#the decadence of the wealthy they can eat as many of the pink stuff as they want

[breitzbachbea]

Just remembered Daidí na Nollag and Babbo Natale and I wish I wouldn't.

[crowdvscritic]

round up // NOVEMBER 20

Hi, I’m tired. Actually, my friend Celeste created a piece of art that puts the emphasis needed on that sentiment:

I’m very tired. November felt like it was three years and also felt like it went by in a blink and also I’m not sure where October ended and November began—how does time work like that? (I’ve yet to see Tenet, but maybe that will explain it.) But like Michael Scott, somehow I manage, and lately it’s been like this:

Late-night Etsy scrolling. Browsing beautiful, non-big-box-store artwork is very calming just before I go to bed. I’d recommend Etsy stores like Celeste’s chr paperie shop, which I know from experience is full of great Christmas gift ideas. 

Taking a day off of work to do laundry. I’m not sure if it’s more #adulting that I did that or that I was excited to do that.

Eating Ghiradelli chocolate chips straight from the bag. I actually don’t recommend this as a healthy option, but this is also not a health blog.

Watching lots and lots of ‘80s movies. One day I’ll ask a therapist why this decade of films is so comforting for me despite its many flaws, but for now I’m just rolling with it.

Reading. Have you heard of this? It’s a form of entertainment but doesn’t require screens—wild!

Memes. All good Pippin “Fool of a” Took jokes are welcome here.

Leaning into the Christmas spirit by ordering that Starbucks peppermint mocha, making plans to watch everything in that TCM Christmas book I haven’t seen, and keeping the lights on my hot pink tinsel tree on all day as I work from home.

This month’s Round Up is full of stuff that made me smile and stuff that sucked me into its world—I think they’ll do the same for you, too.

November Crowd-Pleasers

Sister Act (1992)

If in four years you aren’t in an emotional state to watch election results roll in, I recommend watching Whoopi Goldberg pretend to be a nun for 100 minutes. (Though, incidentally, if you want to watch that clip edited to specifically depict how the results came in this year, you’ll need to watch Sister Act 2.) This musical-comedy is about as feel-good as it gets, meaning there’s no reason you should wait four more years to watch it. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

Nevada Memes

Speaking of election results, Nevada memes. That’s it—that’s the tweet. Vulture has a round up of some of the best.

SNL Round Up

Laugh and enjoy!

“Cinema Classics: The Birds” (4605 with John Mulaney)

“Uncle Ben” (4606 with Dave Chappelle)

RoboCop (1987)

I’m not surprised I liked RoboCop, but I am surprised at why I liked RoboCop. Not only is this a boss action blockbuster, it’s an investigation into consumerism and the commodification of the human body. It’s also a critique of institutions that treat crime like statistics instead of actions done by people that impact people. That said, it’s also movie about a guy who’s fused with a robot and melts another guy’s face off with toxic sludge, so there’s a reason I’m not listing this under the Critic section. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

Double Feature – ‘80s Comedies: National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) + Major League (1989)

The ‘80s-palooza is in full swing! In Vacation (Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 8/10), Chevy Chase just wants to spend time with his family on a vacation to Wally World, but wouldn’t you know it, Murphy’s Law kicks into gear as soon as the Griswold family shifts from out of Park. The brilliance of the movie is that every one of these terrible things is plausible, but the Griswolds create the biggest problems themselves. In Major League (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10), Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, and Wesley Snipes are Cleveland’s last hope for a winning baseball team. Like the Griswolds, mishaps and hijinks ensue in their attempt to prevent their greedy owner from moving the Indians to Miami, but the real win is this movie totally gets baseball fans. Like most ‘80s movies, not everything in this pair has aged well, but they brought some laughs when I needed them most.

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens (2020)

They’re born a minute apart in the same hospital, but they don’t meet until their 30th birthday on New Year’s Day. So, yes, it’s a little bit Serendipity, and it’s a little bit sappy, but those are both marks in this book’s favor. This Time Next Year is a time-hopping rom-com with lots of almost-meet-cutes that will have you laughing, believing in romantic twists of fate, and finding hope for the new year.

Double Feature – ‘80s Angsty Teens: Teen Wolf (1985) + Uncle Buck (1989)

In the ‘80s, Hollywood finally understood the angsty teen, and this pair of comedies isn’t interested in the melodrama earlier movies like Rebel Without a Cause were depicting. (I’d recommend Rebel, but not if you want to look back on your teen years with any sense of humor.) In Teen Wolf (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 5/10), Michael J. Fox discovers he’s a werewolf.one that looks more like the kid in Jumanji than any other portrayal of a werewolf you’ve seen. It’s a plot so ‘80s and so bizarre you won’t believe this movie was greenlit.

In Uncle Buck (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7.5/10), John Candy is attempting to connect with the nieces and nephew he hasn’t seen in years, including one moody high schooler. (Plus, baby Gaby Hoffman and pre-Home Alone Macauley Culkin!) This is my second pick from one of my all-time fave filmmakers, John Hughes (along with National Lampoon’s Vacation, above), and it’s one more entry that balances heart and humor in a way only he could do. You can see where I rank this movie in Hughes’s pantheon on Letterboxd.

