I am having the masculine urge to flex my cultural muscles this week, whatever that means. There are recs of all kinds. Music, TV, internet rabbit holes that feels insular but turns out we’re not as unique and one off as we think we are.
Romy’s Mid-Air is peak pop album to dance alone to. Which, I have done and revelled in the joy of it. An interview with beatportal, “It’s musically inspired by dance music and a love letter to the queer clubs I first went to when I was growing up and the people I met there. The music I heard that made me feel more alive and less alone.”
As an elderly millennial obsessed with fashion and fashion blogs of the 2010’s era, Rumi Neely’s Fashion Toast somehow was the first person to come up. Last I remember, she started a fashion brand ARE YOU AM I and I lost my parasocial relationship after that. A quick Google search led me to r/NYCinfluencersnark. It satiated my curosity. Feels good to be in on the tea. It’s a place for gossip among her followers to say how they truly feel, whether good or bad.
The other night, Substack pushed this piece on me: The Socially-Conscious Mean Girl by Eliza McLamb. Coincidence?? The piece analyzes the Reddit snark pages and what followers actually think about their favourite influencers. Fascinating!
I have fished some quotes for you TL;DR people:
There is something inherently enraging about a thin, white, cisgendered influencer who makes her money off occasional brand deals, embodying the hegemonic standard of beauty and trying to sell it to everyone else. It’s natural, and probably healthy, for people to release the pressure valve.
The snark page is dedicated to a woman, or multiple women. It’s always about women, even when it’s about men. Go ahead and look at the top posts on r/TimotheeChalametSnark — they’re all about Kylie.
Snark is the tool of the digital proletariat. [editor’s note: maybe my favourite line?]
I might be flying off the handle at this point, but imagine if these snarkers could utilize their skills effectively. These girls have research chops, and I really mean it. Imagine if they tracked political stock trades, snarked on the most recent anti-aging campaign from a billion dollar cosmetics company and made them change their branding, or organized a labor strike.
Alright, moving on!
The bar is just getting higher and higher just to do anything. Tech interviews require like 10 interviews and a kidney and that’s not a guarantee you’ll even get the job. But you know what will get you the job? This, via Magasin:
I first heard about Jessie Inchauspé in a YouTube short giving health information while sporting a Courrèges top and I was like who is this person?? An authoritative voice on biochemistry who dresses like she lives in the LES. After much research, I landed on this video that proves THE SALAD meets one of the glucose hacks. It has veggies, it has protein, it has fats, it has apple cider vinegar! It’s generally my first meal of the day.
There are no good or bad foods. It’s not fear mongering. No counting calories (which has always been a terrible idea). And fats are excellent! I love fats. I douse everything in EVOO if I get the chance. It’s a fats friendly house!
Oat milk is not the best, unfortunately. Oat = starch = sugar. But it’s all individualized so it might work for one and not the other.
Essentially, eat savoury foods for breakfast. Start every meal with vegetables. Eat your cake, but eat it after a meal. Don’t eat sugary foods on an empty stomach.
I went through a phase recently of making biscotti and kept eating it every morning until they were gone. The days that I started with biscotti, I found myself eating more sugary foods throughout the day. It all makes sense now.
Wow.
A few weeks ago, I finished Mr. and Mrs. Smith featuring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine. I had no expectations. Thought it was really slow and boring in the beginning. But then I really leaned into it. Honestly one of the best shows of 2024. The show is about relationships and being a spy is just the backdrop.
Also, Somebody Somewhere. Very gay. Couldn’t be gay enough. Surprised it hasn’t been axed by Zaslav yet.
Wasn’t sure about this look I wore this past weekend because I look like a social science grad student writing a thesis on billionaires colonizing Mars but I went with it anyway…
Another outfit pic from a few weeks back. I am reaching fashion blog of the 2010’s era! Daniel and I had just left Rooms Coffee. And yes, you should repeat your outfits. I am allowing myself to buy only FIVE new things this year. I used to allow myself 10 new items until I read Rule of Five. And maybe 2-3 vintage pieces. The last item I purchased was the NN07 jacket in October. But it was technically Uniqlo’s HEATTECH tights in November. Undergarments don’t count.
I have some low fidelity wire framing to do on Figma now for a portfolio piece I am working on. So. Much. Fun! Because I watched this video I am qualified to put Figma on my resume.
Enjoy the extra day in February.
Perry