We’re instituting a new tradition here at Feministe: Friday Favorites. We’ll post some of our favorite things, and then you post some of your favorite things, and we will all share favorites. It will be fun and great and fun. And funnest of all, there are no rules! You can post anything that is a current favorite. So here we go with a few of mine:
This song:
It’s so good!
Last week I was at the Winn Discount, a sort of has-everything store in my neighborhood, and there was a teenage girl (maybe 14?) in line in front of me with her mom. As she was going through the line, she grabbed a lip balm off the counter and said, “Oh my GOD mom, have you tried this lip balm?!?! IT IS THE BEST. THIS LIP BALM WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE AND IT TASTES SO GOOD AND SMELLS GOOD TOO. AND IT IS ONLY $4.50 AND AT SEPHORA IT’S LIKE $8 SO WE HAVE TO GET IT.” And her mom, wisely, was like, “Ok.” After they checked out, I totally grabbed some of the lip balm for myself, because 14-year-old girls typically know what’s up when it comes to good-tasting and good-smelling lip products (see, e.g., Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers). It was this lip balm. And she was right, it’s amazing, and it smells good and tastes good (I got the mint kind) and makes your lips kind of glossy, and it is my favorite thing this week.
Our own Lauren sent me this Etsy store and now I really want this sweatshirt. And at $28 it’s a real steal.
Some dude on Twitter got mad at me the other day and told me never to have children because I’m a “zero class cat lady” (lack of hyphen between “zero” and “class” his, not mine). That was by far my favorite insult of the week.
Ok your turn!
Avatar: The Legend of Korra
http://www.nick.com/videos/legend-of-korra-videos
(The above link doesn’t have the first episode, which you can find with a little searching, but I figured I shouldn’t post links of dubious legality on Feministe).
A current favorite of mine is the video by Polica – titled Wandering Star. I am mesmerized by this friggin’ video!
Hope you all enjoy it!
thank you, now so am I and I couldn’t even understand a word that was sung, I just like it alot
Jill! What a wonderful idea!
I’m really enjoying Macklemore’s hilarious new video Thrift Shop.
Me too!
Right? It’s been in my brain on repeat for the last two days and I don’t even mind!
The Truth About Nursing’s FAQ is simply fabulous. It debunks countless myths about nursing and presents a very accurate and comprehensive view of nursing.
Oh dear, my post kind of sounds like advertising. X_X Anyway, that’s my favorite thing this week.
This is brilliant! Many thanks from a fellow nurse. :)
Right now my favourite things are Neil Shusterman (YA author) and mead.
The online Flash game Robot Unicorn Attack.
I just laughed my ass off blowing up the unicorn
My favorite book (this week and every week) is Lonesone Dove by Larry McMurtry.
My current favourite thing is one of my best friends is finally discovering the awesomeness of Montreal for the first time and keeps sending me adorable text messages about it. :D
Your friend shows excellent taste. :D
Favorite new thing: a course at coursera entitled An Introduction to Mathematical Thinking.
Insult of the week: my neighbor calling Mr Kristen and I free love hippies for sharing a brief kiss while doing some yard work.
One of my favorite songs/music videos is Janelle Monae’s Many Moons.
Stonefire brand pita bread. (www.stonefire.com) I’m on my second package of the week because I just cannot get enough. Their naan is good too, but the pita has taken over my life.
Captain Awkward’s online advice column, and my husband’s eggplant “fauxsagna.”
My favorite fucked up thing:
My niece said to her mom, “You don’t get married. You’re a mom, nobody marries moms. Princesses get married.” Then every adult laugh-sobbed.
Ground cherries are my current favorite fruit. I grew some plants from seed and they’re just starting to ripen. It’s the first time I’ve had them in about six years and they’re just as delicious as I remember. If you have an opportunity at a farmer’s market or something, you should totally grab some.
OMG Ground cherries are really awesome. The CSA I work at has them as a pick your own crop.
I deeply love hamsters, and my mother’s hamster, Batman, is just a sweet guy who loves people. He got lost in his hamster ball the other day, and was so grateful to be rescued.
In that spirit, I share this video:
Right now I’m really enjoying Edmund White’s new book, Jack Holmes and his Friend. It’s pretty straightforward, but he’s such a good story teller.
Also, this video of Bill Nye (The Science Guy!) talking about why we need to teach our kids evolution, not creationism.
Peet’s Coffee Major Dickason’s Blend. Yes, that is a THING, that is what it is really called, and I promise you fine people that Major Dickason’s Blend is quite tasty.
I also just read the latest Locke & Key book, Clockworks, now I’m re-reading them all so I can then read Clockworks again. If you are a fan of amazing art and creepy, mysterious, intricate stories, you should check out these books.
Yes. Major Dickason’s. We buy this coffee 10-15 pounds of beans at a time. Best coffee.
