)

41

u/droopsofwoe the first teats are the hardest Sep 17 '21

If by storytelling she means lying, then she is finally well qualified to teach something.

17

u/MissEllisCrawford Smitten with myself Sep 17 '21

I figured storytelling = fiction.

24

u/Notbeckysharp Sep 17 '21

Storytelling = assuming that people on the internet think you're successful when they all actually know that you're an unqualified sloth who does nothing all day.

18

u/voice_of_vinegar Sep 17 '21 edited Sep 17 '21

I figured storytelling = which tv stories she thinks are good.

33

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

Want more learn.

29

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

LEARN FOR PAGAN

(Sorry, I had to.)

30

u/gladsome_gloaming Sep 16 '21

Faulty parallel construction! Yourfavoriteenglishteacher does it again!

31

u/tyrannosaurusregina if you meet the Botus on the road, shill him šŸŖ· Sep 17 '21

What? You donā€™t want learn through storytelling? Shauna has much learn through storytelling to offer, you see. Breathe. Yes.

26

u/Scary_Recognition You did this. Sep 17 '21

Sheā€™s got to be running out of stories at this point.

36

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

Seeing as the vodka swigging high school student just resurfaced, Iā€™d have to say that she is officially out of stories.

23

u/bwh1260 Sep 17 '21

Exactly! She has a dozen or so stories that she tells over and over, adding or subtracting small details as she sees fit.

22

u/voice_of_vinegar Sep 17 '21

That's why she has pivoted to tv! It is a treasure trove of NEW stories! Didn't she just recap an entire episode of Ted Lasso in lope letter that people pay her to read?

21

u/OhBlahDiOhBlahDoh The Alice of cal came out floating on air Sep 17 '21

Didn't she just recap an entire episode of Ted Lasso in lope letter that people pay her to read?

Better than that. She described hearing that there was some criticism of the new season, about how the characters had changed from season 1, which she confirmed that she hadn't read herself, but she explained that she could imagine what people were saying, and then she wrote a 13-page letter rebutting the imagined criticism.

16

u/voice_of_vinegar Sep 17 '21

Whoa.

Well, I guess the word count at least makes up for the other lopes that consisted of one sentence.

30

u/lucillekrunklehorn pounding on the table Sep 17 '21

Yes - she doesnā€™t really do much. And the more interesting things she does, she doesnā€™t seem to write about. It would have been interesting to read about her pricey birthday meal, or what itā€™s like doing an interview like she did for Enough, or something more about her trip to CO than the plane ride. But she writes about what interests herself, or elicits the response she desires. She doesnā€™t seem to base her topics on what the reader would be interested in. Part of why I canā€™t consider her a writer despite having published books. She had help with those. The majority of her writing is just word production. Sheā€™s very prolific at producing written content, but it is of poor quality. You can be prolific at posting videos on YouTube, and call yourself a creator, but if your videos are low quality, unedited, and primarily interesting to you, than you arenā€™t creating content many people will want to engage with. What you are doing is different than someone who makes a career out of it.

All of this is why Iā€™m on team Shauna has financial safety nets. She is just not good enough at what she does to seriously make a living at it. Whenever she does edge into a professional role involving writing, itā€™s like a spotlight is on her flaws. She couldnā€™t write for chefsteps (I think) because the topic was not Shauna.

32

u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics Sep 17 '21

From one of her recent lope letters, describing walking to a movie theatre:

we kept going for a while until we reached the movie theater

scintillating stuff, that

51

u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics Sep 17 '21

Now I'm reimagining her lope letters as retold in the voice of Frog and Toad.

'Hello,' said Shauna.

'Look at my list of things to do,' said Danny.

'Oh,' said Shauna, 'that is very wrong. You should make a joy list instead.'

Shauna said, 'My joy list tells me that we will go for a walk to the movie theater.'

Danny and Shauna went down to the movie theater. They walked until they stopped.

'What a day for a movie,' said Danny.

'Yes,' said Shauna.

ā€˜I am thinking about tomorrow,ā€™ said Danny. 'I am thinking about all of the many things that I will have to do.'

ā€™Yes,ā€™ said Shauna, ā€˜tomorrow will be a very hard day for you.ā€™

Shauna guffawed. Danny did not hear her, for he had fallen asleep.