Lord of the Rings memes

This month on SO IT’S A SHOW?, Kyla and I revisited The Lord of the Rings, a trilogy we love almost as much as we love Gilmore Girls. You can listen to our episode about the series on your fave podcast app, and you can laugh through hundreds of memes like I did for “research” on Twitter.

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson (2019)

Most adults are afraid of children’s temper tantrums, but can you imagine how terrified you’d be if they caught on fire in their fits of rage? That’s the premise of this novel, which begins when an aimless twentysomething becomes the nanny of a Tennessee politician’s twins who burst into flames when they get emotional. The book is filled with laugh-out-loud moments but never leaves behind the human emotion you need to make a magical realistic story.

An Officer and a Gentlemen (1982)

Speaking of aimless twentysomethings and emotion, feel free to laugh, cry, and swoon through this melodrama in the ‘80s canon. Richard Gere meanders his way into the Navy when he has nowhere else to go, and he tries to survive basic training, work through his family issues, and figure out his future as he also falls in love with Debra Winger. So, yeah, it’s a schamltzier version of Top Gun, but it’s schmaltz at its finest. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

November Critic Picks

Double Feature – ‘40s Amensia Romances: Random Harvest (1942) + The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

Speaking of schmaltz at its finest, let me share a few more titles fitting that description. In Random Harvest (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10), Greer Garson falls in love with a veteran who can’t remember his life before he left for war. In The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10), Gene Tierney discovers a ghost played by a crotchety Rex Harrison in her new home. Mild spoiler: Both feature amnesiac plot developments, and while amnesia has become a cliché in the long history of romance films, Harvest is moving enough and Mr. Muir is charming enough that you won’t roll your eyes. You can see these and more romances complicated by forced forgetfulness in this Letterboxd round up.

The African Queen (1951)

It’s Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn directed by John Huston—I mean, I don’t feel like I need to explain why this is a winner. Bogart (in his Oscar-winning role) and Hepburn star in a two-hander script, dominating the screen time except for a select few scenes with supporting cast. The pair fight for survival while cruising on a small boat called The African Queen during World War I (in Africa, natch), and the two make this small story feel grand and epic. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

A young man’s (Dennis Price) mother is disowned from their wealthy family because she marries for love. After her death, he seeks vengeance by killing all of the family members ahead of him in line to be the Duke D'Ascoyne. The twist? All of his victims are played by Sir Alec Guinness! Almost every character in this black comedy is a terrible person, so you won’t be too sorry to see them go—you can just enjoy the creative “accidents” he stages and stay in suspense on whether our “hero” gets his comeuppance. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife (1937)

What would you do if you found out you were to be someone’s eighth wife? Well, it’s probably not what Claudette Colbert does in this screwball comedy that reminds me a bit of Love Crazy. This isn’t the first time I’ve recommended Colbert, Gary Cooper, or Ernst Lubitsch films, so it’s no surprise these stars and this director can make magic together in this hilarious battle of the wills. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

The Red Shoes (1948)

I love stories about the competition between your life and your art, and The Red Shoes makes that competition literal. Moira Shearer plays a ballerina who feels life is meaningless without dancing—then she falls in love. That’s an oversimplification of a rich character study and some of the most beautiful ballet on film, but I can’t do it justice in a short paragraph. Just watch (perhaps while you’re putting up your hot pink tinsel tree?) and soak in all the goodness. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 10/10

The Third Man (1949)

Everybody loves to talk about Citizen Kane, and with the release of Mank on Netflix, it’s newsworthy again. But don’t miss this other ‘40s team up of Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles. Cotten is a writer digging for the truth of his friend’s (Welles) death in a mysterious car accident. Eyewitness accounts differ on what happened, and who was the third man at the scene only one witness remembers? 71 years later, this movie is still tense, and this actor pairing is still electric. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

The Untouchables (1987)

At the end of October, we lost Sean Connery. I looked back on his career first by writing a remembrance for ZekeFilm and then by watching The Untouchables. (In a perfect world I would’ve reversed that order, but c’est la vie.) In my last selection from the ‘80s, Connery and Kevin Costner attempt to convict Robert De Niro’s Al Capone of anything that will stick and end his reign of crime in Chicago. Directed by Brian De Palma and set to an Ennio Morricone soundtrack, this film is both an exciting action flick and an artistic achievement that we literally discussed in one of my college film classes. Connery won his Oscar, and K. Cos is giving one of the best of his career, too. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9.5/10

Remember the Night (1940)

Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck in my favorite team up yet! Double Indemnity may be the bona fide classic in the canon, but this Christmas story—with MacMurray as a district attorney prosecuting shoplifter Stanwyck— is a charmer. I’ve added it to my list of must-watch Christmas movies—watch for some holiday cheer and rom-com feels. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

Photo credits: chr paperie. Books my own. All others IMDb.com.

