Links 2/17

A links post with a one day delay. I’ve officially started on a two week break (but can’t get too excited because we have two exams the week we get back) and I’m debating whether I should go to The Catacombs today or take a joint trip to Maison de Balzac and the Monet Marmottan Museum. It’s a rough life full of hard choices.

• Yara Shahidi was on Stephen Colbert, is turning 18, having a voting party, and is an amazingly well-spoken individual. I know it’s a cliche to say this, but we need more people like her in the world.
• In spite of my issues with The Shape of Water, I do think it’s a bit unfair to sum it up as ‘the film where the woman has sex with a fish’. That being said, someone designed a dildo inspired by Fish God. You can find anything on the internet and this is why we don’t deserve nice things.
• The inspiring knitwear of Prabal Gurung’s Fall 2018 collection.
• The Obamas’ official portraits have been unveiled at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. They’re both pretty amazing, both from an historical and artistic standpoint.
  Buuuut: here’s a counterpoint and a deeper reading.
• Wisecrack on how Monty Python shaped modern comedy (via postmodernism, the comedy of the absurd, and political satire).
• A thought-provoking personal essay about an ‘accidental wedding dress’ and accepting that life rarely/never comes with the closure of a settled and final happy ending.
• Similarly, this comic on the numerous ways to fill your heart and live a meaningful and love-filled life.
• A surreal video of a very fluffy doggo swimming underwater.
• The Louvre has created a Valentine’s-inspired Pinterest board. I’m particularly in love (no pun intended) the Antonio Canova’s sculpture of Cupid and Psyche.
• I’m not planing on watching the newly reimagined/animated Peter Rabbit film ever, but there’s been a bit of a kerfuffle about a scene involving food allergies. I don’t think there’s much to be upset about but part of the reason I am steering clear of the film is that even from the trailer it struck me as being crass and mean-spirited. And I wasn’t even a Beatrix Potter kid.
• And… a Disneyland social club is being sued for using ‘mafia-like’ intimidation tactics. What even is this world and what are people? Watch out for the White Rabbits or you’ll be swimming with the… flounder?
• Reaffirming my goal to spend less time on my phone and computer.
• I didn’t cry at this animated short, but I won’t lie- it did give me the feels.

Se Soigner

There isn’t even a pun to excuse my French title.
I’m just a pretentious elitist who thinks the French language is beautiful and kind of encompasses what I want to get across? Except of course it doesn’t really get it across because the majority of my readers (hypothetically, if I had readers- really I know it’s mainly Mom and dad out there- hi guys, how you doin’?) speak English, given that this blog is in English.

But whatever.

Given a few weeks for my resolutions to marinate, I’ve come up with some more concrete steps to take to care for myself. And it’s really necessary, given that I seem to have developed a forte for a) burning myself (I mean, I guess. That looks like a burn) and b) falling up/down stairs (is it still a shiner if it’s on your knee?)

So let’s do this!

• Start flossing again. You know how flossing is essentially the first thing to go when you’re tired and/or stressed. Given that I’m tired and/or stressed the majority of the time (sigh, modern life), it’s been a while since I’ve been solidly on the daily oral hygiene bandwagon. On the same note- mouthwash?
• Get a lighter. I have a candle (a beautiful beeswax one that my dad made me for Christmas (again, hi Dad!)  and I need to light its fire, as it were.  Can you imagine the self-soothing happiness and love from a softly glowing beeswax smell that reminds you of the love of a parental unit?
• Stay hydrated. The world is a broken record when it comes to staying hydrated, but do any of us really listen? I don’t.
• Take care of my feet. Now that I’m not a *competitive dancer* my feet aren’t necessarily a lost cause. In fact, they might even be resuscitated (resuscitable?). The problem is that it’s a bit chilly to not be wearing socks or slippers 24/7 and my feet want to breathe. I’ve noticed that I have some proprioception issues, so even when my feet are warm enough, I don’t tend to notice (which reminds me to take off my slippers now).
• Take my vitamins/supplements again. It’s been years since I took my vitamins regularly, which as a vegan is a bit of a no no. Time to get back on the B12.
• Listen to more music. Now that I’ve confirmed that my 10 year old ipod has not in fact been lost to the winds of time, my horizon of musical possibilities has been reopened.
• Stretch more. Especially during our class breaks. Sitting and smelling from 9-5 gets a bit exhausting for the body. I always feel so much better after I’ve moved a bit.
• Don’t skimp. I have a tendency toward self abnegation, which is a lot less now that I’m not anorexic. But there are still a few things I do that I only really realized recently are related to how I value myself.  So I’m going to really use my products for their purposes (i.e. definitely adequate amounts of moisturizer, replacing my contact solution daily, those kinds of luxurious/very necessary things).
• Replace my mascara and eyeliner. My mascara is almost empty and I’m hitting my pan on my MAC pot, which I’ve had since 9th grade anyway (for reference, I’m in 17th grade now). I shouldn’t have that stuff so close to my eyeballs.
• Listen to ASMR before bed if I want.

New Year’s Resolutions

I’m too lazy to do a straight up transcription, so here’s a photo.

I don’t usually make resolutions because the bleak midwinter seems like a terrible time to stress out over lifestyle changes, but I was feeling a bit inspired to take a more holistic view of the process and this is what I came up with.

Do you have any resolutions?
If you could pick a month for the year to start,which would you choose?
I would go for April or May, when it starts warming up in this hemisphere. Or July, because my birthday really is what the year should revolve around.

Friday Links 6/2

Happy first Friday of June! It’s hard to believe we’re almost halfway through 2017 already.
And as I know you’re wondering, a brief update my spring summer resolutions:

1. Yoga everyday: Successful, but mostly because I’m zealously practicing upside down tree pose (aka, a handstand)
2. Dry brushing: Also successful- I’ve dry brushed once every day.  It’s been good for my skin I think, especially because it helps me remember to moisturize.
3. Daily meditation: Failure. I haven’t meditated since I posted indicated my intent to do so.

And the image above is my new monthly desktop background. Alright, I think that’s all the updates.

Oh, no it’s not, I lied. Excitingly, this May that just ended was the highest-viewed month that List Mimsy has had, tallying at over 1,000 views. Thanks everyone!

Daily Practices (That I Do and Don’t Practice)

Annually, this is the time of year that I find myself making resolutions.  Despite being completely not on board with New Year’s lifestyle changes, there’s something about late spring/early summer that makes setting personal goals a lot more natural.

Looking to the future just happens a lot more organically when the weather is beautiful and the anxiety of university has dissipated.

So in the spirit of a lifestyle adjustment, I’ve been thinking about this idea of daily practices.
Specifically, practices I wish I had, practices I’m glad I do have, and practices that I would like to let go.