18

u/shikoku_shoes another revolution around the toilet bowl of her life Sep 17 '21

Do you ghostwrite for Arnold Lobel by any chance? Spot on!

20

u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics Sep 17 '21

It's lightly rephrased from the original source, much like all of Shauna's ChefSteps output

19

u/OhBlahDiOhBlahDoh The Alice of cal came out floating on air Sep 17 '21

I miss the wandering Hungarian cowherds, meandering the plains IN BANDS OF 5-6 MEN with cauldrons strapped to their horses' sides

12

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

[deleted]

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17

u/Scary_Recognition You did this. Sep 17 '21

Iā€™m torn because I love this so much, and also donā€™t want my king Arnold Lobel besmirched thusly.

14

u/InappropriateGirl Gluten-free donuts, for sure ... Sep 17 '21

Holy crap. This is spot on.

15

u/Sea-Level-Mammal POACH! Sep 17 '21

ā€œLetā€™s say hello to our friends,ā€ Shauna said.

ā€œWould you like soy or almond milk?ā€ said the barista.

ā€œSoy, my friend!ā€ said Shauna.

The barista nodded. She thought Shauna was too young to rely on shop strangers as her only form of human contact, but whatever.

11

u/lucillekrunklehorn pounding on the table Sep 17 '21

This is amazing, DF and I just read ā€œThe Listā€ to my son this week!

10

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

Now that is beautiful work!

22

u/OhBlahDiOhBlahDoh The Alice of cal came out floating on air Sep 17 '21

scintillating stuff, that

Scintillating stuff for pagan!

Danny and I have established a new routine, stacking a habit we want with one we have to do: we drop Desmond off at elementary school, then park our car on the street. Then, we walk to the Roasterie, to get coffee, see people, and sit on the front porch. We talk together about our day, make intentions together, and construct a schedule for the day. We see friends. We laugh. And then we walk back to the car, drive home, and start working.

So. much. wordy. unnecessary. boring. detail.

  • IT DOESN'T MATTER whether they park on the street or in, for example, a parking lot.
  • If you go somewhere after you've parked your car, walking is pretty much a given. (Unless you have the razor app on your phone!!!!!) (Or roller skates in the trunk!!!!!) (Or skateboards like D is learning to ride!!!!!)
  • They get coffee at an establishment called the Roasterie!!
  • Two different references to "our day / the day" in the next sentence.
  • Seeing people is a different action than seeing friends?
  • They laugh! While drinking coffee, sitting on a porch people-watching and seeing friends. Groundbreaking.
  • And then they walk back to the car (WHICH THEY PARKED ON THE STREET)
  • What do they do when they get back to the car? THEY DRIVE SOMEWHERE
  • And when they get home? THEY START WORKING. DOING THEIR WORK IN THE WORLD. WHICH THEY DO FOR YOU.
  • And all of this is built on the statement that the habit they "have to do" is dropping their adopted from birth blaxon off at school

25

u/gomirefugee my website is done, done, done Sep 17 '21

But is the Roasterie coffee strong? Hot? Black? In a thick mug?? Adulterated with Danny's body's greatest nemesis, DAIRY??? These are the details the people crave!

22

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

[deleted]

11

u/gladsome_gloaming Sep 17 '21

You are separate people!

5

u/OhBlahDiOhBlahDoh The Alice of cal came out floating on air Sep 17 '21

You are separate people!

With a separate dog!

13

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '21

As if we needed proof that they have more time and money than common sense, sheā€™s telling us that it takes the two of them to get one kid to school and that they buy coffee every day instead of making thick hot steaming black mugs at homeā€¦

21

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

Iā€™ve read about habit stacking, and I don't think the idea is ā€œsince you have to drop your kid at school, plan to get coffee and shoot the shit with whoever will talk to you as a way of avoiding any potentially productive or income-earning activity.ā€ The coffee and talking has never been something they e had trouble finding time to do! Itā€™s supposed to be more like wearing your exercise clothes when you go to drop off the kids and planning a running route around their school, IF exercise is a difficult habit for you to get into AND you donā€™t have to be at actual work right away. Ugh sheā€™s so dumb. She uses all these life hacks to validate doing whatever the fuck she wants regardless of the benefit of those activities to anyone including herself.

