PicoBlog

The prior Sergeant Major (SgtMaj) of School of Infantry West (SOI-W) , Steven Burkett, quietly disappeared from the command page on Marines.mil, which is the official website for the USMC. The bio for the new SgtMaj states that he took command in March of 2022. This implies that Burkett was never the Sergeant Major of SOI-W. The new SgtMaj is “dual hatting”, and is listed simultaneously as the Headquarters & Service Battalion SgtMaj, as well as the SOI-W SgtMaj.

Tamara Pietzke is a whistleblower from Washington State whose story was published by The Free Press last week. Tamara has a Masters in social work from the University of Washington. She's since worked with older adults, pregnant and postpartum women, the chronically mentally ill, those in inpatient centers, and she's spent the last six years doing outpatient community mental health. She told us that she never sought out to be a whistleblower but she believes whole-heartedly in having a voice when something is wrong, even when it seems like you’re standing alone.

If you read just one thing today, make it this piece in the New Yorker about Yeniifer “Yeni” Alvarez-Estrada Glick, who died while pregnant a few months after Texas passed its strict abortion ban — and just weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed the Texas ban to stand. If she had terminated her pregnancy, Yeni would almost certainly be alive. But no one gave Yeni, who had serious, life-threatening complications from very early on, the option of abortion.

Hey everyone, This past week ahead of Valentine’s Day, my fiancé Ally interviewed me about some of life’s biggest questions. We used the Proust Questionnaire, popularized in Vanity Fair, to guide us. It’s a wonderful exercise to do alone, with your partner, or with a friend. The person who popularized the idea, Marcel Proust, believed that your answers to the following questions reveal your true nature. We skipped a few questions we didn’t love — you’re allowed!

It’s another wet, miserable weekend here in London (remind me why I live here again?) and instead of venturing out in the torrential rain, I thought I’d nest under a blanket with my oat milk matcha and answer some of your burning beauty questions. I’m going to make this a more regular thing, so at the bottom, I’ve attached a place where you can submit questions for future posts as well.

Just a quick round-up of some news-y items that have come my way the past few days. Deadline reports that filming has just wrapped on a hitherto secret film about Mary and Joseph called Mary, which stars Anthony Hopkins as King Herod: In coming-of-age story Mary, the title character is shunned following the otherworldly conception of her child and forced into hiding. King Herod’s relentless drive to maintain power at any cost ignites the murderous pursuit of the newborn child that he believes is a threat to his reign on the throne.

It’s the fourth stage of last year’s Tour de France. Anthony McCrossan and Nicholas Roche are calling the race for ASO’s broadcast, which is beamed around the world. Seven hundred… ncG1vNJzZmiqmZm2r7PWoquho5GluaK6jaysm6uklrCsesKopGioX5a7tbTOp7BmpZOYv7C%2F0pqlZqGjYrC6r8uipaCrXZi8rrnEp6uarJ%2Bn

Beabadoobee announces Rick Rubin-produced album This Is How Tomorrow Moves; Lauren Sánchez’s son could be fashion’s new it boy; Charli XCX sets off it girl explosion in “360” music video; and zoomer indie film Gasoline Rainbow is a postcard from Teenage Wasteland, USA. IN THE SKIN CARE GAME, YOUNG WOMEN WERE SMARTER THAN NEUTROGENA’S EXECUTIVES, bostongl… ncG1vNJzZmiZlqmys7%2FCoaaopF6owqO%2F05qapGaTpLpwvI6apa2hXZmutbXNoGSaqKCoeqK6w2axsqZdp7K4rdGdqg%3D%3D

By Nia Tucker Queer-coded characters exist in our favorite movies across all genres of film.  Queerness is not inherently able to be defined succinctly and broadly, but when you know, you know. If they aren’t the villains, read: Jafar from Aladdin, Maleficent or even the Babadook, queer-coded characters are instantly recognized by queer audiences. It’s either a messy shag of hair, baggy, loose-fitting clothes, all-black attire and lesbian-esque black platform boots, or maybe it’s the sarcasm and the innate sexuality that they possess.