Valerie Anne

Newsletter

Wild nights - Wild nights! is my weekly newsletter about media, nostalgia, and more. Visit valerieanne.substack.com for the best visual experience.

Wild nights - Wild nights! •

Family Trees

I think we need more words for extended family in the English language.My brother is engaged, and his fiancée is wonderful and so is her family, and I've gotten to know some of them at various get-togethers over the past few years. This past weekend was the bridal shower, and as I was talking to my friends about it, I realized the English language was letting me down. There's no easy way for me to refer to my brother's fiancée's parents or siblings when I'm talking to someone who doesn't know th...
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Productive Procrastination

As I have mentioned here before, I have been doing a bit of an apartment overhaul. It was much needed and long overdue…and I've made a lot of progress! I cleaned out many bins of crap I had taken from the cellar of my childhood home and found them places to live or trashed them. I donated boxes of books to the library and bags of clothes to Goodwill. I recycled a metric ton of cardboard and finally threw away the broken trash barrel that has been in my apartment for months because I can only put...
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Underrepresented

I have spent the better part of my adult life writing about LGBTQ+ representation in media. I've covered the good, the bad, the best, the worst. Every show I watch, every movie I see, I'm keeping an eye out for the gays, and then critiquing the way they were written and portrayed, seeing if their story is being handled respectfully, if they're being tokenized or leaning into harmful stereotypes, taking into account their context and the overall story, etc, etc. It's something I talk about pretty...
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I Think I've Always Been a Writer

If you had asked me, when I was little, what I wanted to be when I grew up, depending on the year I would have had a different answer for you. The ones I remember saying the most were a veterinarian (met with pitying looks because I'm allergic to practically everything that breathes) and an actress. I don't know when I decided I wanted to be a writer. In fact, I'm not sure I decided it at all. I think I just sort of ended up doing it for work, realized I loved it and kept doing it. But the truth...
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My Dragon's Hoard

As some of you may remember, last year I went to my childhood home and took some storage boxes from the cellar, after investigating the chaos within. They were living in the spare room at my parents' new house for a while, but eventually, little by little, they all came to my New York apartment. I just shoved them in the study; I procrastinated dealing with them because of who I am as a person...and my undiagnosed (and therefore unmedicated) ADHD. Out of sight, out of mind and all that. Then one...
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The Art of a Reread

Unlike movies and TV shows, which I will often revisit, whether because I enjoy them or because a new sequel/season is coming out, I don't often reread books. I definitely did when I was younger; memorizing Dr. Suess books is how I LEARNED how to read. I read my copy of Little Women enough to practically have it memorized. And I'm sure I made my way through the Babysitter's Club series more than once. But as an adult, aside from going back to clear out my DNF list earlier this year, I think the...
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Show and Tell

Last week, after I had finished writing my newsletter, I was in Canva using a purple “marker”, dutifully erasing the background out of the bunny that would serve as the center of the cover photo for that week’s post when the thought occurred to me…I have been making covers for each and every one of my newsletters, and yet it’s very likely some of you have never seen a single one. Anyone who subscribes through the Substack app, I believe, gets a wee preview of it when a new post goes out, and of...
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Someone Else's Nightmare

And now for something completely different.Below is something I wrote in 2011 (edited slightly for clarity) about a dream I had years prior that still sticks with me to this day. I can still picture the rooms where this dream took place, can still see the reflection in the mirror that wasn't my own, can still taste the fear in my mouth. It's one of the most vivid dreams I've ever had, and I still have no idea what prompted it. It's also, to this day, the only dream I ever remember having where I...
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Memories and Moments

Sometimes I think about the people who briefly came into my life and wonder if they remember me, or if I ever pop into their head the way they pop into mine. People who probably would never remember my name, if they ever knew it in the first place, but who have embedded themselves into core memories of mine. If the moments that were moments for me were for them, or just an ordinary moment.Does the magician/clown who performed at my 5th birthday remember the terror in my eyes when he handed me hi...
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Ye Olde Resume