[alanncs]

hello all ! my name’s dani , i’m one of the main admins & i can’t tell u how excited i am to have wealthy up n running again ! i can’t wait to plot with all you beautiful peoples , pls like this & i’ll slide in the dms , otherwise u can also hit me up on discord 𝟞𝖌𝖔𝖉♡#1958  !! i’m gonna put all you need  2 know about alanna below aaand i hope y’all like her ! <3

new york’s very own alanna deniro was spotted on broadway street in gucci bee sneakers . your resemblance to hailey baldwin is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your twenty first birthday bash . while living in nyc ,  you’ve been labeled as being reticent , but also gracious . i guess being a scorpio explains that . 3 things that would paint a better picture of you would be anything pink , the lingering smell of weed , and a cigarette between her fingers . &  ( cisfemale & she/her  )  +  ( dani , 20 , she/her , est . )

☇   ❪    ˚･ﾟ ❛  backstory !! tw: kidnapping , ransom , drugs

alanna was born heir to the deniro family , which came with the billion dollar dynasty that her father created - hotels , stores , brands , cars , etc . anything u  could think of really

she grew up accustomed to the spotlight, having no choice when it came to that considering her family had been in it for decades

she had everything handed to her on a silver platter and her parents expected nothing but success from her because of how wealthy they were, they knew they would never have to worry about providing for her and her siblings , and so they spoiled her with whatever she asked for and more

but that came with a price, she was expected to do everything they wanted of her, go to an ivy league college, follow in one of her parent’s career footsteps

alanna did just that, she got amazing grades in high school and was head of many student clubs, organized prom, got almost perfect on sat’s and exams, and busted her ass to get into a good college despite the fact that her parents could’ve easily gotten her a spot if she didn’t do as well as she did

her life was going so well, she had the perfect boyfriend, perfect group of friends, was on her way to brown university in a couple of months, her parents and her couldn’t have been in a better spot with their daughter

the last thing they expected was for someone, a stranger, to get their hands on their daughter . a week after her 18th birthday , she’s walking to school on a monday morning and before she knows what’s happening , there’s something over her head and she’s being dragged into a van and taken from her life

the one thing that was expected, was the $10 million ransom she was held for

they kept her for 48 hours before her parents were able to work with the authorities to get her returned and pay the people in full

once alanna was returned, she wasn’t the same

she told the police what happened to her , but only barely . she didn’t tell her parents or anyone else about what they did to her when she was gone . 

she didn’t speak , eat or sleep for two weeks after she got home

she spent the last few months of her high school in bed, she didn’t attend her graduation, deferred from going to brown in the fall, she didn’t see her friends anymore and she broke up with her boyfriend

the people who took her were caught about 8 months later on another charge and that was the first time she felt safe since . it took her months to be able to get back to doing normal things again and being who she was before

to this day ,  alanna still struggles with the memories and the ptsd from what happened to her , but she doesn’t speak to anyone about it and she refuses to bring it up in any scenario

some people know about it as obviously, being as famous as her family is, it was on the news at the time, and everyone she went to high school with knew what happened so sometimes it can be hard to avoid it

she wants to forget - here comes her secret - she got into drugs after the kidnapping and it quickly spiraled out of control , now she can’t seem to function without them because they’re the only thing that make her feel normal and make the memories fade

anything she can get her hands on rly

but the media think she’s an angel , her reputation has been kept p much pristine her whole life . and her parents have  no clue how much she’s struggling  . so if this were to come out , it would tarnish not only alanna’s reputation but her family’s  as well

☇   ❪    ˚･ﾟ ❛  personality !!

after deferring from brown ,  alanna knew she had to find some way to keep herself occupied and make money , even though she could live off her parents for however long she wanted

alanna wants to be . miss independent .

she gets her  worth ethic from her father 

so she started getting into modelling , first it was  small  stuff , then she  got on instagram and things went really well from there

she was able to book gigs like adidas , guess , calvin klein  etc  !

so  that was super exciting for her bc she got really into it and  enjoyed doing it sm

i’m  definitely gonna expand on her career as we move along in the rp bc i have so many ideass !! fnsds 

oko so in high school alanna was super bubbly , and just like the really overly nice girl that would talk to literally every 1

but it worked for her bc she was  voted prom queen  and valedictorian ! even tho she missed graduation . yike

Anyway now ! she is not v much like that anymore , except  when she’s super high . 

since her kidnapping alanna has been closed off and aloof . in general , she’s not as talkative 

she says what she thinks but it usually comes in one word mumbles

can sometimes b very entertaining  . she’s kinda like paris hilton a little bit

also think Marissa from the oc !!

call her a  spoiled brat she’s gonna be like “ yah... and ?”

she  can be very selfish to a fault  in certain situations 

and very defensive if she feels attacked, judged , put into a corner , physically cornered , etc

she’s a hopeless romantic at heart and dreams of having an epic love story

but she  has Hella trust issues which easily lead to commitment issues for her so ... she will cheat “by accident” lol

that’s why she tries to steer clear of relationships but she also has such a big heart she  falls in love 5 times a day sffsdkj

also w  how much this girl  can sleep around it’s not happening any Time soon 4 her ! she enjoys being single a lot

Bc she likes to get wild

shes like nicole richie on the simple life when she’s partying  lmao

like she likes 2 fuck with ppl sometimes lol , like she will flirt w anyone and everyone just cus she’s bored 

umm she lives  in sweatpants n crop tops !

her hair is either in a  bun or just down , she’s rly lazy when it comes to hair and makeup   . like if her makeups done someone else did it lol

Unless she’s like fully in the mood

um ya idk im always developing  her but IF U read  all this  ilysm !

here’s her pinterest board for more of an idea !