Who doesn’t like a little Major Dick in the morning?
Nobody, that is who!
My favorite thing is the Curiosity Mars rover and the photos of the Martian landscape.
oh shit, the Winn Discount, spent so much time in there on my breaks from Union Market
when I wasn’t looking morose on a bench or something, you know
TAKES ME BACK (to 2010, whatever)
Favorite Thing: The majority of the science professors at the school I’ve just started at are women, as are the majority of the students. Wow!!
Least Favorite Thing: My Calc I course over the summer failed to cover a number of important topics for this Calc II class. I have been brute force memorizing formulas the last few days. Oh well.
This sentence is my favourite thing this week:
You are the king hell-ass best at being you, so you are the only one who can decide when you are Doing It Right.
from
http://captainawkward.com/2012/08/30/339-my-mom-gives-me-the-silent-treatment/#comment-24529
I want to embroider that ON MY SOUL.
Also on the same comment thread: the initial stage of success is to be dumb and fail a lot”
I love Captain Awkward and commenters.
“zero class cat lady”
Maybe it was zero class-cat lady. Or zero class-cat-lady.
Which explains why “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” is a favorite book.
Jill is a zero-class cat lady.
Jill is a zero, class cat lady.
Jill is a zero-class cat, lady.
Jill is a zero, class, cat, lady.
Jill is a zero; class: cat lady.
Jill, I would totally have your babies. If that were possible. But alas, my uterus only accepts genes enclosed in the sperm type variety.
Oh hey I’ve used that lip balm.
Favorite thing lately is slam poetry, trying to find a venue in my area; love Katie Makkai right now, here she is with “Pretty”
Thank you for sharing this – now it is one of my favorite things, too!
YES this is one of my absolute favorite poems. Taylor Mali does some fantastic ones, most of which are funny/inspiring (hilspiring? inspilarious?), though my favorite of his is Depression, Too, is a Type of Fire. I also highly recommend Sarah Kay. Sorry to glom onto your favorite thing, I just adore beat poems/spoken word, and I’m excited that other people are getting into it.
Goodbye to You by Michelle Branch
Anything Buffy related
Cordelia Chase and Fred Burkle
The blog ‘Hyperbole and a Half’ (literally ROFLing)
I laughed so hard at the fish story it hurt. I was in pain.
WHAT DID YOU DO! I have work to do and you introduce me to another blog! And its so funny I can’t stop reading. So. Wrong.
My favourite cocktail right now is the Bloodhound. It’s 3/4 oz dry vermouth, 3/4 oz sweet vermouth and 1 1/2 oz gin. You can add crushed strawberries if you like.
I really dig the cat sweatshirt, but my favorite on that site is the LOL I’M JUST KITTEN muscle tank.
From the US Open:
Favourites:
Kim Clijsters, down to her last event, chest-bumping her mixed doubles partner, Bob Bryan (along with ESPN’s general handling of Ms Clijsters’ retirement).
Laura Robson, fresh off her Olympic silver medal, backing up her victory over Ms Clijsters by taking out another major champion, Li Na. If Ms Robson were to keep winning, she could possibly face six consecutive opponents with at least one major championship.
Not-so-Favourites:
Lisa Raymond-Mike Bryan being upset in their first round match, when they would have played Clijsters-B Bryan had they won.
While one is used to however much one allows for partisan pro-US commentary never being enough, Brad Gilbert just has to push the envelope. It is one thing to mispronounce Gilles Simon or David Ferrer consistently, but making up deprecating nicknames for non-US players (“Granola bars” and “the Kerber baby” being prime examples) is sitting very badly.
One of my favorite authors talking about my favorite book (which was unfortunately turned into a Jim Carrey movie)
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEXFBxjyw3Y&w=420&h=315
I clearly need to learn how to do the embedding thing with the video.
Video of a cute puppy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-O_lFm-mBg
And this lady singing:
My favorite things right now are Moscato and a blue moon on my birthday.
Favorite insult from today, one I overheard: “She’s blonde, you know. She’s beautiful, but she’s dumb. She is DUMB.”
I just drank a liter of Moscato in a little over an hour and was wondering why I wasn’t drunk…it’s like 7.5% alcohol by volume! No wonder it tastes so good. Still a favorite, though.
Incidentally, I have been listening to the band Jill linked to all weekend. Also Nachos are Uh-MAAAAAAAA-zing and so easy to make just put cheese and tortilla chips and bake in oven for five minutes life changer right there.
And my own favorite would be the xx’s new song Angel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nW5AF0m9Zw
Listen, cry, repeat.
I loved that song, thank you – it was heartbreaking in a certain quivering and shattering way.
Perhaps this makes me sad, but I ardently search for Moscato that not only has the alcohol content percentage labeled, I then go for the higher ones. It’s hard to find, but when you do… 11% Moscato, hell yeah.
