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Category: The Texas Observer

Kit’s Best of 2024

Posted in Austin, Journalism, Life, The Advocate, The Barbed Wire, and The Texas Observer

What a ride this year was—the highs were very high and the lows were very low. But at the same time, I can look back at 2024 and feel proud.

Probably my proudest moment this year wasn’t something I wrote, but that someone else wrote about me. In September, the Columbia Journalism Review profiled my work and career. Journalist Lucy Schiller spent days getting to know me and shadowing me while I reported, and photographer Montinique Monroe made me feel incredibly comfortable and look incredibly cute. I couldn’t be happier with how this turned out, and I’m honored that they thought me worth profiling.

Texas Observer: Fuck You, Greg Abbott! (The Musical)

Posted in Austin, Journalism, and The Texas Observer

Some theater experiences are dignified and serious, exploring the depths of human emotion with gravitas and solemnity. On the other hand, there’s “Young Greg Abbott: A FuQusical.”

“This ain’t a subtle show, just thought you should know,” sang the band leader, King Amy Blackard, at the beginning of “Young Greg Abbott,” a satirical show which saw its first two full performances on October 18 in Austin. “Please save your thoughts and prayers. It’s just Sondheim with swears.”

At this “FuQusical,” the audience was encouraged to sing along, shout, and curse at the cast—especially at the actor, Brently Heilbron, playing the youthful version of our now third-term governor. Heilbron also wrote the script and music. Many middle fingers flew during the performance I attended, among the packed crowd at the downtown State Theatre.

Texas Observer: Long COVID Sufferers Demand to Be Heard

Posted in Austin, Journalism, and The Texas Observer

Most people survive the Coronavirus with their kidneys intact. But not 34-year-old Austin resident Vanessa Ramos. 

An experienced community organizer with nonprofits like the Sierra Club, Ramos was healthy and active before she got infected. Then she caught the COVID-19 virus in December 2021, and symptoms lingered through the new year despite her efforts to focus on healing and recovery. 

“I was trying to prioritize my physical health because I couldn’t lift things; I couldn’t open things,” Ramos recalled. “I didn’t understand why I was getting weaker.”

Review: The Queen vs. Texas (at SXSW)

Posted in Austin, Journalism, LGBTQIA, SXSW, and The Texas Observer

When the drag queen known as Hermajestie the Hung  reached her breaking point, she transformed into the Joker, becoming the  scourge of patriarchy, homophobic lawmakers, and anti-transgender  bigots everywhere.

“She’s that queen that’s just had enough,” Hermajestie told the Texas Observer.

In Print: Long COVID feature out now in Texas Observer!

Posted in Journalism, and The Texas Observer

Millions of Texans are suffering from long COVID and you might be surprised to learn that many of them are young and formerly healthy. Studies show that the more often you get infected, the more likely you are to have lingering, potentially life-changing health effects.

Look for it in print in the Texas Observer magazine now, and online later this month.