☇   ❪    ˚･ﾟ ❛ wanted connections !!

EVERYTHING !! hehe  . i have a wc page right here & there’s a wanted  tag linked there as well so pls gimme all <3

[heavymetalkitten]

baths

"Why Should you take spiritual baths?

Taking a Magical Bath doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as running to your local drug or beauty supply and buying a product that is appropriately scented or contains an herb or essential oil.�The important thing about taking one of these baths, no matter how humble or expensive the ingredients are, is to meditate on your intention while you are sitting in the tub. You can get a little fancier, by making an infusion from flowers, herbs or other elements. Brewing the herbs as you would brew a cup of herbal tea and then pouring the strained infusion into your bath water is the easiest way to make an infusion. You can also put the ingredients in a cheesecloth bag that hangs over the bathtub faucet and have the hot water run through the ingredients. In some cases you can actually buy tea bags and just toss them in the water. I’m a purist so personally I love to throw the entire herb, flower or vegetable in the bath. It makes me feel like I am Cleopatra having a bath in ancient Egypt or like some kind of wicked harlot getting ready for her Roman Soldier. However if you do decide to get really into the food aspect of this make sure you have some kind of strainer on your drain so that stuff doesn’t flow down your pipes. What can I say? Some miracles can be quite “messy”. Here are a couple of “quick fixes” for aspiring witches on the run:

ALL PURPOSE AURA CLEANER: Half a cup of sea or Epsom salts plus half a cup of baking soda dumped in the tub is the potion used to purify the aura and clear it of all negative attachments so that you are surrounded by a rainbow of opportunities again.

BARLEY WATER BATH: This is for protection and to dispel evil with a capital E. This is definitely the one to do if you are feeling haunted by something that seems unseemly and of supernatural origin. Boil whole barley until it is soft in a pot. Drain and save the water. Pour into the bath. Bad spirits will run like hell.

CHAMOMILE: Chamomile not only relaxes you, but you can use it as a magical bath to draw money to you. Many preparations are available commercially but you can also make an infusion out of the buds or even throw the buds directly into the bath. I do not advise this if you are allergic to ragweed.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY BATH: Ok this one is completely decadent and is designed to bring more erotic pleasure into your life. First of all you should know that there are commercial chocolate bubble bath preparations out there on the market, but they can be somewhat hard to find in some areas. So what you need to do first, is mix yourself up a little glass of chocolate milk. The milk is good for your skin and the chocolate raises your serotonin levels - the pleasure chemicals in your brain. It also makes the water a very nice loving looking pink. You dump this into the tub as the hot water is pouring into the tub and then you pop nine whole cherries into the bath with you. Then you are supposed to sit there and eat each cherry, while imagining what a good time you are going to have with your lover. The little bobbing cherries are like all your little ducks lined up in a row when it comes to your romantic intentions. Rinse off good after this. You'll need it.

FAME AND GLORY BATH: This one is from Lexa Rosean (author of The Supermarket Sorceress series of books). I tried it and I LOVED it. Cut an apple in nine pieces, or alternately throw nine whole shiny apples into the tub. Use green and golden apples if you want your fame to come with some money attached. Then add nine bay leaves. Get in the tub and immerse yourself for exactly nine minutes, and then get out. It is supposed to be a good one for artists and writers.

GINGER-LIME BATH: You can buy this commercially (made by Ombra). Which is way easier than grating the ginger, peeling the lime and making a “bath tea� out of it, or you can cut up some ginger and lime and make an infusion of it a pot. The ginger is to relax and focus you and the lime is for self-control, discipline and a clear head. This is a great bath for those who need to get down to business fast.

FRUIT BLOSSOM BATHS: Once again these are available commercially which will do, but it is really really nice to take a handful of blossoms from a tree and dump them in your bath. Apple Blossoms, Apricot Blossoms, Cherry Blossoms and Orange Blossoms all correspond to the planet Venus and are ideal for attracting love, fidelity and marriage proposals.

HONEYSUCKLE: You can buy this as a bubble bath or once again, just throw the flowers into the tub. Honeysuckle attracts wealth, riches, honours, marriage proposals and treasures. This is one way to draw the bird to the blossom. It also honours Chuparosa - the Divine Hummingbird of Love.

HOPS: You can buy hops in a commercially prepared bubble bath (OMBRA) or you can pour half a cup of beer in the bath for spiritual cleansing (and also a peaceful sleep.) David from Psychic Realm suggests combining a half a cup of sea salt, the juice of a lemon and a half of cup of beer for spiritual purification and protection from astral attack.

LAVENDER: Lavender corresponds to the planet Mercury and is used to improve communication, attract happiness and achieve piece of mind. It is also a very seductive flower that was used by prostitutes as a magic charm to attract customers many years ago. Many commercial preparations are available, but throwing in a few of the live buds might bring you a wealthy and generous lover.