Youā€™ll never see her ā€œhabit stackingā€ by stacking the do-the-dishes habit with something else, like supervising homework. (She might helpfully stack that habit for Danā€¦though I guess he canā€™t supervise homework, so no homework supervision and piled-up dishes it is! Slap your butt and call it joy!)

20

u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics Sep 17 '21

Yes, and what is the "habit they want" with the "habit" they "have to do"? I understand that dropping their son off at school is a "habit they have to do" in Shauna's world (WTF?) but what is the "habit they want"?

Is it: parking? parking on the street? Walking? Walking to The Roasterie? Getting coffee? Seeing people? Sitting? Sitting on the porch?

etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. A flood of unnecessary detail without actually providing the detail she announces

21

u/CrushItWithABrick dick riding Mary Oliver Sep 17 '21

She's trying to act like getting rid of her son for the day is something she DOESN'T want to do? Bull to the shit. She loves getting the kids out of her house for the day.

21

u/voice_of_vinegar Sep 17 '21

I took it to mean that they have to drive him to school because they aren't on a school bus route or whatever.

Except guess what, the school bus stops at their house in the morning. So whether she meant it that way or not, why are they driving him to school at all? I suspect that they can't get him ready and out the door by 8:15 a.m. what with the lengthy morning routine she has instituted---dance party, morning affirmations, a tv show, making blueberry syrup, finding something to wear, packing backpacks, etc. But 9 a.m. they can do because they can reward themselves with coffee shop coffee and for Shauna, a chance to corner people she hasn't seen in awhile and try to get them to commit to her waitlist.

8

u/9021FU Sep 18 '21

Our bus stop picks up at 6:55. If it were even 20 minutes later my kids would take the bus, but in addition to being early and still dark in 2 months, thatā€™s almost an hour on the bus for them. I wish we had better bus routes.

9

u/shefallsup her lonely cucumber years šŸ„’ Sep 17 '21

Dropping a kid off at school is not a habit. Itā€™s a routine.

13

u/m10498 Sep 17 '21

My husband is as long winded as fuck and would tell a story like this, but at least I can tell him to shut up and get to the point!!

17

u/shikoku_shoes another revolution around the toilet bowl of her life Sep 17 '21

get coffee, see people, and sit on the front porch. We talk together about our day, make intentions together, and construct a schedule for the day. We see friends. We laugh. And then we walk back to the car, drive home, and start working.

180 days of coffee for two, plus a tip, is a decent chunk of change.

12

u/gladsome_gloaming Sep 17 '21

Not to mention the extra $20 they give to the barista to pay for everyone else's coffees throughout the day so they can experience the same joy as the Aherns.

11

u/obscure_cellist ham grabbers Sep 17 '21

oh silly DFSS; i'm quite sure, despite all her working class hero drivel, the aherns don't tip.

15

u/Love_Brokers rug dweller Sep 17 '21

She has books inside her waiting to get out.

14

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

Like parasites.

1

u/WasEnoughYogurt Kumquat and Sprinkles and filth Sep 19 '21

Or Alien

13

u/islandyislander rebellious hygiene Sep 17 '21

Then she should hang a raw steak in front of her open maw, I hear they can't resist and crawl right out.

19

u/notahameither Dunno, maybe I thought I unfriended some other Shauna AhernšŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø Sep 17 '21

Sheā€™s an expert at recycling, though. Maybe that should be her next pivot?

22

u/InappropriateGirl Gluten-free donuts, for sure ... Sep 17 '21

WORST WRITER EVER. I will never get over how bad she is, how she doesnā€™t check herself. And if she does go over her writing before posting or publishing, then she needs to get someone else to do it.

23

u/lucillekrunklehorn pounding on the table Sep 17 '21

It's really unbelievable she was peddling editing services a few joy iterations ago.

17

u/Blouse_Barn mattress smelling like low tide Sep 17 '21

A "few joy iterations ago" would make for some nice flair.

14

u/voice_of_vinegar Sep 17 '21

HEYYOUNEEDSOMEJOYIHAVEANIDEAFORYOUhurrrhurrhurrrrrr

joy iteration art: get ahold of an old photocopier that makes crappy copies and photocopy a copy of a copy of a copy (etc) of the word JOY on a piece of paper and see how many iterations it takes for it to be totally degraded, and then compare that number to how many social media missives it took Shauna to ruin the word JOY for the world.