Also, still obsessed with The Xx. Still.
Because I am sometimes a sappy lady and always a highlife fan, I’m loving “Happy Day From Me to You.” It is really corny but also full of joy and love, which are good things.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWKXrxpD4Gc&w=420&h=315
Embedding fail! Attempt #2, after which I give up.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWKXrxpD4Gc&w=420&h=315
I love checking out all the awesome things you people post, this is a really great idea :)
My favorite things at the moment are Guild Wars 2, a really great new game, and A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence Krauss.
I like it, too. It’s nice to read about what’s making people happy. Go joy!!
I’m looking for a good novel to read. I really like literary fiction. Any suggestions?
Lauren, I was just thinking about re-reading W.G. Sebald. Have you read him? “Austerlitz” and “Rings of Saturn” are my favorites, but they’re all fabulous.
She’s strong–both in content and delivery.
I can’t suggest a novel right now. But you can always wait ten days and read the new Junot Diaz short story collection.
Oooh, good call.
Gotta brag…just finished my advance copy (I work in a bookstore), and DAMN it is good!
He’s a great writer, but I didn’t really like his treatment of female characters in “Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.” I suppose I just think that the prostitute with the heart of gold thing has been beaten to freaking death, and, in general, that the female characters lacked depth for me. I dream of the day when more women allowed past the gates of literary fiction! Or when those that do will be given equivalent hype. Herta Muller won the Nobel Prize and Marilynne Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize, just as Diaz has, but neither have been given a fraction of the attention. All of that’s not really Diaz’ fault, but I do hope he starts to develop his female characters more fully over time.
I felt the same way. Reading Diaz I am so blown away by his narrative voice — especially Oscar Wao — but his treatment of female characters really puts a damper on the reading experience for me. There are a whole lot of eyerolls and internal groans going on.
I can’t stop singing, “Hands off, crazy” from Cooch Watch here in Virginia. It’s so CATCHY. And they use the word vagina a LOT.
Favourite/weirdest thing this week: I had a dream. It was basically the plot of the Hunger Games, but with boats. Kinda build-your-own-minature-warship type boats. And the contestants all had to go to a library for clues at one point. So a fight to the death with homemade battleships combined with a treasure hunt, basically.
Maybe I should stop reading sci-fi/catching snippets of Jason Statham movies before bedtime…
Lauren, it may not be literary fiction but I’ve recently been rereading some lesser-known Ursula LeGuin recently that I’d highly reccommend: City of Illusions, an oddessy-like journey across the US after human-like aliens subjugate the earth. That description makes it sound far more sci-fi than it actually is, so I’m probably not doing it justice. The book is part of her loosely-joined Hainish cycle, where only relativistic space travel is possible and decades separate each world (also the setting for several better-known novels like The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed)
Thanks! I should finally break into lady sci-fi like I’ve been planning to forever, between Ursula LeGuin and Octavia Butler. I’m ashamed to say I’ve never read either.
Better new thing!
A scholar at Rhode Island University thinks that the human gestation length is due to metabolism, not constrictions of the pelvis vs. skull size. This fucks with a lot of what I learned in my classes and makes me wonder how much some of my old professors are cussing.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120827152037.htm
Having just returned from Portland, Maine, I have 2 favorite things this week: Bard Coffee and Whoopie Pies from Two Fat Cats Bakery. if you’re ever in Portland, try both.
Dark chocolate-covered marzipan. It brings me much happiness.
yesssssss. It has to be the soft middle-eastern kind though, none of that rock hard German nonsense.
I beg your pardon? German marzipan and chocolate is the best, I tell you, the best!
I don’t know if it’s too late to post, but I only found this on Saturday. It is now my favorite cat video.
The five-year-old and I just watched that video three times in a row.
I love this version of an awesome tune, and it reminds me of being young and in grad school:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NohMVqECIc4
And BTW, all the guest blogger drama brought back fond memories of my guest blogging stint here at Feminste.
My favorite thing this week are my sons’ “SuperHero Pose!!!!!!!!!” whenever someone looks sad they immediately point an index fingerin the air spread their legs bend their knees and say “SUPERHEROOOOOOO” and come running. It makes my heart feel super happy.
Also, my husband waking up at 3am so that he could stay awake with me after taking a pain releiver that doesn’t allow me to lie down for at least 10 minutes after taking it.
The best thing ever, definitely my favorite, from the Minnesota State Fair from this year. Guy in support of same-sex marriage goes to talk to the anti-SSM folks in their “joyless den of hate.”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o4MXCu61x4&w=560&h=315I was recently introduced to mountain biking (which is a new Favorite Thing), and at one point when I thought I was about to die while passing out while barfing, a friend gave me a Stinger, which is basically just a wafer-waffle-thing soaked in honey that is so delicious I almost wanted to continue passing out. So that’s my other new Favorite Thing.