OAT BEAUTY BATH: OK, most of us dont live near a field, but if you gather your own oats and throw the sheaves into the bathtub with you, you are performing a significant act of magical transformation. Oats are very feminine and appeal to the Goddess energies. They soften the skin, make the eyes glow and give you a youthful appearance. You can throw a cup of raw, uncooked oats into the bath if youre in hurry or you can buy a commercial preparation. Aveeno makes a good one.

ORANGE AND MINT LEAVES: This is a bath to make yourself more attractive and your skin smell really nice. Take nine mint leaves and nine orange segments and dump them in the bath with you. You dont have to eat the mint and orange leaves this time (thank God) but you can if you get hungry.) When you get out of the bath, you are not supposed to rinse off, just towel yourself off lightly so that the scent lingers. You could also try mixing an orange bath gel with a mint one.

PINEAPPLE: Pineapple juice is used to bring luck, money and wealth, and if you are a savage purist, you can throw nine chunks of the raw stuff right in your bath. However I warn you, that it is pretty messy. Some people prefer to throw in the dried rinds. Just adding a spoonful of the juice or making an infusion from the dried rinds and immersing yourself from head to toe in it for a couple of minutes should make you luckier than a leprechaun.

ROSE: Roses correspond to Venus and attract love, luck and protection. There are tons of rose-scented products on the market, including essential oils - though David from Psychic Realm points out that Essential Rose Oil is incredibly expensive and you may want to stick with fragrance oils used in perfumes and baths. If you want to go all out and make yourself a powerful love attracting bath, tint the scented water pink with a touch of food colouring and cast a pinch or two some multicoloured glitter (from a craft store) in there to strengthen your magical intentions.

ROSEMARY: Rosemary is a powerful wish granting herb. Ombra makes an excellent commercial bath, but you can make an infusion of this from the spice jar in your cupboard or put a bit of the essential oil in your bath (but make it just one drop - rosemary is strong and can irritate the skin - so I mean it, use one drop!) A bath in rosemary uplifts the spirits and is used to create lust, attract love and improve communication skills. It is also corresponds to the Virgin Mary, so if you are in need of a lucky break, a bath in this may enable you to be shown some mercy.

SAFFRON BATH: Saffron was sacred to the Moon and Fertility Goddess, Ashtoreth. Saffron is a very expensive spice and you need to only add a couple of strands to your bath water to turn it a yellow colour. Dont add too much or you will turn yellow. It'll be a jaundiced colour. So either make an infusion from it first or just add one strand. Saffron was used to purify oneself before healing rituals, increase psychic powers and also attract love, happiness, lust, and strength.

SAGE BATH: Sage is an herb of wisdom. Make a brew of the herb and pour it into your bath. Some companies (like Ombra and Kniepp) make a sage bath, but you can also just buy the tea bags. This is a good bath to take just before studying for a test or if you are trying to find a solution to a problem!"

[dippedanddripped]

Cauliflower was nowhere, and then all of a sudden it was everywhere. This is because cauliflower is mostly inedible unless you pretend it is pizza, and it took civilization until around the mid-2010s to realize people could make lots and lots of money by doing exactly that.

Plenty of other items have been plucked out of relative obscurity and into the diets and wardrobes of millions of Americans over the past few years: oat milk, anything with CBD in it, intentionally hideous sneakers such as Fila Disruptors, alcoholic seltzer, the concept of “millennial pink,” for example.

All of these things are, in short, trendy, which you probably already knew, because trends are an inescapable part of being a human. Where those trends come from is a more difficult question — a question that a particular group of people is paid a great deal to try and figure out.

They’re the subjects of a new book by Temple University advertising professor Devon Powers, On Trend: The Business of Forecasting the Future. Through interviews with 72 trend forecasters — or futurists, as they’ve more recently taken to calling themselves — Powers shows the ways trend professionals “read” culture by talking to thought leaders and listening to social media and in turn shape it, and how they bring the culture of the fringes into the mainstream.

She offered insights into how trends work and evolve, and the ethics of the trend business: Where do futurists look to find out what’s next, and how do those people and places inform the future they’re ushering into being? How do we study trends without replicating the often unequal systems they stemmed from? If the rich and powerful adopt to a trend first, how do we avoid simply following their lead and repeating the past? Powers, for her part, has some ideas.

Was there one trend that made you interested in studying them as a whole?

In 2012 or so, I started being very interested in when things got really, really popular and triggered a backlash. Rebecca Black was really interesting to me. There was this almost allergic reaction people had, [as though it was] the worst thing ever, and yet people could not stop talking about it. The engagement was driven by dislike. It felt like a different cultural phenomenon where there was real value to be gotten from something being popular, whether it was liked or not liked.

At the same time, “trending” was a word that people were starting to use to describe popularity in general. I totally discovered by accident that there was a trend industry. The first book that I found was [original trend forecaster] Faith Popcorn’s Popcorn Report, which came out in 1991 and introduced me to the whole idea that there are people who study trends for a living, who sell trends to companies, and who work to anticipate and forecast the future.

Can you walk us through how professionals “read” culture?

