Sunday, October 1, 2017

News and Things: September Favorites

This month has been a bit of a whirlwind, where all too much has happened, from all of us making the return jump to school and family life after two solid weeks of blissful vacation, to ending the month running a gamut of doctor's visits. It has been, on the whole, a bit of a pain.

To be perfectly honest, I've been ready for September to be over for a while now. I finally convinced our Family to set up all our Halloween decor last weekend, I've got a stack of 20 spooky movies downstairs next to the TV and a plan to watch as many as possible in the coming month, and out of the five of us who live in this house, we've already made it on to our fourth box of orange-and-black Oreos. October holds both my birthday and my second-favorite holiday, and I'm ready to start the celebrating right now.

And thank goodness, the time has finally arrived. I'm ready to stuff myself with everything apple and pumpkin flavored known to mankind, and reflect of all that I've learned in the past month (Lesson #523: throw out unused cosmetics and skincare).

As for the rest of it, we've seen some News. We tried some Things. So now, it's time for News and Things!




There's been plenty of discussion about Teen Vogue within the past year, as it becomes more politically active and diverse in both interests and model selections, for what was once simply viewed as one of the most unrealistic teen magazines. It's time to thank the mag's new visionary Editor in Chief for the shake up (and for the love of lip gloss, can the media stop condescending down to teen magazines?).

Between the flooding and hurricanes in the South and Puerto Rico, to the asthma-inducing fire and heat in the North, this past late August and early September has seen plenty of weather extremes... which is why pretending climate change isn't an issue is deliberately dumb and willfully stupid. Calculate your carbon footprint, and see what kinds of daily changes you can make.

How women write women, versus how men write women: what the new Bette Davis memoir - versus the new Ryan Murphy-helmed Bette Davis TV show - tells us about how women's lives are constructed and communicated when women are at the helm. 

While the name "Iggy Azalea" might not flit through your consciousness on a regular basis, it's fascinating to watch her overnight success, and just-as-fast plummet to D-List stardom, in this Jezebel article, charting her industry build-up and take-down in its entirety. 

In this month's surprising, not-surprising movie news: stop quoting the cerulean speech from The Devil Wears Prada, because it's not even an accurate description of the ways trends progress! (On all other counts, though, probably best to listen to Miranda Priestly.)

Have you thought about the outfit you'd like to be buried in? Unless you're a fan of Mary Roach's Stiff and Caitlin Doughty's The Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, like I am, probably not a whole lot. But thanks to a social media caption trend among teens, it's given this Racked author reason to reflect.

The Big Bang Theory is one of the most successful sitcoms on television right now, but its opponents can be just as fervent as its supporters. I've had a hard time describing my own issues with the show before - "easy" and "colloquial" humor, characters who rarely demonstrate personal growth, throwing in just as many intellectual buzzwords as necessary to keep up the charade that it's a "smart" show - but this video, classifying how the casual sexism and misogynistic humor in the show means for women in greater geek culture and Hollywood comedy, really lands the mark.

Fans of musical theater and food rejoice: Eater hosts a casual interview with the Pie Consultant (amazing job alert) for Waitress: the Musical on Broadway! 




Someone put a hold on my debit card, PBTeen has now launched a new Harry Potter collection! Granting you the ability to outfit your bedroom with plenty of wizarding wonder, I'm taking it as no coincidence that this collection was released at the same time I'm looking for a new set of bedding. I may have long graduated from my own castles of choice, but a college grad can still rock Patronus bedding, right?

I'm a huge fan of celebrity impersonators, and this expert reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" in 100 celebrity voices is a great way to get into the spooktacular season. (Personal faves include Adam Sandler, Rod Sterling, Sterling Archer, John Cleese, and Christopher Walken.)

My personal makeup standby - like that of many others - is undoubtedly my mascara. While I long stood by Tarte's "Lights, Camera Splashes," they changed the formula a couple of years ago, and I've been hunting for the perfect replacement since then... and when I heard that a drugstore fave had released a new waterproof mascara to rival Too Faced's "Better than Sex," I knew I had to try it! L'Oreal's "Lash Paradise" Waterproof is my new go-to, and has the benefit of being just as great as much more expensive mascaras. 

Bless the reality television gods, Project Runway is back on TV! Tim Gunn, Swatch, Heidi and crew are back and better than ever, and this season is seeing one of my favorite twists ever: all of the models are between the sizes 2 to 22, and if you think we'd get through the season without someone whining about styling plus size, you are wrong! (Seriously, it's like the contestants on this show have never actually seen a whole season before.)

Hi, I mentioned this in the intro, but I don't know if you heard me fully: we're now on our FOURTH BOX of Halloween Oreos, and October only started this morning. I know they're literally the same flavor as the original, with just an additional dose of food coloring... but we can't stop snacking!

I've long been a fan of hit musical Something Rotten, but didn't get a chance to see it in person until I came to Seattle's Fifth Avenue theater. What transpired: sassy Shakespearean takes, expertly inappropriate lyrics, and the perfect blend of awesome dance moves and Renaissance riffs. Take a few minutes of your day to listen to one of my favorite songs, "God, I Hate Shakespeare."



What have you been up to this September? What were your favorite News and Things? Let me know, in the comments below!

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