Hi from Tammy :*)

First TKTKETK: criticism, transitions

The tech gods killed my old mailing-list gadget, TinyLetter, so here I am on Substack! (If you’re annoyed to get this, feel free to unsubscribe, of course.)

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“TK” in journo-speak means “to come.” It’s an easy-to-find (Ctrl F) acronym placeholder during edits. When I started at Al Jazeera America, in 2012, I was such a media dumb dumb that, when my editor, Caroline, sent me a revision with “TK”s all over, I thought she was indicating my initials: “Tammy Kim, fill these in!” Well, close enough. And so, this Substack: TKTKETK.

I’m back in Brooklyn after a longish trip to Korea. Slightly dramatic family stuff (TKTK book fodder?) plus some treats. In the photos above: The inn at Sudeoksa Buddhist Temple, where the great early-twentieth-century feminists Kim Iryeob and Na Hyeseok crossed paths. (Two of Na’s drawings are tattooed on my left arm.) And my friend Rob’s delicious take on caviar pasta (flying fish roe swaddled in roasted seaweed).

Some recent writing: An essay about the Puget Sound/global tabloid scandal/rape/love affair that stained my mind in high school, now dramatized in “May December,” the new Todd Haynes film on Netflix. Plus a review/profile of the novella “Counterweight,” by Djuna, Korea’s anonymous, sharp-elbowed sci-fi scribbler, film critic, and Diderot-like pop encyclopedist.

This week was my last episode as co-host of Time to Say Goodbye, the podcast I’ve been doing with pals Jay Kang and Andy Liu for the past three and a half years. The pod changed my life and grew my world. Thanks to all of you who tuned in and joined our amazing Discord/IRL community. Jay’s gonna carry it forward, so more very soon (another TK).

We in the U.S. continue to fund and legitimate yet another genocide, with ramifications at home. I’ve been grateful to organize with other journalists and culture workers, through the National Writers Union/Freelance Solidarity Project and Writers Against the War on Gaza. Let me know if you have questions or want to pitch in.

Thanks for reading. More TK…

<3 tammy