Professionals read culture basically the way that many of us read culture, but kind of on steroids. One of the companies I researched says, “We eat culture for breakfast.” What that means is they’re reading all of the news, doing social media listening, market research, ethnography, focus groups.

Many companies don’t have the time to digest all of that information. What forecasters do is they digest it for you, and then they use that information to see patterns. Those patterns may be really overt; for instance, in fashion you see animal print popping up everywhere, that tells you something. Or they may be more subtle that occur across different sectors. But once you’ve found those patterns, you use those patterns to read them for what they might be signaling about where culture might be going.

What are the times in history when trends became really important, and what do all those time periods have in common?

The first was around the turn of the 20th century with the rise of the social sciences, and the rise of different forecasting professions like economic forecasting, weather forecasting, and also early color forecasting in fashion.

The other important period is the late 1960s and early 1970s. Again, we see lots and lots of social and cultural upheaval, changing technologies, and an abundance of new information about markets and market segmentation.

We are in a very, very similar moment in our current period. A lot of technological changes are taking place, [we have] dramatic abilities to monitor information and data about what people’s desires and preferences are, and [we’re] using that information again to extrapolate what might be coming.

All these times share in common massive technological change, massive social change, and a fear and excitement about the future that makes people want to figure it out before anybody else.

For a period in the ’90s, this was often called “coolhunting.”

Coolhunting is a very interesting story. It started with marketers being really quizzical about Generation X, and so advertisers were going out and using handheld video cameras and talking to young people to try to figure out what they like, and then feeding that information back to companies to make decisions.

Right as these dynamics were happening, Malcolm Gladwell wrote an article called The Coolhunt in 1987, which really set the train in motion, and made other companies that weren’t doing these practices sit up and say, “We need to be doing this too.”

Companies still do exactly these same kind of processes. Part of what happened is by virtue of its success, it became a generic practice that people didn’t think was anything special anymore, so it didn’t need a special name. But then there was a bit of a backlash to this idea, that if you could farm cool, then you were somehow destroying cool — you’re chasing it into obsolescence. They didn’t want to be conquistadors.

Much of the book centers around how trend forecasting creates a cycle: There are people doing something cool, and then the trend forecasters come in, and by naming it and disseminating it, it accelerates the spread of the cool thing. How has that cycle sped up so much in the past couple of decades?

One of the things people ask me is, “Do trend professors make up trends?” My answer to that is always no. What they do is they observe things that are legitimately happening in culture, and they press the gas on them.

They help those things to be more present in our environment, so that people who are observant start to see things in stores and see them on social media and be attracted to them and want to do them. The metabolism of culture is a lot faster.

What are some of the effects of that very fast cultural metabolism?

People get whiplash. We’ve seen, at various moments, backlashes to that: slow food, slow music, and these ideas that keep percolating up about how to press pause on this constant push to change. I think all of that has a psychic cost and an economic cost, even if it’s just as simple as constantly feeling like you need to purchase new stuff. It obviously has an environmental cost, if you think about the quick cycles in fashion.

And despite the fact we have so many trends going on at once, it also can flatten cultural difference. Sometimes those trends emerge from marginalized people who don’t get the opportunity to actually profit from their own cultural developments.

You can go to pretty much any city in the world and find an Airbnb with the exact same light fixtures and mid-century modern furniture because everyone is pulling from the same trends.

It’s so boring. I live in Fishtown in Philadelphia, and how many craft beer bars do we need? I can throw a stick and hit seven of them. It’s like, somebody just bring me a Bud Light, please!

One of the things that’s happened over the last couple of decades was technological change with how much information we’re digesting all day long, with how many new products are being launched all the time. It just expedites these processes.

You write about how trend forecasters are good at organizing patterns so that they tell a story about the world. Is that why people love reading about trends, because it helps us make sense of things?

The world is a very chaotic place. We all want to find a way to carve some sense through the madness. I think that trend forecasting offers one really key way and really easy way to say, “here’s what’s happening.” That’s true not just for the corporate trend forecasting and futurists that I’ve talked to, but also any journalist or commentator. So many of us like to think that we have a handle on what is going on.

There’s a certain cachet that comes in being able to identify something and feeling like you’re right, and feeling like other people say, “Oh, yeah, that — that’s what I was trying to put my finger on.”

You mention how so much of trend forecasting is looking at what wealthy white people in coastal cities are doing. What are some of the ethical questions that you hope trend forecasters should keep in mind when they’re working off of these obviously flawed systems?

The future belongs to all of us, and yet the people who have the most control over the future are the people with the most money and the most resources. They often have the ability to take the status quo and push it forward, or the capacity to maintain the things they don’t want to change, or [refusing to] question things they don’t want to question. But they also have the possibility of making their versions of the future the ones that we all have to pay attention to.

If you’re Jeff Bezos, and you work on Blue Origin and you say we’re all going to go to Mars, I have to pay attention to that. Trend forecasters end up having to accommodate and appease these elite versions of the future, and not pay attention to both futures for other people.

