Links 6/4

Due to a weekend-trip hiatus (NYC was great, thanks), this links post is a bit later than usual.  Coincidentally, many of these links seem to have a bit of an LGBTQ theme.
Happy Pride!

Let’s get the smell stuff out of the way first:

• Auklets are a bird species in which males demonstrate fitness not only by very fancy and sexy crests, but seemingly also by emitting a strong tangerine scent, research finds.
• Study finds that activation of a certain smell receptor speeds the progression of prostate cancer, suggesting new treatment methods via blocking of the receptor.
• Department stores reevaluate traditional beauty and fragrance marketing techniques as the beauty industry changes.

All the feels:

• One of the best things about the cultural shift toward acceptance of LGBTQ lifestyles (beyond thousands of people being able to live their truth) is the uptick in adorable stories like this.
• This animated short made me cry.
• If babies wrote travel reviews, too funny.

Film thoughts:

• You may have hard of the Post-Western- are we living in the age of the Post-Hero?
• DC vs Marvel action scenes (and why Marvel’s are so much better). Despite not being a fan of either company, I thought this was a very interesting analysis.
• The Power of the Vampire Myth
• Why Solo isn’t doing as well as previous Star Wars films.

Current events:

• A comedy bit about Mamoudou Gassama, France’s immigrant hero (but mostly about the French).
• Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, and my own interracial relationship.

Odds and Ends:

• The ‘twink’ controversy: Why can’t black men be twinks? and Can men be objectified? A response to the ‘twink’ controversy.
• Mental health is a journey: five lessons learned from treatment.
• How to get ride of clutter
• Two lovely children’s books: Prince and Knight and Julian is a Mermaid.
• Oh no.

Links and Things

After a short hiatus that coincided with finals period and stress and projects, I am back in the US of A and home in Boston where there are cats and vegan food and gardens that need working it.

And a smallish backlog of links.

• All about the three-person committee that approves (and rejects) baby names in Iceland.
• “When you’re feeling frisky, try slow dancing in your kitchen with a healthy twenty centimeters of clearance in between your torsos.” and other sex advice from a woman in a Cialis commercial.
• The Problem with “Not Caring” about Pop Culture: relevant, revolutionary stories can come from anywhere — even a makeover show.
• Insert Millennial joke about Etat Libre d’Orange making a fragrance specifically for me [here].
• Yale University advancing the science of smell.
• This short story made me tear up… nice to be given back some faith in humanity.
• Very extra background extras– even better than Part 1.
• Just over here learning about The Dutch Angle.
• The story tellers who read aloud to Cuban cigar rollers. Wow.
• The story of the pilot who landed the Southwest Airlines flight.
• Cardi B is changing how black women are pregnant in public.
• Eight decades of royal British corgis are at an end.
• An analysis of The Simpsons and the Problem with Apu. Just jump right in here at Part 2.
• And a whole lot of exciting trailers: Solo, The Meg, The Incredibles 2, Mary Shelley, Hot Summer Nights (Heyyy, Timothee Chalamet!), Hereditary, Three Identical Strangers.

Friday Links: 4/1

I’m weirdly exhausted by life/final exams/the sporadically broken heating system in this  house. But I have a backlog of links and they’re all exciting so there’s no putting them off any longer.

And because it’s a new month, the picture above is my new desktop background. Set to tile, as per usual. People swimming in a sea of stars.

What else? 19 days. So close yet so far.

• Reviews of Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs. I’m still pumped because I like Wes Anderson (and dogs), but it sounds like there are some pretty ishy us vs them components.  Won’t be seeing it in the theater. Here’s a review from MovieBob and here is a deeper plunge into the problematic nature of the Japanese setting, the estrangement from the Japanese human characters created by the language barrier,  cultural tourism, and the white savior complex.
• The movies that influenced Call Me By Your Name. Be right back, adding ALL OF THEM to my list. (Except A Room With A View- I honestly didn’t love that).
• Other things I’m adding to my film list? These twisted fairy tales (from female directors).
• A trailer for The House With a Clock in it’s Walls– speaking of twisted fairy tales. Cate Blanchett! Luscious steam-punk-y visuals! Jack Black doing his character actor thing! Creepy! Childlike! I’m kind of tentatively intrigued. Post-Jumanji, is Jack Black due for a resurgence?
• A discussion of Saoirse Ronan’s costumes for the film Brooklyn, and the deeper meaning behind them. So interesting (and a great film, if you haven’t yet seen it).

Let’s talk about perfume:

• Five fabulous orange blossom scents, courtesy of Angela at Now Smell This. Of these, the Serge Lutens is my favorite, but I would add Rubj by Vero Profumo to the list if I could. (And on the more gourmand side, Hansa Yellow by DSH and Unknown Pleasures by Kerosene).
• Carlos Benaim (love) and Frederic Malle on their new lavender-focused fragrance, Music For a While.
• Hermes releases a new cologne. Unfortunately I missed the Saut Hermes (a jumping tournament at the Grand Palais), but here’s a photo.
• If you’re feeling science-y (I always am) here’s a study that shows evidence of significant interactions between perfumes and individual body odor.  The takeaway: “The odor mixture of an individual’s body odor and their preferred perfume was perceived as more pleasant than a blend of the same body odor with a randomly-allocated perfume, even when there was no difference in pleasantness between the perfumes. This indicates […] that people choose perfumes that interact well with their own odor. Our results provide an explanation for the highly individual nature of perfume choice.” So cool.

Fashion and celebrity people:

• Lena Waithe is amazing and I love her style and attitude.
• Bill Cunningham’s secret memoir. When can I read it?
• I know I’m late, but in honor of spring (and Easter) some floral looks from Moschino’s S/S 2018 RTW collection: 1 and 2.

