Wednesday Playlist

Along with the rest of the internet, I started listening to Olivia Rodrigo's new album last week, and basically haven't stopped since. (Truthfully, I had never heard of her prior to my initial stream of the first track on SOUR.) If you're in the mood for some youthful summertime heartbreak vibes -- it might seem like you wouldn't be but, trust me, you are -- give the record a listen from start to finish. Then let me know which song is your favorite. (Pretty sure mine is deja vu.) :)

Read More

Five New Movies I Can't Wait To See (+ One I *Did* Watch)

Please enjoy this alphabetized of films I look forward to watching ASAP. All titles are linked to their movie trailers :)

  

Minari: My yearning for movie theaters is most acute when something comes out that I simply cannot stream anywhere. Minari (the critically-acclaimed story about a Korean-American family in 1980's rural USA) has been out for a while, and we check weekly for its online release, but no luck yet.

Nobody: The movie I watched before my lazy ass finally published this blog post. Gruesomely violent. Cheesy in a self-aware kind of way. Very fun to see Bob Odenkirk starring in an ass-kicking action movie -- one that, presumably, is on-track to become a popular franchise, à la The Equalizer or John Wick.

Supernova: The kind of story that will probably shatter my heart. But, like, in a good way? (Side note: I want to be friends with Stanley Tucci. Who doesn't!)

  

Together Together: Seems cute and easy to watch. Perfect lazy Sunday afternoon fare. 

The Truffle Hunters: For someone who hates mushrooms, I find myself super attracted to this documentary! So curious to dive into its weird little world.

Zola: Bringing life to an epic twitter thread from 2015. Admittedly, the movie doesn't look great, but I'm down to watch it anyway because the real-life events were so bonkers.

What are you excited to see these days?

Image credit: Still from The Truffle Hunters

Read More

Something Fun: Elle's Song Association

The other night, just after getting into bed, I stumbled upon (and proceeded to get hooked by) Elle Magazine's Song Association web series -- effectively delaying bedtime for another thirty minutes while we watched famous people play a sing-song word game. The videos are really cute and catchy. Could be fun to play your own version with friends!

Next time you need a diversion, I highly suggest giving the playlist a scroll. Or just start with Lizzo's episode (she's the reigning champ) and go from there :)

Read More

Something Fun: Amy Sedaris' Home Tour

Hello, friend! How was your weekend? Mine whipped itself up into quite a whirlwind. As a result, I've fallen well behind on a ton of errands. (Sleep, too.) Cut to me, today, feverishly trying to make up for lost time.

In short, I lack the mental wherewithal to prepare a proper blog post. Instead, I'm going to share a fun video I recently, randomly unearthed that left me completely charmed over.

A few years ago, Amy Sedaris gave New York Magazine a tour of her quirky, super unique NYC apartment. I'm such a fan of hers -- she's so clever, bubbly, and delightfully weird. Turns out, those same qualities can also be attributed to her home! Watching this clip feels like falling into a bright, unpredictable rabbit hole (wherein you will find an *actual* rabbit).

I've now seen the video three times and, decisively, like Amy Sedaris more than ever before :)

Image credit: The Cut

Read More

Shrill!!!

I started watching Shrill about a week ago. Since then, I haven't stopped wondering...

Why the hell did I sleep on this show for so long? It's great! I was cringing and lol-ing within five minutes. (For those who have never heard of the show, the trailer will get you up to speed.)

A handful of reasons why Shrill is so damn good: Awesome cast -- how can you not love Aidy Bryant! Sharp, funny, relatable dialogue. Really cute wardrobe. Interesting relationships between characters. Bonkers the dog!

It's refreshing to watch a show that feels smart, honest, and also hilarious. The first episode alone covers tough issues head-on -- ambition, self-determination, body image, personal fulfillment, confidence -- without making you feel emotionally wiped out or like you're being preached to. 

If you like Insecure and Broad City, then Shrill is an easy shoo-in for your next favorite thing to stream. I should probably confess that I (already) finished the series this morning lol IN MY DEFENSE, there are only eight episodes per season. It goes by quick! Thankfully, season three comes out in May. Until then, I'll be right here, waiting impatiently ;)

Read More

Perspective (How's The Water?)

I'm not a podcast person. (Still working on it, though.) Instead, when the mood hits, I like re-listening to favorite speeches, interviews, movie clips, and whatever other tiny soundbite that got stashed away in my mental rolodex because it once struck a chord.

This Is Water, by David Foster Wallace, is one such thing. From the outset, it's just a commencement address he made in 2005 for a group of college grads. Pay an ounce more attention, you'll quickly feel how his message means so much more.

Like a lot of Wallace's other work, the speech is epically long and densely wordy. When you have twenty-three minutes -- yes, 23! -- to spare, listen to the audio below. (Or read the full transcript.)

I turn to this speech when I need reminding that SO MUCH of what is good in life comes down to your perception of the world around you. No, having an upbeat attitude won't pardon your credit card debt, nor will it cure disease. (Unfortunately.) It's more like: Challenge your prejudices and tired knee-jerk reactions, be considerate and open-minded -- in doing so, you are showing yourself love, and putting your soul at ease.

