A Holiday Milestone: 100 Reasons to Celebrate

Hey everyone,

Bonnes Fêtes !

Today, I reached 100 subscribers, and it feels like the best kind of holiday gift—thank you. Your support, reading, sharing, and connecting, is what keeps me writing Finding Home Elsewhere. It’s so wonderful to know that there is an audience out there for whatever weird stuff I find.

Every comment, like, and interaction reminds me why I started writing this Substack (do we call it that?). Those connections are really satisfying and it really means so much.

While I wouldn’t call myself a Francophile, but here I am writing about stuff in France. And I do like France: I like its culture and its complications. There’s a lot of strange stuff here – it’s going to take me a long time to get to it all.

Lately, I’ve been writing about disco. It’s fun, and we could all use some fun right now. But disco is more than just feel-good music; I write about it because it’s a significant cultural movement and, in some cases, technically brilliant. Exploring it has given me a lot of unexpected insights into France, as unlikely as that might seem.

It makes me proud that some of my most popular stories were about my getting embarrassed over someone else’s clean knickers – or not, my endlessly awkward moments in France, a simple consideration of lentils, or a great conversation with my dear friend Johnny Diaz about his move the United States.

coming soon

Writing this, I want to keep things light yet insightful, informative but delivered in a way that feels like pulling on a thread, seeing what thing connects one odd idea to another.

Looking ahead, there’s so much to be excited about. The third podcast interview (with Will Scheckel!) will drop soon, and Will is a really fascinating guy and I had a great time with the interview.

I have had the pleasure of interviewing many people at this point and there are even more planned. I am so excited about Jett Morris’s, Sandalore Sykes’s and Anna Wilson’s interviews being published soon. Each of them, amazing women who moved to other countries to find home in a new country.

I promise to get to them all soon.

If you enjoy stories about life in France, fascinating interviews, and personal stories about weird cultural moments, share Finding Home Elsewhere with others!

However you’re spending this season, thank you.

Let’s talk soon.

Keith

A bit of holiday music

Eartha Kitt’s Santa Baby, 1953

“Santa Baby” was the top-selling Christmas song in the US in 1953. It’s amazing that it even exists given the barriers Black performers faced in the U.S. at the time. Despite this, Kitt’s extraordinary talent shines through and was clearly recognized at the time.

It was a part of the movie version of the Broadway hit “New Faces” released in the same year, launching the careers of several artists, including Mel Brooks.

Later, after being blacklisted in the U.S. for her outspoken criticism of the Vietnam War during a 1968 White House event, Kitt found refuge and acclaim in France. She performed in Parisian cabarets, deepening her connections to the country.

For me, it’s just enough reason to share a song I hope you’ll love from an iconic performer.