Relationships?

• The maternal grandparent advantage. Rings true for my family (although that also has something to do with geographic proximity). And congratulations Mom and Dad, you are likely to be more involved with my future children than my future parents in law!
• Your friendship Myers-Briggs. As an INFJ, apparently I’m a bandaid and I’ll take it.
• For work relationships. I’m living vicariously through the drama of this twitter thread.
• In old age, shoplifting to find community. Heartbreaking.

Books and other tidbits

• I saw this adorable kid’s maze book at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. It reminds me of an immense Sesame Street board book I once had. But rather more portable.
• Mari Andrew’s book is out! Love her illustrations and down to earth wisdom.
• Another reason to go home for the summer? Archery tag.
• A French waiter in Canada says firing for rudeness is discrimination against his culture. He’s not wrong.
• If you’re not a fan of the lack of privacy re: data and personal info online, console yourself with the fact that if you ever disappear in a national park, amateurs can keep looking for you for decades. But it’s actually a very interesting, well-written article.

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

Links 2/26

Happy Friday Monday!

I haven’t been posting much/at all this past week because I’m traveling and on break and in Spain (and tomorrow I’ll be meeting my parents in Malta).  But this evening I’m being antisocial and hanging out in my basement room, and I have a few links to dispense with.

• A few exciting trailers:
  On Chesil Beach, with Saoirse Ronan, based on the novel by Ian McEwan. I’m kind of excited because 1) Saoirse and 2) Ian McEwan. But I tried to read On Chesil Beach and had to put it aside. I just wasn’t interested, but that’s been my experience with every McEwan novel that wasn’t Atonement.
  MFing PANDAS
  More films to get excited about (Thanks, Bob!). I’m so here for a Lizzie Borden biopic. And Ocean’s Eight. And Incredibles II (as I’ve said 50+ times). And Padmaavat (which I haven’t talked about yet). And Jamie Lee Curtis returning for Halloween. Gasp.
• All I do is think about movies. Here’s a spicy biopic. Weirdly inspiring and heartwarming story, actually.
• Speaking of biopics- Lupita Nyong’o is going to play Trevor Noah’s mother and it’s perfect.
• On breaking the stigma around vaginal health and getting familiar with your vulva. Are we such strangers because of a prudish and anti feminine culture of because it’s located at such a weird and difficult to see place on our bodies? I don’t know.
• What it feels like to slide downhill at 90 mph.
• A review of one of my favorite films of all time.  The dubbing never bothered me anyway.
• The new choir teacher.
• An Olympics streaker in tutu and monkey penis pouch. You do you.
• I love Livia Marin’s Nomad Patterns series.
• Adorable and hilarious illustrated guide to dog breeds.  Check out the creator’s tumblr here.
• A lovely personal article about the promise of gay Olympians like figure skater Adam Rippon.

Last Links of 2017

Happy New Year’s (Eve) depending on where you are!

This is the last selection of links for the year of 2017, and it’s a blessedly short one.

Do you have New Year’s plans? It’s been bitterly cold here in Boston and will continue to be so tonight, so my evening looks like a cuddly warm stay at home affair. If I manage to stay up past 9:30. Jet lag. It’s still real.

• Speaking of 2017 (good riddance?) a parting look at all of the random pop culture moments you may have forgotten. Including the Sesame Street cover of Despacito.
• MovieBob trashes The Greatest Showman and I’m here for it.
• Other things that I’m here for? This beautiful collection of Italian cuisine-themed jewelry designed by Alison Lou. The collection name? Mama Mia.
• The importance of female creators in the niche perfume industry.
• The Reasonable Toddler, an adorable/hysterical series of illustrations by Lucy Kinsley.
• This Last Jedi training featurette (no spoilers) makes me want to be a badass.
• Loving Angelica Dass’s work (see top image). Here’s her Ted Talk.

Late Links 9/16: Let’s do this thing!

Hi! Let’s do a quick rundown on my personal life since last Friday links post. I’ve moved to France.

That was shorter than I expected it to be.

Friday Links 8/18

Hi all.
Boy has it been an eventful week. I hope you’re well and taking care of yourself in the best ways you can.

There are a bunch of links this week, some just for fun and some about current events.

Friday Links 8/11

Firstly, thank you for helping me reach 60 followers! I’m very touched that people enjoy reading this blog enough to submit to a never-ending influx of post notifications.
Also I’m picking up my Visa today. And maybe finishing up my tour of the Greater Boston area vegan pizza scene (i.e., three restaurants).

Also also, I may have broken my toe this morning. This has been a summer full of walking into things and burning myself on heating elements. And cooking, but I guess that goes with the heating element part.

So what else is new?

Friday Links 8/4

As usual, here is my new desktop background for the month of August. As usual, it is tiled and I have no idea where it came from.

After a one week break from links, we here at list Mimsy (i.e., me) are back. Capisce?
Capisce.

Can I Just Talk About Movies For a Minute (or Twenty)?

Firstly, a brief apology that my posting has fallen off (that said, one a day is a bit tricky to maintain- which is the same reason I haven’t taken my vitamins for maybe two months). I blame my “moving to France” preparations. And also I am so tickled that that’s a thing- the best kind of preparations to be making and complications to be having.
But it really does make me annoyed with the government- both governments, America’s and France’s. Anarchy!!!

Okay, I’m done.
You may remember that I did a post some not very long distance of time ago about the movies that were coming out this year, they’re various release dates, what I was excited to see and what not. Well, I foolishly assumed that that would cover my new and unseen film enthusiasm at least for a few months- until the films started popping up that I hadn’t yet heard much about.

It doesn’t seem to have even tided me over for a week.