I mean, I think what he's trying to say. ;)

Read More

Watching 'Framing Britney Spears'

Framing Britney Spears is finally available to stream in Canada today (on Crave) and I'm so anxious to see it. Until recently, I had no idea her father still held a morally-questionable conservatorship over her entire life -- the shadiness of which is explored in the documentary.

Throughout the mid- to late-aughts, I voraciously consumed celebrity gossip. (dlisted was my favorite fix but, honestly any rag would do the trick.) You might remember Britney Spears was going through a really, REALLY rough patch around that time. Looking back, I'm ashamed of how gleefully I soaked up news of her very public troubles. Almost daily, media outlets relentlessly exploited some "new low" of hers -- I was too entertained by the cruel spectacle to comprehend that an actual, flesh-and-blood person was in mental distress. Instead, I witnessed someone spiral into crisis (practically in real-time) and considered it mere entertainment.

I could blame my callousness on being a young person with zero real-life experience. The truth? I was an ignorant jerk who should have known better.

Anyway. Apparently, the doc pulls the curtain back to expose injustices Britney Spears has endured in the last decade-plus. Here's hoping all this renewed attention will benefit her legal battles and, ultimately, help her regain autonomy. I'm planning to watch it tonight. Do you have any interest?

Read More

Everyone's Upstairs Neighbors

I hate to speak in grandiose generalizations, but... it really sucks to have upstairs neighbors.

While ours aren't The Worst Ever, they certainly qualify for Pretty Fucking Loud. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they knowingly wait until 11:30pm before starting to move heavy furniture back-and-forth across their apartment. Or jump rope. (Yes, seriously.) Or barrel down the stairs -- which are conveniently located alongside my bedroom wall lol fml -- and slam the front door AT FULL FORCE when leaving the building, regardless of the hour.

Almost. Every. Night.

ANYWAY. After a particularly annoying evening, I sought out a funny video from 2015 called Everyone's Upstairs Neighbors in hopes of improving my mood. It worked! 

Stewing in a shitty mood doesn't solve problems, but a little levity will almost always make you feel better. It's nice to have something small (like a goofy Youtube video) to turn to for perspective and a good laugh.

Do you have noisy neighbors? Are YOU the noisy neighbor??

Read More

More Illustrators I Really, Really Like

Happy Friday! I'd like to welcome the forthcoming weekend by sharing five illustrators I'm incredibly fond of following on social media.

Their work is sweet, funny, and (more recently) beautifully captures the vexing mood of living through a pandemic. I'll often seek out their work when I need cheering up... Or, on the flip side, when I'm less inclined to shake off a shitty vibe. Turning to their accounts feels good -- like commiserating with very clever friends. 

Here is a handful of my favorite pieces. I challenge you to visit the rest of their work and not start following their accounts ;)

Nina Cosford (@ninacosford):

  

  

Kristen Barnhart (@kb.illustration):

  

Giselle Dekel (@giselle_dekel):

  

  

Felicia Chiao (@feliciachiao):

  

Gemma Correll (@gemmacorrell):

  

Do you follow any illustrators on social media? I'd love to hear about them!

Image credit (top): Fold Magazine

Artwork credit: Each illustration is linked back to its source.

Read More

Book Clubbing

Time for a literary catch-up. Since I haven't finished a book -- or really even started one -- in February, here's what I read last month...

  

Fleishman Is In Trouble, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner.

Man, these were such unbelievably unlikable characters. You will only find two tolerable people in the whole novel: Solly, who basically serves as a literary construct designed to bolster sympathy for his father; and Rachel, who we're supposed to fucking loathe from the onset, because... a grouchy narrator tells us to? Frankly, in moments where I felt myself getting on-board with the story, I'd be pushed right back off when a character said/did an annoying, cringe-y, or mean-spirited thing -- which happened a lot.

Normally, when I'm struggling to get through a book, I let myself off the hook at the 100-page mark and move on. However, I'd been looking forward to Fleishman for a really long time, and was therefore super reluctant to give up on the story. I skimmed through the second half of the book and was relieved when it was over. (Sorry for the all the haterade.)

Nothing Good Can Come From This, by Kristi Coulter.

I can read dry, funny first-person essays all day long. This one maps the highs and lows of the author's break-up, so to speak, with alcohol. The book has tons of LOL-worthy moments, but it also has an equal amount of heavy, sometimes painful anecdotes and observations about strength, addiction, and human nature. Coulter's writing is self-aware, super thoughtful, so smart. I continue to find myself inspired by her determination :)

Mrs. Everything, by Jennifer Weiner.

Profoundly enjoyed this book! It hit all my favorite notes: female-driven, coming-of-age, multi-generational. The story left an emotional weight in my chest that was surprisingly hard to shake. Full disclosure: I cried at the end. (Which, in my book, is sign of a new favorite title being added to the collection.)

Have you read anything good lately?