Often we hear people talk about the future and imagine a world where racism is just magically solved by an algorithm. We all know when you look at machine learning and AI that they actually reproduce and accentuate a lot of the biases and racism that exists. They’re not better. In some ways they are worse, because they have this veneer of objectivity and perfectibility. So that’s the concern that I have. When you are imagining a particular future, who is that future for, and who are you leaving out of that vision?

[wolfdiaries]

A childhood of travelling Mediterranean Spain has made me a sun baby and after a decade in England, I have some serious wanderlust. Here’s my current bucket list of places I want to explore ASAP (in order of most to least desperately) and why.

1. Bali, Indonesia

I’m actually planning a trip to Bali next year and I couldn’t be more excited. To me, Bali is a dream come true: its natural beauty, rich cultural heritage and dirt cheap luxury villas spell paradise. I’m hoping to explore Ubud (made famous by “Eat Pray Love” starring Julia Roberts), Canggu, the numerous religious temples and art galleries like Anang Rai art gallery and Neka Art museum.

Bali is a well-known holiday destination among Australians for its surf as well as its natural beauty. It’s also popular for yoga retreats, so I’m hoping to go away for some well-needed aerial yoga to practise my trapeze and silks as well as catch some waves in the sun. *sigh*

  2.Thailand

Another country I’ve been gagging to explore for years. I was very jealous when my close friend went travelling across Thailand for a few months with his then girlfriend, so I’ll definitely ask for some tips when I go and hopefully it’ll be some day soon.

I get the impression that the UK is somewhat conflicted in its stereotypes of Thailand as a travel destination. With the image of numerous idyllic islands like Phuket and Ko Tao sporting dazzling beaches and rain-forests set against the image of seedy city strip joints, prostitution and dangerous, sweaty traffic, I think Thailand scares some people. This reaction fairly understandable, however wherever someone is considered rich simply from the area they come from is going to be harder on the locals than the tourists.

Pai, in the Mai Hong Soon province is a small town that is considered a bubbling goldmine of culture, beauty and cheap activities, including hot springs, markets, hammock cafes and waterfalls. It’s very laid-back. I’d also be very keen to visit Railay Beach on the west peninsula, go island hopping and visit Bangkok for a bit more of a buzz.

3. Budapest, Hungary

I was going to visit Budapest this summer for the music festival Budafest, however it clashed with Boomtown in Hampshire, UK. Budapest is widely renowned for its decadent architecture, food, as well as its rich and exciting cultural attractions. I, like anyone else, travel for three main reasons: food, nature and culture. To me, Budapest is an irresistible city, with its famous thermal winter baths, markets full of street food and bright, gothic castles.

Hungary’s mistreatment of the refugees that attempt to pass through it is very upsetting, however they aren’t the only country guilty, the UK especially have their role to play. It’s quite hard to find much information online on the the current refugee situation there now so when I go, possibly in January 2019 if I can gather the funds, I’d really like to get a picture of what’s happening.

Hungarian culture isn’t something I’m very knowledgeable on, so researching and learning a bit of Hungarian in preparation for a visit to its capital city would be a wonderful opportunity to soak up its culture and history, most of it shrouded in mystery to the average Brit.

4. Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona is a really special place to me; it’s my home-city. My parents moved when I was two. I’ve only been there twice since, but it’s the coolest city I’ve ever been to. It feels like home as soon as you step off the plane. Everywhere you look you’re greeted with music, art, architecture and food. Among its most famous attractions are Gaudi’s church of the “Sagrada Família” (along his many other works), Primavera Sound festival, the Gothic Quarter known for its in tact medieval style buildings, and La Rambla walk; a renowned boulevard full of street performers and market stalls. Unfortunately, La Rambla is now famous for its terror attack in 2017, but is generally considered very safe, even from pick-pockets.

Despite Cataluña’s ongoing political conflict with the Spanish government and frequent riots, Barcelona is home to a wealthy range of different cultures and music festivals. It has become very touristy all year round which is a source of anguish for most the locals but I couldn’t recommend it more. It’d be impossible to go and not get something out of it, no matter what you go looking for. Another unmissable attraction is the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art. Also, due to it’s growing multiculturalism and university, Barcelona has become vegetarian and vegan friendly, which is uncommon for the Spanish region, even now.

5. Japan

What isn’t there to do in Japan? I’ve wanted to go to Japan ever since learned what a capsule hotel was. Of course there’s so much more to see than itty-bitty hotel pods, such as Mount Fuji, Kiyomizu-Dera temple and national parks like Hokkaido and Chubu region. Tokyo in itself, is a big attraction.

A mirror of New York or London, Tokyo is familiar and yet anything but the same. I have always wanted to try out a ramen vending machine and visit its stunning contemporary art galleries like Mori Art Museum and Tokyo Metropolitan Teian art gallery.

Japan has such a rich and varied culture that its hard to say what is most appealing. To me, it’s nature and art, for others it’s the technology and consumerism of many of its cities. Culturally, I would say it’s best attractions are Okunoshima, “Rabbit Island”, Hirosaki Castle, its gourmet sushi restaurants like Sushi Yoshino and Kamata Sushitoku and the magical Ashikaga flower park, which looks like it could be straight out of a Studio Ghibli film.