Job hunting is the worst. I was very lucky and didn't have to do it for over a decade, but now I'm back on the grind, applying to dozens of jobs just to never hear back, or having meetings about jobs that aren't the right fit, all while my savings account runs lower and lower and my panic levels rise higher and higher. And since I'm looking for freelance contracts and writing gigs to supplement the work I do at Autostraddle, my resume only reflects the past 15 years of relevant writing jobs. But...
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April Showers Bring May Allergies

This week, spring officially sprung in my neck of the woods*. After a few weeks of near-constant rain and cold here in the great state of New York, the weather got warmer, the wind got drier, and Allergies Attacked. (Cue old-timey wobbly sci-fi noises.)*notably not woods, this will be relevant laterI have been miserable since Saturday. I even took two Covid tests just in case (both negative), but I've been sick enough in my lifetime to feel pretty sure this is not even a cold, just allergies so...
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The Art of Doing Nothing

A while back I saw someone on TikTok say "normalize doing nothing with your friends" as if it were some grand concept. The video showed their friends coming over for no reason, excited to not be...I don't even know what? The comments were all in agreement, saying they wish they could do this, or marveling over this novel idea. My mind was blown, personally. Doing nothing with my friends is my favorite activity. After I thought about it for a while, I did realize that this was maybe not always th...
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A Look Back

This past weekend, my family and I celebrated my Nana's 90th birthday. Technically she doesn't turn 90 until April 27th, but we were surprising her by getting almost all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren together to celebrate her, and this was simply the date that works best. 90 is such an impressive number, it got me thinking...what and who else is 90 years old?So, I went through Wikipedia and made a list of the things I found most fascinating. It's hard to conceive of 90 years, and...
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90s Con 2025

Over the past few years, when I tell people I'm going to something called "90's Con," I usually get one of two reactions. It's either "how do you have a convention for an entire decade?" and general confusion or, "oh my god that's awesome??" general excitement and jealousy. I would bet the difference is entirely dependent on how into pop culture the person was (or if they were even alive) in the 90s but of course MY friends and I were in the second camp when we first heard about it. We didn't kn...
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It's Okay to Change Your Mind

It's okay to change your mind.Whether your opinion has changed because time passed, you've had new experiences, or learned more information, it's okay to change your mind.This concept is something I struggled with when I was younger. When you identify with something for long enough, it's hard to shake it, even if you want to. Because of the comfort of the habit, or because it's how other people see you, or because you feel like a hypocrite, but the truth is, it's fine. A yes can turn to a no, a...
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Light Dawns on Marblehead

As a lifelong procrastinator, it's amazing what I can get used to just for the sake of putting off a task. And of course, the task is never as daunting as it feels, especially after months or even years of putting it off, but my anxiety (and possibly undiagnosed ADHD) works in such a way that the longer I put it off, the more the problem builds in my mind, and the less I feel able to do it.Sometimes it's less about anxiety, and more about "I'll do it later" but one thing leads to another and lat...
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Plant-Based Life

When I was in seventh grade, my friend from community theater did a report on the meat industry and how horrible it is not only for the animals, but also for the humans, because of all the hormones they pump into it, plus how bad it was for the environment. She was a few years older than me, so it might have been a high school report, but it was very detailed and very convincing. And Sesame Street had already primed me to be eco-conscious, always shutting off the water while I brushed my teeth a...
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On Awards Shows

I don't watch awards shows or reality competitions anymore, but I used to. I've been to Tonys parties with themed snacks, in college my friends and I would crowd into our sweet RA's single to watch Dancing with the Stars, I remember where I was when Kelly Clarkson became THE American Idol. The Emmys, the Oscars, and the Tonys used to be appointment viewing for me; whether I was with friends or on my own, I was going to be seated and, eventually, livetweeting along with everyone else. But slowly...
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