Image credit: Oprah Magazine

Read More

What I'm Watching (Jan 1st to Feb 2nd)

A great side effect of seemingly endless sub-zero weather? Catching up on loads of television, guilt-free. (Baking cookies and drinking spiked coffee are also happy offshoots of being stuck indoors, but we can talk about those things another day.)

Here's what I've watched since the start of the new year. If you're stumped for something to stream, feel free to browse the list for inspiration :)

30 Rock (the final season). Hard to believe I never saw the last episodes of my beloved 30 Rock until now! (Liz Lemon was my roommate when I lived in NDG.) Wouldn't call this one the funniest season, but the show makes up for it by offering plenty of feel-good closure.

Dheepan. I gave Josh the biggest eye-roll when he suggested watching Dheepan on a Sunday afternoon. Seemed like one of those movies you're never really in the mood to watch because it's so sad and serious. Turns out, Dheepan is definitely both those things, but also really moving and immersive once the story gets going.

The Dissident. Documentary about the notorious assassination of a political journalist in 2018. I knew embarrassingly little about Jamal Khashoggi and was therefore gripped by the film. However, I hear it doesn't offer much more new information to viewers who already know his story.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Re-watching F&L for the first time in over a decade left me feeling oddly disconnected from the younger version of myself who loooved the movie. Don't get me wrong -- it's still wild AF and chaotically entertaining. This time around, though, I couldn't get on-board with its darker, more disturbing elements (which comprises about 95% of the screen time).

I Hate Suzie. A fun show! (Unless you're Suzie, I guess.) Sooo many cringe-y moments.

Klute. Why isn't the movie named after Jane Fonda's character? Anyway. I surprisingly liked how creepy it was.

The Matrix. 20+ years later, it was finally time to watch The Matrix. I was prepared for cheesy lines, bad special effects, and an abundance of sci-fi nonsense. Somehow, even now, it still works! Consider me a fan.

The Matrix Reloaded. To be clear, I'm only a fan of the first installment lol the sequel kind of sucked.

The Nest. Fun to watch for the late-eighties outfits and interior decor.

Nomadland. Fair to say Nomadland is both heart-warming and heart-wrenching in equal measure.

Promising Young Woman. Truly cannot remember the last time I was this unreasonably excited for a new movie. Sadly, it pains me to admit the trailer for Promising Young Woman might be better than the movie itself, which was less "revenge thriller" and more "deep dive into decades of trauma." I'm glad I watched it, just unsure I'd recommend it to everyone.

The Royal Tenenbaums. Very pleased to report I liked it just as much as always. (So, A LOT.)

Serenity. You know when you hear something is *so bad* it's actually a lot of fun? Serenity isn't that.

Sex and the City (seasons one to four). Re-watching Sex and the City eleven months into a pandemic made me realize one big thing: HOW MUCH I MISS SPENDING TIME WITH MY DAMN FRIENDS. Actually, another thing: HOW MUCH I ALSO MISS WEARING NICE CLOTHES AND IMPRACTICAL SHOES. (Okay, I'm done with typing in all caps.)

Sharp Objects. Extremely late to the game. Sharp Objects was interesting enough but, frankly, I'm sick of mystery-of-the-murdered-young-woman content.

South Side. Very funny! An easy, low-commitment show to watch. 

The Trip To Greece. The fourth chapter of a series where two wealthy middle-aged white men basically tour around Europe, eating and drinking and doing funny celebrity impressions along the way. (It's better than it sounds. Maybe.)

What have you watched recently?

Read More

Did You Watch The Diana Show (I Mean The Crown)?

Do you watch The Crown? I never got into it. However, I recently felt compelled to burn through its fourth season for one glaring reason: DIANA.

(If you guessed that I skipped nearly every non-Diana scene, you'd be correct.) (Okay, some bits with Margaret Thatcher were interesting, so I watched those too lol.)

For years, I've had an unwavering curiosity about The People's Princess. Maybe it's genetic? My mom was a devoted fan, as were most twenty-year old women in the early 80s.

I'm also a real costume nerd, and therefore couldn't miss The Crown's take on such a huge, historic style icon. Apparently, this is the most expensive show ever produced, with millions budgeted for each episode. I had high expectations.

Their wardrobe department did an incredible job nailing dozens of real-life looks. Some outfits could pass for full-fledged copies, while others (like the yellow overall situation) honored the original with a slight reinterpretation.

Indulge me in some television vs. reality oogling, as I share my favorite costumes from the series :)

Baby Di & Novelty Knitwear

Everyone is familiar with the black sheep sweater, right? It was rebooted this year and I narrowly avoided buying one for myself. (Meaning: I couldn't justify spending $300+ on a novelty sweater.)

Sooo Many Mid-Length Dresses

(OMG I could skim through photos of Lady Di outfits for hours.)

And then, we have what is arguably the most famous wedding of all time.

My big question is: Would you wear any of these looks yourself? Sign me up for them all, minus the pouffy wedding dress.

Image credit (top): Esquire
Image credit (costumes): Google

Read More