Being one of the world’s leading pioneers in technology, Japanese culture does have its dark side. A lot of tourists visit Japan for other “attractions” like Hiroshima and Aokigahara “Suicide Forest”. Similar to many Western cultures, social media and the internet as a whole takes back what it gives and many young people are becoming vulnerable to its pressures.

Japan has a very low crime rate and a fairly introverted culture, the main social problem that plagues the locals isn’t social at all: people are lonely. That being said, from a traveller’s point of view, these problems are small in comparison to most countries.

Being the birthplace of two of my all-time favourite artists Ando Hiroshige and Katsushika Hokusai, even if it didn’t have its wealth of culture and natural beauty, I still wouldn’t be able to resist it.

6. Greece

Earlier this year I was planning to quit my day job and go island hopping round Greece with my boyfriend. The dream. It ended up not happening like most of this year’s travel plans and half of the country ended up setting on fire around the time I was hoping to go anyway. Despite this Greece has been in heart for nearly a year now, ever since I set my sights on it.

Travelling the idyllic Greek islands has been a popular choice for all sorts of travellers for decades now. It’s warm, beautiful and affordable. Due to Greece’s near-collapsed economy, like Spain, it has become heavily reliant on tourism as an income. The accommodation is cheap and varied, as well as the cuisine. It’s hard not to be tempted by the dirt cheap flight prices coming up to summer especially when you start googling and see the beaches in the peak of summer.

Like Hungary, I know very little of Greek culture, but I’ve already fallen in love with the idea of backpacking round Mykonos and Crete. Many people are tempted by the ancient Greek ruins and history of Athens or the buzzing night-club culture aimed at British tourists. I mostly want to get lost in the small towns and villages of Milos, the pink beach of Elafonisi, Crete and the Messalina lake, Kefalonia. The only problem would probably be staying alive on a vegan diet, considering lamb and feta are the main components of Greece’s gorgeous dishes.

7. Norway

Norway’s current main attraction for me, is my friend Ane, a native Norwegian I used to live with in England, now residing in Oslo with her partner. Being a Nordic country, Norway seems less like travelling and more like stepping into the game Skyrim. Though maybe with less wolf attacks.

While Norway is expensive to visit, it’s more a place one would visit for its “outdoorsy” stuff. This would be its famous ‘Fjords’, Northern lights and extreme sports winter sports like snowboarding and skiing rather than shopping or clubbing. It’s hard not to be sporty in Norway, there seems little else to do apart from appreciate the country’s vast beauty.

Trondheim, Norway’s third largest town is popular to visit, containing the Nidaros Cathedral and Nidelva River, alongside which are beautiful multi-coloured waterside houses on stilts. Husedalen “Waterfall” valley and Sognefjord are also popular, the latter being Norways largest glacial sea valley. Another attraction among hikers is Trolltunga, a tough climb to reach a cliff jutting out 700 metres horizontally in midair above lake Ringedalsvatnet.

While the price of living is higher, the quality of life is much better all round, Norway has few socio-economic struggles as a nation and is is one of the world’s leading countries for renewable energy and recycling.

Norwegian culture is conservative and quiet, but one of the most advanced and forward thinking in Europe. I find the language fascinating and would love to learn more than just the commands I had to learn to walk Ane’s dog, Dokki, though I doubt I’d have the opportunity to get much practice since most Norwegians are proficient, if not fluent in English.

9. Sri Lanka

Famed for its nature and diverse landscapes, Sri Lanka has had my heart since I was a child. What appeals to most is the animal sanctuaries and conservationist opportunities, as well as the numerous Buddhist ruins like Temples of the Tooth and Dambulla Cave Temple.

A main point of interest would be Sigiriya, the ruins of an ancient city and rock fortress nestled in forest and Yala National Park. The multitude of opportunities to work in animal conservation charities like the Kalametiya bird sanctuary and Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage are unmissable.

Other landmarks are Ella Rock, Little Adam’s Peak and Pidurangala Rock; Sri Lanka is famed for it its variety of climate, ranging from rainforest to desert and home to a multitude of beautiful geological formations.

Until 2009, Sri Lanka had been stuck in civil war for over 25 years. With newfound peace, it is considered very safe to travel. Theft and violent crime is nearly unheard of, but credit card fraud and harassment from street vendors or scammers is common. It’s recommended that poorly lit beaches like Negombo and Hikkaduwa are best avoided at night by single travellers. These areas considered more dangerous for women.

Colombo, the capital city, is a diamond of culture and colour. With over 70% of the Sri Lankan population being Buddhist, there are numerous sacred and world heritage sites all over Sri Lanka, providing opportunity to learn about Theravada Buddhism, directly translating to “School of Elders” and inspired by the oldest of Buddhist scriptures; the Tipitaka.

  *Edit: I originally wrote this in December 2018 but didn’t publish it. While my knowledge on these topics has expanded, I thought it would be best to leave the original text relatively untouched and do a more updated version in the weeks to come.

Thanks for reading! 🙂

Travel bucket list 2019: where to go and why A childhood of travelling Mediterranean Spain has made me a sun baby and after a decade in England, I have some serious wanderlust.