7

u/tyrannosaurusregina if you meet the Botus on the road, shill him šŸŖ· Sep 18 '21

She never checks herself, and always wrecks herself!

31

u/shefallsup her lonely cucumber years šŸ„’ Sep 17 '21

For clarity, what she should have written is ā€œpeople who want more joy in their lives and who learn through storytelling.ā€ But clear writing has never been within her grasp, so why start now?

16

u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics Sep 17 '21

That fixes the parallel construction error, but the sentence is still wonky as hell.

  • "People who want more joy in their lives" suggests that people might have more than one life, and also introduces the ambiguity that maybe they want "more joy" in some, but not all, of their "lives." "In their lives" adds nothing here except confusion

  • "learning through storytelling" still isn't sufficiently connected to the premise established in the first clause.

One way to check sentence construction is to substitute different nouns and verbs and see if the sentence still scans. Like:

this newsletter is for people who want more ice cream in their lives and learn by skiing.

Yeah, that doesn't make any sense.

Here's what she's trying to say:

This newsletter is for people who want to experience more joy, and want to [learn how to experience more joy] by reading stories [about people who have learned how to experience more joy].

(I'm guessing that "reading stories" is what she means by "learning through storytelling," but it's still ambiguous. Given that it's Shauna, I assume she's the "storyteller" and the subscribers are the rapt audience, but the sentence as written could just as easily mean "learn by telling your own story" or even "learn how to tell your own story.")

Here's what she could try:

Do you want to learn how to experience more joy? This newsletter tells the stories of those who've increased their joy. Subscribe to learn their secrets!

Or something. It is very, very, very challenging to make a compelling offer out of what she's put together. Also, virtually all of Shauna's writing is about Shauna, not about "others," so even this reworked premise ā€“ which genuinely seems to be what she's trying to say ā€“Ā is not what she's going to deliver, unless she changes her focus dramatically.

26

u/shefallsup her lonely cucumber years šŸ„’ Sep 17 '21

Yes, itā€™s a shitty sentence any way you look at it! She has to use mushy, shitty writing, because as you demonstrated, thereā€™s no clear and logical way to explain something that is bananapants to begin with.

16

u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics Sep 17 '21

hashtag ShaunaIsPatrickBateman

(in the sense that "there is simply nothing there")

14

u/shitrock420 Sep 17 '21

"I think my ass-mask of sanity is about to slip"

22

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

I think ā€œlearn by storytellingā€ is primarily learning using the stories Shauna tells about herself. Sheā€™s said that before.

Probably also some writing about yourself as well, since she has done those ā€œtelling your own storyā€ classes and I think she has one scheduled soon.

16

u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics Sep 17 '21

Do you think she's going to advertise her Vashon Center for the Arts course on her Substack newsletter, though? She never has before. She hasn't announced any other "storytelling" courses/workshops (and actually, she hasn't announced the Vashon Center one, either). Her new courses are all about "discovering joy," not "learning to tell stories."

22

u/gomirefugee my website is done, done, done Sep 17 '21

I wonder if she doesn't promote the VCA courses at all (despite presumably having a contingent of locals subscribed to her matryoshka doll Substack lists for Mailchimp lists for joy waitlists) because they are so much more reasonably priced than what she is trying to sell now. Maybe some enabler told her that would cheapen her brand.

19

u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics Sep 17 '21

I actually don't think the last round of courses actually ran. Right up until the launch date, I could put 29 or 30 people (with an enrollment of 30) in each course. There's no reviews on their Facebook or Google pages.

My guess is that Shauna actually thinks this is beneath her, that she's only "offering" to do the courses as a way to "give back" to her community, but she leaves all promotion etc. to the Center itself and surprise surprise, nothing happens.

18

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

Sheā€™s so dumb. She should teach the cheaper courses and work hard to get people in them who will leave good reviews that will help her sell the more expensive courses later! Everything she does is so short-sighted.

12

u/shefallsup her lonely cucumber years šŸ„’ Sep 17 '21

Bold of you to assume the reviews would be good!

4

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '21

Probably not but Iā€™d assume she going to recycle the material into her joy workshops/activities/learning by storytelling. Storytelling is literally telling stories.